ee — 2 HARVARD UNIVERSITY. Pte RAY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY 1) 34b Fy BEQUEST OF WILLIAM BREWSTER ooo eees=~ oo SS SEE eee ILLIAM BREWSTER diel eu) + ¢ Poa Anne Ae 7 ben pom Notes on Natural eet is “the title we a teiepace ly ‘devoted to the distribution of useful knowledge concerning the s departments of zodlogy, mineralogy, and botany,” published by 5; wick and Jencks, Providence, R. I. The two numbers that have us are carefully edited and neatly printed, and contain, besides the ee. of the publishers, many short articles relating to ar eee Cie: ee interesting bird notes. FEB re) 192 : as! 7 y ‘ : vs ‘ va aa t . ‘ . é , ‘ ; e . ‘ is . : ri ’ ‘ cer 5 4 Z ‘ . E { t « . . ‘ ‘ 2 t = G . PUBLISHED BY DOU THWIiCK & JENCKS, PROVIDENCE, Ref. ENTERED AT THE PROVIDENCE POST-OFFICE AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER, 2 RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. | RARE AND DESIRABLE GOODS Lately Herey ba at the Matural History Store SOUTHWICK & JENCKS, PROVIDENCE, R. I. MINERALS. | Moonstone, Pa........---++eeee55° $0.50 to $3.00 | Apatite Crystals, Canada.......--: 10 to 2.00 Edenite, N. Y...-..+s--esesceeseees .25 to — .50 | Barite, Eng......---+--seeeseeeees .50 to 3.00 | Fluor Spars, Eng., purple, yellow aNd QreeN...-.--eeeeeeeee reese .50 to 8.00 Ascicular, crystals of Hornblende penetrating quartz.......+-+++++ 10 to 2.00 | BIRD SKINS. 16a Lecontes Thrasher..........+- 6.00 99 Black-tailed Gnatcatcher......2.00 to 2.50 | 55c California Creeper.......---+-- 1.00 60b Florida Wren........---+-:-:: 1.20 220 Gray-headed Snowbird........ 1.25 to, 1.50 237a Florida Tohee.........--+-+++- 1.00 to 1.50 | 278a Florida Grackle..2......-.+++> 1.00 to 1.25 | 297a White-headed Jay.......--+++- 1.25 to 1.50 | 303 Gray King Bird........-..---+: 2.00: to 2.50) | 307 Cassin’s King Bird..........+- 1.50 to 2.00 | 336 Black-chinned Hummingbird. . 3.50 | 337 Costa’s Hummingbird..... .... 4.00 | 239 Broad-tailed Hummingbird....1.00 to 1.50 350 Black Swift..........-es-seee 6.00 | 352 Vaux’s Swift..... ...--++2-++- 2.50 to 3.50 | 368a Striped-backed Woodpecker. . .2.50 to 3.00 | 458 White Crowned Pigeon..... ..3.00 to 4.00 | ECCS. | Sets per Egg. Single. | 26 Black Crested Flycatcher. . BO) 4.504 | 37 Black Crested Titmouse.. 1.25 1.10 423 Caracara Hagle........ +--+: aa) 00 2.75 | 488 European Heron...........++. .50 40 EO) Walletcs ce set «les coletomedetetetelel= .50 40 565 Wilson’s Phalarope........... 1.25 1.00 581 Limpkin..........-000 000mm . 1.50 1.25 "45 Tufted Puffin.... ....--++eses 3.00 2.50 Cassowary. 3.50 MARINE SPECIMENS. Scalaria Grenlandica, Gould...... $0.15 to $0.20 Neptunea Decemcostata, Say.....- 15 to .25 Terebrabulina Septemtrionalis, (Ofainieeaqanooe abo opODo UGC 000 .20 to .30 Terebratula Rubicunda, New VASENG UG ORO RAD BAGe oOo UbUC0ls¢ .80 to .50 Strombus Lineatus, Lam........- -15:to: 20 Pomaulax Undosus, Wood.......- .50 to 1.00 Cerithium Nodulosum..........-- .25 to .40 Voluta Des Hagii,.....-------++++- 2.50 STAR-FISH. Asterias forbesii----+-+-+++++++++**" 10 to .25 Perfect dry specimens, for collectors or teach- ers. Postage 5 cents each. SEA-URCHINS. Strongylocentrotus Drobachiensis. 10to 25 Fine dry specimens, with the spines, care- fully prepared for the use of teachers. Post- age 5 cents each. We desire to obtain WHITE OWLS in the Fiesu, and fine skins of Passenger Pigeon, Purple Grackle, Yellow Shafted Flicker, Blue Jay, Philadelphia Vireo, Cardinal Grosbeak, Nonpareil, Blue Grosbeak. Also the following Eggs: Redstart, Arctic Tern, Roseate Tern. We will purchase or give exchange of RARE Sprctizs for any of the above. Persons having | such to dispose of will kindly write us giving quantities and valuation. ina any Guan or any style GLASS EYES, Sent Postage Pa Discount on ALL orders; WRITE TO US FOR IT. Handow Notes on Matural History. Wool: "1. PROVIDENCE, JANUARY 1, 1884. No. L Random Hotes on Haturat History. A PAMPHLET DEVOTED TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF USE- FUL KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING THE VARIOUS DE- PARTMENTS OF ZOOLOGY, MINERALOGY, AND Borany. 50 CENTS A YEAR. Address all communications to SOUTHWICK & JENCKS, 258 Westminster St., Providence, R.I., U.S.A. Ir is proposed in these pages to note the occurrence in Rhode Island of unusual spe- | | | | We have already made numerous notes upon the color of the iris, and have received many more from correspondents. We shall, however, be grateful for further assistance, which, if not new, will serve to confirm ob- | servations already in hand, and which may _ be looked for in succeeding numbers. How to SorrEN An Owv’s FEEr.— First _ with a sponge sop the feathers on the feet cies, or those otherwise of interest, beside | such general news as shall be profitable to | the student and collector, to report the pro- | gress of various scientific societies in this state, and at each issue to devote a portion to publishing a checking-list of shells. TAXIDERMY. Cotor or Brirps’ Eyes. Books on ornithology are not explicit enough in this particular. While in a few cases errors are quoted from one book to another without any one taking the pains to correct thei. of this sort, is that of the Long-tailed Duck, harelda glacialis, generally given as white, though it is light brown, as we have proved by many specimens. An exceptional case may be white, for many species show dif- ferent colors in different individuals. The adult and young birds are also frequently different. A very prominent case | Bald Eagle, adult; usually nearly white | or cream, Bald Eagle, young, dark brown, called “hazel.” Bald Eagle, adult (one specimen), clear vermillion. Osprey, adult, straw. Osprey, young, reddish brown, hazel. Golden-winged Woodpecker, dark red, hazel. Downy Woodpecker, dark red, hazel. American Sheldrake, usually red. Two fresh ones recently received, had hazel. American Swan, hazel. Mallard, hazel. Gannet, adult, cream. and legs until soaked through, and then put to soak in a dish of scalding water for 4 few moments. HORNBLENDE. PARTICULARLY beautiful specimens of this species, are found at Calumet Hill, Cum- berland, R. I., penetrating sometimes the opaque, but oftener limpid quartz, in long black crystals from the size of hair to those measuring a sixteenth of an inch in diam- eter, interlacing and crossing the matrix in all directions. The accompanying rock is a syenyte, which has been wrought for mon- umental purposes. ‘The veins of this desir- able material are exposed occasionally, as the work of quarrying proceeds. The work- men soon learn its value and monopolize the best at once. Work in the quarry is for the present abandoned, and this, almost the only avenue for obtaining specimens, is closed, while such material as was on hand has been absorbed by a few persons; one large lot has been sent to Europe and cut for jewelry. Clear and well-formed crystals of quartz, from three-quarters to two inches long, are occasionally found, and they also are penetrated by the hornblende. The occurrence of ascicular crystals of hornblende penetrating quartz is very un- common, this being the only reported lo- cality in America. We have never seen finer specimens from any other place, and correspondence with several gentlemen well posted on minerals establishes their occurrence at Minas Ge- raes, Brazil, possibly at St. Gothard, and in China, from whence they come cut usually into curious bottles and ornaments. 4 RANDOM NOTES ON THE PROVIDENCE FRANKLIN SOCIETY is the oldest society in the state devoted to general scientific research, holding its meet- ings every alternate Tuesday. President —- Levi W. RUSSELL. Vice-President — Dayip Hoyt. Secretary — CHARLES M. SALISBURY, Esq. Treasurer — A. L. CALDER. A course of lectures in botany, by Prof. W. W. Bailey, is now in progress, and others upon kindred topics are proposed. The committee of the Geological depart- ment is trying to bring together all pub- lished facts regarding the geology of the state, and so far as their limited opportu- nities permit, to accumulate new material and make a more extended survey. THE NEWPORT NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY was incorporated June Ist, 1883, number- ing among its members many of Newport’s most distinguished citizens, as well as sey- eral of the prominent summer residents. President — Pror. RAPHAEL PUMPELLY. Corresponding Secretary — GEORGE C. MASON. Treasurer — Dr. WILLIAM C. RIVERS, JR. Curator — J.J. MASON. During the past two months there have been three very interesting lectures: Prof. Dale, on the ‘‘Paradise Rocks”; Prof. Pumpelly, on “A Journey through the Rocky Mountains,” and Mr. Richard Bliss, on ‘*Some Curious Forms of Fishes.” The society proposes to do active work. A good general collection and an aquarium are looked forward to with confidence. THE RHODE ISLAND ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Tus society was organized June 6th, 1883. President — EpWIn EK. CALDER. Vice-President —H. Terry, M. D. Secretary and Treasurer — F. E. GRAY. Meetingsare held fortnightly; thirty-three active members are now enrolled. At the meeting Dec. 12th, Mr. G. M. Gray read a paper upon the wings of insects, and specimens of the moth, Ecpanthia Scribo- nia, beetles, Dynastes tityus, and a larva of Dynastes Hercules were exhibited and dis- cussed. Dec. 26th, Edwin E. Calder read a paper upon the mouth parts of some cole- opterous insects. NATURAL HISTORY. SEA-URCHINS. Frew marine animals are more readily re- cognized than the sea-urchin. There is scarcely a rocky point along our entire coast where colonies of them cannot be found. Slowly crawling over the surface of rocks just below low-water mark, or in pools left by the receding tide, to the casual observer they appear like so many chestnut burs, but on endeavoring to take them up one soon sees his mistake. Even ona smooth rock the sea-urchin, by means of its ambulacral suckers, has a most tenacious hold, and even when placed on its back, it will, by drawing with these suckers and skillfully propping with its spines, soon right itself. Not satisfied with the protection neces- sarily rendered by its dull green or purple color, it collects bits of sea-weed and shells, with which it often so skillfully covers itself as to be indistinguishable from the groups of algz always found in its imme- diate neighborhood. Physiologically it is a most interesting an- imal. The simple alimentary canal; highly differentiated mouth parts, of which the den- tary apparatus forms the so-called Aris- totle’s lantern; the water vascular system, and a most generalized nervous system, con- sisting of little more than a ring of nerve fibre surrounding the mouth and sending ra- diating nerves to the several divisions of the body, render the sea-urchin a most ex- cellent subject for dissection, and as such it holds an important position in the major- ity of elementary text-books on general an- atomy. The dried specimens, as objects for com- parison with allied forms, such as the stars, crinoids, ophiurans and holothuriaus, are extremely interesting and useful, both when entire or when denuded of the spines. Naturally-prepared specimens of the latter kind are often found along sandy beaches where they have been rolled, from their original positions among the rocks, by the waves. In this state they are clean and white, and are at once recognized as the fisherman’s sea-eggs. * * { ' Curious DreatH oF A SAW WHET OwL.— \A boy in Kingston, R. I., found one in a partridge snare. i ae RANDOM NOTES ON An Introduction to a Series of Papers on the Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Rhode Island. [BY HORACE F. CARPENTER. | Tue study of shells, aside from the tech- nicalities of scientific description, is beauti- ful and interesting. The gaily colored and fantastic marked shells of the tropics, had been gathered and preserved by sailors and travelers, for their beauty or their rarity, long before the anatomist had observed and described the animals contained in them, or before conchology had taken its place among the natural sciences. There are many people who say, What is the use of these things? they are of no ben- efit to man unless they have a commercial value. For the benefit of such persons who can see no beauty or pleasure in anything which does not represent money, I would say, that every shell, however humble in ap- pearance, or however common in certain localities, has its market value, established by dealers in such things in all the large cities of the world, whose business consists in buying and selling objects like those I am about to describe. Rare species have great value in the eyes of such dealers. Two hundred and fifty dollars have been paid for a single specimen of Conus gloria- maris, and one hundred and fifty for a spe- cimen of Cyprzea umbilicata ; while in West- ern Africa, the Cyprzea moneta is used for money itself, many tons of this shell being annually collected in the Pacific, and carried to Liverpool to be again exported for barter with the native tribes of Africa. That trading in these insignicfiant objects is remunerative, may be shown from the fact, that one of the largest dealers in Lon- don told me that his annual net profit from the sale of shells, fossils, etc., amounted to £1500 to £2000 sterling. A detailed ac- count of the uses to which shells are put would fill a volume ; suflice it to say, that in the preparation of hundreds of articles of necessity and of luxury, and in the mechan- ical arts, shells play a prominent part. The animals which inhabit the shells of the various classes of the type Mollusca, differ from each other in their appearance and in their habits, as much perhaps, as do the higher animals. A large proportion of NATURAL HISTORY. 5 the marine Mollusca are carnivorous, feeding upon each other, as well as upon other spe- cies, which are vegetable eaters, and in their turn furnish food for millions of other crea- tures. Animals of every rank in the scale of being, and of every type, class and order, feed more or less upon the Mollusca. Man also, in common with the higher animals, subsists to a great extent upon them. Snails are considered a great delicacy in France, Spain, and Switzerland, and in Italy, where they are fattened for the market in pens orsties. In Paris they are to be found in the restaurants, cooked and stuffed with some green herb, and are also sold in the streets, alive. In England, a small marine snail, Littor- ina littorea, is sold by old women at the street corners, to people, who after picking out tne boiled animal with a pin, throw the shell in the gutters. Buccinum undatum, Cardium edule, and Mytillus edulis form a large part of the food of the poorer classes in Great Britain. Pholus costata may be seen daily in the markets of Havana, and the Haliotis, or pearly ear shell, is collected by thousands on the coasts of California by the Chinese, who eat the animal and send the shells to China, there to be manufac- tured into various articles of virtu. In our own state, who can say how many oysters, clams, quahaugs, scallops and mus- sels are annually devoured by our citizens. Those who advocate a fish diet on account of the phosphorous, or brain food contained in it, might with equal propriety include the Mollusca, as they also contain a large pro- portion of phosphorus. The science of Conchology is one in which ladies may engage, with much profit and pleasure to themselvesand to others. There are many ladies in different parts of Europe who have accumulated quite extensive col- lections of shells, and who have added largely to our stock of knowledge by their personal researches. In America, among many who have studied and collected our shells, may be mentioned Miss Annie E. Law, of Con- cord, East Tennessee, who has personally explored the Holston River for a distance of twenty miles, and has published in the American Journal of Conchology for 1870, a list of the fluviatile shells found by her in that river, numbering ninety-five species ; also a synopsis of the land shells of East Tennessee, collected by her and numbering Vv 6 RANDOM NOTES ON thirty-three species. In Bermuda, Miss An- nie M. Peniston is collecting in quantities, the shells of those islands, of which there are many varieties, with a view to exchang- ing Bermuda shells for those of other parts of the world. The largest collection of shells in the | world is in the British Museum in London; | its immense collection, which has been accu- | /, A Very Rare Bird in Rhode Island. mulating for years, having recently received the addition of the cabinet of the late Hugh Cumming, a gentleman who spent thirty years of his life traveling in all parts of the world, constantly collecting, buying, and ex- changing duplicates with others, until he had accumulated nearly thirty thousand spe- cies. The largest collection in this country is in the Academy of Natural Sciences, at | Philadelphia. Besides the public collections contained in the various musenms through- out the country, such as the museum at } Central Park, N. Y., the Boston Society of Natural History, the Essex Institute at Salem, Brown University in Providence, and many others, there are a great many pri- vate cabinets, one of which, belonging to a gentleman in New York City, contains twelve thousand species; another in Oakland, Cal- ifornia, contains ten thousand species. A great deal of interest is taken in Conchology in New Bedford, Mass., there being nearly fifty private cabinets in that city containing one thousand species and upwards in each. The Mollusca are distributed ' over the - surface of the earth, in geographical and in zoological provinces, or centres of distribu- tion. No one section of country or conti- nent, even, can furnish species of all the gen- era, families, orders or classes, of any branch of natural history. The world is the field ; and only by comparison and research in all parts of our globe, can we obtain the mate- rial for a monograph of any group. The fauna of Rhode Island is of course very limited, and there are many families, orders, and even whole classes, not repre- sented at all. Outof more than thirty thou- sand species of shells, known and described by naturalists, there are but a little over two hundred existing in our state. The marine species may be represented as largely in numbers perhaps, as in any other portion of our cold northern shores, but the land and fresh water species are not only numerically small, but are also stunted in size; speci- /rormer’ GUILLEMOT IN RHODE IsLAND. NATURAL HISTORY. Island being much smaller than those found farther west. The reason for this is, that our soil is destitute of lime, while the west- ern states are rich in it; and as the animal secretes its shell (which is composed of e¢ar- _ bonate of lime) from the food it lives upoa, the reason is obvious, [To be continued.]} A youne Gyrfalcon, Hierofalco gyrfalco. var. sacer, was killed by E. S. Hopkins, Esq., at Point Judith, Oct. 11, 1883, and. brought to us. For the benefit of those. who may be unacquainted with this bird in - the young phase of plumage, we would state : It most nearly resembles the adult Goshawk /in general coloration, but the breast. is_ streaked up and down as in the young Gos- hawk, and not crosswise as in the adult bird. This is the second record for Rhode Island, the first being by Mr. Dexter, winter of 1864-65. © The specimen in the collection of Brown University has quite a story connected with it. It was sent alive from Maine to a gen- tleman here, and he, not knowing what to do with it, came tous, representing it to be, as he supposed, a Goshawk. As we could not use it at the price it had cost him, he signified his intention of giving it to Roger Williams Park, where we assured him it would be acceptable. We visited the park shortly afterward, and saw the bird for the first time, which was not a Goshawk, but a Jerfalcon. We told Mr. Adcock about it, and upon visiting the park he learned of its death, and the wings were pointed out to him tacked up in-the barn. These he ob- tained, as also the body, which had been buried about a week, and with careful work succeeded in making a good specimen of it. / — Mr. H. A. Talbot shot one between War- wick Neck Light and Patience Island, Dee. 26, 1883. The first specimen we have ever known taken in Narragansett Bay. Since the above article was set up, an- other specimen has been received from Bris-. tol. Booxs on Natural History for sale by mens of the same species found in Rhode | Southwick & Jencks, Providence, R. I. RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. i FROM THE EGG TO THE TOAD. THERE are some facts connected with the natural history of the toad which may not be familiar to some of our younger read-_ ers. ‘Lhe female toad, when the period of incubation approaches completion, seeks water, where she deposits her spawn in shal- low places, winding the spiral beads of eggs around the grass, where it is left to hatch. | In a few days — the time depending on the bees still hold the fort. temperature of the water — the eggs hatch, | not a toad, but a tadpole, breathing like a fish through gills, and living entirely in water as fish do. This tadpole grows very rapidly, and in ten or twelve days the transformation to the toad commences by the appearance of the two hind-legs; next come the fore-legs, and the little fellow presents the curious ap- pearance of a.toad with a tail. The horny beak with which the tadpole’s mouth is armed now drops off and the toad’s mouth takes its place. Gradually the tail is ab- sorbed and a diminutive toad leaves the water, breathes like an animal through nos- trils instead of gills,and now may be drowned in water while the tadpole would have been drowned in air. The little toad now starts out to make his living by catching the in- sects.— J. S. N., in Southern World. QUERCUS MAGNIFICA. ‘luis surviving monarch of the “ forest pri- meval, ” found at Munroe’s Four Corners, in South Seekonk, about five miles from Mar- ket Square, on the Providence and Fall River road, measures ten feet in diameter at the ground, and for thirty feet in height the diameter of the trunk is about five feet. Its arms, too, are giants and spread to a prodi- gious length. On roots, trunk and limbs, the knots and gnarls are many and massive. The age of this kingly white oak, probably the largest now to be found on the Atlantic coast, has been a deep question. Its best traditions may be found in the Munroe fam- ily and with Mr. Matthew W. Armington, the oracle of East Providence history. With reason it is thought that it can count from six to eight hundred years, the probabilities being with the larger number. It is known that about two hundred years ago it was as large as it is at present, for during that time the gales have robbed it of some Herculean limbs. It is told that Revolutionary sol- diers, marching through the country, here halted and boiled their beef and pork under its branches. On one of its large arms for a time swung the sign of the old and famed Munroe Tavern. For several generations, as men count them, the huge trunk has been _ somewhat hollow, and has been inhabited by squirrels and swarms of honey-bees. Boys have exterminated the squirrels, but the Multitudes of trav- elers and festive parties have stopped to rest _and share their lunches beneath the royal branches. This is the historic tree men- tioned in Bliss’ History of Rehoboth. It is commended to photographers. It ought to be protected by an iron fence. To stand under this tree, with Mr. Arm- ington as its interpreter, is to be filled with a sentiment of veneration and be carried back through all the history of New England and into the dim centuries of Indian life. It is easy to imagine that here paused Massa- soit, Roger Williams, and King Philip. It is not hard to believe that the ancestors of Massasoit might have held war councils in its shade, for its grandeur naturally invited grave assemblies. Now if the famed mer- chants, Brown & Ives, deemed it suitable and wise to protect the life of the grand old oak at Lonsdale, how strong is the claim for this nobler patriarch of the forest to be sa- credly preserved. Woe to the hand that shall rudely strike it. Even the birds of cen- turies have sanctified it with their songs. F. D. Mr. J. B. Smith prepares his duplicate Coleoptera in the following manner: They are soaked for a week or more in a fluid composed of 100 grammes of alum, 25 of salt, 12 of saltpetre, 60 of potash, and 10 of white arsenic dissolved in 3000 grammes of boiling water. The solution is filtered, and when cold add to every ten parts four of glycerine and one of methyl alcohol. Insects prepared in this manner remain soft and flexible, and can be sent in boxes with- out being pinned and without danger of breaking.— Science Record. Rip@way’s NOMENCLATURE OF NorTH AMERICAN Birps. Government edition. Price 35 cents, post-paid. Southwick & Jencks’ Brrp CaTaLogusr, for 20c., contains the above. 8 RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. We think no periodical devotes any reg- ular space to taxidermy, and in many par- ticulars no work on the subject is explicit enough. For the benefit of our readers and the furtherance of the art,we shall be pleased to use our columns in answering queries on this subject. Our correspondence is large, and hardly a day passes, without queries of ‘* what will you give for this or that?” ; Parties writing us to sell goods, are re- spectfully requested to send a list of them with prices, and to enclosea stamp, which will insure the more prompt attention. It will also be a great assistance if those desiring to collect for us would carefully state what articles in particular they expect to obtain. We often receive propositions, of which the following is a fair example, and to which a definite reply is quite im- possible : ‘¢T am going to Florida for some months. Please write me a full list of what you want from there and what you will pay, and if it is any object to me I would like to collect for you.” Catalogues Issued by Southwick & Jencks’ Natural History Store. Our Catalogue of March, 1883, is as ap- plicable to our general stock now as when issued. We shal! use space in RANDOM NOTES to advertise additions, and also offer special inducements on stock of which we may have an excessive quantity, or on which we get bargains ourselves. But such special prices will be only for limited time, at the expiration of which the regular cat- alogue rates will be asked. Send for Catalogues as follows: Birps. —Contains Ridgway’s Check-list, entitled Nomenclature of North American Birds. Itis printed entire, with both sci- entific and common names, and old and new numbers. It gives instructions for skin- ning birds and blowing eggs; also, price- lists of foreign bird-skins, insects, and all naturalists’ supplies. Price, 20 cents. With the Nomenclature printed only on one side, for labeling, 25 cents. Minerarts.— Gives Dana’s species num- ber, localities, and valuations —6 cents. SHELLS. — Contains a very full list of ~~ prominent species and gives authorities and many synonyms; also, habitat and valua- tions — 10 cents. The three catalogues for 25 cents. Every person buying to the amount of $1.00 or more is entitled to one copy free, and may deduct the amount paid for same from the first order amounting to $1.00. Short-Eared Owl’s Nest. . Wnate hunting for ducks’ nests in a patch of old prairie grass, I chanced to look around, and espied a Short-eared Owl fly- ing in the opposite direction from that we chanced to be moving, and which my com- panion had evidently started. When at a safe distance it turned face toward us, and began ascending, until it looked no larger than a sparrow. Feeling sure it must have a nest we searched diligently, but without success, and when we left the owl was still watching us from its secure height. About three hours later I returned to make one more effort, and flush the bird if possible. On nearing the spot a flock of Black Terns came within range, and thinking the report of my gun might benefit my cause, I killed one, and the owl arose from close by where the tern fell. The nest was in the hollow left by treading down the grass in every direction, radiating from the centre, and was over two feet across. It was, moreover, on one of the most prominent hillocks. The incubation was too far advanced to please an oologist, as the seven eggs were just hatching, with the exception of two that were rotten. In the proceedings of the Zoological-Bo- tanical Union of Vienna, for 1882, Mr. A. F. Rogenhofer figures a specimen of moth (Zygena minos) with five wings. The ad- ditional wing is between the two normal wings of the left side. It resembles the hind wing in shape, but the distribution of the nerves is peculiar. Such deformities are very rare.— Science Record. CeMENT FOR STONE orn Marsie.— The best cement for mending marble or any kind of stone, is made by mixing 20 parts of litharge and 1 part of freshly burned lime in fine dry powder. This is made into a putty by linseed oil. It sets in a few hours, having the appearance of light stone. RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 9 Taming Wild Humming-Birds. f / A wavy residing at San Rafael, one of the many pleasant health resorts of California, has sent to friends in London an account of the taming of two free wild humming-birds by her daughter, who, under medical direc- tion, has for some months passed several hours daily reclining on rugs spread on the garden lawn. ‘ E. has anew source of in- terest,” her mother writes. ‘‘The hum- ming-birds have claimed her companionship and manifested their curiosity by inspecting her, with their little wise heads turned to one side, at a safe distance, watching her move- ments, evidently wishing to become ac- quainted. To entice them to a nearer ap- proach, E. plucked a fuchsia, attached it to a branch of a tree over her head, and filled it with sweetened water. The intelligent lit- tle creatures soon had their slender bills thrust into the flower, from which they took long draughts. Then E. took honey, think- ing they might prefer it, and filled a fresh flower each day. They would sometimes become so impatient as scarcely to wait for her to leave before they were into the sweets, and, finally, while she held a flower in one hand and filled it with drops from a spoon, the now little tame pets would catch the drops as they fell, and dart into the honey cup their silvery, threadlike tongues. E. is delighted, and so fascinated with them that she passes hours each day of her resting time talking to them and watching their quick, lively movements. Although these tiny birds are humming all day among the flowers, two only have monopolized the honey-filled flower, and these are both males, consequently there are constant squabbles as to which shall take possession. They will not permit a wasp or a bee to come near their honey flower, and not only drive them away, but chase them some distance, uttering a shrill note of protest against all intruders.” Referring to them again, at the close of the rainless Californian summer, in a letter dated October 26, this lady writes : ‘‘ We have had threatening clouds for two days and a heavy rainfall today. E. has continued her devotion to her little humming- birds. Since the change of weather she has tried to coax them to the parlor windows. They appeared to think there must be some mistake, and would hum about the window where she stood with the honey flower and spoonful of honey, or they would sit ona branch and watch every movement, yet not daring to take a sip until to-day, when at her peculiar call, which they always recog- nize, one ventured repeatedly to take the honey from her hand.— Scientific American. A CLEVER process has been discovered by which snails, frogs and other reptiles can be preserved and retain the color of the flesh. ‘The animal being cleansed, is soaked in chromic acid until hardened ; then being thoroughly washed in water, it is subjected to a bath of absolute alcohol, until the water which has more or less saturated the skin leaves no trace of its presence. The third operation consists in putting the speci- men in turpentine three or four days, when it will be found ready for the fourth and last process, which is to paint the entire body with a solution of sugar and glycerine. We have kept small.insects in glycerine, and it is wonderful how they will remain unchanged if a rubber cloth be placed alone over the mouth of the bottle.— American Angler. ‘* Papa,” said Rollo, looking up from Roughing It, ‘* what is gold-bearing quartz ?” ‘* Well, my son,” replied Rollo’s father, who was glancing in a troubled manner at the milkman’s bil] for October, “when a man sells diluted water for nine cents a quart, I think he has struck better gold-bearing quarts than ever Mr. Mark Twain dreamed of.”— Burlington Hawkeye. Aw ornithologist has discovered that to have an appetite proportional to that of a robin, a man would have to devour daily a string of sausages sixty-seven feet long and nine inches in diameter. Make a ‘‘ bob ’o link” of himself, in fact.— Boston Courier. / Nigut Heron 1n Winter. — A young Night Heron was killed in Bristol, R. I., Jan. 5th. For several days previous tothis _ date the weather had been below the freez- y, ing point. How did he get a living? A Owts last winter were abundant, but the change of a year is a radical one, for while several kinds were unusually plenty then, all kinds are now scarce. 10 RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. CONCHOLOGICAL CHECK-LIST. I. J. RITCHIE, JR. Having prepared for my own use some lists of the families cyclostomacea and helicinacea, it has occurred to me that these lists might be of service to other collectors. I have therefore extended the original scheme some- what, and have included all the genera in the sub-order pneumonopoma Pfr. The system followed is that which is used in Paetel’s excellent catalogue, and the species not listed by him have been supplied from such other lists, printed and manuscript, as have been found in our libraries in Boston. These lists cannot claim to be either complete or faultless, but they do include many species which probably have not before been brought together. Class. Gasteropoda Cuv. Sub-class. Pulmonata Cuv. Order. Pneumonopoma Pfr. Sub-order. Opisophthalma Pfr. Family. Aciculacea Pfr. Acicula fusca Walk. lineata Drap. polita Pfr. producta Lowe. simonaria Charp. spectabilis Rouss. striata Q. and G. Acmella hyalina Theob. & Stol. moreletiana Stol ? roepstorftiana Stol? tersa Bens. Paladitha macleyana Bourg. Moetessieria rollandi Bourg. Geomelania affinis C. B. Adams. angustata Gund. beardsleana C. B. Adams. conica C, B. Adams. costulata C. B. Adams. elegans C. B. Adams. exilis C. B. Adams. expansa C. B. Adams. fortis C. B. Adams. gracilis C. B. Adams. greyana C, B. Adams. hilliana C. B. Adams. jamaicensis Pfr. magna C. B. Adams. media C. B. Adams. minor C. B. Adams. pauperata C. B. Adams. procera C. B. Adams. pygmeea C. B. Adams. pyramidata C. B. Adams. striosa C. B. Adams. typica C. B. Adams. vicina C. B. Adams. Chittia sinuosa Chitty. Truncatella adamsi Pfr. aurantia Gld. arctecostata Mouss. bairdiana C. B. Adams. bilabiata Pfr. californica Pfr. Truncatella capillacea Gund. caribzensis Sow. ceylanica Pfr. clathrus Lowe. concinna Pease. conspicua Bronn. crassicostata Sow. cylindracea Pease. filicosta Gund. funicula Mouss. futunaensis Mouss. gouldi C. B. Adams. granum Garrett. guerini Villa. laminata Cpr. littorina Phil. marginata Kiister. montagui Lowe. pacifica Pease. pallida Pfr. pellucida Dohrn. porrecta Gld. princeps Dohrn. pulchella Pfr. quoyi Pfr. rostrata Gld. rustica Mouss. semicostulata Jick. scalariformis Reeve. scalarina Krefft. sealaris Mich. semicostata Montrz. stimpsoni Stearns. striata Sow. subcylindrica Gray. teres Pfr. truneatula Drap. turricula Mouss. valida Pfr. vitiana Gould. Tomichia melanoides Benson. ventricosa Sow. Blanfordia bensoni A. Adams. japonica A. Adams. pyrostoma Cox. striatula Menke. viridescens Pease. Cecina manchurica H. Adams. RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 11 SOUTHWICK #& #JENCKS® AT THEIR “NATURAL + AISTORY + STORE, + miR@VIDENCE, R.1.,U.S. A, HAVE ALWAYS ON HAND Silt cote lniiitveséqgsavcodesnddeeLaps boas cooodopagoauDboonUobOUuGHUOSee) obuc $0 75 prepaid. Scalpel, handle and blade of one piece of steel............seccrcccrcccceccccstrccccs 60 ‘ RAGISSOES a DES ICISSE CUI Cer mrctererets ett cletesale sieie\eia\eie/efelclel=(eie/e/ei PRINTED YO ORDER<| — yar s, HUTCHINGS. IN ANY DESIRED STYLE. DOVER, N.H. P.O. Box 368. ~+ HEMAN L. CALDER, +- DAME, STODDARD & KENDALL, Boston; HENRY C. Squires, New York; F. CAs. ELCHEL, Philadelphia, 258 Westminster St., Providence, R. 1. | Agents. PUBLISHED BY SOUTHWICK & JENCKS, PROVIDENCE, R. I. 2 RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. RARE AND DESIRABLE GOODS Lately Received at the Datural Historp Store Si =— SOUTHWICK & JENCKS, PROVIDENCH, BR. I. MAMMALS. Red Bat (Lasiurus nove boracensis) .75 Shrew (Blarina brevicauda)...... 15 Star-nosed Mole (condylura cris- Gata) sic atetecpee ens selisterer 1.25 American Wild Cat (Lynx rufus).. 6.00 to 9.00 American Fox( Vulpes fulvus), R. I. 5.00 to 8.00 | Mink (Putorius vison), Dak., R. I... 3.00 to 6.00 Common Weasel (Putorius nove DOTraACensis) Mes lee eee. 1.00 to 1.50 American Badger (Taxidea Ameri- (GAIA) Kea eetege rts oosees) 2: cpever ies 5.00 to 7.00 Skunk (Mephitis mephitica), Wis... 3.00 to 6.00 Raccoon (Procyon lotor), Vt........ 5.00 to 8.00 Opossum (Didelphys virginiana), Va. 4.00 wer Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), Te, Wis eetlaectrcine eres. te coke 1.00 ae Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), black var,ebla., Michiaack rns 1.50 Gray Squirrel (Sciurus fossor), Cal.. 1.50 | Fox Squirrel (Sciurus ludovicianus), Mich. sDalke srycese ae cee eels 1.50 to 2.00 Red Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonius), Tes AMC eee ot pe porereys eres aber te iD Flying Squir rel(Pteromys volucella), lati! Beer eM patente eae or croretert Ore (5 to 1.25 Chipuida or striped Squirrel (Ta- mias striatus), R. I., Mich ..... 60 to .75 | Gray Gopher (Spermophilus frank- TOMI) Fn ys ss, cAMeyads ace sch ate eee tence 1.50 Striped Prairie Squirrel (Spermo- philus tridecem-lineatus), Kan. 1.25 Sonora Ground Squirrel (Spermo- | phflus SpilOSOM=A) sees cs Seles ae 1.50 | Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), JEN geen cd BOER ICCRRT OE a Oo aIa 3.00 Woodchuck(Arectomys monax), R. I CO titers eos cc sieae cise eases > also storearet gerne 2.00 to 2.50 —(Perognathus penicillatus), Cal. 1725 White-footed Meadow Mouse (Hes- peromys leucopus), R. I........ AY) Meadow Mouse (Arvicola riparia), RR Ro Ss ei ios eee oe ee 1.00 Jumping Mouse (Jaculus hudson- LUIS) lee alters eusreise Sie ole oats iar 1.25 Muskrat (Fiber zibethicus), R. L., Wile Se A wie ete easiest as are oe evan 1.50 Northern Hare, (Lepus ameri- White Rabbit. canus), Me... 1.75 to 2.00 Jack Rabbit (Lepus callotis), Min.. 3.00 to 4.00 gph Rabbit (SPEus By ypicus: ope ae 1.50 TURTLES. Gopher (Xerobates Carolina), Fla... 3.00 Box Tortoise (Cistudo Carolina), Rell. IMagpion Sco. cececee hee ee 1.50 Speckled Terrapin (Nanemys gut- TAU), Dewi. civesens och cet 1.00 he a Terrapin (Chrysemys picta), Rr Ee SRO aS adie sone 1.00 Seine Turtle (Chelydra serpen- tina) ilies oc caclns Coen eee 2.00 to 4.00 SCHOOL COLLECTIONS OF BIRDS. Collection No. 1 contains 50 Birds, representing 20 different families. 25.00 Collection No. 2 contains 100 birds, representing 40 different families, 50.00 These birds are in the form kuown as skins, which is the most convenient shape for handling and study. All will be correctly labeled with both scientific and common names. SCHOOL COLLECTION OF MINERALS. Two hundred minerals and rocks, labeled and arranged in trays, and representing all the prominent species in systematic mineral le 0 AMATEUR’S COLLECTION. 125 minerals and rocks in trays and labeled, 50.00 20 good minerals, named, but of small size, by mail, prepaid 2 -t tac. 2 eee 1.00 | We have now a large lot of Catlinite, from Pipe Stone, Minn., (see page 8)....:... .10 to 1.00 SHELLS. Spondylus pictorum Chem., Cal.... 3.00 to 8.00 Hemicardium unedo Lin, N.S. W.. .10 to .25 _ Neritina helvola, Ged., Feejee Is.... 05 | Nerita plexa Chem., Mozambique... .15 to .25 TitvoninasGaolad Jolie hase cee. cists 0d | Peeten ziczac Lin, Bermuda........ 720 .40 Semicassis Sulcosa Born, Med'’nSea. .40 ay (5) Within a few days another particularly well- _ selected collection of SHELLS has been placed in our hands for sale. The specimens are nearly all marine, and most of them foreign, repre- sented by 85 genera, 1420 species, and 4523 specimens, beside a fine lot of bivalves, and fluviatile shells, not entered in the catalogue, _ together with a black walnut cabinet of forty- | five drawers. Price, $700. In any ‘Qeariiite or any cary GLASS EYES, Sent Postage Paid. Discount 6n ALL orders; WRITE TO US a& IT. Random iotes on atural History. Vol. 1, PROVIDENCE MARCH e ; 2, 1884. No.l Entered at the Providence Post-Office as Second-Class Matter. Random Dotes on Haturat History. A MONTHLY DEVOTED TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF USE- FUL KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING THE VARIOUS DE- PARTMENTS OF ZOOLOGY, MINERALOGY, AND Borany. 50 Cents A YEAR. Address all communications to SOUTHWICK & JENCKS, 258 Westminster St., Providence, R.J., U.S. A. SPECIAL NOTICE. SuBscrieTions hereafter will begin with the current number, or the March number if desired. We laid by what we supposed a liberal quantity of January and February numbers, but the rapid increase of our subscription list has nearly exhausted our surplus of those numbers. We will pay ten cents each for the return of either January or February numbers in good condition, and those desiring them will be supplied at the same price. Beginning with the March issue, we shall lay by a sufficient number to prevent the above occurrence in future. Tuat children have eyes, and use them; that they have tongues, and use them; and that they think, is unquestionable, the limit, in each case being the natural powers of the | child. What more sensible plan can be adopted, than to take these powers when they are in natural and active operation, and train them easily and naturally, but surely, in the proper direction? The awakening of mental] activity being taken as the foremost aim of zodlogical study for children, it follows that there must first be an interest awakened,— no, not awak- ened, but encouraged. gives evidence of ordinary power, who has not already an interest in the study of animals. Cats, dogs, horses, cows, flies, as a pool of water is to a young duck,— | not necessary to its existence, but essential | to its happiness and fullest development. It will be hard to | find a child of five or six years, whose mind | | | | | | | tongue frozen to an axe blade. | little way, Reynard butterflies, etc., are just as surely, and just | as naturally, matters of interest to a child The teacher, then, needs only to en- courage the child in the exercise of this natural impulse; taking care to so direct the effort that the results shall not be dis- sipated into vague and shadowy ‘‘ notions.” It is a matter of marvel that teachers have not more generally recognized the im- mense value of nature-study as a basis for language-work. The abundance and va- riety of material for study, and the interest the children take in the work, should be unanswerable arguments; yet hundreds of teachers, at the mere mention of the beau- tiful study of insects, exclaim with a shud- der, ‘‘ Ugh! I wouldn’t bave the nasty things around.”— Chas. H. Ford, Journal of Education. We have to report three more cases of death among animals from curious causes. A Biddeford gentleman, having occa- sion to go into his wood-shed, found a weasel lying dead on the block, with his The axe had been used in cutting beef in the morn- ing, and the animal in attempting to secure | a piece of the meat which adhered to the blade, had singularly met his death. — Cot- ton, Wool and Iron. Some time since, a specimen of the Little Black-head Duck (Fudix affinis) was brought | to us with an edible muscle (Mytillus edu- lis) firmly fastened to its tongue. The duck must have closed its beak on the open bivalve, which in turn tongue. The duck in distress flew at least four miles, and was seen to fall, nearly choked to death, completely exhausted, and an easy capture. Anesteemed correspondent from Penn- sylvania writes that a gentleman riding through a rough piece of country, saw a fox run out in front of him. ‘Trotting a sprang up a slight elevation, and crouching under a shelving rock, turned and watched the carriage. The gentleman, alighting, threw a stone with such precision that it struck him. squarely in the head and killed him at once. closed upon the pst ‘ — sametorie amare ators are fi 4 RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. The Roseate Spoonbill in Florida Rookeries. | dotted here and there were what we were eg I I A og nw — Wir the exception of perlans the Flam- ingo and Scarlet Ibis, there is no bird in | ** hammocks,” our fauna so truly tropical in appearance as | the Roseate Spoonbill, Ajaja rosea. It is called in Florida, Pink Curlew — accent on last syllable—and the Seminole Indian name is A-la-loo-la-set-teé. My acquaintance with this bird was in 1874, when I was just beginning my collect- ing career, and my enthusiasm was unim- paired. I had seen only the young Spoon- bill, which is of a light pink color nearly all over, and should have been quite satisfied to have secured even these. The reports received, however, were very discouraging, one party presuming to state that their de- struction had been so great, that probably not one hundred remained in Florida. may be imagined, our expectations were not great, but there was for us more in store than our fondest dreams had hoped to realize. But to return to the beginning. Fort Pearce, which stands nearly opposite to Indian River Inlet, and all of our ramblings were in Brevard County. We had been to one rookery on Feb. 28th, but it was a small affair, only American Egrets and Snake Birds breeding init, and we obtained but few eggs. a Jarger one where the Spoonbill was breed- ing. But we believed him not, for the pre- vious fortnight had chronicled only disap- pointments. After various delays we ob- tained a boat, if such it could be called, but scow would be more appropriate, for it. was a square-ended contrivance, twelve feet by four feet. This was placed upon the ox-team and all our camping equipage put into it, and a start made March 6th. There is so little of interest in the pine week, and we were left about ten miles from woods that cover most of the high land, that we will pass to our entrance of the Sev-" thé edge of the swamp. aid to be the head- | enteen Mile Swamp, waters of the St. Johns River. This tract is not properly a swamp, but is inundated by the rainy season, and at the time of our visit the water covered it to a depth of six to twelve inches. Here and there were places entirely uncovered, and numerous snipe borings were to be seen. Two weeks previous, Wilson’s Snipe were very plentiful, but only an occasional straggler now re- mained, the greater portion being en route north. Throughout this great expanse, _are not more fortunate than the Purple — As | _ pleased to call oases, likening this watery waste to a desert. These oases are called but are properly hummocks. These are the fertile spots upon which is a luxuriant growth, of which the Cabbage Palm figures most prominently. These fer- tile spots were generally small, from a few square yards to an acre in extent. This watery tract presented a grand appearance, for, grouped in every direction, were the her- ons engaged in feeding. . There were the strikingly graceful forms of the American Egrets and Snowy Herons, a bold contrast among their dark cousins, the Louisiana, Great Blue, and Little Blue Herons. Their forms, as with measured strokes they flew, their feet extended behind, and their necks recurved so that their heads seemed to protrude from their breasts, were in marked contrast to the swift-flying rows of White Ibis, with their necks extended. Occasion- ally a few Gannets (Wood Ibis) appeared, : : : , or some Sandhill Cranes, while the Turkey We were encamped eight miles west of | Buzzards and Carrion Crows were rarely ab- sent from the scene. But the most peculiar bird of allis the Snake Bird, commonly called Water Turkey, Plotus anhinga. Its wings and tail are large, while its neck is long and very slim, and as it sails about in the air it : ’ _resembles an ace of clubs with a single line But now our guide said he would take us to | drawn from the joining of the three lobes. These sights, as well as the various notes of the birds, among which the loud notes of the Sandhill Crane were most noticeable, all served to keep up a thrill of excitement. We chose for our camp one of the largest of the hammocks, and I was left to put it in order while my companion went to the rook- ery with the boat. On his return he re- ported seeing Spoonbills, and we were in ecs- tasies. Our team was now dismissed for a any human habitation, and five miles from With the gobbling of the Wild Turkeys at daybreak we were awake, and shortly after- wards a Cardinal Grosbeak tuned his mellow whistle but a few yards away, while several Jackdaws (Boat-tailed Grackle) were boil- ing over with music, one would think, to see them swell up in their vain attempts to make some, but in the production of which they | Grackles and Cow Birds. (To be continued. ) f i } hs RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 5 LIEUT. A. W. GREELEY. Waar the present circumstances of this investigator of Arctic phenomena and his associates may be, is probably a matter of as much general interest, throughout all | civilized countries, as any one subject that could be mentioned. A. W. Greeley was born in Newburyport, Mass., March 27, 1844. The writer remem- bers him as a member of a higher class at the Brown High School in Newburyport, a fellow quiet and studious, familiarly known as ‘* Dolph’,” and with no lack of energy at games. His stamina and nerve were exhib- ited one spring day, when, in tumbling over a fence, he broke hisarm. Making no complaint, he sat quiet and very pale, until some method was devised for taking him home. school at the age of seventeen, he joined the 19th Massachusetts regiment of volunteers, and remained in the service to the end of the war. He attained in the volunteer ser- vice the rank of captain and brevet major. He made one of the forlorn hope at the storming of Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, was in twenty engagements and four- teen pitched-battles, and was three times | wounded; after the riot of July, 1866, he’ played an important part in New Orleans, and was appointed lieutenant in the Regu- | lar Army, in March, 1867. For thirteen years he has been on duty as an officer of the Signal Corps, part of his duties being the construction, superintend- ence and inspection of telegraph lines. In this capacity, he built at one time an ex- treme length, coming inside in its comple- tion, of the estimates, both as to time and expense, this having been previously de- clared an impossibility. At another time he visited the signal station on Mt. Wash- ington, in the winter, and making the des- cent alone, was overtaken by a storm and lost his way. Wandering about, benumbed and bewildered, he finally came to shelter, but none too soon. As the result of his ex- posure and suffering he was laid up for some weeks. As Assistant Chief Signal Officer, he became known to the Country weather, as he said. He paid close attention to international meteorology, and was called upon to give advice before the Jean- After graduating from the above | sorrel fora nice salad. | equipped relief party. as ‘‘Old Probabilities,” grinding out the — nette Search Board, relative to winds and weather in the Arctic. As official predicting officer, he successfully indicated four days in advance the weather for presidential election day. He was finally appointed to take command of the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, and sailed away from St. Johns, July 7, 1881. His diary-letter, sent back by the “ Proteus ”’ to his relatives, says : ‘* We start with the bluest of skies and the fairest of weather. July 12. We now have continuous day- light; large print can be read on deck at midnight. The temperature is 34 to 44 de- vrees and very comfortable. I enclose a specimen of the Arctic poppy. Aug. 1. Lieutenant Lockwood killed a walrus as large as anelephant. It came at the boat in a great rage, and is said to have been terrible in aspect. Aug. 3, 4.10 p.m. The sea is smooth as a mill pond, with here and there a thin film of last. night’s ice. Temperature 37° degrees, and the entire absence of wind makes it seem like a May morning in New Wngland. Aug. 4. We are delayed by ice for the first time, only eight miles from our destin- ation, and here white whales, a sword-fish, and a norwhal are reported. Aug. 11. Arriving at the situation for a permanent camp, a herd of eleven musk- oxen was discovered; the men following the herd killed them all. I gathered enough Lieutenant Lock- wood reports near at hand coal of nice quality and easily accessible. Aug. 17. One of the party caught an humble-bee.”’ Selections have been made here and there from the diary, which gave also a more full account of the manner of landing, the put- ting up of their house, and the unfortunate death of some of their dogs, mentioning also Lieutenant Kislingburg, and Dr. Parry who had already made valuable collections of specimens in many departments. The unfortunate result of the 1883 expe- dition for their relief is well known. Im- mediately on the opening of navigation, the government will dispatch a thoroughly Three vessels have been secured. Several of our best naval officers have volunteered for the service, and also a number of seamen of Arctic expe- rience. 6 RANDOM NOTES ON . NATURAL HISTORY. LONSDALE BOTANICAL AND FIELD NATURALIST SOCIETY. Organized Dec. 9, 1880. This society was formed and established for the study of Bot- any and other branches of Natural History. The above society held its regular meet- ing January 21st, when the following officers | were elected for the present year: President—Ralph Drabble. Vice-President— James Moss. Secretary—John Dearden. Treasurer—James Isherwood. Librarian—William T. Butler. Executive Committee—James Isherwood, Thomas Barber, John Osborne, James Lord. At the close of the business meeting the president exhibited fine microscopical speci- mens. The society is in a flourishing condition, having more than forty members, a well stocked library, and a comfortable sum in the treasury. At the next regular meeting the secretary, John Dearden, will read a paper on insects, injurious and beneficial. Meetings held monthly. RHODE ISLAND ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Tue last regular meeting was held in their new room, 54 North Main Street, the largely increased membership and need of larger and better accommodations having made a change necessary. ¢ Prof. A. S. Packard spoke at some length upon the ravages of the moth, Zortrix fumi- ferana among the spruce trees, on and adja- cent to the coast of Maine, exhibiting per- fect insects and chrysalis, and drawings of the larve. At a previous meeting Mr. S. Schofield read a paper and illustrated it by diagrams, upon the difficulties he had experienced in raising from the eggs, the larvae of Hacles imperialis, the Imperial Custard Moth. THE PROVIDENCE FRANKLIN SOCIETY has held its regular meetings. Prof. W. W. Bailey occupied one evening with an account of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, Eng., and the influence of that institu- tion in making botanists throughout the English colonies, and in collecting and dis- tributing seeds and plants. ‘The herbarium there is the finest in the world, and the identity of plants is ascertained as a final resort through Kew. Theirmuseum of econ- omic botany was at first the only one in the world, but this example is now being fol- lowed in other places, at Berlin, Ghent, Paris, and Boston. Ata later meeting Mr. T. R. Shurrocks spoke upon the different forms and appearances, and the alterations _ of pyrite. AN UNUSUAL BOUQUET. By the kindness of Mr. S. Schofield, we saw last breeding season, a bouquet about fifteen inches across the top, of apple tree - twigs, fullof fresh leaves, and on them were feeding fourteen larve of Platysamia ce- cropia in fine healthy condition. A bunch like this placed ina pint of water, replen- ished daily, will keep fresh three days; it may be kept standing anywhere, and the larvee, though perfectly free, will not at- tempt to crawl away so long as fresh leaves are plenty. Mr. S. experimented with many sorts of leaves. None kept fresh so long and seemed to please as well as the apple. He observes also that when first hatched the larva is one-quarter of an inch long, and nearly black. In about eight days it sheds its skin and appears in a brown coat (although one retained its black). About ten days later occurs a second moult, or casting of the skin; it then appears of a beautiful green color, with numerous short nodular protuberances, four of them near the head, of a bright coral color, the others yellowish, greenish or bluish, and each sur- mounted with a star of short black hairs. At the next moult, of which there are four, the coral fades to an orange, and after each moult the larva eats up the old skin. When about ready for a change of dress, it feeds less for three or four days, and lies quiet. Suddenly the skin cracks at the head and comes off in a moment, and is nearly trans- parent. After the final feeding the larva, selecting a twig to its fancy, proceeds to spin the well-known brown silky cocoon. Wuo says it is unhealthy to sleep in feathers? Look at the spring chicken, and see how tough he is.—Hachange. How to find a chip of the old block — Axe the block. _
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FOR FIELD-WORK.
FOR SALE BY SOUTHWICK & JENCKS.
Scalpel, all steel........... $ .60 | Egg Drill, long handle, ---- 5-32 35
Scalpel, ebony handle...... 15 | a = eee 6-32 50
Scissors, best...-+-....--.- 1.00 ae es eee 8-82 75
Spring Forceps..........-. Te | «“ “ ie S138 1.50
Curved Needles, each 10c.. 3 for .25 | Blow-pipe, brass, fine tip, each 25c., per doz. 2.50 |
Fine wire for fastening bill per oz. .10 | Blow-pipe, nickel..-....+++ 40
Tags with strings...per 100, 12c.; per 1000, 1.00 | Embryo Scissors, very fine. 1.50
Egg Drill, fine, short handle, each, 15c., '. Dry Preservative Arsenic and Alum,
per doz..-.-....--. 1.50 | per Ib. 25c.; per 10 lbs. 2.00
Egg Drill, long handle, .-.. 3-32 .25 | Arsenical Soap, per lb. in glass bottle, .50
CASES OF INSTRUMENTS.
No. 1. Set of Skinning tools in case. Contains 2 Scalpels, 1 Scissors,
1 Spring Forceps, 1 Long Stuffers...........-..-+-+---eee 5 00 prepaid.
No. 2. Same as above. with smallest drill, also numbers 2 and 4 drills
and Nickel Blow-pipe.....-.ccestecccscnescrscnes scenuee 6 50 Sos
These cases are of wood, with places fitted to eon instrument, and are made strong and
durable.
LOGOS: in SE ee re eee
DOs Seo aa
Sek Markco ee a ee GUD i ee
Na; Gf Eeos in Seis eee GIGI: =... Mee
This size, per 100, 30c.; per 1,000, $2.50,
post-paid
500 at 1,000 rate,
(Everything advertised above, except the POISONS sent postage paid. List of supplies continued on page 3.)
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 3
This size, per 100, 20c. 3 per 1.000, $1.74. post-paid.
DUST SHOT.
Berl by DGS. «(ciate ste teers -.---10 Ibs. for $1.25
Beri ac Of: 251 lDSiers eterelale's\si0'> « .:-\eleetel ss 2.50
If desired by mail, add 20e. per Ib. for post-
age and packing.
BOOKS— POSTPAID.
Minot’s Land and Game Birds of New England... ...--seeeeseeeseeceer ee cece ee ceee rene eens $3.00
We would advise this as the best help to Oologists. :
Stearns and Coues’ New England Bird Life, 2 vols., FOENTS LNG TINE jay octnscsataretceraeYy ictais) oidio: ble Geemenare.e 2.50
How to Skin Birds and Prepare Eggs. Full instructions given in Southwick & Jencks’ Bird
Catalogue, PICO «oc cee cece ne cw oles nieeciesscs acces viclnens 1 eeees enisinaaicic® cesses evecs cose 20
Manton’s Insects. Howto catch and preserve........- seccessevecscccees seceer nee Beteveress .50
Packard's Guide to the Study of Insects. '. Jac= oe 021. Je wieisin's ieee esos es sie rine) odeaeeiwecis- siege D200
ele neese O) ris COMM! OMPLISECUS Socios ote eitatey Ciaiwicvels) vt ata clei eleleie teloysleve.s, o'acelea cise aus icie:eti.e-ciasSSveren > si 2.50
Harris’ Insects Injurious to Vegetation... .....-cscccccccercescnectcceceececeeescccccs coen 4.00
Harris’ Insects Injurious to Vegetation, colored plates... --..e.seeeeeee cee cece ce cece rece 6.50
Saunders’ Insects Injurious to Fruits.... 2.2.00 ceecesvecces cccces secece cecces cece ediaccees 3.00
ENTOMOLOCISTS’ SUPPLIES.
Mounting Box, glass top, cork-lined and papered, size, 17 x 11x37?
TROUT TRIN oo bcnye Satins onetdcin Sor aen san eso” Berean $2.00 not mailable.
*Collecting Nets, brass ring and ferule and stout lace........-... 1.00 postage 10 cents.
Collecting Nets, folding ring and stout lace.....-.......e.-+- esos 1.50 ne
Cyanide Bottles, with mouths 23 in. diameter, for killing insects.. .25 not eailanie
The Eureka Setting Board, something new, 16 in. long, 6% in.
wide, with corked STOOVE. .. 2.25 sfece ecm e es accesses ececes oe .25 postage 15 cents.
Cork, 12 x 33 in., first quality, per Mozen oboe donee GnOdeEMoocacE .90 es Gis
x second TEE GI o pidocorerepenooot 1s eee done 50 Be (ype
Tusect Pins, per LOWE Ms ob Scr Suede dee 6.066 adulogBiaoo oc oncosuagdE 1.25 postage prepaid.
100 RetcvereciteRenetcrcheievs.s ef oistenstsheval/rorsist atc custeteverstartets oteters vais 15 OY sc
Hight sizes, Samples sent for stamp.
eee SEEAIP NG (OOINLS iec'eia« -ie'e 1a sian leisian sc(oes sJelcesse oases saci 75 ss cs
ve curved SODAS chat ateila acters yavtalc ato Wetiatntetatonts Yar etawaweralorvehowendevere'er's las» 1.25 es Oe
Printed locality labels, in sheets...............sseeeseseescccees 02 per sheet, postage extra.
CONTENTS OF SHEET AS PER NUMBER.
ICING SENG Cela Oeil. SUD gh: Bk. lorC., R.A.
ie, Mer Neer. eVita MASS. hal. uCt.
Ne Ye, Penn, Nes.) Mid.. Del... Via-, W..Va., D.C:
IV. N.C.,8S. C., Ga., Fla., Ala., Miss., Tenn.
V. Ohio, Ind., S. Ill., Ky., Mo.
MES Minn. Was: Miche la:. Ne Tt
WI dbanlexe, Ark-waleeisr Ni. oN
VIII. Colo., Wy., Mon., Dak., Neb., Ks.
Xe Weel Ors, CalleseNevien Wits LO. Amz.
X. Cuba., T'am., Chi., L. Cal., Son., Mex., C. Rica, Gua.
XI. Months.
XII. Signs for male, female, and neuter.
If desired, labels for ‘the separate states will be furnished for 10 cents per 1,000.
Blank Labels, printed in red, for labeling OCA
Nowe 1 inch by 4, 40 ona sheet, 2 cents per sheet, postage extra.
No. 2, #inch by 4 ; 50 on a sheet, 2 cents per sheet, se
*Handles furnished, if desired, brit collectors can, where they live, readily obtain them at less than their
cost of transportation by mail or express.
In any Quantity or any style GLASS EYES, ‘Sent Postage Paid.
Discount on ALL orders; WRITE TO US FOR IT.
4
THE HAZARD POWDER 60,
— MANUFACTURERS OF ——
a p
XY Se
a = ea
— SSS vw
HAZARD’S ‘‘ELECTRIC POWDER.”
Packed in
Unsurpassed in point of strength and cleanliness.
Nos. 1 (fine) to 6 (coarse).
Square canisters of one pound only.
HAZARD’S ‘“‘AMERICAN SPORTINC.”’
Nos. 1 (fine) to 6 (coarse). In1 1b. canisters and 6} 1b. kegs. A fine grain, quick and clean,
for upland prairie shooting. Well adapted to shot-guns.
Burns slowly and
HAZARD’S ‘‘DUCK SHOOTINGC.?’’
Nos. 1 (fine) to 5 (coarse). In 1 and 5lb. canisters and 64 and 123 Ib. kegs.
very clean, shooting remarkably close and with great penetration. For field, forest or water shoot-
ing, it ranks any other brand, and it is equally serviceable for muzzle or breech-loaders.
HAZARD’S “KENTUCKY RIFLE.”’
FFFG
FFFG, FFG, and ‘‘ Sea Shooting”’ FG, in kegs of 25, 124 and 64 lbs. and cans of 5 lbs.
is also packed in 1 and $ |b. canisters. Burns strong and moist. The FFFG and FFG are favorite
brands for ordinary sporting, and the ‘‘Sea Shooting’ FG is the standard Rifle Powder of the
Country.
The above can be had of Dealers, or of the Company’s Agents, in every prominent city, or
wholesale at our office,
63 PINE STREET, NEW YORK.
C.F. POPE: G30;
33 WEYBOSSET, STREET, PROVIDENCE, (Raa
SOLE ACENTS FOR RHODE ISLAND.
Random Notes on Matural History.
Wolk i.
PROVIDENCH, APRIL 1, 1884.
No. IV.
Entered at the Providence Post-Office as Second-Class Matter.
Random Hotes on Haturat History.
A MONTHLY DEVOTED TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF USE-
FUL KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING THE VARIOUS DE™
PARTMENTS OF ZOOLOGY, MINERALOGY, AND
Botany. 50 CENTS A YEAR.
Address all communications to
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Supscrierions hereafter will begin with
the current number, or the March number,
as desired.
~~ Error. — By some oversight, No. 3, our
March issue, appeared dated Fesruary. If
subscribers do not find enclosed a slip
printed MARCH 1, it will be forwarded to
them upon application.
Ten Cents Eacu will be paid for Nos. 1
and 2 returned to us in good condition,
which those desiring may have at the same
‘price.
TAXIDERMY.
SHaLt taxidermy be seclusive or not?
Does seclusion benefit any one in the pro-
fession? Does giving away our petty
secrets harm us any? Most assuredly no.
Let us look at the other sciences. Medi-
cine would never have reached its present
state, were the secrets kept now, as in
olden times. The arts also would not have
reached their present popularity, had the
public been kept ignorant. Taxidermy is
an art, and if the followers of it desire
popularity, they must teach those about
them to appreciate it. There is not a good
-taxidermist throughout the length and
breadth of this land who does not realize
the fact —aye, and keenly — that in gen-
eral a good job brings no more than a poor
one, and if he has any competition, the
point of excellence counts for little, that of |
price nearly all.
We believe, to raise taxidermy among the
arts, we must help each other to excel, and
with this object in view, unfurl owr banner
and invite every one to join us, and if they
have anything worth knowing, that they
will not withhold it.
Let us have an interchange of opinions
through the columns of this paper. The
Society of American Taxidermists was
formed for this very purpose, and much
good has already come of it. But the
science needs more light, still; it is now
but in its infancy.
Poisons and How to Use Them on Birds.
Tue best preservative known is arsenic.
It is used in several combinations, and also
pure.
In general, each taxidermist is inclined to
adhere strictly to one preparation, and that
usually the one first taught him, and he
uses it for nearly all cases.
Pure arsenic, as it is usually called, is
probably most used. The persons who use
it seem to be much troubled with sore
hands, the fingers beneath the nails fre-
quently festering and causing intense suf-
fering.
Arsenic in effect, arrests decomposition,
and if the bird has been prepared while per-
fectly fresh, it may be softened and mount-
ed without danger of loosening the feathers ;
but if the specimen was tender when skin-
ned, when the attempt is made to soften it,
it will often resume its decay from the point
where it was checked, and go to ruin.
Arsenie and Alum, in the proportion of
three parts to two parts by weight, is the
best dry mixture. The astringent prop-
erty of the alum does fully as much good to
the specimen as the arsenic does. Besides
this, the alum also is a good preservative,
but alone is no hinderance to vermin. ‘The
effect of the alum on the hands is to close
the pores, and its presence almost entirely
counteracts the evil effects of the poison,
so that the user of this mixture rarely ever
has sore hands.
The benefit to the specimens is equally
| good, for even if a specimen is tender when
skinned, the alum does so much to toughen
6
the skin that when softened again, one is
rarely aware of its previous poor condition.
During spells of wet weather the latter cur-
ative will be found much the best, for skins
often spoil if too long in drying. The skins
prepared in part with alum always set firmer,
and are less susceptible of bending than
those cured by either arsenic, or arsenical
soap. This also is an advantage with
mounted birds, as they are wanted in the
exact positions in which placed.
An arsenic cured skin breaks from weak-
ness more often than an arsenic and alum
poisoned one does from brittleness. While
I would give clear arsenic no preference in
any case, another valuable preparation de-
mands attention — arsenical soap. In mak-
ing skins the use of soap is tedious, for it
is slimy stuff, and the inside of a skin has to
be thoroughly painted with it. A skin
cured with soap is neither tender nor brittle,
but will stand more rough usage than if
cured by either of the preceding methods.
Its great disadvantage is the length of time
required before the specimens are dry,
though this property can often be turned to
good use, for a fairly large bird may be
poisoned with soap, and after being turned |
back, it may be allowed to lie for three to_
five days without any wet covering, and | : A
J J tees | Dr. Merriam has the power to create in-
then mounted as if freshly skinned. I would
advise painting the bills and feet of birds
with soap as a preventive for dermestes.
Lay some cotton beneath the feet to pre- |
vent the soap soiling the tail feathers. For
mammals I would advise the use of soap
almost entirely.
Use all poisons with caution, and do not
leave the dry powder standing around un-
covered, as its inhalation is a decided in-
jury. If it is used with reckless impunity
it will sooner or later show its evil effects.
COLOR OF BIR! S’ EYES.
Mocking-bird, yellow.
Brown Thrasher, straw.
Ground Titmouse, white.
Least Titmouse, white.
Red-eyed Vireo, red.
White-eyed Vireo, white.
Chewink, red.
Spurred Towhee, reddish brown.
Brewer’s Blackbird, white.
Rusty Blackbird, straw.
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
White-headed Woodpecker, red.
Red-shafted Woodpecker, red.
California Woodpecker, white.
Barn Owl, nearly black.
Long-eared Owl, yellow.
Short-eared Owl, yellow.
Barred Owl, nearly black.
Great Gray Owl, straw.
Richardson’s Owl, straw.
Saw Whet Owl, yellow.
Little Screech Owl, straw.
California Screech Owl, yellow.
Great Horned Owl, straw, yellow.
Burrowing Owl, yellow.
California Pigmy Owl, yellow.
WE are pleased to learn that the second
volume of the Transactions of the Linnean
Society of New York is now in press, and
soon to appear. It is to contain, among
other matter, the continuation of Dr. C.
Hart Merriam’s Vertebrates of the Adiron-
dack Region, being the conclusion of his
treatment of the mammalia. That part in-
cluded in the first volume is one of the most
interesting contributions to natural history
literature ever published. Even the un-
scientific reader is absorbed from the be-
ginning, and sure to devour every word.
tense interest in the general reader, and we
sincerely hope to see others aid in arousing
a widespread interest in science by similar
popular-scientific articles.
The second volume is promised to be
_ equal to the first, and, like it, typographic-
ally elegant.
Mrs. Saran E. Bonney,of Sterling, Mass.,
died March 3, 1884. She was one of the best
taxidermists of her sex, possessed much orig-
inality, and was very popular. Mrs. Bonney
and Mrs. Maxwell awakened far more inter-
est at our Centennial Exhibition than their
male competitors.
Ir there is any truth in the doctrine of
evolution, the future residents of the Ohio
valley will have web feet. — Chicago Times.
Ir isn’t a great way to the end of a cat’s
nose, but it’s fur to the end of its tail.
Tue riches which always take to them-
selves wings — Ost-riches.
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
a ll
The Roseate Spoonbill in Florida Rookeries.
PARIS ele
BREAKFAST was quickly disposed of and
the camp putin order, and we started for
the rookery in high spirits and found the
boat without difficulty.
The rookery was a cypress swamp, the
extent of which we did not determine, but
at its southwest corner was a small pond,
in and about which grew numerous small
trees and large bushes, while on the outside
edge was a dense mass of shrubbery, shut-
ting off the view from the outside. The
few herons flying in and out, or perched
upon the tree-tops, would hardly raise a sus-
picion as to the numbers concealed behind
the outside hedge.
We pushed our boat beneath the bushes,
and upon emerging on the other side, there
was a loud sound of wings as the herons
left their nests, but our eyes centered upon
one object, and that a full-plumaged Roseate
Spoonbill,* standing beside its nest.
Kind reader, can you imagine a greater
surprise than this? I don’t believe the bird
exists that could stir me to-day as that Spoon-
bill did then. Roseate Spoonbill, a name
richly deserved. I have no wish to cut it
to Rosy. It lies in my memory so dear, I
do not think of any bird more beautiful
than this one is in life. Its disproportion-
ate and, to many, ungainly bill, and naked
head, are beautifully colored and blended
with its exquisite plumage ; and its motions
— grace itself.
But there was the bird, about ten yards
distant, holding us spell-bound. The Fish
Crows were, as usual, not slow in pillaging
the nests of the departed herons, and some
even tried to take the Spoonbill’s treasures ;
but the noble bird pushed at them with its
bill whenever they made the attempt. In
a moment the desire to possess caused the
death of the brave parent, and the eggs,
three in number, were taken from the nest.
* The fully adult bird is of a rich pink, with wing
patches of the richest crimson floss, beginning at the
bend of the wing and extending back six inches by
two inches wide. The upper and lower tail coverts, a
tas-el in front of the breast, and a trace on the back of
the neck joining the head, are also of this rich silky
red. The tail is brownish orange above and pink be-
neath. The neck is white, fading insensibly into the
pink on breast and back. There is a buff spot on breast
at bend of each wing. The eye is carmine, and legs
crimson. The naked head is of a beautiful mottled
greenish to match the bill, only more intense. The
skin at base of skull to the line of the feathers is black.
4
f
This first nest was situated about eight or
ten feet high, placed in an awkward-shaped
stunted tree.
The sight was now a wonderful one, the
trees at a safe distance being clothed with the
forms of the various inmates of the breed-
ing-place. The American Egrets, being the
shyest, were in the background, with a
sprinkling of Snowy and Louisiana Herons
among them, though the majority of these
species and the few little Blue Herons did
not retire so far. Mingled among them
here and there stood a few Spoonbills, usu-
ally three or four in a place. Snake Birds
were also sparingly distributed among the
rest, but the majority flocked together on one
large tree. But a more remarkable sight
was overhead ; hundreds of birds at various
heights, from within an easy gunshot to an
almost remote height, were sailing about or
flying quickly back and forth, all watching
the intruders and making various notes,
some sharp, and others harsh and gutteral.
The cuk-cuk, cuk-cuk, cuk-cuk of the
young American Egrets was continually to
be heard. The only sound we heard the
Spoonbill make, though entirely different,
reminded us of a disconsolate hen when she
goes cur-r-k cuk-cuk-cuk.
The second Spoonbill shot was taken by
an alligator and carried under, but the
water was not deep, and a short time after
the bird was espied by my companion, who
struck the ’gator on the head with his pole.
It relinquished its hold, and the bird rose to
the surface and was recovered, minus only
a few feathers.
These huge reptiles were plentiful in the
open water, and one day we nearly walked
upon one lying beside our boat just outside
of the rookery. We gave him three charges
of coarse shot in the eye and behind his
fore leg, and left him for dead, but on our
return he was gone. The Spoonbills now
received our first attention, and we secured
one or both birds with each nest. It being
Saturday, we killed only five birds, and took
what eggs we could carry to fill up, of the
Louisiana and Snowy Herons and American
Egrets.
(To be continued.)
A Remarkas_et Suor.—Mr. Lord informs
us that a sportsman shot a Barred Owl, and
seeing something else drop also, he found
that to be a Saw Whet Owl.
8 RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
The Preservation of Animal Life in Winter.
fail. The first is the instinct to store food,
as best seen among insects in the honey-bee,
among birds in the noisy jay, and among
our mammals in the striped squirrel or
chipmunk. The bee-keeper knows his bees
must have so many pounds of honey to be
able to winter without his help, and the |
blue-jay, apparently the most reckless bird
that flies, stuffs acorns and corn into every
crack and cranny he can find, as though he
intended not only to have enough for him-
self, but expected to be robbed of his scat-
tered hoard, as he himself has lived by rob-
bery, or worse. But the little chipmunk is a
model provider. Acorns, beech-nuts, corn,
or pumpkin seeds — anything that will feed a
squirrel in winter— are equally welcome to |
him. And when he is on his way to his
How he gets such loads into one small
mouth is a marvel that no one would eredit |
who had not seen him at his harvest work.
But such a bright, cheerful, social fellow is
certainly welcome to his home, and welcome
also to the few grains of corn and wheat he
may chance to glean from our fields. His
cousin, the little brown striped squirrel of
the Rocky Mountains, is not so harmless a
neighbor, as many a miner would testify
who has lost his rice and bread by the plun-
dering of these adroit little thieves. At
one camp as they caught them, instead of
killing them, they cut off their ears and tails,
and set them free as a warning to others of
their tribe. It did not seem to have the
desired effect even upon the culprits them-
selves. They cut a most comical figure, as
they could be seen among the camps for
months, bearing the marks of their punish-
ment, but not cured of their old tricks.
The second of nature’s methods of pre-
serving animal life is by hibernation. The
lower animals, as insects and some reptiles,
become to all appearance entirely dormant,
and without essential change during the cold
in winter, and wake to active life only when
food is again ready for them. Others, like
the woodchuck, after growing fat on the
the winter months.
hole, if ever a fellow had ‘‘cheek” he has! |
abundant food of autumn, roll themselves
up in nests and sleep. Vital action is low-
In the animal kingdom there are three re- | ered, they consume but little oxygen, and
markable provisions for the preservation of |
those whose supplies of food are likely to |
live upon the stores of fat with which they
went into winter quarters. The black bear
generally hibernates in caves and under old
tree-tops, but he is never so sleepy that he
is not ready for a battle if disturbed; and
farther south he does not hibernate at all.
In New England he grows fat on green corn,
roots, and nuts in the fall, and so has had
the credit of growing fat by ‘‘ sucking his
paw.” This old notion is only another il-
lustration of theories in mechanics and life
that something can come from nothing.
The truth about the bear is that he grows
thin every day he lies in his den.
The third general method of preserving
_ the species through winter is by migration,
as best seen among birds, but practiced also
by some of the higher mammals. As
the autumn advances many of the smaller
birds from our midst and from the far
North quietly make their way south to find
warm weather and new stores of food for
Others assemble in
flocks and seem to have grave consultations
over the projected journey. The metallic
note of the wild goose comes to us from
among the clouds, as night and day the
flocks wend their way in long lines to the
South. Long before they appear with us
they collect their broods in the lakes and
bays near their breeding-places, and seem
to be organizing for the long flight which
most of them are to take for the first time
to a land that most of them have never
seen; for of every flock that starts from
those northern resting-places, the larger
part are young and have never flown but a
few miles before they commence their long
flight to an unknown land. They follow
their leaders, it is said. When did the first
leaders learn the way? We have seen them
in the bays of Newfoundland, gathering
like a great army, practicing for days; and
then one flock after another separates itself
from the great host and follows its chosen
leader to the South. They return in spring,
even while snow and ice abound, to be
ready for the opening of the short northern
summer. In the long days of the North and
by the unmolested lakes and bays of New-
foundland and Labrador, they find the best
conditions for rearing their young.— Spring-
jield Republican.
RANDOM NOTES ON
The Shell- Bearing Mollusca of Rhode
Island.
[BY HORACE F. CARPENTER. ]
CHAPTER IV.
tion of the species comprising this immense
class, representatives of which are found
everywhere, I wish to say a few words about |
the peculiar situation of Rhode Island, and
to offer a few suggestions on collecting spe-
cimens.
The surface of the earth is divided into
zoological provinces, or centres of distribu-
tion. The eastern coast of North America
comprises four of the marine zodlogical
provinces: The Arctic, the Canadian or
Boreal, the Atlantic, and the Caribbean.
The Arctic Province extends from the Polar
Sea, including Greenland
America, to Newfoundland; the Boreal,
from Newfoundland to Cape Cod; the At-
lantic, from Cape Cod to Florida; and the
Caribbean includes the Gulf of Mexico,
Mexico and Central America, and the is-
lands of the West Indies.
Rhode Island is situated nearthe extreme
end of the Atlantic Province. Consequent-
ly, our fauna is limited in species and in
size, hundreds of shells being found on the
coasts of the Middle and Southern States
which are not found here. On the other
hand, we are near the junction of two dis-
tinct provinces, and as, in the distribution
of species, the zodlogical provinces lap over,
as we may term it, into each other, we have
in Rhode Island representatives of a portion
of the Boreal fauna, which, however, do not
extend much farther southward.
Cape Cod forms a barrier to many species,
a large number of which, though found in
abundance on the northern shores of the
Cape, are never found on the southern side,
just as at Panama, the Atlantic and Pacific
Species are unlike, though separated only
by a few miles of land. For the above
reasons I have included among the species
liable to be found in Rhode Island, all those
which have been found in Massachusetts
and British |
NATURAL HISTORY.
south of Cape Cod, and those of the Con- |
necticut and Long Island shores.
The habits of the marine Mollusca differ
much from each other. Some species bury
themselves in mud; others adhere closely to
| sea-urchins.
BEroreE entering into a detailed descrip- |
9
rocks ; some are found in sand, and others al-
ways on seaweed ; some bore for themselves
a home in the chalk cliffs, or other and more
solid stone ; others penetrate floating logs
_ and timber; while others, such as the Stili-
fer, are found as parasites on star-fish and
In searching for the marine
shells, we are obliged to look for the differ-
ent species under different conditions and
| circumstances, so that for convenience we
may divide the field of exploration into
four belts or zones, viz.: The Littoral, the
Laminarian, the Coralline, and the Deep
Sea Zones.
The Littoral Zone is the tract of shore
lying between tide-marks, and the time for
collecting those species which inhabit this
zone must be regulated by the hour of low
tide. If we arrive at the shore when the
tide is ebbing, we first examine near high-
water mark, the piles of seaweed thrown
up by the tide, and look for shell sand to
carry home, where we can examine it at
leisure ; we then carefully explore the tidal
pools, the muddy flats, and the sandy shore,
and the rocks left bare by the retreating tide ;
some species bury themselves in the sand
as soon as they are uncovered from the
water, and can only be obtained by digging
to the depth of a foot or more below the
surface, while others conceal themselves in
the crevices of rocks and under stones ;
finally, we search at the moment of lowest
tide among the seaweed and stones at its
edge, and by the help of a good pair of rub-
| ber boots we wade out still farther into the
water for those species which live at the
edge of the Laminarian Zone. Advantage
may also be taken at the time of full moon
to examine tracts of shore that are inacces-
sible at other times.
The Laminarian Zone reaches from low
water mark to fifteen fathoms. In search-
ing for shells in this zone, we no longer
confine ourselves to a particular hour of the
day ; the work must be done in boats, and
by means of the dredge. Here we have
real labor to perform, not simply stooping
over to look for specimens as on shore, but
he who would succeed in dredging must
have not only perseverance and patience,
but a pair of strong arms (for pulling ina
loaded dredge from the bottom of the bay
is no boy’s play), to say nothing of a strong
stomach to be able to escape the mal de mer,
the terror of landsmen.
10
RANDOM NOTES ON
NATURAL HISTORY.
The greatest number of genera and species |
belong to this zone. Here they are found
living upon the various seaweeds, or upon
the bottom, adhering to stones and other
objects. Off Rumstick, at the mouth of |
Warren River, is a deposit of fine, soft mud,
spread out over the bottom of the bay for
more than a mile, being the sediment
brought down by the fresh water of the
river; in this mud are found several species
of highly polished bivalve shells, which form
the prey of various carniverous gasteropods.
In tropical countries, the reef-building cor- |
als take the place of seaweeds, and many |
species of mollusks live there, feeding upon |
the zodphytes which build up the coral.
Here are obtained the bright-colored shells
of the tropics, and in this zone are found
the pearl oysters, as well as the edible
oysters of our bay. |
The Coralline Zone extends from fifteen to |
fifty fathoms. Beyond the belt of seaweed, |
which fringes our northern shores, the only
vegetable growth consists of Nullipores,
which cover the rocks and shells with their |
stony looking incrustations. Many vege-
table feeders, with their carnivorous enemies, |
inhabit this zone. Many species of fish
feed upon these mollusks, and many rare
species of shells can be obtained only from
the maws of these fishes.
Dr. Gould, in The Invertebrata of Massa-
chusetts, 1841, describes 270 species found
north of Cape Cod, more than half of which
were obtained from the maws of fishes
from the markets in Boston. Codfish and
haddock consume immense quantities of
deep-water Mollusca, and many new species
may yet be obtained by this means.
The Deep Sea Zone reaches from fifty
fathoms to unknown depths. In these sol-
itary regions certain species are found,
small in size and dull of color. The Tere-
bratule and other Brachiopods are found
here, and, as this region is but little known,
we may expect to reap rich harvest in the
future.
Although the marine Mollusca may be
found at all times and seasons of the year,
it is not so with the fluviatile or fresh
water, or the terrestrial or land shells in this
northern climate. The best time for collect-
ing our fresh water shells is in early spring,
say the first of April, or even sooner, while
May or June is early enough to look for the
| side down.
terrestrial species. To an amateur asking |
for directions to find land and fresh water
shells, I would say, look everywhere, in all
sorts of possible and impossible places ; you
will find them where you least expect, and
will be almost sure not to find them where
their existence would seem most probable.
The best time to collect them is when you
and they are both in the same place at once,
for there is nothing so uncertain as a
‘‘locality” ; you may find a species abund-
ant to-day, and next week there are none
to be seen.
In the next chapter I will give descrip-
tions of some of the species of Gasteropoda
inhabiting our state.
(To be continued.)
Cheap Setting Boards.
To our insect collectors we would say
that for mounting and drying beetles the
cheapest setting board possible, and at the
_ same time as good as any, is a pasteboard
box of two inches deep or more, turned up-
Take care that the bottom is
firm enough not to spring much when a pin
_is stuck into it, or withdrawn, and if it
turns the points of the delicate insect pins,
start the holes with a fine needle. Com-
mon brass pins will do nicely to stretch and
pin the legs in position, but the best are
the blue steel ones with round heads. They
have sharper points.
SOUTHWICK & JENCKS’
Catalogues.
BIRDS.—Contains the entire nomencla-
ture North American Birds, and
Price-List of skins, eggs, insects,
and supplies, with instructions for
preparing skins and eggs. Price,
MINERALS. — Gives Dana's species
number, localities, and valuations,
SHELLS.—Contains a very full list of
prominent species, with authorities
and synonyms. Also habitat and
valuation, - - - - - 10 *¢
The three Catalogues for - - 20 *
SAMPLE PAGES ON APPLICATION.
20 cts
g. °°
RANDOM NOTES ON
NATURAL HISTORY.
11
LONSDALE BOTANICAL AND FIELD
NATURALISTS’ SOCIETY.
At a regular meeting held Feb. 18, 1884,
the Secretary, Mr. John Dearden, delivered
an essay upon ‘‘ Useful and Injurious In-
sects.”’ Those, he said, most useful to man
are the silk-worms, the larvee of the Bomby-
cidea and Saturnidea moths.
Bombex mori is the only one of economic
value reared in Europe. Their usual food
is the mulberry, but Mr. D. had raised great
numbers on the garden lettuce.
Attempts have lately been made to intro-
duce other silk- worms into Europe, the best
known being the Ailanthus silk-worm (Afta-
cus-cinthia), common throughout the East
Indies, which feeds on Ailanthus glaudu-
losa, but feeds well on the common lilac ;
it yields, however, a small cocoon of doubt-
ful quality, which is difficult to unwind,
the American oak-feeding species (Telea
polyphemus), the Japanese and North Chi-
nese oak-feeding species (Antheria yama-
mat),and (A. pernyi) yield large cocoons of
excellent quality, which are easily unwound ;
but they are only reared with great difficulty |
and uncertainty, and rapidly degenerate in
Europe. Mr. D. gave a very interesting
aecount of the injury caused to vegetation
by various lepidoptera and coleoptera, and
exhibited many beautiful specimens.
Preserving the Colors of Pressed Plants.
Tuer following process is said by the
London Chemist and Druggist to give very
excellent results: Dissolve one part of sal-
icylic acid in 600 parts of alcohol, and heat
the solution to the boiling point in an eva-
porating dish. Draw the plant slowly
through the liquid, wave gently in the air
to get rid of superfluous moisture, and dry
between folds of blotting-paper several |
times repeated. In this manner the plants
dry rapidly, which is a great gain, and they
thus furnish specimens of superior beauty.
WE have now another particularly well-selec-
ted collection of SHELLS in our hands for sale.
The specimens are nearly all marine, and most |
of them foreign, represented by 85 genera, 1420
species, and 4523 specimens, beside a fine lot of
bivalves, and fluviatile shells, not entered in the
catalogue, together with a black walnut cabinet
of forty-five drawers. Price, $700.
_ at least, covered with perpetual snow.
PORPHYRITIC IRON ORE.
BY REV. E. B. EDDY.
CuMBERLAND is the Switzerland of Rhode
Island. Cumberland Hill itself, where the
village stands, is 556 feet above the sea-
level. Beacon Hill,where signal fires blazed
during the Revolution of ’76 is 756 feet.
Diamond Hill, abruptly precipitous on the
west, is about the same height. The Quarry
Hill opposite, commanding a magnificent
view, is higher. The hill back of Sneech
Pond rises boldly from the lake, and is about
600 feet. There are fifty ancient mine-holes
on this hill, which the gray fathers worked
for gold before the Revolution. Iron Mine
Hill is 660 feet above the sea. Compare
with these the celebrated Mount Hope of
Bristol, which is scarcely 195 feet above the
tide.
These country hills may not vie with the
Matterhorn or Mont Blanc in altitude: yet
planted in Rhode Island, the grand Radial
of all the civil and religious liberty the
world enjoys to-day, they are more distin-
guished and interesting than the highest of
the Alps.
Our state, although the smallest, is fore-
most in every department of human interest
and welfare. We have the oldest and the
poorest coal, ‘‘ stone coal,” decidedly ; coal
debituminized and altered not simply to an
obdurate anthracite, but to plumbago or
graphite, which the great axles of machinery
cannot burn. We have the oldest and the
poorest mines, which yet furnish some of the
finest minerals and most curious gems. But
we must hasten to Iron Mine Hill.
Fifty-nine years ago Dr. Robinson, in a
valuable but now seldom seen book, entitled,
American Minerals and their Localities,
under Cumberland, R. I., wrote:
“* Magnetic Oxide of Iron, two miles N.
N. E. of the m.h., on the left of the Wren-
tham road, in an immense bed constituting a
hill. Most of this ore is a Metailiferous
Porphyry, having crystals of feldspar im-
| bedded in the iron.”
The hillis bleak and cold, and, this winter
But
little shelter is afforded by the few stunted
oaks near the top, or the sweet-smelling
pines on the south side. It is a mountain
mass of magnetic iron 462 feet long, 132
12 RANDOM NOTES ON
NATURAL HISTORY.
feet wide, and 104 feet above the adjoining
meadows. We cannot measure its depth.
What one sees here is the mere summit of
a mountain larger and higher than any moun-
tain on the face of the earth.
The ore is full of distinct crystals of feld-
spar, and is beautifully porphyritic, forming,
when polished, very fine specimens. This
immense mass of Titanic Magnetyte looks
as if it had been thrust up bodily through
the earth’s crust; through gneiss and sie-
nite on the north, and granite and horn-
blende on the south. But, like lava, it came
up melted through a fissure in the earth dur-
ing the great disturbance millions of years
ago, that split open the Atlantic coast from
Nova Scotia to South Carolina. Oozing out
of the narrow crack which a man might
have straddled, it heaped itself up ina great
hill, as the greenstone hills and mountains
were formed, a hill immensely larger and
higher than it is at present. The depth of
the liquid source of the erupted mass is un-
known, but as the movement was almost
continental it must have been hundreds of
miles beneath the surface. There are vast
caverns, mammoth caves, in the generally
solid interior of the globe, in which lakes of
fire and seas of melted minerals surge and
roar unheard, except as earthquakes and
voleanos speak.
The only analysis of the ore at command is
Dr. Jackson’s, who in 1840 made a geolog-
ical survey of the state. Hardly anything
is of more need to-day than a new and
thorough geological survey to develop the
latent mineral resources and promote the
industrial prosperity of the state. Nobody
knows what there is an inch underground
anywhere. There are productive mines and
quarries yet to be discovered.
_ Analysis: Per-oxide of iron, 27.60; Pro-
toxide do, 12.40; Silicic acid, 23.00; Ti-
tanic acid, 15.80; Alumina, 13.10; Mag- |
nesia, 4.00; Manganese, 2.00; Water and
loss, 2.60; = 100.00.
The feldspar in this rock is translucent,
and of a dark green color, looking like ser-
pentine. It is triclinic.
the strize of every crystal are visible. The
crystals are rudely defined, not clearly cut.
All of them enclose particles of the iron |
which disturbed the crystallization. The
largest seldom measure more than three-
eighths of an inch in length. The feldspar,
we believe, is a microlinic Labradorite. We
have observed in several polished specimens,
bright and chatoyant reflections from within.
The specific gravity of the mineral is
below that of most iron ores, being about
3.86. It is too poor and refractory to be
worked profitably. 1t is excessively tough,
and immense quantities were shipped to
New York some years ago for the construc-
tion of fortifications in the harbor.
Its distribution locally is a matter of
special interest, affording as it does, defi-
nite and decisive evidence of the Glacial or
Drift period, and of the gigantic forces
employed in splitting up ‘‘ the unwedgeable
and gnarled” ore, and transporting it in
lumps weighing twelve and fifteen tons so
many miles.
The rock is (1) distinguished from every
other kind in the world by its peculiar
appearance, structure and composition. (2)
No fragments of it are scattered to the
north, to the east, or west of the hill;
while to the south they occur profusely of
every size. The stone walls of farms and
roads consist largely of them. The white-
spotted boulders are common all the way
to Providence, and, decreasing in size, ex-
tend to Bristol, Warwick Neck, and New-
port, even, where they are only a few
inches in diameter, having been freighted
forty-five miles in a direction four or five
degrees east of south. (3) A cubic foot of
the ore weighs 240 1-2 lbs. Boulders are
known to exist in swamps and woods to
the north from the Friends’ College to
Pawtucket and beyond, weighing from two
and three to twelve and fifteen tons each.
(4) Some of these masses are merely
smoothed and scratched ; others are grooved
and furrowed also by the ledges over which
they were slowly but irresistibly pushed and
pressed by an embracing superincumbent
mass of ice two miles in thickness. These
marks correspond to the diluvial scratches
and grooves observable wherever the rocks
in situ south of the hill are exposed. Noth-
With a good lens |
| P. O. Box 446.
ing, we believe, but the Glacial Theory, can
account for the distribution of this distinct-
ive ore.
I DESIRE TO
EXCHANGE FINE MINERALS
For a full or partial set of the AMERICAN JOURNAL
OF SCIENCE. Address,
MINERALS,
NEW YORK CITY.
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 13
CONCHOLOGICAL CHECK-LIST. IV.
J. RITCHIE, JR.
Family. Cyclostomacea Pfr.
Sub-family. Cyclotea. Pfr.
Pterocyclos albersi Pft.
andersoni Blanf.
anguliferus Soul.
ater Stol.
avanus Blanf.
beddomei Blanf.
bhamoensis Theob.
bifrons Pfr.
bilabiatus Benson.
blandi Benson.
cetra Benson.
cingalensis Benson.
cumingi Pfr.
fairbanki Blanf.
feddeni Blanf.
gordoni Benson.
hispidus Pearson.
insignis Theob.
labuanensis Pfr.
lowianus Pfr.
magnus G-Austen.
mastersi Blanf.
nanus Benson.
nevilli G-Austen.
parvus Pearson.
pullatus Benson.
rupestris Benson.
tenuilabiatus Metcalf.
troscheli Benson.
wilsoni Pfr.
(diadema) biangulata Pease.
(diadema) parva Pease.
(diadema) rotella Pease.
Alyceus amphora Benson.
andamaniz Benson.
armillatus Benson.
ave Blanf.
bembex Benson.
bicrenatus G-Austen.
bifrons Theob.
burti G-Austen.
conicus G-Austen.
constrictus Benson.
crenatus G-Austen.
crenulatus Benson.
crispatus G-Austen.
cucullatus Theob.
daflaensis G-Austen.
diagonius G-Austen.
digitatus H. F. Blanf.
expatriatus Blanf.
feddenianus Theob.
| Alyceus footei Blanf.
)
)
|
gemmula Benson.
gibbosulus Stol.
gibbus Fer.
glaber Blanf.
globosus Adams.
globulus G-Austen.
graphicus Blanf.
hebes Benson.
hochstetteri Pfr.
humilis Blanf.
inflatus G-Austen.
ingrami Blanf.
jagori Martens.
jaintiacus G-Austen.
khasiacus Benson.
kurzianus Theob. and Stol.
margarita Theob.
montanus Stol ?
multirugosus G-Austen.
mutatus G-Austen.
nitidus Blanf.
notatus G-Austen.
otiphorus Benson.
physis Benson.
plectocheilus Benson.
politus Blanf.
polygonoma Blanf.
prosectus Benson.
pusillus G-Austen.
pyramidalis Benson.
reinhardi Morch.
richthofeni Blanf.
sculptilis Benson.
sculpturus G-Austen.
serratus G-Austen.
spiracellum Adams and Reeve.
stoliczki G-Austen.
strangulatus Hutton.
strigatus G-Austen.
stylifer Benson.
succineus Blanf.
theobaldi Blanf.
umbonalis Benson.
urnula Benson.
vestitus Blanf.
vulecani Blanf.
Opisthostoma decrepignyi H. A. Adams.
distortum Bedd.
fairbanki Blanf.
macroscoma Bedd.
nilgiricum Blanfords.
Hybocystis gravida Benson.
mouhoti Pfr.
14 RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
-¢ THE AUK.4
eat Quarlerfy . gournat : Ope OrnitRofogy,.
ORGAN OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION.
Editor-in-Chief: J. A. ALLEN, Museum of Comparative Zodlogy, Cambridge.
2 = ELLiotr Cougs Smithsonian Institution WILLIAM BREWSTER, Cambridge.
Asso 9 u ; ’ 5
etute Hdttors) Ronan RiIpGway, Washington. MONTAGUE CHAMBERLAIN, St. John, N. B.
TERMS : $3.00 A YEAR, INCLUDING POSTAGE ; SINGLE NUMBERS, 78 CENTS.
Subscriptions and Advertisements should be addressed to the Publishers, ESTES & LAURIAT,
Boston, Mass.
All Articles and communications for publication should be sent to J. A. ALLEN, Cambridge, Mass.
Tue AUK, while thoroughly scientific, aims at popularizing Ornithology, and its pages are open
to the field-observer and amateur, as well as to the scientist.
Besides the leading articles, and the reviews of books and papers, it has departments devoted to
Field Notes, to Correspondénce, and to Motes and News, thus covering the whole field of Ornithology
in a way to make the Magazine indispensable to all classes of students.
Each number contains about 100 pages, and the illustrations occasionally include colored plates,
“This journal has the best of American Ornithologists in its editorial corps. It promises, as its pages show, to be
attractive to the popular reader, as well as to the scientific, and should have a large circulation.—A mer. Fournal of Science.
ee: CAN en
== SWEEP*SMELTER, = _
29 AND 31 PAGE STREET, PROMIDENGE, RK. i
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 15
CCESSION THE ENTIR
<> 6. wae ¥
Pea, Bliss’ Abundance.— 90 pods counted on
a single plant. Very productive, 15 to 18 inches
high. Second Early. Excellent quality. 25 cents per
packet; 5 packets, $1.00,
Pea, Bliss’ Ever-bearing.—A perpetual bearer,
yielding a full crop until frost; an excellent late
variety, 18 to 24in.high. Peas 1 1-2inchesin cir-
cumference, Very productive. 25c. perpkt. ; 5 pkts., $z.
Pea, Bliss’ American Wonder. —The best and
earliest variety grown. Very dwarf, excellent flavor.
20 cts. per pkt. ; 40 cts. per pint; 75 cts. per qt., post-paid.
N. B—'These three varieties will_give you
Peas the entire season until frost. Require no
brushing. American Champion Water-
melon.—The best eating and best shipping melon grown.
More productive than any other sort; 25 cts. per packet;
5 packets, $r.cc. Cauliflower, Sea Foam.—The
best early variety, sure to head. 50 cts. per packet.
Rhubarb, Early Paragon.—A new English
variety. The earliest and most productive. Never runs
to seed. Roots only for sale, 75 cts. each, post-paid.
Pansy, Bliss’ Perfection.—tThe choicest strain
yet produced. Our Gardeners’ Hand-Book, for 1884,
contains a beautifully colored plate of this magnificent
variety, 50 cts. per packet of 50 seeds. Carnation
Shakesperean.—tThe finest ever introduced. Con-
tinue in flower the whole season. socts. per packet. Plants,
50 cts. each. $4.00 for the set of 9 varieties. Wild Gar-
den Seeds.—Aa mixture of 100 varieties of Flower
Seeds. A packet will plant a square rod of ground. 25
cts. per packet; 5 pa kets, $1.00. For other Novelties see
Bliss’ Illustrated Novelty List, which describes
the newest and choicest Flowers, Vegetables, Fruits, Cere-
als, Plants, etc. Mailed sree. 150 Pages.
300 Illustrations.
Beautiful colored plate. It
tells WHAT. WHEN, and
HOW to plant, and is
2 § halls Spy fLaWeH sees
| Hann Book © PUAnts.euis
Gj FOR THE ON’ AN? TARDEN invaluable to all interested
Ae PM GHROe RE in gardening or farming.
Ecru ako Mailed for 6 Cents.
B. K. BLISS & SONS, 34 Barclay Street, N.Y.
BLISS’
1845, Tllustrated Hand-book 1884.
300 illustrations, and a beautiful Colored Plate of
Flowers, tells What, When and How to plant and is
full of information invaluable to all interested in
Tilustrated Novelty List,
describing all the newestvarieties
Flowers, Vegetables, Ce-
E E etc., Mailed
And have on hand
JEM IL (Q) WAVER | ()
GARDEN *° i
20 packets choice Flower Seeds (our selection), in-
cluding WILD GARDEN SEEDS (a mixture
VEGETABLE GARDEN FOR $1.00
20 pkts. Choice Vegetable Seeds (our selection), in-
cluding Bliss’s American Wonder Pea, for $1.
and Bliss’s Illustrated Gardener’s Hand-book
telling you how to grow them, for $1.75.
B. K. BLISS & SONS,
For the Farm and Garden. 150 pages.
gardening. Mailed for 6c. tocover postage.
reals, Fruits, Plants,
when you wantto plant.
of 100 varieties of Flower Seeds), for $1.00.
BOTH the Flower and Vegetable Seed Collections,
34 Barclay Street, New-York.
Ce ee |
ZAYEAR.— MONTHLY
IS A RICHLY ILLUSTRATED, ELEGANTLY
PRINTED, and CAREFULLY GOTTEN-
UP MONTHLY PUBLICATION, DE-
VOTED TO THE GARDENING
INTERESTS of AMERICA.
Edited by DR. F. M. HEXAMER.
To any one who owns a flower-pot, a garden, or a
farm,
IT IS INDISPENSABLE,
because it gives all the latest and best information
about everything pertaining to the culture of Flowers,
Fruits, Vegetables, the care and laying out of Lawns,
and Pleasure Grounds, Window Gardening, Rural Im-
provements, and all kindred subjects.
IT IS CLEAN AND PURE,
because no paper is more carefully scrutinized before
it meets the eyes of its readers, and because all objec-
tionable advertisements, as well as everything that
could in the least offend the most refined tastes, are
scrupulously excluded from its pages.
IT IS ALWAYS SEASONABLE,
because it forestalls its readers’ wants by giving in
every issue practical seasonable hints for the work of
the month, which alone are worth more than the
price of the paper.
IT IS RELIABLE,
because its editor and contributors are practical hor-
ticulturists who write from actual experience, and can
prove the correctness of their teachings.
PREMIUMS.
Every yearly subscriber receives several beautiful
colored floral pictures, and may take his choice of one of
many valuable articles offered in our Premium List,
Seeds, Plants, Books, Implements, Etc. Special induce-
ments for the formation of clubs. See Premium List.
A Sample Copy and complete Premium List will be
mailed free to all applicants.
$1.00 per year. 3 months? trial-trip, 30 cents.
Sample Copy and Premium List FREE.
Ditto, with colored plate, 10 cents.
ADDRESS
B.K. BLISS & SONS,
Publishers,
34 Barclay Street,
NEW YORK.
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
STANDARD
ALOUabs, ..
wx tee ies es,
THERMOMETERS
Perfectly Accurate, Durable, Easily Read.
DIALS
FIVE INCHES AND EIGHT INCHES
IN DIAMETER.
FOR SALE BY THE TRADE.
STANDARD THERMOMETER CO,,
PEABODY, MASS.
A MONTHLY, 50 CENTS PER ANNUM.
PUBLISHED BY
SOUTHWICK. & JENCKS,
PROVIDENCE, R. I.
2
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
Specimens Recently Received |
iB yo
SOUTHWICK & JENCKS.
FROM COLORADO.
One Elk Head, having a very symmetrical
pair of horns 53 inches in length, and
44 inches from tip to tip. Price,
mounted on black walnut shield...... 100.00
One Elk Head, with horns 40 inches long,
and 40 inches from tip to tip. Price,
mounted same as above.............-
Black-tailed Deer Horns, on skulls with
pelts ready for mounting, fine large
OTN ME TIC Oe ticraie choleieya ¥ Ae eo creieinsioeie
The above furnished nicely mounted for
Ferrugineous Rough-legged Hawks, in fine
feather, beautiful large birds. Price 6.00
Prong-horned Antelopes’ heads, with pelts
ready for mounting: Price.....0.... 8.50
The same ready mounted. Price........ 18.00
Also a lot of small mammals.
MINERALS.
Water Geodes from Tampa, Fla., and
from Uruguay. The enclosed
fluid can be distinctly seen.... 8.00 t0-15.00
Beautiful clusters of Quartz Crys-
tals, from Hot Springs, Ark.,
POStAMCIEXOLA ls. li). fees oe .. .20 to 2.00
Polished Crocidolite, fine specimens .75 to 2.00
Osteolite, from Marseilles, France.. .25 to 1.00
Margarite, Chester, Mass........... .10 to 1.25
SHELLS.
Of the very rare Voluta Junonia we have
lately received a few specimens, $10 to $15.
They have usually been quoted at from $30 to
$40.
A particularly well-selected collection of
SHELLS has been placed in our hands for sale.
The specimens are nearly all marine, and most
of them foreign, represented by 85 genera, 1,420
species, and 4,523 specimens, beside a fine lot
of bivalves, and fluviatile shells, not entered in
the catalogue, together with a black walnut
cabinet of forty-five drawers. Price, $700.
SKINS.
17 Rufous-vented Thrasher...... 3.00
38 Plain Titmouse.........+..+.-. .75 to 1.00
39 Wollweber’s Titmouse......... 8.00 to 3.50
219! . Starline ec, st ise. aeeeceernee 65 to .85.
292 Woodhouse’s Jay.............. 1.50 to 2.00
3874 Gila Woodpecker.............. 3.50 to 4.00
Whitney’s Pigmy Owl......... 7.50
540 Curlew Sandpiper............. 1.50 to 2.50
663 Great Black-backed Gull...... 3.00 to 4.50
ECCS.
7a Western Robin, set of 8....... .90
17 Rufous-vented Thrasher, set
of 2:°3,-end. blown... -..22%6 .50 and .75
35 Ground Titmouse, set of 3.... 3.75
51 White-bellied Nuthatch, set of
BHO)..2.. Piensa Sees oreo 3.00 and 5.40
231c Mountain Song Sparrow, set
OLD} sAiuswatie eet aoe. eee ‘1.20
141 Blue-headed Vireo, nest and 4
CHER. BR Soacus decicees tee eee eee 3.00
458 White-crowned Pigeon, set of
2, one egg slightly cracked
arqundshole. 32 .cs- eee 3.50
451 Bald Eagle, set of 2........... 9.00
TRAYS.
No CapinetT should be without them. Two
of one size just equal one of the next. They
are the best possible partitions. Easily changed
about, easily cleaned. Samples by mail for five
cents.
2 x 14x$, per dozen.... .10 per 100.... . .65
Sox Dg) et aie 12 “s P65)
AX OXS gna Mle 18 $5). isiwlatant ROD
Gx Axe. TS ae 15 ‘¢ eee 1800
Fifty or more of one size at one hundred rate.
They are too bulky to be mailed.
Random Holes on Natural History.
W/o ea
PROVIDENCH, MAY 1, 1884.
INOS
Entered at the Providence Post-Office as Second-Class Matter,
Random Dotes on Yaturat History.
A MONTHLY DEVOTED TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF USE-
FUL KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING THE VARIOUS DE-
PARTMENTS OF ZOOLOGY, MINERALOGY, AND
Borany. 50 CENTS A YEAR.
Address all communications to
SOUTHWICK & JENCKS,
258 Westminster St., Providence, R. I., U.S. A.
Supscriprions hereafter will begin with
the current number, or the March number,
as desired.
TEN CENTS EACH will be paid for Nos. 1
and 2 returned to us in good condition,
which those desiring may have at the same
price.
The Toes of Birds.
Tuts subject has just been forcibly brought
to mind by having a Red-shouldered Hawk
grasp my hand with his talons. He did not.
however, succeed in hurting me, as I would
not permit him to bend his leg, but kept
dermist, and probably not a few have had
my own experience of being obliged to kilk
an owl to make it loose its hold of his fin-
gers.
The osprey is notably a wise exception,
for in the pursuit of his slippery prey he
doubtless needs the free use of his toes.
Most, if not all, of our small land birds
have this leverage, and it is this which en-
ables them to sleep with no fear of letting
go their hold.
Rhode Island Iron.
In our last issue we printed an article
upon the peculiar features of the Porphy-
rytic Iron ore of Rhode Island, situated in
Cumberland near the Manville station. The
statement that this ore could not be profita-
bly worked seems to require modification.
An article printed in the Providence Jour-
nal states: ‘* Experts have recently been
at work, whose report says of the various
deposits of magnetic iron ore in this part of
| the United States, that at Cumberland Hill
it extended while I asked a man standing |
near to bend his heel joint backwards, which
instantly released me. The heel joint is
that at the top of the tarsus, and is frequent-
ly called the knee by those not well versed.
Many birds have not the power to open
and shut their toes, unless the legs are in
certain positions. This may be modified
somewhat by saying they have not the ad-
vantage of the use of their full strength. For
example: a hawk. pounces upon his prey
with legs extended and toes open, but he
has not the power in his toes to close them
tightly. Why? Because the toes of most of
our hawks and owls are worked by leverage,
the tendons passing over the heel. The hawk
knows this, and no sooner does he strike his
feet upon his prey then he bends his legs, |
|‘ The Cumberland ore is free from noxious
_ elements, and though somewhat refractory,
Without the reverse motion he is equally |
thereby drawing his victim close to his body
and burying his talons deep in its flesh.
unable to release it.
_ The opening and shutting of adead hawk’s
leg has doubtless been tried by every taxi-
is the most extensive and valuable. About
1,000,000 tons above water level, while, as
the deposit shows an indefinite extension
in depth, the quantity of this ore may be
said to be practically inexhaustible.” Prof.
R. H. Thurston, of the Stevens Institute,
Hoboken, writes: ‘‘ That portion of the
mountain lying above the natural drainage,
and which may be obtained by ‘ open work-
ing’ or quarrying, and without expense for
hoisting or pumping, would alone supply a
smelting furnace of the largest capacity for
a century. The quantity below the ground
is incalculable.”
Mr. J. B. Moorehead, of Philadelphia,
states that it is one of the purest ores
known, containing 35 or 40 per cent. of net
iron, and is richer at the foot than the apex
of the hill.
To quote Professor
Thurston again,
it will furnish a very strong iron, or a most
excellent steel.” With the development of
the Sieman’s Direct Process, a new and im-
mediate use for this ore has arisen.
/
/
4
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
if The Roseate ae in Florida Rookeries.
Parr III.
On Monday, March 9, we made a sec-
ond visit, and captured six more Spoonbills,
and took theireggs. - Aidaton Su adboot co's male aig eles, o's e'p «= a ore ote pee
Harris’ Insects Injurious to. Vemeration s;. 6). -' [aja'9)<'¢ ai #2) odin «0,0 5M /bte ale wo aie sim 's syne e = Galatea 4.00
Harris’ Insects Injurious to Vegetation, colored plates... -+..e+++seeeee cee ceeeeeeeee eee 6.50
Saunders? Insects Injurious to PW Puits’ «jc elec ci eae ein syeslees = om apace mle viet eines aoe 3.00
ENTOMOLOCISTS’ SUPPLIES.
Mounting Box, glass top, cork-lined and papereds size, 17x 11x32
moth PEO Ohi tiepere sass 5) ace -lsia lo \o'e'mjatelasole| aioibninteie| phim Aicin > niola lal aimintsip be "92. 00 not mailable.
*Collecting Nets, brass ring and ferule and stout IVOR-Scodsidnsooe 1.00 postage 10 cents.
Collecting Nets, folding ring and stout lace........--...----...+- 1.50 Be
Cyanide Bottles, with mouths 23 in. diameter, for killing insects.. —_.25 not rr il:
The Eureka Setting Board, something new, 16 in. long, 63 in.
Wades With! COMBED! TTOOV Esme eve oes oma es ss wietnctele's seats olele ee .25 postage 15 cents.
Cork, 12 x 33 in., first quality, per dozen asus ds ShsOd sade droge s+ 90 he Gigs
a8 me second CCW, OCU REL beet, Ie ARO URES Sie ote ena d Sarena -50 ‘: 6s
Insect Pins, per MANUS ondbdclssachd capone atone daosdt Oban smomesac 1.25 postage prepaid.
Gh 100 Pteiatate ota} cralarete isis) areve.opefoisiateieteretarsie S500 NR. bo ON amOE 15 sie oe
Eight sizes, Samples sent for stamp.
Forceps, Straight POINts..-....-2+ sees ee ee rece ee ee enee SoschoddA. AYA3) : ce
re curved WO nooo bodmugoo od go bdumooBoonpodd ddan Sddr | 1s ve Cy
Printed locality labels, in sheets..--.--+. sees cee eee eee ee rece + 02 per sheet, postage extra-
CONTENTS OF SHEET AS PER NUMBER.
Eso Ne StacN-B;, COE Ge Wied: Sup., H. B. f., Br. C., R. A
ike: N. HTS: Vt., Mags: Rogie Ct:
ie ANe ve Penn., N. Jian MG2EDeli Via ws Widen ©.
IV. + N.C. S. C., Ga.,')Fla., Ala., Miss. Tenn.
V. . Ohio, Ind., S. Ml., Ky., Mo.
VE. Minn., Wis., Mich., Ia., N. Ill.
Wala als. Decry sAunlks, all z aN
VILE S-Colos, Wy. ‘ Mon., Dak., Neb., Ks.
EXC ew ns a Cal., Nev.. Wit. lid. Ariz:
Xe embal., Tam., Chi., L. Cal., Son., Mex., C. Rica, Gua.
Xi. Months.
XII. Signs for male, female, and neuter.
If desired, labels for the separate states will be furnished for 10 cents per 1,000.
Blank Labels, printed in red, for labeling ape
No. 1, 1 inch by ng 40 on a sheet, 2 cents per sheet, postage extra.
No. 2, #inch by 3, 50 on a sheet, 2 cents per sheet, me
*Handles furnished, if desired, but collectors can, where they live, readily obtain them at less than their
cost of transportation by mail or express.
In any Quantity or any stylee CLASS EYES, “Sent Postage Paid.
Discount on ALL orders; WRITE TO US FOR IT.
BIRDS.—Contains the entire nomenclature North American Birds, and Price-List of skins,
egos, insects, and supplies, with instructions for preparing skins and eggs. Price, 20 cts.
Po
MINERALS. — Gives Dana’s species number, localities, and valuations, - - =) 16E
SHELLS. — Contains a very full list of prominent species, with ‘authorities and
synonyms. Also habitat and valuation, - - - - - - 10°
The three Catalogues for - - - - - - - - 25 %
SAMPLE PAGES ON APPLICATION.
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 15.
The NEW KEY
INORTH AMERICAN BIRDS,
By DR. ELLIOT COUES.
The publishers promise it soon, and also give the following particulars concerning it:
The new Key contains 900 pages and 562 cuts, in comparison to 361 pages and 238 cuts in the
old. The type is smaller in the new than in the old, thereby insuring a still larger amount of
reading matter than shown by the respective numbers of pages. The ONE volume contains four
parts, viz.:
Part I. consists of Coues’ Field Ornithology, an instructive work on collecting and preparing
specimens,
Part II. defines Ornithology, shows the external and internal structure of birds, and teaches
the classification, etc., of the science.
Part III. occupies the body of the work, giving descriptions of the Birds of North America
with the geographical distribution of each.
Part IY. isa list of Fossil Birds of North America.
The work is fully indexed with several thousand entries. Price complete in one stout volume,
Royal Octavo, Vellum Cloth.... .............. $10.00
66 66 Library Sheep Bn ape aes irae eg. 11.50
«6 ‘‘ Half Morocco, Extra........... 13.50
SPECIAL OFFER.
Parties ordering the new Keryof us and sending the price of the same, may order One
Dollar’s worth from our catalogue gratis. We will send the dollar’s worth of goods at once. The
Key will be sent prepaid as soon as issued.
SOUTHWICK & JENCKS,
PROVIDENCE, Ro:
A RARE CHANCE WANTED
Is now offered to purchase
BY
CAROLINA PARRAKEETS| srwion « amxexs
AT $2.50 EACH.
This Big is ra Dialy approaching extinction, and we " 1
tried for several years to procure them, but with- A k Sk M { (| HAWK OWL
out success. We have recently secured Ill Il or 0un C 5
a few very fine ones.
Vols. Ill. and IV. Cassell on Birds.
S0 UT H W | ( K & i EN ( KS | Address with Price—either Cash or Exchange.
16 RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
_STANDARD >
DIALS
FIVE INCHES AND EIGHT INCHES
IN DIAMETER.
FOR SALE BY THE TRADE.
STANDARD THERMOMETER CO,,
PEABODY, MASS.
Reve
A MONTHLY, 50 CENTSIPERZANNUM.
PUBLISHED BY
SeUTH Wwe K & JEN Crs,
PROVIDENCE, R. I.
RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY.
Specimens Recently Received
Be) Gres
SOUTHWICK & JENCKS.
SPONCES.
Tuba vaginalis D.and M., Florida... .40to .60
Tuba plicifera Lam., Florida...... 40 to .60
Suberites compacta Verr., Buz-
ZATOS DAY nc Aeon sabe sheet .20 to .30
Euplectella aspergillum Owen, Phi-
iP PINES WSs. skier, < 10 steystoleelererers 1.00 to 4.00
Chalina arbuscula Verrill, R.I..... .25to .50
Miasciona prolifera Verrill, R. I... .25to .50
Grantia ciliata Flemming (in
BI COHWON) nh 5. aris Ueiccteieis ates Ad
CORAL.
Tubipora musiea, He Use. <2 ecw cv .50 to 1.50
Rhipidogorgia flabellum, (red or
Vellow/Seastan's) eft. \aro'-feietausers .25 to 1.00
Pterogorgia setosus Linn. Redsea
DHT aA nmioned.5 6 anes. cabs Some .00 to 1.00
Xipidogorgia anceps Pallas. Purple
SCAMPLUMMIO: wesc creeds + 6 Amereroecle .80 to .50
Xipidogorgia citrina Esplr. Yellow
SO Wer DULG 4, ste steperesinis och aititen enetere 15
Muricea elongata Lam............ 60
Manicina areolata Ehr, Bahamas... .20to .50
Dichocoenia porcata M. Edw’,
Galvamaasie tert. -eetsee sss iscis rect Js to 1.25
Agaricia agaricites M. Edw’,
Sep Step cneic) « etapa otoeraiersieter sieves 1.00 to 1.25
Mussae nULtWOD dbase oes im rts .80 to 1.50
Porcillopora meandrina.......... 1.00 to 3.00
Fungia elegans Verrill, E. I....... .25to .40
Fungia confertifolia Dana, E. I.... .50 to 1.00
ECHINODERMS, DRY SPECI-
MENS —URCHINS.
Hippona esculenta, A. Ag., Baha-
mas, without spines..........$0.25 to $0.50
Diadema setosum, Gray, Bahamas,
without/spineswy.--...-...-.-- 80 to .50
Strongylocentrotus drobachiensis,
A. Ag., Mass., with spines.....
| Strongylocentrotus franciscanus,
Hircina Campana Hyatt, Key West.$0.75 to $1.00
Cal., "spimes®. ... 2c%-sce.. cee 1.00
Echinarachnius parma, Gray, Mass.,
with or without spines........ 10
Moira atropos, A. Ag., Fla., no
SPINES sa /enoerrileets Se alee -10to .15
Echinanthus rosaceus, Gray, Baha-
mas, with spines, $1.25, without .50 to 1.00
Metalia pectoralis, A. Ag.,no spines 3.00
Meoma ventricosa, Lth., Bahamas,
With spimesitric.t- seca - ls -rcrreees 3.00 to 4.00
STAR FISH.
| Asterias Forbesii, Verrill, R. 1... .10to .40
Solaster endeca (10 rays), Grand
MGM Anns <5. See sievelotegersiers) saseieiteters -50
Oreaster gigas, Lath., Nassau, very
large (15 in. diam.), no spines.. 1.50 to 2.00
SHELLS.
Of the very rare Voluta Junonia we have
lately received a few specimens, $10 to $15.
They have usually been quoted at from $30 to
$40.
MINERALS.
Water Geodes from Tampa, Fla., and
from Uruguay. The enclosed
fluid can be distinctly seen.... 8.00 to 15.00
Beautiful clusters of Quartz Crys-
tals, from Hot Springs, Ark.,
OOP MARME >< ioogd ccagdodasces A
Polished Crocidolite, fine specimens
Osteolite, from Marseilles, France..
-25 to 2.00
.75 to 3.00
-25 to 1.00
Margarite, Chester, Mass........... -10 to 1.25
Black Tourmaline, Pierpont, N. Y.. .25 to 4.00
Tremolite, Gouveneur, N. Y........ .75 to 2.00
EY Tomorplitesme ney tects