196 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd S. N" 62., Mar. 7. '57. 



existed within my memory along the side of one 

 field. There had evidently been a very broad 

 and deep ditch next the park, the earth from 

 which had been thrown up, and formed a mound 

 on the outside of this ditch, and beyond the mound 

 there was another much smaller ditch. The dis- 

 tance between the two ditches, as far as I re- 

 member, might be some seven or eight yards. 

 Probably there had been a paling running along 

 the middle of the larger ditch. This is no un- 

 common mode of fencing parks at present. 



The other kind of buck leap is where the owner 

 of a park, which adjoins a forest or chase, has a 

 right to have buck leaps in his boundary fence. 

 These are made by digging a hole along the 

 boundary some six or seven feet deep, and build- 

 ing a wall on the side next the forest or chase up 

 to the level of the ground. The ground in the 

 park is gradually sloped upwards from the bottom 

 of the wall to the level of the park. The result 

 is, that a deer can leap from the forest or chase 

 into the park, but cannot leap back again. It is 

 in fact a deer trap. 



I have heard that such buck leaps as these have 

 existed from time immemorial in Wolseley Park, 

 which adjoins to Cauk Chase, Staffordshire. 



C. S. Greaves. 



Early Caricatures (2"'' S. iii. 128.) — Three of 

 those inquired after by J. F. are mentioned in 

 Wright's England under the House of Hanover, 

 viz. "European Races," vol. i. p. 1C5. ; "The 

 Reason," i. 181. ; and "The Funeral of Faction," 

 i. 184. Most likely the two others are also men- 

 tioned, but have escaped ray notice. The allusions 

 are to politico-historical matters which could 

 hardly be condensed within the limits of an "An- 

 swer to Minor Queries." J, Eastwood. 



Queen Mari/s Signet Ring (2"'^ S. Iii. 146.) — 

 It appears from the following letter to The Times, 

 Dec. 1853, that fac-similes of this seal were sold 

 to sightseers at Holy rood : 



"I read with interest your able article of the 30th of 

 November, in which you show that the British Sovereif^n 

 is empowered by tlie Act of Union to ' settle the arms 

 and flag question as he or she might best think fit.' But 

 are j-^ou aware that Queen Mary, the mother of James I. 

 King of Great Britain, actually bore the arms of Scotland 

 in the second quarter, as boriie now, when she assumed 

 the arms of England in defiance of Queen Elizabeth? 

 They are so engraved upon a signet ring 'from the col- 

 lection of the late Earl of Buchan,' as certified upon the 

 little boxes containing fac-similes of the seal, and sold to 

 all sightseers at Holyrood Palace. 



" 1 recollected mine by chance, and enclose an impres- 

 sion of the seal, by which 3'ou will see that the arms 

 of England and France are placed in the first and fourth 

 quarters of the shield ; those of Scotland in the second 

 quarter, and those of Ireland in the third quarter. 



" Did Queen Mary thereby intend to insult her own 

 subjects and ancient kingdom, or did she act according to 

 the usages of heraldry in days when its laws were strictly 

 defined and observed ? 



" If any of j'our readers can instance other seals of Q. 



Mary in which the same arrangement of arms is observed 



they maj' perhaps calm the indignation of the gallant 



Scots, and will certainly oblige A Tyro in Heraldry. 



« Dec. 14, 1853." 



As this communication gives some information 

 respecting the seal in the late Earl of Buchan's 

 collection, it may be worth preserving In con- 

 nexion with Henri's letter from " A Constant 

 Reader." R, W. Hackwood. 



Twins, Martin Heifer, Free-martin (2"^ S. iii. 

 148.) — I have often heard it stated that a girl 

 twin with a boy would never be a mother. I 

 know of no case to prove this, but have repeatedly 

 had twin calves, and In every Instance, perhaps 

 half a dozen, the female, when twin with a bull, 

 has not only been barren, but has grown more to 

 resemble the ox than the cow. The horns have 

 been larger and the bone coarser. Twin heifers, 

 according to my experience, have always been 

 prolific. But I have been told on good authority 

 that in rare Instances the Free-martin does breed. 



The name Martin, or Free-martin, is, I fancy, 

 derived from St. Martin, perhaps from the beef 

 being, as it is to this day, considered better than 

 ordinary ox beef it was especially kept for Martin- 

 mas, a great feast with our ancestors, and the 

 commencement of the slaughtering season when 

 salt meat was the only winter supply. As a proof 

 of the feasting on St. Martin's day, I give an ex ■ 

 tract from Lord Molesworth's account of Den- 

 mark, p. 10., 1694. 



" Seldom taking fresh fish, and scarce any flesh unless 

 on some extraordinary festivals, as on St. Martin's Eve, 

 when each famih^n Denmark, without fail, makes merry 

 with a roasted goose for supper." 



Black puddings Avere with us much used at 

 Martinmas. See Antiquities of the Common Peo- 

 ple', p. 355. A. Hoi-t White. 



Your correspondent will find much interesting 

 matter on this subject in John Hunter's celebrated 

 paper on the "Free-Martin" in the Philosophical 

 Transactions for 1779. It Is reprinted, with some 

 additional notes, in Mr. Palmer's edition of his 

 Works, 4 vols. Svo., Lend. 1837. 



Vincent Sternberg. 



Solomon's Judgment (2°* S. i. 270.) — Some 

 time since one of your correspondents desired to 

 know a parallel to Solomon's Judgment. One 

 occurs in Oesta Pomanoi'um. Three youths to 

 decide a question are desired by their referee, the 

 King of Jerusalem, to shoot at their father's dead 

 body. One only refuses; and to him, as the 

 rightful heir, the legacy is awarded. 



In Harl. MS. 4523. Is a similar story told as 

 occurring In the kingdom of Pegu : one woman's 

 child Is carried away by an alligator ; she and 

 another mother claim a child ; they are desired to 

 pull for it ; the Infant cries, and one instantly 



