Oct. 26, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



437 



the skuas would often transfix themselves in their fierce 

 downward swoop. They never, like the skuas in 

 Spitzbergen, feigned to be helpless and crippled to avert 

 danger from their nest, but preferred, at all costs, their 

 intimidation tactics. If they thought they had suc- 

 ceeded in driving away the enemy, they would stand 

 face to face upon the rock, flapping their wings 

 and uttering loud croaks, as if in triumph over 

 their victory. They sometimes croak during flight, 

 their notes much resembling those of the raven 

 or crow ; and as their flight also bears some slight resem- 

 blance to that of crows, they are sometimes known 

 among sailors as " black crows " and " sea crows." 

 Their more general sobriquet, however, is that of 

 " Mollyhawk," from their hawk-like persecution of the 

 petrels, or " Mollies," their staple article of food, though 

 they devour indiscriminately fish, mollusks, birds, or 

 small animals. They chase the petrel by day at sea, 

 killing it while on the wing, and in the evening hunt for 

 them along the shore, flying low and rapidly, ready to 

 pounce like hawks upon any unfortunate petrel emerging 

 from its burrows. This course of conduct they pursue 

 early in the morning as well, and as they are skilful in 

 robbing the petrel's eggs, besides killing the bird itself, 

 it may well be imagined that the skua is an object of 

 great dread to the petrel. Mr. Eaton is of opinion that 

 the skuas are rather perplexed when rabbits occasionally 

 emerge from the burrows instead of the expected petrels, 

 but thinks that even this unusual food would not come 

 amiss to the rapacious robbers, since tame skuas have 

 been known to devour young rabbits. The skua only visits 

 the shore for breeding or pillaging purposes, preferring 

 at other times the open ocean. Its nest is roughly con- 

 structed of dried grass, or sometimes, in default of other 

 material, of hard-dried guano; and the two eggs are 

 dark olive-green, blotched with brown. It is most 

 courageous in defence of its young ; it allows no other 

 birds anywhere near its nest, and does not hesitate to 

 attack even man if danger threatens the nest. Sailors 

 find the eggs of both penguins and skuas fairly good, but 

 the flesh of both birds is extremely unpalatable, although 

 it is sometimes the only resource for ships' crews in the 

 way of "fresh meat." In order to render it fit for eating 

 at all, the sailors skin the birds and hang them up for 

 some days, leaving them exposed to the evening dew 

 for two or three nights, a process by which some of the 

 disagreeable odour and flavour are said to be removed. 



Our illustration is taken from one of Mr. DougalPs 

 photographs of the Bounty Islands, kindly supplied to us 

 by Mr. Joplin, of Stamford, who has a large selection for 

 I sale. 



Race betw :en Carrier Pigeons and Bees. — A 

 singular wager (Cosmos) has been won by a farmer, 

 who is at the ;ame time a pigeon fancier, at Hamme, in 

 Westphalia, against some inhabitants of the town. The 

 bet was that bees, conveyed in fine weather to a distance 

 of a league from Hamme, and let loose at the same time 

 as certain carrier pigeons deposited at the same place, 

 should reach their hive sooner than the pigeons should 

 arrive at their house. On July 25th, at 4 p.m., 

 twelve pigeons and twelve bees belonging to Mr. R. 

 were let loose at Rhysern, a place distant a good league 

 from Hamme. In order to recognise the bees they had 

 been dusted with flour. All the parties stood near the 

 hives of Mr. R., where they could at the same time 

 watch the dove-cot. The first bee, covered with flour, 



arrived a quarter of a minute before the first pigeon, and 

 the rest of the two troops of aerial travellers arrived at 

 the same second a few instants later. 



Evolution in the Song of Birds. — Mr. E. P. Powell, 

 of Clinton, communicating to Science, gives some interest- 

 ing cases of an evolution in the song of the (American) 

 robin, a member of the thrush family. He considers 

 that " with birds evolution must move, as it has moved, in 

 the line of music, plumage, flight, and nest-building." 

 Let us hope that it will not be brought to an untimely 

 end by the extirpation of the little songsters. 



Dipterous Larv.e Parasitic in Man. — Portchinski 

 (Humboldt) shows that the majority of the cases of 

 disease in human subjects, occasioned by the maggots of 

 flies, are due to Sarcophagi Wohlfahrti. He gives this 

 name to the insect in honour cf Dr. Wohlfahrt, of Halle, 

 who first described the fly, and proved its parasitic 

 character by rearing it from larvae sneezed out by a man 

 who had been driven almost frantic by headache. 

 S. Wohlfahrti seems accordingly to be the European re- 

 presentative of the American fly, Lucilia hominivora. 

 According to Meinert, a species of Lucilia is parasitic 

 on man also in Europe. 



The Heat-Centres in Man. — At the recent meeting 

 of the American Neurological Society, Dr. Ott, of Easton, 

 showed that in the brain of man there are points which 

 preside over the temperature of the body and keep its 

 heat constant. These centres are partly upon the sur- 

 face and partly at the base of the brain. 



Poison Apparatus of the Mosquito. — Mr. G. Mac- 

 loskie (Science) has described and figured the poison 

 apparatus of the mosquito. 



Twin Fruits. — Mr. John J. Janney (Science) writes 

 that in the year 1851 his garden produced abundant 

 specimens of twin fruits, peaches and plums of various 

 sorts, cherries, apples, and cucumbers. Some of these 

 were but slightly attached together at the foot stalk, 

 whilst others coalesced for their whole length. As 

 similar fruits were common in the markets at the same 

 time, the cause must probably have been seasonal. 



Besieged by Bears. — The official journal of the 

 Government of Olonetz reports that the district of 

 Welikogub is regularly blockaded by bears. In five 

 villages the inhabitants do not dare to venture beyond 

 the boundaries. Although not more than 100 miles 

 from St. Petersburg, the district is encompassed by 

 primaeval forests, stretching hundreds of versts in every 

 direction. Here bears seemed to have formed a regular 

 settlement. They form groups of seven or eight, and, 

 descending into the cultivated patches, attack the horses 

 and horned cattle, reducing the peasants to despair, 

 making them afraid to till their fields. Their terror is so 

 great that none of them will any longer venture into 

 the forest. The aid of the local authorities has been 

 frequently invoked, in vain ; and the peasants were 

 looking forward, as a last hope, to the autumn battues 

 of the soldiers of the district, who will, according to 

 usage, organise regular bear-hunts. 



