to be drawn by some allurement or enticement, and not by any
constraining or provoking power; indeed, I thoroughly searched all the
fences and trees in the vicinity, to find some nest or young birds, but
could find none. What this fascinating power is, whether it be the look
or effluvium, or the singing by the vibration of the tail of the snake,
or anything else, I will not attempt to determine--possibly this power
may be owing to different causes in different kinds of snakes. But so
far as the black snake is concerned, _it seems to be nothing more than
an enticement or allurement with which the snake is endowed to procure
his fowl_.--_Professor Silliman's Journal_.

_Boring Marine Animals._

The most destructive of these is the _Teredo Navalis_, a fine specimen
of which was exhibited at a recent meeting of the Portsmouth
Philosophical Society. This animal has been said to extend the whole
length of the boring tube; but this assertion is erroneous, since the
tubes are formed by a secretion from the body of the animal, and are
often many feet in length, and circuitous in their course. This was
shown to be the fact, by a large piece of wood pierced in all
directions. The manner in which it affects its passage, and the interior
of the tubes, were also described. The assertion that the _Teredo_ does
not attack teak timber was disproved; and its destructive ravages on the
bottom of ships exemplified, by a relation of the providential escape of
his majesty's ship Sceptre, which having lost some copper from off her
bows, the timbers were pierced through to such an extent as to render
her incapable of pursuing her voyage without repair.

_Anthracite, or Stone Coal._