160 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[July 1, 1S67. 



fere with the irrigation of his own lands. It would 

 be a fortunate circumstance for Egypt were the bed 

 of the river and the canals really composed of stiff 

 clay, or soil or mud properly so called, instead of 

 sand, because then the inhabitants could repair 

 their embankments with it. As it is, they are obliged 

 to dig up the earth from the fields on both sides, 

 thereby causing double labour, and destroying a 

 large portion of arable land. The sand which they 

 remove in cleaning out the canals is a great em- 

 barrassment. They do not know what to do with it. 

 It is no use as manure, and it would never do to put it 

 on the embankments, because in a few days it would 

 be all blown away by the wind. Even if not blown 

 away, still it would be a great inconvenience, for the 

 embankments, being the highroads of the country, 

 would be almost impassable with two or three feet 

 of sand upon them. Besides, it would offer but a 

 very feeble resistance to the impetuosity of the 

 water in a high Nile. The consequence is that they 

 remove it a little on each side of the canal, leaving 

 the middle only clear. When the Nile rises, all this 

 sand is of course carried back again to the centre of 

 the canal. The Nile itself is never cleaned out or 

 dredged. It is stated that in ancient times there 

 were large caves, either natural or formed artificially 

 for the purpose, in Upper Egypt, into which the 

 superabundant waters of the Nile were diverted 

 and preserved until wanted in the lower country. 

 These immense cisterns are, it is believed, now for 

 the most part choked up with sand. Perhaps it 

 would not be too wild a scheme to propose that 

 they should be restored to their original uses. This 

 may be, however, impracticable, but a system of 

 floodgates might be adopted in the canals, as in 

 other countries, to prevent the water from going to 

 waste — from going, in fact, into the sea. Were 

 such a measure carried out, it is not too much to say 

 that the canals would not be dry for so many months 

 of the year as they are now. The pyramid at 

 Dashoor is composed of mud bricks which have with- 

 stood the ravages of three thousand years. Had 

 these bricks been made of the so-called Nile mud, 

 they would have crumbled to dust ages ago ; in 

 fact, the pyramid could not have been built with 

 them at all. The real Nile mud is that which is 

 washed up on the sides of the embankments, and 

 that which is carried over the fields when the river 

 is high. This mud serves the Arabs in various ways 

 besides fertilizing their lands. They make bricks 

 with it, both burnt and unburnt. They use it mixed 

 with chopped straw to plaster their houses inside 

 and outside. They also use it as mortar without 

 straw. They construct water jars and various 

 kitchen utensils with it ; and they seal their maga- 

 zines or store-houses with it. This mud, when 

 preserved in a cool place, becomes extremely hard, 

 as may be seen in the Nilometer at Roda.— E. St. 

 John Fairman. 



ZOOLOGY. 



A Robin's Punishment.— About a month ago 

 a robin, which was allowed to fly about my room, 

 swallowed a butterfly ready set for the cabinet, and 

 with it the needle, with which the body was trans- 

 fixed. This took place in the presence of my son 

 and of a young girl, who happened to be in the 

 room at the time. Eor several days the bird was 

 much less active than usual, remaining quite still, 

 with its feathers disordered, and rarely attempting 

 to fly ; in short, poor robin was evidently anything 

 but comfortable after his meal. By degrees these 

 symptoms passed away ; the little animal resumed 

 its usual cheerful habits, and no one would have 

 supposed that it had a long needle inside it ! How- 

 ever, at the end of about ten days, the feathers of 

 the neck began to raise themselves, and in a short 

 time became decidedly upright. Next a bright 

 spot made its appearance on the surface of the skin, 

 which proved eventually to be the point of the 

 needle projecting among the feathers. The bird 

 was constantly scratching the place, and made 

 numerous attempts to extract the cause of its 

 trouble with its beak; at the same time it betrayed 

 no symptoms of dulness, or of being out of health. 

 Yesterday morning the needle was found lying on 

 the floor, and since then the neck feathers have 

 resumed their customary appearance. I have kept 

 the needle, on which are still to be seen traces of 

 dried matter, and fragments of feathers. — From the 

 " Leipziger Tageblatt," Nov., 1866. 



Bonnets at Eault. — The note in Science 

 Gossip on the dislike of a canary to certain colours, 

 has recalled to my recollection an equally singular 

 caprice in some eagles. About thirty years ago, 

 being in Yorkshire, I received an invitation to join 

 a pic-nic party at Whotley Park. After we had 

 discussed the good things provided for the dinner, 

 it was proposed to pay a visit to see the eagles, 

 when our host informed the ladies that it was abso- 

 lutely requisite to remove their bonnets before they 

 approached the large cage where the birds were 

 kept. This being done, we had a •long aud satis- 

 factory view of three majestic eagles, who appeared 

 to eye us with great disdain. When some of the 

 party resumed their bonnets (not the small things 

 worn now), the eagles, with loud screams, flew into 

 an inner apartment out of sight. This, I was told, 

 was their constant habit, and that the bonnet was 

 the only thing to which they had any dislike — 

 /. B. B. 



Destruction of Rare Birds.— In his "Birds of 

 Norfolk" Mr. Stevenson records the destruction of 

 sixty-five specimens of that rare and beautiful bird, 

 the Hoopoe, in that county alone between the 

 years 1850 and 1865. 



