JUNE, 1881. 



to follow her. She was alone in her successful foray. We 

 were much struck with this fact, as the animal in all like- 

 lihood had observed and imitated some human being 

 thus crossing the fence; and it is remarkable that so very 

 frequently one animal alone of a group develops, or owns, 

 an intelligence so much superior to its class or com- 

 panions. We appreciated and enjoyed the story of the 

 farmer at the trial of hunters, who scornfully declared to 

 the owner of a horse that " he had a coo that wad jump 

 better." He freely offered to bet on his "coo," and was 

 most anxious for a friend to take charge of the "twenty" 

 he was open to back her for. " Hud yer tongue," observed 

 a friend quietly, " hoo wull ye git yer coo to jump ? " 

 With a quiet nudge of his elbow and a knowing wink, he 

 whispered, "putt her on the wrang side o' a field o' neeps." 

 He had evidently had his trials with that cow ere he dis- 

 covered and acknowledged her powers ! 



The alder trees all over the country here are covered 

 with a white blight, similar to the one that attacked the 

 larch trees last season. In this case, no doubt from the 

 character of the food, the insect seems to be a much 

 larger creature that emerges from amid the white fluff at 

 the roots of the leaves. The larches seem to be free 

 this year as yet, but we have seen that both the beech 

 and the alder have their turn of supporting an insect 

 plague. The whole appearance of these trees is affected 

 by the myriads of creatures whose cottony surrounding 

 whitens the foliage. 



An enthusiastic neighbour recently went over the face 

 of the Falcon's Cliff on the Black Island, and abstracted 

 from the peregrine's nest three young birds. One was 

 killed in the ascent, but the other two are thriving vigor- 

 ously. On the same occasion a nest of sheldrake's eggs, 



