CORRESPONDENCE AND INFORMATION. 



413 



flies for microscopic study. I had 

 some beautiful specimens last summer 

 but they turned black and shriveled 

 up— much to my disappointment. 

 Yours truly, 



X. B. I'r.xm: roast. 



1. Address the Eastman Kodak 

 Company, Rochester, N. V.. referring 

 to The Guide to Nature, — E. F. B. 



2. Sections of sea urchin spines 

 ought to be had from any of the large 

 optical establishments. They were 

 formerly among the very common ob- 

 jects for sale. Try the Bausch & 

 Lomb Optical Company, Rochester, N. 

 Y., or Williams, Brown & Earle, Phil- 

 adelphia, Penn. — S. G. S. 



3. Eggs of moths and butterflies 

 should be mounted in weak formalin 

 (5%) or i' 1 glycerine jelly. Some fer- 

 tile eggs make good objects after the 

 larvae have escaped. These may be 

 mounted dry in a cell. — S. G. S. 



ROOTING LEAVES. 



Joliet, Illinois. 



To T11 r. Editor :— 



If nobody else answers that query 

 about coleus leaves belter, you might 

 say that a number of leaves are known 

 that will produce roots in moist sand 

 and so remain alive for some time, but 

 •he majority of them appear to be un- 

 able to originate buds and to produce new 

 plants. A few leaves, such as the Byro- 

 phyllum and some begonias, are able to 

 originate buds, not only from their stems 

 or petioles but from the edges of the 

 leaves as well. One only needs to peg 

 down such leaves on moist sand to 

 get a colony of young plants.. It is 

 interesting to note that one of our 

 common plants with this habit is the 

 well known sundew which may be 

 found in almost any sphagnum bog. 

 Yours sincerely, 



\Yii.i,.\ri> X. CluTE. 



domesticated 



.Jl|Jk;.s 



NATURE 





EXPERIENCES WITH TAME CHIPMUNKS. 



BY FRANK S. MORTON, PORTLAND, 

 MAINE. 



Probably no other of the small 

 mammals is so well known as the 

 chipmunk. He likes the edges of the 

 wood and the stone walls for his home 

 and seems to like the company of hu- 

 man neighbors. By his cheery and 

 lively ways he finds a warm place in 

 the hearts of all animal lovers. His 

 peculiar chipping sound is known to 

 all. He ranges all over the United 

 States, although he varies some in 

 different parts of the country. He 

 differs from the other native squir- 

 rels in having the cheek pouches in 

 which he carries his food. He is 

 continually at work filling these 

 pouches with food and carrying them 

 back to his burrow for winter use. 



I have kept specimens of the chip- 

 munk in captivity for nearly three 

 years. One specimen I have is over 

 three years old and is as healthy and 

 contented as an}' wild creature 1 have 

 ever seen. They newer get as tame as 

 the grey or flying squirrel but are 

 — if my specimen can be taken as an 

 example — better able to adapt them- 

 selves to captivity than either of these, 

 not being subject to so many diseases 

 as the grey and being less timid than 

 the flying squirrel. 



The one great absorbing point in 

 the life of the chipmunk is the hunt 

 for food. In captivity this mania for 

 storing things away is just as strong as 

 in the wild state. They live on nuts and 

 grain and are very fond of fruit and 

 berries. They possess a great degree 

 of intelligence in their hunt for food 

 but are limited beyond that. Every- 



