HAllDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



213 



can account for such appearance. A friend of mine 

 has found the Hawfinch breeding in Wiltshire and 

 Berkshiie; and it was found nesting at Windsor 

 nearly forty rears a<yo. (Mudie's "Feathered 

 Tribes," vol ii. ed. 1S3J-.) In Middlesex it has 

 bred in almost every part. (Harting's " Birds of 

 Middlesex," pp. Si 85.) It lias been known to 

 nest in Richmond Park, and I have a female speci- 

 men in my possession which was shot in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Kingston-on-Thames, with the bill in 

 the deen blue leaden colour of the breeding season. 

 In stuffed birds, however, this blue fades into yel- 

 low upon the under surface of the lower mandible. 

 In Suffolk, as in some counties, it is permanently 

 resident, and in the adjoining county of Norfolk it 

 has bred at Weston, Kimberley, aud Attenborough, 

 as recorded by Mr. Stevenson. ("Birds of Nor- 

 folk," pp. 215, 216, vol. i.) Mr. Henry Doubleday's 

 excellent contributions to ornithology have made 

 known to many that Epping Porest may be con- 

 sidered to have once been the particular home of 

 the Hawfinch. It is permanently resident there ; 

 but, unfortunately, in fast decreasing numbers, ac- 

 cording to Mr. Doubleday. {Zoologist, p. 5093. See, 

 however, another communication from the same 

 writer in The Zoologist for March, 186S, p. 1133.) 

 During the present year, 1871, the nest of the 

 Hawfinch has been taken at Kesgrave, in Suffolk ; 

 at Kington, in Herefordshire [Zoologist, S.S., 

 p. 2682) ; at Weobley, in the same county [Field, 

 (July 8, p. 31) ; and' at Alresford, in Essex (Dr. 

 Bree, in The Field, July 8). 1 have known it to 

 breed in Worcestershire, though in that county it 

 is a rare species. Mr. Lees [Zoologist, S.S., p. 2G37) 

 mentions that its nest has been found at Malvern. 

 Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., saw the Hawfinch at Oued- 

 el-Alleg and Miiiana, in Algeria (" Ornithology of 

 Algeria," Ibis, for July, 1871) ; and Mr. Dresser, in 

 aninteresting translation from the Russian, in The 

 Field, August 12, 1871, mentions the Hawfinch as 

 rare in the Trans-Ural.— E. F. Peterson, 36, Tavis- 

 tock Crescent. 



Hawfinch. — Eor the information of your corre- 

 spondent "C. A.," in your August number, I beg 

 to state that a couple of young Hawfinches, just 

 fledged, were caught here on the 2Sth of June. — 

 Ernest George Hebbert, Svicthboro', Tunbridge Wells. 



The Oak Eggak [Lasiocampa querais). — In 

 answer to Mr. W. H. Warner, I find my first eggar 

 commenced spinning on May 12th. In 1869 (which 

 was a much earlier season with us) I had a pupa on 

 May 7th, the larva having completed its cocoon 

 some days before. Mr. Warner does not give the 

 exact date of his larva; being full-fed, though he 

 observes, "It appears to be remarkably early." — /. 

 Henderson. 



The Small Eggak, [Eriogaster lanestris). — In 

 reference to the habits and peculiarities of this 

 species, about which Mr. Laddiman seeks further 

 information (p. 165), I beg to state that some years 

 since I found a great mortality took place when 

 the larvae were reared in confinement. But in this, 

 as in some other instances, it has been too hastily 

 assumed that this mortality is peculiar to their life 

 in captivity. I am rather inclined to believe that 

 it is a delicate larva under all circumstances, aud 

 though seemingly not much troubled by insect para- 

 sites, it is kept in check by the prevalence of some 

 disease which diminishes their numbers. Were it 

 not for this, as the moth lays a considerable num- 

 ber of eggs, we should probably have it as abun- 



dant as the well-known Lackey. Since the time I 

 reared any of the larvae of this species, I have been 

 told that slightly damping the cocoons is advan- 

 tageous — a practice which is rarely resorted to by 

 the entomologist in the case of those pupa; thus 

 enclosed. It might be worth a trial. In Science- 

 Gossip, vol. i. p. 126, is an interesting account of 

 this moth ; the author was very successful with the 

 brood he had in rearing.—/. Ii. S. C. 



The Small Eggaii [Eriogaster lanestris). — My 

 experiences of the larvse of this interesting moth 

 are similar to those of Mr. Laddiman ; which fact, 

 though known to him, may perhaps be of interest 

 to other entomologists. In the season of 1869 I 

 took 50 full-sized larvae, of which only three attained 

 the perfect state. In 1868, out of 40 larvae, only two 

 moths emerged, and one of these was " a cripple." 

 What makes this so remarkable is the fact that 

 other species are easily reared in the same box, and 

 on the same plan, with complete success. Some 

 other Bombyces, especially the Oak' Eggar and the 

 Drinker [Odonestls potatoria), die off, but not in 

 such large quantities, and this I can trace to the 

 Ichneumon Ply in many cases. As I have a large 

 brood of full-grown Small Eggars in my breeding- 

 cages at the present time, I hope to be more suc- 

 cessful with them ; if, however, they die off, I shall 

 endeavour to find out the cause of the "mortality," 

 and will send on account of it to Science-Gossip. 

 The peculiar length of time occupied by the Small 

 Eggar in the pupa state is well known to myself 

 aud other Reading collectors of whom I have in- 

 quired. I have only had one double cocoon spun, 

 to my recollection, and the inmates never came out. 

 1 have bred large numbers of the Puss-moth, but 

 have always found they emerged the first season. 



Polk-lore— Mad-stones.— " Pive children, three 

 white and two black, were bitten by a mad dog in 

 Pulaski, Tenn., one day last week. Mad-stones 

 were applied promptly to the white children, it is 

 said, with the desired effect, all of them being now 

 well and safe, while the negro children, to whom 

 the mad-stone was not applied, have gone mad. 

 The account says there were several mad-stones in 

 the neighbourhood." The above extract is from 

 a New York paper of last month, and it is possibly 

 the invention of some penny-a-liner; but it would 

 be interesting to know if there really exists in 

 America a popular belief that certain stones have 

 the power of averting hydrophobia from persons 

 who have been bitten by dogs, and, if so, some ac- 

 count might be given of the nature and locality of 

 such stones. — Fras. Brent. 



Pishes of the Joedan (p. 166).— Dr. Tristram 

 states that the species of fishes inhabiting the Sea 

 of Galilee and the Jordan (which of course are iden- 

 tical) closely resemble those of the Nile. The 

 Bream, Perch, and Carp tribes are prominently re- 

 presented, together with silnroids or sheat-fish, 

 called by Josephus Coracini. Dr. Tristram and his 

 companions found Chromis nilotica (a bream), Clarias 

 macracanthus (a siluroid), and four species of 

 Ilemichromis, an African genus. The quantities of 

 these fish are described as remarkable, both in the 

 lake and in the Jordan. — W. H. Groser. 



Cleaning Skeletons (p. 165). — Perhaps if 

 your correspondent) L. Gillson, instead of burying 

 his specimens, would try placing them near the ant- 

 hill in a perforated box, as recommended by the 

 Rev. J. G. Wood in his " Common Objects of the 



