June 29, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



613 



not fat" are more nearly constant. The fat globules 

 vary in number and in size, from i-i, 000th inch in 

 diameter to i-25o,oooth inch. In the milk of Jersey cows 

 the fat globules average 1-5, 252nd inch ; in the Ayrshire, 

 1-7,080. In the Dutch and Holstein they are still smaller. 

 Milks diifer also in their digestibilitj'. 



The Fossil Flora of Portugal. — The members of 

 the Geological Commission of Portugal have made some 

 interesting observations [Comptes Rcndus), which have 

 been communicated by M. Saporta. It is noticed that 

 the first appearance of large mammalia upon the earth 

 coincides with that of dicotyledonous vegetation. 



The Little Neck Hard Shell Clam. — This mollusk 

 {Venus mcrcenaria) has, according to the Field, been suc- 

 cessfully introduced at Golspie, in Sutherland. The 

 attempt is also being made to naturalise the soft-shell 

 clam {Mya arcnaria). It is considered that these two 

 mollusks will prove a valuable addition to our esculent 

 shell-fish. 



Vegetarian Reptiles. — With the exception of some 

 tortoises, reptiles are generally found to be strictly carni- 

 vorous. Certain lizards, however, such as Uromastix 

 acanihinus, Eumeces aldrovandi, Lacerta occllata, and 

 Stellio vidgaris eat plants. According to the American 

 Naturalist, J. von Fischer finds that Uromastix Iiardivickii, 

 a Bengalese species, refuses animal food, but consumes 

 rice, maize, hay, and straw. 



The Cuckoo and the Hoopoe. — The notes that we 

 receive concerning the plenty of cuckoos this season 

 remind us that the hoopoe, where plentiful, answers the 

 cuckoo. When the latter cries, " cuckoo," the other 

 replies, "poo-poo-poo." Hence, in Eastern Germany, he 

 is know as the " cuckoo's clerk." Were we less given to 

 the wanton massacre of harmless birds we might hear this 

 duet in England. 



Influence of Arsenic on the Complexion. — Persons 

 who use arsenic as a cosmetic should know that the 

 efitcts of this poison upon the skin have been recently 

 discussed at the Pathological Society of London, in con- 

 sequence of a communication from Mr. Jonathan Hutchin- 

 son. It is found that it may spoil the complexion instead 

 of improving it, making it muddy and unsightly. It also 

 occasions soft corns in the palms of the hands and the 

 soles of feet. 



The Formation of Barrier Reefs and Lagoons. — Mr. 

 J. L. Whcaton (Popular Science Monthly) SLCce-pts generally 

 the views of Mr. James Murray on the formation of 

 barrier reefs and atolls. But he considers the formation 

 of interior lagoons to be mainly due, not to the solution 

 and washing out of dead coral by the sea-water, but to 

 the lack of food, all nourishment having been absorbed 

 by the corals of the outer reef before the water reaches 

 the inner parts. 



Subterranean Fishes. — In the Algerian Sahara there 

 are numerous subterranean lakes in which a number of 

 small fish and mollusks live and multiply; moreover, the 

 artesian wells of the Sahara often throw out fish that 

 are sometimes two inches in length. The governor of 

 the oases of Thebes and Garbes, in Egypt, in 1849, 

 asserted that he took from an artesian well 440 feet deep, 



near his residence, fish in sufficient quantity to supply 

 his table. — Scientific American. 



The Rabbit Plague in Australia. — If the Australian 

 Times is to be believed, the Pasteur experiments on 

 transferring chicken cholera to rabbits at Sydney have 

 proved so far unsuccessful. 



' •>-^?^^»cC5<^ 



THE INTELLIGENCE OF THE WOOD- 

 COCK. 

 T\ T VICTOR FATIO has recently read before the 

 -'-'-'-. Society of Natural History of Geneva a paper 

 on this subject, which has been reported in Cosmos. 



In the pursuit of this wading bird [Scolopax rusticola) 

 he has repeatedly observed that a wounded bird dresses 

 its wounds, very ingeniously applying down from its 

 plumage to the injured part. According to the nature 

 of the case it either lays a plaster upon a bleeding wound 

 or fixes adroitly a firm bandage around a broken limb. 



He one day killed a woodcock which had over an old 

 wound on the breast a large plaster felted of small 

 downy feathers, plucked from dilferent parts of the 

 body, and firmly fixed upon the injured spot by 

 coagulated blood. 



On another occasion he found a plaster, made in the 

 same manner, applied upon a wound in the rump. 



Twice he has met with woodcocks each of which had 

 on one leg a bandage of feathers closely twined around a 

 place where a bone had been previously fractured. In 

 one of them the right leg above the tarsus was strongly 

 and quite recently bound up with feathers taken from the 

 back and the belly. 



In the other the tarsus itself, in a fair way of recovery, 

 still bore the bandage which had held it in position. 



The most curious, and at the same time the saddest 

 case which M. Fatio records, is that of a woodcock which 

 had both legs broken by a shot, and which was only 

 found the next morning. The poor bird had succeeded 

 in bandaging both legs, one of them, indeed, for two 

 distinct fractures ; but, being obliged to operate in a 

 very inconvenient position, and being deprived of the use 

 of its claws, it had not been able to remove some feathers 

 which had adhered to its beak, and which prevented it 

 from feeding. Though it was able to fly, and though its 

 wounds were admirably dressed, it had died of hunger. 



This proof of intelligence in a bird generally regarded 

 as stupid, and which, like the waders generally, has but 

 a very small brain, merits recording in the annals of 

 animal psychology. 



It is curious that a much more intelligent bird, the 

 magpie, should have so much less appreciation of 

 surgery. A neighbour of ours, some years ago, had a 

 very clever but exceedingly vicious magpie. Finding it 

 one day in some piece of intolerable mischief he threw at 

 it the first article which came to hand, and broke one of 

 its legs. He therefore caught the bird, fi.^ed some light 

 wooden splints to the broken part and secured them with 

 twine. Mag, however, did not relish the operation. 

 Sitting on the sound leg it held up the other, gazed at it 

 and gave the bandages a good peck, swearing at every 

 blow. The twine was soon broken and the splints 

 removed, with the result that mortification set in, 

 and the unvirtuous bird perished. 



We have heard several cases of surgical operations 

 executed by animals, and would recommend this subject 

 for careful observation. 



