i6o 



THE MUSEUM. 



when compared with other species. 

 The shell is thin, the edge sharp, the 

 spire quite prominent, the surface un- 

 even, and the open holes are four in 

 number, large and surrounded by high 

 walls. A deep channel runs under the 

 line of holes. The interior is very ir- 

 idescent, light color prevailing. The 

 muscle-scar is not distinct. 



Concerning at least half of our spe- 

 cies there is need of further informa- 

 tion respecting the habits of the living 

 animals, as well as obervations con- 

 cerning localities where specimens are 

 to be found. In the gathering of in- 

 formation of this kind, even about our 

 more common species, I believe the 

 members of our Chapter may be able 

 to do much good work. While a few 

 great men may do the important work 

 of determining the correct names and 

 classification of the species, each one 

 of us in our more humble sphere may 

 make observations and collect informa- 

 tion which will help to swell the total 

 amount of knowledge concerning the 

 molluscan world. I shall personally 

 be grateful for any further information 

 concerning any of our species of the 

 genus Haliotis. — Josiah Keep in the 

 Nautilus. 



Electricity in Modern Warfare. 



BY E. R. CHADBOURN, LEWISTON, ME. 



While conjectures are rife as to 

 what electricity and high e.xplosives 

 could do in modern warfare, it is in- 

 teresting to glance at the marvel in 

 the war record of photography. A 

 quarter of a century ago, on the 21st 

 of September, Paris was completely 

 shut off from the rest of the world, 

 but two days later a balloon and pigeon 

 post was established, and regular bal- 

 loons thereafter left the city at inter- 



vals of three to seven days with letters 

 for the provinces, and carrier-pigeons 

 for bringing back replies. The return 

 messages were written on thin paper 

 and enclosed in a quill tied to the pig- 

 eon's tail, but the carrying capacity of 

 the birds for such messages was very 

 limited. Some weeks later, Dragon, 

 skilled in photo-micrographic work, 

 carried out the idea of printing a great 

 many messages on a large sheet of pa- 

 per, and then photographing the whole 

 in a greatly reduced form upon a thin 

 film of collodion four inches square. 

 Each pigeon carried 18 of these collo- 

 dion pellicles, with a total of more 

 than 50,000 messages, the whole 

 weighing less than a gramme. On ar- 

 rival in Paris, the messages were en- 

 larged on a screen, when they could 

 be read, and were published in the 

 newspapers. During the seige 64 bal- 

 loons left the city, of which seven 

 were lost or captured by the Germans, 

 while the others carried 4,000,000 let- 

 ters and the pigeon post returned 

 about 2,500,000 messages. Even 

 money orders and drafts were trans- 

 mitted by the micro-photographic pig- 

 eon post, and were paid in Pans. 

 — Tlie Ohse)-ver. 



Mr. Oldfield Thomas, an official of 

 the British Museum, has just made a 

 most interesting discovery in relation 

 to the smaller mammals of South 

 America. In the course of his re- 

 searches he found a small rodent, 

 about the size of a rat, closely related 

 to the fossil marsupials recently dis- 

 covered by Professor Ameghinion Pat- 

 agonia. It represents a new family 

 entirely different from any known at 

 the present time. 



