144 
The Irish Naturalist, 
June, 
arrival in this country, as well as the manner in which they 
have been introduced, and the sources from whence they have 
come, should be put on record when these can be obtained. 
A short account, therefore, of a bed of aliens that I have had 
under observation for the last two seasons may be of interest. 
During the summer of 1904 I spent several Saturday after- 
noons in the country around lyyons and Straffan in the county 
of Kildare, looking up some plants that had been recorded 
from that neighbourhood by Mr. James Douglas. On one of 
these occasions, towards the end of July, taking a short cut 
to the railway station along the canal, my attention was 
attracted by a fine bed of tall weeds — thistles, burdocks, wild 
mignonette, white daisies, and yellow crucifers, &c. — on a 
small strip of ground by the side of a vacant cottage on the 
canal bank. As I had a little time to spare before train time, 
I went over to examine it, and I found to my astonishment 
an undergrowth of Lepidiiim caiiipest7'e, Thlaspi arvense^ Silene 
nodiflora, Medicago de7iiiculata, several Malvas, Anisinckia 
lycopsoides, all in abundance, besides many others that I did 
not know. This strip of ground was a little bit of waste 
land by the tow-path that had been railed off. It had not 
been cultivated in any way, but the end furthest from the 
house was strewn with cinders, and it was on these cinders 
that most of the plants I have mentioned were growing. 
Nearer the cottage it was in grass, and led into a small yard 
at the back. This was also overgrown with weeds, among 
which there was even a greater variety of foreigners than on 
the piece of ground by the side of the house. Under the 
windows in front there was a very narrow flower border, 
the only piece of cultivated ground near; in this there were 
two or three Pansies, several plants of Linaria vulgaris^ 
a few Nasturtiums, all evidently planted, and four or five plants 
of Rumex Hydrolapathtim, a curious species to find in such a dry 
sunny situation. The last also occurred in the yard in several 
places. I had only time for a very hurried survey of the place 
on this occasion. At the railway station I made inquiries, 
and learned that the cottage had been vacant for some time, 
and that the last occupant was a clerk in the I<yons flour 
mills, but I could learn nothing more. Suspecting from the 
feathers, &c., which were strewn about the yard that he had 
