flARDWlCKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



159 



After watching them some time, it became clear 

 that they were in the act of carrying ont some pre- 

 concerted punishment upon some luckless offender 

 of their own flock, for on the ground was a black 

 object in the form of a rook, which was evidently 

 being pecked at, rolled over and over, and so passed 

 on from rank to rank of the assembled multitude. 

 That it was not a mere pastime was evident from 

 the ruthless way in which feathers were pulled out, 

 and continuous blows given. Having waited about 

 ten minutes, we felt a curiosity to know the effect 

 of such chattering ferocity upon the poor black 

 object, aud drew near to pick it up. Of course the 

 rooks flew away with loud cawings as soon as we 

 approached ; but, to our great astonishment, the 

 prostrate bird opened its eyes, spread its ragged 

 wings, and made as best it could for the nearest 

 tree. Whether, if we had not interfered, the punish- 

 ment would have been carried out usque ad mortem 

 I know uot ; but clearly it was another good case to 

 prove that the lower animals are governed by the 

 same principles of thought and action as we are, each 

 grade varving only in its mental and moral qualities, 

 in proportion to the development of the nervous 

 system. 



Hawks.— Pliny, in his chapter on Hawks, says : 

 "Alii non nisi ex terra rapiunt avem ; alii non nisi 

 circa arbores volitantem ; alii sedentem in sublimi ; 

 aliqui volantem in aperto." As a good example of 

 the second method of seizing prey, I remember in 

 April, 1SC9, whilst working near some tall trees, 1 

 became aware of an unusual fluttering and beating 

 of wings overhead, aud on looking up saw that a 

 hawk, most probably a sparrow-hawk, had pounced 

 upon a full-grown pigeon, as strong on the wing as 

 itself. Por about half a minute there was a tussle 

 and struggle in mid-air, resulting in the hawk 

 holding the back of the pigeon in his talons, and 

 directing the combined flight towards a neighbour- 

 ing wood about half a mile off; it was evident that the 

 poor pigeon, although keeping time with its wings, 

 was exerting all its powers to break away, for the 

 rate of progress was very slow indeed. "When they 

 had arrived to the edge of the wood, I was greatly 

 delighted to see that the pigeon fairly wrenched 

 itself out of the grip of the hawk, and was very 

 quickly dashing past me to join the other pigeons, 

 to tell her tale of the kiss of the falcon's beak. I 

 noticed that the hawk did not attempt to overtake 

 the pigeon and make a second attack, but sailed off 

 in another direction. 



Bird Prognostication. — People living in the 

 country are able very frequently to predict the 

 weather of the morrow by noticing the living baro- 

 meters around them. If gulls leave the sea-coast, 

 and in flocks fly inland with frequent screamiugs ; if 

 rooks sail about in large numbers, and precipitate 

 themselves perpendicularly downwards with noisy 

 rattling of the wing and tail-feathers ; if the green 



woodpecker make the woods resound again with 

 his sonorous and hawk-like cry,— a storm of some 

 kind is not very far off— from my own observations, 

 I should say not more than thirty hours distant, often 

 much nearer than this ; but sometimes even forty- 

 eight hours before the change has arrived. The 

 Pomans knew these signs as well as we do, and 

 very possibly it is a part of rustic lore everywhere. 

 "Pi?esagiunt et animalia. Graculi sero a pabulis 

 recedentes hiemem ; et albse aves [gulls] in medi- 

 terranea festinantes cum congregabuntur ; et cum 

 terrestres volucres contra aquam clangores dabunt, 

 perfuudentes sese, sed maxime cornix." 



Since living at Nansladrou, I have noticed that 

 the daws and rooks sometimes go home very late 

 to their roosting-places, but I do not yet feel sure 

 that it presages a storm ; neither have I seen the 

 rooks perform their wonderful evolutions over 

 water, besprinkling themselves with the same ; but 

 I quite believe the observation would be correct in 

 a lake district ; for very often I have felt astonished 

 that the birds have not dashed themselves in pieces 

 against the ground (and they do touch sometimes), 

 so sudden and rapid has been the descent. 



Why should gulls and rooks, and probably other 

 birds, possess this power of anticipating changes in 

 the weather ? Is it a mere electric impression of 

 their nervous systems? Or can it possibly be a 

 consequence of direct vision ? I rather incline to 

 the latter supposition ; for let us suppose that the 

 approaching storm is travelling at the rate of 15 or 

 20 miles an hour, if the birds admonish me 30 hours 

 beforehand, it is clear that they became cognisant 

 of it when still 450 or COO miles away ; is it too 

 much to suppose such power of vision existing in 

 the eyes of birds ? I do not think any of my readers 

 who have ascended a high mountain will find this 

 suggestion hard to believe, if they will only recall 

 to mind the immense distances they have themselves 

 seen, and remember the high reconnoitring flights of 

 these weather-wise prophets. 



Joseph Drew. 



MYCOLOG1CAL ILLUSTBATIONS* 



THE first part of a volume of figures and de- 

 scriptions of new and rare Hymeuomycetous 

 Eungi is now before us, and wc do not hesitate to 

 declare that, Mrs. Hussey's excellent figures not- 

 withstanding, these are the best figures of fungi 

 which have yet been published in this country. It 

 is well known that Mr. Worthington Smith is not 

 only an enthusiast in the collection and study of 

 the larger British fungi, but a master in the art of 



* "Mycological Illustrations; being figures and descrip- 

 tions of new and rare Hymenomycetous Fungi," Edited by 

 W. Wilson Saunriers, F.R.S.; and Worthington G. Smith, 

 F.L.S., assisted by A. W. Bennett, M.A., &c. Part I.London : 

 Van Voorst. 



