Northern Weekly Gazette. — 1896-12-12 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

NOTES.  A -correspondent writes to eny that a far developed tortoiss-shell butterfly wa fetUld Exrrotertzg in the street* of Linthorve, Middlesgthe other day. It is not of rare our REDO in mild weather.  The larvae of St. Marks fly (Bihio maroi), V 7 common species, feed as the roots of plants, and are turned up and eaten by pheasants in immense numbers. The editor of the " Field " ham known a crop to contain over 500 grubs. They have no ill effect, but the reverse.  A pair of evrallowe remained the whole of the last mild winter at the farm of Mr T. Wlaipp, Elton Wold, East Yorkshire, making an old large barn their headquarters. They oould be seen out every fine day. The birds remained till joined by their friends from the south in the spring.  A fine male kite, in good plumage, was shot at rout Hill, near Salisbury, about the middle of November. It had been haunting a large 1,000 tore wood for three weeks or more, but, it need hardly be said, at last succumbed to the murderous gun. It was a beautiful red bird, wings and tail perfect, but the moult round the head aud wok was not quite finished.  Assuredly the leech has seen his best days. With the old regime, when °cupping" and "bleeding" were the sheet-anchors of surgery, the leech all but disappeared. 80 constant was his employment in mediteval times that his name ftwnished a synonym—for the medical profession and the doctor came to be known impolitely as "The Leech"—peehaps a subtle allusion to the rapacity for fees which characterised the profession in those times. At present, the Hungarian speckled leech is most in renuest. It is unsafe to use the leeches found in some of our ponds in England, for their bite is dangerous, often giving rise to blood-poisoning.  Two Parisian ladies have taken to taming butterflies. A gentleman. recently returned from Asia, happened to bring the young ladies some rare specimens as souvenirs of the trip. Each young lady has about fifty in her collection, and it is marvellous how tame the creatures have become. Upon the entrance of their mistress :cy fly to greet her, perching upon her shoulders, bead, and finger-tips. The way they were trained was by feeding them wi.h honey from the fingertips. Thy have been most serviceable as studies for all kinds of art work, painting them on the wing and in groups, when embroidering and when reproducing their gorgeous hove in oil. The butterflies have shown themselves very susceptible to the charm of muio.  The wood pigeon frequents and nest, in Battersea as it does in the other London Parks, and ill everal of the hutger squares; whilst the missol thrush is a not uncommon visitor, sometime nesting in a favourable spot. The ark has been met with and the tieldfare and redwing are regular winter viaitora. Of waterfowl, the wild duck. as already observed, not only lives in the park, where it has become as tame as many vf the species of ducks and geense introduced, but also regularly breeds there; the comnian heron is to he aeon from time to time; the little gob., or dabchiok, may be oocasionally seen on the larger lake; the teal has occurred in winter time; a pair of widgeon,' have come and bred on one of the islets; and the moorhen may be described Lid quite couunon.  While many of our friends use the rod dos. wood it is surprising how few seem to realise the charms of the rtd or cardinal willow, whieh is much brighter than the best of the dogwoods, taller, more graceful, and more beautiful in winter colour, and still more so in summer with its silvery leaves, and delicate wand. against the sky. It is the prettiest of all the trees to place beside water in any way almoet, but best in groups and pieturesque IIifIRSCIL Th., tree is Ver.. cheaply bought in any quantity, and befit in the young state. it must, however, be pro tected from rabbits. It is a variety of the white willow, as also is the yellow willow, that is to say, they are 2111 varieties of Salix alba. When it is rut down for US'', as it very often is in nurseries, and well grown, the thick low growth is moat brilliant in effect, and so it is in every stage It harmonises beautifully with the dogwoods if planted near them clooe to water and rising above them.