* * * * *

The Weather by Frogs.

The editor of the Magazine of Natural History, in his Notes during a recent tour on the continent, says, “at Schwetzingen, in the post-house, we witnessed, for the first time, what we have since seen frequently, an amusing application of zoological knowledge, for the purpose of prognosticating the weather.  Two frogs, of the species **_R_ana arborea, are kept in a crystal jar, about 18 inches high, and 6 inches in diameter, with a depth of three or four inches of water at the bottom, and a small ladder reaching to the top of the jar.  On the approach of dry weather, the frogs mount the ladder; but, when moisture is expected, they descend into the water.  These animals are of a bright green, and in their wild state here, climb the trees in search of insects, and make a peculiar singing noise before rain.  In the jar they get no other food than now and then a fly; one of which, we were assured, would serve a frog for a week, though it will eat from six to twelve in a day if it can get them.  In catching the flies put alive into the jar the frogs display great adroitness.”

* * * * *

Human Remains.

The remarkable fact, that no vestiges of human remains have been discovered with those of the more ancient inhabitants of the globe, is at present fully confirmed; nor have any fossil bones of monkeys hitherto been found.  Mr. Bakewell, however, observes, that the vast diluvial beds of gravel and clay, and the upper strata in Asia, have not yet been scientifically explored; and both sacred and profane writers agree in regarding the temperate regions of that continent as the cradle of the human race.—­Bakewell’s Geology.

* * * * *

Food of Bees.

The American black willow and the red maple, are the first trees that are visited by bees.  They are fond of the crocus, which is the earliest of our bulbous roots.  The stercorary and piggery are next resorted to by these insects, and the extract absorbed from them must be used as a tonic.  Blossoms of all kinds, excepting those of the red clover and of the honeysuckle, are excellent food; and the bees especially profit by the increased attention bestowed at present on the cultivation of the peach-tree in some parts of America.  They not only drink the nectar and abstract the pollen of the flower, but they appropriate the peach itself.  We have seen twenty or thirty bees devour a peach in half an hour; that is, they carried the juices of it to their cells.  The humming-bird alone can reach the bottom of the nectary of the honeysuckle; but even here the instinct of the bee is seen.  The small birds, such as the wren, make an incision on the outside, near the bottom of the flower, and extract a part of the juices.  The bee takes advantage of this opening, and avails itself of what is left.  The scent of bees is so acute, that every flower which has a powerful odour can be discovered by them at a great distance.  Strawberry blossoms, mignonette, wild and garden thyme, herbs of all kinds, apple, plum, cherry, and above all, raspberry blossoms and white clover, are delicious food for them, and a thriving orchard and apiary fitly go together.