Weihaiwei, Dec. 27—Walking along the road today on my way to the hills, I made a pleasing discovery which enables me to declare that Emberiza cioides castaneiceps, in other words my old friend "Pitsiwee," the Meadow Bunting, is an all-the-year-round resident in this neighbourhood: the question of its "residence" here is usually marked with a query-mark by bird observers as it has never been definitely established that it does more than appear as a spring and autumn migrant, and to some extent nest here in the summer. But there was "pitsiwee" sitting up in an acacia tree telling me ever so solemnly that "Pitsiwee's better again" thus proving to me that the bright winter weather of Weihaiwei suits the Bunting family just as well as it suits me. During this same walk I made two further discoveries not without interest. I have recently made remarks about the Hill Partridges (or Chukor) and have noted that while they keep strictly to the highest parts of the hills during the summer, they are not visible in winter as they hide among the rocks in the deepest valleys...and that they never use the lower slopes of the hills just above the houses: but this morning I had to correct that impression...for shortly after the sun was up I walked right into a covey of Chukor sunning themselves on the southern slopes in the foothills...an interesting sidelight on the winter habits of these very shy birds which strictly avoid the haunts of man at all other times of the year. Finally, I had something in the nature of a jar when, at the top of the highest hill I walked up, I saw a very healthy-looking hare which should by all the rules have been down below stealing the last bits of green in my garden: how such an animal can -subsist in the bleak hill-tops I do not know...unless there is some nourishment to be obtained from the few remaining Scotch firs, which in their turn seem to have the national gift of living on next to nothing.
Two women were talking in a bus the other night and one said: "That's a lovely necklace you're wearing." "Isn't it?" the second one said. "Its made out of my old wedding rings."
Plenty of Him Ar the end of an Army concert, an announcer came forward brandishing a five-pound note and said, "Someone here has lost this. Will he please go to the Commanding Officer's office and form a queue?"
Picturesque Ir you want your child to speak correctly, send him to the pictures, says Prof. G. S. Browne, Professor of Education at Melbourne University.—Daily paper.
Anyway, it will make his English—or his American—more "picturesque."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.