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CHILDREN’S CORNER. 
The Whale. — Two little boys of eight were taken round the Whale Room 
at the Natural History Museum, and afterwards wrote their recollections as 
follows : — 
(1) “ A Whale has its ribs not joined to its backbone like we hav but a very 
little space betw — een and when they wont to go to the bottom for an hour 
they must they take a lot of air down and then their ribs go father and father 
away from the backbn — e and then they hav an nuf air to lif.” 
(2) “I am going to teel you About a Whale. The Whale has a very very 
little ear it cannot hear with it and a very small eye too. And it has a hand 
with fingers just like wee. And some of them have no teeth and inside their 
mouth they have a sote of hair caled Whalebone. He has a very little throat 
and a very big backb — one. And now I have finished.” 
SELBORNE SOCIETY NOTICES. 
Council Meetings. — The next meetings of Council will be held at 
20, Hanover Square, W., on Tuesdays, September 4 and 18, at 5.30 p.m. 
Library. — The Council acknowledges with thanks the receipt of h’. E. 
Beddard’s “ Animal Colouration ” for the Library from Mr. A. E. Malaher, and 
also the “Year Book of the (United States) Department of Agriculture, 1899.” 
FIELD CLUB RAMBLES. 
Jioie 30. — In spite of very threatening weather a party of fifteen assembled at 
Hendon Station and essayed the walk to Harrow. The route lay for the most 
part by foot-paths through fields of grass, which waited but for a dry day to be 
cut. Piper’s Green and Preston Bridge were passed through, many fine views of 
Harrow being obtained on the way. The members were very hospitably enter- 
tained to tea by Mr. and Mrs. Bosworth Smith, who afterwards increased the 
pleasure of their visitors by showing them their large collection of curios, and 
taking them over their most delightful grounds on the slope of the Hill. 
Jiily 21. —On this Saturday, one of the pleasantest rambles which have been 
arranged by the Croydon and Norwood Branch, took place under the leadership 
of Mr. George Clinch, F.G.S. The afternoon was spent in crossing Hayes 
Common, and tea was taken near the Fox Inn on Keston Common, a party of 
twelve sitting down to table. The principal event of the ramble was a visit to 
Ilolwood Park, by kind permission of Mary, Countess of Derby, and Lady 
Margaret Cecil. The site of the pre-Roman encampment, or old British stockaded 
village, was first visited. Both inner and outer rampart are now covered with a 
luxurious growth of bracken, whilst the intersecting paths are soft to the foot with 
the accumulations of years of moss-growth. Overhead, fine old trees, cedar, 
Scotch firs, oaks, silver birch, and others, gave welcome shade from the excep- 
tional heat. There can be no doubt that the Wood Lakes, which were then 
visited, gave even greater satisfaction than Ctesar’s Camp. The recollection of 
the views here seen will remain with the ramblers many a long day. A trickling 
stream of no mean dimensions has been dammed up into a series of lakes, each 
a step lower than its predecessor, and around the edges of the water, choice wild 
flowers found their habitat. In the upper lake were found the water-bur-reed 
(Sparga 7 iium ramosum), the water-plantain (Alisfua Plantago), flags, and cats- 
tails, and in rapid succession as the lower lakes were reached came purple 
loosestrife {Lythrum Salicarid), meadow-sweet [Spircea Ulmaria), enchanter’s 
nightshade (Circcca /iiietiatia), and bog-bean [Meuyatithes trifoliata). In one 
place was a mass of meadow crane’s-bill yGeraniuvi pralense), whilst ragged- 
robin {Lychnis Flos-cucttli), wood-betony (Stachys belonica), agrimony (Agrimonia 
Eupaio)-ia) and hare-bells were plentitul. At the sides of many of the paths 
through the woods were hundreds of self-sown rhododendron seedlings, and in 
other places lily-of-the-valley showed as many young plants. A swan’s nest 
