NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
1 19 
A Peculiar Hive. — Of all places in the world for a swarm of bees to set up 
housekeeping one would think the unlikeliest to be the roof of a house in a London 
suburban “ long unlovely street.” Yet that is just what a colony of these most 
interesting insects have just done, and but for an accident they might have stored 
their honey, and consumed it too, without anyone dreaming of their presence. The 
house is one of the usual jerry-built ones of seven rooms, with a back addition, and 
a fairly long garden. The wall of the back addition comes down sheer from the 
slated roof, but just beneath the slates some of the rubbishy mortar slapped in to 
supply the place of a brick or two has crumbled away, leaving a space which 
admits of sparrows and house martins entering among the rafters. Two days ago 
a neighbour’s grey parrot escaped from its cage, and for a while evaded the pursuit 
of its anxious owner. At last it alighted near this opening at the top of the 
aforesaid wall, seeming somewhat weary. Its pursuer mounted by means of a 
ladder, and was about to seize it when he was horrified to find himself assailed by 
a cloud of irate bees. He beat a hasty retreat, followed by his parrot, who had 
also evidently found the situation unpleasant. He secured his bird and hastened 
home. Next day he discovered that his bird was ailing and carefully examined it. 
He found it to be badly stung about the breast, from which indeed most of the 
feathers were dropping out. Applications of soothing lotion soon relieved the poor 
bird, who is now doing well. My kitten, however, being town-bted, playfully 
chased and snapped at the big flies as he evidently thought them, and the result is 
that his taste for fly-catching is gone. The house in question is next door to mine, 
and within a stone’s throw of East Dulwich Station. 
F. T. B. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
F. T. B. — Plea.se read Rule 4. Your communication went to two addresses 
before reaching us. 
G. C. B. — We are not anxious to encourage exchanges of the kind you 
mention. 
S. B. — The great spotted woodpecker. 
W. J. — It is impossible to determine critical plants from material so insuffi- 
cient as that sent, (i) Is perhaps Ranunculus Jloribundus. (3) Is probably that 
form. (2) large form of R. hederaceus. (4) Luzula campestris. 
Chilworth . — Kerria japonica. 
A 1 Fard. — (l) Hypnum rutabulum. (2) (Hepatic) /ungermannia bidentata. 
(3) Hypnum squarrosum . — (l) Sphagnum cymhifolium. (2) 6". acutifolium. 
The Lepidium is L. Draba, which is naturalized in many parts of England. Is it 
established in the locality whence you write ? 
H. K . — Kodreuteria paniculata. 
Sedges. — (l and 3) Carex glauca. (2) C. stricta. (4) C, sylvcUica. (5) 
C. remota. (6) C. hirta. Specimens too young for satisfactory determination. 
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