rupted by apprehensions lest my eyes might undergo 

 the same fate with those of Tobit. 



Perhaps it may be some amusement to you to 

 hear at what times the different species of hirundines 

 arrived this spring in three very distant counties of 

 this kingdom. With us the swallow was seen first 

 on April the 4th, the swift on April the 24th, the 

 bank-martin on April the 12th, and the house-martin 

 not till April the 30th. At South Zele, Devonshire, 

 swallows did not arrive till April the 25th ; swifts, 

 in plenty, on May the ist, and house-martins not till 

 the middle of May. At Blackburn, in Lancashire, 

 swifts were seen on April the 28th, swallows April 

 the 29th, house-martins May the ist. Do these dif- 

 ferent dates in such distant districts prove anything 

 for or against migration? 



A farmer near Weyhill fallows his land with two 

 teams of asses ; one of which works till noon, and 

 the other in the afternoon. When these animals 

 have done their work, they are penned all night, like 

 sheep, on the fallow. In the winter they are confined 

 and foddered in a yard, and make plenty of dung. 



Linnasus says that hawks "■ make a truce with 



other birds as long as the cuckoo is heard : " " pacis- 



cuntur inducias cum avibus, quamdiu cuculus cucu- 



lat : " but it appears to me that, during that period, 



many little birds are taken and destroyed by birds 



of prey, as may be seen by the feathers left in lanes 



and under hedges. 



42 



