THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2490, 4 December 1901, Page 68

THE NATURALIST.

Reindeer on the March.

Lying out in the Xorth Atlantic is an island with an area equal to that of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and known as "Ye Ancient Colony" of British North America. Few people seem to know anything about it, and' we are told in the geographies that it is the abiding home of fogs in summer and storms in winter. If it were not for the bunting explorations made through it now and again by omcpis of the squadron of British warships, even the islanders themselves would knoAV little about its interior. In that interior (writes a con-espondent) I spent the greater pai't of my youth ; there I saw such abundance of game as I have never since seen in any of the -wildernesses of Canada or of the United States. I wish now to tell something about the reindeer which swarm ovei this island, and which are almost identical .with those used for . drawing sledges and making long winter marches in Lapland. Twice in the year there is a general march of the hundreds of thousands of these animals from one end of the island to the other. 'Ihe northern part is composed of bleak uplands ;ind barrens, and thither the reindeer make their way every spring, moving b"y regulai stages, and in companies numbering from 20 t( 500. They set out at sunrise, 01 a little after, having breakfasted on I>iowm» and various kinds of spring buds, and drunk deep at some brook or pond. Ibey toss their heads in the aii, sniffing for danger, and in turn, put them to tin. ground as if to listen for any alien s-mnuls. Then they fall in upon their "lead,", the lead being a deeply-beaten path 10ft to 15fl wide, ovei which their ancestors have marched for centune«. As v rule, they ,lo not trot on tho march, unless they have been frightened by wolves or bears, or, worse still, by man. One buck leads off well ahead. About midday they rest for in hour or so, aftei grazing loi a short time, and then set out again. At sunset they halt, sup upon browse or buds, drink, select a grove >f firs, and lie down to sleep. How they mu c t dream of the coming cool summer along those "healthy"' uplands, where they can rear their fawns undisturbed by any human being, and not toimented by flies ! When the bitter winds begin to pipe from the north and the ponds to crust over with ice, they gather then forces again and. march back 10 ■w aimer regions. Chere is an isthmiio ibout two miles wide connecting the warm southern portion of the island, known a.s Avalon, with the northern part. Here I have lain with other hunters, close by the deer leads, in the spring and in the autumn, and have sepn thousands pass in one day. This isthmus extends from the bottoir. of Placentia Bay jicnx-s to Trinity Bay. The Newfoundland :leer will average about 1401b, but many of tiiem are far heavier than (Int. Iney drop thei'- aiulcr& oik' 2 i year.

Breeding Herons — Heron* have been sue c.s-fully mired by the Marquis of Abergavenuy .it Kiid-ji, Cavtle Sever' 1 \oun_, birds havi. mad' Aicn appc.u.jnce. iVli n plenty for then consumption art obtain itblo in the lake l-losl ro the cattle. H;s Lordship i\ taking ,1 ktuii jiiteie«-t in the cxneiim«nt.

i)e<-tio\rm* tic iSil.w.c of X.'t-"'e — TLeie v- no doubt i'mi tho if^tiucUon >[ biids -'n Fiance luz pr. du^d divi-uou* cfi'eLU uiioi! agiieultuiv. hoiliculUue. ai.d the grape indu-trv. In thd Dermrtmeni of llciuult alone, it I1&& been crtkulated^ i-iiv

destruction of birds accustomed to feed upon insect; costs a loss of moie thin 2,000,000 gal of w ine every year. Some birds consume about 600 insects each daily, and a single insect-eating species, M. Lev it estimates, may be the means of saving 3200 grains of wheat and 1150 grapes- pel day. The Macrothinus. — The largest member of the seal family is the elephant seal or sea elephant, known to naturalists as the macrothinus — so called because of the possession of a peculiar enlargement or appendage to its nose. A fine specimen of this variety of seal was recently added to the natural history .section of the South Kensington Museum, and was obtained from the Macquarie Islands in the Antarctic Ocean, to the south-west of New Zealand. These seals are great oil producers, good fcpecimens yielding, on an average, about 200 gal of liquid. Because of their nchness m oil these animals are -now much sought foi, so that their numbei is gradually yetting smaller from year to }-eai.

A Bird in a Spider's Web. — -t- correspondent of the Field 'relates an instance of a, bird being caught in o spider's web in Borneo : — Many of the spiders spin very strong webs in these Malayan jungles, -md the strands coming in contact with one's face in struggling through the undergrowth feel almost like threads of fine silk. One day, near Kudat, I came across a small bird (Mixornis bornensis), about as big as a hedge sparrow, caught in the web of a spider of the genus Nephila. The latter did not look at all anxious to tackle his capture, and, indeed, would possibly not have fed upon it even if dead. I released the bird out of compass-ion, but a'fterwaids regretted that I had not left it and watched the issue. This is the only instance that I ever saw personally, though 1 have little doubt that it must often occur. The true bird-eating spieli j i> of these countries, how - ever, are not. w cb-^pumtrs, but live in holes in bank--.