EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 119 



adopted are those proposed by Dr. H. C. Watson, and used by him in 

 working out the distribution of the British Flora. It is deemed 

 sufficient to confine the tables to the distribution of species, that of 

 varieties being for many reasons impracticable at the present time. 



" Conchologists who can furnish specimens for completing these 

 tables are requested to send them to the Society's Recorder, Mr. Lionel 

 E. Adams, 68, Wolverhampton Road, Stafford." 



" The Significance of the Condition of Young Birds at Birth " is the 

 title of a paper contributed by Mr. W. P. Pycraft to the ' Popular Science 

 Monthly ' for last December. As is well known, both systematic orni- 

 thologists and philosophical zoologists have based theoretical views on 

 the importance of the development in which young birds are hatched : 

 (1) according to their helplessness or otherwise, and (2) according as they 

 are clothed or otherwise. Mr. Pycraft concludes : — "That too much 

 stress has been laid by systematists on the condition of the young birds 

 at birth is admitted. It is further maintained here that its significance 

 has been misunderstood, and that the facts now brought forward are 

 strong enough, on the one hand, to refute the older views, and, on the 

 other, to justify the theory — firstly, that birds were originally arboreal, 

 and their young nidifugous ; secondly, that nidicolous habits and help- 

 lessness of young birds are specialized adaptations to an arboreal or 

 gregarious mode of life ; and, thirdly, that the young of gallinaceous 

 birds form a link in the chain of the evolution of nidifugous habits. The 

 free finger-tip and arrested development of the outer quill-feathers 

 point to a prior arboreal habit, whilst the accelerated development of 

 the inner quill-feathers indicates an adaptation to enable the young to 

 escape from the enemies surrounding a terrestrial nursery. The third 

 and last stage is represented by the protective coloration, a device 

 which has been almost universally adopted by nidifugous birds, owing 

 to its greater effectiveness." 



Our old friend the " Sea- Serpent " is again receiving attention. 

 This time M. Trouessart writes in the ' Revue Scientifique ' (March 

 7th) on " Reapparition du Grand Serpent de mer." He refers to a 

 recent communication made to the Societe Zoologique de France by 

 M. Racovitza, naturalist to the "Belgica" Antarctic Expedition, a com- 

 munication we have not yet seen. M. Trouessart examines the records, 

 and of course states that whatever the unknown animal may be, it is 

 certainly neither a serpent nor reptile of any kind. He inclines to 



