IRELAND. 215 



LETTER LXIV. 



TO THE SAME. 



SELBORNE, March 9, 1775. 

 DEAR SIR, 



SOME future faunist, a man of fortune, will, I 

 hope, extend his visits to the kingdom of Ireland *; 

 a new field, and a country little known to the natu- 

 ralist. He will not, it is to be wished, undertake 

 that tour unaccompanied by a botanist, because the 

 mountains have scarcely been sufficiently examined ; 

 and the southerly counties of so mild an island may 

 possibly afford some plants little to be expected 

 within the British dominions. A person of a think- 

 ing turn of mind will draw many just remarks from 

 the modern improvements of that country, both in 

 arts and agriculture, where premiums obtained long 

 before they were heard of with us. The manners of 

 the wild natives, their superstitions, their prejudices, 

 their sordid way of life, will extort from him many 

 useful reflections. He should also take with him an 

 able draughtsman : for he must, by no means, pass 

 over the noble castles and seats, the extensive and 

 picturesque lakes and water-falls, and the lofty, 

 stupendous mountains, so little known, and so en- 

 gaging to the imagination, when described and ex- 



* Ireland even still remains comparatively unexplored, except 

 in its botanical productions. The scolopax sabini, a new species 

 of snipe, was, I may say, accidentally discovered there, about 

 three years since, of which specimens have been subsequently 

 got, confirming the identity of the species ; and we have every 

 reason to expect some novelties, particularly in ichthyology and 

 entomology. Ledum palustre and papaver nudicale, are among 

 the late botanical discoveries. W. J. 



