MISCELLANY. 335 



The body of the Redwing Thrush is compact and short for its size, and the flight 

 approaches nearer to the bounding character of that of the Fringillidce or Finch 

 family. Both the migratory Thrushes are very sociable and pacific in their 

 habits, and we rarely remember to have seen one alone. The Fieldfare Thrush 

 is more clamorous than the Redwing ; but although a large flock of them raise 

 a considerable and to us not unpleasing tumult, they are exceeded in this par- 

 ticular by their brethren the Missel Thrushes. Upon the Ouzels (Merula) we 

 have not touched in these cursory notes. — Ed. 



The Sibilous Locustell* (or Grasshopper Warbler) in the Vicinity op 

 Scarborough. — My friend Mr. Williamson has found this bird in Raincliff 

 Wood, near this town, and the Cricket-like note of the species was distinctly 

 heard by Dr. Murray from his own garden in May last. — Patrick Hawkridge, 

 Scarborough, Aug. 7, 1837- 



BOTANY. 



The Rise of Sap in Plants. — A correspondent (T. C. H.) in your last (p.225) 

 speaks of capillary attraction probably being the cause of the rise of sap in 

 plants. I believe it is now pretty generally understood that it is not by capil- 

 lary attraction that plants take up their nourishment ; although this opinion was 

 at one time very extensively held. The fact, however, that fluids will not rise 

 in the capillary vessels of dead plants appears fatal to this theory. Heat is 

 proved, by many facts, to have a great power in. assisting the rise of the sap in 

 plants ; but I do not think it in any way advances the opinion of its being 

 through the means of capillary attraction. Dutrochet, I think, was the last 

 to give us a principle explanatory of this interesting question. He supposes it,, 

 from some experiments he has made, to take place from electrical causes. In 

 his experiments he took the gut of a Fowl, filled it with milk, and tied it at both 

 ends ; he immersed it in water, and after it had remained there some little time 

 it was found that a small quantity of water had passed through the membrane 

 and mixed with the milk. He let it remain until the gut became much dis- 

 tended, which it did in a little longer time. After this a new and very remark- 

 able action took place : the water passed back again from the milk. He took 

 also a gut and filled it with a solution of gum arabic, tied it at one end, and at 

 the other inserted perpendicularly a glass tube. He put the tied end into 

 water, and soon observed that water again entered and forced the gum into the 

 glass tube. He inferred from this that a thin fluid will pass through a delicate 



* We were always of opinion that if unobjectionable English names were employed in standard 

 works on Natural History, they would speedily be adopted by the majority of the reading classes. 

 In support of this opinion we may observe, that we meet with the name Locustell applied to the 



" Grasshopper Warbler " in a popular volume entitled the Language of Birds, by a lady. Ed. 



2 y 2 



