356 



Northern Xcws. 



It is a relief to learn that the various natural history ' freaks ' recently 

 recorded in the daily press as occurring at Selby, were ' invented ' in order 

 to supply the pressing demands of a local reporter. 



Under the heading ' Animals that cannot Swim.' we are informed 

 that ' Neither the ape nor the camel are able, it is said, naturally, to swim.' 

 Ah I but what about the grass-hop]-)er antl the butterfly ! 



A ^Nliddlesborough ' naturalist ' informs his readers that a pair of tom 

 tits has hatched two hundred eggs in a letter-box at the Uttoxeter work- 

 house. No wonder they wanted out-rclioL ffe has also caught a North 

 American Silk Moth, measuring six inches across the wings, in the park 

 there. 



An account of ' Flint Jack.' together with his photograph, and also of 

 many examples of his handiwork, appears in the August ' Antiquary.' 

 It is written by the Hon. Sorrotary ot the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union. 

 Strangely enough some of these identical forgeries were some years ago 

 figured in a Yorkshire publication as the work of pre-historic man. 



The fly-fishers of Great Britain ha\"e so impressed the Committee 

 dealing with the Sale of Plumes Bill, that ' having regard to the small 

 quantity of feathers used for the manufacture of artificial fishing flies, thev 

 have inserted in the Bill amendments for their protection.' The protection 

 of the fishing flies we pi-esume ! Anyway, it will give Donald an excuse 

 the next time he is caught shooting a Golden Eagle ■ — It will be ' to bait 

 fish withal.' 



" CoRRECTiox. — With reference to the paragraph ' Killed by a weasel ' 



' on page 199 of your correspondent is in error, as the weasel is not 



fovmd in Ireland. The animal was a stoat." It is a pity this mistake was 

 made in a paper which is so careful about being accurate, especially as we 

 heard the other day that one animal could be so weaselly distinguished 

 from the other as it is stoatally different. This was at a dinner. ' God 

 save the King ' immediately followed. 



' I am migrating southwards with the swifts and the cuckoos ; though 

 ^5 yd, beyond the desire that it shall be otitside the radius of brick and 

 mortar, yd not far from London, I do not know yd the spot which may 

 hereafter lend some of its colour to my passing notes of nature.' The- 

 above example of Gilbert-White-Jefferies style appears above initials 

 which are not Y. E. T.. yet perhaps it is not necessary to say what the 

 initials are. As the writer in question has migrated with the cuckoos, we 

 wonder if his paper will yet retain its old name, or be incorporated with one 

 of the Sloper Chips brand. 



' Punch ' is really too bad. Notwithstanding our appeal urging it to- 

 cease competing with one of its weekly contemporaries, it has now copied 

 the very style of its natural history competitor. Since our last issue we find 

 the following in ' Punch ' : — ' Natural History Notes. — Rabbits are- 

 so superstitious that nothing will induce them to sit down thirteen to table. 



' As a general rule bees will not be put off with imitation buttercups- 

 when the real thins' is readily available. 



' It has now been proved beyond a shadow of doubt that the ordinary 

 boa has no feathers. 



' A big-game hunter of European reputation says emphatically that he 

 would rather be kicked b}^ an elephant than by an ostrich — that is if he- 

 had to be kicked at all, 



' The common cat in good health has 2,247,316 hairs on its body. The- 

 figures are taken from the last census. 



' Pumas, for some reason best known to themselves, will never know- 

 ingly attack non-smokers.' 



Dare we venture to suggest to ' Punch ' thnt there is not room for two- 

 periodicals de\'oted to information of this kuid ? Sooner o- later, one must 

 go to the wall, and we should so much m^S'^ ' Punch.' 



Naturalist, 



