OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

Otago Witness, Issue 2924, 30 March 1910, Page 13

OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS COLUMN

FOR SENIORS AND JUNIORS. IConducted by Magisteb, to whom all communications must be addressed.) FROGS AND TADPOLES AT WOODHAUGH. Dunedin, February 28. Dear "Magister,"—Now is the time to tobserve the habits and metamorphosis of tadpoles. The other morning, a bright, sunny day, I was watching them in the pond in the Duke street reserve, where they are in thousands. Look anywhere in the pond and the water literally swarms with them. They can easily be seen from the path which runs round the pond, bub one cannot get close to them on account of the netting. They are of all sizes; some no bigger than a pea, while' the largest are * the 6ize of a broad bean if it were rounded instead of flat. In the majority of the larger ones the hind legs are well developed, and are carried stretching put behind as the animal swims. But one or two —and these not the biggest tadpoles—had already got the forelegs as well, and were in tne stag© known es tailed frog. All the animals were swimming close to the and I noted a few that put their no-sea jp into the air; but as a rule they seemed to keep about an inch or so below the surface. The •water-weed; had thrush ud its curious nifid flower stalk, with the sweet-smelling white flowers on the inner faces of the fork — (what, is its name?);, the flat oval leaves formed shelters from the sun under which the tadpoles seemed to' hide, but the majority were swimmhrjf aimlessly about. •I was standing close to a toi grass, and the plume of flowers lump: Over the pond. When the wind blew it rather suddenly aside, those tadpoles that were in the |>ath of its. shadow were evidently much disturbed by the sudden movement, for they quickly swam away downwards, diving downwards out of the reach of this terrible thing. The younger ones and those nearer the . surface were more strongly affected than the larger or more d'eeplylyins* ones. 't was a most pleasant and ; peaceful Bpoi;; one would rot have imagined that it was close to a •J: -y town, for there was not a human soul beside myself. Over the water flew the larger kind of dragon' fly, -while darting J amongst (lie 'tadpoles were little water beetles. And while I stood there watching I heard a rustle in the toi . bush, and, looking down, I saw two bright little black in the head of a little long, brown body. No sooner did the weasel see me than it hurriedly plunged into the toi thicket and disappeared. If all these thousands of tadpoles reach maturity, Dunedin will ba overrun with frogs, and the inhabitants of Woodhaugh will be deafened by their croaking.—-Yours, etc.. Naturalist.

"The above was unfortunately crowded ous last week, but I suppose --that the changes from tadpoledom to frogdom are etill going on. The sub-editor has kindly handed to me the following ho noticed in the Timaru Post:—" And the frogs came up and covered the- land, of Egypt. An Otaio resident likens the numberless presence of frogs in that and St. Andrews districts just "now to the plague of EgyDt, •but he does not fear the consequences. Nevertheless, he is of opinion that millions -\d- ii- J >2rs must have come to life in the ponds surrounding Otaio this season. The .place is literally alive with them, and at early morn and in the evening the roads and roadsides are ' strewn with the little green fellows, who leap quickly" aside as anyone or anything approaches. A child a _ few days ago gathered 26 in a few minutes. One authority on the subject states that the frogs are migrating-to the high country, and that this heralds a flood in probably a few weeks' time.] THE BOY SCOUTS. I wish. "Tussock" had not notified that ihis letter was not for publication., for he tells me in his inimitable manner that I was a little too severe on Major 'Oossgrove. lie suggests that I use two rapiers and not the bludgeon, and adds emphasis to his remarks by ri.ra.wing these instruments on a liberal scale. Then he draws a man —or boy—with Boy Scout hat on, * peering through -a tussock —is it "Tussock" himself ?—loo king straight at me as if saying "I've my eye on you!" Finally, t he has a large Scotch thistle, under-which' is the legend " Nemo me impune lacessit." Does ihe mean that no one sits on me without being hurt, or on himself? Me, I amagine—by the murderous bludgeon. " Tussock," as an old campaigner, refers to some of Donald Macdonald's notes reproduced in these columns, and says they do not always suit us—using gum leave.?, for instance, for beds. That may be, but why not have sont along a note saying where my notes were wrong, and what could be substituted.? I want all ijood notes possible. Then he says, "You know your instructions about putties were not good." I didn't, know anything of the sort, for I thought that Donald Macdonald, who had weatnered the siege at Ladysmith, and who was a war correspondent, was a good enough authority. "Tussock" adds, "The average man, in my experience, hates wearing them, just because he will not take the trouble to put them on right. There are three ways of putting them on (that I know, there may be more), but the best " tip " I have ever been given, is to mark each puttie "L" and "R" for left and right, and always wear them the one way. They will fall * in place then easih- and comfortably." The last part is, T think, a very good suggestion. " Tussock," too, is under a misapprehension about what I know of the Girl Scout movement in New Zealand. Miss Mac George is well known to me, and I know she had the movement up operation here. I published the account of what was being done in New South Wales because it stated in definite terms what the rules and regulations were, and I had not seen anything so cleai-lv put regarding our New Zealand organisations. In any case, supposing I tjad, we are all the better for knowing what is being done elsewhere. I wish that *' Tussock" had not barred publication of his letter, for its b.reeziriess, emphassed by drawings, would have made it entertaining. You see, he and I are churns, so we shan't fight—besides, he's tod big I in " The Scout " I see that there is a heading "The Scout's Diary," and for last Ootober the following appears: — October is the month of nuts. Wild fruits abound in the hedges—-hipa, haws, sloes, blackberries, and many berries not at all good to eat, like those of guel- i

dor, bryony, nightshade, holly, privet, and mountain ash. . .

Nuts and aoorna are the food of many creatures this month —mice and squirrels, pheasants, rooks, wood-pigeons, and jays. Many swallows have gono to Africa, following the swifts; those that have stayed late now depart. But some of the martins still tend their young in nests under the eaves of houses. If many birds go, many also come to spend the winter with us; fieldfares and redwings now come in from Scandinavia, and many skylarks come from the Continent, with woodcock, snipe, duck, geese, and the tiny golden-crested wren. This month you will notice the sparrow Parliaments in the trees—chattering hosts of excited birds, making a tremendous noise. , . Many other birds begin to pack into flocks for the winter, like finches, peewits, starlings, and pigeons. Robins sing their autumn songs. Very few sorts of wild flowers remain, though you may' find some knapweeds, harebells, and thymes and mints. The leaves turn colour, but they will not be falling yet in the open country.

Winter sleet begins to overcome many creatures. Snails creep away into the ivy leaves, and the tortoiseshell butterfly retires to a dark corner.

Can our Scouts, be persuaded to carry out a similar idea? October corresponds to April. And this reminds me of a story toLd me by a New Zealand inspector. Say the boy s name is Tommy and the school in Timbuctoo, and remember these are the only fictitious statements in the. story. Tommy s Nature notes. were the delight of his teacher, and were always on exhibition when visitors arrived. They weTe not very grammatically expressed, but showed a wealth of observation for a lad of Tommys a"e. The inspector came,- and Tommy's book was trotted out. It was Tuesday, and the entry had something like this: Monday—Seen a cuckoo robbing a wren, etc. But something possessed the inspector to turn over tiie following pago! and the next!! and the next! 1! The observational notes, with a large amount of circumstantial detail, had been entered up a week in advance 1 A fact. That boy will become a politician. NOTES ON CORRESPONDENCE. I beg " Ornithologist's" pardon. I had the pleasure of hearing Dr Fulton's illustrated lecture on the shining cuckoo, and hope to have it in permanent form. I am wondering if Dr Fulton will have a spare copy that he can let me, have to ciroulate among my readers. I must ask him. Once before a paper of his circulated among a few interested in bird life. The white gentian flower sent me, Mr Thomson says, is Gentiana bellidifolia. It flowers froml January to March, says Cheeseman's " Manual of New Zealand Flora," and flowers from 1500 ft to 5500 ft above sea level. I'll give a fuller note

soon. The plant with -the stalk of beautiful reddish (flowers is Gunnera flavida. The fruit is a small- drupe, and the genus is named after a Swedish bishop and botanist. This also I'll write a note upon and get in as soon as I can. Like the previous plant, it has an interesting history. "Beta" is a new correspondent, and welcomed I .haven't seen the fungus yet. Perhaps it became " very high "■ in transit, and was unceremoniously shot out. The note on s'ocd lice is interesting. _ I hay© heard of rats and mice acting similarly in moving dainties. v The children's Encyclopedia I have heard spoken well of, but I have not examined it.

li Tussock," as will be seen elsewhere, thinks I was severe on Major Cossgrove, but another correspondent writes: " I consider your remarks m-est justifiable, and think the major might benefit by reading ' The Art of Thinking.' " I am sorry I have not been able to continue my notes on "Climate"—l have three short articles r written; but I'll -take the subject up again. The records published to-day show that Ranfurly isn't long without frosts, for frost' ',vas an tijn ground on five nights in February, and the temperature was down to 30 twice. Notice*, too. the pretty heavy downfall on February 26.

." Green Tui's" specimens and letters were' misplaced. Will she duplicate the specimens;-' I owo an apology to my Tap'a*?t?i correspondent of a. fortnight ago. The worm, he sent was not a I'hreoryetes menkearnes (order. OHgeoiueta!, ;i groop of woPins sparsely bristled, but a thread wornl ■ belonging to the order Of it the "Royal Natural History" says: "The family of hah'-wortr.^'Gordiidce owe their Knglish- native to ' the resemblance that their loag. b'.vsk, slender, flexible body bears to a hair from .a horse's mans or tail, and their scientific ?.am#, Go I .'- diua, to the peculiar habit the animals have of entangling and entwining themselves in a way that may be com cared to a Gordian knot. . . . Although living a free life in the adult period, these worms spend the ■ greater pert of their lives up to the last period in certain s fi!* sects. The young ■ hair-worms, as they issue from the egg, are .scarcely more than one twenty-fifth of an inch in length, and most curiously shaped; the body being cylindrical, and consisting of a thick forepart and a thinner tail-like appendage. Out of the front end of the body a sort of head can be thrust, which is armed with two cirolea of small hooks, and tipped with a horny proboscis. With these instruments the creatures, in the first place, bore their way throne;]! Uio eggshell, and. having made their escape, lie quietly at the bottom of the water- without appearing to wander in search of a host. Insects, however, in the adult and larval stages, abound in most fresh waters, and sooner or later the young worms eocene across them. They then seek out, a .soft spot, bore a hole' by their apparatus of hooks, and by a series of contractions and expansions of the bedv force an entrance between the muscle-fibres of the limb, whence they spread : nto the body-cavity of their host. [An illustration shows two that had effected an entrance into tbo foot of the larva of a may-fly.] They also infest, in this way water-bug 3 and. gnats. All the3e water-insects, however, are. liable to be devoured,- by h-esh-water fish, and by'this moans the young hairworms are set free in the intestines of the fish, where they, undergo their metamorphosis, and after five or six months pass into the water in their mature form." The query arises, Can these lary® make the human being their host? If they oan, then the water of Whisky Gully will want to be fortified with uequebaugh

or be rendered innocuous in some other way. I have given fairly full details to atone for my error. The red cod parasite—from Molyneux Bay, was it?—is called Lironeca nova zealandise. The one sent is a male. The female is very much larger than the male, and has its legs modified into claws the more effectively to hold on to the skin of the cod. In this case the female is decidedly the better half—at anyrate judging by the size, for she is several times larger. The male, besides being much smaller, has not its legs modified as in the female. The Museum specimen ehovvs clearly the hook-like form of the legs—a score of them, more or less—in the female, and the comparatively insignificant male clinging to his consort. A common name for this parasite would be fish-louse—it is about two inches long, though,—and it is allied to the "slater." Mr G. M. Thomson, F.LS.._ M.P., gave me an interesting explanation of how these became known as Lironeca. One of the early workers among crustaceans was a scientist, a Mr Leach, who had a 'wife called Caroline, and when he was stuck for names for new genera he_ rang the changes on the letters of his wife's name, so we have Cirolane, Lironeca, Nerolica, Rooinela, and nerhaps others perpetuating her name. Many a wife would have objected, I am sure, to have her name associated with such objectionable live stock. CORRESPONDENCE. Dear "Magister,?'—lt is some time since I worried you with a letter, so here goes. In one of your columns a correspondent took me to task for being asleep, or !ior not having been much in the bush, etc., as otherwise I could not have tailed .to have heard the bell-like notes of the tui I wrote to you about. I lived really in the bush for the first 20 years of my life,' and as a boy was known to be_ very observant. and an extra good ti'ee climber (though I say it myself). The tuis in some localities do not always utter the bell' notes, and other residents at the Taieri confirmed what I said, and mentioned that the bell notes were common elsewhere, particularly at Lake Wakatipu. J made no wide statement as to the prevalence or otherwise of the notes, only that in the particular pices of bush, about 80 acres.'where I had spent many hours, the. birds were giving utterance to notes which I had not heard before, and that other people Jiving there agreed with me as to its being a fact, In. your correspondence notes you say of tiie shining cuckoo thai it is a bird about which very little is known. Surely this is a mistake, as a iong paper was. read 'at the and a host of interesting information was presented for the banefit of hearers. See Trans New Zealand Institute, where I presume ther paper will in due course appear. How long any bird is hard to determine unless one has had it in captivity. I should think mosi small birds live anywhere. between five and 10 years. Parrots and cockatoos have been known to live for over 20 years. The little brown oirds seen by "Mahara" were most likely brewn creepers (Finschia nova zealandise). which have habits and call much as described. It was very hard hick that both eggs of the cuckoo turned out duffers. Never nind, look.out' Hext year. And here let me give your readers a piece of valuable information. A gentleman from one of our suburbs wrote and told me he had of the long-tailed eu-skoo and would bring them into me He did not give me permission to publish his name, so in the meantime I. withhold it. ; He arrived in due course with a nice little collection of eggs in a box. I immediately picked out the two cuckco eggs, which were identical with the one in the Museum, I was astonished to find he had had these eggs for nearly 10 years, and had also had others which he had given away. The eggs were found in nests of thrush, hedge sparrow, and green, linnet. This is splendid news, and jest year I am going to hunt in every imported bird's nest I can find, and I shall be surprised if I do not very soon have some cuckoo information for you. J. M'K. Miller's, cuckoo might not be the =u me bird which visited him before. It is, lib -more wonderful to find a particular tree in Otago than it is to find the islands of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean. Obnithologist.

Macetown, Dear - "Magister,"—Repeatedly have I almost made a resolution to take upon myself "the honour of swelling your band of " scientists," or perhaps. I should say Nature students. May I say that I look upon "Magister," "Alpha," and " E. F." hs special Nature" friends, and, being aware what really good sorts Nature students are, i feel this friendship is (perhaps unconsciously) reciprocated. As for " Mag'ister," from a young schoolmaster's view—well, I find him almost indispensable ' Under separate cover I am forwarding vvfat I take to be a fungus. It was brought to me by one of the residents of this place, who desires' to have it identified. It was found in a locality 3000 ft (app.) above sea level, and in a damp situation. I should certainly not prescribe it to be used- as "smelling salts!" Concerning the books on astronomy which you recommended last week, may I say that I found Peck's " Southern Constellations" most helpful, and, with you, I warmly recommend it. Next to Peck's I have no hesitation in mentioning the "Children's Encyclopaedia." It is really excellent. I certainly advise all young teachers to get it. Such a store of knowledge and ideas, embracing literature, art, science, poetry, etc. ! Oh, " Magister" ! have you ever watched tho wood lice carrying chips, etc. ? On one occasion have I been fortunate enough to see them: One night, after having hunted the moths with my lamp, and capturing nothing of real value, I turned my lamp on the ground, and, with a fellow-bughunter, we examined spiders, sings, caterpillars, wood lice, and "creejjiug things innumerable." After watching the wood lice for a few moments we were astonished to see one on its back, warmly embracing a small chip, and being pulled along, sledge fashion, by two of its mates. I They were quite entertaining. Is there not another insect that adopts the same method of transmission? Thanking you for the information and nost of idea 3 that I have received from you,—l am, yours faithfully, Beta. Port Molyneux. Dear "Magister,"—The enclosed plant I found among some grass that was sown

" last season. The plant is strange here. Perhaps you will kindly give me some information as to name, etc., if. plant is known to you. Another yellow weed I do not know has become most plentiful in this part of the country. The plant is somewhat after the appearance of enclosed, only that it has _ single etem> and its flowers are like tiny antirrhinums. It seems sad to see so many of the old familiar native plants and birds giving place to the imported rubbish. The blackbird's song is beautiful, but both he and the thrush are such notorious thieves that one listens with a feeling of resentment, and although Scottish to the core, I sincerely wish the blackbirds still whistled in yon thorny den (in Scotland). The blackbird and green tiuis usually come in autumn, and sing most beautifully among our trees. But as yet there is no song but the chirping of sparrows. The linnets are devouring some paddocks of uncut oats. Thanking you in anticipation of reply,—l am, yours truly, Gkeen Tin. , Croydon*, February 28. I Dear "Magister,"—l enclose the weather records for the month. —Yours truly, Jessie Hanson. Rainfall, 2.15 in on seven days. Highest rainfall, I.sin on 25th; average maximum temperature, 67.28 deg; maximum temperature. 82deg on 23rd; average minimum, 45.78 deg; minimum temnerature. 42deg on 7th, Bth, 15th, 25th. Winds, west to northwest; strong easterly gale on 13th. Gladbrcok, March 1. , Dear " Magister,"—The rainfall for . February was 156 points, and rain fell on five days. The maximum rainfall was 109 points on the 27th. The maximum ternpefature. was S4dc.g on the 18th, and the ; minimum temperature was 35deg ,on the 17th. The average maximum temperature was 82.25, and the average minimum temperature was 45.5. I read your returns, but absence from home prevented me , from sending in my returns sooner. lam sorry if it has inconvenienced you.-—Yours truly, Alex. D. M'Kinnon. Ranf urly, March 2. Dear " Magister,"—The following are the meteorological records for the .nonth of February:— Maximum temperature in screen, 87deg on the 6th; minimum temperature in screen, 36deg on the 16th and 17th; minimum temperature on ground. 30deg on the Bth and 16th; maximum temperature (average), 75.75 deg; average minimum temperature in screen, 46.28 deg; average, minimum temperature on ground, 39.96 deg. Rainfall, 1.85 in on three days. Maximum, 1.64 in on the 26th. Total rainfall'since January, 4.37 in on 11 days. Frosts occurred ; on five niahts on the ground. Prevailing wind. S.W.—-Yours truly, A. W. ROBEKTS. Wairoa School, Hawke's Bay,. March 1. Dear '"' Magister,"—-The following were ■ the rainfall records taken at the Wairoa School during the month of Februarv: — Februarv 1, .44in; 15th, .62in; 16th. .72in; 18th, .Oiin: 19th, .Olin; 24th. .07in; 25th, 48in ; 26th, .27in: 27th, 1.68 i 4.30 in. Corresponding records for former years 1908. 2.87; February. 1909,5.55 in. The total rainfall for this year up to the -28th of February has been 8.62 in. | John Bowie, 8.A.. Head Master.