488 Natural History in Foreign Countries. 



however numerous, and however closely contiguous, have no mutual commu- 

 nication, nor continuity of substance j the only evidence indeed of which 

 is the instantaneous and simultaneous retreat by the Polypi into their cells, 

 when accidentally disturbed. 



It has been supposed by some naturalists, and is universally believed by 

 the negroes, that fish are rendered poisonous by feeding on the coral Polypi ; 

 but MM. Quoy and Gaimard argue, that the flat obtuse nose of fishes can- 

 not possibly detach the Polypi from their encasements. In the instance of 

 fish which have jaws strong enough to break coral, such as the Diodon 

 caBruIeus, whose stomach they found filled with fragments of Madreporse, 

 no nation is known to eat them. In the Mariannes they are looked upon 

 with disgust. 



NORTH AMERICA. 



Impressions on Rocks. — About two miles south of Brasstown, m the 

 United States of America, there is a mountain which is called the En- 

 chanted Mountain, celebrated for the curious impressions, resembling 

 the tracks of turkeys, bears, horses, and human beings, found on its rocky 

 surface, as perfect as they could be made on snow or sand. [Lon. Gen. 

 Gazetteer.) It is probable that these appearances are much indebted to the 

 imaginations of the describers. — J. R. 



Description of the Passenger Pigeon. — Length from tip of the bill to 

 the oil-bag 8^ in. ; to the end of the tail 8=1 6-^ in. Breadth 24^ in. 

 Weight 9 oz. Bill an inch, black, lengthened, slender ; nasal scale wrinkled ; 

 a slight flexure in the line of the gape immediately under the nostrils. 

 Upper mandible longer than the under and bent downwards, with the 

 rudiments of a notch ; symphysis of the lower mandible short sub-ascend- 

 ing, slightly prominent retrally, with a shallow mesial groove ; inside of the 

 mouth Hvid. Tongue blunt. Bare place round the eyes livid. Irides 

 reddish orange. Feet reddish, paler behind than before. Tarsus 1 Jij^ in, ; 

 the middle toe, exclusive of the nail, the same ;Xclaws black, [arched, and 

 grooved below. Chin, cheeks, head, back, and rump, bluish grey ; shoulders 

 with yellowish brown. Side of the neck and behind, reddish purple, iri- 

 descent. Fore neck deep chestnut, becoming paler on the breast, or rather 

 salmon-coloured, and passing to white on the belly and vent, thighs like the 

 breast.' Quills brownish black, the grey column of the mq/gin of the outer 

 web increasing at the base of the secondaries, and towards the ends of the 

 inner ones. Bastard wing and greater covers of the primaries brownish 

 black ; greater covers of the secondaries grey. Lesser covers and outer 

 scapulars tinged with yellowish brown, with black spots. The second 

 quill the longest, the first and fourth equal, but these not at full growth. 

 Tail of twelve feathers, the two middle produced, the rest decreasing to the 

 exterior. The two middle dusky black, the next grey, the inner margin 

 white towards the extremity, with a black and brown spot near the base ; 

 the fourth and third grey, with the black and brown spot. The outer web 

 and tip of the first white, lower half of the inner web grey, with a black 

 and brown spot. The upper tail-covers long, produced; the lower ones 

 white. {Dr. Fleming.) 



SOUTH AMERICA. 



Magellanic Clouds. — In the sixth or eighth degree of south latitude, the 

 phenomenon called the Magellanic clouds is visible. These supposed clouds 

 are three in number, one black and two white. At the first sight they may 

 be mistaken for clouds ; but their being stationary, and their appearance when 

 attentively viewed, show that they are not genuine clouds. The black one 

 is only a spot in a galaxy, in which there are very few visible stars, and, 

 being surrounded by a milky whiteness, shows much darker than the 



