THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



1ST 



Reptiles, but cannot, as they are preserved 

 alcohol, and it would not be safe to send a 

 bottle all that way. Could you tell me if 

 [here be any kind of powder in which they 

 20uld be preserved. — Yours truly, H. 

 Thompson. — Coventry, April 15th. 

 TThe bottles may be sent in cases, packed in 

 sawdust, bran, or rotten wood. The only 

 other method we know of is to skin them, 

 and send the dry skins.— Eds.] 



EXCHANGE. 



I have a few Ova of the dark variety of 

 ftogemmaria (fascata ), which I should be glad 

 ;o distribute to Members of our Exchange 

 Club, on receipt of stamp for postage.— S, L. 

 Mosley, Beaumont Park, II udder sfield. 



NOTES, CAPTURES, &C. 



Mole Tracks ox the Snow. — After the 

 leavy storms of Tuesday, Jan. 19th, we ex- 

 amined closely the various tracks of birds and 

 mimals in the snow. We were surprised to 

 ind a great number of tracks of the mole 



, wherever we went, but particularly along the 

 hedgerows. They appeared to have passed 

 ;heir nights running about on top of the 

 mow, instead of in their holes. We should 

 )e glad to know, if this is always the case, or 



. whether they only do so in the snow. We 

 have reason to think the}- are not in the habit 

 :>f doing so at other times, as we never see 



. them about at night, though often out with a 

 lantern. — R. Prescott Decie. 



Three Crows to One Nest. — Having 

 been told by some friends that there was a 

 nest not far off which belonged apparently to 

 three crows, we went on Tuesday, April 12th, 

 to look at it. We saw the nest at the top of 

 an oak tree, and in it two crows were sitting 

 side by side ; the third, however, was not to 

 be seen. We went again on Thursday, the 

 14th, when there was only one bird on the nest. 

 This got off the nest at our approach, cawing 

 loudly. Attracted apparently by this, two 

 others came flying along the dingle and were 



j joined by the first. The three together flew 

 ! round over our heads for a short time, when 

 I the one which we had first seen went back to 

 1 the nest, while the other two perched on the 

 i nearest tree. We stayed some time longer 

 , watching them, but as they did not move we 

 went away, pretty well satisfied that the 

 three crows belonged to the same nest. Can 

 any of your readers give a parallel instance ~? 

 — R. Prescott Decie. 



Captures on the Wallasey Sandhills. 

 i — On the 15th inst I had the pleasure, in 

 company with my friend, Mr. Firth, of renew- 

 ing my acquaintance with Nvssia leonaria in 

 its well known " native haunts " on the 

 Cheshire Sandhills. Although I have taken 

 this species on three or four occasions, now 

 more than ten years ago, I do not remember 

 ever to have seen it in such abundance : hun- 

 dreds might have been collected in a very 

 short time in splendid condition. Female 

 specimens were equally common, many of 

 them depositing their eggs, which, after a 

 little practice, were easily found inside the 

 hollow stems of grass, &c. In addition to 

 Zonaria, we also took three or four fine speci- 

 mens of T. of una, one rubricosa, two L. multi- 

 strigaria, and larvse of B. rubi and A. 

 fuliginosa. — J. W. Carter, P>radford, April 

 I iSth, 1881. 



Swallows Building in Chimneys. — On 

 page 71, No. 9, of the Young Naturalist, I see 

 that Mr. Mosley says that he never saw a 

 swallow enter a chimney. Last week, while 

 talking with my father about them, he told 

 me that one day, when he was at Bubben- 

 hall, a village five miles from here, he was 

 called into a house. The man wanted to 

 show him a nest in the chimney. He looked 

 up, and saw the swallows come in and out of 

 the nest. It was built several feet from the 

 top, and the old birds lowered themselves 

 down to feed the young ones. It was one of 

 those straight chimneys, and they kept a fire 

 burning all day, but did not cook anything, 

 on account of the bits falling from the nest. — 

 FI. Thompson, Coventry. 



