ICO 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[July 1, 1SG6. 



Seven Barrow Loads of Swallows. — Con- 

 versing a short time ago with a sub-contractor on 

 the subject of birds hybernating, he rather astonished 

 me with the following statement. He was one of the 

 men engaged in excavating for the North Midland 

 line near Chesterfield, some years ago, and in going 

 through some rocks or quarries, they came upon a 

 great quantity of swallows in a torpid state. He 

 said there were seven barrows full of them, and 

 they were taken to the Hall, where Mr. Stephenson 

 lived, and kept until they revived. I tried to shake 

 his belief as to their being swallows, and suggested 

 bats— but he was firm. My reason for troubling 

 you now is, to ask if any of your readers in the 

 Midland district know anything of such a circum- 

 stance. — /. Goodyear, Bamsley. 



Adder in a Nest.— Walking with a keeper in a 

 gentleman's park a few days since, my attention was 

 drawn to the extraordinary movements of two willow 

 wrens [Sylvia t 'rochilus) , which were fluttering about 

 in some brambles. Erom the cries they emitted, 

 and the anxiety which they evidently were in, I at 

 once arrived at the conclusion that something 

 "startling" had interfered with their domestic 

 arrangements. Upon going to the spot over which 

 they hovered most, the keeper discovered their 

 nest, domed over as usual, and, merely remarking 

 that the entrance seemed full of feathers, he was 

 about to feel inside, when, starting back, he ex- 

 claimed, with more vehemence than sense, "By 

 Gosh ! there's an adder " ; and a remarkable fine 

 adder there was, completely curled up in the nest, 

 evidently preying on the young birds. I soon made 

 the adder beat a retreat and captured him, he being- 

 one of the most handsomely marked specimens 1 

 have ever seen. He measured twenty-three inches 

 in length, and had already gorged three out of the 

 six young birds, when his meal was so abruptly ter- 

 minated, and lhave no doubt but that the remainder 

 of the progeny would have found equal " accomo- 

 dation inside " but for my timely appearance. The 

 parent birds evinced delight upon my withdrawing 

 with their enemy, but I fear that the young ones 

 left in the nest would scarcely survive the depriva- 

 tion of air caused by the weight of the adder.— 

 J. B. F. 



Hermit Crabs.— Miss Smee, some time ago, 

 published an interesting account of the manner in 

 which caddis-worms (the aquatic larvse of Phry- 

 ■ganect) will sometimes construct new cases for 

 themselves from various other substances when in 

 an aquarium, than those they employ when in a 

 state of nature, and I, as a sort of pendant to this, 

 have to state that hermit crabs at times exemplify 

 that "necessity is the mother of invention," for 

 lately I received two tiny Paguri, alive, but each 

 wanting the empty shell which they employ as 

 a house, as every one knows. I put them into 



a jar of sea water and forgot them, and next 

 morning I found that one had made a home of 

 the shell of the hand and wrist of another and 

 larger hermit, which had exuviated in the jar a 

 few days previously, and which had been removed, 

 all but the portion of shell named, and which was 

 accidentally left behind. The other living hermit, 

 being similarly hard up for a covering, converted a 

 deserted fragment of a Serpula tube into a house. 

 I then threw in a couple of small empty shells of 

 periwinkles {Littorina), and these, after careful 

 examination, they finally took possession of, as 

 being more natural to them than the provisional 

 accommodations which served their purpose in 

 their need, for a few hours. — W. A/ford Lloyd. 



Nest of the Bullfinch (Pyrrhula vulgaris).— 

 This season, I found a nest of the Bullfinch, up in 

 a thorn-bush, on the borders of a planting. It was 

 composed of the smaller twigs of larch, and lined 

 with bent ; there was a total absence of wool and 

 hair, the usual lining, and the nest was very 

 shallow. It contained three eggs. In the breeding 

 season, the bullfinch generally chooses a retired 

 place to build in ; but in 1S61, I found a nest in an 

 hedge-row, which parted the fields from the high 

 road ; walkers on the foot-path would frequently 

 brush the hedge. My companion was amusing him- 

 self with throwing stones, and killed the cock bird, 

 and when he ran to find the bird, we found it and 

 the nest.— John Ranson, Linton-on-Oase, York. 



Corn Crake or Drake Hen [Crexpratensis). — 

 I first heard this bird this year on the seventh of 

 May, in the meadow at the bottom of my garden. 

 I find, on reference to my notes, that it was first 

 heard on April 17th in ISGi, and on May 1st in 

 18G5, so that it is later in its appearance this year 

 than usual. — John Ranson, Liulon-on-Ouse, York, 



Bee-loving Cuckoo.— During the last fortnight 

 the cuckoo has been a frequent visitor in my 

 garden, sometimes perching on a bush about twelve 

 yards from the door. I encouraged its visits by 

 causing every one to leave the garden, when I 

 heard it in the neighbourhood. I had a very 

 strong hive of bees in the garden, which I was 

 expecting would swarm in a few days. On Tuesday 

 they were particularly busy, but on visiting them on 

 Wednesday morning, there was no appearance of 

 any work going on, aud when I lifted the "skep," 

 I found that there were only four or five bees 

 inside. I could not account for them leaving so 

 early until to day, when a working man informed me 

 that yesterday he found a cuckoo sitting on the 

 landing board of one of his hives devouring the bees 

 as fast as they came out, and on examination he 

 found that two of his hives were completely 

 harried out. — J. Clark, Lachmahen, Dumfriesshire. 



