112 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Aug. 3, 1888. 



Pal/as's Sand Grouse (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) ; its History, 

 Habits, Food, and Migrations ; with Hints as to its 

 Utility and a Plea for its Preservation. By W. B. 

 Tegetmeier, F.Z.S. London : Cox. 



It is rare indeed that any ornithological fact occasions 

 so much general sensation and gives a plea for so much 

 ink-shed as the recent advent of the Asiatic sand 

 grouse. The majority of the British public unfortu- 

 nately look on birds as mere animated targets created 

 for the edification of the shot-gunner. So long as this 

 feeling prevails the extirpation of any species, aborigi- 

 nal or immigrating, is averted merely by its rapidity of 

 multiplication or by its being inconspicuous. 



Now Pallas's sand grouse, as a novelty, at once 

 attracts attention, and fares accordingly. It visited this 

 country once before, a quarter of a century ago, and 

 was duly extirpated. This year they have reappeared 

 in larger numbers, and earnest efforts, at any rate, are 

 being made for their protection. To such protection it 

 has a fair claim. It is not merely harmless, but posi- 

 tively useful, since its food consists chiefly of the seeds 

 of notorious and troublesome weeds, such as docks, 

 knot-grass, chickweed, and the like. We are sorry, 

 however, to learn that its flesh is edible. 



Ornithologically speaking, this bird is the type of a 

 new genus, Syrrhaptes. It is distinguished from its 

 nearest allies, the sand grouse of Southern Europe, Nor- 

 thern Africa, and South-western Asia (Pterocles) by the 

 peculiar structure of its feet. It has no hinder toe, and 

 the three short, blunt, anterior toes are connected to- 

 gether by a " leathery pad," covered closely with small 

 round wart-like prominences. The legs are short, and on 

 the ground it has a waddling gait, almost like that of a 

 parrot when travelling on a level surface. 



The genus approaches most nearly to the pigeons, the 

 grouse, and the plovers, but it is severed from all of 

 them by well-marked characters. It differs from the 

 pigeons by laying three eggs instead of two, and by the 

 fact that the young can pick up seeds as soon as hatched. 

 The want of the hind toe clearly sunders them from the 

 pigeons, the fowls, and the true grouse. Their flight is 

 more rapid and sustained than the grouse, though unlike 

 the pigeons, they do not glide on outspread wings. The 

 bird is not polygamous, and both parents take a share in 

 incubation. The eggs are of a buff colour, with dark- 

 brown spots. The keel of the breast-bone, and of course 

 ■.he pectoral muscles, are very largely developed. Here, 

 as in some . ^r species, the greater pectoral, which 

 pulls the wing downwards, is dark, whilst the smaller 

 pectoral is white. Mr. Tegetmeier remarks that this dif- 

 ference between the two pectoral muscles in their colour 

 and texture presents an unsolved problem. In the 

 majority of birds, however, swift in flight no such dis- 

 tinction is found. 



The general colour of the plumage of this bird is 

 sandy, barred with brown and black, the sides of the 

 neck and throat orange. On the breast is a narrow band of 

 black-edged feathers, and on the flanks and across the 

 abdomen is a broader and darker band. The back, 

 scapulars, and upper tail coverts are barred with black 

 and dark brown. The wing is remarkably pointed, and 

 the primaries are of a delicate lavender with dark tips. 

 The tail consists of sixteen feathers ; the central pair are 

 prolonged at the tip into pointed filaments, extending in 

 the male three inches beyond the others. The female 



has not the orange at the sides of the neck ; the chest- 

 band is indistinct, and the middle tail feathers are less 

 prolonged. The weight of the birds is irom 10^ to 11 

 ozs. The length of the male, from the beak to the point 

 of the tail, is 15 inches; the female is rather smaller. 



A difficulty in the preservation of these birds will arise 

 from the circumstance that they deposit their eggs on 

 the sand without any attempt at concealment. 



Electricity versus Gas. By John Stent. London : Swan 

 Sonnenschein and Co. 



The pioneers of electricity have much to fight against, 

 and those into whose hands this brochure may fall will 

 assuredly cry " Save us from our friends." There is 

 already too much wilful misleading by company pro- 

 moters and vendors of primary batteries ; but here we 

 have an author who candidly informs us that " he is no 

 expert in electrical science." Then que diable allait il 

 faire dans cette galere ? He appears to make this state- 

 ment, rather to excuse the absence of technical terms and 

 phrases, than to apologise for his presumption in penning 

 even 79 pages on a subject upon which he has neither 

 right nor title to scribble. He pleads that " he is only 

 one of many who find it necessary to understand enough 

 of what is going on around them, not to be, and to feel, 

 and appear stupid in the presence of discussions in the 

 press, and in conversations that are of common occur- 

 rence." With his feelings we have little to do, but we 

 differ most distinctly with the writer as to the amount of 

 knowledge which will save him from being and ap- 

 pearing, not only stupid, but lamentably rash, in ventur- 

 ing to put forth such a work, even at the price of six- 

 pence, without either making a decent acquaintance 

 with the subject itself, or with some one who would 

 revise his proofs, and rewrite a page here and there. 



It is interesting to learn that the filament of a glow 

 lamp " is inserted before the globe is exhausted of air." 

 The interest comes in in trying to guess how else it could 

 be done. We are informed that " M. Faure sent a box 

 charged with electric energy from Paris to Sir Henry 

 Thompson in London." We are not in a position to deny 

 that M. Faure was so obliging, and doubtless Sir Henry 

 was gratified, but the box which created such a stir in May, 

 1881, was sent to Sir William Thomson. The extraordin- 

 ary theory is put forth that the sun would give no light 

 " were it not that the atmosphere is pervaded by count- 

 less material particles, which become white hot, and so 

 give us light." The author is not speaking as might be 

 supposed of the. sun's atmosphere, for he continues, " If 

 the air were completely purified from all these material 

 particles, the sun might go on shining brightly, but he 

 would give us neither light nor heat. Alpine climbers 

 and balloonists prove the truth of this by finding both 

 temperature and light diminishing as they rise towards 

 the sun, whilst every snow-capped mountain in Switzer- 

 land and India and elsewhere corroborates the state- 

 ment." This wild assertion, " proved and corroborated " 

 though it be, is furnished with the following foot-note : 

 " Phosphorescence hardly comes in under the generic 

 word light." What is probably meant is that in the 

 absence of any atmosphere the sun would blaze as a 

 brilliant ball in a black heaven, but the light and heat 

 would be greater, as every alpine climber can well 

 appreciate. 



We are informed that arc lights produce graphite 

 " which is nearly equal in weight to the carbons used 

 and will make a sensible return to the companies pro- 



