Kindness of Mr. Gunn. 259 



fore had a nine-foot pole or rod made of ashwood in 

 three lengths of three feet each, which were screwed 

 strongly together with brass joints, while the end 

 screwed into the handle of the bag. 



To obviate the intrusion of rubbish, he had a copper 

 ring made an inch deep to fit into the mouth of the 

 bag, the ring carrying a copper sieve of a quarter of 

 an inch mesh, and being looped with a cord over the 

 pole, so that it might hang freely when the contents 

 of the bag were being emptied from its mouth. 



Lastly, he lengthened the muslin bag to sixteen 

 inches, to prevent an accident to which the shallower 

 bag was liable, that the contents would flow out as 

 quickly as they had flowed in. 



His contrivance he found to answer exceedingly 

 well, and when the three sections of the long rod were 

 put into a cloth sheath they were quite portable, and 

 the instrument was available not only for fresh-water 

 gatherings, but also for sweeping among the sea-weeds 

 either from a boat or along the sea-shore. 



Equipped with his new invention, Mr. Robertson 

 betook himself once more to the fens on the east of 

 England. When in Norwich he first called on a Mr. 

 Hamer, who was doing work amongst the clay beds, 

 but from him he derived little information and less 

 encouragement. He then went to see Mr. Stevenson, 

 an ornithologist, to whom he had a letter of introduc- 

 tion. Mr. Stevenson advised him to call on the Rev. 

 Mr. Gunn, who had done some good work on the 

 Cromer beds. Once more visiting Mr. Hamer, he 

 mentioned his wish to see Mr. Gunn. Mr. Hamer 

 told him that the clergyman had lost his wife only 



