Hints for Improvemenis* 181 



destroy these, thase increase upon us. My orders now are, not to destroy 

 hawks or particularly owls, nor will I suffer it to' be done, till rats and 

 weasels are killed off Crows and magpies, like weasels, suck the eggs ;■ 

 they, therefore, should be killed ; but never kill an owl. — A Sportsman.. 

 Oct. 1830. 



Improvement in Ornithological Terms. — Having observed in the Gentle-' 

 man's Magazine the amendments proposed by Mr. Vigors, in substituting 

 names which should express the actions of the different kinds of birds for 

 those of Linnaeus, and admiring the happy selection of terms by which he 

 has designated each class, it may appear presumption to recommend any 

 change. It is therefore with great diffidence that I offer the following, 

 having a reference to the structure and habits of the birds. 



The second class named by Mr. Vigors Insessores, or Perchers, might, 

 perhaps, with more propriety be called Perticatores, from pertica^ a perch ; 

 the expression insidere perticce^ to sit on a perch, being well authenticated. 

 With respect to the fourth class, the Grallatores of Mr. Vigors, and Gralla?, 

 of Linnaeus, expressive of the long legs of the birds, I would denominate 

 them Vadatores ; a much nearer approach to the English name. Waders j 

 and in order to maintain the same number of classes as used by Linnaeus, 

 which are reduced to five by Mr. Vigors, I would suggest the combining all 

 the birds whose feet are formed for climbing in one class, to which the 

 name of Scansores, or climbers, might be applied, and would consist of the 

 parrots, toucans, woodpeckers, &c. ; birds which cannot well be ranked 

 with any of the other classes. The table of classes would then be : — 

 I. Raptores, or snatchers ; 2. Perticatores, or perchers ; 3. Natatores, or 

 swimmers; 4. Vadatores, or waders ; 5. Rasores, or scratchers ; 6. Scaur; 

 sores, or climbers. Should the above observations raeet your approbation, 

 their insertion in your very instructive Magazine will very much oblige, 

 yours, &c. — Juvenis. Edmonton^ Oct. 9. 1830. 



Hints on Local Botany/, — An account of a cavern, a ruin^ or a romantic 

 spot, is more interesting to the inhabitants of the district in vvrhich such an 

 object is situated, than to persons living in a distant quarter, who probably 

 will never visit the locality of such scenery. To the botanist or herbalist, 

 the enumeration of plants that grow in those places to which he has access 

 will be more attractive than the copious catalogues of the rare and beautiful 

 species that adorn the fields of distant climes. The places where he hais. 

 gathered scarce herbs form kindred associations with the things sought 

 after, both becoming objects of peculiar interest. 



To gratify the lovers of the spontaneous productions of our soil, I beg 

 leave to recommend that, in your Magazine, a succession of local floras 

 should be published from time to time. That all plants known to the col- 

 lector, except such as are commonly found everywhere, should be spe- 

 cified, with their habitations, time of flowering, size, and colour, if remark- 

 able in any of these respects. I should not, of course, confine or restrict 

 the lists by the arbitrary division of counties, but embrace just as much of 

 a district as the describer has carefully explored ; remarking on the nature 

 of the soil, its exposure, and most common productions, together with as 

 precise and clear a description of the particular habitats as he can furnish. 

 The work of Turner and Dillwyn on this subject will often prove but a pre- 

 carious guide. In it there are several localities, given by Ray 160 years 

 ago, and not since verified by succeeding investigators; Many have been 

 introduced on the authority of other famous botanists of the seventeenth 

 century, though the plants have not been found in the places assigned fo'r 

 their growth, either by the last or the present generation. Had the com- 

 mons and waste grounds remained till the present time such as they were 

 in the days of Gerarde, Doody, and Ray, it would be a pleasant task to 

 compare the productions of the present with those of bygone days, and to 

 >pbserve the effect of time in increasing or diminishing herbs of rarity. " Bufc 



