“I got up the mountain edge, and from the top saw the world stretcht out, cornlands and forest, the river winding among meadow-flats, and right off, like a hem of the sky, the moving sea.”— Maurice Hewlett : Pan and the Young Shepherd . Travelling from Scotland by the London and North-Western Railway, as the train roars down the long incline which leads from Shap to the coastal plain of Lancashire, the eye catches, on the left-hand side, a strange grey hill of bare rock rising abruptly, the last outpost of the mountains. It is so different in appearance from the Westmorland fells which have just been traversed, that one looks at it with curiosity, and desires an opportunity of a nearer acquaintance. During the preceding half-hour we have been passing through country of the type that is familiar in the Lake District and in Wales—picturesque ridgy hills with rocky...
Caricatures are in existence which represent us clothed in Turkish fashion, sitting cross-legged on cushions, and surrounded by cats, who are fearlessly climbing over our shoulders and even upon our head. Caricature is nothing more than the exaggeration of truth; and truth compels us to own that for animals in general, and for cats in particular, we have, all our lives long, had the tenderness of a Brahmin or of an old maid. The illustrious Byron carried a menagerie of pets about with him even when on his travels, and raised a tomb at Newstead Abbey to his faithful Newfoundland, “Boatswain,” which bears an epitaph of the poet’s own composition. But although we thus share his tastes, we must not be accused of plagiarism; for in our case the tendency manifested itself even before we had begun to learn the alphabet. We are told that a clever man is about...
The elephant is the largest living land animal; and, though numerous forms existed in early geological times, it is represented to-day by two species only,—the African elephant, Elephas Africanus , and the Asiatic elephant, Elephas Indicus . The geographical range of the former originally included nearly all Africa, but now the animals are more closely confined to the central interior regions. The Asiatic elephant is found in the forests of India, Ceylon, Burmah, Siam, Cochin China, Sumatra, and the Malay peninsula; and, while the introduction of railroads into these countries in ensuing years will perhaps result in its extinction, at present its numbers are not growing less. The African elephant differs from its Asiatic cousin in several particulars. The apparent distinguishing features are the tusks that attain a much greater development and occur in both sexes, while in the Asiatic species the males alone possess them. The African elephant is...
Sorex cinereus ohionensis Bole and Moulthrop.—In their description of this subspecies from Ohio, Bole and Moulthrop (1942:89-95) made no mention of specimens in the United States Biological Surveys Collection from Ellsworth and Milford Center, Ohio, which stand in the literature (see Jackson, 1928:49) as Sorex cinereus cinereus . These two localities lie south of the geographic range ascribed to S. c. ohionensis by Bole and Moulthrop. Examination of the two specimens, United States Biological Surveys Collection, Catalogue No. 70566, and United States National Museum, No. 19434, respectively, both of which are alcoholics, reveals that they are referable to the subspecies ohionensis rather than to S. c. cinereus . This reference is made on the basis of small size, short tail (33 and 31 millimeters, respectively), and fourth upper unicuspid as large as third (the specimen from Milford Center lacks the skull). The occurrence at Milford Center provides a southward extension...
While one of us (Dalquest) was in a dugout canoe that was being paddled up a small unnamed tributary of the Rio Coatzacoalcos, through dense jungle, he grasped a decayed and termite damaged tree-trunk projecting approximately three feet above the surface of the water to steady the canoe. At that instant two bats were detected in one of the many small holes in the trunk, which was eight to nine inches in diameter. It was a simple matter to enlarge the hole and extract the animals. Superficially they resembled silvery-haired bats ( Lasionycteris ) but their naked interfemoral membranes and other features suggested that they belonged to the genus Myotis . Subsequently, study in the laboratory showed this to be the fact and revealed also that they are of an heretofore unnamed species which may be known as: Myotis argentatus , new species Type. —Male, adult, skin with skull, No....
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER 3 ODD SCRAPS FOR THE ECONOMICAL. 8 SOAP. 22 SIMPLE REMEDIES. 24 GRUEL. 30 EGG GRUEL. 31 ARROW-ROOT JELLY. 31 CALF'S FOOT JELLY. 31 TAPIOCA JELLY. 31 SAGO JELLY. 32 BEEF TEA. 32 WINE WHEY. 32 APPLE WATER. 32 MILK PORRIDGE. 32 STEWED PRUNES. 33 VEGETABLES. 33 HERBS. 36 CHEAP DYE-STUFFS. 38 MEAT CORNED, OR SALTED, HAMS, &c. 40 CHOICE OF MEAT. 43 COMMON COOKING. 47 VEAL. 47 CALF'S HEAD. 47 BEEF. 48 ALAMODE BEEF. 49 MUTTON AND LAMB. 49 PORK. 49 ROAST PIG. 50 SAUSAGES. 50 MINCE MEAT. 50 BEANS AND PEAS. 51 SOUSE. 52 TRIPE. 52 GRAVY. 52 POULTRY. 53 FRICASSEED CHICKEN, BROWN. 54 FRICASSEED CHICKEN, WHITE. 54 TO CURRY FOWL. 54 CHICKEN BROTH. 55 FISH. 57 PUDDINGS. 61 BAKED INDIAN PUDDING. 61 BOILED INDIAN PUDDING. 61 FLOUR OR BATTER PUDDING. 61 BREAD PUDDING. 62 RENNET PUDDING. 62 CUSTARD PUDDINGS. 62 RICE PUDDINGS. 63 BIRD'S NEST...
Experiment with magnet—Principle of polarity—Applies universally—Analogies in spiritual world—Zoroastrian religion—Changes in modern environment—Require corresponding changes in religions and philosophies. Scatter a heap of iron filings on a plate of glass; bring near it a magnet, and tap the glass gently, and you will see the filings arrange themselves in regular forms. If one pole only of the magnet is brought near the glass the filings arrange themselves in lines radiating from that pole. Next lay the bar-magnet on the glass so that the filings are influenced by both poles; they will arrange themselves into a series of regular curves. In other words, the Chaos of a confused heap of inert matter has become a Cosmos of harmonious arrangement assuming definite form in obedience to law. As the old saying has it, that ‘every road leads to Rome,’ so this simple experiment leads up to a principle which underlies all existence...
INTRODUCTORY. It is a fact within the experience of most persons, that the various species of animals are not uniformly dispersed over the surface of the country. If we have a tolerable acquaintance with any district, be it a parish, a county, or a larger extent of territory, we soon become aware that each well-marked portion of it has some peculiarities in its animal productions. If we want to find certain birds or certain insects, we have not only to choose the right season but to go to the right place. If we travel beyond our district in various directions we shall almost certainly meet with something new to us; some species which we were accustomed to see almost daily will disappear, others which we have never seen before will make their appearance. If we go very far, so as to be able to measure our journey by degrees of...
In his excellent taxonomic treatment of the tree squirrels of Mexico and Central America, Nelson (Proc. Washington Acad. Sci., 1:15-110, 2 pls., May 9, 1899) recognized three subspecies of red-bellied squirrels, Sciurus aureogaster aureogaster F. Cuvier, Sciurus aureogaster hypopyrrhus Wagler, and Sciurus aureogaster frumentor Nelson. In his lists of specimens examined, Nelson ( op. cit. :42 and 44) assigned certain specimens from "mountains near Santo Domingo" and Guichicovi in Chiapas, and Catemaco in Veracruz, to S. a. aureogaster , and other specimens from the same localities to S. a. hypopyrrhus . I originally attempted to study (identify to subspecies) the series of animals from only three places, but it became evident that a more extensive study was indicated. The locality whence the holotype of Sciurus aureogaster aureogaster was obtained is unknown. Because certain specimens from Altamira, Tamaulipas, closely resemble Cuvier's figure of the type, Nelson ( op. cit. :41) subsequently...
I When we were told by a prominent scientist just the other day that "electricity is now known to be molecular in structure," it almost took our breath away. And when we were informed that certain well-known chemical elements had been detected in the very act of being changed over into other well-known elements, with the prospect of such a transformation of the elements being quite the normal thing throughout nature, the very earth seemed to be slipping away from under our feet. Some of the closely related discoveries, such as the fact that the X-rays show a spectrum susceptible of examination, were not so disconcerting in themselves; but the marvellous pictures of the structure of the atom elicited by these discoveries made many good people almost question whether our venerable experimenters had not been indulging in pipe dreams amid their laboratory work. Do we, then, begin to understand the...
Charles Robert Darwin was born at Shrewsbury on February 12th, 1809, the year which witnessed the birth of Alfred Tennyson, W. E. Gladstone, and Abraham Lincoln. Oliver Wendell Holmes, born in the same year, delighted to speak of the good company in which he came into the world. On January 27th, 1894, I had the great pleasure of sitting next to him at a dinner of the Saturday Club in Boston, and he then spoke of the subject with the same enthusiasm with which he deals with it in his writings; mentioning the four distinguished names, and giving a brief epigrammatic description of each with characteristic felicity. Dr. Holmes further said that he remembered with much satisfaction an occasion on which he was able to correct Darwin on a matter of scientific fact. He could not remember the details, but we may hope for their ultimate recovery, for he said that...
No subject has lately excited more curiosity and general interest among geologists and the public than the question of the Antiquity of the Human Race—whether or no we have sufficient evidence in caves, or in the superficial deposits commonly called drift or "diluvium," to prove the former co-existence of man with certain extinct mammalia. For the last half-century the occasional occurrence in various parts of Europe of the bones of Man or the works of his hands in cave-breccias and stalagmites, associated with the remains of the extinct hyaena, bear, elephant, or rhinoceros, has given rise to a suspicion that the date of Man must be carried farther back than we had heretofore imagined. On the other hand extreme reluctance was naturally felt on the part of scientific reasoners to admit the validity of such evidence, seeing that so many caves have been inhabited by a succession of tenants and...
Charles Darwin was a great man, and he accomplished a great work. The Newton of biology, he found the science of life a chaotic maze; he left it an orderly system, with a definite plan and a recognisable meaning. Great men are not accidents; great works are not accomplished in a single day. Both are the product of adequate causes. The great man springs from an ancestry competent to produce him; he is the final flower and ultimate outcome of converging hereditary forces, that culminate at last in the full production of his splendid and exceptional personality. The great work which it is his mission to perform in the world is never wholly of his own inception. It also is the last effect of antecedent conditions, the slow result of tendencies and ideas long working unseen or but little noticed beneath the surface of opinion, yet all gradually conspiring together...
INTRODUCTORY The human foot, it appears to us, is one of those members of the body that have never received their due share of consideration. Like certain downtrodden members of the social body, it seems to have been looked upon as having fewer “rights that were entitled to respect” than those organs which occupy a higher place, as the hands and eyes. No other part has been so abused by pinching, squeezing, chafing, freezing, and corning . The waist, of one sex especially, has suffered a good deal of compression, but not so much, we think as has the foot. It might perhaps be contended that the lowest parts of the system perform a function equally necessary with that of those above them and are therefore entitled to as tender care; but whether this be so or not, it is at least certain they are “pressed to earth” in a...
Inasmuch as Sir W. H. Flower and Mr. Lydekker could not profess to treat the Mammalia exhaustively within the limits of nearly 800 pages, in their Introduction to the Study of Mammals , it is obvious that the present volume, which appears ten years later and is of rather less size, can contain but a selection of the enormous mass of facts at the disposal of the student of this group. Thus the chief question for myself was what to select and what to leave aside. It will be observed that I have reduced the pages of this book to conformity with those of other volumes of the series by treating some groups more briefly than others. It has appeared to me to be desirable to treat fully such groups as the Edentata and the Marsupialia, and permissible to be more brief in dealing with such huge Orders as those...
Botanists unite in describing the plants of this class as being destitute of chlorophyll and of starch. These plants assume an infinite variety of forms, and are propagated by spores which are individually so minute as to be scarcely perceptible to the naked eye. They are entirely cellular, and belong to the class Amphigens, which for the most part have no determinate axe, and develop in every direction, in contradistinction to the Acrogens, which develop from the summit, possessing an axe, leaves, vessels, etc. Fungi are divided by systematists into two great classes: These classes are again subdivided, according to the disposition of the spores and of the spore bearing surface, called the hymenium, into various families. The sporiferous fungi are arranged into four families, viz: Of these four subdivisions of the Sporifera, only the Hymenomycetes and the Gasteromycetes contain plants of the mushroom family, and these two together constitute...
LONDON WALTER SCOTT 24 WARWICK LANE, PATERNOSTER ROW 1887 Darwin’s ancestry; his grandfather, Dr. Erasmus Darwin, a successful physician, and author of “The Botanic Garden,” “The Temple of Nature,” &c.; his father, Robert Waring Darwin, also a successful physician; his maternal grandfather, Josiah Wedgwood, the celebrated potter; his mother’s education and training; Charles Robert Darwin, born at Shrewsbury, Feb. 12, 1809; Mrs. Darwin dies in July, 1817; her eldest son, Erasmus, friend of the Carlyles; Charles Darwin’s education by Mr. Case, and at Shrewsbury Grammar School; his character as a boy; is sent to Edinburgh University in 1825 Darwin a member of the Plinian Society, of Edinburgh; makes natural history excursions; his first scientific paper read March 27, 1827; friendship with Dr. Grant; Jameson’s lectures on zoology; Darwin enters Christ’s College, Cambridge, in 1828; his friendship with Prof. Henslow; his account of Henslow; Darwin at this time specially an entomologist;...
The wonders of the ocean floor do not reveal themselves to vulgar eyes. As the oracle was inaudible to sacrilegious listeners, and as none but poetic ears heard the cadenced beating of the feet that danced to unearthly music, near the fountain haunted by the Muses of classic fable—so, none but the initiated can see the myriad miracles that each receding tide reveals on the ocean floor. The initiation, however, is not mysterious; there are no dark rites to observe—no Herculean labours to accomplish, before entering upon the noviciate, which at once opens a large area of unexpected pleasures, and an ample field for admiration and investigation. A few elementary works carefully studied, or even this present little book attentively perused, would supply the first helps towards seeing , at all events, a portion of the “wonders of the shore,” as the brilliant author of “Glaucus” has eloquently termed those...
May 4 . John James La Forest Audubon was born at Mandeville, Louisiana. (Paucity of dates and conflicting statements make it impossible to insert dates to show when the family moved to St. Domingo, and thence to France.) Returned to America from France. Here followed life at Mill Grove Farm, near Philadelphia. Again in France for about two years. Studied under David, the artist. Then returned to America. April 8. Married Lucy Bakewell, and journeyed to Louisville, Kentucky, to engage in business with one Rozier. March . First met Wilson, the ornithologist. Dissolved partnership with Rozier. Various business ventures in Louisville, Hendersonville, and St. Geneviève, Kentucky, again at Hendersonville, thence again to Louisville. Abandoned business career. Became taxidermist in Cincinnati. Left Cincinnati. Began to form definite plans for the publication of his drawings. Returned to New Orleans. Went to Natchez by steamer. Gunpowder ruined two hundred of his drawings on...
It is familiar knowledge that the earth which we inhabit is a globe of somewhat less than 8000 miles in diameter, being one of a series of eleven which revolve at different distances around the sun, and some of which have satellites in like manner revolving around them. The sun, planets, and satellites, with the less intelligible orbs termed comets, are comprehensively called the solar system, and if we take as the uttermost bounds of this system the orbit of Uranus (though the comets actually have a wider range), we shall find that it occupies a portion of space not less than three thousand six hundred millions of miles in extent. The mind fails to form an exact notion of a portion of space so immense; but some faint idea of it may be obtained from the fact, that, if the swiftest race-horse ever known had begun to traverse it,...