HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



165 



Many years ago I was at Sidmouth, in the winter. 

 The autumn had been stormy. In December the 

 weather changed, became mild, and on Christmas 

 Day it was like June, —5 blue sky, a hot sun, and 

 not a breath of air. Coming up to the wooden 

 bridge over the Sid, I saw an old gentleman looking 

 attentively at something in the pool. I soon joined 

 him, and he said, "Look there, swallows flying about, 

 sometimes touching the water, as they do in summer 

 — sand-house martins, and there a true chimney 

 swallow ; not tens, but hundreds of them." " Have 

 they come from Egypt, sir, do you think?" I 

 said. Old gentleman : " No sane man could believe 

 it ; how could they get here in twenty-four hours ? " 

 — A. H. B. 



" Appearance of the Swallow." — Under this 

 heading, " Plutarch," in June Science-Gossip (p. 140) 

 assumes that a swallow hibernated on the very small 

 evidence of its being the first one he saw, and that 

 he chanced to see no others for some time afterwards. 

 The swallow was seen here (Glamorganshire) in con- 

 siderable numbers on the same day (April 3) as 

 " Plutarch " saw his supposed hibernated bird. The 

 average of twelve dates of the swallow's first appear- 

 ance this year, in different parts of the country, was 

 the 10th of April. Barnsley (Yorkshire) sent date as 

 2nd of the month. Taking these facts into consider- 

 ation, I think we cannot agree with " Plutarch's " 

 assumption that his ear-ly swallow is another proof 

 that the swallow does not always leave us. — Edward 

 J. Gibbins, The Graig, Heath, Glamorgan. 



Tame and Wild Blackbirds. — Walking by 

 some cottages last March, my attention was attracted 

 by an unusual fluttering of birds, and, on looking, I 

 saw a caged cock- blackbird, which was being 

 violently attacked by a wild one ; the caged bird 

 kept shifting from side to side, apparently from fear, 

 and it was followed by the other. Is this a common 

 occurrence ? — C. D. B. 



Wood-Pigeons and Owl. — At first sight it does 

 seem strange that pigeons should show no fear at the 

 approach of an owl. But your correspondent will 

 recollect that white owls rarely (do they ever ? ) 

 prey upon birds ; they frequently make their nests 

 in pigeon cotes, surrounded on all sides by those of 

 the pigeons, and doubtlessly prove of service in keep- 

 ing down vermin that might be of more danger to the 

 doves than the owls are. — jf. A. Wheldon. 



Ingenuity of the Lapwing. — When in the 

 country this spring, my cousin told me of a curious 

 thing he had noticed performed by a lapwing. When 

 harrowing a field, one day, he accidentally crushed 

 three eggs in a lapwing's nest, so that small pieces of 

 the shell were wanting, and the rest much oracked. 

 He noticed that incubation was well advanced, and 

 placed them on one side. In the afternoon he went 

 to look at them, and was surprised to find them all 

 plastered and mended with mud, which was dry and 

 set, quite covering the broken parts and cracks. The 

 next afternoon the young ones were hatched. An 

 elder brother told me he had seen the same thing 

 done. — R. McAldcnvie, Aberdeen. 



Golden Plovers and Lapwings. — In reply to 

 the query on this subject in the last number of 

 Science-Gossip, a gentleman who has had much 

 experience tells me that in Ireland he found to his 

 cost, while shooting, that these birds frequently 

 associate. He would frequently come across a 

 number of both these birds feeding together, when 

 the watchful lapwings would give the alarm before 



he could get near them ; if the golden plover 

 were alone, a good shot might be obtained. On 

 the other hand, in the south of England, he has 

 met with flocks of golden plovers alone, which were 

 fully as watchful as any lapwing. — II. C. Brooke. 



Starling's Eggs white. — On the 14th of May 

 last, a boy brought me five eggs taken from the nest 

 of the starling, two of which were white, although 

 the two white eggs were the same size and shape of 

 the others, I have doubts as to their being starling's 

 eggs, never having heard of a similar case. I 

 questioned the boy as to where he got them. He 

 said he got them in a hole, in the wall of a cart-shed 

 on the farm where he stays, and he had to put in his 

 arm the full length before he could reach them, and he 

 firmly asserts that all the five eggs were in the same 

 nest. If any of the numerous readers of Science- 

 Gossip could throw any light on the subject by 

 past experience, it would be very acceptable. — A. 

 Foster, Rodger Street, Anstrnther. 



Curious Eggs. — Two remarkable specimens of 

 eggs have just come under my notice ; one is that of 

 a common pigeon, a little bigger than a swift's egg, 

 and exactly resembling it in shape ; another is that 

 of a wood pigeon, which is rather smaller than that of 

 a wryneck. Also I have seen a pair of thrush's eggs, 

 not more than half the usual size, and some starling's 

 eggs white, and almost round, being rather larger 

 than a wryneck's. — //. C. Brooke. 



Ash and Oak. — In answer to Mr. F. A. Dymes, I 

 may say that the oak is always in full leaf here before 

 the ash. The oak referred to is the var. pedunculata 

 of Quei ens robur. — J. A. Wheldon. 



Name for Stoat. — There is no doubt that the 

 word "clubster" is a corruption of " clubstart." 

 Stoats are still called "clubstarts" amongst the 

 country people about Scarborough, and in other parts- 

 of Yorkshire.— J. A. Wheldon. 



Sea Anemones. — I should be much obliged if 

 some kind reader of this paper could tell me how to 

 preserve sea-anemones by the dry process. — G. A. D. 



Slow-Worm. — Its food is generally of an insect 

 nature, and it seems to be fond of small slugs ; its 

 other name is the blind-worm {Anguis fragilis) ; it is 

 called fragile on account of its custom of snapping 

 itself in two when struck. Snakes can be fed oni 

 tadpoles, or small fishes. They do not want feeding 

 during the winter, but should always have a bath if 

 kept in confinement ; a soup-plate answers that pur- 

 pose very well, into which you can put the tadpoles- 

 at feeding time. They also eat small frogs and newts.. 

 or even mice. — G. A. D. 



Local Name of Stoat. — I have to thank your 

 two correspondents, Mr. Southwall and Mr. Lynn, 

 for their replies to my note on this subject in the 

 April number of Science-Gossip. Clubstei was of 

 course a misprint for Clubster, and the origin of the 

 local word is now clear. The early dwellers in the 

 north, wishing to give this animal a name to 

 distinguish it from the weasel, would see in the black- 

 tipped comparatively short tail its most distinguishing 

 feature and would not unnaturally term it '•club- 

 tail." Halliwall is somewhat indefinite in calling 

 clubster a north-country word. I never heard 

 it spoken of by this name in Cumberland. This 

 name cannot, I think, be a corruption of Lobster, but 

 is it not just possible that the latter might be a 

 corruption of Clubster ? Doctors seem to disagree as^ 



