60 



The Natuealist. 



Mr. Howard Saundees, F.L.S., F.Z.S., did not agree with a remark 

 made by Mr. Lister that the marsh warblers had increased in number. 

 He believed that they had been more carefully, and therefore more 

 frequently observed. He believed that the woodcock was increasing. 

 It bred in every county in England, including Middlesex. He agreed 

 with Miss Becker's remarks concerning the refining influences of 

 ornithology, and thought that education might be expected to lessen 

 cruelty to birds. He was sorry to say that the British boy was very 

 cruel and mischievous in comparison with the boys of other nations. 

 We did not find French boys robbing birds' nests in wanton mischief, 

 throwing them away and trampling on the eggs. The only parallel to 

 the British boy was the Spanish boy, who was naturally cruel and 

 quite as mischievious as the British boy. 



Professor Newton, after assuring Miss Lydia Becker that the 

 rumour to which she had referred was quite unfounded, said that he 

 regretted that last session of Parliament a Bill had been introduced 

 and carried by the influence of the Government which would undo 

 all the good that had been done by the Wild Birds Preservation Act. 

 A more retrograde piece of legislation, he was prepared to say, had not 

 been executed for many years. It was passed by Government 

 influence in the House of Commons in the face of the House of Lords. 

 The Lords had put in the Bill a clause which would have rendered it 

 safe. The Commons struck out that amendment. This was done, he 

 regretted to say, by Sir William Harcourt, at the instigation of the 

 Poulterers' Association. (Applause.) Henceforth, if anyone was so 

 stupid as to shoot publicly a bird in the close season, he might be 

 fined ; but if he took care to shoot it so that no one could see him, he 

 might walk into the next town, where the fact of his selling it publicly 

 would, under the new Act, be taken as proof that he had come by it 

 honestly ! (Applause). 



THE DEVELOPMEKT OF OSMUNDA REGALIS. 



Mr. G. P. HoBKiEK, F.L.S., contributed a paper describing some 

 points in the development of the Osmunda r eg alls, L. He had 

 observed carefully for six years the process of development in this fern 

 of which he had several hundreds of seedlings in his possession, and 

 he detailed in his paper the peculiarities and growth of the plant. ^ 



Professor M Nab expressed the indebtedness of the Section to Mr. 

 Hobkirk for his observations, remarking that the great length of time 

 the plant took to develop was of considerable interest. 



Professor Newton also expressed thanks to Mr. Hobkirk. 



