270 



HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE - GO S S IP. 



[Dec. 1, 1870. 



ambigua, elatior, Hartmanii. It is also probable 

 enough that more specimens of Grimmia M/ihten- 

 beclcii in the possession of Mr. Mitten, and gathered 

 in the Aberdeenshire mountains, were gathered 

 here. Nor are these the only treasures of this Arabia 

 Felix of the botanist. Tetraplodon angustatum, 

 Tayloria serrate/, Bartramia seriata, Bartramidula, 

 Cinclidium, Catoscopium, Anaccdypta latifolia, 

 Leptotrichum glaucescens, Leptotrichum zonatum, 

 Mnium cinclidioides, Dicramcm glaciate, Barbula 

 Dritmmondii, Sphagnum curvifolium, Fontinalis 

 gracilis, Limnoleum dilatatum. These, and many 

 other gems, are among the treasures of this spot. 



Can the proud Bed Lawers, about which British 

 muscologists have for some years gone mad, show 

 a braver list than poor old Clova, which has been 

 so stupidly neglected since the days of Don and 

 Drummond? Rev. John Fergusson. 



New Pitlego, Aberdeenshire. 



BIRDS OF NORFOLK.* 



~j\ /TANY years ago, when Mr. Stevenson began to 

 -'-'-'■ collect materials for an avifauna of Norfolk, 

 he probably did not think that they would swell to 

 three thick octavos ; but since the publication of 

 the first portion (which immediately obtained a high 

 local reputation), so many fresh observers have been 

 desirous of contributing to this popular work, that 

 its fame has increased, and it may now be looked 

 upon as something more than a scientific treatise. 



Mr. Stevenson writes, not only for the naturalist, 

 but for the sportsman. Speaking of the woodcock, 

 he observes : — •" In the memorable flood year (1852), 

 auionst other ornithological phenomena, an almost 

 unprecedented quantity of cocks were killed in the 

 month of December." (ii. p. 285.) 



He is one of those careful observers who lets 

 nothing slip. Many of his notes on migration are 

 exceedingly valuable. He shows that some birds, 

 hitherto supposed to be residents, are in fact partial 

 migrants ; one evidence of which is their constantly 

 killing themselves against lighthouses. 



In a great game-preserving county like Norfolk, 

 raptores are naturally scarce ; and passerine birds 

 increase in a corresponding degree, as plantations 

 spring up. 



No one can read the " Birds of Norfolk " without 

 perceiving that its author is a practical out-door 

 naturalist, with a thorough knowledge of his sub- 

 ject. It is a book full of information. Some of 

 Mr. Stevenson's descriptions of habits, &c., are not 

 to be surpassed, and have the freshness of " White's 

 Sclborne." 



The Collared Pratincole, a " rare straggler," is re- 

 corded as "having occurred several times " (p. Gl) ; 



but no very authentic instance has yet been obtained 

 of another exceedingly elegant bird— the Cream- 

 coloured Courser— which, in Tunis and Algeria, trips 

 lightly over the sand, and is a true denizen of the 

 Sahara. 



Every species is treated with the same painstaking 

 accuracy, and a full description is added of the 

 famous "meres," locally termed "broads." These 

 remarkable spots teem with wildfowl, and, by 

 making repeated visits to them, Mr. Stevenson has 

 elicited an amount of information never before made 

 public. 



It must be obvious that a work like the present 

 will be of immense use to East Anglian zoolo- 

 gists, who, it is to be hoped, will not fail to con- 

 tribute their share of information for the part which 

 remains unpublished. 



The Buff-backed Heron is now inserted for the 

 first time in the Norfolk list, on the authority of 

 Mr. Joseph Clarke (p. 151). Mr. Stevenson has 

 not had an opportunity of personally inspecting the 

 bird, and as there is as yet but one other authentic 

 instance of its occurrence in the British isles, it 

 requires strict investigation. 



We can cordially praise the article upon the com- 

 mon heron (p. 130). The Bittern is also very ably 

 treated, and must be an object of great interest to 

 local naturalists ; but Mr. Stevenson writes about 

 these home species with a thorough knowledge of 

 his subject. Whatever he states is stated from 

 personal observation, and this is the great advan- 

 tage which a work like the "Birds of Norfolk" lias 

 over a mere compilation. 



Wc understand that the first volume has met 

 with a favourable reception in all quarters, and we 

 can only say that the second appears to be equally 

 good, if not better. It is concise and able, free 

 from error and elegantly written, and embellished 

 with plates of the Great Bustard {Otis tarda), 

 Thetford Warren and Breydon "Flats,"— the last- 

 named being the only tidal " broad," and where 

 more rare birds have been killed than in any place 

 in Britain. 



" The Birds of Norfolk, " by H. Stevenson, vol. ii. Van 

 Voorst. 



The Arbutus.— We are not able to ascertain 

 precisely at what period the Arbutus was first culti- 

 vated in England. Dr. Turner says that he had 

 not seen it in this country in 156S. Gerard also 

 describes the tree in 1597, but he does not say that 

 it was then planted in our gardens. Parkinson 

 notices, in 1640, that " it came to us from Ireland." 

 Evelyn observes, as late as the time of Charles II., 

 that " the Arbutus is too much neglected by us, 

 making that a rarity which grows so oommon and 

 naturally in Ireland." It is found growing spon- 

 taneously on rocky limestone situations in the West 

 of Ireland, particularly in the county of Kerry, near 

 the Lake of Killarney, where the peasants eat the 

 fruit.— Sylva Florifera. 



