BARD WICKE'S SCIE NCE- G OSSW. 



267 



GOSSIP ON CURRENT TOPICS. 

 By W. Mattieu Williams, F.R.A.S., F.C.S. 



IN the October number of "The Popular Science 

 Monthly" is an interesting account of " the 

 trading rat," alias " mountain rat," " timber rat," and 



trade rat." His place of residence is the Rocky 

 Mountains and adjacent hills. He is larger than our 

 domestic rat, his tail not rat-like, but more like a 

 squirrel's, only less bushy, being covered with fur. 

 Cats are afraid of him, and when unacquainted with 

 human habits he is not afraid of men. The com- 

 mercial reputation and name of these animals is founded 

 on a curious habit. They help themselves to stores 

 of food, but scrupulously pay by means of barter for 

 all they take. Examples of this are given in detail. 

 The contents of a bread-pan were annexed, none of 

 the bread left, but it was equitably refilled with scraps 

 of leather, chips, bones, mouldy beans, rags, &c. 

 The bread thus abstracted was found carefully stored 

 and hidden in an old tin can, together with bacon 

 rinds, bones, rags, &c. In another case a meal-box 

 ■was deprived of a portion of its normal contents, and 

 the remainder was mixed with bird-shot. The crown 

 of a new hat was eaten round, and by way of com- 

 pensation the hat-box was filled with rags, remains of 

 food, wheat and dried fruits. Knives, spoons, 

 watches, and other glittering things appeal to their 

 acquisitiveness, and are accordingly abstracted and 

 hidden away, miscellaneous "dry goods" being 

 substituted for the hardware. Red cloth is similarly 

 attractive, especially as nest-building material. Their 

 rema kable intelligence and natural gentleness sug- 

 gest ihe possibility of domestication, and training 

 them to useful industry. 



Windmills appear to be looking up. According to 

 Mr. Alfred R. Wolfe, who has published in New 

 York a treatise on "The Windmill as a Prime 

 Mover," their use is increasing, it is now greater than 

 at any other period in the history of the world. We 

 are so accustomed here to regard them as antiquated 

 and superseded by steam-engines, that this statement 

 will be doubtfully received by many. Mr. Wolff 

 states that in some cities of the United States, on 

 an average, over five thousand windmills are manu- 

 factured annually. They are chiefly used for 

 domestic purposes, such as pumping and storing 

 water in isolated country houses. We are also in- 

 formed that great improvements have been made, 

 that the American patterns are superior to those of 

 Europe. This should be the case, as our European 

 engineers (excepting Dutchmen) have scarcely con- 

 descended to look at such old-world contrivances 

 during the age of steam. Modern science must 

 surely be able to contribute something in this direc- 

 tion. 



The motion of the wind is the most economical and 

 generally distributed source of power available by 

 man, and certainly should not be neglected. The 



principal objection to it, its variability, may now be 

 overcome by the use of compressed air and electrical 

 accumulators. At our present rate of coal wasting a 

 scarcity of that source of power in this country is 

 within easily measurable distance, and it is well to 

 know that a substitute exists, one which, if but partially 

 utilised, might supply us with a vastly greater amount 

 of horse-power than all our steam engines ten times 

 told. 



The testimony of Mr. Mitchell Henry concerning 

 the merits of the Caucasian variety of the prickly 

 comfrey {Symphytum asperrinium) is of great value. 

 Having visited him at Kylemore Castle, and seen what 

 he has done there in converting great areas of the 

 most obstinate of Irish bog wastes into luxuriant 

 meadows and arable land, and the mountain slopes 

 of theConnemara desert into lovely gardens and most 

 luxuriant shrubbery, with choice and tender exotics 

 flourishing where gloomy chatterers and indolent 

 landlords tell us that ordinary timber cannot thrive 

 on account of the wind — I read the letter in the 

 " Times " with much interest and perfect faith in its 

 practical reliability. Instead of making an abstract 

 of it here as at first intended, I enclose it to the 

 editor to reprint in full, as I cannot condense the 

 plain statement of facts without omitting useful 

 information. The agricultural transformations in the 

 neighbourhood of Kylemore Castle present the most 

 interesting and hopeful sight I beheld during three 

 summers' wandering through Ireland. If every Irish 

 landlord did his duty as Mr. Henry has done, Irish 

 misery would be at an end, and the demand for Irish 

 labour on Irish soil would effect a considerable re- 

 emigration of true Irishmen from America. 



"A Paying Crop. 

 " To the Editor of the ' Times: 



" Sir, — I have occasionally sent you notes from 

 this place on agricultural matters, and it may now be 

 useful to the farming interest to receive a confirma- 

 tion of the great value of a crop introduced of late 

 years into the United Kingdom as a forage crop, 

 inasmuch as conflicting statements have been made 

 about it. I refer to the Caucasian variety of the 

 prickly comfrey {Symphytum asperrinium). 



"Five years ago I obtained a small supply of the 

 roots from a London agent, and planted them in a 

 light sandy soil in which they did not do very well. 

 The roots were then taken up, divided like Jerusalem 

 artichokes, and transplanted into reclaimed peat land, 

 receiving a good supply of farmyard manure. Here 

 the prickly comfrey has flourished amazingly, and by 

 subdivision now covers several acres. It has been 

 cut this year already five times, and will be cut again 

 before Christmas, yielding by careful weighing after 

 the present fifth cutting a total of 40 tons to the acre. 



" The plant is uncommonly handsome, and when 

 planted should have intervals for its growth of not 

 less than two feet, and when gathered it should be 



x 2 



