30 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



another stage. A third movement, a sidelong ; 

 one, brought it to the wooden frame of the glass, 

 which it partially crossed, clinging to it with one 

 hand, and adhering to the glass with the other 

 hand, its throat, and chest, the legs hanging free. \ 

 Its hold now wis evidently not secure, and in | 

 about a minute it fell back upon the window-sill 

 outside. About four feet below the window is an 

 iron grating, placed over a pit, constructed to 

 admit light into a cellar window. In this pit a 

 number of frogs had taken refuge in the scorching 

 weather of August, and here I supposed they were 

 doomed to spend the rest of their lives ; but this 

 ambitious traveller must have taken advantage 

 of the wet weather to climb four or five feet of 

 rough masonry, four feet more of smooth painted 

 wall, and about ten inches of polished glass. Is 

 this climbing power of frogs known, and may it 

 not help to account for the strange situations in 

 which the batrachian tribe are sometimes found? — 

 Callipers Hall, Eickmansworth, September 18th 

 1852/' 



The concluding extract, refers to the House 

 Fly. It is a communication by James Na- 

 pier, Esq., to the " Natural History Society 

 of Glasgow." He says : — 



On the day of the last severe thunder storm in 

 August last, I observed, immediately after the 

 storrn had passed, my parlor window facing the 

 storm literally studded with dead flies adhering to 

 the glass ; beside each fly was a small opaque 

 cloud, composed of a white gummy matter that 

 appeared to have been ejected by the fly, and 

 that very recently, from its being soft. That it 

 had been simultaneous with the death of the 

 insect, I think evident, from the wings and feet 

 in most cases being covered with it in such quan- 

 tity as to make it impossible for the insect to 

 fly or walk. In all cases the insect was adhering 

 to the glass by this gummy substance ; some by the 

 feet, the wings, and the mouth or sucker of the 

 proboscis ; in every instance this sucker was at its 

 full expansion, as if blowing out ; and in two cases, 

 out of the few examined, the proboscis was rup- 

 tured or burst in the side. 



AVhether the death of these insects took place 

 during the thunder storm, or in consequence of it, 

 I cannot affirm ; but they had all died within the 

 space of a few hours, and that insects are affected 

 by sudden or great atmospheric changes can hardly 

 be doubted. I have spoken with several persons 

 who observed the same sudden mortality among 

 the flies about the same time, and also the invari- 

 able spot of dirt, as it was commonly called, conti- 

 guous to each insect. 



In connection with this gummy matter, I may 

 add a few observations first made some years ago. 

 About the latter end of summer, (the month of 

 August,) flies will often be observed standing per- 

 fectly motionless often for a period of fifteen or 

 twenty minutes ; examining them during these 

 moods by a lens, it will be observed that they are 

 not entirely idle, but are blowing out from their 

 proboscis a fluid, which they hold at the mouth of 

 their trunk as a globule, often as large as the head 

 of a small pin. This globule the insect sucks in 

 and blows out every few seconds, occasionally 

 drawing in the proboscis and again throwing it 



out, evidently with great enjoyment. These drops 

 of fluid often fall on the place where it stands, and 

 form grey-colored round spots, which soon get 

 dark, and constitute a great portion of that termed 

 fly-dirt. 1 have seen several of these drops fall in 

 a few minutes, exciting some apprehensions at the 

 consequences were it continued. May not this 

 account for the fact, that dead flies are always dry 

 and empty ? The fluid, by reflected light, is of a 

 cream-color, viscid and gummy ; and occasionally 

 little specks of air and dust are seen in it — but no 

 revolving motion has been observed. 



NOTES ON WILD ANIMALS. 



THE HARE. 



This little animal is found throughout. Europe, 

 and, indeed, in most of the northern parts of the 

 world. Its generic character consists in its 

 having two front teeth, both above and below ; 

 and the upper pair duplicate, two small interior 

 ones standing behind the others; the forefeet have 

 five, and the hinder four toes. Being destitute of 

 weapons of defence, it is endowed by Providence 

 with the passion of fear. It is attentive to every 

 alarm, and is, therefore, furnished with ears very 

 long and tubular, which catch the most remote 

 sounds. The eyes are so prominent, as to 

 enable the animal to see both before and behind. 

 The hare feeds in the evenings, and sleeps in 

 his form during the day ; and as he is generally 

 on the ground, lie has the feet protected, both above 

 and below, with a thick covering of hair. In 

 temperate regions they choose in winter a form 

 exposed to the south, to obtain all the possible 

 warmth of that season ; and in summer, when 

 they are desirous of shunning the hot rays of 

 the sun, they change this for one with a 

 northernly aspect ; but in both cases they have the 

 instinct of generally fixing upon a place where 

 j the immediately-surrounding objects are nearly 

 the color of their own bodies. Among natura- 

 lists it is a received notion that the hare, espe- 

 j cially the buck, seldom lives beyond seven years, 

 i and that when either is killed, another succeeds 

 j to occupy its place ; whence is derived the pro- 

 verb, — " The more hares you kill the more you 

 will have to hunt ; " for when the buck and doe 

 j live undisturbed together a little time, they suffer 

 i no stranger to reside within their limits. It is 

 i also a well-experienced truth, that some places 

 l are remarkable for being seldom without hares, 

 j and others, although as likely in all appearance 

 ' to harbour them, rarely with any. "Whether it 

 j is any particular excellence in the feed, in the 

 situation for forming advantageously, for warmth, 

 ; hearing, or seeing, that induces them to prefer 

 j certain spots to others, or that on the death of a 

 buck or doe another succeeds, and they possess 

 their usual circle — cannot be ascertained, but the 

 fact is perfectly established. 



The first ring a hare takes is generally the 

 | foundation of the ensuing pastime, all the doubles 

 she afterwards makes are in a great measure like 

 the first ; a hare will go over great part of 

 trailed land, and visit her works of the preceding 

 } night and morning ; sometimes a buck will take 

 endways over fresh ground without offering to 



