GEOLOGY. 693 
peas, squashes, pumpkins, turnips, martynas, lettuce, spinach, and 
other vegetables, besides herbs, black, red and white currants, and 
several varieties of grapes ; we also had a large number of flowers. 
During the summer our garden has been remarkably free from 
worms, and our crops never were better. Our trees never did 
better, while they have’ been remarkably free from caterpillars 
where last year (1873) they were nearly stripped of their foliage 
by their ravages. 
In the place of the eight sparrows let out in April we now have 
thirty, and they appear to be constantly at work about the place. 
They are nearly always accompanied by the American goldfinch 
or yellow bird and our common sparrow. 
To-day as I sat in my room writing I saw them fraternizing with 
a flock of blackbirds on one of our walnut trees. In fact they 
Seem to court the society of other birds, and never have the birds 
been so abundant on our place. The male sparrows fight among 
themselves after the manner of roosters, but do not seem to molest 
other birds. 
The sparrows did, with the yellow birds, attack our radish and 
turnip seeds as they ripened, but by using netting around those 
plants we kept the birds from doing serious damage. Nothing 
else was attacked by them, and we consider them a positive benefit 
to our place. We keep a horse and are accustomed to spread the 
stable droppings from day to day, broadcast. The sparrows seem 
to watch for this, and in an incredibly short time pick over and 
Separate the manure and spread it much better than could be done 
with the hoe and rake. They are sprightly, friendly, and useful, 
and we would not have them leave us for much more than they 
originally cost.—Sreruen Govtp, Newport, R: I., Sept., 1874. 
MONSTROSITIES amona BeerLes. — Dr. Kraatz publishes, in the 
17th volume of the Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift, an illus- 
trated paper on deformities in beetles. 
GEOLOGY. 
Suprosep Lower SILURIAN LAND Prants: — Prof. J. S. New- 
berry doubts (American Journal Science and Arts, August, 1874) 
Whether the Sigillaria mentioned by M. Lesquereux as occurring 
in the Lower Silurian beds of Ohio is a Sigillaria at all or whether 
it is a land plant even. 
