NATUKAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



35 



struction. Some time is also giv- 

 en to the study of the holoblastic 

 eggs of sea urchins and amphibians. 

 One of the most important features 

 of the course is the series of lectures 

 and seminars, with discussions of 

 the vital questions of biology, such 

 as the structure and nature of cell, 

 the questions of heredity and ho- 

 mology, etc. 



The institution is not under the 

 control of any school or sect, but is 

 national in its scope and organiza- 

 tion. Its trustees and instructors 

 are from the faculties of Harvard, 

 Brown, Yale and Columbia, the 

 Universities of Pennyslvania, Chi- 

 cago, and Michigan, and other wide- 

 ly separated schools. The school 

 is supported by donations from 

 friends of scientific research and by 

 fees from students. The courses in 

 which instruction is given are $50, 

 and the investigators' rooms are 

 $100, for the season. — The New 

 York Medical Journal. 



The Kaori Currency. 



What is known as the Kaori Cur- 

 rency consists of the money cowry 

 ( Cyprcea tnoneta) a shell of a yellow- 

 ish color and measuring from two- 

 thirds to one and one-half inches in 

 length. It is found in enormous 

 quantities in the Indian Ocean and 

 is extensively used in Western Af- 

 rica as currency, and many tons 

 weight are annually imported into 

 England and again exported for bar- 

 ter with the native tribes of Africa. 

 A ton of these cowry's costs from 

 $250 to ' $300 in Ceylon. These 

 cowry's have been in African trade 

 for many centuries. 



The only money current in the 

 large sultanate, Adamawa, in Cen- 

 tral Soudan, are the Kaori 

 or cowry shells. The agents of 

 France who have been trying with 

 indifferent success to get a foothold 

 there, say there is a dearth in the 

 circulating medium, and commerce 

 is greatly embarrassed by the scar- 

 city of other currency. 



The Arab trader, Ibu Batuta, 

 noticed this currency in use along 

 the Niger, in the fourteenth cen- 

 tury. The first Portuguese marin- 

 ers likewise passed them among 

 the natives all along the coast of 

 West Africa. Originally probably 

 these cowry shells obtained their 

 popularity in Africa, because of 

 their being easily adapted for pur- 

 poses of personal decoration. 

 Their value, however, is steadily 

 depreciating. 



Grant the companion of Speke, 



the explorer, reported that in Un- 

 joxo the kaori money was being 

 buried in the ground by the natives, 

 to hide it from the despoiler. Thir- 

 ty-five years ago, in the Unjoxo 

 country ten kaori bought a cow. 

 Now a whole load of them is re- 

 quired. Burton, an explorer, says 

 about it: "It is a very pleasant 

 sort of money to carry around. To 

 carry £2 worth of it, it is necessary 

 to hire a strong man." 



W. J. WlNTEMBURG. 



The Watch as a Compass. 



The following, copied from an 

 old Si. Nicholas, I think is worth 

 mentioning: "Point the hour 

 hand of a watch at the sun. that is 

 in a horizontal direction toward the 

 sun. Then the south point will be 

 just half-way between the hour 

 hand and the XII point." 



The above I found to be true at 

 any hour during the day. 



H. R. C. 



List of Texas Mollusca, Maiine, 



Collected by J. D. Mitchell, Victoria, 

 Texas. 



( Continued from last week.) 



Tellina alternate/.. Say. 



This pretty shell is common all 

 along the gulf coast from the pe- 

 ninsula to Corpus Pass, being 

 most numerous on Matagorda Is- 

 land. It occurs in all the shades 

 of color from deep pink to white, 

 and I have found several specimens 

 of a canary yellow or straw color. 

 I have seen many live ones thrown 

 up by the waves, but don't know 

 anything of their habits. 



Donax Roemeri. Phil. 



Very plentiful along the gulf on 

 peninsula and Matagorda Island. 

 I have found it in four colors — 

 white, purple, yellow and striped, 

 the latter rare. It buries in the 

 sand in colonies at the margin and 

 when a wave comes in and covers 

 them they jump up out of the sand, 

 dance around on their foot, snap 

 their valves vigorously feeding and 

 as the wave recedes they disappear 

 in the sand like magic. 



Venus cancellata. Linn. 



Dead shells common everywhere 

 on the coast. The fresh shells are 

 purple inside. I never saw a live 

 one. 



Venus mercenaria. Var. Mortoni. 

 Con. 



I dredged this clam from Alligat- 

 or Head to Pass Cabello, Matagor- 

 da Bay. They are good eating. 

 Immense dead shells are found on 

 the gulf beach on the peninsula. 



Callista convexa. Say. 



Gulf, beach-worn valves only. 

 Callista gigantea. Gruel. 

 Matagorda Bay; single valves only. 

 Dosinia discus. Reeve. 



Gulf coast from peninsula to Cor- 

 pus pass. 



•Pctrico la phola difo nnis. 



I found a colony of young ones 

 in Matagorda Bay imbeded in the 

 clay near the shore. Old shells on 

 beach on Matagorda Bay. 



Macoma constricta. Brug. 



I found live shells in Matagorda 

 Bay and Carancahua Bay — dead 

 shells in Lavaca Bay and Turtle 

 Bay. It burrows about two inches 

 deep and moves slowly through the 

 sand by means of its foot. 



Macoma MitcJiclli. Dall. 



Named by Dr. Dall. I have 

 found this little shell only in Car- 

 ancahua Bay in muddy bottoms 

 just beneath the surface. 



Macoma Tampacnsis. Cox. 



I found this living, slightly bur- 

 ied on the flats of Espiritu Sancto 

 Bay. 



Cyrcna Carolincnsis. Lam. 



This shell I found quite plenti- 

 ful in Lavaca and Carancahua Bays. 

 It buries itself in the sand or mud, 

 keeping its beak near the surface. 



Cyrena Floridana. Con. 



I found only dead shells on the 

 peninsula shore of Matagorda Bay. 



Cardium magnum. Born. 



Found in quantities along the 

 gulf from the east end of the Mata- 

 gorda peninsula to Corpus Christi 

 pass. They bury three or four in- 

 ches in the sand in water from 

 three to six feet deep. They may 

 be in deeper water also. 



Cardium Mortoni. Con. 



I found this in Keller's Bay, 

 Carancahua Bay, Port Lavaca Bay, 

 Matagorda Bay, Turtle Bay. 

 Espiritu Sancto Bay and Corpus 

 Christi Bay. It burrows one inch 

 in water from one foot to three 

 feet, summer tide. 



Cardium muricatum. Linn. 



I found a colon)' of live speci- 

 mens near old Indianola, Matagor- 

 da bay — found dead shells also on 

 Matagorda Island, Espiritu Sancto 

 Bay, Shell Banks and Corpus 



