82 



HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIF. 



Its strength is much diminished by drying and keep- 

 ing, especially tlie emetic property which is very 

 marked in the fresli root much resembling ipecac. I 

 once chewed a small piece of fresh root, and its 

 nauseating effect lasted several hours. Its medicinal 

 effect is due to the bitter principle, which is probably 

 analogous to Apocynin, the active principle of the 

 nearly related plant Apocyiuim cannahinitm, "L., and 

 the effect of the plants is almost the same. The bark 

 of the plant is tough and fibrous, and has been 

 suggested for similar purposes to the common hemp, 

 bnt I do not know if any use is made of it in this 

 country. The bark also yields a dye. 



About the middle of July last I came upon a 

 number of the plants with ants examining the 

 flowers in great numbers in search of the nectar. 

 The ants would climb over the edge of the corolla 

 and search the flowers very rapidly. I saw some 

 flowers repeatedly visited in the course of a few 

 minutes, but could see no change in the position of 

 the petals. There were a great many small flies and 

 gnats sticking to the flowers, and also many in the 

 withered flowers. The day was cloudy and I did 

 not get a chance to watch any bees visit the flowers. 

 Good, in his " Family Flora" says, " Bees and other 

 insects collect this honey, but small flies are often 

 caught by inserting their proboscis between the 

 fissures of the anthers, whence it is not so easy for 

 them to extricate it ; they are often seen dead in that 

 confined situation after unavailing stru^eles." 



The plant has many common names, as bitter root, 

 dog's-bane, flytrap, catchfly, wandering milkweed, 

 ipecac milk, &c. 



Jas. a. Sanford. 



Toledo, Ohio. 



XOTES_ BY A NATURALIST IN MAURITIUS 

 AND GREAT BRITAIN. 



By WiLMOT H. T. Power, B.A., M.R.C.S. 



{Continued from j>age 59.] 



^n~^HE so-called Smallpox hi Chickens. — In Mauritius 

 -'■ large numbers of the chickens are reduced to 

 mere skeletons, with a dry scaly eruption on the skin, 

 leaving more or less bald patches especially about the 

 head and neck. I found this was due to the presence 

 of Lumbrici in such numbers that the interior of the 

 intestines was so irritated as to be as red as a soldier's 

 tunic ; emaciation and eruption were due simply to 

 starvation. At one station we kept our poultry in a 

 large enclosure covered over with a net, and taking 

 care none but clean water, and frequently changed, 

 was given them. We had no disease, and fine chickens. 

 About 100 yards off at a lighthouse, it was always 

 present, but the poultry there drank from a very dirty 

 small pool. I feel inclined to say Mauritius had de- 

 generated from being the land of the Dodo, to the 

 and of the Lumbrici. 



Affection of a Chicken. — The above heading may 

 seem rather absurd, but, as an instance of quick 

 appreciation of a benefit, I preserved it. A soldier 

 found a chicken of almost eatable size lying insensible 

 in the sun one hot morning ; as a matter of course, it 

 was brought to me. I had just finished my bath, so I 

 dipped it into it several times, occasionally swinging 

 it in the air ; it recovered and would not leave me. 

 Shortly after I was skinning a sea-fowl, the chicken 

 hopped on to the arm of the chair, and then perched 

 on one wrist, and quietly pecked away at morsels of 

 flesh, enjoying the meal much. However, it became 

 so troublesome that I had to send it away ; it Avould 

 have nothing to do with any one but me. 



Occurrence of Helix aspersa in Mauritius. ~1 do 

 not know if this has been recorded. One morning, 

 about the year 1865, in a garden up among the hills, 

 we came across three or four of these snails, under 

 some shelter. ]\Iy two companions — one the owner 

 of the garden, and both naturalists — had never 

 seen this species before in the island. There were 

 European vegetables growing, and as the tempera- 

 ture and moisture were quite suitable, the only ques- 

 tion was by what means they got there, though we 

 know the snails can live for long sealed up and 

 dormant. 



The Omnivorous Rat. — Besides finding the common 

 Hanoverian rat in bird's nests, &c., I killed several, 

 and found their food was small Crustacea, different 

 species of which abound on the Mauritius shores. 



The Gapes in Seychelles Pigeons. — The body of one 

 of these was sent to me to find out cause of death — 

 the symptoms had been simply gasping for breath — 

 there were a number of worms [Sclerostoma syngamus), 

 adhering to the trachea. A second was sent me with 

 twenty worms ; a third was so far gone that it died 

 Mhile I was opening the windpipe, it had ten worms ; 

 a fourth bird was sent before the suffocation had gone 

 too far. I opened the passage, and with a pair of 

 curved forceps drew out some worms, and with a 

 simple blowpipe sucked up the rest, they being caught 

 in the tube. As I had no tube to fasten in, I had for 

 some fifty hours at intervals to suck up the blood 

 through the blowpipe. The bird was sent home wall. 

 Various remedies had been tried, and I myself tried 

 such as garlic, tickling with a feather, <S:c., but they 

 were of no avail. The birds came from a spacious 

 and well cared-for aviary. 



The scent of the Hare. — Kingsley in his ' ' Glaucus " 

 asks for some one to explain the mysterious laws of 

 scent. I merely give one or two instances connected 

 with it, very likely noticed before ; if so, they may 

 strengthen previous observations. Twice when hunt- 

 ing with foot-beagles, the scent having been strong 

 in the morning vanished in the afternoon, though we 

 ourselves felt no change in the weather, but in the 

 evening a very severe frost set in on both occasions — 

 here the scent was early affected by the coming cold. 

 Again, on a bright summer day with a cold dry wind. 



