138 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



in the end of January, have by the beginning of May scarcely 

 begun to push out their green leaves. 



The following is the newspaper report for 9th May, 1879: — 

 " Wintry Weather. — Snow fell heavily at Kelso yesterday morn- 

 ing, and the hills in the neighbourhood are quite covered. Our 

 Thurso correspondent says the accounts from the hills are sad as 

 to the havoc which the inclement weather is making among the 

 sheep; and lambs, it is said, are dying in hundreds. Flockmasters 

 are consoling themselves with the possibility of saving the ewes. 

 The weather is dreadful — more like mid-winter than the month of 

 May." 



Similar accounts reach me from several parts of the Highlands; 

 and snow-storms, even at this late date, were recurring on the east 

 coast of England. 



Very general are the reports of the unusual scarcity of birds 

 in our woodlands, especially along the east coast, and even 

 Sparrows seem to have greatly decreased in numbers in some 

 localities. 



While this scarcity occurred in Scotland, in the southern 

 counties of England unusual numbers of Thrushes were hatched, 

 being no doubt a large proportion of our Scottish population of 

 ordinary seasons. 



Insect and vegetable life is quite a month late in Dumfriesshire 

 [R. Service, in lit., May 15th], 



Similar accounts reach me from Ireland. Mr. Robert Warren 

 writes (May 19th, 1879) : — "The country looks quite depopulated 

 of the usual hedgerow and field inhabitants. All have suffered, 

 but some have been nearly cleared out altogether. With regard 

 to this place," continues Mr. Warren, " which contains about 200 

 statute acres, including 40 acres of wood of over 50 years' growth, 

 and distributed in various small woods and screens, the fields all 

 divided by white-thorn hedges from six to fifteen feet high, and 

 altogether most favourably circumstanced for our small birds, 

 what have we left to stock it this spring? I can only see one 

 Thrush, two or three Blackbirds, but not a hen-bird or a nest has 

 been seen of either. One or two pairs of Missel Thrushes and one 

 nest found ; a couple of pairs of Cole-tits ; two or three pairs of 

 Blue-tits ; one Great- tit ; two or three pairs of common Wrens ; 

 not a golden-crested Wren to be seen. One solitary old Cock- 

 sparrow is the sole remnant of a little colony. The Chaffinches 



