Journal of Proceedings. xcvii
On the loth of May I took two well-fledged young Starlings from their
nest and put them into another nest in our garden, in which a Blackbird
was just about to hatch four of her own eggs, which, however, she
immediately left and confined her attentions to the feeding of the young
Starlings. This she accomplished so satisfactorily that they left the nest
on the 18th.
On the 22nd I put three very young Sparrows and three very hard-set
eggs into a Greenfinch's nest, from which I took four hard-set eggs. I
then took six hard-set eggs from a Whitethroats nest and introduced four
fresh Sparrows' eggs and a Greenfinch's. Next I extracted two out of
six very hard-set eggs from a Marsh Tit's nest, and filled their places with
two of the hard-set. Whitethroat's. The result was that none of these
exchanges proved a complete failure—all going on well for a time.
Eventually, however, the Greenfinch, from some unknown cause, deserted
the young sparrows, and I was unable to re-find the Whitethroat's nest
with Sparrows' eggs. The Tits, however, hatched, and reared the young
Whitethroats till they flew.
On the 21st of June I exchanged two young Swallows for two young
Yellowhammers of about the same age. Two days after the young
Swallows had disappeared from the Yellowhammer's nest, but whether
they had jumped out or flown or been taken I do not know. The
Yellowhammers in the Swallow's nest were fed, and went on all right, but
several days after I found that one of them, then nearly full grown, had
jumped out of the nest.
These experimental interchanges go far to show that one species of bird
may be confidently relied upon to rear the young or hatch the eggs of any
allied species, although this does not seem to apply to the Wood Pigeons.
On the motion of the President, a cordial vote of thanks was passed to
Mr. Christy for his very interesting notes.
Professor Boulger then read a lengthy paper on the Rhizocarpeae (a
class of aquatic plants allied in some respects to the Club-mosses or
Lycopodiaceae), illustrating his remarks by the exhibition of numerous
coloured diagrams and drawings specially prepared, and by means of
dried specimens of the plants themselves.*
Some conversation having taken place as to the necessity for technical
words in Botany, a cordial vote of thanks was accorded to Professor
Boulger. The meeting then resolved itself into the usual conversazione.
Saturday, January 27th, 1883.—Ordinary and Annual General
Meetings.
The thirty-fifth Ordinary Meeting was held at the Head-quarters at
seven o'clock, the President, Mr. R. Meldola, in the chair.
Donations of books, pamphlets, and periodicals were announced from
Messrs. J. Adams, H. J. Barnes, R. L. Barnes, Miss Cole, Dr. Cooke,
Messrs. B. G. Cole, P. F. Copland, W. Eminens, W. White, and Mr.
Searles Wood (papers and valuable manuscript and other geological
* This paper requiring a very extensive series of illustrations, and being in other ways
outside the scope of the Club, was subsequently withdrawn by the author. It will, we
understand, be published elsewhere.—Ed.
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