64 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GO SSIP. 



[March 1, 1S69. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Ianthina, the Violet Sea-snail. — In the 

 paper cm this creature which appeared in the last 

 number of Science-Gossip the references to the 

 engravings have been accidentally misplaced. In 

 each instance the reference has been placed at the 

 end 'of the paragraph immediately preceding that 

 which the drawing referred to serves to illustrate, 

 instead of being put at, the commencement of the 

 papagraph connected with the illustration. Thus 

 in page 31, the reference (fig. 1?) at the end of 'the 

 third paragraph requires to be neatly erased with a 

 line pen, and written at the beginning of the next, 

 immediately before the word "This." In the same 

 way all the remaining references throughout the 

 article require to be moved from their positions at 

 the end of each paragraph to the commencement of 

 the very next line of the text. Headers interested 

 in the subject will not grumble at making these 

 alterations, which are necessary, and change the 

 meaning of every illustration. — /. T. II., Bury Cross, 

 Gosport. 



The Cuckoo.— In addition to the communications 

 of "E. G. W." and other correspondents, I venture 

 to send a few more facts respecting the Cuckoo. 

 TV. Jerdan, at one time editor of the Literary 

 Gazette, once took a young Cuckoo from a Hedge- 

 Sparrow's nest, and kept it some months. It grew 

 quite tame, and would sit on a branch while he dug 

 worms for it. It apparently was choked one day. 

 The Cuckoo seems to feed almost entirely upon 

 worms, insects, and caterpillars, although it seems 

 occasionally to eat berries and seeds. A Cuckoo 

 was once placed in a Canary's cage ; caterpillars 

 were placed also in the cage, and curiously the 

 Canary fed the Cuckoo with the caterpillars, while 

 it ate the seeds itself. The Cuckoo seems, accord- 

 ing to some observers, to lay more than one egg — 

 some say five ; and if so, must place them in differ- 

 ent nests, and to do this it appears to use its bill 

 when the nest is so placed that it cannot get at it 

 otherwise. On one occasion a Cuckoo was seen 

 anxiously watching a pair of "Wagtails building 

 their nest. This did not seem to go on so fast as 

 was necessary, for the Cuckoo laid its egg before 

 the nest was finished. The same observer saw one 

 enter a Wagtail's nest, take an egg out, and leave 

 its own in. Two eggs have been occasionally 

 found, in the same nest. The Cuckoo seems to 

 place its eggs in a variety of nests, Wren's, Wag- 

 tail's, Robin's, yellow-hammer's, Linnet's, as well 

 as Sparrow's nests — all seem used. A Wren has 

 been known to leave its own egg to feed a young 

 Cuckoo in a cage. It got to it through a broken 

 pane in the window. A Robin has been known to 

 hatch and nurture the Cuckoo with the greatest 



care. The Cuckoo does not seem to be the only bird 

 which palms its eggs upon others, as Wilson says 

 that the Cow-bunting of America lays its eggs in 

 other nests, such as the Wren, the Chiffchaff, and 

 the Redstart. These I have taken as interesting 

 notices from a great many others from Loudon's 

 magazine, which every one may not possess. — E. T. 

 Scott. 



Singular Place toe, a Hen's Nest. —A few 

 miles from this place a farm-house stands in the 

 midst of a rookery. During the summer of 1867, 

 two hens made choice of the deserted nests of two 

 rooks wherein to lay their eggs, and to rear their 

 young. When the chickens were hatched, there arose 

 the difficulty of bringing the little ones to the ground. 

 This was successfully accomplished by one of the 

 hens in the following manner: she first hopped 

 upon a lower branch of the tree than that in which 

 the nest was placed, and by her persuasions induced 

 her little ones to follow ; then on to another branch 

 until the lowest was reached. As this was eight or 

 ten feet from the ground, the only thing that they 

 could then do was to flutter to the bottom. For- 

 tunately a heap of litter broke their fall, and so the 

 whole brood arrived safely in the farmyard. The 

 other hen was either not so successful in persuading 

 her chickens to follow her, or else her courage failed, 

 or it may be she was aware that there was no friendly 

 heap of litter at the bottom. There was nothing 

 left therefore but for her to submit to the ignominy 

 of being brought down by the farmer's boy, who, 

 mounting a long ladder, brought the second brood 

 also in safety to the bottom. — J. S. Tide, Marking- 

 ton. 



Blackbird's Nest on Christmas-day. — On 

 Christmas-day a gentleman was on a visit to Mr. 

 Henry Herrin's farm at Spennell, near Kidder- 

 minster, and in looking round the farm, amongst 

 other things discovered a Blackbird's nest with 

 two eggs in, next day another egg was added, and 

 the old birds are now sitting on five eggs. — Bir- 

 mingham Bally Bost, January 20th. 



Land-shell in the Coal Strata. — A friend 

 some time back brought to me some exceedingly 

 handsome specimens, with impressions of ferns upon 

 them of many species, obtained from a cutting of a 

 new railway at Silverdale, North Staffordshire. 

 One small specimen is rather noteworthy from 

 certain little spiral shells, or rather their casts, 

 which are to be seen on the fern-leaves {Keuropterls). 

 These are about the size of the little Spirorbis or 

 Microconchus, so well known as occurring in the 

 coal-strata, rarely if ever, I think, on ferns, but 

 usually on the surface of the shale or indurated 

 mud, and sometimes, as I have seen, on bivalve 

 shells {Anthraconya). The difference of habitat, and 

 a more rapid increase in diameter of the whorl in 



