CORRESPONDENCE. 259 © 
little changed, throat spotted with black, and chin quite white. Two 
observed on the 18th had the back lighter, and throat pure white. Our 
taxidermist showed me a specimen of the Grey Phalarope, killed on 
the Cherwell, in this parish, a few years ago. The occurrence ot this 
little Arctic bird so far inland is, I think, noteworthy. It, however, I 
believe, visits our coasts every autumn on its migration. We have a 
great dearth of Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, and Robins, especially the 
last. Before the winter they were very plentiful, but one may*now go 
for weeks and not see a Robin—the frost killed them off.—O. V. Apu, 
Bodicote, Oxon, September 19th, 1879. 
RemarKastE RAwraty.—On the 2nd August there was a remarkable 
rainfall on the Clent Hills and at Halesowen, being 2°75in. at the latter 
place. This caused a flood on the Stourremarkable alike for its height and 
suddenness. It was almost all the red water coloured by the Permian 
clays of Clent Hills, as the branches of the river coming from the Dudley 
area were not much swollen. On the 16th the rainfall was more general, 
and measured nearly three inches over a large area, while near Hartle- 
bury it was more than seven inches, and was thought to be a water- 
spout. From appearances observed over that district by residents at 
Wollaston, near Stourbridge, this certainly seems to have been the case, 
as a very dark black cloud was observed to descend quickly in a funnel- 
shaped mass to the earth, the lower end waving about in a singular 
manner. The havoc on the railway near Kidderminster, and the 
bursting of Stone and Spennels Pools, cutting up a turnpike road with a 
deep trench across it, showed plainly a most unusual and concentrated 
rainfall. One garden and orchard, rather hemmed in by a railway and 
natural embankments, was filled up, the water remaining for days 
half-way up the lower storey of the house and up to the lower branches 
of the trees, as there was no outlet for it EH. B. Marrmn, Pedmore, near 
Stourbridge. 
RemargasLteE Hee.—On collecting the eggs from my hen roost on 
2nd September last, I found in one of the nests an egg with a perfect 
shell, but of a very small size, scarcely, if at all, larger than a robin’s or 
house sparrow’s egg. The surface was very rough, being dotted over 
irregularly with projecting lumps of calcareous matter. I tried to blow 
it with my mouth, in the manner common to school boys, but could not 
force through the hole a drop of anything, and on rubbing the pin on my 
finger could find no trace of moisture. I droppedit into aglass of water, 
when it sank like a stone, without even a bubble of air escaping through 
the holes. I then cut it open with my knife, and found it filled with a 
globule of extremely tenacious glairy albumen, without a vestige of 
yolk. Ihave the impression that when an ovary is removed from a hen 
it is usually found to contain a large number of immature eggs, varying 
in size from a small pea to the full size of the yolk of a perfect egg, and 
that the substance forming such immature eggs isthe yolk. Further 
that the white of the egg is formed over and around the yolk after it 
has become detached from the ovary and during its passage through the 
oviduct, and that finally the shell membrane and shell are deposited 
over all. Such being the normal order of development, is it not remark- 
able that a globular lump of albuminous substance, resembling as 
closely as possible one of the little transparent jelly fish frequently 
found on the sands at Scarborough, and not surrounding a yolk, should 
become coated with membrane and shell, and be laid in the usual nest 
as if it had been a perfect egg? When a hen lays an ege without a shell 
she usually avoids the nest and drops the egg anywhere, but in this case 
she was evidently prompted to seek the nest, as though she were going 
to lay a proper egg. I may say that I have a mixed lot of fowls, but I 
believe this egg was laid by a white Brahma.—Cuas. L. Roruera, 
Beeston, Notts. 
