344 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



feathers, and trying to look quite unconcerned, but every now 

 and then uttering a guttural sound like " kuruk," casting a glance 

 back to where the young ones were diving incessantly, in a vain 

 and most absurd-looking endeavour to hide themselves. She 

 several times flew back to within eight or nine yards of the boat, 

 and repeated the same manoeuvres as before. When we left the 

 place, she gathered her brood round her, and made off quickly to 

 the shelter of the reeds. 



It is satisfactory to add that this first recorded instance of 

 the breeding of the Tufted Duck in the Stewartry of Kirkcud- 

 bright has been well authenticated without infringing the Wild 

 Birds Protection Act by taking the life of any of the birds in 

 question. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



To purify Water in an Aquarium.— There is an easier method of 

 keeping pure the water in a small aquarium than the chemical plan 

 suggested at p. 292. No doubt the snails do good scavenger work, but the 

 important point is to keep the water charged with ordinary atmospheric 

 air. This can be done by the use of an ordinary pair of bellows for a few 

 minutes twice or thrice a day. There is no mistaking the pleasure with 

 which the fish receive a good blowing up. — T. Cornish (Penzance). 



MAMMALIA. 



A Herd of Red-deer from a single Hind. — The following information, 

 derived from letters addressed to Professor Flower by Mr. J. A. Houblon, 

 of Hallingbury Park, Bishop Stortford, has been kindly placed at our 

 disposal for publication in ' The Zoologist ' : — " A Red-deer hind was hunted 

 by Mr. Petre's hounds into this neighbourliood and lost in 1875. I was 

 walking soon afterwards through the Forest (Hatfield Broad Oak) when 

 I saw the hind with a male calf at her foot. Since 1877 sbe has had one 

 calf every year, except one, though no stag, except her own offspring, has 

 been seen in the Forest since she was lost and left there. Two voun» 

 harts got drowned on going to drink at a muddy place from which they 

 were unable to extricate themselves. In 1881 we killed and ate a five-year 

 old stag thus reared, and another last year. The heads of these are good 

 average heads, and are now hung up in our hall. They have each of them 

 ten points, and neither of them showed any signs of degeneracy that we 

 could perceive. There are now (May 2Sth, 1887) five Ked deer in Hatfield 



