26 
Chaffinch, but we wished to know whether this act — important 
as marking the accomplishment of a p>hysiological change in 
the organization of the performer — was merely an individual 
pecuharity, or whether it had become general among the species. 
We hoped further — and in this we were not disappointed — that 
several hitherto unsuspected facts in the economy of birds might 
be revealed to us. Thus the series of observations we began to 
carry on was, as has been said, on a far more extended scale than 
any which had been presviously brought to our knowledge, and, 
I may add, than any with which I have since become 
acquainted. 
And now for the plan of keeping this “ Eegister ” which we 
pursued. I have already said that the observations were recorded 
by symbols in such a manner that each day’s work was expressed 
in one horizontal line, and that the entries respecting each species 
formed a vertical column. The book we had prepared contains, 
besides space at the top for headings to the columns, thirty-one 
such ruled lines extending across both pages, so that whenever it 
is opened it displays at one view the observations for a whole 
month. The first column to the left marks the days of the month. 
Next follow ten columns for a rough meteorological register, 
which had been begun some time before by my brother, and was 
continued in the hope that it would throw some light on the 
movements of birds. To this I shall again return, merely mention- 
ing now that nine of these columns are narrow and contain 
thermometrical and barometrical records, the direction of the 
wind, and the amount of downfall (if any). These are followed 
by one, some two-and-a-half-inches wide, left for a brief description 
of the weather. Then comes the strictly ornithological part — 
a series of some fifty-five narrow columns, at the head of each 
of which is written the name of a bird, beginning with the 
species which, roughly speaking, were supposed to be Residents, 
and then passing to the undoubted Migrants — the names of which 
were included or omitted according to the season. To these 
succeed three wider columns, wherein are written at full length 
as occasion requires, the names of birds seen the appearance of 
which is not sufficiently constant to justify the devotion of a 
column to them, as well as of downright stragglers; and also such 
other memoranda as seem worthy of note — the flowering of 
