38 The West American Scientist. 
published in a local newspaper. ‘The Digger’s Duff,’ given in 
one of our Australian exchanges, has been adapted to this coun- 
try and may be appreciated by some of the miners returning 
from the Lower Californian placers. The rich discoveries that 
caused the recent excitement and exaggerated reports, proved 
very limited in extent, but many evidently find enough to keep 
up their courage. Other discoveries will surely reward the pa- 
tient prospector, and the discovery of many valuable quartz veins 
containing gold have already resulted from the prospecting. 
We would suggest that descriptions of new species or varieties, 
whenever possible, should be accompanied by a type specimen 
for preservation in our West American Museum of Nature and 
Art, which already contains type specimens of many species. 
We desire to make it especially complete as regards the fauna 
and flora of the Western States. ‘ The Desert in June,’ gives the 
botanical aspects of an uninviting region at the most desolate 
season of the year (in that section). We hope to give our read- 
ers a different picture of the same region soon, as it appears 
after abundant rains, when itis literally transformed into a gar- 
den full of the choicest flowers. 
NOTES AND NEWS. 
Seeds of the most valuable varieties of cinchona bring $1,000. 
per ounce in Ceylon. There are nearly 100,000 seeds in an 
ounce. 
It has been computed that the great smoke cloud daily hang- 
ing over the city of London contains fifty tons of solid carbon and 
250 tons of hydrocarbon and carbonic oxide gases. This waste 
would be valued at $10,000,000 per annum. 
St. Nichotas for April figures and describes the largest egg in 
the world, laid by Aepyornis maximus, the largest bird ever. 
known to exist. This bird, a relative of the ostrich, although 
much larger, towering above the tallest giraffe, was practically 
wingless and a swift runner. It formerly inhabited Madagascar, 
and is now extinct. The eggs sometimes measured over three 
feet the largest way around, two feet six inches around the mid- 
dle, and held eight quarts of meat (equal to 140 hen’s eggs }), 
with a shell at least half an inch thick, nearly six times the size 
of an ostrich egg! Only one complete egg, in the Jardine des 
Plantes, Paris, is known to exist. © 
Stachys tuberifera, a native of North Africa, comes to this 
country from Japan where it is called Chiro-Gi. This new veget- 
able has lately attracted considerable attention in Europe and 
this country. — It yields edible tuberous roots, which boiled and 
seasoned in the way of-the egg plant, become a novel dish, 
having a pleasant and somewhat spicy flavor, midway between 
the Jerusalem artichoke and boiled chestnuts, . 
