298 The American Naturalist. [Mareh,. 
PSYCHOLOGY. 
The Sense of Taste in a Sea-Anemone.—It is a well known 
fact that sea-anemones possess a faculty which enables them to recog- 
nize food. This sense has been recently studied by M. Nagel of the 
Zoological Station at Naples. The following is one of his experiments. 
A small piece of sardine was gently pushed toward the tentacles of a | 
sea-anemone ; the morsel was first touched, then seized, then swallowed. 
A small ball of blotting-paper, similar in appearance, saturated with 
sea-water was next offered, but it was not taken. The paper was then 
saturated with the juice of the fish, when it was seized with the same 
avidity as the bit of sardine, but often it was rejected after the lapse of 
a few moments. 
When the blotting-paper is impregnated with quinine the tentacles 
recoil, The quinine does not affect the external surface of the body, 
except the part situated between the tentacles and the mouth. If food 
is placed in the mouth, or near the open mouth, the animal does not 
notice it, but will only take it when the tentacles have touched it. The 
sense of taste, then, is localized in the tentacles, which serve as organs 
of touch ; and also appreciate changes of temperature. (Revue Scien- 
tifique, Dec. 1892.) 
M. Vaillant on the Feeding of Snakes.—In a paper read 
before the Academie des Sciences de Paris, M. Léon Vaillant made the 
following interesting remarks concerning the alimentation of Snakes. 
These remarks were the result of a series of observations of a large 
Anaconda from South America, Eunectes murinus, one of the Boidae, 
about 6 meters long, which, contrary to the usual habits of this species 
accepted food very soon after its arrival at the menagerie of the Rep- 
tiles of the Museum, and has continued to eat with regularity up to the 
present time. In fact, since its entrance into the Jardin des Plantes, 
August 8, 1885, until the end of the year 1891, this serpent has eaten 
34 times, or about 5 times a year. Its food has generally been small 
or young goats; three times it took a hare and once a goose. The 
intervals between the times of feeding have varied from 23 days to 204 
days; this last interval occurred but once. The snake decided for 
itself the time for feeding, manifesting its desire by increased activity, 2 
and by other signs. i 
