Naturalist.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 363, 23 April 1903, Page 7

Naturalist.

Alligatqras a pet. Si|gT is knowH, says a San Francisco ill P a ,P £ ' r » tilß * S* Bernhardt, has a {gig; bard time with her pet dogs, as most tf the hotels have regulations against;admitting them; butnowSirah has a nejw one on.the 5 hotel keepers. She has acquired at New Orleans a live alligatofc 6ft long, and is taking him along as a travelling companion and challenging hotel clerks to show any rules against alligators. PAETI-COIiORED SHEEP. ' '' i In tbe Camaroon districts of Africa are thousands Vo£. Remarkable sheep, and -the Germans who have settled there say that they are useful domestic animals. There are two species, one being black and white, and the other white and yellowish browli. Sn.dvthey all differ from the ordinary sheep in the fact that they are covered, .with short, , smooth hair instead of with wool, tbe 'rams being the only ones among them which have a thick fleece around the neck. A few of these animals were recently imported into Germany, anc ! are now attracting much attention there,- ~ I A DOG SrOKT. A certain countess took a collie dog to a

veterinary surgeon, and said it was very ill, and at her request he promised to give the animal every attention. On examination, he found that the animal was merely suffering from the effects of over-eating, and, therefore, gave it two or three cuffs on the head in order to make it move about. Then he tied a piece of rope round the collie's neck, and placed fie animal in a kennel, where he left it for two days, without any food whatever. Every morning and evening, however, an elegant barouche would sweep up to the dcor, and a powdered fooman would hand in a massive silver dish containing some exquisitely-cooked food. The latter invariably was received by the surgeon's man, who then retired to the stable and ate it, _af forwards washing and returning the piece of plate when the footman call6d again. The collie quickly regained health and ttrenglh uadcr this treatment, and one morning the surge m remarked to his man: ' I must send P. ince back again, Jack.' Whereupon tbe latter replied earnestly, , Don't, sir, for goodness sake ! I nar lived so well in my life!' SOCIETY'S EEPTrLE PET. Some five years ago society belles took up the fad of" wearing specimens of the little green chameleon lizard of Florida abouther and shoulders, attached to a little gold chain and collar. This fancy did not last very long, but it proved the means of introducing the little chameleon lizard of the gulf states throughout the north and east, in which region it had remained unknown up to that time. Since then theEe little rrptiles have been very popular as pets, especially among those who have green-houses and conservatories. Th« chameleon Izard of Florida is hot, as some people have erronoously supposed, the true chameleon. The chameleon proper is found on a few only -1 the East India Islands, atd is almost eight or ten times the eizs of the kind found in the gulf states. Moreover the chameleon has the peculiar faculty of changing to any colour to suit the element on which it happens to be standing. If in a tree its colour is green, if on the ground it imitates the shade of the soil, but if one should place it on a piece of bright blue paper, or a crimson rug, it changes colour to harmonize with its surroundings with equal facility. CLEVER ANTS, THESE. In the current number of the 'geitscnrift fur Entomologie' Dr. Charles Schrooder gives a curicus illustration of the wonderful intelligence of ants. During the summer of 1901, he says, a gentleman went to live, with his family, in a cottage near a forest, and a day or two later ants appeared from all directions and annoyed him and his family greatly. Hoping to get rid of them gradually, he destroyed one of their largest nests, and in order that they might not enter it again, surrounded the fragments with sheets of fly paper. The ants would have to pass over this paper if they wanted to rebuild their nest, and he argued that their feet would certainly be caught in the sticky substance. Next morning, however, he discoverod that the ants were not quite such fools as he had supposed them to be. Instead of venturing on the sticky fly paper they bad epent the hours of the night in cover-' ir>g with grass, sand, and dirt, and when this was done they had crowded back to the ruined nest and speedily rebuilt it. Dr. Schroeder vouches.for the truth of this story and fays that he has in his po3sessicn a portion of the fly paper.