328 The Field Naturalist' s Quarterly Nov. 



year been recorded in the F. N. Q. and in the ' Annals of Scottish 

 Natural History ' there can no longer be any doubt that in Scotland, 

 at any rate, the adder habitually will enter the water. It is something- 

 to have added this point of definite knowledge in the life-history of this 

 reptile.— Ed. F. N. (1.) 



A Prolific Snake. — " Somewhere in ' British Serpents ' it is stated 

 that, considering how prolific the common ring snake is, it is surprising 

 that more specimens are not encountered. The following paragraph 

 from the ' Tasmanian Mail ' shows how prolific too are some species not 

 so harmless as our T. natrix : 'Mr Charles Butters ran down a big 

 specimen of the Tasmanian black snake, and despatched it, and upon 

 opening it found no less than 47 young ones, all very much alive.' 

 Surely this is nearly a record." — J. H. L. O. 



(We are not aware of any case in which a snake is recorded as 

 having contained a larger number of developed young than this. — 

 Ed. F. N. Q.) 



Various. — " Mr Thomas Thompson, Windlaton, asks if weasels hunt 

 moles in their runs. This has been frequently noticed — e.g.., in White's 

 ' Selborne,' Letter LX., 'Weasels prey on moles, as appears by their 

 being sometimes caught in mole-traps.'" — J. L. Bevir. 



"Adders this year have not been seen nearly so often as is usual 

 here. Last year, where we killed seven or eight in my hay-fields, we 

 have not seen one in the present season, probably due to the lack of 

 warm sunshine to bring them out. I notice in the last F. N. Q. that 

 a correspondent asks if it is common to get weasels in mole-traps. I 

 have trapped several in that way, always the smallest kind of weasel, 

 never a stoat." — James Bartholomew, Kinnelhead, Beattock. 



" The folk-lore name for the kite in the village of Castor in North- 

 amptonshire is ' Swapmalekite.' An aged resident of the village spoke 

 of the kite by this name. No kite is ever seen in this district now, but 

 fifty or sixty years ago a kite might often be seen hovering over the 

 poultry-yards, when the hens would cower down and cluck their chickens 

 under their wings for protection. The first syllable of this extraordinary 

 name is possibly a corruption of the word 'swoop,' expressive of the 

 manner in which the bird descends upon its prey. The second syllable 

 expresses the evil reputation of the bird as a robber of the ' chicken- 

 pens.' In the villages of North Northamptonshire I have frequently 

 heard it stated that a field-mouse cannot cross a field footpath without 

 dying in the effort. Whatever may have been the origin of this strange 

 belief, it is certain that dead bodies of field-mice are more frequently 

 found on the footpaths than anywhere else. What is the explanation ? " 

 — W. H. Bernard Saunders. 



'■'•Birds in SJiakspcrc. — Mr J. L. Bevir's most interesting papers on 

 this subject in your Quarterly prompt me to make one or two remarks 

 thereon, to supplement what he has said. 



"First, as to Estridges ('2 Henry IV.,' iv. i ). Is it not generally 



