their glass globe is great; and when their gam- 

 bols are over, they gladly return to their place of 

 abode. * * * I have given you but a faint 

 outline of the attractive qualities inherent in the 

 frog ; but I trust, after what I have said, no more 

 wanton cruelty will be shown in the destruction 

 of so innocent, so harmless a creature. Provi- 

 dence loves all her children, and endows them 

 with many good qualities which it behoves us to 

 endeavor to find out. — J. L. 



[We have ourselves seen the playful ani- 

 mals alluded to by our correspondent ; and we 

 admire the amiable spirit he shows in thus be- 

 friending his proteges. He does not at all over- 

 color his description; and we can well imagine 

 how pleased he must be with his patient investi- 

 gations and results. We hope to be the means 

 of eliciting many more equally curious facts.] 



Silkworms and their Food. — No doubt many of 

 your readers keep silkworms, and may bepuzzled 

 to know how to feed them just now. As the eggs 

 are hatched at the commencement of April, 

 mulberry leaves (their proper food) cannot be 

 procured. Under such circumstances, the com- 

 mon Dandelion (Taraxacuni) is a good substi- 

 tute. — E. A. C, Windsor. 



The Dormouse. — Last season I had a dormouse 

 given me by a gentleman in Devonshire. It was 

 of a reddish color above, and white below, and 

 had a bushy tail two inches and a half long. It 

 ate only during the night. I gave it nuts, 

 cherries, damsons, and all fruit that Avas in sea- 

 son; also bread and milk. It was very hearty 

 until October, when it slept for two or three days 

 together. It settled down for its winter sleep in 

 November. For three months its little bed of 

 wool was undisturbed. In February it began to 

 revive, but would still sleep for a week or so. It 

 then resumed its activity. Soon afterwards it 

 died; but from Avhat cause I could not ascertain. 

 — W. P. 



[Perhaps its death resulted from cold, or a want 

 of proper food.] 



Birds in a second Moult. — What is the cause 

 of birds moulting at this season? [It arises from 

 the temperature of the apartment being kept at 

 too great a heat.] Also, please tell me how I 

 can clean my canaries. I have just purchased 

 some which have a very dirty plumage. [Let 

 them all fly in a room, and give them a shallow 

 pan filled with cold water. They will soon 

 make themselves look spruce.] I cannot bear to 

 keep any birds whose colors are so dingy as 

 those I am speaking of. — W. S. 



Supposed Cause of the Luminous Appearance 

 observable in Dead Wood. — The curious pheno- 

 menon of phosphorescent decaying wood, which, 

 according to Dr. Hooker, is of a common occur- 

 rence in the damp, humid woods of feikkim 

 Himalaya, is also observable occasionally in Ire- 

 land. I have seen it several times, and have 

 been led by analogy of reasoning to attribute the 

 cause to the mycelia of fungi, which I never 

 could detect after patient investigation. During 

 November, 1850, one of my old pupils wrote from 

 Carrick-on-Shannon, and informed me that 



whilst thinning timber which grew on a boggy 

 situation, where it was much decayed, he had 

 occasion to pass the place along with some of his 

 workmen after dark, when they observed several 

 luminous spots which they were unable to ac- 

 count for. Marks were placed, which he exa- 

 mined next day, and found in each case pieces of 

 decaying timber lying on the surface of the 

 ground where the marks were set. Those he 

 carried to his residence, and had them put in a 

 damp place, when the luminosity was as intense 

 as when the timber was lying on the bog. At 

 my request, he forwarded a piece of the wood to 

 Glasnevin, the phosphorescent properties of 

 which were not impaired from transmission, 

 though shut up two days in a dry box. The 

 phenomenon was very brilliant on the first two 

 evenings after the piece of wood arrived, but the 

 luminosity became gradually weaker, and was 

 not observable after the fourth day. No mycelia 

 eould be found developed with a good micro- 

 scope of high power. — D. Moore. 



Mesmerising a Robin. — A short time since, I 

 caught a robin in a room, by shutting down the 

 window. Taking him in my hand, I placed him 

 on his back; and waving a feather before his 

 eyes, he laid, perfectly motionless. Continuing 

 the operation, first one eye closed and then the 

 other. When he partially awoke from his trance, 

 I placed a pen-holder between his claws. This 

 he held most firmly in his grasp. I then took 

 him up, and placed him just where I pleased. 

 Like an automaton, he seemed unable to help 

 himself, and to have no will of his own. After 

 restoring him to the normal state, I gave him his 

 liberty, and he flew away. Can you account 

 for this curious effect produced by a feather ? — 

 C. A. B., Northleach, 



[There are so many " curious " things now- 

 a-days, that we can "account" for nothing of this 

 kind. It is quite clear that our Correspondent 

 is a Philosopher. We wonder what this mes- 

 meric Eobin thinks of the " passes" made before 

 his organs of vision. His clairvoyance will most 

 assuredly hasten his departure from Northleach.] 



A Predatory Gull. — Are you aware that a 

 Gull, supposed to be a native of Norway, haunts 

 the marshes on the Kentish side of the river 

 Thames, at the east end of the " Lower Hope 

 Point," and abreast of the Blythe Sand ? This 

 fellow has the upper part of his head black, 

 also the same part of his wings black. He is 

 as wild, and as difficult to get a shot at, 

 as a wood-pigeon at noon day ; but the rascal, so 

 soon as the wild ducks lay their eggs, becomes so 

 tame that you can get very near to him. If this 

 freebooter be closely watched, you will see him 

 enter a nest the very moment the duck quits it ; 

 and abducting an egg, he will trot off with it into 

 the long grass and devour it at his leisure ; first, 

 however, returning for the rest of the eggs! 

 Directly the " hatching " becomes general, his 

 natural wildness returns. — iEoi/us. 



How to Count the Rate at which Insects move. — 

 The buzzing and humming noises produced by 

 winged insects are not, as might be supposed, 

 vocal sounds. They result from sonorous undu- 



