OCCASIONAL NOTES. 399 
preserve for the Governors, who had also the exclusive right of shooting in 
the Clos du Valle. Thus on the Sth of September, 1716, we find the Royal 
Court authorizing the King's receiver, Mr. Peter Martin, to hold an inquest 
for the purpose of discovering the persons who had killed Stags, Roebucks, 
and Pheasants on the island of Herm, and also who had been sporting in 
the Clos du Valle, contrary to the ordinance. We have often heard from an 
old gentleman, now deceased, who remembered when the two last deer on 
Herm were killed, about the year 1773, that the stags were in the habit 
of swimming from thence to the Vale, a distance of rather less than two 
miles at low water, to feed, and then returning, always taking the proper 
tide each way. In the year 1737 the islands of Herm, Jethou, and Lihou, 
with the pond of the Grande Mare, near Vazon Bay, now marshy ground, 
which pond contained the wonderful Carp described by Heylin, were leased 
to individuals in perpetuity; but while the Governors resided at Castle 
Cornet they were enabled to diversify the scenes of their lonely residence 
by an occasional excursion to Herm to shoot Deer, Pheasants, or Rabbits ; 
or to fish at the Grande Mare; or to shoot over the Clos du Valle, 
Guernsey, containing a great many Hares at that period and long after- 
wards.” I have often been shown the place the deer used to swim over 
from the Vale to Herm and back. A wild Devon or Somerset stag would 
think nothing of the distance, even at high water, but the very hot tides might 
bother him a little at times. —Crci_ Suire (Bishop’s Lydeard, Taunton). 
Tue Cotour or Cucxoos’ Ecas.—May I be allowed to call the 
attention of all who were interested in the controversy “On the colouring 
of Cuckoos’ eggs”’—which occurred in the pages of ‘The Zoologist’ and 
other Natural-History publications, more especially in the years 1868 and 
1873 — to the valuable testimony given on this subject in the August 
number (p. 862) by Mr. Seebohm? It was asserted by those who were 
opposed to Dr. Baldamus’s theory that nobody had ever seen a Cuckoo’s 
egg bearing the least approach to the blue eggs of the Hedgesparrow and 
Redstart (Zool. 8.S. p. 8529, &c.). Mr. Rowley, who examined the question 
in the most fair and impartial manner, expressed himself unconvinced, but 
added, ‘a blue and a green egg of C. canorus, well authenticated, would do 
much to convert me” (p. 3471); and even Professor Newton (who was 
inclined from the first to favour the new theory) remarked that the fact 
which told most against it was that, “so far as he was aware, no one had 
ever found in the nest of a Hedgesparrow a Cuckoo’s egg which is similar 
to that of the Hedgesparrow” (p. 3473). Some evidence, indeed, there was 
of blue Cuckoo’s eggs, but it was not considered sufficiently definite and 
authentic. Prof. Newton had himself quoted Salerne as an authority 
100 years ago for eggs so coloured (p. 3506). The collections of Dr. Bal- 
damus (pp. 1151, 1154, 1155) and Dr. Rey (p. 3435) professed to contain 
