eee nn afiat eaneei akan She SUPUsRawprs espe Tele IOlANe™ eheits 5006 Gew ene aie ne aba oatle THB Se ego OUR er tne é < ee ene gt fete ile Sula ah o6-d.c btected wear ia * os sagen : ah dee Sie Sak SRSEbER OFT Stl rate vhnevrvirrrecsenencyenh pte xe to UFR Rhee ter grens@on ter at wee ¥ A a * t, (Sate hae oe OM LH Mii 25 208) wthce ‘watrhNmEEA Hoe. 4 * yi E el ea! of by Dee eleteeenee ” f me Popes Banned sh ve oe VG OET E-Aiepet Ge bY OLE ED: So8 Cae BE a Bree Ute aee VEE REE HUN TIETS oe 8 ILO Fw The Annals OF Scottish Natural History A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE SHS fasy, A é ove &r*> € ON: WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED Reo > RARE CRAB 22cc- MOLA GUVIERT, IN SCOTTISH WAtEES By JAMEs Ritcuik, M.A.,. B.Sc. FOR many years there has existed in the collection of Crustaceans in the British Museum a fragmentary specimen, a “detached carapace, six inches in length, and the two chelipeds” of Paromola cuvteri (Risso), regarding which an accompanying portion of a letter tells that: “ The crab shell was found on the shore of Ensay, a farm on the west coast of Mull, belonging to Lord Compton.” Other than this scrappy note nothing is known of the specimen, and its occurrence remained unrecorded until Mr. J. N. Halbert mentioned it in discussing the first appearance of P. cuvzerz in Irish waters! Referring to the Mull specimen he says : “Possibly this occurrence has been regarded as somewhat 1 « Proc. Zool. Soc.,” London, 1884, p. 563. 2 See J. N. Halbert, ‘‘ Irish Naturalist,” xvii. 1908, pp. 129-132. OCCURRENCE OF A RARE CRAB IN SCOTTISH WATERS 13 insufficient for definitely including the species in the Scottish fauna. In view of the recent captures, however, it is highly probable that the crab will eventually be found in deep water off the western coast of Scotland.” Recently a specimen has been received by the Royal Scottish Museum which fulfils Mr. Halbert’s prophecy, con- firms the earlier record, and gives Paromola cuviert a definite place among Scottish crustaceans. The specimen was forwarded to the Museum by Mr. L. G. Esson of Aberdeen, by whom it had been obtained from a trawl-boat which had captured it alive between the Flannan Islands and the Butt of Lewis, on 1oth October, 1909. It is a moderately sized male, the detailed measurements of which agree very closely with those of the specimen recorded by Halbert. Length of carapace (including rostral spine) Breadth of carapace Length of abdomen : ; Length of right cheliped ; ‘ : 2 Length of legs 2, 3, and 4, about Length of fifth pair : ‘— inches. © — me OG OV SI ST Bo Boose Yet even this great size is considerably short of that attained by mature specimens in the Mediterranean Sea, where carapaces eight inches long are not uncommon. The recent Scottish example is complete but for the absence of the second walking leg on the left side, and of the dactylopodite of the third walking leg on the right, the latter having evidently been lost for some time. Like the Cork example it is encrusted by many epizoites, most evident of which are small specimens of a delicate bivalve, Anomia, abundantly scattered over the carapace and legs, while a few twisted Serpula worm-tubes cling to the per- pendicular side of the carapace, and rare zoophytes— a polyzoon, Lzcellarza ciliata (L.), and two indeterminable species of Campanularian Hydroids, one of which is probably Clytia gohnstonz (Alder)—straggle in the neighbourhood of the rostrum or on the limbs. Since Mr. Esson forwarded the specimen to which reference has just been made, he writes to say that he is aware of the existence in Aberdeen of another specimen of 14 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Paromola cuviert, which also was captured off the west coast of Scotland. Paromola cuviert, \ike its near relatives, lives in moderately deep water, and for long was supposed to exist only in the Mediterranean Sea, and in the adjacent parts of the Atlantic Ocean, from the neighbourhood of the Canary Islands to the Coast of Portugal. In 1908, however, a PAROMOLA CUVIERI (RISSO), FROM BETWEEN FLANNAN ISLANDS AND Burt oF Lewis. (About + natural size). stray specimen was found alive in a shore pool on the south of Ireland, some distance to the west of Cork, and in re- cording this Halbert refers also to specimens dredged, during the investigations carried out by the Fisheries Branch of the Irish Department of Agriculture, 68 miles south-west of Ireland, in water from 627 to 728 fathoms deep. The occurrence of the present specimen off the Butt of Lewis widens considerably the northern boundary of the tract within which Paromola cuviert is known to live. THE RoyvAL ScoTTisH MusEum, EDINBURGH. SCOTTISH PHORIDA 15 SCOTTISH, LHORIDZ:,, WITH TABERBS TOR AEE THE BRITISH SPECIES, AND NOGES OF. EOCALEITIES By J. R. Mattocu. DURING the last ten years or so, considerable attention has been given to the study of this family, and, though a great deal remains to be done yet, the amount of knowledge we now possess is sufficient to justify me in placing before Dipterologists a brief outline of the genera and species, with notes of localities, so that should anyone have the necessary time and patience to pursue the study of these minute flies their labours may be lightened. In the generic divisions I have included those sub-genera which I created when I broke up the rather heterogeneous group Phora, Latr. (“ Journ. Nat. Hist. Soc.,” Glasgow, 1909). I do not intend to deal exhaustively with those species in the large section now known as Afphiocheta, Brues, as our knowledge of these is not such as to permit of very exact divisions being created, but it may be advisable to separate certain groups so that they may be reduced to a more workable size. The Phoride may be at once known from all other Diptera, except the 4zbzonid genus Scatapse perhaps, by their peculiar neuration. The costal vein extends in very few cases beyond the middle of the wing, is considerably thickened, and generally bears on its anterior surface a pro- jecting fringe of hairs. For the purposes of this paper, and to facilitate reference to Dr. Wood’s detailed descriptions of the species in the “ Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine,” the other thick veins which join the costal vein at different points in its course are referred to as the first, second, and third thick veins. The second, which looks like a fork of the third, is the radial vein, and in some genera it is absent. The thin veins, which are also of considerable importance in distinguishing species, cross the body of the wing, and are sometimes very inconspicuous. Various writers have tried to place the Phorzde in lists in their ‘natural’ position, and the general body of opinion seems to be that their place is 16 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY between the Louchopterzde and the Platyptezide. The order in which the genera appears in this paper is not intended to indicate their rotation in the list. TABLE OF GENERA. (2.) Thick, flattened species, frons, legs, and costa without bristles, third vein unforked (=second vein absent). . Platyphora, Verr. . (1.) Body of the usual arched shape. . (4.) Footpads and empodium absent, fourth thin vein absent, four pairs of fronto-orbital bristles, very minute species. Metopina, Mcq. . (3.) Footpads and empodium present. 5. (6.) Frons without bristles, vertical row present, costa fine 10. 1 a LZ 13; 14. ra 16. wy. 18. haired. Gymnophora, Mcq. . (5.) Frons with bristles, costal bristles present. . (8.) Post-antennal and lower frontal bristles absent, three pairs of fronto-orbital bristles, and one pair of upper frontal bristles present; second vein absent, mid-tibiz with row of outer bristles, eyes bare. Trineura, Mg. . (7.) Post-antennal bristles present, not more than two pairs of fronto-orbital bristles, eyes hairy. . (to.) Arista apical ; antennze with third joint slightly pointed in 9, long and pear-shaped in 4, only the vertical and upper frontal horizontal rows in addition to the post- antennal bristles present, second vein absent. Conicera, Mg. (9.) Arista dorsal, head bristles in three horizontal rows of four each, post-antennal bristles present. (24.) Post-antennal bristles reclinate. (22.) Mid tibize with two strong bristles at base. (23.) Second vein present (third vein forked). (15.) Fourth thin vein abbreviated or indistinct, tibial armature weak. Trupheoneura, Mall. (14.) Fourth thin vein generally distinct and always reaching the margin of the wing, or else all thin veins abbreviated (Phora abbreviata). (17.) Third thick vein with short bristles. Chetoneura, Mall. (16.) Third thick vein bare. (21.) Scutellum with four bristles. SCOTTISH PHORIDA 17 19. (20.) Sub-apical spine on mid tibize weak and small, situated on outer side near the tip, hind tibize with a row of small bristles on the outer hinder side in addition to any stronger bristles that may be present ; anal protuberance long and finger like; first thin vein almost straight at base. Phora, Latr. 20. (19.) Mid tibize with sub-apical spine always well developed, and situated on the outer side at about one-third from the apex; hind marginal small bristles absent; first thin vein strongly bent at base. Spintphora, Mall. 21. (18.) Scutellum with two bristles, one hind tibial bristle, sub- apical mid tibial bristle weak or absent ; frontal bristles strong. Stenophora, Mall. 22. (12.) Mid tibize with one basal bristle ; frontal bristles weak. Larastenophora, nov. nom. 23. (13.) Third thick vein unforked, second vein absent. fypocera, Brues. 24. (11.) Post-antennal bristles not reclinate. 25. (26.) Post-antennal bristles erect. Beckerina, nov. gen. 26. (25.) Post-antennal bristles proclinate. Aphiocheta, Brues. PLATYPHORA, Verr. Lubbocki, Verr. easily distinguished from all other Phoride by its Platypteza-like shape, and the absence of bristles. The only specimens I have seen were from New Forest (King). GyMNoPHoRA, Mcq. arcuata, Mg. ‘The only species of the genus is easily recognised by the bare frons and legs. ‘The wings have the thick veins much thickened, and the whole insect including the wings is extremely dark. Very common among ferns and undergrowth. I have seen it from various parts of Scotland, and take it here commonly. Conicera, Je. 1. (2.) Third antennal joint in ¢ about 24 times as long as its basal breadth. atra, Mg. 2. (1.) Third antennal joint in d about rd times as long as its basal breadth. stimulis, Hal. Both species are about equally common, but owing to their somewhat similar appearance, they are not readily distinguished. I have taken both species at Bonhill and Cardross, and have seen atra from Cambridge, so that this species, at least, has a wide range. A} Cc 18 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY TRINEURA, MWg. 1. (4.) Hind tibize with only one outer bristle on the basal half. . (3.) Fore tarsi much dilated; mid tibiz with five to seven outer bristles in ¢ and three in 9, larger species. velutina, Mg. 3. (2.) Fore tarsi hardly dilated ; mid tibize with about five outer bristles in ¢, and two or three in 9°. aterrima, F. tN 4. (1.) Hind tibize with two outer bristles. Schineri, Beck. The species of this genus may always be known by their velvety black colour, even in the net. Velutina, Mg., is common almost everywhere, as is aterrima, F. I meet with them in almost every con- signment of Pkhoride that reaches me from corre- spondents, Schineri, Beck, is the scarcest of the three, but I have a good series taken near Bonhill, and I have seen it in the collection of Mr. Henderson, also from Clyde. Hypocera, rms. This genus is distinguished from the other genera with reclinate post-antennal bristles, and two horizontal rows of four frontal bristles by the absence of the second vein. There are several well-defined sections in the genus which, while lending themselves to easy divisions, seem to point to the fact that they are not con- generic. It is, however, not desirable to increase the number of sub-genera beyond the present number merely to separate one or two species, more particularly when the present genus is not ex- tremely bulky. Table of Species. 1. (2.) Third thick vein with several large bristles at the base. mordellaria, Flu. 2. (1.) Third thick vein without large bristles, or with a single bristle. 3. (6.) Frons with a distinct ocellar tubercule. 4. (5.) Fore tibize with from two to four bristles in a row. tncrassata, Mg. 5. (4.) Fore tibize with only one bristle. carinifrons, Ztt. 6. (3.) Frons without a tubercule. 7. (8.) Hind legs very stout, no bristle at base of third thick vein. Jemorata, Mg. 8. (7.) Hind legs long and slender, a large bristle at base of third thick vein. SCOTTISH PHORIDA 19 g. (10.) Hind tibia bare (sometimes one weak bristle may be present about the middle). citretformis, Beck. to. (g.) Hind tibize with two bristles on the outer side. vitripennis, Mg. mordellaria, Flu., seems to be confined to England; the only specimens I have seen were from the New Forest. tncrassata, Mg., I have seen this from the north of Scotland and the south of England, but have not met with it myself. carinifrons, Ztt., seems to be generally common. I have met with it in abundance at Bonhill, and have seen it from the north of Scotland and also from England. Jemorata, Mg.—This seems to be scarce, but generally distributed. Dr. Wood has taken it at Tarrington, Hereford, and has seen it from the north of Scotland. I meet with it occasionally at Bonhill, having a series of about a dozen specimens. citreiformis, Beck., seems to be generally distributed. I generally obtain about half a dozen in a season at Bonhill off Umbelliferee, and Dr. Wood records it from Hereford. vitripennits, Mg.—I met with this species in abundance on an old moss-grown wall at Bonhill in June 1908. The insects were just emerging, and many were im- mature. Mr. J. E. Collin has bred it from bees’ nests. The European species of this genus are, besides the above, coronata, Beck., Bernuth, Egg., and agzlis, Mg. ‘The species agz/zs, Mg., may be more properly referable to Chetoneura as the second vein is sometimes present. I have not seen any of these three species, but they may be turned up yet in Britain. CHATONEURA, Jali. Generic description: Antennz normal; arista dorsal; frontal bristles in two horizontal rows of four each; postantennal bristles reclinate ; palpi normal; costa to beyond middle of wing, fringed ; third thick vein with short bristles, second vein present ; first thin vein distinctly bent at base; four thin veins present; the mid- tibial bristles are three in number, two basal and one sub-apical all sub-equal in size. Type: ¢horacica, Mg. Table of Species. I. (2.) Halteres black. i curvinervis, Beck, 2. (1.) Halteres pale (yellow). 20 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 3. (4.) Thorax sometimes pale; hind tibiz with four bristles, a pair in the upper third, one in the middle of the hind margin, and one close to the tip on outer side, costa thickened. thoracica, Mg. 4. (3.) Thorax black, costa normal. 5. (6.) Hind tibize with five or six bristles. urbana, Mg. 6. (5.) Hind tibize with only two bristles. Jennica, Beck. curvinervis, Beck, a very common species under carrion, in the spring and early summer. Probably to be met with everywhere. thoracica, Mg., generally distributed, and sometimes common. I have bred it from moles’ nests. The darkening at the tip of wings is, I find in all my speci- mens, confined to the ? 9, the male showing a hardly perceptible yellower tinge. urbana, Mg. I bred this along with the last from moles’ nests. It is not a rare species. I meet with it every season in fair numbers while sweeping. jennica, Beck. The rarest of the genus. I have only met with 4 ¢ ¢ andr 9? at Bonhill. SPINIPHORA, JZad/. Generic description: Antennz normal, arista dorsal, frontal bristles as in Chezoneura, mid tibiz with three equally strong bristles situated, two on the basal third, and one on about the base of the apical third on the outer side, costa moderately long, second vein present, third thick vein bare, first thin vein bent at base, four thin veins present. Type: maculata, Mg. Table of Species. . (6.) Scutellar bristles, four in number, of equal size. lanl N . (3.) Wings with a spot at origin of the first thin vein ; mid tibize with two inside spurs. maculata, Mg. 3. (2.) Wings unspotted ; mid tibize with only one spur. . (5.) Costa to about the middle of wing ; hind tibiz with four bristles. Bergenstammt, Mik. ( = domestica, W.). 5. (4.) Costa to beyond the middle; hind tibie ¢ with three bristles. (The 9 has several extra bristles on the SS upper side.) dorsalis, Beck. 6. (1.) The anterior scutellar bristles reduced to mere hairs ; hind tibize with two bristles. erythronata, Strobl. The species of this genus seem to be confined to England. I do not remember to have seen any Scotch specimens of any species. SCOTTISH PHORIDA 21 I regret that I have to sink Dr. Wood’s species, domestica, as only a synonym of Bergenstammi, Mik. I do so because, in a lot of Phoride, sent me by Dr. Jenkinson of Cambridge, there is a pair taken in cop., which represents both species. Dr. Wood had some doubt about their being distinct species, but the evidence was so strong that such was the case that he decided to describe domestica as new. The ¢ has only one pair of dorso-central bristles, while the 9 has two pairs. In maculata, which I have only seen from Cambridge, I find that there are always two pairs of dorso-central bristles. (Zo be continued.) DALYELICS SCOTLISH AYDRACHNIDS: By Wm. WILLIAMSON. THE Hydrachnids have not contributed much in past years to the Natural History literature of Scotland. It was therefore with a hope that something worth might be in store that I turned to Dalyell’s “ Powers of the Creator,” which Mr. Wm. Evans kindly brought under my notice. In this I have been greatly disappointed, and, but for the record of localities and some species which can be recognised, it seems to me that Dalyell’s contribution is of little value. Notwithstanding that, at the date of publication (1851), Hydrachnide had been divided into genera, Dalyell, never- theless, preferred to revert to Miiller’s arrangement because he considered it more suited to the popular nature of his work. Had he followed out, instead of deprecating as he did, the minutiz which the writers later than Miiller gave attention to, we might possibly have had a contribution of some value. The only dates he gives for his observations are 1802 and 1809, and if, after the long interval between that and the date of publication, he depended on memory for his facts, then some of his statements may be accounted for. It would be interesting to know what caused the “fits” which he observed some hydrachnids to have taken, or how they managed to nibble the stems of equisetum (? limosum), or how many females contributed their quota of eggs to the mass which weighed down the leaves of a privet dipping in the water, and of which one twig with 22 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY eggs accounted for close on ten thousand larve. Even the predatory habits of hydrachnids are magnified in an extra- ordinary degree. Only thirteen species are accounted for in the two plates accompanying the text, in which some of the species are not even mentioned. In addition to these Aydrachna papillator is mentioned, but not figured, in connection with some low temperature experiments. ffydrachna cruenta.—TVhis was established by Miller, but exactly what species he had before him has never been satisfactorily determined. In 1884 Krendrowsky redescribed the species. Dalyell records /. cruenta burrowing in the mud of a small pond at Canty Bay. His figure of the imago is insufficient to assist in determining the species, but he figures the larva hatched out from eggs laid by his 4. cruenta. This does not show the peculiarly characteristic form of ydrachna but rather that of the Hygrobatide. On the strength of this we may conclude that Dalyell’s species does not belong to the genus Aydrachna but to some other genus. A figure of one of the limbs is also given, but it is faulty as it does not show the segments, and its equipment of hairs is certainly drawn from imagination. ffydrachna extendens.—This also was established by Miller, and later it was taken by Latreille as the type of his genus Ly/azs. Dalyell’s figure is more informative than the previous one. The epimera bear some resemblance to those of Hy/azs extendens, but, what is more important to us, he shows distinctly the oral disc peculiar to Zy/azs. From one or two of his observations I believe this to be Ly/azs extendens (Miill.). Hydrachna crassipes—The figure of this species, with its posterior papillae, shows it, without doubt, to be Uxzonicola crassipes (Mill.). Lydrachna varia.—This must be added to the list of species which cannot be now identified. The name apparently is appropriate as the figure shows it to be at variance with all other hydrachnids, being figured with five pairs of legs. flydrachna ferox, H. sparsa, H. spinifer—These are only figured but not described. The figures afford no information beyond the colouring of the mites. fT, punctata, which is in a position similar to the three foregoing species, is recorded from the Braid Hills Pond. ‘The separate figure of the palpus does not show the segments. LfTydrachna placida is described by Dalyell as, “body, tending to globular, about half a line in diameter; eyes, two on the DALYELL’S SCOTTISH HYDRACHNIDS 23 anterior surface, black, considerably apart; limbs with scanty hairs ; colour greyish-brown, lighter on the middle of the back. Taken in a small pond on Braid Hills.” The paucity of hairs on the limbs is suggestive of a species of //ygrodates. Hydrachna caudata and H. albator are undoubtedly Arrhenurz,— The figures show distinctly the generic subdivisions to which each species belongs, but the absence of one or two details does not allow of a closer verification of the specific names. Flydrachna geographica and HH. maculata may correspond, the first to Hydrachna geographica (Mill.), and the second to Lzmmnesta maculata (Herm.), though in the latter the colour is yellow instead of red. Summarising the foregoing, the result appears to be as follows :— DALYELL’S SPECIES. EQUIVALENT IN PRESENT DAy NOMENCLATURE. Hf. cruenta. . NON fydrachna cruenta (Mill.), Krend. fT, extendens . . Lylais extendens (Mill.). TL CHASSIPES . Onionicola crassipes (Mill.). fT. caudata. . ? Arrhenurus caudatus (Geer.). HT, papillator . . ? Arrhenurus papillator (Mull.). ff, albator . . ? Arrhenurus albator (Miill.). fl, geographica . ? Hydrachna geographica (Miill.). HT, maculata . . ?Limnesia maculata (Herm.). ff, varia. Veh Gane fT. sparsa. Species named by Dalyell, the identification of fT. spinifer. which is not possible. fT. punctata. HI, placida. 4 MEADOWBANK TERRACE, EDINBURGH. THE FALSE-SCORPIONS 7Ob SCOTLAND: By RosertT GODFREY, M.A. (Concluded from p. 163, Vo. 71, July 1909.) Obisium musecorum, Leach, 1817. O. muscorum was first recorded for Scotland in 1817 by Leach, who adds to his original description of the species the remark,—‘ In montibus Caledoniae vulgatissime, in Anglia rarius.” Leach was in 24 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Edinburgh for a time, taking his M.D. degree in 1812, so that the mountains he refers to are probably the Pentland Hills. His type specimen, still preserved in the British Museum, is marked “Scotland.” At the present day this is without doubt the most abundant and generally distributed of all our False-scorpions, occurring from the edge of the tide to the inland moorlands and mountains, At the mouth of the Avon, between Stirling and West Lothian, it lives among the refuse at high-water mark; and in Mid and East Lothians tenanted nests of the species situated in similar positions have come under my notice in the autumn months. In woods 0. muscorum lives among the masses of dead leaves lying in damp situations, and on open ground it is obtained in abundance under stones. I have taken it among damp earth on the Castle Rock in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, and on the slopes of the Pentlands at Dreghorn. Inland, its area of distribution ranges over the woodlands and even the open moors, but, so far as my observa- tions go, it stops short at the border of the true mosses. In the wild forest of Rothiemurchus it is quite common; and in some parts of Scotland it ascends to a considerable height, being numerous for example on the range that lies between Glen Ogle and Edenchip Glen in Perthshire to a height of 1500 feet at least, and on the slopes of Ben Cailleach in Skye. It occurs also under the bark of trees, both living and dead, and is the only species I have so far found in such situations in Scotland. Throughout the middle and the southern portions of Scotland its distribution will probably prove to be universal. Mr. James Waterston informs me that he has found the empty nest on the island of Arran, and I have examined tenanted nests on Island More, a small island in Loch Fyne, near Lochgilphead, and on the Maiden Island, Oban; I have also seen this species on the Rough Island, in the Solway Firth. Mr. Wm. Evans, in his notes, calls the species “ubiquitous.” Unless, however, the nest is known, the real abundance of the species will never be suspected; as an illustration of this I may mention that during a fortnight in Argyll in July rg9o01, although seventy-one nests—most of which were already empty—came under my notice, only one solitary individual was observed moving free. Obistum muscorum is abroad nearly the whole year round ; the only month in which I have not found it active is October, but this gap is most likely due to insufficient observation alone. Its habits, during a free state, do not present any features conspicuously different from those of its allies. It is more active than the blind species, but less so than Chthonius vayz. Its degree of activity depends greatly on the place of its abode, those under stones being much less active than those living among dead leaves and brackens. THE FALSE-SCORPIONS OF SCOTLAND 25 In the former situation, after the stones have been turned up, it gives an observer abundant opportunity of watching it; when disturbed it draws back its pedipalps to the sides of its fore-body and runs backwards, and it may repeat this backward run several times before it loses fear of danger and begins its forward advance with outstretched pedipalps and open pincers. In _ the latter situation, however, it moves so rapidly that the observer is more eager to catch it than to watch its actions. The only prey which I have seen O. muscorum carrying has been two species of springtail. Its nest-building habits are by far the most interesting, and, being somewhat easily investigated, they prompt us to correct lines of observation in other species. ‘The nest of O. muscorum in its finished state resembles a blob cf earth or sand corresponding closely with the surface on which it rests. The favourite site is on the under side of a stone, but other localities—such as a piece of bark, the face of a rock covered with sheltering herbage, or a compact bed of moss growing on a tree stump—may be chosen. At Crieff I once found on the white inner surface of a piece of rotten fir-wood lying on the ground a nest formed of tiny granules of rotten wood harmonising most beautifully with its surroundings. But, wherever placed, the nest harmonises so well with the adjacent material that to the uninitiated it resembles merely a piece of dirt accidentally lying where it is. This wonderful harmony arises naturally from the method employed in the construction of the nest. When the female chooses the site of her future home, under a stone let us say, she forms on the surface of the stone a little domed arch —about four millimetres in diameter—out of the particles of earth and sand on which the stone is resting. She gathers the particles in a moist condition and attaches them together so carefully that even at this stage the nest is quite firm, and practically impervious ; the inner surface is also beautifully smooth. After some days she spins on the inner side of the dome and over the enclosed surface of the stone, a close firm lining of the finest silk, which renders the whole structure compact and durable, and probably keeps it dry. When on a stone the dome-shaped roof of the nest is complete and free from attachment to any other object; but in cases where the nest is placed between close-fitting flakes of bark on a tree it may be attached above as well as below, that is to say to the two flakes between which it is placed; in such cases the built part of the nest consists merely of a very narrow ring of earth and rotten wood, within which, as well as on the two surfaces of bark to which it is attached, is the white silk lining. Nest-building for the purposes of reproduction begins in February, but is not in full swing till March, and new nests rarely contain any traces of silk either on the inner surface of the dome or on the 26 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY surface of the stone before the latter half of March. The earliest date on which I have found a female in her nest is February 14 in Dumbartonshire, but from March 1o onwards I have found them commonly. Inside this nest the female remains till her young are fully developed and ready to forage for themselves. The eggs, twenty to thirty in number, are produced normally about the middle of March, and appear at first as a small white mass attached to the genital aperture on the under side of the hind-body; this white spot gradually expands, till, after the middle of May, it envelops the whole hind-body with the exception of the upper surface, and the creature is then embedded in the swollen embryonic mass, which projects below, behind, and round the sides of the hind-body, and forms a margin equal in breadth to the cross diameter of the hind- body itself. At the beginning of June the tiny white youngsters attached to the female can be distinctly made out, and by the middle of June they are ready to give up that attachment to their parent which has been maintained throughout the entire develop- ment from the egg to the perfect False-scorpion, and to go forth from the nest on a free life. The earliest date on which I have seen the young moving free is May 25, at Castlecary. A note on the adult and young from my West Lothian note- book, June 25, 1901, may be of interest here. ‘‘ Nests of O. mus- corum were fairly common on a rocky patch by the wayside near Preston House, but they were for the most part empty and generally wasted, as if to indicate that they were no longer required. Even- tually one with an opening in it proved to contain young. The little creatures, a dozen or so in number, were venturing forth from their retreat, and as they wandered among the tiny cracks and crevices of the stone, they went through the antics of the adult perfectly. In moving about they held their pincers well forward, and kept opening and shutting them; and even when there was nothing to cause any suspicion, they would suddenly dart backwards in the manner so characteristic of this group of creatures, as if an enemy lurked in a part of the stone they had touched. ‘They ran backwards rapidly, and far too, considering their size. ‘They were very light in colour, with a greenish hue most pronounced on the carapace and with a pinkish tinge on the pincers. The adult was not to be seen, being probably out on a hunt for food. I found other nests closed, which contained the adult and her young. The young of one of these nests, on its being opened, soon shewed that they were ready for active life, as one after another came forth to enjoy its new freedom, and seemed to be intent on wandering away without any intention of returning. One brood consisted of twenty- four individuals.” At the beginning of July Odcs¢um muscorum is again laying, but THE FALSE-SCORPIONS OF SCOTLAND 27 this late-laying group is probably quite a different set of creatures from the spring-laying group. So far as I have observed very few individuals take part in the autumn laying. August 12 is the date at which I have found this autumn brood able to begin a free lite: In the yearly cycle of O. muscorum’s history, autumn is marked off as the time for moulting. The presence of False-scorpions’ remains in nests in autumn and winter had been puzzling me a considerable time, and the explanation of moulting did not occur to me till I discovered the creatures in the act. While endeavour- ing to discover Chelifer latrez//it under the bark of trees at Aberlady on September 26, 1903, I came on the nests of O. muscorum under the bark and between different layers of the bark. Several were opened without result, but ere long occupied nests were discovered containing specimens of O. muscorum in process of casting their skins. One creature was caught in the act, and in another case the living #«scorum was resting in the nest beside its cast skin. In,the case of the half-moulted individual the liberated head was facing in the opposite direction from the discarded head skin, but the crea- ture was motionless and may have died in the process of moulting. In the cast-off moult found in the other nest there was no trace of the hind-body, but the fore-body remained nearly intact, with the basal joints of the legs and the position of the eyes prominently marked ; the pedipalps attached were perfect to the very tips of the pincers, and the skin of the cheliceree was observable inside the skin of the fore-body, having been drawn into that position during the animal’s retreat. As usually happens with all creatures after their moult, O. muscorum shows very little colour, with only a faint greenish tinge on the carapace, pedipalps, and legs, and a dirty brown abdomen ; it is also very tender and listless and not at all anxious to move. As soon as its skin hardens sufficiently, the creature leaves its nest and resumes its active life. The period of moulting is not constant. The normal period is August and September, but even as early as June 21 I have seen half-grown light-coloured individuals inside nests which, in my opinion, they were using for moulting purposes. One other question remained for solution, ‘‘ Does O. muscorum hibernate?” My opportunities of looking for these creatures in winter had been so meagre that I could not infer from the absence of any personal records in my note-books that they do not hibernate. I rather inclined to believe that they did, and during the winter of 1903-4 in Ayrshire, when laid aside from active work, I set myself to solve this problem. I opened many nests of the species, only to find them either empty or containing the cast skins of last autumn’s moult, but at length on March 18, 1904, I obtained what I sought. On that day I found a very immature specimen inside its nest alive 28 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY and active when disturbed, and as this was the only individual in such an immature condition that I had ever seen in winter, I had no difficulty in concluding that it was hibernating in the nest from which I took it. I did not find the adult in its nest in winter, unless when it had already retired to lay its eggs. On March 31, 1904, however, I did find in a nest a specimen smaller than the average and quite unswollen, but I knew from the absence of silk in this particular nest that the creature was busy constructing it. In the following year I found an immature individual in a nest in West Lothian on March 1o. In Kirkcudbrightshire, however, in 1907 we obtained several immature individuals hibernating in their cocoons on January 5, and Alistair Urquhart found an adult hibernating in its cocoon on January 2. All my information goes to prove that only in rare instances does the adult O. muscorum hibernate ; even in midwinter the species can be obtained quite numerously by shaking the dead leaves that accumulate in the woodlands. The nests of O. muscorum resist wear and tear admirably, and remain attached to their original position long after they have been deserted ; in some cases they are tenanted by mites or other crea- tures, and repeatedly I have found a cake of minute black eggs in these nests, showing that some other animal has discovered how suitably the discarded False-scorpion’s nest serves its own purpose as well. Chthonius tetrachelatus (Preyss.), 1790. As a Scottish species Chthonius tetrachelatus was first made known by Mr. Wm. Evans, who took two specimens under a piece of wood in an old orchard at Culross on April 26, 1901, and six more on August 17 of the same year under stones at the foot of one of the pit-bings near Kinneil, Bo’ness. No further records were made till 1904, in which year I obtained the species in the counties of Ayr, Perth, Argyll, and Midlothian. Since then it has been detected in the counties of East Lothian, Fife, Ross, Renfrew, and Kirkcudbright; and our present knowledge indicates that Ch. tetrachelatus is, next to O. muscorum, the most abundant and widely-distributed of our Scottish species. Its haunts are mainly in natural ground, both on open hillsides and in woodlands. At Kilminning, in Fife, it swarms under stones lying on a fine pebbly sub-soil a few yards above high-water mark, as many as ten individuals occurring under one stone. At Portincross in Ayr, on the Maiden Island and at Shirvan in Argyll, and at Cambo in Fife, it was found in the neighbourhood of the sea, but not within the influence of the tide; in these localities it occurs under stones imbedded in the soil. Besides occupying haunts in the open, however, Cz. ¢etrachelatus THE FALSE-SCORPIONS OF SCOTLAND 29 is a close attendant on man, and lives and flourishes commonly in hothouses, as well as more rarely about farm steadings. I first ascertained this fact in the orchid-house of Stronvar, Balquhidder, July 21, 1904; there the potted plants are set individually on the top of inverted flowerpots to be beyond the ravages of slugs, and the False-scorpions live inside the empty inverted pots. In the hothouses of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens it occupies similar retreats and is found also under bricks and other objects lying on the ground and on the shelves; individuals of the pale yellow colour conform very remarkably to the similarly-coloured bricks and flower- pots on which they are resting and can with difficulty be detected unless they move. ‘This species, as well as CZ. rvayz, came under my notice on a log in the stackyard of Newhouse Farm, Dunbar, in May 1906. In moving slowly, Ch. ¢etrachelatus keeps its pedipalps forward, with the pincers expanded, and moves them very neatly as necessity requires to enable it to pass through narrow places. If it is interfered with, it retracts its pedipalps towards the sides of the fore-body and runs backwards in a series of short jerks. It shows the same tendency as Ch. vayz to turn round quickly and face an obstacle behind it, though specimens liberated from their nests are less active in doing so than those moving free. I have seen this species with prey on a single occasion only, near the town of Interlaken, Switzerland, in Sept. 1902; the creature was carrying the food in its chelicere. Chthontus tetrachelatus forms a nest for the various purposes of moulting, hibernating, and bringing forth its young. Externally the nest cannot certainly be distinguished from those of other Chthonizt and of O. muscorum, and even internally it often shows similar features. I have found the nest (Sept. 15) formed wholly of earth without any lining, and infer that this species, like O. muscorum, begins by making the earthen cell on the stone. Thereafter a beautiful white silk lining is added to the inner surface of the earthy dome and to the surface of the stone. In many nests this is the whole structure ; but in the perfect nest formed for the purposes of moulting and reproduction, a silk cocoon of exquisite texture, and quite separate from the first lining, is made inside the silk-lined nest, and the C2. ¢etrachelatus lies snugly hid within this inner cocoon. I have seen as many as twelve occupied nests under a single stone. On one occasion, Sept. 7, 1905, I found a Ch. tetrachelatus contenting itself with a narrow deep opening in a stone for its nest, the entrance of which it had covered over with a layer of silk alone. In September this species is commonly found moulting inside the double-lined nests ; the creature casts off the skin of fore-body, legs, and pedipalps in one piece, and after moulting is much 30 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY lighter in colour; it leaves the cast skin in the nest and emerges again to resume its free life. Adults as well as young hibernate solitarily inside their nests. As early as mid-September and as late as mid-April solitary young may be found inside these hibernating nests; the adults do not seem to retire so early, but in midwinter and in spring they too are lying up in their nests. In hothouses this species may not find it necessary to hibernate, or at least to remain as long inside the nest; in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden hothouses I have found the creature free on February 28. But in the open it is certainly the rule for the species to hibernate, as no specimens living free have come under my notice in midwinter. In January 1907, at Kippford, Kirkcudbrightshire, Aird and Robert Whyte and I opened many nests containing the hibernating False-scorpions. In January and March 1904, I found three nests occupied in Ayrshire. In April 1906, at Oban, I took three immature individuals out of nests—one on April 11, and two on April 18—and an adult out of a nest on April ro. And also in the spring of 1905, on the island of Grand Bé, in Brittany, I found this species in nests on March 31 and April ro. I admit, however, that I may have passed over free individuals in midwinter, as the nest is much more conspicuous than the creature itself, and often the creature when seen to emerge from the nest is barely distinguishable on the stone. On being released from its hibernating nest, the animal is active enough; sometimes it emerges slowly but at other times it darts off swiftly backwards. One under observation happened to be touched behind by a large mite, and it promptly turned round to face the cause of disturb- ance ; the same individual, while I watched it, cleaned its nippers in its cheliceree. So far I have discovered an autumn brood only in Cf’. Zetra- chelatus. At Shirvan, Lochgilphead, on Sept. 15, 1904, I detected two very immature specimens moving along a crack in a stone, and I kept a sharp lookout thereafter for the brood nest. At length on the 2oth, I opened a double-lined nest which contained a female and eight young within the inner cocoon, and on the following day I got another similar nest containing also a female and eight young. In 1905, at Kilminning in Fife, the young were abroad by Sept. 7. The young are white or colourless, with a faint pink tinge on the nippers. Chthonius orthodactylus (Leach), 1817. This rare species, about which nothing seems to be known in Britain beyond the records of its occurrence, has been taken in two localities in the “ Forth” area—at Morningside, Edinburgh, and at Aberlady, East Lothian—by Mr. Wm. Evans. THE FALSE-SCORPIONS OF SCOTLAND 31 Chthonius rayi, L. Koch, 1873. The first Scottish record of Cz. vayz is from Oban, where Mr. Wm. Evans found a specimen in April 1894. Seven years later, April 27, 1901, he took the next Scottish specimens, six in number, at Kincardine-on-Forth under pieces of wood on the banks of a muddy ditch. One of these he gave me, in the hope that I might procure the species on the south side of the Forth at Bo’ness, where I was then stationed; and on June 24 I found a very immature specimen that had apparently just entered on a free life among some wet loose earth in a wood near Dykenook, Kinneil. I took my first adult specimens on May 16, 1tg02, under stones near Dalgety heronry in Fife, and since that date I have taken the creature quite commonly on the Fife shore. Our present knowledge indicates that on the east coast this species is widely distributed along both shores of the Forth, and is found also north of Fife Ness in the “Tay” area, and that on the west it has a great stronghold at Balmacara in Ross-shire—where about two hundred specimens were taken in the autumn of 1906— and haunts in Argyll and Kirkcudbright. Chthonius rayt, in my experience in Scotland, has mainly a maritime distribution, occurring under stones and on the sandy soil at high-water mark, as well as in the shore woodlands. The most likely spots in which to find it are on the under surfaces of stones which lie along the margin between the shore and the adjoining fields or plantations ; in such localities it is often found associated with Chernes dubius, and occasionally with O. muscorwm, and exceptionally with LZ. cambrid git. The only inland record I have in Scotland is that of one obtained near Dalbeattie by Aird Whyte. In this connection, however, Mr. Wallis Kew, who considers Cz. rayz the commonest False-scorpion in England, says that he has found it in suitable places wherever he has searched for it-—that is, in England—and he believes it to be as common inland as near the coast. That Ch. ray7 will yet be proved to be a common species inland in Scotland also is hinted at by its present occurrence in haunts that have no immediate connection with the sea. For, like its congener, Ch. ¢etrachelatus, it is an attendant on cultivation, and lives in conservatories and in farm steadings as well as in the open woodland or hillside. George Barbour and I have taken it in a tomato-frame and in a conservatory attached to Kirkmay House, Crail; Aird and Robert Whyte have procured it in the hothouses of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, and I have obtained it in the stackyard of Newhouse Farm, Dunbar. In Scotland Ch. rayz has not been detected on trees, but in Brittany, where the species abounds everywhere, I found one under 32 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY the thick bark of an ivy-clad willow, about five feet from the ground, on April 10, 1905. When moving, its normal line of progression is forward ; so long as it is undisturbed, it goes slowly, keeping its nippers expanded as it proceeds; but, on being disturbed, it runs rapidly in either a forward or a backward line. I have seen one, disturbed by a centipede, run rapidly forward, and when again overtaken, as it was in the course of the next second or so, repeat the rapid motion. On the other hand, when touched by a pin from behind, it may dart rapidly backwards over the obstruction. But its normal procedure, when interfered with from behind, is to give a sudden jerk round so as to face the object of annoyance, and at the same time make a hasty retreat of a quarter-inch or half an inch from the cause of the disturbance, and if still suspicious—which is not usually the case—to continue its backward run. By tormenting it with a pin from behind, I have caused the creature to display these sudden “right-about turns” repeatedly. In its backward run, it has the pedipalps retracted to the sides of the fore-body, but keeps its nippers directed outwards a little on either side from its head. Twice I have observed Ch, vayi with its prey, the victim on each occasion being a mite. On April 17, 1905, in Brittany, I watched one carrying a mite in its chelicere, and turning the mite about in both chelicere. Again on Sept. 29, 1905, I saw an immature Ch. vayz with a mite, near Kinkell, Fife; and as shortly before, during my examination of the same stone, I had noticed a mite come in contact with a young C#. rayz and escape again, I believe I just missed seeing the capture made. I had long suspected that the breeding habits of this species would be similar to those of O. muscorum, but it was not till Sep- tember 1903 that I discovered, in their stronghold at Fife, this most interesting part of their economy. I happened to turn up a stone on which there were three individuals ; one of these was extremely active, and, in its efforts to escape from me, it entered a cranny where another Cz. rayz was lying hid. Across this cranny there had origin- ally stretched a silk covering, but this had been ruptured and only its remains were now clinging to the edge of the cranny ; the creature within the cranny was a female with her embryonic mass attached to her under surface. She was living in the simple recess, but she prob- ably found that such a convenient cranny fitted her purposes as well as a nest formed on the flat surface of a stone would have done. I searched on, and after finding a young Cz. rayz newly emerged appearing merely as a white speck moving on a stone, and another Ch. rayt a little farther advanced, I turned up a stone containing three Cz. vay¢ and three Ch. dubius. On this stone there was a conspicuous nest of the same style as that of O. muscorum but double the size. On examination this proved to be two nests adjoining each THE FALSE-SCORPIONS OF SCOTLAND 33 other ; inone of them was the empty cocoon of an Ichneumon with the remains of a Ch. vayi beside it, and in the other was a Ch. rayz with her embryonic mass attached. A third nest contained a female Ch. rayt, with eight young ones just beginning an active life and living free beside her. This nest measured four millimetres across by three millimetres high. On September 15, 1905, at Kilrenny, Fife, I again found Ch. rayi inside a nest with her embryonic mass attached, and in August 1906 I opened a nest at Balmacara, Ross-shire, which con- tained the adult and fourteen free young. In the latter district, on August 27, I saw ona stone a young Ch. vayi just beginning its free life. Externally the nests are formed of sand and earth particles and chance ornaments, and they are lined with white silk internally. They appear to me to be more conspicuous than those of O. muscorum, but otherwise they are quite similar to the nests of that species. My previous discovery of the newly-emerged youngster in June leads to the supposition of a spring brood also; the presence in Brittany of swollen individuals apparently on the point of laying, on April 17, 1905, seems to lead to the same conclusion, although I found no nest of this species in Brittany in spring. In 1907, Aird and Robert Whyte obtained occupied nests in Fife on March 23, and in Midlothian on April 2, but on the individuals in these nests the egg-mass was not apparent, and these nests may have been hibernating nests. Chthonius ray¢ makes a nest for the purposes of moulting and hibernation also. On September 28, 1903, at St. David’s, Fife, I took from a nest a half-grown individual which showed by its light colouring that it had recently moulted; and at Balmacara, on August 21, 1906, we opened a nest containing a newly-moulted Cz. rayt together with the discarded moult. Our observations on the hibernating habits are few, but satis- factory. On November 26, 1904, during a spell of frost which had lasted several days, I spent some time in their Fifeshire haunts, and found two nests with inmates. These creatures were almost inert, owing probably to the extreme cold, but, on being disturbed by me, they moved their great nippers a little. I was thus satisfied that Ch. ray? hibernates inside its nest, and, moreover, I failed to find any specimens moving freely that day. Aird Whyte confirmed this matter of hibernation, by finding an adult in its nest near Dal- beattie on January 3, 1907. The young C&. ray7, on leaving the nest, is almost colourless, of a light yellow hue, with a pink tinge on the two first pairs of appendages, most pronounced on the chelicere and on the fingers of the pedipalps. is) D 34 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY THE HIGH ALPINE FLORA OR EE main: BEING A. LIST OF THE FLOWERING PEANDTS oanND FERNS FOUND AT A THOUSAND METRES) AND UPWARDS ON THE. MOUNTAINS OF THE BRITISH ISLES, WITH AUTHENTIC REFERENCES AND CRITI- CAL NOTES. By FrEepDERIC N. WIL.IAMs, F.L.S. (Continued from p. 234, Wo. 72, Oct. 1909.) Fam. 31. GRAMINACE&—continued. 138. Poa Balfourt, Parnell (1842).—On rocky ledges at high levels on the mountains of the Breadalbane district (“ Fl. Perthsh.” 352). 139. oa nemoralts, L.—From sea-level to considerable eleva- tions on the mountains of the Breadalbane district (“ Fl. Perthsh.” 352). 140. Deschampsia cespitosa, Beauv.—Ascends to 1130 m. in damp places on the mountains of the Breadalbane district (“ FI. Perthsh.” 344). Summit of Ben Avon (W. Gardiner, 1844, in Herb. Brit.). Var. pseudoalpina, Syme, ‘‘ Engl. Botany,” xi. (1872).—On the ridge of Ben Dearg, in Ross-shire, at tooo m. and higher (G. C. Druce in “ Ann»Scot. Nat: Hist-2 1903, 233): 141. Deschampsia alpina, Roem. & Schult.—At tooo m. and more on wet rocks on the mountains of the Breadalbane district, and up to 1130 m. on Ben Alder (White), Ben Alder (Watson). Ascends to 1020 m. on Ben Nevis, between the upper end of the ravine and the spring (J. Sadler in “Trans. Proc. Bot. Soc. Edinb.” xiii. 54). Ascends to roro m. on Ben Dearg, in Ross-shire (G. C. Druce in “ Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist.” 1903, 233). Ascends to 1130 m. on the table-top of Ben-na-Bourd (Watson, 1832). Up to the summit of Cairn Gorm (R. T. Mackay, ex Dickie, 202). On Carn Tual it ascends to 1028 m. (“Cyb. Hib.” ed. 2, 418). Descends to 640 m. in Mayo. 142. Deschampsia flexuosa, Trin.—Ascends to 1130 m. on Ben Alder (White), and to 1150 m. on Loch-na-gar (White, in “Scot. Nat.” i. 123 [1871]), and to 1130 m. on Ben-na-Bourd (Watson, 1832). Up to the summit of Carn Tual (‘ Cyb. Hib.” ed. 2, 419). Descends to sea-level in Londonderry. 143. Agrostis tenuis, Sibth. (1794).—Up to the summit of Ben THE HIGH ALPINE FLORA OF BRITAIN 35 Lawers (“Fl. Perthsh.” 342). Up to the summit of Carn Tual (‘‘Cyb. Hib.” ed. 2, 416). Descends to sea-level in Cork. Syn. A. vulgaris, With. (1796). 144. Agrostis canina, L.—Up to the summit of Carn Tual (‘““Cyb. Hib.” ed. 2, 415). Descends to sea-level in Kerry. 145. Alopecurus alpinus, Smith (1803).—Discovered by Don on the mountains about Loch-na-gar (“ Engl. Botany,” t. 1126). On the other hand, however, Smith states in “ Engl. Flora,” i. 80 (1824), that Brown discovered it on the mountains about Loch-na- gar, ‘who informs me that he communicated it to Mr. G. Don.” This latter statement is also favoured by the label on Brown’s specimens in Herb. Brit., which states that the plant was discovered by him in 1794, and that it was communicated by him to Don. Don, however, appears to have suggested the name ; as on the original drawing in Herb. Mus. Brit., Smith remarks, ‘‘ a/pzmws, Don thinks a good specific name.” Smith also says (“‘Engl. Flora,” i. 80), “no foreign author appears to have noticed this species.” Ascends to 1190 m. on Braeriach (G. C. Druce in “Journ. Bot.” 1889, 203), and to r100 m. in Aberdeenshire (Watson), by alpine springs and rills. 146. Phleum alpinum, L.—Ascends to 1190 m. on Braeriach (G. C. Druce, 4c.), and to 1130 m. on Ben Lawers (“ Fl. Perthsh.” 342), by alpine springs and rills. Ben Lawers (Don, fasc. i., 1804, mes): 147. Anthoxanthum odoratum, L.—Ascends to 1030 m. on the Grampians of Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire (Watson). Descends to sea-level in Cork. PTERIDOPHYTES. Fam. 32. SELAGINELLACE&. 148. Selaginella selaginoides, Link (1841).—Ascends to 1067 m. in damp and marshy places on the mountains of the Breadalbane district (“ Fl. Perthsh.” 377). Descends to sea-level in Dublin. Fam. 33. LyCOPODIACEZ. 149. Lycopodium alpinum, L.—Up to togo m. on Braeriach (Dr. J. W. H. Trail, t902). “It grows near the summits of almost all the high mountains of the Highlands and Hebrides abundantly ” (Lightfoot, “Fl. Scotica,” 690 [1777]). In dry places ascends to the summit of Schiehallion, and to 1122 m. on Ben Lawers and the mountains of the Breadalbane district (‘ Fl. Perthsh ” 376), and descends to 122 m. in the Carse of Gowrie. Descends to 427 m. in Donegal. I/O ~/e we ® > “a\9 \¢ 36 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Var. decipiens, Syme.—In the great corrie of Ben Avon, at 1000 m. (Marshall and Shoolbred, in ‘Journ. Bot.” 1906, 161). Found also high up on Ben Lawers (G. C. Druce; J. Carroll, 1864, in Herb. Brit.). 150. Lycopodium annotinum, L.—On the summit of Cairn Gorm (Hook. “Fl. Scotica,” 159). In the great corrie of Ben Avon, at 1000 m. (Marshall and Shoolbred, /.c.). 151. Lycopodium selago, L.—In dry places, on heathy moors, and frequently on rock ledges, it ascends to the summit of Schiehallion, and to 1122 m. on Ben Lawers and the mountains of the Breadalbane district (Fl. Perthsh.” 376). It also ascends to the summits of Loch-na-gar and Ben Macdhui (Dickie, 235). Summit of Ben Macdhui (Wm. Gardiner, 1845, in Herb. Brit.). Summit of Ben Ime.(J- R. Wee)” Up to 1220 m- on) Ben) Nevis (“Cyb, Brit” ai: 296). Ascends to 1027 m. on Carn Tual (More). Fam. 34. OPHIOGLOSSACE. 152. Botrychium lunaria, Swartz (1800).—Ascends to 1021 m. on mountain-ledges in the Breadalbane district (“ Fl. Perthsh.” 372). Descends to sea-level in Cork. Fam. 35. POLYPODIACEA. 153. Cystopteris montana, Desv.—Wet rocks near the top of Ben Dothaidh (Marshall and Shoolbred in “Journ. Bot.” 1894, 168), on mossy alpine rock ledges. Ascends to 1100 m. on the Grampians of Aberdeenshire (‘‘Cyb. Brit. Comp.” 409). 154. Cystopteris fragilis, Bernh.—Ascends to 1075 m. on Ben Lawers (White). ‘“‘Omnium Filicum maxime boream versus pro- greditur” (Bernhardi). On damp rocks. Descends to sea-level in Kerry. Var. dentata, Hook “Sp. Filicum,” i. 198 (1846).—Stob Ben Ein at 1005 m. (E. S. Marshall, 1889, in Herb. Brit.). 155. Lhegopteris polypodioides, Fée.— Ascends to tIogo m. among loose stones on the mountains of the Breadalbane district (Fl. Perthsh.” 370). Ascends to 1005 m. on the mountains in the west portion of Inverness (‘“‘Cyb. Brit.” ili. 254). Descends to 150 m. in Kerry. 156. Polystichum lonchitis, Roth.—Among large stones and in clefts of rocks it ascends to 1065 m.on the mountains of the Breadalbane district (‘‘ Fl. Perthsh.” 367). On the mountains of the Breadalbane district (Herb. Brit. ex herb. Mrs. Robinson, 1847). On a rock close under one of the high summits between Ben Lawers and Craig Chailleach, at 1005 m. (‘‘ Cyb. Brit.” iii. 260). Descends to 350 m. in Sligo. THE HIGH ALPINE FLORA OF BRITAIN 37 157. Lastrea dilatata, Presl—Ascends to 1052 m. on rocks on the mountains of the Rannoch district (“ Fl. Perthsh.” 369). Var. alpina, T. Moore, “Ind. Filicum” (1857).—Ascends to 1130 m. on the Grampians of Inverness-shire (Watson in herb. ; Hooker f “Stud. Fl. Brit. Isl.”); and to the summit of Ben Ime (J. R. Lee). 158. Lastrea montana, T. Moore.-—A dwarf specimen on the extreme summit of Ben Ime, near the cairn (J. R. Lee in “Ann. Andersonian Nat. Soc.” iii. 124 [1908]). 159. Athyrium alfestre, Rylands (1857).—Ascends to 1065 m. in damp shaded places on the mountains of Breadalbane district (“FI Perthsh.” 371); Ben Lawers (G. Don, 1794, in Herb. Brit., but no height given); Corrie Sneachda, on Cairn Gorm, at 1005 m. (E. S. Marshall, 1898, n. 2190, in Herb. Brit.) ; Corrie-an- Lochan, on the north side of Braeriach, up to 1065 m. (E. S. Mar- shall, 1898, n. 2191, in Herb. Brit.). “In July 1841 I gathered two fronds of this fern in the great corrie of Ben Alder” (‘Cyb. Brit.” ili. 253); Ben Macdhui (A. Croall, Pl. of Braemar, 1854, n. 68—in Herb. Brit. and Herb. Kew.). Among stones and on rocks in alpine districts, frequently on Highland mountains up 1220 m. in Inverness-shire (Watson). Ascends to 1065 m. on the mountains round Braemar (Crombie, “ Braemar,” p. 61). Most or probably all these records refer to the var. obtusatum, Syme, “ Engl. Botany,” ed. 3, xll. 114 (1886). This fern does not seem to develop sori so freely in Perthshire as it does in Aberdeenshire (Prof. Trail). 160. Athyrium flextle, Syme (1886).—Ascends to r100 m. in damp shaded places on the mountains of the Breadalbane district (iCyb. But. Comp: 412): 161. Asplenum septentrionale, G. F. Hoffm. (1795).—The earliest record of this fern as a British plant is by Lloyd in Gibson’s edition of Camden’s “ Britannia” (1695). He found it on the summit of Carnedd Llewelyn: and it certainly grows now near Llanrwst (J. E. Griffith, 1895). In support of this, we find in Hudson, “FI. Anglica,” ed. 1 (1762), p. 383, and ed. 2, p. 450—‘“ad cacumen montis Carndedh Lhewelyn prope Lhan-Lhechyd in agro Arvoni- ensi invenit D. Lhwyd.” Smith, “ English Flora,” iv. 295, merely repeats Lloyd’s record “‘on the mountains of Carnarvonshire.” Watson, ‘‘Cyb. Brit. Comp.” 414, says that the fern ascends there to 3000 feet. In Scotland it is not an alpine plant. The amended spelling of the generic name is adopted here as given by Ascherson and Graebner, who point out that “ Asplenium” is wrong and meaningless and for this reason preferred by nomenclaturists. 162, Llechnum spicant, Smith in “ Mem. Acad. Roy. Sc. Turin.” Vv. 411 (1793).—This reference is three years earlier than the one attributed to Withering (1796) in all recent British plant-lists. 38 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Watson (‘‘Cyb. Brit.” ili. 284) says that this fern gets up to 1190 m. in East Highlands. As it does not seem to occur much above rooo m. in Aberdeenshire and Perthshire, there only remains Inverness-shire, and confirmatory evidence is desirable before accept- ing this altitude as correct. The fern, however, ascends to 1006 m. (near the summit) of Ben Ime (J. R. Lee in “ Ann. Andersonian Nat. Soc.” iii. 122 [1908]). Descends to sea-level in Cork. 163. Cryptogramme crispa, Brown, ex. Hook., “ Gen. Filicum,” 60, t. 115 B. (1842).—Ascends to the summit of Ben More, in Ross-shire (G.C. Druce, 1881, in Herb. Brit.). Mr. Druce has written on the label “summit of Scuir Ouran, at about 3700 ft.” The mountain referred to is evidently Scuir Fluouran, whose summit, however, rises only to 3505 ft., and is the Gaelic name for Ben More. Of the three recent Lists issued, the London Catalogue ed. x. is the only one which gives this plant correctly. Cryptogramma means “hidden words,” and would at least require a neuter specific name. Cvryptogramme means “ hidden lines,” and is Hooker’s amended spelling of the generic name, and is the Greek compound which Brown of course intended to write, as there were no “hidden words” concealed in the frond of the fern. Mr. G. C. Druce gives as the authority for the generic name “Br. in Flinders’ Voy. 767.” The work referred to is Franklin’s Voyage to the Polar Sea, not Flinders’ Voyage to Australia—two points of the compass which are literally poles apart. Brown’s type-species of the genus which he distinguished and defined was Cryp/ogramma acrostichoides, which is the Arctic American form of C. crispa of this country (= Osmunda crispa, L.). In his own annotated copy of the second edition of “Sp. Plant.” in the Linnean Library, Linnzeus has altered this name by a scratch of the pen to Preris crispa. It is the Adiantum album crispum alpinum of Ray’s “Synopsis.” On the mountains of the Breadalbane district it ascends to 1122 m. in exposed stony places, and on alpine rubbles on Ben Lawers, Ben More, Ben Ein, and Ben Heasgarmich (White), but does not get up to rooo m. in any of the other districts of Perthshire. The Parsley Fern is very common all wlong the Snowdon range among loose stones ; where, like Asplenum septentrionale, it was first recorded as a British fern by Lloyd in Gibson’s edition of Camden’s “ Britannia” (1695). According to the zonal distribution indicated by Watson (‘Cyb. Brit. Comp.” 408, n. 1378), it ascends to 1016 m. on Snowdon, Carnedd Llewelyn, and Carnedd Dafydd. In Ireland, where this fern is very rare, it descends to go m. above sea-level in Antrim (Rev. C, F. D’Arcy); but this low level is discounted by the fact that it occurred among fallen rocks below Fair Head (1897). Fam. 36. HyMENOPHYLLACEX. 164. Hymenophyllum peltatum, Desvaux (1827 ).—Forms carpets SS oe A A rn, a nena THE HIGH ALPINE FLORA OF BRITAIN 39 among the loose boulders on the summit of Beenkeragh (Hart, 1881, in “ Proc. Roy. Irish Acad.” 1882, p. 578). Descends to 92 m. in Antrim (Rev. C. F. D’Arcy). Syn. Zrichomanes peltatum, Poiret (1808) ; Hymenophyllum unt- laterale, Bory (1810); 4. Wilsonz, Hook., “ Brit. Fl.” (1830).— First recognised as a British fern specifically distinct from 4. Zun- bridgense by Wm. Wilson, who compared the two plants growing together near Killarney in 1829. Hooker says, in the work cited, ‘““No one, I believe, was aware of their real differences, till Mr. W. Wilson found them both growing at the Lakes of Killarney, and distinguished them specifically.” Wilson himself contributes a note on the two plants in “Journ. Bot.” 1834, p. 317. Whether the plants known under the other three names exactly agree with the Irish fern I must leave fern-specialists to decide, but I give by con- trast the differences in the original descriptions. Desvaux says that the plant described by him is identical with those described by Poiret and Bory, but that does not dispose of the claims of the Irish fern. Z7richomanes peltatum was first found in Mauritius, and ff, untlaterale shortly afterwards in the island of Réunion. Further, Messrs. Groves query the identity of Bory’s fern with the Irish plant distinguished by Wilson (see Bab. “‘ Man.” ed. 9, 532). However, pending further inquiry, I have given the name which occurs in the three recent British Lists; though I think that Messrs. Groves have some grounds for inferring that the Mascarene fern may not be identical with that from Killarney. T. peltatum.—Rhizome fibrous ; fronds lanceolate ; pinnz pin- natifid ; pinnules dentate. ff. unilaterale.—Rhizome filiform; fronds linear-lanceolate ; pinne digitato-pinnatifid ; pinnules serrate. ff, Walsoni.—Rhizome capillary; fronds narrowly oblong ; pinne pinnatipartite ; pinnules spinously serrulate. As far as ferns vary, the last seems somewhat different. LVote-—The “ Herb. Brit.” frequently mentioned is the separate British Herbarium in the Botanical Department of the Natural History Museum, London, S.W. BeANTS OF SOME SOUTHERN (SCOTTISH COUNTIES: By G. CLariIpDGE Druce, M.A., F.L.S. IN August last I visited for a short time the interesting headland known as the Mull of Galloway in Wigtownshire, 40 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY investigating the interesting coast, as well as exploring the extensive sandhills from Dunragit to Sandhead. The weather was magnificent, the air bracing, the scenery attractive, and I found good accommodation at Drummore. Among the interesting plants observed was a form of Vicca sylvatica, which occurred abundantly on the shingle north of Drummore for a mile or so, and is identical with the plant which I saw twenty-five years ago on the opposite coast near Port William, which I described in the “Naturalist” as var. condensata. It grows in compact tufts, one or two feet across; the leaves are smaller than the type, are firm, almost coriaceous in texture; the flowers are larger than the type, and are arranged in sub-capitate racemes, and the standard is darker coloured, often indeed suffused with brownish purple. I will try and raise plants from seeds to test the permanency of these characters in cultivation. Another interesting shingle plant was Scutellaria galericulata, L., also with larger flowers, of a purer blue, the corolla clothed with longer and more patent hairs, the under-surface of the leaves covered with a short canescent growth. On examining my herbarium I found the only specimens matching this came from the shingle of Jeantown, W. Ross-shire. I was about to describe it as var. /¢toralis, but the description by Bentham of var. pubescens in De Candolle’s “ Prodromus” will probably cover it. Bentham gives it for North America, “scarcely from Europe.” The locality at Stranraer which yielded many casuals twenty years ago still affords a considerable number, but Victa varia and V. lutea seem to have disappeared. A small rubbish heap at Drummore also yielded many adventitious species, noticeably Asperugo procumbens, Asperula arvensis, and Melilotus tndica. The abundance of Eryngium marittmum at Drummore, the plentiful occurrence of /xz/a crithmotdes at the Mull, of Pxreumaria maritima at Port Logan, of Axchusa sempervirens, which was quite naturalised in several places at Drummore, of the curious form of Teesdalea, which has the rosettes of leaves almost ball- shaped, growing in the hollows of Torrs sand dunes were also pleasing features. We made a short expedition into Dumfriesshire to see PLANTS OF SOME SOUTHERN SCOTTISH COUNTIES 41 the solitary tuft of WVoodsza zlvenszs which still survives. May it long continue. We then went to Peebles to walk eastwards along the Tweed, and were rewarded by finding a grass (estuca heterophylla) new to Scotland, but unfortunately in a position which imperils its claim to indigenity, since planted shrubs are near. Several new county records were made, but probably these were mostly known to local botanists who have omitted to record them. Galashiels was next visited in order to examine the curious Australian and other casuals which Miss Ida Hayward has investigated with such commendable industry. These aliens necessarily vary from year to year, and the low temperature of this somewhat sunless summer has not been favourable to their growth. Thanks, however, to that lady’s kind hospitality, we were enabled to see the Australian Rumex Brownit and Senecio /autus, with numerous European species of Medicago and Erodium. In this neighbourhood I saw a plant hitherto unfound by me in Scotland, namely, Crategus oxyacanthoides, Thuill. which grew on the border of the Duke of Buccleuch’s policy of Bowhill. Here, of course, its indigenity is open to question, since it occurred with C. Oxyacantha in a planted hedge of considerable age and size. Dryburgh Abbey and its vicinity were also seen ; but a walk along the river near that place was summarily stopped by the owner, to whom we had paid three shillings to see the Abbey and its tomb of Scott. Ettrick Bridge End, with its interesting river bank and marsh, was explored, and a visit made to the Rhymer’s Glen, Cauldshield’s Loch, where a curious form of yperecum humifusum grows, and to Faldonside. The veteran (Mr. W. B. Boyd) botanist’s beautiful garden was a source of great joy. Never have I seen such splendid specimens of Sedges,— Carex Grahami, C. atrofusca, C. fusca, C. punctata, C. alpina, etc.,—all most luxuriant in growth, even in ordinary garden soil. Here, too, we saw Erica Craufordiz, which seems to be only a very double-flowered form of 4. Tetralix, and x E. Stuart, Linton, which can scarcely be a hybrid of E. Mackayi and E. mediterrea, as its namer suggests, since 42 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY the flowering-times of the two supposed parents scarcely overlap. Dryopteris remota, discovered by Mr. Boyd on Lomondside, was flourishing well, and the curious Sagiza Boydit was also in good condition. One may put on record the fact that this plant was found in Mr. Boyd’s vasculum at Braemar after an expedition to Ben A’an; but the exact locality where Mr. Boyd gathered it has never been ascertained. That it was from the neighbourhood is not to be questioned. In the following list of localities an asterisk * signifies an addition to “ Topographical Botany,” 7 an introduction and xa hybrid. The numbers refer to the counties in “ Top. Bot.’—-72 Dumfries, 74 Wigtown, 77 Lanark, 78 Peebles, 79 Selkirk, and 80 Roxburgh. *+Clematis Vitalba, Z.—Plentiful on Dryburgh Abbey, a seedling plant growing high up on the walls, *8o. Ranunculus Lenormandi, / Schuétz.—Ditches near Stonykirk 74. R. Steveni, Azdrz.—Near Galashiels *79. Caltha radicans, /orst.—Near Horsburgh Castle *78. Berberis vulgaris, Z.—Very common about Galashiels 79, 80; near Peebles 78. Papaver Rhoeas, Z.—A form with deep dark blotch at base of petals on shingle at Drummore, alien doubtless, 74. Fumaria Borzei, /ovd.—Moffat 72; Symington 77; Sandhead 74; Peebles *78 ; Galashiels *79 ; Dryburgh 80. Cheiranthus Cheiri, Z.—Dryburgh 8o. Radicula sylvestris, Drwce.—Common by the Tweed, Dryburgh, 80 ; also at Galashiels (Miss Hayward) *79. R. palustris, A/oench.—Tweedside *79. +Cochlearia Armoracia, Z.—Tweedside, 78, 79, 80. Brassica nigra, Koch.—Galashiels *79. Lepidium campestre, 47.—Tweedside, Peebles, *78. + Vogelia paniculata, JZed.—Stranraer 74. Raphanus maritimus, S7.—Along the coast towards the Mull of Galloway 74. Viola sylvestris, Reichb.—Tweedside, opposite Abbotsford, *79. V. canina, Z.—Torr Sands 74. Polygala oxyptera, Reichb.—Correifron *72; near Torrs 74; Ettrick- side *79. PLANTS OF SOME SOUTHERN SCOTTISH COUNTIES 43 P. serpyllacea, Wezhe.—KEttrick Bridge *79 ; near Fairydean 80. P. vulgaris, Z.—North of Galashiels 80; near Ettrick 79. +Saponaria Vaccaria, Z.—Stranraer 74. Silene Cucubalus, Wzd.—Peebles 78. S. maritima, W/7tz.—Plentiful on Correifron, 72, up to 1800 feet. Lychnis dioica, with pure white flowers, near Peebles 78; Dunragit 74. Cerastium tetrandrum, Czr/—Torrs Warren, Mull of Galloway, 74. Stellaria media, W7th., var. Borgwana (Jord.).—Peebles *78; Galashiels *79 ; Dryburgh *8o. (Zo be continued.) ELEN PICAINTS: By JAMES FRASER. THE following fifty Alien Plants were seen by Mr. M‘Andrew and myself during the year 1909. This list brings the number of such plants seen by us since 1903, and recorded in the “Annals of Scottish Natural History” yearly since 1904, up to about nine hundred and twenty. A star in front of a name indicates a new British record. RANUNCULACE. Nigella arvensis, Z. Leith, several. CRUCIFERA., Goldbachia levigata, DC. Leith, several. Iberis intermedia, Gwersanz. Portobello, one. I. umbellata, Z. Portobello, two or three. *Isatis aleppica, Scof., var. pamphylica, Sozss. Leith, several ; Portobello, one. Moricandia arvensis, DC. Portobello, one. RESEDACE:. Reseda lutea, Z., var. laxa, Lange. Pettycur, one clump, with pendulous fruits and flat leaves, which seems to be this variety. CARYOPHYLLACE. * Arenaria stellarioides, W7//d. Leith, two. 44 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY HYPERICACE. Hypericum Androsemum, Z. In a roadside hedge between Innellan and Dunoon, one plant. MALVACE. Lavatera arborea, Z. Ailsa (Craig), plentiful. At Elie, Fifeshire, it is now known to occur only behind some cottages in Earls- ferry, where it was pointed out to us by Mr. Rupert Smith, Edinburgh. GERANIACE:. Geranium columbinum, Z. Two plants at Morningside, Edinburgh, by Mr. M‘Andrew. Several at Ballantrae, Ayrshire. LEGUMINOSAE. Lathyrus odoratus, Z. At Pettycur, Fifeshire, and at Portobello, several. Lotus decumbens, Pozy. Leith, several. *Trigonella ccelisyriaca, Borss. Leith, two. ROSACE. Potentilla supina, Z. Leith, one. SAXIFRAGACE:. Ribes alpinum, Z. West of South Queensferry, in policies, plentiful. CRASSULACE. Sempervivum tectorum, Z. On roofs and on wall tops near Kirk- caldy, Fifeshire, several. Tillzea Vaillantii, W72/d. Galafoot, one plant, found by Miss Hay- ward, Galashiels. ONAGRARIZ. Clarkia pulchella, Pursh. Leith, two or three. CUCURBITACEZ.. Cucumis sativus, Z. Portobello, several, in flower and fruit. CORNACE:. Cornus stolonifera, WZzchx. Near Kirkliston, two or three ; west of South Queensferry, plentiful. ALIEN PLANTS 45 CAPRIFOLIACE. Sambucus racemosa, W7//d. Arniston, Midlothian; and _ near Kirkliston, East Lothian, several. Symphoricarpus racemosus, JAZzchx. Near Kirkliston, several. RUBIACEA. Asperula taurina, Z. Abercorn, West Lothian, a large colony. VALERIANACE. Valerianella dentata, Po//ich. Portobello, several. COMPOSIT:. Ambrosia maritima, Z. Leith, two or three. *Erigeron linifolius, W7//d. Galafoot, several. Madia glomerata, HZook. Leith and Pettycur, two or three. Picris hieracioides, Z. A small colony at the Docks, Burntisland, by Mr. M‘Andrew. *Volutarella Lippii, Cass. Leith, a single plant. CAMPANULACE-. Specularia hybrida, 4. DC. Leith, several. HYDROPHYLLACE. Phacelia campanularia, 4. Gray. Leith, several. POLEMONIACE. Collomia linearis, M¢¢. Leith and Pettycur, one plant in each. CONVOLVULACE, Cuscuta racemosa, JZar¢. A dodder which seems to be this species was found in considerable quantity at Portobello, on JZedicago lupulina, and on a Polygonum (? Polygonum aviculare). BORAGINACE. Eritrichium australasicum, 4. 27. Galafoot, one plant, by Miss Hayward. Pulmonaria officinalis, Z., vav. alba. Near Kirkliston, several. SOLANACE. Solanum miniatum, J/ert. and Koch. Leith, several. S. triflorum, Vu/t. Leith, one plant. 46 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY SCROPHULARIACEA. *Orthocarpus purpurascens, Gezth. Leith, several. VERBENACEZ. Verbena officinalis, Z. One fine plant at Burntisland Docks, by Mr. M‘Andrew. LABIATA., *Dracocephalum thymiflorum, Z. Leith, one plant. Melissa officinalis, Z. Leith, one. Salvia sylvestris, Z. Leith, several. Satureia hortensis, Z. Leith, one. CHENOPODIACE. Chenopodium Botrys, Z. Galafoot, one. Kochia scoparia, Schrader. Pettycur and Leith, one plant in each. LILIACE:. Ruscus aculeatus, Z. Hermitage, Edinburgh, several. GRAMINE. Agrostis lachnantha, /Vees. Galafoot, several. First found by Miss Hayward. Setaria verticillata, Beawv. Portobello, two. Sorghum vulgare, /ervs. Plentiful in the neighbourhood of Leith Docks, but did not flower. LEITH, December 1909. CRITICAL, REMARKS UPON THE OVe2ZRACEZ- CARICOIDEZE AS TREATED IN=SDAS PEEA N- ZENREICH” BY GEORGE KUKENTHAL|! By G. CiaripceE Druce, M.A., F.L.S. THIS very elaborate, accurate, and excellently printed monograph of the Genus Carex and its allies marks a substantial advance in our knowledge of this somewhat difficult group. The full and clear diagnoses are in Latin, 1 May 18, 1909. 981 Species and 128 figures. Leipzig. Price 41.20 marks. CRITICAL REMARKS ON THE CYPERACEA-CARICOIDEZ: 47 a fairly complete synonymy is given, and brief details of distribution. A clavis is given for each section. The figures and details are good, and at last we have under the covers of a single work a description of the Sedges of the world; a monument to the painstaking work and clear judgment of the author. The nomenclature of the species follows the Vienna Actes, and as a rule is in accord with that of the “British Plant List.” There are a few exceptions which we may note in passing, and the novelties to our published Floras may also be mentioned. The allied genus Kodresia is spelt Cobresza. The founder Willdenow spelt it with a K, and this is universally followed by British writers. Persoon (“ Syn.” ii. (1807) 534) altered it to Cobresta because it was named in honour of Pauli de Cobres. This spelling is used by Ascherson and Graebner, and is allowed, but wrongly allowed, I hold, by the Vienna Rules, which give great latitude for such changes, e.g. Bartsza may be altered to Lartschta because it was named after Bartsch. In the first instance the change is very trouble- some, because all the literature is practically indexed under K, not C; and we are glad to find that Dalla Torre, in the “Genera Siphonogamorum,” adheres to the original spelling ; a practice which has so much to be said in its favour. Our British species is called Codresta caricina, Willd., since Kiikenthal queries the identification of Carex dbzpartzta, Allioni, with it. But Ascherson and Graebner, Dalla Torre, and Britton and Browne all agree in so identifying it, and write Kobresza (or Cobresta) bipartita, Dalla Torre, as in my List. Carex vesicaria, L.: under this is put var. alpigena, Fries, from Ben More and Glen Lyon (Marshall). C. Grahami is also put as a variety from Clova (Boyd) and Ben More, Meall Ghaordie, Ben Cruichben (Marshall). Under C. veszcaria he also puts, as a sub-species, C. saxatzlis, L. It is satisfactory to find the Linnean name is retained for this plant, instead of the later C. pulla, Good. Var. dichroa, Anders., is treated as a form of C. savatzles. The name C. rostrata, Stokes, is used by Kiikenthal, but surely wrongly, since there is no doubt that C. zzffata, Huds., has priority. Hudson may have quoted wrong synonyms, 48 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY but this will not invalidate the name, as there can be no doubt that his plant, of the second edition of “ Flora Anglica,” is this species. Under this Kiikenthal puts var. brunnescens (Anders.) from Scotland (Marshall and Druce) ; forma sparganzformis (Murr.), Scotland (Druce), and var. utriculata (Boott.), which is the plant wrongly called C. rhynchophysa in “TWond. |Cat.,” ed: ‘o, ‘ftom, Nreland: C. rostrata X vesicaria, Perth.!, Glen Callater (Marshall). Kiikenthal makes no allusion to Bennett’s variety graczlzs of. C. levigata (C. helodes, Link.). C. bénervis, Sm. :—Kiikenthal gives a vat. alpina, Drejer; “ Kev. Crit:y (1841), S64, ang under this both my Scottish xzgrescens, and Linton’s Sadler, originally described as C. frzgzcda, from Glen Callater, by Sadler, but which was not that continental species. My nigrescens is a less extreme alpine form than Sadler’s plant. Kikenthal cites for var. a/pzza my plants from Loch Ceannmor, 1214, Glen Callater, 23;000;,Perth, 500;s5 00 also Callater, 2990 (Marshall). C. azstans, L.; with this C. neglecta, Dégl., the maritime form, is considered to be synonymous. C. B. Clarke believed the Linnean C. distans to be C. binervis, Sm., and has suggested the name C. Vekingenszs for our plant, but this view is wisely rejected by Kiikenthal. C. Hornschuchiana, Hoppe, is the name retained for the plant for which our recent British lists use C. fulva, Host., a combination not given in “ Pflanzenreich,” but possibly overlooked. It has priority over Hoppe’s name. C. flava, L., is kept distinct. Under jit theremis vayvar, pygme@a, Anders. Lange named a Scottish specimen of mine pumzla, Anders., a lapsus calamz unfortunately followed in my List. Kiikenthal also has a forma rectirostris, Peterm. ; this latter name was given by Fernald to my specimen of Townsend’s var. argzllacea. C. lepidocarpa is given full specific rank, since it keeps true in cultivation, and natural hybrids occur, of which I have sent Kiikenthal several of C. flava x lepidocarpa from Perth, Glen Callater, Forfar, etc. and Marshall has sent others of Jepidocarpa x Hornschuchtana from Caithness, Sutherland, and Orkney. C. Oedertz, Retz is also kept distinct ; but, while I have CRITICAL REMARKS ON THE CYPERACE4-CARICOIDEZ 49 used the name in a restricted sense for the small-fruited plant, Kiikenthal includes C. Oederz, var. oedocarpa, Anders. (=flava, var. minor, Towns.) and var. argillacea, Towns., an arrangement more closely approximating to the last edition of the “Lond. Cat.” To my eyes C. jiava; var. minor, Towns., seems to be more closely related to either of the other two species than to the small-fruited plant, which I name C. Oederz, Retz, and that was Townsend’s idea ; but of course Kiikenthal speaks with far greater authority and knowledge than I possess. He gives as a “forma” C. subglobosa, Mielich., Lough Neagh (Druce), 509. C. extensa, Good.: a new variety of this to our British Lists is described, viz. Eck/onzz, Kiik., from Port Patrick, Wigtown (C. Bailey). But the older name for it appears to be C. ertensa, Good., var. Jatzfolia, Boeck., in “ Linnza,” Ixi. (1877), 289. C. pelulifera, L., the var. Leeszz, Ridley, is reduced to forma longzbracteata, Lange. C. glauca, Scop., is used instead of C. flacca, Schreb., but I think under the idea that C. glauca was established me Wurrays “ Stirp: Gotting.” (1770), p. 76. There it is; I believe, only an unnamed description; the earliest name is Schreber’s. Bennett’s var. acuminata receives no notice; and our other varieties are reduced to forms. Gy vaginata, Tausch, in “Flora,” iv. (1821) 557. Bor this, the oldest name, Kiikenthal, in defiance of the Vienna inconsistent Rules (which demand the use of the oldest specific, but not the oldest varietal name), writes C. sparsz- flora, “ Steud. Nom.,” 2nd ed. (1841), 296, because it was C. panicea, var. sparsifiora, Wahl. “Fl. Lapp.” (1812), 236. The var. dorealis (Anders.) is treated as synonymous with the type, as is the var. ztermedza of C. panzcea ; while tumtdula and conferta are reduced to forms. ‘The var. plantfolia, Kohts, is put as synonymous with C. magellanica, Meteas’ a vat. of C, /zzosa, as in my List, DUhe Ben Heasgarnich locality is not given under C. atrofusca, Schkuhr. The name C. alpina, Sw., is retained (following Ascherson and Graebner) ; the identity of C. Hadlerz, Gunn., with it is queried: our three British Lists use C. Hallerz. C. Buxbaumit, Wahl. (also following A. and G.), is used despite the older C. polygama, Schkuhr, which is cited 73 E 50 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY without doubt as synonymous: the Arisaig locality is not given; nor is the fact that it represents C. canescens in the Herb. Linn. CC. Hudsonzz, Benn., is used instead of the earlier C. elata, All., on account of the uncertainty of Allioni’s plant; but is there justification for this? Under C. graczlzs an additional variety to my List is given, viz., var. spherocarpa (Uechtr.), from Sussex (Marshall), 2610. The hybrid C. gracilis x Hudsonii (super-Hudsonit) is given from Ranworth, Norfolk (C. E. Salmon). C. aquatilis, Wahl., a nova forma, angustata, Kiik., from Forfar (Somerville), and Easterness (Marshall), is described. Var. sphagnophila, Fr. from Clova (Boott.), S. Aberdeen (Druce) 1218, etc., is also given. The var. epzgezos (recorded by Bennett) is made synonymous with sfavs (Drej.) Boott., but is not cited for Scotland. Does it really occur there ? Hybrids of C. aquatilis x rigida and C. aquatilis x Goodenowz are from Scotland; C. aquatels x Hudsonzz, Ireland (R. W. Scully); C. aquatelis x salina, Wick (Marshall). C. c@spitosa, L., is given, on A. Bennett’s in- formation, from Shetland (Beeby), and Yorkshire (Perceval) ; but we still lack precise information of its occurrence as British. CC. Goodenoughiz, as the spelling is altered to here, has a var. vecta (Fleisch), A. and G., which is a common British form; var. junzcea (Fries) also frequent, var. strictiformis (L. H. Bailey), Altnaharra (Marshall) ; var. subcespitosa, Kiik., Rosslare, Ireland (Marshall), and stenocarpa, Kiik., based on my specimens from Glen Fiagh. The last is also found in many other Scottish localities. C. Goodenowz? hybridises with rzgzda, Forfar, Argyll (Marshall); and with graces; but no British localities are given, not even for x C. elytrozdes, Fr., which A. Bennett recorded from Anglesey; nor is the occurrence in Britain of C. trinervis, Dégl., also recorded by Mr. Bennett, alluded to; but doubts have been expressed as to the identity of this, and therefore it is bracketed in my List till confirmed. Neither is there any reference to C. hebridensis, A. Benn., which is put under C. sficulosa in “ Lond. Cat.” as a var. Kiikenthal considers C. sfzculosa itself only a hybrid of Goodenowt and salina = super-salina, Kiik., but he does not refer to a Scottish locality. Under C. vzgzda the var. znfer- CRITICAL REMARKS ON THE CYPERACE-CARICOIDEZ: 51 alpina has been changed to concolor (Br.), Kiik.; but here again in opposition to the Vienna Rules, which do not insist on the permanence of the earliest varietal name—that is, the combination C. vzgzda, var. znfer-alpina, Laest., dates from 1839, C. rzg¢da, var. concolor, only from 1909. The name C. deporina, L., is wisely retained, but our varieties are reduced to forms. C. lagopina, Wahl., is used instead of C. Lachenalii Schkuhr. Of this he considers C. helvola to be a hybrid with canescens. He has seen it from Loch-na-gar (Syme) E22 ruce) 22006, (Marshall) “29709, 2980, ‘Clova (Balfour), Ben Lawers (Druce)!, the three counties as given in my List. C. stellulata, Good., is used, although Britten contends that C. echznata, Murr., is the proper name. The var. gvypos is retained, but no British station given. C. canescens, L., is correctly used by Kiikenthal for C. curta, Good.; the var. fallax, F. Kurtz, from the Scottish Highlands (Druce), the var. ¢ezuzs, Lang (first recorded by me in this Journal, 1897, p. 128, from Glen More), and the var. robustior, Blytt, Scotland (Marshall and Druce), are included, as are the hybrid with s¢e//ata from Canlochan (Ewing), and Ben Lawers (Druce), and super-canescens (my C: helvola, var.) from Ben Lawers(Druce). C. contzgua, Hoppe, is used instead of “6, muricata, 1, as in the“ Lond: ‘Cat.’ ; but I followed the British Museum Seed List in retaining the Linnean name, notwithstanding the specimen named C. murecaza in the Linnean herbarium, which is C. Pazrez: the description and references appear to support the use of the Linnzan name. I have put Leerszz as a var. under muricata; but Kiikenthal calls C. Pazre@z by the name C. echznata, Murr. ; under this he puts C. Leevszz as a var. The variety has been collected in England by Marshall, 3765, and the type by myself in Cornwall. Surely if there is a case where confusion would be created by the exchange of names this is one. If echtwata, Murray, is so ambiguous it would be well to drop it; but this shall be treated more fully else- where. C. divulsa, Good., the correct authority is Stokes in With. “Nat. Arr.,” of 1787. It will be observed that Kiikenthal has not supported the erroneous suggestion that C. azvulsa 52 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY is the C. canescens of the Linn. Herb. The synonym C. canescens, Huds., is, however, not cited by Kiikenthal. C. dtandra, Schrank, var. major, Koch, = Ehrhartiana Hoppe ;—to this is also referred C. pseudo-paradoxa, Gibs. C. zntermedia, Good., is used instead of C. désticha, Huds., the undoubtedly earlier name, for the reason advanced by C. B. Clarke,“ Joura. domme Soc. xxxv. (1903): 261 -vbur despite one wrong figure cited, the reference to Ray shows that the above, not arenarza, is meant. C. ligertca, Gay (recorded by Mr. Bennett), is not given as British; and as the species awaits confirmation it is bracketed in my List. C. divisa, Huds, var. chetophylla, Daveau, recently dis- covered in South England, is not included as British. The hybrids C. panzculata x vulpina = pseudo-vulpina, Richter, from Surrey and Kent (Marshall), (I have also found C. muricata x remota in Bucks), C. remota x vulpina (= C. axillaris, Good.), and C. paniculata x remota (C. Boenning- hausentana) from Scotland, are also described. It may be remarked that the contention which I made in this Journal in reviewing the 9th edition of “ Lond. Cat.” that C. azluta, Bieb., was not = C. punctata, Gaud., and for which I was rather severely taken to task, is found to be correct. Kiikenthal keeps them distinct, putting two species between them. C. dzluta is confined to East Europe, C. punctata reaches the West of Ireland. C. fulva, Good., which has caused so much discussion, is referred to C. Hornschuchiana x Oederz. Three forms of this are given, viz. (a) nearer Horuschuchiana, being Good- enough’s plant, and (c) fulvaformzts, Zahn., Altnaharra and Orkney (Marshall), C. flava x Oederz, Glen Callater, Perth, (Druce), 549; and a form C. sudelatior from Copyhold, Sussex (Mrs. Davy), are also described. ZOOLOGICAL NOTES. The Noctule Bat in Morayshire.—During the past few years I had been told that large Bats were seen from time to time round Elgin and Lhanbryde, but only now, 1st October, have I been able ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 53 to secure one. A fine large dark-coloured male Noctule ( Vesperwgo noctula) was sent to me from Duffus near Elgin. It measured 31 inches head and body, and 2} inches forearm. ‘This is just the size of my English spirit specimen. It was fat, and weighed 124 ounce. ‘This species may not be rare north of the Grampians, but this is the first example I have seen here. Other three species are fairly abundant in Morayshire, the Pipistrelle, Daubenton’s Bat, and the Long-eared Bat.—Wwm. ‘Taytor, Lhanbryde. [There are only a few known instances of this Bat being found in Scotland, and this is the most northerly record of its occurrence in the British Islands.—Ebs. | Black and Brown Water-Voles in the same Family. On 17th August last Mr. R. Ramsay, Fearnan, Loch Tay, sent me a family of four young (half-grown) Water-Voles (Avzvicola amphibius) which had been dug out of a hole in his hayfield. Three of them were of the black variety, while the fourth was of the typical brown form. They were sent as young “Black Rats,” with the remark that “strange to say one seems a drown rat, but they were all in the same nest.” It would have been interesting to know what the parents were like, but they were not captured, and no information regarding them is forthcoming.—WILLIAM Evans, Edinburgh. The Length and Weight of Otters.—Apropos of my article on ‘The Length and Weight of Otters,’ which appeared in the ‘‘ Annals ” (July, 1909), I am informed by the master of the Crowhurst Otter Hounds that he killed a bitch Otter in September 1908 on the Rother near Midhurst, which weighed 22 lbs. with a total length of 454 inches, and which is the heaviest bitch Otter I have ever heard of. His hounds also killed, on zoth April this year at Hartfield, on the Medway, a dog Otter of 284 lbs., which measured 51 inches in length. The Essex pack which killed the enormous 34 lbs. dog Otter on the tidal waters of the Deben in East Suffolk last year (1 908), as mentioned in my article, have beaten this record by killing on the same river near Kettleburgh, on zoth September this year, an extremely fat old dog Otter of 35 lbs. whose total length, as measured with a 2-feet rule, was 52 inches, whilst his carcase, minus pelt, mask, rudder, and pads, actually weighed 24 lbs., the normal weight of an adult dog Otter ! On 8th September this year the Arg gyleshire and East of Scotland Pack killed an exceptionally fine dog Otter in East Lothian, close to where the Humbie Burn joins the ie which easily pulled down the Salter’s Spring Balance to its limit of 29 lbs., and was undoubtedly heavier than thisx—H. W. Rosrnson, of Lancaster. Some Rare Birds in Unst, Shetland.—During several autumn visits to the island of Unst, I have, among other birds, obtained the following which, I trust, are worthy of record in the ‘‘ Annals.” GREENLAND REpDPOLL (Acanthis hornemannt).— One shot 54 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY between gth and 19th October 1905, about the same time as Mr. Eagle Clarke obtained specimens in Fair Isle. It was a single bird, and I observed no others. GREATER REDPOLL (Acanthis rostrata).—Several specimens obtained from a flock during October and November 1907. Some of these birds were shot below high-water line on the shore. NORTHERN BULLFINCH (Pyrrhula pyrrhula).—I1 saw a male in splendid plumage in November 1905. TENGMALIN’S OWL (WVyctala tengmalmi).—On 8th January 1908, a female, apparently injured, was captured on a stone wall and for- warded to me. Its stomach contained the remains of a sparrow. Some of the other birds which came under my notice in 1907 were, a Great Grey Shrike on 7th October ; Wood Pigeon on 2oth October and 4th November; Turtle Doves (two) on 21st October ; and Great Snipe on 6th October.—ERIcK HAMILTON, Liverpool. Some further Remarks on the Visitation of Crossbills.— During a visit to Fair Isle last autumn, I gathered the following additional information relating to the summer visits of Crossbills (Zoxia curvirostra) to the island. This I chiefly obtained from my bird-watcher there, Stewart Stout. The birds were seen in the greatest abundance on toth July when they were in large flocks. These flocks, however, appear to have at once broken up, for after this date, though plentiful, the visitors were in scattered parties, and were abundant down to 26th August. Later they became gradually scarcer ; in September only two or three were seen, and the last representative of the hundreds once present on the island was an immature male, which was seen on 2nd October, feeding on the head of a thistle. During their sojourn they frequented all parts of the island: the faces of the great cliffs, the cultivated land, the grassy slopes, and the high bleak, heathery ground. On the latter they fed on the unripe fruit of the crowberry ; elsewhere on seeds of grasses and other plants, and on the heads of thistles. Very many of these visitors, however, perished, for numerous dead or dying birds were found in the plots of potatoes. At the Flannan Islands the last of the invaders was observed on September 22nd. Some surprise has been expressed that comparatively few birds were recorded for the mainland of Scotland. It may be pointed out, however, that there are obvious reasons why this should be the case. Thus, almost immediately on their arrival from the north, most of the visitors would find themselves in a land entirely congenial to their requirements, namely, one abounding in extensive pine woods. Here they would fail to attract notice, for these same Highland forests are the home of great numbers of native Crossbills. ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 55 Mr. Francis G. Gunnis has informed me that they were very plentiful at Gordonbush, in East Sutherland ; and adds the interest- ing remark that a lot of them were caught in the nets protecting strawberries. —Wm. EAGLE CLARKE. Occurrence of Yellow-browed Warblers in East Ross-shire.— On 23rd September I observed, and afterwards obtained a Yellow- browed Warbler (Phy/loscopus superciliosus). The bird in question was searching for insects among the currant bushes in a garden on the coast of East Ross-shire. It was fairly tame, and did not seem to mind my presence. ‘The bird proved to be a male. The weather at the time was fine, rather hazy, the wind being south, light. On 27th September I saw another Yellow-browed Warbler in the same garden, but it was very wild and would not admit of approach, but flew over the garden wall and disappeared. In the afternoon I located it again in a field of turnips near by, and after a long chase the bird was procured. It turned out to be a female.— ANNIE C. JACKSON, Swordale. [These are the first records for the autumn of the occurrence of this interesting migrant on the mainland of Scotland.—Eps. | Migration of Redwings, ete.—On the early morning of 18th October, between the hours of 12 p.m. and 4 a.M., there was a great rush of birds at Tarbatness Lighthouse, many killing them- selves against the lantern, and later in the morning 411 were picked up. The wind was east, light, and the night, or rather morning, was very wet, also hazy. The great majority of the birds were Redwings. The birds collected consisted of 367 Redwings; 1 Fieldfare; 6 Blackbirds ; 3 Ring Ouzels ; 3 Goldcrests ; 9 Bramblings ; 20 Starlings ; 1 Jack- snipe.—ANNIE C. Jackson, Swordale. Grasshopper Warbler and Greater Wheatear at Mull of Galloway Light.—A male Grasshopper Warbler (Locustella nevia) was obtained at Mull of Galloway Lighthouse on 24th April, and on the r2th August a male of the Greater Wheatear (Saxzcola leucorrhoa). Both birds were sent to me by Mr. Henderson, lightkeeper.—ANNIE C. Jackson, Swordale. The Greater Wheatear (Saxzcola enanthe leucorrhoa, Gmel.) in Forth.—Mr. Eagle Clarke’s observations on this northern race of Wheatear at Fair Isle (“‘ Annals,’ 1908, p. 81) have caused me to re-examine a large wvanthe which I shot on the coast at Luffness Links, East Lothian, on 25th September 1885. It is a beautiful adult male having a wing measurement of 106 mm., and clearly belongs to the above race. I have noticed similar large Wheatears on this coast on several occasions in autumn.—WILLIAM EVANs, Edinburgh. 56 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Golden Oriole in Dumfriesshire.—On 3oth April 1909, Mr. Charles Vere caught an adult male of this species at Penton Lynns (Canonbie). After being caged it only lived one day, so it was sent to Mr. Raine, taxidermist, Carlisle, for preservation. I have personally seen the specimen, which is now in Mr. Vere’s possession. —Hucu S. GLADSTONE. Nesting of the Great Spotted Woodpecker in West Fife.—A pair of this species safely hatched off their young this spring on the estate of Brucefield, belonging to Lord Balfour of Burleigh, in the West of Fife. Two specimens of the Great Spotted Woodpecker have previously been obtained on the estate of Westgrange which adjoins Brucefield in the same district of Fife. One of these occur- rences, as recorded in the Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society, took place on 3rd April 1877, and the other, hitherto unrecorded, on 25th January 1902.—J. J. DALGLEISH, Brankston Grange, Alloa. Quails in East Lothian.—Quails (Coturnix communis) were reported to have been heard in June in two spots not very far from Haddington, but though I visited the places I could not hear or see them. But several pairs did nest not far from Tranent in the corn- fields, where their sharp, penetrating cry was heard continually. On the evening of 3rd August I made a round of the places where they were, with Dr. Ritchie of Tranent. We located the cry in three if not in four different fields. They were heard almost daily from toth July till 23rd August. How much later they were there I cannot say, for I was unable to pay another visit myself to the locality. —H. N. Bonar, Saltoun, Pencaitland. “ Ringed”? Arctic Tern at Barns Ness Lighthouse (Forth), -—In September last I was asked to identify a Tern with a ring on its leg, which had been found unable to fly owing to an injured wing, at Barns Ness Lighthouse, near Dunbar, on the night of 23rd August. It was an immature Arctic Tern (Sterna macrura), and had on its left tarsus a metal ring inscribed ‘‘ Country Life, London, No. 516.” I communicated with “Country Life,” and ascertained that the bird was ringed at the Farne Islands by Mr. Riley Fortune on 17th July (cf. ‘Country Life” of 16th October 1909). Flocks of Terns, the light-keeper tells me, were observed flying round the dome of the lighthouse during the evening of 23rd August, the wind at the time blowing from the south-east. I may mention that there has been sent to me a Storm Petrel (Procellaria pelagica) which was found in a dying state at Barns Ness Lighthouse on the morning of 18th October.—WILLIAM Evans, Edinburgh. Beautiful Variety of the Black-headed Gull.—A gull was obtained here on the gth of December which was remarkable for the beautiful rosy pink colour pervading all the white portions of ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 57 its plumage except the tail. This tint, which was deepest on the abdomen and flanks, included the entire shafts and webs of the two outer primaries, the basal portions of the shafts of the rest and of the secondaries, and the bases of the grey feathers of the mantle. I sent the bird to Mr. Eagle Clarke for his inspection and opinion on it. He tells me that the specimen, a female, was quite re- markable for the extent and depth of the rose-colour permeating its plumage. Mr. Howard Saunders, in describing a similar specimen obtained at Wells, Norfolk, in November, remarks (Cat. Birds, Brit. Mus., xxv. 212) that such instances must be considered unusual. | have since seen two others. —ALICE FOWLER, Inverbroom, Ross-shire. {I have also seen rosy-coloured Black-headed Gulls at Oban, as I have elsewhere made note of.—J. A. H.-B.] Porbeagle Shark in the Moray Firth.—A male Porbeagle shark (Zamna cornubica), 84 feet long, was caught at Nairn on 30th October last. I went to examine it, and took the following measurements :—From point of snout to pectoral fin, 27 inches ; length of pectoral fin, 16 inches; greatest breadth of tail, 28 inches. It had the large, high anterior and very small posterior dorsal fin of the species. It was bluish grey above and dirty white below. It belongs to the variety with small teeth. I have also found the variety with large teeth in the Moray Firth. The difference in the teeth is certainly not a sexual character. Dr. Traquair was kind enough to demonstrate that for me in the Royal Scottish Museum some years ago.—Wm. TayLor, Lhanbryde. Barnacles on a Whale.—Mr. Carl F. Herlofsen, of Buna- veneader, Harris, recently presented to the Royal Scottish Museum a specimen of a parasitic Copepod, Pene//a species, extracted from the side of a whale caught off St. Kilda. Growing upon the Penella were two specimens of Stalked Barnacle, Conchoderma virgata (Spengler), a species which, though of world-wide distribution, has seldom been recorded from Scottish waters. The association of Conchoderma virgata with Penella has been noted on several occasions, even where the hosts of the Copepod have been so different as whale and sword-fish.—JAMeEs Rircui£, Royal Scottish Museum. Hydraehnids in Forth and Tay.—In the previous number of the “Annals” (1909, p. 249) I recorded Arrhenurus cylindratus, Piersig, from the Forth district, the record being based on half a dozen females from West Lothian, which were believed to belong to this species. The capture of two males and a female on 17th September last in a pool near Lasswade, Midlothian, removes any slight doubt there may have been as to the species being an inhabitant of the district. Along with these Lasswade examples of A. cylindratus 1 captured five males of another Avrhenurus which 58 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Mr. Soar says are referable to A. tudulator (Miill.), also, it would appear, an addition to the Scottish list. I take this opportunity of drawing attention to an early record —the earliest I have yet met with—of Water-Mites from Scotland. It occurs in Don’s List of Forfarshire Plants and Animals, published in 1813 in an Appendix to the “ Agriculture of Angus,” and is as follows :—‘‘ Hydrachna globator, grossipes, and some others.” Presumably these are what we now call Arrhenurus globator, and CUntionicola crassipes, or its near ally U. figuralis—WILL1AM Evans, Edinburgh. A Swan Parasite from Perthshire.—On an immature female Whooper Swan (C. muszcus) secured at Port-Allen-on-Tay, in January last, numerous parasites were detected by Mr. A. M. Rodger, Perth Museum. Four specimens, all adult males and females, were fortunately put into spirit, and on examination these proved to be Ornzthobius cygnt, L. ( = bucephalus, Giebel). Save that the males have segments 2-6 with the black lateral spots, these specimens are typical examples. Piaget (“Jes Pediculines,” vol. i. p. 378) gives 3-6 as the normal, while Denny (Mon. Anop. Brit.,” p. 183) says “the first six segments. of the abdomen with a black spot.” Evidently the character is independable and varies.— JAMES WATERSTON, Edinburgh. BOTANICAL NOTES AND NEWS. Fungi from the Isle of May.—During two short visits to the Isle of May last September (9th and 16th), I gathered the following Fungi, which are not mentioned among those brought from the island by Misses Baxter and Rintoul in 1907, as recorded by Mr. Steele in the “Annals” for January 1908. Dr. Paul, who kindly looked over my specimens, made the remark that they were small, as one would expect in so exposed a locality. Agaricus campestris, L. (the true mushroom).—One specimen. A. arvensis, Scheeff.—Common. LVolanea pascua, Pers.—Two or three. Lflygrophorus conicus, Fr.—Several. Marasmius oreades, Fr.—A few. Lycoperdon gemmatum, Batsch.—A good many. Several of the already recorded species—/Vaucoria semtorbicularts, fygrophorus pratensis, H. virgineus, etc.—were also met with.— WILLIAM Evans, Edinburgh. BOTANICAL NOTES AND NEWS 59 Seottish Pansies. — Of the twenty-three ‘‘species” in Mr. Drabble’s paper on ‘British Pansies” in the Journal of Botany Supplement, the following are named in the paper as seen by him from Scotland :—Group I. Arvenses, /. segefalis, Jordan, Selkirk (79), Kincardine (91), E. Sutherland (107), V. obtustfolia, Jordan, Elgin (95); V. wrali, Jordan, Dumfries (72), Berwick (81), Kin- cardine (91); V. derelicta, Jordan, Mid-Perth (88), Forfar (go), S. Aberdeen (92), Banff (94), Orkney (111); V. Léoydi, Jordan, Forfar (90), Kincardine (g1), S. Aberdeen (92), W. Ross (105), Caithness (109); V. adfestris, Jordan, Selkirk (79); V. /epida, Jordan, Roxburgh (80), Berwick (81), Kincardine (91), S. Aberdeen (92), Elgin (95), Easterness (96), Westerness (97), Argyle (98), East Ross (106); V7. dwtea, Huds. (including var. amana), Dumfries (72), Selkirk (79), Stirling (86), M. Perth (88), E. Perth (89), Forfar (90), S. Aberdeen (92), Westerness (97), Argyle (98), V. Curtisit, Forster (including Pesneauz and subulosa), S. Aberdeen (92), Clyde Isles (100), Mid Ebudes (103), W. Sutherland (108), Caithness (109). CURRENT LITERATURE. The Titles and Purport of Papers and Notes relating to Scottish Natural History which have appeared during the Quarter—October-December 1909. [The Editors desire assistance to enable them to make this Section as complete as possible. Contributions on the lines indicated will be most acceptable, and will bear the initials of the Contributor. The Editors will have access to the sources of information undermentioned. ] ZOOLOGY. NoTES ON THE SUMMER BIRDS OF SHISKIN, ARRAN, 1909. T. Thornton Mackeith. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. 11. No. 1 (Nov. 1909), pp. 20-24. Eighty-eight species are recorded. THE Srock-Dove (CoLtumBA cNas, LINN.) IN THE CLYDE Area. Robert S. and Hugh W. Wilson. Z%e Glasgow Naturalist, vol. i, pt. iv. (Sept. 1909), pp. ror-110. Gives a summary of the distribution of this species in the various counties. Hoopor (Upupa Epops) IN LANARKSHIRE. Geo. W. Campbell. The Glasgow Naturalist, vol. i. pt. iv. (Sept. 1909), p. 145. Speci- men picked up near Leadhills on June 1, 1909. FULMAR (FULMARUS GLACIALIS) IN AYRSHIRE AND FIFE. John Paterson. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. i. pt. iv. (Sept. 1909), p. 145. Specimen picked up dead on July 4, 1909, on the shore between King’s Barns and Cambo. 60 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Quail (COTURNIX COMMUNIS) IN AYRSHIRE AND Fire. John Paterson. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. i. pt. iv. (Sept. 1909), p. 145. A note on the occurrence of this species near Ayr and at Crail. RurFr, SPOTTED REDSHANK, AND BLACK-TAILED GODWIT IN East RENFREW. John Robertson. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. i. pt. iv. (Sept. 1909), p. 146. Notes on the occurrence of these species in August and September 1909. THE Bar-TaILeD Gopwirt (Limosa Lapponica) IN East REn- FREW. John Robertson. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. ii. No. 1 (Nov. 1909). Specimen seen in September 1909 at Waulkmill Glen Dam. SHORT SUN-FISH (ORTHAGORISCUS MOLA) IN AYRSHIRE WATERS. John Paterson. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. ii. No. 1 (Noy. 1909), p. 30. A specimen, measuring 4 feet long by 5 feet 3 inches, captured in South Ayrshire waters in October 1909. NOTES FROM INVERNESS-SHIRE, 1909. R. Meldola. Lxtomologist, November 1909, pp. 283-284. Notes on twenty species of Lepi- doptera taken at Onich in August. A SPECIES OF THE NOCTUIDA NEW TO ScIENCE. Richard South. Lxtomologist, October 1909, p. 258. This species, supposed to be new, but as yet undescribed, was taken by Mr. Esson at sugar, on a fir-tree near Aberdeen. EVerrRiA (RETINIA) RESINELLA, L., CAPTURED IN THE IMAGINAL STATE. Eustace R. Bankes. xz. Mo. Mag., November 1909, p- 259. Records several specimens taken in Rothiemurchus Forest, Inverness-shire, June 1907 and 1908. THREE NEW BriTIsH COLEOPTERA. Norman H. Joy, M.R.CS., F.ES. £xt. Mo. Mag., December 1909, pp. 268 and 269. The species are Epipeda nigricans, Thoms., and Pityogenes trepanatus, Noerdl., taken at Blair Atholl, and Lathrobium dilutum, Erichs, from the side of Loch Ericht and the river Truim, at Dalwhinnie. SOME CRITICAL REMARKS ON THE GENUS RaBocERUS, MUL- SANT : WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SPECIES. By David Sharp, M.A., F.R.S. Zyxt. Mo. Mag., November 1909, pp. 245-247. R. bishopi described as a new species, from Grantown, Elginshire. A FirtH PRoTEINus In Britain. David Sharp, M.A., F.R.S. Lint. Mo. Mag., December 1909, pp. 267-268. PP. crenulatus, Pandellé, taken at Nethy Bridge in 1906 and 1907. MYRMECOPHILOUS NOTES FOR 1909. H. St. J. K. Donis- thorpe, F.Z.S.,'F.E.S. Ent. Record, Nov. 1909, p. 257. Nests of Formica rufa race pratensis, Forel, described from Nethy Bridge, with a list of their coleopterous inmates. CURRENT LITERATURE 61 THREE SPECIES OF DIPTERA NEW TO THE BritTIsH List. J. R. Malloch. Zt. Mo. Mag., October 1909, p. 234. Records Cnemacantha muscaria, Fln., and Pegomyia seitenstettensis, Strobl, from Bonhill, Dumbartonshire, and Eccoptomera ornata, Ler., from Oxford. ON THE BRITISH SPECIES OF PHORA. John H. Wood, M.B. Ent. Mo. Mag., October and November 1909, pp. 240-244. P. brunneipennis, Costa, recorded from Logie, near Forres, and P. pulicaria, Fln., from the north of Scotland. A FEW INSECTS FROM BRAEMAR. W. J. Lucas. £xdomologist, November 1909, p. 282. Records seven species of Neuroptera and Trichoptera taken by Dr. David Sharp in June of the present year. RAPHIDIA MACULICOLLIS (NEUROPTERA). W. J. Lucas. xto- mologist, October 1909, p. 259. Records a female pupa taken by Dr. David Sharp at Braemar. ON THE GENUS PHOXOCEPHALUS. Alexander Patience. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. i. pt. iv. (Sept. 1909), pp. 116-134, pls. ili. and iv. and 6 figs. In this paper notes are given of Scottish localities. PRELIMINARY DESCRIPTION OF A NEW BRITISH AMPHIPOD, Is#A ELMHIRSTI, sP, Ww. Alexander Patience. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. i. pt. iv. (Sept. 1909), pp. 134-135. Described from a specimen taken in the Firth of Clyde. On A NEW BritisH MarINnE AmpuHipop. Alexander Patience. The Glasgow Naturalist, vol. 11. No. 1 (Nov. 1909), pp. 16-19, pls. i. and ii. A more detailed description of Iszea elmhirsti, of which a preliminary notice was given in the same journal (see preceding reference). It is also recorded here from off the coast of St. Andrews. A SPECIMEN OF LIGULA SIMPLICISSIMA, RUDOLPHI ; WITH NOTES ON THE LIFE-HISTORY OF THE LIGULIN®. J. F. Gemmill, M.A., M.D. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. ii. No. 1 (Nov. 1909), pp. 6-12. The minnow, within which the Ligula was taken, was captured near Greenock on May 22, rgo9. THE FRESH-WATER POLYZOON CRISTATELLA MUCEDO FROM KitmaLcoLtmM. W. Cameron Davidson. Zhe Glasgow Naturalist, vol. ii. No. 1 (Nov. 1909), pp. 15-16. CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS A MONOGRAPH OF THE BRITISH AND IrRIsH OLIGOCHZTA. Rowland Southern. voc. Roy. Lrish Acad., vol. xxvii. Sect. B., No. 8 (April 1909). Records are given of a number of Scottish species, including two new to science, colle by Mr. W. Evans in the Forth Area. 62 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Some British EARrtTH-MITES. C. F. George. Zhe Naturalist, 1909. Several new species of Zrombidude are described in these articles from specimens collected by Mr. W. Evans in the Forth Area. BOTANY. First RECORDS OF BRITISH FLOWERING PLants. By W. A. Clarke, F.L.S., Journ. Bot., 1909, pp. 413-416. A supplement to Author’s previous comprehensive work. The only Scottish species referred to are Cerastium alpinum, L. and Callitriche autumnalis, L. Tue BritisH Pansies. By E. Drabble, D.Sc., F.L.S. Supple- ment to Journ. Bot., Oct. and Dec. 1909, 32 pages, and plates 500- 501. A full discussion of the forms in the group dZe/anzum, with descriptions of 23 British “ species” and “ varieties ” and 3 “hybrids,” and illustrations of these on 2 plates. The distribution in Britain of these forms is given as far as the author has seen specimens. THYMUS SPATHULATUS, Opiz., IN Britain. By G. Claridge Druce. Journ. Bot., pp. 384-385. Mentions distribution of the forms glaber, Mill., ovatus, Mill., and precox, Opiz., in Scotland as shown by specimens. TORTULA ACIPHYLLA IN Britain. By W. E. Nicholson. /ourn. Bot., 1909, Pp. 374-375, on boulders above Loch-na-chat, Ben Lawers. BOOK NOTICES. A TREATISE ON ZOOLOGY. Edited by Sir Ray Lankester, K.C.B., M.A., LL.D., F.R.S. Pt. ix. Vertebrata Craniata (Cyclostomes and Fishes). By ©. S. Goodrich, M.A., F.R.S. (London: A. & Cc, Black, 1909.) The present contribution to this important series treats of the two most primitive Classes of the Vertebrata, the Lampreys and their allies, and the true Fishes. As the first volume treating of Vertebrates, it opens with a definition and description of the lead- ing characters of these most important members of the animal kingdom. The remainder of the Part deals with, in their systematic sequence, the various Orders and their numerous component F amilies, recent and fossil, concerning which a great amount of information is afforded of a technical nature, on the essential characters and anatomical peculiarities of each of these major and minor groups. In addition to taxonomic definitions, information is furnished relating to their distribution in space and time, and some reference is made to life-histories. Like the predecessors of the series noticed in this Magazine, it is a learned and able exposition on its subject, and is BOOK NOTICES 63 a most valuable addition to the library of the advanced student in natural science. The volume is profusely illustrated by excellent diagrams and figures, which cannot fail to be of considerable service to the reader. EcypTIAN Birps. Painted and described by Charles Whymper. (London: Published by A. & C. Black. Price 20s.) Among the painters of bird life, Mr. Whymper’s name has long been much appreciated, but never has he been in more charming combination as author and artist than in this volume on Egyptian birds. In the modest preface, it is intimated that this book is for the amateur and not the scientist, but every ornithologist will congratulate the author on a production which meets perfectly the wants of numbers of British visitors to Egypt who are interested in bird-life. To such the book will undoubtedly add a new interest to their tour, for the wealth of bird life in that mysterious land is both rich and varied. Hitherto there has been only one standard volume available, ‘‘A Handbook to the Birds of Egypt,” by Captain C. E. Shelley (1872), and as this is now ‘out of print” and somewhat costly, Mr. Whympers work comes as a boon to the wandering bird-lover. Not only is the traveller provided for, but also the naturalist who has perforce to stay at home, for the reader of Mr. Whymper’s “ Egyptian Birds” will be able to enter into every ramble the author describes so well, and may behold in his charming representations many of the birds depicted in their native haunts. Mr. Whymper proves himself to be a most careful and accurate observer, and his work abounds in details of the varied habits of each bird treated of. The numerous coloured illustrations are all singularly beautiful, and seeing that they all attain to a high degree of excellence it would perhaps be invidious to select any particular one for special praise. A word of praise is also due to the publishers for producing the book in such a suitable and pleasing form, a special feature being the lightness of the volume, which is unusual in a work illustrated with 51 coloured plates. In an appendix the author gives a useful annotated list of 356 different Egyptian birds. This will prove most useful to ornithologists visiting the country. That it is up-to-date and accurate is vouched for by the fact that Mr. M. J. Nicol is mainly responsible for it, and there is no better authority. G. G.-M. A GUIDE TO THE NaTuURAL History OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. Edited by Frank Morey, F.L.S. Pp. xx+560. The County Press, Newport, 1909. Price 8s. 6d. net. In this useful work, which contains a “series of contributions by specialists relating to the various branches of Natural History and kindred subjects,” Mr. Morey has made a painstaking and 64 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY exceedingly valuable effort to show the present state of our know- ledge regarding the plant and animal inhabitants of the Isle of Wight. In addition to the lists of species, of which the book is necessarily in great part composed (several of which are illustrated by excellent photographic reproductions of the rarer animals), space has been found for interesting chapters on the Geology and on the Meteorology of the island, and on Discoveries of Paleolithic Implements. ‘That much good work has been done, this book, with its records of 6982 plants and animals, clearly shows. It must be invaluable to students of the natural history of the area with which it deals, and to workers interested in the distribution of British animals. For the encouragement of the former the meagre lists of several groups, particularly amongst the marine inverte- brates, make clear that much important work still remains to be accomplished. THE HOME-LIFE OF A GOLDEN EAGLE. Photographed and described by H. B. Macpherson. With 32 mounted plates. (London: Witherby & Co. Price 5s.) All who are interested in our native birds will read with interest Mr. H. B. Macpherson’s account of the domestic life of a Golden Eagle. The history of the young bird is given until the point when it leaves the nest and sallies forth on the wing in company with the elder birds. The author, who has noted every detail and depicted most of them, first visited the eyrie on 23rd April, on which date he found two eggs; these were hatched on 3rd May. From henceforth a careful and most instructive account is given of the habits and movements of the eaglet and its parents. The illustrations (32 in number) which supplement the observations are really a triumph in bird photography, and for excellence and clearness of detail they could not be surpassed. Such a record of the home-life of the most romantic of our British birds can only be got at the expense of immense personal labour and fatigue, and naturalists, knowing the wild nature of its Highland home, will fully appreciate the author’s heroic efforts and untiring patience, and congratulate him on his marvellous success. A word of credit is also due to the publisher, for though the price of this little volume is very modest, yet the general “‘get-up” leaves nothing to be desired. G. G.-M vg008 BSL, ‘sf 2ea CY LIBRARY Z\ QO > The Annals base of Scottish Natural History No. 74] 1910 [ APRIL tie. BIRDS, OF FAIR ISLE—V.’ REPORT ON OBSERVATIONS MADE DURING THE VYRAR 1900: By Wm. EaGLeE Ciarke, F.R.S.E., F.L.S. As a full and particular account of Birds of Fair Isle, based upon all the data which have been amassed during the past five years, is about to be published, it is only necessary, following precedent, to do little more than allude to the species, few in number, which were added to the avifauna in the year 1909. As I have said the novelties are few in number, namely, six. But this is not surprising, for the ornis of this small island had reached the remarkable total of 185 species at the close of 1908, and it was not to be expected that this number could be materially increased as the result of a single year’s investigations. One of the new birds, however, the White-spotted Bluethroat, is a most interesting species to have obtained, apart from its great rarity as a British bird. A number of uncommon species, previously recorded, re- newed their visits in 1909, and in all 122 species were observed as migrants during the year; of these 91 species were observed during the spring movements, 96 during the autumn, and 70 were common to both seasons. These statistics, though quite remarkable and satisfactory, 74 B 66 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY show a slight falling off as compared with those for 1908. This is, no doubt, due to the fact that George Stout, my trusty observer, left the island in January. His younger brother, Stewart, took his place on the 1st April, and carried on the work successfully, and to my entire satisfaction, until his departure in October ; so that practically six months’ observa- tions (fortunately not at the height of the season) were lost during the year. I again spent several weeks on the island at both seasons, devoting all my time to the investigations, and during the autumn I had the aid of George Stout. The Duchess of Bedford visited the island in spring and again in autumn, spending some time and contributing materially to the records. I have to gratefully acknowledge Her Grace’s kindness in affording me facilities for reaching the island on the occasion of both my visits. A pleasant duty remains to be discharged. I have to express my sincere thanks to Robert Bruce, Esq., for the privilege which allowed me to visit all parts of the island, and to collect such specimens as were required for the in- vestigations ; to the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses for permission to reside in the Lighthouses ; and to their secretary, C. Dick Peddie, Esq., for his kind co-operation. Nor must I forget the acknowledgments due to Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, and Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, who made me most comfortable during my residence in the Lighthouses. While to my many good friends among the Fair Islanders I have to express my indebtedness for allowing me to search their crofts—the best observing grounds in the isle. The following are the species added to the fauna during the year :— 186. Common CrosssiLL, ZLoxia curvirostra.— As reference has already been made (“ Annals,” 1909, p. 215; and 1910, p. 54) to the remarkable visitation of this species to the island during the past summer, it is not necessary to repeat the statements here. They were, however, of considerable interest, and it may be remarked that more birds were seen on Fair Isle than in any other similar area in the British Islands. Since I wrote my previous notes, I have critically examined the Crossbills obtained at Fair Isle, Suleskerry, Unst, and Barra (Outer Hebrides) ; eleven specimens in all. Every one THE BIRDS OF FAIR ISLE 67 of these is remarkable for the slenderness of its bill, when compared with Continental examples at my disposal. This marked peculiarity leads me to believe that these birds, which are of all ages, belong to a particular race; and the fact that at both Fair Isle and the Flannans adult males of the Two- Barred Crossbill were shot from the ranks of the invading birds, indicates, I think, that the two specics were travelling companions from acommon area. As the ‘l'wo-Barred species is confined to the far northern and north-eastern pine forests of Europe (and of Siberia), it is possible that this slender- billed race of the Common Crossbill may also be a native of those regions. 187. WHITE-SPOTTED BLUETHROAT, Cyanecula cyanecula.— Fore- 188. 189. Igo. MO Ire most in interest among the captures of the year is that of an adult male in full plumage of this beautiful species. Not only is it new to the birds that have occurred at Fair Isle, but it is an addition to the Scottish Fauna, and is the fourth example known to have visited the British Islands. Fair Isle, too, marks the Ultima Thule of the known wander- ings of this Central European summer bird. PINK-FOOTED GoosE, Anser brachyrhynchus.—A nuamber of these birds appeared during the wild weather which pre- vailed from the 7th to the 18th of October. One of these was shot, and the identity of the wary visitors satisfactorily established. This bird would appear, strange to say, to be also an addition to the avifauna of Shetland, though it must be an annual bird of passage there. BERNACLE GoosE, Jernicla leucopsis.—Several single birds were seen at intervals during the first three months of the year, and two were shot ; the head of one of these I received for identification. BRENT Goose, Bernicla berniclan—An injured bird was captured in a voe on the east side of the island in October. This I had the satisfaction of examining. Grey PHALAROPE, Phalaropus fulicarius.—Single birds ap- peared on two occasions, during the earliest days of the year, and one of these was obtained and sent tome. These are interesting records, since they indicate that the species was spending the winter not very far away. In conclusion it may be remarked that a pair of White Wagtails reared their brood on the island during the past summer (the first time in Scotland, so far as I know) ; and that the Siskin was remarkable for the numbers in which it appeared in the autumn. 68 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY SCOTTISH, HERONRIES, PAST AND VERSE Mae SUPPLEMENTARY TO LIST IN THE “ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY,” OCTOBER 1908, Pps 2LS-2 3. By Hucu Boyp Watt, M.B.O.U. INFORMATION which has been received from correspondents and from the pages of the “ Annals,’ and other sources, enables the corrections and additions summarised below to be made in the list referred to. As was anticipated by the writer some further names should have been starred as extinct nesting-places, and these are marked * below. The large proportion of names now starred under “Tweed,” and also some of those under “ Forth,’ is due to an omission in marking certain names, which were obtained from Mr. Muirhead’s “Birds of Berwickshire” (vol. i. 1895). The names of my informants are given with each item, and I again beg to express my thanks and obligations to them. CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS -1O.LIsrT. DEE. *Banchory Lodge, up to 1864, then removed to Blackhall (‘‘Zoologist,” 1872, p. 3266)—[100 to 150 yards farther west. —J. A. H.-B.] *Binn Hill of Cairnie, near Huntly, tradition, 40 years ago.—Mr. A. M‘Donald, Durris. Pitfour House, 3 or 4 nests, when last seen over Io years ago.— Rev. Wm. Serle. Tay. *Lawers.—Mr. W. E. Frost. Loch Ba, Black Mount, 9 to 12 nests.—Mr. Chas. H. Alston. Loch Freuchie, Amulree, number of nests not known.—Mr. W. E. Frost. *Monzie, never more than one nest.—Mr. W. E. Frost. 1 [In what kind of ground, or wood, do Herons nest at Loch Freuchie >— (eS ole ei) SCOTTISH HERONRIES, PAST AND PRESENT 69 FortTHu. Information given by the Rey. William Serle and Mr. William Evans causes the majority of the names in this area to be starred, viz. :— * Alloa Woods. *Loch Leven. *Binning Wood (abandoned for *Menteith, Lake of (?). Tyninghame—see below). *Old Polmaise. * Callander. *Saltheugh. *Dalkeith Palace. *Siccar Point. * Dollar. SVester *Dunglass Dean. Tyninghame, about 20 pairs *Gartmorn Dam. nesting. *och Chon. On Mr. Evans’s (“ Annals,” 1909, p. 116) authority there are only four’ nesting-places now in this large central area, viz.: Blair Drummond, Donibristle, Tulliallan (Brucefield), and Tyninghame, a deplorable state of affairs. TWEED. *Calroust. *Marchmont, Polwarth, *Circle Plantation. *March Wood. *Clarabad Dam. * Nesbit. *Foulden. * Paxton. Mr. A. H. Evans corroborates most of the above as extinct. ARGYLL AND THE INNER HEBRIDES. Aros House, Mull (small)—Mr. D. M‘Donald, Tobermory. Burgh or Gribun (ought not to be marked as extinct).—Mr. D. M‘Donald, Tobermory. *(?) Islay House (near), (“ Zoologist, day information. [Iona, named in error as a nesting-place in the “ Zoologist,” 1872, p. 3268, by a misreading of an observation in Gray’s ‘“ Birds of the West of Scotland.” ] Killiechronan, Mull (small).—Mr. D. M‘Donald, Tobermory. *Rum, one nest, 1869.—Gray’s ‘ Birds of the West of Scotland.” ” 1872, p. 3268). No present- SOLWAY. *Mochrum Loch. In an undated “ Description of the Sheriffdom of Wigtoun by Sir Andrew Agnew of Lachnaw and David Dumbar of Baldoon” printed in Macfarlane’s ‘Geographical Collections Relating to Scot- land,” Vol. III. p. 129, 1908 (Scottish History Society), it is stated 70 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY that ‘‘in the Loch of Mochrome, there are bred a number of herons and wild Geese with other Fowls.” This is the only reference to herons nesting in the three volumes of these ‘“‘ Geographical Collec- tions,” the contents of which cover a period of about 200 years beginning about the middle of the sixteenth century, and in which there are many curious natural history items. Judging by these records, in earlier days mermaids were of more frequent occurrence in Scotland than heronries. But perhaps it is more correct to con- sider the mermaids as supernatural. Pat AMERICAN BITTERN IN SCOTEAND, By Hue S. GLapsrone, M.A., E.Z.S., F.R.S.E, MR. J.. A. HARVIE-BROWN recently drew my attention to a record of the American Bittern (Lotaurus lentiginosus) in Ayrshire in 1848. In looking through a large quarto scrap- book entitled J7/cscellanea Zoologica, formerly belonging to the late Sir William Jardine, and now in his possession, Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown came across a cutting from the Dumfries Herald of 24th February 1848, quoting the Ayr Observer as to the recent occurrence of this rare bird in that county. Reference to the newspaper files at the British Museum resulted in my finding the following in the issue of Tuesday, 21st February (szc) 1848. (The real date should have been Tuesday, 22nd February, 1848.) THE AMERICAN BITTERN.—“ A very beautiful specimen of that rare bird the American Bittern has been brought to our office by Thomas Logan, gamekeeper to the Marquis of Ailsa. The bird, which is stuffed, and in fine preservation, was lately shot by the gamekeeper at Loch Martnaham. When killed, the stomach of the Bittern contained no less than NINE LARGE PERCH !—certainly a very good meal. “This kind of bird is very rare in Scotland; the only specimen known is one which was killed, in 1844 on the Moor near the residence of Sir William Jardine, in Dumfries- shire, and is preserved in his collection. This species, we find, is well known to American naturalists, and is found at THE AMERICAN BITTERN IN SCOTLAND 71 different seasons of the year from Hudson’s Bay to Carolina. It has various names in different States; such as Indian Pullet, Indian Hen, and Dunkadoo ;—a word, says Wilson, probably imitative of its common note. In the markets of New Orleans, Audubon tells us, it is bought in autumn by the poorer classes to make gombo soup. “In its habits and in its voice, it bears considerable re- semblance to our common Bittern. It makes its nest in swamps, laying four cinereous green eggs, according to Hutchins, among the long grass. The young are said to be at first black. Audubon says the egg of this bird measures two inches in length, by one inch and a half, and is ofa broadly oval shape, rather pointed at the end, and of a uniform dull olivaceous tint. Wilson says also of the American Bittern, that when fat it is considered by many to be excellent eating. A gentleman who saw the bird at our office, and who once shot one of the same species in Ireland, confirms this statement of the eminent ornithologist. The stomach is usually filled with fish and frogs. Dr. Richardson says, ‘it is a common bird in the marshes and willow thickets of the far countries up to the 58th parallel. Its loud booming—exactly resembling that of the Common Bittern of Europe—may be heard every summer evening, and also during the day. When disturbed, it utters a hollow, croaking cry.’ “Comparing the specimen shot by the Marquis of Ailsa’s gamekeeper with the description given of the American Bit- tern, in Yarrell’s ‘ History of British Birds, there is a perfect identity of appearance. The whole length of the bird is about twenty-seven inches ; and from the carpal joint to the end of the wing, eleven inches and a half. The beak is brownish yellow ; from the forehead, before, over and behind the eye, a stretch of light yellow-brown ; wing-coverts, rich brown ; upper tail-coverts, buff, freckled with two shades of brown ;_ tail-feathers, almost uniform reddish brown ; chin and front of the neck, a mixture of white, buff, and dark brown in streaks; ear-coverts and a line descending there- from, yellow-brown ; between this and the throat in front, an elongated descending streak of black; breast and belly buff—each feather with an elongated brown central 72 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY patch. The legs and toes are of a greenish brown colour. “ Altogether, it is a fine-looking bird, and decidediy nobler in appearance than the native breeds which haunt our fens and water-meadows. It has been, we understand, forwarded to Culzean Castle.” The Earl of Cassillis writes me from Culzean Castle (zz “itt. 19, xii. 1909) :—“ There are three Bitterns here, .. . one shotving1871 or 18725 another later; and the ‘third shot in Albania by my father. . . . There is nothing here of the American Bittern you wrote me about, as shot in 1848.” This occurrence is not mentioned by Robert Gray in his “Birds of Ayrshire and Wigtownshire,” 1869, nor in his “Birds of the West of Scotland,’ 1871. Howard Saunders does not refer to it in his “ Manual of British Birds,’ 1899 ; nor does Mr. J. E. Harting in his “ Handbook of British Birds,” 1go1. It is possible, however, that this record may not have been unknown to these authorities; but may have been purposely disregarded by them for some good reason of which I am not aware. There can be no doubt that the American Bitterns which have visited Scotland have been aided in their passage across the Atlantic by vessels of some sort plying between America and Great Britain ; and the following list has been compiled of all recorded occurrences of this species in Scotland :— I 1844 | Mid October Dinwiddie, Killed on the Dinwiddie Dumfriesshire Moors near Jardine Hall. The specimen was in Sir William Jardine’s collec- tion, but I have been unable to trace its sub- sequent fate. It was certainly not included in the collection of British Birds sold to the Edin- burgh Museum in 1876; and I could not trace it in Messrs. Puttick and Simpson’s sale catalogue of Sir William’s birds on the 17th June, 1886. THE AMERICAN BITTERN IN SCOTLAND 1847-8 Winter 1854 November Loch Martnaham, Balgownie Links, 73 Ayrshire Shot by a _ gamekeeper. Cannot now be traced. Aberdeenshire Shot by Colonel William Now in the Museum, Fraser. University Aberdeen. 1862 Autumn 25th March (a remarkable 1873 date for the occurrence of this species in Great Britain) Latheron-wheel, Caithness Drumlanrig, Dumfriesshire Shot by Mr. F. S. Bentley Shot Innes. I have not been able to trace this speci- men. It certainly never was ‘‘In Mus. Roy. Phys. Soc., Edinburgh ?” (Harting, fandbook Brit. Birds, 1901, p. 448). This Society has not a museum, and never has had one. by a Gamekeeper. Stuffed by William Hope ; Edinburgh. Now in the collection of Mr. J. H. Gurney of Keswick Hall, Norwich ; where I saw it in 1908. | 1875 |End of October 1888 About December Islay, Argyllshire Shot by a visitor to the Island. Stuffed by Mac- Culloch of Glasgow, ‘‘but has been quite lost sight of since” (‘* Vert. Fauna of Argyll,” etc., 1892, p. IIQ). Lochnabo, Pit- gavenny, Elgin A male, shot by an under- keeper. Identified by Capt. Dunbar - Brander, who writes :— ‘* The head - keeper at Innes (Dempster) got the bird stuffed. When he left it was sold at his sale, and bought by the Westerton keeper. The latter went to Ross-shire, and took the bird with him, and I tried to get it afterwards but failed.” (‘‘ Vert. Fauna of Moray Basin,” 1895, vol. ii. pp. 99-100). 74 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY The specimen recorded as having been shot about 1861, in the Pentland Hills, Midlothian, which passed into the collection of Mr. Charles Cowan of Logan House (“ Field,” 4th March 1871), is stated by Mr. William Evans to be a Common Bittern (Sotaurus stellaris) (Howard Saunders, “ Man. Brit. Birds,” 1889, p. 734). Mr. Roderick Gillies, landlord of the Imperial Hotel, Oban, has in his possession a stuffed American Bittern which he bought from his predecessor, Mr. W. MacKenzie. This bird is said to have been caught about ten years ago at sea, aboard one of the North Atlantic liners, and cannot, therefore, be included in the list of the occurrences of this species in Scotland. For the compilation of the above facts, I have to thank not only Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown, but also Mr. T. N. Johnston, Mr. A. Landsborough Thomson, the Earl of Cassillis, and Mr. Roderick Gillies. THE SUPPOSED EGGS OF THE WOOD-SAND- PIPER (TOTANUS GLAREOLA) TAKEN IN ELGINSHIRE IN 1853. By Wituiam Evans, F.R.S.E. WITH reference to my note in this magazine for 1899 (p. 14), calling attention to Thurnall’s record of finding a nest of the Wood-Sandpiper (7otanus glareola) in Elginshire, on 23rd May 1853, I think it right to make known the following communications which I subsequently received from the late Professor Alfred Newton on the subject. On 6th July 1901, Professor Newton wrote me from Magdalene College, Cambridge, as follows :—‘“I have had occasion to look over some bundles of old letters, written to me by my late brother Edward while he was at this college, and among them I have found the enclosures I herewith send, which may have some interest for you in regard to the letters which passed between us some two years ago, concerning the supposed eggs of the Wood-Sandpiper alleged THE SUPPOSED EGGS OF THE WOOD-SANDPIPER 75 to have been found in Scotland by the late Mr. Charles Thurnall. “T will only add that few, if any, men had a better eye for a bird’s egg than my brother, and that he was at the time perfectly familiar with eggs of the Wood-Sandpiper, for some dozens, not to say scores, of specimens obtained in Holland had passed through our hands, or been under our inspection, between 1848 and 1853—the year in which he wrote these letters.” Extracts from the enclosures referred to. I. From letter dated 7th Nov. 1853—‘“ Thurnall only told me about finding the nests of the two Dotterels and the Wood-Sandpiper ; the former were done by watching the old birds on, and the latter he happened to find when he was walking with some ladies on a Sunday. He saw the bird get up, and he was quite certain that it was not the Common Sandpiper ; he did not like to leave the eggs as there was a boy near; it was in a birch wood, by the side of a stream, and the nest was under a dead bough.” 2. From letter dated 23rd Nov. 1853—‘“I had a most successful day yesterday, not that I got much out of Thurnall, but he was very jolly and good natured. He had given all his Grasshopper Warbler eggs away except one, which I did not like to ask for; he gave me four Goldfinch’s. He has three Dotterel’s and two Wood-Sandpiper’s: the former are very nice eggs, the latter I do not like at all, and between you, me, and the post are only yfoleucos, their only likeness to g/areola is in the shape and disposition of the blotches, but in colour and size they are “ypoleucos, and I have very little doubt that they are only the latter ; he says himself that he is not certain that the bird had a white rump, but what struck him was that the bird was spotted like g/areola.” In a further letter to me dated 19th July 1901, Professor Newton added—“ It is only a question of opinion against opinion ; but I have not a doubt that my brother’s was right, and that the bird seen by Thurnall was only 7. hypoleucus. If it had been, as he imagined, 7. g/areola he would hardly 76 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY have failed to notice the white rump which is so very conspicuous a character, though he was evidently not aware Olnits These interesting letters certainly shake one’s confidence in the authenticity of the eggs in question, Bond’s belief in them notwithstanding. I should say that I had Professor Newton’s sanction to publish these extracts from his brother’s letters, but delayed doing so in the hope that he might have been induced to send them to the “ Annals” himself. DHE: AQUATIC COLEOPTERA OF -Tiik MID-EBUDES. By Frank Batrour-Browne, M.A. (Oxon.), F.R.S.E., F.Z.S. In the county and vice-county divisions of Great Britain adopted by the late H. C. Watson in his “ Cybele Britannica,” the western islands of Scotland are arranged into groups of which Mull, Coll, and Tiree and the Treshnish Islands constitute the Mid-Ebudes. So far almost no collecting seems to have been done in the division, and all the records which I have been able to obtain—which only refer to 14 species—are for the island of Mull. It is this scarcity of records which has led me to write this paper, which is only a preliminary one, since it is founded upon four days’ collecting in the island of Coll and two days in Mull in the Tobermory district last August. I understand that Tiree differs considerably from Coll as to its soil, and that, whereas Coll is largely shallow peat, there is little or no peat in Tiree which is largely covered with sand, and this difference alone will almost certainly mean a difference in the water-beetle fauna. Coll is a low treeless island lying about 7 miles west of Mull. It is about 13 miles long and 5 miles wide at its broadest part. It consists of innumerable hummocks of gneissic rock largely devoid of vegetation, and the highest point on the island is only 339 feet above sea-level. The island lies in a N.E. and S.W. direction, and Tiree, which THE AQUATIC COLEOPTERA OF THE MID-EBUDES 77 has apparently at some time been joined to it, as the channel between the two is narrow and shallow, continues the line to the south-west. Along the side exposed to the N.W. are several patches of sand-dunes. The hollows between the hummocks of rock are apparently filled with boulder clay, and in parts, especially towards the south-western end where the ground has been drained, there is excellent grazing land, but the greater part of the island is covered with shallow* peat in which are innumerable small pools where Sphagnum and Eriophorum are the dominant plants. On the island, therefore, the “ peat-moss” or “oxylophil ” fauna is dominant, but some species of this group are absent owing to the absence of high ground. Other species of the group are absent or very rare owing to the majority of the peat pools being very shallow. For instance, //ydzus anescens, Thoms., was only found in a few deep holes near the road to the south end of Arinagour, holes which had been dug to provide ballast for the road. Dytescus punctulatus, F., only occurred in one or two deep holes, as did also Agabus chalconotus, Panz. The shallowness of the peat accounts for the absence of deep holes at the peat-cuttings, so that even the dominant group of the water-beetle fauna is not fully represented. One or two ditches and pools in the sandy regions produced members of the typical freshwater-marsh fauna, such as Hydroporus umbrosus, Gyll.; palustris, L.; Colymbetes fuscus, L., etc., while one or two small streams on the same ground produced Hydroporus discretus, Fairm.,' and Agabus 1 T have several times been asked as to the characters by which I separate A. discretus, Fairm., from H. nigrita, F., on the one hand, and 77. pudescens, Gyll., on the other. From A. xzgrita it is at once separated by the sculpture of the elytra. In A. xégrita these are punctured, but the whole surface is dull owing to its being covered with fine reticulations. (It is described by Fowler and others as being finely coriaceous.) From the punctures arise fine short hairs, but these are so inconspicuous that the insect appears to be glabrous. In /. déscretus, the elytra are punctured, the punctures being set perhaps a little closer together than in H. nxégrita, but the general surface is smooth and shining. From the punctures, however, long hairs arise so that the insect is evidently pubescent. The form of H. discretus, which somewhat resembles that of 7. nzgrz¢a, is at least sufficient to make one look closely at a specimen before naming it //. pubescens, but there are better characters for distinguishing it from this latter species. In the first place in H. pebescens the prothorax is smooth between the punctures except towards the anterior border where it is marked with very fine reticulations ; 78 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY paludosus, ¥. These latter species occurred in slowly flowing ditches thick with myosotis or nasturtium, etc.; but the typical running-water fauna, e.g. Lydroporus rivalis, Gyll., and septentrionalis, Gyll.; Agabus guttatus, Payk., etc., common enough in Mull, did not occur at all, perhaps owing to the smallness of the streams. Deronectes 12-pustulatus, Ol., was fairly common in one small stream near the south end of the island, but D. depressus, F., is apparently absent. This latter species is perhaps to be regarded as a lake species as well as a river species, in fact the lake and river faunas are not readily separable, such species as Hydroporus septentrionalis, Gyll., and Platambus maculatus, L., being equally common in rivers and gravelly lochs. With regard to this latter species, its absence from Coll is perhaps not altogether attributable to the poverty of the lake and river faunas. Its distribution as at present known is somewhat peculiar. It does not occur in Ireland; on the west of Scotland it has so far not occurred north of Dumbarton and Renfrew, while on the east it has been taken in Forfar, Aberdeen S., and Easterness. It has been recorded from most of the counties of England and Wales, and is perhaps to be regarded as an eastern species which is gradually extending its range. Its absence from Ireland suggests that it is one of what Dr. Scharff’ calls the “ Siberian” group, and the absence of records from the Isle of Man, Arran, Mull, and Coll suggests that it had not reached the western shores of England and Scotland at the time these islands were separated from the mainland. It must be admitted, however, that the lists of records for the Isle of Man, Arran, and Mull are at present very incomplete ! With regard to lake species, in spite of the number of small lochs, these seemed to be very scarce, Halzplus fulvus, F. and Deronectes asstmilis, Payk., being the only representatives I found. Loch Cliad, where there was plenty of what in 7. discretus this marking extends much farther over the prothorax, sometimes to the posterior border. In AZ. pubescens, again, the sternite of the last visible abdominal segment is smooth and shining between the punctures, while in fT. discretus it is reticulately marked. I may also add that in A, planus, F., the last abdominal sternite is marked as in, déscretus, so that is a good character for separating small specimens of H. planus from H. pubescens | 1 ©The History of the European Fauna,’ ‘*‘ Contemp. Sci. Series,” 1899. THE AQUATIC COLEOPTERA OF THE MID-EBUDES 79 seemed to be suitable ground, failed to produce either Ceclambus g-lineatus, Steph., or Deronectes depressus, F. The halophil fauna is apparently absent from Coll. In the brackish pools in the sea-turf at Aringour, Hydroporus fituratus, F.. and planus, F.; BEEBY.,~ Fas: By Rev. Epwarp S. MarsHaLL, M.A., F.L.S. READERS of the “Scottish Naturalist” and its present successor will hardly need to be told that the sudden death, on 4th January, of the subject of this memoir, aged sixty, is a very serious loss to British Botany generally, and more particularly to that of Scotland; as, for many years past, his annual summer holidays had been spent in a careful and systematic study of the Flora of Shetland, and the results have been, from time to time, published in these pages. To the present writer, who is indebted to him for much help, especially in earlier days, these appear to be models of such records, combining keen observation and the fruits of long experience with close attention to detail and the most scrupulous accuracy. Beeby made his mark while still a very young man ; and he continued to add to our plant-knowledge, even after failing health had befallen him. The earliest Shetland paper from his pen known to me appeared in 1887; his discoveries there included several “first notices” of plants as British, besides the species and varieties described by himself. So far as I am aware, his only collections on the Scottish mainland were made near Aberdeen; but he was 75 B 130 ANNALS ‘OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY keenly interested in the plants of North Britain, as well as of the Faeroes, Iceland, and Scandinavia, and he corresponded regularly with such students as Ostenfeld, Dahlstedt, etc. Many years ago he attended a botanical congress at (I think) Upsala; and the few excursions made on that occasion probably led up to his work in our “ Ultima Thule For a long time I was in regular correspondence with him about the projected “Flora of Surrey,” which his business engagements as a bank official and his other occupations unfortunately prevented him from completing ; and I know how thoroughly he explored even the least attractive parts of that county, making full lists of the commonest, as well as of the rarer and more interesting plants; so that in some cases he had noted up to 300 occurrences of a single species! All doubtful specimens were examined under the microscope, in the use of which he was remarkably proficient; and this practice accounts for the fact that his matured opinion about any given form was very seldom wrong. Personally he was reserved in manner, and thus became less well known to his botanical confreres generally than any other man of equal ability with whom I have had acquaintance. In his prime he hardly knew the meaning of fatigue, and was not disheartened by the longest day’s tramp over barren ground, with little or nothing to repay his trouble. The new species and varieties from Shetland published by Beeby are as follows :—Caltha radicans, Forster, var. setlandica (this he afterwards rightly regarded as only a leaf-form); Heeraccum Schmidtiz, Tausch, var. fealense ; H. dovrense, Fr., var. Hethlandieé ; H. breve ; H. zetlandicum ; HI. demissum, Stromf., var. australius ; H. subtruncatum ; HI. strictum, Fr., var. humilius,; H. crocatum, Fr., vars. congestum and vinaceum; Taraxacum spectabile, Dahlst., subsp. Gezrhilde ; and Glyceria distans, Wahlb., var. prostrata. His other additions to the list for v.c. 112 (those which are starred being novelties for Britain, when first found) are mainly taken from Mr. Arthur Bennett’s Supplement to “Topographical Botany,” ed. 2, issued as an appendix to the “Journal of Botany,” vol. xliii. (1905) :—Ranunculus OBITUARY MEMOIR OF WILLIAM HADDON BEEBY, F.L.S. 131 Baudotit, Godr.; Cochlearia mucacea, E. S. Marshall, and *C. granlandica, L. (vera); Subularia aquatica; Brassica alba, Boiss.; Vzola sylvestris, Kit., V. canina, Fr. (erecetorum, Schrad.), and V. lutea, Huds. (this is queried); Drosera anglica, Huds.; Elatine hexandra, DC.; Sagina saginordes, Dalla Torre (sazatelis, Wimm.); Sfergularia marginata, Kittel ; Avenaria rubella, Hook.; Hypericum pulchrum, L., forma *procumbens, Rostrup (this I believe to be only a dwarf, prostrate state, due to exposure); LRadzola linozdes, Roth; ta19,;) p. 67): BERNICLA LEUCOPsIS (Barnacle Goose).—Several single birds were seen at Fair Isle during the first three months of the year, two being procured: this species is new to Fair Isle. In autumn, the first is recorded at Dunrossness (Shetland) on 23rd October, hundreds at the Flannans on several dates between 26th October and 29th November, and a flock at Tiree on 21st November. BERNICLA BRENTA (Brent Goose).—A flock of about 500 is recorded in the Cromarty Firth on 31st March, about t100 there on gth April and 60 on 3rd May. Five returned to the Dornoch Firth on 21st September, one at Dunrossness (Shetland) on the 29th, and at Fair Isle on 16th October an injured Brent was captured—this was an addition to the Fair Isle fauna. A great many in the Dornoch Firth on 6th November. CyGnus musicus (Whooper Swan).—One was found dead at Morton Loch (N.E. Fife) on 18th January. Eight at Dunrossness (Shetland) on roth October, and unusual numbers in Tiree on 8th November. C. BewIcK1 (Bewick’s Swan).—A few on Tiree on 3rd November ; very plentiful there later, throughout the winter. TADORNA CASARCA (Ruddy Sheldrake).—An adult female was obtained at Sule Skerry on 18th June, the first record for the Northern Isles (“ A.S.N.H.,” 1909, p. 247). ANAS STREPERA (Gadwall).—A pair are reported from Morton Loch (Fife) on 25th January, and on the 2oth a flock of 20-30 at the same place. A pair were seen on Bishop Loch near Glasgow on 25th April, and in June two nests containing five and seven eggs were found near a loch in S.E. Scotland (‘‘A.S.N.H.,” 1909, p. 184). A male was shot in Elginshire on 2nd November, and this duck is recorded from Tiree on the toth. DarILa acuta (Pintail).—Rather plentiful in Solway waters in the winter of 1908-9, and a male shot at the Edenmouth on 12th January. Last seen in Solway at Southerness on 28th February. MARECA PENELOPE (Wigeon).—The main body left Mull on 12th April, three were seen there on the 24th, and on the 28th the last flock is recorded from the Cromarty Firth. Two nests in E. Scotland on 22nd May with six and nine eggs respectively. A bird marked when young at Loch Brora (EK. Sutherland) on 19th June, was captured in the province of 200 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY Groningen (N.E. Holland) on 3rd September (‘ Brit. Birds,” vol. ili. p. 220). Reappeared on Linlithgow Loch on 26th August, and first seen on the Cromarty Firth two days later ; about a hundred there by 4th September. FULIGULA FERINA (Pochard).—Last seen at Kirkliston on 26th April. Returned to Kirkliston on 26th August. HARELDA GLACIALIS (Long-tailed Duck).—A good many at Balcomie (E. Fife) on 22nd April, two at Fair Isle on 1st May. In autumn one is reported as seen in East Ross on 26th September, six off Fair Isle on 14th October; when diving they remained under water sixty-six and sixty-seven seconds, An adult male at the Isle of May on the 15th, and an adult male was shot inland near Gretna (Dumfriesshire) on 2nd November (“A.S.N.H.,” 1910, p. 119). CoLuMBA NAS (Stock-Dove).—Laying at Kirkliston on 15th April, hatched about the 23rd in East Fife. About 30 pairs were nesting in ivy-covered cliffs at Shiskin (Arran). Unusual numbers in Largo Bay on gth August; and, 21st, “ parties everywhere.” TuRTUR comMMUNIS (Turtle-Dove).—A good many are reported, single birds being recorded from Kelso on 15th May, Fair Isle on 2zoth and 27th May, Syre (Sutherland) on rst July, Fair Isle on the 7th, Dunrossness (Shetland) and the Flannans on toth September. TETRAO TETRIX (Black Grouse).—A ¢ hybrid between a Blackcock and a Capercaillie hen was shot in Kincardineshire on 15th December (“‘ A.S.N.H.,” 1910, p. 120). CoTruRNIX COMMUNIS (Quail).—Heard in E. Fife at five places near Crail from 2nd to 4th July. Several pairs bred in East Lothian ; heard calling there in June and ioth July to 23rd August. CREX PRATENSIS (Corn-Crake).—Is first recorded from Beith in the West of Scotland on 18th April, and not till the 27th from the East Coast, when one was observed on the Isle of May ; at Fair Isle on the 4th May. On the return journey one was killed at the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse on 31st August, and the last record for the year comes from Fair Isle on 18th October. PoRZANA PARVA (Little Crake).—One was caught in a fishing-boat in Girvan Harbour on 29th March, the first record for Clyde (“A'S.N-H.,” £960, p..155): RaLLus aquaticus (Water-Rail).—Single birds are recorded from Fair Isle, 6th February, and as killed at the lantern, Tarbatness, on 22nd March, and at the Mull of Galloway that night and the next. By a small loch near the Butt of Lewis on 18th April, REPORT ON SCOTTISH ORNITHOLOGY IN 1909 207 and Sule Skerry 2oth June. In autumn several are noted at Fair Isle, one was killed at the lantern of the Isle of May on 16th October, and a single bird is noted from Tiree on the 24th. GALLINULA CHLOROPUS (Moorhen).—One was killed at the lantern of Davaar Lighthouse (Argyll) on 23rd February, and one is reported from the Isle of May just a month later. EUDROMIAS MORINELLUS (Dotterel).—One was found dead at Bells- hill (Lanarkshire) on 2oth April (“‘Glas. Nat.” vol. 1. p. 135). CHARADRIUS PLUVIALIS (Golden Plover).—On the hills at Beattock on 4th February. Small numbers at the Isle of May and Fair Isle on 22nd March, and 30 at the Butt of Lewis on 29th April. The return movement is first noted at Largo (Fife) on 8th July, a great many at the Cromarty Firth on 7th August, flocks arriving at Tiree on 17th September, and a number at Fair Isle on the 2oth. SQUATAROLA HELVETICA (Grey Plover).—One in’ winter dress on the Dornoch Firth, 3rd June ; fourteen at the Edenmouth on 31st August, seven being in summer plumage. VANELLUS VULGARIS (Lapwing).—A considerable movement of this species took place in March, when it was numerous at the Isle of May on the 21st, and in uncountable numbers there and at Fair Isle next day; a rush to the lantern at these places being recorded the following night. At Lerwick and Isle of May great flocks on the 23rd, and several at Sule Skerry on the 25th. About one hundred on Fair Isle on 6th October, and this species participated in the movement at Aberdeen during a snowstorm on 14th and 15th November.