NATUKAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



51 



Common report would have us 

 believe that snakes shed their skins 

 once each year, and that punctually 

 in the middle of August, when in 

 fact the frequency of their exfolia- 

 tion is altogether dependent on 

 their age, condition, and the food 

 supply. 



When they come out of their 

 winter quarters in the early spring 

 they are much emaciated and are 

 so dingy and dirty that their nat- 

 ural colors are obscured. Assem- 

 bling often in considerable num- 

 bers, in some sunny sheltered spot, 

 they obey the promptings of the race 

 instinct, and provide for the contin- 

 uation of the species. Then if 

 food can be obtained they gorge 

 themselves, lie hid for a week and 

 come out again to discard the 

 dingy cuticles which they wore 

 through the winter and to appear 

 bright and clean in new and shiny 

 spring suits. It often happens, 

 however, that little or no food can 

 be found at that season and the 

 process of exuviation is according- 

 ly much retarded. 



I have known garter snakes, 

 Eutaenia sirtalis, to go two years 

 without shedding, because they 

 were kept under such unfavorable 

 conditions that their existence was 

 nothing more than a living death 

 and they could not properly per- 

 form the functions of healthy life. 

 Snakes of the same species kept by 

 myself shed at least three times 

 each year, and one, which was 

 growing rapidly, shed five times in 

 a little over three months. Of 

 course, older snakes would not 

 outgrow their coats and would not 

 change so often. 



I have noticed the young of the 

 Heterdon platyrhinus shedding their 

 skins after they had been out of 

 the shell but a few hours, while 

 the young of Eutaenia would gorge 

 themselves on earthworms, Lum- 

 bricus and wait six or eight days 

 before exuviation would take place. 



In considering the question of 

 exfoliation in the tortoise observ- 

 ers need not be alarmed if their re- 

 ports do not coincide regarding the 

 date and manner of its occurrences 

 for chelonians are no doubt as 

 much subject to variations, and to 

 the influence of food and surround- 

 ings as ophidians'. 



Angus Gaines, 

 Vincinnes, Ind. 



Queries. 



An Ohio subscriber queries as 

 follows: 



i. What is the use of the bony 



case in ducks, at the junction of 

 the bronchiae and trachea? 



2. What are the white thread- 

 like worms, one to two inches long, 

 often found in considerable num- 

 bers back of the eye-balls in owls? 



3. From what trees are caboo, 

 cocoa and coco bola woods obtain- 

 ed.? 



4. Is Prof. D. S. Jordan cor- 

 rect when he states that the voice 

 of the Cricket Frog, Acris gryllus, 

 resembles the rattling of pebbles? 



Late Arrival of our Birds; What 

 Became of the Bluebirds? 



The notes given by Mr. Watkins 

 in Natural Science News of April 

 6th, apply equally well to this lo- 

 cality, with the exception of the 

 dates. My notes show the arrival of 

 our spring migrants to be from five 

 to thirty days later than last year. 

 The average difference being about 

 two weeks. I have observed eigh- 

 teen species so far this year, only 

 twelve being regular spring mi- 

 grants. 



My notes of 1894 and 1895 com- 

 pare as follows: 





1894 



1895 



Robin, March 8, 



March 19 



Bluebird, ' 



' 8, 



" 25 



Song Sparrow, ' 



' IO > 



" 25 



Wild Ducks, 



' 20, 



" 25 



Marsh Hawk, 



' 24, 



" 3° 



Phoebe, ' 



' i9i 



April 3 



Purple Grackle, ' 



8, 



7 



Chippi'g Sparr'w, ' 



' 24, 



5 



Meadowlark, ' 



< 20, 



9 



About the first of February a 

 Red-throated Loon was brought to 

 town here. It had been found wad- 

 dling in the snow unable to fly, 

 and completely exhausted, near 

 a small creek of running water. 

 At about the same time were found 

 three Grebes, near the same place 

 and in a similar condition. One 

 of them flew away and the others 

 were caught, and I believe, mount- 

 ed. This was during a cold snap, 

 following a thaw. It seems prob- 

 able that the migration had com- 

 menced then, and being checked 

 by continued cold weather, many 

 "early birds" perished with the 

 cold, and the migration was unus- 

 ually delayed. 



BertonA. Garrett 

 Ballston Spa., N. Y. 



A sample copy of Natural bci- 

 ence News came to me today and 

 I find a man,L. Whitney Watkins, 

 has been worrying about the late 

 arrival of the birds as well as I. 

 The Bluebird especially was so 



much behind time that I wrote Dr. 

 Merriam of the Dept. at Washing- 

 ton, D. C, for an explanation. 

 Not that I suspected the Dr. of 

 holding them back, but thought he 

 might be able to trace them from 

 their southern home. 



He writes me that all the birds 

 were driven further south this win- 

 ter on account of severe weather. 

 This is doubtless the true explan- 

 tion. 



With us, here, near the shore of 

 Lake Erie, the Bluebird, for the 

 last ten years, has arrived, on an 

 average about March 1st. The ear- 

 liest arrival was Feb'y 5, 1890, the 

 latest before the present spring was 

 March 5, 1886. — This spring, only 

 one male so far has arrived and 

 that, April 13th. 



The Brown Thrasher, Chewink 

 and many birds of passage have 

 already arrived. But still we miss 

 that cheerful little song of Sialia 

 sialis. 



W. B. Hall. 

 Wakeman, Ohio, 



Bluebirds were very late arriv- 

 ing here this year and are very 

 scarce now, and in other parts of 

 Iowa from which I have heard. A 

 report on the Bluebird from all 

 over the country would be of very 

 great interest, and especially if 

 from near their winter habitat. 



J. H. Brown, 

 Iowa City, la. 



You would greatly oblige me by 

 bringing before the large circle of 

 readers of the Natural Science 

 News the following query: 



What became of the Bluebirds? 

 Not one-tenth of our Bluebirds 

 have returned to their breeding 

 places in this neighborhood, and 

 the time is now over when hope 

 for return could reasonably be 

 entertained. 



It used to be a common breeder 

 until this year; now it is a rare bird 

 and, though I have been out many 

 times and in different directions in 

 this and the adjacent count}', the 

 Bluebirds which I have seen or 

 heard can be counted on the fin- 

 gers of my two hands. 



What is the cause of their ab- 

 sence? Have they perished, and 

 how? Let us try to find out as 

 much of this calamity as possible. 



We have had hard winters be- 

 fore; the February of '86 was as 

 cold or even colder all through the 

 Southern states; snow fell at the 

 mouth of the Rio Grande and men 

 froze to death in the bay of Galves- 



