14 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Jan. 1, 1SC6. 



ECONOMIC FOUNTAIN FOR AQUARIA. 



THE MOA OE NEW ZEALAND. 



A very interesting volume, entitled " The World 

 -£*- before the Deluge," by Louis Eiguicr, has re- 

 cently been translated into English, in a very satis- 

 factory manner, and published in this country. From 

 this work, which is profusely illustrated, \vc have 

 borrowed a woodcut representing the Dinornis, re- 

 stored to what is believed to have been its natural 



iillm,lilia.illMUIIII,liiyii! m |||,||in lm; , ; ,ii 1 ,,|| lw l,!l : »iili,,hll ll ll,,,m.u.lii]lilliliillLllil 



Fig. 21. 



A S the water in my marine aquarium requires 

 -£*- aerating pretty frequently, and as syringing is 

 too troublesome, I have contrived a small fountain, 

 of which I send a sketch and description. 



d is a wide-mouthed bottle, in the cork of which 

 are drilled three holes. Through these holes pass 

 respectively the three glass tubes, a, b, and c ; the 

 latter reaching nearly to the bottom, the other two 

 only passing through the cork, a is a wide tube 

 with a funnel-shaped top, B is plain, and c is slightly 

 bent at the top, where there is attached to it (by 

 means of a piece of iudian-rubber tubing) a long 

 tube, e, which is bent up and drawn to a point at its 

 other extremity. 



The cork and tubes should fit perfectly. To set 

 the fountain in action, fill the bottle, and when it is 

 full, continue to pour water gently into the funnel 

 until it is above the level of the bend in the tube c, 

 when a little will flow over into the long leg e of the 

 syphon. The water will then of course continue to 

 flow until the level of the water in the bottle falls 

 below the mouth of the tube c. 



The tube b is for the escape of the air while filling. 

 Care should be taken to keep the bottle clean, and 

 free from particles of sand and grit, or these will get 

 into the pipe and stop the jet. 



Fig-. 22. The Diimvnls, restored. 



appearance. Writing of the post-pliocene period, 

 the author remarks : "Two gigantic birds seem to 

 have lived in New Zealand during this epoch. The 

 Dinornis, which, if we may judge from the tibia, 

 which is upwards of three feet long, and from its 

 eggs, which are much larger than those of the 

 ostrich, must have been of most extraordinary size 

 for a bird. As to the Epiornis, the egg only lias 

 been found." 



At the meeting of the Zoological Society, held on 

 the 12th of December, Mr. W. H. Flower communi- 

 cated some notes from Dr. Hector, Director of the 

 Geological Survey, New Zealand, upon the bones of 

 various species of Dinornis, which had been exhibited 

 in the New Zealand Exhibition, recently held at 

 Dunedin. 



We were led into an error in our last number 

 (page 2S2), in stating that the Moa's egg was sold for 



