58 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
continually from the ceiling. Bedding, clothes, and books 
became saturated, and it was impossible to keep iron from 
rusting. To obviate this inconvenience in my cabin, I removed 
the dead-light in the ceiling and replaced it with a wooden 
shutter, through which was passed a piece of half-inch india- 
rubber tubing, which was then carried under the snow on deck 
to a convenient aperture. This pipe became a “downtake” for 
the outside air, and in a few minutes reduced the temperature of 
the cabin below the freezing-point. The moisture in the air 
either precipitated itself in the form of lovely snow crystals or 
formed solid ice, which was removed from the bulkheads. By 
tying a knot on the flexible tubing the down-draught of air could 
be stopped and the temperature raised. Until this plan was 
adopted it was found almost impossible to work with a microscope 
owing to the annoyance occasioned by the persistent drip. 
(To be continued.) 
OCCASIONAL NOTES. 
Hastirs oF THE KITE AS OBSERVED IN ScoTLanD.—-On the 3rd October 
I clearly observed a Kite flying over a wood within a few miles of Brighton. 
A farmer, on whose land I was shooting at the time, told me that when he 
was a young man, Kites used to breed in numbers in a large wood near 
Canterbury. He stated that whenever he mounted to a nest he always, if 
possible, climbed first above it, in order to examine the contents, having 
once incautiously placed his hand among some half-killed snakes and 
vipers, which had been brought for food, and still retained sufficient life 
to hiss and strike at him. I should not have mentioned this circumstance 
had I not seen “ reptiles and carrion” recorded in several works as forming 
part of the food of these birds; and, as but few of these writers appeared 
to have had much chance of personally observing the habits of the birds, 
I conclude that their partiality for such repulsive delicacies must have been 
given on the authority of continental naturalists. The British Kite of the 
present day, however, appears to be far more refined in its taste. In nests 
I have myself examined, I have found a few Squirrels and Rabbits, numbers 
of Grouse and Peewits, and on several occasions the young of Curlews, 
Ducks, and Pigeons. Grouse seem to be their favourite food. ‘The last 
nest I had the chance of observing I passed several times, and on every 
occasion the young birds had a fresh-killed Grouse in the nest. The old 
b rds usally have some particular spot to which they carry their prey, to 
