The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1884-10-05

epoch. but . conclusion based on originai
observation. He insists that the phenomsnon
exhibited by the opossum when captured.
which Is commonly construed rs tsigning Of
death. or playing possunl." Ia not a volun-
tary act at all. but an Involuntary faintlnR Ht.
Tho assertion that the opossum fsisns death
involves the two postulates that the animal in
question realizes what death is and has dis
covered By experience some profit IN the
trick. Mr.. Abbott deems II exceeding.
ly questionable although a cnrnivorous or
sern-carnvorous mammal must know what
the death OF its prey means. whether any animal
can roalze that dssth 10 its own inevitable iate.
fIo thinks tho fOrsknowlsdgs Of approaching
dissolution is confined 10 mnn. But waving
ths inquiry. hs points out that mt present the
supposed habit II fsigning death 10 not u pro-
toction against the attacks OF dogs or mon. tho
chief u not tho only enemies OF tho opossum In
sottied district II is . habit that positively
initiates against It's snfcty. and could mover
have boon acquired In its present environment
II this assumed habit exist. 1t mnst necessarily
have originated long before tho advent Of man
upon tho earth. and been evolved as a snfe-
guard against tho attacks OF enemies now ex-
tnct which would not modest 1t II they sup
posed It to BE- denh. Mr. Abbott goes On to re-
count number OF experiments Indicating that
what b generally regarded a. a fsint n really
a faint. tire opossum. whom hurt or threatened
with violence. undergoing through fear tom
porsry paralysis Of the whole body. and. for
tho time being. absolute unconsoiousness
Particularly cogent Is the fact noted by the all
thor that. az In the ease Of faintins. the appli-
cation Of cold waier hes the eject Of restoring
tho animal to consciousness. A. 70 the POSI-
ton usually assumed when the opossum IL
supposed 10 be isiguing death. Il II that which
tho animal takes whom sleeping: and further.
IL tho ono best cRlcuiateL to prevent Injury
from blows A. the head and breast are SArtly
shielded. In nns. Mr.. Abbott deems tho opos-
sums propensity 70 swoon under the influence
Of fear - msrciial provisioa that destroys
without pain all sensation In animals about TO
b tern 10 pieees"
The author gives ilst Of eight fishes more
or less oommon In the vators OF New Jersey.
In which no bsitsves himself to have detected
Indications Of vocal power They are all Of
dull or simDly silvery hue. and the inferenos Ia
that tho traces Of vOtce are substitutes for
tho sexual attraction resident In the brilliant
colors Of other specles 1t Is In the common
catfish that this emission Of sound Is most
pronounced and unmtstaksble The author
tells us that after sunset. when these nshos
become moro animated. their presence In
stream may be detected not only by the aid OF
svbmarine laoterns. but "thare 10 an oplOr-
tunityo using the ears ~ well g. the eyes.
Tor. BY wary patient Watching and waiting.
you may catch. even from the deeper waters. q
gantle hummlng Sonpd. which. II noticed at all.
would by most people be referred to the insect
life tesming about them. H. however. knowing
or suspecting the truo origin Of this murmur.
No can without alarming the fish float our boat
directly above them. We shall fnd that scores
OF chains OF little air bubbles are rising to the
surface; and ~ the sound V observed to In
crease or die away In proportion To the abun-
dnnce or absence Of the bubbles. 1t Is slfo to
refer it to the fishes which produce 1t by yolun-
tariy expelling the air from their bodies
The author protests that the prevalent &C.
counts Of our common snakes attest an i'm
mense amo ant OF ignorance concerning a class
OF animols whOse undoubted merits he thinks
should he better understood. He admits. in
deed. that In New Jersey there are two species
OF serpents-ths rattlesnake and the copper
head-tho bite OF other OF which is usually re-
garded as fatal. But these are found only In
limited localities. and evan there the danger to
BIO apprehended from them Is more apparent
than real. The nine or ten we'll marked species
OF serpents that have come within tho range Of
his rambss include the hog-nosed snake
tsometimes designated as the adder" FIAT
head" or "viper"). the water snake the
little brown snake called DE Rays" tho
ribbon snake. the true garter snake. the black
snake. the green or summer snake. and the
ringsnako. Some OF these arc formidable in
appearance snd readily resent Interference.
But. according to MIR. Abbott. What they do is
in self defence. as they are never the attacking
party. OF course they will dart their pretty
forked tongues; will hiss. and oven snap at
you: but there 1t ends. Their bite is less HARM
full than the sting OF q mosquito though tho
fact IL by no means generally recognized and
acted upon. What again. II a ful-grown black
snake. when trodden on. does wrap coil or
two around your legs ? 1t can only result in In
jury to the snake. and all newspaper stories as
to the serious harm they do to young children
by eoiling about them may be dismissed as ia
bles." AS to the impression current even among
| educated people that the tongue OF snake Is a
veritable sting no less certain to produce q
wound than is that Of a hornet or bee Mr.. Alb
| bolt explains that when a snake Ia at all dis
turbed its narrow. cylindrical. forked tongue is
darted CIT with great rapidty. which undoubt-
eddy gives the animal q threatening appsar-
ance. But there the matter ends. Tho tongue
Of itself Is as harmless as 80 much thistle down.
and the creature uses 1t principally. II not
| wholly. In fsslag its way along. for snakes
eyes are so placed that 1t cannot see directly in
front oft" As for the needle-like teeth with
| which the garter snakes make a show of biting
viciously. their lamentations are perfectly in
| nocuous and are likened. as We have seen to
| the bites OF insects. 1t appears that the
spotted adder. and less frequently the hog
nosed snake. IL mistaken by tho careless or
| frightened observer for rattesnake. The first
| often. and sometimes the second. whom found
| In tho woods coiled upon heap OF dead leaves.
will closely initiate the peculiar rattle Of the
| rattlesnake by vibrating the tail with great
rapdity. and in such manner as to strike the
leaves beneath It. Mr.. Abbott merely chron-
ioles the phenomenon. and does not interpret
| 1t as a studied imitation OF the sound made by
the rnttlesnake. for that would be to credit the
spotted adder with an abnormally high degree
ofintcltgence. with the power. in other words.
OF watching the habits OF Its fellow serpents
and proiting by them. As to the power OF
charming" q bird or small mammal attrib-
uted to the black snake this the author
finds It impossible to verify. He has. indeed.
on several occasions witnessed cases OF sup
posed charming" where small and excep-
tionally tmid birds like the chipping sparrow
and summer warbler were literally frighte ned