38 Botany of the Shores of Lough Neagh. 



eels, and he was not overmuch concerned in searching for the 

 submerged architectural structures of poetic fable. The old 

 order changeth. Now-a-days he must take account of railroads, 

 and his fish must be packed and despatched in time to catch 

 the Liverpool steamer. 



Continuing, Mr. Davies said that one of the most in- 

 teresting features of the lough flora was the presence there 

 of a small group of plants, some of which were not found 

 inland elsewhere in Ireland, and others which seem never 

 to have been seen inland throughout the British Isles. The 

 main difference between some parts of the shores of their 

 large lakes and the seaside consisted in one case of the absence, 

 and in the other the presence, of saHnity. In both, the degree 

 of humidity was much the same, and in some other respects 

 there was more or less similarity. In their island, save at the 

 seaside and parts of their lake shores, they had very Httle, or 

 none, of the loose shifting sands which influence the character 

 of the flora. It was necessary to have some understanding of 

 this before looking for or attempting to explain the presence 

 Inland of plants which are regarded as maritime. As was well 

 known, there are species having a partiality for situations in 

 close proximity to the sea, which occur on some of their highest 

 moui-tains. Examples of some of these were given, the popular 

 and scientific names of which sufficiently indicated their 

 preference for the sea coast. In the high altitudes inland, in 

 which they occur, it was to be assumed they found atmospheric 

 conditions necessary for their growth and sustenance, their 

 distribution not being solely influenced by salinity of soil 

 Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that they had at Lough Neagh, 

 and that only on the County Antrim shore, a number of plants 

 usually regarded as maritime, which, in Ireland, had not been 

 met with elsewhere in distinctly inland localities. The names 

 of some of these were mentioned, and, in particular, allusion 

 was made to the Sea Club-rush, Scirpus maritimus^ which, so 

 far as he knew, did not occur otherwhere inland in any part of 

 the British Isles. A well-known botanist, Mr. Nathaniel 



