360 Field Notes. 



altogether to appear, others appeared in diminished form, and 

 ' the crude fact which explains this lamentable fallinf<-off,' 

 he declared, ' is that printing is practically doubled in price, 

 while the funds of societies remain practically fixed at pre-war 

 figures.' 



CLASSES WHICH HAVE NO WAR PROFITS. 



' The reason for this contrast is that in the main the 

 individuals who form the learned societies do not belong to 

 the class of those who have profited by the war. The incomes 

 of the whole professional, literary and academic classes from 

 whom the membership of the learned societies is drawn have 

 moved very little. They have not been among the profiteers ; 

 hence it is impossible for societies to procure funds by raising 

 subscriptions to a much higher level. On the other hand, the 

 individuals who have the manual work of printing and binding 

 in their hands belong to Trade Unions which utilised the war 

 for the purpose of getting their wages doubled by constant 

 threats of strikes. It is the case of the miners and private 

 householders told over again — a privileged class enjoying a 

 monopoly, and, well organised, has succeeded in exploiting 

 the public. The result is that the public cannot afford to buy 

 what it used to buy, whether it be household coal or newspapers 

 of scientific interest.' 



White Wagtails in Yorkshire. — On Saturday, loth 

 September, at Cookridge, near Leeds, were about 20 to 25 

 migrating White Wagtails. Among them were a few Pied, 

 as well as immature, birds. A small lot of 7 \Miites, 2 Pied, 

 and I or 2 immatures remained on the edge of a small duck 

 pond, and allowed me to watch them, with and without 

 glasses, for quite half an hour, at less than 10 yards range : 

 and the Pied birds were useful in assisting identification. — 

 Jasper Atkinson. 



Short Eared Owl and Crossbill in the West Riding. — 



While searching for the nest of a Merlin on the moors of the 

 Skipton district last May, Mr. Wm. Rowan, {The Naturalist, 

 September last, page 318), mentions having come across 

 the nest of the Short -eared Owl. The Merlin used to breed 

 every year on Barden Moor, and I presume it will do so 

 yet. Formerly many Crossbills visited the woods about 

 Barden in winter, and a few years ago a pair, I believe, was 

 seen all the summer, but no nest was found. It is possible, if 

 not probable, that it occasionally nests there. My brother 

 saw the Green Woodpecker in Bolton Woods last August, and 

 one of my sons saw one at Farnsworth, near Barden, aliont the 

 same time. — E. P. Butterfield. 



Naturalist 



