72 The Irish Naturalist. [March, 



though Sir Douglas Brooke wrote me in November, 1S96, that he had 

 heard that hares of both kinds were nearly extinct on Cleenisb Island 

 but did not know if it was a fact or not. 



Under date of November 17th, 1895, Sir Douglas Brooke wrote me 

 that he " killed an English Hare, after a real good run, early in March 

 this year ; she was in very fine condition in spite of the winter, though 

 on the same day we picked up two dead Irish hares. This was close to 

 Kesh, and I cannot find any record of any English Hares having been 

 turned out anj'where near." 



Co. Gai^way. 



In Land and Water of March 7th, 1891, Mr. G. H. Kinahan wrote of 

 ' big English imported " hares, " the largest I used to meet being in the 

 Salrock district alongside Killary Bay. These hares were introduced by 

 the Martins, General Thompson and others. They are found in the 

 valleys, but in general do not go up into the mountain heights, except 

 during a drive." 



Mr. Kinahan's remarks, both in this letter and one contributed to 

 Land and Water of February 25th, 1893, are more vague than one could 

 have wished, and further inquiries that I have made in the district (and 

 in which I have been kindly assisted by Mr. Kinahan) have failed to 

 throw any light on the matter. 



COi LondondSRRV. 



Kot more satisfactory are the statements of my correspondent, Mr. 

 A. J. Collins, that some hares are said to have been introduced in 

 Londonderry by a Mr. Stevenson {in lit. of January 5th, 1893), and of 

 Captain J. J. Dunne, that " the Woodland hare has often been intro* 

 duced into Ireland. At Ballogin (Sir C. Coote's), Fookes, an English 

 keeper turned down twenty couple, forty years ago. They did not do." 



The above report that English Hares were introduced in Co. London- 

 derry by Mr. vStevenson, appears to have arisen out of confusion with 

 the introduction of Scotch hares at Black Brae in that county {vide 

 infra, page 76). 



Co. Tyrone. 

 In Land and Water of March 4th, 1893, Mr. John Herdman wrote as 

 follows : — "I turned out a large quantity of English Hares here in 1876 

 and 1877. A pack of harriers formerly kept in this district (Strabane) 

 had been dropped, and hares became extinct. This country has been 

 constantly hunted since 1876, and we have a splendid stock of hares*" 

 On 22nd February, 1896, Mr. Herdman wrote to Mr. Pennington that 

 the English hares, of which sixty-five had been brought over from 

 Norfolk in 1876 were " still in great numbers. We also laid down a great 

 many small dark Irish hares, but they all left us and went to the 

 mountains. They don't appear to me to interbreed with the Irish hare, 

 as they make their homes altogether in the lowland and cultivated 



