THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2509, 16 April 1902, Page 64

THE NATURALIST.

Tail*. 'I he -UM]tU i 'I.i ll- ' .i- Heated b\ Di Loin- Kolmi-oi, m the Febiu.ny mini li ot P'Mi-on'- M.i<:a/nie, is niteii-e 1 } f.i-i mating Di Robin-oi. has collected i number of e.\tinnt-l\ mtc-i c-sting notes concerning the uh\- .md wheiefoies ol the toils of .inmuils — ' AinoiiLT land .u.iin il- the tail -ci \< - a \anety o\ ptnpo-f", and may be ( ou-idi ted .i- <i kind of jack-of all-tiade-. cMiMjug the ni'inbijs Among oui horseand cattle we iin.l it .I'mo'-t used ,is ,i (U-teiK c ,i^'. i 'list, ti oubleMiniP insect-. Ol i_(iui-e. I am lieic sjji-aUiiig "1 i|s function fiom tlie aiiini.ii- own -tandpoint ; ;he tut that the- tall ot the o\ m.ik,.m<ikes p\-(.<-llent -oup i- meielv <i h.ippy < dine ideuce with uhuh we- l(;i tin pie--ent. h,i\e nuthin^ to do "In nulei to ]ni!nim n- duties , ( s a fly H ippci it I- ]>ie>\icled with muscles w Inch -w ing it tn and fiu almost .uitoinatic.illy Have you e\ ci oljsei\ed the fact tluit. a- -oon a- a whip falls on a heiise's hack, th'.'te is alway- <i twitch ot the tall? This may be explained by tlie fact that, dining the epochs w htu the nerves and nni'-eles wh:di swing tLe tail learned the.r chide-, whip 1 woi c entiiely unknown, while buiiig and '-linking insects t, ere ex ( eedmgly plentiful Thus, ju a sense, the dii\ei's whip ninnies a fl_\ , just as does tlie ;ip])ni<itus of the an_;lci A^ soejn as the sting of the whip is felt, the tail, fietm inherited habit, acts just as if it were duving away a fly. If you watch a group of cattle gia/mg in a field, or standing knee-deep in the watu on a summers day. you find that then tufttd t.nK -wing ctuloiuaticdllv like s.u nxj.nv uendulumb. a.utl

in such a way as to sweep the whole upper surface of the body. This is the case even when no flies appear to be buzzing around. Apparently it is less trouble to a cow to set the tail going and to keep up the swinging motion without any further thought than to make intentional defensive movements 'as occasion arises. "How admirably adapted are these natural fly- whisks for their work ! The long hairs, swiftly sweeping to and fro like tiny whip-lashes, completely protect the animal from its persistent and troublesome foes. In many parts of the world it is actually a life and death matter whether the horses and cattle possess efficient tails for driving away insects. There can be little doubt that, given two heids of cattle, one with tails and one without, in a fly-infected district, the tailless ones would soon go to the wall in the struggle for existence."'

Ants on Horseback. — Not long ago a French explorer, M. Charles Meissen, in. travelling through Siam, observed a species of small grey ant which was new to him. These ants, which weie much engaged in travelling, lived in damp places, and wenfc in troops. To his surprise, he noticed among them from time to time an occaj sinnal ant which was much larger tnan the others and moved at a much swifter pace, and each of these larger ants always carried one of the grey ants on its back. This discovery led him to watch their movements closely. He soon saw that while the main body of grey ants was always o»i foot, they were accompanied by at leas*b one of their own sort mounted on a larger ant. He mounted and detached himself I now and then from the line, rode rapidly to ! the head, came swiftly buck to the rear, and seemed to be the commander of the expedition. The explorer was satisfied from his obseivation that this species of ant emp'oys a large i ant — possibly a drone of the same species, though he had no mean" of proving this — is we employ horses to ride upon, though s Car rely more than one ant in each colony seems to be provided with a mount. Peacock and fiuineafowl Hybrids — The subject of hybiidity in veitebrate animals is not well understood, nor has it been very scientifically stnditd. The late Mr Romanes, m an article on hybridism, stated that on the subject of animal hybrids there was practically no liteiature save scattered recoids of fertile crosses which had no beanng on scientific or useful investigation ; but it is obvious that the accumulation of facts is the foundation of all scientific knowledge, which is greatly aided by the exposure of eivors. The popular views legarding the production of hybrids- me erroneous in the extreme. E\en Darwin, in default of accurate information, accepted the existence of the hare-rabbit, which has never yet been demonstrated or obtained by any accurate experiments. Xo scientist ever procured a hybrid between the dog and the fox ; nevertheless the existence of such an animal is firmly believed in by the majority of breeders. In the case of avian hybrids we are more fortunate, as the plumage affords valuable information regai cling the parentage. A bird now in the ]sos*es<ion of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, -which was brpd btiw-en a white pp<n.<uk aid a guinea lion, is « striking example The head and neck are incontrovei tible evidence of the peacock sire, whose white plumage is shown in the primaries of the wings. The lest of the plumage is that of the female parent, the guincalfowl. The bud vas obtained front l-'ianr c by Mi- Ca«la!ifj, and kept by him until it had moulted in the' usual season befoie it was added tn -Mr Rothschild's museum. That two species so widely separated in size and structure should hybridise is particularly interesting, more especially hs they aie also far lemoved in geographical disti lbution — the peafowl being; inhabitants of Ka-tein Asia and guinealowl oi Afiicv.