taken up with the juices into the capillary tubes 

 of all vegetables, and so appear when decom- 

 position affords them a pabulum and excitement, 

 or rotten wood and leaves. This seed is pro- 

 duced in such excessive quantities, thrown off 

 so freely, and borne about so easilj r , that perhaps 

 there is hardly a particle of matter whose surface 

 is not imbued therewith ; and had these seeds the 

 power of germinating by mere wetness alone, 

 without some other exciting cause, all surfaces 

 would be crowded with them, and pasturage 

 impeded. Now, were these rings caused by the 

 seeds falling continually, they would enlarge, 

 which they do not; after a year or two, they 

 utterly disappear, though plenty of seed may be 

 seen to load the grass all round. I have brought 

 large patches of these rings into other fields, but 

 never found them to enlarge; and the turf I have 

 taken back to replace in the rings, has never 

 partaken of their nature. Why should the grass 

 be more rank in the rings? One would conclude 

 the seeds of fungi would make it less so Now the ex- 

 citing cause that occasions these fungi and deeper 

 verdure to come up, in circles, I hold to be strokes 

 of electricity. They are generally found in open 

 places, on hill-sides, wide fields, and broad 

 meadows, where lightning is more likely to 

 strike; and seldom near trees or woods, which 

 throw off, or receive the fluid silently, and im- 

 perceptibly. — Francis Myles Golding. 



WJial Animal is it that perforates the Nests 

 of Birds, and afterwards removes the Eggs ? — The 

 following particulars are too curious, Mr. Editor, 

 to pass without notice in the Public's " Own 

 Journal," to which all the world ought to con- 

 tribute what comes before them in the way of 

 novelty. In a large walled-in garden, containing 

 about an Irish acre, and surrounded with fruit 

 trees, two missel thrushes built their nests 

 within the last three weeks, in two pear trees, on 

 opposite sides of the garden, — the greenhouse 

 dividing them The one was beyond my reach, 

 requiring a short ladder to gain access to the 

 hen's nest: she was sitting with such assi- 

 duity that on my approaching very closely she 

 did not move off. Not wishing to molest her till 

 the yourg were out, I refrained visiting the nest 

 again for some days; when, to my surprise, I 

 found the eggs which had scarcely time to be 

 hatched, had been gone, to all appearance, some 

 time. Thinking this must have been done by 

 the magpie, or some other depredator, I took out 

 the nest; and on examination found a large oval 

 hole neatly scooped out of the bottom part, next 

 the wall, beginning at the outside, and very 

 neatly cut through the twigs and mud with 

 which the interior of these birds' nests is always 

 lined. The missel thrush, on the opposite side, 

 built her nest much lower down, so as to be quite 

 accessible to the hand; and contained, as indeed 

 both did, five eggs. The nest was so concealed by 

 the leaves, that it was only when the bird flew 

 off, with aloud chattering cry, that it could be dis- 

 covered. On Sunday last, I raised her twice off the 

 nest ; but on going round the garden to-day to exa- 

 mine the fruit trees, I was surprised not to see her ; 

 and on putting in my hand I found the eggs gone, 

 and the nest cold and damp. On bringing it out, 

 the bottom piirt, next the Avail, was scooped out, 



even more neatly than the former one, — begin- 

 ning at the outside so as to form a considerable- 

 sized oval, or rather long-shaped hole, through 

 which the robber gained access to the eggs; and 

 some small portions of the sweets were adhering 

 to the mud lining. Though the missel thrush 

 has frequented my garden for many years, and 

 committed vast depredations on the apples and 

 pears, which it destroys in great numbers, I have 

 never observed its nest attacked in a similar 

 manner: and I should be glad to know from you, 

 or any of your subscribers, what animal you 

 think was the intruder, and how he might be 

 trapped? I may remark, that in another pear 

 tree, close by, a green linnet had built. The nest 

 was examined in the forenoon by two or three 

 individuals; and on going again in the evening, 

 the five eggs it contained were gone. This, on 

 the very day the others were missed. The 

 gardener ascribed both to the cuckoo, which at 

 that time was observed in the garden every 

 morning. In another part of the wall (but in a 

 currant tree) on a level with one's hand, is the 

 nest of a blackbird, which has brought out her 

 young unmolested; also a hedge sparrow's; and I 

 confess I am at a loss to account for the destruc- 

 tion of the thrushes in both instances. The 

 cutting of the nests from the outside, proves that 

 either the rat, weasel, or other animal was the 

 thief; and not the magpie or cuckoo as is gene- 

 rally supposed. — William M., Carrickfergus. 



Habits of the Owl. — The habits of the common 

 owl often appear strange and curious ; and when 

 an opportunity occurs for ascertaining the mode 

 of living pursued by these tenants of the air, the 

 inquirer generally observes some before-unheard- 

 of peculiarity in their economy. The writer of 

 this notice recently found an owl sitting with all 

 the gravity of Minerva in a last-year's magpie 

 nest, near Alltyrun House, the residence of John 

 Hodgkinson, Esq. The circumstance struck him 

 as being remarkable; and he was anxious to learn 

 something of the bird's history. He was informed 

 that the nest (as he had surmised) was once the 

 property of a magpie; and that the owl in its 

 wanderings having apparently conceived a high 

 opinion of its commodiousness, seemed determined 

 upon having it for its home, and communicated 

 that conclusion to the magpie, who, however, 

 would not hear of it — it wasn't fair or honest. 

 The owl, however, was firm, the magpie equally 

 so; consequently there was no alternative but to 

 fight for it. Fortune deserted right; the owl 

 proved the conqueror, and took possession of the 

 nest, which has been retained ever since. It is 

 built in a lofty fir-tree, from which all the mice, 

 toads, and frogs of the neighborhood can be seen 

 at proper hours. — G. H., Stepney. 



" Throwing the Hatchet" — You have very pro- 

 perly, Mr. Editor, been putting your paw upon 

 those ridiculous anecdotes of animals which are 

 going the rounds of the papers at this season of 

 dullness. Nothing can do more towards bringing 

 them into contempt, than exposure. Read the 

 following, taken from the Canterbury Journal: — 



" The Cat and the Owl. — A curious circum- 

 stance [very!] happened at Manston Court, Isle 

 of Thanet, on Monday last. A cat had kittened 



