HARDWICKE'S SCI ENCE-G OS S T P. 



191 



times hilarious and at others mournful, and is much 

 louder in tone and better sustained than the Black- 

 cap's; the song of the latter is more often mutilated, 

 thou(?h very early in the morning, in the spring 

 time, it sings with great persistence, and with i'ar 

 greater effect than later in the day: its closing trill 

 is richly wild and enclianting ; but if " P." heard the 

 two birds once or twice, he would never mistake the 

 song of one for the other. — /. S. Metcalfe, Kendal. 



Botanical Locality Record Club.— All per- 

 sons desiring to become members of this club, who 

 have not yet sent in their names, are requested to 

 send them to Mr. T. B. Blow, Welwyn, as soon as 

 possible. The number of members is limited, and 

 only a few more can be admitted. 



Naturalists' Field Clubs (p. 165). — Your 

 correspondent "J. G." will find every information 

 respecting the above in the " Guide to the Natural 

 History Societies of Loudon," price twopence ; 

 published by the Saturdav Half-holiday Committee, 

 100, Meet-street, E.C.-J/. A. H. 



Pearls. — In answer to your correspondent " R .M.," 

 who asks the reason of pearls turning black, you 

 can insert the following, unless any correspondent 

 gives a better answer ; viz. — If " R. M." examines a 

 section of pearl, he will find it is formed of layers 

 of cells, the centre being similar to the pith of wood, 

 which, if kept in contact with the skin, absorbs the 

 perspiration, which being acted upon by the air, 

 turns blackish. Soap, or any other greasy substance, 

 will injure pearls in a similar manner by being 

 absorbed. Pearls cut in half turn quicker than 

 whole ones. The reason some keep their colour 

 longer than others, is on account of the cell being 

 more minute. — W. IF. Jones. 



Singing MiCE.-Having seen some notices of sing- 

 ing mice, about which I had been very incredulous, 

 I have a fact to record, of which others may be as 

 incredulous as I formerly was. A short time ago 

 I had been a little more wakeful than usual, and was 

 aroused by the voice of a chirping little songster in 

 close proximity. I listened with no little wonder to 

 the song. It was that of a veritable singing mouse, 

 and its song continued four or five_ minutes, gra- 

 dually getting sweeter and lower until it died away. 

 — /. Sim. 



Microscopic Postal Cabinets.— Some two or 

 three years ago I proposed a plan similar to that 

 suggested by Mr. Atkinson in Science-Gossip for 

 May ; but being at that time unable to find others 

 like-minded, my scheme fell to the ground. I 

 should like slightly to alter Mr. Atkinson's proposal 

 in this way; viz. — For a dozen members letthere be 

 two small boxes provided, size of each 1^ in. deep, 

 1-2^ in. wide, 3i in. long — tcithout rack ; these would 

 each hold one dozen objects, separately wrapped in 

 several folds of tissue-paper: each member could 

 then put in two objects instead of one. In addition 

 to the objects, a few sheets of white paper, pinned 

 together by one corner, should be added for queries, 

 remarks, suggestions, and replies, a new lot being 

 added each month ; but the old one should always 

 take the circuit twice, after which any suggestion 

 of interest should be copied out by the president 

 and sent to the editors of Science-Gossip and the 

 English Mechanic, the papers themselves being 

 retained for the society by the president. With 

 respect to entrance-fee , as each member will pay 

 his own postage, I think sixpence will be sufficient, 

 yet 1 do not object to a shilling if thought desirable. 



1 have now simply to add that if Mr. Atkinson will 

 send me his address, I think I can guarantee him at 

 least six members.- .^/y/ec? Allen, Felstead, Essex. 



Roosting Habits of Birds.— Where do birds 

 roost ? Some perch on the ground, others in hedges 

 and thickets, others creep into hollow trees, stacks, 

 and barns, and many shiver the night through on 

 the bare boughs of the trees, exposed to the pitiless 

 blasts and bitter frosts of December and January. 

 Now, there are two little birds of my extensive 

 acquaintance, whose prudence and forethought in 

 providing a snug roosting-place deserve record in 

 the pages of Science-Gossip. The first of these is 

 the common wren (Passer troylodytes'), more fami- 

 liarly known by the affectionate appellation of Jenny, 

 or Kitty Wren. Every country boy knows pert 

 Jenny's mania for building half-finished nests, and 

 her jealousy if the nest is disturbed in any way. 

 About the second week in March, 1S68, I noticed a 

 wren busily engaged in building in a patch of ivy 

 in front of this house, and as is usually the case, she 

 worked at it for a day or two with great determi- 

 nation, and after making a mighty fuss for a time, 

 deserted it altogether. A few nights after I was 

 smoking at the door, close to the ivy, and out of 

 curiosity put my fingers into the nest, when, to my 

 surprise, they came in contact with a warm feathery 

 ball at the bottom. I hastily withdrew them, when 

 out flew a wren, which poured forth a very agitated 

 song while flying to a tree close by. The next night 

 it occupied the nest again, and for several nights 

 after. My next example is that universally-hated 

 member of the British ornithology, the house 

 sparrow {Passer domesticus). I hardly think the 

 poor fellow deserves this wholesale condemnation, 

 since his only crimes are looking out sharply for 

 "number one"; and how few unfeathered bipeds 

 in these times can say they are not doing the same? 

 Purchase next week's penny " w^ekljr," and "read 

 up," in proof of what I say, under the head of "law 

 and police." Leaving the dark page of the sparrow's 

 life, let usnow notice his sagacity in providing a snug 

 nook in which to pass the cold winter nights. 

 Everybody knows what a huge collection of hay, 

 straw, feathers, rags, and the like, the sparrow 

 collects together before tiie pepper-and-salt-looking 

 eggs make their appearance ; but everybody does 

 not know that the nest is frequently used in winter 

 as a snug roosting-place, having previously received 

 a thorough renovation, and a vast increase in the 

 quantity of bedding. The numerous broods of 

 youngsters are generally all cleared out by August, 

 and the owners of the nest left in possession. In 

 the autumn and winter of 1S70, I noticed sparrows 

 busily at work carrying feathers and other materials 

 into an ivy-covered spruce fir growing near this 

 house. On October 10th I saw a female with 

 feathers in her bill, on the branches. On seeing me 

 she dived into the ivy, and hid herself from view. 

 Four days later, I twice saw a male with feathers, 

 which he dropped on discovering me. Again ou 

 November 16th I saw another male with feathers in 

 his bill, which were again dropped. The birds had 

 evinced good taste in the selection of materials, as 

 the feathers dropped were all soft, fluffy, and warm. 

 Years before this I had noticed with pleasure the 

 sagacity of the sparrow. On one occasion, in 

 particular, a sudden and sharp frost came upon us 

 quite unexpectedly, and next morning our little 

 colony of sparrows was busily engaged in collecting 

 materials, and debating the subject with many 

 chattering /?ros and cons. — IF. II, JFarner, Kingston 

 Abingdon. 



