MISCELLANEA. 67 



here, the property of Col. Towneley, and farmed by Mr. Jeffrey. 

 The path runs along the side of a mud fence, on the top of 

 which very old thorns are growing ; the other side of the path, 

 which is between eight and nine feet broad, is quite open, being 

 a potato field, the crop recently taken. One of the tracks was 

 nearly thirty yards in length, in a straight line along the path, 

 and had evidently been made by a very large dew-worm. 

 Other tracks were more tortuous, forming sometimes a rough 

 resemblance to the figure 8, and other fanciful shapes ; and not 

 unfrequently some oE the tracks were of a circular form, and 

 terminated near the same spot on the same side of the road 

 where they had begun. The worms that had formed the tracks 

 were of all sizes, from the large dew-worm to worms less than 

 a brandling. — Thomas Thompson^ TVmlaton, January^ 1890. 



Varieties of Mole {Talpa Eur opens). — Two moles of an unusual 

 colour were caught here on 11th January and brought to me. 

 They are, I think, scarcely the full size ; at least I have seen 

 larger specimens, but I never saw any like them before in colour. 

 One has a stripe of pale orange, three-fourths of an inch broad 

 at the throat, and which extends down the belly to the tail, where 

 it is bright orange, three-eighths of an inch broad ; the tips of 

 the tail are white. The other specimen has only half as much 

 orange colour, which is bright, and nearly in the middle of the 

 body. I have also in my possession a white variety and a cream- 

 coloured mole. — Thomas Thompson^ Winlaton, January, 1890. 



On the occurrence of the Willow Wren in January, near Blay- 

 don-on-Tyne. — On Thursday, the 16th inst., a specimen of this 

 common migrant, the Willow "Wren {Sylvia trochilus), was shot 

 between Blaydon and Scotswood Bridge, county of Durham. It 

 was in good condition and plumage, no old wound whatever 

 visible. I never heard of such an occurrence before in the 

 North of England. It is being preserved by Mr. John Walker, 

 taxidermist, of Blaydon, who kindly brought it to me for in- 

 spection. — Thomas Thompson, Winlaton, January, 1890. 



