CORRESPONDENCE

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 85

CORRESPONDENCE

Dear "Magister," — The following are he records takeo. ait the Purakanui Schcol for the month of July: —

Temperature — Averago maximum. 51.5deg. average minimum, 39.45deg; average 9.30 a.m., 45.59d«g; average 3.30 p.m., 47.45deg; maximum temperature, 59deg, en July £6 and 29 ; minimum temperature, 32deg, on July 7 and 15.

Purakanui, August o.

Atmospheric Pressure. — Average barometer, 29.46; maxim-urn pressure, 30.03, on July 13; minimum pressure, 28.63, on July 29. Rainfall. — Total I.Bin, on niae days; maximum fall, .59 on July 2. Wind.— JS.W. on 4 d*y«, S.E. on 2 days, N.E. on ( l day; remainder calm. — Yours truiy ; Lilt Green.

Ranfurly, August 3. Dear " Magister," — The following are the meteorological records for the month of July : Maximum temperature in screen, 57deg, on the 19th; minim-urn temperature in screen, 18deg, on the 7th and 14th; minimum temperature on tbe ground, lldeg, on the ?th , average maximum in screen. 423Sdeg; average minimum in screen, 25.61deg; average minimum on the ground, 19.45deg. Rainfall, 1.06 on seven, days; maxoniiru fall, .62in v , on th»- 20th. Rainfall to date- since- January, 12.37 in on .58 days. Frosis occurred ,on 28 nights,, in the screen and* SO on the ground. Prevailing wind N.W. — Ycurs truly, ' A. W. Roberts.

Croydon, August 3. Dear " Mcglster," — I enclose th« weather observations for the month. — I am, etc., Bells Biogab.

Average maximum temperature, • 46deg; maximum tem)per»'.ure, 55aeg, on the 26th; average minimum temperature, 32.6deg; minimum temperature, 23deg, on the 11th; averago temperature at 9.30 ».m., 42deg; average temffcratuK.- at 12 noon, 48deg; average temperature ait 3.30 p.m., 48.1cteg; total rainfall, l.lSoin; highest rainfall, .38in, on the 4tb. The prevailing winds were from the west.

Gladbrook, August 2. Dear " Magister"— The rainfall for July waa 152 points, and rain fell on 12 days. Tbe- maximum temperature was 55deg, on the 3rd and the minimum temperature lodeg, on the 13th. Th-a average maximum temperature was 43.3aeg, and the average minimum temperature 25.22deig. — I am, etc., Alex. D. M'Kinnon.

Wairo* School, .August 2. Dear " Magister," — I have much p!«asure> in forwarding the following school meteorological records far the montih of Ju.y: — Rainfall. — On the Ist, Mia; 4th, I.l7lnsth, l.CSin; 6Jh, .50in;.7fch, .Ooin; Bth, .15in-9-10uh, l.Olin; 12th, .47in; 13th, .04in; 17-18 th .56in; 19th, .Olin; 22nd, .16in; 23rd, .08in ; 28thfi i.Olin;— total, £.30in. The total rainfall fir this year to date is 23.83 in Tho record for July, 1907, wiur 7.96iri, and for July, 1908, 5.51 in.

Temperature.— Maximum for month, 68d«g Fahr., on the 22nd; minimum, 34deg Faihx en .ire 13th and) 33 on 26th— the only two really co.d days; average of maxima, 59.5deg: average of minima, 45.1d'eg; average at 9 a-.m., 48d.eg; avemage ~*t 1 p.m., 46.4deg; average at 3 p.m., 58.4deg. Aneroid Barometer.— Maximum, 30.* (12th £>fv.» 16t fe inclusive); . minimum, ' 29.62deg (29th). irom, the Ist to the 27th, inclusive^ *«« barometer was never beVw 299 ww«T?w PJ. cv » iKa S r?** k»*» Wen jn.w. to S.W., the, former being exactly twice only did the record show a S.E. wind at 1 o clock. — I am, etc.,

TT j -.r JJ ° HN BOWTE,B OWTE, 8.A., Head Master Wairoa School (H. 8.). P. S.— Regret no school records of a meriparW^B? BU ° WCTe aV * ilable fOT °° m -

January, 2.90 m; February, 0.90 in; March. 3.20 m; April, 3 .81 in; May, 1.70; June) 3.57 in; July, 1.43 in. Total, 29 71m— I remain, -your truly, Stanlbx Tait.

De»r Mag l9 ter,"-I think Mr - Palmer's description of the mocker, or korimako, an excellent one, and his letter all round most interesting and full of observation and. important points. ' I take his blue duck to be a, tamed on© called " karetu" ; the ordinary Maori name, as you say, is whio. Pukaki is tbe erroneous pronunciation of pukeko a mistake handed on from generation 'to generation,' jvtst as supple-jack lV&till by thousands called to-day sooplejack, and collie dogs colics or coolies. It is a matter of bad usage handed on from father to son. Peace . to the bones of tho poor pukekos, which- were, no doubt, picked clean by the g\xn fiend, or perhaps leffc to whiten in the swamp. " Education Stud«n-t" makes splendid suggestions. J. White mentions the call of the tomtit. The one I know best is the pretty little series of notes ending in a high one exactly as if a question is asked. I cannot put it in musical notation, but it is like this, " Whee, whee, whee, whee, whee, whee, whee"— 4hat is, two notes nearly the name, then three going down, and three ascending. A musical friend kindly wrote it out for me when I strummed it on. Uio pia.no.— C, B, B flat. A, G sharp, G, B flat. C [doesn't agree, does it ? — Magisteb.] I don't know the other " bluebell notes." I must apologise to " Observer" for not describing the female tomtit; it never entered my head at the time, but " Observer's" description is quite enough for anyone to identify it from. Why is it that the female birds are much less commonly seen than the males? They are oertainly less conspicuous, but have identical habits. I have often noticed the tail-flipping so well described. Hugh Sprott's letter is a beautiful one, and his description of the nests of the fantail and of the tomtit are perfect wordpictures. Minahs, mainahs, or mynahs, as ihey are variously spelt, were at one time in the early eighties and late seventies to be found sparingly in Ofcago and a few in Dunediu, but they never "took on" here; the climate was evidently too cold for them. They can be seen in considerable numbers in "Napier. They are beautiful birds on the win?, apparently black and white, and pretty noisy and rather sociable in habits. : I beliere they nest under eaves and in spouts, like starlings, but I am not sure. Of course, they are not natives, but either Australian or Indian. If the two fantail species interbreed, and are only ■ varieties, why are there no black ones seen in the north, where the pied are so common? Of course.' there are stragglers across the ] Straits. Their nests are so small and neatly fixed thai they are exceedingly hard to detect, unless you are lucky enough to spot the birds flying to or on the nest.— l am, »ta. OBKirHOKiaisT. i

Hanvpden, August 7.

Dear " Mngister. — A short time ago someone had something in the Tim«s about Eyeing kowhai out in July, and sayijg it was the earlier he had heard of. There was a quantity out ud this way in May. Dr Liddell, of Herbert, told about it, and he said that he cut a branch cf buds and took it home. It cam© out in water, and lasted a long time.— Yours faithfully,

B. G. D.

■ Watershed. Road School, Huntccville, August 4. Dear " Magister," — I have noticed in different papers that you gladly answer questions by school children vrhd wish to know about certain specimens which they send you. My teacher- has told mo to send this to you. She says it is the case in which the female chrysalis lives. We would like

to know how this case is made, how the living grub inside obtains ita food, and how long it lives in -this tough case. Will you kindly tell us all about it? — Yours truly, Nt-.tt. M. Lambert. Balcairn, N. Canterbury, August 1. 3>ear " Magister,"— Th«nks for your identification of the mantis. Before your notes of July 21 were printed I had discovered the family to which ifc belonged, but not its " first name." The. birds here, both native and imported, are mwting, and in some cases are nest-building: Starlings and sparrows are busy, and ao is the magpie •• this bird is, I believe, of the shrike family Mr Shore puts the query, Aie -the birds deceived by the mild wpather? I hardlji think so, as I have often observed instances of prescience in that respect. Witness the stilt (Hymantopus leucoceph»lua>, which, builds hardly any nest preceding a dry summer, whereas a. high structure invariably foretells a. wet season. A little owl has been here for several months, «nd v very similar to fh* little brown chap we used to see in. the Homeland. There is kxge decrease in the " passer" tribe since he took tip his quarters here, but his presence does not seem to have effected the natives. Anent "B. A.'s" xeasa-rks about frog&, I have bad under obserarfioii » small dam, ■which in. June m» swarming with tadpoles About the end oi that month they reached the two-lee stage «ad diad, sod »ow there is no aign of wee frogs in ox near the pond. In tfa© NatiHafist Column * smvtesice in that interesting article on the bear-c*t has puxsled me somewhat. It states that the Animcl in question is the only true mammal 'in the' Eastern Hemisphere with a prehensile fail. Are not Kipling's " bandar log" of the true mammalia? Greetings to " Ornithologist," and I must repeat to him his message to you: "Keep it up, ' Ornithologist.' "—Sincerely youis, Natuba. Maxragatu% August "2. Bear " Magister/'— While working to-day amongst my flower beds- I unearthed a curiosity in the shape of two wood hyacinth fculhs tferecded togetler by a shoot of twitch gross. As you .witt observe, the shoot has pierced both bulbs near tbe centre of each the- bulbs being about an inch apart. I thought it might be of interest to you, so send it along. I noticed a somewhat similar occurrence some tizoe ago when bushfelling. A. fairly large branch of a hinehine tree had pierced the steam, of a konini, and then braoohed oui into • bushy head. The individual trees stood several feet apart, but connected by this branch. I -was curious to ascertain -whether or not the branch woald extract sap from the konini if eevexeid from its own, so I lopped it off. but in a few days it withered. I remember a case of natural grafting, or rarther inarching. A! high birch tree that at one time stood on. my property possessed a large limb which stretched out horizontally. A. small birch, about one loot in diameter had grown into this branch «t about 15ft from tbe ground. Some person had evidently wished to cut down this email- -tree, and- had hewed through the trunk, hut it held by the branch above, so the curious spectacle of a living growing tree hanging down Kke a, huge' ioicls was "ta he seen. The stump ha-d decayed,' turf still -the trefi" grew and. thsriVeA." It has gone Aowi however, along- with its foster paareat — killed by fire, to my 'regret, | as I wished to presence it; buf fire has no mercy when it gets beyond, control.— »l am, etc., H, Watts. Dear "Magister," — As you make use of my name in desiring information regarding^ minaha having beern at liberty in Dunedin, I write to say that it is quite correct that some were liberated by the Acclimatisation, Society, and for several years they were to be seen in and about the city. First Church spire was a favourite resort of theirs. It must be quite 20 years since I last saw any here. Whilst writing I may mention, a fact that was recently brought under my notice, which is, I think, very interesting «& showinghow bird* will adapt themselves to circumstances. Before the Kftle owls were liberated the poplar and other trees in the Clyde and Alexandra districts of Central Otagp were filled with the untidy nests of the : sparrow*. Since the advent of the owls I am told yort will hardly find a nest in a tree, but the remaining sparrows nest m ' holes in rocks and elsewhere. In the Old Country, according to my recollection, sparrows did not xveai in trees to the same extent as they do here; in fact, except .in cities, it was, a* rave thing to find a sparrow's nest in » tree* probably for the same reason that bas caused them to change their habits here — the presence of a natural enemy. I ahajl h& glad if any of your Central Otago readers can confirm this information. My informant also told me fh*t the owls prey largely on the ' brown beetles (Odcntri«), which are so destructive in many places. If they can reduce this oest, th*fc alone would be an immense benefit. — I aixr, eta, Old Boy. ' Fortrose, August 7. ! Dear " Magister," — As I have not written a note to you for some time — though I eagexly read your column and: find it as interesting as erer, — I am sending you a few observations, more particularly of our native birds. Away from the " bush," the imported kind, of oouree, hold sway; nevertheless, I have never seen so- many tits, and away from their usual haunts too— the edge or fringe of the bueh. I have seen then» daily on fences, koradies, and al l manner of places far away from the bush in the most unexpected places ; of course, an odd one may be seen at any time fn th« vicinity of gardens or orchards, etc., but I -have never observed Ehem so numerous as this winter, especially th* male kind. Other varieties which are fairly common are the waxeye, famteil, and grey warbler. I saw » beautiful specimen of the bittern the otfher d«y, -when I came on kirn unexpectedly on the edge oi a swtrap. Those ere fairly bubmom, and I have seen asmany aa four rise together. They have not commenced to " boom. " yet, however. On the foreshore I noticed a pair of kingfishers sitting on a white pin* stump, but as I approacbed ooe flew away. The other remained, and while I was watching him he darted into a little pool below tfce stump and returned to the level top, which was sawn, with ai small crab in his bill. This he commenced to knock against tbe wood until, I presume, the shell waa shattered, when he swallowed the thing whole. I kept wondering if its mate had remained whether it would have shared t-his dainty njjoarae! -w^th it. About a -week •go I counted 10 redbills and two gcd*wii-» sitting on the beach together. Can the latter be new arrivals, or, likelier still, I think, a ccruple of stragglers who have remained to -watch the feeding grounds until their friends -return? Is the d-ctlerel a. bird of passage? I noticed a single &ml the other day flying very high from inland towards the coast. Re ihe Ansmoth, or grnb, tha-t's responsible for the damsg-e to flax, J hope your readers who arc interested in this particular matter will closely watch ar.d observe, a.% advised by your contributor "F.

i H." in the Witness issue of 17th. March, so . as to definitely settle beyond, all dbtcbt ii a moth is really the culprit. For myself, I am quite satisfied that such, ie the case, and agree witih your correspondent " F. H." I have new three of the grabs in a box undesr observation, and will let you know results. I may state that the grubs were taken front the inside of a dry koradd. There is a small beetle -which bores through dry bleached koradies. but whether responsible for eating the leal I cannot say. — I am, etc., Bobht.