Nov. 1 6, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



509 



light. The whole subject is one of the utmost import- 

 ance in forestry, and observations and experiments are 

 to be carried out in regard to it in the United States. 



The Sand Grouse. — In Humboldt we find it stated 

 that hitherto not a single case of this immigrant bird 

 having produced young in Germany has come to light. 

 Some alleged instances proved on examination to be 

 merely partridges, or — more frequently — corn-crakes. 

 The fact that these birds have throughout the season 

 been seen in flocks is a proof that they have not paired. 



Docility of the Field-Mouse. — According to a friend, 

 the field-mouse is much more easily domesticated than 

 the house-mouse. The latter seems to have an inborn, 

 hereditary shyness which can only be eliminated by 

 prolonged care and kindness. The field mouse on the 

 contrary, becomes tame in a few days, and can soon be 

 liberated for a temporary run in the garden, after which 

 it readily returns to its owner. 



Suicide of Scorpions. — M. Serge Noirkoff, of Con- 

 stantinople, writes to La Nature as follows : — " Having 

 heard that the scorpion puts an end to its life if it finds 

 itself in danger without the prospect of escape, I caught 

 half-a-dozen of these creatures and tried the experi- 

 ment. 1 arranged upon the ground glowing charcoal so 

 as to form a circle to which there was no outlet. The 

 scorpion was placed in the centre of the circle, which 

 was so wide that it would not be incommoded by the 

 heat. Finding itself surrounded by fire, the animal began 

 by searching for a road to escape. Its movements, slow 

 at first, became finally a frantic race along the circum- 

 ference of the circle. It then retired to the centre, and 

 put an end to its life by plunging its sting into its back, 

 and in a few seconds expired with convulsive movements. 

 The five other scorpions were then tried successively, 

 each time with the same result." 



Comparative Psychology. — Dr. F. L. Oswald {Popular 

 Science Monthly), in a very able article, disfigured, how- 

 ever, by the Cuvierian title, " Four-handed Sinners," 

 remarks that " every step in the progress of compara- 

 tive anatomy has more plainly demonstrated the fact that 

 the alleged contrasts in the construction and the functional 

 characteristics of human and (lower) animal bodies are 

 mere differences of degree, and a similar conclusion 

 must force itself upon the unprejudiced observer of 

 animal soul functions." 



Animal Notions of Time. — Dr. A. S. Hudson, writing 

 to the Popular Science Monthly, refutes the contention 

 that, e.g., dogs distinguish the recurrence of Sunday not 

 by counting the days, but by perceiving certain pecu- 

 liarities in the movements about the house, etc. Dr. 

 Hudson mentions a herd of five cows to which salt was 

 always given every Sunday. On that day, accordingly, 

 they always collected at the gate, waiting for the custo- 

 mary dole. Now, the field where they grazed was 

 remote from the house, isolated from the outer world, 

 and away from any thoroughfare. From week to week, 

 and from month to month, they saw no person except the 

 man who milked them, and had no conceivable means of 

 distinguishing Sunday — to them salt-day — save by the 

 lapse of days. 



THE PROBOSCIS OF THE ELEPHANT. 



\X7E need not dwell upon the mingled strength and 

 » V flexibility of the elephant's trunk, which are 

 sufficiently illustrated by anecdotes familiar to every 

 child. The internal structure of this marvellous organ 

 is less generally known, and the very few who have had 

 an opportunity of dissecting it are by no means agreed 

 as to the meaning and use of some of its arrangements. 

 A cross-section of the trunk is triangular near the base, 

 elsewhere rounded. The side next to the mouth is 

 flattened. Towards the middle of the section, but a 

 little nearer the front than the back surface, are seen the 

 cut ends of two tubes side by side. These are the nos- 

 trils, which are lined by a thick yellow layer, upon which 

 is spread a thin, moist, and sensitive mucous membrane 

 Many small muscles radiate outwards from the nostrils 

 connecting them with the skin, while transverse muscular 

 fibres pass across from side to side, between and behind 

 the nostrils. Lastly, a great number of longitudinal or 

 semi-spiral muscles enclose the others, passing to the 

 skin at various points. Thus there are muscles to 

 shorten and thicken the trunk, muscles to narrow and 

 lengthen it, and muscles to bend it to any side. More- 

 over, the great number and independence of these 

 muscles allow of one portion being bent to the right 

 while another is bent to the left, and so on. It is said 

 that there are 30,000 to 40,000 separate muscles in the 

 whole organ. The tip of the trunk has a prehensile and 

 muscular finger. 



The trunk of the elephant plainly represents the nose 

 united to the upper lip. In some other quadrupeds, e.g., 

 the elephant-shrew of Africa, the nose is drawn out in 

 almost the same proportion as in the elephant, but here 

 it is the cartilages of the nose which are prolonged, while 

 in the elephant the cartilages have no very unusual 

 development, but an immense addition of muscular and 

 membranous tissues is made to the extremity of the 

 proper nose. The snout of the tapir has somewhat of the 

 same structure as that of the elephant, though it is but 

 slightly developed in comparison. The muscular and 

 membranous elements in particular are greatly fore- 

 shortened. 



The primary function of the proboscis in the elephant 

 is obviously to bring food to the mouth. The short 

 neck does not allow the mouth to reach the ground 

 while the animal stands erect. Why should the neck 

 be so short ? Because it is loaded with heavy tusks 

 and grinders. The tusks alone have been known to weigh 

 300 lbs. If we try to imagine a long-necked elephant, 

 we are compelled to clothe its neck with an absurdly 

 copious mass of muscle and ligament. The great bulk 

 of the animal magnifies out of all direct proportion the 

 mechanical difficulty of supporting the head. (See an 

 article on " Some Effects of Difference of Size," Scientific 

 News, vol. i., p. 202.) The true sequence seems to be — 



(1) heavy teeth and tusks in an animal of gigantic bulk ; 



(2) short neck ; (3) proboscis, long enough to reach the 

 ground. 



The attachment of the muscular roots of the proboscis 

 requires an unusual extent of cranial surface, and the 

 forehead of the elephant is of necessity immensely wide 

 and high. But the brain is by no means large in pro- 

 portion. A rough estimate shows that the elephant's 

 brain weighs only about i-i,oooth of the total weight of 

 the body, whereas in a harvest mouse the proportion 

 is i-20th. So rapidly do the strength and weight of the 



