NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 
219 
and colour of the common nut-cracker (iXuiifras;a caryocatades) and if it belongs 
to the Corvidee. I have always wanted to have a monthly paper on nature, and 
am very glad to have found out through a friend the existence of Nature 
Notes. D. M. 
October 2, 1899. 
[William Turner, in his “ Avium historia” (1544), gave the Nucifra^a to 
this bird, the “ Nousbracher ” (now “ Nussbrecher ”) of the RhaTic Alps; 
Gesner in 1555 called it Caryocatades; in Linnaeus it is Corviis caryocatactes ; 
and the English name “Nut-cracker” was given by George Edwards in his 
"Gleanings” in 1758. It undoubtedly belongs to the Corvidu, though once 
erroneously thought to be allied to the woodpeckers. Its chief food is the seeds 
of conifers, but it also eats insects, eggs, and small birds. It is about the size 
of a jackdaw, brown with white spots, chiefly in lines down the neck and breast, 
and has a rather long straight bill. It is a rare visitant in Britain. — El). A^.W.] 
Management of Green Tree Frogs in the Winter. -It may be of 
interest to readers of Nature Notes to know that green tree frogs can easily 
be kept alive all through the winter by the following method, which I have 
employed for my own specimens during the last five years. The frog is placed in 
a roomy wide-mouthed bottle, at the bottom of which is a little water to keep the 
air in the bottle moist. piece of evergreen serves as a foothold for the frog, 
and is kept alive for a time by the water, while a cover of stout brown paper or 
muslin eti'ectually closes the mouth of the bottle. The cover must be perforated 
to allow the moisture to evaporate, or the whole inside of the bottle will soon be 
sprouting with mould. 
Eor food, in the autumn the well-known “ harvest men” may be used instead 
of flies, which will be becoming scarce ; and in the winter, spiders may be sub- 
stituted. The spiders will require a systematic search for them in outhouses, 
under stones, &c., but are an excellent substitute for flies. In the winter my frog, 
though the bottle is kept on the mantelpiece, is often semi-torpid, and only 
requites feeding about once a week. The water in the bottle and the piece of 
evergreen should be changed frequently. 
Graham Renshaw, M.B. 
Bees not Swarming. — In reply to Mr. Daubeny, there is no doubt that 
the very severe cold w'e experienced late in the spring was the cause of so many 
colonies not swarming, mine among others. Many stocks died through it, while 
those fed at the idenlicai time gave excellent results. One stock that I sold to 
a neighbour on July 3, 1S9S, properly looked after by me and fed, gave a surplus 
in section honey of about 45lbs. J. Hiam. 
Hornet’s Instinct or Reason. — A few days ago I had been to a neigh- 
bour’s to investigate his hives and bees in order to put them secure and well 
furnished with food to carry them through the coming winter. On my way home 
a large hornet buzzed past me, no doubt a young queen, on the look out for 
suitable hybernating quarters. Watching her closely, I saw her settle on the 
roof of a blacksmith’s shop, and after trying several apertures not sufficiently 
large to admit her she gave up the case as hopeless. Again she tried and 
examined, as closely as any human being could, the back of an advertisement 
placard for several minutes, but reappeared and gave it up as hopeless, or 
un.vuitable. She next came buzzing round me as if to ask for advice, and then 
left to seek other buildings in the locality. I could not help admiring the instinct, 
or reasoning, or whatever one may call it. 
Astwood Bank. J. Hi AM. 
SELBORNE SOCIETY NOTICES. 
Selborne Winter Lectures. — The Council is pleased to announce that 
a series of lectures during the winter months is being arranged. The first will 
take place on Tuesday, November 21, at 8.30 p.m., at Morley Hall, 26, George 
Street, Hanover Square. The subject chosen by the Rev. Professor Henslow, 
who has kindly consented to give the inaugural lecture, is “Plants and their 
Surroundings.” The chair will be taken by Sir Robert Hunter. Applications 
