Genre:

Notes, Drollery

Subjects:

Natural History, Animal Behaviour, Extinction

    Observations on various species found in London, whose characteristics are related to humorous interpretations of their names. For example, the mudlark is 'principally seen towards nightfall on the shores of the river' and 'flits from place to place in quest of anything worth picking up', and oysters' tendency to cast their shells in 'courts and back streets' during August proves their amphibious nature. Supposes that the decline in white mice and 'monkeys dressed as soldiers' indicates a 'progressing civilisation', and invites naturalists to observe that the 'Learned British Pig' has become virtually extinct. Observes that rum-shrub, which was overlooked by Carl Linnaeus, is readily found where 'dram-drinkers do congregate'.