SCIENCE NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 4824, 29 November 1902, Page 2 (Supplement)

SCIENCE NOTES

TUB BUTCHER-BIRD'S ■‘LARDER." The butcher-bird docs not, as far as I can make mu, begin 10 fill Ins “laruei immcauueiy alter arrival, although cociicmiiui;., winch must, bo excellent subjects irvai hi„ poiul ot view, lor impalement upon thorns. me numerous. It this i» lao case, may u no, snow that he makes the ''larUer” li.r a uenmiu purpose winch Ims no mice oarly in the season?. But when ms mate is silling upon eggs or covering luoumrh,s young uucr on. ifio ■■Jordei ' may be vei v usenil. Snell prey as ifio in:id.or*bird captures is not to ho lound abroad mail n outliers ; unci since the male hiUclun-bird takes no part in the task of incubation, tho female would often find it; diiliculr, to get a dinner dur- . my tiio short lane that she cun he absent irom tile nest. It is possible, therefore, that the hnlcher-bird’s “curious and cruel habit,” as it is usually described, of impaling various creatures upon hedge thorns is his way ot supporting his wife during her period of seclusion. Uf many species tiio female is fed by tho male on tiie neat; but tho butcher-bird's prey cniisisl.s often of creatures which are too large to he eaten at a moutlilul, requiring indeed, the use of'claws as well as beak to pull them to pieces of a negotiable size. Even if the nialo could always drag these carcases to the nost. it is obvious that Bio female could not cat them there; so tho “larder” must nave been bit upon as a. happy device to got over the difficulty, tho female flitting thither to help herself whenever shu is hungry. And the reason why this “curious and cruel habit” is peculiar to this bird in England may ho due to tho fact that of other birds which take prey that they cannot swallow at a mouthful' tho male and female are usually coloured more or less alike, so that the male can take Ins share in incubation. That tho male butcher-bird cannot do this is evident from his conspicuous colouring, which would endanger the nest; whilst tho female is almost as dowdy ns a hen sparrow. As a rule, female birds can only indulge in fine, feathers when they nest in holes; and wherever yen see a dandified cock-bird that Ims a dowdy wife, yon may know him for ono who shirks his shave of household labour—and perhaps, if tho truth wore told, is well on the road lo polygamy.—E.K.R.. in "Country Life." A MINIATURE SEA SERPENT. Considerable excitement has been caused in the vicinity of New York over the rumour that a live “sea serpent" had been captured and placed on exhibition in the Aquarium. * Tho crowds which thronged the Battery with the expectation of seeing a hideous, greefi-eyed monster of tho dime-novel type have invariably returned disappointed and disgusted; reports have belittled the importance of the specimen, and given the general impression that the whole story is a fraud. This is unfortunate, for the creature is, indeed, a very rare specimen, never before having been seen in captivity. It is really a gigantic eel, measuring Cft in length, and with a serpeut-liko head, which was recently caught on the Bermuda coast. THE PROPHET OF CHILLON. Trouble is to he expected in Europe. The “prophet” of Chillon. whoso predictions, both meteorological and otherwise, are held in great esteem and aivo by tho Swiss, has prophesied for August 13th a great seismic disturbance; throughout Central and Southern Europe, whioli pull con. vulse Switzerland, divert the source of the Rhone, and render the Lake of Geneva a dry reservoir. TURN ABOUT. Some lime,ago rats from a ship that went down off Sable Island, near Novia Scotia, succeeded in reaching the shore, and soon .multiplied to such an extent as to become dangerous to Hie settlors. When-they had well nigh destroyed tho food supplies'on tho island,, the settlers imported some energetic cats, who kept tho pests in check .until a passing ship left a pair of foxes bn the island. That was fatal to both rats and cats. Soon foxes overran the island in every direc-' tion. They killed not only all the rats but tho cats as well, and at the present time the Sable Island Government is considering the advisability of an active crusade against them in their turn. ATTRACTIVE FUNGI. The Rev. A. S. Wilson contributes to the v August.'‘Knowledge" an article on Vegetable Mimicry, in which he says;—“Odd resemblances to various ohj ects, which can only bo regarded as accidental coincidences are presented by, a number of fungi. ■ There is the Jow’s-ear fungus, which grows on stumps of tho elder, and is so named from its unmistakable likeness to a human ear. The G castors are curiously like starfish; Asoroo has an extraordinary resemblance both in form and colour to a sea-anemone; equally remarkable is the likeness to a bird's nest seen in species of Crucihulum, Cyathus, and Nidularia. Though most of these are too small 1 0 impose on one the resemblance is singularly exact, and a large specimen might also pass for the nest of some small bird, the eggs being admirably represented by tho little oval fruits of the fungus. Even in such cases we must not too rashly conclude that tho resemblance confers ho advantage. The existence of attractive characters in so many fungi points to the conclusion that tho same principles are in operation among them as among flowering plants. Numerous facts indicate a tendency in fungi to assume a guise which helps either to protect tho plant or to promote, the fertilisation, germination, ox. dispersion of its spores. If, as some mycologists believe, spores benefit through being swallowed by animals, it is easy to understand how a fungus might profit by being mistaken even for a bird’s nest containing eggs." ANOTHER UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE. A’ suggestion for a universal language appears in “Concordia/' If 5000 ■words are required for the language (says the writer) then you have the requisite supply in tho numbers Ito 5000'inclusive. All that you have to do is to apply given groups of figures to given conceptions. .Thus, "bread" will be written by Englishmen. . Frenchmen, and Germans thus—*7s." Anyone who wishes to order bread and meat from tho stores writes;—"43l—7s— which means "Send bread and meat." The future tense is expressed by slanting the 431 to tho right, and the past by sloping (heso figures to the left. There the lesson ends. Tho wordj "sandwich/' presumably, would bo written thus:—“7s— providing, of course, that one was not particular about having mustard.