NATURE STUDY LESSONS. 179 



constantly sent out of New Orleans. The dealers here buy them for 

 one dollar a hundred, and in sending away large quantities they 

 double the cost. Single specimens sell at ten cents. The reporter 

 was shown a consignment of 500 that were to go to Philadelphia- 

 They were caged in an ordinary dry goods box, with netting on one 

 side. Wet sponges were put in the box. The percentage of deaths 

 when the chameleons are shipped with ordinary experience is sel- 

 dom over ten per cent. Before being sent away the lizards are kept 

 in large bird cages. In that case the percentage is about one, not 

 counting the death of those injured in being cai:ght. — Nezv Or- 

 leans Times-Democrat . 



Nature Study Lessons. IX. 



BY EDWARD J. BURNHAM. 



Of course you have often noticed a hollow ring in the 

 snow at the base of a tree. February is the best month in 

 the year for observing these rings. It is evident that the 

 snow has melted faster close to the tree than a few feet 

 away. Why ? Perphaps you have thought that the tree 

 was or had been warmer than the snow ; and you were 

 right. But why ? You might think it is because the tree 

 is alive ; but dead trees, and fence-posts, even the dried 

 mullein-stalks in the pastures, have these circular hollows 

 around them, if the sun has been shining for a day or two. 

 Immediately after a snowstorm, the snow is level or per- 

 haps even piled up around the trees, fence-posts, mullein- 

 stalks and similar objects. After a day's shining of the 

 sun, however, the snow begins to melt again. 



The heat of the sun is absorbed more readily by dark- 

 colored objects than by those that are white. The snow 

 melts but slowly even under the rays of the sun, but the 

 trees, fence-posts, mullein-stalks and such objects gather 

 the heat when the sun shines, and then, giving it out 

 again, melt the snow around them. The same thing hap- 

 pens when honey bees fall in the snow and die, as they 



