[une 5, 1 8 84 J 



NAT URL 



125 



little damage was done. Thus everywhere except at West Mersea 

 there are one or more lines, at one side of which there was ex- 

 cessive damage not to be found at the other side. 



In the area of excessive damage, according to Mr. Dalton's 

 map, the geological formations are Alluvium, Glacial Drift, and 

 London Clay. On the first we find damage done to houses near 

 Eastbridge, Colchester, and at Wivenhoe, although elsewhere 

 they escaped. In the north portion of Wivenhoe and the north 

 portions of Colchester, structures on the Glacial Drift were in- 

 jured, but elsewhere the damage nearly invariably is confined to 

 tracts and small exposures of the London Clay. This is very 

 conspicuous in places — at Colchester there is a narrow outcrop oi 

 London Clay which widens eastward near the Colne, and on this 

 narrow tract the greatest damage was done ; similarly at Y\ i\ enhi le 

 the excessive damage is along the outcrop of the London Clay. 

 At Fingrinhoe and Frenchman's Lane the damage margins an 

 outlying tract of Glacial Drift, while very good examples can be 

 seen between Colchester and Ardleigh, the structures on narrow 

 tongues of the clay being injured, while those on the intervening 

 tracts of gravel have escaped, except in one instance. 



Victoria Road, Colchester J. Henry Kinahan 



One of the most curious effects of the earthquake in the 

 Peldon district is the evidence of a decided twist or apparent 

 rotation of the shock evident in many cases upon standing build- 

 ings. Is is very apparent in the cracks throughout Dr. Green's 

 house, which take a complete screw round some of the rooms 

 and the staircase. It is also evident in the twist of the tapering 

 mill chimney shaft where the upper 20 feet (still standing) is 

 screwed round at the fracture upon the lower part about one inch. 

 The same is apparent in a chimney at the " Peldon Rose " Inn, 

 the screwing in this instance being about two inches. As such 

 twists as are evident could not exist within the areas of separate 

 single buildings, it appears to me that they must have been the 

 resultants of the effects of two separate shocks, the first about 

 north to south, and the second immediately following about east 

 to west. That there were two shocks appears to be the general 

 impression of the inhabitants of whom I made inquiry. Another 

 matter of interest is the very peculiar fracture of the eastern side 

 of Dr. Green's house. This fracture leaves the lower northern 

 corner of the wall, and passes diagonally across the house to the 

 upper southern corner. The crack is open about one inch 

 through solid modern brickwork. In this case the line of frac- 

 ture does not follow a line of weakness in the wall, but cuts 

 directly through the thick chimney breasts, and equally across a 

 window opening, as though there was present no difference in 

 resistance. The angle of fracture is about 47° to the horizon, 

 and it appears to me that this must have been the direction of 

 the first or greater shock in this district, which was therefore 

 more one of upheaval than of horizontal motion. This is also 

 confirmed upon inquiry, as I find many persons in the district 

 felt distinctly the motion of upheaval, but no one who was 

 standing at the time is known to have been thrown down. 



W. F. Stanley 



Darwin relates that the earthquake of February 20, 1835, 

 which overthrew Concepcion, although it was severely felt in 

 Chiloe, yet on the neighbouring Cordillera (near Mellipulli) it 

 was not felt at all. " Some men who had been employed in the 

 mountains splitting fir planks, when they returned in the evening 

 to Calbuco and were told of the shock, said that ' about the time 

 mentioned they recollected that they had not been able to strike 

 fair with the axe, and that they had spoilt a board or two by 

 cutting too deep.' This probably is not so fanciful as it appears ; 

 at least it shows that if there was any motion it was of an exceed- 

 ingly gentle kind " (Trans. Ciol. Sot:, vol. v. p. 605). 



A parallel case occurred during the late earthquake in Essex. 

 Some men hoeing wheat at Frating, about seven miles north- 

 east of the focus of the shock, did not perceive the shock, but 

 felt as if they could not get their hoes to the ground. 



May 30 O. Fisher 



Jupiter 



This planet is now so unfavourably placed that very few 

 further opportunities will occur of observing the chief features 

 during the present apparition. It is, however, important that 

 the red spot and equatorial white spot should be followed as long 



as practicable, and I give a list of the times when they wi 

 situated on or near the central meridian : — 



Red sp il White spo 



h. 



June 5 ... 8-8 



7 ... 10-4 



10 ... 7-9 



12 ... 9-5 



17 ... 87 



22 ... 7-8 



The two spots will come to the same longitude on June 7, but 

 at the time of their transit Jupiter will be too low to admit 1 I 

 satisfactory observation. 



Erratum. — The dark satellite transit which I observed 

 May 18 (Nature, May 22, p. 77) referred to the fourth satellite 

 and not to the first as described. The three dark spots seen 

 were really the shadows of the first and second satellite and the 

 fourth satellite itself. The first satellite was also projected on 

 the disk of Jupiter at the time of the observation, but it was not 

 seen under the form of a dark spot. The error in the original 

 description arose from a mistake in the identification of the satel- 

 lites and their shadows, four of which were on the planet at the 

 same time. W. F. Denning 



Bristol, June 1 



Animal Intelligence 

 The instances of intelligence which I am about to relate, 1. 

 the credit of a cockatoo, were described to me by the owner, a- 

 lady, in whose presence they were displayed, as well as in that 

 of several other witnesses, one of whom (her husband) was nK< 

 present on two occasions when I heard the accounts. 



The bird is fond of white lump-sugar, and ordinarily drops it 

 into his saucer of tea or other drink to soften it. On one occasion 

 when he was thought to be thirsty, a glass of water was offered 

 him, which appears to have been of the goblet kind, about 6 inches 

 high, with a foot and stem, and holding, it would seem, some- 

 thing more than a large wine-glass and less than a small tumbler. 

 Shortly after, the bird received a piece of sugar, and, as usual, 

 dropped it into the water. But now, alas ! the depth of liquid 

 was too great for him to recover the saturated lump ; and unfor- 

 tunately, not having myself witnessed the occurrence, I am 

 unable to describe the indications of mental effort which doubt- 

 less preceded the attempt to solve the problem of extracting the 

 lump of sugar before it should disappear. I was told that the 

 like difficulty recurred next day, and, whether on account of the 

 practical failure of the first attempt, or in consequence of a fresh 

 inspiration at the moment, a different and entirely successful plan 

 was then adopted. It is no doubt to be regretted that the expe- 

 riment was not followed up, but the reason will shortly be 

 apparent. Now, as to the first attempt. There was no endeavour 

 to upset the glass ; it was too high for the claw to be used,, 

 and too deep for the beak to be plunged in. To drink all the 

 water would indeed have been, as remarked by the narrator, 

 " an heroic remedy." What " Koko " did do was to bale the 

 water out with his scoop-like lower mandible. Here again I 

 find myself unable to describe the action more exactly, but it 

 must have been in the highest degree interesting to watch the 

 operation, with its increasing difficulty, and constantly diminish- 

 ing prize at the bottom. Finally we may suppose that the sugar 

 haying disappeared the last portions were at least partly 

 enjoyed. Still the result was to some extent evidently a 

 disappointment ; for on the next occasion "Koko," without 

 the least hesitation, put in practice a device which we may fairly 

 suppose he had thought out meanwhile. He began forthwith to 

 drop in lumps of sugar one after another until the last was level 

 with the surface, when he recovered that one and left the rest to 

 their natural fate, while he peacefully enjoyed the fruits of his 

 invention. 



I have unfortunately too slight an acquaintance with the ways 

 of these birds to know certainly whether this is above the average 

 of their intelligent acts and as such worthy of space in your 

 columns. For the same reason I hesitate to give, at second hand, 

 other indications which, however interesting to me, might prove 

 less so to others. I will only add that it is so distressing to see 

 so nice a creature almost naked, through its inveterate propensity 

 to pluck out every feather within reach, that I should be glad to 

 hear of any possible remedy. J. Herschei 



23, Suffolk Street, Pall Mall East, S.W. 



P.S. — At the suggestion of a gentleman whose name is well 



