July 1, 1869.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



161 



herds of cattle and horses is that, notwithstanding 

 on the stations near their haunts sheep and other 

 stock are dying very fast from the effects of the 

 drought, these denizens of the plain appear in ex- 

 cellent health and sleek as moles. A most beautiful 

 sight it is to see a large mob of wild horses startled 

 on the plains, galloping at full speed, their unkempt 

 manes floating in the wind, the speed of which they 

 seem to equal ; their tails sweeping the ground — 

 they present to the eye a perfect embodiment of 

 beauty and freedom." — Adelaide Observer. 



Leeches. — A curious fact concerning these 

 useful creatures has come under my notice lately, 

 and as it may interest some of the readers of 

 Science-Gossip, I give the particulars as I received 

 them from a neighbour. Two leeches having been 

 made use of, were then restored to their former 

 condition, put into a small ornamental pond in the 

 garden, in which were growing waterlilies and other 

 plants, and they were thought no more of. About 

 two years after their introduction, six fine gold-fish 

 were put into the pond, and greatly to the dismay 

 of their owner, the following morning two of these 

 were found dead and literally covered with leeches, 

 aud all the others were so dreadfully mutilated that 

 they soon died from the effects of their wounds. 

 On examination, the pond was found to be swarm- 

 ing with leeches, from the size of threads to the 

 full-grown, plump, and, I must add, handsome-look- 

 ing animal ; it was cleared of them, and the bottom, 

 sides, and holes of the pond lined, to prevent further 

 mischief. The workmen employed offered the 

 leeches for sale to the chemists, who refused them 

 as they were not imported from abroad, but a 

 physician here considered them quite equal to their 

 foreign congeners. — C. K F., Redland, Bristol. 



Norfolk Rarities. — Two fine specimens of that 

 rare visitor to Norfolk, the Crane (Grits cinerea), 

 have been shot this spring ; one on the 7th of May, 

 at Somerton, another on the 4th of June, at Picken- 

 ham. About a fortnight previous, a fine Badger 

 {Meles Taxus), weighing 26 lb., was captured near 

 the latter place. — K A., N. 



A Cat devouring a Slow-worm. — This after- 

 noon, seeing my cat busily munching something 

 edible she had discovered in the garden, I was 

 induced to notice her proceedings more closely, and 

 was surprised t to find she was masticating the 

 remains of a slow- worm, of which she had consumed 

 a considerable amount. The portion of the unfor- 

 tunate reptile yet remaining was about five inches 

 long, and as the creature appeared to have been 

 ten or more inches in length before it was injured, 

 at least half had been consumed. The viscera were 

 protruding, but the hapless animal was still living 

 and capable of some movement, so, though it did not 

 show any sign of suffering, I deemed it humane to 

 end its existence with the nearest available weapon 



— the garden roller. This is the first instance that 

 has occurred to.me of a cat devouring any reptile, 

 and in this month's number of the Zoologist, the re- 

 pugnance of caruivora to prey on the Batrachia is 

 particularly noticed. — George Guyon. 



Tree-frog. — A few mornings ago I introduced 

 a house-fly into the vivarium, and one of the green 

 tree-frogs.sprang at it from his perch ; he missed 

 his aim, but the secretion with which the tongue of 

 the frog is furnished stuck the insect against the 

 glass, where it remained nearly motionless, appa- 

 rently stunned by the blow it had received. The 

 frog, as usual, adhered to the glass where he had 

 alighted, and seeing some slight movement of the 

 fly, with another snap and gulp secured his prey. 

 These little frogs often miss their stroke, but in 

 such cases I have always seen the fly dart away ; in 

 this instance, though the attempt failed, the gluti- 

 nous saliva sealed the insect to the spot, as it were, 

 till the stroke was repeated with success. — George 

 Guyon, Ventnor, Isle of Wight. 



Earthworm.— At a recent meeting of the Zoo- 

 logical Society, a communication was read from 

 Dr. W. Baird, containing additional remarks on an 

 Earthworm (Megascolex diffringens), of which the 

 occurrence had lately been noticed in North Wales. 

 Dr. Baird had recently obtained specimens of this 

 worm from two localities in the Eastern counties, 

 but there appeared to be little doubt of its being an, 

 introduced species. 



Landrail (Crex pratensis), called in the 

 North and East Ridings of Yorkshire, "Corn- 

 crake," " Meadow-crake," and " Daker-hen."— The 

 following shows the arrival of this spring visitor for 

 the last six years: 1861, April 17th; 1S65, May 

 1st ; 1866, May 7th ; 1867, May 13th ; 1868, May 

 11th ; 1869, May 1st.—/. Hanson, York. 



Otters. — The Otter is to be found in the river 

 Seven, a tributary of the Yorkshire Rye. The 

 Seven rises in the North Yorkshire moors, runs 

 through [th e pretty dale called Posedale, and the 

 wood-embowered valleys of Cropton and Appleton- 

 le-Moors, through Sinnington, to the Bye. I have 

 frequently found fish remains, and more than once 

 have caught and found fish that had been bitten by 

 the Otter. I have frequently been present at otter- 

 hunts in the river, and on one occasion a bitch was 

 killed in the mill-dam at Appleton, which we found 

 weighed 21 pounds. The mill-dam and the Nut- 

 holm is a frequent resort and breeding-place, and 

 the pursuit of them with otter-hounds affords excel- 

 lent sport. Some years ago otters were frequent 

 in the Kyle, a tributary of the Yorkshire Ouse, and 

 within the last ten years feetings of the animal 

 have been traced upon the sand and mud at Linton 

 Lock, ten miles above York. — John Ranson, Linton- 

 on-Ouse, York. 



