T. Bradford

“ I am writing to tell you about some gulls who come to our window every day. Each time we go to the window they come, expecting to get some bread. Sometimes they will take it from our hands, but that is rather dangerous, as in their hurry they are apt to take a finger by mistake in their sharp beaks. ”

“ The lighting reaches the eye first, as light travels 186,000 miles a second; but thunder is a slow traveler, and travels only about 1120 feet a second, So we need never be afraid of thunder, since it consists of harmless air waves. The danger has long since passed when we hear the noise. ”

“ There is no truth in the superstition that rattlesnakes will hunt the slayers of their mates. Occasionally, two snakes may be discovered in the same locality, but the killing of one and the subsequent discovery of the other is most incidental. The temper of individual snakes varies greatly. ”

“ It seems strange that in the great city of New York should be found a fish which is unlike all others, yet such is the case. In the lake in Central Park is found a pearl roach which differs so much from the pearl roach of various waters that it has been given a new place as a subspecies. ”

“ It is impossible to tell a snake's exact age by the number of “rattles.” From two to three joints of the rattle are grown every year, and after the rattle has attained about eleven rings, about two or three are lost every year, owing to wear. Each time the skin is shed, [1] a new ring of the rattle is uncovered or added. ”

“ This growth occurs on fallen trees, and also on living trees which by fire, wind, or human agency have sustained injury sufficient to expose the heart-wood. The sap-wood is never attacked. The growth, under favorable conditions, may extend throughout the tree, and will produce fruity bodies—known as the shelf-fungi—upon the tree trunk. ”