
NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 615 
brate animals, in a living state. This expedition embraced the Atlantic 
Coasts of Ireland, the Hebrides, and Shetland. There was not any trace 
-or indication of the Gulf Stream, but on the contrary, a northern fauna 
even as far south as Ushant. d. novelties occurred. — J. Gwyn JEF- 
FREYS diss a letter to one of the edito 
E KINGFISHER’S Nest. — I have watched with some interest all that 
to see if my experience would be justified by that of any other observer. 
This has been nearly accomplished by Mr. Jones in the March number. 
On the 18th of March, 1868, I collected eggs 1 two nests built near 
a mill-pond, in the excavation for the dam ach hole was three feet 
deep; one elbowed to the as the Other pa pe left. In one was six 
eggs, in the other seven; all fresh. Each nest was composed of dry fish 
scales and small dry fish bones mixed with small pebbles of the size of a 
small pea. The scales and bones were free from smell, and were white 
and pure, and in each nest amounted to a fair handful. 
About the first of June, 1869, on landing from a fishing excursion on one 
of our small lakes, I observed what I took to be a kingfisher’s hole in a 
sandbank on the shore. While my bait and tackle were being loaded, I 
took a paddle and began to dig it out. The sand was soft and I proceeded 
five feet very rapidly, when the bird came rushing out. I went on dig- 
ging with renewed hopes and made seven feet, when the paddle was no 
longer available for insufficient length, and I abandoned the job. — 
Darwin Hvanzgs, Marshall, Mich. 
SPECTRUM OF THE FinE-rLy.— The spectrum given by the light of the 
without trace of lines either bright or dark. It extends from a little 
above Fraunhofer's line C, in the scarlet, to about F it the blue, gradually 
or actinic effect. In other words, very little of the energy expended in 
the flash of the Fire-fly is wasted. Itis quite different with our artificial 
methods of illumination. In the case of an ordinary gas light the bes 
experiments show that not more than one or two per cent. of the radiant 
energy consists of visible rays; the rest is either invisible heat or actin- 
ism; that is to say over ninety-eight per cent. of the gas is wasted in 
= producing rays that do not help in making objects visible. — C. A. YOUNG. 

Dr« B. .— We regret to record the death of Mr. B. D. 
Walsh, the State Entomologist ef Illinois, and the Senior Editor of the 
* American Entomologist,” and former Editor of the ‘‘ Practical Ento- 
mologist." For these duties i. was admirably fitted. As an enthusiastic 
and thorough naturalist the s all band of entomologists in this country 
will mourn his loss. 
