60 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[March ], 18G5. 



ridden ; " for we wish to interest you in a little pet 

 we have there. A worm it is : but such a worm ! 

 The Nereis bilicceata it is called. A few mouths 

 since, a hermit-crab and the shell it inhabits found a 

 place in our aquarium ; but soon, alas ! the days of 

 poor Fagurus were numbered, and its body became 

 food for Anthea and her floral sisters. We were 

 on the point of casting forth the deserted shell, 

 when our suspicions were aroused that it was not 

 so tenantless as we first imagined, for there seemed 

 to be a little domicile within composed of tiny 

 pebbles. We waited many days in vain for sight of 

 living thing. One evening, passing the vase, candle 

 in hand, Ave caught sight of what appeared a beau- 

 tiful caterpillar ; but the sliy beauty iustautly 

 vanished into the recesses of the shell. You may 

 imagine with what patience — or impatience, if you 

 like — we watched Ins re-appearance. 



In vain wc tempted liim with juicy beef and other 

 delicacies with which we regale our numerous pets. 

 He was proof against all our bribes. At length, 

 growing desperate, we thouglit to frighten him into 

 displaying himself; so, takin;? up our tube, we 

 tapped gently at his portals, and waited breathlessly 

 the result ; when, lo ! to our astonishment, curio- 

 sity we suppose overcame his shyness, and he 

 cautiously peeped to see whether friend or foe re- 

 quested admittance. Being satisfied of our amicable 

 intentions, he waxed bolder, and displayed to our 

 delighted gaze, again and again, his graceful form 

 and bright brown and golden stripes. 



We never fail, in this wa)', to smnmon him to 

 our presence, much to the amusement of our young 

 fiiends. And we would advise tliose who are for- 

 tunate enough to number this pretty worm among 

 their pets, and lament his shyness, to give a lady- 

 like double knock at his door, and we trust Mr. 

 Nereis will obligingly open to them in person. 



Tliat deliglitful marine biographer, Mr. Gosse, 

 tells us, in his "Aquarium," tiiat the Nereis is com- 

 monly found associated with the hermit-crab in old 

 whelk shells ; and it would appear that the worm 

 has good reasons for entering into this partnership, 

 as he expects JMr. Pagurus to cater for them both, 

 frequently disputing even the possession of a tender 

 morsel with his amiable companion ; aye, even car- 

 I'ying his greed so far as to drag poor crabby's meal 

 from his very jaws, and retiring into the I'ecesses of 

 the shell to discuss it at his leisure. 



^J'he sense of smell does not seem to be very acute 

 in this little creature, for we have many times 

 dropped pieces of meat into the shell, but have 

 never seen them eaten ; and if Nereis stumbled upon 

 them, we believe it was more by luck than judg- 

 ment. We fancy, indeed, that perhaps, after all, 

 the shelter afforded by his friend's domicile is more 

 essential to him than any provision made for his 

 creature comfort, as our worm has flourished, and 

 still continues to do so, after a six months' separa- 

 tion. The motives that lead to this companionship 

 seem rather obscure, and we trust some of our 

 young friends may be induced to pursue this inte- 

 resting inquiry, and by personal observation endea- 

 vour to throw some light upon the subject. 



M. 



Carolina Crake in EvtLand.-— At a meeting 

 of the Zoological Societ\, Pe'i. 14th, Mr. A. Newton 

 exhibited a specimen of jI eC irolina Crake {Porzcma 

 (kiroUna), stated to have : c; i recently obtained on 

 the Keunett, nearNewburv, oeing the first recorded 

 instance of its occurrence in this couutrv. 



THE DEATH-WATCH. 



(akobium tesselatum.) 

 "The solemn death-watch clicks the hour of death." 



Table-turning, spirit-rapping, and all other 

 modern manifestations were in their infancy when I 

 was a child, but a superstitious belief in the idea 

 that the noise made by this small insect indicated 

 an approaching death in the house was firmly 

 credited. 



You probably remember Dean Swift's lines : — 



" Because like a watch, it always cries ' click,' 

 Then woe be to those in the house who are sick; 

 Por, sure as a gun, they will give up the ghost. 

 If the iiufffffol cries click when it scratches the post." 



The habits of this Ijeetle were evidently not so 

 well known in the days of Queen Anne as they are 

 in the present time, otherwise the great satirist 

 would not have fallen into the error of niaking the 

 " marigot" cry click, it being the perfect insect only, 

 and not the larvaj, which makes this noise. 



This pigmy beetle is constantly found iu old 

 houses. Its antenuEe, or horns, are red, having their 

 three last joints longer than the others, and clubbed; 

 the body is brown, but the wing-cases and breast 

 are spotted^" handsomely tcsselated," as some 

 \vriters term it— and covered Avith an ash-coloured 

 down ; the legs are brown, of the same hue as the 

 body, it is very slow in its motions, will rarely fly, 

 and on being touched counterfeits death for a long 

 time. All the species possess this power, and henee 

 their generic name, from " resuscitated." They will 

 actually allow themselves to be pulled to pieces 

 without showing a sign of life. 



The larvae look like little soft, white worms — 

 tlie entire insect is only about a quarter of an inch 

 in length — and they are especially destructive in 

 their tastes. Woe betide the case of birds or pre- 

 pared insects which they find their way to ; old fur- 

 niture, books, various sorts of grains, wafers, &c., 

 are all in their line. They conceal themselves in 

 grooves, and pass the nymph state in cells lined with 

 a few silken threads. People formerly attributed 

 the tickings of the death-watch to a species of wood- 

 louse and of spider. I believe someof the wood- 

 louse genus have the power of making a similar 

 tick, but the death-watch best known to us belongs 

 to the genus Anohium. According to naturalists, 

 ten species found in Great Britain make the dreaded 

 sound ; our death-watch, however, on the present 

 occasion is the Anohium tessclatim, and the way iu 

 which this insect chronometer goes to work is as 

 follows : — It raises itself on its hind legs, and, with 

 its body slightly inclined, beats its head against the 

 wood with considerable force seven or eight times in 

 rapid succession. Tlic sound produced in some in- 

 stances resembles that made by rapping gently with 

 a finger-nail on the table, and is supposed to be the 

 means whereby Mr. and Mrs, Anobimi Tesselatum 

 inform each other of their change of residence, and 

 give notice of their being at home to their friends — 

 notes of invitation, in fact, which are generally sent 

 out in spring and summer. 



I was staying many years ago at an old country- 

 house, on a visit to a little schoolfellow friend, whose 

 papa was taken exceedingly ill during my stay. The 

 ancient nuise — a quaint, kind old creature, strongly 

 infected with superstitious notions— came into the 

 play-room one day, and Sara, my friend, being ab- 

 sent, proceeded to inform Nancy, the head of the 



