26 CORRESPONDENCE. 
‘Ir was about the middle of last 
April, when I observed a young 
lamb entangled amongst briars. It 
had, seemingly, struggled for liberty 
until it was quite exhausted. Its 
mother was present, endeayouring 
with her head and feet to disentangle 
it. After having attempted in vain, 
for a long time, to effect this purpose, 
she left it, and ran away bleating with 
all her might. We fancied there 
was something peculiarly doleful in 
her voice. Thus she proceeded 
across three large fields; and 
through four strong hedges, until 
she came toa flock of sheep. From 
not having been able to follow her, 
I could not watch her motions when 
with them. However she left them 
in about five minutes, accompanied 
by a large ram that had two power- 
ful horns. They returned speedily 
towards the poor lamb, and as soon 
as they reached it the ram im- 
mediately set about liberating it, 
which he did in a few minutes by 
dragging away the briars with his 
horns.’’—Loudon’s Magazine for 
1831. 
Dr. Jounson at Favitt.— Swal- 
lows,’’ said he, ‘‘certainly sleep all 
the winter. A number of them con- 
globulate together, by flying round 
and round, and then all in a heap 
throw themselves under water, and 
lie in the bed of a river.” 
Is Grotocy A Dry Stupy?—‘‘In 
the course of the first day’s employ- 
ment I picked a nodular mass of 
blue limestone, and laid it open by 
a stroke of the hammer. Wonderful 
to relate, it contained inside a beau- 
tifully finished piece of sculpture,— 
one of the yolutes, apparently, of 
an Ionic capital; and not the far- 
famed walnut of the fairy tale, had I 
broken the shell, and found the little 
dog lying therein, could have sur- 
prised me more, Was there another 
such curiosity in the whole world? 
I broke open a few other nodules 
of similar appearance,—for they lay 
pretty thickly on the shore,—and 
found there might be, for in one of 
these there were what seemed to be 
the scales of fishes, and the impres- 
sions of afew minute bivalves, prettily 
striated; in the centre of another 
there was actually a piece of decayed 
wood. Of all Nature’s riddles, these 
seemed to me to be at once the most 
interesting and difficult to expound. 
I treasured them carefully up, and 
was told by one of the workmen to 
whom I showed them, that there 
was a part of the shore about two 
miles farther to the west, where 
curiously shaped stones, somewhat 
like the heads of boarding pikes, 
were occasionally picked up. I 
went, and found the place a richer 
scene of wonder than I could have 
fancied even in my dreams.”’ 
Hvueu Miter, 
Manrtins.—The martins (Hirwndo 
urbica) appeared in this neighbour- 
hood about the sixth of April, and 
by the end of the month they were 
to be seen in great numbers. The 
first of May was, however, an un- 
happy day for them; seldom do we 
recollect a more cold and chil- 
ling commencement of the ‘‘merrie 
month.’’* The poor martins were to 
be seen huddled together in dozens, 
cold and miserable, shrinking from 
contact with the cutting easterly 
wind and cold driving rain. In the 
morning numbers of them were 
found dead—yictims to the in- 
clemency of the season. 
T. MarsHatt. 
CaTERPILLARS.—The caterpillars 
forwarded to us were the larye of 
the ‘‘Drinker,’’ a very handsome 
moth (Odonestis potatoria), one of 
the Bombycidie. 
