1098 



THE NATURE BOOK 



"Jack Tar " is a re- 

 sourceful man. and when 

 soap fails him he will use 

 these capsules to wash his 

 hands with. They ha^•e 

 accordingly been called 

 *' sea-wash balls." 



Another common egg- 

 case, though perhaps not 

 so common as the Whelk's, 

 is that of the Skate. This 

 case is oblong in shape, 

 and has a short arm at 

 each corner. It is often 

 found partly covered by 

 seaweed and zoophytes. 



The name " Skate's bar- 

 row " has been attached 

 to this case, owing to the 

 resemblance it bears to a 

 h a n d - b a r r o w. When 

 picked up in the summer 

 it is, as a rule, empty, or 

 only filled with sand and 

 small pebbles. If exam- 

 ined, one end will be found 

 to be broken open, and it 

 was through this crack 



DOG-FISH EGG-GASE. 



that the httle Skate got 

 away. 



The egg-case of the Dog- 

 fish is not such a common 

 object, and the reason is 

 that it is provided with 

 very long and elastic ten- 

 drils — if we may borrow 

 a botanist's word. These 

 readily fasten on to sea- 

 weeds and other objects, 

 and once so moored the 

 case cannot easily be 

 washed away. The ma- 

 terial of which it is made 

 is of a horny nature, and, 

 when dry, if it is tapped 

 with the nail it gives very 

 much the same sound as 

 does a hollow horn. 



The case is constructed 

 so that the end nearest the 

 fish's head will open upon 

 the slightest pressure from 

 within ; and, being of an 

 elastic material, will at 

 once close again when the 

 fish has passed out. 



BIRD LIFE OF THE LEIGH \X^OODS, 



SOMERSET 



By HEDLEY VICARS WEBB 



With Photographs by R. PRATCHETT. Bristol 



THE Gateway of the \\'est seems an 

 appropriate name for that wonder- 

 ful canvas of Nature, the Avon 

 Gorge and Leigh Woods, which has made 

 CUfton so famous, and attracted lovers 

 of the beautiful from all parts of the 

 country. The spring of iqog has seen 

 an added interest taken in this unrivalled 

 demesne of Nature, for by the generosity 

 of a member of the house of Wills, the 

 woods clothing the Avon Gorge on the 

 Somersetshire side have been secured 



to the citizens of the Metropolis of the 

 West and their descendants for all time. 

 The glory of May-time is rapidly passing 

 into the leafiness of June as we cross the 

 Suspension Bridge and reach the roadway 

 skirting the edge of the chffs, with the 

 Nightingale Valley two hundred feet 

 below. To look " down" on the tree-tops 

 is an experience not always obtain- 

 able, but how beautiful is here the effect, 

 with oak, ash, birch, larch, fir, wych 

 elm. white beam, spindle, sycamore, etc.. 



