NOTES ON THE TONGUE AND DIGESTIVE ORGANS OF THE FLICKER. 99 



This land was near the place where the St. Lawrence river now is. Land 

 appeared later near Colorado, these lands were called Laurentian. Land soon, 

 however, appeared in Europe, which was also formed of lime-stone. It is 

 now covered with about 90,000 ft. of solid rock. 



The animal which formed these lime-stone islands is still found in the 

 Bahamas. 



Protoplasm is the base of life, and is made of proteids which contain 

 six elements, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, carbon, and phosphorus. 

 There are always five, and often six ; when there are five, phosphorus is left 

 out. 



Oxygen is remarkable for its combining powers. Iron rust is really the 

 combining of oxygen and iron. Hydrogen always remains in molecules. Ni- 

 trogen is very mild, and combines with few things. The other three are 

 remarkable for existence in one or more conditions. 



The amoeba is lowest in animal life, consisting of little more than a 

 jelly. It is a protozoa, and has inside of its body the nucleolus, and inside 

 of that the nulicore. When it wishes to move, it thrusts out a foot and 

 flows into it. It has a contracting cell, something like a heart. 



Propagation is carried on by dividing ; the division begins in the nucle- 

 us, and the amoeba cuts itself into two pieces. It is, to speak, immortal ; it 

 never dies unless killed by something unusual. 



The white blood corpuscles resemble the amoeba. 



NOTES ON THE TONGUE AND DIGESTIVE ORGANS 



OF THE FLICKER, 



BY 



C. J. Maynaed, 



The object of the present communication is to illustrate the modification 

 undergone by the common flicker, or golden-winged woodpecker, on account 

 of its food. 



Many species of woodpeckers feed upon what are known as boring grubs, 

 which are usually the larvae of several species of beetles. These live in the 

 trunks and branches of trees in holes which they excavate for themselves. 



The woodpeckers, which feed upon them, are provided with a strong bill 

 terminated with a chisel -like tip. These birds are further provided with a 

 tongue extensible to a considerable degree, but which is furnished with a shaip 

 barbed tip, with which the grubs are impaled. 



