78 NATURE NOTES. 
study in the Cryptogamic Herbarium, is of immense service to Mr. Smith in his 
present work. 
Few naturalists have other than a vague idea of the extraordinary variety and 
beauty of form and colour to be found in the Agarics — the Mushroom and Toad- 
stool group — now illustrated partly by the plates exhibited, and a visit to the gallery 
will certainly open the eyes of all but those experts who already know the attrac- 
tiveness of this field of study. A remark, constantly made by students of the 
subject, is that never until now, when the figures of the species are seen side by 
side, have these same species seemed so well marked and distinct. A greater 
compliment could hardly be paid to Mr. Smith’s work, since the prevailing idea 
among botanists is that the numerous species of Agarics run into each other in a 
way that fills one with despair. No doubt a large amount of weeding out of 
species will one day have to be done, and one of the best services towards this end 
is the making of this exhibition, since the species are here passed deliberately in 
review in systematic order by the hand and eye of a master in the study who has 
no foolish prejudices in the way of species-making. Mr. Smith is to be congratu- 
lated on having added to the attractions of the Museum an exhibition remarkable 
for its artistic beauty as well as its scientific merits. 
George Mi rray. 
Rooks Burj'ing their Food. — Can any of your readers inform me if it 
is unusual for rooks to bury their food ? One day in February when the snow 
was covering the ground, we put on the lawn, a little distance from the window, 
a large slice of cake, in the hopes of some birds finding it. We were not disap- 
pointed : shortly a rook appeared, and walking up to it broke it into three pieces ; 
then taking one of the pieces in his beak, walked towards a large tree about twenty 
yards oft', under the branches where the snow was not laying so thick. He found 
a hole and deliberately buried the cake in it ; having done so to his satisfaction 
he returned to the remaining pieces : taking another in his beak he again marched 
oft' to the tree, this time burying it close to the trunk in a hole formed by the 
branching of the roots. Back he came again, and, taking the last piece, buried 
this in the same manner in another hole under the boughs of the tree. He then 
returned and for some time appeared to be searching for more cake. At last he 
gave it up, and walking back to the tree, stopped for a moment near the place 
where he had buried the first piece, turning his head from side to side as if trying 
to recollect the exact spot he had placed the cake ; then he walked up to the stem 
of the tree and began eating the piece hidden there. A little later he flew away, 
apparently quite forgtting the thi rd piece. On the following morning our old 
friend again appeared ; we recognised him by a broken feather in his wing. This 
time he was busily searching the ground near the stem of the tree, probably 
remembering his feast of the evening before. He was not unrewarded, for he 
seemed to find a few remaining crumbs. I may add that during the severe weather 
a great many rooks came to be fed, and very amusing it was to watch the caution 
they showed in fetching the food ; they would walk in a circle, or in any way 
rather than go direct towards it, turning their heads about all the time ; if another 
rook approached they assumed an air of careless indifference, which was quite 
comical to behold, and marched off in another direction. K. C. C. 
StrallotfS in 1891. — Mrs. Stevens, of IVoodham Hall, IVoking, writes: — 
“Seeing the letter in your January number on the scarcity of swallows last year, 
I should like to tell you of a few that were seen by me and two friends about 
September 1 5 th. IVe were strolling down the banks of the Thames in the evening, 
just below Boulter's Lock at Maidenhead, when we became aware of a wonderful 
fluttering and chirping going on over head. On looking up we saw thousands of 
swallows circling round and round, and as the sun set they kept pitching down, 
first of all by twos and threes, and then by scores, into the willows on the eyot just 
above the bridge, and before we left the whole island was literally alive with them. 
I drew the attention of a native, who was passing, to the sight, and he said that he 
had never remarked it before. It is possible that owing to the wet season, or for 
some other cause, that swallows this year frequented the neighbourhood of rivers, 
and selected these withy beds for their meeting-ground before the long flight south. 
The next evening we were at the same spot. The sun had set, and there was not 
a sign of a bird in the air, but such a chattering was going on amongst the osiers, 
which told us they were all there again, and, indeed, on a closer inspection we 
