288 TRAVELS OF A NATURALIST 



A Magpie seen to-day uttered a most peculiar note, 

 more resembling that of a Chough. AVe failed to get a 

 shot at him, but found a nest nearly completed which 

 probably belonged to him. 



Looking over our Bullfinches to-day (ten males and 

 two females) we found in two of the males a tinge of rose- 

 colour on the feathers of the back which we do not 

 remember seeing in any specimens we have examined. 



Two Hazel Grouse were brought in for sale, shot, as 

 usual, with the rifle. From the burst crop of one of them 

 — a male — we took a quantity of buds of the birch-trees. 



We examined the rifle of a peasant who was practising 

 at a small target, and asked him what the value of it was, 

 ' Skolka rouble,' and he said ' five roubles ' (pyait rouble). 

 Round the leather thong which suspended his powder- 

 horn (something like that figured on page 261) he had a 

 thin roll of lead twisted, from which, with his strong 

 white teeth, he bit a small piece, and then chewed it into 

 shape, forming a rough bullet about the size of the round 

 end of our revolver bullets, No. 312. This he had some 

 difficulty in ramming home. The bore of his rifle was 

 hexagonal, and the metal very thick. The stock was 

 rudely coloured and ornamented. 



May 8. 



On Saturday, the 8th of May, we heard that a report 

 had gone forth that no post will now arrive for two 

 months, and that the post due last night or this morning 

 has not come further than Mezen, but we cannot under- 

 stand how such news could travel faster than the post 

 itself. 



To-day it is bitterly cold,2oEeaum. with north wind. We 

 went out along the river to the north to try for Ravens in 

 the little valley where we saw them crossing before, but 

 we did not see many and did not get a shot. We saw an 



