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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



free itself. Or a big one would bite several 

 little ones in two, but after a while the little 

 ones would have severed all the legs of the 

 big one, and finally would get on his back 

 and cut him in two. One combat was es- 

 peciallj^ noticeable, and is described as fol- 

 lows by the author: "A big ant walked 

 along till it met another big one, and the 

 two shook antennae. Just then a little one 

 seized hold of a hind-leg of one of these big 

 ones. Neither took any notice, but contin- 

 ued a rapid conversation. Suddenly oth- 

 er small ones came up, when the big one 

 whose leg was grabbed turned furiously on 

 the little one and seized him by the middle. 

 This could not be done until the big one 

 had doubled himself up ; as soon as he had 

 hold of his small antagonist, he lifted him 

 in the air and snipped him in two. Mean- 

 while all the big one's legs had been seized 

 by little ones, and the party seemed to turn 

 over and over, little bits tumbling down off 

 the wall, now a leg, now half an ant, till 

 the big one was vanquished. The way in 

 which the big ant turned on the little one 

 was singularly indicative of rage. The de- 

 termined manner in which he laid hold of 

 the little one was quite human." 



How tlie Silk-worm Moth escapes from 

 its Cocoon. — Having heard a rustling, cut- 

 ting, and tearing noise issuing from a co- 

 coon of Aciias luna, the large green swal- 

 low-tailed silk-worm moth. Prof. A. S. Pack- 

 ard supposed that the moth must be en- 

 gaged in cutting its way out of the cocoon. 

 And as the mode of escape is a subject of 

 dispute among entomologists. Prof. Packard 

 determined to observe the moth at its work. 

 A sharp black point was seen moving to 

 and fro, and then another, until both points 

 had cut a rough, irregular slit, through 

 which the shoulders of the moth could be 

 seen vigorously moving from side to side. 

 The slit was made in one or two minutes, 

 and the moth worked its way at once out 

 of the opening. Afterward, in examining 

 two dry specimens of the same moth, this 

 black point or spine was seen at the base 

 of each fore-wing; Mr. Packard calls it 

 sector coconii — the cocoon-cutter. A num- 

 ber of other members of the sub-family 

 Attaci having been examined, the sector 

 was found in them all. In the common 



silk-worm {Bomhyx mori), the spines are 

 not well marked, and they are quite differ- 

 ent from those in the Attaci, and consist of 

 three sharp points, being acute angles of 

 the pieces at the base of the wing. 



The Mnsk - Bison. — Ovibos moschatus 

 (musk sheep-ox, i. e., the musk-ox), as- its 

 systematic name indicates, possesses exter- 

 nal characters common to the sheep and 

 the ox, and hence it has been regarded as 

 forming the connecting link between these 

 two species. But, as a writer in Land and 

 Water points out, the name given to the 

 animal by Pennant, namely, musk-bison, 

 more correctly defines its zoological posi- 

 tion. Of this intei'csting animal, the writ- 

 er just mentioned says that it measures only 

 about five and a half feet from the tip of the 

 nose to the root of the tail. Its average 

 weight is usually estimated by travelers at 

 '700 pounds, but the author thinks that 800 

 pounds would probably be nearer the weight 

 of the largest individuals. The outer hair, 

 or fleece, is long and thick, brown or black 

 in color, frequently decidedly grizzled, hang- 

 ing far below the middle of the leg. Under- 

 neath this shaggy coat, and covering all parts 

 of the animal, though much the heaviest upon 

 the neck and shoulders, is found a fine soft 

 wool of exquisite texture, of a bluish-drab 

 or cinereous hue, capable of being used in 

 the arts and of forming the most beautiful 

 fabrics. It is this close under-fur which 

 enables its wearer to withstand the bitter 

 storms and piercing cold of arctic winters, 

 even beyond the seventieth parallel of lati- 

 tude. The head is large, ending in a rath- 

 er short muzzle, though remarkably broad 

 nose, the nostrils being bordered and sepa- 

 rated by a naked narrow space. The fore- 

 head is convex, and both sexes are provided 

 with horns, which are of extreme size, and 

 not unlike those of the male of the Rocky 

 Mountain sheep in curve and general ap- 

 pearance, but lacking the transverse corru- 

 gations that characterize the latter. In the 

 male, these appendages approach so closely 

 together in the centre of the forehead as to 

 appear to be joined at their bases, as they 

 undoubtedly are in old age. Leaving the 

 point of insertion, the horns are directed 

 outward and laterally, falling down abruptly 

 on either side of the face, curving slightly 



