522 
naturalist’s calendar. 
Courage and Vitality of the Scarf. —During my stay at Johnny o’ 
Groats, as noticed in vol. I. page 599., I witnessed a scene which afforded 
great diversion to the fishermen in the numerous boats crowded together at 
the shore. A Scarf, as it is there called,—but 1 have forgotten whether it 
was the Cormorant (Carlo Cormoranus,) or the Shag, (Phalacrocorax gracu- 
lus,)—had got in among the boats, probably in search of food, as the bay 
at the time was very stormy. It frequently dived under the water when annoy¬ 
ed by the fishermen, and immediately upon its re-appearance at the surface, 
was cruelly maltreated with boat-hooks, oars, and staves, by the unfeeling and 
mischief-loving crowd. At length, the poor animal, after being severely beaten, 
tried to effect its escape, by getting out of the water on the opposite shore, where 
there were lew or no persons. Here it scampered along the sandy beech, partly 
running and partly Hying, with the wings extended, skipping along the surface. 
It was, however, pursued by a young man from one of the boats, and a regular 
chase ensued. The Scarf frequently eluded his pursuer by making immediate 
acute turns, when about to be taken ; and this chase, backwards and forwards, 
lasted for a considerable time, to the great amusement of the bye-standers. The 
poor bird was at length taken, but even then it did not loose its courage, for it 
immediately gave battle to its capturer, and cut him dreadfully on the back part 
of his right hand. The Scarf was now secured from offering any more retalia¬ 
tion, by holding the neck tightly close to the head; and it was then brought 
over to the shore where I was standing, and where a cooper was at work on the 
beach. The unfortunate animal’s head was laid upon the block and chopped 
oft’ with the adze, leaving about an inch and a half attached to it. The body 
was suspended on a nail in front of a house, and the head was thrown down to 
the water side: the body and head were then about sixty yards apart. I immedi¬ 
ately followed the head, and perceived that life was not yet extinct. The man¬ 
dibles opened and shut, as if gasping for breath. In order to retard the flight of 
the remaining spark of life so rapidly winging its way, I pushed a herring-head 
towards them with a small cane I had in my hand. This they firmly grasped, 
as if, in the last agonies of death, to be revenged of that direful foe who had 
brought the body to an untimely death. I then removed the herring-head and 
put the cane between the mandibles; this they also grasped firmly, so much so, 
that I held the head up in the air by the cane for a considerable time; but, alas! 
the last expiring breath was drawn!—the mandibles let go their hold, and the 
head fell to the ground. It was about seven or eight minutes after the head was 
taken oft’before life seemed to have completely fled. Perhaps some of your in¬ 
telligent correspondents, who are acquainted with the habits of this aquatic bird, 
will be kind enough to say, if this tenacious vitality is common to all the birds of 
this tribe. The Bricklayer’s Labourer. 
Molluscous Animals. —The Helix pomatia (4) Turton says maybe found 
in chalky and gravelly counties. The shell is two inches long, and as mnch 
high, rather solid, of a whitish colour, or pale tawny, with usually four darker 
banes: the inside is of a pale violet brown. In winter the mouth is closed by a 
thin calcareous lid, which, however, is not attached to the inhabitant; upon the 
approach of summer this lid is dissolved by means of a phosphorous acid which 
the animal at this season abundantly secretes. After the animal has been ex 
traded there remains at the bottom of the shell a glaring transparent matter, 
which affords one of the best and most durable cements in nature, resisting every 
