Royal Society. 65 
fix-pence^ and upon weighing a titmoufc, which is the fmalleft 
bird here in England^ it weighed above two Shillings : The neft 
of the humming-bird is made of cotton-wool, in form and bignels 
like the thumb of a man's glove, with the taper end fet down- 
wards 5 the eggs are oval, and of the bignefs of a pea : They feed 
by thrufting their bill and tongue into the blofToms of trees, and \ 
io they fuc k the fw eet juice of honey from them,, which they do 
without fitting, by a hovering motion of their wings; what is faid 
of their being curious finging birds, is not true 3 they are wore as 
pendants in the ears, by the Indian Soggamores-^ the name of this 
bird is from a noile, like a fpinning- wheel, which he makes in 
flying, but the author of this account never oblerved any fuch 
thing, befides, that their body and wings are too fmall to flrike 
air enough to m^ake any noife; it is a folitary bird, no more than 
two being feen together at a time, viz. the male and female, and 
they are ealily diftinguifhable, the former being fomewhat bigger 
than the latter; If one fhould take the wing of a fmall bird, and 
ftand four or five yards from a candle, and open the wing, and 
look thro' it, he would lee very elegant colours of red and green, 
which latter doth fomething refemble the colour of this bird. 
An Account of Virginia; hy Mr. J. Clayton. Phil. Tranf. 
N° 201. p. 781. 
T'HE air and temperature of the feafbns in Virginia are 
much influenced by the winds, both as to heat and cold, 
drought and rnoifture; and their variations are very notable, 
there being often great and fudden changes; the north and north- 
weft are very nitrous and piercing, cold and clear, or e\^Q, 
flormy; the Ibuth and fouth-eaft are hazy and fultry hot; their 
winter is a fine clean and dry air, which renders it veryp]eafant5 
their froHs are fhort, but fometimes very fharp, fb as to freeze 
rivers three miles broad, and fometimes T^otomack^ in places 
where it is nine miles over ; Mr. Clayton obferved, that it freezes 
hardefl, when from a moift fouth-eaft, on a fudden the wind 
pafling by the north, a nitrous Aiarp north- weft blows, not with 
high gufts, but with a fharp brilk air ; and the vales, which 
then feem to be Qieltered from the wind, where the air is mofif 
flagnant and moifl, are frozen the hardefl, and there the fruits 
are moft luhjedl: to blaft, than where the air hath a free motion ; 
ihow falls there fometimes very plentifully, but it rarely continues 
above a day or two; their fpring is about a month earlier than in 
England'^ in AprilinQy have frequent rains, fometimsslcveral fhort 
and fudden gufts of wind : in May and June the heat encreaics, and 
Vol. III. i it 
f^^ ^ ^^^.^ ,^^ J^^,^^ 
