IRatiue IKlotes: 
tlbe Selbofne Society’s HDaoasine. 
No. 46. OCTOBER, 1893. Vol. IV. 
A SELBORNIAN IN THE DIALS. 
NATURALIST would hardly choose the streets of 
London as the most suitable place in which to pursue 
his studies, and even less would he expect to find 
the crowded neighbourhood to the north of Trafalgar 
Square a happy hunting ground. There even the ubiquitous 
sparrow is a rarity, and the whole district seems abandoned to 
dirt and wretchedness. But a young student might often spend 
an hour with less profit than by taking a stroll through what is 
known as the “ Dials.” Years ago, before the effacing hand of 
“ improvements ” had made itself felt in this part of London, 
the Dials teemed with shops filled with birds, beasts, and 
fishes, the collective contents of which would have formed a 
miniature Zoological Gardens. Even now, purged as the neigh- 
bourhood is of its most squalid bye-ways and alleys, the newly 
admitted sunshine and respectability have not driven away all 
traces of its natural-history proclivities. A few of such shops 
remain. There is only one devoted to aquaria, but that 
contains many things worthy of more than a passing glance. 
There are gold fish, of course, various in size and colour, some 
swimming in globes so small that it is only possible to get a dis- 
torted image of the animal within. The lively minnow is much 
in evidence ; a few gudgeon, and perhaps a small jack about as 
long as a finger, completes the piscatorial specimens. The 
amphibians are better represented. The frog can be seen in 
stages varying from the tadpole to the philosophical-looking 
adult. A couple of toads are making themselves as comfortable 
as circumstances will permit in some wet moss. In a large bell 
jar are many good specimens of the great water newt, amongst 
which is to be noticed a solitary specimen of the palmated 
newt, easily distinguishable by its small size and webbed feet. 
