. 118 General Notes. [j^n 



jectives that have been sadly distorted through ignorant or careless hand- 

 ling, but for the present let it suffice to call attention to the above cases 

 which are clearly defined and capable of definite settlement. — Jonathan 

 Dwight, New York City. 



Waterton on Bird Song. — When the October ' Auk ' reached me it so 

 happened that I was reading Waterton's 'Essays' (1838-1855). There I 

 found in his essay on "The Wren, The Hedge Sparrow and The Robin" 

 a passage which is peculiarly interesting in connection with Mr. Hawkins' 

 paper on bird song. It is this: " When we are informed that incubation is 

 the main inducement to melody in the feathered tribe, we have only to step 

 out after sunrise into the surrounding evergreens, and there we are sine to 

 hear either the wren, the hedge sparrow, or the robin, in fine song, although 

 not a single twig has been laid, or a piece of moss produced in furtherance 

 of a nest, wherein to raise their future young. Certainly, in this case, 

 neither love nor warmth could have had any hand in tuning the winter 

 lyre of these little sons of Orpheus." — Cornelius Weygandt, German- 

 town, Philadelphia. 



Correction. — A regrettable error occurs in the first line of Mr. Arthur 

 T. Wayne's article in the October ' Auk.' While his manuscript read : 

 " Since my ' Birds of South Carolina,' " etc., it appeared in print " Since 

 ' My Birds of South Carolina,' " etc. For this unfortunate misquotation 

 of the title of his well known book Mr. Wayne is of course in no way 

 responsible. — Editor. 



