66 Alexander Goodman More. [i855 



months later than in 1853 ; and what gave me the best idea of the state 

 of things was a visit I paid to St. Helen's Spit on March 3ist with Dr. 

 Salter, where on the sand the advance was exceedingly similar to what 

 it was on January 3ist, 1853 : 



Draba verna (whitlow-grass), a good many, but sessile. 



Cerastium semidecandrum (little mouse-ear), several plants, but 

 with scarcely ever more than one flower, and that nestling quite among 

 the bracts. No C. tetrandrum at all. 



Alchemilla arvensis (parsley piert). By careful examination I found 

 one flower. 



Cardamine hirsuta (bitter-cress), two plants just in flower. 



Plenty of chickweed flowering among the furze, as also Ulex euro- 

 pseus (gorse) in flower. 



Luzula pilosa (small wood-rush), one plant barely in flower : Fire- 

 stone Copse. 



Not a single Wheatear to be seen." 



On the same day, "willow-catkins show woolly, but 

 no anthers," and on the next day (April ist), "A very 

 few anthers on a forward sallow, but no filaments deve- 

 loped." On April ist, also appeared the first Brimstone 

 Butterfly; " Gonepteryx rhamni, male, in Quarr Copse/' 

 The Floral Calendar was punctiliously kept throughout 

 April, at the end of which month many species were still far 

 behind their time ; but no notes were taken in May. Even 

 the calendar of the Migratory Birds abruptly ends this 

 year with the day he " saw a few Swallows" (April 22nd), 

 before the Martin, Swift, Sedge-warbler, Grasshopper- 

 Warbler, or Spotted Flycatcher, had yet put in an 

 appearance. 



This was in great measure due to his bad health, which 

 prevented exploration ; but he was not debarred from 

 correspondence on natural history, and his list of corre- 

 spondents had lately been enlarged by the inclusion of 

 his newest ornithological friend, Mr. Edward Newton. 

 He had consulted Mr. Newton by letter about a bird a 

 Red-throated Diver in unusual plumage, which might, he 

 thought, possibly have proved to be the rarer Black- 

 throated, and the correspondence thus started continued. 

 The following letter is* partly in reply to Mr. Newton's 

 request that he will look out for the Eared Grebe at 

 Bembridge. 



