360 SUMMER. 



takes possession, and as the rude enclosure is often 

 formed of loose stones, she nestles there, and is, in con- 

 sequence, held in the utmost abhorrence, and killed by 

 both old and young as a meritorious act something 

 grateful to the manes of those whose repose she pro- 

 fanes. The Gaelic name that we have given above, in- 

 deed, means either " stone bird " or "churchyard" bird. 

 Thus the poor wheatear, which is one of the most inof- 

 fensive birds upon the face of the earth, is wantonly 

 destroyed; even when it crosses the stormy ocean of 

 the north to give a little life to the cold desolation of 

 Greenland. 



They think very differently in England, where the 

 birds flock in the end of July, previous to their final 

 departure. A shepherd boy in Scotland considers (at 

 least would have considered) himself both poisoned 

 and polluted if he had tasted the hated bird ; while, 

 when they collect upon the downs in the south of 

 England, they are so much in request, that instances 

 are recorded of a single shepherd capturing a thousand 

 in one day. So much are they relished, too, that 

 they have been sold at the rate of fifteen shillings per 

 dozen ; which, as the weight, feathers and all, is not 

 above three quarters of an ounce, and therefore not 

 above half an ounce of food, is at the rate of two 

 pounds per pound weight. Whether the English ones 

 only collect upon the downs of Sussex, or whether 

 they convene there from all parts of the country is not 

 known ; but they, at all events, fatten upon their 

 march ; and, as Pennant justly observes and explains, 

 by the great quantity of worms that they then find, 

 they are always in best condition when July is a rainy 



