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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[April 1, 1869. 



being moss, and dry grass of many degrees of fine- 

 ness : it was extravagantly lined with the catkins of 

 the willow. Besides this profuse lining, I detected 

 what appeared to me to be the down of the colts- 

 foot, but on this point I will not entirely pledge 

 myself. This nest contained four eggs in the second 

 week of June. I feel myself quite justified in being 

 very strongly convinced that the lesser redpole is 

 by no means an uncommon breeder in Leicester- 

 shire, or indeed throughout the entire Midland 

 district, for I have often met with it in May and 

 June, in various parts of the county. There can 

 be no mistaking it at sight, for ere many minutes 

 it betrays itself to the observer by its tit-like evolu- 

 tions. In the winter they will come with the 

 siskins. I have met with both species, the latter 

 sometimes in flocks, at Rothley, Stretton, and 

 Enderby, in Leicestershire, always in the vicinity of 

 stunted trees. — Edward Peterson. 



Sand Lizard. — Many naturalists (Mr. Wood 

 amongst others) speak of the impossibility of 

 keeping these little creatures in captivity. It may 

 be interesting to them to learn that Mrs. King, the 

 wife of the well-known Mr. King, in the Portland 

 Road, has not only kept adult sand lizards all the 

 winter, feeding them on raw beef, but has even 

 succeeded in making them breed: she had some 

 babies of this species in her possession a few days 

 ago, fed on milk, and as lively as possible. — 

 F. L. H. 



Voracity of Sea Anemone. — Dr. Johnston 

 tells us (Brit. Zooph.) of a crass (Tealia crassi- 

 cornis) that swallowed a valve of the great scallop. 

 This extensive mouthful was, however, quite 

 equalled by one I witnessed a few days ago. A 

 crass, about 2 A inches in diameter, was found with 

 two mussels half in and half out of its rapacious 

 maw. The mussels were nearly three inches in 

 length, and were standing upright in the mouth of 

 the crass. The sharp angles of the molluscs did 

 not appear to inconvenience it in the least : the 

 only difficulty seemed to be the stowing away of 

 two creatures three inches long in a cavity that 

 could not at its greatest elongation measure more 

 than two.— F. W., Tenby. 



The Badger and Otter. — Badgers are still to 

 be met with, though rarely, in Buckinghamshire. 

 One taken in this county was recorded in Science- 

 Gossip, I., 87. Three or four years ago a female 

 badger and four young ones were dug out, with 

 considerable difficulty, near Fingest ; and last year 

 one was captured at Naphill, near High Wycombe. 

 An account of one taken at Oxford will be found in 

 the Field of Feb. Gth. A female otter, three feet in 

 length, and weighing 15. \ lb., was shot on an islet 

 in the Thames, near White Place, Cookham, Berks, 

 on the 10th of August, 18G8 : her four young ones 



were destroyed at the same time. See Quarterly 

 Magazine of High Wycombe Nat. Hist. Soc., II., 48. 

 — James Britten. 



Helix lamellata. — This tiny snail is a rare 

 inhabitant of woods hereabouts. Thompson in his 

 " Natural History of Ireland " mentions two locali- 

 ties, each of which is about four miles distant from 

 Belfast. The shell is a real sylvan gem, that well 

 rewards the patient collector for his persevering 

 toil. Urged by an ardent zeal that must stand for 

 our excuse, I was, in company with a friend, one 

 afternoon trespassing in a wood, despite the 

 warning intimation " Trespassers Prosecuted." My 

 friend had succeeded in finding three specimens of 

 Helix lamellata, when lo there appeared on the 

 scene the dreaded gamekeeper, or caretaker, and 

 his attendant dog ! The man was civil, however, as 

 indeed I generally find such men to be when they 

 meet with naturalists poaching on their domains. 

 He was curious to see what it was for which we 

 were making such careful search : by the help of a 

 pocket lens, my friend delighted him, by showing 

 what a charming little beauty of a shell tenanted his 

 woods, and we got off with the conviction that the 

 grounds were not guarded by a churl, who would 

 be very severe on us if caught again inside the 

 fence. But my object iu mentioning H. lamellata 

 was to encourage collectors who may feel disheart- 

 ened by repeated unsuccessful attempts to find 

 shells that they are in quest of. I had searched for 

 this shell in its two local habitats not less than 

 nine or ten times, and secured in all only three 

 specimens ; however, being in Colin Glen one day 

 early in the present month (March), I made another 

 effort to find this Helix. The second leaf I lifted 

 yielded a shell, and then near three hours were 

 spent without rising from this spot. The result was 

 sixty-five specimens captured, before the approach 

 of evening put an end to the search ; but the shells 

 were by no means exhausted ; the number could 

 have been doubled, had time permitted. Thompson 

 mentions taking twenty-one specimens on one 

 occasion iu this same glen. Helix lamellata was the 

 dominant form in this productive heap of beech- 

 leaves ; the associated species were H. fulca, II. 

 2)ygmea, Vertigo edentula, some Zonites, and Cary- 

 chium minimum, but none of these species was 

 abundant. I think it is likely that much labour is 

 thrown away looking for shells at the wrong time, 

 and that there is for each species a season and 

 weather, when it is out iu greater force than usual. 

 — S. A. Stewart, Belfast. 



Wren's Nest at Christmas. — The Brighton 

 Examiner notes the fact of a wren having built her 

 nest at Beeding, Sussex : the bird commenced 

 feathering it on Christmas day, and now (Jan. 

 2Gth) there are several eggs laid. — D. C. Bate. 



