166 TIMEHRI. 
In reply to our enquiries he gave us the following scraps” 
of information, which although miscellaneous in their 
nature are worth recording :-— 1G 
Breeding Seasons. The harpy eagle nests in the tony 
of large silk-cotton trees; the young were beginning to — 
fly at the end of March. The Surinam toad (Pipa) was — 
breeding in March, and a month later the eggs on the — 
back full and ready to hatch. They are common in the ~ 
Arawarycoo Creek, an affluent of the Rupununi. - 
Indian Curios. Among the Macusis, in the village of — 
Taranambo, a home-made cross-bow is in use asa toy — 
by the children, who shoot small pebbles at marks and 
birds with it. From a specimen which he brought, it 3 
appears to have been copied from the ancient weapon so — 
well known at the period when America was discovered. — 
The stock is part of the midrib of an Eta frond, and the . 
natural groove forms the channel! by which the missile is 
guided. This isa most interesting “find” as it shows — 
that the native Indian is able to adopt a foreign weapon — 
and retain it, after the world has almost forgotten it. It q 
must be something like three centuries since the cross- — 
bow was in use by the Spanish conquerors, and eventhen — 
it is hard to conceive how the Indians obtained the idea, 
unless they brought it from some Mission on the Amazon. — 
Even as a toy we have never seen it used in Demerara. — 
Another article which is not altogether new has also 
been brought down by Mr. Ltoyp. This is the silver 
nose-plate, which he informs us is almost universally 
worn by the men. It consists of a circle or crescent of 
silver attached to a little ring by which it is hung from 
the septum of the nose. The greatest interest attaches 
to this ornament, as it represents the “gold moons” — 
