34 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



man speaks highly of another mode of getting eggs, 

 viz., by watching the females while thus engaged, 

 and then "securing the product." I have not 

 succeeded at this, but others may ; it has disadvan- 

 tages, for at such times insects endeavour to avoid 

 observation, and dodging them about is tedious and 

 disappointing work. It is at night, too, that most 

 moths provide for the continuance of the species, 

 when they may easily escape our notice, even if we 

 are armed with the latest improved lantern. So, 

 perhaps, the best way is, if we see a butterfly or 

 moth we think thus intent, to capture it, and give 

 it an opportunity to lay in confinement, which, 

 however, some are very reluctant to do. 



How should we keep eggs if we wish to obtain 

 larvae from them? We must have regard to the 

 natural influences to which they would have been 

 exposed, and imitate these^as nearly as we can. As 

 a rule, they should be kept cool, and if a leaf on 

 which any are deposited dries up, it is better to 

 remove them from it. Some advise laying them upon 

 a pad of moss taken from an old wall ; and this 

 being placed in a flowerpot, the eggs may be kept 

 slightly damp, which is conducive to their welfare. 

 But if the contents of the eggs are not wished for, 

 Ingpen advises that they should be punctured with 

 a fine needle; then, says he, they will dry without 

 shrivelling— sometimes. Boiling them has been 

 found of no use ; nor should I imagine that baking 

 them would prove much more advantageous. 

 Swammerdam, we are told, after he had emptied 

 the shells, used to inflate them with air, or fill them 

 with some resinous solution. 



The hunter after the eggs of Lepidoptera may 

 well be stimulated by recent discoveries in that 

 direction. Think of Mr. Merrin detecting the eggs 

 of one of our rarest Blues {Lycana Arion) on the 

 flowers of the wild thyme ! These were highly 

 curious in form, being spheroid, and marked with 

 shallow cells, the divisions between the cells bear- 

 ing spine-like processes ; the texture and colour, we 

 are informed, resembling white porcelain tinged with 

 green. And through researches made in the winter 

 months, it has now been demonstrated that the 

 Hairstreak Butterflies place their eggs on the twigs 

 or branches of their food-plants, to await the advent 

 of the following spring, completely overturning the 

 theories previously entertained about their history. 

 So we may hope that, as egg-hunters increase, not 

 only will new and beautiful objects be brought into 

 view, but many misapprehensions be also removed 

 which have obscured the annals of Entomology. 



J. B. S. Clifford. 



happy Kingfisher ! what care can he know, 

 By the clear, pleasant streams, as he skims to aud fro, 

 Now lost in the shadow, now bright in the sheen 

 Of the hot summer sun, glancing scarlet and green. 



Mary Howitt. 



TITMICE. 



f\F all the small birds that ornament our forest, 

 ^ few are more hardy, more agile, or more or- 

 namental than the family of Titmice. 



The Long-tailed Titmouse, Blue Titmouse, and 

 Great Titmouse, are all very beautiful little crea- 

 tures; not only beautiful in plumage, but on the 

 wing, creeping along a bough, or clinging to the 

 bark of a tree, they are equally interesting, now 

 flying with a jerk and wave-like motion from tree 

 to tree, now at the root of a tree in quest of food, 

 or suspended from the end of a branch; indeed, 

 they are always doing something. They are curious 

 little creatures, and although fond of the wood, 

 they are in no way shy or timid at the approach of 

 man. 



The Long-tailed Titmouse (Panes caudatus) has 

 a very long tail ; it flies with a peculiar wave-like 

 motion ; when on the wing, the tail seems much 

 longer than at other times: it is a very curious- 

 looking little bird. In weight it scarcely out- 

 weighs the Wren ; but it is when in the hand that 

 you admire and wonder at the power of this little 

 creature, so small it seems that you cannot hold it 

 without hurting it ; with loose and silk-like flossy 

 feathers that cannot be handled without getting 

 the feathers much out of place. 



Although so fragile, it builds a very pretty nest, 

 and brings up a number of young: they remain 

 with us all the winter; their food is small insects 

 and larva?. The colour of this bird is a mixture of 

 dusky olive, with dark and light brown; the bill is 

 very small; indeed, a few disconcerted feathers will 

 cover it. I tried to keep this bird in an aviary, but 

 did not succeed. The Long -tailed Tit has not any 

 song, only a plaintive twitter or call. 



The Blue Titmouse (Parus cceruleus) is a merry, 

 sprightly, active little fellow. It seems but little 

 consequence to him whether in a cage, an aviary, or 

 in the wood ; if well cared for, he appears quite con- 

 tent. I should here mention, much of this depends 

 upon the immediate care he gets. Soon after being 

 taken, he must be fed frequently upon small meal- 

 worms ; for a short time he should also have groats, 

 suet, and hemp-seed. The Blue Tit requires a large 

 close wire cage, as it mostly gets through the wires 

 of an ordinary one. Much depends upon the first 

 few hours' care ; if neglected when taken, you can- 

 not keep your Blue Tit alive. In an aviary the 

 Blue Tit is quite at home, quite cheerful ; aud in a 

 few days will begin to twitter : after a few days 

 you may dispense with live food altogether, but as 

 a substitute you should give a little sop bread and 

 milk, and occasionally the Woodlark's meat. The 

 colours of this lively little creature are very strik- 

 ing; the top of the head, or crest, and round the 

 neck a beautiful blue, the sides of the head white, 

 with a black line from the base of the bill to beyond 



