NOTES OF A NATURALIST.

STORMY PETREL, OR MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS.-The Petrel, "those storm-birds which sailor's affright," is called in some places the sea swallow, being in size and appearance not unlike a swallow. They are excellent divers, and are seen in vast numbers all over the Atlantic Ocean; frequently following a ship for many days together, braving the most furious storms, As often as it approaches a ship, and gets into the wake, the sailor by constant observation, finds, invariably, that he is overtaken by a storm. It is from this incident that the Petrel is looked upon as a bird of bad omen. Montgomery, in his "Pelican Island," says:

"Here ran the stormy petrels on the waves

As though they were the shadows of themselves. They plough'd not, sow'd not, gathered not in barns, L. 36. 1.

B

Yet harvests inexhaustible they reap'd
In the prolific furrows of the main.

Or from its sunless caverns brought to light
Treasures for which contending kings might war;
From the rough shell they pick'd the luscious food,
And left a prince's ransom in the pearl."

PIPING BULLFINCHES.-Readers of newspapers must often have seen advertisements of " Fresh Importations of Piping Bullfinches for sale:" but few persons can have any idea of the following interesting particulars, for which we are indebted to the pen of the Rev. E. Stanley.*

Piping bullânches, so called from being taught to pipe different tunes. In the month of June, the young ones, which are sought for in the nests of wild birds, are taken when about ten days old, and brought up by a person, who, by care and attention, so completely tames them, that they become perfectly docile and obedient. At the expiration of about a couple of months, they first begin to whistle, from which time their education begins; and no school can be more diligently superintended by its master, and no scholars more effectually trained to their own calling, than a seminary of bullfinches. They are formed first into classes of about six in each-and after having been kept a longer time than usual without food, and confined in a dark room, the tune they are to learn is played over and over again on a little instrument called a bird-organ, the notes of which resemble as nearly as possible, those of the Bullfinch. For a time, perhaps, the moping birds will sit in silence, not knowing what to make of these proceedings, but after a while they will one by one begin to imitate the notes they hear. As soon as they do this, light is admitted into the room, and they are allowed a small supply of food. By degrees, the sound of the organ, and the circumstance of being fed, become so associated, that the hungry bird is sure to imitate the notes, as soon as it hears them. They are then turned over to the care of boys, whose sole business it is to go on with their education, each boy having a separate bird placed under his charge, who plays away from morning to

*See his recently published Familiar History of Birds-a small, but delightful book.

night, or at least for as many hours as the birds can pay attention, during which time their first teacher or feeder goes his regular rounds. scolding or rewarding his feathered scholars, by signs and modes which he has taught them to understand, until they become so perfect, and the tune, whatever it may be, so imprinted on their memory, that they will pipe it for the remainder of their lives.

SHIRT TREE.-M. Humboldt in his travels, says, he saw in the wilds of South America, a tree which produces ready made shirts. He says, "We saw on the slope of Cerra Duida, shirt trees fifty feet high. The Indians cut off cylindrical pieces two feet in diameter, from which they get the red and fibrous bark without making any longitudinal incision. This bark affords them a sort of garment, which resembles sacks of a very coarse texture, and without a seam. The upper opening serves for the head, and two lateral holes are cut to admit the arms. The natives wear these shirts of marima in the rainy season: they have the form of the pouchos and ruanos of cotton, which are so common in New Granada, at Quito, and in Peru. As in these climates the riches and beneficence of nature are regarded as the primary causes of the indolence of the inhabitants, the missionaries do not fail to say, in showing the shirts of marima, "in the forests of Oroonoko, garments are found ready made on the trees.' We may add to this tale of the shirts, the pointed caps, which the spathes of certain palm-trees furnish, and which resemble coarse net-work."

POTATOE STARCHI IN WHEAT FLOUR.-On account of the readiness with which potatoe starch can be made, and the small expense at which it can be sold, it has become a convenient substitute in the hands of those rogues who make it a practice to supply the public with adulterated substances; hence the flour which we use for domestic purposes, and the bread which we eat, often contain large quantities of potatoe starch. To detect this mixture, M. Chevalier bids us sprin kle some of the flour upon a piece of black paper, and then examine it through a powerful lens, or a microscope; if any of the starch be present, it will be readily detected by the brilliancy of the particles.

A LITTLE WORLD.-The following curious experiment was lately made: A few twigs, full of sap, were placed in a small quantity of water for several days, until a part of the sap became incorporated with the water. A drop of this water was put on the head of a large pin, and, by the solar microscope, it was found to contain more than thirty thousand living creatures!

THE ICHNEUMON.-This animal, which is about the size of a cat, though somewhat longer in the body, and shorter in the legs, was ranked by the ancients among the deities of Egypt. It is at present domesticated in that country, and is certainly there one of its most valuable animals. It is more useful than a cat in clearing houses of rats and mice; it attacks and kills young crocodiles, and is a determined destroyer of their eggs, which it industriously digs out of the sand; it is also a deadly enemy to the most venemous of snakes, and whenever it receives a wound in the combat, it invariably retires and obtains an antidote from some herb, after which it renews the attack and is sure in the end of being victorious. It is, however, a great enemy to poultry. M. D'Obsonville in his "Essays on Foreign Animals,"" mentions an Ichneumon which he reared from a young one. He says: "I fed him at first with milk, and afterwards with baked meat mixed with rice. He soon became even tamer than a cat, for he came when called, and followed me, though at liberty, into the country. One day I brought to him a small water-serpent alive, being desirous to know how far his instinct would carry him against a being with which he was hitherto totally unacquainted. His first emotion seemed to be astonishment mixed with anger, for his hair became erect; but, in instant after, he slipped behind the reptile, and, with a remarkable agility, leaped upon its head, seized it, and crushed it between his teeth. This essay, and new aliment, seemed to have awakened in him his innate and destructive voracity; which till then, had given way to the gentleness he had acquired from his education. I had about my house several curious kinds of fowls, among which he had been brought up, and which, till then, he had suffered to go and come unmolested; but, a few days after, when he found himself alone, he strangled them every one, ate a little, and as appeared, drank the blood of two."