THE NATURALIST.


GLEANINGS IN NATURAL HISTORY.

(_Concluded from page 247._)


What a lesson may art learn from contemplating scenes of nature.

_The Thrush._

"Thrushes feed very much on snails, looking for them in mossy banks.
Having frequently observed some broken snail-shells near two projecting
pebbles on a gravel walk, which had a hollow between them, I endeavoured
to discover the occasion of their being brought to that situation. At
last I saw a thrush fly to the spot with a snail-shell in his mouth,
which he placed between the two stones, and hammered at it with his beak
till he had broken it, and was then able to feed on its contents. The
bird must have discovered that he could not apply his beak with
sufficient force to break the shell while it was rolling about, and he
therefore found out and made use of a spot which would keep the shell in
one position. I do not know whether Mr. M'Adam has ever observed the
same circumstance, but his ingenious contrivance (if it is his) of
confining stones in a sort of hoop while they are being broken, is
somewhat similar to that of the thrush."

_The Pike_ it seems, is a formidable foe to _tackle_.

"The boldness of a pike is very extraordinary. I have seen one follow a