242 
NATURE NOTES. 
over the edge of the nest — could it be ? yes, it really was — the head of a 
sparrow. I looked for the martins, but there was not one to be seen. The 
sparrows had taken comfortable possession of every one of the five nests, having 
first stuffed them with hay, feathers and all sorts of untidiness. In great wrath I 
departed in search of a ladder, and before long the nests were cleared out, and 
ready again for the martins ; but alas ! they never came back. As for the spar- 
rows, they held an indignation meeting on the housetop, after which they seemed 
resigned, and we hoped the matter was forgotten. However, some little time 
afterwards we noticed that our soft water, which collects in an outside tank, was 
beginning to smell very unpleasantly, and as the smell increased, we sent a man 
on to the roof to examine the .tank. He presently reappeared with a bucket- 
ful of sparrows, in various stages of decomposition, which he had fished out 
of the tank. Whether they deliberately committed suicide, in order to be 
revenged on us, or whether their agitation and despair at finding themselves 
homeless drove them to such desperate measures, perhaps the readers of Nature 
Notes will help us to decide. Certain it is that since the cleaning of the tank 
the suicides have ceased, the water has been pure and fresh as soft water should 
be, and the sparrows have led a retired life among the chimney stacks, as if they 
were conscious of a more than usually heavy burden of wrong-doing. 
Moore, near Warrington. Mary L. Congreve. 
Jumping Beans. — Visitors to the Indian Exhibition, held this summer at 
Kensington, were much amused to watch the lively movements of the so-called 
“Jumping Beans” which were to be seen at one of the stalls. Some of these 
beans were given me last December (1894), and wishing to know something of 
their life history, I searched through my library, but the only notice I could find 
was the following extract from Professor P. Martin Duncan’s Transformations of 
Insects. Speaking of certain fruit-eating moths belonging to the Carpocapsidiz 
he says ; “ Some of the caterpillars of these fruit-eaters move very actively in the 
insides of the seeds or fruits they are devouring. M. Lucas had some large 
Euphorbia seeds which came from Mexico, and which, when exposed to gentle 
heat, jumped up a few lines into the air. It was difficult to account for this, but 
it was found that the movements were produced by the caterpillar inside jumping 
about.” For many months my seeds continued their jerking movements, but at 
last they all became quiet and I feared the caterpillars might have died. Last 
week, however, I was greatly pleased to find that a grey and brown moth had 
hatched out of one of the seeds, and of course I carefully preserved it as a museum 
specimen. There are some things about its hatching which are very puzzling, 
and I should be grateful for information on these points. The seed case had a 
perfectly round hole bored on one side through which the chrysalis must have 
wriggled out, as I found the empty chrysalis outside the seed. Does the cater- 
pillar partly bore the hole before it turns into the pupa state ? I can hardly believe 
either the chrysalis or moth could pierce the hard-shelled seed, and yet on 
examining the other seeds I can see no trace of the hole through which the moth 
is to emerge. Since I have had to keep these beans for nearly a year before they 
hatched I thought those who had purchased specimens at the Indian Exhibition 
would like to know that they must preserve them for twelve months if they wish 
to see the perfect insect. 
Eliza Brightwen. 
Swallows at Chicliester.' — Notwithstanding the several sharp frosts we 
have lately had the swallows are still flying about in this neighbourhood. This 
afternoon I counted more than a dozen in one field, which is always a favourite 
haunt of theirs ; these birds are all house martins, and no doubt are late broods, 
which were not strong enough to migrate last month. A year ago there were 
also many left behind, and I noted a few flying about up to, and including 
December 22 ; after that day none were seen. This year the first martin arrived 
at Fishbourne Mill Pond on March 23, and we have had them, more or less, with 
us for more than seven months. A pair of swallows chose a curious place for their 
nest here this summer. In a wood shed an old coat was hanging by the collar to 
a nail at the side ; the birds built their nest at the apex, making it very shallow. 
I am sorry to add that just as the hen began to sit, a stray cat tore the whole 
structure down. 
Fishbourne, Chichester. 
Arthur Evershed. 
