NOTES — ORIGINAI, AND SELECTED, 



87 



the carriage. The nest was not disturbed, and the eggs have now been hatched, 

 notwithstanding that in the interim the carriage had been used to form part of a 

 local train running between Dagenham and Fenchurch Street." — " Standard," 

 May 17th, 1894. 



A Lunar Rainbow. — The evening of Saturday, January 20th last, was 

 marked at Chelmsford b}' occasional showers of rain, while the moon, which was 

 nearly full, shone brightly from between the clouds from time to time. At 6.25 a 

 slight shower fell in the yard of the County Technical Laboratory while the moon 

 was shining, and a lunar rainbow was consequently formed. The centre of the 

 bow was almost due west of the observer and not more than fifteen degrees above 

 the horizon. The colours of the spectrum, though distinctly visible, were much 

 paler than those of a solar rainbow. — Thomas S. Dvmond, Chelmsford. 



Tenacity of Life and Natural Repair of Injuries in a Gold-fish. — On the 

 afternoon of Friday, February gth, the servant heard a noise in the breakfast- 

 room, and upon seeking the cause, she found the bell-glass aquarium pulled over 

 on its side, and the contents— water and three gold-fishes — projected on to the 

 floor about two feet off. The fishes were wriggling and gasping, and she picked 



them up, put them back into the bell-glass .and filled it with fresh water. The 

 :atastrophe was brought about by an Essex-bred frolicsome kitten who had invited 

 a neighbour to enjoy the fun, and between the two thoujhtless and unfeeling 

 felines the poor fish must have had a bad time of it. The poor little things were 

 :erribly mauled ; not a fin or even the tail escaped the sharp combing of the cats' 

 :laws. The drawing I have made gives a fairly good idea of the e.xtent of mis- 

 :hief wrought by the two playful Grimalkins. 



The fish however, on the next day were swimming about almost as well as if 

 they had their fins intact, and came to the side of the glass to be fed with meat- 

 pulp, the food invariably given, and took it with as keen a relish as if nothing 

 anusual had occurred, and their propelling organs were uninjured. To-da}', 

 February 23rd, I have again carefully examined the fish. The largest one, the 

 subject of the drawing, has now so far recovered that its fins are perfectly joined, 

 .he only eviJence which they now exhibit of the laceration being the appearance 

 of white lines where the membranes of the fins have grown together — the scars 

 jf the healed wounds in fact — showing how quickly they heal up, and how very 

 protective the scales must be to resist the rough treatment. — Frederick H. 

 V'arley, 82, Newington Green Road, N., February 23rd, 1894. 



Early Swarms of Bees. — The Rev. Henry H. Allott, Rector of Stifford, 

 near Grays, recoras in " The Standard " that he hived two good swarms of bees 

 :)n Saturday afternoon, April 28th. He adds that he has kept bees for some 

 years now, and the earliest swarms have happened not sooner than the latter end 



