198 



THE NATURALIST. 



Royal College of Sttrgeons. — A skeleton 

 of that rare and singular animal the Aye- 

 aye, or Chiromys, has been lately added 

 to the Hunterian Museum. It is an 

 inhabitant of the island of Madagascar, 

 where it was first discovered by Sonnerat 

 about the year 1780. The specimen brought 

 home by that traveller, and presented by 

 him to the celebrated French naturalist. 

 Buff on, has remained until within a few 

 years the unique representative in Europe 

 of this remarkable creature. By Cuvier, 

 and many other zoologists, it was consi- 

 dered as a member of the Kodent order, on 

 account of the conformation of its teeth 

 resembling those of the gnawing animals ; 

 but De Blainville and others, laying more 

 stress upon the character of the limbs, 

 placed it among the Lemurine-quadrumana, 

 or monkey-like animals. This view has 

 been completely confirmed by the dissection 

 of a specimen recently sent to Professor 

 Owen by Dr. Sandwith, a fully illustrated 

 account of which will be found in the 

 " Transactions of the Zoological Society," 

 for 1863. A living example is now in the 

 Regent's Park Gardens, but, as it is purely 

 nocturnal in its habits, it is rarely seen by 

 visitors. A stuff"ed specimen has lately 

 been presented to the University of Cam- 

 bridge by Mr. A Newton. Besides those 

 above mentioned, very few examples of 

 this rare animal have as yet been received 

 in Europe. The skeleton just added to 

 the College Museum was discovered in the 

 possession of a dealer in objects of natural 

 history in Paris, by Mr. Flower, the inde- 

 fatigable conservator, who at once secured 

 it, at the expense of £20, for the collection 

 with which he is so deservedly connected. 



Indian Summer. — The unusually warm 

 or, I might almost say hot, season just 

 passed by, has produced many unusual 

 facts and appearances both in animate and 

 inanimate nature — of the former I saw on 

 Saturday last, 8th of October, the nest of 



a Yellow-hammer, Emheriza citrindla, 

 from which had just been taken three eggs 

 — the nest was carefully and beautifully 

 made as if by adult birds. Are we to attri- 

 bute this to the present remarkable sea- 

 son, which has brought us second crops of 

 peas, strawberries, and other equally 

 unusual phenomena. At the Microscopic 

 Soiree, of the Huddersfield Literary and 

 Scientific Society on Monday last, I was 

 shown a spray of bloom plucked from a 

 pear tree, near Mirfield, which was at the 

 same time bearing fully ripened fruit. — 

 Wm. Eddison, High-street, Huddersfield, 

 October 13th, 1 865. 



A Butcher Bird, or Great Shrike was 

 taken alive in the Market place of Wick, 

 on Monday, 9th of October instant. — 

 Although included by Pennant, Edwards, 

 and Willoughby, among our English birds 

 specimens having been taken in the 

 northern counties, the Sentinel Shrike, the 

 Laniuscinereus of Gesnerand Aldrovandus, 

 the Lanius excuhitor, of Linnseus, is pro- 

 perly a native of Norway and Sweden, and 

 is but seldom met with even in the most 

 northern parts of Great Britain, including 

 the Orkney and Shetland Islands. 



Chcerocampa celerio. — Another specimen 

 of the rare Chcerocampa celerio has just 

 been found in this neighbourhood. It was 

 brought by a boy (who found it among the 

 grass ) to Mr. Brown, birdstuff'er, and sub- 

 sequently came into my possession. — F. 

 Buchanan White, M.D. , Perth, October 

 26th, 1865. 



Grimmia commutata^ Hueb. — In July 

 1864, Dr. Stirton of Glasgow, discovered on 

 Moncrief Hill, near Perth, Grimmia com- 

 mutata, Hueb., a moss new to Britain. I 

 have several times examined Moncrief Hill, 

 but have not been fortunate, (or perhaps 

 sharp-eyed enough) to detect the new Grim- 

 mia. On October 20th I went to Stenton 

 Eocks, near Dunkeld, the well known 

 station for Asplenium germanicum, and 

 A.Septentrionale, (which last named is still 



