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SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Oct. 12, 1888 



guard by withdrawing its head and bending its neck into 

 the form of an S, ready to be shot out like a spring in 

 the act of biting. At the same time the body is alter- 

 nately swelled out and contracted, and it utters a loud 

 and prolonged hiss. It has the singular habit — whence 

 its specific name — of preluding an attack by striking with 

 its head like a ram. 



In a state of liberty this snake preys on rats, mice, and 

 squirrels. In captivity it is fed on rats and on young 

 rabbits. The interval between its meals is on the aver- 

 age twenty-five days. 



Making allowance for its slowness in deciding upon an 

 attack, it proceeds much in the same manner as the other 

 vipers. If it finds an animal suitable to become its prey 

 it folds its neck in the manner just described, its breath- 

 ing becomes more quick and more profound, and it darts 

 out its forked tongue. At last it projects itself, open- 

 mouthed and with the speed of an arrow, against its prey, 

 which it pierces with its long, poisonous fangs. The snake 

 then retreats with the same suddenness, and waits until 

 the venom has accomplished its work. The victim, which 

 seems at first struck with astonishment, quickly falls 

 upon one side as if paralysed, and in the space of a 

 couple of minutes it dies after a few convulsive move- 

 ments. The serpent then slowly returns, passes its 

 muzzle over the body, which it lastly seizes by the head 

 and swallows. 



The venom of the puff-adder yields in nothing to that 

 of the rattle-snake, or rather, we should say, it is the 

 more powerful. Large dogs quickly succumb after having 

 been bitten, and even man cannot always resist its action. 

 It said that the Hottentots use the venom of the puff- 

 adder for poisoning their arrows. 



This reptile bears captivity well if kept sufficiently 

 warm ; it takes its food regularly, and may be kept alive 

 for years. 



Granular Ophthalmia and Flies. — The part played 

 by flies in the transfer of the microbia of tuberculosis 

 has recently, according to the Revue Scientifique, been 

 proved in our midst by direct experiment. M. Howe, in 

 a communication to the Congress of Heidelberg shows 

 the role of these insects in the propagation of ophthalmia. 

 On visiting Egypt, and remarking the innumerable quan- 

 tity of flies which settle on the eyes of the natives, led 

 by their indolent nature and by the necessities of mendi- 

 city to a complete immobility, we understand how these 

 insects become the real and very frequent cause of the 

 propagation of ophthalmia. M. Howe has likewise veri- 

 fied this fact experimentally by placing flies upon 

 plates of nutrient gelatine, and finding that wherever 

 their feet have touched there are formed colonies of the 

 microbia regarded as the specific germs of ophthalmia. 

 These facts have to be connected with the propagation of 

 the germs of yellow fever by mosquitoes. Further in- 

 formation on the two-winged flies as the colporteurs of 

 zymotic disease will be found in Slater's " Sewage Treat- 

 ment and Utilisation " (p. 60). 



Use of the Antlers of Deer. — At a recent meeting 

 of the Wellington Philosophical Society, Mr. J. W. 

 Fortescue spoke of the rapid increase of deer that have 

 been acclimated in the New Zealand mountains. Having 

 had special facilities for observing these creatures, he 

 proceeded to state some interesting facts as to their 

 habits. At the close of his address Sir James Hector 

 asked Mr. Fortescue, as an expert on the subject, whether 



the chief use of the antlers was not so much for fighting 

 as for facilitating the progress of the stag through dense 

 woods. He had considerable experience with the wapiti, 

 in North America, and found that by throwing up the 

 head, thereby placing the horns along the back, the 

 animals were enabled to go forward with great rapidity 

 and follow the hinds. He asked this, as it had been 

 stated at a previous meeting of the Society that the 

 antlers tended to entangle the deer. Mr. Fortescue said 

 that Sir James Hector was quite correct in stating that 

 the antlers assisted the stags in penetrating dense 

 forests. Mr. Higginson also bore out this statement 

 from his experience in India. 



A Migration of Spiders. — According to Cosmos the 

 inhabitants of Abilene (Texas) were surprised to see 

 passing over their heads several balloons, following each 

 other at short intervals. These balloons, when attentively 

 examined, proved to be great cobwebs from which hung 

 down long streamers filled with spiders. Numerous 

 insects, whose organisation seems to render them 

 stationary, are provided with means of transport which 

 explain their sudden appearance at points remote from 

 their place of origin. Birds are thus often the uncon- 

 scious messengers which convey seeds and small living 

 animals attached to their feathers. Another instance 

 is that of Acari which cling to the body of flies, and are 

 thus conveyed to regions which to them are inaccessible. 



A Colony of Beavers on the Elbe. — According to 

 No. 30 of the Weidmann for the current year (quoted in 

 the Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift), a colony of 

 about thirty beavers have established themselves since 

 the middle of March, above Kanies, near Schcenebeck, 

 on the Elbe, in the province of Saxony, and have sought 

 shelter in the bushes which cover the Elbe embankment. 

 Latterly they have begun to undermine the embank- 

 ment. Hence it is doubtful if these visitors will meet 

 with permanent toleration. They have been probably 

 driven by floods from their former habitation. 



A Parasite of the Cockchafer. — M. Rolland Banes 

 (La Nature) has discovered a fungus belonging to the 

 genus Isaria (Isaria farinosa), which takes root upon 

 the living cockchafer and occasions its death. If this 

 fungus can be multiplied, perhaps the number of these 

 destructive insects may be reduced. M. Rolland is of 

 opinion that another parasite (Cordyceps entomorrhizd) is 

 developed upon the larva of the cockchafer. 



Migration of Wood-Lice. — Cosmos records an im- 

 mense migration of a species of wood-louse not accurately 

 determined, which is said to be now taking place in 

 Pennsylvania. These animals are moving eastwards in 

 millions, travelling by night and in the cool of the morn- 

 ing and evening, and resting by day under stones or in 

 heaps piled upon each other. They do not seem to com- 

 mit any depredations on their way, and they are not 

 attacked by poultry or by small birds. 



Poison of Spiders. — According to the researches of 

 Brieger (Humboldt) , two spiders regarded in Russia as 

 poisonous, a Phalangium and a Trochosa, are harmless. 

 A third species known by the Russians as Cara Curt is 

 most intensely poisonous. It occasions damages among 

 cattle which must be estimated by millions. Sheep, 

 oxen, horses, etc., when grazing are bitten in the tongue 



