Waters.] 434 [October 17, 



the work I stopped digging and began my tour of the garden for " cut 

 worms." The garden had been left wild for a number of years, and was 

 thoroughly infested with a large, hairless, cut worm of a dark sage green 

 color. They lay just under the ground in the day time and came forth at 

 night and ate every green thing that came in their way. I usually began 

 with my peas to look for the pests and the smaller of the hawks would follow 

 close at my heels to watch my movements or keep me company. I had begun 

 killing the caterpillars with a stick, but upon the hawk coming and looking 

 in my face just as I had found an unusually large one I handed it to her. She 

 took it readily in her bill and dropped it upon the walk, then thrust one of 

 the claws of her right foot through one end of the caterpillar and standing 

 upon the left foot she held up the caterpillar and took a good look at it, 

 wiping her eyes frequently with her nictitating membrane whilst doing so , 

 and turning the caterpillar round so that she could see it from all sides. 

 After she had thus viewed it for some time she put it down upon the ground 

 keeping it still transfixed by the right foot, and raising the left foot care- 

 fully fixed the other end with a claw of that. Then with her bill she broke 

 it in two in the middle. Then standing erect upon her left foot she raised 

 the right with the half of the caterpillar on one of the claws, again looked it 

 over very carefully, and daintily tried it with her bill evidently taking a lit- 

 tle in her mouth, then wiping her eyes with her nictitating membrane; 

 it was a long wipe during which her bill was opened a little and shut half a 

 dozen times quite rapidly just as a person would do it tasting. This was 

 repeated two or three times when she took the remainder from the claw and 

 ate it. The same movements were gone through with the other half. Then 

 without waiting for an invitation she proceeded to help herself to the pests. 

 She would pick them up where I failed to see them, and so thoroughly 

 cleared the ground of the pests that they gave me very little trouble there- 

 after. Most of her time was spent in the garden apparently looking for 

 these caterpillars. I once saw her catch and eat a mouse, also a green 

 snake ; and she ate up her brother when he was shot for eating young birds, 

 but ordinarily she had a "diet of worms." 



The following paper was read : — 



ON THE CHASM CALLED " PURGATORY " IN SUTTON, MASS. 



BY W. O. CROSBY. 



Purgatory, in Sutton, Mass., like the places bearing the same 

 trivial name in various other parts of New England, is a well 

 denned chasm or gorge. It is situated in the southeastern part 



