The South Australian Naturalist. 103 



gently inserted into one oi the holes ; realising that the stem 

 had been seized, I gently drew it upwards, but when near the 

 mouth of the burrow the occupant released its hold; persever- 

 ance was rewarded, for at one essay I caught sight of a pair of 

 lateral jaws, undoubtedly those of a bettle. Another bracken 

 stem was next prepared, a little fork being left at the tip. 

 This was inserted and seized, and, within a short distance of 

 the mouth, the beetle, being unable to quickly release its jaws, 

 was jerked clear of the hole. It proved to be a fine fellow, 

 one and a half inches in length, and being unknown to me 

 I secured as many as might be useful. AVishing to obtain the 

 species in two States I resumed operations on the other side 

 of the dividing line. On returning to Adelaide I submitted 

 the beetles to Mr. A. M. Lea, our Entomologist, who identified 

 them as members of the Carabidac — Morphnos besti, by name. 

 He told me that the insect had not been previously recorded 

 from this State, but that the late Rev. Thomas Blackburn had 

 obtained it at the Glenelg River in Victoria, and published the 

 following note: — *'It was not rare under large stones and logs 

 quite near the sea, and a good deal of digging was necessary 

 to unearth it." I should add to my own note that not only 

 was the beetle obtained without digging, but sometimes for the 

 mere picking up, as on suddenly lifting a stone, one, and on 

 another occasion, two were surprised on the surface near a 

 burrow. 



See No. 1 on plate. 



I did not see a single snake, the primary object of my 

 quest, but the facts recorded show how a little research may 

 meet with quite unexpected reward. 



I may conclude the note with a further reference to the 

 little magpie, which points a moral and shows how the kindliest 

 action may be misconstrued and the perpetrator stamped as a 

 deep-dyed villain. Two or three days after saving its life, 

 a lady staying at the same house, and unaware of my kind 

 offices, asked me if I w ould sell the bird. Being only too glad 

 to find someone who would take care of it,, I told her 

 she was quite welcome to the bird, and that I was delighted, 

 etc., etc. Then I got, what the boys would call '*a nasty 

 knock." '*I want to buy the magpie so that I can give it its 

 liberty," said the lady. I had to explain the circumstances 

 under which I had obtained the little bird, and that it would 

 be necessary to feed it for a week or t\vo before it was set at 

 liberty, and 1 added, 1 am afraid rather ungraciously, that I 

 was not in the habit of selling birds, or anything else, to ladies. 



