Full text of "Quarterly Magazine of the High Wycombe Natural History Society"

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CORYTHORNIS CO ERULEOCEPHALA, (J & j.jv.

THE

(Duartjrlij JElagasiiip

OF THE

MQi) Sisa^comlie liatural M^tovSi ^otittn*

VOL. I.

" HE PRATETH WELL WHO LO^'ETH WELL
BOTH MAN, AXD BIRD, AND BEAST;
HE PRAYETH BEST WHO LOVETH BEST
ALL THINGS BOTH GREAT AND SHALL;
FOB THE DEAR GOD WHO LOVETH US,
HE MADE AND LOVETH ALL."

PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY BY W. BUTLER, CHURCH SQUARE J

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

OEIGINAL ARTICLES.

PAGE.

♦Additions to the Wycombe Flora, 1866-7 65,153

Amongst the Grass (illustrated) 61

Autumn 27

Birds, The, of Cookham and the Neighbourhood ... 123,147,173
Branched Clavarias (illustrated) 81

Chiltern Country, The 18,36,86,131

Clerks of the Weather 106

Folk-Lore 165

Instinct f. Reason 109,129

Introductory Address 3

Large Wood Wasp, The (tW««<m^e<^ 41

Migiation 32

'Mosses 40

Notes on Buckinghamshire Plants 171

November Ramble, A 51

On Fascination 88

* On Incredulity with respect to Geological Facts 54

* On the Destruction of Birds 99,134

* On the Seeds, or Spores, of Fungi (iW««<raie<£) 179

* On the Study of Natural History 6

Ornithological Notes 162

♦Our Ferns 156

* Our Migrants 184

* Pleasures, The, of Moth Hunting 78

Resources 75

Snake, The, and Adder 29

Useful Books 70

Weather, The, in the British Isles 33

What we found 21

Winter Life, The, of a Cuckoo in England 189

Wycombe Birds 68

Wycombe Butterflies : —

i. Our Vanessidae 43

ii. Our Argynnidae Ill

iii. The Red Horns 163

Wycombe Hawkmoths 45

Wycombe Wild Flowers: —

i. The Nightshade Family 11

ii. Our Violets (illustrated) 90

* The Papers marked thus have been read before the Society.

Proceedings of the Society 23,46,69,94,113,137,168,191

* Second Annual Address of the President 115

* Second Annual Report of the Secretary 139

Notices of Books 143

NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE.

PAGE

American Blight, The , , . . 35
Angle Shades Moth, The . . 74

Beech Leaves 48

Birds, The, of Berks and Bucks 1(59

Biu-nham Beeches 194

Butcher's Broom, The ., ..190

Caterpillars 26

Chantarelle, The 50

Clerks of the Weather . . . . 145
Clouded Yellow, The . ..140
Ciu-ious Place for a Bird's Nest 73

Dr, Johnson at Favdt . . . . 26
Duke of Burgundy, The . . . . 145

Edible Fungi 73

Flora of Bucks, The . . . . 169

Funeral of a Bee 49

Future Life of Animals, The . . 74

Good Old Times, The . . . . 122
Green Woodpecker, The . , . . 73

Hawkmoths 50

Hebenon . . . . 48, 72, 98, 121

Hedgehogs 98, 1G9

Humming Bird Moth, The . . 49

Instinct v. Reason 25, 26, 48, 49, 74

PAGE

Is Geology a dry Study f . , . . 26

Land Efts 25

Large Tortoise-shell, The.. .. 72
Late Martins 170

Mai-tins 26

Mezereon, The 194

Moles 49

Morell (illustratecr) 194

On Preserving the Colour of Dried

Flowers 145

Phosphoric Centipede, A . . 146
Plant new to the District . . 25

Reason in Animals 133

Scarcity of Common Lepidop-

tera 170, 193

Sea Currents 17

Small Elephant Hawkmoth, The 74
Stoat, The 170

Uses of Animals 47

Water Crowfoot 194

Wheatear, The .... 146, 169
■\Vhiteflowered Wood Violet . . 25
White Sand Martin 146

QUAKTERLY MAGAZINE

OF THE

NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

jxjL"^", isee.

ADDRESS.

A CCEDIXG to the expressed •wishes of many lovers of Natiire, the above
Society has resolved on issuing a periodical. As in the case of old
John Bunyan's book, there -will doubtless be many varied opinions concerning
its venturing to do so. But if any apology be needed, we can only state
that our simple desire is to spread abroad a knowledge of the things which
lie around us, and to increase that love for such things which dwells
naturally in the human breast. The district around High Wycombe is one
peculiarly rich in natural treasures, both botanical and zoologicjd, and at the
same time is one which has been but very cursorily examined. There are
flowering plants to be found in our woods, of sufficient rarity to induce bot-
anists to make a journey from London to see them in bloom ; there are
many animals in the ^-icinity which inhabit but a few favoured spots in the
island : the geology, if not of very varied aspect, is still highly interesting,
many curious fossils having been obtained here, while the scenery in the
vaUey is especially tranqiiil and soothing. To the numerous objects in these
dififerent branches of study we desire to draw attention, and also to spread
any information in owe power concerning them. In each number we hope to
give two or three original articles on our local Fauna and Flora, to notice the
progress of the study of Nat\u:al History generally, and by means of a page

or two for Notes and Queries, to afford an opportunity to all who desire it,
of asking for, and receiv-ing information. All notices of the appearances of
migratory birds, and hybemating animals, of the occurrence of rare and un-
common plants, will be thankfully received and inserted ; we hope to make
the work a reliable natm-al history of the neighboui-hood, and to this end we
ask all and everybody to contribute their quota, remembering that nothing
is too trivial to notice, there is no telling what missmg link in the chain it
may prove to be : all that is necessary is a plain, truthful mamier of telUiig
it, omitting all romance, and never allowing imagination to supply the place
of fact. For the science is peculiarly an inductive one ; conclusions must
not be dra^^"n from one or two observations ; if they are, we shall in all
probability have to cancel them ; patience and personal observation, however,
will prevent tliis.

Should the Magazme meet -with a favourable reception, we hope to issue
it oftener than its present title would imply, and also to increase its size :
for the present we must leave it to stand or fall on its own toerits.

m m mk ^ i»*«»'»l ii^toyy.

A PAPER READ AT THE ANNUAL CONVERSAZIONE OF THE
SOCIETY IN APRIL LAST, BY THE SECRETARY.

" God fulfils Himself in many ways."
HE study of Natural History may be looked at from two
points of view ; we may regard it either as affording pleasure
to the senses and gratification to the mind ; or as tending to be
practically useful in the economy of our Hves. It is now closely
foUowed up by the holders of each of these views, and none of
either class have ever repented the study. Nature herself is so
infinite and varied in aU her productions, that though she has had
disciples ever since man appeared on the earth, she retains, even
now, after the lapse of thousands of years, the same freshening
influence, the same charm hanging about her works, which acts
with such an irresistible force upon the neophyte, and urges him
to travel onwards. It is not my intention now to refer at all to
the advantages derived from the study by those holding the
second view ; we are assembled here as we have been at other
times, simply from a love of Nature, with a desire so to look upon
created works, that we may find "life and food for future years."
To many I may say nothing new ; to some I may probably be
able to place some old facts or thoughts in a new light ; but I
shaU be amply repaid if I succeed in making only one more eager
in his or her pursuits in the woods and fields— more desirous of
following out thoroughly that which at present is taken up only
in a desultory manner.

6 ON THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY.

I believe the love of created works to be inherent in the human
mind — that it is not so much an acquired love as one that wUl
spring up involuntarily ; we have it in us naturally ; it may lie a
long time dormant, but when some flower of spring, or animated
"thing of beauty" shall appear, at a moment perhaps when the
heart is peculiarly open to its influence, it will implant itself in
our memories, and become a "joy for ever." Few indeed are
they, who, having once set foot within the porches of the great
palace of nature turn round and retrace their steps. And the
farther they advance the greater is their wonder and delight —
the more keen is their sense of enjoj-ment. When LiNNiEus, after
years of study, came to England, and for the first time in his life
saw the yellow gorse in flower, he fell on his knees, and thanked
God for the sight. No one can understand this who has not dis-
covered a rare plant or seen some beautiful animal for the first
time, that he has long wished to find.

Just as in childhood, as the years — nay, as the weeks — roU by,
we make fresh discoveries in the world around us, feel ourselves
growing wiser — feel an expansive power at work within us, pro-
duced by the very objects which that power enables us ta apprer
ciate — so do we, in maturer years, among the domains of nature,
feel sources of new pleasxires ever opening to us, and we make
continually new discoveries. The things which delighted us in
childhood, yield us little delight in manhood— then

" Earth, and every common sight,

To us did seem
Apparelled in celestial light,
The glory and the freshness of a dream."

But a sort of wearisome familiarity began to cling to them,

" Shades of the prison-house begin to close

Upon the growing boy.
But he beholds the light, and whence it flows,

He sees it in his joy ;
The youth who daily from the East
Must travel, still is nature's priest,

And by the \'ision splendid

Is on his way attended ;
At length the mun perceives it die away,
And fade into the light of common day."

So, says the poet, is it with the ordinary experiences of life. If

it could be shown then, that there was any one subject of study,

which, beyond all others, and with less trouble, coiild afford us a

ON THE STTIDY OF NATtTRAl HISTOKT. 7

never-ending experience otnew pleasures— pleasures, •which should
not pall our satiated appetites, which have the very least alloy of
disappointment in them, is it not worth while to pay a little atten-
tion to it? I may be said to be exaggerating, to be enthusiastic in
my own mode of recreation; but I appeal to all naturalists to bear
me out in what I have said, and I confidently leave it to the ex-
perience of others.

The subject is one, not so much for the Library and the study,
as for the theatre of Creation itseK — you wUl bear in mind the
view with which I am now regarding it — we shall learn most by
personal examination, and what we so learn we shall seldom
forget.

Nature probably is most fascinating, subjectively, in the season
of youth, the mind being then most capable of pure enjoyment,
for its own sake ; all things then wear a fairy garb ; it was then,
says Wordsworth, that

" The sounding cataract
Haunted me like a passion : the tall rock,
The mountain, and the deep and gloomy wood,
Their colours and their forms, were then to me
An appetite ; a feeling and a love
That had no need of a remoter charm
By thought supplied, or any interest
"Unborrowed from the eye."

And as riper years steal upon us the same love retains its hold,

but there is a change in the mode of regarding it ; we, Hke the

poet, learn

" To look on Xature, not as in the hour

Of thoughtless youth, but hearing oftentimes

The still, sad music of humanity,

Not harsh nor grating, though of ample power

To chasten and subdue. And we have felt

A presence that disturbs us with the joy

Of elevated thoughts ; a sense sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,

And the round ocean, and the living air.

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man :

A motion and a spirit that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

And rolls through aU. things."

To come to something practical: let us draw a comparison

between a lover of nature and one who thinks nothing of her.

Take the case of a simple ramble through the fields : most people

are in the habit of "doing a constitutional" occasionally. This

8 ox THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY.

walk is very often quite aimless, and is only undertaken as a
matter of duty, out of regard to one's liealtli. A man takes a
certain number of steps every day ; lie feels a sort of satisfaction
after it, and goes to his work again until the time returns for its
repetition. All well and good perhaps, but I ask, is it not also
our duty to keep our minds in health, as well as our bodies ? The
above individual grows no richer, mentally, for his labour. How
different fi-om the case of another, who tells you he never comes
home from a ramble without having discovered something fresh :
he goes out to escape from his daily routine of business ; he knows
that nothing rests the mind so much as change, and that when it
is thoroughly wearied out by continued concentration on one sub-
ject, it is better to occupy it with another than to suffer it to be
idle. And therefore in his wallc he notices the flower and the
animal, their habitats, and their times of appearing; ho discovers,
without the aid of books, that there is "a time for everything" —
a set time, and that in the beautiful regularity which pervades
nature, nothing appears out of time or order ; the caterpillar is
not hatched before its food-jilant is putting forth its leaves ; the
butterfly and the bat do not wake from their winter's sleep when
there is nothing for them to eat ; everything is arranged. He
notices, with scarcely an effort, tlie peculiarities of the beasts of
the field, and the birds of the air ; he discovers the marvellous con-
nection between one species and another, between one family and
another, and the dependence of aU upon the Creator, so that

" The whole rotind earth is every way
Bound by gold chains about the feet of God."

In the Spring his eyes first see the swallow, his ears are fu-st
greeted by the cuckoo, he is gratified by the bursting forth of the
vegetation into the most lovely green ; in the Autumn, while tints
stiU more lovely objectively, array themselves before him, his de-
light is tempered with sober thoughts of the great change which
is one day to be wrought in himself. In Summer he beholds the
triumphant reign of all living things, and in Winter— generally
thought to be dull and cheerless in the country, — he knows where
to find the squirrel and the dormouse snugly domiciled ; he can
find )-ou the chi-ysaHs of many a moth and butterfly marvellously

ON THE STUDY OF NATUKAI. HISTORY. 9

entombed in the earth, or slung in a hammock ; he can shov/ you
luxuriant beds of mosses— those children of the winter that flourish
when all around is asleep; And even if he could not sliotc you
aU this, think what marveUous stores of information he has laid
up, thJt shaU afford him food for thought when he is lonely, or
from which he can draw fairy lore to wile away the winter evening;
what tales he can tell you of the wonderful things he saw in the
summer— how he found the boat of eggs floating about in the
pond, so curiously and perfectly formed by the gnat, that it could
not be upset -a veritable Ufe-boat ; again, how he drew from the
water a thing monstrously strange, armed mth jaws that could
unfold themselves upon its prey while yet afar off, how with un-
relenting stedfastness it destroyed and devoured the other in-
habitants, and after a few months of such enjoyment it climbed
up a tall reed, and sphtting itself down the back, took unto itself
wings and flew off to continue its carnage among the inhabitants
of air. Or our naturalist may give you more pleasing accounts of
the nests of the wren and titmouse, the beautiful spotted eggs of
the thrush, and the pearly eggs of the azure halcyon -how one
bird assaUed him with a torrent of abuse as he approached her
ofifepring, and another suffered liim to lay hold of her, sooner
than she would forsake her nest : again, of the banks of flowers
upon which he lay and pondered— the bed of happy violets, the
golden cowslips, the "jocund company" of daffodils, the delicate
wood son-el, the wind flower ; he teUs you how he saw the faee of
wintry nature turned into a perfect paradise of lovehness, and says
" Though ahsent long

These forms of beauty have not been to me

As is a landscape to a blind man's eye ;

But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din

Of to-sras and cities, I have owed to them,

In hours of weariness, sensations sweet."

These are the stores upon which the lover of nature can draw.

The poets of nature have been many, and I must not take up
your time in quoting what is most likely familiar to you. I have
tried to show what a charm there is around us if we like to ex-
perience it— what an infinite variety there is for the mind to study.
It is this infinite variety which gives the superiority to Natural
History as a means of recreation : there is no fear of exhausting

10 ON THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY.

the subject. Alexander the Great was sorely distressed when he
had conquered aU there was to conquer ; but it cannot be so with
Tis, Creation knows no- limit. I remember reading in some "wild
dream of a German poet" that a human being was conducted
over the imiverse to view God's worlds, and that after sweeping
past innumerable orbs, — planets, satellites, and comets, the
mind of the man sank into itself, and shuddered with the over-
powering effects, begging to be shown no more. If it were so
with the thought of the infinity of worlds, what would it be, could
he have but a dim comprehension of the infinitude of infinities
that exists in each separate world.

Here then is provided for our delectation a goodly storehouse
of knowledge ; volumes upon volumes He open before us ; take
them up and reverently turn over the leaves, they make up the
Book of GOD. i i ^ a. >;

Not only is the past history of each being written in every
particle of which its material frame is constructed, but the
past records of the universe to which it belongs, and a prediction
of its future. God can make no one thing that is not universal in
its teachings if we would be so taught ; if not, the fault is with
the pupils, not with the Teacher. He writes His everliving
words in all the works of His hand ; He spreads this ample book
before us always ready to teach if we will only learn. "VVe walk
in the midst of miracles with closed eyes and stopped ears, dazzled
and bewildered vrith. the Light, fearful and distrustful of the
Word ! It is not enough to accumulate facts as misers gather
coins, and then to put them away on oiir bookshelves, guarded by
the bars and bolts of technical j>hraseology. As coins, the facts
must be circulated, and given to the public for their use. It is no
matter of wonder that the generality of readers recoil from works
on the natural sciences, and look upon them as mere collections
of tedious names, irksome to read, ^unmanageable of utterance,
and impossible to remember. Oui*8cientific libraries are fiUed with
facts, dead, hard, dry, and material as the fossil bones that fill
the sealed and cavemed libraries of the past. But true science
will breathe life into that dead mass, and fill the study of Zoology
with poetry and spirit. — Eev. J. G. Wood.

^X^cmht mm 3mvm.

I.— THE NIGHTSHADE FAMILY {Solanacece).

^^ IT came to passe that three boyes of Wisbich in the He of
-*- Ely did eate of the pleasant and beautiful fruit hereof, two
whereof died in lesse than eight houres after that they had eaten
of them. The third child had a quantitie of hony and water
mixed together given him to drinke, causing him to vomit often :
God blessed this meanes and the child recovered."

The "Thi'ee Boyes of "Wisbich" — especially the Two who died —
seem to us worthy of exaltation to the very highest pinnacle of
the Temple of Shocking Examples erected by the nurses of Great
Britain for the benefit and warning of those under their care.
Children, we are all aware, have in them from birth almost, a
predilection for testing the quality of every object which they see
around them, by selecting a small portion thereof for immediate
consumption. Shem, Ham, and Japhet, ■with their wives and
cattle (we allude to their representatives in the " Noah's Arks "
of infancy), are all very well while what we may term the suck-
ing stage of childhood lasts : but when the gnawing epoch suc-
ceeds, accompanied by the acquirement of the rudiments of
walking, a wider sphere opens before the young and inquiring
mind J out-door objects — earwigs and ants, for example — are
devoured with relish, and herbs of various properties serve as
sauce. A nursemaid in herself is powerless to prevent this : but
arm her for the occasion with the tragical tale of the Three, and
the horrible fate of the Two "Boyes of Wisbich;" let her be
taught to narrate it in simple, but forcible language ; and the
infantile imagination must shudder at the scene presented to it,
and the varied diet may be desisted from.

Does this seem a strange way of beginning a paper upon
Wycombe Wild Flowers ? Let us then, without further delay,
proceed to our subject, to which the above is not wholly
c

12 WYCOMBE WILD FLOWERS.

irrelevant, leaving, for the present, conjectures (in wluch we
confess we feel great interest) as to why the "meanes" which
were blessed to the recovery of the third chUd, were not at least
tried upon the other two.

Our readers' cui'iosity must be — or at any rate ought to be — by
this time excited as to the name of the plant, the "pleasant and
beautiful fruit " of which brought such fatal consequences to the
youthful Wisbichians. Quaint old Gerarde, who is our authority
for the above statement, tells us that it was Dwale, or Deadly
Nightshade, and advises his readers to banish it from their
gardens, or from any place near their houses, "being a plant so
furious and deadly." It belongs to the order Solanace^ — the
Nightshade Family, to the few British representatives of which
— all of them wild flowers of the "Wycombe district — we would
now direct attention.

The Deadly Nightshade rejoices in the Latin name of Atropa
Belladonna, but is perhaps usually known by that of Belladonna
only, which we should anglicise as "Beautiful Lady;" given to
it from the fact that it is used as a cosmetic by Italian dames.
The name Atropa refers very strongly to the fatal properties of
the plant, Atropos being the mystic Fate whose office it was to sever
the thread of life. Its English names also point to the poisonous
nature of this species: they are — Deadly, or Sleepy, Night-
shade ; Dwale — a word which is a corruption of the French word
dcuil, moiUTiing — to which is frequently added the prefix Deadly;
Hogsbean — a name which is also applied to the Henbane; — and
Dwayberries.

The Deadly Nightshade is a very large and handsome plant,
from three to eight feet high, and very shrubby ; the stems are
often thicker than an ordinary walking-stick ; the leaves are
large and smooth, of a somewhat dark green, egg-shaped, pointed,
and uncut. The flowers are also somewhat handsome, the
calyces being green, and the corollas lurid purple ; the latter are
very numerous, growing singly, or occasionally in pairs, upon
rather long stalks ; and are pendulous, bell-shaped, and mono-
petalous, i.e., one-petalled, all in one piece; each containing five
white stamens, and one pistil. But it is in fruit that our Bella-

■VTYCOMBE 'WTLD FTiOWERS. 13

donna appears most to advantage, when each, blossom, is succeeded
by a lustrous purplish-black berry as large as a cherry, the juice
of which gives a briUiant and permanent purple dye to paper ;
and the slender boughs bend to the earth with their beautiful but
deadly freight. Each berry contains a great number of small
black seeds, and is seated on the five-pointed calyx, which re-
mains after the coroUa has fallen ofi". "We may here remark that
the corolla is that part of the blossom which is usually coloured,
and which is commonly called the flower; the calyx is the cup in
which the coroUa is placed, and is usually green. In some plants,
as in the Buttercup, the calyx falls ofi" as the coroUa expands : but
in others, as in our Deadly Nightshade, it is persistent, remaining
even when the fruit is matured.

Many suppose that it is to the Belladonna that Shakespeare
alludes, when he says,

" Have we eaten of the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner ? " »

and this supposition is borne out by the old authors, who tell us
that " this kind of Nightshade trouhleth the minde, Iringeth mad-
nesse if a few of the berries be inwardly taken, but if moe be given
they also kiU and bring present death." Nevertheless, when
judiciously employed, Belladonna is a valuable remedy in many
diseases, especially in such as affect the eye.

The Deadly Nightshade is a rare plant of chalky districts, and
is also found among ruins : in some places it is very abundant, as
about the ruins of Furness Abbey, whence that neighbourhood is
said by "Withering to have obtained the name of " Vale of Night-
shade." Our own district produces it in several localities : it
grows in profusion among the undergrowth in the little wooded
patch which faces the middle lodge in "Wycombe Park, and was
formerly foimd on Keep Hill, as well as in a small wood above
Hedge Mill, near Loudwater. A fine specimen grows in the
Hughenden woods ; and in the woodlands near Marlow and
Medmenham it is of frequent occurrence, being especially luxuri-
ant in some parts of Bisham "Wood, Berks. The blossoms expand
in June and July, and the berries are in perfection during Sep-
tember and October.

14 ■WTCOMBE "WILD FL0"W1ERS.

The Henbane, oi* Hogsbean {Htjoscyamus niger), shares the

poisonous properties of the Deadly Nightshade in a very marked

manner : its English name would point to its ill effects upon

birds and nearly all living beings are susceptible of its influence.

Shakespeare speaks of the "juice of cursed Hebenon," (not un-

fi-equently rendered " Ebony ! ")

"Whose effect
Holds such an enmity with blood of man
That, swift as quicksilver, it courses through
The natiiral gates and alleys of the body ;
And, with a sudden vigour, it doth posset
And curd, like eager di-oppings into milk,
The thin and wholesome blood."

And Gerarde tells us that " the leaves, seed, and juyce taken in-
wai-dly, cause an unquiet sleepe like unto the sleep of drunken-
nesse, ^vhich continue th long, and is deadly to the party." Like
the Deadly Nightshade, however, Henbane is a valuable plant in
medicine, -when used with judgment and care. The following
anecdote, for the accuracy of minute particulars of which we can-
not vouch, but the main facts of which are to be foxmd in various
works, ehow the striking effects produced by Henbane when
taken unintentionally in large quantities.

The Abbot of Jenesaisquoi had presented to his brother of
Ehinon a salad, which was all that a salad should be — hot and
strong, and plenty of it ; little wotting, good man ! that the lay-
brother to whom the gathering of the herbs was entrusted had,
with a lamentable ignorance of Botany, substituted the root of
the Henbane for that of the bitter, but innoxious Chicory. At
collation, full justice was done to the salad : its flavour was
piquant and savoury withal. The monks went to bed, and slept
heavily : when Brother Ambrose rang the bell for Prime, they
thought that the time for that office had come roimd apace. But
worse took place when they had somehow or other assembled
themselves in chapel: the prior and chanters vied with each other
in singing ridiculous nonsense : Brother Cyprian was with
difficulty restrained from violently assaulting Brother Patrick,
while the characters in Brother Gregory's book took unto them-
selves the form of flies, and kept the worthy soul fully employed
in attempting to brush them off. Brother Maurus was absent

WYCOMBE "WTXD PLOVERS. 15

altogether, and was found fast asleep in a corner of his cell,
emitting such, groans the while, that extreme unction vrould have
been administered forthwith, had any brother been steady enough
to perform the service. But the worst case of aU was that of
poor Lay-brother Francis, the tailor in ordinary to the monastery,
who saw three needles when he should have seen but one, and
occupied his time for more than a week in endeavouring to thread
the two imaginary ones ; during which time we can readily con-
ceive that the robes of the Brotherhood got somewhat out of repair.
However, we are told that the holy men aU recovered, each,
doubtless, resolving to be cautious ere he tasted a salad, the
composition of which was unknown to him. And from this tal©
we may deduce a moral — Don't eat of made dishes unless you
know what's in them.

Henbane may be recognised, when seen, by its somewhat
large, pale green leaves, which are usually much cut, and being
viscid, support a large quantity of dust: the whole plant is
extremely clammy and downy, emitting a peculiar and offensive
smell. The woody stem, which in fine specimens is much
branched, varies in height from one to two feet, but is frequently
shorter. The calyces are large, becoming upright after the fall-
ing off of the corollas : they are composed of strong fibres, and
may usually be noticed in gi'oups of " skeleton flowers." The
monopetalous corollas are somewhat bell-shaped: those which
first appear seem quite embedded in the topmost leaves, but as
the stem elongates, we observe that they are really seated on
short stalks in the axils of the leaves — i.e., where these join the
stem. They are of a pale straw-colour, or brownish yeUow,
exquisitely veined with lurid purple, which hue also tinges deeply
the centre of each. There are five stamens and one pistil ; the
seeds are black and very numerous, of about the size of a mustard-
seed. The Henbane has a great partiality for waste ground, and
may usually be seen springing up where a portion of woodland
has been cleared : in newly made gardens it is sometimes a trouble-
some weed. Preferring a chalky soil, it is seldom to be found
in the same place for two successive seasons : we know but one
permanent locality for it near Wycombe— about the rubbish heaps

i6 "WTCOMBE ■WILD FLOWERS.

on Totteridge Common, where it has held its ground for many
years, and grows to a large size. On waste ground and rubbish
heaps it has been seen in aU parts of the district — Great Marlow,
Little Marlow, Bourne End, Cookham (Berks), Wycombe Marsh,
Downley, Bradenham, Bledlow Eidge, &c. ; and each year it is
observed in some fresh locality. Last season, the Henbane was
pai'ticulavly fine and abundant in the large pit at Littleworth,
near Downley. The blossoms expand from May till September.

Our two remaining British Nightshades belong to the genus
Solanum, from which the order takes its name. To mention all
the useful and ornamental species of Solanum would take up too
much space, but before proceeding to the description of the two
indigenoiis ones, we may briefly draw attention to one or two
which are especially noticeable. First among these comes the
Potato (S. tuberosum), one of the discoveries of unfortunate Sir
"Water Ealeigh ; how would he stare, could he behold the mani-
fold varieties of his Peruvian protege now cultivated in this
coimtry ! The Tomato or Love-apple {S. lycopersicum), loved of
goiu-mands, comes from Mexico and other countries ; the curious
Egg-plant {S. esculentum), too, is a member of this genus ; and so
is the Apjile of Sodom {S. Sodomeum). Besides these, the number
and variety of Nightshades now cultivated in what are termed
*' sub-tropical gardens," would baffle the description of any but
their cultivators.

Our own British species are the Bittersweet, or Woody (mis-
called Deadly) Nightshade {S. dulcamara), and the Black, or
Garden Nightshade {S. nigrum). The former of these needs no
description : any one who cares to know what Woody Nightshade
blossoms are like, is requested to go to the nearest potato patch,
and gather a bunch of potato-flowers, which Woody Nightshade
blossoms resemble as closely as anything small can resemble any-
thing large. The aforesaid " any one " will have no difficulty in
finding S. dulcamara ; its long branches creep up nearly every
hedge, or trail along by rubbish heaps and waste ground. It is
most conspicuous in the late autumn and winter, when the
flowers are succeeded by clusters of bright scarlet berries, beau-
tiful but dangerous. The Garden Nightshade is much less

TTTCOMBE -WTLD FLOWEES. tf

common, occurring as a weed in gardens at Wycombe and Gkeat
Mariow, and also on waste ground in the latter locality. It is a
shrubby plant, usually of small size, with white potato-like blos-
soms, which are succeeded by black berries, and entire, some^
times toothed leaves, and is altogether insignificant in appearance.
In a dried state (hear it! herbarium makers!) its appearance
is miserable in the extreme. It shares the poisonous properties
of S. dulcamara ; and its flowers expand from July to September.

The following useful or interesting plants also belong to the
Solanacem : the "Winter Cherry {Physalis Alkeheng), a pretty gar-
den plant which seems to have gone out of fashion ; Capsicum
annuum, from which Cayenne pepper is obtained ; the Mandrake
{Mandragora officinanim), which our ancestors fabled as shrieking
when pulled from the gpround; the Thorn-apple {Datura Stra-
monium), with large white trumpet-shaped blossoms, and thorned
seed-vessels, occasionally found on rubbish heaps ; and the two
species of Tobacco-plant {Nicotiana virginica and If. rustica), the
leaves of which, in conjunction with those furnished by the
delightful, though himible. Dock, and the Cabbage-fields of the
Metropolis supply the sterner sex — and occasionally, it is said,
the tceaTcer one — with the means of "making chimneys of their
mouths."

In this age of sensation, we fear that our article may have

proved somewhat "slow." We regret, but cannot obviate, the

fact. Let us conclude, then, by presenting as a peace-offering to

the Genius of Sensationalism, the name of Solanum anthropopJia^

gorum, which was exhibited at a recent meeting in London, as

"the plant eaten with man-meat by the Fijis!"

James Beitten".

Sea-ctjreents. — How much solid matter does the whole host of
marine plants and animals abstract from sea water daily ? Is it
a thousand pounds, or a thousand millions of tons ? No one can
say. But, whatever be its weight, it is so much of the power
of gi-avity applied to the dynamical forces of the ocean. And this
power is derived from the salts of the sea, through the agency of
sea-sheUs and marine animals, that of themselves scarcely possess
the power of locomotion. Yet they have power to put the
whole sea in motion, from the equator to the poles, and firom top
to bottom. — Matjet.

Ette milium (KoMntrjj.

WE tear often of the " Chiltern Hills," and the "Chiltern
Hundreds," occasionally of the " Chiltern Forest," but little
seems to be known of the name, its origin, or meaning. The
following sketch is written in the hope of throwing some light
on the early history of the tract of country represented by these
names, whose hills and dales are so familiar to the members of
our society through our numerous pleasant excursions.

The " Chiltern Hills" are usually taken to mean the ridge of
lofty hills which separate South Buckinghamshire from the Vale
of Aylesbury; but the name of Chiltern properly applies to the
whole of the hUly district of which the Chiltern hundreds, of
political celebrity, form a portion. This district is called in the most
ancient records by the simple name of Ciltern or Chiltern, and in
later times, the Chiltern forest. Physically it may be defined as
the tract of table land, broken tip by numerous valleys and
coombs, and marked by lofty peaks which serve as landmarks for
many miles round — which stands up in bold relief between the
vales of the Thame and bf the Thames. This tract was covered
by an almost impassable forest of beech woods, from which it
acquired its ancient name; for the element CIL is common to
all primitive European languages, and universally signifies in
geography country that is or formerly was thickly wooded; and
has found its way in more modern times back into our own
language, from the Latin, in the word " sylvan."*

The name of Chiltern was bestowed upon the forest by its
earliest inhabitants, the Celts ; and a considerable portion of the
names of the natural creatures of the district are Celtic, though in
a Saxonisod form. Such are the names of the springs and streams ;
the names of several hiUs — Penn, Coles-hill, Knaphill, Keep-hill,

• The Cil is softened in Anglo-Saxon into Chil by a process peculiar to
tbe latter tongue. The element is traceable in many names in Italy, Spain,
Germany, Bohemia, France, and Greece — wherever, in short, the Celtic
tribes made permanent settlements.

THE CHILTEEIf COTJUTRY. 19

Haveringdon-hill ("West Wycombe), &c. All these the Saxons
must have fotmd in use, and incorporated into their own language,
like many elements in common names. The district is described
by the name of Ciltem in the earliest known division of Saxon
England, given by Camden (Magna Britannia, in Jansson's Novus
Atlas, vol. 4, p. 65), on the authority of the celebrated jurist
Francis Tate. This singular list probably dates not many
years posterior to the Saxon invasion; and -the precise meaning
of the several strange names by which the divisions are de-
nominated is not yet determined by antiquaries; but we find
among them plainly and unmistakeably that of Ciltcrn-setna,
which is stated to contain seven thousand hides.* Here, then,
we have the earliest documentary evidence of the name. Probably
the whole of the district now called Buckinghamshire was in-
cluded in it; and no one will deny that for harmony, propriety,
and convenience, the ancient name is to be preferred before the
modem, or its vulgar abbreviation into Bucks.

But how came the old name to be cast out? What reason
induced the siirveyors who settled the county boundaries and
fixed the county names by order of Alfred the Great, to exchange
the ancient and significant name of Chiltem for one borrowed
from a little town in a remote corner of the district? The reason
is, that the Chiltem forest was of little political importance — it
had no towns or villages to speak of till a long time after the
neighbouring vales had become thoroughly populated. And such
importance as it possessed, was rather of a negative than a
positive kind ; for after the Danish invasions had ceased it was
in the worst possible reputation as the stronghold and hiding-
place of innumerable thieves, murderers, and scoundrels of all sorts.
Thither retired all the vagabonds whom the peace threw out of
employment — the discontented and disaflfected — who together with
the numerous original members of the most ancient trading
company in the world, the freebooters, acquired for the name
of the ChUtem forest an odour which was many centuries

* The list only includes the cis-Humbiian part of the island, which is
divided into thirty-four districts, the largest, Wessex, containing 100,000
hides, and the three smallest only 300 hides apiece. The only names besides
Chiltem which I can identify with existing di-visions are those of Kent,
Essex, Sussex, and the Isle of "Wight.
D

20r THE CHILTERN COTINTEY,

lingering about it. So late as the time of Queen Elizabeth

Drayton could wi-ite, in his Polyolbion —

" Here (in the Chiltern hills) if you beat a bush, 'tis odds you start a thief."

The ancient office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, though
useful for political purposes, is now of the smallest possible im-
portance to the Chilterners themselves. The original steward
was some valiant knight — some sturdy cavalier who willingly
resio'ned the glorious career of a soldier abroad for the less
honourable but more useful life of a poHceman at home; whose
duty it was to jirotect peaceful citizens who had occasion to
journey through its recesses, and to keep in check the marauding
villains who infested it. He and his myrmidons, however, seem
to have made little head against the nuisance. The Abbot of St.
Albans was at last obliged to take the matter in hand, for the
security of travellers to and from his Abbey. First, he i^roceeded
to cut down as much of the forest as possible — more, I imagine,
in his own vicinity than in South Buckinghamshire; then to
make convenient roads, and then to hand over one of his manors to
two stout soldiers (I forget their names), to be possessed by them
on condition of their assisting the Steward of the Hundreds in
his exertions to preserve the peace of the neighbourhood.*

Such is the story as you read it in the "Lives of the Twenty -three
Abbots,'^ by Matthew Paris. There is abundant confirmation of
the main facts which the old chronicler relates of the Chiltern
district from other sources ; but I am a little sceptical as to the
additional inhabitants whom he avers to have shared the posses-
sion of the forest with the marauding parties aforesaid — namely,
wolves, boars, and wild boars, whom these feudal police were
also bound, as far as possible, to exterminate. So late as 1368,
wo find a tenure in the Five Eolls for the destruction of " wolves
foxes, martrons, cats, and other vermin " in the county of Buck-
ingham; but it is probable that wolves had been extinct long
before that period, in this portion of the island. A wild boar,
I believe, was hunted and killed near Ponn as late as the last
century; but I am not ablo to give any authentic particulars.

E. J. Payne.
{To be continued.)

• The abbot was Lcofstan ; the knights (there ■\\-erc three instead of two),
Thiirnoth, Waldcr, and Thurnian; and the manor, Flamstead, in Herts.
William the Conqueror took it away from them, and gave it to one of his
own adventiirers.

mat vet iomL

IF we ■wisli to convince ourselves of the infinite varietj-- which,
nature so lavishly spreads before us, we cannot do better
than narrowly examine, at the various seasons of the year, one
locality, easily "come-at-able," and of definite limits ; we shaU
be astonished at finding how many species of Flowering Plants
alone may be gathered in a comparatively small area. Most of
our readers know the straight piece of road, about two and a half
miles in length, which extends from High to West "Wycombe.
On the right hand side is a hedge, high in some parts, and very
dusty ; on the left, a lower hedge, between which and the road
is a narrow grassy patch. While walking along this road on the
11th of June last, it occurred to iis to gather a specimen of each
plant then in blossom on the right hand side of the road alone ;
and on arriving at West Wycombe we found that our bouquet
numbered fifty-eight species! Besides these, there was at least
an equal number, the blossoms of which had either not yet ex-
panded, or had already withered ; and we do not in the least
exaggerate, when we state that one hundred and twenty species
of British plants flower, at different times of the year, in this
dusty hedge, all widely varying one from the other in manj^ im-
portant particulars. The number on the other side of the road
would doubtless have been far greater. The railway, on one
side, which produces the rarer species of Salad Burnet (Poterium
muricatuni) and the Woad {Isatis tinctoria), has its own distinct
class of plants; and so has the river, on the other side of the road:
all of them interesting, many of them beautiful, some of them
rare. We may mention that among the fifty-eight species
gathered were the Long-stalked Crane's-bill {Geranium colum-
linum) and Buxbaum's Speedwell ( Veronica Buxhaumii), neither
of them common, and that the Yellow Stonecrop {Sedum acre)

22 WHAT "WE FOUND.

appears truly wild at the foot of tlie hedge between Bird-in-hand
and West Wycombe station. Let none, therefore, imagine that
they need go far afield to increase their botanical lore : they will
learn more from the careful examination of the plants on a single
acre of ground, than they will by scampering hastily over
miles of country in search of rarities. To such of our Wycombe
friends as desire to commence studying our Wild Flowers for
themselves, we would say — Go to Hollow Lane at least once a
week for a year; bring home specimens of every plant, common
or rare, which you may perceive : count them up, study them,
watch them expand, you cannot fail to find a never-ending source
of pleasure and amusement which will supply you with food for
reflection for many days. And if, in any of your rambles, you
find a rare plant, take no more of it than is necessary for your
purpose, leaving the rest for any one else who may want it, re-
membering that an Exterminator is unworthy the name of a
Botanist.

Tot: must not say that this cannot be, or that that is contrary to
Nature. You do not know what Nature is, or what she can do ;
and nobody knows. Wise men are afraid to say that there is
anything contrary to Nature, except what is contrary to mathe-
matical truth ; for two and two cannot make five, and two
straight lines cannot join twice, and a part cannot be as great as
the whole, and so on (at least, so it seems at present) : but the
wiser men are, the less they talk about "cannot." There are
dozens and hundreds of things in the world which we should
certainly have said were contrary to Nature, if we did not see
them going on under our eyes aU day long. If people had never
seen little seeds grow into great plants and trees, of quite different
shape from themselves, and these trees again produce fresh seeds,
to grow into fresh trees, they would have said, " The thing can-
not be ; it is contrary to nature." And they would have been
quite as right in saying so, as in saying that most other things
cannot be. — Key. C. KuiGsley. — ^'Water Babies.''''

^t0(m\m^$ of tfte J^orirti}.

May 19th. — ^The members met on Keep JSill for their first
field day this year. Some little time was spent in examining the
chalk-pit, but scarcely any fossils were found, and they then
rambled across the hill. Among the many flowers just appearing
were the Milkwort {Pohjgala vulgaris), the Cross-leaved Bedstraw
{Galium cruciatiim), the Horse-shoe Vetch {Hippocrepis comosa), &c.
Orchis mascula was in fuU bloom; 0. maculata had only put in an
appearance of leaves. The Barberry {Berleris vulgaris) was
covered with its lemon-coloured blossoms at the foot of the slope.
Among the insects were seen a few specimens of the Holly Blue
{Lyccena Argiolus), which is rather rare in this locality; Lacon
murinus, Cicindela campestris, and several other beetles were fly-
ing about, while the body of a hedgehog yielded several CaralidcR
or Burying Beetles. From Keep Hill the members passed into
Dane Garden Wood, where they noticed the Coralwort {Bentarta
lulhifera) in flower, and several Orchids just appearing.

June 9th. — Eamble in Hollow Lane. An hour or two passed
very pleasantly in this curious old lane, which has attracted
the attention both of the archaeologist and the geologist in no
small degree; the former looking upon it in the light of an
ancient road for packhorses, &c., from the neighbouring settle-
ments on the hills to the more populous valley; the latter as a
still more ancient watercourse, along which a torrent rushed
to join some larger body of water in the present Hughenden
vaUey. Probably both are right, at any rate the views are not
opposed to each other, since there is many a similar ravine in
Devonshire at the present day which is used for traffic in summer,
but is impassable in winter. Hollow Lane is famous alike for
its flowers and its insects — the botanist or entomologist who has
not examined it has a treat yet to come. In the course of the
ramble the members found several larvae of Sawflies, a fine
specimen of one of the Chrysomelidai, larvae of Oak Egger {Bomhyx

24 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

Quercus), Drinker Moth ( Odonestis potatoria) with, a few Loopers.
The spindle tree was in one or two spots one mass of webs of the
little Ermine Moth {Tponomeuta euonymella) which were now
deserted, and a nest of the larva) of Eriogaster lanestris — the
Small Egger Moth, not very common in the neighbourhood until
this year, was found on a sloe bush. Curiously enough there
appear to have been but a very few seen here before, one was
found by the Society in a ramble last summer, and another a
year or two before, but a fortnight ago the Secretary in a walk
to Marlow saw on one side of the road only no less than seventeen
nests, each crowded with inhabitants.

LIr. Britten exhibited a curious specimen of the Eibwort
Plantain {Plantago lanceolata) from Oakridge, having seven or
eight spikelets at the base of the usual spike. In the lane were
Geranium cohimlinum, and one or two commoner species, and the
Eock Rose, which excited great admiration from its size, and the
irralibility of the stamens : at the top were found the Squinancy-
wort {Asperula eynanchica), the Cathartic Flax [Linum catharticum),
and the Tufted Horse-shoe Vetch [Hippocrepis comosa). Various
grasses in flower were also pointed out.

Besides their mere scientific value, these pursuits offer in them-
selves alone a precious reward. They beguile the dull routine of
professional and other employments, cherish gentle thoughts and
calm desires, and multiply and refine our enjoyments; they
endear many a rural walk with delightful associations of "each-
lane and every alley, dingle, or bushy dell, and every bosky
bourn fi'om side to side ;" they may soften solitude or affliction ;
they must impress us with meek and touching lessons of the means
of happiness so bountifully spread before us, and of how cheaply
some of our best pleasures may be purchased. And, above all,
while thus teaching us to look for the good and the beautiful in
suiTOimding objects, and helping us to the true riches — those
large and best possessions — of contentment and thankfulness,
they may incline our minds to the grateful habit of " looking
through Natui-e up to Nature's GOD." — Professor Gulliver.

(Soxxs^pnkmt.

All communications rclatint] to adcciiisemcnts, coutriliutions, or the supply
of this magazine, should he addressed to the Editor, care of Jfi: Ulli/ctt, High
Wycombe. Contri/nitioHS must be sent in, be/ore the 15tk of the month pre-
ceding the date of publication. Tlie Editor mill he glad to receive notes con-
cerning any of our local plants and animals, tJieir times of appearing, their
popular names and traditiotu, abnormal forms and colours, Sic; tloese must be
authenticated by tJie writer's name and address, but not necessarily for
publication.

White-flowered "Wood (Dog)
Violet {Viola sylratica). — Three
specimens of this somewhat rare
variety were gathered by Mr. Frank
Wheeler on the 30th of April last,
in Adder's Lane, leading down from
Totteridge to the London Road.
The petals were much narrower
than is usually the case, and, as
well as the spur, were quite white :
in shape they resembled those of V.
Seichcnbachiana. (a narrow-petalled
form with nnhranched veins, not
hitherto observed in the district)
rather than those of our common V.
Siriniana; but the total absence of
coloured veins renders it impossible
to state positively that our plant
belongs to the former sub-species.
The blossoms emitted a faint sweet
scent, quite different to that of the
sweet violet (F. odorata).

James Britten.

Plant New to the District. —
On May 18th, I found in a field of
TrefoQ near Oakridge, several fine
specimens of the Field Mouse-ear
Chickweed {Cerastium. arvense),
which has not been previously ob-
served in the district. Its situation
precludes me from supposing it to
be truly wild there ; but, as it is by
no means unlilcely to occur on
banks, I may mention that it may
be distinguished fi-om the Common
Mouse-ear Chickweed {C. trit-ialc)
by the size and whiteness of its blos-
soms, somewhat resembling those
of the Great Stitchwort {Stellaria
Holostca).

Id.

Land Efts. — Some boys a short

time ago were finding these creatures

in Wycombe Park, and were gravely

cautioned by a man against getting

bitten by them, as "there was no

cure iox it." .

Instinct ?'. Reason. — The follow-
ing anecdote of a Crow found in
Ceylon {Corviis spUndens), which
resembles our Magpie in its habits,
is given by Sir E. Tennent: — "One
of these ingenious marauders, after
vainly attitudinising in front of a
chained watch-dog, that was lazily
gnawing a bone, and after fruitlessly
endeavoui-ing to divert his attention
by dancing before him, vsith head
vcwxy and eye askance, at length flew
away for a moment, and returned
bringing a companion which perched
itself on a branch a few yards in the
rear. The crow's grimaces were now
actively renewed, but with no better
success, till its confederate, poising
itseK upon its wings, descended with
the utmost velocity, striking the dog
with all the force of its strong beak.
The ruse was successful; the dog
started with surprise and pain, but
was not quick enough to seize his
assailant, whilst the bone he had
been gna\raig was snatched away
by the first crow the instant his
head was turned. Two well-authen-
ticated uistances of the recurrence of
this device came witliin luy know-
ledge at Colombo, and attest the
sagacity and powers of communi-
cation and combination possessed
by these astute and courageous
birds."

CORRESPONDENCE.

"It was about the middle of last
April, when I observed a young
lamb entangled amongst briars. It
had, seemingly, struggled for liberty
until it was quite exhausted. Its
mother was present, endeavouring
with her head and feet to disentangle
it. After having attempted in vain,
for a long time, to effect this purpose,
she left it, and ran away bleating with
all her might. We fancied there
was something peculiarly doleful in
her voice. Thus she proceeded
across tliree large fields; and
tlirough foiu- strong hedges, until
she came to a flock of sheep. From
not having been able to follow her,
I could not watch her motions when
with them. However she left them
in about five mhiutes, accompanied
by a large ram that had two power-
ful horns. They returned speedily
towards the poor lamb, and as soon
as they reached it the ram im-
mediately set about liberating it,
which he did in a few minvites by
dragging away the briars with his
horns." — Loudon's 3Iagazine for
1831.

Dr. Johnson at Fault. — "Swal-
lows," said he, "certainly sleep aU
the winter. A number of them con-
globulate together, by flying round
and round, and then all in a heap
thiow themselves under water, and
lie in the bed of a river."

Is Geology a Dry Study? — "In
the course of the first day's employ-
ment I picked a nodidar mass of
blue limestone, and laid it open by
a stroke of the hammer. Wonderful
to relate, it contained inside a beau-
tifully finished piece of sculpture, —
one of the volutes, apparently, of
an Ionic capital; and not the far-
famed walnut of the fauy tale, had I
broken the shell, and found the little
dog lying therein, could have sur-
prised me more. Was there another

such curiosity in the whole world ?
I broke open a few other nodules
of similar appearance,- — for they lay
pretty thickly on the shore, — and
found there might be, for in one of
these there were what seemed to be
the scales of fishes, and the impres-
sions of a few minute bivalves , prettily
striated; in the centre of another
there was actually a piece of decayed
wood. Of all Nature's riddles, these
seemed to me to be at once the most
interesting and diflicult to expoiuid.
I treasured them carefullj' up, and
was told by one of the workmen to
whom I showed them, that there
was a part of the shore about two
miles farther to the west, where
curiously shaped stones, somewhat
like the heads of boarding pikes,
were occasionally picked up. I
went, and found the place a richer
scene of wonder than I could have
fancied even in my dreams."

Hugh Millek.

Martins. — The martins [Ilirundo
ttrhica) appeared in this neighbour-
hood about the sixth of April, and
by the end of the month they were
to be seen in great numbers. The
first of May Mas, however, an un-
happy day for them ; seldom do we
recollect a more cold and chil-
ling commencement of the "merrie
month."' The poor martins were to
be seen huddled together in dozens,
cold and miserable, shriioking from
contact with the cutting easterly
wind and cold driving raiii. In the
morning numbers of them were
found dead — \'ictims to the in-
clemency of the season.

T. Marshall.

Caterpillars. — The caterpillars
forwarded to us were the larvae of
the "Drinker," a very handsome
moth {Odonestk potatoria), one of
the Bonibycidae.

^utttuur.

THE cliilly mornings of autumn are begmning to prevail,
although, as yet, they are only the forerunners of bright
sunny days ; and nature is doffing her cheerful robe of green for
a motley garment of gold and brown, gayer perhaps on the ex-
terior, but a sign of decay within.

" There is a beautiful spirit breathing now
Its mellow richness on the clustered trees."

Look at our glorious woods, as the beams of the Autumn sun
gild their summits, and say is not the year lovely in its decay ?
Look at those splendid masses of green foliage, crowded on the
lower branches of the elm, dying away upwards into a lighter
hue ; see the glowing red of the beech, the bright yellow of the
chestnut, set oflf here and there by the sombre green of the firs.
The old age of the year is to us ever a lovely season, and j^et, we
confess, it is sad withal, for it speaks so plainly of Death, that it
cannot be misunderstood. Wiaat say ye who profess to believe
in the " Eeligion of Nature " only ? Does she not speak in plain
words ? There is a death of all things around us every y-ear, but
a resurrection follows ; we see it in every living thing ; there is
nought but change, yet there is no destruction, the same elements
reappear in a new form, nothing is lost, it comes back again
clothed anew in finer apparel.

Our autumn rambles may not perhaps be so productive as
those we took in the summer, yet they will be none the less in-
teresting. We may note the retii-ement of each bird and beast
to its winter quarters, and we may also hail the arrival of our
northern visitors. The martins are to be seen now congregating
on our roofs, and exercising for their long journey ; among the
osier beds or aits of the Thames they may be found roosting by
hundreds every night, appearing when disturbed in the dusk like
a thick cloud. The Swift left us by the middle of August ; his
stay is always short, he is the first of his family to come, and the

28 ATTTUMN.

first to go; •the Sand Martin we never see at Wycombe, there
being no suitable places for nidification. The song of the bird is
hushed in the fields, the Robin only continues to enliven us with
his cheerful warblings, and this he will do the winter through,
joined occasionally by a Skylark. Strange that the feathered
tribes should only send out their joyous caroUings through such
a short period of the year — that of rearing their young ; it would
seem that love is then " the lord of all," and is thus shown ; for
when their duties are finished the love and the song cease too.
The insects flit lazily about, the bee and the wasp put in an oc-
casional appearance, and a few stridulous sounds from the grass-
hopper and cricket emerge from warm grassy banks ; the dor-
mouse and the squirrel are hoarding up their supply of winter
provisions, and snails are congregating in colonies under the
tangled roots of the trees ; all the busy hum and music of summer
are dying away.

But fresh sights of beauty meet the eye as we ramble along
our lanes ; festoons and bunches of ripe fruit of every colour
decorate the fading masses of leaves — the dark berry of the Dog-
wood shadowed by the purple foliage and " ensanguined " stems,
the shining black berries of the Privet, the brilliant fruits of the
Woody Nightshade, and the Eed and Black Bryony, the dark
purple of the Guelder Kose — all looking so very beautiful that we
feel tempted to try their flavour. But beware ; many of them
are forbidden fruits, and may bring on a sleep that knows no
waking. More harmless are the "scarlet hips and stony haws "
that cover the rose and hawthorn — the food of many a truant
schoolboy since Cow[)er's days.

Yery soon we shall have the mosses out in all their beauty,
and as we hunt among them we shall tvu-n up many a beetle and
caterpillar, snugly ensconced for the winter, abiding marvellously
witliout food during the long months when vegetation would
yield them nothing : these, and hosts of other things will pass
under our notice only by our exercising a moderate amount of
observation. So let no one sink into despondency from an idea
that there is nothing for the Naturalist to see, and nothing to do
till next Spring.

®h^ ^mU m\& %Mtv.

As most of the readers of this magazme are aware, we have in
this coiintry three species of reptiles of the ophidian or serpent
tribe, viz., the common snake {Natrix torquata), the viper {Pelias
berus), and the smooth snake {Coronella Imvis). The last, how-
ever, is very rare and local, while the other two are pretty gener-
ally dispersed.

From the dread with which these creatures are commonly looked
upon, their habits are not much studied or observed ; I therefore
propose to give a few particulars of the habits of the two common
species, premising that the viper, which is our only poisonous
reptile, is at once distinguishable from the snake by the deep
black chain which extends the whole length of the spine.

The Snake, {Natrix torquata,) although seldom seen unless
Bought after, is yet tolerably abundant in most parts of the
country in damp woods, and the reedy margins of ponds on un-
frequented commons, but about Wycombe it appears to be almost
unknown.* In order to get a sight, or at any rate, a chance of
catching this, or any other serpent or lizard, perfect quiet is ne-
cessary. The snake feeds exclusively on frogs and toads. As far
as my experience goes, they do not seem to have any preference
for the former. When caught they generally throw up their last
meal, and those which I have captui-ed have quite as often thrown
up toads as frogs. The skin of the snake is shed entire about
once a month in summer, and for some days before the event the
reptile is perfectly blind. AU reptUes (excepting, of course, the
Batrachia) are excessively fond of basking in the sun, but all do
not bask in a similar manner ; for instance, the snake lies coiled
up in a pyramidal form, while the viper lies stretched out at fuU
length. When first captured snakes hiss loudly. The unpleasant
smell that they^ also make does not arise from their breath as

* It is to be found however by close searching ; we have known it caught
on 'Wycombe Heath and at Penn. — Ed.

80 THE SNAKE AND ADDER.

Beems generally supposed, but from a white excrementitious sub-
stance which thoy emit. The viper, relying on his formidable
fangs for defence, makes no unpleasant smell. The country folk
about Wisley, ia Surrey, — my most frequent "hunting-ground"
for reptiles, — say that a snake's cast skin bound tightly round
the head is a remedy for headache. These cast skins, which may
frequently be found about their haunts, are very curious, as even
the hard transparent substance with which aU reptiles are pro-
vided for the defence of the eyes when swimming is shed with the
ekin. This transparent substance can be put up at the creature's
will, and when not in use is folded in the lower eyelid. The
glossy black tongue of the snake is rather longer than that of the
viper. I need not insult readers by saying it is not a " sting."
I fancy it is of use as a feeler, since the animal has no Hmbs.*
The distance between the two extremities of the fork is about
equal to the thickness of the reptile's body, and may be of use,
like the whiskers of the cat, in letting it know whether it can get
into a hole or not. The usual length of the snake is about three
feet, but they often exceed this.

The YiPER, or as it is almost always called by country people,
the Adder, inhabits dry heaths, glades in woods, and upland
copses. It is seldom to be found near water. Its average length
is twenty-three inches. I have often found them where
furze has been latelj"^ cut, and it is hard to tell them from the
furze stalks lying about. They evidently choose such places to
sun themselves in, from the difficulty of being distinguished in
them. Were we as well acquainted with their habits as we
ought to be, we should doubtless know of many similar proofs of
sagacity, which would enable us to appreciate our Lord's command
" Be wise as serpents." The adder is plentiful in the woods
round Wycombe, and on the neighbouring heaths and commons.
Mr. Ullyett has met with it most frequently in Dane Garden
wood, and on what, alas ! tvas Wycombe Heath. Adders vary
much in colour, but the coloui's do not denote different species,
and even seem to change periodically in the same individual.

• Although serpents have no exterior legs, their rihs are moveable, and are
not fixed to the breast bone, so that they are, in fact, interior legs.

THE SNAKE AND ADDER. 31

Last May I brought up from Wisley, and deposited in the Zoo-
logical Gardens, Regent's Park, one with an almost perfectly
white ground-colour. This specimen is now quite a dark brown.
The food of the adder consists chiefly of shrews and field-mice.
One which I caught last j^ear — the original of the illustration in
Mr. M. C. Cooke's work on British Eeptiles — threw up three full
gi'own mice, so that adders are of use in keeping down vermin.
The fangs of the adder, neai-ly half-an-inch in length, are situated
in the upper jaw. They move on a hinge, and when not in nse
are folded along the palate. They are hollow, and at the root
of each is a little bag of venom, so that the fangs make
punctures, and at the same time poison is introduced into the
wound. The venom is hurtful from being thus introduced into
the blood ; it might be swallowed without causing the least
injury. It is just to add that the adder 7iever attempts to attack
a human being except in self-defence. It always glides away
into the nearest thicket on hearing any one approach. There is
therefore no reason why the creature should be persecuted. This
reptile is capable of almost incredibly long fasts. Mr. Ullyett lately
kept a couple for six weeks, during all which time they touched
nothing but water, although mice, &c., " all alive " were supplied
ad lilitum : yet, when set at liberty, they seemed as lively as
when first caught. The adder can climb well, and is not unfre-
quently found in nests, into which they climb for the sake of
Bucking the eggs, of which they are very fond. Three were this
spring found in a blackbird's nest in Enfield Chase, Middlesex.
Adders' fat is in great request among the peasantry as an ointment
for cuts, and it is the best remedy for the creature's own bite.
There is in serpents, as in all other living creatures very much to
admire in the wonderful adaptation of their structure to their
mode of life ; much to make us acknowledge that the Hand that
made them is Divine. W. E. Tate.

Grove Place, Denmark Hill, London.

" No scientific truth can possibly be too trifling or imimportant
to be worthy of preservation." — Sir J. E. Smith.

IT is the pride of Englishmen that their country is open to all
the world, that every one, be he a king flying from Revolution
or an exile proscribed for his political opinions, finds rest and
safety here, so long as he conforms to our laws, and lives peace-
ably within the pale of our institutions. We welcome all these,
and extend to them the hand of fellowship and hospitaUty — and
this although they come here merely for peace and security and
not from sympathy with us as a people, or from love or attach-
ment to our national character and constitution. They feel this
is not their home, and they live and perhaps die amongst us as
mere sojourners in a foreign land. On the other hand, if there
be an amnesty for political offenders, or a new. era of politics in
their own unhappy country, back they stream, sometimes without
a tear of regret at leaving us, without a thought of the protection
they have received, and often, sad to say, with prejudices only
confirmed by the very benefits which should have dissipated them.
How different it is with those humbler beings that visit the
shores of England with the regularity and precision of the seasons,
and impelled only by the mysterious workings of an infalhble
instinct. The migration of birds is indeed a wonderful theme for
study and reflection. Our feathered friends come among us, the
heralds of spring, or harbingers of winter, exemplifying the
beautiful working of Nature's laws, and the harmony and regu-
larity subsisting in all the works of God. Our summer visitors
stay their allotted time, make England their home, build their
nests, rear their young, cheer us with their joyous song, and
then, with a silent but thankful farewell, take their family back
to their winter quarters with the promise, certain of fulfilment, to
come back with the bright sunshine of the following year. And
yet the migration of birds is with many a subject of little moment,
and our feathered friends come and go unnoticed and unknown.
This is not as it should be, for the more we study these things.

THK WEATHER IN THE BRITISH ISLES. 33

and notice the wonder, and beauty, and harmony of all creation,
the more we are led to ponder and reflect with amazement on the
works of the Lord and the operations of His hands.

T. MakshaUi.

J^t Wsntktv itt t\u gritisib isiUsi.

THE British Isles enjoy an exceptional position on the earth's
surface, as regards temperature ; in other words, the English
climate would be as extreme and steady both in its cold and hot
fits, as other countries lying under the same latitude are (such
as parts of Canada, Siberia, Central Russia, and Northern Ger-
many), but for some peculiarities in the Ocean around it which
affect the British Isles, but not these countries.

This favourable condition of the temperature is owing to th e
operation of the Great Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic Ocean
This vast current of water after having basked under the tropical
sun in the Gulf of Mexico and so become intensely heated, rushes
out of that Gulf northward, until, turned aside eastward by the
projecting cliffs of Newfoundland, glancing off, it runs across the
Atlantic to Norway, dispensing its high temperature to the air
and adjoining waters.

As in this its course it passes north of Ireland and Scotland, it
interposes a perpetual broad belt of warm sea between Great
Britain and Iceland, and the frozen wastes of the Polar Seas.

The benefit derived by the British Isles, in winter, is that they
are surrounded by a sea of temperate warmth.

In summer this ocean current arrests all the floating ice and
icebergs that break loose and drift down from Iceland and Green-
land, melts them and sweeps their dissolving masses away so that
they never cross it to reach and chill our coasts : hence above
England northward they never come down so low as the Shet-
land Islands.

34 THE WEATHER IN THE BRITISH ISLES.

But as the Gulf Stream runs obliquely across the Atlantic, ice-
bergs from Baffin's Bay float down undissolved as low as tlie
latitude of Paris, off Newfoundland, before they fall into it.

So that, far away in the Ocean, from a point westward from
the Land's End, to a point northward from Scotland, icebergs
many or few may be and generally are floating along and melting
during the early summer months.

Although the solid iceberg is thus prevented from reaching us,
still the products of their liquefaction diffused in vapour through-
out the atmosphere, and the effects of the cold disengaged from
them, as they melt under the sun and in the warm Gulf Stream,
are swept over England by the wind, in rain, mist, fog, and chil-
ling blasts, not only causing winter to linger in the lap of spring
but also dashing summer.

To exemplify these effects in oui* own seasons, we may instance
the weather of this present year, 1866.

The swallow came earlier than usual, in mid-April ; and it was
summer weather for a fortnight. The ice that encased Iceland
broke up, parted, and drifting down into the Gulf Stream
loaded the Northern atmosphere with mists and cold ; the
winter having been imusually severe in Iceland.

Throughout May the cold vapours from the North kept
sweeping over England, till the end of May ; when the crop of
Iceland ice was exhausted, and the atmosphere brightened, and
through June and early in July great heat prevailed.

About the middle of July the setting sun went down in a misty
fiky, and high above the sun a halo slightly prismatically
coloured indicated plainly a mass of vapour over the Atlantic.
The Great Eastern, dropping the telegraph cable in mid-
Atlantic, telegraphed to England, then parched and glowing in
the sun, that the ship was in the midst of cold blasts and torrents
of rain ; ships off Cape liace fell in with large icebergs, and a few
days after high winds and chilling rain from the west prevailed
in England and "Western Europe for a month.

Such being the history of the last spring and summer, and such
the undoubted cause of it, it is difl&cult to persuade one's self that

THE WEATHER EN THE BRITISH ISLES. 35

any rule can be framed by wMch the greater or less quantity of
ice that ■will be detached from the Arctic Regions, and the times
when it will be detached in any year, can be calculated, though
it may be reasonably supposed that the earlier and warmer the
summer in the Arctic Seas, the more ice will be detached, and
consequently the wetter will be the summer in England.

England and Western Europe not only enjoy in the Gulf
Stream a power that tempers the coldness of the sea around them ;
an analogous effect on the air above those countries is produced
by the ever glowing surface of the Great African Desert south-
ward. The air which is heated over those burning sands and
rocks expands and diffuses its glow over Europe. Its most
violent effects are exerted eastward in the Simoon and Samael or
" wind of death " of the Arabs, and towards the north-east in the
Sirocco of the Levantines; only its milder effects are felt in
Western Europe. S.

August 23, 1866.

American Blight. — This common insect {Aphis lanigera) which
infests apple trees, produces in the course of a season eleven
broods of young. The first ten broods are viviparous, or are
brought forth alive, and consist entirely of females. These never
attain their full developement as perfect insects ; but being only
in the larvae state, bring forth young, and the virgin aphides thus
produced are endowed with similar fecundity. But at the tenth,
brood this power ceases. The eleventh does not consist of active
female larvae alone, but of males and females. These acquire
wings, rise into the air, and sometimes migrate in countless
myriads, and produce eggs, which, glued to twigs and leaf-stalks,
retain their vitahty through the winter. When the advance of
spring again clothes the plants with verdure, the eggs are hatched,
and the larva, without having to wait for the acquisition of its
mature and winged form, as in other insects, forthwith begins to
produce a brood as hungry, and insatiable, and as fertile as itself.
Supposing that one aphis produced 100 at each brood, she would,
at the tenth brood be the progenitor of one quintillion of de-
scendants (1,000,000,000,000,000,000).— H. Paterson.
r

"ilu (t\n\imx (Kountrij*

(Cjntinued from page 20.)

TAKE Sheet No. 7, of the Ordnance Survey of England and
Wales, and cut it in half by a north and south line, and the
"western moiety will include nearly the whole of the district which
I describe as the Chiltern Country. Two portions of the map,
however, are still superfluous, and should be shaved off, namely,
the triangular corner of the vale of Aylesbury, N.W. of the
Icknield way, and the whole of the southern third of the sheet,
following the course of the old Bath Eoad through the villages of
Iver, "Wexham, Earnham, Burnham, and Hitcham, and thence the
course of the Eiver Thames as far as Henley. The Eoad and the
Eiver taken in this way will form the Southern boundary of the
Forest.

The old road crossed the river Thames, as far as I can make
out, by a ferry in the jDarish of Taplow, near the island of Formosa.
The place is or was called Babham End. Thence the road passes
through the village (once ranking as the town) of Cookham, and
winding up the hill enters the long waste of open country which,
goes under the names of Pinkneys Green, Maidenhead Thicket,
and Stubbings Heath, and then the tract of woodland called the
Frith, passing through the villages of Shottesbrook, the Walthams,
Euscombe, and Twyford. The Berkshire Frith, as we loai'n from
Lelaud and other early travellers, was in as bad repute as the
Buckinghamshu-e Chiltern. It merged southwards in the wide
forest of Windsor.

Here we have our map of the forest ready for use. About the
centre of the map the ancient towns of Missenden, Amersham,
Wycombe, and Beaconsfield form a sort of Quadrilateral.

The Chiltern forest seems to have consisted principally of beech

woods, of which extensive remains are still left. The valleys were

• ERRATA in No. 1. First portior of this paper, page 18, third line from
the bottom, for creatures Tea.i features, i'age 20, sixth Ime fi-om the bottom,
for Mve Itolls read Mne Rolls.

THE CniLTERX COUNTRY. 37

mostly in a marshy state, and probably subject to floods. It ap-
pears to have been peopled by the Celts or ancient Britons, who
may have enjoyed possession of it for many centuries previous
to the Roman Invasion.

Besides the few worn remnants of the Celtic tongue found in
local names, there is evidence of this in the numerous earthworks
which are still traceable in the forest, and in the roads or drift-
ways which lead up and along the hills, which are of the type
usually recognized as Celtic. The Wycombe and Amersham
valleys afford numerous examples of these roads, each leading to
some mill on the stream, or to some place where a mill formerly
stood. From this one may infer that the water-mill was known to
the Celts.

The roads or drift-ways in the forest appear to have been of
local origin, and to have had no other object than that of ready
communication between hill and valley. With one exception, my
endeavours to make out continuous routes through the forest have
been fruitless. This exception is a long, straggling road, which
for distinction's sake, I call by what appears to have been one of
its names. Hollow Way. I first noticed its peculiar formation in
Piper's Wood, in the parish of Amersham, where it crosses the
Amersham vaUey, whence I easily traced it to Penn Street (a name
which decidedly confirms the notion that it is an ancient thorough-
fare road). Prom Penn Street it leads to Beaconsfield, of which
town it forms the main north and south thoroughfare ; and a
farm which stands near it, a mile or two beyond Beaconsfield, is
stiU called Hollow Way farm. Here it leaves Burnham Beeches
on the right, and enters the tract of now enclosed land which was
formerly Farnham Common.

Northwards from Piper's wood the road leads by way of Weedon
Hill, to the town of Chesham, of which it forms the main street.
Next it passes along Chesham Bottom and by the village of
Hawridge to Cholesbury Common. Leaving the church of Choles-
bury, and the large Celtic circular camp on the left, it proceeds,
■winding between the woods, for two or three miles, till it crosses
the Turnpike road from Aylesbury to Tring and London. Here

88 THE CHTLTERN COUNTRY.

it severs the Counties of Buckingham and Hertford (a sure sign
of its antiquity as a road dating from before the time of Alfred
the Great), and is best known as Shire Lane, from this circum-
etance. Crossing the turnpike road, it strikes directly through
the village of Drayton Beauchamp, where it is stiU well-known as
Hollow Way. Beyond the point where it crosses the Aylesbury
canal, in the parish of Drayton, I have not endeavoured to trace
it ; but I make no doubt it was intended as a line of communi-
cation from the vale of the Thames to the vale of the Ouse, and
•was so used by our Celtic forefathers. It is accompanied by
several circidar intrenchments, which were the settlements {oppida,
as Csesar calls them) of the inhabitants. Besides that at Choles-
bury, there is a remarkable one at Hawridge, and there are two
in the parish of Great Missenden, within a few hundred yards of
the road. The road may perhaps have terminated at or near the
enormous entrenchment or oppidum in Bulstrode Park, in the
parish of Fulmer.

This remarkable camp is believed by some Buckinghamshire
archaeologists to be the identical town or oppidum of the Britons
which Julius Caesar took and sacked. Verulam or St. Albans
contests this honour with it. The principal objection made to the
claims of the Chiltem forest is, that Csesar specially excepts the
heecJi and the fir from his list of the trees which grew in Britain :
all sorts, he announces, are to be found, "prater fagum et
ahietem." Hence, the argument proceeds, Caesar evidently could
never have visited Buckinghamshire. This, however, we get over
easily enough, by replying that the fagus means, not fagus silvatica
of the Chiltem hills, 'h^xifagus castanea or Spanish chestnut ; and
the ahies the silver fir, or foreign deal, neither of which is indi-
genous to our island, though they floiu-ish abundantly when
planted. Whitaker, in his History of Manchester, states that
the Romans found the fir in Britain, but imported the Beech
— probably in the same vessel which introduced the Cuckoo !

We have positive arguments in favour of Buckinghamshire and
the Chiltem forest being the scene of Julius Caesar's invasion and
sojourn in Britain. Caesar teUs us he crossed the Thames. The

THE CHILTEEN COimTET. 89

Celts under Cassivellanus had driven rows of sharp stakes along
the bank of the river to impede his passage. The Romans,
however, forded the stream, and the Britons fled in terror and
confusion. The historian Polysenus, gravely avers that the
Britons were strangely affrighted by the additional terror of the
castled Elephants of the Orient, which the Eomans brought with
them. The Elephants, according to the only construction of
which his account seems capable, dashed into the bed of the river,
and aided materially in the rout and chase of the natives to their
forest stronghold. The truth of this is a matter of opinion. With
or without Elephants, Csesar and his legions did cross the Thames.

Antiquaries differ as to the place where this took place. The
old opinion was in favour of Shepperton (the principal authority
being the possession on the part of Lord Onslow of some dessert
knives and forks, the handles of which were made from the stakes
found in an old wear at that place). But it appears that these
stakes were placed across the bed of the river, instead of longi-
tudinally, to prevent the passage ; and Mr. Daines Barrington,
who examined the place to ascertain the truth, was convinced
that they had been placed there by fishermen. The Venerable
Bede asserts that they were to be seen in his time, and that they
were at least as thick as a man's thigh, and immoveably bed-
ded in lead ! Sir E. C Hoare argues in favour of Richmond.

Caesar expressly says that he crossed the river into the terri-
tories of Cassi-vellanus, or of the Cassii (Cassi-vellanus meaning
King of the Cassii.) The tribes described by the Roman Geo-
graphers as Cassii or Cattieuchlani, are understood to have oc-
cupied the part now forming Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire,
and perhaps part of Middlesex. This fixes the place of crossing
at any rate to some spot at no great distance from the camp of
Fulmer. This camp was evidently an important Celtic stronghold
— the largest in the district, and in all respects the likeliest to
become the immediate refuge of the retreating Britons.

E. J. Payne.
(To he continued.)

A LTHOUGH Mosses are among tlie minute and seemingly in-
•^^ significant of Nature's works, they, in common -with, other
cryptogamic forms of vegetation, deserve a share of attention even
from those who may not make them objects of scientific study.
The moss growing upon the wall-top is looked on by many with
an eye of indifference, if not of contempt ; but to those who will
take the trouble to examine its structure, it affords a source of
infinite admiration. We presume that none of our readers, in this
enlightened age, think that because objects are small, they are on
that account unworthy of investigation : otherwise, as has been
remarked, " The horse is superior to its rider," and one of old —
Solomon, the wise king of Israel, has set us an example in this
very particular, by being conversant with the "Hyssop " on the
wall, which by Hassalquist is regarded as a minute Moss, still
found on the walls of Jerusalem.

Mosses are no less numerous and varied than beautiful ; they
abound all over the kingdom, and some may be found at all
seasons of the year ; affording in our daily walks a fund of in-
struction and pleasant amusement. Let our readers then not be
satisfied with the perusal of these brief remarks, but let them at
once proceed in their riiral walks to collect these objects of study,
which may be examined at home by the aid of a good pocket-lens,
a penknife, and a pair of scissors. The chalk hills and cliffs of
our own beautiful Buckinghamshire abound in mosses : they are
to be found on tree, rock, and stone, in damp places, by the side
of brooks and rills ; indeed, they are so numerous that it has been
calculated that one-fourth of the vegetable kingdom is composed of
them. In addition to the pleasing recreation afforded by the
study of these interesting objects of creation, the soul may also be

led to look from nature up to nature's God !

Nellie Atty.

» Wm^ '^^00^ ^^a!5p.

TX7E have liad several specimens of tliis insect "brouglit to us the
' ' last year or two, with special requests to know its name, and
whether it was English or Foreign. In answer to the former we
said it was a "Wood Wasp, and to the latter query we said "Both."
It is met with most commonly perhaps in grocers' shops among
the sugar, sometimes alive and sometimes dead ; it emerges oc-
casionally fi'om the floor of a room, having spent a portion of its
life in a wooden prison ; but wherever it is seen it causes some
little terror froni its great size, and the length of its ovipositor.
A short account of it may not Be uninteresting to our readers.

It belongs in the first place to that order of insects, called the
Htmenoptera, from the fact of their possessing four transparent
membranous wings : in this order are included the bees, wasps,
ichneumons, sawflies, &c., from which it wiU be seen that the
highest order of insect instinct is comprehended in it. In the next
place it is included in the family Siricidce, and it rejoices in the
scientific name of Sirex gigas, the Giant Wood Wasp, Sawfly, or
Ichneumon, It is, as we before said, a formidable looking creature,

42 THE LARGE WOOD WASP.

of a deep yellow hue, having the thorax and a band round the
abdomen jet black. The wings and antenna) are yellow, the latter
being of very great length : the long pointed weapon, commonly
looked upon as a sting, is the instrument with which the female
bores holes in living wood, in which to deposit her eggs. There
is an interesting account of this process, in Science Gossip for
August, written by a gentleman who watched it, waiting with a
true naturalist's patience for tu^enty-three minutes while a lady
Sirex deposited her eggs in a new larch telegraph post. This
ovipositor is of a complicated nature when examined under the
microscope, but not so much so as that of some of the true sawflies.
The insect is able to give a shght wound with the weapon, irritant
in, its nature, but not envenomed. The eggs hatch into grubs
which feed upon the soft moist wood, and doubtless when present
in any considerable numbers, they do much damage. Many are
imported from abroad, both in the larva and pupa state, in deal,
and from this in due time, they escape as winged inhabitants of
air. When this happens in a nursery, we may excuse the alarm
of the non-naturalist nurse and her progeny. We have caught
them ourselves among the fir trees in Whittington Park.

*^* "We are indebted for tte accompanying engraving to Mr. Hardwicke^ of
192, Piccadilly.

" Some folks have a great liking for the poor little Efts. They
never did anybody any harm, or could if they tried ; and their
only fault is, that they do no good — any more than some thousands
of their betters. But what with ducks, and what with pike, and
what with sticklebacks, and what with water-beetles, and what
with naughty boys, they are "sae sair hadden doun," as the
Scotsmen say, that it is a wonder how they live ; and some folks
can't help hoping, with good Bishop Butler, that they may have
another chance, to make things fair and even, somewhere, some-
when, somehow. — Eev. C. Kingsley. — " Water Babies."

Iftjjcjjiutr^ ^niM\U$.

OTJE VANESSID^.

THE butterflies in this family are the most gorgeously coloured
of any found in Great Britain ; and with one exception they
are very plentiful. These two considerations lead me to believe
that a short account of such species as are to be seen in this locality
cannot fail to be interesting to the readers of the Wycombe
Quarterly. Who has not gazed with interest and wonder at the
lovely lo, fanning its peacock wings in the sun as it sits on a
flower and extracts its nectar, or at the stately Atalanta, the
Red Admirable, with its magnificent contrast of scarlet and
black sailing along the pathway and then disappearing over the
high hedge ? The boy is filled with the ardent desire to possess
the treasure ; the thoughtful man desires to know something of
the life history of these living gems.

The early part of their lives, however, is not what we might
expect ; to the general observer they are then unsightly looking
creatures, devouring the foliage of the elm, thistle, or despised
nettle. They are passed by as if they were worthless, neglected
because of their more than homely garb, and when you assure him
that they will one day be gaily coloured butterflies he starts, and
says "impossible." But the naturalist knows the interest at-
tached to the shunned caterpillar ; he takes it home, provides it
with food, watches it with delight and astonishment day by day,
as it passes through its various changes and the little " ills that
flesh is heir to ;" and he is rewarded at last by seeing it emerge
from its chrysalis case a bright and happy thing of air. Let me
assure my readers that there is nothing that will prove so inter-
esting and fascinating to them as lovers of nature than the rearing
of butterflies through all their stages ; it is so easily done, and

44 ■WYCOilBE BUTTERFLIES.

there is comparatively so little trouble attached to it, that no one
can complain of having no time for it.

There are seven British species of the genus Vanessa ; of these
three are always common round Wycombe, one is occasionally
very plentiful and another has been found but a few times ; two
we do not possess at all. I will take them in the order of their
relative abundance.

The Peacock. V. lo. There is not the slightest need to de-
scribe this, as every one has seen it. It is found on the wing
most plentifully in August and September, but many individuals
■wUl be seen in the spring ; these are not in such good condition,
having slept away the winter in some snug corner in an outhouse
or a stack of wood, and now reappear to lay their eggs and then
to die. The caterpillar is black, sprinkled with very minute
white dots, and is covered with short branched spines ; it feeds
on the nettle in companies ; in 1865 I found them by hundreds in
Hollow Lane, but they have not been nearly so plentiful this
summer.

The Small Tortoise-shell. V. TJrticm. This is a smaller
butterfly than the last, but very prettily coloured with black,
orange, blue, and yellow. There are two broods of it every year,
one in May and June and another in August. They hybernate
like lo, and there is an interesting account in the Zoologist,
p. 5000, of the capture of a hundred of them at Christmas, 1855.
The larva is of a yellowish grey colour, but the depth of shade
varies veiy much, there is a broad dark line down the back, and
the whole of the body except underneath is covered with spines.

The Eed Admie^\j3le. V. Atdlanta. This species, known com-
monly as the Eed Admiral, is distinguished at once by the bril-
hant scaidct bands across its front wings, and a border of the same
on the hind wings, and surpasses every other British butterfly in
the combined simpHcity and vividness of its colom-ing. The
under side is most exquisite, and entirely baffles description. The
caterpillar feeds on the nettle, and the perfect insect emerges in
August.

The Painteo Lady. V. Cardiii. This is not nearly so com-
mon as the former species, and sometimes one is not seen for a

■WTTCOilBE HAWK MOTHS. 45

wliole season. It was pretty plentiful in 1865 on Downley Com-
mon, and I have seen it two or tliree times much nearer Wycombe.
The colouring is very beautiful, consisting of marbhngs of black
and a rich rosy red, with white spots in the fore corners rather
smaller than those of Atalanta. The caterpillar feeds on thistles
and nettles. The perfect insect appears in August — sometimes
earher.

The Large Toetoise-shell. V. Pohjchloros. I have not had
the good fortune to meet with this at Wycombe, but the Eev. T.
H. Browne had a colony of the larv:© in his garden on an elm
tree, from which he reared images. The colouring much resem-
bles that of Urticse, but there is no fear of confounding the two
if notice be taken of the outermost spot on the front wings — it is
yellow like the others, while the same spot on Urticse is pure
white. Polychloros is generally much larger than Urticse.

The caterpillars of all tlie above species are thorny and very
sombre in their colouring ; the chrysalises are angular, suspended
by the tail, and generally adorned with golden spots ; I have
seen those of Urticse completely washed in gold. The imagos of
all hybernate occasionally. Hy. Ullyett.

f iist tui l%omk ^ml ilotlt^.

Eyed Hawk Moth Smerinthus ocellatus , , Plentiful,

Poplar S. popuU ,,

LniE S. tilice ,,

Death's Head . . Acherontia atropos . . Common in 1865.
CoNVOLVOLxrs .... Sphinx convolvuli .... Very rare.
One specimen taken to Mr. T. P. Lucas in 1863.

Peivet S. ligustri Very common.

Elephant Chcerocampa Elpenor. . Not very plentiful.

Larvae in the Park, 1865.

Small Elephant. . C. porcellus FoimdbyMr.GaviUer.

Humming Bebd . . Macroglossa steilatarum Common tiU this year.

Hy. Ullyett.

^xmu\l\\0 tfi t\u ^odctif.

Jidi/ nth. — The members liad an evening ramble for tbe sake
of tbose to wbom it is inconvenient to attend in an afternoon.
They went by train as far as West Wycombe, where they alighted
and commenced exploring. Mr. Britten joined them here, and
showed a bunch of Cuscuta TrifoUi, a vegetable parasite on clover,
cordially detested by farmers ; also some SeK Heal {Prunella
vulgaris), with pink flowers. In the yard by the station, a con-
siderable quantity of Vervain ( Verbena officinalis) was growing ;
this is the sole British representative of the gay verbenas of oiir
gardens. Haveringdon HiU was then ascended, and the Mauso-
leum and old British earthwork examined. On the walls of the
former were some well-developed specimens of Asplenium ruta-
muraria, the Eue-leaved Spleenwort ; it also grows on the walls of
the church, but does not there reach such perfection. The view
from this hill, both east and west is exceedingly beautiful, and to
the geologist, particularly interesting, the high yet gently sloping
hiUs pointing out in an unmistakeable way the shores &f an
ancient sea. The south side is almost covered with numerous
very old Yew trees, which appear to have been planted here
many years ago. The Stemless Thistle ( Carduus acaulis) is plen-
tiful on the slopes, and Calamtniha officinalis — the Common Cala-
mint in the ditch at the summit, and on the banks at the foot.

Underneath the hill is an artificial cave cut in the chalk, for a
length of about a qiiarter of a mile : into this the members de-
scended, and were much gratified. No traces of fossils could be
detected anywhere, but a "faiilt" was noticed in one place where
there had been a slip of about a couple of feet or more. On an old
piece of wood was found a quantity of microscopic fungi. The
cave is a great resort of bats in the winter, among which has been
found the Lesser Horseshoe {RMnolophos hipposideros) ; but of
course none were "at home" now. The members returned on

PROCEEDIXGS OF THE SOaETT. 47

foot along the high road, where they found the Cat-mint {Nepeta
cataria) locally abundant.

The unfavourable weather has preTented the Society arranging another
field day since the above.

* , * The fii-st of the winter evening meetings wiU take place on Tuesday,
October 9th, when the President has in^ited the members to meet at his
house. A paper will be read, and objects of interest exhibited.

Uses of Animals.— The following facts will give us some idea
of the way in which the abundance of animal life affects human
industry : — , ... ^

In 1855 we imported 26,500,000 goose and swan quiUs. in
1856 we imported 2.188,737 squirrel skins. No monkey skma
were worn as muffs before the Exhibition of 1851 ; now we im-
port hundreds of thousands. This is bringing the African races
more into contact with Europeans, and so furthering the work oi
civilisation. (It augiu-s ill however for the monkeys. ;

Upwards of 100,000 ermine skins are imported annually;
15 000,000 leeches are annually used in this country, and 500
tons of bees wax : 12,000 bears are kiUed every year for the sake

of their skins. , _

Dr. Lankestee's Lectxtres.

It would appear from a comparison of the observations of
Messrs. Bousingault and Humboldt, separated by an interval of
thirty years, that South America is gradually sinking, and if this
process be continued, at some distant epoch it may even be sub-
merged. The observations show that the altitudes of the Andes
were less when taken the second time ; and these results are con-
firmed by the fact that the snow-Hne in this range of mountams,
has, in the interval referred to, apparently risen.

Dr. Lardner.

The system of the universe forms one grand complicated piece
of celestial machinery ; circle within circle, wheel within wheel,
cycle within cycle ; revolutions so swift, as to be completed in a
few hours ! movements so slow, that their mighty periods are only
counted by milUons of years. Are we to believe that the Divine
Architect constructed this admirably adjusted system to wear out
and to fall in ruins, even before one single revolution of its com-
plex scheme of wheels had been performed? No; I see the
mighty orbits of the planets slowly rocking to and fro, their
figures expanding and contracting, their axes revolving in their
vast periods ; but stability is there. Every change shall wear
away and after sweeping through the grand cycle of cycles, the
whol^pystem shall return to its primitive condition of perfection
and beauty. Orbs of Heaven.

(&ovtt,^pai«U«('<j.

All commnnlcatlom relating to adrcrtisements, contributions, or the svpjjly
of this Tnagazine, should he addressed to the Editor, care of Mr. Butler, High
Wycomhe. Contributions must le sent in before the \oth of the month fre-
ccding the date of publication. The Editor n-ill be glud to recrire notes con-
cerning any of our local plants and animals, their times of a2)pcaring, their
popuhir names and traditions, abnormal forms and cidours, S'c; tltcse must be
autlienticated by the writer''s name and address, hut not necessarily for
publication.

Hebenon. — " Not unfrequently
rendered ' Ebony ' ! " says Mr.
Britten (p. 14 of No. 1 of this Maga-
zine), with a note of exclamation.
But ebojiy is the right rendering, and
not merely the best, but the only
possible rendering into the English
language of the word hebenon, sup-
posing this latter to be a botid fide
word, and not a monster in classical
form, corrupted by some transcriber
or dictator from the commonplace
English henbane. The word is
Oriental (originally Semitic, I be-
lieve), being fomid in the Hebrew
Bible (Ezeluel xx-\ii. 15.) as luibenim,
plural, accordmg to Gesenius and De
Wette, from the word being imported
from foreign countries in the shape
of planks, Id^e oiu- deals. It appears
in the Greek as hebclos and hebenos,
in the Latin as hebenus and hebenxun
or hebenon, and in the modern Euro-
pean languages as ebony, ehene, ebano,
&c., &c., all which signify the black
hard heart of the Diospyros hebenum,
originally, as we learn from Virgil,
to be foiuid only in India.

" Sola India nigrum
Pert hebcmim."
Though the modem languages have
dropped the h, it found in the form
of heben in our old English poets. So
it appears reasonable and natui-al to
interjjret hebenum or hebenon, ebony.
!Mr. B. as I understand him, takes
hebenon to be a mistake for henbane.
But do tlie symptoms described by
the poet agree in any one particular
with those detailed in Mr. B.'s amus-
ing little monastic fiction ? ^^^ly not
allow Shakspere to make use of the

black, ill-smelling, deadly-looking,
" cursed " tree as a poetical poison ?
On the other hand, only fancy the
royal victim of this solemn tragedj',
meeting his death by — henbane!
Is it possible that he, of that more
than mortal ' form and combination,'
Where every God did seem to .set his seal.
To give the world assurance of a man —
could have been such a miserable
chicken as to succumb to a small
quantity of this contemptible bii'd-
poison ? I am under the impression
that the ebony is the " tree of death"
of the Persian paradise ; but in eon-
sequence of the confused and index-
less state of the German tomes,
which are the authorities on Oriental
archaeology, cannot verify this.

E. J. P., ,

I THINK it is a fact worth knowing,
that beech leaves are an excellent
substitute for feathers in beds, and
in this part, they may be gathered
with little trouble and expense.
Gathered about the fall, and some-
what before they are much frost-
bitten, they form the best and easiest
mattresses in the world, instead of
straw; because, besides their tender-
ness and lying loosely together, they
continue sweet for seven or eight
years, long before which time straw
becomes musty and hard.

Beech Leap.

" An immaterial principle, similar
to that which, by its excellence,
places man so much above animals
does exist unquestionably in the
latter, and whether it be called soul,
reason, or instinct, it presents in the

COBRESFONDElfCE.

■whole range of organized beings, a
series of phenomena closely linked
together, and upon it are based not
only the higher manifestations of the
mind, but the very permanence of
the specific differences which charac-
terise every organ. Most of the argu-
ments of philosophy in favour of the
immortality of man, apply equally
to the permanency of this principle
in other living beings."

Professor Agassiz.

" No one can doubt that the roots,
as it were, of those gi-eat faculties
which confer on man his immeasur-
able superiority above all other
animate things, are traceable far down
into the animate world. The dog,
the cat, and the parrot, return love
for our love, and hatred for our
hatred. They are capable of sham.e
and sorrow, and though they may
have no logic nor conscious ratioci-
nation, no one who has watched
their ways can doubt that they pos-
sess that power of rational cerebra-
tion which evolves reasonable acts
from the premises furnished by the
senses — a process which takes fully
as large a share as conscious reason
in human activity."

Professor Owen.

Moles. — The Cosmos relates an in-
teresting experiment, which proves
the service rendered to agriculturists
by moles, and the impolicy of de-
stroying these little quadrupeds. In
a commune of the Canton of Zurich,
the municipal council were lately
about to proceed to the selection of
a molecatcher, when JI. Weber, a
distingtiished natiu-alist, laid before
the board the follo\\-iiig facts. M.
Weber had carefully examined the
stomachs of fifteen moles caught in
different localities, but failed to dis-
cover therein the slightest vestige of
plants or of roots ; whereas they
were filled by the remains of earth-
worms. M. Weber, not satisfied by
this fact, shut up several moles in a
box containing sods of earth on
which fresh grass was growing, and
a smaller case of grubs and earth-
womis. In nine days two moles de-
voured 3il white worms, 193 earth-
worms, 25 caterpillars, and a mouse,

skin and bones, which had been en-
closed when alive in the box. M.
Weber next gave them raw meat,
cut up in small pieces, mixed with
vegetables ? the moles ate the meat
and left the plants. He next gave
them nothing but vegetables ; in 24
hours two moles died of starvation.
Ajiother naturalist calculated that
two moles des&oyed 20,000 white
worms in a single year. These facts
ought to convince fanners that to mul-
tiply the moles would be much better
than to destroy them, and the earth
they turn up enriches the land, so
much so, that the produce is often l, >».
doubled. R. M.Br (f -l''^*^"

FuxERAL OF A Bee. — A Corres-
pondent transmits the following : —
" On Sunday morrung last I had the
pleasure of mtnessing a most in-
teresting ceremony, which I desire
to record for the benefit of your
readers ; and if Dr. Gumming, the
Times' beemaster, happens to be one
of them, I would particularly com-
mend it to his notice. ^Miilst
walking with a friend in a garden
near Falkirk, we observed two bees
issuing from one of the hives, bearing
betwixt them the body of a defunct
comrade, -ndth which they flew for a
distance of ten yards. We followed ■*
them closely, and noted the care with
which they selected a convenient hole
at the side of the gravel walk — the
tenderness with which they com-
mitted the body, head downwards,
to the earth — and the solicitude with
which they afterwards pushed against
it two little stones, doubtless 'in
memoriam.' Their task being ended,
they paused for about a minute, per-
haps to drop over the grave of their
friend a sympathising tear, when
they flew away, and, as John Bunyan
says in his dream, ' I saw them no
more.' " — Glasgow Herald.

The HfMMiNG Bird Moth. — Is it
not rather remarkable that the Hum-
ming Bird Hawk Moth has not yet
appeared ? After such a super-abun-
dant supply of them last season, it
seems strange that none are about
now. They were out very late last
year too. I saw one on Bledlow
Ridge in November.

A Young Entomologist.

CORRESPONDENCE.

Many of tlie Lepidoptera appear
in munbers only in some particular
seasons, and the phenomenon is not
at all satisfactorily accounted for yet.
It is one of those many problems in
Natui'e wliich continually remind us
of the immense amount of labour yet
necessary to discover an explanation
of some of her commonest mysteries.
The above moth has been seen in
Wycombeonceortwicetliisyear. No
doubt the continual wet weather last
winter and this summer destroyed
many of the pupae. Ed.

Hawk Moths. — The caterpillars
of some of the Hawk Moths have
been very abimdant this year ; I have
had about twenty of the PrivetHawk,
eight of the Poplar, two of the Lime
Hawk, and two of the Eyed Hawk.
Many more have been found, but as
far as I can discover, none of the
Death's Head, which were so abun-
dant last year. The boys call all
these caterpillars "locusts," 'because
they hare a horn on the tail. I am
unable to explain the logic involved.
The lai-va; of the Buff Tip Moth may
now be found in colonies on the lime,
beech, elm, and other trees.

Hy. Ulltett.

The Chantarelle {Cantlmrellus
ciha7'his). " What be yer a goin to
do with they things ? " said a son of
the soil to me the other day. I had
in my hand a basket of golden Chan-
tarelles, to which allusion was thus
unceremoniously made. " I am
gomg to eat them," I replied. "To
eat 'em ! Why they're toadstools ! "
responded my fi'iend : whereupon I
gave hmi a short, and, I flattered
myself, able account of the various
edible fungi which sui-round us at
this season. He listened — looked
on mc with evident pity — and then
turned away in lofty contempt. A
year ago, I should have been as un-
likely to eat fungi fi'om the woods
as he' — but expericntia docet — and I
am now an ardent admirer of Chan-
tarelles from a culinary, as well as
from an a>sthetic point of view. Last
Autunan, I sent a box of our wood-

land fungi to a friend in town, who
is "well up" in such things. He
retui'ned me a rough sketch of one,
to which he appended a short de-
scription, wdth the practical remark,
" Eat it." Tliis was the Chantarelle.
Accordingly, I collected sufficient
for a dressing, and, after they had
been well washed and trimmed,
had them stewed, with butter,
pepper, and salt, after the manner of
mushrooms, and served upon a slice
of toast. On this occasion, they
were stewed somewhat too rapidly ;
and the result might be briefly de-
scribed as tough, and I was the only
partaker of the dish. During the
last month, however, three dishes
of Chautarelles have appeared upon
oiu- breakfast table, and have' been
thoroughly appreciated by the fa-
mily. Their flavour is similar to
that of a mUd mushi-oom. Those
who feel mclined to taste for them-
selves, may find Chautarelles in
almost every one of oui' Wycombe
woods, from the latter end of August
tUl the end of October or beginning
of November. They are easily re-
cognisable, being of a rich yellow
colour- all over ; the stem is very
thick, gradually expandmg into the
top, or J) lie US, which is funnel-shaped,
and smooth, thus differing from the
umbrella-form assumed by the mush-
room, and many more of oiu- common
fungi. The gills are very thick, and
look more lilie veins ; and the whole
plant is sometimes imbedded iix
leaves, the top only appearing.
Chanturelles grow sonietinies singly,
and sometimes in patches ; they
have a peculiar scent, which is said
to resemble that of apricots, though
I confess myself unable to discover
this likeness. A great deal more
information regarding this and other
edible fungi, may be found in a little
illustrated book, price 6s., entitled
"A Plain and Easy Account of
British Fungi," waitten by Mr. M.
C. Cooke, and published at 192,
Piccadilly, to wliich I beg to refer
my readers.

James Britten.

ERRATA in No. 1. Page 16, line sixteen from the top, for "Water"
read " Walter." Page 17, lineten from top, for "Alkekeng " read "Alkekengi."

gt ^oKtwibtv gamftU.

I BELIEVE it is a prevalent idea that in a late Autumn or
Winter walk there is little or nothing to be found to interest
or admire ; this is a mistake, for there is no season of the year in
which Dame Nature does not furnish us with some ohjcct of
attraction. As a true lover of Nature, finding fresh beauties in
every wood, lane, and hedgerow, I am anxious to make others
participators in my pleasure, and will ask them to accompany me
in imagination in a lovely ramble which I have this day enjoyed
with a friend.

The neighbourhood of Wycombe abounds in charming walks of
varied beauty, — hiU, dale, and wood, forming scenery of no com-
mon order ; and our ramble of to-day is by no means the least
beautiful among them. Passing through West Wycombe and
under the hill, where the bright sun shining on the velvet sward
and rich old yew trees formed a picture of exquisite beauty, we
ascended the long hill leading to Wheeler End. In the lane we
noticed many tufts of the Male Fern {Lastrea Filix-mas), and tlie
gnarled roots of many of the trees overhanging the road, " bearded
with moss," were decorated with the lovely golden-fruited Polypody
{Polypodium vulgar e) ; on the banks were the elegant Long-stalked
Cranesbill {Oeranium columhmum) and the Herb Robert [G.
Rohertianum) blossoming in great profusion, with here and there
a root of the Soft Dovesfoot {G. molle). The Common at Wheeler
End is fast losing all claim to the title, large portions of it being
already enclosed ; these encroachments on the ancient rights of
the geese, donkeys, &c., are very painful to every lover of
Nature, the commons being some of her richest treasuries. The
Furze ( Vlex europceus) is here at all seasons more or less gaily in
bloom. I was greatly amused on this Common in the Spring
by the eccentric conduct of a pair of Blackcaps (^Curruca atri-
capilla), which followed us the whole time, scolding in the most

52 A NOVEMBER BAMBLE.

emphatic manner, and constantly %ing down close to our dogs,
venturing almost to beat them with their tiny wings.

Wending our way homeward by a field path we passed a small
farm, where I lingered awhile at the gate and watched the arrange-
ments for the nightly comfort of the various animals, each appear-
ing to be kindly cared for ; even the donkey, usually so oppressed,
was here uuhai'nessed by loving little hands, and, with a gentle
pat and a kiss, turned into the orchard to feed with those busy
vegetarians, the geese — altogether forming a pretty and peaceful
picture. Near the field path we found hosts of old friends still
lingering on the sunny hillside in almost undiminished beauty,
among them the three Geraniums before named ; Buxbaum's
Speedwell ( Veronica Buxhaumii), with its large brilliant blue
flowers ; Field Scabious {Knautia arvensis) ; Shepherd's Needle
{Scandix Peden-veneris) ; Chicory (^Cichorium Intylus); Wild
Ivadish [Raphanus Raphanistrum) ; with a few plants of the pretty
but troublesome Corn Crowfoot (i2rtW!<«ei<?«s arvensin). In a field
of turnips we saw a fine plant of the Garden Marigold ( Calendula
arvensis) in full bloom. Many of the trees were wreathed with
graceful climbing plants, the Black Bryonj' {Tamus communis),
with its brilliant crimson berries, being most conspicuous. Our
path in the woods lay through deep beds of leaves, the crisp
rustling of which under our feet reminded me of the murmur of
the sea upon a soft sandy shore ; here we were frequently startled
by a rabbit or other small animal springing up and bounding
away over the leaves.

From Toweridge the path leads above West Wycombe Park,
whence the view is remarkably pretty; passing near a wood
•where, in Spring, we find one of our sweetest and lovliest wild
flowers, the Lily of the Valley ( Convallaria majalis). Near Chapel
Lane, into which our path leads, is a small triangular wood,
almost surrounded by M'ater, where the earliest Primroses (Primula
vulgaris) are ever found. Thence our route led through a narrow
lane, past Desborough and Co})y Farm to Newland. This lane
in Spring is full oi floral treasures, and even now is bright with
the varied hues of the Autumn leaves, red, purple, and rich golden

A NOVEMBER RAMBLE. 53

yellow, wticb, with the fruit of the Hawthorn ( Crataegus Oxya-
cantha), and the Hght feathery seed of the Traveller's Joy
{Clematis Vitalba), veil the departing year in a robe of beauty.
The sun having now disappeared, our observations were
brought to a close ; while the remainder of our walk was
brightened by myriads of stars, so beautifully called by Long-
fellow, "the forget-me-nots of the angels."

E.G.

High Wycombe, Nov. 10, 1866. /J ,

In giving up discovery, one gives up one of the highest enjoy-
ments of Natural History. There is a mysterious delight in the
discovery of a new species, akin to that of seeing for the first
time, in their native haunts, plants or animals of which one has
tni then only read. Some, surely, who read these pages have
experienced that latter delight ; and, though they might find it
hard to define whence the pleasure arose, know well that it was a
solid pleasure, the memory of which they would not give up for
hard cash. Some, surely, can recollect, at theii' first sight of the
Alpine SoldaneUa, the Ehododendron, or the Black Orchis,
growing upon the edge of the eternal snow, a thrill of emotion
not immixed with awe ; a sense that they were, as it were, brought
face to face with the creatures of another world ; that nature
was independent of them, not merely they of her ; that trees
were not merely made to build their houses, or herbs to feed their
cattle, as they looked on those wild gardens amid the wreaths of
the untrodden snow, which had lifted their gay flowers to the
sun year after year since the foundation of the world, taking no
heed of man, and all the coil which he keeps in the valleys far
beneath.— Eev, C. Kjngsley. — " Glaucus.'"

•' Might not the very admiration of Nature have been an act
of worship," continue! Lancelot. " How can we better glorify
the woiker than by u. lighting in his work?"— "F^flsi;." — Eev.C.

KlNGSLET.

#tt iwatMitij w'ltu vt^ptt U <^tt\0^\al iMt$*

THE parent of incredulity with, regard to scientific truths is, in
the majority of cases, ignorance. People refuse to believe
a statement because the fact to "which it refers is beyond the
range of their experience, and they cannot understand how it is
ascertained. The most commonly accepted doctrines of Geology
were once rejected with an amount of contenipt and even of pity,
quite equal to that with which the ideas of Solomon de Cans and
the Marquis of Worcester, concerning steam, were heard. To a
certain extent this principle may be a good one ; but when it ex-
tends to a resolute refusal to believe the statements of persons
whose experience is much greater than our own, it becomes
reprehensible. And for this reason, that anyone may, if he chooses
to exercise the powers imparted to him, examine into these things
for himself, and so become capable of judging about them: when
he refuses to do this, in addition to refusing to believe, the very
utmost we can do for him is to leave him in his wilful ignorance.
What numbers of people there are who firmly beheve the earth
to be still in the same state in which it first came from the hands
of the Creator ; who laugh when you assert that the dry land upon
•which they stand was once covered by the sea ; who smile in
pity for you when you revive the tale of an old Atlantis, and say
it is not at all improbable : they forget how our mighty rivers are
constantly wearing down their banks, deepening their channels,
and occasionally seeking fresh beds ; how waterfalls grind down
rocks ; how ice and frost cause them to crumble away ; how the
restless dash of the sea wears away the shore, while in other
places the mouths of rivers are filling up. You remind them of
these, you refer them to a new island lately sprung up during an
earthquake in mid ocean, to the action of volcanoes and floods of
lava century after century — and you startle them ; they begin to

* Read before the Society at the first Eveiiing Meeting (October 9, 1866)
of the Second Winter Session, 1866-7.

ON INCfijiDULITY "WITH RESPECT TO GEOLOGICAL FACTS. 55

think they were wrong ; but still they make a dead stop at the fact
that the Wycombe Valley, e.g., was once at the bottom of the sea.
You then take them to a chalk quarry, show them its nature, ask
them how the fossils came there '? Tlie general reply, when any
thought is exercised at aU, is, that the Deluge left them thei-e ; and
. this, although a deception, is at least a point gained, for it makes
them acknowledge that the Deluge wrought a change on the earth's
surface. But what are we to say to a man who declares, in spite
of all you tell him, that he does not believe these fossils ever
were living animals, but that God created the quarry with them
in their present state embedded in it ? Is he any better than un-
believing philosophers who referred them to an abortive attempt
of Nature — a soi't of trial of skiU before she attempted to make the
perfect being ? With such a person we cannot argue, since he
does not inherit the ground which we ought to possess in common,
on which to base our premises — I allude to the use of his senses
in connection with his reflective faculties. Though the number
of such people is decreasing it is stiU considerable ; and they are
to be found mostly amongst those who make the greatest religious
profession : they fancy that the Bible teaches them differently ;
but ask them where, and they are lost ; they will not however
yield their belief any the more for that. Few educated people, who
have honestly looked at both sides of the question, would now
affirm that the earth is scarcely 6000 years old, — I say if they have
loolced at loth sides, — because there is a certain section of educated
persons who will not look at the opposite side for fear it should
prove to be the right one ; they will tell you that they have con-
scientiously examined one side and found it to be true, and they
refuse on principle to examine the other. As these will not argue,
they must go into the same class with the man who believes in the
plastic attempts of the Creator.

I thought of taking just one or two of the common facts of
Geology that are more or less appalling to such persons as those I
have mentioned, and of showing the simple grounds on which
they are to be received and believed.

56 ON IN^CEEDULITY WITH RESrECT TO GEOLOGIOAL FACTS.

As regards the explanation given by tliem of tlie appearance
of fossil shells and skeletons — that the}' M'ere so created — I would
say very little in deference to the common sense of the true en-
quii'ers, since thej'' would themselves demolish it. A skeleton
found on the snowy sides of the Alps, or in a chasm at the foot of
the Andes, is at once said to be that of some living being : if we
find one embedded in stone, why may we not di-aw the same con-
clusion ? In fact, not to be allowed to draw it, as I heard a friend
say once, is to attribute to the Creator an intention to lead us
astray by the right use of our faculties.

But I will take one of the very first assertions of Geology, the
formation of our hiUs under water — the statement, for instance,
that the hills on which we ramble were once under the sea — they
were in fact constructed there — there was a period of time when
they did not exist, although the other parts of the earth did. To
the sceptic in Geology this is tantamount to denying the truth of
the Bible — an ideal Bible, mind, not the one we commonly under-
stand as the Bible. " "What," he says, " do you mean to say that
the earth was formed piecemeal? — that these Wycombe hills were
put here after the other part was finished ? Absurd." " Gently,"
we reply, "don't be so hasty in drawing conclusions ; the hills
were not j92<< here ; you do not understand the groundwork of the
science ; let us give you a few illustrations. Have you ever
noticed the little channels by the side of the road after a heavy
shower of rain ? Have you seen how the sweep of the water has
laid the sand in streaks, how the materials are assorted according
to their gravity, the rubbish in one place, the heavier i)ebbles in
another ? Have you noticed how, where the action of the water
was most violent, the bed of the channel is waved and ridged with
regular layers of sand? Should you have any hesitation in
ascribing all this to aqueous force, even if you were not informed
that such was the case ? A.nd if you saw on the sand an impres-
sion resembUng a bird's foot, would you not say at once that a bird
had walked over it? Now we find all these appeai'ances in our
geological excursions — we split open a slab of stjno and find its
surface in waves and ridges exactly like those we saw in the

OK INCREDULITY WITH. RESPECT TO GEOLOQICAIi FACTS. 57

channel ; we look at another and it is crossed in two or three
directions by tracks apparently of birds ; but when we ascribe
these to the same cause you disbelieve it — why ? Why does the
impression of a foot on sand signify that an animal has walked
over it, while the same imjiression on stone signifies nothing ?
Well, the hardness of the material puzzles you. Now listen
again. Suppose that your wayside channel, down which the rain
sent a miniature torrent, was filled thereby with clay instead of
sand — it is immaterial which, but we say clay to make the
illustration more evident — and that the same impressions were
made upon it, waves, ridges, hollows, footmarks ; suppose that it
remained undisturbed by any agency whatever, under a hot July
sun for a week, the identical marks would stiU remain, though
they are on a harder sui-face ; is there any reason now to doubt
their cause ? What then if it lay undisturbed for many hundreds
or thousands of years — or wliat if, when it was partially hardened,
fresh layers of sand or clay were thrown down, and aU the little
hollows filled up, and then many ages elapsed and it was hardened
into stone ? Would it not easily split in the direction of the
plane of all the markings, and exhibit those markings almost as
distinctly as at first ? You see clearly that the thing is not such
an impossibility — that there is, at any rate, some probability in it.
Look at this mass of shells I have brought from Lane End, it is
almost as hard as iron ; but when I took it from the ground it was
soft claj', and would scarcely hold its own weight together ; am I
not warranted in concluding that these shells once contained
animals? If they did. I know from the character of the shells,
that they were marine animals ; if so may I not conclude, either
that they have been brought from the now distant sea and buried
here, or that the sea itself was once here, and that here they lived
and died ? The former conclusion is too unlikely to be entertained
for a moment. As regards our own chalk hiUs there is not much
difiiculty if the foregoing conclusions are accepted. Difi'erent
rivers and seas carry away different kinds of mud or sediment
with them, and, therefore, when it is deposited, different kinds of
stone are formed ; the sea washing the chalk cliffs of Dover,

58 ON INCHEDTTLITY TnTH RESPECT TO GEOLOGICAL FACTS.

carries away a very diiferent burden to that washed by the Atlantic
off the rocky coast of Ireland. As a more practical illustration
we may point to the fact that a great deposition of chalk is now
going on in the channels of the Bermudas, whore the ship anchors
come up covered with white lime mud."

Our friend is willing to allow now that there may be some
foundation for M-hat we advanced, and the next question probably
will be, Might not all the shells found fossil have been left by the
Deluge ? We reply, No ; and a very little consideration will show
us this. We find fossils in every variety of situation, from the
surface to depths of hundreds and thousands of feet. Now of
course these shells were there lefore the enclosing substance— chalk
or whatever else, — and if we find them at the bottom of chalk
masses several hundred feet in depth, it follows that this thickness
of chalk has been laid over them since. Is it at all probable that
the forty days of aqueous tumult produced tliis ? If so, how can
we account for the alternate layers of flint and clialk ? But the
greatest objection is this. We find one particular class of fossils
in our chalk hills, a totally different class in the oolitic Jiills of
Gloucestershire, and another amongst the coal bods of Lancashire :
how could the waters of the Deluge be so discriminating ? How
happens it that the different classes of animal remains are never
confusedly mixed ? And the chalk in England yields the same
fossils as that in Europe — the coal of Lancashire and that of North
America gives us the same — in fact each particular formation, in
whatever part of the world it may be, yields its own peculiar
class of fossil: this could not have been brought about by a
chaotic flood, but by some agent, regular in its action, and obedient
to certain laws. The same kind of reasoning will apply to the
fact that the various formations are as regular in the order of
superposition as the fossils; if tlie Flood brought them about,
how is it that eacli occupies a certain determinate relative position
— that the Lane End clay has never yet been found beneath chalk
— that chalk always lio;; above green, — coal always below
oolite and lias? I tliir.lc that these questions are sufficient to
show our wavering friend that he must give way a little.

ON rNTCEEDULIXy ■WITH RESPECT TO GEOLOGICAL FACTS. 59

Next, I may mention the geologic age of the earth. None of
us T'ould affirm, I presume, that this can be obtained from tlio
Bible. " In the beginning " the heavens and earth were created
— and that heginning may have been 6,000 or 6,000,000 years ago
for what the Scriptures tell us. If you once allow that the hills
were formed in the bed of the sea by sediment regularly and
therefore sloivly deposited, the idea of immense periods of time at
once takes possession of the mind : we can, however, form no
definite ideas of these, because we do not know the rate of deposi-
tion. Try to imagine how long one of our own hills — Keeji Hill
— would take in its formation : the white sediment dropping
slowly to the bottom, year by year, as each animal died, and its
shell sank and decayed, or was covered up : then think tliat the
cretiiceous formation in its greatest thickness has been set down
at 1,200 feet —that the thickness of many formations beneath it is
as great — that there have been several bods of clays and .sands
deposited over it manj' hundreds of feet in depth, — how manv
ages would thus be consumed? EecoUect that the chalk mass
itself is made up of animal remains, chiefly microscopic, whoso
tenants must have flourished he/ore the chalk was formed into
ranges of hiUs — must have belonged to this earth when peopled by
different animals to those now roaming about — how long did they
exis: as a class ? Omitting the Oolite, Lias, Trias, coming next in
order under Cretaceous Eocks, let us notice the Coal Measures
several thousand feet in thickness : they consist of beds of pure coal
stratified between beds of clay and sandstone ; the coal itself con-
sists of vegetable matter; how long did the plants and trees
flourish before they were embedded ? how long did it take to form
a bed of sandstone over them ; how long for another period of
vegetation? another bed of sandstone? a third and perhaps a
fourth ? The mind recoils from the calculation.

The Falls of Niagara are often appealed to as a proof of a greater

age for the earth than that generally allowed. Thej- are situated

at the farther end of a goi'ge or passage seven miles long. The

proofs are perfect that the Falls were once at the lower end of this

gorge — that the river, falling over this ancient escarpment, by
I

60 ON INCEEDULITY WITH EESPECT TO OEOLOGICAL FACTS.

degrees has worn for itself a channel 1 60 feet deep, backwards
and backwards through, the strata. Of course some parts of the
strata were softer than others and were more quickly worn awaj^
but Professor Huxley considers that a probable calculation shows
that something Hke 10,000 years have been employed in forming
the gorge.

Then there is an astronomical proof of the earth's age, which
was brought forward by Mr. Lucas in a lecture he once gave in
Wycombe, which I think very important. Let it be granted
first that the earth and all the planets and stars were created at
the same time. We learn this from the Bible ; and it is easy to
see that the earth being a portion of the Solar System, that system
coidd not exist as it is without it ; the insertion of the earth (had
it not pre-existed) or the abstraction of it (now it does exist)
would disturb the " harmony of the spheres." Similarly our
Solar System is an integral portion of one vast assemblage of
systems, the destruction of any one of which must bring about the
destruction of the whole. All, then, were created at once. Now
there are certain stars, or masses of stars, so distant that the light
travelling from them takes 60,000 years to reach this earth: many
people who do not know how this is found out refuse to believe
it, but no student of astronomy or of trigonometry would disbeUeve
it. We can see these stars, their light has reached us ; i.e., the
rays of light now entering the eye through the telescope started
from these stars 60,000 years ago; therefore the stars were then
in existence, and as the earth was also, the earth must be at least
60,000 years old. Grant this, and there is no limit we can put to
its age.

Time prevents me taking up other points on which people are
incredulous ; I trust, however, that sufficient has been said to
show that geologists have sufficient grounds for at least the pro-
bability of their theories, however startling they may at first
iipj)ear. Geology does not, and cannot, contradict the Bible when
rightly studied ; the earth is just as much the work of God as the
Bible ; both are occasionally misread, but that does not prove the
study of either to be unlawful ; both tell the same wondrous tale

AMONGST THE GRASS. 61

with respect to the display of His power ; but, as tlie study of the
crust of the earth would never enlighten us with regard to
spiritual truth, so no amount of biblical study will ever teach us
Geology or Astronomy. ^^ Ulltett.

g^mong^t n\t (SfasiSi.

WHEN Mr. H. C. Watson produced his invaluable work,
'«Cybele Britannica," he found it so difficult to procure
positive information of the flora of some districts that, under the
head of Sellis perennis, he enumerated several counties in which
he had no evidence that even the common Daisy was to be
found. If this was the case with flowering plants we must expect
it to be even worse with such obscure organisms as fungi, indeed,
in half the counties of Britain we do not know that the common
mushroom or the corn-mildew is to be found. Buckinghamshire
is one of the counties concerning the inferior flora of which we
know ahnost nothing, and in the hopes of adding to our knowledge,
I am about to give a short account of one small gi'oup of fungi,
in the hope that it may lead some stray reader to hunt for them,
identify them, and record how many belong to this county.

Amongst the grass in autumn the close observer of nature wiU
not have overlooked some httle white or yellow bodies, growing
either singly or in tufts, and only conspicuous from the clearness
of their white, or the brightness of their yeUow colour. Com-
monly only from one to two inches in height and not thicker than
a crow-qum, it may be expected that hundreds of people, even in
Bucks, have walked over them, or sat down upon them, many a
time and oft, and never noticed them. These belong to a genus
of Fungi bearing the name of Clavaria, from the club-shape of
many of its members ; and as we have upwards of thirty British
species, it behoves us to write of them in some kind of order, and
for that purpose, those which are more or less clavate or simple,
shall occupy the first place. Indeed it is doubtful whether space
will permit us on this occasion to enumerate the branched species
at all.

AMONGST 7HE GRASS.

SECTION I. SOLITARY.

lui'st and foremost is the king of all our Clavarias, C. pistiUarig
(fig, 1 .), if size constitutes any claim to kingly dignity ; and having
received from lligli Wycombe a native specimen of this some-
what rare species,* its right to a first place is indisputable.

Fig. !• In size this 'club' exceeds our

figure, for it will attain a height of
more than six inches, and a thickness
of nearly an inch at the thickest part ;
externally it is smooth everyv\^htre,
and though at first of a tawny colour
becomes browner by age. Inter.ially
it is white and fleshy. This and the
four succeeding species always grow
singly and distinct, and not in Cufts,
as those of our second group.

A very rare species (C. Ardtnia)
has been found in the southern
counties, in which the clubs are much
more slender and attenuated, always
of a redder brown or rust colour, and
with the clubs hollow.

Almost equally rare is a twisted
and contorted species ( C. contorfa), of
a dirty white colour, which is oc-
casionally found bursting through
the bark of fallen branches. Indeed
both C. Ardenia and C. contorta differ from the majority of their
feUows in selecting fallen branches on which to vegetate.

A smaller species ( C. jimcea), with slender thread-like hollow
clubs is sometimes abundant in certain localities amongst dead
leaves in woods. The stem is hoUow, and at first pale externally,
becoming ultimately of a reddish-brown.

• It was gathered in 1865 in Ileamton Wood, West Wycombe; and last
year in the Bo.kcr Woods. — Ed.

Fig. 2.

AMONGST THE GEASS. Oo

A slender, delicate, little white Clamria will
often make its appearance on tlie soil in garden
pots. This is C. acuta (fig. 2), usually the tops
of the clubs are pointed, but occasionally they
are somewhat blunt.

The fifth and last species of this group
(C uncialis) grows on the dead stems of umbel-
liferous plants, and bears some resemblance to
the last, but is always blunt at the apex. Its
general height is about an inch. The substance
is white and tough, and not at aU fragile, as in
some species of the following group.

SECTION II. C.E3PIT0SE.

In this section the clubs are still simple or unbranched, but
they grow in tufts, which are more or less fused together or
united at the base. These differ much in colour, for in one
species it is purple, in another it is rose-coloured, in three it is
yellow, in two it is clay-coloured, and in two it is white.

The purple species {C. purpurea) has elongated hollow clubs,

and grows in pastures amongst grass. It is by no means common.

The rose-coloured species (C. rosea) also loves the grass, but is

decidedly rare ; the substance is brittle and the tips of the clubs

Fig. 3. become yellowish. I have never been

fortunate enough to find either of these.

Of the three yellow species, C. fusifm--
mis is common in woods.* It grows in
rather dense tufts of dehcate spindle-shaped
clubs varying from one to two or three
inches in height, which are ultimately hol-
low, the tips of the clubs are generally of a
darker colour*. The acute ends character-
ize this species. (Fig. 3.)

The second yeUow species, C. ceranoides,
also has the tips of a darker colour, but the
clubs are unequal and not pointed, but
Is ftequent also on commons ; Naphill Common, &c. — Ed.

64 AMONGST THE GEASS.

often divided a little way down. It is difficult to determine the
line whicli separates it from C. fusiformis.

The other species ( C. incequalls) is very variable in form, some
of the clubs being simple and others forked, but none of them dis-
coloured at the tips. Its substance is more brittle, and the clubs
do not become hoUow. It is not uncommon amongst grass, es-
pecially in woods.
Fl.

Of the clay-coloured species C. argillacea is the

largest, and the brittle clubs have a shining yellow
stem ; whereas C. tenuipes has inflated and wrinkled
clubs (fig. 4.), and a very slender stem. Altogether
the latter species scarcely exceeds an inch in
height. Both are found on heaths.
Finally the two white species are C. vermiculata and C. fragilis.
The first of these is very common on lawns and pastures and al-
ways white.* The clubs are cylindrical and rather attenuated at
the tips, not exceeding three inches in length. They certainly
resemble a tuft of fairy candles, and would make a very good stew
if they were not so small. The clubs are never coloured or hollow,
whereas in C. fragilis, the clubs are cylindrical and hoUow, often
yellowish, with a white stem, exceedingly fragile. Both are rather
common, but the latter prefers meadows to upland pastures, and
there is very little difference in their relative sizes. It would be
difficult by means of woodcuts to give a distinct notion of the speci-
fic difi'erence in some of these little plants, as so much depends
upon the colour, but by the exercise of a httle care and patience
it may not be impossible to recognize them by the brief characters
here given.

This chapter having already attained its Umit, the branched
species, belonging to this genus, must form the subject of a future
communication.

M. C. Cooke.

* Gathered last autumn on Naphill Common.— Ed.

Prtitious to m %^(mht |IotH— 1S66.

ALTHOUGH every branch of Natural History has ever some-
thing new to set before us, and although we can never ex-
haust the marvellous stores of information presented to us in each
natural object, it is, of course, self-evident that just in proportion
as we become more acquainted with any one subject, we have
just so much the less to find out about it. In other words,
to speak more particularly of our own district, each plant or
insect that we find for the first time leaves one less for future
discovery. The careful inventory which has been made during
the last few years of the botanical productions of our woods
and fields has left room for but few additions : and it is
therefore with great pleasure that I record the discovery during
the past season, of seven species of flowering plants hitherto un-
recorded for the Wycombe district.

I may hero remark that the area comprised in the district to
the examination of which our Society is especiall}' devoted is a
radius of five miles from the parish church of High Wycombe, —
this being the extent to which the labours of local naturalists are
usually confined : and my forthcoming Flora of Wycombe will be
arranged in accordance with this generally adopted plan. I will
now briefly mention the seven species recently added to our list
in the order of their discovery.

The Fielu Mouse-ear Chickweed {Cerastium arvcnse) was
duly recorded at page 25 of the Society's Magazine. It has not
yet been observed in any other locality than that there mentioned,
and we must consequently consider it, for the present, as merely
a visitor to the district.

Tue Fine-leaved Heath {ISrica cinered). Although by no
means a rare plant, had not been recorded among us until the
23ra of Juue last, when I had the pleasure of finding it in great
plenty upon Wooburn ComniDu. The same observations also
apply to

66 ADDITIONS TO THE WYCOMBE FLOS,A.

The Ttjited Water Scorpion-grass {Myosotis cmpitom), whicli
grows in damp places and by the edges of ponds in the same
locality, and has since beon observed near Whittington Park. It
is an insignificant little plant, with small blue flowers, and much
resembles its relative, the Forget-me-not {M. pdiisiris) in general
appearance.

The Slender Tare ( Vicia gracilis), is a muc'i rarer species than
any of the following — indeed, it may be considered as the princi-
pal botanical discovery of the year. The sub-})rovince of "West
Thames (comprising the counties Berks, Bucks, and Oxon) was
not known to produce it, until it was discovered, on the 23rd of
June, by Dr. Bowstead, growing in some plenty at the foot of the
field side of the embankment, on the right hand side of the road,
at the beginning of the ascent of White Hill, as you go to
Beaconsfield. In general appearance it resembles the Hairy
Tare ( V. hirsuta), but the flowers are much larger and more con-
spicuous, of a delicate purplish blue.

The Acrid Lettuce [Lactuca virosa) I found growing very
plentifully among the Furze on the gravelly embankment on the
left-hand side of the road going up White Hill. It is a tall
plant, with a thick stem, which has small but sharp thorns, and
when broken, exudes a wliite milky juice ; the flowers are
yellow, resembling those of the Garden Lettuce.

The Cotton Thistle {Onopordum Acanthium). Two fine plants
of this, the handsomest of our Thistles, were observed in a hedge
adjoining the Ham Farm, near West Wycombe ; they may, how-
ever, have originated in the adjoining garden.

The Lesser Dodder {Cuscuta Epithymtim). This pretty para-
site was discovered on Wooburn Common by Miss Chandler,
growing upon Furze and other plants ; although a frequent
species, it is not known to occur on any other of our commons.

In addition to this list of plants new to our district, it may be
interesting to enumerate a few of the rarer species, already
known to occur with us, for which additional localities have been
discovered. Tlie Woad {hatis tinctoria), which was in 1865
noticed among the Saintfoin by the railway near the Bird-in-

ADDITIONS TO THE "WTCOMBE FLORA. 67

Hand, was last year pretty plentiful, appearing at intervals
between that place and Bradenham. The Annual TeUow Cress
{Nasturtium palustre), an insignificant little plant, which has hither-
to been noticed only at Lane End and Marlow, has been gathered
near the Marsh Green : and the Hairy Eock Cress {Arahis hir-
suta) has been found in Wycombe Park, and several other locali-
ties. The rare Coralwort {Dentaria hulhifera), has been noticed in
the little wood at the foot of White HiU. ; and Mr. Marshall has
traced it beyond our district as far as to Amersham. The Bar-
berry {Berleris vulgaris) the claims of which to be regarded as a
native of our district rested solely on the specimen on Keep HUl,
has been observed sparingly in the neighbourhood of Marlow by
the Eev. Bernard Smith. Wooburn Common, already mentioned
as the locality of two or three new plants, produces the elegant
TeUow Cow-wheat {Melampyrum pratense) in great abundance :
the absence of this species from our neighbourhood generally was
commented upon by Mr. Mill, in his list of Marlow plants pub-
lished in 1850 ; and although Mr. Melvill noticed it in the Mar-
low vicinity in 1 865, it was still almost unknown to the district.
The lovely Bee Orchis ( Ophrijs apifera) has been gathered during
the last season in FenneU's Wood, Loudwater, in a wood near
Bradenham, and on a bank near White Hill: and the little
Musk-scented Orchis [Herminium Monorchis) was abundant on Keep
Hill. Many of the localities given in a list kindly supplied me
by Mr. GaviUer have also been examined and verified. The
Solomon's Seal (^Polygonatummultifloi-um) mentioned by Withe ricg
as growing "about High Wickham, Bucks," has not yet been
noticed in our district ; and we have been equally unfortunate
with the Eed Campion {Lychnis diurna). which, although included
in Mr. Mill's Marlow list, has, at present, entirely escaped our
observation, although Mr. Marshall gathered a single specimen
on the road to Amersham about 5 J miles from Wycombe. The
Shepherd's Eod {Dipsacus pilosus) which it was feared woiild be
destroyed by the clearing of the hedges in its only Wycombe
locality, between Cressex Farm and Handy Cross, has apparently
benefited thereby ; having been finer and more abundant during

fig ADDITIONS TO THE WYCOMBE FLORA.

the past season tlian it ever was before. Last but by no means

least in importance, the Mezereon {Daphne Mezerewni) has been

found this year both in Dane Garden Wood and in Fennell's

Wood ; and a specimen has also been observed in a previously

unrecorded locality, namely, in the small wood at the foot of

White Hill.

These are, I think, the principal additions to our knowledge of

the plants of this neighbourhood which have to be recorded for the

past season. If in themselves trifling, they are to a certain extent

of importance as rendering more perfect the flora of a locality

which, form the rarity of the species which it embraces, presents

features of especial interest.*

James Britten.

* Read before the Society at the first Evening Meeting (October 9, 1866)
of the Second Winter Session, 1866-7.

Pst 0t m\im\t iiwl^, So. 1.

Falconid/E,

Sparrow Hawk Falc9 nisus Not very common.

Kestrel F. tinnunculus . . Plentiful ; known as the

Red Hawk and Little Hawk.

Stiuqidm.

Barn Owl Strixflammea . . . .Common.

Brown Owl S. aluco ,,

Laniad^.
EsD-BACKED Shrike, .Lanius colluris. . . .Called Butcher-bird.

MUSCICAPEDJE,

Flycatcher Muscicapa grisola . .Common.

MERTJLIDiE.

Missel Thrush Tmdm viscivorus. .Tolerably plentiful.

Song Thrush T. mmieus Common.

Blackbird T. merula ,,

FiELDTARE T. pUorts Called Felts and Pigeon

Felts.

Eedwinq t..,T. iliacus.

Hy. Ulltett.

^vmtiin^ iof tfie 3otxttxj,

SECOND WINTER SESSION 1866—7.

FiEST Evening Meeting, Oct. 9. — ^This was held at the house
of the President, and was very largely attended. Tea and coffee
were provided at six ©'clock ; after which the business of the
evening was opened by the President, who, in a short introductory
address, alluded feelingly to the loss which the Society would sus-
tain in the approaching departure of the Secretary. Mr. Ullyett,
then read an interesting paper " On Incredulity with respect
to Geological Facts," which will be found entire at p. 54 of the
present number ; after which he formally resigned his office as
Honorary Secretary of the Society.

It was proposed by Mr. John Parker, jun., and seconded
by Mr. E. J. Payne, that Mr. Britten be elected to the vacant
post. This resolution was put to the meeting, and was car-
ried unanimously.

A short paper, illustrated by specimens, on the additions to the
Wycombe Flora during the past season, was then read by Mr.
Britten : it will befoimd at p. 65. The objects exhibited, which
were very numerous, were inspected; among them may be
specially mentioned — casts of the eggs of the two gigantic extinct
birds, the Binornis giganteus, of New Zealand, and the JEpyornii
maximus, of Madagascar ; fossils from the Qault at Folkestone, in-
cluding several Ammonites ; some scarce fossil Crabs ; and Kent-
ish fossils from the Thanet sand, etc. : these were all lent by the
President. Mr. Britten also exhibited several specimens of wild
flowers in blossom, among which may be mentioned the Penny
Eoyal {MentJia 2}ulegium) from Naphill Common ; the fruit of the
Deadly Nightshade {Atropa Belladonna) from Hughenden ; and
the Fine-leaved Heath {Erica cinerea) from Wooburn Common.
The meeting terminated with the usual votes of thanks.

70 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOOIETT.

Second EvENiNa Meeting, Nov. 13, lield by kind permission
at the house of Mr. John Parker, jun. A vacancy having oc-
^jUrred in the Committee by the removal of Mr. Britten to the post
of Secretary, Dr. Bowstead was unanimously elected in his place.
A paper on " British Eeptiles," kindly forwarded by Mr. "W. E.
Tate, of London, was read by the Secretary. The orders Sauria
and Batrachia, as illustrated by British examples, were selected
for especial notice ; and the remarks upon each species were gath-
ered, in a great measure, from personal observation. The Presi-
dent then delivered an instructive address upon "Diatoms and
Desmids," illustrated by diagrams and coloured drawings. The
physiology of these minute vegetable organisms was explained ;
and the narrow line which separates them from the animal world
was clearly and concisely drawn. Various Diatoms were exhibi-
ted under the microscope, as were also fossil specimens of their
sporangia, from flint. Among the subjects exhibited was a
collection of Butterflies, and another of Beetles (chiefly local),
exhibited by the President, the former containing the only speci-
mens of the rare Clouded TeUow ( Colias Ednsa) which have been
taken in the Wycombe district. Various Reptiles, British and
foreign, preserved in spirits, were also on the table ; as also was
a copy of Morris' " British Birds," lent by Dr. Bowstead ; and a
series of coloiu'ed engravings of WUd Flowers. The approaching
Meteor-showerformed, as mightbeexpected,thesubjectof much con-
versation ; after which, the usual votes of thanks having been pro-
posed and acceded to, the meeting broke up.

"MtinA ioo^^.

r' has been suggested to us by a contributor that a small portion
of our space might be profitably occupied by a list of useful books
as may be usefuUy consulted by those who are desirous of increas-
ing their knowledge of Natural History. We have great pleasure
in acceding to this proposition : and have selected the following,
which, while giving sound reliable information on the subjects of

trSEFTTL BOOKS.

which they treat, are free from technicalities which might puzzle
the uninitiated.

The Animal Kingdom, as represented in Great Britain, is treated
of in the world-famed " Natural History of Selborne," of which
many editions are published; a very good one, copiously illustrated,
and annotated by the Eev. J. G. "Wood, may be obtained of
Messrs. Eoutledge for 3s. 6d. The same publishers also issue
some admirable books at the low price of Is.: "The Com-
mon Objects of the Country," by the Eev. J. G. Wood,
"British Birds' Eggs," and " British Butterflies," are all weU
illustrated; and the first named is most pleasingly written.
Mr. Hardwicke publishes "British EeptUes," by Mr. M. C. Cooke;
and " Slugs and Snails," by Mr. Ealph Tate ; both are written in
plain language, and the latter is a handy introduction to British
Conchology : both are illustrated (48. plain, 6s. coloured).

The Vegetable Kingdom is also well represented in the following
works: ""Wild Flowers of the Tear," published at Is. by the
Eehgious Tract Society ; " Flowers of the Field," by the Eev.
C. A. Johns, a valuable introduction to the classification and
description of British Plants, published by the S. P. C. K., illus-
trated, 7s. : " A Manual of Botanic Terms," by Mr. M. C. Cooke,
fuUy illustrated, 2s. 6d., published by Hardwicke, as is also
" A plain and easy Account of the British Fungi," by the same
author, with coloured plates, price 6s. ; while Messrs. Routledge
supply "British Ferns" and "Our "Woodlands, Heaths, and
Hedges," for Is. each, and " "Wild Flowers " for 28. All of these
are fully illustrated : and the last-named contains a good explana-
tion of botanical phraseology.

This list, at present very incomplete, woidd be more so did we
omit to mention Hardwicke's "Science Gossip," with which
many of our readers are doubtless already acquainted. It is admir-
ably arranged and illustrated ; and its price is but 4d. monthly.
We hope to return to this subject on a future occasion, when
works on other branches of Natural History will come under
consideration; as well as some of a more advanced style than
those above mentioned.

(ftmtm^&tm.

All comvmnieations relating to advertisements, contnlutions, or the sfupply
of this magazine, sJwvld be addressed to the Editor, care of Mr. Butler, High
Wycombe. Contributions mvst be sent in before the 15th of the montJi pre-
ceding the date of publication. The Editor Tvill be glad to receive notes con-
cernuKj ainj of our local p)lants and animals, tlieir times of appearing, their
popular iKiiiu's and traditions, abnormal forms and colours, S'c; these must be
authenticated by tlie ivriter's name and address, but iiot necessarily for
publication.

Hebenon. — Henbane v. Ebony. —
Although quite unable to equal the
amount of learning displaj'ed by Mr.
PajTie at p. 48, I still adhere to my
opinion that by hebenon, Shakespeare
most certainly intended Henbane.
In this opinion I am supported by a
great majority of Shakespearian com-
mentators. But if the Ebony was
indeed intended, we are forced to
believe that our great poet did not
know what he was talking about !
Mr. Payne seems to think it almost
impossible that a king could " suc-
cumb " to the action of Henbane,
which he humorously terms " a con-
temptible bird-poison;" but as-
suredly it would be more unlikely
that the juice of a tree, perfectly in-
nocuous, in its effects, could in any
way tend to such a result : and if we
admit that Icings are, after all, but
ordinary desh and blood — it seems
to me that a monarch is as lilvoly as
a peasant to fall a victim to the
effect of a poison. Again, Henbane
produces different effects upon dif-
ferent people ; and the sjTnptoms
given in my " amusing little monas-
tic fiction " (which, however, rests
on a solid basis of fact) ; although
they may not exactly coincide witfi
those of the poet, may be quite as
correct as his. The 'rendering' to
which I referred lias been given,
more than once, at a village pemiy
reading : and I am quite willing to
allow Mr. PajTie to cite this as an
authority, should he think fit. The
conclusion to which we must come
is briefly this : if Shakespeare knew

what he was talking about, nothing
but Henbane could have been inten-
ded by him ; but, if on the other
hand, we allow that he was exer-
cising Ms right of ' poetical license '
in no ordinary degree. Ebony, or
anything else, might have been selec-
ted for his purpose. I cannot help
thinking that the former supposition
will be most generally assented to.
James Bbitten.

The Large Tortoise-shell ( Va-
nessa Polychloros). (See p. 45.) —
This fine butterfly is not unfrequent
all round Marlow. It appears about
the end of July, and almost imme-
diately enters into its state of hyber-
nation. For a few days only it may
be observed in the sunshine, basking
on the bole of some tree, and flying
about it when disturbed. We only
saw one last summer, and it was just
outside a wood at Fingest. In April
and early May it is more easily
found, flying in the open walks of
our woods ; but the specimens are
then worn and should not be cap-
tured, as they are laying the eggs of
a future brood. I have taken the
larva just ready to turn, on palings
in tliis town, and the perfect insect
appeared about a fortnight after.
Although called by Harris in his
" Aurelian " the " Nettle Butterfly,"
it is well known to feed on the ehn,
as stated by Mr. UUyett. It is gene-
rally called "The Large Tortoise-
shell," and is regarded as a prize
among our yovmg collectors.
Rev. Bernard Smith, Qreat Marlow.

CORRESPONDENCE.

CuRioTJS Place for a Bird's
Nest. — One day in the spring of
1805, while at the Grove, Booker, I
was requested by Mr. Morris to go
into the garden and take do-svn care-
fully a watering pot, which had been
hanging to the branches of an apple
tree all the winter ; I removed it
from the branch, and on looking into
it, I saw the whole of the bottom
covered with soft moss, in the middle
of which was, sitting on its nest, a
Tomtit (Paints major). Although
the bird shewed some surprise at the
sight of me, it did not fly away : I
replaced the watering pot on the
branch, when the bird suddenly
started out and flew into a neigh-
boirring tree. I looked again into
the nest, which contained four little
eggs. What astonished me most
was the great quantity of moss which
had been collected by the little bird
for its nest, for the whole of the
bottom of the watering-pot was
covered two inches deep with the
moss, which appeared loose, but was
woven loosely with horsehair. The
nest itself was more closely woven,
and quite maintained its hollowed
appearance thereby, being lined -with
hair and small feathers. The dia-
meter of the watering-pot was about
a foot, and it would have held more
than a gallon of water. The good
lady of the house was very kind to
the little bird, and took a great in-
terest Ln its welfare, and she told me
that it afterwards hatched its young
safely. The great quantity of moss
was doubtless to absorb moisture, the
bird being able to judge by some
unknown power that no drainage
could take place through such a
dense substance as tin ; otherwise it
might have been saved much trouble
and many journeys to and fro by
simply building its nest in one
comer. Does this exhibit reason or
instinct?

R. M. BOWSTEAD, M.D.

The Green Woodpecker {Pieces
vb'idls). — This, the largest of the
British Woodpeckers, is also one of
the most beautiful of our British
Birds. Any one who wanders
through the wooded parts of Buck-
inghamshire may often detect it by

its jerky flight, and by the peculiar
scream which it utters when alarmed.
The rich green and yellow of the
back, and the deep crimson of the
back of the head, are equal in colour-
ing to the plumage of the Kingfisher.
It is a shy bird, but not uncommon,
and is widely distributed. It is
kno'\\Ti by various provincial names,
most of them indicating its habit of
boring trees: " Woodspite," "High-
hoe," "Hew-hole," " Pick-a-tree "
— also in Northumberland, " Raui-
fowl," from its habit of being noisy
before rain. From the same cause,
the old Romans called them Pliiviw
Aves. The local name in Bucks is
Wetile ( Witwall ■) . Old Christopher
Merrctt, in his valuable PhiaxRemm
Naturalium Britaunicarum, pub-
lished 200 years ago, calls them
" Witwoll," whUe Bewick gives this
name to the Large Spotted Wood-
pecker {P. major). Is " Wetile "
(of the spelling of which I am doubt-
ful) a corruption of this word, or
does it really indicate the character
of the bird as the herald of rain ? I
find, too, that its local name here is
Hickall. This is no doubt a corrup-
tion of Hickwall, but, according to
Bewick, this is the name of the Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker {P. minor).
Perhaps some of your readers can
tell me whether "Wetile" is the
correct mode of spelling the name,
and whether it is a corruption of
" Witwall " ?

T. Marshali..

Ediijle Fungi. — " I have this
autumn myself witnessed whole
hundredweights of rich, wholesome
diet rotting under trees ; woods teem-
ing with food and not one hand to
gather it; and this perhaps in the
midst of potato-blights, poverty, and
all manner of privations, and public
prayers against imminent famine. I
have, indeed, grieved when I have
considered the straitened condition
of the lower orders this year, to see"
pounds innumerable of extempore
beefsteaks growing on otir oaks in
the shape of MstuUna kepatica;
Agaricnsfusijjes, to pickle, in clusters
under them ; Pufi'-balls, which some
of oiir friends have not inaptly com-

CORRESPONDENCE.

pared to sweetbread, for the rich
delicacy of their unassisted flavour ;
Jhldna, as good as oysters, which
they somewhat resemble in taste ;
Afjaricns dcliciosus, reminding us of
tender lamb kidney; the beautiful
yellow Chantarelle, that KaUn Ka-
'(jathon of diet, growing by the
bushel, and no basket but our own
to pick up a few specimens in our
way ; the sweet nutty Boletus, in
vain calling lumself edvlis, where
there was none to believe him ; the
dainty OrceUa, the Agaricus hetero-
pJiylliis, which tastes like the craw-
fish when grilled ; the red and green
species of Affaricus to cook in any
way, and equally good in all."— i>?'.
Badham's ''Esculent Funguses of
Great Britain."

Ancle Shades Moth.— I saw a
good specimen of this moth {I'Mogo-
pfiorametichlasa) clinging to the land
side of a large block of gault on the
beach on November 30th. Was not
this very late in the year for it ? The
day was very cold, and a high wind
was blowing.

Entomologicus.

[It was rather late in the season,
but they are generally out till the end
of October.— Ed.]

Instinct v. Reason. — A bee,
which Huber watched while solder-
ing the angles of a cell with propolis,
detached a tliread of this material,
with winch she entered the cell.
Instinct would have taught her to
separate it of the exact length re-
quired, but after applying it to the
angle of the cell she found it too long,
and cut off a portion so as to fit it for
her purpose.

Hy. Ullyett.

Small Elephant Hawkmoth

( Clucrocampa pcrcellvs) . Three

specimens of this beautiful little
Hawkmoth were taken during the

past season at honeysuckle blossoms
at Bradenham, by Mr. Kennedy.

" If we A\-ish rural waUis to do our
chddren any good, we must give
them a love for rural sights, an ob-
ject in everv walk ; we must teach
them to find wonder in every in-
sect, sublimity in every hedgerow,
the records of past worlds in every
pebble, and boundless fertility upon
the barren shore ; and so, by teach-
ing them to make full use of that
limited sphere in which they now
are, make them faithful in a few
things, that they may be fit hereafter
to be rulers over much." ^

Rev C. Kingslet.— " Glavcus.
The Futtjbk Life or Animals.

" Will the creature, will even the

brute creation always remaiii in this
deplorable condition? God forbid
that we should affirm tliis, yea, or
even entertain such a thought !
While the whole creation f/roanetA
toqetlier (whether men attend or not)
their groans are not dispersed in idle
an, but enter into the ears of Him
that made them. ^Vliile His crea-
tures travail together in 2>ain, He
knoweth and is bringing them near-
er and nearer to their bii-th, which
shall be accomplished in its season.
He seeth the earnest expectation
wherewith the whole animated crea-
tion wait eth for that final manifesta-
tions of the sons of God : in wHch
they themselves also shall he delivered
(not by annihilation : annihilation is
not deliverance) from the present
hondage of eorrxpiion into a measure
of the glorious lihertij of the children
of God. Nothing can be more ex-
press. Away with vulgar prejudices,
and let the plain word of God take
place. They sMll he delivered from
thehondageof corruption into glorious
lihertg : even a measure, according as
they are capable, of the liheHy of the
children of God."

Rev. John Wesley.

Erratto.-No. 2., p. 27. first line from the bottom, for "first" tead
■last."

HAPPY the man wlio has some resources beyond the ordinary
routine business employment of life. One-idea-people are
never agreeable people, especially to those whose minds unfortu-
nately are not bent at aU in the course of the one idea. The
deliem of entire change from the engrossing task of life are known
so well to most intelligent men and women, that one can only
compare such a change to the feeling of him whose life is spent
in the fen country, where

" For leagues no other tree did mark
The level waste, the rounding gray,"

finding himself by the Lake of Lucerne on a clear summer day,
the bright blue waters at his feet, and, rising from the Lake, the
glorious green mountains, ridge above ridge, tiU his eye rests
on the distant sparkling outline of the eternal snows. The
colours of this simile may to some be too bright ; I pray you,
therefore, my friends, tone them down with your own brush and
in harmony with your own fancy. This Magazine attests the
resoui'ces of the Naturalist, the Microscopist, the Geologist, and
the Antiquarian ; and I wiU now venture to put in a word for my
own humble resources. A reverence, though by no means a super-
stitious one for antiquity, and a love of architecture, have led me, in
company with a kindred spirit, to find recreation in leisure hours in
pleasant pedestrian trips, easy marches from this ancient town,
to spots bearing familiar names, yet full of antiquarian interest.
A fresh walk amid hill and vaUey in this Chiltern district, with
good health and an object before you, who can describe such
a combination of enjoyments ? George Borrow would certainly
well perform the task, did he fr-om " Wild Wales " take his next
walk through our county.

To recount the numerous objects of interest within compass in
this neighbourhood would be beyond my purpose : I will only
mention a few that at the moment strike me. There is the almost

76 RESOTJECES.

deserted village of Fingest, its church tower rising up like a
spectre in the valley ; that Norman tower makes the lonely vale
quite worthy of a visit. This pilgrimage should bo taken first,
then will be appreciated the better the rude grandeur of the tower
of St. Alban's church, reared, not improbably, by the same hands
that built the little tower of Fingest. Pray do not be offended,
my reader, if in my simplicity I treat you as amongst the unini-
tiated in Ai'chitecture. Whilst on the Norman style, I might
mention there is an interesting Norman doorway to the restored
church of Bradenham; a delightful afternoon's walk is that across
the high ground of Downley and Walter's Ash, down into the
Bradenham Valley, and back to High Wycombe. Nothing how-
ever, can be finer in Norman work in this neighbourhood, than
the pillars and arches that remain to attest the early foundation
of the Hospital of St. John, now the Wycombe Eoyal Grammar
School.

Then, nest we have, here and there, interesting specimens of
the early English style. A walk over Keep HiU to Little Marlow,
would afford an opportunity to visit the village church; the
north windows and the tower are well worthy of examination ; in
another direction, a walk to the secluded village of Little Missen-
den wotild reward the admirer of Eaidy English woi-k, there being
at the east end of this church a triplet window with double plane
of tracery ; whilst, though beyond the limits of this locality, the
beautiful tower of Haddenliam chm-ch, with the arcading sur-
rounding the belfry story, ought not to be left unnoticed.

It is by carefully examining these humbler details and by be-
coming acquainted with their distinctive beauties that we are able
to realise the glories of the minster ; that in visiting such churches
as Lincoln, Salisbuiy, or Beverley, — those triumphs of Gothic in
its purest and most lovely forms, — we do not take a mere bird's-eye
view of the biulding, and content ourselves with a few empty ex-
clamations, but we are at first sight overpowered with the vast
work of art before us, specially in our earliest and happiest
days of travel, and then we gi-adually acquaint ourselves with
the entire design— the grandeur of the proportions to the ex-
quisite finish of th^e scxilptuxe.

RESOTJKCES. 77

I have been travelling very rapidly through the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries in search of the art of those periods in our
neighbourhood, and now arrive at the early part of the foiu-teenth
century, in which the decorated stylo flourished ; and there are
some good examj)les of that style to visit within easy distance.
Shottesbrooke church, beautifidly situated amid the richly wooded
country around Maidenhead, is a perfect specimen of decorated
work ; no busy perpendicular workman, nor, far more serious,
imtutored churchwarden has marred the design of its original
architect ; the spire is, I understand, being now rebuilt strictly in
accordance with the fii'st model. Burnham church, with its fine
roof, and Hitcham church, are fair examples of the decorated
period, and nearer home the manorial chapel at Widmer,
near Marlow, now forming pai't of a farmhouse, and described
in an interesting chapter of the Records of Buckinghamshire
for 1865, by the late Eev. W. H. Kelke, has its east and
south windows of the early fourteenth centiiry period.

We now come to the last or perpendicular age. "We have left
behind us the graceful shafts, the pointed arch, and the high-
pitched roof: great and grand were — if we only take York Minster
as an example — the works of the perpendicular builders, and
most industrious and popular builders they were ; hardly any
cathedral or parish church escaped their industrious hands, but
we see in their designs the unmistakeable signs of the decline of
Gothic art, and when they had chiselled the last pinnacle to
Henry the Seventh's chapel at Westminster, its reign was over ;
the art itself died only to be revived in modem days. The nave,
clerestory, and tower of our parish church, also the nave and
transepts of Thame church, would be classed with this order ; but
as I have before hinted, there is scarcely any village church near
us that does not present some specimens of this style. Grateful as
we should be that the sacred buildings throughout the land have
very generally been reverently preserved, it is to be lamented
that — at least, in our own loeaHty — so Httle is left us of the
domestic art of the Middle Ages. No doubt many houses in the
present day and in this ancient borough from their numberless
mutilations disguise their antiquity ; still we look in vain for the

78 EESOtTECES.

ancient market house, the home of the Lord of the Manor, and of
the inferior magnates, and find notliing but the peasant's cottage
in unfrequented spots to remind us of the dwelling-places of our
forefathers.

It is not by reading of the strifes and loves, the rise and fall of
kings, that we can really become acquainted with the history of
any period, but it is by seeing with our own eyes the monuments
and memorials left us of the past that we can know the habits
of thought of bygone generations ; as an instance with reference to
the mere customs of a certain age, a recent examination of the
beautiful tapestry work at Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, gave me
more idea of how people amused themselves, how they dressed,
in fact what resources they had, than tlie most elaborate de-
scription of volumes. John Parker, Jtjnb.

High Wycombe.

Wiu W^mnm of llotit iuntiu^.*

ALAEGE white sheet, a dark lantern, a good stick, and a box
of Calmar Tandstickor. Also a bottle of chloroform, some
entomological "sugar," and pillboxes ad infmiium. Time about
nine p.m. Thus equipped W'e start for Dane Garden Wood on a
cloudy night in June or July. Did you say what for ? Well, to
catch moths, and possibly, a cold. Not a tempting occupation at
such an hour you may think ; a snug room with a glass of some-
thing cheerful woidd be preferable. We will not argue the
point ; euflB.ce it to state that there are people ready to forego the
latter for the chance of capturing something good between the
hours of nine and throe, when Morpheus reigus supreme over all,
excepting entomologists. It is, jierhaps, cold work fur the first
hour, but by the end of that time you begin to warm to your
work, and as the " game " appears you are lost in the excitement
of hunting. Up we go, over Keep Hill, stumbling over the
juniper bushes, startled every now and then by a motli dashing

* Read before the Society at the Sixth Evening Meeting (March 5th, 1867),
of the present Winter Session.

THE PLEASTTEES OF MOTH HTJKTING. 79

at our bull's eye, or vainly gazing after one that sailed across the
gleams into the darkness like a winged ghost : we make frantic
dashes at them -with the net, but in vain : perhaps "we catch one
out of every thirty — ah ! -n-hat is this ? A Magpie ; no, not a
bird, not Pica caudafa, but Abraxas grossulariata, Tvhich you
must acknowledge to be a prettier name ; a very common species,
but we retain it because it is our first capture to-night. Forward ;
we do not want to wait on the hdl, let us get to the wood at once.
Here we are ; how gloomy it looks at night. We think of the
cosy little room we left, and the contrast is painful : yet we dare
not return without accomplishing our errand, having been guilty
of several vain boasts relative to what we should take home. On
these tree trunks at the edge of the wood, and also on the old
gate posts, we spread some of our liquid "sugar" to entice the
moths that may come by. It gives out a rich odour (we speak as
moths), and cannot fad. to draw a host of gay young Nocturni. And
leaving this for a time we seek an opening in the interior of the
wood ; here we suspend our sheet, with a lantern to throw a strong
light on it. Light possesses a wonderful attraction for moths,
and this mode is a favourite one with some entomologists. They
(the moths, not the entomologists) settle on the white sheet and
are pill-boxed. This again we may leave to itself for a time and
go and seek our fortune with the net : ah ! what a lot of great
creatures come fluttering round us just in this one spot ; we must
see what they are : only the TeUow Underwing, Triphena pronuha ;
we reaUy cannot spend time in catching them. Fronxiba and grossu-
lariata ai-e two of the moth-hunter's greatest torments, they are
always getting into the nets ; if a curious looking moth rushes by
you, it is sure to be one of them (if you catch it), and you get
sold times innumerable. To return to our sugar— what luck ?
Here on the gate post we have two very fine cockroaches, and a
slug ; we did not certainly mix up our sweets for them. But here
on the tree trunk we see some little sparkling beads thro win o-
back the light ; we know them, the eyes of moths are very beauti-
ful by lantern-light, and the little beads show that there are moths
there. Here is the Angle Shades, Hdogopliora metindosa, nothing
rare, there are four of them here, but still it is very pretty ; here

80 THE PLEASTTRES OF MOTH HUimNG.

ai'e also Xylophasia polyodon, X. hepatica, and yes, it is the lovely
little Peach. Blossom, Tliyatira latis, but the shy creature was too
quick for us, the gleam of the light soon drove it away. But
look on the ground here at the foot of the tree — two Yellow
Underwings, and one Ilepalica, positively intoxicated, perfectly
helpless. Oh, sight for a Temperance Society ! Pick them up
and preserve them as proofs of the fondness of moths for drink.
The other tree trunks afford us a few choicer specimens, and now
we wend our way to the sheet and lantern. Why, where can the
spot be ? Surely this is near where we left them : we wander up
and down, round and round, finding ourselves continually coming
back to the same place, but no sign of a sheet, no friendly ray to
guide our wildered steps. Lost, lost in a wood at midnight, and
we cannot tell which way to turn, or where to look for a path.
How very horrible ! And yet it makes one feel romantic, because
you see there is no danger, only inconvenience ; we can wander
about till the morning, and then we are certain to find our way out ;
still we should prefer not to do this. Stay ; a " happy thought"
strikes me ; let us make our way up to the highest ground, as
straight as we can. What a rehef, here is the way out. Now a
fresh start, and by the aid of a better path we find our parapher-
nalia, but there is nothing on it, and as it is getting very early,
we pack up, and start homewards.

Beating the hazel and hawthorn buslies as we go, we find
dozens of night-feeding caterpillars, letting themselves down by
a thread, sjuder-like, as wo shake the branches, and crawling up
again when they think the danger over. They are mostly Geome-
tridoi, and by taking some home, and caging them, we may succeed
in obtaining a moth or two that we do not often find in the per-
fect state.

These are some of the "Pleasures of Moth Hunting," and
many of our readers no doubt will say, queer pleasures they are.
We have, however, only told of a ramble during a summer night ;
what would they say to an hour or two in a cold bleak uiglit in
March or April, such as we have spent looking over the sallows
by the stream at the Marsh, and picking choice specimens of the
Hebrew Character, Tceniocampa Gothiea, and others of the same

BKANCHED CLAVAKIAS. 81

genus oflf their blossoms ? Or Low would you like to be out in a
thick drizzling rain at 11.30 p.m. in October, throwing the gleams
of your lamp on the ivy blossoms which then adorn the Park wall
below the Eye, and detecting the little Chestnut Moths holding
high festival ? We have done this often, and one night took
home forty specimens, comprising sixteen or seventeen species.
We have them now in our cabinet, and as we look them over,
each tells its own tale, forms in fact, a little volume in a large
library, and it speaks to us most of fi-iends that are gone, who
shared with us the Pleasures of Moth Hunting.

Hy. XJlltktt.

irmwlJM d^Iavanaisi.

TTAVING, in the last number, briefly characterised the British
-'-'- species of Clavaria which have the clubs simple and undivi-
ded, it will be expected of me that I render the account complete
by an enumeration of the branched species. Nothing is so essen-
tial for a satisfactory determination of the larger fungi as good
faithful figures. In the absence of these I must endeavour to
make the distinctions as plain as I can.

If specimens of Clavaria are laid upon a piece of duU black
paper over-night, in the morning the paper around the specimen
wiU be found discoloured, frosted, or more or less sprinkled with
the spores which the Clavaria has shed. These wiU either be
quite white or yeUow, brown, or some similar tint. The larger
number of British species have white spores. Let us accept this
as a distinction whereby to separate the branched species into two
sections.

First, those which possess white spores, of which there are ten
species ; four of these are white, two yeUow, two greyish or
brown, one violet, and one whitish, with red tips. To commence
with the largest group, the white species may be thus distin-
guished.

BRANCHED CLAVARIAS.

Chvaria coralloides and Clavaria ^«»2ze? are both very much and
repeatedly branched, so as to form a dense coralline tuft; but in
the former the base or stem is thick, and in the latter slender.
In the former the branches are unequal, and dilated in the upper
portion ; whilst in the latter the branches are equal and compres-
sed at the axils. Both are found in woods, but C. Minzei is very
rare.

Both the above species are brittle, and both the following are
tough. This may serve as a Httle guide in their discrimination.
Clavaria nigosa (Fig. 1) is usually quite white, but sometimes of a
dingy colour.

It has a character peouHarly its own, in its
wrinkled surface, and in the clubs being nearly
simple, often but sKghtly branched, enlarging
upward, and occasionally more than four inches
in length. Each club grows by itself, be it
simple or forked ; and the tips are always blunt
and rounded. It grows in woods, amongst grass,
or on shady banks.

Clavaria cristata, though often white, is quite
as often of a dingy, dirty colour. The branches
are less numerous than in the two species first
named, and are flattened, spreading, with a
crest-Uke appearance, being sharply notched at
the apes. It is to be found in woods.

The more i^ersistently dingy species are Cla-
varia cinerca and Clavaria umbrina. The first of
these is of a greyish colour, very much divided
' „**»'^^ ^^^ subdivided so as to form a dense tuft, pro-
ceeding from a short, thick, tough stem.
The other species has a slender stem, is of a pale umber colour,
only slightly branched, and is certainly rare, whilst C. cinerea is
common in woods and on shady banks.

The yellow species are represented by Clavaria fastigiata and Cla-
varia muscoides, both of which occur in pastures. The first is very
much branched, the branches are short, and again divided in a

BRANCHED CIAVABIAS, 83

digitate ov clustered manner.* The last is less divided, slender,
forked, and with the branches cui'ved. It is the less common of
the two.

The violet species is Clavaria amethystina. It is very brittle,
variable in size, and much branched. We have no other species
with which it can be confounded.

Clavaria hotrytis has a thick fleshy stem, the upper portion divi-
ded into a number of swollen branches, which are red at the tips.
It has been found in woods, but is very rare.
This ends the white spored species.

Those having coloured spores are eight in number. One of the
rarest and most beautiful is Clavaria erocea, which is of a bright
saffron yellow, small in size, slender with crowded branches, and
has only been found in Somersetshire.

Clavaria grisea has a dirty white, thick stem, divided above
into a few thick, blunt wrinkled branches, of a dingy grey colour.
It is not at all a handsome or attractive species, and is rather
uncommon. It may be known by its brownish spores from other
species of a similar colour.

Yi'y, 2. Clavaria alietina (fig. 2) has a ver}'

characteristic habit of its own, and is
not uncommon under fir trees. It is of
an ochrey colour, resembling Scotch
snuff, very much branched and sub-
divided, but the branches and branch-
lets are all erect, giving the plant a
verj' neat appearance. It sometimes
turns green when bruised.

Another species possesses in a less
degree this erect habit. It is Clavaria
stricta, a species which has occurred in
Buckinghamshire, found by Mr. Britten, and is not uncommon
in gardens.f It is of a pallid yellowish colour, very much
branched, turning brown when bruised.

* Extremely plentiful on our Commons during the late autumn ; ^'ap-
hill Common, &c. — Ed.

t Occurred in great abundance in the autumn of 1865 on the earth siir-
rounding an old sawpit in Hearnton Wood, West Wycombe; and ii\
1866 in the Hughenden Woods.— Ed.
L

84 BRANCHED CLAVAIIU.S.

The yellowest of the Clavarice in this group (with the exception
of C. crocea) is Clavaria aurea, which has a thick pallid trunk,
divided into stout forking branches. It occurs in woods, but is
considered rare.

There are two ochraceous species still to be mentioned, both of
which are uncommon : Clavaria flaccida, which is flaccid, as its
name indicates, with a slender smooth trunk, and numerous con-
verging branches ; and Clavaria crispula, which is not at all flac-
cid, has a slender woolly trunk, and many spreading branches.
The former occurs amongst moss in woods, and the latter at the
base or in the hollows of trees.

The most recent addition to the list of British Clavarice is
C. formosa. It is a large thick stemmed species, divided into
numerous long, thick, erect branches, each of which is again
much subdivided at the apex. The colour is yellowish. It was
found by C. E. Broome, Esq., near Bristol.

Uninteresting as this bare enumeration of species may be to
the general reader, one feels some satisfaction in the ho^^o that it
may prove useful, and be the means of inducing those to look for
Clavarias who never looked before, and those who always looked
to look the more. Should only half a dozen Clavarice not known
at the present to flourish in this county be hereafter identified
thi'ough the medium of these two chapters, that alone would
recompense the writer for his little effort.

M. C. Cooke.

Does it not seem to you, that there must surely be many
a thing worth looking at earnestly, and thinking over earnestly,
in a world like this, about the making of the least part
whereof God has employed ages and ages, further back than
wisdum can guess or imagination picture, and ujiholds that
least part every moment by laAVs and forces so complex
and so wonderful, that science, when it tries to fathom them
can only learn how little it can learn ? — Rky. C. Kinoslet,
— " Gkucus:'

Wit MlUm tetttnj,

(Contiimed from page 39.)

THE Chiltem Country is divided into parishes, most of which
resemble very roughly the form of a square. Now the
parishes in the lowlands adjoining the great roads on the North-
West and South of the forest uniformly take a decidedly oblong
shape, often run up into the hilly forest region, and sometimes take
to themselves detached portions of land in the very thick of the
forest. It is easy to see that these lowlands were at some time
past thickly populated (compai-atively speaking), and sufficient
proof of this is contained in the unusually quick succession of
old parish chiu-ches as we traverse either the Icknield Eoad
or the old Bath Eoad. On the former, we find, at an average dis-
tance of about a mile apart, Ellesborough, Great Kimble, Little
Kimble, Monks and Princes Eisborough, the two Saundertons,
Horsenden, Bledlow, Chinnor, Orowel, Aston, Lewknor, &c.,
and so on in the same proportion, till we arrive at the place where
the Chiltern range crosses the Thames, at Goring. So along the
old Bath road, we have Iver, Wexham, Stoke, Farnham, Bum-
ham, Hitcham, and Taplow, then the Walthams, Shottesbrooke,
and Buscombe. All these villages being closely packed together,
their corresponding parishes naturally take an elongated oblong
shape, extending generally in this way at right angles on either
side of the principal road, to an extreme length of perhaps six or
seven miles, with a breadth of only a mile, or a mile and a half.
The Chiltern parishes are considerably larger than these, in
consequence of the great area of unavailable woodland contained
within their boundaries, and the absence of any important road
to induce settlements. That they are of more recent formation
than those adjoining, just mentioned, is seen from the numerous
detached hamlets and patches of land within the forest, reputed
to belong to, and still claimed by these lowland parishes : e.g.,
the hamlet of Seer Green, belonging to Farnham, and the hamlet

86 Taa emt^tvim oovntry.

of Coleehill, belonging to some manoi- in the adjoining county of
Hertford: that of Ackhampstead, belonging to Lewknor, in the
county of Oxford, &c., &c. These portions seem to have been
occupied by a kind of colonisation, before the whole forest
was thought worth entire occupation and regular division into

This division took place in or before the reign of Alfred the
Great, whence all old English parochial names date. In some
not exactly known year, in his time, the name each village or
town then bore was distinctly ascertained, or a name given to it,
if it had none, and its boundaries were fixed : and thus the first
official survey of the island took place.

The names of the Chiltern parishes enable us to look for a
moment with the eyes of our Saxon-German forefathers over our
hills and vales. A list of these names, and a few remai'ks by
way of explanation, may be both useful and interesting, especially
as the subject has never before been systematically attempted.
To ascertain the signification of the names, we must generally
recur to some earlier spelling, in consequence of the corruptions
produced by many centuries of tradition. Doomsday Book, the
oldest authority, is generally most correct in this particular, and
the best guide to deciding the meanings.

Amersham. The first name on our list presents a singular
difficulty. Tracing it from the earliest, we find it successively
called Almondesham, Agmondesham, Aniondshani, Amersham, the
two last being easily corrupted from either the first or second,
one of which is evidently incorrect. Notwithstanding the
authority of the spelling Agmondesham, which has been in
use from the XIII'*' century to the present time, though cor-
rupted in pronunciation, I take the first, as being in Doomsday
Book ; Almond's ham — the place of the Almann, Almand, or
Almanian {Lat. Alemanni), i.e., (1) a German or Germans of the
Alemannic nation, as distinguished from the Saxons, Franks,
Frisians, or (2) generally, a German or Germans as distinguished
in the later times from the Danes of the adjoining jjarish of Chal-
font. The word was constantly used in this second sense.* It is
• Schilter, Thesaurus Antiq. Teut. iii. 21.

««8 esffifSfiif e»?MTa?. 87

originally derived from alle nianne, i.e., all the men, the nation, and
is found in the modern French words for Germany and the Ger-
man, Allemagne, Allemand.

Agmondes-ham, though written during many years, was
never in oral use, as is shown by the endorsement of one of
the earliest documents (XIII"' century), in which it is spelt
Amundesham, though Agmundesham is in the body of the
deed. The ff is probably an error altogether.

BsAcoifSFiELD. From the obvious Beacon — the field of the
Beacon, a station on the ancient telegraph line which conveyed
to the whole country the news of invasion and piUage.

Bledlow. Bledelnw = Bloody hill; a relic of the battle
fought there between the Christian Germans and heathen Danes
is seen in the chalk cross on Bledlow Down, not far from
the better known cross of Whiteleaf.

Beadenham. Breda or Irada means a flat open place, derived
from the old form of our word Iroad.

Burnhaji. Village by the buen, or rather among the burns,
or brooklets.

Chalfont. This name is reducible to no Saxon elements
known to me, and appears to be of Danish origin.

Chenies. See Iselhampstead, hereafter.

Chesham, or properly Chestee-ham. The well-known word
Chester is the Sasonised Eoman word for a town or military
settlement, and points to the existence of such in the times of
the Eoman dominion.*

Cholesbxjey, properly Chelwald's-buey, contains the name
of its Saxon possessor.

Denham, properly Dane-ham, was certainly a Danish settle-
ment, and so named by the Saxon neighbours.

DoRNEY, properly Thokn-ey, signifying low uncultivated
ground near a river. Very many places in low situations have
this name ; among others, it is the old name of the present site
of Westminster Abbey and Palace.

Ellesboeoxjgh. In a corrupted form, compounded with the

* Which is confirmed by the discovery of important Roman remains found
here in the year 1864.

88 ON- FASCINATION.

name of some Saxon possessor ; probably tbe same name as
Aylesbury.

Eton. Eton and Upton once evidently formed but one parish ;
a glance at the maps placed together will show this. For the
sate of distinction, the little suburb which had grown up near
the town of Windsor, was called Eton, or properly Ey-ton,
meaning town by water, and the original village Up-ton, or

■UPLAND TOWN.

Eabnham. Here for the first time we have a genuine botanical
name. Farnham is so called from the Feen which grows or
once grew abundantly in its neighbourhood.

E. J. Payne.

(_To be continued.')

(Dtt lirisdttatiou.

THE power of fascination, as possessed by certain animals, is
very remarkable. We are all familiar with the stories
which tell us how birds or small animals are fascinated by
snakes : but it does not appear to be equally well-known that
the same power is shared by other creatures, and those natives
of our own country. As an illustration and in evidence of this
fact, I will just narrate one or two circumstances which have
occurred within my own sphere of observation.

In the winter of 1848, while spending my holidays with a
school-fellow at a farm-house in Warwickshire, two hens were
carried off by a Fox in a somewhat mysterious manner. They had
been seen to go to roost the night before upon a long ladder,
which lay across the beams of an open waggon-shed : and how
Eeynard could possibly have got to them, was a matter of
conjecture. The next night, my companion and I stationed our-
selves in a little outhouse attached to the shed, whence we could
see all that passed inside, by means of a hole in the wall. At
length our attention was aiTested by a short snappish bark, fol-

oir FAScmATioir. 89

lowed by a cackle among the poultry ; and, looking through the
hole in the wall, saw Eeynard sitting with his head directed up
to the fowls. My companion was very eager to shoot, but I
advised him to wait until the Fox began to move off ; when a hen
fell suddenly down from the perch, and was instantly seized by
her adversary. Before he could get away, the contents of the
gun had finished his career. This incident leads me to believe
that Foxes are, in this way, more destructive than poachers in
pheasant-preserves.

Another case, somewhat allied to the foregoing, although per-
haps exhibiting reason rather than fascination, I had an oppor-
tunity of observing, some three years ago, as I was walking by
the side of a large wood and noted fox-cover. Looking through
the hedge into a wide grassy ride I saw at a little distance a
Eabbit feeding, when a Fox crept quietly out of the wood, and,
perceiving the Eabbit, threw himself down on his back, with his
legs in the air, and lay perfectly motionless. The Eabbit in turn-
ing round saw this strange object, and ran into the wood ; but soon
came out again, and sat up to take a better survey. Apparently
satisfied with its observations, it came a little nearer and com-
menced to eat, but was again startled by a slight noise caused by
the Fox having struck the ground with his tail. This seemed to
excite the Eabbit's curiosity still further; it approached until
within ten yards of Eeynard, when the seemingly inanimate
object suddenly came to life, and seizing the unfortunate
Eabbit, which appeared too frightened to move, scampered off
with his prey.

• I have also reason to believe that the power of fascination is by
no means confined to Snakes and Foxes, and the following cir-
cumstance tends to support this opinion. About five years ago,
while driving along Chapel Lane, near West "Wycombe, I heard
a peculiar cry, and on arriving opposite tlie lane which leads to
Copy Farm, I saw in the mirklle of the path a Water Wagtail
{Ilotacilla Tarrellii), its wings drooping by its sides, uttering
piercing shrieks, and apparently in an agony of fear. At the
same time I became conscious of another sound, something be-
tween a grunt and a hum. On nearing the bird, which seemed

90 OTTK VIOLETS.

unable to move, I found tliat this proceeded from a Stoat, in the
hedge-bottom, -which had evidently fascinated the Wagtail, for
as soon as I drove the Stoat away, the bird flow oflP, glad to be
released from the power of its foe.

I trust that these few remarks may lead to farther corres-
pondence upon this subject, which appears to me to bo one of
considerable interest to naturalists.

E. M. BOWSTEAD. M.D.

SiVuromlr^ WM ilmtx^.

II.— OUR VIOLETS iVtolaceie).

ONCE more the season of spring is approaching ; once more
* ' the winter is past — the flowers appear on the earth ; the
time of the singing of birds is come; " and the naturalist, who
has been eagerly watching each faint foreshadowing of the
resurrection, as it were, of plants and insects, now begins to
prepare for a full enjoyment of the dailj^-increasing beauties of
Nature. Not that he is weak enough to believe in the "ethereal
mildness," with which the poet invested spi-ing ; he knows
full well that cutting winds, and heavy rain, and chilly frosts
make that season at the best a changeful one ; but in spite of
all these, there is a development in Nature which nothing can
entirely check, and which each day brings a step nearer to per-
fection.

Among the avant-couriers of the floral train, the Violets claim
a foremost place, and demand at least a passing notice as their
right : we will, therefore, give a few moments to their inspection.
We cannot here, as at Mentone, wander forth into valleys filled
with double-blossomed Violets, where the air is literally laden
with the fragrance they give forth ; nevertheless, one of our own
species is sufficiently sweet and loveh', and we value it none the
less because we have to search for its blossoms among its beds of
gi'een leaves. We have in the neighbourhood of Wycombe, at

OTJE VIOLETS. 91

least five species of Vtola. People generally recognise but three :
the Sweet Violet, the Scentless, or Dog Violet, and the Pansy, or
Heart's-ease. But in the second of these, we may readily discover
three forms with distinguishing characteristics which can scarcely
be overlooked if we exercise our powers of observation in an
ordinary degree, and to these our remarks will be chiefly devoted.

The Sweet Violet ( Viola odorata) is so universally known and
admired, that we wiU not insult our readers by attempting a de-
scription of it. We find it with white, pale blue, or purple
flowers : and near Buckingham a variety occurred with deep
clai'et-coloured blossoms : occasionally very pretty specimens are
found, having white flowers striped with purple. It may be re-
marked, that in a wild state, the white Violets are usually much
earlier than the purple ones : and about Wycombe both are equally
common, although in some parts of the country a white Violet is
accounted a rarity. Two points, however, connected with this
species demand special attention, since it is by them that the Sweet
Violet is distinguished from the next species, the Hairy Violet.
If we pull up a root of V. odorata we shall notice that from its
centre proceed one or more runners, which are technicallj', and
without the slightest reference to Ritualism, called stoles ; these
stoles, at intervals, take root in the ground, and throw up leaves
and flowers. In the Hairy Violet these stoles do not exist.
Again, if we pluck a Sweet Violet, we shall notice that,
ahove the middle of the flower-stalk, are two tiny light-green
appendages, called bracts, which are really small leaves ; in the
Hairy Violet, these are situated helow the middle of the flower-
stalk.

The Hairy Violet ( Viola Mrta) is not uncommon upon our
chalky banks ; and — with the two following species — shares the
name of Dog Violet, a name given, probably, in contemptuous
allusion to its want of scent. In many respects, it resembles
the Sweet Violet, from which it is distinguished by the afore-
mentioned pecuUarities. The leaves are hairy, and their under-
sides very pale green ; in outline they are somewhat more tri-
angular than those of V. odorata ; the leaf-stalks are longer, and
also very hairy ; the flowers are of a paler blue than those of the

92 Otm VIOLETS.

preceding. White-flo\rered varieties are of rare occurrence ; and
tlie blossoms, althougli occasionally slightly scented, are usually
inodorous. In th.e immediate neighbourhood of "Wycombe, this
Violet is plentiful in Hollow Lane, and it appears to be frequent
in other parts of the county where a chalky soil prevails : we
have records of its occurrence at Hedgerly, Wendover, and
Drayton-Beauchamp.

The Woob Violet ( Viola s'jlvaticd) is the most ornamental
species which we possess. Differing widely from its predecessors
in the smoothness and general appearance of its leaves, which aro
but slightly hairy, it far surpasses them in the size and brilliancy
of its blossoms, which are, however, scentless. The two first-
mentioned species have scarcely any stem — both flowers and
loaves springing from the crown of the root : but in V. sylvatica
we find a real stem, from which the flowering shoots branch off.
Modern botanists divide the "Wood Violet into two species : and
it is chiefly with a view of ascertaining whether the second of
them is found witliin our limits, that this paper has been written.
We would therefore direct especial attention to the following brief
description of the differences existing between the two forms :
and also to the annexed figures, engraved, by Mr. Hardwicke's
kind permission, from " English Botany."

■^^S- !• \. V. Mmniana, Eeich. (fig. 1.) This is

our common scentless Violet, which, as on
the terrace-walk at Hughenden, produces
such S2)lendid masses of rich, purple-blue
flowers : it is common everywhere, in woods
or on hedgebanks. The chief distinguish-
ing mark between this and the next
species lies in the black veins which streak
the lowermost petal : in V. Riviniana these arc numerous, and
uniformly branched at the base. In the other form,

2. V. Reichenlachiana, Bor. (fig. 2), which is not, as yet,
known to occiir in our county, the petals are somcwliat longer,
and] much narrower ; while the veins of the lowermost one are
comparatively few, parallel, and scarcely, if at all, branched.
This is a much less common form in England : but hopes aro

OUK VIOLETS. 93

Fig. 2. entertained tliat by diligent seai'ch. it may
be detected in the coimty, if not in our own
immediate neigbbonrhood. It may be remarked
tbat Professor Babington describes the flowers
of V. Reichenbachiana as "Hlac;" wbile tbose of
V. Riviniana are "blue." The aggregate species,
V. syhatica, is the Violet to which, the name Dog
Violet is most usually applied. A white-flowered
variety was found near Wycombe last year by F. Wheeler, Esq.,
and is described at p. 16; but this form is of rare occurrence.

The Dog Violet ( Viola canina) is a somewhat puzzling species,
and in very many respects resembles V. syhatica. The flowers
have less of the purple tinge than those of that species ; and the
spur is yellowish-white. The only form which I have seen in our
district is V. flavicornis, Sm., which grows, or at any rate, used to
grow, in great plenty on Wycombe Heath ; I believe I have also
noticed it on Keep HiU. In the New Botanists' Guide, it is stated
to grow " near Hitcham, Dropmore, and Bumham Gore Lane," aU
in the county. It seems to prefer dry, open places, and is not very
common. Professor Babington characterises V. canina as having
the "primary and lateral stems flowering and lengthening;"
while in V. syhatica the flowering branches are " axillary from a
short flowerless central rosette of leaves." Careful investigation
wUl, in nearly aU cases, render the seemingly slight difierences
between the Wood and the Dog Violet sufficiently spparent.

The Heaet's-ease oe. Pansy ( Viola tricolor) is the last of our
Violets, and must be almost as familiar as the Sweet Violet to
our readers. Its habit is, however, very difi"erent from that of
the preceding species ; and it also differs from them in being an
annual : in short, were it not for the blossoms, we should hardly
recognise the Heart's-ease as a true Violet. The flowers, in order
to bear out the specific name, should be of three coloui's — purple,
blue, and yellow, or blue, yellow, and white : but this form is
comparatively rare with us, although occasionally to be met with
in cornfields. The variety termed V. arvensis is the more common
with us, ia which the petals are small, and either yeUow or
white ; but it is difficult to lay down any differences of sufficient

94 PROCEEDINQS OF THE SOCIETY.

importance to distinguish it from tlie true V. tricolor, the one form
passing almost imperceptibly into the other. The true V. tricolor
is, however, a stouter plant than V. arvensis, and is often hiennial,
or even perennial: both flower from spring until very late
autumn.

Thus we conclude our chapter on Violets. Much could be said
on the various references made to them by the poets — their " old
associations" — their properties, real and imaginary: but space
for this is wanting. We may mention that we shall be very glad
to receive specimens of either V. syhatica or V. canina from any
part of the county, in a fresh state, for examination : and should
these few remarks lead to the discovery of V. Eeichenbaohiana, we
shall, indeed, have our reward.

James Britten.

'^xmtM^% of tto^ 3tsmi\i.

Third Evening Meeting, Jan. 15. — Held by kind permission, at the
house of John Parker, Esq. Tea and coifee were, as usual, kindly provided,
and there was a large attendance of members and friends. The President
read a short paper, furnished by the Rev. W. H. Painter, on the remarkable
cave at BrLxham^ Devon, which the ^vl•iter had recently visited. The length
of the cavern is estimated at 500 yards, wliile the height now averages 5ft.
lOLn. : in it were discovered bones of the Cave Bear, Hyena, and Rabbit,
with a large antler of a Deer, and some Hint Icnives. This paper was followed
by one from Mr. Ullyett on "The Mammalia of High Wycombe." This
was read by the Secretary ; in it our few vnld animals were enumerated,
and short descriptions of, and notes upon, the more interesting of them were
given. After an interval for conversation, the President concluded his
paper on Diatoms, which was illustrated by coloured diagrams ; various
natural substances were mentioned, into the composition of which the»e
minute organisms enter very lai'gely, as guano, &c. The objects exhibited
were then inspected ; the President, besides his ever-attractive microscope,
had brought a ooUection of I^and and Freshwater Shells, a collection of
Spiders, a stuffed specimen of the Iguana, and several books. Miss Chandler
exhibited a valuable collection of Madeira Ferns, and dried specimens of
the local LeguminoscB and Scrojylmlariacea, which were much admired. A
fine sttiffed Stoat {Mustcla Ermijiea) was shown by Dr. Bowstead, and

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 95

some curious CHnese Insects by the Secretary. The usual votes of thanks
terminated the meeting at about 10 p.m.

Fourth Evening Meeting, Feb. 5. — Held by kind permission at the
house of the late E.. "\\Tieeler, Esq. The principal feature of the evening
was a paper (very kindly forwarded by the author, Robert Holland, Esq., of
Mobberley, Cheshire), " On some Resemblances between Plants and Animals,"
of which the following is a short summary : — " The life of a plant is subject
to a great many of the same changes as those which attend that of an animal.
External circunustances affect it in the same way ; e.g., neither a fish nor a
water plant can flourish out of their native element. Again, both animals
and plants are similarly influenced by various poisonous substances : like
animals, too, plants breathe, their leaves corresponding to the lungs of the
former. Plants, as well as animals, grow by the accumulation of matter
deposited from food, which food is drawn by the roots from the soil ; or, when
the plant first germinates, from the supply of sugar formed by the action of
heat and moisture from the starch contained in the seed. Many plants seem
to have, to a certain extent, the power of motion, the stamens and pistils of
some changing their positions at various stages of their development.
Most of our Orchids have, in a measure, the power of locomotion, the bulb
dying away each year, and a new one forming at one side of it, so that the
plant appears each year perhaps half an inch distant from the place where it
last came up. The long winter sleep of plants is analogous to the sleep of
animals, enabling them to start with fresh vigour when the genial spring
sunshine calls them to life again. Plants mimic animals in their habits of
life ; we have solitary and gregarious animals, and we have solitary and
gregarious plants. In the same way we have animal parasites, and we have
vegetable parasites, closely resembling them in their method of obtaining
food from their foster-parents : and as some members of the animal world
perform the office of scavengers, by devouring or otherwise removing
decaying matter, so do fimgi convert such refuse into soil." The writer con-
cluded by drawing attention to the Sundews and the Venus' Flytrap, as
special examples of carnivorous vegetables. An interval for conversation
ensued, after which the Secretary, in a brief paper, urged upon the members
the necessity for more active work during the coming season, expressing a
hope that the out-door meetings of the next summer session would be
more largely attended than has hitherto been the case. An inspection of
the objects exhibited succeeded : among which were the following : — A
tray of Fossils, lent by E. Wheeler, Esq.; a collection of Minerals, by the
President ; the local species of Geraniacece and Vmhelliferce, by Miss Chand-
ler ; the Spurge Laurel {Daphne Lavreola) and Shepherd's Needle {Scandix
Pecte?i-Veneris) in blossom; and several illustrated works on various
branches of Natural History. The President's microscope was, as usual, in
requiaition. Among the more interesting objects shown were — a section of

96 PBOOEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

the noee of a mouse (injected), the web of a Spider, and a wing of the
Bmnet Moth {Anthrocera FHqje^ididcp) ; after which, the usual votes of
thanks haA-iug been proposed, and cordially acceded to, the meeting
terminated.

Fifth Evening Meeting, Feb. 26. — Held at the house of the President,
at liis kind invitation. This meeting was very largely attended, upwards of
thirty members and friends being present. "W". G. Smith, Esq., of London,
had forwarded a paper, " On Toadstools," to the Secretary, which was read
by him. The author dilated largely upon the pleasure and instruction
derivable from a close study of the Fungus tribe, proceeding to explain the
structure and development of various members of this marvellous class.
The varied forms, odours, coloiu-s, and size of the different species was
exemplified, and many of the edible Fungi were commented on in terms of
high praise. I*Ii'. Smith, however, judiciously warned his hearers against
indiscriminate Fungus-eating, and concluded his paper with a detailed
account of the alarming and AveU-nigh fatal results produced upon liimself
and his family, from the partakmg of Agaricus fertilis, a poisonous species.
The paper, which gave both instruction and amusement, was illustrated by
a large sheet of engravings of the Edible Fungi, also by Mr. Smith ; both
vnll shortly be published by Mr. Ilardwicke. The objects exhibited were
very numerous : the President contributed various bones, among which were
the skull and lower jaw of a young Indian Elephant, vnth teeth in situ ; also
two large teeth of a mature specimen; the upper jaw with long and perfect
tusks, of the African "Wart-Hog {Pluicochcerus JEthwpicus), a portion of the
jaw of the common Boar, showing the long tusks ; and a tooth of the fossil
Elephant, or Mammoth [Elephas jirimigeniits), fomid at Deptford. The Rev.
W. Hunt Painter showed several trays of Fossils ; some (among which were
Trigonia cordata, Ostrea conica, and Cyprinia angulatd), from the Upper
Greensand, at Teignmouth, Devon ; and others (mcluding lAmneus longis-
catus, Keritina concava, and Fusns labiatus), from the chalk at Freshwater,
Isle of Wight. Miss Chandler exhibited dried examples of the orders
Caryopliyllacem and Compositce. A somewhat novel feature was the exhibi-
tion by the President, in smaU saucers, of various inhabitants of our
streams, in a living state ; including small Water Spiders {Hydrachna) ;
Water Molluscs, comprising Planorbis spirorbis, Physa fontkialis, and
Paludina similis ; various species of Caddis worms (Phryganida), in their
curious dwellings ; the fresh- water Onisous, an analogue to the common
Woodlouse ; and fresh- water Shrimps of large size, small specimens of which
are very common in the wells of this tovvm. Living specimens of the Green
Hellebore {JJelleborus viridis). Hairy Violet {Viola MHa), Cowslip {Primula
veris), and other plants now in blossom, were brought by the Secretary.
The Kev. W. H. Painter then gave a brief address, descriptive of his recent
visit to the iuterestiug caves in the Carboniferous Limestone in the vicinity

PEOCEEDINGS OF THE SOOIETY. 97

of Ingleborough, Yorkshire. One of these, Nethercoat Cave, is entered by
a narrow doorway, whence a flight of steps leads into the cavern, a distance
of 70 feet. The galleries have never been explored. A beautiful arch of
limestone, and a waterfall of 70 feet, are among the more remarkable features ;
and in the neighbourhood of the cave are several chasms. In Clapham Cave
the stalactites and stalagmites are of imusual beauty ; in it is a large chamber
20 feet high. Bands of BeUerophons (" Rams' -horns ") extend through the
cave. The meeting concluded -with the usual votes of thanks.

Sixth Evening Meeting, March 5. — Held (by kind invitation) at the
house of T. Wheeler, Esq. The first paper was by Mr. UUyett, on " The
Pleasures of Moth Hunting," which will be found at p. 78. This was
followed by a Geological paper, by Evan Hopkins, Esq., which was read by
T. Wheeler, Esq. ; it will be published in the Transactions of the Victoria
Institute, before which it was originally read. The author advocated a some-
what novel theory, viz., that the criist of the earth was nio\'ing bodily,
although very gradually, in a northerly direction. In support of this, the
existence of fossilised tropical trees in latitudes now northern, was adduced ;
and it was stated that the position of the earth with regard to certain fixed
stars was known to have changed. These remarks gave rise to considerable
discussion ; and several members expressed their non-concurrence in the
\'iews of Mr. Hopkins. An inspection of the objects exhibited followed ;
among them were trays of fossils, lent by E. Wheeler, Esq., recent Elephant
bones, from the Gaboon River, West Africa, by Dr. Bowstead ; dried
Wild Flowers, by Miss Chandler ; Microscopic Objects, by the President ;
and some living Wild Flowers, by the Secretarj-, as well as the Bear's-foot
{Helleborus fcetidus) which, howCTer, is not truly wild in the district. The
President then delivered a short address on " The Mouths of Insects,''
illustrated by diagrams and coloured drawings ; various illustrations were
afterwards sho-mi vi-ith the aid of the microscope. The usual votes of thanks
terminated the meeting.

The finding of a new species is " rescuing, as it seems to you, one more
thought of the divine mind from Hela, and the realms of the imknown, vm-
classified, uncomprehended. As it seems to you : though in reality it only
seems so, in a world wherein not a sparrow falls to the ground unnoticed by
our Father Who is in heaven. The truth is, the pleasure of finding a new
species is too great ; it is morally dangerous ; for it brings -n-ith it the
temptation to look on the thing foiuid as your o^ia. possession, all but your
own creation : to pride yourself on it as if God had not kno^^•^l it ages since ;
even to squabble jealously for the right of having it named after you, and of
being recorded in the Transactions of I-know-not-Avhat Society as its first
discoverer : — as if all the angels in heaven had not been admirmg it, long
before you were born or thought of." — Rev. C. Kingsley. — " Glaucus,"

^mxt^mUm.

Hebenon. — Mr. Britten has given
no substantial answer to the objection
raised against interpreting Hebenon =
henbane. The question depends on
the l'ollo-\ving points : — 1 . Shakespere,
"knowing what he was about," wrote
and printed hehenon, a word posses-
sing, as has been pointed out, a
poetical and terrible significance, if
not representing a practical agent
from the poisoner's pharmacopoeia.
The superstitious and fancifvil contem-
poraries of the poet, throughout the
civilised world, in those palmy days of
poisoning, attributed deadly virtue to
many an innocuous article, and nu-
merous fictitious poisons, of which
acqua tofana is a notorious instance,
were the terror of the powerful and
illustrious. The selection of whatever
is obscure and repulsive in nature was
the obvious work of the poet for the
business of murder, necromancj', en-
chantment, &c., though the objects
themselves, as in the case of the absurd
pharmaca of the witches of Middleton
and Shakespere, may for the most part
be perfectly innocuous, or even medical
in their nature. The supernatural,
and that wild middle region between the
supernatural and the physical, so often
traversed by the poet, must not be
tested by natural science : much less
should the natural philosopher outrage
the work of the poet to illustrate his
discoveries, when the great poets
afford plenty of legitimate examples
of most accurate and constant ob-
servation of the lower forms of nature.
2. If the juice of henbane or of any
English plant, poured into the human
ear, were known actually to produce
general cutaneous irritation and mor-
tification, and to end by the death of
the patient, the above would go for
nothing. Unless this can be shown,
the account of the poisoning must be
admitted to bo poetical, i.e., fictitious :
and in the absence of evidence we
must assume this negative position,
notwithstanding Mr. Britten's pro-
foundly scientific remark that the

plant " produces different effects upon
different people." j,_ j_ p^^.^^_

IIedgehocs. — During a summer
afternoon's ramble last year, my atten-
tion was arrested by the barking of my
dog in the midst of a thick plantation.
I soon found that the cause was a
Hedgehog, of rather a large size,
which, having rolled itself up, bid
defiance to its antagonist. I drove
the dog off, took up the Hedgehog,
and placing him in my pocket handker-
chief, brought him home, and put him
down in the shrubbery aiijoiniug my
kitchen garden, where I hoped he
would be of some advantage in destroy-
ing slugs, beetles, worms, &c. In a
few days I missed him : soon after-
wards there was a report that a sitting
hen had been disturbed, and her
eggs scattered, some of which were
hatched, and the yotmg taken away
for a few days mirsing until the whole
should come off. Some eggs never
produced young, having been dis-
turbed by (as it was supposed) a
rat. The nest was a hundred yards
from the garden. All that were likely
having been hatched, the hen and her
eight chickens were duly cooped in
a small courtyard near the garden.
Next morning the maid came in with
a doleful countenance, " There's been
something and killed one of the
chickens." The dead body was ex-
amined ; it had been mumbled and
scratched about, but little eaten. AU
pronounced it must bo a rat : so
" George " was sent for, and the price
of sLxpeuce was placed on the head of
the marauder. The following morning
another, and one of the best chicks, was
dead, and was much in the same state
as the former. The ratcatcher was
sent for, and the price raised to a
shilling. "I'll have him," says
"George;" " I'll set more traps:"
these were baited with the dead chicks.
Next morning the real thief waSj
caught, — it was my pet Hedgeliog !
G.

Erratum, — No. 3, p. 70, fifth line from the bottom, for " useful " read " such.'n

m tUt §t$ttn(iim ot ^M^**

This is a subject which engages the increased attention of all
naturalists, and a great deal has been written during the past
few years to enlighten the public mind on the real influence which
these small creatures have in maintaining the balance of creation ;
and assuredly it is a topic woi-thy of notice, the more so, that
imtil lately the delusions of the public mind have been such that
our common birds and other animals, instead of finding an
admirer and protector in man, have had the greatest difficulty in
holding their own, in consequence of the ruthless persecutions
they have constantly met with and experienced. Now, I am not
going to contend that small birds are unqualified friends of the
farmer and the gardener: no doubt their services are, as oiir
lamented friend, Artemus Ward, would say, " a little mixed ;" but
stiU I maintain that the observations of naturalists do show, when
guided by reflection and intelligence, that the benefits which are
woi'ked out by small birds far outweigh the damage which they
commit, and that they are on the whole necessary to maintain the
balance of creation, and to keep under those smaller creatures
which, without them, would soon become intolerable pests. Now,
unfortunately, casual observers don't look very far ahead. They
judge the value of God's gifts as they seem to them, and as they
appear chiefly to affect their own immediate interests. They
don't reflect fully on the nature and purpose of these, nor
observe the daily life and habits of our common birds, and hence
they quite under-estimate the value of them, and set them down
at once as the enemies of the farmer, and the foes of the gardener.
It is my object in the following observations to sh,ow that the
popular and too common ideas on this subject are nothing more
nor less than sheer delusions unfounded on fact, and unwarranted

* Read before the Society at the Seventh Evening Meeting (April 9th,
1867) of the Second Winter Session.

loo ON THE DESTETrCTION- OF BIRDS.

by observation. I don't seek to contend that in special instances
considerable harm and damage may not be committed by small
birds ; but to show that the blind and indiscriminate destruction
of them, as in the case of that wicked and stupid institution
called a Sparrow Club, is based on nothing short of ignorance and
total want of ordinary observation. The habit of decrying the
value of these, God's creatures, is not, however, confined to the
subscribers to Sparrow Clubs. The gardeners commonly believe
their worst foes to be the Blackbirds, Thrushes, Sparrows, Finches,
and Tomtits. The farmer commonly regards aU creatures with
wings, specially Eooks and Sparrows, as his bitter enemies ; he
shoots them, traps them, poisons them, makes scarecrows of them,
and, in fact, does all he can to get rid of them. The game-
keeper goes to work in a more business-like manner — he kiUs
everything, it does not matter what, " quite promiscous ; " every-
thing to him is vermin (except perhaps foxes); Cats, Hawks, Owls,
Stoats, Weasels, Polecats, Hedgehogs, Magpies, Jays, Squirrels,
may all be seen exhibited in his museum — a strange medley —
those that kill game, those that prey on the smaller vermin, all
hanging together on the same rail. There is no discrimination,
no classification, no reflection on the purposes for which these
varied creatures are sent into the world ; all are sacrificed for the
sake of preserving tame pheasants which are nursed, and watched,
and fed, till their natural instinct of self-preservation is nearly
knocked out of them. As to the Hawks the gamekeeper scarcely
ever troubles to distinguish between them ; a Hawk is to him
simply a Hawk — no distinction being made between the per-
fectly harmless and useful Kestrel, and the more powerful Sparrow-
hawk. The difficulty one always has in obtaining real and valu-
able information from gamekeepers and others, whose oppor-
tunities of studying the nature and character of the various species
of Avild birds are abundant, alone shows how little as a rule they
value these creatures — shows indeed that they regard them simply
as a nuisance, and an obstacle to the preservation of game. I
heard a short time ago that in a part of Norfolk a Magpie had
not been seen for 15 years ; and I was informed at the same time
that in a part of Surrey the Magpie is an " extinct bird."

ON THE DESTRUCTION OF BIKDS. 101

There is, then, a ruthless and indiscriminate persecution carried
on, and a constant war waged, against the fer<e tiatura of this
island. Gamekeepers, gardeners, farmers, schoolboys, are all
pitted against them ; while it is sad to know that, among our
countrymen generally, there is a strongly-rooted impression that
all are foes to the farm and the garden. True, they say "It is
pleasant to hear birds sing, and to see them flying about, and there
is no doubt they destroy grubs and insects ;" besides, " theBobins
covered tlie children in the wood with leaves." But all these
considerations weigh as nothing against the conviction of the
great damage that they commit ; and, therefore, they must be put
down as foes to the farm and garden, not recognised as at all
necessary, but only tolerated on account of their beauty and their
song; the idea that they are at all essenti; 1 to maintain the
balance of creation, being one that scarcely enters the heads of
half of even those who like and admire them. Now, we will take
up the cudgels on behalf of our feathered friends, and first of all
let us notice the Eook. That he does some harm there is no doubt,
but who amongst us does not? If you were to shoot a Eook in
March or April probably you might find in his crop a few grains
of newly-sown spring corn ; but shoot one every day in the year
and examine his crop, as is recommended by our old friend
Gilbert White, of Selborne, and you will see that although he
does some amount of harm at times by devoitring corn and turnips,
yet that his food consists chiefly of grubs, wire worms, cockchaflfers,
and other destructive insects. Indeed, any one possessed of
ordinary observation can at once prove this. See an army of
Eooks scattered over a large pasture field and working perse-
voringly with their bills ; what are they searching for and
devouring ? The grubs of the cockchaffer, which are most
destructive to pasture lands, and occasionally will quite destroy
a garden lawn. You may often have noticed in the Eye the
Eooks tearing up the turf, and doing apparently a great deal of
damage ; well, they are doing all this in their search for grubs,
and specially the larvfe of the cockchati'er, which is, as I have
said, very destructive both in its larval and perfect states. This
was specially the caoe during the dry summers of 1858 and 1859^

102 ON THE DESTRrCTION OP BIEDS.

when in places the Eye was for a time quite withered where these
active birds had been tearing up the turf. The well known
practice of Books following the plough, and devouring the grubs
thrown up, is one which is noted by even the most casual
observers. Often have we seen an army of hundreds of the mem-
bers of the corvine family scattered over a park or pasture ground
in winter for hours together, and reflected on the wonderfid part
performed by these birds in keeping within due bounds insect life
of the most injurious kind. A well known popular writer thus
refers to the destructive nature of the cockchaffer grubs. " Pur-
suing their destructive labours unseen, and never appearing above
the surface of the ground until they take their adult form, these
larvae are more formidable enemies than even the slug, the snail,
and the caterpillar, creatures which can be detected and destroyed
by man. Neither human eye nor touch can discover the subter-
ranean larvtB as they silently consume the very life of the plants
on which they feed, cutting away the tender rootlets, and causing
a blight, as it were, to fall on the herbage. Many an acre of
grass, many a fine crop of vegetables has been blighted from no
apparent cause ; the plant ceases to grow, the leaves lose their
fresh, healthj' colour, they become limp and droop, the vivid green
fades out of them, and changes to yellow, the edges crumple up,
and the plant dies. There is no external sign of injury, and until
the plant be uprooted, and search made below, no destroyer is
visible ; but in the earth, or entangled in the roots of the dj'ing
plant, will bo found an inconspicuous, brownisb, smooth-skinned,
sharp-jawed grub, whose sleek condition shews the extent of its
feeding, and whose trenchant teeth have eaten away the sources
of life. Hidden, however, as tliey ai'e from human view, they
cannot conceal themselves from the senses of the Rook." So
much for the Rook : at least to shew that Jio does a wondrous
amount of good. I will leave his evil deeds to the discovery of
his enemies, having every confidence that they will, in the course
of their investigations, find that these arc far outu'eiglicd by his
good ones.

Let us next notice the House Sparrow. Our old friend, Gilbert
White says — Chaffers are eaten by the Turkey, the Rook, and the

ON THE DESTHTJCTION OF BIRDS. 103

House Sparrow. Now, we all know that House Sparrows have
been generally considered as embodying in their small persons
all that is mischievous and destructive ; and this is no doubt
partly owing to the impudent conduct of the bird, and his great
familiarity with man, and the abodes of man. He is always
hopping about and chirping, making himself perfectly at home,
whether in the farm yard, or in the dingy streets of London.
His colour is altered by the atmosphere of the metropolis, but he
is just the same chirping, cheeky creature everywhere. Can the
Sparrow do any good? It seems, indeed, presumptuous, weighing
the prejudices that have been instilled into our minds from our
earliest youth, to say he can : but true it is, and it can easily be
proved. People are so apt to look just beyond their own noses ;
and our gardener, because he sees a few peas pulled up, or seeds
eaten, condemns the poor birds at once and destroys them ruth-
lessly. But, let him look beyond ; let him watch the Sparrow all
the year round, let him see him in the earlj- morn pecking away
at the insects on the gi-ass, or devouring the grubs of the goose-
berry fl)', or swallowing the wireworni ; let him only reflect on tlie
enormous number of insects he must destroy in the course of tho
year, not only for his support, but to maintain his young ravenous
brood . Let him examine the crop of a dead bird ; let him do
aU this and even more, and then he must come to the conclusion
that, of all the societies organised on the basis of ignorance and
stupidity, that institution called a Sparrow Club is alike the
most wicked and insensate, and calculated to effect results
the very reverse of what is intended. In a township near
Liverpool, gi-eat complaints were made of the small birds.
Dead birds and eggs were liberally paid for; thousands of
the latter were destroyed, the Sj^arrows were pretty nearly exter-
minated, and a plague of grubs and caterpillars was the result.
A correspondent of the Eev. J. G. "Wood writes that he found in
the crop of a Sparrow that was shot as it was coming from his
fruit ti'ees, 20 green caterpillars and a number of aphides. In-
stances can be multiplied. In the Field newspaper of a late
date it is recorded by a correspondent at Melbourne, in Victoria,
that the grounds of the Acclimatisation Soqiety were ridded of a

104 ON THE DESTRUCTIOlf OF BIRDS,

plague of caterpillars by tlie Sparrows and small birds which had
been introduced from this country. "What do the Sparrow Clubs
say to this ? In one instance the annual meeting of a Sparrow
Club recorded the destruction of 7000 small birds in one year in one
loculit}^ and it is calculated that these birds would have destroyed
20 millions of grubs, caterpillars, and insects, during the breeding
season. Mr. Wood remarks on the ignorance and inconceivable
folly which dictates these bird murders ; and he suggests that it
would be quite as rational a proceeding to give prizes for smut in
wheat, for diseased potatoes, the most fly-devoured turnips, or
the most wireworm-blighted corn.

Now, no one wovdd be disposed to contend that the Sparrow
does no harm ; but that he is judged too much for the harm he
does, and gets little credit for the immense services he renders,
it requires but a small amount of observation to discern.
Watch him feeding his young, and you will soon find out that
caterpillars and insects are their staple food ; and this process,
mark you, goes on for hour after hour ; each pair of birds working
in its own beat, and ridding gardens and orchards of insect pests,
in a way that it is useless for man to emulate. I cannot dwell
longer on the daily walk of the Sparrow — I have selected him
because he is generally in bad odour, because he is too generally
regarded as a very desperate character, and as the embodiment
of all that is useless and destructive. Now if it has been, or can
be, shown that he is really a most useful creature, and that his
services to man are most important, then I can fairly ask for a
merciful consideration of the claims of our other English birds to
our protection, and a fairer estimate than is usually given of the
great and wonderful part they are all acting in maintaining thej
balance of creation. True, — there is nothing of unmixed good ; I
each small bird docs its share of good and harm, the fjrmer, Ij
believe much counterbalancing the latter ; it does it quietly and!
unostentatiously ; unfortunately, the bad only is usually noticed,]
and hence the persecutions small birds are subjected to ; but re-
flection on the purpose of these small creatures, aided by clos
observation of tlieir daily habits, will soon dispel the prevailing
impression that they do nought but harm. At Walton Hall, thai

ON THE DEBTBUCnON OF BIRDS. 105

abode of the late Charles AVaterton, not a bird was destroyed, nor a
nest taken, and the result was, not that his gardens were laid waste,
but that his crops were plentiful and abundant. Mr. EUis, of
Leicester, writes thus to the Eev. F. 0. Morris, in January, 1864 :
— "At Walton Hall the co-existence of many birds of prey with
game and wild fowl is remarkable. "When last spring at Mr.
Waterton's, the Lapwing was in friendly intercoiu'se with the
Carrion Crow, while Magpies and Hawks were close at hand.
The presence, too, of a great number of Herons does not prevent
the lake from supplying plenty of fish." Again he writes: —
"This summer we have had two broods of the White Owl in tho
midst of a game preserve ; in the f Ining their habitation,

and in which they nightly search f , the covej's of Partridges

were full and undisturbed." On .±i4 other hand the destruction
of the smaller birds has proved in its results this : that if man
attempts to regidate the operation of creation after his own
fashion, he must certainly make a mess of it. At the present
day this is the case in France, where the dearth of small birds
is severely felt. The colonists of Australia and New Zealand are
wiser in their generation ; for they are doing all they can to im-
port the small birds from England, and large numbers are now
taken out by returning colonists. I heard an instance some
time ago where a settler at Canterbury, in New Zealand, took
back with him a number of Blackbirds and Thrushes ; and in the
garden of the Yictoria Acclimatisation Society, Sparrows, Eooks,
Thrushes, Yellow Ammers, Blackbirds, Finches, &c., have been
set at liberty. It seems strange that the colonists value these
small creatures, and that we fail to do so generally in England.
Even the little Titmouse, when it appears to be destroying the
buds of trees, is really feeding on the insects within them. It
has been calculated that in the breeding season this small bird
destroys some 500 of insects and caterpillars daily. I wiU not
now stop to allude to our other English garden birds in detail ;
the Starling, Blackbird, Thrush, — the first an especially useful
bird ; the two latter simply atoning by the beauty of their song
for any damage they may commit in fruit gardens for a short

106 CLEIUIS OF THE WEATHER.

period of the year. I trust tliat in future better and truer ideas
may prevail ; that the Hawks and Owls, the Jays, Magpies, and
other trophies may no longer disgrace the gamekeeper's rail —
that the value of our English birds will be taught in every school
in the country, and birds nesting discountenanced to the fullest
extent. It is chiefly amongst the young that we must look for
the reception of more rational views on this important subject.
A change is, however, I am glad to say, taking place in the popu-
lar mind, an increased interest is being shown, and more en-
lightened views are being entertained. We have, then, good
hope that this vnil continue, and that the time is not far distant
when a Sparrow Club will be unknown, and the Gamekeeper's

Museum a thing of the past.

THqg. Mabshaix.

(&\nl$ of Wxt ^^afltcv.

^' TS it going to be a fine day?" is a question which, at this
J- season of out-door enjoyment, is frequently upon our lips.
If we have made arrangements for a pic-nic, or for a no less en-
joyable ramble in search of wild flowers or insects, it is, to say
the least of it, unsatisfactory, when our fii-st morning peep out of
window is met by a dull sky or a heavy bank of clouds. If it
rained we should feel disappointed ; but the uncertainty is even
more trying. Now, in such cases, we doubtless feel how useful
would be the infox-mation obtainable from the Clerk of the
Weather Office, did that functionary exist ; but as that source
of weather-knowledge is denied to us, we must look around
and see if Nature, tlie truest Lady Bountiful extant, has not in
some measui'e supplied the deficiency. As usual, we find pro-
vided for us the very things we require : and these little black
imps, sluggish though they seem now, are Clerks of the Weather
in good sooth, known though they be by the less dignified name
of Leeches.

CLERKS OF THE WEATHER. lOT

Now, having given our Leeches an important designation, we
must endeavour to show that they deserve it ; and this we must
do on the principle recommended by Ingoldsby, "Crede experto —
trust one who has tried." An esteemed correspondent having sub-
mitted to us the following facts, all recorded by herself during
five years' careful observation, we gladly publish them for the
benefit of those to whom the query, with which this article com-
mences, frequently occurs : —

The apparatus necessary for the purpose is very simple: it
consists of a glass jar, holding a pint and a half of water,
with stones and a shell or two at the bottom, and a few sprays of
Anacharis ; the water must not reach the top of the vessel by at
least two inches. A tight-fitting wirework cover m i^t be placed
over the top, as the Leeches soon escape, especially in stormy
weather. The water should be changed once in ten days during
the summer ; and once in three weeks during the winter.

As a rule, during fine and wet weather, the Leeches remain at
the bottom of the vessel. When a change is slotcly approaching
they move upwards, twenty-four hours, or, at times, thirty-six
hours in advance of it. When a storm is rapidhj approaching,
the Leeches become very restless, and rise quickly ; while before
a thunder-storm they pass entirely out of the water. When the
change occurs, they become still, at the bottom of the vessel ; but
if, under such circumstances, they rise again or keep above the
water, length or violence of storm is indicated.

If the Leeches rise during a continuance of east wind, wind
rather than rain is to be expected. When a storm comes direct
from a distance, we shall observe the rapid rising and restlessness
alluded to above, but much shorter notice — from four to sixhours — >
will be given. When heavy rain or high wind is to be expected,
the Leeches are also restless and keep out of the water, but their
movements are much less rapid.

It is advisable to keep the vessel in a temperature as even as
possible. When the temperature falls below 18°, the Leeches
cease to indicate any change ; they become quite torpid, or, in
in other words, hybernate pro tern. In a small jar at a temperature

108

CLERKS OF THE -VTEATHER.

above 75°, the excessive lieat may cause them to rise ; other-
■wise they ■would be quiet.

"We must bear in mind that, should the Leeches seem to indicate
wrongly, the mistake does not lie in their indication, but in our
obsei-vation, or mode of interpretation of the same. Nature
cannot err ; and all mistakes are ours, not liers : so wliere ise find
apparent contradictions, we must humbly believe that we are in
the wrong.

To insure certainty of observation, it is advisable to follow the
plan annexed, of keeping a daily record of the doings of the
Leeches, and of the state of tlie weather. After a time this will not
be so essential ; as careful observation will enable us at once to
determine what weather is indicated. We shall then be able
readily to answer the oft-repeated question, "What is the
weather going to be ? " for the Clerlis of the Weather Office will
never fail to supply us with an answer.

TABLE SHOWING OBSERVATIONS FOR A WEEK.

1S67

HOUR.

LEECHKS.

WR.\THF,K.

WIND.

DESCRIP-
TION.

ODSEK-
VATIONS.

Apl.
9

10 a.m.
7 p.m.

\ Two nearly
) at top.
At bottom.

Fine ; cumuli.
Thun derstorm .

NW.
N.NW.

Fresh.
Stormy.

Storm from

SW. I.i.'^tcd

20 mill.

1 1 a.m.
6 p.m.

At bottom.

Fine; clouds high.

W.NW.

Calm.

10 a.m.
7 p.m.

At bottom.

Fine ; cumuli.

NW.

Moderate.

11 a.m.
4 p.m.

\ Half way
) up in water.
Nearly at top.

Fair; clouds liigh.

W.NW.

Calm.

12 p.m.
6 p.m.

10 a.m.
6i).m

i Two out oi
) water.

At bottom.

\ Nearly out
) of water

Heavy rain.
Fine rain.

Heavy rain.
Fine.

sw.

SW.

sw.

Fresh.

Moderate.

Gale.
Ilali-galc.

12 p.m.
10 p.m.

\ One out ol
) water.
At bottom.

Heavy .sliowers.
Fine ; clouds low

Squally.
Moderate.

Elizabeth Woollams.

109

%n$tmtt V, %mo\i.

TT is said that animals have Eeason ; and a question has been
J- raised by one of our correspondents as to whether we at-
tribute to Eeason or Instinct the method by which animals and
birds provide for their own safety and the comfort of their off-
spring. Now, in the first place, before we determine any pro-
position, and make known to the world an opinion somewhat new
or contrary to generally received notions, we should be certain
that the terms and words we make use of to express that opinion
are understood by our readers in the same sense that we intend
them. If there is doubt about the meaning of any word we em-
ploy, we should give a definition of it and state the sense in which
we employ it. Words have so many significations, they convey to
minds so many different ideas, according to the general or par-
ticular way in which they are intended, that we cannot be too
particular in the words we select to express our notions, to de-
fine clearly and distinctly the sense in which we take them. Mathe-
maticians in general, when the least doubt arises as to the sense
in which they intend a tenn to be understood, give the meaning
which they themselves put upon it, which is no doubt the cause
why they differ so little in their general propositions. Theologians
and their disputants, on the contrary, give no definition of the
words they use in their arguments, which consequently leads to
endless controversy. Let us see then in what way we understand
the Avord Eeason, and determine if we all receive the sense and
meaning alike. Philosophers, great writers, and custom have
made a distinction between Eeason and Instinct ; and that dis-
tinction is, as we have been taught, the difference between the
human mind and that of the animial. Eeason, I believe, as
generally understood, is the action of the mind upon knowledge ;
that knowledge, received through the sense of sight, hearing, &c.,
is said to know the difference, or relations, between cause and
effect, and it is that which regulates our general actions. If the

110 INSTINCT V. REASON.

mind were constantly to yield to external impulses and its current
of ideas, without this particular quality called Reason to regulate
our action and moral conduct as rational and immortal beings,
we should be no better than the animals themselves. Now, if
we understand Eeason in this light, which I believe is the proper
meaning, I do not see how, or in what way, we can say that
animals are possessed of Eeason. It is true that animals perform
operations in various ways, which to us appear wonderful, in-
ducing us to believe that they must have some forethought or
knowledge of cause and effect ; as, for example, the bird builds its
nest with every degi-ee of care and comfort for its young; at least,
some birds, not all, for the Wood-Pigeon, Peewit, Partridge, and
some others, scarcely make any nest at all. Then take the Bee,
which constructs its honey-comb on the highest mathematical
principles : the Ants — cut into one of their small hillocks and see
the extraordinary and beautiful manner in which it is arranged
both for a summer and a winter habitation : the Spider — look
at the subtilty with which it weaves its web ; and a thousand
others equally marvellous : and yet we cannot say that they have
any knowledge of what they are doing ; if they had, we may, to
employ our reason, ask why they should not all alike use the same
care for their young ? Hares make little or no nest ; Eabbits, au
contraire, burrow deep into the ground, and exercise the greatest
care for the warmth and protection of their young. Again, if we
say they have knowledge of what they are doing, why, we may
ask, do they not make their nests in the best position to be found
in the locality in which they are placed, and not in the most ex-
posed and dangerous places, which is very frequently the case ?
Again, if animals are possessed of Eeason, and are conscious of
what they are doing, why is not man himself possessed of Eeason
without tuition ? I think it will not be denied, that if man were
not educated, taught, and brought up amongst rational beings, he
would not be considered a rational being himself; and would, as
I have before stated, be little better than the animal in actions
and moral conduct. We can, therefore, only attribute this
mode of operation in the animal to a particular faculty, or innate
quality, which we call Instinct ; for it is quite clear that they are

WYCOMBE BrrTTEKTLIES. Ill

unconscious instruments of what they perform, or that it Is an in-
nate quality given them by the great Creator for the propagation
of their several species, their self-protection, and for the use of
man. I conclude then that Eeason is one of those faculties which
relate to knowledge, as I have said, and therefore it is a mistake in
the meaning or sense of the word when we differ in our opinion
as to animals being possessed of Eeason. It is very clear that
the mind, to reason well, must be in possession of some previous
knowledge, and reasons from that knowledge comparing ideas
and notions. Can we, then, say that the little bird reasons
from a previous knowledge when it builds its nest, when we know
for certain that it had never seen a nest so constructed ?

Nellie Atty.

W^j^cmht ^Mttn1lws»

II.— OUR ARGYNNID^ {IHtillaries).

THE colouring of these butterflies, though not so gorgeous as
that of the Vanessidce, is yet very rich in tone, and the sight of
any of them on the wing will always incite the young naturalist
to attempt a capture. They derive their common name from the
fact of their resembling the fl.owers of Fritillaria Meleagris, both
butterfly and blossom having the surface chequered with dark
marks on a lighter ground. The under surface of the wings vies
with the upper in beauty, being in most of the species washed
with sUvery streaks, or studded with spots of the same radiance.
The presence or absence of these marks shows whether the species
belong to the genus Argynnis or to Ilelitcea. Of the latter we
have no representatives in the neighbourhood, at least to my
knowledge : the former contains six species, and of these I have
seen three in the district, and Mr. Gaviller vouches for two others
on Marlow Common.*

* The reader will recollect that fi " district " is the area comprised
■within a radius of five miles from the I arish Church; I cannot now recol-
lect whether Marlow Common falls witnin this area. [It does. — Ed.]

112 WYCOMBE BTITTEBFLIES.

The Pearl Bordered Feitillary {Argynnis Euphrosyne). —
This is the commonest of all, and may be seen in the openings in
woods, and in lanes, from the end of May till the end of July.
The wings, like those of all the species, are of the hue known to
entomologists as fulvous — a very rich light brown, and are
marked with black spots and bars. The under side of each hind
wing has one silvery spot in the centre.

The Silver Washed Fritillary {A. Paphia). — This is one
of our mo'st magnificent butterflies, and the sight of one seated
on a bramble flower is never to be forgotten. A worn and battered
specimen in the autumn of 1864 was the first I chanced to see ;
it was flying lazily about in "Winch Bottom. I waited till the
following summer, r.nd looked anxiously for its reappearance, but
for some time was disappointed. In the month of July, however,
I asked a friend to go one very warm day, and he brought back
five or six specimens. I then set off myself, and succeeded in
tracing them to a wood some distance up the lane to the right,
where colonies of them were holding high festival over the
bramble blossoms. This wood I found to be the " metropolis "
of these insects ; they are plentiful in it every year. If any of
our readers would enjoy a sight of natural happiness and beauty,
I would recommend them to pay a visit this month to the spot,
and it will serve them with remembrances for their winter
meetings. Many a time have I sat down and watched Paphia
sailing majestically down some avenue in the wood, or up the
lane till the temptation of the blackberry flowers overcame it, and
it would sit upon one with its bright wings outspread, till it had
imbibed its fill. It is a far greater pleasure to watch them than
to catch them. The female has the upper surface suffused with
an olive green tint ; both sexes have the under side of the hind
wings, washed with silvery streaks. They occur plentifully
Also by the woods on Naphill Common.

The Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary {A. Selene). — I
first made the acquaintance of this species on the late Wycombe
Heath. Early in June it was flying about in considerable
mumbers. 'V\'hcn on the wing, it can scarcely be distinguished

"WTCOIIBE BUTTERFLIES. 113

from Euphrosyne, except by a deeper tiut of colouring. The
markino-s axe very similar in. both, species, but Selene is known by
having a row of silver spots on the hind wings where Euphrosyne
has but one. When AVycombe Heath was destroyed, I gave up
all hopes, for I had not seen Selene anywhere else : but in 1866 I
caught several in a wood at Lane End, so it is still a denizen of
our neighbourhood.

The two species which Mr. Gaviller took are Adippe and Aglaia,
occurring on Marlow Common ; both have large isolated silvery
spots underneath the hind wings. I was unable to pay mure
than one visit to tlie spot, and then I was not fortunate enough
to see either of them. A specimen of Aglaia was once brought
me, said to be taken in the neighbourhood of Abbey Barn, but I
was not satisfied about it.

The caterpillars of all the species feed on different species of
Viola, especially V. canina, the Dog Violet ; they are very dark
in colour, and covered with spines. They arc seldom seen except
by those hunting expressly for them.

There is a very small butterfly liable to be mistaken for a
Fritillary, and occurring very plentifully in Dane Garden Wood :
it is The Dr:KE of Burgundy {JVemeobius Lucina), and belongs to a
different family altogether. Collectors look upon it as a prize,
since it is only locally plentiful. It is said that the caterpillar
has never been fovmd in England, though it is known to feed on
the leaves of the pi-imrose.

Hy. Ullyett.

^tmtiWm^ of tH« ^mtix^.

Seventh Evening AIeeting, April 9. — Held at the house of
John Parker, Esq., by his kind invitation. The chief feature of
the evening was a paper by Thos. Marshall, Esq., "On the
Destruction of Birds," which will be found at p. 99 of the present
number : this was listened to with great interest, and at its con-

114 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

elusion a conversation ensued, ir wbicli our feathered friends were
ably and warmly defended. j\Ii-. Sliarpe was prevented by illness
from delivering bis paper "On the British Tits;" its place was
supplied by a discussion on the subject of the Future Life of
Animals, in which so much interest was evinced at the meetings of
the First Winter Session. The objects exhibited were, as usual,
numerous ; among them were the four ear bones of the Rabbit,
with the ear bones of several birds, illustrating the difference of
structure between the ear of the bird and that of the mammal ;
casts of the bones of the Dinornis, by the President ; a tray of
fossils ; several cases of stuffed birds ; and many wild flowers in
blossom, those of the greatest interest being the Yellow Star of
Bethlehem {Gagea lutea), from Charlbury, Oxon, and the Mezereon
{Daphne Ifezereum), and Lent Lily {JVarcissus pseudo- Narcissus),
from our own neighbourhood. The microscope, which it is in-
tended to present to Mr, TJUyett, the late Secretary, was on the
table. The iisual votes of thanks terminated the meeting.

Annual Conversazione, April 30. — The success which last
year attended the Conversazione held in the Council Chamber,
induced the Committee to engage the Town Hall for this occasion ;
the greatly increased interest manifested in the well-being of the
Society leading them to believe that such a step would be gene-
rally appreciated. That their ideas were well founded, the very
large attendance amply testified. Every intimation was given
that there would be no charge for admission ; it being felt that
rich and poor alike should have an opportunity of admiring the
works of Nature. The kind co-operation of many friends of the
Society tended greatly to the success of the evening, and we take
this opportunity of thanking those ladies who so kindly asssisted
in arranging the objects for exhibition. Our appeal for assistance
met with a warm response in every respect. At seven o'clock the
company began to assemble, tea and coffee (kindly provided by
friends of the Society) being handed round ; after which, the
objects exhibited having received a share of attention, the
Secretary, the Mayor, and some other members of the Society
ascended the platform, and the President (the Eev. T. H. Browne)
delivered the following

PE0CEEDING8 OF THE SOCIETY. 115

ANNUAL ADDRESS.

" The retrospection of the year thai is past is once more assigned to myself.
It is my painful duty to announce that, since our last Annual Meeting, we
have lost by death a valuable and esteemed member— the late Robert Wheeler,
Esq. He was present with us last year, and took, a lively interest in the pro-
ceedings on that occasion. His character and worth is too well known to
you all to require anything like a eulogium from me ; I should not, however,
be doing justice to the Society, or to the esteemed and honoured memory of
our departed friend, without this passing notice.

" I think we«have reason to congratulate ourselves upon the present con-
dition and future prospects of our Society. Our numbers have increeised
beyond our most sanguine expectations ; and, as it is not unreasonable to con-
clude, that, when any join a Natui-al History Society, they have already a
taste for natvu'al science, or are desirous of possessing and cultivating that taste,
from the increase of numbers may we not augur well for the future ? Our
Evening Meetings have been well, and, in some cases, numerously, attended.
If we may judge from what we have seen and heard, an interest has been
awakened, and on some occasions much scientific gratification has been ex-
perienced. At these remiions the members have used tlie privilege, to which
they are entitled, of introducing friends. Many of those who came as ^dsitors
have enrolled themselves as members. We welcome aU who can sympathise
with us in our appreciation of the wonderful works of God. Many and
varied branches of natural science have engaged oiu- attention during the last
Winter Session. Sometimes these subjects have been broached in general
conversation, sometimes in the shape of colloquial addresses, and sometimes
in the more set form of ■v\Titten papers. Four of these papers were intended
to illustrate Geological science. Our late Secretary, Mr. Ullj'ett, sent us a
communication on the Mammalia of our neighbourhood, which elicited much
interesting conversation, as well as important information from the members
present. We have had four papers on that very fascinating branch of natural
science — Botany. One was written by our Secretary, on the Phanerogamic
Plants of our neighbourhood. One was sent us from a gentleman at a dis-
tance, on the Cryptogamia — the Agarics — called in popular language. Toad-
stools. It is not a very attractive name, but the writer of the paper most
logically proved that a viilgar prejudice has hitherto prevented a most valu-
able gastronymic gratification. Two other botanical papers treated of those
most beautiful, and to those who are acquainted with them, most interesting
objects- — the Desmids and Diatoms. An extremely interesting and very
scientific paper was forwarded to us by Robert Holland, Esq., of Jlobberley,
Cheshire, " On some Resemblances between Plants and Animals." The writer
set forth some very striking analogies existing between these two great
provinces of the natural kingdom. Mr. Marshall favoured us with a very

116 PROCBEDISGS OF THE SOCIETY,

practical and useful paper, on the folly and sin of a reckless destruction of
our native birds. We wish that those who distui'b the balance of creation b y
this wholesale destruction of the feathered race could become indoctrinated
with the spiiit of that communication. We might then hope that our fields
and trees would be cleared of the grub and caterpillar which now endanger
both, and pleasant sights and sweet sounds from above would oftener gladden
every lover of nature. One paper on Reptiles and two communications on
Entomology complete our list.

" The geological papers were foUoAved by discussions on that most im-
portant and interesting subject — the age of the physical world. It is a
question from which in the present day we cannot turn aside. It is con-
tinually coming before the mind. Every observation only confirms the
great principle of the geologist, as now entertained by the thoughtful and
observant mind — that creation was very slow and gradual in its develop-
ment, and that our globe is indeed hoary in years, or rather, hoary in ages.
Perhaps we are not saying too much if we affirm that human language would
faU to describe how ancient is the earth — that though the mathematician
might calculate the diu-ation of its past existence, the liuman intellect in its
present state would faU to comprehend its meanmg.

" It would be difficult m a popular assembly to bring this matter dowui to
the comprehension of those to whom the subject is almost a new one. None
can expect to have scientific conclusions on this subject, without much read-
ino-, thought, logical reflection, and arduous observation of facts as recorded
on the stony pages of God's book of natui-e. ISIere reading will not make
a geologist. Of course, we proceed in investigating the subject, by reasoning
from the operation of physical laws known now, to the operation of those
laws in ages long since gone by.

" Analogy iir reference to Jehovah's worlvs is a safe principle of reasoning.
When we have once traced the connection between efiects and causes in tlie
physical world, we may with certainty conclude that a like cause has been
in operation where we can trace a similar effect. According to this principle
— from what w-e now see going on in the formation of hills and valleys — from
the action of air and rain — of river and sea — we think we are safe in reasoning
back to w^hat these important agencies accomplished through ages past. I
see nothing in the volume of revelation that is opposed to this important con-
clusion. Not that I think that the inspired word was intended to teach man
science. Inspiration, according to the knov.m laws that are in operation now,
is a miracle. The word of God as now given to us is a miracle of divine
Idndness to mankind. But miracles are not v\Tonght by Ilim when the
known laws which He Ins established can accomplish tlie desired result, or
man, by his unaided intellect and observation, can elicit facts or work out
principles.

PEOCEEDmGS OF THE SOCIETY. 117

" When God made man, He left him, even in a state of innocence, to
develope the fruits of the earth by his O'wn intelligence and industry. They
(20uld have grown up spontaneously if the Creator had ^\-illed it. God has
placed us in a world of wonders, where facts abound on every side, and
tnighty laws are operating. But in the great volume of nature, wTitten as in
tables of stone, Jehovah is teaching us of facts that have transpired, and of
laws that were operating in ages long since past away. These facts were
like what are kno-n-n now, these laws are analogous to what are working now.
Why did God write these records of His doings in ages past ? He might
have given them all by inspiration. No — He wrote them thus for us to
read — for us to work out, and learn how steadily and how gradually He has
been developing creation untU now. Revelation was not designed to teach
us this, wliich the great book of creation is able to teach, and the mind of
man can, by patient labour, learn for itself. But revelation does not contradict
this conclusion ; on the contrary, it seems to confirm it. It teaches us that
this law of gradual development prevails through all God's dispensations.
It is seen in God's providential dealings with mankind. It is illustrated in
civilization, the arts and sciences, the gradual overthrow of ignorance, super-
stition, and ungodliness ; in the spread of divine truth and real religion upon
earth. Even the history of redemption was very slowly and gradually
unfolded to the minds of mankind.

" It is the Mosaic account of creation that prevents many from receiving,
as a matter of faith, these statements respecting the world's antiquity.
There are three modern interpretations of the inspired narrative which I can
only notice, without attempting to prove or disprove either. Indeed, the
subject is by far too important and recondite to admit of its being discussed
in the popular address of an Annual Meeting. We may be sure of one
position — that whether we can harmonise to our satisfaction the book of
revelation, and the opening book of the geologic world — there can be no
contradiction, — the hand that wTote the revelation of heaven, laid the
foundations of the earth. We venture also to advance that the bible is a
popular book. The authors -wrote as those who belonged to the popular
part of the community, and for those who knew nothing of science. If it
had been wTitten on strictly scientific principles, then, for ages and genera-
tions past, all would have been wrapped up in mysterj-. The origin of the
world — the part which Jehovah took in His o^vn creation, wo\ild have been
unknown.

" In the first verse of Genesis we have the grand opening of the Divine
revelation: " In the beginning God created the heavens aiid the earth." So
far we might have expected the Eternal Father to have revealed Himself and
His works to His creatures. Between that great event and what transpired
since then, a part of which, so far as we are concerned, is narrated in the

118 Proceedings of the society.

following verses — may have intervened a space of which millions of ages may
have been hut units. The work of creation in connexion with our own globe
and the solar system is narrated in the following verses. Here, then, is
started the enquiry, Are we to understand this literally— six days of twenty -
four hours each ? or does the term day, according to a common usage of
Scripture, express a very long though definite period of time ? or have
vre here the utterances of a prophetic mind — the nairations of the prophetic
historian's mental apprehensions and visions, when he was under the poM'er
of Divine inspiration ? That is to say. Did he see, as it were, the work of
creation commence, and go on unto completion, when under the influence of
the prophetic ecstasy, as probably the other prophets of God did when they
were under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost ? They saw facts ui \ision as
if to them they were realities, and as some think, pictorial views, in which
objects that were near and those which were afar off, were present to the
mind like the wide expanse of a glorious landscape, in which the near and
the distant appear to the eye at the same time — and were written as thus
seffli. So God made the mental perception of the prophetic historian to take
in, during six days' revelation, all things which transpired from the com-
mencement of creation to the placing of man on earth. Thus the leturn of
morning and evening would be literally true — but true in relation to the
prophet's divine ecstasy rather than as expressing the period of the Creator's
operations.

" Thus onl)' shall we enter on the true course of progress, when
we feel such a divine impulse to go forward — for only as you advance can
you be happy or wise. Go forward — all things around are moving, and
every thing in creation is developing into a higher and higher state of being
— and thus they say to us, Go forward. Let " Excelsior " be our motto —
let progress be our aim.

There is a firefly in the southern clime.

Which shineth only when upon the wing ;

So is it with the mind, — when once we rest

We darken. On ! said God unto the mind.

As to the earth, for ever. On it goes.

Rejoicing native of tlie infinite —

As a bird of air — an orb of heaven.

Go forward, but with all your study of creation, ignore not creation's God.
Tlie German has said that we may see in nature all that we bring an ej'e to see
it with. Christ has said the pure in heart shall see God. Let us not be of
the number of those who see there everything but God, but of those who see
God in everything. The universe is Jehovah's temple : let us not admire
the temple, for the solidity of its foundation, or the grandeur and beauty of its
structure, but see no God there ; rather let our admiration of the created
fill us with adoring thoughts of the great All in All. Then indeed shall
creation seem refulgent with the glories of the Eternal King, and all things
around be vocal with His praise."

PKOCEEDINeS OF TSE SOCIETY. 11&

A paper " On Buttercups" was then read by the Secretary, in
which the land species of the genus Ranunculus were described in
a popular manner ; the localities in our own neighbourhood
where each species may be found being given, with notes on the
" vertues " attributed to them by our ancestors. The paper was
illustrated by plates of each species, from Hardwicke's ' English
Botany.' The third paper, read by the Secretary in the unavoid-
able absence of its author, E. B. Sharpe, Esq., was '*0n the
British Titmice {Parince)" each speciesbeing technically described,
and popular notes on its habits being added ; Mr. Sharpe strongly
condemned the bird-murder unfortunately so popular among un-
educated persons. A beautiful collection of the Titmice illustrated
this paper, the male and female of nearly every species being
shown, as well as the eggs, and, in one or two cases, the nests.

After the reading of the papers, the President briefly explained
several of the more interesting geological specimens, especially
the bones of the Dinornis, the fossil Bugs, and the Ammonite and
Nautilus tribe. Many interesting objects were afterwards ex-
hibited under the microscope, and it was not till it grew late that
the concluding votes of thanks were moved. The Mayor proposed
the thanks of the meeting to the Eev. T. H. Browne for his un-
wearying exertions to promote the interests of the Society and for
the interesting paper he had read ; this was seconded by Thomas
Wheeler, Esq., and heartily responded to. F. Wheeler, Esq.,
moved, and Mr. Butler seconded, a similar vote to the Secretary,
which was carried by acclamation, and responded to by Mr.
Britten. The friends then began to disperse, and we believe
that every one departed greatly delighted with the pleasant and
profitable evening which had been spent.

The following were among the principal objects exhibited : —

Osteology was represented by a beautiful and perfect skeleton of the
American Crocodile {Oroeodtlus Amencanus) ; a skeleton of the Oyster
Catcher (bird) {RcBtnatopus Ostralegus) ; carefully prepared bones of the two
British representatives of the Salamanders, commonly called the Water
Newt {Triton eristatus, and Lophinvs or lAssatriton punctatus) ; the skull of
a large bear from Thibet ; portions of the skuU of the Ethiopian Wart-Hog
{Phacochterus uEthioj>icus), with enormous tusks ; the jaw of a Boar, with
fully-developed tusk ; two scapulae, or shoulder blades, of a Whale ; the

120 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

skull and lower jaw, with teeth, of a young Indian Elephant ; two
femurs, and a humerus of a laige African Elephant from the Gaboon
coiuitry ; organic remains, illustrating nearly every division and sub-division
of geological science, from the Lower Silurian up to the Glacial periods and
time of Coal deposits ; casts of rare fossils, amongst which especially may be
noticed Eomalonotus delpliinocephalus and Asaphus tyrannus, two very large
forms of Trilobite ; casts of six species of the New Zealand Moa, or gigantie
Ostrich, including Binornis ffir/anteiis variety maxlmns, D. gracilis, D.
erassus, and other forms ; casts of the eggs of the large extinct birds Dinornis
and (Epyor'nis, and eggs of the large Ostrich, Emu, and Cassowary, to con-
trast with these giant forms. There were five different kinds of Ivory used
for economic i)iu-poses, viz., the tusks of the Elephant, Walrus, and Hippo-
potamus, the tibia of the Giraffe, and the albumen of the Ivory Nut, the
fruit of a species of Palm tree {Phytele2)hns macrocarpa) .

In Gbolocy, besides the fossil bones mentioned above, the President ex-
hibited fossil wood from the Gault, Upper and Lower Greensand, Wealden,
and Coal measures : also several species of Ammonite, one of which,
Ammonites gigavtens, from the Portland Oolite, deserved special notice.
Two very large specimens, Nmitilus elegans and N. pseudu-elegans from the
Upper Greensand, at Warminster, were much admired ; a number of other
specimens were also exhibited, including some from the Red Crag ; and a
variety of sponges from the Upper Greensand, with recent species for com-
parison with the extinct forms. Trays of Chalk Fossils, many from our own
neighbourhood, were lent by E. "Wheeler, Esq.

CoNCHOLOGY was represented by a collection of Land and Freshwater
Shells, arranged according to Turton's ' Manual,' contributed by the
President ; also a collection of Marine Shells, by the same ; and another of
those found at Teignmouth, Devon, by Miss Chandler.

Entomology was illustrated by the President's valuable collection of
Hymenoptera, including the Bees, Wasps, Ants, Ichneumon Flies, and Saw-
flies ; a case of Marlow Lepidoptera was exhibited by J. B. Mathison, Esq. ;
Coleoptera and Lepidoptera were also shown by the President ; a case of
Wycombe Insects, arranged by Mr. Ullyett, and others of foreign species by
G. Vernon, Esq., and T. Wheeler, Esq.

Ornithology, in addition to Mr. Sharpe's collection of Titmice, was re-
presented by various rare Birds from that gentleman's musemn, among
which were the Golden Oriole {Oriolns galhula), the Rose-colom-ed Pastor
{Pastor roseiis), and the Red-winged Starling {Agelavs 2ihwnieens). Cases of
Birds were also lent by Messrs. Simmonds, Vernon, Thurlow, B. Lucas, and
others.

Botany was fully illustrated. A conspicuous object, and one which
attracted much attention, was a table covered with living Wild Flowers in
blossom, arranged by Miss Chandler. Among them was the rare Coralwort

COREESPOKDENCE.

121

{Dentaria hnlhifera). Specimens of the beautiful Pasque-flower {Aneiiwne
Puhatilla), in a living state, were sent from AJdbury Nowers, near Tring, by
the Rev. H. Hai-pur Crewe. Miss Chandler's valuable hoHus siccus was duly
appreciated, as was the herbailum of Mr. Stubbs. of Henley : this gentleman
also sent a collection of Ferns, and some very beautiful groups of dried
flowers and leaves, arranged on cardboard, the natural colours being
admirably preserved, which received much commendation.

In addition, it may be added that a selection of valuable illustrated works
was provided, as well as a portfolio of plates illustrative of British Botany ;
and some beautiful sketches of Fungi, by the Rev. Bryant Burgess. The
walls were decorated with coloured diagrams, some lent by J. Rutty, Esq.,
others by J. Slade, Esq., Secretary to the North London Natm-alists' Club.
The tables were decorated with flowers, cut and in pots. One very interest-
ing object was a glass containing specimens of living Furaminifcra, Hydra
tuba, Entovwstraca, and Infusoria, developed in an aquarium, the water not
having been changed for six years. Mrs. WooUams, by whom these
interesting specimens were exhibited, has been singularly fortunate in
maintaining that balance of life upon wliich the success of an aquarium so
greatly depends.

(ffontisi|JO)wUna»

Hebenon. — I have followed the
friendly controversy on this subject
wth some interest, and hold entirely
■with Mr. Britten that Henbane and
not Ebony is meant. I tliink the
word "juice" is decisive. Ebony
could only be known to Shakespeare
and to those he Mas writing for, as a
dry, sapless wood : how then could
he speak of such a thing as a phial
of its juice r Whereas, the clammy,
fetid nature of Henbane was just
such as to suggest itself to the poet's
mind, and to be understood by his
audience as a fitting instrument for
the piirpose. I grant that the ex-
pressions of our poets are not always
to be tested by scientific truth. An
amusing catalogue might be com-
posed of their ludicrous mistakes, at
the head of which might stand Dr.
Watts and his " busy bee," that
" Loads with yellow wax her thighs,
With which she huilds her cells,"

whereas the pellets on the bee's

thighs are not wax at all, nor are
they used in the construction of the
comb. But, if such assertions are
not scientifically true, they always
agree with the popular opinion ; and
Henbane was universally held poison-
ous — Ebony not. Dryden speaks of
the " poisonous Henbane," and fiom
Dioscorides downwards there is a
terrible array of authorities for its
poisonous effects. Besides, how
could Shakespeare (who seems to
have been well acquainted with
Scripture) introduce as a cursed
poison that which the prophet had
enumerated among the precious
commodities contributed by the mer-
chant-princes of Dedan to the luxu-
ries of Tyre r Mr. I'ayne brings
forward a gi-eat amount of learning,
but he does not seem to have one
single argument to offer, except the
unproved assertion that Ebony was
called the Tree of Death of the
Persian Paradise ; and even if this

122

CORRESPONDENCE.

were so, it might be from its black,
funereal colour, and not from its
poison. It is true there is the greater
similarity of the name, but poets are
fond of sounding words, if they vary
not too much from the correct mode
of spelling. Horace allows that
poets have the right to use novn ficta-
quc verba parce dctortu, and Milton's
" Euphrasy " is an anglificd term,
though so near the original that it
could not be mistaken. Mr. 1'. need
not have sneered at what he calls
" Mr. Britten's profoundly scientific
remark ' ' about the diflerent effects
of Henbane upon different persons ;
it was a fair answer to his objection
about the symptoms enumerated by
the poet ; and certainly the effects
of Henbane seem most diverse —
blindness-delirium-madness-death.
Shakespeare might well add leprosy
without any material increase of the
catalogue. One great point in de-
termining the matter is " Did Shake-
speare wish to use such language as
would fall in with the pre-conceived
notions of his audience, and was
Ebony or Henbane more likely to do
this ?" My own opinion is in favour
of the latter.

Rev. R. Wood.

Westward, Cumberland.

The Good Old Times. — About
the year 1809 I was introduced to a
residence amidst the beech timber
and underwood and commons which
abounded on the Chiltern Hills of
Buckinghamshii-e. At this time
very many animals and reptiles were
denounced as common enemies, and,
as such, a price was set upon their
heads, decided upon by the vestry
and paid by the churchwardens, as
shown by the following items as
charged in the churchwardens' ac-
counts of the period: — •" A viper,
a slow or blind worm, 6d. each."
These were supposed to sting the
sheep while at feed. The tongue of
the former was supposed to be its
sting, and the latter effected its injury
by some other process; and many
ailments amongst the domestic farm
animals were attributed to the above
causes. The general specific was
an ointment made by frying the body
of either viper, or slow-worm, in
lard ; and many a good housewife

would pay the stipidated reward,
thus to become a kind of Lady
Bountiful, bj' a gift she bestowed of
the grand specific to an}'one reqiiir-
ing it in the neighbourhood. Six-
pence WIS also the price set on the
poor hedgehog. He was charged
with sucking the milch cows as they
lay down during the night, thus pro-
ducing a disease called " the gargut,"
— being no other than an inflam-
mation of the udder, generally then,
as now, produced by cold. The
grand specific for this was an oint-
ment of hedgehog fat. Another
charge was for the destruction of
sparrows. In the spring of the year,
the price, regulated by the annual
March vestry, ■was, for sparrows'
eggs, ahalfpenny a dozen, young spar-
rows, a farthmg each, hen sparrows,
a penny each, cock birds a halfpenny
each. Thus, without taking into con-
sideration the good arising from the
destruction by them of innumerable
insects, pests of garden and field, they
were denounced for inj ury done to
wheat just on the edge of harvest. I
am not aware of any kind of parochial
rewai-d for foxes, as the slayer of a
fox considered himself amply re-
warded by carrymg it to all the
farmers in rotation, a shilling being
the expected reward ; but a good
poultry wife would often make an
addition of a bit of victuals and a
pint of beer. After having done duty
in the neighbourhood of its death,
it would be sold by its cunning
possessor to some mate in another
district, who would pass it off as
fresh killed till decomposition would
render it past endurance, and the
trick was " smelt out." Things are
now changed : vipers, whose bite is
venomous, and who would rather glide
away than attack, are almost e.xtinct.
The slow or blind worm neither bites
or stings ; and the hedgehog, whose
small mouth renders it incapable of
sucking the mammal of a cow, and
whose prickles would soon render
its company cUsagreeable even to a
sleeping cow, is now petted by the
London bakers for the purpose of
devoiiring the beetles which infest
their bakehouses ; and is equally use-
ful for the same purpose against those
that infest the gardens. G.

123

BY R. B. SHARPE.

HAVING been requested to write a paper on the birds which,
have been observed in the neighbourhood of Cookham, I have
great pleasure in presenting the following sketch of the ornithology
of the district. The beautiful collection formed by Mrs. De Vitre
at Formosa has been the basis of the accompanying list ; I have
further included such species as are in my own collection, or are in
the possession of private individuals, and I have taken every pains
to render the Hst as complete as possible. To Mrs. De Vitre I must
return my best thanks for her kindness in allowing me to examine
the specimens in her collection, and also for her assistance and en-
couragement in the preparation of the present essay, while I am
fortimate in obtaining the help of Mr. Briggs, the head-gardener
on the estate, who has, from his earliest youth, studied the habits
and economy of our British birds, and is well known in the
neighbourhood of Cookham, as an enthusiastic naturalist and a
clever taxidermist ; nor must I omit to mention Mr. Joseph Ford,
to whom I am likewise indebted for much interesting information.

Order Accipitres.

Sub-order I. Accipitres Diueni.

Fam. Falcoiod^.

Suh-fam. Aqtjilxn^.

Aquila.

1. Aquila chrysaetos. The Golden Eagle.

Before he came to Cookham, Mr. Briggs was employed as a

keeper at Bulling Bare, a place about ten miles distant, and

while there he had an opportunity of recording the occurrence of

this rare British bird from his own personal observation. He

was one day walking in company with another keeper near the

outskirts of a plantation on the estate, and in the adjoining field

12-1 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOtTEHOOD,

several pheasants -were feeding. Theso suddenly began to sttow
some signs of alarm, and a great many flew up quickly and took
refuge within the cover. Before, however, they could all gain a
place of safety, a large Eagle swept down upon an unfortunate
individual, and carried him off. Mr. Briggs's fellow-keeper at
once set a trap near the place, and had the good fortune to
ca^ature the marauder three days afterwards. He proved to be a
fine Golden Eagle, the only one, I believe, ever observed in the
coimty.

Pandion.
2. Pandion haliceetus. The Osprey.

In the iV«i!<r«Z;s^ of November the 1st, 1864, I recorded the
occurrence of the Osprey at Cookham. On the 6th of October in
that year Mr. Briggs was engaged in the garden at Formosa,
when his eye was attracted by the appearance of a large bird
flying slowly along the outskirts of Lord Boston's wood. As he
stood watching, the bird sailed directly over to the spot where he
stood and circled round his head at about the height of thirty
yards, turning its eye downwards, and apparently taking stock of
him. He called to one of the men near him to fetch his gun,
but by the time it arrived, the Osprey was out of the reach of sliot,
and was pursuing its course down the river with the same easy and
graceful flight. A gentleman, however, who was on the water,
saw the bird approach, and shot it in the wing when it fell into the
water and was killed with the boat-mop. For some days previous
a large Hawk had been observed in the neighboui-hood of Hedsor,
and three days afterwards another Osprey was seen near the same
place by a man named Stanniforth, who used to attend to the
Lock at Cookham. We heard that there was one kiUed about
this time near Windsor, which we conclude was the above-
mentioned bird. Similar instances have been recorded of the
occuiTence of the Osprey inland, and Mr. Harting in his interesting
work on the 'Birds of Middlesex,' has mentioned its appeai'ance
at Uxbridge in 1863, and again in 1865 at Southgate, where a
pair remained for some days.

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEMHBOTmHOOD. 125

Sul-fam. BuTEONiN^.
Buteo.
3. Buteo vulgaris. CommoTi Buzzard.
A very fine male of this species was shot at HoUyport in 1862,
and ^as sent to Mr. Briggs for preservation. The way in which
it was captured was rather curious. A man named Wells was
trying to shoot some woodpigeons, and had placed on the ground
a little distance off a stuffed bird for a decoy. He had not waited
long before the above mentioned Buzzard swept down and was
carrying off the stuffed bird, when he shot it.
Sub-fam. Milvin^.
Milvus.
4. Milvus regalis. Kite.
This bird is now of very rare occurrence in England, and it is
hard to imagine the former abundance of the species. A friend
of mine informs me that about six or seven years ago a specimen
was captured on the roof of a large warehouse in London, and
lived for some time in confinement, and in the Zoological Gardens
there is a Kite, presented by Howard Saunders, Esq., of Eeigate,
which was taken in England, being one of three nestHngs he had
received. With regard to its appearance at Cookham instances
are wanting of late years, but in the memory of several of the
inhabitants, the Kite used to be ^uite a common bird at Pinknoy's
Green, an unenclosed heath about four miles distant.
Sub-fam. EALCONiNiE.
Hypotriorchis.
5. Hypotriorchis subbuteo. The Hobby.
The Formosa coUection contains a beautiful male Hobby shot
at Cliefden in 1860, and we have also occasionally observed it
sailing over the woods in the neighboui-hood. The courage of
this pretty little Hawk has always been a favourite theme both
with naturalists, and the lovers of Falconry, and I am able to
give a striking instance of its pluck which came under Mr.
Briggs' own observation, when at Bulling Bare. He had found
a neS; of tHs species in one of the plantations on the estate, and
only waited till the young ones were fledged, to take them.

126 THE BIEDS OV COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOtTBHOOD.

Accordingly, lie mounted to the nest, and was immediately
greeted with loud cries from tlio young birds. The male Hobby
hearing the screams of the nestlings, sailed over to the spot, and
surveyed the scene of action from a considerable height. Suddenly
as Mr. Briggs was preparing to descend with his captives, the bird
darted down from above with immense velocity, his wings cleaving
the air with a loud whish-sh-sh as he shot down to within a foot
of the intruder's head, and then carried up by the impetus of
his descent, he mounted as swiftly as he had stooped, and only
paused a second ere he recommenced the attack. This was
renewed in quick succession as Mr. Briggs descended, causing in
his mind no small apprehension lest the courageous bird should
Btrike at his face. Having reached the ground in safety, and
wishing to obtain the old bird, he carried the young into the
middle of a neighbouring field, and having made thom scream,
stood readyj with his gun. No sooner did the parent-bird
hear the young cry, than he again appeared, and from an im-
mense height swooped at Mr. Briggs with the same astonishing
velocity that had characterized his former descents. So sudden
was the attack that tliere was no time to fire, and the bird ascen-
ded like lightning. Would that I could now add that the Hobby
escaped, but alas ! love for its nestlings impelled him to make one
more stoop, and in the midst of his next descent, the gun
was fired, and the poor Hobby fell to the earth "like a
thunderbolt." The difference between the mode of attack of the
Sparrowhawk and that of the Hobby in defence of their young is
also noticed by Mr. Stevenson when writing on the former bird in
his ' Birds of Norfolk.' The Hobby seems always to descend
from above, while the Sparrowhawk dashes backwards and for-
wards, sometimes even striking at the intruder.

6. Hypotriorchis oesalon. The Merlin.

Although neither Mrs. De Vitre nor myself possess a specimen
of this bird actually shot at Cookham, still the sj)ecies has
occasionally been observed by Mr. Briggs flying in the neigh-
bourhood, and I have received eggs from a man named

THE BIEDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 127

Grace from "Wooburn, a village about two miles to tbe north-
east of Cookham. At Bulling Bare Mr. Briggs teUs me it was by
no means uncommon, and he was once witness to a remarkable
specimen of this falcon's audacity. He was standing near a
thick bush at the above estate, when a chafl&neh, closely pursued
by a male Merhn darted into the thicket Hke a flash of lightning.
Nothing daunted by his presence the Hawk dashed in, and
dragging the unfortunate chafl&nch out, was carrying him ofP,
when Mr. Briggs put an end to his career by a well aimed shot
In this instance the chaffinch was quite dead (perhaps killed by
the shot) but he tells me that in many instances when he has
seen these hawks flying with a bird in their talons, he has fired
at them, though far out of shot, in order to make them drop their
prey, and several times he has seen the birds fly away unhurt
when released by the hawk. I have recently purchased four
Merlin's eggs taken near Ongar Wood on the 2nd of July.
They were found on the ground, and were much incubated, and
I hear from Mr. Davy, of the Highgate-road, that about ten years
ago he also received a nest of young Merlins from the same
neighbourhood.

Tinnunculus.
7. Tinnunculus alaudarius. The Kestrel.

The Kestrel is a very common bird at Cookham, and breeds in
large numbers in Cliefden "Woods, sailing over which I have
sometimes seen six at once. Some time ago, this species bred for
two successive years in some tall fir trees at Formosa, where the
nest was discovered by Mr. Briggs, and the bird is often seen in
the neighbourhood of the tall elm trees on the estate. Last year
it was especially common, and I saw several specimens in Mr.
Burrow's grounds at " The Elms." As regards its food a curious
instance came under my notice the other day, when a friend of
Mr. Briggs sent him a male Kestrel "just as he shot it." It was
grasping a slow-worm in its claws, and so tightly, that when it
arrived at Cookham from Eeading its feet then held its victim,
which was still living. The food of this bird I believe to consist
chiefly of email birds ; and although it may be in pursuit of mice,

128 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

"when observed hovering over the stubble fiehls, which is the
general opinion of authors, I am inclined to think it is more
probably attracted by the sparrows which collect in such numbers
in the stubble. At least, this is my opinion, for on many occasions
I have pursued these flocks of Sparrows to get for myself a
" Sparrow-pie," and on one occasion, I remember well, having
crept close up to a flock, I was about to fire from behind the
hedge, when I saw a brown thing jumping about on the ground
in the midst of them. I thought at first it was a stoat, but I soon
saw it was a Kestrel, and I stood watching it. What surprised
me most was, that the Sparrows did not fly, but were dodging
about like mice on all sides of the Hawk, apparently aware that
if once on the wing, the Hawk would soon overtake them, where-
as, on the ground their smaller size and superior agility enabled
them to elude his grasp. The Kestrel, however, concj^uered, for
I heard a squeak, and then the whirr of the flock as it took flight,
and immediately after the Hawk flew over my head with a
Sparrow in its claw. I had never thought of fii-ing till he was
out of reach, but I followed the direction he took, and he finally
darted out from under a plough-share, where I found the Sparrow
with his head eaten ofi". The Kestrel is also an enemy in winter
to the Siskins, Redpoles, and Goldfinches, which at that time of the
year frequent the alder-trees. When one day I had shot into a
number of Siskins, and the flock had resettled on the tree again
while I was reloading, a male Kestrel sailed over my head and
carried off a victim in my presence. Mr. Briggs has also seen
them glide quietly along the edge of the trees and seize the
Siskins, which, when feeding, always hang at the outermost tips
of the branches. I am very fond of keeping this species in con-
finement, and was speaking to a London bird-fancier lately about
some young birds, and asking if they could feed themselves. In
proof that they could ho produced the smallest bird out of five,
which had been kiUed by the others, who had begun to devour
it. Who would have thought of the Kestrel being such a
cannibal ?

{To he continued i)

129

guistittft V. ^mm.

I HAVE used tke same heading as that of the article in the
July number, but I must protest against it, since it shows
that the subject in dispute is not rightly ajiprehended. Al-
though I am prepared to cite some of the greatest names in
support of the view that the lower animals possess Eeason, I
am not aware that any naturalist has, as yet, denied that they
possess Instinct. Therefore it is not " Instinct v. Eeason," but
it is this : we believe that they possess Eeason in addition to
Instinct, even as we, the " nobler" part of creation do. With us
Eeason predominates ; with them. Instinct ; but both qualities are
present in the whole animated world. It is quite as necessaiy that
this should be perfectly understood, as that the words themselves
should be properly defined. The "distinction between Eeason
and Instinct," given by your fair con-espondent, is rather misty,
the said " distinction " being " the difference between the human
mind and that of the animal; " this appears to be a distinction loith
a difference. But I am quite prepared to fall in with her definition
of Eeason, given immediately aftei-, viz., " the action of the mind
upon knowledge," or rather the power of the mind to act upon
knowledge : and, having this definition, I cannot see how Eeason
is to be denied to the lower animals. How can there be a mind
without Eeason? And the above "distinction" gives the animal
a mind. This is simply one of those instances in which a dis-
putant tacitly acknowledges the truth of that which he is opposing
by the unconscious use of a word implying it all.

But as my intention is simply to answer the article in your last,
and not to write an essay, I will take up the arguments therein
supposed to be advanced.

I do not think it has ever been said that any reasoning faculty
was exercised by a bird, bee, or ant, in the construction of their
several dwellings, so we may put all reference to these on one side :
the first statement to be aoticed is that iu connection therewith, —

130 INSTINOT V. EEASON.

"We cannot say that they can have any knowledge of what they
are doing." Why cannot we? And if it comes to that, can we say
that they have not ? As far as I can see, we have not so much
right to make this assertion, as we are justified from analogy in
making the opposite. Did not the Crow on p. 25, and the Sheep
on p. 26, know what they were doing ? When a dog goes to the
fire on a cold night does he not know he is doing so ? does he not
know that he will be warm there ? And when he whines to be
let into the house, is he ignorant not only of the reason but also
of the fact of his whining ? I am sure if anyone told your cor-
respondent that her pet dog or pony was only an ignorant,
unconscious mass of animalised earth, she would feel highly
indignant.

Again, she asks, " If they had any knowledge of what they were
doing, why should not all alike use the same care for their young ? ' '
I ask, in reply, Is it necessary ? Are all their young equally sus-
cej)tible ? Her question throws discredit on the Creator of the
animals. But do all human mothers use the same care for their
infants ? The same argument applies in this case.

Once more I quote — Why are the nests not always placed in the
best and safest locality ? Supposing they are not, does this be-
token lack of Eeason ? Surely the question puts the argument
wholly into my hands ; were it simply Instinct, they always would
be 80 placed, since this quahty is said to be " unerring." Do we,
the " nobler " creatures (I am fond of this phrase), always put
oxir domiciles in the best and safest places ? If we do not, and if
your correspondent adheres to her style of argument, then, we are
destitute of Eeason.

In conclusion, I cannot but admire the naive and artless manner
in which my fair opponent says " It is quite clear that they are un-
conscious instruments of what they perform," when not a single
line beyond bare assumption has been brought forward to support
such a statement.

Hy. UlJiiYETT.

Since I -wTote the above I find that some one has -WTitten an article in the
Intellectual Observer, sho-wing that there is something more than Instinct
employed by birds even in nest-building. I have not read it, and it would
not invalidate anything I have advanced.

131

(Continued from page 88.)

FAWLEY. {FaUe-ley.) Fallow or arable land.
FiNGEST. This curious name appears in Domesday Book
as Dile-hurst, and is properly spelt Ding-hurst or Thing-hurst, in-
dicating the place where the Thing, or Court of the Hundred, was
held.

FuLMER means foul marsh : and every one who has seen it in the
early months of the year, and heard the stories of old inhabitants,
can readily imagine how appropriate the name must have been in
days when drainage and roads were unknown.

Geebard's Cross CoiijroN is distant a very short way from
Fulmer ; and over this common, avoiding that village, pass the
principal highways of the neighbourhood. Who Garrard was,
and why he was immortalised by linking his name with this
pleasant spot, no one appears to know for certain. The country
people teU you that he was the younger of two brothers, who
fought with swords at the cross roads, and that the elder fell ;
also that at twelve o'clock, on certain nights of the year, they may
still be seen fighting over again their unnatural combat. The
peasants of the Harz mountains in Germany have a very similar
legend, which has been elegantly versified by Heine.*

Hambleden ( Hamel-den) means the village in the valley, Hamel
being equivalent to hamlet, and the diminutive of ham.

Hampden appears to be named from the hemp which once grew
there abundantly.

Hedgerly (properly Hedg-ley) is simply " enclosed land."

Hedsob. The termination over contracted into or is most com-
mon in Danish names. Medda was probably a Dane, and Sedda's
over would mean his residence or estate. The name does not
occur in Domesday Book, though it dates from an earlier period.
* Komanzen, No. 3.

132 THE CHILTERIT COTJKTE.Y,

HiTCHAM means village by the brook. The same element
occurs in liitcliemlen, the proper name of the picturesque parish
■which bounds that of Wycombe on the north. The late pro-
prietor of that place, Mr. John Norris, performed the curious
feat of transmuting it into Hughenden, a name utterly impossible
to be pronounced by Saxon lips, and in every respect nonde-
script and unmeaning. The name was indeed occasionally spelt
•w'ith u, as Entchcnden, and Hugenden (in which the g was soft, and
not differing really from cli) but the guttiu'al gh is quite unknown
and inadmissible in the Anglo-Saxon language, common though
it is among our Celtic neighbours of Wales and Ireland. Hitchen
is thus discovered to be the original name of the stream which
joins the Ouse on the Oxford Boad of Wycombe, and is identical
with that of the river on which the city of Winchester stands —
the Itch en.

HoESENDEN is Horsa^s toivn. Horsa was an undeniable Saxon,
as every schoolboy knows.

Ibstone. Ibstone is properly spelt Mibe-sfanes, meaning the
high stones which here bounded the counties of Buckingham and
Oxford.

Ilmer. This name is properly spelt Eel-mer, and means Eel-
marsh. If our Society numbers any fish-fanciers, perhaps they
can inform us how it happens that the eel, once so plentiful in our
upland valleys, is now no longer to be found ? I suppose that as
our marshes have been drained, the mud on which the eel fattens
has disappeared ; and as the stream grows cleaner, the eel can no
longer find feeding ground. The muddiest rivers in Europe pro-
duce the best eels. In Domesday Book several Chiltern parishes
(West Wycombe, Hitcham, &c.) are rated to produce as many
eels as those on the river Thames (Taplow, Marlow, Eton, &c.).
IsENHAMPSTEAD, or IsELHAMPSTEAD, is the name of two adjoin-
ing villages, called for distinction Iselhampstead Chenies and
Iselhampstead Latimers, and now better known by these dis-
tinctive epithets than by their native names. Isen or Isel means
river, and is one of a very large family of names of Celtic stock,
signifying the same thing.

THE CHILTEEN COUNTBT. 133

Kimble. This is properly spelt Kine-hell. Whether this
parish was distinguished for possessing a church bell before others,
and received this whimsical name in consequence, I cannot say ;
but I know of no more certain explanation. To say that Kimble
derives its name from the fabulous King Cymbehne, or Cuno-
beline (had that worthy ever existed) is like deriving the name
of Lutlier from the Lutherans.

LouDWATER. Loud, lude, lade, lede, lide, with several other
variations, mean channel or course of water. "TheXiyde" of
Bledlow is a curiosity well worth visiting for the geologist.

Maelow. Mar has already been explained to be equivalent to
inoor or warsh : the name means precisely the same as Marstou,
Merton, Moreton, &c.

MEDiiENHAM, more properly JfcdcnJiam or Mcydcnham, means
place of horses. It is not generally known even among antiquaries,
that meyden is one of the numerous Saxon names for horse, and
that Maidenhead signifies Maidenhythe or Horse- wharf ; between
which place and other parts of the neighbourhood trade was carried
on by means of horses. The ancient inn sign of the Maidenhead
was probably represented origimilly by a horse's head. In the
same way are to be explained numerous local names like Maiden
Castle, Maiden Camp, &c., which occur in many parts of the
countrj\

MissENDEN means, so far as I can make out, dirty town.

Pexn is a Celtic remnant, and perhaps the purest form of any
element found all over Europe, signifying a high hill.

E. J. Payne.
(jTo be continued.)

Eeason in Animals. — Schiller puts the following into the
mouth of a Swiss peasant, in the play of Wilhelm Tell : —

And brutes have reason, too;
We know that well, who rise to hunt the chamois ;
The cunning creatujres, when they go to feed,
Put some one up on guard, who cocks his ear
And pipes a warning when the sportsmen near,

E. J. P.

134

®« ilxt Hc^tntrtiou of ^ivrtsi.

[The following forms an admirable pendant to Mr. Marshall's article in
our last ; and we trust that it will tend still further to increase the good
opinion of " our feathered friends," which is happily growing up amongst
us. — Ed.]

IN bygone days, thousands of acres of furze and underwood
furnished happy homes for many a bird, and the sparrows re-
velled in the then prevalent thatched buildings ; and herein we
have something that partly justified, at that time, the war of
extermination declared against birds ; but now, times are changed.
The forest and the common are gone, so are the thatched
buildings : while the hedges are grubbed, and the poor birds
driven into a very limited space. The parks and shrubberies,
the church towei*, and the chimney top, are the only places left
in which tlie feathered tribe may build and rear their young :
while, on the other hand, their mortal enemy, man, is ever
anxious to play the sportsman, ajiid practise on the poor remnant
that is left. Hence the very proper cry against the destruction
of small birds, and of the good they do in keeping under the insects,
whether caterpillar, grub, or liy, which destroy crops of fruit and
corn wholesale, and increase as their foes decrease.

When, four years ago, I came to my present residence, the
shrubberies teemed with the feathered tribe, in consequence
of the encouragement of birds by my predecessor. Wanting fruit,
I declared war against the birds ; "from early morn to dewy
eve," there was I with my gun, till I reduced my supposed enemies
so much that my garden was as still as the grave, except when
I chanced to walk there : when some Sparrow or Finch would give
the warning to his mates, for birds and beasts can talk to one
another as well as my readers can ; indeed, the language
of bird and beast is now so familiar to me that I can always tell
pretty well "what's up" ; but more of this anon. The gooseberry
trees put forth a goodly promise, and I looked forward with hope :

ON THE DESTEUCTION OP BIRDS. 135

but a fevr weeks more, and the caterpillars came rapidly ; the
leaves disappeared from each tree in succession, the fruit shrivelled,
and notwithstanding I tried lime, and salt-and-water, the
caterpillars finished them off, and then, dropping from them, took
up another form of existence. Then came chaffers in their turn,
and instead of soDgs I had plenty of buzz. The cabbages were
eaten up by the green caterpillars, and the beans and roses by
aphides. I determined to alter my tack for another year by
vowing never wilfully to destroy another bird about my ground ;
and I have had my reward. I have not had mischief from the
grub and caterpillar tribe for the three last seasons ; I have
plenty of company and plenty of song. My plan is to procure
some of the smallest shot, and with this shoot flying, just as
you find the birds have caught the flavour of the fruit you wish
to preserve ; you will soon find that they can confabulate ; and
if you pay attention, you may soon understand their language as
you slyly attempt to repeat the warning. Like boys, they will
try it on a short time, but finding you are in earnest, the fruit
will remain unmolested on the trees, and your conscience free
from the thought of having destroyed a friend. But leave the
fruit unguarded, and a combined attack is sure to follow. This
is all settled in a council of birds ; for they, like an attacking
ai-my, know that scouts are necessarj', Avho give the alarm on the
least appearance of danger.

Of the good birds do in the destruction of noxious insects a few
anecdotes will suffice. One day seeing a cock SpaiTow actively
emploj'ed about fifty yards from me, near a large stone in the
road, I was curious to know his business. Hy the aid of a
small telescope I brought him close to my eye ; he had a large
cockchaffer, and this he took up and dashed with all his might
against the stone. I saw part of the chaffer's mailed coat fly off
at every blow, and the soft body, when wholly divested, was borne
off as a choice morsel for the Sparrow's young. I then went and
examined the fragments ; they consisted of tho broken wings
and shield of the luckless chaffer.

136 ON THE DESTETJCTION OF BIEDS.

This summer just opposite a window, a pair of Sparrows have
hatched successive broods under the shelter of a broken slate ;
morning and noon are the pair busily engaged in supplying their
hungry familj' with food, and as they pause and carefully look
round before they enter, I am enabled to see that their beaks are
crammed with what are familiarly called '•' Daddy long-legs," and
other flies. In March last, when the snow lay thick and long on
the ground, my attention was directed towards a tapping just
outside the room window near where I stood. Peeping through
the half-drawn blind I saw a Blackbird with a large garden snail,
which he was busily engaged in smashing against a large stone.
By repeated blows the shell was removed, and the snail soon
became a choice feast for the sorely-pressed bu-d. Just after my
park was mown it was found to be unusually full of new colonies
of ants, their hills raising great impediments to the operations of
my mowers. Tlio hay being carried the rooks came for several
days and seemed extremely busy. I was curious to know what they
were after ; and on searching I found the anthills pecked open and
destroyed ; the eggs were devoured, except in a few places of long
standing, which formed fortresses defying all attacks. Some
amateur sportsman, tempted by a good shoot from the road, gave
warning to my friends to quit, since which they have not visited
me. Partridges are real farmers' friends ; their food, when young,
consists wholly of insects. Small birds are evidently on the
decrease, and many birds formerly known in this district, as the
White or Screech Owl, and the Brown Owl, are seldom seen ;
whereas 50 years ago there was not a barn or steeple without its
inhabitants, and nightly were they seen flitting silently round the
fields in pursuit of mice. The numerous flocks of Pigeons that
formerly visited the beech woods of this locality each winter have
disappeared. One thing is clear, — the unlimited destruction of
birds will assuredly hand us over to a worse enemy in the shape
of aphides, grubs, and flies.

Henrt Gibbons.

Loxboro' House,

Bledlow Kidge.

137

THIRD SUMMER SESSION— 1867.

First Eamble, Mat 14. — On this occasion Hollow Lane was
visited ; the attendance was but limited, owing, doubtless, to the
inclemency of the weather. The Secretary exhibited specimens
of the Fly Orchis {Oj)hri/s imiscifera) from Quarry Wood, near
Marlow ; and of the Early Spider Orchis ( 0. aranifera) , sent by
Mr. UUyett, from Folkestone. The usual spring flowers were
noticed in the lane, as well as the Blood Beetle {Timarcha lavigata).
Much dissatisfaction was expressed at the alterations which have
lately been made in this interesting locality, the hedges having
been lowered in a most unsparing manner. In returning across
the fields towards the Cemetery, a very large fungus, Polyporus
squamosiis, was observed growing on the trunk of an old ash tree.

Second Eamble, June 4. — Heavy showers in the earlier part
of the day doubtless intimidated many from accompanying the
Society on this excursion ; those present proceeded to Marlow
Eoad Station by the 3.50 p.m. train. They then walked along
as far as Cores End, the Great Celandine {Chelidonium majiis)
being noticed by the way ; after which they retraced their steps,
and visited the gravel-pit at "Well End, the President enlivening
the walk by an account of his recent excursion into Devonshire
and Cornwall. On arriving at the pit, the Secretary directed
especial attention to several plants which are, in our district,
almost confined to this locality ; among them were the Soft
Knotted Trefoil {Trifolimn striatum), the Subterranean Trefoil (71
suhterraneuni), the elegant Bird's-foot ( Ornithopus perpusillus), the
Spring Vetch ( Vicia lathyroides), the Trailing S. John's Wort
{Hypericum humifusum), the Knawel {Scleranthus annuus), and
the Buck's-horn Plantain {Plantago Coronopus). Specimens of
most of these having been collected, the President pointed out
traces of the action of water and that of ice. Various plants

138 PROCEEDINGS OP THE SOCIETY.

vreve noticed in returning to tlie station, -svlience tlie members
returned by tlie 6.3 p.m. train to Wycombe, pleased with tbeir
ramble, and regretting that others had not shared in their enjoy-
ment.

[The continuance of wet weather caused the postponement,
and eventually the omission, of the Eambles fixed for July 13th
and July 30th respectively ; while that arranged for August 20th
was postponed until August 25th.]

Third Eamble, August 25. — Owing to a slight want of
punctuality in the time of starting, the Society on this occasion
was divided into two sections ; one, under the direction of the
President, proceeding to Totteridge, in accordance with previous
arrangements ; the other, accompanied by the Secretary, prefer-
ring to visit Downley. The former slowly wended its way along
the Totteridge road, examining every bank, and capturing with
the net many interesting insects. The President directed atten-
tion to the Turnip Fly {Haltica nemorum), one of the Halticid^,
a gi'eat pest to the farmer. Yarious other Coleoptera and Diptera
were taken, each receiving a share of attention. Several mem-
bers gathered from the hedge specimens of the curious vegetable
excrescences produced on leaves by the puncture of the ovipositor
of the Gallfly. The fungi at Totteridge Green and Wood
were examined, and specimens of the Pufiball {Lycoperdon Bovista),
Mushroom {Agaricus campestris), and Chantarelle {Cantharellus
cibarius), were gathered. Totteridge Green is one of the localities
in the district in which the Henbane {Uijoscyamus niger) is per-
manently established. Towards the close of the evening the
members returned by the lane leading down to the London road ;
the conversation throughout the walk having a general or special
bearing upon subjects connected with natural history.

The Secretary and party proceeded to Downley ; in the corn-
fields on the way were noticed the pretty Toadflaxes {Linaria spuria,
L. Elatine, and L. minor), with the Hemp Nettle {Galeopsis
Ladanuni), Knotted Bur Parsley {Torilis infesta), and other plants.
A white-flowered variety of the Field Thistle ( Carduus arvensis)
was gathered near Plomer Hill. From Downley the members

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 139

proceeded to the Hughenden Woods, where the great number of
fungi was very remarkable : among those observed were Agarieus
{Clitocyhe) giganteus, Boletus edulis, Sussula frag ill's, and Can-
fharellus ciharius : while the presenca of Phallm impudicus was
betrayed by its disagreeable odour. The Winter-Green {Pyrola
minor), just out of blossom, and the Lady's Mantle {Alchemilla
vulgaris), were seen in the woods ; and the elegant fronds of the
Lady Fern {Athyrium Jilix-fcemina) were much admired. The
Deadly Nightshade {Atropa Belladonnu) still remains in its old
locality : the plant has this year attained the height of about eight
feet, and was covered with the lustrous purplish-black ben-ies.
The members returned home at about 8 p.m.

ForRTH Eamble, Sept. 12. — Arrangements had been made for
a ramble to the Hughenden Woods, but owing to the very Hniited
attendance, and a slight confusion in the time and place of meet-
ing, it was considered better to proceed to Green Street. The
President's net was in great requisition ; and much interesting
entomological information was given by him. The various wild
flowers which abound in Green Street were noticed ; conspicuous
among them being the Autumnal Gentian ( G. AmareUa) with the
larger form, G. germaniea,\^'\]l<l., the beautiful fringe of the corolla
being much admired. The members returned to Castle HUl at
5 p.m., where they were joined by many who had not accompanied
them. Tea and coffee were kindlj' provided by J. Edwards, Esq.,
at whose invitation the subsequent meeting was held. The mem-
bers then walked about the grounds, the site of the old castle being
explored, and a short description of it given by Mr. Payne.

The A^'^^:AL Gexer.\l Busixess Meeting then commenced, the
President, the Eev. T. H. Browne, taking the chair. The Secre-
tary opened the proceedings by reading the following

AXXVAL REPORT.

" Let me not be considered to be encroaching on the pro^dnce of our
esteemed President, when I commence my report by quoting the words with
which he opened his address at our Annual Conversazione on April 30th
last : I merely echo his sentiment in his own words when I say that ' I
think we have reason to congratulate ourselves upon the present condition
Q

140 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

and futm-e prospects of our Society.' We now number sixty-five members,
of which number twenty are ladies, and forty-five, gentlemen ; eleven are
resident at a distance beyond our radius of five miles, while the remainder
live within it, although several are not inhabitants of the town. In 1865
we numbered but thirty members ; last year we raised our list to forty-four ;
so that it is plain that the interest taken in our Society is increasing, while
we may now consider it firmly established, this being its third year of
existence.

" Subject to the consent of the members, I would propose a slight alteration
in the wording of our third rule, by which the annual subscription becomes
due upon the first of January in each year. As we have followed the example
of other Societies, and divided our year into two Sessions — a Winter Session,
and a Summer Session, — it seems to me that we might with propriety so
arrange our subscriptions that our year might include a Summer and
Winter Session, each complete : instead of embracing as at the present time,
a portion of two Winter Sessions in one year. This difficulty might
easily be obviated by appointing May 1st as the day on which annual sub-
scriptions should be payable.

" Our proceedings during the past year, ending on April 30th last, maybe
thus briefly summarised. During our Summer Session, but three Rambles
were taken — to Dane Garden Wood, Hollow Lane, and West Wycombe, —
the very wet weather which then prevailed having prevented the accomplish-
ment of a larger number. The attendance at these was but small. Seven
Evening Meetings, besides the Annual Conversazione in the To^A^l Hall,
were held during the Winter Session : at which the following papers were
read :—

* On Incredulity with respect to Geological Facts Mk. Ullybtt.

* Additions to the Flora of Wycombe The Secretary.

On British Reptiles (communicated) Mn. W. R. Tate.

On Diatoms and Desmids (two papers) The President.

On the Cave at Brixham, Devon (comnmnicated) . .Rev. W. H. Painter.
On the Mammalia of High Wycombe (commvmicated) Mu. Uilyett.
On some Resemblances between Plants and Animals

(communicated) R. Holland, Esq.

On Toadstools (communicated) W. G. Smith, Esq.

* OnthePleasuresofMoth Hunting (communicated) Mr. Ullyett.

A Geological Paper (communicated) Evan Hopkins, Esq.

* On the Destruction of Birds T. Marshall, Esq.

* Annual Address The President.

On Buttercups The Secretary.

On the British Tits {Parince) (communicated) . . . .R. B. Sharpe, Esq.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 141

It is gratifying to be able to state that each of these Evening Meetings
was well attended. Five of the above-named papers (marked thus *) have
been published in full in the Quarterly Magazine of the Society, and a
brief summary of the remaining has also been given. At all the Evening
Meetings there has been an exhibition of objects, to wliich each has con-
tributed according to his or her ability, and discussions on various subjects
have occurred. I must not omit to mention that our local Flora was
increased by seven Flowering Plants.* Mr. UUyett, also, shortly before his
departure, added two Butterflies to the list of those of our neighbourhood —
one, the Brown Fritillary {Argytin'a Aglaia), which had previously been
taken on Marlow Common; the other, the Brown Hairstreak {Thecla
Betulai), quite new to the district. This will show that, as a body, we have
not been idle : at the same time, there is yet ample room for discovery and
investigation. Before quitting this subject, I beg, in the name of the Society,
to tender our best thanks to those ladies who so kindly presided at the tea
vrith which our Annual Conversazione commenced. Although their kind-
ness has not been overlooked, it has not hitherto been acknowledged. We
are also grateful to the many Mends who lent objects for exhibition on that
occasion, as well as to those who assisted in arranging them.

"As it was felt that we were mainly indebted to our late Secretary, Mr.
TJllyett, for the organisation of the Society, a subscription was raised among
the members for his benefit, mth which a microscope was purchased and
presented to him.

" I will now proceed to lay before you a short statement in connection with
the Society's Magazine, first directing attention to our Cash Account. On
April 30th last, I had the sum of £5 14s. 5d. in hand, after all expenses for
the year had been paid: and I have since received £1 12s. 6d., while £3 53,
is still due, so that we may consider our balance to amo\int to £10 lis. lid.

"At theGeneral Business Meeting held on May 1, 1866, it was resolved that
a Quarterly Magazine of Natural History should be established in connection
■with the Society. The reasons for this were then fully entered into, and
need not now be dwelt upon : suffice it to say that the first number
appeared in July 1866, that five numbers are now before the public, and that
the magazine has been favourably reviewed in various periodicals and news-
papers. Of course, the idea that our magazine would be financially a suc-
cess was never entertained ; works depending chiefly upon local support and
appealing to but a small class of readers, seldom, if ever, pay ; but a hope
was felt that it might possibly just cover its own expenses. Such, however,
has not been the case. (I must not omit to mention that Mr. Butler very-
kindly offered to takeuponhimself the responsibility of the first four numbers.)
"When I ascertained positively that a loss would occur, I called a meeting of
the Committee (ou March 14th ult.) and laid the matter plaiuly before them,
* See p. 65.

142 PBOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

stating that I feared a loss of between £2 and £3 ; but at the same time
directing attention to the balance at the Society's disposal. After a long
discussion, it -was decided that the magazine should be continued, it being
felt that the Society's funds could not be employed in a more appropriate
manner : while it was also resolved that the deficiency arising from the first
four numbers should be supplied to Mr. Butler from the funds of the Society.
This deficiency will, I believe, amount to £2 16s. 9^d. when all subscriptions
are paid, but of these £3 Os. 6d. is still impaid. May I therefore urgently
request that our friends will, as soon as possible, pay the sums clue for
magazines ? Of the merits of the magazine it is not for me to speak : others,
whose opinions are of considerable value, have alluded to it iir terms of
praise : and the list of subscribers is on the increase. If our members would
push its circulation mth a little more energy, we should doubtless have little
or no deficiency at the end of another year. Our pages have been well
supplied : in fact, each number has announced the unavoidable postpone-
ment of several communications. Stating, in round numbers, our loss on
Nos. 1-4 as £3, the funds of the Society will still annoiuice a balance in our
favour of £7 9s. 5d.

" I will now conclude by thanking you for the very kind support you have
given me since I have filled the post of Secretary. Although an unworthy
successor of Mr. Ullyett, whose general information we all valued, I have
endeavoured to the best of my ability to advance the Society's interests, and,
I trust, not altogether without success. That we may year by year enter
more into the study of the wonders around us is my earnest ^^ish : each is a
line in the great book of Nature, that book which is ' more interesting than
all the books, save one, that ever were written upon earth.'

" I now resign into your hands the Secretaryship, and will ask you to proceed

with the election of ofticeis. Those now retiring are — Eev. T. H. Browne,

President; R. M. Bowstead, M.D., T. Marshall, Esq., F. Wheeler, Esq.,

Committee."

"James Beitten, Hon. Sec."

John Parker, Esq., proposed, and Mr. Butler seconded, that the Secretary's
Report be accepted : and that the alteration in Rule 3, suggested by hun, be
adopted. Carried unanimously.

John Parker, Esq., then proposed the re-election of the Rev. T. H. Browne
as President of the Society, remarking that no one better could possibly be
found to superintend its affairs. Seconded by Mr. Britten : carried unani-
mously.

Mr. Butler, in a complimentary speech, proposed that Mr. Britten be
re-elected Secretary. Seconded by Miss Chandler : carried unanimously.

The Secretary proposed the re-election of the Committee : Dr. Bowstead,
T. Marshall, Esq., and F. Wheeler, Esq. Seconded by Mr. Tottle : carried
unanimously.

BOOKS RECEIVED. 143

The President, in a brief address, acknowledged the flattering terms in
which he had been re-elected : and made a few remarks relative to the
desirability of forming a Museum in connection -with the Society.

The formal business of the evening being concluded, an inspection of the
objects exhibited ensued. The President showed several entomological
specimens, including the Clouded Yellow {CoUas Edusa) taken at Wycombe
five years ago, and referred to its recent reappearance in the district. Liv-
ing specimens of many local wild flowers were on the table, including the
Great Burnet Saxifrage {Pimpinella magna) new to the district, Cat-mint
{Xepeta Cataina^i, Calamint {Calctmintha officinalis), &c. ; plants of the Grass
of Parnassus (/*ar»a«*iaj7aZi/rfn^), and Dwarf Centaury {Erijthraa pulchella),
from Liverpool, were much admired. Miss Chandler brought two /asciculi
of dried plants : and dried specimens of the small, but rare, Waterworts
{Elatine hexandra and E. hydropiper), and Cyperusfuscus were sho-mi by
the Secretary. A short address, " On the Stomachs of Lisects," was given
by the President in the course of the evening : those of the Beetles, Cricket,
Mole Cricket, and Grasshopper being selected for illustration. A vote of
thanks to J. Edwards, Esq., and Airs. Edwards, for. the kind reception given
to the Society, brought a very pleasant meeting to a close.

The following from Mr. UUyett, in acknowledgment of the microscope pre-
sented to him by the Society, has been received by the Secretary: —

" S. Mary's Schools, Folkestone,

" September 20th, 1867.
" Dkar Sir, — Please to convey to the members of our Society my warmest
thanks for the valuable present they have forwarded. They could not have
chosen any thing more useful to me, and it ■\^'ill always serve to remind me of the
pleasant rambles and conversaziones I enjoyed in their company while I was
at Wycombe. I heartily wish the Society a long continued Hfe, and that
the success now attending it may never decrease. I hope ere long to hear
that they have established a Museum in the to^vn.

" Believe me, my dear Sir, yours faithfully,

"Hy. Ullyett."

^oolns %mmL

A Summary of the Occurrences of the Grey Phalarope in Great Britain
during the Autumn of 1866. By J. H. Gurney, Jun. (London : Van Voorst.)

This is a very neatly got up little pamphlet, and will prove exceedingly
interesting to the ornithologist, especially to him who makes our Birds of
Passage a favourite study. Phalaropus lobatui is a northern bird, and visita

144 BOOKS RECEIVED.

England only when the approach of winter renders its own clime too in-
hospitable. The author of the Summary has taken considerable pains to get
together all the notices he could of its occurrence last autumn in various
parts of the country, and has been so successful, that, however scarce it may
have been deemed fifty years ago, it deserves now, we should think, to have
its name taken off the list of rare birds. The nearest locality to us, noticed
in the book, is an eyot of the Thames, not far from Pangbourne, where one
was sliot ; but we doubt not others might have been seen still nearer ; those
sedgy ^\allow eyots that occur so plentifully in various parts of the river must
harbour a great many birds, and would prove a world of discovery if
well examined. Our readers will recollect that it was by one of them that
the Little Bittern {Ardea minuta) was taken a year or two ago by one of our
members. We cannot help regretting that the pamplilet bears such ample
testimony to the general tendency to shoot everything that is at all rare ;
the great majority of the specimens seen were killed, and we must protest
particularly against the conduct of the gentleman who shot eighteen out of
one flock ; we doubt whether the bird will be so common this year. Its
natural tameness is much against it, as is evident from the number knocked
down with hand weapons, and maimed with missiles from those arch-enemies
of animals in general — boys : we trust the school-boy who " stoned " one at
Stokes Bay will get a few lessons in Natural History. A very nice map
accompanies the work.

Tlie Naturalists' Circular, August and Septemher, 1867. (London: Henry
Hall, 56, Old Bailey, E.G.)

This little magazine, an enlarged form of one which has long been known
among amateur naturalists, bids fair to take rank among the most useful of
our serials. Its specialty is an Exchange List, in which appear the names
and addresses of those naturalists who are willing to assist their brethren in
the collection of the various objects of their study. Short practical articles,
as those on " Lamps for the Microscope," " Larva-Rearing," &c. : papers on
matters of general interest to the naturalist, and notes and queries, make up
each number. The Naturalists' Circiilar seems likely to take the place of the
lately- defunct Naturalist, but we trust will not share its untimely fate. Its
price is 2d. monthly.

Country Life : A Journal of Rural Pursuits and Recreation. (London :
10, Bolt-court, Fleet-street, E.G.) Price 2d. weekly.

AVe have received No. 4 of this new periodical ; and, if we may take it as
a specimen of the whole, can give it our sincere recommendation. It is, as
its name implies, a paper for dwellers in the country ; the gardener, the
angler, and, what more immediately concerns us, the naturalist, wiU find
each of their pursuits duly attended to. The principal article in the number
before us is one on " The Gholera Fungus," by Mr. M. G. Cooke, a well-known
authority on fungi in general. He carefully weighs the evidence for and
against, and thus concludes : " The crime is not proved against the prisoner
at the bar, and he is acquitted. Let us hope that the experiments will be
continued, and that in the meanwhile no absurd cry will be raised about a
' cholera fungus.' " Other interesting papers are those on "Fishermen's
Flies," " Jottings by the Way," and " Poultry-keeping : " " The Garden"
is well looked after.

TJie Entomologist, Nos. 44 and 45.— There is no falling off in the interest of
this periodical. Several good descriptions of larvte are to be found in these
two numbers, and a lengthy note on the " Hop Insect." We commend it to
the notice of all our entomological readers.

145

((^(fm^pMtnct.

We shall he glad to receive articles on any tiatural ohjeets, the preference
being always given to such as have a local interest. Notes on tlie jjopular
names of, or traditions concerning, Animals or Plants, or on any subject con-
nected with Natural History, will be Tcelcomc.

"Cleeks of the Weather." —
(See p. 106). — Mrs. Woollams writes
as follows: — " I think I named three
Leeches to a pint and a half of
water. I venture to remind you of
this, as it is somewhat essential; for
not only is that number sufficient
for the quantity of water, but a
larger number is apt to puzzle
beginners, as they do not always
rise and fall together to the moment.
My experience is not of jive, but of
fifteen years, so I trust you will
receive it with confidence."

On Preserving the Colour of
Dried Flowers.— (See p. 121). — I
have been asked to communicate the
manner of fixing the colour in the
mounted groups of flowers which I
sent over for the Annual Suirie.
Some five years ago, a friend, who
had been travelling in Norway,
shewed some specimens which he
had brought home to a dear child,
who commenced experimenting to
preserve the colour in drying.
Ultimately she found the applica-
tion of a heated flat iron the best
mode of proceeding. It was her
practice to pick the flower in pieces
for the purpose of more evenly pre-
serving the true proportions, and
then, with the perfect flower before
her, to make it up again. The
medium used in fixing it on the
card was isinglass in solution. The
specimens sent to Wycombe were
only a few of those produced ; the
groups of wild flowers, which passed
into the hands of valued friends,
being especially natural.

Henley. H. Stubbs.

The Duke of Burgundy (i\e-
meohius Liicind). — Mr. Ullyett, in
his paper on the Wycombe Butter-
flies, page 113, remarks that the
larva of the "Little Duke of Bur-
gundy Fritillary" {Nemeobius Lu-

cina), is said never to have been
found in England. Mr. U. will there-
fore probably be interested to know
th at I have taken both eggs and larvse
somewhat freely in this neighbour-
hood, and have bred the perfect
insect. Some few years since, I hap-
pened to be in a sunny field em-
bosomed in beech woods, in this
parish, where numbers of this pretty
little butterfly were flitting to and
fro, and I determined to have a hunt
for the larva. I had read in West-
wood's British Butterfiies that the
larva fed on the Primrose {Primula
vulgaris), and so to work I went,
carefully examining the leaves of
each primrose plant, but with no
success. I noticed, however, that
the field was covered with numerous
plants of the Cowslip (Primula,
vcris'), and to these I immediately
directed my attention. I had only
examined two or three plants, when
at the back of the very lowest leaves
among the long grass, close to the
ground, I found some small hairy
larvffi and a number of little white
eggs, resembling those of Arrtia
menthrasti, laid singly or in small
clusters. These I took home, and
in a few days they hatched ; the
young larvEE fed up rapidly and soon
assumed the pupa state, and the fol-
lowing year produced the perfect
insect. I subjoin a description of
both larva and pupa for the benefit
of your readers : Ground colour,
dingy olive. Central dorsal line,
blackish or very dark olive, much
darker at the centre of the segments.
Sub-dorsal lines slanting, dark olive,
dotted posteriorly on each segment
by a dull yellow spot. On each
segment between the dorsal and
sub-dorsal lines a largish orange
tubercular spot, surmounted by a
tuft of reddish orange hair. Between

146

COEEESPONDENOE.

the subdorsal and spiracular lines
a similar row of smaller spots and
tufts. Spiracular line, indistinct
anteriorly olive, posteriorly dull
yellow. Spiracles, black. Head, red-
dish yellow. Belly, dirty greenish
olive, destituteofmarkiug.s. Hatched
the beginuinpr of June. Full led,
middle of July. Pupa pale straw
colour. Along the centre of both
thorax and abdomen a double row
of largish black spots; on each side
three similar rows, the intermediate
row much smaller than the other
two. Upper border of wing-cases
black. On the head or extreme end
of the thorax two transverse black
bands. Suspended by a thread across
the junction of the thorax and ab-
domen. In form, colour, and general
appearance, closely resembles the
pupa of J/. Artemis, the "Greasy
Fritillary." In hot summers there
is a second brood of this butterfly
in September. The year before last
I fed up a batch of larvaj in July,
and every pupa emerged in Septem-
ber. H. Harpur Crewe.
The Rectory, Drayton Beauchamp,
Tring.
[The larva has previously been re-
corded from Bramham Moor,
Yorkshire, feeding on Primula,
veris. See NutiivaUsf i. 125. Ed.]

White S.\nd Martin. — On the
20th of August last a White Martin
■was shot by Mr. F. Wheeler, on the
Thames, near Marlow Road. The
specimen is, apparently, an Albino,
and of the species Sand Martin
{Iliriindo 7-iparia). The length and
general appearance agree with the
figure and description in Bewick.
The colour is almost entirely white,
but in one or two places there are
shades of a brownish tint. I am in-
formed that there are in the British
Museum many white varieties of
English buds ; indeed, we have,
most of us, seen, at times, partially
■white Sparrows. Stailings, Black-
birds, &c. : but I have never before
seen a White Martm, and I imagine
such an almost ]>urchj white variety
of any English bird is seldom seen
as in the specimen shot by Mr.
Wheeler. — T. Marshall.

The Clouded Yellow (CoUas
Edusa). — This rare and beautiful
Butterfly has this year again ap-
peared in our district. The only
specimens we had hitherto seen from.
the neighbourhood of Wycombe
were those in the collection of the
Rev. T. II. Browne, by whom they
were taken about t\\e years since.
Nine have been seen this year by
different individuals, within our
radius of five miles ; and one was
noticed near the Maidenhead station.
The fact that only males have been
observed in these instances suggests
that Ihey may have been in some
manner introduced. The Clouded
Y'ellow seems to be of more frequent
occui'rence this year than is usually
the case : Mr. Ullyett states that
it is very plentiful at Folkestone. He
adds, " I took a very fine specimen
of the rare variety Helice in August
last, a few miles from here. Although
not in your locality, this note may
prove interesting to the entomo-
logist."

Phosphoric Centipede.- — Coming
home rather late one night last
August I saw on the Marlow Hill
several of what I passed by as
glowworms ; but on stooping downi
to pick up one it moved away, and
left a track of light behind it, both
among the herbage and on the hard
road. On seizing one, and boxing
it, I found it to be a centipede. My
fingers were covered with the
phosphorescence after handling it, as
if I had been rubbing them with
lucifers. Can you tell me the
scientific name of this creature ?

[No doubt it Avas Anthronomahis
hngicornis, figured in Wood's Nat.
Hist., vol. iii. p. 693.— Ed.]

The Wheatear. — I have noticed
this year dui-ing the latter end of
March, the occiu-rence of the Wheat-
ear {Saivicula (Enaiitltc). This
species is not common in this neigh-
bourhood, but in one walk I noticed
four instances of it. According to
Jardine, it is one of the earliest of
our summer visitants.

T. MarshaiiL.

147

(Continued from page 128.)

BY R. B. SHARPE.

Sul-fam. AccipitiuNvT;.

Accipitcv.

8. Accipitur uisus. TJie SpiuTow Hawk.

rpniS bird is not so often observod as tlie Kestrel, but is still

J- of common occurrence, and breeds in tlio Duchess of

Sutherland's w-oods at Cliefden. I cannot from uiy oi\n

experience justify the trivial appellation of Sj?a)rotv-ha,\\\\, for I

think that in most instances (especially as i^-gariis the females),

it preys upon Blackbirds, Thrushes, Starlings, and Larks, while

Mr. Briggs, who has had much experience in Cauibridgoshire and

at Billing-bear ,''•" says that it justly incurs the animosity of the

keepers by the ravages it commits among the young Partridges

and Pheasants. Nor is its attack confined to tlie youny bird, fur

'ilv. Burton, of "Wardour Street, London, tells mc he once marked

a covej' of Partridges to the other side of a small ridge, and

having crejjt unobserved to within range, was preparing to fluch

them, when a Sparrowhawk darted down, seized one of the birds,

and would have carried it off, had not a shot terminated his

career. The present species gets remarkably bold when impelled

by liunger, and has been known to carrj' off game in the face of

the sportsman, several instances also being recorded of its having

dashed through glass windows to seize cage-birds. These hawks

often pursue flocks of Starlings, aud Mr. Briggs and I have twice

been witness to a chase. The first time was on tlie 2nd of June,

1867, when we were both in my father's garden, and were fust

attracted by a commotion among tlie Swalhjws and Martins

above our heads. Looking up, we perceived a Sparro\\liav>k

sailing across towards Clicfden AVoods, surrounded on all sides by

the screaming Hi, undines. Presently a flock of twent}' or thirty

Stai'lings hove in sight, when the hawk darted oft' towards them,

* This place was in the first part of the paper written Bulling Bare in
error. — E. B. S.

148 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAil AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

and both parties wheeled round and round, higher and higher,
each apparently striving to get above the other, but eventually
the Starlings succeeded, for the Hawk gave up the chase, and
bore off in the direction of White Place, till he became finally
lost to sight. The other time when we were witnesses to the
attack of a Hawk was in the middle of last September, but on
tliis occasion the encounter did not end favourably for the
Starlings, as the bird of prey daslied out of the woods into the
midst of the flock and struck down one, which fell headlong towards
tbe ground, but before be had fallen twenty yards, tbe Hawk
shot like lightning, caugbt bim up, and bore bim off to the
woods. "We were close observers of the fray, whicb took place
immediately over Formosa. Mrs. De Vitre possesses a fine old
female, and it is curioUs that of the specimens shot near Cookham
within the last five years, I have not seen one male bird. The
latter is of more secluded and retiring habits than the female,
and seldom ventures out from bis strongholds, leaving his larger
and more powerful mate to run the risk.

Suh-order II. Accipitres Nocturnt.

Fam. StrigiDvE.

Suh-fam. Syrniin^e.

Syrnium.

9. Syrnium aluco. The Tawny Owl.

Cookham is one of the places where this species of Owl, now

becoming scarce in England, can still be found. In the woods

of Hedsor and Cliefden, and tbe opposite grounds of Formosa,

the Tawny Owl pursues his noiseless flight and is heard hooting

in the stillness of the summer night. I can quite understand

this species feeding on fish, as it exhibits in confinement great

partiality for water, and the birds in the Zoological Gardens,

Eegent's Park, seem to delight in their bath, standing in the

trough and splashing the water all over them. When thoroughly

soaked they look most comical with their immense eyes, which

seem larger than ever when the feathers round them are all wet

and flattened.

THE BIEDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOTTKHOOU. 149

Otus.
10. Otus vulgaris. The Long-eai'ed Owl.
This bird is very rare at Cookham, but has nevertheless been
observed by Mr. J. Ford, at Dropmore, where there are some
fir trees, which are a favourite resort of the Long-eared Owl.
The species is common in some parts of Cambridgeshire, whence
several specimens have been sent, both to Mr. Briggs and
myself, and where the bird often came under his observation.
Mr. J. Furd had a young bird sent him from Norfolk, which
lived for a long time ia confinement, till it met with an untimely
death at the claws of a cat.

11. Otus brachyotus. The Short-eared Owl.
Mr. Darby shot a specimen of this Owl near Cockmarsh a few
years ago, which was preserved by Mr. J. Ford, of Cookham.
Its occurrence so far south is rare.

Sub-fam. Strigin.s;.

Strix.

12. Strix flammea. The Barn Owl.

Our harmless but persecuted Barn Owl is often met with at

Cookham, and occasionally visits Formosa, where it meets wi th

an asylum. It is also a frequent visitor to White Place, and may

be often heard in Cliefden Woods. I have also heard and seen

it in the ivy which envelopes the tower of Cookham Church.

Order Fissirostee.

Fam. HiEUNDiNiD^.

Hirundo.

13. Hirundo rustica. The Chimney Swallow.

The present species presents at different seasons of the year

distinct changes of plumage on the breast, but I am at present

not in a position to make any remarks about them, as I intend to

make my researches the subject of a separate paper. I question

very much, however, whether the old bird at the time of feeding

the young on the wing (as represented in Mr. Gould's plate in

The Birds of Great Britain) is to be found with the reddish tinge

on the breast, but as miy series of specimens is not yet as complete

as I could wish, I must wait till next year to bring tne some more,

l.jO THE BIRDS OF COOKKAAr AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

and I sliall then liope to be able to lay before my readers some
more definite roraai-lcs on this si^ecics. I shall also, I hope, by
that time be in possession of a move complete series of skins, so
as to be able to boar ont mj' present conjectures by the actual
observation and possession of specimens. SJiould any of my
friends find any with a deep rufous colour on the breast, I shall
bo glad at all times to receive them at the oIH.ce of the Zoological
Society, Hanover-srpiai'e, London, W.
Chelidon.
14. Chelidon urbica. The Common Martin.

The Martin may be distinguished from the foregoing
species bj' the whito mark on the lower part of its back, which is
very conspicuous when flying, and also by its mode of flight,
■which is always swifter and less laboured than that of the Swallow.
It also generally flies Ligh in the air, which is seldom the case with
the Swallow, who skims along the ground after insects. Tho
present species is very fond of frequenting the waterside, and may
often be seen in groups of three or four together sitting by the
side of the river and dipping themselves. The Martin is also
very fond of dusting itself in the middle of the roads.
Cot\le.
15. Cot vie riparia. The Sand Martin.

There are several gravel pits and other situations near Cookham,

■which form suitable breeding-places for tho Sandmartin, and the

bird is very common there in summer. It ai'rives sooner than

the Martin or the Swallow, and departs before them.

Fam. Cypselid/e.

Cypselus.

IG. Cypselus apus. The Common Swift.

There is scarcely anyone living in the coimtry who is not
acquainted with the Swift, or who does not -n^elcamo him as the
harbinger of spring, and equally ri'grct his departure as the sure
sign that winter is approachiiig. The Swift is one of tho latest
birds to arrive and tho earliest to go. It breeds under the eaves
of houses in tho village, penetrating far out of reach under the
roof. I have taken its nest on Peterborough Cathedral, where
thousands breed every year.

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAiT AND THE NEIGHBOXTKHOOD. 151

Fam. CAPEiMTJLarD.i3.
Caprirmilgus.
17. Caprimulgus europaeus. The Common Nightjar.

As early as March 3rcl this year (1867) a Goatsucker, as the
bird is more commonly called, was shot at Cookham Dean, and
sent to Mr. Briggs for my collection. This was considered by
him to be considerably earlier than usual, and in my opinion is
very remarkable, as they generally are first seen about May,
which is also the date of their arrival given in John's British
Birds in their Hmmts. About Formosa they are by no means
uncommon, and all round Mr. Burrow's grounds, at the Elms,
they may be seen towards the dusk of the evening. They are
very fond of sitting on a railing which runs across one of his
fields, and as we go through the lane which skirts the bottom of
it, a Nightjar often flaps over the hedge on one side and
disappears over the opposite hedge on the other side of the road.
Mr. Briggs says he has often seen them settle in the road, and
when disturbed, fly along about a foot from the groxmd, making
a flapping noise, but whether this is caused by the bird striking
its wings together over its back or underneath its breast, he has
not yet been able to determine. We have not found the Nightjar
breeding in the neighbourhood, though at BiUing-bear Mr.
Briggs tells me he frequently found the nest. I may add that
the bird has been also observed by him at Formosa this year very
much later than usual, as he saw them in September.

Fam. Meropidji;.

Merops.

18. Merops apiaster. The Bee-eater.

In the summer of 1866 a Bee-eater made its appearance at
Dropmore, on the estate of the Hon. G. Fortescue, and attracted
the notice of Mr. Frost, the liead gardener. For several days it
continued on the grounds, taking up its position on a bare bi'anch
over a wasps' nest, and from this position it made short flights to
catch any of the insects as they apj)roached or left the nest. Mr.
Frost, to his great credit, would oti iio account have the biid

152 THE BIRDS OF COOKJIAM AND THE NEIGHBOTTRHOOD.

molested, and did all in his power to protect it, but at last it
wandered from this friendly noighbourhool, and was at once shot
by some less scrupulous person.

Fam, Alcedimd^.
Alcedo.
19. Alcedo ispida. The Common Kingfisher.

The introduction of salmon and trout hatching on Lord Boston's
estate has visibly affected the welfare of this pretty bird, for no
sooner did the small fry make their appearance, than the King-
fishers found them out, and created great havoc. This, however,
did not last long, for a fiery edict went forth, and the poor birds
were shot down right and left by the fisherman in charge of the
pr(iserves. Up to this time the Kingfisher was by no means rare
near Cookham, and used to breed regularly in the bank of the
stream opposite Formosa, but since the wholesale mux'der of every
bird that could be seen, their numbers have much decreased,
although I am happy to say a few are still left to gladden our
eyes and enliven the beautiful scenerj' in the river Thames. The
note of the Kingfisher is a very shrill one, which may be repre-
sented by the words, pronounced very sharply, t'loee, fwce,
fwee-e-e. When he flies, the bird always utters that note, but
when frightened only gives vent to a shrill solitary sound.
His ordinary flight is slow and steady, and when not alarmed, he
glides along the sides of the banks of the river or up a brook,
till he comes to a suitable place, genei'ally a post or dead branch,
where he settles and waits patiently imtil the fish come within
reach, and then like an arrow dives in and brings his prey up
and flies with it to a perch, where he kills it with a smart rap,
and swallows it head foremost. Eound Formosa the Kingfisher
finds many suitable places for fishing, as there are numerous small
streams and rivulets running through the estate, one of which is
directly opposite the door of Mr. Briggs' cottage. Here he has
often seen the birds sit for a long time, first turning their head
on one side and then on the other, and keeping good watch on all
sides. Suddenly like magic they are gone, a splash is heard,
and the bird flies off with a fisli in his beak.
(To he continued. J

153

^(lamott^ to tht Wxjtmht llova — 1867.

OUR local Flora during the past season has been increased by
four siaecies of Flowering Plants, while many species, pre-
viously recorded for the district, have been observed in new
localities. I will veiy briefly enumerate the more important of
these discoveries.

The four new species are as follows : —

The Gkeat Buenet Saxifrage {Pimpinella magna), was
observed on September 9, by Mr. J. C. Melvill, of Trin. Coll.,
Cambridge, in company with myself, in the lane below the
Eoundabout, and between it and the Booker road. It had
previously escaped notice, doubtless on account of its near
resemblance to the common P. Saxifraga, but the difference
in the root leaves is sufficiently marked. P. magna is recorded as
occurring in two other localities in the county.

The Creeping Scorpion Grass {Myosotis repens), grows in
abundance in the large mill-pond at the Marsh Green, where I
observed it on September 10. It very greatly resembles the
Forget-me-not ; but has smaller flowers, and also differs in other
particulars. It has not been previously observed in Buck-
inghamshii-e.

The Pale Blue Toadflax {Linaria repens) was first sent me

by Mr. Daniel Avery, of Lane End. On investigating the

locality in which he discovered it, I found it growing in great

abundance in fields and hedges on the other side of Lane End,

towards Fingest. I traced it for some considerable distance ; and it

doubtless extends into the adjoining part of Oxfordshire. When

we remember that Henley was the earliest recorded locahty for

this species, and that it grows in that neighbourhood in great

plenty, it seems probable that it is generally distributed over the

district between Lane End and that place. The only other

Buckinghamshire locality for L. repens is a "hedge near the

* Read before the Society at the First Evening Meeting (November, 1867)
of the Third Winter Session, 1866—67.

154 ADDITIONS TO THE WYCOMBE FLORA.

' Seftou Arms,' Stoke " {Phjtologist v. 367, n.s.) ; where it may,
perhaps, have been introduced. This species is one of our
prettiest Toadflaxes, the flowers being elegantly striped with
purple, and very sweet-scented.

The Primrose-leaved Mullein {Verhascim virgatum) I dis-
covered in Hollow Lane on September 12. I had noticed i^lants
which I believe to have been this species in the same neighbourhood
two or three years ago, and again near AVell End ; but I did not
then examine them sufficiently, and thouglit it possible that they
might be hybrids between V. Thapsm and V. nigrum. The
Hollow Lane plant, however, agreed exactly with the description
of V. virgaUm. It is new to the county.

Besides these four plants, which have never been ^jreviously
recorded for our district, there are three jthers, which had been
reported as belonging to it, but whicli, of late years, had not
been observed, and these are deserving of special notice.

Of the Field Pepperwort {Leiridium campestre), vhich Mr.
Gaviller found in the neighbourhood of Loud water, I noticed a
solitary plant in a cloverfield near Booker. I have never seen it
elsewhere in the district, and suspect we cannot claim it as a
genuine native, although generally distributed.

The Solomon's Seal {Polygonatum muUiflorum), recorded by
Withering as growing " about High Wickham, Bucks," which
I last year remarked had not been seen recently in our district,
has been discovered in the Booker Woods by Mr. Avery, growing
in some plenty. Mr. Edward Wheeler informs me that he believes
he has seen it in the Penn Woods, a very likely locaUty.

The Flowering Fern {Osmunda regalis), which has been
rumoured to occur in various places, has at length been seen
gi-owing in the district. I purposely abstain from giving any
indication of its locality ; human nature is weak, and the
Flowerino- Fern a great temptation ; and remembering the raids
made upon it in one of its best known places of growth, Burnham
Beeches I deem it well to preserve a discreet silence on the
subject.

ADDITIONS TO THE WyCOMBE FLOBA. 155

The very curious variety of tlie Water-cress {Nasturtium
officinale) known as iV. siifolium, has been seen by the stream in
the Eye. This form has leaves resembling those of the Marshwort
{Helosciadium nodijlorum), very thick, erect stems, and small
flowers with a pinkish tinge. It is well worthy of notice,
differing widely in appearance from the typical form ; so much so
indeed, that in the neighbourhood of Buckingham, where it is
abundant, it is called " Brooklime," and considered as quite dis-
tinct from the ordinary Water-cress.

The Barberry {Berheris vulgaris) has been observed near
Fingest by Mr. Daniel Avery, who also found the Columbine
{Aquilegia vulgaris) in a wood near Lane End, in flower ; it
seldom blossoms with us in a wild state. The Great Dodder
( Cuscufa europcea) was found by Miss Chandler growing plentifully
on nettles near Hughenden Park. The Mezereon {Daphne
Mezereum) was again observed in its former localities : the Bog
Pimpernel {Anagallis tenella) and Lady's Tresses {Spirant lies
autumnalis) on Lane End Common. The beautiful Snowflake
{Leucojum astivum) I had the pleasure of gathering, on May 8th,
from the meadows by the Thames near Harleyford, in company
with the Large Bitter-cress {Cardamine amara) ; this locality,
however, is beyond our district. The Stinking L-is {Iris
fostidissima) I found in a small wood near FlackweU Heath ; it is
very remarkable that it has not been observed in any wood in
our own immediate neighbourhood, as the locahty would appear
conducive to its growth. The Good King Henry ( Chenopodiiim
Bomcs-Henricus) was gathered, late in the season, at Forty Green,
near Penn ; it has only one other station in the county.

Thus, as each year comes round, it introduces fresh objects to
our notice : season by season, the naturalist finds something to
engage his attention. Natural History is the one study which
we can never exhaust, for the more we advance in our knowledge,
the more plainly we see how much we have yet to learn.

James Bbitten.
s

156

THERE are few pictures better calculated to arouse that love
for Nature ■which exists in the human breast, than the
sight of a rich bank of ferns. In a deep dell or a shady lane,
■where one has sought refuge from the " all conquering heat " of
summer — -where the slopes give forth to the eye a limpid green-
ness — there the spirit of a botanist mny be, and often has been,
evoked. It -was among the Devonshire lanes I fii'st fell in
love -with ferns, and there are probably fe^w places in England so
•well calculated to produce such an effect. On the slopes of the
Blackdown hills — in roads cut through the humid sandstone,
mosses and ferns reign supreme all the year round, and in -winter
are specially beautiful. The desire to kno^w more of these green
treasures soon extends itself, and is very readily gratified : ferns
are easily pr- served, and the majority of them very easily culti-
vated ; and a fern bank may be established in the garden -with
but very little trouble.

Ferns belong to the class of plants called cry2)togamia, from the
fact that flo^wers are absent from them, the fructification being-
developed by another method: in the same class are mosses,
lichens, algae, and fungi. Ferns and mosses belong to the higher
cryptogamia, and have their mode of reproduction much more
plainly apparent to the eye than seaweeds or fungi, but no
flowers exist : the seeds, or as they are technically termed, the
spores, of the former are scattered over the back of the leaf or
fro7id ; their mode of arrangement, and the presence or absence of
a covering to them (called the indusium), afford good points of
dissimilarity, which serve to separate them into families and
genera. They reach their greatest perfection in warm moist
atmospheres, and are found thus in the present day in New
Zealand and similar chmates, where they attain to the height of

*Read before the Society at the Second Evening Meeting (December 10,
1867) of the Third Winter Session, 1866-7.

OUR FEENS. 157

some of our trees. In past ages of the world, England was quite
as mucli the home of gigantic and luxuriant ferns as the countiy
just referred to ; this is attested by the innumerable fossil remains
preserved in various formations, more particularly in coal.

There are now in our country between forty and fifty different
species, according to the fancy or ingenuity of species-makers ;
some of these are very widely spread, others are only to be seen
in favoured spots.

Although chalky soils are said to be not particularly favourable
to their production, we possess within a radius of five miles a very
fair proportion for the locality ; and though we can never hope to
obtain the diminutive Woodsias, which gi'ow only in the crevices
of mountain rocks, or the delicate and pellucid Film-Ferns, which
delight in more humid situations, yet we are not without rarities.
Sixteen sj)ecies are now known to occur in our district, and
probably more will " turn up" before long.

The Polypodies {Pohjpoclium). — Of these we have two, but
one is very rare. The Common Polypody (P. vulgarc), an ever-
green fern, is found in all our woods, encircling the roots of the
beech trees. In other localities it may be seen thickly covering
the summits of old walls, high banks, &c. ; there is a small bed
of very fine ones on the left-hand side of the lane leading to
Plomer Hill, and another on the bridge in Chapel Lane. The
spores form bright brown patches on the back of the fronds, and
usually on the upper half only ; these spores have no skin or
indusium over them — a mark which, taken in connection with
the round clusters of spores, is characteristic of the genus.
The Limestone Polypody (P. Mohertianum or edcareum) is very
rare, occurring chiefly in the northern and western parts of the
island, and preferring calcareous soils. It has been found in one
locality in Oxfordshire, and I am glad to be able to record
Wycombe as one in Bucks. I found two very good specimens in
King's Wood, close to Hazlemoor, but with the most diligent
search, have never been able to discover any more : it may, of
course, still exist in some unexplored spot. It grows to the
height of little more than six inches, and is rather three-branched

158 OUR FEENS.

in its appearance, but not so mucli so as an absent allied species
{P. Dryoptoris) ; the fronds are of a delicate green colour, and
the branches beautifully pinnate, or divided at the edge.

TuE Shield Ferns (Foli/sfichnm).— Of tins gouus we have but
one species— the Common Prickly Shield Fern {P. aculeatum), an
evergreen when growing in a sheltered situation, but otherwise
the fronds die ofif. It is one of the most graceful of our ferns
when viewed in masses, jpresenting, when looked at from above,
a beautiful feathered appearance. Although very plentiful in
most of the Gloucestershire lanes, it is not widely spread here ;
there are a few roots in "Water Lane, and it grows thickly on
a bank in the wood, not far from Hazlemoor Church. The
spores are covered with an indusium circular in shape, and the
texture of the frond is more rigid than that of any other of our
native ferns. When the spores have reached maturity, the skin
bursts, and the fine dust becomes dispersed by the wind
to othei', and perhaps far distant, localities. There is a variety
called lohatum, much narrower in outline, and having the pinnte
stunted and lobed ; it has been found here, but I do not know
the spot. It is, however, merely a variety. \_P. angnlarc ought
to be found in the ueiglibourhood, though I have not been
fortunate enough to see it.]

The Buckler Ferns {Lastrca). — These ferns are known by
having the indusium indented on one side, making it horse-shoe-
shaped. We have three fpecies. We can go into no wood
without seeing the Male Fern {L. filix-mas). growing occasionally
to the height of three feet. I found a curious variety of it in the
Roundabout, having the pinnte divided into two and three
branches. The Spiny Buckler Fern (Z. spinulosa), by some
treated as a variety of the rare cristata, is plentiful in King's
Wood and Whittington Park, preferring moist situations. The
Broad Buckler Fern (Z. dilatata) is not quite so common, but is
to be found in both locahties ; it is a verj' robust plant, yet the
frond is beautiftilly curved or drooping, and is seldom seen erect
like other Lastreas. [I believe Z. uliginosa was found in Whit-
tington Park by Mr. T. P. Lucas, formerly resident at Wycombe.]

OTJB FEENS. 159

The Lady Fern {Athyrium). — Opposed altogether in appear-
ance to filix-mas is A. filix-fmnina, which. " on account of the
exquisite grace of its habits of growth, the elegance of its
form, and the delicacy of its hue, claims precedence over every
other British species." It is recognised at once hy these
characteristics, as well as by the fringed indusium. In the deep
glades of King's Wood it makes a pleasing contrast to the more
robust forms ; in Whittington Park it is almost as plentiful as
the Male Fern.

The Spleenwoets {Asplenitan). — These have narrow single
sori (lines of spores) running in the same direction as the veins of
the frond. The Wall Eue {A. Eida-muraria) and the Common
Maidenhair Spleenwort (^A. Trichomanes) were both to be found
on a wall at West Wycombe. The Black Maidenhair Spleenwort
{A. Adiantum-nigrutn) grows in several places, plentifully at
Wooburn and Beaconsfield.

The Hart' s Tongue (/StfoZc7Je?2(?nM»»). — This is an evergreen fern,
delighting in moist situations, such as the banks of watercourses,
sides of wells, &c., in which favourable spots the fronds will
measure a couple of feet in length. The ordinary form
{S. vulgar e) has the leafy portion of the frond entire; there are
varieties that divide and subdivide, but none are found here.
It was formerly very plentiful on the upper bank of the stream
flowing from the east end of the Park, but has since been
eradicated. Now it is to be found in a few of our lanes.

The Scale Fern {Ccterach officinarum). — This, in company
with the two Spleenworts before mentioned, is found only on a
waU at West Wj'combe : the fronds are dwarfed, thick, and of a
dull green colour, the back is covered with overlapping scales.
All these wall ferns are difficult to transplant, and still more
difficult to cultivate : it is therefore to be hoped that they may
not be exterminated for that purpose.

The Hard Fern [Blechnum loreale). — A plant deriving its name
from its rigid appearance : there are two kinds of fronds, barren
and fertile, the latter having the divisions long and narrow. It
is abundant in Whittington Park, and occurs in other of our
woods and hedges.

160 OTJB FEEN3.

The Bkacken {Pteris aquilina). — This exists almost everywhere,
often rising in the hedges to the height of five feet. The sori lie
along the edges of the divisions. If the thick portion of the
stem close to the ground be cut through, it will present a rough
outline of the two-headed eagle with outspread wings — hence the
specific name of aquilina, given it hy Linna3us.

TuE EoYAL Fern {Osmunda regalis). — This has been added to
our list since I left Wj'combe. I long suspected it to grow in the
locality in which it has at length been found — an opinion shared
in by our Secretary, and we both made several visits in the
hope of finding it, but in vain. It is often called the Flowering
Fern, because when the spores are ripe the plant looks as if it
were in flower, but this is a deception arising from the reflection
of the edges of the pinnulm. It has been known for some time to
grow at liurnham Beeches, but that is outside our district.

The Adder's Tongue (Ojihioglossum vulgatum). — This curious
fern has the frond divided into two branches, one leafy and entire,
the other, the fertile one, erect and contracted, bearing the spores
in its upper half. It loves humid situations. I first found it by
the Thames at Marlow : it is plentiful also at Lane End.

[The Moon wort ( Botrychium Ltmaria) is reported to grow in the

same neighbourhood, but I never met with any one who had

found it.]

Hy. Ullyett.

The following localised list of Buckiiigliainshiie Ferns may perhaps be of
interest, as showing the extent of our present knowledge regarding tliose of
tire whole county. The English name of each species will be found in the
preceding article. The localities following the initial S are in South Bucks ;
those preceded by N are in the North of the county. A species or localitj- in
brackets requires confirmation.

Polypodium vulgare, L. S. Wycombe, Beaconsfield, &c. N. Near
Buckingham {^fr. W. Walher).

P. Itobcrt'uiHum, Hoffm. S. King's Wood, Hazlemoor, Wycombe.

Lastrea Filix-'mas, Presl, S. and N. Bucks.

L. spi)iuh.ta,'Pves\. S. Whittington Park, near Wycombe ; llazkiaoor ;
Loudwater ; &c.

OTJB FERNS. 161

L. dilatata, Presl. S. Whittingtoii Park ; Black Paik, Stoke {Phyt.
V. 307, N. s.) ; Gerrard's Cross (-Rey. W. Bi-amley-Moore).

[Z. vliginosa. S. T^Tiittington Park {Mr. T. P. Lvcas).']

Polystichiuti acuhatum, Roth. S. Not unfrequent about Wycombe ;
Chesham [Rev. Bryant Burgess) ; Colnbrook {Mr. A. Pettigrew) ; Stoke
{Phyt. V. 368, x.s.).

/3 P. lobatum, Sm. S. Wycombe; Gerrard's Cross (i?fy. W. Bramley-
Moore); Stoke {Phyt. vi. 528, n.s). N. Near Buckingham {Mr. W.
Walker).

P. angulare, Newm. S. London Road, Wycombe (J/j«« iV. Vernon);
Stoke {Phyt. v. 368, n.s.).

Athtjrium Filix-foemina, Roth. S. ^id N. Bucks.

l^^ispleniiim fontamim, L. S. Recorded on old authority as growing on
Agmondesham (Amersham) Church : in all probability an error.]

A. Adiantum-ni^rum, L. S. Walls and banks, Wycombe, Beaconsfield,
&c. ; Stoke {Phyt. v. 367, N.s.) ; Taplow {Mi: George Stanton) ; Bumham
Beeches; Dropmore {Mr. A. Pettigreic).

A. Trichomanes, L. S. Near Marlow {Miss M. Veriwn) ; West
Wycombe and Bradenham ; Gerrard's Cross {Eev. W. Bramley-Moore) ;
Amersham {Rev. Bryant Burgess) ; Stoke {Phyt. v. 3G6, n.s.) ; Bumhara
Beeches (i/n G. Stanton). N. Near Buckingham (J/n IF. Walker).

A. Ruta-mui-aria, L. S. Walls, West Wycombe, Bradenham, Amer-
sham, Beaconsfield, &c. ; between Iver and Cowley {Mr. G. Stanton) ;
Langley Park {Mr. A. Pettigre^v) ; Denham Bridge {Rev. W. Bramley- Moore).
N. Near Buckingham {Mr. W. Walker').

Scoloj^endrium vnlgare, Sm. S. Wycombe Park ; Downley; Beacons-
field ; Dinton, near Aylesbury {Rev. J. J. Goodall) ; Stoke {Phyt. v. 308, n.s.) ;
Bumham Beethes {Mr. G. Stanton). N. Near Buckingham {Mr. W.
Walker).

Ceterach officinarum, WUld. S. Wall, West Wycombe.

Blechnum horeale, Sw. S. Whittington Park and Hazlemoor Wood,
Wycombe ; Burnham Beeches ; near Hampden ; Stoke {Mr. O. Stanton).

Pteris aquilina, L. S. and N. common.

. Osimtnda regalls, L. S. Within five miles of High Wycombe ; Bumham
Beeches ; on Taplow Common, Mr. J. Raycr {Botanists'' Guide, i. 40) ;
Langley Park, Stoke {Mr. A. Fettigrew).

Ophioglossum vulgatum, L. S. Meadows near Marlow; Whittington
Park ; Dinton {Mr. C. J. Ashfield) ; Latimers {Rev. Bryant Burgess) ;
Taplow Marshes (A/?'. G.Stanton); Drayton-Beauchamp {Rev. H. Earjmr--
Crene). " In a clay field at Pulmer the spikes and leaves oi Ophioglossnm
are more common than the grass " {Mr. W. Acton).

James Britten.

162

(DtnutltoHoQical glotcsi.

I NOTICED in No. 3 of the Magazine Dr. Bowstead'a
account of the nest of a Tomtit in a common watering-pot.
I remember, about eight years ago, seeing the nest and young of
the Tree-creeper {Certhia familiaris) under an old frying pan by
the side of the water in Wycombe Abbey Park, and the young
were, I have every reason to believe, safely reared. Last year
I saw a Eobin's nest in a hole in the wall of a dwelling-
house made for ventilation, where, when a little trap door was
opened, the nest and young might be seen from the interior of
the house. I also saw last year, the nepts of the Eobin, Tomtit,
and Golden-crested Wren within a few yards of each other, and
of a dwelling house, the last nest being built in a deodar. I know
too of a small house where, in a hole in the wall, the beautiful
Eedstart, or Fire-tail, has built successively for several years.
Many of your readers are aware that the Abbey at Wycombe is
the favourite haunt of the White Owls, but I am sorry to say
they are not unmolested, even there ; and hence they are not very
common. The destruction of hawks and owls, especially the
latter, is a great mistake, as their chief food is mice and small
birds. Indeed, the White Owl does positively no harm, but very
much good. Were it not for the stupid persecution of birds,
specially by gamekeepers, and the destruction of their nests and
eggs, they would not be so shy as they are. It is wonderful they
don't avoid man altogether. But in truth, they like to build
their nests in and about our dwellings, and I hope everyone will
ere long raise his voice in favour of protecting them, and that bird-
nesting will be regarded, even by boys, as a stupid and senseless
amusement. We are told that Charles Waterton forbade the
killing of a single bird or animal in his domain, and that he could
point out an oak tree where there were, at the same time, the
nests of the Barn Owl (with six young), a brood of Jackdaws, and
a Eedstart's nest, and that aU entered at one hole. Again, there
is an instance at Walton HaU, where a Heron's nest, a Crow's, a

■VrtCOMBE BtrTTEBFLtES. 163

Magpie's, an Owl's, a Blackbird's, a Eedstart's, and a Pheasant's,
were all within 200 yards of each other. These and other
instances show that the birds will get on well enough if man
will let them alone ; and experience and observation show plainly
enough that the balance of creation is perfectly adjusted unless
men destroy it by their unreflecting interference.

T. Marshall.

III.— THE RED B.O'RyS—{BJwdoce7-ida).

THIS family, which derives its name from the beautiful rose tint
of the antennae, includes three British species, one of which is
very common in our neighbourhood, the second exceedingly rare,
and the third non est.

The Bbimstone {^Gonepteryx Rhamni) is one of the first
harbingers of Spring, often coming out on warm sunny days in
February and March, enlivening the banks of resuscitating
herbage, and even sometimes putting in an appearance in
January, rousing pleasant recollections of last year's excursions,
and filling us with hopes for the coming summer. The wings
have a bold contour — the fore wings are angled at the extreme
tip, the hind ones in the middle of the hind margin : the body is
of a rich silvery blue on the thorax, the abdomen darker, the
thorax is covered with silky hair rising to a ridge along the
centre, and peculiarly beautiful in freshly emerged specimens.
The wings of the male are of a strong brimstone yellow, with a
bright saffron spot in the centre, showing much plainer on the
under side; the female is much weaker in tint, and may easily be
mistaken for a Large "White : both sexes are greenish on the
under side. This species is fond of lanes and woody districts, and
is very plentiful round High Wycombe. I have not seen it since
I left the neighbourhood, and it was like missing a very old friend.
It emerges from the chrysalis in Aug^ist, nearly always appearing

164 WTCOMBE BUTTERFLIES.

on the 1st, when it may be met with sporting over the richly
adorned hedges in Hollow Lane. Those seen in the early part of
the year are hybernated specimens, and are often in singularly
good condition. The eggs ai-e to bo found in May on the Buck-
thorn ; the caterpillar is pale green with a white stripe down
each side.

The Cloitoed Yeu.ow {Colias JEdusa). Several years ago our
respected President took fine specimens of this handsome insect
in a clover field by the Totteridge Koad ; since then, until the
summer of 1867, it had disappeared, though Mr. Kennedy, of
Bradenham, says he saw one flying about in 1866. This last
year, however, it re-appeared at several places in our immediate
neighbourhood, as many members of the Society will recollect.
(See p. 146.) Formerly the butterfly was supposed to appear in
the country only at intervals of five or six years, but lately it has
been gradually getting more common, and was very plentiful in
many places last season. I had the pleasure of taking several at
Folkestone — no light task, I can assure my readers, for it is very
strong on the wing, and delights (at least in that neighbourhood)
to soar up and down the hills and clifi's, which slope at an angle
of about 50°. In fact, all three members of this family are very
rapid flyers, and cannot be overtaken in fair chase across country.
Great caution and tact are necessary, more esj)ecially for Eclu&a.
But the captor is well repaid when successful, for the contrast
between the broad black border of the wings and the deep orange
chrome of the middle is very magnificent. The border gradually
narrows from front to rear ; in the female it is chequered with
lighter orange spots, which the male does not possess. There is
a black spot near the margin of the fi-ont wings, and a large cir-
cular one of deep orange in the centre of the hind wings which
are suffused with a delicate green shade. The caterpillar feeds
on clover and similar plants. A variety of the female occurs,
having the ground colour milk white instead of the usiial hue.

Colias Hyale is the species not found in this district : it has
been taken near Eton.

Hy. Ullyett.

165

MhWm.

PERHAPS tlie most amusing, and by no means the least
instructive, of the many branches into which the study of
local Natural History divides itself, is the one which directs
attention to the cmious traditions concerning animals and plants
which have been handed down from generation to generation,
and which still retain their hold in rural districts. Closely con-
nected with this subject is that of the colloquial, or vulgar, names
attached to various natural objects, the derivation of which
is interesting both to the philologist and the naturalist. We
have already expressed our wish to receive and publish all the
information obtainable in our own district on these points, and it
may be as well to commence with the few notes we have at pre-
sent collected, in the hope that others may be m-ged to contribute
their quota for the general benefit.

Snakes are ever fruitful subjects of rustic superstition. One
of our members had killed a Slow- worm {Angiiis fragilis), and
was carrying it home on a stick. A sagacious peasant, however,
warned him to be careful, for the thing couldn't die until the sun
set, "no, not if j-ou was to cut it in pieces." Of course, the popular
errors regarding snakes are in full force here ; although, to his
honour let it be recorded, one man confided to us his belief that
" common snakes wasn't poisonous, only adders and vipers,"
which seem to be regarded as two different things. Even the
Land Efts do not escape condemnation : there is supposed to be
no cure for their bite ! (See p. 25.) Eeport says that a man at
Flackwell Heath died from the effects of the bite of a Newt !
Further particulars are solicited.

A curious distinction is made between the Common White
Butterflies {Pieris) and the more brilliantly-coloured species.
The former are called Butterflies, but the latter receive the
remarkable designation of Hobhowchins !

166 FOLK-LOBE.

The following treatment of epilepsy we commend to the
medical profession. When other supposed remedies had failed,
a travelling packman was consulted. He suggested two methods
of cure, both of which were faithfully tried. The first was, that
the afflicted person should procure a Jay ; every morning, fast-
ing, she was to chew a piece of bread, and then give it the bird
to eat ; on the death of the poor creature, the fits would cease.
To make assurance doubly sure, another remedy was added, viz.,
a silver ring, to be worn on the ring-finger as an " amberlet "
(amulet ?), to be subscribed for and presented to the patient with-
out her previous knowledge ! The point of the joke lies in the
fact that this mode of treatment was announced hy the invalid her-
self. We regret that we are unable to state whether a cure was
effected.

Among our wild flowers, we find that the name "Cuckoo's
Victuals" is applied both to the 'Woo^-soxvel^Oxalis Acetosella) and
the Herb Eobert {Geranitcm Rolertianum). The former can trace
its claim to the name back to the days of Gerai-de, who speaks of it
as " Cuckowes meate, because either the Cuckow feedeth thereon,
or by reason (that) when it springeth forth and floureth the
Cuckow singeth most ; " both of these reasons would, however,
apply equally well to the Herb Eobert. The latter is, indeed, a
favourite with our villagers, who also call it " Cuckoo's Eye,"
" Billy Buttons," and " Eagged Eobin." The second of these is
applied to the Eed Campion {Lychnis diiirna), in disti'icts where
that plant is plentiful : the third is undoubtedly the property of
L. Flos-cuculi, being admirably descriptive of its jagged, irregular
flowers. " Cuckoo's Eye," "Bird's Eye," and " Cat's Eye," are
names given to the lovely Germander Speedwell ( Veronica Chamee-
drys) ; and they certainly are by no means inappropriate to the
bright blue flowers of the prettiest, though, perhaps, com-
monest, of our Speedwells. At Buckingham, the Marsh Mari-
gold {Caltha 2}ah(stris) is known by the singular name of " John-
Georges ; " why, we cannot even conjecture. The name " Devil
o' both sides," applied to the Corn Qvo-^^riooi {Rammcuhis arvensis),
although inelegant, is at least appropriate, when we consider

FOLK-LOBE. 167

the sharp spines with, which the ripe seed-vessels are beset.
"Blackseed " is also well applied to the Nonsuch or Yellow Trefoil
{Medicago Itiptilina). A herb in great repute for its healing pro-
perties ia the Hedge Woundwort {Stachys sylvatica) ; medical
skill sinks into insignificance by the side of the ointment pre-
pared from its foliage : it is called " Cows' Weather (or Withy)
Wind," the i in the last word being pronounced as in wine. The
Bird's-foot Trefoil {Lotus corniculatus) is called " Cats-claws," and
" Shoes-and-Stockings." Another spring flower which is con-
nected with the Cuckoo is the Great Stitchwort {Stellaria Holostea),
which is called " Cuckoo's Meat." The White Campion {Lychnis
vespertina) claims the names of " Cow-rattle " and " Bull-rattle."
The Mealy Guelder Eose ( Viburnum Lantana)ia named "Coventry."
The Early Purple Orchis ( Orchis mascula) is called " Kingfingers."

The Great Mullein ( Verhascum Thapsus) is vaguely said to be
Vgood for colds," and bears the names " Eag-paper " and
? Poor-man's Flannel." Gerarde says that " the root, boiled in
water and drunke, prevaileth much against the old cough." The
same old writer remarks of the Tutsan {Hypericum Androscemum)
that " the leaves laid upon broken shins healeth them, and many
other hurts and griefes, whereof it took his name Toute-saine, or
Tutsane, of healing all things." Our Buckinghamshire people
now call it " Touch-and-Heal," and consider it " a capital thing
to put to cuts." It is curious to notice that the Mezereon {Daphne
Mezereum) still retains a semblance of its proper name in ' ' Maza-
lum ; " there is an idea that it can be budded from the Wood
Laurel {D. Laureola) " by them as knows how."

Here, for the present, wo will " hold our hand." Enough has
been said to show how, in many cases, the traditions of our
fathers have been handed down to the present time. We hope to
return to the subject very shortly, and shall be glad to receive, from
any ingenious reader, suggestions as to the derivation of those
names which at present appear obscure. We have by no means
exhausted our resources, and we hope that our readers will assist
us to the utmost of their power in our journey into " Uldwivesr
fabledom."

|^'a.v^'\fVv^YT^<>

168

THIRD WINTER SESSION— 1867-18

First Evening Meeting, Nov. 5. — Held by kind invitation at the house
of the President, Tea and coffee having been xwovided at 6 p.m., the
President opened the proceedings with an interesting and instructive address,
in wliich he briefly adverted to the rise, progress, and present state of the
Society, with some remarks on its aims and future prosj)ects. He then
introduced the Rev. W. Bramley-Moore, who read an exhaustive paper on
" Local Museums." This has since been published in pamphlet form, and a
copy is issued -with the present number. At its conclusion a long discussion
as to the practicability of establishing a Local Museum in Wycombe, took
place, considerable interest being manifested in the subject. It was resolved
that steps should be taken to ascertain how far such an object might be
practicable : and the great hindrance — the want of a proper building — was
alluded to. The d?sirability of making a commencement, however smaU,
seemed to be generally felt. The Secretary then read apaper on "Additions
to the Wycombe Flora, 1867," which will be found at p. 153. The objects
exhibited were chiefly geological, many of them having been obtained by the
President during a recent visit to Llandudno and other parts of North
Wales. Living specimens of various fishes were exhibited in glass globes :
and Miss Chandler's herbarium furnished a series of our local Gcraniacea:
and FrwmlacecB, The President then produced his new binocular micro-
scope, and exhibited, by its aid, many objects of interest. The meeting,
wliich was very numerously attended, separated at about 9.30 p.m.

Second Evening Meeting, December 10.— Held at the house of John
Pai-ker, Esq., at his kind invitation. The Secretary read a paper from Mr.
Ullyett, on "Our Ferns;" this was illustrated by cbied .specimens of the
species enumerated, and appeared to excite general interest. In the course
of conversation Mr. F. Wheeler remarked that he had noticed several
specimens of the Clouded Yellow ( CoUas Edusa) near Saunderton, during the
past season ; this locality is an addition to those previously named for it. The
President gave an address on Geology, bearing upon the Antiquity of Man,
illustrated by various fossil remains and diagrams. The objects exhibited
included insects, shells, and fossils : some very beautiful living Diatoms and
Desmids were shown mrder the microscope. The meeting, M-hich concluded
with the usual yotes of thanks, did not break up until nearly 10 p.m.

169

CJarfi^iSpoutUm'e.

T\'e shall be glad to receive ajiicles on any natural ohjects, the preference
being always given to such as have a local interest. Notes on the popular
names of, or traditions conceryiing. Animals or Plants, oi' on any subject con-
nected with Natural History, nill be welcome.

Flora of Bucks.— Having lately
published a list of the plants at
present recorded for the county of
Buckingham, with a view to com-
piling at some future period, a com-
plete Flora of the county. I shall be
glad to forward a copy to any one
interested in the subject. I have
enumerated 777 species and 22
varieties ; additional localities for any
of which, especially in the north of the
county, will be thankfully received.
Since the list was published, the
follo^ving species have been added to
it: Filago galUca, of which a speci-
men exists in the British Museum,
gathered near Iver, by Mr. Light-
foot ; Potamogeton jwrfoliutus aiul
P. pusillus, observed near Great
Marlow in 1864, by J. C. Melvill,
Esq., of Trin. Coll., Cambridge.
Any information or co-operation,
however slight, will be valued.

James Bkittex.

High Wycombe.

The Birds of Berkshire and
Buckinghamshire. — Mr Alexander
Clark- Kennedy, a member of our
Society, is about to issue, under the
above title, " a description of the
local distribution of all the British
Birds that have ever (as far as the
author knows) occurred in Berkshire
and Buckinghamshire." We trust
that many of our readers and con-
tributors will use their endeavours
to render this work as complete as
possible. Mr. Alexander Clark-
Kennedy -RTites : — " My book will
probably be published next March,
80 that, up to that time, any notes,
however trivial, will be very accept-
able to me. Notes on the occurreiice
of rare visitors in your neighbour-
hood, original anecdotes of birds, the
dates of the arrival and departure of
our migrants, will likewise be grate-
fully received." It is hoped that
this appeal may meet with a cordial
response, as one great object of our

Society is to bring together the
observations of its members. The
work will be illustrated by coloured
photographs ; its price to subscribers
being 6s. All communications
should be addressed to Alexander
Clark-Kennedy, Esq., Messrs. Ingram
and Halton, Booksellers, Eton, by
whom also subscribers' names will be
received : or to the care of the Hon.
Sec of the High Wycombe Natural
History Society.

The Wheatear {Saxicola

ananthe). — In the Dctober number
of your Magazine, Mr. T. Marshall
notes the occurrence of the Wheatear
at High Wycombe in the month of
March. I have observed the same
here in about the middle of that
month. I generally see a few pairs
on the Do^\Ti in March, and again in
October ; they remain only a few
days, and then disappear. I re-
member once seeing nearly forty
birds of this species in a field near
Salisbury, they frequented the same
spot for about four days ; afterwards
not one was to be seen in the neigh-
bourhood. This occurred in March.
Anthony S. Bradby.

Moundsmere, Hants.

The Hedgehog. — Mr. Augustine
Gaviller writes : " I do not forget
standing up in the vestry of
Wycombe Church at one of our
meetings there, over twenty years
ago, to object to the payment, by
the then Churchwardens, of a sum
of money for killing hedgehogs and
sparrows : and that an old farmer
then present took me to task for
saying that hedgehogs were com-
paratively harmless animals : he in-
formed me that I was greatly
mistaken, for they suched cows, and
thus spoilt them. I told him I
would pay any man a handsome
reward who could give me clear
evidence of this, that their teeth

170

CORRESPONDENCE.

■were like cats' teeth, and that I
much doubted whether a cat could
be caught sucking a cow, however
fond it might be of milk. On
this the old gentleman was rather
wrath, and thought I was wholly
ignorant of country matters. Speak-
ing of cats taking milk, I remember
many times seeing a cat of mine
stand up on her hind legs when my
cows were being milked, and seeing
her divert the stream of milk into
her mouth with her fore-paws before
it got to the pail."

The following might well have
caUed forth one of Gray's classical
sonnets, had the poet's eye witnessed
the incident. As I was sitting in
my study one Sunday morning, a
robin hopped near the window as he
poured forth his song. The cat,
who was inside the room, and some-
what hidden by the ledge, sprang
out and seized the songster. Her
growls of satisfaction seemed to sing
his requiem. For some cause or
other, possibly to secure a better
grip, she relaxed her hold, and the
robin instantly flew off, perched
upon my garden wall, and there
finished his interrupted song.

William Bramley-Moore.

Gerrard's Cross.

In the summer of last year I met
with a singular instance of tenacity
of life in a rabbit. Walking] in the
wood above Wycombe Park, my
attention was attracted to a rabbit
which ran out into the open glade
pursued by my dog. It doubled
again and again in a feeble way,
and I hastened to the rescue, believ-
ing it to be wounded. I hastily
secured it, folded it in my cloak, and
carried it home ; on producing my
prize a piteous spectacle met our
view. The little creature had no eyes,
and through the empty sockets we
could see quite into the head, which
appeared hollow and almost in a
state of decomposition, while the
body was plump and healthy. It
appeared to me a singular incident,
and worth recording. I should be
glad to know if any of your corres-
pondents have met with a similar
one, and can explain the cause of it.

High Wycombe. E, C.

The Stoat. — I once had a very
good opportunity of observing one of
these animals in West Wycombe
Park. It was hunting about among
some dead leaves very assiduously,
and by remaining perfectly quiet I
was able to watch it through my
glass for a good quarter of an hour.
On hearing the slightest sound,
however distant, it would instantly
pause, and rearing itself on its hind
legs, peep round in every direction
to ascertain the cause. If satisfied,
it would resume its search, but if
another sound followed immediately,
it darted into its hole. Here it
would remain a minute or two, and
then cautiously emerge, looking
about to see if the coast was clear.
At last it settled itself down on a
bank, and drawing its forelegs under-
neath its body, it went to sleep.
The Stoat is much commoner than is
general! \ supposed, but being very
retiring in its habits, and very timid,
it is seldom seen. A very fine
specimen was taken two or three
years ago at West Wycombe,
measuring 16 inches in length : it is
now in the possession of Dr.
Bowstead.

Hy. Ullyett.

Scarcity of CommonLepidoptera.
— The Brimstone Butterfly generally
so very plentiful round High
Wycombe, seems to have been very
uncommon during the last season.
I saw more hybernated specimens in
the spring than freshly emerged ones
in August. Can any of your readers
suggest a reason for this ? Had the
frosts of May anything to do with it ?
The Small TortoisesheU and the
Peacock have not been by any
means so plentiful as formerly.

[We should be glad to hear from
other correspondents whether the
same scarcity has prevailed in neigh-
bouring districts. Ed.]

Late Martins. — On Saturday,
November 16th, I saw two Martins
flying about over the Taplow road,
near Maidenhead. The latest date
on which I have observed them in
previous years was on November 15,
in 1863, at High Wycombe.

T. Maeshah.

171

§<At^ ott ^utfeittQftamjshir^ ^\mi»,^l.

IT is my intention to publish, at intervals, in our Magazine,
short papers upon the various points of interest pre-
sented by a subject which has engaged much of my attention,
— the Flora of Buckinghamshire. The following is a list of
plants which have been recorded as natives of Bucks, but which
are not known to have been found in the county for at least sixty
years. There is nothing improbable in the occurrence of any of
those enumerated ; and one object which I have in view is to
obtain, if possible, recent confirmation of the correctness of the
localities assigned to the different species. All the plants named
are recorded as natives of Bucks solely on the authority given.
The principal of these is Turner and Dillwyn's 'Botanists'
Guide,' published in 1805, to which I refer, for convenience, by
the letters £. G. following the locality.

Hellelorus fmtidus, L. ** Chalk hill near Hedsor Wharf, Mr.
GotoleiV B. O.

Turritis glahra, L. "Eoadsides and old gravel-pits near
Burnham, Mr. Gotoled. About Denham, Mr. J. Eayer." B. G.

Teesdalia nudicaulis, E. Br. " SalthiU (near Eton), Mr.
Gotoled:' B. G.

Dianthus deltoides, L. "On Mantham Hill, near Slough,
about a mile and a half from "Windsor." Ray {Synopsis iii., 366).
" On a wall at Langley, near Iver. Blachtone. On Salthill, Mr.
J. Bayer:' B. G.

Sagina suhulata, Wimm. " Dry banks on Iver Heath. M>\
Gotoled:' B. G.

Erodkim moschatum, Sm. "On the rubbish near Salthill.
Mr. Gotoled:' B. G.

Radiola millegrana, Sm. " On Gerrard's Cross Common, near
Bulstrode, in great plenty. Mr. Gotoled." B. G.

172 NOTES ON BUCKINGHAMSHIRE PLANTS.

Lathyrus Aphaca, L. "Among the corn near Denham."
Blaclcstone. " Gravel pit near Bumham. Mr. Gotohed." B. G.

Seseli Libanotis, Koch. " Inter St. Alban's et Stoney Strat-
ford." Hudson. This station may be either in Herts, Beds, or
Bucks. See Flora Hertfordiensis, p. 123.

Tordylium maximum, L. "Hedges near Etonwick, in the
greatest abundance. Mr. Gotohed." B. G.

Filago gallica, L. A specimen in the Banksian Herbarium, at
the British Museum, gathered near Iver by Mr. Lightfoot.

Xanfhium Strumarium, L. "I found in the highway leading
from Draiton to Iver, two miles from Colebrook." Gerarde.

Jasione montana, L. " Lane between Denham and Iver
Heath," Blachstone.

Andromeda polifoUa, L. " On Iver Heath, iJ/r. J". i2«yer." B. G.

Melampyrum cristatum, L. " In a field that goes off Moreton
Green in the road from Wendover to EUesborough. Blach-
stone." B. G.

Mentha rotundifolia, L. "Between High and West Wycombe.
Mr. J. Bayer." B. G.

M. rubra, Sm. not Fr. "By the river side a mile below
Denham. Blackstone." B. G.

Centunculus minimus, Tj. " On Gerrard's Cross Common, near
Bulstrode, in great plenty. Mr. Gotobed." B.G.

Chenopodium olidum, Curt. "On rubbish at Eton. Mr.
Gotobed." B. G.

Thesium humifusum, DC. " Chalk banks near Marlow. Mr.
Gotobed." B. G.

Salix rubra, Huds. " In the osier-holt between Maidenhead
and Windsor." Ray.

Myrica Gale, Jj. " By Colebrooke." Gerarde.

Habenaria viridis, E. Br. " Marlow Wood, rare. Mr.
Gotobed." B. G.

Carex Pseudo-cyperus, L. "Ditches near Eton, not uncommon.
Mr. Gotobed." B. G.

C. ampullacea. Good. " Chalvey-ditch, near Eton, Mr.
Gotobed." B. G.

Jakes Bbitten.

173

Wit iirdis ti CJaofettam m& i\tt ^liQUftrntrftoort.

THE KINGFISHER.— Continued from page 152.

FROM his -window opposite this point, he has watched them,
and he tells me he has sometimes seen Kingfishers dive un-
successfully five or six times, each time returning to the post.
I would venture to suggest that the bird does not always dive for
fish, but that he makes a commotion in order to attract them, for
we all know how fish will assemble at any point where a stone has
been thrown in or the water otherwise disturbed. Mr. Briggs
concurs with me in this idea, and I well remember seeing a
Kingfisher on Widbrook Common, near Cookham, dashing into
a Little brook which traverses it, first one way and then the
other, and making the water fly in all directions. Six times did
it plunge, and it is obvious it did not catch six fish ; and as
it took up its station on a wiUow immediately above the spot
it had disturbed, I can only suppose it was attracting the
fish to the spot by the commotion it had caused. When the
bird has captured its finny prey, it does not always kill it
on the branch from which it dived, but carries it further on
to another resting-place, where it taps it sharply in order
to kill it, and then swallows it whole. The favourite place
for this purpose is the side of a boat or punt, and there is a
boat moored in the stream running up one side of Formosa,
towards Mr. Venables' Mill, which is a chosen resort for the
Kingfishers. Here they alight and rest after swallowing their
prey, and the bottom of the boat is often strewn with the
pellets thrown up by them. Two birds are often seen seated
close together on the boat's side ; and the rap they give the
fish before swallowing it can be heard a long distance off. I
have studied their habits round Cookham, and I believe that
each bird has its own separate hunting ground, and its own
favourite posts ; for after some weeks pursued in watching them
round Odney Common, and thence through Miss Fleming's
grounds at the drove, I used to know, when I had started

174 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOUEHOOD.

one, where it would settle next, and have proved this to my
friends on several occasions. It is a quarrelsome bird, for if
one Kingfisher intrudes on the hunting ground of another, or
comes near the spot where one is already seated, the latter
darts at the intruder, and then ensues a loud screaming, one
chasing the other round and round, until it has driven the
stranger off, when it settles again, and resumes its former
perch. At these times the rate at which they fly is prodigious,
and I think, for a small distance, for it is by no means a bird
of long flight, the Kingfisher is the swiftest flying bird in
existence. When fairly settled on a post, it sits " all of a
heap," occasionally jerking its head up and down on its
shoulders like Hawks do ; and so intent does the bird become
on the pursuit of its prey, that it can often be surprised by
any one walking along the bank of a stream. I know
two instances within the last few years of the Kingfishers
falling victims to cats ; for the finest specimen I ever saw was
captured by a cat on Mr. Charles Venables' grounds at Taplow,
while Stanniforth, who has been already mentioned in the
account of the Osprey, had another, caught by his own cat
near Cookham Lock. The Kingfisher does not always breed
in the banks of a river, the enormous increase of rats having,
no doubt, contributed to thin their numbers and drive them
away. A pair built in a bank in Mr. Goulden's garden at
Maidenhead, last year, although there was no water near.
The brood was hatched, but the young birds were devoiu*ed
by a cat or by rats. The bones composing the nest can even
now be taken out with the hand. Mr. Briggs tells me that
he has met with several instances of the breeding of this
species away from the water, a pair having reared their young
in a chalk pit at Taplow Court, for several successive years;
while at Billing-bear he found a pair breeding in a gravel pit,
the nearest stream being four miles off, and no water near
the place except a tiny rivulet, containing a scanty supply of
sticklebacks. Lately, some correspondent in Land mid Water
Called attention to the fact of this epscies breeding away froni

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOtTRHOOD. 175

the water, and immediately instances were quoted in reply. As I
am particularly interested in the Kingfishers, being now engaged
in a monograph of the Alcedinida, I should be glad of any notes
or specimens of any species, and for this purpose would ask
any of my readers who may have the opportunity of com-
municating with friends abroad, to endeavour to obtain speci-
mens for me, in spirits; all such help will be gratefuUy
acknowledged in my work.

In conclusion, I may remark that I believe the powers of
flight in the Kingfisher to be greatly underrated, for I am
convinced that it is migratory to a great degree, coming south
as the winter approaches. I have always noticed (and Mr.
Briggs also) that a decided increase always takes place in the
number of Kingfishers towards the end of October, and as
regards its powers of flight, my friend Mr. J. E. Harting
tells me he has seen Kingfishers fly straight out to sea imtil
lost in the distance. If then our estimate of the Common
Kingfisher's power of flight be under the mark, we ought not
to be sui'prised at the Belted Kingfisher's appearance in
Ireland, as the bird might have rested on floating spars or
seaweed on its passage across the ocean fi'om North America, and
thus have been able to reach Europe. The only cause of wonder
is on what can it have fed aU the time, and why have no
more been observed in Europe before or since ?

Order Scansores.

Fam. Ctjculidje.

Cuculus.

20. Cuculus canorus. The Common Cuckoo.

A curious fact occurred this summer in connection with a

Cuckoo at the Zoological Gardens, which was duly noticed in

Land and Water. In an aviary where a Cuckoo was living

which had survived the winter, a hedge-sparrow {Accentor

modularis) was seen. Whether he was put in or had entered

of his own accord, is not known, but no sooner did the Cuckoo

perceive the little bu'd than he immediately greeted it, flapping

his wings, and with open mouth wantetl the hedge-sparrow to

176 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM ANB THE NEiaHBOmHOOD.

feed it. The bird was quite full grown, and Mr. Bartlett
tells me he has often heard it cry " cuckoo."

At Cookham the Cuckoo is plentiful in some years, but at
other times scarce, and I have noticed a curious fact, that in
those years when the bird is commonest, the "Wryneck, which
is called the " Cuckoo's Mate " by the villagers, is seen only
sparingly, and also when the latter bird is plentiful, the Cuckoo
is comparatively rare. For instance, in 1865 Cuckoos were very
numerous, and Mr. Briggs found four eggs in the gardens at
Formosa alone, but in 1866 the bird was seldom seen or heard;
while the Wryneck was very common, several being shot in the
neighbourhood. Again, this year (1867) the Cuckoo was more
common, but there were very few Wrynecks. According to
Mr. Briggs's experience, and my own, the nest generally selected
by the Cuckoo near Cookham is that of the Pied Wagtail
(Jf. Tarrellii), and in nearly every instance the young birds
we have noticed flying about towards the end of July or the
beginning of August have been fed by this same bird. The
egg deposited by the Cuckoo has always closely resembled those
of the Wagtail, and I have more than once been inclined to
disbelieve Mr. Briggs when he has shown me the eggs, as to
there being a Cuckoo's in the nest, so ahke were they, and
but for a sHght predominance in the size of the Cuckoo's egg,
it would be almost impossible to distinguish one from the other.
However, in every instance a young Cuckoo has appeared in
due course, and the proper inhabitants of the nest having been
ejected, has remained master of the field. Mr. Briggs thinks that
the old birds, although they cease to call, do not leave the
young ones until they are able to fly, when they all quit the
country together, I have sometimes seen very late birds, and
well remember watching a young Cuckoo catching flies in the
grounds of the Grove. It was towards the middle of September,
1865, and I was standing in the midst of a clump of fir and ash
trees, when I saw the bird descend and catch an insect. It
settled on a branch not twenty yards off, whence it again des-
cended, and took a fly or other insect o£f the trunk of one of the

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE IJEIGHBOtniHOOD. 177

fir trees, clinging to the tree with both feet. It was full grown,

evidently, but in the dark mottled plumage of the young bird.

Fain. PiCLD^.

Sul-fam. PioiN^,

Picus.

21. Picus major. The Great Spotted Woodpecker.
This handsome bird is often heard round Formosa, and

especially on the elm trees in Lady Young's grounds adjoining.
It breeds in CHefden Woods, and towards the end of August
and the beginning of September, both the Larger and Lesser
Spotted Woodpeckers descend to the gardens at Formosa from
the opposite woods, to feed upon the American blight, as Mr.
Briggs calls it, which is then in such abundance on cankered
apple trees. Its note may weU be represented by the words
quick, quick.

22. Picus minor. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
Most of my readers, no doubt, possess, or have seen, a copy

of Mr. Gould's magnificent work on the Birds of Great Britain.
In Part HI. will be noticed a beautiful illustration of the present
and last named species. This pretty little Woodpecker is by
no means rare at Cookham, and in the above work the author
justly acknowledges the assistance of Mr. Briggs in procuring
for him both birds and eggs. As P. major frequents the elm
trees, so does P. minor the poplar, and it has reared its young at
Formosa for several successive seasons. The enormous height at
which the bird buUds successfully prevents any rash attempt at
procuring its eggs, and at present I am content with a pair of
birds and a portion of the branch containing the hole in which
the birds bred last year. They always select the very rottenest
branches, and the piece in my possession was blown off in one of
the severe gales last year. Mr. Briggs is one of the most
expert climbers I ever saw, and few men would have had the
nerve to -mount to the dizzy height at which he procured
the nest for Mr. Gould. The longest ladder in the village
was fetched, but it did not reach one third of the distance
to the hole, and the tree was most difficult to climb,
Nothing daunted, however, he mounted up, with a saw in

178 THE BIEDS OF OOOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOUBHOOD.

his hand, and a coil of rope to tie himself to the tree, and
to let down the branch. After great exertions he reached the
nest, and having secured himself, he sawed off the branch,
and let it down to the ground without breaking an egg. He
was by this time nearly exhausted, and could hardly move,
but at length he reached the ground whore his wife was waiting
for him, having been dreadfully frightened at seeing the danger he
was in. This was the most perilous climb he ever had, but he
has procured several nests of this species for Mr. Gould, and I do
not despair of having the eggs in my own collection before long,
as they are not rare. Mrs. De Vitre has a fine pair of the birds
in her collection, and I have a nice male and female in my own.
Mr. Goxxld does not mention a peculiar habit of this bird in his
Birds of Great Britain, which is, the way in which they call and
answer each other. The note of the larger species can be heard
a long distance off, and its voice is powerful ; but the present
species has a very weak note indeed, though somewhat re-
sembhng the cry of P. major. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
is one of the earliest birds to pair ; and at the period of nidifica-
tion they are exceedingly busy, and constantly uttering their note.
Now, as the tall poplar trees in which the birds breed are at
either end of a very lai'ge field, separated from each other by
about three hundred yards, the call note of the bird would not
penetrate a quarter of the distance. It often happens that the two
birds are at opposite sides of the field, so in order to call its mate,
one of them runs up to the topmost and thinnest branches of the
tree, tapping vigorously all the while, the tirr-r-r-r becoming
shriller as the bird ascends. In this manner he can call his mate,
for the sound can be heard a very long way olf, and he is answered
in the same way by the bird from the other side of the field.
This species is very restless in its flight, flitting constantly from
bough to bough at the tops of the poplar trees. Mr. Briggs tells
me that Woodpeckers, but more especially the present species,
when shot, cling to the trunk of the tree in their dying grasp,
and many, although quite dead, so that it sometimes requires a

second shot to dislodge them.

E. B. Shabpe.
To ie contimed.

PIC .3 Fit .4 PIC .b

ic .6

FIC .^

P"=-7 FIC.S

00 a

FIC . 12.
FIC. II ^,--^ p,c.,3.

FIO. 16.

179

(Dtt tire ^uA^ or 3vm^ t>t litn^i.*

THE varied forms and beautiful construction of the seeds of
our flowering plants have long occupied the attention of
observers of nature, but the seeds, or spores, of fungi, from
their diminutive size, and the impossibility of investigating
them -n-ithout the aid of a microscope, have been comparatively
unnoticed. In this paper I shall endeavour to direct attention
to the endless variety and beauty -which exists in these minute
organisms, as in every object, small or great, in the vast kingdom
of Nature.

Some fungi-spores are smooth, dry, and polished, others are
viscid and sticky ; some are very persistent, whilst a fourth
are very evanescent, and speedily collapse and perish. Some
possess highly poisonous properties, for Dr. Badham is said
once to have suffered violently from simply tasting those of
one of the Milk-mushrooms ! Indeed, many species are acrid
and pungent to an extreme degi'co : some varieties at onco
attack and inflame the mouth; whilst others are more quiet,
with a taste at fii-st, sweet, mild, or inoffensive, but which
after a time, causes violent pain, and in at least two species,
constriction of the throat. It has more than once been suggested
that the mysterious poison of the gipsies, the so called "drei,"'
which is said to be a soft impalpable powder, is nothing more
nor less than fungi-spores, gathered from some poisonous species.

Such minute objects are, of necessity, light ; they are therefore
ever present in the air, and are blown hither and thither by
every breeze. When the seeds happen to alight on a suitable
matrix, with favourable external conditions of light and moisture,
they germinate, and form the so-called spawn ; if a large number
aU germinate together, the spawn becomes confluent, and forms

* Read before the Socletj' at the Fourth Meeting (Feb. 4, 1868) of th«
Thh d Wintw Seanisni Wr«n i

180 ON THE SEEDS OR SPORES 01? FUNGI.

one mass. It is from this spawn that the muslirooms arise, first
appearing as mmiite points tlie size of a pin's lieacl, speedily
increasing to tlie size of a pea, or of a marble, till at last the
perfect plants appear, loaded with millions of spores, ready to
continue the work of rej)roduction. The seeds, or spores, are
found evei'ywhere, in towns as well as in the country, in houses,
cellars, and indeed, within the human body itself, as they are
constant^ met with during post mortem examinations ! How
far diseases are aided, promulgated, or caused, by the germinating
seeds of fungi it is very difficult at the present time to say.

Some fungi-seeds, as in the common Truffle of our mai'kets,
are entirely subterraneous, and never see the light. The truffles
are found beneath the surface of the ground, and within them
are the seeds, sculptured and ornamented ; of necessity these seeds
are always underground, but on the death of the parent plant, they
are set free, to form the spawn for succeeding generations. The
seeds of some mushrooms never germinate elsewhere than on
certain trees, as in the Elm Agaric ; it is therefore evident in
this species that whatever number of seeds be strewn about,
none will germinate but sucli as alight upon moist or damaged
places on elm trunks ; every year in the autumn there is an
abundance of these things on the elms in St. James's Park,
near the Horse Guards. A great many will only germinate
in rich dungy meadows, in dense woods, or on open downs ;
some in cellars and cupboards ; whilst some varieties will
only grow xipon oilier viuslirooinx, adhering to them and
bearing them down, like the Old Man of the Sea on the back
of Sindbad the Sailor.

Inexperienced persons are apt to think that thei'e is no
order in the arrangement and functions of these minute objects,
and that the seed of one species may, under suitable conditions,
produce the perfect plant of another, but all experience points
in the opposite direction. Tor, after all, wliat is size in nature ?
it is merely relative : one thing appears large only on being
compared with something smaller. It is as impossible for the
seeds of an edible mushroom on germinating to produce a
poison^ite species as it is for a lamlb to give birth to a Uqu,

ON THE SEEDS OR SPOEES OF FUNGI. 181

Some seeds are a long time in germinating, and the produce
lasts a considerable time ; other seeds (as of the ephemeral
and fragile mushroom-like fungi which a breath destroys, so
common on dunghiUs or dungy ground), germinate rapidly,
produce the perfect plant, teeming with fresh seeds, and at
once dissolve into a few drops of inky fluid. As a rule, all
fungi seeds grow readily on decaying substances, such as the
half rotten leaves of trees, dead grass, rotten wood, &c. ; the
seeds of some half-dozen species never germinate elsewhere
than on fallen fir-cones, others again on acorns or ash-keys,
beech-nuts, or fallen and decaying twigs and branches. The
perfect plants are evidently vegetable scavengers, whose chief
office is to eat up and destroy all the (Uhris of the plant world.

Many minute insects are very fond of fungi seeds, and eat
them up eagerly. It is almost impossible to preserve some
spores in the herbarium, they are so attacked by minute
creatures, who ravenously devour the fungoid sweetmeats.
The seeds of other fimgi, however, in their turn, attack insects,
and sticking between the segments of their bodies, there germi-
nate, transforming the juices of the insect into a spawn-like
mass. When caterpillars bury themselves in the autumn to
assume their chrysalis condition, the seed of a fungus finds them
out and sucks their juices ; the fungus itself then appears alove
the ground hke a small crimson club, which should be a warning
to all caterpillars in the neighbourhood who may not yet have
put on their chrysalis livery.*

* By tlie kindness of Mr. Ilavdwicke we are enabled to give several
fig\ires illustrative of this peculiar growth of fungi. Figs. 17, 18, 19, are
British species, attached in the one case to the chrysalis, and in the other to
the larvffi, of a moth : the iirst is Toirulia militaris, the second and third
T. entomorrlnza. Some foreign species of this genus attain a great size : fig.
15 represents one found in Tasmania (T. Gniinii). The most remarkable of
all, however, is the New Zealand T. Eolerisii (fig. 16 c), parasitic upon a
species of Swift moth {Ilepialus vircscens). It has been erroneously supposed
that the horn, with which we are all familiar on the larvaj and pupee of the
Spliinges or Hawkmoths (fig. 16 a andb), was in reality the germ of a fungus,
but this is incorrect, as the Torrubia is not parasitic upon a Sphinx at all.
"Withering speaks of T. entomorrlnza as having been found " on the dead
larvee of insects in woods near Bulstrode, Buckinghamshire." For further
information on these interestuig productions we refer our readers to Science
Gostij} for 1866, pp. 127, 176.— Ed.

182 ON THE SEEDS OR SPOEES OF FUNGI.

The wliito seeds of the Clouded Mushroom germinate in woods
(generally on old fir leaves), whilst the pink seeds of Lowe's
Mushroom invariahhj germinate on the top of the former, and
never grow elsewhere : there is even a third fungus, which attacks
and destroys both. But although the arrangements of nature
are sometimes involved and complicated, there is no such thing
as confusion : confusion only arises in our imperfect compre-
hension of her works. As regards the seeds of fungi, they
each and all germinate at their proper seasons, and in their
appointed places : each one is perfectly distinct from its neigh-
bours, and many species of fungi can be recognised by the seeds
alone.

A word as to gathering mushroom-seeds : cut off the stem
and lay the top, gills lowermost, on a sheet of paper or glass ;
in the course of a few hours the seeds will have fallen away
from the gills and be deposited on the paper or glass as a purple-
brown stain ; they can then be readily transferred to an extremely
thin sheet of mica, and on another thin layer of mica being
placed over them so as to enclose them from the dust, they may
be preserved for many years always ready for the microscope.
Care should be taken not to mount too many on the sheet ;
there should not be a distinctly visible quantity.

Fig. 1 shows the spores of Polyporus ccesius : they are pale blue
in colour, and of a very pure shade, oval in shape, and the
smallest spores I ever observed ; the extreme length being only
one ten- thousandth of an inch — if placed size by side, 200,000,000
would be required to cover a square inch. As the parent plant
frequently covers 12 inches superficial, it will be seen that one
plant is capable of producing two thousand four hundred millions
on its superficial surface alone ; but as these spores are, at least,
ten deep, it is a moderate computation to state the number pro-
duced by each plant at twenty-four thousand millions. The
most wonderful consideration is, however, the fact that each of
these spores is endowed with a minute spark of life, and is
capable of reproducing the perfect plant. The parent is a woody
Polyporui, not uncommon on old larch wood.

03Sr THE SEEDS OR SPOKES OF FTJKGi, 183

Fig. 2 shoM-s the largest spores I ever observed : they are pro-
duced by Agariciis mucidus, an Agaric iivitli a top two inch.es in
diameter, not uncommon on old beech trees ; its average diameter
is one two-thousandth of an inch, and it requires 2,000,000
placed side by side to cover a square inch, — so much for the
largest spore !

On fig. 3 are the spores of Boletus parasiticus, of which the
common Boletus edulis may be taken as the type. It is remarkable
that all Boleti spores are S2)in(lle-sliapci ; they vary little in
size, and the majority are brown in colour.

On fig. 4 are the spores of Agaricus vaginatus, one of the
commonest of our larger Agarics ; the apiculus shows the point of
attachment to the parent plant.

rig. 5 shows a very uncommon form of spore from Uydmim
imhricatum ; it is peculiar to the genus Ilydniim, of which tho
common Hydnum repandum may be considered the type.

On figs. 6 and 7 are typical spores of the pinTc-spored fungi ;
they are always irregular in shape, resembUng nodules of
granite— the form is not caused by compression. Fig. 6 is from
Agaricus pascuus, fig. 7 from A. nidorosm.

On figs. 8, 9, and 10 are spores of the milk-bearing genus
Lactarius : thSy are always more or less cui-iously paj)illatcd, and
vary in colour from white to orange. Fig. 8 is from Lactarius
llennius, fig. 9 from L. fuliginosus, fig. 10 from L. quiettis.

Fig. 11 is a spore of the Meadow Mushroom, Agaricus cam-
pestris. It is purple-brown in colour.

Fig. 12 shows a slate-coloured spore of Gomphidius vitcidus, a
handsome Agaric with purple gills, not uncommon in the autumn.

Fig. 13, one of the jet black spores of Coprinus micaceus ; this
is one of the black-giUed deliquescent fungi. The species in
question is common on rotten stumps in tho autumn, and tho
pileus is clothed with sparkling mica-like granules.

The spores are uniformly enlarged to 1,000 diameters:
a good idea of the size of all of them may be obtained by con-
sidetijjg the dimensions of figs. 1 and 2.

WoETHINGXON G. SmiTH.

184

(Dm* ltt{t}v««l,^,*

fPHE migratiou of birds lias always been a favourite theme
J- of ornithologists, and a few notes on this subject from a
member of our Society would appear to be of a sufficiently interest-
ing nature to engage the attention of all who are to any
extent gratified with the study of Natural History, and with
the reflections which must necessarily follow the pursuit of this
study in all the varied forms which are everywhere presented
before them. It can, indeed, scarcely be conceived that anyone,
however deficient in education or intelligence, can fail to have
wondered at and speculated on the character and nature of that
mysterious knowledge or power, which, inherent in all animal
life to a greater or lesser extent, supplies the want of the gift
of reason and indeed would seem to be in many respects its
superior, since the faculty of reason possessed by man would
fail to serve the ends and purposes which are worked out by
what is generally regarded as an inferior faculty. In no respect,
probably, does the wonderful power of Instinct develope itself to
us in a more remarkable or striking manner, than in the
migration of birds. This subject has always been a source of
wonder and dehght to all observers of natural objects. How often
does it crop up in the delightful letters of Gilbert AVhite !
How much did this great student of nature watch the appearance
and departure of our summer and winter visitants, and how much
puzzled was he at times to account for the long and arduous
journeys made by them, and for the powers which some of our
smaller birds possessed to sustain them in their long and rapid
flights to and from the British Isles ! The regularity and precision
which attend their migration, not less than that of the seasons of
the year, suggest an endless train of thoughts and reflections
on the wonderful power which impels them in their flight —

* Read before the Society at tlic Third Meeting (Jan. 7, 1868) of the
Third AVinter Session, 18G7-68.

OTO MiaRANTS. 185

Tve cannot understand it, but we can at least admire tlae beauty
and harmony Avliich pervade the -n-hole of nature in its every
form and aspect.

I purpose in these few notes to refer to some of our well-known
British migratory birds — the period of their appearance and de-
parture, and, 60 far as may be known, their habitat in foreign lands.
Of all our summer migrants the Swallow tribe, known to orni-
thologists as the Uininrlincs, would appear to occupy the prominent
place : scarcely a schoolboy but looks out for the first Swallow, and
notes the date of its arrival, watches with interest the new
comers betake themselves to their accustomed haunts, the
building of the wonderful nest of mud under the favourite eaves,
the feeding of the young ones, the congregation of the species in
autumn, and their apparently sudden departure for distant
lands. The Swallow and Martin usually arrive in the beginning
of April. Their sojourn during the English winter is made
chiefly in Africa, but probably not further south than the
Tropics. Here thoy remain till the changing seasons impel
them northwards, their line of flight being across the Medi-
terranean into France and Spain, and tlience across the English
Channel to oiir own Island. During August and September
they assemble together in vast numbers, and these are constantly
being swelled by the young broods as they leave their nests and
take to flight. The osier beds about the Thames are a favourite
roosting place. In October the great exodus of Martins takes
place ; silently they come to us, and suddenly they go, their
numbers vastly increased since their arrival among us. A few only
remain behind, and these soon vanish, so that a Martin in
November is a great rarity. Last year I saw two as late
as the 16th of November, which is one day later than I had pre-
viously observed them. A few days after the general departure —
and the great bulk of our summer visitants are flitting about the
western region of Africa, insect hunting on the Niger's stream,
or domesticating themselves among the j)eople of Timbuctoo.
The favourite theory of Gilbert White, that vast numbers of tlie
Swallow tribe remained in holes and hiding places, even under
water, in ^ torpici §\o,\e, i§ t^ne y/H<ik ^Fsd? imh favour with

186 OTJR UIQBJ^TB.

modern ornithologists, and seems indeed too improbable to roc[uire
present notice.

The Cuckoo is so well-known that but a short notice of it is
necessary. It arrives about April and leaves in July. It lays
its eggs in the nests of other birds, and leaves to them the
duty and burden of incubation and raising its young. The
Hedge Sparrow is very often saddled with this burden, which
occasions no slight domestic trouble ; for the young Cuckoo
when he gets big enongh, as he soon does, elbows the young
Sparrows right out of their nost. To say nothing of his voracity,
his presence must be in all respects a great burden, and, as soon
as ho can fly, off he goes, and his foster parents see him no more.
The young birds remain after the older cnes^ and they all spend
their winter in the sunny rogioua of Northern Africa.

We will next notice the Wryneck, or Cuckoo's Mate. The latter
name is given on account of its arrival about tho same time as
the Cuckoo. This singular bird is provided with a long tongue,
which it darts out on its food, chiefly ants and insects, which
adhere to a glutinous secretion with which it is supplied. It
breeds in the holes of trees. Last year I had a live one
brougiit to me in a cage. According to Gilbert White the
tongue of this curious bird is occasionally coiled round its head.

Among our other simimer visitants we must notice prominently
the Nightingale, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Eedstart, Landrail, and
Flycatcher ; numerous other species can be enumerated, but space
and time would fail to notice them all. The Nightingale arrives
here about tho middle of April : its song continues until Juno.
The distribution of this species does not extend to Ireland,
Scotland, Wales, and many parts of England; it is not
usually found north of Yorkshire, but seldom in Devon-
shire, and is, I believe, unknown in Cornwall. It leaves us in tho
Autumn, and passes tho winter in Northern Africa. The Black-
cap is one of our latest visitants, and one of our sweetest songsters ;
its note may be constantly heard as it sings cheerily to its mate,
forming a part of the groat chorus of joyful sounds which delight
us in our communion witli Nature. The Whitethroat arrives
among U3 in Aprils and soon diati'ibutos itself throughout the

OUE MIGRANTS. 187

Uritish Islands. It is a bird common to Europe generally. It
leaves ns in autumn for the milder regions of the south. The
Eodstart, or Firetail, is a very beautiful bird. It arrives in
April, and is not very common, although one seldom passes a
summer without seeing a few of the species. It builds in
holes in trees and walls. Gilbert "White says, " Sitting very
placidly on the top of a tall tree in a village, the cock sings from
morning to night; he aflfects neighbourhoods, and avoids
solitude, and loves to build in orchards and about houses."
The plumage of the male bird is far more bright and beautiful
than that of the female. This species, like the last, leaves
us in the autumn on its journey to a warmer clime. The
Landrail is another of our summer visitants. Its curious note,
or crake, may be heard during the morning and evening. It
possesses the peculiar property of ventriloquism in so wonderful
a manner as to give the idea of being first near and then afar
off. This bird seldom flies, is with great difficulty flushed by
the sportsman, and its wings being very short, and the flight
low and clumsy, seems very poorly adapted for the wonderful
work of migration, which, however, it accomplishes twice every
year. The nest is buiit on the ground, and the eggs are from
seven to ten in number. This species has been noted in Africa
and as far south as Madeira. It would appear that they come
over here in large numbers, and this indeed is probably the case
with most of our migrants, which nevertheless on arrival soon
disperse themselves throughout the land. The last of our
summer migrants is the Flycatcher. It arrives about the middle
of May, and soon makes itself at home amongst us. It courts
the society of man, and builds its nest against the walls of a
house, on a vine or fruit tree. It has no song, and is altogether
a quiet and sober-looking bird, usually sitting on a bough,
and then darting after the flies as they pass along. Insects
are its staple food, although it is accused by the gardeners
of a partiality for cherries. This indeed is, however, one of
those curious charges which are being so constantly and
wickedly trumped up to justify the slaughter of the feathered
tribe by the gardeners during the Bum.mer. "Who can soe this

188 on; ?jiGEA:>rT3.

quaint, quiet-looking little bird seated on tlie top of a rail or on a
small bough, darting oflf chasing and catching flies, and then
returning to the same bough after each capture, without noticing
the great part it is performing in the economy of Nature, and
how silently it is aiding in the maintenance of the balance
and harmony of creation. I have known this species build
two nests in the same place dui-ing one season. The Fly-
catchers leave us in the Autumn ; what their southern range
is I do not know, but it is probably confined to the southern
parts of Europe and the north of Africa.

In addition to the birds I have noticed as among our common
summer migrants, I should say that many of our common birds
which are not usually considered migratory are indeed so to a
great extent. Thus, large numbers of Goldfitiches, Greenfinches,
and Wagtails collect on the southern shores of England in the
autumn season and pass over the Straits of Dover into France,
returning in the following spring. This ia well-known to the
Brighton bird-catchers, by whom the Goldfinches from France
are much valued on account of their gayer plumage, while those
which sojoux-n here are contemptuously styled harbour-birds,
their plumage being in early spring very inferior to that of
the migratory birds. This is no doubt owing to the difference
in climate.

I cannot in this paper notice the various species of our winter
visitants. This can, if thought desirable, be followed up in
another paper. They consist of, amongst others, the Fieldfare,
Redwing (which here only utters a harsh sort of note, but is
celebrated in Norway for the beauty of its song), the Snijie,
Woodcock, Crossbill, Wildswan, Wildgoose, and several others.
They cannot possess in our eyes quite the interest which is claimed
by those which come in summer, and take up their abode, cheer-
ing us with their song, and rearing their young among us. We
cannot, however, think for one moment of tlie long and marvellous
nocturnal flight of the Woodcocks across the Gorman Ocean,
without seeing the development of that wondrous instinct which
guides them in such flight; nor can we gaze upon the meanest
or commonest of our summer ov vvint v migrants— the little

THE WINTEK LIFE OF A CUCKOO IN ENGLA^'D. 189

Flycatcher or the common Redwing— without seeing what a
secret power these little bii'ds possess — a power which man cannot
understand, and cannot acquire, but which is to them an infallible
guide in their journeys across trackless seas and untrodden lands.

T. Mabshaix.

W\u WmUv W^U o( H (S>\i(Ut> in (6mMA.

IT seems to be a generally received opinion that our annual
visitant the Cuckoo, whose cheerful note announces the
arrival of spring and summer, must either leave our shores
before the approach of winter, or share in the death common
to so large a proportion of our insect and vegetable life. It
is certain that few of our bird-fanciers have succeeded in pre-
serving one alive during the winter months. That they may
be kept alive is proved by the existence of one now in possession
of the writer.

This bird was taken, in a half-fledged state, from the nest
of a hedge-sparrow, early in the month of June. The first
food provided for him was a boiled egg, which pleased his
juvenile palate, — bruised seeds and soaked bread were also
given to him. After a few days, worms and raw meat were
offered. These provisions were greedily swallowed, though for
some time he declined the trouble of feeding himself. During
the severe weather when worms could not be procured, raw
meat was preferred, but cooked meat, vegetables, bread and
butter, indeed, almost anything was devoured. ^ On Christmas-
day he dined off turkey and plum-pudding. Hot buttered crumpet
is a favourite dish. The bird is extremely tame, the feeling of fear
towards any of the household seems quite unknown. As the door
of his cage is frequently left open, the cat, attracted by the smell
of meat, sometimes ventures to put her nose in, and is rebuked

190 THE WINTEE LIFE OF A CUCKOO TW BNaLAND.

with a peck from his beak. Whenever a clatter of plates, or
knives and forks, is heard in the kitchen, an anyxvering note
is heard from the cage : the Cuckoo descends from his perch,
and should the door be closed, knocks his head against it until
a friendly hand attends to his wishes. His eating is not confined
to regular meal-times, but he is stuffing all day long : probably
the reason so few have lived, is that they have never had enough
given them to eat. The beak is long and appears adapted for
picking out grubs and worms from the earth. The food is well
shaken, passed several times through the bill, as if to soften
it, then swallowed with a jerk of the head. These greedy birds,
living on their natural food, must be of great use to the cultivator
of the soil.

The crop of the Cuckoo is not placed in the position in which
the crop of a bird is usually found, but further back, near the
tail. M. Herissant, a French anatomist, thought he had dis-
covered this to be the reason why the bird does not hatch its
own eggs, but a similar formation is known to exist in birds who
perform their parental duties. White found it in the fern owl,
and Blumenbach in some other birds. Though the Cuckoo
whose history has been given still lives, the struggle of instinct
at the usual time of departure, spoiled his beauty. At night he
was constantly found with his wings spread, beating against his
cage. Darkening the cage did not prevent it. The feathers of
his long wings and tail were all broken. He has a cropped,
queer appearance, and as the feathers show no sign of growth,
the writer fears he will present a sad contrast to the brothers and
Bisters who have spent their winter under brighter skies in more
genial climates. S. E. B.

High Wycombe.

The Butcher's Broom {Ruscus aculeatus). — This interesting
plant (of the order Asparagacecs) has been recently added to the
Flora of the district of Wycombe. It grows in hedgerows near
Cores End, Wooburn, where I saw it in blossom in February
last. It is rather common at Hedsor and Cliefden, in the
woods ; but this is outside the Wycombe district.

T. Mabshall.

191

^mm\i\\(i$ oi lU^ ^wwtij.

THIRD WINTER SESSION— 1867-1868.

Thibd E^t:ning Meeting, January 7. — Held at the house of John
Paxker, jun., Esq., at his kind invitation. T. Marshall, Esq., read a paper on
" The Migration of Birds," which ^vill be found at page 181. This elicited
much conversation, and some interesting facts were adduced. It waa
followed by a paper "On the Order Leguminosa,'' by the Secretary, in
which the marked characteristics of that important tribe were referred to,
and several of its more common representatives described ; this was illus-
trated by coloured engravings, as well as by Miss Chandler's dried speci-
mens. The objects exhibited were : a case of Indian Butterflies, lent by
Mr. Norris ; beautiful specimens of the Argua Pheasant of the Himalayas,
brought by Mr. Beck ; dried specimens of New Zealand Ferns, brought by
Mrs. Small ; Stax-fishes and other objects, by the President, etc. The
microscope was then brought into use ; after which the meeting dispersed.

Fourth Evening Meeting, February 4.— Held at the house of
the Mayor, T. Wheeler, Esq., at his kind invitation. The Rev. W. Bramley-
Moore read a paper " On the Stones of oiu* Fields," which, beginning with
the question " What's in a Stone ?" proceeded to unfold some very interest-
ing secrets relating to the origin of the common stones scattered at
random over our fields ; in fact, he extracted a very good " sermon from
stones," Having several specimens before him, he discussed their com-
position and origin, and the mode by which they had been brought to our
fields. Nos. 1 and 2 — flints, impure varieties of quartz, formed probably by
the aggregation of siliceous matter round some nucleus, e.g., a sponge or
shell, during the ages when the chalk was being deposited in the same sea.
During the erosion of the chalk by the retiring waves these flints were
washed out, and being better able to resist the action of the water were
left behind on the ground thus left dry. The gravel pebbles so very
numerous in the neighbourhood had all been thus washed from the chalk,
and in most cases rounded by the action of water as No. 1 evidently was,
whUe occasionally, like specimen No. 2, they retained their sharp angles,
showing they had escaped this action. No. 3, a pebble, perhaps a fragment
of some great nodule of flint, washed against others on the beach of a
restless sea for ages until it achieved its present smoothness of form, then
entombed in a deposit of Plastic Clay, and finally traasported to its present

192 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

position by the action of water or ice. No. t, a piece of sandstone similarly
treated. No. 5, a boulder. A boulder is a piece of rock lying on the
surface of a deposit totally different to its own. It came from the neigh-
boxu-hood of Warwick and Worcester — that is the nearest deposit of its
own nature. No. G and 7, fragments of conglomerate whose history maj'
be briefly summed up thus — masses of flint were deposited — metamor-
phosed — extracted from their original birth-place, broken, rolled and
ground — embedded in a fresh matrix, and bound up with natural cement.
The lecturer then concluded with the hope that the history of wayside
stones might prove of some interest to the members, and induce them to
look with a more favoiu-able eye on things which perhaps hitherto they
had passed by as worthless. At the conclusion of the paper, which our
space will not permit us to print in extenso, conversation ensued, during
which several additional particulars were given, and examples brought
forward, in illustration of what had been said. A paper, communicated
by W. G. Smith, Esq., " On the Seeds or Spores of Fungi," was then read
by the Secretary ; it will be found at page 179 of our present number.
This was illustrated by specimens and diagrams. A third paper, entitled
" A Brief Summary of the Birds occurring in Bucks and Berks," was also
read by the Secretary ; this was communicated by Alexander Clark -
Kennedy, Esq., whose work on the same subject is on the eve of publication.
There was, as usual, an exhibition of objects, which included dried local
Wild Flowers {Crucifei-es and Lahiatce), fossils from the London Clay, shells,
etc. The President exhibited various objects under the microscope, the
^cidium on the leaf of the Dog Violet eliciting much admiration. The
meeting, which was very well attended, separated at about 10 p.m., the
usual votes of thanks having been given.

Fifth Evening Meeting, February 25. — Held at the house of
Mrs. Small, by her kind permission. The Secretary read a paper " On
Forget me-nots," referring to the plants which had, at various times, been
known as such, and describing the various species of the genus Nyosotis ■
this will be found in Science Gossijj for next month. This was
followed by an amusing paper, " On the Folk-Lore of Frodsham, Cheshire,"
communicated by Mr. J. F. Robinson, of that place. Many of the super-
stitions recorded are somewhat generally distributed : e.ff., ill luck attends
spilling of salt, as well as the cutting of the finger nails on a Sunday.
The President delivered an interesting addi-ess, " On Molluscs," in which
he described the marvellous construction of the snail shell, and advocated
the eating of snails as equal, if not superior in flavour, to the edible Fungi
patronised by the Secretary. Among the objects exhibited were two cases
of Land and Fresh-water Shells ; a collection of Seaweeds ; a case of
Wycombe Ferns, and another of Butterflies : several books and papers were

COEEESPONDENCE.

193

also on the table. Under a binocular microscope, broug-bt by the Rev. W.
Bramley-Moore, were exhibited some yoimg trout, lately hatched, in ■svhich
the circulation was shown. The President exhibited, among- other objects,
the beautiful stellate hairs of Alyssuni spinosum, and other plants ; the
Two-wheeled Rotifer (J?, vulgaris): the feather of a Humming-bird, etc.
The meeting, which was very numerously attended, did not break up until
nearly 10 p.m.

Sixth Evesixg Meeting, March 10.— Held at the house of the
President, at his kind iuvitation. The Rev. \V. Hunt Painter, who had
promised to read a paper, was imavoidably prevented from attending ; and
the only paper read was one by T. Marshall, Esq., " On the Migration of
Birds," being an extension of one previously delivered : on this occasion
the winter migfrants were chiefly referred to. The President gave an
interesting Geological lecture, chiefly explanatory of the fossils on the
table, which he had brought from the Isle of Portland, AVeymouth, etc.
Some very beautiful living Sea- Anemones, from the same locality, were
much admired. The Secretary exhibited a specimen of Daphne ^Iczereum,
from the newly-di.scovered locality near Walter's Ash. The meeting
terminated with an exhibition of the microscope.

We sliall he glad to receive articles on any natural ohjects, the preference
being alnmys given to such as liave a local interest. Notes on the popular
names of, or traditions concerning. Animals oi' Plants, or on any subject con-
nected with Natural History, will be welcome.

Scarcity of Common Lepidop-
TERA (see p. 1 70). — In the January
number a correspondent, writing of
the scarcity of Lepidoptera in the
neighbourhood during the last
season, invites observations from
other localities. In this neighbour-
hood the small number seen was
equally remarkable. I saw a few
fine specimens of the Brimstone
Butterfly (G. lihamni), in the skirts
of the Fawley Woods, and the
Speckled A\'ood (Z. ^¥.(ieria) was
plonldi'ul as ever in every wood and
copse around up. Later, the some-
what rare Painted Lady (<?. Cardui)
appeared in greater numbers than I
hh,ve seen for some j'eurs, and I
could have secufed fiKe specimens
in the lanes and hedgerows. Of

others, usually more generally dis-
tributed, the falling off was very
noticeable. I have no doubt the
cause was attributable to the un-
genial spring.

Henley. ' H. Stubbs.

I see in the Correspondence pages
a notice of the scarcity of common
Lepidoptera last year. In September
a friend wrote me from Hounslow
that during his fortnight's holiday
there he had scarcely taken anj'-
thing : one Clouded Yellow, and two
or three Small Tortoiseshells were, I
believe, all, though, unfortunately,
I have not preserved the letter. In
July, however, I did not notice any
scarcity at home (Fowlness, Essex),
there being- the usiial numbers of
Urtieee and Atalanta, also Janira,

194

COBKESPONDENCE.

Tithontm, PamjMhiB, Alexis, and
Linea. I did not see any PeacockvS,
or Painted Ladies, or Walls, — these,
with the Large, Small, and Green-
veined Whites being our only Biurni
as far as I know. But Fowlness is
an island, so that there might be
reasonably expected a paucitj' of
Lepidoptera. W. II. D.

Water Crowfoot. — We shall
be much obliged to any of our
Buckinghamshire readers who will
forward us frci.h specimens, in
blossom, of any of the forms of this
ornament of our ponds and streams.
Address : James Britten, High
Wycombe.

The Moonwort (see p. 16U).—
In Mr. UUyett's paper " On Ferns "
he speaks of the Moonwort {Botry-
chbim Lunaria) being reported to
grow in the neighbourhood of
Wycombe, bvit not confirmed. It is
found on Nuffield Common in our
neighbourhood, but from its diminu-
tive growth is hard to detect. I
have tried unsuccessfully to grow it
in my fern border, but although I
cut out a considerable portion of
soil with it, it has dwindled away.

Henley. H. Stubbs.

BuRNHAM Beeches. — A corres-
pondent writes — " I shall be glad if
you will call the attention of some
of the membprs of your Society —
especially those who devote them-
selves to microscopical pursuits — to
East Burnhani Common. On this,
by the side of the Beeches, is a large
pond, some eight or nine feet deep
at the south end, and at the north
gradually merging from marshy
land into water. The north end of
the pond is fuU of Bogbean
{Menyanthes trlfoUatn) ; but what
I especially noticed was the very
great number of DiatomactcB and
other low forms contained in the
mud, etc. I brought away some of
the sediment, with the intention of
mounting some slides, but other
matters intervened, and prevented
me from doing so. I am siu'e, from
the locality, that a very great deal

might be done there by any earnest
worker, — quite as much as at Keston
Common, which has been so often
noticed in Science Gossi2>."

Tini'Mon-EL'L(_MorcJiell/iesc>dent/i),
— At fig. 14 will be fomid a represen-
tation of this delicious fungus, which
Ave give in the hope that some of our
readers may be induced to test its
good qualities for themselves. It
occurs in two or three places in our
neighbourhood, but is uncertain in
its appearance ; for the locality which
in 1866 furnished a large supply,
last year only yielded three or four
.specimens. It may be cooked in
various ways. We usually cut off
the stalk, and then divide thepilevs,
or top, into two or more pieces,
according to the size of the specimen,
carefuly washing it to remove insects,
which, it must be admitted, have a
great penchant for hiding in the
holes and corners which present
themselves ; then fry the pieces with
butter, addmg pepper and salt ac-
cording to taste, and serve on toast :
a delicious breakfast dish is the
result.

New Locality for the Meze-
REON. — On March 17th, while stay-
ing at Walter's Ash, I wandered
into the Bradenham woods, and
having met mth a gamekeeper, I
enquired of him whether the Meze-
reon grew in the woods. He said he
knew a place where he had seen it
two years ago, and kindly took me
to the spot, where I I'ound eight
fine plants : one was quite as large
as is usually found in gardens, and
equally full of blossom. They were
most conspicuous amongst the sober
hue of the dead leaves and fresh
budding spring flowers. The spot is
very secluded, and no path being
close, they have escaped the notice
of the passers by. The Daphne
Mczereum is found in several locali-
ties about Wycombe, and being very
rare, is a most interesting plant to
the natiiralist ; the pretty spike of
rich pink flowers tipped with the
bright green loaves makes it one of
the handsomest of the British Flora.
R. M. BowsTE.vD, M.D.

Vol. II. No. VII.] [Price Sixpenck,

Or 2$. per annum, po^ free.

QUARTERLY MAGAZIIS^E

OF THE

SOCIETY.

Edited by James Brittex, Hon. Sec.

N.B. As the issue of this Magazine tirill tertniiiate with the next number,
it is requested that iio stihscriptions for another year may be sent tn.
Tlwse already due should be sent to the Publisher without d^lay.

The conchiding number will appear on June 1, and will contain title-
page and index for Vol. 2.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

The Effect of dry Weather upon Water Plants Robt. Holland U5

The Ichthyosanrus Hy. Ullyett 148

Hollow Lane it ^^^

Additions to the Wycombe Flora— 1869 James Britten 157

Buckinghamshire Botany •> 1^7

Proceedings of the Society l***'

Notes, Correspondence, &c.: — Late Swallows, &c. — Wild Swans
in Buckinghamshire. — Curious capture of a Tench.— Cats
taking the water.— Plant new to the County.— Names of

Animals 1^7

MARCH, 1870.

WYCOMBE:
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY BY W. BUTLER,
20. HIGH STREET;
AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSEI-LERS.

HI -It

^uarterls iHasajine

OF THE

Msb iFiicomde i^atucal l^istorp ^ociet^.

Two, or at most three, small plants, so insignificant that it
would be quite a chance if anyone who was not a botanist
should observe them, and, as far as we know, of not the least
use to man, constitute the British representatives of the genus
mricularia.

The Natural Order to which they belong is a very small one,
and contains, besides these Bladderworts, only three more
genera, of which the Pingiiiculas, or Butterworts, are also British
plants. The Order is best known by the pretentious name
Lentihulariacem, but as this is derived from a discarded synonym
of the Bladderwort, it would surely be better to call it after
Utricula — TJtriailacece.

Perhaps some one may think that if they are so very insignifi-
cant, they are not worth writing a paper about ; but when wo
come to know these little plants, we find that they re3ommend
themselves even by their absolute beauty ; and when we come to
study their manner of growth and their admirable structure, wo
find that, like all plants in which there are special contrivances
to ensure a special end, their history is far more curious and
interesting than that of many larger and more showy plants.

I intend, in this paper, only io describe our British Utricular ias,
but I cannot help just mentioning one South American species,
because its history is so very remarkable, and illustrates very well
some of the peculiar habits of the tribe. In the Organ Mountains
in Brazil, there are found large species of Tillanisia, plants of
the Pine-apple Order. The large leaves of these plants, clasping
around the stem, form natural reservoirs in which the rainwater
collects, just as we see in the leaves of the teazel ; and one species
of Utrimlaria is said to be found growing only in these watercups.
In this strange situation the plant flourishes, and propagates

2 BLADDER"WORTS.

itself by sending out runners on all sides, wliicli take root in tlie
cups of other Tillandsias growing near, uniting many of them in
a network of Utricular ia. It is a plant much larger than our
British species, and must be very beautiful, for it sends up long
flower stems which support large blossoms of a purple colour.

Our Utricularias are also waterplants— so truly waterplants,
that they do not even take root in the soil, or mud, but float in
water just below the surface. Books upon botany describe their
"root " as being " much-branched," but for my part I have never
been able to find any root at all, at any stage of their growth.
The fact is they are root-less, and only float about as I have
stated, deriving all their nourishment from the water by means
of their finely-cut leaves. Probably the lower leaves of the
plant, discoloured from incipient decay, have been mistaken for
roots. It is quite poszille, however, and extremely likely, that
all the leaves act by absorption precisely like roots, just as, in
some leafless plants, roots are modified in appearance and
structure to -serve the pm-posea of leaves.

Three species are described, or perhaj)3 more properly two,
with an intermediate one, which may be a variety, or, it may be,
a hybrid, between the other two. They are all found in ditches
or in deep pools, floating just below the surface of the water.
The commonest and largest species, Utricularia vulgaris, may be
taken as the type of the genus, as regards British kinds. It is
of tolerably frequent occurrence, but I think, often overlooked
from the fact that sometimes for several years it flowers so
sparingly as to escape notice. It consists of slender, very brittle,
trailing, branches, one or two feet in length, which are densely
clothed with very elegant pectinated leaves. The leaves are, in
fact, nothing more than the ribs and veins, for being altogether
submerged, the plant has no necessity for breathing pores, nor
for the fleshy portion with which the stomata communicate. It
is therefore not developed in the ordinary form, but is converted
into a number of very elegant little bladders, or utriculi (whence
the Latin name of the plant), which contain air and arc supposed
to be the organs by which the plant is buoyed up to the surface

BLADDER-WORTS. 3

of the water. The little bladders themselves are somewhat flask
shaped and flattened, and are very beautiful when seen through
a magnifying glass. They are placed upon very short stalks
upon the secondary veins of the leaf, close to the mid rib, so that
there are two rows of them on each leaf, one row at either side
of the midrib. A vein of the leaf passes up the front of each
flask, giving rigidity, and branching round the orifice, which it
greatly strengthens, terminates at the sides and back of the
opening in two or four bristles. The mouth of the flask is closed
by an extremely delicate, almost invisible, membrane, having a
minute slit in fi-ont, through which gases, no doubt, escape.

The flowers are extremely pretty; they are bright yellow,
growing four or five together in a raceme, which shoots up with
a stalk some five or six inches above the water. In form they
are not very unlike the flowers of a calceolaria, being two-lipped
and having a short spur.

Utricularia minor is a much smaller species, not by any means
80 common, and generally found in small pools of water on peat
bogs. The flowers are small and pale in colour, and as far as I
have been able to observe, the plant is more frequently fouud in
a flowerless state than even U. vulgaris.

The third species, or variety, or hybrid, U. intermedia, I cannot
describe from actual observation. It seems to be rare, and to bo
characterized by the leaves being tripartite. The vesicles are
are said to arise from branched stalks and not from the leaves.

A strange misapprehension exists as to the economy of theso
plants, and their method of propagation. Almost all authors
have taken it for granted that the earlier observers were correct,
and have copied ono from another, as is too often the case,
without verifying for themselves ; and the history of the Bladder-
wort has thus become invested with a halo of romance, very
pleasant to read, but untrue in many particulars. The Intellectual
Observer of October last publishes a translation of a paper by Dr.
Schnetzler, in which he says of the genus TJtrictdaria, on the
authority of Do CandoUe : — " These utricles are rounded, and
furnished with a species of moveable operculum, or lid.

4 BLADBEKWORTS.

In the youth of the plant they are full of mucus heavier than water, and
the plant, iveighed down by them, remains at the bottom. Toivards
the season of flowering, the leaves secrete a gas lohicli enters the utricles,
and drives out the mucus, opening the lid for its escape. The plant
is thus supplied with a quantity of air-vessels, which elevate it
gradually, and cause it to float on the surface. The process of
flowering takes place in the free air ; and when it is finished, the
leaves again secrete mucus lohich replaces the air in the utricles, weighs
down the plant, and causes it to descend again to the bottom of the
tvater, ivhere it ripens its seeds in the situation in tvhich they should be
sown.'^

Ithink, if anyone will take the trouble to observe for themselves,
they will find that the sentences in italics do not describe very
accurately what really takes place. I cannot say certainly that
the plant never produces seed, or that that seed never germinates
at the bottom of the water, " in the situation in which it should be
sown "; but it seems very unlikely that the seeds should gernii7iate
in the mud, when at every other period they have no roots at all,
nor any connexion with the soil. There are many years, too, in
which the plant never flowers, and yet it will be quite as plentiful
the next season ; and I am quite sure that in the majority of cases
it is propagated, not from seed, but from the terminal buds, which
remain dormant during the winter. These buds have been
noticed by some authors.

The branches of Utricularia grow rapidly at the point, and as
each delicate leaf unfolds, the bladders, at first quite small, will
be found at once filled with air. The lower part of the plant is
constantly decaying away, and as the bladders are only composed
of a thin membrane, they decay even sooner than the rest of the
leaf, so that the lower discoloured leaves often look as if they had
never supported bladders, and may easily be mistaken for roots.
Thus the plant constantly increases at one end and dies at the
other till the time of flowering, which is in July and August. In
all probability the seeds are ripened sufficiently to germinate
whilst they are exposed to the action of the sun. After flowering
the plant ceases to grow, either on accojint of the increasing cold-

BLADDERWORTS. 5

ness of the Autumn nights, or because its energies are expended
with flowering, and it decaj-s away very rapidly, leaving nothing
hut the terminal buds, which consist of unfolded leaves and retain
their vitality. As no more air-bladders are developed, the buds
or gemma sink to the bottom and remain dormant and safe from
injury from the weather during the winter. They are about the
size of small peas, quite compact, and might easily, as no doubt
they have been, mistaken for seeds sown in the "proper situation."
About March or the beginning of April, the buds again begin to
grow, and the leaves to open out, and as soon as sufficient air-
vessels are formed, the plant rises to the surface of the water. At
this time a sweep with a butterfly net will usually bring up some
of the green buds, which grow well in an aquarium, where the
opening of the leaves, and the development of bladders, and the
rapid extension of the stem, are sights well worth watching.

It is probable that the bladders also have another and very
diflferent duty to perform, not less important, perhaps, than that
of floating the plant in the water; namely, the capturing of
insects which are destined for the plants to feed upon. Certain
it is that very small water insects are often found imprisoned in
the bladders — the opening allowing them to enter, but from
its construction, preventing their escape. The Utrieularia
it has been seen, cannot obtain mineral matter &om the soil,
having no roots ; nor gaseous food from the air, having no stomata :
and the animal food thus obtained may supply certain elements
which it could not derive from the water; and the Utrieularia
may be added to the list of the highly interesting carnivorous
plants.

Perhaps some of the readers of this Magazine may be able,
during the present summer, to study the habits of the Bladder-
worts — to ascertain whether they, as a rule, ripen any seed at all ;
if so, how and in what medium the seed germinates, and thus to
clear up a somewhat obscure point in the history of these beautiful
and curious waterweeds.* Eobert Holland.

* U. mlgaris is recorded as growing- in the ditch in the meadow by the
Suspension Bridge at Mar low; and in the river ditch near Fawley Court;
we have found it in the ditches and ponds at the foot of Winter Hill, Berks.
TT. inffrmedin has heen doubtfully recorded from Burnham Beeches. Ed.

THE neiglibourhood of Henley-on-Thames, with its noble river,
and the long range of wooded hills ascending from the rich
valley, offers much interest to the lover of nature. In the valley
and on the stream may be found the Snow Flake, the Procumbent
Marshwort, and Adder's Tongue, the Water Villarsia, Great
Bladderwort, Water Violet, Frogbit, and Flowering Eush, and
on its food plant the Willow Herb, profusely lining the banks,
may be found the grotesque larva of the Elephant Hawk Moth.
The Sphynges are fairly represented in this valley. In my
cabinet, — the capture of many years ago, and marred by unskil-
ful hand, — the rarest of my collection is C. Celerio, taken at rest
on a window sill ; with B. Galii, which I bred from larvee found
on Bedstraw ; S. Convolvuli, of which, some eight years ago, I
obtained several fine specimens, and have never since heard ; S.
Tilice, frequently found in the larva state on the noble lime trees
of Fawley Court; S. Ocellatus, S. Fopuli a,uA. A. Airopos, ani-pvo-
fusely C. Porcellua, C. Elpenor, and S. Ligustri. Nupta, from the
prevalence of willow, is plentiful, as many as a dozen having
been taken at "sugar" in the course of an evening. Colias
Edusa abounded in the lucerne fields some years ago, but of late
has not occurred ; and in one instance the scarce Hyale has fallen
to my net. On the chalk hills which on the Berkshire shore
commence the Chiltern range, P. Corydon and P. Agestis are
found, and 8. Taget and C. Jacohcea swarm, the showy larvte of
the latter denuding the golden Eagwort of the bottoms. Ascend-
ing the hill on the west, and plunging into the backwoods of
Lambridge, the entomologist will soon find ample use for his net.
The Beprana are well represented here, three out of the four
occurring, — B. Falcataria, B. Eamula, and B. Unguicula, the
latter profusely in the limited sphere of their locality ; the second
rare, — one only having come into my possession. The Fritillaries
count half, A. Selene, A. Euplirosgne, and A. Papliia (tradition

m THE HILLS ABOVE HENLEY. 7

avers that A. Lathonia has occurred)— the graceful, floating,
sweep of Pa])hia, and the golden glitter and silvery sheen of its
■wings in the sunlight, are " things of beauty " to be remembered
ever after. In the margin of this wood I discovered last year, a
new locality for A. Galathea, and by the capture in successive
seasons of Bloomerii, a wider range may be ascribed to this lovely
Geometra. The best of the Flora of this wood consists of "Winter
Green, Mountain Speedwell, and Upright Fly Honeysuckle ; the
first of these in large masses, the last a single specimen and very
doubtful native. Emerging from the wood we come on the old
domain of Grey's Court, the gabled roofs and massive towers of the
mansion crowning the broken ascent of the Park. The thorn hedges
enclosing it are marvels of antiquity, and grey with the moss and
lichen of centuries. The high-road to Eotherfield Greys leads
between these hedges, and I well remember when driving through
some ten autumns ago, the delight of my companions as cloud after
cloud of the gorgeous V. Atalanta rose from the ivy blossom
which clothes them, at our approach. In a copse at the head of
the wood the earth is flecked in the early spring with the Snow-
drop, and in the underwood above the park,

" Thick as leaves in Vallambrosa,"
the Daffodils, in the clearings, dazzling the eye with their golden
masses. Preferable, because more dispersed, is another habitat
of this flower in the wood at High Moor ; passing across a se-
cluded meadow hemmed in on two sides by woods, and with a
dark pool overhung by trees in the centre, the scene of a darker
legend, we enter this wood. In its green alleys and dells, and
peeping out from amid the decaying herbage of the past year, the
Daffodil is a graceful flower, the deUcate green of its foliage
aiding its beauty. The late Miss Mitford, — whose magic pen
could confer immortality on a tuft of early Primroses, or a patch
of Woodsorrel, and who, like Gilbert White, has made a secluded
village famous for all time, — writing some twenty years ago of a
visit to these hills, enumerates, among their denizens, the Orchids
and Fungi as extensively prevalent ; and also refers to the fre-
quent occurrence of the strange compound, known as agglomerate;

8 IN THE HILLS ABOVE HENLEY.

It is even bo. I have obtained several blocks, and one remarlrable
mass in the wood leading up to Stoke Eow Common is especially
noticeable. It is in the vicinity of a public well, sunk some years
ago by an Eastern Maharajah, for the benefit of the poor of this
elevated spot, and the airy columns of the temple erected over it,
and the tutelary elephant, contrast strangely with the old-world
mass of hoary stone.

North of this, in the short turf of Bix Common, we tread on
the Buckshorn Plantain, and among the bushes around the Black
Adiantum, the Hairy Green Weed, the Greater Dodder, and the
rare Imperforate St. John's "Wort are found. In the tangled
underwood hard by, startling, in the early year, by its contrast
with the dead herbage of the past, the dark and sombre foliago
of the ill-omened Green Hellebore is seen ; and further on, in
Page's Bottom, I have obtained in successive seasons that most
lovely and delicate of Ferns, the Oak Polypody. Above, on
Maidens' Grove, — hiding under hazel bushes, the

" Foiir round leaves and one green flower,"
of Herb Paris are seen. The Evening Primrose and the Oxlip
flourish here ; and in the extensive Nettlebed woods, the Deadly
Nightshade, the Lily of the Valley, Solomon's Seal, and the
Columbine. A bank here, bearing its name, is gay in the early
spring with the delicate peach blossom of the Mezereon ; in
the old and disused clay pits, the Hard Fern obtains luxuriantly,
and farther west on Nuttield Common the local Moonwort. In a
paper where brevity is indispensable, I havp only briefly indicated
the Flora of these hills ; the same exigency of space will be my
excuse for the contracted record of Lepidoptera, and also the
omission of the proper names of plants.

Henley. H. S.

Spawning of Frogs. — A friend tells me that he saw, about the
middle of last month, frogs spawning on Erringden Moor (lat.
53deg. 43min. N., long. Ideg. 62min. W.), 1200 feet above the
sea level at Liverpool. Is not this somewhat peculiar, considering
the latitude and altitude ? W. H. D.

Witt iivdsi of (fi^oofeMm m\A t\xt ^n0bimv\mii,

THE WOODPECKER.— Continued from page 178, Vol. I.

T HAVE referred to the early breeding of the bird, and can add
J- a curious fact which occurred lately. About the middle of
last November the weather was very mild, and on the 11th, Mr.
Briggs' attention was attracted by a vigorous ta^jping on a tree
above liis head. Looking up, he perceived a Little Spotted
Woodpecker hai'd at work, and noticed it on the two following
days, still hewing out the hole. On the 13th the hole was made,
and the birds passed inside. There they continued their labours,
evcrj- now and then a little head appearing at the mouth of the
hole, and dropping a piece of bark down. In this way the
ground at the foot of the tree was soon strewn with chips, but a
frost coming on on the loth, and more hard weather following,
the birds were driven from the undertaking, and the male shortly
after liappening to wander into Lady Young's grounds, was shot,
and is at present in my collection. Mr. Briggs is of opinion that
the female will find another mate, and will recommence building
operations with the return of fine weather. Should this bo
realised, I shall not fail to notice the occurrence in the Society's
Journal.

Suh-fam. GECiNiNiB.

Gecinus.

23. Gecinus viridis. The Green Woodpecker.

This bird is very scarce ia the neighbourhood of Cookham,

where it is known by the name of " Whitoll,"* or some such

name, but it is difficult to understand the villagers, all of whom

pronounce it in a different manner. It is occasionally observed

on the tall elms at Formosa, whore a fine bird was obtained for

Mrs. De Vitre"s collection. The species is particularly abundant

in Huntingdonshire, where I have often counted as many as twenty

in the course of an afternoon's walk. I have lately procured a

very beautiful male with the red cheek-mark strongly dovolojie !,

which I owe to the kindness of Mr. Lynn, the head gardener at

Lord Boston's. It was shot, I beheve, at Billing-bear.

• See vol. 1, p. 73.

10 THE BHIDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOTJBHOOl).

Suh-fam. Yuncinje.

Yunx.

24. Yuns torquilla. The Wryneck.

As I have noticed under the head of the Cuckoo, this bird is

much commoner some seasons than others. Mr. Briggs has often

remarked the curious way iu which the Wryneck contorts his

neck, but he says the most remarkable instance of this peculiarity

ho ever observed was in a wounded bird, which twisted and

elongated its neck in an extraordinary manner. He has found

its nest at Formosa more than once.

Fam. TJtvvibje.

Upupa.

Upupa epops. The Hoopoe.

Mr. Briggs has seen one specimen of this bird killed in the

neighbourhood some years ago. Another was shot at Walling-

ford in June, 1867.

Order Passeres.

Fain. LusciNiD^.

Suh-fam. Lxjscinin.'e.

Luscinia.

25. Luscinia philomcla. The Nightingale.

The success which has of late years attended the efforts of
those who have endeavoured to keep the Nightingale iu confine-
ment has no doubt contributed to the increasing rarity of the
species. Of the thousands sent annually to London, very few
certainly live long, and of those who survive the period of the
autumnal migration, by far the major part succumb to the first
severity of the weather. We do, however, meet with birds who
have managed to live through our English winters, and no one
whom I have met with is more successful in preserving them
alive than Lovegrove, the turnpike keeper on Maidenhead
Thicket, at whose house there are almost always sure to bo some.

There are some parts about Cookham where the Nightingale
comes every year to enliven our ears with its beautiful song, and
from Formosa they may bo heard in the Cliefden Woods any
summer evening. I remember once standing in Mr. Burrows'
grounds, and distinctly counting six nio-htina'alfis sinaing, some

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAil AND THE NEISHBOURHOOD. 11

in Lord Boston's and the Ducliess of Sutherland's woods, one in
the tall elms skirting the Pormosa estate, and one close to me on
Odney Common. Often, when returning with Mr. Briggs from
some ornithological expedition, we have heard quite late at
night the Nightingales trilling sweetly, and answering each other,
in the Cliefden Woods, when naught else broke the stillness of
the evening, save the occasional hoot of the Tawny Owl

At Formosa two pairs of Nightingales bred for several successive
years in the laurels skirting the carriage drive, but the nests
being taken by one of the garden boys two or three years ago,
the birds have not built there since. The specimen in Mrs. De
Vitre's collection was shot on the estate, but a very beautiful
male in my own collection was sent to Mr. Briggs by Mr. Bye,
then gardener to Mrs. Llewellyn, of Wooburn. The poor bird
was picked up dead one morning, having flown against the glass
window of the conservatory. He had been for several days on
the grounds, dehghting everyone with his song.

Statistics of the number of Nightingales and other summer
warblers caught annually near London, and brought to the bird-
fanciers there, would be very interesting. I know of one man
alone who had upwards of 200, aU males, brought to him between
the middle of April and the middle of May last year.
EuticUla.
26. Euticilla phoenicura. The Eedstart.

The Eedstart is not common near Cookham, and I have myself
never seen a specimen. There are, however, some nice ones in
Mrs. De Yitre's collection, and Mr. Briggs has shot several in the
grounds at different times. Mr. Gould also obtained a female,
caught off the nest in an old apple-tree on the estate.

When at Peterborough I often met with this species, having
taken many a nest out of the old Cathedral walls; nor shall I
easily forget the tiny holes they built in, and the trouble they
gave us to get the eggs ; while the scene which ensued when one
of my schoolfellows got his hand in the hole, but could not draw
it out until rescued by a mason with his chisel, is still fresh in my
memory.

12 THE BIRDS OF COOKIIAM AND THE NEIGHBOUEnoOD.

27. Euticilla titliys. The Black Eedstart.
TliG Black Eodstart is a winter visitant to this country, and I
am inclined to think, occurs more commonly than ornithologists
generally are aware of, for at Mr. Kent's the taxidermist, at
Hastings, I observed several pairs, all of which had been obtained
in the neighbourhood. I have only one instance of its occur-
rence at Oookham, but I think there is no doubt of the species.
Mr. Briggs tells me that a few years ago* in the depth of winter,
he was out shooting with Stanniforth early in the morning, when
his attention was drawn to a female Eedstart (as he thought)
sitting on a post close to them. It was snowing very hard at
the time, and he pointed out the bird to his companion, remark-
ing that it was the first time he had ever observed the Eedstart
in winter. On mentioning the circumstance to Mr. Gould,
shortly after, that gentleman told him it must have been the
Black Eedstart. The female of this and the foregoing species do
not differ so much as the males, and had it been the latter, no
doubt could have entered Mr. Briggs's mind as to the species. A
most interesting account of the habits and economy of the Black
Eedstart is contained in Mr. Gould's Birds oj Great Britain, and
will well repay the ornithologist who reads it. As it is too long
to be copied here, I must give a little notice of the bird as
observed by my friend, Mr. E. M. Young, of Formosa Cottage,
which I extract from my paper on that gentleman's collection
published in the Naturalist, vol. II. p. 186. Mr. Young observes :
— " This little bird was not easily obtained. I shot it among the
cedars of Lebanon, where its peculiarly shrill note attracted my
attention. I had not seen it previously in Syria, but there seemed

* Through the whole course of this paper, and also in my contributions
to Mr. Clark-Kennedy's " Birds of Berkshire," many birds are recorded
with no exact date. The reason of this inaccuracy is, that up to the time
of my going to Cookham and interesting myself about its Ornithology, no
one had taken the trouble (Mr. Gould, who is always most accurate in
that point, excepted) to preserve dates or memoranda, so that beyond
the fact that birds occurred a few years ago, I am unable to give the date
with precision. As, however, most of the birds shot are in the Formosa
collection, or my own, and therefore of undoubted occurrence in the
locality, I must appeal to Ornithologists generally to excuse any inaccura-
cies in the dates, great care having been taken in every instance to obtain
the time of year, and particulars of the capture or observation of each
species. — E. li. S.

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAil AND THE NEIGHBOTTRHOOD. 13

to be several among tlie cedar-trees. Its cunning in keeping
close to the tlaickest boughs, and dodging round them as often as
I cauglit sight of its breast for a moment, was quite provok-
ing. After a chase of about two houis, I was fortunate enough
to secure the present specimen, not without a long hunt, for fal-
ling from a lofty branch it was caught and hidden by a fork in
the tree, and I had almost given up the search in vain. Mr.
Tristram shot the bird, I believe, in the same neighbourhood."

A female Black Eedstart was obtained near Hampstead in April,
1868, and I saw it in Mr. Davy's shop in the Kentish Town road.
He informs me that the bird-catchers had been aware of its pre-
sence in the neighbourhood during the whole winter. It was
accompanied by a male who, however, up to the moment of
writing has eluded capture. It is very probable that they would
have bred in this coxmtry, had they been undisturbed.
Erythacus.
28. Erytlmcus rubecula. The Eobin Eedbreast.

The villagers of Cookham have a curious saying, that no Eobin
ever sees a third winter, as the old birds are always killed by
their young. This is a new phase in the economy of the Robin ;
but as no one at Cookham has ever seen the young ones actually
kill their parents, as far as I can ascertain, I hope very little credit
is to be given to the assertion, which is, no doubt, an exaggeration
arising out of the well known pugnacity of the species. It would
seem almost preposterous to write another anecdote of the Robin's
tameness, yet the following will, I beheve, vie with any yet
recorded, as an instance of its docility. The little bird made its
appearance soon after we went to live at Cookham, and used to
come on to the verandah every morning for crumbs, and having by
his familiarity become a great favourite, he in his turn became a
tyrant, and would not allow a Sparrow, Water Wagtail,
Chaffinch, or any other applicant to approach the verandah for
food. lu the garden his excessive tameness became quite a
nuisance, as he used to sit on the gardener's baskets, and take the
fruit when it was thrown in, or if they were digging, he would sit
on the spade and jniiip into the hole when the mould was turned
out, and pick up worms. Once when Stephen was doing something

14 THE BIRDS OF COOKnAM ATO) THE NEIGnBOXTRnOOD.

to a frame, and was resting his arm on the side, the Robin
perched on his arm, not in any way timidly, but with the utmost
confidence, and there sat and sung. Thinking he would fly, the
gardener got tired of waiting, so he began to move his arm,
when the little fellow fluttered up on to his shoulder, and was
carried some little distance in that way before he flew ofl^. The
history of " Bobby's " pranks would fill pages, could I remember
them all, but space "will not allow me to write more. As is usual
with pets, he came to an untimely end, being maimed in one of
my brick-traps, into which he had gone some fifty times without
being hurt ; and as his broken wing did not heal quickly, wo fear

he fell a victim to a cat.

Fam. Oriolid^.

Oriolus.

Oriolus galbula. The Golden Oriole.

This bird has been observed once in the neighboux'hood of

Cookham by Mr. Briggs. He was walking on the estate at

Billing-bear, when his ear was attracted by a note which he was

convinced he had never before heard. Following the sound, he

traced it to a thicket, where, by dint of crawling carefully along,

he was able to come near the object of his search, and there sat a

beautiful Golden Oriole, within a short distance of him. He was

able to observe it undisturbed for two or three minutes, before it

flew away.

Fam. Ttjedid^.

Turdus.

a. Turdus.

Turdus viscivorus. The Missel Thrush.

The Missel Thrush visits Cookham in large flocks every

October. On their first arrival, the birds betake themselves to

the yew trees in the Cliefden Woods, descending in the early

morning to the fields round Formosa. They are exceedingly shy

and diflicult of approach, and even in the sharpest weather are

the hardest to shoot. The Missel Thrush breeds sparingly in the

neighbourhood, and is one of the earliest to build its nest. I saw

one in the early part of March, 1866, with the hen bird sitting

hard, and scarcely a leaf to be seen on the trees.

To be contimted. R. B. SHARPE.

THIRD WINTER SESSION— 1867-1868.

The concluding conversazione of the present Winter Session was held,
according to custom, in the Town Hall, on Tuesday, May 5th, and was a
great success in every respect. Every branch of Natural History was f uUy
represented, and the arrangement of specimens was very good. It would
be impossible to catalogue all the objects exhibited ; but the following
were among the most noteworthy in their respective branches : —

Zoology. — A live Hedgehog, captured by Miss M. Vernon in Whittington
Park, attracted considerable attention ; a stuflFed Wliite Mole, lent by Mr.
Wane, which was, we believe, taken in our district : bones of the African
Elephant : a skeleton of the American Crocodile {Crocodilus Americattns) ;
the head and jaws, with the molar teeth, of a young Indian Elephant ; the
shoulder-blades of a whale : the leg-bones (casts) o£ the Dinoniis maximus,
from New Zealand ; skuUs of the Bear, H^-ena, etc.

Oexithologt. — This branch was one of the most fully represented.
Stuffed specimens of birds in glass cases were lent by Messrs. Marshall,
Simmonds, Browne, A. Lucas, Rutty, Saunders, and F. 'VMieeler : these
included the Heron, Bittern, and Little Bittern, Kestrel, Green Wood-
pecker, Goatsucker, Short-horned and Brown Owls, Sea Swallow, Gull,
Snipe, Water-raU, etc. : a specimen of the Goshawk {Astnr palitmharinis)
shot near Stone, deserves especial mention, as the species is not included
by Mr. Clark-Kennedy in his recent work on the birds of Berks and Bucks.
There were two collections of British Birds' Eggs. Foreign Ornithology
was illustrated by specimens of the Argus Pheasant of the Himalayas,
lent by Mr. Beck ; a case of Humming-birds ; and some of the remarkable
nests of the Weaver Bii-d, brought by Mr. Small from the Western Coast of
Africa.

Entomology . — In this department our British Insects were far sur-
passed in size and colouring by a collection of Himalayan Lcindoptera lent
by Mr. Beck. British Butterflies, Moths, Bees, and Beetles were shown by
the President : and a case of West Australian Beetles was lent by Miss
Abbott, of Wycombe Marsh.

BoT.'LN'Y.— A table of living Wild Flowers, arranged by Miss Chandler,
attracted much attention by its elegant appearance, and by the number of
species which had been pressed into the service, all collected in our own
immediate neighbourhood. Among the most noteworthy were the Coral-
wort {Dentaria hiilbifern), the Herb Paris {Paris quadrifolia), and the
Wild Garlic {Allium vrsinum). W. G. Smith, Esq., of London, to whom we
have been already indebted for two interesting papers, lent a large number
of drawings of our British Plants : these attracted considerable notice, the
accuracy of the colouring, and the natural appearance of the drawings,
being much admired. Miss Chandler's valuable herbarium, and a collec-
tion of British Ferns, were also on view. We must not omit to mention
some very graceful bouquets, composed entirely of Wild Flowers, arranged
with great effect by Miss Chandler and the Misses Giles.

Geology.— This section was, as usual, chiefly represented by the Presi-
dent's valuable collection. Representative Fossils of the Chalk, Upper
Green Sand, Oolite, Lias, Gault, and Kimmeridge Clay were exhibited ;
with Corals from the Carboniferous Limestone of North Wales, and from
the Devonian. Mrs. Woollams, Mr. Rutty, and others, contributed to this
section.

16 PROCEEDINaS OF THE SOCIETY.

The appearance of the Hall was greatly enhanced by some magnificent
Azaleas, Deutzias, etc., kindly lent by the Eight Hon. Lord Cariugton, and
arranged by Mr. Miles ; as well as by Cinerarias, etc., for the loan of
which the Society was indebted to Mr. F. Wheeler. The bright hues of
the flowers gave great brilliancy to the general effect. Many friends sent
cut flowers in great i^rofusion, and some very pretty bouquets were
arranged ; none, however, were more efEective than that brought by Miss
M . Vernon, composed almost entirely of Lilies of the Vallej\

Besides the above named objects, we may mention the following :— A
specimen of the curious Parrot Fish ; some beautiful Corals, lent by Mr.
AVheeler ; a vessel of young Trout, hatched under the care of Mr. Saunders ;
specimens of Cotton-pods, from West Africa, in various stages of develop-
ment ; a series of British Reptiles, including the new snake, CoroncUa
leevis, brought by the Rev. H. Rich, in illustration of his paper ; and many
others, too numerous to mention.

Among the books on the table may be named Morris's " British Birds "
and " British Birds' Eggs," Wood's " Illustrated Natural History," Bewick's
"British Birds," a volume of "English Botany," etc. Miss F, Charsley
brought a copy of her recently published work " The WUd Flowers of
Melbourne."

By the kindness of some of the lady members, tea and coffee were pro-
vided in the Council Chamber : after which, the President, the Secretary
members of the Committee, and others, ascended the platform : and the
more formal jiart of the proceedings was commenced by the delivery of
the Annual Address by the President, which we give in extenso. This was
followed by a paper by the Rev. H. Rich, of Hardwick, Ajiesbury, on
" British Reptiles." The organisation of the class v»'hich they represent
was carefully described ; and the members of the various orders were duly
noticed. The Secretary then read a paper, communicated by Robert
Holland, Esq., of Mobberley, Cheshire, on " Water Lilies," which, although
somewhat long, was extremely interesting. We much regret that our
space will not permit us to do more than allude thus casually to two of
the most interesting papers read daring the Winter Session.

The Mayor, T. Wheeler Esq., then proposed that the thanks of the Meeting
be given to the President for his paper, as well as for his exertions on
behalf of the Society since its establishment in 18()o. This was seconded
by the Rev. J. Power, of Tyler's Green, and was carried unauimouslj'.

A similar vote to the Secretary was proposed by J. Edwards, Esq., and
seconded, in a flattering sijccch, by T. Marshall, Esq., and was likewise
carried, ncm. can.

Votes of thanks to the authors of the papers were also put and carried.

Tlie President's magnificeut microscope was tlicu produced ; but the
lileetiKg slispeiseO: ftlmost iinnic<i»Rtely .liter the eoncinsion of tjio papers;

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 17

ANNUAL ADDRESS.

At the close of our third winter session it is my privilege to congratulate
the members of our society on its continued prosperity and increase. The
attendance at our evening re-unions has been exceedingly encouraging.
There are many indications of a gro'wing interest felt in the objects of our
association. Our position is recognised in other towns besides our own.
Our published transactions have a range wider than the confines of a small
provincial town.

Our winter session was introduced by an important and interesting paper
on " Local Museums." The design of that paper was not merely to afford
a transient gratification which might pass away "with the close of the
evening's meeting, but to lead to an important and responsible undertaking
— the establishment of a museum for the to'wn and neighbourhood. Though
the members of our society could scarcely entertain the project of founding
and supporting a grand institution by their own unaided resources, yet they
were ambitious of instituting a movement which might lead to the formation
of a nucleus of good things, around which might gather sufiicient interest
and support that would eventually establish a prosperous municipal
institution.

Interesting papers on the migration of British birds have engaged out
attention on two separate evenings. The subject deserves attention. To
my own mind, the migration of animals remains amongst the unexplained
mysteries of natural science. It is easy to say that these interesting
visitants are moved by a law of their nature — that they are under the
unerring power of instinct, which they are constrained to obey as the con-
trolling principle of their being. That only shrouds our ignorance, and
expresses the simple fact in other language. What is instinct ? AVe
perhaps know what we mean when vre use the term. But is it sufficient to
explain a very wonderful though common occurrence ? Instinct may
constrain a bird when cold weather is approaching to desire a warmer
climate. So instinct impels a hungry animal to desire food. But is it instinct
that enables it to discriminate between food which it likes or disUkes r
That is accomplished by it as by us, through the sense of taste. I can
conceive of the Swallow, influenced by its instincts, feeling uncomfortable
as the cold days approach. Instinct makes it restless. Instinct makes it
gather with its fellows into companies. Instinct awakens within an over-
powering appetency for warmer climates and more genial air. But is
it instinct, or another sense, of which we are ignorant, that leads them
towards the same quarter of the globe, that guides them with unerring
certainty across a wide expanse of ocean, and lands them safe within the
needed thermal zone. Analogous with the migration of birds, is that peculiar
power possessed by the carrier pigeon of returning to its home. Far from

18 rROCEEDTNGS 01? THE SOCIETY.

its usual place of abode you let it fly. It ascends to a lofty height as if to
make observations. It sweeps round with one grand and graceful curve,
and then like an arrow ejected from some mighty bow, sails swiftly straight
to its wishcd-for locality. "What is the impelling and guiding power in
connexion with these remaikablc movements? Is it instinct? Is it that
they possess in active exercise another and to us an unknown sense,
operating through organisations wliich we have not yet discovered, which
may be in ourselves, but not at present developed. Few that have
thought upon the subject can doubt but that there are properties in matter
of which we know nothing, simply because we have not in active exercise
physical organisation by which the mind can come in contact with those
unpcrceived properties of the material universe. May not the lower order
of creatures have organs of sense Avhich to them are inlets of knowledge,
but of which we at present know nothing ? They may have not only five
senses, but the multiple of five. There are facts which present themselves
to the intelligent observers of natural phenomena -which are difhcult to
cxi)lain. But this would explain much. Many theories have been advanced
in reference to sensation in the insect world. Microscopists and physiologists
have bent their endeavour to find out the same number of senses as possessed
by man. Sight we know they have. Touch they certainly possess. Scent
and taste are probably developed in a very high degree. Do they possess
the sense of hearing ? Acting on the assumption that the inferior order of
creatures have the same, and only the same number of senses as men, some
skilful microscopists have discovered or thought they have discovered in
a small nucleoid cell at the base of the Bee's antenna?, an articulating
membrane beneath which passes the antcnnal nerve, that connects that
organ with the ganglionic mass of nerves which corrcsi^onds to the brain
in the higher order of animals. Others have gone further, and have thought
that the fan-like plates of the antenna; of the Chafer, which is covered over
with these nuclei, is a kind of compound organ of hearing. Could Ave be
sure, that the note of the Cicada, Cricket, or Grasshopper, Avas intended
to bring the sexes together, it would demonstrate the fact, that they
possess the sense of hearing. But do the five senses which man possesses
seem sufficient to explain many facts in nature ? Is it the organ of smell
that leads the Vulture so many miles as by an unerring power, to the
carrion of the desert, which must be devoured or it Avill throw around
the miasma of death ? Is it the sense of smell that brings the Moth with
certain guidance to the sugar of the Entomologist or the honey of the flower?
Is it the same cause that constrains and guides the Beetle or the Fl)- to the
droppings of cattle, only a few minutes after it has been left t.^ion the
ground ? Granting that the scent may extend to such a distance, it extends
equally in all directions. But these creatures are drawn most certainly to
that small spot in the wide circle from which the odour emanates. I

PBOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 19

cannot help concluding that there is another sense possessed by them,
•n-hich may be slumbsring in our physical nature, which may hereafter be
developed, but which would be useless or injurious to us now, and therefore
is not bestowed. Here then, I link, if not an argument, a theory, that
the feathered migrants possess a sense which man does not ; that not
possessing it we cannot understand it, or that in the outer world which
through this unknown sense awakens perception in tlieir mind. Such a
sense would guide it as surely and safely to its appointed summer or winter
place of residence, as sight guides us to any wished-for object or jjlace.
From Avhat is probable in the inferior creatures may we speculate to what is
probably in man. Is our nature fully developed ? May there not come a
time in man's future history, when instead of five senses he may have fifty,
or five hundred, or more, and each of these senses would enable him to
perceive and enjoy attributes and properties in the physical world to which
we are now strangers, just as a man born blind is unacquainted with the
glories and harmonies of colour. May not a sense or senses be developed in
our physical nature hereafter, which may enable us not only to see distant
worlds around, and so bring in faint enjoyment from those glorious orbs of
heaven, but with superior o'ganisation we might bridge over the ocean
of sijace between these worlds, and our o«-n, and bring them so near to
ourselves, that we could enjoy them as if we stood upon them. Thus
would God's imiverse be indeed linked together, and distant woilds
would not appear made in vain for man, but as part of liis own inheritance
they would seem intended as much for his personal happiness as the
small planet that is now his home or his prison.

Allow me to direct your thoughts to a very different topic. "These
are very beautiful !" said a lady friend, in reference to the gorgeous
colours of a beautiful Huraming-bird, " here I see attraction. But what
beauty is there in these old bones ?" Objects are beautiful or not according
to otir standpoint of observation. Xature's aspects are so varied, that
minds vdih. everj' shade and complexion of taste maj- find the most intense
gratification from almost evcrylhii-.g in creation. Is it mere external
beauty that is sought for r '\\'hcLe is form or colour so exquisite as in
the almost innumerable objects around us, — the golden tints of the insect,
the inimitable hues of the bird, the exquisite beauty and graceful gentleness
of the Fawn tribe. But is there no beauty that delights the mind besides
that which is perceptible through the eye? Is there nothing that a mind
enlarged and elevated can d^'iight to contemplate besides that of mere
external form ? Are there no beauties of analogy or affinity ? Are there
no mental pleasures in connection with suggestion ? Are there no great
lessons of instructions ? Are there no great general principles which the
mind discovers or learns : Are there not sources of gratification and moral
enjoyment, with which the mere gratification of taste will scarcely bear

20 PROCEEDINGS OP THE SOCIETY.

comparison ? These old bones— this giant tooth, — not only do they suggest
to the comparative anatomist kindred forms, or to the imagination times
long since gone by, when beings fierce and fearful had the rule of our
world ; but they help to establish our belief in the unity of creation, the
oneness of the great all-creating Mind. While to the uninitiated all things
around appear as a confused multitude of unlike and unlinked existences,
to me, there is a glorious law of unity pi'evailing throughout Whilst every-
where there is variety, and nowhere dead and dreary uniformity, yet
ever J' where we learn that creation has bsen formed after one general plan,
the beau ideal of the Divine Mind. The little Water Lizard that sports as
the plaything of childhood, and the massive Ichthyosaurus that preyed
amidst the waters of the old world in bygone ages, were formed after the
same general principles, though probably representatives of diiferent
creations, they are members of the same kingdom, and were modelled by the
same hand. The skull of the great Kangaroo, and the lately discovered
head and jaws of a small Marsupial of the Oolitic creation, were made
after the same tj'pe, so that the unscientific observer can trace the resemblance
and understand that they belong to the same family. But both of these
bear the strongest scientiiic afiinity to the monstrous skull of another
and fossil Marsupial {Dlpratodoii AustruUs), which approaches in size to the
massiveness of the elephant. Ye despised old bones, we delight to stand and
gaze at you, and say with delight and wonder — " Can it be — that this slender
and elegant bone which an infant's handling might be too rough for, and that
giant head the remains of one who might have matched the Mammoth in
strength, and more than matched him in agility, — are members of the same
family and bound together by the closest affinities?" The unity of
creation is a wonderful and glorious fact. Whether we seek for illus-
trations amongst these old bones which carry back our thoughts to ages
long since forgotten in the lapse of time, or draw our examples from
animals that live in our own day, these common types of creation not only
proclaim, the hand that made me is Divine ; but they teach us the unity of
the Godhead— the oneness of that Mind that made and harmonised these
various creations. Allow me, then, with all the enthusiasm of nature's
lover, to urge on you attention to this glorious source of knowledge and
enjoyment.. Next to revelation God demands from us the study of His book
of creation. The instructions of the Divine E,edeemer teach us that His
exalted and holy mind could fully appreciate the beauties of nature, and
the instructions which all things around breathe upon the soul. Begin
anywhere. The wa\ang grass-blade — the fluttering leaf — the modest flower
— the buzzing insect — the chalk quarry — the lightning flash — those twinkling
lights above in the night season, that look down so laughingly and lovingly
upon our world, — they are all waiting for j-our notice. They all invite
your contemplation and study. They will all repay you for your en-

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 21

deavours to understand them. They are portals that open new worlds to
your mind. They will shed pleasant gleamings on the path of life. They
will meet you Uke old friends in your walks of recreation. They have glad-
dened the prisoner's solitary cell. " I have no taste for these pursuits,"
said one who passed through creation -with his eyes shut. You have no
taste simply because you have no knowledge, and -will not seek to possess it.
As "full many a flower is born to blush unseen, and waste its
sweetness on the desert air," so there is many a mind with tastes and
talents equal to the grandest study of natural phenomena, yet they have
never been called into exercise. Pascal was so dull a boy at school,
that his monk-teachers almost gave him up in despair. "Try him," said
one "in Euclid," and thus developed one of the world's greatest mathe-
maticians. O, commence the glorious study of natiu-e's facts and laws.
You know not what delights are in reserve for you. You know not what
attainments you may make. You know not what facts you may discover.
Y'ou know not what great principles you may eliminate or establish.
Though we cannot all hope to obtain a world-wide reputation as astronomers,
or be recognised in society as accomplished comparative anatomists ;
though we may not all be endowed with that wondrous mental power
called genius, that reads as with the eye of inspiration the deep arcana
of nature's unuttered mysteries, — yet if not original thinkers, we may follow
in the track of those pioneers of thought and knowledge. Some men labour
and others enter into their labours. A child may now understand some-
thing of those great principles which Newton's mighty brain elaborated
out. The results of an Owen or Huxley may become our ovm, may fill us
with wonder and pleasure, and may be enjoyed with comparatively little
effort. Thus the founders of science and the disciples of science seem to
stand on common ground, and gaze with commoa enjoyment on the glorious
scenes that open to the mind.

" Oh, Nature ! with delight I gaze on thee !

For to my soul, thou'rt Uke the ladder seen

By Isaac's dreaming son, a path direct

By which the raptured vision can ascend

From earth to heaven, from finite things to Fim

The Infinite, who from the boundless waste

Of nothingness, or from the dark abyss

Of Chaos, called them forth ; since all I see

Through all th' Ulimitable scenes of space,

To me the indelible impression bears

Of power and grace Divine."

FOURTH SUMMER SESSION,— 1868.
First Field Day, Tuesday, June 9th.
The proceedings commenced with a Ramble to Hollow-lane and Green-
street, the members leaving the National Schools at three p.m. The attend-

22 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

ance was but very small, in spite of the earnest appeal of the Secretary.
Among those present were the President, the Secretary, the Rev. H. Rich,
Mr. Ramsay, and J. Parker, Esq. As usual, ample matter for remark was
found ill the many natural objects observed in the lane, and the old dis-
cussion regarding the origin of Hollow-lane, Avhether a watercourse, or a
British road, was renewed. Among the plants noticed were Valeriana
efficinalis, Asjjerula cynanchica, Antliyllis vulneraria, Linum catharticum,
&c. In returning to Castle Hill across the fields, various objects of interest
were noticed.

After the Ramble the members who had joined it, as well as many others
who were imable to share the pleasure, repaired to Castle Hill, at the kind
invitation of J. Edwards, Esq., where they were refreshed with tea and coifee ;
after which the whole company adjourned to the lawn, where an elaborate and
interesting paper " On the Present State of Geological Science in England,"
was read by Mr. Ramsay, a few illustrative remarks being added by the
President. The Members then adjourned to the residence for the transaction
of the special business of the Meeting. The following satisfactory Report
for 1867 — 8, was read by the Secretary, J. Britten, Esq. : —

"The commencement of another year in the annals of our Society brings
with it the customary routine of an Election of Officers, a resutne of our
Proceedings, and a statement of our present position. The pleasant duty
of reporting our progress has again fallen to my lot ; and I trust that
the Members will feel justified in concluding from the following statements,
that the interest taken in the High Wycombe Natural History Society
is not merely a passuig one, but one which will grow and develope with
each succeeding year.

" Although it is gratifying to reflect that our Society is gaining ground,
I should not be doing my duty, did I not remark, in passing, on one
somewhat important drawback to our position among similar Societies. The
scanty attendance at our Summer Rambles is a thing to be regretted, not
only in its immediate, but in its ultimate, results. The purport of these
Summer Rambles is to afford matter for our consideration at our Winter
Meetmgs : and a want of interest in the one must lead to a want of appre-
ciation of the other. Nor is this all. One of the chief aims of a local
Natural History Society is the investigation of the various natural objects
occurring in its district ; and, in proportion to the want of energy in such
investigation, the Society fails in its object. An investigation of dried
flowers, arranged fossils, or stuffed birds, and the listening to occasional
papers, will never make us naturalists ; as I have before remarked. Natural
History is not a thing of books, or of dried and preserved specimens — a
mere hortus siccus or dry museum — no, it is a livitig study — a study having
its " sermons in stones," its " books in the running brooks." Our
Rambles last year were to HoUow Lane, Marlow Road, Downley, Totteridge,
and Green Street : but the attendance on each occasion was exceedingly
small.

" We have, however, every reason to congratulate oui'selves upon the
success of our Evening jNIeetings, of which six have been held, in addition
to the one in the Town Hall. The papers read were iir no way inferior
to those of the last Winter Session ; and the objects exhibited were both
varied and interesting. The following is a list of the papers read : —

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 23

On Local Museums The Rev. W. Biamley-Moore.

♦Additions to the Wycombe Flora, 1867 The Secretary.

*Our Ferns (communicated) ^Ir. UUyett.

*0n the Migration of Birds (two papers) T. Marshall, Esq.

On the Order Leguminosoe The Secretary.

The Stones of our Fields The Rev. W. Bramley-Moore.

*0n the Seeds, or Spores, of Fungi (communicated) . . . .W. G. Smith, Esq.
A Summary of the Birds of Berks and Bucks

(communicated) Alexander Clark-Kennedy, Esq.

On Forget-me-nots The Secretary.

The Folk-lore of Frodsham, Cheshire (communicated) . .Mr. J. F. Robinson.

•Annual Address The President.

British Reptiles The Rev. H. Rich.

Water-lilies (communicated) Robert Holland, Esq.

Besides these, our President has given us two short lectures on Geology,
and one on Molluscs. Our Annual Conversazione in the Town Hall was,
I believe, generally considered a very successful meeting : the attendance
was larger than on previous occasions, and the objects exhibited were
more numerous. The Society tenders its best thanks to those ladies wlio
kmdly supplied tables on that occasion, as well as to those who assisted
in arranging the objects, and to those who lent them.

" The Quaiterly Magazine of the Society still holds its ground ; and the
number of subscribers has so far increased, that it was thought desirable
to terminate Yol. I. with the last number published, and to increase the
number of copies of forthcoming numbers. The papers published have
not, judging from the reviews, been lacking in interest ; five of those in tlie
above list (marked *) have appeared in its pages : and some have been
transferred, wholly, or in part, to other periodicals. When all subscriptions
for Nos. o — 8 have been paid, the receipts will exceed the expenditure by
3s. 8Jd., a result which is satisfactory, both as showing the increased
appreciation manifested of the Magazine, and as justifying the Society iu
continuing its publication.

" The Magazine, however, has not been the only work with which the
Society has been intimatelj' connected during the past season. One of our
members, Alexander Clark-Kennedy, Esq., has produced an interesting
volume on " The Birds of Berks and Bucks," which bears internal
e'S'idence of the assistance rendered to its author by other members of the
Society. Many of those who were unable to furnish facts for insertion,
aided, by their subscriptions, the publication of the work. The paper
" On Local Museums," by the Rev. W. Bramley-Moore, was published in
pamphlet form, and a copy was presented to each subscriber to the
Magazine. I may also mention my own " List of Buckinghamshire Plants,"
which I have largely distributed among botanists in the hope of obtaining
assistance in rendering the work more perfect — a hope which has, to a certain
extent, been realised. I have before stated my intention to publish, if
possible, at some later period, a complete Flora of the county, but much
remains to be done ere such completion can be even approximately
attained, although some of our members, as well as friends residing in
other parts of the county, have kindly rendered me much assistance.

" The project of a Local Museum for Wycombe, which excited much
attention at our earlier Winter Meetings, has been temporarily abandoned :
the one great obstacle to its fulfilment being the difficulty of obtaining a
suitable room for the reception of objects. Indeed, much consideration
would be necessary before we could commence to carry out such a scheme,
lest we should attempt more than we could ultimately accomplish, and our
labour be lost. I must confess that the President's experience, as well as
my own, of country museums as at present existing, is anything but
favourable to their establishment.

24 TROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

" Our Cash Account is still very satisfactory. Our actual receipts, with
the balance from last year, have been £9 6s. lid., and £1 5s. Od. in
addition is still due — while our outgoings amount to £5 14s. 83d. — thus
showing a balance in our favour of £5 7s. 2^d. The number of members
is still steadUy increasing.

" It MiU be of interest to many of our members to learn that our former
Secretary, Mr. Ullyett, has at length succeeded in establishing a Natural
History Society at FollvCstone, which promises to become as flourishing as
our own. Our best wishes for his success will, I am sure, be given.

" Our Fourth Summer Session has now opened upon us — shall we not
make better use of it than we have done of its predecessors ? Shall we, who,
by becoming members of this Society, have pledged ourselves to its
interests, do nothing to advance those interests ? In the great vineyard
of Nature none may stand all the day idle. It is not necessary that we
should go far abroad in our search for objects of study — nor that we should
attempt more than we can accomplish, and then fall back because we
cannot at once master even the alphabet of our science. One family of
plants — one group of insects, or shells, will occupy us fully for this season,
and give us more to do than we can now even expect. We are told by some
who speak in ignorance of our study, that these scientific pursuits lead
to infidelity. Is this so ? We know it is not. Every flower, every tree,
every bu'd, every insect, every created object, helps to swell the great
Benedicite, the mighty Alleluia, which goes up from the whole earth
to its great Creator.

"The more advance we make, the more plainly shall we hear the voice of
Nature, speaking to us, and calUng us onward — leading us from one object
to another — pointing out greater and greater wonders — taking us step by
step, as it were, and at each step urging us higher. Then we shall hear
her inviting us, as in Longfellow's beautiful poem, she invited the great
French naturalist —

" ' Come wander with me,' she said,
' Into regions yet untrod.
And read what is stUl \inread
In the manuscripts of God.'

And he wandered away and away,

With Nature, the dear old nurse,
Who sang to him night and day

The rhymes of the universe.

And whenever the way seemed long.

Or his heart began to fail —
She would sing a more wonderful song,
Or teU a more marvellous tale."

At the conclusion, the Meeting proceeded to the election of the Officers
and Committee for the ensuing year.

T. Marshall, Esq., in a highly complimentary speech, proposed there-
election of the Rev. T. H. Browne as President of the Society, which being
seconded by K. M. Bowstead, Esq., M.D., was carried by acclamation ; and
was briefly acknowledged by Mr. Browne.

John Parker, Esq., then more briefly, but in terms equally flattering,
proposed the re-election of J. Britten, Esq., as Honorary Secretary. The
Rev. J. Power, of Tylers Green, seconded the proposition, which was
heartily adopted, and acknowledged. The Committee, T. Marshall, Esq.,
Dr. Bowstead, and F. Wheeler, Esq., were then, on the proposition of J.
Parker, jun., Esq., and Mr. Butler, unanimously re-elected. A most cordial
vote of thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Edwards for their hearty welcome and en-
tertainment of the Society followed, which was acknowledged by Mr.
Edwards. Thanks to Mr. Ramsay for his able paper were given and
acluiowledged, which concluded the business of the fleeting.

THE SONG THRUSH.— Continued from page U, Vol. II.

31. Turdus musicus. The Song Thrusli.
I -would call attention to the migratory habits of this species, a
fact probably unheard of by many of my readers, but one which
I think will be found to be true. Mr. Briggs and myself have
noticed that thei-e always seems to be a gradual increase of
Thrushes about the beginning of February, which continues until
the breeding season has fairly set in. Professor Newton has
written a short but interesting note on this subject,* in which he
comes to the conclusion, after several years' observations, that the
Song Thrush is a regular migrant. I quote a few of his remarks :
— " Since the Autumn of 1849, my brother Edward and myself
have paid much attention to the presence or absence of the so-
caUed resident species of Turdus. The result of our observations
is such as to leave on our minds no doubt of the regular migra-
tion of the Song Thrush, as far as concerns the particular locality
whence I write (Elveden). Year after year we have noticed that,
as summer draws to a close, the birds of this species (at that
season very abundant) associate more or less in small companies.
As autumn advances, their numbers often undergo a very visible
increase until about the middle of October, when a decided dimi-
nution takes place. Sometimes large, but more generally small,
flocks are seen passing at a considerable height overhead, and
the frequenters of the brakes and turnip fields grow scarcer. By
the end of November, hardly an example ordinarily appears.
***** Towards the end of January, or beginning of
February, their return commences. They appear at first slowly
and singly ; but as spring advances, in considerable abundance
and without interruption, until, in the height of the breeding
season, they by far outnumber their more stay-at-home cousins
the Blackbirds." I had never been witness to the autumnal
gatherings of the Song Thrush till last year, when Mr. Briggs

* Jbis, 1860, p. 83.

26 THE BIRDS OF C'OOKITAir AND THE NEIGHBOUIinOOD.

and myself were astonishod at tlio large number of Thruslies
whicli were congregated in Cliefden woods about the beginning of
October. An occasional Redwing being heard among them, wo
supposed thorn at first to be all of the latter species, and shot
several in the course of a week or two, all of which, however,
were the common Thrush, and it was not until the 8th of October
that we shot our first Eedwing.

32. Turdus iliacus. The Eedwing.

The Eedwing is a winter visitant, arriving very early. The
two last specimens procured by Mr. Briggs for my collection will
fairly illustrate the average time of their arrival and departure.
A male was shot on October 8th, 1867, and another male on the
6 th of March. In very severe weather numerous Eedwings are
frozen out, some dying of starvation and cold, while others
become so weakened as to be run down and caught alive by the
villagers. As a rule, however, they are very shy, feeding in
flocks, and are not easily approached. One of them is generally
stationed as sentinel at the top of a neighbouring tree, whence he
gives notice of the first intruder.

h. Planesticus.

33. Turdus pilaris. The Fieldfare.

The Fieldfare is more numerous in some years than in others.
It generally, too, arrives later than the Eedwing, and, I think,
departs earlier. Like the latter bird it is usually shy and
difficult to shoot, but is often put to great distress by the frost,
and when rendered tame by misfortune, falls an easy prey to the
gun. Mr. Clark-Kennedy docs not mention the local name
" Pigeon-felt," by which I have often heard the villagers call it.

Morula.
34. Morula vulgaris. The Blackbird.
This well-known songster is common all the year round,
although very much shot down by the gardeners in the neigh-
bourhood. The Blackbird has a peculiar ^;^«f7«flH< for mulberries,
on which fruit it feeds voraciously in company with the Starlings,
but there is no bird so often seen on the lawn of an early

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAII AND THE NEIGHBOTJEHOOD. 27

morning, hunting after Tvorms, &c., as the present species, and
the good he does in this way ought to be allowed to counter-
balance the small pilferings of fruit which he commits at certain
seasons of the year. I recorded in the Naturalist a beautiful
piebald variety of the Blackbird which was shot near White
Place by my kind friend Mr. Mills, of Cookham, who gave it to
me. It was preserved for my collection by Mr. Joseph Ford,
and is still in my possession.

35. Merula torquata. The Eing-Ouzel.

In the early part of March, 1867, a very fine male Eing-Ouzel
was shot by a man at Cookham Dean and preserved for him by
Mr. Briggs. This is the only occurrence of this bird in the
neighbourhood that I am personally acquainted with ; but my
friend Mr. Brown, of Cookham Dean, informs me that another
was shot some years ago near Stoke, which is, I believe, at present
in his collection.

Having thus had the pleasure of recording the occurrence of
all the rightly so-caUed " British " Thrushes near Cookham, I
should like to add a word or two concerning the six species,
whereby they may be easily distinguished when procured, for I
have met with some persons who do not kno w how to distinguish
between them. I have therefore drawn up the following short
diagnostic table, after the same manner in which I am working
out more diflB.cult and elaborate groups of birds. These s} noptic
tables will always be found a very satisfactory help in the study
of birds : —

A. Sexes similar.

a. Crown of head olive-brown, flanks yellowish- white.
Larger : outer tail-feathers tipped

with white 1. Turdus viscivorus.

Smaller : outer tail-feathers imi-

form 2. T. musicns.

h. Flanks rufous Z. T. iliacus.

B. Crown of head blue-grey 4. T. 2nlaris.

C. Sexes different, crown of head black.

a. Beneath imiforra black 5. 31erula vulgaris.

b. With a white pectoral crescent-like

band , 6. 31, torquata.

28 THE BIRDS OF COOKUAil AND THE NEIGnBOURHOOD.

All those Thrushes arc very closely allied, and seem to consti-
tute a distinct section of the Paltoarctic species of the genus
Turdus. This idea is also borne out by Dr. Sclater, in his ex-
cellent paper on the " Geographical Distribution of the genus
Turdus."-^ Moreover they exhibit close relations inter se, when
every point of their economy is taken into consideration. To
begin with, their style of nidification is similar. Then again
their osteology somewhat confirms the arrangement proposed,
although I cannot altogether agree with every conclusion arrived
at by Mr. E. L\ Tomes ;f for instance, his separation of Turdus
torquatus so far from T. meruh, and again in the splitting
off of T. musicm into a separate section from T. iliacus, an
arrangement which, after Professor Newton's remarks, he would
doubtless bo williug to modify. We might have expected,
however, that T. viscicorus would be found to present slight
modifications in osteological characters, when compared with
T. iliacus or T. musicus, as its habits present us with certain
differences, added to which its egg, though somewhat allied
to that of the latter bird, also differs. But the affinity between
the two smaller birds will strike every one at first sight, and,
according to Mr. Tomes, their osteology is also very similar. He
has separated T. musicus under another division, solely on account
of its supposed non-migratory habits, a fact which is now pretty
satisfactorily disproved. But in its generally darker style of
plumage, its general habits, and in the colour of the egg, the
Eedwing shows some slight affinity to the Fieldfare, next to
which it is placed by Mr. Tomes ; and again, though in this case
Yo- y much further removed, the Fieldfare shows a slight affinity
to the Blackbird.

The relationship between the two British species of Ifcrula is
again very close in some points of their economy, while in others
they differ considerably.

Sul-fam. Saxicolinje.

Saxicola.

36. Saxicola oeuanthe. The Wheatear.

The Wheatear generally makes its appearance early in
* Ibis, 1801, p. 227. t if^i'^, 1S56, p. 379.

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAU AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 29

April, at which time a few pairs are ohserved on Cockmarsh
Common. I have never succeeded in shooting one myself, but in
the Formosa collection is a fine pair ; and Mr. Briggs has shot
them at the above-mentioned time of year in the neighbourhood.
In Leicestershire I used to find the Wheatear very common, and
a "Utick's " nest was often found in our cricket-field at Lough-
borough Grammar School.

Pratincola.
37. Pratincola rubicola. The Stone-chat.

This bird, which commonly goes by the name of the " Furze-
chat," is not uncommon in its favourite locaUties during the
summer months, and may generally be found on Maidenhead
Thicket. It has, however, never yet fallen under my notice
during the winter, though ]\Ir, Kennedy was fortunate enough
to meet with a pair in January, 18G6.

38. Pratincola rubetra. The Whinchat.

The Whinchat is sparingly found near Cookham during the

summer, and, unlike the Stonechat, which aifects the high ground,

it is generally seen in the fields of standing grass, especially

towards dusk. In such situations I have often shot it. With

the Stonechat, it is often seen sitting on the telegraph wires, or

on the palings by the side of the railway.

Fam. Sylvicolid^.

Suh-fam. MoTAciLLiNiE.

a. Motacilla.

39. Motacilla Yarrellii. The Pied Wagtail.

This bird is met with all the year round near Cookham, and
breeds plentifully. Nor is it particular in the choice of a site for
nest, which is generally placed in the thick ivy climbing round the
walls of the gardens at Formosa. I have seen one in a fig-tree
against the wall, while another pair of birds selected a flower-
basket on the lawn at Formosa, and built their nest in the mould.
The Cuckoo shows great partiality for laying in tlie Wagtail's
nest, the two latter above-mentioned being both visited by one of
these birds. In the nest, in the fig-tree I saw a young Cuckoo
comfortably seated, while a cat dotatroyed the nest in the flower^

30 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGnBOURHOOD,

basket, and killed the old bird. Mr. Briggs remarks the extreme
similarity of the Cuckoo's egg to that of the Wagtail, an assertion
I can myself confirm from personal observation.

In the severe weather at the beginning of the present year Mr.
Briggs was surprised to find a large flock of Wagtails congregated
in the laurels near his cottage door. He estimates their number
at about 200 to 250, and supposes that they were going to roost
there, the cold being too great to allow them to occupy their usual
place — the osier beds in the eyots on the river. In the winter they
roost in flocks in these latter places, and as it gets dusk they may
be seen trooping, singly, or in small parties of five or six towards
their destination If the weather continues severe, the Wagtails
do not remain long, but leave, I think, for the South of England.
At all events very few are to be seen in extreme frosts.

To he continued. R. B. SHARPE.

m mm '§tmMi\m^ Mmm gl»ut^ and ^uimal^.*

IT seems somewhat startling for a beginner in botanical studies
to be told that it is impossible to define with scientific accuracy
the difference between plants and animals. You will, perhaps,
say, "Why, it is the easiest thing in the world. An animal is
alive, and moves about, and breathes, and eats, and sleeps ; but a
plant is fixed to the soil, and does none of these things." It is
quite true that most animals move, breathe, eat, digest, sleep ; —
but I am going to show that plants also do all these, and more,
too, that are the usual attributes of animals. I will, however,
allow that it is quite easy to distinguish between ordhiary plants
and ordinary animals, though perhaps not quite so easy to set
the distinctions down in writing. But plants are not all alike, nor
are animals all alike. There are gradations in the chain of created
beings; and, though all are equally perfect, because the work
of the Great Creator, and are all equally adapted to live in the
situations in which they are placed, all are not equally complex

* Head before the Society at the Pourth Evening Meeting (February 5th,
1867) of the Second Winter Session.

0T<{ SOME KEsk&IBLAlfCES BErWIEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS. 31

in structure ; and we find plenty of forms of life that are so ex-
ceedingly simple, that we cannot possibly say whether they are
plants or animals ; — we can, in fact, trace the chain down through
so many links, that we arrive at last, both in the animal and
vegetable kingdoms, at forms in which all distinctive marks cease,
at least as far as our senses and our knowledge go, and the two
kingdoms seem to merge into one. I say " seem to merge," for I
think that there is a distinct line between animals and vegetables
if our senses could only recognise it.

I am not, however, going to try to tell you the difference
between plants and animals — I have given that up as a hopeless
task long ago ; but I am going to point out some of the resem-
blances between plants and animals, and I think you wiU find it
a very curious subject.

Plants, like animals, are endowed with life — strange, mysterious
life — of a lower type, perhaps, than that of animals ; but on this
point, and indeed on many points connected with life, we are very
ignorant. One thing is certain, that the life of a plant is subject
to very many of the same laws as that of an animal. External
circumstances affect it in the same way. A fish that inhabits the
water dies if brought into the air, and a land animal is drowned
if placed in the water ; so, a water plant, if it does not absolutely
die when planted in dry ground, cannot thrive, and generally
dwindles away, and a land plant cannot bear to be submerged.
Nevertheless, plants are capable of adapting themselves to cir-
cumstances much more than animals can, and therefore I should
suppose that plant-life is of a simpler type than animal-life, and
the laws affecting it less intricate.

I once met with an instance, however, that by no means bears
out what I have just been saying, and I cannot account for it.
A pond containing waterlilies had been drained so nearly dry,
that there was only a little soft mud at the bottom ; but in this
the waterlilies, instead of dying, grew with such luxuriance,
sending up such forests of dark green leaves, and such profusion
of lovely flowers, that I have never seen the like before or since.
Why these waterlilies should have grown better out of their

32 ON SOME KESEMBLANCES BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS.

natural element, I cannot say ; but, as a rule, plants, like animals,
live best in those situations in which nature usually places them.

Another curious point of resemblance between plant and animal
life, is that they are said to be affected in the same way by many
poisonous substances. If poison is present in the soil or the air
in small proportion only, plants become sickly, and we see the
effects of the poison in the stunted appearance, the decaying ends
of the branches, and the premature fall of leaves. But if poison
exists in large quantity, the plants are entirely killed, just as
animals would be ; and the strangest thing is that poisons act in
both in the same way ; thus an irritant poison given to an animal
would act by destrojdng the tissues of the body, and it would act
in a similar way in a plant ; but a narcotic poison, which is
supposed to act on the nerves, would take away animal life
without destroying any of the tissues, and the same would happen
with a plant, — life would be destroyed, but the substance of the
plant would remain unchanged. No trace of nerves have ever
been discovered in plants, as far as I know, but from the effects
which narcotic poisons exercise, it certainly would be logical to
infer that plants do possess some internal arrangement that is
analogous to nerves in an animal. I have heard it said that
chloroform will send a plant to sleep, and that a sensitive plant
subjected to its influence will droop its leaves ; but I have not
tried the experiment.

Plants resemble animals in growing hij the accumulation of matter
deposited from food. It therefore follows, as a matter of course,
that plants, like animals, require to eat — though it sounds very
strange to put it in that way. We are, however, familiar with the
expression "food of plants," which, meaning just the same, does
not sound strange at all. A plant must have a due supply of food,
and that of the proper kind, else it cannot grow. It is quite
possible to feed plants, like animals, into different bodily con-
ditions, by giving them different kinds of food. One kind of food
will make an animal fat, another thin ; stimulating food will
induce a bloated state. It is just the same with plants. One
kind of manure will cause an exuberant growth of leaves, another

OK SOME RESEMBLANCES BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS. 33

will induce the production of seed, a third the increase of different
secretions. But I must now describe to you the way in which
plants obtain their supplies of food. It is chiefly by means of
their roots, which, though very varied in form in different plants,
all agree iu one particular, nameh', that the very extremities of
their fibres are looser in texture, often rather swollen and porous ;
and these porous ends of the roots, called by botanists
" spongioles," suck up water from the soil, and whatever may
be dissolved in the water. This fluid passes up through the
substance of the plant into the Jeaves, where it meets with air (I
shall have to tell you, directly, how this air gets into the loaves)
and becomes changed in its nature just as the food of an animal
becomes digested. The altered sap is then capable of depositing
new matter in the plant ; so that besides consuming food, plants
resemble animals in digesting it .

There is u very beautiful way in which Nature provides for
young plants when they first germinate. Most seeds contain a
lai-ge quantity of starch. This is not soluble in water, but by
the action of heat and moisture it becomes converted into sugar,
which is soluble, and the young plant feeds upon this store of
sugar, till its roots are able to draw food from the soil. Very
often, just about the time that the store of food iu the seed is used
up, and the young plant has to begin to forage for itself, it looks
yellow and sickly, and our old Cheshire farmers say very expres-
sively that it is "being weaned and is pining for its mother."
It is rather remarkable they should speak of it as they would of
an animal ; but it is more remarkable still that, in this case,
rural Natural History is founded on a strictly scientific fact and
not on superstition.

One of the most important of the natural actions performed by
animals is that of respiration. Having heard that plants live,
grow-, eat, and digest hke animals, you will not be much surprised
to hear that they also breathe. It is true there is none of that
regular contraction and expansion of lungs that accompanies the
breathing of animals, but every plant that grows requires as
constant a sujiply of the gases that it breathes as an animal does,

34 ON SOME EESEMBLANCES BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS,

and it has an ai'>paratus specially formed to enable it to obtain
air ; and if tlirougli the clogging up of its breathing apparatus it
cannot obtain a due supply, it becomes literally suffocated like an
animal.

The part of a plant which corresponds to an animal's lungs are
its leaves. If you examine a leaf, you will first of all see that it
is spread out very flat and thin ; — that is in order that a very large
amount of surface may be exposed to the air. You will find that
the surface of the leaf is covered with a delicate skin, easily
separated in some plants, not so easily in others. If you look at
this skin through a microscope you will see that it is studded
with immense numbers of small green openings. A more careful
examination would show that these "stomata," as they are called,
are capable of opening and closing to admit the entrance and exit
of air and various gases. It is through these openings that air is
admitted into the substance of the leaves, where it acts upon the
sap that I have already told j'ou found its way to the leaves, and
works those changes upon it that can only be compared to the
changes that take place in the blood of animals when it comes in
contact with air in the lungs.

The whole subject of the respiration of plants, and its relation
to that of animals, is too long to enter upon now, and it is also
unnecessary for the purpose of this paper; but it is a subject of
peculiar interest, and brings before us some of the most wonderful
facts in botany with which we are acquainted.

Powers of motion and locomotion are by no means confined to
the animal kingdom. Indeed there are many animals that are
as firmly fixed to the places where they grow as plants are, and
cannot change their position at all, and whose only possible
powers of motion are oj)ening and shutting their mouths to receive
the food that is washed past them, and almost forced upon them.
Many plants are capable of as much motive power as this, and
somo of far more, and I will now give a few instances of raove-
imnts in plants that are interesting.

There are several plants that move M'hen touched, as the
Sensitive Plant, and parts of the flower of some Orchises, and tlieee

ON SOME EESEMBLANCES BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS. 35

would seem to be endowed with feeling as well. What the nature
of their feeling is, we cannot possibly say ; but in its visible
effects it exactly resembles an animal attribute. It is probably
not sensation, like the feeling of an aiiimal, but depends on some
mechanical action.

But there are many other plants, or parts of plants, that move
quite spontaneously. The stamens of all kinds of Saxifrages move.
If you examine a newly-expanded flower, you will see that there are
ten stamens lying back upon or between the petals of the flower,
and that each stamen rises up in order and standing erect over the
short pistil, sheds its poUen, and then, having delivered its fire
as it were, falls back into the rear rank. You perhaps cannot see
it moving any more than you can see the hour hand of a watch
moving ; but if you examine the flower at intervals, you will soon
see that the stamens have moved. There is a plant called Love-
in-a-Mist, or Devil-in-a-Bush, or Fennel Flower — its Latin name
is Nigella — in which it is not tlie stamens that thus move, but the
long pistils, each one bending down in order and touching a
stamen, that it may be impregnated.

Then again the opening and closing of flowers is an instance of
motion in plants. In the Crocus you may actually see the move-
ment of the petals — the flower being so extremely sensitive to
light. I have several times gathered a closed Crocus flower at
night and brought it close to a bright light, and been much
pleased to see the petals unfolding, and in a very short time fully
expanded.

A very curious example of motion is seen in all climbing plants.
The last two or three joints of the stem, indeed aU that is above
any attachment, is constantly revolving, in order that it may find
and seize hold of whatever may be presented to it. Here, again,
the motion may be too slow to be seen by the eye ; but if a piece
of glass be suspended horizontally over the top shoot of such
a plant and the position of the tip of the shoot marked with
a dot of ink at intervals of say an hour, the motion will become
very apparent, and many plants are thus found to revolve several
times during a day.

Sfi ON SOME KESEMIirANCKS HETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS.

One of the most extraordinary instances of spontaneous move-
ment in a plant is seen in the leaves of Bcsmodiuni (jijrans, a
leguminous plant. Tho leaves have three leaflets, and the two
side leaflets are always gently moving up and down, quite
irrespective of any currents of air.

And now I will just give you a veritable instance or two of
locomotion in plants— the power of moving from place to place.

The first is seen in the beautiful Orchises that give our
meadows such a charming appearance in the early summer.
The bulbs of these plants differ somewhat from many bulbs,
inasmuch as they die away every year, the flower spike feeding
on the starch of the bulb ; but while the Orchis is growing a new
bulb is being formed, at one side of the old one, and thus the plant
comes up each year perhaps half an inch from the place where it
came up last year, and so, in the course of time, Orchises change
their position considerably.

But this, I must own, is somewhat different from locomotion in
animals, and is only similar in its effects. There are, however,
certain parts of low plants that really do move about from place
to place. Connected with the organs of fructification of many low
•water plants, there are exceedingly minute bodies, called
" zoospores," only visible with the microscope. These bodies
have delicate hairs attached to them, which move freely about
and propel the zoospore through the water for some time after it
is detached from the parent plant.

Plants resemble animals in resting at stated periods. The
closing of leaves and flowers at night is called the sleep of plants ;
but I should be inclined to look iipon it rather as a means of
protection to delicate organs, than as a time of rest for the plant.
But hylernation, the quiescence of trees during winter — though
depending, partly at any rate, on external circumstances — really
acts like sleep to an animal, and enables the plant to start with
fresh vigour, when the genial spring sunshine calls it to life,
and sends the sap up again to the old branches.

There are very many curious facts with regard to tlie sleep of
plants, the periodicity of their opening, and the curious ways they

ox SOME EESEMBLANCnS BETWEEN PIANT3 ANB ANIMALS. 37

are folded for protection ; and the subject is one that will be found
very interesting to study and upon -which to note down observa-
tions.

Then again, plants bear a very close resemblance to animals
when the period of their life is ended. The causes of death are
pretty much the same — wearing out of the different organs — some
dying of disease ; others of sheer old age ; and when they have
" shuffled off this mortal coil " they " return again to their dust."
The earth receives them back again, and their remains help to
make it richer for future generations.

I have told you now that plants, as well as animals, live, grow,
eat, digest, breathe, move, sleep, and die. But besides these
physiological attributes, as I may perhaps call them, it is strange
to find at every turn that plants actually mimic animals in their
habits of life.

We have unsociable animals that lead a solitary life, and others
that are companionable, and live together in communities. So
we meet with plants that grow singly, and others that are always
found in patches ; — solitary and gregarious animals, solitary and
gregarious plants. Of course this is only a superficial resemblance
and caused in the plants by external circumstances. For instance,
if the seeds of a plant are heavy, and when ripe simply fall around
the foot of the parent plant, they will come up the next year in a
patch where the old plant stood ; but if the seeds are light enough
to be blown by the wind, they will be scattered here and there at
a good distance from the parent, and wiU spring up, not in patches,
but singly. Or if a plant makes offsets it will gradually form a
patch, but a plant that never throws out offsets can never do so.

Then, again, there are animals that are parasitic upon others,
and that cannot maintain a separate existence. And there are
parasitic plants that grow upon others, and that could not grow
at aU if planted in the soil. These parasitic plants, though not a
very large class, are exceedingly interesting. They become
attached by means of sucker-like roots to other plants, and being
quite detached from the soil — or rather, obtaining no nourishment
from the soil — draw all their supphes from the sap of their foster

38 ON SOME EESEMBLANOES BETWEEN PLANTS AMD ANIMALS.

parents. Of course the injury they do is in some cases very serious,
as they generally destroy the plants that have sustained them.
The mystic Mistletoe (whose branches are in such demand for
Christmas decorations, that we in the north, where the plant is
very rare indeed, import train loads from Herefordshire and
"Worcestershire, where it is plentiful in every orchard) is the most
familiar example of a parasitic plant. Probably all whom I am
addressing will also know the Dodder — that causes such mischief
amongst clover and fields of flax — and perhaps the Broom-rape
also, a sickly-looking, leafless plant that preys upon the roots of
clover.

A third class of plants that resemble animals in their habits are
the scavengers. The greater part of the funguses act in this
capacity, growing wherever decaying vegetable matter is present,
and converting it into "humus" or soil, preventing unwholesome
and unpleasant exhalations which would otherwise be given off
from this decaying matter. They quite take the place in the
vegetable kingdom of many animals, whose sole business in life is
to clear away decaying and putrescent animal matter. I will
now finish my illustrations with a few examples of plants that
bear a very strange resemblance to certain animals. The animals
I mean are those which we call carnivorous, because they live
exclusively, or nearly so, on the flesh of others. And we actually
find carnivorous plants — plants which, though they do not ex-
clusively live on flesh, stiU seem to require a certain amount of
animal food, and in order to obtain it, have very curious contri-
vances furnished them by Nature.

Of this strange carnivorous class is the Sundew, that grows on
every peat bog ; one of the prettiest of our wild plants, sending
up a spike of delicate white flowers from a rosette of pink leaves,
every one of which sj)arkles with tiny diamonds. The diamonds
are the bait that it sets to catch unwary insects. They are little
drops of a very sticky fluid that exudes from pink hairs upon the
leaves, and that seems to be very attractive to flies, which alight
on the leaves and are held prisoners in the gummy liquid and
remain there till they die and decay.

ON SOME EESEMBLANCES BETWEEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS. 39

A very ciirious fly-catcliing apparatus is seen in a plant called
Venus's Fly-trap, a native of America, but seen now and then in
our hothouses. Here the leaf is converted into something very
like an iron rat-trap. It is bordered with sharp spines and in
the centre are six hairs that secrete a sweet, tempting fluid. These
hairs are sensitive, and the moment a fly alights upon them to
sip the sugary bait, the leaf folds together suddenly, and remains
closed until the fly is decayed.

In both these instances it is probable that the gases arising
from the decaying flies are absorbed by the leaves, and help to
nourish the plants ; at any rate it is diflB.cult to believe that such
elaborate arrangements would be given to the plants for the
evident purpose of catching insects, unless the insects were to
benefit the plants in some way. Experiments might easily be
made, and the results would be interesting and valuable, to
whatever conclusions they might point.

This paper has grown during the writing to a somewhat greater
length than I at first intended ; but I have still not by any
means exhausted the subject. In fact I have only thrown out a
few hints and suggestions, which I hope may have been sufficiently
interesting to induce further study; and I may be, perhaps,
allowed to say, in conclusion, that there is still plenty of scope for
discovery — that our knowledge of any branch of Natural History
is not yet, nor ever will be, so perfect, that we can learn nothing
more ; but that every original observation is a step towards truth ;
that field naturalists, of all others, have the best opportunities
of making observations ; and that the veriest beginner, if he tries,
may record something that shall interest, not only himself, but
shall help the cause of science. Robert Holland.

Local Names. — It is desired to collect as many as possible of
the local names of British plants ; and the assistance is requested of
all who take an interest in the subject, or who may have the oppor-
tunity of ascertaining and recording them. Any lists sent to James
Britten, High Wjcombe, or to Eobeut Holland, Mobberley,
Knutsford, will be thankfully received and acknowledged.

IV.— THE SKIPPERS {neqjcrida).

THE Skippers occupy a kind of debateable land between tlie
butterflies and moths, considerable uncertainty having in
years gone by existed about their proper place in a system of
classification. Although this place is now settled beyond all doubt
as among the butterflies, yet many a tyro mistakes them for
moths ; this is owing to their having very thick bodies in com-
pai'ison with other of the Ehopalocora and to the large size of the
head. The antennae, however, present the distinguishing mark,
viz., clubbed tips ; the only moths with which the beginner would
be most likely to confound them being the Burnets, whose antennse
are likewise clubbed. But it will be noticed that the latter are
clubbed immediately lefore the tips, whereas the Skippers have
the end clubbed, with two exceptions, which will be noticed
presently. The family derives its English name from the peculiarly
short and jerky method of flying, which will have been noticed by
all observant readers. They delight in the sunshine, and are to be
found in almost every flowery spot, whether on the hillside, in the
meadow, or the woods. As soon as the cheering May sunbeams
enliven these places, we see \iii\Q Alveolus and its dingy cousin Tages
winging their flight over the early blossoms. There are seven
species o f Sespcridce. found in England ; of these two are very
local, the other five are all to be taken within a mile of the parish
church.

The Chequered Skipper (Thymele Alveolus j. — This is the
smallest of the family, and, as before noticed, one of the earliest to
appear. It is of a very dark ground colour, chequered over with
small white spots. The wings are bordered with a black and
white fringe. The most favoured locality I know for it is at the
foot of the northern slope of Keep Hill. The caterpillar feeds on
raspberry and kindred plants.

The Dingy Skipper fTkanaos Tages j. — A very sombre uninvit-
ing butterfly, found in company generally with the last-mouLiouud

"WTCOMBE BUTTEEFLIES. 41

species. It is of a smoky ground colour, shaded with darker
marks. Its -wings are always outspread when at rest, which is
not usually the case with butterflies. The larva feeds on Bird's
Foot Trefoil.

The SMAI.L Skipper fPamphila lAneaJ. — Colour fulvous, shot
with brown, with a thin dark border round the hind edges of the
wings. The male has a short thin black streak across the middle
of each front wing. It is not so common in this neighbourhood
as some of the others, and is not very easily caught sight of, as it
passes from one flower to another with a short tremulous flight.

The Lahqe Skipper (Famphila sylvanusj. — Considerably larger
than the former, of a rich brown colour, shaded with fulvous
blotches and spots. The male has the same distinguishing
characters as that of Linea. The caterpillars of both species feed
on grasses. I had the pleasure this summer of seeing the female
deposit her eggs on some grass on the Warren, at Folkestone :
she flew about from one stem to another, till she found one suited
to her requirements; up and down this she appeared to glide
without any motion of the wings, probably moving quickly with
her feet. After she was gone I opened the closely-folded leaf
round the stem and found inside about thirty small white eggs
laid in a line. It is this species and the following which have
hooked tips to the antennae.

The Silver Spotted Skipper fPamphila Comma). — This
species presents on the upper surface considerable resemblance to
the last mentioned, but the brown is much lighter in hue. The
under surface is greenish, chequered with numerous square white
spots, which show more or less distinctly through the upper
surface. The male has the same mark as Sylvanus. Though
tolerably plentiful where it does occur. Comma is decidedly local
and is a butterfly for which a good exchange can generally be
made. It is found in August all over the higher parts of Keep
Hill.

The two species we do not find here are Steropea Paniscus, and
Famphila Actceon.

Hy. Ullyett.

(Dn tftc i\\t\m (^x\Mw of i\u W^^vtt g^uimab.

[The Editor is not prepared to endorse eve?-!/ sentiment contained in the
following paper].

AS several members of the Society have evinced an interest in
the above subject, I venture to offer a few remarks upon it
to the readers of the Magazine.

It appears to be taken for granted by the majority of persons
that animals are to have no existence in a future state. Let us
consider whether the popular prejudice is supported by the
few passages in Holy Writ which bear upon the subject. It
will probably be denied by none that the lower animals do not at
present enjoy the happy lives which they enjoyed in Eden before
the fall of man, and which, but for that sad event, they would
stiU enjoy. The question, therefore, is, WiU they ever be restored
to that state of happiness ? "When God " renews the face of the
earth," and " the new heavens and the new earth " are formed,
wiJl the lower animals take part in its bliss ?

Before we proceed to examine how this question is answered
by Scripture, let us consider what was their state in Eden ?
or, in other words, how have they suffered as a consequence of
the Fall ? It is evident that they did not prey one upon another,
as in that case perfect peace and contentment could not have
reigned ; neither were they preyed upon by man, as it is not tiU
after the Deluge that we read (Gen. ix. 3), that God gave Noah
and his family permission to eat flesh, " even as the green herb,"
which had before sufficed as food for all living creatures (see
Gen. i. 30). No doubt they had also a higher mental calibre
than now. They seem to have been intended to yield a ready and
willing obedience to man, just as man himseK was to yield a ready
and willing obedience to God. We read that before the creation
of Eve, when Adam was the only human being in existence, he
gave names to all cattle (Gen. ii. 20). Of what use was that
unless they were aU to answer to their names ? And the same
sentence continues, " but for Adam there was not found an help

OIT THE FUTTTEB EXISTENCE OF THE LOYTER AlOMAIiS. 43

meet for him." I think we must infer from this that animals
were of higher intelligence and much better able to converse with
man than they are now'; for the passage appears to imply that
although Adam gave them all names, and made companions of
them as much as possible, yet it became evident that he needed
a still more equal companion, and therefore Eve was created.
The fact that Eve was not startled when addressed by the serpent
seems also to shew that animals were originally able to converse
with mankind.

We will now proceed to consider the question — Shall the
animals ever be restored to their original state of bhss, and be
recompensed for the many sufferings and hardships which they
now endure? S. Paul, in the 8th chapter of Eomans teUs us
that "the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but
by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in hopeV " The
creature" cannot here refer to the human race, for in the
following verses he goes on to say "The whole creation" (or
"every creature ") groaneth and travaileth together until now,
and not only they, hut ourselves also," whence it foUows that " the
creature itself," which, as he proceeds to say, " shall be delivered
from the bondage of corruption," does not refer to the human
race. Again, there is a remarkably clear reference to the subject
in the 104th Psalm, where the Psalmist, after referring to various
species of animals, says (in the 30th verse), " When Thou takest
away their breath, they die, and are turned again to their dust;"
and in ihe following verse, " When Thou lettest Thy breath to go
forth they shall be made, and Thou shalt renew the face of the
earth." Here the future renovation of the earth is spoken of in
close connection with the resurrection of the lower animals.

In the description of the state of things during the millennium,
given in Isaiah xi., we read of various sorts of animals dwelUng
together in peace and harmony. By many the passage is con-
sidered to have only a figurative meaning ; but is it not safer to
interpret no Scripture in a figurative sense which is capable of
being understood in a literal one ? Others, whde admitting that
the lions, oxen, bears, etc., refer to animals, do not deem it

44 ON THE FUTTJRE EXISTENCE OF THE LO"WER ANIMALS.

necessary to believe that they will be individually such as have
lived on earth before. This, however, seems to be the case from
the expression in the sixth verse, " A little child shall lead them."
There is no question that the little children will be those which
have lived on earth before, or which shall be living at the time of
the commencement of the millennium, and it seems only reason-
able to suppose that the animals mentioned will also be the same.
The argument, however, which is most generally resorted to
for the sake of proving that animals are to have no future existence
is that in Psalm xlix. They are expressly called " the beasts that
perish ;" but if we carefully examine the whole Psalm, I think we
shall find that it has no refex'ence whatever to the subject. I may
premise that it is the only passage in Scripture where it is contended
that the word "perish" signifies to be annihilated. Wherever
else it occurs it means to come by a violent death : as, " I shall
one day perish by the hand of Saul ;" " Lord, save me, I perish.^'
Now, what beasts are they that usually perish or come to a violent
end? Surely cattle that are slaughtered for human food; and
these, I think, we shall find are meant by the "beasts that
perish," mentioned in the Psalm. The object of the Psalm is to
keep us from envying or being depressed at the prosperity of the
wicked in this life ; and if understood as I venture to propose, it is
most admirably calculated to effect its purpose. The first eleven
verses describe the pride and seeming security of wicked rich men ;
but in the twelth verse we are told that notwithstanding this
outward and apparent prosperity, the state of such persons, far
from being an enviable one, is comparable to that of the "beasts
that perish." In what way this comparison is fitting we read in
the 14th verse, " They lie in the hell like sheep, death
gnaweth upon them, and the righteous shall have dominion over
them in the morning." It is only necessary to understand what is
meant by "in the hell " in order to grasp the meaning of this
verse. The "hell "is a stall partitioned off from a slanghter-
house, in which are placed the live cattle waiting their turns to be
slaughtered. Thus understood, how well adapted is the simile to
keep ua from being envious of the prosperity of the wicked.

ON THE FUTTTEB EXISTENCE OF THE LOWER ANIMALS. 45

Could we but bring ourselves to look, not on the external circum-
stances of sucb persons, but on their spiritual situation, — could we
but " understand the end of these men," — we should see that they
are in as imminent danger of eternal death as cattle in the ' heU '
of a slaughter-house are of a speedy temporal death.

It may be objected that by allowing a future life to animals,
we bring them into too close a relation with ourselves. The same
objection is sometimes urged against allowing them reason ;
although, if we set aside that ambiguous term, and substitute the
plain word understanding, who can deny that they possess that ?
We might as well deny them sight or hearing. Reason cannot
be the barrier which separates human beings from brutes. The
real distinction seems to be that man alone is capable of knowing
and loving God. That a man, by not acknowledging his Creator,
rejects the sole charisteristic of humanity, and degrades himself
to the level of a beast, seems to be implied in Ecclesiastes iii. 18, 19,
where it is said that men " might clear God, and see that they
themselves are beasts." That the immortaUty of man does not
constitute the distinction is clearly stated in the 19th verse,
where we read " all have one breath ; as the one dieth, so dieth
the other ; so that a man hath [in that point] no pre-eminence over
a beast."

A belief in the future existence of animals enables us to dispel
a plausible objection to the justice of God, viz., that He has
subjected so many creatures that never have sinned to a life of
misery, such as is the lot of many of our ill-treated domestic
animals, especially beasts of burden. If they are to have ample
compensation, — if they are to be, as S. Paul says, delivered (and
annihilation is not deliverance) from the bondage of corruption, —
this objection vanishes. It should also increase our confidence in
God, to feel that He so cares for even the beasts. If the Lord will
save, as the inspired writer says he wUl, " both man and beast,"
surely the sons of men may put their trust under the shadow of
His wings !

W. K. Tate.

^ooli.^ %m'mL

2he Birds of Berlishlre and Bucldjigltamshire. By Alexander W. M,
Clark Kennedy.

This work, written, as the preface informs tts, by an Eton boy of sixteen,
is one of considerable interest, not only because of the youth of the author,
nor because it notes the occurrence of 225 diffi.^rent species of birds in the two
counties, but on account of the pains taken b y the author to collect and pre-
sent every particular which is necessary to impart value to a work on Natural
History, To our own readers this book will be more especially interesting,
as the production of a member of our So('iety, and the first vs'ork of any
magnitude with which the Society has been, intimately connected. Of the
real assistance afforded to the author by other members, a glance at a few
pages will afford sufficient evidence.

The great essentials in a book on any branch of Natural History are exact-
ness and accuracy ; and these conditions are, we believe, strictly fulfilled.
The names of those gentlemen who have contributed to the materials of the
work alone afford a sure guarantee of the authenticity of the occurrences
recorded ; whilst the division of the subjects into the various headings of
Residents, Summer and Winter Visitors, Spring and Autumn, and Rare and
Accidental Visitors, makes it more readable and popular, and, in our opinion,
adds to its practical value. We think, however, that it is scarcely necessary
to chronicle the occurrence of individual specimens of such bii-ds as the Red-
legged Partridge, because this species is met with every year by most sports-
men throughout the two counties, and is not \mcommon. There are also
defects in style which may be remedied in a future edition, which, we trust,
may soon be required. These, however, are minor matters.

Great credit is dae to so young an author for the care and diligence he has
exercised in the completion of his book, which is a real and material addi-
tion to the Natural History of the two counties. The paper and print are
unexceptionable ; and we think our Society may be proud of its connection
with so creditable a work.

Science Gossip, Vol. for 1867. London : R. Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly.

We have before had occasion to speak of Science Gossip as a model of
what a magazine devoted to popular Natural History should be ; and we
gladly avail ourselves of tliis oiJportunity to endorse our opinion. The

BOOKS EECKIVEJJ. 47

Tolume before us evinces, by the niunber of its contributors, the general
appreciation manif lested of its contents ; the correspondence pages are a com-
plete "Notes and Queries" for natiiralists ; and the longer articles are of
permanent value. It is difficult to select any one for especial commendation ;
but we may direcjt notice to one on " The Disguises of Insects," by A. R.
"Wallace, the int€;rest of wliich is enhanced by the beautiful woodcuts with
which it is Ulustrated. Among the contributors to the present volume may
be named Profesnor Huxley, Mr. J. K. Lord, Mr. Charles Darwin, and the
editor, Mr. Jil. C. Cooke ; while our members will read -with especial interest
the articles by Me ssrs. Robert Holland, Henry Ullyett, R. B. Sharpe, and others,
to whose kind assistance our own pages are indebted for many contributions.
We have also received the numbers issued during the present year, but a
more detailed notice of these is reserved.

The Naturalists' Circular. London : Henry HaU, 56, Old Bailey.

This little magazine seems to meet with deserved favour among naturalists.
The numbers before us contain short articles of practical interest, -wdth
occasional illustrations. The paper on " "Waterlilies," by Mr. Holland,
which was read at our last Annual Conversazione will be found in the
numbers for August and September.

The Naturalists' Note-hook. London : Reeves and Turner, 196, Strand.

The plan on which this little work is conducted differs somewhat from
those above noticed. Its contents consist chieily of articles selected from
various magazines and current works on Natural History ; original papers
are also included. Considerable space is devoted to Correspondence ; and
we cannot but think that the selection under this head might be more
judiciously made. Such communications as the one headed "Beautiful
Buttei-fly," in the August number, scarcely merit the space they occupy.
Perhaps this objection might be removed by devoting a single column
to editorial "Answers to Correspondents," in which case one line would hate
taken the place of the somewhat lengthy query above referred to, and its
answer in the present number. The general get-up is, however, excellent;
the type especially being remarkably clear and good.

Our member, Mr. R. B. Sharpe, has forwarded a prospectus of his forth-
eomino- -work, " A Monograph of the Alcedinidce, or Kingfishers." It will
"be published in quarterly parts, imperial 8vo., and each part, price 10s. 6d.,
•will contain eight coloured lithographs. Any information relative to the
habits of any species of Kingfisher will be gladly received by Mr. Sharpe, at
11, Hanover Square, London, "W.

a^ovmptftiAma.

Otter at Cooiham. — On Monday,
the 10th of August, a female Otter,
three feet in length, and weighing
15pbs., was shot on an islet in the
Thames, near White Place, by Mr.
Joseph Ford, Jun.; his dogs at the
same time destroyed her four young
ones. — South Suchs Free Press. A
specimen of the Cross-bill {Lnxia
curvirostra) has lately been shot in
the same neighbourhood.

The Clouded Yellow. — A speci-
men of this was taken last month at
Addington, near Winslow, by Mr.
John Mathison. He writes : — " I
captured a specimen of the Clouded
Yellow Butterfly {Colias Edusa), a
few days ago ; it is a male. Some
years ago I captured a female of this
species ; these are the only specimens
I have ever seen in this part of the
coimtry."

The Gull. — A young specimen of
the Common Gull {Larus canns) was
captured between Booker and West
Wycombe, during last July. It sur-
Tived only two days.

Flora op Bucks. — A second " List
of Buckinghamshire Plants," in-
cluding the additions which have
been made to the known Flora of the
County during the past year, wUl, it
is hoped, shortly be published. It
is therefore requested that any one
who has any information on the sub-
ject in his possession ^vill forward
the same to James Britten, High
Wycombe, at his earliest conve-
nience.

The Folkestone Natural History
Society announces the publication,
at an early date, of the first num-
ber of a Quarterly Magazine of
Natural History. When we state

that it will be edited by our former
Secretary, Mr. UUyett, we are sure
that our readers will cordially wish
it success.

Abnormal Development of
Teeth in a Rat. — A short time ago
I saw in the window of a taxidermist
in Birmingham, a rat which had
been stuffed and labelled — "This
curious specimen was caught at
Harbome, March, 1865." It was
indeed a curious specimen ; for the
greater part of the lower jaw had
been destroyed, probably by a spring
trap. The two upper incisors had
grown enormously long, and de-
scribed a curve ; the one on the left
side formed a ring of bone, and the
one on the right side had curved and
pierced the palate, projectmg partly
through the nose half-an-inch above
the tip The poor anjjnal must have
suffered much pain and inconvenience
from the abnormal growth, but was
in good condition. Some time ago
I had the pleasure of showing at our
Natural History Conversazione a
similar occurrence in a rabbit, which
had been presented to our Secretary.
I had not an opportunity of seeing
the lower jaw, but I have no doubt
it was destroyed in a similar manner.
R. M. Bowstead, M.D.

The Great Bustard ( Otis
tarda). — Mr. Clark Kennedy gives
1802 as the last date at which
a specimen of this bird was seen
in Berks or Bucks. Mr. W. H.
Rowland, of Hungerford, vnote as
follows in the Times of January 31,
1856. — " A specimen of the Great
Bustard {Otis tarda, L.), a male,
and a very fine one, was t&ken
January 3, 1856, in the neighbour-
hood of Hungerford, just on the
borders of Wilts and JBerks."

Continued from page 30, Vol. II.

Fam. Sylvicolu)^. Suh-fam. Motacillin/e.

h. Calolates.
40. Motacilla sulphurea. Tlie Grey Wagtail.
Although, generically separated by recent authors under the
name Calolates, I cannot find any real difference of structure
. between this form and true Motacilla, and I can only suppose the
genus to have been founded on a difference in the style of plumage.
This sort of genus ■ is greatly in vogue now-a-days, especially
among the German and American systematists, and, although I
allow that there are many very distinct genera un-recognised by
such weU-known ornithologists as YarreU, Morris, &c., I cannot
but admit that such multipUcations of genera as the extensive
systematists allow, are unesseuiial to the advancement of science,
and tend greatly to perplex the student.

Such are the considerations that induce me to dissent from the
recognition of Calobaies by Mr. Gould, in the lately published
part of the ' Birds of Great Britain.' I perceive only a slight
difference in the beaks of Motacilla Yarrelli and M. sulphurea,
T hat of the latter is a httlo thinner and more elongated, but aa
the relations of the primaries to each other in. both species are
the same, and the habits of each bird so similai", I cannot allow
the more slender beak and legs of M. sid^hwea to be more than
a specific character.

The Grey Wagtail is rarely observed in its summer dress in

this country, though I believe it breeds in the north of England.

At all events, I saw eggs said to be of this species in more than

one collection near Peterborough. Mr. Harting says in his

'Birds of Middlesex' (p. 64) :—" Although I have found the

^ Grey Wagtail breeding in Northumberland in May, yet in the

B south it appears to be only a winter visitant." I subjoin a very

B- interesting uoto by Mr. Gould, and as it relates to the breeding

50 THE BIKDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOtTRHOOD.

of the present bird in Buckinghamshire, it will doubtless interest
many of my readers.*

The present species makes its appearance at Cookham about
the middle of September, and is by no means rare during some
winters. The first Mr. Briggs noticed this year (1868) was on
the 10th of September, but it is not until the end of the month
that any number of them are to be seen. The Grey Wagtail is
one of my favourite birds, and I always take great delight in
observing it in its native state. I have often watched two
or three together running swiftly along the sheeting of Miss
Fleming's weir at Cookham, catching flies and picking up little
insects from the green weed accumulated on the piles. Their
motions are full of grace, and it is impossible to imagine a more
elegant and modest little bird. The bright yellow on the lower
parts of the back and abdomen is gently relieved by the soft
grey of the back, while the tivo exterior tail-feathers, which are
pure white, are always very conspicuous, as the bird un-
dulates its tail upwards and downwards. The note of the Grey
Wagtail is always more sweet and sti*iking than that of its con-
geners, and when flying, the " dips " through the air are
more marked than in the flight of the Pied Wagtail, Its form
is also more slender, and its head, when seen in a recently killed
bird or a skin, appears very small and out of proportion.

I have now lying before me specimens of the present species
in summer and winter dress, those in the former state of plumage

* " During a trout excursion in June last," writes Mr. Gould, " to
Chenies, in Buckinghamshire, Mr. John Dodd called my attention to a
species of Wagtail which had built its nest in a rose bush trained against a
■waU in his garden. Judge my surprise when I there found a beautiful
black-throated M. hoai'vla t sitting on foiur eggs, and so fearless of obser-
vation as almost to admit of my touching her. Mr. Dodd permitted me to
t;ike the eggs for my son's collection ; and a Greenfinch ha-ving a nest close
by, four of its eggs were transferred to that of the "WagtaU. ; they were
hatched in due time, and the young partially reai'cd by their foster-parents.
Tlie c-iicumstance above detailed induced me to sock for others, and I met
with a second pair tl-.c next day at LlHoi's Mill, about two miles and a half
higher up tlie stream. I I'urtlicr ascertained, that this species was not un-
common as a .summer resident, and that tlie Vellow "Wagtail, liudijtcs flava,'l
so imiversally dispersed over the country, was seldom or ever seen there."

* Vide Jard. Contr. to Orn., 1849, p. 135.

t jV. siilphnrea of this paper.

X IJudyivs campextrh of tliis paper.

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOtTRHOOD. 51

being from Switzerland. In the summer plumage the throat
is black and the rest of the under-surface of the body bright
yellow. I have only once observed the Grey Wagtail near
London, when I saw one flying along the Eegent's Canal, close
to the Gloucester Gate of the Eegent's Park, on the 3rd of No-
vember, 1868. In the neighbourhood of Hampstead and Highgate
it is sometimes seen in the autumn, and Davy, the well-known
dealer in the Kentish Town Eoad, has some occasionally for
sale at this time of year. They do not, however, appear to thrive
well in confinement.

Budytes.
41. Budytes campestris. Eay's Wagtail.

This pretty little Wagtail is not so often met with by the
water-side as the two last-named species, hence it is classed
among the Field- Wagtails, in opposition to the other members of
the family which are known as Water-Wagtails. The shorter
tail and other slight modifications of structure, as well as the
difference of habits, apparently justify its separation under
the distinct genus Budytes. Another species of this genus, the
Grey-headed Wagtail (Budytes flavaj is also occasionally met
with in England. Of this latter species I saw a specimen,
caught near Hampstead this summer, in Davy's shop.

Eay's Wagtail is very often observed on Cockmarsh Common,
about the middle of May, whence I have seen several specimens
obtained by the villagers. I think this species is some time in
gaining the fully adult plumage, that is to say, in donning the
beautiful yellow breast, which gains for it the provincial name
of 'Yellow Dishwasher,' In an account of a "Berkshire
Ramble " recorded in the Naturalist for August, 1866, I men-
tioned the fact of my shooting two specimens on the 27th of May
of that year. I well remember that this pair, which at that time

kof year would be in full breeding i^lumage, had the back green-
ish-brown and the underparts very pale yellow, their colours
being wonderfully dull, when compared with a fuUy adult bird
in my collection. I have several specimens of Eay's Wagtail
from the Gambia, but none of them are in the adult plumage.

52 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOTTRHOOD.

I sliould mention that a beautiful male bird of this species is in
the collection of Mrs. De Vitre at Formosa.
Anthus.
42. Anthus pratensis. The Meadow Pipit,

This bird is very common in the autumn and winter, and one
may be always sure of finding a flock of them, along with the
Wagtails and Starlings in the shoep-folds. When disturbed
they fly iip with a sharp sort of note, from which tlieir trivial
name has most likely been derived. The amount of variety to
be met with in a series of eggs of this species is remarkable, but
I have not seen many varieties of the birds themselves. At a
meeting of the Zoological Society, on November 12th, 1868, a
dwarf specimen of the Meadow Pipit was exhibited by Mr. Geo.
Dawson Bowley, of Brighton, which was exactly similar in
colouring to the ordinary bird, but was very much smaller. I
have in my own collection a very dark-coloured specimen of this
species fi'om Holland.

43. Anthus arboreus. The Tree Pipit.

This species may be distinguished at once from the Meadow

Pipit by the short hind claw, a modification showing that its habits

are more arboreal than terrestrial. I have, however, shot it on

one occasion when running along a sand-bank. In .Johns'

' British Birds in their Haunts,' there is an admirable drawing

by Wolf, of the Tree Pipit, showing the way in which the bird

throws itself into the air from the summit of a tree or bush,

pouring forth its song nil the while. A male specimen in my

collection was obtained by Mr. Briggs while in the act of flying

thus.

Fam. SylviadjE.

Sul-fam. AcoENTORiNi^.

Accentor.

44, Accentor modularis. Hedge Accentor.

This little bird is the well-known Hedge-Sparrow, which name,

should, however, I think, be dropped, as it is not in any way

allied to the Sparrows. It is common at Cookham.

Sul-fam. Stlviin^.

Phyllopneuste.

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOTTRHOOD. 53

45. Phyllopneuste sibilatrix. The Wood "Warbler.
The usual name for this bird is the Wood Wren, but as in the

case of the Hedge-S^mrrow, the bird has nothing to do with the
Wrens, but belongs to a well-known group of Warblers separated
by modern systematists under the genus Phyllopneuste.

The Wood Warbler is by no means common at Cookham, and
I have only seen three specimens which have been shot there.
One of these is in Mrs. De Vitre's collection at Formosa, another,
a very old and beautiful male, was formerly in my own, but
is now in the possession of Mr. P. M. Mc'Bae, of London, who
has a very good series of Cookham birds. The third, a plain-
coloured male, was shot by Mr. Briggs on the 4th of June,
1865, and is now in my collection. I happened to be present
when this specimen was procured, and we were attracted to it
by its note, which was at once recognised by Mr. Briggs as that
of the Willow Warbler. The little bird was soon seen at the
very tip-top of a tall elm tree, busily engaged in picking insects
from under the leaves. Its manners were very sprightly, and it
flew from twig to twig with great rapidity.

46. Phyllopneuste trochilus. The Willow Warbler.
This species is common at Cookham in the summer, when it

frequents the willows. It is curious that the young birds are
brighter in colour than the adults. I have a young bird, caught
in a greenhouse in May, 1865, that had the under parts such a
bright yellow, that, being in ignorance of the above fact, I
really thought I had got another species of British Warbler of
which to record the occurrence.

47. PhyUopneuste rufa. The Chiffchaff.

This pretty little Warbler is more often heard than seen, but

can be easily recognised by its note, of which its common name

is a very tolerable representation. It may be distinguished from

the Willow Wren by its dark-brown legs.

Eegulus.

48. Eegulus cristatus. Golden-crested Kinglet.

The term " Kinglet " is applicable to these little gems, which
seem truly to wear a golden crown. The Gold-crest is found
sparingly at Cookham, frequenting the fir-trees at Formosa,

54 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AITO THE NEiaHBOTOHOOD.

where it builds its nest nearly every year. Of the allied species
the Fire-crested Kinglet (Rcgt^lns ignicapillm), I saw lately a
very beautiful pair, which were shot on the 10th of October, at
Shooter's Hill, Kent, and are now in the coUection of Mr. Henry

Whitely, of Woolwich.

Sylvia.

49. Sylvia cinerea. The Greater Whitethroat.
This bird is common at Cookham in summer, and is always
found in kitchen.£?arden3, where it is very destructive to the
cn-een peas. Its song is harsh, and when delivering it the bird
often throws itself into the air, after the manner of the Tree-
Pipit • at other times it is heard singing fi'om the depths of a
thick 'bush. The local name of both the Whitethroats near
Loughborough, and also near Peterborough, is ' Hay- chat,' a
name which can only have originated, in my opinion, from the
note of the bird, which often utters such a note, when suddenly
disturbed, or when its nest is attacked. I often used to find the
nest in the above-mentioned localities, situate in abed of nettles,
so that any one can guess the shghtness of the structure, which
is supported on such slender stems. The nest was always con-
structed of dry bents and stalks of grass, and was not very
artisticaUy arranged. The Whitethroat's nest is certainly one of
the slightest built of all the British birds, and one can generally
seethrough the bottom; indeed it used to be a common saying
^vhen I was at school that the nest was ready for eggs when
you could see plainly through it. I have lately received a
Whitethroat from Holland, which is larger than any British
specimen in my collection. As a rule, birds from this country
are smaUer than British specimens.

50. Sylvia curruca. The Lesser Whitethroat.
The Lesser Whitethroat is not so commonly met with any-
where as the foregoing species, and I have seldom seen it near
Cookham. I have never taken the nest myself in the neighbour-
hood, though I have seen some eggs which were obtained there.
At Loughborough this bird was by no means uncommon, and
resembled the larger species in the construction of the nest, and
in the situations for placing it ; I have even found nests of both
species in the same bed of nettles.

Tm& WM^.

WHEN people wish to be sarcastic on the subject of Natural
History, they usually faU foul of what they consider the
unmeaning Latin names by which plants or insects are known
to the scientific world. They speak with scorn of those

" Whe Allium call their onions and their leeks,"
and ask to be told whether a Peacock Eutterfly is any the better
for being designated by the high-sounding title of Vanessa lo.
They will not stop and let you show them that the names— to
them unmeaning — are, in many cases, highly significant and
appropriate; they ignore the advantage of having an object
named in a language which is universally known, and by which
a naturalist in one quarter of the world would recognise a plant
or an animal found in another, and fall back on the remark that
they shall call a Buttercup a Buttercup to the end of their days.
Now, it must not be supposed that we have any sympathy with
those who pedantically use scientific terms for the purpose of
showing off their own knowledge — which is probably very
superficial — and of astonishing their listeners. No one but a
snob — for there are snobs even among professed naturalists,
although Mr. Thackray omitted them from his book on the genus
— would speak of natural objects by their scientific names to any
but those who were at least as fully able as himself to comprehend
them; but we are anxious to show that these "hard words,"
after all, have a meaning, and to explain this meaning by aid of
a few examples is the object of this paper. It will contain
nothing new : and those of our readers who already understand
the Latin names of plants may pass it over.

Far be it from us to underrate the value, the beauty, or the
interest, of our English names. "What can be prettier, more
appropriate, or more poetical, than the name Daisy, or Daye's
eye ? — that favourite of Chaucer, who says,

"That above all flowris iii the mede

Then love I most these tiowris white and rede,

Such that men calliu daisies in our towne,"

56 HABD WORDS.

And again,

" That -n-ell by reason men callc it male
The daisie, or els the eie of the daie."

By every principle of good taste and common sense, we are
bound to speak of plants or animals by tbeir English names to
the many who, without actually studying them, feel an interest
in noticing and hearing of the beautiful things around them—
an interest which wo should encourage by every means in our
power, and carefully refrain from checking by any ill-judged dis-
play of our own scientific knowledge.

Some persons — we hope but few — are deterred from the study
of Natui-al History by the "hard words" employed. They
seem to think it incumbent on them to commence studying botany,
for example, by learning scientific names, and shrink from attemp-
ting so formidable a task. No mistake could be greater. Those
who have not tried it will scarcely believe in how short a space
of time one's eye becomes familiarised with the dreaded words.
As a further assistance to this end, it is useful to have at one's
elbow some books containing both English and Latin names of
plants ; and then, if we come across a Latin word which conveys
no English equivalent to our mind, it is easy to look it out ; the
chances are that we shall not again forget it.

Before the time of Linnteus, the Latin names of plants were
indeed weighty matters ; many of them, from their length and
copiousness being rather a description of a species than its mere
designation. Grateful should we be to that great botanist for
having so simpHfied the matter that the name of a plant can now
be expressed in two words : the first word being called the generic,
the second the specific, name. The first is usually common to
several plants, closely connected with each other by certain
features ; the second is aj)phed to but one species of the same
genus. Thus — to use a homely illustration — when we say " John
Brown" — "Brown "is, so to speak, fhe genus, of which John
and his brothers, WiUiam and Thomas, are species. The Latin
generic title ofteii. denotes some characteristic which is common to
all the species comprised under it ; or it is derived from the name
of some person who is considered by the namer to be worthy

HAED -WORDS. 57

of such commemoration. The specific name often refers to
some pecuUarity in structure of the plant to which it is applied,
to its place of growth, or to its likeness to other species, or like
the genus is named after its discoverer, or some eminent
botanist. Let us now look among our wild flowers for some
illustrations of the appropriateness of their Latin names.

First, we may observe that a great many genera are named
from a resemblance in their blossoms to some other object. The
large, chalice-shaped flowers of the Marsh Marigold suggested
the name Caltha, from a Greek word signifying a cu]) ; and the
name Stellaria applied to the Stitchworts, was clearly given them
on account of their white star-lile blossoms. The Foxglove
earned its more learned title. Digitalis, from the resemblance in
shape of its handsome flowers to ihc fijiger of a glove; while the
hells of the Hairbell and its allies obtained for the genus its
name, Cam2)anula; the Globe-flower is called Trollius, from the
German trolen, a ball, in roferenco to the round outline of its
blossoms. Sometimes other parts of the plant are selected ; the
arniM" -shaped leaves of the Arrow-head gained for it its English
name, ":& tvjII a? th" Latiii SagiUaria ; the Shepherd's Purse (a
translation of its epocific name, JBursa-pastoris, ) owes both these and
its generic title, Capsella, to its curious seed pouches. The Horse-
shoe Yetch is Jlijij^occjjis, from the resemblance which the jjods
present to a horse-shoe / the Birdsfoot, Ormihoptis, from a similar
likeness ; the Coralwort is Dentaria, from its toothed root. Other
genera were named from diseases for which the species comprised
under them were supposed to be remedial ; Scrophularia is one
of these. Of the very many which commemorate distinguished
botanists we need only mention Linncea, Villarsia, Wahlenhergia,
Lobelia, Knappia, Isnardia, Jlutchim^ia, Teexdalia ; other names,
of more ancient, or classical, allusion are, Daphne, Iris, IT'arcissus,
Evphorhia, Gentiana, Ceitfaurea, &c.

To turn nov;' to specific names, we shall find many which are
common to several plants in different genera, and indicate tlieir
place of growth. Thus, pahstre denotes a marsh-loving species —
e.g., Marsh Wilio'TLcrb, EpilolivM palustre, Marsh Bedstraw,

58 HARD -WORDS.

Galium paludre ; sylvaticus, a woodland plant — e.g., the Wood
Bush {Scirjnis syhaticus), the Wood Scorpion-Grass {Myosotis
syhatica), the "Wood Cudweed Gnaphalium syhaticum) ; arvensis
or agrcstis a plant of fields, as the Field Scabious {Knautia arvensis,)
and the Field Foxtail grass {Alopecurus agrestis) ; two species of
Speedwell, growing in similar situations are named respectively
Vero7iica agrcstis and V. arvensis. Pratensis denotes a meadow
flower; as the Lady's Smock {Cardamine prattnsis), the Purple
Clover {Trifolium pretense), and the Meadow Cranesbill {Ocr-
anium pratense); aquaticiis and aquatilis refer to plants growing in
or by water, as the Water Crowfoot {Rammculiis aquatilis) and
Awlwort {Suhularia aquatica). Sativus points to a cultivated plant
or its origin ; the Garden Eadish is Raplianus sativus, the Parsnep,
Pastinaca sativa, and the Wheat, Triticum sativum. Officinalis
denotes former use, in medicine or otherwise, as the Borage
{Borago officinalis), common Speedwell ( Veronica officinalis), &c.
Vulgaris is applied to very common plants, as the Groundsel
{Senecio vulgaris). Ling {Calluna vulgaris), and many more.

Another class of specific names is that which takes its origin
in a reference to difi'erent parts of the plant. Bulhosus shows a
plant with bulbous root, as in the Buttercup (^Ranunculus hdbosus);
repena denotes creeping roots or stems, as in the Couch-grass
(Triticum repens). Most names of this class are taken from the
leaves ; thus we have Geranium rotimdifoUum, the Round-leaved,
Cranesbill ; Vicia angustifolia, the Narrowleaved Vetch ; Veronica
hederifolia, the Ivy-leaved Speedwell ; Plantago lanceolata the
Ribwort Plantain, with long tapering, or lanceolate, leaves ;
Tilia parvifolia, the small-leaved Lime ; T. grandifolia, the large-
leaved Lime ; Orchis maculata, an Orchis with spotted foliage ;
Lamium incismn, the C«<-leaved Dead Nettle ; Chlora perfoliata,
the TeUow-wort, which has perfoliate leaves ; and so on. Others
refer to the colour of the flowers ; as Anagallis ccerulea, the Blue
Pimpernel ; Hellelorus viridis, the green Hellebore ; Centranthus
ruler, the Red Valerian; Gagea lutea, the Yellow Star of P-othlehem;
Lamium album, the White Dead Nettle : others to the size of the
flowers, as Cejfhalanthera grandijlora, Large-Jloxoered Helleborine ;

HABS WOBSS. 59

Ranunculus pwrviflorm, Small-flowered Crowfoot. The general
character of the plant is referred to in such names as Rammculus
htrsuUis, the Hairy Crowfoot ; Geranium molle, the Dove's-foot
Cranesbill, remarkable for its softneiB. Some specific names
show the hkeness of the species which bear them to other plants ;
thus, Villarsia nymphmides, means the Nymphoia-ipr Water Lily)
like Villarsia ; Selmintha echio'ides, the ^i?7im?M (or Bugloss) like
Ox tongue ; from the resemblance of its prickly leaves to those
of Echium I'ulgare.

Yet another class refers to certain peculiarities in the species
themselves. Thus, our Coralwort, ■which is so curiously propagated
by means of little buds, or bulbs, which grow in the axils of
leaves, is aptly called Dentaria bidhifera, the Bulb-bearing Coral-
wort. The .B^e-orchis is OpJirys apifera, the Fly, 0. musciferat
in each case the name being taken from the likeness of the
flowers to the insects referred to.

Thus, then, we have endeavoured to show that some, at least,
the "hard words" of botany have a meaning. In some cases,
the names are misapplied — Pedicularis sylvatiea for example, is
by no means a woodland plant — but those are exceptions to the
rule. Perhaps this short paper may induce one or two, at least,
of our readers to investigate the matter further ; in which case
its object will have been attained. ^ , j ,

gldirtitionsi U i\xt nX\itm\it llom, 1868.

ANOTHER year has passed in the annals of our Society : and
it again falls to our lot to consider what we have done
during that period — how far we have increased our knowledge
of the Natural History of our district, a knowledge which it is
our privilege, as well as our duty, to endeavour yearly to render
more complete. As I have twice had the pleasure of laj'ino-
before the readers of the magazine a brief statement of the
progress we have made in the investigation of the Flora of our
neighbourhood in former years, I will now enumerate the
additions made to it during the past season,

60 ADDITIONS TO THE -WYCOMBE FLORA.

Those wlio read a paper on "Our Violets," published in vol. i,
pp. 90—94, may remember that I was then particularly anxious
to discover in our district that form of the "Wood Violet ( Viola
sylvatica), known to botanists as V. lieichenlachiana . I am very
glad to say that I have at length detected it growing in abun-
dance in Adder's Lane, as well as more sparingly in other places,
mingled with the commoner, V. Riviniana ; the Miss Drummonds
have forwarded me specimens of both forms from the neighbour-
hood of Denham. The differences between the two, as stated in
the paper referred to, wore perhaps scarcely as definite as might
have been wished ; the best description of them is that given by
Mr. Watson in the 'Flora of Surrey.' "It is," he says,
" readily distinguished by its narrower petals of pale purple,
with a deeper spot at their base, and more flattened, always
purple, spur." These particulars exactly characterise the form.
While speaking of the Violets I must not omit to refer to two
very beautiful varieties of V. Riviniana which were found by
Mr. Marshall, in a little wood on Flackwell Heath : one of these
had very large jDure white flowers, on which the branched purple
veins stood out with great efi'ect ; the other had pale pink blossoms.

Flora seems to have paid our President a graceful compliment by
producing a species new to Wycombe, almost at his door : in other
words, the Whitlow Pepperwort {Lepiditim Draba), appeared in
groat force on the small piece of waste ground immediately
opposite his house. This is one of those j)lant8 which are gradually
making themselves at home in England ; how to account for their
introduction is difficult, and yet their places of growth render it
evident that they have been introduced in some way or other.
In the present instance we have a plant which is neither useful
nor particularly ornamental, certainly not sufficiently so to render
it worthy a place in our gardens. It will, however, be interest-
ing to note whether this Lepidium will hold its ground ; in all
probability it will do so, if the ground remain imdisturbed.

Another novelty of doubtful origin is the Hautboy Strawberry
(^Frayaria elatior), which I found last May well established in a
lane below Handy Cross, near High Heavens Wood ; too near a
cottage, however, to be really wild.

ADDITIOXS TO THE WYCOMBE ITiORA. 61

The Marsh Cinquefoil {Comarum palustre), like the three
preceding species, is new, not only to our district but to the
county. Mr. Latimer Clark included it in a list of plants which
he had observed growing near Marlow ; but I have been unable
to ascertain further particulars respecting it. While in Cheshire
I was much struck with the abundance of this plant as affording
an illustration of a species rare in our county, but there one of
the commonest ; it grows by, and in, every pond or pit in the
neighbourhood of Mobberley.

The Butcher's Broom [Itiiseus aciileatm) was discovered by Mr.
Marshall, near Cores End, and by him recorded in vol. i, p. 190.
It is new to the district, but not to the county.

"We may now turn our attention to a few of the rarer plants
which have been observed in fresh localities during the past year.
First in importance comes the Mezereon {Daphns Mezereum), which
has this year been observed in two new i^laces — in the Braden-
ham Woods, by Dr. Bowstead, who recorded the discovery in
vol. i, p. 194, and at Hazelmoor, by Mr. Marshall. Mr. Latimer
Clark has furnished me with the following note relative to its
former occurrence in our district: — ^^ Daphne Mezereum grew
thirty years since sparingly in the woods about a mile and a half
from Penn. At that time we could find only four or five plants,
and those large and old ones, as the cottagers removed the small
ones for the purpose of jiianting them in their gardens. It also
grew at the same period, very sparingly in the woods between
Marlow and Loudwater. I have also once seen it on the Berk-
shire side of the river. From its attractive appearance, and the
love of gardening which has now become so general, I have no
doubt it has been eradicated by the cottagers." I have else-
where* entered more fully into the question of the nativity of
this rare plant, and therefore need only remark that the more I
investigate the subject, the more convinced I am that in Buck-
inghamshire at least, it has everj' claim to be ranked as a genuine
British species. Next in importance we may rank the Deptford
Pink {^Dianthus Armeria), found by Mr. Marshall in a small wood

* Ifaturalists Circular', March, 1868, pp. 86 — 88, and April, pp. 103 — 4.

62 ADDITIONS TO THE WYCOMBE FLORA.

on Winter Hill, Berks, just within the district. This is the more
interesting on account of the disappearance of the plant from its
former locality near Little Marlow, tlio only place in Bucking-
hamshire, from which it had been recorded ; it has, however, I
am informed, been found this year on Green Street by Mrs. B.
Lucas. That careful observer, Mr. Daniel Avery, has found the
Scaly Spleenwort ( Ceterach officinarum), in some abundance on a
wall at Moor Farm, near Lane End. In Culpeper's * Herbal '
it is said to grow "on Beckonsfield Church in 5er^sAjV«." The
Columbine {Aquilegia vulgaris), and Deadly Nightshade {Atropa
Belladonna), have been noticed in a wood near Moor Farm by
Mr. Avery ; of the latter plant I found the following note in
Curtis' Flora Zo7idinensii — "'We remember to have seen it
growing in great abundance on Keep Hill, near High Wycomb,
Buckinghamshire. Close by the spot where we observed it,
there chanced to be a little boy. I asked him if he knew the
plant. He answered ' Yes, it was naughty man's cherries.' I
then enquired of him if he had ever eaten of the berries ? He
said he had, with several other children from an adjoining poor-
house, and that it made them all very sick, but that none of
them had died." I learn that the plants on Keep Hill were
subsequently destroyed lest other children should "eat of the
berries ;" but, as many of our readers know, it still grows in
the Park adjoining the Hill.

*AAAA<)^^Fywi|-^>

ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
As a supplement to the foregoing, I may enumerate the more
important additions which have been made this year to the
Flora, not of our district, but of the county. Four of them have
been already enumerated under the former head, and the
following may also be cited : —

Rhamnus Frangula. The Miss Drummonds, of the Tile House,
Denham, have very kindly sent me specimens of this from
Juniper Wood, in their neighbourhood.

ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

Impatiens fulva. " Very abundant in ditches near the Colne,
Denham." The Miss Dnmtnonds.

Oxalis stricta. «' Gardens and waste places, the Tile-house,
where it appears accidentally every year." The Miss Dnimmonds.

Trigloehin paluttre. " Denham Moor." The Miss Drummonds.

Alisma ranuncuMdes. " Hyde Heath, Cbesham." Miss Dora
Straiten.

Botrijchitm Lxmaria (Moonwort). " One plant was found some
years since at Leckhampstead, near Buckingham." The Miss
Drummonds. The occurrence of this solitary specimen, on which
the Moonwort bases its claims to be ranked as a native of our
county affords a curious parallel to that of two plants of the
Limestone Polypody {Poly podium Rohertiamm), which Mr.
Ullyett found a few years since in King's Wood ; it has never
been observed since, either there or in any other part of the
county.

Lycopodium Selago. " East Burnham Common, June, 1864."

Mr. R. G. Keeley.

James Britten.

Falco tinnunctilus.

T is all very well keeping rabbits, guinea-pigs, and canaries,
■ but then you see everybody almost does so ; these creatures
come into the category of tame animals, and though I am by
no means going to deny that there may be much that is interest-
ing in their habits, I used to feel that as a naturalist (a very
young one) I should like to study something rather out of the
common ; I should like to keep some creature that few other
people would think of keeping. And as the above-mentioned
animals were to be seen in dozens of my friends' houses, I looked
upon them in the same light as I did on dogs, fowls, ducks, &c.
It was not everybody that petted a snake or a toad; mole-
crickets and grasshoppers were not ordinarily kept in captivity J

64 A CHAT ABOUT THE KESTREL,

that was tho reason I took to them. Now although it was not
exactly the correct thing for me to ignore our commoner house-
hold i^ets, yet when I look back now I rather think the feeling
sprang from a proper motive. I really fancied that the commoner
any creature was, the more interesting its study became — and I
think 80 still — more interesting because it is too common for
people to notice it much. And so it really possesses the great
charm oi freshness, that ever present delight in Nature ; and I
feel the greatest pleasure in catching any ordinary animal out in
the fields — a mouse, a cricket, a bat, or a beetle, and in placing
it in durance vile for a week or two while I am rude enough to
make observations upon it. What wonders and mysteries there
are close around us if we did but know it ! What an abundance
of amusement and instruction can be obtained if we do but use
our senses.

But I am wandering strangely ; I meant to write about the
Kestrel, so I had better begin. If you ever want to study a
bird, give it plenty of room. Do you think anybody could write
the natural history of a Goldfinch from watching one in its cage
about Tjir'^ inches square? Is it at all likely that yov. get ary
clear ideas of the life of a Lark from seeing a wretched captive
beat its head against the roof of a low cage in vain longings for
the blue sky ? I don't think I could possibly keep a caged Lark.
With Finches you may learn much, if you have a nice roomy
aviary, and so you may in fact with most other birds. A Hawk
of course wants a very large cage, but it is still better to give
him the run of a garden. The Kestrel is more commonly seen
in captivity than any other Hawk, and is really a most interesting-
creature. When brought up by hand from the nest it is very
tame, and. loses much of its natural fierceness ; one that I kej)t
would always come and caress my finger when I put it into the
cage. But when caught and confined it is a long time before it
is at all tractable, though by proper management and very
patient and careful training it may even then be taught to go
' hawking.' I never went in, however, for this branch of study.
And of course if not treated kindly it remains savage and violent ;

A CHAT ABOUT THE KESTREL. 65

one was once brought to me that had been reared by hand, but
had been much teased by those natural enemies of the lower
animals — children, and this was so fierce that it would fly at
anyone who approached its cage.

The Kestrel is very plentiful all oyer this part of the country,
and is really a very handsome bird. It is also known as the
Windhover, from its habit of remaining poised in the air over
one particular spot for some length of time. Then is the time
to take out your telescope and watch it, its head close to the wind,
its sharp eyes directed below, able to detect the smallest move-
ments even of the almost invisible field-mouse. The wings are
shivering all the time, the tail-feathers altering their position
now and then as necessary, while perhaps a swift but gentle
sweep takes place occasionally as the prey shifts its ground or is
lost. I often here at Folkestone lie on the top of the cliffs and
watch the Kestrel down below on the Warren. I remember too
enjoying the sight of a pair as I sat on the edge of the chalk
escarpment overlooking the Oxford Plain at Chinnor ; they were
not very busy I think, for they were flying and chasing each
other about for a long time. A poor Crow in the vicinity was
slightly victimised too, for one of them was every now and then
pursuing him, though certainly with no carnivorous intentions.

This habit of hovering in the air makes the bird not only a
good mark for a telescope, but also for a gun, and as game-
keepers generally shoot it on principle, bo amateur sportsmen
think it capital practice to aim at it. Every gamekeeper's
museum contains a few slaughtered Kestrels, though I believe
there are a few lords of wide domains who order them to be left
alone, but the company of such is certainly 'limited,' while the
sworn foes of the poor creature may well be named legion. Its
food consists of mice, small birds, coekchafiers, and other insects,
slow-worms, and even earth-worms ; on the sea shore it eats
crabs and other marine creatures. It is sad to be obliged to say
that the Kestrel is a cannibal ; it is exceedingly pugnacious even
with its own species, and Mr. Newman, in his interesting history
of British Birds, relates an anecdote of a female devouring her

66 A CHAT ABOTJT THE KESTREL.

lord after a keeper had shot him. It enjoys bathing exceedingly,
and when kept in captivity should be supplied with a large
vessel of water every day in summer. It is believed to prefer
taking possession of the nest of another bird, to building one of
its own, though it does perform the latter act occasionally. The
nests of the Kook and Magpie are preferred. The eggs are thickly
mottled all over with rich brown markings, sometimes completely
covered ; the first I received at Wycombe were brought to me
as a Screech-Owl's, and I saw several in a window in Marlow,
which the proprietor was selling for Sparrowhawk's, and he was
not at all pleased when Isaid what they were.

Hy. Ulltett.

^xm(Ah\0 of tht ^on^ty.

FOUETH WINTEE SESSION, 1868—69.

THE first Evening Meeting was held on Tuesday, November
the 24th, at the house of the President, the Eev. T. H.
Browne, F.G.S., F.E.M.S. The exhibitions were numerous.
In a glass tank was contained a living specimens of the Fresh-
water Sponge {SpiiKjia fluviatilis), taken from the river at
Hughenden, where it is to be found only in one locality. There
was a large collection of fossils lately obtained from the Purbeck
and Lower Oolite formations in the neighbourhood of Wey-
mouth. Amongst those especially noticed were fish and rep-
tilian remains, and a large series of the ostrea acuminata from
the Fuller's earth, illustrating the great variety of forms which
this oyster assumes. Attention was especially directed to a
collection of shells belonging to the genus Pinna or Wing-shell
family. There were specimens from British and foreign seas,
and fossil specimens from different strata. These were intended
to illustrate the formation of the shell of this moUusk. With the
exception of the Pmna granulata from the Elimmeridge Clay,
Wheatley, each specimen, when seen through tlie microscope,
exhibited the prisms of which the external part of the shell is
composed. Difference in size alone distinguishes them, and the
want of that peculiar dark tint in the fossils which is so obser-
vable in the recent forms.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. P7

Entomology was represented by some beautiful specimens of
butterflies, Van$ssa Cardui, Colias Edum and C. Hyale were sent
by the Rev. Bernard Smith, of Uarlow; Sphinx Convolvuli and
V. Cardui were exhibited by the President, also some very pei-fect
specimens (third brood?) of the Small Copper [Fldaas Polijom-
matus), taken on the second of October. Mention was made by
the President of a variety which he had seen in the district without
spots on the front wing, but with the dark band on the hind
margin much broader than usual.

The President in his opening address, after referring to the
re-appearance of some scarce insects in our neighbourhood,
directed attention of the members to the remarkable abundance
of a Saw-fly {Dolerus Coracinus) in the beginning of the year.
This insect is very like the Dolenis niger, but distinguished from
it by the presence of a red spot at the basal joints of the wing.
The imago appeared in March, and attracted but little attention.
In a very short time the larvae swarmed by myriads. The par-
enchyma of the leaves of a weeping Ash was consumed as if by
magic. It seemed impossible to destroy the larvae. Thousands
upon thousands were shaken down and swept away, but there was
no apparent difference in their numbers or destructiveness. He
took occasion from the exhibition of this insect to explain the
physiology of the Saw-fly, and pointed out the mistakes some-
times committed by writers in popular periodicals, when describing
this as well as other families in the insect world.

The President then gave a short description of his observation
of the transit of Mercury — which took place on the fifth of
November. The heavens were most propitious. There was not
a cloud upon the eastern sky. When the sun had risen above
the mists of the horizon there was nothing to hinder the most
perfect observation. With powers of magnification ranging from
90 to 150 diameters Mercury's disk was as clearly defined as if
engraved with a diamond. But though carefully watched for,
the apparent prolongation of the form of the planet by the
so-called dark bands or protuberances was not seen. Yet the
planet was observed up to the last internal contact with the
limb of the sun.

A few minutes were spent in speaking of the "November
Meteors," which, according to calculation, our earth ought to have
passed through about 6 p.m. on the thirteenth of the month. The
portion of the heavens in which the phenomena were to be
seen at that time was below our horizon — and consequently in-
visible to us. Some were seen by a gentleman at Wycombe on
the fourteenth day. But the grand display was observed by
Professor Phillips at Oxford, between three and four in the
morning of the fourteenth.

68 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

The President bvieflj' brouglit before the members the sub-
stance of what is now known respecting these remarkable ap-
pearances, the apparent similarity of their orbit with that of
Temple's Comet of 1866 — the influence which the planet Uranus
has exercised on thom — and the ijniueiise magnitude of the arc
of space which is probably filled with these exti'aordinary bodies.

The Secretary read a long and comprehensive paper " On
English Plant-Names," which was listened to with great atten-
tion. Commencing by deprecating the notion that there is little
or no meaning in our local plant-names, he proceeded to give a
general idea of the various sources to which they mio;ht be traced.
Examples were given of names adopted, or corrupted, fi'om the
Anglo-Saxon, Swedish, Danish, German, French, Latin, and
Greek ; the influence of the Church upon the people was illus-
trated by many names, banded down from, or associated with,
the middle ages ; those plants which take their titles from a
resemblance, real or imagined to other objects, were referred to,
the "doctrine of signatures " was glanced at, and its results were
shown. The paper, which will be published in ' Science Gossip '
for February next, was intended to give a general view of the
subject ; and it was hinted that a second was in preparation, in
which the more strictly local names would receive due attention.

The meeting, which was x^i'olonged until a late liour, closed
with an exhibition of the President's binocular microscope.

Second Evening Meeting, Dec. 29. — Held, by kind invitation,
at the house of T. Wheeler, Esq. Among the objects exhibited
were the following: A verj' beautiful specimen of "Venus'
Flower-Basket" {^Eiqjlectella speciosa), from the shores of the
Philippine Islands ; a box of Lepidoptera, including a fine Sphinx
Convolvuli, taken in the district ; fossils, &c., by the President ; a
collection of British. Orchulacece, by Mr. Ullyett ; and some beauti-
fully executed drawings of wild flowers, chiefly from our own
neighbourhood, by the Misses Giles. Mr. Ullyett read an
interesting paper on " Winter Work," which contained many
useful bints and practical suggestions ; this was followed by one
by the Seci-etary, on "Additions to the Wycombe Flora, 1868,"
which will be found at p. 59. The President gave one of his
popular addressee, the subject selected on the present occasion
being " Sharks." The various scientific classifications of fishes
was referred to, such as the division of this branch of Natural
Science into the Heterocercals, or unequal tails, and the Homo-
cereals, or equal tails ; the Osseous and the Cartilaginous fishes ;
and the Placoids (plate-form), the Ganoids (shining-foi'm), the
Ctenoids (comb-form), and the Cycloids (circle-form). Thesenames
refer to the shajDe of the scales. Tlie position in each of these
great divisions which the Shark tribe occupied was referred to.
The subject was treated geologically, reference being made to the

PROCEEDINGS OP THE SOCIETY. 69

sharks of recent times, by wa}' of illustrating the remains of the
more ancient fishes. The President spoke of the appearance of
these Heterocercal fishes in the Silurian Seas, and of their co-tem-
porary appearance with the Ganoids from the commencement of
the old Red Sandstone until the end of the Oolite period. After
that time, the crushing {palatal) teeth that had been so
common in the past ages of the geologic world passed away, the
Sharks of the tertiary and more modem times being armed only
with the sharp and cutting dentition so characteristic of these
inhabitants of recent seas. The only known exception to this
latter statement, being the Port Jackson Shark, and some of the
Dog fishes and Eays {Raiosdoe). The fact was referred to, that but
few remains of the Shark tribe arepreserved in the various geological
formations. The reason assigned for this fact, was, that the whole
skeleton of this fish being cartilage and not bone, after death it
would dissolve before it could become petrified. The address was
illustrated by many specimens of teeth and vertebrae belonging to
geological and recent species. There was also a numerous collec-
tion of teeth and scales of Ganoid fishes from the carboniferous
and oolite formations. Amongst oiuer microscopic illustrations at
the close of the meeting, were sections of the scale of Lepidotus
Mantelli, from the Wealden, Tilgate Forest ; and the scale of a
Ganoid-fish from the Coal Shale, Newcastle. In this object the
perforations of the scale were pointed out, and the connection of
each of these foramina by means of channels similar in appearance
to Haversian Canals. The whole scale exhibited lacunae and
canaliculi which appeared to assume the appearance of Mammalian
rather than of Ichthyic type. These cell-markings were grouped
around the perforations like the concentric layers of lacunae
around the apertures of the Haversian Canals in transverse sections
of mammalian bones. The members were especially interested in
a specimen of fi-esh water Shrimp so common in the wells of the
town, and a beautiful oceanic form of Crustacean (minute Shrimp),
Pontella, n. sj}., as well as another exquisite microscopic object —
the tongue ( Odontofore, Huxley) of the Ear-shell MoUusk {Saliotis
tuberculata) — from Guernsey.

ioofeis %m\ML

Iji One Tlimisand Ohjeotsfor the Microscope. By M. C. Cooke.

^M This little work comes with peculiar fitness from one who has done so

^V much, to popularise the study of Natural History. When we state that it

70 BOOKS RECEIVED.

contains 124 pages of clearly-printed letter-press, and 12 plates, absolutely
crowded with figures, and that its cost is one shilling, none can doubt its
cheapness ; and Mr. Cooke's name is suificient guarantee of its accuracy. It
contrasts favourably with the last work on Natural History issued in the
same series — we refer to a book called " Old English Wild Flowers," which,
for inaccuracy in almost countless statements, and for total ignorance of the
principles of composition, stands, we would hope, by itself. This reference
is rendered the more necessary by a review (?) of the work which appeared
in the "Field" some time since. We have never hesitated to recommend
books to oiu- readers ; neither shall we refrain from warning them against
such as are untrustworthy : and, while contributing our meed of praise to
Mr. Cooke's work, we cannot but express our sorrow that " Old English Wild
Flowers" should ever have been published.

The Quarterly Journal of the Folhestone Natural History Society, No. I.

We gladly hail the appearance of another Magazine, conducted on principles
similar to our own, which reports the proceedings of the Society in which
Mr. Ullyett occupies the same post which he filled so ably while amongst us.
In this number we have three papers, one of local, and two of general interest ;
as well as the commencement of two others — one, " On the Fertilisation of
Orchids," an interesting, if somewhat abstruse, subject ; the other, entitled
" Experiences of Aquarium Life," being a pleasantly-written autobiography
of Planorbis complanatus. Correspondence, and short notes, complete the
number. We trust that succeeding issues will be as creditable to the
Society as the one before us.

Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists' Society, Sept., Oct., and Nov.

In addition to the reports of " general meetings," which these proceedings
give us, there are notices of "meetings of sections," which appear to have
been well attended. We congratulate the Bristol Naturalists on the organisa-
tion of their society, as well as on the possession of real workers, which such
an organisation not only implies, but demands. We observe that the
rambles of the different sections appear to have been well attended ; this
augurs favourably for the prosperity of the Society. — We have also received
the Mfth Annual RepoH of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, from which
vre are glad to learn that this Society is also progressing satisfactorily.

(f^om^imn&mtt.

The Common Buzzakd {Buteo
vulgaris). — "A Common Buzzard
■was shot in Windsor Great Park by
one of the keepers in the summer of
1857. Another specimen was pro-
cured there about the same time,
but by the time it reached the bird-
stuffers hands it was useless. These
two birds had been seen about for
some time together and were prob-
ably a pair." Such is the first para-
graph in Mr. Clark-Kennedy's des-
cription ot this rare bird, and it justly
explains the cause of its scarcity.
However, game keepers are not the
only destroyers of our birds of prey,
for I have lately received a long and
interesting account from a gentle-
man in the neighbourhood, Mr. R.
Spicer, of Marlow, of his share in
the discovery of a Buzzard's nest,
and the taking of the eggs. It was
in the year 1806, when he was a
pupil of the Rev. Thomaa Scott, at
Gawcott, near Buckingham, that he
and his two fellow pupils, while
shooting in the neighbourhood, dis-
covered a Buzzard's nest in the top
of a high Oak tree. The tree was
of great size, and the nest was built
on a fork which towered some 5 feet
above the rest of the tree. His
companions tried,but in vain, to reach
the nest. My informant then es-
sayed to do so, and after labours
which nearly exhausted him, suc-
ceeded in gaining the summit, and
to his great joy found two eggs, very
round, large, and thick, white, with
yellow spots, and strongly resem-
bling turkeys' eggs. After a long
rest, rendered necessary by his ex-
hausting efforts, he descended safely.
The nest is described as being buU.t
of sticks, lined with bents. The
above act of spoliation, although
much to be lamented, will be ex-
cused on the sins of youth, and of
the great temptation offered, which,
I fear, would have been resisted b)'
few. However, the instance quoted
by Mr. Clark-Kennedy and the one
I have narrated show that it is only
owing to the relentless persecution

of our birds of prey that they are
becoming more scarce every year.
Many species, including the Kite,
are now seldom seen in districts
where they were formerly compara-
tively common. That they would
become so again there is but little
doubt, were not the spirit of exter-
mination so rife, and so indiscrimi-
nating in its operation.

T. Marshall.
In the last number of " The
Quarterly Magazine of the High
Wycombe Natural History Society"
is a paper by Mr. W. R. Tate, " On
the Future Existence of the Lower
Animals," in which it is stated that
they did not prey upon each other
before the faU of man. Allow me,
without entering upon the subject of
the paper, to correct that statement.
A great many species of carnivorous
animals existed long before the ap-
pearance of man upon the earth.
The bonps of animals found in caves
often bear the marks of the teeth of
the hyaenas and bears that lived in
the caves, and whose remains are
also found there, together with their
excrement, composed mainly of phos-
phate of lime, derived from the bones
of their victims. Eemains of crusta-
ceans also are found in the unejected
faeces (coprolifes) of the great Liassic
sauria, lying in situ between the ribs
of the skeletons.

W. H. D ALTON.

Little Auk {Mergnlus melano-
levcos) AT Abingdon. — " One of
our keepers shot a Little Auk on the
Thames here yesterday. As our
nearest point to the sea is distant
some sixty miles, the appearance of
such a bird is a singular occurrence.
The Common GuU is not unfre-
quently seen here after hea-4-y gales,
but a bird of the diver tribe must
have been very hard pressed to take
such a long inland flight. E. W.
Harcourt (Nuneham Park, Abing-
don, Xov. 7) "—Field, Nov. 14, 1868.
Mr. Clark-Kennedy, in his "Birds
of Berks and Bucks," notes only
two previous occurrences of the bird

.72

CORRESPONDENCE.

in the two counties. Mr. T. C. Garth,
in the " Field " of the same date,
notes the killing of a Quail, " plump
and in good order," at Twyford, on
Nov. 7.

A Swallow at Church. — A
curious occurrence took place dur-
ing morning service in the Parish
Church of Bradfield, near Reading,
on Sunday, Oct. 4. While the
collect for peace was being read, a
youngswallowsettledon the shoulder
of a gentleman, where it remained
during the anthem, Litany, and a
portion of the Communion Service.
T.S."— Field, Oct. 17, 1868.

Sphinx Convolvuli. — The Rev.
J. J. Goodall, of Dinton Hall, Ayles-
bury, writes to the " Field " as
follows : — "I never knew a season
here without them, especially about
the time of flowering of Aster amelhis,
over which I have often seen half-a-
dozen hovering, protruding their long
probosces in search of honey. From
the fact of a few of my visitors having
observed this most interesting msect,
I suppose it must be locally very
uncommon Though more plentiful
than usual here last season, this year
they are more so than ever known
before. I have frequently seen at
one point of view more than a score
skimming over a belt of the common
garden valerian. I fancy it is rather
remarkable that, whilst the moths
are on the wing, specimens of the
same animal in its caterpillar state
fully three inches and a half long,
and two inches and a half in girth,
should be feeding on the leaves
below."

[Mr. Goodall must be situated in
a very favourable locality. The
perfect insect has, we know, been
exceedingly abundant this year ; but
the appearance of the caterpillar
seems to require confirmation.]

The Sparrowhawk and the
Kestrel. — One day in November
last, I saw two birds fighting in the
middle of the road near the railway
bridge which crosses the Bradenham
road I drove hastily to see what
the disturbance was about, and on
approaching the combatants I found
they were two hawks, one of which
had got a Greenfinch in its talons.

When I had got within twenty yards,
both the birds took flight, and I dis-
covered that one was a Sparrowhawk
and the other a Kestrel. The Kestrel
settled in a field close by and com-
menced eating the bird it had caught :
the Sparrowhawk settled in a hedge
near, and when I got opposite, darted
away and commenced hunting up
and down the hedge side. I dare
say if I had not come up when the
fight began, the Sparrowhawk would
have robbed the Kestrel of its prey.
I have been fortunate in seeing more
than once the pugnacity of the Spar-
rowhawk. About two years ago, in
the lane leading to Toweridge from
West Wycombe, I knocked down
with my whip a Sparrowhawk which
had caught a Blackbird. I was
within three yards of the bird when
seized by the Sparrowhawk, and
was successful in rescuing the sweet
songster, which appeared very fright-
ened at first, but doubtless thankful
that a protector was so near at hand.

R. M. BOWSTEAD, M.D.

Naturalists' Kalendae. We

hope, during the coming season, to
present our readers with a somewhat
novel and interesting feature, in the
shape of a record of the more re-
markable objects observed by the
members of the Society in our own
district or neighbourhood. The times
of the flowering of our plants, the
dates of the arrival and departure of
our migratory birds, the appearance
of rare visitors — all these will, it is
hoped, find a place. It must be
evident to all that, for the success of
this project, we must depend mainly
upon our members and readers for
support ; and we trust that they will
not fail to render us the requisite
assistance.

The Glastonbury Thorn. — There
is, in Wycombe Park, a tree of this
variety, known as CratcefiUS oxya-
cantha prcecox, which usually buds,
but does not blossom, in December.
This season, however, many blossoms
have fully expanded, induced by the
mildness of the weather to put in an
appearance ; their perfume being
quite as powerful as that of those
which expand at the more usual
time.

% p.$t of ^itcfeittflttamisiUivc (Dwlutl^.

[The localities following the initial S are in South Bucks ; those preceded
by N are in the North of the county. The river Thame separates these
divisions. ! following a locality, sigiiihes that I have seen a specimen col-
lected there.]

Order QECHiDACEiE.

Orchis Zinn.

0. Morio, L. Green-winged Orchis. S.— Not unfrequent in
meadows and on grassy commons ; Whittington Park ; Wooburn .
Denham ; Drayton Beauchamp ; Weston Turville ; Dinton, &c.
N. — Addington; Buckingham, &c. Flowers in May.

This species varies greatly in the colours of its flowers, I have found
them white, flesh-coloured, and pale purple.

0. mascula, L. Early Purple Orchis. S. and N.— Meadows,
open places, and woods, frequent. Flowers in May.

A very variable plant. On dry, exposed banks, as on Keep Hill, the spike
is lax and few-flowered ; in woods, it is often dense and many-flowered : the
Bcent is equally variable, being in some specimens very agreeable, in others,
growing in the same locality, extremely unpleasant. The absence of green
veins from the petals and sepals, and the brighter colour of the blossoms,
render this species readily distinguishable from 0. Morio. The Buckinghanx
names for 0. mascula are " Ring-finger," " King-fingers," and " Cuckoos ;"
the two former are at present unexplained ; the latter refers to the ap-
pearance of the plant in spring, when "the Cuckoo doth begin to sing his
pleasant notes without stammering."

[ 0. purpurea, Huds. Lady Orchis. S. — Mr. T. P. Lucas re-
corded this from Downley ; Dane Garden "Wood ; and Fennell's
Wood ; a diligent search in these localities has only resulted in
the discovery of 0. militaris, which was probably mistaken for
this species.]

0. militaris, L. Military Orchis. S. — "MarlowWood in plenty,
Mr. Gotohed: Woods between High Wycombe and Great Mai'low ;
2fr. J. Rayer.'" Botanists' Guide, i. 39; "Between Henley and
Fawley ; between High Wycombe and Hitchenden." Eng. Dot.

74 BUCKINanAMSHIRE ORCniDS.

Supp.; Fawley "Wood, Mr. Stulhs ! ; Eversdown, near Henley,
History of Henley ; " Very sparingly in the wood overhanging the
Henley road at Medmenham." Phytologist, i. 993. o. s ; Dane
Garden Wood, Wycombe ; and Fennell's Wood, Loudwater ;
Chesham ! ; Middle Claydon, Rev. H. H. Crewe.

This rare and beautiful species is usually in blossom about June 1. I once
found a variety in Dane Garden Wood, having pure white flowers, bordered
with reddish-purple.

0. maculata, L. Spotted Palmate Orchis. S. and N. — Woods
and pastures, generally distributed. Flowers in May and June.

0. latifolia, L, Marsh. Orchis. S. — Meadows near the Colne,
Denham, The Miss Drummonds. ! [A specimen found in Whit-
tington Park, by the Rev. W. H. Painter, and supposed to belong
to this species, was probably a large form of 0. maculata.']
Flowers in June.

0. i7icarnata, L. S. — Meadows near the Colne, Denham, growing
with. 0. latifolia, but flowering rather later. The Miss Drummonds.
Flowers in June.

0. pyramidalis, Ij. Pyramidal Orcbis. S. — Chalky woods and
open places, not unfrequent : Marlow ; Wycombe ; Hughenden ;
Denham ; Chesham ; Drayton Beaucbamp ; Aston Clinton, and
Buckland ; Wendover, &c. N. — Akely Wood, Buckingham,
Mr. W. Walker ! Flowers in June and July.

Gymnadenia R. Br.
O. conopsea, R. Br. Sweetscented Orchis. S. — Chalky woods
and banks, frequent. " Woods between the Oxford and Wycombe
roads; woods at Medmenham ;" Fhytoloyist, i. 993, o.b.; Dane
Garden Wood ; Fennell's Wood ; Hughenden Woods, very fine ;
Wendover ; Drayton Beauchamp ; Chesham. Flowers in June.

Ac ERAS R. Br.
A, anthropophora, R. Br. Man Orchis. S. — Near Wendover,
Rev. H. M. Crewe. Lister a ovata is frequently mistaken for this ;
but the two leaves of the Twayblade at once distinguish it.
Flowers in June or July.

BXTCKINGHAMSHIRE ORCHIDS.

Habenaeia R. Br.
[S: viridis, E. Br. Frog Orchis. S.— " MarlowWood, rare. Mr.
Gotoled." Botanists' Guide, i. 39. I do not know wliicli wood is
intended under this name, but have never seen E. viridis anywhere
in the county.]

m Ufolia, E. Br. Small Butterfly Orchis. S.— Heathy places
NaphiU Common, High Wycombe.

This has been recorded from several other localities, but I believe E.
chlorantha is intended in all other cases. Flowers at the latter end of June.

E. chlorantha, Bab. Large Butterfly Orchis. S.— Woods and
shady banks, frequent. Marlow ; Lane End ; Turville ; Wycombe ;
Chesham ; Wendover ; Drayton Beauchamp ; Denham, &c. N.
Akely Wood, Buckingham. Mr. TV. Walker. Flowers at the end
of May and in June.

Ophrys Linn.

0. apifera, L. Bee Orchis. S. — In several localities, but usually
in small quantity. Chalky banks and open places in woods.
" Woods between the Oxford and Henley roads," Marlow, Phyto-
gisti. 993. o.s. Fawley Wood, Mr. Stuohs ; formerly "most
abundant in a field at the back of the three houses on the bank
near Miss Harrison's mill [between Wycombe Marsh and Loud-
water], close to a little wood of firs," Mr. Aug. Gaviller, in lit. ;
Keep Hill ; Fennell's Wood ; White Hill, near Beaconsfield ;
Hughenden Woods ; "Garrard's Cross, in a chalk pit, plentifully,"
BlacJcstone; Whiteleaf Cross ; Chesham ! ; Canal bank and rectory
meadows, Drayton Beauchamp, Rev. H. E. Crewe. Dinton ;
Wendover. N. In an old disused stonejnt near Buffler's Holt,
Buckingham ! ; only three plants found. Mr. W. Walker. Adstock,
about three or four miles from Winslow, Mr. J. Mathison. Flowers
in June and July.

0. muscifera, Huds. Fly Orchis. Woods, frequent ; occasionally
on exposed chalky banks. S. — "In almost all the woods about
Marlow, more or less," Phjtologist i. 993, o.s ; Fawley Woods ;
Hughenden, in the woods and on the slopes ; FenneU'a Wood ;
" Woods about EUesborough, near Aylesbury, most abundantly,"
New Botanists' Guide, 162 ; Drayton Beauchamp; Wendover;

7G BUCKINGnAMSIIIRE ORCHIDS.

Chesliara ; abundant in a wood near the Tile House, Denham,
Tlie Miss Dmmmonds. Flowers in May and the beginning of Juno.

IIerminium R. Br.
H. Monorchis, E. Br. Musk Orchis. S. — " In a chalkpit by the
roadside at Gerrard's Ci'oss," Blaclcstone; Keep Hill, Wycombe,
above tha quarry and near the Park palings. Tlowers in July.

Spieanthes Rich.
S. autumnalis, Eich. Lady's Tresses. Dry open places S. —
The slopes, Pawley Court, Mr. Stubhs ; Whittington Park ; lane
leading from Loudwater to Plackwell Heath, Mrs. Lucas ; !
formerly found in a field near Juniper Wood, Denham, but not
observed of late years. The Miss Brummonds ; Great Hampden,
Rev. IT. H. Crewe; Hyde Heath, near Chesham, Miss Bora
Stratton ! ; Flowers in August and September.

LiSTERA R. Br.
L. ovata, R. Br. Twayblade. Woods and damp places, not very
common. S. — Whittington Park ; West Wycombe ; Eughenden;
b^- the Dyke in Wycombe Park ; Drayton Beauchamp ; Taplow ;
Denham. N. — Addington, Mr. .7. Mathison ; Tingowick Road,
Buckingham, Miss Chandler ! Flowers in May.

Neottia Linn.
N. Nidus-avis, Eich. Bird's-nost. Shady woods, frequent. S. —
" Wood near Temple House, plentiful," Blaclcstone; " Marlow
Wood, frequent, Mr. Gotohed, " Bot. Guide i. 39 ; Fawley Wood ;
Wycombe Park; Hughenden Woods ; Dane Garden and neigh-
bouring woods ; Drayton Beauchamp ; Wendover ; Chalfont; and
many other places. N. — Akely Wood, Buckingham, Mr. W.
Walker ! Flowers in May.

I never saw this plant in greater profusion than on the steep tree-covered
hill at Cliefden, above the river. It appears to flourish in the dense shade
which destroys all other plants, and attains a size rarely met with elsewhere.

Epipactis Rich.
E. latifolia, All. HoUeborine. Hilly woods. S. — Wycombe
Park ; Dane Garden Wood ; and in several woods in the neigh-
bourhood. [The following localities may apply either to this, or

BTJCKTNGHAMSHIEE OKCHIDS. 77

to the foUowing species ; Chesham ; Denham. N— Akely Wood,
Buckingham, in a part of the wood since cleared, Mr. W, Walker;
a solitary plant in a wood at Emberton, five or six miles from
Newport Pagnell, Mr. J. MatMson.'] Flowers in August.

JS. media, Fries. Helleborine, S.— In the same Wycombe
locahties as those given for the preceding. Flowers in August.

/3. K ptirpurata, Sm. " There is an Epipactis growing in the
Stokenchurch woods, which is, in its young state, quite purple in
both leaves and stem ; it must, I suppose, be E. purpurata. I
have seen it also in Bisham Wood, but have not had an opportu-
nity of seeing it in flower." G. G, Mill in Phjtologist i. 993, o.s.
A specimen corresponding with these particulars was found by
Mrs. Lucas, near Hampden ; it was not in blossom.

If I am correct in distinguishing E. latifolia from E. media, I may mention
the foUowdng differences between them. E. media is a taller plant than
E. lati/olia, and is altogether Ughter ir. colour ; the lip, which is purple in
E. latifolia, is often almost colourless in E. media, and the latter blossoms a
few days earlier than the former. In E. media the lip is longer than broad,
terminating in a sharp point; in E. latifolia it is broader than long, and the
point is blunt, usually curved under. The occurrence of a solitary Helle-
borine in a large wood, recorded above, calls to mind a singular circumstance
in connection with the species, which is shared by the Bee Orchis and others.
I refer to the sudden appearance, of the plant in certain localities. A few
years ago, an Epipactis appeared in the shrubberies, lawns, and even the
flower-beds of Chase Cottage, Enfield ; a few plants even sprung up in a
neighbouring meadow. No cause could be assigned for this. Near Broome
Park, Kent, a certain field was under the plough for forty years, after this it
was laid down for grass, and the third year aftei it was thus laid down there
appeared in it at least a hundred Bee Orchises. (See Plnjiologist vi. 298-300,
N.S.)

E. palustris, Sw. Marsh Helleborine.— In damp places. S. —
Whittington Park, Lane End, Mr. T. P. Lucas ! Flower

June.

Cephalantheea Iticli.

C. grandiflora, Bab. White Helleborine.— Woods; occasionally,
but rarely, in open places. S.— "Woods about Marlow, and
other parts of the county." JTudson ; Wood at Harleyfordj

78 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ORCHIDS.

Phytologist i. 993, o.s.; Fawley Woods ; Cliefdea -n-oods, woods
about Wycombe, general; Keep Hill, Chesham, Wcndovcr,
Drayton Beaucbamp, Denham, etc. Flowers in May and tbo
beginning of June.

From this list it will be seen that the Orchidacew chiefly affect the south
of our county. This is, in a great measure, owing to the prevalence of a
chalky soil ; but it must be remembered that North Buckinghamshire is
still unworked, and it is hoped that several species, at present unrecorded
for that division, may reward those who will take up the subject.

James Britten.

Continued from page 54.

Genus Curruca.
51. Curruca bortensis. Tbe Garden Warbler.

We frequently meet witb tbis species at Cookbam, especially
during tbe autumn, wben tbe elder-berries are ripe. At tbat timo
tbese birds congregate in tbe elder trees in company witb tbe
Blackcaps, and commit great havoc ; I bave seen as many as ten
or twelve birds in a tree at tbe same time. A pair of Garden
Warblers in my collection were procured by Mr. Briggs, on tbe
7tb of July, 1867, and were sbot by bim very early in tbe morning.
Tbey were both busily engaged in bunting for insects under tbe
leaves at tbe top of an elm tree, and were feeding in company ;
on dissection, bowever, tbey turned out to be botb males. I re-
member on one occasion finding a Garden Warbler's nest at
Steeple Gidding, in Huntingdonsbire, built in an open scrub, far
away from any otber trees or busbea.

. 52. Curruca atricapilla. Tbe Blackcap.

As I have just mentioned, tbe Blackcap is often observed in tbe
autumn in company witb tbe foregoing species on tbe elder trees.
It sometimes breeds in tbe grounds at Formosa, and one ben-bird

BIKDS OF COOKHAM AKI) THE NEIGHBOUKHOOD. 79

in my collection vas picked up on the carriage-drive, completely
egg-bound. I may add that in my collection I have a pair of
Blackcaps from the Eiver Gambia, in West Africa. This fact is
interesting as showing the locality to which the bird takes its
flight in winter. I believe, however, that the Blackcap often re-
mains in this country the whole year round.

Sub-fa7n. CALAMOHERPNta;.

Genm Looustella.
53. Locustella Eayi. The Grasshopper Warbler.

A single specimen of this Warbler is in Mrs. De Vitre's col-
lection at Formosa. It was obtained by Mr. Briggs in a small
hedge close to Cookham church-yard. His attention was drawn
to it by its peculiar note, and he tells rile he had very great dif-
ficulty in perceiving its whereabouts, in consequence of the ven-
triloquial character of the note, but he succeeded at last in finding
and shooting the bird. With regard to the deceptive character
of the note of the Grasshopper Warbler, Mr. H. Whitely, of
Woolwich, a well-known and experienced field-naturalist, informs
me that he has observed the same peculiarity, and he accounts for
it in this way. In watching the habits of birds among the furze
on open commons, he has often been within a few yards of Grass-
hopper Warblers, and as the bird creeps among the lower twigs
of the furze-bushes it only emits a slight noise, which by degrees
increases in intensity ; he has observed the throat on these oc-
casions, and has distinctly noticed the increased effort on the
part of the bird.

Genus Calamodyta.
54. Calamodyta phragmitis. The Sedge Warbler.

This species is common all along the banks and reed-beds of
the Thames in summer, and I have frequently found their nests.
Genus Calamoherpe.
55. Calamoherpe strepera. The Beed Warbler.

This bird is usually known by the name of the Eeed Wren, but
as I have before observed, we ought to be careful in assigning

80 BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD.

the proper names to the different species of British birds, a ruTo
very often neglected even by experienced ornithologists. The
present bird has nothing at all to do with the Wrens {Troglodytes),
any more than the Willow Warbler, usually miscalled the Willow
Wren, has.

The Eeed Warblers, as observed at Cookham, always build in
the reeds on the banks of the Thames, or in the willows over-
hanging the water. On no occasion have either Mr. Briggs or my-
self noticed them building their nests at any great distance from
water.

Fam. MusoiCAPiD^.

Oenus BuTALis.

56. Butalis grisola. Spotted Flycatcher.

This familiar bird is known by every one who has a garden,
for nearly every verandah or trellis-work round the house is
certain at one time or another to have been occupied by a Fly-
catcher's nest. At Mr. Burrows' house, at Cookham, I have seen
two Flycatcher's nests in close proximity, and have taken great
deUght in watching the little birds busily engaged in feeding their
young, and so fearless were they, as not to heed in the least the
presence of many spectators. It is believed that the same
pair always occupy the nest, which has been tenanted for a great
many years.

At a recent meeting of the Zoological Society, Mr. A. D.
Bartlett, the well-known Superintendent of the Society's Gardens
in the Eegent's Park, mentioned that under the nest of a pair of
Flycatchers built in his house in the gardens, he used to notice
little pills upon the ground, being, as he expresses it, " the most
beautiful blue piUs he ever saw in his life." On examination he
found that these little pills were pellets thrown up by the Fly-
catchers, while the metallic blue appearance which they presented
was caused by the remains of the outside cases of the bodies of
blue bottle flies on which the birds had been feeding. I may
mention that the Spotted Flycatcher was among the birds recently
brought home by Mr. Jesse, from Abyssinia.

THE BIRDS OP COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOTTEHOOD. 81

Fam. LANHDiB.

Genus. Lanixts.

57. Lanius excubitor. The Great Grey Shrike.

Mr. Briggs informs me that he has known several instances of

the occurrence of this Shrike in the neighbourhood of Cookham,

the latest being one shot at Hedsor, in the autumn of 1867.

Genus. ENJfEocToNus.

58. Enneoctonus collurio. The Eed-backed Shrike.
This bird was formerly plentiful, but is now scarce at Cookham.

I shot a male bird on May 27th, 1865, as mentioned in the
Naturalist (vol. ii. p. 89.) Since then I have only obtained one
other specimen, likewise a male, which Mr. Briggs shot. On the
30th November, 1868, some bird-catchers noticed a brown bird
fly in pursuit of a wren in a wood at Hampstead, and succeeded
in capturing both pursuer and pursued. The bird turned out to
be a young female Eed-backed Shrike, which must have been
hatched very late to have been met with in this country in
November. Both birds are now in the collection of my friend, Mr.
W. T. Ansell, who had them preserved to commemorate the
occurrence.

I have in my collection several fine specimens of Enneoctonus
collurio, from Damara Land in South- West Africa ; and Mr. Jesse
also met with it during the late Abyssinian expedition.

Fam. Troqlodttidje.
Genus. Troglodytes.

59. Troglodytes eiiropseus. The Common Wren.

I can gay nothing concerning the well-known " Jenny Wren,"
which would be new to my readers. It is common at Cookham,
and breeds plentifully in the neighbourhood.

Fam. Vasidm.

Genus, Partjs.

60. Parus cseruleus. The Blue Titmouse.

61. Parus major. The Greater Titmouse.
These two species are common at Cookham.

82 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOTJEHOOD.

62. Parus ater. Tlie Coal Titmouse.

Unlike tlie two last-named birds, the Coal Tit is by no means
plentiful near Cookham, and I have only one specimen in my
collection.

Genus P/ecilb.
63. PaecLle palustris. The Marsh Titmouse.

This bird, the reasons for the generic separation of which I

fully explained in my paper on the " British Tits " read some time

ago before the Society, is rather more plentiful than the Coal

Titmouse, but cannot be said to be common.

Genus Acredula.

64. Acredula rosea. The Long-tailed Titmouse.

I would draw attention here to the facts lately published by me
in the 'Ibis,' which may not have been seen by my readers, of
there being two distinct species of Long-tailed Tit found in Europe,
both of which have been met with in Great Britain. I therefore
give the following extract, the particulars of which will doubtless
interest many not previously acquainted with the subject.

"I am sure that no ornithologist, comparing carefully the plate
of Parus caudatus in Mr. Gould's ' Birds of Europe ' with any
coloured figure of tlie bird of the same name in the works of
German or Scandinavian authors would consider that they repre-
sented the same species ; for the male of the Scandinavian bird is
always figured with a white head, while the male of the British
species has a band on each side of the head extending from the
eye to the nape, the female only of the former having a dusky
band on each side of the head, as in loth sexes of the English bird.
This, then, is the principal point on which I ground my propo-
sition that they ought to be recognized as specifically distinct, viz.,
that the sexes of the British bird arealike, while in the Scandinavian
Bottle-Titmouse they differ considerably one from the other. Nor
is my conviction founded on figures in any work alone ; for I have
specimens from Great I>ritain, Denmark, Holland, and Germany;
and I propose now to consider the geographical distribution of the
two species, so far as the material I have at hand will allow me 5

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOTJRHOOD. 83

and it -will be seen that all I have to add is in favour of their spe-
cific separation."

For the loan of the Danish birds I am indebted to the Rev.
H. B. Tristram, who has always most kindly lent me specimens
to aid me in my studies ; but as in the present instance the sexes
of the specimens were not marked, I cannot rely on their correct
determination. They are both young birds, in which stage of
plumage the two species appi-oach each other ; but Scandinavian
examples always have the white on the head and throat much
purer than in any British specimen I have yet seen. I possess,
however, through the kindness of Mr. J. G. Keulemans, of Leyden,
a pair of adult birds from Holland, concerning which he has sent
me the following note: — "The two birds I have sent you are
male and female. The old male has a pure white head, and is
less rufous on the back. Very young ones resemble the female,
but are browner on the head. You will thus see that I have sent
you a pair of adult birds. It is seldom that Farm caudatus is
found breeding in the winter time. It breeds in Northern
Europe and only comes to us in winter ; and from October to
March they are seen flying in flocks of from five to twenty in-
dividuals. These flocks consist of the old birds and the family of
young ones."

From the foregoing remarks it will be seen that the white-
headed Titmouse only comes to Holland in the winter. In
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, however, it breeds, according
to the ornithologists of those countries, and in the two last-
mentioned as far north as lat. 63 degrees* Still in Norway it is
probably a local species, for my friend Mr. F. W. Backhouse
tried unsuccessfully during a three months' trip last summer to
procure me a specimen, and the bird was not known to the
country people of whom he enquired.

The white-headed Bottle-Titmouse would, however, seem to
be common in Siberia. Middendorff obtained an example in
January at Udskoj - Ostrog, between the Stanovoi Mountains and
the Sea of Ochotsk, which agreed with European specimens, as

* Wallengren, Naumannia, 1855, p. 136.

84 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEiaHBOURHOOD.

did also the birds procured by Schrenck in Uj)per and Lower
Amoorland. Eadde likewise procured specimens during his
journey through the south of East Siberia, and observes that they
agreed exactly with those collected by Schrenck in Amoorland.
The birds also which he obtained at Onon and Irktursk are
precisely the same as the European bird, "which,'" says he "is
very extraordinary ; for from the Upper Ussuri we have received
through Herr Maximowicz a Titmouse which neither in the
marking of the head, nor in its proportions, agrees with Parus
trivirgatua of Temminck and Schlegel, but sufficiently so with old
Siberian Long-tailed Titmice."

In Germany it also occurs ; and Mr. Harting has very kindly
given me a specimen from that country. This is a male, pro-
cured in August 1863 ; and from the worn condition of the plu-
mage it is evident that it had not begun to moult, I mention
this because it is suggested by some that the white head is only
the winter dress of the Scandinavian bird.

That the Parus caiidatus of Linnaeus was founded upon this
persistently white-headed bird there can be, I think, no doubt ;
and when we consider the characters on which Motacilla yarrelli
is distinguished from M. alba, Pyrrlmla coccinea from P. vulgaris,
Sitta casta from S. europcea, and Troglodytes horealis from T.
europaus, we cannot refuse to acknowledge the specific distinctness
of the British form, on which the name Mecistura rosea was long
ago bestowed by Mr. Blyth."*

To be continued. R. B, SHARPE.

A MONGST the heroes of ancient mythology that we used to
•^ read about in our school days, was one of the water deities
named Proteus, who had the rather whimsical foible of never

* "White's 'Natural History of Selborne.' With JSTotes by Edward
Blyth. London: 1833; p. Ill, note.

t Read before the Society at the Fifth Evening Meeting of the Fourth
Winter Stssion, March 23rd, 1869.

FEEN FEEAZS. 85

giving anyone any information if he could possibly help it ; and
who, in order to avoid doing so, adopted the somewhat perplex-
ing habit of turning himself into various forms of birds, beasts,
and fishes, and all manner of other objects, animate and inani-
mate. The name of this very slippery sea-god has been already
transferred to a tribe of plants, the Order Proteacea, because
though they agree in essential particulars, they are externally so
very unlike each other, that, as Dr. Lindley observed, " the
diversity of appearance presented by the various genera is such
as would be hard to parallel in the same Matural Order." But I
am not at all sure if the tribe of Ferns does not merit the title of
Protean quite as much as the Proteaceoe themselves ; for it is a
very large order, and among its two thousand and more species
that are already discovered and named, we find a very great va-
riety of form and considerable difi'erence in habit of growth.
There is an extraordinary diversity in the form of the fronds —
some simple in outline, some deeply cut, and varying in every
possible degree betwen linear and round, heartshaped or triangu-
lar. We have only to look at the few species that grovr in our
own country, and to contrast such ferns as the Hart's-tongue,
the Parsley Fern and the Osmunda to see what a pleasing variety
there is ; but in the numerous foreign species this diversity is
much more apparent ; and we have them also mimicking the leaves
of other plants — so that one has to look at them closely and
study their stiructure before one can believe they are ferns at all.
Then they differ so much in size. Who, that has climbed the
passes of our own lake mountains and has seen the lovely little
Parsley Fern peeping out from under huge stones, or the deUcate
Hymenophyllum growing in mossy cushions where the water
trickles from the crevices of rocks, would think that these simple
little plants claimed for their first cousins the magnificent palm-
like Tree Ferns of tropical countries ? Not many weeks ago I
stood under the shade of one of these tree ferns in a quite romantic
fern house at Tatton, the Cheshire residence of Lord Egerton.
It was a noble specimen, with a stem some ten or twelve feet
high, and a foot or more in diameter, and it was crowned with
a plume of fronds so large that, though the building was certainly

86 FEBN FEEAK?.

twenty feot wide (perhaps more, for I did not ask), they touch-
ed the walls on either side and the midribs that supported these
gigantic fronds wore as thick as my arm. What must they bo in
their native forests ?

In one respect ferns certainly emulate the Proteaceoe, for they dis-
guise themselves in a remarkable manner, species running off
into very peculiar varieties, or becoming curiously and abnormal-
ly developed : and these varieties and monstrosities are all more
or less permanent in character, and are very often capable of
being propagated; so that the fei'n-grower obtains an amazing
number of varieties, very curious in form, some of them very
pretty, but generally very troublesome to name ; and it is to
these freaks of nature, these varieties and monstrosities that I
wish to direct attention, rather than to the distinctive characters
of the genera and species.

In a state of nature perhaps there is no tribe of j)lant3 less
given to hybridisation than ferns, for though they produce an
amazing superabundance of seed (a single frond of the common
Polypody will produce eleven or twelve millions of spores) it is
only now and then that they meet with the conditions proper for
their germination and growth, so that they do not become veiy
abundant, and the chances of hybridisation are greatly reduced ;
but under cultivation, where every necessary condition is present —
a still and humid atmosphere, a warm temperature and a subdued
light — the case seems to be quite different ; and I was assured at
the Tatton fernery that hybrid ferns spring up in all directions,
and that these hybrids are, of course, very difhcult to refer to the
proper species. I am by no means certain, however, that these
young plants are really hybrids, for seedling ferns differ very
much indeed from their parents, and mistakes may easily be
made ; but if they sliould turn out to be veritable hybrids they
will furnish an incontrovertible proof, not of the presence of
sexual organs, or something analogous to them, in cryptogamic
plants, for that is a fact now pretty generally allowed, but that
the sexual organs are not in a rudimentary condition, but per-
form the same functions as they do in flowering plants.

FERN FBEAK8. 87

Ferns are very prone to become viviparous, especially in cul-
tivation—indeed, all the curious changes observed take place
more freely when ferns are cultivated than they do in a state of
nature. Our own Black Maiden-hair Spleenwort {Asplenium
adiantum-nigrum) nearly always produces young plants on the
edges of the leaves when grown in a greenhouse or under a glass
case, and many of the exotic ferns are particularly apt to do so,
and the fronds then have a very pretty and curious appearance
thus fi-inged with a number of tiny plants. The young plants
themselves fall off after a while and take root in the soil.

We often observe fronds of ferns that are forked, sometimes
very near to the point, sometimes branching as low as half way
down the leaf, and occasionally divided even below the green
part of the frond. Sometimes one or two of the pinnae are forked
as well. This development takes place in almost all, if not in all of
our British ferns, and I have myself collected fronds of Blechnum
horeale, FoIy2)odium vulgare, Polystichum aculeatum, Athyriiim
Jilix-fcemina, and of Scolopendriwn vulgare\ha,i were so divided, and
doubtless instances could be adduced of the same structure in
many other kinds. One year I found a plant of Lady Fern, of
which almost every leaf was forked, but the variety has not been
permanent, for it has since produced leaves of the usual form.

TheHart's-tongue {Scolopendriumvulgare) is perhaps more prone
to divide than any other species. One form has its fronds forked
near the apex or near the base, the branches again and again
divided, and the ultimate tips of the leaf spread out into irregular
fan-like expansions, constituting a very marked and peculiar
variety which is constant under cultivation. It is called viiilti-
fidum. This fern also produces several other pretty varieties. One
called crispum has the edges of the leaves beautifully waved and
curled in somewhat the same fashion as the leaves of a curled
kale.

The Editor of this Magazine received lately from a corres-
pondent in Scotland a very remai'kable variety of this fern. The
frond was similar in general aspect to tho one last described, the
leafy portion being more developed than the midrib, thus pro*

88 FERN FEEAK8.

ducing a frilled margin ; but instead of the leafy part being
attached to the whole length of the midrib, it was separated near
the apex, and the last half-inch of the midrib stood out like a
spine from the surface of the leaf. All the fronds upon the
plant were similarly developed ; in fact, the variety is one which
becomes j)ermanent, and is known as cornutum.

Many ferns that have compound leaves such as the Male Fern
and the Lady Fern, become very strangely developed, every
minute division of the pinnas being extended into a tassel. This
variety, which is very pretty, is generally a favourite with fern
growers. It is described in each species by the term vristatus.

I have several times gathered, both in Cheshire and in Glou-
cestershire, a variety of the common Male Fern which as far as I
know, seems to have escaped notice. It is a very showy variety,
growing much lai'ger and more lax than the plant usually grows.
The fronds are barren, or produce only a few sori, when the
indusium seems to be suppressed altogether. 1\\e pinnm become
very long and broad — not so taper as usual, but the sides parallel
and then abruptly contracting — not to a point, but to a rounded
apex. The pinnules are also very large, and they again are cut
into round lobes. I do not know whether this variety is per-
manent, but as most of the monstrosities of ferns can be per-
petuated, I presume that it would be permanent if brought into
a garden.

I have a dried frond of the common Prickly Fern {Polystichum
aculeatum) which has taken a very remarkable form. It grew in
my own garden, and had been but recently transplanted from
the woods ; so that the change of soil and situation probably
exercised an influence upon its growth. The lower half of this
frond has all the characters of P. aculeatum, and differs in no
way from the rest of the fronds upon the plant ; but at this
point it abruptly changes, and the upper half exactly resembles
P. loncMtis, not only in general form, having short undivided
pinn(B, but even in the absence of brown scales upon the rachis.
Whether this frond shews that aculeatmn and lonchitis are perma-
nent varieties of one species, as some botanists think, I do not

INSTDTCT OR KEASON? 89

venture to say. The other half of my frond may be only the
variety that is known as lonchitidoides, but I have compared it
over and over again with veritable lonchitis, and I can detect no
difference.

Almost every fern is subject to these and other forms of abnor-
mal development, but to notice all the Fern Freaks would require
a volume. Here, therefore, I must end my chapter, and refer
the reader for further information to Moore's "Handbook of
British Ferns," where most of the varieties are described.

EoBERX Holland.

ittistittrt w^mott?

The following anecdotes may not prove uninteresting ; whether
exhibiting mere instinct, or some degree of reasoning, I
wiU leave my readers to decide. Instinct and reason are so
nearly allied, that though the latter be superior to the former,
the shades of difference in many instances are so fine, that the
result may without dispute be attributable to either. About
sixty years ago a Captain Moore, of Mitcham, in Surrey, and a
bachelor friend of the name of Potter, paid a visit to a farmer of
the name of Chown, at Chorley, near West "Wycombe, for the
purpose of enjoying some sport in the way of shooting. They
were accompanied by a brace of pointers, one belonging to each.
Now, the dog belonging to Mr. Potter, was to him a com-
panion both by night and day, being privileged to sleep in his
master's bedroom when at home. Arrived at Mr. Chown's, the
dogs accompanying their master in a chaise, no difficulty was ex-
perienced until night, when the captain communicated to his
friend the unpleasant intelligence that his dog could not be per-
mitted to sleep in his bedroom ; for their hostess was one who
prided herself on her polished floors, and to have a dog sleep
in a bedroom would be an act of unpardonable profanity. Ac-
cordingly, with the assistance of their host, a nice bed was pre-
pared in the calves' pen in the cow-house, and just the last thing

90 INSTINCT OR REASON?

before retiring to rest, Mr. Potter, with his friend, saw the dog
Ponto comfortably and duly locked in for the night. Early next
morning Mr. Potter was up, and his first solicitude was to see
after his dog. On arriving at the cow house no familiar greeting
met hia ear ; he unlocked the door, entered the calves' pen, but
no Ponto was there. A hole gnawed through the boards
showed his way of exit ; calling, whistling, was of no avail.
Potter fretted and lamented, while the captain gave encourage-
ment that all would be right. Mr. Potter posted a letter, and in
a few days received the cheering answer from the housekeeper
that Ponto was quite safe lying comfortably on the hearth rug,
and that on opening the door the nest morning after his de-
parture, the dog was found waiting for admission. The journey
from Mitcham was upwards of thirty miles, the river Thames
intervening. The dog had ridden to Chorley, but in one night
found its way home.

Ruthven, a Bow-street officer, weU known in his day for the
part he took in the apprehension of the Cato-street conspirators
in 18 — , related to me that when a young man, he had a terrier
of the black-and-tan breed. Mr. Euthven resided in lodgings
consisting of one room, in Street, London. His atten-
dance being required at the sessions held at Kingston-on-
Thames, to give evidence against some burglars, he locked his
dog Blucher up in his room, walked to Gracechurch-street,
where he took one of the two-horse stages, riding outside, for
Kingston. He had been there for a few hours attending in court,
when one of his brother officers said to him " Euthven, have you
your dog with you?" "No," says he, "I left him at home.' »
" WeU," says his friend, "he is here, for I saw him looking
about among the people, as if he wanted to find some one ;"
"Impossible!" says Ruthven. "It's true," says his friend,
" he came up to me and I called him by his name, and patted him ;
you had better come and find him." Euthven came amongst the
people, and in less than five minutes his favourite dog Blucher
found him and showed himself much delighted in recognising
Lis master. Euthven, on his return to his lodgings, found that

NATUJBALISTS' KALENDAE. 91

the dog had gnawed his way through the door ; and successfully
carried out a determined scheme to find his master. This anecdote
I had years ago from Euthven himself. — H. G.

/JC^t/Mr^^x^''< ^'t><H^^^^AJ

fatuvaliist^' l^aHawtat'.

\_Under this head wo 2>ropose to give a record of the more remarkable facts of
Natural History connected with our own neighbourhood and adjoining
counties: the dates of the flowering if jjlants, of the arrival aiid departure
of our migratory birds; etc. Any assistance mill be gladly received by
the Editor.'^

The following plants were in blossom at Wycombe prior to
Jan. 1 : ~£i\Q\^oxi {Rammcuhis Ficaria), Dog's Mercury {Mercurialis
perennis), Hazel, and Mountain Craiiesbill Geranium ftyrenaicum).

Jan. 1. Daisy, Red and White Dead-nettles, Sun Spurge,
Shepherd's Purse, Groundsel, Euphorhii Pejjlus, Poa trivialis, and
Veronica Buxlaumii in flower.

4. Sweet Violet (wild) in blossom.

9. The following garden plants in flower : Mignonette, Car-
nation, Anemone, Great Periwinkle, Borage, Mai'ygold, Erysimum
Perojfslcianum.

12. Mr. D. Avery observed a pair of Stonechats {Pratincola
rtdicola) on Lane End Common : they have been there for some
days. See vol, ii. p. 29.

1 3. HedgeMustard ( Sisymhriiun officinale), Strawberry {Fragaria
vesca), and Barren Strawberry {PotentiUa Fragariastrum) in flower.

14. Senecio aquaiicus flowers.

24. A Robin's nest with three eggs in it observed near Buck-
ingham. — Field, Feb. 6.

28. A new Thrush's nest. Partridges pair. A fine male
Badger captured in Oxford. — "It was a good deal bitten and
bruised, and must, no doubt, have been bolted (? baited) not
long before. It was kept for about two days alive, but, obstin-
ately refusing to take any nourishment, died in little less than 50
hours after capture. It has been sent to town for preservation,

92 NATUEALISTS' KALENDAB.

and -will after that be placed in the new Museum, as being the
last specimen of this now rare animal known to have been cap-
tured in Oxfordshire." — Field, Feb. 6.

Feb. 2. Bat {Scotojihilus murinus) observed at 2.30 p.m. in a
street in Eeading. — Standard, Feb. 4.

1 1 . Hawthorn in leaf.

21. Mezeron in flower in King's Wood. Blackthorn blossoms.

23. Coltsfoot flowers.

24. Butterbur {Petasites vulgaris), and Hairy Violet {Viola
hirta) in blossom. Mezereon in flower in Dane Garden Wood.

March 1. Fumitory {Fumaria officinalis) and Moschatel {Adoxa
moschatellina) flower.

2. Wood Sj)urge {Euphorhia amygdalo'ides), Stitchwort {Stellaria
Holostea), and Cowslip in blossom. In the lane between West
^Vycombe and Downley, two patches of Sweet Yiolets with claret-
coloured flowers were found, as well as a great number with pink
flowers.

3. Windflower {Anemone nemorosa) blossoms.
14. Gooseberry (wild) flowers.

IP. Marsh Marigold {Caltha palustris) flowers.

22. Cow Parsley {Anthriscus sijlvestris) blossoms.

23. Cuckoo heard.

26. Ground Ivy and Wood Sorrel flower.

'^xmtiixwp t>i \\u ^uui^.

FOURTH WINTER SESSION— 1868-1869.

Third Evenikq Meeting, Tuesday, February 2. — Held, by kind per-
mission, at the house of John Parker, Esq,, jun. The Secretary read a
paper, communicated by Robert Holland, Esq., of Mobberley, "On some
obscure points in Vegetable Physiology." He first spoke of the transverse
markings which may be observed on the outside bark of trees, especially
noticeable on the Paper Birch of North America {Bettda pajyyracea). These
bands take their rise in the mesophlseum i and Mr. Holland suggested that
^l?Mt^ i>ffl»?e ttiBy pc««IWj' V(* t« «!0HVfe^ hit IhrbvigH \)x<i tmjpStfVleWii ettteir feftrS*

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 93

to the interior of the plant. " In thia respect they appear to bear some
analogy to the medullary rays, -which are supposed to convey air from the
bark to tha young wood, and they may be the very organs by which the
medullary rays communicate with the atmosphere. They might, with great
propriety, be called mesojyhlaiic ia?ic?s." The second point to which atten-
tion was directed, was the relationship between a graft or a bud, and the
stock upon which it is worked. Although the graft grows by means of the
sap supplied to it through the stock, and though the stock increases in size
by the deposition of wood from the graft, the stock and the graft each retain
their specific character, even to the minutest particular of colour, size, form,
and qualities. Several instances which were apparently exceptions to this
rule were cited, the chief of which was Ci/tisus Adami, This, which is evi-
dently a hybrid between C. Labnrmim and C. purpureus, is usually propa-
.gated by grafting on the former. It has dingy red flowers, but very
frequently reverts by bud-variation to its own parents, and bears, intermixed
amongst its own branches, others which produce the flowers and leaves of
C. Labttrnum, and some which produce theflowers and leaves of 0, purpxireus.
, . . . So far this strange plant appears to afibrd only a very fine
example of bud-variation, but let us enquire how the hybrid was produced.
In the first place, all attempts have failed to produce, by aHiJicial impreg-
nation, a hybrid between C. Laburnum and C. purpureus. But in a bed of
seedling Laburnums which were grown in a garden where C. furpureus also
grew, there were some veritable hybrids ; so that it seems that in a state of
nature it is possible for an occasional hybrid to occur between the two species.
But the account given by M. Adam himself of the origin of the hybrid is
very different and highly curious. He had grafted a bud of C purpureus
into a stock of C. Laburmim. This bud remained dormant the first year,
but the year after sent up a great many branches, one of which grew much
more luxuriantly than the rest. Now, this robust branch was propagated
before it had florvered, and the young plants were sold for C purpureus,
which it was only rational to expect they would be ; but when they came
to flower, they turned out to be hybrids. Here, then, is a case in which the
stock seems to have affected the graft in a most remarkable manner. But
the probable explanation of the phenomenon is, that a bud of the purpureus
graft united in some way with a bud of Laburnum stock, which happened to
touch it ; and that the hybrid was formed by the union of buds, and not
from any influence the stock exercised upon the graft." After glancing at
parasites in connexion with this subject, Mr. Holland spoke of the theory of
morphology, and adduced many illustrations in support of it ; these in-
cluding instances, not merely of reversion, but of the conversion of certain
parts of plants into the more complex organs. The paper, which was very
iftte*i8BtiJig> wae listened t« throughout \vith Rr^Rt ftttentio^t* The Preaidettl

94 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

then gave a popular description [of the polariscope and spectroscope, with
exhibitions of each. The following objects were exhibited :— Dried plants,
by Jtliss Cliandler, illustrating the Orchidacew, Prinmlacece, Cruciferce, and
ItatutHCulacefC; specimens of Humming-birds, by the President ; a cast of
Liiiudus gi/jantetisirom. the lithographic limestone (Upper Oolite), Eichstiidt,
Bavaria ; etc. The microscopic portion of the evening was devoted to the
inspection of polarised objects, mostly prepared by the President: amongst
the most beautiful of these were the prisms contained in a section of the shell
of an oyster, and the different forms of lime-crystals contained in a section
of shrimp-shell, the spiral vessels of a rush, crystals of nitre, etc.

Fourth Evening Meeting, Tuesday, Febkuary 23. — Held at the house
of John Parker, Esq., at his kind invitation. T. Marshall, Esq., read a
paper on "Our Water-Birds," in which the more generally known species
were described from personal observation, and their habits referred to. This
Avas followed by one from the Secretary, " On English Plant-Names," being
an amplification of one read by him at the First Evening Meeting of the
present session. Keferring in the first place to the Christian names which
have been bestowed upon plants, he instanced many which had been trans-
ferred from plants to people and places. He then glanced at the terminology
of English plant-names, as -ock, -wort, -weed, -grass, -cress. Ominous
names, such as "Mother-dee," " Thunner-flower," and "Bloodyman's
Finders " were noticed, as well as the traditions connected with them, which
in some cases originated, in others took their origin from, the name. Many
local traditions from various sources, bearing on love-affairs, were quoted, as
well as others, of more serious import, which associated death or some other
catastrophe with the plucking of certain flowers. The confusion of plant-
names which renders their study more puzzling was attributed in a great
measure to the " poetical license " in such matters of the older writers ; and
Tennyson's poems were cited as affording a good example of fidelity to
nature in their allusions to natural objects. Scriptural plant-names were
contrasted with such as are any thing but saintly in their allusions : and the
paper concluded with a reference to those plants which are, by local name
and tradition, associated Avith events in English history. After conversation
on the subject of the paper, an exhibition of objects with the President's
microscope took place — among them was a section of the human tongue
(injected) showing the capillaries that run into the papilla ; elytra (wing-
cases) of the Tiger Beetle {Cicindela campestris) ; a transverse section of a
Lion's whisker ; sections of fossil teeth ; &c. The Secretary exhibited
specimens of the Green Hellebore {Uelleborus viridis) from Matching's "Wood,
West Wycombe ; a collection of very ancient fossil remains, and a ePecimen
of the Pipefish {Si/ngnathus typhle) were also on the table.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. 95

FiPTH Etening Meeting, Tuesday, March 23.— Held, by kind per-
mission, at the house of Mr. K. Vernon. The first paper, " On Fern
Freaks," was communicated hy Robert Holland, Esq., it will be found at
p. 84 of the present number. Very fine specimens of Scolopendrium multi-
fidum and S. ci-ispum were exhibited in connection with this paper. The
Rev. "W. H. Painter had forwarded a paper, " On the South Staffordshire
Coal-fields," which was read by the President ; it was Ulustrated with a map
and characteristic fossils ; specimens of the yarious kinds of coal in use for
domestic purposes were exhibited by Mr. R. Vernon. After some little con-
versation and discussion, the Secretary read a paper, forwarded by the Rev.
H. Harpur Crewe, of Drayton Beauchamp, " On the Prominent-Moths of
Buckinghamshire." This, which will be published in a future number,
was illustrated by two collections, chiefly of Buckinghamshire specimens ;
one sent by the author of the paper, the other by the Rev. Canon Smith, of
Marlow. The President exhibited an interesting and instructive collection
of marsupial (or pouched) animals from Australia, and pointed out the fact
that many of the fossils of that country were also of the marsupial type,
some of them appearing most gigantic when compared with their living
analogues. As an illustration of this, there was placed by the side of a recent
"Wombat (Phascolomys Wombat) casts of portions of the jaws of the Phot-
colomys gigas (Owen), the originals of which are in the British Museum.
Besides the "Wombat, there were specimens of the Vulpine Opossum
(Phalangista vulpina), the Sugar (flying) Squirrel {Petaurus Sciureus), the
Flying Mouse, {Phalangista gliriformis), the Longnosed Bandicoot (Perameles
nasjita), and the Common Phascogale (Phascogale penieillata) ; also the
hind foot of the Giant Kangaroo {Maoropug giganteus). The Secretary ex-
hibited a collection of British Ferns, and a portfolio of specimens of rai-e
British plants : also living specimens of the Violets of the district, including
Viola odorata, V. Idrta, and V. Eeichenlaehiaim. Fossil fish and coprolitic
remains were shown by the President. The members were greatly interested
in some newly-hatched Trout, in various stages of development, which were
brought by Mr. Saimders. One of these, under the microscope, exhibited
the arterial and venous circulation of the blood, and the connection between
the arteries and veins by means of the capillaries : the action of the heart
could also be clearly distinguished. The meeting, which was very largely
attended, separated about 10 p.m.

Peport of fhe Manchester Field Natnralistif Society for 1868.

As might be supposed, this report of one of the largest of our Field
Naturalists' Societies, cannot fail to be of interest ; to us it is especially

96 BOOKS RECEIVED,

interesting, inasmuch as we received from Mr. Grindon, the indefatigable
secretary, much assistance and advice as to the formation of our own more
humble Society. It is instructive to compare the record of our own pro-
ceedings with that of the Manchester Naturalists ; and it tends to aUe\'iate
the disappointment which we have felt at the non-attendance at our rambles,
to find that a similar circumstance has to be regretted by the secretary of
this large society. As an appendix to this report, two papers are given :
one by Mr. Grindon, " On the Trees, Plants, and Vegetable Products (in ad-
dition to Cotton) which are specially connected M'ith Manchester manufac-
tures ;'' the other on "Rocks and Fossils," by Mr. Holland. Both are
interesting ; and Mr. Holland evinces, in his geological paper, the same happy
method of popularising his subject, which has rendered his botanical con-
tributions to our own pages so generally appreciated.

Quarterly Journal of the Folkestone Natural Histori/ Society; No. 2.

The printing of this number shows a marked improvement on its pre-
decessor. The contents are varied of both general and local interest ; among
the former we may note the papers on "' Buttercups," " The Fertilisation of
Orchids," and " Winter "Work ;" among the latter the two pages on " Local
Museums," and the "Notes and Queries."

Hardmiche^s Science- Gossip, iVys. 49, 50, 51.

We have so constantly recommended this to our readers, that little re-
mains for us to say about it, except cordially to endorse our previously
expressed opinion. Our readers will recognise the paper on "English
Plant-Names," as being the substance of one read at our first Evenmg
Meeting. It is difficult to select any one paper for special praise ; but those
on "Buds as Objects for Winter study," "Myriapods," "Poppy Seeds,'' and
" Sea Anemones," are among the most valuable contributions. The
"Correspondence" always an attractive feature in this magazine, is, as usual,
varied and interesting.

TJic Naturalists' Note-Booh, Nos. 25, 26, 27.

We note with pleasure a great improvement in the contents of this
periodical. Greater prominence is given to original papers, and, we think,
wisely ; but we are sorry to see that the " Short Notes " seem in danger of
being " crowded out." We would venture too, to suggest that the corres-
pondence upon such vexed questions as "The Reason of Animals," and " Do
Insects feel Pain ?" should be controlled within more reasonable limits,
especially when personalities are introduced. The papers " On Insect
Medicine and Folk-lore," " On the British Geoinetrm," and " The Song
Thrash, and Thrush Snaxes," are among the most interesting of the contents
of the three numbers before us.

Z\h "^vmimwi Pothsi of iucljuujttam^ItU'^ *

By the Eev. H. Hakpuk-Cbewb.

npHIS most beautiful family of moths may well be styled the
-L creme de la cnlme of the British Lepidoptera. There is an in-
describable softness and beauty of colouring in the caterpillar,
and a refined loveliness in the perfect insects ; they are, with few
exceptions, so rare and difficult to obtain that they may most
classically be called the aristocracy of the Scale-winged Moths.

The name of Prominent Moths is, I may remark, given to this
family from the very sharp and prominent ridge which the edges
of the anterior wings of the j^erfect insect present as it sits at rest ;
and more especially from the fact that in most of the species
which form this group there is on the lower edge of each anterior
wing a small pyramidal appendage which, when the insect sits at
rest with closed roof-like wings, forms a very remarkable
prominence towards the centre of the ridge. Our own county of
Buckingham is singularly rich in this very beautiful group of
moths. With two or three exceptions they are all found in the
shire, and that, too, in our own immediate neighbourhood. No
less than fifteen species have been taken iu Buckinghamshire ; I
have taken thirteen myself. I propose to take them in order and
tell you how, and where, and when to take them.

] . Stauro2MS Fagi (the Lobster Moth). — This insect is one of
the largest in the group, and also one of the rarest. It derives its
name from its very singular caterpillar, a most remarkable
creature, of a reddish-brown colour, with numerous long thin
sprawling legs, in appearance strongly resembling the crustacean
whose name it bears. It feeds, as far as my own experience
goes, exclusively on the beech, in August and September. I have
several times beaten it into an umbrella from the overhanging

* Eead before the Society at the Sixth Evening Meeting of the Fourth
Winter Session, April 27th, 1869,

98 THE rnOMINENX moths of BUCKINOIIAMSniRE.

bouglis of beei'li trees in the rides of the woods at Buckland
Common and St. Leonards. It is difficult to rear, as it often
refuses to feed in confinement. The perfect insect, which is pale
reddish-brown, clouded witli a darker colour, appears in May
and June, and may bo found by searching the stems of the
large detached beech trees. It has been taken several times at
Velvet Lawn. The pupa, in common with that of all the rest of
this group, is inclosed in a strong earthen cocoon just below
the surface of the ground at the foot of the tree on which tho
larva has fed.

2. Pctasia cffssi'HCff (the Sprawlcr Moth). — If you have chanced
to look up at the gas-lamps on the outskirts of the town on a
warm, dark, still night in October, you may probably have ob-
served some largish moths dashing wildly about them, or seated
at rest on their sides ; and if you have taken tho trouble to catch
one of them, the chances are ten to one that you have captured
the pretty soft-looking pale brown moth streaked with black,
which, why or wherefore I know not, goes b}^ the name of the
Sprawler. Tho caterpillar is a beautiful glossy yellowish-green,
striped with white. It feeds on various trees in May, e. g., beech,
hazel, lime, and oak ; and is particularly partial to the wych elm,
from which tree I have beaten it in some numbers in Suffolk. I
used to spread a large sheet under the tree and beat the boughs
with a long pole. I have taken the perfect insect at lamp-light
when sitting reading in my room at Drayton-Beauchamp.

3. Glu2)hisia crenata (the Dusky Marbled-Brown Moth). — This
insect is so rare that I believe onl^' four have ever been taken in
Great Britain ; ono of these was beaten, in the caterpillar state,
from a poplar tree at Halton a few years since by my excellent
friend the Eev. Joseph Greene, in whose collection I have
frequently seen the perfect insect. There is little doubt that the
insect occurs all over the county, and only requires to be looked
for to be found. Tlio moth is a dull-coloured insect of little
beauty. Tho larva is pale green, with a yellow line on each side,
and some conspicuous rusty-red spots on flie back.

■1. Ftilopliora phimigcra (the Plumed Prominent), — The males

THE PROMINENT MOTHS OF BUCKINGHAMSHrRE. 99

of all the Prominent family are prettily feathered and plumed, but
the plumes of this species are so singularly large and beautiful
that it has been styled, par excellence, the Plumed Prominent.
When almost all nature is asleep in the gloomy month of
November this beautiful and delicate moth is busy and alive. It
generally makes its appearance with Guy Fawkes, about Nov. 5.
It is of a uniform reddish-brown ; the wings semi-transparent and
indistinctly marked with yellowish streaks. It lays its eggs,
which are of the same colour as the bark, on the twigs of the
maple ; and in May and June the caterpillar, which is long and
slender, whitish or bluish-green with white lines on the back,
may be beaten full fed from the maple bushes at the edges of the
woods. I have frequently taken it in the woods at Drayton-
Beauchamp. It is uncertain in its appearance.

5. Ptilo2)hora pdpina (the Palo Prominent). — This pale ashy-
grey insect proclaims its own name. It is one of the common
species of the family. The colour of its wings may best be
described as oak-waiuscoat-brown. It appears in June and July,
and in the two following mouths its curious powdery greenish-
white caterpillar may be fouud feeding on various species of
willow and poplar, especially the aspen and the abole. It has a
rough wrinkled back and a conspicuous yellow stripe on the sides.
The little white conspicuous eggs of this moth may be found on
the backs of the poplar leaves in July and August, and the little
larvoj are easily reared. It is found throughout the county.

6. Notodonta Camelina (the Coxcomb Prominent). — This moth,
which from its red colour and large wing protuberance, has been
named the Coxcomb, is the only one of the Prominents which can
really be called common. It is extremely abundant in- the cater-
pillar state in the months of August, September, and October,
and may be beaten from ash, beech, hazel, lime, elm, maple,
sallow, apple, and birch. It is whitish — or bluish-green, with two
conspicuous red warts near the tail, by which it may always be
distinguished from the rest of the genus. The moth is mostly red
with darker shadings. It appears from May to September, and
occurs everywhere.

100 THE TEOMINENT MOTHS OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE,

7. Notodonta cucidlina (the Maple Prominent). — This rare and
beautiful Prominent may be said to havo its head .quarters in
Buckinghamshire. I once took tNvo larvoo in Suffolk, and a
friend during many years collecting took four of the perfect insect
in the same county. I once beat two larvce from a maple bush in
Herts. It has been taken a few times in Norfolk and Kent,
but until about sixteen years ago it was one of the very rarest of
our British Lepidoptera, and lucky was the collector who possessed
a specimen in his cabinet. It so happened that one midsummer
day about that time I was entomologising in a wood in this parish
(Drayton-Beauchamp), when at the back of some maple leaves I
found a number of delicate white eggs, which I at once saw to be
the eggs of a species of Prominent Moth closely allied to the Cox-
comb, but undoubtedly distinct. I watched these eggs with the
greatest cai-e : in due time the little larvro hatched, and when full
fed I found to my intense delight that I had reared the caterpillar
of that beautiful rarity — the Maple Prominent. During the
same season my friend Mr. Greene took a number of tho larvfc in
the woods at Halton, and he and I subsequently took a large
number in the woods in this neighbourhood. The Eev. Bernard
Smith has also taken it plentifully in the neighbourhood of Marlow,
and there is little doubt that it occurs in most parts of tho county.
The moth appears about midsummer ; the larva — which is pale
whitish-green, slightly hairy, with a hump in the middle of the
back, and always rests with its tail in the air — feeds exclusively
on the maple, and prefers those bushes which are in the middle
of tho beech woods. It is full fed in September. It feeds on the
imderside of the leaf and may easily be seen by turning the
branches back one by one, or it may be beaten into an umbrella.
The moth in shape and form most closely resembles the preceding
species, the Coxcomb, but differs widely in the colouring of the
upper wings, which are conspicuously variegated with buff and
white.

8. Notodonta Carmelita (the Carmelite Prominent). — This
beautiful moth, one of the rarest of its class, has for many years
past been taken sparingly in Black Park, a wood belonging to

THE PKOiriNENT MOTHS OF BXTCKINGHAirSHIRE. 101

Sir Eobert Bateson Honey, Bart., of Langley Park. It may at
once be distinguished from the rest of its family by the almost
imiform i^urplish-red colour of the wings, relieved only by a con-
spicuous white or yellowish spot on the upper edge of the anterior
pair. The caterpillar, which is bright apple-green marked with
yellow on the back, and a white yellow and pink stripe on the
sides, feeds exclusively on the birch in July ; and on the trunks
of this tree the moth may be found sitting in May.

9. Notodonta dictcea (the Swallow Prominent). — This moth
and its neighbour the " Lesser Swallow " may at once be dis-
tinguished from all the rest of their fellows by their long, slender
shape, when at rest, much resembling that of a swallow with its
wings closed, and by tlieir uniform whitish-grey colour, with
a conspicuous dark stripe at the base and tip of the anterior
wings. In the present species these stripes are chocolate brown.
If any one will taka the trouble to turn up a number of
branches of the black, Italian, or Lombardy poplar in August and
September, the chances are that he will find various small very
white eggs, or a very long, thin, glossy, whitish-green cater-
pillar with a yellow stripe on the sides and a red hump at the
tail. These are the eggs and the larva of the Swallow Prominent
moth. It feeds upon all kinds of poplar, and sometimes, upon
sallow and wiUow. There is a variety of the caterpillar which
when full fed is of a uniform pale brown. The moth appears at
the end of May and in June and July.

10. Notodonta dictccoidcs (the Lesser Swallow Prominent.)
This moth in form and marking almost precisely resembles the
preceding species, but the dark lines in the upper wings are
always a beautiful rich ^)urj)Ush-hvo^n, whilst the intervening
portions of the wing are much whiter than in dictm. The larva
too, is totally different, being of a uniform deep purple with a
conspicuous yellow stripe on the side. It feeds invariably on the
birch and is full fed iu September and October. I have taken
both this and the preceding species in this parish (Drayton-
Beauchamp) and believe that, though they are nowhere common,
they occur wherever poplar and birch trees are to be found.

102 THE PROMINENT MOTHS OF BrCKINOnAMSniRE.

11. Nofodonta dromcdarim (tlio Iron- coloured or Dromedary
rrominoat), the latter appellation being- derived from the won-
derfully humpy appearance of ths caterpillar,— resembles the
Carmelite Prominent in colour, but is of a much darker shade.
Tlie upper wings (the rusty brown tint of which varies a good
deal in intensity) are more or less marbled with yellow. The
caterpillar, which is one of the most singular looldug creatures in
the insect creation, is bright yellowish-green, more or less saddled
on the back with purplish-brown. It has no less than five humps
on its back, and rests like the larva of the l^Iaple Prominent with
its tail in the air. It feeds in September on birch and alder, and
occasionally on hazel. I have several times taken it in this
parish. The moth appears in May, June, and July.

12. Notodonta ~icr.ac (the Pebble Prominent) is at once dis-
tinguished by the conspicuous markings at the tip of the
anterior wings, resembling the polished eye of an onyx or some
other pebblo— whence its name. It is not a very uncommon
species. Its singular brown and purple larva resembles the
larva of dromcdarim in form but has two humps loss. It feeds
upon all kinds of poplar and sallow in September and October.
The moth appears in May and June. It occurs all over tho
county.

13. I7otodoiita trepida (the Groat Prominent).— Tho larva of
this magnificent moth, the king of the Prominents, I have several
times beaten from oak trees in this neighbourhood in July. It
is as georgeously bright as the moth is softly beautiful. Tho
o-round colour is the brightest apple-green, with yellow lines on
tho back and large yellow and red stripes on tho side. I know
uothin"- more exciting to an entomologist when he has spread his
sheet under the spreading boughs of a largo oak and given one
of the branches a sharp tap witli his polo, than to hear a loud
thud on tho sheet, and to see a largo fat larva of trepida lying
sprawling on its surface. This caterpillar feeds exclusively on
the oak and is full fed in July. Tlie moth, which appears in
May, has the upper wings of a uniform soft dusty green, more
or less suffused with saffron and marbled with dark olive. It may

THE PEOMINENX MOTHS OF BUCKINGHAMSHIEE. 103

be found sitting not far from the ground on the trunks of large
oaks. When touched it moves its wings in a peculiar tremulous
manner, whence its Latin name trepida. The Essex and Suffolk
collectors have a curious and ingenious way of catching the males
of this insect. When they breed a female moth they take her
out into the vicinity of the woods before dark, and fetter her by
a horse-hair or piece of fine silk (tied round the junction of the
thorax and abdomen) to the stem of a large oak. As soon as
it is dark, various male suitors make their appearance, anxious
to woo and win. Having secured a specimen or two for his
cabinet the collector permits the wedding to take place, and is
thus sure of a set of fertile eggs to breed from for the following
year.

14. NoMonta cJiaonia (the Lunar Marbled Brown). — This
pretty rromincnt may, with the next and last species, easily bo
distinguished from its compeers by the conspicuous, broad,
whitish bar in the centre of the soft ashy-brown upper wings.
It is altogether a paler and brighter looking insect than the
next species iY. dodonma, and appears a month earlier. I have
several times beaten the larva, which is full fed at the end of June
or beginning of July, from tall oaks in this neiglibourhood. It
is a uniform glaucous sickly green, with two yellow stripes on
the back and one on the sides ; and feeds exclusively on oak. Tlie
moth appears in ^lay.

14. Notodonta dodonm (the Marbled Brown).— This pretty
little Prominent, altogether a smaller, narrower, and darker
insect than the preceding species, has its upper wings con-
spicuously marbled and bound with white, thence its name. It
appears a month later than its congener chaonia. I once beat the
larva from oak, on which it exclusively feeds, in this neighbour-
hood ; and Mr. Greene met with it sparingly at Halton. It is
exceedingly like the caterpillar of the Carmelite Prominent in
shape and colour, yellowish-green, and wrinkled with two slender
yellow dotted lines on the back and a yellow and pink stripe on
the side. It is full fed in August.

I can assure my readers that if these few disjointed remarks of

104 XnE rnOMINElST moths or BUCKINGnAMSHIEE.

mine sliould induce them to employ tlieir sj^are moments in trying,
during tlie next few years, to breed and make a collection of the
Buckinghamshiro Promineuts, they will find it a source of un-
flagging interest and unceasing delight. I have now almost given
up entomology for my flower garden but I reckon amongst the
happiest daj's of my life those in which I used to shoulder my
sheet and pole to thrash the oaks in the sunny glades for the
gorgeous larva of the regal trepida ; or hunt the maple bushes in
the deeper shades for the smaller but no less rare and beautiful
caterpill ar of cucullina.

Continued from page 84.

Eefore commencing another page of this paper on the orni-
thology of our neighbourhood I must express my heartfelt regret
that it will be continued without the coadjutation of my friend
Mr. Briggs, who was suddenly removed from amongst us on the
5th of April last. For many years Mr. Briggs was my firm
supporter and ally in the pursuit of ornithology, and I was in
the habit of taking down to him the MS. of the present paper to
get his additional notes before sending it to press. I shall en-
deavour, of course, to remember all that he told me respecting
the species hereafter to be treated of, but I had hoped to have
made our joiirnal the receptacle of many of his interesting notes
and experiences, the record of which, as unfortunately with so many
naturalists, dies with him.

Sulfam. Sittin^t;.

Genus. SiTTA.

Sitta cassia. The Common Nuthatch.

The Scandinavian Nuthatch, tlie true Sitta Euroj^aa of Linntcus
differs from our bird in having the under parts white, without
a ring of the bright rufous colouiiug so conspicvous in the

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOXTKHOOD. 105

English species. The true Sitta Ewropoea seems to be entirely
confined to the Scandinavian Peninsula, while the S. ccesia is
not confined to Great Britain, but is also the Nuthatch of France
and Central Europe. The notion that the Nuthatch was allied to
the Woodpeckers which is still to be found in some Natural
History publications, is most certainly erroneous ; as the species
is decidedly Passerine, whereas the Woodpeckers belong to the
Picarim, an entirely different order of birds. The real position of
the genus Sitta I believe to be near the Tits ( Paridce), forming
perhaps a link between these birds and the Creepers ( Certhia).
Like both of these, the Nuthatch builds in the hole of a tree,
while everyone knows the general similarity of its eggs to those
of the birds above-mentioned.

No sort of climbing comes amiss to the present species and he
may be seen to run up or down a tree, along or underneath the
branches, while his presence is often first indicated by the rasping
noise made by the bark as he detaches it from the tree. If by
vigorous tapping the Nuthatch cannot induce the insects to como
out of their hiding places, he soon makes short work of the
matter, by inserting his wedge-shaped bill, admirably adapted
for the purpose, under the bark, and tearing off a large piece.
He is particularly fond of frequenting oak-trees, and I have often
seen two or three on this kind of tree at once. When engaged
in hunting for insects, the Nuthatch utters a sharp twittering noise
which is by no means inharmonious.

Fam. Cerxhid^.

Genus Cekthia.

Certhia familiaris. The Common Creeper.

In favourite localities the Tree-creeper is common in the neigh-
bourhood of Cookham, but is rather difficult of observation.
Generally the bird first makes us aware of its proximity by its
note, which is a prolonged hissing sort of whistle, but even then
it is a hard matter to discover the bird, as its small size and
quick action render it no easy matter to discover. Sir
Victor Brooke in Zand and JVater for May 22nd, 1869,
states that he "was greatly astonished in the Kiviera, North

106 THE BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOtJUHOOD.

Italy, to hear the Trco-croeper continually singing. His song,
like his call note, is something like that of the Golden-crested
Eegulus. I could not believe my ears when I first heard the
Bong coming from the little fellow, as ho crept up tJie side of an
old olive, apparently as intent as possible on an examination
of its bark. He sings incessantly, and his song once heard can-
not be mistaken. It is a great deal stronger than the Golden-
crest's {Regulus cristatus) or the Fire-crest's {li. ignicapillus) . . .
. . . The Tree-creeper singing in Italy and never uttering a
sound here is very curious. I shot one and examined it carefully,
but did not find the slightest difference between it and the birds
of this country."

This last statement rather surprises me, as I have found con-
siderable differences between the continental Tree-creeper and
the one found in England, and I am only waiting for additional
specimens to enable me to prove that they are distinct species,
as in the case of the Long-tailed Tits.

Fani. Alaudld^.

Genus Alauda.

Alauda arborea The Woodlark.

This species is of very rare occurrence at Cookham. Great
(quantities of Woodlarks are annually sent to London from Wales,
as I learn from Mr. Davey, of Kentish Town.

Alauda arvensis- The Sky-lark.

Abundant all the year round, but receiving considerable addi-
tion to their numbers in the autumn, when they assemble in
flocks and do not sejjarate until the spring. Even in the breed-
ing season, larks may be seeu in the early morning, feeding in
company on the ploughed fields. The hind toe of this species
is always long, and is sometimes found enormously developed.

Fam. Feingillid.1:.
Sul-fam. Embeeizin^.
Genus Plectrophanes.
Plectrophanes nivalis. The Snow Bunting.

I was delighted to find a short time ago in Mr. Joseph Ford's

THB BIRDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 107

possession, a Sno-w Bunting in winter plumage, wliicli was shot
at Cookham some years ago and preserved by him. The speci-
men is now in my collection.

Genus Cyncheamus.

Cynchramus miliarius. The Common Bunting.

I cannot justify the epithet of " common " with respect to this
bird at Cookham, for it is decidedly rare, being only found in a
few localities. I have tried several times to get one lately with-
out success, nor does my collection contain a Cookham specimen.
It used to be by no means rare in the fields by the side of the
railway leading to Cock Marsh, and was often to be seen sitting
on the hedge or the palings uttering its note, which is wonder-
fully like that of the Yellow- Ammer, but without the charac-
teristic ending to the song of that better-known bird. The
present species is also called by the local names of Corn Bunting
or Bunting Lark. I found the Bunting by no means rare in
Huntingdonshire, and I collected several there, none of which
now remain in my hands ; but in the South of England it is
apparently far less common, the only specimen recently obtained
being a male caught at Hampstead in April last.
Genus Emberiza.

Emberiza citrinella. The Yeliow-Ammer.

This weU-known bird, also called the "Writing Lark" from
the pecuh'arity of the marking of the eggs, is common in the
neighbourhood.

Emberiza hortulana. The Ortolan Bunting.

In Mr. Clark-Kennedy's Birds of Berhs. the present species is
inserted on the authority of three specimens having been shot at
Cookham some years ago. Mr, Briggs informed me of the
circumstance.

Emberiza cirlus. The Cirl Bunting.

This bird is always associated in my mind with some of my
pleasantest recollections of Mr. Briggs, as he was never tired of
telHng me the story of its discovery by him at Cookham. The
first specimen obtained was at Formosa on some very tall elms
and, as he was walking near these in company with his brother,

108 THE BIEDS OF COOKHAM AND THE NEIGHBOTTRHOOD.

the latter drew his attention to the note of a bird on one of the
topmost branches, remarking that he did not believe the bird
could be a Tellow^-Ammer. Briggs accordingly came the next
morning with his gun, and shot the bird ; but having procured it
he was at a loss to tell what it was, and described it to Mr.
Gould as a hybrid between a TeUow-Ammer and Eeed Bunting.
The latter gentleman, however, told him there could not be such
a thing, and shortly after Briggs found out the species from seeing
one of Mr. Gould's figures in the Birds of Great Britain. After
that he took great interest in the Girl Bunting and during his
residence at Formosa he succeeded in procuring several specimens,
one of which, a fine male now graces my private collection. It
always surprised me how Briggs could distinguish even at a con-
siderable distance the note of the Girl Bunting from that of a
Yellow-Ammer, but he was always right, and after having
triumphantly proved the fact, he would recount how he had
puzzled persons by declaring the bird they heard not to
be a Yellow-Ammer, and then proving the fact in spite
of their scepticism, by shooting the bird in the act of singing-
The Girl Buntings obtained at Cookham are very fine, as Mr.
Gould remarks {I.e.). I sometimes get a specimen from Hamp-
stead, and near Keigate, they are by no means uncommon.

Emberiza schoeniclus. The Eeed Bunting.

A common bird, associating in flocks in the winter.
Suh-fam. FRiNOiLLiNiE.
Genus Feingilla.

Fringilla coelebs. The Ghafl&nch.

A common resident, breeding plentifully in the neighbourhood.

I have seen a large series of eggs collected at Hampstead this

year, and exhibiting every variation in the colour of the eggs

from nearly pure white to deep blue or chocolate brown spotted.

Fringilla montifringilla. The Brambling.

The Brambling is extremely numerous in winter, and large

flocks may be seen flying in the early morning from Gliefden

Woods to the beech trees in Quarry "Wood near Marlow, and

returning again in the evening. As they generally fly high in

THE BIRDS OF COOKHAiT AND THE NEIGHBOUEHOOD. 109

the air it is by no means easy to slioot them, and few fall to the
gun : but folding-nets are more destructive, and large numbers
of these pretty birds are caught near London every year. The
first Brambling was obtained at Hampstead in 1868 on the Ist
of October, a very early date for their arrival in this country.
Genus Passer.

Passer domesticus. The Common Sparrow.

Passer montanus. The Tree Sparrow.

This bird is not common at Cookham, and Mr. Briggs never
obtained a specimen till 1865, although, doubtless, he had pre-
viously overlooked the species. In the autumn of that year he
went to Cambridgeshire, where he found the bird common and
shot several specimens. On placing his foot outside his cottage
door on the first morning of his return, the first thing he heard
was the note of a Tree-sparrow, with which he had become
famihar during his recent visit to Cambridgeshire, and he soon
after shot the bird in an ash tree. This specimen is now in my
collection. On the 10th of last November I shot a second out of
a flock of birds in a stubble-field, killing two Yellow- Ammers at
the same discharge ; and in January last a third specimen was
shot near White Place. Doubtless the Tree- sparrow has often
been overlooked or confounded with the common species ; still it
cannot be called a common bird in the neighbourhood of Cookham.
Genus Ligurinus.

Ligurinus chloris. The Greenfinch.

Very common at Cookham and in the neighboui'hood.

" Science cannot, at present, aflford to throw hard words at
provincialisms. Too often, in her nomenclature, has she failed
to interpret nature ; too often only given us the skeleton leaf
instead of the flower. A long list of provincialisms might be given,
where by a word a whole train of associations is aroused, and the
close relationship of all things shown. . . . Many of our most

expressive terms are fast dying out As schools are built,

and schoolmasters increase, so will the old-world words perish
in the struggle with the new." — Cornhill Maga%ine, July, 1865.

110

ilom fit ^ml\\\f(im\\Mxt,

By James Beitien.

With a view of keeping before the public my intention of
publishing at some future period a complete Flora of Buckingham-
shire, and of at the same time recording the pi'ogress made and
assistance received since my former list was printed, I have pre-
pared the following catalogue, which raay be taken as a fair
estimate of our knowledge of the botany of the county at the
present time.

Five names which appeared in my earlier list are here omitted.
Ranunculus 'hetero2)hyllus and Fumaria Borcei, for which I am re-
sponsible, I withdraw for the present, as, although I am not
certain they do not occur with us, they rerpire further investi-
gation. Ranuncuhis Baudotii was originally recorded with a
query (see Phjtohgist, vi. 528, N.S.), and is probably not a Bucks
plant. Pyrola media, of which I have before expressed my doubts,
was certainly entered by mistake in Rail Synopsis, ed. iii. in the
Neio Botanists'' Guide and elsewhere, P. minor being the plant
intended. I have examined living and dried specimens of P.
media from the north of England, and compared them with speci-
mens from most of the Buckinghamshire localities recorded for
the plant, and find the latter to be in every case P. minor. A
similar comparison of a dried Buckinghamshire specimen labelled
Orchis fusca {purjourca), with those in the British herbarium at
the British Museum, and living plants from Kent, convinces me
that this, too, was an error. The list might probably be yet
further reduced by the withdrawal of many plants, which were
either erroneously recorded or are now extinct, such as Sisym-
brium Irio, Viola canina, Dianthus delto'ides, Erodium moschatuni,
Lathyrus Aphaca, Sanguisorha officinalis, Comarum palustre, Mcspilus
germanica, Tordylium maximum, Seseli Lihanotis (Hudson's station,
" inter S. Alban's et Stoney Stratford" raay be in Bucks), Filago

PtOSA OP BtrCKlNQHAMSfilBli!. Ill

gallica, Crepis fcetida, Xanthvum Stnimarium, Andromeda polifolia,
Melampyrum crittatiim, Me7itJia rotundifolia, Verlascum Blattaria
JJtricularia intermedia (doubtfully recorded), TJiesitim humifiisum,
Myrica Gale, Sabenaria viridis, Carex Fseudo-cyperus, Asplemutn
fontanum, Botrychium Limaria. Most of these are not known to
have been found for tlie last sixty years, and their re-discovery
is much to be desired. It is possible that some others included
without any mark of suspicion may be erroneously inserted, as
as many of the localities given by the oldep writers require
confirmation.

The river Thame forms a natural division between the north
and south of the county ; my present knowledge does not justify
mo in adopting a further division into districts. I have endea-
voured to show which plants are peculiar to either part of the
county, and which are common to both. To the former the
initial N or S is affixed, according as they are found in North or
South Bucks ; and the absence of either initial indicates that they
have been recorded for both divisions. The greater number,
however, of those to which S is affixed are doubtless to be found
in the north of the county ; but I have no authority for their
occurrence there.

The whole list is arranged in accordance with Professor
Eabington's Manual of British Botany, ed. vi. ; and varieties
given in that work are hero included as such. When only one
form of a species is known to occur it is printed thus — Mentha
pratensis b rubra ; when both species and variety are recorded they
are separated by a comma. The total number of species is 808,
of varieties 30. Plants undoubtedly introduced are italicised.

In conclusion, I would sincerely thank those who have helped
me hitherto, hoping that they will continue their assistance, and
that many more may be induced to follow their good example.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE PLANTS— 1869.
EANUNCTJLACEiE. — Clematis Vitalba. Thahctrum flavum. Ane-
mone nemorosa, apennina S. Adonis autumnalis S. Myosurus
mimmue, Eammculus trichopbyllus, Drouetii S, floribuadus,

112 FLOEA OF BTJCKlNQHAMsniRE.

peltatus S, circinatus, fluitans, liederaceus, sceleratus, Flammula,
Lingua S, Ficaria, auricomus S. acris, repens, bulbosus, arvensis,
parviflorus S. Caltha palustris. Helleborus viridis, faiidus S.
Aquilegia vulgaris S. Leljihinmm Ajacis. Aconitum Napellm S.

BERBEEiDACEiE. — Berberis vulgaris.

NYMPHiEACEiE. — Nymplia3a alba. Nuphar lutea.

Papaverace.5;. — Papaver Argemone S, Ehceas, dubium, Lecoqii
S, aomniferum S. Ohelidonium majus.

FuMARiACEJE. — ConjdaUs lutea. Fumaria oificinalis.

CKUCiFERiE. — Cheirantlms Cheiri S. Nasturtium officinale, I
siifolium, sylvestre S, palustre. Barbarea vulgaris. Turritis
glabra S. Arabis hirsuta S. Oardamine sylvatica S, hirsuta S,
pratensis, amara S. Dentaria bulbifera S. Sesperis matronalis.
Sisymbrium officinale, Irio S, thalianum S. Alliaria officinalis.
Erysimum cbeiranthoides, S. Brassica campestris S, h Uapa S,
Napus. Sinapis nigi'a S, arvensis, alba S. Diplotaxis muralis
S. Alysmm cahjcinum S. Draba verna. Armoracia rusticana,
amphibia S. Camelina fcetida S. Thlaspi arvense. Teesdalia
nudicaulis S. Iberis amara S. Lepidium Braba S, campestre S.
Capsella Bursa-pastoris. Senebiera Coronopus. hath tinctoria
S. Eapbanus Raphanistrum.

Eesedace^. — Keseda lutea, Luteola.

CisTACE^. — Heliantbemum vulgare.

ViolacejE. — ^Viola odorata, birta, Eeicbenbachiana, Eiviniana,
canina S, tricolor, h arvensis.

Droserace^. — Drosera rotundifolia S, intermedia S.

Polygalace^. — Polygala vulgai-is, h depressa S.

Caryophyllace.e. — Dianthus Armeria S, deltoides S. Sapo-
naria officinalis S. Silene anglica S, inflata, noctiflora S. Lychnis
Plos-cuculi, vespertina, diurna, Githago. Sagina procumbens,
apetala, subulata S, nodosa S. Alsine tenuifolia S. Arenaria
trinervis S, serpyllifolia, leptoclados S. Stellaria nemorum S,
media, c neglecta S, d umbrosa S, Holostea, glauca S, graminea,
uliginosa. Malachium aquaticum. Cerastium glomeratum,
triviale, semidecaudrum, arvense S. Moenchia erecta S. Lepi-
gonum rubrum S. Spergula arvensis. Scleranthus annuus S.

FLORA OF BtJCKDKIHAMSHIRE. 113

Malvace.^.— Malva moscliata, sylvestris, rottmdifolia.

TiiiACE.-E. — Tilia eiirojma, parvifoHa S, grandifoUa S.

Hypeeicace.i:. — Hypericum calycinum S, Androssemum S,
tetrapterum, perforatum, liumifusum, hirsutum, montanum S,
pulclirum, elodes S.

AcEBAOEiE, — Acer campestre, Pseudo-platanus.

GERANiACEa;. — Geranium j?7;<sem S, pratense, sanguineum S,
pyrenaicum S, pusillum, dissectum, columbinum, molle, lucidum
S, Eobertianum. Erodium cicutarium S, moscliatum S.

Balsaminace^. — Impatiens fulva S .

Oxaxidace.t:. — Oxalis Acetosella, corniculata S, stricta S.

Linace.t;. — Linum nsitatissumm S, cattarticum. Badiola
millegrana S.

Celastrace^e.— Euonymus europseus,

Rhaunage^. — Rliamnus catharticus, Frangula S.

Legumixos.e.— TJlex europseus, nanus S. Genista tinctoria S,
anglica S. Sarothamnus scoparius S. Ononis arvensis S, cam-
pestria. Medicago sativa, lupulina. Melilotus officinalis, alba
S. Trifolium pratense, medium S, arvense S, subterraneum S,
repens, hjlridum S, fi-agiferum, procumbens, minus S, filiforme
S. Lotus corniculatus, d tenuis S, major S. Anthyllis vul-
nerariaS. Astragalus glycypbyllos S. Yicia liirsuta, tetrasperma,
gracilis S, sylvatica S, Cracca, sepium, mtiva, h angustifolia S,
latbyroides S. Latbyrus Apbaca S, Nissolia N, pratensis,
sylvestris, macrorrhizus S. Ornitbopus perpusillus S. Hippo-
crepia comosa. Onobrycbis sativa.

To he continued.

FOURTH WINTER SESSION, 1868-C9.

Si^TH Evening Meeting. [Tv^svxy, Apeii. 27-.Held at the house
of the President, the Rev. T. H. Browne, by his kind invitation. A brief
but remarkably suggestive, paper, on the progress of geology, and
on oae or two of the theories of modern geologists, was read by

114 t-ROOEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY,

John Parker, Esq., Jun. ; and this gave li^c to so much conversation, and
elicited so much information from the President, that anotlier paper which
had been communicated was postponed until a future meeting. The Presi-
dent exhibited specimens of bones and antlers of an extinct deer found in
gravel while digging the new docks at Bristol ; a map, showing the locality
in which they were found, was produced ; and a brief account of their dis-
covery given. The objects exhibited were, as usual, numerous ; they
ncluded British and foreign Bats ; some living Crabs ; Hawthorn in
blossom, and Herb Paris {Paris /juadrifulia) brought by the Secretary ;
Butterflies and Moths from the West of Africa, presented by W. C. Small,
Esq.; and casts of the femur, tibia, and mctacarpel bone of the Dlnornis
vmxlmus, with which were contrasted similar bones of the Ostrich and
Emu. The microscope was, as usual, a great source of attraction ; amongst
the objects exhibted were a parasite of the Pheasant, foraminifcra from the
Mediterranean, the spiral vessels of a rush, &c.

The Annual Conversazione with which the Winter Session terminates
was held on Tuesday, May 4, in the Townhall, and was, if possible, more
successful than those of former years. The exhibition of objects, although
rigidly confined to such as were connected with some branch of natural
history, was remarkably good : it embraced all the most noteworthy of those
exhibited at the several winter meetings, besides many additions, of which
the following deserve special mention : — A collection of wood sections, and
another of fir-cones, lent by Leo. H. Grindon, Esq., of Manchester ; objects
from the Holy Land, by the llev. C. W. B.Clarke; excavations from the
Suez Canal, by H. Groome, Esq. ; vases of eels, mussels, cray fish, etc., from
the Thames ; and many more. The splendid collection of Kingfishers,
brought by 11. B. Sharpe, Esq., in illustration of his paper demands special
mention ; it included not only rare, but unique, specimens, and is unsur-
passed by any in Europe. Besides the birds themselves, Mr. Sharpe
exhibited a collection of drawings, being the origin.il from which the plates
in his monograph of the Alccdinidcc are t;iken. A bank of wild flowers,
arranged with great taste by tlic Misses Giles, attracted much attention ;
besides most of the more interesting plants of the Wycombe district, rarities
from different parts of the country including Sax'ifraga ppjjositi folia, from
the Clova mountains ! the true O.xlip (PriiiiuUi clatiur, Jacq.) from Safi'ron
Walden, Essex; the Mountain VAnhw {Vlolahdca), the Globe-flower {TroUliis
ci()'(>2>iens), the Asarabacca {Asitrum curopwum), the Spring C'inqucfuil
{Potcntilla verna), and the lovely Birdseye Primrose {rrimula farhwsa),
from Northallerton, Yorkshire ; the Wood Forgetmenot {Myosotis sylvatica)
from Mobberley, Cheshire : and the Pritillary {FrlliUaria vwleagris) fronr
Ford, near Aylesbury. The above-named ladies cxlubitcd several sets of
drawings of British plants, which were greatly and deservedly admired lor

TROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. llo

tlieir artistic excellence as well as for their fidelity to nature. Miss
Chandler's herbarium, the President's collections of bones, insects, fossils,
and shells, and many more objects, filled every available space ; indeed, it
was diflBcult to find room for all the articles sent. The Society is under
great obligalion to Mr. Miles, who, with the permission of Lord Carringtou,
gave a life and brilliancy to the scene by his tasteful arrangement of some
magnificent azaleas, caladiums, ferns, &c.

The members and friends assembled about 7 p.m. ; and at T'SO the Presi-
dent took the chair, supported by Mr. Sharpe, the Secretary, Members of
the Committe3, and others, and delivered his

ANNUAL ADDRESS.
Upon looking back on the past year of the Society's operations, there is
but little which calls for special observation. Our winter meetings have
been well attended. Upon the whole they have been very interesting, and
in many cases they have been highly instructive. The subjects that have
engaged our attention have been very varied. The conversations that have
followed the subjects introduced have baen very satisfactory. There is
reason to think that these discussions have especially awakened the interest
of those whose attention had not been directed towards scientific subjects.
May we not hope that this first dawn of interest in the mind, like the dawn
of daylight in the outer world, will increase and increase till it has matured
itself in advanced attainments and enjoyments. While attending to the
many communications that have engaged the attention of the members, we
seem to have dived into the ocean, to have delved into the earth, to have
sought an acquaintance with the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and
the fishes of the sea. We have read the " sermons in stones, books in the
running brooks," and have tried to get good out of everything. I regret to
say that our excursions during the summer have not been so numerous q^.
so well attended as could have been desired. Perhaps many legitimate
causes may have prevented the members from engaging in this most instruc-
tive mode of studying nature in its native state. Still we regret it. There
is more to be learnt in the fields than in the lecture room, in the home of
creation than by bringing creation into our own home. The examination
or discussion of collected objects may be important — may interest and in-
terest and instruct the mind, and may awaken within us enlarged apprehen-
sions of the Creator's wisdom and goodness. But modes of life, growth, and
action, can be learnt nowhere so well as in the native haunts of animal and
vegetable existence. " A well-set cabinet of British bees, is worth going a
pilgrimage to see ;" so writes one of our most distinguished Hymenopterists.
How much more delightful and soul-tbriUing to see these bees flitting about

116 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

from flower to flower, carrying on the work of floral fructification, gathering
sweet food for their unborn offspring, sometimes with mysterious movements
filling the air M'ith melody ; thus whilst these sweet sounds blend with
other sounds, the soft " music through creation stealing," awakens holy and
happy emotions in the soul, till every chord of our inmost nature vibrates in
unison with harmonies that swell around ; and they and we join in the song
of universal joy, " All Thy works praise Thee, Lord." I have often envied
the individual who has seen the large Copper Butterfly in its native wilds.
Beautiful it is, and brilliant when laid out in death. Few now possess this
extinct species of the British Lepidoptera. But the naturalist was favoured
above many who saw its transcendant beauty, its brighter brilliancy, as it
once floated in the sunshine of the summer day. Those who have seen it
will not easily forget that gorgeously resplendent wing that tren»bled with
iridescent light like the mingled flashes of tiny diamonds. But we would
not invite your attention to natural history merely from this low point of
observation — that thus you will gratify your taste for the beautiful or awaken
within emotional enjoyments, A child can perceive the beautiful in form
and colour — can perceive the sweet influence of song and scene, and be a
child still. We seek a higher object — a more honourable end is before us.
It is knowledge — it is more — it is knowledge that can lead us to compare, to
classifj', to perceive great affinities, to draw general conclusions, to learn
Bome of the great laws that rule in the physical world, and in some measure
understand the grand and benevolent designs of the great Maker and Law-
giver of creation. But whilst it is in the quietude of the study we can draw
these general conclusions, it is by observing the facts and operations of
nature, Avhere alone these phenomena are going on, that we can draw safely
those inductions which constitute the great principles of natural science.
Away then to the field and the forest ; to the hill, the valley, and the river
sjde. There shall we realise most emphatically the truth and power of the
inspired statement — " The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all
them that have pleasure therein."

Will you allow me to make a few observations which may guard you
against the erroneous impression that the members of a local Natural History
Society should restrict their studies to the fauna or flora of their own neigh-
bourhood. Doubtless one of the great designs of such societies is to accom-
plish this important result. Perhaps the complete natural history of a
country will never be fully worked out, except through the active agencies
of such associations. Let us, however, remember that this supposes that
those who have combined together are accomplished naturalists, and have a
comprehensive acquaintance with the various branches of natural history, so
that they can detect rare or new species which have hitherto escaped obser-

PR0CEE1>INGS OF THE SOCIETY. 117

vation. But such distinguished attainments cannot be possessed by those
■who have restricted their attention to the natural history of one district, or
even of one country. There are many orders or families of animals and
plants that are distinguished by important characteristics — surpassing beauty,
gigantic size, or physiological peculiarities, which make these families both
interesting and important in the estimation of men of science. Yet we may
possess but one insignificant species that represents these great divisions.
Allow me to illustrate what I mean by an example or two. The FapiUonidie
family of Swallowtail butterflies contains some of the most magnificent and
beautiful objects in the insect kingdom. The number known to belong to
this family, when Jardine's ^Naturalists' Library was published, was about
two hundred. Since then the number of the species discovered has been
greatly increased. But we have only one species indigenous to Britain, and
that solitary species is now only found in the fens of Cambridgeshire. Again,
the rieridee to which the common White butterfly belongs, contains only six
British species, or nine if we include the Brimstone and Clouded Yellows.
Few of these are distinguished by form or plumage. These are but insigni-
ficant representatives of this group, as it is distributed tlu-oughout the whole
world. Mr. "Wallace, in the fourth volume of the Entomological Society's
Transactions, catalogues two hundred and seventy-nine species which belong
to the Indian and Australian regions.* lu the same communication, he
states that the number of species which are found distributed through tlie
six great zoological regions of the earth amounts to seven hundred and sixty

Our esteemed Secretary in his most beautiful report, asks — " Is it true
that scientific pursuits lead to infidelity ?" We should reply most emphati-
cally — No. Yet there are many questions in connexion with some of thp
leading subjects of natural science, that have awakened strong feelings and
criminations on the part of well-meaning but scientifically, ignorant people.
These are ready to class all earnest enquiieis after the knowledge of
Jehovah's works with materialists and infidels. Probably for similar reasons
the early chemists were called magicians ; so in ages long since gone by, the
men of that day scowled on the earnest student of natural science, who had
as by a haaven-born intuition, grasped some of the great truths through
which God reveals himself to his creatures. But he was feared and con-
demned as one who dealt with occult mysteries. lie was a danferous
character, mere nearly allied to the infernal than the supernal. Yet the
reflected light of God's perfections had fallen on his soul, with a glow and a
glory that had not irradiated the grovelling minds of his fellow men. He
was before his time. Society had not yet been raised to his mental stand
point ; or rather the light of the coming day of knowledge had not shone

• " Out of 172 names (I speak only of PienV as it was.) There are fifty which I would
place as synonymcs,"— W. C. Hewitson, F.L.S,— Vide Ent. See. trans., l-^GS.

118 rROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

down to the low level Avhere they were satisfied to pass their mental ex-
istence. Like the gilded mountain tops, he had received the glories of the
rising sun, whilst those beneath him still lived in the darkness of the reced-
ing night time. Two centuries after the time of Galileo, it seems strange
that any should think now that an attempt to interpret the laws of the
physical ■world, or read the pages -which God's hand has written through
creation, should have a tendency to supersede the book of inspiration, or
make an earnest mind think lightly of that best revelation of h«aven. Can
it be true that the study of the works of God must necessarily lead the mind
to think lightly of the word of God ? Can it be that the two great volumes
of God's inditing can contradict themselves ? "Was there not a time when
men had no revelation of inspiration ? Yet the Apostle tells us that '' that
■which may be known of God is manifest to them, for God hath showed it
unto them ; for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made — even His
eternal power and Godhead." Again, may it not be asked, has not the
theologian gone away from his own peculiar province, "^vhen he attempts to
explain the well-known laws of nature by interpretations which he derives,
or thinks he is justified in deriving from the Holy Scriptures ? The
especial design of the word of God is to teach us great facts and truths
which can be learnt by no other means. The common phenomena of nature
are described in the language of the common people, by modes of speech
which all could understand. Still, without impropriety or untruthfulness,
■when referring to the common events that transpire around us, we use the
common language of society. Does any think less of the worth of the awful
claims of the inspired word because it declares that "The sun ariseth and
the sun goeth down and hastcth to his place where he arose ■" Eccles. i. v.,
or that " the ends of the earth wait for God's salvation." Are we infidels
for asserting that the sun neither rises nor sets, but that our own world
simply turns upon its axis ? Are we to be condemned because we affirm
that a globe lilce our earth can have no ends or extremities ? — For if so it
would be a flat plain, as taught by the Hindoo mythology. The scriptures
simply speak in the language of the people, and the people understand the
language of the scriptures. To question the imiversality of the deluge has
been regarded as an astonishing act of presumption that indicated a trifling
with the Word of God, if it were not equivalent to the rejection of its great
facts. Bui if those advocates of the universality of the deluge had exercised
half the earnest enquiry of those ■who appear to differ from them, they might
have learnt that their interpretations of scripture had less of probability in
themthnn they have so dogmatically assumed. Does the term earth in the
"Word of God always and absolutely mean every part of the solid globe ?
The design of the insulted Ruler of c<\rth and heaven in this fearful c.itas-

tROCEEDIXGS OF THE SOCIETY. 119

trophe was to punish mankind for their sins. If mankind tlien existing on
the earth occupied only one continent or part of the globe, and that part was
overflowed with the swelling waters, so that man and animals associated
with them were drowned, was not the word fulfilled, " I will destroy thern
with the earth ?'' But as God never performs a single act in vain, or works
a single operation in nature or providence but with some great end in view,
may we not, without having a heavy charge brought against us, enquire
about the probability of these animals being destroyed which inhabited
those parts of the world, with which the ungodly race of mankind had never
come in contact. What a continued series of miracles must have been
wrought, that animals which had never been associated with mankind might
be brought from that distant portion of the globe, across a trackless and
untraversed ocean ! During some of our evening meetings our attention has
been directed to the marsupial or i)0uch-animals. It is a fact that with few
exceptions the whole of this order of animals is found only in the southern
portions of the globe, which are separated from the great continents of the
norlheni hemisphere by a wide expanse of ocean. Geologists have elicited
the fact that in ages long since past— ages indeed before the flood — the
animals which inhabited these districts, though many of them were of gigantic
proportions, belonged to the marsupial type of the mammalia, i.e., the order
of anmials that now prevail in Axistralia. Without attempting to give an
opinion upon this interesting question — Was the flood universal ? — we might
ask— Were the representatives of these pouch-animals brought over from
yonder ends of the earth to be preserved alive in the ark, and then, by what
appears to us a most miraculous interposition, sent back to tlie Australian
continent again, there, and only there, to originate a new line of marsupial
animals: Let it be remembered that this discussion does not involve a
questioning of the truth of the inspired narrative, but of the correctness of
the interpretation put upon it by those who claim for themselves a very high
authority, who are indeed both judge and appellant in the great court of
scientific enquiry.

There are some who think that as wa grow older we should lay aside these
studies of nature as suitable only to the days of boyhood and youth. Bulwcr
Lytton does not think so, and he is not yoixng. Xor did the friend of his
boyhood, he whom he loved so well. Those were sliiking words that
astonished the -youth in reply to the enquiry why he loved nature so
much in his old age — " I shall soon leave the world : men and women
I may hope again to see elsewhere, bnt shall I see elsewers cornfields
and gras?, gos'^amers and ants ? As we lose hold of our fire senses
do we wake up a sixth which had before been dormant,— the sense of
nature ; or have we certain instincts a';in to nature which are suppressed
pnd overlaid by reason, and revive only at the age when our reason

120 PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY.

begins to fiiil us." Many years have passed since those •words were spoken,
and Bulwer Lytton -writes :— " Year by year I find the same charm gains
sway over myself. There was one period of my life -when I considered every
hour spent out of capitals as time wasted ; but now I love the coimtry, as I
did when a little child. Is it, partly, that those trees never remind us that
t\-e are growing old ? Older than we are, their hollow stems are covered
with rejoicing leaves. The birds build amidst the bowering branches, rather
than in the brighter shade of the sapling. Nature has no voice that wounds
the self-love ; her coldest wind nips no credulous affection. She alone ha»
the same face as in our youth. Those wild flowers under the hedgerow —
those sparkles in the happy waters — no friendship has gone from them ! — ■
their beauty has no simulated freshness — their smile has no fraudulent
deceit."

At the conclusion, tea and coffee, kindly provided by some of the lady-
members, were handed round ; we may note here the decided improvement
Avhich this plan manifested over that adopted last year, when the tea took
place at the commencement of the meeting. At 9 p.m. Mr. Sharpe read a
valuable paper, which was listened to with great attention, " On the Geo-
graphical Distribution of the Alcecliniclec or Kingfishers," of which we regret
that wc can only give the following brief abstract. He proposed to divide
the family Alcedlnicla into three sub-families, 1. Alccdinincc. containing
those species whose food consists chiefly of flsh and who seldom or never eat
insects or other food ; 2. Ilalcyonincp, containing those species whose food is
mixed, and who subsist equally on insects, Crustacea, &-c. as well as on fish,
3. Dacelunina;, containing those species who feed almost entirely on lizards;
Crustacea, &c and who seldom or never touch fish. The Kingfishers of the
sub-family Alcedinhicc possess a long, thin, narrow, bill, and in general a
very short tail, characteristics admirably adapted to their piscivorous pro-
pensities. They were foTind distributed over the whole of the Nsearctic,
Neotropical, and Palaearctic regions, being more sparingly represented in the
-Etliiopean, Indian, and Australian regions. In these two latter regions the
jffa/c:yort»i« were predominant, being sparingly represented in the Palaearctic
and Australian. The bill which in the Alcedininm is thin and compressed
wag shown to be in the IlnloyoHincB considerably depressed, while in the
sub-family DaceloniiKC or lizaid-eating Kingfishers it was still more depressed,
until in the genus il/eZ(V7o;'(7, it reached its extreme developement, being in
this genus strongly grooved and hooked, The Bacdonina were found to be
peculiar to the Australian region. Mi-. Sharpe exhibited specimens and
pictures of some of the more remarkable Kingfishers, and illustrated on the
map the geographical distribution of each species. After this the President's
microscope was brought into use, and the various objects were inspected,
"J'he meeting separated at 11 p.m., about 140 persons haviing been presents

121

{Concluded.)

By James Bkitten.

RosACE-E. — Primus communis a spinosa, b imititia S, c domestica
S, Avium, Cerasus S. Spiraea ulmaria, Filipendula. Sangui-
sorba officinalis S. Poterium Sanguisorba, muricatum S.
Agrimonia Eupatoria. Alcliemilla vulgaris, arvensis. Poten-
tilla anserina, argentea S, reptans, Tormentilla, fragariastrum.
Comarum palustre S. Fragaria vesca, e?«</or S. Eubus Idseua,
plicatus S, Lindleianus S, rliamnifolius S, discolor S, leucos-
tachys S, macropbyllus S, 5 amplificatus S, Borreri S, Hystrix
S, rudis S, Koebleri S. Guntheri S, corylifolius S, csesius.
Geum urbanum. Eosa villosa S, inodora S, micrantha S, rubi-
ginosa S, canina, arvensis. Cratfegus Oxyacantha. Mespilus
gemanica S. Pyrus communis S, mains, Aucuparia S, Aria,
torminalis S.

Lythrace^.— Lythrum Salicaria. Peplis Portula S.

OxAGRACE-E.— Epilobium angustifolium.birsutum, parviflorum,
montanum, tetragonum, obscurum S, palustre. (Enothera biennis
S. Circsea lutetiana.

Haloragace^. — Myriophyllum verticillatum, spicatum S.

Hippuris vulgaris.

Ctjcuebitace.^.— Bryonia dioica,

PoRTTJLACEiE. — Montia fontana S.

Crasstjlace^.— Sedum Fiibaria, albim S, dasrjphjllum S, acre,
sexangulare S, reflexum. Sempervivim tedorum.

E1BESIACE.E. — Eibes Grossularia S, rubrum S.

Saxifragace^.— Saxifraga tridactylites, granulata. Chrysos-
plenium oppositifolium. Parnassia palustris.

UMBELLiFERiE.— Hydrocotyle vulgaris S. Sanicula europeea.
Petroselinum sativum, segetum. Helosciadium nodlflorum, b
repens, inundatum S. Sison Amomum. ^gopodium Poda-
graria. Bunium flexuosum. Pimpinella magna, saxifraga.
Slum latifolium S, angustifolium. Bupleurum rotundifolium N.

122 FLORA OF BUCKINGUAMSIIIKE.

ffinantlie fistulosa, pimi)inelloides S, crocata S, Phellandrium S,
iluviatilis S. TEthusa Cynapium. Fccniculum officinale S. iSeseli
ZibanoiisS? Silaus pratcnsis S. Angelica sylvestris. Pastinaca
sativa. Ilcracleum Sphondylium, b angustifoliuin S. Tordylium
maximum S. Daucu3 Carota. Torilis Antliriscua, infesta S,
nodosa. Scandix Pecton-Yeneris, Antliriscus sylvestris, vulgaris
S. Chterophyllum temulura. Coniiim maculatum.
Hedekace.e. — Hederi^ Helix.
CoRNACE.E. — Cornus sauguinca.
LoEAKTHAOEiE. — YiscuDi album S.

Caprifoliace.ii:. — Adoxa moschatellina. Sambucus Ebulus,
nigra. Viburnum Lantana, Opulus. Louicera Caprifoliwn S,
Periclymenum.

EuBiACE.E. — Sherardia arvensis. Asperula cyuancliica S,
odorata. Galium cruciatum, Aparine, Mollugo, verum, saxatile
S, iiliginosum, palustre.

Valerian ACE. E. — Valeriana officinalis, sambucifolia S, dioi'ca.
Valerianella olitoria, dentata S.

DiPSACACEyE. — Dips acus sylvestris, pilosus S- Knautia arvensis.
Scabiosa succisa, columbaria.

CoiiPosiT.TL. — Eupatorium cannabinum. Petasites vulgaris.
Tussilago Farfara. Erigeron acris S. Bellis perennis. Solidago
Virgaurea S. Inula Helenium S, Conyza S. Pulicaria dysen-
terica. Bidens tripartita, cernua S. Acbillea Ptarmica, mille-
folium. Anthemis arvensis S, Cotula, nobilis S. Matricaria
Parthenium, inodora S, Chamomilla S. Chrysanthemum Leu-
canthemum, segetum. Artemisia vulgaris. Tanacetum vulgaro
S. Pilago germanica, spathulata S, gallica S, minima. Gnapha-
lium uliginosiim, sylvaticum. Senecio vulgaris, sylvaticus,
erucifolius, Jacobjca, aquaticus, campestris S. Carlina vulgaris
S. Arctium majus, minus S. Centauroa nigra, Cyanus, Scabiosa.
Ono2)ordum Acanthium S. Carduus nutans S, crispus, b acan-
thoides S, lanceolatus, arvensis, palustris, pratensis S, acaulis.
Silyhim marianum S. Lapsana commiinis. Cichorium Intybus.
Hypochroris radicata. Thrincia hirta. Apargia hispida, au-
tumualis S. Tragopogon minor, 2>orrifoIius. Picris hieracioides
S. Helminthia echioides. Lactucavirosa S, muralis S. Leonto-

FLOE A OF BUCKIXGHAMSHIRE. 123

don Taraxacum, I Isevigatum S. Sonchus oleraceus, asper,
arvensis. Crepis fgetida S, seiosa S, virens. Hieracium Pilosella,
miirorum S, vulgatum S, boreale S. Xanthium Strnmarium S.

Campantjlace.e. — Jasione montana S. Campanula glomerata,
Trachelium, rotundi folia, Eapunculus S, patula S. Specularia
hybrid a.

Ericace-e. — Andromeda polifolia S. Calluna vulgaris S.
Erica Tetralix S, cinerea S. Vaceinium Myrtillus S. Pyrola
minor S. Monotropa Hypopitys S.

AauiFOLiACEiE. — Ilex aquifolium.

jASiiixACEA. — Ligustrum vulgare. Fraxinus oxcelsior.

ApocrNACEiE. — Vinca minor, major S.

Gemtianace/E. — Chlora perfoliata. Erytliraja Centaurium.
Gentiana Amarella, b germanica S, campestris S. Yillarsia
nympliajoides S. Menyanthes trifuliata S.

CoxvoLYULACEiE — Convolvulus arvensis, sepium. Cuscuta
europaja S, Epilinum N, Epith^-mum, Trifolii.

Boraginaceje. — Cynoglossum officinale. Borago offivinalis S.
Anchusa officinalis S. Lycopsis arvensis. Symphytum officinale,
h patens. Echium vulgare. Lithospermum officinale, arvense.
Myosotis palustris, repens, csespitosa S, arvensis, b umbrosa S,
coUina, versicolor S.

SoLANACAas. — Solanum nigrum. Dulcamara. Atropa Bella-
donna S. Hyoscyamus niger. Datura Stramonium S.

Orobanchace.e. — Orobanche Rapum, minor S. " Lathrasa
squamaria S.

SoRornuLAEiACEJE. — Yerbascum Thapsus, Lyehnitis S, nigrum
S, Blattaria S, virgatum S. Digitalis purpurea. Antirrhinum
majus S, Orontium S. Linaria Cynibalaria, Elatine, spuria, minor,
repens S, vulgaris. Scrophularia nodosa, aquatica, vcrnalis S.
Melampyrum cristatum S, pratense. Pedicularis palustris, syl-
vatica. Ehinanthus Crista-galli. Euphrasia officinalis. Odon-
tites. Veronica scutellata S, Anagallis, Beccabunga, Chamsedrys,
montana S, officinalis, serpyllifolia, arvensis, agrestis, polita,
Buxbamnii S, hederifolia.

Labiate. — Mentha rotundifolia S, sylvestris S, viridis S,
aquatica, pratensis h rubra S, sativa S, arvensis, Pulegium S.

124 FLORA OF BTJCKINGHAiVrSHIRE.

Lycoims europceus. Salvia Verbenaca. Origanum vulgare.
Thymus Serpyilu.m, Chamsodrys S. Calamintha Nepeta S,
officinalis S, Acinos S, Clinopodium. Scutellaria galericulata,
minor S. Prunella vulgaris. Nepeta Cataria S, Gflechoma.
Lamium amplexicaule S, incisum S, purpureum, album, Galeob-
dolon. Galeopsis Ladanum, Tetrahit, versicolor S. Stachys
Betonica, sylvatica, palustris, arvensis S. Ballotafcetida. Mar-
rubium vulgare. Teucrium Scorodonia S. Ajuga reptans.

Verbenace^e. — Verbena ofEcinalis.

Lentibulariace^, — Pinguicula vulgaris S. Utricularia vul-
garis S, intermedia S ?

Primulace^. — Primula vulgaris, 5 variabilis, veris. Hottonia
palustris S. Lysimacbia vulgaris, Nummularia, nemorum.
Anagallis arvensis, h coerulea, tenella. Oentunculus minimus S.

Plantaginace.e. — Plantago Coronopus S, lanceolata, media,
major. Littorella lacustris S.

CnENOPODiACE.E.--Chenopodium olidum S, polyspermum, album,
I viride, ficifolium, murale, rubrum, Bonus-Heuricus. Atriplex
angustifolia, erecta, deltoidea, bastata.

PoLYGONACE^E. — Eumes maritimus S, conglomeratus, obtusi-
folius S, crispus, Hydrolapathum S, Acetosa, Acetosellar. Poly-
gonum Bistorta S, ampbibium, lapatbifolium, Persicaria, Hydro-
piper, aviculare, Convolvulus. Fagopyrum esculentum S,

Thtmelace.^. — Daphne Mezereum S, Laureola.

Santalace-'E.— Thesium bumifusum S.

AristolochiacevE. — Asarum europseum S.

EuPHORBiACE-E. — Buxus sempervireus S. Euphorbia Helio-
scopia, amygdaloides, Peplus S, exigua, Lathijris S. Mercurialis
perennis.

Ceratophyllace^. — Ceratopbyllum demersum S.

Callitrighace.-e.— Oallitriche verna, platycarpa S.

Urticace^ — Parietaria diffusa S. Urtica urens, dioica. Hu-
mulus Lupulus.

Ulmace^. — Ulmus suberosa, montana.

Amentifer^. — Salix alba, c vitellina S, rubra S, viminalis S,
aurita S, caprea S, repena, S, b fusca S. Populus alba, tremula
S, nigra^. Myrica Gale S Betula alba, glutiuosa S, Alnus

FLORA. OF BTJCKINQHAMSHIEE. 126

glutinosa. Fagus sylvatica. Castanea vulgaris S. Quercus
Eobur. Corylus Avellana. Carpinus Betulus S. Taxus bac-
cata S. Juniperus communis S.

Trilliace^. — Paris quadrifolia.

DioscoREACE^. — Tamus communis.

Hydrocharidace.e. — Hydrocharis Morsus-rance S. Anacharis
Alsinastrum.

OscHiDACE^. — Orchis Morio, mascula, militaris, S, maculata,
latifolia S, iucarnata S, pyramidalis. Gymnadenia conopsea S.
Aceras anthropophora S. Habenaria bifolia S, cblorantha,
viridis S. Ophrys apifera, muscifera S. Herminium Monorchia
S. Spiranthes autumnalis S. Listera ovata. Neottia Nidus-
avis. Epipactis latifolia, media S, b purpurata S, palustris S.
Cephalanthera grandiflora S.

Iridace^. — Iris Pseud-acorus, foetidissima S.

Amaryllidace.e. — Narcissus biflorus S, Pseudo-narcissus.
Leucojum eestivum S. Galanthus nivalis S.

AsPARAGACE^E. — Oonvallaria majalis. Polygonatum multi-
florum S. Ruscus aculeatus S,

LiLiACE^. — Tulijia sylvestris S. Fritillaria Meleagris S. Or-
nithogahim umhellatum S, nutans N. Allium viaeale S, ursinum S.
Endymion nutans.

CoLCHicACEiE. — Colchicum autumnale N.

JuNCACEJE. — Narthecium ossifragum S. Juncus effusus, con-
glomeratus S, acutiflorus S, bufonius S, lamprocarpus S, squar-
rosus S. Luzula sylvatica, Forsteri S, pilosa, campestris.

Alismace^. — Alisma Plantago, b lanceolata, ranunculoi'des S.
Actiuocarpus Damasoniura S. Sagittaria sagittifolia. Butomus
umbellatus. Triglochin palustre S.

Typhace^. — Typba latifolia S. Sparganium ramosum,
simplex.

Arace^. — Acorus Calamus S. Arum maculatum.

L^iiiiACE^. — Lemna trisulca, minor, polyrrhiza, gibba S.

Potamogetonaceje. — Potamogeton natans. lucens S, perfolia-
tus S, crispus, pusillus S, densus S.

Cyperace^. — Ehynchospora alba S. Eleocbaris palustris,
acicularis S. Scirpus lacustris. pauciflorus S, fluitans S. Eric-

126 FLORA OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

phonim angustifoliuni S. Carex pulicaris S, vulpina, murlcata,
diviilsa S, reinota S, stellulata S, ovalis S, acuta S, vulgaris S, pal-
lescens N, praecox S, glauca S, fulva S, distans S, sylvatica,
Pseudo-cyperus S, hirta S, ainpullacea S, paludosa S, riparia S.

Gramixe^i;. — Plialaris can riensis S, arundiuacea S. Anthox-
anthum odoratum. Phelum pratense. Alopecurus pratensis,
geniculatus S, agrestis. Nardus stricta S. Milium effusum S.
Phragmites communis. Apera Spica-venti S. Agrostis vulgaris
S, alba S. Holcus lanatus, mollis S. Aira cajspitosa S, flexuosa
S. Trisetum flavescens. Avena fatua S, pubescens S. Arrhe-
natherum avenaceum S, h bulbosum S. Triodia decumbens S.
Koeleria cristata S. Melica uniflora S. Molinia coerulea S. Poa
annua, nemoralis S. trivialis, pratensis. Glyceria aquatica,
fluitans. Sclerochloa rigida S. Briza media. Cynosurus cris-
tatus. Dactylis glomerata. Festuca sciuroides S, Myurus S,
ovina S, arundinacea h elatior S, pratensis S, h loliacea S.
Bromus erectus S, asper S, sterilis. Serrafalcus mollis S. Brachy-
podium sylvaticum S. Triticum caniuum S, repens. Hordeum
sylvaticum S, pratense S, murinum. Lolium perenue, italieum
S, temulentum S.

Equisetace,"e. — Equisetum arvenso, maximum, sylvaticum,
limosum S, palustre S.

FiLicES. ■ — Polypodium vulgare, Eobertianum S. Lastrea
Pilix-mas, spinulosa S, dilatata. Polystichi:m aculeatum, h
lobatum, angularo S. Athyrium Filix-fcxsmina. Asplenium /o?j-
tanum S, Adiantum-nigrum, Trichomanes, Ruta-muraria.
Scolopendrium vulgare. Ceterach officinarum S. Bleclinum
boreale S. Pteris aquiliua. Osmunda regalis. Botrychium
Lunaria N. Ophioglossum valgatum.

Lycofodiace-i:. — Lycopodium clavatum S, Selago S,
inundatum S.

James Britten.

Royal Herbarium, Kow, W.
September, 18(50.

Note. — A few additious made to tbe aTjove list while in coui-se of pub-
lication, raises the number of species to 81G. These are entered in their
proper places, with the exception of Melilotus arvensis. The S may be
removed from Ranunculus auricomus and Cardamine hirsuta.

127

m the (^min\ f inrjfisiftersi of Africa.

By R. B. Sharpe.

(With a Coloured Plate.)

QO much interest has been kindly manifested in the lecture on
Kingfishers which I had the pleasure of delivering before
the Society at the last annual meeting, that I have been
induced to -write a few words in commemoration thereof ; and as
an essay on the whole family would be tedious and uninteresting,
I have chosen for the subject of the present paper the pretty
little Crested Kingfishers of Africa {Corythornis).

It will be remembered that I spoke of the subfamily Alcedinidca
or true fish-feeding Kingfishers as being cosmopolitan, that is to
say, representatives of this sub-family are found in all the dif-
ferent zoological regions of the globe. But the ^Ethiopian region
contains two genera entirely confined within its area, viz., Cory-
thornis and Ispidina. As, however, the members of this latter
genus, though closely allied to Corythornis, seem to feed more
exclusively on insects, I propose to include them among the
HaJcyonince ; supposing the connecting link between these two sub-
families to be found in these two genera.

The genus Corythornis contains only three species, all distin-
guished by their beautiful long crests, which differ from those Cf
all the other Kingfishers in the form of the feathers. All the
Alcedinidcs possess a crest, more or less, but this is generally
formed by the simple elongation of the feathers of the occiput
all and each crest-feather is attenuated towards the tip. But in
Corythornis the crest is fan-like, commencing from the base of
the bill, and getting broader as it graduates towards the tip.
These crests the little Kingfishers are able to raise and depress at
their pleasure, and they doubtless are assumed in full splendour
during the breeding season.

The three species of Corythornis may be distinguished by the

128 ON THE CRESTED KINGFISHERS OF AFRICA.

colour of their crests, and should any of our readers meet with
these pretty little birds, they can easily tell the species by the
following diagnosis : —

A. Beak black C. cristata

B. Beak vermiUion.

a. Crest blue C. ccsruleocephala

b. Crest malachite green C. cyanostigma

I will not trouble my readers with many scientific details res-
pecting these birds, but subjoin the following particulars of their
habits taken from the description in my ' Monograph of the Alce-
dinidse.'* I should state that C. cristata is called in my work
C. vintsioides, and C. cyanostigma is called there C. cristata. This
mistake was owing to a wrong identification of one of the old
species of Linnaeus, always a difficult task in the absence of all
types, and in consequence of the curt descriptions of the older
authors.

I. CoKYTHOENIS CeISTATA.

(Dusky-Crested Kingfisher.)

Alcedo vintsioldes Eyd. et Gerv.j Eev.etMag.de

Zool. 1836, p. 30, pi. 74.

Corythornls vintsioides Kaup, Fam. ^iced. p 12 (1848).

Ipsida phillipensis cristata Briss. Orn. IV, p. 463,pl. xsxvii

(1760).
Vinchi or Bintsi, of the Natives of Madagascar {Newton, Pollen).
C. rostro nigerriino : supra Isete ultramarina : crista fuscescente-cyanea.

Jlab. in insula ' Madagascar' dicta et in insulis adjacentibus.

Crown of the head crested, the feathers being dusky-green,
with black shafts and a bar of black near the tip ; sides of
the head, back of the neck and entire upper-surface brilliant
ultramarine ; wing coverts-black, washed and spotted with ultra-
marine ; quills blackish, the inner web bright rufous at the base,
the secondaries externally washed with ultramarine ; tail ultra-
marine above, black beneath ; chin and a longitudinal patch of
feathers along the sides of the neck pure white ; cheeks and rest
of the under-surface' of the body bright rufous ; bill black ; feet

* A Monograph of the Alcodinidoo or Kingfishers, by K. B. Sharpe.

ON THE CRESTED KINGFISHERS OF AFRICA. 129

red. Total length. 5.3 inches, of bill from front 1.2, from gape
1.5, wing 2.3, tail 1.0, tarsus 0.25, middle toe 0.45, hind toe 0.2.

Sal. Madagascar, and adjacent islands {Newton, Pollen and
Van Bam.)

The first description of this little Kingfisher is to be found in
Brisson's ' Ornithologie ' (Lc.) where, however, the habitat is
wrongly stated to be the Philippine Islands ; but as in addition
to the very careful diagnosis given, the bird is said to be called
by the natives 'Vintsi,' which is well known to be the native
appellation in Madagascar for the present species, there can be
no doubt that the specimen described by Brisson really came
from that island.

The rarity of Corythornis cristata in collections, and our com-
paratively small knowledge of the ornithology of Madagascar,
render the account of its habitats very meagre, but in the valu-
able work recently published by Messrs. Pollen and Vau Dam
we find the following interesting passage concerning it : —

"This bird is very common in Madagascar and Mayotte. It
is always to be seen on the borders of the rivers, bi'ooks, lakes,
cataracts, and in the forests of mangroves which extend along
the sea-coast. It feeds on little fishes and certain aquatic insects,
on which it precipitates itself with great rapidity. In other
respects it lives in the same manner as our common Kingfisher,
and has a very similar cry. At Mayotte it is often seen perched
on the leaves of the sugar-cane, near the canals which traverse
the fields, having its eyes continuously fixed on the water, and
awaiting, with patience, the moment when a little fish or an in-
sect presents itself underneath, to precipitate itself upon it swiftly
by plunging into the water. Having seized its prey, it returns
to devour it, to the branch that it has just quitted ; it may be
seen lifting its crest, raising and lowering its head, and remain-
ing, often for an hour together, in an almost immovable position.
This species is by no means shy, and allows itself to be easily
approached. It lives almost always solitary, sometimes in pairs,
and it is only on rare occasions that more than three individuals
are seen together. We have found this bird at Mayotte, Nosai-

130 ON THE CEESTED KINGflSnEES OF AFRICA,

be, Nossi-falie, Tani-kelj', Nossi-Bourrah. and Madagascar. In
this latter island it bears the name of ' Bintsi.'

Messrs. Eoch and Newton state (I.e.) that in Madagascar this
species was "tolerablj'' common along the coast, and observed up
the counti-y as for as Beforona," and the latter gentleman ob-
served it on his second visit to the island, to be as " common as
it was last year."

The description and measurements, are taken from a beautiful
male bird in my collection, procured from the ' Maison Verreaux.'

III. — CORYTHOENIS CyANOSTIGMA.

(Malachite-Crested Kingfisher.)
Alcedo cristata ... - Linn. Syst. Nat. I, p. 178 (1766).
Corythornis cristata, - - - Kanp. Fam. Alced. p. 13 (1848.)
Alcedo cyanostigma - - - Eupp. Neue Wirb. pi. 34 (1835).
Corythornis cyanostigma - - Kaup. Fam. Alccd. p. 13 (1848).
Alcedo cyano stigmata, - - Des MiirSj Voy. en Abyss, Zool.

p. 81 (c. 1848).
Petit Martin-2}echeur de I'lslc do Lui;on, Buff. Enl. 756.
C. rostro Isete corallino : crista longissiuia inalacbitacea.

Hab. in tota regione .^thiopica.

Adult Male. (South Africa). Head witb a malachite-green
crest, eacb feather being greenish-blue with a black shaft, and
crossed by two black bands, the tip of the feather being black
preceded by a band of blue ; the feathers at the sides of the crest
elongated and broader ; sides of the head and entire upper sur-
face of the body, rich ultramarine ; wing-coverts blackish washed
with blue ; quills brownish black, the secondaries edged with
faint ultramarine ; tail blue above, black beneath ; chin and
longitudinal patch, of feathers along the sides of the neck, white ;
cheeks, earcoverts, and rest of the under-surface of the body,
rich rufous ; bill and feet coral-red.

Young Female. Head crested, dusky-greenish, with very broad
black shafts and bands, the feathers on the nape with a slight
silvery lustre ; back and scajiularies light brown with light cobalt
bars ; back ultramarine washed with cobalt ; tail ultramarine
above, brown beneath ; quills light brown, the inner web light

oy The ceEsted kingfisSers o^ afeIca. 131

rufous from the base, the outer web edged with light ultra-
marine ; lores light rufous ; cheeks rufous with little black
markings ; throat and a patch of feathers along the sides of the
neck yellowish white ; under surface of the body pale rufous,
lighter down the centre of the body ; bill and feet blackish,
tinged slightly with red. Total length 5.0 inches, of bill and
feet blackish, tinged slightly with red. Total length 5.0 inches,
of bill from front 1.3, from gape 1.75, wing 2. 4, tail 1.1, tarsus
0.25, middle toe 7, hind toe 0.3.

Veri/ young. Similar to the last, but the plumage much
darker brown, the bars of blue being narrower and those on the
head darker; the bars of cobalt on the wing-coverts and scapu-
laries very distinct, upper part of the breast marked with a
darkish brown line. Total length 4.3 inches, of bill from front
0.8, from gape 1.05, wing 2.0, tail 1.55, tarsus 0.2, middle toe 0.4,
hind toe 0.2.

Hah. Abyssinia {Ileuglin), Tigre ; Dongola, Agula {Blanford),
Nubia (Lichtenstein), White Nile (Petheric/c), River Gambia
{mus. R. B. Sharpe), Bissao ( Verreaux), Casamanze ( Verreaux),
Fantee {Bowilitch), Ashantee {mus J. Gould), Bonny River
{Jardien), Gaboon ( Verreaux), St. Thomas (mus. Zish.), Angola
{Monteiro), Cape Colon}' {Laijard), Natal {Ay res), Transvaal
{Ayres), Caffraria ( WaMhery, Bulyer), Zambesi fKirlcJ.

In a paper recently published in the 'Ibis,' I entered fully
into the question of the various races of this species to be met
with in the Ethiopian Eegion, and came to the conclusion that,
beyond the larger size of the South African birds, there was
nothing to justify their separation from the form occurring in
Western Africa and Abyssinia. At the time I wrote that article
I laboured under the disadvantage of not being able to examine
more than one specimen from North Eastern Africa, an imperfect
skin sent from the White Nile by Consul Petherick, for the
opportunity of inspecting which I was indebted to my kind
friend Mr. Gould. I decided, however, that there was no reason
to separate the Abyssinian bird as a distinct species, and sub-
sequent experience has proved the correctness of this view, for

133

ON THC CRESTED KINQFISHERS OP AFRICA.

Mr. W. T. Blanforcl, the geologist attacliod to the late
Abyssinian Expedition, has had the courtesy to submit to me two
specimens obtained by him during his sojourn in that country,
and these evidently belong to the same small race as the bird
from the "White Nile. I subjoin the measurements of the two
Abyssinian specimens, and those of the other birds from "Western
and South Eastern Africa employed by me in my paper in the
'Ibis.'

No.

Sex.

Locality.

Authority.

Long
tot.

Eostr.

Al.

male

Agula

Blanford

4-6

1-15

2-25

male

Dongolo

Blanforcl

4-6

1-2

2-2

White Nile

Petherick

4-75

E. Gambia

mus E. B. S.

4.70

1-15

2-2

Beng-uela

Monteiro

4-80

1.15

2-2

male

West Africa

Verreanx

5-00

1-25

2-1

Natal

Ayres

5-20

1-20

2-3

Natal

Ayres

6-00

1-20

2-3

Cape Colony

mus. R. B. S.

5-30

1-30

2-3

It will be seen at a glance that the bird from "Western Africa
is intermediate in size between the one from Abyssinia and that
from South Africa. Should, however, some future ornithologist
be bent upon separating the Abyssinian bird as distinct, it must
bear the name of Corjjthornis cyanostigma, as the type of this sup-
posed species came from Abyssinia.

The present species is spread over the whole of the .iJEthiopian
region, and is nowhere vei'y rare. Dr. Finsch, however, thinks
that the bird from the island of St. Thomas, stated to be of this
species by Professor Barboza du Bocage, is more likely to be C.
cxruleocejilahi and I agree with the learned doctor in this sup-
position. Nevertheless, my friend Mr. Keulemans expresses his
belief from personal observation, that the true C. cristata is
occasionally found there ; and he also informs me that, according
to the natives, a bird with a very long crest is sometimes met
with in Princes' Island, so that it may be an occasional visitor
there also. That these little Kingfishers do sometimes take long
flights, Mr. Keulemans is certain ; for in some of his excursions

ON THE CRESTED KINGFISHERS OP AFRICA. 133

to the different islands, he has observed them out at sea, skim-
ming along the water, at least five miles from the nearest point of
land.

Mr. Layard observes: — "This beautiful little Kingfisher
is abundant throughout the colony, wherever a stream or marsh
exists which can supply it with the necessary food. It breeds in
banks, and lays four or five glistening white eggs, so transparent
that the yellow yolk shines plainly through the shell. I have not
myself seen the nest, but have been assured by many who have,
that it consists of nothing but the bones of the delicate little fish
upon which the bird habitually feeds." In the immediate neigh-
bourhood of Cape Town, however, it seems to be not very com-
mon, for my friend Mr. Layard exerted himself vigorously to
procure me some specimens, but without success, till at last he
got quite by chance two at once, both young birds, which killed
themselves by flying against a building in Cape Town.

Mr. Ayres' notes on the present species in Natal are as follow : —

"Eye black; legs and bill brilliant red; frequents both the
coast and interior streams, and feeds on freshwater shrimps and
small fish, but principally the former ; also on beetles and insects ;
darts from a bough on its prey. Builds in holes in the banks,
merely forming a small round chamber at the end of the hole."

Mr. Ayres has lately sent some eggs to the Rev. H. B. Tristram,
and I am indebted to Mr. Gurney for the following note which
was received by him from Mr. Ayres. He observes: — "It
bores a hole some two feet deep in the bank of a river or stream-
let, forming a small round chamber at the end, in which four
pretty white eggs are laid."

The following details have been kindly supplied by my friend
Mr. J. J. Monteiro : — " This beautiful little species is not un-
common all over Angola, particularly on the smaller rivers and
lakes. It is a lovely object, as it flies actively about from twig
to twig low over the water, and it has a pretty way when
standing still of raising and depressing its beautiful little fan-
like crest."

Dr. Kirk in his paper " On the Birds of the Zambesi Eegion "

134 ON THE CRESTED KINGHSHERS OV AFRICA.

informs us tliat it is "universal on all the waters, sitting on the
reeds or bushes which overhang them, and darting on its prey,
A larger species of Alcedo was observed among the rapids of the
Shire, but not anywhere else." I think this last species must
have been Alcedo semitorquata, which is in Mr. Dawson Eowley's
collection from the Zambesi. In Abyssinia, according to Von
Heuglin, the present species is "common and resident in Abys-
sinia, up to 10,000 feet above the level of the sea, in the Bogos
Country, and in the country adjoining the Gazelle river." Mr.
Blanford has very kindly given me the accompanying note.
"I found this Kingfisher only on the highlands of Abyssinia
but never much above 700 feet above the sea. I did not meet
with it on the Anseba, and suspect that it is confined to the tem-
perate region. It keeps to the banks of streams, and has, so far
as I had opportunities of judging, precisely the flight and habits
of Alcedo ispida, sitting on a branch over the water and thence
dashing down upon fish, and when disturbed skimming rapidly
along the stream just above the surface of the water. I never
saw it far from water. It was not veiy common."

Des Murs in the ' Voyage en Abyssinie ' observes : — " The
first example was found on the river Assem near Adoua on the
2oth of Jul}^ 1839, and a second was killed on the river of Waye
Gongona on the 7th of April, 1 840. It has all the flight and habits
of our common species, and frequents the borders of the rivers."

It will be seen from the accompanying observations of the
Messieurs Verreaux, that their experience of the Abyssinian race
being about the same size as the South African, is exactly con-
trary to my own ; and if their observations in this respect be
correct, there can be no hesitation iu the mind of any ornitholo-
gist in uniting the C. crisfata from all parts of Africa under one
and the same specific designation. I suspect, however, that as
it is the case with so many other African birds, two races differ-
ing only in size may be found to inhabit respectively the highlands
ano plains of the same country. The above-named ornithologists
have given us the following note : — " This species exactly resem-
bles that of South Africa, which appears to be widely difi'used >

ON THE CEE6TED KLNGEISHEKS OF AFRICA. 135

for we can find no difference -wtiatever, except the variation
of size, in the numerous examples which have passed through
our hands during the thirty years we have busied ourselves with
the study of Natural History and of Ornithology principally."
" "We must state, however, that specimens from certain locali-
ties on the West Coast appear to us to be of a smaller size, while
those from the Eastern portion, on the young of which our col-
league, M. Eiippell, has founded his A. cyanostigma, entirely
resemble those from the Cape of Good Hope. We have gained
proofs of this by the comparison that we have made during our
journeys among public museums. For the rest, its manners are
the same as the Alcedo ispida of Europe. In the adult birds, no
difference exist between the sexes ; both have the iris clear blue,
with the beak and feet lively red."

The description and measurements are from specimens in my
own collection.

II. — CORYTHORNIS C.€RULEOCEPHALA.

(Blue-crested Kingfisher.)
Alcedo cccndeoceplwla - - Gm. Syst. Nat. I, p. 449 (1788).
Corythornis ccm-ulcocephala - Kaup. Fam. Alced. p. 13 (1848).
Alcedo cyaneoccphala - Shaw, Gen. Zool. VIII, p. 100 (1812).

Alcedo cyanocephala - Hartl. and Finsch, Orn. Ostafr. p. 163 (1869)

Corythornis cyanocephala- - Cab. and Heine, Mus. Hein. th. II. p. 145

(1860).
Corythornis nais - - Kaup. Fam. Alced. p. 12 (1848).

Alcedo nais - - - Gray, Cat, Fiss. Brit. Mus. p. 64 (1848).

Petit Martin-pcchcur de Senegal, Biiff. PI. Enl. 356.
C. rostro corallino : crista breviori, Icetissime cyaneii.

ITab. in Africa occidentali, in Abyssinia et in Africa eur-australi.

Head brilliant blue, with a long crest, each feather of which is
blue with a black shaft and crossed by two black bands near the
tip ; sides of the head and rest of the upper surface of the body
ultramarine ; wing-coverts black spotted with ultramarine ; quills
blackish, their inner webs pale rufous at the base, the secondaries
edged with ultramarine ; tail blackish with a tinge of ultramai-ine
above ; throat and a patch of feathers along the sides of the neck,

136 ON UPE CRESTED KINGFISHERS 01" AFRICA.

white ; lores, cheeks, and the rest of the imder-surface of the
body rich rufous, paler in very old birds ; bill and feet coral red .
eyes dark brown. Total length 5 inches, of bill from front 1.3,
from gape 1.6, wing 2.2, tail 0.2, tarsus 0.3, middle toe 0.45,
hind toe 0.2.

Rah. North Africa {mus. Brit.) Fazoglo {mm. Philad), Az-
Johannis, Tigre {von Heuglin) Senegal {Buff on), Gold Coast {mus.
Liigd.), River Gamma {Da Chailla), Loanda {mus. R. B. Sharpe),
St. Thomas {Weiss, mm. Brem.) Ilha do Principe fDjhrn, Keide-
mansj Mozambique fmus, Hein.J

Although the present species has been known ever since the
time of Buffon, great uncertainty has prevailed up to the present
date, as to its geographical distribatioa. Gmelin gives its habi-
tat as Madagascar, and Lesson as Java, both of which localities
are erroneous, and it is now known to be confined to the 2Eiih.io-
pian Region. I have never seen an authentic specimen from
Abyssinia, although I suppose the two specimens presented by
Lord Mountnorris to the British Museum from " North Africa,"
are really from some part of the Abyssinian sub-region. Brehm
states that it is never found north of 15 deg. n. lat., which asser-
tion, however, needs a slight modification as von Henglin pro-
cured two specimens in a swamp at Az-Johannis in Tigre, which
is somewhat north of the line indicated by Brehm. As regards
the existence of Corythornis cceruleocephala in Mozambique, I ana
somewhat sceptical, as no authority is given for the specimen in
Heine's Museum. I hardly think its occurrence there likely, and
I am by no means positive as to its ever being met with in
Abyssinia : in all probability the small race of Corythornis cristata
having been mistaken for it. There ought, however, to be no diffi-
culty in identifying the present bird, as the diflference in the
length and colouring of the crest is at once perceptible.

According to the late Mr. Cassin, the Philadelphia Museum
contains every known species of Corythornis and Ispidina, includ-
ing Corythornis nais and his Is])idina nitida. What the two birds
thus designated by Mr. Cassin really are, I cannot imagine, as I
have examined Kaup's types in the British Museum and find that

ON THE CEESTED KINGFISHEES OF AFRICA. 137

Corthornis nai's is nothing more than the young of C. canileo-
cephala, and /. nitida is the young of /. nataletisis, as will be seen
in the account of that species. I beg leave to draw the attention
of the Philadelphia Academy to this interesting question.

Dr. Dohrn {I.e.) informs us that in Prince's Island the Cory-
thornis cceruleocephala is common on the shore ; in a few instances I
saw single specimens flying about in the interior of the island.
Thecolour of the young bird is little different from that of old speci-
mens ; the bUl is black, and the white spots on the throat and on
the sides of the neck are very small. This species is as lively as
Halcyon dryas is indolent. The natiue name is " Pica-peixe."

I am indebted to Mr. Keulemans for the following note on the
habits of this hitherto little-known Kingfishei", as observed by
him during his residence in the Princes' Island. " Corythornis
cteruleocephala is a common bird near the sea-shore, and in the
large river near the town of St. Antonio. It is very different
in its habits from Halcyon dryas, being altogether a much more
lively bird. Its food consists of fishes and water-insects. It
breeds between the months of August and January. The eggs
are five in number, white, almost round, and very glossy. They
are deposited in holes or in clefts of rock, but I do not know if
they make any nest. When not disturbed this little Kingfisher
becomes very tame, and is particularly fond of frequenting the
j)laces where the native women are engaged in washing clothes,
I suspect that the water being thus disturbed causes the aquatic
insects to come to the surface, when they are eagerly pounced
upon by the bird, which may be seen plunging into the water
every minute. The natives call it "Pica-peixe" which signifies
fish catcher."

The description and measurements are taken from a very fine
male bird in my collection from Loanda. The largest figure in
the plate is a copy of a painting made by Mr. Keulemans in
Princes' Island from a recently killed specimen, while the smaller
figure represents a younger bird.

188

FIFTH SUMMEE SESSION— 1869.

The Annual Meeting for tbe Election of Officers, witli which it has
become customary to inaugurate the Summer Session of the Society, was
held on Tuesday, JiUy 27th, at Castle Hill, at the kind invitation of J.
Edwards, Esq. Tea and coffee were provided at five o'clock ; after which
the members enjoyed a stroll about the grounds, and it was not until
about seven that the business of the meeting began, when, the company
being assembled in front of the house, the Secretary read the following
report : —

For the thii'd time it becomes my duty to report to you the progress of
our society, which has now concluded the fourth year of its existence. It
seems to me a peculiarly edifying practice that we should, at the end of
each year, pause to look back ujion the past, to note what we have done,
and at the same time to observe our shortcomings, and glean hints for im-
provement in the many points where imj)rovement is desirable. During
the Summer Session of last year our Society was in abeyance; indeed, with
the exception of a very pleasant meeting in the place where we are now
assembled, any work done was rather that of individuals than of the
Society as a body. Our winter meetings were, as usual, well attended :
the following is a list of the papers read on 'those occasions : —

On English Plant Names (two papers) The Secretary.

Winter Work Mr. Ullyett.

*Additions to the Wycombe Flora, 18G8 The Secretary.

On Some Obscure Points in Vegetable Physiology (commimicr. ted)

Robert Holland, Esq.

Oiu- Water-birds T. Marshall, Esq.

*Fern Freaks (communicated) Robert Holland, Esq.

On the South Staffordshire Coalfields (communicated)

Rev. W. H. Painter
*0n the Prominent Moths of Biickinghamshire (communicated)

Rev. H. Harpur-Crewe.

On the Progress of Geology John Parker, jim., Esq.

*Annual Address , ,,, The President.

PEOCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIEIT. 139

On tlie Geographical Distribution of the Alcedinidse or Kingfishers

R. B. Sharpe, Esq.

Besides these, our President has given us short addresses upon sub-
jects connected vrith various branches of Natural History, which have
been profitable and interesting.

Of our Annual Conversazione in the Town Hall, I can only say that it
may fairly be considered to have been, in every way, a very marked success
— a success due in no small measure to the exertions of those who devoted
their time to the an-angement of objects — to those who lent the objects,
and last, but by no means least, to those ladies who, by supplying tea
and coffee, and by undertaking the various duties connected therewith,
contiibuted so materially to the comfort and sociability of the meeting.
Although the thanks of the Society were not publicly presented to these
ladies it was not from any want of gratitude on behalf of the members.

Our Magazine still -continues, and, apparently, stiU gives satisfaction
to its subscribers and contributors. It is to be regretted that it does not
pay its expenses, but we have a balance in hand from the annual sub-
scriptions, which it seems to me, in the absence of a museum, cannot be
applied to a better object than the continuation of this record of oiu-
proceedings. Whether, at the conclusion of our present volume, we
shall still be justified in its continuance is a matter which the future
must decide. The papers published have been of local as well as general
interest.

Owing to considerable in-egidarity in the payment of subscriptions, I
can only lay before you a rough statement of accounts, which will, I
trust, be considered satisfactory.

And now I must ask you to bear with me, while at the risk of beino'
thought egoistical, I say a little about myself. You, who know how
deeply and thoroughly I am interested in this work of ours — who have
borne with my enthusiasm for natural science, even when I have faUed
to carry you with me and make you love nature as I love her— you who
have encouraged me by your presence at oiu- meetings, by your kind
assistance in many ways when called upon to render it — you, especially,
who have aided me with your obsei-vations, and enhanced the success of
our meetings in various methods — you will, I am sure, believe me when
I tell you how sincerely I regret to announce to you my aijproaching
departure from this place. A post in the Royal Herbarium, at Kew, has
been offered me, which I could not, in justice to myself, decline to accept.
My resignation of the post of Secretary is, therefore, on this occasion no
mere form — it is a necessity which none can regret more than myself.
It has been said that my resignation woiold be followed by the collapse

140 PROCEEDINGS OP THE SOCIETY.

of the Society — an idea wliicli, flattering as it might be to my personal
vanity, seems to me almost too absurd to mention. Is your interest in
natural history so slight that the withdrawal of one member from a
society like ours could be followed by so disastrous a result ? I will not
believe it. The duties of a secretary are not so heavy that any super-
human exertions are needed to fulfil them ; and surely among 70 mem-
bers one may be found who will come forward to fill up the gap. Yet,
lest this should not bo the case, I may mention that, should it be your
wish that I should retain my post iintil the conclusion of the present
year, I have made arrangements by which I hope to be enabled to be
present as usual at our winter meetings. This, however, is only
provisional ; I need hardly point out to you how much better it
will be if the post be filled by one residing on the spot ; the matter is
for you to decide. I have felt that it is advisable that the office of
treasurer, which for the last three years has been united with that of
secretary, should rettirn to its former distinctness ; the dtities of collect-
ing subscriptions and keeping accounts are quite sufficient in themselves
to occupy one whose time is ali-eady much engaged ; and I would, there-
fore, urge upon you the propriety of your appointing a Treasurer ; this
win have the effect of rendering the Secretary's duties even lighter than
they are at present. All that you require in a Secretary is one whose
heart is in the work, and sm-ely it would be no difficult task to find such
an one among us.

I avail myself of this opportunity to thank you for the extreme kindness
you have one and all manifested towards me during my residence among
you. If any proof were needed, of the catholicity of natiiral history,
that proof yom* friendliness has afforded me. Whatever differences of
opinion on other matters may exist between us, I can say with truth
that you have been always ready to comply with any suggestion which
I may have had to make with reference to the well-being or advance-
ment of the society, and once more I heartily and sincerely thank you.

Perhaps you will pardon me for once more urging upon you the
necessity of more real work among us. Not that we do not number
among our members a proportion, it may be a fair proportion, of those
who really devote part of their time to actual study of natural objects —
we have one or two botanists who examine in the herbarium as well as
in the field, our British plants — and others who employ the talents given
them in transferring to paper the fleeting tints and delicate forms of our
wild flowers, and learn while so doing, many interesting facts connected
with them. Ornithologists, too, are fairly represented, and Mr. Sharpe

PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETT. 141

(whom we are proud to'num'ber among our members) is now issuing a
work wliicli has ah-eady a reputation as widely distributed as the birds
which it describes — I mean the Monograph of the Alcedinid(B ; two dis-
tinguished entomologists, resident in our county, assist us by contributing
and subscribing to our magazine ; and geologists, too, are not wanting.

I have not referred to our President, because I really do not know
how to classify him ; perhaps the best way would be to rank him with
each of the above, and add that he is an astronomer, a chemist, and a
first-rate microscopist, and that he has a supply of objects illustrative
of each science, which I verily believe to be inexhaustible. I know that
some have not much time to devote to such pm-suits, but, surely each
could do a little to forward the work. One might keep a meteorological
table J another could note year by year the time of foliation, flowering,
and fruiting of the trees ; another could with very little trouble, rear
caterpillars of different moths or butterflies, noting their food, and the
dates of their transformation ; a miniatiire aquarium and its inhabitants
would amuse and instruct a fourth; the natural history of a limited
district might occupy those who take their constitutional in some parti-
cular direction ; in fact there is plenty to do, and nothing in nature is too
small to be worth notice. There is such a chai-m of variety in nature ; her
rules as we define them, are so full of exceptions, which are perhaps really
governed by other rules at present unknown to us ; there is so very much
to be done, and there are so few to do it. Not only are there many distinct
branches of natural science, but each of these so divided and subdivided,
and is so capable of further and further subdivision, that the difficulty is,
not to know how much to attempt, but how little. And we need not go
far afield to make discoveries. It is true, as our President told us, that
we ought not to confine our researches to the insects, the plants, the
animals, the birds of oui- own neighbourhood, or even of oiir own
country, but we must remember that it is by the careful working of
small districts that the productions of a country are ascertained. Neither
need we hunt for rare objects on which to make our observations ; some
of Sir. Darwin's most important discoveries were elicited by his study of
such common plants as the primrose and cowslip, the flax of commerce,
and the purple loosestrife. When we think how absolutely little we
know of the life-history of plants ; when we think how many objects are
connected with plants at one stage or other of their existence, how many
in the larval state, feed upon the leaves, and in the perfect form of bee,
or butterfly, or moth, derive sustenance from the flowers, in many cases
at the same time fei-tHising these flowers by the transmission of pollen

142 PROcEEsmas of the society.

from one to another — a transmission wliicli recent investigations show
to be absolutely necessai-y for the formation of the seed ; when we reflect
tooj that each insect has its history, with its marvellous changes, each
one of which, were we not used to them, would fill us with wonder j we
must see that there is work for us all to do, and work which cannot fail
to be a pleasure to all who undertake it. I do not expect you all to
become botanists, geologists, or zoologists, in the scientific acceptation
of the term, but I do virge upon you the necessity of being naturalists
— lovers of nature. The more you observe the phenomena of the chang-
ing seasons, the development of plant or animal, the infinite variety
which is an immutable law of nature, the more you will appreciate the
words of the poet,

" The old order changeth, yielding i^lace to new.
And God fulfils HimseK in many ways."

The cash account showed a balance of over £4- in favour of the Society
when all claims had been paid.

The President then rose, and informed the members that they were
now without oflScers, on which

John Parker, Esq., said that the sooner they were delivered from that
predicament the better, and he would, therefore, move the re-election of
the Rev. T. H. Browne as President, knowing that no 'one better fitted
to fill the post could possibly be found. This was seconded by Mr.
ThurloWj and carried by acclamation.

John Parker, jun., Esq., then pro^DOsed the re-election of Mr. Britten
as Secretary. He was sorry to hear of Mr. Britten's approaching de-
parture, but glad that his connection with the society would not cease ;
and he had little doubt that his additional opportunities for study and
observation would render his services even more valuable than they had
yet been.

This was seconded by J. Edwards, Esq., in a complimentary speech,
and carried unanimously. The Secretary briefly responded, thanking
the members for the compliment they had paid him, and remarking that
he should look forward with pleasure to the winter meetings, when he
shoidd again meet those who had helped and encouraged him in his
work. He proceeded to move the appointment of John Parker, jun.,
Esq., to the office of Treasurer, which was seconded by Dr. Bowstead and
carried unanimously. The re-election of the Committee followed ; after
which the President gave an account of the recent excursion of the
Geologists' Association to Oxford, at which the Society was represented.
Among the objects exhibited were Lizai-ds of various kinds, by the Presi-

PEOOEEDINaS OF THE SOCIETY.

143

dent ; specimens of the Cornisli Moneywort {SiUhorpia europcea) and Ivy.
leaved Bell-flower (Wahlenlergia hederacea), from Bodmin^ Cornwall j of
the Ivy Broomrape (Orohanche Hederm), from Clifton, Bristol; of the
Flowering Eush (Butomus umhellatus), from the Thames, and of other
plants, which were brought by the Secretary ; who also showed an
abnormal form of Orcft.ispj/rajjwdaHs, forwarded from the Botanic Gardens,
Glasnevin, Dublin. The President brought a crab, which had just cast
its shell, and created some amusement by feeding it. After a cordial
vote of thanks to INIr. and Mi-s. Edwards for their kind reception of the
society, the meeting, which was very numerously attended, separated.

ttot^si, OJomispotttUni;^, &c.

Under this head we shall be glad to receive short notes on any
natural objects, the preference being given to such as have a local
interest. Notes on the popular names of, or traditions concerning
animals or plants, or on any subject connected with Natural History,
will be welcome.

Eaee Bieds in Oxfokdshiee. — I
have to report the recent capture
of several uncommon bu-ds in this
neighbourhood; a pair of the
Lesser Spotted "Woodpecker, on
May 1st; a fine female Crested
Grebe, on the 18th ; and a splendid
specimen (adult male) of the KoUer,
on the 27th. The Black Tern has
also visited us in considerable niun-
bers. I also -ndsh to record the
captiire in May, 1868, of a male
Painted Bunting, — doubtless in
this, as in other cases of its occur-
rence in Britain, an escaped cage-
bird, though I cannot hear of any
one keeping them in confinement
in this neighbourhood.

EVEEAED F. ThTJEM,

Alderbui-y Eectory, Banbury.
Field, June 5th.

The same paper contains a notice
of the occiu-ence of a Stork in
Windsor Great Park, at the latter
end of May.

AxjEOEA. — A very beautiful dis-
play of the Aiirora Borealis was
observed at Wycombe shortly after
ten on the night of May 13th.

WiTWOLL. — Mr. Marshall, in our
first volume, p. 73, draws attention
to this name, which, ia the slightly
altered form of " Wetile," is applied
in Buckinghamshire to the Green
Woodpecker. The following in-
teresting note on the subject is
taken from Mr. T. Q. Couch's "List
of Obsolete Words, stUl in use
among the folk of East Cornwall."
"WoodwaU. The Woodpecker

144

NOTES, CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.

Some doubt exists as to tlio bird
originally designated tbeWoodwall.
With us it is undoubtedly the Green
Woodpecker. In the glossaries
commonly appended to Chaucer's
worts, it is said to mean the Golden
Oriole. The Greenfinch has also
been set down as the bird intended.

" The JToodwcIc sunj, and would not cease

Sitting upon the spraye
So loud be wakea'd Robin Hood

In the greenwood where he lay."

Robin Hood, (liitiion.)

" In many places, Nightingales,
And Alpes, and Finches, and Woodewalcs."
Uomaunt of the Rose,

The note of the Green Woodpecker
is a hoarse laugh, rather than a
song. The extreme rarity of the
Golden Oriole is conclusive against
its being the bird intended. The
Greenfinch has been suggested, biit
its song is hardly loud enough to
have stirred the slumbers of the
freebooter. Though the voice of
the former can scarcely by any
poetic license be called song, I de-
cline to think it the bird meant.
Yarrell (vol. ii. p. 137,) gives some
interesting information on the ety-
mology of the word. Crockett, in
his Glossary of North Country
Words, considers it derived from
the Saxon 'whyiel,' a knife. In
Yorkshire, and in North America,
a whittle is a clasj) knife, and to
w hittle is to cut or hack wood ; the
origin and the meaning of the
Woodpecker's name are therefore
suiSciently obvious ; whytel, whit-
tle, whetele, wood-i)ccker, &c."

The Eedshank. — "A si>ecimen
of that extraordinarily rare and
beautii'ul bu-d, the Eedshank, in its
summer plumage, has been shot

lately, at Milton Keynes. The Eed-
shank is a native of Timor Sunda,
and New Guinea. It has been sent
to Mr. ManteU, Newport PagneU,
to be preserved." — Buclcs Herald,
May 15, 1869,

CoucH-GEAss. — This most trouble-
some weed, one of the farmers'
greatest enemies, known to botan-
ists as Triticum repens, has a
variety of English names. In
Cumberland and Essex it is called
Twitch ; in Yorkshire, Wickens ;
in Cheshire and Shropshire, Scutch;
iu our own neighbourhood, Cooch
or Couch-grass ; in North Bucks,
Squitch : all evidently having the
same derivation, but an obscure
one. In the Norfolk name. Quicks,
and the Warwickshire, Quicken-
grass, we have a clue. No plant
is more retentive of vitality than
this Triticwm repens ; the smallest
piece, left in the ground, will grow.
AU these names are but forms of
the Anglo-Saxon word cwic, living';
a word with which we are f amUiar
as occiiring in the English Prayer-
book version of the Apostles' Creed,
where "the quick" are referred to
as opposed to " the dead." The
words "quicks" and "quickset"
are applied to living hawthorn
hedges as distinguished from dead-
wood fences ; cxoic-beam, the living-
tree, was the Anglo-Saxon name
for the Aspen (Populus tremula)
in reference to its ever-moving
leaves ; and Quick -in-hand is an
old name for the Touch-me-not
Balsam (Impatiens noli-me-tangere)
from the suddenness with which
the seeds are discharged when the
plant is handled.

The First Evening Meeting of the present f Fifth) Winter
Session will he held at the house of the President, the Rev. T. H.
Browne, on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 6'30^.ot.

Memhers desirous of reading pa^jers at any of the Winter Meetings
are requested to communicate with the Hon. Secretary, to whom all
contributions for the Magazine should also he forwarded. Address : —
Jamks Britten, Royal iLerlariura, Kew, London, W.

145

mt (BiM 6i §nj Wmi\mm^^ ^^»<^v S^^wtiS.

EVEEY one must have remarked in a general way that the
dry "weather of 18G8 was different in its effects on different
plants. That some were burned up directly and never came to
maturity; that some struggled through the fiery ordeal, and
flourished at last when the rain did come ; that some were
but very little affected throughout ; and a very few positively
revelled in the tropical weather. Most people, at least most
people who lived in the country, took note of these things and
many interesting and valuable facts were recorded.

But by no means the least curious were the effects which the
dry weather exercised upon aquatic and semi-aquatic plants. Of
course we shoidd be quite prepared to find dry-land plants much,
affected when every drop of moisture was abstracted from their
roots, and they were obliged to grow in hot, loose dust, or in soil
that had been dried and baked almost to the texture of stone.
We should, probably, expect to find semi-aquatic plants even
more injured when, instead of growing with their roots in the
water, the water had receded from them, and left them high and
dry upon the land; and yet, strange to say, with respect to the
water plants, the reverse of this was what reaUy took place in
many cases ; for it was observed that many plants which usually
grow at the edge of the water, or upon very swampy ground, but
which were growing in 1868 upon dry land were stronger, larger,
and especially flowered more freely than usual ; and that even
some decidedly aquatic plants appeared to be much benefited by
growing on soft mud instead of being quite immersed in the
water.

These observations were almost forced upon my notice one day
in July, 1868, when I and two feUow-botanists made an excursion
to Oakmere in Delamere Forest, There are in Cheshire a great

146 THE EFFECT OP DRY "WEATHER TPON "WATER PLANTS.

many small sheets of water, locally called " meres." Oakmere is
one of the largest of them, being about three-quarters of a mile
long. It is surrounded by peat bogs and low heathery hills
almost destitute of trees, except at one end where there are dark
firwoods — altogether a wild, weird place, where you would not
be the least surprised to see strange antediluvian animals roam-
ing about. Oakmere, however, is celebrated as being the only
English habitat of the very rare lesser small-reed, C alamagrostis
stricta, and it was chiefly to collect this pretty grass that we
went. A year before I had found it growing sparingly at the
edge of the water, but on that day we saw it in great profusion
and luxuriance, growing where it was quite dry enough to walk,
but where in ordinary seasons there must have been a very wet
swamp. The mere was at least a yard lower than usual, and the
watei-, always shallow near the edge, had receded to a consi-
derable distance, leaving a shore of soft oozy mud with here and
there a pool of dirty, stagnant water. Here, however, on this
mud, we saw the effect of the dry weather on aquatic plants ;
for it was almost covered with a luxuriant growth of Pond-weed
{Potamogeton natans), throwing up beautiful, shining, almost erect
leaves and a profusion of flowers. The Water-lilies too were
equally fine ; their glossy leaves standing upon short stalks and
forming quite a jungle. I have noted this fact before as regards
Water-lilies in very dry seasons.

Presently we came upon great patches of Sundew, both JDrosera
Anglica and D. rotundifoUa, growing upon what ought to have
been bog, but was now nearly dry and somewhat sandy land.
The beautiful pink, jewelled leaves formed quite large rosettes
and the flowers were borne on stalks six inches high. I think
they were the finest Sundews I have ever seen. I suspect, how-
ever, that something besides the dry weather may have influenced
their growth, for on our peat bogs, where they are very common
plants, — none the less charming for that however, — they grow in
various situations, — down in the wet ditches and up amongst the
Heather and Andromeda, but I have always found them much
the finest in the wetter places, sometimes even perched amongst

THE EFFECT OF DET WEATHER "UPON "WATEB PLANTS. 147

the tops of the Spliagnum, the Water-moss that so treacherously
hides the deep and dangerous holes from "which turf has been cut,
and which are filled with water.

Not far from Oakmere we crossed a bog where there were
many of these small square turf holes, and therein we found one
of our greatest botanical treasures, Utricularia minor in profuse
bloom, and we also observed the very remarkable way in which
the dry weather had affected this plant. Utricularia minor is often
found fl.oating in bog water ; but, so far as I have seen it, it is a
tender, very straggling plant, never growing in great dense masses
as Utricularia vulgaris does, and very seldom flowering, — so seldom
that although I have seen it, perhaps hundreds of times, — I had
never before seen it in flower. But here, when the water was
nearly dried up it was spreading over the mud and creeping
about the Sphagnum almost like Dodder in a clover field,
and throwing up hundreds of spikes of its very pretty pale yellow
flowers. I was quite content to sit down and look at it ; but my
companions, who were collecting for exchanges, fell to work con
amore, only too glad of a rare opportunity to fill their boxes with
80 great a treasure.

But a stiU greater pleasure, if it were possible, awaited us.
"Wandering on, we came to a second small sheet of water, sur-
rounded by a marsh of a very difi'erent character, and yielding a
totally different class* of plants. We picked up first the Bog
Pimpernel ( Anagallis tenellaj, not a remarkably rare plant, but
very uncommon in Cheshire, and therefore, to us, a good find.
Then the Marsh S. John's Wort {Hypericum elodes), a better find
stUl. Soon the Small Skullcap {Scutellaria minor), the rarest of
all. But presently we came to a brilliant patch of green, fring-
ing the margin of a little pool. It looked for aU the world like
grass — only grass as green as this, would have been a rare sight,
indeed, in that season ; but to our delight and surprise too, it
turned out to be a great mass of Pillwort {Pilularia globulifera)
loaded with its curious fructificatioD . There it grew, yards of it,
on perfectly dry land, where no doubt there was usually shallow
water. My companions carried away great bundles of it, —

148 THE EFTEOT OF DET NEITHER trPON WATER PLANTS.

enougli to supply the M-ants of hundreds of correspondents, but
we made no impression ; we left it as green and apparently as
plentiful as we found it ; indeed I do not exaggerate when I say
that we might have collected a cartload.

Many other water plants were no doubt similarly influenced,
by the unusual weather ; but I did not make any systematic
notes, and the few cases I have given are the ones that stand out
most prominently in my recollection. I think the Water Hem-
lock ( Cicuta virosa) might be added to the list, for it was wonder-
fully luxuriant, as to leaves, but produced few flowers. I think,
too, that the Great Willowherb {Epilohium hirsutum), and the
Purple Loosestrife {Lythrum Salicaria), were both of them finer
and more full of flower than usual.

A succession of dry seasons would no doubt be very detrimental
to water plants ; they would probably die out entirely, as rushes
gradually disappear when land has been thoroughly drained.
It is therefore the more curious that one exceedingly dry season
should, in so many cases, have exercised a decidedly beneficial
influence, and I am quite unable to give any satisfactory answer
to the question " Why is it ?"

EoBERT Holland.

Wiu %M\x\smx\m\$'

DUEING an excursion to Wheatley, which the members of our
Society took four or five years ago, some fossil vertebrte were
obtained in that neigbourhood, which are probably those of the
Ichthyosaurus, one of those huge animals which inhabited the seas
of liassic times. By the kindness of the President, these vertebrae
are on the table to night, and I hope a short account of the
reptile to which they belonged will not prove uninteresting to the
members present.

* Eead before the Society at tlie Second Evening Meeting of the Fifth
Winter Session, December 14thj 1869.

THE ICHTHTOSAXTEUS. 149

Unwieldly in appearance, disproportionate (according to our
ideas) in its head, and altogetlier enormous in bulk, I yet hope
to show you that there is nothing in the structure of this extinct
saurian that does not harmonise with the rest of creation, but that
it is one of the many missing links brought to light by the
laboiirs of the geologist which tend now year by year to make up
the perfection of the many-stranded chain of animated existence.
As its name implies, it partakes of the natures of animals occupy-
ing distinct classes, it resembles both fishes and lizards — it is, in
fact, an Ichthyosaurus, a fish lizard. Eegard being had to its size,
it occupied in the liassic seas the same position that the whale
now fills — the hugest animal known, and one which in many
respects it resembles, though in the all-important matter of food
our ancient friend was predatory and carnivorous. He possessed,
combined in himself, organs and arrangements never since found
in any one species, but now divided, spread among three or four
families ; and was thus enabled to act in the economy of nature the
parts now performed by many and widely separated species.
He had a head resembling a lizard, the fore part a porpoise, the
jaws and teeth were those of a crocodile, the vertebrse those of a
fish, the paddles those of a whale, the body and tail those of a
quadruped. Never since, I say, has such a combination been
found in one animal, the nearest resemblance to such an arrange-
ment in the present day is found in the Ornithorhynchus of
Australia, the land of contradictions it used to be thought, where,
as I read, at any rate, when I went to school, the nights are days
and the days nights, the swans are black, and the dogs can't bark,
the leaves grow edgeways, and the cherries have the stones out-
side. So, of coiu-se, we should expect to find an out-of-the-way
creature there if anywhere. Possessing these varied organs you
can imagine foryourselves the advantages which the Ichthyosaurus,
thirty feet long, had over its contemporaries, and what havoc it
was capable of making in the ancient seas. The number of these
creatures were incalculable and no less than five or six difi'erent
kinds have been disinterred from the lias rock. It was in the
year 1811 that a country girl, ^vho made a precarious living by

150 IHE ICHTHYOSAtTETTS.

fossil hunting, discovered some bones projecting from a cliff:
slie got some workmen to clear away the surroundings and dig
out tiie block in which they were buried, when the first known
Ichthyosaurus lay before human eyes " a monster some thirty
feet long, with jaws some feet in length." This was at Lyme
Eegis in Dorsetshire, a locality now famous as the *' sepulchres
of the ancient dragons," though they have been discovered in
various parts of England, the lias formation forming a sui-face
band reaching from Lyme Regis in a N.W. direction into York-
shire. Of course, as you know, all representations are ideal ones
as no specimen has been found perfect, yet they are no doubt
very near the actual truth. Tou may be tempted then to ask how
is it possible that we can represent thus a creature which disap-
peared from the earth many thousands of years since ? I will try
to show you. It is by the aid of comparative anatomy, a science
which has made wonderful strides of late years, and without
•which many of our greatest discoveries could not have been made.
There is such an intimate connection between the different organs
of the body and the habits of the animal, that if you know one
you can tell the other; and further than this, one particular
organ or arrangement of organs, requires another particular
organ or arrangement, and is never found without it, so that if
you get hold of but even one or two bones you many mentally
construct the skeleton and afterwards write a description of the
appearance and habits of the creature, no further divergent from
the truth than many a description of foreign animals now to be
read in books. I may mention as a case in point that several
years ago one or two bones were sent from New Zealand to this
country by a naturalist who could not refer them to any known
animal. Professor Owen, however, our greatest authority in such
matters, could say positively that no such animal was known, yet
he described what kind of creature it would be when found, and
urged them to hunt both for bones and living specimens. The
search was successful though difficult, and the curious creature
known as the Jj^f^njz, the bird without a vestige of wings and
covered with feathers more like hair, is now to be seen alive in

THE ICHTHYOSAtTETTS. 15 1

the Zoological Gardens. Having said thus much I will briefly
refer to the various organs of the Ichthyosaurus and show how
it has been possible to give you its likeness.

The head resembles that of a lizard or crocodile, the fore part
of it being like that of a porpoise. It was of an enormous size, in
large specimens reaching a length of five or six feet. The teeth
are conical, similar in shape to those of a ci-ocodile, but not
having sockets, — they were arranged in a ridge along the inside
of the jaw. Ample provision was made for their continual
renewal, a new tooth being constantly growing at the base of the
old one ; the number reached in some cases to 180. But the
head differed from that of a crocodile in the position of the
nostrils ; the crocodile has them at the extremity of the head, the
Ichthyosaurus had them just in front of the eye, as you may see
in the Httle lizard so plentiful on our heaths. This shows a close
connection with the lizard tribe, and the teeth prove it to be
carnivorous. The most striking feature in the head is the eye,
which equalled in size the human head and had an aperture 12
to 14 inches across. This enormous size would enable it to take
in a proportionate quantity of light, a power which of course
gave it a better opportunity of seeing its prey, especially in deep
water where little light penetrated. The opening of the pupil
was surrounded by a series of thin bony plates, by means of
which the aperture could be contracted or expanded, and so the
animal might adapt its sight to objects far off or near at hand.
There is a similar arrangement in the eyes of turtles, lizards, and
some of the birds of prey, but it is never found in fishes. Here
we see, then, how the teeth and the eyes correspond, and we
also begin to see that the animal was not a fish. As I have
spoken of the teeth I may as well in this place finish what I have
to say about the food of the ichthyosaurus. The teeth show it
to have been carnivorous, but the question has been settled
beyond all doubt, owing to the wonderful preservation of some
of the specimens. One was found in the Lyme Regis quarries
in which the contents of the stomach were fossihsed inside the
body; among them were bones and scales of fishes and reptiles.

159 THE ICHTHTfOBAtmre.

and among the latter remains of its own species, so that it not
only was a beast of prey, but it devoured its own kind.

We may next notice the vertebroe or separate parts of the back
bone. They were more than 100 in number, thus giving great
flexibility to the column. But these vertebrae correspond more
closely to those of fishes in shape, and this tells us further that
the Ichthyosaurus was fitted for very rapid motion in the water.
The distinguishing feature of the vertebrse of fishes is that they
are hollow on their faces, whereas those of other animals are
more or less flat. Land quadrupeds e.g. require flat surfaces to
these bones, because they press heavily against each other as
they support the weight of the body. An arrangement of hollow
vertebrse is weaker, and, therefore, the Ichthyosaurus with its
huge body cotdd not have moved about much on the land. This
is another conclusion we draw from the character of the fossil ;
and we also begin to suspect that a hollow vertebral column tells
of fins or paddles instead of legs. To these we will now come.
Some of them are very perfectly preserved. Each consisted of a
large number of bones — about 100 and at first sight seems an
organ totally different from the hand or front member found in
land animals. It is however constructed on the same plan ; if you
look closely you will find that the bones are arranged in five
columns answering to the fingers and thumb, that next to these
come the two bones of the fore arm, the ulna and radius, very
short and stout, and then the arm bone or humenis also short and
stout as was necessary to the size of the animal. This arrange-
ment is identical with that in our own arms and hands, and is
one more illustration of the great unityof plan whichnot only exists
in creation now, but is thus shown to have existed in the dim
vistas of the past. But there is a difference between the front
and back pair of paddles, the former being much larger; — and
why ? Because the Ichthyosaurus being an air-breathing animal
was obliged frequently to come to the surface to breathe, as the
■whale does now. The whale only possesses a front pair of fins,
and seals which have two pairs have the anterior pair much larger,
as our ancient friend had. The arrangement is the same as that

TITE ICnTnYOSATJRUa. 153

followed by man in building steam vessels, where tlie centre of
the moving force is placed in front of the centre of gravity ; and
in the Ornithorhynchus, to which I before alluded, the membranous
expansion of the forefeet greatly exceeds that of the hind feet.
The arrangement therefore made it much easier for the animal to
ascend fi-om great depths to the surface in order to obtain a fresh
supply of air, and this action was further facilitated by the form
and arrangement of the breast bone and others to which the
muscles were attached, and which are almost identical with those
obtaining in the Ornithorhynchus. The only organ for me to
notice, in conclusion, is the tail, which was very long, and flattened
at the extremity, thus assisting the huge animal in propelling
itself through the water,

Henry Ullyett.

ionowpne.'

IT is scarcely necessary to remind you tliat the whole of the
terra firma upon which we now stand, and which stretches
away to the distant horizon, was once under watet, forming the bed
of a very deep sea. This fact is evident to the merest casual ob-
server of our chalk pits ; finding in them numerous remains of
what are popularly called shell-fish, and of such only as exist in
salt water, ho naturally and correctly says that the salt water
once covered these valleys and hills. And not only so, but he
must also come to the conclusion that these hills themselves have
been formed in the sea water, or else how do we account for the
fact that the organic remains are found in all positions and at all
depths from the surface ? The chalk could not have been there
before the shells ; no, the shells were there, and the chalk

* Eeacl before tlie Society on the tlikd Field-day of tlie Fii'st Summer
Session, Aug. 28, 1865.

154 HOLIOW LANE.

formed over and around them, making a vast cemetery for tlie
remains of the things that were.

Again, looking at the regular stratification in the section of
any chalk pit, he sees that all was tranquilly done, that there was
no violent effort of Nature in it : the appearance is similar to that
presented on digging through the mud left by the Nile, or any
other inundating river ; all goes to show that a certain kind of
sediment was continually being deposited in a tranquil sea. This
must have gone on for untold ages, for it was a slow process, and
the chalk formation is known in some places to be 1000 feet thick.
The process being finished, the sediment was partially hardened
by its own weight, and was afterwards raised above the surface
of the water and still further hardened by the direct heat of the
sun. This upheaval was also a gradual movement ; if it had
been done violently by earthquakes or other volcanic action we
should find the layers bent in various directions ; but we do not.

It was doubtless similar to what is now going on in the north
of Scandinavia, where the land is known to be rising at the rate
of (I believe) about four inches in a century. During the up-
heaval of the chalk the various valleys were scooped out. The
mode of the formation of valleys often forms a stumblingblock to
geological readers, who are apt to think it was always done by a
stream of water. No doubt it was sometimes, but the principal
agent to be looked at is tidal action, and the continual dashing of
the waves of a mighty sea against the newly born shores. As
the land rose up inch by inch, this ceaseless oceanic action wore
it partially away, leaving the harder parts intact : the direction
of the valleys shows in what direction the dynamical force was
applied, and also to some extent the angle of upheaval in the
land : more of course would be worn away in front of the waves
than at the side, and as the rising wont on the sea retreated.

From the character of the fossil remains found in the chalk the
naturalist arrives at the conclusion that the climate of this part
of the world was considerably warmer than it is now, for the
species, not identical indeed with the fossil species, but of the
same genera, are now known to live only in hot seas, e.g.f the

HOliLO-V^ LANE. 155

nautilus. I said that it was in a deej^ sea the chalk formed:
this also the natui-alist deduces from the fossils; the terebratula
BO common in it is never found in shallow water.

A few words about the hind of sediment of which our rocks are
formed. The absence of colour is pecxxliar and would strike us
at once. White mud seems almost an anomaly, yet it exists even
at the present day: there is a certain tract of sea among the
Bermudas, from the bottom of which it can be dredged up.
When dry it is undistinguishable from common chalk; it is found
to consist of carbonate of lime, and to have been formed by in-
numerable shells of foraminiferse and other minute beings. We
apply the same tests to our own chalk and we get the same
results : hosts of delicately-sculptured shells, entire as well as
broken, come to view beneath the microscope, and we are irre-
sistibly drawn to the conclusion that nearly the whole of the
chalk is formed of the shells of animals. The astonishment that
attends this conclusion increases when we endeavour to think
only of the number required to form this tract of land here before
us ; the mind refuses to enter into the calculation when we include
all the chalk districts known in the world. In this chalk we
find the remains of corals and sponges plentiful, along with sea
urchins, fish occasionally and their scattered teeth, but no plants
except seaweed, no river or land shells, no sand or pebbles—
everything in fact tends to prove that the deposit was in a deep
sea, far from land, the climate hot, and the living beings very
different to what they are now in Europe.

It is hardly safe to venture a few words on the origin of flints,
and the cause of their regular stratification. They are found
most plentifully in the u^jper chalk, and their composition is sili-
ceous, not calcareous. I may however say, that it has been dis-
covered that certain microscopic infusoria may and do produce
great quantities of flint: many species of sponges have their
skeletons formed of it, and it would seem that the siliceous parti-
cles in the neighbouring waters congregated round a sponge as a
centre, and then by some chemical process became the hardened
flint stone we now see. It is very certain that the flint was once

166 HOLLOW LANEi

in a soft, pasty state, for we frer[ucntiy find fossil shells embedded
in it.

Now, to come to the curious old lane we have chosen to ramble
in to-day : Fron its sinuosity and from the wide bending in the
further bank wherever a turn is made, it appears to be an ancient
watercourse, down which, after these hills were upheaved, or
while they were in course of upheaval, a mountain torrent rushed
to join either a larger stream flowing through the present Hugh-
enden Valley, or else the sea which was still slowly retiring.
The deep cuttings made in the mitldle of the lane, where the out-
line of the hill is so much move convex, bear the signs of aqueous
action ; but the most decisive characteristics are the wide bond-
ings or elbowings, which are exactly similar to those we may see
now in our own stream, where it makes an abrupt change in its
course. This was also the opinion of Mr. Lucas, who resided in
Wycombe some years ago, and he was more competent to judge
than I, since he had examined geologically many similar lanes in
all parts of Great Britain. When I first ventured to make
known this hypothesis I was vehemently opposed by the anti-
quaries of Wycombe, who will have it to have been an old road.
So be it : I never denied the possibility, in fact I believe so too,
but I claim for it in addition an existence before it was used as a
road, even before the busy spirit of man had been called into
being — before the earth was given to the gigantic mastodon and
other elephantine monsters over which man has never had do-
minion. I can never believe that it was originally made a road,
either by manual labour or by constant traffic, but it is exceed-
ingly probable that the early inhabitants of this island adapted it
to their convenience. There is many a rocky ravine in Devon-
shire filled with a roaring torrent during a wet season, yet
traversed in summer and autumn by the more peaceful donkey
with panniers or the cottager's cartload of garden produce.

Henky Ullyett.

15?

itiaitjotts to i\u mxj(m)!i!i i\m—iS69.

WE have not many additions to the Flora of our district to
chronicle this year. The Common Gromwell {Litho-
sj)ermuin officinale), which has not before been observed nearer
than Bisham Wood, was discovered by Miss Chandler growing
in some plenty near Abbey Barn Farm. The Deptford Pink
{Dianthtcs Armeria) has been found sparingly by Dr. Bowstead
near Wheeler End Common, and as it seems to have disappeared
from the Little Marlow road, where Mr. Mill found it in 1843,
this may be looked on as the only locality where it exists at
present in our disti-ict ; the plant found on Green Street by
Mrs. B.Lucas, which was recorded last year (ii,, 62) asZ*. Armeria
proves to have been only the Centaury {Erythrcea Centaurium).
The Scaly Spleenwoi't ( Ceterach officinarum) has been observed in
small quantity by Dr. Bowstead on a wall at Downley. The
Hound's-tongue {Cynoglossum officinale) and Night-flowering
Catchfly {Silene noctijlora) I found by the roadside between Lane
End and Marlow. The Oxtongue {Selminthia echioides) has
occurred plentifully in fields on the Marlow Hill, by the footpath
to Marlow.

James Britten.

'^wrfeinglajMsIutt iot«tti|.

A VERY interesting branch of local botany is that which
-^^ traces out, as far as possible, the history of a plant, as far
as a certain district is concerned. At one time in local flora,
this was much neglected, and the result was, that, while the
modern botany of a county was well worked, the historical
interest which might have been excited by a reference to the
older writers, was omitted. Now, however, a better arrange-

i6d ADDITIONS TO THE WYCOMBE FLORA,

ment obtains : and in Trimen and Dyer's 'Flora of Middlesex,' the
best and most recent county Flora, the date of the first obser-
vation of each species recorded is given, with such notes in
reference to its occurrence and record as appear of interest. It
is my intention in the present paper to enumerate the plants
which were recorded as occurring in Buckinghamshire prior to
the commencement of the present century ; reserving for a second
paper the references made to them in the earlier part of it.

Dr. William Turner, known as the father of English botany,
published two books, the ' Herball,' and the * Names of Herbes ;'
the latter in 15i8, the former in throe parts, from 1551 to 1556.
Although ho records sixteen plants as occurring in Middlesex, he
makes no reference to those in our county. It is to Gerarde's
Herbal (1597) that we must turn for the first mention of Buck-
inghamshire plants : he gives the following : —

1. Ophioglossum 'vulgatum L ("Adder's toong "). — "In the
meadowes by Cole-brooke."

2. Gentiana AmarcUa L. — " Upon a heath by Colbrooke neere
London."

3. Campanula glomcrata L. — " In the medowe next untoDitton
ferrie as you goe to Windsore."

4. Inula Helcnium L. Elecampane. — " In an orcharde as yee
go from Colbrook to Ditton ferrie, which is the way to Windsor."

5. XantJiium Sirumarium L — " I founde [it] in the high waie
leading from Draiton to Ivor, two miles from Colbrooke."

6. Archangelica officinalis (Hoffm.) — " My friende Master
Bredwell founde this plant growing by the mote which com-
passeth the house of Master Munke of the parish of Iver, two miles
from Colbrooke."

7. Berleris vulgaris L. "^^(Barberie bush).— Especially about a
gentlemans house called Master Monke, dwelling in a village
called Iver two miles from Colebrooke, where most of the
hedges are nothing else but Bai'berie bushes."

8. Myrica Gale. (BogMyrtle.)—" By Colbrooke."

Here we may note that Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8 are cited by
Trimen and Dyer (the 2nd and 7 th, doubtfully) as Middlesex lo-

BTTCKINGHAMSHIEE BOTANY. 159

calities. Possibly those locaHsed " by Colebrooke " may by ranked
equaUy witli the plants of either county : but Nos. 4, 5, and 7 are
certainly to be referred to our county. We may observe that,
among these eight species, are three which have no claims to
be considered as indigenous in Bucks— /»«?» Helenhm, which now,
as then, affects " orchards ;" Archangelica officinalis, which is, at
best, but a naturalised plant, and regarding which Gerarde
expresses some doubt; and Xanthhm Strumarium, which no-
where establishes itself permanently, and seems to have been
more frequently met with in former times than it is at present.
Mi/rica Gale is not now to be met with in Middlesex or Bucks, a
although Dr. Trimen informs me that it is still abundant in

Windsor Park.

John Parkinson, in his'Theatrum Botaaicum, or Theater of
Plants,' published 1640, gives the following as Buckinghamshire

plants : —

9. Clematis Vitalba L. (Old Man's Beard).-" In the hedges of
fields, and by the highwayes side, in Buckinghamshire."

10. Anagallis arvensis {mrulea) (Blue Pimpernel.) — "At
Beconsfield in Buckinghamshire."

^^Zactuca virosa L.-" In the borders of fields and by the
hedges and lanes sides of Buckinghamshire."

12. Ceterach officimnm L. (Scaly Sploenwort).-" On Beckens-
field church in £arkesJiire."

13. AspleniimJiuta-muraria L. (Wall Rue).-" At Beckonsfield
in Buckinghamshire,"

It is probable that aU of these may be still found in Parkinson's
localities. Zactuea virosa is rare with us, but abounds on the
slopes at White Hill, on the way to Beaconsfield; I have never
seen Ceterach on Beaconsfield church, but it is possible that it may
still remain there in some corner out of sight: a? in some of its
present localities, e.g., a wall at Downley-there are but one or
two very small plants, which might easily escape notice.

William How's ' Phytologia,' published in 1650, is interesting
as being " the first attempt at a Flora of England, aU previous
works having been general systems of botany, including aU known

160 BtrcatmanAMSHiRE botany.

plants." (Trimen and Dyer.) He gives the following, the latter
of which is probably in Oxfordshire, although the tree is very
abundant on the chalk in Bucks.

14. Ruhts Idceus L (Easpberry). — " As common as brambles in
the woods of Chesham — Boys in Buckinghamshire."

15. Fyrns Aria L. — " Growes plentifully in Henly Woods."
Nicholas Culpeper, whose Herbal, ' The English Pliysitian

Enlarged,' 1653, has passed through so many editions, and is
still so popular among village "herb doctors," records one
addition to our flora, in the edition published 1653.

16. Juniperus communis L. — " Juniper-bush. In the High-way
neerAmersham in Buckingham-shire."

In Robert Turner's ' Botanologia : the Brittish Physician, or
the Nature and Vertues of English Plants ' (1664), there are the
following references to Buckinghamshire plants : —

17. Polygonum BistortaJj. — (Bistort or Snake-weed.) "I have
found it in the meadows by Wickomb in Buckinghamshire."

18. Samhiciis Ubuhis L. — " (Dwarf Elder or Danewort.) In the
lane near Hyedsor wharf in Buckinghamshire, and in the grounds
of Mr. Hind at Hedsor."

Juniperus communis Ij. — "It grows much upon the hills and
woody grounds in .... Buckinghamshire."

19. Linum catharticiim L. — (Mill-mountain.) "I have been told
it grows near Wickomb in Buckinghamshire."

In Christopher Merret's ' Pinax ' (1667) occur the following,
which, possibly, may not belong to our county ; the two first-
named, however, are not cited by Dr. Trimen for Middlesex.

20. Caiicalis daucoides L. — " Plentifully in the corn fields near
Slough, Middlesex."

21. Festuca myurus L. — " Beyond Slough on the ground."

22. Fcliium vuJgare Ti. — (Viper's Bugloss) with flesh-coloured,
blue, and white flowers. — ''In many j)laces 'twixt Aylesbury
and Evesham."

Perhaps Caucalis daucoides lomy have been erroneously recorded,
as Merrett's work is not always trustworthy ; but its occurrence
in our county is not improbable.

BUCKING S^iMsntKE BOTAKV. l6l

The illustrious Eay, whose method of classifying plants formed
the basis of that system which is generally received at the present
day, and whose knowledge of British plants was very compre-
hensive, makes a few additions to the Buckinghamshire flora.
In his 'Catalogus Plantarum Angliee,' (1670) he gives —

23. Bianthus deltoides L. (Maiden Pink). — "Mr. G. Horsnell
gathered it on a little hill near Slough, about a mile-and-half
from Windsor, called Mantham Hill."

In the first edition of the ' Synopsis' (1696) —

24. Hcracleum S2)hon(lylmm L. var. anjustifolium. — " Found
by Dr. Plukenet near S. Giles's Chalfont in tho mountainous
meadows, Buckinghamshire."

In the second edition of the same work (1696) —

25. Symphytum officinaWL. (Comfrey) (the form ^.patois Sibth )
— "Dr. Plukenet observed it plentifully near Eaton."

26. Salix rubra Huds. — " In the Osier-holt, between Maiden-
head and Windsor."

In the third edition (edited by Dillonius), 1734, is given —

27. ILordeum sijlvaticum Huds. (Wood Barley). — "In the
high woods by Hambloton, in the road from Henley to Great
Marlborow [Marlow]. Mr. J. Sherard in company with Mr.
Eand."

Besides these, the following are localised by Eay in the
Stokenchurch Woods, a small portion of which is within our
borders : Ittthus Idaiis, Triticum caninum, Cephalanthera grandi-
flora, Tilia rubra, and Pyrola rotundifolia, P. minor being pro-
bably mistaken for this last.

John Blackstone, who devoted considerable attention to
British Botany, introduces a larger number of Buckingham-
shire plants to our notice than any author before or since.
They are chiefly from the neighbourliood of Harefield, Middlesex,
as far as those which he records from his own observation are
concerned ; others in the county were brought under his notice
by friends and correspondents. In his fii-st little book,
' Fasciculus Plantarum circa Harefield nascentium ' (1737), he
gives the following : —

162 BUCKINGHAMSlllUI, HOTAKY.

Polygonum Bistorta L. — " In tho Meadows near Uxbridge."

28. Calammtha Nepda Clairv. — " By the Hoadside leading from
Harefield to Chalfont St. Peter's, plentifully." In tho ' Specimen
Botanicum ' tho locality is further defined as being " between
St. Peter's and St. Giles's Chalfont, Bucks, abundantly."

29. Cardamine amara L. — "About Uxbridge plentifully."

30. Chlora perfoliata L. (Yellow-wort).— " In tho Old Chalk
Pit near the Duke of Portland's at Garrard's Cross, plentifully."

31. Vinca ininor L. (Lesser Periwinkle). — " In a Lane leading
from Uxbridge Moor to Iver Heath."

32. Calamintha Acinos Clairv (Wild Basil). — "In the Old
Chalk Pit near tho Duko of Portland's at Gerard's Cross,
plentifully."

33. Hydrocotijle vulgaris L. (Marsh Pennywort). — " On Iver
Heath abundantly."

34. Sieracium murorum L. — " On the Old Walls of the Duke of
Bedford's Garden at Chej-nies, in Buckinghamshire."

35. Hypericum Modes Ti. (Marsh S.John's Wort). — "In the
Bogs on Iver Heath near Uxbridge, plentifully."

36. Epilobium angxistifolium L. (French Willow). — " By the
Side of a Wood about the Midway between Beaconsfield and
Uxbridge." In the ' Specimen ' another locality is given : "In
a wood by Sir John Packington's Lodge on Coomb-hill at
Ellesborough, Bucks. Dr. Wilmer."

37. Nepda Cataria L. (Catmint). — " By the roadside between
St. Giles's and St. Peter's Chalfont, plentifully."

38. Herminiwn Mcnorchis R. Br. (Musk Orchis). — "In a Chalk-
Pit near the Duke of Portland's, at Gerard's Cross, plentifully."

39. Ophrys apifera L. (Bee Orchii?). — " In the Chalk Pit at
Gerard's Cross, plentifully. '

40. Orohanche liapum Thuill. (Broom-rape). — "Amongst tbo
Broom at the Entrance of Iver-Heath plentifully. '

41. Polerium Sanguisorha L. (Salad Burnet), —"In the -Beech-
"Woods in the Road to Chalfont St. Peter's, plentifully."

42. Hanunculus Lingua L. (Groat Spearwort). — "In tho Bogs
on Iver Heath."

BTJCKIXaHAMSHIRE BOTAWY. 163

43. Jasione montana Ij. {Shee-p' a Scabious). — " In a Lane lead-
ing from Denham to Ivcr Heath."

44. Rhamnns caiharticns L. (Buckthorn). — "In the Hedgee be-
tween Uxbridge and Beaconsfield plentifully."

45. Drosera rotundifolia L. (Eoundleaved Snndew). ->" On Iver
Heath plentifully."

46. Petroselinum segekim L. (Corn Parsley). — " By the Road's
Side near Eaton, sparingly."

Campanula glomeraia L.— " In the Chalk Pit near the Duko of
Portland's at Gerard's Cross."

47. Dianthus Armeria L. (Deptford Pink). — " I found it this
year (1737) by the Road's side leading from Harefield to Chalfont
St. Peter's, but very sparingly."

In addition to many of the foregoing, the following are given
in the * Specimen Botanicum,' 1746 : —

48. Lathjrus Aphaca L. (Yellow Vetchling). — "Among the
Corn near Denham, Bucks. Mr. Hill."

49. Dianthus CaryophyUm L. (Clove Pink). — "On a wall at
Langley, near Iver, Bucks."

50. Galium cruciafum L. ((>osswort). — "In the Old Chalk-pit
at Gerard's Cross, Bucks."

51. Cephalanthera yrandijiora Bab. Large Helleborine). —
" Plentifully in a Beech- wood just below the Duke of Bedford's
Seat, at Cheyneis, Bucks." Given in the ' Specimen ' under two
names, Hdlalorin- fore alho, ■a.ndi Hdlehorine latifoliaforeallo clauso :
but Blackstone justly observes, "I am convinced that they are
the same plant."

52. Jlellehorus viridislj. {^eax's-iooi). — "In the woods near
Denham, Bucks. Mr. Hill."

53. Paris qaad/ifolia L. (Herb Paris). — " In a Chalk-pit in a
Wood near Little Missenden Church, Bucks. Dr. Wilmer."

54. Zactuca muralis DC. (Wall Lettuce). — " On the Walls of
the Duko of Bedford's Seat at Cheyneis, Bucks."

55. Melampynun cristatum L. — "In a Field that goes off More-
ton, Green in the Eoad from Wendover to Ellesborough, Bucks,
Dr. Wilmer,"

164 nFCKINOTTAMSniUF, BOTANY.

56. Mentha rubra Sm, — "By the Ttiver-side a milo below
Denliam, Bucks. Mr. Hill."

57. 02)hri/s muscifera Huds. (Fly Orchis). — "In a Beech-wood
just below Cheynies Church, Bucks."

58. Orchis pyramdalis L. (Pyramidal Orcliis). — "In a
Meadow against Mr. Drake's Garden at Shardelois near Agraon-
desham [Amersham], Bucks. Dr. Wilmer."

59. Alisma ranimetihides L. (Small Water Plantain). — "In the
Bogs on Iver-heath near Uxbridge. Mr. Hill."

60. Pohjgonatum muUiflorum All. (Solomon's Seal). " In the
Beech-woods about High-Wiekhani, Bucks. Mr. Hill."

61. lieseda lufca L. — "In the Fields near High-Wickham,
Bucks. Mr. Hill."

62. Scrophularia Ehrharti Stov. — " Figwort with green Leaves
and Flowers. I have observed this Plant in the shady Woods
between Harefield and Chalfont St. Peter's bxit not plentifully."

63. Thlaspi arvense L. (Penny Cress). -In a cornfield on the
west side of Chalfont St. Peter's, Bucks, plentifully."

64. VacciniumMyrtillns (Whortleberry). — '• On Iver-heath near
Uxbridge, plentifully."

It is to be feared that some, at least, of the plants recorded in
these lists have disappeared under cultivation. Iver-heath exists
only in name ; and the " bogs " have probably disappeared. Of
Jasione niontana, for which the above locality is the only one
known at present in the county, it is interesting to learn that it
was observed once only, probably in Blackstone's locality, a few
years since ; it may be expected to reappear. In No. 49 of this
list we have a good illustration of the importance of referring to
the work in which any locality is first publislied. The locality
for the Clove Pink has, in the ' Botanist's Guide ' and subsequent
■works, been erroneously cpofed as applying to D. deltoidcs.

The "Mr. Hill" whose name occurs above, published iu 1760
a ' Flora Britannica,' in which mo find the following : —

65. Bipsams pilosus (Small Teasel). — "In T-ancs near Denham
in Buckinghamshire."

BtrCKINGHAMSniRE BOTANY. 165

66. Verhascuiii Blattaria L. — "Near Denliam."

Atro]}a Belladonna L. (Deacllj^ Nightshade). — " lu a Gravel-pit
near the old Park-wood, at Havefield, in Buckinghamshire."
[Thia locality is in Middlesex.]

67. Vinca major Ti. (Great Periwinklp). — ''In the Highwaj-s
between Wolverton and Yarnton, and in several Hedges there-
about, Dr. Plot." [I am not sure whether this be in Bucks.]

68. Actinocarpu-i Bdmasonium (Star-fruit). — "By the Road
near Uxbridge, towards Denham." [Dr. Trimen cites this for
Middlesex.]

69. Uyperiaan Andros^mv.m L. (Tutsan). — "By the Smiths on
the Hill, a mile from Denham, towards Eickmansworth, 1760."

70. Lycopodium annotimwi Tj. — "On Iver Heath, near Ux-
bridge, abundantly."

In a later work, ' Herbarium Britannicum ' (1769 — 70) by the
same author, are the following : —

71. Ht/pochoens ylalra L. — " Denliam."

72. Carditns acaulis L. (Stcmless Thistle). — " BuLstrode."
Caucalis dauco'ides L. — " Aylesbury."

73. Smyrnium olusatrum L. (Alexanders). — " Denham."

74. Aii2)enda cynanchica L. (Squinancy-wort). — " Wickhara."

75. A'ropa Belladonna L. (Dead!}' Nightshade). — "Bulstrude."

76. Euplwrlia platypliylla'Li. — "Buckinghamshire."

77. Lepidium campestre Br. — " Deuham."
Cardamine amara L. — " Jiuckinghamshire."

Although nos. 70, 72, and 75, stand for our county solely on
Hill's authority and have not been recorded since, there is
nothing improbable in their occurrence, with the exception of
Zycopodittin aimotinum. They should be carefully searched for.

JAMES BRITTEN.
'Jo be continncil.

166

^rocectliiv^jis of tlw ^od^tu.

FIFTH \YIXTER SESSION— 1SG9-70.

Ti!E FiEST Evening SIeetikg -was held on Tuesday, Nov. IG, at the
bouse of tiie President, the Eev. T. H. Browne, by his land invitation, and
was largely attended. The Secretary read a paper on " Double Flowers,'
demonstrating the various modes iu which tlilse beautiful monstrosities
are produced, and explaining their structure and the consequent meta-
morphoses of parts. This was illustrated by specimens and drawings. At
its conclusion, the President gave an address on the three scientific topics
of the day, viz. :— Ti>e discovery and measurement of sidereal motions by
means of the Spectroscope ; the Meteoric band and the appearance of it
by means of the November star showers ; and the observations that have
lately been made on the formation of chalk by means of deep ocean
deposits. These deposits throw great light on the mode by which the
chalk hills around us were built up. A rijicroscopic examination of the
minute organisms that form the bottom of the ocean, not only discovers
foraminifera which are kindred to those of the cretaceous period, but rings
and disks that constitute the cementing element in chalk having living
analogues in seas of recent times. Disks from the upper chalk near
Wycombe were exhibited through the President's microscope. There was
on the table a large collection of Icthyio and Molluscous remains
from the chalk, many of them collected from onr own neighbourhood.
By means of the spectroscope different kinds of absorption bands were
shown, in different alcoholic solutions of chlorophyll, etc. There was, aa
usual, a large exhibition of objects, and the meeting did not separate until
a late hour.

The Second Evening Meeting was held on Tue.sday, Dec. M, at the
house of Mr. R. Vernon, by kind invitation. The first paper was one by
Dr. BoWSTE.'kD, on " The Gamekeeper's Museum," in which were described
those of our animals and birds which fall a prey to the ignorance of the
gamekeeper, a sketch of the habits of each being given ; and it was clearly
shown that, in the majority ol cases, his supposed foes are, in reality, his
most useful friends. This paper was liBlened to with great interest, and

PKOCEEDQiGS Oi~ THE SOCIETY.

167

was warmly applauded ; at its conclusion, conversation on the subject took
place, and the sympathy of the meeting with " our feathered friends " was
strongly expressed. A pnper by Mr. Ullyett, on '"^The Ichthyosaurus "
followed, which will be found at page 148 of the present number. A long
and spirited discussion followed the reading of this papsr, the Pitiident
expressing his opinion that the vertebrae from Wheatley were those of the
Plesiosauros. In ihe course of the discussion the President pointed out the
difference between the Pleiosauros and Ichthyosauros ; that the one had
no sockets in which the teeth were^inserted, hut that the former had a
prolongation of tooth. This was illustrated by the cast of a large Pleio-
saurian tooth in the British Museum: this gigantic tooth is a foot in length
and the fang by whiih it was embedded in the jaw can be distinctly seen
The Presidenr exhibited some very beautiful and perfect remains of the
Bos primogenius, from some ancient beds of river drift, lately discovered
and sent to him from Bristol; there was an almost perfect skull and very
fine horn cores ; the horn cores of another specimen ; and the pelvic
bones. On the table there were a large humerus of Plesiosauros from the
Kimmeridge clay, AVeymouth ; and a slab containing the paddle and riba
of Jclithyosaurus communis from the Lias, Lyme Regis. &c., &o.

%iik%f iS>mt$\)nMm, &c

Late Swallows,&c.— On Nov.
30, Mr. Tomlinson, under-gar-
dener to Lord Carington at the
Abbey C4ardens, brought mc a live
swallow which he had caught in
the packing house. The bird was
very lively and well-fed. I let it
go ia ray hay loft, whcr? it flew
about several times and finally
settled on a rafter under the tiles.
I iiave not b.ocn it since, but
thought it would iutert-,st the
readers of our magazine to know
how late a swallow had been seen
in these parts. Owing to the
severity of the weather, I have
noticed this rear (ISri'.l) immense
flocks of field-fares and redwings

feeding upon the haws in the
hedges ; and never during the last
15 years have I seen such large
flocks of those birds. — E. M. Bow-
stead, M.D.

" On Saturday, Nov. 20, a very
fine day for November, a house
martin vr.i3 seen flying about on
the Thames, near the Brocas, Eton.
It wns Eikimmiar;' the watci"; and
upparently as strong on the wing
as in thfl bright days of summer. —
R.S."— 7')(Yrf, Nov. 30 The same
paper for Nov. 2;! records the
notice of a swallow at Windsor
Castle on the ICth, and of a swift
at Henley on the llth, of that
month.

168

NOTES, OOUUESl'ONDEKCE, &C.

Wild Swans in Buckingham-
SHiiiE. — An unusual capturo uas
made in the parish of Little Brick-
hill, Bucks, about ten a.m., on
"Weilucsday, Dec. 22. There was
a slight covering of snow, and the
atmosphere was very misty. A
labourer on the farm of Mr.
Gregory perceived three wild
Bwaus flying towards him, not
more than ten or fifteen yards
from the ground. He threw a
Btoce and broke the wing of one
of them, which, of course, tell an
easy victim. 'Ihe field in which
this took place is a !;rass fltlil
called " the Fishpond Close," but
there is no pond or other water
within a considerable distance.
The labourer, delighted with his
booty, presently set to work to
pluck it, with an eye to his Christ-
mas dinner. Had he been better
advised, he might probably have
obtained a good sum for the bird,/0?
as a specimen to be Btuft'td
J. W. Williamson (Bletchley).
Fidd, Jan. 1, 1870.

From a letter in the Uiu
Herald of Jan. 15, it appears th
the remaining two went on to'
Fenny Stratford, where they were
seen on rhe same day. " On
Monday, the 27tb, they came down
again ; and when flying near the
railway biidge one was shot by a
man employed on the railway.
The other flew on towards Simp-
sou, atid was shot there. The
fwaufc [.robably came from Wo-
bnrn Park, and were young birds,
as their feathers indicated. It
appears to be a common thing for
the young birds to take flight the
first winter from their houjes, and
in this case it resulted fatally to
them." When will the happy
time arrive when the noticing and
the shooting of a rare bird shall
be no longer synonymous terms ?

Curious Captuke of a i kncii .

"I was fi.shing here, near the

Quarry Wo(.d, on the lath Nov.,
with Rockel, fi-herman, using a
line pateruo.ster line, baited with
two minnows, i'or perch. Foiling
a bitf, I struck, and after about
five minutes' play secured a fine
tench, weighing ylb., with llie

bottom hook fixed in its tail.—
C. A. C. (Great Marlow)."— iaZfZ
Nov. 23, IfcTO.

Cats taking thk Water.—
" That cats will take the water is
on record ; there was a cat, or
rather a family of cats, if I re-
member aright, at the ' Complete
Anglers,' Marlow, that used to
swim after the dead fish thrown
out of the punt wells by tho
fisherman. This could, no doubt,
be corroborated. — C.C.C.," in
Schnce Gomp, Sept., 1869. Can
any of our readers substantiate
this?

Plant new to the County. —
Mr. Henry Taylor, of Ajlesbury,
has forwarded ns a specimen of
tSoiecio [Cineraria) campestris L,
which he discovered in June last
on the chalk hill above Aston
Clinton, called Aston Hill. It has
nWshefore been recorded for the

s OF Animals. — Reynard,
("ibert, Partlet and Ch anti-
equivalents for Fox, Bear,
n, and Cock owe their
proper names to the in-
genius of the middle

they were coined by the

author of that beast-epic tho
Reineltc Fvchs, which enjoyed such
a wide popularity at that time that
it was translated iuto most of the
languages of tho Europe. Whilst
only synonyms with us, in several
tongues they have supplanted the
older forms. For instance, Picnard
in French i.'5 the general name for
Fox, to the exclusion of the older
name Volpils : Bjom is the gene-
nal name for a Bear in the .Norse,
as Poro, a he-bear, and Pirinn,a
she-^ear, in the Old German.
Tibort still survives in Tabby-cat,
and is the Tybalt of " Romeo and
Juliet" ii. 4, and iii. 1 ; the
Tybartof Decker's " Satiromastix ;"
the Tibalt of Nash's " Have with
you to Saffron Walden;" and in
the lloniauntdeRenart V. "Then
the King called for Sir Tibert the
cut." If some of your subscribers
could enlighten me as to puss,
the poetical soubriquet for a hare,
I should feel much obliged.—
Samuel Dyek,

. -K.

^-'i^m

■ :^—r/9yC'^