Page:Hardwicke's Science-Gossip - Volume 1.pdf/152
The Thrush at Rome.—The thrush has for centuries been a very popular bird in all those countries of which it is an inhabitant, and, as is well known to all those of our readers who may be skilled in classical lore, was highly prized by the Romans, not merely for its song, but also for the delicacy of its flesh. Thrushes were as common in the Roman markets during the reigns of the twelve Cæsars as larks are at the present day in our own Leadenhall, and on account of the estimation in which they were held, fetched on occasions very respectable prices, frequently being sold for as high a figure as would be reckoned by six shillings of our own money. The fattening of thrushes for these markets was a regular branch of trade with Roman bird-catchers, and the chief ingredients used in making the birds plump and juicy for the table of epicures were ripe fresh figs and wheat meal. Horace himself, a regular bon vivant, informs us that "nothing is better than a fat thrush," and he was certainly a good judge of such matters.—Once a Week.
Newts.—On February 27th I obtained three web-footed newts (Lissotriton palmipes). Two of them, a male and female, died the following week; the other, a male, in which the filament in the tail was just appearing, is living now. On March 15th he changed his skin, and not succeeding in quite getting the old skin off one of his fore feet, the limb inflamed very much, and after a few days came off just above the foot. As the poor creature did not appear to suffer much, but seemed to be enjoying himself, I have since kept it in a glass alone. On visiting the pond, in the end of April, from which I took it, I found many newts in full dress, with filament and web, but the one in solitary confinement has advanced no further, either in filament or web, than he was on March 1st. The injured limb has become apparently thoroughly healed now, and appears to be growing longer. The newt never uses it in swimming, but allows it to hang, or rather stand out, quite motionless. Are there any authentic instances of newts reproducing a limb that may be lost?—R. Bl.
Stutterers in the Frontiers.—In Great Britain, I think, there is an excess over the average amount of stutterers in the North, where our language meets the Gaelic. Where a mixed language is spoken, the majority are unable to speak the one or the other perfectly, and the result is, that they find difficulties in both; whence arises a certain hesitation, the forerunner of stuttering. If this be true, we might, à priori, expect a large number of stutterers and stammerers at the frontiers of countries in which the languages differ; and I believe this to be the case.—Hunt on Stammering.
The European Swallows (Hirundines).—Alluding to the absence of Hirundo rufula from his European list, Mr. Newman says:—"This pretty swallow is a native of Africa, and particularly abundant in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope, from which circumstance it is called in Gmelin's 'Systema Naturæ' Hirundo capensis. It occasionally comes more northward, and has been seen in Egypt in flocks, and accidental stragglers have been observed in Sicily; several have been killed at Palermo, and a few have killed themselves by flying against the lighthouse at Messina. Temminck has observed four or five females in the market of St. Gilles; and the Marquis of Durazzo possesses the skins of a male and female killed in the neighbourhood of Genoa. Giving full credit to all these statements, I still doubt whether I should mention this South African bird were I again to enter on the task of defining the purely European species of hirundines. I may perhaps express my regret that Temminck should have changed the name of this bird from capensis to rufula; the first name is truthful, and ought to have been retained. Another species, the Hirundo Boissonneauti of Temminck, has been twice found in the south of Spain; but I cannot regard this as establishing a claim for it as a European species. I am, therefore, content to abide by my list as already referred to."—Edward Newman, in The Field.
Drying Starfish.—Starfishes may be dried so as to retain their natural colours almost unimpaired by immersing them in alcohol of moderate strength for about a minute, or just long enough to destroy life and produce contraction of the tissues, and afterwards drying them rapidly by artificial heat. The drying is best effected by placing them upon an open cloth stretched tightly upon a frame and supported a few feet above a stove. Care should be taken not to raise the heat too high, as the green shades change to red at a temperature near that of boiling water. By this process I have succeeded in preserving the delicate shades of red, purple, and orange of the species found on the coast of New England, specimens of which are in the Museum of Yale College. The same process is equally applicable to Echini and Crustacea.—A. E. Verrill, in Silliman's Journal.
Fossil Teeth and Scales of Fish are abundant in the thin stratum of black shale which overlies the low main seam of coal at Dudley, Cramlington, and West Cramlington collieries, Northumberland; and jaws, with teeth, and spines in excellent preservation, are far from scarce in the same localities. The average depth of the collieries or pits is 100 fathoms. I shall be glad to exchange the teeth and scales for rare diatomaceæ.—T. P. B.
The more we contemplate the symmetrical structures presented before us, the more do we find to admire: the more we probe into their nature and purpose, the greater our wonder.—Sir John Graham Dalyell.