August 1, 1SGS.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENC E -G 05SIP. 



191 



The Birds of Killingwortii. 



By Professor Longfellow. 



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Tlius came the jocund spring in Killingwortii, 



In fabulous days, some hundred years ago ; 

 And thrifty farmers as they tilled the earth, 



Heard with alarm the cawing of the crow, 

 That mingled with the universal mirth, 



Cassandra-like, prognosticating woe ; _ 

 They shook their heads, and doomed with dreadful 

 words 



To swift destruction the whole race of birds. 



And a town meeting was convened straightway 



To set a price upon the guilty heads 

 Of these marauders, who, in lieu of pay, 



Levied black mail upon the garden-beds 

 And cornfields, and beheld without dismay 



The awful scarecrow, with his fluttering shreds ; 

 The skeleton that waited at their feast, 



Whereby their sinful pleasure was increased. 



t£ *■ i'.i -X- * 



And so the dreadful massacre began; 



O'er fields and orchards, and o'er woodland 

 crests, 

 The ceaseless fusillade of terror ran, 



Dead fell the birds, with blood-stains on their 

 breasts, 

 Or wounded crept away from sight of mail, 



"While the young died of famine in their nests ; 

 A slaughter to be told in groans, not words, 



The very St. Bartholomew of Birds ! 



We give three stanzas only, out of thirty of which 

 this poem is composed. Should this be sufficient to 

 stimulate a desire for more, the whole of the 

 poetical works of the "Professor" are now pub- 

 lished at such a ridiculously low price that they 

 are within reach of the humblest artisan. — Ed. 



The Parson-Bird. — Your correspondent is not 

 quite correct in the description of the Parson- bird. 

 I also have resided in both the north and extreme 

 south of New Zealand, and when living near Inver- 

 cargill, in the bush, had many facilities for watching 

 and studying the habits of this bird. I have shot 

 many, and preserved the skin of one, which is now 

 before me. Its coat is not " quite " black, for there 

 is a patch of white feathers on either wing, and the 

 curled white feathers "not one each side the beak" 

 but in a tuft under the throat. The Parson-bird, 

 Prosthemadera Nova? Zealandice [Tui Kolco of the 

 natives), is found in nearly every bush in New 

 Zealand, and its habits have been correctly described 

 by that gentleman. Mr. T. P. Barkas was certainly 

 misinformed respecting " this bird " living on 

 mollusca, and dropping pebbles between the shells ; 

 but there is a New Zealand bird which seeks a 

 living in the manner described. I cannot remember 

 the bird's name. — /. E. Mapplebeck, Moseley. 



Bees at Laurel. — It has long been noticed that 

 honey-bees are very busy about the young leaves of 

 the laurel. Has it been observed that the particular 

 part they visit is always the same — the under side 

 of the leaf very near the stalk ? I have examined 

 a very large number of young leaves, and find upon 

 every one of them small spots of a reddish-brown 

 colour. They are most frequently two in number, 

 one on each side the main fibre which runs up the 

 middle of the leaf, upon or near the spot where the 

 second lateral fibre branches off from it. Sometimes 

 they are more numerous. I have just gathered a 



stalk, each of the young leaves on which has two 

 such spots on each side the main fibre. I can see 

 them distinctly on a young leaf about \\ in. lonff, 

 and not yet quite opened. I am certain, by ob- 

 servation, that it is these spots only that the bees 

 visit. Quest. How are they made ? and what do 

 they supply to the bees ? It is a question of 

 practical importance ; because it may lead to dis- 

 coveries as to supplying bees artificially, a subject 

 of considerable importance to bee-keepers, and to 

 which much attention has lately been turned, 

 especially in Prance. I am pretty sure that the 

 spot is caused by a wound ; and also that the wound 

 is made by some other insect, not by the bee. If 

 you examine old leaves (those I imagine of last 

 year or even older'), the wound does not appear 

 fresh ; but you will easily see that it has existed, 

 and has been healed. — //. W. W. 



Curious Optical Effect. — I have for some 

 period noticed that at times my eyes differed in 

 their perception of colour — i.e., the same colour 

 would appear darker to one eye than the other. 

 On first noticing it, I thought it must be caused by 

 an actual difference between my eyes ; but as I find 

 this effect is only perceivable in a side light, or 

 immediately after having been in a side light, and 

 that the eye next the light is the one least sensitive 

 to colour, I now attribute it to the stray rays of white 

 light entering that eye, and rendering the retina 

 less sensitive, the other eye being shaded by the 

 nose. Light browns, reds, and ilesh-colour, particu- 

 larly the latter, exhibit this effect the best. Pos- 

 sibly some of your correspondents may have noticed 

 this effect, and be able to say if my solution is 

 correct.— W. II. K. 



Temperature in May.— The average tempera- 

 ture during the month of May at ( J o'clock a.m., at 

 which time diurnal observations were taken, was 

 61° 30'Eahr. in the shade. This result was obtained 

 at Harleston, a small town about twenty miles 

 south of Norwich. The weather has been almost 

 uniformly fine, and the wind has blown mostly from 

 a southerly direction. — </. //. F. 



Insect Eggs. — We are all familiar with the 

 pretty eggs of moths as microscopic objects, and 

 unfortunately are likewise familiar with their broken- 

 up condition, when the mature caterpillar has eaten 

 his way out of the shell. Can any of your corre- 

 spondents tell me of a good plan of killing the grub 

 before its appearance, so as to afford the means of 

 mounting the eggs in situ ? — II. A. S. 



Goldfinches. — Can you inform me if goldfinches 

 reared this year, will breed with a canary hen next 

 year? I have been told it is no use putting a 

 goldfinch cock to a canary till he is two years old. — 

 /. W. Whelan. 



The Zebra Mussel (Dreissem polymorph®) 

 occurs in the Wakefield and Barnsley canal about 

 two miles from Wakefield (Science-Gossip p. 16(3). 

 I found this shell with Paludina vivipara, Unto 

 turnidus (var. radiata), and Anodon cygnea, together 

 with a sponge in one spot at Agbrigg, two miles 

 south of Wakefield. I) . polymorpha also occurs in 

 the reservoirs at Cold Hiendley between Wakefield 

 and Barnsley. In a manuscript list of Wakefield 

 shells which I have by me, I), polymorpha is de- 

 scribed as "common." In Hobkirk's list of Hud- 

 dersfield shells it is not mentioned. — Geo. Roberts, 

 Lofthouse. 



