The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1888-09-19
POPULAR ERRORS.
MISTAKES THAT ARE REPEATED
FOR MANY GENERATIONS.

FOR MANY GENERATIONS.
Loose Manner In Which Terms Are APP
plied-what II Gopher9-T Prairie
Dog Fiction-Bugs and worms-The
Horse Hair snake"-sycamorc.
A volume could be written on popular
errors ON scientific subjects. So few people
observe for themselves, and so many accept
what they hear from others, or what they
read, that it is a wonder there are not more
errors fixed in the popular mind on such sub
jects. One hardly knows where to begin on
the list, but attention is first called to the
loose manner in which terms, especially
names, are applied. Take the common
gopher as an example. The true gopher is of
a gray color, and is about the size of large
rat. He has large pouches on each side of
his mouth in which he carries dirt when
making his burrows in the ground. His front
teeth stand out the most prominently in any
of the great family of gnawers-rodentia
His tail is short and looks very much like
that of a rat. In some parts of the country
gray ground squirrel is called gopher
In other parts q striped squirrel or prairie
chipnunk is called by that name, while in
Kansas, Nebraska and many parts of the
west, small nlarmot, which is closely allied
to the prairie dog, is called a gopher. These
marmots are quite common in the country
around this city. In most parts of the south
west a skunk is called polecat and polecat
is called a mink-for the western so called
mink is nothing but polecat 1t took 200
years for the popular belief to be given up
that beavers use their tails for trowels. In
some places yet school readers can be found
that teach such nonsense.
THE PRAIRIE DOG FICTION.
Another popular fiction is thatif one shoots
a prairie dog his mates will rush out and
carry him into one of their dens before 1t is
possible to get possession of him. 1t is true
that such things have actually occurred.
Rats have been known to do the same thing,
but the instances are rare. Usually coun-
try that is inhabited by prairie dogs, or more
properly by prairie marmots has a dry, thin
atmosphere This condition deceives the
hunter and causes him to shoot SO far at the
little creatures that in the larger number of
cases he misses entirely. In the second place,
these animals never stop when danger is near
until they are at the mouth OF hole. Then
they will stop and sit upon their launches in
such manner that If they are shot they arc
nearly sure to fall inside the hole. The
prairie marmots, mentioned above, that one
sees in the country around this city, have tho
same habit-that Of stopping at the mouth of
their holes and sitting upon their launches
to look around. Another error is the calling
Of nearly every inseeta bug Potato beetles,
June beetles, May beetles, ETC., are all called
bugs, when they are beetles. The bed bug
and the chinch bug are true bugs, but nearly
everything else usually called by that name
~ f. sl.~ A
beetle opens his month sidewise, while the bug
opens his perpendiculafly as we open ours
Worms are all regarded as worms whether
they are true worms or not. Angle or fish
worms are true types of worms Most other
worms that one sees arc the larvae OF insects,
and will become images or perfect insects in
time. The common "grub worm becomes
May beetle. The large white grub worms"
that have a blush list down their backs be-
come stumble bugs,'s the true scavenger
beetles People often speak of "eight legged
insects" on ten legged insects,n unmindful
of the fact that an insect has six legs, and no
more or no less. Spiders then, having eight
legs are not insects. We speak Of the time
when the ''grasshoppers destroyed the crops, u
when we mean that the locusts destroyed the
crops and the insects we usually Gull locusts
are the seventeen year sicad@.
THE "H0RsE HAIR sNAKE.n
The "horse hair snaken is another common
source of error The creature that Is usually
called by that name originates and has a life
history as follows; A small flesh colored mite
is in water. 1t changes to a purplish lead
color and comes to the top of the water,
where it sports for time, and when looking
across water Of still evening" especially il
looking towards the setting sun, one can see
T...>1
smoke on the water. When they reach this
stage OF development they leave the water
and get out on tho leaves and grass. Here,
as opportunity offers, they attach themselves
TO tho feet Of large insects, especially of
grasshoppers, katydids, etc. The legs OF
these insects being hollow, they crawl up
them, where they grow till they fill the legs
and sometimes the cavities Of tho bodies of
these large insects. This accounts for the
fat, clumsy condition of many Of these in
sects. After q rain, in which the insects
drown, the full fedged "horse hair snakesn
come forth TO delight the small boy and to
interest the student of nature, after which
they lay eggs in the water, IL it does not dry
up too soon, and curl around them for q
time, and about the time the eggs hatch into
the little flesh colored mites first described
tho s.snalses' die. It is not claimed that this
Is the history OF all "horse hair snakes" but
1t is the true history of all that / know any
thing about.
Another error in the application of names
Is noticeable in the vegetable world This Is
to the SO called sycamore. Tho true sycn-
more-acer pseudo platantus-grows only in
England, or, at most, the British Isles. Our
| tree--platantus occidentalis-shouldb be called
| buttonwood. The true sycamore is as
worthless as buckeye or horse chestnut.
Another error is held regarding tho Virginia
| creeper-ampelopsi cinque folium-that
| grows SO abundantly along our fences and in
| our forests 1t Is beautiful plant and per-
| fectly harmless. II can be trained over stone
| or brick walls, over windows, doors, lattices
| or arbors, SO as to give most pleasing effect;
| but most people think it is poisonous. They
mistake it for tho poison ivy-rhus toxico-
dendron-which also grows abundantly
throughout the country. Tho beautiful Vir-
! ginia creeper, or American ivy, grows plen-
| tifully along the Missouri river bluffs and
| along old fence rows on the uplands. The
Virginia creeper has five leaflets on each leaf
stalk, while the poison ivy has three leaflets.
Tho creeper is a dark, rich green, and in au-
tumn changes to vivid russell The poison
| ivy is of lighter green color, but changes
to maroon or magenta in autumn. 1t also
has many more lateral tendrils than the
creeper has, and consequently sticks closer tc
whatever 1t grows upon.-Edwin Walters in
1 10 M