2 Notes and Comments. 
the Rt. Hon. T. R. Ferens, and Messrs. G. Beckett, J. S. 
Butcher, IT. E. Harvey, A. Marshall, A. S) Rowminee™ 2: 
Sherwell, J. H. Whitley, and E. Wood. 
VAPOURER MOTH ON HEATHER. 
Mr. S. Margerison contributes to a recent number of * Wild 
Life,’ a short illustrated article on insect plagues. He refers 
to the recent invasion of a Yorkshire grouse moor by a swarm 
of caterpillars of the Vapourer Moth. A large patch of the 
moor was ‘absolutely stripped of every leaf of ling and bil- 
berry, and every blade of grass.’ Such a plague was quite 
new to the keepers, and there are no recorded observations of 
an attack upon moorland plants by this species; yet ‘the 
crowd of quickly moving caterpillars was like an advancing 
army, numbering tens of thousands, and young ones were all 
the time emerging from the eggs, which had been deposited on 
silky cocoons fixed to the wiry stems of the vegetation.’ Mr. 
Margerison points out that the Vapourer belongs to the same 
family as the Nun Moth, which has wrought such havoc in 
German and Russian forests. In two years alone these moths 
stripped the leaves of 6,375 acres in the Rothebude Forest, 
“their droppings covering the ground to a depth of five to 
eight centimetres, whilst the sound of their falling was hke that 
of heavy rain.’ Large sums of money were spent in vain 
attempts at extirpation. 
THE PAULL MUSEUM, HOLDERNESS. 
We take the following from The Museums Journal :— 
‘The following characteristic announcement appears in the 
report of the Hull Museums Committee with reference to the 
well-known museum at Paull, an out-of-the-way village in 
Holderness. We understand that the former owner had it 
valued at something like £3,000, and apparently the Hull 
Museum has secured what was worth securing for about £3 :— 
‘“T have to report that on account of the death of Mr. J. D. 
Battersby, an ex-Hull Town Councillor, his well-known 
museum at Paull was put up for auction on the roth and 11th 
October. As the committee is aware, there was an enormous 
accumulation of material of various sorts, among which, 
however, were some objects which certainly ought to be in 
the Hull Museums. Fortunately, or unfortunately, partly 
on account of bad weather, and partly on account of the 
inaccessibility of the village, the attendance was small, and we 
were able to get practically everything that was of value to us 
at absurdly low prices; the price of Is. and Is. 3d. per lot 
being not uncommon. We missed a few interesting items, 
which were secured by Councillor Harrison, but I have since 
visited his warehouse and he has given us the objects we wanted 
from his lots. 
Naturalist, 
