118 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[May 1, 1863. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Cape Pigeoxs— (/T. B. p.)—T[\e birds tims 

 named by sailors are a species of Petrel {DaptioB 

 capemis), and the Cape Eens are probably of the 

 same character belonging to a different species, or 

 perhaps a kind of gull. Something more than a 

 merely common name is necessary to determine them 

 ■with certainty. 



Jerusalem Artichoke. — Why so'strange a name 

 is given to Heliantlms tuberosus, I cannot guess. I 

 know that its original name, " Topinambour," was 

 given from the American people Topinamboun, from 

 whom we had this alimentary root. That its first 

 English name, " Jerusalem," is a corruption of the 

 Italian ff/ra.sofe, Erench Tournesol, Latin HeliantJms 

 (derived from the Greek), or the English " Sun- 

 flower," I have no doubt. But why is it styled 

 "Artichoke?" The proper artichoke {Cynaru sco- 

 lynms) has an Arabic origin, Kharchiof (whence the 

 Italian Carciojfo), and means a dog, or spiny-cole ; 

 but tliis has nothing to do with the commonly called 

 " Jerusalem Artichoke." By the bye, does the 

 latter ever flower in England ? — /. G. 



Manx Cats. — A. L. D. desires to be informed of 

 the origin of Manx cats, and whether any other race 

 of cats without tails exists ? 



Heed Pens. — The Semitic nations are guiltless 

 of such an innovation as steel pens. In the Indian 

 archipelago pens are made of the petioles of the 

 Gomuti palm {Arenga saccharifera), and in Con- 

 tinental India two or three species of reed are 

 employed for the same purpose as the shur {Sacclia- 

 rum Sara) and khuree {Saccharum fuscum and S. 

 procenmi). Reed pens are still employed in Egypt, 

 Arabia, Persia, &c. The style of pointed iron or 

 steel is also used for writing upon the leaves of the 

 talipot [Coryplm wnbraculifera), tara (Corypha ta- 

 ller a), and palmyra {Borassus flabelUformis) in India, 

 Ceylon, Burmah, and elsewhere. 



Palm Tinder. — A correspondent having taken 

 exception to the remark at p. 78 on the tinder of the 

 Gomuti-palm, we would be glad to know wherefore ? 

 It is well known that several species of palm yield 

 a substance of a similar nature, such as the sago- 

 palm {RapJiia Rumphii), the date-palm {Phcenix 

 dactylifera), and many others ; that this palm-tinder 

 is largely consumed by the Cliinese, Malays, and 

 inhabitants of the Indian archipelago, and is a 

 regular article of trade in those countries. We 

 must not conclude that, because we employ per- 

 cussion-caps and lucifer-matches, all the Oriental 

 nations follow our example. 



Reproduction^ oe the Eel. — A friend who has 

 much to do with fishes, tells me that he never found 

 anything like a "roe" in the eel. How, then, is it 

 reproduced? — ^.i?.— [Whether the eel be oviparous 

 or viviparous has been much discussed. The general 

 opinion is in favour of the former.] 



What is it ? — Lately a very fine specimen of the 

 badger tribe was captured by the gamekeeper on 

 Lord Digby's estate at Mintern. The animal was 

 of a pure white colour, a very rare species, and 

 weiglied over 27 lb. — The Standard. Query : What 

 animal is this ? Can anyone residing at or near 

 Mintern tell something more about it ? 



Natterjack. — A. L. inquires the origin and 

 meaning of this word as applied to a species of 

 toad? 



Machine eor Producing Streams in Aquaria. 

 —Mr. Edvvards, of Anglesey, announces in a circu- 

 lar that he has an apparatus which is much wanted, 

 and which is cheap, single, and not liable to get out 

 of order, and which being placed below a marine 

 aquarium, and worked at for less than five minutes, 

 will produce a stream (of water, I presume) in the 

 tank above. Can anyone explain how it is done, or, 

 more to the purpose, can evidence be given as to the 

 contrivance having done its work as stated ibr a 

 satisfactory period, without any repairs being needed, 

 or any liitch having occurred ? How much water 

 does it deliver, and with what force during the six 

 hours, and is there nothing corrosive about the 

 thing?— ^. 



Parlour Science.— The boiling of lobsters is a 

 process which, however speedy, one does not much, 

 like to associate with salad, or supper. The first 

 thrill in the pot must be horrible, but it is soon over. 

 Whereas, a slow death in an aquarium, with great 

 eyes looking at you and offering quantities of un- 

 suitable food, together with the puzzling resistance 

 of the glass, like the mysterious detention of a 

 dream, must altogether make the last hours of a 

 " specimen" hideous. It must be as bad as dying 

 of nightmare. " Oh ! my lovely star-fish are all 

 dead ! " says charming Angelina, as she joins the 

 breakfast-table, after nine hours of the soundest, 

 rosiest sleep. " They are only just dead, I think," 

 says she, with her mouth full of toast and butter. 

 "1 saw one of them move a little" — very likely. 

 But what a night for the star-fish ! — Jones' Holiday 

 Papers. 



Mansucker and Sea-Cucumbeu.— " J.B."says, 

 "The author does not mention that the Indians eat 

 the octopus raw." i certainly did not, having but 

 seldom seen them eat it in other than a semi-cooked 

 condition, imagine that it is only from extreme 

 hunger, or the inability from want of time to cook, 

 or the absence of dry wood to build a fire, that in- 

 duces the "noble savage" to eat his "ugly native" 

 raw. The long sea-monster " J. B." speaks of is one 

 of the Holotliuriffi, common in the seas about Van- 

 couver Island, wfiere it growls to an enormous size, 

 and, as he says, is much esteemed as a great dainty, 

 not only by the Indians, but by the Hudson's Bay 

 traders. There is a species closely allied [Holotlm- 

 ri(e edtilis), caught in vast quantities by the Malays, 

 dried for the Chinese market, and sold as trepang. 

 Another species is very common on the coast of 

 Cornwall, bitterly hated by the fishermen, who call 

 it the " cotton-s]nnner," — cotton being the slimy 

 threads that stretch out from the creature if one 

 touches it and then slowly draws away the finger ; 

 not a crah or lobster— no say the fishermen — will 

 enter a " crab-pot " if a cotton-spinner finds its way 

 in first. The " sea-cucumber" — for such it is often 

 called — is very abundant on the Australian coasts. 

 I have frequently tasted it as prepared for the China 

 markets, and boiled like a lobster at Vancouver 

 Island, and think it very good eating. "J. B.,"I 

 imagine, must be slightly mistaken, or must allude to 

 other Indians than those native to Vancouver Islands, 

 or the Oregon and British Columbia coasts, when he 

 speaks " of seeing the sea-water running down their 

 beards." With one or two solitary exceptions, I 

 never remember seeing a savage with a beard ; the 

 hair is invariably tweezg-ed out by the squaws as it 

 grows. — J, K, Lord, F,2,S. 



