Iviii INTEODUCTION. 



The figures in the tMrd and fourtli columns of this table illus- 

 trate the truism in distribution that, over certain limits, increase in 

 the siize of an area has little effect in increasing the variety of 

 a flora. The statistics show at the same time, that, as regards the 

 Irish botanical divisions, the richness of the various district floras 

 depends above all on the fact whether a district is maritime or 

 inland. The exclusively maritime flora of Ireland numbers about 

 80 species. All of these must necessarily be wanting in a wholly 

 inland district, such as the Upper Shannon, and a great majority of 

 them in the Barrow and Erne districts, which have no true sea- 

 board, though gaining imperfect access to maritime conditions in a few 

 miles of salt estuary. Such comparisons of district floras as may be 

 drawn from the foregoing table are based on the assumption that all 

 the. areas compared have been fairly well explored. It would have 

 been idle to make any such assumption when the first edition of 

 this work was published : it may be made now with some confi- 

 dence that the results arrived at wiU not be far wide of the truth, 

 though further exploration of some of the Districts, and notably of 

 III., VII., and X., is desirable. 



In the following paragraphs an attempt has been made to 

 epitomize the physical and botanical features of each of the twelve 

 districts. 



DISIEICI I. SOtriH ATLANTIC. 



Kerry and South Corh} 



Area, 3143 square miles.— i^fow, 826 species and sub-species. 



Maritime, occupying the extreme south-west of the island, the 

 coast being broken by the deep inlets of Dingle Bay, Kenmare 

 Hiver, and Bantry Bay. The highest summits in Ireland are found 

 here, Carrantuohill in the Magillicuddy's Eeeks, reaching to 3404 feet 

 •and Mount Bra];idon in the Dingle peninsula to 3120 feet. Other 

 high points in Kerry are Baurtregaum, 2796 feet, in Slieve Mish ; 

 Mangerton, 2754 feet, south of Killarney ; and Coomacarrea, 2542 

 feet, in the Iveragh mountains. Lakes are numerous in Keriy, but 

 none of them is of the first magnitude, the largest being Lough 

 Leane (better known as the Lower Lake, Killarney), Lough Currane, 



iThe northern toundary of South Cork i-una along the west shore of Cork 

 Harbour, and up the river Lee and its tributary the SuUane, to the Kerry 

 border. 



