THE MUSEUM. 



125 



bi-sulphide of carbon evaporates rap- 

 iilly, and being heavier than air, soon 

 tills the burrow and smothers or over- 

 comes the squirrels. 



The application should be made in 

 the evening, at sun-down, as the squir- 

 rels are in their burrows at this time 

 and the material will not be '.cnstci/. 

 A pint of this liquid will be sufficient 

 to treat twenty burrows. 



On the I.araniine Experiment Farm 

 ninety-six burrows were treated during 

 the month of July. The applications 

 were, with few exceptions, made in 

 the evening. The next day the treat- 

 ed burrows were \isited and in no in- 

 stance had the earth which had been 

 used for plugging the opening been 

 disturbed. A second and third visit to 

 these burrows found them securely 

 plugged. In two instances 



some animal, presumably a ground 

 squirrel, had made an effort to dig 

 open the burrow from the outside. 

 The opening extended only to the bail 

 of cotton, when, from all appearances, 

 the task was given up. In forty-three 

 instances "gophers" (squirrels) were 

 driven or seen going into the burrows. 

 These were treated at once, and fot- 

 tunately none were opened. It is safe 

 to conclude that none of them return- 

 ed to the snrface. 



It may be that others would not 

 have the success that attended these 

 experiments, although it is no more 

 than fair to presume that with the ex- 

 ercise of carefulness and thoroughness 

 everyone ought to be attended with 

 the some success. 



Jumping Beans. 



The socalled "Jumpmg Beans" 

 which many of the Museum readers 

 have doubtless seen, come from New 

 Mexico and grow on the plant Sabas- 

 tiania pciliiicri. It is a loose growing 

 shrub, from five to eight feet high, and 

 the wood is very hard. It excludes a 

 great deal of milky juice, which is 

 utilized by the Indians as poison for 

 their arrows. The juice is also fre- 

 quently found crystali;?ed into a clear 



white, brittle substance. In the ap- 

 pearance of the wood it reminds one 

 somewhat of the witch hazel, and in 

 the leaf, of a broad leaved willow. As 

 in the case with other plants of the 

 same family, the seeds split open 

 when ripe, if they are not infested by 

 insects. When the seed capsules are 

 quite small, eggs are laid on many by 

 a species of Cnip/io/il/ia. The young 

 larva hatches, and penetrates the seed, 

 very much as in the case of the com- 

 mon Pea Weavel. As the seed de- 

 velops, the larva also grows, and spins 

 a carpet of silk over the inside of the 

 bean which prevents it from separat- 

 ing as in the natural state. The full 

 grown larva, by its holding fast to the 

 silken lining by its anal and two hind 

 pair of abdominal pro-legs, which 

 have strong hooks, then draws back 

 the head and fore body, the thoracic 

 parts swelling and the thoracic legs 

 being withdrawn. The contracted 

 parts being then suddenly released, 

 the larva vigorously taps the wall of 

 its cell with head, sometimes thrown 

 from side to side, but more often 

 brought directly down as in the mo- 

 tion of a Woodpecker when tapping 

 for insects, thus causing the peculiar 

 jumping motions of the beans. The 

 seed will thus move whenever warmed, 

 for several months. 



The Living Agr has bought the 

 right to use serially Neil Munro's strik- 

 ing story, "John Splendid," which is 

 now running in Blarkiiwotf s Maga- 

 zine. It is begun in the Living Age 

 for May 28, and will be published in 

 weekly instalments until it is complet- 

 ed. It is Scotch — but not too Scotch; 

 and as W. L. Alden has well said it 

 marks a wide departure from the 

 "kailyard school" of fiction. 



Withou' L0V6. 

 Cold and chill the siinsblDe falls, 

 The beavy wind stirs not a stalk, 

 Eyes do not turn, no vo'ce Is beard. 

 N'o band Is lilted, nolblng moves. 

 Nor lives, nor hath Its being. 



