IBELAND. 201 



my no small delight and admiration), draw straws lengthwise 

 from out the eaves of thatched houses, in order to pull out 

 the flies that were concealed between them, and that in such 

 numbers that they quite defaced the thatch, and gave it a 

 ragged appearance. 



The blue titmouse, or nun, is a great frequenter of houses, 

 and a general devourer. Besides insects, it is very fond of 

 flesh, for it frequently picks bones on dunghills. It is a 

 vast admirer of suet, and haunts butchers' shops. When 

 a boy, I have known twenty in a morning caught with snap 

 mouse-traps, baited with tallow or suet. It will also pick 

 holes in apples left on the ground, and be well entertained 

 with the seeds on the head of a sunflower. The blue, marsh, 

 and great ""titmice will, in yery severe weather, carry away 

 barley and oat-straws from the sides of ricks. 



How the wheat-ear and whin-chat support themselves in 

 winter, cannot be so easily ascertained, since they spend 

 their time on wild heaths and warrens, the former, especially, 

 where there are stone-quarries. Most probable it is, that 

 their maintenance arises from the aurelia of the lepidoptera 

 ordo, which furnish them with a plentiful table in the 

 wilderness. 



LETTER LXIY. 



TO THE SAME. 



SELBORNE, March 9, 1775. 



DEAB, SIK, Some future faunist, a man of fortune, will, I 

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



* 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 ento- 

 mology. Ledum palustre and papaver nudicale, are among the late 

 botanical discoveries. W. J. Since this note was written, a " Natural His- 

 tory of Ireland " has been undertaken by William Thompson, Esq. The 

 first two volumes, which are all yet published (1850), comprise the birds ; 

 and, as far as we can judge by this portion, the work will be a valuable 

 addition to our literature. 



