THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. IL 
evidence on the point is forthcoming. The main point in the 
argument is the impossibility of cuckoos entering some of the 
dome-shaped nests in which their eggs are found. A Huropean 
cuckoo, however, has been shot while carrying an egg in her 
pill. The only Australian evidence I know of is the egg which 
T exhibited at the November meeting of the Linnean Society, 
and which was taken on the ground at Dee Why, near Manly, 
at a spot from which a pallid cuckoo was flushed. If my 
brother, who took the egg, had been a little less excited at his 
discovery, and had watched to see the outcome of the proceed- 
ings, the question might have been settled once and for all. 
However, it is good presumptive evidence that the pallid cuckoo 
deposits the egg with its bill, which is especially interesting, 
as this cuckoo always chooses an open nest, and it seems that 
it is not necessity which drives it to carry the egg in its bill, 
but a deliberate preference. This bears out the researches of 
a German gentleman, who has spent some twenty years in the 
study of the Huropean cuckoo, and who states that the species 
uses both methods of depositing its egg, but prefers the latter. 
I have only seen a réswmé of the paper, and so cannot tell 
whether he has actual evidence for all his statements. 
The cuckoo finds the nests by watching the birds building, 
and I have on more than one occasion been led to a nest by 
the actions of a cuckoo. Cuckoos frequently make mistakes, 
however, as their eggs are often found in unfinished nests, 
which are then promptly deserted by the owners, though the tomtit 
sometimes goes on building, leaving the intruder’s egg em- — 
bedded underneath the lining. : 
[Mr. Harrison concluded by remarking that much more 
could be said upon the subject, but he would content himself 
by going through his exhibits in detail, making each the text 
of such observations as occurred to him. ] 
“PEARLS AND MOTHER-O-PEARL.” 
(Abstract of Paper rend at the Ordinary Meeting on Thursday, Nov, 2nd by 
Mr. O. Hedley, F.L.8.) 
Born from an wsthetic and a commercial aspect pearls may 
interest Australians; from the former standpoint the beauty 
of the pearl, perfect when least adorned, has been admired by 
all people in all ages; from the latter the most prolific beds of 
the world are those of Torres Straits and West Australia. 
Many bivalves produce pearls. The finest gems are con- 
tained by various species of the genus Meleagrina. First the 
giant M. maxima which is principally gathered in Australian 
seas ; secondly the M. margaritifera from which the Tahitian 
and other South Sea Islands are supplied. Thirdly the M. 
vulgaris, the source of the Ceylon pearls. The fresh water 
mussels yield but a scanty harvest. 
