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YORKSHIRE NATURALISTS' UNION MEETINGS. 



A largely-attended meeting of the Vertebrate Section of the Yorkshire 

 Naturalists' Union was held in the Leeds Institute, on Saturday, February 

 13th. When it is considered that the meetings (with a short one of the 

 Wild Birds' Protection Committee) lasted from 2 p.m. to 9-30 p.m., it 

 will be understood that it was necessary to be interesting in order to keep 

 the audience for so long a time. 



The President of the Union, Mr. St. Quintin, occupied the chair during 

 the afternoon meeting, and Mr. R. Fortune, President of the Vertebrate 

 Section, for the remainder of the time. 



For the Wild Birds' Protection Committee, it Was reported that watchers 

 had been arranged for at Spurn and Hornsea Mere, and several interesting 

 letters were read from last season's watchers, etc. 



Dr. E. S. Steward, of Harrogate, read an extremely interesting paper 

 upon his experiences during a bird-nesting expedition into sout'n Spain, 

 making many of his hearers long to have the same opportunities of studying 

 numbers of oiu* rarer British birds, where they are found nesting in abun- 

 dance. 



Mr. E. E. Gregory- followed with a paper upon ' The Pleistocene Verte- 

 brate Remains of the West Riding.' This, too, was full of interest, especi- 

 ally to the members of the new Mammalia, etc., Committee, affording a 

 splendid guide to their future investigations in this direction. It was 

 illustrated by specimens found in several Yorkshire caves. After an 

 interval for tea. Prof. Patten gave a short account of ' Four hours' contin- 

 uous observations of the feeding habits of Richardson's Skua.' The obser- 

 vations were made in Dublin Bay, and the account of how the Skua 

 procures his food, by preying upon the gulls and terns, was made especially 

 interesting through being illustrated by lantern slides from Prof. Paten's 

 sketches, made on the spot. 



Mr. Whitaker's notes on ' British Bats ' were profusely illustrated by 

 lantern slides. Members were particularly pleased to hear Mr. Whitaker, 

 who is our recognised Yorkshire authority upon these mammals. The 

 lecture was enlivened by some very amusing anecdotes. 



Mr. Oxley Grabham then gave a short and very lacy lecturette upon 

 some of the birds of the Yorkshire Coast, etc., illustrated by a fine series 

 of lantern slides. The account of Spurn and its bird life, beautifully 

 illustrated as it was, gave a splendid idea of the locality, and of the work 

 done there by the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union Birds' Protection Com- 

 mittee. Mr. Grabham showed some charming slides of White Hedgehogs, 

 which he obtained from the neighbourhood of Pickering, stating that there 

 appears to be a strain of albinos in the district. 



Messrs. Jasper Atkinson and Wm. Hewett showed a fine series of slides, 

 chiefly bird studies, but as the time was getting late, they were put throug'n 

 the lantern, accompanied by very few remarks. 



Several other lots of slides were not exhibited, owing to want of time. 



At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. W. Wilson exhibited a White 

 Carrion Crow, particulars of which will duly appear in ' The Naturalist.' 

 The bird presented a very weather-worn appearance, the long tail and 

 flight feathers being much worn and frayed. 



Votes of thanks to the Chairman, and to all contributing lectures and 

 slides, brought a most interesting meeting to a close. 



On the same date, the Yorkshire Marine Biology Committee, in 

 conjunction with the Leeds Conchological Club, had a meeting. Prof. 

 Walter Garstang, M.A., D.Sc, of the Leeds University, as Chairman of 

 the Section, gave an interesting address. After referring to the able work 

 of his predecessor, the late Dr. H. C. Sorby he described the methods of 

 work of such a Committee by which he thought good results migiit be 

 achieved. He also dwelt upon the importance of recording every obser- 



1909 March i. 



