HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSl P. 



31 



On the most exposed spot in the island the Cor- 

 morants have taken up their abode ; and as vre ap- 

 proached the island, we saw the lon^ bodies and 

 longer necks of tliese birds conspicuous ; but the 

 perfume the wind wafted to us indicated their 

 whereabouts much stronger than was quite plea- 

 sant, for sanitary regulations are by no means 

 carried out satisfactorily by this community. When 

 we had scrambled on the rocks from the boat, we 

 were within fifty yards of the Cormorants' head- 

 quarters, inhabited by some fifty or sixty pairs of 

 birds. At tliis distance they only stretched out 

 their long necks and eyed us with their small green 

 eyes. As we approached nearer they showed un- 

 easiness, and, twisting and stretching their necks, 

 uttered their peculiar call. The only noise I can 

 compare it to is ths laughter of our own species. 

 Fancy a party of fifty or sixty elderly gentlemen all 

 laughing, not iu a merry, joyous laugh, but in a 

 gruff ha, ha, haw — some rolling it forth in a deep 

 guttural way, some sharper and quicker, and some 

 again in a more lively key, and you will have some 

 idea how the Cormorants saluted us. When we got 

 within five or six yards, thebirds stood upright in their 

 nests, stretched out their long necks, gave out their 

 "Ha, ha, haw," and flapped away to a little distance, 

 all the time eyeing us in the most comical way. 

 I saw that the number of eggs varied ; some nests 

 only containing two, and others as many as six. I 

 also observed that the eggs, though all of the long, 

 uniform, oval shape by which they are so easily dis- 

 tinguished, varied much in colour, half in the same 

 nest being of a greenish-white, and the remainder 

 of a cream-colour ; in fact, I hardly saw a single 

 nest in which the eggs did not thus differ. The 

 parent birds, not content with selecting the most 

 exposed spot, must make their nests more conspi- 

 cuous-by piling up a quantity of black sea-weed, on 

 which they lay their eggs. What purpose this mass 

 of sea-weed served was a puzzle to me. From the 

 heat of the sun in this exposed situation it had be- 

 come hard aud dry, and by no means formed a soft 

 bed for the eggs or young; besides, it was so 

 loosely put together, that it did not prevent the 

 eggs rolling out, and I saw several eggs lying a 

 little distance from the nest. These birds, at other 

 times the most shy and wary of sea-fowl, when at 

 home appear to change their nature, and become as 

 tame as barn-door fowl. During the time we re- 

 mained near the nests the old birds kept a watch- 

 ful eye upon our proceedings, though never at- 

 tempted to drive us from their nests by swooping 

 or flying'overhead, as many of the Gulls, and parti- 

 cularly the Terns, did. As soon as we had left the 

 spot a little distance, we saw the old birds resume 

 their post in a quiet, business-like manner, uttering 

 their " Ha, ha, haw " with gravity, and quietly 

 settling down on their nests. 

 Mount Pleasant, FernjluU. T. I. B. 



THE DESTRUCTION OF ENGLISH 



BUTTERFLIES. 



T HEAD this advisedly, because 1 believe it is in 

 ■Jl-Eugland, rather than in Scotland or Ireland, that 

 the destruction of these insects is carried on to an 

 extent ' which greatly dimiuislies some species, 

 and threatens the extermination of others. I have 

 already referred to this in print, and abler pens than 

 mine have commented on the subject, yet the evil 

 is unabated. My attention has been recently called 

 to it by some observations made by Mr. Birchell in 

 the Entomologist. He mentions several northern 

 districts in >hieh certain butterflies, such as lo, 

 Paphia, Rhamni, and Galathea, have become scarce, 

 or have even disappeared. We ask, " How is this— 

 is it due to the builder or the agriculturist ? " No ; 

 his reply is, that it is caused by the "merciless pur- 

 suit and wholesale slaughter carried on by the 

 makers of buttefly pictures. The numbers thus 

 annually destroyed are almost incredible. I have 

 known 250 ' peacocks ' used in the construction of 

 an elephant, and upwards of 500 ' tortoiseshells ' in 

 the figure of a crocodile three feet long. A portrait of 

 Lord Brougham in butterflies, the checked trousers 

 depicted by Galatheas' wings, is considered a clever 

 work of art ! " 



Now this seems laughable, but it is really serious, 

 and the practice, if extensively 'pursued, will do more 

 ndschief than is produced by the extensive captures 

 made by some collectors for the purpose of exchange. 

 No doubt the growth of towns and the cultivation 

 of waste lauds have their influences too, but these 

 are not irremediable. 



I believe that we shall have at last to institute a 

 society, the object of which shall be the preser- 

 vation of our butterflies from extensive spoliation. 

 No doubt, iu many instances, the common sense of 

 individuals, if it could be appealed to, would lead 

 them to desist from a course as suicidal as that of 

 the man iu the fable, the luckless killer of the goose 

 which produced golden eggs. J. E. S. C. 



POLYXENES. 

 "POLYXENES, or Polyxenws.—" A little oblong 



jr 



animal, with tufts of minute scales on its 



sides, and a pencil of hairs at its tail. It has twelve 

 pairs of feet, and is found under the bark of trees," 

 so say Latreille, Cuvier, and Lamarck. 



This is my Polyxenes — Polyxenes Lagurus — or 

 Hare-tailed Millipede. But how came he by so fine 

 a name ? 



Polyxenes (if it mean anything) means " One who 

 entertains many friends." Let us see who his 

 friends are, and what sort of company he keeps. 

 Strip off a piece of dead bark from the yew-tree, 

 and examine the under side M'ith a magnifying-glass 



