I9-0. 



Notes. 



77 



Gilbert White Bicentenary : Bird Sanctuary as a Memorial. 



Sunday, July i8th, was the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of 

 Gilbert White, of Selborne, who did more than any other of our country- 

 men to create an interest in birds ; the moment is therefore ripe for an 

 appeal upon their behalf and for suggesting how a very fitting memorial 

 to him may be established. 



The work which the Selborne Society has done in the Brent Valley 

 Bird Sanctuary, in the way of preserving birds and testing nesting boxes 

 for use elsewhere, is well known and has some considerable value. The 

 owners of the freehold wish now to develop their estate, and if the money 

 necessary to buy the property is not forthcoming, the Sanctuary will go. 



Matters have been made as easy as possible for us, and we have been 

 asked only £/[,^oo for twenty-two acres of building-land, which comes into 

 the London Postal District. May I, as Chairman of the Bird Sanctuary 

 Committee, invite the help, more particularly of those who are fond of 

 birds and of open spaces, to save the Wood ? Those who have been 

 immediately interested have subscribed 300 guineas to start the fund. 



As Gilbert White left to the English-speaking races a highly prized 

 classic, many literary as well as scientific people and nature lovers might 

 also like to subscribe. I should be very glad to give further information 

 as regards the Bird Sanctuary and about the way in which it is proposed 

 to celebrate the Gilbert White bicentenary. 



Wilfred Mark Webb. 



The Hermitage, Hanwell, London, W.7. 



Scarcity of the Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly. 



This butterfly, Vanessa urticae, is usually the first to make its appearance 

 in the spring, for it hibernates, and as soon as the weather becomes genial, 

 it comes out of its winter quarters and flits about in the sunshine. This 

 spring the first butterfly that I saw on the wing was the Speckled Wood, 

 on April 24th. On May 4th I saw the Green-Veined White on the wing. 

 On May 7th I saw the Orange Tip, and on the same day the first Tortoise- 

 shell, and it was flying in a street in Newry. I did not see one here 

 till May loth when I saw one ovipositing on some nettles on the roadside. 

 A couple of daj^s later I saw one in rny garden, so that the total up to date 

 (May 20th) is three. I usually see two or three of these butterflies 

 hibernating in my house, but last winter I did not see any. A failure 

 of the autumn brood would account for the scarcity, but I did not 

 observe any lack of them last autumn. We had some very fine warm 

 days in February, e.g., i8th and 21st, and the butterflies may have been 

 tempted out on these days and succumbed to the frosts which followed. 

 I should like to know if others have noticed this scarcity of the Small 

 Tortoiseshell. I may add that on May 15th I was delighted to see a 

 Peacock Butterfly in my garden, the first time I have seen it here in the 

 spring. 



W. F. Johnson. 



Poyntzpass. 



