ZOOLOGICAL NOTES 191 



In the winter season of 1903-4, woodcock were abundant in 



central Scotland, but Snipe were phenomenally scarce from almost 



all localities whence I received intelligence. On a neighbour's 



ground famous for Woodcock at both seasons of the main flights 



a record bag was made in the season 1903-4. 



And now I come to May 1904, and I find a repetition of the 

 phenomena of May 1902 which is at least startingly suggestive. 

 From 5th May onward for weeks the weather conditions in Scotland 

 were again arctic, as is abundantly proved, not only by our own 

 wretched experiences in the yacht " Hotspur," but also by Mr. 

 Ormond's scientific records sent to me of the meteorological causes 

 and effects during the exactly same period, and the returns from the 

 Weather Bureau in Washington, along with other evidence, which 

 may yet appear in greater detail. To serve the purpose here, how- 

 ever, I merely record the certain facts, that once more we ex- 

 perienced an " inundation " of woodcocks and snipe, just as in 1902, 

 on this same estate, and in surrounding coverts in central Scotland. 

 Once more the Woodcocks succeeded in hatching off their young 

 ones, and, as I write, 6th June, many birds may be seen at nights 

 "roding" over and through the trees. And once more I have to 

 record the decimation of newly hatched snipes in the same exposed 

 meadows, clearly due to the awful inclemency of this " early 

 summer." Thus, the actual phenomena of 1902 were repeated 

 under similar meteorological conditions in 1904, the only difference 

 being in the latter that we did not, so far as my information goes, 

 have such an intense frost in 1904, as occurred on the 2nd-3rd 

 May 1902. We had to' all appearances a crushing down of Wood- 

 cock and Snipe in both years, which resulted in a death-rate quite 

 phenomenal among the Snipe, and an abnormal hatch-off of Wood- 

 cock in the more sheltered coverts. The large bags of Woodcock 

 in 1903-4 may or may not indicate a greater "return " of birds bred 

 upon this line of flight. However that may be ; surely there may 

 be lessons to be learned from our Meteorological dry statistics if 

 these be combined with these facts, and many other natural 

 phenomena. 



I would desire once more to try to concentrate the attention of 

 our professional Meteorologists and their large staff of local help- 

 mates, upon these parallel phenomena details, which, as a Naturalist 

 and not a professed Meteorologist, I cannot help feeling assured 

 has been a sadly neglected source of information in all our Meteoro- 

 logical work hitherto. Then, as my friend Mr. Omond says when 

 furnishing me with meteorological data between the 5th May 1904 

 and the end of that same month, "actual certainties might be 

 arrived at, and weather-prophets might prophecy from what they 

 may learn in the sweet by and bye, instead of Meteorology 

 being as it is at present, a dumb science and a mere collection 



