Naturalist

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 357, 12 March 1903, Page 7

Naturalist

ON THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH of the great enemies of the WZM. ° Terland telegraph line in Central Australia is the common green frog. In order to save the insulators from being broken by the lightning, they are provided with wire 'droppere/ leading round them at a little distance to conduct on to the iron pole in case of need. According to a correspondent, the frogs climb the poles and find the insulators cool and pleasant to their bodies.and fancy that the 'dropper' is put there to furnish them with a back seat. After a nap they yawn and stretch out a leg until it touches the pole—result sudden death to the frog, and as the body continues to conduct the current to earth, we have a paragraph in the papers to the effect that 'in consequence of an interruption to the lines, probably caused by a cyclonic disturbance in the interior, we are unable to present our readers with the usual cables!'

AN ANGORA CAT WHIPS A HAWK, Recently a large chicken hawk swooped down with terrific velocity upon what it mtisfc have thought to be a white chicken in the poultry yard of William H. Paul, near Earlton. It was the mistake of the aerial bird's life, as this particular object of its prey proved to be a pet Angora cat named Colonel. The cat was taken by surprise at first but soon gathered itself together and a furious battle was soon in progress, which resulted in the discomfiture of the attacking party. The conflict was short, sharp and decisive and before Mr. Paul arrived on the scene the bawk flew away, minus a large mouthful of feathers, which the Colonel retained as a trophy, The cat was badly cut by the talons of the hawk. A DOGS' CEMETERY. There is, as many people know, a graveyard for our canine friends in Hyde Park, England, but there is a still more historical dogs' cemetery at Oatlands Park, near Walton. The Duchess of York, £he consort of George lII.' second son, who owned the estate, was particularly fond of animals. There was a large menagerie in her flower garden, filled with eagles, macaws, etc. 5 a little colony of monkeys on the lawn ia front of her boudoir windows, and a herd of kangaroos and ostriches in the paddock, but her ruling passion was for dogs. She had at times dogs of twenty to thirty different breeds in the house. In death those favourites were not forgotten, and around the Spool at Oatlands (now the Oatlands Park Hotel) there still may be seen, we believe, the gravestones and epitaphs of the deceased pets. The Duchess took great interest in the dogs and their families.

PREMIUM FOR SNAKES. In the year 1897 the poisonous snakes of India and the beasts of prey in her jangles killed 25,236 human beings and 84,147 cattle. For many years India has paid premiums for the destruction of snakes and- other animals that, destroy human life. In the year mentioned premiums amounting to 119.498 rupees were paid for the destruction of 19,045 beasts and 105.227 snakes. In spite of the large destruction of these animals the number of persons killed by them does not decrease. The victims of snakes and and wild beasts in 1880 were 21,900, The number of victims in 1897 exceeded the number of 1880 by over 3,000. The Indian Government prints the statistics every year of the number of men and cattle killed and the number of snakes and other animals for whose destruction premiums are paid.

A DUCK STORY, ' Speaking of duck shooting,' sighed an old citizen, ' I don't think there are as many birds as there were ten or fifteen year? ago. Why, sir, the channel used to be black with them !' Everybody sighed to think those goed old days had gone, and the veteran hunter continued'. 'I was out one day and got among the ducks, and how many do you think I counted ?' After an interval, one of the audience ventured to suggest ' Three hundred.' ' Three hundred! Why, sir I .always killed over a thousand every time I went out! No, sir, I counted over sixteen thousand big fat ducks, and then I had counted only those on one side of the boatl' ' How long did it take you V 'I don't know, sir, I had no watch with me. Time is nothing to a man counting ducks. Bye-and-bye I got tired of counting and got ready for the slaughter.' «H9W many did you killf * 'Well, now, I suppose there is a good chance for me to lie about that, and say I killed nine or ten hundred. But lam a man of truth. I didn't kill a single one, and that's where the strange part of my story comes in. When I raised mj gun, the ducks knew what I was up to, and about two hundred of them made a sudden dive, swam under the boat, and upset her! Yes, sir, thej did, and I was thrown into the water. I climbed up on to the bottom of the boat, floated five miles, and was picked up by the Indians. We towed the upset boat to an island — and here another.curious thing happened. Under the boat were two hundred and sixty-four large, fat ducks! They had been caught there when the boat was upset, and all we had to do was to rap them on the head.' ' But why didn't they dive down and get from under the boat ?' asked the amateur duck hunter. ' Well, sir,' said the veracious storyteller, 'I might have asked them why they didn't dive down, but I didn't do so. AH I know is that I counted over sixteen thousand ducks, was upset, captured two hundred and sixty-four, and have affidavits here to prove everything I have stated. Does any man here want to sea the documents?' he asked, taking out his sharp-shooter—-but nobody wanted!

ARTIFICIAL MARBLE. A new process for the manufacture of artificial marble has been patented by S. Shorowitz, of Berlin. The new product is said to be particularly fine and very cheap. Ashbestos, dyeing materials, shellac, and ashes are pounded into a stiff mass, and then subjected to high pressure. The resulting mass is surprisingly firm and tough, not brittle, is very easily worked by means of tools, can be given a fine polish, and cannot be distinguished on a mere ocular inspection trom genuine marble. As it does not br%k easily, it can be used in the shape of very tbin slabs of little weight, and will be very useful for the manufacture of w hstands, wallcoverings, etc. Owing to its being much cheaper and more durable in contact with Water than any other kind of artificial marble, this new material, which can be pressed into moulds and given any shape desired, seems to have a promising future for the manufacture of a very great variety of household goods, and also insulators for eleoro-technical purposes. ' I hope I know my own mind,' he said, in a tiff. ' Well,' she replied,' you surely ought to know that little.' Spifkyns: Well, I Buppose Nature made me a poet. Daisy: Poor man! Bow unkind of her !