NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 
IIS 
494. Redstart. — I do not know whether it would interest your readers to 
know that a Redstart has been picked up in London, near the Swiss ('ottage. 
It had died of starvation through the cold. It was taken to Mr. Whiting, 
and set. 
Hampstead, May 20, 1907. PETER IIastie. 
495. Where Birds Nest. — Curious nesting places of birds have l>cen 
discovered at Hinton St. George, Somerset. In the slaughter-house at Karl 
Poulett’s kennels, a pair of corduroy overalls, used when tarring or painting is 
being done, had been thrown carelessly over a beam, and in one of the legs a 
Robin has built and completed its nest. Within a yard of this an old coat had 
been similarly suspended, and in a tear in the shoulder-lining a Wren has com- 
pleted a perfectly shaped nest. Notwithstanding that the kennel-man was 
frequently going in and out, the birds continued their work. — Standard. 
496. Pythons. — My note (on p. 4) was, of course, intended to remove 
the doubts expressed by Mr. Daubeny as to the probability of the Ceylon story 
quoted in vol. xvii., p. 191. I quite agree with him as to the absurdity of the 
Sluseum group of which he writes on p. 154. A python usually lies in wait 
for its prey in a tree, and seizes it by the scruff of the neck, or some other part of 
the body, so that the victim is not only disconcerted by the sudden attack, but is 
also powerless to reach its opponent, whose powerful coils are quickly wrapped 
round the doomed creature. It seems to me that the (proposed) leopard in the 
Ceylon story would be so swaddled up in the coils of the serpent that its limbs 
would be rendered u.seless and the grip on its neck would prevent its teeth being 
brought into play. It must be borne in mind that a leopard is a considerably 
smaller animal than a tiger, and that the crushing process to which pythons and 
other serpents submit their prey is precisely for the purpose of rendering the latter 
easier to swallow because it is so comparatively large. I may, however, point 
out, that as the missionary was probably not a naturalist, it may have been one of 
the smaller “cats” to which he referred, and also, that even if the python did 
half swallow the beast in question, that is no proof that it was in the habit of 
feeding on such large animals, or even able to swallow them whole. 
Hale Emi, Chingford. C. Nicholson. 
497. Wasps. — I agree with O. C. Silverlock that wasps probably rarely 
lose their stings, as bees so often do. The wasp is a predatory insect living on 
other creatures as well as sweets, and therefore has more occasion to use its sting, 
which consequently has become a better developed and more perfect instrument 
than that of the bee, and not so likely to be torn from its body. The bee uses 
its sting only in defence, of itself or its fellow colonists, whereas the wasp adds 
to this the use of its sting as an instrument of slaughter in the collection of food 
material in the shape of caterpillars and flies. As to bees dying as a result of 
the loss of their sting, I should like to ask, do they? It is a common belief, but 
has it any foundation in fact? .As to the wasp mentioned by your correspondent 
as not being incommoded but rather advantaged by being snipped in two while 
feeding on honey, there is no doubt that such a thing is possible and that the 
wasp would not suffer agony as suggested, because the nervous system of insects 
is such that pain must be non-existent in them, or at any rate, practically so. 
The reason why the walking wasp rolled about when snipped in two was doubt- 
less because its balance was disturbed by the loss of its abdomen, but at the same 
time, I see no reason to doubt that an insect could become so intent on imbibing 
honey as to be, shall we say, insensible to such an important a matter as that 
of having its abdomen removed. 
Hale End, Chingford. C. NICHOLSON. 
498. Plant Freaks. — I have been interested in the various accounts of 
“ Plant Freaks,” and having lately found two monstrosities, I think an account 
of them may perhaps interest other people. The Daisy I found was not a Hen 
and Chicken variety, but had a fasciated stem, with a common involucre surround- 
ing what would normally have been three capitula. Within a few yards I found 
a Dandelion with a similar stem, and also a common involucre, but in this case 
there were only two flower-heads. I find in Kerner’s book (“The Natural 
