AND OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



19 



darkened as far as the eye can reach, with a moving phalanx of Gnoos 

 and Quaggas, whose numbers literally baffle computation, are sights but 

 rarely to be witnessed ; but who amongst our brother Nimrods shall hear 

 of riding familiarlv by the side of a troop of colossal Giraffes, and not feel 

 his spirit stirred within him ? He that would behold so marvellous a sight 

 must leave the haunts of Man, and dive, as we did, into pathless wilds, 

 traversed only by the brute creation — into wide wastes, where the grim 

 Lion prowls, monarch of all he surveys, and where the gaunt Hyaena and 

 Wild Dog fearlessly pursue their prey. 



" On the morning of the 19th, from the back of Breslar, my most trusty 

 steed, with a firm wooded plain before me, I counted thirty-two of these 

 animals, industriously stretching their peacock necks to crop the tiny 

 leaves which fluttered above their heads, in a mimosa grove that beauti- 

 fied the scenery. They were within a hundred yards of me, but having 

 previously determined to try the boarding system, I reserved my fire. Al- 

 though I had taken the field expressly to look for Giraffes, and had put 

 four of the Hottentots on horseback, all excepting Piet had as usual slipped 

 off unperceived in pursuit of a troop of Koodoos. Our stealthy approach 

 was soon opposed by an ill-tempered Rhinoceros, which, with her ugly 

 calf, stood directly in the path : and the twinkling of her bright little eyes, 

 accompanied by a restless rolling of the body, giving earnest of her inten- 

 tion to charge. I directed Piet to salute her with a broadside, at the same 

 moment putting spurs to my horse. At the report of the gun, and the 

 sudden clattering of hoofs, away bounded the Giraffes in grotesque con- 

 fusion, clearing by a succession of frog-like hops, and soon leaving me far 

 in the rear. Twice were their lowering forms concealed from view by a 

 park of trees, which we entered almost at the same instant ; and twice, 

 on emerging from the labyrinth, did I perceive them tilting over an emi- 

 nence immeasurably in advance. A white turban, which I wore round 

 my hunting cap, being dragged off by a projecting bough, was instantly 

 charged by three Rhinoceroses ; and looking over my shoulder, I could 

 see them long afterwards fagging themselves to overtake me. In the 

 course of five minutes, the fugitives arrived at a small river, the treacherous 

 sands of which receiving their long legs, their flight was greatly retarded ; 

 and, after floundering to the opposite side, and scrambling to the top of the 

 bank, I perceived that their race was run. Patting the streaming neck 

 of my good steed, I urged him again to the utmost, and instantly found 

 myself by the side of the herd. The stately bull being readily distinguish- 

 able from the rest by his dark chestnut robe and superior stature, I ap- 

 plied the muzzle of my rifle behind his dappled shoulder with the right 

 hand, and drew both triggers ; but he still continued to shuffle along, and 

 being afraid of losing him, should I dismount, among the extensive mi- 

 mosa groves, with which the landscape was now obscured, I sat in my 

 saddle, loading and firing behind the elbow, and then placing myself across 

 his path, until, the tears trickling from his full brilliant eye, his lofty frame 

 began to totter, and at the seventeenth discharge from the deadly grooved 

 bore, bowing his graceful head in the skies, his proud form was prostrate 

 in the dust. When I leisurely contemplated the massive frame before 

 me, seeming as though it had been cast in a mould of brass, and pro- 

 tected by a hide of an inch and a half in thickness, it was no longer a 

 matter of astonishment that a bullet discharged from a distance of eighty 

 or ninety yards should have been attended with little effect upon such 

 amazing strength. The extreme height from the crown of the elegantly 

 moulded head to the hoof of this magnificent animal was eighteen feet; 

 the whole being equally divided into head, body, and leg. We all feasted 

 heartily on the flesh, which, although highly scented at this season with 

 the rank mokaala blossoms, was far from despicable. 



" The rapidity with which these awkwardly formed animals can move 

 is beyond all things surprising, our best horses being unable to close with 

 them under two miles. Their gallop is a succession of jumping strides, 

 the fore and hind legs on the same side moving together, instead of dia- 

 gonally, as in most other quadrupeds, the former being kept close together, 

 and the latter so wide apart that in riding by the animal's side, the hoof 

 may be seen striking on the outside of the Horse, momentarily threatening 

 to overthrow him. Its motion altogether reminded me rather of the pitch- 

 ing of a ship, or rolling of a rocking-horse, than of any thing living ; and 

 the remarkable gait is rendered sti'd'more automaton- like by the switching 

 at regular intervals of the long black tail, which is invariably curled above 

 the back, and by the corresponding action of the neck, swinging as it does 

 like a pendulum, and literally imparting to the animal the appearance of 

 a piece of machinery in motion. Naturally gentle, timid, and peaceable, 

 the unfortunate Giraffe has no means of protecting itself but with its heels, 

 but even when hemmed into a corner it seldom resorts to this mode of 

 defence. 



" The Giraffe is by no means a common animal, even in its head quarters. 

 We seldom found them without having followed the trail, and never saw 

 more than five and thirty in a day. It utters no cry whatever. The 

 male increases in depth of colour according to the age, and in some spe- 

 cimens is nearly black ; but the female is smaller in stature, and of a lighter 



colour, approaching to yellow. Although very extensive, the range of 

 its habitat is exclusively confined to those regions in which the species of 

 mimosa, termed mokaala, or Kameel doom, is abundant, the leaves, shoots, 

 and blossoms of that plant being its ordinary food." 



BREEDING OF THE WOODCOCK (Scolopax rusticola, Linn.) IN IRELAND, AND 

 HABITS OF THE BIRD. 



Considering the popular and economic value attached to the Woodcock, 

 every thing relating to its haunts and habits necessarily possesses an in- 

 terest superior to what its merely scientific bearing would confer ; hence 

 we more freely request attention to the following important additions to 

 its history. 



From time immemorial the Woodcock has been known as an inhabitant 

 of high latitudes, moving southwards with the severity of winter, and vi- 

 siting these islands about the middle of November. For more than half 

 a century it has moreover been known, upon the testimony of such Na- 

 turalists as Pennant, Latham, Montagu, &c, that it was an occasional 

 breeder in England during spring ; and within the last few years the Pro- 

 ceedings of the London Zoological Society have informed us " that the 

 number of Woodcocks nestling in England and Scotland is greatly on the 

 increase." It is only, however, within the last few years that a similar re- 

 mark has been extended to Ireland ; and on the authority of William 

 Thompson, Esq., the well known and able President of the Natural His- 

 tory Society of Belfast (see Annals of Natural History for January, 1839), 

 we shall supply a few particulars. 



In the spring and summer of 1828, a fine Woodcock was observed in 

 the demesne of Florida, County Down. In July 1832, one was seen in 

 the County Kerry ; and in April 1834, a brood was reared on the property 

 of the Earl O'Neil, in the county of Antrim. In the summers of 1833 

 and 1834, a fine bird was transmitted for stuffing to a bird preserver in 

 Dublin, in the former from Queen's County, and the latter from Wexford ; 

 and more recently, greater numbers have been discovered in the county 

 of Wicklow and elsewhere. The most important witness on these points 

 has been the intelligent gamekeeper at Tullamore Park, Lord Roden's 

 seat, county of Down. It was in the year 1835 that this individual first 

 became aware that these birds continued throughout the summer in the 

 Park: and this year he discovered two broods, consisting of four and five 

 young ones. In the summer of 1836 he saw in one day five old Wood- 

 cocks in the Park, and though he discovered none of their nests this year, 

 he on one occasion saw three young birds. He is of opinion that Wood- 

 cocks pair before leaving this country for more northern climates ; and he 

 stated, that in their evening flight, at this particular season, they twist 

 amazingly, the hinder one following the foremost through every curve of 

 its course, which is extremely rapid. Their call may now he expressed 

 by the word kisp, by the accurate repetition of which he has brought 

 them back when flying past him. During the breeding season, they, in 

 addition to this, have calls which sound like waap, waap — -weep, weep, suc- 

 ceeding each other, and repeated as here set down ; both sexes are con- 

 sidered to make use of the two calls. At the season of incubation, they 

 call at early dawn ; and at this period their flight is very different from that 

 in the month of March, being now slow, or with wings scarcely moving; 

 but occasionally they may be seen circling about as if at play, at all events 

 describing such a course as evinces that they cannot be in search of food. 

 In winter this observer believes that Woodcocks have a regular line of 

 flight from the covers to their feeding ground, and acting upon this belief, 

 by taking his stand at particular spots, he has shot many flying over them. 



In 1837 three nests were found at Tullamore Park, the first early in 

 April, when it was surrounded with snow. The nests have in every in- 

 stance been in slight hollows of the ground, with some grass or dead leaves 

 at the bottom as lining. To withdraw attention from one of these nests, 

 when containing young, the parent tumbled about as if wounded, thus 

 feigning to a greater extent than the keeper had ever witnessed in any other 

 species of bird. In 1838, long before the general departure of the Wood- 

 cock, the gamekeeper saw what he believed to be five distinct brace of 

 these birds in one part of the Park. Daily throughout the year he now 

 either hears or sees Woodcocks without going out of his way or attending 

 to them ; indeed, they fly very much about his cottage, and may be seen 

 on the wing every evening from its door. 



The cause of this novel fact thus clearly established is far from being 

 very apparent. Something is ascribed to the wider extent of the woods 

 of the country ; and something to the more equable character of the sea- 

 sons, proceeding, perhaps, in some degree from the former cause. We 

 have not, however, room for dilating upon this point ; and must finish with 

 the conclusion of our able informant, that the small proportion of Wood- 

 cocks which breed in Ireland are probably permanent residents. 



Birds of Iceland It is perhaps not so generally known as it might be, 



that the Durham University has established a museum as an appendage to 

 its academical establishment ; the sub-curator of which obtained permission 



