112 



KNOWLEDGE 



[May 2, 1898. 



BRITISH 



J0^ 

 ORNITHOLOGICAL 



Conducted by Hakey F. Witheeby, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 



Notes feom Dublin Bay. 



KuFF. — On the 28th of August I obtained a pair of 

 Euffs in immature plumage, and also saw another one. 



CuELEw Sandpiper. — On the same daj' I saw large 

 flocks of Curlew Sandpipers ; one Hock certainly could 

 not have been less than five hundred strong. It passed 

 quite close to me, the white upper tail coverts of the 

 birds being very conspicuous, thus easily distinguishing 

 them from the Dunlin when flying. 



AvocET. — In the beginning of October I saw an Avocet, 

 which stayed about the marshes till the last week in the 

 month, but I failed to add him to my collection. 



AldinoVakieties of Mistle Thrush, Common Snipe, Wood- 

 cock, AND Curlew. — The following is a Ust of the varieties 

 which came under my notice last season. 



Mistle Thrush. — October 5th ; bluish white all over, 

 showing the markings of the breast and throat. This 

 ueems a very persistent variety, as a winter seldom passes 

 without two or three specimens coming under my notice. 

 This, Uke all the other ones 1 have seen, was greatly 

 frayed along the edges of the wings and tail. The owner 

 informed me that it had been mobbed by other Mistle 

 Thrushes for at least a month during which it was under 

 his observation. 



Common Snipe. — October 10th; perfectly white all over, 

 eyes dark, bill and feet Hght yellowish brown. Obtained 

 in Co. Meath. November 27th ; whole plumage rich buff, 

 the usual Snipe markings showing through. One of the 

 commonest varieties of this species ; usually get three or 

 four in a season. Obtained in Co. Kerry. 



Woodcock.- — December 6th ; whole plumage a beautiful 

 buff, with a bluish sheen on wings and tail, bars and 

 markings a bright brick red. Beak and legs reddish 

 brown. From Co. Tipperary. 



Curlew. — January 4th ; whole plumage white, with 

 usual markings showing against the white background ; 

 a most striking variety ; bill and feet tan colour. 

 Shot by Mr. Young, Brockley Park, Queen's County. — 

 E. Williams, 2, Dame Street, Dublin. 



Wafer Pipit (Anihus spipoleita) in Carnarrovshire. — At a 

 meeting of the British Ornithologists' Club, held on January 19th, 

 Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited an immature example of the Water 

 Pipit which had been procured by Mr. Gr. H. Caton Haigh on 

 December 3rd, 1897, in Carnarvonshire. 



All contributions to the column, eitJier in tlie way of notes 

 or photographs, should be forwarded to Harry F. Witherby, 

 at 1, Eliot Place, Blackheath, Kent. 



Note. — The first issue of Knowlkdoe containing British Ornitho- 

 logical Notes was that for October, 1897. 



.\t a recent meeting of the Members of the Institution 

 of Electrical Engineers, Mr. Robert Hammond explained 

 in detail a method by which electrical energy on a large 

 scale will, at an early date, be generated and at the 

 service of consumers. The cost, it is stated, will be such 

 as to bring the electric light within the sphere of all light- 

 users, as the distribution can be effected at the rate of 

 about three farthings per unit. 



Neptune's diameter, according to a recent determination 

 by Prof. Barnard, is 32,900 miles. 



Sections A to K of the British Association at the Bristol 

 meeting in September next will be respectively presided 

 over by Prof. W. E. Ayrton, f.r.s. ; Prof. Francis R. Japp, 

 F.R.s. ; W. H. Huddleston, f.r.s. ; Prof. W. F. R. Weldon, 

 F.R.S. ; Dr. J. Bonar ; Sir John Wolfe-Barry, f.b.s. ; H. 

 E. W. Brabrook, c.b. ; and Prof. F. O. Bower, f.r.s. Sir 

 William Crookes, f.r.s., is the President elect, and he will 

 deliver his address on Wednesday evening, 7th September. 

 Prof. W. J. Sollas, m.a., f.r.s., and Mr, Herbert Jackson, 

 will dehver the two evening discourses. 



The third annual Congress of the South-Eastern Union 

 of Scientific Societies, whose President is the Rev. T. E. 

 R. Stebbing, will be held at Croydon, on June the 2nd, 

 3rd, and 4th. A number of interesting papers are to be 

 read and discussed, among the contributors being Mr. J. 

 W. Tutt, Mr. C. Dawson, Prof. J. Logan Lobley, Mr. 

 Fred. Enoch (on the " Life History of the Tiger Beetle "'), 

 and Prof. G. S. Boulger, who will deliver the annual 

 address, as President elect, on June 2nd. The hon. 

 secretary is G. Abbott, m.b.c.s., 33, Upper Grosvenor Road, 

 Tunbridge Wells. ,.. 



As an indication of the interest centred in technical 

 education, the vast sum of money raised for the Northamp- 

 ton Institute, ClerkenweU, is convincing. On the 18th 

 March the Lord Mayor inspected and formally opened 

 the buildings, which, together with the equipment, have 

 cost upwards of d€80,000. In addition, the land, generously 

 given by the late Marquis of Northampton, is estimated 

 to be worth not less than £25,000. Dr. Mullineaux 

 Walmsley, the Principal, is a man of great experience in 

 applied science, and a casual inspection of the programme 

 of studies to be carried out under his direction augurs 

 well for the artizan classes. Examinations (to youths and 

 men of this class) are a bugbear, and it is gratifying to 

 note that this institute provides courses of lectures and 

 demonstrations for nearly all trade subjects at twopence 

 per lecture, without any stipulation as to examination for 

 the purpose of grant earning. 



[The Editors do not hold themselves responsible for the opiniong or 

 ■tatements of correspondents.] 



THE LEVEL OF SUXSPOTS. 

 To the Editors of Knowledge. 

 Sirs,— The instructive article on " The Level of Sun- 

 spots," by the Rev. Arthur East, in your last issue, part of 

 which dealt with the probable refraction of the umbra by 

 the vapours on the solar surface within the spot cavity (an 

 opinion which he has already expressed in a recent paper 

 to the British Astronomical Association), is interesting from 

 the fact that the late R. A. Proctor had arrived at the 

 same idea many years ago. In Proctor's " Old and New 

 Astronomy," on page 381, the figure (257) is sufficiently ex- 



