Arc. 1, 1SG7.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



1S9 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Locusts witii Tails. — There is a species _ of 

 locust, one of the genus Acridiumfwith a projecting 

 spine between the fore legs. Is it possible that the 

 writer to the Clerical Journal, not being a 

 naturalist, made the mistake of imagining this spine 

 to be a tail ?— N. G. IF. 



Cheating a Sfider. — Some time ago I amused 

 myself by watching a very large spider at work in 

 a fine large web v After observing him complete his 

 task, and post himself on the look-out, I tried him 

 with some flies, which he soon settled. One day I 

 tempted him by touching the web, and evidently 

 deceived him more than once. On one occasion I 

 presented him with a small piece of raw beef about 

 the y^ of an inch long, which I held to him on the 

 point of a pencil. The first time he seized it fiercely 

 with his strong jaws, but almost immediately after- 

 wards threw it away in disgust, nor would he again 

 venture, though I tried him several times. Once, 

 after much fine weather, it threatened rain, and 1 

 saw him carefully passing over his web along the 

 spiral threads, detaching them as he passed each 

 intersection with the radial lines, and forming the 

 whole into a roll or ball beneath his abdomen, which, 

 when he had reached the centre of the web he care- 

 fully let drop to the ground, and then retired to a 

 snug corner on the gate, to which his principal ties 

 were attached. There lie remained during several 

 days, until I no longer had the opportunity to con- 

 tinue my observations. All the radial lines of the 

 web were left intact, as though he intended making 

 future use of them. — /. B. Keene. 



Nut Borers. — Eor the benefit of your sub- 

 scribers in general, and of Mr. S. A. Stewart in 

 particular, I beg to state that the author of the 

 nut-boring, mentioned in your last number of 

 Science-Gossip, is the Myoxus avellanarius, class 

 Sciurichr, so called from their principal food being 

 hazel-nuts. It is gregarious, building principally 

 in dense thickets near the ground, where it 

 lays up a considerable winter stock of nuts, wild 

 apples, corn, haws, &c. It has all the habits of the 

 common squirrel, holding its food between its two 

 fore paws, and sitting upon its haunches whilst 

 feeding. Towards winter it becomes exceedingly 

 corpulent, and when winter fairly sets in it retires 

 to its nest, and remains dormant nearly the whole 

 winter, clement weather only rousing it at times to 

 feed. Towards spring it awakes, and follows its 

 usual avocations, conjugal and paternal — the 

 young being born blind, of which there are generally 

 two litters. It is very easily tamed, and has no 

 offensive smell. It is known all over Europe. In 

 England, Kent and Essex most abound in the 

 dormouse, where they are very commonly seen, and 

 are easily caught with the hand. But, lastly, let 

 me warn those of your readers who rejoice in the 

 hope of catching, and expecting to catch one, in try- 

 ing the experiment, not to hold them by the tail, as 

 they very commonly leave the epidermis and fur 

 between the fingers, and " skedaddle," and thus the 

 expectant captor of the fair prize is thwarted. — 

 Cleland Lammiman. 



The Petrified Forest.— It may interest our 

 readers to know that fine specimens of the silicified 

 wood from the " petrified forest " near Cairo may 

 be seen in the Technological Museum at the Crystal 

 Palace. They were sent by His Excellency Heke- 



kyan Bey, with the interesting collection illustrat- 

 ing the manners and customs of modern Egypt 

 exhibited in the above-named museum. — P. 



Larva of Hydropiiilus. — Could any of your 

 correspondents (especially the lady who signs 

 " Helen Watney," and gave so interesting an 

 account of an insect vivarium in the Science- 

 Gossip for April, 18GG,) inform me how these little 

 creatures should be fed ? The eggs in the Hydro- 

 piiilus nest which I described in last month's num- 

 ber, were hatched on the eighth day. About sixty 

 fine, healthy, lively larva came out. We supplied 

 them plentifully with water plants, and finding they 

 did not cat them, with small red worms — all in 

 vain : they grew languid, and all died within a fort- 

 night — I fear of hunger. Should we succeed in 

 obtaining a nest another year, we should feel very 

 grateful to any one who would advise us as to how 

 to avoid a similar catastrophe. — L. H. F. 



Guaco. — In answer to Henry Cooke, in the last 

 number of Science-Gossip. I lived for some time 

 in South America, and mixed a good deal with the 

 natives, and I know for certain that they inocu- 

 late themselves with the juice of the " Guaco " in 

 their feet, and always carry some of the leaves 

 about them, to eat in case of a bite from a snake. 

 I cannot say from experience that Guaco is a cure 

 for a snake bite ; but unless it is so, I cannot 

 imagine why these Indians think so highly of it. 

 That the snake-bird does as mentioned by your 

 correspondent, I can confidently affirm. — Rev. 

 William Goss. 



New Legs.— In S. G. for Juue, Mr. William 

 Dodson calls attention to a note on a thrush that 

 had been kept in a cage acquiring a new pair of 

 legs. Surely no person in this age believes in such 

 a phenomenon. I will, however, give Mr. Dodson 

 what I consider to be the real foundation for 

 such an absurd supposition. Having had a number 

 of such deformities brought under my notice, I can 

 speak not only from what I have heard, but from 

 what I have really seen. I have found that it is 

 not an unusual occurrence to see thrushes, black- 

 birds, larks, and many others, after being confined 

 some years in a cage, with their legs deformed in 

 the manner I am about to describe. Erom some 

 cause — want of the necessary food or exercise — the 

 scales of the legs increase to a prodigious size, 

 often being five or six times as large as the ordi- 

 nary legs, and taking a downward growth, fre- 

 quently overhang the feet, and in some instances 

 prevent the bird from standing upon a level sur- 

 face. These scales becoming extremely dry, they 

 are by the slightest accident detached from the leg 

 as far as the knee joint ; the scales at that part 

 being smaller, and the skins more flexible, allow the 

 mass of scales, still retaining the shape of the 

 original legs, to remain suspended. The legs after 

 being divested of their old scales, appear extremely 

 thin, and quite pale ; and to any person that does 

 not make such an examination as they should, but 

 arrive at a hasty conclusion that the bird has four 

 legs, and that the cast-off scales, which are so much 

 the largest, must be the old legs, are very likely to 

 be deceived themselves, and misguide others. I 

 have seen several instances of hawks that have 

 evidently been trapped, and made their escape with 

 the loss of one foot, and several other birds— a 

 lark amongst the rest, that had been deprived of 

 both feet ; and this bird had lived for some consider- 

 able time after, as the legs had quite healed, and 



