io8 presideisft's address. 



summit a mist settled down which completely hid the fine 

 views expected, and visits to the Henhole and Biggie — two 

 gorges in the hillside noted for rare plants — had to be re- 

 luctantly abandoned. In the valley the luxuriant growth of 

 the hawthorn in tree form was noticed, and on the way up the 

 mountain the botanists gathered the Crowberry, Whortleberry, 

 Cloudberry, Bilberry, Cow-wheat, and Cotton-grass, but they 

 came across nothing very uncommon. Nor were the ornitholo- 

 gists more fortunate, for nothing more uncommon than the 

 following list of birds was seen throughout the meeting : 

 blackbird, cuckoo, blackheaded gull, blue titmouse, sandpiper, 

 yellow bunting, partridge, swift, sand martin, curlew, green 

 plover, golden plover, red grouse, whitethroat, meadow pipit, 

 ring ouzel, teal, ring dove, missel thrush, great titmouse, 

 dipper, pied wagtail, wheat-ear, whinchat, and wood wren. 



Near the summit of Cheviot was found a nest of the Red 

 Grouse containing seven eggs ; this would no doubt be the 

 second hatching of the pair. Two caterpillars of the Drinker 

 moth were found; this larva is covered thickly with hairs, 

 which help afterwards to form its cocoon. 



Rejoining the carriages at Langleyford we started on the 

 return journey, and on the way stopped by invitation at 

 Middleton Hall, where we were kindly received and entertained 

 to tea by Mr. and Mrs. Philipson. Finally we arrived back in 

 Wooler to spend another night there. 



On Thursday, after an early breakfast, a pleasant drive of 

 about four miles took us to Whitsun Bank Fell, a favourite 

 breeding place of the Black-headed Gull. The sight dis- 

 covered when we reached it was a most beautiful and wonder- 

 ful one, where I could have spent the whole day in real 

 enjoyment. It would be impossible to estimate how many 

 thousands of birds were there, most of them on the wing. 

 The eggs and young birds were in many different stages of 

 development, and unfortunately there were many dead ones 

 among them, owing to recent wet weather. I remarked that 

 though I had visited the breeding-places of this bird at 

 Hallington, the Northumberland Lakes, Walney Island, and 



