amphibia and riparia, for I have never seen an example of the latter; and my attention not having been directed to the subject till very lately, I have not had an opportunity of examining specimens of the former. I strongly suspect that, as with the common shrew, it is a sexual distinction, and will be found to hold good with all three British voles. Further examination is desirable. I am indebted to Mr. Gray's incredulity respecting my supposed example of A. riparia for directing my attention to this point, as well as to another, viz. the variation in the length of the tail itself in the common field vole (A. agrestis), which Professor Bell has stated to be "not more than one-third the length of the body," whereas in some of the specimens I forwarded to Mr. Gray the tail was nearly, if not quite, half its length. I propose it, then, for the examination of the prosaic students of the works of Nature, whether the gentlemen of the genus Arvicola have not longer and more hairy tails than the ladies of the same genus.

The Hare is seldom met with in the Undercliff, though numerous enough throughout the rest of the island. I was not aware till this year that the hare, in its natural state, is subject to variation in colour. I obtained from R. Loe, in the month of September, the skin of a leveret, which he denominated "a white hare." The peculiarity consists in those hairs and portions of hairs which, in the ordinary example, are of a rich yellow brown, being in the variety nearly white, slightly tinged with ochreous yellow, giving to the entire animal a pale, faded appearance. This variety is no rarity at Newchurch; R. Loe has seen one or two "most years ;" and there are two or three about this season. He has seen them of all sizes, from a month old to full growth. Loe has also killed one or two hares with the face pure white, the rest of the animal of the usual colour.

The Rabbit abounds, and, as might be expected, breeds very early in the season. I have more than once seen half-grown young ones in the month of March.

At Swainston, the seat of Sir R. Simeon, Bart., a black variety exists in considerable numbers; and at Wacklands, the property of W. Thatcher, Esq., numbers of nearly white rabbits may be seen. These were originally turned out; but I am disposed to think that both black and white varieties sometimes occur among those that are strictly wild. I have seen both where it was the wish of the proprietor to destroy every rabbit on his estate; and on St. Boniface Down also, where it was hardly likely to have been turned out.

The fishermen of Bembridge employ an ingenious method of ferreting rabbits. On the back of one of the small species of crab,

commonly called king-crab, they fix the end of a tallow candle: this is lighted, and the crab is thrust, by means of a stick, as far as possible in the burrow of the rabbit; it is then urged to penetrate deeper by gently pulling a string attached to one of its legs, and the rabbit, alarmed at the approach of the lighted candle, rushes to the entrance of the burrow, and is secured in a net.

The Red Deer. Bones and large portions of horns have been found in this immediate neighbourhood some few feet beneath the surface. Appearances were such as to render it probable that the animal was overwhelmed by a landslip. It must have been considerably above the ordinary size attained by the red deer; but Professor Owen has pronounced it, from examination of the bones, to have been specifically identical. Loe also once possessed part of the antler of a red deer, said to have been dug up in the Undercliff.

The common Porpoise occasionally passes close in shore in small schuls, and now and then one is landed from the Shoreham mackarel boats, and eagerly purchased by our fishermen as bait for their crabpots.

Northern Rorqual. The skeleton of an animal of, I imagine, the species thus designated by Professor Bell, is now exhibited at Black Gang Chine. This whale was stranded in Alum Bay, April 5, 1842: it measured upwards of eighty feet in length. Another is said to have shared the same fate a few years previously, near Hurst Castle. Bonchurch, Isle of Wight.

C. A. BURY.

Anecdotes of Foxes. While an old man was wandering by the side of one of the largest tributaries of the Almand, he observed a badger moving leisurely along the ledge of a rock on the opposite bank. After a little time a fox came up, and after walking for some distance close in the rear of the poor badger, he leaped into the water. Immediately afterwards came a pack of hounds, at full speed, in pursuit of the fox, who by this time was far enough off, floating down the stream; but the luckless badger was instantly torn to pieces by the dogs.

An instance of still greater sagacity in the fox occurred a few years ago, also in this neighbourhood. As a farm-servant was preparing a small piece of land for the reception of wheat, near to Pumpherston Mains, he was not a little surprised on seeing a fox slowly running in the furrow immediately before the plough. While wondering why the sly creature was so confident, he heard behind him the cry of the dogs; and turning round, he saw the whole pack at a dead stand near the other end of the field, at the very spot where Reynard had entered the newly enclosed trench. The idea struck him that the fox had taken this ingenious way of eluding pursuit, and through deference to the sagacity of the animal, he allowed it to escape.-R. Dick Duncan; Vale of Almand, Mid Calder, October 29, 1844.

Anecdote of a Cat's Nest on a Tree Mr. Nichol tells me that three weeks ago he saw a cat leap from a dark bushy tree into a pond near Mid Calder, where it was drowned. Not long afterwards, some individuals passing by the same place, heard the mewing of cats or kittens, and no doubt they wondered much. On listening attentively, they ascertained that the sound proceeded from a tree, the branches of which overhung the water. On climbing the tree, they found, at the height of about a storey and a half, four or five kittens, snugly reclining on a nest, placed upon an extended branch, which was covered with the densest foliage. On examination, it was found that Pussy had monopolized the nest of a wood pigeon, after making it, perhaps, a little more suitable to the education of her young and luxurious family, than it was when she first set foot upon it. Around the nest were deposited many dainty morsels; besides pigeons and smaller birds, hares, rabbits, and other game lay there in profusion, ready for the use of the juvenile poachers. Strange as this anecdote may appear, it is not more astonishing than true.-Id.

Notes on the Hedgehog. In the course of the autumn of 1841, in one of my evening walks, I stumbled over a hedgehog, and on finding, by the sense of feelingit was too dark to see what it was, I took it up and conveyed it home. I kept it for several weeks, partly with a view to ascertain what it would or would not eat. The first kind of food I offered it was raw mutton, and when I offered the meat the animal had been in confinement about twenty-two hours; yet, notwithstanding it was in a perfectly strange scene, and had fasted only a part of the preceding night-at least I presumed so from the hour at which I found it-it took the mutton into a corner of the room, and ate it greedily, making, at the same time, a singularly harsh sound in the process of eating. I placed apples, pears, potatoes, both cooked and uncooked, eggs, beef, mutton, mice, sparrows, &c. in its place, and plenty of milk. Neither apple, pear, nor potato was ever touched. The eggs were unmanageable by the poor captive, but when I gave them a slight crack, their contents were speedily abstracted. The mouse or sparrow was devoured at the first convenient opportunity, and at any hour of the day, while the beef and mutton always disappeared eventually. The fat was invariably left. So much for the food of the hedgehog. As to its habits I have little to say: I kept it all through the winter; its longest nap was for about two, at the most, three days. If I set it free in the room, or it made its escape from its box, it was very soon to be found among the ashes under the grate, attracted thither, I thought, by the warmth. If placed on a table, it never hesitated about running over the edge, rolling itself up in an instaut (as noticed by Mr. Jesse, I think), and sustaining no harm from its fall. The gamekeeper tells me he catches many hedgehogs in his traps, which are invariably baited with flesh (Zool. 716), and generally that of the rabbit; and when defending the poor hedgehog one day, on the score of its harmlessness in respect of the game, he replied by saying he thought it very curious they should show such a strong penchant for rabbit meat, if really averse or indifferent to a game diet; and that he feared a tender young leveret in its seat would prove quite as tempting as half a young rabbit suspended over a trap. His reasoning was unanswerable: what could I reply? and as for the eggs of game, when he accused the hedgehog of that kind of poaching also, I could not say no, you are prejudiced there, you have never seen a hedgehog so engaged, and therefore you may be accusing him of other people's crimes; indeed, I don't think he likes, or will eat eggs :" because I had had ample proof that if he spared an egg for three days, it was only because he was unable to get at its contents, and for no other

"Oh

reason whatever; and because I have no doubt that a partridge's egg would be more manageable than a fowl's egg; and that if the hen partridge should by chance be near, and endeavour to defend her nest, she would be herself demolished by the plunderer, as easily as a ringdove or a young turkey.-J. C. Atkinson; Hutton, Berwick-on-Tweed, October 26, 1844.

Proceedings of the British Association for the advancement of Science. York, September 25, 1844. From the "Athenæum" of September 28.

THE Secretary, Dr. Lankester, commenced proceedings by reading a paper "On the Periodical Birds observed in the years 1843 and 1844, near Llanrwst, Denbighshire, North Wales," by John Blackwall, Esq., F.L.S.-This was a continuation of the author's former observations on the same subject, which were commenced at the suggestion of the British Association, in order that extensive tables of the period of the arrival and disappearance of animals, and other periodic phenomena in the organic kingdom, might be obtained.

Mr Arthur Strickland, of Burlington, observed that a single paper could not afford matter for inference. The period of appearance and disappearance of birds is very uncertain.

A paper was read by Mr. J. Hogg, on the Ornithology of a portion of the North of England, entitled "A Catalogue of the Birds observed in South-East Durham and North-West Cleveland."-The author entered into an extended view of the habits of many of the species, and made remarks upon the nomenclature of some of our British authors. He also proposed some modification in the classification of birds, adopting some of the families of Cuvier as additional tribes, incorporating at the same time with them the greater part of the families adopted by our English ornithologists. The number of species contained in the catalogue amounted to 210.

The President, the Very Rev. the Dean of Manchester, observed, that as the author had referred to some remarks of his on the Willow-wrens, he could state that he believed that there were four British species, two of which were well known, and two more obscure. There was first the Sylvia Trochilus, which breeds on the ground, and builds its nest on heaths, and even in strawberry beds; secondly, wood-wrens, which were found in woods; thirdly, the Sylvia rufa, which occurred in his own parish, in Yorkshire; fourthly, a bird called the chiffchaff, but confounded with the last, but which he called the Sylvia loquax. This is very common in Yorkshire. Why they are not distinguished is, that the young birds have a brighter plumage than the old Another bird mentioned by Mr. Hogg, the whinchat, was frequently called grasschat in Yorkshire, and followed the mowers during haymaking. The godwit had been mentioned: it had a long bill, and it was generally supposed that birds with long bills lived by suction; but this was not the case with the godwit, as it fed voraciously and flourished upon barley. It could not drink in deep water, but was always obliged to have recourse to the edge of a stream to drink.

ones.

Abstract of a paper " On the Flight of Birds," by T. Allis.—Birds require the centre of gravity to be placed immediately over the axis of motion for walking, and beneath it when flying; when suspended in the air, their bodies naturally fall into that position which throws the centre of gravity beneath the wings. The axis of motion being situated in a different place in the line of the body when walking, from that which is

used when flying, the discrepancy requires to be compensated by some means in all birds, in order to enable them to perform flight with ease. Raptorial birds take a horizontal position when suspended in the air, and the compensating power consists in their taking a more or less erect position when at rest. Another class, including the woodpeckers, wagtails, &c., take an oblique position in the air: with these the compensating power consists in their cleaving and passing through the air at an angle coincident with the position of the body, and performing flight by a series of curves or saltations. Natatorial birds sometimes need very extended flight; they take a very oblique position in the air; they have the ribs greatly lengthened, the integuments of the abdomen are long and flexible, which enables them greatly to enlarge the abdominal portion of their body by inflating it with air; this causes a decrease in the specific gravity of that part, and raises it to a horizontal position. The compensating power consists in the posterior half of the body becoming specifically lighter, while the specific gravity of the anterior half remains unaltered.

This paper was illustrated by the skeletons of several birds.

Mr. A. Strickland, observing the guillemot upon the table, stated, that, although this bird had the power of flying over the sea, it could not over the land.—Mr. H. E. Strickland had, originally, doubted this fact, but, from experiments he had made on the east coast of Yorkshire, he could confirm the statement of Mr. A. Strickland. He believed this fact had never been noticed by ornithologists.-Mr. R. Ball, of Dublin, stated that he had appended a note, to the effect that the guillemot could not fly on land, in a paper which had been published about eight days, by the Irish Archæological Society.

Note on the Honey Buzzard. I beg to send you notice of a Honey Buzzard (fig. 7), killed near Yarmouth, towards the end of last month. It appears to form a link

between Nos. 1 and 2 of those figured at page 375 of The Zoologist.' The predominating colour of this bird is a light brown, rather darker on the back. The feathers