HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



281 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Seasonable Notes. — Observations made by Rev. S. Arthur Brenan during his incumbency of 

 Altedesert, Co. Tyrone, in his parish and neighbourhood : — 



1873. 1874. 187s. : 1876. 



1877. 



1S78. I 1879. ' iS 



1882. 



Frog-spawn 

 Swallows seen . 

 Chiffchaff . . . 

 Cuckoo heard . 

 Corncrake . 

 Lark singing 

 Thrush singing 

 Bumble bee 

 Queen wasp 

 Cabbage butterfly . 

 Caltha palustris 

 Blackthorn in flower 

 Primrose, wild . 

 Hawthorn in flower 

 Stitchwort, greater 



7-3 

 28.4 

 16.4 

 21.4 



9-5 



«.4 



14.4 

 17.4 



9-4 

 22.4 



26.4 



22. 

 21 , 



22 

 24 

 27 

 22 



25-1 



21.4 



9.4 

 28.1 



1-5 



9.4 



4-3 

 22.4 

 25.4 

 27.4 

 30-4 



12.2 



2.4 



29.4 



24.4 



13-5 



8.3 



15-6 



22 . 2 

 20.4 

 12.4 

 28.4 

 26.4 

 19.2 



5-2 

 22.3 



2.4 

 27.4 



12.4 



21.2 



22.5 



1-5 



9 

 14 

 15 

 20 

 28 

 16 



6 



14 

 21 



28.3 



2-5 



16.3 



27.5 



20.2 



12.4 



8.4 



7-4 

 21.4 



i8!i 



15-3 

 22.3 



8.4 



12.3 

 21. 1 



Query as to Bird — The insectivorous bird a 

 correspondent asks in our last the name of, is what 

 is known in the neighbourhood as the " Bletherin 

 Tammie " or stonechat. — AJarrison, Mothcnvcll. 



Preserving Butterflies and Moths. — Will 

 some correspondent give me instructions in the use 

 of a solution of corrosive sublimate in alcohol, for 

 preserving butterflies and moths ? I have prepared 

 about a hundred of my moths, but am not satisfied 

 with the result, the fringes of the wings and the 

 feathers on the thorax invariably get matted. I make 

 the solution too strong, and then dilute till there is 

 no visible deposit left on a black feather after immer- 

 sion. I dry the insects before the fire. — Walter A. 

 Fearcc. 



AIUD Inhabitants. — While examining an infusion 

 of green mud off the spout of a building, I observed 

 a creature of reddish colour and transparent structure, 

 which continually shot out its "mouth," which was 

 fringed with small tentacles, and seized small grains. 

 I could not tell whether they were animals or not. 

 While feeding, it held on by the other end to some 

 of the minute twigs in the water. It moved about 

 much in the same way as an earth-worm, by shooting 

 out one extremity and then drawing itself up after 

 it. One extremity seemed to have two small horns 

 like a snail. Will any of your more experienced 

 readers be so kind as to tell me what it was, for which 

 they shall receive my grateful thanks ? — R. M. JV. 



Hens and Horse-hair.— It is an unfortunate fact 

 that the lady whose experiences I forwarded to you 

 under the above heading was the victim of a hoax. I 

 did not hear of the imposture for more than two months 

 after the letter was sent, and from your not having 

 inserted it by that time concluded that you had per- 

 ceived the absurdity and suppressed the problem. 

 Seeing it six months after date is a disagreeable 

 surprise. It will be proper to insert this, notwith- 

 standing that human hoaxes possess less of scien- 

 tific interest than their perpetrators seem to think. — 

 C. B. Moffat. 



Green Frogs. — If kept in a cool and dark place, 

 these will require no food worth mentioning all the 

 winter. — E. A. F. 



Herons. — In your March number, p. 69, I drew 

 attention to Waterton's opinion about these birds' 

 way of sitting on their nests. He maintained that it 

 is impossible that they should sit astride, on anatom- 

 ical and other grounds. However, a cousin of mine 

 assures me that some years ago, on climbing to a nest 

 in which a heron was sitting, he saw one of its legs 

 sticking through the nest, and caught hold of it. — 

 E. A. F. 



Supposed Viper. — I notice in Science -Gossip 

 that Mr. E. H. Robertson states that on July 17, 1882, 

 he killed a common viper [Pcliits herns) near a heap 

 of manure, and on dissection found eighteen eggs. I 

 think if Mr. Robertson before writing had looked into 

 " Our Reptiles," by AI. C. Cooke, or any other book 

 on Reptiles, he would have seen his mistake. The 

 snake he killed I have no doubt was the common 

 snake {Tropidoiiotiis natrix) and of no unusual size, 

 she had gone to the dung heap to lay her eggs. The 

 female viper produces her young alive. I have 

 dissected many female vipers, and found the young ia 

 various stages. — A'. Y. Green. 



Suggested "Market" for Natural History 

 Objects. — It occurs to me that, considering the 

 great difficulty that exists in arranging satisfactorily 

 the exchange of specimens of natural history, it 

 might be much facilitated by the institution of a 

 market for that purpose. London would be a good 

 central place for it. At present the correspondence 

 involved, the package necessary, and the expense of 

 postage, greatly interfere with the progress of ex- 

 change. All this might be obviated by the use of a 

 hall for that purpose. The opinions of your readers 

 would be very acceptable. — B. Piffard. 



Hunting Wasps. — J. P. Smythe wishes to know 

 if it is common for wasps to hunt their prey in the 

 manner he describes. The wasp is a bold and ra- 

 pacious insect ; and although fond of fruit and sugar, 

 it will not scruple to attack and devour flies, &c. 

 I have frequently seen it pounce upon some poor fly 

 and carry it off to a nook, and there make a hearty 

 meal, or fly off to the nest with its victim as food for 

 the larva\ The wasp he observed did this with the 

 grasshopper. It is very seldom that the wasp attacks 

 flies or any insect on the window-pane. The simple 



