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bets, squirrells, martins, weesles, and the amphibious otter, of which kind the white-faced otter" is very rare. It is never killed, they say, but with loss of man or dog, and its skin is mighty precious. It admits no rats to live any where within it, except the Isles of Aran, and the district of the west liberties of Galway.

the scientific names of the various objects of natural history which he has mentioned, they will be found inserted in the notes, from the best modern authorities, together with the general or local names in Irish. The above mentioned are, the wolf, canis lupus, mac tire; deer, cervus elephas, Flag; fox, vulpes vulgaris, rionnaċ; badger, meles taxus, bpoc; hedgehog, erinaceus Europaus, grainneog; hare, lepus variabilis, geapppiang; rabbit, lepus cuniculus, comín; squirrel, sciurus vulgaris, lopa; marten, martes abietum, maoraỏc poinn; weasel, mustela erminea, caróg; otter, lutra vulgaris, madrad uisge; rat, mus rattus, luc ppancaċ.

▾ Wolves.—When our author wrote, and for some years after, wolves were to be found in Iar-Connaught, but not in such numbers as in the early part of that century. The last wolf which I have been able to trace here was killed in the mountains of Joyce-country, in the year 1700. After the wars of 1641, the raof the wolves were so great throughvages out Ireland, as to excite the attention of the State. "Wolf hunters" were appointed in various districts, and amongst others in Iar-Connaught, who helped to rid the country of these ferocious animals.

W

The

White-faced otter.-Called by the Irish Dobhar-chu. Martin, in his interesting description of the Western Islands of Scotland, London, 1703, 8vo. p. 159, tells us, that in the Isle of Skie, "the hunters say there is a big otter above the ordinary size, with a white spot on its breast, and this they call the king of otters; it is rarely seen, and very hard to be killed. Seamen ascribe great virtue to the skin, for they say that it is fortunate in battle, and that victory is always on its side."

* It admits no rats.—This is not the case at present. The Norway rat every where prevails, having nearly extirpated the little black Irish rat. The latter was the species mentioned by Cambrensis in the following passage: "Est et aliud ibi (i. e. in insula Aren in occidentali Connactiæ solo posita) notabile: quia cum per totam Hiberniam copiose nimis mures abundent, hæc tamen insula mure caret. Mus enim nec nascitur hic, nec vivit invectus."-Top. D. 1. c.

6.

See the description of these islands further on in this treatise. A similar story was told of the "towne of Armagh." See Stanihurst in Holinshed, vol. vi. p. 41, Lond. 1808. In the well-known Book of Lecan, preserved in the Library of the

The water streames, besides lampreys, roches, and the like of no value, breed salmons (where is recourse to the sea), eels, and divers sorts of trouts. There was never a pike or bream as yet engendered in all this countrey, nor in the adjacent parts of Mayo or Galway counteys. The sea here is plentifully stored with fish", as cods,

Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, the following curious passage occurs in prefatory remarks to a treatise on the early history of Ireland: "Sicut absque bestia Paradisus erat, ita Hibernia pariter. Hibernia nec leonem, nec draconem, nec ranam, nec Murem nocentum, nec Draconem, nec Scorpium, nec unum noxium animal nisi lupum alit. Hibernia autem proxima Britanniæ insulæ, spatio terrarum angustior sed situ fecundior."

▾ Lampreys.-The scientific names of the fishes, &c., mentioned in this and the following paragraphs are: lamprey, petromyzon marinus, laimpre; roche (i. e. rud), leuciscus erythropthalmus, poisteaċ; salmon, salmo salar, bradán; eel, anguilla acutirostris, arccann; trout, salmo trutta, breac; pike, esox lucius, gailliasg; bream, cyprinusbrama, brann; cod, gadus morhua, trosg; ling, lota molva, lunga; hawkefish,

.... punnać spaineaċ; coale-fish, merlangus carbonarius, mongaċ; turbot, pleuronectes maximus, taipbert; plaice, platessa vulgaris, leażog garb, or leażog breac; haddock, gadus æglefinus, cudóg; whiting, merlangus vulgaris, mongaċ; gurnard, trigla gurnardus, cnuoán; mackerel, scomber, punnaċ; herring, clupea harengus, sgadán; pilchard, clupea pil

chardus, pilreíp; oyster, ostrea edulis, orpio; scallop, pecten maximus, sliogán mapa; cockle, cardium edule, pucán; muscle, mytilus edulis, duilícín; razure, solen siliqua, rgian mara; lobster, homarus vulgaris, gliomac; crab, cancer pagurus, paptán; shrimp, palamon serratus, piberóbés; whale, balana mysticetus, míol mop; grampus, phocana orca,

sana,

porpoise, phocoena communis, mucmara; thunny, thynnus vulgaris, tuinnín; eagle, aquila chrysaetos? fiolar; ganet, sula bas; soland goose, sula bassana?..... .; puffin, alea torda, cpurrán; barnacle, anser brenta, cadan; wild goose, anser ferus, geaò fiadáin; swan, cygnus ferus, eala; cock of the wood, tetrao urogallus? coileac-coille; woodcock, scolopax rusticola, coileac feaoa; chough, fregilus graculus, cudóg; rook, corvus frugilegus, cnáimpiaċ; cormorant, pelecanus carbo, brogeal. The bird which never flies but over the sea is locally called mantin, and is probably the guillemot, uria troile. Ambergris will be found noticed in a future page.

z Fish.-See the last parliamentary Report on the Fisheries of Ireland; an important document, which enters minutely into most of the particulars relating to this great

cods, lings, hawkfish, coalefish, turbets, plaises, hadogs, whitings, gurnards, macrells, herrings, pilchards, &c.; and no less liberall of shell fish, as oysters, scollops, cokles, muscles, razures, together with lobsters, crabs, shromps, &c.

It now and then casts ashore great whales, gramps, porcupisses, thunies. Both sea and land have their severall kinds of birds. Here is a kind of black eagle, which kills the deere by grappling him with his claw, and forcing him to run headlong into precipices.

Here the ganet soares high into the sky to espy his prey in the sea under him, at which he casts himself headlong into the sea, and swallows up whole herrings in a morsell. This bird flys through the ship's sailes, piercing them with his beak.

Here is the bird engendered by the sea out of timber long lying in sea. Some call them clakes and soland-geese, some puffins,

but neglected source of national wealth. a Whales.-an interesting extract from a communication made by Lieutenant Boroughs, commander of the coast guard in the West of Ireland, taken from the valuable Fishery Report alluded to in the last note, will be found in the Additional Notes, p. 183.

Black eagle." The black eagle fixes his talons between the deer's horns, and beats its wings constantly about its eyes, which puts the deer to run continually, till it falls into a ditch, or over a precipice, where it dies, and so becomes a prey to this cunning hunter. There are at the same time several other eagles of this kind, which flye on both sides of the deer, which frights it extremely, and contributes much to its more sudden destruction.”— Mar

others

tin's Western Islands, Isle of Lingay, p. 70.

Clakes." Clack gooses" (Phillips), barnacles, or soland geese, Irish, Cavan

ippínna, the local name. "There is also the cleck goose; the shells in which this fowl is said to be produced are found in several isles sticking to trees by the bill; of this kind I have seen many, the fowl was covered by a shell, and the head stuck to the tree by the bill, but never saw any of them with life in them upon the tree, but the natives told me that they had observ'd 'em to move with the heat of the sun."-Martin, Isle of Orkney, p. 357. See also on this point of natural history, Cambrensis in Top. Hiberniæ, "sunt et aves hic multæ, quæ bernacæ," &c. Also Stanihurst's Description of Ireland in Holin-hed, vol. vi. p. 18, Ed. ut supra; and his

others bernacles, because they resemble them. We call them girrinn. I omit other ordinary fowl and birds, as bernacles, wild geese, swans, cocks of the wood, and woodcocks, choughs, rooks, Cornish choughs with red legs and bills, &c.

Here is fowle that custom allowed to eat on fasting days", as cormorant feeding only on fish; as alsoe birds found in the high cliffts and rocks of Aran, which never fly but over the sea, which, with all other numerous sea birds, yield a great store of feathers.

Besides all these, the mountains here have store of Iron mines, the boggs give turf sufficiently for fuell, and along with the turf, great trees of oak and firr many times are digged, which lay for ages under

treatise, "De Rebus in Hibernia gestis," Antwerp, 1584, Appendix, p. 230. After perusing, if possible, those profound discussions, adding, moreover, Gerard; Gratianus Lucius, p. 342; Ware's Ant. c. xiv., and Harris's Ed. c. xxxiv., the reader may, perhaps, be inclined to exclaim, with the learned Stanihurst, "thus farre of barnacles."

d Fasting days.-See Ledwich's "Antiquities," p. 369, for characteristic observations on this subject, as connected with barnacles, quoted by the learned doctor from another learned doctor, Rutty, "the honest Quaker," as the "antiquary" so complacently called the "naturalist." But such observations were usual during the memorable eighteenth century, among a certain class of writers; one of whom, Sir Richard Cox, thus triumphs, in another strain. "Their," i. e. the Irish, "youth and gentry (are) destroyed in the rebellion or gone to France. Those that are left are des

ground.

titude of horses, arms, and money, capacity, and courage. Five in six of the Irish are poor, insignificant slaves, fit for nothing but to hew wood and draw water."-Extract from his Orig. Letter, 24th Oct. 1705; for which see Thorpe's curious catalogue of the Southwell Papers, Lond. 1834, p. 94.

e Iron mines.-These mines are rich, but have never been adequately worked, for want of capital. The same observation may be extended to the valuable marble quarries in this district. Our author, in his above general description, not having noticed any of the substances, except iron ore, of which the mountains of Iar-Connaught are composed; the reader will find noticed in the Additional Notes, p. 185, the Report of the late eminent geologist, Sir Charles Giesecke, made in A.D. 1825, to the Royal Dublin Society, on the geological structure of this region. See also, on this neglected subject, Mr. Nimmo's Report, before referred to, p. 5 (note 3).

ground. Here are rivers which breed pearles, and the sea shoars have ambergreese often cast into them.

Lastly, here are several miraculous wells and holy places', dedicated in memory of saints; among which I find, in severall places, the memory of the seven daughters; some call them by tradition the daughters of a Brittish King, others of a King of Leinster. Here are alsoe, besides parish churches dispersed every where

Holy places. Many of these will be found noticed in the sequel.

8 Churches-chappells. - Doctor Lombard, in his treatise, "De regno Hiberniæ," thus describes those ecclesiastical ruins. "In primis igitur, præter ruinas manifestas tot monasteriorum et templorum, in quibus aliquando in spiritu et veritate adorabatur Deus; Quæ longe latèque patet hæc regio, in montibus et vallibus, in sylvis et solitudinibus, in insulis et lacubus, cernere est adhuc vestigia et monumenta sacellorum et cellarum, specuum et aliorum locorum, ubi olim sancti consueverant commorari, orare, contemplari, concentus facere, pœnitentias agere."-Cap. xx. p. 275. The multitude of religious edifices spread over Ireland, as their ruins testify, would be sufficient to induce one to conclude, that the population of this island was greater, during its early ages of Christianity, than is now generally supposed. See Gratianus Lucius, p. 138, "Nec Scio," &c. Sir William Petty's computation or opinion that its population, at the arrival of the English in the twelfth century, was only 300,000 (see his Political Arithmetic, p. 317), has been acquiesced in since

in

his time; but that opinion now appears to have been hastily formed from imperfect data, and cannot be relied upon. From our author we learn, that in the secluded district of West Connaught alone, parish churches and chapels were dispersed "every where," "even in waste islands," that is, in islands waste in his time; and it has been pertinently asked, what should men have built these edifices for, if there had not been people to fill them? It has been calculated from Archdall, that in the sixteenth century there were 742 religious houses in Ireland; but it is well known, that among the other errors of that writer

and it would require a book nearly as large as his own to correct those errorshe was much under the real number of those religious foundations. Besides these, there were the cathedrals, parish churches, and chapels mentioned by Lombard. See also Colgan and De Burgo. Although the primitive Irish churches were not so large as those of succeeding times, yet they were sufficiently ample and numerous to indicate a far greater population than that estimated by Sir William Petty as existing in the twelfth century. Many other

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