576 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. I., No. 20. 



Intelligence of the croTw. 



I find, by referring to my note-books, that I have 

 witnessed several limes the occurrence of crows 

 breal<ing mussels by dropping them from considera- 

 ble heights (Science, p. 513). In one instance, I 

 had my field-glass willu me, and made careful notes 

 of wbat took i^lace. Tbe crows had assembled on 

 Duck Island, in the Delaware Eiver, and were busily 

 engaged in running along the edges of the sand-bars, 

 exposed at low tide. Every few moments, one of 

 them would rise up to a height of fully fifty feet, 

 carrying a mussel in itfi beak, and, flying inland to a 

 distance of one hundred yards, would let the mol- 

 lusk fall on the meadow. Usually the force of the 

 fall was sufficient to break the shell. The crows, as 

 soon as they had let fall their burden, immediately 

 returned to the island and bars, and gathered more 

 mussels. This was continued until the returning 

 tide made mussel-hunting impracticable. In no in- 

 stance did the crows carry the food they were gather- 

 ing by their feet. There is one fact with reference 

 to this habit of the crows which is, I think, indica- 

 tive of greater intelligence than the mere fact of 

 lifting an object and dropping it in order to break it. 

 This is, that all the mussels so dropped were left 

 undisturbed until the returning waters made further 

 fishing impracticable, when the birds hastened to 

 feast on the results of their intelligent labor. Mar- 

 vellous as it may seem, these crows recognized the 

 nature of tides, and, knowing their time was short, 

 made as good use of it as possible. 



If any more striking evidence of intelligence on 

 the part of birds can be produced, let it be placed 

 on record forthwith. C. ' C. Abbott. 



Impregnation in the turkey. 



An interesting fact respecting our domestic turkey 

 has recently come to my notice. A friend, finding 

 that a stray turkey had recently come upon his prem- 

 ises with the intention of remaining, finally shut it 

 up in his chicken-yard, where it was permanently 

 confined with no other associates than the chickens. 

 The prisoner at once began to lay eggs, and, after a 

 nest was formed, sat upon them, hatching out, in the 

 usual time, nine healthy turkeys. Three others, that 

 had been hatched by a hen, died soon for want of 

 care. Tlie eggs, thirteen in all, were laid without 

 any connection with a turkey-cock. An impregna- 

 tion, then, that must have taken jjlace before the 

 fowl was placed in confinement, must hav§ answered 

 for all the eggs. Agassiz states that one copulation 

 is supposed to answer for more than one egg in the 

 case of the turkey, but adds that the supposition 

 needs confirmation. The facts here mentioned seem 

 conclusive, as there was no possible way in which 

 connection could have taken place after the turkey 

 was confined. Edward M. Siiepakd. 



Springfield, Mo. 



THE GRAPE PHYLLOXERA IN FRANCE. 



Compte rendu des iravaux du service du Phylloxera. 

 Annie 1SS2. Proc'es verhaux dela session annuelle 

 de la Commission superieure du Phylloxera. Rap- 

 ports el pieces annexes. Lois, decrels et arreles relalif 

 au I'kylloxera. Paris, Impr. nat., 1883. 603 p. 

 4°. 



The Compte rendu des travaux du service 

 du Phylloxera for the year 1882, just received 

 in this country, make.? a large volume, contain- 



ing numerous reports of special committees 

 and delegates. The Commission supirieure du 

 Phylloxera, v\'hicli consists of some thirty-seven 

 members, incliidiug such well-known investi- 

 gators as Dumas, Pasteur, Tisserand, Cornu, 

 Balbiaiii, Marion, Mar^s, with a number of 

 deputies and senators, was convoked b.y the 

 minister of agriculture on the 19th of January, 

 1883. The first sub-committee at the session 

 of Jan. 22 submitted its report, which was 

 accepted b}- the Commission .superieure. This 

 report may be thus summed up : — 



After having passed upon 185 proposed rem- 

 edies, thej' were unable to award the prize of 

 300,000 francs offered bj' the government in 

 1874, as the}' recognized in none of the new 

 propositions any merit, whether as to novelty 

 or more desirable methods of application of any 

 insecticide already known. As in previous 

 years, the substances most often recommended 

 were salt, lime, soot, and cinders. It is well 

 known that salt has produced nothing but bad 

 effects on the vine, lime has amounted to 

 little, while soot and cinders are but adjuncts 

 to other modes of treatment. Among plants, 

 Pj-rethrum, tobacco. Quassia, and other similar 

 products, are still urged by applicants for tbe 

 prize, notwithstanding that the uselessness of 

 such products has been shown bj- past experi- 

 ence. In fact, the proposed remedies range 

 from dynamite and electricity to prayers and 

 processions. 



The second sub- commit.tee reported through 

 its chairman, M. Cornu, on the spread of the 

 insect through France, the report being accom- 

 panied by a map which shows that nearly one- 

 half of France is infested with Phylloxera. 

 The map indicates particularly' (1) the ' aron- 

 dissements ' in which the presence of Phj'l- 

 loxera has not yet been observed, and into 

 which it is forbidden to introduce anj' vines 

 from phylloxerated districts or from foreign 

 countries ; (2) districts in which the insect 

 occurs quite generall}', but into which the intro- 

 duction of foreign vines, or vines from other 

 phylloxerated districts, is not authorized ; and 

 (3) badly infested districts, into which the 

 introduction of foreign and French vines from 

 phylloxerated districts is authorized. These 

 last constitute nearlj- one-third of the area of 

 France. 



It will be well for those, who, allured by the 

 liberal offer of the French government, ^'entui'e 

 to propose a Phylloxera remedy, to I'emember 

 that one of the absolute conditions for the 

 awarding of the prize is that the remedy shall 

 be based on positive and authentic experience. 

 A great many visionary and theoretical propo- 



