Oji the Fringe of the Cleveland Hills. 405 



characteristic of these old rehgious houses, the party being 

 particularly pleased at a very large and uxuriant clump of 

 Banewort. 



On Monday Scarth Nick and Scugdale were the scene of 

 operations, the glacial features of the area, as elucidated by 

 Professor Kendall, being very striking; well-known friends in 

 the form of boulders of Shap Granite were fairly common, and 

 of more than passing interest were the game-keepers' hoards, 

 where extraordinary numbers of cats'-tails gave evidence of 

 a keen eye having been kept on ' poachers.' At Osmotherley 

 the members had an opportunity of seeing how a certain section 

 of the inhabitants of Middlesborough spent a ' pleasant ' Bank 

 Holiday. On Saturday evening Mr. F. Elgee read a very 

 suggestive paper on ' The Problems of the Fauna of North East 

 Yorkshire/ which gave rise to a good discussion. 



The following reports of the work accomplished are since to 

 hand : — 



Vertebrate Zoology. — Messrs. R. Fortune and H. B. 

 Booth write : — The season of the year, combined with the dis- 

 tance from Northallerton to the area under investigation, was 

 not conducive to working out the vertebrate fauna very 

 thoroughly. But during the three days the number of species 

 identified under this section resulted in the fairly respectable 

 total of sixty-seven. 



Seven mammals were noted, viz. : — Stoat, Weasel, Common 

 Shrew (several found killed on the roads), Rat, Water Vole 

 (only seen at the pond near to Mount Grace Priory), Rabbit 

 (common), and Hare. The last named would almost appear 

 to be rare in this neighbourhood, as onlv ouf^ individual was 

 noted during the three days' excursion, but no doubt the abun- 

 dant cover in the growing corn would give them every security 

 from observation. Mice were abundant in the ruins of Mount 

 Grace Priory, but the species was not identified. The members 

 were pleased to hear that Badgers were not uncommon along 

 the escarpment near Thimbleby, and to learn that they are 

 now protected by Mr. J. S. Barwick*. 



Bird-life was very quiet, and for the most part birds sought 

 seclusion with their young families in the thickets and dense 

 foliage. Fifty-seven species were recorded. Amongst others, 



* As a proof of sincerity, a Badger-trap was consigned to an old 

 •curiosity shop in Hull. — H. B. B. [This is a 'joke.' — -Ed.]. 



2908 November i. 



