HARDWICKE'S SCIEW CE-GOSSIP. 



199 



black crest, which he can elevate and depress. 

 Another remarkable feature is the ring of white 

 round the throat, which gives a marked appearance 

 to this bird, so as to make him easily distinguish- 

 able ; the two outer feathers of the tail are also 

 white, and show in high relief when the tail is 

 extended in flight ; the general tone of the bodj- 

 feathers is greyish-brown, with a dash of green 

 about the wing. He is a small, graceful bird, and 

 sways himself about while singing, his throat throb- 

 bing as if it would burst ; his note is a soft, sweet, 

 guttural trill, which he continues unceasingly all 

 night long. He is much valued as a cage-bird ; but 

 it is very hard to get one, it being impossible to 

 keep an old bird in confinement, as they pine away 

 when the season of migration comes round, and it 

 is very difficult to find the nest, as the parent birds 

 will never go near it while any one is in sight. A 

 guinea can be obtained for a nest of healthy young 

 ones, and boys are on the look-out for tliem all 

 through the breeding season. 



The Irish Nightingale is, like the Blackcap, a 

 migratory bird, leaving us about the middle of 

 September, and returning again in April. 



Leprahaun. 



THE SQUIRHEL AS A NEST-EOBBER. 



I TAKE pleasure in corroborating ^Ii". Grantley 

 F. Berkeley's statements concerning the habits 

 of squirrels, as to their fondness for eggs. It is 

 well known on this side of the Atlantic, that small 

 birds are scarce just in proportion as the squirrels 

 are numerous. During the present spring, I have 

 been on the look-out for the nests of certain war- 

 blers, and twice instances of the Squirrel (Sciurus 

 migratorius) devouring crows' eggs have come to 

 my notice. In each case my attention was attracted 

 by the squirrel overhead, dropping, instead of frag- 

 ments of nut-shell, small bits of mottled green 

 egg-shell, which could be readily recognized. I 

 patiently waited until the (igg was devoured, and 

 then watched the future movements of the thief. 

 After licking his paws a moment, and apparently 

 surveying the neighbourhood, he slipped from one 

 bough to another, with an occasional leap to an 

 adjoining tree, until he reached a large elm over- 

 hanging the Crossweeksen Creek. Far up in the 

 top of the tree he clambered, and presently a crow 

 " gave tongue " in a manner that brought her good 

 mate and comrades {Quiscali) ad iufinitum. Fortu- 

 nately, a break in the branches enabled me to see 

 the modus o;perundi of the squirrel. He scrambled 

 along the under side of the branches, successfully 

 dodging the " dips" of the crows ; and when within 

 a foot or more of the nest, leaped in and out, but 

 seizing an ^%^ in his mouth as he did so, like a 

 flash, and dodged the crows and smaller birds as he 



descended the tree, keeping, on the retreat, as on 

 the advance, as much as possible on the under side, 

 of the branches. If Mr. George Cox, who wrote 

 in Science-Gossip for 1871, p. 237, could have 

 seen the adroitness displayed by our grey squirrel 

 in robbing a crow's nest, he would not wonder why 

 pheasants allowed the robbery of their eggs by the 

 British squirrel. I have never seen your squirrel 

 in his native haunts, but do affirm that our grey 

 chap could " bamfoozle " even your pheasant, pro- 

 vided the nest of the bird was in a ti-ee, and on 

 branches that would give the nimble-footed fellow 

 any chance at all to hold on. The destruction of 

 birds' nests by squirrels became so prevalent in the 

 public squares in Philadelphia, that "the autho- 

 rities," preferring the birds, were compelled to rid 

 the "city's lungs" of the innumerable squirrels 

 that had been carefully protected for many years. 



Charles C. Abbott. 

 Trenton, New Jersey, United States. 



THE PRESERVATION OF LARV^. 



TN the July number of Science-Gossip it was 

 -*- stated that the larvae in public collections are 

 preserved by professionals, who keep their mode of 

 doing it secret. Seeing this, I am led to think that 

 a few words on the preservation of larvae would 

 not be unacceptable to some of our entomological 

 readers. It is not unnatural that professionals 

 should be desirous of keeping their knowledge to 

 themselves, and until recently few others knew how 

 to presei've larvae. 



At the commencement of the present year I was 

 favoured with some instruction upon the subject, 

 and I may add that I am now able to preserve 

 almost any of our larvae, so that they look perfectly 

 life-like. 



The apparatus required for the purpose is very 

 simple: — First, a blowpipe; and one suitable to 

 the purpose is best made by melting the end of a 

 piece of glass tubing with an ordinary blowpipe, 

 drawing out the end when pliant, and breaking off 

 the small piece at the point which is solid. Next 

 let two pieces of watch-spring be procured, each 

 about five or six inches in length. These being bent 

 at right angles about |th of an inch from the end, 

 should be fastened to the glass blowpipe, as shown 

 in' fig. 126. A spirit-lamp, and for an oven a small 

 tin box, or, better still, a wide-necked glass bottle 

 with a stand to support it, will be all that is re- 

 quired. Fig. P-27 shows these as they should be 

 arranged for use. Having killed the larva by 

 placing it in the cyanide bottle, proceed to divest'it 

 of its internal organs ; and this should be done by 

 forcing them through the anal orifice with the fore- 

 finger and thumb, between two pieces of stoutish 

 blotting-paper. This done, fasten it to the blow- 



