24 
?OPULAE SCIENCE NEWS. 
[Febrcart, 1891. 
outside and made the sticky lines from one-eightli 
to one-fourth of an inch apart, taking down the 
circular staging as they worked. They do their 
work in the early morning. He also stated that at 
one time he saw a great number of spiders" webs 
floating on the breeze, which was slight. On one 
of them he thought he saw a spider passing at 
good speed. He saw a spider start from a hay- 
rack, nearly horizontally, "with incredible ease 
and rapidity." One member has commenced the 
Guttenberg course of mineralogy. Another is 
specially interested in bii-ds. Tlirough the editor 
of " Ornithology " in the Observer, a bird that has 
been a puzzle for years has been named — the olive- 
tided flycatcher. — Henry Osborne, Pres. ; Lucy P. 
Osborne, Sec. 
it will be found that a number of works have been 
published giving excellent information upon all 
such topics ; and, among other means, I would 
advise your correspondent to try that also. 
Sincerely yours, 
R. W. Shufeldt. 
Takoma Park, D. C. 
SOME OF THE METHODS OF TRAPPING 
SMAEL MAMMALS. 
In your September issue I read the letter from 
Mr. W. Sheraton, stating the diflSculty he met 
with in securing small mammals for his studies. 
Having had no little experience in collecting the 
forms he mentions, it is possible I can at least add 
a word or two to the replies I trust his letter will 
call out. Perhaps of all the smaller mammals, 
none are more difficult to capture than the shrews ; 
and I am indebted to Dr. George E. Dobson, F. R. S., 
of the medical department of the British Army, a 
preeminent authority on the Soricidce, for an excel- 
lent means of taking them. One must carefully 
study the brooks, runs, and water-ways of the 
region wherein he is collecting, for in such places 
the shrews, when present, are sure to be found. 
Often the little paths they make will be found 
along the edge of the streamlet or marsh-way. 
Now in the middle of several of these we must 
dig an excavation of sufficient depth to sink a 
large, wide-mouthed bottle, in such a way that the 
rim of the mouth just comes up to the level of the 
ground. Into this pitfall your shrews are sure to 
tumble, sooner or later, and you have them in the 
bottle at your mercy in the morning. Bats I have 
best captured by means of a hand-net, with large 
hoop and fine mesh. I have taken half a dozen in 
an hour or more in this way on the edge of the 
forest, with a lantern hung in a suitable situation 
on a tree. Of course if you can find their hiding 
places during the day, — as barns, caves, or hollow 
trees, — you can often make a splendid capture. 
A collector of mine in New Orleans, several years 
ago, thus secured me some thirty specimens of a 
rare bat in a few moment*. They were packed 
closely together under the eaves of a building. 
Moles I have often taken by patiently ripping up 
their superficial burrows, and running them to 
their termination, where the occupant was finally 
secured. It is a great thing to be continually in 
the forest and about the haunts of the animals 
you desire. In the case of mice, I have taken 
many a one by suddenly pouncing on his neat, 
with both hands gloved, and thus having him 
within my grasp. In the case of woodchucks and 
other small rodentia, the shot-gun and small-calibre 
rifle are not to be despised, nor are flgure-of-four 
dead-falls and toothed steel traps. Sometimes bur- 
rows are of such a nature, and water being avail- 
able, that the occupants can be easily drowned 
out. •! have often secured prairie dogs {Cynomis), 
badgers, and various species of gophers in this 
manner. In Forest anU Stream, under the article 
"Badger," several years ago, I described an ad- 
mirable Indian trap for that animal, and one that 
proves very successful. 
By consulting the lists of books of the larger 
publishing houses of this country and England, 
or communicating with the publishers themselves, 
PRESS NOTICES OF OUR CHAPTERS. 
We clip the following from the Buffalo Express 
of January 9, and shall be pleased to receive simi- 
lar clippings whenever they may appear: 
AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION'S ANNUAL. 
The annual meeting of the Agassiz Association [Chapter 
1321 was held at the Buffalo Library Building last night. 
Several reports were read, showing that there had been 
considerable activity on the part of the members during 
the year. The Chapter Is In a prosperous condition, thanks 
to the fostering care of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sci- 
ences, toward which the members feel much gratitude. 
The cabinet In the room occupied by the Association is 
filled to overflowing with rare and valuable specimens, 
collected by the members, and are neatly preserved. A 
special feature of the work mapped out for the coming year 
is a study of the formation of the boulders found In this 
vicinity. 
The following officers were elected : Edward J. Weber, 
President; Edward W. Donnigan, Vice-President; Henry 
C. Gram, Jr., Treasurer; Richard F. Morgan, Secretary. 
its, nest, etc., but have not had time. Its larva- 
en so — of which I found a few specimens, as 1 
8iipi)ose, along the course of its work — is of a 
diiik gray, covered with hairs of difTerent colors 
ami lengths. I forgot to say that the end of the 
abdomen is bluntly rounded, without tapering as 
in otbfr insects. I shall be much obliged It you 
or any member of your useful Association can 
tell me the name of this, to me, new and strange 
insect. — AV. S. Ryland, Russellville, Ky. 
«♦• 
The I'ecord of our CTiapters, as given in the pre- 
ceding columns, is highly gratifying, and shows 
that the Agassiz Association is keeping well up to 
its high standard. All who are interested in this 
work, and all who would like to help interest their 
young friends in similar studies, are cordially in- 
vited to join us. Illustrated circulars will be sent 
free on application. 
The following Chapters desire to be added to 
the roll of those agreeing to reply to all corre- 
spondents until further notice : 
909, Brooklyn, N. T., (P); O. Doerfllnger, Secretary, 
85 Lafayette Ave. 
83, Canaan, Conn., (A). On mineralogy, ornithology, 
botany, and geology. J. S. Adams, Secretary. 
,♦. i- 
ORIGINAL OBSERVATIONS. 
267. Local Names for the Peanut. [See 
Note 265.] — Before the late war, I was always 
familiar with the name "goober" for peanut, 
used by our negroes in the low country, i. e., the 
coast. "Goober" is a corruption of "ineouba"; 
another name for it is "Angola pea." I think 
your member, Mr. James, will find "ineouba" in 
some work on botany. You can easily see how 
"ineouba" can be changed to "couba," "gooba," 
"goober."— E. E. J. 
268. Probably Termes Flavipes, Our Only 
White Ant. — Though not a member of the Agas- 
siz Association, I wish to mention the discovery 
of an insect I have never before seen, and one of 
which I can find no description. I can give no 
minute account of its structure, hut will say that 
it is of a pearl}- gray, has a soft-skinned body, 
cylindrical abdomen, and short thorax, and, from 
the flexibility of its head, the two seem to be 
separate. Its motions are rapid and skillful. It 
is somewhat like an ant in its actions, though not 
so brisk and strong, but smooth and gliding. Its 
most remarkable peculiarity, however, is the fact 
that it builds upon the tree boxes in front of our 
house — which are of rough poplar boards — a cov- 
ered way, (in some places one-quarter of an inch, 
in some several inches broad), of grains of sand 
mixed with clay, running them upward from the 
ground, and sometimes branching them. This it 
does from within and below, coming to the open 
upper edge and building rapidly by depositing a 
grain at a time with a quick, adroit motion of its 
flexible head. This it does apparently in a fear of 
discovery and in much haste. It seems to prepare 
the way for its work by cleaning off the fibrous, 
weatherbeaten surface of the wood, making a very 
smooth floor for its covered way. I suspect that 
it gathers this for food or to line its nest. I had 
intended to make further observations of its hab- 
Ancient Chinese Miners in India. — An in- 
teresting discovery has been made on the Harn- 
iialli gold mine in the Mysore, says the Indian 
Engineer. While sinking the main shaft the work- 
men broke into an old shaft, dug perhaps a thou- 
sand years or more ago. There were found min- ' 
ing implements of various kinds used by the 
ancient workers. It is supposed the workings 
were made by Chinese, of whose presence in 
Mysore there is unmistakable evidence. The 
tools found are said to be very like those used by 
the Chinese and unlike anything known to be used 
by Hindus. 
Some New Discoveries have been made at 
Pompeii, near the Stabiana Gate, and a description 
is given of tliem. Nature states that three bodies 
were found, two being those of men and the third 
that of a woman. Not far from the resting-place 
of these bodies was tlie trunk of a tree, three meters 
in height and measuring forty centimeters in 
diameter. This tree, together with its fruits that 
were found witli it, having been examined by the 
professor of botany, M. Pasquale, who finds in it 
a variety of Laurtis nohilis. By means of the 
fruits, since they come to nuiturity in the autumn, 
he concludes that the eruption did not take place 
in August, but in November. 
Fluorspar for Optical Instruments.— In a 
paper read before the British Association, Pro- 
fessor Silvanus Tliompson dwells upon the re- 
markable advantages that colorless fluorspar, 
which is unfortunately much rarerth.an i.s generally 
thought, oft'era for optical instruments ; the merit 
of liaving discovered its low dispersive power and 
other peculiarities belonging to Doctor Abbe. 
Professor Tliompson has utilized auch fluorspar 
for direct vision polariscopea by comt)ining two 
outside pi-isms of fluorspar with one of Iceland 
spar between, and also dense flints with fluorspars. 
Such instruments are very convenient f6r an ex- 
amination into dispersion and polarization. 
Now is the time for each Chapter and each 
member to do his utmost toward extending the 
circulation of our official paper, Popular Science 
News. 
»♦» 
Complete files of the Popular Science News 
for 1890 will be mailed to any address for seventy- 
five cents each. 
*♦* 
Reports from the Third Century (Chapters 
201-.S00) should reach the President by March 1. 
I 
