I40 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Anecdote of a Dog.— The following happened 

 not long ago at Shiveloung, in the Mongvva district of 

 this province. Major G., the deputy commissioner, 

 Mr. M., the assistant commissioner, and Mr. P. H., 

 the director of public instruction, were strolHng 

 along the river bank when a pariah dog ran up to 

 Mr. H.'s Newfoundland dog, and both began to 

 growl at each other. The pariah being disposed 

 to show fight, the Newfoundland gradually, and in 

 the most calm and deliberate manner, edged the 

 pariah down the bank and into the water. He then 

 swam round the pariah whose head he "ducked" 

 under the water every time the drowning dog came 

 to the surface. And this the Newfoundland con- 

 tinued to do until the poor pariah was drowned. 

 The above was told to me by Mr. M., the assistant 

 commissioner, who saw the whole process. — Arthur 

 Hough, Frame, British Burma. 



Birds during Winter.— Acting on the suf^ges- 

 tion of Mr. Charles J. W. Rudd, in Science-Gossip 

 of Apnl last, I have sent you a list of the birds seen 

 to visit, and receive food in my little garden at 

 Fulham, during the severe weather in January last : 

 blackbirds, thrushes, redwings, starlings, chaffinches, 

 one robm, also the large and small blue-tits. Our 

 method of feeding was first to remove as much snow 

 after each fall as was considered necessary, then to 

 scatter the crumbs of bread, potatoes, all bones of 

 fresh meat and such-like refuse of each repast three 

 times daily. Should more be needed, which was very 

 frequently, bread was broken up into pieces of about 

 the size of walnuts, as we found when broken up into 

 fine crumbs, much was lost iu the interstices of the 

 snow. There is another advantage gained by it, it 

 prevents fighting, which often takes place, especially 

 if robin-redbreasts be present. Many often take their 

 choice pieces to some retired corner to enjoy their share 

 at leisure and in peace, scraps of toast, bread (buttered 

 of course) were much sought aftei. Seeing thii, we 

 often cut up fat to give them with their other food. 

 One great drawback to the enjoyment of the few 

 birds we have left us is the large number of home- 

 less cats always prowling about for food. The 

 sparrows do not mind them, but they are a great 

 scare to other birds who only visit us occasionaflv.- 

 J. If. IM. ^ 



Early Swallows.— A friend of mine writing to 

 me from Staffordshire on March 21, says : " To-day 

 I was several times covered with snow, and saw 

 two swallows take refuge in the station (railway) 

 at Madeley. The porter very thoughtlessly turned 

 them out into the cold." Is not such a circumstance 

 worth putting on record ? Is it possible these two 

 little creatures crossed the stormy ocean thus early 

 m 1881 ? Or does it not favour the view— the oft- 

 reiterated view— of White, in his "Selborne," that 

 some of the Hirundines pass the winter in this country 

 HI a torpid state, from which they emerge by the 

 influence of fine weather? Such weather we had 

 enjoyed for several days prior to the 21st. P.S. No 

 Hirundine seen in this locality yet, March -Sth, 1S81. 

 — John E. Ste/>hens, Southampton: 



Eels.— One morning in the month of August 

 last, when two fishermen in Upper Lough Erne 

 commenced their usual task of examining their eel 

 lines, which they had set the previous evening, they I 

 found entangled on one of their hooks an old' boot. 

 This they disengaged and carelessly threw into their ' 



"cot" (or flat-bottomed boat). What was their 

 astonishment a few minutes afterwards to see emer"- 

 ing from the boot, an eel ? — J . H. H. 



The Hen-Harrier.— a fine specimen of this 

 species [Circus cyaneus) was shot on the 19th of 

 last January (the day after the memorable storm) on 

 Rushmere Heath near Ipswich. The wing only had 

 been injured, and it can now fly about its place of 

 confinement. The present specimen has its legs, 

 I toes, and base of the bill a bright yellow, the eyes 

 i brown, the plumage a reddish-brown varied with 

 buff, and the rump white. I should be glad to know 

 how to tell whether it is a female or a young male. 

 The authorities I have consulted vary as follows, and 

 therefore do not help me much : Gould gives the 

 irides of the male brown, and of the female hazel, 

 but in the plate the irides of both are coloured 

 yellow. Morris gives the iris of both male and 

 lemale yellow, and of the ycung bird dark brown. 

 Yarrell, the irides of the male yellow, and of the 

 female and young bird reddish-brown. I should also 

 be glad to know of any marked difference in 

 Montagu's harrier as compared with the hen-harrier, 

 I have (presumably) a hen-harrier in my collection 

 which is smaller than the living specimen mentioned 

 above, especially the legs and toes ; the face from the 

 eye to the end of the beak is also much shorter, but 

 it has the white rump, which an old bird-stuffer once 

 told me was the distinguishing feature of the hen- 

 harrier. — Hugh Turner. 



Strange Appearance of a Rainbow.— The 

 following remarks are upon a rainbow, seen by me 

 at Ballaugh, 2Sth of February ; about 2.10 P.M. when 

 first observed, duration about twenty minutes. The 

 afternoon was fine, sky quite clear, sun shining 

 brilliantly, wind northerly. I had some difficulty 

 in making any good observation, owing to the stiong 

 effect of the sun's light. The rainbow was situated 

 almost overhead ; its centre would, as well as I can 

 guess, be directly over me — the shape was a crescent, 

 or somewhat resembling the blade of a sickle, as one 

 point, the northern, was a little shorter than the 

 other, the southern. The curve was towards the sun. 

 Between this bow and the sun was a second, but 

 very faint in colour and outline, and evidently a 

 reflection. As before stated, the bow was seen on a 

 blue sky. I could not perceive any cloud. All I could 

 make of it was the small sickle-shape of various 

 colours, which were not so brilliant as when backed 

 by a rain-cloud, but were very beautiful. In a few 

 minutes I noticed a change ; the colours faded, and 

 where I had seen nothing but blue sky, it became 

 covered with a mist which soon took the form of a 

 cirrus cloud. The rainbow had now disappeared, 

 except that one end or edge of the cloud (the part 

 nearer the sun) still retained a portion of the colour. 

 The cloud slowly moved south, and the rainbow 

 dispersed. — F. A'. Walton. 



Voracity of a Python. — The following recently 

 happened at the public gardens at Prome, where three 

 pythons are kept in a cage. The smallest ])ython 

 seized a rat and proceeded to swallow it head first. 

 Upon this,' another and much larger python seized 

 the tail end of the same rat. The swallowing process 

 on both sides went on, but the larger snake com- 

 pletely overwhelmed his antagonist (about 6 feet long) 

 and swallowed him. The keeper then appeared just in 

 time to take hold of about four inches of the tail of the 

 unfortunate snake, the rest of whose body was inside 

 that of his conqueror. A man held the tail of the 

 large snake, another pulled at the bit of tail which 



