68 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



Nests.- — I saw a notice in Science- 

 one of your correspondents about 



occurred. Subsequently to tlie incident named, a pair 

 of swallows (not martins) built a nest in the porch of 

 my school, about ten feet from the ground. They 

 ■did their work in the mornings before school began 

 and after it was closed, but in the time of incubation 

 tliey became less timid, making their ingress and 

 egress in my presence. Of course the boys evinced 

 the common propensity for destroying the nest, but I 

 ]iractically illustrated the Inspector's Report that my 

 "children readily obeyed orders," by mildly and 

 kindly inducing them to refrain from annoying the 

 birds in any way. In all probability it was the first 

 time in their lives that they were prevented from 

 gratifying the prevailing desire to destroy whatever a 

 bird has built.— y. //: Batchdor. 



Swallows' 

 Gossip from 



swallows building their nest over a doorway m a 

 iinuch frequented place ; a similar case occurred here 

 this last summer. A pair of swallows built their nest 

 over the front door of my house, inside the porch. 

 There are glass doors to the poich, and these are shut 

 every evening at dusk and not opened till about seven 

 o'clock in the morning. Some of my family generally 

 sat in the porch when the evening was fine, or of a 

 wet day when they could not go out, but it made not 

 the slightest difference to the swallows, they were 

 constantly flying in and out ; and when the young 

 ones grew strong we could hear, as we sat in the 

 dining-room, their cries as the parents came in with 

 food. I sometimes got up early to liberate them, and 

 found them flying about in the porch. For some time 

 the whole family came home every evening, and when 

 they grew large and could not all fit in the nest, the 

 old ones sat on the lamp hanging from the roof of the 

 porch. It was very amusing to see them arranged for 

 the night, the four little white breasts all in a row, 

 sitting on the edge of the nest ; the whole thing was 

 a source of great amusement to us, and if all be well, 

 we hope they may come again next year to the same 

 place. A flat piece of virgin cork, fastened under the 

 nest, prevented all nastiness. — W. R. T. 



Notes IN Christmas Week, i8Si.— As we had 

 frost throughout the greater part of December, the 

 elfects of the mild weather which set in on Christmas 

 Day, and lasted to the end of the year, must be 

 thought a little remarkable. Here the primroses have 

 been flowering in the hedgerows. A single primrose 

 plant, in a bleak spot exposed to the north, bore three 

 flowers between the 20th and 31st, and has at least 

 five buds yet to open. I was told of another plant 

 nearer to the mountains. I also found, on the 31st, 

 ■blue milkwort, both dark and light, on a bare hedge- 

 bank without shelter ; even hardier specimens than 

 the plant which astonished some of your correspon- 

 ■dents last year by flowering in April. I noted the 

 bramble in blossom — December 25th — the common 

 centaury and feverfew [M. inodora), December 

 30th ; and the field madder, field woundwort {S. 

 arvensis) and mouse-ear chickweed (C viilgatuiii), 

 December 3 1 st. The wild flowers to be seen through- 

 out the week were : the common furze and the 

 Irish furze (U. Gallii), ox-eye daisy, barren straw- 

 berry, scented coltsfoot, field speedwell {ag;rsi:s), 

 charlock, buttercup (rt-pcns), ragwort, "hawks- 

 beard (C vireits) , and nipplewort ; with, of course, 

 the daisy, dandelion and groundsel. Adding all 

 my wild flowers of Christmas week together, the 

 sum turns out to be twenty-two species. We had 

 roses in the Christmas decorations in the parish church 

 •of Killanne ; hollyberries I do not remember to have 

 seen in such clusters in any winter. In our own 

 garden the flowers of the season are roses and violets, 



periwinkles, pansies, veronicas, wallflowers, snap- 

 dragons, polyanthuses, primroses, and barberry. Had 

 I kept a stricter watch throughout the week, I should 

 probably be able to mention others, both wild 

 and garden flowers. With respect to violets, the 

 Poet Laureate sings of the maiden who had feared — 



" To die before the snowdrop came. 

 And now the violet's here." 



As the violet ^^■ith us invariably blooms before the 

 snowdrop, the last line scarcely conveys the climatical 

 impression that seems to be intended. The missel 

 thrush sang every day in Christmas week. On the 

 31st I heard a chaffinch striking up its lively ditty ; 

 and at noon the same day I had the still greater plea- 

 sure of hearing a golden-crested wren merrily singing 

 " the old year out." To these remarks I must add, 

 that a lady friend heard a song thrush pursuing its 

 professional practice the same day ; and she also tells 

 me that on the 27th of the month she saw the wood 

 loosestrife {Lysiniachia iiemoriim), better known 

 here as the yellow pimpernel, showing its pretty 

 blossoms. — C. B. J\I., Co. ll\:xfo>-d. 



Miscellaneous Notes. — Early in last season I 

 killed a very large wasp ; later I killed a very small 

 one, the only two I have seen all the season. It is 

 said, a plum year a wasp year. Some years I have had 

 about two bushels of plums off some of my plum-trees, 

 this year on the same trees 1 counted seven plums, 

 riums with us have been very few, mulberries scarce, 

 hollyberries in abundance, haws plentiful, but the 

 storm on Oct. 14th blew many down; under one tree 

 they could be swept up, which will account for there 

 not being so many left. If the abundance of haws 

 and hollyberries foretell a cold winter, we must 

 expect a very severe one. I have noticed but few 

 caterpillars this season, and then only single ones, not 

 in clusters as some kinds do. I can only account for 

 this by the heavy rains and winds ; we had some on 

 the gooseberry and currant bushes, but by shaking 

 them well and then dusting them well with lime, so 

 as not to injure the fruit, and dusting the ground, we 

 soon got rid of them. If the lime does no other good 

 it manures the ground. I have noticed the rose 

 leaves cut in many bushes this year, by the rose- 

 cutting bee ; I have heard it remarked by others. 

 The storm on Oct. 14th was dreadful. It blew down in 

 my orchard one large apple-tree entirely, the half of 

 a walnut 112 years old, about a fourth of a mulberry- 

 tree more than 100 years old, large limbs of trees 

 scattered in all directions, large willows in the marshes 

 opposite and other damage. The destruction of 

 these old trees shuts off from the birds, shelter and 

 places to build their nests, the same in grubbing up 

 the shrubs and cutting down the trees destroys their 

 places of resort; not only that, but it prevents the 

 insects and other creatures that form their food from 

 having places to multiply in. Thus we may profess 

 to wonder at the scarcity of the golden-crested wren 

 when the firs are cut down, under the boughs of 

 which they build their nests, the wryneck or snake- 

 bird, and many others. The same course has been 

 going on with the river, the ditches filled up, the 

 marshes drained, alders, willows and osiers cut down ; 

 rushes, reeds and long grass dried out ; grass and 

 vegetables grow now for cattle and man ; we cannot 

 have it every way ; the water birds shut out and 

 destroyed, we still see the beautiful kingfisher, but 

 alas it is scarce. The fishes again— the space for them 

 to live and breed in is curtailed, besides (as in the 

 case of birds) the places for their food to multiply in 

 are closed against them ; the minnows are now very 

 scarce here, the numbers of the beautiful trout have 



