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THE
MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY,
AND
JOURNAL
OF
ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, AND METEOROLOGY.
CONDUCTED
By J. C. LOUDON, F.L. G. & Z.S.
MEMBER OF VARIOUS NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETIES ON THE CONTINENT.
LONDO
PRINTED FOR >?< ^/STOfltffir
LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMAN,
PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1833.
London:
Printed by A. Spottiswoode,
New- Street-Square.
PREFACE.
.Every additional Volume which appears of the Magazine of Natural History bears evidence of the increasing taste for pur- suits of this kind in the reading world, as well as of the augment- ation of our readers and correspondents.
The present Volume, among other valuable information, con- tains notices of various new cheap publications on the subject of Natural History ; the sale of which, to such an extent as to remu- nerate the publishers, maybe considered as an undoubted evidence that a taste for this science has pervaded all ranks. It is gratify- ing to us to reflect that we have been among the first to rouse this dormant love of nature and truth ; and still more so, to look forward to the influence which a love of nature, simple truth, and matters of fact, must one day have on the general state of society. The first symptom of the decline of superstition, and of a blind reverence for whatever has the sanction of antiquity, is the incipient desire of examining the tangible objects which sur- round us. The first taste of mankind is for fables ; the last, for matters of fact. As the spread of a taste for natural history all over the world interferes with no political or religious interest, it is already making rapid strides towards that desirable period, when, in the figurative language of the Bible, the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the seas.
In thanking our contributors for the continued assistance which they afford us, we have at the same time to apologise for the tardiness with which some of their communications are inserted, and for the abridgment of others. The truth is, that so abundant is our supply of materials relating to the delightful subjects which our work embraces, that we could, with the greatest facility, as far as matter is concerned, bring out this Magazine twice as often as it now appears.
J. C. L.
Bay&walcr% Oct. 16. 1833.
a 2
CORRECTIONS.
In addition to those which, in p. 159. 273. 464., have been already indicated, the following may be made : — In p. 121. for " Gastracanthus " read " He-
troxys ; " and see p. 495. In p. 173. line 4. from the bottom, for " dumble-
dove " read " dumbledore." In p. 185. place the semicolon between the last
two words instead of before them.
In p. 200. line 8. from the bottom, for M sighs "
read " sings • " at least, the latter is the word
in some editions. In p. 364. for " Houghton le Steane " read
" Haughton le Skerne." In p. 420. Cephalon5mia, see the correction;
directed in p. 495. In p. 447. line 1. for " apiv6rus " read " api-
vorus."
- vofl srii ?8
, I
CONTENTS.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
GENERAL SUBJECT.
Chit-chat. No. II. By John F. M. Dovaston, Esq. A.M., of Westfelton, near Shrewsbury 1
Address to the Members of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, Sept. 19. 1832. By George Johnston, M.D. -, - - 11
Notes on the Weather at Philipsburg, Penn- sylvania, from November, 1831, to Decem- ber 9. 1832 ; with Remarks on its Influence on certain Animals and Plants ; including a detailed Description of a North American " Ice Storm." By R. C. Taylor, Esq. - 97
An Account of the Hurricane at Thorndon Park, the Seat of Lord Petre, Oct. 12. 1831. By Jacob George Strutt, Esq. - - 103
On certain recent Meteoric Phenomena, Vicis- situdes in the Seasons, and prevalent Dis- orders, contemporaneous, and in supposed connection, with Volcanic Emanations. By the Rev. W. B. Clarke, A.M. F.G.S. - 289
Some Remarks on Genera and Subgenera, and on the Principles on which they should be established. By the Rev. Leonard Jenyns, A.M. F.L.S. - - 385
Observations on the Nomenclature of Divisions in Systematical Arrangements of the Subjects of Natural History, more particularly in re- ference to " Some Remarks on Genera and Subgenera, and on the Principles on which they should be established ; by the Rev. Leo- nard Jenyns, A.M. F.L.S. ; " published in p. 385—390. By Edward Newman, Esq. F.L.S. &c. - - 481
Considerations pertaining to Classification, in relation to the Essay (p. 385—390.) of the Rev. L. Jenyns on this Subject. By Edward Blyth, Esq. ... . .485
Remarks on the Spring of 1833. By the Rev. W. T. Bree, M.A. - - - 488
ZOOLOGY.
On the extraordinary Growth of the Incisor Teeth, occasionally met with in the Wild Rabbit. By Fred. C. Lukis, Esq. - 21
Something about Sea Birds. By Rusticus - 25
Instances of singular Nidification in Birds. By the Rev. W. T. Bree, M. A. - - 32
The Starling. By Charles Waterton, Esq. 36
Illustrations in British. Zoology. By George
Johnston, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College
of Surgeons in Edinburgh - 40. 123. 232. 320.
405. 497
A short Notice of the Habits of Testacellus Scutulum. By Mr. Thomas Blair, of Stam- ford Hill, near London - - - 43
Observations on the Iceland and Ger Falcons (Falco islandicus), tending to show that these Birds are of two distinct Species. By J. D. Hoy, Esq. - - - - 107
More about Birds. By Rusticus of Godalming
111
On the probable Number of Species of Insects in the Creation ; together with Descriptions of several minute Hymenoptera. By J. O. Westwood, F.L.S. &c. - - - 116
Notices on Natural Objects observed in a Ramble on St. Valentine's Day. By Rusticus of Godalming - - - 193
Notes on Butterflies, and other Natural Ob- jects ; made in Cumberland, through the Month of May, 1832. By G. W. - 198
On the Habits and Food of the British Species of the Genus Mustela. By W. L of Selkirk- shire - - - - 202
The Habits of the Carrion Crow. By Charles Waterton, Esq. - - - 208
On the " Biography of Birds " of J. J. Audubon. By Charles Waterton, Esq. - - 215
On the Migration of a Species of Thrush. By W. L. of Selkirkshire - - - 218
On the pendulous Nests of the Indian Baya Bird (L6xia philippina L.). By a Subscriber
219
Familiarities effected with Butterflies, 2?om- byces, and Sphinx stellatarum. By F. C. Lukis, Esq. - - - 222
Sketches of the Natural History of my Neigh- bourhood. By C. Conway, Esq., of Pontne- wydd Works, Monmouthshire - - 224
On the connecting Links between the Geo- corisae and Hydrocorisa? of Latreille, or the Land and Water Bug Tribes. By J. O. West- wood, F.L.S. &c. ... 228
Notice of the Occurrence of Squilla Desma- rdstra on the British Shores. By William Yarrell, Esq. F.L.S. - - - 230
An Introduction to the Natural History of Molluscous Animals. In a Series of Letters. By G. J. - - - - 235
The Habits of the Pheasant. By Chas. Water- ton, Esq. - - - 308
Descriptions and Figures of some Marine Ani- mals. By Mr. Andrew Mathews. With Remarks by. a Contributor - - 314
An Enumeration of the Land and Freshwater Shell Snails met with in some Rambles in Norfolk and Derbyshire ; with a passing mention of some other Natural Objects ob- served. By the Rev. Andrew Bloxam - 324
A Notice of a remarkable Lengthening in the Cutting Teeth of the Rat, and of the Physio- logical Principle of Dentition in the Animalia rod^ntia generally ; with an incidental No- tice of the Dentition of the Elephant. By C - - - - 390
A Notice of the Habits of the Jackdaw. By Charles Waterton, Esq. - - 394
A Notice concerning the Red Viper (Coluber cherseaLm.). By.Hugh E. Strickland, Esq. 399*
Observations on the Molluscous Animals of the Genus Gastrocha^na, preceded by some Stric- tures on the reputed Means by which the Burrowing Moll usca effect ingress into Rocks- and Stones under Water. By Frederick C. Lukis, Esq. - - - 401
A Notice of the Ravages of the Cane Fly, a small winged Insect, on the Sugar Canes of Grenada, including some Facts on its Habits j by a Subscriber in Grenada : with additional Observations, bv J. O. Westwood, Esq. F.L.S. &c. - - - - 407
Further Notices of the British parasitic Hy- menopterous Insects; together with the " Transactions of a Fly with a long Tail," observed by Mr. E. W. Lewis ; and addi- tional Observations. By J. O. Westwood, Esq.F.L.S.&c. - - -414
VI
CONTENTS.
Notice of the Habits of a Cynipideous Insect, parasitic upon the Rose Louse (A^phis r&sae) ; with Descriptions of several other parasitic Hymen6ptera. By J. O. Westwood, Esq. F.L.S. &c 491
BOTANY.
Some Account of an aged Yew Tree in Buck- land Churchyard, near Dover. By the Rev. W. T. Bree, M.A. - - - 47
Brief Notices of the Plants observed during a Tour through a Part of North Wales, and some of the adjoining Counties. By William Christy, Jun. Esq. F.L.S. - - 51
Plants observed in the Neighbourhood of Bar- mouth, North Wales. By Thomas Purton, Esq., Author of " A Midland Flora " - 57
On the Distinctions between the Linnasan Ge- nera Potentilla and Tormentflla. By Charles C. Babington, B.A. F.L.S. &c. - - 248
Some Remarks relating to the Fall of an aged Ash Tree. By the Rev.W. T. Bree, M. A. 327
Facts in relation to the Physiological Economy of the Mistletoe (Fiscum album L.) By the Rev. J. S. Henslow, A.M., King's Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge, &c. 499
GEOLOGY
Notice of a Lily Encrinite lately found in Moun- tain Limestone, brought from the Neighbour- hood of Cork, Ireland. By C. Conway, Esq.
A Notice of the Fossils met with in a short Tour in Derbyshire. By H. H. G. - 129
Observations on the supposed Connection of Rocks with Plants. By Alexander Murray, M.D. and A.M., Aberdeen - - 335
Volcanoes. By W. M. Higgins, Esq. F.G.S. Lecturer on Natural Philosophy in Guy's Hospital, and J. W. Draper, Esq. - 344
A short Account of a Fossil Skeleton of a Ple- siosaurus, lately discovered near the Town of Bedford. By Mr. Edmund R. Williamson 422
Observations on the Affinities between Plants and subjacent Rocks. By Mr. Hewett C. Watson - - - - 424
METEOROLOGY The Weather at Florence. By W.
Spence,
- 252
REVIEWS.
Catalogue of Works on Natural History, lately published, with some Notice of those con- sidered the most interesting to British Natu- ralists - - 60.131.255.351.428.501
Literary Notices - 66. 138. 2G7. 263. 442. 508
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS - 67.139.268.364.447.510
MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.
Retrospective Criticism - 78. 159. 27?. 369. 464. I Queries and Answers - 90. 183. 282. 381. 476.
551 I Obituary - - - - 562
Index to Books reviewed and noticed General Index - -
- 563
- 564
Vli
LIST OF ENGRAVINGS.
MAMMIFEROUS ANIMALS.
No. Page
I, 2, 3, 4. Lengthened cutting teeth in rabbits - - - - 22, 23
50. Lengthened cutting teeth in a rat - 391
51. Jawbone and teeth, exhibitive of the
dentition, of the elephant - - 393
BIRDS.
5. A betwell or batwell in which a blue
titmouse (Parus cseruleus L.) built its nest and reared its young - - 33
6. An inverted plant-plot in which a red-
start (Sylvia Phcenicurus L.) built its nest and reared its young - - 34
21. Eggs of the common fowl remarkably
spotted - - 184
22. Nests and eggs of the Loxia philippina
t. - - - - 220
FISHES.
64. Leptocephalus Morrfsa - - 530
65. L. MorriszV, an imperfect cut of - - 531
MOLLUSCOUS ANIMALS. , Limax agr£stis ; and 8. b, its eggs - 45 Testac£llus Maugt:* ; and 8. d, its shell 45
. Shell of the Helix nemoralis - 45
Glaficus tetrapterygius Rang - - 319 40. Glaucus hexapterygius - 237. 319 Pneumod^rma - - - 237
Hyale - - • 238
Cuviem - - - 238
Phallusia sulcata Savigny, opened - 243 Pattern of the branchiae in Ascidia pedunculata - - 243
32. Pattern of the branchias in Ascfdia
wjytiligera - - - 243
33. Pattern of the branchia? in Polyclinum
hesperium - - 244
34. Pattern of the branchiae in Phallusia
sulcata - ... 244
35. Cynthia Dibne Savigny - - 245
52. Shells and tubes of the Gastroch32vna
Pholadia - - - 404
ANNE'LIDES. 13. Cirratulus Medusa Johnston - - 124
24. Carinella trilinekta Johnston - - 232
25. Siphunculus Dentaiii Gray - - 234
42. Sigalion Bba Johnston - - 322
53. Sabdlla amce^na Johnston - - 406
CRUSTACEOUS ANIMALS.
7. a, Caprella acuminifera Montagu? - 41
7. b, Nymphum coccineum Johnston - 41
23. Squilla Desmarest« Risso - - 230
INSECTS.
18. A device for securing captured Insects 155 Coleopterous.
43. Dorcus parallelipipedus, male, female,
and larva - - -333
44. Sinod£ndron cylindricum, male and
female _" -
66. Cicindela, the six British species of - 533
67. Timarcha tenebricbsa, larva, pupa,
and imago of - - 534
Hymenopterous. 12. External organs of certain parasitic
Chalcididse . - - 121
No. Page
55. External organs of certain parasitic
Chalcidida: and Proctotriipida? - 420
12. d, Choreia nlgro-a^nea Westwood 121. 380
55. d, e, Cephalonbmia /ormiciformis
Westwood, female - - 420
71. Fe'spa britannica, female - - 538 68. Nest of T^spa britannica - - 536
69, 70. Nests of Ftispa campanaria - - 537
Lepidopterous. 47. a, 48. a, and 47. b, 48. b, Melitae^a A'rte- mis, two extraordinary varieties of 378, 379
72. Hypercompa dominula, a singular va-
riety of - - - 541
Homopterous. 54. Z)elphax saccharivora Westwood - 413
RAYED ANIMALS.
36. A species of the genus Polybrachionia
Guilding - - - 316
37. Polybrachionia Math£ws« N. - -317
38. A species of Velella - - - 318 41. Diona^a Bairdrt Johnston - - 320
ZOOPHYTES.
61. Plumularia Catharine Johnston - 498
62. Plumularia Catharlna Johnston, a por-
tion of magnified - - - 499
PLANTS.
9. A yew tree in the churchyard at Buck- land, near Dover - - 47 10. Diagram exhibitive of the relative growths of hollow and solid living trees - - - - 51
63. Diagram exhibitive of a mode of re-
production in the mistletoe - - 500 FOSSILS.
14. Remains of a crinoideal animal found
by Mr. Conway, in Irish mountain limestone ... 126
15. E'ncrinus monilif6rmis, from Parkin-
son - - - - 127
16, 17. The vertebral columns of the pear encrinite - 127
56. A diagram exhibitive of the structure
contended for of the crinoideal ani- mal whose remains Mr. Conway dis- covered - - - 471
57. Cyathocririites planus Miller • - 471
58. Argued relative position of the bones
in the crinoideal animal whose re- mains Mr. Conway discovered - 473
59. Relative position of the bones in the
Cyathocrin'ites planus Miller - - 473 73. Cyathocrinltes tuberculatus discovered by Mr. Gilbertson - - - 561
Vertebral column of it - - 561
p. 381., and 60. p. 476. ; 60. a, Calymene
variolaris ; 60. b, C. Blumenbachtf ;
60. c, A'saphus Debaclm - - 476
VOLCANOES. Mount Dolomieu in the Isle of Bourbon 346 Orisaba in America - - 349
METEOROLOGY. The tremendous effects of a hurricane
on trees in Thorndon Park, Essex - 104 20. Rain gauges - - - 182
V1U
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.
Anon., Brixton
A Subscriber, Grenada
A Subscriber, Vale of Alford
Audubon, V. G.
B., Coventry
Babington, Charles, C.B.A. F.
Barker, William G. B. B. W.
Blair, Thomas Bloxam, Rev. Andrew Blyth, Edward - 485. 512. Bowman, J. E., F.L.S. Bree, Rev. W.T., M.A. - 32. 176, 177. 191. 281. 327. 377. Bromfield, William Arnold Brown, P. J. - - 469.
Byerley, J.
- 540
- 407 152. 219
- 369. 553
- 180. 192 L.S. &c. 155.248.
367, 368. 438
- 162
- 185 - 43. 268
- 324. 450 516. 523. 526, 527
- 81 47. 72. 74. 88, 89. 450. 488. 519. 541
- 190 510. 540. 557. 560
. 140. 514
C, Birmingham - - - 184
Cattus - - - - 67
Chalmers, M., M.D. - - - 516
Christy, William, jun., F.L.S. - - 51
Clarke, H. T. - - - 94
Clarke, Rev. W. B., M. A. F.G.S. - 77. 148. 150. 154. 158, 159. 182. 192. 28a 308. 365. 368. 460. 462. 480. 524 Conway, C. - - 125. 224. 474. 544
Couch, Jonathan, F.L.S. - - 141
C. P. - - - 177, 178, 179
C. P.'s Friend - - - 456
Curtis, J., F.LS., Author of " British Entomo- logy" - - - 88.174.554 Dale, J. C, M.A. F.LS. - - 380. 554 Deere, Henry Vietz - - 531, 532
Denson, John, sen
Denny, Thomas
Dewhurst, H. W.
Doubleday, E.
Dovaston, John F. M
Draper, J. W.
E.
E. B.
E. N. D.
Ensor, George
E. S„ F.LS.
E. S. T.
Evans, John
Faucett, B.
Fennell, James
-517
- 272
- 186 78. 150
- 1
- 344 - - 183
384 - 279". 526. 533, 534
Esq., A.M.
- 288. 457. 549
- 152
- 156 155. 157. 272. 278. 367. 393.
514. 520. 533
Fielding, George H. Fowler, William Gardiner, William, jun. Gilbertson, W. G. J. Greenhow, E. H.
- 555
- 476. 539 477. 523. 560
- 281. 562
- 235 366. 511, 512
Guilding, Rev. Lansdown, B.A. F.L.S. 527.540 G. W. - . - - 198
H. B. - . - 139. 286. 288
Henslow, H. . - - 278
Henslow, Rev. J. S., King's Professor of Botany
in the Cambridge University - - 500
H. H. G. - - - - 129
Higgins, W. M., F.G.S., Lecturer on Natural
Philosophy in Guy's Hospital - - 344
Hill, Walter Henry, Southminster Vicarage 452.
477 Hitch en, Thomas - . .367
Hodson, N. S., A.L.S, Superintendent of the
Botanic Garden, Bury St. Edmunds 141. 513 Howden, John - 459
Hoy, J. D - . 107. 150, 151
Hunter, W. Perceval . . 84. 142. 192
J. - - - . .463
J. C. - - . 271. 384
J. E. L. - - . .480
- 173
- 385
- 540
- 431
- 145
364
11.40.74. 123? 232.
320. 405. 497
- 279
- 454
- 414
- 72 21.222.271.401.533
- 314
Jennings, Egerton A., F.L.S.
Jennings, James
Jenyns, Rev. Leonard, A.M. F.L.S.
J. H. F. - .
J.J,
J. M.
J. M., Haughton le Skerne
Johnston, George, M.D. -
Lacon
Lees, Edwin
Lewis, E. W.
LL Con. Ty Deon
Lukis, Frederick C.
Mathews, Andrew
Menteath, James Stuart - - 283
Morris, Francis Orpen - - 92. 151. 541
M. P. - . . . 189
Murray, Alexander, M.D. A.M. - - 335
Murray, J., F.L.S. &c. - 147. 172. 183. 458. 527
N. . . ... 316
Newman, Edward, F.L.S. - - 481
O. - 94. 545
Philo-Rusticus - ... 171
Purton, Thomas, Author of the " Midland Flora" . - . 57
Ranking, Robert - - - 192
R. B. - . . 372. 475
R D. . . - .268
Reed, L. E. . . - 477. 532. 544
Rowe, John R - - - 546, 547
Rusticus of Godalming - 25. 111. 193. 279
R. Y. . . - . 153
S. . . ... 359
Saul, M. - - - 368
Scouler, John, M.D. - 512. 515. 529, 530. 532 Sigma . . - .176
Sowerby, J. D. C. - - - 545
Spence, W., F.LS. - - 252
Stock, Daniel - - 184. 286. 549
S. T. P. - - . 95. 153. 189
Stratton, Henry - - - 528
Strickland, Hugh E. - - 399
Strutt, Jacob G. - - - 103
Stutchbury, S., Curator of the Bristol Institu- tion . - - -272 Swainson, William, F.LS. &c. - - 550 Tatem, James G. - - 72. 79 Taylor, Richard C. - - 97 T. G, Chipping Norton - - 521 T. G., Clitheroe - - 70. 73. 143. 149. 160 Thompson, W., V.-P. of the Belfast Natural History Society - - - 447 T. K. - -92.151.463.519,520 Trevelyan, W. C. - - - 178. 462 Turner, Henry, Curator of the Botanic Garden, Bury St. Edmunds 185. 280. 449. 513. 524, 525 Warwick, J. - - - 68 Waterton, Charles, Author of " Wanderings in South America" - 37. 92. 163. 171. 184. 208. 215. 308. 384. 394. 465. 468 Watson, Hewett Cottrell - - 424 W.B., B.W. - - - 532 Westwood, J. O., F.LS. - 116. 137. 161. 228. 355. 381. 409. 414. 491 Whiddon, William - - - 456 W. H. - - 156, 157 Williamson, Edmund R., Honorary Secretary of the Bedford General Library . - 422 Willich, Charles M. - - 525 Wilson, Edward, jun., M. A. F.LS - 535 W. L - - - 202. 218. 450 Woodward, Samuel - - 457. 463 X - 96 Yarrell, William, F.LS. Z.S. &c. " - ~- 230 *** . - . - 354 t-rt ..- - 76
THE MAGAZINE
OF
NATURAL HISTORY-
JANUARY, 1833.
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Art. I. Chit-chat. No. II. By John F. M. Dovaston, Esq. A.M., of Westfelton, near Shrewsbury.
" So water, trembling in a polish'd vase, Reflects the beam that plays upon its face ; The sportive light, uncertain where it falls, Now strikes the roof, now flashes on the walls."
Virgil. JEn. viii. 22. &c, trans.
Scene — The library ', Westfelton. Time — After dinner.
Dovaston and Von Osdat.
Dovaston. Stormy and loud, the wind roars among the labouring woods, and howls through the trees in gigantic harmonies.
Von Os. With now and then a double diapason in the chimney-tunnels ; as though Polypheme of capacious mouth accompanied the hailstone chorus over his Pan's-pipe of stu- pendous reeds.
Dov. I hope he will not cut any of them down to concert pitch.
Von Os. While here we sit snug and cheery ; a good fire blazing beside us ; good liquor, nuts, and fruits, before us ; and around us, in mute but intellectual array, multitudes of the Mighty Dead.
Dov. The Living, rather. Often when alone, I imagine a Library like a cozie corner of Elysium ; where a select assembly of the fanciful, the philosophic, the enlightened, and the learned condescendingly administer to the instruction or amusement of their less-gifted guests.
Vol. VI.— No. 31. b
2 Chit-chat.
Von Os. Secluded from the cold and callous world without : its toils and tumults, noises and nonsenses ; which, by fancy and reflection, the quiet mind may convert into playthings. I have just now been shutting my eyes, and comparing the uproar of these woods to the distant swells and falls of the troubled and tumbling ocean. I once caught a glimpse of Caernarfon Castle ; its tall towers glimmering in the hectic light of a wet and stormy sunbeam.
Dov. Poor Joe Warren
Von Os. Oh ! long and late beloved ; oh \ early lost ; — " his bright and brief career is o'er."
Dov. Ay. Poor Joe
Von Os. whose warm heart and brilliant fancy would
frequently play off more jets of joyance in a momentary con- versation, than we could pump into a day's discourse,
Dov. felt intense delight while listening to my descrip- tions of scenery, after any of my long summer excursions. One evening after tolerating, to some length, my attempt to give him something like an outline of The Trossachs — the strange, abrupt, wild, and beautiful succession of stupendous wonders in those roaring and romantic passes in Perthshire ; — laying down his pipe, he suddenly sprung up, exclaiming, — " Come into the garden, and I will show you how to see a Trossach"
Von Os. What I amid the mills and machinery of Strath- Morda, as ye called it?
Dov. Even there. Hard by, you know, there is a pro- digious overshot dam of a millpool on the Morda. He now bade me keep my eyes absolutely and constantly shut, and, taking my arm, walked me slowly about the garden, colour- ing, as he well could do, with his cannie and courteous voice, and painter's powers, the outline I had just been sketching. Von Os. Excellent ! I begin to see them now myself. Dov. Sometimes, on suddenly turning the corner of a walk, he would squeeze his kind hand close on one of my ears ; and, on turning another corner, would suddenly take it off: so that, what with the powerful torrent, mingled with the various noises of the distant mills and machinery, his glowing descrip- tions, and soul-enkindling names, I soon found myself among the uproar and ecstasies of those romantic regions : soon, under the sprays of dangling birches, entered those awful and tremendous portals, on narrow paths of rocks, with narrower skylight of fleecy blue, meeting the white and stunning tor- rents, tumbling and tearing among their massy and ponderous fragments, overhung with dismal crags, mantled with oak and old birches, that wave their venerable tresses over deep and dark abysms, and insulated rocks shaggy wTith long hoary
Chit-chat. 3
heather ; millions of spikes, grey with lichens and green with moss, assuming the fantastic forms of castles, turrets, towers, and battlements, pyramids and pinnacles : and over all, moving as I moved along, just the tip of Ben An, like a single stone, flaring in sunshine. Now the path somewhat smoother, and the noises somewhat subdued ; then bursting out again, from gloom to gleam, from uproar to serenity ; till at length Loch. Katherine gleamed expansive in blazing and intense glory, with the full height of the lofty Ben An, and the purple side of Benvenue, terminated with the terrific and rugged cliffs of the frightful Mealaonah, all peacefully reposing in the blessed sunbeams of evening : —
" So wond'rous rich, the whole might seem The scenery of a fairy dream."
Von Os. Bravo ! I shall remember this ; and hereafter put into requisition our poor friend's recipe, " How to see a Trossach."
Dov. Closing his own eyes, to enjoy the creations of his own fancy, one of us tumbled over the garden roller ; and the other upon some rockwork, to the destruction of sundry specimens of sedum, saxifrage, and navel wort.
Von Os. " Tilly valley ! Sir John."
Dov. What the devil do you mean by Tilly valley ?
Von Os. Why what has all this to do with natural history ?
Dov. Just as much as yonder nuthatch, so pertinaciously picking a bone on the ornithotrophe.
Von Os. Mine is fixed on a post, and the cats often rob it. I see the trencher is much better when suspended by three wires, like a scale, from a ring to slide along a line, stretched from the window to a tree.
Dov. And ye may have two or more on the same line, trimmed with bones, seeds, and various food ; piercing the trencher with a few holes, to let out the wet. It is extremely amusing to see the various birds that so become familiar ; and I find many gentle-minded people, since Bewick published in his Preface an extract from one of my letters describing it, have adopted my pleasing little, machine, that I jocularly called the ornithotrophe.
Von Os. Do you think these birds are the same individuals who frequent that hung before your dining-room windows ?
Dov. A few may frequent both : but, in general, I am cer- tain all birds have their particular beats, or haunts ; and very rarely intrude on those of others ; when the invaded never omit repelling the forcible entry, by taking the law into their own hands. Robins have their own beats, even on the different
b 2
4 Chit-chat.
sides of a small cottage : there are four distinct pairs of robins around this house ; and one is attached exclusively to my brew- house. In the wide and wild woods, too, I am certain they keep to the same beats; as I noticed for months by the sin- gularly loud, and unusual sort of, song in one belonging to the great cedar of Lebanon near my south entrance : and another, while I was working in a wood, lit on the handle of my spade, while I was eating my bread and cheese ; this I chanced to catch, and, marking him with a scissors by a black cross on his breast, I found he continually kept to the same spot.
Von Os. How pugnaciously they will fight ! There is a Greek proverb, That two robins will not inhabit the same bush. Should you think the word erithiacus derived from the Greek word signifying strife, which it much resembles ?
JDov. It may: though it still more nearly resembles another Greek word signifying red.
Von Os. How do you take these birds at the ornitho- trophes ?
JDov. Easily, by a trap cage : and having taken one, the rest are all your own. They must, however, be marked with great delicacy and caution : for if tawdrily, or too conspicu- ously, their own friends will fall upon, pummel, and sometimes kill them. When an idle and playful schoolboy at Shrews- bury, under my ever-honoured Master, the learned and muni- ficent Dr. Butler, I put the good people of that town into a day's uproar, by marking a bird.
Von Os. The Dickens ! ! !
Dov. Having taken, in a fall-trap of four bricks, one of those mostradically plebeian of all birds, a dirty town sparrow, I dexterously with a bit of cobbler's wax fastened to his head a fine erect crest of very bright scarlet feathers ; having previously subjected him to the ordeal of the ink-pot. He soon acquired numerous pursuers, and as many outlandish names ; and before nightfall, three, four, and five guineas were offered. He was at length brought down by the cele- brated Sam Hayward, the notorious poacher : and the uni- versal and instantaneous opinion arose that it was a marlock of young Deriwag — for such was my scholastic cognomen, from a cunning knack at ttwggish </mvations.
Von Os. So, you had a character there, then ?
Dov. Yes, — and have still, which I will endeavour to deserve and retain to the last hour of my life.
Von Os. In one of the lectures delivered to that town in Freemason's Hall, I am told you very much amused your audience, by an account of some experiments on swallows.
Dov. I hope, I did. Many years ago, a garret window in
Chit-chat. 5
my house was accidentally left open, and a pair of rustic swallows built their fretted nest among the rafters, at which I was much pleased : and when they had hatched and reared their young, both they, and their parents, finding they were favourites, continued to play about the room all summer; and always roosted in it at night. Before they departed, a thought struck me to play them an innocent trick. One night I shut the window-sash, and took them all in an angler's landing- net, and fastened round their necks, without hurting them in the least, rings made of the very fine wire that laps the lower strings of a violoncello. At this they took no offence, but played about till their departure. At their appointed period they vanished, with their friends. The following spring the window was carefully set open for their admission ; and they came accordingly, after " the daffodils had taken the winds of March with beauty;'' and, to my great delight, four had the rings. One pair re-occupied the old nest, and another pair, or more, built in the room. Emboldened by their kindness and constancy, having a pretty little Greek story, you well know, in my mind, I ventured, in addition to the light wire, to affix on the neck of one, a thin round smooth piece of copper, on which 1 engraved, in Latin (being the tongue most universally known), Quo abis d Salopid? [Whither away from Shrop- shire ?] But whether he perished, or whether he met with his friend the gentle Athenian, I wot not : for, alas ! he returned unto me no more.
Von Os. This, then, establishes your opinion, that migra- tory birds, or their progeny, or both, do return, year after year, to the very same places.
Dov. Yes ; unless I was played a trick.
Von Os. Perhaps the extraordinary success of the circum- stance induces you to suspect a trick ?
Dov. Partly so : and partly that for many years, and at that time, a young gentleman resided at our then worthy old rector's, his guardian, an orphan boy, who had an incessant, and I may say rabid, propensity to playing practical tricks upon all sorts of people ; but most particularly on whom he called philosophers, and the fair sex. He assisted me to fix the wires upon the birds, and might have fixed wires on others at their return.
Von Os. I know whom you mean : he was inexhaystible in tricks ridiculously wanton, and ingeniously malignant.
Dov. From which it was impossible to reclaim him by the kindest admonitions and severest punishments.
Von Os. I was at school with him; and one of his"* tricks there, was to watch the algebraical students from their studies,
B 3
6 Chit-chat.
and then go alter the signs in their unfinished calculations ; changing their — s into +s or -~ or =s ; causing incalculable errors, and exhausting perplexities.
Dov. " Tilly valley, Sir" Von.
Von Os. Oh ! Natural history still : the weeds and flowers of the mind are as much within her province, as those of the fields. But did you never question him ?
Dov. He left the country ; and I was too idle to repeat the experiment : the servants grumbled at the dirt made by the swallows ; and I grumbled at the pigeons getting in, and breaking windows and looking-glasses ; so the light-winged wanderers were ejected. But that migratory birds, or some of their progeny, do return to, and build in, the very same spot, I have no doubt. A spotted flycatcher has invariably built in the same corner of my piazza, as long as I can re- member, though the other corners are equally accommodated with brackets or perches i a wren usually occupies another ; but she is not so constant as the traveller : and last summer a female wasp planted on the ceiling, and rapidly increased, her colony, who suspended their flaky ball of streaky olive papery folds, close to the door ; yet was no person stung or molested all the season.
Von Os. Migration has long been absolutely established. I wonder it was ever doubted, particularly by such a man as White ; but he — mild, amiable, and modest creature — was over-influenced by the great names of Pennant and Daines Barrington.
Dov. Yet he never quite gave in to their notion of the torpidity of birds. I will read you a passage of great beauty, describing a single straggler at sea : not that I doubt migra- tion, and that they travel in companies ; but merely that my Chit-chat may have some little in it that is really good.
Von Os. The Public unfeignedly like your Chit-chat, by what is said by some of our best contributors ; and the private letter of the editor: — and much of it is copied into the news- papers.
Dov. Like as the grinding of tunes on barrel-organs is always a proof they are approved. I thought it best to wait some time for the opinions of the subscribers ; and I have now had letters enough to satisfy a more modest scribbler : for myself, indeed, the approbation, however slight, of such a man as Waterton alone were amply enough — the intrepid traveller, the accurate and almost unerring observer, the benevolent protector, the classic scholar, the animated writer, the
Von Os. Enough, enough ; though all true. His descrip-
Chit-chat. f
tion of the noises of the birds all night, in his Wanderings in Demerara, and their universal clamour at sunrise, is a glorious burst of amazingly fine writing. But, to your quotation ; or, mayhap, he may " pick a crow" with you.
Dov. " The Lord keep me from Sir Harry Vane ! " said Cromwell. Here it is, — I have at last found it, at p. 286., in No. 1 0. of the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal*
Von Os. Read it.
Dov. (reads). " On the 21st of November, in lat. 6° 4', and long. 20° 31', we experienced those heavy squalls and rains which are uniformly met with in this climate. The storms are occasionally sublime, and worthy of a minute description. After the most perfect calm, heavy, dense, and gloomy clouds are seen collecting at every point of the hori- zon : they form themselves into vast arches, having their abut- ments on the ocean. Suddenly, at one point, they blacken to an inky hue : the sails are furled, the crew stand in mute attention, each at his station, and every eye is directed towards that vast and hideous mass of clouds, which, resting on the surface of the deep, and reaching heaven with its top, ad- vances upon the devoted vessel. Now, sweeping the ocean, it pours a deluge on the ship ; the storm rages ; and, by the terrific force of the blast, the masts seem ready to start from the decks. When these squalls happen at night, and are attended with much rain, a ball of meteoric fire is seen at the mast-head, tending to increase the horrors of the storm. On the 21st, whilst beset on all sides by the squalls, a swallow suddenly appeared close to the ship. There was no known land nearer than 300 miles. The swallow was seen first during a calm, skimming round the vessel with great velocity, and seemed to feed abundantly on the flies which hovered round the ship's sides ; but, during the squall that succeeded, its actions became those of self-preservation, and were admir- ably adapted to that purpose. As the rain poured in torrents, it beat down the swallow's head in spite of all its efforts, thus interrupting its flight round the vessel. When the bird per- ceived this take place, it rose perpendicularly through the air and dense rain; fluttering, moreover, incessantly: thus throwing the water off its wings. The amazing courage and strength displayed by this bird, in contending against the numerous storms with which we were assailed, during many hours, convinced me of its power to perform the longest migrations, with comparative safety. The swallow remained with the vessel during two days, and sought shelter in the shrouds only at the approach of evening."
Von Os. Bold, intrepid little bird ! — and beautifully told.
b 4
8 Chit-chat.
Ay ; let the shutters be closed ; and the lights are cheerful. How awfully the storm peals it over the woods !
Dov. I have often, when riding with you in the night, Von Osdat, admired the unerring accuracy with which you have named the trees, from their mere outline dimly marked against the sky.
Von Os. It was from an observation of yours I acquired it ; that every tree had invariably its distinct physiognomical character.
Dov. I have nearly the same nicety of ear in that respect : so that, sitting here, I can discriminate almost every sort of tree, as it is called upon, either solo or in score, to take part in the grand choral harmonies of the tempest. Now it roars deep and still among the oaks just behind this book-room ; anon, breathes hoarse and hollow upon the dark old Scotch pines of the cider-mill grove ; groans through the sycamores and lime avenue, " that weather-fends my cell ; " rattles the bony boughs of the skeleton ash ; howls through the elms ; hisses (and each obviously different) in the cedars, spruce, and silver fir ; whistles through the larch ; whispers in the Weymouth and aphornousli ; and suddenly whisks a solitary cypress ; while the evergreens, and dry-leaved hornbeams, keep up a constant accompaniment, each after his kind.
Von Os. Encore ! Egad, our good cheer enables us to convert even the conflicting elements into a noble concert : and I have been thinking these stridulous owls in the bushy ivy about our chimney-top, and their hooting counterparts in the woods, no bad vocalists.
Dov. I love the owl more than many do the finer melodists. If you used the word counterpart designedly, you do not agree with him of Selborne, who says they always hoot in Bflat.
Von Os. I am sorry to differ from such authority : but, most certainly, they use various keys.
Dov. So do the cushat and cuckoo, and many other such even-tenour performers.
Von Os. This Virginia smokes divinely. Have you the horned owl ever in your prodigious ivies ?
Dov. Not of late years. When a little boy, as I well re- member, just at sunrise, I was fearfully terrified at a pair I 'spied sitting on an old Portugal laurel, close to the oak we have since inscribed to our learned, gifted, and beloved friend Rylance. I was early a fond reader of poetry, and fancied them marvellous messengers just arrived from the enchanted regions of romance.
Von Os. A fitting guest for the tree of our merry friend — the Attic bird.
Chit-chat. 9
Dov. Ay, either : be it Minerva's, or that of Tereus, the " merry nightingale," as Coleridge most cordially calls him. Not only the notes of birds, but scenery itself; nay, every- thing, takes its tone infinitely more in accordance with our own present feelings, than from any thing inherent in itself: or as he, who so pithily knew that " brevity is the soul of wit," more quaintly expresses it : " there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." I actually once heard an ignorant pert officer say, he knew not why people liked the robin, unless it was for his impudence.
Von Os. Puppy !
Dov. Why, you have snuffed the candles out !
Von Os. I believe, many birds, formerly not uncommon, have of late years disappeared ; or become, in these parts* extremely rare. I remember bevies of quails common enough.
Dov. When a fly-fishing boy on the Vyrnwy, I have occa- sionally put up the bittern (/4'rdea stellaris). 1 have not now seen him many years ; though I have sometimes heard him boomping in the sedgy pools, as I have gone out into the gar- den at night, with poor Warren, to
Von Os. " See a Trossach."
Dov. Our ancestors set the back claw in silver for a tooth- pick, and believed it had the virtue of preserving the teeth ; and they supposed it always gave an odd number of bombs at a time, three or five. Willughby found this not the case. It sits in rushes, with head and neck erect : in autumn, at sunset, it will soar spirally to a vast height, with an unusual sound. This is what the vulgar call the night-raven; saying it portends death ; and, flying in the night, resembles " a flagging collar." Pliny calls him taurus (the bull), btdorius, and botaurus; the Welsh, derin-y-bisomp.
Von Os. The Welsh language is most amazingly expressive in its radicals, and surprisingly beautiful in its combinative- ness : the name of every animal, plant, or place is self- descriptive. In the abundance and powers of its vowels, the euphonious change of its consonants, and the melting union of its confluents, it really rivals the matchless Greek itself.
Dov. Among the treasures of its poetry, dormant in the dust of great men's libraries, is a curious epigram on the silkworm, composed entirely of vowels. Observe, I can recite
it without closing or moving lips or teeth : —
" O'i wiw wy i weu e a, a'i weuaw O'i wyau y weua ; '1 »9Dl
E' weua ei wi aia', A'i, weuau yw ieuau ia."
" 1 perish by my art; dig mine own grave; I spin the thread of life ; my death I weave."
10 Chit-chat.
Von Os. Curious : a difficult trifle. But, surely, the Welsh knew nothing of the silkworm.
Dov. That is a very strong inference that the poem is not ancient ; though it might serve for any caterpillar as well as the Phalasvna mori.
Von Os. It is roundly asserted in Dr. Rees's Cyclopaedia, " and that by those who have examined it attentively, who think they speak within compass when they affirm, that each ball (of the silkworm) contains silk enough to reach six English miles."
Dov. This good and excellent little girl, who waits upon us so quiet, effectually, and fairy-like, measured, at my desire, two cocoons last August. How much did they measure, my dear cousin Sarah ?
S. D. Sir, one measured 285, and the other 306 yards ; allowing a little for loss at each end.
Dov. Very well ; and can you give us any more information ?
S. D. Only, Sir, that the duck is ready in the dining- room ; and the oysters are come by coach.
Dov. Best news of all. Come, my dear Von, to a warm dissertation on the ^nas Z?6schas, and a practical discussion of the molluscous bivalves.
Von Os. Then will we quaff some brimmers (with many a fragrant whiff) over our heartiest good wishes to Loudon and his labours.
Dov. Not forgetting his labourers : and close this night's Chit-chat with healths to our brother cullers of simples, and our really earnest request that they will
Von Os. — say that you have plaguily too much ornithology in it.
Dov. Ornithology ! — why, my dear fellow, 'tis a main point of my religion. *
Von Os. Your religion ! marry, as how ?
Dov. Why, a certain great, big, burly, rich personage, who, not a century since, filled the civic chair as chief magi- strate in a neighbouring town, and who gives grand venison feasts, with his " candle- Abraham"
Von Os. Ha, ha, ha ! — and which you easily and effec- tually persuaded him was not even a " candle Isaac" but merely a " Jacob " —
Dov. Taught, by the inimitable Sir John Falstaff, how much " a lie, with a slight oath, and a jest, with a serious brow, will do with a fellow that never had the headach in his shoulders — "
Von Os. Well ?
Dov. Well : this sapient personage being told that 1 was an
Address to the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club. 1 1
ornithologist, exclaimed — " Horn-? -iK -hollow-jest I A bitter Whig, I know he is, as ever growled at placeman or parson ; and is not ashamed of it : but I never thought the crazy Coun- sellor had any Religion ; but 'tis better he be of that, than of no Religion."
Von Os. Ha, ha, ha ! — a joke of your own making ! — too good to be true.
Dov. Really as true as that my name is
John F. M. Dovaston. Westfelton, near Shrewsbury, Oct. 28. 1832.
Art. II. Address to the Members of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, Sept. 19. 1832. By George Johnston, M.D.
The Berwickshire Naturalists' Club was instituted in Sep- tember, 1831, by some gentlemen who interested themselves in natural history, and were anxious to do their best to aid one another in their pursuits, and to diffuse a taste for them among others. The club meets four times in the year, and the place of its meeting is changed every time, to afford the members an opportunity of examining in succession every part of the neighbourhood. The members meet early in the morning; they spend the forenoon in excursions, and they again assemble at dinner, after which any papers that may be laid before them are read and discussed freely. The first anniversary meeting was held at Coldstream on the 19th of September, 1832, when the following address was read by the president on his resigning the chair.
Gentlemen, Before I leave the distinguished station which, by your favour, I hold in this club, you will permit me to take a cur- sory view of what has been done, during this the first year of its existence, towards forwarding the objects for which we principally associated ourselves ; a more accurate knowledge, to wit, of the natural history and antiquities of Berwickshire and the adjacent parts of the neighbouring counties : and I am induced to do this, not because our labours have elicited much of interest or importance ; not because I can hope to give any additional impulse to your zeal, or direction to your future pursuits ; but that I may, so far as in me lies, set an example to my successors in this chair to give you, at each
1 2 Address to the Members of
succeeding anniversary, a summary of the communications and researches of the members during the year; so that the results of these may not be lost, and that their bearings and connections may be pointed out. The review, also, may serve to remind us of those departments of the natural history of the county which have received the least notice and illus- tration, and where, of course, our enquiries may be most usefully directed in future.
\_Birds.~] — At our meeting in July, it was mentioned that a male bird of the rose-coloured ouzel * had been shot at West Ord, in the vicinity of Berwick, on the 13th of that month, by the Rev. Mr. Campbell. No previous instance of the occurrence of this beautiful bird in North Durham is known ; and very few instances of its occurrence in the north of England are on record, f It is a summer visitant, coming to us at uncertain intervals ; and (it may be conjectured) compelled, perhaps, to make these parts by the force of some contrary storms : and in this respect it resembles another bird, the Egyptian goose :f, a small flock of which is recorded to have visited the Tweed, at Carham, in the beginning of February last. § This flock, as is conjectured by Mr. Selby, may probably have made its escape from Gosforth, the seat of the Earl of Wemyss, upon the Firth of Forth, where great numbers of these birds are kept in the artificial pieces of water. ||
These are the only birds remarkable for their rarity, which have occurred during the year ; for I do not remember that any such was met with in our excursions. In that of June, made to Langleyford, at the foot of Cheviot, our dis- tinguished colleague, Mr. Selby, entertained some slight hopes of meeting with the ring thrush \, which, it was sup- posed, might breed near this sequestered hamlet : but the information of the respectable tenant proved the contrary ; for the bird is seen there only in the later autumnal months, on its return from still more inland and more remote moors. During our ascent of Hedgehope, on that day, the curlew f first, and, somewhat higher up, the golden plover ** (uttering,
* Pastor roseus Tern., Tardus roseus Lin.
f Mr. Selby has a specimen, shot near Bamborough ; and two others have been taken not far from Newcastle. (Trans. Newc. Soc, i. 263.) It is singular that these were all males.
t Jvnas segyptiaca Lin., Chenalopex aegyptiaca Steph.
§ Kelso Mail for Feb. 6. 1832; Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. v. p. 565.
|J Trans. Newc. Soc, i. 290. Five were seen on the Fern Islands in April, 1830; and in March, 1831, a female was killed near Berwick. (Ibid.)
4- Tardus torquatus Lin.
H Seolopax arquata Lin., Numenius arquata Lath., Whaap Prov.
** Charadrius pluvialis Lin.
the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club. 13
as it flew from us, its shrill plaintive cry), were seen in their breeding-grounds ; and the blackcock * was heard calling harshly to his mates. On this occasion, as on several pre- vious ones, I was struck with the cries of the birds [we noticed : there was no sprightliness in them, nor melody ; but all were plaintive, or rapid and harsh, and tended to increase that still sobriety — that almost solemn mood — which irre- sistibly steals over the mind of him who traverses these noise- less, wide, dark-brown moors. The melody of the groves is not in harmony with the scene ; and the warblers leave it willingly for haunts nearer the cheerful buzz of man and civil- isation. But our excursion in July presented us with a most remarkable contrast to the scenery of the Cheviots : a wide and rough-rolling sea, a coast fronted with lofty, dark, and precipitous rocks, caverned with gloomy recesses, so bold, so rugged, and naked, that Scotland scarce boasts one of supe- rior grandeur. And how diverse were its feathered tenants in appearance and habits ! The slender-legged tribes of the moor, clothed in a mottled plumage, were here replaced with birds distinguished by short legs, strengtrTof body, and by colours disposed in large and unmixed patches, often strongly contrasted : and while the former wheeled round and about us in circles, muttering their cries on wing, the latter flew out in a straight undeviating line, and silently. Nor were they less distinguished by their voices; for the cries of seafowl are never plaintive, but most harsh, and most consonant with the pictorial character of their haunts. Pennant has given a description of these, so excellent, that I must be allowed to quote it here, with only a very few alterations, to make it more exact to St. Abb's Head, the place of our visit. This magnificent promontory is a huge insulated mass of trap rocks f, whose seaward sides form precipices of vast height, hollowed in many places into caverns, in which the wild pigeons ;£ build their nests, and nurture their young in safety, amid the spray of waves that never sleep in rest. In some parts, the caverns penetrate far, and end in darkness; in others, are pervious, and give a romantic passage by another opening equally superb. Many of the rocks are insulated, of a pyramidal form, and soar to a great height. The bases of most are solid; but in some pierced through and arched. They are covered with the dung of the innumerable flocks of birds which resort here annually to breed, and fill every little projection, every hole, which will give them leave to rest. Multitudes were swimming about ; others swarmed in the
* Tetrao Tutrix Lin., Female, Grey hen, Prov.
f Flora of Berwick, i. pref. xiv. xv. J Columba Liv'm Selby.
14 Address to the Members of
air, and stunned us with the variety of their croaks and screams. Kittiwakes, sea mews, and black- headed gulls, guillemots, auks, and corvorants, are among the species which resort hither. " The notes of all seafowl are most harsh and inharmonious. I have often rested under rocks like these, attentive to the various sounds over my head ; which, mixed with the deep roar of the waves slowly swelling, and retiring from the vast caverns beneath, have produced a fine effect. The sharp voice of the gulls, the frequent chatter of the guillemots, the loud notes of the auks, the screams of the herons, together with the deep periodical croak of the cor- vorants (and the boding voice of the raven), which serves as a bass to the rest, have often furnished me with a concert, which, joined to the wild scenery surrounding me, afforded, in a high degree, that species of pleasure which results from the novelty and the gloomy majesty of the entertainment." *
I must not leave this majestic coast, without mention of another of its feathered tenants, the Cornish chough f ; which, indeed, was not seen by us on this occasion, but is certainly ascertained to breed in the rocks between St. Abb's and Fast Castle. This fact, distinctly mentioned by Bishop Leslie, in his history de Origine Scotorum, published about 300 years ago J, has been overlooked or disregarded by naturalists, who have considered the bird peculiar to the western shores of Britain § ; and it is to the Rev. A. Baird that we are indebted for the confirmation of the accuracy of the bishop's inform- ation ; and, of course, for showing that the limits usually assigned to the distribution of the chough in this country are erroneous.
[Reptiles.'] — Of the reptiles of Berwickshire, the frog || and the toad 4- have met us everywhere; and in our excursions to Penmanshiel Wood, and to St. Bathan's, a viper f was taken ; but no communication relative to any of this neglected tribe of animals has been laid before you.
[Fishes.] — Mr. Embleton gave us, at our meeting in De- cember last, a description of a singular individual of the sal- mon**, which had been caught near Coldstream. It was distinguished by being spotted over, in a leopard-like fashion, with pale marks, by having its gill-covers beautifully streaked
* Arctic Zoology, i., Introd. p. xii.
•j* Corvus Graculus Lin., Pyrrhocorax Crraculus Tern.
% P. 17. Published in 1578.
§ " Inhabits the western side of the islapd." Flem. Br. Anim. 89.
|j i?ana temporaria Lin., Paddock Prov.
4- -ft ana Bui'o Lin., 2?ufo vulgaris Flem., Taed, Prov.
f Coluber i?erus Lin., Fipera communis Flem., Adder, Prov.
** £almo tfalar Lin.
the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club. 15
with red lines, and by leather-like fins ; and these peculiarities were not the effects of disease, for the fish was in good con- dition, and perfectly sound. At the same meeting I presented to the club a list of the less common fishes found on the coast of Berwickshire, of which list the most remarkable, for their rarity at least, were the common tope *, the starry ray f, of which I have had several specimens brought me, the top-knot J, the toothed gilt-head §, the lunulated gilt-head ||, the sea perch 4> the basse f , the horse mackerel *•*, the fifteen- spined stickleback ff, which is by no means uncommon on this coast, and is occasionally taken at the mouth of our river during the summer months. Besides these, there have occurred four species, which, in our latest system of British animals, are said to be confined to the " English coast;" and which may therefore be considered as additions to the fishes of the Scot- tish shores. These are, the greater weaver % J, inaccurately characterised by Dr. Fleming; the lesser spotted dog-fish^, the hag-worm ||||, and the tadpole fish 4-4-. The hag-worm, so remarkable for the peculiarities of its structure, is, according to the testimony of our fishermen, rather common on the coast of Berwickshire ; and the size of the specimens I have seen, and I am assured they are not larger than the average, is much superior to what is stated in our systematic works ; for, instead of 8 in., they were 14 in. and 15 in. in length. Gf the tadpole fish, which is one of the rarest British species, and previously known only as an inhabitant of the shores of Corn- wall, I had the pleasure of exhibiting to you a living specimen, which had been captured in Berwick Bay. When alive, and when recently dead, the body appeared everywhere smooth and even ; but, after having lain three days on a plate, and become a little shrivelled, there appeared an obscure row of tubercles, running backwards from the pectoral fins, and these pea-like tubercles could be more readily distinguished by drawing the finger over the skin. I would call attention to this fact, because the only good distinction between the Raniceps trifur- catus, and R. Jago of Dr. Fleming, is derived from the pre-
* 5qualus Galeus Lin., Galeus vulgaris Flem.
\ iZaia radiata Donov. % Pleuronectes punctatus Pen.
§ 5parus dentatus Stew., Brdma marina Flem.
|| *Sparus auratus Lin.
4- Perca marina Lin., £erranus norvegicus Flem.
1[ Perca Labrax Lin.
** Scomber TYachiirus Lin., CTrachurus vulgaris Flem.
Jj- Gasterosteus Spinachia Lin., Spinachia vulgaris Flem. \ Trachinus major Flem. $$ tfqualus Catulus Lin., Scjllium C'atulus Flem. " || M yxine glutinosa Lin. 4- Batrachoides trifurcatus Dawes, Raniceps trifurcatus Flem.
1 6 Address to the Members of
sence of these tubercles ; in the former the lateral line is said to be tuberculated above the pectoral fins, in the latter it is said to be smooth : but here we have a specimen which, when alive, exhibits the character of the Jago; when dead, that of the trifurcatus ; and hence I am induced to think that both are the same animal, having the tubercles more or less prominent and obvious according to the leanness, or other conditions, of the body.
[Insects."] — Since no communication has been laid before us relative to the entomology of Berwickshire, it is beyond my province to make any remarks on the subject ; but you may permit me to notice one family, too beautiful, too generally distributed, and too obtrusive, not to have attracted our attention : I mean, the butterfly tribe. Of this, 85 species (including 11 that perhaps may properly be considered as varieties) have been ascertained to be natives of Britain ; and of these we have, in Berwickshire, only 16 distinct species, or somewhat more than one fifth of the whole. Four belong to the family Papilionidae ; nine to the Nymphalidae ; and three to the Lycse'nzd^ *. None of the species are esteemed rare by experienced entomologists; but in Berwickshire I never observed the Hipparchi« Semete, until on our visit to St. Abb's Head, in July last, where we found this fine active insect in great profusion. The more common Hipparchia JEgeria, also, I have seen in one locality only in this county, viz., on the wooded banks of the Eye, below Ayton House, where it may be captured in the months of June and July. The Pontia cardamines is likewise a local species with us ; it very rarely occurs in the neighbourhood of Berwick, but appears soon after passing the village of Paxton, on the road to Swin- ton, and abounds all along that low tract. It is also common on the road between Swinton-Mill and Coldstream ; but I have not noticed it elsewhere in Berwickshire.
[_Exannulbsa.~\ — Communications relating to the exannu- lose invertebrate tribes have been made as yet only by myself, but I have now a zealous cooperator in our secretary, whose situation is peculiarly favourable for the investigation of these intricate and vastly curious creatures, among whose multi- tudes, it may be truly said, " We meet with forms and struc- tures as varied and unexpected as if they had been the tenants of another planet." A collection of the zoophytes of the coast was exhibited at an early meeting, which I have
* a. Papilionidae : Pontia brassicae, P. rapae, P. napi, P. cardamines. b. Nymphalidae : Vanessa urticae ; V. Atalanta, Cynthia cardui, Hippar- chia JEghria, H. Se'mele, H. Megaevro, H. Janim, H. hyperanthus, H. Pam- philm. c Lyc&'nidce : Lycaevna Phlae'a*, Polyomrnatus Alexis, P. A'rgtw.
the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club. 1 7
since described at length in the Transactions of the Natural History Society of Newcastle* ; and I flatter myself that no department of the natural history of Berwickshire is now so well known as this, in reference to species : their habits and economy require for illustration a person of more uninter- rupted leisure. Our Actiniae, or animal flowers, on which I read a separate paper, are remarkably interesting. I know no marine worm that, for beauty and elegance, can be com- pared with the Actinia plumosa ; and such of you as had the opportunity of seeing the specimen that 1 preserved for some time alive, will recall with pleasure the splendid spectacle. Actinia Tuediaef was still more interesting, to me at least, for the species was new to naturalists, and, fortunately, possessed characters that distinguished it decidedly from every other. The Actinia coccmea and viduata of Muller are also denizens of our shores ; but the first was considered as a smooth variety of the senilis, and the other a small streaked variety of the equina.
A passing notice of some invertebrates which I have de- scribed and figured in the Magazine of Natural History for the present year [1832] may perhaps be excused, since the subjects of them were procured in Berwick Bay. The Praniza fuscata [Vol. V. p. 521.] is a minute crustaceous insect, and the E'olis rufibranchialis [Vol. V. p. 428.], a mol- luscum new to naturalists ; and the Planaria cornuta [Vol. V. p. 344.] appears to be likewise an acquisition to the list of British worms. They afford a small sample of the many remarkable invertebrates that inhabit our shores, and which have found, to this day, no one willing to make known their singular forms and structure, that, through the medium of his intelligent creature, they may praise their Creator, and evidence still farther the endless variety in his works and wisdom. " Let the heaven and earth praise Him," says the Psalmist, " the seas, and every thing that movelh therein"
[Plants.'] — I turn now with pleasure to the vegetable kingdom ; for here I have to speak of others' discoveries, and not of my own. It might, perhaps, be presumed that, because a flora of the district had been so recently published, there was little here to reward the student; but the fact is greatly otherwise: and I esteem the numerous discoveries which have been made of species, and of new stations for the rarer ones, as a proof of the utility of our club ; for the zeal which led you on was surely kept alive by the knowledge that there
* This valuable paper is noticed in our Vol. V. p. 702. — J. D. f Figured and described, Vol. V. p. 163. Vol. VI. — No. 31. c
18 Address to the Members of
were around you some who interested themselves in your researches, and were ready to give you their meed of appro- bation and applause. The sternest stoic of us all, it has been observed, wishes at least for some one to enter into his views and feelings, and confirm him in the opinion which he enter- tains of his favourite pursuits.
Since the publication of my Flora of Berwick, there has been added, exclusive of some naturalised or recently imported species, to the wild plants of Berwickshire, 20 dicotyledonous, 8 monocotyledonous, and 18 cryptogamic species, the names, stations, and discoverers of which are inserted in your minutes. By much the most interesting of these, whether we consider it in reference to its beauty or rarity, is the Saxifraga H\rcu- lus * discovered in the parish of Langton, by our ingenious colleague, Mr. Thomas Brown. Only two stations for this saxifrage have been recorded in our British floras, and both are in the south of England ; so that Mr. Brown has had the good fortune — and good fortune never waits but on the industrious and intelligent — to make one of the most inter- esting additions to the Flora Scotica that has been made of late years. Another addition to that flora is due to Misses Bell and Miss Hunter, who have found, for the first time in Scotland, the Shon imomum growing at the Hirsel Lough, near Coldstream ; and these ladies, who are members of this club, deserve our best thanks for their contributions, and still more for their devotion to botany; as their example and success cannot fail to recommend it powerfully to popular attention. The i^ieracium aurantiacum, the discovery of Miss Hunter ; the //ieracium molle, and Carex ftilva, both detected, in the first instance, in Berwickshire, by Mr. Brown ; the //ypnum stramineum (in fruit), another of his interesting additions to our list ; and the jLathyrus sylvestris, and the Carex distans, lately discovered near Berwick by Mr. Dunlop, deserve to be particularised on account of their rarity : the Pulmonaria maritima restored to our shores by the researches of the Rev. J. Baird and Mr. Carr, and the iWyosotis syl- vatica of Langton woods, are preeminent for their beauty ; and the Chenopodium urbicum is interesting as the subject of a strange story, which purports that this weed could by cultivation be turned into a real strawberry, and relative to which there is a curious letter from the hapless Josephine to
* " i/irculus, a diminutive from hircus, a goat. Now look at the hair which beards our plant, and you will see why Linnaeus calls it a * little goat.' It is just like that happy playful fancy which he possessed so remarkably." — Mr. Brown, in litt.
' the Berwickshire Naturalists'1 Club. 19
her gardener, in her lately published Memoirs, for a know- ledge of which, as of the plant itself, we are indebted to Mr. Embleton.
While, on the one hand, the Scottish flora owes two good additions to this club ; on the other, it has contributed two also to the floral catalogue of Northumberland; and both of these are the discoveries of our secretary. It was long be- lieved that the vernal squill was peculiar to the western coasts of England ; but the discovery of it by the Rev. A. Baird on the coast of Berwickshire removed this their peculiar orna- ment and boast; and Mr. Embleton has extended its eastern range, for he finds it in abundance at Dunstanborough Castle. Aspidium Thelypteris is the other new Northumbrian plant ; and it is not a little curious that this fern, which is stated by Dr. Hooker to be abundant in Scotland, should not be found at all in Berwickshire, and is so rare in the north of England that it has escaped the notice of the many acute botanists who have botanised there, until this late date, when Mr. Em- bleton drew it from its lurking-place in Learmouth bogs, on the very verge of the kingdom.
May I urge those members of the club who devote them- selves more exclusively to botany, to continue the researches which have been so productive during the past year ? for the field is not exhausted so long as there remains a corner of the county unexplored ; and there are, I ween, not a few
" spots that seem to lie
Sacred to flowerets of the hills,'
where no one has yet wandered, and where no one will wan- der, " save he who follows nature." There is too much to learn of the habits and properties of our common plants; and I may mention, as an illustration of the remark, the observ- ation which was made on thebutterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) during our excursion to Cheviot. It was then accidentally observed, that, when specimens of this plant were somewhat rudely pulled up, the flower stalk, previously erect, almost immediately began to bend itself backwards, and formed a more or less perfect segment of a circle ; and so, also, if a specimen is placed in the botanic box, you will in a short time find that the leaves have curled themselves backwards, and now conceal the root by their revolution. Now, the butter- wort is a very common plant ; yet I am not aware that this fact of its irritability has been ever mentioned.
\_Geology.~] — In illustration of the geology of the county, a very elaborate paper was read to us, at an early meeting, by our zealous colleague, Dr. Thomson. He has described, in a
c 2
20 Address to the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club.
clear and interesting manner, the geological structure of the parishes of Eccles, Greenlaw, Polwarth, and Longformacus ; and thus has made a valuable addition to the sketch of the geology of Berwickshire which Mr. Baird has given in the introduction to my Flora, and which had more peculiar reference to the eastern parts. I feel myself unqualified to estimate the merits of this paper; nor is it necessary to enter into any analysis of it here, since it has been printed in the last Number [September, 1832] of the Magazine of Natural History [Vol. V. p. 637—646.].
Such, Gentlemen, is a rapid indication of the results of our first year's exertions ; and, in my opinion, they do not discredit, but rather justify, the expectations of those who moved the institution of this club, which, I doubt not, will work still more efficiently in future years. But, when I esti- mate the advantages of our association by the acquisitions it has made to the natural history of the county, I do it great wrong; for I hold it to be more useful, as affording a point of rendezvous for the naturalists of the district, where they may cultivate mutual acquaintance ; where they may talk over their common pursuit and all its incidents ; where they may mutually give and receive oral information ; where each may nourish his neighbour's zeal ; where we may have our " care- less season," and enjoy " perfect gladsomeness : " and, as- suredly, the good feeling and humour which have hitherto characterised, and will continue to characterise, our every meeting, vindicate me in assigning, as the distinctive charac- ter of this club, its social character.
I cannot, I must not, conclude this address, without an expression of, I trust, our united gratitude to the Preserver of all and the Giver of all good. That fatal disease which has walked over the length and breadth of the land, with fear in its front and mourning in its rear, has not left this county altogether unvisited ; and we cannot yet think of its ravages in the place where we are now assembled, without deep feel- ings of pity for the loss sustained by the survivors, and with- out gratitude that here its desolating course was stayed. No member of the club has been removed by death ; neither has misfortune visited any of us, save only one, who has been afflicted with a severe and lingering sickness, and has, in con- sequence, been hindered giving us that attendance and assist- ance which none was more willing and none more able to give.
Gentlemen, it is unnecessary to add any plea to induce you to continue your efforts in favour of this club. The pleasure attendant on our pursuits is so pure and genuine, and so
Extraordinary Growth of the Incisor Teeth. 2 1
various, that I cannot fear that any one who has fairly entered into their spirit will turn him away. The best argument, indeed, I know in favour of our studies is derived from this fact; for the Deity has never affixed pleasure (I mean, a pleasure which the conscience approves, and which the me- mory delights ever and anon to recall) to any sublunary pur- suit that is unsuitable to the dignity and condition of man. When the conscience utters her still voice to reprove or con- demn, it is time to desist, and leave the path we are following, however gaily it may be strewed ; but, where she approves, there let us follow, certain of reward. And who among natu- ralists ever found the fruit of his study turn ashes in the enjoyment? Nor can it be: for what our internal monitor approves, the Scriptures also commend, and send us for instruction to the meanest things, to the ant and to the lilies of the field ; and bid us seek out His wonderful works, and to tell of them ; and thence borrow their moral lessons ; and call upon us to praise the Creator, in " his contriving skill, profuse imagination, conceiving genius, and exquisite taste ; in his most gracious benignity and most benevolent munificence," through his creatures, from the creeping things of the sea even to his behemoth and leviathan.
Art. III. On the extraordinary Grotvth of the Incisor Teeth, occa- sionally met tvith in the Wild Rabbit. By Fred. C. Lukis, Esq.
Sir,
The extraordinary growth of the incisor teeth of the wild rabbit (Lepus Cuniculus) has already been treated of in this Magazine (Vol. II. p. 134., and Vol. III. p. 27.) ; but, as two additional instances of this deviation from the stated order of nature have come under my notice, I beg to annex some sketches relating to them, as it is instructive to compare these anomalies of nature.
The specimen (Jig. I.) presented an animal rather below the usual size, apparently not an old one ; the incisors of the upper jaw proceeded regularly in contact as far as the cutting edge of the posterior or small pair of teeth in that jaw (which were about double their usual length); they then diverged equally on both sides, and, when the mouth closed, touched the base of the lower pair, dividing the gums so as to give the appearance of two tongues when the mouth was partly opened. (Jig. 2.) These teeth had acquired a length of about four times those in the ordinary rabbit. The incisors
c 3
22 Extraordinary Growth of the Incisor Teeth,
in the lower jaw extended upwards about 1J in. beyond the 9 gums, forming a regular curve
over the nose, and showing an inclination to twist towards the right side of the head. The grinders were next ex- amined, and found to be longer than usual ; the two sets on the right side of the mouth were considerably elongated, and worn on one edge, forming an acute wedge shape {Jig. 3.) ; but those on the left side preserved their natural outline. When the mouth was closed as much as the incisors would a permit, the upper set descended below the gums of the lower jaw. These appeared to have been used by the animal for the purpose of mastication, or to have impeded that operation at their own cost. If the elongation of the grinders were the consequence of the increased growth of the incisors, and the want of the accustomed attrition, it is remarkable that all should not have equally grown. An unequal or rapid secretion of osseous matter on one side more than on the other might account for this difference; or perhaps the animal had not the power to use them equally, from some impediment caused by the intersection of the in- cisors. The rabbit under notice was caught by a dog ; and
occasionally met with in the Wild Rabbit.
23
when opened, the stomach was found to contain about half the usual quantity of vegetable food, which was extremely hard and compact, having been badly or imperfectly masti- cated. The liver was somewhat reduced, sickly, and with very little gall ; but in other respects the animal presented nothing remarkable.
The second specimen (Jig. 4.) exhibits another instance
of this singular deformity. Here, however, the upper pair of incisors only had been affected : these com- menced diverging from their natural position at the same distance as in the former in- stance, describing nearly a complete circle, but spread- ing outward, so as to leave the sides of the lips un- touched. The curve thus formed was regular, and not entirely destitute of elegance : the lower pair of incisors were of their natural size, though some- what worn on their outward edges, from their friction against the diverging planes of the upper pair. The grinders pre- sented nothing remarkable. The disposition of the teeth in this specimen could not so much impede the feeding of this animal as in the other example ; but the displacement of the lower incisors, as in that instance, must have speedily proved fatal to it.
The primary cause of this anomaly in the incisors of this class of Rodentia has been attributed [See Vol.11, p. 134., Vol. III. p. 27.] to the accidental direction given to the teeth in the first stages of growth, or the loss of one or more of the opposing set, or to too soft food. If, however, the soft quality of the food were a cause of the disease, I think that frequent examples of this monstrosity would be found among the tamed or domesticated rabbits, which are often entirely fed on soft food.
I am, Sir, yours, &c. Guernsey, Nov. 1. 1830. Frederick C. Lukis.
The head of a wild rabbit was, six or seven years ago, given to me with the four principal incisors in the two jaws considerably elongated and curved : it came off" the pre- mises of Robert Bevan, Esq., Rougham, Suffolk, and the ani- mal itself, which, as I understood, was caught and killed, in
c 4
24 Extraordinary Growth of the Incisor Teeth.
common with other rabbits, before the peculiarity of its teeth was observed, was in an emaciated condition.
The relative condition of the teeth is as follows : — In the upper jaw the two hinder incisors, if incisors they should be called, are a little and unequally lengthened, and they divari- cate slightly. The larger incisors in front of them are un- equally elongated, the right hand one (supposing one's self the animal) to more than half an inch beyond the usual length, the left hand one to more than a quarter of an inch, and both together are curved towards the interior of the mouth, so as to resemble a large capital of the letter c set backwards (3) ; at and towards their tip they divaricate a little. The incisors of the lower jaw are more and as unequally lengthened, but less suddenly curved upwards ; and thus space is provided for the motion of the curve of the upper incisors within the wider curve of the lower ones. The jaws have had an oblique action, and the degree of obliquity will be clear from the fact, that the right incisor of the upper jaw rests on the basal part of the left incisor of the lower jaw, although it does not stand (so much as) accurately over it; and thus the left incisor of the upper jaw and the right incisor of the lower jaw, when the mouth is closed, have no tooth directly opposed to them. This derangement has affected the grinders thus : the right hand grinders in the upper jaw have worn the grinders opposed to them in the lower jaw in a very oblique form on their inward side ; and the left hand grinders in the upper jaw have worn the grinders opposed to them in the lower jaw in an oblique form on their outward side: the grinders in the upper jaw are obliqued, to correspond with those in the lower jaw, and in both jaws the grinders appear to have been elongated to meet and accommodate each other. On the cause of all this de- rangement I can offer no positive evidence, but notice that the right side of the lower jaw, in the part out of which the grinders arise, exhibits a formation plainly, although not con- spicuously, misshapen, and defective in the solidity and com- pactness of the bone, apparently the result of a fracture at some past time in this part, and the grinders on this side are less uniform in their height and parallelism, and one of them less perfect, than are the grinders in the opposite side of the same (lower) jaw.
In examining the teeth, in their natural and proper con- dition, of some live and dead rabbits, preparatory to writing the above description of the anomalous formation, I observed that in all of them the lower incisors struck upon the inward face of the upper ones. This fact may have been deemed too well known for mention by previous contributors on this sub-
Something about Sea Birds. 25
■c
ject ; but it seems to me to deserve consideration in relation to the causes, whatever they may be, of preternatural elonga- tion. If it be one of the offices of the lower incisor to keep the upper ones cut down, by collision, to their proper length, and this by attrition on their inward face, the elongation and curvature of the upper incisors across the lower incisors' line of action (which is the case when they lengthen and curve into the mouth) is the more remarkable, and gains one step in tracing the original cause, by referring such an elongation of the upper incisors to the incompetence of the lower incisors to prevent it by their due abrasion, either from their absence, shortness, weakness, or divergence.
I may here introduce, from a newspaper, a paragraph on this subject, which I have long possessed.
A rabbit was killed, on the 31st of January, at Curcey, Cornwall, which, instead of the two lower front teeth, had two ivory tusks, in the shape of those of a wild boar, that mea- sured, previous to being taken out of the jaw, an inch and a half in length. {Morning Herald, Feb. 14. 1823.) — J. D.
Art. IV. Something about Sea Birds. By Rusticus.
Sir, On a fine morning, towards the end of May, three of us mounted the (Rocket) Portsmouth coach; double-barrelled patent percussions having been previously duly prepared, and a suitable supply of copper caps, powder and shot, and the et ceteras of bird-stuffing laid in ; and the close of day found us at Newport, in the centre of the Isle of Wight. The next morning we reached Freshwater, or Freshwater Gate, as the natives term it, to breakfast, experiencing, together with ravenous appetites, a most sanguine and sanguinary feeling against all manner of sea fowl and ornithological rarities: we, however, soon learned that we must reserve our ardour until the following morning, for that the birds went to seaward at sunrise, and did not return until it was too dark at night to get any shooting ; so we wandered about the neighbourhood all day, and shot a stray summer snipe or two, and two or three old crows. As for myself, being a little bit of an insect-hunter, I was well enough amused in netting butterflies; a very beautiful one, called Cinxitf, being abundant here : there were also great quantities of a yellow moth, with black spots, which is called the dew moth (Lithosia irrorea). In the way of botany, too, we had
26 Something about Sea Birds,
a treat in finding a sort of bog completely covered with the beautiful bogbean (ikfenyanthes trifoliata), in full blossom.
At Freshwater Gate there is but one inn, and, unfortu- nately, its all of beds was occupied ; however, there is a little square building belonging to the same establishment, but dis- connected, and situated farther down the beach ; and in this the accommodating landlady made up three beds : and here, after making an agreement with two fishermen for the ser- vices of themselves and their boat at three o'clock the next morning, we turned in for the night, the chambermaid fastening the door outside with a wooden button, to keep us from harm : other fastening there was none. It may be supposed we did not sleep very soundly ; the incessant roar of the sea, as its waves broke on the shingly beach, and approached within a few yards of where we lay ; the odd fastening of our apart- ment; tales of smugglers and pirates, which we had been lis- tening to ; and the anticipation of a novel and exciting sport, furnished us amply with amusement and talking materials, until, at half past two, one of the fishermen unbuttoned our door, and expressed himself at our service.
Having provided overnight a pretty good store of provi- sion for the expedition, we had no cause for delay, but were soon ankle-deep on a beach, over which a long swell was alternately forcing forwards a multitude of pebbles, or draw- ing them with it as it retired towards the ocean, and pro- ducing an incessant and monotonous rattle, none the more pleasing to our ears that we had been compelled to listen to it for the last five hours. The night air still blew cold and clammy from over the expanse of waters ; and though the first blush of morning was visible to landward, over the sea all was gloom. The fishermen pushed off the boat, and in a minute they were steadily labouring against a heavy swell and a ris- ing tide ; we were alternately lost in the hollows, or mounted on the crests of the swell. After an hour's hard pulling, in which two of us occasionally joined, we found ourselves under the highest point of the cliff. The spot is marked by a red streak, which commences at the velvet turf at the summit, and is distinctly traceable down to the water's edge. The height of the cliff is 6 1 5 ft. ; its face is nearly perpendicular ; yet, notwithstanding this, the samphire-gatherers and the egg-col- lectors scale by means of ropes nearly its whole surface : two lads employed in the latter occupation had been dashed to pieces only the day before we were there, by an accidental slip of the one who held the rope. The fishermen from this spot pointed out to us a king's cutter in chase of a smuggler. They were so far out to sea as to have escaped our notice alto-
Something about Sea Birds. 27
■<i.
gether. The smuggler was a small dandy-rigged fore and aft craft, of about fifty tons, her canvass brown as though tanned. The cutter was twice the tonnage at least, with a tremendous mainsail, foresail, jib, flying jib, and gaff' topsail, all as white as snow, and now bright with the first light of morning. The fishermen told us the smuggler had most likely landed her cargo at Hurst Castle in the night, as she never would have been hovering about the coast after daybreak with any thing on board. The sight was one of great interest to ourselves as well as our companions, who were completely engrossed with it, and loudly expressed their pleasure when they saw that the cutter, spite of her superiority in canvass, was drop- ping astern, and the distance between the two consequently increasing. A puff of white smoke issued from the bow of the cutter, it passed along the deck, and was speedily far be- hind : the chase was hopeless ; the cutter tacked ; and the report, reaching the shore, echoed among the rocks like distant thunder.
While engrossed in this animated chase, we had reached the region of birds. Between the highest part and Sun Cor- ner the cliff is more than perpendicular, it positively over- hangs : here, then, is the retreat of innumerable sea birds ; here the foot of man has never trodden ; here patent percus- sions are of no avail. The inmates were already on the move : guillemots and razorbills, in parties of tens, twenties, and thirties, were continually dropping from their stations, and whirling on rapid wing towrards the ocean ; the great grey sea- mews wheeled in straggling companies, far far above the summit, round and round, like eagles, and uttered continually their sonorous and piercing call ; while in the distance the black-headed gulls were collecting by hundreds about the Needles. The fishermen now pulled us right in for the cliff; and, as we approached, what a sight did we witness ! every inch of projecting rock was occupied : there were hundreds, thousands, millions of birds. I should premise, that through- out the surface of the cliff* are excavated ledges, which are caused by layers of a softer substance intervening, that has crumbled, perhaps partly with frost, and partly with the ope- rations of the tenants : these softer strata are perforated like honeycombs by the puffins and razorbills. Along these ledges the birds were crowded so thickly as positively to push the foremost ones off by the pressure from behind, as fresh troops issued from their holes : these would fly a little way, and, re- turning, settle on the heads of the others, and thus, by slip- ping in, find themselves a footing, the foremost birds being obliged to tumble off, as these intruders had previously done.
28 Something about Sea Birds,
By far the greater proportion were razorbills, distinguishable even at this distance by their snow-white breasts and black heads and backs : among them were scattered guillemots in considerable abundance, perhaps as one to four : these sit more upright than the razorbills, are of less bright plumage, and keep their heads close on their shoulders, as though they had no neck. Some ledges were occupied solely by puffins, of which the conspicuous bills and squat though upright position rendered them instantly distinguishable. The little fellows turned their heads sharply on their shoulders, first on one side, then on the other, like people holding an animated conversation. They have white cheeks with a black hood, which seems fastened under the chin with a band of the same colour. A few of the delicately white kittiwakes were perched here and there on a projecting crag ; and, scattered at regular intervals, like stern, upright, solitary sentinels, stood the cor- vorants, spotting with black the whole surface of the cliff. A noise, as one might suppose like that of disembodied spirits in purgatory, issued from every part of the rock ; it proceeded from the razorbills or guillemots, we could not discover which ; but, of all the horrid and piteous groanings I have ever heard, these were the most so. Perhaps it was only a morn- ing hymn of thankfulness and happiness ; perhaps the soft note of love ; perhaps the united cry of thousands of the young for food. Being sufficiently near to see very clearly the whole mass of living creatures before us, the fishermen suggested that a single barrel should be fired at random, at the same time they both gave a tremendous shout. Words cannot describe the scene that followed : corvorants, mews, gulls, terns, kittiwakes, puffins, razorbills, guillemots, all left their stations; the very surface of the cliff came towards us. The remaining barrels were soon emptied, and all was one wild uproar : the sky was positively darkened ; the air filled with heterogeneous sounds ; the screams, the calls, the groans of the birds ; the continued ringing of the fishermen's shouts ; the almost everlasting echoes of our guns, which every crag and cranny seemed determined to reiterate ; and, above all, and harmonising all, the tumultuous roar of the restless ocean, as its long and heavy swell dashed against the perpendicular but rugged cliff, produced such a combination of sights and sounds, as, once seen and heard, can never be forgotten.
But where was the produce of our united discharge? Twenty or thirty birds, at least, ought to have fallen plump into the sea; for we fired right in their faces, and some of them seemed to be within ten yards of us : however, not a bird fell, nor did there appear to be a single feather touched.
Something about Sea Birds. 29
We stood gaping at one another in unfeigned astonishment. Was the miss to be attributed to the rolling of the boat, or the swell ? Certainly not ; for in such a crowd all nicety of aim would have been useless. Had we forgotten to put in the shot ? Still very improbable. The fishermen explained the mystery; and I doubt not your ornithological readers have done the same : the feathers on the breasts and necks of sea birds are so closely matted together, and form a covering so smooth and compact, that shots striking in front will not enter, but instantly glance off, without doing the slightest injury. As soon as we understood our error we were determined to rectify it, and were loading again in an instant, Now, as each little covey (for they fly in coveys, like partridges) passed over us, we took them in the rear, and to every barrel a bird fell thud into the water. This plan answered delightfully; and, finding its efficacy, our spirits, which were somewhat damped by the first disappointment, now rose with the excitement of the scene ; and though, partly owing to the motion of the boat, our shots were not invariably successful, yet we soon managed to cover the greater part of the bottom of the boat with the slain. Among them was a considerable number of the black- headed gull, in all the varieties of plumage : the head of this bird changes from light grey to sooty black, without moulting ; the feathers themselves undergoing the change. I am not aware whether this is generally known.
The birds, after the first rush, soon diminished in numbers, and in about an hour became so thin as scarcely to afford us the chance of a shot ; so we proceeded on our way past Sun Corner, and found that between this point and the Needles a whole colony of corvorants had established themselves, and the old hens were visible by dozens sitting on their nests. One of our party was a collector, and a most inimitable preserver of birds, and the only individual I ever knew who could give to a stuffed bird the appearan.ce of a living one : he was par- ticularly desirous of obtaining specimens of this bird ; and we were all determined to make the attempt. Precisely under the cliff where the corvorants were was a narrow slip of beach. On this we landed with great difficulty, as the swell of the sea continued very heavy, and the bottom is here very bad ; and, being almost perpendicularly under the birds, we could plainly see their long necks and stiff still heads poked out to seaward : so we spent much time, swan-shot, bullets, and ex- cellent powder; and finding that they did not move their heads one inch to the right or left, we got into our boat, and floated onward with the tide towards the Needles ; resolving, how- ever, to try the effect of shots from above, as it was very clear
30 Something about Sea Birds
is
they took no effect from below. To accomplish this, we had to pass through the Needles, and land in Alum Bay, from which there is a decent footpath up the cliff, and across to the top of that other cliff, on the ledges of which the old hen corvorants were so sedately planning for the welfare of their future progeny ; in fact, where they were reckoning their chickens before they were hatched. The water had gone down about three hours, and the passage through the Needles was a ticklish affair. The gap which we were about to attempt was little wider than our boat, and had a constant current running rapidly at ebb time towards Alum Bay. The depth varied as each successive swell rolled in from the ocean, from 1 ft. to 20 ft., and at low water was left quite dry. Two of us knew something of old ocean and old ocean's ways; and though we were ignorant of this particular spot, we learned sufficient from the fishermen to know the thing was to be done. Off went the coats ; two men to each oar : we held our craft steadily against the current, which was tremendously strong, and kept her head right for the opening. An enormous swell rolled seaward, leaving us almost aground : rattle, rattle, and thump, thump, we heard the stones and fragments of rock beneath us; it seemed an hour running out: at last another came : " Here she comes again ! keep her head right, and stand by !" up, up, we rose. "One stroke, up oars, let her drive !" and through we went, in gallant style, on the very crest of the swell. On the Alum Bay side of the Needles there was no swell to be felt ; but the meeting of opposing tides and currents, the influence of the winds, and the rough rocky bottom keep the water in a sort of perpetual boil. As we approached the shore, we had to pass over a good many lobster pots, which we took the liberty of examining, and found, among other contents, a great many soldier-crabs, which had established themselves in the shells of the common whelks : we did not rob the poor people of their lobsters, but carried off the soldiers and a few species of crabs which could only be useful to a naturalist. The geology of Alum Bay must be very interesting ; the cliff above it presents all the colours imaginable. The poor people in the neighbourhood get sands from it of a dozen different colours ; and, running them into a phial, make each colour form a distinct ring, which has a very pretty effect : these phials, so filled, they sell for a shilling each.
We ascended the cliff, examined the lighthouse, purchased a variety of eggs, and crossed the hill to the corvorant colony : then, by lying down on our bellies on the turf, we quietly peeped over the edge of the cliff, and obtained an excellent
Something about Sea Birds. 31
£>
view of the amiable company, from which a stench arose almost enough to suffocate us. There were young ones of all sizes, some almost ready to fly, some only covered with down; some nests had one or two eggs, which are very small in pro- portion to the size of the bird, and of a dirty white colour : many hens were sitting, and here and there a solitary old cock (the crested corvorant of Bewick) was perched on his triple support of tail and feet, contemplating the expanse of ocean, as motionless as a statue. One of the party now de- termined on the hazardous experiment of leaning over the cliff and shooting them as they sat; the other two remon- strated, but to no purpose : so a line was formed ; the first held tight the coat tails of the shooter, the others locked hand in hand; thus making a dead weight of four against one, in case of any propensity on the part of the first to lose his balance. Thus arranged, the adventurer shouldered his double- barrelled, and, actually bending over the cliff, he pulled the trigger. An old corvorant fell five hundred feet down the cliff, upon the little narrow beach before mentioned ; another trigger was pulled, and down went another corvorant. The shooter then exchanged guns with him who held him by the coat tails, and with each barrel of this he also sent a corvo- rant to the bottom; so there were four, as we supposed, quietly waiting our return. Emboldened by this success, we pro- ceeded more than a mile along the top of the cliff, continually peeping over. We discovered two nests of the black-headed gull, each with four eggs, of an olive brown colour, with darker spots: the nests are made of dried grass and fern. But the greatest curiosity we observed was the nestless and soli- tary egg of the razorbill, balanced, as if by a geometrician, on the bare rock, and looking as though the least puff of wind would blow it off its station into the sea. We learned from the fishermen, and some boys of the neighbourhood, that the puffins never expose their eggs, like the corvorants, razor- bills, guillemots, and gulls, but lay them at the end of long holes, which they hollow out of the softer parts of the rock. We bought a few of these eggs to bring home; they were dirty white, with darker spots.
After having satisfied our curiosity here, we returned to our boat, and, crossing Alum Bay, we again passed through the Needles, and pulled in for the beach at Sun Corner, where the corvorants had fallen. Three were quite dead, the fourth had got into the water, and was swimming about in style. We chased him more than an hour, firing at him about forty times, but to no purpose, as he dived the instant the trigger was pulled : at last we very reluctantly gave up the
$2 Singular Nidification in Birds.
pursuit as hopeless, the wind having freshened, and made the swell rather too heavy for an open boat ; the tide, too, was quite out, and the rocky bottom occasionally peeped up all round us in the hollows of the sea, looking very black and disagreeable. Two of us took a spell at the oar, by turns, with the fishermen, and worked away like Britons, till a noble swell laid us high and dry on the shingles at Freshwater.
I am, Sir, yours, &c. Godalming, Sept. 16. 1832. Rusticus.
Art. V. Instances of singular Nidification in Birds. By the Rev. W. T. Bree, M.A.
" Heteroclita sunto."
" Let them be called heteroclites."
Gilbert White remarks (Letter 16. to Daines Barrington) that " birds, in general, are wise in their choice of situation " [for building their nests]. It may be added, too, that they are, for the most part, tolerably uniform in their selection. Every schoolboy knows the usual and likely places to find this or that bird's nest; and when a nest of any kind is found, though at the time it may be destitute of eggs, he is seldom at a loss in deciding, from its structure and location, to what species it belongs. There is no rule, however, without its exceptions; and, accordingly, instances occur not unfrequently, in which the little architects deviate from their usual course, by infringing one or both of the above rules, and evincing neither wisdom nor uniformity in their choice.* Foremost, perhaps, and most conspicuous in the catalogue of hetero- clites, stands the small titmouse or bluecap (Parus caeruleus). Indeed, the instances of this bird's eccentricity in the affair of nidification are so numerous, that, with it, the exception almost becomes the rule. Notwithstanding the many examples of the kind already recorded in this Magazine, I cannot forbear adding to them one which fell under my own observ- ation when a boy ; though it is by no means so remarkable as the one related by Scolopax Rusticola (Vol. V. p. 289.), of the bird's taking up its quarters, for two years together,
* White mentions a swallow that " built, for two years together, on the handles of a pair of garden-shears, that were stuck up against the boards in an out-house, and therefore must have her nest spoiled whenever that imple- ment was wanted ; and, what is stranger still, another bird of the same species built its nest on the wings and body of an owl that happened by accident to hang dead and dry from the rafter of a barn." — In Letter 18. to Daines Barrington.
Singular Nidif cation in Birds.
3S
within the mouth of Tom Otter, who had been executed for murder, and hung in chains. At Leamington, a blue titmouse built its nest, for three years successively, if not successfully,
in the betwell, or batwell
which
hung
(Jig- 5
upon a peg, not more
than six feet from the ground, against the wall at the back of a cottage. The betwell, it may, per- haps, be necessary to in- form some of our readers, is p,n implement made of close basket or wicker work, about the size and shape of an ordinary de- canter, and used in brew- ing, being placed in the bunghole of the mash- tub, for the purpose of preventing the escape of the hops, &c, when the beer is to be drawn off into another vessel. Of this betwell the tomtit made choice for its
" pendent bed, and procreant cradle j"
and no bad thing was it for the purpose; provided only the bird had so timed its labours between the intervals of brewing, as not to have interfered with that operation, which, of course, would put the betwell in requisition. Our Leamington titmouse was not so provident. The first year of its selecting this situation, the nest, I was told, happened not to be dis- covered till after the beer was brewed, when the old woman, upon cleaning out her betwell, was not a little surprised to find therein a bird's nest full of eggs. Recollecting the cir- cumstance, and having occasion to brew again about the same time the following year, she took the precaution to examine the betwell previously, and found it again occupied by the tomtit. The nest was unceremoniously removed, and the brewing proceeded as usual. In spite of former failures, the tomtit made a third attempt, the following year; and, as a reward, I suppose, for its perseverance, was permitted to re- tain possession of the utensil. It was upon this occasion that I was witness of the fact, just as the eggs were on the very point of being hatched. On my going to the house to see this curiosity, the betwell, with its contents, was immediately taken down from its peg and placed in my hand for inspec- Vol. VI — No. 31. d
34 Singular Nidification in Birds.
tion, the bird all the while sitting within it, upon its nest, which it made no attempt to quit, but merely gave signs of anger by frequently bristling up its wings and feathers, and by hissing. As a proof, if further proof were needed, how much " the natural timidity of birds is lessened during incuba- tion *," I may mention, that the tomtit had (as I was informed) suffered itself to be carried in its wicker habitation about the village (Leamington at that period was only a small country village), and exhibited to the visiters.
At Knowle Hall, Warwickshire, a wren (Troglodytes europaevus) built its nest in the skeleton body of a heron which had been nailed up against a wall, and formed part of what has been facetiously called, " the countryman's museum." And I have heard of a bird of the same species, which, for three successive years, selected for the purpose an old garden watering-can.
The redstart (Sylvia Phcenicurus) is another bird which occasionally makes choice of odd places for nidification. (See Vol. V. p. 572.) At Springfield House, Warwickshire,
a pair of redstarts once built under an inverted garden pot (JZg*6.)-f, acci- dentally left on a gravel walk, and, of course, enter- ed their habitation from above, at the drain hole. The nest attracted atten- tion, and was watched daily, as it became an object of interest in the family to ascertain when and by what means the young birds would emerge from under the pot, and make their debut. How long they might have continued in confinement, if left
* See, Vol. IT. p. 63., a notice of the blue titmouse building in an old pump, and suffering a part of its tail to be rubbed off by the friction of the pump-handle. Also Vol. V. p. 656, 657.; and Mr. Dovaston's account of the greater titmouse which built in a similar situation, Vol. V. p. 660. The groove or interstice in which the pump-handle works appears to offer great temptation to birds of this genus. An instance occurred, within these few years, in this village, of a tomtit (I am uncertain which species) selecting a pump-handle for its nest.
•J- The large titmouse (Parus major) sometimes makes choice of the same convenience. ( See Vol. V. p. 289.)
The following appeared in a London paper, extracted from the Preston Chronicle: — " In a garden belonging to Edward Clayton, Esq., Bamber- bridge, near this town, a flower-pot was turned down over a tender plant, in the early part of the spring, to succour it from the inclemency of the weather : a few weeks ago it was removed, and placed in the same in
Singular Nidification in Birds. 35
to themselves, it is not easy to say, as they were eventually indebted to female curiosity for their emancipation. A lady lifted up the pot, to see whether the birds were there; when the whole brood, taking advantage of so favourable an oppor- tunity, made their escape, darting forth in all directions, like rays from a centre.
A few years ago, a pair of robins * took up their abode in the parish church of Hampton in Arden, Warwickshire, and for two years in succession affixed their nest to the church bible, as it lay on the reading-desk. The worthy vicar would on no account have the birds disturbed; and accordingly introduced into the church another bible, from which to read the lessons. A question has been facetiously asked, whether these birds were not guilty of sacrilege, not so much on account of the daring liberty they had taken with the sacred volume, as for having plundered the rope-ends out of the belfry, wherewith to construct their habitation. Be this as it may, the old women of the village took it into their heads that the circumstance of the robin's building on the bible was highly ominous, and foreboded no good to the vicar. It so happened, that he died in the month of June of the second year of the bird's building in the church ; an event which, no doubt, confirmed the old women in their superstition,
" Ni frustra augurium vani docuere parentes ; " Virgil.
" Unless
My parents taught me augury in vain ; " Trapp's Translation.
and will be remembered and handed down to posterity, for the benefit of any future vicar, should the robins again make a similar selection.
Wild ducks will occasionally make use of a deserted crow's nest, &c, for the purpose of rearing their own brood ; more frequently they will build on the head of a pollard willow,
verted position, on a vacant part of the flower-bed, near the verge of a gravel walk. Two small birds of the tomtit species having found their way into the concavity of the pot, through a circular aperture, about an inch and a quarter in diameter, in the centre of the bottom, have made it their habitation during the time of incubation. A carpet is laid, in an inclined direction, over the whole area, of fine fibrous moss ; at the summit is constructed a little nest, in contact with the internal side of the pot, the lining of which is a mixture of hair and feathers. When it was first discovered, there were six eggs in it, which were soon augmented to ten ; and at this time there are the same number of young living birds, in a forward state, which will be on the wing in a few days."
* In the English Chronicle of June 15. 1830, the following appeared, on the authority of the Bolton Chronicle : — " There is now in the yard of James Cross, Esq. of Mortfield, a robin sitting upon five eggs, which had chosen for the situation of its nest the nave of an old cart-wheel."
d 2
36 Singular 'Nidification in Birds.
which overhangs the water ; and, in these cases, it has been suggested that the young ducks, as soon as they are hatched, are probably dropped, one by one, into the water by the parent. In the neighbourhood of Balsal Temple, Warwick- shire, a pair of wild ducks hatched their young in an old crow's nest, situated on the top of a lofty oak tree at some distance from any water. The old birds must, in this instance, I conclude, have conveyed away their young from the nest to the water, by carrying them in their bills.
From the above examples of singular nidification among the feathered tribes, there can be little doubt but that they who are curious in such matters might readily be gratified by having many an odd and extraordinary bird's nest about their premises, if only they would be at the pains of contriving suit- able accommodations for the purpose. (See Chit-chat, Vol. V. p. 502. [and Vol. VI. p. 6.]) Let an old betwell, or a basket, or the like, be hung up in some retired nook ; an inverted flower-pot or two be placed in some snug corner, &c. &c, and the chances are that one or other of them would not remain untenanted. Indeed, the successful employment of sparrow- pots (which is precisely a case in point) is a proof that birds are not backward in availing themselves of artificial conve- niences prepared for them. A friend of mine, in Staffordshire, has some half-score, or more, of such pots, suspended on pegs, in suitable places, about his house and buildings. The sparrows take freely to the pots, and produce several broods in the course of the summer : and thus not only are several dozens of these predaceous birds destroyed in a season, but a good sparrow-dumpling, also, is from time to time supplied for the table.
To these instances of heteroclite nidification may be added a very interesting one of the robin, described in p. 68, 69. of the present Number ; and to them also, perhaps, may be added that of a pair of robins building their nest in an unoccu- pied birdcage in an outhouse, as mentioned Vol. V. p. 597. Mr. Waterton's communication, in the present Number, p. 38, 39., shows that diverse species of birds may, by a little in- viting accommodation, be induced to build their nests and rear their young in one locality. We may add, from a letter from Mr. Waterton, dated Oct. 21. 1831, that, in that year, besides the species mentioned in p. 39., wrens and wagtails formed part of the populous republic. From the same letter we transcribe two instances of singular nidification well worthy of record in connection with those already enumerated by Mr. Bree; they are these t — " .... It was on this old ruined
The Starling. 37
gateway [noticed Vol. V. p. 12., Vol. VI. p. 38.] that a wild duck hatched her young, about three years ago ; and, when this used to be the entrance into the island on which stands my house, I have known, year after year, the common fly- catcher make her nest in a hole at the top of one of the doors ; and, though that door was opened and shut by every passing person, still she did not take fright, but sat on the nest, as the gate moved on its hinges." This last case may also serve as another example of the natural timidity of birds being lessened during incubation. — J. D.
Art. VI. The Starling. By Charles Waterton, Esq.
" I can't get out, — I can't get out, said the starling." I know not any thing, except Gay's " Hare and many Friends," that made so much impression on me, when a boy, as Sterne's description of the captive starling in its cage. His attempt to relieve the prisoner bird, — its pressing its breast against the wires, — its telling every body who came down the pass- age that it could not get out, — its remaining in hopeless cap- tivity, — all tended to make this pretty bird particularly interesting to me ; and, in days long past, I have spent many an hour in listening to its morning warblings, and in admiring its aerial evolutions towards the close of day.
I wish I could do it a friendly turn, for the pleasure it has so often afforded me ; but, in taking up the pen to clear its character, my heart misgives me, on account of tJie strong public prejudice against it.
There is not a bird in all Great Britain more harmless than the starling : still it has to suffer persecution, and is too often doomed to see its numbers thinned by the hand of wanton- ness or error. The farmer complains that it sucks his pigeons' eggs ; and, when the gunner and his assembled party wish to try their new percussion locks, the keeper is ordered to close the holes of entrance into the dovecot overnight ; and the next morning three or four dozen of starlings are captured to be shot : while the keeper, that slave of Nimrod, receives thanks, and often a boon, from the surrounding sportsmen, for having freed the dovecot from such a pest. Alas ! these poor starlings had merely resorted to it for shelter and pro- tection, and were in no way responsible for the fragments of egg-shells which were strewed upon the floor. These frag- ments were the work of deep designing knaves, and not of the harmless starling.
The rat and the weasel were the real destroyers ; but they
d 3
38 The Starling.
had clone the deed of mischief in the dark, unseen and un- suspected; while the stranger starlings were taken, con- demned, and executed, for having been found in a place built for other tenants of a more profitable description.
After the closest examination of the form and economy of the starling, you will be at a loss to produce any proof of its being art egg-sucker. If it really sucks the eggs of pigeons, it would equally suck the eggs of other birds ; and, those eggs not being concealed in the dark recesses of the pigeon-cot, but exposed in open nests on the ground, and often in the leafless bushes of the hedge, this fact would afford to the inquisitive naturalist innumerable opportunities of detecting the bird in its depredations. Now, who has ever seen the starling in the absolute act of plundering a nest ? It builds its nest here, in company with the ringdove, the robin, the greenfinch, the wagtail, the jackdaw, the chaffinch, and the owl, but it never touches their eggs. Indeed, if it were in the habit of annoying its immediate neighbours, upon so tender a point as that of sucking their eggs, there would soon be hue and cry against it ; nor would the uproar cease until the victor had driven away the vanquished. So certain am I that the starling never sucks the eggs of other birds, that, when I see him approach the dovecot, I often say to him, " Go in, poor bird, and take thy rest in peace. Not a servant of mine shall surprise thee, or hurt a feather of thy head. Thou dost not come for eggs, but for protection; and this most freely I will give to thee. I will be thy friend, in spite of all the world has said against thee; and here, at least, thou shalt find a place of safety for thyself and little ones. Thy innocence and usefulness demand this at my hands."
The starling is gregarious ; and I am satisfied in my own mind that the congregated masses of this bird are only dis- solved at the vernal equinox, because they have not sufficient opportunities afforded them of places wherein to build their nests. If those opportunities were offered them, we should see them breeding here in multitudes as numerous as the rook. They require a place for their nest, well protected from the external air. The inside of the roof of a house, a deep hole in a tower, or in the decayed trunk or branch of a tree, are places admirably adapted for the incubation of the starling; and he will always resort to them, provided he be unmolested. The same may be said of the jackdaw.
Attentive observation led me to believe that the great bulk of starlings left our neighbourhood in the spring, solely for want of proper accommodation for their nests. For many years, two pairs of starlings only remained on my island.
The Starling. 39
One of them regularly built its nest in the roof of the house, having found entrance through a neglected aperture ; the other reared its young, high up, in the deep hole of an aged syca- more tree. Two or three pairs frequented the dovecot; but I observe that they built their nests in the crannies, and not in the holes made for the pigeons. These poor birds, toge- ther with the owl, had to suffer persecution from wanton ignorant servants, until I proclaimed perpetual peace in their favour, and ordered, I may say, the Temple of Janus to be shut, never more to be opened during my time.
Having been successful in establishing the owl in the old ivy tower over the gateway [see Vol. V. p, 12.], I conjectured, from what I had observed of the habits of the starling, that I could be equally successful in persuading a greater number of these pretty lively birds to pass the summer with me. I made twenty-four holes in the old ruin ; and in the spring of this year I had twenty-four starlings' nests. There seemed to be a good deal of squabbling about the possession of the holes ; till, at last, might overcame right. The congregated numbers suddenly disappeared, no doubt with the intention of finding breeding quarters elsewhere ; and the remaining four and twenty pairs hatched and reared their young, causing, I fear, the barn owls, their next-door neighbours in the tower, many a sleepless day, by their unwelcome and incessant chatterings.
On the one hand, when we consider how careful the star- ling is in selecting a place for its incubation, sheltered from the storm ; and, on the other, when we look around us, and see how many old houses have been pulled down, where these birds found a refuge ; and when we reflect how modern luxury, and the still more baneful turf, have forced many a country squire to fell his aged oaks, his ash trees, and his sycamores, which afforded the starling a retreat; it will not require the eyes of Argus to enable naturalists to discern the true cause why such numbers of assembled starlings take their leave of us in early spring.
This year, seven pairs of jackdaws, twenty-four pairs of starlings, four pairs of ringdoves, the barn owl, the black- bird, the robin, the redstart, the house-sparrow, and chaffinch, have had their nests in the old ivy tower. The barn owl has had two broods, and, while I am writing this, there are half- fledged young ones in the nest. As far as I can learn, there has been no plundering of the eggs of this community, on the part of the starlings.
Now that autumn has set in, the movements of this delight- ful assemblage of birds already warn us to prepare for winter's
d 4?
4-0 Illustrations in British Zoology : —
chilling blasts. The redstart is gone to Africa ; the chaffinch has retired to the hawthorn hedges : the ringdoves, having lost half of their notes by the first week in October, became mute about ten days ago ; and have left the ivy tower, to join their congregated associates, which now chiefly feed in the turnip fields ; and will return no more to the ivy tower until the middle of February. The jackdaws are here, morning and evening, and often at noon ; and at nightfall they never fail'to join the passing flocks of rooks in their evening flight to their eastern roosting-place at Nostell Priory, and return with them after daybreak. The starlings retire to a dense plantation of spruce fir and beech trees, and in the morning come to the ivy tower to warble their wild notes, even when the frosts set in. These birds are now in their winter garb, which they assumed at the autumnal equinox, much duller, and of a more greyish white appearance, than that which they had in the summer. I cannot find that naturalists have noticed this change.
The starling seems to be well aware of the peaceful and inoffensive manners of the windhover. This hawk rears its young in a crow's old nest, within two hundred yards of the ivy tower. Still, the starlings betray no fears when the wind- hover passes to and fro ; but they become terribly agitated on the approach of the sparrowhawk. I often see this bold destroyer glide in lowly flight across the lake, and strike a starling and carry it off, amid the shrieks and uproar of the inhabitants of the tower and sycamore trees.
The starling shall always have a friend in me. I admire it, for its fine shape and lovely plumage ; I protect it for its wild and varied song ; and I defend it for its innocence.
Charles Waterton. Walton Hall, November 3. 1832.
Art. VII. Illustrations in British Zoology. By George John- ston, M.D., Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edin- burgh.
The bizarre figures here delineated may remind some of your readers of a passage in Pliny, which says : — " While I contemplated Nature, she wrought in me a persuasion, that I should look upon nothing as .incredible that related to her ;" and the additional experience of many centuries seems to have added only greater force to the justness of this remark.
The first figure (Jig. 7. a) represents the 7. Capre'lla acumini'fera, a small crustaceous insect, which has not, so far as I am
Caprilla acunmiifera and Nytnphum coccincum. 41
aware, been previously honoured with a portrait. Mine was drawn from an individual captured among some corallines that had been dredged up in Berwick Bay, a place which I am in hopes of proving, by means of these Illustrations, to be not less deserving of celebrity, for its productiveness in sea monsters, than the shores of Devon. The " living anatomy " in question attracted attention by its motions to and fro in the basin, and might have easily escaped the fatal notice of him who thus stamps it with immortality, had it remained at rest; for, from its very slender form and colourless body, it is scarcely distinguishable in that state. The motions of the creature are quick and awkward, propelling itself forward by alternate archings and elongations of the body, in the manner of many caterpillars : but its superior rapidity is probably derived from the branchial processes, that are obviously well fitted for the purpose of oars, whatever other function they may fulfil.
Caprella acuminifera is about half an inch in length, very slender, pellucid, and colourless, except at the joints of the legs and the vesicular processes, which are spotted with red. The superior antennae are as long as the body, and the last articulation of these is as long as the four inferior, being com- posed of a number of short joints, that are bristled with very short cilia. The inferior antennas are half the length of the others ; and beneath them we observe the short articulated palpi. The eyes are round and scarlet; head obtuse, with a spinous process above the front, and two less ones behind ;
42 Illustrations in British Zoology.
first pair of hands small ; the second much larger, oval, "ser- rated on the inner margin, with a toothlike process above, and armed with a curved sharp claw. The joints of the wrist are short ; the brachial one lengthened. The vesicular or branchial processes are in pairs, oval, and compressed ; they appear to consist of a bladder filled with an opaque matter, and are connected with an anterior vesicle, situated just at their base. The three hinder joints of the body are each furnished w7ith a pair of slender monodactyle legs, the last articulation of which is slightly curved, and, besides its tooth at the upper side, is minutely serrated and grooved on the inner edge for the reception of the claw. A straight intestine runs down the cen- tre : but I could not observe any trace of a circulating system.
I do not know to whom the discovery of the animal just described is due ; it is probably to Montagu : but I claim the subject of the second figure (b) as my own. I have already given a description of it in the third volume of the Zoological Journal, p. 489., where it is named
8. Ny'mphum cocci/neum;
and I shall not be the first to change the designation, although some parts are wanting that are generally deemed essential to the species of that genus. The description is as follows : — Body and legs slender, of nearly equal thickness, of a uniform fine transparent red colour, with the joints and tarsi yellow- ish. Rostrum yellowish : mandibles like the body. When magnified, a central vessel, distinguished by its deeper tint, is seen running uninterruptedly through the body and legs ; and the latter are somewhat clothed with very soft white delicate hairs. Rostrum cylindrical, subclavate, not jointed, divided beneath by a longitudinal line, terminal. Mandibles two, originating from the first segment of the body, Particu- late ; basal joint long, second short and ovate, armed with two small equal claws. Body four-jointed ; tubercule oculiferous ; eyes two ? Legs eight, three times the length of the body, equal. Coxae four, articulate ; the two basal joints short and equal, the two following a little longer. Thighs as long as the coxae, very slightly dilated. Tibiae of two equal joints, each nearly as long as the thigh. Tarsi tri-articu- late, first minute, second rather long, falciform, with a few teeth on their internal edge, and terminated by a single rather long claw. Tail without any appendage.
I have seen five or six specimens of this singular creature, and they were all alike in size, shape, and colour ; so that there can be no doubt of its being perfect in all its parts. It lives among sea- weeds in Berwick Bay; and when at rest, with the legs drawn up, it so closely resembles some of the fine
Habits of Testace'llus Sciitidum. 43
coloured confervae, but more especially a detached portion of the Chondria articulata, as to be easily overlooked. It appears to me interesting, in so far as its transparency allows us to examine its circulating system with an accuracy which perhaps no dissection could enable us to amend. Close to the tubercle we see the vessel (for there is no heart) divide into two equal branches, one to each mandible ; and the flux and reflux of a fluid is easily observable in them. From the tubercle the vessel runs down the body, giving off a single branch, equal in size to the trunk, to each leg ; and this branch continues uninterrupted to the tarsus. Neither in the trunk nor branches could I perceive any movement of the fluid.
Berwick upon Tweed, July 16. 1832.
Art. VIII. A short Notice of the Habits of Testacellus Scutulum. By Mr. Thomas Blair, of Stamford Hill, near London.
Sir,
I herewith send you specimens of a species of slug, the individuals of which I have watched for the last four years with considerable interest. They are generally to be found near the green-house; I believe I have seldom seen one more than fifty yards from it. It is of a dirty yellow colour, and when crawling on the surface of the ground is about 3 in. in length, and is furnished with a small rudimentary shell at the tail end.
In winter it buries itself from 1 to 2 ft. deep in the earth, and appears on the surface of the ground occasionally with other species ; but, from the time of my first observing it, until the present, I have never seen it feeding on any species of vege- table. One morning last spring, on passing a narrow bor- der, which had been previously watered with lime-water for the purpose of destroying slugs, I observed several of the yellow species amongst others dead, and close beside or near the head of several of them lay a dead worm. A man who had performed the watering informed me that they had been dis- gorged by the slugs. I found one considerably larger than the others, in which, on cutting it open, I found a large worm.
About the middle of last month, during fine mild weather, I observed one on the surface of the ground, firmly fixed to the middle of a large worm, the head of the slug being so buried in it, that it appeared to be nearly cut in two ; it appears to me, however, that they generally contrive to seize them by one end, otherwise it would be difficult to swallow them whole
44 Habits of Testacellus Seiitulum.
as they do ; and I think there is no doubt that they generally get hold of them under ground, as the one above mentioned had most likely been dragged to the surface by the worm. I determined, however, to watch its motions ; but a heavy rain coming on prevented me, and when the shower ceased they had both disappeared.
A few days ago, one was turned up with a spade, having hold of a worm by the head, with about half an inch of it swallowed ; the worm appeared quite alive and strong, and turned the slug over with every twist of its body. The slug kept its hold for some time, but ultimately quitted it, probably in consequence of being disturbed. In digging up the spe- cimens to send to you, one of them was cut with the spade, in which a small slug was found of the common species.
I am, Sir, yours, &c. Stamford Hill, Nov. 30. 1831. Thomas Blair.
The specimens communicated by Mr. Blair were very fine ones. I had previously met with a single specimen at Notting Hill Terrace, Kensington : it was crawling across the public footpath, and appeared to have just quitted one of the little gardens which front the houses in that place. I have since learned that they are not very rare in the kitchen and forcing gardens attached to the royal palace at Kensington, whence I have seen specimens ; and a single living specimen was found by Mr. Campbell, in the garden of the late Comtesse de Vandes, on the 4th of October, 1832. On mentioning these habitats to Mr. J. D. C. Sowerby, who possesses several pre- served specimens, he stated that the only habitat from which he had previously derived it is a garden in the Kennington Road, Lambeth, where the individuals, although constant, are never numerous : he farther remarked that it has also been found beside the Hampstead Road.
Shortly after I had acquainted Mr. Sowerby with the Ken- sington habitat, his son, Mr. J. Sowerby, visited it, to collect specimens ; and learned from Mr. Plimley, the distinguished gardener of the forcing department, that they are compara- tively frequent, although, on the morning on which he called, which was a cold one, very few were above ground. Most of those he saw were crawling on the gravel walks, with the colour of which the colour of the slugs agrees. After he had confined some individuals in a box, and kept the box a short time in his pocket, he found, on opening it, that one of the slugs had disgorged a worm ; probably, as he conceived, in consequence of the heat communicated to the animal from the pocket. I called on Mr. Plimley on December the 8th,
Habits of Testacellus Sciitulum.
45
who informed me that the part of the year in which they are more readily met with is from August to November, both in- clusive : and that he has never observed them to feed on any kind of vegetable. Not a single specimen was observable on the walks or borders at this date ; but I did not explore them very diligently.
As consorting with this mention of Testacellus Scutulum Sowerby, it may not be disapproved to present here, from the Encyclopedia of Agriculture, ed. 2. p. 1121. § 7706., a notice of a kindred species, T. Maugez of Ferussac, which exists, or
recently did exist, at Bristol, and the figure of which (fg. 8. c and d) will also serve, by its resemblance, to give a pretty pre- cise idea of T. Scutulum. The notice in the Ency- clopaedia of Agri- culture is this: — "The shell slug, Testacellus Maugez (c) is a native of Teneriffe, and has likewise been found in several parts of France and Spain : it has recently been dis- covered in some gardens near Bristol, by Mr. Miller of that city. It is a highly curious animal, remarkable for feeding upon earth-worms ; and may therefore be beneficially intro- duced into such gardens as are overstocked with that other- wise useful animal. It is readily distinguished from all other slugs in this country [T. Scutulum seems here to have been forgotten] by having a thin oval shell (d) affixed to the hinder part of its body."*
Mr. J. D. C. Sowerby conceives that T. Maugez is not in- digenous to Britain, but that the specimens at Bristol were imported, probably by accident, along with plants from Tene- riffe or elsewhere : and he believes that they have been since protected in a green-house, and their preservation attended to. This remark, and the fact that Mr. Blair never finds T. Scutulum far from the green-house, and that in the Kensing- ton forcing gardens, where it occurs, green-houses and other conveniences for forcing abound, suggest that T. Scutulum itself may also be comparatively tender, and that it is just possible, as well, that it may have originally been imported with plants from abroad.
* The figures accompanying Testacellus Maugei, being on the same block, are inseparable : they represent, a, Limax agrestis ; 6, eggs of Limax agrestis ; ey shell of Helix nemoralis.
46 Habits of Testacellus Scutulum,
T. Scutulum, as Mr. Blair remarks above, is of a dirty yellow hue, and T. Maugez differs from it in having its back of a dark brown colour, and in the more cylindrical form of its shell. The French naturalists, Mr. Sowerby remarked, sup- pose the English T. Scutulum, with which they possess almost no practical acquaintance, to be identical with the T. halioti- deus of Faune Biguet, and described in Ferussac's Histoire, and to which, indeed, it is most closely allied, but differs in the form of its shell. T. Scutulum is figured in Sowerby's Genera of Shells, T. Maugez' in Sowerby's Genera of Shells, and in Ferussac's Histoire, pi. 8. fig. 10. 12. ; and T. haliotideus is figured in Ferussac's Histoire, pi. 8. fig. 5 — 9., and two views of its shell are given in Sowerby's Genera of Shells. — J. D.
\Amax Sowgrbyi of Ferussac. — In Vol. V. p. 694. it is con- jectured that Ferussac's " plate viii. D.," which he cites for a figure of this species, had not been published up to the date of offering the conjecture. The fact is otherwise : Mr. J. D. C. Sowerby has since informed me that Ferussac's "plate viii. D?J is published.
Food. — JLlmax Sowerby? feeds on cabbage leaves when no other food is obtainable. On Nov. 20th I shut up twenty or more living specimens, and with them portions of cabbage leaves plucked fresh off the plants, in a box, where they remained confined until Nov. 26. On opening the box then, the cabbage leaves had been much eaten, and although the remains of them were then yellow, putrescent, and fetid, some of the slugs were feeding upon them. I have subsequently learned from Mr. Blair, in a note dated Dec. 2. 1832, that " at this season L. Sowerby/ is very destructive to the celery under ground ; and," Mr. Blair adds, " in taking up, lately, my bulbs of Tigridia Pavbnia, I found many of them destroyed by it."
Eggs. — On August 31. 1832, I found an egg or two of this species, as I then fully believed ; but, fearing the possibility of error, I did not mention the fact in the notice, Vol. V. p. 693 — 697. On Nov. 29. I found a cluster of about a dozen of pre- cisely similar eggs attached to the head of a living L. Sowerby? which had buried its head in the soil, in its act of depositing its eggs beneath the surface. I may here remark that other individuals, on the same plot of ground, seemed to have crept into the hollows and crannies of the soil, as if in shelter from the approaching cold weather. I brought away some of the eggs, and shall here attempt to describe one, as a sample of the rest. The egg, in figure, inclines to oval, is soft, elastic, nearly two tenths of an inch long, more than half its length in breadth, as transparent as ground glass, but of a yellowish
Aged Yew Tree near Dover.
47
hue; the coats of the egg, which appear two at fewest, by close inspection are found to be clouded with numerous and very minute white freckles, and these produce the resemblance to ground glass, already mentioned ; the jelly within the egg is viscous. — J. D.
Art. IX. Some Account of an aged Yetv Tree in Buckland Church- yard, near Dover. By the Rev. W. T. Bree, M.A.
A noble wreck, in ruinous perfection.'
Sir,
In Buckland churchyard, about a mile from Dover, there stands a yew tree {fig. 9.), of such high antiquity and sin-
**3. *
gular conformation, that a few remarks on it may not, perhaps, be without interest, or be deemed altogether foreign to the general object of this Magazine. When we consider the very slow growth of the yew, and its equally tardy progress towards decay, we may safely rank the present specimen among the very oldest vegetable remains to be found in the kingdom, not
48 Account of an aged Yew Tree
excepting even the celebrated Tortworth chestnut *, or the most time-worn relics of the " monarch of the forest," the oak itself. It would be in vain to enquire of the inhabitants about the age of the tree ; and were I express my own senti- ments on the subject, I should, perhaps, appear to some as a visionary enthusiast. f At all events, to this yew may with propriety be applied the following beautiful lines which Cowper has addressed to the Yardley Oak : —
" Oh ! couldst thou speak,
As in Dodona once thy kindred trees Oracular, I would not curious ask The future, best unknown, but at thy mouth Inquisitive, the less ambiguous past ! By thee I might correct, erroneous oft, The clock of history ; facts and events Timing more punctual, unrecorded facts Recov'ring, and misstated setting right : Desp'rate attempt, till trees shall speak again ! "
The mere antiquity, however, of the tree is not so much the object of my calling attention to it, as some other circum-
* See a figure and account of the tree in Strutt's Sylva Britannica.
•j- It may, perhaps, be objected, that I am here inferring the tree to be of greater antiquity than it really is, and assigning to it a date anterior to the building of the church ; whereas (it will be urged) the yew must, in all probability, have been planted in the churchyard after the erection of the edifice, as the usual appropriate emblem of funereal rites, &c. But may it not admit of a question, whether, in some particular cases at least (I am far from saying in all), the church may not have been brought to the yew tree, rather than the yew tree to the church ? In ancient times, probably, the yew occurred in greater abundance, as a spontaneous native plant, than it does at present ; and, without doubt, its propagation and growth were then far more generally and sedulously encouraged. The wood is now no longer needed, as formerly, for the supply of implements for war or for the chase ; and the well-known injurious effects of the foliage on cattle, at least when eaten in a withered state, have doubtless tended to the extirpa- tion of the tree in pastures, &c, to which our domestic animals have access. I should not, therefore, be surprised to learn, that, in the " olden time," the species was copiously scattered about in most parts of the country ; or that, in some instances, a particular spot might have been selected rather than another, for the erection of a church, among other reasons, mainly on account of some yew tree that grew upon it. I am the more inclined to this opinion by observing the very high antiquity of some of our church- yard yews, which have the appearance of being more than coeval with the churches near which they are found : in saying this, I am, of course, not alluding to churches of modern erection.
It has been suggested to me, by an able and valued antiquarian friend, that, though he sees no objection to the above hypothesis, still a more simple argument may be formed on the great probability, of the church having undergone an ancient re-edification or alteration ; and that, perhaps, an inspection of the very church in question may show certain portions, pillars, e. g. windows, or doorways, supporting this conjecture. I regret that I did not happen to examine Buckland church with sufficient accu- racy to enable me to state how far my friend's observations may be appli- cable to the present case.
in Buckland Churchyard, near Dover. 49
stances connected with its present state and appearance. Upwards of sixty years ago (as I am informed by an old inhabitant of the place), the tree was shattered by lightning, which at the same time demolished also the steeple of the church close to which it stands. To .this catastrophe, no doubt, is to be attributed, in great measure, much of the rude and grotesque appearance which it now presents. At a yard from the ground, the but, which is hollow, and on one side extremely tortuous and irregular, protruding its " knotted fangs," like knees, at the height of some feet from the surface, measures 24 ft. in circumference. It is split from the bottom into two portions ; one of which, at the height of about 6 ft., again divides naturally into two parts ; so that the tree con- sists of a short squat but, branching out into three main arms, the whole not exceeding in height, to the extreme top of the branches, more than about 25 ft. or 30 ft. Of what may be regarded as the original trunk and arms, but little, I conceive, now remains alive: two considerable portions, however, are still conspicuous in the state of dead wood ; viz., one on the inner part of the northern limb, hollow, and forming a sort of tunnel or chimney ; the other on the western limb, more solid, and exhibiting the grain of the wood singularly gnarled and contorted. These, which I have ventured to call portions of the original trunk and arms, are partly encased, as it were, on the outside by living wood of more recent growth (as is frequently seen to be the case in other old and decayed trees) ; the dead portions seeming to evince a disposition to slough out (if I may use such an expression), like fragments of carious bone separating from the flesh, but kept fixed in their position by the living wood, lapping over, as it does, and clasping them firmly. If this view of the subject be correct, it would seem almost impossible to set limits to the duration of the yew *, as it appears that fresh wood continues to form exter- nally long after the more central parts have completely de- cayed. Nor is this circumstance, I am aware, peculiar to the
* In proof of the toughness and durability of the yew, I may here mention a circumstance relating to a tree of this species in Coleshill churchyard, Warwickshire. The tree consists of a mere thin hollow shell, no( more than half of the whole circumference, and carries, perhaps, its due proportion of top and branches. More than forty years ago, a near rela- tive of mine, as I have often heard him state, once stood for half an hour watching this tree during a tempestuous gale of wind, in order to witness its fall, expecting every moment that it must inevitably be blown down, it bent, and wreathed, and twisted so, under the influence of the boisterous elements. My friend has been dead some years; the yew remains to this day precisely in the same condition in which it existed when I first knew it in my chiidhood.
Vol. YL — No. 31. e
50 Aged Yew Tree near Dover.
yew : it h common, also, to the oak, and to many, perhaps most, other trees. And hence, in calculating the girth which a tree would have had in its sound and vigorous state*, merely from the data afforded by a remaining portion of its shell, the measure is apt to he somewhat overrated. If, for bnc <bnuoTg sdi no teomta f^feKtttnpIe^ the segment a b c ii e$9nil ^u^L^^lo 9upao-4^%*| O^Jh'betsupposed to repre- sent' a fragment of a hollow nasd^ff rbbi3 ol isqo^^Sgi il Pj$hell, and to measure from a biTM/b'gti a*m9^ sraog Joc^j^Wj by b to c just 12 ft., it is some- 29/jj^cihj^oq 98odl 9lB'd8uil\oj tiasfes too hastily assumed that ^ifip)9li9qfni i9V9wod cb9T6o*i;tiie circumferencex)f th<e wjjplfe, ^bijja io ilpterfg 9upe9iuJo/q n jbneej.when perfect <t&<hbv§1 89oli iuo eth ted* ^loV/sdj ^jbe^aidouW^iltiat .^merjsjpn^ 9d jK^im bb JnnoDOB ^frodfi oA&&fU>; allowances' ^beingx -qn929ti» jls 89rTtad ri\ptSl 99*ti ?< made. for the exteilkflf; ip Crease ^Ino ion *>Hf A-^{Sua 9flt Qjofrtkeffehellr^a^nf^ub^q^nil^ £ no admil briB iruni sidi Io iaotil!ra><l|0$&ri£j$^ #bseflfoipfcftb tfctftilawherese <tte utmcHftJjciirakmfeije^
might not probably have exceeded the dimension represented.; by the inner dotted circle (d). h mo-ft W9J> 1o glnioq JnsisftiB But to return to the Bucklandyew : the encasing of the old' dead wood by that of more modern formation f is well dis- played also in one part of the southern limb of the tree, where ail aperture occurs, which exposes to view the dead wood completely enveloped and embedded within the living. The trunk, I have said, is decayed, and hollow at the bottom ; but from within the shell there arise two or more vigorous detached portions, of small diameter, which soon unite with the main wood, and run up to a considerable height, lapping into one another, twisting and interlacing in a very striking manner, so as to suggest the idea that the trunk has been ripped open, and is now exposing to view its very entrails. Imagination, indeed, might readily trace a fanciful resemblance between this vegetable ruin, as viewed in a particular position, and some anatomical preparation of an animal trunk, of which the viscera are displayed, and preserved entire. On the
whole, I cannot but consider this yew as a most curious and (.sniDtvj n& ?9qold '/^cm llBffia £ no ji\i to
* See some observations of Mr. South, in his letters on the growth of oaks, addressed to the Bath Society, quoted in Strutt's Sylva Britannica, 8vo edit., p. 20. ^ bldtzD tk y
f This may be seen well exemplified in an old yew tree close to the parsonage (?) house at Barfreston, and in another in the churchyard at Waldershare. Many fine old specimens of yew trees occur in the neigh- bourhood of Dover; one in a churchyard by the side of the road to Deal, near Walmer, of which I had only a passing glimpse, I regret that I had not an opportunity of visiting and examining them at leisure.
Plants observed in North Wales. 51
interesting relic. And it is much to be regretted that they, whose right and business it is to afford it protection, are not at the pains to secure it from wanton spoliation. Boys are permitted to mutilate its venerable limbs, and crop its sable branches, in sheer sport and mischief ; and many considerable boughs, which must have trailed almost on the ground, and greatly heightened the picturesque effect, have lately, it seems, been lopped off, in the true spirit of modern Vandalism. The accompanying woodcut, it is 'proper to add, hasMpeen taken from a drawing made on the/s^ot some years agd^ and made not so much with a view to/llustrate those peculiarities of the tree, which I have endeavoured, however imperfectly, to describe, as merely to afford a picturesque sketch or study fir6fti*flattMfe. irtiJhateutdj regret, therefore, that the cut $oes not square so well with the above account as might be wished ; and the more so, as the tree itself baffles al|sdescrip- t^i«)fp*dn|)^i\»|]rbxiilttriirikte the subjet**|uHy; not only crfWings^lf- defca<&ed<jbonliibns of the trunk and limbs on a ]d*getf se'&to atea %amkofthe*
entire object ; and these, too, taken, perhaps, from somewhat different points of view from the one herd-presented toHthe reader, in which the fault I have chiefly to complain of is, that it represents the tree with far too large a top, and con- sequently gives to the whole an air of greater stateiiness and magnificence than is reallyrtqxbeilfodnd^iaf'the origtnafe ate least in its present conditi©ii#b9dnr9 ban bsqotevns vfotelqmoa 3ud ? moJjod scfj jb woilorf htm <b9^BD9b gi tbux 9Vfid I cdri urt auoio^iv sioin 10 AiiO^uuui ai^dl Iforfa odi nidriw raoi fbiw miau nooa ibidw tiataaaib ihmia 1o .anoirioq bariacjab
so/quid , . . wis g ftiqy uui hur Loow iij5iH»9dt
Art. X. Brief Notices of the Plants observed during a Tour
through a Part of North Wales, and some of the adjoining Counties. By William Christy, Jun. Esq. F.L.S. .client lo ■ wpV* °J 'QUJ2oqx9 won 2.L bo&, #0900. j39oqht
June 4. 1832. After passing through Uxbridge, Clematis
Vitalba, and the usual plants, of a chalk district, began to make their appearance; but nothing rare occurred till we, were descending Stokenchurch Hill, when we noticed abund- ance of Listera nidus- avis, and £pipactis grandiflora, in the edges of the woods ; and, on a small grassy slope, an O'rchis, which was probably O. militaris. A'troptf Belladonna grows on the chalky banks; and we observed a single and rather large tree of Zilia parvifolia. At Oxford, the heavy rain prevented our botanising, except on the old walls, which were covered with abundance of Senecio squalidus, and a i7iera*« cium not in flower (H. amplexicaufe ?). These plants have probably originally escaped from the botanic garden ; an inter-
E <i •
52 Plants observed during a Tour
esting establishment, which we much regretted being unable to take more than a very cursory view of.
June 5. and 6. The- roadside between Witney and North- leach was adorned with the magnificent Cnicus eriophorus ; and, just at the entrance of Great Malvern, we noticed some bushes of Sambuctis nigra /3 (fructu albo, the white^berried), but too near some cottages to be considered wild. On the walls and roof of the fine old abbey church we gathered Grammitis Ceterach, and Sedum reflexum ; and, on a rock above the village, Cotyledon Umbilicus. On the hills, we could meet with no plant rarer than Mce'nchza ereeta; but took fcbfew insects, the best of which was Elater ciipreus. #%ca^^&j*&( 'grows 'among the ruins at Little Malvern church, but has apparently escaped from an adjoining plant- ation^-i(pMeb loom* attt»mnale seems5 to be common in hieadows and orchards about^L/Klbtiryii'^uiofu xi ni nommoonu Jon ai X't&fodfo' f^k'WXardlthrough Ludlow, Bishop's Castlej«knd Wel^k^o^ilt^fOdwe^try^oaffbwd^ us nothii^iiriwe^K^ear laMitfW? 'by* tfce roads^> isi**nvertf large btraskf-efl Fyrm torminalis; and, on banks, Pumaria capreolata, Zepidium SiMthiY, and iftmunculus parviflorus occur in abundance, and appear to b6 common in the counties of Hereford and Salop. .Myosotis sylvatica is frequent about Bishop's Castle.
June 8.' At Llangollen, we visited the ruins of Castle Dinas Bran for the purpose of ascertaining whether the va- riety of Pyrus ^4vria formerly mistaken for P. pinnatifida (Morbus hybrida Lin.) still grows there. In a meadow, through which the footpath from Llangollen passes, we ga- thered a few specimens of 0rnith6gakim umbeliatum ; and, On the hill, Sedum anglicum, Myosotis collina, and Ficia angustifoiia. We also took Anomala horticola, and E'later cupretls ; which latter was abundant. Our search for the Pprus w^s long unsuccessful; but at length we discovered a single bush of it growing in an almost inaccessible part of the external wall, and with some difficulty obtained a specimen. It differs from the common state of P. AYm, in the leaves being more deeply toothed or lobed, and, as Sir J. E. Smith justly remarks, not truly pinnatifid. It is certainly not P. pinnatafida ; but it appears almost equally distinct from P. ^ria. To me it seems to come nearest to P. edulis or inter- media. I am, however, not at present prepared to offer a decided opinion on the subject. On various parts of the ruins we found Hutchins/tf petrae'a, Cist6pteris dentata ? and the beautiful spotted-leaved variety of PTieracium murorum, not uncommon; also 7eesdah'a nudicaulis, sparingly. A steep limestone declivity, oir the left of the road just after leaving Llangollen, was completely covered with Polypodium calca-
through Part of North Wales. 55
ream ; and, a little farther^ we noticed, in the edges of the woods, Aquilegia vulgaris, both the red-flowered and blue- flowered varieties. In the rocky bed of the river, at the bridge and salmon-leap of Pont-y-pair, we gathered the pretty dwarf variety of Solidago Virgaurea, commonly known as S. cambrica. On reaching Gapel Curig, we found our friend's; Messrs. Newman and Doubleday, who were on an entomological tour. We strolled out in the evening along the banks of a mountain stream, which afforded us Trollim europde'us, ikfyrlca Gale, acjd Pinguicula v*tt|gtji$is;fdwei also took a few trichopterous insects, among which was PhilOpo-r tamus scopulorum. On the banks of the lake, neanvt&e jfrtfif we observed the green sandpiper (Totanus ochropus) ; we also noticed the grey wagtail (iliotacilla Boarula), and the merlin (Falco ./E'salon). The water ousel (Cinclus aquations) is not uncommon in the mountain streams, .od/s ab-mnVro him June 9. We started early? to ascend Snowdon, withevfery prospect of a fine day ; but we soon found that little reliance was to be placed on a mountain climate. As, however, our adventures of this day have been so well detailed by my friends, in their interesting paper in the Entomological Ma- gazine, I shall merely advert briefly to what we collected. Immediately on leaving the Pass of Llanberis, we gathered Lycopodium alpinum, clavatum, and ASelagoj with jPoly- trichum alpinum. On some moist shady rocks, a little higher, Hymenophyllum Wilson? occurs sparingly. £axifraga stel- laris is common in rills and moist places in, all parts of the mountain. Many insects now made their appearance (prin- cipally Carabidae), including Carabus glabratfts, ,^tenfej;u;!$ and arvensis ; Helobia GyllenhahV and M&vshaMcbia ; also E'later cupreus and pectinicornis ; with a Byrrhus, which proves to be undescribed *. (B. alpmus Newman). In oir ascent to the summit, we observed but few of the plants common in alpine situations, and these occurred in small quantities. The principal were, Silene acaulis, Saxifraga ^ypnoides, Oxyria reniformis, and Cryptogramma crispa. The clouds were so dense that we could not see many yards: we therefore very soon left the summit,and retraced our step to an old-copper mine which we had passed in our ascent. On the banks of the small lake near it we noticed a few plants of Thalictrum alpinum and Lycopodium selaginoides ; while the lake afforded us some good insects ; one of which, a new species of Colymbetes, has been described by Mr. News- man, in the Entomological Magazine, under the name of C.
pale ; noimnoonif Joff
* Entomological Magazine, No. I. pMfodb emoiasrfltf
-ioka nijjiboq^ioS. dJiw baisfo^ ilopjqcaoo saw ^rrslIognisIJ
*%4 Plants observed during a Tour
^^d^^p^.^m^ were numerous, but of the same species as those we had met with in the commencement of our ascent. Having reached the Pass of Llanberis, we parted, my companions returning to Capel Curig, while I followed' my party to Llanberis. We however agreed, if the following clay proved fine, to meet again for the purpose of ascending Glyder. In the evening, I walked to the junction of the two lakes of Llanberis, to look for ^lisma natans, but was unsuc- cessful. On docks, by the roadside, I took abundance of Chrysomela raphani.
BSWJptid l&iPiWyrertfiine morning having succeeded the rain, 1 met my entomological friends at the entrance of the Pass of Llanberis, and from thence we commenced the ascent of Glyder. On the grassy slopes immediately after leaving the road, we gathered a single specimen of Habenaria albida, ind took a number of insects. Carabus glabratus and irvensis, Cychrus rostratus, E'later cupreus, A'tropa cervina, with several tfylphidae, were not uncommon. Among the
"WenflS ifcM^WW0^ tWlc&biMiM, €r]'pto- gramma crispa was growing in much greater abundance than we had observed it on Snowdon. The rocks just below the summit are covered with Juniperus nana, on which we looked in vain for Chrysomela cerealis ; my friend, Mr. Wilson of Warrington, having several years since taken a specimen on this spot.* Being obliged to return to Llanberis, in order to proceed with my party to Carnarvon, I was reluc- tantly obliged to leave my entomological friends, and descend the mountain. In my way down, I noticed in a little rill a Caltha (C. minor ?) somewhat resembling C. radicans, but with- out the almost triangular leaves which distinguish that species, if species it be. A root which I brought away is living in my garden, and retains its habit, being very much smaller in all
ku^ftaPfifttrati"©. Mustfi&[iuiWe reached Carnarvon in time to walk round the town before dark, and on a wall by the water side I noticed a single specimen of Koniga maritima (^lfssum maritimum Willd.) ; but it had undoubtedly escaped from a garden, as has been the case in the situations in which I have seeri it; on the banks of the. Thames, and as I believe to be the case in all recorded British stations. °Hnlfo&f^fl(:lc Between Carnarvon and the Menai Bridge we observed no plants of particular rarity. The banks and walls by the road side were covered with iepidium Smithn, Fn-
" ttiaria capreolata, and Cotyledon Umbilicus. The weather iiUTi 9'iod ornjoi l zne ni/i yi.y
.' _. * Almost immediately after I trad left Messrs* Newman and Doubleday, they discovered Chrysomela cerealis, of which they took eight or ten specimens ; ^or one of which I am indebted to their kindness.
through Part of North Wales. 55
being very wet and stormy, we did not alight at the. Menai Bridge; and I thus missed gathering i?6sa Wilsonz,. and se- veral other plants, to which I had directions from Mr. Wilson. The road from the Menai Bridge to Beaumaris is extremely beautiful. It follows the shore of the Menai Strait, which is wooded to the water's edge. The woods were filled with ^icia sylvatica, while the rocks which overhung the road were fringed with Geranium sanguineum and i?ubia peregrina. ; On the sandy shore at Beaumaris we gathered jfri-folium suffo- catum and Sagina maritima? We returned by way of the Menai Bridge to Bangor, and thence to Conway. The wea- ther continued so exceedingly stormy, that we were unable to botanise on the Penmaen Maur, over which our road lay. The only plants which which we noticed were Statice Armeria and Silene maritima, which latter, occurring in large patches i pn the, dark rocks, had a very brilliant appearance. , .
Brri^JS^Afri j ^/Immediately after ^brje^^t, ^fro^Hf v£$fre7 &e beautiful ruins of Conway Castle, on which, with other
phylium. We then proceeded, by a very winding and bad road, to the Great Ormes Head. On the sandy shore of Llandudno Bay, between the Great and Little Ormes Head, we noticed C'rambe maritima, , Glaucium luteum, and *Sc£Lla verna ; the t;wo former in abundance, but were unable to find -Lithospermum maritimum, which is recorded as growing there. 2?6sa spinosissima, in the dwarfest state we, had ever seen it, covered the sand-hills. On reaching the village of Llandudno, the weather, which had previously been fine, though cloudy, became very wet, and the , heavy and con- tinued rain entirely confined the rest of the party to the little inn at which we stopped. I was, however, too anxious to gather Cotoneaster vulgaris to be detained by the weather; and accordingly set off, accompanied by a guide who could speak no English, but who, the landlady assured me, knew both the plant and its places of growth. Following a steep narrow road up the hill above the village, we reached some copper mines overhung by a range of limestone preci- pices. On these rocks the Cotoneaster grows abundantly, but, owing to being continually browsed on by the sheep, it is very dwarfj and, probably from the same cause5 appears seldom to flower. Sir J. E. Smith, who, by the by, has committed various errors in his English Flora relative to the period of . the flowering of various plants, mentions July for the Coto- neaster; whereas the few fertile specimens I found bore fruit considerably advanced. Mr. Wilson mentions May, which
certainly agrees better with the state in which I found the
e 4 araiosq^,
SQ Plants observed in North Wales.
plant The rocks were every where covered with a profusion of Helianthemum canum (Cistus marifolius of English botany, although not of Linnaeus), which grows intermixed with the common H. vulgare. There are several other fine ranges of rocks above the village, which produce Chrysocoma Linosyris and other rarities; but the heavy rain, and the circumstance of our having a long stage to go after getting back to Conway, prevented my exploring them. In the salt marshes by the river side, near Conway, Cochleariadanica? grows abundantly. As we approached Holywell, ^iola lutea appeared common by the road side, and the heaps of rubbish round the lead mines were completely covered with Arenaria verna.
June 13.. From Holywell to Chester and Liverpool we observed no plants worth naming.
June 15. We travelled from Liverpool to Bolton, by the railway, at a speed which almost precluded any botanical observation. I nevertheless noticed a patch of the white- flowered variety of TWfolium pratense, and on Chat Moss abundance of Osmunda regalis.
June 16. At Egerton, near Bolton, we gathered Faccinium Oxycoccus (Oxycoccus paliistris Pursh), 22quisetum sylvati- cum, Polypodium Z)ryopteris and Phegopteris, with a white- flowered variety of .Lychnis Flos cuculi.
June 21. I spent this day with my excellent friend, Mr. Wilson, at Warrington. A pond in his garden was completely a sheet of white with the flowers of ^41isma natans, originally introduced from the lake of Llanberis. With it were also growing Callitricrie autumnalis, and Z21atine hexandra and Hydropiper. He has succeeded in cultivating that rare moss Schistostega pennata, on the inner surface of a stone trough, from which the light is excluded. In the afternoon we visited Woolston Moss, an extensive morass, producing many good plants. Among those we gathered were Andro- meda ^olifolia, iZubus suberectus and nitidus? Drosera anglica, Aspidium rigidum, Utricularia minor, //ypnum fluitans and Caenomyce coccifera. Hipparchia Davus was flying about in considerable number ; but I was unable to meet with Carabus nitens, which Mr. Wilson informed me sometimes occurs there.
June 24. At One Ash Grange, near Bakewell, I was much pleased to find a station for i?umex alpinus, which, as a British plant, has, I think, hitherto been confined to Scot- land. It is perhaps a doubtful native of this country. The limestone rocks in all the dales about Money Ash, are com- pletely covered with Galium pusillum, and those which are shady and moist with Gfeum rival e and Cistopteris dentata.
Plants' rtdar Barmouth, North Walks. 57
Approaching Castleton from Bake^Hr/fi6fe%^Ty^^lnb greatly in size and colour, occurs pleiitifl^l^,^?h;iAreii««xria verna, about the lead mines/1 lfi// t\2*paa*4 10 ion. dguoriJlB
June 25. Some wet rocks, at the entrance of a narrow glen behind Peveril Castle, afford ffieracium i^umrdm^aftn^Spfi^ leari-a officinalis. After visiting the celebrated Peak Cavern, and the Speedwell mine, we walkedViir^S^riBfiitB^M^fl '$&$ Winnetts. Here we met with abundance of Polemonium caeruleum and Geum rivale. iF^^^TO°ehtfMfic#MW''I^H^ Winnetts we noticed two species of Cistopteris growing in- termixed, C. dentata ? and C. angust#M ?^BB£ft^OT€&s^l8t#k and Eyam we observed, in a field by the roadside, Geranium pratense and iiTesperis ma'trtthslfef Xrw tf^'¥bma&ti(?4fme- stone valley of Middleton w^^t!^^;!W^r^^^e»3SI^ nutansV#ti$(#lso noticed 7lialictru^lraffi& **' •** 9""^
June 26. At Matlock, PolvpMfed fcalfc^un?, test&j^fe cte*!i*Ata, ;a<ftd] Card amine impatiens' ;arer66'ffltfadn. cfifP^fie1^!^ ch**Wus^& nfear€unrmin^s,Hmel.>iif'fe^^^fls%^^
opposite side of the river, EvitfmU ifelBRa^ JHfy835fl&l«p vatica, and Tilia parvif6Hr'^ir,(^hdI4t?^%f^sn&[l^fe I obtained some interesting s^ettfhieii^f I^M^^ii^W^Y^fe in a seedling stat£U0-'Tne 'r^^1'6'P(fch€l^¥^lr(^iS'' mmfeyp covered with Schistostega pennata f ; but I could find no specimens in ! #tictifffcatwfiy 'Abraxas Mirhiluta, apparently; just come out of Hh6llfchry4alis/I^i^Iffyh1g a$otft°3n -gre&r numbers, and I also took several specimens of Pyrochroa rubens.' iiydnfiiJ 1o 93tsl»ddj (rio*ft bssubotiai vliBnigno
June afehiigS km t^^'IMite^
castle under Lyme, and Coventry, we observed no plants of
any rarity, except Geranium pyr&iiit&iii (^^tfablf^usWg
we were entering the village ^oP^lle^y^^W.r^Oerftte1^
that amiable naturalist the fi^W^^BI^J00^ bulimy sw
btrndjug sw 9?.o di gnofflA .aJnidq boog £«ec#
i(I AsubiJia hffft, pntivmduFi priflijS5L efiiIoliIoc£ »b9nj
ooirn BitiiluDrdU fmubi§n mulblqzA e«3irgn&
Art. XI. Plants observed W&PWti^md^o)>Wafflf^
North Walesi ]Bfi/#H0*PjtoFOi^^ sfditncl Flora." n« aafiW .iM d>idw e8n9lifi eud/nsO rf*iw i99ai <^« , .9'i9dj aiimo 89raii9moe
Having spent a few vveeK|!'#is 4^a| f M"gu^im& the latter part of June and the whole of the month of July,
* I hesitate to name these positively, having understood From Dr. Hooker that considerable confusion exists among the British species. >]$d one can be better able than he is to clear them up, LW btttDYOO 7i9J9ia
ml* ^ "0t qUite SU,'C that 1 "m ''ight " tUiS' l?aVi"g '"isIaU1 - ^H
58 Plants in the Neighbourhood
I send you a list of the plants which I found growing on the hills, and in the neighbourhood of that place. Many that are rare in the midland counties of England I found to be very common in North Wales: Geranium sanguineum and Cotyledon Umbilicus ; the former on the hills, and the latter on every wall and rock in the neighbourhood. . /0da
Lichens.— \ found but few lichens that I had not pre- viously met with in Worcestershire, on Malvern Hills. Par- melia conspersa of Acharius was the only new species. On the same-stone I also found (and in fruit) Parmelia olivacea. The rocks were chiefly covered with Parmelia omphalodes, Lecklea confluens, L. geographica, Lecanora parella, and Farina pertusa ; Sphaerophoron corallbides and S. fragile nweare veqiiajly 'diffused, Endocarpon miniatum I founfl^ojg- ing on the rocks at Harlech, below the principal inn. Jmr
Of the Mosses, the only, rare one was a variety of Splachnum vasculosum, tab. 311. of Greville's Scottish Cry ptog^mic Flora, which I found in great plenty on the top of Cader Idris. '3?i:icJi6st6biiHin lanuginosufn appears to be very common on the stone walls on the hills about Barmouth. Psamma arenaria, ^4nagallis tenella, ^fnthyllis Vulneraria, Arenaria [Adenarium liajinesque~\ jyeplbides, on the sands near to Bar- mouth. Arenaria rubra, on the ruins of Harlech Castle. Artemisia maritima, ^fsplenium ^diantum nigrum, very com- mon on rocks and walls; accompanied by A. Trich6manes, and what I supposed to be A. lanceolatum, with a purplish stem ; and the pinnulae, before efflorescence, are recurved. J31echnum boreal e, common. In similar situations I discovered Gistopteris dentata u and (5 of Hooker's British Flora. Ca- iA%9iiam1<BBa£)d6aJluna vulgaris, Carduus tenuiflorus ; Carex eeneofiUria,^ovali&j and distans; Cnvtina vulgaris, Comarum pa- lustre,: Conyza squarrosa, Corydalis claviculata, on the. hill above < Barmouth. Cotyledon Umbilicus, Ciithmum man'ti- mtimj Gryptogramma crispa, on Cader Idris. Dianthus del- toides : this beautiful and elegant little plant is very common on the side of the hill close to Barmouth. Drosera rotundi- folia, Eleocharis acicularis, Eriophorum angustifolium, Frica Tetralix, nearly as common as F. cinerea. Erodium cicuta- rium var 3. of Withering, ifryngium maritimum, Erythraesa Centaurium, Z£upat6r/«W2 cannabinum, j^uphorbm Paralias, a beautiful plant, growing on the sands close to Barmouth. Geranium cblumbinum, sanguineum, Hobertidnum, and var. (3 of Smith and Hooker. (See G. purpureum, tab. 2648. of Sowerby's Supplement to English Botany.) Gnaphalium mini- mum, on the rocks that are barely covered with earth. Ha- benaria'bifolia, Helminthia ^chibides, Hydrocotyle vulgaris,
of Barmouth, North Wales. 59
£fyosc£amus niger. /Hypericum pulchrum : this beautiful hypericum is common on the sides of the hills* H. humifusum, rare; Jasione montana, very common, Juncus acutus, com- mon on the sands. J. squarrosus/ abundant on the commons about Cader Idris. .Lathyrus latifolius, on the hill immediately above Borthwert, in several places; probably was planted there (see Vol. II. p. 400), "as it is too often the outcast of gardens." {Hooker.) Lycopodium clavatum, LriSelago* at the to}) of Cader Idris. Z,yc6psis arvensis, Mattniola-sinuatfl. iVfelampyrum pratense, common ; M. sylvaticum, rare. Myrica Gale, On the side of the road to Dolgelly. Aardus strieta, very common. NartheeiunTjOSsifragum, c&mihmuD <mlj&mjfy
•bog. i^ymphas'a alba, opposite the turnpike^ on the left side of the road to Hablfeehu dfrf^t&aciw&isisb^!^ vulgare)(^yry^tM¥fti>^b f^oliai^kei'tafejoiv S9u<t>he3liilhal^)(ve Mr. Barnet's. Pa rietatfia officinalis ^^i^oadh^^^ob^sdai^^ld building near to the turnpike leading to Harlech. #edibularis palustris, Pinguicula vulgaris, common in boggy places on
i<*#MMsl Plantago '^arfoaft^^ctygala^
> Bistorta : I recognised the^&st^teieaeH^sidte) ofildWrosid^m idw
3$'#atfl|)^ g^u^i^dj^h^e^^ll^^Q^liiiS^I tddl^elle^frpinx^LkiB- gollen to Barmouth. .Rosa spinosissima (a dwarf variety )b on the Hills and sandy shores, i^umex //ydrolapsfthuni, with Comarum palustre and JYymphsea alba growing in the same place. Salicornia herba^cea. Hooker's Brit. Flora, war. a. Salsola Kali, very comment A^asfiffllg^asttBjl^iris, ! on fthe top of Cader Idris, under1 the drir/iplfl^ r^&Bjn^^n^ fFelephium, common ; Sedum anglicum, very common on every wall and rock from Dolgelly to Barmouth ; 8. Fotsterm?ium, in the same places. 6enecio sylvaticus. Spergulaiiodusa, an elegant
-fiftiM^'^fl rcfile* ?kiffi4& '"beftif fcp'JBafittete^E. b n#t^be7oZemi#ntMiB, tab. 102. of 'the English Botany; S, spathulata of Hooker (S. binervosa, tab. 2663. of Sowerby's Sitppleitoent):- both spe- cies were gathered near Barmouth. Xiifolium arvense^ very common. Triglochin maritimum, rare ; I also found a few specimens of T; pal ds-tre. Fliccin'twfa M^t£liti3pHbia Criucca, very common, and remarkably iuxtiriaffltia* ai'iBdoo'oIS ceiI61 There are many more of the rarer plants to be met with in the neighbourhood of Barmouth, if I could have afforded more time to search for them. I was scarcely two hours on Cader Idris; and, therefore, many rare species, I know, must have escaped my notice. I was surprised that I found not a single Glaiicium liiteum on the coast at Barmouth, as it was very common at Aberystwith but a few years agd. t ■■
rfjiw bai9vooI^^<Si^iydat&,4ittP'i ^di no tmuoi Alcester, Wanvickshire^Moido'* sirfjnmilaH ^ildEdtereBetf. Sept. 20. 1832.
60 ^
oiflqp.'f^ontll -ra psltilq *F ri< Inmilml 'moii ".
s-jjsilob £ sbfotf tiiq
.sofjfivbfi ni <■ b gtnao 0?.
,8U nwoda no REVIEWS.; j 'to .S.I brie .1 [ .2oVI -Iol otU 't8i0jn1>.. • hftfi 8tt6iJh6inuuiiifOD lonifri asbi^d t?nix>)nos , fifth un-iiiim 11O u --■ — ! ">qnq Ifcrri^ha gniv/ol
i Tfnlqr.oflT lo&KS
■ &fe&'l. Catalogue of Works on Natural History, lately' published,
' tvitk some Notice of those considered the most interesting to British
NaturaUdss fioo 'AdfiuUv n ei aii'T ''\CI.M- ,nfirnsH
bfiB Macgillivray, W., M.A. (Conservator of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Member of the Natural History Societies of Edinburgh and Phil- adelphia, &c.) : The Travels and Researches of Alexander von Humboldt : being a condensed Narrative of his Journeys in the Equinoctial Regions of America, and in Asiatic Russia; together with Analyses of his more im- portant Investigations. With a portrait of Humboldt by Horsburgh, a map of the Orinoco by Bruce, and 5 en- gravings by Jackson. Foolscap 8vo, 424 pages, forming the tenth volume of the Edinburgh Cabinet Library. Edin- burgh and London, 1832. 5s. [fiqi-iflhq We have given the above detailed title to excuse our wilful omission of an analytical notice of the book, for which we have not space. We may briefly state that the volume is a most entertaining one, and is rich in notices of numerous and various objects of natural history ; while the extraordinary spirit of enterprise manifested by the travellers, Humboldt and Bonpland, must delight the old, and excite the young to emulate it.
We would record our apprehension, that the cut of the " Dragon Tree of Orotava" (p. 48.) has, if the plant be of the species Dracae'na Draco L., had its characteristics sacri- ficed for the sake of increasing its beauty as a picture : the ugly cut of the same living tree, which occurs in the Penny Magazine for December 1. (p. 352.), we should consider, from a practical acquaintance with the Draca3Nna Draco in English stoves, to be a much truer resemblance. l8£»i9Jui fti
Featherstonhaugh, G. W., F.G.S. &c. &c. : The Monthly American Journal of Geology and Natural Science ; ex- hibiting the present State and Progress of Knowledge in Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, Comparative Anatomy, Chemistry, Meteorology, Physical Natural Agents, and the Antiquities and Languages of the Indians of the Ame-
American Journal of Geology, 6 1
rican Continent. 8vo; with 14 plates, or lithographic prints, in the 12 numbers. 1831, 1832. Price 3 dollars and 50 cents a year, payable in advance.
Nos. 1 1. and 12. of this journal have been shown us. No. 11. contains, besides minor communications and extracts, the fol- lowing original papers of importance : — " On mineral and metallic Veins ; " " On the modus operandi of Phosphorus on the living System, by J. R. Coxe, M.D," " Observations on the anatomy of the Sloth, Bradypus tridactylus L., by R. Harlan, M.D." This is a valuable contribution to zoology, and is enounced in a manner which instances its author as technically familiar with comparative anatomy. lie alludes to Mr. Waterton's notices, in his Wanderings, on the habits of this animal, and admits most of his conclusions ; and agrees fully with Mr. Waterton, that the apparent anomalies in structure, which this animal exhibits, are but so many in- stances of a remarkable adaptation of formation to the crea- ted tf&tittid habits of life. " I^&edifiW'df the Geo- logical Society of Pennsylvania," and ■"' Meteorological Observations made at Wilmington, Delaware, by Henry Gibbons, M.D.," also deserve mention among the original f&p£rs in the number. 3 ^ ']o *™jIov fanoi fffll
No. 12. Its principal contents are as follows: — An in- teresting letter, of nine pages, from J. J. Audubon to the editor, dated Bulowville, Jan. 12. 1832: it is descriptive of a tour in which Audubon was then engaged ; the scenes and incidents noticed are. interesting. " Remarks on the article contained in Silliman's Journal for April, 1832, entitled 'Mr. Lea on the Naiades.' " In Silliman's Journal, it appears, Mr. Lea's performance has been unduly eulogised; and the present paper supplies a critical analysis of it, occupying 12 pages, in evidence that it deserves not the character ascribed to it in the above Journal. The next article has also reference to the same Journal, in which M'Miirtrie's trans- lation of the Regne Animal has been highly praised. Nine pages are devoted to the review of this translation, in the course of which numerous instances of the translator's having misunderstood the author are pointed out. The paper next in interest is entitled A Synopsis of the Trilobites of North America. This paper describes several species, and is illus- trated by a lithographic print, exhibiting figures of ten of them ; and is stated to be but the forerunner of a book on the subject, which is nearly ready for the press, and, in illus- tration of the species described in which, casts in plaster of
Paris will be supplied by the author to purchasers, who will Mbr!l eal to aogPD^rraJ dub sstf urptfiiA otu
62 Blewiffs Panorama' of Torqitay.
thus " be enabled to correct for themselves any errors committetfI%^ffie^gfltlft&,, ' *fi^^cJ?tbPs1 ^Mi>e$^tt> his subscribers^^lftlftbi^aih^utaca'tWftW eiiMcfs/i^aft^index, flttsn^^'mb^'w^icb^^ -The
work deserves the patronage of English naturalists. _^T.lo lodiuG aldfiimji eds teu s'i$?d diow ads ni, ,<^ob Blewitt, Octavian : The Panorama of Torquay', a Descriptive
and Historical Sketch of the District comprised between the Dart and Teign. Embellished with a map, and nu- merous lithographic' and 'wood engravings. Second edition, 8vo, 288 pag<es.> "ijLoiwtenl .kffl2. .dgjuoWxI \ztmctl bna
This guide-book merits our notice, on account of the cog- riizBQtMm^tui^iysfoi^talbeDribibiuiGeQlogy^ meteorology, botfiby, .JinioS feorichokigyiiiitfcladfe t&e/tiiaUiital objects noticed;?; Thfe \gtold|$> ofith eajejghjbou Vboddabas ^©3©*ibefly and m arked, ottetbe HKipiprbfiKed ibithejkbliimejiayiarbiti^iDjj^fcolours, which are explained: besides this, Thomas Northmore, Esq. of Exeter, contributes 29 pages on " Kent's Cavern," his first discovery of fossil bones in it, and the geological deductions inferable from them; and his remarks will, doubtless, interest geologists. Meteorology receives its share of consideration in the treatise on " the climate of Torquay," which occupies 25 pages, and is rich in scientific and medical considerations. The climate of Torquay is ■" soft and soothing," and accordingly eligible for : all to whom this condition is suitable. Mrs. Griffiths supplies the lists of rarer phaenogamous plants, ferns, mosses, A'lgse, Cbnfervoldeae, molluscous animals, and shells, and possesses specimens of most of them. This lady is well known for her researches in marine botany; and among the ^4'lgae and Cbn- fervoideae are species marked as " rare, very rare, and par- ticularly rare," as well as intimations of undescribed ones. The list of shells is ample. Neither birds nor insects are given. The birds, it is stated, are omitted for want of space, and because Dr. Moore has enumerated those of the south of Devon, in the Transactions of the Plymouth Institution. The scenery of the neighbourhood is beautiful, and rich in numer- ous objects of interest. These, the views and objects, are severally described in an agreeable manner, and many of them illustrated by lithographs and woodcuts, all respectably exftffltfrck ^flgim edl diiw a^iso has ^Scl^m^'riup^B, alttil-nwo
In conclusion, although the natural history of the neigh- bourhood is done but imperfect justice to in this work, we take with gratitude the attention which has been paid to it; and are cheered by the anticipation that natural history will henceforth become a prominent topic in local histories and guide-books: when this shall have been done, the gen3raliser
Mudie's Guide to Nature. 63
on British natural history will experience efficient facilities by the aggregation of such histories. No one can evince more desire to rentier a local history of general interest, and to exhibit the relation which local and individual facts bear to the elucidation of the universal principles of knowledge, than does, in the work before us, the amiable author of The Panorama of Torquay^' ™ iMiinonn<* odT % «»Vs»VsO <ttVxrs\&
A99WJ J [uloT [O doto& iBHIQjfgiH bflfi
Mudie, Robert: Guide to the Observation of Nature;'- 12nlo, 372 pages. 1832; Whittaker and Co., London; Waugh and Innes, Edinburgh. Vol. lxxvii. of Constable's Mis-
«t^»'iffly«1c» iaijo v no ,vjhon iijo gtfmcn plood-sbing zldT This little book is remarkable for the perfect originality of the thoughts, and of many of the » facts ^described inrik. t/tBhe«J author, in his " prefatory notice," expresses the difficulty he has felt in adjudging it a suitable title i^aiid'KftafeffS Slitato " Hints of Inducement to the Observation of Nature" should be taken as the fair interpretation *ofi4ha4^wJifefr hbstfomw} adopted. Those who are already acquainted with The British Naturalist, and the Botanic Annual for 1832, by the same author, will be prepared to expect to find his pages not "sicklied o'er with a pale cast of thought," but replete " with enterprises of much pith and moment;" and we dare assure them that their expectation, in the present case, will not be disappointed. We shall not give space to any analysis' .of' ihe a book; but present an extract from the. ^prefatory* notice,?'; which will well explain its scope and character: — * ■" A man's contemplation of nature is, like his religion, a subject of per* sonal pleasure to himself; and, as is apt to be the case with religion, if he makes too much parade of it before the world, he runs some danger of losing it. Besides, although there are few occupations more pleasant than rational conversations on natural history with friends, especially with young friends, when one can instruct them without appearing to act the schoolmaster, yet still the sweetest hours of a man's converse with nature are those during which he has it all to himself. It is then that the career of thought runs free and far as the light of heaven ; and vanity is subdued, and bitterness is sweetened, and hope is elevated, by the comparisons of one's own little acquirements and cares with the mighty expanse around ; and of the perfect nothingness of this life, in respect to that which then rises clearly and convincingly in the anti- cipation. This is the feeling of natural objects which I have wished to excite and encourage." The author does not strive to effect this by lauding nature, and the scenes and objects of nature. " Mere panegyric," he observes, " does not put
64 Owen's Memoir on the Pearly Nautilus.
any one in the way of knowing what it lauds." He strives to effect it (and we think, with success) by discursive analyses of the mode in, and extent to, which the human senses and mind are ordinarily educated by the objects of nature ,* and by indicating fresh paths, through which this worthiest object of our being may be more intensely and extensively furthered. TheJ^^is^excellen^oj 3 1 .*9mj3ri Diternaja^a 'ihdt ai«naDfc$
*io'd\ iicvwaq'j juaiulib x> yd. Jjnc. ; eoio^rjg bnn Bi9fi9§ aritfo
Qwen, Richard, Member of the Royal College of Surgeons in
London, and Assistant Conservator of the Museum of the College: A Memoir on the Pearly Nautilus (Nautilus Pompiiius L.), with Illustrations of its external Form and internal Structure. Published by direction of the Council. '■.4to,4 68 pages, 8 plates. London, 1832, W. Wood,
$fui$8fin WuSkoow ducdjiw ai Jl .gsiftiaBud bus adjom
Systematic classification is found t»' fee* 4li6|ft"Vbti&''-feil€"
permanent when .based on. conformity of^tjueture, as tWg^
conformity is the surest index of natural affinity : hence, ana- tomical analyses of the structure of animals have become essential to a knowledge of systematic zoology. The pre- sent able memoir exhibits, in great detail both of description and illustration, the anatomy of that most interesting animal, the Nautilus Pompiiius L. ; and, in the process of doing so, indicates the adaptableness of the structure discovered in the animal to the functions required of it in its habits of life : throughout the investigation, comparisons are made with the
structure of other mollusques. The Memoir is a very inter- '.-.-•■ 1 1 - „ .tXl ^£T .aYusboow
estmg one to anatomising zoologists.
Rennie, James, M.A., Professor of Zoology, King's College, London: Alphabet of Insects for the Use of Beginners. ifSmaU 8vo, .108 pages, with many woodcuts. London,, ,X8S^.r
UtiL^itiJ 9<iJ lO flOlrR'jnuIKJ fHlJ *fnO03'I Oj 11IJ-.15
tyJiu ^iuouKvbB amssa ■spH&Usbiui iiwi's aid) audT .emuiov This is probably worth its price to any one beginning
^o$fe^&oW^^n!^ftuse Hlto # are collected all the ele- mentary terms in use in entomology (or, at least, most of them), with explanations and illustrations of them. These, as is known, are for the most part applied to the external organs of insects ; but, in the present little book, the internal struc- ture is (briefly) also explained. Several (not very weighty) imperfections in the book have been pointed out to us, and we could cavil at a few points ourselves; but we will not : the diligent user of the book will discover and correct ^t^n-aba
Rennie, James, M.A., Professor of Zoology, King's College,
London : A Conspectus of the Butterflies and Moths found >ubo'fq iRirjtafT oj bwq nosd 9i*»l to asd naulw
Don's Gardening and Botany, 65
in Britain ; with their English and Systematic Names, Times of Appearance, Sizes, Colours ; their Caterpillars, and va- rious Localities. Small 8vo, 300 pages. London, 1832. 75. 6d.
The previous work was for beginners ; this is for those who have begun to collect butterflies and moths, and desire to ascertain their systematic names. It contains the characters of the genera and species ; and, by a diligent comparison of the specimens captured with these characters, the student will be enabled to trace out, severally, their names. The book is wholly in English, save the names and terms, and is purely a technical manual. We say this, lest some, like ourselves, may suppose that, besides the systematic information, it may contain amusing anecdotes on the habits and manners of the moths and butterflies. It is without woodcuts; and surely not over cheap at 7s. 6d.
Don, George, F.L.S. : A General System of Gardening and Botany, containing a complete Enumeration and Descrip- tion of all Plants hitherto known ; with their Generic and Specific Characters, Places of Growth, Time of Flowering, the Manner in which they are cultivated, and their tjses in Medicine and Domestic Economy ; preceded by an Intro- duction to the Linnajan and Natural Systems, and a Glos- sary of the Terms used. Founded upon Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, and arranged according to the Natural System. In 4 quarto volumes. Vol. II. 875 pages, with numerous woodcuts, Si. 125.; or in monthly Parts, 65. each. Lon- don, 1832.
In our Number for January last (Vol.V. p. 74.), we noticed the first volume of this work : in the Number for the present January, we have to record the publication of the second volume. Thus this great undertaking seems advancing in its progress with most satisfactory steadiness.
When the work is complete, it will contribute most effec- tively to the promotion of systematic botany in Britain, and in every place where the English language is known. There are, it is true, already extant several general works in which the genera and species of plants are enumerated and described ; but these are written in Latin, and are, besides, devoid of very many genera and species which will be enumerated in this work. The reason is this : independently of our wealth and scientific reputation as a nation, enabling us to acquaint our- selves with the labours of all the botanists in the world, we, by means of our commerce, our colonies, and the attention which has of late been paid to natural productions by our Vol. VI. — No. 31. v
66 Literary Notice.
travelers, possess extensive stores of information peculiarly our own : and original descriptions of all these will enrich the present work, in addition to translations and transcripts of the characteristics of all the genera and species hitherto published in other works.
This second volume commences with the extensive second subclass Calyciflorae, and describes thirty-nine natural orders included in this subclass ; and the remainder belonging to it will form the initial part of the third volume. The vast order Leguminosae occupies 385 pages, and supplies descriptions of a comparatively endless number of species of the pretty plants of this really ornamental and very interesting natural order. The orders ^4mygdaleae, J?osaceae, Pomaceae, Onagrariae, .Lythrariae, Melastomaceae, and ikfyrtaceae, as part of the thirty-nine, all and each of which contain plants so very beautiful, fall into this second volume.
Mennie, James, M.A., Professor of Zoology, King's College, London : Alphabet of Botany for the Use of Beginners. 1832 [dated 1833]. Small 8vo, 123 pages, and many cuts. London. 2s. 6d,
Explains and illustrates the technical terms and elements of botany, and may satisfy those whom a superficial know- ledge of the science will content. Those who desire an inti- mate and extended knowledge of it will find no book extant so fit to lead the way to it as Lindley's Introduction to Botany* noticed in our last Number. (Vol. V. p. 706.).
Phillips, Sir Richard : An Essay on the Physico- Astrono- mical Causes of the Geological Changes on the Earth's Surface, and of the Terrestrial Temperature; with Notes. Republished, with a Preface, by Wm. Devonshire Saull, F.G.S. A.S. and R.A.S. (Geological Museum, Alders- gate Street.) 8vo, 80 pages, 1832. Sherwood and Co.
We hope to supply a notice of this essay in a future Number.
Art. II. Literary Notice.
A POPULAR Introduction to the Study of Geology, by Mr. G. Mantell, with numerous plates, is in the press, and will shortly be published.
s *
6"
r ,
.
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS.
A WHITE Donkey. — In the village of Hampton Wick, a poor man is possessed of a young female donkey, perfectly white, without spot or shade of any kind : it is a lively sport- ive animal, now about six weeks old. The only peculiarity observable in its formation is a remarkably small and narrow mouth, more like the mouth of a sheep than of an ass : its coat, of which much care is taken, is full and soft. The queen lately sent for it to Windsor, and was much pleased with the little creature. It is likely to prove a valuable acquisition to its poor master, who, in addition to the donkey, is blessed with a wife and nine small children. (Literary Gazette, June 2.
Monstrosity in a Calf. — A cow belonging to a small farmer, near Macclesfield, recently produced a calf with two heads, five legs, and two tails, and double back : it lived about two hours. (Birmingham Journal, June 9. 1832.)
A Dog that reasoned Biding to be preferable to Walking. — Sir, I was lately a witness to a most striking instance of canine sagacity. Whilst an omnibus was waiting to receive passengers at the Blue Coat Boy, April 28. 1832, a dog, of the setter breed, forced his way into the omnibus, much against the consent of the conductor and passengers, as the dog did not belong to either, and who used every means to entice him out, which he constantly resisted, in the most surly manner, so much so that they were in danger of being bitten, if they endeavoured to force him. These attempts were repeated each time the omnibus stopped, until they arrived at the Eagle, in the City Road, when the door was opened, and he then made his exit, apparently as much at home there as if he had purposely taken a ride to the spot. This instance is in accordance with Mr. Blaine's ideas of the instinct of dogs, in his Treatise on Canine Pathology, new edition, p. 37, 38. As you may have noticed, he says, " Innumerable actions are daily performed by them ; all of which are totally unconnected with these great instinctive principles. It must be, therefore, self-evident, that all such action must be extra-instinctive, and the result of rational operations of the brute mind." — I am, Sir, &c. — Cattus.
About fourteen years ago, a strong but simple piece of
f 2
68 Short Communications.
framework, probably designed for placing parcels upon, stood beside tbe kerb-stone, opposite one side of the Elephant and Castle Inn, in fact, between the pavement and the road. On the inner face of one of the upright posts of this framework there was fastened a sheet of copper, exceeding in size an octavo page. On this were inscribed " in good set terms,'' an elegy to one ?% JjUlpb*,a\i ^#h#f {celebrity, who in the days of his life had been a distinguished member of the Elephant and Castle esta- blishment. A stander-by, I remember, in reply to my enquiries, told me several instances of Ralph's sagacity, and, among the rest, that from Ralph's intimacy with the coach-drivers, who were in habitual ply to and from that inn, he would, and this not rarely, take short jaunts out on the coach top with them, until he met some other coach, whose driver he also knew, ^g^giirheob^e^il^rJi^Qititm^lwl^n ftftl^w^ujff Sftfirijge
Xb^®n&^mfym.TTv&>f&dS m bsv^do Jmy/'iaa 3th -mod .The Instinctive. Properties of Animals never completely obli- a/^fc^^ ^fl^4§#f^ iflsjancje,
&Mkm&k hh&th&p&teop&fy oj}{ ^c#r$fotie^iflg J^ proje^^at 9^tern»twaJrdi^si^k>P jS^-ftftouj- most doraesj^^e^jar^nialg, however subdued by long habit and constant intercourse, will evince itself at times under the most unaccountable circum- stances..Lgidtaqrn 72 yis/Il .^sq yl\mh\ mjiidmazzB vliob A friend of mine, who keeps a number of gold and silver pheasants, kept in the same yard with his breeding birds a thorough-bred pointer, which ran among them for two years loose, both day and night, without ever having ruffled a feather; yet, during one night last month, he killed every bird in the yard (upwards of SO) ; and, what is more singular, did not eat one, but carried each to a distance, some to above a quarter of a mile ; burying them in separate places, which wasuonly discovered by the fresh turned earth and loose rfeaitriftirfc 2^^fif4rt)s»i^JW yours, 8c<^hn(J.),.}Varzvick, lnf^rt^/ Zoological Gardens^ March 15. 183^f{) aiotsd Jmsttuo? 970m
The elegant Cowper has prettily adverted to the persistency of instinctive emotions, in his poems of " The Faithful Bird " and " On a Spaniel, called Beau, killing a young Bird," and in " Beau's reply^'-^,,©.^ IBUgUfIIJ *iq,, il ^918 AM pi
The Robin's Confidence in Man. — Sir, Poets from time immemorial have sung the praise of the robin redbreast, alike " the friend of man, and sacred to his household gods." But still, as prose matters of fact are often acceptable corro- borations of poetical theories, I shall make no apology for offering the following instance for insertion in some spare corner of your interesting Magazine. Early in March, in the library of a gentleman's house, in one of our northern
Short Communications. 69
counties, a mysterious sprinkling of dried leaves had been frequently seen on some of the bookshelves ; and these accu- mulations, though repeatedly swept away, had as repeatedly been renewed. Conjecture was on the alert, but no adequate or rational cause could be assigned, until, on or about the 15th or 16th of the above month, the mystery was thus satisfactorily solved. The library, it should be observed, as well as the dining-room, opens upon a lawn, under cover of a veranda projecting over, and common to, both. As the latter was not frequented by the family before the lisual luncheon hour, at one o'clock, whenever the windows were bpen, as they were on the day mentioned, any intruder from the lawn and shrubbery might obviously have remained unmolested, from the moment the housemaid quitted the room in the morning, till the cloth was laid about noon, at which hour the servant observed in the hollow festoon of one of the window curtains, a large collection of leaves, evidently placed as part and parcel of a nest, the rapid and busy morning's work of a couple of robins, who were seen hovering near with "eye askance," or escaping through the window when the door was opened: and whieh, if left to themselves, were thus prepared to rear their brood in the immediate presence of the daily assembling family party. Every sympathising reader of your Magazine will doubtless conclude that the happy pair were allowed to remain, and that their progeny were destined to be reared in the mantling folds of so enviable a retreat. Alas, poor robins ! the lady of the house, excellent and worthy in all respects, the single point excepted, of pre- ferring the unsoiled damask of her curtains to a nest of red- breasts, gave orders for the removal of so foul an'affront on the decorum of her furniture; and, notwithstanding the loud lament of a neighbouring naturalist, ejected the fond and familiar pair, whose bridal couch of withered leaves was once more scattered before the winds, to become the prize of other and more fortunate tenants of the air. — E. £., F.L.S* March 30. 183^/"^ 9£JT ^° 8«i9oq 8iH m ianohoma SYtfoaLteai Ito
This interesting communication supplies another instance to Mr. Bree's list of unusual situations chosen by birds for their nests, p. 32 — 36; and naturally arranges itself beside that which he relates of the robin, p. 35. — J. D.
Is the Robin known to possess Sympathy for other Birds, as ascribed to it in this paragraph ? — A remarkable instance of the known kindness of the robin is to be seen at the Old Palace bowling-green. It appears the landlord took a thrush's nest with four young ones, and put them in a cage in the garden, where they are constantly fed by the two old
f 3
70 Short Communications.
birds and a robin. {Kentish Gazette, as quoted into the Here- ford Journal, May 9. 1832.) [See p. 83.]
The Alarm-note of Birds universally understood by them. — i In Montagu's Ornithological Dictionary, under the article H Song of Birds," there is the following remark : — " Regard- ing the note of alarm which birds utter on the approach of their natural enemies, whether a hawk, an owl, or a cat, we consider it to be a general language, perfectly understood by all small birds, though each species has a note peculiar to itself." I was, last April, very much pleased at witnessing an illustration of the truth of this opinion. I found a nest of young throstles at the root of a hazel ; and although they could scarcely fly, yet, as they were near a footpath, and the next day was Sunday, when many idle and mischievous lads would be rambling about, Ir thought they would be safer, oufc of their nest than in it; and as I knew that, when so far fledged, if they were once disturbed they would not continue in the nest, I took one out, and made it cry out, and then put it back again, but in one minute not only it but its three companions had disappeared in the long dry grass which was round about. On hearing the cry of their young one, the parent birds set up such a shriek of alarm as brought all the birds in the wood to see what was the matter. I noticed the blackbird, the chaffinch, the titlark, the redbreast, the oxeye [greater titmouse], the blue and marsh titmouse, and the wren, all uttering their cries of alarm and apprehen- sion: even the golden-crested wren, which usually seems to care for nothing, was as forward and as persevering as any of them in expressing its fear on this occasion ; indeed, the only bird which seemed indifferent to all these manifestations of alarm was the creeper, which continued its anxious and in- cessant search for food as it flitted from one tree to another, examining them from root to branch, without ever seeming to understand or care for what seemed to have so much frightened all the others. — T. G. Clitheroe, Lancashire. June 30. 1832.
A late Brood of young Martins. — Sir, On the 14th of October last, as I was passing by a house near the extremity of this village, I was rather surprised at hearing what I took to be the chuckling twit of young martins (//irundo urbica) ; and, on looking up, I perceived one of their nests under the eaves of the house. 1 say I was surprised at what I heard ; because the martins had entirely disappeared from my view some time before, nor had I been able to see even a single one for some days previously. The person of the house, whose attention was attracted by my standing to gaze at the
Short Communications. 71
nest, informed me that they were not martins, but sparrows, that I heard; which latter birds, he said, had taken possession of the clay-built mansion in the summer, to the expulsion of the rightful owners, and that he had already taken one brood of sparrows from the nest in question. My ears, it occurred to me, could hardly be so deceived as to mistake the com- fortable twit of the martin — a note so peculiarly expressive of domestic satisfaction — for the vulgar chirp of the sparrow. However, in order to " make assurance doubly sure," a lad- der was procured ; and the nest, as I had expected, was found, upon examination, to contain a brood of young martins. The old bird, whose plumage seemed weatherbeaten and discoloured, flew off, and, sporting high in air, was soon joined by another individual of the same species, which, doubtless, was the other parent bird. I watched the brood from time to time, which remained in the nest till the 23d of October, when I had occasion to leave home for a few days; but strictly enjoined my informant meanwhile to keep an eye on the motions of the feathered youngsters. They continued, he informs me, snug in their quarters till the 25th, after which day he saw them no more. He had expected, indeed, that the young birds, after they were once launched into the air, would have been seen sporting about in the vicinity of their native abode, and trying their powers of wing, for some shorttime at least, pre- viously to their setting out on their first long autumnal voyage ; but the martins themselves, we may conclude, judged that it was already time, and more than time, to be off at once to warmer regions : at all events, they were not to be seen after the 25th of October. I do not recollect that another instance of a brood of //irfindines reared at so advanced a period of the autumn, ever came under my observation before ; and I have very little doubt that the few stragglers which are occasionally to be seen long after the main body has taken its departure, consist mostly 'of such late-hatched broods, or of their parents, which have been detained in the country on the business of incubation and rearing their young. In the present instance, the lateness of the brood may perhaps be accounted for by the circumstance, already mentioned, of the martins having been dispossessed of their dwelling in the earlier part of the season by the usurping sparrows; and thus the family arrangements of the former became protracted.
The following are the dates of the last appearance of the .fJirundines in this neighbourhood for the autumn of 1832: their arrival in the spring of the same year has already been recorded, Vol. V. p. 596. : —Swift, last seen (1832), August
f 4
72 Matt Communications,
6th; swallow, October 17th; martin, October 25th. I am, Sir, yours, &c. — W. T. Brec. Allcsleij Rectory, Nov. 22. IBftfk sd isvsn H63 ilniriJ I zb tg9n9Da irfi brm v-ttnijoo srfo lot loni^LOi^dwfc^j^g^ two swallows,
on the 22d instant, between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning, flying about, over the gardens of the houses of the south side of the principal street of this town. The morning was very mild and bright, the temperature, at the time, 42° of Fahr. After watching them for more than half an hauity I returned to the house, but did not see them again in the course of the day. A single swallow had been noticed by my friend S. L. Kent, Esq. on the preceding day, at the end of the town. The general flight of the swallows from this place occurred on the 7th of October. — James G. Tatem. Wycombe, Nov. 24., 1832. .££8T
April 18.; in 1831, on Aj#ayp« ;**&"§ 8«# An^AfriYiQ^^- ~BR Wn.nrI^IB^in9flL^%v^0le[VS^ii ?wro D9i9vod Ji e« t&noi;r Dates of the Appearance of some Spring Birds, in 1832, in the Neighbourhood of Clitheroe, Lancashire.— Young rooks heard 5th April; hoii*fe tfl^titi^sWtt *He 14th ; sandpiper, 14th ; willow wren, spring wagtail, and redstart, 17th ; wheat- ear, 19th; sand martin and swallow, 22d ; cuckoo heard, 26th; wood wren, blackcap, and whinchat, 28th; mocking bird and whitethroat, 4th May ; swift, 7th ; fly-catcher, 1 1th ; and fieldfares were seen until the 2d of May, which is later than I ever observed them before. [In the parish of Allesley, near Coventry, fieldfares were observed so late as the 14th of May: see Vol. V. p. 594. — J. D.~\ No doubt many of these birds were in the neighbourhood earlier than the dates I have at- tached to them, but they are the periods at which I first saw or heard them. The study of natural history is, perhaps, as little followed in this neighbourhood as in any part of the kingdom, notwithstanding the facilities which are offered. Our flora is beautiful, varied, and possesses many rare plants, yet I only know of two herbariums : the birds are abundant, yet there is but one collector of them ; and as for insects, al- though I frequently take what I consider to be rare species, yet I cannot find an entomologist in the whole district, or I would send them to him. In conclusion [this communica- tion is