MEETINGS. Ill 



and then Mr. Marquand proceeded to enumerate, with short 

 remarks on each (1) Kare British plants, indigenous both to 

 Guernsey and West Cornwall. (2) Plants, rare in England, 

 and not found in West Cornwall or Scilly, but indigenous to 

 Guernsey. (3) Plants peculiar to the Channel Islands, or 

 Guernsey in particular, but not represented in any other 

 part of the United Kingdom, though most of them occur 

 on the neighbouring coast of France. 



Votes of thanks to Mr. Derrick and Mr. Marquand 

 brought a very enjoyable meeting to a close. 



Monthly Meeting held on May 12th , 1891, Mr. J. Whitehead, 

 President, in the chair. 



The minutes of the last meeting having been read, 

 approved, and signed, the President remarked that he had 

 received a communication from Rev. E. Hill who has again 

 visited Sark for geological investigations. This gentleman 

 promised to supply a paper directly to the Society at some 

 future time. Mr. Sharp also read a letter from the Rev. Hill 

 thanking him for specimens of "Long grain" forwarded to 

 him at his request. 



Mr. Luff exhibited two specimens of the larva of the 

 Goat Moth (Gossus ligniperda), remarking that the insect 

 remains in the larva and pupa stage about three years, being 

 very destructive to the trees of the island. 



Mr. Philip L. M. Nicolle then read an interesting paper 

 on " The Common Cuckoo (Guculus canorus)" of which the 

 following is an abstract : — According to the author's observa- 

 tions, this bird generally makes its appearance in Guernsey 

 towards the end of April, leaving again in August. Occa- 

 sionally it had been seen as early as the second week in 

 April. The call note, which seems to be peculiar to the male 

 bird, is apparently much affected by the state of the weather, 

 being softened by a south-west wind. A full description was 

 given by Mr. Nicolle of the European cuckoo and its habits 

 as compared with its American relative, which builds a nest 

 and rears its own young. The experience of continental 

 ornithologists was quoted to show that the egg of the common 

 cuckoo agrees more or less in colour with those among which 

 it is laid, and Mr. Nicolle said he favoured the opinion which 

 some hold that the cuckoo often lays her egg upon the 

 ground and afterwards carries it in her bill to some convenient 

 nest — as he had himself seen this done some two years ago 



