THE GREYLAG GOOSE. 153 



year 1865, killed forty Brent, the first shot from a 

 new gun, in Tralee Bay. 



The dimensions of this gun I know it well- 

 are, length of barrel, 1 2 feet ; weight, 300 Ibs. ; 

 charge, three-quarters of a pound of powder, and 

 3f Ibs. of shot. This gentleman also used a very 

 fine double-barrelled punt gun, which eventually 

 burst, blowing away the sides of the punt, and 

 nearly sending its owner to the bottom. The first 

 of these guns described is far the largest ever made, 

 to my knowledge, for wildfowl shooting far too 

 large, in fact, to be of service. 



Colonel Hawker's well-known double gun carried 

 2\ Ibs. of shot. Colonel. Hawker told Mr. Birch 

 Reynardson (who now possesses it) that it cost him 

 ^250 to build, and Mr. Reynardson justly considers 

 it the finest piece of wildfowl artillery in the world. 



THE GREYLAG GOOSE (Anser ferus), the ancestor 

 of our domestic species, is a. rare species in Ireland. 

 I have seen but few in a season, and seldom on the 

 coast. The only records I have of their capture 

 (and they are not many) are nearly all from inland 

 localities. Several Greylag were shot on the Old 

 Head of Kinsale in the winter of 1 880-81. One 

 was killed in December 1878 by the lighthouse 

 keeper. A couple have been obtained in Lord 

 Sligo's demesne at Westport, and they are seen 

 every year in the wild district of Louisburgh, but 

 inland (Lord J. Brown). Mr. Nelligan has a couple 

 that were shot in co. Kerry (date unknown). Two 

 were shot on Achill Island by Mr. Pike, winter 

 1 880-8 1. Three, shot in co. Tipperary, were ex- 

 posed for sale with some Bean Geese in a dealer's 



