NOTES AND QUERIES. 



159 



such strong and robust quarry. I did not hear of any Merlin until 

 the first cold days in January, when a female was shot near Fording- 

 bridge ; and in another locality a very small blue hawk (which pro- 

 bably was a male of this tiny Falcon) was seen to capture and carry 

 off a Sky-Lark almost close to the man who informed me of the 

 occurrence. The Short-eared Owl formerly visited us every winter, 

 and I have old records of it in every month except June, but of late 

 years it has been scarce or entirely absent from this particular neigh- 

 bourhood, and this latter remark applies equally to such species as 

 the Fieldfare, Siskin, Lesser Redpoll, and others, which I may safely 

 say are not half so abundant as they were in my younger days. 

 Birds like the Brambling and Crossbill were always more or less 

 uncertain, depending no doubt upon the severity of the weather, and 

 possibly the last-named species would not find the food and shelter 

 that they did formerly, the very extensive fir- woods having virtually 

 disappeared. 



It is an interesting fact that the elegant little Goldfinch is in- 

 creasing in numbers, as the following cruel incident will prove. On 

 the first fall of snow a farmer's son cleared a space in the rickyard, 

 that the hungry birds — Sparrows, Chaffinches, &c. — may be more 

 easily brought together for slaughter ; the lad, having fired into the 

 midst of the community, picked up no fewer than three Goldfinches 

 amongst the slain. 



The long-continued drought was not altogether favourable to the 

 angling community, but some rather fine fish were caught by those 

 who persevered. Pike from 16 lb. to 21 lb., Perch from 2 lb. to 3 lb., 

 Chub from 5 lb. to 7 lb., and a number of Roach well over 2 lb. were 

 landed ; I saw eight Roach taken from the same water varying from 

 2 lb. 3 oz. to 2 lb. 13 oz. each. Arising no doubt from the lowness of 

 the pools, the Salmon-fishing in the Ringwood water has hitherto 

 been a comparative failure, although a number of rods have flourished 

 over the stream, but only one fresh-run fish of nineteen pounds has 

 been caught, and that in the early days of February, when the fishing 

 began, although down nearer the sea fairly good hauls have been 

 made with the nets, and one very fine fish turning the scale at forty- 

 four pounds was skilfully brought to bank with a rod. — G. B. Corbin 

 (Ringwood). 



P.S. — Since penning the foregoing a gentleman, who is fond of 

 birds and resides near the river, told me that during the rough 

 weather at the beginning of March, after the shooting had ceased, 

 he saw, with the aid of a glass, six or seven Scoters upon a piece of 



