320 Chronicles of Science. [-^pril, 



in a platinum apparatus specially devised for the purpose. Scarcely 

 more satisfactory results were met with in the experiments of 

 electrolysis of the aqueous acid of various degi'ees of strength, made 

 with anodes of platinum. Ozone was evolved ; and with the 

 stronger acid only, the anode was corroded at the same time. 



M. Berthelot has examined the action of the electric spark on 

 marsh gas. When a succession of powerful sparks is made to 

 traverse piu-e marsh gas, carbon is deposited, and the volume of gas 

 augments considerably. Operating with 100 c. c, this volume 

 becomes 127 c. c. at the end of two minutes, 154 c. c. at the end of 

 ten minutes, and so on ; but some hours are requked for the com- 

 plete destruction of the mai-sh gas. That no marsh gas remains at 

 the end of the ex})eriment may be demonstrated after removing the 

 acetylene and the traces of condensed vapours which are present 

 mixed with hydrogen. 



12. ZOOLOGY— ANIMAL MOEPHOLOGY AND 

 PHYSIOLOGY. 



Singing Mouse. — A gentleman relates in one of our contem- 

 poraries the discovery of a " singing mouse " in his kitchen, which 

 he and his daughters listened to with much delight, the notes being 

 like those of a canary, but very much subdued. He suggests that 

 the mouse may have taken to imitating a canary kept in the house, 

 which he states is the case with field-mice. We need hardly say 

 that this is a somewhat startling explanation ; a more likely one 

 is that the singing is the result of spasmodic breathing caused by 

 the presence of a parasite — the CysHcercus fasciohiris — in the 

 liver of the poor little songster, since in every case of a singing 

 mouse examined these parasites have been found. But apart from 

 this source of irritation, it is curious that mice should possess the 

 power of singing like a bird. The Eodents are so exceedingly 

 bird-like in many of their habits and structural characters, that 

 one is almost prepared to find some of them able to sing. It is a 

 common mistake to suppose that as a rule birds sing ; the vast 

 majority do not. It seems impossible to account for the existence 

 of the faculty in a few birds. Why do they sing ? How are they 

 benefited by it in the struggle for existence ? 



A Sword-fish scuttling a Ship. — A case lately came on before 

 one of the London courts in which the question was raised as to 

 whether a vessel had been struck by a sw<u'd-fisli, which afterwards 

 had withdrawn its sword, and thus caused a leak which injured 

 the ship's cargo. Professor Owen (who is now travelling Egypt 



