The Arizona sentinel., 1886-02-06

Animal Sea Weeds and Rocks.
 Southern California is a fine coun-
 try in which to study the local fauna.
 There is so much pleasant weather that
 one can put in a good deal of field
 work. The speaker was an East
 ern naturalist, who had some months
 since come from the East and taken
 up his temporary residence in a noun
 tain resort in Los Angeles County, for
 the purpose of observing the animals
 and their habits. He had just arrived
 in this city, called hither by some busi- ness engagement.
 "No, have not found anything spe- cially, new, continued the speaker, in reply to question by a reporter. ''I do not expect to. If you will accom- pany- me to my lodgings, however, I may show you something of interest. |"
 After a brisk walk of few blocks, the temporary quarters of the naturalist were reached. He said: My attention, just now, is directed toward certain phases of animal. life, principally the methods of protection and defense, and particularly mimicry."
 You don't mean that animals mimic one another?"
 Certainly, and; as an example, pick out the animals on this branch" and the naturalist took. from the mantel and handed to the reporter branch of alder. It was examined, as was SUD- posed carefully, but no living creature could be seen.
 That demonstrates the perfection of mimicry," said the host, as he laugh ingly touched one of the leaves, that immediately walked off and became an insect.
 That insect" he continued" 'sthat you could not distinguish from leaf, finds its protection in mimicing leaves You see how exactly its wings mimic them in color, veining and in other re- spects. And not only that; when I caught it it came futterlng down from tree with the same motion as a leaf, and if my dog had not directed my attention to it1 should have passed it by. It is very common and interesting example" :"
 What is there here?" inquired the reporter, leaning over box of plants and vines that stood on the window sill.
 ''On the vine is a green snake that mimics vines. brought it from the East, and on the stems you will see number of green spiders that affect green plants. All snakes find protection more or less in their stimulation of other ob- Jects Take the rattlesnakes, that, by the way, are all hibernating now; they so initiate the barren rocks, among which they live, that it is almost impossi- ble to distinguish them unless you see the outline of the form. In the tropics you see large boas and pythons hanging from a tree, and, from distance they are perfect mimics of the lianas that are one of the characteristic features of the country. ..:-t
 Here is case, continued the speak CT, taking the top from large glass box, the bottom of which was filled with sand, ''do you see anything?"
 The writer looked steadily, at long and short range, and was finally obliged to confess that sand was the only object discernable.
 The naturalist then introduced a pointer, and immediately a lizard, three inches long, broad and flat, appeared and ran around the inclosure with a rapid, uncertain motion. ''It's horned toad, really a lizard" explained the owner, laughing, land is a remarkable mimic. as you see, of the sand. In hunting for them in the valleys never could see them except when they started up, and when they stopped it. was to dis appear, so complete was their identity lost. You see this is the protection of nature that all animals possess outside of their special organ of defense It is a phase in the evolution of life, all ami mals becoming adapted to their environ ments. There is nothing startling in 1 nature; the forms of animals all blend l with their surroundings. This creature mimics the dry, sandy wastes that it af- fleets; but go to. the woods, especially of i the south, and we find myriads of forms | that initiate the leaves and twigs. Green i lizards lie before our eyes and defy us: the tree toads crouched on the leaves are invisible; the bullfrogs in the sedges by the bank of the pond are rendered in- l conspicuous by their rich green coat; then turn to the, toad, that wanders | along the dusty roads and bare tracts of land, and we see it dust-colored or mot tied, finding in this sure protection.
 .'But to return to the lizards. There are some curious cases among the gec!Ios. Here is one, dead, that is called the lcaf-tailed gecko. You see the tail bulges out soon after leaving the body, and assumes a leaf or, arrow shape; hence the name of the animal, Now, when the little creature is chased you will'see it dodge around a limb and hold up the curious leaf-hke tail That is al you can see, and so, naturally, would think it a part of the tree itself But this lizard has a more remarkable method of escape yet. We will imagine that you have tried to pluck the leaf. The animal drops clumsily to the ground, and darts away among the rocks, where it attracts the attention of the hawks that are forever proving