390 The Zoologist — September, 1866. 



[By a reference to my ' Dictionary,' it will be fouud that Baillon's crake has been 

 previously known to breed in the eastern counties: I did not describe the nest in my 

 ' BirdsnestinfT,' never having seen a verified egg, and having certain doubis about 

 published descriptions. Mr. Overend would much oblige me by writing for the 

 ' Zoologist' a minute description of the egg. — Edxvard Newman.'] 



Pisa Gibbsii and Sun-Jish al Penzance. — I took a female specimen of Pisa Gibbsii 

 on the 14th of June: it was from about six fathoms of water, and overgrown with 

 corallines and little sponges, and was the home of many little shells. 1 also, on 

 Thursday lasl, inspected a sun-fish of the common sort, which had been taken the day 

 before basking on the surface of the water. There was nothing to remark to you about 

 it, except perhaps its mouth. It was almost laughable to see a great square fish, 

 weighing nearly a hundred weight and a half, measuring three feet by two throughout, 

 with big fins besides, having nine inches of breadth across the skull a'nd five inches 

 across the body, with a mouth of only two inches and three quarters gape, not much 

 larger than the circumference of the lip of an ordinary claret-glass. Any of the shark 

 lot of the same weight would have had a gape of nine inches, exclusive of the liga- 

 ments which give some of them increased power. — Thomas Cornish; Penzance, 

 July 23, 1866. 



Insects on the Snow. — My respected friend, Dr. L. Irahoff, of Basle, has just 

 favoured me with a few remarks on the subject of my paper in the July number of the 

 'Zoologist' (S. S. 273), which I am happy to communicate to its readers. This 

 gentleman writes: — "It seems to me unlikely that any insects should voluntarily 

 settle ou the snow. Should they feel the want of appropriating a larger quantity of 

 oxygen, or the necessity of cooling iheir bodies, they may attain their object by flying 

 very close to the surface of ihe snow. On fine winter days, when snow covers the 

 earth, we have in the plain the phenomenon that Tipulida:, especially some species of 

 Chironomus, fly about; but to my knowledge it has not yet been observed that they 

 settle on the snow." May I ask, through the 'Zoologist,' whether anything of the 

 kind has ever been noticed in England or abroad? — Albert Muller ; July 26, 1866. 



PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



Entomological Society. 

 August 6, 1866. — Professor Westwood, V.-P., in the chair. 



A special vote of thanks to Mr. W. Wilson Saunders was passed, in acknowledg- 

 ment of the hospitable reception given to the Members of the Society at Reigate, on 

 the 6ib ultimo. 



