90-1 



KNOWLEDGE. 



[October 2, 1899. 



dominant view was that in the making of a creature out 

 of the egg there was no putting on of wholly new parts, no 

 epigenesis. It was taught that the entire creature lay 

 hidden in the egg, hidden by reason of the very trans- 

 parency of its substance, lay ready made but folded up, as 

 it were, and that the process of development within the 

 egg or within the womb was a mere unfolding, a simple 

 evolution. Nor did men shrink from accepting the logical 

 outcome of such a view — namely, that within the unborn 

 creature itself lay iu like manner, hidden and folded up, 

 its offspring also, and within that again its offspring in 

 turn, after the fashion of a cluster of ivory balls carved by 

 Chinese hands, one within the other. 



I have said, I trust, enough to justify the statement 

 that in respect to natural knowledge a great gulf lies 

 between 1799 and 1899. That gulf, moreover, is a two- 

 fold one ; not only has natural knowledge been increased, 

 but men have run to and fro spreading it as they go. 

 Whoever, working at any scientific problem, has occasion 

 to study the inquiries into the same problem made by some 

 fellow-worker in the years long gone by, comes away from 

 that study humbled by one or other of two different 

 thoughts. On the one hand, he may find, when he has 

 translated the language of the past into the phraseology 

 of to-day, how near was his forerunner of old to the con- 

 ception which he thought, with pride, was all his own, not 

 only so true, but so new. On the other hand, if the ideas 

 of the investigator of old, viewed in the light of modern 

 knowledge, are found to be so wide of the mark as to seem 

 absurd, the smile which begins to play upon the lips of 

 the modern is checked by the thought — Will the ideas 

 which I am now putting forth, and which I think explain 

 so clearly, so fully, the problem iu hand, seem to some 

 worl:er in the far future as wrong and as fantastic as do 

 these of mv forerunner to me'?" 



TWO MONTHS ON THE GUADALQUIVER. 



By Hakry F. Witherby, f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 

 IV.— SCEUB AND WOOD. 



A WOODED portion of the mai-i.vnas was briefly 

 referred to iu my last article (Knowledge, August 

 1S99), and as this part of the country is interesting 

 from several points of view, a more detailed 

 description of it and of its wild inhabitants may 

 prove acceptable. 



Our first day's work in this scrub and wood was as novel 

 to us as had been our first day's stalking behind the caheatro. 

 We were fortunate in having as headquarters a large 

 rambling old house, from which we set out accompanied 

 by two keepers and a boy, all on horseback — an imposing 

 cavalcade, surely, for a bird-nesting expedition. But to 

 have a smaller escort in Spain would be considered infra 

 diij, while to walk when there are horses to ride would be 

 altogether out of the question. We were loth to depart 

 from the customs of the country, and, therefore, consented 

 to this arrangement. As we rode in single file along 

 narrow pathways, through a growth of tamarisk, gorse, 

 and other plants, as high as our horses' heads, and, in 

 many places, quite impenetrable, or as we spread out in 

 different directions to search for birds' nests, we began to 

 understand the advantage of the Spanish system of bird- 

 nesting. From horseback we could see over the high cover, 

 and so guide our way to the most likely looking spots. 

 On a horse, too, one can cover more ground in a day 

 than on foot, which is a great advantage in a big country 

 with a burning sun; and, again, one feels more comfortable 

 on a horse when suddenly confronted by a fierce-looking 



wild sow with her litter — at all events, such was 

 our experience. Dotted about here and there in the 

 midst of the tamarisk were small groups of cork oak trees, 

 and to the exploration of these we devoted our first day. 

 Every tree contained a bird or a nest, and in many cases 

 several birds were breeding in the same tree. We dis- 

 covered many nests of both the red and black kites, and 

 found another use for our horses in climbing up to them. 

 The lower part of a tree is generally branchless, and so the 

 most difficult to climb. By standing up on your saddle a 

 bough is generally within reach, and thus the difficulty is 

 overcome, provided the horse does not move away at the 

 critical moment. Most of the red kites at this date 

 (April 22ud) had young ones, clothed in dull white down 

 and with beaks and legs apparently many sizes too big 

 for their strength and age. The few eggs of the red kite 

 which we found were much incubated, whereas those of 

 the black kite were all fresh. 



The first red kite's nest found was near the top of a 

 cork oak tree. It was about the size of a rook's nest, but 

 much flatter, and was built of sticks and Uned with dung. 

 It was swarming with ants which had climbed the tree, 

 and contained three young birds, one of them covered 

 with a half- eaten rat, while the others were nestling 

 against the remains of a couple of small rabbits. The 

 nest was decorated with bits of newspaper and dirty rags 

 and strips of old linen, some of which, hanging down from 

 projecting sticks, fluttered like pennants in the breeze. 



Other nests contained by way of larder the remains of 

 snakes and coots. All were not lined with dung, but every 

 one was adorned, even in places far from any human 

 habitation, with the "lesser linen," which Shakespeare 

 bids us look to when the kite breeds. The black kite's 

 nest differs little from that of its relation, except that 

 it is less ornamental and sometimes contains no rags at 

 all. 



Green woodpeckers,* of a species very nearly aUied to 

 that found in England, were abundant amongst the cork 

 oaks, as were jackdaws, t while now and again a brilliant 

 blue roller :; would glide up into a thick tree, or a golden 

 oriole, S always shy, would give us a glimpse of his glorious 

 black and gold as he dipped away into another tree to 

 resume his mellow piping. An occasional view of these 

 brilliantly coloured birds amongst the trees, and the bee- 

 eaters, I] with their gorgeous rainbow hues, flying round like 

 swallows in the open, gave the whole place quite a tropical 

 aspect. But without the brilliant sun the metallic blues 

 and greens of the bee-eater are dull and brown, and it is 

 only when the sun is shining full upon it that one sees all 

 the gorgeous colouring of the bird as it hovers and floats 

 and turns in the air. It seems a sin that a bird should be 

 destroyed simply because of its beauty ; but so it is — 

 fashion demands it — and thousands of bee -eaters are 

 annually snared and roughly skinned by the Spanish 

 natives who sell them to the milliners iu Paris. We saw 

 a bee-eater going through the most extraordinary antics 

 in the air and then perch on a tree to gasp for breath. 

 W'e shot the bird, and found round its neck a horsehair 

 noose attached to a small peg. Bee-eaters lay their eggs 

 in a tunnel which they are at some pains to bore into a 

 liank or into flat ground. The natives place nooses, 

 fastened to a peg driven into the ground, over these 

 nesting holes, so that when the bird emerges it is caught 

 and strangled. The bird which we shot had evidently 

 loosened the peg and flown away with a burden from 

 which nothing but death could release it. 



• Gecinus sharpii. t Corviit monedula. X Coracias garrulni. 

 § Oriolus galbula. || Merops apiaster. 



