!32 



THE GUIDE TO XATURE. 



The caterpillars were about an inch 

 long', covered with branching" yellow 

 and black spines. They had three 

 longitudinal yellow stripes, one on the 

 middle of the back and one on each 

 side, the remainder of the body being 

 purpiish black. After removing the 

 "shower drops" from my garments, I 

 gathered some to raise at home. After- 

 wards, the nearest identification of the 

 caterpillars that 1 could determine, was 

 that they were, probably, of the Meli- 

 taea butterfly family. (Melit?ea mac- 

 glashani. ) 



Yours very truly, 



W. Thomas Ham. 



ARTHRARI A. 



Franklin, Pa. 

 To The Editor: — 



For a number of years scientists 

 have known of a curious fossil found 

 in a hard layer of river shale, and 



THE CURIOUS FOSSIL IN THE RIVER 

 SHALE. 



which has somewhat the appearance of 

 a double cross ; that is, it consists of 

 a flattened central body, one eighth 

 to one fourth of an inch in thickness, 

 and usually about three eighths of an 

 inch wide, and having a thickened en- 

 largement at both ends, which pro- 

 jects on each side like the arms of a 

 cross, or which in some specimens 

 resembles an arrow head. 



It has been named Arthraria ; mean- 

 ing a joint; but so far nothing definite 

 is known of its character. 



While many specimens are often 

 found in one small piece of rock, they 

 are almost always quite disconnected ; 

 but the writer, who has for many years 

 been much interested in the organism, 

 and has examined hundreds of exam- 

 ples of it, recently found one attached 

 to what seemed to be a portion of a 

 stem, as shown in the illustration, 

 where the fossil has had the cross head 

 broken from one end. 



It has been suggested that the sub- 

 ject might be a seed; but continued 

 study leads to the conclusion that it 

 is more likely to be a portion of a plant 

 that was capable of readily separating 

 into sections ; each of which was capa- 

 ble, under favorable conditions of con- 

 tinuing a separate existence. 



If this is true, the scar shown on the 

 enlarged end of the specimen is pro- 

 bably the point from which either a 

 root or a branch was emitted. 



This contribution is published to 

 supply additional material for the study 

 of this refractory fossil, and to aid, if 

 possible, its final determination. 



W. T. Bell. 



AN ASTONISHING HUNTING STORY. 



Aiargaretville, New York. 



To The Editor:— 



Hunters in the woods have some 

 peculiar experiences and can often re- 

 late true tales that would make even 

 the so-called nature fakirs open their 

 eyes in astonishment. 

 " Probably one of the most unusual 

 experiences that has ever come to a 

 hunter in this section fell to the lot of 

 1 larry Brown, son of \V. H. Brown of 

 Allison & Brown of this village a few 

 days ago. The young man was hunt- 

 ing squirrels in Canada Hollow, a re- 

 gion some ten miles from the vdlage 

 and noted for hordes of gray squirrels 

 that inhabit it. He had been in the 

 woods for some time, had not seen 

 much game, and was becoming dis- 

 couraged when he heard the bark of a 

 gray squirrel. Thinking to be sure of 

 his "game, he approached very quietly 



