Cornish Characters and Strange EventsBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Cornish Characters and Strange Events
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Cornwall (England : County) -- Biography; Cornwall (England : County) -- History; Legends -- England -- Cornwall (County)
As may be well imagined, Mr. Bignell with his lantern stealing up the
side of a hedge in the night often enough routed the poachers and sent
them flying, thinking they were being watched by a policeman. On one
occasion he scared an owl. "I was enjoying myself, on my knees,
hunting over the contents of my net that I had used for sweeping the
low foliage, to see what captures I had made. My nose and bull's-eye
lantern were thrust close to the ground, to prevent anything escaping
observation. In the midst of this occupation an owl swooped down to
see what was up, when I turned my lantern on him, and away he flew in
a mighty hurry, bringing the back of his wings together with great
force, like a man clapping his hands. He was evidently in great alarm,
and uttered an unearthly scream. It certainly gave me also a turn, it
was so sudden."
All moths with highly pectinated antennæ, that is to say with their
feelers comb-like at the extremities, have the most extraordinary
power of scenting a female moth at a great distance, even two or three
miles, with a favourable wind.
Mr. Bignell says: "I once had a virgin female of the Oak-egger moth,
and was desirous of getting some males. I started off with the lady in
a tin box, with a perforated zinc top, to give her air and allow her
perfume to escape. I walked through the fields towards Milehouse to
where was a turnstile; and at this spot lighted on a weary policeman
resting. As it was a dull day, without any token of the sun breaking
out, to attract butterflies for their usual gambols, the policeman
jeeringly remarked that I had missed the right day. I replied that I
thought not, and that I could collect as many as I desired, in fact, I
could make them come to me. He laughed incredulously. I then took out
my tin box and placed it on the wall, and, magician-like, whistled and
waved my hand. The policeman stared, and thought I was befooling him.
But lo, in two or three minutes one male alighted close to the box,
soon followed by others, and in a quarter of an hour I had at least
fifty, and so tame that I picked them up with my fingers and
distributed them among about a dozen people who had gathered to see
what I was about. The policeman stared with open eyes and mouth, quite
satisfied that my whistle and mysterious signs in the air with my hand
had called the insects to me. Satisfied with what I had got I waved
again and bade the moths depart, and clapped the box in my pocket.
Next day I took the empty box out with me into the country. I had
several males following me, and some actually penetrated into my
pocket where was the empty box, proving that the perfume still
remained in it, though wholly imperceptible to myself."
On one occasion Mr. Bignell and a friend set out at night to find the
beautiful moth _Heliophobus hispidus_, knowing its haunts, between the
south side of the Plymouth citadel and the sea, where it is to be
found in September or October resting on the grass.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account