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ostrich feathers. Though rather tender till dried, they strip off very quickly and easily; their colour is a dark blue-black.

To the fragile formation of the cranium I have already alluded-a mere tap being sufficient to fracture it. But the muscles of the jaws resemble those of the Biscacho (Lutra trichodactylus) in respect of power, while the teeth are even sharper. At bay, the Nutria adopts the same posture as the Kangeroo, upright, and with the forepaws dangling on the breast, while it faces round and snaps on all sides. If it gets a fair bite at its antagonist, it generally manages to take the piece out, and many a plucky young terrier comes to an untimely end by closing with one as it would do with other "vermin." It possesses the senses of scent and hearing to an acute degree, examining everything by scent rather than sight, and attentive to the slightest strange sound. The cry of the adult resembles a child's wailing, but when young it possesses great variety and power of expression.

Its food, as I have already mentioned, consists of the blanched ends of certain water-plants, and various field-grasses, which latter it leaves the swamps at night to obtain. I have also seen lucerne used as a bait to entice them to prove the retentive power of fox-traps, and so keen was their appreciation of the one and disregard of the other, that half-a-dozen would be found in the morning, all trapped within a few feet of each other. I have heard, on good authority, that Nutrias had multiplied so much after the flood of 1845, as greatly to injure certain low-lying lands, digging up even the very roots of the grasses. It remains to be seen whether last year's flood-1877-will increase them greatly, but as yet the bulk of the fens are too full to enable one to judge.

On certain arroyos that have a pretension to banks, and occasionally among the sandhills of the coast, I have found them in burrows, but these are never of any great depth, and are apparently exceptional cases.

When taken young, the Nutria forms, without exception, the tamest, most amusing, harmless, and cleanly pet I have ever seen, and accordingly I cannot do better than conclude these remarks with some notes upon the one or two I have had in my own possession. The first one brought me was so young that I had to feed it on milk alone, using for that purpose an oological blow-pipe, and on the second day it was intelligent enough to grasp

the tube with one of its rat-like forepaws and satisfy itself. It was then barely the size of a rat, but grew rapidly during the ensuing four or five months,-the time I retained it. Biscuit, soaked in milk, was its next food, after which it shortly took to lucerne, "malva" (mallow), cabbage leaves, etc., etc. While feeding it sat upright, supported by the long heavy tail, and held the food in its forepaws. A stalk of lucerne was stripped of its leaflets in an incredibly short time, and thrown aside; but with any large leaf, or with a piece of biscuit or knot of sugar (a favourite delicacy) it had to raise the object above its nose-preparatory to each bite-in order to ascertain where was the next convenient corner for that purpose; each time the delicate little forehands would twirl the morsel round and round, until a satisfactory angle was found, when "Cobbie" (as I called him) would give a contented grunt and guide it to his mouth. After feeding, it had a most comical habit of complacently stroking its stomach and combing out its whiskers. Thinking I would give it a bath, I dropped it into a tub of water, to its intense horror and dismay at first, but after a few days there was no keeping it from the water. After washing itself, it combed out all its fur, and wound up by seizing its long tail and smoothing that down also. Never at rest, its mishaps were without number; it was always falling off some elevation. If seated in my easy chair, it was not satisfied till it had scrambled on to my shoulder, and only waived its right to sit on the top of my head after various vain attempts to maintain its equilibrium there. When writing, it would cry and whimper till it was placed on the table, putting its nose into the ink-bottle, and tasting everything, coughing, and rubbing mouth and nose energetically when it had picked up the end of a cigarette or inspected a hot lamp glass too closely. If alarmed by the approach of a stranger, it vanished into some hiding-place, only to return when I called it. At the sight of a dog there was no attempt at flight, but the back was drawn up like that of a cat, the fur erected, and the tail stretched rigidly out, with the tip almost touching the ground, while it gave utterance to a low moan, peculiar to such occasions. If its antagonist then showed any hostile demonstrations, it at once sat up and faced it. There was nothing it disliked so much as to have liberties taken with its caudal appendage, and a sudden nip there would make it jump its own height and assume a warlike

attitude. But on no occasion, though often much provoked, did it ever endeavour to bite me, nor show any active hostilities to strangers. "Cobbie" was the name it answered to, giving a little grunt of acknowledgment each time I called it, just as in a similar case a dog wags its tail. If I walked up and down my room, it followed my boots, getting always in their way when I turned, and being awfully put out if I quietly stepped on to a chair and it could not find them. When neglected, it passed through three stages of resentment; first endeavouring to ascertain my whereabouts by a loud guttural call, then whimpering plaintively, and finally losing its temper and dashing frantically about, giving vent to violent screams, with a droll nasal intonation, like an enraged Yankee baby. After a heavy fall it would gather itself slowly together, indulge in a moment's reflection, and then utter a long and most portentous groan. But indeed I have never yet met with any quadruped whose power of expressing its emotions so closely resembled that of a human being, articulation excepted.

In conclusion, I may mention that about the years 1845, 1846, and 1847, the Nutria was the indirect cause of great loss to the stock-breeders, in this district at least. Peons could not be got to attend to the cattle as long as they could find Nutrias, and the former consequently turned wild and unmanageable, which "meant ruination," as the owner of 10,000 head emphatically said to me. Then all these men kept packs of eight and ten dogs, which, when the Nutria hunting was prohibited by Rosas (the governor), or their owners taken for army service by that tyrant, were driven away, strayed, and caused the wild-dog plague. Sheep and young calves were killed by thousands, and only vigorous persecution gradually reduced the evil. It is many years since this establishment dropped paying head-money for the dogs, but the account then registered over 2,200. We have a few still existing, but they only kill a few sheep, comparatively speaking, perhaps fifty per annum.

V.-On the Capercaillie in Scotland (Tetrao urogallus, L.), with special reference to damage done to Pine forests. By Mr JOHN A. HARVIE-BROWN, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.

The writer stated that the present paper was preliminary to an extended one, for which he was collecting information, which

would extend to a considerable length, and would take some time for its preparation. His object at present was more to solicit than to impart information; and he invited the cooperation of all who took an interest in the subject, and would be obliged by their sending him the results of their observations on any examples of this bird that might come under their notice during the summer and autumn months.

He treated the subject under several heads.

(First). Whether the Capercaillie does damage to trees, by picking out the leading buds, thus dwarfing the tree and rendering it unfit for timber?

(Second). Whether the importation of impure seed may not cause an inferior growth of less healthy wood, not so able to stand the rigour of late frosts as the native and undegenerate Scotch fir which is still to be found in some parts of the country?

(Third). Whether the damage to pines may not be attributed to the ravages of insects, especially beetles, which attack the cores of the buds and young shoots, piping the latter, and causing the former to drop off, with the result of stunting the growth of the trees and making them bushy and twisted, while some species bore into the wood and bark, many of them besides feeding upon the leaves?

(Fourth). Whether it is not a fact that the Capercaillie feeds largely upon insects, and that young birds especially destroy large numbers of the larvae of Tenthredinidae and other insects which live upon or are destructive to pines?

Mr Harvie-Brown dwelt upon these points at some length, and concluded with directions to gentlemen willing to co-operate with him in endeavouring to solve these and other minor questions. He gave the names of several naturalists who are taking an interest in the subject, and who would be willing to impart further information to any inquiries.

VI.-On the occurrence of the Blackcap Warbler (Sylvia atricapilla) in Scotland during winter. By Mr ROBERT GRAY, F.R.S.E., Honorary Member.

In 1862 Mr Osborne recorded in the Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh, that he had shot two specimens of this warbler in Caithness; one in the beginning of October, the

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other at the close of the same month. The announcement gave rise at the time to an expression of considerable doubt on the part of one of the London critics who, indeed, did not hesitate to say that Mr Osborne had made a mistake. Not long afterwards, however, other specimens having been met with even later in the season and in the same county, his suspicions were allayed by the production of the birds themselves, and the fact was thereafter made known through one of the London Magazines, that Blackcap warblers could not only survive the rigours of our Scottish climate in Caithness, but that they could keep themselves in good condition by feeding entirely upon fruits. Here, then, were two novelties proved; first, that a bird previously regarded as a strictly migratory species was found located during the winter months in the extreme north of the Scottish mainland; and second, that it subsisted at that season upon fruits after its usual insect food had failed. In this country we have been so long accustomed to regard all our warblers as summer migrants, whose movements were regulated by the scarcity or abundance of insect life, that we must look upon this discovery of Mr Osborne as a point of some interest. Since his observations were published I have taken every favourable opportunity of watching the habits of what may now with propriety be called our fruit-eating warblers (for there are others beside the Blackcap), and I find that towards the close of autumn, as insects become scarce, or perhaps indeed through preference, these birds betake themselves to the glens and gullies of many of our mountains and hills of moderate elevation, where they flit silently from tree to tree, and greedily devour quantities of the berries of the mountain ash, and other fruits which are then hanging in luxuriant clusters in sheltered places. Later in the season, as these haunts are more exposed to the earlier winter blasts, the birds come nearer towns and villages, and are then seen frequenting gardens and orchards picking up what they can find, especially in those places where the smaller fruits and berries have not been carefully gathered.

The specimen which I now exhibit was observed by one of the boys at Merchiston School, near Edinburgh, on the 5th January, and brought down by a stone from a catapult, in the use of which these boys are certainly proficient, however much they may be behind in other attainments.

I have no doubt that in many parts of Scotland the Blackcap

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