88 The Irish Naturalist. [March, 1897. 



AMPHIBIANS, 

 Is the Frog a Native of Ireland ? 



My friend Dr. Scharff says— in a note in the Irish Naturalist for 

 February, 1897— that ** the Irish Frog is silent— even during the breeding 

 season it calls its mate in a scarcely audible voice." If he will come out 

 here in March on a sunny day he will hear the frogs in the pond at a 

 distance of quarter of a mile, provided the wind be favourable. I 

 dare say they number 500, and, extraordinary as it may seem, X 

 recollect on one occasion mistaking the sound of 500 croaking frogs for 

 the'noise of a railway train passing over the bridge at Bray River three 

 miles distant — a noise heard distinctly here in easterly winds. 



Dr. Scharff 's arguments in favour of an indigenous Irish frog are not 

 convincing. My old and valued friend, the late Mr. A. G. More, never 

 wavered from his opinion that it is one of our introduced vertebrates. 



Richard M. Barrington. 



BIRDS. 

 The White-fronted Goose near Roscrea. 



My friend, Mr. H. C. White, of Charleville, Roscrea, shot a fine 

 specimen of the White- fronted, or Laughing Goose {Atiser albtfrojis) on 

 January 6th. It was beautifully marked, and measured about 2 feet 6 

 inches, and weighed about 7 pounds. It was one of a large flock and 

 was shot not far from above address near Borris-in-Ossory. I saw a 

 Brambling at Borris-in-Ossory about the 9th January. 



R. M. Mii,i,e:r. , 



MAMMALS. 

 Irish Bats. 



Mr. Jameson in his notice of the Bats of Ireland, ante p. 34, has over- 

 looked Galway as a locality for Vespertilio Natiereri, Kuhl. If he refers to 

 /. Nat., vol, iii., p. 116, he will see a record of my capture of this species 

 at Clonbrock. The specimen I presented to the Museum of Natural 

 History. I may also add that some species of bat, probably the Pipis- 

 trelle, is common on the Blasket Islands. The Long-eared bat is almost 

 as common as the former in the Go. Monaghan, and in Leitrim about 

 Mohill. I have also shot them at Bundoran in Donegal years ago, and 



they are common about Kenmare, Co. Kerry. 



W. F. DE V. Kans. 



GEOLOGY. 

 The Preservation of Erratic Blocks. 



In connection with the subject of the preservation of the boulders in 

 the vicinity of Dublin so ably treated of in the February number of the 

 Irish Naturalist, it may be well to call attention to the granite blocks 

 resting on the Cambrian rocks of Bray Head, and to express a hope that 

 Lord Meath's attention may be called to the advantage, in the interests 

 of science, of preserving these great geological curiosities by giving 

 directions that they should not be disturbed. Otherwise we may expect 

 to see them some day broken up to build walls, &c. 



J. NOI^ANi 



