32 THE VlCTORlA>f NATURALIST. 



NOTES. 



At a meeting of the Field Naturailists' Section of the Tioyal 

 iSoeietY of Sout'i Australia, held March 22nd, Professor 

 Tate presiding, Mr. D. Best, the Hon. Sec. F.N.C., and 

 Mr. H. Watts', Vice-President F.'V.C, and Hon. Sec. of the 

 Postal Microscopical Society of Victoria, were elected 

 honorary members. 



Mr. A. J. Campbell, F N.C., has brought out a volume on the 

 " Nests and Fggs of Australian Birds." Desciiptions and 

 dimensions are gi\^e.n of about i<13, or nearly all the known 

 Australian eggs, 2G2 being taken from Mr. Gould's celebrated 

 work on the birds of A ustralia. Of the remainder, Mr. Campbell 

 claims to here describe 122 for the first time, from specimens in 

 his own collection. Prefaced to each of the families, is a general 

 descL-iptlon of the kiad of nest made by the members of the 

 family and the number of eggs usually laid. This is a convenient 

 arrangement, especially for beginners, as the}^ can easily" 

 determine the family of any bird whose nest only they have 

 found, and then determine the bird itself by comparing the 

 eggs with the concise descriptions which follow the family 

 characters. 1 he descriptive portion of the book will make it, 

 in company with Mr. R-amsay's Tabular List, a valuable vade- 

 mecum for pi'actieal oologists, who will owe Mr. (Campbell a 

 corresponding debt of gratitude. For those who delight in 

 adventure, we had almost said romance, Mr. Campbell has 

 appended a series of pictures of his " camp-eutings," in which 

 in very lively language he tells of the sort of sport to be obtaiued 

 in Australian birds-nesting. It should be added that this 

 publication iucludes a nu?aiber of papers read before the F'leld 

 Naturalists' Clu^'. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



Suicide of Snakes. 



" In Nature," March 13th, p. 452, Mr. Hardmau, Government 

 Geologist of Perth, W. Australia, mentions an instance of the 

 suicide, by its own venom, of a Black Snake. The snake had 

 been wounded, and the wounded part having been attacked bj 

 black ants, " it instantly turned short round and bit itself twice 

 on the neck with seeming determination, and in less than one 

 minute it was dead." Mr. Hardmau believed the death to be 

 due to its own venom. Can aiiyone substantiate this view of 

 reptile suicide by similar insta.ncos, from his own observation of 

 our native snakes ? — A. H. S. L. 



