38 
NATURE NOTES. 
shore to the island. This piece of land is occupied by men, on all favourable 
occasions, who build up huts composed of stones, seaweed, sticks and other 
debris, for the express purpose of concealment from the birds. Here they sit 
until the tide compels them to shift, or darkness sets in, waiting for any birds 
they can get — chiefly gulls, terns, and the commoner of waders, such as dunlins, 
purple and common sandpipers, redshanks, oyster catchers, godwits, and various 
other visitors and residents. The destruction and reckless slaughter of the gulls 
and terns is terrible. There are sometimes two or three, or perhaps more, 
pleasure boats drifting about, with from two to half-a-dozen men, pointing at any- 
thing they have within shot, from a seal down to a little auk. They always 
secure good bags in the way of quantity, and sometimes a rarity. 
Leazer Park, Newcastle-on-Tyne. IIenry Innes. 
Cage Birds (pp. 173, 215, 240). — I cannot think that the great joy and 
interest which cage-birds afford is to be denied us on the ground of cruelty. How 
many there are who would hardly ever see a bird if it were not in their possession 
as a cage bird. All our domestic animals live an unnatural life, and are deprived 
of their freedom ; and we cannot give them credit for realising what their life 
might be if released from their artificial existence. Happily for the lower animal 
creation, they have not the power of looking back upon the past, or into the 
future. They exist, and with constant attention to their varied wants, different 
foods, daily exercise outside their prisons (or homes ?), society of their own kind, 
sunshine and air, their life is happy, and ought to be healthful. Of course deli- 
cate birds, difficult to keep in health and on artificial food, should be left in 
freedom ; and the same may be said of larks, for how essentially their wings are 
made for almost constant flight. One of the strongest objections to bird buying 
is the fact that out of the hundreds of birds annually caught, such numbers die, 
often within a few days of their capture, owing to the carelessness of the hawking 
bird catchers. If each owner of some of God’s animate creations would look upon 
them as His, and as watched over by Him, I think all would be done to make 
their life the happiest ; and in turn they would lead our thoughts to greater 
reverence and adoration to the Giver of all good things. 
Roslyn, Hampstead, N. IV. Ethel G. Woodd. 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Fight between Rat and Snake. — One afternoon in the summer, 
when I was staying with my sister at her country house in Somerset, I was stroll- 
ing round by the pigstyes, and observing a disturbance on the top of a dung heap, 
paused to see what was going on. Here were a rat and a large green snake 
engaged in deadly conflict. I watched them for some time. The heap was close to 
a rotten wall, and several times the rat retreated into the wall, to come forth again 
and resume the combat. On being disturbed by some one coming into the yard, 
the rat ran in, not to come out again. I then killed the snake, and found it had 
been badly bitten about the head. My theory about the cause of the fight is that 
the rat had a nest of young inside the wall, and the snake had intruded too near. 
Perhaps some of your correspondents can tell of similar experiences, and help to 
an explanation of this, to me, novel sight. The snake was a female, full of ova, 
and over three feet long. 
W. N. Daubeny. 
Tomtits and Butter. — In the warm weather we enjoyed at the beginning 
of this winter, our supply of butter was frequently placed in a covered dish on an 
outside window ledge. On one occasion the cover was loosely placed on the dish, 
and was either blown off by the wind, or helped off by the efforts of the tomtits to 
get at the protected butter. However this was, they managed to drag off the 
muslin in which the butter was wrapped, and many deep “digs” and holes testi- 
fied to their enjoyment. We have for many years hung out bones or pieces of fat 
on bars outside the windows in winter time, and it has been a great amusement to 
watch the various tits at work on them. St. Leonard’s for a town, probably 
because the Sussex woods come near it and because it is well supplied with public 
