POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



Z85 



ventilation of the hall of the old Brooklyn 

 Institute was nearly perfect, and was all 

 through large openings in the ceiling. 



Life on Mount Roraima. — Mount Rora- 

 ima, in British Guiana, which was first as- 

 cended in 1884 by Mr. Everard Im Thurm, 

 was again climbed in November, 1891, by 

 Mr. E. Cromer and Mr. Seyler, two collectors 

 of orchids. Exploring the top, the advent- 

 urers found toward the south many gigantic 

 and marvelously shaped rocks that seemed 

 to form, as Mr. Cromer described them, " ma- 

 jestic palaces, churches, and fortresses." 

 Other smaller rocks resembled pyramids, 

 umbrellas, and kettles, and one bore a strik- 

 ing likeness to the statue of a man. Be- 

 tween these grotesque masses of rocks were 

 innumerable lochs, some joined together by 

 canals, most of which were shallow, although 

 here and there a depth of six feet was found. 

 Many new species of orchids and other plants 

 were found ; but the mountain-top seemed 

 almost destitute of animal life. Mr. Cromer 

 noticed one black butterfly, a few spiders, 

 some small frogs, some small lizards, and a 

 small, dark-colored mammal, which he sup- 

 posed was a species of kibihee, and on his 

 approach gave a sound like a whistle, and 

 swiftly crept into a hiding-place between the 

 rocks. The lakes on the summit, which 

 cover a considerable area, were swarming 

 with a sort of black beetle. Mr. Cromer 

 and his companion are the first men who 

 have stayed a night on the top of Roraima. 



The Mentone Skeletons. — The grottoes of 

 Bausse Rousse, or of Mentone, as they are 

 commonly called, are nine in number, and 

 seven of them were inhabited by Quaternary 

 man. M. E. Riviere, who owns them, ex- 

 plored certain of them in 18*72, 1873, and 

 1875, and recovered several human skeletons 

 and interesting relics from them. A second 

 entry was made into one of them, the Barma 

 Grande, last winter, during the owner's ab- 

 sence and without his knowledge, and sev- 

 eral other skeletons and relics were obtained 

 in it. Of the two which have been most 

 fully excavated one is the skeleton of an old 

 man, and the other of a young man of about 

 eighteen years of age. They both appear to 

 be of the Cro Magnon race, and are of fairly 

 large stature. They were adorned with col- 



lars of sea-shells, bored for stringing, and 

 of canine teeth of the deer, and vertebras 

 of fish (salmon and trout). The skeletons, 

 shells, teeth, and vertebras are all colored a 

 curious red, dotted with bright points, which 

 is derived from the dust of specular iron, 

 with which the bodies of the adults were 

 covered immediately after death. The arms 

 and utensils found immediately in contact 

 with the skeletons consisted of a cut flint 

 seventeen centimetres long by fifty-one milli- 

 metres broad, which was situated behind the 

 head of the old man, a scraper, and a curious 

 article of bone or deer horn in the shape of a 

 double ovoid, marked on the surface with nu- 

 merous irregular and irregularly spaced striae. 



Distribution of Land - shells. — Land- 

 shells, according to Mr. W. H. DalPs In- 

 structions for collecting Mollusks, are found 

 at all elevations, from the beaches moist 

 with sea-spray to the Alpine heights of four- 

 teen thousand feet in the vicinity of per- 

 petual snow. Some are subterranean in 

 their habits, pursuing earth-worms through 

 their burrows, or nestling in the recesses of 

 bones in ancient graveyards. Others are 

 contented with the protection afforded by 

 dead leaves, decaying logs, under the bark 

 starting from rotten stumps, or in the shelter 

 of loose stones and bowlders. Other groups 

 live on the leaves of sedges, grass, and 

 shrubbery, retreating to the soil for winter 

 quarters ; some highly colored species live 

 permanently in the tree-tops of tropical for- 

 ests. In arid regions they seek the shade of 

 stones, attach themselves to the stems of 

 cacti or other desert plants, or even adhere 

 to the sunburned surfaces of rocks so hot as 

 to be uncomfortable to the touch. The color 

 of the shell bears a certain relation to its 

 favorite station. The tree-living forms are 

 brightest and most varied ; the moss-lovers 

 and terrestrial species are usually dull, horny, 

 or greenish, but often have a brilliant, pol- 

 ished, or delicately sculptured surface ; while 

 subterranean forms are pale or pellucid. 

 The slugs are generally nocturnal, and re- 

 treat to holes and crevices. In general, lime- 

 stone regions are most favorable for land- 

 shells, and those of flinty rock least ad- 

 vantageous. Woods of resinous trees are un- 

 suited to their tastes, while soft woods of 

 deciduous trees are congenial to them. Some 



