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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



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m\ ZOOLOGY PM 



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Stone Curlews in Kent. — During November 

 last, I obtained a nice pair of stone curlews 

 (CEdicnemus scblopax) from this neighbourhood. A 

 third one also found its way into the hands of the 

 local taxidermist, obtained from Whitstable. This 

 bird, of course, is not a rarity, but from all 

 accounts it appears to be uncommon in Kent. 

 The time of year, too, is worthy of note. — ■ 

 H. Mead-Briggs, 37, Nunnery Fields, Canterbury; 

 December, 1895. 



Golden Eagle in Kent. — Mention of a golden 

 eagle having been shot at Minster, in Thanet, 

 Kent, appeared in the London papers during 

 December. This, like most of the so-called golden 

 eagles that from time to time have been obtained 

 in Kent, has turned out, upon inspection, to be 

 an immature white-tailed or sea eagle. — H. Mead- 

 Briggs, 37, Nunnery Fields, Canterbury ; December, 1895. 



Spotted Crake in Argyllshire. — At the 

 meeting of the Natural History Society of Glasgow, 

 held December 23rd, 1895, Mr. John Patterson 

 exhibited a specimen of Porzana maruetta, of Leach, 

 which had been shot on the river Add r Argyllshire. 

 It does not appear that this species had been 

 observed north-west of the Clyde up to the publi- 

 cation of Mr. Saunder's Manual of British Birds, 

 though Mr. Harvie - Brown included it in his 

 "Vertebrate Fauna of Argyll/' at a subsequent 

 date. The bird is, however, rare in that region. 



Birds in the Firth of Forth. — Large numbers 

 of the greater black - backed gulls have been 

 observed here within this last three weeks. I 

 procured a specimen in fine plumage which 

 measured from tip to tip of each wing five feet two 

 inches. Snow-buntings are very scarce here com- 

 pared with last year. Thrushes are just beginning 

 to come down to the shore, but fieldfares and 

 redwings have not yet made their appearance. 

 Scaup ducks and scooters are plentiful, as also are 

 the various gulls. Golden plovers are very scarce 

 here at present, but we hope soon to get some 

 sport at this fine bird. I shall be glad to know if 

 any of your readers have observed unusual 

 numbers of black-backed gulls in their vicinity. — 

 W. A. Nicholson, 39, Tower Street, Portobello, 

 Scotland; December iSth, 1895. 



Winter Habits of Helices. — Can anyone tell 

 me anything about the habits of some of the larger 

 species of the genus Helix in winter time ? I more 

 especially want to find H. nemoralis, H. hortensis 

 and H. arbustorum with the winter eppiphram. I 

 have no difficulty in finding specimens of H. aspersa 

 while hibernating, but have only occasionally 

 succeeded with H. nemoralis, and never with H. 

 hortensis. Nemoralis has a beautiful white eppiphram 

 when found on the sandhills in winter time. It 

 consists of a strong cake of white calcareous 

 substance, something in appearance like that 

 deposited by H.pomatia, though not so strong in 

 proportion, and much more brittle ; in fact, it is 

 difficult to remove when cleaning. — Charles Williams, 

 Sheffield; December, 1895. 



Royal Meteorological Society. — The opening 

 meeting of the session was held in the new building 

 of the Institution of Civil Engineers, on November 

 20th, Mr. R. Inwards, F.R.A.S., President, in the 

 chair, when a paper by Mr. J. Eliot, F.R.S., was 

 read, " On the origin of the cold- weather storms 

 of the year 1893, in India, and the character of the 

 air movement on the Indian seas and the equatorial 

 belt, more especially during the south-west monsoon 

 period." This was really a discussion of the data 

 contained in the " Indian Monsoon Area Charts," 

 the publication of which was sanctioned by the 

 Indian Government for the two years, 1S93-4. 

 Cyclonic storms are of frequent occurrence during 

 both the north-east and south-west monsoons, but 

 they differ in many important respects. The 

 storms of the south-west monsoon originate almost 

 invariably over a sea surface, and travel in very 

 variable directions, and occasionally develop into 

 intense and furious hurricanes. The cyclonic 

 storms of the north-east monsoon almost invariably 

 originate over the plateaux of Persia or Balu- 

 chistan, or in North-Western India, and travel in 

 an easterly direction at a velocity ranging between 

 fifteen and twenty miles per hour. These plateau- 

 formed storms of the cold weather are the chief 

 instruments of the distribution of the moderate 

 rainfall essential for the great cold weather wheat 

 and other crops of Northern India, and are the 

 chief sources of the snowfall of the Western 

 Himalayas. After giving an account of the more 

 important cold-weather storms in January and 

 February, 1893, and the results of the tabulation 

 of the wind observations for the equatorial belt, 

 the author describes the " burst of the monsoon." 

 Mr. Eliot says that the evidence of the year 1893 

 is strongly in favour of the supposition that the 

 south-west monsoon currents in the Indian seas 

 are the direct continuation north of the equator of 

 the horizontal movement of the south-east trade 

 winds ; and that the larger variations in the strength 

 of the south-east trades near the equator during 

 the monsoon period, are reproduced in the monsoon 

 currents in the Indian seas from June to September. 

 Mr. W. H. Dines showed a very interesting and 

 and instructive experiment illustrating the forma- 

 tion of the tornado cloud. The characteristic 

 funnel cloud was readily seen, extending from the 

 tray of hot water to the mouth of the pipe at the 

 top of the box, and when the draught was strong 

 and the conditions favourable, a decided protuber- 

 ance was observed on the surface of the water just 

 under the end of the cloud. Mr. Dines is of 

 opinion that the cloud is formed by true dynamic 

 cooling, as the air saturated by the vapour from 

 the hot water comes under the influence of the 

 decreased pressure at the centre. A paper by 

 Mr. C. Davison, F.G.S.. was also read, " On the 

 Diurnal Variation of Wind Velocity at Tokio, 

 Japan." 



The South London Entomological and 

 Natural History Society. — Thursday, No- 

 vember 14th. Mr. T. W. Hall F.E.S., President, 



