The Crossbill (Loxia curvi?vstra, Z.) in Ireland. g 



beginning at its apex, then let it drop and go for another cone, 

 or use its beak in climbing like a parrot. 



I have seen a flock on the 8th November, feeding on the' 

 immature bunches of the iv}^ from which the blossoms had re- 

 cently fallen, that grew on low ash-trees by the road-side. The}^ 

 have also been seen earl}^ in the 5'ear feeding on the ground 

 beneath a willow covered with catkins. On 4th April, I 

 watched a Crossbill feeding on the expanded buds of the 

 larch, which, at that time, are favourite food, and with which 

 I think, they feed their 3'oung. Mr. Ellison saj^s he has seen 

 them feeding on the catkins of large elms in June. I have 

 never known them to attack apples, as my father described, 

 the orchards, then numerous here, resounding that season 

 with the " crack, crack" of splitting and falling fruit. At that 

 time the planting of fir and larch had not commenced here 

 on a large scale, and the birds, as Thompson suggests, were 

 probabl}^ driven to feed on apple-pips, for want of the more 

 acceptable seeds of conifers. There can be no doubt indeed that 

 the increase and settlement of Crossbills in Ireland is due to 

 the increase of mature seed-bearing fir and larch woods. 



(TO B^ CONTINUED.) 



COUNTY DUBININ, PAST AND PRESKNT. 



BY PROF. GRKNVII.I.E A. J. COIyK, F.G.S. 



Introductory. 



The following short papers, dealing with a limited area, may 

 possibly serv^e the wider purpose of illustrating how the geolo- 

 gical history of any district may be gradually Vv^orked out by 

 successive obser\"ations, and how newproblems will continually 

 arise as an encouragement to additional research. In the 

 field of historical, as well as mineral geolog\% the individual 

 Irish naturalist has scope in every county. The development 

 of libraries in the cities provides the means of learning what 

 has been already done ; and hence I have not spared references 

 to original papers, since the personality and true merits of 

 earlier workers can never be grasped by a perusal of a mere 

 outline of their results. It is, indeed, cheering to an3^one who 

 may undertake local, and often laborious, investigation, to feel 

 that he is one of a great band of observ^ers, who have compiled, 

 during the present century, the pre-historic annals of Ireland. 

 Since references to certain journals may be frequent, the 

 abbreviation G.S.D. will be used for the Journal of the Geolo- 

 gical Society of Dublin, and G.S.I, for its successor, tho: Journal 

 of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland, commencing in 1864. 

 The papers in the latter journal will also be found in the 



