52 
animals carried off was an alligator driven into Payta Bay. The 
circumstances are worthy of notice, as they illustrate some 
of the incidents of geological disturbance. At sea rain is met 
witha hundred miles out, to the surprise of captains, who report 
the winds and currents as changed. 
Tr is stated in some of the papers that the system of storm- 
signal observations, now in progress under the direction of the 
Signal Corps of the army, was devised by Great Britain before 
it was made use of by the United States Government. This is 
perhaps correct, so far as it goes ; but it is to Prof. Henry, 
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, that we owe the original 
idea of procuring despatches regularly in relation to the weather, 
and tabulating them, asalso of placing them on a map so as to 
show, day by day, the general character of the weather through 
out the United States. For several years prior to the beginning 
of the war this system was carried on regularly, and was of great 
interest to visitors to the Institution. The occupation of the tele- 
graph lines for military purposes, and the fire in the Smithsonian 
building, broke up the arrangement; and it was about to be 
resumed when the Government undertook the work, thereby re- 
lieving the Institutionjfrom the necessity of its further prosecution. 

THE California vulture (Ca¢hartes Californianus) is the largest 
species possessed by the fauna of Western America, where it 
ranges over an immense space of country in search of food. 
When any large game is brought down by the hunter these birds 
may be seen slowly sweeping towards it, intent upon their share 
of the prey. Nor in the absence of the hunter will his game be 
exempt from their ravenous appetite, though it be carefully hidden 
and covered with shrubs and heavy branches, as they will drag 
it forth from its concealment and speedily devour it. Any article 
of clothing, however, thrown over a carcase will shield it from 
the vulture. In some localities the nests are known to the 
Indians, who year by year take the young, and, having duly pre- 
pared them by long feeding, kill them at one of their great festi- 
vals. The California vulture joins to his rapacity an immense 
muscular power, as an instance of which it is stated that four of 
them jointly have been knownto drag for over two hundred yards 
the body of a young grizzly bear weighing more than a hundred 
pounds. 
Dr. NEWBERRY, in his interesting report of the botany of the 
explorations for a railroad route from the Sacramento Valley to 
the Columbia River, speaks thus of the district lying east of the 
Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Mountains :—‘‘ The general 
aspect of the botany of this region is made up of three distinct 
elements. Of these the first is presented by the grassy plains 
which border the streams flowing down from the mountains. On 
these surfaces grows a considerable variety of animal vegetation, 
not unlike that of the Sacramento Valley in its general character. 
The second of these botanical phases is that of the ‘sage’ plains, 
surfaces upon which little or nothing else than clumps of artemisia 
will grow. The third is formed by forests of yellow pine (Pinus 
ponderosa), which apparently finds on these arid surfaces its most 
congenial habitat. It sometimes happened to us that, during a 
whole day’s ride, we were passing through a continuous forest of 
these yellow pine trees in which scarcely a dozen distinct species 
of plants could be found.” 
THE night heron of the United States (Myctiardea Garideni) 
is much dreaded by the Indians, who have many traditions and 
superstitions connected with it, and believe that it has the power 
of transforming human beings into inferior animals. Of the blue 
heron (Ardea Herodias), they say that he was formerly an Indian, 
and that perpetual quarrels raged between his wife and himself. 
On this account they were both transformed by a superior power, 
the man becoming a heron, the woman a dabchick (Podiceps 
cornutus), at the same time the brother of the woman was 
changed into the western grebe (Podiceps occidentalis), a native 
of the Pacific coast. 
NATURE 



[May 18, 1871 a 

REPORT ON THE DESERT OF TI j 
(Continued jrom page 35) 
HE following are the various observations I have made and 
tales I have collected about some of the birds and mammals _ 
found in the desert of Tih and adjoining regions. For con- 4 
venience of reference I have arranged them alphabetically. In 
the cases of well-known animals, or of such as have been before 
scientifically described, I confine myself chiefly to the Arab 
stories or legends attaching to them :— 
Bears (Ursus syriacus), Arabic Dadé, are still found on Mount — 
Hermon and the Anti-Lebanon, and inust formerly have existed — 
in Palestine, but the destruction of the woods has now driven — 
them northwards. They do much damage to the vineyards in - 
the neighbourhood of Hermon, but seldom interfere with the 
herds of goats. The Arabs share in the widely-spread belief 
that bears sustain themselves during their hybernation by sucking — 
their paws. They also say that when the female drops her cub — 
it is quite shapeless, and that she carries it about in her mouth 
for fear lest it should be devoured by the ants, and then licksitinto 
proper shape. Bear's grease is said to be useful in cases of leprosy. _ 
Boar, wild, Ar. Halhouf, or usually in Palestine, Khazzir, which 
simply means pig. These animals are very abundant wherever — 
there is cover near water, as on the banks of the Jordan and in ~ 
the Ghor es Safi at the S. of the Dead Sea. Iwas much sur- 
prised to find traces of recent rooting by them inthe W. Rakhamah, 
which lies between El Milh and ’Abdeh. This place is far from 
any water except what may have collected in hollow rocks, and 
can boast ofnocover. The ’Azdzimeh eat the wild boar, but the 
Ghawarineh, who will eat a hyena, though it is known to fre- : 
quent the grave-yards, will not touch them. 
In this, as in the case of the other animals, I can insert but a bd 
few amongst the many medicinal uses to which they are put 
by the Arabs, as these are in general unsuited to the taste of © 



4 
> 
3 
: 
* European readers. 
Bustard (Odis hubara) Ar. Hubara. I noticed a few of these < 
birds in the Tih ; the Arabs say that the lesser bustard (Ovts tetrax) — 
which is also occasionally found there, is the young of the larger, — 
but does not attain its full growth for two years. They also say 
that these birds, when attacked by a falcon, will cover it with — 
their faeces, and so drive it off. ’ 
Camel, Ar. masc. jemel, fem. ndégah. A stallion camel is called 
Sahl. Collectively, 7b: vulgo b:1 or bdir, pl. aardn. Hejinis 
usually applied to a dromedary, but is properly used of a man, — 
horse, or camel having an Arab sire and foreign dam, which, in 
the case of the animals, is considered the best possible cross. 
Hence, a dromedary (or well-bred camel used for riding) is so” 
called. 
Camels are most peevish animals, docile only from stupidity ;_ 
ill-tempered, they never forget an injury. I have but once seen_ 
a camel show the slightest sign of affection for its owner, although 
they are always well treated. All their feelings of like and dis- — 
like, pleasure and annoyance, are expressed by a hideous sound 
between a bellow and a roar, to which they give utterance 
whether they are being loaded or unloaded, whether they are 
being fed or urged over a difficult pass ; in fact, they disapprove 
of whatever is done. Without them, however, it would be im- — 
possible to cross the deserts, for no other animal could endure the 
fatigue and want of water ; I have myself seen a camel refuse 
water after having been without any for three days. For their 
food they always choose the most uninviting thorny shrubs ; the 
seya ](acacia) which has thorns two or three inches long, is an 
especial favourite with them. Many of the Arabs subsist almost 
entirely upon the milk and cheese afforded by their herds of 
camels. 
The Pelican is called jemel el ma, or water camel ; 
Chameleon, jemel el yehiid, the Jew’s camel. 
Cat, or Azz‘, also Sinnaur and Hirr, According to some 
lexicographers, the first name is not a pure Arabic word. Cats 
are held in great estimation in the east, and large prices are 
sometimes paid by native ladies for fine Persian specimens. In 
Cairo a sum of money was left in trust to feed poor cats, who- 
daily receive their rations at the Mahkemah (law courts). 
Though the Arabs in Sinai and the Tih spoke of a wild cat, 
gatt berri, I found that this was always the lynx (/i/?s caracal), 
which is called in some parts of Arabia ’#vah ef ardh, or earth- 
kid; in Sinai, it is also spoken of as dvaseh (from azz, a she- 
goat). In Morocco, it is only known as owda/. 
I may here remark that the word Fad, translated by Lane 
and others as “lynx ”—an animal that is never used for hunting 
—really means the cheefa, or hunting leopard of Persia and India, 
and the 
