A gentleman, upon whose authority this anecdote is related, saw the progress of the nest, and always spoke of the contrivance of the swallow with extreme admiration.

The following is another instance of the ingenuity of birds in adopting expedients in building their nests to obviate inconvenience. A fauvette (Sylvia hortensis?) had twice built her nest in some ivy against a garden wall, and twice her labour had been fruitless, the nest having been blown down by some high winds. The third time, she prevented the recurrence of a similar accident by attaching a piece of worsted to a branch of the ivy, weaving it around the outer side of the nest, and carefully fastening the other end of the worsted thread to another conveniently situated branch.

I have now in my possession the pendent nest of a golden-crested wren, which has been suspended to the slender branches of a fir-tree by means of threads. The threads have been curiously twisted round and round the branches, and then fastened to the edge or rim of the nest. By this means the nest is suspended, and vibrates backwards and forwards with the least touch.

In addition to these instances of ingenious contrivance, it would appear, from the following instance, that birds have an extraordinary faculty and foresight in avoiding danger, although it be not apparent at the time. Some years ago, a

large and beautiful ash-tree was blown down in the vicarage garden of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. About one hundred and forty distinct rings. marked the growth of this tree, and those circles which remained became too minute to be counted. The tree must, therefore, have been of great age. Upon examination it was found to be decayed near the root, a piece not above the thickness of a man's arm remaining sound at its heart. A colony of rooks had been in the habit of building their nests annually upon this tree; but it would appear as if they were aware of its approaching ruin, for about three years previous to its fall they deserted it for no apparent reason, and took up their abode in another ash-tree growing near, the situation of which was between the chimneys of the adjoining houses.

I am not aware whether the circumstance of a crow's nest having been built on the top of the old exchange at Newcastle-upon-Tyne is generally known. The account may be found in Brand's history of that place. In March, 1783, a pair of crows built their nest, and reared their young, above the weathercock on the top of the steeple, so that the nest shifted about with every change of the wind. They attempted to build it again in the same place the following year, but other crows pulled it to pieces before it was finished. In the year 1785, and the two following years, the same

crows, as was supposed, built in the same spot, or rather point, and succeeded each year in hatching and rearing their young. The wonder is, how the first sticks could have been secured, so as to make a foundation for the other materials of the nest.

There is a small rookery at the Tower of London, which generally consists of ten or twelve nests. A person employed in conducting some works at that place informed me, that he one day observed a hawk dart into the nest of a rook in one of the trees, and carry off a young bird. The hawk was pursued with loud vociferations by the old rooks, but he made his way to the top of a house in the Minories with his prey, and there he was seen to devour it.

'As hungry wolves, with raging appetite,

'Scour through the fields, nor fear the stormy night;
'Their whelps at home expect the promised food,
And long to temper their dry chops in blood.'

DRYDEN'S VIRGIL.

HUBER, in his work on bees, mentions this curious fact, that when a Queen is required for a colony of those insects, a grub is selected, the cell which contains it is enlarged, and it is fed with a peculiar food. This food appears necessary to prepare it for that state, which it is requisite the future Queen of the colony should assume. This extraordinary foresight in insects, which leads them to prepare beforehand for the future benefit of the community, is not confined to bees. A gentleman whose name alone would be sufficient to attest the accuracy of the fact, communicated the following circumstance to me. He was travelling in Greece, and passed a few days at the house of an acquaintance in that country. While he was there, a large body of wolves came down from the mountains in the night, and committed great havoc on the sheep, goats and other animals belonging to the inhabitants of an adjoining village. As the country people knew the place to which the wolves generally retreated,

they assembled in a large body, and made an attack upon them. In the evening some of the peasants brought a dead wolf of a large size to the gentleman referred to, and told him that it was the leader or head of the pack of marauders. His foot was as large as the fist of a man. On questioning the country people on the subject, they asserted, as a well known fact, that wolves were occasionally in the habit of selecting one particular whelp from a litter which they carefully concealed in some secure place, and fed with live animals. The wolf thus fed grew strong and vigorous, and subsequently became the leader or king of the pack, heading them on all occasions, and directing their operations.

It may be thought that there is not sufficient authority to prove the truth of this circumstance. It is not probable, however, that peasants would have invented the story, and in a country where wolves abound, there must have been many opportunities, through a succession of years, to enable them to ascertain the fact. The following curious and interesting passage, however, in the 19th Chapter of the Prophet Ezekiel, not only tends to confirm it, but almost to place its accuracy beyond a doubt. It is as follows:

What is thy mother? a lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.