'6 
THE NATURALISTS' COMPANION 
Ixiikliiin: still c'Xtaiit there at the 
time of the Spanish eun([uest, and 
nniversally attributed to the Aztees 
hv the traditions of the eonntrv. 
From here they resumed tlieir wan¬ 
derings until, linally, about the year 
1216 they arrived in the valley of 
Mexico. Here they were at tirst 
well received, hnt they were enslav¬ 
ed hy a neigld)oring |)rince. who 
elaimed the territory and was un¬ 
willing to have them remain without 
paying tribute. They were finally, 
however, released from bondage, 
when they resinned their wanderings 
which thev continued untiPahoc.t 
the year 1325, when they came to a 
place on the borders of a lake, when; 
the eagle that had guided them in 
their jonrnev died. This was the 
sign given them hy their oracle, des¬ 
ignating the place they were finally 
to settle; and as they had taken 
possession, they built a city, called 
Mexico, after Mexitili the'Aztec god 
of wair. Ilelics of these tribes are 
found in Arazona and neighboring 
states. They are extremely rare 
however. 
The Exchange, Adrian, Mich., is 
a handsome and well edited paper. 
Bones have been proven to (piick- 
ly dissolve in sea-water. They are 
consequently seldom obtained dur¬ 
ing ocean dredgings, although teeth, 
whicli resist the water indefinitely, 
are often brought u]). 
Prof. Herbert Smith and his 
party of naturalists from Baltimore, 
who have been for some years in 
Brazil, have made a collection of 
600,000 specimens of insects, birds 
and animals in eighteen proviiices 
of* the enqiire. They will explore 
the vallev of the Amazon this Pali. 
A ^Siiriple Egg Measure. 
There is one article needed l.>y 
every oologist which, so far as I can 
ascertain, has never been supplied 
—that is a measure for eggs. AIv 
* . • 
own means for measuring, untd re¬ 
cently, was to mil a pin in as far as 
it would go and then measure the 
|)in, hut 1 found this method broke 
the eggs too often. I then struck 
upon tlie following plan : 
Take a small hoard (four inclu s 
square will be jilenly large enough). 
.-li;1.12 
.— 1;T 
Draw a line across the centre, and 
at even distances from this line place 
pins or pegs, as shown in the dia¬ 
gram. To measure, place your egg 
length-wise upon the centre of this 
line and run it along until the sides 
hit against the pins ; the figures at 
the pins which are hit tell the width 
of the egg. Then repeat with the 
egg sidewise winch will give the 
1 ength. —Am ateu r 0 user v er . 
AVhy is it that we never receive 
a copy of the Hoosier Mineralogist 
an d A rch yeol ogi st ? B roth er Thom p - 
son, have you made a mistake in 
our address, or don't you wish to 
exchange ? 
ADAHHTJTSE IN THIS PAPER 1 
