In place of shading the columns, as in former Diagrams, dark lines are substituted to facilitate the engraving, and represent the depth in inches and tenths of the moisture evaporated in the evaporating gauge, and of rain that fell in the rain-gauge each ten days of the respective months. The dotted line shows the mean temperature; the line marked d shows the mean point of deposition, or dew-point (see p. 284.); the double line 6 shows the mean height of the mercurial column in the barometer for each ten days in the two months. The mean temperature for July this year was 57.1°, for August 55.5°, and for September 50.5°. By turning back to p. 94. it will be observed that the temperature in July last year was 4°, in August 36°, and in September 6.1° higher than in the corresponding months this year. The rain which fell this year in the months of July and August, and which might be supposed to affect the ripening of the crops, was 9.6 in.: the depth that fell in the two corresponding months of last year was only 4'6 in. This comparatively low temperature and excessive moisture in the soil might have led to the inference that the ripening of the crops would have been proportionally later; and this holds true with regard to the leguminous part of the crop, the ripening of fruits, and the progress of vegetation in general, except the cercalia, which comprehend what is generally termed the "white crop" but when we take into consideration the structure of the plants 28 Evaporating Gauge. 30 composing this part of the crop, we will be able to account for this apparent phenomenon. It will be recollected, that during the months of April and May, and the early part of June, the rains that fell were far short of the usual average, and evaporation during that period was excessive. It is an invariable law in the vegetable kingdom, that when a plant receives a check, either by a wound, or a diminution of the ordinary supplies of nourishment, a tendency to fructification is promoted, as if, aware of its approaching end, it hasted to that state of maturity whereby the species might be preserved and propagated. The leguminous crops form no exception to this law, but are differently affected from the cerealia at different stages of their growth: for though a diminution of moisture in the early part of June did force them soon into flower, an after additional supply promoted their growth; new blossoms appeared, new pods were formed, and the season of maturity was protracted, according to the degree of the existing temperature. Not so the cerealia, which form only one ear; and that ear being formed was not affected to the same extent by the future supplies of moisture. Hence, because wheat, barley, and oats had formed the ear, which was either developed, or what is locally termed in the shot-blade, before the rains, at an earlier period than would have been the case under the same temperature with a greater supply of moisture at the root, this part of the crop was not above a week later than last year in coming to the sickle in the lower districts of Perthshire; but in the more humid highland glens, where the same causes did not operate in the early months of summer, the ripening process is later by three to four weeks than last year. The depth of rain in September this year is 2.25 in. The coldest day in August was the 25th: mean temperature of that day 51°; wind N.W. The warmest day in August was the 31st: mean temperature of that day 61.5°; wind E. The mercury in the barometer was highest on the 31st, height 29′62 in.; and lowest on the 27th, height 28'4 in., wind N.E. There were brisk gales of wind from the N.W. on the 24th and 25th; range of the thermometer from 42° to 72° in the shade. The coldest day in September was the 28th: mean temperature 46°; wind N.W. Warmest day 26th: mean temperature 57°; wind W. The mercury in the barometer was highest on the 1st; height 29.54 in., wind N.W.: lowest on the 6th; height 28.65 in., wind W. There were loud gales of wind from the W. and N.W. on the 21st, 22d, 23d, 28th, and 29th ; range of the mercury in the thermometer from 38° to 65°. Calendar of Nature for the Carse of Gowrie, Perthshire. On the 4th of August, very heavy rain, which continued for twenty-seven hours without intermission, was accompanied at its commencement with vivid flashes of forked lightning and loud and long-continued peals of thunder, and violent wind from the N.E., with the temperature as low as 46°; the rain that fell amounted to 140 in. On the 27th, during twentyfour hours, about 2.25 in. of rain fell, with the wind from the same quarter. The general characteristic of the weather throughout the month was moist with a clouded atmosphere; there being 17 days cloudy, 7 days of partial sunshine, and only 7 days in the month of clear sunshine; the wind blew from the N. and E. 13 days, and from the N. and W. 18 days. The Digitalis ferruginea came in flower on the 1st, the Scabiosa succìsa on the 8th, the Coreopsis verticillata on the 10th, the A'ster Améllus on the 11th. Barley that came in the ear on the 26th of June was ripe on the 21st, a period of 56 days, mean temperature of that period 56·6°; under a temperature of 59-40°, last year, barley ripened from the time of earing in 49 days; difference of time 7 days, and of heat 2.6°. (p. 96.) The flowers of the Colchicum autumnàle appeared above ground on the 24th, nearly two weeks later than last year; cabbage plants brairded on the 26th that had been sown on the 17th, 9 days: mean temperature of that period 54'6. The Boccònia quercifòlia was in flower on the 29th; and wheat that came in the ear on the 22d of June was cut ripe on the last day of the month, a period of 70 days: mean temperature of that period 56.6°. The weather continued moist during the first 10 days of September, and the atmosphere mostly cloudy; from that period the atmosphere was clearer, and brisk gales of wind were frequent, and much of the crops were got in, in good condition; with the exception of beans, the ground was clear by the 28th in the Low Carse. In September there were 15 days of brilliant sunshine, 7 days of partial sunshine, and 8 days cloudy. The tiger lily came in flower on the 1st; ripe figs were pulled on the 2d; Spanish broom flowered on the 4th; Moorpark apricots ripening only on one side. Green-gage plums were ripe on the 17th, white Beurré pears on the 29th. Elruge nectarines not yet ripe. The sportsmen find the game scarce. Few young partridges have been hatched, and the skeletons of several dams have been found in the nest by the reapers. Hares are not so plenty as usual; the young are still feeble. Swallows have disappeared, and the sea-mews appear in myriads on ploughed fields. Few wildgeese have as yet reached their winter quarters in the Low Carse.- Sept. 30. ERRATA. - Page 302. line 15. for " Capucaila" read "Capercaile," the common name of the mountain cock. Retrospective critics should be free from errors, and (to use a common proverb) “ ought to sweep before their own doors." B. C. Page 275. line 27. for “A'lca Alce" read " A'lca A'lle;" and after "species add " of Petrel." The Water-Shrew. - Sir, The description given by Mr. Dovaston of the water-shrew (p. 219.), will, I think, lead to some interesting facts in the natural history of British shrews. I am inclined to think that the animal there described differs from the Sorex fòdiens, given by Stark as a synonyme of the Sorex Daubentonii of Geoffroy, and what the author supposes it to be. The characters of the former are black above, and cinereous or ash colour beneath, ears and eyes very sınall, its length is nearly 6 in., snout long and small, it burrows near water, and, according to Berkenhout (Synopsis of the Nat. Hist. of Great Britain, 1789), inhabits Lincolnshire. Now I have seen (though I have not yet been able to procure a specimen) a water-shrew that very nearly answered this description, in the moors of Lanarkshire, which correspond very nearly, in physical characters, with the fens of Lincolnshire. But the Sorex Daubentonii, Le Greber (digger) of Pallas and of Vicq d'Azyr, besides the character of its ear being provided with three small valves, capable of shutting it entirely, which would have presented to the eye of Mr. Dovaston the appearance of being buried in the fur, has the toes of the feet bordered with stiff hairs, the tail square-shaped, a little shorter than the body, the fur blackish above and white below; it sleeps during the day, and hunts in the evening and morning; its length is only 3 in. The animal seen by Mr. Dovaston answers this description; according to this gentleman, the belly and throat were of the purest silver white, distinguishing it from the S. Collùrio, the ears were almost buried in fur, length about 3 in., tail shorter, being not quite 2 in., the claws fringed with very fine bristles; it was never seen till near sunset, once only at noon. Pennant describes the S. fòdiens, which, in its length, and in the presence of a dusky spot near the tail, would approximate to this species. The error will be traced, I suspect, to the fact of two distinct species having been confounded; and if this were the case, this little animal would be the representative of the true musaraigne d'eau of the French writers, first noticed by Pallas, and since admitted into systems by the name of Sòrex Daubentònii, with which the Sorex fodiens would not be connected as synonymous, but left apart, as a well-marked and distinct British species. Yours, &c. William Ainsworth. 11. Gardener's Crescent, Edinburgh, Sept. 1829. ART. V. Queries and Answers. A PAIR of Butcher Birds (Lànius Collùrio, m. et f.?). — About three years ago, a pair of butcher birds were observed building in this neighbourhood, and were watched till their eggs were on the point of hatching and then snared. These birds have since come into my possession, and on comparing them with the plates and descriptions in Bewick's sixth edition of Land Birds, I find the male agrees precisely with that of the red-backed shrike, p. 73., and the female with the one at p. 75., which is there called the woodchat; but in the appendix, p. 377., where another figure of the woodchat is given from a specimen in the collection of Mr. Leadbeater, is the following paragraph in allusion to this figure: "At page 75. is given a figure of a shrike, which, judging from that of Buffon, appears to be the female of the woodchat; hence it may be concluded, that if the female is found in this country, so in all probability is the male also." Now as this appears to be the only reason Mr. Bewick had for stating this bird to be the female woodchat (Lanius rùfus), I suppose that he is in error, and that the figures at p. 73. and 75. are the male and female red-backed shrike (Lànius Collùrio). I have never seen a specimen of the woodchat known to have been killed in Britain; but, perhaps, some of your readers will be able to throw a little light upon both these points. — W. Farrar, M.D. Barnsley, Aug. 1. 1829. Peculiar Smell of the Greater Shrike. - Sir, Can any of your correspondents account for the peculiar smell which proceeds from the greater shrike (L. excùbitor) after death, and which is not unlike the smell which arises from the explosion of gunpowder? I have noticed the same peculiarity in the nuthatch (Sitta europæ`a), but in a much less degree. Yours, &c.— A. N. July 21. 1829. The Storks in Germany. — Sir, In Lower Germany there is a singular belief concerning the storks (abus, as the Low Germans call them), which build on the ridges of the thatched houses in the flat and marshy parts of Germany. It is, that they pay the master of the house for leave to build their nests on his roof; the first year they pay a quill feather, some say cut into a pen; the second, an egg; and the third year a young one; the fourth year they begin with the feather again, and so on as long as the same pair continue to build on the house. These payments they lay on the dunghill, which stands before what the Germans call the long door, like our barn door; the barn and dwelling-house are under the same roof, the door for the family is at the side. This I was assured was the fact by several, but I could find none who had seen it, they only knew somebody who had a nest and had been paid. They think it a sign of good luck to have a nest, and, therefore, as soon as they see a pair of storks flying about, they collect straw, &c., for them to make their nest with. Perhaps some of your numerous correspondents can speak to the truth or falsity of the fact.-G. H. Clapton, Aug. 28. 1829. Softening the Skins of Birds. - Sir, I should feel greatly obliged to any of your correspondents, if they would inform me, through the medium of your Magazine, how to soften the skins of birds which have become dry and hard, without injuring the feathers. Having received specimens in this state from friends, who have been able to skin the bird, but not to mount it afterwards; I am at a loss how to restore suppleness, and am rather surprised that in all the treatises which I have read on taxidermy, I have not found any instructions upon a point so necessary to be known by preservers of subjects of natural history. I am, Sir, &c. - J. A. H. Acilius pumileonis. · What are the habits of this insect, which is said to prove ruinous to the wheat crops in particular situations? - P. S. Berwickshire, August, 1829. The Zimb. - I have lately read that the effects produced by this insect, both on man and beast, are of a dreadful nature. Bruce, in his Travels in Africa, says, "As soon as this winged assassin appears, and his buzzing is heard, the cattle forsake their food, and run wildly about the plain till they are worn out with fatigue, fright, and pain." I shall feel obliged if any of your correspondents can inform me to what order this terrible insect belongs, with a description of its habits, and the method of producing the fatal effects ascribed to it. Is it not the fly mentioned by the prophet Isaiah, ch. vii. v. 18. and 19.? - W. H. White. Bedford, June 9. 1829. Spinning Slugs. (p. 69. and 303.)-Sir, Careful observers of natural phenomena may doubtless find many opportunities of observing slugs spin. I, without pretending to be more than a casual observer, and having but few opportunities, have witnessed it more than once; and I can state from actual observation, that slugs do climb up trees at this time of the year (July), and particularly in warm damp weather, and suspend themselves by a slimy cord from a branch; but that it is not done for any purpose implied in, or that could be inferred from, your correspondent's article; it is for the purpose of copulation, and I believe all our indigenous slugs procreate in the same manner. I have never seen snails shooting love shafts at each other; I should be glad I did, being rather sceptical on that head. Perhaps some of your correspondents could give some information as to what time of year and in what situations they might be observed. I am, Sir, &c. - J. B. Liverpool, July 10. 1829. Flora Virgiliana.-Sir, Your correspondent W. (p. 401.) expresses a de sire that you should furnish us with a complete Flora Virgiliana. "I should like," he says, "to see all the weeds included;" a desire in which every botanist, as well as scholar, will be ready to join. It were, indeed, devoutly to be wished; for we should then, with W., "recur with a new pleasure to our old acquaintance,” "Lappæque tribulique; interque nitentia culta Till something of the kind be effected, schoolboys are under the necessity of rendering these words, not by their real appropriate names, but by those of some analogous weeds of their own country, and their masters are unable to teach them better. My schoolmaster, Mr. Editor, was a botanist as well as a scholar; and as I had early imbibed a love for natural history, the georgic lesson was always a pleasure to me, I believe I may say, to both of us. Still, however, even with the help of Martyn's edition, which he always had before him on the occasion, and kindly allowed me to consult, we were sometimes at a fault; the Roman plants seemed often to defy us to identify them, and Virgil and Linnæus were not easily to be reconciled. Your correspondent having dismissed the weeds, goes on to say, mean time, until difficulties be cleared away, let us rejoice in the" biferique rosaria Pæsti : Et virides apio ripæ, tortusque per herbam ... cucumis; nec sera comantem Narcissum, aut flexi . . . vimen acanthi," &c. "In the From the manner in which these lines are introduced, I am almost inclined to think that your correspondent sees no difficulties here, and is satisfied as to the species of all the plants enumerated in this passage. But does it not present us with some obscurities as great as those in which the weeds before mentioned are involved? What species, for instance, is meant by sera comantem narcissum?" Most, if not all the Narcíssi, are, with |