HDITORIAL GLEHANINGS. 93 
greed succumbed to pain, and he left his desired victims in peace. At the 
end of three months the plate of glass was removed, and the Pike had thus 
free access to the fish that were formerly preserved by this obstacle; but, 
strange to say, he neyer approached them. The idea of pain, doubtless 
appreciable to his senses, had become so dominantly connected with the 
small fish as to prevent any further attack. This experiment—easy to 
renew—adds much light to the psychology of fishes. 
Mr. Percy Sexovs, in the ‘ Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de 
France’ (1897, p. 187), contributes some more observations on the habits 
of Rattlesnakes. In past years his Crotales had fed on nothing but mice, 
but now they took birds with avidity. Once he introduced a sparrow in a 
cage containing two large snakes, when both struck at it simultaneously, 
the bird escaping ; but the largest snake had struck the other one by the 
head, and Mr. Selous had much trouble in separating them. The head of the 
smaller snake swelled rapidly, and he was afraid it would die, but after some 
time the swelling disappeared, and the wounded individual swallowed a mouse. 
This went to prove that their poison is somewhat harmless to the snakes 
themselves. Another strange observation was that sometimes these snakes 
disgorge pellets composed of hairs and feathers, after the manner of owls. 
Mr. Selous was bitten by one of these snakes. He immediately enlarged 
the wound with his knife, and sucked the same vigorously, till he thought 
he had extracted the poison, when he filled the wound with permanganate 
of potash. But the next day he was very ill, and, becoming worse, had to 
seek medical assistance, when he was ordered strychnine pills. He suffered, 
however, for some time, and still felt the effect at the time of writing. 
In ‘ A Handy Guide to Fish Culture,’ written by J. J. Armistead, and 
published by “The Angler, Limited,” Scarborough and London, the 
amateur pisciculturist will find much invaluable advice, and the zoologist 
may glean a few facts. It is a condensation in brochure and very in- 
expensive form, of a larger work by the same author. Not only is the 
rearing of Trout described, but the construction, planting, and stocking 
of a fish-pond made clear to anyone who either wishes to follow the pursuit 
as a study, amusement, or as a business or source of profit. We have 
recently noticed several publications connected with aquaria; in this small 
treatise the reader may advance his knowledge from that afforded by the 
glass tank to what may be obtained from the fuller experience of a dam, or 
fish-pond, with its aquatic vegetation which is indispensable, its surrounding 
trees and plants which afford entomological provender, and the varied 
animal-life which must be introduced to afford the nutriment of fish. 
