A DONEGAL NATURALIST OF THE EARLY 17th CENTURY '~To Dr. Molineiaux at his house is Dublin". "DONEGALL THE 9th JUNE 1708". "Sir'', ''Altho I have de:ayed 1writing to you, yet I have not forgot my promise : I thought it .better that the account I :send you should be slow than lame, rather tedious when it comes, than imperfect. I have made dilligant inquiry about Hatts in tl1is Country; Und find, that it is certain (there being no reason ;why the whole C-0untry 1s:hou~d deceive me in an affair of this nature, wherein they can have no interest to teH a lye) that there is a considerable tr&ct of .Land about Donegall wherein there is not one Ratt, tho' Bal]y:sbannon, on the one ihand and Ki:lybegs on the other, the first ten and tl1e fatter 12 miles distant from it, have enough to send Colonies to adjacent Countries. This is the mo!.'e :strange because nonegall is a sea-port town, a:s well as the other two, tho' not near so much frc~ <1uented .by ships, but such as ships come to, even sometimes now, tho formerly ( a~s I am toM) it had greater trude. I have seen one or two ships there, which might easily have left some ratts for breed, for they r.say generally ships have enough of that Cargo to spare. S(J that not-with-standing Donegal is not so much frequented with shipping, .yet there has not been opportunities wanting for ratts to come thither from sbips. for 'tis we:.i known, that in time of the Wars, the Grayhound Man--0f-War, which 1wanted not ratts '\as is probable) ·lay sometimes in the river not above half a mile from Donegall which place they might safe:y ·.goe to from the ship, which is cmstomary to these animals. But it is not only the town of Donegan that is biessed with the absence of these ve:-min, the who-:e parish of Drumholm, and two or three more of the adjacent Parishes, pe~take of the same happiness, tho' they have this in common with otl1er places, that tr.ey are alike pestered with mice. I was, at first, douhtfull whither O!.' no Ba11yshannon and Killybeg:.s had ratts, but now I have got a particular account from Henry Caldwell Esqr., a considerable merchant, who is e:dest son to Sir James Caldwell) that he has damages done him by ratts in his store~house at KGlyibegs, nnd an intelligent person to1d me, that a fo:!.'tnight before this, · r~t· K.illybcgs, he was disturbed all night 1hy ratt.s, and saw several in the morning, .for they iwere so bo1d, that t11ey. ran about ·the bed, 329.
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