THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 47

THE NATURALIST.

A Bird's Intelligence. l A lady who was one day watching a paif of .redatattg as they worked in a tree vrai •startled by a violent commotion that arose in the shrubbery hard b% Oatblrdfl screamed, wrens scolded, and the robins shouted " Qaick 1 " with all their might, A chipmunk was dragging a Tjaby catbird by the leg from its nest, acd all the birds round about had come to help make a row about it, indlading a Baltimore oriole. The screaming and the swish of wings as the birds darted about made the Bqulrrel abandon It* prey, and then the oommotion subsided as quickly as it had risen. AU the birds but the oriole went about their business elsewhere. 1 The oriole bad not laid a word so far, and, beyond countenancing the hubbub by bit presence, had bad ,no part in it. The squirrel, having dropped the baby catbird, cooked itself upon a limb and began to Obattcr in a defiant way, while the oriole Bat not faraway looking, bat doing nothing else. Bat in_a lew zaomenU the.Eqalrrel left; its seat and ran out on the limb it bad been -sitting oa until it had to use more oare to "keep its hold, and then tha oriole*s opportunity for a terrible assault had ioome. Ftaabicg across the *paoa he ctrook the chipmnnk in one eye with his sharp-poioted beak, and then turnir g iniitantly, struck thq other eye in like manner. -Quivering with p*in, tfae Bquirrel let go the limb and -dropped to thß ground, when it rolled and struggled about apparently in the throes of death. The oriole flew away to its favourite elm, where he sang in the most brilliant fashion. The lady put the squirrel out of its misery, and then «aw that the oriole had destroyed both eyes. A DRiLQOTf-FLY Off THB PAST— M. BrOg--mart, c Franoh geologist, has discovered a number of fossil dragon-flies in the ooal mineßt>f Oommentry, in the Department of Allier, Fianca. The largest of these, which he names Megaoeura monyi, is very like the common Blender dragdn-ny of our ponds, but is 27in across the wings, and large in proportion. The ~head 3s big and armed with >Btrong teetb, and ths inseot appear^ to have fed on small fish as well as other insects and larvce.

About Pjcngdins.— The great penguin oE the Southern Circle, standing with its head as high as a man's waist, hatches Its eggs in a peculiar manner. These are not laid upon the ground and brooded on after the manner of most birds' oggs. The female lays two large eggs. The first she hands over to the male bird, the other she keeps. The egg is held on the uppet surface of the large ftat feet,' and is pushed up under the waistcoat of thick feathers. , It is there held close to the body, .whose warmth gradually vitalises the young bird. So tenacious are the parent birds of this grip that if you knock one of them over it will fall" on its back with its feet stuck stiffly oat, still clutching- the egg to its body.

OaLY Twice Bound.— They were standing before a large elephant and remarking on its great bulk, when the colonel asked, "How far round is that animal's foot, do you think?" "Just half his height, whatever that may be," was the reply of the man to whom the question had been addressed. At first aight it seems icoredible that the answer given was a oorrect oni — that twice round the animal's foot equalled its height ; y«t snob, is the fact, and a little reflection will show that it is not »o wonderful a one as it appears to be. Things are large or small comparaitiralr, and if we could sse the foot of an elephant by itself, it would present a far different appearance as to size from what It gives when overshadowed by t the mountain of flesh it supports.

Faithful Robin.— ln Oeylon the people hate a saying that the robin will flourish only within sound of the human ' voice. In England he freqaently behaves as if this idea' •were an antablished fact in his natural history. The stories told of this particular phase of instinct are oftsn remarkably and there is a well-attosted instance in which a robin formtd such an attachment to two ladies that ha was in the habit of accompanying th«m in their country walka. When they went to reside in another district he took ids dapatture with them, fljing along by the side of the carriage. Nor was his resolve to be baulked by a still severer test. Is <was necessary for bis friends to make a short passage by water, when the bird perched upon the rigging of the boat, and ttras accompanying them to their destination, made bis presence known the next morning by his usual friendly tap At the window.

PoolSoavenoebs. — It must have ocourred to many people to inquire the reason why stagnant pools, such as one sees by the roadside in the -country, do not become utterly corrupt. Microscopic vegetation plays an important part in the pHrification of these waters ; but there are £c*T«ngers who are canßtantly at work— some consuming decaying animal matter and others feeding on the bottom mud, which theypurllyby abstracting from it all organic matter as it passes through their bodies. Two of this class are the larv se of a crane- fly (closely allied to, but much smaller than, the 'well-known daddylonglegs) and the larvre of a bee-like, fly often aeaa hovering over flowers near water. Both these larvra breathe through the tail, which in that of the crane-fly it telescopic. In the other larva the tall ends in a stsarlike process of six rays, covered on each side -mth fine hafes. Wheji the animal floats tnp 'to the surface these pieroa the fihn,*nd -conduct a supply o£ ait to the breathing tabes. Flobh-tne !— Por the Teeth and BremsA few drops of the Hqaid "Tjloriline" sprinkled j on a wet toothbrush produces a pleasant lather I which thoroughly cleanses* the teeth from all parasites Dr impurities, hardens the gums, pre vents tartar, stops decay, gives to. the teeth a peculiar pearly whiteness, and a delightful fragrance to the breath. It removes all unpleasant ,«dour fcrMng from decayed teeth or tobacco smoke. "The Fragrant Floriline," being composed iv part of honey and sweet herbs, is delicious to the taste, and the greatest toilet dis•oovcry of the age. Price 2a 6d of all chemißts ana perfumers, wholeaale depot, 33 F&rring«R road, London.— Advt.