and the arguments ran high and became hot. They at length agreed to refer it to me, and both parties approached, vociferously advancing their theories; one half persisting that the young hippopotamus had been bullied by his father, and the other adhering to the mother as the cause. I, being referee, suggested perhaps it was his uncle. 'Wahillahi sahe! By Allah it is true!' Both parties were satisfied with the suggestion."— Albert N'yanza,' by S. W. Baker (vol. i. p. 66). Some readers may

6

perhaps smile at these imaginative and speculating disputants, and wonder what arguments could be used in favour of either the paternal or maternal hypothesis, seeing that there was an entire absence of knowledge of all antecedent facts; the avuncular hypothesis so humourously introduced has certainly no less claim to consideration, even though it may have no more. Are we not now in exactly the same position as regards the spider hypothesis and the mouse hypothesis? is there not in this case also an entire absence of the knowledge of all antecedent facts? Let me suggest a third hypothesis, which has certainly as much claim to consideration as either of the others. Being lately at Leominster, my brother informed me of a collection of moths' wings he had observed in the lower compartment of a building in his garden which was always kept closed at night, with the exception of an aperture over the door, about fifteen inches square: I immediately examined the spot, and found on a landing or flat at the top of some steps leading to the upper story a great number of the wings of the undermentioned Lepidoptera,-Chelonia caja, Triphæna pronuba, T. orbona, Xylophasia polyodon, Cucullia umbratica, Plusia Iota, P. Gamma, Apamea oculea and Acronycta Psi: about the middle of this landing the wings were absolutely crowded together, and intermixed with a very considerable quantity of the excrements of a bat: there were other wings on every one of the steps, and a greater number suspended in the cobwebs, which occurred here and there in all parts of the apartment. It may be added that a longeared bat (Plecotus auritus) was seen, night after night, careering round the building, and also hawking for Noctuæ that frequented the full-blown flowers in the immediate neighbourhood. Immediately after the investigation the landing and steps were cleared of the wings and excrement, and on a visit to the spot the next morning (it was half a mile distant from my brother's residence) I found a fresh deposit of wings, twenty-eight in number, good evidence that seven more moths had been brought to the block, and a fresh deposit of excrement exactly of the same kind as before. Now I might possibly settle the spider or mouse question by suggesting that an uncle of the moths had committed the murders in question, but with so similar a case before my eyes, I cannot escape the conviction that the graphically described scene in the cave at Ilkley was caused by a bat.-Edward Newman; Leominster, August 4, 1866.

P.S. August 20, 1866. When this was written I had not the most remote conception that Mr. Doubleday was taking up the subject, and would gladly withdraw this note, but that I had a leading partner in the investigation, who will have cause for dissatisfaction should I exclude the ray of light which has been thrown on the subject by our joint researches.-E. N.

Spider or Mouse.—I have just read Mr. Clogg's criticism (S. S. 349) on Mr. Birchall's "Note on the Field Mouse" (S. S. 8), and believe that both he and Mr. Birchall are mistaken in supposing that either mice or spiders destroyed the moths, the wings of which were found in such numbers in a cave at Ilkley. I am convinced that the real culprits were bats. When my friend Robert Dix lived at

Stanford Rivers Hall there was a small circular grotto in the garden, at the end of a narrow path closely shaded by trees and shrubs. Seats were fixed round this little grotto close to the walls. When at Stanford Rivers some years since, Miss Dix wished me to look at the wings of moths which were lying on the seats in immense numbers: they consisted of numerous species, including Triphæna pronuba, T. fimbria, T. orbona and T. janthina, Xylophasia polyodon, Amphipyra pyramidea, Agrotis suffusa, &c. I am convinced that these wings were those of moths carried there by bats, probably the longeared species, which differed much in its habits from the other British bats. Miss Dix is now here on a visit, and she says she has repeatedly seen the bats flying in and out of this grotto, and has no doubt whatever that they carried the moths there and clipped off their wings before eating the bodies. Mr. English once found twenty-four pairs of wings of Geometra papilionaria lying on the ground in one of the rides of Ongar Park Woods: no one surely will believe that these moths were destroyed by mice or spiders. When sallows grow over a pond the water is often strewed, when they are in bloom, with the wings of Tæniocampa gothica, T. instabilis, T. stabilis and other early species, and I am certain that this destruction is caused by bats. Wasps will bite off the wings of insects which they have captured, but I never saw a spider do anything of the kind with moths caught in its web, which I think would not hold some of the species, the wings of which were lying in the grotto at Stanford Rivers; and I do not believe that the moths were carried there by mice, as it would be almost impossible for them to capture some of the species, the wings of which were lying about in great numbers on the seats in the grotto.-Henry Doubleday; Epping, August 6, 1866.

A

Curious Scene at Sea.-On Friday last I was the eye-witness of a very extraordinary scene. We were sailing in a smooth summer sea, with a light wind, about a mile and a half S.S.W. of Carn Boscawen, between this place and the Logan Rock, in about thirty fathoms of water, when suddenly, within thirty fathoms of our port-how, two very large fish rose perpendicular to the water, belly to belly, in close embrace, until nothing but the actual tail portions of their bodies remained immersed, and immediately fell back one on the other, causing a tremendous swirl as they sank. second or two afterwards, and before the agitation of the water had disappeared, a fish, probably one of those we had seen, leaped out of the water through the swirl at an angle of forty-five degrees, to a height which left its tail clear by a few feet of the water, and of course immediately fell in again. Immediately afterwards my boat passed through the commotion in the waters caused by these proceedings, and we saw just astern the high and acutely-angled dorsals of two fish, apparently in company, rising from two to three feet above the surface of the water. About thirty fathoms south of these two fius, a similar fin was visible. We went on our way, and soon lost sight of them. The two fish rose from the water, and the single fish afterwards jumped, as I have mentioned, close to us, so close that I could distinguish the eye and the the position of the mouth of the jumping fish, as well as, of course, its colour, but the whole affair was momentary. Judging by comparison with the spars of my boat, our punt and other things at hand, the fish that jumped must have been close upon, if not more than twenty feet long, and in depth it was about as 1 in 5 to its length. Its head was very large; its mouth was situated well down in the lower part of the head, its eye was easily to be seen, and its colour was dark lead-blue over the back, and flake-white in the belly. So far as memory has served me in my researches since, the fish came

nearest in appearance to the representation and descriptions at hand of the Globicephalus deductor (called by Cuvier Delphinus globiceps). The whole affair was pronounced by an old pilot who was with me to be the bottle-nosed porpoise "gendering" (i.e. in the act of copulation-“ engendering"), and he said he had before seen the same sort of thing. To me the sight was a novel one, and the plunge of the big fish into the air so close to me was worth going many miles to see, albeit our "ancient mariner" comforted us with the assurance that the fish were roguish at such times, and that if this one caught us a blow with his tail we should infallibly be stove. -Thomas Cornish; Penzance, July 23, 1866.

Variety of the Blackbird.—I have just got a female blackbird with a number of white feathers in it, but only one white wing-feather. This bird has bred and moulted twice near here: it is not so white as it was before moulting the first time, but the proprietor of the place not being to be trusted for leniency, I have had to bide ny time till I could quietly bag it for my collection.-William Liversedge; 35, Stansfield Row, Burley, Leeds, July 31, 1866.

Food of the Wood Pigeon.-Allow me to add two dishes to the wood pigeon's bill of fare you give (S. S. 310), viz. dock-seeds and beech-mast. The first I have found to be a frequent article of food, some birds I have examined having their crops distended with it alone; and I believe you will not open many pigeons in the autumn without finding some of the latter. My own idea is that wood pigeons do not consume much grain, but that they punish the crops of peas and beans severely for a few weeks in autumn.-James Shorto, jun.; High East Street, Dorchester, July 27, 1860.

Alpine Swift and Buffbreasted Sandpiper in Ireland.-When at Belfast, last May, Mr. Sheals, the birdstuffer, showed me a specimen of the alpine swift (Cypselus alpinus), which had been picked up dead by a fisherman near Lough Neagh. He also produced a well-mounted example of the buff breasted sandpiper (Tringa rufescens), which had been shot (with another too much shattered for preserving) in the People's Park, near Belfast. I naturally wished to obtain these specimens, but it seems they are the property of a Mr. Joyce, who prizes them highly.-Howard Saunders.

Stone Curlew near Dorchester.-I had sent me yesterday a fine specimen of the stone curlew (Edicnemus crepitans), which was shot about four miles from here whilst feeding with some wood pigeons. On dissection it turned out a young male bird. These birds are now very rare in this neighbourhood, and neither the man who killed it or the farmer on whose land it was shot could tell me what it was. The stomach was stuffed full of the wing-cases of two or three kinds of beetles.-James Shorto, jun. Eggs of Baillon's Crake at Great Yarmouth.-On the 9th of June a friend of mine in this town was fortunate enough to obtain in the market four eggs of Baillon's crake, and on Saturday last another of my friends was so lucky as to get five eggs of the same species. Now as the above were obtained from nearly the same spot, it is reasonable to infer that they were laid by one and the same bird. I have looked over your excellent little work, 'Birdsnesting,' for a description of the nest, but I can find no mention of either bird, nest or eggs. Now my object in writing to you is simply to ascertain whether the nest is of any value or otherwise.-John Overend; Great Yarmouth; July 9, 1866.

[By a reference to my 'Dictionary,' it will be found that Baillon's crake has been previously known to breed in the eastern counties: I did not describe the nest in my 'Birdsnesting,' never having seen a verified egg, and having certain doubts about published descriptions. Mr. Overend would much oblige me by writing for the 'Zoologist' a minute description of the egg.-Edward Newman.]

Pisa Gibbsii and Sun-fish at Penzance.-I took a female specimen of Pisa Gibbsii on the 14th of June: it was from about six fathoms of water, and overgrown with corallines and little sponges, and was the home of many little shells. I also, on Thursday last, inspected a sun-fish of the common sort, which had been taken the day before basking on the surface of the water. There was nothing to remark to you about it, except perhaps its mouth. It was almost laughable to see a great square fish, weighing nearly a hundred weight and a half, measuring three feet by two throughout, with big fins besides, having nine inches of breadth across the skull and five inches across the body, with a mouth of only two inches and three quarters gape, not much larger than the circumference of the lip of an ordinary claret-glass. Any of the shark lot of the same weight would have had a gape of nine inches, exclusive of the ligaments which give some of them increased power.-Thomas Cornish; Penzance, July 23, 1866.

Insects on the Snow.-My, respected friend, Dr. L. Imhoff, of Basle, has just favoured me with a few remarks on the subject of my paper in the July number of the 'Zoologist' (S. S. 273), which I am happy to communicate to its readers. This gentleman writes:-"It seems to me unlikely that any insects should voluntarily settle on the snow. Should they feel the want of appropriating a larger quantity of oxygen, or the necessity of cooling their bodies, they may attain their object by flying very close to the surface of the snow. On fine winter days, when snow covers the earth, we have in the plain the phenomenon that Tipulidæ, especially some species of Chironomus, fly about; but to my knowledge it has not yet been observed that they settle on the snow." May I ask, through the Zoologist,' whether anything of the kind has ever been noticed in England or abroad?—Albert Müller; July 26, 1866.

PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

August 6, 1866.-Professor WESTWOOD, V.-P., in the chair.

A special vote of thanks to Mr. W. Wilson Saunders was passed, in acknowledg ment of the hospitable reception given to the Members of the Society at Reigate, on

the 6th ultimo.

Donations to the Library.

The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors:'Transactions of the Linnean Society,' vol. xxv. part 2; presented by the Society. Verhandlungen der K.-K. zool.-botan. Gesellschaft in Wien,' vol. xv.; by the Society. Ou the Metamorphoses of Insects,' by Sir John Lubbock, Bart.; by the Author. The Zoologist' for August; by the Editor. The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine' for August; by the Editors.

Exhibitions, &c.

Mr. S. Stevens exhibited a collection of insects sent by Mr. Reed from Bahia, chiefly Coleoptera, and amongst which were some fine Cicindelidæ and Carabidæ, Odontochile, Dercyllus, Scarites, &c.; also a new Cetonia from Sierra Leone; and three species of Pogonostoma sent by Mr. Gerrard from Madagascar.

Prof. Westwood said that since the July Meeting he had had an opportunity of examining the remarkable beetle then exhibited and described by Mr. Pascoe, under the name of Ectrephes formicarum (S. S. 322); it did not belong to the Paussidæ, nor was it allied to Gnostus; the mouth was different from anything with which he was acquainted, possessing enormous mandibles, with an elongated triangular or conical moveable lobe; this was another instance of the extreme modifications of form found amongst insects frequenting the nests of ants.

Mr. Janson exhibited a box of Coleoptera collected by Mr. Charles Turner in the New Forest, amongst which was Quedius dilatatus found in the larva-burrows of Cossus ligniperda.

Mr. M'Lachlan exhibited a remarkably dark variety of Cabera pusaria, captured by Mr. Dorville at Alphington, near Exeter; the specimen was a male, and, whilst the body retained the ordinary milk-white hue, the wings were quite fuscous.

Mr. Bond exhibited Scoparia basistrigalis, a new species, recently characterized by Dr. Knaggs (Ent. Mo. Mag. iii. 1), and for comparison therewith specimens of S. ambigualis, the most nearly-allied British species.

Mr. Bond also exhibited two specimens of Catoptria microgrammana, a rare coast insect, and two specimens of Sericoris euphorbiana (Zeller), a species which had for some years been unique as British in the cabinet of Mr. Shepherd: both species were taken at Folkestone by Mr. Meek during the present season.

Prof. Westwood mentioned that it was only within the last few days that he had bred any of the perfect insect of Bombyx Cynthia at Oxford; so that his prospect of a second crop of Ailanthus silk was this year hopeless. Others, however, had succeeded in rearing the moth at an earlier period.

Prof. Westwood directed attention to a paper by Mr. Packard, just published in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History,' in which it was asserted that the pupa of Hymenoptera go through a series of mutations of form, analogous to those of Chloeon, as detailed by Sir John Lubbock. He suggested that the hive-bee afforded a good subject for observations in corroboration of this theory.

Mr. M'Lachlan mentioned the capture, on the banks of the Mole, near Reigate, of Sisyra Dalii (Hemerobiida), on the occasion of the Society's excursion thither, on the 6th ultimo; and exhibited a collection of cases of caddis-worms, part of which were