-EZ NOTES—ORNITHOLOGY. 
Royal Fern. ‘Bog Onion.’ (1806. Osmunda regalis.) In 
Bishop Nicolson’s list already referred to (1690), is the following 
entry: ‘Zilix florida sive Osmunda regalis; Thursby Lane, 
near the gate leading to Crofton.’ I am of opinion that no one 
has seen the Royal Fern near Thursby since the opening | of the 
neighbourhood of Derwentwater and Borrowdale ; now only to 
be found in gardens or enclosed pleasure-grounds. The time 
has long gone by when the farmers of Gosforth and the 
neighbourhood used the dried fronds of Osmunda as a covering 
for their potato carts, to protect the vegetables from frost, when 
attending the markets of Whitehaven or Egremont to dispose 
of their produce. 
Considerable modifications in our local botany have taken place 
within my own recollection, extending over a period of upwards of 
sixty years. Commons have been enclosed, bogs have been drained, 
and the land subjected to tillage, whereby the number of moorland 
and sub-aquatic plants was greatly reduced. Latterly, cereal tillage 
has been very generally given up, and permanent pastures have 
multiplied. | Poppies, corn-cockle, charlock, fumitory and similar 
annual weeds are less frequently seen. On the other hand, the con- 
struction of floating docks at Whitehaven, Workington, Maryport, 
these works has been singularly prolific of aliens, few of whic 
probably may survive more than two or three seasons, and then 
disappear. = 
NOTES—ORNITHOLOG Y. 
near Harrogate.—A er of this duck (Spatula clypeaia) 
Shove ogate. 
was obtained at cRipley, on Nov. 24th, 1890.—RILEY ForTUNE, Ravensgill, 
Harrogate, Dec. 17th = 
—Numbers of ro ( Otocorys alpestris) have made 
their appearance again on ve the Headland. Fifteen, I believe, shot by the same 
gentlemen this year on the same date as last year. Three more fell by the — 
gun December 18th, 1890. pear gbacestong BAILEY, Flamborough, Dec. 22nd, 
ern at Warrington. meeting of the Warrington — og held 
oO mber 19th, Mr. Colas ae cated that on gost h December, h shot 
a Bittern at Longford, just on the outskirts of the town. The bir ek a eee in 
remarka fi as clean shot. It w in an i y was 
suffering vk want of food, it sgh 1lb. 140z. The Bittern is exceeding] 
rare about ington, the previous record being the one ee in Morris tisk 
Birds of a Bittern being shot on the ‘banks of the Mersey rbhdepes as in 1854.— 
W. H. Woopcock, Hon. Sec., Town Hall, Wartinetdes Prat 22n 
Naturalist, 
