NATURAL HISTORY NOTES AND QUERIES. 159 
very light, and the top of the head was also pale green. It was now a very beau- 
tiful caterpillar, and very interesting to watch. When it was touched it put out 
the filaments of the tail, and waved them about, and it raised its head, as if it were 
looking angrily at one. On the morning of July l6th all the bright colours had 
changed to a dirty brown, and the caterpillar crawled on to a piece of poplar bark 
and began to spin. F'irsc it put some threads over its body, and while it was 
spinning it bit off tiny pieces of bark, and wove them into the cocoon ; every few 
minutes it put something sticky out of its mouth on to the cocoon, as if to make 
the scraps of bark stick on better. By the evening the caterpillar was quite 
covered, but could still be seen moving. When the cocoon was finished it lookeil 
like a brown lump on the bark. I fed the caterpillar on poplar leaves, and gave 
it fresh food three times a day. The cocoon remained in the breeding cage all 
the winter, and on the ist of May, 1892, a beautiful female puss moth came out 
of the cocoon. Jane Graham. 
A Helpful Toad. — Miss M. Clark, of Devizes, has sent me the following 
anecdote This spring our gardener, while moving a pile of sticks, saw a 
toad crawling from the spot with another on its back. The next day he noticed 
it again, and his curiosity being aroused he took the toad from the other’s back, 
and found that its two fore legs had been lost as far as the first joint. Since then 
he has not .seen them, but thinks they may re-appcar in damp weather.” 
P. A. Fry. 
Some more Pets (see p. 99, 117). — .\nother pet was a very fine Ocelot 
(Fel?s pardalis) this animal was not very fierce, although his play was of rather a 
rough nature. He would knock against the wirework of his cage, rub himself 
and purr like a cat, if he thought you were going past without taking any notice 
of him ; but when it came near dinner hour, his temper became anything but 
pleasant, and one had to be very careful how his food was given him, or one 
would get their fingers severely bitten. He would eat raw flesh, fish and fowl, 
and rabbit heads ; quite oppo.site to the coracal, he would drink a very large 
amount of water. In looks he was a perfect leopard, only in miniature ; his 
walk the same, his coat if anything, more handsome than that animal. The 
Ocelot comes from South America, but he does not appear to require a very 
high temperature, 10 to 16 centigrade suits him well. He was exceedingly lively, 
and was continually going up and down his cage. He used to sleep in a zinc 
box full of hay, which was put in his cage every evening, and taken out ever\- 
morning. One day a man from Bostock’s collection came and made a fair offer 
for him, and as he smelt rather strong, I sold him to them : they were very gla«l 
as they had not one there. R. M. J. Teh, 
“Marie’s Heart.” — A writer in the National Observer for July 2nd (p. 
167) writes : — “Those curious flowers to which tradition has given the name of 
‘ Marie’s Heart,’ spread their creamy tendrils and blood-coloured flowers in every 
direction.” What plant is referred to ? G, .S. R. 
A Cuckoo Query. — In his article on Wimbledon Common, Mr. Charles 
Worte, speaking of cuckoos (p. 103), says : — There are vastly more females 
than males. ” 1 do not know whether this statement is made advisedly or not; 
but, if it is, it would be very interesting to hear on what evidence or authority it 
is made. Cuculus. 
Swifts. — If the temperature remains much longer at 20° below the average 
for July, many of these birds will shorten their stay this year. I saw them m 
large numbers to-day, circling high over the valley between Bath and Keynsham, 
where, later, the swallows often assemble prior to their departure. 
Weston-super-Mare. T. Poi.E. 
Skelley’s “ Tall Flower.^’ — A writer in the Athemeutn of July i6th com- 
plains that the references in a recent Lyrical Concordance to the works of .Shelley 
are insufficient. “ Would it not be a comfort to find under jonquil, or daffodil, 
or narcissus, or under all three — 
That tall flower that wets — 
Like a child, half in tenderness and mirth — 
Its mother's face with heaven’s collected tears. 
When the low wind, its playmate’s voice, it hears?” 
