NATURE STUDY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 10 January 1925, Page 16

NATURE STUDY.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. '' ' t (“Hori.”> | [“Hori” will be pleased 10 hear from lovers of nature whenever they have interesting observations to record of habits or peculiarities in the plant or animal kingdoms. Letters should be addressed care of the Star Office.] That Dawson Falls Mountain House is becoming more popular every year is evidenced by the large number of visitors during the last few weeks. During the recent holiday period cars were to be seen bearing number plates from as far as Christchurch and Auckland, and it has been the busiest period that Mr. and Mrs. Murphy and staff have ever experienced. Had the weather been more propitious at Christmas time the tally would have been still greater. The road through the reserve has been severely taxed by the amount of motor traffic, but nevertheless keeps in fairly good condition. The genial host and hostess, Mr and Mrs Murphy, have made themselves very popular with the tourist public, and do their utmost to attend to the wants of visitors to the hostel, notwithstanding that their task at times is an arduous one. The writer had the pleasure of a visit to this popular resort recently, and though the weather was somewhat misty good views cf the country below were obtained at intervals when the mist lifted. The track up through the scrub is showing signs of wear, and a good deal of expenditure is necessary to effect an improvement, but though the going is a 'bit heavy, it is nothing compared to the conditions that prevailed when the writer made his first visit to the mountain many years ago.. Mr Murphy mentioned in conversation that the bird life is fairly plentiful in the reserve, the melodious notes of the bell bird being often heard, and the green parrakeet and kaka are also to lie seen at times. Tuis are very numerous. Trees grow to large dimensions in the reserve. Mr Murphy states that there is a manuka growing not far from the Mountain House which ,is about 3ft 6in through. The writer took a rough measurement of a giant totara near Murphy’s Lake, which measured approximately 30ffc. around the base.

At this time of the year the wellknown ranunculus nivicola is everywhere to be seen in bloom. .Though not nearly as beautiful as the _Mt. Cook variety, ranunculus Lyalli, it is nevertheless very showy. Amongst other flowers to be seen were the green orchid (pterostylis Banltsii). It is a beautiful little' plant, and when one comes upon a bed of these they appear very attractive, as the colour is so uncommon.

It is generally known that the orchid family contains one of the largest number of different species in the plant kingdom. New Zealand is represented by 60 species, and, though the majority do not compare with many of those found in tropical countries, still several are very curious. There is one little fellow which resembles a grasshopper or beetle, called corysanthes , macrantha. The writer once came upon a bank covered with them down the Ngawhini Gorge. He brought some home and grew thqrn under glass for several years. Of the pendulous varieties, Dendrobium Cunnirighamii is the most beautiful, and is to be found on iVitouiit Egmont. It can be grown in a town garden provided a suitable situation is obtainable, which must, be sheltered from winds and in the shade.

In connection with the little green orchid (pterostylis Banksii) referred to previously, the late Mr T. F. Chessman made a "study of the fertilisation of this interesting little plant, and in the “Transactions of the New Zealand Insttiute” thus describes it: —“The upper sepal and petals are connate into a hood, at the back of which the column is placed. The tip of the lip, which is extremely sensitive, hangs out of the entrance to the flower, thus forming a convenient landing place for insects. When touched by an insect, it springs up, carrying 'the insect with it, and thus enclosing it within the flower. The insect is enclosed in the space between the lip and the column. The hood-like flower prevents any escape to the right or left of the lip, and as the lip remains tightly oppressed to the projecting wings of the upper part of the column as long as the insect is present, the only way of escape is by crawling up the "front of the column and passing between the wings. In, doing this it is first smeared with viscid_ matter from the rostellum, which projects at tile back of the passage between the wingf. and then drags away the pollenia, which can hardly fail to adhere to its sticky body. When visiting another flower it must pass over the stigma before escaping, "and can hardly fail to leave some of the pollinia on its viscid surface. .From the above it is *c}ear that the, fertilisation of the flower deoends entirely on the irritability of the lip. With the view of proving this, on "one occasion I removed the lip from twelve flowers when young, so that insect visitors would not be compelled to crawl out of the flower by the passage between the wings of the column. When these flowers commenced to wither they were examined, when it was found that they were not fertilised and that not a single pollen-nmss had been removed from the anther. I have also placed minute insects on the lip. thus causing them to become entrapped, and in several instances I . have seen these escape from the flower; in the manner described above, bearing pollinia on their backs.”

Brown rot is giving Gisborne orchardiste a considerable amount of trouble. The humid conditions which have held good for some weeks past have caused the spores of the brown rot to develop with remarkable rapidity. Nectarines seem to he affected to a greater extent than the other varieties of stone fruits, and in some orchards the trees are .so badly affected that out only has the fruit become completely shrivelled, but the leaves of the trees have also withered and died. Unfortunately nothing has so far been discovered to check the ravages of brown rot, and the onlv thine to he done is to remove and bury or burn all the diseased fruit.

A pair of Canadian geese built nest just below Slade House, Lake Te Anan, recently (says the correspondent of the Southland Times). The nest was a remarkable piece of work on the birds’ part, being a huge mass of sticks and reeds i>ut together in such a manner that, the result was a nest like a raft which was floating. It was attached securely to the reeds. The manager of. the Milford track, who lives at Shi do House, gave orders that the birds were not to be molested, and a few davs ago the ducklings were safeiv hatched. The proud parents tool! them away’ down the lake".

J Recently- the Hon. G. J. Garland ! watched three starlings make a breakfast on loquats in bis orchard, Beaconsiield Street, Grey Lynn Auckland (says a. writer in the Auckland Herald) * ‘They pecked large numbers of the fruit, to discover the flavour that ' suited their tastes best,” Mr. Garhand wiites, “and when they found a ! punch that suited their requirements they cleaned it up in a few minutes. My- figs also are 'suffering from starlings. When ,1 wrote to you last year on this question I was inclined to plfice the blame on blackbirds, .biyt tnere is no doubt now that the thieves were starlings. We gave starlings a warm welcome when they were introduced to this country, as they destroyed many insects, I have no doubt that the farmer and the gardener owe a deep debt of gratitude to these birds, which still serve the purpose for which they were brought; but, like some other immigrants, they have developed fresh habits and tastes and have become an additional burden on the orchardist.”

An electric* “eel” from South America (says the London Time-), over 4ft long and nearly ; 4in; in diameter, has been purchased by tlie London Zoo. The electric eels belong to a, distinct family allied to the cat-ashes. Although they‘have assumed the smooth skip, general appearance, 1 and some of the habits of eels, they can be distinguished from them in several ways. They are strictly-- fresh-water;' not going to sea to breed. The electric eel is, an active fish, moving backwards and forwards by waves of undulation, reversed from time to time along the whole length of the ventral fin.. The smooth skin is deeply pitted by .rows of gland apertures and sense organs, and is mud-coloured above, reddish below. The fish is able to give a severe electrical shock of from 400. volts upwards, apparently at pleasure. When it is handled, or even lightly touched, the batteries are discharged almost at once, and a succession of shocks can be given over a considerable . period without exhausting the fish, although nothing Tike a constant- current- could be supplied.. The apparatus is probablv partly for protection and partly to- kill the prey. The electrical organs have . been studied both anatomically and physiologically by many investigaI tors. They'all consist of a large number of plates,arranged- in- series, and the high voltage, which may be above 450, is'obtained bv the simultaneous electrical excitement of each of the plates. The getnel battery consists of a number of modified muscle plate® arranged alone- the sides of the body. These are rich 1 T * *upp?ied with nerves, and the end plates, or terminations of the nerves in the muscles, are regarded as the active part The fishes themselves are almost insensible to electrical shocks . * * - •

The Argentine ant, well-known pest, has gone seriously into the dairy business in California. Cultivating domestic “animals is supposed to lie a peculiar function of intelligent man; Not so ; the little black apt is no sluggard, and has picked on sap-sucking bugs as its “dairy herd.” 'the ant has an extremely sweet tooth. It prizes honey mast highly, , but, unhappily," it <is ejected summarily and violently from bee hives on ‘ ail occasions when burglary is attempted. The next best sweetmeat is honey due, a saccharine liquid exuded by certain scale insects and lice which infest farm and orchard plants. .Ranchers now view the spectacle of industrious ants carrying their lioney-cow,s up into orange tree«s, seeking new tender foliage which the “herd” will enjoy. The scale insects lack both the enterprise and the® ability to reach extensive new* grazing territory alone, but under the tender care of the ants they wax fat, multiply. and give down much honey-dew. These operations have led hasty observers to conclude that- the ants were eating or sucking orange. leaves. But the-greediness of the ant is its undoing. The orchardist hangs a- dainty morsel of sweet gelatine, or a sponge soaked in .syrup, in the tree. The syrup contains about- one five-hundred-til part of arsenic. Tlhe percentage of poison is cleverly adjusted so that the syrup will not kill the roving worker ant. even if the creature stuffs its crop with the bait. On the arrival of the ant at its home colony, however, both oueen and young partake and die.- The Southern California orchardist or housewife can contract nowadays by the year for ant extermination on a citv lot. acre or ranch. The business is becoming a recognised part of agricultural insect pest control along with direct- campaigns against the suc-king bugs themselves.

•In an interview with, the Pekin eorresponuent or the lViancnecter uuardlan, iVxr. Boy Chapman Andrews gave particulars of the American Museum oi in amoral History expedition, winch he is Jeauing. to Mongolia next year. On their last trip there' last year-, Mr. Andrews and his colleagues discovered nests of dinosaur eggs and many fossils, which showed that the central Asian plateau is-, in' Mr. Andrews’, words, .a veritable palaeontological Garden of Eden. “On the expedition next year, we shall devote the whole of our time to the object of adding to the world’s knowledge iof the, origin of man.” said Mr. Andrews. “In- the past we. have tested the theory! that, the Central Asian plateau is the point of origin of a great deal or the animal and reptile world. Now we shall Work oi. human, evolution. By deduletive reasoning over a period of 25 years' it has been gathered that the Central Asian plateau is man’s birthplace. We intend to try to test that theory. Itlooks as if we are trying to look fora needle in a haystack, but we hope to bring all branches of science to bear on .the problem. Eiven if we .are .unsuccessful in the task we are bound to bring back many interesting things, - and I ea‘n. safely predict from my pastexperience of the country we intend to work in that-our discoveries will be of the utmost interest to, science and possiblv of considerable general interest.” There are 13 scientists in the expedition, representing many sciences. Altogether the staff number® 40. and they will start, their |ong; journey -across the Gobi Desert, in speciallv -designed ears in April next year... A caravan of 200 camels will precede them, starting toward the end of this' vear.