566 JOJJRhAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



devised by Dr. Bahr. Pierce the shaft of each outer tail-feather 

 with a pin, to which it must be firmly bound. Insert the pins 

 with their attached feathers on each side of a small cork, taking- 

 care that the outer web (narrow edge) of each feathers faces the 

 same way. Fasten the cork to the end of a short stick (six inches 

 long). Through a hole in the other end of the stick pass a long 

 string. When the apparatus is whirled round the observer's head, 

 care being taken that the outer web of the feathers meets the 

 resistance of the air (as occurs with the outer tail-feathers of the 

 snipe when it makes its descent) a long drawn-out note is first 

 produced, which gradually rises in pitch, until the typical bleating 

 sound is heard. The same effect can be obtained by holding the 

 cork and its feathers outside a railway carriage window, when the 

 train gets up speed, but only when the outer or narrow web of 

 the feathers cleaves the air. This outer web may be actually 

 removed from the feather without altering the bleating sound, but 

 if the broad inner web be seriously damaged, no sound is produced. 

 The second outer tail-feathers produce a fainter sound ; the 

 remaining ones none at all." 



" Mr. Lee Warner, of Walsingham Abbey, suggested to me that 

 it would be interesting to try the experiment of shooting an arrow 

 with the tail-feathers of the bird attached, so as to imitate nature 

 as far as possible. I have recently tried this, with the most perfect 

 success. Employing an ordinary ladies' arrow as used in archery I 

 slipped a small perforated cork down the shaft, as far as the feathers 

 of the arrow. Having tied the cork securely, I fixed the pins, each 

 carrying an outer tail feather, one on each side of the cork, at right 

 angles to the shaft of the arrow, taking care that the outer or 

 narrow web of the feathers faced towards so as to cut the air when 

 the arrow was shot. It was, of course, also necessary to place the 

 feathers in the same plane as the string, so that they would not be 

 damaged as the arrow left the bow. 



I shot it almost vertically to a height of about 60 or 70 yards. 

 The velocity of the arrow in leaving the bow was probably too great 

 to produce the normal " drumming " sound, though it somewhat 

 resembled it ; when the arrow turned to descend nothing could at 

 first be heard, but when it gained speed, and was about 30 yards 



