1912-13., 599 



SOLDI ERSTOWN AND AGHALEE. 



On 6th July forty-two members travelled to Moira, their 

 object being to study the fauna and flora of that portion of the 

 Lagan Canal known as the Broad Water. This interesting- 

 reservoir dates but from the formation of the canal, which was 

 constructed towards the close of the eighteenth century. It has 

 been formed by the damming up of the western end of the 

 Aghalee Valley by the canal embankment. Leaving the road at 

 Moira Station the party at once proceeded along the towing-path 

 towards Soldierstown Bridge, and the botanists of the party were 

 soon rewarded by the sight of several interesting plants. The 

 Great Spearwort, Ranunculus Lingua, was abundant in the ditches 

 alongside the path, while the beautiful " Flowering Rush," 

 Butomus umbellatus, and the Sweet Flag, Acorus Calamus, were 

 also common. The two last-mentioned plants are not considered 

 native, but the latter has now been established in the district for 

 upwards of one hundred years. Another plant of extreme interest 

 was noted in the canal, this was Ranunculus circinalus, our rarest 

 species of Water Crowfoot, which was discovered here some years 

 ago by a member of the Club. The Great Bedstraw, Galium 

 Mollugo, occurred on the roadside near the old church of Moira. 

 Passing under the bridge at Soldierstown the more energetic 

 members proceeded along the north shore of the Broad Water in 

 the direction of Aghalee, distant about two and a half miles. Fresh 

 discoveries here awaited the botanists, for the somewhat local 

 Orchid, Orchis pyramidalis, was found on the towing-path and in 

 a quarry close to Aghalee, while in the latter habitat the Spurge, 

 Euphorbia exigua, was common. In this quarry at Aghalee the 

 geologists had a happy time, many erratics being discovered 

 embedded in the Glacial drift overlying the basalt. The exact 

 district from which these boulders and pebbles had been carried 

 by the ice has yet to be determined, but the leader of the party 

 pointed out that they had evidently come from the district west 



