whistle. Upon the summit of Church Hill, amongst other fossils, Monograptus colonus was found, which is a common fossil in the beds of the Lower Ludlow age. The Rev. J. D. La Touche read a paper upon the forms of star fish, Ceratiocaris, Pteraspis, &c., which had been discovered in the Lower Ludlow formation exhibited here.

Reassembling at the village, seats in the brakes were resumed, and the members soon began to ascend the rising ground, whence a good view was obtained of Coxwall Knoll, an eminence distant about two miles west of Leintwardine.

A reference to the Woolhope Transactions, 1882, page 182, gives us the most interesting paper read by the Rev. Charles Burrough, in which Coxwall Knoll forms the central feature in the last battle of Caractacus, whence the retreat was made to Gaer Ditches (Caer Caradoc), distant about four miles further north-west. Neither Mr. La Touche nor Mr. Auden support Mr. Burrough, but consider from the surrounding features that Breidden Hill in Shropshire, about one mile and a half from the Railway Station at Middletown, on the Shrewsbury and Welshpool Railway, has stronger claims to be considered the site of this last battle, although there is no "Caer Caradoc" in that neighbourhood (Tacitus Annal. liber xii. c. 35).

Still continuing the ascent until an elevation of more than 700 feet was reached (Leintwardine Bridge being at 394 feet), the members dismounted at the quarry at Mocktree Hill, where was a striking exposure of Aymestry and Lower and Upper Ludlow Rocks-in which amongst many characteristic fossils, which here are very abundant, they found good specimens of Orthoceras ludense, Orthis lunata, &c., and many other fossils of which drawings are to be found amongst the 820 illustrations upon the 22 plates of a Handbook of the Geology of Shropshire, by Rev. J. D. La Touche, vicar of Stokesay. In the Quarry on the left-hand side after leaving Mocktree Hili, Mr. E. S. Cobbold observed from the carriages what appeared to be a case of "contemporaneous denudation,” an exposure as if the lower beds had been cut into by some current action while still soft, and a superincumbent stratum of rock had come in afterwards and filled the hollow, the beds above being parallel with and conformable to, and probably containing the same assemblage of fossils as the lower beds. Unfortunately time would not permit of an examination of the beds here, and especially of those at the bottom of the supervening mass, to see if there was any indication of change in sediment or fossils. It appeared a grand example of a very exceptional occurrence, and somewhat surprising in the mudstones and shales of the Ludlow beds. In sandy beds formed near the coast, or in shallow water, the phenomenon is common enough. It is noticeable as having the appearance at first sight of an "unconformity," but there is a great difference between this and a case of beds upheaved and cut down before the newer beds were deposited.

Proceeding towards Forge Bridge, the members alighted at the top of the lane leading thereto, at the bottom of which, upon the left-hand side, is an exposure of rocks, where, at the height of about five feet from the ground, are found the so-called fish bone beds, composed, as the Rev. J. D. La Touche explained, of fish defences, and of fish spines rather than bones. Here the Viking

looking weapon was again to the front, to the dismay of a grand old gardener and his wife. The old man continued his digging upon the heights above until he was disturbed by finding his garden allotments undergoing the process of being gradually undermined; remonstrance being in vain against a force of seventy armed enthusiasts, limited to a day of only eight hours, he, submitting to his fate, calmly viewed the scene from a discreet distance. The members, determined to obtain their object, persevered in their mining operations, and shortly found Platyschisma helicites above the bone bed, accompanied by Modiolopsis and Orthonota and Holopella, an assemblage of fossils which tells us that the bone bed should be close at hand, and that the Passage Beds to the Old Red are also somewhat near. The novices in geology were now initiated into the specialities of the Viking-pike-for it must be explained that the fish bone beds vary in thickness from an almost microscopical line without breadth to sometimes the comparatively large aggregate of eight inches. In this instance it occupied several minutes before it could be discovered at all, although many pocket microscopes were in the field, and were used to determine the scales and fish defences when found. The point of the Viking-pickaxe was able to penetrate the thin band of strata where the orthodox geological hammer could not succeed in obtaining an entrance; consequently, when the fish bone bed had once been discovered the services of this useful instrument were in much request.

The proportionately allotted time to be devoted to exploration of the fish bone bed having been already outrun, several members still lingered to admire the picturesque scenery of the valley of the Teme here, with the weir above the bridge; but so vehemently was the whistle blown, that in their anxiety to resume their seats in the carriages with the least possible delay, their consciences pricked with the reprimand they had received in the earlier portion of the day, the members hurriedly departed, leaving the grand old gardener and his wife still in ignorance as to the cause of this unprovoked attack upon their allotments at their very foundation.

The drive from Leintwardine to Onibury by way of Mocktree, besides presenting so many objects of geological interest, exhibited in the clear atmosphere of to-day charming distant landscapes, Bringewood Chase Hill being the most conspicuous feature upon the right or south-eastern side, whilst upon the left the successive escarpments of the hills named Swan-hill, Saddle-hill, and Brand-hill, extending to View Edge or Yeo Edge, form a striking object, only, however, to be seen from an elevated position in the carriage, owing to the hedges being, at present, of remarkable height and density.

The intended residence of Mr. Allcroft was pointed out upon the left shortly before reaching Onibury. The mansion is being built of Downton Sandstone from the immediate vicinity. A few hundred yards after passing the railway crossing at Onibury, on the road to Craven Arms, in a quarry upon the right hand side, is found a grand exposure of the Downton Sandstone and Transition Beds between the Silurian and Old Red Sandstone. These same Passage Beds are known to the members of the Woolhope Club as they exist at Ledbury Railway Station, at the mouth of the tunnel, and have been again and again demonstrated by Mr. George

H. Piper; measurements of their successive strata are given in his paper-see page 138 of Woolhope Transactions, 1884. It was with some regret that the members heard the announcement that the Passage Beds here were so overgrown by vegetation that, with the limited time to-day at their disposal, a halt here would be useless. The thicknesses of the Beds in succession will be found in Mr. La Touche's paper.

The next objects of importance seen in the day's route, but not visited, were Norton camp upon the right, Yeo Edge, the habitat of Astrantia major upon the left, and Stokesay Castle, Church, and Vicarage, the residence of the Rev. J. D. La Touche, President of the Caradoc Club. The members dined at the Craven Arms, Mr. H. Southall presiding. After dinner the Geology of the Passage Beds was explained in a paper by Mr. La Touche, and Mr. George H. Piper, in a humorous reply, acknowledging on behalf of the Woolhope Club their disappointment in not being able to view and examine to-day the Passage Beds of which they had heard so much, congratulated the party upon the pleasure with which they would remember this successful joint Field Meeting of the two Clubs, over a country so instructive in its geological features.

The large party was composed as follows:-The Caradoc Field Club, under the Rev. J. D. La Touche, President, marshalled by their Honorary Secretary, Rev. T. Auden, brought about thirty members. In the place of Sir Herbert Croft, Bart., Mr. H. Southall presided for the Woolhope Club, who mustered in force amounting to about forty members. There were present :-Mr. G. H. Piper, F.G.S., a former president; Dr. T. A. Chapman, Dr. J. H. Wood, Revs. G. E. Ashley, H. A. Barker, J. O. Bevan, William Bowell, C. Burrough, Preb. Wm. Elliot, J. E. Grasett, Preb. C. E. Maddison Green, A. G. Jones, H. B. D. Marshall, H. North, R. Remington, Hon. W. P. S. Stanhope, M. G. Watkins, Major Doughty, Captain E. Dansey Oldham, Messrs. Robert Clarke, G. Cresswell, James Davies, J. W. Lloyd, T. C. Paris, O. Shellard, H. C. Moore, Honorary Secretary, and James B. Pilley, Assistant Secretary; with the following visitorsHon. and Rev. Preb. Hanbury, Rev. H. P. Prosser, Lieutenant Colonel Blathwayt, Messrs. William Davis, Froysell, Bagett Haggard, James Nott, Prescott, and others. Of the Caradoc Club the following-Rev. J. D. La Touche, President, Rev. T. Auden, St. Julian's, Shrewsbury, Honorary Secretary, Revs. N. Cooper, Oxon Vicarage, W. G. D. Fletcher, St. Michael's, Shrewsbury, R. W. Gleadowe, of Frodesley, J. Lewis, of Ford Vicarage, E. Myers, A. T. Pelham, of Cound, G. B. Powell, of Munslow, and J. G. Swainson, of Wistanstow, Messrs. Beacall, Blunt, A. Bratton, Burson, Edgar Sterling Cobbold, of Church Stretton, Charles Fortey, of Ludlow, W. E. Garnett-Botfield, of Bishop's Castle, Oldroyd, Thomas Phillips, F. Sandford, with a few others, whose names were not ascertained.

THE

COLLECTION OF BRITISH BIRDS AT
HOUSE,

CLUNGUNFORD

[By Rev. M. G. WATKINS.]

On arriving at Clungunford House, May 30th, 1890, the Woolhope Club, together with those members of the Caradoc Field Club who had joined the excursion, were received by J. C. L. Rocke, Esq., and Mrs. Rocke. They at once ushered the party into the room which holds what is without doubt the finest private collection of stuffed British birds in the kingdom. Many were the exclamations of delight before the visitors began in earnest the work of examining the specimens one by one. The birds were stuffed by Shaw, of Shrewsbury, and are most tastefully arranged in glass cases round a long room built for the purpose. The first glance round is very striking, so varied and graceful are the attitudes of the different birds, large and small, while their plumage, mostly of the brown and sober hues which befit our misty skies and rainy climate, contrasts beautifully with the few birds of more brilliant feathers, favoured children of the sun, which every now and then are found more or less bewildered on our shores, such as the Golden Oriole, the Roller, and Bee-eater. Leaving these brighter-hued birds out of consideration, the tender gray and brown and black plumage, which is so conspicuous among our native birds, composes wonderful harmonies of colour wherever the eye falls in this splendid collection. Nature works as many marvels with these sober hues under our leaden skies as she does with her more brilliant and metallic shades of vivid red and green and gold in the Tropics, only in the one case it requires an educated eye to notice them, whereas prodigality of colour at once forces itself upon the attention.

The first case which attracts the visitor is that which contains four Golden Eagles, two of which are tending a pair of callow eaglets, if birds can be so described which are clad in the curious snow-white down of infant eagles. Grand and majestic are the old birds, acknowledged sovereigns of all other British birds. The Falcons, Kite, Hawks, and Buzzards are equally true to nature, and are beautifully grouped in their respective cases. Among the Owls several specimens of the pretty little Scops Owl (Scops giu) were especially noticeable, and a grand Eagle Owl (Bubo ignavus). The Fly-catchers (Muscicapida) were well represented, and a case held several each of the Titmice, the Crested Tit (Parus cristatus) being very conspicuous. Here, too, were at least two specimens of that rare East Norfolk bird, the Bearded Titmouse (Panurus biarmicus), which, however, is not really a Titmouse. Seldom have we seen finer specimens than the case of Wagtails; here Motacilla flava (the Blue-headed Wagtail), which has been said to occur near Hereford, might be carefully studied. Among the Corvida that bird which is seldom seen anywhere, the Cornish Chough (Pyrrhocorax graculus), was to be found, and near it a fine Corvus cornix (Grey Crow) of which a specimen was procured for the Hereford Museum two years ago from Kentchurch Park.

The three Woodpeckers, which were indisputably native, were accompanied by a Continental specimen of the Great Black Woodpecker (Picus martius) concerning which, as a Herefordshire bird, there has been so much controversy. Many looked curiously at it, partly, we may be sure, to familiarise themselves with its appearance should good fortune some day bestow upon them an opportunity of seeing it alive in the county, partly from the factitious interest which attaches to it as the subject of so much incredulity on the part of those who not unreasonably ask for scientific proof of its occurrence in England. Two fine Sand Grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) betrayed at a glance to an ornithological eye this bird's relationship to the Pigeon. So much has been written on the Sand Grouse since its last irruption into Great Britain in 1888 that nothing here need be said of it. A Capercaillie contrasted well with its smaller relatives, the Black and Red Grouse, while there was an excellent series of the Ptarınigan in summer and winter plumage, and the various shades which are intermediate in this beautiful bird. The Bustards were admirably represented, and the size of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) caused many to regret its disappearance from the English fauna, if for no other reason because of the interesting feature its presence would create on some such plain as Salisbury or Thetford. The Little and Macqueen's Bustards (0. tetrax and Macqueeni) were also conspicuous. There was only time among the Limicole to notice Cursorius gallicus, the Cream-coloured Courser, a bird now very rarely seen anywhere, and of which the last appearance in England dates as far back as 1870. The Stone-Curlew and the Dotterel were also much admired. The Avocet (Recurvirostra avocetta) must not be forgotten. It also has become a very rare bird in Great Britain, although it used to breed at the mouth of the Trent. Not many ornithologists now living have seen this bird in nature. The Petrels form another family of birds, well represented in the cases at Clungunford, and the Stormy Petrels (Procellaria pelagica) as usual formed the centre of an admiring group of visitors. Opposite the Golden Eagles at the other end of the room is a case of Auks and Puffins, conspicuous above all, being the glory of this collection, a beautifully set-up Great Auk (Alca impennis). This bird, as is well known, has become extinct during the last fifty years, the latest authenticated specimens having been procured at Eldey, near Iceland. The bird before us was obtained from the Continent, and has passed through the hands of several previous owners. The bird itself is not unlike a large specimen of the Common Guillemot, so well known to most people who have been yachting round our coasts. It could not fly, having only rudimentary wings, but was a most expert diver. It is evident that a bird of this size which could only progress in one element had no chance of long surviving the invention of firearms. Like the Dodo, the Great Auk died in the struggle for existence. Remains of it have been found in prehistoric kitchen middens in Caithness and Denmark, and some bones have been picked up in guano deposits on Funk Island, off the coast of Newfoundland. About 71 or 72 specimens of the bird itself yet remain. These are distributed among public and private collections in England and America. It laid one egg only when nesting, and its bite was severe. It never flapped along the surface of the sea but at once dived. It used to abound in Newfoundland, and when seen