CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION 



38; 



A PICTURESQUE VIEW BY THE LAKE. 



pulled it out by the roots. Trappers 

 believe that they unfasten the clog, 

 when it fouls, and lift it over logs. 



The picture showing a part of the 

 lake was taken from a position about 

 fifty feet from where bruin No. 2 ob- 

 jected to being photographed and dem- 

 onstrated that hobble skirts are unde- 

 sirable on a bear hunt. The day was 

 too dark and the bear too restless for 

 the negative to be successful. 



Very truly yours, 



H. A. Rogers. 



A Good Suggestion. 



Adams, Massachusetts. 

 To the Editor: — 



In the early days of spring when the 

 warm sun begins to melt the surface 

 of the snow, I have often noticed some- 

 thing that resembles the spinning 

 work of spiders. What appears to be 

 their silken threads are plentifully 

 spread about, sometimes covering areas 

 of considerable extent. Later on this 

 cobwebby material becomes coarser 

 and more noticeable. Apparently the 

 threads then cohere. They are then 

 much soiled. Here is something for 

 the young folks to investigate. Who 

 will be the first to observe this curious 

 phenomenon and tell The Guide to 

 Nature what it is? 



W. I. Beecroft. 



Almost Fatal Nettle Stinging. 



Dr. Otto Lutz, Professor of Biology 

 in the Instituto Nacional de Panama, 

 reports a most unpleasant experience 

 with the great stinging nettle of the 

 Pacific coast of Central and South 

 America. The plant, Jatropha urens, 

 stands about a yard high, and although 

 it does not belong to the same family 

 as our common nettle, all its parts, 

 trunk, leaves, flowers, and even fruit, 

 are covered with long, hard, glossy 

 stinging hairs that have the same 

 structure as those of the northern 

 form. 



Dr. Lutz inadvertently grasped the 

 plant with one hand ; was stung, he 

 discovered, by about ten hairs ; and re- 

 ceived poison amounting, he reckons, 

 to something like 0.00005 cubic centi- 

 meter. Within half an hour, his hand 

 had swollen to monstrous size. The 

 swelling extended up the arm, the en- 

 tire body began to itch, and red 

 blotches appeared everywhere on the 

 skin. Within an hour, the poison in 

 the blood affected the heart, the 

 breathing became distressed, and 

 finally the victim gave way completely 

 and remained unconscious for more 

 than an hour. This was followed by 

 copious vomiting, and extreme weak- 

 ness which lasted several days. 



A slisritly stronger contact with the 

 plant must inevtably have been fatal. 



