Nature.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2070, 20 May 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Nature.

A Cat Mesmerises a Mouse —One of our wed-known citizens is (lie possessor of a cat, which is a great pet in the family. Indeed, it is doubtful if the family could keep house without that cat. A few evenings ago the cat came into the house bringing a mouse, no uncommon thing for the cat to do, as it is a good mouuer. But the cat played with the mouse for an hour and a half, then sot it up by the wall and crept into bed and went to sleep. The mouse, though still alive and apparently uninjured, remained just where the cat put it for so long that the family became interested in the mouse,and thegentleman proceeded to stir it up. The little animal started to run, went a short distance, and returned to the very spot where the cat had left it. Then the gentleman tried to entice the mouse away with a bit of cheese. This succeeded only so far that the mouse would leave its position, get the cheese and return. This was tried again and again, and always with the same result—the mouse returned to its former position, as if under orders which it dared not disobey. Later the cat awoke and also the mouse. Now the family are very much interested in the question ; “ What did the cat do to the mouse to make it so anxious to remain just where the cat left it until the former could look after it? Was it animal magnetism, or was there some subtle means of communication between them, and the cat told the mouse to remain there, and the mouse did as it was told, except when interfered with by more intelligent humanity?”

Longevity of Turtles. -In 1824 a Mr. J. W. Warrington found a small Textudo Carolina Linn., on the plastron of which he engraved, with his penknife, ll J.W., 1821,” and set it free near Albion, 111, .Some time during 1865 Mr, W. Hudson found it in the same vicinity where it had been set free forty one years before. He engraved the letter “W” on the carapace and again set it free. Nothing more was seen of it until August, 1885, when it was found-by Mr. Herbert Hudson! about one-halt a mile from the spot where it had been set free twenty years before. Ho put it into his cellar, where it remained until this (1886) summer, when it was by accident poisoned by ” Bough on Bats,” and died from the effect. The engravings are all apparently as clear as when first made. The tortoise was below the medium size, and appears to have grown very little since the first engraving was dune, sixty-two years ago. The shell is darker and smoother than usual. On the hack is a scar, which appears to be the remains of an extensive fracture. Mr. H, Hodson has throe other tortoises that were engraved twenty-one, seventeen, and sixteen years since respectively. Inillustration of the slow growth of these reptiles, I will mention that more than a year since, he broke open an egg in which was found a young tortoise. This he has since kept in confinement, It has made no perceptible progress in size during the time. Several years since, I kept a young Pneudnngs tl< - gam Wied, in confinement for more than two years. It made no perceptible increase in size, yet it partook quite freely of food.

Feathered Travellers— There arc rules o£ the roatl which the feathered tribes obey ; some travel by night, some by day, and the latter, as a rule, are said to seek safety in their numbers and the rapidity of their flight. Preserving strict order during their journevj some of the migrants, says a quarterly contemporary, maintain a wedge-shaped disposition of their masses, with a leader in front ns geese, ducks and cranes. Rooks and jackdaws have a curious habit of varying the height at which they fly. They generally press forward on their journey at a great elevation, till suddenly some among the number drop down several hundred feet with closed wings, when others follow suit, till presently the whole company has changed its level, and is pressing on at only a hnudred feet from the ground. The flocks of migrating birds arc usually irregular in shape, with open spaces between several hatches. Swallows catch insects as they go, and a pilot bird usually .precedes them. Among all the migrants the flight of storks, if we may pass for a moment beyond our own boundaries, affords beautiful spectacle, owing to their extraordinary power of wing and to the gambols and aerial ballets which they practice while still advancing rapidly with each successive sweep of their strong wings. All birds of prey in largo bands display the same sportive disposition on the wing.

Crows can Count Four—l >eroy, who, though be expresses the opinion that “ the nature of the,.smil of animals is unimportant,” was an excellent observer, mentions a case in which a man was anxious to shoot a crow. “ To deceive tbissnspicious bird, the plan was hit upon of sending two men to the watchhouse, one of whom passed on, while the other remained: but the crow eoimUd and kept her distance. The next,day three went and again she perceived that onlv two retired. In fine, it was found necessary to send five or six men to the watch-house to put her out of her calculation. The crow, thinking that this number of men had passed bv. lost no time in returning.” From this lie inferred that crows could count, up to four, hiddenberg mentions a nightingale which was said to count up to three. Every day he gave it three mealworms, one at, a time ; when''it had finished one it returned for another, hut after the third it knew that the feast was over.

Sewage Question Settled.—Shrewsbmy, England, has solved the sewage problem to perfection. As the sewage enters the works, day, charcoal, and blood are added as the deodorizers ; and, aft-r thorough mixing, a solution of sulphate of alumina is added by which (he dissolved and suspended impurities are quickly precipitated in one or tho other settling tanks, from the fourth of which the water runs without further treatment into the river. The sewage as it enters the works contains about thirty-seven per cent, of suspended organic and anorganic matter, but in the diluent water there are found onlv the merest traces of either. By experiment, it has been found that in tin's water fish will live for months. The deposit is then removed from tho tank, and by means of pressure and artificial beat is deprived of its moisture till it attains the consistency and appearance of dry earth, in which condition it meets a ready sale as “ guano."