NOTES. 129 



LINGULAE. 



Chinese boys go on mud sleds, and dig, at low tide, from the 

 sandy shores of the Swatow Bay, great basketfuls of lingulae, 

 tiny mollusks with thin, green, horny, oblong shells. The 

 lingulae is found in. beds, and is often buried in the muddy 

 sand to a depth of ten inches. It is usually attached to a little 

 stone by a muscular pedicel, and by the extension and con- 

 traction of its pedicel it enjoys feeding in clear water at high 

 tide, and napping in sandy depths at low tide. Unlike the clam, 

 which has its two shell-valves on its two sides, like a garment 

 that opens before and behind, this little shell-fish has its two 

 shell-valves on its back and front, like a garment that opens 

 at the sides. Moreover, it is one of the very few kinds of 

 living creatures that have existed unchanged from the 

 earliest geological times. Before there were men, or sheep, 

 or frogs, or trout, there were lingulae; and this brave little 

 tribe has held its place and perpetuated itself in the world 

 through many changes of climate and circumstance. But, al- 

 though it is of so ancient race, it is not intellectually superior 

 to other shell-fish, and should serve as a warning to us against 

 pride of pedigree. The Chinese, who are mere upstarts in 

 comparison with it, sell it in the market at three cents a 

 pound, fry it in lard, and eat it as a relish with their rice. 

 ADELE M. FIELDE, Swatow, China. 



A WOODPECKER'S SUGAR-BUSH. 



I have detected one of our yellow-bellied woodpeckers, 

 Picus varius, tapping a maple tree for the sake of the sap. 

 Attracted to my window by a vigorous hammering, I saw a 

 beautiful male bird sinking a shaft near the base of a large 

 maple. It struck me as -being a discouraging place to bore 

 for grubs, as the tree was healthy and the sounds from the 

 tapping gave no evidence of hollowness; so I thought at first 

 it might be a case of misguided instinct, or perhaps merely 

 an experimental bore. As soon as one hole was completed an- 

 other was begun, and by the time that was done the sap had 

 commenced to flow freely from the first. It was then I noticed 

 that it was the sweet sap the fellow was after, and not with 

 the hope of any other reward that the bore was made, for, 

 as the sap flowed, 'it was sipped up, first from the first hole 

 and then from the second, and meanwhile, between drinks, the 



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