126 



NA TURE 



LA 



known to renders of Nature in connection with animal intelli- 

 gence, a proof of the above letter was sent to the bird's head- 

 quarters lor confirmation. Although I cannot now regret that 

 all these interesting details have been thus elicited, most readers 

 will agree with me in wishing that the first account had been 

 also written in M. d'Abbadie's characteristic style. However 

 that may be, I am sure that I shall only be expressing the wishes 

 of every reader as well as my own in taking this opportunity of 

 thanking him cordially for his amusing and interesting response 

 to my appeal for corroboration. — J, H. 



[The following is M. d'Abbadie's letter : — ] 



My Dear Sir, — I have met few people who can pen a narra- 

 tive quite accurately as you have done. Were I writing history, 

 I should add that " Koko " (a Cacatua moluccensis) seems to 

 hail with satisfaction the appearance of a coffee-tray. As soon 

 as it is laid on the table he lifts by its central knob the sugar 

 bowl's cover, picks up a lump of sugar, and drops it in an empty 

 cup, on which he taps with his beak to intimate that he is thirsty. 

 for dry sweets are not to his tasle. 



This bird is the wonder and plague of my life. One day 

 curiosity (?) impelled him to pull into shreds my only kaleido- 

 scope. He got for his industry a few touches of a whip, 

 ■which he tore to pieces twenty-four hours later, showing appa- 

 rently that memory is one of his gifts. He has a knack of tear- 

 ing my pens and papers, sometimes with good reason. As, 

 however, I arrogate those privileges to myself, "Koko" is ex- 

 cluded from my study. Its door, partly glazed, has a pad to 

 prevent draughts, and, before I added a bolt, was closed only 

 by a knob two centimetres thick. Climbing along the pad eighty 

 centimetres above the floor, he looked slily with one eye through 

 the glass, and if the coast was clear he then proceeded to busi- 

 ness by turning the knob with his powerful beak and then pulling 

 it, while one claw pushed against the doorpost, the other holding 

 on to the pad. Another door has a lock, and servants thought 

 to exclude the intruder by turning the key, but "Koko" soon 

 learnt to turn it back before applying his energies to the knob. 

 Having thus put the door ajar, he descends cautiously with beak 

 and claws along the pad, opens the door by a push or pull of 

 his beak, as the case may be, and, stopping on the threshold, 

 exclaims modestly, "Koko!" like a Wolseley or a Graham 

 announcing his recent victory. 



I say modestly, for this bird assumes often a haughty tone 

 when uttering what we call his public speech-. It is a rami 'ling 

 gabble, and, like the sayings of a French orator who shall be 

 nameless, it is wholly unintelligible. However, its varying 

 tones are splendid. Those of indignation and command prevail, 

 but in the course of seeming argument " Koko " expresses also 

 and most forcibly concession, interrogation, pity, disdain, ridi- 

 cule, contradiction, and even logical inference. Without having 

 read the Roman author who advises orators to take hold of their 

 beards when pausing to reflect, "Koko" halts now and then 

 his wordy torrent to seize his chin with his claw, as if pondering 

 on the best line of action. Other appropriate gestures add to 

 the seeming reality of his discourse. I have seen him stand 

 suddenly on one leg. double up the other claw like a Bst, and 

 deal a blow on the air as if to knock down an enemy. In spite 

 of their wide sleeves, our banisters might well envy the fulness 

 ■of gesture imparted by I Hi raises them nd 



over his head, then throws hem down impetuously before him- 

 self with a seemingly clenching argument. I have 1 

 Burke used his arms in the same way when beginning his out- 

 bursts of eloquence. 



The wisdom of nations has sometimes found it necessary to 

 put even statesmen in durance vile, and "Koko" has not 

 escaped the lot of his betters. As, however, he contrived to 

 unfasten several kind- of common spring padlocks, ami even 

 one which requires, like my door, three simultaneous manoeu- 

 vres, my astronomical artist boasted of making one which would 

 puzzle even a Christian. Our bird was chained with this inge- 

 nious invention, and immediately busied himself for about two 

 hours pressing on every side the brazen problem. It seemed to 

 cause a heavy expense of thought for his slender brains. On 

 the following day he opened this new-fangled padlock, but with 

 evident difficulty. Finally, having mastered it the thud morn- 

 ing, he then freed himself with the greatest ease, 

 cannot ged rid of a padlock that requires a key, nor 

 pushed back a loose bolt on the very door where he overcomes a 

 fastening apparently more complicated. May we infer thai bird 

 reason differs from hum tea >on ? 



Although he has not been in a theatre, " Koko " whistles 

 when displeased. He can laugh, bark, and cackle. Two first- 

 tate players at fives laid a wager that they would be the gainers 

 in my private court, even with their feet tied together. This 

 forced them to jump in order to meet the ball, and their eager- 

 ness brought on several falls, some dozens of witnesses laughing 

 at each mishap. " Koko " had always inspected the fives games 

 from his favourite perch on a neighbouring balcony. He now 

 wished perhaps to improve an incident new to his experience. 

 Having alighted in the court, he proceeded to stand on one foot, 

 then jumped, falling each time sometimes forwards, sometimes 

 sideways, like the players, and took good care to laugh loudly 

 at each pretended stumble. 



The foregoing facts, where a bird's reasoning powers seem to 

 rival those of men, suggest two questions: (i) Where is the 

 boundary between them? and (.>) whether intelligence depends, 

 as is often supposed, merely on size of brain ? Unable to answer 

 these queries, I remain very truly yours, 



Antoine d'Apbadie, 



I , Mayjao, 1884 de l'lnstitut de France 



METEOROLOGY IN VICTORIA 

 "HP HE monthly and other publications on meteorology 

 *- and terrestrial magnetism issued by the Melbourne 

 Observatory continue to be regularly received by us, the 

 last Monthly Record being for December 18S3. Since 

 we reviewed these Records (Nature, vol. xiv. p. 153) we 

 have observed with much interest the steady, and latterly 

 the rapid, extension of climatological stations over the 

 colon\. During the ten years ending December 1883, 

 while the number of fully equipped stations has remained 

 nearly the same, stations at which temperature is observed 

 have increased from 10 to 27, and stations for rain obser- 

 vations from 34 to 170. These 170 stations are con- 

 veniently classed into coast, watershed, and river-basin 

 groups, and the individual gauges of each group are 

 further arranged in the tabular returns in the order of 

 their heights, which rise to about 4000 feet. The Records 

 conclude with a detailed report for all the stations of 

 thunderstorms, hail, snow, frost, gales, hot winds, auroras, 

 earthquakes, &c, observed during the month. 



While isobars can be drawn with tolerable correctness 

 from the observations of a small number of stations, and 

 isothermals from the returns of a few more, but still a 

 comparatively small number of stations, it cannot be too 

 strongly insisted on that a very large number of rain- 

 gauges are required to give even a tolerable approxima- 

 tion to the actual rainfall of a country for a definite 

 period, say, a week or a month, which may not seriously 

 mislead those interested in the rise and fall of prices of 

 agricultural and other products that depend on the 

 weather. The meteorological authorities of South Aus- 

 tralia and New South Wales are, equally with Mr. Ellery, 

 so fully alive to the paramount importance of an adequate 

 observation of the rainfall, that after a few years' continued 

 vigorous effort this large portion of Australia will take 

 rank, in respect of its rainfall, as one of the best observed 

 regions of the globe. 



At Melbourne the wind is observed and the results are 

 discussed with admirable fulness. In summer the pre- 

 vailing winds are southerly, and in winter northerly. The 

 strongest winds are north and north-west, and the lightest 

 east and south-east, the south-easterly winds in some 

 seasons blowing with only about a third of the velocity of 

 the north-westerly winds. The diurnal velocity of the 

 wind falls to the minimum from about midnight to 4 a.m., 

 and rises to the maximum from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

 As regards -. ason, the absolute maximum occurs at noon 

 in winter, but in summer two hours later. Another im- 

 portant feature in the diurnal velocity of the wind is that 

 from April to August the daily maximum is only a half 

 more than the minimum velocity, whereas from October 

 to February it is more than double. In other words, the 

 maximum velocity rises to a greater extent above the daily 

 mean during the period of the year when the temperature 



