AciiDST. 1901.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



183 



the L-oui-se of some i-emavks in the Ibis (July, 1001. p. 453), 

 upon a simihir specimeu obtained at Yeni.seisk, Mr. H. L. 

 Pi>pham writes that Mr. Zarudny "considers that this 

 variety points, to some extent, to atavism, and sujigests 

 an earlv ancestral form of E. citriiiellit. nearly related to 

 E. leiicoctphahir—H. F. W. 



Attempt to re-introdvce the Gijeat Bustard in 

 Norfolk. — Your readers are aware* of the attempt 

 i-eccntly made to rc-introducc the Bustard into its old 

 liannts on the borders of the counties of Norfolk and 

 Suffolk, and that a number of these birds were sent 

 from Spain to the care of Lord Walsingliani. to whom 

 the management of the interesting experiment was 

 entrusted. Fifteen of these birds have survived the 

 winter at Elveden. where they were jJaeed on the estate 

 of Loi-d Iveagh and allowed a run of some 800 iieres of 

 the same country which the indigenous race formerly 

 frequented. All seemed going on well, but, unfortu- 

 nately, the birds, which had become very tame, left their 

 secure retreat and seem to have spread over tlie country 

 - -the I'esult was, as it was too much to be feared, that 

 two of them have been killed, and that by a game- 

 keeper at Finuingham, who of all persons, the experi- 

 ment having been largely advertised, should have aided 

 in protecting them. Of coiu-se the naturalists of Norfolk 

 were gi-eatly disgusted at this unpardonable act, and 

 immediately drew the attention of the Society for the 

 Protection of Birds to the infraction of the Game Laws, 

 and I understand that the man is to be proceeded 

 against at the nest meeting of the magistrates at Eye, 

 Suffolk, for shooting game out of season. The punish- 

 ment of the man, if convicted, will certainly be alto- 

 gether inadequate, but the publicity thus gained may 

 prevent others from repeating the offence, and to some 

 extent protect the remaining thirteen birds which are 

 at large should they not also have been killed, and their 

 destroyers, warned by this example, have concealed the 

 fact, which is too much to be feared. — T. Southwell. 

 Norwich. 



[It is reported that Arthur Larkings, gamekeeper, 

 Westhorpe, was convicted of the above offence at the 

 ITartismere Petty Sessions, on July 8th. and fined the 

 full penalty of one pound per bird, with £2 15s. costs, 

 or in default one month s hard labour. W. H. Read, 

 keeper to Lord Iveagh, remarked that of seventeen 

 Great Bustards imported only seven remained. As 

 Mr. Southwell predicted, the"" penalty . for Larkings' 

 abominable deed is wholly inadequate, especially as the 

 birds themselves cannot be confiscated. The law as 

 it at present stands is altogether too weak to prevent 

 these murderous acts. Is there no ornitholofrist in 

 Norfolk of sufficient strength and courage to take the 

 law into his own hands and administer a punishment to 

 fit the crime?— H. F. W.] 



Kreedinii nf Wigenn in Ireland (Irish yaiwalist, July. 1901. 

 p. J47).— Mr. Robert Patterson lias t)ie satii-iaetioii uf beina the first 

 to i-eeonl tlie breediug of the Wigeon iu Ireland. The bird ha3 been 

 >nsj)ected of breedinj; there, but the e^gs ha^e never before lieen 

 found. Some dueks' eggs which Jlr. Patterson could not identify 

 were sent to him bv Mr. John Cottnev, who found them near Belfast, 

 in May last. J[r, Patterson aeeordingly Tisited the place on May 18, 

 and found a nest nitli similar eggs, from which he Hushed a Wigeon. 

 Mr Usslier luis compared the eggs and down, and " has no doubt 

 whatever that they are Wigeon's." 



Wliite Wagtail at Sartragh, co. Maifo {Irish Naturalist, Jidy, 

 lOC'l.p. 146) — Mr. Bobert Warren records that Mr. Kirkwood has 

 again this year obsened White Wagtails at Bartragli. Since this 

 AVagtail has been seen during April and May, in the years 1898, 1899, 



• See Knowiedge, October, 1900. p. 230. 



1900, loul 1901. on Bartni^li Island, it may be assmned tliat the west 

 <'Oast of Ireland forms one of its regular migratory routes to the north. 



Migration of Birth in X.IC. Linrolns/iire ihirlng the Autumtu of 

 190f). By O. H. futon ilaigh. {Zoologist, June, li'ol, pp. 201-211). 

 — Mr. Ilaigh 's annual contribution to our conteuiponiry is of great 

 value to students of migration. Mr. Hiigli renuirks that " the cliief 

 I'ealuro of the Inst autunui passage «as the almost complete total 

 alisenee of visible migration. . . . No rare birds were met with in 

 the district, but among the scari'c visitors may lie mentioned the 

 liittirn, Ked. necked Phalaropc, Wooilsandpipcr, and Little .\iik," 

 A nunilicr of birds of regular oci'urrencc were i-onspicuous by their 

 absence hist autunui. 



On the Winter Singinq of the Song-Thrush (Tunhis musiciix). liy 

 \V. Warde Fowler, M..V. '{Zoologist. June, 1901, pp 2 12-21^).- 1 ii 

 a pleasantly writtcu article roumlcd upon personal oliservation. Mr. 

 Fowler collies to the conclusion that the Song-Thrush sings in winter 

 in still open weather when food is easy to get at. He is inclined to 

 think that in the case of mature birds the winter song is a forecast 

 of the coming breeding season, while the' immature may very possibly 

 use their voices only in « hat has been termed " voice-|ilay," 



Rose-coloured Pastor in Kent {Zoologist, June, 19t)l, p. 22;i). — 

 Mr. L. A. Curtis Edwards rei'ords that an adult male of this irregular 

 visitor to Great Britain was secured on May 14 in Komuey Marsh. 



Red-footed Falcon in Shropshire (Zoologist, June, 1901, p. 224). — 

 Mr. Jl. E. Forrest writes that an imuiaturc female specimen of this 

 Falcon, which is a summer visitorto Eurojie, and rarely reaches as I ar 

 north-west as Great Britain, was shot near Shrewsbury on May 18. 



All contribution's to tlie column, either in the way of notes 

 or photoijraphs, should he forwarded to Hakry F. Witherby, 

 at lU, St. (icrmans Place, Black/ieath, Kent. 



^otictQ of Boons. 



■■ iloKfllOLOGY 01? ,Sl'KRM.\T01"UVTi:S," By .1. M. Coultci', 



I'H.D., and 0. J. Chamberlain, ph.u. (New York: 1). 



Apiileton & Co. — This book prcsent.s in a practical 

 and iflforuiing manner comprehen.sive information gleaned from 

 numerous authorities together with original investigations iuid 

 ob.servations of the authors on tlie morphology of sec'd plants. 

 The various chapters are devoted to the treatment of Cyciwlales, 

 Ginkgoales, Coniferales, Gnetales and the Fossil Morphology, 

 Phylogeiiy, and geographic distribution of gymnospcrnis. The 

 provision" of laboratories in regions where the plants are indi 

 genous has enabled their jiecuiiar characteristics to bo studied 

 in a thorough manner, and an increasing amount of attention 

 has been and is being devoted to the subject. Numerous illus- 

 trations render the text clear, and the histological structure as 

 revealed by the microscope is well disiilayed. Tlu' ludgiessivc 

 nature of the investigations and the extent of the ground that 

 is covered by the groups dealt with, precludes finality of know 

 ledge and information, but the present work, which brings many 

 new and interesting facts to light, liius been prepared with 

 great care and discrimination, and is written in a very lucid 

 and intere,stiug manner. 



"The XoRWTioiAN North Polak Exi'edition, 1893 1896. 

 Scientific Kesult.s." Vol. II. Edit«;d by Fridtjof Nansen. 

 (Longmans, (ireeu & Co.) 30s. net. — This second volume, of 

 .scientific results shows even more clearly than the first that 

 the Norwegian North Polar Expedition was not merely an 

 attempt to reach the N<n-th Pole, but a well organized scien- 

 tific expedition, prepared under the direction of a cajiable leader 

 who was fully aware of the opportunities afforded by such an 

 expedition. 



The volume is divided into three Memoirs — VI., VII., and 

 VIII. -dealing with the a.stronomical, magnetic, and pendulum 

 observations, nearly all of which, with the exception of the 

 observations from the sledge journey, were made by Captain 

 Sigurd Scott-Hansen. These observations have been brought 

 together and discussed with that thoroughness and detail that 

 uuu'ks the whole expedition, ranking it ea.sily first among 

 recent expeditions of tliis nature. 



Memoir VI., containing the astronomical observations, ha.s 

 been prepared bv Prof. H. Geelmuydcm, whilst Pr<if. H .H. Turner 

 ha.s also gone over the proofs of the introduction to this section. 

 The astronomical equipment consisted of alt-azimuths, se.xtants, 

 telescopes, together with chronometers and azimuth compasses. 

 For the determination of latitude and local time a large alt- 

 azimuth of 2-inch aperture was most freoucntly used, and 

 the method by altitudes adopt«<l. As will be readUy seen, 

 this method in high latitudes is subject to somewhat large 

 errors, but remembering that the ship was not stationary, but 



