NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
87
the carriage. The nest was not disturbed, and the eggs have now been hatched,
notwithstanding that in the interim the carriage had been used to form part of a
local train running between Dagenham and Fenchurch Street."—" Standard,"
May 17th, 1894.
A Lunar Rainbow.—The evening of Saturday, January 2oth last, was
marked at Chelmsford by occasional showers of rain, while the moon, which was
nearly full, shone brightly from between the clouds from time to time. At 6.25 a
slight shower fell in the yard of the County Technical Laboratory while the moon
was shining, and a lunar rainbow was consequently formed. The centre of the
bow was almost due west of the observer and not more than fifteen degrees above
the horizon. The colours of the spectrum, though distinctly visible, were much
paler than those of a solar rainbow.—Thomas S. Dymond, Chelmsford.
Tenacity of Life and Natural Repair of Injuries in a Gold-fish.—On the
afternoon of Friday, February 9th, the servant heard a noise in the breakfast-
room, and upon seeking the cause, she found the bell-glass aquarium pulled over
on its side, and the contents—water and three gold-fishes—projected on to the
floor about two feet off. The fishes were wriggling and gasping, and she picked
them up, put them back into the bell-glass and filled it with fresh water. The
catastrophe was brought about by an Essex-bred frolicsome kitten who had invited
a neighbour to enjoy the fun, and between the two thoughtless and unfeeling
felines the poor fish must have had a bad time of it. The poor little things were
terribly mauled ; not a fin or even the tail escaped the sharp combing of the cats'
claws. The drawing I have made gives a fairly good idea of the extent of mis-
chief wrought by the two playful Grimalkins.
The fish however, on the next day were swimming about almost as well as if
they had their fins intact, and came to the side of the glass to be fed with meat-
pulp, the food invariably given, and took it with as keen a relish as if nothing
unusual had occurred, and their propelling organs were uninjured. To-day,
February 23rd, I have again carefully examined the fish. The largest one, the
subject of the drawing, has now so far recovered that its fins are perfectly joined,
the only evidence which they now exhibit of the laceration being the appearance
of white lines where the membranes of the fins have grown together —the scars
of the healed wounds in fact—showing how quickly they heal up, and how very
protective the scales must be to resist the rough treatment.—Frederick H.
Varley, 82, Newington Green Road, N., February 23rd, 1894.
Early Swarms of Bees.—The Rev. Henry H. Allott, Rector of Stifford,
near Grays, records in "The Standard" that he hived two good swarms of bees
on Saturday afternoon, April 28th. He adds that he has kept bees for some
years now, and the earliest swarms have happened not sooner than the latter end