NATURAL HISTORY QUERIES 
probal)le that all the marjjinalia may he worth printitiK- As Mr. Redgrave does 
not seem to know much about the annotator, of whom, by the way, there are 
accounts in the “ Dictionary of National Biography” and in Britten and Boulger's 
“ Biographical Index of British and Irish Botanists,” a few notes upon him may 
not be out of place. He was born apparently in St. Clement’s Lane, Lombard 
Street, January 14, 1694, was a woollen-draper and a member of the Society of 
Friends, lie was elected K. R.S. in 1728 and K.S.A. in I 737 - Previous to 1749 
he had a garden at Peckham, and in that year he settled at Mill Hill, where his 
house and garden, afterwards tenanted by another botanist, Richard Anthony 
Salisbury, now form part of the well-known public school. No one in his time 
did more than he for the introduction of foreign plants and seeds, especially from 
.America ; and there is in the Botanical Department of the British Museum an 
unpublished manuscript by him on this subject. He corresponded with .'■'loane. 
Dale, Catesby, Derham, Woodward, Barlram, Franklin, and Linnc, and contri- 
buted various papers to the “Philosophical Transactions” and to the “Gentle- 
man’s Magazine.” He died in London, August ii, 1768, leaving an only son, 
Michael. An account of Collinson, with a portrait, was printed by Dr. Fothcr- 
gill, in 1770, and this portrait also illustrates an account in Nichols’ “ Literary 
-Anecdotes,” vol. ix. Michael Collinson died in 1795 at the Chantry, Ipswich, 
and Dawson Turner, in the “ Richardson Correspondence ” (p. 401), records the 
sale in 1834 of the library of the late Charles Collinson of that place, probably 
the son of Michael, the books being chiefly those of Peter Collinson. Among 
them was his copy of Catesby’s “Carolina,” bound in Russia and illustrated with 
twenty-two original drawings by George Edwards, Ehret, and Bartram. In it 
Peter Collinson had written : “ This copy of this noble work is very valuable ; as 
it was highly finished by the ingenious author, who, in gratitude, made me this 
present for the considerable sums of money I lent him without interest, to enable 
him to publish it, for the benefit of himself and family ; el.se, through necessity, it 
must have fallen a prey to the booksellers.” This copy sold for ;^I5 los. and was 
soon after in the library of Aylmer Bourke Lambert, F.R.S., which was dispersed 
after his death in 1842. Where is it now ? Sir William Watson’s visit to 
Tradescant’s garden was described by him in vol. xlvi. of the “ Philosophical 
Transactions”: and, of course, Dillwyn’s “ Hortus Collinsonianus ” refers to 
the owner of Mr. Redgrave’s book and not to a son of his. Can Mr. Redgrave 
give us any account of how his treasure has changed hands ? — Kn. N. A’.] 
NATURAL HISTORY QUERIES. 
42 . Rooks. — A correspondent sends us the following letter from the Times 
with the enquiry whether this habit of rooks is well known. 
“ Sir, — The table of precedence of birds, as your readers interested in such 
subjects are, no doubt, well aware, has, since the days of Bishop Stanley, been 
revised in the democratic spirit of modern science. Brains are now placed above 
beak and claw. 
“The Mow foreheaded tyrants’ who in less enlightened days were allowed to 
usurp the place of honour, have been ejected to make room for artisans and 
musicians. 
“In the latest classifications the ‘ passe res ’ by common consent rank first. 
Among the ‘passeres’ the highest place is given to the ‘ corvidm,’ and among 
these a high place is filled by the homely rook. 
“ I have received from a correspondent in North Wales — a high Church 
dignitary — a small potato, with a story attached to it which, if it could be accepted 
as proved, would, I think, still further advance the reputation which these strange 
birds already possess for almost human intelligence. I will, if I may be allowed 
to do so, repeat the story, as told to me, without further note or comment. 
“Close by my informant’s rectory is a large rookery. Twice a year — in the 
breeding season and again when, as their laws require, the birds reassemble to 
carry out repairs before the winter storms begin — the ground beneath the nests is 
