32
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
"Interlaken, Switzerland, we were told by a local naturalist that he
"had found that these big dormice crept into his old brewery and slept
"under the flooring there during the winter. So fat do they become
"that the Roman epicures used to keep them to be cooked as table
"delicacies. It has been found that a low temperature is not the sole
"cause of their hibernating; for a pair kept in confinement and
"well fed during the winter continued lively till May and then slept on
"until the beginning of August. In Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire
"this dormouse is said to have given up hibernating in winter, and to
"have taken to frequenting greenhouses, feeding on grapes, etc. It has
"received the name there of 'Chinchilla' or 'Spanish Rat,' and is said
"to be 'vicious' when handled; but even our own gentle Dormouse
"may give a sharp bite if an unwary finger is inserted into its nest. It
"is possible that in course of time, this large introduced Dormouse
"may find its way into our Essex woods."
Miss Hibbert-Ware exhibited and presented to the Museum some
leaves of Hypericum which showed abundant evidence of the work of a
leafcutting bee (Megachile centuncularis?) and also some cells of this
bee from her garden at Sewardstone.
Mr. Thorrington exhibited a length of red rubber tubing from a shed
in his garden at Little Baddow, which was partly filled with cells of this
bee, Megachile; and Mr. Mothersole followed by showing further examples
of the Megachile cells formed in one of the observation tubes which he
described to the Club some years ago. He remarked that the leafcutting
bees made use of the leaves of various plants, besides roses—he had
even observed one trying vainly to cut a piece from a Yucca leaf! Another
exhibit made by Mr. Mothersole was the cell of a mason-bee (Osmia sp.)
formed in one of his observation-tubes: and yet another was the recent
photograph of an octogenarian Essex shepherd, a Mr. Sweeting of South
Weald, taken with his shepherd's crook. Mr. Mothersole kindly pre-
sented this interesting photograph to the Club.
The Curator exhibited 39 sheets of photographs of old buildings in
Leyton and Leytonstone, most of them now demolished, from the albums
of the Club's Pictorial Survey of the County.
He also showed a skin of Barn Owl recently shot at Carpenter's Road,
Stratford, where, judging from the contents of its stomach, the bird
had found plenty of mice to feed upon.
Mr. Thompson also exhibited an albinistic Common Partridge shot at
Little Dunmow; in commenting on this exhibit Mr. Glegg said that
pied varieties were not uncommon among game-birds.
The President exhibited, under a microscope, a specimen of fresh-
water diatomaceous earth from Kentmere, in Westmoreland: he said
that the deposit was of only recent discovery, and, according to newspaper
reports, is said to extend over 100 acres and to be 15 feet thick! He also
showed specimens of our smallest British flowering plant, Wolffia arrhiza,
from South Africa.
Mr. Paulson gave a detailed report, as delegate from the Club, of the
Congress Meeting of the South-Eastern Union of Scientific Societies at
Brighton in June last: the delegate was thanked for his report.
The President then called upon Mr. Edgar E. Syms, who read a paper