oe NORTHERN NEWS. 
The recent leaflets issued by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries deal 
with Crimson Clover, Dodder, Poultry Fattening, The Dogs Act, 1905, 
Insurance of Farming Stock against Fire, and Cleansing of Water Courses. 
A significant post-script appears to the last named :—‘ This leaflet does not 
apply to Scotland!’ Stands Scotland where it did ? 
Hints on self-advertisement. ‘As a member of the School Nature-Study 
Union, and as a writer of books and lecturer on Natural History subjects 
designed to interest, elevate, and amuse young and growing children, etc., 
etc.’... ‘Listen to what Sir Herbert Maxwell says in his Introduction to 
one of my books.’ (Extracted from an articleon ‘Nature Teaching, through 
the senses to the mind,’ by a F.R.H.S., M.B.O.U.). 
The Report of the Corresponding Societies’ Committee of the British 
Association, and of the Conference of Delegates (York Meeting) has been 
issued, and may be obtained at the offices of the Association for one shilling. 
In addition to the papers read, and the discussions which took place at the 
Conference of Delegates at York, it contains particulars relating to the 
various societies affiliated with the Association, as well as a useful biblio- 
graphy of papers which have appeared in the various societies’ proceedings. 
The B.E.N.A.’s have been having a ‘beano.’ Forty-nine of the readers 
of ‘The Country Side’ have guessed correctly a ‘What is it’ problem (a 
thimble) ; the prize has been divided, and each ‘ successful competitor’ has 
received the sum of fivepence. May we suggest that these forty-nine show 
their gratitude by purchasing a B.E.N.A. badge with the proceeds, and be 
thus easily identified. In the same journal we learn that ‘country people 
love to keep a jay in a wicker cage!’ 
Ata recent meeting of the York Naturalists’ Society a discussion took 
place on ‘the Young Naturalist.’ From the press report we learn that ‘ Mr. 
William Hewett, a born entomologist of fame, drew timely attention to the 
fact that it would be a sad day if all the children, youths, and maidens in the 
land were made mere collectors of rare plants, insects, etc. The county of 
York could not afford to have a single species exterminated by too ardent 
collecting, of which there was always a lurking danger present.’ To this 
we say Amen! 
Perhaps the principal article in the April ‘Reliquary’ deals with ‘Damme.’ 
To this city of the Netherlands a good American once paid a visit. ‘ There 
was no hotel, the door of the one estaminet was too narrow to admit his 
trunks, and, sitting down upon them in the deserted Grand Place, he softly 
whispered the word which is at the head of this chapter.’ In the same 
journal Mr. T. P. Cooper, of York, has a paper on ‘The Story of the 
Tobacco Pipe.’ In this he figures, as early York-made pipes, two or three 
examples which were most probably made in Hull. 
As an illustration of the way in which even common objects can be 
examined with fruitful results, Mr. C. Gordon Hewitt has recently issued 
“A Preliminary Account of the Life History of the Common House Fly’ 
(Memoirs and Proceedings Manchester Lit. & Phil. Soc., Vol. 51, part 1). 
In the the same proceedings, Mr. R. L. Taylor draws attention to the 
remarkable luminosity produced by rubbing or knocking together various 
forms of silica. A correspondent in a local paper some time ago pointed 
this out as a property peculiar to the white pebbles found on the coast at 
Whitby. 
The taste for natural history is growing, and ‘Punch’ is the latest 
journal to have a column devoted to ‘Nature Studies.’ The subject in the 
issue before us is ‘ The Motor Bus,’ though the Latin name of the species is 
not given, which seems unfortunate. Judging from the description, however, 
we presume it is a variety of a Slitheranda damdzim (L). In another part 
of the same issue, under ‘ Zoological Sequels,’ are given some advertisements 
for patent medicines for animals.. Amongst these we find ‘Leopards try 
Pumacea. It touches every spot.’ Another is a cure for lobsters blushing, 
which reminds us of a story. [Thanks, but this is a natural history 
journal.—Eb. |. 
Naturalist, 
