MEETINGS. 419 



an old flint and tinder-box, and gave a practical demonstration 

 of the mode of obtaining a light in the days of our forefathers 

 during the first half of last century, before lucifer matches 

 came into use. Mr. Hocart's paper is printed in the following 

 pages. 



Mr. G. Derrick read a paper on the " Migration of 

 Birds." In it he explained what migration implied, with 

 examples showing the immense distances traversed by many 

 species and the routes most frequented. Then he entered 

 into the causes of migration, the speed and height at which 

 various species travel, a comparison between the spring and 

 autumn passages, the dangers the birds encounter, with 

 statistics of the number of various species returned as killed at 

 various lighthouses. Next Avere given the generally accepted 

 ideas as to why certain lines of flight were followed, and 

 how the route is recognised. The lecturer pointed out that 

 the Channel Islands are out of the line of the general 

 migration ; most of the birds pass across the Channel in 

 its narrower part and keep to the east of us. From the 

 bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club, 1906, we learn, 

 that of 29 species reported on, 10 were never observed west 

 of Portland, 6 others were only observed once. Ring-ousels, 

 Blackcaps, Wood -warblers, Sedge -Avarblers, Tree -pipits, 

 Spotted Fly -catchers, Cuckoos and Sandpipers occur twice 

 on the list ; Swallows, House-martins, Swifts, Sand-martins 

 and ChifF-chafls are the only ones frequently observed ; so that 

 these are the ones which are most likely to be noticed crossing 

 the island in their migrations. Our observations in Guernsey, 

 continued Mr. Derrick, tend to shew that the Swallows and 

 Martins seen here in late October and early November 

 are not birds bred in the island, but individuals calling 

 here on their way from England southward, and similarly 

 in the spring nearly all the early arrivals pass on further 

 north ; a flock of a dozen or so will be seen one afternoon, 

 the next day without any change of weather none are seen ; 

 but later another flock arrives and passes ; after that with 

 the main flight those arrive which pass the summer with us. 

 We in Guernsey, said Mr. Derrick, have movements of birds 

 resembling the great annual migrations, though on a very 

 minute scale. About April thousands of sea birds are to 

 be seen on the coasts of Sark ; a flock of 200 gulls may 

 be counted following the plough picking up worms and grubs 

 from the freshly-turned earth. They make the island their 

 annual resort at the breeding season, just as swans, wild geese, 

 &C.5 use the Polar seas. On the Autelets every ledge is 



