Jan. lO, 1884] 



NATURE 



237 



Ceraslium saiiidicandrtim (Little Mouse-Ear Chickweed) 



,, tri-uiale (Le-ser do.) 

 Areiian'tt Icnuifolia (Fine leaved Sandwort) 

 Piiiipinella saxifraga (Com. Burnet Saxifrage) 

 Paslinaca sativa (Wild Parsnip) 

 Torillis aiilhrisais (Upright Hedge Tarsley) 

 Senaio vulgaris (Con. Groundsel) 

 ,, :rj'/z'a//r«x (Mountain do. ) 

 Crepis virens (Smooth Hawk's Ijeard) 

 Hypocharis radicata (Long-roited Cat's Ear) 

 Taraxacum dens-leonis (Dandelion) 

 Veronica hedcrifolia (Ivy-leaved Speedwell) 



,, polila (Gray Procumbent do.) 



„ agrcstis (Green do. do.) 

 Lamium pnrpiireiiin (Red Deadiiettle) 



„ fl//'K/« (White do.) 

 Rumex crispus (Curled Dock) 



River Thames— Abnormal High Tides 



In a letter in Nature of November 2, iSSa (p. 6), I gave a 

 review of exceptional tides from i860, and attempted to trace 

 the causes thereof ; it appeared that from 1S60 to 186S inclusive 

 the computed maximum ri^e above "Trinity St.andard " of high 

 water for sprmg tides was 6 inches, and the actual range excess 

 was 3 feet 6 inches above thit standard. 



From 1869 to 1S82 the greatest computed elevation at high 

 water was 2 feet I inch, and the maximum rise 5 feet above 

 "Trinity" at Westminster, viz. on January 18, 1881, and again 

 on October 28, 1S82, the same height was attained — in each case 

 resultant on a great north-east gale. On November 14, 1882, 

 the afternoon tide marked 2 feet 5 inches above "Trinity," 

 or 2 feet 4 inches ab ve computed height — resultant again on 

 a north-i.ortheast gale. Since then, during the last thirteen 

 months, there have been no very exceptional tides until last 

 springs. 



The fi.lbwing abstract table gives the more salient results for 

 the present year : — 



High Waters referred to " Trinity" 

 J883 Computed Observed DiiTerence Wind 



It will Le observed that in the majority of cases northerly 

 winds accompany or have preceded the exceptionally high tides ; 

 also how a great westerly gale blowing down the river ilepresses 

 the range of tide. The most remarkable result is that attendant 

 on the great gale of the 12th inst. during last springs, for 

 although high water level was less by 18 inches than in January, 

 1881, and October, 1882, it was exceptional for its great rise 

 over the computed elevation, being no less than 3 feet II 

 inches above the height denoted in the Admiralty tide tables 

 with the reservation before named in my former letter, that the 

 computed heights are for London Bridge. The high water of 

 October 28, 1882, was 3 feet 4 inches above computed 

 height ; but the very remarkable tide of Janu.ary 18, 1881, was 

 actually 5 feet above the estimated range, which was only level 

 with " Trinity Standard." 'i'he afternoon tide of Sunday, the 

 16th inst., was also, it will be seen, very much increased by the 

 northerly gale then prevailing. J. B. Redman 



6, Queen .Xnne's Gate, S.W., December 19, 1883 



Deafness in White Cats 



Referring to the note in your issue of December 13 (p. 164), by 

 Mr. Lawson Tail, on " Deafness in White Cats," I should 

 like to state, if my remarks may not be out of date, that my 

 father kept a breed of deaf white cats over several years ; and 

 on making an inquiry regarding these cats of my Ijrother, who 

 now lives in Reading, but who at that time was resident with 

 my father on a farm in North Hampshire, he informs me that the 

 deaf cats we. e all white w ith blue eyes, with one single exception, 

 and that one refers to an aged mother who was named "Deaf," 

 on account of her infirmity, and who had eyes of different colours, 

 the one being "red," or pink, as seen in white rabbits, and the 

 other blue. So remarkable was the appearance of this cat that 

 the eyes often attracted the attention of visitors, and my brother 

 has more than once related to me a circumstance which I should 

 not mention here, save that it so thoroughly bears on this ques- 

 tion as one of fact. On one dccasion a neighbour, remarking on 

 the ocular peculiarities of this cat, elicited from my father the 

 jocular reply that " she had one eye for the rats, and another for 

 the mice." My brother further .-tates that these deaf cats were 

 all females, and that the breed was preserved on account of its 

 furnishing "good mousers." I apprehend that this charac- 

 teristic may in s jme measure be attribated to the character of the 

 eyes enabling the animals to see better in obscure light. Males 

 were not preserved, because they became rovers and destroyed 

 the game. When any of the offspring were pied, or otherwise 

 coloured, they were not deaf. Bearing on this, and evidently 

 referable to my brother's early a-sociations, he once observed, in 

 his walks round Reading, a «h,te cat with blue eyes sitting at a 

 cottage door, and on inquiring he found that the animal was 

 deaf ; but he made no observation as to whether it was male or 

 female. Joseph Stevens 



Oxford Road, Reading, December 24, 1883 



Teaching Animals to Converse 

 I HAVE read with interest Sir John Lubbock's communication 

 (p. 216), but I would like to know whether any precautions were 

 taken to find out whether " Van " selected the right card by his 

 sense of sight or by scent ? This could have been easily doi.e by 

 changing the card for a facsimile which had not been previously 

 scented. A more thorough test would be to employ a set of 

 cards with " Food " written on one side of each and some other word 

 on the other, then pu ting the cards in cases with an opening 

 exposing one word only. The cards could then be put in a row 

 and be kept in the same iclativc po.-.;iit,i., ihc Uiangco fur tne 

 experiments being made by turning the cards in their cases. 

 Would it not be simpler to commence with drawings on the 

 cards instead of words. For instance, a saucer or biscuit for 

 " Food," a bone for " Bone," a hat for "Out," &c. ? 



Hanover, January 5 J- S. B. 



On the Absence of Earthworms from the Prairies of the 

 Canadian North- West 



An incidental allusion is made by Mr. Christy in Nature of 

 the 3rd inst. (p. 213) to Darwin's statement that earthworms 

 " abound in Iceland." In 1881 I spent several weeks in that 

 island, and had occasion many times to search for worms as a 

 bait for trout and char around Thingvalla, Ori, the Sog River, 

 &c., and could not obtain them except near the farmhouses— 

 which are at great distances from each other — and absent alto- 

 gether from the interior of Iceland, which is uninhabited and a 

 desert. Richard M. Barrington 



Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Vvicklow, January 4 



Merrifield's "Treatise on Navigation" 

 I I5EG to thank your reviewer of my book for the suggestions 

 he has made in Nature of December 20 (p. 169), and should 

 like to point out to him that he must have overlooked some 

 remarks contained therein, when he says : — 



" We regret that Mr. Men'ifield has omitted from the chapter 

 on Traverse Sailing the warning given by Raper, that, especially 

 in high latitudes, the difference of longitude should be found on 

 each course," &c., by Mercator's sailing. 



Will you kindly allow me to remark that I mention this twice 

 in my book ? First, on pp. 88, 89 I say, "Middle-latitude sailing 

 should not be used in {a) high latitudes ; (/>) when the difference 



