Browne — Ethnography of Bally croy, Co. Mayo. 101 



One social function, going for the sand-eels, ought not to pass 

 without mention ; it is the cause of considerahle gatherings of the 

 young people on the sea-shore on moonlight nights, the ohject 

 being as much the amusement as the sand-eels themselves. The 

 mode of taking these latter is by passing a blunted reaping-hook or a 

 knife through the sand. 



3. Food. — The dietary of the bulk of the people is almost ex- 

 clusively vegetarian. As a rule it consists of potatoes, boxty (or 

 potato-bread), flour-bread, and, to some extent, eggs and milk. A 

 great deal of imported meal and flour is consumed, and tea is now 

 used at nearly every meal, which, as it is made very strong, and 

 drunk in large quantities, is probably responsible for a very large 

 part of the digestive trouble so common among the people. A 

 good deal of Indian-meal stirabout is taken during the summer 

 months. 



Fish, when used, is obtained from Newport or Achill. 

 The people usually take three meals in the day. 



4. Clothing. — The population, as a whole, seems to be well and 

 comfortably clad on public occasions, though many of the poorer 

 people are rather ragged in working attire. The clothing is very 

 largely imported, and quite modem in style ; but a good deal of 

 greyish-coloured and other home-spun is still worn, some of which 

 is of a very high class. The dress worn by the women on working 

 days is still of the old style, a short petticoat of a very bright red, 

 dyed with madder or an aniline dye, a dark bodice, and a small tartan 

 shawl over the shoulders, and a red handkerchief tied under the chin 

 covers the hair. The old-fashioned heavy cloak of dark blue cloth 

 is worn when at work away from home. Of late it has become a 

 common practice among some of the better-to-do farmers to send the 

 wool of their own sheep to the woollen mills at Foxford or to Scotland 

 to be made up for them. A good deal of home-made flannel is worn 

 in shirts, and the blankets too are of local manufacture. The wool 

 for the homespuns is oiled, corded, and spun by the women, and then 

 sent to one of the weavers. The regular charge made by these weavers 

 is threepence a yard for frieze or flannel, fourpence per yard for 

 blanketing. 



Some of the old dyes are still made use of. A yellow is obtained, 

 as in Bofin, from a lichen {Ramalina scopulorum ?) which they gather 

 from the rocks ; a greenish colour is got from the tops of the heather, 

 also a black from some other plant, no specimen of which could be 

 obtained. 



