SCIENTIFIC AND LITERARY NOTES. 523 



^eem to keep by the line of the great lakes, attracted, doubtless, by the quanti- 

 ties of dead fish and waterfowl which at this season of the year are strewn 

 along the shore. Tn this vicinity a few are generally seen every season ; but 

 never, in the recollection of the oldest inhabitant, have they appeared in such 

 numbers as during the present month. 



On the 12th inst., the writer, in company with a friend who is making a col- 

 lection of Canadian birds, visited Bnrlington Beach, in the hope of obtaining a 

 specimen of the Snowy Owl ; and getting there shortly before sunrise, were 

 surprised to find these noble bu-ds quite numerous, and flitting about like ghosts 

 in the grey light of the morning They were rather difficult of approach, 

 usually alighting on a post or dead limb of a tree, from which they kept a vigi- 

 lant watch for intruders ; but by ten o'clock, seven specimens were obtained, all 

 in fine plumage. The female exceeds the male in size, and has the dusky spots 

 larger and more numerous. I am, &c., 



Hamilton, November l7th, 1862. Strix. 



To the Uditor of the Leader. 



Sir, — In your paper of the 13th inst., you refer to the fact of a large owl 

 having been shot by a Mr. Harvey, and state that it is the only bird of the kind 

 ever seen by him in its wild state. This would lead one to imagine that this 

 variety — the Snowy Owl {Strix nyctea) — was rare. This is not the case. I have 

 now in my possession between forty and fifty specimens, which have been shot 

 in this neighbourhood during the past two or three weeks, some of these mea- 

 suring five feet four inches from wing to wing. 



The male of this species is almost invariably white. The female is larger, and 

 is beautifully mottled with black. During the past two years they have been 

 rarely shot in this vicinity, but they were in great plenty in 1833, 1839, and 

 in 1853. Yours, &c., 



Toronto, November 17th, 1862. S. Passmoeh. 



POISONOUS PARTRIDGES. 



In the 'Times' of Wednesday, September 10th, is a letter from Mr. F. Taylor, 

 of Romsey, giving an account of some cases of poisoning by the flesh of Cana- 

 dian partridges. It appears that in Canada, when the snow is on the ground, 

 the birds are forced by hunger to feed on certain berries which render them 

 unsafe for human food. What these berries are does not appear. Mr. Taylor's 

 account of the poisonous effects produced is as follows : — 



" On the 8th of last March I was sent for hurriedly to a lady who wrs described 

 as dying. I found her cold, insensible, and pulseless. She had been sick while 

 lying upon her back. I forced her to swallow a wineglassful of brandy, and 

 took other measures for some hours to stimulate and recover the warmth and 

 circulation, and partially succeeded. She remained, however, insensible, and 

 almost in a hopeless state for many hours, at last gradually recovering, but for 

 several weeks suffered from" ill health in many ways. On regaining her con- 

 sciousness, and during the whole of the following day, she experienced a most 

 uncomfortable sensation of ' acute thrilling,' especially on the slightest move- 

 ment of the muscles of the face. I suspected poison in this case, but I could 



