December i6, 1892.] 



SCIENCE. 



345 



sical conditions, tlie climate, the fauna and flora alike forbid it, 

 and this has not been done. Man lives in less hospitable regions 

 now than when the Trenton gravel was laid down; the climate at 

 the close of the glacial period was not more severe than that ob- 

 taining to-day in the Arctic circle. The reindeer, musk-ox, seal, 

 and walrus sustain man to-day in Arctic America, and why 

 should they not have done so in the Delaware valley, when a 

 prominent feature of this fauna, as their bones in the gravel tes- 

 tify, they once were ? There is an Arctic flora in existence now ; 

 so why not here in the distant long-ago of Glacial times; and 

 foi'ests, we know, can flourish at the very edge of a glacier. 



This whole matter is not so exclusively a geological question as 

 the votaries of that science declare. The archaeologist has this 

 surface soil and the sand and gravel beneath it clearly within the 

 range of his domain, and he is no archaeologist whose training 

 falls short of ability to study intelligently the history of these 

 superficial deposits. 



As yet, concerning the gravel deposits of the Delaware valley, 

 the geologists have merely put in a denial, which should not 

 weigh against the careful researches of those who have given 

 years to the study of this subject. What is needed in these over- 

 crowded latter days is a proof that palaeolithic man is an impossi- 

 bility, When this is forthcoming, and not until then, will the 

 student of early man in America haul down his flag. 



As to the present controversy, here is the whole matter in a 

 nutshell; — 



I. 

 The stones are inspected, 

 And Holmes cries " rejected, 



They' re nothing but Indian chips " 

 He glanced at the ground, 

 Truth, fancied he found. 



And homeward to Washington skips. 



II. 



They got there by chance 

 ' He saw at a glance 



And turned up his nose at the series ; 

 "They've no other history, 

 I've solved the whole mystery. 



And to argue the point only wearies" 



III. 



But the gravel is old, 

 At least, so I'm told; 



" Halt, haltl " cries out W. J., 

 ' ' It may be very recent. 

 And it isn't quite decent. 



For me not to have my own way." 



IV. 

 So dear W. J. 

 There is no more to say, 



Because you will never agree 

 That anything' s truth 

 But what issues, forsooth. 

 From Holmes or the brain of McGee. 



Charles C. Abbott, M.D. 



Water Rattlesnake in Captivity. 



In your issue of Nov. 11, there was an interesting account by 

 R. W. Jones of a rattlesnake that would not eat. I had the care, 

 this year, of a water rattlesnake {Crotalus adamanteus), which, 

 after some trouble, I persuaded to eat. It was sent from Florida 

 to the Toronto Natural History Society, in September, 1891; and 

 at first we intended to put him in a cellar for the winter, and let 

 him hibernate; but I thought a warmer place would be more 

 likely to suit him, and so leave was obtained from the authorities 

 to keep him in a large conservatory at the horticultural gardens. 

 He had a glass-sided case to live in, 3 feet long and 15 inches 

 wide, and was himself about 3 feet long. 



I put a bull-frog in with him one day, but he took no notice ot 

 it, beyond just touching it with the tip (or tips, to be quite cor- 

 rect) of his tongue. I then tried him with a brown rat (he had 



now been about three months without food); when he saw the 

 rat he grew quite excited, and struck at him twice. I waited 

 about half an hour, expecting the rat to die, but the bite seemed 

 to have no effect, so I left the rat in the case. As this was a 

 Saturday, I did not see hiin again until Monday, and I then found 

 the rat still alive; but with a bad bite on the side of its head, and 

 the snake had two holes, made by the rat's teeth, through its 

 rattle. The gardener told me that they had a fierce battle on 

 Sunday afternoon, but they now seemed each afraid of the other. 

 I killed the rat, and left the body in the snake's case, but he 

 would not eat it. I next put a white mouse in his case, but of 

 this he took hardly any notice. About the end of March I shot 

 two goldfinches, and placed the dead bodies in his case. On vis- 

 iting him again in a day or so, I was delighted to find that one 

 of the goldfinches had disappeared. After this I supplied him 

 frequently with dead birds, and about once a month he conde- 

 scended to eat; but the birds he eat were always small ones, such 

 as goldfinches, chipping sparrows, and warblers; he never ate 

 any as large as the English sparrow or purple finch, several of 

 which I put in his case; and he never fed while any one was look- 

 ing at him. 



His rattle was permanently injured by the rat's attack, and 

 ever after sounded only a feeble and subdued kind of alarm. He 

 changed his skin once during the summer; and, after the change, 

 the tints of the beautiful diamond pattern on his back were ex- 

 tremely bright and vivid. 



I could not get him to feed at all after the beginning of August, 

 and he died in October, 1893, having been in captivity for a little 

 over a year, for the first six months of which he went entirely 

 without food. I gave him a shower-bath occasionally, which he 

 seemed to enjoy, and was, I think, more ready to feed after he 

 had been well moistened in this way. 



I have now another and larger specimen of this rattlesnake to 

 take care of. It was received from Florida in October last, and 

 is quartered for the winter in a very warm and comfortable 

 green-house. He has not as yet eaten anything, but I may be able 

 to send you, next year, some report as to how he behaves. 



I. B. Williams. 



Toronto, December. 



Intelligence in the Lower Orders. 



Something over a year since a young lady of my acquaintance 

 had an experience with a beetle, which, I think, showed a very 

 marked degree of intelligence in the insect; and, as such instances 

 are somewhat rare, I venture to send you an account of it. 



This beetle was a specimen of Pelidnota punctata Linn., which 

 was given to her in September. At first she kept it in a small 

 bos, feeding it with grass, leaves, and small pieces of fruits, such 

 as peaches, pears, etc. Occasionally she would give it a drop of 

 water to sip. It would sometimes bite a little out of a leaf, would 

 eat the fruits, and would take water eagerly. 



From the first she would take the insect in her fingers several 

 times a day and stroke or caress it, also putting it to her lips and 

 talking to it all the while she handled it. When she put it to her 

 lips it would brush its antennas over them with a gentle, caressing 

 motion. 



When she left her room she would shut the " buggie'' up in its 

 box. One day, about two weeks after she received it, she was 

 called out suddenly and neglected this precaution. She was ab- 

 sent a considerable length of time, and when she returned the 

 insect was not in its box nor anywhere to be seen. Fearing that 

 she might injure it, she stood still and called "buggie, buggie," 

 when it came crawling from its retreat toward her. 



After this, she would frequently leave it free in the room when 

 she went out, and when she returned, if the insect was not ii 

 sight, she would call it, and it would crawl or fly to her. As this 

 was continued, it would more and more frequently fly to her in- 

 stead of crawling, until at last it flew nearly every time it was 

 called. When it came in this way, she would put it to her lips 

 or to her nose, and the insect would appear to be pleased, moving 

 its antennas gently over her lips, or taking the end of her nose be- 

 tween them and touching it with a patting motion. 



