March 25, 1892.] 



SCIENCE. 



171 



ever, see the animal, Darwin states that the puma does liot 

 often utter cries. He writes: "It is a very silent animal, 

 uttering no cry, even when wounded, and only rarely during 

 the breeding season.'' 



In captivity the puma purrs when pleased, after the man- 

 ner of the cat, and the female has been heard to utter a 

 mewing sound. 



The flesh of the puma is eaten by certain of the South 

 American Indians, and was likewise eaten by the natives of 

 North America, according to Catesby. Darwin, who tasted 

 it himself, states that it is white in color and has the flavor 

 of veal. Numerous other explorers and travellers make the 

 same comment. Azara says on this point; "I have known 

 my peons to eat it in preference to beef, even when that meat 

 was to he had in abundance." 



The puma is known under a multiplicity of English names. 

 Among these are panther, painter, cougar, catamount, wild 

 cat, American lion, California lion, silver lion, mountain 

 lion, and tiger. 



The word puma is the native Peruvian name, according to 

 Garcilasso de la Vega, La Condamine, Tschudi, and other 

 authors. 



Cougar is an English form of the word couguar, which 

 Buffon derived by abbreviation from cuguacu ara. This 

 latter word, lengthened to cuguacuarana, is, according to 

 Markgrave, the native Brazilian name. Azara, however, 

 states that the ancient name, used by the Guarani Indi- 

 ans of Paraguay was giiazilard. Others called it yagila- 

 Pita, meaning red yagua, or yaguat'i meaning white 

 yagua. 



The V70rd " painter " is a corruption of panther. It is 

 unfortunate that this latter name has gained general accept- 

 ance in the United States, since the true panther is a spot- 

 ted. Old World cat, very different in appearance from the . 

 puma. 



The name mountain lion is not altogether inappropriate, 

 as the puma somewhat resembles the female lion in color 

 and general form. From the earliest days the puma has 

 been called the lion {Leon) by Spanish Americans and the 

 name is still used. 



The names catamount, or catamountain, and wild cat have 

 no special applicability to the puma. They have been used 

 by English writers to designate the European wild cat {Felis 

 catus) and lynxes, and by Americans have been applied to 

 the lynxes of this country. 



Besides those names which ai-e in common use, there are 

 some which have been invented from time to time by various 

 authors, and are known to zoologists as " book-names." 

 BuflFon's name Couguar really belongs to this class, as do 

 also the names Brazilian cat (die brasilianische Katze of 

 Miiller), the brown tiger of Pennant, and the red tiger (Kgrre 

 Rouge of Barrere). 



As already stated, the puma is called the lion (Leon) by 

 Spanish-Americans, while the jaguar is styled the tiger 

 (Tigre). Early Spanish writers, however, did not always 

 distinguish between the two, and sometimes mentioned the 

 puma under the name of tiger, or used the name in some 

 modified form, as red tiger, etc. Molina states that it is 

 called Pagi in Chili, and according to Clavigero, it was 

 known to the Mexicans as Mitzli. 



The puma is the Felis concolor of Linnaeus. This name 

 has been adopted by subseque'it authors, almost without ex- 

 ception. Schreber, however, has two figures of the species 

 in his work on mammals, one of which is styled Felis dis- 

 color. 



Molina, in 1782, gave it the name of Felis puma, and 

 Lesson, that of Felis unicolor. 



Predebiok W. True. 



ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. 



A New Comet. 

 A VERY faint comet was discovered by Denning of Bristol, 

 England, on March 18. Its position is, R.A 22 h., 44 m., 

 Dec. -(- 59°. The daily motion is north, preceding. The 

 comet has been observed by Spetater of "Vienna, and the fol- 

 lowing is his position: March 19.4338 G.M.T., R.A. 22 h., 

 46 m., 47.1 s , Dec. + 59°, 17', 43". 



Winnecke's Comet. 



Winnecke's periodical comet has been found and observed. 

 The observation is from Vipnna, and the following is the 

 position: March 18.4041 G.M.T., R.A. 12 b., 43 m., 27.5 s,, 

 Dec, + 30°, 35', 38", It is of the twelfth magnitude. 



New Planets, 

 A planet of the twelfth magnitude was discovered by 

 Wolf on March 18, The following is the position: R,A. 

 11 h,, 7 m,, 20,6 s,, Dec -f- 4°, 44', 49". A planet of the 

 eleventh magnitude was discovered by Palisa on March 19. 

 The following is the position: R.A, 13 h,, 27 m,, 0,0 s,, Dec. 

 -f 9°, 55', 9". G, A, H. 



VENEZUELA AND COLOMBIA. ^ 



M, Chapfanjon, in a paper read before the Paris Society 

 for Commercial Geography {Bulletin, Tome xiii,. No. 4), 

 has given a description of these countries and a narrative of 

 the journeys he made there during the years 1889-91, Vene- 

 zuela has about 750 miles of coast line. From the mouth of 

 the Essequibo to Guiria Point, known also as Cape Pefias, 

 opposite Trinidad, the coast is low and sandy, whereas from 

 this point westward to the Gulf of Maracaibo it is in general 

 high and skirted by mountains rising in some places to a 

 considerable elevation. The chief exports of the country are 

 coffee, cocoa, and tobacco, cattle, copper and gold, Colombia 

 is very favorably situated, possessing about 600 miles of 

 coast on the Atlantic and nearly as much on the Pacific. Its 

 harbors are certainly not very accessible, but Cartagena 

 might be converted into a safe and important port. The 

 coasts are low and dry, or else swampy. The Sierra Nevada 

 produces excellent coffee and cocoa, and travellers speak 

 very hopefully of jts minerals. Gold, copper, nickel, mer- 

 cury and coal have been found. In the neighborhood of 

 Lake Maracaibo and the peninsula of Coro coal is abundant, 

 and rich springs of petroleum exist. At a distance from the 

 coast the country consists of immense savannahs, on which 

 grow here and there, like oases in the desert, clumps of the 

 palms known in this part of America as moriches, which 

 send down their roots perpendicularly into the soil, and by 

 capillary action draw up the water to the surface, making 

 the ground around them muddy and even dangerous. If 

 from any cause these trees disappear, the soil soon becomes 

 extremely arid. Large fortunes are made by cattle grazing, 

 and the cultivation of sugar is also an important industry, 

 herdsmen eating as much as three or four pounds daily of a 

 kind of loaf made of sugar. On the high plateaus wheat, 

 oats, maize, and potatoes are grown. Caoutchouc and resins 

 of various kinds may be collected in the forests. 



1 From the Scotlith Geograpbical ^lagazluc. 



