JfJf The jYcituralists' Companion. 
Owls Without Memory. 
A naturalist in the West has con¬ 
cluded either that owl are devoid of 
memory or that they do not mind go¬ 
ing about with owl-traps attached to 
their legs. 
He set a trap to catch an owl, and 
it mysteriosly disappeared. He then 
set a heavier trap,, and caught in it an 
owl which had the first trap attached 
to one of its legs. The phrase, “stup¬ 
id as an owl,” seems a fitting reflection 
upon a bird which would set about 
making a collection of owl-traps in 
such a manner as this.— H. L. Bj'agg. 
Quartz. 
BY W. S. BEEKMAN, W. MEDFOKD, MASS. 
As several have shown quite an in¬ 
terest in the description of various 
quartz specimens, I give a little ac¬ 
count of a lew more A’arieties, and de¬ 
fer the description of the most beauti¬ 
ful metallic minerals I intended for this 
papei’, for another mouth. 
One of the most curious quartz speci¬ 
mens I have had the pleasure of pos¬ 
sessing was a crystal from some for¬ 
eign locality. The material was of an 
opaque, milky color, and the form was 
a perfect hexagonal pyramid, being a 
termination, the prism being wanted. 
It was a surprise to find that it separ¬ 
ated into two perfect forms, and as the 
one underneath was hollow, I probab¬ 
ly only had part of the entire crystal, 
and there may have been more sections 
on top. The two pyramids were of the 
same thickness, but ot course the up¬ 
per one w'as a trifle smaller than the 
lower. It seems that at regular inter¬ 
vals, during the process of growth, the 
deposition of quartz was interrupted 
by the formation of a very thin layer 
of a micareous clay, and then as the 
crystal continued to form, the layers 
of clay formed weak joints, as it acted 
as a lubricator and prevented adhesion. 
This capping of the quartz gives it the 
name that rightly describes it, cappeo 
QUARTZ. Instances where the growth 
of a crystal stops and immediately con¬ 
tinues again without the interference of 
foreign matter, is common, and crystals 
thus formed are known as phantoms. 
The dim outline of a termination in¬ 
side of a clear crystal is a phantom in 
every sense of the word. At one locali¬ 
ty in Canada, the phantoms are coated 
with a very bright red layer of some 
mineral, and makes very attractive 
specimens. 
There is a locality in Main that 
gives very curious phantoms. When 
the new crystal begins to form on the 
termination of an already finished one, 
instead of carrying out the symmetrical 
figure, it bulges out and forms a short, 
fat crystal on top of a long and slen¬ 
der one, that looks for all the w'orld 
like a boy carrying a child astride of 
his shoulders. 
I have before me a crystal that J 
would like to exhibit to all of the read¬ 
ers of this A^aluable magazine, if they 
could be collected into one large halh 
and all have a pleasant time telling of 
their work. There is one objection to 
the crystal, in my eyes, that renders 
it more worthy of a mantle than to be 
placed in a cabinet, and that is, it has 
been cut and polished. I dislike such 
specimens among minerals. Of course 
in many cases polished specimens are 
required to bring out the beaut}^ The 
ciystal I have reference to, is of Japan¬ 
ese origin, and was cut and polished by 
