Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-03-07

u affecting circumstances that surrounde
e the death of mOngrel half-sIaryed Gu
B. that for many years had been the frien,
!, and companion of an old crossing
: sweeper. The latter, not appearing 10
4 several weeks. was hunted up by SOM
: of his cronies ''on Change, and fount
e dead, and beside him the dog uearl,
e starved to death, though there was fco,
, enough IN various forms about to hay,
lasted some time. The faithful creatur.
refused to leave the body and when i
was carried away, leaped upon tn,
; window-sill, and as the humble corteg,
, filed out the door, threw himself fron
the window and was dashed to piece:
by the side of the rude coffin. Thl:
may have been accidental, but If looked
into it will be found that grie. affect:
certain animals more or iess IN a similal
way as in the human species. Inall forms
OF animals We may find the suicide, the
lunatic. as well as tine victim of hypno-
tlsm; IN fact, animals, the lower ones
as they are termed. seem affected by
the realities of life very much as are
their intelligent superiors. Suicide
among animals is quite common, and
the story of the old crossing sweeper Is
by no means an isolated case. Dogs
have been seen to deliberately drown
themselves, and the same has been cited
among other animals. Curious cases of
gradual suicide have been observed
among the animals known as holothu-
rlans; one, the synapta, being an adept
IN the art, Ii SO we may call it. In life
the creature Is elongate, often as clear
as crystal, bearing tint of delicate rose
or pink, while the body is bedecked
with seemingly silken bands of the
most delicate texture. Ii the creature
is placed in an aquarium and totally
/ deprived of food Tor three weeks, a
perceptible change viii be discerned;
not emaclation, but an indentation
appears, forming circle about the am
imal, gradually growing deeper ami
deeper, until finally, by muscular COLI
| traction, complete severance OF the
part is accomplished. The animal has
found that reirenchment Is necessary,
and has decreased its size, thus lessen
ing the demand. If food Is still kept
from 1t, soon another ring appears, and
Il second part is thrown OFF, and so on,
at intervals, until III q few days the ami
nal that WAS eighteen inches long is
now small oval mass surmounted by
the tower-llke tentacles, resembling u
sea anemone. This Is the head and
mouth for which tine entire body has
been sacrificed, and 1t, too. finally dies,
If food In the shape of sand or food Is
still withheld. The effect OF starvation
varies III different animals. Subject an
adult Hydrold medusa to it, ana it viii
change to the polyp form-the Iarval
form of Its kind. In the higher forms
OF medusss a decrease III the number OF
the young is noticed, while among
mollusks such privation has produced
changes in the progeny that were pro-
nounced at first specific. Certain
moths, partly starved, lost IN their lar.
val state the power OF spinning cocoon,
Indeed, the lack of food. and forcing
animals to partake OF certain kinds, Is
often productive of the most remarkable |
tesults, 1t the parrot (Chrysotis festival, |
so common In Brazil, is fed upon the !
tat OF certain fishes, the green feathers |
change TO red; and II is said that If the |
richly decorated Indian bird, Lon raiah, |
Is deprived of its accustomed food, its |
beauties of color waDe. Bullinches |
grow darker, even black, under a hemp |
seed diet, and the orange eolored cana |
ries, now SO much in demand, are said |
TO owe their brilliant tints to dieting on |
Spanish peppers.
Scorpions are extremely prone to |
suicide when subjected to great physical |
pam. Place one within circle of fire, |
and 1t will invariably throw forward its |
taii and wound itself fatally, seemingly |
preferring to die in thus way than to
endure the torture of fire. Spiders and |
ants attempt the same, tearing off their |
own legs and stinging their bodies,
Grabs and HOLSTERS often throw off their |
claws and legs, and so escape, while
some OF tine startishes, when lifted from \
their homes, fairly drop in pieces.
Such an occurrence is described by |
Professor Forbes, of London, and it has
probably been the experience Of every /
collecting naturalist. He says
THE first time L took one OF these /
creatures L succeeded In placing it en-
tire In my boat. Not having seen one
before, and being ignorant OF its suiel-
dal powers, l spread it out on rowing
bench tine better to admire its form and
colors. On attempting t. remove il for
preservation, to my horror and disap-
pointment L fonnd only an assemblage
of detached members. The next time
L went to the same spot to dredge L
determined not to be cheated out of
my specimen a second time. 1 carried
with ME bucket of fresh water. for
which the startilsh eyinces great autl-
pathy. AS hoped, luidia soon came
up III the dredge-a most gorgeous
specimen. As the animal does not gem
orally break up until il Is raised to tie
surface of the sea, carefully and anx-
lously plunged my bucket to level
with the dredge's mouth, and softly
introduced the luidia into the fresh
water. Whether the water was too cold
Tor 1t, or the sight of the bucket too
terrific, L do not know, but in moment
1t began to dissolve its corporation, and
saw the limbs slip through every mesh
IN the Ret. In my despair seized the
largest piece and brought up the ex-
tremity OF an arm with its terminal eye,
the spinous eyelid of which opened and
closed with something exceedingly like
a wink of derision."
In the island of Lugon. Semper found
a SNAIL that, did he attempt TO take 1t
by the tail, would throw OIL the useful
and elude his grasp. The
same - true Of the so-called ga snake,
which often breaks INTO several sections
when alarmed.
Insane horses are of common occur
renee. One of the most peculiar phases
OF these mind affections is hypnotlsm,
that III man or beast has within the
present year attracted SO much atten.
uon. The term, perhaps, originated
with DIR. Braid, who III 1S4l revived the
excitement aroused by Mesmer in l77S,
the phenomena OF animal mag
netism to certain psychological and
influences in the subject.
de applied it to his PATIENTS, and sue
ceeded In performing many painless