2I 
Corncrake killed itself against the telegraph wires at Hartford, near Chester. 
Picked up dead on May 7th, 1915. 
Jackdaw with white secondary feathers was sent to Dr. W. H. Dobie by Mr. 
Clarke, of Combermere Abbey, and brought by the former to the Museum, 
but it was too far decomposed for preservation. January 28th, 1915. 
More than 200 Golden Plover, in summer plumage, were counted by the writer 
on a field between Blacon and Saughall, Chester, on April 19th, 1914. 
At the north-east end of Chester, at 11-30 p.m., on Thursday, February 11th, 
1915, a number of Curlew, on wing, apparently just above the house tops, 
were heard, but not seen. 
Two Albino Rats, one about six weeks old, and the other nearly full grown. 
The former was caught by a cat, and the latter was caught in a trap at 
Ince, near Chester. The eyes of both specimens showed a trace of pink a 
day after death. 6th June, 1914. 
The nest of a Leaf-Cutter Bee (Megachile sp. ?) was found inside an empty 
bobbin reel, laying on a shelf in a greenhouse, by Mr. J. T. Riches, of 
Boughton. The site selected is unusual and .interesting. 
‘Bean Goose was shot on the Dee at Queen’s Ferry, 18th January, 1915. 
GEOLOGICAL SECTION. 
The first of the two Lectures assigned to the Section was given by the 
Rev. W. M. D. La Touche, Rector of Wistanstow, a recognised authority of his 
subject, on ‘“‘ The Geology of Shropshire.’”? Geological maps of England and 
Wales, with sectional and other maps of the Shropshire country, were exhibited, 
the causes of the local strata explained, and the persistence of the Highland 
pre-Cambrian Longmynd Hills through long ages pointed out to the large 
audience present. 
Mr. F. T. Maidwell, of Runcorn, took the second Lecture, his subject 
being ‘‘ The Fossil Footprints of the Triassic Rocks of Cheshire.” Dealing 
exhaustively with the known remains, the lecturer evolved an interesting theory 
as to the gait of the various animals, and demonstrated the Cheshire 
Cheirothaurus as four-footed, with relatively small forelegs, a heavy tail, and a 
narrow pelyis. An interesting debate followed. 
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY SECTION. 
EXPLOSIVES. 
By Dr. T. Lewis Battery, F.I.C. 
After a short preliminary consideration of the composition and manufacture 
of gunpowder, a study of modern high explosives was taken up, ranging through 
nitro-glycerine, gun-cotton, cordite, the dynamite group, picric acid, trinitro- 
toluol, etc. The uses of the various explosives were considered, including, not 
only their application in warfare, but also their application in mining and 
agriculture. The lecture was fully illustrated by means of lantern slides, many 
of those showing methods of manufacture of nitro-explosives having been very 
‘kindly prepared for Dr. Bailey by the National Explosives Co., of Hayle, 
Cornwall. 
GOLD AND CREDIT: THEIR EFFECT UPON THE WAR. 
By F. Barrsrow, Esq., Barrister at Law, Associate of Bankers’ Institute. 
The early part of the Lecture, after referring to the primitive system of 
barter, shewed how the trade of increasing civilisation demanded a common 
medium of exchange and why gold had been generally accepted. It then 
dealt with the growth of the credit system, pointing out how bank-notes and 
cheques augmented the gold currency but were liable to fail in times of financial 
crisis. 
