HAliDWICKE'iS SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



225 



one of the party (presumably the father of the 

 family) will take to flight, followed in straggling 

 order by the others, till another tree or clump of 

 bushes is gained, when the busy search, the chorus 

 of chirps, and the gymnastic feats will be repeated. 

 Por seven months in succession these little tits lead 

 a wandering, gipsy life, constantly moving from 

 place to place, now gaily disporting themselves 

 among the osiers and willows by the brookside, and 

 now huddling for shelter under the thick boughs of 

 the fir in the depths of the wood. At the approach 

 of spring this little troop of wanderers give up their 



chief material employed is moss, neatly woven, 

 covered outside with a coating of beautiful, silvery- 

 coloured lichens, and snugly lined with soft feathers. 

 Then comes a uestful of tiny eggs, some plain white, 

 others faintly speckled with pale red, and lastly a 

 troop of future wanderers with tails as straight as 

 carrots. 



The young tits, on leaving their mossy, lichen- 

 covered home, take their departure for other scenes, 

 together with their parents, and till the following 

 spring are veritable " long-tailed wanderers." 



Standlake, Witney, Oxon. 



Fig. 143. Long-tailed Tit (Purus caudatus). 



vagrant habits, separate into pairs, and settle down 

 into quiet, stay-at-home married life. 



And what a beautiful nest this pretty pair of 

 wanderers construct ! — how compact its form, how 

 neatly woven, and how judicious the selection of 

 materials ! The family of wanderers break up into 

 pairs, as I said before, at the approach of spring, 

 and soon set about the important business of nest- 

 building. This year (1S75) I found a nest of these 

 busy little tits so early as March 29th. The beauti- 

 ful little structure was built in a furze-bush on the 

 borders of a wood — a very favourite locality by the 

 way. The middle of a sloe- bush is also a good place 

 in which to look for the exquisite nest of the Long- 

 tailed Wanderer. The form of the nest is nearly 

 oval, with a small hole for entrance in the side, 

 about an inch from the top. The materials em- 

 ployed are most firmly woven to the surrounding 

 twigs. To remove the nest from its site without 

 spoiling the beauty of its form is a by no means 

 easy matter, indeed an almost impossible one. The 



NATURAL CURIOSITIES AT CHEDDAR. 



A MONGST the many interesting localities in- 

 -£-*- eluded in the programme of excursions under 

 the auspices of the British Association meeting at 

 Bristol, was the picturesque and romantic little 

 village of Cheddar, which is situated at the foot of 

 the Mendip Hills, in Somersetshire, and not far 

 from Wells. Besides the intrinsic beauty of the 

 surrounding landscape, and the interesting features 

 of the Mendip range of hills generally, there are at 

 Cheddar two natural curiosities which have special 

 attractions to all lovers of nature. They are the 

 Stalactite Cavern and the rocky chasm known as 

 the Cheddar Clitfs. 



The Stalactite Cavern was discovered in 1S37 by 

 Mr. Cox, its present owner, whilst making excava- 

 tions in the neighbourhood ; when first investigated, 

 it was found to be very damp and dirty, especially 

 the floor, but this has since been covered with 

 sand, and the whole cave made more accessible and 



