HAKUVVICKE'S SCIE^'CE-GOSSIP. 



21 



and liaving failed to find a satisfactory explanation 

 in the ordinary text-books, have applied to you. — 

 Horace Wilsoti. 



Keeping PupjE through the Winter (p. 237, 

 1872) —In reply to "M. H.," I may state that I have 

 been accustomed to keep those caterpillars which I 

 eitlier kno\y or suspect will require earth in which to 

 undersjo their transformations, in_ earthenware jars 

 or ]5ots, having from two to six inches' depth, ac- 

 cording to the size and habits of the species._ Of 

 course, it is only necessary to place the caterpillars 

 in these when they appear to be almost full-grown. 

 The earth I use is'common garden mould, mingled 

 with a little sand, to keep it from binding too 

 closely. Some persons recommend the mould 

 obtainable from decayed trees. If this is used, it 

 must be well baked, to destroy small insects, mites, 

 &c. I do not moisten or disturb them during the 

 winter. In the spring, I disinter them and place 

 them on dry moss. I should add, that after a 

 caterpillar has gone down to prepare for pupation, 

 the receptacle should not be moved untilit has 

 settled down, for a jerk given to the pot or jar will 

 alarm the caterpillar frequently, and bring it to the 

 surface of the earth, to undergo its change under 

 disadvantage.—/. R. S. C. 



The Privet Hawk. — I had in my garden, 

 last autumn, caterpillars of the Privet Hawk-moth 

 feeding on the Privet, the Lilac, and the Laurestine. 

 Tlie Privet and the Lilac, given by Stainton as the 

 food-plants of this beautiful caterpillar, are very 

 closely allied, both belonging to the Oleacea ; but 

 the Laurestine {Viburnum Tunis) belongs to an 

 order sufficiently remote, that, namely, of the Elder, 

 the Linnsea, and the Honeysuckle, — the Capri- 

 foliacete. Individuals shifted from one of the plants 

 to another at once fell to work as if they perceived 

 no change of diet. I saw Viburnum Tinus serving 

 as food-plant to the same caterpillar in Clarendon 

 Road. — /. /. M., St. Helier's, Jersey. 



Bees in Birds' Nests. — In answer to T. C. 

 Oborn's interrogatory paragraph in " ours " for 

 October, headed "Chaffinch's Nests," I have to 

 say the fo' lowing : — Only once has a case similar to 

 that which T. C. Oborn speaks of attracted my 

 attention. It w^as last Jul.v, that, walking in a 

 friend's garden, we discovered what proved to be a 

 robin's nest almost entirely hidden from observation 

 in the ivy and climbing rose that overarched the 

 gravelled walk. My friend carefully put his hand 

 into the nest to feel for the supposed eggs, but as 

 quickly drew it out again, exclaiming that he had 

 been bitten or stung. On pulling out the nest with 

 a stick, there flew out an indignant bumble-bee, — not 

 one of the great big fellows whose stings are so 

 innocent according to those who have had no stinging 

 experience, but a smaller, foxy-haired little fellow. 

 It left behind in the nest a large dark-coloured 

 waxen cell containing embryo bees in the shape of 

 little white grubs. The nest was, like T. C. 

 Oborn's, about five feet off the ground. It had been 

 built that season, and contained no eggs when the 

 insect appropriated it, the fledged birds having 

 flown some time before. Although such a habitat 

 for bees is new to the experience of some practical 

 bird-nesters of my acquaintance, I think it may prove 

 a not uncommon one. — TV. TV. H. 



The Woodpigeon's Cry. — "The amusing 

 incident with regard to the Woodpigeon's cry" 

 mentioned by Mr. G. O. HoweU in your July num- 

 ber, has long been familiar to me in a slightly altered 



form, in common, no doubt, with others who are 

 acquainted with the north of Ireland. In our 

 version of the story, the thief is, as you may antici- 

 pate, an Irishman, and the words supposed to be 

 uttered bv the pigeon were " Taktwo coos, Jemmv " 

 instead of " Take two sheep, Taffy," as Mr. Howell's 

 version has it, the object of theft being a cow 

 instead of sheep._ The words seem to be Scotch, or 

 partly so. The inhabitants of the North of Ireland 

 are principally Scotch, and theu- language is full of 

 Scotch words and expressions. Notwithstanding this, 

 the story may be really Scotch initsorigm; Ihave never 

 heard it, however, in Scotland, though 1 have lived 

 there for some time. I may add that the Woodpigeon 

 generally commences, not with the note representing 

 the word "tak," which is a short and sharp sound, but 

 with that representing the word " two," which is a 

 long and rather mournful note ; the next note, repre- 

 senting "coos," is also long, longer indeed than the 

 preceding one ; the word " Jemmy " is represented 

 by two short sharp sounds. We have thus two long 

 notes, followed by three short ones, thus — "Two coos 



Jemmy tak" (— ^^ .^~' ^^ the longest note 



being the second. Sometimes, however, the bird 

 commences with the short sound " tak," as the story 

 represents it to have done. — T. A. H. 



The Skulpin.— Couch, in his admirable "History 

 of British Fishes," vol.ii.p. 17-4, when referring tot he 

 Skulpin, says: "Pliny further tells us that'to the 

 Romans, in addition to the name of Callionymus, 

 it was known as the Uranoscopus, or sky-gazer, 

 because its eyes were on the top of the head, 

 with their vision directed upwards. This latter 

 circumstance in connection with its former name, 

 which recognizes the beauty of its appearance, may 

 be supposed to point to the Yellow Skulpin, which 

 answers to both these particulars ; but if any doubt 

 remains concerning it, we are not able to mention 

 any other author of a remote date who has given 

 ail account by which it can be more definitely deter- 

 mined." I suppose this statement respecting the 

 upward aspect of the eyes has arisen from the fact 

 that ichthyologists a few years ago described fishes 

 as they appeared when dead. There is at present 

 a specimen of the Skulpin in one of the marine 

 aquaria in the Central Exchange Art Gallery, 

 Neweastle-on-Tyne, and, although the eyes are 

 certainly placed near the top of the head and are 

 tolerably close together, they do not look upwards, 

 but sidewise, and the upper surface of the eye is pro- 

 tected by a thick, elevated, light yellow integument. 

 There is every reason to believe that the general 

 distribution of marine aquaria, and especially the 

 devotion to the interests of science of such recep- 

 tacles for marine animals, will be the means of 

 largely increasing our knowledge of the habits and 

 forms of marine animals, and at the same time 

 remove many erroneous impressions that now 

 obtain respecting their habits and modes of life. 

 —T. P. Barkas, F.G.S. 



Cockchafers. — Some time ago I met with a 

 curious account of the ravacres committed by these 

 insects, in an old book, called " Wood's Zoography," 

 published at the besinning of the present century. 

 Itis extracted from "Philosophical Transactions" for 

 the year 1697. The place where the cockchafers 

 first appeared was the south-west coast of Galway, 

 and they penetrated several miles inland. During 

 the daytime numberless swarms hanging to every 

 tree and hedge in the district were busily engaged 

 in their destructive work; but towards evening, 

 when the sun went down, they would all disperse 



