July 6, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



21 



Most Bunsy Days. 



Least Sukny Days. 



15th 

 25th 

 22nd 

 10th 

 6th 



8th 

 1st 

 1 8th 

 3rd 

 6th 



nth 



ISt| 



25th 

 1 6th 



2ISt 



1 6th 

 17th 



6th 

 15th 



1st 



1st 

 25th 



7th 

 27th 

 30th 



108 hours 



9' 6 .» 

 9'2 „ 

 90 

 89 



26th 

 18th 

 19th 

 28th 

 7th 



40 hours. 

 23 



Total for the month, 1997. 



SEPTEMBER. 



9-1 hours. 

 7'9 >■ 



7'5 „ 

 73 .. 

 7 3 



25th 



1 2th 



2nd 



nth 



30th 



2'i hours. 

 1-3 .- 

 09 .. 

 08 „ 

 06 „ 



Total for the month, 1433. 



5-5 hours. 

 5 '4 „ 

 5"3 1. 

 4'4 -. 

 4-3 .. 



6th 

 27th 

 30th 

 31st 

 23rd 



2'0 hours. 

 20 „ 



2-0 ,, 

 I'2 „ 



o-6 „ 



Total for the month, 1010. 



NOVEMBER. 



5-4 hours. 

 4-8 „ 

 37 ,- 

 3 '4 „ 

 3'5 ,. 



nth 

 9th 

 10th 

 13th 

 26th 



Total for the month, 55-0. 



DECEMBER. 



4-1 hours. 

 37 ,. 

 3-5 » 

 3'5 ., 

 3'4 „ 



24th 



4th 



17th 



13th 



2ISt 



01 hours. 

 00 „ 

 o-o „ 

 o-o „ 

 00 ,, 



06 hours. 

 o'4 >, 



0-2 ,, 

 O'O ,, 

 O'O „ 



Total for the month, 59-2. 



Herein therefore, it appears the 6th of July is the imost 

 sunny day of the whole year ; the month of July likewise 

 registers more sunshine than any other month, but this is not 

 the case at many other places in the kingdom ; as might be 

 expected, the month of November registers the least. 



Among the singular facts revealed throughout the year is 

 the apparent partiality of the solar orb to shed forth his 

 favours at certain periods of the day. Take, for example, both 

 the 27th and 28th of January ; on each of the three years upon 

 these days the sun commenced to shine about 8.30 a.m., and 

 shone on brilliantly till I p.m. Precisely the same is observed 

 on the 26th : of February, with the exception that the sun com- 

 menced to shine each year precisely at 8 a.m. ; whilst on the 

 15th of March each year the sun commenced to shine 

 between 1 1 a.m. and noon, and afternoon became the chief 

 recipient of solar favours. April furnishes a day, the 16th, 

 when solar favours are abundant between the hours of 9 a.m. 

 and 3 p.m. May contributed two splendid days, the 14th and 

 15th, when each year the sun commenced to shine before 



6 a.m., and shone on without a break till close upon 



7 p.m. Can this be chance or periodic? June had the 

 honour of contributing the greatest amount of sunshine in 

 one single day, this being the 13th of June, 18S7, when no less 

 than 15J hours of sunshine was registered. July, the month 

 par excellence for sunshine, yet presented us with one day, the 



1 2th, whereon only at rare intervals in either year did the solar 

 orb shed upon us his gladdening rays for a few minutes ; on 

 many a November day the sun has been quite prodigal of his 

 favours compared with this singular July day. August 

 presented us with a lovely afternoon on the 9th, with a bright 

 morning and afternoon but cloudy midday on the 

 21st, and with a cloudy morning and afternoon but bright 

 sunny midday on the 26th. September presented the least 

 number of singular days of any month, but on the 12th 

 we find between 7 and 9 a.m. is always a sunny period, the 

 rest of the day, except between 2 and 3 p.m., is dull and 

 cloudy. October entered with a lovely sunny day, and again 

 solar favours are abundant on the nth, upon this latter date 



between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon, not a cloud passed 

 over the sun during either year. November is the first month 

 of the year presenting us with sunless days, commencing 

 with the 8th and 10th ; thus we find both sunny days and sun- 

 less days, like birds of a feather, flock together. The last 

 sunless day of the year is the shortest day, the 21st of 

 December, wherein never a gleam has been observed on 

 either year, but Christmas Day shines forth grandly ; 

 between 10 and n a.m. on Christmas Day not a cloud 

 passed over the sun in either year, and each year the sun has 

 commenced to shine between 8 and 9 a.m., with but very few 

 clouds before noon, generally clouding over about 2 p.m. 



The mean annual value is 1,667 hours, an amount of sun- 

 shine equalled by but few other places. R. Sheward. 



Eastbourne. 



THE COMMON SPARROW. 

 Passer do?ncsticus. 



The peculiarities relating to the eggs of this bird appear 

 to have been overlooked by ornithologists, namely, the 

 peculiar formation of each clutch of eggs and their great in- 

 fertility. 



The eggs forming a set or clutch are generally four or five, 

 occasionally six are met with, but not more than one set in 

 ten has that number, very probably not more than one set in 

 twenty. 



In every set or clutch containing four, five, or six eggs, one 

 egg, occasionally two, will be found of quite a different type. 

 This egg I shall call or name " the odd egg," and the first 

 peculiarity of this odd egg L shall mention is, that with very 

 few exceptions it is of a lighter coloured ground to the others 

 of its set, with the colouring matter laid on in spots and 

 blotches instead of being diffused in specks and speckles 

 more evenly over the whole surface of the shell. An odd egg 

 of a darker colour than the others of the clutch is rarely met 

 with, and in the ninety sets I have now before me there is 

 only one set in which the odd egg has a ground of a slightly 

 darker shade. 



The ninety sets of eggs to which I refer were all taken 

 under my own supervision, and all blown by myself, so that 

 I know them to be genuine sets and not made up. In every 

 set containing four or five eggs, the odd egg appears, except- 

 ing in one clutch of four and one clutch of five. In these 

 clutches the odd egg may have been dropped when the bird 

 was from home. 



I will now mention the extreme infertility of " the odd 

 egg," which I find this breeding season to be about sixty per 

 cent. In the season of 1886 I found it to be seventy-five per 

 cent. This egg is, I believe, as a rule, to be the fourth egg 

 laid, for in clutches of five eggs I have found an egg of the 

 usual type laid after the odd egg has appeared. 



In one set of four, with two eggs of the usual type, and two 

 of the odd type, I found the two of the odd type infertile, in 

 the other two incubation was far advanced. 



In another set of four, similar to the last mentioned, I 

 found the two eggs of the usual type infertile, and the two 

 bearing the character of the odd egg on the point of hatching. 

 The two sets just mentioned are quite exceptional, and the 

 only two I have at present met with. 



In a set of five having one egg dark in colour, another of a 

 rather lighter ground with dark markings, and three of a very 

 light ground and very uniform in size and shape, I thought I 

 had found a set with the odd egg the darkest, but upon 

 examination I found in the two darkest incubation advanced, 

 and the three light coloured eggs without the slightest signs 

 of incubation having set in. 



Again, in a set of six, with four rather dark and uniform 

 eggs, and two of a lighter colour, the rule of the lightest 

 coloured eggs being the infertile ones did not stand good, for 

 in this set the two light ones were far advanced in incuba- 

 tion, and the four dark coloured ones showed no signs of it 

 whatever. This being a very exceptional set I have pre- 

 served the shells); unfortunately one of the dark shells got 

 broken, so the set shows but five. 



During the past two breeding seasons I have had a very 

 great number of clutches of eggs and also broods under my 



