CHAPTER OF xMISCELLANlES. 
^21 
the latter case the poison is uniformly obtained from the fruit, while in the 
Wourali it is always extracted from the bark.. 
CHAPTER OF MISCELLANIES. 
ZOOLOGY. 
The Occurrence of the. Girl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus) in Yorkshire.—- 
At p. 164 you observe that you have met with the Girl Bunting ; and it may be 
that the species breeds in your neighbourhood. Dr. Fleming, in his British 
A7iim(ds^ mentions one having been killed near Edinburgh. It is a remarkably 
local bird in this part of the country, common in a few scattered isolated localities,, 
especially on the bordering districts of Surrey and Sussex, and is nowhere more 
plentiful than in the vicinity of Alton, near Selborne, whence it is strange that 
Gilbert White should have overlooked it. It occurs, indeed, in most parts of 
Hampshire, but rather sparingly, at least in comparison to its abundance in the 
Isle of Wight, where its tiresome repetition may be heard from morn till dusk, 
becoming irksome from its monotony. Its song resembles that of the Yellow 
Bunting, but wants the finish in a different key. Montagu compai’es it to that 
of the Whitebreasted F'auvet, but it is less energetic. A few days ago I saw a 
fine pair in a bird-shop, for which the man \vanted 7^.— Edward Blyth, North 
Brixton, Surrey^ May 11, 1837. 
The Supposed Backwardness of the Present Season. —I constantly hear com¬ 
plaints of the backwardness of the present spring, and yet, on comparing the last 
year s notes of the arrival of a few of our spring visitants, I find a very singular 
coincidence between them and those of the current year. I am, however, aware 
that last spring was also considered backward. This refers to the neighbourhood 
of Dublin. I send two or three notes as examples :— 
1836. April 22. —Saw several Sand Swallows, Hirundo riparia,. 
May 4.—Whin Ghat, Saxicola oenantlw. 
May 7.—Gommon Guckoo, Cucidus ca7iorus. 
1837. A.solitary Sand Swallow. 
May 1.—^Sand Swallows in great numbers. 
Same day.—-'W\im Ghat. 
May 6.—Guckoo. 
I shall also give the dates of the appearance of a few common flowers [see 
p. 225], —Beverley R. Morris, Trinity College^ Dublin.^ May 12, 1837. 
2 G 2 
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