MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 103 
either, Although the Null was quite dry last year there were plenty of fish 
in it this year, and my men caught one of 3-lb. weight. Where do these 
come from ? 
Large herds of buffaloes with their attendants go to the Null, usually in the 
cold weather. The buffaloes find good food in the rushes, and Jarge quantities 
of ghee are produced here, It was lamentable to find that all these had died 
with the exception of one small herd on one island. The villages around 
presented a sad appearance—the greater number of the houses in ruins, and 
from half to two-third of the people dead. A mild famine exists again this 
year, as they had again a scanty rainfall, and few of the fields were tilled. 
Strange to say, 1 saw more bullocks than I expected. From all over the 
Bombay Presidency I hear duck, snipe and wildfowl have not visited us this 
year. I suppose there can be no question that this is because last year they 
came as usual and found no water, Having learnt that lasson they thought it 
was useless to come again ; but can birds think, that is another question, 
Ree. GILBERT, 
Bomsay, 26th February, 1901, 
No. XV.—THE FAUNA OF AMOY. 
Amoy is a small island on the coast of China, 325 miles E, N. E. of Canton 
direct, It measures nine miles by seven miles, and has a population of under 
half a million souls, It isa treaty port, or rather the town of Amoy on the 
island of that name, is. My friend, Mr, Eth, F. Skertchly, has just visited it 
on a trip in search of health, and sends me the following amusing account of 
his natural history observations on the fauna of the island, where he spent 
ten days, He writes:—‘‘ During the time I was there not only did I 
work out the flora and fauna of the island of Kulangou, but I took 
a census of the animal and insect-life there. The mammals were re- 
presented by an old rat with a barren wife who inhabited my bedrcom and 
talked of the good old days before the plague ; and a cat whose morals would 
not have been above reproach but for the absence of all female society, 
There were some dogs and pigs, to be sure, but they, being Chinese, were 
unnatural and unhistorical, and therefore unworthy of inclusion in my 
catalogue, The birds were best represented. A pair of magpies had been 
consigned to penal servitude at the last criminal sessions held on the main- 
land, and spent their time in trying to pervert the morals of Kulangou, 
Seven sparrows, six males and a female, dragged out a fairly joyous existence 
by an inordinate indulgence in scandaland the divorce court, Nine kites 
spent the day perching on the main-top-mast stay of H.MS. Argonaut 
and kept a couple of ordinary seamen busy with a swab removing from the 
deck the evidences of their insanitary up-bringing, A couple of mynahs ran 
the local paper, evidently a most scurrilous print, Of insects, the butterflies 
were represented by one forlorn Papilio polytes, Linneus, a damaged Papilio 
