136 



Klashliomts o\ Nature 



tliat hunclrccls of siicli tunnels aic rt-'iukMcd tciiant- 

 It'ss cacli day by means of thrushes, stai lin^s, and 

 other worm eatinj4 birds, whicli prowl about lawns, 

 j^ardens, and meadows, pickin^^ out the earth- 

 worms as fast as they show their noses above the 

 level of the soil ; while hundreds more are made 



desolate by 

 moles and cen- 

 tipedes. There 

 is thus never 

 any lack of 

 empty burrows 

 which the ear- 

 wij^ can appro- 

 priate, as the 

 liermit-crab ap- 

 propriates tile 

 empty shells of 

 whelks and peri- 

 winkles. 



In No. 17 we 

 see the mother 

 earwig safely 

 installed in a 

 nice under- 

 ground nest, 

 and sitting like a hen on the eggs she has de- 

 posited within it. You can dig up such nests 

 and eggs in any garden in January and February. 

 Mr. Enock tells me he sometimes finds them at 

 a depth of six inches The average number of 

 eggs in a brood runs from fifty to sixty. The 



NO. II.— THE WINT.S TMKMSKI.VKS CAN 



<;o NO FUR 1 iip:r ; so— 



