379 



NORTHERN NEWS. 



' Natural History as a Hobbv ' is the title of a paper in ' Institute Notes ' 

 (Hull), from the pen of Mr. T. Sheppard, F.G.S. 



The Rev. J. Conway Walter, of Lang-ton Rectory, Horncastle, has just 

 completed 50 years of clerical life, and seems as active as ever. 



The section in the Boulder-clay near Withernsea, figured and described 

 in this journal for October, has since been washed away by the sea. 



A perfect specimen of Dasypolia templi (male) was taken at rest on an 

 electric light standard at West Hartlepool on 3rd October ('Entomologist,' 

 November). 



A single nest containing no fewer than fifteen young brown rats wss 

 recently unearthed on the bank of the River Hull near Wawne Ferrv. — 

 ' Hull Daily News.' 



A strong complaint is being made of the silting up of the Ouse near 

 Selby. To such an extent is this going on that boats plying between the 

 Humber and York are experiencing great difficulty. 



Judging from Mr. E. L. Gill's remarks in the ' Report of the Natural 

 History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 

 the Museum at Newcastle at the present time is receiving- a thorough over- 

 hauling at his hands. 



A writer in a contemporary asks ' if the bananas sold in the shops at 

 Bradford really are bananas, or some other fruit.' Without professing to 

 have expert knowledg-e, we should certainly be inclined to say that the 

 banajias sold are bananas ! 



Amongst the objects found as a result of the recent scouring of the 

 cliffs in Holderness, the local press records a ' mammoth foot ' ! Inquiry, 

 however, shows this to be a stone ' shaped something like a mammoth foot.' 

 Need we add that it was found near Hornsea. 



Amongst the recent additions to the Carlisle Museum is a collection of 

 local and British birds' eggs consisting of a hundred and fifty authenticated 

 sets formed by Mr. J. T. Oliphant, of Carlisle. The series has been pur- 

 chased and presented to the Museum by Mr. Thorpe. 



At the recent annual meeting of the Yorkshire Geological and Polytechnic 

 Society the words ' and Polytechnic ' were dropped from the title. This 

 change has been more than once suggested in these columns. Under its 

 new and more accurate title may the society long flourish. 



In the middle of September three curious birds were noticed round some 

 beehives at Bentham, Yorkshire. One took up a position near the entrance 

 to a hive, and swallowed eight bees in quick succession. It was shot, and 

 proved to be a specimen of the rare bee-eater, Merops apiaster. 



At a recent meeting of the Chester Society of Natural Science a presenta- 

 tion was made to Mr. Robert Newstead, formerly curator of the Grosvenor 

 Museum, and now attached to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. 

 The gift consisted of a life-size carbon portrait of himself, and a purse of 

 more than two hundred guineas. 



We extract the following from a Hull paper : — ' Rare Bird Shot at 

 Wawne. — Mr. John Crozier, gamekeeper, on Wednesday shot when it was 

 flying over Woody Carr, near Wawne, a splendid specimen of the buzzard, 

 which measured 4 ft. 2 in. from tip to tip of its wings.' We suppose there 

 is such an Act as the Wild Birds Protection Act ! 



Mr. H. C. Hawley, of Turnby Lawn, near Boston, informs us that 

 a Small Owl was seen at Turnby on Saturday, 28th October. His brother 

 watched it for some time in full daylight. It was being mobbed by 

 a number of Thrushes as large as itself and eventually disappeared in 

 a plantation. This Owl is also recorded as having been recently shot at 

 Southey, close by. The bird was not shot, but there could be scarcely any 

 doubt as to its identity. 



1905 December i. 



