140 DIVERSIONS OF A NATURALIST 



absolutely no evidence to support this. Max Muller 

 supposes that Hibernicus became " Hiberniculus," and 

 then dropping the first syllable became " Berniculus," 

 and that this word was applied to the " Irish goose." It 

 might have been, but there is nothing to show that it 

 was. Meanwhile the ship's barnacle and other sea-shells 

 were called in the Celtic tongue " barnagh," " berniche," 

 or " bernak," and the hermit-crab is still called on the 

 Breton coast, " Bernard Thermite," a modification of 

 " bernak Thermite." There is no doubt that the word 

 " barnacle " as applied to the stalked shell -fish grow- 

 ing on ships' bottoms is a diminutive of the Celtic 

 word " bernak," or " barnak." It became in Latin 

 " barnacus," and then the diminutive " barnaculus," and 

 so " barnacle " was used for the little stalked shell- 

 fish encrusting old timber. According to Max Muller, 

 later generations thus found the two animals, goose and 

 shell-fish, called by the same name, " bernikle," or 

 "barnacle." "Why?" they would ask: and then (he 

 supposes) they would compare the two and detect points 

 of resemblance, until at last a very devout and astute 

 monk had the happy thought of declaring that the 

 Hibernian goose was called " berniculus," or " barnak- 

 goose," because it did not breed from eggs as other birds 

 do, but is hatched out of the shell of the shell-fish, also 

 very naturally and rightly called " berniculus," or barnak, 

 as any one may see by carefully examining the fish 

 contained in the shell of the barnacle or little stalked 

 " barnak," which has the complete form of a bird. Since, 

 however, it is not a bird, but a fish in nature and origin, 

 this holy man declared that the " berniculus," or " bar- 

 nacle-goose," may be eaten on fast days. Max Miiller's 

 explanation of the origin of the story is too adventurous 

 in its unsupported assumption that the particular goose 

 associated with the story was peculiarly Irish, or that, 



