52
NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
cotton material, was covered by the damper, a disc of metal with a small
handle or ring to hold it by. Upon this rested the flints and steel when not
in use and a lid bearing a candle socket shut the whole up. I have seen this
form of tinder-box in zinc and lead.
The elaboration of appliances in due time produced the trigger or pistol
tinder-box. This was in Europe, a sort of modification of the flint-lock pistol
in which the barrel was left out and the powder pan developed into a box for
the tinder. The examples which I show of this form, are from this country,
Scotland, Sweden, France, and North Germany. It may be observed that
while the general principle is the same in all, each specimen bears the artistic
stamp of the country to which it belongs ; the English example being the most
solid and substantial in its structure. From Japan I have two or three very
artistic and small forms of this apparatus dating back to the 17th century.
This dainty contrivance is enclosed in a small metal case of much beauty,
scarcely so large as a walnut.
With the dawn of chemical methods of making fire, we bid adieu to the
tinder-boxes and fire-drills with all their artistic originally and interest ; and
find ourselves with the useful and simple, but severely uninteresting matches
and match-boxes of the present day.
NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
ZOOLOGY.
MAMMALIA.
Fox catching Woodcock.—Mr. William Stride, of Widdington, Essex,
relates the following anecdote in the Field of March 14th:—"The Puckeridge
Hounds met close to here on March 8th, and, in consequence, one of my men was
out all the previous night stopping earths. The next day, when he went his
rounds to unstop them, he found at the entrance to one of them a dead wood-
cock, with two newly-born rabbits under its wings, which the dog fox had
evidently brought for the vixen, which was no doubt stopped in, and, finding
he could get no further with them, put them down outside. As woodcocks
are very scarce with us it seems a mystery how he caught it and where. I
have heard of foxes taking almost anything, but never before heard of their
taking woodcock, and I should like to know if any other instance has been
heard of before."
Deer in Epping Forest.—By order of the Epping Forest Committee a
census of the Deer was again taken on the morning of the 30th of March,
1898. There were counted 148 Fallow Deer and 13 Roe Deer, and on the
evening of the same day 162 Fallow and 23 Roe Deer. It was estimated
that in the coverts of estates adjoining the Forest there were 16 Fallow
and 15 Roe Deer. This shows a diminution of the numbers since the
census taken in 1897 (see Essex Naturalist, vol. x., p. 292), but the
Forest deer are such adepts at concealing themselves that but little value
can be attached to negative evidence.