from an old one, by the greyish
coloured down that covers it, and which it loses by the wear and tear of
hard labour; and if the bee be not destroyed before the season is over,
this down entirely disappears, and the groundwork of the insect is seen,
white or black. On a close examination, very few of these black or aged
bees, will be seen at the opening of the spring, as, not having the
stamina of those that are younger, they perish from inability to
encounter the vicissitudes of winter.--_American Farmer's Manual_.

* * * * *

THE ELM.

(_To the Editor of the Mirror_.)

I shall be obliged to any of your correspondents who can inform me from
whence came the term _witch-elm_, a name given to a species of elm tree,
to distinguish it from the common elm. Some people have conjectured that
it was a corruption of _white elm_, and so called from the silvery
whiteness of its leaves when the sun shines upon them; but this is hardly
probable, as Sir F. Bacon in his "_Silva Silvarum_, or Natural History,
in Ten Centuries," speaks of it under the name of _weech-elm_.

H.B.A.

* * * * *

CROP OF BIRDS.

Besides the stomach, most birds have a membranous sac, capable of
considerable distension; it is usually called a crop, (by the scientific
_Ingluvies_,) into which the food first descends after being swallowed.
This bag is very conspicuous in the granivorous tribes immediately after
eating. Its chief use seems to be to soften the food before it is
admitted into the gizzard. In _young fowls_ it becomes sometimes
preternaturally distended, while the bird pines for want of nourishment.
This is produced by something in the crop, such as straw, or other
obstructing matter, which prevents the descent of the food into the
gizzard. In such a case, a longitudinal incision may be made in the crop,
its contents removed, and, the incision being sewed up, the fowl will, in
general, do well.

Another curious fact relative to this subject was stated by Mr. Brookes,
when lecturing on birds at the _Zoological Society_, May 1827. He had an
eagle, which was at liberty in his garden; happening to lay two dead rats,
which had been poisoned, under a pewter basin, to which the eagle could
have access, but who nevertheless did not see him place the rats under it,
he was surprised to see, some time afterwards, the crop of the bird
considerably distended; and finding the rats ab