NOTES AND QUERIES. 147 



The Deer Forests Commission. — In the House of Commons on 

 March 16th, Mr. Weir asked the Secretary for Scotland whether it is 

 intended to give crofters, cottars, and others opportunities for submitting 

 statements and giving evidence before the Deer Forests Commission with 

 respect to grievances occasioned by deer forests, grouse preserves, and sheep 

 runs ; and whether the Commissioners will make arrangements to give due 

 notice of their intended visit to the districts concerned. Sir G. Trevalyan 

 said: The Commission have instructions to inquire whether any, and, if 

 any, what land in the crofter counties, now occupied for deer forests or for 

 other sporting purposes, or for grazing on a large scale, is capable of being 

 profitably utilised by crofters or other small tenants. Naturally they will 

 receive evidence from all competent sources, whether crofter or landlord, 

 which bears on the subject. The Commissioners will give due notice of their 

 visit to any district. 



BIRDS. 



Purple Gallinules in Norfolk and Sussex.— With reference to the 

 two occurrences of Purple Gallinule (? species), recorded by Mr. J. 

 Whitaker (Zool. p. 105), it is perhaps well that I should mention that two 

 healthy specimens of the Green-backed Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio sma- 

 ragdonotus, escaped hence, either towards the end of 1890 or early in 1891. 

 I have, within the last few days, heard that a " Purple Waterhen " was 

 observed several times in a garden near Peterborough during the severe 

 weather of 1891-92, and am naturally disposed to think that it was, in all 

 probability, one of my escaped birds. I may add that, in some forty years' 

 experience of collecting living birds, very few of the European Purple 

 Gallinule, P. caruleus, have ever been offered to me for sale, whilst, on the 

 other hand, I have very frequent offers of P. smaragdonotus, of which 

 species many are annually shipped for Antwerp from Egypt ; and P. me- 

 lanotics of Australia, P. poliocephalus and R. calvus of Asia, and P. 

 madagascariensis of Africa, are not uncommonly to be found in the hands 

 of dealers in live birds in this country and on the Continent. — Lilford 

 (Lilford Hall, Oundle). 



The Purple Gallinules in Norfolk and Sussex. — Without wishing 

 in any way to discredit the likelihood of the Purple Gallinules men- 

 tioned as having been killed in Norfolk and Sussex being purely wild birds, 

 it may be interesting to readers of ' The Zoologist' to know that prior to 

 1881 some fourteen or fifteen examples of both the Blue-backed and Green- 

 backed species went away, at different times, from a wired-in piece of water 

 at our home in Kent. About thirteen acres were wired-in, and they had 

 abundance of covert and a running stream ; but they were the very worst 

 birds possible to keep at home, climbing over anything, and always keeping 

 out of sight ; they were pinioned, or rather had the wing-feathers cut, and 



