Mr. Crowley on the Spoonbill in Holland. 21 



Speaking broadly, we find in the journey across the continent 

 four floras, viz., the eastern mixed flora of the cleared lauds; 

 the forest and swamp flora of the lake region from Ottawa to 

 Winnipeg ; the prairie flora ; and the alpine flora of the Kooky 

 Mountains. Their boundaries are well marked and definite. 

 The railway is, however, a great leveller, and it was interesting, 

 not only to see our common weeds rapidly spreading along the 

 track westward, but also to find some western types and species 

 travelling eastward, as, for example, the very singular grass, 

 Beckmannia erucmformis, which we found at Port Arthur, on 

 Lake Superior, many hundreds of miles east of any previously 

 recorded habitat. 



It is matter for congratulation to the naturalist that the flora 

 of the Dominion has been thoroughly examined and recorded by 

 Prof. Macoun and others before its lessons have been obliterated 

 or confused. 



48. — A Visit to the Breeding-quabters of the Spoonbill 

 IN Holland. 



By Philip Crowley, M.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S. 



(Bead 10th December, 1884.) 



Having read the accounts in the ' Ibis ' of a visit made by 

 Messrs. Sclater and Forbes to Hoorster Mere to see the spoon- 

 bills {Platalea leucorodia) in their breeding-quarters, and in ' The 

 Zoologist ' that of Messrs. Seebohm and Elwes, I thought it 

 would make a most interesting excursion ; so this year, having 

 occasion to visit Amsterdam, which is only about twenty miles 

 from the place, I asked Mr. Sclater for some particulars, and he 

 most kindly gave me a letter of introduction to Mr. Westerman, 

 Director of the Zoological Gardens at Amsterdam. 



In company with my brother, we left Victoria Station on the 

 evening of the 26th of May last, and reached Amsterdam at 

 noon on the following day. In the course of the afternoon I 

 called at the Zoological and sent in my letter to Mr. Wester- 

 man, who received us most cordially and at once brought for 

 my inspection their egg of the great auk [Alca impennis), which 

 is however rather a poor specimen, being very dirty and 

 small. Mr. Westerman informed us that the Hoorster Mere 

 was now di-ained, and he believed the spoonbills were now 

 breeding at Naarden Mere, about fifteen miles north-east of 

 Amsterdam, but that a Mr. Blaauw, who resided near Naarden 

 and was studying at the Gardens, would know. I therefore 

 arranged to call on the 29th and see what could be done. On 

 calling I was introduced to Mr. Blaauw, who had written to the 



