68 Notes. l^- 



Nat. 

 XXXI. 



A New Use for Mice. — I was rather interested recently in 

 watching a mouse in a furniture shop window at Collingwood. 

 It was running up and down without any apparent motive, 

 when I noticed it stand on its hind lei,'S and catch a fly. I saw 

 it catch several, and in some instances the little animal jumped 

 up the window and caught the flies. The shopkee)")er told me 

 this mouse was busy catching flies nearly all day. I asked him 

 if he were going to set a trap. He said, "Oh, no, it keejjs the 

 windows clean, and in winter I feed it." Would that every 

 shop window had a mouse in it ! Many of them would be much 

 cleaner than they are at present. — Harry Witty, Box Hill. 



" The Australi.^n Zoologist." — Under the title of The 

 Australian Zoologist the Royal Zoological Society of New South 

 Wales has issued the first part, dated 13th June, 1914, of a new 

 serial. It is somewhat unusual in shape, the letter-press being 

 5| X 7I, with wide margins, a size which, howe\er, wiU afford 

 ample room for good-sized plates, of which there are four in the 

 present number. The part opens with the annual report of the 

 society for 1913, it having been established in 1879. Among 

 the scientific articles are a monograph of the genus Tisi phone, 

 Hubner, in which is now included the butterfly formerly known 

 to Victorian collectors as Epinephile abeona, and to distinguish 

 its several varieties the author, Mr. G. A. Waterhouse, B.Sc, 

 has introduced the trinomial system, at present so disturbing 

 the thoughts of Australian ornithologists. Mr. W. J . Rainbow, 

 F.E.S., describes a new Victorian spider, Neostorena venatoria, 

 from Ferntree Gully, and Mr. A. R. M'Culloch communicates an 

 article by Rev. T. R. Stebbing, M.A., F.R.S., describing a new 

 Victorian marine crustacean, Parapato gabrieli, collected by Mr. 

 J. Gabriel at Western Port. A very fine plate is given of the 

 male Chimpanzee at the society's gardens in Moore Park, and 

 Mr. A. S. Le Souef. the director, gives a few notes as to the 

 animal, which now fully grown, and about seven years old. He 

 weighs 158 lbs., and in the slightly stooping position often 

 assumed measures 4 feet 2 inches in height. 



B.A A.S. — If for nothing else, the visit of the British Associa- 

 tion to Australia will be marked by the excellent handbook it 

 has been the means of having produced. Its 600 pages form a 

 very valuable and concise description of Australian features, 

 and is alone almost worth the whole of the subscription charged 

 for the privilege of joining the meeting. The Victorian hand- 

 book is also a valuable compendium of information more or less 

 familiar to local residents. 



