142 THK nETROSPECT, 



6th. — That fecundation is accomplished^ through the medium of water, and not bj' actual 

 contact. 



7th. — That a very dry or a very wet situation are both fatal to the Triton when in a state 

 of hibernation. 



8th. — That the habits and changes of the new Triton are in accordance with the other species." 



The paper is illustrated by two plates, with nine outline figures of the three 

 species described. 



2f5rntBtMiig3 nf IntbtiM. 



Dorset County Museum and Library: — We have received from J. Oakland, Esa., one of 

 the Secretaries of the Society, a short report for 1853 ; from which we are glad to see that the 

 institution continues to receive increased support and encouragement. The additions made to 

 the Collections and Library during the year have not been very large, but the proper arrangement 

 of the Geological specimens is in progress. The circulation of books from the Library among 

 the members has been considerable, and the council are desirous of obtaining additions from 

 their friends, either as a loan or gift. Arrangements are being made for the delivery of Lectures 

 on subjects connected with the objects of the society, and which, we have no doubt, will 

 materially advance the study of Natural History in the district. ^ — sH mT^'-'v, 



€\i IUtrD0|irtt. 



The Starling. — May I be allowed to offer a few remarks in vindication of T»^ ]^tit^^ j»|TOn 

 Mr. Longmuir's statement, in reference to the nidification of the Starling. In reply to that 

 attack, Mr. L., with the help of an English dictionary, gives for my special instruction a 

 definition of the word "excavate." Let me ask, when the Woodpecker commences operations 

 upon a tree where no hole previously existed, does she not begin "excavating" or "hollow- 

 ing out?" As the work proceeds, and approaches completion, is she not still "excavating" 

 or "hollowing out?" And when she has completed her task, has she not "excavated" or 

 "hollowed out a deep hole?" And is not this precisely what Mr. L. in his original state- 

 ment informs us the Starlings in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen are in the habit of doing? 

 In that statement no allusion whatever was made to decayed trees, nor was any mention 

 made of pre-existing holes, unless the expression "it excavates a deep hole," be taken to 

 mean that the "deep hole" was there before, and that the work of the Starling consisted 

 in merely deepening it still further, which meaning he now finds it convenient to point out 

 as the one intended to be conveyed. With a slight stretch of the imagination it may be 

 made to convey this meaning certainly; but the more obvious one is the one I have applied, 

 namely, that the Starling began the hole, and did the entire work from beginning to end; 

 nor would it be unreasonable for those who might be but imperfectly acquainted with the 

 bird in question, to infer that this took place in a sound tree, nothing having been stated to 

 the contrary. Although it was not new to me, that to "excavate" means "to hollow out," 

 it is entirely new to me, and I imagine must be so to others, that an "excavation" can 

 be made, or that "hollowing out" can be accomplished without "boring" or "piercing," 

 which according to the authority Mr. L. appears to have consulted, and to which he very 

 modestly refers me, are synonymous terras. This would seem to be a secret known only to 

 himself; I do not ask him to divulge that secret, it is but right that he should be allowed 

 the quiet enjoyment of any benefits that may arise from his having made so valuable a 

 discovery. Mr. L. in conclusion suggests "that in future a reference to an English dictionary 

 would save considerable trouble." I venture to suggest to him in return, that to avoid all 

 ambiguity of expression would also contribute to so desirable an end; and that in future 

 no statement should be made which may tend either directly or indirectly to mislead those who 

 may not be well-informed upon subjects of Natural History, and whose pecuniary i-esources 

 may only enable them to obtain information upon these subjects through the medium of 

 "The Naturalist."— S. Stone, April 8th., 1854. 



