CO 



The Naturalist. 



was placed haK way up the tree, where a branch joined the trunk, was 

 larger and of a flatter form than that of the greenfinch. It consisted of 

 a foundation of small twigs, lined with leaves, dried grass, and hair. The 

 eggs which are now in my collection, are larger than those of the green- 

 finch. There are two distinct varieties, leading one to suppose that they 

 must be the produce of two different birds. Two of the eggs are of a 

 cream colour, thickly spotted especially towards the larger end with dark 

 red and light grey. I have also eggs of the turtle dove taken from a 

 plantation at Acomb ; four nests were found within a short distance of 

 each other. The turtle dove's nest is seldom found so far north as York. 

 — W. Raine, October 18th. 



Abt^dance of Lithosia quadra in the New Forest. — Larvae of 

 LHhosia quadra actually swarmed in Matley Wood this season ; you 

 could not walk without destroying numbers, and upwards of a hundred 

 were counted on the trunk of a single tree. Larvse of Cleora glabraria 

 were also more abundant than I have ever before seen them ; and 

 Eurymene dolabraria, Tephrosia consortaria, and T. extersaria were 

 tolerably abundant. I have also Acronycta alni, and ninteen Stauropns 

 fagi, the latter from the eggs. — J. G. E-oss, Bath, September 20th. 



Stauropus fagi and Acronycta alni in Gloucestershire. — Yesterday I 

 took a haK-f ed larva of Acronycta alni. Some months back I found a 

 fine female Stauropus fagi at rest on a beech trunk. — A. E. Hodgson, 

 Coleford, October 7th. 



Bulimus ohscurus var. alba in Yorkshire. — In the Naturalist, vol. v., 

 p. 22, Mr. H. Pollard claims to be the first recorder of this shell in 

 Yorkshire. We are sorry to have to correct Mr. Pollard in this respect, 

 but we feel quite sure that he will take the correction in the spirit in 

 which it is given — namely, with all friendliness. In looking over an old 

 file of the first issue of the Naturalist, in vol. iii. (the last issued), page 

 98, Nov., 1866, we find a note on some " Land and Fresh-water Molluscs 

 collected at Knaresbro' and its vicinity by Mr. J. Blackburn, of Leeds." 

 In this list occurs the shell named, thus : — "26. Bulimus obscurus var. 

 alba, Grimbald Crag, found by Mr. Beevers in my presence." Another 

 shell in this list, also from Grimbald Crag, may be worth mentioning, as 

 appended to it is this note : — "Mr. Jeffreys says it has not been found 

 in Britain" : it is ^elix lapicida var. albina. — Eds. Nat. 



Abnormal Plants. — The past year has been very productive of 

 botanical monstrosities, owing, no doubt, to the lateness of the season 

 and to the great quantity of rain which has fallen. I found one specimen 

 of the common ribwort {Plantago lanceolata) in which each of the scapes 

 bore three spikes. The two outer ones were quite as large as those of the 

 normal plant, but the inner one was very small, and apparently diseased. 

 In another specimen of the same plant, which is very liable to variation, 

 the scape bore three leaves in the usual situation of the spike. The Dutch 

 clover {Trifolium repens). — A curious abnormal condition of this plant has 



