70 



HA-PtDWlCKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



supply me with a few particulars relative to the 

 superiority of this suipe over the other varieties ? 

 Does it bear the palm for flavour aud size ? On a 

 reference to Montague's " British Birds," edited by 

 Newman, nine kinds of snipe are mentioned, but I 

 fail to see any allusion made to the Ionian kind.— 

 John Colehrooke. 



Etjplectella.— At p. 23 Mr. Spicer asks for an 

 explanation of the presence of a crustacean in the 

 interior of a specimen of the above. This is easily 

 furnished; the fact being that the crustacean is 

 invariably placed in the Euplectella by the dealers ; 

 or, at any rate, by the native preparers of the speci- 

 mens. If any one possessing one of these sponge- 

 skeletons will open carefully_ the ends of the tuft of 

 spicules forming the anchoring-means at the base, 

 the end of the tube will be found quite open and 

 ready for the introduction of the crustacean, or any 

 similar object that the ingenuity of the preparer may 

 suggest.—^. B. K. U. 



How TO Destroy Ants.— If "E. B. P." will 

 place a brood of young chickens or pheasants in a 

 coop near to the ant-hills, aud then with a trowel 

 turn the eggs and ants to the surface, he will find 

 them quickly disappear. The birds must not be 

 more than a fortnight old, or tliey will do harm to 

 the plants. By this method I have quite cleared 

 my garden of these troublesome intruders. — L. 



Presh-water Aquarium. — In reply ' to 

 " M. A. H.," I may say that the kind of tank suit- 

 able, would, of course, depend on his own fancy : 

 some prefer oblong, some round tanks. _My own 

 is a common propagating-glass, about 16 inches in 

 diameter. The first thing he must do is to get 

 some yellow loam, wash it well, place a layer, about 

 two inches .thick, inside the glass; he must then plant 

 his aquatic plants in this loam. Next procure a 

 small quantity of gravel, which lie must strew on the 

 top of the loam, the object of this being to keep the 

 water clear. Now fill it up with water, let it stand 

 for about a week before putting a,ny fish in. The 

 fish should be gold carp, a few minnows, tench; a 

 small eel or two might also be introduced with ad- 

 vantage. The mollusks should be a few Palialina 

 vivipara and Planorbis corneus, which act as sca- 

 vengers, by eating up the green confervas which ac- 

 cumulate, more especially during [the summer 

 months, on the sides of the tank. Now as to the 

 insects. The only insect I find that agrees with the 

 fish is Hydrous piseeus, a specimen of which I have 

 kept for the last six months. I may say that I am 

 only an amateur in aquariums, having only kept one 

 for a little over twelve months, but I think very 

 successfully, as I have maintained the balance 

 between the animal and vegetable life so well that 

 I have not changed the water once since I first put 

 it in. My plants are Vallisneria spiralis and Ana- 

 charis alsinastrum. If " M. A. H." cannot obtain 

 them, I shall be most happy to send them to him, or 

 any one who wishes them ; if he will forward to my 

 address a box suitable for thepurpose. — /. L., Wigan. 



Vipers Swallowing their Young.— In No. 

 104, for August, 1873, I find quoted from Jas. 

 Kirby, an article on the tapic of " Vipers swallow- 

 ing their young," which still keeps alive the inquiry 

 as to the motives or objects of this well-known 

 habitude of some reptilia. That alligators swallow 

 their young I have had ocular demonstration in a 

 single case ; and have the universal tradition of 

 negroes and whites in this region of Louisiana, 



Mississippi, and Texas, that such is tlieir habit. In 

 the winter of 1843-4-, I was engaged making a sur- 

 vey on the banks of the Homochitto Lake, near the 

 Mississippi river, S.W. front of that State. The 

 day was warm and sunny, and as I halted near the 

 margin of a pond nearly dried up, to pick up some 

 shells, I startled a litter of young alligators, that 

 scampered off, yelping like puppies ; and retreating 

 some twenty yards, to the bank of the Lake Homo- 

 cliitto ; 1 saw them reach their refuge in the mouth 

 of a five-foot alligator. She evidently held open 

 her mouth to receive them, as, in single file, they 

 passed in beyond my observation. The dam then 

 turned slowly round and slid down beneath the 

 water, passing into a large opening in the bank, 

 beneath the root of an ash-tree. The water was 

 rendered turbid here and nowhere else, enabling 

 me to find the mouth of what was, probably, the 

 place of hybernation. I made a communication of 

 these facts to Sir Charles Lyell, who visited me 

 shortly afterwards. Some notice was made_ of it, 

 and I think the statement will be found in the 

 volume of liis " Second Visit to the United States." 

 Doubtless, this refuge is temporary, and the young 

 are released at their own or the mother's pleasure ; 

 the descent being but partial, in no way reaching 

 or interfering with the process of digestion. I have 

 found the stomach of an alligator, killed during 

 winter, when nearly torjiid, almost empty and clean, 

 excepting the two or three pieces of wood— cypress, 

 if I correctly remember — rounded off, as if by attri- 

 tion or lateral friction, of three, six, and ten cubic 

 inches. Tliese are common, and taken in doubtless 

 for slow digestion during hybernation.— 6'«/e6 Q. 

 Forshey, Felloto N. Orleans Academy of Science. 



The Hedgehog.— The interesting paragraph on 

 the common Hedgehog in last month's number of 

 Science-Gossip, I am able to supplement from 

 experience. The Hedgehog is frequently infested 

 by a mite, which lays its eggs in the skin ; the mites 

 increase with astonishing rapidity and weaken the 

 Hedgehog by their constant feeding upon it. The 

 frequent use of soap and water is absolutely neces- 

 sary to free the Hedgehog of the parasites ; tobacco 

 juice may be used also with advantage. No animal 

 is fonder of water than the Hedgehog, which swims 

 and floats in it, with evident delight. When 

 domesticated, the Hedgehog requires a roomy deep 

 box or basket, well filled with hay'.or paper shav- 

 ings ; it likes to be well covered and warm ; it 

 requires milk, and for food any scraps from the 

 dinner-table, bones of pigeon, partridge, chicken, 

 the small bones of lamb, pieces of liver, and bits of 

 lean meat. In autumn, hedgehogs begin to look 

 out for a winter sleeping-place, and ought to have 

 a convenient box prepared for them, with plenty of 

 hay; they make a neat iiest for themselves and 

 ought not to be disturbed ; it is sufficient to feel if 

 they are warm ; if they are uncoiled aud cold, they 

 must be attended to directly, warmed and well fed, 

 after which they will probably go to sleep again. 

 Hedgehogs that are thrown out of their natural 

 habits by being domesticated, seldom lie dormant 

 for more than a week at a time. The Hedgehog 

 becomes a most interesting pet, soon knows its 

 name, and is very gentle and most grateful for kind- 

 ncss, aud patient under the M'ashiugs necessary for 

 keeping it free of parasites, making itself sleek to 

 the accustomed hand.— /a?^e Bartcell Carter. 



Derivation of "Ladt-bird."— Could any of 

 the numerous readers of Science-Gossip inform 

 me the correct derivation of the word " Lady-bird " 



