24 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
near the ground I expected to find them, I heard at the 
distance of fifty or sixty yards, a squirrel chattering very 
loquaciously, as if in distress. I approached within some 
twenty or thirty paces, and saw the squirrel running about 
the top of a tree in apparent great fright. It occurred to 
me, that a snake was after it; I stood still for a moment, 
and traced the tree from the squirrel down to within some 
ten or twenty feet of the ground, and behold there was a 
Lynx, or what is here called a Wild Cat. My gun being 
loaded with small shot, I commenced to put in a few 
larger, but whilst in the act, the Cat leaped from the tree. 
Knowing that my dog would get much injured if he caught 
the animal, I would not suffer him to pursue it. In the 
direction which the Lynx run, I saw a very large Black 
Eagle, sitting on a tree, I mounted my horse and pursued 
my hunt about three quarters of an hour, when, by acci- 
dent, my rambles brought me to the tree I had seen the 
Eagle perched on; at that moment, my dog made a dead 
set very near a pile of brush; I halted and looked, there 
was an Eagle, with its wings extended on the brush; not 
wishing to shoot it, I approached, expecting it would fly, 
but on looking closer, I saw under the Eagle a Lynx. I 
dismounted, and secured the Eagle, and took the Lynx up, 
scratched and pierced in many places; one of its eyes was 
completely gouged out, and it could not have been dead 
more than twenty minutes; there were a great many fea- 
thers scattered about the place, and other indications of 
there having been a tremendous fight. I took the Eagle 
to my quarters and kept it for twenty hours, when it ex- 
pired. On examination, 1 found it wounded in several 
places, fatally under the wings on both sides. I have no 
doubt that this was the Eagle and Lynx I had first seen; 
that the Eagle was the aggressor, and suffered for his teme- 
rity.” 
Respectfully your ob’t servant, 
R. B. M. U. S. A. 
Extracted from Silliman’s Journal. 
ON HABITS OF CLEANLINESS IN BIRDS. 
It is a fact, not generally known, that the claws of 
Birds are used as combs to rid the plumage of vermin; 
whence Birds which have short legs are most infested by 
insects. The expedients, which Birds, characterized by 
short feet, — the waders which, from the inflexible nature 
of their legs, and the geese tribe, from the opposition to 
scratching, offered by the membrane between the toes, are 
put to, in order to get rid of their vermin, are well deserv- 
ing of attention, as illustrating the ingenuity of animals, 
and the curious provisions made by nature for their clean- 
liness. When Birds, by accident or imprisonment, are 
deprived of the natural means of ridding themselves of ver- 
min, they often fall victims to their attacks. The author, 
walking on the coast of Northumberland, disturbed a bird, 
which flew heedlessly, as if injured. On shooting it, he 
found it was covered with vermin, especially about the 
head, and on further examination ascertained that it had lost 
one leg, and was thus deprived of the means of ridding it- 
self of these insects. A nest of young swallows had been 
hatched, and they had attained considerable size, when a 
change was made in the window, which frightened the 
parents; from that time, they continued to feed their 
offspring, but never entered the nest. The young ones 
soon became sick, and perished, and on examination the 
nest was found to be crowded with acari of large size. 
Poultry which run about in stony or paved yards, wear 
away the points of their claws, by friction and digging, 
which renders them unfit to penetrate their coating of fea- 
thers; they are, therefore, more covered with vermin, and 
in consequence more sickly than fowls from the country. 
[Jour, of Roy. Inst. Feb. 1831. 
KILLING LARGE INSECTS. 
As many of your young entomological readers may 
have found equal difficulty with myself in ascertaining the 
readiest method of killing the larger Moths when captured, 
I trust you will excuse my troubling you with the follow- 
ing remarks. In the Journal of a Naturalist, prussic acid 
is suggested; but that is not only very expensive, but a most 
dangerous thing to have any dealing with. I have tried hot 
water, steam, hot needles, ether, sulphur, aqua fortis, &c. 
but found none so decidedly effective as oxalic acid, which 
I thus apply: — First, shape a nice small quill into the form 
of a very sharp pointed blind pen, (i. e. a pen without a 
slit,) then seize your Moth, with the finger and thumb 
between the wings on the under side, holding its head to- 
wards you, firmly, but with as little pressure as possible. 
Then dip your pen-shaped quill into the acid, and run it 
into its thorax, just below the head, or between the first 
pair of legs; and after two or three quick applications, the 
Moth will be found perfectly dead. This is not only the 
most humane and expeditious, but very economical, as two- 
pence worth of acid would be sufficient to destroy subjects 
to fill a whole cabinet. As I am writing for the informa- 
tion of your young friends, I may be excused for adding, 
that oxalic acid is in the form of crystals, which must be 
reduced to a liquid by a little water. — Lon. Mag. of 
Nat. Hist. 
