640 SCIENTIFIC RECORD FOR 1884. 



was takeu to Parits by M. F. Fauque, the chief of a scientific mission to 

 Sumatra, sent by the French minister of public instruction. The bird 

 is apparently almost as large as a turkey, but on account of the pecu- 

 liar disposition of its breathing apparatus and the large air-sacs it is 

 remarkably light; its weight scarcely exceeds 1,500 grammes. {Comptes 

 Rendus Acad. So. Farts, November 17; Nature, xxxi, p. 95.) 



Tivo tSicann from one egif. — A remarkable case of the development of 

 two birds from an eg^ with two yelks has been recorded by Mr. Albert 

 A. C. le Souef, of Melbourne. A black-necked swan of Australia had 

 commenced sitting on three eggs, but one of them was broken and not 

 replaced by another, leaving only two behind. Nevertheless, to the 

 astonishment of Mr. le Souef and the keeper, three cygnets came forth 

 from the two eggs. At first the cygnets were nearly of a size, but in a 

 very short time one commenced to grow much faster than the other two, 

 and at the age of seven months one of them was as large as the parents, 

 but the other two very much smaller, although unequal in size, and the 

 smallest was a queer little fellow, and although apparently quite healthy 

 remained covered with down and looked as if it were only two months 

 old. {Proc. Zool. Sac. London, 1884, p. 390.) 



Mainmals. 



Tuberculosis in Menagerie Animals. — It has been asserted that a very 

 large proportion of tropical animals, and especially of the monkeys, die 

 in the menageries from consumption — phthisis tuberculosis. The sub- 

 ject-matter has been investigated by Mr. J. B. Sutton, lecturer on com- 

 parative anatomy'in the Middlesex Hospital Medical College, and his 

 conclusions contradict the views generally current. On a superficial 

 examination, indeed, he says, " it would seem that half the animals dying 

 in the Society gardens succumb to this affection. It so frequently hap- 

 pens that if the lung presents a spotted appearance or on section shows 

 caseous spots of any description, the condition is set down as 'tubercu- 

 losis.' " But after careful inquiry, the conclusion was forced on Mr. 

 Sutton that " tubercle is by no means so common among animals as is 

 generally supposed. Three diseases are especially liable to be con- 

 founded with consumption, and the latter must be diagnosed carefully. 

 The precision afforded by microscopical examination of diseased tissues 

 has led to a more rigid definition, and consequent restriction, of the term 

 ' tubercle ' from such appearances as the lungs present in lobular pneumo- 

 nia, or lung-tissue consolidated by pneumonia, which, instead of resolv- 

 ing, ends in suppuration, and, lastly, encysted parasites. If these three 

 morbid conditions be excluded, then tuberculosis is very tincommon. The 

 larger carnivora (lions, tigers, and leopards) are exceedingly vulnerable 

 to attacks of jincnmonia, and bears frequently die from this affection, 

 due to the sui)[)uration of the consolidated portion of the lung. The 

 coati (Nasua) is very liable to suffer from cavities in its lungs due to 



