Bde. He - dle he gt 4 x . . . + > : . ~ * + * : vialee se vA ee CC ead eaeeeeees : ie Site BOs By By Par ate a aes ae a sod inkh. ae he Pe Pe Te oye ee ey eR Ui Pak a ae ke he he Os Be ¥, aca 8: ey ake eRe By bee Sy Se Se We OE Se sas Sree ee BIRR. bt ¢ dew Ds“ hee ee Ss bee Pe ee ade! ee ee per Ge Se Sy Sete re a Rt pee See te SE a kk hy tee Sees Se hes RRR ee e ee BL ee SD Lee alk Parte Se Sete SS bee ee See Se ee te ah > BORA AL * 5 a hee, Re meeirarerereserar ers cs Sons he he ey os Sate ie i ; ty if f bd ee fataty ty , otglot net He f if : if. Helstet ats teatytor cites ae Pee eee Se Se a a ot oe > a te a. ~ * ate eS 2 ae, he << Saha RY RES a ererory ey eee Se ee SSSA . a ees * ~ rarer Se RS ee eee rea ten Se See ee BRS 8y SSeS yee eres SSS FAS a i Se ee re eet ei sae EET Se ee See ee FS ee ee se es a Se BBP PTA TS pear Sr ir ee : teat yh ¥: aireh ss ee for, athe ue is ey peta f : Be eee ni zs i hts , wey rele UE EASas oh oGas cA oF 24604 i stutetetyt *y Pytilatat tut hrhteerertel lolol tetoltrsealelotet 1 i ae Ps es = ? | See "Osler's first appearance in print", a column by W. R. B-ett, under Nova et Vetera in B. M. J., 1937, ii, p. 1026, | giving the prices, etc., of recent copies { of this vol., and of the February no. in which the paper appeared. ¥ £ | a aeacnietsmmiaies mcmeniaien é Cs ic 6 Sa wind >y Funds for the restoration of this volume were donated by: EVE OSLER HamPSon Fund ; 535. Christmas and the Microscope. la. 8°. (Lond., 1869.) Hardwicke’s Science-Gossip...ed. by M. C. Cooke, vol. 5 (for 1869), Lond., 1870. The article catalogued (p. 44; Feb. 1869) records the finding of diatoms, &c., and is signed: W. Osler, Dundas, Ontario. The vol. was pur- chased in 1922. “ The very start of my ink-pot career’’ (see the Introduction to this catalogue). . 2 ten 2m MMe Se AUiOon LoL: tae three limbs, FROM THE LIBRARY OF SIR WILLIAM OSLER, BART. OXFORD limb of the Y tube to the point of union of the three limbs, PHILIP HARRIS & C22 ernment or on “<5 poe and is connected externally by a length of light rubber tubing to the source of anaesthetic vapour. The idea is this: The child is anaesthetized, and a small rubber Magill catheter is passed into the trachea, and this is connected to one limb of the Y tube. Oxygen and ether are delivered by connexion No. 2 up to the crossways of the Y tube. The inspiration and expiration of the child are unhampered, because the remaining limb of the Y carries a foot-long exhaust tube freely opening to the outer air. It is to be noted that the exhaust pipe and all limbs of the Y are of greater diameter than that of the child’s trachea, and yet the length of the exhaust is sufficient to prevent too free an escape of the anaesthetic vapour. suvljeteadoid jeoluojeue Jay jo g0uR}da0aR snownysod TYNUNOf TVIICAW eee mee VUaLaA LH VAON LE6L ‘OZ “AON 9ZOL clock or a toy engine. The key is ie removed after approximating the blades to the degree required, so that nothing is left to project above the edges of the wound. Upon alternate days the key- is reapplied to tighten the grip on the spur, and then taken away again. The mechanism is simple (Fig. 2), and it is rare for the instrument to require adjust- ment. By turning the key (A) a screw (B) is driven downwards on to a strong steel collar lever (C), hinged upon the opposite blade. This collar acts upon a sloping steel shoulder (D) jutting out from the right-hand blade. The further the screw and collar are depressed the nearer the right-hand blade becomes approximated to its fellow. A small flat spring (E), inserted between the upper ends of the blades, facilitates introduction. As in the Paul, or Mikulicz, instrument, the face of each blade is serrated and the ends are everted, but the blades are rather wider, which lessens the danger of haemorrhage due to cutting through, and obviates the repeated reapplication which was often necessary with the narrower- bladed instrument. This enterotome has been found during the last two years to serve its purpose efficiently without causing the patient the discomfort of the old instruments. I am indebted to Mr. L. R. Braithwaite for his helpful sugges- tions, and to Mr. George Blomfield for making the original drawings. The instrument is made by Messrs. Chas. F. Thackray, Ltd., Park Street, Leeds. scenic!) at gl name ame a long key, such as is used to wind up an old-fashiond ~~ — _——__ , — -. ee ? TF « ore} ° oy ele, Written when he was 20 years old, Osler ~ ing and chier ornament of her sex,” Laura Maria Caterina referred as the beginning of. his inkpot career, heh Bassi, recent professor of universal philosophy at Bologna | ah aro 2 : : and later to become famous as the teacher of Lazzaro mus Ais gape: Ee re tend start, for tags of Spallanzani, the physiologist and experimental morpho- dvolations, this one from Horace, t en a familiar friend. ? Occupying one and a half columns of page 44 and signed fie cage sal a ecg’ Lio gives iors pees se W. Osler, Dundas, Ontario, the paper tells pleasantly and eside her there se ss PPOr with a touch of humour how on Christmas afternoon illustration bearing on the subject of écorcl Z 3 : cag ssp woe ee ot ees ue Fekigemnent 7 he found several species of diatoms and infusoria in an in the Sistine chapel, showing St. Bartholomew sitting an pe ave ne the tes between Dundas and astride a rock at the feet of Jehovah, with a brandished li ah gp sdk a3 ene f: . k pie ve aie the r knife, the instrument of his martyrdom, in his tight hand, “182 J i osgipning to: fail, an ee AO walt and his own skin hanging down from his left hand. the a ae y until evening before he could satisfactorily study A em. remarkable point being that his body is normally covered by skin, A casual glance through the volume also shows on page 94 two letters signed W. O, (? William Osler), and : 1 The Bologna Anatomical Museum which deal with the butcher’s broom and the fish-moth. 2 The reputation of the renovated theatre impressed those Like Osler, many physicians have sported an early interest in the seats of the mighty, including cardinals, and a in botany or zoology, and the subject of “The Doctor as museum for artistic anatomical models was established Naturalist” is a popular one in medical journals. It is with Lelli as custodian, and a year later a clever young interesting to recall that at the same age at which Osler sculptor, Giovanni Manzolini, became his assistant, and wrote his first paper, James Paget, with the help of his with the help of a surgeon, Boari, outstripped his chief, brother Charles, published in 1834 a “Sketch of the but in his turn was excelled by his pupil and later wife, Natural History of Yarmouth and its Neighbourhood.” Anna Morandi, whose anatomical preparations attracted W. R. B. Royal interest. The wax effigies of these two artists, still preserved in Bologna, are reproduced in this article, Lelli 7A preliminary note in the Bulletin incorrectly gives the volume was interested in physics and mechanics, became director 2U™ber as 44. of the Mint, superintendent of a factory for making = instruments, and president of the Academy of Sciences, The Commissioner for the Special Areas has made a After his death Luigi Galvani, the pioneer of electro. final offer of a grant of £90,000 towards the cost of build. physiology, was appointed custodian of the anatomical ing a new general hospital at Whitehaven, on condition museum, and in 1777 delivered a public oration in praisé that the Cumberland County Council and the Whitehaven I Ty of Anna Morandi Manzolini on the occasion of the Town Council, who are collaborating with the Whitehaven ! { : ‘Cushing, H. (1937). Yale J. Biol. and Med., 9, 199-213, hospital authorities, contribute £20,000 and £2,000 respec- | 4 Figs. 18. tively. | A | sj f ~ "9 Obed Bo % © 0 +] > ad q Old Ge 0? Sio9O & 1026 Nov. 20, 1937 Nova et Vetera id , ERCOLE LELLI AND HIS ECORCHE In a scholarly and beautifully illustrated article Professor Harvey Cushing,’ who has so often acknowledged the debt of modern surgeons to anatomists, especially those fathers who begat us, sketches the life and achievement of Ercole Lelli of Bologna, an anatomical artist whose models of ‘ muscle-men ”—the skin and superficial tissues being absent—or écorchés were much admired in the eighteenth century. admirable account of the anatomical school of Bologna, where Guglielmo da Saliceto taught anatomy and surgery in the thirteenth century, Mondino de’ Luzzi in the next century, Berengario da Carpi and Maggi in the sixteenth century, when Vesalius came over from Padua in 1539 to lecture on anatomy for the first time in terms of function. “As was natural enough, the Bolognese ‘took too much pride in their teachers to attempt to annex the anatomist who has been described as “ the most com- manding figure in European medicine after Galen and before Harvey.” Bologna had the teachers, but they were not given an anatomical theatre worthy of them until 1638; it was then “a miracle of art,” and soon became famous throughout Europe. It was nearly a century later —in 1734—that Lelli came on the scene, when the anatomical theatre was to be renovated, and he volun- teered to provide two anatomical figures, male and female, écorchés, as supports for the canopy over the seat of the professor so that he could use them conveniently for demonstrations. Illustrations in Cushing's article show Ercole Lelli’s portrait with a myological écorché, ; and also one of Volcher Coiter painted in 1575 with j an écorché, thus long antedating. Lelli. The theatre, b decorated in addition with statues of Hippocrates, Galen, and anatomical fathers of Bologna, is shown in an illus- tration taken from an illuminated document: it gives the memorable séance in 1734. when that “prodigy of learn. va sat two wom e EE a RPT RM ey Teh blr MO ie en for her moral cannnce NOVA ET VETERA This biography is led up to by an THE Britis MEDICAL JOURNAL posthumous acceptance of her anatomical preparations for public use by the Institute of Arts and Sciences. Professor Harvey Cushing expresses some regret that, although in his student days many were encouraged to supplement their textbooks by purchasing plaster models and painting on them muscles and so forth, all this is past, and modern anatomical science is no longer con- cerned about the relationship of anatomy to art. But he likes to picture the spirit of Ercole looking down with £ approval when a department of art as applied to medi- cine was established at the Johns Hopkins Medical School/ and on Max Brédel’s work there forty years ago. } Humpury ROLLESTON,” Zé OSLER’S FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT x Such was the quality of Osler’s greatness that to-day, in Britain and in America, anything from his pen has a market value, while his earliest writings have become so scarce as to be practically unobtainable. Thinking per- haps along these lines; and possibly in sentimental mood, the Bulletin of the (Johns Hopkins University) Institute of the History of Medicine has reprinted (January, 1937, 5, 91-93) his first paper, “ Christmas and the Microscope,” which was published in Hardwicke’s Science-Gossip, London, February 1, 1869. This semi-popular magazine is now defunct and in little demand, with the exception of the fifth’ volume (the date of this appears as 1870 on the title-page, as 1869 on the back), which is relentlessly pursued by Oslerians on both sides of the Atlantic. Some ten years ago the writer of this note had the good fortune to pick up a copy in Farringdon Street for threepence. About that time Dr. W. W. Francis, the Osler Librarian, through advertising acquired his copy for the Bibliotheca Osleriana, but he had to buy a complete and expensive set. Quite recently a New York antiquarian bookseller listed the February, 1869, issue in original wrappers for eighteen and a half dollars, while another bookseller in the same city offered the whole volume in half-calf for thirty- two and a half dollars. Teo his article, written when he was 20 years old, Osler referred as the beginning of his inkpot Career.” which showed his fondness, even at the very start, for tags of quotations, this one from Horace, then a familiar friend. Occupying one and a half columns of page 44 and signed W. Osler, Dundas, Ontario. the paper tells pleacanitlh: and B Monthly Medinm of Anterchange & Gossip FOR STUDENTS AND e , LEOovers OF NAT YR E. ; oma owt es ce ew ' English Plant-names. The Winter Home of the Humble of Ianthina (The Violet Sea-snail)— Bee.—Iustrated, me S IUustrated, Zoology. rs) Buds, as Objects for Winter Study.| Microscopy. a IUustrated, Botany. : 2 The Siskin.—Illustrated, Notes and Queries. i) Gudgeon Scale.—Ilustrated. Notices to Correspondents. RSE Oz i : 3 : a ws &§ ‘ . Xe E co : Of = ‘ oo % li a hs? zag, % os 4 4 4 M ie an Hes be “ g i we 4 4 ee 7 \ 0 * a i: © i a i he DD ae 4 OPTICIANS AND ROBERT HARDWICK 192 PlCCRDILLY age OF recording pages, 108.7 COLLECTION CATALOGUE FOR NATURALISTS, | a permanent record of Objects in any branch of Natural History. With fees [> for keeping particula nd lettered pages for General Index. Strongly bound, 200 pages, 78. 6d. ; in i 26. 6d. extra for every additional? 100 pages. Working Catalogues, 12.6 6d. tack. ‘ a bee ied A, eet ae nce Monthiy. sgistered for " SE fonthl (No 50-Feb. i, 1665 ransmission Abroad. 7 ; Gy All the back Numbers kept in print. — re (Mlustrated Price Lists Post-free. R FOR STUDENTS AND : : ON oi LOVERS OF NATURE. }3Sy Contents. English Plant-names. Tanthina (The Violet Sea-snail).— IUustrated. mie ee a _. ae vet, price 5s., at all B ” ‘The Winter Home of the Humble Beo.—Wustrated. rs J Lit ip brew Pe A 5 a te 19S pifice—-~ Pa a / featt Mrs LFLF: Jprwtd ae ees # SS 2 2wtiunyo Wap x : J , " | i Za. — vr MSCpINYy U VERIMGHERS TECUTS Y VUJECTIS 1B GRY OTARCH YF IVGCUTGs £408tOTy. WER ma tia ‘or recoramy interesting p articulars, and letiered pagee for General Index. Strongly bound, 200 pages, 7%. 6d.; WO pages, 10s. 7 and 24. Ga. extra for every additional 100 pages. Working Catalogues, ls. 6d. tack. ’ LL UA GN Ral earege Suk hast HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP ' For 1869. Sciencee-Gossip: | AN ILLUSTRATED MEDIUM OF INTERCHANGE AND GOSSIP FOR STUDENTS AND : LOVERS OF NATURE. | | Epitep sy M. C. COOKE, | : AUTHOR OF ‘fA PLAIN AND EASY ACCOUNT OF THE BRITISH FUNGI,” ‘‘ MICROSCOPIC FUNGI,” ‘(\ MANUAL OF BOTANICAL TERMS,” AND OF ‘‘ STRUCTURAL BOTANY,” THE “BRITISH REPTILES,” ETC. ETC. LONDON: [ ROBERT HARDWICKE, 192, PICCADILLY. | 1870. WYMAN AND SONS, ORIENTAL, CLASSICAL, AND GENERAL PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON, W.C. Dec. 1, 1869. | HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. LIST OF ApnorMAt Fiowens, 58-66. Acerina vulgaris scale, 38. Acineta tuberosa, 77. Actinia amethystina, 163 (8). — bicolor, 164 (3) — rapensis, 163 (5). — dianthus, 164 (1). — equinu, 164 (7). — Peruviana, 163 (6). —- picta, 164 (6). — St. Cutharine, 163(7). —— sulcata, 163 (1). Actinocyclus Ralfsii, 199. Actinoptychus undulatus, 196. Agrostemma coronaria seed, 103. Alopecurus agrestis, 123. — geniculutus, 125. American Silk-moth, 223. Amphiprora ornata, 79. Amphora arenaria, 183. Animal from Salt Lake, 51. Antenna of Labidocera, 94. Antirrhinum majus hair, 247. Ardea cinerea, 56. Argemone grandiflora seed, 7. Argonauta argo, 370, 171. Ash-buds, 36, Asterionelia Bleakleyi, 193. Attheya decora, 192. Aubrietia deltoides hair, 237. Auliscus sculptus, 197. Aurelia aurita, 53. Auriculated Aurelia, 53. BARREN BRoME-GRASS, 130, Bat’s Wing, skeleton, 227. Beech-buds, 24. Birds, the Bullfinch, 121. — the Heron, 56. — the Jay, 225. — the Kestrel, 131. —— the Lapwing, 78. — the Ruff and Reeve, 249. —— the Short-eared Owl, 206. —— the Siskin, 37. Bream, scale of, 13. Bromus sterilis, 130. Broscus cephalotes, 141. Buds of various trees, 24-36. Bullfinch, the, 121. Care Frocs, 48. Carpels of Geranium, 117-119. Cartilage of Petromyzon, 112. Caterpillar of Telea, 220. Cephalanthera grandiflora, diagrams of flower, 72. Cereus gemmaceus, 164 (2). — papillosus, 164 (5). Ceylon Bug, 55. Cherocampa celerio, 208. Chelifer Latreillei, 211, 212. Cheyletus, 1. —., Egg of, 2. — and Cheesemite, 4. ——, Head of, 3. —,, Mr. R. Beck’s, 5. Cillenum luterale, 140. Circea lutetiana, abnormal flower. 47. ,normal flower, 46. Circulatory system of Dreissena, 89. Cocconeis excentrica, 200. Cocoon of Telea, 22). Collecting-case, 16. Comactis viridis, 163 (9). Common Rye-grass, 129. Coscinodiscus nitidus, 195. ——- ovalis, 194. Crab, four-horned, 133. Crustacean, Nameless, 76. Cuckoo-spit larva, proboscis, 82. Cuttle-fishes, 167-172. DACE, SCALE OF, 122. Dendritic Spot on Paper, 52. Dianthus barbatus seed, 107. —— sinensis seed, 106. Diatoms, seaside, 173-205. Digestive System of Dreissena, 99. Diphusia pinaster, 154. — pinnata, 153. rosacea, 161, 152. Draba incana hair, 238. Drawing Apparatus, 57. Dreissenu polymorpha, 88. EEL, SCALE OF, 132. Egg of Cheyletus, 2. Entozoon of Labidocera, 95, 96. Ephydra \arva, 51. Epistylis, 54. Epithemia marina, 191. Eschscholtzia Culifornica seed, 9. tenuifolia seed, 10. Eupodiscus argus, 198. Falco tinnunculus, 131. Float of Ianthina, 22. Flower, Abnormal, of Circea, 47. ——., Normal, of Circea, 46. Flowers, Abnormal, 58-66. —— of Foxglove, Abnormal, 58-60. Foot of Ianthina, 18, 19, 20. — of Obisium, 217, 218.. Foxglove Flowers, Abnormal, 58, 59. Fragilluria Crotonensis, 81. Fringilla spinus, 37, Frogs from the Cape, 48. Fungia putellaris, section, 109. Gammarus locusta and Brood, 142. Garden Rocket hair, 235. Garrulus glandarius, 225. Geophilus subterraneus trachee, 41. Gevtria australis, 116. Geranium molle carpels, 119. —— pusillum carpels, 117. rotundifolium carpels, 118. Gobio fluviatilis scale, 49. Grammatophora murina, 203. serpentina, 204. Grey Poplar-buds, 31. Gudgeon, scale of, 49. Gymnadenia conopseu, diagram of flower, 74 Gypsophila elegans seed, 105. Hatks or Chelifer, 214-216. Hairs, Vegetable, 231-248, Halidrys siliquosa, 165. Hazel-buds, 26. Head of Cheyletus, 3. Head of Lamprey, section, 115. Heron, the, 56. Hieracium Pilosella hair, 241. Holcus florets, 127, 128. Honeysuckle flowers, 63. Hornbeam-buds, 25. | Horse-Chestnut-buds, 25. ILLUSTRATIONS. Humble Bee at Home, 39. Hydrailmannia falcata, 148. Hypocheris radicata hair, 236, Ianthina communis, 17. exigua, 21. —, float of, 22. lingual strap, 23. —, foot of, 18, 19, 20. Ideal Section, Pennine Chain, 40. Isthmia enervis, 205. JAY, THE, 225. KESTREL, THE, 131, Labidocera magna, 92, 93. Lamprey, Head of, 115. ——,, respiratory apparatus, 114. ——, the Pouched, 116. Lapwing, the, 78. Larva of Ephydra, 51. Leuciscus vulgaris scale, 122. Lime-buds, 32. Linaria Cymbalaria hair, 231. Lingual strap of Janthina, 23. Live-box, 84-86. Loligo vulgaris, 172. Lolium perenne, 129. Lonicera Periclymenum hair, 232. Lychnis divica seed, 104. — Floscuculi hair, 246. MAGNETIC STAGE, 87. Maple-buds, 22. Marsh Foxtail Grass, 125. Mimulus moschata hair, 242. NAMELESS CRUSTACEAN, 76. Nautilus, 170, 171. Navicula estiva, 178. angulosa, 176. — Clepsydra, 182. — crucifurmis, 180. — granulata, 173. —— humerosa, 174, — Lyra,177. — rectangulata, 175. — retusa, 179. —— Trevelyana, 181. Nitzschia virgata, 190. — vivaz, 189. Nose-piece, 15, OAK-BuDS, 23, Obisium orthodactylum, 219, spermatozoa, 210. Octopus vulgaris, 167. Opium Poppy seed, 6. Orchestia Deshayesii, 138. — littorea, 139. Orchis purpurea, diagram of flower, 73. Orobanche caryophyliacea hair, 240. Orthosira punctata, 80. Ow], Short-eared, 206. Papaver somniferum seed, 6. Parasite of Obisium, 213. Peach-flower, abnormal, 62, Pea-crab, 136. Peduncles of Geranium, 120. Pennine Chain, ideal section, 40 ae : iP ; vi HARDWICKE’S SCIHUNOE- GOSSIP. (Dec. 1, 1869. Peritymbia vitisana, 42. Petromyzon marinus, cells, 111. Phronima sedentaria, 50. Phymaetes St. Helene, 163 (4). Pigment-cells, Petromyzon, 113. Pinnotheres pisum, 136. Pisa tetraodon, 138. Plantago lanceolata hair, 244. Platystemon Californicum seed, 8. Pleurosigma estuarii, 184. — angulatum, 187. —— Fasciola, 186. — lanceolatum, 185. Plocamium coccineum, 166, Podosira compressa, 202. Polycelia profunda, section, 110. Polygala vulgaris hair, 233. Pope, Scale of, 38. Poppy, Opium, seed, 6. Primula vulgaris hair, 243, Privet Hawk-moth, 207. Proboscis, Cuckoo-spit larva, 82. Pterodactyle, head of, 226, —— skeleton wing, 229. Pupa of Telea, 222. Pyrrhula vulgaris, 121, RETRIBUTION ON A CREYLETUS, 4. Roach, scale of, 12. Rudd, scale of, 11. Sagartia coccinea, 164 (9), — rosea, 164 (8). — viduata, 164 (4). Salmon, scale of, 230. Salmo salar scale, 230, — trutta scale, 250. Sandhopper, the, 137, Saponaria Calabrica seed, 102. Scale of Bream, 13, — of Dace, 122, Scale of Eel, 132. — of Gudgeon, 49. — of Pope, 38. —— of Roach, 12. — of Rudd, 11. ‘| —— of Salmon, 230. — of Trout, 250. Scrophularia nodose hair, 241. Sea Anemones, 163, 164. Section-.cutter, 14. Seed, Agrostemma coronaria, 103. Argemone grandiflora, 7. —— Diunthus barbatus, 107. — ——_ sinensis, 106. —- Eschscholtzia Californica, 9. 2 tenuifolia, 10, — Gypsophila elegans, 105. — Lychnis dioica, 104. —— Opium Poppy, 6. —— Pupaver somniferum, 6. —— Platystemon Californicum, 8. —— Saponaria Calabriea, 102. — Silene alpestris, 98. — Armeria, 97. —— Stellaria holostea, 100. —— media, 101. — Visearia oculata, 99. Sepia officinalis, 168, 169. —— ovum and embry 145. Sertulariella polyzonius, 149. rugosa, 150. Sertularia abietina, 159, 160, —- argentea, 161. —— cupressina, 162. — filicula, 158. — vperculata, 155, 156. pumila, 157. Shore-hopper, the, 139. Silene ulpestris seed, 98. armeria seed, 97. Silk-moth, American, 223, 224. Silver-striped Hawk-moth, 208. Siskin, the, 37. Skéleton Wing of Pterodactyle, 229. Slender Foxtail Grass, 123. Spharoma serratum, 143. Sphinz ligustri, 207. Spider-crab, four-horned, 133. Spider’s foot, 108. Spirorbis Nautiloides, 134, 135. Stage, magnetic, 87. Stellaria holostea seed, 100. media seed, 101. Strix brachyotus, 206. Surirella Capronii, 43, , sections, 45. | Sycamore-buds, 34. Symphytum officinale hair, 234. Talitrus locusta, 137. Telea Polyphemus, $ 9, 223, 224. Thuiaria thuia, 146 (7). Tingis hystricellus, 65. Toxonidea Gregoriana, 188. Tracheze of Geophilus, 41. Tradescantia zebrina hair, 245. Tropeolum majus, peloria, 75. Triceratium alternans, 291. Trout, scale of, 250. Vanellus cristatus, 78. Verbascum Thapsus hair, 239. Vine-insects, 42. Viscaria oculata seed, 99. WAYFARING-TREE-BUDS, 24. | White Beam-buds, 21, Wing of Bat, 228, Wych Elm-buds, 33. | ZOOPHYTES, SERTULARTAN, 146-162. January, 1869, Hardwicke’s Science-Gossip, THE STORY OF A PIECE OF COAL, By J. E. TAYLOR, Hoy. Src. Norwicu Gzon. Soc., ere. AN any of my lis- , teners fornr any ES ©), idea of what a mil- lion of years means ? (fr; It is very difficult, \> JT grant, but I can- Xs not give any more < definite conception NS= of my own great age than by saying I am many millions of years old. You must therefore take it for granted that all this immense lapse of time has occurred since I wasborn. Be- fore I attained my majority—that ee is to say, before I became really CS 4 and positively coa/ —I had ex- isted in manifold forms, more numerous and varied than the metamorphoses of the butterfly. You cannot hit upon a greater mistake than to suppose I was originally made just what you now see me—a jetty mass of mineral. The doctrine of metempsychosis, said to be held by the Hindoos, would apply almost literally to my own biography. You may trace my career through a hundred different stages, each more widely various than the other. Nay, the process of elaboration through which I have passed is so complex that I may well be forgiven if I have not a clear recollec- tion of it myself. Tam English born and bred, notwithstanding the tropical character of my antecedents. In some measure, it may be thought that I hardly partake of English characteristics as regards the climate which affected my earlier career; but I can assure you I was never once removed from British ground In the distant ages to which I have briefly referred, my recollections go back to waving forests of tree- fern and gigantic club-mosses, as well as to a thick underwood of strange-looking plants. The name now given to this formation by geologists is termed No, 49, the Carboniferous, and you may form some idea of the ages which have flowed away since then by the fact that no fewer than zize subsequent distinct formations and periods occurred.. These ate known as the Permian, Triassic, Liassic, Oolitic, Cretaceous (or chalk), Eocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Quater- nary, to say nothing of the epoch comprehending the human race. To make myself still more clearly understood, it is necessary to state that the forma- tions newer than that to which I belong attain a vertical thickness of more than fifty thousand feet! All this mass was slowly formed by gradual depo- sition along old sea-bottoms, whilst a more than equivalent period of time was taken up in the up- heaving and other processes which have elevated these rocks into their present position! The climate and geography of Great Britain were very different from what theynow arewhenI wasborn. You must imagine asoft balmy temperature, neither too hot nor too cold, and lacking those extremes which at present characterize the seasons. There was no great necessity for extreme heat—rather it was most important to the growth of a luxuriant vegetation to be free from cold. There were few ranges of hills or mountains, for these always cause a refrigeration of the atmosphere by condensing the clouds; thus hanging the sky with a curtain which shuts off a great deal of solar heat. True, right across what is now central England, there stretched a hilly barrier, which separated two coal-formations going on contemporaneously. Scotland and Wales were also then widely different from what these countries are at present. Instead of the grand mountainous scenery they now possess, we had long-extended saline mud-flats, thickly studded with trees now extinct, and known to, the geologist by the names of Sigillarie, Lepidodendra, and Cala- mites. Yn fact, all the district now considered as “ coal-yielding ” was then similarly circumstanced. The entire area had a geographical condition similar to the marine swamps which now fringe the coast- line of the Southern States of America. To these B SS 2 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1869. the slowly ebbing and flowing tides had access nearly twice a day. Around the more aged trunks of these extinct trees, standing on a muddy, shallow sea-bottom, so to speak—marine worms clustered, and their coiled tubes are now occasionally found fossilized, along with the petrified vegetation to which they clung when in life. These Spirordi, as they are commonly termed, are tolerably plentiful in the north of England. It was owing to the semi-marine, semi-terrestrial character of the area on which the luxuriant vegetation of the Carboniferous period grew, that we now find so many fossil mussels and other marine shells imbedded in the same strata. I am told that chemists nowadays have dis- covered only one atom or particle of carbon asso- ciated with every thousand of the other gases forming the atmosphere. The atmosphere of the period when I was born hardly contained more. This small quantum was absorbed by the waving forests into their structure, and thus added to their solid bulk. Day by day, and year by year, each individual tree grew, so that the mass of solidified carbon increased, but without exhausting the original store. This was constantly being furnished by volcanoes, as well as by the lowly animals of my own time. Everything, they say, is composed of minute and cellular parts, and originally my atoms freely floated in the air as so many particles of carbon. This was before I had entered into that combination which made me part and parcel of a living tree. Once having been sucked into the leaf- pores of a Lepidodendron or Sigillaria, I started existence under a new form. I became subject to those unknown laws of vital force which philoso- phers find so great a difficulty in explaining. Thad now an active duty to perform, and had to assist in the growth and well-being of the tree in whose bulk T lay. But this did not prevent me from noticing the many strange objects which surrounded me. Human beings there were none, nor did the race to which I am now so useful an auxiliary appear upon the earth’s platform for millions of years afterwards. Tree lizards, not very much larger than those which haunt the sunny banks of old England, climbed up and down the sculptured branches of the forest trees, and lived upon the marsh flies and beetles, whose “ drowsy hum ” was the only sound that broke upon the stillness of these primeval woods. They found a shelter in the hollow trunks of Stgi//arie, in association with the | pupee of beetles and other insects. In some places they have been found fossilized together,— a con- served recollection of those bygone times. Great reptiles, much resembling a frog, only as large as a small ox, waddled to and fro over the extensive beaches, and left their enormous hand-like impres- sions in myriads upon the yielding mud. As such they are now found in the flagey sandstones which compose the strata of the coal formation. Occa- sionally, when overtaken by death, their carcases rotted on the shores, and were imbedded in the sands, to be found in long-subsequent ages ina fossil state. Several species of these gigantic batrachians existed contemporaneously. Very frequently thesalt- water reaches were visited by alligator-like animals, | now termed Archegosaurus, whose bodies were covered by hard, horny scutes or scales, held to- | gether much after the manner a slater now adopts when he tiles a house. These reptiles were five and six feet long, and, together with the great frogs I have mentioned, were the principal and most power- ful animals of the age I am speaking of. The atmosphere differed little from its present condition, being neither denser nor more rarified, This you may prove for yourself by the impressions of rain- drops preserved in the Carboniferous sandstones. The great drops were driven by the wind aslant, so that even now there is indicated the very quarter from which the wind blew at thetime! The:passing shower over, the sun peeped forth from behind the dark clouds, and his heat baked the mud, and cracked it, just as he does now the bottom of a clayey pond. These sun-cracks were subsequently filled up, sometimes by sand ofa different colour, so that they are fossilized as truly as the shells and plants. The same sandstones yet bear the trail- markings which the marine worms left after they had crawled over them when in a soft state. Occa- sionally you may even come across their burrows or holes; whilst the flagstones also are impressed with ripple-marks left by the retreating tides! Although the sea-bottom was so shallow in the neighbourhood of the great forests, I should statethat many miles further out it gradually shelved deeper, until there was an area where “ blue water ” was at- tained. Here the sea was fairly alive with animals of all sorts of natural history orders and classes. Coral banks, with animals putting forth their beautifully coloured tentacles, more various than the rainbow hues, stretched over many leagues of old Devonian rocks, and, as the area was slowly submerging at the time, their united labours, in the course of ages, produced no small portion of what is now termed the “Mountain Limestone.” Shell-fish, allied to the existing nautilus, found in these purer waters, free from land sediment, the essentials of their well- being. In the limestones which their dead shells helped to form there are no fewer than thirty different species of nautilus! They’ had relatives termed Goniatites (long since died out, for they did not possess the hardiness of their congeners), whose chambers were fashioned in a zigzag or angular manner. Then came another group of shell-fish, equally near by blood, the Gyroceras, whose coils did not lie so closely together’ as those of the nautilus. One other class of cephalopods are now known as Orthoceratites. They were also ~chambered, but Jan. 1, 1869.] were straight instead of being coiled. The lime- stones of this age are crowded with immense ‘numbers both of species and individuals belonging to these genera. Of them all the Orthoceras was perhaps the most dreaded, partly on account of its size (some of their shells being three feet long, and as thick as a man’s leg), and partly on account of their voracious habits. Fancy them, as I have frequently seen them, with their last chamber sur- rounded with a fringe of long arms, each of which was furnished with suckers that would indicate no slight danger to bathers nowadays! Hundreds of thousands of these creatures existed. Indeed, they were the scavengers of the Carboniferous seas, eat- ing up everything that came in their way, and perhaps not particular about preying upon a weakly brother when appetite prompted them. In Scot- land, in many parts of the limestones formed at this time, the strata, for hundreds of feet in thickness, are composed of hardly anything else but the ac- cumulated shells of Orthoceratites / At the bottom of the sea in which these cepha- lopods lived and flourished there were gathered together immense shoals of a peculiar shell called | Spirifera, now extinct. Scores of species of this particular shell lived and died there, for it was the period when the family attained its maximum of existence. In fact, they occupied the place in those earlier seas that cockles and mussels do now. Their anatomy was very peculiar, each shell-fish being furnished with a peculiar coiled-up apparatus which it could protrude so as to produce currents that brought to it its food. Small, but beautiful crusta- ceans, of a race then fast dying out, still swarmed the waters. Formerly they were known as Trilobites—those of this age are christened PAii- lipsia. ‘Their family had exercised a sort of mollus- can oligarchy during previous geological epochs. But the Carboniferous period saw the last of the race, and its limestones became their tomb. I am told that the geologist knows few fossils more | beautiful than these little trilobites, The cream. coloured matrix in which they are imbedded, and the perfect and ornate characters of the fossils them- selves, cause them to be greedily collected and much admired. In the same sea were hundreds of species | of shells besides, all of which thronged together to | enjoy acommon life; but to mention them separately would be to convert my story into a tedious detail. I should be lacking greatly in memory, however, if I were not to mention a most abundant and peculiar family, allied to the star-fishes and sea-urchins of the present day—I mean the Crinoids. The common feather-star of recent seas most resembles the upper parts of these extinct animals. But the tentacles of the latter were longer, whilst each was subdivided into branches.” When at rest, these closed around the body like the petals of a tulip. Again, each was fastened to a jointed stem, which anchored itself HARDWICKHR’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 3 oe aS ES by roots to the sea-bottom. Submarine forests of these crinoids covered many square miles of the rockier portions, and their graceful outlines and motions in the water, as well as their bright colours, were sufficient to induce admiration. In Derby. shire the limestone is almost entirely composed of their broken and aggregated stems. As these dead shells and other animal remains accumulated along the ocean-floor to form a lime- stone that should afterwards be easily identified by their imbedded forms, almost every individual was coated by minute sea-mats. No Honiton lace of the present day ever excelled in grace and elegance that which belonged to these lowly animated beings. In the solid masses of the Carboniferous limestone you may now find them festooning shells and corals ; and few objects afford greater delight to the geologist when he comes across them. The single corals also—that is to say, those which did not grow in reefs, but lived solitary on the sea-bottom—were not inferior in beauty to any now existing. Their fringe of gorgeously coloured tentacles made them ap- pear like so many animated flowers; and thus the dark caves of ocean then bore many a flower that was born to blush unseen. Slowly, through countless | myriads of years, the Carboniferous limestone in- creased to its present thickness, principally by the accumulation of dead shells! The sea-water con- tained more or less of carbonate of lime, which the shell-fish absorbed in order to build their dwellings, just as the trees did carbon that they might form wood. In this way the minute particles became ultimately condensed into rock masses. Meantime, the water was animated by little creatures that would have evaded human eyesight, although their forms were not a whit less elegant and graceful than those of their larger neighbours. Their tiny shells fell to the sea-bottom, and there formed a limy | mud, which acted as a fine cement for the bigger fossils. As time passed on, the sea actually became shallower, by reason of the vast numbers of organ- isms lying on its floor. The weight of sea-water pressed them into a solid limestone rock, such as you now behold it. Can you wonder, after this, that such a deposit should take a high polish when worked, or that the marble thus produced should be speckled and marked by so many strange forms as you see it in your mantel- pieces or pillars ? In the shallower waters of the sea, and sometimes even in the marine lagoons where the trees grew, multitudes of strangely-clad fishes swarmed. The largest of these, the Megalichthys, or “ great fish,?? possessed characters which linked it to the reptile family. Its teeth and jaws rendered it a formidable assailant, and its powerful build and rapidity in swimming made it the terror of its neighbours. In fact, the “great fish” occupied a place among the fishes of its time similar to that held = modern B 4 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jaw. 1, 1869. rivers by the pike; its size, also, averaging about the same. ‘Time, however, would fail me to enumerate the various kinds of fish that lived in the same epoch that I did. From four or five feet in length, to thousands no bigger than the common stickleback, all were covered with enamel plates instead of horny scales. Indeed, horny-scaled fishes did not come into existence for ages afterwards. In many parts of Lancashire, in the shales which overlie the coal-seams, these shining enamelled plates may be turned up by the thousand. The smaller fishes haunted the shallower lagoons overhung by club- mosses and ferns, and the dim light that broke through these was often reflected from the sheeny mail of Palonisci, as they wantoned and gambolled, unaware of “great fish” lying near. When the muddy bottoms of these reaches and lagoons became afterwards hardened into coal-shale, the dead fishes lying there, whose hard covering had protected them from decay, were entombed and passed into a fossil state. But what tongue can describe the vegetable wonders of the forests where I grew? ‘The woods were so thick, and the gloom so impenetrable in consequence, that it required a keen eye to make out individual peculiarities. Fancy Lepidodendra four or five feet in diameter, and as much as fifty or sixty feet high, and yet nothing but gigantic *club-mosses”! Their long leafy ribbons waved like the leaves of the aspen, and, where these had fallen off, the bark was most gracefully and geome- trically reticulated from their attachment. Thirty or forty different sorts of these immense club-mosses existed at the same time, each characterized by different leaves and bark. The gigantic Sigillarie were nearly related to them, the main difference being their longer leaves, straighter stems, and the larger marks made on the bark. The roots, also, of this latter class of trees were very peculiar, and stretched through the mud on every side, seeking a firm foundation for the tree to which they belonged. Shooting many feet above these great club-mosses were huge “mares’-tails,” as easily distinguished from the rest as the wavy poplar nowadays is from oak andelm. These are called Calamites, and truly they were extraordinary objects. You have only to magnify the little “ mares’-tails” growing in ditches until you see them fifty and sixty (or more) feet high, and you would have the best restoration of these Calamites that could be imagined. There were many species, characterized by fluted joints, and by difference of foliage. Here and there, but more sparsely scattered, were graceful tree-ferns, whose former fronds had left great scars on each side the trunk. The higher grounds were occupied by peculiar species of pine, bearing great berries as big as erab-apples. The humid morass was dénsely covered by a thick underwood of smaller ferns, which grew there in rank abundance. The equable | temperature, rich soil, and humid atmosphere were just the needful accessories to the growth of vegeta- tion of the class I have mentioned. It consequently flourished at a rate of which we can form but a poor idea from the present. The accumulated trees, ferns, &c., were very great, and these gathered in immense quantities over the entire area. I men- tioned before that there was a slow sinking or sub- mergence going on. Well, occasionally, the tides brought up silt and strewed it over the decomposing vegetation. In fact, many of the forests were actually buried thus, and their trunks are frequently met with standing erect in solid sandstone rock. But though the covering-up of the vegetation pre- vented the liberated gases from escaping, it also obstructed for a time the growth of other trees. The latter could not well flourish on sand-banks, and so they were limited to conditions elsewhere similar to those I have mentioned. But as time elapsed, the old circumstances returned. Another forest grew on the site of the older, to be buried up in its turn. During countless ages this alternate growth and covering-up went on, until in some places, as in the South Wales coal-field, there are no fewer than one hundred different seams of coal! After this vegetation had been thus collected, chemical changes began to take place. The mass heated and turned black, just as a stack of hay does now when it has been packed in a damp state. By- and-by, it was transmuted into a pulpy condition, wherein almost all traces of vegetable structure be- came lost. It afterwards changed into a solid sub- crystalline mass, and obtained the jetty, semi-cubical character it now presents. As many of the tissues of coniferous trees contain more or less of silex, which is indestructible, it follows that when coal is burned, this drops out’ of the grate as a white ash. When the microscope is applied to it, the peculiar spiral and dotted vessels of these ancient trees are plainly visible. But notice the associations which cling to a piece of coal! It represents a more solid condition of carbon than is to be found in mere wood. And here I should state that though various conditions of fossil fuel are met with, from green wood to culm and anthracite, their vegetable origin is never once lost sight of; whilst chemistry steps in with an easy statement of how these changes occurred! The ancient vegetation of the Coal period grew by virtue of the stimulus of the sun-light. The heat and light induced growth, and thus even a piece of coal represents so much fossil sunshine | And now, when men light their fires or manufacture their gas, they are but setting free the light and heat of the sun which poured down on the old Carboniferous forest, and were stored up by the vegetation in their tissues. Nay, more, botanists will tell you that the three primary colours of light ate sure to be developed at some time or another in the history of every plant or tree—in the blue and ini mon , aS r than lected, } mass y des anges eriod Tight. evel shine! etre t aul é ald y the snisis light rit gad Jay. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 5 yellow which form the green of the leaves, and in the red of the fruit or russet of the bark. Just so with the fossil vegetation termed coal. The very aniline colours which are obtained from coal tar are nothing more or less than the restoration of the primary colours which the ancient vegetation stored up from the light! Such is a portion of my history, briefly sketched; but the broad traces of design manifested in my preparation are too palpable to be overlooked. The age in which I was born was a special one, like to none other which went before or came after; and it is to me that modern progress is indebted. In my mass is stored up a ;force that saves the wear and tear of human muscle and sinew, that does away with the fearful toil which makes simple slaves of men, and, enables them to gain daily bread by easier means. «But through the vast ages during which I have been silently stowed away, plutonic disturbances have repeatedly broken through and cracked the solid strata, and have thus brought them to the surface to enable men to work the coal they contain. Meantime life in its manifold phases has never once been absent ; whilst its up- ward progression culminated in a being endowed | with moral and mental as well as physical perfec- tions, and it was for him and his kind that I was specially prepared, to surround him with the means | of social happiness and comfort, and to enable him to rise higher in the scale of intellectual being. CHEYLETI.* THESE arachnids, some species of which, ac- cording to the “ Micrographic Dictionary,” are found in books and museums, are thus described in that work:— “Rostrum prominent, palpi thick, resembling arms, and falciform at the ends, antennal forceps (mandibles ? ) didactylous.” T My acquaintance with them began in the early part of December 1866, when I was searching in a cellar for microscopic curiosities, chiefly Podure. To the naked eye they appeared as little orange- coloured mites{ on the surface of the damp wood and amid the spiders’ webs, &c.§ A lens revealed something of their outline, and I thought I recog- nized certain characteristics of the creature so ably described by Mr. Richard Beck in the Journal of Microscopical |Science as “a new species of acarus,’ whose agamic reproduction offered an interesting field for study. Accordingly I eagerly collected all the specimens I could, amounting to about eight; and prepared to watch them in confine- ment. Like Mr. Beck, I soon found that the Cheyletus was partial to a diet of cheese-mites; so * Read at the Quekett Microscopical Club, 23 Oct., 1868. + Micrographic Dictionary, { Possibly the species is new, § [Cheyletus venustissimus (Koch.) is an orange species found in stables, &c., which this somewhat resembles.—Ep.] in a supply of these my captives were speedily indulged. After coursing round and round their prisons, seeking in vain for a means of escape, the Cheyleti at last settled down to a quiet life, dividing their time between satisfying their appetites and laying eggs. Both these processes were extremely curious, and displayed a degree of intelligence which to me seemed surprising in so minute a creature. The hungry Cheyletus would start forth from its hiding-place in the cell, the first pair of legs (which, by the way, in some species are never used to walk upon) extended as if groping. As I cannot discover any eyes in the creature, I am led to cdnclude that this is the sole function of the first pair of legs. Their branched structure favours this inference. By-and-by, after poking them into various holes and corners, they would touch a \| Fig. 1, Cheyletus, x 30. moving cheese-mite; I say moving, because if the cheese-mite remained still, it seemed to escape the notice of the Cheyletus altogether, even though it were repeatedly touched by these groping organs. . But if it moved, thé Cheyletus actively turned itself in that direction, placing its head at right angles to the cheese-mite’s body, and lowering it towards the mite’s legs; then it suddenly seized hold of a leg with the mandibles and falces, the former piercing, and the latter holding it steady. Having made an aperture in the skin of the mite, the Cheyletus pro- ceeded to suck into its own body the contents of that of its prey. With a two-third inch objective the passage of the fluids by constant jerks down the leg of the mite, and into the Cheyletus could be clearly seen. Unless greatly disturbed, it would not relinquish its hold till its appetite was satisfied, but it would carry or drag the mite with it as it retired from suspected danger. Whether the bite of the Cheyletus is venomous to the cheese-mite, is an opén question—Mr. Beck thinks it is venomous. Anyhow, the mite ceases to move in about a second after it is bitten, doubling up its legs immediately, a ee - i 6 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. (Jan. 1, 1869, as if paralyzed. After the meal is despatched and the shrivelled-up skin of the mite is cast away, the Cheyletus returns to the spot in the cell which it has appropriated as its home, and prepares to deposit an egg. Before and after doing this, it is at great pains to spin threads (apparently from its mouth) crossing each other in various directions at one point, to prevent the egg rolling away from the selected spot, and also to afford the young Cheyletus, when hatched, some slight protection. The young (as with acari in general) have only six legs, and they remain, for some little time after leaving ,the egg, under the shelter of the silken cords which formed its support before it burst. : The cheese-mites that were enclosed in the cell with the adult Cheyleti, being hunger-pressed, commenced their depredations on the eggs of their Fig. 2. Egg of Cheyletus, 2 in. and A eye-piece. enemies, and were so successful in this under- taking that from the early part-of December till the end of January, when the mites were in much diminished force, not one of the eggs of the Cheyleti, though many were laid, was suffered to hatch. They all disappeared under the mandibles of the cheese-mites, whose voracity till then I was not well acquainted with. One even had the temerity to attack an adult Cheyletus, and was successful in the attempt. Somehow it got round to the rear of its enemy, and, having thus obtained the advantage, it made the most of its opportunity, by climbing up and then cutting furrows in the unfortunate prisoner’s back, and transferring the fragments of viscera to its own interior economy, till at last the Cheyletus gave in, and submitted to its fate. After the captor had glutted itself, it left the. prey quivering in agony, and waddled off. When I took another glance, two hours afterwards, five other cheese-mites were busily occupied clearing away the remains of the feast, and they steadily persisted till nothing but the horny feet and mandibles re- mained. These they rejected ; and I observe they always leave these parts uneaten after a cannibal feast, which is not an unfrequent occurrence in the life of our friend Acarus domesticus. About the middle of February the eggs of the Cheyleti were hatching too rapidly for the cheese- mites to keep down the race effectually, and it was most interesting to witness the early development of ferocity towards cheese-mites in the young Chey- leti. They would attack individuals much larger than themselves by gripping the cheese-mite’s leg fiercely, and keeping hold long enough to obtain some slight nutriment from the juicy prey. In almost all cases, however, a few kicks compelled Fig. 3. Head of Cheyletus ; mandibles holding leg of Cheese-mite, $ in. obj. the young tyrant, whose strength was not equal to its desires, to relinquish its hold very soon. An hour or two afterwards it would try again, and sue- cessfully obtain some refreshment after a similar struggle. Thus these little mites prolonged their existence, and gradually grew larger. The conduct in confinement of this Cheyletus, which, from comparison with Mr. Beck’s drawings, T take to bea distinct species from that he describes, is probably just the same in its natural state, I generally notice it in the dark cellar alluded to, either in-‘some crevice in certain pieces of wood, or protected by an old forsaken spider’s web; and in its neighbourhood I observe, often in considerable numbers, an active species of mite, certainly not a cheese-mite, but probably the species figured in Hogg’s book on the microscope as a flour-mite. Occasionally I have caught a Cheyletus in the act of making a meal off one of these. But it seems to me that the Cheyletus is by no means restricted in its diet to one species of acarus, for in confinement I have observed it devouring several, Not long ago a person called my attention to a large birdcage, which was much infested by the bird-mite (Dermanyssus avium). A close ex- amination of the nests of that creature revealed a | mass of mites of all sizes, their cast skins and eggs, Jan. 1, 1869.) HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 7 and also numerous Cheyleti, which had so freely imbibed the contents of the bodies of the Der- manyssi as to acquire their colour,—a very deep red, almost black. These remarks would be extremely incomplete if no allusion were made to the species of Cheyletus that Mr. R. Beck described, and which I have lately been fortunate enough to find. The three or four specimens which came in my way had taken up their abode on the cover of a book that had lain in a cupboard for about a year undisturbed. They were each sitting on the top of a small heap of eggs in various stages of development, some being already hatched, and some only just laid. At short dis- tances off, also, on all sides, there were numerous east skins of the creature, and discarded remnants of unlucky acari that had fallen a prey to them. Fig. 4. Retribution on a Cheyletus by a Cheese-mite. The most remarkable and interesting discovery in connection with this Cheyletus was the fact that he obtained several generations from the first indi- vidual, without the intervention of a male, leaving the question, “whether the creature is really her- maphrodite, or whether, as with Aphides, one act of fertilization by the male produces an indefinite series of generations?” to be decided by some expert microscopic physiologist in the future. He says, “On July 10th of this year, a young avarus of this species was taken from a trap, in | which there was only a mature female; it was completely isolated, and on the 29th of the same month it laid eggs, which hatched on the 4th of August. One of these on the day it was hatched was removed to a trap, and also completely isolated ; by the 13th of September it had laid eggs, and some had hatched. On the 19th of September, two of the young from the last-mentioned trap were separated and secured. Since then, one of these specimens was killed; the other laid eggs, which hatched, on the 29th of December, and one of these young ones is still alive, but isolated in the same way as its pre- decessors. “The securing a succession of three generations, including some accidents, has with me extended over a period of about five months, and I am quite prepared to admit that the proof of agamie repro- duction in this acarus would have been more satisfactory if continued through a longer period; but after reading Professor Huxley’s paper on the Agamic Reproduction of Aphis, in part of which he states that ‘in Myriapoda and Arachnida the \ re Fig. 5. Mr. R. Beck’s Cheyletus. process is not known,’ I have thought that the few facts I have just given were of sufficient value to bring before your notice.” * This Cheyletus has shorter legs than the other that I have alluded to in the early part of my notes ; it has a smoother skin, and its palpi and head are much larger relatively to the rest of its body. It also is of a paler yellow; but it is possible that the colour may be greatly influenced by its diet. The first pair of legs are more highly developed as organs of locomotion than in the other species, but it appears, notwithstanding, to be less given to roam- ing about. As it has been in my possession but a few days, I have not been able to verify the obser- vations of the distinguished microscopist I have quoted; but at some future time I may be able to communicate further information. 8. J. M‘Inrmr. * Journal of Microseupical Science. rr ee = eee eee a ee ae ease ° joe ee OE FS Pe -—: Sn ge er « ' E 7 ee ee HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1869. FRESH-WATER PLANARTA. fe a little Flat-worms, common as they are, have been little noticed among the numerous objects which come under the aquarium-keeper’s eye; and, with the exception of Mr. Ray Lankester’s paper in the Popular Science Review, I can find no systematic account of their habits. I have there- fore set down the following disjointed notes of my own, in the hope of suggesting a more extensive history to others who have greater facilities for ob- _ Servation than I possess: The Planarie, which are included in the class of Flat-worms (Platyelminthes), and are members of the order Tushellasia, may be found abundantly in our streams and ponds, either gliding about or clinging in a quiescent state to the inferior surfaces of stones, water-lily leaves, &c. In size they vary from nearly an inch in length to a mere speck, and their colouring presents different tints, — rufous, orange, white, black, and olive green. Locomotion is effected by a continuous over gliding, similar to that of the Bubble-shell (Physa fontinalis), but swifter. The white varieties, which are far more sensitive to touch than their coloured congeners, will, when alarmed, contract and relax their bodies violently in the attempt to progress like a leech, but, though they can proceed in this way, no true sucking-disc is present. Apropos of the sensitive- ness of the Planarie, they often fall foul of the Hydre, but seem nowise incommoded by the contact, though sometimes escaping with difficulty from the grasp of the tentacles. Like many molluscs, these creatures will frequently launch themselves on the surface of the water with the ventral aspect upper- most. When thus travelling, any disturbance of the water will send them tumbling down; and I have often seen them break their fall, or even remain suspended by means of a delicate thread. This cord is probably spun, as Dalyell and others mention spinnarets as present in some species; but it may be due merely to the mucous secretion which covers the body and causes the fingers to adhere slightly after handling a Planaria. They are active night and day; but if the weather be cold they contract themselves and cling to sheltered stones or bury themselves in the ooze. In the absence of such shelter they suspend themselves from the surface of the water, much as the hydra is'wont to do, by hollowing the ventral aspect into a kind of boat. The Black Planarians may be found in cold weather huddled together in great numbers and in almost any water; for they are by no means particular in the latter respect, and will bear changing from fresh to putrid water without injury. I have not ob- served, however, that the fresh-water species enter the brackish water at the mouth of the same river ; and on transferring some individuals from fresh to slightly brackish water they apparently lost all power of locomotion, feebly erecting themselves on either extremity and writhing about. They were dead on the expiration of ten minutes ; and, curiously, they became tough and shrivelled like shreds of leather, though naturally of a semi-gelatinous consistency. In common with the hog-louse (Asel/ws) and the fresh-water shrimp (Gammarus), the Planaria plays the réle of scavenger. A dead molluse is speedily black with feasters; and on one occasion 1 found them attending the funeral of a relative, when, the orthodox “baked meats’? not being forthcoming, they devoured their deceased friend. At another time a living stickleback was attacked. The fish in question was affected with a disease in the form of white glandular swellings. Being placed for a few minutes in ajar containing Planarie, an individual of the black variety (Polycelis nigra) fixed itself on one of the excrescent swellings; nor was the fish, though evidently troubled by its presence, able to shake it off. I presently pushed the worm off, whereupon a thin stream of blood issued from a wound visible as a slight puncture on the ball. Having left the fish for a short time, I found it on my return covered’ with Planarians and, if not exactly sucked dry, at least minus its natural fluids. The aliment of these creatures is received into the stomach through a suctorial pharynx, which is cap- able of extension, and serves also for the ejection of the non-assimilated food. The latter falls as white flosculent matter. In one specimen, which I cut transversely, this pharynx remained hanging to one of the halves of the body in an extended state, and did not fall off for about ten days, when doubtless a new organ had been formed. It is well known that the Planarie rival the Hydre in their susceptibility of reproduction by artificial division; but the power of spontaneous fission possessed by them is yet hardly proved. I have cut many both longitudinally and transversely, and severed them partially or wholly, and they usually formed perfect animals, but I have not witnessed an instance of spontaneous separation ; nevertheless the white species (Planaria lactea), after being ~ partially crushed, will discard the wounded portion, and supply its place by a fresh growth. The same species, if the frontlet be slit so as to form two leads, presents a strange sight, each head striving to pursue a separate course, which is mostly diametically opposed to that of the other. A slight sketch of the characteristics of the com- moner species may be found in the “ Micrographie Dictionary,” where, in addition to the black and white varieties, a dark grey species (P. torva) anda dusky-brown species (P. brunnea) are mentioned. These are essentially similar in habits to the Black Planaria, but are more locally distributed. Besides these I have found several of an olive colour, which 0, we 8 Alc ou eds of finons ud the as edly foun en, he oming, nothe fishin orm of afer ividuul sell he fs, abe f rm Of, fro § bal lito if at natu nto the 18 cl tion ot tite Tat to ove e, aul Jess al tle on by ane0ls el, | etl, they re Ot ation; sete 1 the fre slits ji eat wich Jan. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 9 are of large size, very broad in proportion to the length, and show airudely dendritic ‘“ water-vas- cular” system, This variety is much less active than the above-mentioned, and far less abundant. Like the White Planaria, it has the habit of pucker- ing its body into folds when at rest. It has been a matter of doubt whether the Planaris possess the faculty of sight, although they exhibit eye-spots varying in number from two to sixteen, and even more. JI incline to think they do derive some aid from these eyes in their progress. In ajar in which my Planariz are kept, the weeds hang above a large stone, up which the worms crawl, and, immediately lifting up their bodies on the posterior extremity, they pass on to the over- hanging weed without pausing or feeling about for ahold; thus proving that they are conscious of the presence of the weed, though it is nearly half an inch above them. A, Hart Evererr. FLORAL GIANTS. fb two largest flowers in the world hold very distinct places in» the vegetable kingdom; inasmuch as one is a water-plant with leaves pro- portionally large, the other a parasite on tree trunks, without any leaves at all. In short, the one is the representative giant of aquatic, the other of land plants. The aquatic is the elegant Victoria regia (the Irupé or water-plate of the natives of Guiana, the Royal Water-lily), which for beauty, size, and sweetness of scent stands without a rival. Its enormous flowers, measuring not less than 15 inches across, open each evening, of a pure white, but gradually assume a pink hue, diffusing, as they mature, a delicious odour. As is the case with our own water-lilies, the flowers are accompanied by several floating leaves, each 5 or 6 feet in diameter : but these leaves, to meet the necessities of the case, are of a very peculiar construction: the edges are turned upwards, forming a ridge 3 or 4 inches high the whole way round, giving the leaf the appearance of a huge platter. The lower surface, which is of a purplish-red colour, is traversed in every direction by stout projecting ribs, strengthening the material of the leaf to an incredible extent. — This glorious plant, an inhabitant of the Amazon and some of its affluents, was first discovered by a German traveller, Thaddeus Haenke, in 1801; it was soon after seen by Bonpland, but was first described by Péppig in 1832, and named by him Euryale Amazonica. Five years later Sir R. Schom- burgk again fell in with it in the river Berbice, and from the examination of specimens sent home by him it was removed by Professor Lindley from the before-named genus and re-named Victoria regia. Schomburgk describes so graphically his feelings on first encountering ,this stately plant, that I cannot resist inserting the passage :— “While contending with the difficulties that nature opposed in different forms to our progress up the river Berbice, we arrived at a point where the river expanded and formed a currentless basin. Some object on the southern extremity of this basin attracted my attention. It was impossible to form any idea of what it could be; and animating the crew to increase the rate of their paddling, we were shortly afterwards opposite the object that had raised. my curiosity—a vegetable wonder! All calamities were forgotten; I felt as a botanist, and felt myself rewarded: a gigantic leaf, from 5 to 6 feet in diameter, salver-shaped, with a broad rim, of a light green above and a vivid crimson below, resting on the water. Quite in character with the wonderful leaf was the luxuriant flower, consisting of many hundred petals, passing in alternate tints from pure white to rose and pink. ‘The smooth water was covered with the blossoms.” Sir Robert has himself told me the story in a similar strain, and has mentioned how he has seen large heavy water-birds standing, three or four together, on the broad leaves, supported by the net- work of ribs on the lower surface.* The other giant, Raflesia, has none of the graces which distinguish the lovely Victoria: it is note- worthy, however, both for its enormous size and for the extraordinary circumstance that the solitary flower constitutes the whole plant. ‘There is literally neither stem, branch, leaf, nor in fact any organ whatever, except the flower itself and the rootlike processes by which it is attached to the trunk of the tree on which it grows and by whose juices it is nourished. Let the reader imagine a great dull red corolla fixed to the side of a tree— generally some species of Cissws—undistinguished by a stem and unrelieved by leaf or verdure of any kind, and he willhave some notion of this singular production of the islands of the Indian Archipelago. Clifton. W. W. Spicer. Locat Names, whether of birds, beasts, or fishes, and of all vegetable organisms, will be of service if sent either to Mr: James Britten, of High Wycombe, or Mr. Robert Holland, of Mobberley, Knutsford, Cheshire. * It is worth recalling to mind that the late Sir J. Paxton, the architect of the Great Exhibition building, 185), borrowed his plan of construction from the leaf of the Victoria, He says: ‘‘It was here (Chatsworth) that this singularly beau- tiful aquatic flowered for the first time in this country, on Nov. 9, 1849. You will observe that Nature was the engineer in this case. If you examine this and compare it with the drawings and models, you will perceive that Nature has pro- vided it with longitudinal and transverse girders and sup- porters, on the same principle that I, borrowing from it, have adopted in this building.’” ho eR nt 0 OS SE eet tet 10 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. (Jan. 1, 1869. ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF SEA-BIRDS ON THE ENGLISH COAST. T is well known that the English coast, on some of its loftiest cliffs and boldest headlands, has from time immemorial been the favourite haunt— during the breeding season—of a variety of gulls and. other sea-birds; and so long as railways, steamers, and other means and motives of locomotion did not invade their privacy, they were secure from all but those smaller chances of loss arising from the occasional visit of a sportsman or a tourist. Those days of seclusion and security are now, unhappily, among the things of the past; and a systematic destruction of sea-bird life has become so completely the abnormal state of things that it is felt that, unless steps be immediately taken to protect them from’ harm—and, if possible, secure them from molestation — during the incubating period, by some stringent legislative enactment, there will soon be no birds left on the English coast. It was recently stated in the leading journal that one person alone had a contract for 10,000 birds, the wings being largely used as an article of com- merce; it seems, however, to be quite overlooked— or, if foreseen, to be a matter of indifference—that, even in an economical point of view, the supply must soon be followed by scarcity, with no source left to which to look for its possible renewal. There are other grounds, however, of more im- perial interest than the mere decoration of female attire, upon which an appeal may and must now be made on behalf of the sea-birds of Old England. Té is understood to have been already proved before the Manx authorities, in procuring a special Act for the Isle of Man, that the ery of the birds in foge weather will more effectually warn the seaman of his danger as he approaches the rock-bound coast, than either the fog-bell or the beacon-light could do; while the fisherman, earning his honest liveli- hood among the finny tribes of the deep, is often guided where to cast his nets, or where to drop his line, by the hovering of the sea-birds over the thickest of the shoal. Other arguments might be adduced why these birds should have the fostering’care of our country’s laws, instead of being left to what must otherwise be their speedy and cruel fate; a plea might be put in in favour of that which constitutes, to every lover of the beautiful, one of the charms of the wildest parts of our coast scenery; but it is hoped that enough has been said to warrant the publication of this ad- dress, inviting co-operation and support for an asso- ciation, the object of which is to endeavour to carry an Act through Parliament, in the ensuing session, for the purpose of preventing the destruction of sea- birds during the breeding season. The following facts and figures were communicated by Commander H. H. Knocker, R.N., to Land and Water, and will show the necessity for prompt action. It takes only “the Yorkshire coast-line between Scarborough and Bridlington, a distance of about 18 miles, and which includes Filey, Speeton, Bempton, and Flamborough, North and South. The lowest estimate of numbers has been taken, that there may be no charge of exaggeration.” Time which the birds are on the coast (say from the middle of April to the 10th of August), 110jdays. Say 25 boats daily (Scarborough, Filey, Flambo- rough, Bridlington), with 2 guns in each boat (many take 4 or36), will make 50 guns; then 15 guns on shore.(Mr. Dobson, gunmaker, has let out himself as many as 24 per day) gives a total of 65 guns. Allowing 15 birds to be shot or wounded per gun, this will give 975 birds per day, or 107,250 for the season. Add to this number 12,000 birds per season destroyed by professional bird-killers, and we have a total of 119,250 birds killed for pleasure and gain. Take also into calculation the egg-collectors, and compute them at 8, each of which would collect 100 eggs per day for 42 days, and we have a total of 33,600 eggs taken annually. Allowing that two-thirds of the birds shot have young ones or eggs, this gives 79,500 young birds or eggs lost by their parents being destroyed. This does not include the numerous ones lost when the birds are frightened off the rocks, and-sweep off the young or eggs they are sitting on. We then have 107,250 birds destroyed by pleasure parties, 12,000 birds destroyed for gain, 33,600 eggs taken, 79,500 young birds starved to death or eges lost. 232,350 birds and eggs shot, wounded, die, and taken in the breeding season, or between the middle of April and early in August. Those who wish to join the association are requested to send their names and addresses to one or other of the honorary secretaries — viz., the Rey. H. F. Barnes, the Vicarage, Bridlington 5 and Mr. Harland, Bridlington, Yorkshire. A subscription of five shillings or upwards con- stitutes membership. THE PAST YEAR, 1868. Fe one of the objects of Screncz-Gossrr is to record the variations which each year pre- sents, a few observations on the: past season, in addition to those which have been already recorded, may not be out of place, In the spring of last year T referred to the variegated leaves which had even then become noticeable from their frequent occurrence; and I may remark, in passing, that the variegated elder, which I then mentioned, had its later leaves of the usual colour, although the earlier ones were green Jan. 1, 1869] HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. ll and yellow until the end of the season, As the year went on, these variegated leaves became more re- markable; so much so that, were I to give a list of all that I have observed, I should enumerate nearly a hundred species. Perhaps the most ornamental was a plant of the Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) which I found near Knutsford : each leaf had a broad white—not yellow—border, throw- ing up the green centre with great effect. At Llanfairfechan, North Wales, I found a plant of Silverweed (Potentilla anserina) with the leaflets half yellow and half green. Doubtless many readers will call to mind additional examples. Again, the general drought which prevailed in the summer months produced a curious effect upon the autumn vegetation. We shall notice, almost every season, that a few odd plants of certain species will put forth a second crop of blossoms in the autumn; but I have never observed this second crop so general as it was last year. While in Cheshire, at the end of “September, I noticed that the Meadow Crowfoot (Ranunculus acris) was every- where coming into flower; and on my return to Wycombe the same occurrence was equally conspicuous. The Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) flowered twice; how many times the honey- suckle blossomed I am quite unable to say ; certainly three, probably four. The Marsh Marigold (Celtha palustris) and Wood Stitchwort (Stellaria nemorum) were in flower at Mobberley at the end of Sep- tember; the Garlic Mustard (Alliaria officinalis) blossomed again, in October, at Wycombe; and a turnip-field near Great Marlow was in the middle of November almost filled with Zrysimum chetran- thoides and Penny Cress (Zklaspi arvense), just coming into bloom. These, and many other instances, suggest that a complete second crop was produced, the first having seed sufficiently early to allow of such an occurrence. As to monstrosities and malformations, they have been unusually abundant; but an abler hand than wine has undertaken to describe them. Many aquatic plants, deprived of what would seem their natural element, have, contrary to what might have been expected, flourished most Tuxuriantly. I first noticed this near Aylesbury in July, where the Arrowhead ;(Sagittaria sagittifolia) was growing in large masses in the almost dried-up bed of astream, Water-lilies (Nymphaea alba and Nuphar lutea) were similarly benefited by this change of circumstance. Mr. Holland states that Utricularia minor, growing in pools containing but little water, was flowering freely at Oakmere; this species seldom blossoms in ordinary seasons. The Pillwort (Pilularia globulifera), in the same locality, formed masses, green and luxuriant as grass, many yards in extent. Many bog plants, however, had been seriously affected; on Lindow Common, Cheshire, the Sundews (Drosera rotundifolia and D. anglica), except in a few places, did not put in an appearance ; Andromeda polifolia flowered three, if not four, times.* On the road between Mobberley and Knutsford are three or four beechi-trees ; these had, apparently, been killed by the heat; their leaves were in august shrivelled and brown. At the end of September, however, after the showery weather, I observed young green leaves appearing at the ends of several of the branches. Mr. Holland has referred (Screncr-Gosstr iii., p. 249) to the growth of fresh shoots from the axils of the leaves on the dead main stem of many plants. Here, at High Wycombe, the same thing has been noticeable. In the Field of September 19th a correspondent says that there were two regular swarms of bees on September lst in a garden inthe parish of Shiplake, Henley-on-Thames, The editor thinks that these were cases of desertion of the hive for want of food, and that the correspondent was mistaken. It seems, however, quite likely that the dees were mis- taken in the season, and did swarm, as many plants had put on am appearance of spring. In fact, the bees probably did not swarm defore, because of the seareity of food; but they did then, because there was anew supply. Bees donot generally desert a hive ex masse, but dwindle away, usually leaving a considerable number of dead ones behind. Other entomological ocecurrences—such as the great number of “whites” recorded from many places, the absence of wasps, the appearance of rare moths and butterflies—I leave to be recorded in detail by those who devote themselyes to their observation. B. POPPY-SEEDS. N continuation: of the theme of “Microscopic Seeds,” commenced in our November number, we offer figures: and deseriptions. of a few seeds from the Poppy family, known to: botanists as the Papaveracee. There is undoubtedly a great simi- larity in the seeds of the true Poppies themselves, or at least in all we have had the opportunity of examining, but the different genera of the order present peculiar types, which will be seen to differ entirely from those of the Foxglove family (Sero- phulariacee) already described. The Oprum Porpy (Papaver somniferum) ‘ias two varieties of seeds, the one called “ white-seeded,” with pale buff-coloured seeds, and the other “ grey- seeded,” with pale slate-coloured seeds. Micro- ° scopically, there is no difference, save in the colour. The form is kidney-shaped, and the surface reticu- lated, so as to leave shallow hexagonal pits, which * See Scrzence-Gossir jii., p. 162. ae ae 12 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. again are more minutely reticulated with faint hexa- gonal veins, more distinct in the grey than in the white variety (fig. 6). Fig. 6. Seed of Opium Poppy, x 40. The LARGE-FLOWERED ARGEMONE (A7yemone grandiflora) is a cultivated plant. The seeds are larger than in the Poppy, of a brownish-black colour,’ nearly egg-shaped, pointed at one end, and reticu- lated in a similar manner, but the pits are deeper, and more distinctly concave. The secondary reti- culations are almost obsolete (fig. 7). Fig. 7. Seed of Argemone grandiflora, x 40. CairorniaN Pratystemon (Platystemon Cali- fornicum) is another cultivated plant, The seeds are very distinct from those of the Poppies, being brownish-black and shining, elliptical, with a longi- tudinal furrow on one side. The reticulations are very faint, irregular, and elongated (fig. 8). Fig. 8. Seed of Platystemon Californicum, x 40. Common Escuscuoitz1a (Lschscholtzia Califor- mea), found in nearly every garden, has rather large ovate seeds, bluntly pointed at each extremity. They are of a dull grey colour, deeply and coarsely reticulated. A distinct furrow usually traverses the seed longitudinally. The depressions are irre- gularly hexagonal, the ridges irregular ‘at the margin, and striate from the base upwards. Se- condary, small, faint, hexagonal reticulations are just visible at the bottom of the pits (fig. 9). SLENDER-LEAVED EscuscHoutzia (Eschscholtzia the rivers which run through them. (Jaw. 1, 1869. tenuifolia)—The figure of this seed, furnished by Mr. E. Marks, is so distinct in its character from - Fig. 9. Seed of Eschscholtzia Californica, x 40. the foregoing that one feels almost disposed to doubt its identity. The form is irregular, almost spheroidal, and the surface, instead of being reticu- lated, is covered with large, prominent, conical Fig. 10. Seed of Eschscholtzia tenuifolia, x 40. projections (fig. 10). If truly an Zschscholtzia, and we have no other reason to doubt, it serves as a caution, not only against hasty generalizations, but also against the supposition that the seeds of all allied plants are very much alike. THE RUDD AND ITS SCALES. rF\HE Rudd, or “ Roud,” as it is locally called, is a common fish in the Norfolk Broads, and in Zoologists recognize it as a distinct species under the name of Cyprinus erythrophthalmus. Anglers know it well in those waters, not only when they see it, but before they see it, by the manner in which it takes their bait. No angler who has been accustomed to this fish would ever dream of regarding it as only a local variety of some other fish, as the roach, or as a hybrid. Yet some persons haye of late given ex- pression to a doubt whether the Rudd is not a hybrid between the Roach and the Bream. The supposition is ingenious, but, as I believe, utterly groundless. The habits and personal appearance of the fish condemn such a hypothesis. When cooked, its flesh is much firmer than either of the others of which it is supposed to be the offspring, » At any rate, it is a truly fertile hybrid, and in the brightness of its colouring, and its edible qualities, is far superior to either of its supposed progenitors, The forms of scales in the three species are here figured for comparison, and we doubt whether they Jan. 1, 1869.) HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 13 can be adduced as any evidence of hybridization. Lubbock, in his “Fauna of Norfolk,” says that, although often incompany with the roach, “the Rudd, on the whole, prefers the broad, and the roach the river; is very lively and active, rises freely at flies, and is fond of sporting on the surface; is most Fig. 1). Scale of Rudd, x 10 diameters. vivid in colour, sometimes nearly rivalling the gold fish; does not often exceed two pounds, but is commonly met with a pound anda half in hig. 12. Scale of Roach, x 10. weight; is much better to eat than the roach or bream. I have seen marshmen select Rudd for their own cookery, whilst they carried bream and roach home only forthe dogs or the pig.” ‘To these observa- tions we can bear evidence, founded upon many and many a day’s pleasant sport amongst them, and sundry breakfasts at which a dish of Rudd was smoking. Although so plentiful in Norfolk, this is undoubtedly a local fish, and in many parts of the British Isles is wholly unknown. It has, however, been recorded from other localities than those in which we have made its acquaintance, as Yorkshire, Fig. 13. Scale of Bream, x 10. Lincolnshire, and Oxfordshire, to which I believe Cambridgeshire may be added. The scales figured are from fish taken last August, on the same day, and within a few yards of each other, in the neigh- bourhood of Barton Broad. C. CHRISTMAS BERRIES. Heap on more wood! the wind is chill; But let it whistle as it will, We’ll keep our Christmas merry still | JTLRISTMAS Berries. What are they ? what do they include? ‘Looking back to former days, and many aright merry Christmas long gone by, I should certainly say that the holly, the laurel, the ivy, and the mistletoe are most undoubtedly Christ- mas berries, for the plants and shrubs on which they grow have been, and still are, those most generally used for the decorations in fashion at Christmas-time in private houses. Church decorations is another matter. Many persons object to the lvy soft and meek of speech, as the old carol has it, because it was considered sacred to Bacchus; and as to the mistletoe, a lady of my acquaintance read some young relatives of hers a long lecture on the Druidical rites performed in con- nection with this parasitical shrub, when they faintly hinted that its smooth white berries would form a pretty contrast to the coral-like red of the holly fruit, in an elaborate piece of floral embroidery, which they were making for a pet curate’s especial delectation. But, as I am not particularly up either in clerical millinery or church ornamentation, I shall confine my description to those old home favourites, which we doubtless all remember as associated with our earliest recollections of Christ- mas day. Nay, ivy, nay, it shall not be I wys ; Let holly have the mastery, as the manner is. 14 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. (Jan. 1, 1869. Our holly is the Ilex aquifolium, a tree possessed of many valuable properties, but far inferior, neverthe- less, to its South American cousin, the Maté, the native tea-tree, I may call it, of the country. There are three different sorts of tea made from this species of holly, and brought into the markets in South America: one called the Caa-cuys is prepared from the half-opened leaf-buds, roasted and powdered; the other, Caa-mire, is the leaf in its green state, de- prived of its midrif and veins; whilst the Yerva de Palos of the Spaniards is the entire leaf, petioles, and smail branches dried and beat up into a fine dust. A teaspoonful will make a large cupful. Boil- ing water is poured on it, and it is drunk when cold, or I should say sucked through a tube, after the fashion in which the Yankees imbibe cold drinks. It contains the same principle as tea—theine. The unripe fruit of some of the holly genus abounds in tannin, and French physicians are of opinion that the Ilicine (medicinal principle) is a most efficient substitute for Cinchona bark. There is little doubt but what the dressing up of houses at Christmas-time was derived from a heathen custom, for we read that the Romans ornamented their dwellings with green boughs during the Saturnalia; but I do not see why this should afford any just cause of objection to our introducing ever- greens into our houses, for, if there is a Pagan pre- cedent, there is also a Biblical sanction. The Jews employed evergreensin their Feast of Tabernacles, and Christ entered Jerusalem over strewn Palm branches. Have you ever heard it said that if the evergreens put up at Christmas-time are not taken down before Candlemas-day, there will be a death in the family who occupy that house before the year is out ? Tvy-berries are smooth and black; they hang on all ‘the winter, unless picked off by the birds. Wood-pigeons, especially, are devoted to them ; and I have heard it said that the resin which exudes from old branches will attract fish. If this be true, then fish do smell, which some writers in Land and Water appear to doubt, and have lately been dis- cussing with considerable facetiousness, By the way, it is as well to observe that the Irish Ivy, which is considered by some to be a variety of the common, bears ved berries, Ivy formed the poet’s crown in days gone by. Horace in his ode to Mecenas, and Virgil in his seventh Hclogue, both-refer to this custom. In- deed, the plant appears to have been a very great favourite with all the poets—so many of our own writers, ancient and modern, abound in beautiful allusions to it. The wood of the Ivy being so soft and porous, it obtained the reputation of being able to separate water from wine when the two were mixed together. Pliny mentions this, and gravely says that the water filtered through its pores, leaving the wine in the vessel. Garlands of Ivy are decidedly very pretty, and the ancients displayed good taste when they deco- rated the statues of their gods with it.. There are over fifty species of Ivy. The Laurel was first brought over to Constan- tinople from the Caucasus by the name of Zrabison cumasi, or “date of Trebizond,” in 1576; but it was not cultivated in England before 1629. A London merchant, a Mr. Cole, first cultivated it at Highgate. He had a single plant of it, which he used to cover in winter time with a blanket in order to protect it from the frost. Who that has ever seen our beautiful evergreen Laurel hedges and banks at Cliristmas-time could possibly imagine this to have been the case with their first English ancestor ? The fruit of the Laurel is an ovate, shining, purple-black berry; and, singular to relate, al- though the leaves, inner bark, and seeds contain a poisonous principle, the pulp of the fruit does not, and a preserve is made of it. The Mistletoe (Viscum album) produces a smooth white berry. The plant is a parasite, growing chiefly on Apple-trees, and rarely on the Oak, although persons generally imagine that most of the Mistletoe-berries seen at Christmas-time are found on Oak-trees; but we must know, when we reflect on the superstitious reverence with which the Druids regarded the Mistletoe on the Oak, it was even a rare thing in those days to find the plant on that tree, for we are told that a search was made for it even in an age when this island was covered with forests of Oak. The berries were certainly, in the days of Shake- speare, considered poisonous, for he writes of it as the “baleful Mistletoe”; but birds devour them very readily, and it is mentioned in a natural history of Prussia, by Boek, that the branches and leaves of Mistletoe had been dried and pounded in times of scarcity, and made into bread mixed with rye-flour, There are some singular old superstitions con- nected with this plant, originating, doubtless, in the Druidical customs before alluded to; and the peasantry in some parts of England even now believe that an amulet made of the wood and hung round the neck would preserve the wearer from witchcraft. My Christmas berries are described ; and, having commenced with a line from Scott, I will e’en con- clude with more :— And well our Christian sires of old Loved when the year its course had rolled. And brought blithe Christmas back again : With all his hospitable train. Domestic and religious rite Gave honour to the holy night ; On Christmas-eve the bells were Tung; On Christmas-eve the mass was sung; That only night, in all the year, z Saw the stoled priest the chalice rear, The damsel donned her kirtle sheen ; The hall was dressed with holly green; Forth to the wood did merry-men go. : To gather in the mistletoe. 5 Heten E. Watney. Jan. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 15 APHIS LION AND LACEWING FLY. N the latter end of August last year my attention was attracted to an ivy-leaf, in the centre of which was something white. I gathered it, and on nearer{inspection found that there were about twenty or twenty-five small white bodies elevated on an ex- ceedingly fine footstalk, which again was attached to the centre of a small glistening circular disc on the upper surface of the leaf. Mach was about the third of an inch long, and the space they covered did not exceed the size of a fourpenny piece. Lhad never seen anything of the kind before, and, fearing lest I should not meet with it again, I took all the care possible of it, and immersed the end of the leafstalk in water. It put me more in mind of the fructification of some of the new mosses than any- thing else, and I imagined it was a minute fungus. I looked at it from day to day, but it remained just the same, even after the ivy-leaf dried up and became brown. It did not seem to suffer from the loss of moisture, but each little oval body stood up as stiff and erect as ever on its tiny footstalk. For ten days or a fortnight there was no change at all, and then Thad to go away; fortunately, I returned just as the mystery was being solved. Coming in within a week, and in the middle of the day, I went to the shelf on which they stood, and there, upon the mar- ble and close to the bottle, I saw two or three little black bodies crawling along. There were some on the bottle, more on the old brown leaf, two were leisurely descending the stalks from their elevated cradles, and one was just emerging from its shell. I was just in time to see the little colony burst into life ; had I been a day later I should have felt satis- fied it was a vegetable organism, as when the eggs were open, the regularity of their toothed margins tended to favour that idea. I had very little time to spare, but popped a few into a pill-box; and as the microscope stood on the table ready to hand, I put one into the live-box, so as to get some means of identifying it subsequently ; I found it covered with black hairs, and the possessor of an enormous pair of jaws. As I hurried away again, I wondered what it was, when it occurred to me that such a singular egg as this could never have escaped the notice of Kirby and Spence. On turning to that work, I was enabled to identify it as containing a larva called the Aphis Lion. Not very long before, out in the garden one evening with the same object which led me to discover these eggs, just as it was getting dusk, I noticed some fairy-like insect flitting about, and scarcely visible. I made several inef- fectual attempts to catch one; and when at last I succeeded in getting my hat over one on the grass, and cautiously raised it, I was not clever enough to prevent its getting away. At length I saw one fairly settle on the palings, and having a small box in my hand, I took off the lid and inverted the | box over the creature, then dived into my pocket for an envelope, which I slipped underneath the box, and ;then gradually withdrew it as I put on the lid. I conveyed it indoors, and exa- mined it beneath a gas-lamp, and I found an insect with a beautiful green body, large brilliant eyes like polished copper, and two pairs of large membranous wings, pale green, and reflecting the prismatic: co- lours. Its wings were folded together; and. as I took hold of them to remove it from the box, I became conscious of a most disagreeable smell; so that I popped it at once under a wineglass, and put | inalso a bit of paper steeped in chloroform. The smell isso pungent that you can taste if in your mouth as soon as you cansmell it ; what to compare it to Ido not know, but it reminded me of sul- phurous acid. Bad as it was, I was rather gratified by it than otherwise, for I thought so beautiful a creature with so foul an odour was sure to be in Kirby and Spence’s book, and there I found it, under the name Chrysopa perla. Wonderful as it is for its beautiful colour, for the brilliancy of its eyes, forthe lustre and delicate structure of the wings, and also for the villainous nastiness of its perfume, it is no less wonderful as producing the singular eggs which I have before described : the Aphis Lion is the larva of the Chrysopa perla. They spin themselves a silken shroud, that they may die to the winter, from which they rise as the perfect insect in the following sum- mer. It is curious that an insect so gorgeously got up should fly only in the twilight, when its beauties cannot be appreciated; perhaps, however, there are eyes which can see more than ours; but if there are, L am afraid the owners, instead of admiring it as a beautiful object, would admire it more as an article of diet ; and doubtless for that reason it is supplied with the means of emitting an odour which would deter any created being, I should imagine, from en- tertaining such a thought for a moment. If any of the egg clusters are found, it would be quite worth while to transfer them to a conservatory, especially if infested with aphides, as these form the principal food of the larva in question. As soon as hatched, they start off in their search of the in- sects, and are said to require only half a minute to suck all the juice out of the biggest aphis. They are very voracious, only ceasing to eat when the supply fails, and then they not unfrequently attack each other. When gardening becomes more scien- tific, and it is considered necessary to have some little knowledge of the insects that are beneficial as well as prejudicial to plants, the eggs of the Chrysopa perla will doubtless possess some market value, and will be carefully collected for the express purpose of placing in greenhouses; and then the progeny of a dozen of the insects will perhaps be found to rid a house of aphides more effectually and more economically than all the tobacco-paper that | has ever been smoked.—F. H. Ward. HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. ZOOLOGY. Spuinx Convotvuni.—The following paragraph has been going the round of the papers :—“ A lady informs the Leamington Chronicle that she has recently seen ¢he humming-bird (!) in, Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Warwickshire. The plumage was of a reddish brown, speckled upon the back with white.” Is it not possible that S. convolvuli was intended? This rare moth has been taken this year at High Wycombe and at Great Marlow. In the latter neighbourhood several specimens of the pale Clouded Yellow (Coléas hyale) have been captured this season. C. edusa has this season occurred in the north and south of Buckinghamshire, and seems to be gradually becoming more frequent in the country.—B. Tue Cuckoo.—A correspondent of Screncp; - Gossip asks for information concerning the cuckoo, and perhaps the following facts, mostly gathered from Montague’s “Dictionary of British Birds” (see Introduction), may be interesting. The cuckoo generally arrives about the first or second week of April, but it has been heard on the 27th of March, as already mentioned in Science-Gossrp; but it may be mentioned that one must be careful not to be taken in by some small boy who endeavours to April-fool his friends by imitating the notes so easily copied. Montague observes that the cuckoo has probably the power of retaining its eggs in the ovarium, and the reasons for supposing so are the following :—It would be often necessary, on account .of the difficulty of always finding a nest ready for the cuckoo’s egg, as it is highly improbable, if an egg were laid in an unfinished nest, that a small bird would continue incubating; yet it has been frequently observed that in cases where the cuckoo’s egg has been dropped the last into the nest it has been the first to hatch, This causes a supposition that the egg may have been retained in the ovarium, and therefore is already partly incubated by the in- ternal heat of the cuckoo’s body. « But, at the same time, that the cuckoo is unable to retain the egg beyond a certain time is evident from the account given by Mr. Harper, of Norwich, who shot a cuckoo with its egg in its beak searching on the ground for a nest to deposit it in. This bird had another egg in the ovarium of the same size, but without the calcareous covering. This also proves a question which has been much mooted—namely, that the cuckoo does not “lay” her eggs, but deposits them with her beak, and the nest has so often been found in positions where the egg could not have been laid, that it seems that there is no doubt about the fact. The nests chosen appear to be of many kinds — amongst others, the. hedge-sparrow’s, red- breast’s, pied wagtail’s, linnet’s, redstark’s, titlark’s, meadow pipits, and reed bunting’s are mentioned. | (Jan. 1, 1869. It has been stated that when the young cuckoo’s foster-parents are unable to feed it sufficiently, they call all their neighbours to help them; but it is much more probable that they mistake it for a hawk, and assemble round it as swallows and other small birds do round rapacious birds. That the young cuckoo throws other young birds out of the nest after being a day or two old is undoubted; but is it not possible that the old cuckoo may assist at first, as it has been stated that a young cuckoo is too weak for some days to stand up, much less to throw out other birds? Young cuckoos have not been as yet successfully reared: the one kept longest died, not inappropriately, on the Ist of April. Should I have made any mistakes, I only hope any other correspondent will kindly correct me, as I shall be glad of all communications on the subject ; and if any abler person will enter further into the subject, he will oblige many who with myself take much interest in the history of the cuckoo.—Z. G.W. Gwats.—About thirty years ago I remember an extraordinary flight of gnats; it consisted of a column about a foot in diameter, which rose nearly perpendicularly to the height of about fifty feet ; it waved about in the wind, lost its perpendicularity, and was finally dispersed by the wind. The column itself was at first tolerably compact, and contained probably a quarter of a million of insects. A more extraordinary flight occurred at Nottingham, on the 4th of October, 1858; I say more extraordinary, inasmuch as I have heard and read of single columns of gnats, like that just mentioned, but I have never seen or heard before or since of a flight similar to that I am about to describe. It was between four and five o’clock, as I was crossing the little river Leen, below the castle rock on the western side, that I noticed a series of perpendicular lines extending for nearly a mile oyer the gardens along the bank of the stream, giving to the clouds and the smoke of a tall chimney in the distance a most extraordinary appearance. Qna nearer inspection I found these lines to be columns of gnats. The base of each column was about six feet from the ground, and extended upward to the height of from twenty to one hundred feet; the columns were all cigar shaped, that is, tapering at each end, and having a diameter in the centre of about eighteen inches. The columns appeared to be distant from each other about thirty or forty feet, and extended over a space about thirty or forty yards. in width, by nearly a mile in length. On standing beneath one of the columns, the gnats were seen to be in rapid motion, and performing the most complicated gyrations, but constantly preserving the peculiar cigar-shape, and not altering the position of the columns, which appeared to be stationary. How long they remained in that position I am unable to SS ee ee oe Jan. 1, 1969. HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 17 say; I watched them for more than half an hour, and as | returned home could see them distinctly half a mile distant. On a rough calculation I suppose there would be about ten millions of insects. J have never read of a similar flight, and, not having seen any notice of the above, I thought that the fact ought to be recorded.—Z, O. 8. Gtossy Ipis iv Norrorx.—A fine specimen of the now rare visitor to the Norfolk coast, the Glossy Ibis (dis faleinellus), was shot near Stalham last month.—/. 4., Norwich. Turn Smew (Mergus albellus)—A beautiful spe- cimen of this bird was shot by the late Robert Hawking, Esq. It was disporting on the river Ouse, eleven miles above York. The figure (44) in Screncr-Gossip gives a very correct idea of the bird, and is very life-like. The bird was preserved, and is now in the possession of W. D. Hawking, Esq., of Laiton.—Jno. Ranson, Linton-on-Ouse, York. Martere at Bricuron (Sciena aquila.)—On Sunday morning, November 22nd, as a labouring man was strolling along the beach in front of the Marine Parade, his attention was attracted to a large fish which was floundering about in shallow water, where, doubtless, it had been driven by the high gale and rough sea of the previous night. With the assistance of some other loungers, he secured the prize, which excited the admiration of all who saw it by the splendour of its colour. Its scales, which were of a large size, shone and flashed in the light like burnished gold. The fins, which were large and extended, were of a deep crimson colour. In shape it was like asalmon, with small head, of elegant shape, and above five feet long. In weight, it was about 7O0lb. It proved to be a.very rare fish, the “ Maigre,”’ of the Mediterranean, and Peis ret or Royal Fish of Rome, only four specimens of which (including the present one) have been known to be caught in the British seas. The fish was still alive when brought to Mr. Wright’s, on whose slab it was exposed crowds, the colours continuing very brilliant to the last, though, of course, less so than when the | fish was first caught. The “Maigre” is much esteemed at Rome as a delicacy of the table, and we can speak from experience on the point, being indebted to R. Peak, Esq., who became a purchaser of the fish, for an opportunity of tasting this visitor from the south.— Brighton Herald, Nov. 28. Tern at SypENHAM.—L lately noticed a Tern or Sea-swallow skimming over one of the ornamental waters in the grounds of the Crystal Palace.—W. R. Late, Grove Place, Denmark Hill, Lear Zoorocy.—The following cutting is from the police report in the Zimes of December 9th :— “A gentleman applied to Mr. Vaughan to ascertain if there were any means of punishing a street hawker of birds under the Act for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or any other Act. Having noticed that the bird-vendor in question was in the habit of illustrating the tameness of his canaries, &c., by exhibiting them openly on his hand, without any apprehension of their flying away, the applicant had the curiosity to purchase one. He then discovered that the pinions under the wing had been snapped asunder and completely drawn away, so that the birds were unable to fly at all. It was obvious that this process of ‘taming’ the birds was attended with great cruelty, and the man, who lived in Shore- ditch and constantly visited the Strand, ought, if possible, to be summoned. Mr. Vaughan, after consulting the statutes, said that a bird was not an animal within the meaning of the Act for the Pre- vention of Cruelty to Animals, even if the specific act of cruelty alleged in this case could be proved. The applicant remarked that it is illegal to encourage cock-fighting. Mr. Vaughan said that there was a special enactment with regard to cock-fighting, but it did not apply to an offence of this kind.” Another illustration of the familiar saying about driving a stage-coach through an Act of Parliament. A man might with impunity roast an Ostrich alive under the very nose of authority. —W. Cole, Clapton. Wootwicnu Mosquitors.—At the Entomological Society of November 2nd, “the Secretary exhibited a specimen of the so-called Mosquitoes sent from Woolwich, which proved to be a species of Chrysopa.” Hence it will be evident that two or three different insects have been confounded together under the one name of “ Mosquitoes” in that locality, and none of them the genuine article. CroupED Yrttows.—I can assure your cor- respondent “H.H. O’Farrell” that the Clouded Yellow Butterfly (Colias edusa) is not uncommon near London in certain seasons: I have taken it at Tooting, Wandsworth Common, Dulwich, and | Forest Hill. It has been taken plentifully in clover during the whole of Monday, and attracted admiring fields near Bromley, Kent. The pale-clouded yellow butterfly (Colias hyale) has been taken occasionally at Forest Hill.—C. Wood. Tue Piri Minierepe, or wood-louse, as it is here called, comes into my house in the autumn, and is a perfect pest. They congregate on the walls, and run on the floor under the carpets, and on the carpets, so that we can hardly take a step in the room without crushing them. Jinally, as the weather grows colder they all disappear, hiding behind the skirting board and under the floors, to emerge again when the temperature rises in March and April. Can you or any of your readers suggest amethod by which they may be got rid of WV. B. C. [Consult the Notes and Queries in prior volumes of this journal. ] RSET ORE). game HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jaw. 1, 1869. MICROSCOPY. Szcrions or Fosstz Woop.—Having been asked by several readers of Scrmncu-Gosstp how I cut and grind my sections of fossil wood, &c., I will, with your permission, give my method. First, I will begin with the cutting. To the framework of an ordinary foot-lathe I attach an upright spindle (see the accompanying sketch) ; on this upright spindle I drive, by a band passing over carry pulleys from the wheel below. On the top of this spindle I fix my cutting disc, which is made from a very thin piece of sheet iron, and is about six inches in diameter; the edge of this saw I charge with diamond powder; | to the edge of the saw I hold my specimen, and as it cuts I Inbricate the edge with a small brush dipped in turpentine. With this method I have cut sections of fossil wood so thin that all its structure has been well defined and required Fig. 14. Section Cutter. nothing but mounting in balsam: this has been silicated fossil wood; in cutting calcareous fossil wood, I have to cut the sections thicker, and grind them down. My grinding apparatus is composed of leaden laps, which I make to revolve in a hori- zontal position on the same upright spindle on which I fix my cutting saw; I use two laps, one for rough grinding, and the other for smoothing, I use No. l emery and a little water with the first lap, and flour of emery with plenty of water on the second lap. In preparing a specimen, I first grind a smooth surface on one side, and then fix it to a plate of glass (of such a size as will suit my specimen) with Canada balsam; I then reduce it in thickness on the rough lap, till I begin to see the light through it; then I begin with the smoothing lap, and reduce it with flour of emery until every part of its structure is distinct. If I choose to polish the specimen, I do so on a lap made of plush cloth, or cotton velvet, and putty powder; I then float them off the slide on which they have been ground, and fix them on another with Canada balsam. I prefer, were it practicable, to mount them in balsam under a thin cover in the usual way, as Lam satisfied that the structure is better brought out. If any of the readers of the GosstP are simi- larly engaged, I shall be glad to correspond with them on this subject.—John Butterworth, Mount Pleasant, High Crompton, near Oldham. Sugstirure ror Nosn-Preces.—Will you allow me to lay before the microscopical portion of your readers a suggestion for the more ready attaching | and detaching of object-glasses? I take it for granted that all who work much with the in- strument have found inconvenience in changing the powers rapidly, particularly when examining objects with which they are unacquainted. Nose- | pieces (especially when made to hold more than two powers) are inconvenient, heavy, and costly, and are much in the way. My plan is as follows— Fig. 15. Lower end of Object-glass. 4. Thréad removed. Upper end of Object-glass. a. Thread untonched. viz., Divide the circumference of the screw, both of the “object-glass” and “body,” into four equal parts; then file away all the thread in two opposite quarters, leaving the remaining twoo pposite quarters Intact (it is better in practice to remove slightly more than one-fourth on each side, so as to allow free clearance. The object-glass may now, by placing it so that the remaining portions of thread come opposite the corresponding gaps, be ‘passed into the body, right up to the shoulder, without turning tt round at all ; and about one-eighth of a turn fixes it in its place as firmly as if serewed in. The adoption of this plan does not prevent the use of the altered object-glasses with other instruments, nor does it preclude the use of unaltered object~ glasses with altered bodics.—James Fogan. Tan. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 19 Microscoric Conimctine-Casr.— A new de- scription of collecting-case for professional or amateur microscopists, made by Mr. Stanley, of London Bridge, was exhibited at the Quekett Microscopic Society’s meeting on the 27th of No- vember last, by Mr. Farmer, and met with general attention and approbation. The description of this article, of which an illustration is given below, will no doubt be interesting to many. In outward form it much resembles a rather large japanned tin sandwich-box, being similarly constructed to fold in two equal parts, the only outward addition being a leather strap, omitted generally from sandwich- boxes, which enables it to be carried suspended from the neck, to rest under the armor upon the loins, to the taste of the wearer. So far as concerns the exterior, it appears light, rather professional-looking, and not inelegant. As regards the practical part, the interior consists of several divisions, or compartments, Fig. 16, Collecting Case. which are fitted with the simple useful collecting- apparatus to be described. The first, or upper com- partment, contains three wide-mouthed bottles, each capable of holding three fluid ounces: * these are lettered a, 4, c, respectively, and are each fitted with a varnished cork. The second compartment con- tains four similar bottles of a smaller size, and let- tered respectively d, e,f,g. In the third, or lower compartment, a kind of brass clip is secured by an india-rubber band; this clip, when detached, will hold the neck of either of the bottles described ; it has also a screw connected to it, by which it may be fixed on the end of a. walking-stick or other rod that may be used as a dipping-rod ; this compartment also contains a pair of forceps, a double hand-lens, four dipping-tubes, and a series of eleven parallel vials, fitted with corks, which are varnished and numbered respectively one to eleven. An opposite compartment to this contains a similar set of bottles numbered from twelve to twenty-two; this, with a sunk glass microscopic slide, and a piece of wash leather for cleaning or wiping, completes the whole arrangement. With the above apparatus it is presumed we should be equipped for a week’s or longer journey, and should operate something after this manner, We arrive at, saya pond or ditch, which we think from position and other circum- stances may contain choice diatomaces or other ob- jects of our research; we secure bottle a to the brass clip, and screw it to our walking-stick or rod; thus secured, the hottle will dive for mud, water, or weed, which we continually examine by the aid of one of the dipping-tubes, microscopic slide and lens. If our objects are satisfactory, we reduce the bulk as much as possible by straining off or. dipping, and examine and place the quantity we wish to save in one of the vials, commencing with No. 1; or, if very full of good things, we save a quantity in bottle d; or if we wish some special choice speci- men, we isolate it in vial No. 2. At the end of our search in this spot we place in our note-book the locality and particular objects we have collected, as nearly as we know, with number of bottle or vial in which we have placed them, and plod on our journey, And thus-with other spots and other objects, wet or dry, until we are satisfied with our results, sometimes filling only the seven bottles for evening examination, at other times selecting and discarding as time and inclination suggest.—J. S. Janvary.—This is not usually considered a good month for obtaining microscopical objects out of doors, but even now some of the common Rofifers and Vorticellide are to be obtained in quiet pools, and Conochilus volvox may be collected even when ice covers the surface of the water. Fungi are also to be found belonging to several families. Dead leaves will furnish some, and dead twigs other, species of Spheria, but in most in- stances their fruit will be in better condition in March, Of the Myxogastres, tufts of Trichia and Stemonitis should be sought on very rotten wood, Moulds of various species may be collected on decaying vegetable matter. ‘The exuvise of cats and dogs will furnish Mucor caninus, and on the former we have found at this season the rare Isaria felina, in white fleecy tufts. Insects are not very numerous, but the “cricket” will be found singing “on the hearth,” if his gizzard is wanted, and the Water Beetle (Dytiscus) and Boat-fly (Wotonecta) are still in their haunts. This isa good season for exploring under the bark of old trees and prostrate timber. Correspondents are invited to contribute notes of microscopical objects to be sought for in February and the ensuing months, so that we may continue this “looker-out” for objects of interest to the microscopist throughout the year. It may be fol- lowed, with advantage perhaps, in Botany, Ento- mology, &c., another year. Contributors are desired to be as brief as possible, and to include specially those objects which the succeeding month is expected to furnish in the greatest numbers or in greatest perfection. HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1869. BOTANY. OXALIs ACETOSELLA,—The Wood Sorrel pro- duces seed throughout the summer and autumn from a petalous flower, exactly after the fashion of the Sweet Violet; but I cannot find the fact noticed in any book. At the present time there may be found any quantity of seed-vessels in all stages of ripeness, yet no flowers have been seen since the early summer.—Robert Holland. Bup-variation.—I have now in my garden a very beautiful example of what Darwin calls bud- variation. A plant of Snapdragon, which grows with two main branches, produces on one of them crimson flowers with the orange tinge and orange blotch on the lower lip, so frequently seen ; the other branch produces flowers of a pure crimson colour, having a white tube. At first I thought that two plants must have been planted close together; but I have traced the branches down below the soil, and I find they proceed from one root. In all probability the variety has resulted from a cross between two sced- ling varieties. which had flowers of the respective colours; but from the fact of the plant being so distinctly forked from the base, I should think that the branches are not exactly sporting by simple reversion to the colours of the two parents, but that the seed had contained two embryos, a circum- stance of not unfrequent occurrence in acorns, nuts, and chestnuts, and which we see oftener than not in mistletoe —Robert Holland. RanuncuLvs Trrpartitus, D.C.—(“R. V.T.”)— The specimen sent from Withiel, Bodmin, belongs to this species. Mr. Keys, in his “Flora of Devon and Cornwall,” localizes it “near the Land’s End,” but names no other locality for it. In the “ Com- pendium of the Cybele Britannica,” the counties of Cornwall, Dorset, Hants, Kent, Surrey, and Pembroke are named for it. “R. V. T.” te- marks that at Withiel it was “found growing with Lt. hederaceus: in general appearance it differs from R. hederaceus wherever growing, but it very much resembles it in habit and situation.”—B, Lavret-Leaves.—I hoped to have seen in the last two numbers of Screncr-Gossrr some further information respecting the peculiar markings at the back of the leaves of the Common Laurel, noticed by “H. W. W.” in the August number, p. 191. There is no doubt that these marks exist; I have found them on every leaf that I have looked at, and I have examined a great many since I read your correspondent’s remarks. They donot appear to me to be wounds caused by insects; for in the early stage they seem like mere depressions in the leaf, after which a round piece of thickened epidermis appears. I cannot detect the slightest wound, nor any minute larva under the skin. In this stage they look very like some natural peculiarity of structure in the leaf; but after a while they become pale brown in colour, and there is a mass of brown cells under the skin, causing a slight elevation of the surface. In this stage they have all the appearance of fungous growth. In old leaves there only remains a brown scar of hardened membrane. ‘The marks always seem to occupy the same position on the leaf as described by “H.W. W.” I have not been able to detect anything like them on any other leaves, except on those of the lilac, where I have found a few spots somewhat similar in their early stage, but which are evidently caused by the attacks of a fungus, the black spores of which can, at a later stage, be plainly seen bursting through the epi- dermis. But the spots on lilac-leaves are not by any means universal as on the laurel. It is to be hoped that the subject may be further investigated ; for at present these marks, their nature, cause, and use, seem to be amongst the obscure points of vegetable physiology.—Robert Holland. Tar MonsTERIA DELICIOSA.—In the grand col- lection of plants at Dangstein, for which this place is celebrated, may generally be seen in fruit one of those strange species of Arads called Monsteria deliciosa (or Philodendron pertusum, as it is now named), the great leaves of which are exceedingly ornamental, being slashed full of holes, and their edges fringed by the broad ligament-like pieces formed out of the uniform deep cuts towards the centre or mid-rib. The singularity of the fruit, too, is enough to make it equally attractive. It is oblong, about 12 or 14 inches long, rather curved, a deep sage green, marked all over the surface by hexagonal meshes. These meshes, which are fleshy and easily separated from a soft, vinous, very fragrant pulp-which lies beneath them, are the heads of so many ovaries; and so pricking are these to the tongue if it comes in contact with them that the person feels uncomfortable for hours afterwards. For a little foolish amusement, I have before now tempted persons unacquainted with the fruit to taste the underside of the covering, when they have declared that they should never forget it—not pain exactly, but uneasiness. When these heads are removed, the lower part of the ovaries, which is the part eaten, can be easily detached from the somewhat woody axis over which they stand in the closest possible order. I believe the plant is a native of the West Indies, and the fruit may be classed among the most delicious, At Dangstein it - is cultivated in a house along with the graceful Banana, and some other tropical fruits.—George Newlyn. TREES BY THE THames.— The Metropolitan Board of Works has determined on planting the Thames Embankment with trees, and the work has already commenced.—Gardener’s Chronicle, Jan. 1, 1869.] NOTES AND QUERIES. Wuav’s 1x 4 Name ?—As the subject of Jocal or vulgar names and their origin has been brought before the readers of ScreENcE-Gosstp several times recently, the following incident may not be deemed unworthy of notice. It happened one day lately that my sister was showing our gardener a collec- tion of wild-flower drawings, and as she placed before him one of the woodbine, she remarked, “TI did them all,” at the same time asking him whether he recognized the flower, and knew its name. After some hesitation, he replied, “ Didn’t you call it ‘I- did-um-all’?”? This was said in such simplicity and good faith that, had he not been undeceived, he would assuredly have gone away under the impression that he had been told its correct name. It is not improbable that, through his means, the fragrant honeysuckle might have been handed down to succeeding generations under the bewildering and not very poetical title of “ Ididumall;” thereby puzzling future botanists, and causing endless spe- culations and ingenious theories to account for the origin of so extraordinary a local name.—JZ.G@. Vurear Names (p. 250).—Without at present discussing the accuracy of Mr. II. C. Richter’s con- clusions on this subject, although I entirely dissent from them, will he kindly tell me the proper name of the “little blue flower” whicl is in Wiltshire called “old sow”? I shall be glad to receive an other “vulgar names ” which he may haveron taxa, to be sent either to the Editor, or to James Britten, High Wycombe. Ber Opours.—A friend of mine who keeps several beehives asserted to me positively the other day that bees emit a strong smell when going to sting any one; he described if as a “pungent” smell. 1 told him I did not believe that bees did any such thing, and that he must be mistaken. _I now ask your opinion on the subject.—Z&. UW. Bemington, Farsarse, Bray. Growre 1n Lemon.—I have observed a similar | } | point, and we shall be glad to hear what they have growth of the seeds in an over-ripe lemon _as described by Mr. Alfred Hume in the last number of Scrmncr-Gossrv. The lemon was gathered from a large tree in our conservatory. 1 should imagine that such a germination of the seeds was not of un- common occurrence in fruit left to decay on the tree. Fruit in this state, however, is not likely to reach the hands of our fruiterers here. I have always understood that oranges and lemons when gathered abroad for shipment to this country are plucked in a green and half-ripe state; therefore this would at once account for the 8 pag rarity of such an occurrence.—J. G., Minehead. hte correspondents furnish similar replies.— D. Lucerne Firips.—Mr. Melvill was quite correct in his surmise about clover and lucerne fields, which are very extensive in the neighbourhood of Deal, and I seldom observed Colias hyale out of these fields, although so plentiful this year; I also took Acontia luctuosa, one of the day-flying Noctuina, — is rather scarce in a lucerne field —Z. C. slie. A Curtous Fact.—Whilst visiting a remote but rather considerable town in Lincolnshire, where I had not been for nearly twenty years, save on a few flying visits, I called upon an old schoolfellow, a HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 21 chemist, and whilst talking with him a raven looked in at the door and received his accustomed bone. The bird had such a genial expression that I could not help asking this history. He belonged to the landlady of the principal hotel in the place ; in fact, a pet bird. Accustomed to every luxury in feeding, but still a bird of prey, his raids, however, were friendly ones, and freely responded to; he had no need to cater for himself. In the hotel yard there was a small dog belonging to the ostler, not too well fed, and, out of love for him, this old bird—for he had been there twenty years—levied contribu- tions on his mistress’s best customers. The ostler married; in a fortnight he had to go through the greatest of earthly trials: his wife died. What could the poor fellow do? What should aniy of us do at such atime? He went every morning at his breakfast hour to the cemetery, some half-mile distant, to look at his wife’s grave. The dog and raven went also; but he could not bear this long, and consequently obtained a situation some forty miles distant, but was not able to take his dog at first. The dog and raven, after his departure, as long as the dog was there, went aioe every morning at the accustomed hour to the cemetery and stood reverently beside the grave of the poor fellow’s wife. These facts could be attested by many of the townspeople.—F’. &. M. Dozs WATER EXPAND ON BECOMING IcE ?P— When a bottle of water is frozen, the bottle is usually burst. Hitherto this has been explained by the assertion that the-water on solidifying suddenly expands. M. Barthélemy, one of the professsors in the Lyceum of Pau, denies this explanation. In a memoir which he has written on the crystallization of water, he alleges that bursting of the bottle is caused by the disengagement of a large quantity of gas—hitherto in solution—by the water at_ the moment of its solidification. It is alleged in support of this that if a bottle of water be placed outside a window in frosty weather, it will be ob- served that the rupture takes place at the hottest side, viz., that next the window. Some of our cor- respondents must have made experiments on this got to say to M. Barthélemy’s opinion.—Scventific Opinion. Tarttrz Macxreret.—Can any of your readers account for the mackerel being rarely found off the Barmouth coast as large as the mackerel usually seen in London, eight inches being about the average Jength of the fish there, and these are abundant ?—F. R. 8. Arg Certatn Eprpemic DisEAsES CAUSED BY Inrusor1a ?—I have made experiments on myself, in a state of health, in order to ascertain if a diet exclusively vegetable or animal influences the de- velopment of those infusoria in the feces. These experiments, which gave negative results, have since acquired vast importance. Suffering, some months later, from a violent attack of cholera, I again studied those fecal matters, eight days after the commencement of the attack. _ 1 then found in them, at the moment of their expulsion, myriads of Bacteria, and of Vibriones, linear and chained, many of the latter having seven rings. I found also Spirtllum volutans, Monads, and Cercomonas crassicauda. This observation, when compared with those preceding, is important; but it becomes still more so by a third inquiry which I have made. Two months after the commencement of my disease, 22 HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1869. being entirely restored to health, I examined the excrements with a microscope, and found no infusoria. It was therefore to the cholera that their presence was due.—Scientifie Opinion. “Wauy?”—Mr. Holland writes:—There is a misprint in your paragraph about U¢ricularia: instead of “after germination of the seed,” it should have been “after the formation or fertilization.” In case other readers of Gossrp should credit me with this error, may I state that it is quoted froma little book called “Old English Wild Flowers ”?—B. aur anp Hatr.—Why do the fishermen of Norfolk, and probably of other places, call certain peculiar fish half one kind and half another? The subject was brought again under my notice by hearing one described as half Sole, half Butt ; upon considering the question, I arrive at the conclusion that there isno such thing as a hybrid amongst fishes, and the reason that induces me to form that | received from Mr. Andrews, though differing con- opinion is the particular mode nature has provided for their reproduction—viz., by the ;deposition of ova which the female does in such enormous numbers. It seems to me, if they were impregnated by a male of another species, the so-called hybrids would, instead of being the exception, if not the rule, be much more common.—Z, 4., Norwich. Diszasep Movusz.—The very peculiar looking mouse which we have received from our correspon- dent, Mr. T, H. O. W. Edmunds, we have examined carefully. The remarkable frontal development is due to disease of the skin, and not to an increased growth of the cerebral vault, which it much re- sembles. There is no apparent variation in the specific characters of the creature as occasionally pe in mice when the entire tegument is affected, an. the body becomes hairless and thickened. An example of this kind was exhibited at the Zoological Society some years ago. Our correspondent’s surmise that the “Cauliflower”? excrescence is a “fungus growth ” is justified.—I. Murie. Houst Martins 1x Novemser.—lI observed to- day (November 18th), in Exmouth, about a dozen House Martins busily hawking for insects round the shrubbery on the Beacon there. I think this is the latest date I ever noticed Hirundines.—V. G. Azzrno Brrps.—I do not know whether many of the correspondents of Scrmncr-Gossrr have re- marked the unusual number of albino varieties in birds this year. I have seen two piebald partridges which were shot September 2nd, and which would probably, when their moulting was over, have been quite white. I shot a yellow, or rather eream- coloured, sparrow with all its markings in bright brown and light grey, and I saw a piebald sparrow flying about. I have also seen and heard of other instances ; amongst others, a white goldfinch, which 1 saw in a flock early in September, and I have read in the Zoologist of a white sparrow-hawk. What is the reason of this? Scarcity of any particular food would hardly have the same effect on sparrows, hawks, and goldfinches. Is it the heat which has had an unusual effect upon their constitution? I should be very glad if any one can tell me—Z. G, Wheler, Hovsr Awts.—My notice has lately been called by a friend to a curious fact concerning the likes and dishkes of those troublesome little house ants by which we have been visited this year. It has been | noticed that although they will on every opportunity swarm over and devour beef or game or fish, yet théy will never touch mutton. I should be glad to know if this circumstance has been pre- viously noticed ; if so, what conclusions have been drawn from it. I can also confirm the statement that soft soda, mixed with water, is efficacious in expelling them, for I find that after one or two applications of it to their haunts, they cease to appear.—W. Murrell, Hawrnorn.—I enclose you a leaf of Crategus gathered in a lane near here many years back, and which plant, with a little searching, I could again find, It appears to me to be entirely different from those figured in this month’s Screncz-Gossrp. Please to say which you say it is—Robert T. Andrews, Hertford. [The leaf was forwarded to Mr. Hepworth, and the following is his reply :—‘ The Hawthorn-leaf siderably from my figure of C. oryacanthoides, is un- doubtedly referable to that variety. It agrees with it in the most essential point, venation, and, though remarkably round, is three-lobed. The petiole, base, lobes, and principal veins are also, as in that variety, slightly ciliate. I have found leaves almost equally round, but smaller, on plants whose leaves, generally, agreed most nearly with those figured in Scrence-Gossrp. A comparison of the leaf with the written description (which is evidently more comprehensive than the figure) will, I think, put the question beyond doubt. If Mr. Andrews will find out the tree in spring, he will, I have no doubt, find corroborative testimony in the flower and ovary.” —J. Hepworth. | Dewprrric Srors on Paper are unquestionably fungoid growths. The plant usually penetrates the paper, and developes itself on both surfaces. I very recently made a careful examination of one, scraping it off the paper and mounting in balsam. The fragments so obtained are easily distinguish- able from the fibres of the paper, and sufficiently transparent to allow a quarter-inch objective to be be used.—J. 7". Y. [Although our correspondent is very positive, we are not. We have studied Fungi a little for man‘ years, aud “oe et feel confidence to make on an assertion where there is really no satisfacto evidence.—. C, Cooke. | - ix _ Fomarr.—Will you kindly furnish me with some information respecting the Fumart? I found thename accidentally in a dictionary several years ago, and, although 1 have consulted a great many friends on the subject, and referred to several works on Natural History, Encyclopedias, &c., I have not been able to find anything farther than the diction- ary definition, “The offspring of a bull and a mare.” I feel curious to know if such an animal reall exists, and if so for what purpose it is used, as well as its appearance and habits —W. Gain. Navicvra nrprocampus (4. 4, jun.)—In reply to your correspondent’s query, “Is Navicula hippo- campus indicative of a fossil deposit?” I bes to say Pleurosigma (Navicula) hi ypocampus is a recent species, and may be foun living in any pond or small stream. Smith, in the Synopsis, does not give other than recent localities for it, but it may be found in some of the so-called fossil earths (British) but it is very doubtful if any of them are fossil in the geological sense of the word.—F, Kitton, Jan. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 23 Rep Dappy.—This msect, described by I. Hphick, belongs to the order Hymenoptera, family Fisasuninte but, as there are so many in this family, I cannot say exactly what its name is, from the description given. ‘The “long, whip-shaped objects ” that he mentions are antenna, as the sting which the creature possesses is nothing more than a siarp instrument or bore, placed between two sieaths. ‘Their use is to place the eggs in holes ; taey are very strong, and can hurt a person very much for the time. I do not understand what he means by saying that it is an “ English insect, rare in its visits to this country.’ By this statement he makes it both indigenous and exotic at the same time.— A. B. age Mr. Elphick send us specimens next year ? —LEp. 8. G.] CunrurE or Mistretor.—Is it in the power of any of your readers to tell me how to grow the Mistletoe in Yorkshire ? I have planted the berries, but quite without success.—Hdward Wood. [A late friend of ours some years since exhibited to us in his orchard numerous successful experi- nents of his own in cultivating the mistletoe on apple and other trees. He explained at the time that he took a ripe berry between his fingers, and, crushing it, rubbed it with the seeds into a crack of the bark on the weder side of a branch. He laid particular emphasis upon rubbing in the seeds on the wxder side, so that they would not be washed out by the rain, or be so exposed to the birds. He had numbers of thriving plants in his orchard on different trees, all introduced by himself in this manner.—Ep. S. G.] Forx-torn.—In North York it is a popular suying that when acorns are plentiful there is aways a large quantity of bad bacon. Our fore- fathers fed their swine largely on acorns and mast. Thave rarely seen more acorns than there are this year.—J ohn Ranson, Linton-on-Ouse, York. Hawrnorn Errata—tIn my paper on “ Varia- tion in the Hawthorn,” by some mistake, either of mine or the printer’s, the figs. 250 and 251 are wrongly placed. Fig. 250 ‘belongs to Crategus monogyna, and fig. 251 to C. kyrtostyla. If you would kindly point out the error in your next im- a you would greatly oblige me.—J. Hep- worth, Wat are tHe Fosstrs?—My offer to send fossils from the coal-measures free of charge, to any o! your readers who forwarded me an addressed lug- gige label bearing two postage stamps, has been re- sponded to by hundreds of ladies and gentlemen in | various parts of the United Kingdom, and, in aldition to requests to forward fossils, several have asked me to name the specimens that were sent. As my time is very much occupied, and leisure is a novelty to me, I have been compelled to refrain fiom answering the queries individually, but with your permission I shall answer them generally | through your pages, by describing the more ordinary fossils that have been distributed. They have been Principally of three kinds, vertebree, scales, and teeth. The vertebra are of two kinds: large strong rings, about the size of a plain finger-ying, are ver- tebree of Megalichthys; smaller rings, about a aarter or three-eighths of an inch in diameter, are the vertebre: of Rhizodopsis. The scales are prin- epally of two kinds: flat, highly pleated, rhom- boidal scales about the size of a thumb-nail, and not much unlike it, ‘minutely punctured, are the body scales of Megalichthys ; ovoid scales, with a central depression and radiating and circular strie, are scales of Rhizodopsis. The teeth are of four kinds : large laniary piercing teeth from half an inch to one inch in length, dark, bright, and gently curved, are the teeth of Megalichthys ; similar teeth, about one quarter of an inch long, are the laniary teeth of Rhizodopsis ; teeth with two long blunt crowns, and a small and sharp elevation between them, are the teeth or tubercles of Diplodus; and the thin teeth, with from eight to twelve ridges or denticulations on the upper edge,'the teeth being about one quarter of an inch square, and having the form of a diadem, are the teeth or dermal tubercles of Ctenoptychius. I feel confident that your nume- rous readers and my numerous correspondents will excuse me for addressing them generally through your pages instead of writing to each as individuals. —T. P. Barkas, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Txt Rep Dapnpy.—The insect referred to in your Jast number under the title of “ Red Daddy,” from the nature of the tail, is probably Panorpa communis, the male of which, from its formidable- looking caudal appendage, is commonly called the “Scorpion-fly.” ‘The rest of the description is too vague to be any help to identification: the “ whip- shaped” organs on the head for instance are doubt- less the antenne, which in some shape or other are common to all insects. The Panorpa is of frequent occurrence among damp herbage, but if it is the insect in question, the stinging powers of the “Red Daddy ” are imaginary, as, like the rest of its order, the scorpion-fly 1s quite harmless, although popular prejudice has bestowed the name. of “ Horse- stingers”? on some members of the same order. None of the great tribe either sting from the tail, though the females of many of the species have a formidable blood-sucking apparatus, of which our skins can often testify the efficiency ; they are never | furnished with more; than two wings, but Panorpa rejoices in the possession of four, prettily spotted with brown. It may be observed that an “ English insect” cannot be “rare in its visits to this country,” as an Lnglish insect is not a visitor at all. —George Guyon, Gotp-FisH Fixs.— Whilst watching some Gold- fish in an aqua-vivarium a few days ago, I noticed that one of the fish had exactly the same peculiarity in its caudal fin as mentioned in last month’s Scrence-Gossie by 8. Morris. In another the ab- normity was reversed, being situated on the upper ortion of the tail. There was likewise a protu- erance on the back of the latter, and a malforma- tion in the anal fins of both, similar to that in last number’s sketch—JH. C. Sargent. VARIABLE LARVA oF N. Zrczac.—Most of your readers will be familiar with the peculiar shape and rich colouring of the larva of V. zéezac. Last year I was so fortunate as to find two larve of a rich cream-colour, one of them larger than the usual size; but, as I was “green,” I fed them up with other larvee, so that I was not able to notice if the moth was unusually marked. This summer I found three | of the larve ofa bright golden colour. I have kept them separate, and as they have turned into the pupe state all right, I shall be able to notice the differSnee (if any) when they hatch. Are the larve i ced found so yery differently coloured ?— SSE EOE eee et ee ee Se aE _ ve ne HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. AuL communications relative to advertisements, post-office orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal, should be addressed to the Pustisner. All contributions, books, and pamphlets for the Eptror should be sent to 192, Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri- butions should not be received later than the 15th of each month. No notice whatever can be taken of communica- tions which do not contain the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with- held. We do not undertake to answer any queries not specially connected with Natural History, in accordance with our acceptance of that term; nor can we answer queries which might be solved by the correspondent by an appeal to any elementary book on the subject. We are always prepared to accept queries of a critical nature, and to publish the replies, provided some of our readers, besides the querist, are likely to be interested in them. We cannot undertake to return rejected manuscripts unless sufficient stamps are enclosed to cover the return postage. Neither can we promise to refer to or return any manu- script after one month from the date of its receipt. All microscopical drawings intended for publication should have annexed thereto the powers employed, or the extent of enlargement, indicated in diameters (thus: x 320 diameters). Communications intended for publication should be written on one side of the paper only, and all scientific names, and names of places and individuals, should be as legible as possible. Wherever scientific names or technicalities are employed, it is hoped that the common names will accompany them. Lists or tables are inad- missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular names of British plants and animals are retained and regis- tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon. Appress No. 192, PiccADILLY, LONDON, W. AmeERIcAN Deposi1ts.—Two mounted slides of Diatoms re- ceived without name or address, asking for American De- posits in exchange. If correspondents will commit such errors, they must suffer disappointment. J. B. C.—See Scrence-Gossip for 1865, pp. 42 and 66. J. B.—Probably in the same way as birdskins, for which we have given instructions in earlier numbers of this journal. G. H.—Consult Scrence-Gossir for September, 1865, p. 209, with figure. H. G.—Not sufficient distinctive character in the eggs to name them. W. E. S.—Newman’s “ Moths,”’ in sixpenny numbers (Tweedie); Kye’s “‘ British Beetles,”’ half a guinea (Reeve & Co.). G. H.—“ Disguises of Insects,’’ Screncr-Gossir, 1867, pp. 193, 233, 234, 261, 279. G. N.—Very probable. J.D. H.—Vanessa urtica. P. H. H.—Common enough. The small chrysalids were those of a parasite (Ichneumonide ?), T. W. wants to know how to determine the age of a parrot. We do not attempt to name anything from ‘brief descrip- tion,’”’ not including specific characters. G. D.—Election by ballot, and payment of an admission fee and annual subscription. G. B.—1. Dicranella varia, 3. Didymodon rubellus.—R. B. J.C, D.—1. Atrichum undulatum, R.B. J. H.—Rye’s ‘‘ British Beetles,’’ half a guinea. Co. R. G.—No. 1. an Alga. 2. Bryum albicans—R. B, A. J.—1. Pseudoleskea atrovirens.—R. B. It must not be too long. 2. Bryum atropurpureum. 2. Pellia epiphylla.— Reeve & (Jan. 1, 1869. EXCHANGES. Britisnx Brrps’ Eces for Insects.—G. H. Hunt, St. Au- gustine’s, Norwich, European Unios AND ANoponTas wanted in exchange for British Shells.—Send lists of duplicates and desiderata to W. White Walpole, Holmwood, Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey. Sxorrons or LABURNUM, Sassafras, Sarsaparilla, Fuchsia, and Lime-tree tor other good mounted objects.—Send lists to J. Green, jun., 16, Pump-Street, Londonderry, Ecos or Brirtisu Brrps for other Eggs or Lepidoptera.— J. M. Hick, Byers Green, Willington, Durham. MNIUM STELLARE (barren) and Hookeria lucens (in good fruit) for Anomodon longifolius, or any of the Trichostoma, except tophaceum. Also Tortula papillosa for T. rigida or ambigua,—Address, A. Jerdon, Highfield, Melrose, N.B. SitLticeous Diatomaceous Deposit, Wings and Scales of Butterflies, various (mounted), in exchange for any objects of interest (mounted or unmounted).—A. Angell, Friary Cottage, Winchester. Brittsa P.ianrs in exchange for other British Plants.— Send list to J. C. Hutcheson, 8, Lansdowne Crescent, Glasgow. PoLLEN OF LILIUM LANCIFOLIUM, PUNCTATUM, OR RU- BRUM (unmounted), exchanged for unmounted microscopic objects of interest (named).—Address, enclosing stamped envelope, C. E. Osborn, 28, Albert Road, 8t. John’s Ville, Highgate, N. Eces or NortH AMERICAN Birps (46 eggs, 14 species) offered for Eggs of British Birds.—‘‘ Maine,’”’ care of the Editor. Britisa Licuens (90 species) and European Grasses (27 species) for exchange.—W. H. G., 15, Thornhill Road, N. EXxcHANGES.—We must caution exchangers against send- ing out such slides as we have lately seen under the descrip- tion of ** good shdes,’’ that are not worth the wnground glass on which the objects are mounted. Persons permitting such slides to leave their own cabinets have very little regard for ‘gia reputation, and deserve to have them returned.—Eb, BOOKS RECEIVED. “ Scientific Opinion.” Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7. Wyman & Sons. peer 3 “Proceedings of the Bristol Naturalists’ Society.’ Vol. Ill., No. 8, November, 1868, Bristol. “The American Naturalist.” Vol. II., Nos. 9 and 10, November and December, 1868. Salem: Peabody Academy of Science. *‘* Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1866.” Washington: Smithsonian Institution. **The Gardener’s Magazine.” Part XXXVI., for December, 1868. London: E. W. Allen. “The Quarterly Journal of the Folkestone Natural History Society.”” No. 1, December, 186 x > Ei Office: , » 1868. Folkestone: Ewpress **Sciography, or Radial Projections of Shadows.’ By R Campbell Puckett, Ph.D., Head Master of the Bath School of Art. London: Chapman & Hall. “Fifth Annual Report of the Belfast N. ists’ Tiel Club,” 1867-8. Belfast: Field Club. oe ees aoe “‘Land and Water.”” Wo, 1 Street. 52, December 19. “The Naturalists’ Circular.” London: 80, Fleet For December. Communications Recriven.—J. E. T.—J, B. C.—J. B.— @. H.—G. H. H.—W. L. W.—J. M.—T. H. 0, W. E.—H. & W Tow: W.—J. Y. Hi—H. G.—w. G.—W. M.—W. Murrell foe W.-S. S.—C, (Barnsbury).—G. B.—J. H.—J. S.— W.E. S.—G. H.—T. P.B.—A. A., jun.—J. G., jun.—J, M. H. —H. H. K.—W. H. D.—G, N.—A,. B.—E. A—J. BR. S. C.— B.—J.V.—L. G. M.—F, W. B.—H. E. W.—T, W.—P. H. H. —A. P.—H.H. K.—W. C.—.A, B.—J. T. Y.—H. C.S.—J. D. H. —T. B. H.—F. R.—G. G.—c. L. C.—A. B, H.—T, McC.— S. S.—E. W.—W. P. M.—A, J.—A. A.—J. R. E.—T. P. B.— H. L. W.—J. C. H.—J. H. M.—G. B,—G. D.C. E,. a J. W.—W. W.S.—J, W.—W. P.M. (too late).—B. T. H. M.— G, R.—H. M.~S.—J. Hi—W, H, G,—F. A. H.—R. B, emnbe, Hiss Baynes Bh. hodlat ! Fell Fes. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 25 ENGLISH PLANT-NAMES, What’s in'a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet. MONG the many quotations from the works of our great dramatist which are con- tinually “ crop- ping up” in our conversation— which, as it were, have so fixed themselyes upon ow memory that we cite them all unconsciously, sometimes not even knowing whence they come—there is not one more hackneyed than that which heads this paper. So hackneyed is it, that we have come to regard it, not only as stating, in its literal sense, an incontro- vertible fact, but as containing an insinuation at least, that there is really little or nothing in a name, after all. In the present paper, I am going to attempt to show that there is, in many cases at least, a great deal inaname. I deprecate most strongly a state- ment which appeared in a recent number of Scrence-GosstpP, that “an examination of the com- mon or vulgar terms applied to plants and animals will at once introduce us to a complete language of meaningless nonsense, almost impossible to retain, and certainly worse than useless when remembered —a vast vocabulary of names, many of which signify that which is false, and most of which mean nothing at all.” Ihave for some time been engaged in col- lecting the local names of plants, and, as far as they are concerned, I find very few which have no signification,—and doubtless even these few will, in course of time, be explained ; while, in the majority of cases, there is not only a meaning, but a very good and appropriate reason for the name. It is only those who have given, at any rate, some slight attention to this subject of local names, No. 50. SHAKESPEARE. who can at all comprehend the multiplicity of sources from which they have been derived: The names of our birds are less numerous, and; to my mind, less interesting ; although doubtless Mr. Hol- land, to whom the lists sent to. ScreNncn-Gossip have been intrusted, will show that among them there is ample food for reflection: but the varied uses and associations of plants—religious, medicinal, ornamental, poetical, domestic—have each contri- buted to swell the list, and the result is both curious and instructive: When, in the earlier days of this magazine, the Editor intimated his willing- ness to become curator of any lists of names which might be sent, until it should be decided how to make use of them, he probably did not expect so hearty a response to his proposition. t Many of the lists sent are far too copious to include in a paper. short enough for insertion; a whole number:of Gossre might be filled with them alone, without note or comment. This will, I hope, be considered a sufii- | cient apology for the non-appearance of: much inter- esting information in the present paper; a secoud one is in preparation, which will include many names here omitted; but a volume is needed to do the subject justice. Mr. Holland and myself hope at some future period to publish such a volume : and any contributions or suggestions addressed to Robert Holland, Mobberley, Knutsford; or to James Britten, High Wycombe, will receive duc attention. The thanks of all who may find in this paper anything worthy of note, are due to the following contributors: —“R. W.;” “C. A.;” —H. W. Richardson. Latret-Leaves.—l noticed the four, rarely only two, spots at the back of the leaves of the common laurel many years ago. I was ina garden on Mus- well-hill, Hornsey, and my attention was drawn to the spots by noticing a number of bees, not the common honey-bee, alight on the leaves in a steady business-like way, and run rapidly down the middle of the leaf, turn briskly under to the side where the spots are found, suck the juice from the four ending spots in succession, and fly away. I have since ex- amined these spots, or (?) excretionary glands. At some seasons of the year they exude each quite a respectable drop of a sweet juice; at other times the spots are dry and brown. I have never seen them on any other save the common laurel-leaves. T’should be glad to know what species of bee it is that seems to know and like so well this nectar or syrup. When I first observed the spots I was more interested in them than my little guides, and so lost the opportunity of settling the question as to their species.—S, J. 46 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Frs. 1, 1869. Precr or Coat.—Allow me to correct two glar- ing mis-statements in the “Story of a Piece of Coal,” with which your fifth volume commences. The Honorary Secretary of the Norwich Geological Society there states “that, during the carboniferous eriod, there stretched across what is now central ngland, a hilly barrier, which separated two coal- formations going on contemporaneously.” A rough sketch (fig. a) will show the fallacy of this hypo- thesis better than mere description. The coal-mea- sures were deposited coatemaanle over the Millstone Grit, and it was not till after the close of the car- boniferous period that the upheaval of the range occurred. It is easy to imagine the continuation of the beds which have been cut off by denudation subsequently. But the next error is still more glaring. I refer to the statement that the moun- tain limestone was formed simultaneously with the coal-measures! Considering that the . mountain limestone underlies the latter by several thousand feet of Millstone Grit, I think it is needless to comment upon this most novel hypothesis —W. H. Dalton, Geol. Survey. January, 1869; Quarterly Journal of Geological Society, vol. xxii., pp. 596, 470, 599; M. Agassiz, Poissons Fossiles, 8 vols.; Ditto, Du Vieux Grés Rouge; ‘Transactions of Manchester Geological Society, vol. i., p. 16; Transactions of Tyneside Naturalists’ Fiald Club, vol. vi., p. 231; Owen’s Odontography ; Owen’s Paleontology; Owen’s Homology of the Vertebrate Skeleton; Buckland’s Geology and Mineralogy; Page’s Handbook of Geology; Page’s Geological Terms; Chambers’s Encyclopedia; Proceedings of the Paleeontographical Society ; Acadian Geology by Dawson, pp. 179, 353; Proceedings of North of England Institution of Mining Engineers ; Sedgwick and McCoy’s British Paleozoic Fossils; Miller’s Footprints of the Creation; Science - Gossip; Scientific Opinion. From any of the works enumerated valuable infor- mation may be derived.—7’. P. Barkas, Neweastle- on-Tyne. Suzstirute ror Noss-precrs.—There is an error in the description of my sketch (fig, 15, in the number for last month). I wrote, or should have Fig. 40. Ideal Section across the Pennine Chain. 1. Coal-measures. 2. Millstone-grit. Tur Nieutrmeate.—l read in the Western Morn- ing News of this day (January 11th) that “the valley between Liskeard and Moorswater (in Cornwall) is now tenanted by a nightingale, which warbles enchanting, but untimely music.” Is it not a very unusual occurrence at this season of the yearand in that locality p—A. J. Davy, Torquay. Growtn In Greencacr.—lIn the month of July last year, I was preparing to eat a fine-looking greengage, when on opening it to remove the stone, I found the kernel had germinated, and a radicle had appeared at one end of the stone, which was partly open, and a delicate primule at the other. As it looked healthy, I carefully closed the fruit around it, and planted it ex masse, but am sorry to say it ee I believe owing to the continuous rain. Booxs anp Parrrs on CarBonirErovus Faunm. —I have had numerous applications to recommend works in which information may be had respecting carboniferous fauns, and as there is no te work in which the information at present possessed has been condensed and illustrated, L beg that you will permit me to refer your readers to some of the many sources from which valuable information may be obtained :—Annals of Natural History, February, April, May, June, 1868; Proceedings of the Geo- logical Society, vol. xviii., p. 291; vol. xix., p. 63; Transactions of Royal Irish Society, vol. xxiv., p. 351, plate 19; Memoirs of Geological Society, 1859, p. 52; Ditto, Decades vi. and x; Transactions of eological Society, series ii., vol. vi., plate 48, fig. 1; Owen’s Dental Characters of Genera and Species of Fishes and Reptiles from Low Main Coal-seam, Nortramberland ; Geological Magazine, vol. vi., pp. 323, 378; Ditto, Aug., Nov., Dee., 1868, and done so, lower end of “ body,” and ‘not, as printed, “ object-glass.” (Of course the wpper end of object- glass goes into the dower end of body.) —James Vegan. It is printed as our correspondent wrote it; hence the error is his own.—E. 8. G.| To REPAIR CoraLiinrs.—Can any one inform me how to mend a piece of coralline from the Mau- ritius? Arabian cement and plaster of Paris have been tried, but without success.—F, H., Dastbourne. [Is it a coral or a coralline —Ep. 9. G.] Deypritic Srors—I have for a length of time been puzzled to know what these are, They cer- tainly look like some fungoid growth, but. I cannot feel so sure about it as “J.T. G2’ I have often tried, but can find no spores, neither can L make out that the spots grow, nor yet increase in number as they would do were they a kind of fungus 3 an I cannot find them on all sorts of paper. I have now by me two kinds of foolscap which have been kept in the same place. One sort abounded in spots when I had it, but they have certainly not become more numerous during the past year or more. On the other lot of paper, about half a ream, I can find none. May they not be some crystallization which takes place in the making of the paper? I have looked into some old books which have got rather discoloured with damp, but do not find them, though there és a black fungus of quite a different appear- ance which is produeed, and does grow and increase. Perhaps “J. ‘. W.” ‘can procure and figure the spores, which would set the matter at rest as to the vegetable nature of the spots.—#, 7’. Scott. Loumryovs Centiprpn.—Whil ing i CENTIPEDE, e walking in the garden one night with a friend, we observed a a appearance on the walk by the side of the awn. It looked like a number of Naina te grains \ \ \ \ Fes. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 47 of sand arranged in a row, and all moving about very quickly. We took it up and carried it to the light, and found that it was an arimal like a centi- pede, only a good deal longer, more slender, and with many more legs. It is very common in the kind of places in which centipedes are found. On going to the British Museum I saw an animal that I thought was the same, called Geophilus carpophagus. The luminosity did not seem to proceed from a wound, as it was all over from head to tail—K. VW. Aw Esectment ror Ants.—A lady for many years has had the misfortune to have her best plums and pears infested with ants, so that the inside of the ripe fruits has been partially filled with these little creatures. Boiling water, lime, salt, tobacco- water, aloes, guano, were tried and failed; indeed, as one of your correspondents said, those articles appeared to agree with them, and made them more lively than ever. An old gentleman. gave informa- tion that train-oil would give ants a clear ejectment. On going to purchase the oil, the druggist said it would be a more certain mixture if one ounce of the flowers of sulphur were mixed with two pints of the train-oil. This mixture was applied with a whitewash brush on the wall and on the trunks of the trees for the height of two yards. The effect has been that only one ant has been seen during the last summer, and none of the fruit infested by them.—John Higginbottom, F.R.S.A., Nottingham. LAvREL-BERRIES, &c.—The question asked by Mr. F. J. Battersby, in a recent number of Scrmnce- Gossip, is one attended with much interest, and relates to a subject but little attended to by botanists generally. It is a well-known fact that the common Laurel (Cerasus Lauro-cerasus), which must not be confounded with the ¢rwe Laurel of the ancients (Laurus nobilis), contains a virulent secretion—prussic acid—in large quantities. It is also well known that the fleshy portion of its dark purple berries, as they are erroneously called, is edible when perfectly ripe; in fact, I have eaten them myself in large quantities without experiencing anything unwholesome; still I have doubts as to whether the kernels do not contain a poisonous principle, as do those of the delicious peaches, nectarines, &c., of our gardens. Instances are on record of death having been occasioned by partaking of them in quantity. Iam of op‘nion that Laurel- “ berries” (drupes) are poisonous whilst in a young state, their flavour at that period being similar to that of the leaves. Why any particular plant (or order) should absorb and secrete in itself prussic acid, as the Laurel; Solanine, as by the Solanums : Atropine, as by the Deadly Nightshade (Afropa Belladonna) ; Theine, as by the ‘lea shrub (hea), &c., is a mystery difficult to explain. Why should apples, pears, and other of our common fruits differ in flavour? ‘Take apples, for example. There are in cultivation several thousand named varieties ; yet out of this immense collection scarcely two varieties can be named as possessing exactly the same flavour. In the case of varieties, as in the example already named, it is highly probable that ‘all the natural secretions are present, such as malic acid, sugar, &c.; but that they exist in different proportions in nearly every variety, and thus ocea- sion differences of flavour. It may be asked, What causes the secretions to exist in different proportions in separate varieties? I have asked this question many times; I have put it to some of the leading horticulturists with whom I have had the oppor- tunity of conversing; and never yet received a decided answer. It is only by patient observation that we can wrest many of Nature’s secrets from her grasp. Some of her problems are difficult to solve, and can only be thoroughly mastered by con- tinual observation and well-directed study.—/. WV. Burbidge, Somerby, Oakham. Ocroser Litac.—During the past autumn, I have, on two separate occasiors, observed the com- mon Purple Lilac in bloom. In one instance, it is but fair to state that the plant had been forced the previous spring. In the other case, the plant com- menced its growth very early in the spring, being in a warm, sheltered situation, and the summer -being hot and dry, the wood became ripened early. The autumnal rains started some of the most shader ig buds, and it produced several clusters of beautiful and delicately-perfumed purple. flowers, which, according to rule, ought not to have ap- peared! until the succeeding spring. —/. W. Bur- bidge, Somerby, Oakham. SPIDERS SUSPENDING A Stonze.— Might not the stone referred to by “J. F. D.,? p. 283, as sus- pended from a spider’s web, have been used by the spider appertaining thereto as a means of keeping its web distended, or to steady it from the effects of the wind ?—¥. W. Burbidge, Somerby, Oakham. Luminous Worm.—One evening in September last I observed and captured a centipede, which emitted a light so much similar to that .of a glow- worm, that at the time (it being nearly dark) I mistook it for one. I was surprised, upon examin- ing it in the light, to find it a centipede. After having had it in my hands some minutes, I placed it under a glass for future examination; and upon going into a dark room my hands shone as though I had rubbed them with a piece of phosphorus. This luminous appearance I found resulted from a minute quantity of viscid matter which had adhered to my fingers whilst I was examining the polypodian luminary itself. The specimen I observed was to all appearance perfect and uninjured, and shone brightly at times as it moved quickly along a gravel path. In reply to the re- marks of Mr. G. J. Dew, I would say that I believe the “insect” he refers to in the December number of Scrency-Gossrp does naturally emit a light, although such light may shine much brighter when the “‘dzsect”? suffers from a fracture, as Mr. Dew states was the case with the specimen he observed. The luminous centipede observed by myself, and which I have no doubt is identical with the one seen by Mr. Dew, was nearly two inches long, slender, very active, and of a pale yellow eolour. Probably some of the correspondents of this periodical may have observed this luminous pheno- menon, and be able to furnish us with its scientific appellation. —/’. W. Burbidge, Somerby, Oakham. WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN Potentilla tormentilla ann Potentilla reptans ?— Potentilla reptans, the common creeping cinquefoil, has a filiform creeping stem ; Potentilla tormentillu (tormentil) an ascending dichotomous one. P. reptuns has quinate leaves and obovate leaflets ; the P. tormentilla ternate leaves and elliptical lanceolate leaflets. They are not quite so serrated (toothed) as those of the P. reptans. ‘These are, I believe, the chief specific differences between the two plants, for we often find a ¢ormentilla with five petals and a ten-parted calyx, and the different species of Poten- tilla are sometimes found yarying with four or five petals.—Helen L, Watney. . Wy 1) _ - a Sn ge Ce 48 HARDWICKR’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Frex. 1, 1869. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. Lricnton’s Anatocarrous Licuens and Monograph of British Graphideze, wanted to purchase.—Address, J. Bow- -man, Cockan, Lamplugh, Cockermouth. E. C. J.—Encalypta streptocarpa.—Rh. B. ¥ J. B. L.—1. Brachythecium albicans. 2. Grimmia tricho- phylla. 3. Racomitrium ellipticum.—R. B. H. C. Lesuie.—The Cynips is C. lignicola, Hartig ; and the Ichneumon is Callimone Devoniensis, Parfitt.—C. 0. W. J. Mc C.—The Blue Bee is Xylocopa violacea.—C. 0. W. D. H. S.—The leaf, fig. 249, is that of Crataegus oxyucan- thoides, evidently. F. G. B.—We cannot revive the subject again after so long delay, especially to add nothing new. J. G. O.—Your observations should have been sent to the journal in which the discussion is conducted. E. J.—The circumstance is not at all uncommon. R. G.—We cannot attempt to name larve, &c. Why not rear them yourself, and save us the trouble? R. B.—Asplenium Adiuntum-nigrum. 4 A. L.—We can find two or three similar instances within five minutes’ walk of our own domicile. ‘ G. H. A.and J. B. K.—As a controversy has been going on in Scientific Opinion on this subject, we decline commencing it. Erxrata.—Some correspondents, who complain of errors in printing their communications, are in the habit of writing such execrable scrawls, that it isno wonder the P. D. gets puzzled. S. S.—English Books printed in India are many of them a disgrace to their authors, and contain more errors than any other books in the language. ‘‘ Balfour’s Cyclopzedia ’’ is no exception, and though only a compilation, and a careless one, it would be difficult to say which preponderates, the right or the wrong. The only satisfaction we can afford you is, that it is the only one published. CarpotocicaL Booxs,—Our correspondent (‘* H. §.”’) will perhaps find the following list answer the purpose : Parsons, “The Microscopical Theatre of Seeds.’”? London, 1745. 4to. —Garrtner, J., ‘‘ De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum.’’ 3 vols. 4to. Stuttgart, 1788-1807.— DumorriEr, ‘Essai Carpographique.”’ 4to. Brussels, 1835, — CouvercnEL, “* Traité des Fruits.”” 8vo. Paris, 1839.—RicHARD, ‘‘ Démon- Strations Botaniques, ou Analyse au Fruit considéré en général.”’ 8vo. Paris, 1808.—RALpPuH, T. S., “ Icones Car- pologice.’’ Part I. 4to. London, 1849. A. B.—The common Custard Apple is Anona reticulata, and the Cherimoyer is Anona cherimolia. The zoophyte on the Shrimp is Laomedea dichotoma, common on various sub- stances within tide-marks. There is no reason to suppose that the volunteers have anything to do with it. iS aaa Wheldon’s, Great Queen Street, Lincoln’s-Inn Fields. P. B.—No! especially the binocular. A. C.—Undoubtedly they were little ‘‘ Hermit Crabs.” H. P.—Mr. Pike, of Brighton, furnishes seawéeds for the herbarium. G. J. D.—We could not undertake such a task. A. A., Jun.—Cleaner and better than before, but still capa- ble of improvement. T, A. H.—Thefernis Polystichum angulare, var. grandidens, Moore ; see also var. oru, Lowe.—d. G, B. R. G.—The case-bearing larve on Juncus are those of Coleophora cespititiella, a very common species on the seeds of various kinds of rnsh.—R. MeL. Cossry.—We are decidedly opposed to the use of assumed names, inverted initials, and all subterfuges for disguising the true name or initials of correspondents. If the truth be spoken it needs no disguise.——‘‘ Trmotay TwappLe,” in- stead of writing to us may devote the time to his own im- provement, and save postage stamps. J. D. H.—Asplenium bulbiferum what you term parasites are young plants of the fern, produced upon the fronds. T. A. H.—Probably a large variety of Lustrea Filix mas, but from its condition, and absence of fruit, not safe to deter- mine.—J, G. B. H, C.8.—An infinitely better account of the seventeen year locust has just appeared in the American Entomologist. PLANARIA.— The following misprints occurred at p. 8. For “Tushellasia,’* read ‘*Turbellaria;” for ‘‘over gliding,’ *‘even gliding ;’’ for ‘‘ flosculent,’’ “*floceulent;’? and for **diametically,” ‘* diametrically,”— 4. H. E. J. B. may obtain cardboard boxes of all kinds of Mr. Cutter, 35, Great Russell Street, corner of Bloomsbury Street, W.C Too Lare.—Communications not received until between the 12th and 15th of the month, containing specimens for naming, or queries requiring answer from the editor, cannot receive attention until the tollowing month. This notice is occasioned by the great increase of correspondence, especially at those dates. MarcuH.—Notes of microscopical objects to be sought for during this month are solicited from our correspondents. EXCHANGES. Minerats in exchange for British shells or others of the dias esena list. of desiderata and duplicates to G, 8. Tye, 58, Villa Road, Handsworth, Birmingham. Concuonocy.—Correspondents and exchanges wanted in Terrestrial Conchology.—H. Freedley, Norristown, Pa, U.S. Lepiporrers.— Southern for Northern species.—E. H. Walland, 19, Oakley Street, Chelsea. Sections OF WELLINGTONIA (mounted) Gigantea and Cuticle of Yucca for other objects (mounted).—J. Carpenter, Waltham Cross, Herts. CHALK Fossiis (mounted) in exchange for other objects of interest (mounted or unmounted).—Send lists to Rev. J. B. Bartlett, Watton-at-Stone, Hertford. Fosstin Inrusoria from Kieselguhr, district of Soos near Eger, Bohemia.—Pollen of ,Lilium Lancifolium Punctatum, or Lilium Lancifollum Rubrum (mounted), in exchange for other (mounted or unmounted) microscopic objects.—Addyess, inclosing stamped envelope, to C, E. Osborn, 28, Albert Road, St. John’s Ville, Highgate, N. Scares or Popura, Lepisma, Atropos, and Hair of Dermes- tes larva (mounted), in exchange for other objects (mounted or unmounted).—J, Shelton, 52, High Street, Bedford. SecTions oF HEATH STEM, Oak, and Datura, offered in ex- change for other mounted objects.—Address James Green, jun., 16, Pump Street, Londonderry. Mossrs.—Paludella Squarrosa for any rare species.—Samuel Anderson, Albert Chambers, Whitby. BOOKS RECEIVED. ** Popular Science Review.’’ No. 30, January, 1869. Lon- don : Robert Hardwicke. “The Quarterly Magazine of the High Wycombe Natural History Society,’’ Vol. Il., No, 3, January, 1869. “The Monthly Microscopical Journal.’’ Edited by Henry Lawson, M.D. No. 1, January, 1869. London: Robert Hardwicke. “‘Young England’s Almanac and Naturalists’ Calendar,” for 1869. London: Tweedie. “The American Entomologist,” No.4 (No. 3 not received). St. Louis, Mo.: Studley & Co. “Scientific Opinion.’’ Nos. 9, 10,11. London: Wyman & Sons. “Land and Water.”’ Nos. 154, 155, and 156, January, 196, London: 80, Fleet Street. ‘‘The Garden Oracle and Floricultural Year Book, 1869. Edited by Shirley Hibberd, F.R.H.S. London: Groombridge & Sons. “‘The Dental Register.’? Edited by J. Taft and G. Watt. ade XXII., No. 11, November, 1868. Cincinnati: Wrightson 0. ne American Bee Journal.” Vol. IV., No. 7, January, 1869, Edited by 8. Wagner. . Washington, U.S. ““Newman’s Entomologist.’? No. 61, January, 1869.’ Lon- don: Simpkin, Marshall, & Co. “The Gardener’s Magazine,” for January, 1869. Edited by Shirley Hibberd, F.R.H.S. London: E. W. Allen. “Descriptive Catalogue of Flower Seeds.” By William Thompson, Tavern Street, Ipswich. “The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist.” Vol. 3, No. 4, January, 1868 (sic). Montreal: Dawson Brothers. “The American Naturalist.” Vol. II., No. 11, January 7, 1869. Salem: Peabody Academy of Science. ; 3 Communications Recriven. -J. B.—J. M. C. (ineligible). —S. C. H.—R, B.—E. J.—W. H.—J. G. O—J. Y. H— W. W.S.—R, C. B.—C, 0. G. N—W. G. B. (too late).—F. H. —G. S. T.—F. S.—H. W. R.—A. A., jun.—J. V.—A. B— J. W. P.—F. G. B.—W. T.— E. T. SS. BR. G= D. H. S.—J. H.—H. J. M. T.—W. K.—J. R. 8. C.— —B. T. H. M.—G. R.—S.M.—J. B. J.—J. L. M.—R. T.— H. E. W.—L.S.—A. C.—T, P. B.—H. P.—T. A. H.—J. C.— J. B. L.—A. P.—W. W.—J. H.—C. E. 0.—A, H, E,—J. B. kK. —J. B.—B.—H. 8.—J. B.—B.—R. H.—W. 0. (Dundas).— A. BLE —A. A., jun.—H. F.—C, C. W.— A. B.—W. M.-H. S. a Wad. E.—M. A. J.—O. S.—M. F. D.—E. H. W.— nS -—W.H. D.—W.J. D.—A. M. B.—F, Si—F. A. K.— - J. D.—J. G., jun.—T. S.—R. S.—H. C. S.—H. W. R.— J.S.T.—J. W.—J. S.—H. B. B.—H. G. GL. A. G.—M. M. —J. R.—E. B.—J. G. B.—K. R. W.—E. L—E. P. HS. A.— S. and S.—I. T—P. BH. H. K.—J. D. H-H. HM — P. P, AS. M.—R. A. S.—S, H.—J. J. S.—_W. R. TW. He —T.S.—G.H. A—J. R._G.E. P_} —A.M. G. E. F.—F, F.—E. C, J.—E. P. H. Marcu 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. MYRIAPODS. Br MAJOR HOLLAND, R.M.LL AASLEASE, sir, ‘ here’s one of them nasty mis- chiefull many- legs as I told you pisened the we never got nothink off of ?em. Nobody can’t say as they wasn’t took care of, for I was a waterin’ and a water- in’ on ’em mornin’, noon, and. night, all along the droughty summer. It stands reasonable-like to natur’ as water-melons should take a sight o’ water: twasn’t my ture as rotted the roots off; oration, and proved to his own entire satisfaction *“as how he was right all along, and master was mistook” about poor Curcurbita citrullus having been drenched to death with icy pump-water, the obstinate old gardener deposited his writhing scape- goat on the study table, and retired triumphant to the coach-house, where he whistled loud pans of victory to the Bramahs and Cochins of the stable- yard. What yellow-brown Myriapod is this? His flexible body, which he is tying into all manner of knots, is composed of no fewer than eighty-one dis- tinct segments, to say nothing of the odd one at the end of the tail, and the five which have coalesced to form the head. If we count these five fused segments as one (as we do the four which Pro- fessor Huxley tells us combine together to make up our own human brainboxes), then his body is made up of eighty-three somites, of which the cephalic, the anterior-thoracic, which bears that terrible pair No. 51. melon-bed so as | overdoin’ on ’em with mis- | *twas these here plaguey | varmint ”’!! Having delivered this of hooked maxillipedes, and the anal are the only three presenting any marked differences from each other, and from the eighty others which are as “strictly uniform” as the helmets of the metro- politan police. How the fellow shuns the light! Does his con- science trouble him? Does he feel himself guilty of “pisenin’ ” the melons, that he wriggles so uneasily until he succeeds in burying himself out of sight in the silk tassel of the penwiper? A. burrowing | troglodyte by nature, I suspect, and on closer ex- amination he proves to be such— Geophilus sub- terraneus (underground earth-lover), of the family Geophilide, of the sub-division Chilopoda (foot- feeders), of the order Myriapoda, of the class Articulata, according to Newport. He has no eyes; he doesn’t want any; he passes his life in the dark, underground, tearing up old shreds of farmyard manure and vegetable matter, always preferring scavengers’ work when he cai get it, and doing good service by eating up the helpless, soft, succulent larve: of the hosts of insects that prey upon our crops. The sins of the wire- worm have been laid to his charge; his third cousins the udide do undoubtedly steal our potato “sets,” and bore into young peas, or rather into old peas just “spritting” and about to send up young ones; but it seems doubtful if he himself ever attacks fresh or living vegetables: he seems to be one of nature’s many vidangeurs, and because he is found minding his business and eating up rottenness, he is accused of producing it. As well might we say that our sewer-men produce typhus and cholera. But he has even been charged with having caused the potato disease! because he was found labouring to remove the affected tubers. Beware, ye brave surgeons who fight with zymotie demons and risk your own lives to lift up stricken humanity, lest ye be arraigned for producing all the long cata- logue of human ills that figure in our sanitary statistics. Our captive has no eyes; he has, however, an D 50 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Marca 1, 1869. * ocellus,” a mere pigment speck behind the base of each of his fifteen-jointed antenne, and he has the smallest possible threadlet of an optic nerve. I ex- pect he cannot see, in the ordinary sense, but can dis- tinguish between the light with which he has nothing to do, and the darkness in which he feels his way about with his antenne when doing his duty like a humble vegetarian jackal, or adjutant. The Myriapods have heen placed at different times. in different classes of the animal kingdom: in one famous system we find them under the head of Crustacea ; another, in remote times, ranged them with the Hemiptera and Orthoptera as “insects which only undergo a partial metamorphosis.” They have slight affinities with both, and even with the Annelids ; like the latter, they grow in length by the successive addition of new segments between the penultimate and anal. The lower subdivision, the Chilognatha, by the situation of their repro- ductive orifices, seem to betray Crustacean relation- ships; but we remember that in the first phase of their development they displayed three pairs of legs only, like the typical hexapod insect. They appear to stand out the strong, well-marked, first link of that long chain which bridges over the mighty gulf i which rolls between the creeping worm and the V5 flying insect. The Myriapod is the lowest articulate animal, the Annelid the highest axnulose—t. e., according to the old scheme of classification, the latter term has recently been used with a widely extended signification. ‘Tien years ago the sub- division Chilopoda consisted of four families, including ninety-four genera; and the lower sub- division, Chilognatha, of four families, containing seventy-five genera; a tremendous total of variations of a type; but since then they have been shuffled and cut, and lumped and split, like the German States, till nobody knows which is which. “An articulation complete in all its mechanical appliances is not produced in the animal kingdom below the Myriapod. A joint is the symbol of organic superiority ; it is not an arbitrary symbol; it is a unit in an assemblage of signs which proclaim a newer and higher combination in the arrangements which constitute ‘life. At this limit in the animal series the fluids and the solids of the organism undergo a signal exaltation of standard. The system of the chylaqueous fluid exists no longer in the adult organism, it is present only in the embryonic. It is supplanted by that of the blood proper, Coinciden- tally with the ‘joint’ at the frontier of the articulate sub-kingdom there occurs a heart to circulate the blood, fibrine, and with it an order of floating corpuscles more highly organized in the it fluids; a wondrous development of the muscular : apparatus, strie in the muscle-cell, a rapid increase in the dimensions of the cephalic ganglia, and in those of the organs of the special senses. It is here in the history of the reproductive system that the | apertures, dioscious character is first unquestionably assumed, These are noteworthy events in the ascensive march of organic architecture.”—Dr. Williams, Mag. Nat, Hist., 1854. The armour-plates of the cylindrical Julus are | composed of a semi-crustaceous hard substance, but in the Scolopendride, which our “ false wireworm” closely approaches, the integuments are of a flexible chitinous substance, the back of each segment is covered by a plate, the ventral surface by a some- what smaller plate, the epimeral portions, as well as the interspaces between the somites, are covered by a loosely fitting coriaceous membrane of much thinner texture. The circulating system has been a battleground for men with great reputations. ‘The nervous and reproductive systems, and the development day by day from the ovum, have been drawn out with elaborate minuteness by Newport—in Philosophical Transactions for 1841 and 1843—but I have not yet fallen in with a drawing of their tracheary system, which is well worthy of careful study. The spiracular orifices are not placed as in insects between the segments, but in the side of each, a little below the dorsal plate; they are not minute nor vertical slits, neither are they furnished with “guards” of sete, or hairs, to exclude dust and foreign bodies; but they are circular openings, each with a well-defined hard- looking ring, over which the tough but pliable lateral membrane passes, lining the entrance, which is directed slightly backwards, and can be closed by a sphincter muscle. The trachex are very large in the anterior segments, occupying no small portion of their internal cavities, but they decrease in diameter in proportion as the segments recede from the head; possibly there may be need for a more abundant supply of oxygen in the region of the brain, and in the first formed portions of the body, than in the equally large but more remote additions which are from time to time developed near the caudal extremity. Let us detach half a dozen pairs of spiracles, with their tracheal appurtenances complete, from the dissected tail end of Geophilus the much maligned, float them on to a slide, and bring the “ two-thirds objective” to bear upon them. (Fig. 41.) A ladder of shining silver, a very Jacob’s ladder, bright and beautiful enough to have been let down from heaven for the feet of angels, The six uprights and the cross rungs are all constructed of the same tubular wire rope glistening with a dazzling metallic lustre, and without a flaw anywhere. The tubes are composed of an outer and an inner coat, containing between them the spiral coil, to which they are closely attached; a delicate membrane also connects the turns of the spiral with each other, It is interesting to compare these animal breathing tubes, with their Mancu 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 51 analogues the spiral vessels of the vegetable kingdom; the latter are easily extracted from the young shoots of asparagus, or from the leaves of the hyacinth. The spring-like coil ensures a free open passage for the air which rushes in by the spiracular orifices, expiration being effected by the contraction Fig, 41. Trachez of Geophilus subterraneus, x 140. of these elastic channels, by which the effete air is foreibly expelled through the openings by which it originally entered. The main trachex pass down the axes of the blood- channels, floating in the vital fluid, which they- revivify with the oxygen which they thus carry to and through the life-stream. We are told that the air-pipe does not terminate where the wiry-looking spiral comes to an end; the latter dwindles away imperceptibly to nothing, but the trachea from thence becomes membranous, and, dividing into | innumerable branches, which bear to the main trunks the same relation that the capillaries bear to the arteries, penetrates the substance of the muscles, inconceivably fine branches having been traced accompanying the nerves, while the ultimate plexiform extremes of the system aérate imme- diately the solids. “In all the transparent struc- tures of insects every observer may prove for himself that the blood-currents travel in the same passages as the trachex, but this is only the case with the primary and secondary branches, zever in the capillary traches ; the blood corpuscles of the myrtapod exceed by several times in diameter that of the extreme capillary membranous trachew ; it is perfectly marvellous to what inconceivable minute- ness the air-current is reduced in travelling along these tubes.’”” What a simple and efficient plan, what an economy of space is this arrangement of tube within tube, for aérating the blood in a class of lowly creeping things of earth that do not attain to the dignity of lungs! There is a saving of time too, for the blood is made arterial while on its journey, and thus travels direct (without the delay of passing off to special pulmonary organs) to the performance of its functions, removing, replacing, renewing, sustaining, building up, absorbing. Having accomplished these, and become as it were venous, it passes into the intervisceral spaces, and there, receiving an increment of fresh globules, the products of digestion, completes its circuit by returning through distinct valvular openings into the dorsal vessel from which it was first distributed. “Among the Chilognatha,” says Siebold, “the Zudide are notice- able for the very simple character of their trachean apparatus; their air-canals neither ramify nor anastomose. With the Glomerina the trachee are branched, but do not anastomose ; but those of the Chilopoda axe very ramose, and their large trunks intercommunicate at their origin by longitudinal and transverse anastomoses, so that each stigma can introduce air into the entire trachean system.” It was chiefly with the view of drawing attention to this last-mentioned fact (a most striking evidence of design)—to this remarkable example of the exquisite adaptation of the creature’s construction to the condition of existence ordained for it by the Creator— that I began this bit of simple gossip about Geophi- lus. In his subterranean career he constantly meets with accidents which link him up in sympathetic association with Brunel and Stephenson, and the Bedouin of the desert. He never bored a practicable highway beneath the bed of Isis, nor made firm the foundations of an iron road across the quaking surface of Chat Moss; neither, has he braved the D2 a eer eee = A = Re an ‘ith rt 52 HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Marcu 1, 1869. burning sand-blasts of the Simoom; yet in his degree he has met with such like critical experiences a hundred times. *One day the roof of his tunnel crashed in upon him, and buried a dozen of his segments, squeezing the very breath out of them; on another day the rain had saturated the rubbish heap he was toiling in, a score or two of his somites were under water, and he had to “batten down” the stigmata belonging thereto to save those portions of himself from drowning ; and yet again, in the scorching dog- days, a hot wind swept the earth, and a dry and thirsty clod, crumbling away, discharged an avalanche of dust which overwhelmed nine-tenths of him: in each and all of these catastrophes his life would not have been worth ten seconds’ purchase, even with his many spiracles, but for the anasto- mosing branches of his wind-pipes, the cross rungs of his air-ladder, which enabled the air received by the unchoked segments to pass in every direction through the whole system. That there is perfectly free communication from any one spiracle to the whole network of air-passages may be seen by examining the figure which I have given, and if any reader has still a doubt on his mind he may remove it, if he is a dexterous manipulator, by dissecting out the tracheary apparatus of the first chz/opodous myriapod he can lay hands on, and, stopping the orifices of all the spiracles but one, he will find that through that one he may inject the whole labyrinth of air-vessels with carmine. I observed that a correspondent, J. G. D., in December last, was much surprised at the display of a phosphorescent light by a centipede he had found. Geophilus eleciricus, a member of the same family and a near relation of our Subterraneus, must have been the pyrotechnist he chanced upon. “The caustic brown fluid which most Myriapoda when touched emit from a row of orifices, foramina repugnatoria, situated on the sides of the segments of the body, and which exhales an odour like that of chlorine, is secreted by small pyriform glandular follicles situated immediately beneath the skin ; it is from glands upon the sides of the body analogous to these that G. electricus emits a luminous liquid.” It would be most interesting to ponder over the three varieties of breathing apparatus mentioned by Siebold, and to note their special adaptations to the life conditions and necessities of the three distinct genera provided with them; and there are other wonders in the ways and mechanism of each and all of them that one longs to dwell upon; but we are not essayists here, only cheerful “ gossips” of the wayside, who seek to be merry and wise, accurate though simple and amusing. We have run to the end of our tether, and must say good-bye to Geophilus subterraneus and all the myriapods, Bury Cross, Gosport. Susu THE CELANDINE. HEN John Gerarde, about three hundred and \ fifty years ago, published a catalogue of the plants in his botanic garden on Holborn Hill, two appeared in it under the names of the Greater and the Lesser Celandine,—names which they have re- tained ever since, though the plants have been widely separated by later botanists. It is not easy to see why they should have had a common name; and this instance may show us what difficulties Ray and other early English botanists had to overcome in disentangling the confused arrangements of the herbalists—‘ Celandino,” or “ the Swallow :” so the word signifies, these plants being supposed to flower about the time of the return of that bird; a fancy not exact in this instance, but beautifully adapted by our great dramatist to the illustration of another flower :— Daffodils, That come before the Swallow dares, And take the winds of March with beauty. It may not be uninteresting to contrast, as‘we cannot compare, the appearance, the qualities, and present position of the Greater and the Lesser Celandine, thus unaccountably linked together. The Chelidonium majus of Gerarde, Ray, Linneus, and all succeeding botanists to this time, now pro- perly placed among the Papaveracea, is a perennial plant common in the neglected cottage-gardens, where it may be recognized by its umbel of small yellow flowers, its glaucous, pinnated leaves, and the copious, yellow, foetid juice which exudes from every part when broken. Its properties are so active that it is figured by Rhina among pol- sonous plants. He describes it as acrid, stimulating, aperient, diuretic, and sudorific; if we add the narcotic principle, found in all the poppies more or less, we have a wonderful combination indeed. Botanists and herbalists, from Gerarde to Withering, have all foretold great things of the medical efficacy of this plant; but it has fallen into total neglect, except among the cottage poultry-keepers, who chop it up for their chickens to make them more lively! ‘The future of this plant may, however, yet be great. It may prove a specific for some com- plaint which now baffles all known remedies; but the enthusiastic young physician, after such long disuse, must commence a new series of experi- ments—upon himself first, of course (as Sir H. Davy did with the newly-discovered gases), before he ministers it to his patients. The Lesser Celandine (Chelidonium minus of Ge- rarde, and Ranunculus ficaria of Linneus) has no such formidable array of attractions. Its charms are summed up in very few words—it is our earliest Buttercup. On the verge of winter, long before the Swallow dares, and before the Daffodils dance in. the March winds, the Lesser Celandine opens its Marcu J, 1869.} HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 53 flowers in the transient sunshine, and closes them again under every passing cloud. It is found almost everywhere on humid soils, in the lanes and hedge- rows, on the edge of coppices and among the grass; but it is on the banks of streams and watercourses, where the tuberous roots can strike deep, that its chief beauty is seen: there the star-like flowers, resting on a bed of deep green foliage, are, in the early season, conspicuously large and bright. Ere a leaf is on a bush, In the time before the thrush Has a thought about its nest, Thou wilt come with half a call, Spreading out thy glossy breast Like a careless prodigal, Telling tales about the sun When there’s little warmth or none. So William Wordsworth addresses this flower of his adoption :— There’s a flower that shall be mine, ‘Tis the little Celandine. It was near middle life with him before this poetic attachment commenced, for which he seems to reproach himself :— I have seen thee high and low Thirty years or more, and yet *T was a face I did not know; Thou hast now, go where I may, Fifty greetings in a day. And for well-nigh half a century afterwards it cheeered his solitary musings by the waterfalls and in the woods, and he “ blessed it for fellowship.” The sentiment survives the poet, in the memory of his disciples and friends, in the congenial minds which “ make their own delights ” in the calm pur- suits of country life, and it is symbolized upon the Laureate’s tomb. ‘Tourists to the Lake districts— and there are many—who visit the churchyard and church of Grassmere, when they read the epitaph and do homage to the memory of departed worth and genius, see a flower, with folded petals, sculptured upon the white marble: it is the little Celandine. 8.8. ABOUT CILIA. F we examine any one of those active little infu- sorial animaleules, millions of which are present in every drop of ditch-water, we shall find that their only organs of locomotion are certain hair-like pro- cesses known as Cilia. These cilia are found more or less, with two or three exceptions, in every class of the animal king- dom. In some of the lowest forms of animal organi- zation we meet with we find that they are of the greatest possible use, serving’ as organs of locomo- tion, or as a means of procuring food by creating currents in the water; whilst in the higher animals— the mammalia for instance—they serve a more sub- ordinate though no less useful office, that of con- veying the mucus found in different parts of the body to openings, from which it may be easily ex- pelled. They are found on the gills of the tadpole, where they assist the respiration by causing the water to flow over the branchiw, on the surface of the body of the Spongide, the Polipi, the Meduse, and the Nchinodermata, and also in the alimentary system of many animals. The Unio and Aordon— the common fresh-water mussels—which have no prehensile or masticatory organs, are entirely depen- dant for a supply of food, consisting principally of infusoria, on the motion of the cilia lining the mantle and the surface of the gills, which serves to- urge it forward to the region of the mouth. When in rapid motion they have the appearance of a wave quickly passing over the surface to which they are attached, remindimg one of the action of a strong wind on a field of corn. They are seen much more distinctly when the movement is somewhat slackening than when they are in full activity. The motion resembles that of an oar, and it has been found that they can rotate on their arex through a quarter of a circle, so that in the return stroke the blade is parallel to the direction of motion. One of the most curious facts in connection with the subject is that the activity of the cilia does not immediately cease on the extinction of the life of the animal on which they are found, for their motion has been observed in the tortoise for fifteen days after death, when putrefaction was far advanced, and in the frog for four or five days. The cause of their motion has long been a debatable point among naturalists; but, as the motion is found after systemic: death, it is thought to be connected with the con- tractile substance of which muscles are composed. If it does not depend upon this substance, it has been argued it must be caused by some substance of the nature of which we know nothing, and of the very existence of which we have no proof, for our most powerful microscopes have as yet been unable to discover the motor power of these interesting processes. It is, however, evident that that power, whatever it may be, must be connected with each cilium, for there can be no doubt that they move individually, and without connection with their neighbours, except as to the direction of their motion. There are various external agencies, by the appli- cation of which the movements of vibritile cilia may be greatly modified or altogether arrested. In warm- blooded animals a cold of 43° F. or under will per- manently stop their motion, but in cold-blooded animals they will bear a much greater degree of cold, a mixture of ice and water having no apparent effect on them. A gentle warmth, such as may be caused by breathing on them, will in many animals revive them after they have become languid. In many marine molluscs, such as the sea-mussel,. a 5d HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Marcu 1, 1869. their motion is destroyed by immersion of the animal for a few minutes in fresh water. Professor Lister has made some valuable investigations on | In a paper communicated to the | this subject. Royal Society in 1858 by Dr. Sharpey (from whom much of our information on this subject has been obtained) he says :— “Having cut off a small piece of the tongue of a frog, killed about an hour before, and placed it upon a slip of glass under the microscope, with just enough water to permit the free play of the cilia, I held near to it a piece of lint soaked in chloroform, keeping my eye over the microscope. The effect was instantaneous cessation of the previously rapid action of the cilia, which now stood out straight and motionless like the hairs of a brush. I now immediately withdrew the lint, after which the same state of complete inaction continued for about half a minute, when languid movements began to show themselves, and after a lapse of five minutes more the ciliary motion was going on pretty briskly in some parts, and ten minutes later seemed to have almost completely recovered.” From the same authority we learn that this lan- guid state of the cilia is also produced by ammonia, by freshly-prepared mustard, and by strong acetic acid. The effect of most chemicals cannot be ascertained, as the tissues‘and the substance of the cilia are destroyed by them. ‘The experiments mentioned are most instructive, and most easy of performance. Inseveral of the lower cryptogamous plants, such as the Vaucheria, cilia are found on the surface of the spores, allowing them to move freely in‘water, and some of the still simpler Algse are, even when in the adult state, endowed with such powers of locomotion, owing fo the presence of these processes, that their vegetable character, though now com- pletely established, was long a matter of doubt. The motion of the cilia found in these situations is of course influenced by external agents in the same way as when they are found in animals. W. Murrett. University College, Gower Street, N.W. MOSQUITOES. ee readers of Scrpnce Gossir may possibly remember that more than one writer on the subject of the Mosquitoes supposed to have been met with in this country last summer, spoke most positively as to the identity of its note with that of the Kast Indian insect; the loud, clear, ringing sound of which they stated to be widely different from that of the gnat, and so peculiar, that no person who has once heard it can ever mistake it for anything else. At the same time it was stated in more than one journal, that all the mosquitoes captured turned out to be specimens of Culex pipiens, but no explanation was offered as to the strange fact of the gnats’ note undergoing such a remarkable change. Being anxious to see whether any light could be thrown on this obscure phenomenon, I applied to a friend who had been in East India, and on whose state- ments I knew I could thoroughly rely. After some delay, over which neither he nor I had any control, I received his answer, which I now give exactly as it reached me, in the belief that truth, even when late, will always be welcome to the readers of ScreNcE Gossir. J. L. Mitton, “ My pEar Mruroy,—During the years 1845-6-7, I made two voyages to India, visiting the port of Bombay twice, and Calcutta once. “Being then young and succulent, my arrival created quite a sensation among the mosquitoes, and their attentions to me by night and by day were more flattering than agreeable. My opportunities { of learning the habits of the East Indian animal have thus been considerable. Tn July last (1868) I spent a few days in the house of a friend at Hampstead. The weather was very hot, and I slept with my bedroom windows widely open. - One morning about 4 am.I was suddenly awoke by a sound which I had not heard for more than twenty years, but which ina moment set me on the defensive. It is impossible for any one who has suffered as I have done, to mistake the sharp trumpet of the mosquito, and the peculiar and irritating mode of attack. For a time I defended myself vigorously, but at last his perti- nacity prevailed, and I allowed him to have his meal, which he took immediately over my left eye- brow. The consequences which followed were exactly the same as those which used to follow the sting of the Kast Indian insect—swelling, with intense itch- ing, which gradually increased for about 36 hours, when it slowly subsided, with some desquamation. The whole quite unlike the effect produced on me by the sting of the ordinary gnat, with which, also, | Lam quite familiar. “The insect which stung me was a mosquito in sound, in manner of attack, in the effects of the sting, and in appearance; for it was quite light enough for me to see him distinctly when he made his retreat, brandishing his spindle shanks with that air of jaunty defiance which irritates his angry victims almost to madness. What scientific name an entomologist would give him, I cannot tell. He did a mosquito’s work upon me. Rh ae Cutcaco Microscorrcan Crus.—A new Miero- scopical Club, attached to the Academy of Sciences, has recently been inaugurated at Chicago, Lllinois, USS, . i ne ei a Mancx 1, 1869.) 55 MONSTERS OF THE DEEP.* HE well-known Dutch naturalist, P. Harting, published, in 1860, a memoir on certain gigantic cephalopods, some extracts from which (as the work is not easily accessible) may be interesting to the readers of Scrence-Gosstr. The conclusion he draws, or more properly the final suggestion he throws out, appears to me to be particularly valu- able. “It has long been matter of notoriety,” he observes, “that cephalopods of an enormous size exist in the sea, although no naturalist has hitherto been favoured with the opportunity of examining and reporting on a complete animal at his leisure. The largest individual, of which a detailed deserip- tion, accompanied by figures, has been published, is the Ommastrephes giganteus of D’Orbigny. Its total length was 44 inches, that of the body alone being 17°5 inches.” The stories of Olaus Magnus’s kraken, and of the colossal poulpe, which Denys de Montfort repre- sents as entangling in its enormous arms a three- masted frigate, are but wild exaggerations of an incontestable truth. Aristotle assigns to the great calamary of the Mediterranean Sea a length of 5 cubits (or 7 to 8 feet). Moreover, he assures us that one Trebius Niger had seen a polype whose body, as it lay on the beach, was calculated to be equal to a 70-gallon cask: each arm was 30 feet long, and so thick as scarcely to be embraced by one man; it weighed about 700 pounds. On the whole, I am inclined to think that this story must not be thrust aside as fabulous ; the simplicity of the description and the numerical data are greatly in its favour. After all, the dimensions given (as we shall see presently) do not much exceed those of individuals whose exist- ence is well-nigh proved by modern writers. Sander-Rang, Peron, Quoy, and Gaimard, have seen animals, or the remains of animals, on the surface of the ocean, with enormous bodies, and arms 6 to 8 feet long. Madame Graham (quoted by Johnston) saw a cephalopod whose arms were 18 feet long; and Schwediaver reports the capture of a cachalot (Physeter) in whose gullet was found an arm of a cephalopod, which, though imperfect, measured 23 feet in length. In the Hunterian Museum, London, are preserved the fins, section of arm, heart, and mandible of an onychoteuthis, the length of which, when perfect, could not have been less than 6 feet. The remains belong to an indi- vidual encountered by Banks and Solander, the companions of Captain Cook, floating on the sea between Cape Horn and Australia, in lat. $8. 30°44, and long. W. 110°33. One may well believe, with these descriptions before us, that the fears of the pearl and coral * Scrzncx Gossip, Vol. iv. P, 222, 1868, These men declare that they are sometimes seized by huge molluses of this family, who endeavour to entangle them in their long arms, which are studded with suckers and hooks. In the present day M. Steenstrup has made extensive and valuable researches into the history of these gigantic cephalopods. A portion only of these researches has been published; but they lead to the conclusion that in the Atlantic Ocean, the Northern Seas, and even the entrance of the Baltic, there exist cephalopods not inferior to those de- scribed by T. Niger, Schwediaver, and Madame Graham. M. Steenstrup demonstrates with a rare sagacity that the singular animal which was cap- tured in the Sound, not far from Malmé, in 1546, and to which the superstition of the natives gave the name of the “Sea Monk,” was really a cepha- lopod, allied to Loligo, of a length of 4 Danish ells (8 feet), or, including the tentacular arms, 16 feet. In 1853 an individual, probably of the same species and of nearly the same size as the “Sea Monk,” was cast ashore near Aalbeck, in Jutland. The mandible only was recovered by M. Steenstrup, who has named it —W. R. B Wasr.—I have enclosed a wasp which was killed in my dining-room yesterday evening (Jan. 22), as I thought its early appearance might interest some of your readers.—Z. B., Clare, Suffolk. Cock Nxsrs.—It is not an uncommon thing to find several unfinished nests in the neighbourhood of a Wren’s nest (Sylvia T'roglodytes, Lath.) I have found many, but never one that had any lining in it. The popular opinion is, that the cock bird builds these nests, and not having the ability to line them, he leaves them unfinished ; hence they are called in Yorkshire “ cock-nests.” The fact seems to be, that whilst the hen is sitting, the cock employs his leisure in building. A year or two ago, a wren built her nest under the overhanging tiles of an out- house, the foundation resting in a currant bush, and the tile forming the dome. Within a distance of forty yards, I found five of these nests; three were built in the rasp-canes. Whilst the female takes great pains to hide her nest, these rude attempts | are generally built in open and exposed places. From long and careful observation, 1 believe that the cock-birds give very little assistance, generally, to the hens, in building their nests.—Joha Ranson. Pics anp Mustc.—In old churches and cathedrals we sometimes find a carving on the miserere of a pig playing upon a bagpipe, and the little pigs dancing around. This seems to indicate a popular notion (at least in times gone by) that pigs have no ear or taste for music; such a notion, however, seems to be not quite correct: for I once saw four or five great bony pigs standing at a garden-gate, listening with the most evident pleasure to the sweet sounds of a wandering German band. They stood in a row, in perfect Marcu 1, 1869.] HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 69 stillness, with heads bent a little on one side to catch the melody; and from time to time gave utterance to their delight in a gentle grunt of satisfaction. The melody that charmed their breasts was one which rose and fell in gentle and continual waves of sound: not very attractive perhaps to educated ears; but certainly riveting the attention of these untaught creatures, whose desires are commonly supposed to be confined to the quantity and quality of their food, rather than to the enjoyment of the purer delights of sweet sounds.—J. 8. Lute, Fumart (Jumarr).—Your correspondent, W. Gain, will find in Buffon’s Natural History (vol. 22, p. 448, of Sonnini’s French edition) a full descrip- tion of the character and uses of three different varieties of the Jumart (doubtless the animal referred to by Mr, Gain as the Fumart) sprung from the ass and cow, the bull and mare, and the bull and she ass, respectively. Buffon expresses his disbelief in the existence of all three, deduced partly from actual experiment, and partly from anatomical con- siderations ; and it may, I think, be assumed that such an animal has no real existence.—Z. Rats anp Sucarn—A few weeks ago the employés of an eminent publishing firm in the metropolis missed half a pound of loaf sugar and could not account for its disappearance; shortly afterwards another half pound was missed, and one day last week, a pound was put in a drawer about 1 p.m., and by 5 o’clock there was nothing left but the bag with a large hole gnawed in it. Next day a rat was seen running backwards and forwards across the passage, and on being disturbed one lump of sugar was discovered, which he was evidently removing to a safe place from his temporary hiding of the night before. Is it a known fact that rats are so fond of sugar? A month or two since a rat was caught in the same establishment, and during the night she littered with ten young ones.—d. B. Chelsea, SW. Atas poor Hrpernoe!—In the July number of Scrence-Gosste for the year 1866, “C. K.” states that he observed a hedgehog running about with several bluebottles on it, which were “laying a great number of eggs.” Perhaps the following brief notes may [interest “C.K.” and other corre- spondents who read his query. In August last I caught a hedgehog on the Epsom downs, and brought him home in the hope of a long enjoyment of his company and friendship; but before he had been in my possession many days my attention was drawn to the fact that flies were in the habit of settling on my pet’s nose and about his eyes. Remembering the paragraph above quoted, I kept a close watch upon the hedgehog, but, alas.! it was of no avail, for one day, about two months after the artiality of the flies for our pet had been noticed, he was seized with what appeared to be the cramp, and would eat nothing. Jhe following day he seemed to be much worse; upon examination a gentle was found crawling out of a small hole close to the eye, and upon further search a considerable number were found among the spines. The poor animal was placed in warm water, by which means several hundred gentles were captured; however, all my work was,in vain, for two days after, it was found that he was dreadfully eaten behind the ears, and that his back was in such a state from their ravages that it could be compared to nothing buta sponge. By this time he was too weak to roll him- self up when touched, or to raise himself up when placed upon his side ; his breathing, also, was pain- fully laboured. The poor creature was killed, as his case was hopeless, and it did not seem justifiable to allow him to suffer longer, however interesting the experience gained by so doing might have been. On dissection several gentles were discovered among his entrails, which were very much collapsed, and in one lung three of these terrible “ parasites ” were found. It would accordingly appear that. not: only can the larva eat its way through the skin of the living hedgehog, but penetrate far into the body.—H. H. Mott, Union Grove, Clapham. Rare Bririsa AnimaAts.—I_ am anxious to ascertain, as correctly as possible, the present distribution of the Badger, the Otter, and the Blackrat (Mus rattus), in the United Kingdom. I fear all three are being rapidly exterminated. Will any of your correspondents who can testify to the recent occurrence of any of these animals in their own, or any other neighbourhood, kindly oblige by doing so? Communications on the subject might be sent either to your valuable periodical, or to my own address, I shall be happy to send you a digest of the whole evidence in the course of a few months.—Robert Morton Middleton, Jun., Bank, West Hartlepool. THE American Entomologist for January contains interesting articles on the following subjects :—The Apple Root Plant Louse; The Parasites of the Human Animal; A Measly Wild Duck ; Strawberry Worms; The Strawberry False Worm; ‘Fungoid Growths; Plums for the Million; The Colorado Grassnopper; The Nine Pronged Wheel Bug; Grasshoppers in the State of New York; Universal Remedies, &c. Usrs or CockcHarers.—Through the columns of the Moniteur Scientifique one learns that nothing can be better to grease machines with, and prepare salad than cockchafer oil. In Prussia the people have reached the advanced stage of making cock- chafer flour, which at present is only employed for the purpose of making cakes for young pheasants, partridges, and quails. In this country (France) an attempt has been made to introduce the white worm or larva of the cockchafer into the kitchen as a sub- stitute for the snail, but gentlemen who are voracious where Helix pomatia is concerned, turn up their noses at the grub of Melolontha vulgaris, A servant of the name of Jonglet proposes to extract from the cockchafer colouring matter which, it is said, will make rapid strides in industry and create a small revolution in the commercial world. He states that he can get yellow out of the obnoxious insect of a colour between chromium and gold, and that each cockchafer yields a few centi- grammes. Several specimens of silk dyed with this new colour have been exhibited and much admired. Taken all in all the cockchafer, what with the amount of manure he furnishes when slain in proper quantities, and the uses above mentioned, stands a fair chance of being classed as a valuable insect, and some day we may hear philanthropic persons calling out against their wanton destruction.—Land and Water, Jan. 28rd. Luminous CentirepE (pp. 46 and 47).—The centipede noticed by your ss he was probably Arthronomalus longicornis, which is figured and described in Wood’s “ Illustrated Natural History.” —James Britten. GY rad 70 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Marcon 1, 1869. Hysernation or 'Brrs.—Much interested in Mr. Mill’s paper on “The Winter Home of the Humble Bee” (Sctence-Gossiv, p. 41), I wish to ask, 1, If August is not too eariy for the hybernation of bees ? 2, If no passage to the cell in question ever existed, how did the bee reach its home wnderneath a large flat stone that had evidently been a fixture for a long time, including of course the heat of July? 3, May not this bee have been involuntarily confined? ‘This raises question 4, How long could a bee endure this torpid state: air and food excluded ?—4. Hall, FLowrrs prirp In Sanp. —Will.any reader kindly inform me how to preserve the green colour of the leaves and calyces of flowers dried as above ? I have seen many specimens tried, but though looking well when they came out of the sand, the green hue has faded out in a few days or weeks.— C., Barnsbury. Mvsrum Curtosttres.—Seeing an article headed as above in the last number of Scrmncr-Gossip by “LL. B.,” I also not long since visited probably the same northern museum, and made acquaintance with possibly the same “elderly man,” and under very similar circumstances. On my asking where the fish were kept, he took me to where the fossil sau- rians were. “ There,’’ said he, “ what do you think of these?” “These, my friend, are not fish, and I want to see them.” He replied, “I says they be fish.’ Then came the similar questions as to “LL. B.” Seeing there was fun to be had out of him, I said I should be glad to know about them. “What, sir! Do you never read your Bible?” “Yes,” said I, “at times.” Then came the account of their getting into the rocks at the deluge. Pass- ing on, he asked me if I had ever seen a fossil salmon in coal. “No, but should very much like to, if such a thing exists.” “ Well, sir, some of these here philosophers says it is not a salmon, but calls it some long name; they do give things such names.” L asked him if his supposed salmon and the saurians and all the other fossil animals got into the rocks at the same time. “Yes, most certainly, I tell you the Bible says so.” I then told him something about the different formations in remote periods, when he came to the conclusion that (as he said) “T was one of them philosophers. But you see, sir,” said. he, “we must have something to tell the many people who come here and ask questions.” Lf the elderly man is not profound in scientific acquire- ments, yet his civility to visitors should not be over- looked. For “LL. B.'s” note might tend to deprive him of his place, and after all surely no great knowledge is required if his duties are, as “ LL. B.” : solely to dust the cases.—H. If. Knocker, Bridlington, 9th Dec. Lavret Berrms.—The reason why the berries of this evergreen can be eaten with impunity is, that the pulp of the fruit does not contain any poisonous properties; the kernel or seed found in the berry possesses the same principle as the leaves; but most probably persons wha eat the pulp do not swallow, or, if they swallow, do not crush, the seed. How very rarely one swallows the stones in a raison, or seeds of a grape! Besides, I much doubt whether the essential oil or virulent principle, which contains hydrocyanic acid, and is extracted from the leaves of the laurel by distilla- tion, exists in a ready-formed state in the kernels. I fancy it would only become developed by contact with water, and I am not sufficiently a chemist to | | | tell your correspondent how the juices of the human stomach would act on the seeds; but I do know enough of the powerfully potsonous nature of the oil to deter me from trying any experiments with the seeds, cither on myself or any dumb animal; for I entertain an intense horror of in- | flicting needless pain on one of God’s creatures ;— Sharers in the woe, the evil, Adam’s sin brought on us all, Must man add, by needless torture, To the curse wrought by his fall? I_ know the’ seeds, when bruised, will flavour different liqueurs, and that when sparingly administered they do !no! harm—rather_ promote digestion: hence it is that hydrocyamie acid is often prescribed by medical men in different diseases.—Helen E. Watney. Frourr or tue Hawrnory.—One of your cor- respondents draws attention to the local names given to the fruit of the Hawthorn. In the Hast Riding of York, about Hull, they are popularly called “Cat-haws”—a name I never heard any- where else, and the origin of which I could never ascertain. An old rhyme says :— ** Hips and haws, Frosts and snows.”’ If there be any truth in this popular distich, we are likely to have a_severe winter, for they are both plentiful— John Ranson, York. Muvsurooms.—The great abundance of mushrooms this season has enabled all classes to partake of this savoury and nutritious condiment. Have any of your correspondents observed instances this autumn of their producing much disturbance even in vigorous systems, and that quite independently of the tough- ness of parts of their texture? The gamekeeper at this place, who has freely eaten them through the summer, and cannot have gathered other fungi in mistake, was, as well as a groom, excessively sick Jast week after eating some. At the same time some of this household, as well as others in the neighbouring vicarage, were effected in much the same way. The mushrooms were gathered by differ- ent persons and in various fields. An opinion exists here that mushrooms are affected by the first frost. Whether this is the case or not, their young and white cape, and rosy gills gave no indication of a change.— _Froe Parasrres.—W, alking by a small stream in North Wales, in which was a quantity of the lank ribbon-like water grass that floats on the surface, & frog att racted my notice, squatting high and dry in a position of apparent motionless contentment. Not disturbing it, | passed on, and saw another, and another, all im the same state of inert stupidity! Wondering at their inactivity, [ stooped down close, to look at them, and lo, the lid of the head, if | may so call it, was off, and the brain-pan, full to the brim, alive with a wriggling mass of maggots, each about three-eighths of an inch long! How did the enemy get into head-quarters ? From some fly the poor frog had eaten, or by an external attack and deposition °—W. Browne. NewNvprsrancurare Motsusc.—This addition to our fauna, discovered in the Victoria Docks ab one of the excursions of the Quekett Microscopical Club, was exhibited at the meeting of the Zoological Society of London on the 28th January, by Mr. W.S. Kent, and named Linbletonia Grayit. Marcr 1, 1869.) HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 71 “rece oF Coan.”—Had my “piece of coal” known it would have fallen mto such severely critical hands as those-of Mr. Dalton, it would, I am sure, have refrained from sacrificing any tech- nicality to picturesque description. Mr. Dalton might have credited the “piece of coal”? with know- ing something about its own history, although, per- haps, it was not so fresh from the “ manuals” as himself. His two “gross mistakes” sink into nothing when examined. With regard to the “hilly barrier” of which the coal spoke, let him refer to Mr. Godwin-Austin’s paper “On the Pos- sible Extension of the Coal Measures beneath the South-Eastern part of England.’ He will there find the “ hilly barriers” mapped out for him, and not only so, but the statement made that “the Rhenish and Belgian coal-beds are the remains of a succession of fringing bands of dense vegetation, occupying a continuous tract of coast-line.”” He speaks of the Midland and Northern coal-measures of England in a similar manner. What does this mean but that inthe “deeper water” other deposits, notably limestone (always a deep-sea deposit), must have been going on? Mr. Geikie, in his “ Story of a Boulder ” (1858), gives almost a similar statement to that of my unfortunate piece of coal. After describing the various forms of vegetable life in morass and on land, he says, “ But the lifelessness of the Carboniferous forests was amply compensated for by the activity that reigned in river, lagoon, and sea. Coral groves gleamed white beneath the waves,” &c. If the latter was the case, then “coral” limestones must have been forming. Is Mr. Dalton aware that in the Mid-Lothian coal- field the coal-seams actually intercalate among the mountain limestones ? He had best study Professor Huxley’s doctrine of “ synchronism.” very natu- ralist must know that similar geographical con- ditions existed in Carboniferous times to those that now prevail. In shallow seas, shingle, sandstone, &ce., were deposited; in the deeper parts, limestones. ‘The Carboniferous period was no exception to the rule, as my “piece of coal” well knew. Let Mr. Dalton leave the rigidity of his manual classifica- tion, and he will see that because the ‘piece of coal” spoke of limestones being deposited syachro- nously with the coal-beds, it did not therefore declare that the mountain limestone as we have it does not stand in the relations to the millstone grit, &c., otherwise than as he himself puts it. This, however, should be a lesson of how easy it is to twist a general description into a series of technical errors.—J. #. Taylor, Norwich. Lamerrns (“L. &.,” p. 45).—Jenyn’s “ British Vert,” edition 1835; Garrett’s “British Fishes,” 1836; Couch’s “ British Fishes,” 1865, all (and, as 1 believe, continental authorities do) make the lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and the lampern (Petromyzon fluviatilis) distinct fishes, the latter rarely exceeding 15 inches, the former sometimes more than twice that length, besides other im- portant distinctions. Both fishes are caught in the Severn. General accounts give the lamprey as the fish which caused the death of Henry I.— SOREP: Prerrs.—Could any of your readers inform me if they have seen pipits, commonly called titlarks, in flocks ? I have myself seen ten or twelve together, which could not have been the family bred last summer, for I believe four or five eggs are the ordi- nary number.—Forbes Jenkins. Tur Lauprey—The lampern and the lamprey are to be seen in different baskets in Worcester Market. The damprey is the smaller and more delicate animal, with its leech-like mouth and row of breathing (?) holes on each side of the head, living by suction in the mud. It is the veritable fish immortalized in English history as the cause of Henry I.’s death, still, as then, called the “royal fish;”? and I was. told at Worcester that the first dish caught for the season is still sent to the Queen as her prerogative. And oh, gentle reader, tell it not above a whisper! but were you to taste of this dish, cooked in its orthodox manner, with rich gravies and port wine, you would look for evermore with lenient indulgence on poor King Henry’s last weakness, only wondering that all the monarchs of ee since have not followed his example. —_— ff, LAvReL-LEAVES (pp. 21 and45).—* Don” observes of the laurel (Cerasus lauro-cerasus), “leaves .. . furnished with two or four glands beneath ;” of C. _Lusitanica (the Portugal laurel) he notes, “leaves .... glandless.” I notice that ‘H.W. W.” says that the marks are mostly two in number; while “S$. M.” says there are four, “rarely only two.” On the many leaves I have examined two is the prevailing number, but on one or two I observed three. Curiously enough, I have never, as far as 1 can recollect, seen the bees on the leaves, although we have plenty of laurel in our garden.—James Britten. Giowworm.— Your correspondent “ F.J.D.” asks, upon p. 45, how far north the glowworm has been found. Sometimeago, when I was atthe Trosachs in Perthshire, my cousin and I went out for a stro at; night along the shores of Loch Achray, and, although it was getting rather late in the season, being the end of September, we saw several of the brilliant lights which betoken the presence of this curious little beetle. Having captured one or two of the creatures, we carried them up to our hotel, and displayed them in the coffee-room, to the asto- nishment, [ remember, of the whole array of visitor-tourists, who crowded round to gaze upon the novelty —Adward Banks. Luminous Centipepe.—In November, 1866, I found several specimens of the luminous centipede. Its name is Geophilus phosphorea. From the descrip- tions, I believe it to be exactly the same as those mentioned by your correspondents last month, but the phosphorescent quality is common to the genus. It is therefore, of course, natual, and does not pro- ceed from a wound.—J/. G. I’. Denpritic Spots on Parer.—Some observa- tions and correspondence on this subject will he given, if possible, in our next.—Zd. S.-G. Brrs A Remepy.—In a curious work, by Samuel Purchas, M.A., in 1657, called a “ Theatre of Poli- ticall Flying Insects,’ amongst other curious pre- scriptions are the following:—* Bees powdered cure the wind collick. Take twelve or fourteen bees powdered in anything every morning, &¢., &c. Honey mixed with powdered bees, and so taken, is healthful for the erudities of the stomach.’—W. 7. Tliff, Epsom. Youne Srarttnes in Janvary.—A gamekeeper on the Apley estate found a starling’s nest with young ones in it on the 9th of January last.—Za- ward Banks. w HARDWICKE’S NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. Aut communications relative to advertisements, post-office orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal, should be addressed to the Pusiisner. All contributions, books, and pamphlets for the Eptror should be sent to 192, Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri- butions should not be received later than the 15th of each month. No notice whatever cun be taken of communica- tions which do not contain the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with- held. We do not undertake to answer. any queries not specially connected with Natural History, in accordance with our acceptance of that term; nor can we answer queries which might be solved by the correspondent by an appeal to any elementary book on the subject. We are always prepared to accept queries of a critical nature, and to publish the replies, provided some of our readers, besides the querist, are likely to be interested in them. We cannot undertake to return rejected manuscripts unless sufficient stamps are enclosed to cover the return postage. Neither can we promise to refer to or return any manu- script after one month from the date of its receipt. All microscopical drawings intended for publication should have annexed thereto the powers employed, or the extent of enlargement, indicated in diameters (thus: x 320 diameters). Communications intended for publication should be written on one side of the paper only, and all scientific names, and names of places and individuals, should be as legible as possible. Wherever scientific names or technicalities are employed, it is hoped that the common names will accompany them. Lists or tables are inad- missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular names of British plants and animals are retained and regis- tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon. AppREss No. 192, PiccapiLLy, Lonpon, W. J. R. M.—The black shining threads with small globose heads are Mucor phycomyces, a fungus. MILDNESS OF THE SKEASON.—We have resolved to commit all the multitudinous communications we have received on this subject to a snug locker to await a sharp frost. A. F.—We think that the fumart is settled. T. P. B.—If you please. E. C. T. (Formosa).—The eggs of an insect, probably Lepi- dopterous. R. G. (Stoke).—The last answer was not for you. The curious object is not yet identified. F. F.—A complete /ist of British beetles will be found at the close of Rye’s ‘‘ British Beetles”? (Reeve & Co.), but no **manuals” containing descriptions of genera and species since ‘‘ Stephen’s Manual ’”’ (1839), now almost obsolete. G. J.D. should make friends with some ornithologist, or purchase an elementary book on the subject. We have no space to spare for descriptions of the typical form of a duck’s foot or a squirrel’s tail. z A. M.—We cannot name objects from description. Consult Douglas & Scott’s ‘‘ Hemiptera Heteroptera ”’ (Ray Society). No Name.—TIf correspondents persist in withholding their names and addresses, or using fictitious ones, they must be content if their queries remain unanswered. 5. J. N.—Not in our line. H. W., F. J. W.—Ineligible for exchange column. E, T. D.— Polyporus versicolor, very common and variable. H. W. G.—There was one, but it appears to be almost, if not quite, extinct. We know of no other. W. P.—The fruit ofa palm, perhaps a Calamus. D. P. P.—We have no doubt of it, although not in flower. F. W.—It is clearly a Myriapod, probably Polydesmus com- plunatus.—F. M. J. C.D.—1. Fontinalis antipyretica. 2. Bartrumia pomi- formis. 3. Tortula Hornschuchiana.—R. B. J.C. M.—1. Hypnum palustre. 2. H. uneinatum. 3. H. irriguum. 4, Blindia acuta. 6. H. prelongum.—R. B. W.E.—1. Hypnum cupressiforme, 2. Homalia trichoman- oides.—R. B. T.S.—The ‘“ Bacillaria paradowa attached to a splinter of | floating Dantzic timber’? explains itself. It came from a marine or brackish station with the diatoms on it. Can it be shown that this same species is found in the canal, Regent’s Park, or any other fresh water not in communica- ion with a tidal river ? E. W.—Cooke’s ‘‘ Structural Botany ” (1s. 6d.), published by Robert Hardwicke; Bentham’s ‘‘ Handbook of the British Flora ’’ (12s.), published by Reeve & Co. The least expensive microscope worth purchasing is three guineas. SCIENCE-GOSSIP. | EXCHANGES. { [Marcu J, 1869. AMERICAN LeprpoptTeRa or Coccoons for those from any other locality, and to correspond for that purpose. Good specimens only exchanged.-W. V. Andrews, 130, Charlton Street, New York. Spee Spots on Paper, probably Crystals of: Iron Pyrites or Cobalt. Specimens wanted for examination and analysis.—A. L., 61, Buckingham Road, N. LAMP AND Wino or LAmp Insect (unmounted) offered for good mounted objects or pupz of British Lepideptera,— E. Sharp, The Grove, Woodchurch Road, Orton, Birkenhead. Cornisa PLANTs (dried) for others.—Send lists to R. V. T,, Withiel, Bodmin. Bririso LeprnorrerA.— Wanted specimens of Deilephila, Cherocampa or Sesia for others.—C. R. Doward, 41, Copen- | hagen Street, Worcester. CHALK Fossits offered for Silurian or other Formations; or Shells, English or Foreign.—B. A., Post Office, Faversham. GRAMMATOPHORA MARINA (balsam or unmounted) for other Diatoms (mounted or unmounted).—J. W.S., Crown | Park, Montenotte, Cork. | Leriporrera.— L. Artuverzes, C. Plantuginis, A. suffusa, &c., for others.—J. Purdue, Ridgeway, Plympton, Devon. Leripoprera for exchange.—Send lists to D. C. B., 42, | Preston Street, Brighton. PLANTS OF THE VaRIEGATED Darsy (Bellis perennis | Aucube folia) for any British Lepidoptera, or Pupze of ditto, &c.—A. Mitchell, Wolsingham, Darlington. SKINS oF THE GrassHoPprpER WARBLER (Sylvia locustella) for pupe of Lepidoptera.—Thomas H, Hedworth, Dunston, Gateshead. Rare British JUNGERMANNIZ.— Wanted to purchase, or in exchange for other plants, by B. C. du Murtier, Montagne du Parc, Brussels. Dr. O. M6rcu, 7, Frederiksborggade, Copenhagen, offers Greenland Shells in exchange for Exotic Shells. Goop Fossit Secrions of Teeth, Bones, Scales, &c., of | Fish, for good Slides of Photographs.—Joseph Taylor, West Cramlington, Northumberland. | Ferns.—An American correspondent wants certain British | and any continental Ferns in exchange for North American. —Address, at first, to the Editor of Science-Gossip, | BOOKS RECEIVED. ** Proceedings of the Essex Institute.’’? Vol V., No. 8, for October to December, 1867. Salem: Essex Institute, 1868. ‘Naturalists’? Note-book.’’? No, 26, Febrnary, 1869, Lon- don: 196, Strand. ‘sThe Gardener’s Magazine.” Part XXXVIIL., February, 1869. London: E. W. Allen. | ‘*The Monthly Microscopical Journal.” No. 2, February, 1869. London: Robert Hardwicke. “Scientific Opinion.” Nos, 12, 13, 14,15. London: Wyman | & Sons. | ‘Land and Water.” Nos. 157, 15 5 | cehesanier i 57, 158, 159, 160, January and | “Hooper & Co,’s (Florists) General Catalogue for 1869.” | Hooper & Co., Covent Garden Market. | _.““The American Entomologist,” No. 5. Studley &Co., St. Louis, Mo,, U.S. “‘Le Naturaliste Canadien.” No. 1, December, 1868. Quebec: 8, Rue dela Montagne. Basse Ville. _ Tommy Try, and what he did in Science,” by C. 0, G. | Napier, F.G.S. London: Chapman & Hall. “ L’Origine de la Vie,” par le Docteur Georges Pennetier. Troisiéme edition, J6mo., 1868, Paris: J. Rothschild; Lon- ' don: Wheldon. “* Causeries Scientifiques, découvertes et Inventions Progres de la Science et de ]’Industrie,”” par Henri de Parville. 12mo. Huiticme année, 1868. Paris: J. Rothschild; London: | Wheldon. | “Proceedings of the Bristol N; ists’ iety.? Vol. | IIL, No.9, December, 1868. - Satori ae | | CoMMUNICATIONS ReCcEIVED.—J. Y = | CATIC ep.—J. Y. H.—A. H.—H. W- R. M. M.—R. N.—J. R. M.—R. L. H.—R. H. EA, B= A. L.—E. B.—W., L. 8.—R. G.—W. R. B.—P. G.—H. H. M.— N P. H.—B.—W. H.—J. R.—G. E. F.—E. C. J.-F. B— W.R.T.—W. F. K.—H. H. K.—M. F. DE. T. § —J. W.—H G. G.—J.S. (commonly used).—T, S.—J. S. T.—S. M—F. Ne —R. V. T.—D.A.P. W.—J. C.D.— F, W.—M. G. F.—J. RS, Ce —S. J. N.—J. B. S.—J. M, P.—J. H. S.—S. A. SH. W. M. ote H., Jun.—W. B—E. B.—F. I. B.—J. Cc. MEW | SX. DH. L.—W. W.=Ds C, BiG) 1G. ee | ee Me Pe pe Das. Died. He MJP, Gta A. 5 Deve PR. H.—J. B—J, S.—F.J. W.—J. W. S.= Big iret -G—C.B. F.—B. A.—W. F.—A. B, F._W. P.G so te BS. PS. WES) AOS ALR, Sree 8. M. P.—J. B. (Oldham).—E.—E, H. W.—W, T, I,—E. A. Ne —H,E. WA. 8.—T. G, P.—3.S.— BL. 1.. Wi eee 8.M.—E. D.B.—T. H. H—E. M—J. W. G.-H. B, BA. | M.—C. W.—H. W. G.—T, P. B.—E.T.D. eS so Arrin 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE.GOSSIP. 73 PHRONIMA. By MAJOR HOLLAND, R.M.L.1. summer evening, Her Majesty’s ‘ stately frigate is gliding — silently over the un- ruffled bosom of the South Pa- cific: she is on no warlik errand now, though her artil- lery is ready at the roll of the drum to hurl forth deadly iron showers if need be; she is on a blessedly beneficent mission, fathoming the deep bed of ocean, searching for treacherous sunken rocks and unknown shoals, and marking constructed on board, to direct peaceful traders across the wide waters and to warn them where hidden perils must be guarded against. Hands accustomed to sword and rifle are working the deep-sea-lead ; officers are registering notes of winds and currents and the variations of the compass, and taking astronomical observations to fix the latitude and longitude of mountain-peaks and headlands. They have left the Fijis, and are south of the Friendly Islands; “ Michaeloff,’ an out- lier of a coral group, is in sight on the starboard-bow ; the towing-net, which has been trailing smoothly astern, has just been drawn in by the weather-beaten old quartermaster, and a sun-brown, seafaring natu- ralist is bending over it, eagerly searching for and sorting out his prizes : he has got a good haul, he is ina glorions cruising ground, where nature seems to have done her very utmost :to fulfil the fiat of her Creator, “let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.” Eh! what strange forms he has got! What won- drous living things he is transferring to his glass jar No. 52. down the unseen dangers in | the new charts that are being | of clear blue sea-water—the sea zs blue here, and not of a muddy green. We may not stop to tell of one-twentieth of the marvellons creatures he has secured ; but here is one—such a one !—for all the world like a new-boiled prawn with its head and shoulders jammed into a mother-o’-pearl. thimble and its tail flapping restlessly outside, sending it tumbling head over heels as if making violent efforts to extricate itself. We must have a gossip about this ocean stranger: a stranger he, or rather she, is in her living state to all our marine zoologists whose personal operations do not extend to the high seas, they never see her “in the flesh,” but have to form their opinions respecting her and her race from dried mummies preserved on glass slides, or from sodden and sometimes mutilated specimens sent home “from abroad” in pickle bottles. This is an amphipodous crustacean, a Phronima, apparently the Phronima sedentaria of Latreille ; though sedentary in the ordinary sense she is not, but one of the liveliest little creatures imaginable, full of comic capers, throwing summersaults all day long with her tub on her head, like Diogenes gone mad, or a street acrobat. But before we proceed any farther, let us refresh our memories on crusta- cean matters in general, The skeleton of the crustacea is external, and is made up of the tegumentary envelope; which in some of the class always continues soft, but in the greater portion is very firm, forming a shelly case or armour, in which all the soft parts are contained. In many (our captive of the towing-net being one of them) it remains semi-corneous, in a condition very similar to that of insects, with which, more- over, it corresponds very closely in chemical com- position; chitine in combination with albumen being the principal elements. ‘The pigmentum, which gives the various tints, is an amorphous matter diffused through the outer layer of the superficial membrane, being secreted like this by the corium. The epidermic layer hardened in dif- ferent degrees is the part which mainly constitutes E SEI 74 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. oe, fAprin 1, 1869, the ‘tegumentary skeleton of the crustacea. Like the bony skeleton of the vertebrata, it consists of a great number of distinct pieces connected together by means of portions of the epidermic envelope which have not become hardened, in the same way as among the higher animals certain bones are con- nected by cartilages. In the typical crustacean this external framework is divided into twenty-one rings or segments, more or less easily separable or distinguishable from each other : the common shrimp affords us a ready and familiar example, “la squille est de tous les crustacés celui ot les vingt-et-un segmens du corps sont les plus distincts,” says Milne-Edwards. We all remember how in many other instances and in other members of the animal kingdom, several of these segments coalesce or become fused together to form the head or the carapace. These twenty-one segments, by a kind of general agreement, are placed in three great the head, the thorax, and the abdomen, by people who are content to use common terms; or as the kégadov, wepaioy, and w)éov, by others who prefer somewhat dubious Greek. The common crabs and other walking genera that frequent the beach or the sea-bottom, whose main strength and organs of locomotion spring from the thoracic regions, have the abdomen but slightly developed, and are called Brachyura—short-tailed— while the swimmer families, whose largely developed abdomens are furnished with powerful muscles and natatory appendages, are styled Mucrowra — long- tailed;—the intermediate families being known as Anomoura—irregular-tailed. We need not refer to a host of other distinctions; suffice it to add that our “subject” wearing her visual organs in her head, and not on the top of long stalks, like some of her distant cousins, belongs to the Zdriophthalmia —sessile eyed—section ; and in virtue of possessing two sorts of feet; viz., ambulatory feet on the thorax, and natatory feet on the abdomen, belongs to the order Amphipoda—bothfooted. The head of this pelagic crustacean is exceedingly elongated, and its axis, instead of coinciding with that of the body, is at right-angles to the latter ; the back of the head is very largely developed, the rounded fulness of the poll containing a mass of eye-facets, the rounded tapering columns from which convene and blend with the rays of the rather small black lateral eyes, which are placed immediately above the mouth, the aperture of which is situated at the inferior extremity of the head. Two minute bi-jointed antenne, with short stiff hairs or sete on the terminal joint, arise from the outer margin of the head, just above and in front of the lateral eyes, The maxillary limbs constituting the jaws, corres- pond with those of ordinary masticating crustaceans, and need not be noticed in detail. The seven seg- ments of the thorax bear seven pairs of legs, the two first pairs of which are guathopods subservient to the prehension of food; the third pair are usually thrown forwards across the head, for a special purpose, as we shall see; the fourth pair are the longest of all; the fifth are stoutly chelate, possessing a consider- able range of motion, but appear to be normally directed backwards, with the manus downwards, and the pollex, or moveable thumb, superior: the sixth and seventh pairs resemble the third and fourth, and terminate in simple claws ; the seventh pair being commonly thrown back across the abdo- men, for the purpose of antagonising the third pair before mentioned. The first three segments of the abdomen are each furnished with a pair of natatory feet—swimmerets, —the footstalks—protopodites,—of which, are very large and have an inflated appearance; the three next segments taper away and are but slightly | developed, having their swimmerets modified into divisions of seveneach, and arecommonlyspokenof as | mere bifid setaceous appendages; the diminutive éeison which terminates the abdomen being, as usual, devoid of any. The fourth, fifth, and sixth thoracic segments bear each a pair of respiratory vesicles or branchial sacs of a laterally compressed oval shape, connected with the posterior and inferior part of the epimeral plates behind the articulations of the corresponding limbs, the posterior pair are the largest, and the anterior pair the smallest; in each a loop of blood- vessels may be traced, the exterior of the sac being invested with a tesselated pavement of epithelial cells with large nuclei. Milne-Edwards states that there are five pairs “ d’appendices vesiculeux,” each of the seven thoracie segments “ excepté le premier et le septisme”’ being furnished with them; but the specimen now before us has very decidedly only three pairs, and the microscope fails to detect any trace of rudiments even of others. The mouth, the large chele, and the remarkably stout footstalks of the swimmerets are tinted a deep rich red approaching to purple, the pigment in this in- stance is not amorphous, but is contained in beautiful stellate cells, the remainder of the body is hyaline. Here we have Phronimia disporting herself in a glass vase of her native element: the tough gelatinous transparent barrel-shaped tube open at both ends which we see her carrying, is apparently a portion of the tube of “the aggregate salpian” Pyrosoma, from which the zooids have been washed away; just as our common Hermit-crab, Pagurus Bernardus, utilises a wrecked and empty whelk-shell to shield his unarmoured hindquarters, so does this most remarkable oceanic crustacean use the castaway covering of the stolon of a Tunicary as a shelter for her young: probably it is the female only that we find thus acecoutred with a ready-made second-hand midamental case. I doubt if the male ever assumes the office of nurse, but I regret to say that I cannot speak positively either way. The — = Apri 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 15 external surface of this ocean cradle abounds in tubercles which, as well as other parts of its walls, are perforated with rounded and puckered orifices through which currents of water are observed to pass : an external membrane and an internal lining containing between them a pulpy substance, are distinctly visible: the length of this case is precisely five-eighths of an inch, and its breadth half an inch. The ova and the young are secured by a filmy band running round the interior about half way up it, they are indistinctly visible through the case as shown in the illustration. Fig. 50. Phronima sedentaria, x 2. Drawn from life by Dr. J. D. McDonald, R.N., F.R.S., F.L.S. The mother when swimming, has her head and the three first segments of the thorax inserted into the tube which she holds fast by means of the third pair of less—which have been mentioned as being ‘habitually thrown forwards across the head—which have their claws firmly driven into the lining membrane of the case, in front of her head. The formidable “pinchers” of the fifth pair remaining outside “clear for action” in readiness to meet an enemy, and the swimmerets on ordinary occasions are busily paddling as represented in the drawing. Sometimes on the approach of danger she draws the whole of her body within the tube, and apparently to guard against the risk of being shaken out by the shock of a collision, drives the claws of the seventh pair of thoracic feet (which seem to be normally directed backwards for the purpose) into the lining: the anterior (third) pair being, as we have seen, similarly directed forwards; she has thus a firm “set” against a jerk coming either way. Her great compound eyes placed not only in the sides, but in the top and back of her head, enable her to take in with one marvellously comprehensive glance the whole Cirele of her brood; the objects of her maternal solicitude;they are never “from under her eye ;’ no human beings are-wnder such complete and constant supervision as the fry of Phronima. The specimen from which our ‘illustratien was drawn, was kept alive for ten days: She was a creature of the liveliest habits, whirling about in rapid gyrations, and turning summersaults, tub foremost, with a very comical effect. She never progressed in right lines, but first ascended at an angle of about 75° with her ventral aspect towards the spectator, then suddenly twisting sharply towards the left, she threw her tail up, and came down head foremost at a like angle, bringing her right side and the back of her head into view. Sometimes she was seized with a mania for waltzing, spinning round and round without materially shifting her ground, like a buoy moored in a strong tideway : merry little Phronima was often placed on the wardroom mess-table by particular request, her strange antics affording much amusement: but she pined for the liberty of the free ocean, and drooped, and died ‘‘ universally respected and regretted.” It does indeed seem strange that the preservation of the species, the safety of the broods of this tiny inhabitant of the deep, should hang upon the apparently doubtful contingency of the mother picking up just at the critical moment a suitable piece of the broken skeleton of another and widely different creature : but the plans of the great Master- builder however inscrutable to us, never fail; and we see, if we study the glorious pages of nature’s outspread book intelligently and reverently, that the ends aimed at are ever infallibly attained. “ We see on every side of us innumerable adaptations and contrivances, which have justly excited in the mind of every observer the highest admiration. There is for instance a fly (Cectdomyia) which deposits its eggs within the stamens of a Scrophularia, and secretes a poison which produces a gall on which the larva feeds; but there is another insect (Misocampus) which deposits its eggs within the body of the larva within the gall, and is thus nourished by its living prey; so that here a Hymenopterous insect depends on a Dipterous insect, and this depends on its power of producing a monstrous growth in a particular organ of a particular plant. So it isin a more or less plainly marked manner in thousands and tens of thousands of cases, with thé lowest as well as with the highest productions of Nature.”? With this quotation from Darwin, let us wind up our gossip about this little- known and seldom seen Amphipodous Crustacean, trusting that time and the towing net may yet enable us to obtain fuller and more perfect details for the information of our readers. Bury Cross, Gosport. 76 HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Apri 1, 1869. LAND LEECHES. UR correspondent “G. R.” will be glad to learn that by sending to Mr. Buckland the land leeches, the habits of which so puzzled him, he has contributed to the settlement of a very in- teresting question connected with the natural his- tory of this country. When Dr. Gray, in 1850, claimed for Trocheta subviridis a place in the British Fauna, ,in consequence of Mr. Hoffman having found one individual of this species in the Regent’s Park, it was objected to his supposition of its being indigenous in Britain that the ovum, or the leech while young, might have been taken into the viscera of a deer or other animal in its own native country previously to its being shipped for England. Dr. Murie, in fact, believed that he had found another specimen in the viscera of a Moluccan deer dissected at the Zoological Society’s Gardens in 1865, and described it in a paper which he read Paes |i before that Society in November of the same year, as being identical with that previously found by 4 Mr. Hoffman and commented on by Dr. Gray. ee ater. When I ventured to state my opinion that the Crim leeches sent up to us by “G. R.” were TZrocheta = ea subviridis of Dutrochet, many eminent zoologists #F dy ; were very naturally inclined to doubt the correct- ness of my identification of them. But I am glad to say there is no longer any doubt aboutit. “G. ae R.” was kind enough to send me fresh specimens, aed and I have submitted them to Dr. Gray and Dr. * Baird, of the British Museum, and also to Dr. Ay Murie. They all agree that the leeches in question Be.» are of the species to which I assigned them, and & Dr. Baird has kindly given me permission to pub- 4 ! lish for the benefit of our readers the following letter which I received from him:— “My dear Sir,—The land leeches which you brought here yesterday belong certainly to the Yocheta subviridis of Dutrochet. I put them into weak spirits to kill them, but after placing them in : ’ stronger spirits, the colour has nearly gone from the ai) leeches and imparted itself to the spirits, which is zi now of a fine green hue! The specimen sent some i few years ago by Mr. Bartlett from the Zoological ; Gardens, is also a true Zrocheta; but the one brought by Dr. Murie, and which he has described in the Zoological proceedings as the Zrocheta sub- viridis, is not a Trocheta at all, but must belong, from the structure of the oral. and especially the ventral sucker, either to a peculiar species of Hemopsis, or to anew genus not hitherto described. f I thought at the time when Dr. Murie brought the Be) Vie specimen here that it might belong to the genus hs Trocheta, but now I find it does not. If you ean procure for us some more specimens I should be very glad, and any other species of the suctorial annelides will be thankfully received. Yours very truly, W. Barry (British Museum, March 6th, 1869).” T have also received an interesting letter on the subject from the Rev. W. Houghton :— “My dear Sir—I am very much obliged to *G. R! and to yourself for the two leeches which I received on Saturday night. They were quite lively when I turned them out. One I have dis- sected, the other remains for future observations, There is not the slightest doubt as to the species, it is the veritable Zvocheta subviridis of Dutrochet, and thus your first opinion is fully confirmed. As that this sub-terrestrial species is an undoubted member of the British fauna. Moquin-Tandon enumerates as many as six varieties of this leech; they only differ in colour. The two sent to me are the common variety ; one was about six inches long when extended, the other was smaller. I observed on the specimen I dissected nine very minute black eye-spots, five on the first segment and four on the third; the normal number is eight, but in the leech family the eye-spots often vary. I could not detect the teeth which Moquin-Tandon has described and figured as characteristic of Trocheta; I have no doubt they too are occasionally absent; neither eyes nor teeth can be of any real use to the pos- sessor. The digestive apparatus in this species consists of a muscular triple-folded cesophagus, stomach with no cecal appendages, and straight simple intestine, showing in this respect a closer affinity to Nephelis than to its apparently more allied genera, Hemopsis, Aulastoma, and Hirudo. Neither of the individuals seemed at all at home when placed in a vessel full of water ; they dropped to the bottom, and after moving about for a time fixed themselves there. I could not prevail on either of them to swim. Dutrochet considered Trocheta entirely terrestrial, but M. Moquin-Tandon asserts that he has kept many individuals alive in water more than fifteen days. Further observationsare wanting to clearup this point. The allied generaswim readily enough, and, as we know, live in the water for the most part. Is 7rocheta a curious exception to the rest? If‘G. R? should meet with more of these leeches about the beginning of June, and would kindly send me some, I should be obliged to him. About the middle of that month the leeches lay their eges or cocoons, in which the young are developed. Again thanking you and ‘G. R. for the trouble you have taken, Very sincerely yours, ““W. Houcuton.” Dr. Gray’s description of rocheta subviridis as belonging to the British fauna is thus confirmed. The individuals which have led to this result were found near Horsham ; but I have little doubt of our soon receiving them from other localities. “G.R” says he has heard of them in Hants, and I am in- formed by one of my own relatives that at Linfield, in Sussex, about twenty-five years ago, land leeches were so abundant in the fields and on the footpaths I said, this discovery is interesting, as it proves ~ - = Aprit 1, 1869.] HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 17 through them, that the ladies of the family who resided there at the time avoided them in their evening walks. It is not unlikely that these annelides may prove to have been all this time under the eyes of zoologists in their own head- quarters, for Mr. Bartlett tells me that he has often seen leeches on the greensward in the Regent’s Park Gardens. Whether they. are Zrocheta or of some other genus, remains of course to be seen. I request the attention of our correspondents to the concluding paragraph of Dr. Baird’s letter. Any British leeches, large or small, will be received with thanks by Mr. Buckland or myself for the autho- rities of the British Museum and for our own examination.—Land and Water, March 18, 1869. Henry Ler. INFLUENCE OF LIGHT ON INSECTS. IGHT, though not actually necessary to the maintenance of insect life, has nevertheless so strong a bearing on it, that the proportion, of insects existing without it is infinitesimally small. Among them are certain Coleoptera, found in the monster caves of Carinthia, which pass their whole existence in total darkness, and which are without any organs of vision. Indeed, wherever insects are compelled to go through life without coming in contact with the sun’s rays, the eyes are sure to be either obsolete, or soimperfect as to be practically useless : such is the case with Claviger testaceus, Preyss, which lives under stones in ants’ nests: and also with Sphodrus leucophthalmus, L., Pristonychus terricola, Ill., and a few other species, when bred in cellars or similar places, where the light never penetrates. Numbers of insects, which see perfectly well, prefer to remain in retirement during the day, and only issue forth when the sun has sunk into the west. Most of us know to our cost, how active the gnats become in the summer’s evening : and many too have listened to the “drowsy hum ” of the dor beetle, or watched the “mazy dance” of the May fly: still later the glowworm lights her lamp, a signal to whole hosts of moths and beetles to come forth and seek their mates, or search for prey; not to mention the crickets, cockroaches, earwigs, bugs, lepisma, &c., all of which, like guilty things, hurry back to their retreats with the first blush of dawn. Most of the night-loving insects are so affected by the sudden appearance of light, that when a candle is introduced, they rush madly into the flame, as though they were deliberately anxious lo commit suicide. ‘The moth circling round the flame” has many a time and oft served “to point a moral and adorn a tale.” The true cause of this eccentric proceeding has never yet been satisfac- torily explained. It has been suggested that their eyes do not absorb (as in most insects), but reflect the light: an organisation which enables them to distinguish objects in a state of partial darkness, but which leads to their destruction when the light is strong. Blinded, as it were, by excess of radiance, they lose all discernment in the blaze, and perish in the flame. The larvee as a rule seek their food only in the day time: still there are some night feeders, to whom the light is distasteful, if not hurtful: as for instance, the caterpillar of the shark moth (Cucwllia umbratica (L.), the buff arches (Thyatira derasa, L.), and the heart and dart moth (dgrotis ewclamationis, W. V.). It is, however, in the colouring of the outer integument, that the potent agency of the solar ray is shown most conspicuously. Speaking generally, the stronger the light, the more intense and brilliant is the hue, and the more delicate is the play of colour. Such larvee as are produced below the soil or in shady spots, to which the light of day has little access, are constantly white and colourless; and this bleached appearance clings to the perfect insect so long as the conditions remain the same. Leunis, in his “Thierreich,” tells us, “that he accidentally left a bug (Acanthia lectularia, L.) shut up in a box for no less than six months: on again opening the box, he found the animal alive and surrounded by young ones, all of which, together with the mother, were quite white, and ‘ transparent as glass.’ ” On the other hand, insects, which pass their lives “from the cradle to the grave” in broad daylight (as for example butterflies and chrysomelids), are far more gaily tinted, than the nightflying moths and Coleoptera, which have never been exposed to the solar rays: The influence of light, as might be expected, shows itself very remarkably in regard to the geographical zones : the insects of the tropics being, as a rule, far more elegantly and brilliantly coloured than those which are confined to the temperate and arctic regions. On looking over a well stocked ‘museum, a very fair guess may be made, at a single glance, as to the quarter of the globe to which we may assign many of the Lepidoptera, the Nymphalids, the Morphos, the Uranias, by the side of which our peacocks, emperors, and admirals look dingy and homely to a degree. What a striking contrast is presented in the two nearly related beetles, Zutimus imperialis, Fabr., the gorgeous diamond weevil of Brazil, and ourcommon hedge weevil (Polydrosus micans,Germ.). Nature seems to revel in the glorious ornamentation which she has scattered without stint over the brilliant Entimus, whose wing-covers especially are encrusted with scales, which rival the noblest precious stones in the exquisite play of light reflected from every part of their surface, and which are still further set off by being embedded in hollows on a jet black background, of a velvety lustre. Nor are Nature’s lavish gifts confined to this single & Be species: hundreds of other curculionids are to be | found in these sunny regions: Hustales, Platyomus, Cyphus, Lordops, Chrysolobus, Naupactes, &c., whose elytra, when prepared for the microscope, give fone rather the idea of rich caskets. of fairy jewels, than a mere collection of beetles’ wings. On the other hand our tiny Polydrosus ‘can boast only of a series of long narrow scales, pretty enough in themselves, having the same glittering character as in its more richly clothed relations; but withal so minute, and having such slight powers of reflection, as scarcely to render the insect more remarkable than its neighbours: at the same time, the bold elevations and broad furrows, so con- spicuous in the wing-covers of Entimus, are reduced in Polydrosus to dots and stripes which can only be discerned by means of a lens. Again, reflected light and the special colour of the locality in which they live, are not without their influence on insects. We find, for instance, the hue of some (whether larva, pupa, or imago), corres- ponding with that of the soil, the tree bark or other part of a plant, on which they may be destined to live. Thus we may see in almost any garden in the summer season, how the rose aphids accommodate themselves to the colour of the leaf or twig to which they are fixed; green aphids being found upon green shoots, whereas if the latter are red, the animals upon them are tolerably sure to be red too. Elaphrus riparius, L., a not uncommon beetle on the sides of ponds and ditches, is of a light. brown colour on gravel, but changes to a green when bred, as it often is, among tufts of grass. Peeilus lepidus, Babr., P. cupreus, L., Harpalus @neus, Kaby., H. azureus, Fabr., Selatosomus aneus, Steph., and a host of others are liable to important changes of colour dependant on locality. The pupa of the lesser Tortoiseshell Butterfly (Vanessa urtica) is naturally of a golden colour, but on a wall or fence, where it is often found, it becomes reddish, or grey, or even so dark as to be nearly black. The inhabitants of ponds and streams are not exempted from the law which confers such subtle power on the solar ray. Light, as is well known, decreases in intensity with the depth of the water through which it is made to pass; and is, besides, broken up, in its passage through the denser medium, into its component parts. ‘The first: to be refracted is the blue ray; and in agreement with this we find that insects of a more or less purple tint, such as Gyrinus, occupy the surface. This is followed by the green and yellow rays, and here predominate the olive coloured or yellowish brown genera, Dyticus, Haliplus, &e. Nor must we forget to notice the strange influence exercised on the insect world by the thick darkness which usually in summer time precedes the out- burst of a violent thunder-storm. As the sun hides itself behind the heavy clouds, we may sec the little 78 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Arrit 1, 1869. animals making every effort to shelter themselves from the coming deluge. Butterflies seek the covert of a spreading leaf, or the rough chink of overhanging bark. The smaller beetles and Physa- pods nestle down into the centre of the corolla, on which they were previously feeding, and remain still and quiet; while even the industrious bees give over their labours and swarm back to their hives with all speed. While the greater part of the in- sect world is thus flying before the threatening clouds, the gnats renew their gambols with re- doubled energy, and the bloodthirsty Horse-fly (Hematopota pluvialis, Li.) plies his work on man and beast more vigorously than ever. Even these, however, vanish with the first heavy .raindrops; and then all is quiet, and Nature seems to wait the storm silent and awe-struck. But no sooner has the last of the thunder clouds passed across the face of the sun, than forth come the fugitives to their former scenes of activity; swarms of insects of every hue and every form issue from their places of concealment; beetles creep out of holes and corners; butterflies display their gaudy wings on the still dripping flowers; and once more the whir and hum of countless tiny organisms fill the warm air and give fresh life to the field and garden. “By myriads forth at once, Swarming they pour, of all the varied hues Their beauty-beaming parent can disclose ; Ten thousand forms, ten thousand different tribes, People the blaze.”’—THomson’s SEASONS. ANIMAL FROM SALT LAKE, A SHORT time since, Mr. 8. A. Briggs, of Chicago, sent to the Editor a rough camera lucida sketch of an animal found in water from the Great Salt Lake, which he was unable to identify. The communication and sketch were submitted to P. H. Gosse, Hsq., F.R.S., who desired further par- ticulars before hazatding an opinion on its zoological position. Those further observations since sent to Mr. Gosse, have kindly been placed at our disposal for publication, with a reduced copy of the camera lucida sketch. That gentleman’s reply may pro- bably appear hereafter, with Mr. Briggs’s consent. Although our knowledge of this creature is at pre- sent very small, it may have an important history “looming in the future.” My Dnar Sir, M. C. Cooke, Esq,, of London, has sent me your note to him of the 6th inst, respecting an unknown form which I found in a bottle of water sent me from Great Salt Lake. As in your note you express a desire to know more of it, and as I am extremely anxious to have its position determined, T beg to inclose a duplicate of the camera drawing I sent Mr. Cooke, upon which Aprit 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCLIENCE-GOSSIP. 79 T have placed a few additional lines, and to give you all that is known by me of its story. Lieut. Stansbury, in his exploration to Great Salt Lake in 1849, speaks confidently of its waters being devoid of life, or any signs of life, save the cast skins of some insect (perfect form not found, and name unknown), which in certain portions of the lake were very numerous, lying beneath the water on the muddy bottom, From that time till now no observer scems to have referred to this feature of the natural history of the lake. In October 1868, Major-Gen. G. K. Warren, a thoroughly scientific man, and one of the Special Commissioners sent out by our Government to see that the Pacific Railroad is being properly built, was Nat Stze Fig. 51. Anta From Sarr Lake (magnified), \ at Salt Lake. He noticed that the lake was much higher than when he last saw it, and several feet higher than when Stansbury was there in 1849, Desiring to ascertain how nearly it approached saturation, and to compare it in this, respect with Stansbury’s analysis, he filled a champagne bottle with it, and sent it by express to our Academy of Sciences, the Secretary of which sent it to me for a report. The quart bottle contained hundreds of crustacea, which I identified as Artemia salina, Leach, and of the singular form whose figure I inclose, but that one specimen. Desiring to exhibit the stranger to our Academy, and not daring to attempt a permanent mounting of it till after the meeting, I placed it in my live-box with some of the salt-water from the lake, made the camera drawing at once, and then kept it a week just as it was, exhibited it at the Academy, and mounted it some days afterwards, soaking it for these few days in turpentine, and giving it finally a balsam mounting. Standing so long as it did in the live-box, the salt began to crystallize, and the result was that in taking it out I lost a portion of the snout and a very little of the tail. I am unable to find any indication of eye-spots. It has eight pairs of short legs, each with ten* toes, terminating in a sharp, black, curved claw, like that of adog. The animal is of an inch in length, about equally divided between the body, including the head and the tail, The tail near its termination divides as indicated in the figure. The animal evidently had power to vary the position of these terminal appendages, as at one time, when I first took him from the water, they projected directly backward in a straight line with the main portion of the tail, Just after the tail leaves the body are the two organs indicated, in which I could detect no structure differing from the tail proper.. The anus I have indicated thus x. It is near the posterior pair of legs. Occupying the larger portion of the interior of the body is the oblong sac lettered A. I was unable by any devices to throw light through » it so as to make out its structure, but believe it to represent the digestive apparatus. Extending the whole length of the body are the respiratory tubes. They were plainly visible in the head, and through- out the tail, passing to the very extremities of both pairs of appendages, and being much knotted as in- dicated near the posterior portion of the body. * I count ten claws on two feet not belonging to the same pair, and on the other fourteen feet I count nine claws, unmistakably with indications of the tenth in nearly every instance, so I think I am safe in saying ten claws to each foot. 80 HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. (Apri 1, 1869, When I made the figure I could not distinctly make out what became of them when they reached what I call the digestive apparatus; but my balsam treatment developed the fact that these tubes traversed {the surface of this sac, crossing each other several times, and I have filled in the lines to in- dicate this. Mr. Warren called to see me when passing through town, and said that he saw several of these animals in dipping up the water, and that he supposed the bottle contained three or four at least, though the crustaceans were far more abundant. Mr. Warren further told me that when alive, it moved itself by jerking its tail up to its head, first on one side and then on the other, which seemed to give it great satisfaction, each jerk completing the round of its enjoyments. The colour of the animal, when alive, is a beauti- ful chestnut, and my specimen in balsam is now of a fine amber colour. I should say that a transverse section of any:part of ‘the body or tail (except, of course, at the points where the legs, &c., join) would be very nearly, if not quite circular. I have already made arrangements for a search for more, when the warm weather shall come. Is not the appearance of the Artemia salina in these waters worthy of note? No authorities within my reach refer to it as occurring in this country at all. And if, as stated by Carpenter in his Zoology, it only appears as at Lymington when the water is approaching condensation, it seems to me some in- teresting speculations at least might be developed. With, &c. 8. A. Briggs. P. H. Gossz, Esg., Sandhurst, Torquay, England. RATS. ee A B.” must be rather a novice in housekeep- © ing arrangements, not to have known that rats are quite as partial to sweets as mice, and, being considerably more powerful, it is astonishing the havoc they soon make in a whole loaf of sugar, when once they find access to it. IT really have been surprised at the things rats have carried off, and must confess that when I first began to “keep house” I suspected “the rats” were to take the place of “the cat” in my esta- blishment. I was living in the country in a very old house in South Wales, and I fancied I should hike to make a few alterations in the larder—alter- ations that would effectually prevent “the rats” from committing further ravages. I had been reading one of Soyer’s books, and took the idea from it. I had a large deal board, a table in fact without legs, suspended from the ceiling by four iron rods, meat hooks were fixed in rows all along the under side of it, on which IL desired cook to hang the undressed meat, joints, poultry, &c., and on the top of it there was ample room for any cooked meat and pastry. I also had some light movable steps made for cook to mount in order to enable her to reach this novel safe. “Now, cook, I trust I shall hear no more of the rats.” “T am sure, ma’am, [hope so too. Drat the nasty things,” was the reply; and for one entire week no losses were reported, but one Tuesday morning J found cook looking exceedingly anxious, and just as I was about to enter the larder she said— Please, ma’am, the rats have eat the ducks Mrs, Davis brought down last night.” (My cook always prefaced any little information of an unpleasant nature with “ please, ma’am.”) } I felt sceptical at the moment as to her haying hung up the ducks, but I saw at a glance she had done so when J entered, for there were literally the hanging skeletons, and her fault had been forgetting to take away the steps. The rats must have stood on the top rail and eat the flesh off the bones, while resting on their hind feet, for the steps were not sufficiently high to have enabled them to get the ducks off the hooks. * Drat ’em, I believes they must have got on one another’s shoulders to reach those ducks,” ex- claimed cook. The notion of rats “giving each other a back” was rather too rich for my gravity, and cook escaped the expected lecture. Some months after this, a small parcel, containing two silk neckties and some new gloves, was missing from among other parcels on the hall table, and when, the rats having become nearly masters of the premises, ferrets were engaged and a downright war waged against them, both the silk handkerchiefs were discovered, nibbled into bits, forming part of a rat’s nest under the cellar wall. Last year, when living in Hampshire, my cook there informed me that some fine greengages, which I had purchased on the previous day with the intention of making a tart, had been carried off by rats. They positively had demolished nearly a pie-dish full, there were three or four half eaten plums remaining, sufficiently bitten to point out the real delinquents. Huien HE. Watney. SPOTS ON PAPER. By tue Eprror. iG is two or three years, at least, since some cor- ; respondents first forwarded us specimens of white paper with small dendritic spots upon them, and, from the first, we have felt convinced that these spots (all the same although from different persons) were inorganic. Recently the subject has been revived, and in December, 1868, we quoted, in reference to them, from the Gardeners Chronicle. “The spot on paper is a doubtful plant, named by Agardh and Lyngbye Conferva dendritica. Tt is Aprit 1, 1869.] perhaps some chemical production, but, if not, a fungus, and not an alga. Schumacher called it Dematium olivaceum, making it a fungus.” We then added that an experienced analytic chemist had given his opinion, casually, that. the spots were inorganic, and probably iron pyrites. In January, “J.T. Y,” affirmed that “they are unquestionably fungoid growths,” to which, in a note, we objected that we considered our correspondent far too con- fident in his opinion. Since this note appeared, another correspondent has been testing the few specimens he could obtain, and through us appealed to our readers for more. He (“ A. L.”) states, “I have succeeded in ascertaining that they consist of some compound of the metal copper, but what com- pound I cannot yet say (most likely the sulphide or a ar ce soak lio Fig. 52. Dendritic spot. oxide), as 1 have not sufficient material at my dis- posal. At about the same time we received a long and ingenious speculation by “A. 8.,” which added no information; and however suggestive it might be, did not give or suggest a plausible solution of the mystery; hence its publication would be useless. Those who are willing to assist “A. L.” in con- firming his opinion, and in determining what com- pound of copper the crystals are, cannot do better than forward specimens.* Another correspondent (8. M.”) has suggested a solution of the positive assertion of “J.T. Y.” in the fact that fungoid spots do also occur on damp paper. He says: “Spots on paper are not always fungoid growths. They are of two or three kinds. On examining some which I noticed lately as occur- ring in avolume of Grote’s Plato I was reading, I found the spots to be some form of crystallization of iron, doubtless due to some small spot or blot of printer’s ink. There were two or three groups of spots, and however small, presented a feathery ap- pearance. With a two-inch object-glass, the spots * A, L., Gi, Buckingham Road, London, N. HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 81 appeared like a piece of dark seaweed. There is always a centre or nucleus, the blot (?) from which the little branches ray out. “ Curiously enough, in the very same volume the fungoid spots also occur very frequently. They are, however, minute, possessed of the refreshingly long name of Myxotrichum chartarum (Kunze). See Annals and Magazine of Natural History, January, 1862, Note on this fungus, by Arthur H. Church, B.A., Oxon, F.C.8., &c., where there are clear details of this fungus, which ‘is generally found on damp straw or paper,’ and where very careful and beautiful drawings of it are given. The spots on paper of both kinds are pretty nearly cir cular, arising from the little blot forming the nucleus in the one case, and from the mode of growth of the fungus in the other. The fungus spots, however, are nearly always yellow or a deep golden brown; the other spots are nearly black. The former I have noticed always pierce right through the paper, and the spores I have seen scattered and germinating on that part of the pages of the book in immediate contact with the first or mother fungus, while the other spots merely ray out on the surface like the frost on the window- pane.” The appearance of this fungus on paper could hardly be confounded, even by the unaided eye, with the inorganic spots. This Myxotrichum con- sists of an agglomeration of branched threads, bear- ing near the base clusters of spores, and with the apex dark-coloured and curved, projecting beyond the entangled mass of threads. Another fungus, belonging to the same genus, was described by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, in 1838, and called by him Myzotrichum deflecum. It forms little patches consisting of small downy grey balls. From these arise a number of radiating threads fur- nished with a few opposite deflexed branchlets. The sporidia are collected in patches about the base of the threads. This also is found growing on paper. Then, again, we haye two other small fungi, very similar so far as external appearance goes, which flourish under like conditions. These, however, are very different in structure, and belong to a _ higher group of fungi, because the sporidia are en- closed in special membranaceous sacs or asci. One of these is called Chetomium chartarum. The “spot” consists of a brittle thin perithecium, covered with bristly hairs, and containing, inter- nally, long narrow asci, in each of which are dark- coloured, lemon-shaped sporidia. The base of the perithecium appears to be attached to a dark radia~ ting mycelium. The other species, first found in 1888, is Ascotricha chartarum, and is thus described: —* At first appearing under the form of a minute branched Sporotrichum, interspersed with globose brownish conidia. As it advances in growth, sets areata? 12 82 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Arriz 1, 1869, globose black peridia become visible among the flocci, clothed with and supported by alternately branched, obscurely jointed filaments, the branches of which generally form an acute angle with the stem. The ramification of these is very peculiar, the stem and main shaft of each subdivision being almost constantly abbreviated and surmounted by the branchlet given off near the apex; this, again, is often abbreviated, and another branchlet given off, which again surpasses it; and occasionally the same circumstance takes place a third time. The apices are clavate and colourless; the rest of the filaments, when viewed by transmitted light, brown, even, and pellucid; a few globose conidia are usually attached to them. The peridium is thin, black to the naked eye, of an olive-brown under the | microscope, filled with a mass of linear extremely | transparent asci, each containing a single row of | broadly elliptic chocolate sporidia.” A mould, described by Link as “TOMMY TRY.” TIE beach at Exmouth, throughout a great part of its extent, is sandy, and affords a consider- able number of shells. Of these I obtained in a few days about thirty species, of which the greater part were marine, but there were one or two land and fresh-water kinds, which had doubtless floated down the river Exe. j I noticed on the sand large numbers of Medusa, which varied from the size of a crown-piece to nine inches in diameter. These appeared to be of two species, the most common of which was of an opale- scent white, with stripes of lilac; a second was of a smoky white, with darker marks of the same colour. I was anxious to take home some of these, but on handling them I received asting similar to that from anettle. Iafterwards heard that a species of this class is called the “sea-nettle.”” I avenged myself = = Ne ae a Ee —— = = = Oidium chartarum, may possibly be nothing more than an early condition of one of the foregoing. There are two other moulds which appear on paper. One, called Stachy- botrys atra, is usually on millboard, The threads are erect and branched, bearing heads which consist of a whorl of colourless very short branchlets, each of which bears a brown septate spore, so as to form a globose head of spores. The other is named Sporo- eybe alternata, and is greyish-black, forming little orbicular patches: it is so small as scarcely to be visible with- out a lens; the threads are almost erect, and branched in a zig-zag man- ner, each branch being slightly swollen at the tip, and studded with oblong sporidia, I think that I have enumerated all the fungi which habitually establish themselves on paper, some rarely, others commonly; or at least all which belong to this country. Not long [since; some paper from Burmah came into my possession, which was covered with a species of Chatomium, described by Corda as Chatomium Indicum, perhaps the most beautiful of all in that genus; but this cannot be regarded as a British species, although developed after its arrival. No one who becomes acquainted with the fungi found upon paper will, like “J. T. ¥.° confound them with the dendritic spots, so long a puzzle ; now, apparently, nearer solution. ‘Lhe confusion which seemed to exist in the minds of some readers must he my excuse for this—rather too technical— communication. Fig. 53. Auriculated aurelia (Aurelia aurita). for the sting by afterwards chopping up many of these animals with my spade. The rocks further down the river afforded nume- rous linpets—Patella vulgata and’ P. pellucida ; the dog-whelk, Purpura lapillus ; and a peculiar species of alge, which, although truly cryptogamic, had somewhat the appearance of the grass wrek, Zostera marine. This plant reminded me of some weed which had been brought home bya sea captain from the Bahama banks, and was believed by him to be the same as the floating marine plants which served to assure the mutinous crew of Columbus of the existence of land in that part of the world. It met ———_- } Apri 1, 1869.) HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. : 83 him at the gates of the New World, to strew his path, as it were, with flowers of the ocean, to hail the triumph of its conqueror and its king. ‘This simple weed opened to me a new domain—the vast world of chemistry. I put some of the weed in a bottle of fresh water, to compare it with that brought from the West Indies. It had been there about a fortnight, when I noticed a great change in the water, from a colourless state to a hyacinthine violet, resembling the modern magenta; and I have since thought that areaction had taken place similar to that which occurs during the formation of a litmus, cudbear, or archil. My female friends at once exclaimed that I had rediscovered the purple of Tyre. 1 dipped dolls’ clothes of different materials in the dye, to which I added a small proportion of soda and alum; calico which I stained with it appeared of a bright purple- red colour, which it retained for years. — from EPISTYLIS. HAVE found the species of Hpistylis here figured of frequent occurrence upon Cyclops quadricornis ; wpon which it multiplies to so great an extent as materially to interfere with its progress through the water, appearing to the naked eye as a little cloudy mass about the Cyclops. It consists of a great number of yorticella-like bodies attached to a many-branched transparent pedicle. The indivi- dual animals are frequently so crowded, and insuch constant motion, that it is difficult to make out their structure. In the figure only a few are repre- sented, for the sake of clearness. As in Vorticella, a fringe of cilia surrounds their mouths, the course of which on one side is bent into a little hollow, out of which such things as the animal rejects as ‘unfit for food are driven by the strong current produced by the action of the cilia. Those things which are selected for food, (with a rapidity of choice which is exceedingly wonderful) are gathered into a vacant place immediately below the mouth (e), from which they quickly pass into other parts of the body, and are gradually dissolved and absorbed. When they are fed with indigo or lake, the particles are greedily devoured, and appear as very dark blue or bright red fusiform spots in the body. When the animal is disturbed, the fringe of cilia is withdrawn into the body (4, @), but it is quickly protruded again, the lip, as it were, turning back in order to allow the ciliary motion to proceed without hinderance. The integument of the body is striped with very minute transverse wrinkles, but this structure can only be well seen when the creature is sufficiently still to allow of careful focussing, or happens to come exactly into focus. The body contains granular matter and a vacuole, as in Vorticella, which occurs a little below the mouth, and which appears and disappears with a certain amount of regularity. It is a question whether this disappearance arises from the motion of the animal, by which the vacuole is thrown out of focus, or whether it results from the closing{to- gether of the sides of the vacuole. It seems to me that the disappearance arises from the latter cause ; for when the vacuole has disappeared, no change’of focus will cause it to reappear; which, of course, would occur if the vacuole were there. And when the vacuole is in sight, and the focus is altered, it does not disappear, but remains as a blurred spot. It appears to me that the edges close together, for the definition remains sharp up to the moment of disappearance. | a Fig. 54. Epistylis, x 238. The individual animals are readily detached from the pedicle (/,,g), and swim about by means of their cilia, seeking some unfortunate cyclops upon which to settle and found a new colony. Single animals occur attached to such; and it is apparently by the longitudinal division of the body and a port ion of the pedicle, that the one animal becomes at length a large colony. In one of the animals when free I have noticed a peculiar spiral formation or nucleus (f). ‘They occur in the Podophrya stage (fig. 4), a condition of still life through which many of the family of Vorticellina seem to pass. J. 8. Ture. bf é t 84 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Apriz 1, 1869, A NEW INSECT FROM CEYLON. Ppais new and very interesting hemipterous in- sect, to which I have given the name of Zingis hystricelius, was discovered in Ceylon and collected from the Bringall plant by Mr. Staniforth Green, a gentleman long resident in that island. All the species of the genus to which it belongs are small, but the present species is exceedingly minute; the largest of the specimens I have yet | seen scarcely attaining to 3 of an inch in length. | | When examined, however, in the microscope, it is | | an elegant insect, and, properly mounted as an opaque object, it makes a fine binocular slide for the low powers, MCR. of the genus may therefore well be called “ world- wide,” The character which at once distinguishes the Tingis hystricellus from all other known species of the genus, is the complete armature of spines, which project from various parts of the head, thorax, and elytra. Each of these spines, when examined by a somewhat higher power, is found to have a sharp point or seta, projecting as from the open end of an investing sheath. The integument of the elytra, as well as that composing the dorsal surface of the thorax, appears like a thin membrane nearly as transparent as glass, supported by a strong reticulation bearing the spines, | which radiate in every direction. The metathorax Fig. 55. Tingis hystricellus, x 20. Ventral and dorsal aspect. Very little appears at present to be known with respect to its habits and economy. Mr. 8. Green says :— “Tt is common here, and hundreds of examples may be found upon a single plant. Those I now enclose were dried between the leaves of a book, and afterwards exposed for a couple of hours to the direct rays of a hot sun. All I can say of its habits is that it sticks close to the under side of the Bringall leaf, and there undergoes all its changes, from the larval to the perfect state. The larvie are black.” Tingis is a genus of Fabricus, described in the “Systema Rhyngotorum” (p. 124). Various species of Zingis ave found nearly all over the world. In the cabinet of the British Museum may be seen specimens from England and France, some of them nearly as small as the species here figured ; as well as several from Africa, North America, and the Philippine Islands. Other species are found in Sweden, and in fact all over Europe. A large num- ber inhabit South America, and four or five have been taken in the island of Ceylon. The distribution extends far backwards, simulating, as it does in many allied genera, a large pointed scutellum. The pupa is exceedingly interesting, being of a dark brown colour, and covered with white spines: those along the sides of the abdomen are compound or branched, and each branch has a projecting seta. These compound spines are not found on the imago. Some of the species in the cabinet of the British Museum are very beautiful, not only in form, but in colour. They all show a tendency to a reticulated structure of the elytra; but the present species differs from all of them in the quantity of spines bristling over the dorsal surface. It is, in fact, a little insect porcupine, and fully justifies the specific name of Aystricellus, I believe that mounted specimens of these insects are, or will be shortly, to be procured of Mr. Baker, in High Holborn. For the opportunity of figuring and naming this pretty species of Tingis, I have to thank Mr. Curties, F.R.M.S., who has kindly placed his specimens at my disposal, Kensington. H. C. Ricurer. Arrin 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 85 THE HERON. (Ardea cinerea.) A S we traverse the marsh with dog and gun, in pursuit of snipe, we may almost depend upon seeing a Heron, but seldom indeed can we get near enough to take a good look at him; his long neck and equally long legs enable him to keep such a sharp look-out, that on the least approach of | much tact and exertion to approach a Heron, as to stalk a deer, but should you succeed in getting near him unperceivedly, you will be amply repaid in observing his movements, and may finally bring him to bag, and study him at table with lemon and cayenne. We speak from experience. We have made many a successful stalk, and can confidently state that a young Heron, nicely roasted, with the adjuncts danger, he unfolds his broad wings, and first flapping for some yards along the ground, he rises slowly into the air, and sails away to a safer haunt. But should you detect him at a distance before he sees you, there is a chance of your being able to stalk him, especially should he happen to be in the bed of a river, or stream. It will often require as Tur Heron. above named, forms a dish by no means to be despised. On most parts of the coast the Heron may be seen at low-water, fishing in the little pools which have been left by the receding tide: here he finds erabs, shrimps, and other delicacies ; but instead of being sociable, like the gulls, and redshanks, and Saat os ee if i 86 HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Avrin 1, 1869. inviting a friend to join him at dinner, he goes to his own particular pool, like an old gourmand to his club, and keeps the best of everything to himself. We have watched him on the rocky weed-covered shore of Northumberland, on the shining sands of Lancashire, and on the dreary mud-flats of the Sussex harbours, and have found him always the same; shy and suspicious, even where seldom disturbed, he seems to haye a wonderful eye to danger, and we almost believe can distinguish a gun from a stick or an umbrella. Now and then upon a rocky coast, we have stalked him under cover of a friendly boulder, and while our heart beat loud with the rapid exertion and excitement, we have shot him just as he had detected our head above the rock. And what a triumph have we felt in standing over his prostrate form, and smoothing his expansive wings, feeling in that moment a sufficient reward for having crawled on hands and knees, perhaps three hundred yards of treacherous ground, slipping over sea-weed, and through salt-water pools. But it was never thus on the mud flats; there no friendly barrier intervened | to screen our approach, and we could only advance near enough to be just out of shot, when the large wings were unfolded, and we were left to stand and | gaze wistfully after the coveted prize. Now and then at early dawn, we have come suddenly upon a Heron while busily employed under the steep bank of a brook, and have thus been enabled to knock him down with snipe shot before he could get out of range. It was ludicrous to observe the surprise of the bird when he first became faware of our presence, and with a hoarse croak clumsily endeavoured to get away. On one occasion, accompanied by a red setter, we were stalking a Heron, when the dog, over-anxious, ran forward and attracted the attention of the bird, which immediately took wing; instead of flying away, however, he hovered over the dog, looking down at him like a hawk. We crouched down and gave a low whistle, and the dog coming back, actually brought up the Heron within shot, when we fired and killed him. The bird seemed to follow every movement of the dog, and was so intently eying him, that he never saw us until the gun was raised; he then turned at once to make off, but too late. On the coast, the Heron feeds at low water during the day, and in unfrequented marshes he may also be caught fishing in broad daylight; but when compelled to get his living at reservoirs, ponds, and rivers, which are oftener visited by his enemy, man, he prefers to come just before day- break or after dusk. In autumn, when the brooks run dry, we have frequently noticed the impressions of his long toes, visible for miles on the soft mud, showing the great extent of ground traversed in his patient search for food. Fish, frogs, mussels, and even water-rats, are all included in the Heron’s bill of fare. He will take young water-fowl too from the nest, and ‘after pinching them all over in his formidable bill, and holding them under water till they have become well saturated, he throws up his head, opens his mandibles, and the ‘ Moorhen souché”’ disappears. Some years ago we paid avisit in the month of May to a certain reservoir in Yorkshire, where the Pochard (Azas ferina) was known to have bred, our object being to ascertain whether this duck was then nesting there, and to learn what other fowl were on the water. We might say a good deal of that pleasant excursion, but must confine our attention for the present to the Heron. At one end of the reservoir is, or was, a thick bed of willows, extend- ing out some distance from the shore. The water at this spot is shallow, with a muddy bottom. ‘Coots and Moorhens were numerous Sand noisy, . swimming about amongst the willows, and collect- ing materials for their nests. We lay upon the grass at the edge of the water, peering quictly through the willows, and learnt a good deal of the private life of these water-fowl. While we were gazing, 2 Heron, which must have flown unnoticed up the water, dropped suddenly in the shallow, within twenty yards of our ambush. Here was an opportunity for observation : scarcely venturing to breathe, we watched with interest every motion of the great grey bird. His long black erest and pendent breast feathers showed him to be fully adult, and we thought at the time we had seldom seen a Heron in finer plumage, With head and’ neck erect, he took a cautious glance all round, as if to satisfy himself that he was unobserved, and apparently assured, he then looked down at the water; for some minutes he never altered his position, till at length, bending slowly and gracefully forward, he suddenly struck the water with his bill, and recovered a small fish, A pinch, a toss of the head, and it had disappeared down his throat. He then drew himself together with apparent satisfac- tion, wiped his bill upon his long. breast plumes, and, slightly altering his position, prepared, as an angler would say, to make another “ cast.’ At this moment we incautiously moved a little to one side to avoid a willow bough and obtain a better view, when his quick eye instantly detected the move- ment, and in another second he was flying down the water in the direction whence he had come. There are few sights more gratifying to a natu- ralist than a heronry. We have had the privilege of visiting three: one at Walton Hall, Yorkshire, the seat of the late Charles Waterton; one at Milton, near Peterborough, belonging to the Hon. George Fitzwilliam ; and one at Wanstead, the property of Lord Cowley. Did space permit, we might give a detailed and interesting account of all we saw on these occasions, but we can do no more than offer a EE —— Aprit 1, 1869.) HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE GOSSIP. 87 few brief remarks on the general appearance and situation of the heronry last named. The date of our visit was the 5th of April, and the birds were then sitting on their eggs. The Heron is one of the few waders which resort to a trce for the purpose of nidification, and a stranger sight than a number of these great birds perched at the top of a lofty elm, can scarcely be imagined. Twenty years ago, the Herons at Wanstead Park tenanted some trees at a different spot to that which they now frequent. At present they occupy some tall elms upon an island in the largest piece of water in the park. The keeper informed us that there were about thirty pairs. We proceeded to the boat- house, and after bailing out the boat which was nearly full of water, steered for the Herons’ island. A good glass enabled us to see the birds very clearly, | and most of them were in splendid plumage. The nests were placed at the very tops of the trees, and | many of them were occupied by a sitting bird. Here and there a Heron stood. erect upon a bough, with head and neck drawn in, looking for all the world like acold sentinel, with his bayonet between his teeth, and his hands in his trousers’ pockets, As we approached the island several loud eroaks were heard, and the sentinels took wing, the silting birds being the last to leave. Taking it for granted that the bird which sat the longest was the most likely to have eggs, we selected a tree from which a Heron flew as we reached it. Tt was a wych-elm about forty feet high, and the nest was placed amongst the topmost branches. After a fatiguing climb, owing to the absence of boughs for a considerable distance, we reached the top, and paused to rest before looking into the nest. And now was the anxious moment. Were our exertions in vain? Was the nest empty, or were we to be rewarded with the sight of eggs? The nest ‘was large enough to sit in, composed ex- ternally of large twigs, chiefly elm and willow, and lined with smaller twigs, fibre and dry grass. It overhung our head to some extent, so that we were obliged to pull away a portion of the side before we could see into it, when, to our delight, four beautiful eggs were displayed, their bright bluish- | green colour contrasting well with the dark fibre on which they were laid. | The wind blew in gusts, and it was no easy mat- | ter to get them down safely; but at length we | succeeded in getting them into our handkerchief, | and holding the ends together in our mouth, brought them down without a crack. They were consider- ably incubated, showing that they had probably been laid about the end of the third week in March. The Heron, indeed, is one of the earliest birds to breed. The young, when first hatched, present a very remarkable appearance, and are fed by their parents for a long time before they can shift for themselves. A friend once kept a Heron on his lawn, and a very amusing bird he was. When first captured, he was very sulky, and refused all food. Fearing he would starve, the owner forced some fish down the bird’s throat, but the next moment saw it re- tured upon the grass. The process was repeated with the same result, and a third time my friend endeavoured ineffectually to overcome the obstinacy of his captive. At length, reflecting how the Chinese treat their trained Cormorants, by fastening a strap round the neck to prevent the fish from going down, he tied a piece of tape round the | Heron’s neck, to prevent the fish, in this case, from coming up. The experiment was perfectly success- ful, and the bird finding it impossible to disgorge, at length abandoned the attempt, and subsequently fed himself. Fish were placed for him in a fountain on the lawn, and he evinced great delight in taking them from the water. One day a rat was observed helping himself to the Heron’s food. The rightfal owner caught him in the act, and with one blow of his formidable bill felled him tothe ground. Seizing him, then, before he could recover, he carried him | squeaking to the fountain and ducked him. After shaking him well under water, he held him up for examination. The rat spluttered and squeaked in abject terror, and again was he submerged. The dose was repeated, until the unfortunate rat at length succumbed, and being by this time nice and tender, the Heron pouched him, and his then elon- gated form was seen distending the thin skin of the bird’s neck in its passage downwards, until it finally disappeared for ever. J. E. Hartine. DRAWING FROM THE MICROSCOPE. TIE difficulty experienced by all microscopists of delineating upon paper, with accuracy, the yaried objects placed under the instruments, is only partially overcome after many years’ tedious practice and observation. The well-known and long-tried Dr. Wollaston’s prism, and the neutral-tint glasses, although having many objections, have still retained their position as mediums for drawing: the difficulty always is, being unable to see the point of the pencil. When I say always, I mean a person who is about to make, perhaps his first drawing, not those whose eye is tutored!with years of experience ; although we know that it is not certainty with them. The outline being followed, and drawn with tolerable accuracy, the fine and delicate detail must be filled in by observation, from the instrument, as every microscopist is aware. Suggestions and appliances have from time to time been devised, whereby the object may be followed on tracing- paper from greyed glass. So far so good; but every 88 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Aprin 1, 1869. one is aware a drawing looks very objectionable when finished upon tracing-paper: further, there is a considerable loss of light in passing through the medium or paper. What we require is, in being able to draw upon a piece of card or Bristol board. To this end I have made many experiments, and the most successful and (I may be pardoned for adding very satisfactory and simple means I beg to place before your readers. I enclose a rough sketch to simplify the milled head B, and clamp it by the tightening screw, By using the flat mirror you obtain brightly illumin- ated and full of detail, on your card or paper a view the same size as presented by the microscope; but | by using the concave mirror you obtain a much larger picture, without, of course, altering your ob- jectives, and by raising your instrument a little (of course altering the light at the same time) you rapidly enlarge your diagram. I hope this little appliance may be of some service description. A is a ring containing two mirrors, | in that most difficult of all drawing (microscopical) ; Fig. 57. Drawine Apparatus, ° ‘one a concave of about 6-inch focus, the other a flat one. B is a small milled head to regulate the angle of rays: on the opposite centre there is a little larger milled nut, which clamps the mirror tight to the arms C. D is an ordinary clip, lined with cloth to prevent scratching the lacquer, with a milled head H, to clip it tight to the body of microscope F. G represents the card or paper for drawing upon. ‘To use this apparatus proceed thus :—lst. Place the microscope in a horizontal position ; direct the rays of light from a Bockett or other lamp, carefully ex- cluding all rays not concentrated upon the mirror, or, in other words, concentrate all the rays you can from your lamp on to the concave reflector, so as to illuminate as powerfully as you can. 2nd. Take out the eyepiece and slip the clip D on to the body; do not tighten the clamp E until the eyepiece is in, as it will help to support the pressure exerted on the tube, as many instruments have rather thin bodies. 8rd. Set the angle of the mirror by the and should any of your numerous readers require farther instruction, it will be cheerfully given by your constant subscriber, ~: W. ScanTLEeBury. Macrosrorrs.—I have found the macrospores spoken of by E. W. Binney at the meeting of the Manchester Philosophical Society, January 26th, 1869, in shale from above the Low Main seam of coal at Cramlington, Northumberland. They are flattened and disc-like in appearance, and in one or two instances the triangular markings are seen the same as in the microspores of Lepidostrobus. Ina section of Lepidostrobus now in my cabinet. the tri- angular markings on the microspores are well shown in some, and in others the spores are seen breaking up at the triangular marking into sporules. Whe- ther the macrospores break up in the same way or not I think has yet to he determined.—John Butter- worth, Arrin 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 89 ZOOLOGY. Cynies aprera.—At the meeting of the Ento- mological Society (February Ist) Mr. F. Smith stated that he had on one occasion found a mass of barnacle-shaped galls on the bole of an oak in Bishop’s Wood, Hampstead, from which a number of specimens of a wingless Cynips had been produced, which could not be distinguished from Cynips aptera, reared from the currant-like galls on the rootlets of the same tree.—Gard. Chron. Dappy Lonerecs aGatn.—For the last week or two the Hackney Downs have presented a singular appearance from an eruption of the brown larvee of Tipula oleracea, which have “ wriggled” out of the turf in myriads, and, swarming on the paths, have been crushed to death in thousands by the passers by. ‘They are especially numerous around the lamp-posts, lying in strata quite an inch in thick- ness, the dead and dying masses of larve affording by no means an agreeable spectacle. Immense numbers of the perfect insect occurred on the Downs and other open fields in this neighbourhood last autumn, as was humorously recorded by «SB. J. 8.” inthe November number of ScrEencE- Gosstr. The ugly little animals, now so prematurely making their début, are doubtless the unfortunate descendants of that long-legged host, whose light- seeking propensities will perhaps account for the masses of their bairns at the lamps; although, the ground there being gravelled and quite destitute of grass or roots, it is somewhat difficult to conceive how they found sustenance, unless, indeed, the | passion of their race for enlightenment is developed so strongly in the adolescent “ daddies” as to impel them to quit their burrows in the turf and seek it even on the paths of death. A considerable number of a species of coleopterous larva accom- pany the tipule.—W. Cole, Clapton. Tue Moa orn Drnornis.—Two very valuable ad- ditions have recently been made to the museum of the Natural History Society in Newcastle-on-Tyne. One is an almost complete specimen of Dinornis casuarinus, md an almost perfect leg, foot, and pelvis of a larger species, Dinornis robustus. The former bird stands a height of upwards of five feet, and the leg of the latter is more than five feet in height, and must have belonged to a bird of not less height than ten feet. The bones which when united form the specimen of D. caswarinus do not belong to one bird, but have been gathered and classified from a large miscellaneous collection of Dinornis bones received from New Zealand, and presented to the museum at various times by Mrs. Dodd, Captain Collinson, and Captain Llyte. Skeletons of six species of Dinornis are exhibited in the Can- terbury Museum, New Zealand; one or more speci- mens of Dinornis are exhibited in the British, Museum; a very fine specimen is, I believe, exhibited inthe York Museum; and, so far as I know, no other provincial museum, except ours in Newcastle, possesses a complete specimen of this reputedly extinct gigantic bird, the New Zealand Moa, The bones of the Newcastle specimen are in a tolerably good condition of preservation, but, owing to their having Jain for a considerable period in swampy marshy localities, they are somewhat friable, and require great care and skill in fitting up the skeleton, to avoid the breaking or seriously damaging the bones. Mr. J. Hancock, with his usual skill, has accomplished a very difficult self-imposed task, and deserves credit for his patience and skill—7. P. Barkas, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Parrakert Breepinc.—A lady with whom 1 am acquainted had two pairs of the small Australian | ground or warbling parrakeets (Psittacid@) brought over by her son last year. Towards the end of the year one pair became very restless; she therefore put in the corner of their cage the outside case of a cocoa-nut, with a small aperture for them to enter, and, on looking into it some days after, to her agree- able surprise, she found two bluish-white eggs had, been laid. The hen bird sat on the eggs very closely for some days until a young parrakeet made its appearance, much to the joy of its parents. It is now about a month old, and is in perfect health. The plumage is the same as the full-grown birds, but not so brilliant. The remaining egg was addled, and the old birds ejected it from the nest.— EL. D. Burton. Nestine or tHE Lesser Reprore.—Yarrelb gives Halifax as the southern limit of the lesser redpole in the breeding season. ‘This, however, would seem to be an incorrect statement, for even, in that writer’s time Mr. Wolley had found the bird breeding annually in Nottinghamshire. Since that time nests have been found in Derbyshire, Stafford- shire, and (as it 1s reported) in more southern coun- ties. Perhaps some of your ornithological readers may feel interested in the testimony which I can give as to the lesser redpole breeding in Leices- tershire. Some time ago, when ona nesting excur- sion with my friend Mr. W. Theed, of Carlisle, I found a nest of the lesser redpole, placed in a thorn hedge, on land belonging to Mr. Kirby, of Humberstone, in Leicestershire, within a few feet of the frequented bridle-path leading from that village to Barkby. There was little, if any, attempt on the part of the bird to seclude its nest ; for, although well matted in by thorn on the hedgeside, it was glaringly conspicuous to even the casuak stroller along the field, if near the hedge. Moreover, T failed to perceive the elegance of structure which is apparent in the usual architecture of this bird in the nest in question, the chief materials employed 90 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Aprit 1, 1869, being moss, and dry grass of many degrees of fine- ness: it was extravagantly lined with the catkins of the willow. Besides this profuse lining, I detected what appeared to me to be the down of the colts- foot, but on this point I will not entirely pledge myself. This nest contained four eggs in the second week of June. I feel myself quite justified in being very strongly convinced that the lesser redpole is by no means an uncommon breeder in Leicester- shire, or indeed throughout the entire Midland district, for I have often met with it in May and June, in various parts of the county. There can be no mistaking it at sight, for ere many minutes it betrays itself to the observer by its tit-like evolu- tions. In the winter they will come with the siskins. I have met with both species, the latter sometimes in flocks, at Rothley, Stretton, and Enderby, in Leicestershire, always in the vicinity of stunted trees.—Ldward Peterson. Sanp Lizarp.—Many naturalists (Mr. Wood amongst others) speak of the impossibility of keeping these little creatures in captivity. It may be interesting to them to learn that Mrs. King, the wife of the well-known Mr. King, in the Portland Road, has not only kept adult sand lizards all the winter, feeding them on raw beef, but has even succeeded in making them breed: she had some babies of this species in her possession a few days ago, fed on milk, and as lively’ as possible.— FL. Hi; Voracitty or Sra Anemone.—Dr. Johnston tells us (Brit. Zooph.) of a crass (Zealia crassi- cornis) that swallowed a valve of the great scallop. This extensive mouthful was, however, quite equalled by one I witnessed a few days ago. A crass, about 24 inches in diameter, was found with zwo mussels half in and half out of its rapacious maw. The mussels were nearly three inches in length, and were standing upright in the mouth of the crass. The sharp angles of the molluscs did not appear to inconvenience it in the least: the only difficulty seemed to be the stowing away of two creatures three inches long in a cavity that could not at its greatest elongation measure more than two.—f. W., Tenby. Tue Bapcer anp Orrer.—Badgers are still to be met with, though rarely, in Buckinghamshire. One taken in this county. was recorded in Screncr- Gosstr, l., 87. Three or four years ago a female badger and four young ones were dug out, with considerable difficulty, near Fingest ; and last year one was captured at Naphill, near High Wycombe. An account of one taken at Oxford will be found in the Field of Feb. 6th. A female otter, three feet in length, and weighing 153 lb., was shot on an islet in the Thames, near White Place, Cookham, Berks, on the 10th of August, 1868: her four young ones were destroyed at the same time. See Quarterly Magazine of High Wycombe Nat. Hist. Soc., IL, 48, —James Britien. Fierrx tamertata.—This tiny snail is a rare . inhabitant of woods hereabouts. Thompson in his “ Natural History of Ireland ” mentions two locali- ties, each of which is about four miles distant from Belfast. The shell is areal sylvan gem, that well rewards the patient collector for his persevering toil. Urged by an ardent zeal that must stand for our excuse, I was, in company with a friend, one afternoon trespassing in a wood, despite the warning intimation “'Trespassers Prosecuted.” My friend had sueceeded in finding three specimens of Helix lamellata, when lo there appeared on the scene the dreaded gamekeeper, or caretaker, and his attendant dog! The man was civil, however, as indeed I generally find such men to be when they meet with naturalists ‘poaching on their domains. He was curious to see what it was for which we were making such careful search: by the help of a pocket lens, my friend delighted him, by showing what a charming little beauty of a shell tenanted his woods, and we got off with the conviction that the grounds were not guarded by a churl, who would be very severe on us if caught again inside the fence. But my object in mentioning H. lamellata was to encourage collectors who may feel disheart- ened by repeated unsuccessful attempts to find shells that they are in quest of. I had searched for this shell in its two local habitats not less than nine or ten times, and secured in all only three specimens ; however, being in Colin Glen one day early in the present month (March), I made another effort to find this Heliz.. The second leaf I lifted yielded a shell, and then near three hours were spent without rising from this spot. The result was sixty-five specimens captured, before the approach of evening put an end to the search; but the shells were by no means exhausted; the number could have been doubled, had time permitted. Thompson mentions taking twenty-one specimens on one occasion in this same glen. Helix lamellata was the dominant form in this: productive heap of beech- leaves; the associated species were H. fulva, H. pygmea, Vertigo edentula, some Zonites, and Cary- chium minimum, but none of these species was abundant. I think it is likely that much labour is thrown away looking for shells at the wrong time, and that there is for each species a season and weather, when it is out in greater force than usual. —S. A. Stewart, Belfast. Wren’s Nest at Curistwas.—The Brighton - Evaminer notes the fact of a wren having built her nest at Beeding, Sussex: the bird commenced feathering it on Christmas day, and now (Jan. 26th) there are several eggs laid.—D. C. Bate. Aprriz 1, 1869.] HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 9] 2 BOTANY. Winter Musuroom.—While Mr. Leeming, of Casterton, Westmoreland, was. out this morning (Wednesday, February 17th), looking after his stock, he found in a meadow two mushrooms, each about six inches in circumference; and in point of flavour, they were, I canaflirm fromactual experience, equal to any I tasted last year, when they were so prolific —S. Morris. CAPSELLA BURSA-PASTORIS.— The plants usually united under this name seem to vary very greatly from one another, irrespective of soil or situation. The undersigned, who has been investigating this variation for a year or two back, would esteem it a favour if local botanists would kindly forward him specimens of the forms existing in their locali- ties for examination and comparison. ‘The speci- mens may be either fresh or dried, but should as far as possible have fully formed seed-pouches, and should be gathered with the roots attached. British or continental specimens will equally oblige —Charles P. Hobhirk, Honoria-street, Huddersfield. Porentita.—There are several British species of this genus, some of them exceedingly pretty. The P. fragariastrum, for example, with its small white flowers, always attracts my eye, they look so like the wild strawberry bloom, and, as they appear in our hedgerows early in spring, I have often known children mistake them for the latter, exclaiming, “Qh, don’t pick those, or we shall not have any wild strawberries.” Then comes the “silver-weed,” Potentilla anserisna, a roadside plant with yellow flowers and pinnate leaves, the leaves being easily distinguished by a soft white down which grows on them. Another member is the P. fruticosa, a rather rare northern flower, with yellow blossoms and pin- nate leaves. The flowers of this species are not so large as those of the P. anserisna, and the plant is partial to shaded spots; is found mostly in bushy places. The cultivated kinds of Potentilla are so well known that they need no description here, and the P. reptans and the P. formentilla have already been noticed. 1 somehow fancy the flowers of the latter are smaller than those of the P. reptans, but as I am a very humble botanist, I will not presume to differ from W. Holland in regard to the difficulty of distinguishing between the two species in ques- tion, or venture to affirm that they are not the same under different aspects, soil, &c., &¢—Helen L. Watney. ScoLoPENDRIUM CETERACH.—This plant was used as a bait for cod, just as a piece of red cloth is. Its under side is of a bright brown colour, and a little glossy, which makes it still more conspicuous when used asa bait. It is merely stuck firmly on toa hook and dragged after a boat, or sunk in deep water. It is no doubt mistaken by the fish for the sandworm which a good long frond carefully arranged on the hook somewhat resembles.—Z. WV. CocHLEARIA OFFICINALIS is rather biennial than annual. It sheds its seed early in the summer, and the seedlings grow to a considerable size by the autumn, and flower the following spring. It might possibly under cultivation, and sown in the early spring, arrive at maturity within the year, but its habit in the wild state is such as I have detailed it. The Cochlearia Danica, which is, perhaps, only a variety of the former, is smaller, but thicker and more succulent in the leaf, and more pungent to the taste, and would, I think, be the best plant to cultivate for the table—H. IV. Scurvy-erass (Cochlearia officinalis) is, as far as my observations extend (and I have now been living close to the seaside for the last. two years), a peren- nial, and I therefore must beg to differ from Helen E. Watney as to her statement that it is certainly an annual.—Samuel A. Brenan, Vicar of Cushendun, Ture Saamrock.—lIn answer to “S. A. §.,” Bel- fast, respecting what kind of trefoil is used by the Irish, I have always found Trifolium minus the one preferred, and not Trifolium repens, as any black spot on the leaves is considered by the lower orders asa blemish. This I have observed in co. Dublin, Wicklow, Meath, Westmeath, Louth, Fermanagh, and this part of Antrim.— Samuel A. Brenan, Cushendun. SunpEw.— Withering (Botany, ed. III. 1796) states that his friends, Messrs. Whately and Gardom, witnessed the leaf of Drosera anglica curl over so as to enclose a fly, which had been previously entangled in the glandular hairs ; the more distant hairs bending towards the victim to hold it more tightly. Roth (quoted by Withering) saw the same occurrence in Germany. Latterly an American entomologist gives an account of a like kind, in the American Naturalist. Will any entomological or botanical reader say whether he can confirm this singular phenomenon? Drosera (Sundew) is so nearly related to Dionea muscipula (Venus’s Fly-trap) that such a faculty is very possible. I never saw it myself, and Withering says that he failed in his experiments.—//. W. Spicer, Ltchen Abbas. BoranrcaL ALLUSION IN Tennyson.— Tennyson, in the first stanza of the 114th section of “In Me- moriam,” writes thus of the spring time :— “« Now fades the last long streak of snow, Now burgeons every maze of quick, About the flowering squares and thick By ashen roots the violets blow.’’ Our laureate is usually accurate in all that he says about nature, and I should like to know, whether violets do occur more frequently under the shade of the ash than elsewhere.—J. 2. S. C. 92 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Arrit 1, 1869, MICROSCOPY. PLEUROSIGMA uHIPPOCAMPUS.—The habitat of this diatom is “marine or brackish water.’ I have never found it in fresh water, and am not aware of any authority for its being so found. In Pritchard’s “Tnfusoria” it is described as marine; in Smith’s “Synopsis” as of brackish water ; in Kutzing’s “Bacillarien” the locality given is the Baltic ; Rabenhorst (“Die Siisswasser Diatomaceen”) says that it (Gyrosigma hippocampus) is properly marine, but is found throughout Italy, Sicily, and the neigh- bouring islands along the coast in shallow water and brackish puddles (halbsalzigen pfiitzen); the “Micrographic Dictionary” says marine or brackish water. Will Mr. Kitton be good enough to say in which of the British so-called fossil earths this diatom may be found? The inaccuracies (Screncr- Gossir, 1867, p. 133) pointed out by your corre- spondent Mr. Warner were noted by me at the time in my copy of the Gossip; his corrections are right except as to fig. 142. Figs. 142 and 143 are both representations, evidently copied from Smith’s “Synopsis,” of Piz. stauronetformis (S.), which I have sometimes found to vary much both in outline and absence or presence of central coste.—H. R. Ir Mr. Warner refers to the “ Synopsis” he will find Pleurosigma hippocampus stated to be a brackish. water form, Pritchard’s book states it to be a marine form, but refers to Rabenhorst’s “Siisswasser ‘Diatomaceen.” I have found it in gatherings from Horning, Ormesby, Heigham — all fresh-water localities. It is probably like Vavicula amphishena, and grows equally in fresh and brackish water. The references to the fieures are, of course, wrong. Pinnularia stauroneiformis = figs. 142 and 143; Pinnularia divergens = fig. 144; Pinnularia acro- aspheri=fig. 141, It is amistake to put much stress on the habitats of diatoms. I have Terpsinoe musica from barnacles scraped from a ship’s bottom, and also from a fresh-water stream in the Mauritius ; in both cases it grew luxuriantly. Cyclotella punctata is found in very brackish water, and also in water without a trace of salt; indeed, specimens I have are from perfectly fresh water. Cyclotella Kutzingiana is found under precisely the same conditions. See Dr. Arnott’s paper in the Microscopical Journal on “What are Marine Diatoms?””—J. Kitfon. Pinz Portey.—The common pine here is, I believe, Pinus pinaster, which produces a vast amount of pollen, and which, with the flower scales, are pretty objects; the outer scales covering the flower are also interesting with low power. Some years ago the south wind brought quantities of pine pollen from the forests, and which was arrested by the rain-water standing in pools in the streets, and caused among many people no slight alarm, as they imagined there had been a fall of sulphur, and wondered what might crop up next.—@. S., Oporto. } Anatomy or THE Fry.—A treatise on the Anatomy and Physiology of the Blow-fly, illustrated with eight coloured plates, is announced by Mr. B, T. Lowne; and, from what we have seen of it, this treatise promises to be an acquisition to micro. scopical science. VortIcELL&, OR Burt Inrvsorta.—Among the most common and yet most interesting of the In- fusoria are the Vorticelle, or bell animalcules, T have examined a great number of specimens of the Vorticella microstoma from the water in which hyacinth bulbs have been growing. They consist of a bell-shaped body attached to a thread-like muscular stalk, which anchors them to some con- ferva or unicellular growth. On being alarmed, the thread contracts into a spiral, and the ridges of the bell close over the mouth in an instant, making everything snug. A dark pith may be noticed run- ning down the stalk. ‘This Ehrenberg takes for a muscular fibre, but M. Dujardin, who seems as a natural consequence to combat Ehrenberg’s views, supposes the outer layer to consist of contractile tissue. The row of cilia inside the bell keep up constantly a double whirlpool, causing two tides as it were to flow into the mouth of the bell, bringing the various spores or green granular matter always present in the water into the mouth of the bell, rejecting most of them again by what seems to be an anal aperture situated in the cell-wall above the ridge of the bell. I again and again observed some of these green granules slipped into the substance of the body, and gradually assimilated with it. This is more easily observed on mixing a drop of water coloured with carmine-lake, the granules being red, and the stream out of the exit aperture coming out like smoke from a chimney, discolouring the water for a considerable distance. The manner in which these animalcules multiply is very interesting. The body, at first rather elongated, taking the oval in- stead of the circular form, gradually the oval divides, and, taking the form of two circles pressed together, these gradually separate, the bell opens, lateral cilia appear on the sides of Vorticelle, and finally it separates altogether and swims off to hang on its own hook, or rather its own thread. I certainly observed nothing in the way of an alimentary canal, and many of the nuclei appeared to me to be nothing but the granules present in the water, and taken in the body as nourishment, T observed other nuclei of more regular appearance brought out distinctly by the carmine, and which separated at the division of the body, and they seem probably to be nuclei or germs of the separated animalcule. As this is the season of the year when the Infusoria can be so easily obtained, they should be examined by all able to do so, and as much light as possible thrown upon their somewhat obscure organizations—H. Ashby, Portlaw, co, Waterford, Aprin 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 93 NOTES AND QUERIES. Fruit or tas Hawrnorn.—The word cat-haws, inquired about in Screncz-Gossir, p. 70, is evidently allied to eat-hin, the diminutive of cat: it is applied to the pendulous blossom of some trees, from a fancied resemblance to a kitten’s tail, and hence extended, as your correspondent informs us, to the “fruit of the hawthorn.”—4, Hall. Harr anv 17s Restrorzrs.—In the present day, when the human hair is the object of so much attention to the fair sex, the following receipts, taken from the work alluded to m your jast number, by Samuel Purchas, 1657, may be read with interest :—“ Pound bees dead and dry in the combs: mingle them with honey, and annoynt bald places of the head, and the hair will spring afresh,” ‘The ashes of bees ground with oyl make hair white.’ ‘“ Water distilled of honey four times by a limbick, so that the honey were first boiled, makes beautiful hair, and the hair wet therewith doth not only become yellow, but softer, and increaseth like- wise, especially if it be done in the sun.”’—V, J. Lliff, Epsom. Haxzits or House Micr.—Some few years since, 1 had a regular nightly visitant to my bed- room, in the shape of a singing mouse: it came booming round the apartment with such vocal power that, after the first novelty had worn off, we voted it a nuisance, had a cat, and soon heard no more of it. I bave now another visitant, a much quieter avimal: it rustles about a good deal on first entering, but after a while subsides into a gentle and very peculiar murmuring sound: it is soporific, a constant sibilation without any / in it ; a hushing musing sound; a perpetual sh’ sh’ shiver. And here is a great and wonderful analogy, it is really mussitating, .e.“to gently murmur,” that mysterious word, from musso, mussare, quasi jovco, that has given us the “lulling” theory of the historical name Lol/ard. This analogy of mus, a mouse, and mussifo is really very close. I would ask your naturalistic readers to define the sixging of a mouse, and also the murmuring above named— how are they produced, and how far universal among the muride.— A. Hall. Hypernation or Brrs.—I see ‘that your corre- spondent, Mr. A. Hall, has some doubts about the hybernation of the humble bee. My own experience goes to corroborate Mr.:Mill’s discovery. Whilst pupa-digging last month (February) I turned up a humble bee in a very torpid condition. I very much regret that the pupa-digger had mutilated his cell, so that I could not accurately determine whether an entrance did of did not exist: there wasno stone on top, and, as far as 1 could see, it was merely a cell rudely dug in the earth without any attempt at smoothing. ‘The bee was on its back, not, as in Mr. Mill’s cell, on its side. As to Mr. Hall’s theory, that the bee had been involuntarily confined, Tregard that as quite out of the question. With regard to question 4, | think that bees could exist for a length of time without air and food, or at least with only as much air as could penetrate through the soil. I know that I have this winter dug out, at the root of a tree in stiff and clayey soil, a newt, at the depth of at least three inches below the surface: this newt, though at that time. very sluggish and almost lifeless, is now a lively inhab- jtant of my aquarium. If fe could thus endure huager and want of air, why not a humble bee? I think that it would be very interesting if some of your correspondents were to keep, during the ensuing summer, a colony of humble bees. This would not be a difficult task; a flower-pot partially filled with mould and covered with gauze, would serve for their habitation. The results, | am sure, would be interesting. ‘The formation of the winter cell could then be clearly seen, and Mr. Hall’s doubts satisfactorily cleared up. The only singular point, however, in my opinion is that it does not appear to be noticed by entomologists, Westwood (introduction to Mod. Class., vol. ii., page 281), says “they form societies of about fifty or sixty individuals, occasionally, however, amounting to two or three hundred. ‘They construct their dwellings underground in meadows, pastures, or hedge-rows, generally employing moss for this purpose .... A few impregnated females alone survive.’ Here he speaks of their making common dwellings, but altogether omits the fact of their constructing solitary ones. He alludes to a few females surviving till the spring, but is surprisingly silent on the subject of their forming any dwelling in which to brave the inclemency of the winter. The only reference I can find to their hybernation is in Maunder’s “Treasury of Natural History,” page 332 :-—‘* These (the larger females) live in a sort of chamber distinct from the rest, but, as it would appear, without any supply of food.” I earnestly hope that these short remarks may stimulate the readers of Scrence-Gosstp to investigate further this very interesting subject.—H. H. O'Farrell, Lerrcurs.—I have on many occasions been obliged to avail myself of the services of leeches, and, feeling thankful to them for the relief they have afforded, have always been pained at the torture they are made to endure by salt, squeezing, &c., to make them disgorge the blood they teas swallowed. Some short time since, on using them, I determined, in the face of strong prejudice, to see if I could keep them alive without using any of the means alluded to, and, as yet, have succeeded in doing so. T was told it was cruel kindness, for they might live after the salt, but must die without; but [am glad I persevered, as I think I shall be able to prove the fallacy of the popular belief. When they do live after being subjected to the salt process, they are poor shrivelled things, with indentations on the skin wherever the salt has touched. Mine, after being well washed, were put in a globe with cold water, plenty of sand at the bottom, and some Azacharis, with water-snails, water-shrimps, water-fleas, &c. ; and some antiquated leeches which we have kept as our “ clerks of the weather.” I should be glad to know whether any one else has tried to do away with what is, I am convinced, a needless piece of cruelty to a creature so valuable to suffering humanity.—Z. Ortern or Lire.—A succinct account of this subject is presented in a small French volume just issued under the title of “‘ L’Origine de la Vie,” by Georges Pennetier. It contains the ease stated on behalf of spontaneous generation, with the objections of the panspermists, and may be accepted as a summary of the discussions between Pasteur and Pouchet, and their several adherents. There is a good show of cheap woodcuts, which is accomplished by repeating them over and over again, sometimes three or four times. ‘This is hardly a commendable way of “making up” an illustrated book, which we do not advise our English publishers to follow. ae ee | ee —— lg 94 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Aprin 1, 1869. Burtcusr’s Broom.—I have observed the Butcher’s Broom (Ruseus aculeatus) in bloom, and forming berries all this winter. Can any of your readers inform me whether this is unusual, or if it is due to the mild season? A friend of mine put a piece of this plant into water last Christmas, being then in flower: it has since formed and ripened several berries, though not so large as usual. As this appears to me unusual, I thought it might interest some of your readers.—V. O. Fisa-Moru.—Could you cause me to be informed, through the pages of your valuable journal, the scientific name of a small insect called the fish-moth about here ? It is wingless, rather like a shrimp in form, and is found in old houses, being very destruc- tive to silk and woollen fabrics —VW. O. Usz or Sronzs sy Sprmzrs.— Upon this curious circumstance, referred to in February, page 47, I offer another anecdote, corroborative of the fact, which few may have seen, as it appeared in the New York Gardeners’ Magazine of the year 1841. A gentleman states thus:—On passing along one of my garden walks in Brooklyn:the other day, I discovered a spider’s web constructed rather singularly: it was suspended from a. cherry-tree, being attached to the trunk, and running out, with numerous fastenings, at different distances, on a large limb, which rose at an angle of perhaps thirty degrees from the earth. This you may suppose would make the web of rather a narrow triangle, and one not likely to bring its proprietor much custom. To enlarge its sweep, however, the spider had, by some means or other, formed a corner downwards, and suspended from it a little stone—say half an inch in length, three-eighths in width, and one-eighth in thickness—well secured in parachute style, and hanging some eight or ten inches below. This weight kept the web taut, and swung slightly as the wind affected it, and there it remained for several days. I had some curiosity to know more of the projector of this contrivance, and on casting my eye near the tree, where the thickening fabric indicated his nest, I discovered a spider with a body nearly spherical, of the size of a small cherry, with crab-legs, and in all respects: appearing ready for business. I touched him slightly with a little stick, upon which he made a motion towards it so sudden and so impassioned as wellnigh made me jump, at the same time striking the stick in such a manner as inclines me to think that had it been animated it would have felt itsvenom.” ‘The latter part given seems to savour of the romantic, since English spiders usually feign death or run away when thus attacked, but the idiosyncrasies of ‘Transatlantic individuals may lead them to act differently. ‘Chere is no doubt that stones or other weighty substances are sometimes used by spiders in order to get the equipoise they need.—J. R. §. Clifford. SPIDER AND Sronn.—With regard to the stone suspended from the spider’s web, as observed in Scotland, and of which I gave an account in the last December number, I have since been told by the per- son who noticed it that, besides the long thread to which the stone was attached, there were several cross threads connecting it with one of the trees, and ranged at about equal distances one above the other. ‘This a atactal arrangement was no doubt, as one of your correspondents has suggested, a means of keeping the web steady and distending it,—J. FD. ; Curistuas Brrries.—The writer of the article | pp. 18 and 14 of this year’s volume must excuse my | saying that mistletoe has no right to a place among Christmas berries. In Herefordshire, where it is | most abundant, and where the customs connected with it are tenaciously adhered to, it is associated exclusively with the new year. The reason for this, and a very full and clear account: of the mistletoe | and every thing connected with it, are to be found | in the “Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists? Field Club” for 1864. In that paper will be found a complete list of all the oak-trees on which mistletoe is at present known to grow, and of all the kinds of tree on which it has been found. It is dess frequent on the oak than on most other trees.— TW. “ Morn Covrtsuir.—One day last July, whilst watering our garden, I noticed a couple of the common vapourer moths (Oryyia antiqua) whirling round and round my head. Thinking this peculiar, I stopped, and, moving to one side from the engine which I was using, found that it, or something on it, was the centre of attraction. After fluttering about for some time, they reached the nave of one of the wheels, and there alighted, when, upon stooping down, I saw on the under side of the nave, in the angle formed by it and a couple of spokes, a female of the same species, in the act of emerging from the pupa-case: so 1 pill-boxed the two males already there, and by that time two or three more had | arrived. These I also pill-boxed, and then, having removed the female, who had now quite freed herself from her shroud, to another pill-box, which I placed on the ground at a short distance from the engine, | waited to see if any more males would make their appearance, and, if so, whether the were attracted by scent or sight, and I think that have eee ieee proved that it was by the former, and t iat from the case, and xot the moth ; for, though she was in an open box not more than a couple of yards from the pupa-case, no more males took any notice of der, while nine or ten hovered about fhe empty case, and seemed to be looking in all directions for her to whom they wished to pay their addresses. With the vapourer, scent given off from the pupa- case would be quite sufficient as a guide to the whereabouts of the female, since her wings are so small that they must be completely useless to heras a means of locomotion. ‘This is a parallel to the instance of “moth courtship?” mentioned by T. E. F.” at p: 166, Vol. LV. of ScrencE-GossiP, though not quite identical, for “T. E. Fs” ob- servations were on the buff ermine moth (Aretia lubricipeda), and the moth, and not the case, was the attraction. Possibly this property of scent possessed by female pupas and imagos (2?) may be turned to pa by using them as “bait” for males.— Cast Insror.—* R. G’s” aquatic larva, living within a case of pleces of the leaves of Potamagetom, is probably that of Hydrocampa nympheales, which lives between two pleces of leaf united at the edges. The eggs on water-plants are those of Sialis Jutaria. fh. MeL. Cat-Haws, &.—As your correspondent seems to think that the local name Ontchene a to the East Riding, it may not be uninteresting to him to know that’ it is generally used in the North Rid- ing also. The scarlet; point of the hedge rose in the | Same locality is calleq “cat-jugs.”—W. Wheldon. Aprit 1, 1869.) Azas poor Dragon Fry! —A Pies ror Screncr Scuoots.—On the Ist of March, just as I was starting for the railway station, she March number of Scrpnce-Gossip arrived, which I put in my pocket, together with that morring’s Standard, to read in the train. Having glanced over Scrence- Gosstpr, I was about attacking the Standard, when a fellow-passenger asked permission to see the journal, and was soon deep m its contents. Read- ing the newspaper, I came, infer alia, to an article on Mr. Sykes’s Bill for the protection of sea-birds, with which I agreed until I reached the following statement :—“ It has been calcuhted that a gull on the wing will devour from sixty to seventy dragon- flies a minute, and each one of these might otherwise deposit larva sufficient to destroy before fruition a handful of corn.” Turning to my fellow-traveller, who had expressed his satisfaction with your March number, I said, “ What do you think of that?” “Very strange, is it not?’’ wasthe reply. ‘“ More strange, if true,” said I, “for, leaving ont the blunder of larva for larve, how could creatures which spend the egg, larval, and pupal state in water possibly devour a handful of wheat, cither before or after fruition? Besides, who has calculated the number of possible dragon-fiies devoured per minute by a gull on the wing ?” See the mischief done by one who, ignorant of natural history, at- tempts to teach, through the public press, a lesson on dragon-flies. Enough, we would have thought, for them to bear the unenviable title of “ horse- stingers,” and to be held in dread, as they are in this country, because their “sting is wus nor that of ten harnets,”’ without the equally false accusation of destroying grain being laid at their door. In his semi-knowledge, the writer has mixed up some form of tipule, perhaps the Hessian fly, and then, taking the dragon-fly for his text, has cast a slur upon a friend, not a foe, to the farmer. Writers of this stamp prove the need of science schools and the utility of such publications as Screncr-Gossie to correct, or at least clear up, such mysteries as the “ chignon disease,” genuine “ mosquitoes,” and “humming- birds” in England, and the discovery (?) of snow erystals in 1869.—Z. W. W., Brighton. FUNGIA PATELLARIA.— When searching for fossils in a carboniferous limestone quarry a few days since, I found a mushroom coral, or what I believe to be one. It is about one inch diameter, and in good condition. This being the first coral of the kind I have found in the limestone, I should be glad to know if this variety of coral is common to it.—Z. R. Danpy-tone-tees.—If “S. B. J. 8.” will look out next September, he will prcbably find the host whose feckless” antics so surprised him to consist chiefly of the female tipule parting with their eggs, Some years ago I saw such a host, but they were ranging along over a grass field in short flights, going all with the wind. Each insect after seeming to rest for a few seconds would be off again a yard or two, then another halt, and so on, Catching some of them I found they were females, and that they were discharging eggs at intervals corresponding with their short flights. The action ssemed involuntary, as it continued even when the insect was held—the black polished eggs being one byone brought to the end of the ovipositor, and, by compression of its divisions, thrown out with a sudden snap, just as the segments of the carpel of the pansy jerk out, by contracting upon them, the smooth. polished seeds. —H. B. Biden. HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 95 Srrrorpis.—If your correspondent’s small spiral shells found on the casts of fossil ferns be air- breathing gasteropods, they are not the first that have been found. I have had a specimen of fern in my cabinet for two or three years on which are a number of these Spirorbis (a name which I see no reason to alter). Mr. J. W. Salter, W.G.S., makes mention of them in the Geologist of 1861. At p. 181 he says :—“ Attached to the plants that lie among, above, and beneath the shell-beds, is found abundantly a little sea-worm, or, rather, the spiral case of a sea-worm (Spirorbis), which is well known now upon sea-wrack and kelp, as it was upon floating leaves and plant-stems in the coal period. It is called Spirorbis carbonarius, from its habita- tion in the {eoal.” Of the marine origin of this little shell I feel no doubt. In the shale in which my specimen was found are vast quantities of fish remains of several species, and the same species of fish are found (but in another seam of coal) asso- ciated with the Nautilus, Goniatite, Orthoceratite, Avacula-pecten, &e. &e., which are all recognized as marine shells, Mr. Salter makes mention of land- snails found by Professor Dawson and C. Lyell in Nova Scotia; but they were very different from your correspondent’s.—Johu Butterworth. A Geotocicat Puzzie.—The late storm made a clean sweep of the beach at Ready-Money Cove, Fowey, disclosing the singular triune formation of its structure—the lower stratum being blue clay; the next an alluvial marly deposit, about a foot thick, on which once grew a green coppice wood ; and over that another stratum of blue clay—the three layers belonging to various periods, the middle, or vegetation streak, a mosaic of roots, stems, and branches, being totally different from the epochs which produced the upper and under od the whole being under water at high tide.— A Sanp Qupry.—When at the Sussex coast, in the autumn of 1866, I observed a curious appearance in the sand, which I am quite at a loss to explain. On turning up the sand, though it might be only to the depth of an inch or two, it appeared of a decided pink colour, while the water shah flowed into the hole exhibited the same hue, and in even a more marked degree. The mere impression of one’s foot on the sand produced the red appearance, though where the sand was untouched it was quite of the usual colour. Could this have been due to 7 e igaaae of any microscopic vegetable >—D. A. Scott. Mote Cricxrr.—lIf your correspondent “ E. M.” will refer to the second volume of Kirby & Spence’s “Entomology,” or the cheap edition of the intro- duction, published by Longmans, in one volume, he will find in the twenty-fifth letter (“On Luminous Insects ”’) the only authority I believe there is for supposing that the mole cricket {is luminous. The writer of the letter there says :—‘ A learned friend (Dr. Sutton, of Norwich) has informed me that when he was curate of Ickledon, Cambridgeshire, in 1780, a farmer of that place, of the name of Simpringham, brought to him a mole cricket (Gryllotalpa vut- gavis), and told him that one of his people seeing a jack-o’-lantern, pursued it and knocked it down, when it proved to be this insect, and the identical specimen shown to him.” The anecdote forms the text of a somewhat fantastic story in the third series of “‘ Bpisodes of Insect Life,” in which the mole cricket is made to perform the part of jack- o’-lantern.—ZH. I’. H. iy 96 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Aprin 1, 1869, NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. E. M. H.—The zoophyte is Salicornaria farciminoides. The fungus is Illosporium carneum, Shall be glad of further specimens. Capt. N.—The specimen sent is doubtless a shore-washed polyzoarium of Cellepora pumicosa, Johnst. Br. Zooph. i, 295, pl. lii. Busk. Marine Polyzoa, 86, pl. cx. The other object could not be found.—P. H. G. E. T. D.—The Butterbur and Coltsfoot are early flowering plants, and this season is no guide. L. F. R.--Why not try thin paper (hand paper or tissue) and then pack in cotton wool ? T. W.—We do not remember to have seen a portable, cheap, and satisfactory manual such as you require. F, M. G.—Enough of ‘* Lamperns.”’ J.P. G—Has no ground of complaint against Mr. Hep- worth for plagiarism, he simply illustrated a well known law. Merz.—A note with this heading and no signature has gone into the paper basket. E. M.—No insinuation was intended that your seed was any other than that called Eschscholézia trnuifolia ; the question raised was one of botanical consanguinity. J. ¥. D.—Your primrose was an example of synanthy or union of two fiowers, A la Siamese twins.—W. T. M. J.M. P.—Geranium seeds coil up in the same manner. J. F. R.—Another instance of Siamese twins. WwW. W., S. A. B., R. S.—Will correspondents kindly remember our request, and write on one side of the paper only? W. W.—Galinsoga parviflora is a South American plant, belonging to the Composite, M.—It has been done often and well. J, M. Martindale, Staveley, Kendal, desires the address of Miss Gore, lately resident at (place illegible) Cornwall. Also he states that the list of lichens desired by Rev. J. M. Crombie is ready, and wishes to know where it can be sent. G. C, will find all he requires of references in Bate & West- wood’s “Sessile Eyed Crustacea,’’? Vol. i., p. 16, under Talitrus loeusta. G. F, P.—Apply to Dr. Wallace, Colchester, Essex. 5S. M. P.—We have examined the original note, and find the writing to resemble ‘‘ Garrett’? more than ‘ Yarrell.”’ If contributors will not endeavour to write names and techni- calities plainly and legibly they have no cause to blame the printer. W. P.—Are you simple enough to believe the facts (?) as you state them ? X. Y. Z.—Enaquirer.—Notwithstanding our oft repeated notices, correspondents continue to send queries, &c., with- out their name and address. Of course we persist in con- demning them to the paper basket unanswered. J, F.—1. Asplenium ina young state. 2. Adiantum formo- sum. 3. Too young to decide. 4. Selaginella martensii. 5. Pleris serrulata. 6. Pteris cretica. 7. Pteris scaberula. Y. D.—The copyright of a magazine or journal is vested in the Proprietors. Original communications published in such magazine form a portion of the copyright, and the proprietors can appeal to the law for protection from piracy. A Pisce or CoAat.—We have not space to devote to a continuation of this controversy. L.S.—Florets of the disk assume the character of ray florets. Stamens often suppressed. W. F.—Professor Rymer Jones’s General Outline of the Animal Kingdom, #1. 11s. 6d. (Van Voorst, 1855.) ** The Animal Creation,” by the same author (Soc. P. C. K., 1865), 7s. 6d. F. K. D.—See Screxce-Gassipr for 1866, pp. 22 and 282. C. A. C.—4, Polypodium vulgare. 5 and 6. Seedlings of Scolopendrium vulgare, The rest being seedling, barren fronds, we shall not attempt to name. B,—The correspondent who contributed botanical papers to Scrence-Gossiv under this signature was Mr. James Britten of High Wycombe, who now signs his communications in full. Paper on ‘‘ Cranes’-bills ? promised for the May or June num- ber. W. E.—1. Dicraneilla heteromalla, 2. Hypnum tenellum— Rh, B. J.C. D.—1. Hypnum cupressiforme. 2. H, denticulatum. 3. Dicranella heteromalla, 4. Thuidium tamariscinum— R.B. T. W.—1. Thamnium alopecurum. 2. Homalia complanata, R,B. H. F. Parsons.—1. Didymodon cylindricus. 2. Trichosto. mum crispulum. 3. Plagiothecium sylvaticum. 4. Tortula sinuosa. 5. Lrichostomum tophaceum. 6. Bryum pseudotri- quetrum. A farther supply of No. 4 and No. 1, with ripe fruit, is requested.—R. B. EXCHANGES. BurrerrLy AND Morn Eces, wanted for a consideration. —E. Hinton, 42, Grafton Road, Hqlloway. SuExp’s Kipyey, well injected with carmine (unmounted), for sections of apple tree, tamboo, or scales of Podura,—M, D. B., Beauchamp House, Leamington. Heiix LAMELLATA.—A few will be given for living speci- mens of Limnea stagnalis, auricularia, glabra, glutinosa, Planorbis, Assiminea, Bythinia, Puludina, Neritina, Dreissena, or Cyclas.—¥. B. W., 3. Albert Place, Perth. DraromaAcrous EArtus.—Diatoms, Foraminifera, &c., send lists of duplicates to R. T. Andrews, Castle Street, Hertford. Britisn PxLants, for fossils from any formation.—James Cracknell, 1, Paul’s Cottages, Chiselhurst, Kent. Bririsu Leriportsra for fossils or foreign shells.—S, §., Post Office, Faversham. Meuiraa Cinxia, larve this month, pup in May, for ova, larva, or pupa of any other species.—W. Jordan, Binstead, Ryde, Isle of Wight. LeriporrTerA during the season, in exchange for British Bird’s Egg ‘W. Jordan, Binstead, Ryde, Isle of Wight. PARASITES FROM GoLD PHEASANT.—Send stamped and directed envelope to T. E. Gunn, 21, Regent Street, St. Giles Road, Norwich. POLLEN oF Pinus PINASTER from Portugal.—Send stamped and directed envelope to * Oporto,’’ care of the Editor of Screncre-GossiP, 192, Piccadilly. . DkEDGES.—Two small dredges offered for British Birds’ Eggs or land and fresh-water shells.— R. H. Smith, 19, Jerrard Street, Halifax, BOOKS RECEIVED. “Land and Water.’ Nos. 162, 163, 164, 165. “Scientific Opinion.” Nos. 17,18. London: Wyman & pons. “Memoir of the Life and Labours of the Rev. Jeremiah Horrox, Curate of Hoole, near Preston, to which is appended a Translation of his celebrated Discourse upon the Transit of Venus across the Sun.”’ By the Rey. A. Blount Whatton, B.A., LL.B. London: W. Macintosh. “Vital Law.’? London: Longmans & Co. ‘‘The Gardener’s Magazine.” Part XXXIX. March, 1869. London: E. W. Allen. _‘““The Dental Register.” Vol. XXII. No. 12. Dee. 1868. ae XXUJ. No.1. Jan. 1869. Cincinnati: Wrightson’ & “‘ Quarterly Journal of the Folkestone Natural History Society.” No. 2. March, 1869, “The Life of the Trichina *” By Rudolph Virchow, M.D. Translated by R. K. Browne, M.D. . “American Bee Journal.” Vol. IV. No. 9. March, 1869. Washington, N.S. “The Monthly Microscopical Journal.’? No. 3, March 1869. London: R. Hardwicke. _The American Naturalist. Vol. Il. No, 12. Feb. 1869- Vol. III. No.1. March, 1869. Salem: Peabody Academy of Science. “‘ The Origin of the Seasons, considered from a Geological point of View.” By Samuel Mossman. 472 pp. sm. 8vo. London : W. Blackwood & Sons. ._ |A Guide to the Study of Insects, and a Treatise on those injurious and beneficial to Crops.?? By A, §. Packard, Jun., M.D. With upwards of five hundred engravings. Parts 1. to V. Sept., 1868 to Jan., 1869. Salem: Press of the Essex Institute. “The Canadian Entomologist.” Published by the Ento- mological Society of Canada, Vol. I., Nos. ] to 6, August, 1868, to January, 1869. Credit, Ontario, Canada. COMMUNICATIONS Receivep.—H. W. L. T.— W. C.—A. H. —E. E. N. (all over).—M. B. D.—J. 8S. (thanks).—H. R.— W.W. S.—F. M. G.—W, I. L—Ww. C.—E. T. D.—W. W.— Ac B—L. F.R.—T. W.—F, B. W.—J. B—=M. DBR daha —E. H.—T. W.—H. C. R.—J. S. T.—H.H. O. F.—W. H.D.— H. E.W.—H. B. B.—E. A. N.—T. W.—R. Y. G.—M.—D.H.S. —F, W.—O. E.D.—S. A. B.—L. H. F.—J.A. M.—J. RS C.— G. S.—W. E. H.—J, W. M.—H. F. P.—J, B.—E. H.—J/— J. E. H.—F. W.—Y. D.—W. B. L.—R. E. O.—T. R.— J.C. De —H. A.—S. A. 8.—G. F. P.—J. C.—H, W.—J. F.—W. B— W. E.—L, S—R. McL.—E. M. H.-A, B. C.—R. Ts A —W. H. H.—J. B. B.—R. H—G. S. (Oporto).—A, L.— S. M. P.—G. B.—J. E. M.—R. M. M.—F. T.—C, K.—S. S.— McA. O.—R. H. S.—E. J. S. C.—D. M.—A. A.—C. A. Co —W. P.—C. A.—L. G. M.—T. E, G.—W. J. —e = er eee May 1, 1869,] HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 97 THE WHEEL ANIMALCULE. OME years ago I pur- chased an eighteen- inch propagating glass, and, taking time prepare the best ma- ar are terials for furnishing * and stocking it (with the parti- culars of which I will not trou- have any special bearing on the set it to work. Jor several years all went on in the usual jogtrot way—weeds over luxu- riant, especially the willow moss successfully quarrelled with all = entomostraca, and vorticella, and, so far, I think you have all. for my trouble. One fine April morning, having an hour between breakfast and ‘bus,” I took the | shade from the microscope, and, there being no better object at hand, put a scurfy-looking leaf of Anacharis in the live-box under an inch and a half objective, when, to my utter astonishment and un- Stephenoceros Kichhornii and three of Floscularia ornata—prizes I had tried for in vain for years past. Another and another leaf I examined with equal success: the water, or rather the plants, swarmed with them. The hour too soon gone, I left them, but only to renew their acquaintance during that and many subsequent evenings. I soon discovered that they were perfect giants of their race. The only published drawings I have seen that did justice to them are those, of Mr. P. H. Gosse, in the first two numbers of the Popular Science Review ; the portraits of all others seem to me to have been taken from half-starved or dead speci- No. 53. to think well over and | But I was to receive a better reward | ble you, as I do not think they | present subject), I eventually | (Fontinalis antipyretica), which | others; snails fat and prolific; | and newts as happy as their | meditative natures will permit; | add. a few common diatoms, mens, from many of which it is really difficult to recognize the living animals. During the summer and autumn they continued in equal abundance, the Stephenoceros, however, keeping the lead. Almost as suddenly as they came they disappeared, and left behind them, on almost everything in the aquarium, innumerable quantities of their winter eggs, statoblasts. The winter past, indoor residence and spring sunshine warmed these into activity, and, if possible, I think there were more this second than the first. season ; but the order of precedence was changed, and the late opposition Floscularia had it by a large majority. Amongst these now appeared, sparingly, another candidate for favour, the curious little Melicerta ringens, which, to make the story short, the next or third year, drove out with the exception of a solitary individual here and there, the other two. How about the struggle for existence that Mr. Darwin. tells us about? © It must have been sharp; short; and decisive in this case. I have said thus much on these three tube-bear- ing Rotifers, as they were to me the most interest- ing; but there were several of the free-swimming species in equal abundance and size, and on submit- ting a bottle of the contents of my tank to a gentle- man who had made this class of objects his study, he pointed out several specimens which he called the Yellow Salpx, but did not give the scientific name, and I omitted to take any notes or drawings of it. bounded delight, I counted eight specimens of the | It was very like Salpina mucronata as figured in Prichard’s “ Infusoria,” and which he said he had only seen once, and that sparingly, during the pre- vious twelve years. But it must not be supposed that wheel animal- cules were the only inhabitants of my aquarium. On referring to my drawings, I find large trees of Vorticellina, of the genus Carchesium, others livmg in single blessedness, and producing their budding progeny in the most grotesque ways imaginable. There were plenty of well-to-do-looking Stextors, several of the tube animalcules, one fellow especially who was a general favourite (Vaginicola crystallina). Put into a small zoophyte trough, he would expand F 98 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. _—$} $$ {May 1, 1869, his double (dividing) head, set his wheels in motion, to the delight of the observer, when suddenly he would stop them, pause, as if listening to the ap- proval, shake his heads in a most ludicrous manner, then suddenly disappear within his castle to return after a time and repeat the performance. My drawings further record the presence of Actinophrys sol, Amebe, the slow-stepping water-bear, some of the less common diatoms clinging to the rock- work and weeds, two or three species of desmids, and plenty of the Alex with their moving spores. I witnessed numberless cases of their singular re- production, some no doubt normal, and sufficiently curious, others so remarkable that it would have been strange indeed if a malformation, or, as some would say, a variety, had not been the result. All the last-described forms were as abnormally (?) large as the Rotifers, and it really required more than a hand-magnifier to see them to perfection. I wish it to be understood that the vegetable and lower forms of animal life retained a uniform character during the three years. Not so the Rotatoria. A different species had the ascendency each year—a remarkable fact for which I cannot satisfactorily account: it was certainly not due to any alteration in the management of the aquarium. Once and again I supplied my friends with weed and water, and I started several juvenile aquaria myself, with the hope of being better able to watch the habits of my live stock; but they would not take kindly to their new homes, and generally vacated within the fortnight. At the end of the third year these beautiful creatures vanished, “like the baseless fabric of a vision,’ and have never since returned. I often wondered why they re- mained so long, their frailty being such that only the wisdom of an Almighty Creator could adjust means to an end so delicate as to insure their preservation. It seems to me that the following questions are | suggested by the facts I have related ; and that on the correct answers to these questions will depend the success of any one who tries to produce a like | result :— 1. How did the organisms described get into the aquarium, previously barren of anything of the kind, and live and propagate for so lengthened a period ? 2. What was the cause of their increasing in such unaccountable numbers, in a space so com- paratively small; and how came they so wiusually large in size ? 3. Where isto be found the reason for one species of the Rotatoria being more abundant one year than another ? I will give my answers to the two first of these questions. They may not be correct; but may help others to find the true ones. As to No. 3, I fail to make a rational guess. \ 1. It is my custom to throw all suitable gather ings from the various localities I visit, when I have otherwise done with them, into my aquarium, and let the weed remain for a week or so, and then remove it. A collection made on a charmingly fine- early spring day of the first of the three years, from a pool half covered with Ranunculus aquatilis in bloom, was so treated. I could scarcely have failed. in detecting Rotifers on this weed had there been. any; but a few of their statoblasts would easily escape notice. I believe, therefore, that I got them in this gathering, especially as I noticed that the creatures were far more plentiful on the Ranun-- culus than on other weeds. But others, and myself subsequently, have knowingly put the tube-bearing Rotifera into their tanks only to see them die out in» a week or two; why, then, did those under notice: become acclimatized and prosper? Because the statoblasts, and not the adult animals, were used ; and those were gathered so early in the year that the change did not affect them. I have two factsin support of this—the failure in the attempt to stock either my friends’ or my own tanks with the adult animals with the unusually fine and healthy spe- cimens at my command; and the statement of a correspondent in the “ Annals of Natural History,” — some years after I had formed this opinion, to the effect that he never failed to stock his aquaria with freshwater polyzoa, if he obtained for that purpose the statoblasts on some fine winter’s day,. or early in the spring, but could not succeed with the mature animals. 2. At the time when our Rotifera and their P retinue made their appearance, I was watching the- habits of certain freshwater fish, and paid great attention to their commissariat department, taking care that they had plenty to eat. This consisted, chiefly, of white of ege and vermicelli soaked in water. Now, I believe in the cloud of minute~ particles given off by the latter, and. fragments. from the eggs, my visitors found a bountiful and suitable table, and they were content. I ceased to. keep the fish in the summer of the third year, and’ the vermicelli, &c., was discontinued: you already know that it was in that year the animal life entirely died out. It now only required the application of the general law of abundance or scarcity of the necessary conditions of life to under- stand why they increased so rapidly, and were such . model specimens of their kind, and as suddenly: disappeared. No arguments are needed to prove how much» pleasure I had, or how much knowledge I gained, . during the three years’ stay of my lowly friends. That you may not forget it, I again repeat, that what has been done may be done again, Go ands try, and let us know the result, W. HH. Hatt. South Hackney. May 1, 1869.] IMPERFECTLY DEVELOPED PLANTS, ) "ppteeaeap te of monstrous plants have been sent to me from time to time during the past year and a half, with arequest that I would describe them in the pages of Scrence-Gossir; and as the list is now becoming rather a long one, I will fulfil my promises, and put them together in the form of a paper. Some of the examples sent, and others which I have found myself, are very interesting additions to those I have already described, as they illustrate one or two new facts; though, no doubt, in many monstrous flowers there is a great similarity, as in most cases they chiefly show that there is a tendency in complex parts to revert to more simple ones, and for all organs to revert to leaves; the difference being, in fact, in the amount of change that has taken place. The first example is a single Foxglove-flower, which was sent to me from High Wycombe in June, 1867 ; it is represented in figures 58 and 59. The calyx consisted of five sepals, which were some- what larger and more leaflike than usual. The corolla was split open (naturally), and a bunch of flower-buds and bracts took the place of the ovary. Some of these bracts were coloured like petals. In fig. 60 all the parts which appeared to be made out of the ovary are removed. The flower then was found to contain only two stamens, but the other two scemed to have been converted into flower- buds. There was such a confusion of buds, leaves, and petals, that I made an ideal section (fig. 61), which will explain the real structure of this curious anomaly more clearly. HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. * WSF The flower-buds which took the place of ovules were perfect in every respect, containing corolla, four stamens, and a pistil, ‘The one flower had, in fact, become a complete spike, or a Foxglove plant in miniature, Fig. 59. The structure of this flower leads to the conch: sion that ovules are altered duds in ihe_axils of suppressed leaves; and in support of this view we have some curious instances where the ‘alteration ¥F2 ——- ‘) 1 i , | =? 100 - HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1869. always takes place partially, not in a flower, but in a branch, as in the little bulbs found in the axils of the leaves of Cardamine bulbifera and Lilium bulbi- Jerum, which I referred to in a former paper when | ; | One was tripartite (a common occurrence), but speaking of viviparous plants. These little bulbs appear to be an attempt at the formation of seed without the agency of flowers; or, to speak more correctly, perhaps, they are the first process in the formation of seeds from buds. Fig. 61. A, A. The calyx. B. The corolla. C,C. The stamens. D, D. Carpellary leaves, which, under ordinary circum- stances, would have jcined together to form the ovary. E. The placenta (to which seeds are usually attached) ex- tended and found to be a continuation of the flower- stalk, and supporting bracts (F), in the axils of which are flower-buds (G). Fig. 62 represents a Peach-flower, also sent to me from High Wycombe, by Mr. Britten, in March, 1868. In this specimen, as in so many others, all the parts of the flower were converted into leaves, wholly or partially; but there was a very curious fact in addition to this; namely, that whilst the greater number of leaves were evidently those of a peach, there were two which exactly resembled the leaves of an apricot: these will be observed in the drawing. Mr. Darwin, in his recent work on * Animals and Plants under Domestication,’ gives numerous instances of bud variation, where peach- trees produced occasional branches of apricot, and vice versé ; also where single fruits of peach, apricot, or plum, were produced amongst others of a different kind ; and some examples where the sport only extended to Aalf a fruit or half a flower. These strange anomalies point, without a doubt, to a common parentage of ,the different kinds, and I think this peach-flower was a case similar to those described by Mr. Darwin. In May last I found a flower of the small Periwinkle, in which one tooth of the calyx had become a petal. Soon afterwards I received two flowers of Fuchsia which were very interesting. instead of there being three petals, there were only two, the other being stalked, with the limb reduced to the smallest possible size, and attached to it a vudely-formed anther, The other flower was Fig. 62. Peach Flower, tetramerous, but three of its four petals were, in like manner, partially converted into stamens. ‘The new anthers were evidently formed by the edges of the petals being rolled inwards. In most monstrous flowers, as I have said, complex organs revert to simpler ones, internal organs to external organs, and the fact of flowers being altered leaf-buds is inferred vather than proved thereby; but in these two very uncommon examples we have more direct CO evidence, for we find stamens actually being formed — from the much more simple petals in the Fuchsia, and coloured petals from the green calyx in the Periwinkle. During the past autumn, Mr. Britten and I found near Llyn Gwynant,in North Wales, a very re- markable and highly interesting example of Honey- May 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 101 suckle, which is depicted in fig. 63. In a xormal state, the flowers are produced in whorls, but the whorls are sessile one upon another, so as to form a sort of flat head or coronet. Each floret is placed within ¢wo fleshy bracts, which are thickened as the fruit ripens, and become, like the fruit, juicy and of HN ared colour. The florets have no stalks. A refer- ence to the drawing will show how greatly this curious’specimen differed from an ordinary Honey- suckle blossom. The flower-head was lengthened into a rather elegant spray, because the whorls of florets (fig. 64) were separated from each other by intervening portions of stem. The bracts were thinner, larger, and more leaf-like than they usually | are, and instead of being in pairs, were in fours, forming what appeared at first sight to be a four- partite calyx. From within these four bracts pro- ceeded generally two florets, on stalks half an inch in length, the florets of a yellowish-green colour, considerably shortened, and very monstrous in form, | their internal organs being changed into petals. In | one instance (fig. 65), instead of the stamens and pistil being simply converted into petals, there were two stalks produced from the centre of the flower, | each bearing a bud enclosed in bracts like those below the flowers. It is rather remarkable that this flower, so very abnormal in form and colour, had lost very little, if any, of its perfume. We saw several other examples, but none so perfect, or rather imperfect, as this one. The common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) is very prone to produce small abortive flower-heads in the autumn—perhaps always. When this is the case, the upper leaves of the plant become much more developed. We found several examples during our ramble in Wales; some (fig. 66) in which the flower-heads were reduced to a few small brown scales ; but the energy of the plant had ex- i i | ase LNEMATT. ABAD ote. 102 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. aa [May 1, 1869, pended itself in forming a bunch of leaves. Others were found which had flowers of the usual size; but there was a decided tendency to form numerous leaves under them. Mr. Britten tells me that Cen- taurea scabiosa also frequently produces smali abortive flower-heads at all times of the year. Fig. 66. Knapweed. I have seen a great many plants of the double Garden Feverfew (Pyrethrum Parthenium) pro- ducing monstrous flowers during the last autumn ; some, where the bracts of the universal calyx were a good deal enlarged; others, where small leaves were mixed up with the florets; and several in which the bracts formed a complete rosette of pin- natifid leaves under the flower. I think that the past season was favourable to abnormal develop- ment in compound flowers, for I observed several daisies in which the same kind of growth had taken place. Mr. Britten sent me last summer some very curious specimens of Poppy (Papaver Rheas), in which the calyx was persistent, and in which bracts gradually merged into sepals. Some of them had a calyx of three leaves, like that of P. orientale, the great scarlet perennial Poppy of old-fashioned gardens. The specimens came to me so much the worse for their long journey by post, that I could not make a satisfactory drawing of them. A poppy, apparently very similar, was described by Mr. Britten in the first volume of Scrence-Gosste, p. 228. It would he interesting to know whether these specimens. and the one he described were gathered in the same place; for if they were, the form has probably been perpetuated from seed, Perhaps Mr. Britten will kindly inform us. Mr. Charles Bailey described to me a very re- markable white Foxglove that he had lately seen. The upper half of the flower-stem was arrested in its growth, so that the flowers formed a dense head. Each flower was split on the upper side, and was. opened out into a flat petal, on the face of which were the four stamens. The flowers were disposed. with such regularity that they formed a beautiful rosette, resembling a double Camellia; whilst the: structure of this curious monstrosity was almost. exactly the same as we see in an ordinary flower of the order Composite, and might serve very well to: illustrate the way in which a compound flower is formed. Mr. Grindon showed me, last autumn, some flowers of the wild Guelder Rose (Viburnum Opulus) which he had gathered, in which two little green leaves grew from the centre of each of the darren florets, like those usually seen in the centre of the flowers of double-blossomed Cherry. In the second volume of Scrence-Gossir, p. 9, 1 mentioned that these capillary leaflets in the double-blossomed Cherry often enclosed a second set of petals. ‘This. was observed in a very marked degree last spring, when the interior flowers were the rule rather than the exception, and where, in many cases, they opened out completely, and formed new flowers. after the petals of the exterior ones were faded and were dropping off. Mr. Arthur B. Cole has kindly placed at my service some notes and drawings of very remarkable deformities that he has met with in various species. of Orchis. These monstrosities are especially inter- esting as they have a bearing upon, and help to elucidate, the very obscure and paradoxical mor- phology of that order of plants, The usual strue- ture of an orchis-flower should first be understood. by a reference to thé following diagram (fig. 67). cos PO oP c @ \ spo. rf, $s Fig. 67. There are three sepals, S; two petals, P; and a third petal which differs greatly in appearance in different species, and is called the Zabellum, or lip, L. In the centre is a column, C, consisting of stamens and pistil welded together, as it were, and May 1, 1869.] HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 103 supporting a stigma and a two-celled anther. In Cypripedium there are two anthers. Figures 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, and 74 are plans and drawings of various monstrous forms. The first OC @@e © Nae Fig. 72. Diagrams of Cephalanthera grandiflora. five are from flowers of Cephalanthera grandiflora. No. |73 is from Orchis purpurea, and No. 74 from Gymnadenia conopsea. The same signs are used to represent the different parts as in the diagram illustrating the zormal condition of the flower. In fig. 68 there are two labellums; in fig. 69 there are three, which are joined together at the base. Fig. 70 has three labellums and a double column. Fig. 71 has four sepals and two labellums. Fig. 72 isa very curious example ; it has four sepals, two label- lums, and a double column with two perfect anthers ; but stranger still, it has, springing from the base of the column, an ordinary filament and two- celled anther containing pollen. In certain species of Orchises there are processes attached to the base of the labellum, which Dr. Robert Brown long ago considered might be the rudiments of suppressed stamens. Dr.. Lindley remarked, in reference to this theory, that though extremely probable, it had not yet received confirmation; but that it would be Fig. 74. Gymnadenia conopsea. conclusively established if the crests of the lip were detected bearing pollen, a circumstance that has not yet been observed.” ‘The discovery, there- fore, of a free stamen springing from the axis of the column and labellum is of considerable interest. In fig. 73 there are three labellums and three anthers, the two side ones being quite perfect, and the centre one without pollen proper. In fig. 74 the reverse is found; for though there are three anthers, the centre one alone is perfect, the two side ones being only one-celled, and containing no pollen. I have notes and drawings of several other monstrosities; of primroses with supernumerary petals, or-with one flower inside another ; of roses extended into leafy branches; and others that are both curious and interesting, but which are similar to some I have before described ; and as my paper, too, has grown to a considerable length, I will only select two more examples which are different from the others: these are two specimens of the common garden Nasturtium (Zrop@olum majus) which I gathered in 1866. One of them differed from the usual form in having two spurs; in the other the spur had completely disappeared, and the flower had become regular in every respect. The calyx consisted of five egual lanceolate segments, spreading open, and slightly united at their bases ; si ~ 104 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1869. the corolla was of five egual nearly orbicular petals, alternate with the sepals, and each with a long claw like the {three lower petals of an. ordinary nas- turtium-flower. Stamens eight, which, like the petals, were hypogynous. Pistil unchanged, and having three ovaries. Fig. 75 is a drawing of this very beautiful example of peloria growth. There is no apparent distinction between this Fig. 75. Tropeolum mojus. abnormal form and the genus Limnanthes (pretty yellow and white annuals resembling Nemophila), except in the number of ovaries; and the inference is that Limnanthes is so very nearly related to- Tropolum, that possibly the sub-order Limnan- thacew, of the order Tropxolaces, is unnecessary, Lindley, in his “ Vegetable Kingdom,” says that the chief difficulty in placing Limnanthes with Tropso- lum is that the former has perigynous, the latter hypogynous stamens. I have, however, carefully examined both, and I must ‘say I can find no difference between them. A double form of nasturtium-flower is sometimes seen, and here also the spur disappears. The subject of abnormal development in plants is ove in which I take so much interest, that I will 4 conclude my paper with a request to my readers, that they will kindly send to me specimens of — monstrosities, or of sports, or of any forms of plants that are apparently deviating from the original stock, or descriptions of any such. If they will take the trouble to do this for me when they have opportunities, I need scarcely add that I shall be heartily obliged to them. Rozert Hotnanp. A NAMELESS CRUSTACEAN, By Masor Hotzanp, R.M.L.1. : ERE is another ocean-wanderer, a captive of the towing-net, a pelagic crustacean of the sessile-eyed section of the order Amphipoda. Can any one tell us anything about the birth and parent- | age of this deep-sea stranger? I have searched the catalogues of Bate & Westwood, Latreille, Milne Edwards, Risso, Herbst, and others, in vain for any trace of his family or relations. I can find nothing that coincides with him. It would save a great deal of trouble to put him down as a variety of Phronima, and at first sight one feels tempted to do so, for on a cursory inspec- tion he bears a strong general resemblance to the oradle-carrier, about whom we have lately gossiped; one is at first inclined to fancy that he may be the male of that species; he is of more warlike and masculine aspect and generally of a stronger build, and is altogether more martial in his demeanour than the merry waltzing flirt we have previously dealt with ; but beyond doubt it would be a down- right blunder to affiliate him to her house and lineage. Latreille, who founded the genus Phronima, based it upon certain clearly defined, well-inarked charac- teristics, which our “subject” does not possess; and as we may not do violence to the founder’s generic distinctions, this anonymous Amphipod must remain “ unattached” for the present, a macrourous “supernumerary ” on the books of the crustacea. Can this be a new genus altogether? I should hardly have ventured even to hint at the possibility, but others far more competent to offer an opinion than myself have declared the creature to be an unknown stranger, nameless and undescribed. At p.75 of the preceding number of SctencE- Gosstp, we have a sketch from life and nature of Phronina sedentaria, bearing the nidamental casket containing her young, with as lengthy a description as space would allow, of the construction of those portions of her economy which present the charac- teristics of the genus of which she may be regarded . as the type; it will therefore suffice if in this present instance I confine myself to noticing the particulars in which the nameless one differs from her. The May 1, 1869.) HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 105 former does not wear a tub over his head and shoulders, hence we get a better view of him than we got of the nursing mother previously depicted. For the sake of-convenience, and to avoid the crowding and confusion which result from the un- necessary repetition of similar details, the limbs and appendages of the right side ov/y have been intro- duced into this illustration. Fig. 76, The Nameless Crustacean, x 5. The head is shorter, broader, and thicket, the eyes. and mouth precisely resemble those of P. sedentaria, but the very striking differences in the number, construction, and position of the antenne are so great that the general appearance of the animal is quite changed by them. Instead of “two minute bi-jointed antenne with short hairs on the terminal joint,” we have two pairs of long stout seven-jointed antennal organs, which at once place our anonyma outside the pale of Phronima as defined and limited by Latreille. The superior antenne arise immediately above and in front of the lateral eyes; they are remurkably strong and full, the second joint being very largely developed, and thickly set with strong stiff sete, which give it a brushlike appearance. This second joint is surmounted by a tapering five-jointed fila- ment devoid of hairs or sete; the entire length of each of these superior antennex, when fully extended, is equal to one-third of that of the whole body. Below and in front of the lateral eyes arise a pair of seven-jointed tapering non-setaceous antenne ; these inferior antenne are about three-fourths of the length of the superior pair. The maxillary limbs, the seven pairs of thoracic legs (excepting the fifth pair), the vesicular branchial sacs of the fourth, fifth, and sixth seg- ments of the thorax, and the three pairs of swim- merets of the three first segments of the abdo- men correspond with the analogous parts in the creature previously described ; but the third pair of legs are not “usually thrown forwards across the head,” nor are the seventh pair “commonly thrown back across the abdomen for the purpose of antago- nising the third pair.” Our new friend, as far as we know, does not carry his or her progeny in a bassinette, and Nature, who never does anything that is superfluous, has not given to these two pairs of his legs the same special directions given to those of P. sedentaria for the specific purposes pre- viously explained. The fifth pair differ essentially from their analogues in Phronima: instead of the stout cheliform claws composed of modifications of the two last joints, we have fanged (rather than chelate) “pinchers” re- motely resembling those of the Crangonide, but | three instead of two modified joints of the extre- mities enter into their composition, the antepenul. | timate being developed into a manus with the opposable portion so little produced that the penul- timate and the terminal forming the po/l/ex are flexed at right angles to the axis of the limb. We are much in want of information respecting pelagic creatures in general. How few competent naturalists have it in their power to “go down to the sea in ships,” and to “do business im great waters.” We are apt to speak of “the wonders of the deep” when we are really talking about the wonders of the shallows; the fact is that of the veritable deep we know next to nothing; our marine zoology has been largely dependent upon beach- combing. Naturalists are not often millionaires. I am not sure that science does not sometimes tend to “clothe a man with rags” if he is an earnest devotee at her shrine. Men with the necessary ability and know- ledge have not the means needful for hunting on the high seas; and of the comparatively small number whose profession or business carries them afloat, how very few care to attempt to add their mite to the sum total of human knowledge. Yachtsmen prefer smooth waters, with a snug anchorage safe under their lee, to the risks’ and discomforts of the wild mid-ocean; the towing-net, that great revealer of secrets, is almost an impossi- bility on board a man-of war, or a merchant ship speeding onwards to her far distant station or trad- ing port. At anything like a high rate of speed, away goes net and all, and at a very moderate pace, the “haul” gets washed through the meshes, or mashed and BERR (o 106 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1869, macerated into a pulp by the rush of water. Special cruising for the purpose seems to be the only thing that can answer. How much scientific wealth has been gained by a few hours’ deep-sea dredging by Dr. Carpenter in his recent trip in H.M.S. Lightning! Perhaps we may venture to hope that those who wield the mighty naval resources of our nation, may one day see fit to afford facilities for searching the surface as well as the bottom of the realm they rule on behalf of Britannia, Bury Cross, Gosport, A SUCTORIAL ANIMALCULE. F the many curious organisms belonging to the class Infusoria, none are more curious and interesting than the various forms of Acinete. They may in general terms be described as ameba-like masses of sarcode enclosed in a structureless, trans- parent integument, pyriform, ovoid, or spherical in shape, and furnished with rigid and elastic filaments or tentacles, which are retractile, and either acute or knobbed at the extremity; the body being at- tached by a stalk of variable length to some vege- table or animal substance. Acineta tuberosa is a commonly occurring form in brackish water. ‘To this species chiefly I shall con- fine my remarks. The specimens which came under my observation recently were in the broadest part only =, of an inch, and when magnified 350 diameters presented the appearance figured below. The organism is destitute of any mouth or similar orifice, .shows no ciliary action at any part, but possesses a pulsating vesicle. The body is filled more or less with bright colourless granules, and assumes various shapes within the transparent in- tegument. The filaments radiating from the angles are eapable of entire contraction, and in this state are quite invisible within the substance of the body; so that they are apparently mere expansions of sarcode, and not distinct organs. They extend frequently to double or treble the diameter of the body, and each filament at its extremity is of a convexo-conical form. They are perfectly rigid, but elastic, ten or eleven in number at each angle of the body, and are spread out inall directions, no two being of the same length. Attached by its thin dark stalk to a filament of eonferva or other substance, Acincta remains quietly and patiently awaiting prey, like a spider in its web, or like an actinia with its tentacles expanded. There is a slight movement occasionally, of the fila- ments, but for the most part they remain quite motionless. Any small animalcule wandering in their neighbourhood is sporting on dangerous ground, for so sure as ib comes into contact with the extremity of one of those delicate, almost in- visible filaments, so sure does adhesion take place, and it struggles in vain to escape. If strong and lively, it will pull Acineta on one side and bend the attaching filament in all directions; but Acineta will bring an additional tentacle or two to bear upon its obstreperous victim, and thus render escape impos- sible. During all this time Acineta exhibits no excitement, but quietly retains its grasp, and if it has been pulled awry by the captive, gradually re- adjusts itself to its original position. The ciliary action of the prey then grows gradually languid, and sooner or later, according to its degree of vigour Fig. 77. Acineta tuberosa. and vitality, entirely ceases. No attempt is made by the Acineta to draw the prey towards its body. He simply commences quietly to suck its life-juices by means of the hollow filaments which have effected attachment. This is of course a rather slow process with sucking tubes of such extreme tenuity, but it goes on surely if slowly. If observed after the lapse of some hours, it will be seen that Acineta has grown plumper, and that its prey has not only diminished in size but become a mere empty sac. When quite done with, attach- ment is broken, and the rejected. carcase is suffered to float away. This process of imbibing the juices of its prey occupies sometimes three or fowr days when the latter is unusually large. On one occasion I witnessed a Paramecium at least twice the bulk of the Acineta caught in its grasp. In two days the - May J, 1869.] . HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 107 Acineta had doubled in size and the Paramecium become little better than a shadow. That the juices of the prey pass into the body of the Acineta, there can be no doubt; but in con- sequence of the extreme fineness of the filaments in A. tuberosa, it is impossible to distinguish any ‘current in them, or the passage of any solid par- ticles. It is doubtful if anything but liquid matter passes through them. Acineta, though so quiet-a-looking organism, is in | reality a voracious animal, and its filaments are ‘always ready to seize prey. When animalcules abound in its neighbourhood, as many as five or six may be seen at one time in its tenacious grasp. It is among the smaller creatures chiefly that it finds its food. Strong and lively Colpodas, Keronias, and Stylonichas are generally too much for it. Their muscular force enables them to escape from its cadhesive touch; when they do feel it, however, they evince a remarkably lively sense of their danger, and Acineta is exposed toa good deal of shaking and disturbance on the occasion. Various forms of Acineta exist: figures of many of which are to be found in Pritchard’s “ History of Infusoria.” Of the life-history of these curious creatures very little is known. Attention has been paid to them by several distinguished naturalists : Ehrenberg, Stein, Cienkowsky, Claparéde, LLach- mann, and others. Professor Stein considers them to be a developmental phase of various species of Vorticellina; others regard them as distinct organ- isms, having witnessed the reproduction of similar creatures from germs produced by Acineta. ‘There is undoubtedly a field open here for further micro- scopic investigation, which is likely to repay the diligent observer. They are certainly found where species of Vorticellina exist, and my own observation leads me to the belief that there is a connection between the two organisms ; but only prolonged inquiry, extending over months, can probably settle the point. C. J. M. Frycatcurers’ Prerrers.—At a recent meeting of the Zoological Society, Mr. A. D. Bartlett, the well-known superintendent of the society’s gardens in the Regent’s Park, mentioned that under the nest of a pair of Flycatchers built in bis house in the gardens, he used to notice little pills upon the ground, being, as he expresses it, “the most beau- tiful blue pills he ever saw in his life.” On exami- nation he found that these little pills were pellets thrown up by the Flycatchers, while the metallic- blue appearance which they presented was caused by the remains of the outside cases of the bodies of blue-bottle flies on which the birds had been feeding —Quart. Mag. H. Wycombe N. H, Soc., April, 1869. | visit to our museum. THE PEEWIT, OR LAPWING (Vanellus cristatus). OST people have tasted Plovers’ eggs, or at least have heard of them, They are now in season, and may be obtained from any of the London poulterers for four shillings the dozen. “ Rather | dear,” you will say, when you can get four times the number of hen’s eggs for the same money. True, but Plovers do not lay in farmyards, nor in London mews; and if people will have such deli- cacies, they must pay a price proportionate to the difficulty of procuring them. After all, they do not always get what they pay for, since, from not know- ing a Plover’s egg when they see it, they frequently buy eggs of the Redshank, Reeve, Black-tailed Godwit, and even of the Black-headed Gull, instead of the genuine article. But what matter? They are all equally good, and “ where ignorance is bliss,” we have some authority for saying “’tis folly to be otherwise” / It is the fashion to have Plovers’ eggs in the season, and when boiled hard with the shells off, who is to say they are zot Plovers’ eggs ? We have often been amused with the observations of ‘our young lady friends who sometimes pay a On going to the egg cabinet with a laudable desire to know something of oology, one of the first remarksis “Haveyou got any Plovers’ eggs?” and on being shown a drawer full of Golden Plover, Lapwing, Dotterel, &c., they are fairly puzzled to say which are the eggs they had at supper the other night. This difficulty overcome, the next question is “ Which is the Plover that lays these eggs?” We have only to point to the pretty graceful Peewit, to elicit a chorus of praise in its favour. The long crest-feathers, glossy green back, black breast, and white underparts, relieved by the chestnut tail-coverts, combined with a certain pert- ness of expression, render it a very attractive bird. What pleasant associations are recalled as we gaze at it! The rough meadow where we first found the eggs, as a boy, arid watched with delight the wonderful evolutions of the parent birds, as with plaintive cry they wheeled and tumbled in the air before us. The oozy mud-flats, with the inter- secting creeks, down which we urged our punt in May and August after Curlew, Godwit, and Grey Plover ((the mud there was sometimes black with Peewits). The brown and purple moor-side, where we found the Peewit in the midst of Grouse, Curlew, Golden Plover, and other north-country friends. The quaking bog, where in winter we have shot now a Peewit, now a Snipe, and the next minute missed a Jack. The old pollard in the water meadow, where we used to wait at night for ducks, and on blank nights make up for a disappointment by bagging Peewits. Such are the scenes which it Pe e7 108 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1869. is one of the chief pleasures of the naturalist to recall when looking at a bird in his collection. The Peewit may be considered a resident species, for it may be found in some part or other of the country all the year round. ‘There is no doubt that great numbers move southwards at the ap- proach of winter; and the birds which we notice in the southern counties in the fall of the year, are probably visitors from more northern localities. locality which the birds have selected has been dis- covered, dozens of eggs may be picked up on a few acres, for Peewits are gregarious in their habits, and the nests are frequently only a few yards apart. The eggs, which are considerably pointed at the smaller end, seldom vary much in colour, being | olive-brown, spotted and splashed towards the larger end with black or dark umber. We have once or twice taken eggs of this species which were of a Fig. 78. Tur Larwine! Tn many parts of the country we have remarked that the same ground is annually resorted to by Peewits for the purpose of nesting; and hence we may conclude that the same birds return year by year, impelled by curious instinct, to the very spot where they have formerly reared their young. They pair towards the end of March, and early in April collect straws and dry grass, and form a slight nest in a depression of the ground. When the full com- plement of eggs is laid, each nest contains four, and the harvest time for poulterers and game-dealers commences about the middle of April. When the pale stone-colour, with small black spots at the larger end. These strikingly resemble very large eggs of the Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), and afford an illustration of the fact that some birds, while usually laying eggs peculiar in colour to their own species, occasionally lay eggs which resemble those of other species in’ the same family. We have noticed this in many cases. The young Peewits are very active as soon as they are hatched, and as they leave the nest at the approach of an enemy and cower down close to the ground, the mottled brown colour of their backs May 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 109 renders it very difficult to catch sight of them in | this position. In this way no doubt they often escape destruction. The food of the Peewit is, to a great extent, insectivorous. The stomachs of a great many of these birds, which we have shot and examined on grass-land upon a clay soil, were filled with different species of small Coleoptera, and minute particles of grit, while others, which we procured on down-land upon a chalk soil, contained fragments of two Mollusca which are extremely common in such situations,—Helix virgata and Helix caperata, It is the Helix caperata, by the way, which, being taken up with grass by sheep, is said to impart the excellent flavour to the South-down mutton. Judging by the condition of the Peewits which had fed upon this mollusk, we should say that its properties are very fattening. When the birds get down to the shore, they lose | their flavour, and are then not nearly so good for the table. We have noticed this in: the case of the Curlew, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Redshank, and many others besides the Lapwing. ‘lhe reason of this, no doubt, is the change in their diet. On the shore they get sand-hoppers, shrimps, and other small Crustacea, which impart more or less a marine and disagreeable flavour. As the name “Peewit” has been given to the bird from its peculiar note, so has the name “ Lap- wing” reference to its characteristic flight. i Those who live in the country must have noticed how appropriately both these names have been applied. In some places the bird is known as the “Green Plover” in spring, and the “ Black Plover” in winter. At,the approach of the nesting season the back and scapulars become of a dark but bright metallic-green colour. In the winter this colour becomes darker and duller, until at a little distance | it looks almost black. We know few sights more engaging than a flock | of Peewits on their breeding-ground, where the eye is pleased with their graceful actions and curious evolutions on the wing, while the ear is charmed with their strange long-drawn notes. Happy the man who lives near the resort of these birds, and who, listening to “nature’s sweet sounds,” can hear amid the well-known caw of the Rook and the gentle murmuring of the Wood-pigeon, the plaintive cry of “ Pee-wit.”’ J. Enymunp Hanrtine. Larcrt Kec.—There was brought me on Saturday (March 20th) a hen’s egg of so large a size that probably the dimensions may be worth ‘notice :— Circumference round the two ends 9 inches; round middle, 63 inches; length, 3g inches. Inside were two yolks, one of which, enclosed in a very thick and strong membrane, was the size of a moderately small egg. Both ends were very rounded, one a little less than the othér.—Henry Ward. NOTES ON NEW YORK DIATOMS. By F. Kirroy. Communicated to the Quekett Microscopical Club. EFORE alluding particularly to the two bottles of Diatomaceous material forwarded by Dr. Edwards, it will be necessary for me to quote from the letter which accompanied the bottles, as much as refers to this subject. He writes: “1 have put up two bottles ; one is of the sediment from the water supplied to this city (New York), and contains Amphiprora ornata, and other things, as Asferionesla, 1 want to call your attention to, and get your opinion of, one or two things therein. Burn it ona cover, and you will see—/irs¢, two species of Orthosira. Now Bailey found in this sediment (‘ Croton water,’ so called, coming in an aqueduct from the Croton river) a Gallionella, which he called G. Crotonensis; but his form was undoubtedly | the smallest of the two, and is, 1 presume you will Fig. 79. Amphiprora ornata, x 600. a, portion of keel, x 1,000. agree with me, Orthosira orichalcea ; but the other form, coarsely marked, and with spines at the ends, isnew tome. If it has not been described, would it not be well to transpose the name ‘ Crotonensis’ to this? For my part, I am not in favour of naming forms after places or persons, but strongly incline to distinctive and descriptive names. Give me your ideas hereon. Second, Is the Asterionella here present the same as any of those described ? I;think not. Third, What is the queer form looking like a Fragillaria, except that the frustules only touch at the middle, and is hence like alot of Synedra laid side by side? I have never seen it in any other gathering but this. If this gathering is boiled in acid, of course you do not get these forms in their best condition; and burning on the cover, after spreading out, 1 find give very good results, especially if it is then examined dry. “Tn the second bottle I send you a gathering I by iF | eS 110 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1869. made last November near this city, a locality I chanced to pass, having to go that way to visit a factory. I shall visit it again this spring, as the first haul was so satisfactory. Examineit in fluid, and you will see Gomphonema constrictum and G. capitatum growing on the same stalk. I always suspected these were but one species, and here we have proof ofit. I tried to keep this gathering alive and rear the Gomphonema; but, though the Conferyais still in a healthy condition, the Diatoms all dropped off. Perhaps this was their normal mode of passing the winter; and I may yet have them again. I shall watch it with interest, as I am anxious to discover, if I can, how some forms pass the winter.” This letter was addressed with the bottles to my fessor G. Walker-Arnott, of Glas- death of this gentleman before the communication reached him, re- sulted in Dr. Edwards expressing - a desire that they should be trans- ferred to the Quekett Microsco- pical Club, and, at the request of the contents of both bottles with the following results. The bottle marked “ Sediment, Croton water” (the water supply of New York is obtained from the Croton river), contains the follow- ing forms :— ORTHOSIRA ORICHALCEA = Gal- lionella crotonensis, Bailey. OrrHostra PuNcTATA (Smith) = Gallionella marchica, Gullionella granulata, &e., of Ehrenberg.— I refer the form in this material without hesitation to the species described and figured in the “Sy- nopsis,” having had the oppor- # tunity of comparing it with speci- mens prepared from a portion of Sig. 80%. Orthosiva the gathering in which Professor punctata, x 400. Smith found the form he describes and figures. The spines, so con- spicuous in the Croton water specimens, may also be detected in the British species, although not figured in the “Synopsis” (probably overlooked in the balsamed slides). I cannot determine satisfac- torily the presence of the spines on every frustule, but faint traces of them may be seen in the frus- tules adjoining those bearing spines (fig. 80). AMPHIPRORA ORNATA, Bailey— This very com- mon and distinct species is not unfrequent in this gathering; and as it has recently been found in Great Britain, I give a specific description. Frustule constricted, ends broadly rounded; con- late friend and correspondent Pro- | the Honorary Secretary for Foreign | Correspondence, I have examined | necting zone marked with a series of irregular lines (? annule); valve narrow, linear, elliptical; keel con- spicuous, twisted, with a broad marginal band, den- tate on the inner margin, and delicately punctate (fig. 79).—Croton water, New York, Dr. Edwards; Lough Gartan, Dr. W. Arnott and F. Kitton. CYCLOTELLA ROTULA, fine, and the spines con- spicuous. CYcLOTELLA MiInuTULA. Kautz. CYCLOTELLA KUTzINGIANA. Thw. ASTERIONELLA GRACILLIMA, Hantzsch. — This form is probably onlya variety of Asterionella formosa. It is of much more frequent occurrence than the latter. The stellate arrangement of the frustules has been destroyed in this gathering by too long maceration in the water; but the frustules are pre- | cisely like those found living in this country. It is gow University. The lamented | of frequent occurrence in the water supplied to Norwich, and also in gatherings from Ormesby Broad (Norfolk). The form Dr. Edwards supposes to be a Pragil- laria, I have some hesitation in referring to that genus. If we adopt the usual mode of taking generic characters from the valve, it is impossible to dis- tinguish it from Synedra; if from its mode of growth, it shows greater affinities to Fragillaria. 1 there- fore place it in Fragillaria, and append a short specific character. Fig. 81. Fragillaria Crotonensis. Fracirtarta Croronernsts, n. s., F. Kitton.— Frustules linear, inflated at the central part, where they cohere and form a ribbou-like filament; valve narrow, acicular; strise faint, moniliform (fig. 81).— Croton water, New York, Dr. Edwards. The contents of bottle No. 2 exhibit, as Dr. Edwards states, Gomphonema capitatum and Gompho- nema constrictum, hoth growing on the same stipes. Norwich. ee Microscoricat Seeps.—Correspondents making inquiries for small seeds in common cultivation may obtain a great variety, on moderate terms, from a practical microscopist, Mr. W, Thompson, Seeds- man, Tavern Street, Ipswich, May 1, 1869.] HARDWICKR’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. lil THE CUCKOO-SPIT. A TALL Begonia, standing against the glass, was lighted up with great beauty by the sun- shine of last September, when a little sparkling -drop was every now and then observed to fall across the semi-transparent Jeaves and stem. On exami- nation it was found to proceed from a congregation of cuckoo-spits formed under one of the upper leaves. Here, then, was this insect in its perfect state, feeding on the sap, just as the larva had done; only throwing off the superfluous moisture in tiny drops, instead of blowing bubbles. The inference drawn on this subject in a former paper fy l gad ol) Fig. 82. Proboscis of Cuckoo-spit larvze, with second set of instruments, and their muscular appendages. is therefore confirmed (vide Screncu-Gosste, July, 1868). De Geer, I have since learned, has made the same observation. It may be interesting to make a few remarks on the proboscis which does Fig. 83. Part of the secund set on one side, highly magnified (x 200). this little ereature such good service, and es- pecially on the provision made, in some few cases, for its renewal or repair. The form of the pro- boscis is a frequent one. ‘Two half cylinders, with foliated edges and sharpened points, fit into each other so closely as to form an air-tight tube, through which the sap is drawn by the powerful suction pump above. It is accompanied by two serrated lancets, one on either side, which widen the pune- | ture made by the tube, prevent its pinching, and admit the pressure of the air. Whether the parts | of the tube in a proboscis of this character slide upon each other when in action to increase the power of penetration, has been much discussed, and, on very high authority, it has been contended that they do not; but it may be submitted that, in this instanee, the parts of the tube are furnished with the same muscular appendages as the lancets, which are necessarily motile. In examining nu- merous specimens of the larva, it was observed that a few, perhaps one in ten, differ from the rest, in having a muscular coil on each side of the head. | A high magnifying power brought out the true | character of this. These favoured few were pro- vided with a double set of cutting instruments, as | are some of the higher mammals with a second set | of teeth. The points of these additional parts rest just above the terminations of the muscles of the first set each to each, and so are ready to advance and slide into place when required. Why onlya few should be so provided, it is not for us to ask. This insect, from the moment of being hatched in spring until it deposits its eggs at the close of the year, depends on its proboscis for a supply of food —a long time for so delicate an instrument to last unimpaired, especially in seasons of drought like the last, which thrive and harden the leaves and stems of | plants. Nature, therefore, so to speak, in kind solicitude for the preservation of this little link in the chain of animated beings, has given to a select few a second chance ; a reserve for occasions of diffi- culty and danger, as in the instance of the small egzar moth, adduced by Professor Westwood (in the “ Entomologist’s Text Book,” p. 211), some few of which, by another method, are preserved through inclement seasons, that the species might not be- come extinct. Such is the explanation offered of this remarkable fact, which, as it is only occasional, may have hitherto escaped observation. 8.8. GEOLOGY. Entomostraca in SuaLe.—In a recent number I see a notice of a new Entomostraca found in the roof of the coal-seam at Cramlington by Mr. Thomas Atthey.” In some coal shale I have got from Brad- ford, near Manchester, J find these Entomostraca in great abundance. A small portion of this shale, viewed under a low power as an opaque object, shows what was once the horny case of these creatures in almost their original form. If a section of this shale is ground very thin and mounted for the mi- croscope, the cases of the Entomostraca are shown almost as transparent as glass. The same shale in CS 112 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1869, which these Entomostraca occur at Bradford is also very full of fish remains, for the most part in a very fragmentary state; and the fact of fish remains being found in this state generally is held by several geologists to be caused by the presence of these En- tomostraca. In the shale above a small seam of coal in this locality, locally known as the Little Mine, but better known to geologists as the Lower Foot Coal-mine in the Ganister series, are found fish remains identical with some of those found in Northumberland, I have cut transparent sections of Coprolites from this Lower Foot coal, and they show long and cross sections of Gazacrodus hastula (Owen), showing the beautiful point, which seems to be the only part tipped with enamel. Cross sec- tions of teeth that are scarcely visible to the naked eye are also shown in these Coprolites. The dentine of the tooth, with the pulp cavity in the centre is shown as distinct as if the section was from one of the large Sauroid-fishes (of course it requires the higher power of the microscope to see this). In the same Coprolite are also shown sections of scales cut in various directions, as well as fragments of bones, &e. Another Coprolite I have found in the shale above this little coal-seam shows in a trans- parent section almost an entire mass of very small scales, cut in almost every direction : they show the markings on the scales most splendidly.—Johkn Butterworth, Waar ts a Grotocican Formation ?—At one time I could have given a tolerably definite answer to the above question, but if we are to accept the views suggested to Dr. Carpenter and Dr. Wyville Thomson, by the results of their late deep-sea dredging, it will not he easy to say what constitutes a geological formation. I considered that I under- stood the matter when I believed that such a for- mation was a bed, or series of beds, that had a definite stratigraphical relation to’ other series of rocks, and was when fossiliferous marked by a dis- tinctive fauna or flora of its own. We further fancied that such formations were not originated contemporaneously, but succeeded each other in time, from the “Laurentian” of an epoch vastly remote, to the “Hskers,” “raised beaches,” and “valley gravels,” of “Postpliocene” date, . Drs. Carpenter and Thomson put forth a theory that sur- prises me as much by its slender foundation as by its novelty. They say (speaking of the calcareous mud that they found on the floor of the: North Atlantic, off the Faroe Islands), “This mud being not merely @ chalk formation, but ¢he chalk for- mation, so that we may be said to be still living in the Cretaceous epoch.” (Vide Report on Dredging in last number of Proceedings of Royal Society.) On reading the above, I looked with some eagerness for the grounds on which such a startling announce- ment was made, and I must confess that they are not to my mind at all convincing. Some stress is evi dently laid on the physical character of this sea- bottom: i is a viscid mud, that, like our Cretaceous rocks, is mainly composed of calcareous exuvie of marine organisms. Then there is an abundance of siliceous sponges, but it is not shown that any of these are identical with Cretaceous sponges. What appears to be the strongest part of the case I will give in the words of Dr. Carpenter. He says:— “Thus among molluscs we have two Zerebratu- lide, of which one at least, Zerebratula caputser- pentis, may be certainly identified witha Cretaceous species, whilst the second, Waldheimia cranium, may be fairly regarded as representing, if not lineally descended from, another of the types of that family so abundantly represented in the chalk. Among Echinoderms we have the little Rhizocrinus, that carries us back to the , bay \ ( an AND LAMPERNS. By MAJOR HOLLAND, R.M.L.I. f HE queries respect- ing these members of the family Petro- myzonide which have appeared in | the pages of this publication, have induced me to at- tempt to put to- gether in a readable shape sundry odds and ends of notes concerning them _ collected » from all possible sources and . he interwoven with the reminis- I cences of my own personal investigations made during a residence of nearly three years in Gloucester. While rum- maging over the bibliography of these creatures to see what others had said about them, so many contradictions presented themselves, that it became evi- dent that toprocure a supply of them, and to study them in the flesh, with the aid of the scalpel, the syringe, and the microscope, was the only way to set one’s mind at rest. A series of fresh specimens were obtained from the waters of “the blue Sabrina,” and the appliances of the museum of the Royal Hospital, Haslar, brought into play to throw light upon their dark points. The readiness with which both Lampreys and Lam- perns can be got, and their very remarkable struc- ture, render them attractive and instructive subjects for the amateur, while the position which the order Cyclostomata occupies, as one of the connecting links between two great divisions of the animal kingdom, has ever made them objects of the highest interest to comparative anatomists and men of science. “From whatever form or race of animals the zoologist advances towards the next succeeding it No. 55. in the seale of nature, he will find himself insensibly led on by such gentle gradations that the transition from any one class to another is almost impercepti- ble. Nihil per saltum is one of the most obvious of the laws of creation.” In the cephalopods, the most highly organized members of the Fourth Division (Mollusca), we have the first appearance of an osseous system. The well-known “cuttlebone,” or sepiostaire, common on every sea beach, and the gladius of the Calamary Loligo are but rudimentary shells, mere dermal secretions analogous to the shield-plates we find imbedded in the mantle of the slug; it is in the cranial cartilage and fin-plates of the Cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, that we get the first traces of a true internal skeleton. On the threshold of the Fifth Division (Vertebrata) stands the Lancelot, Amphiorus lanceolatus, a little creature scarce two inches in length, the most anomalous and extra- ordinary of all living things, “a vertebrated animal without a brain, a fish with the respiratory system of a mollusk, and the circulatory system almost of an annelid.” One step higher, eyeless, and with only the merest apology for fins, yet one of the most murderous and terrible of all parasites, stands the Hag-fish, or Borer, Myzine glutinosa, the lowest of the order Cyclostomata (circle-mouthed) to which our friends the Lampreys and Lamperns, Petromy- zonid@ (stone-suckers), belong. In the latter, the cranium exhibits a soft cartilaginous texture, while the spine consists of a still softer cartilaginous stem, which passes along the entire length of the body; but the only indications of distinct vertebre exist in the presence of slight and almost imperceptible rings of osseous substance and delicate intervertebral mark- ings distinguishable upon the surface of the stem, and in vertical section (as at 4, fig. 115). A: thin section of the Chorda dorsalis (fig. 111) shows it to consist of large polygonal cells; some parts of the chorda; especially those near the centre, are soft and pulpy : in these the cells can be H HARDWICKE£’S SCIENCH-GOSSIP. 146 (Jur 1, 1869. separated from each other, but nearer the circum- ference they are more compressed and very firmly adherent ; from the looser textures nucleated cells (fig. 112) may be selected, which bear a remarkable resemblance to the cellular tissue of plants. Fig. 111. Hexagonal x 250; from the ch dorsalis of Petrom: marinus. dorsalis of nus. The order Cyclostomata, according to Dr. Gray, have the “ gills saccate, body elongate, pectoral and ventral fins none ;” and the family Petromyzonide (in contradistinction to the Myxinide) have the “nasal aperture closed, and the palate entirely covered with skin.” The generic characteristics of the Lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, often called the Sea-Lamprey, and by Cuvier ta grande Lam- proie, are thus defined by Yarrell: ‘Body smooth, elongated, cylindrical like that of an eel; the head rounded, the mouth circular, armed with hard tooth- like processes, the lip forming a continuous circle round the mouth; seven apertures on each’ side of | the neck, leading to seven branchial cells; no pec- toral or ventral fins; the skin towards the tail ex- tending in a fold from the body both above and below, forms dorsal and caudal fins,” to which may be added that both dorsal fins are convex, that the first. dorsal fin is placed behind the middle of the pody, and is lower and shorter than the second ; the second appears at first sight to be directly con- tinuous with the caudal, but the true anatomical limit of the former is indicated by a deep notch, and on elose examination it will be seen that the posterior extremity of the dorsal is superimposed over the first rays of the caudal, while a kind of crease is observable in the skin, running from the | notch forwards in an oblique direction below the | dorsal : from the notch the true caudal ‘fin extends backwards, surrounding the tail; having reached the inferior aspect, it gradually loses itself in the skin of the abdomen without constituting a true anal fin. The skin is perfectly smooth; the colour of the body is olive-brown, mottled and spotted on the back and sides with darker green and dark brown —hence it is sometimes called P. maculatus,—the margins of the fins inclining to reddish brown; but these colours seem to vary, being modified probably by local conditions. Of two-fine specimens received from the Severn within the last fortnight, the one abounded in golden tints, while the spots were almost blue. | Fig. 113. Pigment-cells, x 250, from the skin of P. marinus. The head has a somewhat elongated appearance when ,the mouth is closed; the latter is generally spoken of as a longitudinal slit on the under side, but it is rather buttonhole-shaped, with a remark- able commissural fold admitting of great expansion at the posterior angle; the lips are soft and’ tumes- cent; when the mouth is opened wide, it becomes, as Mr. Couch apily describes it, “cireular and ter- minal, so that the fish appears as if the head had been cut off;” it forms a most efficient suctorial apparatus; the flexible cartilaginous rim representing | the jaws adapts itself to the form of the surface to |’ which the mouth is applied, and on the motile piston- | like tongue being retracted a vacuum is formed, and a hold of extraordinary power is obtained. By means of this mechanism, the various genera of the family Petromyzonide affix themselves to the rocks and stones at the bottom when in a state of repose. | I have seen the bed of the Severn, in certain favour- ite spots between Gloucester and Tewkesbury, | literally black with thousands of “ stone-suckers ;” safely moored by the head, with their tails floating free, swaying from side to side in the swift current of the deep dark river, they looked so like the waving tangle of the waterweed, that they would certainly have escaped the observation of any person who was not specially bent wpon discovering them. In still waters they swim with a lateral un- dulating motion, but in rapid streams they advance by a succession of plunges, fastening themselves ab the end of each spot to any convenient object. The armament of the mouth renders it a most formidable weapon of offence. This peculiar dental apparatus is thus described in Owen’s “Odonto- grapby 7” :— “Tn the Lampreys there are labial and maxillary as well as palatal and lingual teeth; all these are horny substances of a simple, conical, sharp-pointed form ; they are hollow and supported on conical reproductive pulps. The pulps of the tecth are firmly attached by their base to the fibrous tissue of the lining membrane of the lip. The labial teeth of the outer or marginal circle are the smallest; from these the teeth increase in size as they ap- —— a. a Juty 1, 1869.] HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 147 proach the centre of the cavity of the mouth. The converging series in the mesial plane are arranged in a straight line, those of the sides in curved lines with the concavity towards the lower margin of the mouth; in P. marinus the innermost teeth of four of the lateral series on each side are bicuspid, or consist each of two cones which are confluent at the base; there are twenty converging rows of teeth in this species, and from four to eight teeth in each row. ‘The single tooth supported by the palatal cartilage consists of two horny cones placed in the transverse direction, and joined (in P. marinus) in the median line; but in the Lampern (P. fluviatilis) the cones are more remote. The matrix of this tooth is hollow at the base, and is supported ona conical process of the palatal cartilage, which Cuvier describes as the upper jaw. The broad bi- cuspid palatal tooth is opposed by the dentated, semilunar, horny plate with which the cartilage representing the lower jaw is sheathed. ‘This plate eonsists of eight conical teeth, laterally united to- gether. The lingual teeth consist of three dentated horny plates, the dentations being much smaller than in the palatal or mandibular plates.” Tt has been asserted that when the Lamprey at- tacks a fish, it first-drives the large palatal tooth into the flesh of its living prey, and holds on there- by as by a grappling-iron, while it applies its suc- torial mouth gradually ina leisurely manner. Now this palatal tooth being the farthest back in the creature’s mouth, almost at the entrance of the throat, cannot by any possibility be the first to reach the side of the fish attacked, nor is it of sufficient size and strength or sufficiently recurved to be capable of performing this special office: the edges of the lips are of necessity (as any one may assure himself by experiment) first brought in contact with the surface to which the animal wishes to affix it- self; the tongue is probably retracted instantaneously and a vacuum formed. The hold secured by such means must be very powerful. Some of our young friends may amuse themselves by calculating the atmospheric pressure on the external surface of a sucking disc two and a half inches in diameter, which will give them some idea of the power of adhesion possessed by the Lamprey, even supposing that the teeth are not brought into play at all. There can be little doubt that the Lamprey can fasten itself as instantaneously to the side of a fish, as we know it does to a stone or to the bottom of a boat by means of its lips; how the teeth act after the lips are glued to the prey, must be very much a matter of conjecture, as they are then altogether invisible ; - whether the trephine-like saws of the tongue which Seems capable of turning every way, or the entire armature of the mouth is used, no one can tell with certainty ; but we know that by some process of Sawing, rasping, and grinding, the fierce pirate (without inflicting mortal injuries) contrives to tear ; away and swallow mouthfuls of mashed-up flesh | like forced-meat balls, from the bones of its hapless and vainly struggling victim, releasing it after the cannibal meal is over. Fish which have had toll thus levied on them are often caught, apparently not much the worse for the operation. Gy Fig. 114. Respiratory Apparatus of the Lamprey, one-third of the natural size. In this figure, which is reduced from a plate by Sir Everard Home in “ Philosophical Transactions,” (a2) represents the tongue, which with the dentated semilunar plate (y) is turned on one side; (4) the cavity of the mouth; (c) the fauces; (d) the bran- chial channel or tube into which the gill-chambers open; (e) the termination of the same channel in a so-called “loose-edge” (?) at the origin of the cesophagus ; (f) a firm cartilage in the centre of the retractory muscle of the tongue; (g, g) two large salivary glands; (A, #) the cavities contaiming a structure like gills, laid open through their whole extent ; (i,t) external orifices of the gill-cavities ; (4, #) their internal orifices opening into the branchial tube ; (d, 7) cartilages of the thorax ; (m) the cartilaginous case containing the heart (ac- | cording to Owen, “the pericardium is a shut sac, | supported by a perforated case of cartilage formed by the last pair of modified branchial arches ”) ; (x) termination of the cesophagus in the stomach. The process of respiration is thus briefly described by the writer from whose monograph the preceding H 2 ara SA — | f SSC a mete eee 148 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. (Juny 1, 1869, illustration (Fig. 114) is taken. I scarcely need pre- | mise, that water is supplied to the gills through the | mouth as in other fishes, when the creature is not | adhering to any foreign body by its mouth. “Tn the Lamprey the organs of respiration have seven external openings on each side of the animal ; these lead into the same number of. separate oval bags placed horizontally, the inner membrane of which is constructed like that of the gills in fishes. There is an equal number of internal openings leading into a tube, the lower end of which is closed and the upper terminates by a fringed edge in the cesophagus. These bags are contained in separate cavities and inclosed in a thorax resembling that of | land animals, only composed of cartilages instead of up the cartilages and the pericardium. In the Lampern the arrangements are the same, only the cartilages of the thorax are so weak as to appear like ligaments, and the pericardium is mem- branous.” Some further details are given by Yarrell:—_ * When the Lamprey is firmly attached, as is com- monly the case, to ‘foreign bodies, by means of its suctorial mouth, it is obvious that no water can pass by that aperture from the pharynx to the gills; it is therefore alternately received and expelled by the ex- ternal apertures. Ifa Lamprey while so attached to the side of a vessel, be held with one series of aper- tures out of the water, the respiratory currents are’ seen to enter by the submerged orifices, and after WARS SAU ((i4) “A g Fig. 115. Vertical section of the Head of the Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), natural size. J. D. McDonald, M.D., F.R.S ribs, and the pericardium, which is also cartilaginous, is fitted to its lower extremity like a diaphragm. The water is received by the seven lateral openings on each side of the animal into the bags which perform the office of gills, and passes out by the same orifices. The form of the cavities being fitted to allow the water to go in at one side, pass round the projecting parts, and out at the other. A part of the water escapes into the middle tube, and from thence either passes into the other bags, or out into the esophagus (?) There is a common belief that the water is thrown out of the nostril; this, however, is unfounded, as the nostril has no communication with the mouth. The elasticity of the cartilages of the thorax admits of the water being received, and it is expelled by the action of the muscles drawing +, ad Nat. delt,, May, 1869. traversing the corresponding sacs and pharynx, to pass through the opposite branchie, and to be for- cibly ejected therefrom by the exposed orifices.” The wording of this passage might lead one to suppose that the water received by the apertures of the right side was invariably expelled by those of the left, and vice versé; but this is not the case; the water may be supplied to the left side from the right, if the animal is forcibly retained in an un- | natural position, and it will be expelled partly by | the apertures held above water, but also by the submerged apertures {by which it first entered; there is no such crossing of currents as the text seems to imply. I must venture, in all humility, to take exception to Sir Everard’s statement, that the water which has passed from the gill-chambers into Juty 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 149 the central branchial tube escapes by the cesopha- gus, inasmuch as careful dissections made by a skilled anatomist within the last few days in my presence, disclosed two cartilaginous epiglottidian valves (0, Fig. 115) guarding the upper extremity of this central respiratory channel and effectually pre- venting regurgitation ; when the gill-chambers and the said channel were injected through the external ‘openings, the water with which the whole respira- tory system was fully distended could not be forced out into the mouth. The central tube, which is of a flattened form, having its vertical diameter the greater, appears to be a pump used both for sucking water in and to aid in forcing it out. Although Cuvier had declared that the popular belief that water passed through the nostril into the branchial channel was unfounded, and Sir Everard Home in more recent times had shown the suppo- sition to be erroneous, while Huxley in our own day speaks of the olfactory passage as ending in a cecum or blind sac, we still find the old mistaken notion perpetually reproduced. A writer of note, for example, tells us “there is another remarkable ar- rangement in the Lampreys: this consists in the presence of a small tubular orifice situated in the middle of the back of the head just in front of the eyes, which leads downwards into the pharynx, into which it opens by the orifice (¢, Fig. 114), so that water can enter this passage while the mouth is kept immovably fixed to the surface whereunto the Lamprey has attached itself” ; another has actually made “an aperture on the top of the head com- municating with the gills,” one of his characteristics of the Petromyzonide,in defiance of all previous testimony ; it is in the Myzinoid fishes, and not in the Petromyzonide, that this aperture communicates with the gills; this difference of construction consti- tuting one of the generic distinctions between them. The Bereans of old were held to be more noble than the men of Thessalonica because they searched to see for themselves “if these things were so,” an example which all students, especially students of Natural History, will do well to follow. Notwithstanding the preponderating mass of evidence in proof of the nasal tube having nothing whatever to do with conveying water to the breath- ing apparatus, it was chiefly to satisfy ourselves on this particular point that a number of special dissections were undertaken. The nostril is not correctly described as “an aperture” merely; a stiff tube of the size and somewhat the appearance of a goose-quill projects above the general surface just in front of the eyes; before the knife was taken in hand, the blowpipe first, and then injections, were used to ascertain if the olfactory orifice ended in atrue eweum, or possessed any valve or outlet of any description communicating with the mouth pharynx or branchial chamber; the results, as well as the revelations of the scalpel, proved to demon- stration that the nostril ends postériorly in an im- perforate cecum, and has nothing on earth to do with the respiratory system. In Fig. 115 (a, a) show the vertical sections of the oral ring; (4 and c) are cartilaginous plates, attached by muscles and ligaments hanging in loose folds when the mouth is closed, the plates sliding over each other to admit of the wide expansion of the mouth when opened out in a vertical circle for suctorial purposes : one complete lip (the right) and border of the mouth is shown in the natural position it rests in when the mouth is closed. It may be traced in the engraving from the tip of the snout, its margin folding slightly over inwards, the inner edge of the lip bearing a zone of three rows of soft papille (4), apparently the rudiments of teeth which never acquire the hard covering, to (m) where a deep commissural fold is formed. When the mouth is opened wide, the tip of the snout is thrown upwards and backwards nearly as far as the point (4), the lower angle of the lip (m) is thrown forwards nearly to the point (7), the entire oral ring is thus made vertical, and widely expanded: it can easily be understood how after the lips (when the mouth is in this position) are applied to a surface, if the powerful piston-like tongue which closes the throat be drawn backwards, a complete vacuum is formed in the cavity of the mouth, and it does not surprise one to hear that Lampreys after they have paired remove stones from the bed of their spawn- ing places, and when dragged out of the water, tail foremost, have in some instances brought with them a block of stone twelve or fourteen pounds in weight, The soft fibrous basis of the lip is shown in section at (7); (a) marks the hard cartilage of the oral ring; (4 and c) show the imbricated plates sometimes spoken of collectively as “the hard palate,” the larger plate of the two denoted by (ce) is the “ethmo-vomerine plate” of Huxley: next comes the much talked of nasal orifice, which appears to be unprovided with any valve or guard to prevent foreign bodies from entering the passage (d) which leads into the olfactory capsule (e), the seat of the sense, which is lined with a black pig- ment, and supplied with nerves spreading over its surface. “Between the basi-occipital plate of cartilage and the hard palate there is an oval space through which the neck of the long olfactory cecum passes ; this cecum therefore separates the front part of the floor of the cranial cavity, which is ‘simply membra- nous, from the so-called hard-palate” ; the con- stricted “neck” is clearly shown in our figure, and the entire canal can be traced by the reader from the inlet to the fundus of the blind bag (g). The use of this narrow-necked canal with its wide dilatable pouch (g) is sufficiently evident. The external orifice of the olfactory tube being 150 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Juny 1, 1869, unguarded, water flows in and fills the chamber of the capsule (e) by the simple action of gravity; this water bringing with it foreign bedies, could never be expelled or changed, but for the contractile mus- cular pouch lying below. When this is compressed by_ the will of the animal, the water it contains is forced out in a strong jet through the narrow neck and literally syringes out the smelling-cham upper tube. The Lamprey is thus enabled emungere,” and to change the water as often or as seldom as it pleases, with quick successive sniffs when smelling about for food, and at longer inter- vals when in a state of rest. The fact that “currents of water have heen observed to enter the nasal orifice” may perhaps have led some to the erroneous conclusion that they most » to the gills. e to jump have small cranium, “ the proper cranium, which is a kind of cartilaginous box, closed in front, and through the greater part of its roof, only by mem- brane, but complete behind, where it arches over the myelon and is perforated by the occipital foramen.” At (4) we see the intervertebral markings of the chorda dorsalis, and at (¢) the rudimentary spinous processes; at (4) the transverse cartilage of the tongue ; at (/) the anterior piston-like portion of the tongue with the teeth of its nearly cireular saws; (m) marks the soft commissure of the lip; (z) the elongated lingual cartilage, which performs the part of a piston-rod ; (0) the right epiglottidian cartila- ginous valve closing the anterior orifice of the branchial channel and preventing the regurgitation of water through the mouth; (¢) the central respira- tory chamber or branchial channel, in which three of the internal openings (z) of the gill-chambers are seen; (7) soft fibrous basis of the lip in section; (s) principal teeth in connection with the oral ring; () zone of mucous papille just within the margin of the lip ; (w) basi-occipital plate; immediately behind the nasal tube and above the olfactory capsule is a reddish fibrous and elastic mass (x) apparently glandular, of the size of a hazel-nut; the external skin above this body is thinned, devoid of pigment, and perforated by a minute orifice. The specimen from which this drawing was taken measured thirty-four inches in length, and eight inches round the thickest part of the body over the gill-openings. The largest specimen seen in Glou- cester within the last fifty years is said to have measured thirty-nine inches. When Lampreys were in fashion, they fetched about ten shillings each in the early part of the season, @. ¢. in May; but they are no longer the rage, and are sold at about the average market price of common eels. I paid only half a crown for each of mine, and they were very fine, weighing over four pounds apiece. They are usually taken in the salmon nets, and are in season from the middle of April until the middle of June, after which time they return to the sea. The fishermen have an opinion that all the Lampreys they catch are invariably one year old. There seems to be no ground for such a conclusion; from the great variety in size and weight—from one to four pounds—we may suppose that their ages differ considerably and that the larger specimens are probably several years old. The Lamprey, ugly fellow though he is, has had his praises sung in Latin verse; there is a scholarly account of his classical history in an article by Mr, Couch in vol. ii. of the “ Intellectual Observer.” We appear to have but one species of Lamprey in England; there is another found in France: there are four American varieties, and a hideous monster “the Pouched Lamprey of Australia.” The pouch is said to be a provision of nature for enabling the creature to store a supply of water to enable it to endure the long droughts which often dry up the streams it frequents, when it burrows in the mud and remains in a semitorpid condition until the return of the rains. This pouch exists ina rudimentary state in our P. marinus; but as the latter is not subjected to the same Vicissitudes as its Antipodean representative, nature suppresses the development of an appendage which would only be a useless incumbrance to it. The so-called “Mud lLamprey,”?” or “Sand Pride,” is not a true Lamprey, Petromyzon; it does not possess the power of adhering to foreign bodies by the mouth, and properly belongs to the genus Ammocetes : it is the Lamprillon of Cuvier. I have but little space left for the Lampern, Petromyzon (vel Lampetra) fluviatilis, the River — Lamprey, as it is sometimes called; Ja petite Lam- proie of Cuvier. In structure as well as in its habits it closely resembles its larger congener, but is only from seven to ten inches in length, and from an inch to an inch and a half in cireumference, and weighs about a couple of ounces. ‘The skinis quite smooth, of a blue colour on the back and sides, maculis carens, without the mottled spots of P. marinus, passing into a silyery white underneath. The armature of the mouth differs very materially from that of the larger genus. “ Lampetra fluviatilis, upper and lower teeth transverse, crescent-shaped ; labial teeth in two submarginal rows; inner lateral teeth larger, two- or three-lobed; lingual teeth pectinate.” This fish is found in abundance in British rivers ; it is caught from July to March in baskets called “Lampern putchers,” and sold by the hundred at a very low price: it is chiefly used for bait for sea-fishing, The Fringe -lipped Lampern, Petromyzon Pla- nert, is shorter and thicker than P. fluviatilis ; it is found chiefly in the Scotch rivers; it seems to be unknown in the Severn. The teeth are somewhat differently disposed, but it is chiefly distinguished Sa CSF a we LES. eee + Ju1y 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 151 Fig. 116. The Pouched Lamprey, Geotria Australis. from the other by “the whole of the broad edge of | the circular lip being furnished with numerous papille forming a thickly-set fringe, and by the depth and close connection of the two dorsal fins.” | There are other varieties in other parts of the | | insane, and hint solemnly at Dr. Forbes Winslow. world; but bearing in mind the effect of an over- indulgence in the Petfromyzonide upon poor King Henry the First, Iam anxious not to overdose the reader. “One day when he had acquired a fresh appetite by chasing the deer in the woods of Lions-la-forét, | he partook largely of his favourite food, consisting of stewed lampreys; and the ruler of England and Normandy, the supplanter of his brother, the destroyer of his nephew, the father-in-law of an emperor, and ancestor of many kings, died by over- eating himself at supper.” Bury Cross, Gosport. CRANESBILLS. A S there are always those who “take their walks abroad” with eyes shut to the beauties and maryels so lavishly displayed around them, so it is only natural to suppose that there are also those who have never noticed our wild Cranesbills—to whom even their} name is new., If we speak to them of Geraniums, however, they will possibly un- derstand a little what we mean; and will, perhaps, with the vision of scarlet. “Tom Thumbs” before their eyes, roundly assert that we have no wild | d | flowers, each on a stalk of its own ; this latter, sur- Geraniums, or that, if we have, they must be ex- ceedingly rare, and seldom met with. Tell them that Geraniums are scattered through the length and breadth of the Jand—by streams and roadsides, in woods, hedges, and fields, and even on walls and housetops—and they will haply think you slightly Besides this class of persons, who neither know nor care to know anything about our wild flowers, there is another and happily a larger class, who, if ignorant, have no wish to remain so; and as a large proportion of these read Scrence-Gossrp, we will endeavour to introduce to their notice our British Gerania, or Cranesbills. As among men there is frequently a resemblance between members of the same family, so is there a family likeness among the Cranesbills. We will first enumerate the points which are common to all our British species. Their blossoms are composed of five petals, of equal size, notched or entire, which are usually of some shade of red, but occasionally blue; each blossom contains ten stamens, which are united at their base; tlus placing the genus in the Linnzan class Monadelphia (one-brotherhood), order Decandria. G. pusillum is the only exception to this rule, having only five anther-bearing stamens. Again, the flowers grow on long peduncles, each peduncle, having (in all the species but one) two pedicels surmounted each by one blossom, Just a word in passing on these two somewhat similar terms. , or any other of a very interesting kind; for, at the same skilfully are the inje laries of the papille are seen with the quarter ob- jective very distinctly, while the striped fibre of + voluntary, and the simple fibre of the involuntary muscles, are everywhere studded with encysted Trichini, besides a great deal of other interesting J. CROWTHER. tions prepared, that tl FRAGILLARIA CROTONENSIS. on in my paper on the C forms of diatomacem. I ought to hav Fragillaria crotonensis was PF. of the Synopsis. I am not prepared, however, to admit that this species is only a variety of 7. capuci Professor Smith describes his var. y from the Ros- thorn Mere gathering, and he is right in'sayingimper- fectly silicious; but I do not think this has any- hing to do with the non-attachment of the frustules excepting at the centre; in other words, the cen- tral inflation is the normal state of the frustule. The Croton-water species is firmly silici ind the inflations as distinct in the as when dried and burnt on the slide. My lamented friend Dr. Arnott, to whom I am indebted for the Ros- thorn Mere slide, and a suite of cimens of Jra- | gillaria (57), says in his letter, “I send you the droll form of #. capucina y, Smith;” and I find in his reply to my acknowledgment of the slides this remark: “TI think we had better refer this form to F. capucina until we find vigorous specimens.” This, I think, has been done in the “Croton-water sediment.” Further correspondence was prevented by the illness and death of my valued friend. I have greater doubts of the genus than the species of this form, and if the filamentous arrange- ment of the frustule is ignored, I see nothing to dis- tinguish it from Synedra, and Professor Smith has done so in his Syxedra fontinalis, and which is iden- tical with the Fragillaria tenuicollis of Heiberg. It has been suggested that 7. capucina, Synedra capucina wet frustule | fasciculata, S. minutissima, and S. pulchella are all one species. F. Kirtoy. HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Avue. 1, 1869. ZOOLOGY. AsyssintAn Brrps.—At the last meeting of the Zoological Society a communication was read from Dr. O, Finsch on the collection of birds from North- eastern Abyssinia and the Bogos country formed by Mr. William Jesse, zoologist to the Abyssinian expedition. The collection was stated to be of great interest, and to contam seven hundred and thirty-five specimens referable to two hundred and twenty-one species, whereof two appeared to be new to science. Sammon in Maine.—The finest of salmon are now being taken from the waters of the Penobscot. About three miles above Bangor they are taken in drift nets. But below, near Searsport and Buck- sport, they are taken in large quantities in weirs. The number appears to be on the increase yearly, and the business of taking them is highly remune- rative. They weigh generally twelve pounds apiece and upward, perhaps twenty-four pounds. One was taken at Belfast the other day whose weight was twenty-seven pounds andahalf. The present price is about forty cents a pound.—Chicago Times, May 30. Orrer.—I copy the following from the Abing- don News of the Ozford Chronicle of to-day (July 3rd) :—“On Sunday last a very large otter was caught in the basket rings in a pool just below Mr. Blake’s. It weighed about a $ cwt.”—H. Ward. Toe Crave in Norrorx.—In addition to the Crane recorded in Sctryce-Gosstr for July, p. 160, as having been killed at Hast Summerton on the 7th of May, one has been shot on the marshes at Thornham, which is now in the Lynn Museum, and another killed at Pickenham, near Swaffham. In the Field of the 12th of June, four are said to have been seen at Burnham, two of which were killed. 1 regret to say there is a probability of the Ruddy Sheldrake, recorded by me at the same time, being an escaped bird, one having been lost by a gentle- man some miles from Snettisham afew days before. I examined the bird in question myself soon after it had been set up ; it was a male in fine plumage, and presented not the slightest appearance of ever having been in confinement. The escaped bird was purchased with a female, which died before the male escaped, in Leadenhall market, and is said to have been received from Russia.—J. Southwell, Norwich, July 3rd, 1869. Tur Orren rv Sussex.—I copied the following this morning from the Brighton Herald :—“ Capture of another Otter in Sussex.—Two or three of these destructive animals have recently been captured in this county. As one had for some time past been seen in the neighbourhood of Barcombe, a reward | | at the oil-mills set a trap for him. of two pounds was offered for his apprehension— dead or alive—and this led to energetic measures, He was seen on Saturday, and some men employed On Sunday morning on going to look at the clams, they found him caught by one of his hind legs. Prongs, &., were soon brought into requisition, and the animal | killed. He turned out to be a fine animal, weighing 13%lbs., and a handsome subject for stuffing.’— T. W. Wonfor, Brighton, July 3rd. Wren anp Fry-catcHer.—This morning I saw a strange example of socialism at Swaysland the naturalist’s. A wren had nearly finished its nest in an elm-tree, when a fly-catcher commenced build- ing; and the two birds had evidently finished their nests in company, for while the wren’s nest, mainly composed of shavings, leaves, &c., was perfect, the fly-catcher’s was not simply built on, but into the wren’s, of moss and horse-hair. When brought in the night before from Preston, the wren’s had three eggs and the fly-catcher’s four. I fancy, from the fact of the former having been built against the elm, some of its eggs had been dropped when the nest was taken, for the back of the nest was quite open at one point. I saw also a curious illustration of how soon birds will build and lay near the same spot after their nest has been taken. A couple of redpoles built a nest in a garden near Montpelier Crescent in a willow tree, and when five eggs had been laid the nest was taken; nine days after the same birds had built in an adjoining elder another nest, and the female had laid five eggs. In the latter case the nest was mainly composed of cotton from the willow. Both trees were quite close to a public path—Z. W. Wonfor, Brighton, July 3rd, L869. Dartrorp Warsier’s Nest.—The much denied fact, viz.,a Dartford Warbler laying five eggs in one nest, has been proved by Swaysland and his wife, who have spent weeks this year in watching on the downs the habits of this bird. Since April they have found seventeen nests, one containing three eggs only, one on June 25th five, and the rest four each. I saw to day thirteen nests in one box, among them the prize; and while there was great variety in the general appearance and markings when compared nest with nest, yet the eggs in each were alike.—Z'. W. Wonfor, Brighton, July 3rd, 1869. A Hawx’s Home.—Mr. I.’s gamekeeper, in Wiltshire, recently shot a hen hawk. He found her nest with four young ones in it, all dead for want of the hen’s care. But the male bird con- tinued to bring food to the nest, and between Friday and Monday brought eighty-three birds, chiefly blackbirds and thrushes, also one mouse, and a pheasant’s egg. My friend adds, where Ave. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKR’S SCIENCH-GOSSIP. 185 keepers shoot all hawks, as here, no wonder one’s fruit is all eaten by swarms of blackbirds and thrushes. They take our strawberries, through the netting, while green.—R. Tue Derr-Sea Drepcinc Exprpirion.— H.M.S. Porcupine arrived here on the 12th inst., after a most successful cruise from Killybegs, our last station. Dredgings have been carried on during the past fortnight outside the Rockall Fishing Bank, at the following great depths :—1,215, 1,263, 1,360, 1,366, 1,380, 1,448, and 1,476 fathoms. ‘This places the dredging achieved by the officers and crew at the head of all such enterprises, the Por- tuguese having dredged 3800 fathoms, Norwegians 450, Americans 517, and H.M.S. Lightning (last year) 650. The rope is drawn up with the aid of the donkey-engine at the rate of 100 fathoms every five minutes. ‘Iwo ewt. of material has on several occasions been taken from the bottom, which is a clayey foraminiferous mud, consisting almost entirely of Globigerine, Orbuline, &c., sponges and other minute organisms; small crustaceans and anneli- des of brilliant scarlet, and other colours, were found, besides echinoderms, mostly naked. The mollusca are for the most part bivalves, and nearly all new to Britain, and of a northern type in general, consisting of Ledw, Nucul, and Solenelle, and the fry of Isocardia, Cora, Dentalie, &e. Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys is now relieved by Prof. Wyville Thomson, of this town, and it is proposed to get dredgings in still deeper water.—ZB. Sturges Dodd, Beifast. A Poor Prisoner.—While taking a walk along the banks here on Sunday afternoon (July 11th) Theard an unusual chirping among the small birds in the vicinity of a clump of whins, and on going up to the place where they were, I was surprised to find a bird entangled in its own nest; and the sight which presented itself to me was one which J, or I dare say any other person, never saw before. The nest was that of a hedge-sparrow, which had long since flown, but one poor captive had been left. The claws of one of its feet had got so entangled among a portion of the wool with which the nest had been lined, that its escape was impossible. Inits endeavours to get free it had broken one of its legs at the thigh, just a little above the joint, and was hanging by a small portion of flesh. I re- leased the poor sufferer, and amputated the broken leg; then set it at liberty. It must have been in that position for a long time, as the nest was literally filled to overflowing with its excrement: it must have been fed by its parents all the time of its captivity. —4. MW. F., Bast Neuk o’ Fife. Im may be of some interest to the readers of Sctencr.Gosstr to know of the capture of a very curious white variety of the Little Blue (Polyom- matus alsus) in this neighbourhood by a friend of mine. I saw the insect a little time after its cap- ture. The whole upper surface of the wings was of a creamy white, the under of the same colour, but with the eyelike spots peculiar to the “Blues” generally —W, 4. Forbes, Winchester. A Sworp-Fish TAKEN orr Newnavey.—On the night of Saturday, June 26th, some Eastbourne fishermen captured in a net, off Newhaven, a sword-fish about ten feet long.—7Z’. VW”. Wonfor. Tn Cuckoo seems this year to have departed from his usual custom of changing his tune in the month of June. I heard his well-known ery in Buckinghamshire on the 25th of June, and in Surrey on the 6th of July.—W. R. Tate, 4, Grove Place, Denmark Hill. Morus Iv a Canpie.—The Japanese say that all other night-flies, moths, &c., fall in love with one particular night-fly, which is exceedingly beautiful, who, to get rid of their importunities, maliciously bids them, under the pretence of trying their con- staney,4o go and bring to her fire. And the blind lovers, scrupling not to obey her command, fly to the nearest fire or candle, in which they never fail to burn themselves to death.—Pinkerton’s Voyages. Freas.—We read in “ Purchas’s Pilgrims” that the Jews were not permitted to burn fleas in the flame of their lamps on Sabbath evenings. Sprper Sirx.—De Azara states that in Paraguay a spider forms a spherical cocoon for its eggs, an inch in diameter, of a yellow silk, which the inhabi- tants spin on account of the permanency of the colour. The ladies of Bermuda make use of the silk of the silk spider (Zpeira clavipes) for sewing purposes. A Cunysauis Fiyrxe.—Happening to be in my garden about the middle of June, I took to watching some butterflies flying among the cab- bages. My attention was attracted to one by having as it seemed to me something strange on its back; I thought at first sight that it was being attacked by some ferocious insect ; but on capturing it, which I succeeded in doing without difficulty, as its flight was a little heavy, I was not a little surprised to find that the poor cabbage-butterfly (Pieris Rape) was encased in its own chrysalis, its thorax and wings being out and its body within the chrysalis. I tried to extricate it from its peculiar position, but I found that its body was so com- pletely fixed inside the chrysalis, that I could not get it out without injuring the butterfly. I killed it just as it was, and pinned it out; so it just looks like a chrysalis with wings—4. J. F., East Neuk o’ Fife. BOTANY. ABNORMAL Fruit or tue Stor.—On the 22nd ult. I received a note from Mr. T. Southwell, of Norwich, enclosing a curiously malformed specimen of the Sloe, and asking my opinion as to the cause of its singular malformation, whether caused by insects or otherwise. The results of my examination were thus stated in a note to Mr. S. :—“ In one only of the abnormal drupes did I find any trace of insect life, and in that case I could not in any way attri- bute the change of form to its agency. It appears to me we must look to some other source than the insect world for the cause of this strange malforma- tion. I noticed that in every case of abnormal growth the epicarp and sarcocarp were fully de- veloped, though apparently diseased, while the endo- carp on the contrary, with its contained seed, was represented by a mere speck of brown, withered, membranous tissue. In one abnormal drupe, larger and rounder than the rest, the endocarp was some- what more fully developed and was evidently still growing.” On the 2nd inst. I received another letter from Mr. Southwell (which I quote with his per- mission), in which he informed me that a friend of his had sent a specimen to Kew for Dr. Hooker. He is from home, but the keeper of the herbarium, Mr. Oliver, replied. He believed the malformation was due to a fungus, and that Mr. Berkeley had sent a note on the subject to the Gardener's Chronicle. The specimen sent he would not pull to pieces, but preserve for the Kew museum. By the next post he wrote to say Mr. Berkeley’s note vas to be found in the Gardener’s Chronicle of June the 19th; upon referring to which I found aletter signed Armagh, describing the bladder plums which the plum-trees in that neighbourhood were producing, and in the Scientific Committee’s report of the Royal Society the following note :— “ Dr. Thomson exhibited specimens of bladder plums from a hedge in Northamptonshire. The fruit here presents none of its ordinary succulent characters ; the stone is not formed, and the ovule is more or less atrophied. Sometimes a second carpel is pro- duced. The phenomenon in question is due to a parasitic fungus (Ascomyces deformans).” In India a particular form of bird cherry is pretty constantly affected in this way, and the plant has in conse- quence received the name of Cerasus cornuta. It thus appears that this smgular malformation is the result of fungoid growth upon it, and that the same malformation occurs in other nearly allied stone fruits. Perhaps the readers of Sctence-Gossre can give further information on this interesting subject, as to its distribution and former appearances in this country, and as to the influences which favour its production.—John Hepworth, St. Mary's Fale, Chatham. HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Ave. 1, 1869, Wattrnrower.—* H. O. 8.” sends flowers of the singular malformation of the Wall- flower, called by De Candolle the variety Gynanthe- rus. In truth what under ordinary circumstances are stamens, are here represented by carpels; so that there is a double set of ovaries, the normal one ircled by an adventitious one, consisting of the sformed stamens. The petals at the same time are smaller than usual. See Masters’ “ Vegetable Teratology,” p. 305, where a description and figures of this change are given. Tur SHamrock (pp. 66, 91, 188, 162, 166, 167). —Mrs. Watney will find the arguments in favour of he Ovalis Acetosella being the true Shamrock, in my paper on “The Woodsorrel” in Screncr-Gossip ror 1868, p. The question is one which will wrobably never be settled, as far as the plant used by St. Patrick is concerned; but it seems evident hat, at the present day, Zrifolium minus is the chosen Shamrock. In addition to the counties named yy Mrs. Brenan, I may mention Carlow, Limerick, and Kerry, in which this plant is pointed out as the national emblem. In Cybele Hibernica, Kidward Lhwyd is quoted as writing in 1699, “Their Sham- rug is our common clover,” and in the same work, “Threlkeld, the earliest writer on the wild plants of Ireland,” is referred to as stating that 7. repens “is the plant worn by the people in their hats on St. Patrick’s day.” The purple-spotted 7. repens is, | fancy, only looked on as the real Shamrock by those who have not troubled to think about the pro- bability (or improbability) of a cultivated variation unknown ina wild state (?), having been found in the time of St. Patrick, but having since disappeared. James Britten. ABNORMAL HABENARIA CHLORANTHA (BIFOTIA), p. 162.—I have gathered specimens this June, with the pollen- masses in the position of those referred to by “ M. C.,” but my conclusion as to how they came there was different from his, although I am by no means sure that Lam right. Myimpression is that the pollen- clubs, with the dise to which they are fixed, are, as usual, pulled forcibly from their original position by the moth which is the instrument by means of which the flowers are fertilized; that in going from blossom to blossom of the long spike—and the spikes of my examples were remarkably fine—before the viscid matter on the dise has had time to soli- dify, the pollen-masses are brushed off, or become otherwise detached, and falling on the projecting lip or other part of the blossom, adhere so firmly by means of this natural cement, that they appear to have grown there. Perhaps some reader who has made a specialty of Orchids will come forward and correct me, if wrong, or confirm me, if right. Not having made a study of the Orchids, my suggestion is made rather in the hope of eliciting additional information than in the idea that it is correct.—James Britten. Ave. 1, 1869.) HARDWICKE’S § CIENCE-GOSSIP. 187 MICROSCOPY. Maxime Miranpa in Mixnnons.—Under this motto Mr. H. C. Richter has just published a photograph of a group of microscopic animals and plants collected from a pond at Leytonstone. It contains thirty-five objects, including rotifers, infu- soria, entomostraca, water-bears, diatoms, desmids> and conferva. The whole is an exceedingly artistic group, and it could not well be otherwise, since it is the result of a labour of love by one so well known as an artist in the department of Natural History. Each object is in itself a study, and we venture to think that the group of water-bears is the most natural, aud perhaps the only natural delineation of these singular creatures we have eve photographs are neatly mounted on stiff cardboard, and may be had at a very reasonable price, either of Mr. T. Ross, Messrs. Beck, or Mr. C. Baker, the well-known opticians. seen. The Diatoms or NortHuMBERLAND.—In the part of the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, Dr. Donkin furnishes a paper on several new (?) and rare species of freshwater diatoms discovered in Northumberland. The learned d in the pursuit of his investigations, with the of publishing at no distant period an entirely new work on the British Diatomaces, met with the forms, which he has published, we presume, in order to convince microscopists of his ability to produce the promised “entirely new work.” From this specimen we have no doubt the “new work”? will contain much that is very novel. A new edition and appendix to the “Synopsis” would be very acceptable; but of course we cannot say so much for an “ entirely new work,” of the merits of which we can only judge from the present communication. A good critical work on Diatomacez, reducing the Spurious species, which the vanity of inexperienced writers has created, would be too much to expect, but not too much to desire. Montuty Microscorican Jourwnar.—The first volume of this journal is just completed, and for the six months furnishes 392 pages for comparison with the 426 pages of the Quarterly Journal for the preceding twelve months. Beyond this fact we do not purpose to institute comparisons, but will leave that task to the Fellows of the Society and the purchasers of the Journal. Probably had we counted lines instead of pages, the balance would have been in favour of the new Journal for six months against twelve. It is impossible for us to indicate the subjects which this volume contains, of interest io microscopists, for that could only be done by reprinting the contents. We cannot believe that any one interested in the literature of micro- scopy, or in the progress of microscopical science, would hesitate to expend eighteenpence a month for such a record. | Scare or tue Her.—We have heard it gravely | asserted, and strenuously maintained, that eels are not furnished with scales. In controversion of this popular error we now furnish a figure of Hel scale, magnified to the same proportions as the scale of the Dace in our last number. It will be observed Fig. 132. Scale of Eel magnified. that the scales of the Eel are very peculiar in form, | being long and narrow, and the markings, instead 3, are moniliform series | of parallel concentric ridge of ovals; they are of course very delicate and transparent, but undoubted scales. A piece of the skin may be mounted and the scales viewed iz situ, those of the belly being most distinct. Eprxpuren Narvratists’ Cros.—the botanists | and zoologists of Edinburgh have founded a Field Club, which is already in a fair way of reaching the number to which it is limited. It is composed of Professors and other members of the University, and amateur naturalists: Mr. Robert Brown, President: Dr. Black, Vice-President ; and Dr. Edmonston, Hon. See. and ‘Treasurer. | 188 : NOTES AND QUERIES. NIGHTINGALES appear to be creeping further west in Devonshire. For some time past they have been occasionally met with on the eastern borders, but this year a pair have taken up their quarters at Broadelist, near Exeter. Viotets and Asn-trEEs (pp. 91, 166).—The Violet to which Mr. Tennyson alludes is evidently V. odorata, not V. canina, or rather V. sylvatica, which I suspect “H. S. M.” intends by the former name. For Wereurialis annua (p. 166), M. perennis should surely be substituted. —/ames Britten. Frora or Bucxs.—Mr. James Britten publishes in the current number of the Quarterly Magazine of the High Wycombe Nat. Hist. Soc., the first instal- ment of a revised list of Buckinghamshire plants, in which the plants peculiar to the north or south of the county are indicated. The number of species is raised to 808, of varieties to 30: the list published in November, 1867, contained only 777 species, and 22 varieties. Fay-perry (p. 162).—My colleague Mr. Holland will, I know, excuse me for doubting the accuracy of his derivation of Fay-berry, although I have no supposition to offer in place of his. The word is given by Dr. Prior in the following forms :— Feabe, Fape, Fabe, Thape, Theabe, De-, Fae-, Fea-, or Feap- berry; and it is evident that Fay-berry is but another spelling of Fabe-, Fape-, or Fae-berry. We want to find out which is the original form of the word; and whether that in which the “e” or the “a” is sounded, is the more ancient. The occurrence of the name in Lancashire is interesting, as Dr. Prior says it “seems to be confined at present to the eastern counties.” “ Fayberry-pie” becomes “Thape- pie” in Norfolk.—James Britten. Vacrant Cockatoo.—A few days since I was walking across the Green Park, when a noise over- head, strange to me, attracted my attention. At first [ thought some water-fowl were making a jour- ney from the ornamental water in St. James’s to the Serpentine; but on looking up saw a rose-coloured Cockatoo flying high from the direction of Park Laue. It settled in the group of trees in the hollow near the sheep-trough, but I had no time to watch what became of it, neither could I say whether it had just escaped, or was living in the park in a semi-wild condition. Other readers of Screncr- Gosstr may also have observed it.—R. MeLachlan, Lewisham, July 3rd, 1869. Wuy vo Insects Fry ro tHe Licur?—J, G. Odell’s experiment with the denizens of his aqua- rium no doubt shows that non-vegetarian creatures are attracted by light as well as the nectar-loying moths, and I have formerly noticed the same thing when I had an aquarium. The Chinese too, I be- lieve, attract fish with lanterns. My suggestion was but a suggestion. Still, in the matter of the owls and nightjars, I must be allowed to be scepti- cal as to ¢heir being attracted by light, and fancy that @ moth attracted by light was the object of pursuit, and cause of their collision with the win- dow-pane. Fly-catchers and other birds will thus fly against a window by day. I cannot think an owl would be such an owl as to be attracted by light. I readily grant that there is something we do not yet understand about the attraction which light HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Aue. 1, 1869, | possesses for many creatures. In possible relation | to this subject, | would ask why are dight nights | bad for moth-collecting and vice versé? That they | are so every collector knows.—WV. ZH. Brrs.—Permit me to ask whether it is necessary to have twigs or sticks put into the hive prior to the swarm being shook into it. Task the question as, on the 29th of June last my servant girl, in my absence, shook a swarm from a gooseberry bush without placing sticks. The bees, however, seem to have taken to the hive, and are very busy. I inay add that this girl did it without the protection of any gauze dre he was not stung, which to me seems miraculous.—Joseph Lloyd Phelps. Cats—The ‘etter of my friend Mr. George Guyon, at p. 161, reminds me that when I was in Berkshire, as a boy, more than twenty years ago I knew a large black cat who particularly affected snakes as his diet. I have seen “Tom” trailing some four-and-twenty inches of Coluber Natrix after him over a gravel walk, he having previously con- sumed the upper part of the wretched reptile. J never knew even him, though, touch any of the Batrachia proper; in fact it must be a matter of ex- perience with every one that cats fight very shy indeed of frogs and toads, and notably of the latter. While on the subject of cats it may perhaps be worth while to put on record one or two instances of their sagacity which I have myself witnessed ; and firstly, with regard to a little cat I have called “Brownie” (who is very well known to Mr. Guyon), and whom I believe to be one of the cleverest of her species that | have ever met with. | To say that she begs for food like a dog, goes in to | meals incontinently on the ringing of the hall bell. fetches my wife and me from our dressing-rooms if | we do not enter the dining-room at once, growls like a dog at beggars and tramps if she sees them in the carriage-drive, &c., would be only to give her credit for what many other sharp cats do; but one proof of her reasoning powers is I think worth narrating :—My dining and drawing rooms are on opposite sides of the hall; which has, of course, to be crossed to go from one to the other. Now, one day the ladies of my family had gone in to luncheon just before me, and had closed the dining-room door; Brownie, it would seem, had not been quite quick enough in following, for she was shut out in the hall; and when I opened the drawing-room door, to my exceeding astonishment, I saw her on her hind legs, with one paw on each side of the handle of the dining-room door, ¢rying to turn it round, Had she been merely shaking it, or clawing it, I should have thought very little of it; but she was making as deliberate an attempt to twist it round as | could have done. | ought to have waited and seen whether she succeeded, but I foolishly opened the door for her. I will say, quite candidly, that had I read this in a book instead of secing it, I should have thought it a gross exaggeration. Secondly, I had another cat, named “ Muff,” who used to perform rather a clever trick. He would get upon the back of one of the cows (they did not seem to object to it) while they were grazing, and so got carried into the midst of the flock of starlings &e., which always follow cows when they are feeding: then selecting his bird, he would suddenly pounce upon it from the cow’s back, and _ carry it off. Poor Muff! it was his one accomplishment. He ultimately came to grief in a trap, through his insatiable appetite for game.— William Noble, Forest Lodge, Maresfield, Sussex, July 6th, 1869. Ave. 1, 1869.] Do Cars rat Reprites?—I have known several instances where cats have eat both slow-worms and snakes as readily as they did eels. We have in South Wales a saying to the effect that “a May kitten will turn out a snake eat.’’ It means that a kitten born in the month of May will, when grown into a cat, bring snakes into the house; and as all the lower class of Welsh have an idea that every kind of creeping thing, from the poor little harmless newt down to the wicked-looking viper, is ven- omous, and call every sort of reptile a snake, kittens born in May are usually destroyed. I had a large black cat once which caught slow-worms, efts nth and snakes. She, though zo¢ a May kitten would bring her prey into the house, a by no means desirable accomplishment in a cat thus retrieving: for it is decidedly disagreeable to find part of a blind- worm under the seat of your chair, or see a half-dead ringed snake on the hearth-rug, when you come down to breakfast on a June morning. Puss generally eat a portion of both slow-worms and snakes, but I never remember seeing her attempt to taste a newt: she probably had done so in early life, and found its skin disagree with her. How very greedily some cats will devour eels; my cook used to declare she had more trouble in keeping the eels from the cat’s clutches than any other fish ; they would pull them out of the pan of water in the kitchen, or lift up the cover in the cellar to get at the fish which she laid on the flags to keep cool; and J actually saw a neighbour’s cat take some live eels from a little pond in my garden. I had lost several gold-tish in an unaccountable way, when one day | saw a cat, who evidently did not mind wetting her feet—a point cats are said to be par- ticular about,—walk into the water and bring out a good-sized eel. The pond was very shallow.—Ze/len L. Watney, Anglesea House. Viotets unpeR Asu-TrEEs.—Having unusual facilities for noticing the vegetation under ash-trees —our village name meaning “town of the ash- trees”—I have, since May, examined them very carefully. The following plants 1 found growing under ove iree:—Ranunculus acris, Viola canina, Viola odorata, Polygala vulgaris, Geranium Robert- ianum, Melilotus officinalis, Veronica Chameedrys, Spirea Ulmaria, Geum urbanum, Potentilla repens, Potentilla Anserina, Potentilla fragaria, Rosa canina, Rubus fruticosus, Gallium cruciatum, Primula vulgaris, Leontodon ‘Taraxacum, Mercurialis peren- nis, Bellis perennis, Yussilago Farfara, Rumex obtusifolius, ‘'amus communis, Hypericum perfora- tum, and in the hedge-row, Dogwood, Hazel, Holly, Privet, and Whitethorn. Under another ash-tree I found growing side by side Viola canina and Viola hirta, and last spring I found the sweetest little bed of Viola odorata—which is by no means a common plant here—under an ash-tree, nestling among its roots. Besides the above-mentioned plants I found others, and altogether, in one even- ing, I had about seventy specimens, gathered solely from under ash-trees ; so I have come‘to the same conclusion as “EH. §. M.” in the current number of Scrence-Gosstr.—W. J. Hill. _ Misset-tHrusH AND MissEt-Tor (p. 164).—This Is surely a misconception:—l. The Mistletoe is named from the Latin word viscum, from which we have our word viscid; its Saxon form was mistelta, which we have corrrupted into /oe. 2. The Missel- thrush (Zurdus viscivorus) is so named because it feeds upon the berries of the Mistletoe plant ; hence HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 189 the word visci-vorus ; from viseum, and voro to de- vour.—d. H. Locan Names or THE GoosEBerry.—l’ve a strong conviction that our word is a corruption of the French word gros, and equivalent to the Latin erassus ; the currant and the gooseberry are both ribes : the currant or smaller berry, is. corrupted from Corinth ; the gooseberry is the gross or larger berry. The scientific name Riles grossalaria is closely followed in the French groseiile ; but it can- not be doubted that the same word is the origin of both gros and gross. The local names fay, feaps, Jeabs, and fabes are called corruptions of febris, the Latin for fever, as, according ,to old Gerarde, the acidity of the gooseberry served as a febri- fuge.—4. H. VARIABLE Weatner.—In July we had snow in several parts of England, and in April I had a fine dish of mushrooms gathered in the open field. My landlady tried to make me believe 1 should be poisoned if I ate them; but Science knew better than Gossip, and I ate them for breakfast and en- joyed them. They had a nicer flavour than any I tasted last autumn.—VW. J. Hill. ‘ Cowsip.—I gathered a specimen of Primula veris in the spring which had twenty-four distinct blossoms on it. Is not that extraordinary P—W. J. Hill, Trefonen Cottage, near Oswestry. New Aneror Barometer.—The hourly self- recording Aneroid Barometer, just produced by the London Stereoscopic Company, appears to be a decided improvement in the construction of baro- meters. It combines an eight-dayiclock with an aneroid barometer, and between them revolves a vertical cylinder, having a paper attached, on which, by a pencil connected with the clock, the position of the barometer is marked every hour. This record shows the height of the barometer, whether it is falling or rising, for how long it has been doing so, and at what rate the change is taking place. The paper on the cylinder only requires changing once a week. Tus Corn Cocxir.—This plant, well named for the beauty of its flowers dgrostemma, or “the Crown of the Field,” has been frequent this summer in our corn-fields. I would not now, however, so much notice the rosy-purple petals, or the fantastic prolongments of the calyx, as the great beauty of the silicious, one-celled, needle-like hairs which cover the styles. These are nearly upright, being articulated to the column by a short curved joint. Some of the upper ones are detached during the growth of the flower, and, mixing with the pollen, present their sharp points to the stigmata as if desiened to excite or pierce them. Here is a new question for the physiologists, which they will not perhaps be thankful for, just now that so many. others are on their hands. However, the style of the Corn Cockle is worth an attentive observation with the microscope for its beauty alone, which, in its kind, is scarce inferior to the well-known “‘ An- ther of the Mallow.” ‘The sharp littie hairs might be easily detached by gentle pressure between the fingers, and transferred to a slip of glass for mount- ing, either dry or in balsam. They would then puzzle a professor, having much the shape of some diatoms, and with similar markings ; this, of course, on a larger scale. ‘They are not purely silicious, but sufficiently so to keep their form when dried, and to colour under polarized light.—S. 8. I read with some interest the answers of your correspondents to Mr. Spicer iquiry re- specting the irritability of the leaves of the Sundew (Scrence-Gosstr, April and May, 1§ and J would be glad if you would insert a few from me in confirmation of this smgular None of your correspondents ‘ ally observed the act of capture of a he mere fact of; adhesion of small insects to the elutinous secretion on the hairs of the leaves is only what might naturally be expected, and is quite in- depend of the existence of any true irritability whatever, the possession of which | as of Drosera is the point of inter my attention was attracted in to the passage in Withering’ the observations of Roth, Whately, a1 this subject. Many authors do not al matter at all; but Loudon, in his * E remarks of the é very irritable, touch them, < holds the dead vations i are in ac ments. In tl SunpEW 1d Gardom on to the 1ed in, and every one of them contained some irritant substance, generally the dead body of an insect. On one occasion I was fortunate enough to witness the remarkable sequence of movements from the moment that an unlucky midge alit on the tempting. but treacherous trap. The movements commenced in about ten minutes, and it was a curious sight to watch the elegant little hairs curv- ing gradually from base to apex till they met in the centre, locking together, like miniature fingers, and thus securely imprisoning the poor cay 2 ES geles only served to increase the number of, and to strengthen his bonds. Mechanical irritation of r surface of the leaf will also cause the Ss hairs, and finally the leaf itself, to bend inwards and pens, after the ap] have some connec for the expe best on a warm, sun- shiny day.— Walter G. Smith, Dublin, July, 1869. Sxytark (Alauda arvensis) —During the present summer I have frequently noticed a ark singing while perched on the edge of a notice-board stand- ing in a neighbouring wheat-field. I have as often seen him standing on a post belonging to the fence, where he sings as merrily as if it were “from his watch-tower in the skies.” I have never before known the lark to sing except on the wing; even the caged bird will often manifest his desire to be “at heaven’s gate,” by singing with fluttering and expanded wings. JI have seen the same skylark sing while ascending, in fact he seems to accomo- date himself to either cireumstance.—J. R. W. H., Wolverhampton. I have seen larks singing whilst perched very often.—R. #7. Macegillivray writes of a lark singing on a twig.— S. G. A Curtovs Martrx.—Amongst the flock of Hirundines which annually breed under the eaves of our buildings has arrived a vara avis, which con- sorts with a common martin (Hirundo urbica), but is quite different in colour, being of a brownish black with no white on its body. Its habits, forma- 190 HARDWICKE’S SCLENCE-GOSSIP. | } [Aue, 1, 1869, tion of nest, sound of voice, mode of flight, &e., are precisely similar to those of its neighbours, but, unlike ther it commenced the business of nidifi- cation almost on its first arrival; I therefore con- eluded that must be a variety of the common martin and not a distinct spec It was thought ut it was the Hirundo purpurea of ss of the bird, coupled with , is conclusive evidence must be erroneous.—G. B 7} us.—Many readers of Screncr-Gossrp iY ke to know that these pretty little creatures will live and thrive in a town garden. I tumed ¢ in our garden here, and there is quite a mination from them every warm night, keep to the exact spot in which I turned them ne-crop and ferns, which I keep well 1e glowworms are most luminous on W.R. Tate, 4, Grove Place, Denmark Apnormat Ertca,—I send you a specimen of a curious abnormal form of Zrica tetralix, which I have never observed before. The corolla is divided into a number of separate petals. ‘This condition was not confined to one solitary spray. There is a little clump of it, mixed up in a larger clump, bearing flowers of the normal form, and the con trast between the two is very striking. It is growing on the side of Beacon Hill in Charnwood Forest.—Frederich T. Mott. [Not only is the corolla composed of separate petals, as stated by our correspondent, but there are other changes in the specimen forwarded; such as increased number of petals, intermediate forms between petals and stamens, adhesion of stamens to styles, o from non-union of the edges, and oth lications of a tendency to become double.” The double variety in cultivation no oubt originated from a specimen like that for- yarded by our correspondent.—W/. 7. W.] C Vv Bioop.—I beg to thank Mr. Lewis for his para- graph on blood, and what he there states seems to me to confirm my ideas about the globules. The difference in size may be a fatal objection, though I think the red globules are not always of precisely the same size. Now Mr. Lewis says that. a “high author- ity says that in the higher mammalia the globules without colour exist in a smaller proportion to what they do in man.” May we not reckon animals in general more healthy than man? and then in cases of anemia, and where weakness in general exists in man, the colourless globules increase in number, and the red ones are not so brightly coloured. In fact, the health has a great influence upon the state of the blood, or, perhaps, we might more properly say the state of the blood has a great effect upon the health. I see most writers consider the globules to be of two'distizct kinds, though 1 do not think they satisfactorily point out their different uses. do not pretend to argue the point, as I have not sufficient extent of observation; but I cannot help thinking when I read about the blood, and look af it, that the globules are really ai/ of one nature, and that the oxygen in the air acts upon them in some way which causes the greater part to be coloured, and that in proportion as this is done, so the general health and strength are increased, and that where the contrary happens, so weakness of some kind exists.—Z. 7. Scote. Ave. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 191 HABenaRIA BIrotA.—I am afraid “M. C.,” Kent, has taken a wrong view of his Hadbenaria bifolia (p. 162), from not having rightly understood the structure and economy of Orchids. That the pollen- masses were found on the labellum and calyx, as he mentions, | can quite believe, but that does not prove it to be a monstrous flower, as it is an ordi- nary occurrence with most Orchids, and particularly with H. bifolia and H. chlorantha from the wind blowing them against themselves and one another or from some other accidental cau more subject to this. I have 1 treme viscidity of the discs, and the easy way in which they can be displaced from their anther-cells, they being set wider apart than most other species. Another reason why the pollinia could not have been growing on the sepals and labellum is that the anther-cells must have been produced before the pollen could be, according to all morp ical rules. Asto the pollen-mass at the base of the column, that pretty certainly got placed there by some insect jn the ordinary course of the fertilization of the flower. “ M. C.” mentions that the “glands formed a bulb where growing on the spur anc + but he cannot have properly examinec resh pol- Tinia, or he would have noticed that all of them have these swellings or discs, whether in or out of th anther-cells ; they forming a very important part the economy of the plant. ‘“M. C.” considers also that the pollinia remaining fixed to the perianth, after a fortnight’s drying, is another proof that they taust have been congenitally attached ; but the truth is that the longer the viscid matter of the lum is exposed to the air, the harder and firmer Ihave in my possession, now, specimens of cera filipendule with pollinia attached to tl tenn, and which are as firmly attached now as they were caught five or six years ago. I “M. C.? will not think that I make the above as Sertion without proof, as I can assure him that I have seen quite a hundred plants in the same con- dition as his H. difolia, and particularly of that Species. J expect that “M. C.’s” observations were called forth from reading Mr. Holland’s paper on monstrosities, in the June number, where men- tion is made of a flower having produced a stamen from the base of the column; but that was an en- tirely different affair, as it was a complete stamen, having a filament, anther-cells, and pollen, and springing from the base of the column, which would he its natural place if the flower had been regular and symmetrical: this is the only case of the that I have met with of the thousands of Zvg orehis flowers I have examined, though I have Several times noticed it in the exotic species of the genus Cypripedium —Arthur B. Cole. ed from the ex- « Tue Proruzr’s Flower (dmebia echioides).— Tts yellow corolla has five purple spots, which the ohammedans here believe to be caused by the tips of Mohammed’s fingers in blessing the flower; but he must have had a very small hand to accomplish this."—Dr. Brown, Lahore. Brr Query.—A hive of bees has apparently Swarmed into the small cape placed above. What Should be done with it as autumn approaches, the cape being too small to form a parent hive ? Brood comb has also been found in a glass placed on mother hive. The owner, not having met with the Occurrence before, would be glad of any information 48 to how to act on such occasions, and also what may have been the cause of it.—F. S. Hers Ropenrt, HEE I THE Fetip CRrANEsBILL.— is little wayside pl: Tl t, which your correspondént Mr. James Br ices in the June number of Scrence-Gossip, extensively used in some parts of South Wales as a domestic remedy in cases of erysipelas, and, as I have never seen any allusion made to its efficacy in medical works, | thought | would mention the i It bears a provincial name in the W significant of its vir- tues. Hrysipel } Welsh peasantry, because duced by cold air—what 1 ’—and hence 1 me of Herb “the herb of the blast,” or, more correctly erb for tl last, implying the herb es the y known if form of an called “ blast tea,”? and oultice. The scent of the gathered herb is I think most dis: able, ints, on r but the flower growing in its favourite ha old walls, and amid heaps of stones, is an especial : ite of mine. I have never heard it called but “wild geranium” and “the v1” are terms often used: cranesbill m the likeness borne by its fruit to the t bird’s beak. The name of the genus derived from this resemblance, is if not? and more than one botanical writer dr: attention to 1e singular appendages which the 1, or rather it, bears : ¢ 7 ens the fruit it may happen ort of seré vice or chink whe y i exhibited in ator’s wisdom,— > i ¥ instan rHING Like Bexrtries.—Utah is not only now plagued with locusts, but also with an insect called the “elephant beetle.” A credible person, who returned from the neighbourhood of the Salt Lake recently, saw myriads of them covering the earth with their shining black bodies, and de- stroying everything which they met in their path. Even small animals, he was informed by the ill- fated residents, did not escape the ferocity of these hordes. Their bodies were crowded upon and wounded cruelly with the powerful antenne, until they fell down exhausted by their struggles and loss of blood, when they were fastened upon by thousands and devoured. The entire carcase of a sheep was eaten, and the bones picked clean in three or four minutes, and if is said that a dead ox would be gobbled up in a quarter of an hour. § ferocious are these giant beetles, that mother: afraid to let their children go out of the house unattended by a grown person. In their frequent bloody contests the wounded are devoured on the instant. dener’s Magazine, May 22. \sTING THE Sxrn.—In page 186 of Scrz Gosstr for June, Mr. McIntyre an illustra- tion of a curious slide of a spider’s foot, which has been prepared from an animal on the pomt of shed- ding its skin, On looking over some old slides of mine to-day, I have come across a similar instance, though the object is a different one. In this case it is an entire silkworm prepared more especially to show the disposition of the trachea iz stu ; and as this creature must have been just about to change its skin, all the new prolegs, as well as others, and all the new spiracles, are seen within the old ones.—/red. H. Lang, Lower Redlands, Reading, June 19th, 1869. — + SS: ERE ee a en (Ave. 1, 1869. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. ALL communications relative to advertisements, post-office orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal, should be addressed to the Pusitsner. All contributions, books, and pamphlets for the Eptror should be sent to 192, Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri- butions should not be received later than the 15th of each month. No notice whutever can be taken of communica- tions which do not contain the nume and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with- held. We do not undertake to answer any queries not specially connected with Natural History, in accordance with our acceptance of that term; nor can we answer queries which might be solved by the correspondent by an appeal to any elementary book on the subject. We are always prepared to accept queries of a critical nature, and to publish the replies, provided some of our readers, besides the querist, are likely to be interested in them. M. J. G.—No. 2. Part of the moss (Racomitrium). 4. Basal portion of Antennularia antennina, R. L. C.—Burmeister’s “ Manual of Entomology” (Chur- ton, London, 1836). F. E. N.—Certainly not. J. W.—We cannot commence the practice of naming foreign plants. Cc. E. O.—Onur rule is *‘ one at a time.” T, C. D.—We figured a similar triple pear in our volume for 1867, page 62. W. H. L.—The true whitebait, according to Dr. Gunther, isa distinct species. Mr. F. Buckland states that much of what is sold as whitebait consists of the fry of several fish. See Land and Water for further particulars. J.R. P.—If our correspondents read Gossir properly, they would not repeat queries already, and recently, answered ; for ‘* food for tortoise,’’ see page 140. G. H. H.—For the very good reason that the Cirripedia are not Molluscs. W. K.—The best way of satisfying yourself is to keep tor- toises and watch their habits, which you will find much more instructive and interesting than sending us a string of queries. Ruppy SHELDRAKE IN Norro.x.—Dr. L. informs us that the bird alluded to in our last was a veritable ‘‘ escape.’’—See alsop. 184, J. A. B.—We do not care to introduce the subject. J. R.—To print the paper read at your club would be merely to repeat what we have alreadv done. See ‘‘ Pin-centres and Rose-centres ’’ in our volume for 1866, page 106; and nume- rous communications on cowslips, oxlips, and primroses during two or three years. ¥F,. KR. M.—The moths are Trochilium tipuliforme.—H. K. M. H. O. P.—The beetle is Phytonomus Rumicis which may be bred from the dock.—C. W. W. R. M.—The beetle is Lampyris noctiluca, male. The female is wingless and luminous, and is the common glow- worm.—C. W. G. E. Q.—The gnat appears to be Culex pipiens.—C. W. J. P.—The insects hatched from eggs found on the bramble are the larvee of some Hemipterous insect (Tree Bug).—C. W. W. G.—No aphis left in the box to determine the species.— 0. W. W. H.—The grass is a very poor, starved specimen of Gly- ceria fluitans, T. A. H.—The ferns are Lastrea dilatata and Lastrea Filiv- mas, Var. interrupta, Moore.— J. G. B. J. R.(Hitchin).—Not uncommon malformation of Trifolium vepens, the pistil being foliaceous, and the calyx with a ten- dency to become s0.— B. E. C. J—No. 1. Polytrichum juniperinum. 2. Campylopus flexuosus.—R. B. J. L.—‘‘ Honey-dew ” is applied to the extravasation of sap which takes place in hot, dry weather. The same term is also given to the clear honey-like fluid which is ejected by aphides, or plant-lice, from ‘pores at the extremity of their bodies. The Aphis which infests wheat at this season is Aphis avene. Some information is given in Curtis’s ‘* Farm Insects’? and Westwood’s “ Introduction to Modern Classifi- cation of Insects.”” In the latter—“‘ The anal tubercles secrete a saccharine fluid, of which ants are very fond ; and it is this fluid dropped upon the adjacent leaves, or the extrava- sated sap flowing from the wounds caused by the puncture of the insects, which is known under the name of Honey-dew.”’ See also the correspondence in Gardener's Chronicle, July 3rd, 10th, and 17th, 1869. Some persons believe that ‘“ Honey- dew ”’ is wholly, and always, caused by aphides. 192 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. G. R. W.—Probably you might obtain either Canadian En- tomologist or American Entomologist of Tritbner & Co., Pater- noster-row, London. EXCHANGES, Ferns.—Young plants of Platyloma atropurpurea, Adian- tum pubescens, Crncinalis nivea, Mynopteris hirta, and others, for Temperate and Hardy Foreign Ferns, or for Cystopteris fragilis, Allosorus crispus, Woodsia ilvensis, Asplenium mari- nun, or Ceterach uficinalis.—George Edey, 38, High Street, Rochester. Six WELL-MocuNTED S.LipeEs of either Recent or Fossil Diatoms, Insect Preparations, Opaque Objects, or Sections of Wood, will be given tor afew unmounted Palates of Trochus zizyphinus.—G. Moore, Durham Road, Norwich. Percu ScALEs.—Send stamped envelope to R. H. M., 18, Albert Buildings, Bath. Pura of Dispar, or Neustria, &c., for other Lepidoptera.— J. Purdue, Ridgeway Plympton, Devon. Cora.iines.— Twelve different named species (nearly all polarize beautifully) unmounted, for six mounted objects.— C. E. Osborn, 28, Albert Road, Upper Holloway, N. Fossius, Paleozoic and Mesozoic, chiefly Silurian, offered for good mounted slides.—H. M. Gwyther, Whittington, Oswestry. Brirish FERNS in exchange for other Ferns and British Moths and Butterflies.—Miss E. Hickson, 25, Latham Street, Preston. s or GrassnorrerR WARBLER in exchange for other Eggs.—Tuomas Robson, Front Street, Winlaton. VinRIo TRITICI, in growing wheat, or other objects offered far Paste Eels.—A. N., 38, West Street, Fareham, Hants. WANTED, in exchange for Good Microscopical Slides, the Volumes of the Journal of Microscopical Science contaming Greville and Donkin’s descriptions and plates of Diatomacex. —B. Taylor, Hon. Sec. Whitehaven Scientific Association. Movuntep Dratoms from American Deposits (Monmouth, Cherryfield; Duck Pond; French’s Pond; Sing-sing, Hud- son’s River; Perley’s Meadow; South Bridgton, &c.) for good Entomological Slides or Wood Sections,—*‘ Portland,” care of Editor of Screncre-GossiP, 192, Piccadilly. PAULOWNIA IMPERIALIS.—For Seeds, send stamped and ~ directed envelope to *‘ Oporto,” Editor of ScteNck-Gossir, 192, Piccadilly, W. BRITISH BuTTERFLIES AND Morus for exchange.—Ad- dress, S. H. Gaskell, Edward Street, Edgley, Stockport. BOOKS RECEIVED. “The Dental Register,’ for May, 1869. Cincinnati: Wrightson & Co. “Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club for 1868.’’ Hereford: Times office. “*The Monthly Microscopical Journal.” No. VII. July, 1869. London: Robert Hardwicke. “The Popular Science Review.” No. XXXII. July, 1869. London : Robert Hardwicke. * Land and Water.’’ 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183. **Scient Opinion.” Part VIII. July, 1869. London: Wyman & Sons, “The Gardener’s Magazine.” Part XLII. July, 1869. ** Le Naturaliste Canadien.” No. VII. June, 1869. Quebec: 8, Rne de la Montagne. ** Quarterly Magazine of the High Wycombe Natural History Society.”’ Vol. Il., No. 5. July, 1869. “The Canadian Entomologist.’? No. 11. June, 1869. “ American Naturalist ” (Sea-side Number). No. V. July, 1869. “ American Entomologist.’? No.11. July, 1869. “Dental Register.”” Vol. XXIII. No.6. June, 1969. ** A Guide to the Study of Insects,’? by A. S. Packard, jun, M.D. Parts VI., VII. Salem: Essex Institute. Communications Recelvep.—E. B.—E.—H. G.—F. W.— J. A. B.—R. H. F.—C, E. O.—F. S.—I. W.--T. H. W.— W. R. T.—J.H.—J. W. G.—C. P.—M. H.—G. B.—J. 5.— B. B.—R. H. A.—C. C.—J. W.—C. H.—J. M. C.—J. P.— H. W.—H.C. R.—R. McL.—R.—A. A., jun.—J. W. G.— W. 0. —B. T.—T. S.—C. F.—H. E. W.—J. H.—F. T.—M. D. B. F. T. M.—J. W.—W. K.—R. H. M.—R. H.—N. F.—R.L.C. —C. D.—W. G.—H. B. P.—W. Y.—J. B—G.—H. W.— A, A. (Chelmsford.)—J. K. J.—D. (Laleham.)—J. B.—H. R. —T. W. W.-C. E. O.—J. L. P.—W. H.—W. E. H.—H. M. G. —W. W.—J. C. H.—H, U.—J. R. E.—G, B.—J. A. B. —T. C. D.—W.R J.P. G.—T. B. W.—H. C. R.—W. G. S. y. R. T.—F, S.—W. H. L.—E. H.—G. E.— A. A.—T. R.—M, H. O. P.—G. E. Q.—G, M.—S.8.—J. R.— A. B. C.—A. M. F.—E. C. J.—J. K. J.—E. L.—G. H. Hi— R. B. B.—B.T.—W. A. F.—J. L.—J. R.—T. A. H.—E. T. 8. —J. R. P.—W. J. H.—B.S. D.—J. E. H.—A. N. Serr. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSITP. UNDER THE SEAWEED. By MAJOR HOLLAND, R.M.L.I. “HE spring tide which accompanied WA the last new moon *“\¢ has left a tide-mark ~\; of its own some four “Vi feet higher up the shelving, shingly beach in Stokes Bay than the stout ridge showing the high-water line of ordinary tides. Aided by a - stiff sou’-wester, it has thrown - upamost miscellaneous crop . of flotsam and jetsam. Broken oars, cork floats from the fishermen’s trawl nets, frag- ments of spars, and logs of shattered ship timber tell silent tales of rough work out at sea, and furnish a rare and abundant ‘harvest to the wretched, ragged, weather- stained beach-combers, who are busily plying their pre- carious trade, furtively eyeing the coastguard man, Who regards them with ill-favour as “a dubersome ‘lot, not at all particular as to who things belongs to.” Here are star-fishes (Solaster papposa and Uraster rubens), with sea grapes and cuttlefishes galore, aphrodites, crabs, whelks, hermits, a pipe- fish (Syngnathus), sea blubbers (Acalephe), a dead gull, and even a huge angler (Lophius piscatorius) nearly five feet long, and in a very unsavoury con- dition, all driven on shore by stress of weather, and left wrecked and stranded high and dry, stewing and baking in the hot summer sun. Here are cinders and vitrified metallic-looking clinkers from passing steamboats, with cocoa-nut husks and shells, and the green crests of golden Pine-apples, contributions, no doubt, from the ogi “: the West-Indian or Hamburg-American oO OT, mail-packets that run through the Solent. This bleached and battered cabbage-stump, reduced by the rudest possible process of maceration to a snowy network of fibre, would be in itself a fortune to a lecturer on structural botany. How those merry little pusses with streaming golden tresses, who “kilt their skirts aboon the knee,” and paddle in the pools on the margin of the ripple-marked sand, and run away screaming from “the white horses” that are beginning to roll in with the rising flood, and to break in a mimic surf on the beach, laugh when the said stump goes into our pocket, while out of the same pocket comes a common pickle- bottle, labelled onions, in large characters, which, after a loud pop with the bung, is gravely set down by a great matted and tangled coil of seaweed, nearly as thick as one of their waists, and looking, as it lies in a wavy line many yards long, with many similar lengths on either hand, like some great ocean cable “laid up” by old Father Neptune and his mates at the bottom of the deep, deep sea. A dozen white-winged yachts, schooners, yawls, and cutters are cruising between the Nab and the Needles ; a mighty ironclad is running the measured mile; the towers of Osborne stand out in bold relief against the blue sky; and even the ivied walls of Norris Castle can be distinguished from the background of rich woodland behind them ;—all is bright and beautiful and full of life; and so is this old cable-mat of sun-baked seaweed with which we have to do. Projecté vilior algé—more worthless than the seaweed thrown out upon the shore. Perhaps if the desponding Zhyrsis had possessed a seaside book and a microscope, or even a pocket lens, and could have shown his Nerine Galatea the wonders and beauties contained in the very commonest heap of alga, he would have selected some other standard of comparison. We lift up the mass, and out drops a four-horned spider-crab (Pisa detraodon), with four strong horns on the front of his carapace, the K shorter pair forming a kind of penthouse over his eyes, which he carries farther back in his head than most of his congeners: he wears a growing sponge on his back, and a large and well-selected assortment of parasitic plants all over his body, after the:fashion of his race. Fig. 133. The Four-horned Spider-crab (male) (Pisa tetraodon), nat. size. But let us look at the individual weeds of which this cable iscomposed. What a gathering of Zhallo- gens! We have ascore of varieties of marine plants, from cliffs aud rocks, from the sea-surface, from the shallows, and; from the deepest and darkest of the Nereids’ gardens, all torn from their native habitats by the commotion caused in the depths below the last time that Alolus gave the winds a holiday, e¢ vastos volvunt ad litora fluctus ; and, borne on the lashing waves to the shore, the tide took them as it climbed up the slope, and pushed the whole lot of them before if in one indiscriminate omaium gatherum, rolling them over and over, and over again, like sailors making up a spare topsail, mixing them up with sand and gravel, and old rags, chips, and dead. dogs, and all manner of rejectamenta ; and having thus twisted them into ponderous vegetable hawsers, and reached its own highest limits, the bounds that it may not pass, with one final mighty heave it dashed them up upon the strand, and then ran away, and left them {there for you dear young readers and ourselves to gossip over. Draw out this long bundle of twisted rounded strings, all fastened to one little black pebble, a bit of hornblende rock: it is the Sea Whiplash, or Sea Catgut (Chorda filum) ; the “wee gigglets ” there would call the strings “ mermaids’ laces.” At a little distance this hank might easily be mistaken for a pennyworth of the leather boot-laces the hawkers sell in the streets. Then we have all the sea-wracks. Here is the Bladder-wrack (Fucus vesiculosus) ; the Serrated Wrack (£. serratus); the 194 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Serr. 1, 1869, Knotted Wrack (7. zodosus), the air-bladders of which the children love to pop ; andthe SmallWrack (F. canaliculatus) : all of which will be found depicted and described in the September number of Scrence- Gossip for 1865. The fronds of #. serratus are dotted with multitudes of little milk-white flattened spiral shells (Spirorbis nautiloides), members of the family Amphitrite. The animals contained in them closely resemble the larger Serpula, and possess six branchial filaments of a rose-pink tint, and’a pedun- culate operculum, shaped like an angel’s trumpet. j A hie f Ahi Ol } eat Fig. 134. Spirorbis nautiloides Fig. 135. Spirorbis nautiloides, on Fucus serratus, nat. size. x 25. Of weeds belonging to the littoral zone, we find a bunch of Laurentia pinnatifida, which the good people north o’ Tweed call Pepper-Dulse, and eat with a relish, on account of its pungent flayour. Here are the grey-green tufts of Cladophora rupes- tris, and the purple-red branching fronds of Chon- drus crispus, the well-known Carrageen moss, from which we extract a most nutritious jelly, to say nothing of bandoline for fixing rebellious plaits of hair and pointing our moustaches. From a deeper zone come these:—Thong or Strap- weeds (Himanthalia lorea), and these tough strong brown ribbons of the Sea-wand (Laminaria digitata), which is sold for food in Scotland under the name of “tangle”: the round leathery stems look like the thick ends of American cow-hide whips, and we remember in our boyish days how we used to cub them off for “tongos” to thrash the hostile alumni of a rival school, who sometimes charged us in the streets, But these stems can minister to the relief of far greater sufferings than they have eyer been made to inflict: from them the chemist extracts dodine, one of the most valuable of medicines; moreover, the Laminaria stalks dried and used for fuel by shipwrecked mariners are said to be the sea-weeds that aided man in the discovery of glass. Two or three mussels have anchored themselves to the branching roots, and almost every one of them on being opened is found to contain a lively little Pea-crab (Pizno- theres pisum, fig, 136). It pro- bably takes up its abode there to shelter its soft defenceless frame from hard knocks ; it Rossseshanes goadeee patronizes other bivalves, as the Mactra and Modiola, and especially the Pinna. _ valve is convex and full, while the right or lower is Serr. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 195 Many fables have been written about it; the | ancients supposed that in return for cheap lodg- ings it acted as a watch-dog, keeping a sharp look- out and warning its eyeless host of coming danger: with this idea Aristotle named it Tlivydgudaé, the Pinna’s guard. Almost buried beneath the roots, and cemented to the stone on which the roots have laid hold, is a thin, delicate, and translucent but poisonous mem- ber of the oyster tribe, an dzomia (dvdpotoe, unlike); so called from its two valves being totally different from each other inshape and size. The left or upper scarcely one half as large, and is concave and bent | about to adapt itself to the foreign body to which itis attached. In the lower valve near the hinge is an orifice, through which a byssus-like muscular band tipped with a shelly button or plug (concern- ing which the learned have had many disputes) passes, by which the creature effects its hold: it is often seen encrusted on the common oyster, and we | rarely examine a root of Laminaria without finding aspecimen : it is often called the Saddle Oyster; its lawful name is Anomia Lphippium, Twisted amongst the roots are some limp unplea- sant-looking flattened tubes four or five inches long, | like slips of wet whity-brown paper powdered with | sand, Put them into the bottle of salt water; they contain the pretty annelids Zunice tubicola (of Cuvier); we must examine them at home. We can- not pause to overhaul the seaweeds any longer, but let us roll back a yard or two of this mass, and see if there is anything under them. Fig. 137, The Sandhopper (Talitrus locusta), x 5. The very ground seems to bealive. First of all let | US Secure a dozen or two of these Sandhoppers, Lalitri, crustaceans of the order Amphipoda: these, M consequence of their jumping propensities, are distinguished by the title Amphipoda saltatoria. To economize space and to avoid repetition, we must refer our readers to the April number of this Present year, in which, under the head of Phronima, will be found sundry details respecting crustaceans Mm general and Amphipods in particular. The genus Zulitrus, of the family Orchestiide, display the following characteristics, according to Messrs. Bate and Westwood, from whose great work on “The British Sessile-eyed Crustacca ” the above and the three following figures are taken :— “Superior antenne short and rudimentary. In- ferior antenne with the basal joints fused into the facial wall of the cephalon. Mandibular palpi ob- solete. Maxillipedes not unguiculate. First pair of gnathopoda simple ; second pair small and feeble. Coxe of third pair of pereiopoda as deep as the cox of the second, and divided into two equal lobes. Telson rudimentary;” and the specific character of 7. locusta. “Superior antenne only reaching to half the length of the penultimate joint of the peduncle of the lower. Last joint of the peduncle of the inferior antenne nearly twice as long as the penultimate. First pair of gnathopoda robust and powerful. Second pair feeble, mem- branaceous, terminating in an imperfectly formed subchelate band: dactylos small and remote from the extremity of the propodos. Posterior pair of pleopoda very short. Telson rudimentary. Length half to three-quarters of an inch.” The first we catch is one of the above-described Sandhoppers (7. Jocusta), by far the commonest and most abundant members of the family Orches- tiide. They are said seldom to enter the water voluntarily, but to dwell under the seaweeds at the top of high-water mark, or to burrow in the sand. We have found them in myriads in the cracks in the clayon the face of the cliffs, or high banks between Brown-down and Hill-head, at least three feet above the highest part of the beach. Although of a purely aquatic character, and re- quiring constant moisture, they die if kept long in water: they are carnivorous, and “A highly useful as scavengers ; they have no IS objection to turn cannibals and eat each other ; thus assisting the gulls and plovers in keeping down the undue multiplication of their legions. The French have named them Puces de Mer: the name given them, in allusion to the peculiar motion of their tail in ‘leaping, is from the Latin talitrum (a flip or fillip). The genus Orehestia present the general appearance of Talitrus, but have both pairs of gnathopods subchelate ; the second pair in the male large and powerful ; in the female, small and feeble ; the telson single and well developed. Specific character :—‘ Second pair of gnathopoda having the propodos tapering, the palm occupying nearly the entire length of the inferior margin, defined by a large tooth at the inferior angle.” This species of the genus Orchestia (fig. 138) seems to be found chiefly on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, where another genus, Allorchestes, is also found: we have not met with them here. For fuller details, and for drawings and descriptions of all the known K 2 (Serr. 1, 1869, genera, we must refer the reader to the work from which we have quoted: the numbers, price 2s. 6d. each, can be purchased singly; published by Van Voorst. We are told of curious instances in which creatures of this order have been found in woods a considerable distance inland. Fig. 138. Orchestia Deshayesii, x 5. Next in abundance to the Sandhoppers come the Shorehoppers (Orchestia littorea, fig. 139). Specific character :—“ Propodos of the second pair of gnathopoda having the palm convex, slightly oblique, with a small tooth at the inferior angle. Posterior pair of pereiopoda having the carpus and meros in the older males largely developed. Length 36 of an inch.” We have searched up and down for them in vain; doubtless they are to be found in the vicinity, but they are not under this particular bunch of weed we have been turning over, and it is no uncommon thing for them to be wanting in localities where Zulitri are plentiful. The following figure is given for purposes of identification. Fig. 139. The Shorehopper (Orchestia littorea), x 5. Paley noticed the myriads of hoppers dancing in the sun, and “the religious mind of the observer saw inthis the action of expressed gratitude for existence.” Another writer says, “They hopped and leaped about, devouring each other as if for very wantonness.” If these active little skippers literally “jump for joy,” possessing the conscious- ness that at any moment their nearest and dearest relatives may seize “and inwardly digest them,” they should certainly receive credit, even from Mark Tapley, for “ being jolly ” under such circum- 196 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. stances. But even if one could conceive that they consider it fun to be eaten up alive by their intimate friends, we must opine that they would rather not furnish meals for the carnivorous beetles, Cillenum laterale and Broscus cephalotes, which live with them and upon them. The first of these is described as “coppery, shining; antenne fuscous ; their base and the legs testaceous; mS elytra ochraceous, with an neous reflection”: the second as “atrous; head and thorax shining.” A score or ‘3 two of flies, Orygma luctuosa, look- ing very much like common house- flies, but wet and shining, are found amongst the weed, some of them with parasitic acari adhering to them, which look like little drops of an orange-coloured fluid. But we must hasten onwards. - Fig. 140. Fig. 141. Cillenum laterale, x 4. Broscus cephalotes, x 4, Leaving the beach, we come to a little marshy pool of stag- nant brackish water, — the natural drainage of the soil mixed with a certain modi- cum of salt water, which filters through the shingle or is dashed over in tempestuous weather: it is thick and muddy and ill- smelling, and full of life. The first dip of the little net of the collecting-case brings up @ kicking, struggling thing, at first sight very like the preced- ing saltatory amphipods; but this is a’truly aquatic genus, a natatory amphipod (Gammarus Locusta). We are indebted to Mr. Spence Bate for our know- ledge of the nest-building habits of certain crus- tacea; viz., Podocerus pulchella, Amphitoé rubri- cata, and others (vide “Report of Devon and Cornwall Natural History Society, 1857 *?), but our present specimen (fig. 142) is remarkable for her maternal solicitude for her young: swimming in the still pool with her little ones about her, she reminds us of a hen with her chicks. Sept. 1,.1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 197 The most striking peculiarity of this creature’s appearance, contrasted with those previously de- scribed, is due to the two pairs of antenne being nearly equal in length, the superior being rather the longer : the illustration shows her of the natural size, three-quarters of an inch. The juveniles fish out these Gammaride by the hundred, and take them home to be boiled for tea, believing them (as greater people have oftentimes done) to be shrimps. Ignorance is in this case undoubtedly bliss, and they are eaten with as much relish as though they were veritable Crangonide. Fig. 142. Gammarus locusta and her brood. By the way, I have rarely seen true shrimps in the _ markets hereabouts : the three varieties of prawns— viz., Palemon serratus, with a long saw rostrum curving upwards, with its anterior half smooth on ‘the upper side, and with seven to eight teeth on the rest of its extent, and five to six teeth on the under side; Palemon squilla, with a much shorter and nearly straight saw dentated to the end; and the very much smaller Palemon varians, with a very short saw, with four to six teeth above, and only two or three below —are all sold here, if below a certain size, under the name of shrimps. The rostrum is an unmistakable badge of the Prawn; moreover, its first pair of feet are slender and terminated by a small didactylous hand; while the Shrimp proper (Crangon vulgaris) has no rostrum at all, and the first pair of feet are thick, and ter- minated by a monodactylous sub-cheliform hand. It is not advisable to attempt to enlighten a lady vendor of crustaceans, if she should persist in calling her prawns shrimps. Ezperte credo, “What! you want to tell me them be pra’ans an’ not shrimps ? Vive-an’-varty year this blesséd Michaelmas have me an’ my old man travelled the country wi’ ’em, and now for you to tell me as we don’t know t’other from which !!” Another dip, and up comes a brownish semitrans- parent creature something like a washed-out wood- louse: this (fig. 143) is Spheroma serratum, a natatory Isopod, with horizontal swimming-plates on the last pair of false feet. Like his terres- trial representative, he can and does occasionally roll himself up in a ball. But we must hurry on; we may not even stop to think of the polypes, and polyzoa, the tunicata, ; the cirripeds, the diatoms, and a ",)40. Spharoma hundred other things that pass through our hands in the short space of one hour. And now that we have reached home, let us ex- amine this rich-looking bunch of sea-grapes. If we placed them in a dessert-dish, garnished with vine- leaves, we might easily deceive the unwary. These are the eggs of the common Cuttlefish (the pro- prietor of the cuttle-bones on the beach), Sepia offici- nalis. Wach one of these was deposited separately, and attached by its pedicle to the stalk of a sea- weed; others were added one by one till the cluster was completed. (Screncr-Gossrr, 1867, fig. 211.) A cross section of one of these, made when it is new laid (fig. 144) displays (a) the horny exterior covering, (4) the smooth chorion, (¢c) the curiously folded vitelline membrane, containing (d) the watery-looking yolk. The latter, instead of being connected with the alimentary canal in the usual way (as in birds), is attached, or rather the embryo is attached, to it by the head, by a tube which passes between the cephalic arms, and commu- nicates with the pharynx—“adheret ovo Sepia parte suo priori,” a fact observed and recorded by Aristotle. Fig. 145. Vertical Section of Fig. 144. Transverse Section Section Embryo of §, officinalis. of Ovum of S. officinalis. In fig. 145, a shows the arms or tentacles, 4 the yolk communicating with the pharynx by the tube (c), and d the funnel or infundibulum, by which the water is expired. At this season most of the fry are upon the point of being hatched; it is in- teresting to detach one of the eggs, and, holding it by its pedicle, to slit the coverings down to the free end with a pair of fine-pointed scissors; allow the fluids to escape, then turn the bag inside out, and behold a little shapeless, motionless, gelatinous mass. Let this drop witha gentle splash into a basin of clean sea-water, and, hi! presto! what a trans- formation! Inamoment the little quivering lump of colourless jelly turns spotted brown, unfolds, darts 198 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Szrr. 1, 1869, about like a flash of lightning, and probably fires off the contents of his tiny ink-bag to let the wide world he has just entered see that he is a true Sepia. From the limp unpleasant-looking tubes we flung into the bottle gorgeous annelids have come forth to show their rainbow hues: these are of the family Eunicida, and this fellow with four antenne on his head and three on his neck is Onuphis tubicola: he is of a pale canary colour; the currents of his bright red blood are shown with remarkable distinctness passing from tail to head by the dorsal vessel; green and blue lights play about bim when he is in motion, and on the slightest disturbance he goes through the most wonderful contortions, looking like the letter $ in convulsions ; he has deserted his old tube, and is beginning to manufacture a new one, stretching threads across from side to side of the pie-dish into which he has been poured out. It isamost curious process; but of this more anon; we have come to the end of our tether, and if in the small space we are permitted to occupy we have been able to aid the young seaside naturalist in finding and identifying any one object, we shall not regret the hours spent in endeavouring to describe for him the things he cannot fail to see the next time he goes out to hunt for specimens under the seaweed. Bury Cross, Gosport, SERTULARIANS. T is more than a hundred years since Ellis pub- lished his “Essay towards a Natural History of Corallines,” and throughout this period that work has maintained a reputation for care and fidelity on the part of the author not always merited by writers on natural history, but which in this instance is well deserved. No separate work devoted to zoophytes appeared in this country between 1755, the date of Ellis’s book, and 1838, when the first edition of Johnston’s “ History of Zoophytes ” was published, This was another excellent work, which did good service in its time, and represented the advance which science, or classification, had made during the interval. Nine years later the second edition was produced, and this remained the only book of authority until a few months since, when the Rev. IT. Hincks’sj “ History of the British Hydroid Zoophytes,” long promised, at length ap- peared. llis’s “Corallines,” and Lamouroux’s * Flexible Corallines,” included the organisms com- monly called “ Zoophytes,” and ‘these Johnston combined with Polyzoa, Sea Anemones, and other animals under the same vague title. Hincks adopts *‘Hydroid Zoophytes” to represent the order Hydroida of the class Hydrozoa, It is not our pur- pose to pursue the details either of the bibliography | or classification of these organisms, but at once to select a single group, or family, called (the Sertu- lariida, the polyparies or horny skeletons of which are freely cast upon our shores after rough weather, and are known to every observaut rambler on the beach. In a previous number (August, 1865) we pub- lished some remarks on this subject, accompanied by illustrations, which included a portion only of the Sertularians, with less regard to their micro- scopical characters than we hope now to furnish, The family of Sertularians are easily recognized by their external form, divided, according to our latest authority, into five genera, of which one only has the calycles, or cells (containing the polypite, or living animal), imbedded in what may be called the'axis. This is the genus Zhuiaria, to which the “ Bottle Brush Coralline” belongs. Of the remain- ing four genera, one only has the calycles, or cells, confined to one side of the axis. This is represented by the “Sickle Coralline” (Hydralimannia). The three genera which have biserial, or two-rowed cells, are Sertulariella, in which the cells have’ an operculum; and of those without an operculum Diphasia has the capsules, or Goniothece, with a cleft margin, and internal pouch; whilst in Sertularia the orifice is plain, and there is no internal pouch. Those who are acquainted with the genus Sertularia as represented in Johnston’s “ Zoophytes,” will find it thus divided into three genera, one of which retains the original name. Taking these in the order in which we have already enumerated them, rather than the more ac- curate and scientific sequence adopted by Hinceks, we commence with the “Bottle Brush Coralline” (Lhuiaria thuia), of which we give an illustration of a small specimen, natural size (fig. 146). It isfound attached to shells from deep water. The stem is erect and bare in its lower portion, from the falling off of the branches, whilst in the upper portion the branches remain attached, forming a cylindrical brush-like head. The cells, or calycles, are imbedded in the substance of the branches (fig. 147, @). The capsules are pear-shaped and smooth, springing from the base of the cells (fig. 147, 6). For informa- tion of the structure and function of these repro- ductive bodies, we must refer the reader to Mr. Hincks’s book, Another species of this same genus is the “Sea Spleenwort” (Lhuiaria articulata), in which the stem is naked below, and the branches above are arranged in a pinnate or feathery manner. It also occurs on shells and stones in deep water, and both are freely distributed around our coasts. The “Sickle Coralline ” (Hydrailmannia falcata) is the same as the Plumularia falcata of Johnston. Its external appearance is so very characteristic that it cannot well be mistaken for any other, and it is, moreover, so common everywhere, cast up by the tide, that the “skeleton”? may almost always Serr. 1, 1869,] HARDWICKE’S SCLIENCE-GOSSIP, 199 be found on the shore. The stem is slender, kaa twisted like a corkscrew; the branches are all nearly of the same length, spirally arranged upon the | mounted by four teeth (fig. 149, a). The mal stem, and when dry are curved likea sickle, ‘The Fig. 147. Thuiaria thuia, magnified. 6. capsule. Fig. 146, nat. size. cells, or ecalycles, are only on one side of the branches, closely crowded together (fig. 148), and the capsules are abundant in the spring, pear- shaped, a little ribbed longitudinally when dry, with slightly contracted tubular mouth (fig. 148, «). In all the remaining species whick are included amongst Sertularians, the cells are projecting, and inrows on opposite sides of the stem, All the species which are now united in the genus Ser- tulariella (with one exception) are very small. The cells are distinctly alternate, and usually at agreater | distance apart than in the other groups. ‘The mouths of the cells are always toothed, and are closed by a prominent. operculum. The first species is the “Great Tooth Coralline a (Sertulariella polyzonias), which is the commonest of all, and occurs on shells, seaweeds, and other zoophytes all around the coast, It is very variable in size, and in the form of the calycles, sometimes not more than half an inch in length, and sometimes forming plant-like masses, The cells have four teeth on the margin (fig. 149), and the capsules are ovate, and wrinkled transversely throughout their length; the mouth of the capsules is tubular, sur- pps bs eb : e and emale capsules differ considerably in size and colour, \y }y @ wt | - ' | Fig. 149. Sertulariella polyzonias, magnified. a. capsule. Another species with pinnate branches (Seréw- lariella Gayi) is found on the Cornish coast, and a few other localities. The cells are very similar, sometimes a little wrinkled transversely in this species, but the capsules are distinct, for the mouth is only two-lipped, and the upper half only of the capsule is transversely wrinkled. Mr, Alder found a third species as a parasite on zoophytes, brought in by Newcastle fishing boats, but it is too rare to ‘require further notice here. ' The “Snail Trefoil Coralline” (Sertulariella rugosa) is found on the “sea-mat,” seaweeds, and other zoophytes. It is less than an inch in height, either erect or creeping. The cells are barrel. shaped, and ribbed transversely (fig. 150). The capsules are three or four times as large as the calycles, similarly shaped and ribbed, with a four- toothed orifice (fig. 150, a), one of the teeth being very minute. Two other species are rare (S. ¢enella and S. fusiformis), and both very small. The fifteen British species which are divided as equally as they can be between the two genera, Diphasia and Sertularia, might be classed artificially two or three ways into two divisions. For instance, some have the cells or calycles opposite each other in parts, others have them alternate. Again, although all are more or less branched, some have the branches pinnate, or arranged in a feathery manner, and in others the branching is forked or irregular. But the division into two genera which 200 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Szpr. 1, 1869, Mr. Hincks has followed is the one we feel most dispcsed to adopt even for this superficial review. —L a Fig. 150, Sertulariella rugosa, magnified. a. capsule. In the Diphasia group the calycles are more or less decidedly opposite, as they are also in half the species included in Sertularia, but the mouths of the cells in the former are either entire, or only obscurely toothed, whilst in the latter either two- lipped or pointed. The capsules differ in the two genera, although this character is of very little ser- vice in determining empty skeletons. In Diphasia there is a spherical pouch in the upper portion of the’capsule which is absent in Sertularia. Fig. 151. Diphasia rosacea, natural size. Of the seven species of Diphasia, two are irregu- larly branched, two irregularly pinnate, and three decidedly pinnate. Of those branching irregularly, the smallest and most delicate is the “Lily Coral- line” (Diphasia rosacea). The shoots are very slender and delicate (fig. 151), chiefly parasitic on other zoophytes. Its texture is thin, and the cells are subject to folding and wrinkling when dry on this account (fig. 152, @). The capsules have eight longitudinal ridges, encing in as many projections at the apex (fig. 152, b,c). This is usually minute, seldom exceeding one or two inches in height. The other irregularly branched species is the Sea Tamarisk” (Diphasia tamarisca). It is of a robust habit, and often of a large size. The cells Fig. 152. Diphasia rosacea, magnified. a. calycles; }. male capsule; ec. female capsule. have the upper half diverging, with a three-toothed aperture. The male capsules are the smallest, and somewhat heart-shaped, generally arranged in rows. The female capsules are larger, and much lacerated at the mouth. This species occurs on shells, &c., in deep water, and is not very common. The irregularly pinnate species are Diphasia attenuata and Diphasia fallax, neither of which is particularly common. The former bears some re- semblance to the Lily Coralline, save that it is of a firmer texture, and the cells do not shrivel in dry- ing. The capsules are strongly spiny at the apex, with six longitudinal ridges. Generally parasitic on other zoophytes. Diphasia fallax is feathery in its ordinary con- dition, and usually bears a number of curled tendrils. The stems are thick and dark coloured, with plumose branches. ‘lhe calycles are tubular and diverging; the capsules elongated, and surmounted by four stout spines. Hitherto found only on our northern coasts, attached to other zoophytes. Of the three remaining species, which have regu larly pinnate branches, Diphasia alata is rare. The cells are very small and peculiar, with the upper portion projecting abruptly. The other two are Diphasia pinnata and Diphasia pinaster. The two forms described by Johnston and others as Sertularia pinnata and Sertularia nigra are now admitted to be male and female of D. pinnata. The height is often six inches or more, and of a dark colour when dry. The cells or calycles are rather small, springing but little from the stem, with a wide even mouth (fig. 153), The capsules are pro- Serr. 1, 1869.] duced freely, the male only one-third the size of the | has the branches regularly pinnate female, and bluntly toothed at the apex; the female obovate and divided by longitudinal lines into four lobes. the coasts of Devon and.Cornwall, in deep water. Fig. 153. Diphasia pinnata, magnified. Diphasia pinaster, as now understood, includes also two species of Johnston, the male Sertwluria | It | pinaster, and the female Sertularia margareta. attains from two to six inches in height, and is of a light horn colour. The cells or calycles are cylin- drial, the upper half very abruptly turned outwards, 80 as to cause a fold at the angle (fig. 154). The male capsules are ovate, and almost quadrangular in the upper portion, with a spine at each angle. The female capsule is oval, with four longitudinal ridges, and about eight divergent spines in two series on the upper half (fig. 154, a). It is not an uncommon Species, and seems to be well distributed. Fig. 154. Diphasia pinaster, a. calycles; 4. female capsule. The true Sertularias may be grouped in a similar manner, Four species have the cells more or less Opposite in their arrangement, and only one of these HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, | small intermediate tooth (fig. 155), 201 This is §, | ‘ 5 * | filicula.. Two species are very small and but slightly | branched, and th ar (5. opere: Vite . This species is almost confined to | © other (S.operculata) is one of the commonest of zoophytes, and branches much and | irregularly. The “Sea Hair Coralline ” (Sertularia | Qperculata) is very slender and delicate, the opposite calycles divergent, ending in a sharp point, with a The capsules Fig. 155. Sertularia operculata. a,natural size ; ). magnified. are pear-shaped and large, with a circular lid (fig. 156). It is parasitic on seaweeds a little below low-water mark, and may nearly always be picked up on the shore. The “Sea Oak Coralline” (Sertularia pumila) is seldom more than half an inch in height, and yet it attaches itself in such clusters to some of the larger seaweeds as almost to cover their stems. The calycles are in pairs forming a V-shaped figure. The capsules are ovate, with a tubular rim. This and za, its ally, Sertularia gracilis, ave Fig. 156. Capsule of the two small and _ slightly Serwlaria operculata. branched species above alluded to. The latter is not more than half the size of its companion species, more delicate, and quite trans- parent. The cells are alike in form, but smaller. The capsule has a narrower neck and is less rimmed. Both are equally common on seaweeds and other zoophytes. The “Fern Coralline” (Sertularia filicula), as already observed, has feathery branches, and oppo- sitely arranged cells, or calycles (fig. 158). It is more slender and delicate than the majority of the pinnate zoophytes. “It is cast on shore in large, tangled | masses, and may be known at once by its zigzag stems, i's peculiar colour,and its exquisite delicacy.” ‘Fig. 157. Sertularia pumila. a. naturalsize; 5. magnified. shaped, with a short tubular mouth (fig. 158, @). Fig. 158. Sertularia filicula, magnified. a, capsule. Four species of Sertularia have the calycles alternate; two.of these have branches pinnately arranged, and two have the branches much divided into secondary branchlets. Of the pinnate species, one (Sertularia fusca) is rare, smaller than the other, with the calycles in two rows, the mouths of the calycles turning alternately in opposite directions. The other, called the “ Sea Fir Coralline ” (Sertularia abietina), is sometimes a foot in height. The calycles are large, flask-shaped, with the mouths turned out- wards and upwards (fig. 160). The capsules are ovate, with a short mouth, and smooth, or slightly wrinkled transversely when dry (fig. 160, a). Very common on shells, &e., from deep water. The two remaining species have slender stems, with short branches somewhat spirally arranged. The branches again are much subdivided. The 202 HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. (Serr. 1, 1869. * Squirrel’s Tail Coralline” (Sertularia argentea) is the smaller of the two, the branches more rigid and erect. The calycles are shorter, swollen | below, with a bent aperture, pointed on one side The'calycles are flask-shaped, and the capsules pear- | Fig. 160. Sertularia abietina. a. calycles; b. capsule, (fig. 161, 2). This is the most common species on shells from deep water. Fig. 161. Sertularia argentea. a. calycles ; J, capsule. Fig. 159. Sertularia abietina, natural size. magnified. (2 SS) Supt. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 203 The “Sea Cypress” (Sertularia cupressina) has long wiry stems, the branches drooping and less rigid than in the “Squirrel’s Tail”’ The calycles are longer, tubular, and with a two-lipped aperture (fig. 162, a). Thecapsules are similar in both species, rather more cylindrical in this than the former, with two spines at the upper end, and a prominent mouth (fig. 162, 4). Fig. 162. Sertularia cupressina. a. calycles; 5. capsule. These brief characters with accompanying figures will, we hope, enable any one to name such specimens of the Sertularians as he may collect during his rambles on the shore. We have purposely omitted all description or reference to the living animals, as foreign to our present purpose; but those who desire to pursue the study, and become better ac- quainted with these interesting organisms, we refer, with confidence, to the Rev. 'T. Hincks’s “ History of Hydroid Zoophytes,” recently published by Van Voorst ; or an article on “ Sertularian Zoophytes,” by the same author, in the last number of the Popular Science Review. SEA ANEMONES.* TFXHE modern aquarium exposes the spectator to many wonderful surprises. Coiled up against the transparent crystal walls of the basin he ob- serves living creatures of the most brilliant shades of colour, and more resembling flowers than animals, Supported by a solid base and cylindrical stem, he sees them terminate like the corolla of a flower, as in the petals of the anemone: these are the animals we call Sea Anemones— curious zoophytes, which, as all persons familiar with the Seashore may have observed, are now seen sus- pended from the rocks, and presently buried at the bottom of the sea, or floating on its surface. These charming and timid creatures are also called " Extracted from the “Ocean World,” translated from the French of Louis Figuier, and published by Messrs. Chapman & Hall, to whose kindness we are also indebted for the illus- trations to this article. Actinia, as indicating their disposition to form rays or stars, from the Greek dxriv, a ray. The body of these animals is cylindrical in form, terminating beneath in a muscular disk, which is generally large and distinct, enabling them to cling vigorously to foreign bodies. It terminates above in an upper disk, bearing many rows of tentacles, which differ from each other only in their size. These tentacles are sometimes decorated with brilliant colours, forming a species of collarette, consisting of contractile and often retractile tubes, pierced at their points with an orifice, whence issue jets of water, which is ejected at the will of the animal. Arranged in multiples of circles, they dis- tribute themselves with perfect regularity round the mouth. These are the arms of this species of zoophyte. The mouth of the Actinia opeus among the tentacles. Oval in form, it communicates by means of a tube with a stomach, broad and short, which descends vertically, and abuts by a large opening on the visceral cavity, the interior of which is di- vided into little cells or chambers. These cells and chambers are not all of the same dimensions; in parting from the eylindrical walls of the body, they advance, the one increasing, the others getting smaller, in the direction of the centre. Moreover, they have many kinds of cells, which dispose them- selyes in their different relations with great regularity—their tentacula, which correspond with them, being arranged in circles radiating more or less from the centre. The stomach of the sea anemones fulfils a multi- tude of functions. At first it is the digestive organ; itis also the seat of respiration ; and is un- ceasingly moistened by the water, which it passes through, imbibes, and ejects. The visceral cavity absorbs the atmospheric air contained in the water ; for the stomach is also a lung, and through the same organ it ejects its young! In short, the reproductive organs, the eggs, and the larve are all connected with the tentacles or arms. In the month of September the eggs are fecundated, and the larve or embryos developed. As Frédol says in “La Monde. de la Mer,” “these animals bear their young, not upon their arms, but 7x their arms. The larvee generally pass from the tentacula into the stomach, and are afterwards ejected from the mouth along with the rejecta of their food—a most singular formation, in which the stomach breathes and the mouth serves the purposes of accouche- ment—facts which it would be difficult to believe on other than the most positive evidence.” “The daisy-like anemones (Sagartia bellis, Gosse) in the Zoological Gardens of Paris,” says Frédol, “frequently throw up little embryos, which are dispersed, and attach themselves to various parts of the aquarium, and finally become miniature anemones exactly like the parent. An actinia 7 < RE SS Ss ee ed a2 : 204 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Szrr. 1, 1969. Fig. 163. Ska ANrMONEs. 1,2, 8, Actinia suleata. 4, Phymactes St. Helene, which had taken a very copious repast ejected a portion of it about twenty-four hours later, and in the middle of the ejected food were found thirty- eight young individuals.” According to Dalyell, an accouchement is here a fit of indigestion. The lower class of animals have, in fact, as the general basis of their organization, a sac with a single opening, which is applied, as we have seen, to a great variety of uses. It receives and rejects ; it swallows and it vomits. The vomiting becomes necessary and habitual—the normal condition, in short, of the animal—and is perhaps a source of pleasure to it, for it is not a malady, but a func- tion, and even a function multiplied. In the sea anemone it expels the excrement, and lays its eggs; in others, as we have seen, it even serves the pur- poses of respiration ; so that the animal flowers may probably be said to enjoy their regular and periodi- cal vomit. The sea anemones multiply their species in another manner. On the edge of their base certain 5, Actinia capensis, 8. Actinia amethystina, 7. Actinia St. Catharine, 6. Actinia Peruviana, 9, Comactis viridis, bud-like excrescences may often be observed. These buds are by-and-by transformed into embryos, which detach themselves from the mother, and soon become individuals in all respects resembling her. This mode of reproduction greatly resembles some of the vegetative processes. Another and very singular mode of reproduction has been noted by Mr. Hogg in the case‘of Actinia willet. Wishing to detach this anemone from the aquarium, this gen- tleman used every effort to effect his purpose; but only succeeded, after violent exertions, in tearing the lower part of the animal. Six portions remained attached to the glass walls of the aquarium. At the end of eight days, attempts were again made to detach these fragments; but it was observed, with much surprise, that they shrank from the touch and contracted themselves. Hach of them soon became crowned with a little row of tentacula, and finally each fragment became a new anemone. Every part of these strange creatures thus becomes a separate being when detached, while , = onlin i a, Sept. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, Fig. 164, Sra ANEMONEs. 8. Actinia bicolor, 4, Sagartia viduata, 1, Actinia dianthus, 2, Cereus gemmaceus. 7. Actinia equina, the mutilated mother continues to live as if nothing had happened. In short, it has long been known that the sea anemones may be cut limb from limb, mutilated, divided, and subdivided. One part of the body cut off is quickly replaced. Cut off the tentacles of an actinia, and they are replaced in a short time, and the experiment may be repeated in- definitely. The experiments made by M. Trembley, of Geneva, upon the fresh-water polypi were tepeated by the Abbé Dicquemare in the sea anemones, He mutilated and tormented them in a hundred ways. The parts cut off continued to live, and the mutilated creature had the power of repro- dueing the parts of which it had been deprived. To those who accused the Abbé of cruelty in thus torturing the poor creatures, he replied that, so far from being a cause of suffering to them, “he had Increased their term of life, and renewed their youth.” The Actiniade vary in their habitat from pools near low-water mark to eighteen or twenty fathoms 8, Sagartia rosea. 5. Cereus papillosus, 6, Actinia picta, 9, Sagartia coccinea, water, whence they have been dredged up, “ They | adhere,” says Dr.. Johnston, “to rocks, shells, and other extraneous bodies by means of a glutinous secretion from their enlarged base, but they can leave their hold and remove to another station whensoever it pleases them, either by gliding along with a slow and almost. imperceptible movement (half an inch in five minutes), as is their usual method, or by reversing the body and using the tentacula for the purpose of feet, as Réaumur asserts, and as I have once witnessed; or, lastly, | inflating the body with water, so as to render it | more buoyant, they detach themselves, and are | driven to a distance by the random motion of the | waves. They feed on shrimps, small crabs, whelks, and similar shelled mollusea, and probably on all animals brought within their reach whose strength or agility is insufficient to extricate them from the grasp of their numerous tentacula; for as these organs can be inflected in any direction, and greatly | lengthened, they are capable of being applied to | 206 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. (Serr. 1, 1869, every point, and adhere by suction with consider- able tenacity, throwing out, according to Gaertner, of their whole surface a number of extremely minute suckers, which, sticking fast to the small protuberances of the skin, produce the sensation of roughness, which is so far from being painful that it even cannot be called disagreeable. “The size of the prey is frequently in unseemly disproportion to the preyer, being often equal in bulk to itself. I had once brought me a specimen of J. crassicornis, that might have been originally two inches in diameter, which had somehow con- trived to swallow a valve of Pecten maximus of the size of an ordinary saucer. ‘The shell, fixed within the stomach, was so placed as to divide it com- pletely into two halves, so that the body, stretched tensely over, had become thin and flattencd like a pancake. Al] communication between the inferior portion of the stomach and the mouth was of course prevented ; yet, instead of emaciating and dying of atrophy, the animal had availed itself of what undoubtedly had been a very untoward accident, to increase its enjoyment and its chance of double fare. A new mouth, furnished with two rows of numerous tentacula, was opened up on what had been the base, and led to the under stomach; the individual had indeed become a sort of Siamese twin, but with greater intimacy and extent in its unions ! ” The sea anemones pass nearly all their life fixed | to some rock, to which they seem to have taken root. There they live a sort of unconscious and | obtuse existence, gifted with an instinct so obscure that they are not even conscious of the prey in their vicinity until it is actually in contact, when it seizes it in its mouth and swallows it. Nevertheless, though habitually adherent, they can move, gliding and creeping slowly by successive contractile and relaxing movements of the body, extending one edge of their base and relaxing the opposite one. At the approach of cold weather the Actiniade descend into the deepest water, where they find a more agreeable temperature. We have said that the sea anemones are scarcely possessed of vital instinct ; but they are capable of certain voluntary movements. Under the influence of light, they expand their tentacles ‘as the daisy displays its florets. If the animal is touched, or the | pocket, in order to empty it of its contents. We water is. agitated in its neighbourhood, the tenta- cles close immediately. These tentacles appear occasionally to serve the purpose of offensive arms. The hand of the man who has touched them becomes red and inflamed. M. Hollard has seen small mackerel, two to three inches long, perish when touched by the tentacles of the Green Actinia (Comactis viridis, Allman). This is a charming little animal ; “the brilliancy of its colours and the great elegance of its tentacula crown when fully expanded,” says Professor Allman, “render it eminently attractive; hundreds may often be seen in a single pool, and few sights will be retained with greater pleasure by the naturalist than that pre- sented by these little zoophytes, as they expand their green and rosy crowns amid the alga, millepores, and plumy corals, eo-tenants of their rock-covered vase.” The toxological properties of the Actinia have been attributed to certain special cells full of liquid; but M. Hollard believes that these effects are neither constant enough nor sufficiently general to constitute the chief function of these organs, which are found in all the species and over their whole surface, external and internal. Though quite in- capable of discerning their prey at a distance, the sea anemone seizes it with avidity when it comes to offer itself up a victim. If some adventurous little worm, or some young and sluggish crustacean, hap- pens to ruffle the expanded inyolucrum of an actinia in its lazy progress through the water, the animal strikes it at once with its tentacles, and instinetively sweeps it into its open mouth. This habit may be observed in any aquarium, and is a favourite spec- tacle at the “Jardin d’Acclimitation” of Paris at noon on Sunday and Wednesday, when the aquatic animals are fed. Small morsels of food are thrown into the water. Prawns, shrimps, and other crusta- ceans and zoophytes inhabiting this medium chase the morsels as they sink to the bottom of the basin; bat it is otherwise with the Actinia; the morsels glide downwards within the twentieth part of an inch of their crown without its presence being sus- pected. It requires the aid of a propitious wand, directed by the hand of the keeper, to guide the | food. right down on the animal. Then its arms or tentacles seize upon the prey, and its repast com- ° mences forthwith. The Actinia are at once gluttonous and voracious. They seize their food with the help of the tentacula, and engulf in their stomach, as we have seen, sub- stances of a volume and consistence which contrast strangely with their dimensions and softness. In less than an hour M. Hollard observed that one of these creatures voided the shell of a mussel, and disposed of a crab all to its hardest parts ; nor was it slow to reject these hard parts, by turning its stomach inside out, as one might turn out one’s have seen in Dr. Johnston’s account of J. crassi- | cornis that when threatened with death by hunger, from having swallowed a shell which separated it into two halves, at the end of eleven days it had opened a new mouth, provided with separate rows of. tentacula. The accident which, in ordinary animals, would have left it to. perish of hunger, be- came in the sea anemone the source of redoubled gastronomical enjoyment. “The anemones,” Frédol tells us, “ are voracious and full of energy ; nothing escapes their gluttony ; pita a Serr. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCH-GOSSFEP. every creature which approaches them is seized, en- gulfed, and devoured. Nevertheless, with all the power of their mouth, their insatiable stomachs cannot retain the prey they have swallowed. In certain circumstances it contrives to escape, in others it is adroitly snatched away by some neigh- bouring marauder more cunning and more active than the anemone. “Tt is sometimes observed in aquariums that a shrimp, which has seen the prey devoured from a distance, will throw itself upon the ravisher, and audaciously wrest the prey from him and devour if before his eyes, to his great disappointment. Even when the savoury morsel has been swallowed, the shrimp, by great exertions, succeeds in extracting it from the stomach. Seating itself upon the extended disk of the anemone, with its small feet it prevents the approach of the tentacles, at the same time that it inserts its claws into the digestive cavity and seizes the food. In vain the anemone tries to con- tract its gills and close its mouth. Sometimes the conflict between the sedentary zoophyte and the vagrant crustacean becomes serious. When the former is strong and robust, the aggression is repelled, and the shrimp runs the risk of supple- menting the repast of the anemone.” If the Actinias are voracious, they can also sup- port a prolonged period of fasting. They have been known to live two and even three years without having received any nourishment. Although the sea anemone is said to be delicate eating, man derives very little benefit from them in that respect. In Provence, Italy, and Greece the Green Actinia is in great repute, and Dicquemare speaks of 4. crassicornis as delicate food. “Of all the kinds of sea anemones, I would prefer this for the table; being boiled some time in sea-water, they acquire a firm and palatable consistence, and may then be eaten with any kind of sauce. They are of an inviting appearance, of a light shivering texture, and of a soft white and reddish hue. Their smell is not unlike that of a warm crab or lobster.” Dr. Johnston admits the tempting description, and does not doubt their being not less a luxury than the séa urchins of the Greeks, or the snails of the Roman epicures, but he was not induced to test its truth. Rondeletius tells us, having, as Dr. John- ston thinks, 4. erassicornis in view, that it brings a good price at Bordeaux. Actinia dianthus also is good to eat, quoth Dicquemare, and Plancus directs the cook to dress it after the manner of dressing oysters, with which it is frequently eaten. Actinia coriacea is found in the market at Rochefort during the months of January, February, and Mareh. Its | flesh is said to be both delieate and savoury. Britis Assoctatioy.—The meeting for next year (1870) will be held at Liverpool, under the presidency of Professor Huxley. FLOWERS OF THE OCEAN. “Thou boundless, shining, glorious sea, With ecstasy I gaze on thee, And as I gaze, thy billowy roll Wakes the deep feelings of my soul.” From the German, IPXELE study of ocean flowers, commonly called sea- weeds, is a very interesting one, and attractive even to those who only seek the excitement of look- ing on pretty things. Now, when the town is every- where emptying itself of its living inhabitants, and casting them on the seashore, one may hope to be | forgiven even for indulging in a little commonplace gossip about the very common things to be found in such localities. Algw, or seaweeds, are distinguished by their colour. ‘They are divided into three classes—the red, the olive, and the green: I dare say some of my readers will here exclaim, as a young lady friend of mine at Tenby did, “Why, olive is a shade of green!” True, but neither olive nor green are primary colours. Green is a secondary colour formed by a combination of blue and yellow, and the olive-coloured seaweeds, the Melanosperme, which grow upon rocks, exposed to the rise and fall of the tides, belong to a different class, to the Ch/orosperme or green Alga. Although I repudiate all intention of attempting to be learned in this paper, I must begin my description in due form; therefore take one of the olive-coloured weeds of the order Pucacee. Fig. 165. Halidrys siliquosa, nat. size. There is a little bushy-tufted, olive-coloured sea- | plant, found on the rocks, called Halidrys siliquosa, | anice long name; but | really never heard a local = AR ee teat eer 208 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. (Snrr. 1, 1869, or English one given to this weed. It is very plentiful on the Welsh coast, and is interesting to the naturalist on account of the numberless small zoophytes that are to be met with on its fronds. Its air-vessels resemble pods, and from this likeness comes the specific name of Siliquosa ; “Halidrys” being taken from two Greek words signifying oak- trees, and certainly the tiny tufts fixed on the stones at low-water mark by an expanded disk do resemble Lilliputian oak-trees. The beautiful fairy-like plumes of the Plumularia cristata ave found on this seaweed in full perfection. I have seen some of these delicate zoophytes in an aquarium, but they never live long in one. When staying at Little Hampton on the Sussex coast a few years ago, I used to amuse myself by collecting all the seaweeds and uncommon objects of the seashore, for they were mostly novel to me then, that I could find, and, keeping them for a short time in sea-water, which I carefully changed every day, to study their wonderful construction at my leisure. I think I must have filled all the finger- glasses at the Beech Hotel with my specimens. The kind old landlady humoured my invalid fancies, and the window-seats and tables in my drawing- room looked, when the sun was shining on these impromptu aquariums, rather like a chemist’s shop. The colours of some of the sea anemones are singu- larly lovely; they are aptly called living flowers, Anthozoad. 1 shall never forget a Crass I found there. When very anxious for its dinner—that is, fully extended—its tentacles expanded to their utmost length, it nearly filled a finger-glass, and looked exactly like a magnificent blossom. It was difficult to believe that the thing was a living creature, that it moved and eat; but had I placed it in a larger glass, it would soon have left the stone on which I found it, and which I brought it home on, for some other place in the aquarium. It is interesting to watch a‘ Crass” free itself; but you must not attempt to remove it by force, as its base is very sensitive, and therefore the chances are ten to one that you will injure it by trying to detach it. I kept a“ Crass ” for some time in a large globe ; had it by itself, for the “ Crass” is not an amiable individual, and is apt to kill any other creatures who live in the same aquarium, such as prawns or shrimps; besides it sulks, and it is not strong, and if it, in a fit of temper, makes up its mind, perverse animal, to die, it poisons the water, and the poor anemones suffer. I lost some very nice “Mes” once in this way. I had bought a large glass aquarium of Mr. Alford Lloyd, and I drove out to Southsea to fill it. I knew I could find some of the induce me to give some ac- iL BR count of what I found and we re saw lately at Southend, a place very easy to reach from London, and where many objects of great beauty and interest can be gathered with ease and certainty. Special preparations are not requisite; a number of wide-mouthed bottles, a muslin net and a spoon, in lieu of which one of the mussel-shells may be used with advantage, are all that are required. One thing, however, is indispensable, and that is the microscope itself, as some of the most lovely objects cannot be kept longer than a few hours. The chief characteristic of Southend is that the tide rons out more than a mile, and leaves the imuddy bottom of the sea exposed to view for several hours, and the pier has in consequence a length of a mile and a quarter. This feature certainly does not add to the beauty of the place as a bathing-place, but offers great advantages to the collector of ob- jects. When the sun shines on the numerous little pools and cavities, he draws the diatoms to the sur- No. 58, face of the water left in them, and when on a quiet day the tide comes slowly creeping up, it forms a yellowish-looking froth, which is carried to near high- water mark. If this froth is put into a bottle by means of a spoon, and examined, it will be found to contain about twenty different kinds of diatoms, among which three or four Plewrosigma, a number of Navicula, and sometimes Zriceratium. The last named I did not find myself, but know from good authority that it is met with. If the tide is near its maximum height, the yel- lowish froth disappears through the breaking of the waves against the stones, and is replaced by whitish foam, which does not contain any diatoms. Nearly all these diatoms are alive, and their peculiar jerking movements can be examined at leisure. Next, if we take a rowing boat when the tide is up, and pick up by means of a net or a stick the stray bits of the finer seaweeds swimming about, we find again diatoms and many beautifully branched vorticellide ; but by far the finest objects are obtained in the following manner: two flights of stairs lead down from the pier to the bottom, one about at one-third of its length from shore, the second at about two-thirds. At low tide we can walk under the pier without inconvenience, and two large flagstones will be found at the bottom of each of the stairs, which in former times served as a rest for them. In these stones are cavities of the size of a washing-basin, and they contain a miniature forest of the most lovely little zoophytes and polypes. Some of them must be carefully cut out and transferred to the bottle with some sea- water. In other holes we may find similar growth attached to little stones, which can be dropped into the bottle without disturbing them. These must be carried home without shaking, and they furnish, on examination, for some hours a sight which defies description. When a small tree is placed in a cell as carefully as possible, we see at each end of a branch a transparent cup-shaped vessel, from which presently a number of hydra-like animals protrude, L 218 HARDWICKH’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, with from six to twenty arms, which arrange them- sélves like a star-flower: through the stem we see the circulation of the sap or blood, or whatever it may be, which curiously enough sometimes runs from the flower to the stem, and sometimes vice versé. Often the branches are covered with diatoms of various sorts, attached end to end, which give it a lovely appearance. Vorticellide with ciliary motion cause small circular currents, and little shrimp-like animals dash across, and give additional life to the picture. With a good one-inch object-glass, and with the spotted lens, we may obtain a sight the beauty of which I have rarely seen surpassed. The stems of the polypes with the diatoms iz situ are easily prepared as permanent objects, and are a desirable addition to the cabinet. CAB: A CHAPTER ON CUTTLE-FISHES.* By Lucre L. Harrr. Fig. 167. Octopus vulgaris. j ts was during my first visit to Brazil that one day, while busily engaged in examining a reef at a little town on the coast, called Guarapary, my eye fell on an object in a shallow tide-pool, packed away in the crevice of the reef, which excited my curiosity. I could see nothing but a pair of very bright eyes; but concluding that the eyes had an owner, I determined very rashly to secure him. I had been handling corals, and seemed to have for- | gotten that all the inhabitants of the sea are not harmless. I put my hand down very quietly, so as not to ruffle the water, when suddenly, to my sur- prise, it was seized with a pressure far too ardent to be agreeable, and I was held fast. I tugged hard to get away; but this uncivil individual, who- ever he was, evidently had as strong a hold on the rocks as he had on my hand, and was not easily to * The woodcuts illustrating this paper are from Figuier’s ** Ocean World,” kindly lent by the publishers, Messrs. Chap- man & Hall, [Ocr. 1, 1869. be persuaded to let go of either. At last, however, he became convinced that he must choose between us, and so let go his hold upon the rocks, and I found clinging to my right hand, by his long arms, a large octopod cuttle-fish, resembling the one figured at the head of this article, and I began to suspect that I had caught a Tartar. His long arms were wound around my hand, and these arms, by the way, were covered with rows of suckers, somewhat like those with which boys lift stones, and escape from them was almost impossible. I knew that this fellow’s sucking propensities were | not his worst ones, for these cuttle-fishes are furnished with sharp jaws, and they know how to use them too, so I attempted to get rid of him. But the rascal, disengaging one slimy arm, wound it about my left hand also, and I was a helpless prisoner, In vain I struggled to free myself,—he only clasped me the tighter. In vain I shouted to my companion,—he had wandered out of hearing. I was momentarily expecting to be bitten, when the “dicho” suddenly changed his mind. I was never able to discover whether he was smitten with remorse and retired with amiable intentions, or whether he only yielded to the force of cireum- stances. At any rate, he suddenly relinquished his hold upon my hands and dropped to the sand. Then, raising himself on his long slimy arms, he stalked away towards the water, making such a comical figure that in spite of my fright I indulged in a hearty laugh. He looked like a huge and a very tipsy spider, staggering away on his exceed- ingly iong legs. The cuttle-fish belongs to the Mollusks, a branch of the animal kingdom distinguished for its mem- bers being built on the plan of a sac, and to which Mr. Hyatt has applied the more appropriate name of Saccata. The cuttle-fishes are distinguished from all the other Mollusks, such as snails, clams, &c., by having a large head, a pair of large eyes, and a mouth furnished with a pair of jaws, around which are arranged in a circle eight or ten arms furnished with suckers. In the common cuttle-fish or squid of our coast, the body, which is long and narrow, is wrapped in a muscular cloak or mantle, like a bag fitting tightly to the back, but loose in front. It is closed up to the neck, where it is open like a loosely- fitting overcoat, buttoned up to the throat. Attached to its throat, by the middle, is a short tube, open at both ends. This tube, or siphon as it is called, is fastened to its throat, and can be moved about in any direction. The animal breathes by means of gills, which are attached to the front of the body inside the cloak, and look like the ruffles of a shirt-bosom. By means of these gills the air contained in the water is breathed, and they answer the same purpose for the cuttle-fish that our lungs do for us. Oct. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKRE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 219 Tn order to swim, the animal swells out the cloak in front, so that the water flows in between it and the body. Then it closes the cloak tightly about the neck, so that the only way the water can get out is through the siphon. ‘Then it contracts very forcibly its coat, which, it must be remembered, is a part of the animal, and the water is driven out in a jet from the siphon under the throat, and the body is propelled in the opposite direction; that is, | backward, like a rocket through the water. This Fig. 169. Internal bone of Sepia, Fig. 168. Sepia officinalis. siphon is flexible like a water-hose, and ‘can be bent so as to direct the stream not only forward, but sideways and backward, so that the animal can move in almost any direction, or turn somersaults | with perfect ease ; and so rapidly do some cuttle-fishes swim, that they are able to make long leaps out of the water. Usually, how- ever, the animal swims backward, with its long arms trailing behind. Our common cuttle-fish of this coast has, in addition to its eight arms, two long slender tentacles, which may be withdrawn into the body. The tail is pointed, and furnished with a fin on each side. The Octopods, to which the Brazilian cuttle-fish belongs, have round purse-like bodies, and eight arms united at the base with a web, and they swim by opening and shutting their arms like an umbrella; in . this mode of swimming they resemble the elly- fishes, The paper nautilus is nothing in the world but a female cuttle-fish that builds a shell. There was avery pretty story told of her habits, by Aristotle, the old Greek naturalist, which every one believed until quite lately. He said that she rode on the top of the waves, seated in her boat-like shell, and spreading her broad arms to the winds for sails. But unfortunately the story has no foundation in | fact. She either crawls about on the bottom of the sea, or swims quite like any other ecuttle-fish, shell foremost, only occasionally coming to the surface. Strangely enough, she holds the two broad hand-like Fig. 170. Animal of Argonauta Argo. extremities of the arms against her body, and it is the inside of these arms that secrete the paper-like shell, which is only a sort of cradle for her eggs. Not so with the pearly nautilus, which is furnished with a beautiful coiled-up pearly shell, formed on the outside of the animal. This shell is divided Fig. 171. Shell of Argonaula Argo. into numerous chambers, and the animal living in the outer one builds a partition across the back part of it as the shell grows. Cuttle-fishes are sometimes used for food by the Brazilians, and different species may be seen in the markets, where one frequently finds them still alive. Sometimes, as we stoop to examine one, its L 2 220 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Ocr. 1, 1869. body is suddenly suffused with a deep pinkish glow. } Before we have time to recover from our surprise this colour fades, and a beautiful blue takes its place as rapidly as a blush sometimes suffuses a delicate cheek. ‘The blue, perhaps, is succeeded by a green, and then the whole body becomes pink again. One can hardly conceive anything more beautiful than this rapid play of colours, which is produced by the successive distension of sets of little sacs con- taining fluids of different colours, which are situated under the skin. The cuttle-fish is also furnished with a bag con- taining an inky fluid, which, when the animal is Fig. 172. Loligo vulgaris, with its feather. attacked or pursued, it ejects into the water; thus completely blinding its adversary and effectually covering its retreat. It is from this fluid that the colour sepia is made. Besides carrying an ink- bottle, some species of cuttle-fish are provided with a long, delicate, horny pen, which forms a sort of stiffener to the back. In some species the pen is hard, thick, and broad, and the cuttle-fish bone of commerce is a pen of this kind. The species found in our waters is very small, and not at all dangerous, being barely large enough to draw blood from the hand; but in the tropical seas they are very large, powerful, and dangerous. The cutile-fish is the original of Victor Hugo’s devil-fish, so vividly described in the “oilers of the Sea.” If the devil-fish were a beneficent crea- tion, I should he sorry to destroy your faith in it; but as it is, I believe it will be rather a relief than otherwise to know that in some important respects Victor Hugo’s story of it isa fable. The kraken was a mythical cuttle-fish of fabulous size.—Zhe American Naturalist. Deratn’s Huap.—There is every prospect of the “Death’s Head Moth” being very plentiful next year. Several of the “caterpillars” have been caught in this locality. I haye two in my posses- sion.—Joseph Robinson, Chester-le-Street, SEASIDE DIATOMS. MONGST the “common objects” of the sea- shore, Diatomaceew are perhaps the most frequent, and the tyro in microscopic studies generally desires to add a few of these beautifu forms to his cabinet of slides. I am often asked, How am I to procure them? and when obtained, How shall I prepare them? I propose, with the editor’s permission, to answer both these queries ; first premising that the inquirer has neither the opportunity nor inclination to go on a dredging ex- pedition, but to confine his search to the shore and the brackish water-ponds in its neighbourhood. If he is residing near a sandy and shelving shore, where the receding tide leaves a large expanse of sand exposed, he will be able to obtain most of the beautiful sand species described by Dr. Donkin in papers on those forms. His plan for procuring them is very simple and very successful: the collector must provide himself with a few 4-ounce bottles and a teaspoon, and on the first sunshiny day, when the tide is at the ebb, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., he will betake himself to the beach, and as he ap- proaches the receding waters he will observe the sand-ripples and small depressions covered with a yellowish-green film : this film consists almost wholly of diatoms. Having previously partly filled one of his bottles with sea-water at the nearest tide-pool, he must carefully remove the film with the spoon, and place it in the bottle; shake it violently three or four times, and he will observe the sand fall rapidly to the bottom, leaving the diatoms floating on the water: these he must quickly decant into another bottle. By repeating this process he will obtain copious, and frequently very clean gatherings. On returning home, an examination of the living frustules will repay the observer. He will probably find Bactllaria cursoria crossing the field in various directions, or have a Navicula sailing slowly about their cell-contents rendering them conspicuous objects. The first thought of the young observer will be, Can these active little bodies be only plants ? The second will be, By what means do they sail about, apparently in search of food? ‘To the first question I answer that a further study of plant-life will satisfy him that the balance of probabilities is in favour of their vegetable nature. ‘To the second Ican only reply that our most acute observers are unable to discover any organs of locomotion. We will now suppose our tyro has finished his observations of the living frustule, and is desirous of seeing the beautiful markings on the flinty shells of these mysterious organisms. In order todo so successfully, it is necessary to get rid of the internal colouring matter (endochrome), and to separate the two valves. All diatoms consist of two similar (with few exceptions) silicious plates connected by a less firmly silicious band: a pill-box, in which the - Ocr. 1, 1869. ] bottom has been replaced by a second lid, roughly illustrates the perfect diatomaceous frustule: the lids represent the valves, and the body of the box the connecting band or cingulum. To get rid of the endochrome, and to effect the separation of the valves, it is necessary to boil the gathering in nitric acid: this will also destroy any vegetable or animal matter mixed with the gathering. After boiling in acid, the diatoms must be allowed to subside, and the acid poured off, and replaced with distilled water. Ti is highly important that all trace of acid be washed away, particularly when the forms are too delicate for balsam-mounting. Tt sometimes happens that in spite of careful washing the diatoms have a tendency to form little clusters, and cannot be evenly distributed on the slide. This may be prevented by pouring off the water, and replacing it with Ziguor ammonie. Tf the diatoms are allowed to remain in this a short time (shaking the bottle or test-tube occasionally), a quantity of flocculent matter will be held in sus- pension, and may be poured off with the liquor anmonie, allowing a longer or shorter time, accord- ing to size, for the subsidence of the diatoms. Our tyro, having cleaned and mounted his gather- ing, will probably be desirous of knowing the names of the forms occurring in it. I hope to enable him to do so by the aid of the following figures and descriptions of those species most commonly found in the before-mentioned localities :— . _ Fig. 178. Navicula granulatd, x 400. Fig. 174. Navicula humerosa, x 400. Navicula granulata (fig.173).—This form is readily distinguished by its lines of conspicuous and brilliant dots, reaching the median line and central nodule,* Straight or slightly rounded sides and pointed ends : it always occurs in sand-gatherings. Navicula humerosa (fig. 174).—A species resem- bling the preceding in outline, but the dots are appa- rently replaced by slightly radiating lines : these lines will, however, be found to consist of small dots placed * The valves in the genera Navicula, Pinnularia, Pleuro- sigma, Cocconeis, and a few others, have a straight line or bar Crossing the larger diameter: this is called the median line. In the centre of the line is a large dot called the central nodule; the ends of the median line terminate in two smaller Nodules, HARDWICKR’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 221 im close together: common with the preceding; it sometimes occurs with the sides slightly concave. Navicula rectangulata (lig. 175).—A small, narrow form, with straight sides and rounded ends: the markings are radiant, distinct, and not resolvable into dots; gradually shortening as they approach the central nodule, leaving a small oval blank space in the centre of the valve. Fig. 175. Navicula rectangulata, x 400. Fig. 176, Nuvicula angulosa, x 400, Navicula angulosa (fig. 176).—This species is of an oval form, the sides gradually tapering towards the pointed ends; the markings reach about halfway towards the median line; thus leaving a central blank space, similiar in outline to the valve itself. Navicula Lyra (fig. 177).—This species is very variable in outline; sometimes it is a true oval, at others the sides are straight, with the ends drawn out, and blunt. Another variety has the sides straight and tapering suddenly to the pointed ex- tremities. This species has been named from the lyre-shaped blank spaces on each half of the valve : these are also subject to variation; the ends are sometimes curved inward instead of outward; the markings consist of closely-set dots, appearing like lines under a low power. Fig. 178. Navicula estiva, i 77. Navicula Lyra, ie Ace ies x 400. x 400. Navicula estiva (fig. 178)—A very pretty little species, of an oval form and pale straw-colour: the markings are fine slightly radiant lines reaching the median line. Sen Navicula retusa (fig. 179, a, 6).—A species in VA 222 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Ocr. 1, 1869, which the valves frequently occur iz sifu after boiling in acid: they adhere to the connecting zone more strongly than many other species. The outline of the frustule is oblong, sometimes nearly square ; the ends straight or slightly rounded; the sides more or less constricted at the centre; the valve very narrow and straight, and the extremes rounded; the mark- ings short and far apart. @ b Fig. 179. Navicula retusa, x 400. a, valve; 8, frustule. Fig. 180. Navicula cruciformis, x 400. Navicula eruciformis (fig. 180).—A curious little form with straight sides, slightly tapering as they approach the rounded ends; the median line is sometimes wavy; the markings are slightly radiant lines, reaching the central one, but are entirely absent opposite the central nodule, producing a blank space across the valve. Navicula Trevelyana (fig. 181) has the sides straight, the ends rounded; markings coarse and radiant, suddenly shortening as they approach the centre, leaving a large circular blank space round the central nodule; median line conspicuously undulated. Fig. 182. Fig. 181. Navicula Clepsydra, x 400. Navicula Trevelyuna, x 400. Navicula Clepsydra (fig. 182).—A very handsome species; the valve long, and gradually tapering to the rounded ends: markings consist of irregular. shaped dots, arranged in transverse lines: an oval smooth space surrounds the nodule. Ampuora,—The species of this genus somewhat resemble Navicula; the valves when separated have one margin convex and the other straight. Several species of this genus occur in sand-gathering. ‘The following I have found most frequent. Amphora arenaria (fig. 183),—This species is easily recognized by its transparency and apparent absence of markings; but with a high power it is found to possess them: neither the median line nor nodule is central, the former being curved in an opposite direction to the convex margin of the valve. Fig. 183. Amphora arenaria, x 400. a, a, valves; 4, frustule- The observer will scarcely fail to detect in his gathering some representatives of the genus Pleuro- sigma: they are distinguished by the valves being more or less curved in opposite directions; the median line also following the contour of the valves. Pleurosigma aestuarii (fig. 184).—A small form, somewhat broad at the centre ; the outline of the valve is less sigmoid (§-like) than the median line; the i | Fig. 184. Fig. 185. Fig. 186, Pleurosigma Pleurosigma Pleurosigma aestuarii. lanceolatum, x 400. Fascioia. markings consist of minute dots, arranged in oblique lines, requiring a good quarter-inch object-glass and oblique light to resolve them. ; \- , Ocr. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 223 Pleurosigma lanceolatum (fig. 185). —Valves small, lancet-shaped, scarcely sigmoid; median line more so; markings very fine, oblique. Pleurosigma Fasciola (fig. 186).—This species is remarkable for its long narrow ends, which are strongly curved in opposite directions; body of the valves lancet-shaped; markings dots, arranged in squares, but requiring a high power to resolve them. Pleurosigma angulatum (fig. 187).—Outline of valve slightly angular at the centre; sigmoid curvature moderate ; markings similar to the preceding. Toxon1pPa is a genus closely allied to Plevrosigma, but the opposite sides of the valves are dissimilar, one being convex and the other straight. Fig. 187. Fig. 188. Pleurosigma angulatum. Toxonidea Gregoriana, x 400. Toxonideu Gregoriana (fig. 188).—One side of valve convex until it approaches the ends, where it curves slightly outwards ; the other side straight ; but as it approaches the ends it follows the curvature of the Opposite side; median line same as convex margin ; markings oblique, distinctly visible with a good quarter-inch objective. j Toxonidea insignis—Smaller than the preceding one; margin very convex; ends very slightly curved; the other margin nearly straight the entire length of the valve ; median line convex, much nearer the straight than the convex margin; markings much finer than in Toxonidea nigel The following species of the genus Nitzschia wi be found in the sand-gatherings. ally Nitzschia vivax (fig. 189).—Valve long, gradually tapering towards the pointed ends ; one margin with a conspicuous row of dots, very slightly incurved at the centre; markings distinct transverse lines. Nitzschia virgata (fig.190) resembles the pre- ceding, but is shorter and more curved, and the marginal dots are elongated into short bars; mark- ings transverse, very distinct, Fig. 190. Fig. 191. Fig. 189. Nitzschia* Epithemia marinit, X 400. Nitzschia vivax, virgata, x 400. a, valve; 4, frustule. Lpithemia marina (fig. 191) resembles Nitzschia vivax in outline, but wants the marginal dots: the valve is crossed by distant lines, and is also dotted. Attheya decora (fig. 192).—This curious little form is common in some gatherings: it must be searched for before using the nitric acid, the separation of the valves rendering it difficult, to detect: the figure shows the two valves connected by the zone. acy” 7 Ee Fig. 192. Attheyu decora. a, a, frustules; 4, valve. Asterionella Bleakleyi (fig. 193) cannot bel found after treatment with acid. Each ray of the star consists of the two valves jomed by the connecting zone; the frustules during life adhering to each other by the enlarged ends. The circular species of Diatomacex are not gene- 224 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. ' [Ocr. 1, 1869. rally so common as those of a linear form; the following may, however, often be detected. Fig. 198. Asterionella Bleakleyi. Coscinodiscus ovalis (fig. 194).— Valve broadly oval: the markings are very fine, and require a good glass to resolve them; they consist of fine dots, radiating from the centre of the valve: valves will frequently be found with conspicuous dots (? spines) ound the margin. Fig. 194. Coscinodiscus ovalis, Fig. 195. Cuscinodiscus nitidus, x 400. x 400, Coscinodiscus nitidus (fig. 195).—A small form, but easily distinguished by its distant and brilliant dots, slightly decreasing in size as they approach the centre. Coscinodiscus excentricus.—Small valves of the species occur in the sand-gatherings: the observer will readily recognize them by the excentric arrangements of the markings and the’ spinous margin, Fig. 196. Actinoptychus undulatus, Fig. 197. 227 SUTHERLAND GOLD. {Preliminary Report by Dr. Lauper Linpsay. Presented to the Geological Society of Edinburgh, March llth, 1869.] AVING had submitted to me by fhe Geological Society of Edinburgh, a sample of gold from the Kildonan Gold-field, Sutherland- shire, with a request that I would give an opinion | as to its quality—I have compared its characters, 1. with those of many hundred specimens of native gold, which I have had opportunities of examining from all the principal auriferous countries of the world, of whose characters I made memoranda at the time I examined them; and 2. with those of | gold-specimens in my private cabinet of minerals from (a) New Zealand, (4) Nova Scotia, and (c) Scotland (Lead Hills) : and, as the result of the comparative examination, I beg to report my opinion :—Lhat the Kildonan gold now submitted is of high average quality ; and that, in particular, it so closely resem- bles gold brought from the famous Gabriel’s gully in Otago, New Zealand, in 1862, that it indistinguishable therefrom by the eye, even aided by the lens. It may be safely accepted as proved, that the Sutherland gold now being obtained is of excellent . quality. What has yet to be shown is the amount in which it occurs: and ¢zs can be proved only by experienced gold-miners; by shaft-sinking and quartz-crushing ; by co-operation of labour and in- yestiture of capital. The Kildonan gold I have seen is mostly in the form of grains or nuggets of small size : smaller than those in my cabinet from Lead Hills. ‘The size of individual nuggets is, however, of little consequence compared with the total amount of gold distributed in drifts or quartzites; for in the latter gold may be present in amount that will “pay” extraction when it is nevertheless évisidle to the naked eye even aided by the lens. But inasmuch as publie interest mainly centres at present in the size of the nuggets that may yet be obtained in Sutherland, I append some quota- tions from Calvert?s work on the “Gold Rocks of Great Britain and Ireland,” published in 1853, which show that nuggets of very respectable size (though not to be compared with the “monster nuggets” of Australia) have been found in Scot- land and in Sutherland. And I may add that there isno geological reason why equally large nuggets Should not again be discovered when proper pains are bestowed on the search therefor. Calvert says (p. 161) : “The largest nugget found in Scotland weighed three pounds! another thirty ounces, or two pounds and a half! others of six and five ounces! the next largest one ounce and a half. Two of these are mentioned from Sutherlandshire and Clydesdale.” Again (p. 163), “In 1840 a nugget was found (in Sutherlandshire) weighing one ounce is and a half, in the bed of the Kildonan, a mountain stream”; and at p. 167 he tells us that the thirty- ounce nugget was from Crawford Moor, that is, Lead Hills of modern topographical nomenclature. Now, at the present market price of Sutherland gold, the nuggets just mentioned would possess the following value in hard cash :— 1. ‘That of 3 tb. £144 2; Qh, £120 Senn ies, £24 ern ee £20 5. gh, £6 I may further add that the market price here quoted—as that which Sutherland Gold. fetches in the markets of Inverness, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, —is greatly above that of much of the gold that is at present being produced (according to the mail just arrived) by the rich Thames gold field of Auckland, New Zealand, which is realizing only £2. 10s. to £3 per ounce. THE SHORT-BARED OWL. (Stria brachyotus.) eee sportsmen should be naturalists; their rambles across country in search of fur and feather give them opportunities for observation which fall to the lot of few besides themselves; while, by virtue of their “license to kill,” they are led to explore sundry out-of-the-way holes and corners, which under other circumstances would be passed by. In this way they unavoidably become acquainted with many birds and animals which are not included in the list of “game,” but which, nevertheless, by the beauty of their plumage, or by their graceful movements, contribute greatly to the pleasure of a day’s shooting. What sportsman does not remember the occasion of his first acquaintance with the Short-eared Owl ? It was early in October, the weather still fine, but just beginning to get a little cold. In the cover through which we passed, the leaves had already changed colour, and the squirrels in their passage aloft sent down a thick shower to strew the ground, over which in turn the rabbits rustled as they scampered away at our approach. Anon, we heard the Green Woodpecker with his loud laughing ery, and stayed so long to watch his vigorous blows upon the old beech, that we had almost forgotten that our object in leaving home was “ shooting.” It was just about the time for the Woodcocks to arrive, and we were anxious to meet “ the first cock of the season” and give him a warm reception. Passing out of the cover and crossing a stream, we found ourselves upon an open waste covered with two species of heath and the spongy sphagnum. A more promising spot could not be found. The Woodcoeks, if arrived, would be sure to leave the cover in the evening to feed along the stream, and 228 HARDWICKH#H’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Ocr. 1, 1869, would doubtless remain out all night. Partridges would surely be lower down among the dry heather, and very possibly we might find a Jack Snipe or two, for we have known the last-named to arrive as early as the 2nd of October. Inserting a couple of cartridges, we walked quietly on, when suddenly | the dog stood, and before we could reach him, a | brown long-winged bird rose out of the heather, and was sailing away. “ It’s one of these ere owls,” exclaimed the keeper, with his usual disregard for species, and immediately brought it down. What a pity! It was a Short-eared Owl sure enough, and | | the Woodcock, is often spoken of as the Woodeock- Owl. Inthe Northof England and in Scotland this bird frequently remains throughout the year, and makes its nest upon the ground amongst heather, or in a marsh amongst sedge and rushes. Mr. A. G. More, who has been at great pains to ascertain the distribution of this species in Great Britain during the nesting season,* says that it breeds in Suffolk, Norfolk, } and Cambridge ; for- merly also in Huntingdon (Mr. F. Bond). The nest has been once or twice taken near Scar- ’ borough (Mr. A. S. Bell); in Durham and North- Fig. 206. Tan Suort-eanED Own (Strix brachyotus). as we stretched out its beautiful barred wings, smoothed its soft plumage, and gazed into its large golden eyes, we felt pained to think that in another moment its life would be gone. The keeper said it was a destructive bird, but he was not prepared with any evidence to support his statement. ‘To judge from the habits of other owls with which we are better acquainted, we should say that small birds, field mice, and beetles constitute its principal food. In the South of England, and in Ireland, the Short-eared Owl is known only as a winter visitant, and from usually arriving about the same time as umberland (Mr. Haneock and Rev. H. B. Tristram) : Sir William Jardine also mentions the moorland ranges of Westmoreland and Cumberland as pro- bable breeding-places. In Scotland the Short-eared | Owl nests regularly in Dumfries (Sir W. Jardine) ; on Ailsa (Mr. R. Gray); in the counties of Selkirk * See the Ibis for 1865, p. 15. + With regard to Norfolk, Mr. Stevenson says: “ In the spring these birds again proceed northwards towards the end of March, having, I believe, entirely ceased to breed in Nor- folk, where, especially in the once fenny districts of the south- western parts of the county, they were commonly met with during the breeding sezson.”—* Birds of Norfolk,’”’ 1966, | vol. i, p. 50. Ocr. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 229 = and Roxburgh occasionally (Mr. J. I’. Whitecross); in Stirling (Mr. J. Murray); Clackmannan (Dr. P. Brotherson) ; in Perth (Mr. A. Pullar); in Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, the Hebrides and Orkneys, The eggs are usually five or six in number, white, smaller in size than those of the Barn Owl, and smoother in texture. Unlike its congeners, the Short-eared Owl evinces no partiality for woods, but affects the open country, roosting upon the ground by day, under shelter of dry grass, sedge, or heath, and hunting for its food as soon as the sun has disappeared. We have often thought, however, when watching the flight of one BRITISH MOTHS.* HIS excellent work, which has appeared in monthly numbers, has now reached its con- clusion, and, under the form of a volume in crimson and gold, becomes a candidate for the drawing-room table. The features which recommend it to stu- dents and lovers of nature are of more interest and value—to us no less, we imagine, than to the author | himself—than mere external beauty or fitness for ornamental purposes. We have often been soli- cited to name a book containing figures of all the ' British moths, with plain descriptions, at a reason- Fig. 207, The Privet Hawk-moth (Sphinx ligustri). of these birds when disturbed in the daytime, that _ its bolder and more hawk-like flight, and the fact of its living out in the open country, indicated habits less nocturnal than those of other owls. Its sight is wonderfully keen, and if once disturbed and not shot, it is almost impossible to approach within range of it a second time. It has been stated on the authority of Capt. Portlock, in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy (vol. i. p. 52), that, in a rabbit warren at Magilligan, county of London- derry, where the Short-eared Owl is a regular visitant in autumn, birds of this species have been seen at the entrance to the burrows, within which they retired when disturbed: more than one was shot on emerging from a hole, and one was taken ina trap placed at the entrance of a burrow when making its exit thence.* Whether they entered the holes for concealment, or for the purpose of carry- ing off young rabbits, the observer was not able to determine. There can he no doubt that the Short- eared Owl would take young rabbits where the Opportunity occurred ; but as it is seldom found in England except between the months of September and April, it cannot commit that havoc amongst young game birds of which, in common with other owls, it has been so frequently accused. J. E. Hartine. (Birds), “Thompson’s “Natural History of Ireland” Vol. i, p. 91, able price. Such a book is the present, and we hope, for the sake both of author and publisher, that it will meet with the success it merits. The insects which are zo¢ included in this volume are the Deltoids, Pyrales, Veneers, and Plumes, together with the Tortrices and Tinee. “It was found impossible,” writes Mr. Newman, “to make effective representations in wood of insects so minute as the majority of those contained in the four families I have mentioned, and extremely diffi- cult to fix any scale by which to represent them of a uniformly increased size: the difficulty, indeed, seemed so great that the project has been abandoned for the present.” The “British Moths” aspires to be a popular guide, and hence its author employs plain language, divested as much as possible of technicalities. As an example, we quote his description of the Silver- striped Hawk-moth (Cherocampa Celerio), the figure of which, together with that of the Privet Hawk-moth, were kindly placed at our disposal by the publisher for this purpose. “The Silver-striped Hawk-moth.— Fore wings brown, with a narrow silvery oblique stripe along the middle, commencing in a point at the extreme apex of the wing ; j_ this ae is composed of, four * An a Tilaatintea Natural History of British Moths ; with life-sized figures from nature of each species, and of the more striking varieties,”’ by Edward Newman, F.I..S., &c. Royal 8vo. Tweedie, 337, Strand. CA 230 HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Oce. 1, 1869. very delicate lines, the upper one of which is silvery ; the hind margin of the wing has several delicate lines, and the veins of the wing are also silvery. Hind wings pink at the base; the rest pink-brown, with two black bands, which are united by six biack lines. Thorax and body brown; thorax with an ash-coloured line on each side at the base of the wings, and two silvery lines; body with a row of white spots down the middle, and two silvery marks on each side of each segment. green or purplish-brown; on the fifth and sixth segments are two round black spots, dotted with yellow, and encircled with a yellow ring; those on the fifth segment larger. Horn brown, very slender, and quite straight. Feeds on the vine” We have never seen the caterpillar of this moth; our de- scription is extracted from Mr. Stainton’s ‘ Manual of British Butterflies and Moths.’ The author has copied it from Fryer. The perfect insect has occurred now and then in England, but can scarcely be regarded as a British insect. ‘The scientific name is Cherocampa Celerio.” Fig. 208, The Silver-striped Hawk-moth (Cherocampa Celvrio). During the past month we had one of these caterpillars sent us by post alive and well. Itis a true Briton, and we have confided it to the care of a practical entomologist, in the hope that it may one day make its appearance in its perfect form. The above description is substantially correct. In commending this work to our readers, we may add, as an additional security for its accuracy, that the author acknowledges in his preface the “impor- tant services” of Mr. Doubleday, “through whose hands every sheet and every column has passed. Many omissions have thus been supplied and many errors expunged. ... Mr. Doubleday has abun- dantly made up for my shortcomings, and has sup- plied me with information which, in many instances, has never before appeared in print.” For this useful and valuable contribution to popular natural history—in the highest acceptation of the word “popular”—Mr. Newman has our hearty thanks. ‘Caterpillar | | | | | MICROSCOPICAL RESEARCH. N the last number of Scrznce-GossiP, I noticed a paper taken from Seientifie Opinion, under the above title, which very properly censures the waste of valuable time by thousands of incipient micro- seopists. All amateur microscopists seem to become what the author very aptly terms complete diato- maniacs; they havea rage similar to the Dutch shell and tulip mania. The mere fact of possessing a rare object that very few others possess, is a miserly, selfish passion, unworthy of the lowest intellect. Nature works for the benefit of the whole human race col- leetively, and showers her gifts with a bountiful hand upon all, so that under her beneficence the poor in pocket may be rich in mind, and the richest in the land may find that there is a mine of wealth within their grasp, if they will only stretch out their hand towards it—riches more plentiful, and wonders more wonderful, than were ever dreamt of by the author of the “Arabian Nights.” With re- gard to the admiration for beauty, that is another question; diatoms are cer- tainly very beautiful, but they are not the only microscopic beauties in creation, by a very long way. It is a strange thing that many people who term themselves naturalists, will run hundreds of miles over a country, and waste weeks and weeks for the possession of rare species. The chief object of the microscopists, I presume, is to resolve our most difficult problems in histology, and to lessen the number of our already too abundant species. What credit does it reflect upon any man because he has got a species that nobody else has, or that he has dis- covered a species that nobody else has—Smithii, Brownii, Jonesii, Robinsonii? None, in my opinion. If there is any honour to be gained, it is in the reduction of species, and for the working out of such problems, brains, patience, and untiring per- severance are required to any extent. Infatuated species-hunters are not naturalists in the true sense of the term, and the time taken up in running over the country after new and rare species or varieties, might be more profitably spent. Allow me to suggest a subject for microscopic investigation—which is in a high state of confusion —a subject which will require the eyes of thousands of micrescopiststosearch out its mysteries for genera- tions possibly, a subject which is of vital consequence to the human race, as it has to do with the problems of life, health, disease, and death. I allude to the microscopic fungi. The micro fungi in beauty of form and interest far outstrip the diatoms. Their extraordinary T Oor. 1, 1869. | HARDWICKBE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP., 231 beauty and immense profusion, there scarcely being the smallest corner of the earth that will not pro- duce them, make them objects of extreme interest to the microscopist. If any one will get my paper on “Vaccination versus Nature ” of the publishers, 475, Oxford-street, they will, on reading that, see how important it is that our knowledge of the micro fungi should be increased as soon as possible, Byery observer has it in his power to do a little, and in a case like this he will have the satisfaction of knowing that he is not only revelling amongst a yery profusion of forms of the most extraordinary beauty, but that, however little original observation he may produce, he is paving the way to free the human race of some of the most dreadful diseases to which it is subjected. If any of our micro- seopists will obtain Mr. M. C. Cooke’s work on the micro fungi—read that, get a foundation for their knowledge, and then buy a number of tumblers or glass vessels or pots of any sort filled with water, and commence a series of original observations by dropping all sorts of animal and vegetable products in the said vessels—take the common house-fly to begin with — they will be surprised what a wide field for discovery lies within their grasp, wonders infinitely more astonishing than were ever dreamt of in the brain of the most infatuated of opium- eaters. Let them pencil down in sketches and notes everything they see, and in a short time they will be thunderstruck at the amount of original facts so easily obtained; they will be surprised that the mightiest problems that sway the world are close under their very nose, patiently waiting to be brought to light. They will then find how mistaken they have been to run 300 miles after Smithii, Brownii, Jonesii, and Robinsonii, when by their own fireside the greatest, the most sublime wonders in creation have been constantly bobbing in their eyes, and buzzing in their ears. If only for the sake of suffering humanity, I ap- peal to my fellow-workers to tender their mite to- wards this great object. Mactrop or SKYE. INSECT VISITATION. ORFOLK has shared in the advantages derived from the timely visit of immense flights of ladybirds, and the plague of aphides, from which vegetation was suffering severely, has rapidly disap- peared before them. There has been great discus- sion as to how far we are indebted to immigration for these friendly visitors, and from whence they came; of course opinions differed greatly, but I am inclined to believe we need not revert to that shadowy land, “the Continent,” to account for their presence. Th my own garden there have been immense num- bers; but the number of larve I observed was also very great. Their onward movement in search of fresh supplies of food would, I think, account for their congregation on the shore, which has led to the impression that they had just arrived in this country; but their flight, although strong and rapid, is not sufficiently sustained to carry them far over the sea, into which they would drop exhausted and perish. In support of this view I will mention a cireum- stance which occurred off the Norfolk coast on the 24th July. A yacht belonging to Mr. Cresswell, of Lynn, sailing off Hunstanton, passed through a mass of dead ladybirds, accumulated on the surface of the water, about ten feet broad, and extending for two or three miles, bearing the appearance of a black stripe on the water. This occurred in the Wash, about nine miles from the Norfolk and thirteen from the Lincolnshire shore; the wind was very light in occasional. puffs from off the Norfolk shore, and the exact locality the entrance to a channel called the “ Bulldogs.” Mr. Cresswell accounts for the presence of this vast mass of dead ladybirds as follows:—At low water there are uncovered sands, with pools and channels between’ them, extending from the shore to the navigable channel called the Bulldogs; he presumes that the mass of dead ladybirds in the Bulldogs were drowned by the rising water covering the sands on which they were, and brought by the current into the vast mass the Wild Duck passed through, which had accumulated on the crown of the sands. There is very little doubt these ladybirds left the Norfolk shore, and alighting on the first uncovered spot they came to, were saved from dropping ex- hausted into the sea, only to be drowned by the rising flood which covered their island resting-place. But had they possessed the strength to renew their flight, and chance directed them either to the Nor- folk or Lincolnshire coast, any person witnessing their return would probably have been impressed with the belief that they were a fresh arrival from “the Continent.” At the same time and place the Wild Duck was surrounded by an immense swarm of what at the time were believed to be wasps, but which from the description I have no doubt were Syrphide, of at least two species, one much Jarger than the other. These were so numerous that they were swept from the sails in thousands, and whilst one man steered, another had to be employed in brushing them off him; as it was, they did not escape being bitten, the bite being attended with considerable pain and swelling. These Syrphidw have probably accompanied the ladybirds in their flight; but their superior powers on the wing had saved them for the time from the fate which had overtaken the latter; only for a time a _S, HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Ocr. 1, 1869. however, as they would soon add their numbers to the slain. The thought suggests itself whether this inclina- tion to leave the shore (if at all common) is not a provision of Nature to rid us of what, after having performed its allotted purpose, would prove a serious nuisance if remaining. Norwich. T. SouTHwELL. N.B.—When I wrote the above, I had not ob- served Mr. Cordeaux’s note in the Zoologist, 8. 8., p. 1839. On 24th July, the same day as above re- ferred to, about thirteen miles from the Lincoinshire coast, his cutter ran through numerous belts of } water, “from a few yards to some hundreds in breadth, and extending both to port and star- board as far as the eye could reach,” so full of myriads of green-winged aphides as to present a | in and bulky volumes of “Transactions ” on all branches “thick pea-soup appearance.” The air around this city literally swarmed with these insects during the whole of that day. Mr. Cordeaux also mentions the astonishing numbers of the larve of | the Ladybird in the pea-fields,—ten or twelve on each plant. “There were many of the perfect insects, but the larvee outnumbered the parents as fifty to one.” LUeek THE LAY OF THE OLD LADYBIRD. Conrounp ’em! ladybirds and beadles, And daddy-long-legses, as well! That keep one thus on pins and needles, Lor! what to do I cannot tell. Ah, flies and spiders, legs and wings, - Lean’t abide them creeping things! There’s flies! One wants a little sleep, And just a-dropping in a doze, When, drat the things, they buzz and creep Upon a poor old lady’s nose. Lor, how they tickles and they stings ! I can’t abide them creeping things! There’s earwigs dropping in your cup When in the arbour you takes tea. There’s what 0’ night-time wakes you up, That will not budge, and seldom flee. Distress such recollection brings— I can’t abide them creeping things ! Confound ’em ! beadles, gnats, and wopses, Flies, spiders, ladybirds—what-nots ! Td like to stomp ’em all to copses As ants is, so says Dr. Watts. I find to life too much they clings— T can’t abide them creeping things !—Pwz. | | “Transactions.” THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. N the latter part of last, and earlier years of the present century, several attempts were made to establish an Entomological Society in London. These proved all more or less abortive, the associa- tions thus formed being chiefly characterized by the brevity of their existence; though one actually so far succeeded as to publish two parts of The now existing Society was instituted in 1834, “for the improvement and diffusion of Entomological Science” (vide chap. i. of its Bye-laws), and nearly half a dozen of the gentlemen composing the first council are still living. During the thirty-five years that have elapsed since that period, it has published sixteen of Entomology, and now issues, in parts, a thick volume annually, embellished with many beautiful plates. Though the number of its members is con- siderable, we do not think it receives the amount of support from our countrymen who pursue the study that is justly due to it; and we feel assured that many do not join its ranks from ignorance of the modus operandi, and thereby lose much pleasure they would otherwise derive from attending its meetings, and from borrowing books from its exten- sive library. The meetings are now held, by permission, in the rooms of the Linnean Society in Burlington House, and are conducted in a more conversational style than is usual in many of our Scientific Societies. Admissions are granted in two forms—in one, pay- ment of a small admission fee and an annual sub- scription are necessary—in the other the subscrip- tion only is demanded. The advantages are equal, save that those gentlemen joining under the latter condition can take no part in the executive. The Transactions are sent, as soon as published, gratis to gentlemen who reside outside a radius of fifteen miles from London, whereas those who live within that radius can obtain them at half price; it being considered that country members, through inability to regularly attend the meetings, are placed in a less favourable position than their metropolitan colleagues. The next meeting will take place on the Ist of November, and we are at liberty to state that all information will be gladly afforded to any Entomo- logist who may think of joining, by either of the two secretaries; viz., Mr. J. W. Dunning, M.A., E.L.S., of 24, Old Buildings, Lincoln’s-Inn, or Mr. R. M‘Lachlan, F.L.S., of 20, Limes Grove, North Lewisham. The library is kept at 12, Bedford-row, Holborn, and the Librarian attends there every Monday from 2to7 p.m. Ocr. 1, 1869.] HARDWICKHE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 233 ZOOLOGY. Mick on tue S1ru.—An old Quaker friend told me the other day she was once nursing her father in a quiet parlour in their house in the “ close,” when she observed, on the window-sill, a couple of mice sunning themselves. She put some crumbs for them next morning, and, finding they were taken away, continued to do so daily. The animals came, and in due time brought young ones, which partook of the meal. During the season three young broods were thus brought to the window-sill and taught to feed themselves. If one dropped a crumb carelessly it was sure to be chastised with a smart rap, when it took up the crumb and carried it away. The nest was close by in a hole in the wall, made by the chance removal of a brick. The sight, she said, was very pretty. The mice ran up by the stems of a asmine, which grew by the wall up to the window. —L. B. SympaATHETIC Puss.—The same person who narrated the mouse anecdote to me said she had an old lady friend who was grievously afflicted with rheumatic gout in the hand; her fingers and joints were quite distorted and drawn up like claws. But she managed, somehow, to write, and sat at her desk painfully making the letters. Close beside her, hour after hour, sat her favourite cat watching the process. In course of time puss had kittens, which, strange to tell, had their paws all drawn up and distorted precisely like the old lady’s hands. They were malformed in every case, and the whole batch had to be drowned. My Quaker friend, who narrated this to me, is one who weighs her words, and carefully adheres to the truth, so that I can speak after her with confidence.—Z. B. An Arrecrionate Tortoisr.—I dined a few days ago at a gentleman’s house in this vicinity, and was asked if I would like to go out into the grounds and see the tortoise. We found the creature, a very large one of its kind, basking in the sun on the upper terrace grass walk, and it evidently knew the master’s voice right well, for directly Mr. —— took it in his hands and lifted it up, the tortoise put out its fore-feet up against his breast and stretched forth its long neck, laying its face on his cheek in the most confiding way, just as a tame cat, or any other domestic animal, might do mm order to be caressed. J truthfully could not (had Tnot seen it) have believed it possible for the eye of a tortoise to have expressed such affection ; but he evidently did not approve of strangers taking liberties with him. Immediately any of the ladies Present, or myself, touched him, he withdrew into his shell house with great dignity. Mr. —— told me the tortoise came into his possession some thirty Years ago, but during a part of this time he had lost sight of it for a period of six years, when one day a workman on the estate came to ask him to look at a wonderful big toad—a toad with a stone back.” The toad was the long missing tortoise, whom old Baird had turned up in a neighbouring field. The tortoise has ever since lived comfortably in the grounds, always making his appearance in summer on the same terrace to be treated with fruit, which he much enjoys. The lack of knowledge respecting natural history shown by some of the lower classes is really most remarkable. “ A toad with a stone back ” reminds me ofa tale told me yesterday of an old man who lived not very far from here. His master, a Pembrokeshire squire, took him up to town the year of the Exhibition. Jack was never trusted out alone lest he should lose his way ; but one evening his master sent him to a tobacconist’s shop close by for some of the weed. Jack had the order written down; while the shopman turned to weigh out the article, Jack laid half a crown on the counter, and a large monkey quietly swept it into the till. Jack having received the parcel waited for change ; the shopman, who had not noticed the laying down of the money, waited for payment. Jack talked Welsh, the man English, and at last a boy was sent home with Jack, his master being known to the shopkeeper. Then came Jack’s explanation to his master, which translated was as follows: “I did put down the silver, and the gentleman’s father, the old man as sits on the counter, did put it in the till and the gentleman did give me no change.”—Helen L, Watney, Gws Cum. Voracity or tae Jacx.—On Tuesday last Mr. Thomas Taylor, of the George Hotel, Halstead, whilst spinning for jack, in the Colne, near Box-mills, captured one weighing 3 1b, Noticing that its body was an unusual size he opened it and found in its pouch a young moor-hen and nine roach! One of the roach weighed a quarter of a pound.—Halstead Times, August 14. Insects In 1869.—Is not the clouded yellow (Colias edusa) unusually plentiful this summer ? and are not the small tortoise-shell (Vanessa urtica), and the painted lady (Cynthia cardui) rather scarce? 1 saw a specimen of the clouded yellow on the road from Flushing to Mylor Bridge in Cornwall, the other day; another at St. Keyne, and, I think, another between this place, Lyme Regis, and Axminster. The painted lady (Cynthia cardui) 1 saw on the road from Lyme Regis to Charmouth on the lst of March, and the small tortoise-shell here on the 10th of April, the weather being then fine and warm. I do not remember seeing either since. I noticed several common white and blue butterflies at Flushing this summer, but I fancy the former has not been so common in this neighbourhood as it was last year. The CA 234 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Oocr. 1, 1869. meadow brown (Hipparchia janira) is, as usual, abundant. I have seen at least three humming- bird hawk-moths—two in the garden and one at Uplyme.—F. J. D. Hinton, Lyme Regis. Tue Scarce Srotrep Hawx-Moru (Sphing Galii).—A caterpillar of this exceedingly rare insect was taken in this vicinity in the latter end of August. The following description is to be found in J. O. Westwood’s “ British Moths and their Transformations” :—“The caterpillar is of an olive green colour, with a yellow dorsal line, and a row of yellow pear-shaped spots, bordered with black on each side of each segment. The spiracles are yellow, and there is a line of the same colour above the legs; of which latter the fore ones are black, and the pro-legs flesh-coloured. It feeds on several species of Galium, such as the wild madder (G. mollugo), and the yellow lady’s bedstraw (G. verum).” Tt is at present living on the latter plant.—J. H. Fox, Harleston, Norfolk. Iysrcts or THE Season.—I have noticed during this year a very great scarcity of the large garden white (Pieris brassice), and although the small white (P. zape) has appeared in very few numbers to what it usually does, the visits of the large white were far more rare. There has been, however, an extreme abundance of the small tortoise-shell (/. urtice), and the peacock butterfly (V. Lo) ; whilst among our moths the bright-line brown-eye (JZ, oleracea) proved a perfect nuisance, collecting in large numbers in our bedrooms, and the willow beauty (Aleis rhomboidaria) has also been extremely abundant. When at Cardigan, S. Wales, last month, scarcely {a bush could be touched without starting half a dozen or more magpie moths (Adrazus grossulariata) off on the wing; whilst in the after- noon they were fluttering about amongst the hedge- rows almost as numerously as the meadow-browns and large heaths. The caterpillar of the privet hawk-moth has been far more abundant than last year. I collected in a few hours last week upwards of six-and-thirty fine specimens on a low privet- bush. At Gwhert, the famous watering-place of Cardigan, and opposite the island, there is a large tract of ground covered with gorse and heather; the vegetation about here was literally strewn with the empty chrysalis of the six-spot Burnet moth (Anthrocera filipendule) during the past month— W. Bevan Lewis, L.R.C.P. Lond. Centre Barred Sattow (Cirredia Xeram- pelina).—Flaving had the pleasure of taking two specimens of this beautiful species I thought it would interest some of the readers of Scimncr- Goss, both specimens being taken at the begin- ning of this month (September). This species has been taken more than once before by myself and my friend, Mr. W. J. Smith, at light.—C. B. Doward, Worcester. Cats anp Srarriso.—In answer to W. Field in September number allow me to record the case of a favourite and very tame cat who is always glad to devour a starfish when one dies in the aquarium and never seems at all the worse for it. I have known her do it several times this spring and sum- mer whilst staying at her home in the neighbourhood of Ramsgate. In whatever part of the kingdom the piece of “folk-lore”’ mentioned by W. Field may be prevalent, I think it must be entirely un- founded.—I. G. H. A ’curr Squrrren.—A very curious instance of squirrel sagacity has lately come to my knowledge. It was related to me by an eye-witness to the fact, now some years ago. A tame squirrel having swarmed up the bell-pull threw down from the end of the mantel-shelf an imitation egg and egg- cup, in one. He immediately descended and endeavoured, having secured it in his paws, to re-ascend with it, Failing in this he again climbed up the rope, but evidently not satisfied, came down again, and this time having managed to secure the ornament in some way that allowed him to use his paws, ascended the rope with it and replaced it on the mantel-shelf. This was witnessed at a friend’s house by a relative of mine, the friend also being present.—W, Hambrough, Worthing. ANIMAL FRom Satt Laxe.—In the April num- ber of Screncr-Gosste is figured an animal from Salt Lake, which the correspondent and editor seem unable to identify. It is undoubtedly the larva of Lphydra, of which the fly and puparium have been figured in the Naturalist, vol.ii., p. 278, and a short account given of the occurrence of other species in the salt-works in Germany ; the Equality Salt-works, Gallatin County, Illinois; the Salt Lake Mono, Cali- fornia; and the coasts of Labrador and Massachu- setts, where it lives in salt or brackish water.— A. S. P. in “American Naturalist” for Sept. 1869. Sripers as an Articte oF Foop.—Reaumur tells us of a young lady, who when she walked in her grounds never saw a spider that she did not take and crack upon the spot. Another female, the celebrated Anna Maria Schurman, used to eat them like nuts, which she affirmed they much resembled in taste, excusing her propensity by saying that she was born under the sign Scorpio. If you wish for the authority of the learned, Lalande, the cele- brated French astronomer, was, as Latreille wit- nessed, equally fond of these delicacies. And lastly, if not content with taking them seriatim, you should feel desirous of eating them by handfuls, you may shelter yourself under the authority of the German immortalized by Koesel, who used to spread them upon his bread like butter, observing that he found them very useful “um sich auszulaxiren.”—Kirdy’s Introd. to Bntom. i Ocr. 1, 1869.] HARDWICK R&’S SCIENCE-GOSSIDP, 235 BOTANY. Marsoram.—I was much interested in Mrs. Waitney’s article on “ Common Herbs” last month (page 178), in which she so well described the sweet marjoram and its uses. But Mrs. Watney states that it is slightly puzzling with regard to the pro- perties of this plant, as it apparently shows that they are identical with narcotic principles when the plant is put into beer while fermenting. This is not, however, the case; and such facts as these are puzzling to many, because the reactions are seldom expressed in any “manual.” The reactions and results are only obtained by close observation and study; but sometimes a little thought, and knowledge of chemistry as well, will explain such reactions. Marjoram contains an alkaloid (e.9., like alkalies) which unites with the free acid in the beer, neutra- lizing it, therefore rendering its presence non-per- ceptible. Yeast consists of several kinds of fungus, i.e. Monas crepusculum, Bacterium termo, Torula, Penicillium glaucum, S&c., and these fungi excite alcoholic fermentation, then acetic acid fermentation. Some acetic acid is also formed during the first stage, or alcoholic fermentation, and the presence of an alkaloid prevents this giving a greater per- centage of alcohol. Marjoram containing the alka- loid acts as above. In reality, then, the alcohok intoxicates, not the marjoram.—George Newlyn. Tue Bez Oncuis.—We have received several communications in reply to “B.’s” inquiry respect- ing the Bee Orchis, and are informed that it may be found in Castle Hedingham, Little Maplestead, Colne-Engaine, &c. One botanical correspondent Suggests that to give its habitat more definitely to the public would ultimately exterminate the plant from the district, but genuine collectors may have further information on inquiry at our office. —Hal- stead Times, Aug. 14. Britist Funer.— “A Handbook of British Fungi,” by M. C. Cooke, is announced as in course of preparation. It will forma thick crown octavo volume, and will be published at half a guinea to Subscribers as soon as sufficient names have been received to guarantee the venture. This work is intended to contain full descriptions of every known Species of fungus hitherto found in the British Isles, with figures illustrating the genera. Sub- seribers’ names will be gladly received by the author through the publisher of Scrmncz-GosstP, 192, Piccadilly, W. Gzrantum Sexps.—At page 191 of your present volume reference is made by a correspondent, Mrs. Watney, to the fruit of the Cranesbills, which is described as bearing a sort of screw. There isa little confusion here which perhaps you will think it desirable to correct. It is the allied genus Hro- dium in which the tail of the earpel coils up spirally after splitting from the beak. In geranium proper the tail does not assume the spiral form; this cha- racter affords, therefore, a ready mode of distin- guishing the seeds of the two genera. The spiral coil appears to act like the feathered shaft of an arrow, The seed being the heaviest naturally falls downwards, and the spiral will usually be found projecting above ground, when the carpel, with its inclosed seed, becomes buried.—W. 7'., Ipswich. Hotry.—I fancy the term Holly, our English name for the Ilex aquifolium, is derived from Hellig, the Welsh name for the tree. The Holly surely is a true native of Great Britain, and Welsh the original language; therefore, what more probable than that the Saxons ealled the tree Holly, a cor- ruption of Hellig? The “Saxon alphabet” was used by the Britons many centuries before the Saxon invasion; this old writings fully prove; therefore we have reason to believe that the Saxons had no letters of their own, but that the one now called Saxon was taught them by the Britons. Alfred’s tutors were both Welshmen. Had the Saxons brought any letters from Saxony there would surely be in some part of Germany Saxon characters still to be found, and I am told there are not; so I come to the sage conclusion that my native language is very ancient, and Holly derived from Hellig.— HI. LE. Watney. Orive 1x Buroom.—I don’t know whether the fact of an olive-tree grown in this country having this year put forth its bloom is a novel one. The tree is an interesting one, as it has all the charac- teristics on a small seale of the olive of the South, both as regards form and the big root protruding from the soil. Up to last year it had been growing in a pot, it was then transferred to a cask and planted in some rich soil. The tree is about five feet six inches high from the base of the trunk. This is the first year in which it has flowered. In the South of France they flower in, I believe, the seventh year. The olive in question is at least ten years old. In winter it is placed in a conservatory, and in summer ina sheltered spot in the garden. Since we have had it no blight of any kind has ever been detected on its leaves.—P., Margate. Lopetra uRENS.—I have had Lobelia urens in full bloom in my garden three years in succession. T collected the plants when in Devonshire for my holidays. They blossom well, but do not ripen seed in cultivation. Are any of your readers acquainted with a deep blue variety of Scilla autumnalis? 1 have found it early in August covering the sandy downs near the sea with its brilliant blue flowers. Tn colour and habit it resembles Sela verna. In June I found the grass-like tufts of leaves, which were turned brown and withered before the flowers appeared. I shall be glad of any information on the subject. —W. C., Kent. = 236 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Ocr. 1, 1869. MICROSCOPY. A New Crtt.—No one can better understand the difficulties which a young microscopist meets with, than he who has been compelled to fall back upon the resources of his own inventive capacities to meet those emergencies which present themselves on the very threshold of a new study. Perhaps one of the first of these difficulties is the formation of a cell. Our standard works on the microscope seem to give us an exhaustive stock of information on this point, but yet this question remains unanswered, viz.,— How to prepare at the dowest cost a large stock of neat and efficient cells? The merest tyro is aware that a revolving disc, a diamond pencil, &c., will supply means for the construction of neat cells ; but all this involves a certain outlay which many would hesitate to expend. A steady hand can draw a fair circle of Brunswick black on a slide, but in order that the cell should be deep, each successive layer should be firmly dried before the application of a second, and the various annoyances which this plan often gives rise to are known only too well to those who are practically familiar with this method. But purchase a box of endless elastic bands,* and the addition of a jar of Brunswick black will now supply all the requisite material for the formation of a large stock of good and neat cells. Slip one of these bands on to the blades of a pair of scissors, slightly opening the latter to keep the band near the points, and prevent it from slipping off; now paint it over with a thin layer of Brunswick black, allow the band to fall flat on the centre of a glass slide, fix your object, and gently place your thin cover over it, which will firmly adhere to the band; this is cell No.1. For cell No, 2 another band is slid on to the scissors after the first band has been painted ; the pressure of a forceps will cause them to adhere, and now you have your cell double the depth of the first. The bands which I use are } an inch in diameter, and with these the deepest cell advisable to be made is that of three bands; should a deeper cell be required bands of a larger diameter are necessary. I have a large number of objects mounted in this way, the majority being dry preparations, but I find this cell is equally serviceable for mounting in glycerine or Goadby’s solution. The diamond pencil, revolving disc, moulded cell, &c., are all desirable acquisitions, but for my own part I prefer the elastic cell on ac- count of its neatness and simplicity. Should any of your readers feel inclined to try this method I can confidently assure them they will find it the cheapest and most satisfactory —WW. Bevan Lewis, L.R.C.P. Lond. Marxines or Draroms.— Having just been reading Mr. Reade’s curious investigations upon * Sold by W. Warne & Co., also by Perry & Co diatoms with the equilateral prism (see Jourzal of the Royal Microscopical Society for July and August), I took up a slide of Zriceratiuin favus, and viewing it with an eighth object glass, by parallel rays, I noticed that the areole possessed the same property as the corneules of the compound eyes of insects, so that the image of any object, interposed between the mirror and the stage, was seen in each of them. Looking afterwards at a beetle’s eye under the same power and illumination, I was surprised to notice how exactly the same effects might be pro- duced upon it as upon the triceratium, by slightly altering the focus of the object-glass or the position of the mirror. Spherules, hexagons, or pyramids, were equally produceable at will in either slide. May not our knowledge of the one give some elue to the real formation of the other? By careful focussing, a double layer of structure may be seen in the Triceratium valve, very similar to that of Heliopelta ; each apparent hexagon being made up of a series of circular areolations, three forming each side of the hexagon, and seven in the centre; while on altering the focus the upper surface of the valve gives the appearance of large nodules, as de- scribed by Mr. Reade.— 2. Hints ror Workers.—Your interesting article on the sertularians set me thinking of what a pity it is that our rapidly increasing class of amateur wicroscopists should not be urged to take every opportunity of adding to their knowledge of natural history in all branches, so as to insure the greatest possible accuracy in the nomenclature of their slides. For my own part I take the greatest pains to secure this accuracy. I like to have my labels as detailed as possible in their information, showing where necessary, class, order, section, family, genus, and species; and I never regret having to change these labels on any increase of knowledge. ‘This is one of the manners in which amateur microscopy can be made really educating, aud not a mere mania for the collecting of pretty slides. Yet I know cabi- nets where the organisms which your article has described are simply labelled as “corallines,” a name which though at one time received has now becomeentirely inappropriate, because unfortunately it is now applied only to a division of plants (d/ge) while the sertularians are certainly animal. Being on this subject I cannot avoid appealing to you and to your readers (though it is somewhat presump- tuous in me to differ thus from Mr. Hincks) as to whether it is not a pity to revive the term “ zoo- phyte,” as applied to this or to any division of polypes. As implying more than we know, or I may say what we know to be false; they are not animal plants (to translate the word), but simply and ef- tirely animal. And is it not unnecessary where polyzoa, or bryozoa, would answer as well ?— Lede. Ocr. 1, 1869.] NOTES AND QUERIES. Decrtvine tHe Nirves.—Take a pin between the tip of the forefinger and thumb, roll it about quickly but lightly, and in a few seconds it will ap- pear to increase in size and to become covered with a soft leathery substance. The nerves in recording the sensation evidently do not allow for the thick- ness of the insensitive epidermis between them- selves and the pin, herce the error.—/’. W. If. Crpaninc Suetis.—Would any of your corres- pondents inform me ofthe best method for removing the epidermis or outer coating of shells, and after- wards polishing them if required ? By doing so you would much oblige your subscriber.—Owen 7. Wil- liams. Burrincurs’ Foon.—Seeing in your number of Scrence-Gosstp for the present month, a request from L. C. Whelan for information as to the best food for Bullfinches, [ bez to say I have a pair of those birds in perfect health and beauty. I gave them all last winter plenty of privet and other winter berries. In the spring they were supplied daily with a quantity of primroses, which they eagerly picked to pieces and eat some part of them. hen these could no longer be obtained I gave them bunches of daisies, which were treated in like man- ner; for them the hen-bird especially was quite Clamorous when any were brought into the room, nob ceasing to call out and flutter her wings till some were put between the bars of the cage. Wild strawberries are also a very favourite repast, and any kind of grass seeds from the hay fields were de- youred in quantities. [ am now giving them any d of plant in seed that can be found in the hedges, such as plaintain shepherd’s ruse, dart, ound ivy, &c. 1 keep the seed boxes in the cage lled with rape and cazary, but they eat but little of these when they have other things. I only use all as a dainty to induce them to feed from’ my hand, or as a reward for the performance of some little kind, such as ringing their bell, &c. They have plenty of fresh water every morning for bathing. The birds «re also very fond of milk thistle and groundsel in house.—Charlotte Hedger. Dr. Tavpicuum’s Raspir.—After reading the article on the death of Dr. Thudichum’s rabbit that appeared in the August number of ScreNncE-GossiP, it oeceurredto methat syme account of its life might rove acceptable. Through the courtesy of Dr. T. am enabled to supply the following, particulars : ¢ rabbit was trichinised ; in 1864 it survived a severe trichinosis, ony by means of artificial eeding, and being kepi in a Turkish bath; it re- covered, and in the flowing and second year, had three nests of young, one of these only survived. The rabbit exhibited its trichine on various occa- sions before the College of Physicians, London ; ritish Medical Associstion, Cambridge ; Epidemio- logical Society, and Society of Arts, London ; also ‘0 numerous private persons. They were always taken ving out of the loins of the animal. At the time of its death all the trichinee were living and strong, another proof of the longevity of this remarkable parasite. The rabbit suffered much from a kind of mange which was only kept in check by painting with benzoyle and oil. It ate oats, clover, and breaa, 80 drank milk with avidity to which it had hesoae Partial during its illness. No small particle of fles Was ever removed from its body which did not con- HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 237 tain at least ten trichine; a moderate estimate would bring the number of worms and capsules contained in it to the amount of two and a half millions. It sickened for three weeks ;_ate less and less, lost flesh, became almost paralysed on its hind legs, and died. Dr. Thudichum writes: “It quite moved me when I came to the laboratory and found my friend and companion of five years, the sharer of many successes, dead; but you have embalmed it finely. It will, I am sure, give instruction and pleasure to many who look over your marvellous slides,” The cause of the rabbits death was inflam- mation of the intestines, the lungs being congested nearly the whole length.—/. 7. Norman. Tom-ropprrs.—I always, when a child, heard the rhyme mentioned by your correspondent, page 164, applied to Tadpoles, not “snails,” and we always called them “tom-toddies.” The former certainly és ‘* All head and no body,” the “snail” is toute au contraire!—H. H. W. Tue Trropoy.—Can any of the readers of Screncz-Gossir inform me if there is any truth in the following description of a “Monster of the Deep,” the Triodon, which I have taken from a book for children, entitled “Seas, Ships, and Adventures,” and bearing date 1850:—“'The strange-looking creature that is called by this name (i.e., Triodon) is a fish that is found in the Indian Ocean, and has an enormous dewlap, almost as long as the body and twice as high, which is supported in front by a very large bone. It belongs to an order‘of fishes that have the power of inflating themselves like balloons, and floating themselves on the surface of the water. The surface of their dewlap bristles with a great number of small rough crests, placed obliquely. Only one species of it is known, and that was discovered e Mr. Reinwardt in the Indian seas. The upper jaw is divided, as in some other species of this genus. It is altogether one of the, most singular-looking creatures that can be imagined, and learned men are puzzled to ascertain the use of some of its members.” ‘There are no measurements given of the creature as a whole, or of any of its parts. Perhaps this could not be ex- pected in a book for children, but the description seems vague enough. However, perhaps some one may be able to tell me if the Triodon has really any existence in fact. The sketch enclosed is copied from the engraving in the book.—/. M. C. Reply.—The account of Triodon is substantially correct. The fish attains to a length of about two feet ; but it is not by any means certain whether it has the power of inflating itself, like other members of the order to which it belongs. The figure said to be the Triodon is quite a different fish, viz., a kind of shark (Callorhynchus), The case is analo- gous to one, if a man would describe correctly a camel, and illustrate his description with the figure of an elephant.—/. G. Brrs.—To the questions proposed in the August and September numbers of Scrence-Gossip in reference to bees, which I have just noticed, permit me to say that the case of the servant girl as adduced by J. Lu. Phelps is a very common one, for bees in swarming are under such, excitement that their whole attention is centred in that one great undertaking; they are heedless of anything short of actual personal violence, and seem utterly to forget to sting. Moreover, as observed by“‘D. D. B., prior to swarming they fill themselves with honey =a 938 HARDWICKHB’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Ocr. 1, 1869, for the first office in their new abode—comb-build- ing; and a bee when gorged with sweets of any kind is never disposed to attack. It is by thus absorbing their attention, or directing it exclusively to one object, that a bee master is enabled to exer- cise unlimited control at any time over his little subjects, especially in a bar-hive. IJ can make my bees in a few minutes as harmless as peas, and handle them with bare hands as if they were so many black currants, and this without any anes- thetic means whatever. Again, sticks are useful in a hive only as a support to the combs in excessively hot weather, or in transferring a hive to keep the combs steady, but they are rather a hindrance to the bees, and grievously annoying to the honey taker in cutting out the comb, as the dragging them through tears the cells, and causes the honey to run vexatiously about. In reply to “F.5.,” the queen bee has merely taken possession of the cup or super for breeding purposes (also a common case, but may be prevented as suggested by “ D. D. B.’’), but “ F.S.” must be careful in removing it lest he lose her ladyship. The better plan would be to remove such super temporarily. Jf the bees in the stock hive after a short time exhibit symptoms of restlessness or confusion, and those in the cap are at ease, the queen is in the cap and it must be replaced forthwith, and the experiment renewed at another time. If, on the contrary, the bees readily leave the cup, it need not be returned at all. The same remarks apply to the glass. In answer to “D. D. B.,” permit me to add that there are no hybrid drones—they are either all ligurian or all black, those produced by a bastardised ligurian queen being invariably ligurian. An unimpregnated queen of either species lays only drone and eggs, like a semi-developed worker, and fecundates alone ; at the time of its deposit appears to convert the drone egg to a worker egg, and the treatment alone of the worker worm seems to affect its capacity for future impregnation: the first depending (possibly) on the zw// of the queen, the second on that of the little nurse bee. This, therefore, is hardly perhaps acaseanalogous to that of the crossing of what are termed distinct species, though even these zz domes- ticity do sometimes produce offspring prolific éxter se. Query, are these bees distinct species at all >— J. W. Stroud, Plymouth. Tue Howiy-rrer.—The disciples of Zoroaster believe that the sun never shadows the hoily-tree. There are still some followers of this king of the Magi to be found in the wilds of Persia, and some parts of India, who, when a child is born, throw in its face water which has been put in the bark of a holly-tree.—Sylva Florifera, Tue Ivy.—At the marriage ceremonies of the Greeks, when the young couple arrived at the tem- ple, the priest presented them with a bunch of ivy, symbolical of the tie which should unite them, and the omission of which at the wedding of Proserpine was said to cause the Cocytus to flow only with waves of tears.— Sylva Florifera. Porutar Drscription.—The other day I was visiting the Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, and I heard, when in the Aquarium House, an old gentleman give an amusing character to some sea- anemones there. ‘You see,” he said, “what curious anima’s they are, between a vegetable and a fish, half and half, and they are always im the same place, fixed for life, and they can’t move, and yet they are alive. Wonderful!”—/W. &. * reason. Foop ror Buririvcues.—Having kept a Bull- finch in perfect healih and plumage for six years, perhaps my experience with regard to his treatment may be of some service. His daily food is rape and canary seed, the proportion being about one-fourth only of the former; occasionally a little millet, and | very rarely a hemp-seed or two, given as a treat. It is absolutely necessary to be very particular about the cleanliness of the cage, especially the perches, as Bullfinches are subject to diseased feet, and a bath two or three times a week is greatly conducive ‘to their health; also a constant supply of groundsel, chickweed, or apple paring, and a thistle-head gone to seed, or a few ripe haws, will be much appre- ciated.—C. F. F., Redland, Bristol. Foop ror Burtrincues (p. 215)—Bechstein, in his admirable work on “‘ Chamber Birds,” treating of bullfinches, says, “That they remain most healthy and live longest when they have neither sugar nor pastry, nor other delicacies given to them, but are fed constantly upon rape-seed, intermixed occa- sionally, by way of treat, with hemp, and occasionally a little green food, such as water-cresses, a bit of apple, berries of the service-tree, or salad, which cleanses their stomachs. That they are more healthy also if they have some water and sand placed in the cage, that they may pick up grains, to assist in the process of digestion;” and he recom- mends, as a remedy for “moulting,” a rusty nail placed in the drinking-vessel, good food, and ants’ eggs, if accustomed to the latter when young.— J, R. Eldridge. Buirrncurs.—1 think that management has more to do with L. C. Whelan’s bullfinches than food. I brought up from the nest this year a pair which (from the time they eat seed) had rape- seed for the first few weeks soaked. One had a deformity in its neck and died, but the other is very heaithy and beautifully feathered, and #ow has the usual mixture of canary, rape, and a few hemp seeds with the other birds—W. D. R. Cockroach Eecs.—Have any of your correspon- dents ever been favoured with a view of the Cock- roach in the act of laying its egg? The size of the egg is, as nearly as 1 can describe it, $ to Z of an inch long, and 4 in diameter, with parallel sides, circular at each end, in section circular, with a well- defined ridge in one part from end to end; and this ridge, when the egg is laid, is quite perpendicu- lar to the body of the Cockroach, instead of being, as I should have supposed, at one side or the other. Some one knowing the anatomy of the Cockroach better than I may be able to favour me with a I may say that I was able to catch the insect at the time with the greatest ease with my fingers ; it did not avoid me, as they usually do.— Robert T, Andrews, Hertford. Carprts or Geranium (p. 211).— Will Mr. Williams give the name of the Geranium, the “ per- sistent stigmas” (!) of which behave in the remark- able manner recorded in your last? Before writing my paper on “ Cranesbills” I carefully examined nearly all our British species, and I have since in- spected those in the herbaceous ground at Kew, but have failed to detect a single instance of the “spiral twisting” to which he refers. Such a cir- cumstance must, I imagine, be somewhat rare in Geranium; inasmuch as one of the distinguishing marks by which Hrodium is determined is this “ spiral twisting,” which is stated to be wanting in * Ocr. 1, 1869. | HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 239 the former genus. As in many cases the seeds are tilted out by the curling up of the awn, the carpel still remaining attached to the axis some time after the seed has fallen; and as, even when carpel and seed fall off at the same time, they usually separate before or on reaching the ground, I can but ima- gine that Mr. Williams has confused Zrodium with Geranium, or) that he has met with an exceptional and very remarkable phenomenon in some member of the latter genus. The rarity of such an occurrence as that he describes—if it ever takes place—may account for its omission by “botanical writers,” as well as by myself. I may add, however, that Withermg and other authors describe very mi- nutely the phenomena connected with the carpels of Lrodium.—J. Britten, Royal Herbarium, Kew, W. Ayacnaris ALsiInastrumM.—One of the most common, yet at the same time one of the most wonderful sights, seen with the aid of the micro- scope, is undoubtedly the cyclosis, or rotation in the leaf-cells of this pretty aquatic plant. The fol- lowing therefore may prove interesting informa- tion: I spent some time during the spring of the year over this plant with the object of discovering the number of cells in each leaf, the number of chloro- phyll eranules in each cell, and therefore the num- er of chlorophyll granules in each leaf. I examined twelve leaves from one plant with these results :— 1, Leaves examined averaged in size 24, of an inch in length, and ;3; of an inch in breadth. 2. Averaged 9,100 cells to each leaf. 3. 20 average cells examined in each leaf, = 23 chlorophyll granules to each cell. 4, Average of leaves examined show therefore 209,300 chlorophyll granules to each leaf. At another time I examined six leaves from another plant, with slightly varying results :— 1. 4%; of an inch by +, of an inch. 2. 9,750 cells to each leaf, 3. 22 granules to each cell. 4, 214,500 chlorophyll granules to each leaf. The above are simply approximate calculations, et the two results bear a fair comparison. All who now this plant are well aware what a varied ap- renee the cells and cell contents assume under erent conditions, at different stages of growth, and at different seasons of the year. These obser- vations were made upon very healthy plants, which ave been growing in my aquarium for two years or more.—Zhomas Simson, Upper Lewisham Road, Economic Lamp-suapr.—A cheap porcelain shade for microscopic lamps, designed by Mr. HF, Hailes, and exhibited by him some time since at the Quekett Club, can now be had at Mr. Baker’s, in High Holborn, for about. a shilling, We have used it, and consider it a decided acquisition. he price too brings it within the reach of every- dy, and everybody should have it. _ Cats ann Starrisu.—Mr. Field may be interested in reading what has come under my notice about “Cats and Starfish.” A neighbour of ours whose Young chickens were continually eaten, and his gar- n scratched by cats, fried pieces—about two inches Square—of sfarfish in fat, and threw them over his garden, The cats ate it and died, some at once, Others on their instant return home. In every case that he examined, the throat was swollen, as if the deadly morsel still stuck in it; the eyes also were open. Sometimes the cats were stretched out as cats like to do in front of a fire, other times curled round as if asleep. Our neighbour many times during the shrimp seasons has given Starfish thus prepared to cats.—/. Y. Fruit anp Frower Gaturrer.—We have re- ceived from Messrs Dick Radcliffe & Co. a flower- scissors called the “Selby flower and fruit gatherer,” which in cutting seizes the stem and holds it firmly until purposely released: also a “new charcoal flower-pot” made of charcoal, moulded of the desired form. Insect Trap.—Can any one give information re- specting the following method of catching insects, mentioned by Kirby? He speaks of the late inge- nious Mr..Paul, of Starston in Norfolk, well known as the inventor of a machine to entrap the turnip beetle, which (adds Kirby) may be applied by col- lectors with great advantage to general purposes (Introd. to Entom., ed. 1857). Perhaps some Nor- folk correspondent may be able to rescue the above form of trap from oblivion.—W. WV. 8. Lavysrrp, Lapysrrp, rry Away Home. “‘The hops are in danger of perishing, and the ladybirds come to the rescue. Millions of these red-cased, black- spotted insects have suddenly made their appearance in Kent and Sussex, and have even extended their flight to the me- tropolis. ..... . In some places it has been impossible to walk withoutcrushing numbers of these diminutive creatures to death.”’—Standard. ‘LI wouxp I were a bird, A ladybird so wee! No; [ should look absurd Among all fowls that be! Besides, how vain in print A transient fame to steal, If doomed to die by dint Of some plebeian heel! No; in some other shape Tl gain the public eye, And while men, wondering, gape, Through twenty columns fly: Oh, yes! PIl be a four- legged chicken, two-legged flea, Huge hailstone, mushroom, or Enormous gooseberry.—Lux. An Eecrricat Insect.—You are well ac- quainted with the history and properties of the Raia torpedo and Gymnotus electricus ; but I dare aver have no idea, that any insect possesses their extraordinary powers; yet I can assure you upon good authority, that Reduvius serratus, commonly known in the West Indies by the name of “the wheel bug,” can, like them, communicate an electric shock to the person whose flesh it touches. The late Major-General Davis, of the Royal Artillery, well known as a most accurate observer of nature, and an indefatigable collector of her treasures, as well as a most admirable painter of them, once in- formed me that when abroad having taken up this animal and placed it upon his hand, it gave him a considerable shock, as if from an electric jar, with its legs, which he felt as high as his shoulders ; and dropping the creature, he observed six marks upon his hand, where the six feet had stood —Azrby’s Introduction. SSS 240 HARDWICKE’S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. {Oocr. 1, 1869. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. G. E. C., J. W., 8. J., and B. T.—Books are ineligible for notice in our exchange column. L. R. R.—The plant is Corydalis claviculata. G. C.—The caterpillar is that of Cherocampu celerio. W. B. L.—Newman’s “ British Moths.” J. P.—The mycelium of afungus. It is often more or less phosphorescent ; boys call it ‘‘ touchwood,”’ and know of its luminous property. M. F. D.—Eggs of the Jace-wing fly (Chrysop: C. W.—See notice of Elm-galls in Scie? 1867, p.17. They are produced by aphides. H. C. S.—Write to Mr. W. R. Tate, Grove House, Hackney, and he will render any assistance. J. R.—It is the bog pimpernel. C. S. G.—The puss-moth (Cerura vinula). F. H.—The swarms of ladybirds have been so fully noticed in all the newspapers, that it is unnecessary for us to enter upon the subject. ‘A. T. B.—*“ Sowerby’s English Botany,” 3rd edition, vol. ii., . 137. hs HE. W.—Undoubtedly we should consider “‘ pepsine’’ free from the conditions necessary for trichini. D. G. W.—There is not likely to bea new edition of the lectures you name. The book “‘ Life on the Globe,” by Pro- fessor Phillips, we do not know. Thereis one with that title by David Page. H. W. H. C.—No. 1 is Gemellaria loricata. nea. 3. Canda reptans. W. K.—We should recommend you to purchase a storm- glass, rather than “ dabble’’ in making them; especially as makers will take care not to tell everything that is essential to success. W. H. L.—For particulars of fly-mould (Sporendonema musce), see the first number of SciencK-Gossip, 1865, p. 11. J. D.—Dr. Ormerod’s ‘* Natural History of British Social Wasps,” was published in 1868 by Longmans & Co., we think at half-a-guinea. R. A.—Don’t use so much balsam. Try a single drop on a slide, then place the ‘‘ Aregma ”’ on the balsam, in the centre ; in a short time put on the cover, We have mounted hun- dreds of slides of rusts without the least difficulty. J. H.—We have no such intention; nor do we intend pledging ourselves to any special course for the future, ex- cept to do the best we can for all our readers. J. R. E. had better address his query to a special Horticul- tural journal. A. C.—The larva of either Agrotis eaclamationis or Agrotis segetum.—H. G. K. ‘E. T. S.—The spider and egg cocoon are of the species Theridion pallens, B1.—O. P. C. D. H. 8. (Worthing).—The specimen sent was composed of the confervoid filaments of a moss in their resting state in dry weather ; on the approach of winter and spring they alter their character, and become green as they grow; a full ac- count may be found ina paper by Dr, J. Braxton Hicks in Linn. Trans. for 1862. R. H.—No 1. Triglochin palustre, L. 2. Listera ovata, R.Br. —B. H. W. G.—No. 1. Erigeron Canadensis, L. The flower heads are never yellow strictly speaking. 2and3. Not un- common. 4. Oplismenus (Echinochloa) erus galli, or frumen- taceus, K.—B. F. G. S.—The “‘ Richmond and North Riding Naturalists’ Field Club ”’ is in active operation under its excellent presi- dent, Edward Wood, Esq., of Richmond. T. Buck (Chelmsford).—It is impossible, without actual ex- perience, to answer your question. It would certainly be best to keep the eggs moderately damp—say in moss. The larva is stated to be full grown in April, so it probably hatches late in the summer or autumn. Young larve may be seen quite early in the spring; these have, doubtless, hybernated, You are, of course, aware that the glowworm, both as a larva and perfect insect, is carnivorous, feeding on snails and other mollusca. In Science Gosstp for 1868, p. 73, you will find an article on mounting, &c., Coleoptera, which will pro- bably enable you to preserve ‘‘ water insects ’’ for examina- tion. But you do not state what water insects.—E. C. R. J. G. H.—The small beetle ‘‘ abundant on the leaves of Zizyphus rugosa on the western ghauts of India,’’ is Platy- pria echidna, Guérin, one of the Hispide.—E. C. R. M. D. B. (Leamington),—Having had experience of the kind of rubbish you send as good slides in exchange, and— charitably believing that you know no better—we decline your offer to ‘‘ Portland ” with thanks. Sr. E.—Mr. Wheldon, Great Queen Street, London, W.C., has a good supply of second-hand books on natural history. J. C. D.—No. 1. Thuidium tamariscinum. 2. Bartramia pomiformis. 3. Tortula muralis,—R. B. F, M. C.--The moss is Bryum pseudotriquetrum.—R. B. J. D.—The bees sent are Odynerus parietum (male), and Andrena fucata (male).—F. 8. H.W. H.C. -No. 4 is Lophocolea bidentata.—R. B, -Gossip for 2. Crisia ebur- EXCHANGES. FoRAMINIFEROUS SAND.—Send stamped and addressed en- velope (and any object of interest) to H. P., 12, Bedford Circus, Exeter. PALMELLOIDS WANTED.—Species of Protococcus or Pal- mogilza (living if possible) for which postage will be repaid. D. H. Scott, 31, Spring Gardens, 8.W. PyYROLA ROTUNDIFOLIA (var. arenaria), and a few other good British Plants (dried), for Cyperaceze or other good plants.—Lists to J. H. Lewis, 180, Mill Street, Liverpool. Rare Bririsn Birps’ Ecos, in exchange for Foreign or other rare British Eggs.—W. F. Foottit, Newark, Nottingham- shire. Arinr PLAnts for rare British Plants.—Send lists to T, A., Post-Office, Midleton, Co. Cork. PoRcUPINE Qututt (section); Diatoms from Poona, India; Scales from Eleagnus (all mounted), offered for good mounted objects.—I. G. H., 152, Holland Road, Kensington, Ww. Britisn LepiporTerA in exchange for Foreign Shells, Fossils, or Minerals.— B. A., Post-office, Faversham. BEAUTIFUL CRYSTALS OF SELENITE, Single and compound, for British Shells.—G. S. T., 58, Villa Road, Handsworth, Staffordshire. Harr oF KANGAROO, and pod of Cowage (Mucuna pruriens) for other unmounted material—W. F. Haydon, 2, London Street, Norwich. Ecos of Goldcrest, Grebe, Teal, Snipe, &c., Reclusa pupe, Elpenor imagos, &c., for exchange. — Mrs. C. Battersby, Cromlyn, Rathowen, Co. West Meath, Ireland, AMERICAN Birps’ Eces.—Fourteen species (forty-six eggs) for British Eggs.—‘‘ Maine,” care of Editor of Screncr- Gossip. Sponce SpricutEs. — Twelve, or six, mounted slides, named species, for an equal number of good slides, except mixed Diatoms.—‘* C.,”’ care of Editor of Scizncr-Gosstp. Unmountep Woop Sections of thirty to forty English Plants will be given in exchange for mounted slides of fair character. Lists if required.— William Paling, Worksop. LeriporrrRra.—C. Davus, C. solidaginis, N. plantaginis in exchange for C. hyale, L. Sibylla, and V. polychloros, &e.—J. Noden, Spring Bank News-room, Stockport. BOOKS RECEIVED. “An Illustrated Natural History of British Moths; with life-size figures from nature of each species, and of the more striking varieties, &c.,”” by Edward Newman, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. 1 vol., Imp. 8vo., pp. 486. 1869. London: W. Tweedie, 337, Strand. “The American Naturalist’? for August, 1869. Salem: Peabody Academy of Science. “Scientific Opinion.” Part X. September, 1869. London: Wyman & Sons. “Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smith- sonian Institution for 1867.”?> Washington, U.S.A. “‘The Canadian Entomologist.’’ Vol. Il. No.2. August, 1869. Edited by the Rey. C.J. S. Bethune, M.A. Toronto: Copp, Clark, & Co, ** Land and Water.’’ Nos. 187, 188, 189, 190, 191. “‘ Gardener’s Magazine.” Part XLV. September, 1869. **The Monthly Microscopical Journal.’’? No. 9, September, 1869. London: Robert’ Hardwicke. *Prodromus of a Study of North American Freshwater Algze,’”? by Dr. Horatio C. Wood, Jun., Professor of Botany University of Philadelphia. “Catalogue of the Microscopical Section of the United States Army Medical Museum.’?, Washington. 1867. “Autumn Supplement to Hooper & Co.’s General Caqja- logue for 1869, containing Dutch, Cape, and other Flowering Bulbs.”’ “