1 8 95 . NOTES AND COMMENTS. 83 



the " Scarse merveil du jour," two moths which have mottled green 

 fore-wings, and which in a woodcut look very much alike. They are 

 not, however, quite so much alike when seen alive ; but the resemblance 

 is just as good as that shown in many cases that are put down to 

 " Mimicry." In this case, however, there can be no possible question 

 of advantageous mimicry, for the two insects appear at different times 

 of the year. The scarcer insect delights the collector in the New 

 Forest in June, while the common " Aprilina " is abundant every where 

 in early autumn. The advocates of Mimicry have shown a regrettable 

 tendency to ignore examples of this kind, which are by no means rare. 



" Letusimulation." 



We are no unfriends of neology, holding that, when a new idea 

 has to be presented, or an old idea divided, it frequently conduces to 

 clearness and accuracy to coin a new word rather than to stamp a 

 new meaning on an old word. A writer in a recent issue of the 

 American Naturalist gives some pleasant notes on the well-known habit 

 possessed by many animals : the feigning of death when they are 

 touched. So far so good. He chooses to call this habit " Letusimu- 

 lation," and tells us that the word is derived from letum death and 

 simulare to feign. Could anything be more ridiculous ? Letum really 

 is not a Latin word at all, but is an obvious loan from the Greek, 

 occurring in a few late authors. But even were it a Latin word, the 

 English derivative would be letisimulation. Even were the form 

 correct, what object in this world of trouble is to be gained by inventing 

 a barbarous polysyllable for an idea that has its perfectly simple 

 English form, and that under no possible circumstances could be con- 

 fused with any other idea ? The inventor has already taken a further 

 step in the propagation of his nonsensical jargon ; for he tells us that 

 he has contributed to the Atlantic Monthly a paper on " Animal 

 Letusimulants," meaning, of course, "feigners of death." If the editor 

 of the Atlantic Monthly cannot project off his own bat such a title into 

 the waste-paper basket, he should ask advice from some intelligent 

 man of science before he accepts a new phraseology as ugly as it is 

 futile. 



An American Snake-eating Snake. 



Mr. Angus Gaines, in a recent number of the American 

 Naturalist (1894, P- 97°)> gives an account of the exploits of a 

 specimen of Ophibolus getulus, captured and kept in captivity. This 

 small snake rivalled a recent feat at the Zoological Gardens. 



Mr. Angus Gaines writes : — " After he [the Ophibolus] had been 

 in my possession for 25 days, I captured a Eutcenia radix, which I put 

 in the same enclosure. The other snakes paid no attention to the 

 newcomer, but the Ophibolus roused at once, as if scenting a natural 

 enemy, and seized the Eutcenia. The fight was long and fierce, for 

 the Eutcenia was strong and active, and was five inches longer than 



