NATURAL HISTORY NOTES AND QUERIES. 97 
Sagacity of a Sow. — We are indebted to the owner of this intelligent 
sow for the following account: — “Before railway communication was laid to 
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada, the settlers were very careful to be well 
supplied with live stock, and the many and large farms in the Saskatchewan 
District possessed some very fine specimens of domestic animals. The subject of 
this anecdote, however, was remarkable neither for breed, appearance or any 
other animal qualifications. She was a sow, w’hose owners, as is often the case 
with the Irish peasantry, made a pet of and spoiled her. One day a bucket of 
bran mash was brought to the yard to the cow, waiting patiently for her daily 
portion. The sow showed herself slighted at not being served first, and grunted 
and sniffed around several times, vainly trying to get her nose near the coveted 
food. After a time she was seen to disappear, and in a few moments returned 
with as much sweet hay as she could carry in her mouth. She placed the hay on 
the ground close to the bucket, when ‘Daisy’ the cow immediately lifted her 
head to see whether she could have anything better than bran. This was all 
piggy wanted: she took possession of the food, and soon finished the contents of 
the bucket in spite of poke, pushes, &c., from the disappointed and vanquished 
cow. ” 
The Natterjack Toad (pp. 58, 78). — The only toad found in Ireland is the 
Natterjack or Cornish toad, and this only in one limited district at the east end of 
Dingle Bay. The district is known as Ross Begh ; thirty years ago it was plenti- 
ful there, and doubtless it is so still; this is at the south side of Dingle Bay, but I 
have been told that the toad is also found at the northern side. Our common 
brown toad is not a native of Ireland, and there is a tradition, although a very 
doubtful one, that the frog was introduced in the reign of (jueen Elizabeth by 
some of the professors of Trinity College, Dublin, who brought the spawn from 
England and placed it in the ditches in the College Barks, having previously 
failed in the introduction of live frogs. There is no snake of any species known in 
Ireland ; the gieen lizard (Lacerta agilis) is occasionally found, and the smooth 
newt is common in the midland counties. I am not aware of the waited newt 
being a native, the mole is not a native, the badger is very rare, and the black rat, 
if not extinct, is very nearly so. 
Robt. J. Lecky. 
Spring Flowers at Bath. — As the time of the flowering of plants affords 
one of the best indications of the mildness or otherwise of the season, and as the 
glorious spring weather we have been enjoying of late is quite out of the common, 
I have jotted down a few notes of Hovers which I have seen or gathered within 
the last few weeks in the neighbouihood of Bath, which I venture to send think- 
ing that they may be useful for reference in years to come. On Good Friday, 
March 31st, I observed in flower between Bath and Kelston, ground ivy, ladysmock, 
red campion ; blackthorn and bullace were in full flower in the hedgerows, and 
gave an indescribable charm to a very pretty landscape. Daffodils and marsh 
marigolds have been in flower in St. Catherine’s Valley for more than a month. 
Our charming little park is looking lovely at the present time. The almond trees 
have been in flower for some ten days. Cherry trees, both single and double 
flowered, are displaying an abundance of bloom. Yesterday, April 5th, I observed 
Darwin’s barberry {Berberis Darwinii), Pyrus japonica and the purple magnolia 
(Magnolia pitrpurea) in flower. The Glastonbury thorns (Crata:gus Oxyacantita, 
var. pracox) will soon be in flower. The white petals, though not yet unfolded, 
are visible. These early thorns are quite a fortnight in advance of the other 
whitethorns in the park. The following extract from Gilbert White’s Sdbonie 
will serve to show the normal time of the flowering of some of the plants re- 
ferred to. 
“Naturalists’ Calendar: — Daffodil fl. February 24th, April 2nd. Marsh 
Marigold fl. March 20th, April 14th. Wild Cherry fl. April l8th. May 12th. 
Barberry Tree fl. May 17th, May 26th. Ground Ivy fl. April 3rd, May 15th.” 
Bath. W. G. Wheatcroft. 
A Pet Lamb. — Last March the shepherd brought home two little lambs. 
They were half-starved little things ; their mother had been unable to stand, and 
was now dead. They were kept warm and dry in a small shed and fed by hand 
