78 



The Xaturalist. 



^'beauties of nature." A short moral lesson is also attached to each 

 flower or plant, which, without being in any way partisan in character, 

 may be studied with profit even b}' children of larger growth. We 

 heartily commend the book to all who have young families, as a most 

 useful and interesting birthday or christmas present, and one which will 

 be thoroughly appreciated by any child of from 5 to 10 j*ears of age, and 

 possessed of ordinary intelligence. We should have been glad had the 

 authoress — who is a native of our otvn town — been pleased to afhx her 

 name to the book ; but as she has not, although she is well known to us, 

 we must preserve her incog ilHo. 



Bae^tsley Xaturalists' Society. — Meeting Xov. 7th, Dr. Lancaster 

 in the chair. — A paper of great interest to our coal district was given by 

 Mr. H, B. Xash. entitled "How the Coal Measures were formed." 

 Observations of birds during the last few weeks : September 15th, 

 willow warbler and cliiiichafF in song, last recorded ; Oct. 1, a great 

 spotted woodpecker visited a garden at top of Church-street. It occiuTed 

 on several days ; n>it noted before in the town. It has again been 

 recorded in the neighbouring parks and woods. Oct. 4th, a night-jar ; 

 5th, redwings and fieldfares observed ; l7th, a swallow noted ; 23rd, 

 latest notice of house martins ; 29th, Ray's wagtail (a late stay) and the 

 grey wagtail, a partial migrant from north-west Yorkshire in winter to 

 our valley streams and warm mill-ponds ; 25th, sandpipers and water- 

 rails by the Calder — the latter seldom seen with us ; woodcocks first 

 noted ; 28th; yellow-hammer, hedge accentors, wrens, larks in song, the 

 latter heard up to the present time (Xov. 18th) ; 29th, kestrel, gold- 

 crest, grey wagtails, moorhens noted by Mr. J, Parkins between Wake- 

 field and Barnsley ; 30th, a barn owl set up from a field by Mr. J. 

 Dyniond, of Burnt wood, and chased by four rooks and other birds ; a 

 pied blackbird noted several days in Locke Park, Barnsley : a skua gull, 

 examined by ^Ir. G. Parkin and pronounced a young Richardson's skua, 

 shot at Cudworth (not noted previously in our district) ; Xov. 17th, 

 kestrel seen at Belk Farm, Worsborough ; 18th, one seen by me near 

 Dodworth. Both were hovering over fields and copses, and were often 

 seen fitrther away from the town, and occasionally the sparrow-hawk. — 

 Thos. Listee. 



Bradford XattTv.ilists' Society. — Meeting Oct. 17th, the president 

 in the chair. — The evening was devoted to the exhibition of microscopic 

 objects. Messrs. Fawcett and Kershaw showed a large number of 

 objects, inclnding sheep-tic, parasite from pig, larva of 0. anfiqua, 

 section of meteorite showing fluid cavity, etc. ; Mr. Oxley, stained 

 sections of stems ; and Mr. West, Draparnaldia plumosa, &c., from 



