160 
MISCELLANY. 
under water; nor shall I be till I can get one of these birds to dissect; for I am 
very doubtful whether they have any muscles above the wing adequate to the 
labour of inverting the process of flying. The necessity of such muscles, to 
enable it to do so, must be sufficiently apparent to every one.— Edward Blyth, 
Tooting , Surrey, July 16, 1836. 
Song of the Gold-crested Kinglet. —I believe few persons are aware even 
that this fairy-like creature possesses a song at all—much less that it is a very 
assiduous songster. But as the bird keeps close to the upper branches of Firs and 
other evergreens, it is but little remarked: and its notes are so faint, that they 
cannot be expected to attract general attention. The same hidling habits may 
have caused its Fiery-crested congener to have been so completely overlooked 
until lately. Your readers should be on the look-out for differences—however 
apparentlysmall—between the Kinglets shot in their respective neighbourhoods.— 
Wm. Leslie Bussell, Canterbury , Aug. 18, 1839. 
Distribution of the Rudd in Britain. —The counties of England in which 
this fish ( Leuciscus erythrophthalmos ) occurs, are, according to Yarrell, Middle¬ 
sex, Oxford, Cambridge, Norfolk, Lincoln, and York. We have found it in great 
numbers in the West-Biding of the last-named county. It is probably much 
commoner in every part of the island than is generally supposed, and is no doubt 
in most cases confounded by anglers with its congener the Roach, to which at first 
sight it bears a considerable resemblance.— Ed. 
Crambus falsellus. —This insect occurs at Blandford, Dorsetshire; Bright- 
well and Buzfield, Berkshire; Weston-on-Green, Oxfordshire; Hampton-Wick, 
Axbridge, Somersetshire ; &c.; from July to the beginning of September.—J. C. 
Dale, Glanvilles- Wootton, Dorsetshire , July 9, 1837. 
To make Steel Pens. —It is reported that there is a man in Vermont who 
feeds his Geese on iron filings, and gathers steel pens from their wings.— American 
paper'. 
The Toad poisonous. —A paragraph, copied from the Nottingham Review, has 
been “ going the round of the newspapers,” recording several instances in which 
Dogs had been poisoned in attempting to worry Toads. Naturalists must now 
re-consider their verdict respecting the harmless nature of this reptile.— Ed. 
Fidelity -of the Dog. —Yesterday week a butcher in returning from Llanfyllin 
market, had to cross the Godder ford near his residence, and the river being 
greatly swollen, he fell from his Horse, when the animal plunged, and its rider 
was drowned. His Dog had accompanied him all day, and it appears had seen 
the accident, for it followed the body as it sank, and seizing the collar of the 
coat with its teeth, had with great labour brought the body to the side of the 
stream, and, raising the head above the water, held it firmly there during the 
whole of the inclement night, and when discovered in the morning, the poor 
