200 Scientific Intelligence. — Zoology. 



walls internally, and rough on the outside. Our readers will 

 recollect, that very lately a young German naturalist presented 

 to the Academy some of these tubes, the length of which extend- 

 ed to seventeen feet. Without harbouring any doubt respecting 

 the mode of formation of these tubes, it has been asked, how 

 electricity could produce effects so intense, and which have been 

 considered so different from those obtained from artificial electri- 

 city .? The authors of the experiments^ the results of which M. 

 Beudant communicated to the Academy, formed the idea of at- 

 tempting to produce lightning tubes by artificial electricity. 

 They employed, for this purpose, Charles's battery, at present 

 in the College of France, and actually succeeded in forming 

 fragments of tubes perfectly resembling the natural lightning 

 tubes, only that their walls were less solid, and their length did 

 not exceed a few centimeters. 



ZOOLOGY. 



30. Cuckoo hept alive in confinement Jbr nearly a year jiost. 

 — This specimen was taken from the nest of a titlark, near the 

 village of Currie, in the end of July 1827. It was then appa- 

 rently about a fortnight old, and was not fully fledged until six 

 weeks after. At first it was fed with bread and raw eggs made 

 up into a paste. After this, it was fed with roasted meat cut 

 into small pieces ; and ultimately with raw meat, which it pre- 

 fers, but will not take unless perfectly fresh. At present it eats 

 about a pound of meat weekly. It is very fond of insects of all 

 kinds, and in autumn seemed to prefer the larvae of butterflies. 

 Its first moult commenced in the end of March last. Previous 

 to this, the colour of the upper parts was deep brown, spotted 

 with reddish-brown ; the breast and belly greyish- white, with 

 transverse bars of brown. During winter, it was dull through 

 the day, and restless at night, flapping its wings for hours to- 

 gether. At present, it is active through the day, and quiet at 

 night. About the beginning of March it was first heard to ut- 

 ter its peculiar cry, which it has repeated many times since; and 

 one morning in the end of April it continued crying for a whole 

 hour, Its chirping cry was given up about January. At present* 



• The specimen was shewn at a meeting of the Wernerian Society 19th 

 April 1828; but, unfortunately, at the beginning of this month, June 1828, 

 it was chokefl, in attempting to swallow some moss which chanced to be in its 

 cage. 



