OBSERVATIONS. 



39 



It was only tliree or four yards from me 

 when I observed it, and mistook it at first 

 for a kingfisher, at the same time thinking 

 the position most unusual for that bird, as 

 there was no water near. It left me but an 

 instant in doubt as to its genus, when it 

 darted like a swallow into the air, after an 

 insect glittering like a gem in the sun's 

 rays, and then selected for itself another 

 perch in a willow close by. I know the 

 bird well from stuffed specimens and could 

 not be mistaken as to its identity, after I 

 had witnessed its habit. I am induced to 

 forward you this communication as I know 

 that many of your readers are interested in 

 such occurrences. — Geo. B. Wollaston, 

 Chiselhurst, Kent, S.E., May 24th, 1865. 



ARRIVALS OF SUMMER MIGRANTS. 



The passage -birds have come over this 

 year in the following order : — 



Wheatear 



.April 8th. 



Willow Warbler 





9th. 



Chiflfchaff 



>> 



10th. 



Eedstart 



j» 



11th. 



Treelark 



>> 



12th. 



Blackcap (North Wales) 



>> 



15th. 



Swallow Do. 



j> 



ISth. 



Whitethroat Do. 



5 > 



15th. 



Cuckoo Do. 





14th. 



Woodwren 



> > 



17th. 



Yellow Wagtail 



>> 



21st. 



Lesser Whitethroat (York) 



22nd. 



Garden Warbler 



May 



1st. 



Flycatcher 



>> 



6th. 



These are earlier dates than the average 

 of the last ten years. — Peter Inchbald, 

 Storthes Hall, May 15th, 1865. 



Snakes. — January 14th, 1865. No mail 

 yet. River nearly dry they tell me, so the 

 steamer cannot get up, as our boats, though 

 of Yankee construction, are not quite up to 

 what Lincoln said officially of the American 

 navy, that it ' ' went up creeks everywhar 

 the graound war a little daamp. " Appar- 

 ently the world is getting baked, for no 

 proper rains have fallen for a year or two. 

 Where is all the water gone to that has 

 evaporated this last year and a half ? 

 Across the Magdalena, not very far from 



here, men can wade, wetting themselves 

 only half-way up the thigh ; when will it stop 

 I wonder ? My poor cattle are catching it, 

 I am afraid using their tallow up to live on. 

 There is no entomology going on at present, 

 it seems to me that for two years with long 

 dry seasons the creatures have been much 

 discouraged. Since 1862, I see very little 

 movement among the butterflies at any 

 rate, and other collectors report the same 

 thing. Some day the rain will return and 

 we shall have abundance, to your satisfac- 

 tion. In more plenty are snakes, the drought 

 agrees with them ; I lost one of my best 

 mules lately from a bite — and a neighbour 

 of mine lost ten bullocks by one rattle- 

 snake. And the villains bite men also ; I 

 have been trying the spirituous remedy 

 with success. The last four victims who 

 were bitten have all been saved by making 

 them drunk with aguardiente, rum flavoured 

 with aniseed, the nectar of the new granadian 

 olympus, and as nasty as absinthe which 

 it much resembles to my thinking. It is; 

 a great discovery, for it has the advantage 

 of being procurable everywhere, and that: 

 the patients are only too willing to swallow 

 it ; I believe that every one of the four 

 mentioned would have gone under, but for 

 the timely application of the liquor to 

 their nervous system. — Henry Birchall, 

 Bogota. 



Summer rambles on the Orme's Head, 

 Llandudno. — No. III. 

 In our third and last ramble we will visit 

 the shore, before ascending the headland. 

 Two of the Plumbaginacese, Statice Limo- 

 nium, and <S'. simtliulata, are met with on 

 the rock-bound shore of the Orme, one 

 growing on the rock itself, the other flou- 

 rishing in salt-pits on the coast. I was 

 glad to meet with S. sjmtJmlata in some 

 abundance, as it is usually considered some- 

 what local in its distribution. It may be 

 easily recognised by its bi-nervous leaves 

 and dwarfish habit. Here too is a profusion 

 of a rare and local plant, Eroclium mariti- 

 mum, tliat chiefly occurs in the south of 

 England. The petals of this plant are very 



