204 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Feb. 



all they require. To find dead birds in the nest is quite an ex- 

 ception. 



Owls also keep their larders well stocked with fresh meat, 

 and it is by no means an uncommon thing to find several un- 

 touched mice in nests containing young of Long-eared Owls. 

 I have twice found those rodents present a day previous to the 

 first egg-hatching, but whether these were for the expected 

 young, or had merely been supplied by the male for his mate's 

 use, I am unable to tell. 



August 5. I have Vjeen taking special observation of 

 House Sparrows feeding their young within the last two weeks, '* 

 and find that the food consists largely of grasshoppers, which at .^^| 

 present are more plentiful than usual. Both parents go out in 

 search of these insects, sometimes as far as half a mile away. 



November 12. About thirty House Sparrows arrived from 

 the north this morning and left in a southerlv direction before 'Jv 



'^to 



evening. 



MEETINGS OF THE BOTANICAL BRANCH. 



On the evening of November 13th, the first meeting of 

 the Botanical Branch for the season was held at the residence 

 of Mr. G. H. Clark. The following members were in attendance: 

 Messrs. J. Macoun, R. B. Whvte, W. T. Macoun, T. E. Clarke, 

 D. A. Campbell, G. H. Clark,' L. H. Newman, A. E. Attwood, 

 H. Groh, Geo. Michaud, Dr. Blackader, T. H. Binnie, W. H. 

 Harrington and E. D. Eddy. 



Mr. J. W. Gibson was the leader for the evening and chose 

 as the topic for discussion "The adaptation of plants to their 

 environment as shown by their internal structure." The different 

 evidences of adaptation in the plant tissues were demonstrated 

 by means of microscopes and a carefully selected collection of 

 microscopic sHdes, some of which had been loaned for the occasion 

 by Prof. W. T. McClement and his assistant, Mr. A. B. Klugh, 

 of Queen's University. 



The leader introduced the subject by first pointing out the 



y<'. 



4 



November 20. A Northern Shrike has been up several 

 times recently and at present is devoting its attention to captur- 

 ing Juncoes. The House Sparrows have grown wise and as a 

 rule are much too quick having learned that safety lies in rapid 

 entrance into a building. The smaller birds are not so sagacious 

 and attempt to escape by flying upwards, which almost invariably '^} 

 proves fatal, as the shrike follows like a bloodhound, and by 

 sheer persistency more than rapidity of flight, accomplishes its 

 ob j ect . 



