Referring to the Editor's article on "Animal Sense Perceptions," I kept a Skunk for a pet six or seven years ago which followed me about like a Dog. At first I had to put up a good deal with the smell, but as it grew tame it was only upon great excitement that it emitted this odour, and this did not seem to be so durable as described in some of the quotations in that paper.
Here the natives do not teach the calves to drink out of a bucket, so that they imbibe direct from the cow. When the native milks the cow the calf must be beside him, otherwise the cow could not be so easily milked. If the calf dies, it is skinned and stuffed with straw, and in a rough fashion made lifelike. This stuffed skin is placed beside the boy while milking, so that the cow can smell it, and thus have no objection to the process. Here smell is stronger than sight.—Kenneth J. Cameron (Namasi, Zomba, British Central Africa).
MIMICRY.
This natural phenomenon has, according to Dr. Andrew Wilson, recently received a very novel application in connection with certain gunnery experiments made at Aldershot. "The red coat of the British soldier has long been condemned as a mark for the enemy; hence khaki and greys have come into favour as colours for the protection of the soldier. At Aldershot the experiments were carried out on guns and their limbers, by way of securing concealment when placed against a variety of backgrounds. Six guns were painted red, blue, and yellow. Seen from a distance, the colour-blending rendered them practically invisible. At a distance of 800 yards it is said the outlines of the guns disappear. At 1000 yards they become lost to sight, and their location is impossible. This experiment is strongly suggestive of the Tiger markings, apparently most conspicuous, but harmonising so thoroughly with the surroundings that all trace of the animal is lost."—Ed.
