384 Tlie Tiifted Duck. [Sess. 



state they may nestle on the back of the parent when on the 

 water in a similar manner to cygnets. I have always thought 

 it a pleasing sight to notice cygnets, when they are first hatched, 

 snugly ensconced in the down on the back of their mother as 

 she swims about, her arched wings guarding them from the 

 wind, and to see with what anxious maternal care she fre- 

 quently turns her head round to make sure that her precious 

 young are safe. 



Tufted ducks pinioned breed regularly in the London 

 Zoological Gardens ; and I hope this pair may also breed in 

 the summer, though at present I have observed no indication 

 of their Qointr to nest.^ 



At this meeting Mr Thomas Wright exhibited a number 

 of " fairy stones," or claystone nodules, when he remarked 

 that " at one time these stones were worn as charms by the 

 superstitious, and frequently mounted in silver. Their odd 

 shapes had puzzled the country people, and so they, for lack 

 of a rational theory, had set them down as fairy products. 

 They are found only in clay deposits, in streams, or river- 

 beds, and have been shaped by pressure and the action of 

 water." The specimens shown were obtained at Wetheral, near 

 Carlisle. 



Xll.—THE MAGPIE. 



By Mr TOM SPEEDY. 



{Read April 23, 1890.) 



Among the many and varied species of birds to be found in the 

 environs of Edinburgh, not the least interesting is the magpie. 

 Though this bird has suffered much persecution at the hands 

 of gamekeepers because of its predatory instincts, considerable 

 numbers are still to be found in Mid-Lothian, and notably at 

 Liberton. How they manage to escape utter extermination 



^ Up to this time (November 1890) the birds have shown no inclination to go 

 to nest. 



