2 MR. BARKER ON TEREDOS FROM SUBMARINE CABLES. [Jail. 14, 



bronzy green ; outer secondaries grey, with a large blotch of brownish 

 chestnut on their outer webs ; tail black ; breast and belly dark 

 grey, with numerous white cross-bars ; crissum rufous ; under tail- 

 coverts white ; bill brown ; feet yellowish : whole length 18 inches, 

 wing 11 '8, tail 4*4, tarsus 2. 



A set of small Birds' bones, obtained from beneath the deposits 

 of nitrate in Southern Peru, transmitted to the Society by Prof. 

 W. Nation, C.M.Z.S., of Lima, Peru, was exhibited previously to 

 being sent to the British Museum in accordance with Prof. Nation's 

 instructions. 



Mr. D. Wilson Barker, F.Z.S., exhibited some specimens of 

 Teredos taken from submarine telegraph-cables oflF the Brazilian 

 coast, and made the following remarks : — 



" The presence of the Teredo in submarine telegraph-cables is well 

 known to electricians, but, so far as I am aware, the attention of 

 zoologists has not been drawn to it. With the permission of Major 

 Wood (Managing Director of the Western and Brazilian Telegraph 

 Company), I am able to lay these specimens before the Society 

 this evening. They were taken out of the cable between Rio de 

 Janeiro and Bahia, in latitude 22° 11' S., longitude 40° 22' W., from 

 a depth of 20 fathoms. 



"The nature of the ' faults ' caused by these mollusks makes them 

 very difficult to locate, so much so, that on this particular occasion 

 we hove in the cable a mile past them, and only discovered their 

 presence by cutting the cable in several places, as there was no sign 

 on the outside of the cable to show their presence inside. The 

 specimens of cable exhibited illustrate exactly the position of the 

 Teredos in it, and it will be observed that they must have penetrated 

 the sheathing-wires when in the embryonic stage.and then planted 

 themselves on the jute, into which they afterwards bored. The jute 

 is tanned before it is laid on the internal core by a special 

 process, and it is therefore a remarkable thing that these mollusks 

 should be able first to bore through this tough and yielding material 

 impregnated with a chemical solution, and then scoop out pieces in 

 the gutta-percha sheathing of the conductor. With the Teredo was 

 another bivalve, and the minute hole in one of the teredo-valves 

 shows the presence of a boring mollusk. 



"I may also mention I liave found specimens of a smaW P hoi as in 

 another cable, but the sheathing-wires in this case had been bird- 

 caged out, and freely admitted water to the jute sheathing. 



"Apart from the interest there is in finding the Teredo adapting 

 itself to bore into such intractable substances as jute and gutta-perclm 

 in close contact, it is a matter of serious import to the owners of 

 cables, and the discovery of a method of preventing th.eir attacks 

 would be very valuable." 



