323 



NORTHERN NEWS. 



We are sorry to hear of the death of Air. W. Jerome Harrison, F.G.S. 

 We hope to refer to his work in our next issue. 



Some Selbornians have recently had an excursion to St. Albans, and 

 Uncle Westell pointed out the site of the pageant of last year. 



We don't know who writes the weather reports for the ' Sheffield Even- 

 ing Mail,' but the ' Light wine E.N.E.' must surely have been predicted 

 just after lunch. 



' A young cuckoo has been found hatched in a hedge-sparrow's nest 

 in the garden of Mr. R. Stather, of Hotham. The curiosity is that the young 

 cuckoo is fed in the nest by a hedge-sparrow.' — Hull Daily Mail. The 

 young cuckoo should, of course, have been fed by an elephant. 



' For the benefit of readers and ourselves a certain ' natural history ' 

 newspaper has started a shop. Judging from an advertisement, this shop 

 will be principally stocked with books written by the editor, and with 

 ' The Hair Wash,' which we hope may not be too penetrating. 



At the recent celebrations at the Linnean Society, Lord Avebury 

 stated that Darwin was much beloved at Down, near Beckenham, though 

 he was rather a puzzle to the villagers. His gardener, once being asked 

 how Darwin wa::., said very sadly : ' I often wish he had something to do ! ' 



Mr. E. P. Butterfield describes the ' purple patch ' of his life [seeing 

 the Pied Flycatcher] in the June ' Zoologist.' In the same publication 

 Mr. W. F. Kirby writes on ' the Longevity of Entomologists.' He gives 

 a list of the ages at death of over three hundred entomologists, from which 

 it is evident that, with entomologists at any rate, the good do not die young! 



Amongst a number of printed questions placed before the scholars of 

 a well-known educational museum, we notice one is : 'If during a St. 

 Ledger's Race the rotatory movement of the earth were suddenly stopped, 

 what would be the effect upon the horses, the spectator^', and the town of 

 Epsom ? ' We would suggest that the surprise wouL'^ be almost as great 

 as if the Derby were to be run at Doncaster ! 



The ' Evening Standard and St. James's Gazette,' after referring to 

 the destruction of trees in America for supplying wood pulp, adds : ' what 

 the axe and saw-mill spare, the teredos [sic] or ship's worm, attacks, 

 laying low whole forests in its malevolent activity.' We had an idea that 

 strange things occurred in America, but we hardly expected to hear that 

 marine molluscs were eating the trees in the forests. 



' As a characteristic specimen of the " natural history " pabulum served 

 up weekly in a print exclusively devoted to exploiting this branch of 

 science, it may be put on record that — without note or comment — it 

 published lately an account of a snow-bunting's breeding in Westmorland 

 (which, of course, it spells wrongly — Westmoreland). Now for a record 

 of the snow-goose breeding in Fleet Street ! ' — Yorkshire Weekly Post. 



The erosion of our coasts is to be stopped at last ! In view of the simple 

 and sure cure referred to in the following letter to the Hull Press, the wonder 

 is that the sea was not mastered long ago : — ' There has been much comment 

 and trouble about this serious question, which must be overcome. The 

 cause is the sea battering at the foot of the cliffs [!]. The effect is that Old 

 England is going into the sea. The remedy is to trench the top of the 

 beach at the foot of the cliffs, about 3-ft. deep by 12-ft. wide, and then fill 

 up with puddled clay. Batten the bottom of the cliff about 3-ft. thick, 

 the thickness gradually lessening to about 12-ft. high. This will stop 

 the sea from undermining, and the top of the cliffs will never come down. 

 If the authorities will try this plan in the worst place on the coast, I feel 

 sure it will stand the test.' 



1908 August I. 



