6 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



Use good felt wads, one over the pow- 

 der, and another over the shot in all light 

 charges, but the sizes of shot larger than 

 lO'* should have 2 wads over the powder. 

 If the ends of the shells are turned down 

 "with a crimper, it will save the loss of 

 many a charge of shot. The light charges 

 should have the top wad gummed in, by 

 passing a mucilage brush around on top of 

 the wad. Paper shells are much cheaper 

 than brass in the long or short run. If you 

 can make the brass shells figure the cheap- 

 est in actual dollars and cents, then figure 

 the convenience of not having to stop to 

 load when wearj^ after a long day's work. 

 Buy several hundred paper shells of good 

 quality and load them before the season 

 commences. Then each day bring back 

 jour empty shells and fill 3'our pockets with 

 loaded ones, and after the season is passed 

 recap and reload, buy what extra 3'ou need, 

 and you are ready for the next year. The 

 collector who does not manage in this way, 

 does not know what a comfort he misses. 



The chief objection to paper shells is, that 

 if even slightly wet they swell so they can- 

 not be put into the gun. This objection is 

 casih' overcome b}- unwinding the outer 

 layers of paper until the cartridge is reduced 

 to the required size. 



Action of the Electric Light. 



A European journal relates that a few 

 months since workmen employed upon some 

 constructions on the bank of the River 

 Dnieper, in Central Russia, employed the 

 electric light to enable them to prosecute 

 their labors at night. The brilliant rays of 

 light attracted so man}' millions of noctur- 

 nal moths, beetles, and other insects, that 

 from time to time it was necessar}' to stop 

 work and set all hands to destroying the 

 clouds of winged victims that frequently 

 obscured the light. This suggested the idea 

 of employing the electric light to destroj^ 

 nocturnal insects prejudicial to agriculture, 

 and experiments in that direction are to be 

 tried this spring. Not only to insects, but 

 to fish, the light proved fatally attractive. 

 Its rays, directed to the surface of the water, 

 drew together vast quantities of all the fishes 

 found in the Dnieper, and when within the 

 charmed field of illumination, the}' lay 

 crowded together in masses, seemingly 

 blinded and stupefied. The workmen, im- 



proving the opportunity, made a notable 

 haul of fish. 



We cannot record an}' such remarkable 

 effects, but we were surprised and gratified 

 by obtaining from the globes on our princi- 

 pal business street, during the collecting 

 months of 1883, quantities of moths, i. e., 

 caecropia, polyphemus, imperialis, luna, io 

 D. rubicunda, and a host of small species, 

 as well as many beetles. The principal ob- 

 jection to this kind of collection was, that 

 very many specimens were burned and torn 

 so badly as to be useful only for study, 

 and of no cabinet value. However, as a 

 means of discovering the different species 

 frequenting the neighborhood (and perhaps 

 for a mile or so away), these lights are in- 

 valuable. 



Apropos of the eff'ect of the light upon 

 fish, we note that the United States fish- 

 commission steamer " Albatross " has been 

 fitted up with electric lighting, to enable the 

 naturalists to labor at night, examine the 

 contents of the dredge, and note with greater 

 precision the reports of their laboratory ap- 

 paratus. 



From articles in Science of ^o\. 16th, 2Sd, 

 and 30th, 1883, from page 706, we quote : 

 " That it is a common thing for flying-fish 

 to come on board ship at night if a light be 

 advantageously placed to attract them. 



" Until incandescent lamps were invented, 

 there were no convenient means of sustain- 

 ing a light beneath the surface of the waters ; 

 and there is consequently opened up to us 

 an unexplored field in fishing. 



"Just what service our submarine lamps 

 will be, we are unable to say ; but, with the 

 small lamp which we used from one to tea 

 feet below the surface, amphipods in great 

 numbers, silver-sides, }oung blue-fish, young 

 lobster, squid, and flying-fish, have been in- 

 duced into the nets, and dolphins have ap- 

 proached it, but whether attracted by the 

 light or in pursuit of the squid. Professor 

 Benedict, the naturalist of the ship, was un- 

 able to say. Squid are especially suscepti- 

 ble to the influence of light. I am informed 

 by Professor Verrill, of Yale College, that 

 a heavy sea, breaking upon a lee shore when 

 the full moon is casting its rays across the 

 land into the sea, will throw hundreds of 

 squidupon the beach in a single night, — an 

 evidence of their moving in the direction of 

 the light until caught in the spray and 

 hurled to the shore." 



