98 
One practical joke we played near to Durdar. A party of us 
set off to sugar, and we divided ourselves, one section taking one 
side of the wood and the remainder the other. Just before 
darkness set in, we found a scarecrow in a potato field close by, 
we lifted it bodily, and when the others had sugared their trees and 
were resting, we planted the effigy in a very aggressive attitude 
round a corner of the wood, at the extreme limit of their bounds, 
and, lying low, waited for the fun. We had not long to do so, as 
they were eager to commence their operations. The first that 
turned the corner, when he espied the strange-looking object, let 
fall his lamp with a yell that resounded through the place, turned 
and fled, knocking over his nearest companions in his retreat, and 
all the party made clean heels out of the place, so that we had the 
wood to ourselves that night. 
Many pleasant days have we spent on our mosses and moors 
when the heather was in bloom. What a wealth of insect life to 
be noticed! The D¢frera, with their infinite variety of form and 
colour, the study of which, in our county alone, would take a life- 
time! The gorgeous metallic colouring of some of*those insects 
is simply dazzling to the eye; when poised on the wing, several 
species look like living jewels in the bright sunshine, the rapid 
vibration of their wings being something wonderful. The dragon 
flies of the county, of which I shall speak at some future date, 
having given some little time to the study of these insects. “The 
different wild bees and wasps; and we may here state that of the 
seven species of Social Wasps in Great Britain, we have observed 
five of the family in this district, and taken notes of their nests. 
Several years ago we were requested by a gentleman who was 
writing a history of the British Social Wasps, to look out for 
V. arborea, a species which was first taken by the late Mr. F. Smith, 
of the British Museum, near to Wakefield. As yet we have not 
been successful, but hope to turn it up some day. 
One pleasant evening we spent with some gipsies. We came 
across a gang of those individuals encamped on a bit of waste 
land; it was quite dark at the time, and the encampment was a 
very pretty scene, The dusky figures flitting to and fro between 
