HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



191 



Stoats and Weasels for Australia.— A 

 syndicate of capitalists has for some time past been 

 purchasing large numbers of stoats and weasels for 

 exportation to Australia and New Zealand for the 

 purpose of reducing or destroying the rabbits which 

 have become such a pest to the farmers in these 

 countries. A gamekeeper in the neighbourhood of 

 Brampton, Cumberland, was appointed their agent, 

 and he has already secured and transmitted about 

 four hundred of these vermin to the antipodes. The 

 price he pays to the trappers is from y. 6d. to 'js. 6d. 

 each, but by the time they reach their destination it 

 has been increased to six or seven pounds each. 

 They are packed in boxes two in each, and fed during 

 the voyage on dead pigeons, two of the latter being 

 supplied to each of the animals once in three days. 

 They require great care and attention during the 

 voyage out, and this added to the expense of feeding 

 raises their value to a considerable amount on their 

 arrival at the destination. A singular change has 

 come over the habit of the rabbit since it became 

 acclimatised in Australia. Here it burrows in the 

 ground, but in that country it is in the habit of 

 climbing trees, which it can do with great facility, for 

 the purpose of feeding on the leaves and bark, of 

 which it seems particularly fond. — Dipton Burn. 



Observation on Young Cuckoos. — On'Wednes- 

 day, June 27th, I was shown a fully-fledged cuckoo 

 sitting in (or, rather, all over) a robin's nest in the 

 bank of a lane. My uncle, the Rev. N. A. Watson, 

 of Boughton, Malherbe, who found the nest, told me 

 that after hatching the egg, the robin parents deserted 

 the nest, and that the cuckoo parents (both) took 

 charge of their offspring, and that he had often seen 

 them feeding it. He was quite sure that the robins 

 would have nothing to do with the interloper. Is not 

 this a variation on the traditional account ? — M. S. 

 Pope, Maidstone. 



Nest of Short-tailed Field-vole. — A friend 

 of mine the other day brought me word, that whilst 

 egg-collecting in a wood, he had found a nest of 

 young mice in a hole in a tree. He thought it was a 

 great tit's nest, and was rather surprised when he 

 secured three young mice in his net, instead of eggs. 

 I visited the tree a few days afterwards, and found 

 that the hole by which the old mouse entered was 

 very small, and situated about twelve inches from the 

 ground. There were five young voles in the nest, all 

 of which I secured, but the old one escaped. What 

 surprised me most was the quantity of material 

 comprising the nest ; it would have taken a half- 

 gallon tin to have held it all, and was composed of 

 moss, gnawed up into fine pieces. I always under- 

 stood that the field-vole made its nest on the ground 

 in fields, &c. Is not this an unusual place for one ? 

 ■C. D. Head, Norwood Street, Scarbo?vugh. 



Influence of Sound on Animals. — The 

 following incident having come under my own 

 personal observation, I append it, as it may be of 

 interest to readers of Science-Gossip, more particu- 

 larly to those who are interested in the influence of 

 sound upon animals. That " music hath charms " 

 no one will deny, but how far that fascinating charm 

 ■exerts itself is difficult to determine. Life in the 

 country gives the possessor of a "quiet eye" much 

 opportunity for observation. The drawing-room of 

 our rustic dwelling opened onto a lawn ; immediately 

 outside the glass door was a large flagstone making, 

 as it were, a step from the room to the garden. Our 

 delight on a summer's evening was to sit outside, 

 whilst one of the others indoors would entertain us 

 with pianoforte music, and it appeared not only us 



but also a visitor which we invariably received on 

 those occasions. No sooner had the music begun 

 than a large toad came jumping along over the gravel- 

 path, across the lawn, and taking up his position on 

 the flagstone, would remain as long as the music 

 continued, neither fearing nor taking the slightest 

 notice of our presence ; there he stayed, apparently 

 happy and certainly as much delighted as we. As 

 soon as the piano ceased our friend bade us "good 

 night " and jumped away home. I am pleased to 

 add we were continually honoured by his company. 

 Query. Is this a peculiar case, or one of frequent 

 occurrence ? — Arthur B. Harrison, CJiehnsford. 



Varnishing Photo Gelatine.— Dry Plates. — 

 White hard varnish diluted with methylated spirit, in 

 the proportion of fifteen parts varnish to twenty- five 

 parts spirit, makes a fair dry plate varnish. It is not 

 very durable and apt to be soft. Some recommend 

 the addition of a little " brown hard " to it in order to 

 remedy this defect. — B. Se., Plymouth. 



Toads Spawning. — A correspondent, writing 

 under the head " Toad Spawning," asks if it be a fact 

 that toads croak. The question is made curious by 

 your correspondent stating that he has always studied 

 the habits of the toad. Perhaps he will pardon me if 

 I hint that he could not have very closely studied the 

 habits of that animal, even for a short time, without 

 having heard, at least at breeding time, a full chorus. 

 Since writing the last line I have been to my froggery, 

 or more strictly " toadery," and succeeded in making 

 one of my toads croak by putting it first in water and 

 then pretending to catch it. Perhaps your corre- 

 spondent will verify experiment for himself. — R. T. 

 T., Gosport. 



Rudiments. — As a contribution to this discussion, 

 I may mention that Sachs, in his "Vegetable Physi- 

 ology," used the terms "rudimentary" and "re- 

 duced," the former in Miss Layard's sense, and the 

 latter in the sense in which Mr. Darwin used the 

 word " rudimentary." Sachs classifies all organs 

 into typical, metamorphosed, rudimentary, and 

 reduced, on physiological grounds. — J. Hanisou, 

 Bedford. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers.— As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un- 

 dertake to insert in the following number any communications 

 which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. 



To Anonymous Qv erists.— We must adhere to our rule of 

 not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names. 



To Dealers and Others. — We are always glad to treat 

 dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general 

 ground as amateurs, in so far as the "exchanges" offered are fair 

 exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply 

 disguised advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost of 

 advertising, an advantage is taken of our gratuitous insertion of 

 " exchanges " which cannot be tolerated. 



We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (or 

 initials) and full address at the end. 



A. Mayfield. — Yes, you are right; the plant is Claytonix 

 perfoliata. 



C. J. Heaton. — The yellow-flowered composite plant ycu 

 sent is the leopard's bane [Doronicum fiardalianches). 



J. I. N. — Mr. Arthur Bennett's address is 107 High Street, 

 Croydon. 



J. S. G. — We shall be very glad to have your papers on the 

 Molluscan Fauna of Malta. It is a place much visited now. 



C. H. G. — Thanks for the specimen ; it is a fungus — Xylaria 

 digit ata. 



B. Sc. — The "Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society" 

 may be obtained of the publishers, Messrs. Williams and Nor- 

 gate, London; or of Mr. W. P. Collins, 157 Great Portland 

 Street, W. 



