Throughout the world there are more than 20,000 species of orchids, the great majority of which are found only in mountainous regions of the tropics. A few, however, grow as far north as the Arctic Circle. _The Plant That Strikes Men Dumb_ A plant cultivated in the gardens of the Venezuelan National University at Caracas might well be a boon to pestered husbands and harassed mothers. It is described under the popular Spanish name of “planta del mudo.” It looks like sugarcane. According to the probably exaggerated claims, anybody who chews the stem is stricken dumb for at least 48 hours, presumably due to some paralyzing effect on some part of the vocal apparatus. It is not known whether anybody has tried to extract the marvelous talk-stopping principle. American botanists are unable to identify the plant. They explain, however, that the northern portion of South America long has been known as the world’s greatest storehouse of plants with strange physiological effects. There is one, for example, alleged to grow hair on bald heads, another which makes everything look red. _Combat of Moth and Shrew_ A strange fight between a grey shrew, smallest of North American mammals, and a black “witch moth” has been described by Laurence M. Huey of the San Diego Society of Natural History. The moth, with a wing spread of about four inches and a body size almost equal to that of the shrew, was placed in a cage with the mammal. The shrew proved too much for the insect after the odds had been equalized by clipping a great part of the latter’s wings. “Even with this severe handicap”, reports Mr. Huey, “the moth still was very strong and, as its body was so large, the shrew attacked it by grasping one of its wing stubs, tugging with main strength, and hanging on like a bulldog. Once, in a burst of spirited action, the shrew was pitched half way across the cage. This only caused a more determined attack and the moth finally was killed and eaten. “Another moth, with a body about three-quarters of an inch long, was placed in the cage. It had lost many of the scales from its wings and was partially disabled. It could fly feebly, however, from one side of the cage to the other. The shrew, apparently by its sense of hearing, kept following the course of the moth until its flight carried it about two inches above the little mammal. Then, with an almost invisible quickness, the animal sprang and seized the moth in the air, much as a basketball player leaps to catch a ball high over his head. A few crunches with the sharp-toothed jaws dispatched the moth.” _The Ferocious Snake Weasel_ From South Africa comes a report from Dr. Raymond B. Cowles of a fight between a deadly reptile and a little known mammal, the inyengelizi, or snake weasel.