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Northern News. 
drowsy condition. Possibly owing to the previous cold weather, the 
bees, owing to shorter supplies of natural food than usual in summer, 
had not got sufficient honey to satisfy them, and therefore over -ate of 
this exudation from the fir trees. 
Whether the bees recovered I cannot say. During 1921, a hot dry 
summer, and 1922 a cold wet one, I did not observe any analogous scenes. 
— R. J. Welch. 
Apparently the exuding sap of the fir trees had the same stupifying 
effect on the bees that ‘ sugar ’ has on moths, and there is little doubt they 
would recover very soon after falling to the ground from the trees, and 
in all probability the same bees would be again imbibing the sap at the 
fir trees early next morning. I do not remember to have seen bees at 
‘ sugar,’ but wasps are constant visitors to it — as are also hornets where 
they occur, — and evidently they are still on the wing much later in the 
day than are bees. Early in October I sugared a few posts about my 
garden when it was almost dark, and on going with the lamp to examine 
them after it had become quite dark, I found four wasps at the sugar, two 
of them on one post ; indeed, that night there were almost as many 
wasps as there were moths. — G.T.P. 
: o : 
Prof. Sir Arthur Keith suggests in the press that Darwin’s home at 
Down should be secured and preserved as a Museum. 
We much regret to hear of the death of Dr. Herbert Langton, M.B.O.U., 
for many years Chairman of the Museums Committee at Brighton, and 
for the past twelve years Treasurer of the Museums Association. 
A recent account of the Birds in the York Museum given in the press 
draws attention to the important species in the collection, though no 
reference is made to the two specimens of the Great Auk which that 
Museum possesses. 
The Hull Old Boys’ Natural History Club has been founded in Hull 
and has issued a syllabus of lectures and excursions. The meetings are 
held in one of this Hull schools, and the subscription is 1 /-. The Presi- 
dent and Secretary is Mr. T. Stainforth. 
J. G. Rhynehart writes on ‘ The Life -History and Bionomics of the 
Flax Flea-Beetle ( Longitarsus paruulus Payk.) with Descriptions of the 
hitherto unknown Larval and Pupal Stages ’ ; and H. A. Lafferty and 
G. H. Pethy bridge describe ‘ A Phytophthora Parasitic on Apples which 
has both Amphigynous and Paragynous Antheridia ; and on Allied 
species which show the same phenomenon,’ in The Scientific Proceedings 
of the Royal Dublin Society. 
Mr. T. A. Dymes sends a reprint of his analysis of the seeds of British 
Dactylorchids, from the Botanical Exchange Club Report. He has 
carefully examined the ripe seeds of the forms of 0 . maculata and concludes 
that the seeds of O. incarnata differ from those of the Spotted Orchis in 
colour, shape, size, and in details of both testa and kernel. Orchis 
lati folia is a ‘ controversial conundrum ’ ; he has examined seeds from 
several different places, ‘ but can make nothing of them.’ 
Our American friends still hold the record for ‘system.’ The 
following is copy of a printed card recently received : — Lost, Strayed 
or Shelved — One Manuscript, with Unmounted Photographs, entitled 
..... This mss. was mailed you, postage prepaid and envelope enclosed 
for return, some months ago. If you’ve used it, won’t you send us a copy ? 
If you returned it and it failed to reaph us, or if it should have failed 
to reach you, won’t you kindly let u^ know right on this card — which 
we’d so much like returned? Possibly you were an humble contributor 
once. If so, you may recall how hard it was to bring the stray effusions 
back. Let us hear from you, with this card, at any rate, and we’ll thank 
you ever so much ! 
Naturalist 
