HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



161 



Mr. Lowe's unsafe match - tax.— William Henry 

 Warner, Kingston, Abingdon. 



Orange - tip Butterfly (Anlhocharis carda- 

 mines). — It will uo doubt interest some of your 

 readers to know that I took ou May 6th, a beauti- 

 fully fresh male specimen of this lovely butterfly, 

 which measured barely an inch and a quarter across 

 the wings, being little larger than a small Heath, 

 though perfect in every other respect. I see by my 

 diary that it appeared in this neighbourhood this 

 year so early as April 1Mb, having myself seen two 

 males gambolling together on that day. The Azure- 

 blue Butterfly (Lycana argiolus) is very common 

 here this spring. I noticed in a wood on May 6th, 

 dozens of Green Adela Moths {Adela viridella) 

 fluttering about the bushes and hovering in the air, 

 their polished metallic wings and long threadlike 

 antennae glittering beautifully in the sun. A dozen 

 of Oak. Eggar (Lasiocampa quercus) caterpillars in 

 my breeding-cage have attained their full size, and 

 are about to change into the chrysalis state, which 

 I consider worth noting as it appears to me to be 

 re markably early. — William Henry Warner, Kingston, 

 Abingdon. 



Hooks (p. 137).— Perhaps it would further inter- 

 est some of your readers (of the North at least), to be 

 reminded that accordingto "Sykes'sLocal Records," 

 a pair of crows built their nest upon the top of the 

 tube of the cane on the Exchange at Newcastle-on- 

 Tyne, in March, 17S3, and again in 17S5-6-7-S, each 

 year succeeding in hatching and rearing their young ; 

 and, what is perhaps more singular, the nest was 

 wisely built on the "windward" side of the vane, 

 and moved round with it as the wind changed. The 

 same local authority also informs us (vol. ii. p. 102, 

 edition 1S66) that for many years previously to 1S15, 

 a large ash-tree in the garden of the Vicarage (then 

 in the middle of the town, I suppose) was much 

 frequented by rooks. — W. A. C. 



ExTRAORDINAY POSITIONS FOR BlRDS' NESTS.— 



A white-throated wren recently built its nest in the 

 letter-box of the Duke of Rutland's gamekeeper at 

 1 he Links, near Newmarket, and produced six young 

 ones. During its incubation the old bird took no 

 notice of the intrusion of the persons who went for 

 the letters night and morning. A short distance from 

 this remarkable nest is one built by a lark under 

 1 he metals on the line of railway between New- 

 market and Dullingham. The bird is sitting upon 

 lour eggs, and takes no notice of the thirty trains 

 which pass over the line daily. — Bury and Norwich 

 Post and Suffolk Herald, May 16///, 1S71. 



Otter-iiunting. — The Hon. Geoffery Hill has 

 again been hunting in Cheshire with his otter 

 hounds. On the ISth of April, at Capesthorne, an 

 otter was found, but lost again ; on the 19th, two 

 young otters were killed, near Over-Peover Mill ; 



on the 21st, the hounds had an excellent run in the 

 neighbourhood of Ashley and Nobberley; on the 

 22nd, an otter was killed at Reed's Mere ; and on 

 the 24th, another was found at Over-Peover Mill, 

 and, after a hard day, was killed near Arley Mill. — 

 G. II. II. 



"Bat in Sunshine."— Coming down the river 

 Test on a bright sunshiny day, 1 saw a bat flying 

 about hawking flies over the river about midday ; 

 some swallows were doing the same thing near him. 

 —II. L. 



Rat Sagacity. — As instances of the caution of 

 rats when they, find themselves watched, take the 

 following: — One of my men on night duty having 

 placed a basket of grapes in a warehouse which he 

 visited about midnight, was surprised to find the 

 basket full of rats, neither grapes nor bottom of 

 basket to be seen for rats. Having nothing to 

 knock them over with, and being rather startled, 

 all the vermin escaped. He retired immediately 

 without touching the basket, which now contained 

 little more than husks, thinking the rats would soon 

 return to the charge ; but they proved themselves 

 quite as sharp as he was, for they returned no more 

 to the basket, which he peeped at cautiously several 

 times. When the men were at meals in the ware- 

 house, the rats would pick up crumbs and fish bones 

 almost from between their feet. "Wishing for a shot 

 at some of them, I dropped a few grains of maize 

 on the ground, and took up my position, gun in 

 hand. Soon one rat bounded across the space, as if 

 in great alarm, but no rat touched a grain of the 

 corn, which was exposed for several days and nights, 

 being at last crushed and lost by the passing of feet 

 and goods. Rats were numerous in the pigsties, 

 and ate with the pigs ; one of which I turned out of 

 her sty, and contrived a trap-door to close the 

 trough by pulling a cord. 1 baited the trough with 

 ground maize, of which they are very fond ; but 

 neither by day nor by night would a rat venture 

 there so long as the pig was excluded. Returning 

 the pig to the sty, the rats also returned. The pig, 

 after feeding, went to sleep, leaving the scrapings 

 for her friends, which now made very free with the 

 trough ; and a girl being set to watch, destroyed 

 upwards of twenty rats in two days. I placed a 

 little corn in front of a hole, thiuking they would 

 come out, and I might shoot some of them. Heads 

 were popped out, but only one very young rat came 

 to eat. As I could not spare much time, I fired at 

 the heads to be seen at the mouth of the hole, and, 

 including the small one, found I had killed five rats. 

 —G. S. 



Climbing Rats.— Many of the garden paths in 

 and near Oporto are spanned by timber-work for 

 training vines, affording an agreeable shade. My 

 white grapes, which were more forward than the 



