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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[July 1, 1S69. 



he is never to be guilty of a pun or indulge in a 

 joke; on the contrary, we have a horror of a long 

 lace, protracted ad infinihim. But— back again to 

 the book — we have the egg state, the caterpillar 

 state, the chrysalis state, and the perfect state ; 

 and in all states hints for collecting, management, 

 observation, and preservation. Looking over the 

 pages for something to quote in illustration, we 

 found ourselves involved in a dilemma, because of 

 there being so much to quote, that we could not 

 come to a resolution as to which was the best for 

 the purpose ; and as we have not yet made up our 

 minds, it is exceedingly probable that we shall 

 postpone the experiment till the query of some cor- 

 respondent sends us to the book for an answer. 



What can we say more than we have said to 

 assure our readers of the good opinion we have 

 formed from a brief and hurried acquaintance with 

 this "Guide",? Will no one give us companion 

 guides in other branches of natural history, and 

 especially a plain and easy guide to the study of 

 insects in general ; a kind of portable manual of 

 entomology such as would enable a youth, not yet a 

 collector, to recognize Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, 

 Hymenoptera, and all the other opteras, and thus 

 prevent some of the mistakes so commonly made, 

 and do good service to science. We heartily re- 

 commend every " young collector," and every one 

 who wishes to become a collector, to purchase this 

 book. Eor others, who have either done collecting, 

 or do not intend to begin, we pity them in their loss 

 of such an excellent companion and " Guide." 



ZOOLOGY. 



Tame Fishes. — The pond (Lombock) was well 

 stocked with fine fish, which come every morning 

 to be fed at the sound of a wooden gong, which is 

 hung near for the purpose. On striking it, a number 

 of fish immediately came out of the masses of weed 

 with which the pond abounds, and followed us 

 along the margin expecting food. — Wallace's Malay 

 Archipelago. 



Rake Birds in Norfolk. — I have much 

 pleasure in recording the occurrence of the Buddy 

 Sheldrake in Norfolk. On the 2Cth of March last 

 an adult male was killed on the Snettisham beach 

 by a Mr. Wright, in whose possession it now is. 

 This is the first instance of its occurrence in this 

 county on record. 



The Crane. — On the 1st of May two Cranes 

 were seen by a crow-boy on a barley-field at 

 Hemsby, in East Norfolk ; he called a man, who 

 followed them with a gun, and succeeded in killing 

 one in a field in the adjoining parish of Summerton. 

 This bird was sent to London to Mr. Hume, the 

 owner of the soil, for whom it has been preserved. 

 A crane has since been killed on the Severn, which 



may possibly be the bird seen in company with the 

 Summerton specimen. Mr. Stevenson has kindly 

 given me a list of the occurrences of the Crane in 

 this district, as follows :— One killed at Feltwell, 

 183G ; one killed at Kirkley, near Lowestoft, April, 

 1845 ; a bird of first year killed at Matham, Feb., 

 1850 ; a Crane seen by Mr. H. M. Upcher, near 

 Warhand, afterwards seen in Sandringham Marshes, 

 spring, 1865; two seen, one killed, at Summerton, 

 May, 1S69. 



Marsh Harrier, two males ; Hen Harrier, one male, 

 one female ; Montagu's Harrier, two males. All the 

 above killed at Hickling Broad, with the exception 

 of one of the Marsh Harriers, which was killed at 

 Catton, between the 12th and 22nd of May. 



Two Hawfinches killed at Brook, near Norwich, 

 on 15th May; male and female: the female con- 

 tained an egg almost fit for exclusion. 



Golden Eagle. — Mr. Stevenson has succeeded in 

 establishing the Golden Eagle as a Norfolk bird, 

 from a specimen found dead upon the Stiffkey 

 Marshes in November last. — Thomas Southwell, 

 Norwich. 



The Australian Wild Hokse. — "The wild 

 horse, of Australia," says the Avoca Mail, " will un- 

 questionably, at no distant date, like the mustang 

 of the South American pampas, occupy in vast 

 numbers the almost boundless plains of the interior. 

 On the South Australian border, in Victoria, where 

 some few years ago wild horses were comparatively 

 few in number, large herds are now to be found. 

 During periods of continued drought these herds 

 travel immense distances in search of pasture, and 

 on some stations detract considerably from the 

 value of the runs to the north-west. The neigh- 

 bourhood of the mallee scrub at the present season 

 appears to be a favourite resort for wild horses. 

 Feeding on the plains in mobs of from fifteen to 

 thirty mares with colts at foot, the sire, a stallion 

 whose progeny are usually of one colour, is most 

 careful of his family, on the slightest alarm leading 

 his charge at full speed under shelter of the almost 

 impenetrable scrub. Several successful musterings 

 of these steeds of the plain have been made of late, 

 we are informed, and some of the colts broken in 

 and sent to market, but from the cheapness of 

 horseflesh all over the colony, the speculation has 

 not paid. Many hundreds have been shot on the 

 various stations, but apparently without reducing 

 their numbers. Wild cattle in the neighbourhood 

 of the mallee scrub have also become a complete 

 nuisance. On the sheep stations beef of excellent 

 quality is supplied all the year round as rations to 

 the men employed. The wild cattle are hunted like 

 the buffalo of the North American plains, and are 

 said to be gradually increasing in numbers and 

 spreading towards the Ear North. The most 

 astonishing circumstance attaching to these wild 



