Retrospective Criticism. 171 



themselves to the delicious banquet within, in lieu of surround- 

 ing the carcass from day to day, in hope deferred ; till at last 

 solids were almost turned into fluids, and the disappointed 

 boobies found themselves under the heart-rending necessity 

 of abandoning the alligator without breaking their fast, and 

 of going in quest of firmer carrion in some other quarter. 



If our author's statement be correct, viz., that the skin of a 

 large alligator is too tough to be perforated by the bills ot 

 vultures, until time shall have rendered the carcass of the 

 dead animal too fluid to be of any use to them in the way of 

 food ; then it follows that no large dead alligator can ever 

 become the food of vultures. The birds may certainly see 

 it at a great distance, and wing their way to it, and stop at it ; 

 and other vultures, miles behind them, may even fancy 

 H that they know the meaning of such stoppages:" still, I am 

 prone to opine that their labours would be ill requited. In 

 lieu of dropping down upon a good dinner, disappointment 

 would be their lot ; and they would be regaled with nothing 

 of a more solid nature than transient puff's of highly tainted 

 vapour. But here I will stop : I have been too long on 

 carrion, — " neque enim tolerare vaporem Ulterius potui." 

 (Ovid. Met., ii. SOI.) — Charles Waterton. - 



The Mention, by Rusticus of Godalming, of " the Great Grey 

 Seamews or Gu/ls." (p. 27.) — Sir, I fear I shall be thought 

 almost guilty of heresy, if 1 venture to write one line in dis- 

 approbation of the exquisite letter by Rusticus, which appeared 

 in your last ; but my desire to instruct your readers leads me 

 to risk their indignation. I will observe, then, that Rusticus 

 has made a mistake in speaking (p. 27.) of the grey gull or 

 mew as a distinct species. No gull is grey when arrived at 

 its full plumage, although I have known these gulls remain 

 grey until the fourth year from the egg. The gull alluded 

 to by Rusticus must have been the great burgomaster (JLarus 

 glaucus), a bird which, when in full feather, is white below, 

 and darkish grey above. Allow me to add, that I never read 

 more interesting, more accurate, or more genuine observations, 

 than those by Rusticus, which have lately been published in 

 your own and the Entomological Magazine. — Philo- Rusticus. 

 Zoological Gardens, Jan. 1 6. 



Rusticus of Godalming has partially anticipated the above 

 objection, in p. 111. of the present Number. — J. D. 



Preserving Egg-shells for Cabinets. — Your accomplished 

 correspondent, Mr. Waterton, expresses (Vol. V. p. 515.) the 

 difficulty he felt in expelling the contents of such birds' eggs 

 as he wished to preserve. Allow me to state, for his con- 

 sideration, that the air-pump supplies the more simple and 



