Feb. 15, 1877] 



NATURE 



335 



Now, while these sounds were audible to human ears, it may 

 be fairly believed that they would have been readily detected by 

 the woodpecker, which may be often observed to halt suddenly 

 on its way up a pine trunk. This trait in the mode of climbing 

 is noticeable more or less in all the insectivorous climbers, and 

 appears to me to be caused partly by the bird listening for the 

 sounds produced by insects either in the bark or in the wood. I 

 noticed this particularly in the case of the great black wood- 

 pecker (/*. pileatus) or " log-cock," as it is named in Canada. It 

 would suddenly stop on its way up a tree trunk, and after re- 

 maining perfectly motionless for a short time, commence to 

 attack the bark and wood with great vehemence. Every one 

 who has travelled in North American forests will have observed 

 how the excavations made by woodpeckers are often confined to 

 one side of a tree, or to particular situa'ions. And not only on 

 decayed parts, but, as in the case of the extremely tough cedar 

 ( 7\ occidentalis), where openings of several inches in circumference 

 have been made through several Inches of perfectly fresh wood in 

 order to reach the decaying central layers where wood-eating 

 beetles deposit their eggs and the animal is matured. Admitting 

 that it may have been induced to dig out the insect by tracing the 

 external opening inwards, still in the case of the larvse the 

 wandering from its birth-place, and the sounds consequent on 

 the tunnelling process, would assuredly be heard by a bird whose 

 ears had been trained to such delicate noises through the neces- 

 sities of its mode of life. I can therefore well believe that aus- 

 cultation is of great service to such birds, and also to nocturnal 

 species in discovering their prey. A. Leith Adams 



Royal College of Science, Stephen's Green, Dublin 



Tapew^orm in Rabbits 



I WOULD suggest that the tapeworm referred to by Mr. G. J. 

 Romanes is like the Bothriocephalus of man — perhaps a species 

 of the same genus. This is not supposed to have a cystic state, 

 but to be developed from a ciliated embryo taken into the 

 system on raw or badly-cooked vegetables, which have been 

 watered by sewage from cesspools, in which the eggs will remain 

 alive for months. 



In the same way the eggs of the rabbit's tape-worm probably 

 remain in the animal's droppings till set free in rain as ciliated 

 embryos. As the rabbit feeds on the vegetation watered by such 

 rain, there is no difficulty in understanding how the embryos 

 would reach his alimentary canal. R. D. Turner 



Meteor of January 7, 10.31 p.m. 

 The fine meteor mentioned in Nature, v«1. xv, p. 244, and 

 also seen by Mr. W, H, Wood, p. 295, was observed by many 

 other persons ; and as your correspondent asks for another ob- 

 servation of it, the following maybe useful:— "J. L. M'C," 

 writing from Putney Hill, London, says : "As near as I could 

 judge, it appeared between the stars Castor and Pollux (o and /8 

 Geminorum), and its course lay almost due north-east, passing 

 over the stars \ and >|/ Ursa; Majoris, and disappearing a little 

 beyond the latter star. It was of great brightness, left a tail of 

 fire in its wake about two degrees in length, and was visible 

 some ten seconds." This account, compared with the other two 

 referred to, stands ?s follows : — 



Meteor. Duration 



Ended. 



Place. 



London 



R A. Decl. 



153 + 43 



R.A. Decl. 

 200 -{- 31 



Length of 



path. 



o 



•• 39 



seconds. 

 Very 

 slow. 



52 



46 



54 



W.H.Wood, ) ^ J j82 -h 16 



Birmmgham \ 



J. L. M'C, 



Putney Hill, > ... 113 + 31 ... 170 + 46 



London ) 



From these paths the radiant point comes out near 7 Eridani, 

 R. A. 58°, Decl. S., 12°, and I can confirm this position from 

 other meteors seen in January, including one as bright as Venus, 

 on the 4th, 8.51 P.M., which exhibited the same slow, halting 

 motion as that noted in regard to the fine one seen on the 7th. I 

 have read other accounts of the latter, but they are mostly vague. 

 At Bermondsey it was seen at 10.30, and described as large 

 and remarkably brilliant, closely resembling in size and colour 



kthe meteor which appeared on September 24, 1876, It was of 

 a bluish colour, left a long tail or streak of light in its wake, and 

 Its course in the heavens was from south-west to north-east. At 

 10.37 on the same evening a very large, brilliant meteor was seen 

 „.,.c,.... ................ 



Mr. Barrington (Nature, vol. xv. fp. 275) notes another 

 bright meteor, at 6 P.M., on January 19, but its apparent path 

 shows it to have been different to the one seen by a correspondent 

 at Wolverhampton, at 6.27, January 19, who writes that he wit- 

 nessed a meteor of " unusual magnitude and brilliancy. It moved 

 almost perpendicularly, in a southerly direction, very slowly, the 

 time occupied in its passage being about seven or eight seconds." 



Ashley Down, Bristol W. F. Denning 



THE UNITED STATES GEOGRAPHICAL AND 

 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE WESTERN 

 TERRITORIES UNDER DR. F. V. HA YD EN 



Explorations in 1876. 



'^ 1 rE have been furnished with some early notes upon 

 * * the results of the work of Dr. Hayden's survey 

 during the past year, from which we make the following 

 extracts : — 



" For reasons beyond the control of the geologist in 

 charge, the various parties composing the United States 

 Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories 

 did not commence their field-work until August. Owing 

 to the evidences of hostility among the northern tribes of 

 Indians, it was deemed most prudent to confine the 

 labours of the survey to the completion of the Atlas of 

 Colorado. Therefore the work of the season of 1876 was 

 a continuation of the labours of the three preceding years, 

 westward, finishing the entire mountainous portion of 

 Colorado, with a belt of fifteen miles in width of northern 

 New Mexico, and a belt twenty-five miles in breadth of 

 Eastern Utah. Six sheets of the Physical Atlas are now 

 nearly ready to be issued from the press. Each sheet 

 embraces an area of over 11,500 square miles, or a total 

 of 70,000 square miles. The maps are constructed on a 

 scale of four miles to one inch, with contours of two 

 hundred feet, which will form the basis on which will be 

 represented the geology, mines, grass, and timber lands, 

 and all lands that can be rendered available for agricul- 

 ture by irrigation. The areas of exploration of the past 

 season are located in the interior of the continent, far 

 remote from settlements, and among the hostile bands of 

 Ute Indians that attacked two of the parties the previous 

 year." 



The force was divided by Dr. Hayden into four parties. 

 The first, for primary triangulation, under Mr. A. D. Wil- 

 son, with Mr. Holmes as artist and geologist, accomplished 

 the survey of an area of about 1,000 square miles. The 

 second, or Grand River party, under Mr. Garnett as 

 topographer, and Dr. Peale as geologist, surveyed about 

 3,500 square miles. The third, or White River Division, 

 with Mr. Chittenden as topographer, and Dr. Endlich as 

 geologist, spent forty-eight days in absolute field-work, 

 and reports a surveyed area of 3,800 square miles, in the . 

 accomplishment of which i,coo miles of traverse were 

 made, while forty- one main topographical stations and 

 sixteen auxiliary ones were established. The fourth, or 

 Yampah party, conducted by Mr. Bechler, topographer, 

 assisted by Dr. White, geologist, surveyed about 3,000 

 square miles. Thus, during the two months of last autumn, 

 these active explorers surveyed about 1 1,300 square miles 

 of territory (that is more than the whole of the southern 

 or lowland part of Scotland) with sufficient accuracy and 

 detail to permit of the construction of a general map on this 

 scale of four miles to an inch, and with contour lines at 

 successive elevations of 200 feet to mark the main topo- 

 graphical features. Fortunately the geological structure 

 is of extreme simplicity, otherwise such rapid and useful 

 work would be impossible. Dr. Hayden and his asso- 

 ciates are doing good service by making known in this 

 way the main features of those vast territories, leaving 

 the details to be worked out at a later time. 



Among the most interesting geological results obtained 

 last year are some additional particulars regarding the 

 brackish water-beds lying at the base of the tertiary 

 rocks of these western territories. Three new species of 



