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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



A S.XAL:, .-.L ...M.Wi ITSKLr. 



reptile exactly as I saw it, sunning- itself 

 in an old tree. I approached near enough 

 to get this good sized picture. It seemed 

 to he a ground snake. No water was 

 near. 



Yours respectfully, 



Harry BeelEr. 



Tests of the ahility of various birds to 

 pick out their food against diiTerent 

 backgrounds show that such birds as 

 make a quick rush for their prey take 

 non-protectively colored objects nine 

 times more frequently than they take 

 those which resemble the surroundings. 

 Such birds, however, as approach slowly 

 and look before seizing, seem hardly at 

 all to be influenced by concealing pat- 

 terns. 



Novel Position for Cereus. 



W'estport, Isle of Pines, W. I. 



1 send a photograph which I hope 

 will be of interest to you. It is of a 

 night-blooming cactus taken on Alay 5th, 

 between 5 and 5.30 a. m., with a Zeiss 

 I'rotar on a Standard Orthonon plate. 

 It was taken wide open (6.3) and 10 

 seconds' exposure. The early morning 

 was very foggy. 



The blossom is beautiful, being white 

 tinged by buff and with a yellow center. 

 This special plant had eight blossoms at 

 the same time and twenty-six buds. It 

 is native here, although it is not com- 

 mon. As a rule it grows in the jungles. 

 This particular specimen was flourishing- 

 on a post palm together w^ith orchids and 

 ferns. The mass is about as big around 

 as a barrel. 



We have had this wonderful thing for 

 more than two years, having brought it 

 post and all from the coast, but a heavy 

 rain broke the whole mass from its sup- 

 ])ort after the photograph had been 

 taken. 



Yours truly, 



A. C. Read. 



ABOUT AS BIG AROUND AS A BARREL 



