the chiefe Jnhabitants of the said p'ish wee have by seurall Orders consented That the Co'ion table at the East end of the Chancell of the said Church should be railed in tending to the adorneing of the Church & Keeping the Co'ion table from p'phanation in such an orderly & decent manner as best becometh the howse of God, which thing, as wee are informed hath bin opposed & hindred by some p'sons that hath neither regard to the Church or discipline thereof, soe that the Rayles are not as yet sett vp: Know yee therefore, That wee doe admonish you the said Zacherias ffiske, Mr. James Harvey, Thomas Mylles, Roger Gleed, & the Churchwardens of the said p'ish hereby allso comanding & inioyneing you soe soon as conveniently may be to cause the said Co'ion Table to be railed in, in such Decent manner as it was before the Rebellion vnder paine of the Lawe & contempt. Jn witnes whereof wee haue caused or Ep'all seale to be putt to these p'sents. Dated this 9th day of October, Ao. Dni. 1683, & in the 8th yeare of or Translacon.

3. An Order concerneing the setting up of the Rayles in North Walsham Chancell.

Antony by Divine p'mission Bishop of Norwch To or welbeloued in Christ......Churchwardens of the p'ish of North-Walsham, in the County of Norff., & or Diocesse of Norwch, Health in or Lord God euerlasting, Whereas we are informed by Dc'or John Hildeyard or Co'missarie of the Archdeaconry of Norff., That the late Churchwardens of yor p'ish of North Walsham aforesaid, had according to thier duetie set vp the Rayles about the Comunion Table in yor Chancell as antiently they had bin, & that the said Rayles were afterwards remoued riotously & without anie order, in the night time by rude & disorderly p'sons, but are now sett thereabouts the said Cōion table againe as they ought to be for decency & orders sake & for the p'vention of many p'phanatuns that may otherwise happen, Wee therefore, att the Request & petition of or said Co'missary doe order & decree by these p'sents, That the said Rayles now standing about the saide Cōion table be forthwith fixt & made fast & secured in their standing as now they doe, Willing & comanding that noe p'son shall remoue or displace, or anniewise abuse them vpon paine of the Lawe & Contempt. Jn witnes whereof wee haue caused the seale of of Vicar generall which wee vse in this behalfe to be putt to these p'sents. Dated the 3d day of July, Ao. Dni. 1683, & in the 7th yeare of or Translacon.

4. An Order concerneing the rayleing in the Co'ion table in Great Snoreing.

Antony by divine p'mission Bishop of Norwich To or wel beloued in Xpt, Mr. Thomas Verdon, Clerke, Rector of the p'ish Church of greate Snoreing, in the County of Norff., & Diocesse of Norwch Sendeth greeting in or Lord God euerlasting, Whereas it is yor earnest request & desire to give or consent that the Colon table att the East end of the Chancell of the p'ish Church of great Snoreing aforesaid, might be railed in, Know yee therefore that wee considering yor request (it tending for decencie & orders sake & for the prvention of many p'phana' cons that may otherwise happen) Doe order & Decree That the said Coion table be railed in, in such a Decent & orderly manner as best becometh the House of God, And that there may be a more free accesse & a plainer passage to the said Co'ion table, wee doe decree & order That the Tombeston in the said Chancell be taken downe & laid leuell wth the ground & laid leuell & euen with the Pauement in the said Chancell. ffurthermore, att yor request wee haue given & granted & by these p'sents doe giue & grant vnto you the said Mr. Thomas Verdon, full power, licence & authoritie to take in soe much of the said Churchyard towards the west to build vpon a new foundation as shall make yor p'sonage howse (which you are now repaireing) uniforme, decent, & handsome, And for asmuch as wee are informed that there is an old decayed ruinous Portch belonging to the said Church of Snoring that is vseles and requires much cost & charge to repaire & Keep it vp, Wee therefore haue given & granted & by these p'sents doe give & grant vnto you the said Mr. Thomas Verdon & the Churchwardens of the said p'ish, full power, license & authoritie, to take downe the said Portch. Dated this of Ao. dni' 1684, & in the Eight yeare

of or translacon.

5. An Order Concerning the Setting up of the Rayles in Earsham Chancell.

William by Divine p'mission Lord Bishop of Norwich To oure Welbeloued in Christ John Doughty, Cler. Rector, & to Churchwardens of the p'ish of Earsham, in the County of Norff. and Diocesse of Norwich sendeth greeting in our Lord Everlasting, Whereas were are requested by some of the Chiefe Jnhabitants of the said p'ish to give our consent That the Comunion table att the East end of the Chancell there may be railed in. Know yee therefore, that the request tending to the decent adorneing of the Church and to such a decent and orderly manner as becometh the house of God, Wee have given and granted and Doe by these p'sents give and grant vnto you the said full power, license, & Authoritie to raile in the said Co'munion table and to raise the ground two or three steeps in such decent manner and forme as it was before the late time of the great rebellion in the Reigne of King Charles the first of Blessed memorye. In Witness whereof wee have caused the Seale of our Vicar gen'all (which wee use in this behalfe) to be putt to these p'sents, dated the 25th of May, 1686.

QUERIES.

In the year 1632, a Mr. George Burditt, M.A., was appointed Town Lecturer of Great Yarmouth. In 1635 he went to New England, where he settled as minster at Salem. He remained there only for two years. Thence he seems to have removed to Dover, in Connecticut, and from thence again to York. After some time he returned again to this country. Is anything known of him, and what? Why did he leave Yarmouth, and where did he settle after his return ?-T. W. DAVIDS, Colchester.

Quarles Family (vol. III, p. 197).-It is stated that John Symonds, husband to Elizabeth Quarles, died in 1672. Should not this be 1692, and February 29th instead of 19th. An inscription on brass is (or was) in Great Yeldham Church, Essex, stating that Elizabeth (then) wife to John Symonds, died 15th December, 1666. Another of the Quarles' family, Mary Quarles, daughter of William Quarles, Esq., who married Samuel Weely, was buried at Great Yeldham, the 8th of September, 1692.-C. GOLDING.

:

Family of Spooner.-I shall be glad to know what I can of the Spooner family, of Debden, Markshall, Colchester, Dunmow, and other places in Essex especially of Alice Spooner, who married Richard Sayer, of Colchester, before 1610; John Spooner, who was an exile at Leyden about 1622; and William Spooner, of Colchester, who was at Plymouth, N. E., and a minor in 1637. Any extracts from parish registers will be very welcome.-D.

Microscopic Fossils of East Anglia.-Can you or any of your correspondents inform me if there are any works on the "Microscopic fossils of the Chalk" of the Norfolk beds, or of any where in the East Anglian districts? -FOSSIL.

The East Anglian.

AUGUST, 1868.

NOTES.

DESTRUCTION OF BIRDS AND VERMIN.

Looking over the contents of an old chest in one of the churches of Suffolk, I found a copy of the Act of Parliament VIII Elizabeth cap. 15, "for the Preservation of Grayne." Having obtained permission to take a copy of it, I send it for insertion in the East Anglian; with a few notes from which your readers will see how completely ignorant were our legislative forefathers of ornithological science, the tendency of the act being to destroy the farmer's true friends, and preserve those most injurious to his well-doing. It will be observed that there is no mention of the sparrow.-M. A Copye of an acte for preservation of Grayne mad in the Eight yeare of the reigne of our Soveraigne Ladye Elizabethe, &c., as followythe. Whereas in the parliament holden at Westminster uppon prorogation, the fourthe daye of Februarye, in the xxiiii yeare of the reigne of the noble prynce of famous memorye Kynge Henrye the eight: amongest cther actes, one statute was made & provyded for the Dystructyon of crowes, rooks, & choughes: in which statute is conteyned one braunche concerninge the provysyon, puttyinge in use & mayntenance of nettes & thrappes: which branche, beinge verye good & beneficiall, longe time sythens was expyred. Be it therefore ordeyned & enacted by the queyne our sovereigne Ladye, with the assent of the lords spirituall & temporall, & of the commons in this present parliament assembled, & by the authorytye of the same, that onelye the said braunche of the same statute, concerninge the provysyon, use, & mayntenance of netts & thrappes, for the dystructyon of Crowes, Rooks & choughes, & all & everye article, forfeyture & penaltye, conteyned in the said braunche, for & concerninge the provysyon & puttinge in use of the same nettes, & for the mayntenance thereof accordynge to the forme therein lymitted; thatt frome henceforthe be revyved & put in due executyon, and that all & everye other branche & artycle conteyned in the same estatute shal be frome henceforthe utterlye repealed & made voyde to all intents & purposes.

And further be it enacted by the authorytye aforesaid, that in everye paryshe the Churchwardens for the tyme Beinge, withe others of the paryshioners, to the number of syx persons to be required by the Churchwardens, thatt after the feast of Saint Mychell the Archangell nexte comynge, & yearlye in one of the festivall dayes in the Easter weeke, & at everye other tyme when & as often as yt is & shal bé nedefull, taxe & 3 с

VOL. III.

assesse everye propryator, farmer & other person havynge the possession of any landes or tythes wythin theyre several paryshes, to paye suche some of moneye as theye shall thinke mette, accordinge to the quantytye & portion of such landes or tythes, as the same person so assessed, do or shal have or hold: And yf the said summes of moneye, or anye of them, so taxed & assessed, be or shal be denyed to be payd, or be not paid within xiiiitene dayes next after request thereof made by the said Churchwardens or one of them; then Everye person so denyinge or makynge suche defalte of payment, shall forfeyte for everye tyme fyve shillings, & the same togyther with the said sume or sumes assessed & taxed as is aforesaid, shal be levyed by dystresse of the goodes & chattells of suche person & persons so assessed & refusinge to paye such sume, to be taken by the Churchwardens, or one of them: which dystresse, shall be ordered & used in such mode & forme as dystresses taken for amercyaments in anye leete, and the said sumes so taxed & assessed, & the said penaltyes, yf anye, be so by them levyed, as is aforesaid, shall be yearelye by the said Church wardens for the tyme beinge or one of them, of everye such paryshe, delyvered, by bill or bills indented, to two honest & substantyall persons of everye such paryshe, which shall be elected and appoynted by the said Churchwardens for the tyme beinge to have the yearelye dystributyon thereof, & shall be named the dystributors of the provision for the dystructyon of noyful fowells & vermyn. And the said Distributors so appoynted, as is aforesaid, shall gyve & paye of the same moneye so to them delyvered, to everye person that shall bringe to them anye heads of old Crowes,* Choughes, + Pyes, or Rookes, § taken within the severall paryshes, for the heads of everye three of them, a penye. And for the heads of every syx yonge Crowes, Choughes, pyes, or Rooks, taken as is aforesaid, a penye. And for everye syx egges of anye of them unbroken, a penye. And for every twelve stares | heads, a penye. All which said heads & egges, the said

* See note (§) on Rooks.

†The chough is essentially a coast bird, loving rocks and stones, and having a great dislike to grass or hedges of every kind. Sometimes it will feed on berries and grain, but evidently prefers animal food, its long and curved beak aiding it in drawing the concealed insects out of their hiding places. The common grasshopper is a great dainty, and the fernchaffer is another favourite morsel.-Wood's Natural History, III, p. 416.

The food of the Magpie is as multifarious as that of the crow or raven, and consists of various animal and vegetable substances.-Ibid, p. 409.

§ For many months of the year the Rook lives only on grubs, caterpillars, &c., in this way doing an amount of service to the farmer, which is quite incalculable. Where rooks have been completely expelled, whole crops of wheat and clover have been destroyed by the wireworm and other enemies, which can only be effectually attacked by birds.-St. John's Natural History, &c., in Moray :-That the rook is by no means the farmer's enemy is a lesson our friends in some of the colonies are learning, for live rooks have been imported into New Zealand and Australia, at (it is believed) 15s. a pair.

||Of all the true friends to the farmer Starlings, perhaps, hold one of the most prominent places on account of their destruction of large quantities of noxious insect larvæ, slugs, &c. The quantity of grubs and caterpillars which even one pair of starlings will convey to their nest is very great. A pair of these birds has been noticed going and returning with a fat maggot of the heart and dart moth, or a wireworm, almost every five minutes throughout the whole day.-Quarterly Review, April, 1868.

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7

Dystributors in some convenyent place shall kepe, And shall everyə monthe at least brynge forthe the same before the said Churchwardens & taxors, or three of them, & then & there shall make to them a true account in wryghting what moneye theye have laid forthe for suche heades & egges. And for the heads of such other ravenous byrds & vermyn as ar hereafter in this acte mentyioned, that is to saye: for every head of martyn,ı hawke,2 furskett,3 moldkytte, busard,5 schagge, 6 Cormorant, ryngetayle, ijd., & for everye twoo eggs of them one penye; for every Jron9 or ospraye's1o head, iiijd.; for the head of everye woodwall, pye, Jay," Raven, 13 or kytte, 14 one penye; for the head of everye byrd which is called the kyngfyssher, 15 one penye; for the head of everye bulfynche,16 or other byrd that devourythe the blowthe of frute one penye; for the heads of everye fox17 or Graye, 18 xijd. And for the head of everye fytcheue, 19

1 Query the Bank or Sand Martin ?

2 Feeds on small birds and animals.

3 Query what?

4 Query what?

12

5 Preys on small animals, reptiles, and various insects. The Buzzard has ceased for some years to breed in Norfolk, although it was frequently known to do so, and the large woods at Hethel and Ashwelthorpe are specially mentioned by Lubbock as amongst its former haunts.-Stevenson's Birds of Norfolk, p. 27.

6 The crested Cormorant is called a shag.

7 This bird is common on all our rocky coasts. Eels are favourite morsels; and they swallow them whole with wonderful celerity.-Wood's Natural History, III, 760. 8 "A kind of Puttock or Kite, having whitish feathers about the tail."-Phillips. 9 The food of the Heron consists mostly of fish and reptiles, but it will eat mice, or even water rats.-Wood's Natural History, III, p. 675.

10 Or Fishing Hawk, as this bird is sometimes called.

11 Query what?

12 The Jay is wonderfully clever at discovering nests and devouring the fledglings. Eggs also are great dainties, particularly those of pheasants and partridges, so that it is ranked among the vermin by all gamekeepers. It also eats caterpillars, moths, beetles, and various similar insects, preferring the soft fat, and full bodied species; but fruits and berries form a considerable portion of its autumnal food.-Wood's Natural History, III, p. 382.

13 The food of the Raven is almost entirely of an animal nature.-Wood's Natural History.

14 The Kite is especially hated by the farmer and the sportsman for its depredations on poultry and game.

15 They mostly feed on fish, although they make the greatest part of their diet of insects and crustaceans.-Wood's Natural History, III, p. 168,

16 The bulfinches and the titmice render the most important service to the gardener, by devouring the larvae of cheimatobia brumata, which commence their destructive career by eating into the young unexpanded buds of various trees and shrubs; and their consumption of innumerable seeds of thistles and other noxious weeds. Zoologist. 17 He does not disdain to partake of frogs and large insects, and will, when near the shore, beat it for the purpose of picking up fish, mollusca, crustacea, and other marine animals. Of rabbits Reynard is particularly fond, and kills a large number of those destructive farm pests.-Quarterly Review, April, 1868.

18 The same as the Brock or Badger. Its food consists of roots, fruit, and insects, and the honey of the wild bee.

19 "Fitch or Fitchow, a polecat.”—Phillips' World of Words. The polecat is dreadfully destructive to the poultry and destroys both old and young.