New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1860-02-20

i ycr.
head whenee coming no one knows and sis,fs,
going no one can tell There are the golden bestiss
with their jeweled COATS and there are tho waik.
ing leayes-ribbed, shaped and colorsd Ike fallen
leaves, that lay eggs not to be distinguished ~ ts
eye from brown, fve-angled seeds, With bits N
stem attached to them. There are the stick IN
seGts. that resemble jointed sticks The soosh
sayer, much given to an attitude Of prayer, II :
murderer and q cannibal among his own kind
The white ants, terTnites, (thcg are not ants a
aIl1 are such determined walkers through the sub
stance Of whatever may Lie In their path. that
swarm Of them may pass through ROW Of book
upon the shelf, turning them all to powder, an
| will convert tables, chairs, Or the contents Of
portmanteau, to the ghostly images Of what the
had been, which fall TO powder at toneh. Th
true ants also, as the sands OF the sea, and Gu
into everything Whatever contains sugar the
swarm over. The mason wasp enters the houses \
Plug up keyholes with clay, and works most grace
! fully at this kind OF nest-building. The carpente
bee perforates the woodwork Of the house, an
makes great litter Of sawdnst. There are moth
| measuring nearly foot across their open wings
OF one moth the larya intabit bundles Of twig
bound by threads, and they are called billets o
frewocd by the natives, who consider them to b.
metamorphosed wood-stealers. Bugs abound, o
course leas to be seen skipping about in the
dust OF the roads. Dogs. to escape them, choose
sleeping place on the white ashes where WOOD
fire has been kindled. The mosquitoes Of GeylOT
are truculent and cunning. g When you are read
ing,' says Sir Emerson, - a mosquito will rarely
range Of your eyes, but, cunningly stealing BY the
undersiGe of the book, fastens the wrist little
finger" Spiders are SO large and strong that the
lines thrown by them across path will knock Of
the hat Of horseman. Ticks, dropping from
shaken branches, dig into the skin. Centipedes,
often foot long, eager to bite the faintesf Pro-
vocation, crawl up the sleeve, and creep into the
innermost folds of the dress.
cRocoDILEs.
Crocodles swarm in the still waters and tanks or
arff s,yo
two sorts, the great Indian crocodile and the marsh
crocodile, which seldom exceeds the length of IL
or IL feet. These creatures, in time Of drought,
bury themselves in the mud and remain torpid until
the return Of rain. An officer attached TO the de-
partment Of the Surveyor-G pitched his tent
one evening on the parched bed Of tank. He was
disturbed in the night by feeling movement under
meath ms bed. Next day crocodile caa.e up
or thirty crocediies was dragged for them In what
seemed most effective way, but not one was to
be found when the net came to Shore They had
al Owed below the bottom Of the pond. There are
land tortolses, and terrassines, and turtles. Sir
Emerson once rode past Ttyrus in charge of some
sheep, who rested under the shade Of turtle shell
raised npon sticks. Rs
Ceylon snakes are shy. One may ride five hum
dred miles through the jungle without having seen
one. Only two, the tic polonga and the cobra de
capelo, infiict wounds fatal to man. OF the Others
the majority are harmless. The snake charmers
who play with the cobra do not extract its fangs,
timidity of the snake, which is always reluctant to
employ its fatal weapons. Only when accidentally
trodden upon in the night, otherwise driven IN
self-defence, will the cobra bite. The Singhalese
when travelling in the dark, carry stick with a
loose ring, and the noise made by it in striking on
the ground suiices to warn snakes ont of the path
There is black polished stone exceedingly
light, which is used asa snake-stone and supposed
e have the power of drawing venom of snakes
from recent wound. Placed over the bite il al
heres to it for o few minutes, and by its spongy
nature appears TO absorb some of the blood. The
stone Is artifcaly prepared, the mode Of prepare
ton being secret Mr.. Faraday has examined one
and finds it to be charred bone, filed perhaps more
than once with blood, and, after each time of using
carefully charred again.
LIZARDS.
In the next place we may note the variety and
beauty of the lizards on this island which the Brah-
minis have called Lanka me Resplendent which
the Buddhist poets describe as ia pearl on the
brow Of India = which was known I'd the Chinese
as the Island of Jewels, to the Greeks as the land
Of TIE hyacinth and ruby, and to the Mahometans
as the new elysium with which our first parents
were consoled for the loss Of Paradise. There is
the large iguana, four or five feet long. harmless
and eatable. There is the chameleon hunting in
sects in the trees. bushing all colors OF the rain
bow, and, because of the imperfect sympathy be-
tween the two lobes Of the BRAIN having two sides
not bound to act in concert with each other sOne
side appears, perhaps to sleep while the other side
is watchfnl, one side will change to green color
frogs have also II high degree this power q q
changing color. There are the friendly geckoes
which, by help Of padded toes can run up walls
| like fly, climb glass, and cross the ceiling. They
come into the house out of their chinks 1T night
In q boudoir." says Sir Emerson Tennent
where the ladies of my family spent their eve.
nngs, one Of these familiar and amusing little crea-
lures had its hiding-plaee behind gilt picture.
frame, and punctually as the candles were lighted,
II made its appearance on the wall to be fed with
| its accustomed crumb; and If neglected it reite.
rated its sharp, quick cali of chic chic chit till at
tended TO. 1t was Of delicate grey color, tinged
workable, it fed, leaving its tail behind II, which
| however, it Reproduced within less than month";
... In an officers quarters in the fort of Co.
| lombo, geckoe had been taught to come daily to
along with the dessert. The family were absent
| for some months, during which the house UNDER
went extensive repairs, the roof having been
raised, the walls stucooed and ceilings whitened.
But the return of its old friends at their first
dinner, the little lizard made its entrance as usual
the instant the cloth had been removed
THE LoRIs OR cBYLos sLorH.
There two kinds Of the graceful little loris or
Ceylon sloth, creature that can move so stealth
lily as to come unawares en- bird, and seize it be-
fore the alarm of its presence has been given. Its
large bright eyes are priced by the natives as
charms love potions and it ia said that they ex
tract them cruelty by holding the little animal to
the fire until its eyeballs burst Equally cruel III
the mode OF taking tort0ise-Bllell from the hawks
bill TURTLE by which it ia supplied to commerce If
taken after death the shell is elonded and milky
Therefore, the turtles seized they repair to
the shore to deposit their eggs, and are hung over
fires until heat makes the desired plates start from
| the bone to which they are attached. Then the
! miserable creatures are allowed to escape to the
water and strong is the instinct at the period of
breeding that the turtles found to return again
and again to the same spot, though at each visit
they may undergo repetition of the same torture,
At Gelebcs, the turtle is killed by blows on the
head, and the shell is detached by use OF boiling
water. Indifference to the snfferings Of animals 4
characteristic of the Ceyon natives. Disciples oil
Bnddha, who account il o crime to take life, are
dead to any sense of pain they may infiict Pigs
with their fore and hind legs tied together by q
cord, are carried dangling on pole, screaming
with pains. Fowls are brought to market from
long distances, hanging by their feet and duck,
are carried by their heads with their necks bent 1,
stfe their cries. Worst of oil is the sale by Tami
fishermen's wives, in the Jaffna market places. q
turtle meat scooped from the living ANIMAL Whicl
lies Its back with Its beating heart bare to TIL
sun and to the knife which cuts away fms fat an
pounds OF flesh, usually leaving heart and head i
be the last pieces selected. The heart still beats
and the mouth snaps, when the shell is nearly epu
tied of all its contents. s
THE H0RNBILL, PEACOCK, ETC.
In spite Of crocodiles, myriads OF water fov
people the lakes and marshes in the eastern pro,
| inces of Geylon. Their number is one of the ma,
| vels of the island. The birds are surpassed b
| those of South America and Northern India
glory OF planiage and make no approach to Ell