354 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



logical remains. The inquiry lias been frequently made as 

 to the precise period and the actual causes of this extinction, 

 and Professor Alphonse Milne-Edwards has lately found a 

 document which throws much light on the subject. This is 

 a manuscript report in the Department of Marine, entitled 

 "Relation de ITsle Rodriguez," and is supposed to be of 

 about the date of 1760. 



According to this document, the birds continued quite 

 abundant until about 1730, at which time, however, the set- 

 tlement of the Isle of France and the Isle of Bourbon, to- 

 gether with the great number of vessels visiting the adjacent 

 regions, made such depredations upon the living animals, es- 

 pecially the birds and tortoises, as soon to bring about their 

 entire extinction. The birds were all restricted to narrow 

 spaces, and being in large part unable to fly, fell victims to 

 the weapons of the invaders. Indeed, so far as the tortoises 

 were concerned, numerous vessels were employed exclusive- 

 ly in the business of collecting and shipping them. 1 J3 y 

 Jane 20, 165. 



FLIGHT OF BUTTERFLIES. 



Mr. J. Matthew Jones gives an account of a very remark- 

 able flight of small yellow butterflies, Terias lisa, of the fam- 

 ily JPieridce, which visited the Bermuda islands on the 1st of 

 October, 1874. Their number was so great that their first 

 appearance was that of a cloud coming in from the north- 

 west, and when close to the land they separated into two 

 columns, and dispersed east and west over the islands. 



Mr. Jones does not consider that this was an intentional 

 movement on the part of these butterflies, but that proba- 

 bly the individuals, while swarming at some point along the 

 coast of the United States, were caught up in a cyclone or 

 other storm, and carried out to sea to a great distance. 



INTRODUCTION OF THE AMERICAN TURKEY. 



The precise date at which the American turkey was intro- 

 duced (probably from Mexico) into Europe has always been 

 a matter of some uncertainty, its arrival in France having 

 been ascribed to the action of the Jesuits. It took a con- 

 spicuous part in the nuptial feast of Charles IX., in 1570. A 

 much earlier mention of this bird has, however, been found 



