Naturalist.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 372, 25 June 1903, Page 7

Naturalist.

___ A FfiODIGIOUS FOWL. » •SKtSKEOM America comes an account' of SffSlC a coc^in rooster, which has been trained to trot in harness, ~ puUing a tiny cart, in which rides the baby son of its owner, Golden Dake is the nameof this strangest of fowls, and |t is a prize-winner in its class as well as a freak. The big bird was broken to harness by the sozisbf its owner, and now seems to enjoy its work. It wears a little harness, and is guided by reins, which it carries in its bill. It is the master of several gaits, and, at the word of command, given by the small child who is driving, it will walk, run, trot, or come to a standstill. The big/ rooster often pulls the cart and its occupant for half a mile or more without stopping. . A STRANGE FOSTER-MOTHER,: An extraordinary, but apparently well.Ajithenticated, story of a bear’s freak comes frond a Russian village, in the district of Odoff, The ‘village lies on' the fringe of a forest, whence it is uf frequent occurrence for bears to make prowling excursions both by day and night into the adjacent settlements. Some two weeks ago two young girls, aged respectively five and thirteen, were surprised by a huge bear at a short distance from the village. The animal seized and carried off the younger child, while the elder, terror stricken, fled home and gave the not unusual alarm. An immediate pursuit was instituted, and the search was continued during the evening and the next day, but without result. On the third day, with the assistance of neigh* bonring villagers, a wide cordon was drawn around an extensive tract of the forest, and the searchers closed in. Towards sundown the bear and her booty were discovered in a dense thicket. .The child was perfectly unharmed, and re~ dining in a deep mossy couch made for' her by the bear. Although naturally delighted to be released ffffm her strange guardianship, the little girl had got over her first fright, and had subsisted fairly well on the nuts and other forest fruits brought tp her laager by the bear. On© almost regrets to learn that the freakish but kindly-disposed animal was sommarily killed by the villagers. ;

. .i ! GNAT BITES, &c. Holiday, folk are, I hear, suffering much from the bitea,of midgets and those. ,t : ny torments harvest-bags;-; Tiny as to size, monsters as regards their power of inflicting painfulfirritation. ,?Jt fact that in some parts of the same” county (alike devoted to agricultural pursuits) the pest is most conspicuously present, whilst in others it is, hardly known at all. ■ The following recipe has been used with advantage by many travellers; Oil of eucalyptus and creosote, of each five drops j thoroughly mix with an ounce of glycerine. -Smear it on exposed parts, round the tops of hosiery, etc, where attacks occur a weak solution of carbolic acid will be found similarly efficacious, and allay irritatiou in if stung. A little insect powder stepped eau-de-Cologne, then strained off, if - rubbed over the skin will 1 protect it from bites of any of the best-known insect tormentors. c ?

IN A HOBNET’S NEST, Many believe, says the ‘ Daily News/ that one sting from the hornet is almost certain death. That this is a considerable exaggeration the following letter from a correspondent will show;—‘The other day a friend of mine while climbing a tree - inadvertently disturbed a strong nest of hornets; - Though he .made all haste down he received five stings from , the insects—three on the head, one on the ‘ shoulder, and one on'a wrist. He describes the pain as very different from that of a wasp sting—it was a searching, dull, expanding sensation. Qne sting upon his neck just below the ear pr duoed a black mark like mortification, the others were red swellings. My friend got into a hot bath as soon.as he could, and sponged his ‘ wounds with water almost at boiling point, This produced a violent perspiration, and after about four hours the pain suddenly left him In the morning he was not much the worse.’