156 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Aug. 17, 1888. 



where the swarms multiply all the year round, and may 

 amount to hundreds of thousands, the only safety lies in 

 a speedy retreat. But the coat of the ratel is practically 

 impenetrable to the stings of bees, wasps, and hornets. 

 The ratel cannot climb, and hence, if a swarm of bees 

 have made their nest in the hollow top or branches of 

 some huge tree, they are safe from their greedy assail- 

 ant. But too often they make their home in a forsaken 

 nest of termites, or in the burrow of some mining beast, 

 such as the aard-vark, and then they are defenceless, the 

 short, trenchant claws of the ratel enabling him to break 

 through the compactest earthworks, and the industrious 

 insects are then at his mercy. 



But the peculiar nature of the ratel's skin secures him 

 from the attacks of far more formidable enemies. . As a 

 nightly rover and as given to burrowing, he may often 

 come in collision with the deadly serpents of his native 

 country. Now though the snakes of Europe and, accord- 

 ing to Charles Waterton, those of South America never 

 take the offensive, those of Africa and India are exceed- 

 ingly touchy, and are very apt to dart at any intruder 

 who disturbs their meditations. But there is a very 

 trifling probability of a puff-adder, a cobra, or even a 

 hamadryad being able to introduce its venom into the 

 blood of the ratel. What with the thick, compact coat- 

 ing of hair and the looseness of the skin, the poison is 

 expended on non- vital parts. As for scorpions, centi- 

 pedes, and tarantulas they are to the ratel perfectly 

 harmless. We may here note that when in districts in- 

 fested with poisonous vermin we wear loose clothing 

 we imitate the defence with which this animal is pro- 

 vided by nature, and if we are foolish enough to range 

 about in viper-covers clad in knickerbockers we deserve 

 what we may possibly get. 



From the attacks of wolves, jackals, wild dogs, and 

 leopards the ratel often escapes by burrowing, but if 

 there is not time for this expedient, he falls on his back 

 and defends himself bravely, and often successfully, 

 with teeth and claws. In such cases, again, the thick- 

 ness and looseness of his skin serves him in good stead, 

 and he is moreover exceedingly tenacious of life. 



The ratel is black upon the snout, legs, and all the 

 lower portions of the body, whilst the top of the head, 

 neck, back, and tail are clothed with long, ash-grey hair. 

 This is the same exceptional arrangement of colour 

 which we meet with in the badger, and which has 

 hitherto not met with any explanation. An additional 

 peculiarity is that there runs along each side a bright 

 grey stripe, forming a boundary between the dark and 

 the light-coloured portions of the fur. The ratel in 

 walking applies the entire sole of its foot to the ground, 

 and hence belongs to the plantigrade (sole-walking) sec- 

 tion of the Carnivora, of which the bears are the type. 

 It displays, indeed, such an analogy to the bears, that it 

 has been called the " honey-bear," a misleading name, 

 since the true bears are all fond of honey. It belongs, 

 however, to the family of the badgers (MeUdtz). 



If taken young, the ratel is capable of domestication, 

 and in captivity it affords much amusement from its 

 grotesque performances. It is exceedingly fond of 

 throwing somersaults, as it is shown in our illustration. 



The ratel of South Africa is about a yard in length, of 

 which nine inches go to the tail. It is a very unpopular 

 animal, as horses often tread in its holes and break their 

 legs, or at least throw their riders. In India it is, if any- 

 thing, still more disliked, from its propensity for digging 

 into newly-made graves to feast upon the bodies. It is 



thus, in its way, a silent but effective advocate for crema- 

 tion. 



A New Evidence of Organic Evolution. — M. Bordier 

 has recently found among microbia actual instances of 

 transformation. These beings have so brief a life, and 

 multiply with such rapidity, that the observer may wit- 

 ness changes accumulating from generation to generation. 

 During the year there may occur 24,000 generations of 

 bacteria, or as many as could occur in the human race in 

 600,000 years. One and the same microbion — that of 

 "blue pus" — has been seen under the action of differ- 

 ent substances to take the form of a bacterium, then that 

 of long filaments, then that of comma-bacilli and that of 

 spirilli. 



The Poison of Eels. — From a communication made 

 to the Royal Linceian Academy at Rome (Cosmos), it 

 appears that eels and muraenas secrete a venom 

 similar to that of the viper. It is not localised in the 

 mouth, and they are not provided with any organ for in- 

 stilling it into their enemies. Hence it has no effect 

 upon man, since in cooked eels the poison has been 

 destroyed by the heat applied in cooking. It has further 

 no action unless introduced into the blood. 



Prescription for Mosquitoes. — ". F. B.," writing in 

 the Field, recommends a mixture which he has found 

 efficient in Manitoba and the North-Western Territory. 

 It is made by mixing 1 pint Stockholm tar, 2 pints olive 

 oil, 3 teaspoonfuls Calvert's carbolic acid. The hands, 

 face, and neck are to be anointed with this mixture, 

 when, says " F. B.," no mosquito, sand-fly or " bull-dog " 

 will cause annoj'ance. He adds : — "The bull-dog seems 

 like a cross between a horse-fly and a hornet." Such a 

 cross, we need scarcely say, cannot be admitted as pos- 

 sible, but we should like to know the real name of this 

 offensive fly. We should also be happy to learn whether 

 " F. B.'s " mixture is better than tincture of Ledum 

 palustre ? ^ 



The Flora of the British Empire. — According to 

 Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., 46,000 species of plants, or 

 nearly half the number existing on the entire globe, grow 

 naturally in the British Empire. One third part of the 

 number belong to India. 



Influence of Sewage Farms upon Fish. — A portion 

 of the river Kent, extending for a couple of miles above 

 and below Kendal, and once abounding in trout, is said 

 to have become barren in fish since the establishment of 

 a sewage farm which drains into the river. 



Shoals of Fishes. — A marine officer, writing in the 

 Revue de la Marine Marchande, states that in 50 degs. 

 N. lat., and 25 degs. W. long, (probably from the 

 meridian of Paris), the steamer in which he travelled 

 sailed for two consecutive hours among fishes ; it was 

 night, the weather* was fine, and all the fishes had 

 the appearance of sardines. The previous night the 

 same vessel had encountered numerous shoals of fish. 

 According to the estimate of this officer, the shoals 

 covered a space of 700 nautical miles. The point in 

 question was in the full current of the Gulf Stream. The 

 Bulletin de la Socicte dAcclimatation, suggests that it 



