may be seen in
its greatest perfection. Some very rare insects have been taken in
eastern Galway, including the Lepidoptera _Nallia ancilla_ and _Lycaena
artexerus_.

[Illustration: _Photo, Welch, Belfast._ Wolf Spider (_Pisaura
mirabilis_) spinning nest for young.]

5. ~WEST GALWAY AND WEST MAYO~.--In this district we have again a
complete change of geology and of scenery. The grey limestones with rich
grass and rare flowers filling every crevice are gone, and we are in a
wild region of ancient metamorphic rocks--schists, quartzites, gneisses,
and granites--which form wide moorlands, dotted with innumerable
lakelets, with noble mountain groups rising over the wild boggy
lowlands. To the student of metamorphism the geology of this area is of
very high interest. The botanist finds himself once again, as in Kerry,
in a focus of the southern flora already discussed. As stated above,
Connemara contributes to the list of Pyrenean plants three Heaths, of
which St. Dabeoc's Heath is the loveliest of the British representatives
of the order. Here we may also meet again our old Kerry friends the
London Pride, and on Inisbofin the Irish Spurge--plants which strictly
avoid the limestone, as do the Heaths. The American element is
represented by the Pipe-wort, which is common, and the little water
plant, _Naias flexilis_, which grows near Roundstone. Of the three
famous Heaths, St. Dabeoc's is abundant throughout Connemara, becoming
rarer in Mayo. The Mediterranean Heath grows near Roundstone, and in
immense abundance on the north side of Clew Bay, and again near the
north-west corner of Mayo, extending inland as far as Lough Conn.
Mackay's Heath is the rarest, being confined to the neighbourhood of
Roundstone. As regards its fauna, Connemara and West Mayo yield fewer
peculiar species than the south-west; but much remains to be done before
it can be said that the zoology of this area is thoroughly known, and it
offers a most promising field for the explorer.

6. ~SLIGO.~--The visitor who makes Sligo his headquarters finds himself
in a district of much variety and interest. This is a district that
cannot be too highly recommended to the naturalist. To the geologist the
fossiliferous limestones and the metamorphic rocks are alike of
interest. The botanist naturally turns to the Ben Bulben Mountains,
which harbour the richest group of alpine plants to be found in Ireland,
including the pretty _Arenaria ciliata_, which does not gro