474 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. fVol. Vli. 



Freaks of the Danube. — The disappearance of the Danube 

 between Morhingen and Immindingen, on the frontier of the 

 Duchies of Baden and Wurtemburg, is a curious natural pheno- 

 menon. For at least half-a-century it has been noticed that 

 some portion of the water of the river flowed into cavities in the 

 calcareous rocks — Jura limestone — to re-appear again near the 

 town of Aach in the Hobgau ; now the whole body of water dis- 

 appears in the vast cavities which have been formed. — Athenceuvn. 



Extinct Wombat. — Among some fossils recently described 

 by Prof. M'Coy, of Melbourne, is an extinct wombat, from the 

 gold-drifts of Victoria. This fossil, called Phascolomys pliocenus 

 is of much interest, as having enabled Prof. M'Coy to show that 

 the auriferous deposits whence it was derived, instead of being 

 merely "alluvial," should be referred to the more ancient Plio- 

 cene period, thus corresponding in age with the gold-drifts of 

 the Urals. — Ihid. 



K.AT versus Octopus. — The aquarium of the Zoological Sta- 

 tion at Naples was, last autumn, attacked by a great number of 

 rats, which not only did considerable mischief to the wood work 

 but even caught and devoured a number of the animals kept in the 

 tanks. In an attack on an octopus, however, one of these depre- 

 dators got by far the worst of the battle, as next morning nothing- 

 remained of the four-footed gourmand but the bones and a part 

 of the skin. Though this achievement cannot be compared to 

 the exploits related by M. Victor Hugo, it is interesting as show- 

 ing that even in captivity a healthy cuttle-fish is well able to 

 take care of itself. — Ihid. 



Botanical Literature. — The literature of botany, like all 

 other branches of science, is becoming so extensive that the Grer- 

 mans have seen the necessity of publishing an annual record of 

 its progress. Accordingly, a Botanlscher Jahreshericht is now 

 in course of publication, the first volume, which contains a re- 

 port of all important papers issued during 1873, having been 

 recently completed. The work is edited by Dr. Leopold Just, 

 Professor in the Polytechnic at Carlsruhe, who is assisted by a 

 larse staff of contributors. — Ibid. 



