APRIL. 
81 
solitary, except when breeding. Afterwards they are very pugnacious, even in 
captivity, and, though well supplied with food, they will kill one another ; 
which shows they are still governed by the same “ wisely ordained instinct, 
that each may find its own separate location and dependance.” Herons, how¬ 
ever, are more social, and are attached to their breeding places, which they 
only visit early in spring. Their arrival is known by their loud clanking noise. 
Perhaps in some lonely parts of the country, Herons may make their nests in 
bushes, or on the ground. If my memory is correct, I have read that they do 
so in the Orkney Islands, at least, round the stump of an old dwarf tree, on 
which the colony build. 
In former days, Herons were considered a dainty dish ; and joerhaps they 
are still on the “Game List.” I once had a dish of young ones cooked, but 
soon found that I might eat them myself; some said they smelt rank, others that 
they tasted fishy. In connection with this subject, I may mention that there 
is a belief, especially in the north, that Herons have only one gut, and that 
live eels pass through them ; and, also, that they allure or attract fishes by 
their feet. The first is founded on the fact of Herons dropping eels from their 
beaks when suddenly alarmed ; as to the other, there seems to be no peculiar 
smell in Herons’ feet. The truth is, when one is seen standing motionless 
knee-deep in water, he is eagerly watching a “ blow hole ” of an eel, as a 
dog does a rat’s hole, and as soon as the prey puts out its head, down goes the 
serrated beak upon it. Formerly anglers used to rub their bait with oil from 
Herons’ feet, and even carried a Heron’s foot in their pockets to ensure suc¬ 
cess : and it is said the notion still prevails among the people in the Feroe 
Islands. 
During severe winters, when rivers and lakes are frozen, Herons must be 
hard pressed for food. A friend told me that he shot one in such weather, and 
found a snipe in its stomach. Perhaps the snipe was at some unfrozen spring 
in search of food, and unluckily for him, the Heron came to it on the same 
errand, and snapped him up. I may further mention that the late Dr. Neil, of 
Edinburgh, in reply to some of my inquiries respecting Herons, stated that he 
observed one of his Herons fell, at one stroke of his beak, a rat which was 
busy stealing a portion of his food. 
A writer, I think Mudie, relates a still more dexterous feat of Herons. He 
observes, that when an eagle hovers above one in the air, the Heron puts his 
neck under his wing, and thrusts up his beak, keeping a keen eye upon the 
enemy, and as soon as he descends, he is impaled upon it, and is hurled down 
dead or mortally wounded ; while the Heron flies on his way. I consider this, 
however, to be a mere fanciful story, for I doubt if a Heron can balance him¬ 
self like a kite floating in the air, with legs long beyond the tail, and neck tucked 
under his wing. • 
Cossey Park. J. Wighton. 
NEW BOOKS. 
The Treasury of Botany: a Popular Dictionary of the Vegetable Kingdom. 
Edited by John Bindley, Ph.D., F.R.S., and Thomas Moore, F.L.S., 
Assisted by Numerous Contributors. London : Longmans, Green, k Co. 
This consists of two volumes, of in all upwards of 1250 closely-printed 
pages, copiously illustrated with wood engravings from drawings by Mr. Fitch; 
and, in addition, there are twenty beautiful plates on steel, giving representa¬ 
tions of the aspects of vegetation in various parts of the world. The work 
comprises such a vast amount of information on plants and their uses, derived 
