sands and thousands of young ones necessarily die
every year, through failing to catch their fish; and dangerous, because
those who succeed are liable to contract the habit of being a parasite,
and this, as always, leads to degradation and ruin. Finally, whenever
young animals have to depend on other creatures to provide them with a
lodging during some part of their growth, many more thousands have to be
hatched than is the case where the young are dependent on themselves
entirely, for it must always happen that the necessary hosts are hard to
catch, and the young die in countless thousands, being unable to succeed
in their search.

W. P. PYCRAFT, F.Z.S., A.L.S.

TAKING IT LITERALLY.

All orders to native servants in India must be very carefully and
exactly given, for a black servant takes care to obey to the very
letter. An Englishman once took with him a native lad as a servant when
going on a boating journey. There were no such chances of washing on
board the boat as one enjoys at home in a house. Accordingly, a bucket
was dipped into the river, and it served as a washing-basin. One day the
boy was told to bring some water, and in doing so happened to spill a
good deal over his master's feet.

[Illustration: "The lad emptied the pail over his employer."]

'You clumsy fellow!' cried his master, angrily, 'why don't you throw it
all over me?'--of course not using the words in their literal sense.

'Yes, sahib!' said the lad, and, to his master's astonishment, he took
up the pail, and emptied it over his employer!

S.

'PEEPS INTO NATURE'S NURSERIES.'

The articles in _Chatterbox_ under this heading have aroused great
interest, and doubtless many readers would like to know more about these
fascinating subjects than there is room for in the columns of
_Chatterbox_. Mr. Pycraft, the author of these articles, is a well-know
authority on Natural History, and is constantly engaged in research at
the wonderful Natural History Museum at South Kensington, a place which
many _Chatterbox_ readers probably know well; and he has very generously
undertaken to give any further information, or answer questions, if
readers of _Chatterbox_ like to write to him personally about the
matter. Letters should be addressed to--

W. P. PYCRAFT, Esq.,
c/o The Editor of _Chatterbox_,
3 Paternoster Buildings, E.C.

Readers of _Chatterbox_ will probably be glad of this chance of
obtaining information direct from