146 The Ottawa Naturalist. [Oct. and Nov. 



a sinele Tree Swallow on a wire with them, but all the re- 

 mainder of this vast host were Barn Swallows. 



Within five minutes of the time of the first general move- 

 ment, barely a tenth remained in the air, and their voices, which 

 are so liquid and soft when heard singly, became one of the 

 harshest dins imaginable — English Sparrows could be no worse — 

 and it certainly sounded as if they were all talking at once. 



At 8.12 only a few are recorded as remaining, and at 8.19 

 the last one went in. That evening a beautiful cream-coloured 

 specimen was noted, but later search failed to reveal him again. 

 I visited the roost many times in August, and found the num- 

 bers gradually waning as the month wore on. All were gone on 

 September 3rd and none had been notedby the boys near by for 

 two or three days. 



After the roost was once known, it was easy to notice the 

 Barn Swallows — no matter in what direction one happened to 

 be — between 7 and 8 p.m., flying toward this roost, and indeed 

 such large numbers must drain a vast area, at least five miles in 

 diameter. 



I had read of only one such roost before, reported by Mr. 

 Widmann of St. Louis, where the Barn Swallows come by thou- 

 sands to the islands in the Mississippi, but doubtless many would 

 be found throughout the country if they were searched for. — 

 W. E. Saunders, London, Ont. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



One of the largest collections of plants ever brought into 

 the herbarium of the Geological Survey by a private collector 

 was that made by Mr. William Spreadborough while with Mr. 

 McEvoy of the Geological Survey staff in his recent exploration 

 of the approaches to and the mountains in the vicinity of the 

 Yellow Head Pass. The flora of this region has not before been 

 thoroughly worked up, no botanist having collected there since 

 Drummond's time (1826). Though Mr. Spreadborough does not 

 profess to be a botanist, his keen naturalist's eye enabled him 



