Report of the Annual Meeting Volume 10 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1841 Excerpt: ...of Wicklow, where it is said to be fast increasing in numbers. Rutty, in his Natural History of the County of Dublin, (1772, ) vol. i. p. 291, remarks that it is "said to have been found in the wood in Lutterel'a Town." In the same work it is observed in vol. i. p. 277, that " a vulgar error has prevailed, mentioned at Jonston's Historia Animalium, that the Dormouse was not found in Ireland," &c.; a sort of description of the animal follows, but by no means proving it to be a Myoxus. Mus minutus cannot be announced as Irish; but a native animal was once described to me which would agree with it; M. sylvaticus and M. Mh.sen I us are both too common over the island. The animal provisionally called Mus hibernicus is now so rare that I have been able to obtain for examination but one specimen, which is insufficient to establish it properly as a distinct species; M. Rattus, though very rare, is stated to occur occasionally in various parts of the island. When the above was in the press, Mr. Eyton published in the Annals of Nat. Hist. (Dec. 1810, p. 290) some valuable remarks on the British Martens, tending to prove that they are in reality but one species. He states that the young animal has the yellow breast attributed to the Pine Marten, and the adult, the white breast of the common " species." 1 had also long since remarked that the yellow colour of the breast gave place to white. This view would satisfactorily explain why the yellow-breasted one--M. Abietum--should appear to be the more common with us, as by far the greater proportion of animals that fall victims to man are those which have not arrived at full maturity. t Canis Lupus, L. Smith, in his History of Kerry (p. 173), states that Wolves were notentirely extirpated in...