NOTES FROM THE WEST OF IRELAND. 189 
pared flax are dyed at a time, usually in a Haliotis-shell, taken 
out and dried, then re-dipped until the proper shade of colour 
sought is obtained, and this operation is patiently repeated again 
and again until a sufficient quantity of threads are dyed. Dr. 
Ed. Schunck (*) also gives an account of the manner in which 
dyeing from shell-fish is still carried on by the natives of Central 
America, the shell employed being Purpura patula 
a species 
closely allied to our own—and the process illustrates the patient 
assiduity of the Indians, each thread being dyed separately. 
The following passage in the Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical His- 
tory of England is interesting, asit points to a knowledge of the 
art of dyeing from shell-fish in our own country :—“ There are 
also shells plentiful enough, and more than enough, from which 
dye of a scarlet color is made ; of which the most beautiful red 
shade never grows pale under any heat of the sun, nor sustains 
any injury by rain, but the older it is the more beautiful it is.” 
Bede died in 735, so this is a very early notice, authentic and 
dated, and genuinely indigenous. No doubt he had read of the 
Tyrian or Roman purple, but we feel pretty certain that in this 
passage he refers to some British process. 
On our return from Roundstone to Dublin we broke our 
journey at Athlone, where we stayed the night. Near the town, 
and along the banks of the Shannon, we did not find much 
worthy of special note—the rejectamenta of the river yielded a 
few common species such as Helix pulchella, H. pygmea, Lim- 
nea truncatula, and Lythinia tentaculata. Early next morning 
we drove to Clonmacnois. Our car was frequently stopped to 
examine the road-side walls and hedgerows, and under some 
heaps of stones we found Helix nemoralis, H. rufescens, and very 
large-sized Bulimus obscurus. On the walls Pupa cylindracea 
and A. upestvis were abundant—the latter unusually fine. In 
the ruins of Clonmacnois, which are very extensive, including 
several churches, two round towers, and a castle, we found very 
(°) Journ. Chen. Soc., Aug., 1880, 
