262 



HARD JVI CKE'S S C1ENCE- G O SSI P. 



are unlike any other tree-roots we had seen, and 

 peculiarly fitted to absorb every drop of moisture 

 that the sand contains. In general form and structure 

 they put us in mind of the Dahlia and Ranunculus, 

 consisting of long fleshy strings or ropes, shooting 

 straight down into the soil in numbers quite beyond 

 our reckoning, and extending over a large circle, 

 whose width we could not ascertain." Again, the 

 same writer observes: "What an apparatus for 

 drawing up the moisture of the desert." The roots 

 of all the Palmacea are described as fibrous : no 

 matter what the form may be, or the size of the 

 stem, it is invariably woody, and the roots fibrous. 

 This is the sum and substance of all I have been able 

 to call to mind as having read of the Palm-tree ; but 

 many who are better versed in the matter will reply 

 to "A. B.'s" question. — Helen E. Watney. 



Cat and Rabbits. — A curious case of the adop- 

 tion by a cat of some rabbits has come under my 

 notice. The mother of the rabbits died, and the 

 kittens having been destroyed, the cat suckled the 

 rabbits and brought them up. This occurred in a 

 small village in Surrey. May not this throw some 

 light on the story of Romulus and Remus being 

 suckled by a wolf, supposed by historical research 

 to be fabulous ? — H. P. Barclay. 



Egg Drills. — Beta will be able to obtain the 

 instruments described in my article on collecting 

 birds' eggs, of Mr. J. Everard, surgical instrument 

 maker, 34, Berners-street, W. — T. Southwell. 



Marsh Tit. — In answer to " C. C.'s" question 

 (Science-Gossip, page 234) "as to whether the 

 curious note, resembling the whetting of a saw, 

 belongs to the Marsh Tit," it is certainly not the 

 Marsh Tit, Parus palnstris, because that peculiar 

 note is heard in situations where the Marsh Tit is 

 not found. We believe the note to belong to the 

 Great Tit, Parus major. The song is heard as 

 early as January, often from the top of a high tree. 

 The bird is very remarkable from the similarity of 

 the simple note to the sound made in filing a saw. 

 Hence, in Staffordshire, the bird is commonly called 

 " Saw-whetter. " — Elizabeth Edwards. 



Migrating Birds. — Last Sunday I heard, about 

 eight o'clock p.m. the whistling of innumerable 

 birds, passing over Northallerton in a south-westerly 

 direction. I presume them to have been a flock of 

 plovers. They continued to pass over until eleven 

 o'clock. Are these birds regular migrators, or does the 

 present case betoken the approach of a severe winter ? 

 —J. A. Wheldon. 



Sea Anemones.— " C. E. R." will be glad to 

 learn that I kept two of Bitnodes gemmacea for the 

 greater part of a year, and might have done so for a 

 longer period, as they were still in first-rate condition 

 when the accident occurred which caused their death. 

 I kept them in a glass bottle of about six inches 

 diameter, with a loosely-fitting stopper always on, 

 and they were fed twice a week with bits of shrimp, 

 such as one buys at the fishmonger's. I find that small 

 and delicate sorts do well in these bottles ; the glass 

 stopper prevents evaporation. Small plants appear 

 quickly all over the sides, and altogether they are 

 the most self-compensating aquaria which I know. 

 I have kept them for long periods without diminution 

 of the contents, and consequently without having the 

 water more dense than at first. Will " C. E. R." be 

 good enough to describe his treatment of Tealia crassi- 

 cornis ? I have read, and have been told on good 

 authority, that it is impossible to keep it. My 

 attempts have always failed ; but, owing to circum- 



stances, I have been unable to obtain one of which I 

 could say with certainty that the base had not been 

 injured. — IV. G. H. C, Frome. 



Zoological Notes. — There was shot on theTees^ 

 on the 30th September a female Great Northern 

 Diver {Co/ymbits artiais), also a Stormy Petrel (P/ocel- 

 laria pelaqica). Two swans were also shot, and are 

 now in the hands of Mr. Richardson, of this town, 

 for preservation. During the last fortnight large 

 flocks of Wild Duck, Teal, Widgeon, &c, have been 

 passing on their autumnal migration; several large flocks- 

 of geese have been seen passing over the Cleveland 

 Hills. A Death's-head Moth was also captured at 

 the end of September. — George Simpson, Middlesbro', 

 October 6th. 



The Song Thrush and Blackbird Pairing. 

 — In confirmation of Mr. Robert Holland's article in 

 Science-Gossip of June, on "Remarkable Nests," 

 it might be well to insert the following well-authen- 

 ticated instance. In the island of Howth my 

 daughter saw a cock blackbird sitting on a nest where 

 previously a hen thrush had been sitting. There 

 were young ones in the nest, which was not lined. 

 There can be no doubt as to identity, as it was re- 

 marked by others. — S. A. Brenan, Clk., Allan Rock, 

 Co. Tyrone. 



Songs of Birds, &c. — A work on the songs of 

 birds and other animals as related to human music, 

 and as furnishing a basis for a theory of melody, has 

 occupied me two years. The chief impediment is the 

 lack of received observations. I should be most 

 grateful if you kindly assist me in any of these ways, 

 viz. : — I. Reference to books, &c, containing songs of 

 birds or other animals in musical notation. (Cqpies 

 of these would be still more valuable.) 2. Results of 

 your observations on bird or other songs. 3. Is 

 there noticed with any frequency in these songs the 

 occurrence of any fundamental intervals of human 

 music, — as the octave, fifth, fourth, and third ? ' 

 4. (A question only seemingly irrelevant) — If sing- 

 ing in the ears has ever happened to you, have 

 any of the fundamental intervals above mentioned 

 been observed between the minute tones ? 5. Any 

 information that may occur to you as bearing on these 

 subjects. All contributions will be acknowledged, 

 and the results sent to you on publication. — 916, 

 Washington Street, San Erancisco, Cal. 



Parasites on Birds. — Are there any means of 

 destroying the parasites on fantail pigeons ? The fan- 

 tails are kept in a large open room at the top of the 

 house, with the window constantly open, so that they 

 fly in and out at pleasure. The parasite which most 

 infests them is about the eighth of an inch long, dark 

 in colour, very slender in proportion to its length, so 

 that to an ordinary observer it hardly appears to be 

 an insect ; there is also another, round in shape, 

 perhaps one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and 

 pinky in colour. The birds have fresh water every 

 day for bathing. Is there any danger of the creatures- 

 forsaking the bird for the human habitants of the 

 house, as the pigeons are very tame, and perch on 

 head or shoulder ? And will the Editor kindly tell 

 Mrs. Geveke if there is any sensible reason why 

 pigeon feathers should not be used for stuffing pillows, 

 &C.—AI. G. 



Palms at Shanghai (page 178). — Your corre- 

 spondent, Mr. Nelson, calls attention to the fact ot 

 Palms enduring frost and snow at Shanghai with im- 

 punity. Judging from the short and negative descrip- 

 tion which he gives, viz., that they are not "as 



