RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



this city in considerable numbers, and fre- 

 quents the under edge of tlie weatherboards 

 of houses, on the noitherly side, and has 

 been also found around tanks. 



The}^ are ver}' voracious, and have been 

 noticed around tlie electric lights in pursuit 

 of prej. The Dr3-ocampa senatoria seems 

 to be their favorite food, and thej- will pass 

 b_y our common night-flyers, and pay no 

 attention to them, when a Dryocampa is 

 near. The}- are predator}-, and spring on 

 their victim somewhat after the fashion of a 

 spider. After once seizing their prey they 

 will not drop it unless forced, and even then 

 will use eveiy endeavor lo escape with it to 

 some place of safety. They are very swift 

 in their movements, and are difficult to cap- 

 ture, for while apparently motionless, when 

 one is about to pick them up, and is quite 

 su7-e of them, they exhibit the peculiar 

 propensity of the flea in not being there, 

 but somewhere else. 



It is very hard work to obtain a perfect 



specimen, as they have a way of leaving 



their legs in one's hands. They are most 



common in the months of July and August. 



PnoviDENCi:, R. I., Dec. 10, 18S4. 



Shrewsbury's Mastodon— Mastodon Ameri- 

 canus. 



The remains of one of these huge crea- 

 tures have just been unearthed on the farm 

 of Mr. Wm. U. Maynard, of Shrewsbury, 

 Mass. This being, the first find in that state, 

 is of much interest. Similar remains have 

 been found in Ohio, Nebraska, New York, 

 and probably some other states; and the 

 papers have recently reported them for 

 Khode Island. We think this last is an 

 error, for somewhat diligent inquir}- fails to 

 establish the location or to find an}- pub- 

 lished record of the fact. A skeleton of 

 this animal is to be seen in Boston, in Dr. 

 J. C. Warren's collection. It is 11 feet high, 

 17 feet long to the base of the tail, and the 

 tusks 10 feet and 11 inches long. Like the 

 elephants of to-da}', these animals had a 

 large head, short neck, and a very heavy 

 bod}-, supported by pillar-like limbs ; a long 

 proboscis enabled them to reach the ground 

 or the branches above them. In writing 

 about this present find, Mr. J. A. Allen 

 savs : "These teeth bslono- to an animal 



probably about two-thirds grown, as shown 

 by the size and condition of the teeth. 



" Although the Mastodon became extinct 

 prior to historic time, its disappearance 

 occurred at a comparatively recent period, 

 geologically speaking. It seems probable 

 that it may have lived in North America, 

 down to within a few thousand years, prob- 

 ably within a few centuries of the discovery 

 of the continent by Europeans." 



A Novel Mineral Cabinet, 



A DEPOT in course of erection at West 

 Medford, Mass., in the materials of its con- 

 struction presents a new departure in build- 

 ing, and calls forth admiration from all 

 lovers of -natural objects. 



The walls of the building are of field- 

 rock with freestone trimmings. Care has 

 been taken to select striking pieces, and 

 they have been set as roughly as possible, 

 the spaces between being filled with showy 

 minerals, A large slab of slate projects at 

 one corner, and a huge water-worn rock, 

 resting npon it, has a striking resemblance 

 to a bust>of George Washinglon, 



In front is a tablet for the name, and this 

 is surrounded by twenty- four polished 

 squares of diflferent granites, with round 

 balls of red granite at each corner, 



A beryl crystal two feet in diameter sets 

 on one partition, and a column of basalt 

 from the Giant's Causeway, Ireland, pro- 

 jects as an example of blackness. 



In the bullions between the bay-windows 

 are largo brain-corals, shells, quartz on 

 fluor, and smaller specimens of pink gypsum, 

 rose quartz, etc. 



Other specimens are large and clunce 

 clusters of quartz crystals from Arkansas ; 

 apatite in pink calcite, Canada ; gcodes of 

 quartz crystals, and chalcedony ; noble ser- 

 pentine; rhomb-spar; galenitc; pyrite ; ame- 

 thyst; malachite; purple fluorite ; cyanite; 

 garnets ; and polished breccia ; also fossil 

 corals, fossil wood, and ammonites. 



Among the countries and towns repre- 

 sented by the species peculiar to them are 

 Siberia, England, Ireland, Cuba, IMissis- 

 sippi, Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania, 

 Diamond Hill, R, I., Middletown, Conn,, 

 Medford, Charlestown Somerville, Lynn, 

 Fitchburg, Lee, and Newburyport, Mass,, 



