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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



state. The berries of yew-trees are always eaten 

 with impunity by children in many localities, spoons 

 and dishes are made from the wood of the yew-tree, 

 and no harm ensues. It is generally allowed 

 throughout Brittany that the planting of yew-trees 

 in churchyards is an emblem of the resurrection of 

 the dead and the immortality of the soul, from its 

 perpetual verdure and the incorruptibility of its 

 wood. — A Subscriber, Plo'ermel {Morbihan) France. 



Green Tree-frogs. — When I was abroad in 

 April 1879, m the north of Italy, I soon became 

 acquainted with the green tree-frogs so common in 

 those parts. I very soon caught some, and brought 

 them back to England in a glass jar, half filled with 

 water, and with a few twigs for them to sit on. I 

 had seven. When I got to England, I put them in a 

 large glass aquarium, at the bottom of which I 

 placed a plant in a pot, and then water up to the 

 neck of the pot. They soon made themselves at 

 home, and I have now had them exactly a year. 

 They are most interesting. They feed on any insects, 

 but I generally give them flies. They will never eat 

 an insect unless it is moving. If a fly crawls up to a 

 frog and then stops, the frog will stick its eye on it 

 and the minute it moves, will jump at it, will dart 

 out its tongue, and swallow it. They can jump a 

 great height ; I have often seen one jump from the 

 bottom to the top of the aquarium after a fly. They 

 seldom miss the insect that they dart after ; but if 

 they do, they invariably go after it again. They 

 hybernate during the winter, and it is best to put some ■ 

 damp moss for them. They can climb up anything ; I 

 have seen one climb up a window pane, clinging to 

 it with the suckers at the end of its legs. The female 

 is a good deal bigger than the male, and is whiter on 

 its throat and belly. They change colour wonder- 

 fully ; one day one will be as black as soot, and the 

 next day as green as a leaf. I do not know whether 

 they shed their- skins or not ; I have tried to find out, 

 but have not succeeded. I have got one so tame that 

 it will take flies out of my hand. — R. Crossley. 



Query as to a Bird. — In a book that I have been 

 reading, called "A Discourse on the Emigration of 

 British Birds ; or, This Question at Last Solved," &c, 

 by a Naturalist, published by I. Walker, 44 Pater- 

 noster Row, in 1795, I came across the following 

 sentence, " The birds that leave us at the commence- 

 ment of winter, and make their regular returns in 

 the spring, are the goatsucker, cuckoo, swallow, 

 stork, .... willow-wren, etoboli," &c. Which bird 

 is the etoboli; is it a provincial name? — IV. H. 

 Newberry. 



Shrew-mice.— Cats, though they kill, will never eat 

 these little creatures. I know of a large white cat, a 

 most determined sporting cat, which climbs trees and 

 actually brings down the birds' -nests in his mouth, 

 eating the young or eggs, as the case may be, when 

 he gets to the ground. He will crouch down on the 

 grass of an evening and springing up as the stag- 

 beetles or moths fly over his head strike them down 

 with his paw and devour them. He will pretend to 

 sleep in the sunshine in order to catch butterflies, 

 devouring them with great relish ; mice in winter- 

 time are his venison, but although I have often seen 

 him kill a shrew-mouse in both field and garden, I 

 have never known Mr. Tom taste one.— Helen Watney. 



Bees' Nest in a Wren's Nest.— Some time ago 

 (in the month of May) on putting my finger into a 

 wren's nest, which I. had found built in the ivy cover- 

 ing a large apple-tree, I was much surprised to find it 

 tenanted by a community of little black, red-tipped 



bumble-bees, which came buzzing out all round me 

 when I withdrew my hand. The nest was strongly- 

 built and in good condition, and did not appear to 

 me to be a last year's one. The bees had quite filled 

 the interior with comb, composed of a mass of ir- 

 regularly-shaped cells. I have no doubt this nest had 

 been deserted by its owners when the bees found and 

 took possession of it. Can any reader of Science- 

 Gossip tell me to what species the insects probably 

 belonged? — C. Candler. 



Skin Preserving. — In common with many other 

 readers of Science-Gossip, I should be glad to see 

 the very able paper on this subject by Mr. Whistler, 

 which appeared in the number for March, supple- 

 mented by a few hints as to the best mode of skinning 

 and setting-up fish, particularly those species which 

 have very thin skins — the mackerel, for instance, the 

 skin of which is little thicker or stronger than tissue 

 paper ; and even if one is successful in skinning it, the 

 beauty is left behind on the flesh. If Mr. W. can 

 help me over the difficulty, I shall be obliged. — 

 G. B. 



Urticating Moths. — I think ifW. H.Newberry 

 were to handle the cocoons of Aitriflua, which are 

 covered with the cast-off hairs of the larvre, he would 

 most probably be affected. I myself reared last year, 

 nearly a score of these moths, and, although the 

 larvre did not produce the least irritation, by touch- 

 ing the cocoons I experienced acute irritation. I may 

 also add that on passing my hand over my face, the 

 rash was communicated to it. — C. H. Sannders. 



Appearance of Lepidoptera. — Perhaps the 

 following list of the appearance of a few Lepidoptera, 

 up to the present date, may interest some of your 

 readers. Vanessa urticce first appeared nth March; 

 Pierisnapi, 20th March ; Phcsia gamma, 20th March ; 

 Vanessa carditi, 26th March ; Satyrns yanira, 29th 

 March. — W. H. Newberry, 



Sagacity of a Dog. — The other clay I met with 

 a very remarkable instance of the sagacity of the dog. 

 I know it is true, and think it is worthy of notice. 

 One of my parishioners, a farmer, who also has carts 

 for drawing coals, was standing not long ago in the 

 street of a neighbouring town, having just delivered 

 a load of coal . There were a good many people about 

 him, and his empty cart with the dog near it was 

 standing not far off, and while engaged in talking to 

 his friends he was astonished by a sudden commotion, 

 his dog barking most fiercely at some one on the 

 other side of the dray. Going round to see what was 

 the matter he saw an old friend of his whom he had 

 not seen for three years. " Why," he said, address- 

 ing the dog, "Gyp, what's the matter?" "Oh, 

 said his friend, "I know what's the matter; she 

 remembers me." It appears that when this man lived 

 near the owner of Gyp, he had tried to pluck some 

 hairs from the horse's tail. Now this horse was a 

 particular favourite of Gyp's, and she resented the act, 

 and would have bitten the man had not some one 

 interfered. Ever after she growled at him and would 

 not allow him to go near the horses ; but after three 

 years one would scarcely think she could have 

 remembered him, but, as the story shows, she did. — 

 Gobbo. 



Query as to Falcon. — The passage in Words- 

 worth quoted by your correspondent P. Q. Keegan, in 

 the current number of Science-Gossip admirably 

 describes the actions and habitat of the peregrine 

 falcon (Faleo peregrinus) during the nesting season, 

 several pairs of which species annually breed in the 



