MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 365 



The sparrow had a hole in its side about half an inch in width and the same 

 in depth, and was quite dead and fell to the ground when I pulled the nest 

 down. 



On another occasion I placed a large centipede in a glass-covered box with a 



medium-sized snake (Zamenis ventrimaculatus), and then irritated them with a stick 



through a small hole in the box, when the centipede attacked the snake and bit it 



about the centre of its body. The snake kept turning over and over apparently 



in great pain and in about half an hour died. The centipede was only seen to 



bite the snake once. Unfortunately neither of the centipedes above referred to 



were identified. 



W. D. CUMMING. 



Oemaka, Persian Gulf, July, 1903. 



No. XX1.—JATROPHA CURCAS. 



With reference to the paper on this plant by my old friend Colonel Kirtikar, 

 I.M.S., I can contribute two more cases of the seeds having been eaten with con- 

 trary results. In the first case I was taking an evening walk with a native 

 doctor, and seeing that the Jatropha bushes were full of seed asked him if 

 they were good to eat. He said that children sometimes ate them. Thereupon 

 I ate several, liked them much, and suffered no effects whatever. In the second 

 case I was taking another evening walk with a now eminent Civilian, and telling 

 him of my first experience : we both ate, one seed and two, respectively. The 

 result was a burning in the throat, diarrhoea, general discomfort and depres- 

 sion, that lasted for nigh a week. 



The only explanation I can offer is that in the first case the seeds were old 



and had hung on the tree for months, while in the second case they were barely 



ripe. The first case occurred at Mandvi (Surat district) in winter, the second 



at Surat itself in the rains. 



F. GLEADOW. 

 Mauritius, 23rd July, 1903. 



No. XXII.— PARASITES IN PEREGRINE FALCONS. 



I have lately had the misfortune to lose within 10 days all those of my 

 peregrine falcons which I was keeping with me in the plains this hot weather 

 from the same cause. I am sending by post three little bottles containing the 

 worms which were the cause of death of the three hawks. Perhaps it may be 

 possible to identify the worm which I have never heard of before as attacking 

 peregrines, and it would be interesting to know whether the parasite is a 

 water-born creature or whether the hawks were infected by the flesh of other 

 birds. Two of the falcons were trained birds, which have been in this part of 

 Rajputana for a whole year, and have therefore been subjected to the same 

 causes of disease ; but, curiously enough, one of the hawks was a freshly caught 

 wild bird, which only reached me from Rawalpindi on the 15th of May, and 

 although it appeared fit when caught, it was already sickening when it arrived 

 here. My own hawks began to sicken on the 1st and 5th May, respectively, 

 and I was forced to destroy them on the 22nd and 30th, respectively. The 



