December 29, 1893.] 



SCIENCE 



361 



"^Miilst the surface water at this distance from land was 

 comparatively cold, at the shore at Cap a I'Aigle, where it 

 flows and reflows over the rocky shallows, its temperature 

 on warm days was generally from 53"^ to GO'-' P., thus ad- 

 mitting of bathing on the part of the summer residents. 



LETTEKSTOTHE EDITOR 



jj*^Correspondents are requested to be as brief as possible. The 

 writer's name is in all cases required as a proof of good faith. 



On request in advance, one hundred copies of the number con- 

 taining his communication will be furnished free to . any corres- 

 pondent. 



The editor -wnll be glad to publish any queries consonant with 

 the character of the iournal. 



A Rope of Maggots. 



The following bit of experience is given in the hope 

 that some well-informed person will shed light upon the 

 subject. 



I was hurriedly passing through a wood one damp 

 summer morning when my attention was drawn to what 

 appeared to be a piece of rojje Ij'ing among the leaves. 

 It was not at all unusual to find short pieces of rope in 

 the pastured woods, but something unusual in the 

 appearance of this one attracted my attention at once. It 

 was moving ! not in a forward or backward, nor in a side- 

 wise, direction; nor rolling over, nor in the least chang- 

 ing its position or shape. In the dim light of the woods 

 I could make it out only by stooping down with my face 

 close to it. Then I discovered that it was composed of 

 maggots ! 



The rope tapered like a whip-lash, which it very closely 

 resembled, being about five feet long, nearly two inches 

 in diameter at the large end, fully two inches at the 

 largest part, and tapering from there to a thin line at the 

 "lash" end. It was in the form of a section of a circle 

 about twenty feet in diameter. 



Each maggot seemed to be in motion toward the large 

 end, wriggling over or between or below his fellows. 

 During the five minutes that I watched them there was 

 an advance of four inches, the van of the mass wriggling 

 on the leaves ahead of the rest. 



My first thought was that they were feasting on the 

 cadaver of a snake. But there was not the least evidence 

 of a snake. Since all seemed to be migrating, I con- 

 cluded that they had finished one mess and were seeking 

 another. But I was unable to find anything which they 

 could have hatched in or come from, in any direction, nor 

 any hole whence they might have issued. For nearly 

 two feet in the rear of the moving mass there were 

 traces of them, indicating that they had travelled over 

 that space. Further than that no traces could be found. 



Some questions naturally suggest themselves. If the 

 maggots were really migrating, how came they to be in 

 that shape rather than sjsread out over a larger surface ? 

 If they simply occujsied carrion which assumed this 

 shape, why were they all moving in one direction ? It is 

 not at all unusual to see a great mass of maggots move 

 simultaueouslj' when there is some exciting cause. But 

 these did not have that ajjpearance. They were trying to 

 get somewhere! If they had been feeding upon carrion, 

 whj' should there be not the slightest remains of it '? I 

 hope that some one maj' be able to throw some light upon 

 this. As near as I could determine, the maggots be- 

 longed to the genus Musca, and very closely resembled, if 

 they were not identical with, the common house fij' {31. 

 domealica.) Lynds Jones. 



Obcrlin College, Obcrlin, Ohio. 



Singular Behavior of an Owl. 

 When collecting plants in the summer I came across an 

 owl standing at the base of a small shrubby oak in a 

 thinly wooded pasture. It was discovered when about 



twenty feet away, and was cautiously approached in order 

 to get a better view, and to see how it would act. When 

 I had come within eight or ten feet it fluttered away 

 about as far in the opposite direction, turned partly on 

 its side and spread its wings a little, much as a wounded 

 or fallen bird does. I went up to it, took it from the 

 ground and carefully examined it, expecting to find some 

 wound or mark of disability for flying, but could find 

 none. While doing this it was held in the hands either 

 by the wings, feet or body, the bird quietly submitting 

 or only slightly fla^Dping the wings. After satisfying my 

 curiosity I set it down, not wishing to carry it about all 

 day in order to take it home, for it was not yet noon. To 

 my surprise it immediately flew off several rods with as 

 much ajDparent ease as any bird possessed. I watched to 

 see where it lighted, and found it in an open jolace amid 

 the rushes of a dry slough. Being curious to see whether 

 it would repeat the former tactics, I again approached 

 it cautiously, but got scarcely as near as before, when it 

 took wing again and flew still farther off. It was sought 

 once more, and found in a similar 23lace, but had become 

 more wary, so that I could not get very near before it 

 flew so far away that I did not care to follow it up, having 

 become well satisfied that the owl was physically sound, 

 and knew quite well how to care for itself. 



It at once became a question why the bird had acted so 

 strangely at first. Was it surprised and bewildered, or 

 dazed by the sunlight, or did it make a deliberate effort 

 to deceive ? To decide by the behavior, since one cannot 

 tell what may be passing in the bird-mind, the last offers 

 the best explanation. Though walking quite briskly 

 when the owl was first seen, I at once checked my step, 

 and paused for a little before going nearer. The bird 

 evidently saw me about as soon as I saw it, for its face 

 was towards me, and it watched my movements. How 

 well an owl can see in the day-time I am not prepared to 

 say, though it readily perceived me by some sense on the 

 two subsequent occasions of ajoproach when I was quite 

 a piece away. Hence the attitude it took, its non-resist- 

 ance when taken in hand, and its submissiveness when 

 undergoing inspection, led me to infer that the owl 

 wished to pass for a worthless fellow, if not dead, and 

 cause me to go by and let it alone. But it evidently 

 came to a different conclusion after the first trial and did 

 not care to run further risk, or trust me longer. From 

 its size and markings it was judged to have been the 

 short-eared owl, Brachyotus palustris of authors. 



E. J. Hill. 



Englewood, Chicago, Dec. 22, 1893. 



On Carib Migrations. 



In Science, Dec. 15, p. 334, it is said, referring to the 

 Caribs, "It would seem strange if a jjeople who could 

 navigate the Caribbean Sea in large open boats were in- 

 capable of crossing from Cuba to Florida." 



The assumption appears to be that some Caribs lived on 

 the island of Cuba. What authority is there for this ? 

 Is it any more strange that the Caribs did not reach 

 Florida than that the Mayas and the Island Arawacks 

 did not ? Both of whom were equally skillful navigators. 

 Or, because they were capable of doing so, are we to as- 

 sume that they did ? Not an element of the Carib lan- 

 guage has been found anywhere north of the Isthmus of 

 Panama. D. G. Buinton. 



Philadelphia, Dec. 27. 



Pocket Key of the Birds of the Northern United States. 

 In the notice of my "Pocket Key of the Birds of the 

 Northern United States" in Science for Dec. 15 it is 

 said that it "will enable a student of nature to determine 



