HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



219 



more or less out of tune from the fact of the upper 

 note being more of the nature of a call or shout than 

 of a musical sound, i.e. that, short in duration as the 

 note is, it has not the same "pitch" from beginning 

 to end. 



2. May 5, i88g. — Interval, a major third in the 

 key of B (concert pitch). The bird was too distant 

 to enable me to hear the peculiarity in the upper 

 note mentioned above. 



3. May 9, 18S9. — Another locality ; interval, a 

 major third out of tune, the upper note being flat. 

 The same bird varied the key from B to B flat, 

 maintaining the same relative interval. Three- 

 quarters of an hour later the song from the same 

 direction was brighter and clearer, and a good major 

 third in D flat. If it was the same bird, perhaps the 

 weather had something to do with the change ; at 

 first it was dull, with thunder about, but later it had 

 cleared up. 



4. May 16, 1889. — Heard two calls only, con- 

 sisting of an uncertain interval approaching most 

 nearly to a minor third, key B. 



5. Same day, another place ; a fairly good minor 

 third, key C. Weather hot and dull. 



6. May 21, 1889. — Major third in D flat. 



7. May 23, 1889. — Major third in B. 



8. May 26, 1889. — Heard the song on two occa- 

 sions at a considerable distance, minor third in 

 D flat. On two other occasions, nearer, a major 

 third in same key. The upper note was as described 

 in the first instance above, or, inHfact, a kind of 

 "cluck." 



9. May 30, 1889, — Good major third in D flat. 



10. June 2, 1889. — One bird sang the^ interval 

 of a fourth for several repetitions. The upper note 

 was not hit upon at once, but preceded by a short 

 one a semitone lower — an "appoggiatura." The 

 same bird also sang sometimes a lesser interval. 

 The song of another bird approached nearly to a 

 fifth. Had no means of taking the key on this 

 occasion. 



11. June 16, 1889. — Forenoon: minor third, upper 

 note a little sharp. 



12. Same day, afternoon, another locality ; major 

 third. 



From the foregoing it will be seen that the key 

 ranged from B flat to D flat, and the interval from a 

 minor third to a fifth, taking all the cases together. 

 For convenience they may be tabulated thus : — 



Key {when taken). Interval. 



1. — Major third 



2. B 



3. B, B flat, D flat . „ 



4. B Minor third 



5- C 



6. D flat . . . . Major third 



7. B 



rD flat . . . . Minor third 

 ' Id flat . . . . Major third 



Key (when taken). Interval. 



9. D fiat . . . . Major third 



10. — Fourth and fifth 



11. — Minor third 



12. — Major third 



Instances 2, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 12 are from one neigh- 

 bourhood, and probably record the performances of 

 one bird. In No. 8, the bird that seemed to be 

 distant may in reality have been near, but cuckooing 

 softly, and thus accounting for the lesser interval? 

 just as a flute-player can produce a given note either 

 very sharp or flat at will. It has been stated that 

 the song consists of a major third at the commence- 

 ment of the season, and a minor at the end ; but that 

 is certainly not the case. The reasonable conclusion 

 is, that it depends entirely upon the humour of 

 the cuckoo at the moment, and varies according to 

 how he is affected by the weather or other circum- 

 stance. It is only uniform in its general character, 

 and, it may be added, in the sentiment of the un- 

 critical listener. Nevertheless, it is music in ears 

 of a lover of the voices of Nature, compared with 

 which the sound of the cuckoo clock is almost ex- 

 cruciating, and differs as much as would a stuffed, or 

 even a make-up, bird from the beautiful creature itself,, 

 alive and gracefully perched on the branch of a tree. 



W. P. Hamilton. 

 Shrewsbury. 



NOTES ON ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



NUTMEGS : This spice is the produce oi Myristica 

 officinalis, Linn., also known under the names 

 of M. moschata and M. fragrans. It is a native of 

 the Molucca Islands, where it is largely cultivated, 

 and especially at the Islands of Banda, also in Java, 

 Sumatra, and other islands, as well as in some parts 

 of India. In 1 770 it was introduced into the Mauritius 

 and Bourbon, where it produced very fine seeds. 



It is a dioecious tree, from twenty to thirty feet in 

 height, with a smooth bark abounding in a yellow 

 juice ; leaves, two to six inches long, nearly elliptical, 

 smooth, entire, dark green and glossy above, paler 

 beneath ; flowers, axillary j male flowers, three to five 

 on a peduncle, filaments incorporated into a thick 

 cylinder; female flowers frequently solitary. Fruit, 

 fleshy, spherical, about the size and form of a small 

 pear, two-valved, dehiscing longitudinally; nut 

 enveloped by a red aril, alljumen ruminated. The 

 properties of nutmegs are stimulant, narcotic, etc. ;. 

 and if taken in considerable quantities are really 

 poisonous, excite thirst, cause dyspepsia, intoxica- 

 tion, delirium, etc. At the Banda Isles, which is 

 the principal seat of its cultivation, the fruits are 

 gathered at three seasons, July, November, and 

 March or April. The seeds are dried, and the hard 

 outer shell removed, and imported ; occasionally they 

 are imported with the shells on, a procedure which 



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