116 



HAUDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GOSSTP. 



with which we had been visited a few days previ- 

 ously, and had rested on the pond until disturbed 

 by our informant. Had not the bird been found, 

 the rising of the swallow from the pond would have 

 seemed incapable of satisfactory explanation. — 

 E. N. BloomMd. 



Do Animals ever Commit Suicide ? In support 

 of the theory of your correspondent " J. U. S. C," 

 viz., that animals do sometimes commit suicide 

 whilst in a state of insanity, I may call attention 

 to the following incident of indubitable veracity 

 recorded in Jesse's "Anecdotes of Dogs :" — "A 

 fine, handsome, and valuable black dog of the New- 

 foundland species, belonging to Mr. Eloyd, solici- 

 tor, Holmfirth, committed suicide by drowning it- 

 self in the river which flows at the back of its 

 owner's habitation. Eor some days previous the 

 animal seemed less animated than usual, but on 

 this particular occasion he was noticed to throw 

 himself into the water and endeavoured to sink by 

 preserving perfect stillness of the legs and feet. 

 Being dragged out of the stream, the dog was tied 

 up for a time, but had no sooner been released tlian 

 he again hastened to the water and again tried to 

 sink, and was again got out. This occurred many 

 times, until at length tlic animal, with repeated 

 efforts, appeared to get exhausted, and by dint of 

 keeping his head determinedly under water for a 

 few minutes, succeeded at last in obtaining his 

 object, for when taken out this time he was in- 

 deed dead."— ^. A. Auld. 



The Sword-fish (p. 71).— My attention has 

 been fully directed to the subject named by 

 *'E. H. R.," and I concur with him in the opinion 

 that the reverend gentleman who wrote the article 

 alluded to has fallen into a very grave misap- 

 pi'ehension. The fish which he d.escribes as the 

 Xiphias gladins, I take to be a species of sea- 

 pike : the small specimens found on our coast are 

 known as Gar-fish {gar, A.-S., "spear, pike, or 

 javelin"). It was formerly classed with the Jack, 

 as Esox belone ; Cuvier named it Beloiie vulgaris, 

 but it is now described as Lepidosteus luc'ms ; 

 Lepidosteus, from its liaid scales ; lucius (pike) 

 being a misnomer, derived from the Fleur-de-lis, or 

 White Lily of Erance. Two species may be seen at 

 the British Museum and the College of Surgeons ; 

 viz., L. lucius, the Gar-fish, and Z. osseus, the Bony 

 Pike; the latter is, probably.Hhe fish figured in the 

 Leisure Hour for J anuai'y, the woodcut in question 

 being altogether unsuited for the true Sword-fish 

 (A', gladius), or for the Saw-fish {Pristis anti- 

 quorum). — J. Hall. 



Flea-bites ! — The extraordinary amount of 

 irritation and swelling which these occasion in 

 some instances can hardly be accounted for on the 

 supposition that this bite is a simple incision. In 

 Science-Gossip of last year, an interesting account 

 was given of the tongue and lancets of the flea ; 

 but 1 cannot help thinking there is something 

 which the microscopic investigator has missed as 

 yet; viz., some gland or other apparatus which 

 yields a poisonous fluid, that is thrown into the 

 puncture. If there is anything of the kind, it 

 must be exceedingly potent, since the supply of it 

 cannot be large, and a flea will leap hither and 

 thither upon the human skin, biting a dozen times 

 in quick succession, each bite being followed by 

 the usual result. From a friend whose experiences 

 in this direction are particularly painful, I glean 

 the fact that the bite of what is (presumabljO the 



male flea, or at least the smaller individual, is most 

 to be dreaded.—/. R. S. C. 



Mice and Birds. — In reply to your correspond- 

 ent " Tedesca's " question, I beg to state that one 

 night, a few weeks since, I observed one of ray 

 birds, a linnet, which was ill, roosting near the 

 lower part of my aviary. The following morning it 

 was found dead, and partially devoured by the 

 mice. During the summer of 1870 I missed one 

 of my hen canaries from the food-troughs, and, on 

 examining the nest-box where she had been sitting, 

 I found nothing but a mass of feathers, with 

 scarcely a vestige of the poor bird amongst them : 

 the mice had eaten all, even the bones, beak, and 

 claws I Whether these birds were living or dead 

 when the mice attacked them, remains of course an 

 open question, but I have every reason to think 

 that they have destroyed numbers of unfledged 

 canaries in the nests. Can any one suggest a plan 

 to prevent their entrance into aviaries and large 

 cages ?— Z". M. P. 



Fungi. — I shall esteem it a great favour if any of 

 your correspondents who have had experience in 

 preserving fungi will kindly inform me of the best 

 mode of preparing them for the cabinet. — H. A. 

 Auld. 



New Fungi.— Allow me to correct an error 

 which appeared in the last number of Science- 

 Gossip, p. 90, in reference to Perichtena quercina, E., 

 found by Mr. T. Brittain. It was not 1 who identi- 

 fied the plant, but C. E. Broome, Esq., to whom I 

 sent it, being myself unable to identify it. This may 

 appear a trivial matter ; but when a gentleman takes 

 the trouble to identify a plant, it is out just that he 

 should have the credit for so doing. — William 

 Phillips. 



Wood-Pigeons. — The turnip tops found in the 

 crops of the Wood-pigeons are precisely what might 

 have been expected, the green leaves and shoots of 

 the turnip forming their favourite winter food. 

 These are varied with clover-leaves in the spring ; 

 later on, seeds of the dock, chickweed, charlock, and 

 other " pests of the farm." About harvest time, the 

 above, with the addition of wheat and barley ; after 

 harvest, acorns and beech-mast, of which they are 

 very fond. There is no doubt Wood-pigeons will 

 feed on corn when they 'can get it ; but their 

 opportunities for harm are limited, for good unlim- 

 ited ; and the immense quantities of noxious weeds 

 destroyed by them, at all seasons of the year, far 

 outweigh the harm done, at certain seasons, in 

 places where they unduly viktGxxw^.— Tlws.Soiithwell. 



ViTRiNA pellucida. — It is very probable that 

 those who assert that the Vitrina is incapable of 

 wholly withdrawing into its shell, and those who 

 assert to the contrary, are both right. My own 

 observations lead me to believe, that when the 

 Vitrina is found in a moist condition, no amount 

 of irritation or force employed can make it with- 

 draw itself entirely within its shell; but if put in a 

 dry place, and left without moisture, it is then 

 capable of shrinking entirely within the shell, so 

 as to enable it to fit the mouth of the shell to any 

 flat surface it may be attached to. Having kept a 

 couple of Geomalacus maculosus for a few months 

 under a bell-glass, and having introduced a few 

 Vitrina pellucida under the same cover, I was 

 surprised to find the Vitrina shells empty in a few 

 days : this led me to believe that the Vitrina had 



