THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2454, 27 March 1901, Page 62

THE NATURALIST.

The Hand-print of a Monkey. The many remarkable problems connected with the lines on monkeys' hands arc discussed by Mr R. Lydekker in Knowledge. "A clue to the causes of .the patterns formed in the palm,'.' he says, "seems to be afforded, somewhat strangely, by the -tails of such of the South American monkeys as are endowed with prehensile power in thoss appendages. Confirmatory . evidence being likewise afforded by the prehensile tails of the American cposvums and tree-por-cupines, as well as by those of the Australian phalangers. In all these animals the naked; grasping portion of the tail, which is situated at tlie extremity, is covered with papillary ridges and grooves precisely similar to those on the hands and feet of monkeys, but invariably arranged in simple transverse lines across the tail, so that in the act of grasping they would be parallel to the long axis of the branch around which Ihe tail was coiled. Clearly, then, papillary ridges are primarily connected with the grasping power, and when they are intended solely for that function they arc no arranged as to be parallel to i'he ;o:is <n the object prasped. As regarJ'; the function of the papillary lidges, Dr Hepburn observes that although they are comparatively low, " yet they must cause a certain amount of friction, and thereby prevent slipping, while the naturally moist and clammy condition of the palm and sole of monkeys must be of material assistance to the firmness of the grasp. A man instinctively moistens the palnio 01 hi* hands when he wishes to make his grasp more sceure; ,nd the grasping power of monkeys must 6e considerably increased by the application of numerous papillary ridges, which are capable of intimate adaptation to the fir face of the object gra.-ped."'

Curious Re cowl. — A naturalist .m^imlman at Worksop, inteivieM-ecl by a Daily Mail correspondent, has given "some interesting details of the slaughtered innocents killed on the line between Worksop and Kiveton Park. Birds are killed by clay for the most part, animals, md especially iat*, by night. Rat& hunt for food in droves of hundred?, and it is cmious to note that they are for the mot pail decapitated. Why, he does not know.

Frogs, which are killed by thousands, ai'9 simply squashed. They appear to sit on the line during the summer for coolness, and do not hear the trams coming. A death's he ( ad moth was found on the rail, one wing only having been knocked oft. During the past 12 months 'the casualties included : Three cats, t^ o foxes, two terriers, a foxhound, a collie, an army of rats, several haies, dozens of labbits, a. cow, a sheeprf two sloes, a long-eaied bat, a hedgehog, of frogs, a kestrel hawk, several thrushes, thres redwings, a, fieldfare, a dozen blackbirds, two whinchats, many robins, and whitethroats, a blackcap, two willow warblers, four hedgesparrows, a blue tit. a white wagtail, two pied wagtails, two meadow pippets, a spotted flycatcher, three swallows, a sandmartin, many greenfinches and house-spar-rows, a tree-sparrow, several chaffinches, a starling, a linnet, dozens of yellowhammers, a rook, many skylarks, two swifts, a nightjar, a kingfisher, a pigeon, two pheasants, a red-legged partridge, three partridge*, three corncrakes, three moorhens, a lapwing, a common snipe, and a jack snipe. This slaughter goes on a 1 ! over the "oiuitiy, to ssdy nothing of myriads, of insects killed by the railway engines. About Worms. — A writer in the Rural World contributes ..he following interesting facts in relation to worms: — In the first place earth-worms are found all ever the globe, varying somewhat in size ar.d appearance in different local it ie?. In Capo' Colony, for instance, some worms mea^uie 4ft to sft when fully extended! If yon examine a worm carefully you will n^u-ce that one end is comparatively sharp and; pointbd, and the other wide -_-\A flat. Th© flat end is the tail ; the pointed end is tho head, near which the heart, intestines, etc.. are located. Rub the worm gently with the finger from head to tail and itr will feel soft and smooth, but rub it from tail to head and it \\ ill be found quite rough and covered with bristling spines that catch the finger. The worm is peculiar in that it — and it alone amongst "animals" — lakes its food directly from the earth. If divided in the middle, the piece of the worm bearing the head will form a new tail and soon show very little s.ign of injury ; but if the division be made near the head the body will live and renew the head : and some species, it appears, in which the reproductive power is sufficiently great, reproduce a new head and body from a small portion of the original. While they have no ej-es, worms are, nevertheless, very sensitive. The next one you see near its hole approach > carefully and see how quickly it will escape before you touch it. The Preservation of Birds in America. — The action of the American Government in the preservation of wild birds and the introduction of foreign species into that} country, observes the Field, is more consistent ' than that which prevails in our own. An act of Congress came into operation during the spring of last year which is known as the Lacey Act, and which gives the Department of Agriculture great ■prowers and responsibilities, the object of the act being "to aid in the restoration of such game and other trild oirds in those parts of the United States adapted thereto, where the same have become scarce or extinct, and also to regulate the introduction of American or foreign birds or animals in localities where they have not heretofore existed." One provision of this act may be commended to the consideration of those faddists who imagine that every bird should bs encouraged in unlimited numbers ass being expressly designed for the use of man. The Lacey Act has absolutely prohibited the importation of the English sparrow into localities where it does not exist, but unfortunately it is already widely distributed in the United Slates, and will probably extend over the whole of that Tast continent. The mongoo&e, which other foolish acclimatisers introduced into the West Indian Islands, is also prohibited from being introduced in the States, as is cur familiar fiiend the starling, and the fruit-eating bat, known as the ilying fox, and any other animals that may be regarded as injurious to agriculture, are not only prohibited from being imported, but even from being conveyed from one Stateto another. - The Secretary for Agriculture hopes that this law will afford the United States greater protection against the introduction of injurious animals and birds than is enjoyed by any othe/ country. : Peculiarities of Animals in Swimming — Most animals swim well on their fir=t immersion in the water ; and, whether as a. means of passage or to escape danger, most of them take to the element with the utmost confidence, even on their fiist attempt. Sea lions although they do not spend so long a time in the water as \hc irue seals, move even more gracefully and rapidly when in search of food. The latter are ?o much at home in the water that they will sometimes go fast asleep among the waver,, and i\ill even lie for half an hour or moie at the bottom of the water, without betraying any sign of uneasiness. Camels are exceedingly clumsy in the water. Ivinc; on or." side, kicking out helplessly. Rodents ."ire, perhaps, the most : i)lcresting family of swimmers. All the good shimmers among the rodents are al^o expert divers, and aie able, moreover, to rai«e or depress the bodyin the water at will. When swimming at ease, and unsuspicious of danger, the waterline pns&es across the mouth, the middle of the cheek, and the shoulder, disclosing on the surface rather more tban one-third of the whole body : and, though the root of the tail is seen, the tail itself is generally under the water, excepting when theanimal is ouite stationary. The paws of hares and rabbits in swimming are like an ill-ballasted ship, down by the head. Inke the squirrels, these two animals show great timidity in ihc water.

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