SUPPLEMENTAET XOTES. BY THE TDITOR. 411 



eould anywhere be found, and the old birds were seen no more. It was 

 asserted by my infonnant, who had it from one of the keepers, that wood- 

 cocks will take up their young singly in their feet, and fly away with 

 them ; and that he had seen a woodcock so flying, and he attributed the 

 above disappearance of the young birds to the parents thus instinctively 

 removing them from apprehended danger. — R. C. N. 



Affection of Animals, ^(K/e 223. 



The ardent affection of animals for their young lasts in general only till 

 they are able to cater for themselves. When the purposes of nature are 

 fulfilled the tie is dissolved, and neither parent nor offspring appear to 

 recognise each other. There are, however, remarkable exceptions on 

 Eecord, to which the following instance may be added : — A gentleman in 

 Scotland had a cock golden pheasant, which he placed in a pen with a 

 solitary chicken. These birds formed a strong attachment for each 

 other, which was shown in a variety of ways. The pheasant died, and 

 was stuffed. The chicken was turned loose, but appeared miserable 

 after the death of its companion; and, on being shown it in its stuffed 

 state, drooped its wings, and, after vainly striving to get at it, fixed its 

 eyes on it earnestly, and in this attitude died. — Ed. 



Mucilaginous Seeds, — Why do they not readily germinate 1 ;page 352. 



The seeds of ivy are not in general found to grow well, however 

 carefully planted ; while that which is self-sown, or sown by birds, under 

 trees and walls, will grow abundantly ; from which fact it has been 

 supposed that such mucilaginous seeds require to be passed through 

 some digestive process to render them fruitful. This would not at first 

 seem to be a well-founded conclusion, since yew-berries and quince- seeds 

 are as mucilaginous as any of them, and yet grow freely ; not to speak 

 of the common cress, which, when it is held in the mouth, becomes more 

 thickly coated with mucilage than the quince itself. The fact, never- 

 theless, is certainly true that ivy grows " naturally " at the foot of trees, 

 the stems of which are its natm*al supports. Hollies are also commonly 

 found growing under trees. There is a wood near Newbury, where several 

 hollies grow under every forest tree ; indeed it may more properly be 

 called a holly forest. It appears to me that the true inference to be 

 drawn from the circumstance of the ready germination of ivy and holly 

 under forest trees, is that the seeds requii'e an unusual supply of air 

 as well as moisture, which cannot both be procured in situations that 

 are exposed to sun and wind. It would be well to test the value of 

 this surmise, by dropping the berries of ivy and holly when they are 

 as nearly as possible in the state in which they are eaten by the birds, at 

 the foot of the trees, and about their roots, where ivy and holly are seen 

 to abound, and shake down the seeds until they are tolerably covered by 

 the mossy vegetation which is commonly found in such situations, but 

 put no earth over them, and then await the result. — R. C. N. 



