76 NATURE'S REALM. 
rious, for any one who has any knowledge of 
the felines must know that they use consider- 
able force when lashing their tails. What I 
should Jike to know therefore is: First, has 
Mr. Parker Gilmore, or any of your readers 
who have killed lions or leopards, observed the 
existence of this prickle? Secondiy, does it 
come off on the death of the animal ? Thirdly, 
what, in their opinion, is its use? Fourthly, is 
it straight or curved ? 
‘I have assisted in the skinning of several 
tigers and panthers, and cannot say that I ever 
observed the exjstence of this prickle ; but, as 
the writer whom I have quoted above says that 
it occurs only in comparatively rare cases, this 
is not to be wondered at.” 
animals themselves have an excess of stern ac- 
tion, now much modified in our modern beau- 
ties. 
“That this callosity should fall off soon after 
the death of its late proprietor I can quite be- 
lieve, for I noticed during native wars in South 
Africa that, after a victim had lain dead several 
hours, the callow skin on the soles of the slain 
commenced to detach itself. Many of our of- 
ficers who served in Zululand can attest the 
truth of this statement. : 
‘As to lions stimulating themselves into 
anger by lashing their flanks—well, it is as 
true as the babyroussa yarn told Goldsmith. 
When a lion charges it carries its tail almost 
horizontally with the ground and stiff as a 

Fic. 2-—Lithia vadigo. 
To which another writer responds : 
“With regard to the spike on the tip of the 
lion’s tail, there are just the slightest, most 
flimsy grounds that can possibly be imagined 
for such a supposition. And they are the fol- 
lowing: . Aged animals of this species, and ot 
both sexes, have a callous termination to the 
tuft, and hidden by the long hair, which may 
be designated a callosity. This is doubtless 
caused by the tail coming in contact with 
brush and other hard substances when rapidly 
moved to and fro. The same can frequently 
be observed on dogs, especially among point- 
ers of the old schcol and land spaniels of the 
present date, and, doubtless, from this arose 
the habit of removing two or three terminal 
joints of the vertebre of these breeds. In 
Southern France and Spain this custom still 
prevails in regard to pointers; but their dogs 
are constantly used in thick cover, while the 
mop-handle. Just previous, or when contem- 
plating charging, the tail is considerably ele- 
vated over the horizontal line and entirely des- 
titute of any movement. However, if the ob- 
server be sufficiently close, a twitching motion 
may be noted in the half-recumbent ears of the 
intending aggressive beast.” 
THE FLOWER CLOCK. 
The hour at which each flower opens is itself 
so uniform that, by watching them, floral 
clocks of sufficient accuracy can be arranged. 
Father Kircher had dreamed of it, but vaguely 
and without pointing out anything; it is to 
Linnzus that we must ascribe the ingenious 
idea of indicating all the hours by the time at 
which plants open or shut their corollas. The 
Swedish botanist had created a flower clock for 
the climate which he inhabited; but, as in our 
