30 Galls, Gall-makers, and Cuckoo Flies, [Sess. 



for a time, till the partridge, a young bird not full grown, ran 

 close past one of them, when in an instant the owl seized the 

 partridge by the head with its talons, and a fierce struggle 

 took place, both birds using their wings vehemently. In a 

 few seconds the partridge was fluttering about minus the 

 head. 



I am a game-preserver and a lover of birds. As man has 

 dominion over the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field, 

 the destroyers of the birds we value most must be kept in 

 check. As I have tried to show, a pair of peregrines, sparrow- 

 hawks, or merlins must necessarily kill a thousand birds 

 annually, and no one can affirm that bird-preservation and 

 hawk-preservation can be carried on together. 



I conclude with a short extract from Goldsmith's ' History 

 of Animated Nature,' in which the baneful effects of the 

 presence of the hawk are vividly portrayed. He says : 

 " Whenever hawks appear in the cultivated plain or the 

 warbling grove, it is only for purposes of depredation, and 

 they are gloomy intruders on the general joy of the landscape. 

 They spread terror wherever they approach. All that variety 

 of music which but a moment before enlivened the grove, at 

 their appearing is at an end, every bird seeking safety in 

 concealment or in flight." 



[The following stuffed specimens were exhibited in illustra- 

 tion of the above paper : Eough-legged Buzzard, Peregrine 

 Falcon, Kestrel, Merlin, Sparrow-hawk, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, 

 Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl.] 



IV,— GALLS, GALL-MAKERS, AND CUCKOO FLIES 

 By the Eev. ALEX. S. WILSON, M.A., B.Sc. 



{Communicated^ Jan. 22, 1908.) 



On certain plants swellings, excrescences, and deformities of 

 various kinds occur, caused by the action of insects. The 

 oak-galls imported in quantities from the Levant and used in 



