238 ZOOLOGY. 
having fallen through a hole in the ice, and the black dog was 
working with might and main to make a hole through the ice 
several feet below where his mate fell in. 
The creek at this point is shallow and quite rapid, so the dog 
was carried down stream but a few feet and lodged against a 
stone. 
Mr. Crosby not realizing then the true condition of things, or 
that he could be of any assistance to the drowning dog, passed on. 
Returning by the same place in about half an hour, he noticed 
that the black dog had succeeded in making a hole through the 
ice, had drawn his then dead companion from the water, and stood 
over her, as if trying to warm the lifeless body. The ice where 
the dog made the hole was one and one-half inches thick and 
strong enough to beara man. The dog worked with such energy 
as to cut his feet and mouth quite severely. 
This occurred about 5 Pr. m. The next morning the dog was 
still on the ice walking slowly back and forth near the body of his 
companion, and he had evidently remained there during the whole 
night, although it was very cold and stormy. — W. O. C. 
Tue Foop or Drerera. — That certain kinds of flies, espec- 
*ially many belonging to the order of Syrphide, live to a great 
extent on the pollen of plants, was first pointed out by Dr. Herm. 
Miller of Lippstadt (see Naruraxisr for July, 1871, p. 390), who 
‘described the process by which they accomplish the chewing of the 
pollen-grains and the severance of the threads by which they are 
frequently held together, by means of minute denticulations at the 
end of the proboscis. This statement is in opposition to the views 
of many entomologists, who hold that, not being provided with 
mandibles, the Diptera must depend mainly or altogether on fluids 
for their nourishment; but it has recently been confirmed by the 
' observation of some English naturalists. Mr. A. W. Bennett has 
examined under the microscope the contents of the stomachs of 
several Syrphidæ, especially Eristalis tenax and Syrphus arbusto- 
rum, and finds them loaded with pollen-grains belonging to some 
composite plant, presumably an Aster; and one of the first Eng- 
lish entomologists, Mr. Edward Newman, states in the “Entomolo- 
gist” for January that “ Eristalis feeds chiefly on pollen, and most 
of the Syrphidæ follow its example; the common house-fly eats 
various solids, and masses of these substances may be found in 
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