8 
THE MUSEUM. 
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Zoology. —Amongst the recent arrivals at the 
Philadelphia Zoological Garden were two fine speci¬ 
mens of the zebu (Indian ox), a Bactrian camel, a 
jack-rabbit, two marmosets,, a raccoon, a ring-necked 
parrakeet, a mountain finch, a chaffinch, two mallard 
ducks, three Pekin ducks, a sickle-billed curlew, 
two little black-headed ducks, a turkey buzzard, a 
red-tailed hawk, a mountain blacksnake, a copper¬ 
head snake, two alligators, and an Egyptian ichneu¬ 
mon. The zebus and camel were born in the 
garden. 
Dr. William D. Hartman, of West Chester, Pa., 
has in his possession some edible snails, still living, 
which he procured from Lord Byron’s old garden at 
Geneva, Switzerland, in 1883. 
We have received from southern California a most 
interesting collection of star-fishes and sea-urchins, 
some of which are rare. They will be described in 
an early number of this journal. 
Ornithology and Oology.— The Blue Jay as 
a Practical Joker. —A gentleman in one of 
Ohio’s inland towns is the happy possessor of a bald 
head. The other day he stepped out into the yard 
without his hat, when suddenly a jay darted down 
and struck him a blow on his shining pate. He 
then flew off to his companions, who evidently 
enjoyed the joke very much.— Will C. Parsons, 
in The Young Oologist. 
The anna humming-bird, according to one of our 
western correspondents, commenced nesting this 
season in February, in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, 
Cal. 
Professor T. G. Gentry possesses an egg of the 
mallard duck which is of a dark chocolate color, 
and one of the crow, which is of a light green tint, 
without splotches. 
The flicker or golden-winged woodpecker is 
sometimes a prolific layer. A female, in Chester 
County, Pa., was known to deposit over thirty eggs 
in one season ; one egg was taken from the nest every 
day for a month, being invariably replaced by another 
the day following. 
In the western portion of the United States, cow- 
birds are very abundant. It is a frequent occurrence 
to find an egg of this bird on the ground, far out on 
the Colorado plains. As there are no trees in that 
section, and consequently no nests of other birds, the 
cow-bunting has no alternative but to leave her eggs 
to the mercy of the elements. 
The broad-tailed humming bird occurs abundantly 
in the extreme southwestern corner of Colorado. 
In the summer of 1875, ^ ve nests were found in one 
afternoon, within a space of 100 yards, each contain¬ 
ing two eggs. The nests, which varied much in 
shape, were built in bushes, from 4 to 10 feet from 
the ground, and over, or in the vicinity of, a running 
brook. 
Botany. —In a paper entitled North American 
Geasters , Mr. A. P. Morgan, in the Journal of 
Mycology , describes eighteen species of “ star puff¬ 
balls.” 
Camptosorus rhizophyllus, Link., commonly 
called the “ walking-leaf” fern, has been found 
growing on a single rock on the Wissahickon, near 
Germantown, Pa. The spot is known to but three 
or four botanists. 
Among the manuscript notes left by Dr. Engel - 
mann at his decease, is an incomplete description of 
a new genus, of Euphorbiacese, for which he pro¬ 
posed the name of Tetracoccus. The material then 
being imperfect, the notes remained unfinished. 
Since then, complete specimens have been collected 
by C. R. Orcutt, of San Diego.— West-American 
Scientist. 
On the western edge of British Guiana, near the 
Brazilian boundary, the Roraima mountain rises to a 
height of 5000 feet above the surrounding plain. 
This peak has hitherto been considered inaccessible ; 
no one has been known to accomplish its circuit, 
and it has been believed to be a perpendicular sand¬ 
stone cliff on all sides, capped, apparently, by a 
mass of foliage. The neighborhood is exceedingly 
rich in botanical specimens, and collectors have long 
desired to explore its summit in quest of new plants. 
The eminent naturalist, Mr. Everard F. im Thurn, 
has, at length, accomplished the ascent, in the interest 
of botany, and the announcement of his discoveries 
will be awaited with much interest. 
