AND OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES. 



51 



the sake of their skins, which meet with a ready sale at Manilla. They 

 are found on the islands of Bohol and Mindanado. 



HABITS OF THE JAGUARS. 



Mr Schomburgk, the enterprising traveller, having recently returned from 

 his successful expedition in Guiana, has communicated to the London 

 Zoological Society notices concerning various of the animals, which his 

 circumstances supplied admirable opportunities of minutely observing. Of 

 these we shall now present a few hints concerning the Jaguars, those for- 

 midable felines which are usually compared with the Royal Tiger of Asia. Mr 

 S. alludes to two species or varieties. He agrees with former observers 

 in stating that the larger is very numerous, and exceedingly daring, some- 

 times killing cattle within a few yards of human habitations, and caring 

 very little for the fires which are made to prevent their encroachment. 

 If one or a pair of these animals should take up their quarters in the 

 vicinity of a cattle farm, scarcely a night passes in which they do not 

 commit ravages. They do not eat much of any prey they kill, perhaps 

 ten or twelve pounds, and principally of the breast ; but they prefer kill- 

 ing fresh every time they are hungry. The smaller variety, sometimes 

 called the Turtle-Tiger, is scarcely less destructive. _ They are of the 

 same strong build as the greater, and much resemble it in the colours and 

 markings, but are about a 1 third less in size. In the vicinity of human 

 dwellings they commit great havoc among domestic animals, hogs, sheep, 

 goats, &c. being alike exposed to their attacks, though no authentic in- 

 stance has ever been heard of their attacking man, whilst they boldly enter 

 the house, and carry away the dogs from the fireside. 



On arriving, in February 1837, at Curassawaka, Mr Schomburgk heard 

 much complaint of a Jaguar that was prowling nightly about the settlement. 

 This animal had carried away a young puppy from below an Indian hut. 

 It then pilfered a good hammock, of which the natives were suspected ; 

 then a blanket ; and still stranger thefts became more frequent, as sauce- 

 pans, spoons, a table-cloth, and other things left about the huts. It was 

 about this time that our traveller, having a good deal of writing, was 

 aenerally sitting up till after midnight. " Although my hut," he observes, 

 "merely an open shed, was at some distance from the settlement, and a 

 servant, besides myself, its only inhabitants, we had been no otherwise 

 disturbed by the Jaguar than from the noise of my dog, when our unwel- 

 come guest prowled in the neighbourhood of the huts. I was thus one 

 night sitting up at my desk, and had just put my loaded pistols, which 

 had been lying on the desk, on a box at my left hand, thinking it too late 

 to expect a visit from the Tiger. A short while after my eyes were 

 directed to the outside of the shed, when I discovered an object, the real 

 nature of which I could not make out from my hammock being in the 

 way : holding forward the light, I discovered, to my great astonishment, 

 the Jaguar standing four paces from me, and looking stedfastly at my 

 proceedings. How long he had been there I know not ; but before I had 

 put down the candle, and seized the pistol, he had walked offslowly into 

 the bush, and although I fired after him, I naturally missed him. A few 

 nights after, I was awaked by something crawling under my hammock, 

 and, supposing it to have been a dog which had been in quest of some 

 pieces of biscuit which I had left on a plate, I gave the disturber of my 

 rest a slap with the hand, when, lo ! the animal cleared with one spring 

 the chests and trunks which stood in its way, and rushed into the bush, 

 displaying the spotted skin of the Jaguar. I freely confess that, at this 

 discovery, the blood chilled in my veins. The marks of the Jaguar's 

 paws, next morning, left no doubt as to the visitor ; and we began to 

 consider, not so improbable, the report of the Indians, as to who might 

 have been the putloiner of the things which we had missed. A search 

 was begun in the neighbouring wood : pieces of wool torn from the blan- 

 ket, when dragged through the bush, pointed out the probable direction 

 which the Jaguar had taken with its booty, and soon after the blanket 

 itself was found, apparently no farther injured than by the rents which it 

 might have got in being dragged along. The hammock was found in a 

 quite different direction, and also the other missing objects, with the ex- 

 ception of the table-cloth. What could be the object of the animal in 

 carrying them off? Shall we compare it to the thievish Magpie, or was 

 it mere playfulness ? Sometimes we were astonished by his feats of 

 strength ; but all our endeavours to rid ourselves of this unwelcome visi- 

 tor proved fruitless." — (Proceedings Zoological Society.) 



HABITS OF THE ROACH, LEUC1SCUS RDTILUS. 



The Roach differs considerably in its habits from its congeners. It fre- 

 quents pools, canals, and gently running streams, such as those of the 

 eastern counties of England, where it is exceedingly abundant. In Scot- 

 land it is of much less frequent occurrence, although plentiful in a few 

 localities, such as the Edinburgh and Glasgow Canal. It usually moves 

 about in small parties, sometimes in large shoals. Although it is held in 

 little estimation as au article of food, on account of its insipid taste, which, 



however, is not so remarkable if it be taken from a running stream, it is 

 much sought after by juvenile anglers, who prize number and quantity 

 much more than the qualities of vigour and fine flavour, which please the 

 mature fisher, who seldom uses the Roach unless as bait for pike or 

 large perch. For this purpose the smaller individuals are best adapted. 



Owing to the small size of the Roach's mouth, the bait and hook 

 must not be large. Nothing answers better as bait than bread crumbs, 

 or a paste made of flour and water, in portions about the size of a pea. 

 As the mouth of the fish is very tender, care must be taken to prevent 

 escape after it has been hooked, and much gentleness is required in order 

 to bring a large Roach safely to the shore. 



I have seen cocculus indicus used for the purpose of stupifying this 

 fish, which may be easily caught with a bag-net on rising to the surface, 

 forced by the action of the poison. Fish taken in this way are invariably 

 found to have the swimming-bladder much distended with air. This vile 

 mode of fishing, which is very properly prohibited by law, is, however, 

 seldom resorted to. 



The weight of the Roach varies from a pound upwards. Instances 

 have been known of individuals weighing as much as five pounds, but it 

 rarely attains half that weight. A specimen of twelve or thirteen inches 

 in length, if in good condition, ought to weigh about a pound. 



An individual, fourteen inches in length, procured in the neighbourhood 

 of Edinburgh, may be described thus. Viewed laterally, it presents a 

 somewhat oval shape, with the dorsal line much elevated, and forming a 

 prominent ridge. The scales are of large size, arranged in eleven rows, 

 seven and a half of which are above, the other three and a half below, 

 the lateral line, which is formed of forty-three scales. The head, which 

 is destitute of scales, is one-filth of the entire length. The mouth is 

 small, with the jaws of equal length ; the tail is deeply forked. The 

 whole fish is much compressed laterally, measuring only an inch and a 

 half in breadth, while its greatest depth, immediately in front of the 

 dorsal fin, is three and a half inches. 



The colour of the back is dusky-green, with a tinge of blue; the sides 

 are lighter, and the belly of a silvery white. The fins, as well as the 

 irides, are of a tint varying from pale orange to bright red. The formula 

 of the fins is— D. 13_P. 16— V. 9— A. 13— C. 19— B. 3. 



Persia n Sheep Dog Sir John M ' Neill has lately presented to the Zoo- 

 logical Society of London, a Dog which is used by the wandering tribes 

 in Persia to guard their flocks : it is a shaggy animal, nearly as large as a 

 Newfoundland, and very fierce and powerful. The dam of the animal 

 now in the Zoological Gardens killed a full grown Wolf without assist- 

 ance. 



METEOROLOGY. 



ON THE EFFECTS PRODUCED UPON ANIMAL LIFE BY THE SEVERE WINTER 



1837-38. 



In our last Number we supplied a short notice concerning the last part 

 of the Proceedings of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club, and intimated 

 our intention of occasionally gratifying our readers with additional ex- 

 tracts. The following is an excerpt of a paper from the able pen of P. 

 J. Selby, Esq. of Twizel House. 



The severity with which the year 1838 was ushered in by the long conti- 

 nued frost during the months of January, February, and apart of March • 

 the cold and long retarded spring, succeeded by a chilly and uno-enial sum- 

 mer, as well as a late and deficient harvest, place the year 1838 upon our 

 records as one of peculiar, though happily of unwonted character. Under 

 circumstances of such a nature, and which it is more than probable may 

 not again occur during the limit of the present generation, a few observa- 

 tions upon the effects of so severe a season, as connected with animal 

 life, may perhaps prove not altogether uninteresting. It will be in the 

 recollection of those who attended to the weather, that, up to the 5th of 

 January 1838, the season, with the exception of the first week of the 

 previous November, when we experienced a severe but cursory snow 

 storm, had upon the whole been temperate and mild : this was particu- 

 larly the case on Christmas, and two or three following days, when the 

 thermometer ranged from 52° to 55°, at which time, I may remark, many 

 of the Thrushes which still remained inland were heard recording in dis- 

 tinct and audible key, thus flattering us with the hope that winter had 

 divested herself of her characteristic garb, and that these sweet carols 

 were to be the prelude of an early spring. These halcyon days, how- 

 ever, were of short duration, as, on the 6th of Januarv, frost set in ac- 

 companied in this district by showers or falls of snow and hail, which in 

 consequence of the calm state of the atmosphere, fell level upon the 

 surface. It thus continued falling at frequent intervals, more or less, for 

 nearly a fortnight, when the snow had accumulated to the depth of ten 

 or twelve inches over the whole surface of the country, the frost, at the 

 same time, continuing to increase in intensity, till every brook and pool 

 was locked up in ice and frozen snow. In consequence of this deep 



