154 Letters, Extracts, and Notes. [Ibis^ 



rules^ the sooner they are carried into effect the better, for 

 although it may be repugnant to the feelings of some to 

 discard names with which they have become familiar, they 

 should remember tliat these names may not be so familiar 

 to others^ and the only names which should really be so to 

 «//, are those which can be upheld on fixed principles by 

 such rules as those above mentioned.'^ 



Yours truly, 



Appletoii Eectory, F, C. R. JoURDAlN. 



Near Abingdon, Berks. 



22 November, 1918. 



[No more letters on this matter can be accepted. — Ed.] 



Fourth Oological Dinner. 



The fourth Oological Dinner was held at Pagani's Res- 

 taurant on Tuesday, 10 September, 1918, and was well 

 attended in spite of war conditions, over thirty being 

 present. Lord Rothschild was in the Chair, and the main 

 subject selected for illustration was the range of variation 

 in Liniicoline eggs. 



The Secretary (the Rev. F. C. R. Joukdain) read a short 

 paper on " Subspecific distiuctions in Eggs,"*' in which he 

 pointed out that while eggs of allied species and even genera 

 are sometimes indistinguishable, there are numerous cases 

 in which the eggs of subspecies show constant differences. 

 As there are only a few cases in which more than one race 

 of the same species breeds within the British Isles, this 

 fact does not come prominently before the collector of 

 British Birds' eggs, but it has long been known that the 

 eggs of the St. Kilda Wren (^Troglodytes t. hirtensis) differed 

 constantly from those of the Common Wren (Troglodytes t. 

 troglodytes) . Another case which has not been previously 

 noticed, is that of the British race of the Song- Thrush 

 ( Tardus philomelus clarkei) , the eggs of which average larger 

 than those of its Continental representative {T. j^. philo^ 

 melus). This was illustrated by a series of eggs taken in 



