170 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
itatoral jjistorjr Itcrtes. 
Arrival of Swallows. —On Sunday evening, May 11th, at 7.45, 
a large flock of swallows (“Martins?”) quite 1,000 in number arrived 
from beyond the seas, and flew over my head. I was standing by 
Oulton Broad (Mutford Bridge). They tell me there that such a thing 
is seldom seen, indeed that only one arrival of that magnitude is 
recorded. As a rule they appear by twos and threes in the morning, 
i.e., on the water, etc. I suppose these birds left too early and made land 
sooner than they intended ; they were in a great hurry and twittering 
most vigorously.— Egbert de Hamel. 
Mr. Chas. Ketley.— We regret to have to record the death of 
Mr. Chas. Ketley, of Smethwick, which took place on the 22nd 
April last, in the 66th year of his age. He had occupied for more 
than 40 years a responsible position in the local establishment of 
Messrs. Pickford and Co., and the respect shown by the firm and 
his colleagues on the occasion of his funeral showed the high 
esteem in which he was held by them all. As his occupation 
for many years consisted in the management of the Dudley 
business of the firm, his attention was early attracted by the beauty 
and variety of the limestone fossils for which this classic spot is so 
celebrated, and he soon formed a collection of the choicest specimens, 
in the selection of which he brought to bear an amount of scientific 
knowledge which enabled him to understand and appreciate those 
specimens which best exhibited organic structure and variety. The 
late Mr. J. W. Salter and M. De Koninck both expressed the highest 
pleasure in going through Mr. Ketley’s collection, and several of his 
specimens are figured and described in Mr. Salter’s unfinished mono¬ 
graph of the Trilobites, published by the Palieontographical Society. 
It was a delightful occupation to spend a few hours now and then with 
him and go through his cabinet, listening to his explanations, while he 
pointed out the particular merits of each specimen, for each one was 
the most perfect he could obtain. The Dudley and Midland Geological 
Society purchased a fine collection of Crinoidea from him some years 
ago, and a year or two since he disposed of his whole remaining 
collection to the Mason College, Birmingham. His unobtrusive 
manners and failing health caused him not to be so well known among 
local scientific societies of late years, but he was one of the earliest 
members both of the Birmingham Microscopical and Natural History 
Society and of the Dudley and Midland Geological Society, and though 
he was unable to attend their meetings, there was little that was done 
in which he did not take an ardent interest. We feel that by his 
removal we have lost a scientific collaborateur of no mean intelligence, 
whilst those who enjoyed the privilege of his intimacy mourn the loss 
of a generous true-hearted friend.—W. M. 
Flora of Oxfordshire.— The Athenaeum announces that Mr. 
G. Claridge Druce, F.L.S., is preparing a “Flora of Oxfordshire.” 
The Flora is intended to be not only a catalogue, but a history of 
Oxfordshire plants, and of the botanists connected with the University 
and County. The botanical divisions of the county will be based on 
the river drainage, the old authors from 1550 downwards will be freely 
quoted, and the herbaria at the Oxford Garden, the British Museum, 
&c., and in the possession of private individuals, will also be consulted. 
With the Flora will also be incorporated the large number of MS. 
notes left by the late Alfred French, of the British Museum, and the 
previously unpublished notes of Mr. W. H. Baxter, of the Oxford 
