NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 
95 
large in the streets of London. Vet, in the Goswell Road and Aldersgate Street, 
three fine geese are to lie seen strutting about at their own free will, to the as- 
tonishment of pedestrians passing through these thoroughf.rres. They are not 
above taking any food offered them, but they certainly object to being teased, as 
a number of their admirers have already found out. The birds’ abode is in a van- 
yard in the Goswell Road, and if they are not in their natural element, their 
unrestrained liberty has become a familiar feature to the passer-by. 
April 9, 1905. CiiAS. E. J. IIannrtt. 
234. Hedge-Sparrow Singing at Night. — When I was out late 
at night about a month ago, I heard a hedge-sparrow singing. I was not quite 
sure at the time that it was a hedge-sparrow, as it was some way off ; but the day 
before yesterday (March 24) I was out and heard a hedge-sparrow sing in a bush 
quiteclose. It was half-past eleven and a dark stormy night. Have you heard of 
a similar case ? 
The Cottage, Batheaston, near Bath. N. C. X'aisey. 
March 26, 1905. 
235. Thrush. — In a plantation near here a thrush has been found sitting 
on five eggs on the bare ground. There was no nest of any kind, which is most 
unusual. The bird unfortunately has not succeeded in raising a brood. 
Edmund Tiios. Daubeny. 
236. Ringed Plover. — These birds occur sparingly throughout this 
district, and two or three pairs make their home in a large field close here. This 
year the field has been given over to the rearing of poultry, and these ringed 
plovers, which are only too tame, are constantly to be seen close to where the 
fowls are fed. About the middle of March I was told that one of the cocks was 
to be shot, as it was such a “strange and pretty bird’’ ! I pleaded for its life 
successfully. At the end of March a nest was found and the eggs were boiled 
and eaten. The unfortunate birds contemplate laying again, and a promise has 
been given me that the eggs will not be taken a second time. Rustics often take 
home and boil small birds’ eggs, even those of thrushes and blackbirds, a hateful 
habit which is hard to stop, and causes the lover of wild creatures an extra pang 
at the persecuting ways of man’s omnivorous stomach. 
Edmund Thos. Daubeny. 
237. Cbameleons Born at Sea. — I saw on Saturday, at Mr. R. Green’s 
Conservatories, Covent Garden Market, what I think must be a very rare and un- 
usual thing. In a box containing some chameleons received that morning from 
South Africa, were also some young ones about i to inches long, which must have 
been born on the journey. The old ones are of normal colour except one, which 
is of a very bright green, with a broad stripe of brown running down each side. 
The young ones were also of the usual colour, again except in the case of one of 
them, which is of a pale flesh colour, and the young ones were clinging to the old 
ones and being carried about by them. 
Being so small and young, I fear it will be difficult to feed them properly, but 
thought it might interest your readers, and so send you these few particulars. 
“ Grasshopper.” 
238. Apple- Blossom Weevil. — Early this year my pear trees were 
covered with flower-buds. Towards the end of March, however, the ravages of an 
enemy declared themselves, and the chances of a crop are gone. -At least 95 per 
cent, of the buds have been hollowed out by the larva of the Apple- Blossom Weevil 
(Antkronomus pomornni) and are hopelessly ruined. The female beetle bores a 
hole in the side of the unopened bud, deposits an egg, closes up the hole, and 
moves on to another which she treats in like manner till she has laid from thirty to 
forty eggs. During the year there are several generations ; and I fear the attack 
will spread to the apple trees. 
In reading the history of this tiny pest, which preys upon our orchards more 
or less every year, we come across suggestions for combating its attacks, which 
look very well on paper ; but in most cases are unpractical. The difficulty is to 
discover the infestation in time ; and many of the remedies suggested are impossi- 
ble to carry out on anything like a large .scale. Tits are untiring enemies of this 
insect in its different stages, and should be encouraged in our gardens and 
orchards. Edmund Thos. Daubeny. 
