THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 59 



boys ; in fact, so eager are the boys to take part in these outings 

 that restrictions have had to be made, so that members must 

 qualify for the right to attend. The work of the members is 

 chiefly in geology, botany, and conchology, and several new or 

 rare specimens have been secured in the latter department, and 

 the club has a cabinet of type specimens. The pamphlet is 

 illustrated with numerous camp scenes, and is well worthy of 

 perusal by all interested in directing the attention of young 

 people to nature study. 



"The Emu." — The current (July) number of The Emu, forming 

 the first part of the third volume, is to hand, and contains a 

 number of interesting articles bearing on bird life in its various 

 aspects. " A Trip to the Stirling Range, W.A.," by Mr. A. VV. 

 Milligan, of Perth, is well illustrated, but the palm in the way of 

 illustrations must be given to our old friend Mr. E. M. Cornwall's 

 photograph of a rookery of the Sooty Tern, Sterna fuliginosa, on 

 the Upolu Bank, Great Barrier Reef. This has been excellently 

 reproduced, and affords one of the finest pictures of an animated 

 scene it is possible to conceive. In his notes on his visit Mr. 

 Cornwall remarks : — " I have often wondered how, on a great 

 rookery like this, the birds are able to identify their eggs, and 

 after carefully watching for a considerable time have come to the 

 conclusion that they are not at all particular whose egg they sit 

 on. Although the rookeries of different varieties are well defined, 

 the whole are so jumbled together that along the fringes where 

 two varieties meet the eggs are much intermingled, and in very 

 many cases Sooty Terns had taken possession of Lesser Crested 

 Terns' eggs and vice versd." This remark is in opposition to the 

 ideas usually associated with bird rookeries, and seems to be a 

 probable explanation of the doubts which have arisen in many 

 people's minds as to the birds' knowledge of their own nests in 

 such gatherings. In Mr. Thos. Carter's notes from South- 

 Western Australia is included the following note about a tame 

 Emu, communicated to him by Mr. R. Gale, of Fairlawn : — " The 

 bird was allowed its liberty on the Margaret River estate, and 

 apparently formed an attachment for a horse there, for when Mr. 

 Gale drove this horse from Margaret River to his house near 

 Busselton, a distance of 40 miles, the Emu arrived early the 

 following day, in spite of having had to traverse cross roads and 

 negotiate several fences of barbed wire and post and rails. Did 

 the bird follow the horse by scent?" The part contains many 

 items of interest to bird-lovers. 



"Notes on the Natural History, &c., of Western Aus- 

 tralia." — This volume consists mainly of the scientific chapters 

 contributed by specialists dealing with the geography, geology, 

 climate, flora, fauna, &c., published from time to time in the 

 Western Australian Year-Book. These have been collected into 



