Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/102

Natterjack in Ireland.—I met here again (Ross Bay) that curious amphibian the natterjack (Bufo calamita). It is a pretty, harmless creature, and its bell-like chorus at eventide could heard at a great distance. I had previously observed it amongst the sand-flats of Southport an almost identical habitat.—Dr. Carrington's Gleanings.

Mole and Mouse.—Last winter, when the ground was frozen very hard, I saw a bewildered mole trying with all his might to bury himself in the ground. I soon captured the little beast, and pocketed him. In my walk I espied a poor field-mouse running about for shelter; him I easily captured, and put into the same pocket, which was large and capacious. Very shortly after the itroduction, I found a considerable disturbance was going on between the two, and, supposing they were trying to escape, I closed the pocket to prevent their doing so. I reached home in about half-an-hour, when, what was my surprise, on feeling for my captives, to find the poor mouse gone, all but his head. The mole had disposed of him. I then placed the survivor on the table, laying the head before him, when, with all the coolness imaginable, he picked the bones of his unfortunate companion, taking no heed of several persons who stood round.—W. H. B.

Does the Spider Eat his Web?—Dig out the coat, let the hearth be bright, and let the forge glow, and then watch how the dark vapours creep and spread over the sky like some mighty spider's web. The spider still eats its own web. Even this last product of the furnace and the chimney is too precious to lose. Ten thousand green leaves attract and suck in the rich carbon which the atmosphere has distilled from the smoke. Through their innumerable mouths the unwielded old planet swallows her own workmanship again, as a tree extracts the substance of its own falling leaves, or as the spider eats his web.—The Nonconformist, No. 1,009. [What conscientious scruple could have haunted our contemporary to prevent the publication of the name of "the magazine for February," which supplied the title and subject of a "leader" of nearly three columns, whence the above is quoted? To this example we are "nonconformists."—Ed. S. G.]

Your correspondent T. K. has so ably answered the query respecting the garden spider eating its own web, that I can with pleasure bear testimony to the truth, having been a witness to the same nearly forty years back.—R. S. B.

The Cuckoo.—In the west of Scotland, the cuckoo selects, without any exception within my experience or knowledge, the nest of what is locally called the "mosscheeper" (mossbunting) for its egg, one egg only being found in any one nest. I have seen very many of the usurped nests with eggs, and ultimately birds are very similar in form and markings; but that of the cuckoo is slightly the largest. It is a fact familiar to most observers that a small bird flies some twenty or thirty yards in the rear and direct track of the cuckoo, and rests when the cuckoo rests. This I have observed during a long course of years; but I do not remember to have seen the fact on record. This devoted attendant is the foster-bird—the bunting—always under such circumstances called the titling. A schoolboy-rhyme, in the form of a puzzle, pointing to this connection, and likely common over the whole, runs thus:—

Reptiles in Confinement.—In a fern-case, about 3 feet by 1 in area, I kept two toads, a small frog, and a number of newts. The frog did not appear fond of the water; the newts would not go in, and if thrown in, immediately crawled out again. The toads, on the contrary, appeared to enjoy an occasional bath, remaining in the water, with the mouth and eyes above the surface, for several hours together. "H. F." does not appear to have been able to keep toads in his fern-case for long. Mine, on the contrary, lived, the one for about a year, the other for nearly two. The newts dropped off one by one, the last surviving for, I think, upwards of eighteen months. The frog lived for several months, and was a very interesting creature. When on the upper part of the fern-fronds, where he delighted to bask, he appeared of a distinctly greenish tint; but when on the soil, at the bottom, the hue changed to so decided a brown that it was difficult to find him. During the time that these creatures were among the ferns, I am not aware of having seen an aphis, whereas, since their decease, the young fronds (especially those of the Polypods) are, during the summer-months, infested with them.—C. A.

The Bittern.—A fine male specimen of the Bittern (Ardea stellaris) was caught by a dog amonst some rushes in a meadow near Northampton, in January, 1864. Another Bittern was shot by a gentleman, near Wellingborough, in February of the same year. I may also mention a male Bittern which was shot within a few miles of Wellingborough, in 1856. These, I believe, are the only recorded instances of this bird being met with in Northamptonshire of late years.—W. L.

A Sandpiper in Difficulties.—While walking by the side of a small mountain-stream in the north of Yorkshire, last summer, I was startled by a fluttering noise; and on looking round, saw a sandpiper