Meteorological Observations. 159 



LESTRIS PARASITICUS. 



A mature individual of the Lcstris parasiticus, Tern., was shot 

 near Whitburn in the county of Durham, about the 24th Oct. 1837, 

 and is now in my possession. — J. Hancock. 



OCCURRENCE OF COPPER IN PLANTS. 



M. Wiegmann, senr., has lately announced that Prof. Sprengel of 

 Brunswick had found in the cinders of Trifolium pratense 3 per cent, 

 of copper, and that he had also found the same quantity of this 

 metal in those of Trifolium pannonicum, cultivated in his garden, the 

 soil of which is very different from that whence the Trif. pratense 

 had been obtained. M. Sprengel subsequently examined some tre- 

 foils grown in a field, the soil of which did not indicate any traces 

 of this metal in its composition ; and was convinced that its exist- 

 ence in the two former was owing to its presence in the ground 

 where the plants were cultivated. The fact affirmed by M. Spren- 

 gel proves that a small quantity of a noxious substance may be 

 absorbed by plants without any prejudice to their development. — 

 Flora. 



OCCURRENCE OF FALCO ISLANDICUS IN ENGLAND. 



A specimen of the Iceland Falcon (Falco Islandicus) in first 

 plumage was shot at Normanby, Yorkshire, March 1837 ; and an- 

 other individual in the Newcastle Museum, which is a female and in 

 the mature plumage, was shot in Northumberland a few years ago. 

 These two instances are sufficient to rank the Iceland species as a 

 British bird.— J. Hancock. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR AUGUST 1838. 



Chiswick. — August 1. Very fine : heavy rain at night. 2. Main. 3. Fine. 4. 

 Overcast : slight rain. 5. Cloudy. 6. Sultry, with showers. 7. Showery. 

 8, 9. Fine. 10. Overcast. 11 — 16. Very fine. 17. Hazy : slight rain. 18 — 20. 

 Very fine. 21. Showery. 22. Rain. 23. Showery. 24. Cloudy and fine. 

 25. Foggy : rain. 26, 27. Very fine. 28. Overcast : lightning at night. 

 29. Cloudy and fine. 30. Clear and dry. 31. Very fine. 



Boston. — August 1. Fine. 2. Cloudy: rain early a.m. 3. Rain. 4. Fine: 

 rain p.m. 5. Fine. 6. Cloudy : rain p.m. 7. Heavy rain with thunder and 

 lightning p.m. 8. Cloudy. 9. Fine : rain p.m. 10. Cloudy: rain p.m. 11, 12. 

 Cloudy. 13—15. Fine. 16. Cloudy. 17,18. Fine. 19,20. Windy. 21. 

 Windy: rain early a.m.: rain p.m. 22. Windy: rain p.m. 23. Stormy. 

 24, 25. Fine. 26. Cloudy. 27. Cloudy : therm. 74° 6 p.m. 28. Cloudy. 

 29. Windy: rain early a.m. 30,31. Fine. 



Applegarth Manse, Dumfries-shire. — August 1. Rain p.m. : warm and moist. 

 2. Fine day throughout. 3. Fine day : occasional showers. 4. Moist and 

 cloudy. 5. Heavy rain p.m. 6. Very heavy showers. 7* Showery all day. 

 8. Fine summer day : cool p.m. 9. Wet throughout. 10. Fair a.m. : wet 

 evening. 11. Drizzling rain a.m.: fair p.m. 12. Fair: shower p.m. 13, 

 Fair: shower at noon. 14. Fair throughout. 15. Fine clear day. 16. Tem- 

 perate: cool. 17. Beautiful summer day. 18. Cloudy: moist p.m. 19,20. 

 Showery all day. 21. Rainy all day : flood. 22. Showery all day. 23,24. 

 Fair a.m. : shower p.m. 25. Very moist : rain p.m. 26. Fair : warm : cloudy. 

 27. Fair, but threatening. 28. Drizzling all day. 29. Clear and cool, 30. 

 Temperate, 31. Mild though cloudy, 



