326 Chronicles of Science. [April, 



an opposite ptysiological effect, and therefore capable of neutral- 

 izing it. 



An Experiment with a Scorpion. — Mr. Frank Buckland gives 

 an amusing account in his ' Land and Water ' of a fight between a 

 mouse and a scorpion. He received two scorpions fi'om Egypt 

 through Mr. J. Keast Lord, who is now exploring the Eed Sea for 

 the Viceroy, and tui'ned one of them into a bell jar with a freshly- 

 caught mouse. The scorpion was not one of the big African species, 

 but a httle fellow, the body being about the size of a large cock- 

 roach, and the tail of com^se additional. He carried this last over 

 his head, and when brought up to the mouse let out with it in 

 furious style, stabbing the mouse several times, who did not seem 

 to mind it much, except one blow received on the nose which he 

 wiped with his fore paw. The mouse proceeded to bite off two of 

 the scoqDion's legs and also injured his tail so that he could not 

 sting. Mr. Buckland expected after a while to see the scorpion's 

 poison take effect, but nothing of the sort ensued, and the last 

 scene in the drama was the mouse quietly devouring the body of 

 its late antagonist. The jom'ney fi'om Egypt in a box without food, 

 and in cold weather, doubtless had affected the scorpion's secreting 

 powers ; he was suffering from an exhausted nervous system. 



