80 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Streaks, broadening into spots near the anal segment, which is 

 dark grey without markings. Lateral area with three rows of 

 small black specks, with violet-pink markings between. These 

 are very variable, however, and sometimes are altogether wanting. 

 Head and body covered thinly with a few fine hairs. Feet red, 

 darker in full-grown specimens. 



Pupa. — Length, from J^ to ^ of an inch. Narrow. Light 

 brown when freshly changed, but soon becoming darker. Head 

 dark brown or black ; not pronged like X. cryptophaga. As the 

 time for emerging draws near the whole pupa, with the exception 

 of the wing-cases, turns nearly black, and this, contrasted with 

 the shining white wings inside, gives it quite a handsome 

 appearance. The moths generally emerge during the night. 



Plain Wanderer. — On 26th July Mr. F. Syme, of Dairy, 

 Healesville, forwarded me a male Plain Wanderer, Pedionomus 

 torqualus, which was killed by a wild Magpie on his estate. I 

 found on skinning the bird that its skull was broken by a single 

 snap of the powerful mandibles of the Crow-Shrike (Magpie). — G. 

 A. Keartland. 



Prism Binoculars. — We have received from Messrs. Ross 

 Limited, the well-known opticians of London, a report, 

 in pamphlet form, by Mr. Charles Dixon, a leading English 

 ornithological author, on " The Advantages, Possibilities, and 

 Uses of the Ross Prism Binocular, as applied to Field Natural 

 History." In this little work of some twenty pages Mr. Dixon 

 points out how much more interesting it is to take a glass out 

 into the country and watch and note down what one can observe 

 in the habits of birds, or even of insects, rather than use a gun 

 to bring down the object of your investigation, and thus perhaps 

 end a useful life. To show the superiority of the new glass over 

 one of the highest class binoculars, which he had used for years 

 and did not think could be beaten, he states that a number of 

 rabbits amongst short grass and dead bracken, at a distance of 

 four hundred yards, quite indistinguishable to the human eye, 

 through his old glass appeared as round objects of some kind, 

 but with the prism binocular they came out in the clearest detail, 

 the exact attitude each was sitting or lying in being clearly shown, 

 while at forty measured yards the pupil of a rabbit's eye was 

 brought out with beautiful clearness. The glass is manufactured 

 by Messrs. Ross in three powers, 8, 10, or 12 diameters of mag- 

 nification, and ranges from ;£% los. to ^10 los. in price. The 

 pamphlet is worth obtaining by anyone interested in this branch of 

 natural history work, and will be forwarded on receipt of sixpence 

 in stamps by Messrs. Ross Limited, in New Bond-street VV., 

 London. 



