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H ARDWICK E'S

SCI ENCE-GOSSI P:

[886.

HARDWICKE'S

4ip^-#0ssi^:

AN ILLUSTRATED MEDIUM OF INTERCHANGE AND GOSSIP

FOR STUDENTS AND

LOVERS OF NATURE.

EDITED BY

J. E. TAYLOR, Ph.D., F.L.S., F.G.S., F.R.G.S.I.,

HON. MEMBER OF THE MANCHESTER LITERARY CLUB, OF THE NORWICH GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, OF THE

MARYPORT SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY, OF THE ROTHERHAM LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY,

OF THE NORWICH SCIENCE-GOSSIP CLUB, OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF

AUSTRALASIA, OF THE VICTORIAN FIELD NATURALISTS' CLUB,

ETC. ETC.

VOLUME XXII

Uon&on:

CHATTO AND WINDUS, PICCADILLY.

1886.

(All rights reserved.)

LONDON :
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

u ^

PREFACE.

THE necessity to pen a few editorial notes to our friends
reminds us that SCIENCE-GOSSIP has been in existence for
twenty-two years.

We are happy to say there are no signs of failing health —
only of vigorous manhood. Our columns were never before found so
strait for the matter sent us by hosts of willing and enthusiastic
contributors, neither has the number or universality of our readers
lessened ; for Science-Gossip is known all over the globe. This is
a great deal to say, when we remember the number of popular
Science periodicals which have competed for public favour since our
magazine was launched twenty-two years ago.

We have endeavoured, as far as lay in our power, to cater for
every class of our readers — geologists, astronomers, botanists, ento-
mologists, ornithologists, conchologists, microscopists, &c, as well as
that large and undefined host of readers who are content to be fond
of " Natural History." Where we have failed to please, we feel
confident it has not been for want of good intentions.

In the present volume we commenced a series of monthly papers
on "Astronomy and Meteorology," which we were fortunate to have
written for our pages by Mr. John Browning, F.R.A.S., the well-
known Astronomer and Optician.

Science is always increasing the number of its Gateways.
Openings into the Unknown are familiarly used now which were
never thought of a quarter of a century ago. Not the least inter-
esting and suggestive of these are the real relationships between

PREFACE,

Reason and Instinct, in animals as well as man. We do not refer
to the old cut-and-dried and unstudied theories, which generally-
passed unchallenged in the period above mentioned, and which
many people still hold by as unchallenged truths. We prefer to
include all such mental traits under the term of " Animal Psy-
chology," and propose to commence a special column in SciENCE-
GOSSIP next year for the record and discussion of authentically
observed anecdotes of animal sagacity, perversity, &c. ; in short,
anything in the Animal Kingdom which relates to " The World of
Mind." We feel confident that this will open out a new field of
observation, and that henceforth our knowledge of animals will not
be confined merely to their food, habits, colours, breeding-times, &c,
but that something can and will be noted concerning their inner
life. We invite our readers to contribute their own observations to
this department.

It only remains for us now to thank our host of friends for

abundant help, kindly sympathy, and useful advice. Let us hope

that at the end of 1887, we may have to close our Preface, as we
close this, by wishing them, " hands all round,"

A Happy New Year !

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Abnormal Trout, 19

AZpophiltts Bounairei, 56

Aerating Apparatus applied to Live Eel,

80
Aerating Apparatus, 80
Amfilexus coralloides, 221
Animal Parasites : —

Chigoe, 132

Colpocephalum of Rook, 200

Dermaleiclvus of Chaffinch, 133

Docophorus of Rook, 149

Echiiiophthinius of Seal, 149

Eureum of Swift, 201

Flea of Bat, 132

Flea of Bird, 133

Flea of Dog, 132

Flea of Mole, 132

Flea of Squirrel, 133

Flea of Flying Fox, 109

Goniodes of Impeyan Pheasant, 176

Goniodes of Peacock, 176

Gyropus of Guinea Pig, 201

Harvest Bug, 133

Hccmatomyzus of Elephant, 149

Hcematopinus of Horse, 148

Head of Akidoprochis, 176

Head of L&mobothrium of Kite, 200

Head of Oruithobius of Swan, 176

Head of Physostomum of Chaffinch,
201

Hypopus of Fly, 133

Lipopte>ia of Stag, 108

Lipeurus of Tragopan, 176

Listophorus of Hare, 133

Mcnopon of Piliated Jay, 200

Nirmits of Oyster-catcher, 149

Omithymia of Pigeon, 108

Pediculus of Monkey, 148

Trichodectes of Horse, 176
Anthomyia pluvialis, 100
Anthomyia pluvialis, teeth of, 100
Apparatus for Microscopical Drawing, 8
Apparatus for placing Unmounted Objects

on S'age, 8
Aquarium, Cheaply constructed, 12
Aquarium, posts of, 12, 13
Aquarium, bottom for, 12, 13
Aquarium, fastening glass in, 12, 13
Ascus of/., ampullasca, 77
Astcracanthus ornatissimus, 5

Bank-vole, 157

Blood Corpuscles of Cobra, 269

Corydalis cava, 128

Corydalis lutea, 128

Corydalis solida, 128

Cotton-Fibre compared with Wool, etc., 38

Encrinite, Stem of, 221
Epidermis from, Lamina of Leaf, 20
Erismacanthus J ojiesii, 5
Euchlanis, 85
Euomphalus peutangHlatus, 220

Fetiestella plebeia, 220

Fibres of American Cotton, 9

Grevillia anceps, 61

Lentomita ampullasca, 76
Lithostrotion basaltiforme, 220
Lizards, group of, 244, 245
Lopkiotrema angustilabrum, 36
Lophiotrema angustilabrum, Sporidium

of, 36
Lophiotrema angustilabrum, Group of

sporidia from a single perithecium of, 36

Medland's New Portable Cabinet,

258
Mcyeria Vectensis, McCoy, 61
Mirrors, the two, 248, 249, 250, 266, 267
Musca meridiana, 252, 253
Murexide, 57
Mydce Urbani, teeth of, 272

Nepeta glechoma, Lower portion of, 28

Nepeta, multicellular hairs, 28

N. glechoma, Flowers of, 29

N. glechoma, Gynoecium of, 29

N. glechoma, Tetragonal stem of, 29

CEcidium berberidis, 104
(Ecidium-spore, 104, 105

Pecten quinquecostatus , 61
Perithecia, two adjacent, 77
Perithecium, a single, 76
Perithecium, Apex of beak of, 77

Perithecium, Hexagonal cells of, 77
Perithecium, Sycamore Fungus of, 7
Petalomonas carinata, 273
Pleurotomaria carinata, 221
Productus giganteus, 220
Productus punctatus, 211

Rhynchonclla pleurodon, 220
Rotifers, a group of, 84, 85, 196, 197

Samara of Sycamore, 180, 181
Saw-flies, Our British, 204, 205
Scaphites tequalis, 60
Sclcrostoma duodeuale, 173
Sphceria macrostoma, 36
Spharophrya, Remarkable shape of, 32
Studies of Common Plants, 101, 224
Stylonychia sp. Normal cyst of, 32
Stylouychia, attacked by Sphaerophrya,

3 2
Stylouychia, emerging from its cyst, 32
Stylouychia tentacles on, 32
Stylonychia, throwing out protoplasm, 32
Stylouychia, throwing out protoplasm,

further advanced, 32
Surface-net, Long Section of Tube, 52
Surface-net, end of, with Tube fitted ready

for use, 52
Surface-net, Outline section of, and Tube,

52
Surface-net, Suspended from Bowsprit end

of Ship, 52
Sycamore leaves, fungus spots on, 228
Sycamore leaf of, 228
Sycamore, Mclasmia aceriua, 228, 229
Sycamore, Rhytisma acerinum, 229

Tadpole, Different Stages of, 124,

125
Teeth of Flies, 272
Terebralula hastata, 220
Thread-spinning worm, 152
Trilobite, Head and Tail of, 221

Uric Acid Crystals, 57
Verticillaster inflorescence, 29
Wasp's Nest, 268

AN ATTEMPT AT A SUBURBAN BRIGHTON GARDEN.

By G. DAVIES.

MUST preface these
notes by saying the
following has no-
thing new, and to
a botanist or horti-
culturist they are
worthless. Firstly,
the space of my
available garden
ground is only fifty
square yards. So
all I claim is, that
I have taken some
pains in selecting
suitable shrubs for
the soil and situa-
tion ; as my wish
is to spread among
dwellers in towns,
the culture of these
evergreens, and to
induce others to abandon the palling monotony of the
commonplace plants we usually see in such gardens
as mine.

My conifers of the Pinus set are P. Austriaca,
P. cembra, P. excelsa, and P. insignis. Here P.
Austriaca succeeds best, then P. excelsa. Next the
Abies, the silver fir, A. Nordmanniana, takes more
kindly to this soil. A. pinsapo, the lovely little Spanish
plant, is rather slow in growth, as alsr, A, montana,
lasiocarpa. The Cypress set, Cupressus macrocarpa,
C. Laiusoniana, and C. Nutkaensis, developing two
or three feet a year.

The allies Cryptomeria elegans and Thuiopsis dola-
brata both luxuriate, the latter, a young plant three
feet high, having both male and female flowers.
Next comes Retinospora obtusa, producing a few
young flowers the second year. The dwarf R, ericoides
fills up a corner gap.

Juniperus Japonica flourishes extremely, but the
dwarf J. Chinensis scarcely repays the trouble.
Araiuaria imbricata thrives beautifully if well syringed.
No. 253.— January 1886.

Biota aurea, male and female, as this is a dioicous
plant, and Thuja occidentalis are very popular and
easily grown.

The sacred tree of China, the Maidenhair tree as it
is called, Ginkgo biloba or Salisburia adiantifolia, is a
great ornament, but very sensitive ; at the first sharp
autumn frost, say early October, the leaves shed. In
the Botanic Garden at Geneva are two trees, one
male, and one female, side by side, each thirty feet
high. That beautiful plant, the umbrella pine of
Japan (Sciadopitys verticillata), planted in September
1884, is now in beautiful condition, with forty-eight
new branches of leaves.

Of the yews and allies, Saxegothaa conspicua is a
slow-growing plant, as are Podocarpus chilinus,
Prumnopitys elegans, and Cephalotaxus pedunculata,
the latter alone showing flower buds. These are
interesting as exhibiting the South American forms
of this family. Taxodhtm distichum is more luxuriant ;
of this there is a fine tree near water at Horsted
Keynes. Taxodium and the Ginkgo are interesting, as
they are said to have been found in a fossil state in
the coal formations in Scotland.

The most luxuriant and easily-grown shrub in
Brighton is Etwnymus Japonica, reminding one of the
orange trees on the Riviera. Male plants are met
with near warm walls. Near the sea it runs up the
seawall 30 feet high. Next in interest is the Japanese
Eleagnns glaber, having more beautiful leaves.

Skifnmia Japonica, Pittospornm Tobira, Arbutus
Unedo, Raphiolepis ovata, Phillyrea ilicifolia, Garrya
elliptica, Mabonia Japonica, Berberis Darwiniana, and
Olearia Haastii are more or less pleasing, but Photinia
sermlata, a Chinese member of the Pomaceae, with its
gorgeous shining leaves, is a great ornament.

Acanthus candelabrum is a beautiful evergreen,
with root leaves, shining, and two feet from point to
the ground, the young flower stalk is approaching
three feet high.

Asphodelus luteus, last year luxuriant, now some-
what languishes.

In the open Ptelea trifoliata, the hop tree, or North

B

HA R D WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G O SSIP.

American shrubby trefoil, has had a mass of flowers.
A French yellow Magnolia hybrid, planted two months,
suffered from the sharp May frosts, as did Chionan-
thus fragrans, but Chionanthus Virginica is in full
beautiful leaf, as is a bamboo, B. Simmonii : it is
gratifying to find it grows so near the chalk soil.
The Japanese ribbon-grass (Eulalia Japonica) is in a
fine state of development, as likewise is the reed-like
Eriantkus Ravenna. The Edelweiss, Gnaphalium
leontopodinm, in full flower, and eight inches high,
makes one long to be at one of its homes at the head
of the Valtellina. The popular Tritoma uvaria does
well, if well watered, but flowers later ; my plant last
year had 13 flower spikes.

On walls, Pyrus Japonica, Bridgesia spicata,
Escallonia floribunda, Bignonia caprcolata, Cratirgus
pyracantlia, Jlfespilus microphylla, and two jasmines all
do well. But there are three notable plants, the
common and luxuriant Wistaria Sinensis, the beautiful
spreading Eccrcmocarpus scaler, for which latter I am
indebted to my friend Mr. C. P. Smith, of Clayton
Park, the skilled botanist, who has given me much
valuable information. The third plant is the ornamental
Aristolochia sipho. This singular plant, which flourishes
so beautifully on garden walls at Reims, sends forth
from the stem nodes at the same time, on bursting,
both flower and leaves. Mr. Piggott, of Tunbridge
Wells, the horticultural author and discoverer of
, Gr aphis Ruiziana, says A. sipho is named from its
flower " the Dutchman's pipe." Cohva scandens is
another useful climber. Last year I planted four fig-
trees, two white and two black. These trees as a
rule flourish at Rottingdean, Brighton, Lancing, and
elsewhere on this coast, bearing luscious fruit in hot
summers ; last year the slugs attacked the young
bark and I lost two. The beautiful foliaged plant
Ceanothus {gloire de Versailles) is a great ornament to
walls. My plant is now seven feet high, the stem-tops
are covered with clusters of young flowers, the colour
of which is exquisite. In the limited space of ground
it is singular to note the powerful effect of the sun.
Many of us have noted the force of "actinism"
as it is called, in developing the brilliant colours of
flowers in the high Alps, that is from 7500 to 9000
feet above the sea. But here the shrubs on the sides
nearest the sun have finer and better leaves, and my
three plants of Pi '11 us Austriaca, planted to mask a wall
running east and west, have a progressive development
each three inches higher than its western neighbour,
and all were planted the same time, and were then of
an uniform height. Again two Siberian crabs, Pyrus
prunifolia, planted for convenience' sake against a
wall facing west, the more southern plant has finer
leaves, and forty set fruits ; larger than those of its
neighbour, which, getting less sun, has only thirty-
five and much smaller.

These conifers and shrubs are better developed
than in the surrounding garden, which I ascribe to
my practice of daily lateral syringing, particularly in

the dry months of the year, so necessary in our diy
Brighton air ; not flooding the ground as generally
done, and leaving the foliage to take care of itself.
These are an amateur's crude notions. It is possible
another year I may jot down a few more notes, by
which time, climate, soil, and " General Frost" will
show how many I shall have to add to the list of " our
failures."

NOTES ON NEW BOOKS.

rllE Poet's Beasts, by Phil. Robinson (London
Chatto & Windus). This author has imported
a fresh interest into English literature. He has done
for the poets what Frank Buckland did for the
painters when he criticised their natural history at the
Royal Academy. " Phil Robinson " is a marvellously
wide and well read man, and it is surprising how
intimate he is with all our English poets. His
style is plain, incisive, and quaintly humorous —
occasionally delicately satirical. The volume before
us is a necessary work to the student of English
literature, and the general reader will peruse it with
keen enjoyment.

Wanderings of Plants and Animals, by Victor
Helm, edited by J. S. Stallybrass (London : Swan
Sonnenschein & Co.). This is a well-edited transla-
tion of a very erudite and important work. The
naturalist will be deceived if he thinks it deals with
the geological and geographical distribution of plants
and animals. On the contrary, Professor Hehn
thinks the naturalist has had too much of his own
way, and the historian too little. So, in the lights of
philology and history, he endeavours to account for
the wanderings of the plants and animals which have
proved of the greatest advantage to mankind. Thus,
he holds (and probably with reason) that Europe
owes- more to Asia than most naturalists imagine.
Thus he takes the horse, vine, fig-tree, olive, ass,
bear, flax^ hemp, rose, domestic fowl, pigeon, &c,
&c, as the subjects of his chapters. He traces their
history, developments, modifications, in the hands of
man. Altogether this is a most useful book to the
historian as well as the naturalist. There is no
evident method in the arrangement of the subject-
matter. We jump from the horse to the vine, and
from asses and goats to stone architecture, from
cucurbitaceous plants to the domestic fowl, and from
hawking to the plum-tree. Moreover, nothing is
said about the vast number and variety of fossil
horses in America, nor even of its modern introduc-
tion either into that country or Australia, in both of
which it has become wild. The historical introduction
of the pig into New Zealand, and of the rabbit, hare,
sparrow, thistle, &c, into the Australian colonies,
might also have been included with advantage in
such splendid historical monographs as this valuable
book contains.

HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE- G O SSIP.

From Paris to Pekin over Siberian Snows, by Victor
Mignan. Edited from the French by William Conu
(London : W. Swan Sonnenschein & Co.). This is a
delightful work of travel, so well translated that not
the slightest flavour of French humour is lost. The
author is a genuine traveller, not a mere " globe-
trotter." He has an observant eye — for scenery,
politics, men and women (especially the latter). And
then the ground traversed is so little known to the
general reader — Lake Baikal, the deserts of Gobi,
North China, &c. The work cannot fail to be
popular.

Natural History and Sport, by the Rev. G. C.
Green (London : L. Reeve & Co. ). At first thought
we felt there was more sport than natural history,
more killing than observation, in this charming little
book. We mention the feeling because others may
think so too, and we hasten to say how sorry we
afterwards felt for having unconsciously libelled a
genuine and enthusiastic naturalist and true sports-
man. Mr. Green sets down the delightful experiences,
wanderings, and observations of such a happy and
contented life, that we wish more people could live
it. We feel, whilst reading Mr. Green's book,
how much a knowledge of natural history can sweeten
a human life.

A Manual of Health Science, by Dr. Andrew
Wilson (London : Longmans). People, as they
increase in intelligence, feel they have as much right
to look after their bodies as their souls, and not to be
content merely with entrusting them to the doctor
and the parson. In what may be called the revival
of public interest in Health matters, Dr. Andrew
Wilson has taken a prominent part. The little book
before us is a valuable one, and it sets forth clearly
and plainly a comprehensive statement of the leading
facts and features of sanitary laws.

British Zoophytes, by A. S. Pennington, F.L.S. , Sec.
(London : L. Reeve & Co.). This is a valuable and
neatly got up manual on the hydroida, actinozoa,
and polyzoa, illustrated with abundant lithographs.
Mr. Pennington has aimed to do for the present
generation of students what Dr. Landsborough did
so well for the last. Since Landsborough's time the
microscope has become a working tool, and histology
has grown up. Mr. Pennington has abundantly
utilised all the materials at his service, and has laid
Hincks, Busk, Allman and others under contribution ;
all of which he honestly and frankly admits. In
consequence he has produced a valuable and handy
student's manual.

Myths and Dreams, by Edward Clodd (London :
Chatto & Windus). A more delightfully written
book than this we have not read for many a day.
It steers clear alike of the Baconian method of
mythological explanation and the Solar. Although
evolutionistic Mr. Clodd does not even accept Herbert
Spencer's ideas. For clear and clever and attractive
treatment of subjects usually deemed dry and useless,

we know of none which can compare with the little
volume under notice.

Moon-Lore, by the Rev. Timothy Harley (London :
Swan Sonnenschein & Co.). Our earth's " solitary
companion, the' moon," has left its mark on human
character and literature. In mythology, legend,
folk-lore, theology even — poetry, superstition — it
would be difficult to find another natural object to
excel the moon. It is a wonder nobody has collected
all this varied matter together in a handy and read-
able form. At length it has been done, and, from
what we have read, done well !

Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical Society
of Liverpool, vol. xxxviii. (London : Longmans).
We are always pleased to receive the neatly got up
annual volume of this well-known society. It is sure
to contain papers full of original matter as well as
original research. Among those of exceeding interest
in vol. xxxviii., are the following : " Descriptions of
recent additions to the Liverpool Museum," by Mr.
T. J. Moore; "Mind in Man and the Lower
Animals," by R. Steel; "Museums of Natural
History," by H. H. Higgins ; " The Flora and
Fauna of Oceanic Isles," by R. J. H. Gibson ; " The
Introduction of Peruvian Bark into India," by Dr.
J. B. Nevini, &c.

Recherches Anatomiques snr les Organes Vegetatifs
de FUrtica Dioica, par A. Gravis (Bruxelles : Librairie
Scientifique de A. Manceaux). In this original work
Dr. Gravis has really prepared a kind of botanical
typical basis for the study of the natural order
Urticaceie. Every detail, histological, physiological,
and morphological, of the type-plant is elaborately
dwelt upon ; and outsiders would little imagine
that any botanist could devote 260 quarto pages,
and 23 beautifully got up plates, full of structural
details, to so ordinary a plant as the common
nettle !

The World's Lumler-Room, by Selina Gaye (Lon-
don : Cassell & Co). This is an unfortunate and
unattractive, as well as an inexpressive title for the
nicely got up book before us. It deals with every-
thing it is possible to find in a "lumber room,"—
dust, beetles, fossils, corals, &c. &c.

Short Studies from Nature, by various authors
(London: Cassell & Co.). A very attractive and
readable volume on natural history subjects ; the
"various authors "are all men of mark, and skilful
writers withal, such as Dallas, Buchanan White,
Robert Brown, &c.

Where to find Ferns, by F. G. Heath (London :
The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge).
Mr. Heath is the Apostle of the Gospel of Ferns,
and a very taking one too. But we hope he won't
tell too much about them — at least not about the
rarest and prettiest— or they will be certainly stolen.
In that case Mr. Heath would reap his reward, for
by the process of natural selection, there would be no
ferns for him to write about so agreeably. In the .

B 2

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

little volume under notice there is a special chapter
on "The Ferns round London," which will be very
useful to those who are eager to grub these pretty
plants up.

Ocean Currents and the System of the World, by
W. L. Jordan (London : Longmans). The author is
a bold, ingenious, learned, and irrepressible physical
geographer — one who is well aware his confreres do
not agree with him, but who has the courage of his
convictions, and the fortunate means of publishing
them. The present volume is chiefly valuable as
containing a full and complete outline of Mr. Jordan's
hypothesis.

The Naturalists 1 World, edited by Percy Lund
(London : Swan Sonnenschein & Co.), is the second
volume of our pleasant and friendly contemporary,
beautifully got up in every way, type, binding, and
illustration, so that it will make an acceptable new
year's present.

We desire to recommend the following little
manuals : Lectures on Heat, Sound and Light, by
Dr. Richard Wormell (London : Thomas Murby) ;
Chemical Students' 1 Manual, for the lecture-room and
laboratory, by H. L. Buckeridge (London : Thomas
Murby).

We have also received Longitude by Lunar Dis-
tances, by Major II. W. Clarke (London: W. H.
Allen & Co.), a work of enormous labour ; The
Aryan Maori, by Edmund Tregear (Wellington :
Geo. Didsbury), a bold and ingenious essay, proving
the New Zealanders to be of Aryan origin. If the
author's conclusions are accepted, he will have the
merit of securing a high position as an anthropologist.

The Open Air, by Richard Jefferies (London :
Chat to & Windus). This handsomely got up book is
a collection of some of Mr. Jefferies' most delightful
essays, reprinted from various magazines and journals.
The author's style has placed his books among our
modern classics, and there are few which will be
read with greater pleasure than the present volume.
The titles of some of the papers alone will convey to
the readers who have enjoyed Mr. Jefferies' other
bcoks, some idea of their attractive character :
"Sunny Brighton," "The Pine Wood," "Nature
on the Roof," "The Haunt of the Hare," Under
the Acorns," " Downs," "Haunts of the Lapwing,"
" Beauty in the Country," " On the London Road,"
&c. <\c.

GREEN Flies.— Your query in the September
number reminds me of the following which I came
across in a newspaper about the middle of August,
and which, perhaps, may be useful. There was a
plague of small green flies at Peterborough on
Thursday. For an hour or two in the middle of the
day Narrow Street was thick with them. In some

places they fell on the ground an inch thick.

A. G. S.

CHAPTERS ON FOSSIL SHARKS AND
RAYS.

By Arthur Smith Woodward, F.G.S.

VI.

ICHTHYODORULITES. (Continued).

/I CONDYLACANTHUS is a slender and con-
■*± siderably elongated spine, ornamented with
more or less denticulated longitudinal ridges, and
having posterior denticles ; it is particularly interest-
ing from the fact that its internal cavity opens only
at the base, thus perhaps indicating an affinity with
the Rays. No species appear to have been hitherto
recorded from the upper divisions of the Carbon-
iferous series, but Mr. Davis enumerates* seven
forms from the lower strata of Armagh and Bristol,
and several others occur in Americaf ; the latter first
led to the determination of the genus, Agassiz not
having before noted its distinctness from the Mesozoic
Leptacanthus, and McCoy having also been induced
by imperfect specimens to unite it with Ctenacanthus.
LepraeanlhusX is a little richly-ornamented ichthyo-
dorulite from the Coal Measures ; and Erismacanthus^
(=Cladacanthus, Agassiz, MS.) is a peculiar three-
branched type (fig. i) from the Carboniferous Lime-
stone of Armagh, very suggestive of the cephalic
spines of certain Chimaeroids.

Among the fossils of the Permian and Trias, there
appear to be no fish-spines of an altogether problem-
atical nature, but in the overlying Rhaetic Beds
there occurs a form whose relationships are still
undetermined, and of which numerous fragmentary
remains are met with in the well-known strata of
Aust Cliff, near Bristol. This constitutes the genus
Nemacanthus (Agassiz), and is readily recognised by
its laterally compressed shape and striated external
surface, with a thick longitudinal ridge of enamel in
front, a row of denticles behind, and a few scattered
tubercles of the same hard substance on each side
towards the upper extremity. Two Rhsetic species
are known, the larger, N. monilifer, and the smaller,
N. f lifer — both from Aust Cliff— and the genus is
further represented in the Stonesfield Slate by a very
short form, known as IV. brevispinus.

The Lias yields another interesting ichthyodorulite
that has received the name of Myriacanthus, from the
thorn-like shape of the large denticles composing
each of the two longitudinal rows with which its
external surface is characterised in addition to the
scattered small tubercles ; judging from its general
shape, and the fact of the internal cavity opening only
at the base, it appears to have belonged to an extinct
type of Ray, and the original fish must have been of
some considerable size, for some of these spines are as

* Davis, toe. cit., pp. 346-352.

t St. John and Worthen, " Geol. Surv. of Illinois (Palaeonto
logy)," vol. vi. (1875), p. 432.

% Owen, " Geological Magazine," vol. vi. (1869), p. 481.
$ Sedgwick and McCoy, "Pal. Rocks and Foss.," p. 628.

HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G SSIP.

much as two feet in length. M. paradoxus and
M. retrorsus are the larger species, and M. granulosus
is one of a more diminutive kind. All occur at Lyme
Regis.

But the most prominent of the Mesozoic ichthyo-
dorulites is a form particularly remarkable for its
ornamentation by star-shaped bosses of enamel, and
hence termed Astcracanthus ; so striking, indeed, is

from Swanage, and of A. granulosus from Tilgate
Forest. The ornamentation is much finer in these
Wealden and Purbeck species than in that of the
Kimmeridge Clay, and the tubercles more closely
crowded together, and the genus seems to have
completely disappeared before the commencement of
Cretaceous times.

It is curious that hitherto there have been no

Fig. i. — Erisiuacauthits Joncsii (after J. W. Davis).

If

w-

mi

*-

If

i

:<*%\

w

*

A*

w

:■

the appearance of this spine,
that it was one of the earliest
studied of fossil bodies, being
described and figured in the
Philosophical Transactions of
the Royal Society in 1753, and
quaintly referred to " the head
or snout of some animal of the
fish kind, or perhaps of some
lizard, alligator, or crocodile."
The genus is first represented by
a few doubtful fossils in the Lias,
but Agassiz has definitely de-
termined species from several of
the succeeding Jurassic beds,
and Sir Philip Egerton* has also
made known the presence of
others in the Purbeck and Weal-
den. The largest and typical
species — sometimes more than
twenty inches long— is A. orna-
tissimus (fig. 2), from the Kim-
meridge and Oxford Clays, and
exhibits well the double row of
posterior denticles, the extensive
inner cavity, and the long base
of insertion. Among the Lower
Oolite forms are A. semisulcatus,
occurring in the Stonefield Slate,
near Oxford, and A. Stitchburii, in the Forest Marble
of Dorsetshire ; while the evidence of the genus in
the Purbeck and Wealden consists in beautifully
perfect spines of A. verrucosus and A. semiverrucosus

Fig. 2. — Astcracau-
thus ornatissimus
(half nat. size, after
Agassiz).

* Mem. Geol. Surv., Dec. VIII., pi. i.-iii.

recorded instances of the discovery of Asteracanthus
in intimate association with teeth or other Selachian
structures, and nearly fifty years have thus passed
without our advancing beyond the mere surmise
of Agassiz, who thought that Stropkodus might
eventually prove to be the dentition of the same
cartilaginous form ; Sir Philip Egerton, however, in
describing the Purbeck spines, has pointed out that
such an idea can scarcely be probable now, since
Stropkodus is quite unknown in the well-explored
strata of Swanage, and more complete evidence must
yet be awaited before there are grounds for removing
the genus from its present provisional place.

We have now reached the end of the task proposed
in our programme of August, 1884,* and would
venture finally to express the hope that this cursory
glance at the present state of knowledge in regard to
the past history of Sharks and Rays may not be
without the result of contributing, however slightly,
towards its advancement. It has been our endeavour,
as far as possible, to indicate where present infor-
mation is most defective, and where those who are
the fortunate possessors of fine specimens and yet
have not access to the more abstruse literature of the
subject, will be furthering the cause of biological
science by making them known ; and the writer will
deem it a favour and a pleasure to be informed of the
existence of such new materials, and to furnish more
precise particulars concerning any of the facts or
inferences briefly touched upon above.

Appendix.- It has not been thought necessary to give de-
tailed references to the great work of the founder ot Fossil

* The articles of this series have appeared as follows : —
1884— August, October, December; 1885— May, July, October,
December.

HA RD WICKE ' S SCIENCE- G O SSIP.

Ichthyology ; wherever the name of Agassiz has been men-
tioned in connection with nomenclature or observations, his
"Recherches sur les Poissons fossiles " (Neuchatel, 1833-41)
may be consulted ; this treatise forms the basis of all subse-
quent research.

Besides those in Agassiz' " Rech. Poiss. Foss.," good figures
and descriptions of the teeth of fossil Carchariidas, Lammidas, and
Notanidae, will be found in the Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila-
delphia, 1848-9 R. W. Gibbe's " Monograph of the Fossil
Squalidae of the United States," Parts 1., II.): and an elabor-
ate " Studi Comparativi sui Pessi Fossili coi Viventi dei Generi
Carcliarodon, Oxyrhina, e Galeocerdo," by R. Lawley, was
published at Pisa, four years ago.

A new species of Carcluirodon (C. longidens, Pillet), from beds
in Haute- Savoie, supposed to be equivalent to the Maestricht
Chalk, was described and figured in the Mem. Acad. Sci.
Savoie, [3], ix., 1883, p. 277.

Since our remarks on Psephodus, Dr. Traquair has published
an important contribution to the subject, noticed in the present
volume of Science-Gossip, p. 193 ; and we also ought to men-
tion particularly the valuable - * Illustrated Guide to the Fish,
Amphibian, Reptilian, &c, Remains of the Northumberland
Carboniferous Strata," by M. T. P. Barkas, F.G.S. The latter
appeared in 1873 (partly reprinted from the " Colliery Guar-
dian," 1871), and was followed by several articles from the pen
of Dr. W. J. Barkas in the " Monthly Review of Dental Sur-
gery " for 1874-76— an unfortunately inaccessible series, said to
contain much information regarding the microscopical structure
of the teeth of Coal Measure fishes. Carboniferous Selachians
likewise form the subject of a new volume (1883) of the Geol.
Survey of Illinois Reports, in which Messrs. St. John and
Worthen enter into a detailed study of the Cochliodontidas and
Psammodontidae.

GOSSIP ON CURRENT TOPICS.
By W. Mattieu Williams, F.R.A.S., F.C.S.

SCIENCE IN JAPAN.— Those who imagine that
the recent awakening and progress of Japan is
merely a superficial imitation of external Western
customs should study the records of the Scientific
Societies of that country. Important researches are
continually recorded. I have already referred, both
in this and the "Gentleman's Magazine," to the
fact that Tokio has become the headquarters of the
systematic study of normal every-day earth-waves
and abnormal movements reaching the magnitude of
earthquakes. These are systematically observed and
registered there with improved instruments of great
delicacy, some placed on the ordinary surface of the
plains, some on mountains of various elevations, and
others underground in coal-mines.

In the utilisation of coal-mines for scientific
research the Japanese have already left us far behind,
in spite of the great development and antiquity of
our collieries. Subterranean electrical currents ; mi-
crophonic and telephonic examination of the sounds
produced by the movements of solid rock ; comparing
seasonal earth-waves underground with those they
have already observed on the surface ; the action of
the tides upon the roof of workings of the coal-mines
under the sea, and measurement of the delicate
tremors indicated by a tromometer devised for the
purpose, are some of the scientific work that is being
carried on underground.

It is rarely that a monthly number of the " Journal
of the Chemical Society " fails to contain one or more
interesting communications from Japan, such, for
example, as that which I have just turned up in the
October number, entitled " A Chemical Examination

of the Constituents of Camphor Oil, communicated
from the Chemical Society of Tokio by Hikoro-
kurb Yoshida, Chemist to the Imperial Geological
Survey." It is a research supplying much new
information, and quite free from the chemical
pedantry which I described last month. I dare not
venture to refer to details, but may state that the liquid
distilled out in preparing solid camphor is a sort of
turpentine, which mixes in almost every proportion
with ether, chloroform, alcohol, and most of the
essential oils ; that it dissolves several resins, such
as colophony, gum elemi, mastic, balsam and
asphalte, and therefore is suitable for the preparation
of varnishes. I presume that it may also be used as
a substitute for turpentine in diluting the linseed oil
medium of ordinary oil colours. Its aroma being
agreeable, the advantage of using it is obvious.
Being a bye product from the crude material, it may
probably be produced at little cost if in regular
demand.

Electric Fishes. — Professor Du Bois Reymond
has communicated to the Berlin Academy of Sciences
and to " Naturforscher " the results of his long
researches on the electric organs of the torpedo.
One of the most remarkable of these is the variation
of electrical conductivity of this organ in opposite
directions. If a current is passed from the belly of
the animal to the back, i.e. in the same direction as
the animal electricity is generated, it meets with less
resistance than if passed in the opposite direc-
tion. The first of these is styled by the professor a
homodromous current, the second a heterodromous
current.

The deflections of a galvanometer needle when a
current from an induction coil was passed in these
opposite directions, was 100 for the heterodromous
current, to 224' 7 for the homodromous. The difference
diminished with a weaker and weaker current, until it
became imperceptible. The longer the part of the
organ that was included in the circuit, the greater
the difference or " irreciprocity."

The electric organ of the torpedo was found to
conduct twice as badly in a homodromous direction
as the muscle of a frog in the direction of its fibres,
and 7"5 to 12 times worse than the water of a
marine aquarium. In the heterodromous direction it
conducted 20 to 58 times worse than sea-water.

I took a shock from the electrical eel that was
brought to London and exhibited many years ago,
and remember well that I was struck before my
hands actually touched the animal ; the communi-
cation took place through the water. It is obvious
that in order for this to occur, the electrical organ of
the fish must be a worse conductor in the hetero-
dromous direction than the sea-water, or the current
would return upon itself instead of passing through
the water. In this case it was fresh water, which is
a far worse conductor than sea-water.

HARDVVICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

The experiments of Du Bois Reymond show that
this resistance to conduction and its irreciprocity are
vital properties, as the dead structure of the electrical
organs conducts equally in both directions, and more
readily than a saline solution.

The irreciprocity of conduction of the electric
organ of the torpedo is limited to currents of brief
duration, like those which result from making and
breaking contact in induction coils. It does not
occur to continuous direct battery currents. This
special adaptation to the requirements of the animal
is very interesting. Its own electrical efforts are
spasmodic. It supplies no continuous current.

Water and Chemical Combination. — A
curious chemical fact has been recently demonstrated
by Dixon, viz. that mixtures of perfectly dry carbonic
oxide and perfectly dry oxygen are not exploded by
the passage of electric sparks through them, and it
appears probable that even a mixture of hydrogen
and oxygen is similarly inexplosive without the help
of a minute quantity of already combined water
vapour. The cause of this is still under discussion.
Traube connects it with the formation of peroxide of
hydrogen. However this may be, it is a curious
paradox that water which we use for the extinction
of common combustion, i.e. the union of carbon with
oxygen to form carbonic acid and the union of
hydrogen with oxygen, should be necessary to effect
this same combustion. It presents us with a chemical
instance of "similia similibus curantur," but in
this case the conflagration mischief is promoted by
the infinitesimal dose, and the cure effected by very
large doses of the same.

Coal in the Arctic Regions. — Lieut. Greely
has found more coal in the bitterest frozen regions
within the Arctic circle, besides the remarkable seam
of Grinnell Land. Also a fossil forest near Cape
Baird in i° 30' N. latitude. The coal seams are
displayed in outcrop or section at the surface, and
thus are visible to the mere passer by without any of
the laborious search by boring and sinking which are
necessary for the proving of our coal at home. If
the hidden or covered coal is proportionally abundant,
Greenland must be a remarkably rich coal bearing
region.

These facts suggest much speculation : the first that
thrusts itself most obviously forth, being that of a
shifting of the earth's axis within the earth itself, but
this is demolished without mercy by fundamental
dynamic law. The earth is a spheroid of rotation
and such a spheroid can only rotate freely on its
shortest axis. In order to shift the present axis we
must either build up a mountain 13I miles high at
each pole, each with a base extending about halfway to
the equator, or shave off a corresponding thickness
from the equator and on each side of it, or do half of
one and half of the other, in order to make the earth a

sphere that shall turn indifferently on any axis within
itself. Even after this, a further force to shift to
establish direction of rotation would be required.

The other idea that has been much discussed, viz.
a tilting of the whole globe as it continues to turn on
its present axis so as to present it differently to the
sun, presents very serious dynamical difficulties which
those who best understand the subject the most fully
appreciate.

For my own part, I am not by any means satisfied
with the prevailing notion which demands a sub-
tropical climate for the formation of coal. In
" Science in Short Chapters " (pp. 90 to 93), I have
described the deposition of coal that is in actual
present progress in the Nordals and other Norwegian
fjords within four degrees of the Arctic circle, and I
have no doubt that similar deposits may be found
much further north, and therefore no very violent
alteration of climate is demanded to explain the
Greenland coal. We require to know more about
the kind of fossil vegetation with which it is associated,
before assuming that the coal itself was formed by
vegetation demanding a climate very different from
that which supports the existing Siberian and
Norwegian forests.

Natural Gas Fuel. — The iron trade of the
United States is in a state of considerable excitement,
on account of the successful application of natural
gas to smelting and forging. " The Petroleum Age "
tells us that " this invention seems likely to revolu-
tionize the smelting of iron, steel, and glass in the
United States." Doubtless it will if the supply
continues for any considerable length of time, but
this is very questionable, as the natural gas is but the
more volatile portion of the petroleum below, and
constitutes only a small percentage of it. When the
explorers first " strike ile " in a particular pocket or
subterranean cavity, the vapour previously confined
there usually rushes up the bore-hole with great
violence ; tales are told of boring tools being thrown
up in the air, &c. &c. These may be accepted with
as many grains of salt as may suit the reader's taste.
Certainly the force of uprush is great, but it rapidly
diminishes, and the spouting well becomes next a
flowing well, and then a well that must be pumped
in order to obtain the liquid petroleum. There are
issues of natural gas which have continued for ages,
but these are small in volume, sufficient for the altars
of fire worshippers, but not for forging and rolling
thousands of tons of rails, plates, &c.

The gas is used by first mixing it with the quantity
of air which is necessary for its complete combustion,
and then throwing the barely visible flame thus
obtained directly upon the |metal. Such a flame is
not like that of a candle or lamp or of ordinary gas
burners, all of which are hollow shells of flame
enclosing gas that is being burned only on the outside.
The flames used in the furnaces are what are called

8

HARDWICKKS SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

" solid flames," an awkward name, inasmuch as a
gaseous fluid is not a solid. " Solid," when applied
to a flame, merely means not hollow.

Petroleum Vapour Fuel. — Another kind of gas
is similarly used. This is the vapour of a volatile
distillate of petroleum, that which is too volatile to
be safely used in ordinary lamps, and which bears
the commercial names of gasoline, benzoline, &c.

The vapour is obtained by simply passing air
through the liquid, the air thus becomes saturated
with the vapour, and supplies the oxygen necessary
for its combustion. As the volatile liquid the " pe-
troleum spirit " is almost a waste product, has at
times been burned in the open air to get rid of it,
fuel of this kind is cheap enough in petroleum-
yielding regions, such as Pennsylvania and Baku, &c.
The steam packets of the Caspian are now regularly
supplied with petroleum furnaces, where either the
vapour is burned in this manner, or jets of the liquid
hydro-carbon itself are mixed with air, and thrown in
blaze upon the boilers. Attempts have been made to
introduce it in this country, but they have failed
simply because here it costs more than coal. The
cost of carriage from the American wells is about

(part of a cigar box), a little larger than an ordinary
slide, and made a hole three-quarters of an inch
square in the middle of it. About half an inch from
either end, on what I intended to be the lower side, I
cut a narrower transverse groove, and then slipptd an
indiarubber band over each end until it reached the
groove. I then took the slide I wanted to examine
and placed it on the wooden one under the elastic
rings, then, by inserting a wedge between the wooden
and other slide at the proper part, the object can
be placed as desired. This little device is also useful
in enabling one to see portions of an object which
one would not otherwise be able to do.

I devised a very simple contrivance for placing an
unmounted object in any desired position on the
stage of a microscope. It will effect more when
placed on a rotating stage than Messrs. Beck's little
mechanism, which I think they call " a rotating disc

Fig. 3. — Apparatus for Microscopical Drawing.

Fig. 4.— Apparatus for placing Unmounted Objects on Stage.

sixpence per gallon — or £6 per ton. One ton of oil
does the work of about i* to 15 tons of coal. Some
have claimed double, but this is questionable.

In time of naval war it may possibly supersede coal
for some purposes, as steam may be got up more
rapidly with a petroleum furnace than with coal.

ACCESSORIES FOR MICROSCOPICAL
DRAWING.

IT has often happened to me (and I expect many
persons have experienced the same difficulty),
when wishing to draw a mounted object under the
microscope that the object was not placed exactly in
the position in which one wishes to draw it, and to
so place it, the slide requires raising at one end or
side. I knew of no apparatus for effecting this when
the object was a transparent one, and lately, when
making some drawing with a camera, I was much
bothered by some of the objects not being quite
truly placed. After a little consideration, I devised a
very simple little piece of apparatus which effects my
purpose admirably, which I will describe, as others
may also find it useful. I cut a piece of thin wood

holder," and at only a quarter of the price : it is
difficult to describe it accurately, but the figure
shows its action. By turning the milled head the
object can be moved in a direction transverse to the
apparatus, and by moving the other hand in or out, the
object can be moved in a longitudinal direction. If to
these movements be added that given by isolating
stage, the object can be viewed in any aspect without
removing it from the instrument. The hole in the
vertical tube can be fitted with a cork to hold pins ; a
small pair of forceps or a piece of wax can be used to
hold a geological specimen. Messrs. Baker & Co.,
243 High Holborn, are the makers of this object
holder, for which they charge $ s - x have used this
instrument a great deal, and I find it is most useful,
and that it works in a very satisfactory manner.

G. S. S.
Tanbridge Wells.

Telephonic communication has been established
between Paris and Rheims, a distance of 172 kilo-
metres. The ordinary telegraph-wire is utilised for
the purpose. The tariff is one franc for five minutes'
conversation.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

NOTES ON THE COTTON FIBRE.
By Walter Henshall.

I.

STRICTLY speaking, cotton is not a fibre, though
always known as "cotton fibre." It is in
reality a vegetable hair, found covering the seeds of
the cotton plant when mature, destined by nature to
serve the purpose of the dispersion of the seeds, in
the same way as the pappus of the dandelion and of
the thistle : it has been adapted by man for the
greater part of his clothing, and it will be seen how
suitable it is for such a purpose.

The cotton plant belongs to the Nat. Ord. Mal-
vaceae, Genus Gossypium, and is cultivated in the
tropical zone, and as far as 40 latitude. We have
no representative of this genus in England,
but in our common mallow we have a fair
idea of what the cotton plant is like. The
flowers of both are very similar, but in fruit
a great difference is noticed. The seeds of
the cotton plant, when ripe, are found to be
enveloped in a mass of woolly hairs. These
hairs or fibres vary in length as to the class
of cotton, from three-quarters to about two
inches. To give the reader an idea as to the
minuteness of these fibres, it has been calcu-
lated that there are 140,000,000 individual
filaments of American cotton in every pound.
The histology of the cotton plant has been
strangely neglected by scientific men in the
past, and it is only very recently that the
subject has been studied. One consequence
of this is the wide difference of opinion among
botanists, as to the number and classification
of the species and varieties of the genus Gos-
sypium. Linnaeus divided this genus into five
species. Professor Parlatore, a gentleman who
thoroughly studied the Botanical relations of
"the cotton plant, came to the conclusion that
there were seven species. De Candolle reck-
oned thirteen species. Other competent botanists,
however, consider that there are only four distinct
species as below, all besides being merely sub-species
or varieties.

Gossypium Barbadense produces the finest cotton
we possess, viz. Sea Island, a long silky cotton. From
the variety hirsutum we derive the North American
and Egyptian cottons, which form the greatest
portion of our supply. It is a shrubby plant, grow-
ing to the height of about six feet.

G. Fcruvianiun, as its name implies, is a native of
Peru. It is indigenous to South America, and grows
to the height of about ten to fifteen feet. The cotton
derived from this species is generally harsh to the
feel, like wool, and is known as Peruvian, Brazilian,
-&c.

G. herbaceum is the native cotton of India and

the East. It is the smallest of the cotton plants,
growing to the height of four to six feet. It produces
the Surat cottons, which are short in staple.

G. arboreum is a tree-like shrub, growing to the
height of fifteen to twenty feet. It is of little
importance from a commercial point of view, as the
supply is small. It grows in India and China.

Cotton fibre, when viewed under the microscope,
has a twisted appearance, not unlike a joiner's auger,
or a stick of barley-sugar. It is this twist in the
fibre that enables us to make thread out of cotton. If
cotton were cylindrical like flax, it could not possibly
be spun into yarn, as the fibres would be too short,
and would not hold together. But as the cotton
fibre is twisted, it will be readily seen that in making
yarn, the edges of the fibres will fit in each other. I
cannot better illustrate this than in the case of rope-

Fig. 5. — Fibres of American Cotton. X 225.

making. In making a rope, each strand must be
separately twisted, and we know they will then fit
into each other. And besides, these edges of the
cotton fibre are corded,* and, as when the fibres are
twisted together, they lock into each other. This
explains why we can make strong yarn out of fibres
so short.

Cotton first appears as a downy covering on the
seed shortly after fertilisation. Springing from the
cellular tissue below the epidermis, they displace the
cells of the epidermis and form a large cell, from
which the outward growth of cells commences. Those
of my readers who are botanists will understand the
usual growth of a vegetable hair, but I must ask

* These corded edges can be seen with a high power, say
i-in. obj.

10

HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G SSI P.

them to remember that the cotton hair is one long
cell, 1200-1500 times as long as broad. The method
of growth is by the successive linear development of
cells at the apex of the fibres, the cell-wall at the
point of juncture being gradually absorbed until an
exceedingly elongated cell isjproduced, which consti-
tutes the cotton hair.

Whilst growth is progressing the fibre preserves a
hollow cylinder, in which the vital fluids of the plant
circulate, and so deposit material on the inner
surface of the cell-walls. In this way the cell walls
increase in thickness. When maturity comes, the sap
is gradually withdrawn into the seeds, and a vacuum
is formed, commencing at the apex of the fibre, at
which point it begins to collapse, following the
retreating fluid down to the base of the fibre. The
consequence is that the apex of the cotton fibre is
twisted upon its own axis a number of times. Thus
it is we have the cotton hair, a twisted ribbon-like
hair, with corded edges so admirably fitted for the
purpose for which it has been adapted by man.
These corded edges are caused simply by the binding
of the cell walls upon themselves in the action of
collapsing, and are found on every perfectly developed
fibre.

I have made a number of observations to see
whether these twists are regular in the same class of
cotton, and also to find the average number of twists
per inch. As to the former, I find that in ripe
cotton the twists are regular, but there is so much
cotton received in England that is unripe, or only
half-ripe, that the number of twists vary much when
taking an average of the bulk of the cotton. Below
I give the number of twists per inch in several kinds
of cotton :

Class.

Sea Islands .
Orleans (America)
Egyptian
Broach (E. India)
Persian

No. of twists
per inch.

225-275

110-244

160-200

90-210

90-165

Average.

No.

245
175
175
144
120

It has been thought this twist was the result of
cultivation, but it has been found in the wild cotton
of Africa, though very irregular. Cultivation has,
however, much improved the cotton fibre, both in
length, strength, and regularity.

{To be continued.')

Mimulus luteus.— In August, 1884, 1 found this
plant growing abundantly on the banks of the river
Marau in Hertfordshire. The Marau is a stream
which runs through Penshanger Park, and also forms
Tewin Water, and in several spots between these
two, the mimulus was flowering freely in large
golden masses, together with mint, forget-me-not,
&C. — A. Warner, Hoddesdon, Herts.

ENTOMOLOGICAL LITERATURE.
(MUFFET'S THEATRUM IXSECTORUM.)

ONE day, some little time ago, as I was turning
over a pile of old books on a street stall, I
came upon a small Latin folio, of ancient ap-
pearance, containing a number of woodcuts of
insects. It bore the following inscription on its
title page, viz. : — 'Tnsectorum sive Minimorum
Animalium Theatrum. Olim ab Edvardo Wottono,
Conrado Gesnero, Thomaque Pennio inchoatum.
Tandem Tho. Moufeti Londinatis opera sumpti-
busq. Maximis concinnatum, auctum, perfectum,
etc. etc. Londini, 1634." I recognised the name
of Muffet at once, and proceeded to strike a bargain
with the vendor, the result of which was, that for a
trifling sum, I became the owner of the interesting-
looking volume. Arrived at home, I made a minute
inspection of my purchase. It was, as above
mentioned, a small folio in Latin, closely printed,
and rather profusely illustrated, wtth crude, but
somewhat striking, woodcuts of the various species
of insects, arranged pretty regularly, according to
their different orders. It was printed in London
in the reign of Charles I., A.D. 1634, just two
centuries and a half ago. Subsequent investigations^
revealed the fact that I had come into the possession,
not only of a copy of an early work on Entomology,
but of a much more important production, and,
indeed, the very first book ever published on all
orders of insects as a separate volume. Although I
call it the first important book on Entomology, it
must not be supposed that there was nothing written
about insects previously. The fact is, several works
prior to this treated of them amongst other things,
but were not devoted wholly to them ; others, again,
were published, wholly devoted to certain species,
such as hive bees, silkworms, &c. ; but this
was the first book which treated of Entomology
exclusively, and which also described all orders of
insects. The unexpected acquisition of this inter-
esting work induced me to devote some little time to
" hunting up " the early literature of Entomology;
and I now propose to give some notes, which I
have collected on the subject, shewing its progress
from the first notices we find of insects in any
writings, till the science arrived at the dignity of a
whole Latin folio to itself.

Entomology is, comparatively speaking, a young
science, and was not esteemed of much consequence
till, we may almost say, the commencement of the
present century. Botany, no doubt, on account of
its close connection with medicine ; and mineralogy,
linked as it was with chemistry (whose great theme
was to find out the far-famed "philosopher's stone,"
which was to turn everything it touched into gold)
were both studied all through the middle ages, while
hardly anyone took any notice of Natural History*.

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSS I P.

ii

including Entomology ; consequently no books
treating of insects are to be found. But as there is
an exception to every rule, so we find some few men
turning their attention to Nature, and even noticing
insects briefly in their works, though their ideas were
necessarily very vague, and many of their opinions
exceedingly erroneous. We may even go back past the
middle ages — past the Roman era — to that great age
of arts, sciences, and literature — the Grecian, to find
the first notice of insects recorded. We cannot now
tell who was the first man the world saw who con-
descended to observe and write about them ; but this
we do know, that Aristotle, who wrote more than
three centuries before the Christian era, took a great
deal of his information from previous observers,
whose names have perished, but some of whose
observations are included in Aristotle's works ; there-
fore we must rest content to know that some
naturalists did exist so far back in time, but we can
only commence our list of names with Aristotle, the
tutor of Alexander the Great, who was born in
•Greece, B.C. 384. This great philosopher and
naturalist wrote, among many other works, a
*' History of Animals," in which he included all that
was then known relative to the history of insects.
He is reported to have written this book at the
express desire of Alexander the Great, who en-
couraged and supported him in a truly royal manner ;
for he not only supplied him with money for the
undertaking to the amount of 800 talents, but in his
Asiatic expedition employed above 1,000 men to
collect animals, which were carefully transmitted to
the philosopher !

Aristotle, in his "History," describes the habits of
those species of insects most generally known ;
among Lepidoptera he notices the various kinds of
Tinea, feeding on wool, fur, books, &c, and one on
honeycomb — no doubt Gallcria cerella ; and he also
relates how butterflies are produced from caterpillars.
Among the Hymenoptera he gives the mode of life
and economy of the honey bee, the wild bee, the
humble bee, the wasp, the hornet, and the ant ;
other species he describes are the grasshopper and the
locust. Aristotle does not in his work draw up in a
tabular form any classification of insects, but from his
writings we are enabled to gather that he divided
them by what is called the wing system, making two
primary divisions, the winged and the wingless, and
subdividing the former into six, and the latter into
two families. From all this it will be seen that
Aristotle, without doubt, paid some attention to the
insect world ; and though he did certainly entertain
some very curious ideas on the subject, he was not so
ignorant of the truth as is generally supposed. We
often come across Aristotle's theory of the generation
of flies, set forth as a sample of his entomological
knowledge. He says, "Flies spring from dead
animals of their own accord " — a popular error even at
the present day, though more than 2, 100 years have |

passed away since Aristotle wrote it ; and further
that " the flies inherit the nature of the animals from
which they spring ; " thus a lion will produce fierce
flies which will attack and sting, while inoffensive
flies spring from domesticated and peacefully inclined
animals ! But this is not at all a fair example to
quote, after the list of insects I have given above,
whose life histories he sketches fairly correctly ; and
I think that Aristotle's entomological knowledge has
been greatly maligned.

Passing from the Greeks to the Romans, the name
of Pliny the Elder figures as the great naturalist
historian. He was a very ardent student of Nature,
and wrote several books on the subject, one of which
(No. 11) is divided into 23 articles devoted to insects,
which however treat chiefly of bees ; these he holds
as his fixed opinion spring from certain flowers.
Pliny met with his death during the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius which destroyed Pompeii, A.D. 79.

Virgil, the great Latin elegiac poet, also wrote
of bees, devoting the whole of the fourth book of the
Georgics to their economy. Concerning their origin

he says :

" From herbs and fragrant flowers
They cull their young."

— an idea far more poetical than correct.

Beyond these two writers, with the exception

perhaps of Columella, who is supposed to have

lived in the first century, and who in his work on

Agriculture devoted some attention to bees, no further

notice was taken of insects during the Roman era.

After the decline of the Roman empire all literature

fell to a low ebb in Europe, and excepting by

/Elian, Natural Science was unnoticed and unthought

of for a long period. /Elian, a doctor, was born

in Greece in the twelfth century, and wrote a

" Natural History of Animals," in twenty-seven

books, containing a short account of insects, which

however, did not put forth anything new, merely

quoting the opinions of Aristotle and Pliny. Thus

we may leap over a very long period, extending

from the first to the fifteenth century — 1500 years —

without finding anything added to the history of

Entomology.

WlLLOUGHBY GARDNER.

(7o be continued.)

The town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, makes
large uses of natural gas. The wells are situated at
distances from the town of about twenty miles or
more, the amount supplied for use is 25,000,000
cubic feet per day, and an enlarged supply is being
arranged for. It further appears from an article on
the subject in " Science " that all great gas- wells are
found on anticlinal axes, and that though it has a
wide range through the geological column, natural
gas is most abundant in the black slates of the
Devonian.

12

HARD W'ICKE ' S S CIENCE- G OSS I P.

HOW TO MAKE A CHEAP AQUARIUM.

AS no doubt most, if not all, of my fellow readers
are more or less interested in the keeping of
an aquarium, and thinking that possibly a great
many are deterred from owning one, on account of
the cost (as a good aquarium is quite an expensive
article), I forward complete and simple instructions
for making a good and reliable aquarium, which I
have made and found to answer each and every
purpose served by the most expensive trade arti<

answer. I shall give the size that I have made, but
this matter ought to be left to the readers, as one
may want a large tank, while another may want a
small one.

To make the bottom, we must have a sound, solid,
and well-seasoned piece of black-walnut, let it be 34
inches in length, iS inches in width, and 2 inches
thick ; this board should be nicely planed on the top,
and then accurately squared, as shown at A and 'VY .
Then cut a hole one inch square in each corner, as at
B. These should be one inch and a half deep, and

Fig. 6. — A Cheaply-constructed Aquarium.

Fig. 8. — Posts of Aqi;arium.

Fig. 7. — Bottom for Aquarium.

I must here admit that there are some points in
the work which require some very delicate "tool
handling," but as I myself am no carpenter nor
joiner, it is no doubt possible that any young man,
with a slight mechanical turn, can do likewise, and
bring forth quite an excellent tank, if my directions
are followed. In making the drawing (although no
artist), I have used the utmost pains, so as to be very
plain, and strictly reliable in every particular.

In making this aquarium, I found that the wood
best suited for the purpose is well-seasoned black-
walnut, although almost any well-seasoned wood will

be sure to have the sides of the holes absolutely per-
pendicular, so that the posts, E, will each be at right
angles to the bottom, A. The one-inch chisel I have
found to be the best tool for the purpose of cutting
out the holes. In order to find the exact spots to-
cut out, make a set of lines one inch and a half
from, and parallel with the four sides, as at CCCC,
then make a second set parallel with the first set, but
one inch from them, as at DDDD, and this will give
the four squares, lilJHB, which are to be cut out.

The next step is to cut grooves which are to hold the
glass. Draw a line as denoted by the clotted lines in.

II A RD WICKES SCI ENCE- G OSSIP.

13

the illustration, A ; they are to be midway between
the lines, CD ; these grooves should be about one-
eighth of an inch in width, and about one quarter of
an inch in depth. Use a good sharp steel chisel, and
cut these grooves in a perfectly straight line ; after this
is done we proceed to make the four posts, E.

These posts should be sixteen inches and a half
long, and one inch and a half square, the end for
the bottom must be cut to fit into the hole tightly,
a.- at F. The best way to do this part of the work
is to saw to the depth of one-quarter of an inch into
the four sides of each post, at the right distance from

nearest wood-turner, and have him turn off the end
of each piece, leaving it one inch and a quarter
thick, as at N, and then with a carpenter's brace,
and a one and a quarter-inch bit, we can bore four
circular holes, as in fig. 9, instead of cutting them
square ; this greatly simplifies the work, but it is not
as strong as when the square holes are used. Get
some good carpenter's glue, and, after putting some
in the holes, while still hot, drive your posts well in
with a wooden hammer, and fasten them through the
bottom of the tank with a one and a half inch screw.
The pieces now being all in place, it will perhaps

Fig. 9. — Bottom of Aquarium.

Fig. 10. — Details
of Posts of
Ditto.

Fig. 13. — Ditto.

Fig. 11. — Ditto.

Fig. 12. — Details of Ditto.

Fig. 14.— Method of fastening Glass in
Aquarium.

th&end, and then cut three pieces off with the chisel,
so that it will fit tightly in the holes. Then cut two
grooves into each post, running the entire length, as at
G, so that they will run directly into the grooves on
the bottom board, when the posts are placed in
their respective positions. The inside corners can
now be planed off of each post, as at G ; this will
greatly improve the look of the tank, and you can
then proceed to fasten each permanently into the
bottom.

As the cutting of the posts is a very delicate, and,
perhaps, the most difficult part of the whole work, it
would perhaps be better for me to ask the less skil-
ful of my fellow-readers to take their four posts to the

be best to put them aside for about twelve hours, so-
as to let the glue thoroughly harden, and then the
glass should be obtained. It will be very necessary
to be careful in taking the measurements for the glass,
so as to be a neat fit ; neither too tight, as this would
cause them to crack, nor too loose, as this would
cause a leakage. When inserting the glass plates,
carefully lower them into the grooves they are to
occupy ; then proceed to fasten the glass. In doing
this, I here give a recipe for making a watertight
cement, which I have used for two years and a half,
which has never allowed one drop of water to escape,
and my tank has never been repaired in all this time.
Take one and a half oz. boiled linseed oil, four

14

HA RD WICK& S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

oz. of black tar, one oz. best tallow, and melt by a
strong heat, then add to this mixture one lb. resin in
small lumps, until the whole becomes a thoroughly-
liquid mass, and after filling the outside of the groove
with putty, fill the inside of the groove with the hot
•cement, as at H. (fig. 14).

After the cement is thoroughly hardened, which
may take two or three hours, we can proceed with
the next step, which is to put a frame on the top of
the tank, as at L.

Get two pieces of walnut thirty-one inches long,
one inch and a half wide, and half an inch thick, and
two pieces fifteen inches long, one inch and a half
wide, and half an inch thick ; proceed to cut the ends,
-as at K (fig. 12), so as to fit neatly and tightly to-
gether, and, after boring a hole through each end,
fasten them with a one and a half-inch brass screw, to
the top of the tank posts, and after cleaning away
any superfluous cement which may have made its
-appearance, our aquarium is complete, and ought to
present quite a neat and attractive appearance, if our
work has been neatly done.

An iron pipe can also be introduced (covered with
rubber), as at P (fig. 6), in order to keep the water at
a certain level, and if it becomes necessary to add
fresh water, the overflow can be caught with a basin
at R. A cork should always be kept in this opening
when not made use of, so as to keep the water from
dripping on to the floor.

In stocking, and keeping this aquarium in a
healthy condition, I can do no better than recommend
my fellow-readers to consult that most excellent
book " The Aquarium, its Inhabitants, Structure and
Management (The Aquarium as a Nursery for the
Microscope)," by J. E. Taylor, as a lengthy discourse
upon this subject would here be out of place.

The outside of the tank can either be oiled with
linseed oil, or else coated with some light-coloured
paint which may beautify the appearance. For my
part, I have always sponged the outside wood-work
with good boiled linseed oil ; this is all I ever found
it necessary to do.

Charles Von Eiff, jun.

New York City.

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY.
By John Browning, F.R.A.S.

VENUS will be an evening star throughout the
month, setting about 8 o'clock P.M. on the
1st, about 8.10 on the 21st, and 7.30 on the 31st.

Mercury will be a morning star, rising about
6.20 A.M. on the 1st, and at times varying between
6.18 A.M. and 7.8 A.M. on the 31st.

Mais will not rise until 10.15 P.M. at the beginning
of the month, but will be up about a quarter of an
hour earlier each week, rising on the la day about
8-3° p -m.

Jupiter will be late for observation this month, not
rising on the 1st until after 11.30 p.m., but getting up
earlier throughout the month, so that he will rise on
the 31st soon after 9.30 p.m.

Saturn will set throughout the month between
twenty minutes and two hours before sunrise.

The date of the appearance of the new star in
Andromeda is now approximately known.

During the first week in August the Great Nebula
was being carefully observed at the Brussels Observa-
tory, and the star was not then visible, but it is said
to have been seen by Mr. Isaac Ward on the 19th of
August. On the 31st of August it was clearly seen by
Dr. Hartwig of Dorpat, and Lord Crawford sent out
a circular from Dun Echt announcing its visibility
to the astronomical world on the 2nd of September.
About three months, therefore, would seem to be the
period which elapsed between its first appearance and
its dwindling until it had become a 12th magnitude.

On the 7th of September it was measured with the
wedge photometer, and was found to be of 8.25
magnitude, this was probably its maximum.

Two new comets have been discovered ; one on the
1st of December, by Mr. Fabry, of the Paris Obser-
vatory, R.A., 9 hr. 47 min. 8 sec. n.p.d. 68° 57' 35" ;
and the second, on the 3rd of December, by Mr.
Barnard, R.A., 65 29' n.p.d. 85 15'. Both are faint
comets.

After the display of falling stars on the 27th of
November Dr. Reneger, of Riel, was requested by
Dr. Weiss, of Vienna, to look out for Biela's Comet
in the neighbourhood of Theta Centauri.

At the time of writing, information has not reached
me whether this search was successful. In my last
article I omitted to mention that I am indebted to
my esteemed friend W. G. Lettsom, Esq., F.R.G.S.,
for notices from the " Astronomische Nachrichten."
This assistance is invaluable to me, as in whatever
language the notices appear, Mr. Lettsom translates
them with equal facility.

The meteor shower on the 27th of November was
successfully observed in many places. At Greenwich
the number of meteors which fell between 5 and 6
o'clock was from 30 to 40 a minute. At Oxford,
Professor Pritchard reports that from 6 hrs. 34 mins.
to 6 hrs. 39 mins. they fell at the rate of 50 a minute,
and from 7 hrs. 14 mins. to 7 hrs. 19 mins. at the rate
of 60 a minute. Mr. G. Symons saw 5 in about one
second and a half, just before 7 o'clock, which
appears to have been the richest time of the shower.

At Windsor, between 6.15 and 6.40, an immense
number of meteors were seen to fall. At Newcastle-
on-Tyne 500 were counted in an hour, and at
Camden Square, North London, they were seen to
fall at the rate of 5000 an hour.

The mean temperature of the first week in December
was about 3 degrees above the average for 20 years,
but in the second week a severe frost occurred which
lasted several days, the thermometer falling at nights

HARD WICKE ' 5 S CIE NCE - G O SSI P.

i5

to from o° to 12 below freezing. Writing on the
12th, the barometer, which had on the nth reached
30.60, is falling ; the wind is in the S.W., and there is
every symptom of the frost giving way.

In the fortnight from the 7th of November to the
21st, the rainfall was only between one and two-tenths
of an inch, while in the fortnight from the 22nd of
November to the 4th of December rain fell to the
extent of i£ inches, which is about 126 tons to the
acre.

The average mean temperature for London in
January is 39 Fahrenheit, and it is the coldest month
in the year. On the south-coast, between Portsmouth
and Ramsgate, it is about 41 .

The average rainfall for London in January is
about 2 inches, on the south-coast it is nearly 3
inches.

Mr. J. Rand Capron has just completed, in the
" Meteorological Magazine," a valuable paper entitled
" The Rain-Band Vindicated." The majority of
persons who have obtained Rain-Band Spectro-
scopes, and who have taken the trouble persistently
to use them, have found them of considerable value,
but a large number taking only a look through them
from time to time, without studying the matter, think
them of little service. To all such persons Mr. Rand
Capron's paper will be invaluable ; once they have
the proofs of good results placed before them so
plainly and logically, they will certainly give further
attention to the matter. Besides these, many persons
who are slow to take up any new method of observa-
tion until its value is admitted, will be now induced
to give the Rain-Band a trial.

I am indebted to Colonel Michael Foster Ward for
an account of a most destructive storm which occurred
at Partenkirchen, Bavaria, on the 15th of October.
The writer says the storm occurred in the night ; at
daylight a strange scene presented itself. The valley
was filled with people collecting the fragments of their
chalets, many of which had been carried away bodily.
The Government Carving School, a three-storied
building, had been stripped of its iron roof, a large
fragment of which was carried 300 yards away. . . .
The Stangenwald, a wood, clothing the precipitous
side of the Wachsenstein, was utterly destroyed —
259,000 trees being blown down. This destruction
was effected in about half-an-hour. It has been
ascertained that a million large trees are down in this
district alone.

The Royal Society have conferred the Copley
Gold Medal on Auguste Kekule, of Bonn, for his
researches in organic chemistry. Professors D. E.
Plughes and E. Ray Lankester have both received
Royal Medals, the former for his researches in
electricity, and the latter for his labours in em-
bryology and animal morphology.

INSTINCT OR REASON?

MUCH has been said of late on this subject, and
any evidence on the part of animals or birds,
proving, or assisting to prove, the carrying out of a
pre-conceived idea, or of solving a somewhat intricate
problem is of value in enabling us to form conclu-
sions as to the extent to which animals or birds are
able to approach man in this direction. Many of the
clever tricks of dogs, cats, parrots, &c, appear to
be performed in a mechanical, blind sort of way,
especially when such tricks are the result of a more
or less cruel course of training, but on the other hand,
cases do often occur in which there appears to be a
direct advantage in the " trick " performed, and the
performance itself would require a certain amount,
not only of reasoning, but of calculation on the part
of the performer. As I am as yet undecided
myself as to whether I consider reason or instinct
prompts the apparently skilled operations of the
lower orders of animals, the following observation
is free from any biased exaggeration in favour of
either ; for once having decided upon a theory, there
is often a tendency to mould one's observations in the
direction and support of that theory.

I have a common grey parrot which does not show
any marked proficiency in what is termed talking,
but no doubt is, as the sailor remarked once, " A
good 'un to think ! " The first point in its character
that really attracted my attention was this. One hot
summer's day it was placed in its cage on the lawn,
where it was enjoying itself after its kind, whilst I
was engaged in washing some plants with a garden
syringe. As soon as the parrot saw what was going
on, it ruffled its feathers and whistled a series of rich
mellow notes exactly like water dripping into a deep
well. I certainly never heard so good a case of
mimicking sounds, or rather improving them, for
the music of a garden syringe is not particularly
mellow. This sound was kept up with much excite-
ment till I sprinkled the bird with water, which was
much enjoyed. After this, whenever the syringe was
brought out, the same volley of mellow notes was
given, but never on any other occasion.

The next performance was more of an engineering
character. The bird's seed tin was secured to the
side of the cage, about half way up, by means of a
splinter of wood outside the bars, and through a ring
on the seed tin.

One day the parrot managed to pull out this piece
of wood, when of course the tin fell to the floor of the
cage. After tearing the wood to fibres, I saw the
parrot regard the fallen tin with something very like
calculation. It then descended from its perch, seized
the tin in its beak, right side up by the way,
clambered back to its perch and tried to hook the
tin in its usual place. This of course could not be
done, so after several unsuccessful attempts it shuffled
over to the other side of the cage, and carefully placed

i6

HARD WICKKS SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

the seed tin on the top of its water tin, where it left
this, apparently quite satisfied with what it had accom-
plished. This may be instinct, or it may be reason,
but I watched the whole performance, unseen by the
bird, and it appeared to be carried out as carefully
as if executed by a man cognizant of the laws of

gravitation.

Edward Lovett.
Croydon.

OUR SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORY.

[It is our desire to bring out a Scientific Directory in the
monthly pages of Science-Gossip, feeling certain that it would
be very useful for our readers to know what scientific societies
had been formed in their own neighbourhoods. We shall there-
fore feel very much obliged if Secretaries of any kind of
Scientific Society, in any town or part of the country, will send
us the full name and title of each Society, together with the
names of the President and Hon. Secretary.]

> T r> HE Royal Society : President, Professor Stokes :
JL Secretaries, Professor M. Foster and Lord
Rayleigh ; Foreign Secretary, Professor A. W.
Williamson.

The Geographical Society : President, The Marquis
of Lome ; Secretaries, Clement R. Markham& D. W.
Freshfield ; Foreign Secretary, Lord A. Russell.

The Royal Microscopical Society (founded 1839) :
President, Rev. Dr. Dallinger, F.R.S. ; Secretaries,
Frank Crisp, LL.D, and Professor F. Jeffrey Bell,
M.A.

Liniican Society of London : President, Sir John
Lubbock, Bart., F.R.S. ; Secretaries, Messrs. B. D.
Jackson, and W. Percy Sladen.

Geological Society of London : President, Professor
T. G. Bonney, D.Sc. ; Secretaries, Dr. W. T.
Blanford, F.R.S. ; Professor Judd, F.R.S. ; Foreign
Secretary, Warington W. Smyth, F.R.S.

Liverpool Science Students' Association : President,
Mr. A. Norman Tate, F.I.C. ; Hon Secretaries,
Mr. W. H. Read and Miss Helen Fryer.

Hertfordshire Natural History Society: President,
Dr. John Attfield, F.R.S., Hon. Secretaries, Messrs.
R. B. Croft, F.L.S., and F. G. Lloyd.

SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

Sir Joseph Hooker, F.R.S., has resigned the
Directorship of the Kew Botanical Gardens, after
holding the post for twenty years. His son-in-law,
Professor Thistleton Dyer, succeeds him.

A NEW edition of Mr. H. B. Woodward's impor-
tant work on the " Geology of England and Wales "
is announced.

A pension of .£300 per annum has been conferred
on Professor Huxley from the Civil List Fund, on
account of his distinguished services to science.
This is as it should be.

We are pleased to see that Mr. J. H. A. Jenner
has republished his valuable "List of the Land
and Freshwater Mollusca of East Sussex," from the
Proceedings of the Eastbourne Natural History
Society.

A capital paper on " Boulder Glaciation," by
Hugh Miller, F.G.S., appears in the Transactions
of the Tyneside Field Naturalists' Club ; and one
on " River-Terracing ; its Methods and its Result,"
(by the same author), in the Proceedings of the Royal
Physical Society.

It is stated that the telephone system of Paris,
almost entirely subterranean, numbered at the end
of last April as many as three thousand eight hundred
subscribers.

It appears that the specimen of Archreopteryx in
the British Museum, the first that was found, was
purchased for ^1000, and the second, more perfect,
was sold to the Berlin Museum for ^1000. Another
specimen has just been found at Solenhofen.

The discovery is announced of a tree, the Butyro-
spennum Parka, which grows in abundance in dense
forests in Central Africa, and which yields gutta-
percha. Mr. Edward Heckel, the discoverer, is of
opinion that the tree can be transplanted into the
English and French colonies.

Mr. L. Upcott Gill, the publisher, is bringing
out in yd. parts, a series of most useful and original
works, among which those now in issue are on
"Poultry," " Fancy Pigeons," " Book of The Goat,"
" British Cage Birds," &c.

We draw special attention to Mr. Joseph Smith's
paper (republished from the " Midland Naturalist '"),
on " Anthropology : Its Meaning and Aim."

In Sir F. Abel's Address to the Society of Arts
(published in "Nature"), there is a sharp satire
on the way in which pseudo-philanthropists "attack
the problem at all points " of explosions in coal-
mines, by offering rewards of ,£500 for safety-lamps
which can never be forthcoming, and so reaping a
cheap and temporary notoriety thereby.

We have received a copy of Dr. Ricketts' impor-
tant paper on "Some Erratics in the Boulder Clay
of Cheshire, and the Condition of Climate they
Denote."

Dr. Currier, of New York, has invented an
apparatus by which the large class of deaf persons,
who have some amount of latent hearing, can learn to
speak with greater uniformity and exactness.

M. Plateau, a French zoologist, has shown that
the palpi of insects are not essential to the recognition
and seizure of food, as has hitherto been imagined.
Beetles, cockroaches, &c, can be deprived of them,
and still retain the power of identifying and mastica-
ting their food.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

i7

A very important practical paper appears in the
Wisconsin State Horticultural Society's "Trans-
actions" on "The Grape Rot," by Professor
W. Trelease.

The last number of the Liverpool Science
Students' Association's "Proceedings," contains
capital digests of the papers read, and altogether
shows a healthy state of intellectual activity.

The great object-glass for the Nice Observatory,
made by Messieurs Henry, is completed. It is nearly
thirty inches in diameter.

M. Trouvel thinks that the recently developed
bright star in Andromeda has no physical connexion
with the Nebula.

We are pleased to find that the much-required
work on the " Rotifera," by Dr. Hudson and Mr.
P. H. Gosse, F.R.S., will soon be ready. It will
appear in six parts, with coloured illustrations.

The seventy-fifth birthday of Professor Asa Gray,
the distinguished American botanist, occurred on the
1 8th November, and it was appropriately celebrated
by the botanists of America presenting him with an
appropriately decorated and engraved silver vase.
Bravo, American botanists !

Mr. John Ryder gives in " Science " for Novem-
ber 27th, a full account of his new system of oyster
culture.

Dr. Trelease has republished from the Studies
from the Biological Laboratory of the John Hopkins
University, his important paper (illustrated) on
certain " Zooglcere and Related Forms."

MICROSCOPY.

Mounting Gizzards. — I wish to obtain and
mount a gizzard of the common house cricket.
Would some correspondent kindly tell me the
handiest method of preparation and mounting ? —
IV. L. Tall.

Staining with Iodine Vapour. — Many of the
micro-fungi when mounted permanently in Canada
balsam become so transparent as to be nearly in-
visible. If previously exposed to the action of
iodine vapour, they assume, when mounted, a clear
yellowish-brown colour by which their structure is
beautifully defined. — B. Piffard.

Liverpool Microscopical Society. — At the
ordinary monthly meeting on December the 4th, a
paper on some of the most interesting forms of life
obtained during the summer dredging expeditions,
was read by Professor Herdman, D.Sc. &c. Amongst
Ccelenterata some points in the structure and the
life histories of the following forms were illustrated

and explained : — Hydractinia eckinata, Syncoryne
eximia, Garveia natans, Eudendrium ramoswii,
Tubularia indivisa, Alcyonium digilatum and Adamsia
palliata. The curious polyzoon, Pedicellina cernua,
was then discussed, and after that a series of
tubicolous annelides, showing various modifications
of structure. Special attention was directed to
Sabellaria alveolata, which forms large encrusting
masses on the rocks at Hilbre Island. Various
Tubibranch and Nudibranch Molluscs, including
Aplysia, Pleurobranchus, the rare Goniodoris
castanea, Eolis and Dendronotus, were then described.
The lecture ended with an account of the blood
vessels in the tunic of three genera of Ascidium
found at Hilbre Island, viz. Clavelina, Ciona, and
Ascidia. The process by which these vessels had
become evolved so as to form an organ of respiration
in the last-mentioned genus was briefly sketched.

Cole's Microscopical Studies. — We were de-
lighted, on our return from Australia, to see the
familiar and welcome yellow wrappers of " Studies
in Microscopical Science," by Mr. A. C. Cole,
F.R.M.S., and the beautiful slides accompanying
them. The parts for November are four in number,
and are as follows : — 1st " Structure of Macrosporangia
(Anthers) in Taxus," with a very artistic coloured
plate, showing a vertical section of Ovule of Taxus ;
2nd is a practical illustration of animal histology,
represented by the Lung of the Frog ; 3rd is
devoted to Pathological Histology, and deals with
Pleurisy, and this is accompanied by a beautiful
plate showing the lung (Emphysema) X 18. 4th
is a " Popular Microscopical Study," and treats
on insectivorous and carnivorous plants. All four
are illustrated by slides, mounted in Mr. Cole's best
style : than which there can be no higher praise. The
slide illustrating the last paper is one of the most
instructive and beautifully got up of any we have
hitherto seen.

The Royal Microscopical Society. — The
"Journal" of the above society for December
contains, besides the usual full and accurate
"Summary of Current Researches," the following
papers: — "On some New and Rare Desmids "
(illustrated), by W. Barwell Turner; "Further
Experiments on Feeding Insects with the Curved
or 'Comma' Bacillus," by Dr. R. L. Maddox ;
"Improved Form of Stephens' Binocular Prism,"
by C. D. Ahrens ; "The Limits of Resolution in
the Microscope," by Frank Crisp, &c. One delightful
feature (or rather, without intending a pun, set of
features) are the portraits of former 'distinguished
presidents of the society, such as Owen, Farre,
Lindley, Bowerbank, Carpenter, Busk, Bill, Quekett,
Lankester, Sorby, Parker, Slack, &c. That of
Professor Owen in an exquisite likeness.

On certain so-called Prodigies. — This is the
title of a paper by C. F. Cox, in the "Journal of the

i8

HARDWICKKS SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

New York Microscopical Society," in which the
author, after treating the subject from a historical
and literary point of view, enumerates a good
many examples, of which some are more directly
connected with microscopy than others. The
bleeding of statues, shields, &c, would probably
be the growth of a red lichen or alga, as ITiemato-
coccus sanguineus, or Palmella cruenta ; " showers of
oil " might be due to the appearance of a gela-
tinous protophyte, as Nostoc, or one of the
Palmellacece ; while "showers of wool" turned out
to be a product of the Coccus. Other examples are,
" showers of milk " (suggested to be the " white
rust" fungus on cabbage leaves, &c), the spotting of
bread, &c. with blood {Palmella p'odigiosa ; Tricho-
basis, " red-rust " or "corn-rust " on grain ; CEcidium,
Puccinia, and Uredo on leaves of shrubs and trees) ;
and "red snow."

Micro-photography. — " The Journal of the New
York Microscopical Society " contains a beautiful
example of what can be done in the way of photo-
graphing microscopic objects. Three side views of
Triceratium Davyanum, " direct reproductions, in
printer's ink, of the negatives," each side of the
triangle being about 2f inches long, are given on
one plate ; the three views corresponding to three
focussings. No. 2 shows a level of -j^^ of an inch
below No. I, that of No. 3 being Tn 6us °f an ^ ncn
below No. 2 The photographs were taken by P. H.
Dudley, C.E., and the plate says " Artotype. E.
Bierstadt, N.Y."

Sharpening Microtome Knives. — In using an
oil-stone the blade should be moved forward, edge
foremost, care being taken not to raise the back of the
knife from the stone, and also not to press the knife
upon the stone, but to hold it lightly, the necessary
friction being left to capillary attraction.

ZOOLOGY.

Rugby School Natural History Society. —
The Report of this Society for 18S4 shows a very
healthy state of things. It is well got up, from a
literary point of view, and the illustrations are good ;
those on "Our Bats" being especially vigorous.
Mr. Bloxam has a paper on "Ancient British, &c.
Remains found near Rugby " (illustrated) ; Mr. J. E.
Kelsall one on "Some British Quadrupeds;" Mr.
G. C. Richards on "British Spiders;" Mr. E. E.
Austin one on " Trout and Trout fishing near
Rugby," &c.

Preservation of the Eyesight. — I have read
with pleasure Mr. Browning's observations on print
easy to read.* It may not be generally known that

* Science-Gossip, Dec. 1885, p. 266.

the subject engaged the attention of the late Charles
Babbage. In the preface to his table of Logarithms,
published in 1841, the whole subject is discussed
in detail, and an account given of the various experi-
ments tried with a view to determine the most visible
and easily read combinations. Type, spacing, and
colour were all considered ; as to the latter, buff
paper printed with black gave the best result. The
tables are marvels of clear printing and good arrange-
ment.— IV. T. Suffolk.

Amalia gagates, Drap. — My sister, Miss M. E.
Williams, has sent me two very interesting varieties
of this pretty slug from Stourport, in Worcestershire.
One of these corresponds to Moquin-Tandon's
V. olivacea, being deep grey-olive coloured, and is new
to this country ; the other is a new variety of a drab
colour, with the shield lighter tinted than the back,
and which I propose to call V. rava. From the same
locality she has also sent me Limax maximus, var.
Johnstoni, Moq., which has only been previously
found in Gloucestershire. Lessona and Pollonera, in
their recent monograph on the Italian Limacidse,
published in the memoirs of the " Reale Accademia
delle Scienze di Torino " for 1882, have described two
new varieties of Amalia gagalcs, Drap., and which
may eventually turn out to be British, viz. var.
bedrigce, animal black with lateral blackish bands on
the sole, and var. benoiti, animal black with a white
keel.— J. W. Williams, D.Sc.

The Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria. —
This Australian Society represents a numerous and
enthusiastic body of ladies and gentlemen who are
fond of out-door observation and study. Some
excellent papers are read at their meetings, after which
there is usually a conversazione. We lately attended
one of these meetings, and the room was crowded.
The Club has now started a magazine of its own,
under the title of "The Victorian Naturalist," in
which the best of the papers are published. Two of
the last numbers contain the following : — " To
Wilson's Promontory, Overland," by J. B. Gregory
and A. H. Lucas ; " A Trip to the Caves near Chud-
leigh, Tasmania," by F. Wisewould ; " Notes on a
Basalt-Vitrophyr," at Tanjil, by A. W. Howett ;
"Geological Structure of S. W. Victoria," by J.
Dennant ; "Additions to the Queensland Flora,"
by Dr. Lucas, &c.

The Hertfordshire Natural History
Society. — Parts 5 and 6 of the "Transactions"
of this well-known Society are published. They
contain, among much of other important matter, the
following papers of note: — "The Origin and Com-
position of Chalk and Flint," by Professor T. Rupert
Jones ; " List of Works on the Geology of Hertford-
shire," by John Hopkinson, F.G.S. ; " Diatoms ;
their Nature and Habits," by Francis Ransom ;
" Notes on Birds observed during the year iSS4,"

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

iQ

by J. E. Littleboy ; " Report on Insects observed
during 1884," by F. W. Silvester, &c.

LlMN^EA GLUTINOSA.— In the August number,
p. 178, it is stated that Limneea glutinosa has been
recorded as living on Barnes Common. Mr. E. H.
Rowe, who recorded this locality in the Proceedings
of the Lambeth Field Club, now informs me that it
is incorrect, and arose in a misidentification. The
only other Surrey record for this species (Battersea,
Cooper) is also probably incorrect or relating to a
now extinct colony.— T. D. A. Cockcrcll.

Helix nemoralis.— The following analysis of
four days' collecting may be of some interest to your
readers, besides showing co. Dublin to be rich in
varieties of this species : —

Date.
1885.

3 6
OJ >*

rt

~3 6

*U O
.C O
3 O

Rubella
00300.

3 in

— T

3°

32 10

£8

0!

58

May 6
June 7

J«iy 5

Sep. 20

3
4
1

3
4
1

1

1

2

4
1

2

4

2

I

2

I

2

2

3
1
6

2

8

8

2

7

9

3

2

12

2

Date.

llula

45-

3 ^

cj 10

*
rt m

4> —

.2 A

".5

■J 10

qj <~n

u m

^'rn

rJ2 m

^A

.Q ro

.o m

3*

-3 «

3 «

3'n'

3 cn

3 n

1885.

t M

p^

«£.

tf^

«-=.

PiV

PiV

May 6 2

2

2

2

June 7

s

4

4

4

4

4

July 5

2

1

I

Sep. 20

2

I

11

6

7

2

4

4

2

4

Two other specimens, taken were, one bandless of a
chocolate colour, the other (as described by S. C.
Cockerell, to whom I sent it) "with very light red
transparent bands (confluent)," both specimens being
rather immature, in all 95 specimens made up of
19 varieties. The localities were Green Lanes,
Dollymount, Killester Lane, Artane, and Tolka
Bridge, co. Dublin. I intend working up some others.
— John R. Redding, Seville Place, Dublin.

Abnormal Amceba. — A short time since I found
an amoeba of such extraordinary dimensions as to
justify its being recorded. In length it was within a
very small fraction of the fifth of an inch, breadth
about the fifteenth. This is ten times larger than
any mentioned in Leidy's monograph. As I managed
to keep it alive for nearly a fortnight, I had ample
opportunities of showing it to several scientists, who
all agreed with me as to its being an undoubted
amceba. To the naked eye it was visible as a milky,

slowly moving mass. When first seen it was very
full of diatoms and fragments of other algas. Whilst
I had it under observation I saw it subdivide. This
was accomplished very quickly. Two protoplasmic
currents being set up, caused a necklike constriction
which rapidly grew narrower, until an actual division
took place, when each piece moved off in opposite
directions. The following is a brief description.
Form generally ovoidal, sometimes palmate and
radiate. Sarcode granular, dense, containing oil-
like globules. Ectosarc rather strongly differentiated
from endosarc. Pseudopodia broadly lobate. Move-
ments slow, except when animal was touched by
infusoria or other organisms, when sarcode moved
very quickly, to point of contact. Did not detect
contractile vesicle. I take it to be a very abnormal
form of Amceba protcus.—E. B. L. Bray ley, Clifton.

Abnormal Trout.— When putting a number of
two months' old trout fry {S. Far id) into a reservoir
near here, I noticed one with two perfectly formed
heads joined by a web of skin just behind the gills,
the bodies merging into one at the dorsal fin. The
after part of the body is perfectly formed, and the fish

Fig. 15.— Abnormal Trout Fig. 16.— Ditto. Upper view.
Fry, 2 months old. Side

did not seem to have any difference of opinion as to
the direction it was to take in swimming and appeared
lively and well. It was brought away and put into
a small tank, where it has since died and is now
preserved in spirits. I am informed by the game-
keeper who hatched it that fry with two heads or
two tails are not uncommon, but that he has never
seen a yearling trout with two heads. I enclose a
sketch snowing side and upper views of the fish, from
which it will be seen that one head is about half
a head longer than the other. — Thomas Winder,
Sheffield.

The Bottle-nose Whale (Hyfcroodon ros-
trains). — Almost every autumn we hear, from short
paragraphs in the newspapers, of specimens of this
animal turning up on our shores, but very seldom do
we hear of what becomes of them. Most frequently
they are purchased by the oil refiner for the sake of
the blubber, or they may fall into the hands of the
farmer and be used for manure. A male of this
species, twenty-one feet long, was stranded near
Dunbar, on the morning of Thursday 5th inst., and
I am glad to say has been purchased by Professor
Turner, of the University of Edinburgh, and removed
entire to a convenient place for examination and
subsequent dissection by him. As yet comparatively
little is known about the visceral anatomy of this
interesting xiphioid, but regarding it we may now
hope before long to be in possession of information

20

HA RDWICKKS S CIE NCE-GOSSIP.

welcome to scientists and of the most reliable
description. That this anatomist takes a great
interest in cetalogy is evinced by his numerous
papers on the cetacea and the fine series of articulated '
skeletons he is now forming in the new museum of
the University, among which may be enumerated
Bahvnoptera Sibbaldii, B. borealis, B. rostratus,
Balana mystketus, ITyperoodon rosti-atus P , Rleso-
plodon bideus, Glabrocep/ialus mclas, G. macro-
rhyncJius, Platanista Gangetica <S P, &c. — Is. Simpson,
Edinburgh.

BOTANY.

The Waratah (Australian Bush-flower). —
I have a splendid specimen of the above which was
picked about 150 miles from here. This flower was
at one time very plentiful about Sydney, but by
reason of building and ruthless destruction of the
plants is now almost extinct there. A great outcry
has been made lately about the wholesale and
reckless gathering of this and other wild flowers,
the plants being frequently torn up by the roots.
The flower I have is as large as a saucer, and com-
mences with a fringe of flat petals, from out of which
rises a close mass of petals very much like an un-
expanded honeysuckle flower, and these eventually
open. The whole is a brilliant scarlet set in a bed of
dark green foliage. — E. C.

Floral Varieties. — I should be glad to know if
any of the following have been noticed by readers of
Science-Gossip : Erophilaverna, with purple petals,
growing very strong ; Erophila verna, with orbicular
seed pods ; Geranium Robertianum, with white
blooms, otherwise like ordinary specimens, though
all plants growing near had pure white petals ;
Geranium molk, with white blooms, larger than
ordinary and with petals more deeply fid and con-
stant, this being the second year of observation. Not
a single purple specimen amongst either batch of
seedlings. Last and most curious. While hunting
for insects during the month of October, 1885, I
found a leaf of Cardaminc pratensis bearing on its
under side several small plants ; one with two or
three fully developed leaves. I have not heard or
read that plants of this order are reproductive from
the leaves, or, perhaps, I should say, the venation of
the leaves. Of course the preceding may have been
mentioned before, but being only a recent subscriber
to your valuable GOSSIP, I have not had the chance of
knowing. — Joint Taylor.

Primroses and Cattle.— Dr. Spencer Thompson,
in his " Wild Flowers : How to See and Gather
Them," says, p. 174— I quote from the edition of i860
— about the common primrose {Primula vulgaris) :
"Pretty favourite as the primrose is, both its leaves

and flowers are rejected by all grazing animals, pigs
excepted." This is a curious point about which I
would like to know more, and I hope your corre-
spondents will favour your readers with their know-
ledge as to the facts. I want to know what cattle
eat primroses. When I first read the sentence
quoted from' Dr. Spencer's volume, now more than
twenty-five years ago, I made this note in the margin
of my copy : " Sheep are, on the contrary, extremely
partial to primroses." I then lived in a primrose and
sheep country among the hills, six miles south of
Ballymena, in the co. Antrim, where it was noticeable
that no primroses were permitted to put forth leaves
and flowers along the hedgerows and in the shadowy
grass of those fields wherein they were pastured, while
they abounded in the same places when under tillage.
Such is my experience of sheep eating primroses, and
I have since come to know that goats — animals that
I am sorry to say abound in my present parish,
Artmore, co. Armagh — have the same partiality for
" the primrose stars." It would, moreover, be inter-
esting to know how the cowslip (Primula vcris) is
treated by the same animals. — H. W. Lett, M.A.

Botanical Drying Paper. — We have received a
beautiful specimen of demy botanical paper manu-
factured for Messrs. Spicer Bros., 19, New Bridge
Street, London, by Mr. Josiah Rose, of Southport,
and sold by Messrs. Spicer to the trade. This state-
ment will be an answer to one of the many queries
which frequently appear in our columns.

GEOLOGY, &c.

Fossil Insects. — Apropos of the note on fossil
insects in Science-Gossip, the following letter dated
1836, from an old number of the " Edinburgh
Journal of Natural History," may be of interest to
your readers. It is as follows: — "I have in my
possession the wing of a fly encrusted with calcareous
spar, found last summer, about twenty-four feet from
the surface, and near the bottom of a freestone rock
twenty feet in thickness, at Fairy Bank, parish of
Bothwell. It was discovered ... in a spot from
which a mass of stone weighing two tons had just
been removed. The wing is rather larger than that of
a dragon fly ; it is of a golden colour, and beautifully
membranous, It retains all the freshness of the
natural wing, having undergone no petrifying process,
and is set, as if by the art of the lapidary, in the
spar." The letter, which I have considerably
abbreviated, is signed "John Craig," and accom-
panied by a rough sketch. — J. A. Wlieldon, Burgess
Hill, Sussex.

Fossil Insects.— Mr. Herbert Goss, F.L.S., has
recently published, in the " Proceedings of the Geo-
logists' Association," another of his capital papers oa

HARDWJCKKS SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

21

Fossil Insects Recently Discovered in the Silurian and
Carboniferous Rocks. After dealing with the various
fossil insects found in these formations, in various
parts of the world, he treats upon the fossil scorpions
and cockroaches found in the Silurian strata, and
also on similar insects found in the Carboniferous
rocks. Mr. Goss's paper contains copious biblio-
graphical notices of memoirs in various languages
treating on the fossil insects of the primary rocks.

On some Borings in Kent. — This is the simple
title of a very important paper just read before the
Geological Society by W. Whitaker, B.A., F.G.S.,
Assoc. Inst. C.E. Seven deep borings in the eastern
part of Kent were described, all of them reaching to
the Gault. The chief one is at Chatham Dockyard,
where," after passing through the whole thickness of
the chalk, the Gault was found to be 193 feet thick ;
whilst the Lower Greensand was only 41 feet, and
was underlain by Oxford Clay, a formation not before
known in Kent. These parts involve the thinning of
the Lower Greensand from 200 feet at the outcrop
a few miles to the south, and the entire loss of the
whole of the Wealden Series, which, further south,
exists in great force, the Weald Clay being 600 feet
thick, or perhaps more, and the Hastings Beds 700
feet or more. Still further south, in the central part
of the Wealden district, there are outcrops of the
Purbeck Beds, whilst the Subwealden boring con-
tinues the series downwards. We have thus an addi-
tion to the beds wanting at Chatham of some 400 feet
of Purbeck and Portlandian, of over 1100 feet of
Kimmeridgian, and of nearly 500 feet of Corallian, &c.
In a section of 32 miles, therefore (the distance
between the Southwealden and the Chatham borings),
we have a thinning of beds to the extent of over
3400 feet, or at the average rate of about 100 feet in
a mile. This northerly thinning agrees with the
facts that have been brought before us from other
deep borings in and near London ; but the Chatham
boring is the first in the London Basin in which a
Middle Jurassic formation has been found. The
teaching of the deep borings, as a whole, is that
north of the Thames older rocks rise up beneath the
Cretaceous beds, whilst on the south newer rocks
come in between the two. The question of the
finding of the Coal-measures beneath parts of the
London Basin seems to admit of a hopeful answer,
whilst the lesson of the deep borings as regards
water-supply is that there is small chance of getting
water from the Lower Greensand at great depths
underground.

More Curious Primroses. — Since mentioning
some uncommon primroses found growing wild, we
have found others, growing like the oxlip ; one
having eight flowers, one seven, one five, and the
other, three. — M. E. Thomson.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Silkworms. — My relative, Laurence G. J. Epps,
lately called attention to having several times noticed
two chrysalides in one cocoon. I can now add, that
I have since met with three chrysalides in one
cocoon, and a most curiously ill-shapen cocoon it
was. As might have been expected, the worms
have generally interfered with each others' spinning
operations, with the result that the threads could not
be continuously wound off. Instances have been met
with by us, however, in which this has not been the
case, when it would appear that the second worm
was either more lazy or more acute than usual. A
very interesting article on the whole subject of silk
appeared in " Harper's New Monthly Magazine " for
July last, entitled " A Silk Dress." Reference is
there made to double cocoons being common, and
the writer hints that laziness is sometimes a weakness
of the silkworm's character. Is it possible, how-
ever, that the explanation can be that the silkworm
is gregarious ? — Hahnemann Epps, Tube Hill.

More November Meteors. — Retaining a vivid
impression of the magnificence of the sight of the
celebrated star-shower of the night of the 13 — 14
November, 1866, which it was my privilege to see
under most favourable circumstances, I have ever
since been on the look out for its repetition. Once
more the precise date came, and there was nothing
unusual noticed in the heavens. I had quite ceased
to think of it, when, on the evening of Friday, the
27th of November, 1885, my attention was suddenly
attracted at 4.40 p.m. — Dublin time — to what at
the first glance I took to be sheet lightning, but
which a moment's notice showed me was a shower of
meteors or shooting stars that far exceeded the great
display of 1866. The weather on the 26th was
stormy, with heavy showers from the south-east till
nightfall, when the wind veered to the west and blew
strongly till morning. The 27th was calm and dry
overhead, with a good sunset, leading one to expect
frost. There was no mooD, and the sky was perfectly
cloudless when I first observed the meteors in extra-
ordinary numbers flashing across it, some faint and
vanishing after a short course ; others far brighter
than Venus ever appears to be, and many of these
latter leaving a trail of light behind them as if they
were blazing. A countryman who was speaking to
me next day about them, expressively described it
when he said " you could not look at a star but it
ran away." I and a member of my family, whom I
called to behold the beautiful spectacle, tried to count
the meteors, I say tried, for it was impossible to
enumerate all, — and we made out their numbers to
be more than seventy per minute, which is consider-
ably above the total of the star-shower of nineteen
years ago. I watched them interruptedly for one
hour, during which time there was no diminution in
their numbers or brilliancy. At 5.30 o'clock the
sky became overcast, but even then, when all the
stars were blotted out by the misty clouds, a great
many of the meteors were visible as they sped hither
and thither on their mysterious paths. They all
appeared to proceed or diverge from a point situated
a little below Cassiopeia's Chair ; from that spot they
radiated in all directions, and as the locality was in
the north-east, and not too much overhead, it
afforded the finest astronomical sight it has ever been
my good fortune to witness. The occurrence opens
up another question for our star students, as the 27th
November is not one of the dates set down for the
recurrence of star-showers. It looks as if the orbit of

22

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

the earth had cut across another part of the band of
meteors which astronomers tell us it passes through
each year, about the 13th November — H. W. Lett,
M.A., Ardmore Glebe, Ltirgan, Ireland.

Shooting Stars.— On Nov. 27th, along the
littoral a very brilliant sight was witnessed, from
soon after sunset till about midnight, when the sky,
which had been slightly obscured by a light haze,
became quite overclouded, the stars seemed to fairly
shower down ; many of the visitors compared it to a
display of sky-rockets, and one more curious than the
others counted over forty-five in the space of a minute.
The country people round here are very superstitious,
and, from the unusual abundance of shooting stars, as
compared with previous years, believe that some
great evil is about to happen. The generally accredited
event is a war in Europe : it only remains for us to
wait and see if their prediction be true or no. —
J. R. M., Mentone.

The Practical Naturalists' Society. — This
society has now been in existence for two years, and
numbers nearly four hundred members in all parts of
the British Isles, as well as a few in France, Germany,
Switzerland, Canada, India, Australia, and other
countries. The society is managed by a committee,
who discuss their various matters of business by post,
and all the members are postally connected. There
is a postal reference library, a postal reference
collection of natural history specimens, and a body
of referees who name specimens and answer questions
through the post. With the nominal subscription of
sixpence per annum, the society has done some good
work, and promises well for the future. The secre-
tary, Mr. H. Snowden Ward, Ilkley, offers to send
particulars of the society to anyone who encloses a
penny stamp to him.

Mimulus luteus. — F.H. Arnold will be interested
to know that I found the above-named plant this last
summer well established at one end of Cofton reser-
voir in Worcestershire. A lady to whom I mentioned
this told me that she knew of it growing somewhere
— I forget the place — in Oxfordshire. — K. D., Cofton.

Mimulus luteus. — Mr. Arnold, staying last year
in August at Tintagel (in Cornwall), came upon this
plant flowering abundantly along the banks of a
stream, which ran down a neighbouring valley to the
little cove of Trebarwith. This is the only time I
ever saw it growing wild. — B. Tomlin.

AjUGA REPTANS. — I saw, during the last summer,
a large patch of some fifty or more spikes of the
white variety of this flower in a damp field here. —
K. D., Cofton.

Fly Catchers. — A. Kingston's anecdote of the
fly catchers and the stuffed fox reminds me of
what I think is at least as striking a verification of
the old proverb, " Familiarity breeds contempt." A
scarecrow, dressed up in an old coat and hat, was
put in the garden of a relative of mine to frighten
the birds. It may have been very effective with
other birds, but a pair of redstarts took advantage of
the snug opportunity offered them, and made their
nest in the coat pocket. — K. £>., Cofton.

Instinct (?) of Spiders.— I have noticed some
time ago a curious habit of a certain species of small
spider. I say habit, because I believe it to be really
a habit or instinct. Thus, I found in a gentleman's
greenhouse, in certain crevices of the woodwork,
nests of spiders containing numerous eggs. These

nests were woven around " bunches " of small pupse
or chrysalids. Evidently pupse of some small fly or
ichneumon. Can it be that these pupse or rather the
imagos proceeding from them, were intended by the
spider as food for her offspring? The question is,
would the pupse produce imagos simultaneously with
the hatching of the spider's eggs. If so, I think the
spider's object would be undoubtedly evident. On
examining the pupse I found them to be alive and
healthy, and giving promise of attaining to maturity.
If my surmise be correct, what a wonderful instinct
is shown in this action of a spider, a little creature
whom we look upon as devoid of all sense or reason !
And yet God, in His great goodness, has not forgotten
to provide even the little spider with that instinct
which enables her thus to provide, as it were, so
wisely for her helpless offspring. Unfortunately, I
was not able to follow up my discovery, to see if my
ideas were correct. However, some other of your
readers may have noticed and further observed this
matter. I shall be glad to hear their opinion of it.
— William Finch, Nottingham.

Cuckoos and their Eggs. — Is it the practice for
the cuckoo to lay its egg on the ground and then
carry it about in its mouth until it finds a suitable
nest to place the egg ? — J. B. IV.

Mice as Burglars. — Is it a common thing for
field mice to frighten small birds away from their
nests, when they have been sitting for some time, and
then steal their eggs ? I have to-day found two nests
deserted and mice in possession. The one was that
of a long-tailed tit, who had been sitting for some
time, and whose nest was in a hedge in a field ; the
other, that of a robin on a bank in a wood. On
going to visit my little friend the tit, I expected to
find her a very busy, happy, little mother with a
large family to provide for, instead of which I found
a very different state of affairs. No little " mother-
bird " was to be seen. There was a look of desertion
about the home, as of burglars having been at work.
I carefully put in two fingers to feel if the eggs were
there all right. Out ran a small mouse, through a
hole which he had made in the nest. My fingers
came out somewhat hastily, not having expected to
find the thief at work ! All the eggs were gone, not
even the remains of the shells being left ! When I
first saw the robin's nest, I took out one egg — leaving
two or three — the one which I took had been pushed
almost into the side of the nest, and I had a little
difficulty in getting it out. The bird returned to the
nest, for on going to-day to see how the little birds
were going on, I found four or five eggs, but quite
cold and deserted. I noticed that another egg was
in the same curious position, so I examined it more
carefully and found that it had been drawn halfway
through a small round hole. Suspecting, from the
neat way in which the hole was made, that a mouse
had done it, I removed the nest and found that it was
a mouse's hole, into which he had evidently _ been
removing the eggs. The robin, no doubt, too indig-
nant at such treatment to remain at his post, had
deserted it. To show my deep sympathy for poor
robin, I deprived Mr. Mouse of his expected feast !
— M. E. Thomson.

Swallows and their Young. — The early
autumn which came on us so suddenly last year seems
to have had a bad effect on the morals of the swallows.
A number of them, having nests under the eaves of a
cottage in this parish, migrated, leaving their young
ones (about twenty) behind them. Most of these,
forced I suppose by hunger to leave the nest, fell

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

23

to the ground, and became a prey to the cat. One
might have thought that the domestic instinct which
leads the swallow to cater for its young, would have
proved stronger than the tribal instinct of migration,
but on reflection one sees that for the old birds to
remain would involve the destruction of both old and
young, and therefore the instinct to do so would be
sure in time to be dominated by the instinct of migra-
tion, which, though it leads to the death of the
young birds, preserves the lives of the parents. May
not the swallows which White of Selborne saw in
November have been deserted young ones just old
enough to cater for themselves ? — R. S. Pattrick,
Sellinge Vicarage, Hythe.

Late Swallows. — It may interest some of your
readers to know that some of the swallow tribe are
still here, in Nottingham, having seen them twice a
day since November 1st ; the weather since then had
been mostly wet and mild, but one night there was a
very sharp frost, the roads in the morning being one
sheet of ice, still the birds were flying about as early
as 8 A.M. Twice I have seen a couple of sand-
martins, known by their small size, lighter colour,
and comparatively square tail ; the others were the
chimney swallows, mostly young birds, but a few
were old ones, distinguished by their darker colour
and their longer outer tail-feathers ; they were here
this morning, and seemed as vigorous as if it was the
height of summer. — L. Lee, Naturalist, Nottingham.

Split Feathers. — Some time back you may
remember I sent you up a curious pigeon's feather
split and forming two feathers. In my poultry-yard
to-day I picked up the enclosed cock's feather, which
almost beats the pigeon's as a curiosity — as you will
see on examination. I thought you would like to see
it. — Windsor Hambrough.

The Knot. — Mr. Heathcote's note on the knot
{Tringa canutus not cornutus) in summer plumage,
shot during the seeond week in August, near Preston,
is interesting as a matter of migration, as well as of
the seasonable change of plumage. I have in my
own collection a knot in full summer plumage, shot
on May 20th, 1866, but that a specimen in this state
should have been killed in this country in the autumn
is, as I have said, interesting, for the simple reason
that it has been stated that the young birds are the
first to return southwards in the autumn from their
breeding quarters without the guiding of their parents,
which are said to remain in their northern breeding
haunts until they have moulted, after which they
would of course come to us in their winter dress.
The breeding-place of the knot had never been satis-
factorily determined until the Arctic expedition of
the Alert and Discovery in 1875-6, and then no eggs
were found ; indeed, I believe they are still unknown
to science. Mr. Hart, the naturalist on board the
Discovery, records the 31st of May as the date when
knots were first seen in the Arctic regions, and their
young newly hatched on the nth and 12th of July.
The question, however, which I wish to raise is, Do
the young birds migrate southwards from their breed-
ing haunts without an escort of some few old birds ?
The fact of a female in summer plumage having been
taken in this country in the second week in August
would appear rather as evidence against this theory,
and it would seem that some few adults, perhaps
those most backward in moulting, do accompany the
young and moult after their arrival in this country or
still farther south. This granted, it would appear
not to be a matter of pure and simple instinct on the
part of the young in finding their own way on a long
journey which they had never travelled before. It is

just possible that the specimen mentioned by Mr.
Heathcote had not gone out of this country, and had
not nested ; but the fact of its being in summer or
breeding plumage would lead to an opposite opinion.
I should be glad to see the opinions of others on this
subject expressed in Science-Gossip. — William
Jeffery, Ratham, Chichester.

Absence of the Operculum. — Mr. Tomlin's
remarks on the T. lineatus at Herm are very interest-
ing. Dr. Jeffreys (B. C. vol. iv.) mentions a specimen
of Fhsus gracilis which had no operculum, and, as is
well known, the operculum of the common whelk is
not unfrequently double or treble. — T. D. A. Cockerell.

The Shard-borne Beetle. — Can any reader
tell me the name of the above beetle ? Shakespeare
mentions it in "Macbeth," and Collins in his beautiful
" Ode to Evening."

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now
publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un-
dertake to insert in the following number any communications
which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month.

To Anonymous Querists. — We must adhere to our rule of
not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names.

To Dealers and others. — We are always glad to treat
dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general
ground as amateurs, in so far as the "exchanges" offered are fair
exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply
disguised advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost of
advertising, an advantage is taken of our gratuitous insertion of
" exchanges " which cannot be tolerated.

We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (or
initials) and full address at the end.

G. A. Widdows. — No exchange was enclosed in your en-
velope.

D. Rice. — You will find an account of the migration of our
British Birds in Morris' " Ornithology." Also in Tristram's
" Sahara," and Seebohm's "Siberia in Europe."

P. Q. Z. — The microscopic fungus on your thistle is the sweet
smelling rust ( Trichobasis suaveolens). See Cooke's "Micro-
scopic Fungi," p. 99.

R. C. Chaytor. — You may reflect objects seen under the
microscope by means of the camera lucida and sketch them.
See articles on the Microscopic and Fine Art, &c, in vol. of
Science-Gossip for 1882, where you will find full details of
construction.

F. M. — It is not at all uncommon to find blackberry blossoms
out in the middle of November, particularly if the weather has
been fine.

Krani. — You will find in Science-Gossip for 1868, p. 141
et seq., an account of the pink and yellow laburnum. Tne
clusters of yellow flowers are a reversion of the species grafted
on the pink kind to their original colour. The occurrence is not
uncommon.

John Fraser. — Get Rutley's "Study of Rocks," price
4^. 6d., published by Longmans. You will there find full par-
ticulars for cutting, slicing, and polishing rock sections.

A. C. R. H. — We are not aware of any classes in existence
as yet, for teaching geology by correspondence.

F. J. R. — Hewitson's " British Birds' Eggs" contains a
beautifully coloured drawing of the eggs of each species. But
the work is scarce and always fetches a high price. But it is
the best work on the subject.

A. Verinder. — Ammonites are found both in the upper
chalk and the flint, but very rarely in the latter. Nodules of
iron pyrites, having a radiated structure, are much commoner.
They are often found weathered out of the chalk, and mistaken
for meteorites. The nodules of iron pyrites decompose into
oxide of iron or red rust.

B. Hobson. — The Hon. Sec. of the Botanical Exchange
Club is Mr. Charles Baily, F.L.S., Ashfield, College^ Road,
Whalley Range, Manchester. Concerning the latest edition of
the " London Catalogue " apply to Messrs. W. H. Allen & Co.,
Publishers, Waterloo Place.

A. G. W. — Will you kindly forward us (privately) the names
and addresses of the persons who have used our Exchange
columns for the purpose of obtaining specimens fraudulently ?
We have a " Black List," and shall feel obliged by any of our
readers reporting to us evident frauds. , ,

24

HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

C. C. — (Somme, France). The "London Catalogue" is an
authoritative list of all genuine British plants. It is published
at 6d., and may be had of Messrs. Allen & Co., Waterloo
Place. London.

Rev. D. M. C. — Many thanks for your coloured drawing of
double mushroom. In Science-Gossip for 1865, you will tind
figured a triple mushroom. Double ones are not uncommon.

EXCHANGES.

I wish to exchange named and localised American fossils, in
good condition, for others from England. None but those who
mean business need answer this advertisement. — A. G. Wetherly,
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.

Wantei>, foreign zoophytes, especially those from Australia,
Tasmania, Africa, and the East ; also diatomaceous earth from
the same districts ; good slides offered in exchange. — Racine,
15 Horton Lane, Bradford.

Members wanted for an " Evercirculator " to be devoted to
Entomology. Address for particulars — T. F. Uttley, S.S.C.,
17 Brazennose Street, Albert Square, Manchester.

Cocoons of the North American Promethea and Cecropia
moths, in exchange for moths, butterflies, and cocoons. Papilio
(swallow-tailed) butterflies especially wanted. — Jas. L. Mitchell
jun., Grand Hotel, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A.

Wanted, a Ross's microscope, with all accessories, give
details, in exchange for a large herbarium, containing about
7000 species, value ,£150. — J. Harbord Lewis, F.L.S., 145
Windsor Street, Liverpool.

Offered, a pair of tumbler and one barb pigeon, all good
birds, in exchange for nine micro slides (miscellaneous). — R. H.
Thomas, 28 Albert Road, Devonport.

Cleaned and prepared scales of pagaro, melletto, buga, and
other Mediterranean fish, in exchange for well-mounted slides.
Li^t. — John R. Marten, Pharmacie Uddo, Mentone, France.

Wanted, "The Illustrated Science Monthly," vol. iii., in
numbers. Will give good micro slides in exchange. — Rev. H. W.
Lett, Ardmore Glebe, Lurgan.

Wanted, fore ; gn stamps or fossils in exchange for fossils of
the Drift from a bed 200 feet above the sea level. Can give six
varieties. — J. S. Milne, King-Edward, Banff.

Wanted, a ropy of Dr. Cooke's "Handbook of British
Fungi," in good condition, exchange. — John Brown, 5 Byron
Street, Sheildlield, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Wanted, a small set of instruments for amateur dissecting
purposes. — T. A. Leonard, 258 Woodboro' Road, Nottingham.

A good exchange for following nests containing full sets of
eggs : stonechat, wood warbler, great tit, rock pip;t, cirl bunt-
ing, hawfinch, goldfinch. — W. K. Mann, Wellington Terrace,
Clifi on, Bristol.

Wanted, pupae, various species; offered, British lepidoptera.
— W. K. Mann, Wellington Terrace, Clifton, Bristol.

For exchange or oiherwise, vols, iii., iv., v., vi. of " Boy's
Own Paper," canaries, bullfinches, or guinea-pigs preferred. —
W. S. Castle-Turner, 6 Dagnall Paik Terrace, Selhurst, S.E.

For disposal, Science-Gossip, Nos. 145 to 214, 151, 158, 173.
174. 181, 184, 191, 201 missing. Wanted, nigger's wig and
tambourine. — W. S. Castle-Turner, 6 Bagnall Park Terrace,
Selhurst, S.E.

Kook of 78 botanical plates, engraved on steel, mostly by
Sturm. The plates contain illustrations and dissections of 589
fruits. Wanted, a series of micro slides illustrating lnvertebrata.
— E. Cosgrave, 24 Gardiner's Place, Dublin.

Wanted, skeleton of fish, frog, reptile, bird, and small
mammal ; also any vertebrate or invertebrate specimens that
would be useful for teaching purposes. Will exchange collection
of nearly 200 skulls (.various). — E. Cosgrave, 24 Gardiner's
Place, Dublin.

Wanted, contents of a micro aquarium and unmounted
objects, in exchange for mounted objects, postage-stamp album
with stamps, value 10s., and a few numbers of Science-Gossip.
— K. Beddow, Derby.

Wanted, Science-Gossip for 1884, and No. 242, 1885. Will
give in exchange "The Journal of a Naturalist," Knapp, new,
half morocco, good copy. — R. C. Chaytor, Scrafton Lodge,
MMdleham, Yorkshire.

Wanted, marine shells : Crania, Lepton, I'enus ovata, Tel-
Una donacina, Venerupis, Chiton rider, C. Icevis, C. marmo-
reus, Velutina, Acera. Pleurobranch, Cardium fasciatunt,
Marginclla, solecurtis, &c. Many to offer in exchange. —
C. D. S., Maplewell, Loughborough.

Clans, biplicata, Ach.acicula, Pal. contecta, P. vivipara, B.
I.ciichii, Odostomia piicata, O. rissoides, Rissoa semistriata,
and many others in exchange for small series of the commoner
species from different localities, especially from Ireland or
Wales.— S. C. Cockerell, 51 Woodstock Road, Bedford Park,
Chi.wick, W.

J 'lelianthcinum folifolium, Silene conica, Lavatera ar-
horea, &c, offered in return for other specimens.— E. C. May,
The Bartons, Dawlish.

L. C. 7th edition. Offered 40, 41, 58, 182, 196, 205, 2326, 315,
316, 350, 38% 406, 45s, 539, 668, 723, 773, 814, 832, 857, 931,
1036, 1040. 1043, 1056, 1072, 1090, 1125, 1270, 1384, 1411, T473,
^Sg, 1590, 1591, 1596, 1597, 1665, desiderata numerous. — W. S.
Harrison, 15 Park Place East, Sunderland.

Wanted, Loudon's "Arboretum " &c. Will exchange rare
and old works on Botany and Gardening. — A. D. Webster
Llandegai, Bangor, N.W.

Will exchange for other works on Botany, several parts of
Maunde's " Botanic Garden," bound : Linnseus's " Flora Jap
ponica ; " "Flowering Plants and Ferns of Great Britain,"
by Anne Pratt, Vol. 1 ; Northern " British Botany" in 4 vols'.-
Macintosh's "Practical Gardener," "A new Orchard and
Garden," with the "Country Housewife's Garden for Herbs,"
and the " Husbandry of Bees," 1623, from the Library of
Stewart of Allonton. In good condition and beautifully bound
in calf.— A. D. Webster, Llandegai, Bangor.

Wanted, coins, medals, tokens, old china or ancient
pjttery, &c, in exchange for fossils, canaries, or foreign
Stamps. — F. Stanley, 6 Clifton Gardens, Margate.

LiNNfi, " Systema Naturae," 9 vols, clean and perfect.
Exchange offers, requested.— G. A. Barker, 1 Northwold Road,
Upper Clapton, E.

Wanted, axial crystals, selenite figures, plates, wedges, &c,
for small polar tourmalines, micro, or lantern slides. — H. E.
Freeman, 60 Plimsoll Road, Finsbury Park, N.

Wanted, Yarrel's " British Fishes," Westwood's " Sessile-
eyed -Crustacea," Ray Society, and other good natural
history works in exchange for a new copy of Brenchley's
'• Voyage of the CuraQoa," with 50 plates, mostly coloured, of
insects, &c. (very scarce), and other books.— C. A. Grimes
Dover.

Botterill's adjustable zoophyte trough ("new), twenty vars.
of British mosses, and specimens of the Brayaham Beetle
(Auaplognat/ius LeachiiS, exchange for other microscopic
apparatus and material.— W. J. Abel, Busford Road, Notting-
ham.

Wanted,_ members for the Scientific Circulating Magazine
Society, which offers the choice of three parcels of magazines
for perusal every month.— T. F. Uttley, 17 Brazennose Street,
Manchester.

Good exchange given in insect preparations for all kinds of
English and foreign insects (in spirit), must be in good condition.
— C. Collins, Bristol House, Harlesden, N.W.

A well-made cabinet with 576 insects, moths, and butter-
flies, all British, many local specimens. Cabinet, 4 feet high by
3 feet wide, 38 drawers, 18 by 16, slide bottoms, drawers covered
with glass. — Robert Barker, 11 Townend Street, Groves, York.
The last thirty parts of " Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,"
exchange for books or offers. — H. C. Quilter, 4 Cedar Road,
Leicester.

Wanted, British or foreign land and freshwater and British
marine shells. Offered, P.fontinale, Limax Icevis, Testiicella
haliotidea, H. mpestris, V. antivcrtigo, B. perversa, CI. bipli-
cata, Coch. tridens, &c. — F. G. Fenn, 20 Woodstock Road
Bedford Park, Chiswick, W.

For exchange: Lascra rubra, I'enus exoleta, Otina at is,
B. perz'ersa, Trochus /meatus, Helix virgata (vars.), Trochus
magus, Helix nemoralis (several vars.), Limncra auricularia,
Venus verrucosa, H. tuberculata, &c. — B. Tomlin, 59 Liverpool
Road, Chester.

Birds' Nests, English and Foreign. — Advertiser wishes
to correspond with any other collectors of above. — Geo. A.
Widdas, Bond Street, Leeds.

Micro-slides, well mounted, vegetable sections, double
stained, in exchange for other slides. — J. E. Nowers, 71, Bran-
stone Road, Burton-on-Trent.

BOOKS, ETC., RECEIVED.
" Fourth Annual Report of U. S. Geol. Survey," 1882-83,
(Washington: Government Printing Office.) — "On some Re-
cently Discovered Insecta from Carboniferous and Silurian
Rocks," by H. Goss, F.L.S. — "The Victorian Naturalist,"
Nos. 5 and 6, vol. ii. — "On Boulder-Glaciation," by Hugh
Miller, F.G.S.— " River Terracing," by Hugh Miller, F.G.S.
— "The Journal of Conchology." — "The Illustrated Science
Monthly." — " The American Florist." — " The American
Monthly Microscopical Journal." — " Cosmos." — " Science." —
"The Amateur Photographer." — "Ben Brierley's Journal." —
"The Rochdale Field Naturalists' Journal." — " FVuille des
Jeunes Naturalistes." — "The Garner." — Animal World." —
"The Naturalist."— "The Midland Naturalist."— "Journal of
the Quekett Microscopical Club."— "The American Natura-
list." — Cole's " Studies in Microscopical Science." &c.

Communications received up to the 12TH ult from : —
T. A. L.— J. B.— E. G.— E. M— J. H. L.— J. F.— C. D. S.—
R. H. T.— J. R. M.— H. W. L.— L. M. B.— J. G. G.— A. G. S.
— E. I.— A. H.— F. M— E. B. L. B.— W. S. C. T.— T. S. S.—
J. M. D.— W. K. M.— T. D. A. C— R. C. C— E. C— T. B—
G. C. R.— E. C— A. B.— P. Q. L.— E. H.— W. M. C. O'N.—
Dr. P. Q. K.— A. D. W.— F. S.— G. A. B.— J. R.— C. A. G.—
H. E. V. — E. C. M.— S. C. C— W. S. H.— W. T. C—
J. H. A. J.— W. J. A.— F. G. F.— J. T.— T. F. V.—D M. C—
C. C— G. A. W — R. B.— S. H. D.— D. J. R.— H. E. Q.—
Dr. J. W. W.— W. O.— B. M.— W. J.— H. W. L.— J. B —
B. T.— F. H. A.— G. A. W.— J. E. U.— D. B.— A. S. W —
M. M.— &c.

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSS/r.

2 5

ON MOUNTING PATHOLOGICAL SPECIMENS.

By V. A. LATHAM, F.M.S.

z^m&<S&g$\ ORBID specimens
"~l«^?JlP can be prepared in
the same manner
as normal tissues,
by the ordinary
processes which are
well known to all.
The subject will be
treated under the
following heads : —
(i.) Examination
of specimens while
fresh.

(2.) Hardening
of same.

(3.) The making
of sections.
(4.) Staining.
(5-) Preservation
by mounting.
It may here be observed that specimens of morbid
tissues require, as a rule, a shorter immersion in
chromic acid solution than healthy tissues do. A
very small degree of over-hardening speedily renders
them useless.

(1.) Examination of fresh tissues.

Divide the tissue into very thin slices with a section

knife (should it prove too friable, tease it out by

means of mounted needles). Be careful to use a

. well-wetted knife, and make your slices rapidly, or

they will be too jagged.

Now wash your fresh slices well in water (when-
ever water is used it is distilled in every case), and
then immerse it in any normal fluid, such as a
solution of chloride of sodium to the proportion of
f per cent, in water, i.e. *]\ parts in 1000 parts
aqua dest. by measure, or (1) aqueous humour taken
from the anterior chamber of the eye of a newly
killed ox. (2) Serous fluids, such as taken from the
pericardial sac, or amniotic fluid. To either of these
serous fluids iodine may be added to form iodised
serum. It is prepared by adding 1 part tinct. of
iodine to 100 parts of the serous fluid.

To each oz. of the fluid add a couple of drops of
No. 254.— FEBRl ARY 1886.

cai >olic acid and filter. Its disadvantages are that it
alters the tissues slightly, and stains them yellow.

Glycerine is frequently used in preference to the
salt solution, and is specially applicable to the
examination of membranous specimens which only
need spreading on a wet glass slide, and then covering
with the same. Portions of the renal, pulmonary,
and hepatic organs are thus frequently examined.
Also portions of tumours ; their friability, however,
requiring them to be teased out with needles as sug-
gested above. The same may be said of portions of
the heart's muscular tissue.

(2.) Hardening : — There are several hardening
agents in use, viz. : —

(a) Midler's fluid : — R. Potassium bichromate, 2
parts. Sodium Sulphate, 1 part. Aqua, 100 parts.
Dissolve.

The tissue should be kept in this solution for from
one to two weeks, then placed in common alcohol for
two or three days, after which it is ready for making
sections. It is a valuable fluid for maceration of
tissues which are examined by teasing — as tumours,
muscle, &c.

(P) Chromic acid J per cent., 15 grs. to oz. Take
of this 2 parts, and sp. vini meth. (methy. sp.)
1 part. Stir.

Allow at least 8 or 10 oz. for your specimen, and
be very careful not to allow it to remain in the
solution more than a week. Change the solution
once or twice in this period ; be careful to cut the
specimens in small pieces before immersion, and
after hardening, let them steep 24 hours in alcohol
before cutting specimens.

(7) Bichromate of potash : — 2 per cent. It is
useful for blood-vessels, nerves, kidneys, ovary, and
especially for brain and spinal cord. When using,
leave the specimen for at least a fortnight in the
solution, changing it every three or four days.

(5) Alcohol is also of use for spleen, testis, and
lymphatic glands. It is specially worthy of note, as
being a necessary complement in many cases to
induration by other agents (Muller's fluid, bichromate
of potash, &c), a couple of days' immersion in alcohol
being frequently indispensable to completely secure

c

26

HARD IVICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

the indurations induced by them. Where mucous
membranes and portions of the integument are to be
indurated, chromic acid will be the most applicable
of these reagents for bony structures, or ossified
tissues, taking care to add to the solution 4 or 5 drops
of muriatic acid to every 8 ounces.

Lastly, alcohol must be employed for the hardening
of all tissues which have been injected.

(e) Picric acid : — (Kleinenberg) for hardening soft
sarcomata, myxomatous and embryonic tissues, me-
sentery, &c. Make as follows : — Saturated watery
solution of picric acid, 100 parts. Strong sulphuric
acid (IL S 4 ), 2 parts. Filter to remove yellow
precipitate which is formed, and add distilled water,
300 parts. It hardens the above tissues in from 3 to
12 hours.

(3.) Cutting sections : — An inexpensive section
knife can be made by grinding the upper side of a
common razor blade into a concavity, and the under
surface quite flat. You will have a simple but quite
as effective an instrument for your purpose as can be
devised. Of course a microtome is the best. I
strongly recommend Cathcart's as a good and cheap
instrument, but the razor can be made to answer
your purpose quite well. Keep it well wetted
with alcohol while using, and slice your sections off
rapidly, and in one sweeping motion of the hand
immerse each at once in alcohol. If the tissue is too
small to hold in the hand, imbed in wax, paraffin,
cellodin, &c.

(4.) Staining sections : — There are so many dif-
ferent stains, that it would be impossible here to enter
into full details of each. Therefore I shall content
myself with naming those I have found the most
useful. Logwood, carmine, methylanilin violet,
methylene blue, anilin blue-black for nerve cells,
picro-carmine, and osmic acid.

Bismarck brown and iodine green for double-
staining. I would recommend students to buy the
stains ready-made, as they are much more certain in
action, and save a large amount of time. For
staining in picro-carmine, see pp. 275 and 276 of
Vol. XX., Dec. 1884, of this paper. In staining in
methylanilin violet, soak the sections in a watch-glass
for about two or three minutes in a watery solution ;
wash well for half an hour in water, and mount in
glycerine, either pure or according to Cornil, slightly
acidulated with acetic acid. Farrant's solution may
also be used as a mounting medium. Do not use
Canada balsam or dammar, as both clove oil and
alcohol dissolve out the colour, and even the chloro-
form used as a solvent for dammar and balsam acts
in a like manner on the stain.

Anilin blue-black can be made as follows : — Anilin
blue black, I part. Water, 40 parts. Dissolve and
add rectified spirit, loo part. (Bevan Lewis.)

Staining, filter a few drops into a watch glass, and
add 8 or 10 times as much alcohol to it. Soak from
i to 3 minutes, and mount in C. balsam. If the

staining is too deep, soak the sections for a time in a
2 per cent, solution of chloral hydrate. (Stirling.)

Bismarck brown ; sections must be stained slowly,
and the water in which the staining fluid is suspended
must contain about 10 per cent, of methylated spirit.
Make a straw-coloured solution, and allow sections
to remain in this for several days. Mount in C.
balsam. Where used as a contrast stain, pour a
few drops of the strong solution into a watch-glass,
and allow the section to remain in this for about
IO minutes.

Methylene blue : — {saturated solution) dilute with
about 5 times its volume of water, mount in glycerine
or Farrant's solution.

On double and treble staining morbid growths: —
Well-hardened sections of rodent ulcer and epithel-
ioma may be stained by the picro-carmine and
logwood process, others of same material with
rosanilin and iodine green, and compare them.

Amyloid degeneration, hardened in chromic acid,
stain with rosanilin hydrochloride and iodine green,
or eosin and anilin blue, a 1 per cent, solution of
safranine gives a good result, and so does methylanilin
violet, and iodine. The specimens are then mounted
as ordinary preparations. (For the more complete
list of staining reagents, see "Postal Journal," July
and October, 1885.)

Before ending this paper, I would strongly urge
students to get up normal preparations well, before
beginning morbid, or they will otherwise be com-
pletely at sea, if I may use the term.

Summary : — 1st day. Small pieces placed in
chromic acid mixture.

2nd day. Fluid, changed.

5th >» »> »

8th ,, ,, ,,

9th day. Spirit mixture, i.e. 1 part of water to 2
ofmethy. spirit.

10th day. Pure methylated spirit.

14th
15th
16th

Plain water.
Mucilage.

,, Section cut, stained, and mounted,
(Gibbs.)

The following papers and books may be of use to
students : —

(Coats.) Pathology. 32s.

(Gibbes.) Practical Histology, &c. 5s.

(Green.) Pathology. 1 2s. 6d.

(Cole.) Methods of Microscopical Research. 5.5-.
And Pathological Studies. 21s.

(Cornil and Rauvier.) Pathology. 25J.

(Woodhead.) Practical Pathology. 24s.

(Ziegler.) Pathology vols. i. ii. iii. 12s. 6d. each,
and various Journals, especially the Royal Micro-
scopical, Years, 1883, 1884, and 1885, and Quekett,
&c. &c.

Sir F. J. O. Evans, F.R.S., late Hydrographer
to the Admiralty, has just died, in his 71st year.

HA RD WICK& S S CIENCE- G OSS IP.

27

NOTES ON NEW BOOKS.

/IN INTRODUCTION TO PRACTICAI
^1. BACTERIOLOGY, by Edgar M. Crook-
shank, M.B. (London : H. K. Lewis). Our language
is gradually enriched by the advent of new words
and terms. It is impossible in the history of intel-
lectual progress and research that it should be
otherwise. "Bacteriology" does not sound either
euphoniously or attractively. But it well expresses
the large fund of real knowledge, gained by patient
microscopical observation and research, which is
now so largely influencing the medical treatment of
most epidemic diseases. Two or three years ago, we
published in our own columns the admirable series
of papers (illustrated) by Mr. W. B. Grove, B.A.,
on the " Schizomycetes." That was the commence-
ment of a systematic arrangement of the subject, and
the articles were subsequently republished in a cheap
and attractive form by Messrs. Chatto & Windus.
Dr. Crookshank's work is altogether on different
lines. He modestly calls it "An Introduction" —
it is in reality "A Manual," and a first-rate and
very valuable manual too. It is abundantly illus-
trated with coloured plates and wood engravings,
both of which are highly necessary to a work of this
kind. To young medical men (and old ones too,
for the matter of that) who are desirous of familiarising
themselves with all the methods and natural history
of epidemiological research, the work is most valuable.
Dr. Crookshank has followed the methods introduced
by Professor Koch, and he has been assisted by
some of the most eminent bacteriologists of the day,
all of whose help he generously acknowledges. The
work includes a description of the apparatus,
material, and reagents employed in a bacteriological
laboratory : Microscopical Examination of Bacteria
in Liquids, in Cultivation in Solid Media and in
Tissues ; Preparation and Staining of Tissue Sections ;
Preparation of Nutrient Media and Methods of
Cultivation ; Experiments upon the Living Animal ;
Examination of Animals experimented upon, and the
Methods of isolating Micro-Organisms from the
Living and Dead Subject ; History of our Know-
ledge of Bacteria ; Classification of Genera and
Species, &c. &c.

Topography and Natural History of Lofthouse, by
George Roberts (Leeds : Printed for the Author).
The author is a well-known writer in the pages of
Science-Gossip, and these two volumes deal with
the topography, folk-lore, antiquities, phenological
phenomena, and natural history of the district he
lives in. Reviewers are not always obliged to read
the books through, submitted to their notice. Per-
haps, as Dr. Maginn used to say, it is enough for
many of them that they cut the pages and then
smell at the paper-knife. But we have read both
these volumes right through with much pleasure.
They are redolent of the country and country life,

animal and vegetable. Their somewhat miscellaneous
contents remind us of White's " Selborne," which
is awarding them as high praise as is possible. To
Yorkshire people especially the work must be very
welcome, whilst even to general readers it is
eminently readable. The writer's style is plain and
unadorned, and yet vigorous English — just such as
an educated Yorkshireman would employ. Evidently
the compilation of both volumes has been a labour of
love, and we wish the work all the success that it
deserves.

light and Life, edited by Joseph John Kaim
(London : Wyrnan & Sons). This is a nicely
printed book which professes to give the " Secrets of
Vegetable and Animal Development, detected and
explained in strict conformity with known natural
and chemical laws " ! It is not necessary to eat the
whole of a hogshead of sugar to tell what it is like,
and so we give the following quotation of how the
author has " detected and explained " the secrets of
the organic world, as a sample. This secret is
printed in italics, so that the author evidently thinks
it is very important. " Without the agency of the
sun, the consolidating process of vegetable structures
would be impossible ; and equally impossible would
be the consolidation of animal structures ; for without
a sufficient supply of oxygen, liberated by the power
of the sun from the sea, and distributed by moving
currents of air throughout the globe, consolidation
would be impossible, even if all other conditions
were present in vegetable and human structures."
Our readers will now fully understand the reason for
the milk in the cocoanut !

STUDIES OF COMMON PLANTS.

No. IV.— The Ground Ivy.

(Nepeta gkchoma, Benth. Glechoma hederacea, L.)

By Charles F. W. T. Williams, B.A. Cantab.

THOSE of my readers who are unable to examine
for themselves either Arum maculatum or Ne-
peta glechoma, must indeed live in a curious region.

It is useless putting on paper my own observations
on this or that plant, if my idea in doing so is not
followed up by my readers. This kind of study will
be found so fascinating to the lover of practical
botany, that he will, in a short time, wish to study in
like manner for himself, and on his own account.

As you read or work among our plants, consider
them as friends — living friends, and treat them as
such — they will repay you a thousandfold, and teach
you lessons both religious and scientific you little
dreamt of before. Their voices are gentle ; their
form is lovely ; and, better still, their conversation
is such as can be listened to with respect, delight,
and awe.

If, then, you start with such feelings as these, you

c 2

28

HA R D WICKE ' S S CIE JVC E- GO SSI P.

will find how pleasant are the paths along which you
wander ; how full of peace are all your hours thus spent.

Some people might consider it rather a leap from
Arum maculatum to Nepeta glechoma, and, indeed,
from one point of view at least, it is.

The idea will occur of their being types of pride
and humility. The haughty stateliness and refined
beauty of the spadix of Arum maculatum — Pride.
The gentle, retiring lowliness of the, in reality, far
more beautiful Nepela glechoma — Humility.

The natural order, Labiatas, to which this plant
belongs, possesses several very striking features, which
should give the botanical rambler little difficulty in
determining plants of the order. Nepeta glechoma is
a good lesson in itself, furnishing as it does many, if
not all, of the distinctive features of the Labiatae.
As we pursue our study we shall see this in stem,

On examining the stem, which is slender, its shape
must be well noted, for here is the first characteristic
of the order. The stem is tetragonal (Fig. 21), and
covered with hairs ; the whole plant is pubescent.

These hairs are generally very interesting, afford-
ing as they do good specimens of multicellular hairs
(Fig. 18).

These should be mounted either separately, or with
the epidermis of stem or leaf. The stem will be
easiest to manipulate for the epidermis. It is best
to mount in glycerine jelly. Sections should be taken
both transverse and longitudinal through the stem,
and arrangement of cells and vessels well noted.
The petioles of the leaves are long ; in many
cases considerably longer than one would expect,
being from one-half to two inches in length. The
colouring matter in cells at the base of many of the

Fig. 17. — Lower portion of Nepeta glechoma (after Lind-
ley). a, Roots produced from under side of stem ;
b, flowers of the Verticillaster.

Fig. 18. — Multicellular hairs in various stages of growth from
epidermis of stem (mag.).

leaves, and flower. Remember, first of all, that the
plants of this order have no deleterious qualities.

A r epeta glechoma loves to dwell beneath a hedge,
and retires in modesty, hidden as much as possible
by anything that might afford a shelter. The plant
is usually procumbent, but not always much so. As
it roots from the under side of its stem (Fig. 17),
some part of course lies on the ground. If on a
hank, its procumbent nature is far more noticeable
than when growing on level ground. The plant
loves the warmth of the sun, and flourishes best on
sunny banks that are not too dry.

The root fibres are very interesting when examined
under the microscope, and with care the root cap
might be made out. The minute root hairs are, too,
of interest. A little carmine solution will greatly
assist in bringing out the parts in this investigation.

hairs should be noted ; these help to give various
parts of the plant that purple tint which it assumes
later on in the year.

The shape of the lamina is reniform, the upper
ones somewhat cordate, deeply crenate green. Some
difficulty will be found in obtaining the epidermis of
the leaf, but it should be obtained. The stomata are
few and small, chiefly on the under surface. The
important point, however, is to note the oil recep
tacles (Fig. 20). These are the second important
characteristic of most plants of the order. A leaf or
two, if boiled for a short time in diluted nitric acid,
will be found to separate its epidermis with freedom.
A slide should be mounted showing these oil reser-
voirs.

The vessels making up the venation of the leaf
may be easily dissected by the above process ; and if

HARD IVICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G SSI P.

29

mounted in glycerine jelly will show the spiral vessels
of which the bundles are composed.

The leaves are in pairs, opposite.

We now come to the third and very important
characteristic of the order, that is, the inflorescence.
This must be studied in Nepcta glechoma with great
care, because, though the flowers are small, they are
not so crowded as in many others ; such, for example,
as Lamium album, and therefore the peculiar inflor-
escence can be the better made out and understood.

On a careful examination of the petiole at its

So much for explanation ; but if you want a short,
clear definition of a verticillaster, here is one : —

Verticillaster, a false whorl, formed of two nearly
sessile cymes placed in the axis of opposite leaves.*

If you turn to Asa Gray on Structural Botany, you
will see that he, too, makes this matter very clear.

This is fortunate, seeing that many find it difficult
to make out what a verticillaster really is.

The bracteoles which are subulate equal in length
the short pedicels.

We now come to the consideration of the flower.

A\

Fig. 20. — Epidermis from lamina of leaf (unrlT
surface). A, cells; b, stoma; c, chlorophyll
bodies; D, oil reservoirs.

Fig. 19. — Rough diagram showing
verticillaster inflorescence.

Fig. 22. — Flower of X. glechoma, cut open and
folded back (much enlarged), a, Upper; c, di-
vided under lip ; is, lattral lobe u[ the corolla ;
i>, E, anthers conniving and forming a cross.

Fig. 21. — Tetrago-
nal stem of A\
zleclwma.

Fg. 23. — Gynoecium of
N. glechoma. A, bifid
stigma ; h, style ; c,
ovary ; d, portion of
calyx.

junction with the stem on each side, it will be seen
that the flowers borne on very short pedicels spring
from this axis (Fig. 19). In the case of Nepeta
glechoma, in from two to three on each side. The
general appearance of this manner of inflorescence is
misleading. It leads one to assume it is that of a
verticil. That is just what it is not.

Seeing that the flowers proceed from the axis of
the petiole with the stem, the inflorescence is more
cymose than anything else. But the flowers are
nearly sessile, the pedicels being very short ; there-
fore we get a distinctive name for this peculiar in-
florescence, and we call it a Verticillaster.

The calyx is tubular, persistent, and five-toothed ;
the teeth are recurved.

The persistent calyx is a fourth characteristic of
the order ; the fruit being enclosed in the calyx, as
may be most commonly seen in such a plant as
Stachys sylvatica. The corolla is bilabiate, which is
a fifth and striking characteristic of the order. The
corolla tube is long ; the mid lobe of the lower lip
obcordate. The upper lip is bifid, the lower trifid ;
the mid lobe large.

In looking down the corolla tube the picture is

* Balfour's " Class Book of Botany," p. 1102.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

very beautiful. The colour of the corolla, azure
blue, the tube spotted, and a fringe of white hairs at
the base of the lower lip.

On examining the andrcecium, we find the stamens
are four — two long and two short, or as we say,
Jidynamous. This is a sixth characteristic of the
order.

The stamens are epipetalous. The anthers connive
and form a cross, as in Fig. 22.

The pollen grains are small, free from any markings,
and of no special interest.

The gyncecium, which is shown in Fig. 23, con-
sists of a deeply four-lobed ovary seated on a disk,
the lobes each containing one erect ovule. The
style basilar ; the stigma bifid.

The fruit — nutlets, minutely granulate.

The seeds erect, exalbuminous.

Having followed out the study of Nepeta gkchoma
from roots to fruit, it may be well to recapitulate the
points in which it shows the great characteristics of
the natural order Labiatae.

(a) Stem tetragonal.

(0) Leaves opposite, exstipulate, full of receptacles
containing aromatic oil.

(7) Inflorescence a Verticillaster.

(8) Calyx tubular, persistent.
(«) Corolla bilabiate.

(|) Andrcecium, 4, Didynamous, Epipetalous.

(v) Ovary, four-lobed.

(6) Fruit, nutlets.

There is yet one other point of interest in Nepeta
glechoma, and that is its micro-fungus.

Without saying that Puccinia glechomalis is as rarely
to be found as /Eeidiuvi ari, still I think it is far
fro.n common. It is years since I found it, and then it
was in a field some little distance from Cold Harbour
Farm, Redland Green, Bristol— a spot well known to
Clifton microscopists, especially for a pond replete
with infusorial wonders, and abounding in Hydra
viridis.

The following is Dr. M. C. Cooke's description in
his " Microscopic Fungi " : —

Puccinia glechomatis, DC. Ground Ivy Brand ;
spots brownish ; sod subrotund, scattered, hypo-
genous ; spores brown, rather short, sub-elliptic,
scarcely at all constricted. On leaves of Ground
Ivy, Glechoma hederacea. September and October.
Not uncommon.

The Fungus will be found figured on plate iv.,
fig s - 73. 74 of the above work.

Those who wish to refer to any old herbal will
doubtless find many wonderful medicinal properties
assigned to this plant.

Dr. Taylor mentions that in the North of England
it "is credited with a fair share of medicinal pro-
perties."*

Sir J. D. Hooker speaks of the plant as bitter and

" Half Hours in Green Lanes," p. 230.

aromatic, and that it was formerly used for beer, and
occasionally for tea.

A tea made from the leaves of this plant is said to
be good for colds, and is, I believe, often used by
country folk. If you boil a few leaves in a test
tube, the aromatic aroma given off will be found to be
refreshing and pleasant.

Corns are by no means pleasant things to be
troubled with, especially in long botanical rambles.
Be it known, therefore, that if a leaf or two is steeped
in vinegar for a few hours, and then placed on a
troublesome corn, and bound round with a small
piece of lint secured with cotton, immense relief will
be experienced. Let the leaf remain on as long as
possible, and if not eased, apply another.

I do not say this will cure a corn— what will ? But
this I do say, from personal knowledge in many cases,
it will give relief, which is something.

Thus, then, I have, as far as possible, endeavoured
to set forth the various points of interest in Nepeta
glechoma.

THE CAUSE OF TYPHOID FEVER.

MR. W. W. MIDGLEY, Curator of the Chad-
wick Museum, Bolton, recently read a paper
before the Microscopical Society of that town on the
" Bacilli of Typhoid Fever in Man." This paper
contains such an important set of original observa-
tions that we extract the most valuable of them for
the benefit of our readers.

Mr. Midgley said the experiments had been carried
out under the joint observation of himself and Dr.
Sergeant, Medical Officer of Health. In the early
part of August several cases of typhoid fever were
removed to the Borough Hospital. Some peculiarities
in a case which ended fatally led Dr. Sergeant to
make a careful investigation into it. In the second
week of August he brought to the Museum, in order
that the microscopic examination might be conducted
conveniently, a test-tube containing some blood
taken from the ventricle of the brain, as well as a
portion of the brain of the patient. They examined
a drop of the serum with Beck's 4-10-in. objective,
and could just discern minute specks in motion.
Then, applying a power of 1500 diameters, the nature
and shape of the specks came out clearly. The
bacilli were very numerous, flitting about the " field "
with lively movements ; some being dumb-bell shaped,
and the two rounded ends, particularly of those
where the constriction had become attenuated,
struggling as if to disengage themselves from each
other. Others were more rod-like in shape, some
with one, others with two slight constrictions occur-
ring along their sides. They also observed a few
inactive specks, rather larger than the active types,
auriculate in shape, somewhat opaque, the nature of
which they could not at the time make out. Drs.

HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G SSIP.

3i

Rothwell and Howarth called in to observe the
organisms. The next day they placed a fresh drop
of the serum on the stage, and found the microbes
far more numerous than previously. About two
hours later Mr. Midgley noticed a change in one of
the inactive, opaque specks already referred to, and
shortly after the whole " field " was filled with fine
dust-like granules. Half-an-hour later this had
visibly begun to thin away, and upon careful illumi-
nation he could see the whole mass dancing about
with the energies of vital force ; and in a period of
3^ hours from the time of observing the first change
of the test bursting, the granules had become as
active, and of the same shape, as the adult bacilli.
He then concluded that the opaque specks noticed
were encysted forms, and, having undergone seg-
mentation, burst, and discharged their spores. They
could readily see the binary fission going on in the
rod-like forms, by the deepening of the constrictions,
and, first assuming the dumb-bell shape, then separate,
and become two distinct individuals. The serum
was kept under cultivation for several clays, and the
alternation of generations watched from time to time.
In order to see how the bacilli could be cultivated in
milk, five drops were placed in a gill of new milk at
10 a.m. At 7 P.M. a drop of it was examined, and
found to contain such a vast number moving among
the fat cells of the milk as to keep the smallest cells
in constant movement. The rapid rate of increase
proved how enormous is their power for evil if the
virus be introduced into the dairy. The next morning
the milk had become slightly sour, and contained
very few moving forms. By noon it had become
white opaque, and was destroyed. Another of the
experiments brought out how tenacious of life the
microbes are. Three drops were placed in a small
test-tube with about half an ounce of water, and held
over a spirit lamp to boil for five minutes. The
water was corked up while cool and examined, and
to their astonishment they found them moving about
the " field " as if nothing had happened. The intro-
duction of alcohol or dilute sulphuric acid at once
arrested their movements. In conclusion, he said
that the presence of bacilli having been found in a
region of the body so remote from the viscera as the
brain, entirely disposed of the doubt honestly held by
Klein, and he thought entirely settled the question,
not only that Messrs. Klebs and Eberth were on the
right track, but that typhoid lever is accompanied
by these minute poisonous organisms. The great
problem which science had to solve was, whether it
was possible to modify the virulence of this noxious
bacillus into the innoculo-septic form of Bacillus
subti/is, as Biichner claims to have done with the
Bacillus anthrax of splenic fever.

Dr. Samuel Birch, Keeper of the Egyptian and
Oriental antiquities in the British Museum, has died
at the age of seventy-two.

TEMPORARY ENCYSTMENT AMONG
INFUSORIA.

LAST summer I made an infusion of hay, which
presently swarmed with Hypotrichous In-
fusoria, which were either of the genus Stylonychia,
or some closely allied genus. I spent a good deal
of time in watching their habits, which proved to
be of great interest, and intended to determine the
species more accurately later on. I failed to do so,
however, because after a while a few of them began
to form cysts (Fig. 24), covered with large strong
projections ; and the rest followed suit so rapidly that
in forty-eight hours I had not a single free individual
left. I shall in this paper call them Stylonychia ;
but it must be borne in mind that I am by no means
certain that this is correct. None of them left their
cysts before I had to go away from Devonshire.
These strong spiny cysts are formed to protect them
during a resting period. In what form they emerge
from the cyst I cannot tell, but probably in their
original form. I did not notice any particular
abundance of conjugating individuals while the en-
cystment was going on. Stylonychia Pustulata forms
a cyst figured by Stein (Sav. Kent, pi. 45, fig. 16),
which is very like those which I found, but differing
in one respect. In 6". pustulata the spines are
generally united at their bases, whilst in those which
I found the spines rarely touch each other, and are
often separated by a space equal to half or more than
half their height. These cysts seem to be simply
protective, and are formed when the surrounding
conditions are unfavourable, such as change of
temperature, or the drying up of the ditch, or other
water they are in. When thus encysted they are
often blown about by the wind, and so, as all In-
fusoria-hunters know, turn up in places where they
were not known before.

Amongst the Stylonychias were a large number of
Tentaculiferous Infusoria, belonging to the genera
Sphserophrya and Podophrya. These Infusoria have
clubbed tentacles, through which they suck the juices
of their prey. It is the relation between these and
the Stylonychias which I have to describe.

Several of the Stylonychias were observed swimming
about with a Sphaerophrya attached. It was obser-
vations similar to this which led Stein to form his
celebrated theory, that the young of many Infusoria
were of the Acineta or Tentaculiferous type. Cla-
parede and Lachmann, however, soon proved that
the Acineta form was a parasite, and not the off-
spring ; and Stein has since abandoned his theory.
In one of these cases I observed a very singular fact
- — the Sphaerophrya had its clubbed tentacles extended
to their usual length ; but it was also provided with
a very large number of short tentacles, which were in
constant slow, wavy, or vibratory motion (Fig. 25).
They were much too thick to be called cilia, other-
wise the case might be held to be parallel to the

3 2

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

one figured in Kent (pi. 46, figs. 4, 5), where
Sphaerophrya develops fine cilid preparatory to sub-
division. These short tentacles were not clubbed. I
observed another pair, in which the Sphaerophrya
was covered with these short curved tentacles ; but
these were all motionless. I cannot find in the books
any trace of these short wavy tentacles.

My next observation was Podophrya fixa, which
had seized one of the Stylonychias. The latter kept
the cilia on the under side of its body in very rapid
motion, as if endeavouring to escape. After I had
watched it for more than an hour it got free and swam
away. The next stage was as follows : a Stylonychia
had a Sphaerophrya attached ; the former gradually
contracted itself to a spherical form, with its cilia

and again the Stylonychia made an attempt to leave
its cyst, this time getting about one-third of its body
out, and leaving its cyst behind with a thick uneven
border (Fig. 2S). Again it came in contact with the
Sphaerophrya, and then remained motionless for a
long time, which closed my work for the night.

Another evening I observed a pair where the
Stylonychia had assumed the spherical form, with its
cilia projecting all round. These were withdrawn as
usual. In falling down the tilted cell in which they
were enclosed, the little one stuck somewhere, and the
weight of the Stylonychia set it free. It immediately
burst ; a small quantity of protoplasm was emitted
where the Sphaerophrya had been attached, while two
globular projections were thrown out on the opposite

Fig. 24. — Normal cyst of
Stylonychia sp.

Fig. 27. — Remarkable shape
temporarily assumed by
Sphaerophrya.

Fig. 28. — Stylonychia emerging
from its cyst, a further stage
of Fig. 26.

Fig. 25. — Sphaerophrya, with short
wavy tentacles, on Stylonychia.

Fig. 29. — Stylonychia, which
after withdrawal of the
cilia has thrown out two
large and one small globule
of protoplasm.

Fig. 26. — Stylonychia preparing to encyst
when attacked by Sphaerophrya.

Fig. 30. — A further stage of Fig. 29. The
internal protoplasm has left the cyst,
now wrinkled and nearly opaque. Ac-
cumulation of granules at lower end of
the oval body.

projecting all round (Fig. 26). After an hour all the
cilia had vanished. It was forming a cyst, apparently
to protect itself from its foe. It then threw out a
blunt projection near the Sphaerophrya, which burst,
and a considerable amount of granular protoplasm
was emitted. Then it resumed its contour. Again
it burst close to the Sphrcrophrya, and again resumed
its spherical contour. As the water on the slide was
drying up I added a little water, which separated the
pair a little way — the Sphaerophrya assuming a very
remarkable shape, with a wavy irregular outline,
quite unlike anything I have seen in these creatures
(Fig. 27). The Stylonychia then threw out another
broad projection, which unluckily again brought it
in contact with its enemy. I separated them again,

side [a and b, Fig. 29). The cyst then opened in
another place, and the whole contents of the body
very slowly emerged ; the process taking one and a
half hours. The cyst formed over the two globular
projections which I have already mentioned. In
proportion as the interior part emerged, the cyst
contracted in size, became wrinkled and opaque.
The internal protoplasm emerged in a simple oval
form, contained in a membrane so fine as to be barely
visible. The protoplasm was finely granular, and
every granule was in rapid swarming motion, some-
thing like the Brownian movements. The whole
presented a very curious spectacle. Under the
influence of gravity, these granules settled at the
bottom of the oval, so that at last, this lower part

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

was nearly opaque, while the top part, owing to the
fineness of the membrane, was barely visible. I could
see no trace of nucleus or contractile vesicle. It
remained in this state till I went to bed, and I did
not see it again. I had so many Stylonychias at the
time that I made sure of finding some more couples ;
but as I said before, they suddenly vanished away.
This kind of encystment is quite new as far as I can
make out. It is only temporary, and apparently is
assumed expressly in order to get rid of the tentacu-
lifera. For it is evident that the tentaculiferous
enemy will remain outside the cyst while the Stylony-
chia gets away by another opening. The bursting
and ejection of protoplasm may also be a means of
defence, if it bursts just where the sphajrophrya is
holding on.

The form also in which the protoplasm emerges is
quite new and strange. From its ordinary cyst, the
Stylonychia emerges unchanged, whilst here we have
a motionless oval body. What, again, is the meaning
of the swarming motion of the granules, and what has
become of the nucleus and contractile vesicle ? I am
painfully conscious of the incompleteness of these
observations, but they seem to me to be of sufficient
interest to be worth recording. When working at
questions of this sort, one ought to be prepared to sit
up all night if necessary ; but unfortunately my health
would not allow me to do that.

J. G. Grenfell, B.A., F.G.S.

Clifton College.

GOSSir ON CURRFNT TOPICS.
By W. Mattieu Williams, F.R.A.S., F.C.S.

THE GEOLOGICAL RECORD.— Those who
demand more and more of the "missing links"
that are required to fill the blank spaces in the
evolutionary series will find their wants very largely
supplied in the Reports of the United States Geo-
logical Survey of the Territories. The multitude of
new creatures, or new types or forms, there described
is so great that palaeontologists have heavy work
before them in classifying the new finds. Such
-discoveries, properly regarded, teach us that, in spite
of the great recent progress of geology, we yet know
but a small fraction of the sum total of the number of
species that have inhabited the earth during its past
history. Even in the best-explored districts we can
■only find a few that have died under exceptional
circumstances, or which, having hard shells or other
exceptionally indestructible elements of structure,
have been exceptionally preserved. Those that have
shared the fate of the majority— have been eaten and
digested — leave few or no traces behind ; and those
which have died on dry land, far away from the sea
or lakes, must have decomposed or have been
crumbled to dust ere they could reach the position
of entombment.

I have again and again expressed heretical notions
on this subject, and still maintain that when geologists
represent a certain era as the age of fishes, Crustacea,
or the inhabitants of swamps and marshes, they
perpetrate a serious fallacy ; the fact that only such
animals are represented by the fossils of the period
does not prove that such creatures were any more
representative of the period in question than they
are now. The creatures that lived in the sea, and
especially those in estuaries and near the mouths of
rivers, became entombed in the deposits formed by
the silt of such rivers, while of those on land only a
few specimens that have been accidentally drowned
under very exceptional circumstances could have
been preserved. All the stratified rocks were formed
in such places or on the sea-coast. Then again, how
small a fraction of the whole surface of the earth
have we yet scratched to any depth beyond soil-
tillage I

Coal-dust and Colliery Explosions. — Mr.
W. Galloway, who has "done the State some ser-
vice " in showing that neglected deposits of coal-dust
are the great factors in producing great colliery
explosions, complains, and I think justly ( see
"Nature," Dec. 31), of the manner in which Sir
Frederick Abel, in an address to the Society of Arts,
has recently slighted the merit of Galloway's work.
I say " slighted " for want of a better word. It was
not exactly ignored, not directly denied, not positively
pooh-poohed, but all these modes of treatment were
combined. Sir Frederick said, " Several well-known
French mining engineers published, many years
after Faraday and Lyell wrote, observations and
experimental results as new which were simply con-
firmatory of those philosophers' original statements
and conclusions ; and, to some extent, this was also
the case in still more recent publications in this
country by Galloway and Freire-Marreco." That is
to say, that a number of Frenchmen, many years ago,
republished as new certain scientific work already
old and done by Englishmen ; and then later still,
Galloway has claimed as his own these ancient and
doubly appropriated researches. This is very hard
upon Galloway, in spite of the qualification "to
some extent." Being a regular contributor to the
journal (" Iron") in which so many of his communi-
cations on the subject have appeared, I have read his
papers, have become much interested in his work
(which began in 1870), and have no hesitation in
concluding that he is fully justified in all the state-
ments contained in the letter above named, and in
his complaints of the treatment he has received from
Sir Frederick Abel. At the same time there is no
evidence of ill-will nor intentional injustice, nor is
any attributed to Sir Frederick by Mr. Galloway.
It is simply a slighting due to imperfect knowledge
of the subject. Galloway's researches sliow, that in
great colliery explosions a relatively small quantity

34

HARD WICKE ' S S CIENCE- G O SSI P.

of gas first explodes and raises a cloud of inflammable
particles. These, heated by the flame of the gas,
combine with the oxygen of the air suddenly and
explosively, as in flour-mill explosions ; more dust is
thereby raised and exploded, and thus it travels like
firing a train of gunpowder.

The Prevention of Dangerous Colliery
Explosions. — The above suggest very obvious
practical lessons. Every colliery should be kept
free from considerable accumulations of dust. In
ordinary collieries, where there is much water, this
may easily be done by a hose. In the collieries of
the future, where we shall be working the deeper
coal at depths only limited by the heat, the pits
will be dry, and, as I have already explained (see
"Limits of Coal Supply," in my " Science in Short
Chapters "), surface water and intermediate springs
will then be largely used for cooling purposes. These
hot and dry workings will be especially exposed to
terrible results from dust explosions, and therefore
the necessity for a clear understanding and practical
recognition of this source of clanger becomes con-
tinually more and more urgent. Once understood,
and thus recognised, prevention of serious calamities
is easy enough.

My first underground experience was in descending
a small trial shaft, and following a trial drift, under
the guidance of a "larkish" young colliery engineer.
When we arrived at the end of the drift he recognised
a small blower, took a match from his pocket,
and lighted it. A small but rather startling flash
resulted, followed by a most alarming sense of
suffocation. When above ground I remonstrated,
and received reply that my conductor knew by the
state of his lamp that there was no dangerous
quantity of fire-damp, and therefore a good oppor-
tunity of giving me a taste was afforded. This
"baptism of fire," though unpleasant, was very
instructive, as it proved that an experienced collier
can, by means of his lamp, form some estimate of the
extent of danger ; and, with the additional light
thrown on the subject by Mr. Galloway's experiments,
explains the fact, that explosions have in so many
cases extended to roads and workings where no sane
collier would have remained had it been charged
with sufficient gas to be dangerous alone. If there is
enough hydro-carbon gas to form with the air an
explosive mixture, there is enough to fill the cage
of the Davy lamp with the warning flame that is too
terrible to be unheeded. The collier who would at
once retreat and raise alarm on seeing this, now
passes without heed any amount of accumulated
coal-dust on pillars, walls, roofs, and dry floor of the
pit, because he is ignorant of its dormant yet fatal
energies.

Porpoise Milk.— Mr. Purdie has published in
the " Chemical News" an analysis of porpoise milk,

which is very curious. To show its peculiarity, I
state below the composition of the milk of some
other animals, for comparison with that of the
porpoise : —

Woman

Cow
Goat
Ass. .
Sheep .
Uitch .

Water.

88-6
87-4
82-0

9°'5

85-6
66 '3

Fat.

2-6
4-0
4'5
i"4
4"5
14-8

Sugar and 1 Ni f°genous

soluble salts. F om P° u . nd *«*
: insoluble salts.

4*9
5"o

4"5
6-4

4"a

2-9

3
3'
9'
1'

5'
16'

The porpoise milk examined by Mr. Purdie was-
yellow, thick, and had a fishy odour, and was com-
posed of water 41 - i 1 ; fat 45*80 ; albuminoids 1 1-19 ^
sugar 1-33 ; and ash 0-57 per cent.

The curious difference is the very large propor-
tion of fat : more than eleven times as much as in
cow's milk, or nearly eighteen times as much as in
woman's milk. It is probably connected with the
demand for blubber by the young porpoise ; and, if
so, does not support the conclusions of those physio-
logists who have lately denied that the fat of food
does not form the fat of the animal that eats it. It
would be very interesting to compare the composition
of the milk of an Esquimaux woman with that of a
negress — the Arctic with the tropical variety of the
same species.

Digestibility of Cheese.— Klenze has experi-
mented on eighteen kinds of cheese, and finds that
Cheddar was digested in the shortest time (four
hours). Unripe Swiss cheese required ten hours.
He concludes that fat cheeses are dissolved more
readily than hard skim-milk cheeses, because the
fat renders them more open. He finds no connec-
tion between the digestibility and the percentage of
water in the cheese, but that ripeness is favourable.

Manuring Vines with Copper. — Many investi-
gations have lately been made upon the absorption
of soluble metallic salts by the rootlets of various
plants, and the distribution of the metal in the plant.
The vine has thus been manured with sulphate of
copper, mixed with lime, by MM. Millardet and.
Gayou. They find that most of the copper is de-
posited in the leaf — that merely a doubtful trace can
be found in the juice of the grape. Other experi-
ments with other salts and other plants indicate thai
the chlorophyll of the leaves is the most addicted
to picking up the foreign matter. Tea-leaves, for
example, contain much iron, doubtless due to the
ochreous soil on which they best grow. The
analytical myth concerning the adulteration of tea
with iron filings is thus explained. When roasted,
the iron salt in the leaves is reduced to magnetic
oxide, and the leaves are therefore attracted by a
magnet.

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SI P.

03

The Kinetic Theory of Gases. — Another blow
has been delivered to this complex hypothesis. M.
Faye infers that Hirn's recent experiments on the
velocity of gases demand a reconsideration or absolute
rejection of this kinetic theory. For my own part, I
always regarded it as a violation of the fundamental
principles of inductive philosophy. Atoms and mole-
cules are first invented without any physical evidence
of their existence, i.e. the discrete structure of fluids
is assumed hypothetically. Then these imaginary
separated entities are imagined to be in violent motion
•colliding with each other in such complex fashion
that the mere description of their proceedings de-
mands a serious amount of mathematics, or, if not
absolutely demanded, it is certainly supplied. The
structure of the imaginary molecules is made very
complex. Thus Professor G. Forbes describes an
"improved gyrostatic molecule," which consists of
two fly-wheels on one axis with " the axis cut in two
in the middle between them, and the parts fitted
together by a ball-and-cylinder joint. The other
ends of the half-axes are supported in ball-and-
socket joints in the massless shell." The " crude
molecule " thus improved was " a fly-wheel inside a
massless shell," but this was too simple a conception
of the constitution of matter — hence the improve-
ment.

Such exquisite fooling, however suitable for the
purpose of pedants, who by dint of mutual admiration
are striving to set themselves apart as a mathematical
priesthood, is not science at all ; it is an obstruction
perversely placed upon the path of scientific progress.
Every natural truth is so simple that the teacher who
himself understands it may render it intelligible to a
little child ; and whenever the explanation of a fact is
more difficult to understand than the fact it pretends
to explain, we may at once dismiss it as an illogical
absurdity.

The true philosopher, i.e. he who has, first of all,
studied himself, knows that he has no faculty
whereby to enter and grasp the inner and absolute
mechanism of matter ; that he can only learn its
action on himself by means of its relations to his
senses and his reasoning powers. He knows that in
the solution of physical problems he can only reason
soundly on data supplied by the senses ; and therefore
when he reaches a problem to which his senses give
no response he confesses his hopeless ignorance.

Migration of Squirrels. — " Science " says that
.four millions of squirrels are emigrating from the
Mississippi side over to the Arkansas shore at a point
commencing about five miles below Memphis, and
extending down for twenty miles. They are swim-
ming the Mississippi river, and evidently making for
more elevated grounds in Arkansas. Thousands
are being killed by farmers, who, by reason of their
great numbers, use sticks instead of guns. A similar
emigration of squirrels occurred in 1872.

A NETTLE FUNGUS.

ONE of the most remarkable groups of the old
genus Sphaeria was that which was distin-
guished by its long, compressed ostiolum (mouth).
This, which is the opening whereby the sporidia are
enabled to escape from the interior of the perithecium,
is inmost cases a round pore-like aperture ; but in the
group which we are now considering, it is a narrow,
linear chink, seated on the top of a kind of crest or
ridge which runs across the perithecium, and is often
as long as the perithecium itself (Fig. 31). The
species possessing this character were formed by
Persoon, in 1S01, into a section called Spharuv
Platy stoma* and this name was afterwards adopted
by Fries, in 1822 ; he then altered the name to Lophio-
stomae, in 1849, and still later they were separated
entirely from the true Sphoeriie, and constituted by
De Notaris into a distinct genus called Lophiostoma.T

Now, again, this genus is raised to the rank of a
family, the Lophiostomacere, by Saccardo, and the
various species which are included under that name
are subdivided into seven genera, to one of which the
name Lophiostoma is restricted. According to the
rule in such cases, the genus to which the restricted
Lophiostoma is assigned, is that which includes the
first known species of the group, viz. the Spkceria
macrostoma% of Tode, who described and figured its
external appearance with remarkable accuracy, so
early as 179 1. As a curiosity, his drawing is here
reproduced (Fig. 32), from plate ix. of the "Fungi
Mecklenburgenses Selecti."

We may pause here to notice the manner in which
the species that at first constituted but a small section
of a genus, were afterwards raised to the rank of a
distinct genus, and are now formed into a family,
itself consisting of several genera. This instance is
but typical of a process which has gone on in every
department of Biology ever since the first establish-
ment of the Linnaean nomenclature ; one might say,
ever since the first classification of natural objects
formed itself long, long ago, in the brains of our
untutored forefathers. The process is merely the
natural result of the increase in the number of known
species, and of the investigation by the microscope
of minuter, and still minuter, details. If families,
genera, species, etc., represented in all cases some-
thing really existing, there might be some objection
to such proceedings ; what is rightly called a
"genus" now, could not hereafter be rightly called
a "family." But we know that these names are
merely subjective, that is, represent things of man's
own devising, and that the distinctions which appear
to him so necessary, only arise from the limitations of
his knowledge. In many cases species still appear to
us distinctly marked off from all other species, and
the same is true of genera in a greater degree ; but

* Flat-mouthed. f Ridge-mouthed.

Long-mouthed.

HA RD J J 'ICA'E'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

there are numberless instances where even genera are
now united by gradual intermediate links, and of
species this is true in an as yet hardly recognised
profusion.

To a perfect being, having perfect knowledge of all
the individual forms of organic nature that exist or
ever have existed, the whole organisms of this globe
would be varieties of but one species. And although
for us, with the necessary finiteness of our faculties,
species and genera must always remain, yet there will
come a time when the discoveries of men will tend
rather to diminish the number of "recognised"
species, by discovering previously unknown links,
than to increase them.

But to return to our subject. Among the species
of Lophiostoma in the " Handbook of British
Fungi," are two, L. caulium, and L. sex-mtclcata,.
which have been found on the nettle. Of these the
latter is now removed to another genus, Lophiotrema,*
distinguished from true Lophiostoma by its colourless-
sporidia; and now appears in the sylloge, under
No. 5432, as Lophiotrema sex-nucleatitm (Cooke),
Sacc. Besides these there is a species, Lophiostoma
dolabriforme, with dark sporidia, which has been
found on the nettle in France, and may be expected
to occur here.

Last April I picked up an old nettle-stem, at
Middleton, near liirmingham, which was in a very

31. — Lophiotrema an^nstilabriim (Sacc.)- o, side view ;
b, end view. X 90.

Figi 32. — Spliaria macrostoma. (After
Tode.)

F'g- 33-— Sporidium of Lof>hio-
trema angu stilabrtim. b,
sporidium of L. sex-nucleatum

(.after Cooke).

Fig. 34.— Group of sporidia from a single perithecium of L. angits
tilabrum. a, a young sporidium ; b, a mature one, showing
pseudo^epta ; c, the most frequent form. X 1000.

Still, as matters stand, the increase must go on, and
conjointly, for our own convenience, we must divide
and subdivide our groupings more and more. Those
who study the group of fungi which has developed
out of the old genus Sphceria, know that Saccardo has
pushed the process to a very great extent. In his
stupendous Sylloge, nearly 6000 species are described
which would have been included under Persoon's idea
of Sphaeria. It is obvious that such a mass of de-
scriptions would be beyond the power of the ordinary
human mind to compass, if the art of subdivision were
not carefully employed to break it up into intelligible
fragments, and those who grumble, as some in Eng-
land do, at Saccardo's giant work, remind one of Mrs.
Partington's futile efforts to conquer the Atlantic.

decayed and friable condition. On the lower par
were the traces of many old and nearly vanished
perithecia of Leptosplncria doliolum, but among them
were a few, evidently quite fresh and vigorous, which
a second glance showed to possess the unmistakable
Lophiostoma crest (Fig. 31). These, on examination,
proved to be identical with Lophiotrema Qiigiisii-
labrum f (B. and Br.) Sacc, according to the descrip-
tion with which they agreed in every respect but one..
This species, the Lophiostoma angustilabra of the
Handbook, p. S50, is said by the authors to have
sporidia 40-43 y. long, whereas I find the length of
the sporidia of my specimens to vary from 28 n to

* Ridge-aperture.

+ Narrow-lipped.

HA RD U'ICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

37

33 fi, reaching occasionally 35 j", but not exceeding
that limit. But, fortunately, Plow-right published
specimens of this species in his " Sphseriacei Brit-
annici," ii. No. 49. These I have not seen, but
Winter has given the measurement of sporidia, from
these specimens as 28-32 /* X 7 p, thus agreeing
exactly with mine.

We conclude, therefore, that the length of the
sporidia, given by the original finders of the species, is
too great. Tiie difference may appear, to outsiders,
very little ; but it is found by experience that in the
majority of cases, the size of the sporidia of sphoeria-
ceous fungi is remarkably constant, and I have a
reason for insisting on this point, as will appear from
what follows.

My specimens were found on the nettle ; L. sex-
nitclcatum, referred to above, also occurred on the
nettle. Moreover, in Cooke's article on "Old
Nettle-Stems and their Micro-fungi," the latter is
stated to occur on stems "far advanced in decay,"
so as to be "tender and friable," as mine did. The
chief difference between the alleged species is in the
sporidia ; those of sex-nucleatum, which are given as
35 fx long, are said to be shorter than those of angus-
tilabrum, but the measurements quoted above dispose
of this difference. Again, the sporidia of sex-nu-
cleatum are, as the name implies, six-nucleate, each
"nucleus" occupying a cell. By a "nucleus," here
is meant an oily drop of much higher refractive index
than the other cell contents. These objects, by-the-
bye, are now called " guttulse," since they have nothing
in common with a true cell-nucleus. The sporidia of
angustilabrum, on the contrary, are said to contain
" two or three nuclei " in each half, and apparently
have rarely been seen with more than a central
septum, although said to be "probably 4-6-celled
when mature."

Now, in Fig. 34, I have given a group of sporidia
taken from a single perithecium of my specimens,
and in Fig. 33, tracings from Cooke's drawings of
the sporidia of the two species. By the comparison
of these, it will be seen that the extreme forms of
Fig. 33 are connected by intermediate links. When
several guttulre occur in a row, it is easy by manipula-
tion of the light to produce a false appearance of
septa between them, as at b (Fig. 34). This is a
mere illusion of diffraction. I satisfied myself that
none of the sporidia in my specimens were more
than uniseptate. The earlier observers seem not
to have been always on their guard against such
illusions.

The sporidia of angustilabrum are further said to
terminate in hyaline conical appendages at each end,
which are wanting in sex-nucleatum. My specimens
sometimes had, but oftener had not, these appendages.
In Cooke's figure of the sporidia of angustilabrum
in his article on " Lophiostoma," he represents a
distinct enveloping membrane, of which I could see
no trace. Winter also describes this ; but Saccardo,

who figures the sporidia of the same species ill
his "Fungi Italici," No. 238, says nothing of its-
existence. I conclude that this is not always present,
which is very likely, for it is not in any case a mem-
brane, but merely the outline of some mucilaginous
matter surrounding the sporidium.

I think, therefore, that the last remnant of a
difference disappears, and L. sex-nucleatum must be
considered as merely a synonym, representing pro-
bably the most perfect state, of L. angustilabrum.
This is what will, as I have previously hinted, befall
many of the new species described in these days, as,
indeed, it has done in the past. The true rule on
this point I have laid down before. It is the duty of
anyone who discovers a form of life which he cannot
identify with any previously described, to give it a
name, and append to the name a careful description ;
but it is equally his duty, when its identity with some
previously known form is demonstrated by the dis-
covery of facts which he was ignorant of, cheerfully
to allow them to be united under one name, or to
unite them so himself.

W. B. Grove, B.A.

NOTES ON THE COTTON FIBRE.

By Walter Henshall.

II.

HAVING described the general character of the
cotton hair and its method of growth, we
must now pass on to its structure and composition.

From treatment with various reagents, particularly
an ammoniacal solution of oxide of copper, the cotton
hair has been found to consist of four parts, quite
distinct from each other : 1st, the outside membrane,
which is insoluble in the copper liquid ; 2nd, the
cellulose, which occupies by far the greatest portion
of the fibre, and round which there appears to be
wrapped from end to end (3rd) spiral fibre ; 4th, an
insoluble matter occupying the core of the cotton
hair, which resembles the shrivelled matter in the
interior of quills. This solution (also known as
Schweitzer's solution) has the power of dissolving
cellulose, and it is most interesting to watch its action
on the cotton fibre under the microscope. Before
dissolving, the cellulose swells out enormously,
dilating the outside membrane, and stretching out the
spiral fibre, which is not so elastic as the outer
membrane. This causes it to break in many places,
the cellulose forming bead-like swellings where the
spiral has broken away.

The action which other reagents have on cotton is-
also interesting. Caustic soda has a most peculiar
effect on the fibre. When cotton is soaked in a
solution of caustic soda, the fibres increase very much
in diameter, and besides becoming fuller, the soda
leaves them much stronger. It has also been found

38

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

that such fibres take the dye more readily, and when
-dyed the colour is more permanent. To make use of
these important results, and further for the purpose
of scouring all grease from the fibres, cotton is usually
soaked in caustic soda before it is dyed. Sulphuric
acid dissolves cellulose, membrane, and everything.
Indeed, all acids, when in weak solution, render the
cotton weak and brittle ; some entirely destroy the
fibre.

In the attempt to soak raw cotton in water, it
will have been noticed how repulsive it is to water.
This is caused by the outer membrane of the fibre,
which is really vegetable wax, called by some, cotton
wax. It is the same substance as the "bloom"
found on some leaves and fruit, and is composed of

hair. It is similar to that found in the cells of
dicotyledonous plants and trees, and is deposited on
the inner side of the cell-wall in layers. These layers,
or concentric rings, may sometimes be seen in a cross-
section of the hair, highly magnified, though the lami-
nated form is somewhat difficult to make out. It
shows us, however, that the depositing of cellulose is
not regular and continuous, but thicker in some
places than others — similar to the way in which the
rings are formed in the trunk of a tree.

The existence of spiral fibre in the cotton hair,
seems to be the source of its great strength. It has
been found that a fibre of a good class of American
cotton will resist a strain of 145 grains before it
breaks. Now the maximum or theoretical strength

Fig. 35. — Cotton-Fibre, compared with wool, &c. X 400. (See page 39.)

the same constituents, and in nearly the same pro-
portion as cerosine, a wax obtained from the leaves
of the sugar-cane. In bleaching, this waxy covering
is dissolved by the hot bleaching liquids, which
also remove a fatty acid along with the wax. The
loss in weight sustained by bleaching is generally
about five per cent, so that if we were to have
bleached 100 lbs. of grey calico, the weight after
bleaching would be only 95 lbs. The cotton wax,
however, only forms a small portion of this loss, as it
only constitutes two per cent, of the whole of the
fibre. We may describe it as a varnish on the cotton
hair, which is impermeable and insoluble in the
copper solution previously referred to.

The cellulose forms about 87 per cent, of the cotton

of yarn would, of course, be the aggregate strength of
the fibres which compose it. But it is found in
practice that we cannot get anything near this strength
out of yarn ; in fact, the actual is but a fifth of the
theoretical strength. The number of fibres in a cross-
section varies as to the thickness of the yarn. In 32's*
twist, made out of American cotton, there are about
140, and in 50's yarn, about ninety in a cross-section.
Of course, not all these get twisted in the thread.
Many hang out from it, and this explains the great
loss of strength. Cannot some improvement be
made ? This is the question which is engaging the

* The numbers or counts are given to denote the thickness of
the yarn. They indicate the numbei of hanks, each 840 yards,
in 1 lb. of yarn.

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

39

attention of cotton spinners at the present time ; and,
indeed, now, one of the vital points with spinners is,
who can make the most strong and even yarn out of
the same cotton.

The cotton hair has a most wonderful power of
absorption. This is most probably owing to the
capillary attraction of the tube of the fibre. We see
this property well adapted in lamp wicks, etc. ; but
it is often abused. Putting the yarn in a damp
cellar, and steaming it in order to increase the
weight, is one of the well-known tricks of the trade.
It will be readily understood that cotton will absorb
a great amount of moisture from our usual atmo-
sphere. If we subject cotton that has been in an
atmosphere of ordinary temperature to a heat of
212°, we should find it would lose about J per cent.,
through the evaporation of water, which loss would
be regained if we replaced the cotton in the former
temperature. Any manager of a cotton mill will
tell you that cotton will lose weight even to as much
as 5 per cent, on the change of from, say, very wet,
damp weather to dry or frosty weather. Cotton, to
be worked with ease, requires a humid atmosphere.
In dry weather, the cotton seems to become less
pliable, and so snaps and breaks. When very dry,
it also becomes a good conductor of electricity, and
is thus attracted to rollers, etc., through which it has
to pass. These rollers lick up the cotton, and so
make a great amount of waste.

In continuous dry weather the difficulties of spin-
ning are often so serious that the floors of the mills
are regularly degged with water to make the atmo-
sphere moist.

In all classes of cotton, more or less, but more
especially in the low classes of American and East
Indian cotton, when received in Liverpool, there are
found small patches of very bright straight fibres.
These fibres are very weak and brittle, destitute of
twist, and without any tube ; and were formerly
thought to be "dead cotton," by which name the
fibres were known. With the aid of the microscope,
some time ago, it was found that such cotton is
really unripe * — cotton which has been gathered
before the fibre was mature. Asa consequence of
this, little or no cellulose has been deposited, and the
fibre is weak. When the vital fluid is withdrawn
the cotton hair collapses entirely, and forms a flat,
glassy, structureless fibre. Having no tube it cannot
be dyed ; being without twist it cannot be formed
into thread. Altogether, it is a useless cotton, and
not only useless, but very damaging when mixed
with other cotton, as it usually is. And yet it is
quite abundant in some classes of cotton. Machines
have been invented to open unripe pods, and to ex-
tract the cotton and seeds : so we cannot expect any
reduction in the quantity of this unripe fibre in future.

* One of these unripe fibres will be seen in the illustration in
the January part of this Journal.

Cotton growers are always in a hurry to realise on
their crops, and this is the result.

When cotton, having a great proportion of unripe
or half-ripe fibre mixed with it, is spun into yarn,
the short immature fibres, being broken up in the
working, form little conglomerations of fibres in the
yarn, or what are technically termed " neps." If
such yarn, having been woven into cloth, were to be
dyed, all these neps would be left untouched by the
dye, and the cloth would present a speckled appear-
ance, causing great loss to the manufacturer or dyer.
From this it will be seen, how very important it is to
see that the cotton we buy is free from this unripe
fibre ; and here is one of the many cases which point
to the usefulness of the microscope in the cotton
industry. I am glad to see that the textile industries-
are now taking more notice of the teachings of
science, and I have not the slightest doubt that the
microscope will be found increasingly useful in the
future.

Before concluding, it would be well to compare
the cotton fibre with other fibres and hairs of com-
merce. I would here refer to Fig. 35, p. 38. Taking
from left to right, the first we come to is the regular
form of the cotton hair. Next is Lincoln wool,
then a common coarse wool. It will be noticed how
the rough serrated surface of wool would act when
made into yarn. I have previously mentioned that
it is owing to the twist in the cotton fibre that we
can make thread out of it. In wool the rough
serratures act on each other, and enable them to hold
together. If we were to try and make thread out of
human hair, we should find it difficult, if not im-
possible, as human hair has a smooth surface and
would not hold together. Remaining on the figure
are flax and silk, both of which have a smooth glassy
surface, but are of such length that the large number
of twists in the yarn is sufficient to overcome the dif-
ficulty, and so the flax silk and thread holds together.

For information respecting the treatment of cotton
fibre in manufacture, I would refer the reader to
"Cotton-Spinning," by R. Marsden, published by
Bell & Son. This volume contains full particulars of
the machines through which cotton has to pass in the
process of manufacture.

Transfer of Pictures. — I have been trying to
transfer pictures to wood by means of methylated
spirit, but have repeatedly failed. I placed the paper
on a piece of polished wood, and then soaked the
paper with the spirit by means of wadding. After
leaving the paper on the board for twenty-four hours,
I attempted to rub it off by wetting it, and rubbing it
with my finger, and I have never been able to rub it
off without tearing the picture. If any reader could
inform me how to accomplish this task, either by this
or some other method, I should be very thankful. —
Josrph Willson.

4°

HARD WI CKE 'S SCIE NCE - G O SSI P.

THE HORNED HOOFED MAMMALS OF
THE EOCENE PERIOD IN AMERICA.

(DINOCERATA.)

IN Science-Gossip for February 1881, I gave,
under the heading of " Bird Studies in Chalk," a
resume of the contents of vol. i. of the " Trans, of the
Peabody Museum of Yale College," in which Pro-
fessor O. C. Marsh of Newhaven, Conn., detailed
the history of the strange toothed birds (Odontor-
nithes), discovered by him in 1 872-5 in the cre-
taceous deposits of the eastern slopes of the Rocky
Mountains.

Since the publication of that volume, the inde-
pendent geological surveys and explorations of various
states have been consolidated as the " Geological
Survey of the United States Government," with
Major J. W. Powell, as director, and the entire
department of vertebrate palaeontology, placed under
the control of Professor O. C. Marsh, " palaeontologist
in charge." This accounts for the change of title
nnd mode of publication of his second volume of
contributions to knowledge of the extinct American
vertebrate fauna, which has recently appeared as vol. x.
of the " Memoirs of the United States Geological
Survey." It forms a complete and fully illustrated
history " of the dinocerata, an extinct order of
gigantic mammals,"* of which the chief structural
characters were made known as discovered from time
to time in the " American Journal of Arts and
Sciences," from the year 1871 and upwards. The
present monograph is a well-printed and richly
illustrated quarto with fifty-six finely executed litho-
graphic plates, and over 190 original woodcuts
separately illustrating every bone of the skeletons of
both sexes, and various ages of these animals, and
mainly drawn from the very large number of speci-
mens obtained by Professor Marsh during different
expeditions of the Yale College exploring parties in
1870, 1871, 1872, and following years. His collection
at Newhaven now comprises more or less perfect parts
of the skeletons, including seventy-five skulls, more
than twenty nearly perfect, of at least 200 indi-
viduals of a horned race of large hoofed mammals that
abounded by the swampy shores of a tropical and
extensive lake basin in the middle Eocene period.

Professor Marsh describes this ancient lake basin
ns bounded then as now, west, by the Waksatch,
south, by the Uintah Mountains, and on the north by
the Wind river range, which furnished the sediments
by which it was gradually filled up. It now lies at
an elevation of from 6000 to Sooo feet above sea
level in western Wyoming, and is drained by the
Green River, main affluent of the mighty Colorado,

* Dinocerata, an extinct order of gigantic mammals, by
Othniel Charles Marsh. Vol. x. of the United States Geolo-
gical Survey, Washington, 1884. The publication of this
article has been accidentally delayed, (rid. Sc.-Gos.)

which has carried away half of its former thickness of
strata. For the Eocene deposits in this region are
stated on good evidence to have once reached
vertical mile in thickness. This estimate requires
such an enormous lapse of time, both for deposition
and partial erosion, as would amply suffice for the
development and specialisation of the rich and varied
fauna the area, 100 miles in extent, has already yielded
to the hardy scientist explorers. Crocodiles, the
ancestors of the modern bony pike, and fresh water
dog-fishes, abounded in these waters, by which the
ancestral forms of the present horse and tapir were
refreshed, together with a vast number of flesh-
eating, insect-feeding, and marsupial animals. Here
dwelt the big-framed Tillodont, unlike all living
mammals, with the ancestors of the little lemuroid
monkey ; and the huge horned dinocerata, half
elephant, part rhinoceros, and part hippo, wallowed
in the neighbouring swamps, or contended for mastery
under the palms amid a tropical vegetation, sheltering
insects, serpents and lizards.

The investigations of Professor Marsh prove, that
the bulky horned animals he has called dinocerata
(deinos, terrible, keras, horn), form a well-marked
order, allied both to the odd-toed and even-toed
divisions of the great group of hoofed mammals
(ungulata), uniting in their structure features of the
elephant rhinoceros, and suggestions of the hippo-
potamus. " They were," he says, " the monarchs of
the region in which they lived." The larger forms
measured twelve feet long, five feet across the loins,
stood over six feet high, and weighed at least 6000 lbs.
Their necks were much longer, and far more flexible
than those of the existing elephants, and they had
no trunk, but their heavy heads were armed with
three pairs of horny protuberances, which suggested
the family name of the group. One pair of horn
cores was near the nostrils (nasal), another (maxillary)
on the cheek bones, and the third (parietal) near the
top of the head. These defensive weapons were
most developed in males, which were also furnished
with large upper canine teeth so enormously deve-
loped, as to form two decurved tusks often some inches
long, and fitting into a protective depression in the
lower jaw, a special character of this group of
animals. The molar teeth foreshadow the rhinoce-
rine type. The dinocerata limb-bones were large and
solid, and the foot flat-footed with five toes in each
foot, the hinder pair being the smaller. The mode
of union of the composing bones intermediate between
that of the odd-toed and even-toed hoofed mammals,
bridges over — as Huxley long ago predicted the
earlier fossil forms would — the gulf between those
two divisions of the ungulata.

(To be continued.)

M. TuLASNE, the distinguished French botanist
and fun ologist, is dead.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

4i

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY.
By John Browning, F.R.A.S.

VENUS will be an evening star during the first
half of the month, and a morning star near the
end of the month, setting about 7.29 P.M. on the 1st,
7. 1 1 p.m. on the 5th, and 6.29 p.m. on the 12th, and
5.41 P.M. on the 19th of the month. The fact that
this planet sets so early should not discourage ob-
servations being made of it, as it is best seen with
a telescope in twilight.

Mercury will be too near to the sun for observation
this month.

Saturn will be almost stationary in Gemini, setting
on the 5th about 5.19 a.m., on the 12th about 4.52
A.M., on the 19th 4.23, and on the 26th at 3.55 a.m.
On the 2nd of February Mercury, and on the 5th
Venus will be in conjunction with the moon.

On the 1 2th of February there will be an occulta-
tion of y {gamma) Centauri, a star of the fourth
magnitude.

I am indebted to Mr. W. G. Lettsom for the
following very interesting notices from the " Astro-
nomische Nachrichten."

On the 1 6th of November the brothers Paul and
Prosper Henry, of the Paris Observatory, discovered
a new nebula in the Pleiades by means of photography.
It appears to start from Maia, taking at first a
westerly direction, and then turning abruptly towards
the north. On three occasions, namely on the 16th
of November and on the 8th and 9th of December,
photographs of it were taken ; but as yet it has not
been visible to the eye in any of the instruments at
the Observatory. This nebula is about 3' in extent.

Position of new star now known as Nova in
Orion, R.A. 5 hr. 48 min. 59 sec, Declin. N.
20 9' 13"; it is therefore near x (^')> known also
as 54, a star visible to the naked eye. Its colour is
said by one observer to be a beautiful orange yellow,
by another decidedly yellow. On the iSth of De-
cember it was estimated of the 6 "5 magnitude.

Discovery of a new comet by Brooks on the 26th
and 27th of December. First telegram, 12 hr. 56 min.
G.M.T., R.A. 19 hr. 52 min., Dec. N. 4 8'. Second
elegram, 28th of December, 11 hr. 44 min. g.m.t.,
R.A. 19 hr. 59 min. 2 sec, Dec. N. 4 31'. The
physical appearance is : Circular, 3' in diameter,
ninth magnitude, strong eccentric condensation, no
tail.

Speaking at the Royal Astronomical Society of
the meteor shower of the 27th of November, Mr.
Common said : " I was observing the meteors with a
field-glass for some time, and some of the brighter
ones that left streaks behind, visible to the eye for
two or three seconds, were visible in the field-glass
for nearly a minute. They had a peculiar appear-
ance, such as you see in De la Rue's vacuum
discharges, like a row of coins slightly separated.
Another thing that very much surprised me was,

when the sky cleared between six and seven, and
when there were not many meteors visible to the
naked eye, there were a good many visible with the
field-glass. When observing this display between
5.20 and 5.25, no first magnitude stars were visible
through the haze, and yet behind this haze I saw
several bright meteors flash. From a quarter to six
to seven o'clock, when the sky was less clouded, I
counted them at the rate of twenty to thirty a minute,
looking at one part of the heavens alone. The most
noticeable feature was the number of small meteors
that were seen, and with the aid of the telescope the
great length of time that the trains of the large
meteors lasted. I noted one about 6.45, that ex-
ploded over Cassiopeia, which was far beyond a first
magnitude star, and more like Venus at her brightest."

Mr. Nathaniel Green states, that on the 15th of
December he observed Saturn with a reflecting tele-
scope, and power 560, and he found, " the markings
of the outer ring were most clearly defined ; there is
no dark line indicative of division, but a band of
shading rather nearer to the outer than its inner
edge. . . . The small light belt following the broad
dark one next the equator, which was so wide in
1883, and less distinct in 1884, is now barely visible."

In the drawing of Saturn made by the writer in
1868, two of these small light belts are clearly visible
on the globe of the planet in this position.

The mean temperature of the week ending the
1 2th of December was ten degrees below the average
for twenty years. In the week ending the 19th of
December the temperature was i"6 above the average.
In the week ending the 26th of December the mean
temperature was o'l below the average. In the
week ending the 2nd of January the mean temperature
was two degrees above the average'. The mean tem-
perature of January for Lincoln is 38 , for London 39°,
and for Brighton 40 ; it is, therefore, the coldest
month of the year. The mean temperature of Feb-
ruary for Hull is 40 , for London 41 , and for
Southampton 42 ; the average temperature of the
month is, therefore, two degrees warmer than January.

The rainfall during these four weeks was but very
little over | of an inch, yet it should be borne in
mind that this is equal to about 77 tons to the acre.
The average rainfall for January is in London full
two inches, and between London and the south coast
it is three inches, which is about 340 tons to the acre

The winter of 1 884-1 885 was a long, cold, dry
winter, and the summer of 1885 was a cold dry
summer. I do not think it has been remarked how
much the weather during these twelve months was
influenced by the fact, that we had an unusual number
of overcast days, followed by clear nights.

The clouds by day of course shut out the heat of
the sun, while the absence of clouds at night allows
the heat of the earth to radiate into space, and thus
the conditions of temperature are unfavourably affected
in both ways.

4 2

HA R D 1VICKE S S CIENCE- G OS SIP.

OUR SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORY.

[It is our desire to bring out a Scientific Directory in the
monthly pages of Science-Gossip, feeling certain that it would
be very useful for our readers to know what scientific societies
had been formed in their own neighbourhoods. We shall there-
fore feel very much obliged if Secretaries of any kind of
Scientific Society, in any town or part of the country, will send
us the full name and title of each Society, together with the
names of the President and Hon. Secretary.]

~T)EDFORD PARK Natural History and Gar-
J J dating Society : President, Rev. J. W. Horsley,
M.A.; Vice-President, Mr. R. B. Sharpe, F.L.S.,
F.Z.S. ; Secretary, Mr, R. J. G. Read.

Bristol Microscopical Society (founded 1843) •
President, C. T. Hudson, LL.D., F.R.M.S., etc. ;
Hon. Secretary, E. B. L. Brayley, Clifton.

Chichester and JFest Sussex Natural History and
Microscopical Society : President, Rev. F. H. Arnold,
LL.B., etc. ; Hon. Secretaries, Joseph Anderson, jun.,
Aire Villa, Chichester, Alfred Lloyd, F.E.S., F.C.S.

Colchester Students' 1 Association (founded 1881) :
President, James Round, Esq., M.P. ; Hon. Secre-
tary, Mr. T. Forster.

Croydon Microscopical and Natural History Club
(established 1S70) : President, H. T. Merrell, F.L.S. ;
Hon. Secretary, W. L. Sarjeant.

Dover Field Club and Natural History Society:
President, S. Webb ; Hon. Secretary, Rev. D.
Robinson.

Louth Naturalists' Society: Patron, Rev. W. W.
Fowler, M.A., F.L.S. , Lincoln ; President, Edwin
Hall ; Vice-President. A. R. Yeoman, M.A. ; Hon.
Secretary and Treasurer, H. Wallis, Kew.

Manchester Microscopical Society : President, Dr.
Tatham ; Hon. Secretary, George YVilks, 27, Wyn-
ford Street, Weaste.

Norwich Science-Gossip Club (instituted 1870) :
President, Mr. A. W. Preston, F.R.Met. Soc. ;
Secretary, Mr. F. H. Ellingham.

Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society
(founded 1839): President, Win. Bolitho ; Hon.
Secretaries, G. B. Millet and E. D. Marquand.

Sheffield Microscopical Society : President, W.
Jenkinson, Esq. ; Secretary, Alfred Diaper, 275,
Abbeydale Road.

Society of Amateur Geologists, No. 31, King
William Street, London, E.C. : President, Professor
G. S. Boulger, F.L.S.; Hon. Secretary, Mr. G. F.
Harris, F.G.S.

Sydenham and Forest Hill Microscopical and
Natural History Club: President, Mr. E. L. C.
1'. Hardy; Hon. Secretary, Mr. A. C. Perrins,
12, Sunderland Villas, Forest Hill, S.E.

SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

In the United States, picture-frames are now made
of paper. Paper-pulp, glue, linseed oil, and carbonate
of lime, or whiting, are mixed together, and heated
into a thick cream, which, on being allowed to cool,
is run into moulds and hardened. The frames are
then gilded or bronzed in the usual way.

Dr. Thomas Andrews, F.R.S., the distinguished
chemist, has died at Belfast, aged seventy-two.
Another well-known chemist, Mr. Alfred Tribe, has-
died at the comparatively early age of forty-six.

Science will be a gainer by the return of Sir
Henry Roscoe, Professor of Chemistry, Queen'-
University, as one of the Members of Parliament for
Manchester.

Dr. Henry Woodward, F.R.S., editor of "The
Geological Magazine," has been presented with a
silver tea and coffee-service, and a cheque for ^253,
as a testimonial by the readers and contributors of
the above magazine, in celebration of his having
edited it for twenty-one years. Professor Bonney
made the presentation in the rooms of the Geological
Society, Burlington House.

The electric light, supplied by a portable battery,
has been applied for lantern illumination. This will
be good news to lecturers, who have been tortured by
the oxy-hydrogen light.

Seasonal dimorphism is stated by Dr. F. Dahl to
occur in spiders. This author has already pointed
out that Micrommeta virescens and M. ornatd were
simply two broods of the same species. He now
states that Met a segmentafa and M. menger are
respectively spring and summer broods of the same

species of spider.

-

We are pleased to find that Mr. D. Morris, M.A.,
F.G.S. , Director of the Public Gardens, Jamaica,
has been appointed Assistant-Director of the Royal
Gardens, Kew.

Dr. J. W. Williams has been deputed by the
Council of the Practical Naturalists' Society to make
a survey of the migration of British birds, and to
draw up a list of species migrating, including such as
have recently become rare or extinct. He will be
glad if any of our readers will help him in the matter
by sending him records of arrivals, departures, &c,
and also the meteorological conditions prevailing.
His address is 27, Corinne Road, Tufnell Park,
London, N.

It has been discovered that New Caledonia
contains coal, for Carboniferous strata have lately
been found near Noumea, and also on the western
side of the island.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

43

Mr. J. W. Slater has demonstrated that cater-
pillars are affected by magnetic currents, which
hinder their development, and even kill them. His
experiments were conducted on the larYae of the
Cabbage White. The non-magnetised larvae from
the same brood were all right.

We have received No. 70 of the useful " Natural
History and Scientific Book-Circular" of Messrs.
William Wesley & Son, of 28, Essex Street, Strand.

We observe that the Herbarium of the late Mr.
J. F. Robinson, the well-known Cheshire botanist,
is offered for sale. This is an opportunity to get an
admirably preserved collection of plants not often
presented.

Mr. T. Meehan, the well-known American
botanist, holds that the spines of cactuses, which
are simply modified leaves, and have hitherto been
regarded as protective against browsing animals, have
another defensive function — that of breaking the
force of the sun on the plant, and of practically
lowering the temperature.

Dr. Hansgirg has shown that many genera of
Algae are polymorphic, and that many so-called
special forms may develop one out of another.

We have to welcome another monthly candidate
•for public recognition — " The Scientific Inquirer,"
edited by Mr. Alfred Allen. It is intended to be a
medium through which the reader may ask for and
obtain information on every scientific subject.

Mr. Robert Paulson encloses us a specimen of
milk-wort {Potygala vulgaris) gathered in flower at
Orr, near Hastings, on the 5th of January.

Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein & Co. announce
for early publication a " Pocket Handbook to the
Flora of the Alps," specially adapted for botanical
tourists, and edited by Mr. A. W. Bennett.

Mr. J. J. Harris Teall, F.G.S., is about to
ssue a work (in parts) on " British Petrography,"
with coloured plates by Messrs. Watson Bros.

Mr. G. A. Musgrave, F.R.G.S., has formed a

Bird Preservation League, the members of which

pledge themselves neither to purchase birds of
beautiful plumage, nor to shoot rare birds.

In the "Transactions of the Entomological So-
ciety " for December there appears a lengthy and well
written account, by Mr. Frederick Enock, of " The
Life-history of Atypus piccus." Mr. Enock discovered
this rare and beautiful spider on Hampstead Heath.

Mr. F. N. Williams, F.R.S., has published in
•the "Journal of Botany" an enumeration of the
genera and species of the genus Dianthus.

A monograph on the Recent Brachiopoda, by
the late Thomas Davidson, LL.D., F.R.S., edited

by Agnes Crane, will be issued in three parts, with
thirty quarto plates, during 18S6, and will form a sepa-
rate volume of the "Transactions of the Linnoean
Society of London."

M. Charles Joly has re-published his " Notes on
the Giant Eucalyptuses of Australia " (illustrated).

A LENGTHY and elaborate paper on " British
Lizards " has been read before the Warrington Field
Club, and re-published, by Mr. Linnreus Greening.

"The Moon and the Weather" is the title of a
pamphlet written by Mr. Walter L. Browne. In it
the author re-considers the probability of lunar
influences, and forecasts the storms for the current
year.

Professor Main, well known as the author o:
various books on the marine steam-engine, died on
the 28th of December last.

One hundred and fifty tree-ferns (represented by
four species) have been forwarded from the Melbourne
Botanic Gardens by Mr. W. R. Guilfoyle, F.L.S., to
form a "Fern-Gully" at the forthcoming Colonial
and Indian Exhibition.

We are profoundly distressed to notice the death
of an old friend, the eminent geologist, Professor
Morris, for twenty-two years Professor of Geology at
University College. He was a born teacher, full of
love for his work, and possessed with the power of
inoculating others with the same feeling. His death
will be mourned by geologists all over the world.

MICROSCOPY.

Instantaneous Microphotography. — Mr. D.
S. Holman has recently made some very important
experiments in microphotography. Having suc-
ceeded in taking microphotographs of rapid vibra-
tions, he determined to attempt to photograph the
Amaba protcus, and other low forms of life, while
in motion. His method was as follows : Having
enclosed the material in one of the Holman Life
Slides, and allowed it to remain until the Amoeboe
had become accustomed to their new home and
active, he cast an image of an Amoeba on the ground
glass of a camera, by means of a Holman Lantern
Microscope, which is illuminated with the oxy-
hydrogen light. A Zeutmayer one-fifth objective
was used. A dry plate picture was then taken with
about one-hundredth of a second exposure. Two
exposures were made of one Amoeba at intervals of
three minutes, and one exposure of two Amoeba; in
the field at one time. The photographs were a com-
plete success, and were shown at a recent meeting
of the Franklin Institute magnified ten thousand

44

HA RD WICKE'S S C1ENCE- G OSS J P.

diameters, making a picture of about eight feet on
the screen, so accurate that the granular appearance
of the protoplasm could be distinctly seen.

Enock's Entomological Slides. — Mr. Frede-
rick Enock is working out a novel and interesting
scheme. He is issuing a series of slides, showing the
mouth-organs of British Ilymenoptera, especially
bees. These are accompanied by explanatory draw-
ings, so that a person can see at a glance the name
of each part. The specimens are mounted naturally,
so that there is no distortion, and they are seen in
their natural colours. The heads are specially pre-
pared for the paraboloid — the most suitable objectives
for showing them being the two-inch, inch and a-
half, and one-inch. The drawings are very neatly
and artistically done, and the slides are superbly
mounted.

Cole's Microscopical Studies.— The parts of
the " Studies in Microscopical Science " for Decem-
ber are as follows : — Section I. " Structure of the
Sexual Organs of Reproduction in Angiosperms ; "
2. "On the Disposition of the Organs in the In-
vertebrata " (illustrated by a transverse section of the
common earthworm) ; 3. "Pathological Histology"
(illustrated by section of the lung, showing Carci-
noma) ; 4 has a beautiful plate of the Trichina
spiralis, showing longitudinal and transverse sections
X 250.

have become normal. The following was the dental

formula at the time of the animal's death : —

In.

2, 2

3» 2

2, 2 ,
2, 2'

ZOOLOGY.

Abnormal dentition in Slender Monkey. —
In the early part of the present year we received at
the Bristol Museum, from the Clifton Zoological
Gardens, the body of a young female monkey belong-
ing to the common Indian species Scmnopithecus
cutellits, ¥. Cuvier, the skull of which, now prepared
and placed in the .Museum, is remarkable from
possessing a single supernumerary incisor. In the
lower jaw there are two incisor teeth on the right
side and three on the left. The presence of this
extra incisor had caused the first or median left
incisor to occupy a central position in the front of
the mandible. Seeing that all these incisors are
equally grown and well -formed, it seems impossible
to decide which of the three on the left side is the
redundant one. When the animal died the dentition
was in a transitional state, consisting partly of milk
and partly of permanent teeth. The alveoli of the two
pairs of permanent incisors, as well as of the third
pair of molars in both upper and lower jaws, with
their contained teeth, are distinctly visible. Hence
it is obvious that the extra incisor cannot be accounted
for by the supposition of a mixture of permanent and
persistent milk teeth. It also appears that if this
monkey had lived to full age its dentition would

of which the incisors are deciduous and the remainder
permanent teeth. It is well known that supernumerary
teeth are occasionally developed in monkeys, as well
as in man and other mammals. In a general way,
however, when abnormal variations of this kind
arise, they are symmetrically arranged. Asymme-
trical variations are very much rarer ; and although
cases similar to the above have no doubt been noticed,
I cannot at the moment find any record of a pre-
cisely analogous one. — E. Wilson, F.G.S., Bristol
Museum.

Sense-Organs of the Brachiopoda. — Pro-
fessor Sollas has shown that the csecal processes
occupying the canals in the brachiopod shells are
extensions of the outer epithelium of the mantle.
At the outer end, which lies immediately beneath
the chitinous periostraction, each terminates in a
large cell, invested by smaller cells. The large cell
is continued into a nerve-fibril, which runs axially
down the csecal process, and enters the nervous
layer of the mantle. This is the structure of a
sensory end-organ, which seems to transfer luminous
radiations.

Noctiluca, etc. — I have just been up the Persian
Gulf, laying a cable ; and while we were proceeding
from Jask up the Gulf, in lat. 26 25' N., and long.
56 11' E., we encountered immense numbers of the
minute phosphorescent Noctiluca miliaris, the centre
reddish speck of which caused the water to appear in
places as if covered with clotted blood. It was of the
most intensely red colour, appearing in streaks and
blotches all round. I caught quantities of it for
examination. The water in places, when fished up
in a bucket, seemed one mass of them, though in a
small quantity they lost a good deal of their intense
colour. Mixed up with them were a few pieces
of the Trichodesmium Ehrcnbcrgii, but very little.
There were also quantities of sea-snakes and Medu-
sae. The sea was quite calm, and at^night the steamer
stirred up the most brilliant green waves I ever
saw. — D. Wilson-Barker, F.R. Met. Soc, Commander
o/T.S.S. " Daciar

The Colouring of Land-Shells. — After some
conversation with a friend of mine on the absence
and variety of colour in some of our land and fresh-
water shells, I was led to try the following experi-
ment. I took two specimens of Helix aspersa and
five of //. ncmoralis. The two former I placed in
a glass jar bedded with grass, which from time to
time was removed ; four of the //. ncmoralis I placed
in a similar jar ; number five I accidentally left in a
cardboard box. After three weeks I noticed that the
If. aspersa were losing all colouring matter from

HA R D IVICKE'S S CIENCE- G OSS/ P.

45

their shells and turning to a dirty grey. Four weeks
elapsed before any change occurred in the //.
nemoralis, which now became quite white around
the apex. The unfortunate individual in the card-
board box I released after a month's imprisonment,
and found that quite half of the lid and bottom of
the box had been consumed, and that a broad grey
band had formed around the lid. The H. aspersa
next became . covered with small porous-like warts,
until they resembled pieces of pumice-stone. Upon
being placed in the garden, the H. nemoralis soon
returned to their former colour, but the II. aspersa
kept in this condition for about two months, when I
lost them. — W. E. Collinge.

Rhopalocera in 1SS5. — One thing noteworthy
last summer was the great abundance of several
species of butterflies. Blues, for example, were very
abundant ; I think I hardly ever remember seeing the
common blue {Lyarna Icarus) in such profusion.
Canonympha Pamphiltts, Pyarga Megcera, Satyrus
Tithonus, Pyrameis Atalanta, and Vanessa lo, were
also plentiful about the neighbourhood of Cambridge —
the last-named species markedly so. Some butterflies
too, which, like Colias edusa, are ordinarily scarce,
put in an appearance last summer. — Albert II.
Waters, B.A. F.S.Sc., etc., Cambridge.

Mimicry in Bees. — Those who read G. H.
Bryan's paper (Science-Gossip, vol. xxi., pp. 241-
243), "On Mimicry in Diptera," maybe interested
to know that there is an equally good article on
another branch on the same subject, " Bees and
their Counterfeits, or, Bees, Cuckoo Bees, and Fly
Bees," by H. Noel Humphrys, beautifully illustrated
with coloured figures and woodcuts, in the " In-
tellectual Observer," vol. i., pp. 165-173, for 1862.
It is very pleasant reading, and well worth the
perusal of all who, like myself, take a pleasure in
keeping, studying, and profiting by the honey-bee. —
IT. W. Lett, M.A.

BOTANY.

The Origin of Cryptogamic Plants. — An
interesting paper on " Plant Life " was lately read by
Mr. Morris Miles, hon. sec. of the Southampton
Literary and Philosophical Society. The author
advocated the exhaustive study of the lowest forms
of vegetable life as offering a simple epitome of the
physiological processes of more complex forms. He
also sketched with much ability the geological story
of the cryptogams, and expressed his opinion that
the whole of the cryptogamic tribes, being fertilised
by free-swimming motile cells, were originally of
aquatic origin, and that they still pursue the modes
of reproduction common to their ancestors.

DlANTHUS Armeria.— This pretty plant has such
conspicuous bright red flowers that wherever it occurs
it cannot fail to be noticed. For at least ten years I
have observed it in abundance at Racton, Sussex.
It was to be seen in the cornfields, by the road-sides,
and by paths in the woods in great quantity ; but
during the last two seasons it seems to have almost or
entirely disappeared — a circumstance I cannot in any
way account for. Its recurrence, if such should be
the case, I hope to look for. Has any similar dis-
appearance been noted ? — F. II. Arnold.

The Transpiration of Plants. — The Rev.
G. Henslow, F.L.S., has been experimenting on
the relative effects of different parts of the solar
spectrum on transpiration. His experiments prove
that Wiesn'er's results are correct ; also, while recog-
nising the fact that obscure heat-rays cause a certain
amount of loss of water by evaporation, that trans-
piration, per se (theoretically distinct from the purely
physical process of evaporation, which takes place
from all moist surfaces and bodies, dead or alive), is
especially referable to those particular bands of light,
which are absorbed by chlorophyll ; and that such
light, being arrested, is converted into heat, which
then raises the temperature within the tissues and
causes the loss of water. The only additional fact
here advanced, somewhat tentatively, is that yellow
light has a retarding influence upon transpiration —
that "life" has a retarding influence upon evapora-
tion as distinct from transpiration.

Proliferous Cardamine. — Adverting to Mr.
Taylor's note (p. 20) on Cardamine pratensis bearing
small plants on the under side of the leaves, the
cultivated double form of this species is commonly
found with the leaves viviparous, and with the
blooms also proliferous, like a hen and chicken
daisy. The interest of Mr. Taylor's communication is
that he has found the wild, and, I presume, single-
flowered form of the species, with viviparous leaves.
The fact has been observed previously, vide Dr.
Masters's "Vegetable Teratology," p. 170, published
by the Ray Society, 1869.-7. 7- Weir.

Floral Varieties. — Plants of the cuckoo-flower
{Cardamine pratensis), bearing gemmae, or small buds,
on the leaves, are very common in the damp meadows
of this district — from an agricultural point of view,
far too common, as the plants spread and form large
patches, which do not improve the pasture. Albino
varieties of Geranium Robertianiim are not uncom-
mon ; but I have not noticed the petals such a pure
white colour as Mr. Taylor's specimens : they have
usually been a little cloudy. — J. IF. O., Pinner.

Plants from the Isle of Wight. — The
following three plants have been forwarded to me
from Ventnor during the past year or so. I do not
know if they have been previously recorded in the

46

HA RDU'ICKE'S S CIE NCE - G O SSI P.

Island, i. Qrnithogalum umbellatum, from the
hedgerow of a country lane, far away from any
habitation. The specimen had all the characteristics
of the French or Italian plant. 2. Epipactis
ensifolia, sent to me from the woods of the Under-
cliff. Although not so uncommon in Hampshire, I
have not before seen the species from the Isle of
Wight. 3. Polemonium cceruleum, from the very
heart of the island, growing by a running stream,
but possibly escaped from cultivated ground. My
correspondent, who forwarded the specimens, is the
most indefatigable and accurate observer. — C.
Parkinson, F.G S.

Vegetable Symbiosis.- — Mr. A. W. Bennett, in
" Nature," has called attention to cases of symbiosis
between fungi and the roots of flowering plants. It
is only three years since the doctrine of symbiosis
was propounded, and then it was concerning the
animal kingdom, or, at any rate, the animal and
vegetable kingdoms together. It seemed a novel idea
that certain animals actually had lowly organised
forms of vegetation living within their tissues, so
that reciprocal benefits ensued. Also that lowly
organised animals associated with more highly or-
ganised ones, for mutual benefits. Such co-operation
was fitly termed symbiosis — "living together." Mr.
Bennett considers the fact to be now sufficiently
established, that a considerable number of our forest
trees do not draw their nourishment directly from
the soil, but through the medium of an investing
layer of fungus-mycelium. Dr. Frank has proved
this by discovering that the roots of oaks, besides
chestnuts, hazels, &c, are covered with a fungous
growth, now called Mychoriza. Through it alone
such trees get their nourishment from the soil. Dr.
Frank thinks, that the well-known partiality of the
natural order Cupuliferse for soils rich in humus
is now explained. The fungous growth first makes
its appearance at the lateral roots of young seedlings,
and is constantly replaced by fresh formation on
older roots.

GEOLOGY, &c.

The Fossils recently discovered at Com-
mentry. — Mr. Charles Brongniart writes me, under
date of the 20th of December : " Commentry is a
town in the department of Allier, situated between
Clermont and Montlucon ; or, since our English
maps perhaps are more commonly divided into pro-
vinces, in the Bourbonnais, and near the last-named
town. They have there upper and lower coal-
measures ; the fossils are from the primary rocks.
The mines of Commentry are rich in plants, insects,
and fish. We are engaged in the preparation of an
important monograph on the discoveries at Com-
mentry ; the insects alone will occupy twenty plates,

as is probable in folio. As for the fish, Mr. Sauvage
will undertake the ganoids ; and Messrs. Renault
and Zeiller will be occupied with the vegetation.
Mr. Stanislas will undertake the description of
the rocks, and Mr. Fayol writes the introduction,
the geology, and the description of the mines. The
figures of fossil insects already heliographed in the
Bull, de la Soc. des Amis des Sciences naturelles
de Rouen are quite sensational from their startling
perfection, and confer a new quiet delight, such as
our ancestors looked for in the Romance of the
Rose." — A. II. Swinton.

Society of Amateur Geologists. — This society
has successfully completed its first year of existence.
A considerable amount of work has been done by its
members, as the following record will show. Papers
have been read at the meetings, on "The History of
Geology," by Professor Boulger, F.L.S., F.G.S. ;
" The Geology of Belgium," by G. F. Harris ; " The
Foraminifera of the English Chalk," by H. W.
Burrows ; " The Origin and Varieties of Granite," by
H. Fleck ; "Notes on Palaeolithic Man in relation
to the Valley Deposits of North-West Middlesex,"
by J. Allen-Brown, F.R.G.S. ; "Organic Acids and
their Geological Effects," by Professor Boulger ;
"Volcanic Rocks," by Chas. Lane: "Chemical
Action as a Factor in Geology," by Dr. Maybury ;
"The Deposition of Sediment, and Formation of
Shingle Beaches," by G. F. Harris; "Underground
Heat," by J. Starkie Gardner, F.L.S., F.G.S. ;
" The Modes of Occurrence of the Diamond," by
W. J. Abbott; " How to Distinguish the Genera of
Bivalve Shells," by A. Loydell. Excursions also
have been made, under able directors, to Finchley,
Caterham, Loampit Hill, Westcombe Park and
Charlton, Croydon and Caterham, Erith and Cray-
ford.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Sunflowers. — Among interesting facts respecting
sunflowers recorded in recent articles, it does noc
appear that any reference has been made to their
occasional habitat on the face of a brick-wall. In this
neighbourhood, one of old-fashioned gardens, the
walls carry a wide range of flora, which appear year
after year, being well established. Among other
plants, the sunflower has been observed by me in
such a situation, and no satisfactory explanation has
yet presented itself. Two instances of this occur at
present (October) in my garden, and I will proceed
to describe them. One sunflower grows from mid-
way up the wall, the plant dwarfed to nine inches,
without flower ; the other from a foot above the
surface of the ground, a strong plant of three and a
half feet stature, with a flower of three inches dia-
meter producing seeds. I noticed small plants
similarly placed last year also, but am not able to
give earlier experience, being a new resident. Are
such occurrences rare, and what is the method by
which such heavy seeds reach so peculiar a situation ?
— Hahnemann Epps, Tulsc Hill.

HARDWICKE' S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

47

Pulex irritans. — In reading Mr. Robson's very
interesting article on the development of a flea's
egg, I notice that he does not make any reference to
the food provided by the female for the sustenance of
its progeny, until they reach the pupa form. If Mr.
Robson has kept cats or dogs, he will have noticed
at certain seasons that whatever they may happen to
be in the habit of making a bed will be covered
with a quantity of fleas' eggs ; he will also find a
number of small objects, of a deep red or black
colour, having a curled or spiral form. These, no
doubt, are composed of coagulated blood, which has
been vomited by the female for the provision of its
young. In hatching out eggs of Pulex for the
purpose of watching their development under the
microscope, I have always placed a quantity of
these "preserved meats" in close proximity to the
eggs, and have been much amused in watching the
eagerness and avidity with which the young larvos
devoured them, and the rapidity of their change
from a pearly white to a bright red colour. — A.
Jenkins, A T rM Cross.

Instinct in Parrots. — The two instances of
peculiar conduct on the part of a parrot adduced by
Mr. Lovett in the January number (p. 15) do not
seem to admit of any very recondite explanation.
They can scarcely be referred either to instinct or to
reason, strictly so denominated, at least in an elevated
sense. The whistling business was rendered possible
by a very small effort of ordinary association of ideas,
grounded upon the physical capacity of the bird to
utter sounds somewhat similar to that of water
dripping into a deep well, or issuing from a garden
syringe. Whenever the syringe appeared, the volley
of mellow notes forthwith ensued as a link in the
association. The feat of planting the seed-tin on the
top of the water-tin, in order to get rid of the former,
was not marvellously clever. If the cage had been
■open, the encumbrance would probably have been
pitched outside altogether, notwithstanding the
•danger of starvation or penury thereby incurred.
The end that the bird proposed was simply to shuffle
•off what was in its way — no very lofty aim certainly.
The means adopted were, firstly, a bungling attempt
at the impossible, and secondly a very simple ex-
pedient indeed, considering the confined sphere of a
.closed cage. We may safely aver, that no general
notion is required for the direction of actions such as
these. The very lowest animal has, we believe, a
faculty or function (call it "instinct," if you like)
of avoiding obstacles which interfere with its life-
progress. It is a faculty bound up and inseparably
connected with life itself. — P. Q. Kegan.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now
•publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un-
dertake to insert in the following number any communications
which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month.

To Anonymous Querists. — We must adhere to our rule of
not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names.

To Dealers and others. — We are always glad to treat
dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general
ground as amateurs, in so far as the " exchanges " offered are fair
exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply
disguised advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost of
advertising, an advantage is taken of our gratuitous insertion of
" exchanges " which cannot be tolerated.

We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (or
initials) and full address at the end.

M. E. Pope. — Your specimen is the long-tailed field mouse
{Mus sylvaiicus).

T. Simpson. — Your specimens are: No. 1, a growth of Cali-
thamnion (a sea-weed), attached to the bladder of a larger sea-
weed {Fucus vesiculosus). No. 2 is quite another object, a
zoophyte, known as the " bottle-brush coralline," from its shape
(I'/utiaria thuia).

F. Hrndry. — We are sorry your specimens have been waiting
to be named so long, but the remarks made elsewhere will
account (or the delay. They are fossil shells imbedded in a
piece of coal measure shale, and their name is Anthracosia
cvalis. See Taylor's " Our Common British Fossils."

F. Harding. — Your shells are as follows : 1, Helix cantiana ;
2, Helix Z'irgata; 3, Helix rufescens ; 4, Helix obvoluta;
and 5, Cyclostoma elegaiis.

C- H. Johns. — We are sorry to have delayed your answer,
but our trip to the Antipodes will have to excuse us in this
respect to all our friends. The slide you sent us contains one
or two mycelial threads, but, as this is the initial growth of
most funguses, it is impossible to tell the species.

F. C. King. — Many thanks for your excellent suggestions.
We are always glad to have the advice of " candid friends " — if
not too " candid " ! Your remarks shall be remembered.

C. A. N. — The special number of Science-Gossip devoted
to Hepaticae was published at the ordinary rate. It is, we fear,
out of print; but if not, will very likely be obtainable of Messrs.
Allen, Waterloo Place.

M. S. Many thanks for the correspondence you have sent us.
We have put the name of the person in our " Black List," and
will take care no more exchanges from him are inserted in our
columns again.

W. Turner. — The fungus on upper surface of leaf of Cistus
labilifcra was only in the mycelium stage, and therefore we
cannot denote the species. The best work on the Mucorini
is Dr. Cooke's " Handbook of the British Fungi," 2 vols.
Several articles (illustrated) on the smaller British Fungi
appeared in the vol. of Science-Gossip for 1880. " Grevillea "
can be obtained, we believe, by ordering it from the Editor,
146 Junction Road, London, N.

Verb. Sap. — If our friends who send exchanges will kindly
put their addresses at the bottom of their lists instead of the top,
we shall be obliged.

EXCHANGES.

Humming-birds' skins in good preservation, Science-Gossip
vol. for 1884 in numbers, clean. Desiderata: Microscopic
slides, works on Natural History, pupae of Lepidoptera, British
birds' eggs, or ' offers. — Joseph Anderson, jun., Aire Villa,
Chichester, Sussex.

Wanted, No. 2 of " Knowledge " to purchase, or exchange
for British Lepidoptera. — Joseph Anderson, jun., Aire Villa,
Chichester.

British and American birds' eggs for others not in collection ;
British Algae and American shells, for Lepidoptera, Minerals,
Fossils or Shells. — Dr. J. T. T. Reed, Ryhope, near Sunderland.
Wanted, vols, of Science-Gossip from 1868-1872, bound or
unbound ; also other scientific books. Will give good micro-
slides in exchange. — Samuel M. Malcomson, M.D., 55 Great
Victoria Street, Belfast.

Science-Gossip 1883 bound, 1884-5 loose : what offers in
science books? — Thos. Hendry, it Poplar Street, Bolton.

Hooker's " Students' Flora of the British Islands ; " " Wild
Life in a Southern Country;" "Naturalist," 1878-79: "Pro-
ceedings of Nat. Hist. Soc. of Dublin " ; " Sermons in Stones,"
etc. etc., in exchange for " Popular Science Review," or other
books, or offers. — Rev. W. W. Flemyng, Coolfin House,
Portlaw, co. Waterford.

Wanted, members for an ever-circulating magazine devoted
to astronomy and general physics. — Albert H. Waters, B.A.,
F.S.Sc, etc., Willoughby House, Mill Road, Cambridge.
• Maclear's "Old Testament History" (4s. 6d.), Bantam's
"Extempore Speaking" {2s. 6d,), Sauer's "Italian Grammar,
with Key"(8j. 6d.), Elwall's " Spanish Grammar " {:s. 6</.),
Elwall's " Italian Triglot Dictionary," vol. 1 (2s. 6d.), " Logic
Primer" {is.), "English Literature Primer" {is.), all new.
Offers in microscopic and lantern slides, skeletons or any natural
history objects. — C. Rowland, Brampton, Cumberland.

A few good micro-slides, including stomach of sea-mouse,
T. S., stained stem of sun-flower, T. S., double-stained, and
other good slides and unmounted material ; also foreign stamps,
and specimen of the African weaver-bird's nest, for good
machine drawings or other offers in books, etc. — Peter Kilgour,
11 Stirling Street, Dundee, N.B.

Micro-slides. Duplicates (chiefly foreign diatoms) in ex-
change for others. — R. T. Ditchfield, Chorley, Lancashire.

Wanted, for a beginner, imagos of Edusa, Cardamines,
Sybilla, Cardui, Atalanta, Io, Argynnidas, Lycasnidae, and
other common species ; also some common moths. I will give
in exchange a neat book store-box, 15 by 11 in., corked, gold
lettered, or choice flower-seeds. All offers answered. — R.
Laddiman, Hellesdon Road, Norwich.

43

HA RD WJCKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

Wanted, Davis's " Practical Microscopy," Carpenter's,
Hogg's, or Beale's, newest editions. W ill give good micro-
slides in exchange for any of the above. — W. Sim. Gourdas,
Fyvie, N. B.

Well-mounted palates of periwink, L. littorea, land and
freshwater snails, and other mounts. Wanted, good anatomical
and botanical slides, selected diatoms, and good unmounted
material, micro, apparatus, etc. — J. C. Blackshaw, 4 Ranelagh
Road, Wolverhampton.

L. C. 7th edition. Oblata : 33, 39, 40, 95, 97, 129, 15*, 179,
183, 189, 201, 206, 2ii, 216, 273, 274, 281, 317, 360, 366, 375,
383, 386, 39^, 475. 487. 489. 5°i. 534. c 48, 553. 568, 57°. 57 1 .
573. 581, 595. 6'4. 644, 653, 654, 660, 608, 695, 711, 717, 738,
741. 757^. 841, 853, 858, 873, 895, 913, 915, 917, 928, 931, 934,
957, 968, 1029, 1032, 1039, 1040, 1053, J °SS. 1056, 1092, 1132,
1137, 1148(1, 1210, 1249, 1258, 1263, 1267, 1274, 1290, I29r,

1294. I3'5. 1317. 13 26 . 1341. '349. I 354. 1377. 1381, 1382, 1383.

1405, 1409, 1411, 1420, 1447, 1450, 1452, 1455, 1459, 1469, 1482,

1520, 1525, 1542, 1568. 1569, 15S8, 1607, 1617, 1627, 1634, 1636,

1640. For exchange : send list to C. Copineau, Juge a Doullens

(Somme), France.

Science-Gossip, 4 vols., 1882-1885, and " Knowledge,"

vols. i. ii. iii., all bound plain cloth. What offers in Herbert

Spencer or Darwin's works? — W. Hardie, 1 Fingal Place,

Edinburgh,

Duplicates: Flanorbis lineatus, Ancylus Jluviatilis, Helix

Cartusiana, H. caterata v. major, H. ericetorum v. minor,
Pupa secale, Vertigo pygmaa, Balea perversa, and Clausilia
Rolphii. Desiderata: British Land and Freshwater Shells. —

C. H. Morris, School Hill, Lewes.

Wanted, museum specimens of an ethnological and anthro-
pological character. A large selection of microscopic slides of
marine life, etc. ; North American and British shells ; Crustacea,
and other specimens offered in exchange. — Ed. Lovett, West
Burton House, Outram Road, Croydon.

Wanteh, Nos. 102, 190, 193, 194 196, 197, 220, 22i, 222, 223,
of Newman's " Entomologist, ' also "Entomological Monthly
Magazine," Nos. from 49 to 55, inclusive of vol. 5, and
" Archajologia Cantiana," vol. 1. — F. Frohawk, Park Place,
Eltham, Kent.

Wanted, Nos. 203, Nov. '81 : 20S, May '82 : 213, Sept. '82 :
215, Nov. '82 ; 219 to 237 inclusive, March to Sept. '84; in all
23 Nos. Science-Gossip, to complete set. Offered duplicates
from co. Dublin of Helix aspersa, ntmoralis and vars., rufescens,
■piscina and var., alba, virgata and vars. albicans, macu/ata,
leucozona and alba, caperata, and Bulimus acutus and vars.,
or will collect and forward specimens of Land, Freshwater and
Marine Shells. — J. Roland Redding, 103 Seville Place, Dublin.
Wanted, deep-sea soundings, shore gatherings, foreign or
English chalks, or other material coma ning Foraminifera or
Polycystina First class micro-slides or cash in exchange. —
Jackson, Hillfold, Bolton.

What offers in exchange for a Geological Show-case, 3 ft.
10 in. X 2 ft. 2 in., 11 in. deep, with 6 slanting shelves, glass doors,
lock and key, also Woodward's " Geology of England and
Wales," and " Manual of Mollusca." — Geo. E. East, jun., 10
Basinghall Street, London, E.C.

Scotch Graptolites offered in exchange for tropical shells,
or for rare fos-ils. — Miss F. M. Hele, Fairlight, Elmgrove
Road, Cotham, Bristol.

A limited number of first-class microscopical mounts in
balsam, of portions of elytron of scarce diamond beetle — most
beautiful object — for other first-class mounts of insects or bota-
nical sections. — A. B. Hoskings, Ventnor Cottage, College Park,
Lewisham.

Wanted, British and foreign books on marine algae.
Offered, scientific and other books, excellent slides of marine
algae in fruit, or cash. — T. H. Buff ham, Hughenden Villa,
Comely Bank Road, Walthamstow.

Micko-slides: a series of Exotic Ferns, showing the sori. etc.,
in exchange for other good slides. Also three or four different
fern spores for exchange. — W. Henshall, The Hollies,
Bred'oury, near Stockport.

Wanted, Hartmg's or other good book on British land and
freshwater shells, in exchange for the first 20 parts of
"European Butterflies and Moths" including this month's. —
A. E. Dodridge, 7 Wharton Street, W.C.

Wanted, a good case of dissecting instruments for micro-
scopic and other purposes. Apply stating requirements to —
F. R. Rowley, 60 Lower Hastings Street, Southfields, Leicester.

Fou exchange. JT. cornenm, A. cygnca, Bythinia tenta-
culata, Flanorbis vortex, Flanorbis comptanatus, L.
peregra, H. hortrnsis, //. virgata, H. tricttorum, Clausilia
rngesa, Cyclostoma tlegaus. Desiderata : land and fresh-
water shells, //. pisana, H . lapicida, L. auricularia, Paludina.
contecia, and others. — Frederick Harding, Shipley House, York
Road, F^astbourne.

Many slides of foreign Polyzoa well mounted, and true to
name, in exchange for other slides : good diatoms preferred.
Send lists to— Rev. A. C. Smith, 3 Park Crescent, Brighten.

For disposal, small collection of British shells, on tablets ;
Gosse's " Marine Zoology," Rimmer's " Land and Freshwater
Shells," and Pascoe's " List of British Coleoptera," all clean. —
J. B. Mayor, 5 Queen's Terrace, Long^ight, Manchester.

W-vnted, nests of magpie, tree pipit, lesser whitethroat,
kingfisher, yellow wagtail, dipper, redstart, and house martin,
complete; good exchange given in eggs. — A. A. Shaw, Market
Buildings, Ashton-under-Lyne.

L. C. 7th edition, offered : 85, 261, 232^, 196, 406, 315, 316,
931, 1056, 1125, 693, T614, 1615. 1596, etc. : many desiderata. —
W. S. Harrison, 15 Park Place East, Sunderland.

Well-mounted micro-slides of fi«h-scales: Sudak, and
species of Corregonus, from Russia ; Ballan wrasse and others ;
to exchange for other good mounts. — Rev. H. W. Lett, M.A.,
Loughbrickland, co. Down.

A number of duplicate flint, greensand, and other fossils for
disposal. — J. A. Floyd, 18 Whiting Street, Bury St. Edmunds.

"Zoological Atlas" (vertebrata) by D. M'Alpine ;
" British Fossils," by Morris ; " Fossil Merostomata," part 1, by
H.Woodward. Land, freshwater and marine shells from Ceylon
and India. Several osteological specimens offered in exchange
for a good series of Continental fossils or offers. — Miss Linter,
Arragon Close, Twickenham.

What offers in exchange for two years' " Northern Micro-
scopist "? — Henry Vial, Crediton.

Various injected tissues, either uncut or in sections, fot
magic-lantern slides, stereoscopic slides, or offers. — Henry Vial,
Crediton.

What offers for Bulimus labia in good condition ? — Chemicus,
8 Trinity Street, Hastings.

Wanted, living Hydrozoa and Polyzoa, also good works on
British Zoophytes: state wants. — Chemicus, 8 Trinity Street,
Hastings.

Wanted, a i inch O. G., and a stand condenser, in exchange
for a 6 large-cell granule battery. — G. H., 8 Tothill Street, S.W.

Wanted, the following numbers of Science-Gossip: 195, 202,
203 (1881), 205, 209, 210, 211, 214, 216 (1882), in exchange for
well-mounted micro-slides. — Herbert Spencer, 10 Avenue Road,
Regent's Park, N.W.

Wantrd, British Marine Shells or back numbers of the
"Journal of Conchology," in exchange for land and fresh-
water, including Pis. font itiale, Pis. pusillum, Pal. vivipara, V.
antivcrtigo, Balea perversa, CI. biplicata, etc. — F. Fenn,
20 Woodstock Road, Bedford Park, Chiswick. W.

Objectives: two excellent new objectives — J-inch by Swiit.
90 , -I-inch by Crouch, 40 — to exchange both for a good J-inch.
Mutual approval. — E. B. Fennessy, Pallasgreen, Limerick.

BOOKS, ETC., RECEIVED,

"Topography and Natural History of Lofthouse," 2 vols., by
Geo. Roberts (Leeds: printed for the author). — "Practical
Bacteriology," by E. M. Crookshank, MB. (London: H. K.
Lewis). — '" The Light of Life," by Joseph John Kain (London :
Wyman & Sons). — " List of British Marine Shells," by A.
Somerville, F.R.S. (Glasgow). — " Polarised Light as applied
to the Microscope," by Edwin A. Holmes. — " Geology,
Chemical, Physical and Stratigraphical," by Joseph Prestwich,
F.R.S. (Oxford: Clarendon Press).— " Reports of the Gold
Fields of Victoria." 1885. — "The Gentleman's Magazine," —
" Belgravia." — " Hooper & Co.'s Spring Catalogue." —
"Change in Land and Sea," by C. S. Whiting. — "The
Naturalist." — " The Journal of Conchology." — " The Illus-
trated Science Monthly." — "The American Florist." — "The
American Monthly Microscopical Journal." — "Cosmos." —
"Science." — "The Amateur Photographer. "■ — "Ben Brierley's
Journal." — " The Rochdale Field Naturalists' Journal." —
" I'euilledes Jeunes Naturalistes." — "The Garner." — "Animal
World."— "The Naturalist."— " The Midland Naturalist." —
" The American Naturalist." — " Canadian Entomologist," &c.

Communications received up to the 12TH ult. from : —
J. J. H. T.— W. H.— E. W.— F. N. W.— A. E. D.— B. P.—
G. F. H.— G. R.— J. M. R.— M.E. P.— J. F.— J.W.— E. A. S.
_W. H.— Dr. J. W. W.— E. D. M.— W. L. S.— C. P.— W. B. G.
—Dr. G. M. G.— J. F.— A. C. C —J. T.— W. C. H.-T. H. B.
— S. H. D.— A. B. H.— J. J. W— H. W. K.-D. W. B.—
E. B. L. B.— F. M. H.-C. A. N.— Dr. P. Q. K.— E. A. H—
A. W. P.— W. T. C— P. Q. L.-H. C. F.-W. M. W.— L. J.
— C. L. J.— S. C. C— T. S.— J. H. B.— J. R. R.— H. F.—
G. E. E.— J. C. H.— R. T. G. R.— T. D. A. C— F. F.— T. F.
— E. L.— W. W.— A. H. W.— G. W.— W. W. F.— R. P.— C. R.
_j. w. O.— R. H. N. B. - J. A. jun.— W. H.— J. T. T. R.—
Dr. S. M. M— C. H. M.— M. S.— T. H.— M. L. S.— C. C—
J. C. B.— W. S.— R. L.— R. T. D.— P. K.— J. T.— M. E. A.—
\V. S.— C. L. S.— G. I. E. H.— W. H.— H. S.— F. F.— C. F. W.
— H. V.— H. W. L.— A. A. S.— F. R. R.— F. E.— J. A. F.—
W. S. H.— J. W. 0.— F. H.— A. C. S.— J. B. M.— G. F. H.—
E. B. F.-W. S.— F. C. K.— C. S. W.— A. S.-J. F.— 0. A. S.
— E. M.— &c. &c.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

49

THE HORNED HOOFED MAMMALS OF THE EOCENE

PERIOD IN AMERICA.

By AGNES CRANE.

{Continued from p. 40.]

j«1^w^^ HIRTV species of
Dinocerata, all
from the middle
Eocene deposits of
Wyoming, the only
locality in which
their remain have
been hitherto foun d ,
either in the New
or the Old World,*
are fully described
and illustrated in
the present memoir.
They are all re-
ferred by Marsh to
three well-marked
genera, and of two,
Dinoceras and Ti-
noceras, he has
been able to give
The least known is the
Uintatherium of Leidy (Uintat, Indian name, and
6-qpiov, a wild beast). This, the smallest and the
most generalised form, occurs in the lowest beds of
the series. Dinoceras, Marsh, in the succeeding de-
posits, and Tinoceras (tiVcc, to tear, itepas, horn),
the most specialised form in the upper beds only.
All the dinocerata are shown to have the smallest
proportionate brain, with the most reptilian characters
of any known mammalian animals. Of ponderous
build, and slow in movement, but well armed, they
held their own while the conditions of life were
suitable, but could not battle with changed or adverse
surroundings. Thus their total disappearance, leav-
ing no immediate successors, Professor Marsh holds
to be fully accounted for by the elevation and drainage
of the lake basin, and subsequent drying up of the
swampy soil into hard ground on which they were
ill-adapted for progression.

* Unless the Coryphodoatidae be considered Dinocerata.

No. 255. — March 1886.

complete restorations.

Such was the life history of the extinct Eocene
dinocerata as revealed by Marsh in a magnificent
monograph which adds to the high renown of its
author, and is in every way creditable to the Geo-
logical Survey of the United States Government, long
famed for the value and surprising excellence of its
publications. Here we may briefly refer to another
publication just to hand, and representing the topo-
graphical branch of the same Survey, i.e. the new
sheet of " the geological map of the United States,
exhibiting the present status of knowledge relating to
the areal distribution of geological groups, a prelimi-
nary compilation, by W. J. McGee, 1884." This
embodies the published results of the different inde-
pendent State surveys, with those of careful re-study
of difficult points in the field, and as all doubtful
and uncertain matter is excluded, it may be considered
accurate so far as it goes. It is a work of which
Americans may well be justly proud, as showing the
immense efforts that have been made in grappling with
so vast a portion of the New World, in tracing the
outcrops of the great geological formations, and
defining their exact boundaries. For the geological
structure of rather more than four-sixths of the
United States has been thus accurately determined,
that is to say, all that portion stretching eastward
from the outfall of the Colorado river to the Atlantic
seaboard, and northwards from the Gulf of Mexico
to the forty-ninth parallel. Washington Territory,
Idaho, Oregon, U. and L. California, three-fourths
of New Mexico, and half of Nevada and Arizona,
with a small extreme S.W. portion of the empire
state of Texas are left uncoloured. But it must not
hence be inferred that nothing is known of the geology
of the Pacific coast. The investigations of Cope in
Oregon have revealed the presence there of miocene
deposits, and the independent State surveys of
California have accumulated much published and
unpublished material ; but this knowledge was not
sufficiently defined as regards limit of outcrops, and

D

5°

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

junction of formations for incorporation in the present
map. The general appearance of the sheet, largely
aided by the vast areas covered by many formations,
is most pleasing to the eye. Its execution leaves
nothing to be desired, for the colouring is refined and
clear, a reference letter renders consultation easy and
error impossible, and it is altogether creditable to the
energy and talents of Mr. W. J. McGee, its compiler,
and the topographical staff of the Government
Geological Survey, which has its headquarters at
Washington, D.C., with Major J. W. Powell, the
ethnologist and earliest explorer of the cafions of the
great Colorado river as director-in-chief. The nomen-
clature adopted for the respective groups of the
Cainozoic, Mesozoic, Palaeozoic, Azoic and Volcanic
systems necessarily differs somewhat from that in use
in Europe. — i, Quaternary ; 2, Neocene (which
includes the Pliocene and Miocene) ; 3, Eocene (and
the Oligocene) ; 4, Cretaceous ; 5, Jurasso-Triassic ;
6, Carboniferous ; 7, Devonian ; 8, Silurian ; 9, Cam-
brian ; 10, Archaean; 11, Volcanic. A glance over
the map shows that the peninsula of Florida is not
such a recent product of gulf sand as Agassiz once
reasoned, for it is largely composed of a well-marked
ridge of Eocene rocks. The immense extent of the
central carboniferous tract is reassuring, and the great
stretch of cretaceous affords plenty of ground for the
hope that the former shore-lines of those extensive
chalk oceans may yet be discovered with the buried
land fauna of that epoch, and that somewhere or
other, sooner or later, Professor Marsh may yet
disinter the remains of the first ungulate ancestors of
the Eocene dinocerata mammals, whose forms he has
so fully restored to us.

1 1 Wellington Road, Brighton, Sussex.

NOTES ON FASCIATION.

IN last April's number of Science-Gossip, several
instances are given showing that fasciation is
often perpetuated by seed, and amongst the plants
mentioned is that of the ox-eye daisy (C. Leucan-
themum). The seedlings from the plant mentioned
have flowered during the past season, and out of fifty-
five plants, about twenty developed fasciated and
abnormal flowers, some very mis-shapen, others only
slightly fasciated- This result has to be taken with
the fact that the seedlings have been growing in a
much richer soil than the older plant was found in,
and I have no doubt that the change of soil influenced
to some extent the development of abnormal flowers ;
still the proportion of plants having abnormal flowers
to those having no trace of fasciation shows that
fasciation is perpetuated by seed. The extent to
which soil influences abnormal growth is shown
by the following cases. This summer a vine having
its roots in a border outside, and its stem inside
a glass house, developed a number of curious,

flattened stems, or rather shoots, from the common
stem ; these shoots have proved very abortive, a con-
dition due to their fasciated state. An examina-
tion of the border has shown it to be in a very wet
condition due to the stopping up of a drain, the roots
therefore have been feeding too rapidly on the rich
wet soil, with the result that very sappy wood has
been developed, a condition which is highly conducive
to abnormal developments. In previous years, when
the soil was in a normal state, no such development
was noticed. On p. 86 of the volume for 1885,
there is a case given of an herbaceous plant [Sedunt
glaucum), taken from a dry, rocky position to that of
a damp loam, with the result that fasciation quickly
affected the stem. I have been able to note again a
similar effect with a totally different plant : tubers of
Tropczolum tuberosum (a native of Peru) were planted
out last April in a strong clay loam, with just enough
light soil to give them a fair start ; the result was very
curious. At first the ordinary terete stems were
developed, but as the season advanced the stems
began to assume a ribbon-like shape, and in some
instances, curvatures, and shapeless masses of stem ;
flower buds have been developed on the flattened
stem, but have not yet opened.

A few bulbs of the same plant were inserted in a
light sandy, dry soil, in another part of the garden,
with the result that they have developed the ordinary
terete stems, and have flowered freely, one stem only
showing slight traces of fasciation ; this stem with
examples of the two previous stems are sent with
these notes.

If the condition of fasciation was common with the
ancestors of these plants, then its influence must have
been transmitted through, first the seed and afterwards
the tubers, the plants having been perpetuated for
several years by the latter, as a means of reproduc-
tion, and in any case the condition of the soil has
been an active agent in the development of these
peculiarities.

John W. Odell.

Barroto Point, Pinner.

ENTOMOLOGICAL LITERATURE.
(MUFFET'S THEATRUM INSECTORUM.)

[Continued from />. 11.]

WITH the revival of learning, however, towards
the end of the middle ages, a few persons re-
sumed the pursuit of Natural Science. Among these
the foremost was Conrad Gesner, a man born of poor
parents at Zurich, A.D. 1516, but who seems to have
been the most apt and indefatigable of men ; His
various biographers are full of admiration for his
personal qualities, and his learning in all branches
seems to have been, as Hallam says, "simply
prodigious." The same author speaks of him as

HA RD WICKE' S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

5i

"probably the most comprehensive scholar of his
age." Gesner wrote on many subjects, yet his fame
rests chiefly on his almost incredible achievements in
Natural History, on which he wrote many volumes,
all illustrated by thousands of figures drawn by his
own hand from specimens in his collection, or
executed under his own eye by his assistants. His
museum of animals, plants, fossils, &c, brought
visitors from all parts, and his correspondence was
carried on with the learned men of every nation.
When we consider that he accomplished all this
while obtaining his living as a medical man, that he
was always of delicate health, and died under fifty
years of age, his achievements seem truly wonderful.
He died in the scene of his many laborious studies,
amongst the objects he had spent his lifetime in
collecting — being carried at his own request to a
couch prepared for him in his museum. Gesner's
"Natural History " contained all that was previously
known relative to animals. He filled up many gaps
by his own personal observations, and thus completed
five large folios with merely the History of the
Vertebrata ; before he reached the Invertebrata,
death carried him off, a.d. 1565. Entomology,
however, was not destined to come to the front just
yet, for Gesner's posthumous papers on the subject
fell into the hands of the well-known Joachim
Kamerarius, with whom we leave them for the
present.

About this time several other books on Natural
History and Botany were published, one or two of
which contained some slight notices bearing on the
objects of our study.

The various books in which we may look with hope
of success for any mention of insects, may be, for
convenience, classed under the following heads : — 1st,
Medical works ; 2nd, General histories of various
countries, including books of travel ; 3rd, Works
on Natural History generally ; and lastly, books on
certain species of insects, conspicuous for their utility
or otherwise. Under the first head — medical — we
find many writers noticing insects briefly, mostly
however in connection with their injurious effects on
the bodies which they wound or sting, and the
remedies for such attacks ; and many species were
also then used in medicine. Chief among such
writings is the "Materia Medica " of Dioscorides
of Anazarba, the first printed edition of whose
works was not however published, till Conrad
Gesner edited it at Frankfort, A.D. 1549.* Then
followed Mathioli's "Materia Medica," which first
appeared in fol. at Venice, A.D. 1554. This great
Italian physician was much prone to credulity, yet
his work had a long reputation. Also in Jodoc
Willich's " Anatomie," f published in the same
year, we find a dialogue on locusts.

* Another edition in Svo., Parisiis, 1549.

f Dialogus de Locustis, in his Anatomie, Svo, Argent., 1544.

In the next class, including general histories of
countries and books of travel, we find the works
of the great doctor and naturalist, Pierre Belon, who
published a book at Paris a.d. 1554, "On many
singularities and notable things found in Greece " ; *
and, three years afterwards, a volume—" Portraits of
Animals and Birds of Arabia and Egypt," f — both
of which describe the most remarkable insects of the
countries of which they respectively treat. Gesner
has been called the "compiler," and Belon the
" observer " of nature ; the latter certainly, by his
laborious research, made many additions to Zoology ;
he went on an expedition to the Levant, on purpose
to collect specimens there.

In the third class, the first book on the list is that
of Peucer, whose work on " Quadrupeds, Insects,
&c," was first brought out at Leipzig a.d. 1550, and
went through many subsequent editions. % Next we
find one of our own countrymen, the learned Dr.
Wotton, publishing at Paris, in 1552, a work on
"Natural History "§ in ten books, dedicated to
King Edward VI. Dr. Wotton subsequently pur-
chased Gesner's posthumous papers on insects, of
which I spoke above, from Joachim Kamerarius.
Another writer, according to Percheron, treats about
this time of water insects, viz., Guillaume Rondelet,
who filled a large folio in 1554 at Lyon, on " Fishes,
&c." || I cannot say, not having seen the volume,
whether it contains very much of note entomo-
logically, but Rondelet had a great knowledge of
fishes — so much so, that his work has formed the
foundation of all subsequent ones on the same subject,
and indeed it is said that very little of importance
has been added since to the natural history of the
fishes of the Mediterranean. In the last class we
find several small works on various species of insects
noticeable for their utility, their ravages or other-
wise. The first is a small volume by Chr. Hagen-
drophinus,^ published A.D. 1526 ; the next, in
point of time, is by the Latin poet Marcus Hieronimus
Vida, who was born at Cremona A. D. 1490 : he
wrote a long poem on "The Culture and Use of the
Silkworm," ** which first appeared at Rome in
1537, and went through as many as nine subsequent
editions, thus showing that there was no lack of
interest in the silkworm at that time. Then the
bees have their turn, for Giovanne Rucellai, an

* Observations de plusieurs Singularites et Choses memorables
trouvees en Grece, Asie, Indee, Egypte, Arabie et autres pays
estranges— in 4to, Paris, 1554; in 8vo, Anvers, 1558; in 8vo,
1589 (woodcuts).

f Portraits d'Oiseaux, Animaux, etc., d'Arabie et d'Egyte,
in 4to, Paris,_i557 (woodcuts); another edit. 1618.

+ Appellationes quadrupedum, insectorum, etc. etc., in Svo.
Lipsiae 1550, Wittemberg, 1551, 1556, and 1558 ; Leipzig, 1559
and 1564.

$ De differentiis animalium libri decern ; in fol. Parisiis, 1532.

|| De piscibus marinis, universal aquatilium historiae pars
altera (with good wood engravings) in fol., Lugduni, 1534-55,
and a French Translation in fol., Lyon, 1558.

IT Declamatio in laudem ebrietatis et encomium Muses, in
8vo. Hagenose, 1526.

** De Bombycis cura et usu, libri 2, in 4to, Roma, 1537 ; in
Svo, Lugduni, 1537; in 8vo, Basil, 1537; in ismo, Antwerp,
1585 ; in Svo, Cremona, 1560.

D 2

52

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

Italian, filled an 8vo volume with a poem describing
their economy, which was first published, after his
death, at Venice, A.D. 1539;* this, like the last,
was evidently a popular work, for it went through
five other editions, and we find it said by a con-
temporary writer that the "Bees," an imitation of
the 4th Georgic of Virgil, was esteemed "a poem
of exquisite sweetness." Two years after this (a.d.
1 541) we find in volume i. of a book by Erasmus
Ebernerus, a description headed "The Praise of
Ants." f The next year, a German of the name
of Ruscheyt brought out a volume % describing the
" Grasshoppers seen in Silesia in 1542 " ; two years
later, we find a small work on "Fleas," by Mos-
chetti,§ and in the year 1546 one Ant. Thylesius
brought out a book on " Spiders and Glow-worms." |[
(To be continued.)

The very contrary, however, is the case, as the
expenditure of a few shillings, and a little ingenuity,
are all that are required in the way of outfit ; and the
hire of a boat during a few days' stay at the seaside
will give amply sufficient opportunity of collecting to
enable the naturalist to accumulate materials for
weeks — nay, months — of study. It is with the view of
showing this, as well as of publishing some improve-
ments in appliances for the purpose, that the present
paper is written.

The form of tow-net hitherto used has been a
simple bag of bunting held open by a metal ring.
The word "tow" is rather a misnomer, as, if
towed at all, it must be at a very low rate of speed,
as anything above a knot or a knot and a-half an
hour would be sure to result in the destruction of the
necessarily flimsy material of which it is constructed.

C:

{■

Fig. 36.— Long Section of Tube. One-third real size.

Fig. 37. — End of Net, with Tube fitted ready for use.

ON MARINE COLLECTING WITH THE
SURFACE-NET.

By G. W. M. Giles, M.B.,

Surgeon, Bengal Med. Service ; Naturalist, Indian

Marine Survey.

MOST of the readers of Science-Gossip are
well acquainted with the fact that the surface
of the sea, especially near the coast, swarms with an
immense variety of organisms, belonging mostly to
the animal side of animated nature. Not, however,
that vegetable forms are by any means wanting ;
for few hauls of the tow-net can be made which do
not include a more or less considerable proportion of
Diatomacere and other Algce ; but these do not pre-
sent the wonderful variety that characterises the sur-
face fauna. Few, however, I am convinced, of the ever-
increasing army of field naturalists are aware of the
simplicity of the appliances required for the work of
collecting in this really delightful field, being apt to
regard it as within the resources only of expeditions
of the " Challenger " sort.

* Apes, in 8vo, Venezia, 1539.

-)• Encomium Formicarum, Amphitheatr., Dornanii, t. 1, and
with " Melanchthon" in 4to, Argent., 1541-

% Wahrhaftige Zeitung in Schlesien geschehen, 1542, von
unerhijrten Heuschrecken wie viel der gewessn, und was sie
gehaden gethan haben, in 4to, 1542.

} De Pulice, in 8vo, 1544.

|| De Araneola et Cicindela, 8vo, Lutet., 1546.

On this account, by far the best way of employing it
is to fasten it to some fixed object, such as an
anchored ship or buoy, in a moderate tideway. But,
even used thus, a situation should be chosen where
the currents are not too strong, as, apart from the
risk of damaging the net, the organisms most com-
monly taken are so delicate that they become irre-
trievably spoiled if subjected for any length of time
to the action of a strong tide.

About twelve months ago the writer was appointed
naturalist to the Indian Marine Survey. As ships
engaged in topographical work are necessarily em-
ployed, for the most part, in the shallow waters of
the littoral zone, opportunities for deep-sea dredging
occur only occasionally ; and accordingly more at-
tention was paid to the surface and littoral faunae.

A very few days' trial of the ordinary bunting bag
sufficed to show that it is a most imperfect piece of
apparatus. The difficulty with it lies not so much in
"catching your hare," as in getting him out of the
trap for cooking. The method adopted is to invert
the bag, and wash it in a bell-glass or bucket of sea-
water. Not only, however, does a large portion of the
catch remain sticking to the bunting, but that which
is washed off is generally much mixed up with hairs
and "fluff" from the material, and is moreover
diffused through so large a volume of water that one
is only one step better off than when they were free

HA RD WICKKS SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

53

in the ocean, the task of catching any individual
specimen being much like the traditional quest for
the needle hidden in a truss of bay.

After several experiments the under- described
form of drift-net was devised, and it answers so well
that, for surface-work, it leaves little to be desired.
The essential point of the improvement lies in the
tail of the net being composed of a glass tube, into
which the whole of the catch is carried by the gentle
current, which constantly flows through the net as it
hangs in the tideway.

Fig. 38. — Outline section of Net and Tube.

do is to obtain a circular block of cork, about 2
inches thick and 4-5 inches in diameter. A hole large
enough to admit the narrow part of the tube, but to
hold it tightly near the shoulder, is then cut through
the centre of it. Having fitted the cork thus on to
the tube, place them together in a bucket of water,
when, unless your lube be exceptionally thick, the
whole will be found to float. Now gradually pare
away the outer edge of the cork until the two together
will just sink. The point should next be ascertained
and noted at which the cork just balances the tube
in the water in a horizontal position.

Now make a tube of strong calico long enough to

reach from this point to the end of the small part of

the tube, and fitting it closely, and sew on to its

upper end a funnel-shaped piece of the same material

spreading out rapidly to 6 or 8 inches in

diameter. Cover your cork with a tight

calico jacket, and then pass the lower end

of the calico tube through the hole in its

centre, and stitch its edge firmly to the calico forming

the margin of the aperture in the jacket.

We come now to the construction of the net
proper. Bunting, though commonly used hitherto,
is a bad material for this, being too " fluffy." The

Fig. 39 — Showing Net suspended from bowsprit end of ship.

The tubes employed for the purpose were chimneys
from a large argand lamp, and these, though they
might be improved in certain details, on the whole
answer very well. Such lamp-glasses consist of a
long tube about 1 J inches in diameter, terminating in
a shoulder, which unites this to a shorter piece of
considerably larger diameter.

For our especial purpose it would be better to
have the long portion slightly narrower, and the part
below the shoulder considerably wider than at present,
say 3-4 inches in diameter. A thickened rim to the
edge of this would be a further advantage. Such a
tube would appear in long section as seen in Fig. 36.

Having selected a suitable tube, the first thing to

material that answered best was a very coarse but
strong unbleached muslin, of native manufacture.
I have no doubt, however, that something of the
same sort is obtainable at home. Of this a conical
bag is made, 18 inches in diameter at the mouth,
6 inches below, where it is sewn on to the top of the
calico funnel, and 3 or 4 feet long. The mouth is
kept open by a ring of brass wire about the thick-
ness of a penholder. An inner conical bag about 18
inches long, opens below into the main bag. The
opening, being 5 or 6 inches in diameter, is added to
act as a trap to prevent any animals that may have
entered from escaping.

In practice I have the two conical bags made in

54

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

one piece as a double cone, one seam of the smaller
being left uncompleted, so that, when a net is worn
out, all that is necessary is to turn this small cone
over the ring, close the seam, and sew lightly together
below the ring. The lower calico portion outlasts
several changes of muslin. Three short lengths of
cod-line are secured to equidistant points on the
circumference of the ring and knotted together into
a loop, about three or four feet from the net, which
serves to bend on a piece of log-line, by means of
which the net is hung in the water.

All being now " ready for sea," a piece of fine
muslin is stretched over the large end of the glass
tube, and tied behind the shoulder or rim with a
piece of fine string, the ends of which are left a few
inches long. The small end of the glass tube is now
introduced, through the cork, into the calico tube ;
and, unless^ very tightly held, for extra security, the
free ends of the string used to lash on the muslin
are knotted together and tied behind the cork. Then,
by means of the log-line, the whole is lowered over-
board into the tide.

Fig- 37 shows the tube in place ready for use ;
Fig. 38, a long section of the entire apparatus.

And now as to the method of using it. By far
the best plan is to make it fast to a small buoy in a
place as little frequented by shipping as possible.
For this purpose a small keg or beaker, anchored by
means of a heavy stone, is sufficient, or, in harbours,
advantage may be taken of the large buoys used to
mark out the channels. Of course, when used from
a rowing-boat, nothing more is necessary than to
bring this to an anchor in a suitable situation, or to
row her gently so as to make her just hold her own
against the tide ; but in a ship at anchor it is very
difficult to find a situation where the net can be kept
clear of the rubbish that is continually being thrown
overboard.

The "Investigator," the vessel belonging to the
Indian Marine Survey, is a paddler, and by rigging
out a 20-ft. bamboo from the paddle-box, one is
enabled to get pretty clean hauls ; but in a screw-
ship a much longer spar would be required. Perhaps,
all considered, the best situation on shipboard is from
the bowsprit end. But, in this case, to prevent the
net from being carried aft against the bows, a 141b.
sounding lead must be made fast to the line, about a
yard from the net, as in Fig. 39. In this situation
none of the ship's rubbish can possibly get into the
net ; but to trust its application, and more especially
the operation of drawing it, to one of the crew, is a
somewhat hazardous experiment ; and it requires a
certain amount of nautical experience to enable one
to go out on the spar with confidence. Moreover, in
a passenger ship, one would certainly "get one's toes
chalked," and have to "pay one's footing" for the
exploit ; but, these difficulties overcome, the perfect
cleanness of the haul well repays the small extra
trouble and, perchance, expense.

In withdrawing the net from the water, care should
be taken not to do so too suddenly, as, unless raised
slowly, so as to give time for the water to run out
through the interstices of the muslin, the weight of
water taken up is apt to burst the net. Before
finally withdrawing the tube part from the water the
ring should be once or twice dipped, so as to take up
a little water, which washes through the bag and
carries anything that may be left adhering to the
muslin on into the tube. As soon as the net has
been hauled aboard, the tube end should at once be
immersed in a bucket of sea- water ; and, holding it in
this position, the bag part is removed by drawing off
the cork ring. Now raise the tube until only about
half or three-quarters of an inch of water is left in
the large end. Insert a well-fitting indiarubber cork
into the small end, and smartly invert the tube ;
after which the muslin may be removed from the
large end.

On holding the tube up to the light it will, as a
rule, be found to completely swarm with organisms
of the most varied descriptions ; and any individual
that may be especially remarked may be captured at
this stage by means of a section-lifter provided with
a very long handle, and put aside. If, however, as
is most commonly the case, the crowd is so dense
that it is impossible to follow the motions of any
individual specimen, the catch must be examined in
successive small portions, in a large flat glass cell
under the simple microscope. For work on ship-
board, on account of the motion, it is necessary to
have these cells deep in proportion to the depth of
fluid they are intended to contain : 3 X 2 X f inches
is a useful size.

(To be continued.)

ON THE VARIATION AND CONTINENTAL
DISTRIBUTION OF THE BRITISH SLUGS.

By J. W. Williams, D.Sc, &c

TO me the slugs, with their near relatives the
snails, stand as the greatest living protests to
the promulgation of Linne of the stability of species.
In one of his occasional addresses, contained in the
" Amoenitates Academica:," and entitled, " Oratiode
tellure habitabili," the great Swede says : " Initio
rerum ex omni specie viventium unicum sexus par
fuisse creatum suadet ratio ;" and this maxim held its
ground until Cuvier followed him, and with a tincture
of philosophy questioned the persistence of species ;
and the observations and logical deductions made by
naturalists since his time, such as Geoffrey St. Hilaire,
Lamarck, Oken, Goethe, Wallace, Darwin, Haeckel,
and others, have furnished data to conclusively nega-
tive any adherence to the old doctrine of Linnaeus.
To-day in our own country the conchologists are

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

55

showing, with an assiduity which of itself commands
the highest praise, the variations to which the species
belonging to their special group are liable, and they
are doing this not only from this one point, but,
taking their distribution in space into consideration,
they are prosecuting their labours to the utmost in
order to reduce all these variations down to the
causes that have produced them. And it has occurred
to me that in working out the etiology of these
variations there would be great aid rendered were
the general distribution, both of themselves and of
the type-forms, taken into account, and especially so
where the geological formation of the several countries
has been fully worked out. For this reason this
paper has been written ; and, in order to make it the
more useful to collectors in this country, I have
described in full all the named varieties of the slugs
that are indigenous to this country, those that have
as yet been recorded as British being denoted by an
asterisk. And for those especially working at the
slugs, I have appended a bibliography for further
reference.

Arion ater, Linn. — This slug is generally dis-
tributed over the Continent, ranging from Norway
over France (particularly in this country it occurs in
the north and centre) and Germany to Spain, Corsica,
Italy, Sicily, and even into Africa and the islands of
Madeira and the Azores. Its varieties with their
distributions are as follows : —

Var. virescens, Mull. : animal greenish, with two
lateral bands of an orange-yellow colour ( = A. vi-
rescens, Mull.). French.

Var. rubra, Moq. : animal reddish or dull red,
unicolor. French.

Var. Draparnaudi* , Moq. : animal dark red, foot-
fringe yellowish or reddish. Also French.

Var. succinea*', Mull. : animal yellowish, unicolor
(= L. succineus, Mull.). Also French.

Var. bicolor* (V.-Broek), Moq. : animal dark
brown, sides yellowish or orange. (This variety has
been recently found at Louth by Mr. Wallis Kew.)
Also French.

Var. nigrescens*, Moq. : animal blackish, foot-
fringe reddish or yellowish. Moquin describes this
variety as French, and Locard has recorded it from
Dauphine and the Savoy.

Var. marginata* , Moq. : animal black, foot-fringe
yellow, orange, or of a red-lead colour. French.

Var. Miilleri, Moq. : animal black, keel pale
greenish. French.

Var. pallescens *, Moq. : animal dirty white, a little
reddish or yellowish. Also French.

Var. albida*, Roebuck : animal white, unicolor.
Not yet recorded for any other country but England.

Var. rtifa*, Linn. : animal red or brownish, uni-
color {— L. ricfus, Linn. ; " Syst. Nat." edit. x.
1758, p. 652). Also French.

Var. albolatcralis *, Roebuck : animal dark brown
or blackish, with the sides white and the foot-fringe

orange ; the two last colours being very sharply
defined from one another. (This beautiful variety,
which was described in 1883, is only known from
North Wales and Sussex.)

Var. pallescens *, Roebuck : animal light yellow.
This variety is closely identical with var. succinea,
Mull., and ought perhaps to be associated with it.

Var. cinerea, Westerl. : animal ashy, with three
lateral pale black bands. Scandinavian.

Var. grisco-?)ia)-gi?iata, Dumont and Mortillet : ani-
mal pale blackish, foot-fringe grey. Locard found
this variety in the woods of Mount Saxonnet at 1000
metres altitude. French.

Var. nigra *, Dumont and Mortillet : animal black
or blackish (= type).

Var. aterrima, Dumont and Mortillet : animal en-
tirely black (= type).

M. Mabille records Arion ater from the following
French districts, which show well the distribution of
this species in that country : La Seine, Champagne,
Haut-Rhin, Haute-Garonne, Agenais, Var, Dau-
phine, Hautes-Pyrenees, Lozere, Ariege, Aude,
Savoy, the Oriental Pyrenees, and the Vosges.

Arion flavus, Miill. — This is a very doubtful
species. Moquin-Tandon in his " Histoire naturelle
des Mollusques de France," records three varieties as
French, viz.: —

Var. normalis, Moq. : animal yellow, head and
tentacles black.

Var. pallida, Moq. : animal pale, back slightly
ashy, mantle yellow.

Var. albida, Moq. : animal whitish, mantle and
sole of foot yellowish, tentacles blackish.

Arion hortensis, Fer. — This, the garden slug,
is a generally distributed species, both in England
and on the Continent.

Var. dorsalis, Moq. : animal grey, with a black
band on mantle and back. French.

Var. leucophaca, Moq. : animal bluish-grey, striped
and spotted with black. French. Drouet records
this from Troyes, and Normand from Valenciennes.

Var. fasciata*, Moq.: animal grey, black bands.
Also French.

Var. nigra, Moq. : animal black, with lateral grey
bands. French.

Var. Pyrena'ica, Moq. : animal deep grey, with a
blackish band on each side. Locard took this at
Luchon. French.

Var. grisea *, Moq. : animal pale grey, unicolor.
Also French.

Var. limbata, Moq. : animal black or blackish, foot-
margin orange or pale yellow. French.

Var. alpicola, Moq. : animal reddish-grey, black
bands. French. Charpentier found this variety on
the Alps. Found also by Lessona on the Lombardian
and Piedmontese Alps.

Var. rufescens *, Moq. : animal reddish, black
bands. Also French.

Var. subfusca, Pfeiff. : animal brownish, with a black

56

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

band on each side. This variety has been recorded
for Britain, but, I believe, on unreliable authority.

Var. viresccns, Moq.: animal greenish, black bands.
French.

Var. aurea, Lessona and Pollonera : animal white,
back yellowish, mantle white, foot-margin yellowish
gold ; bands of back and mantle obsolete. Italian.
(" Questa varieta non si rinvenne finora che a Riva-
rossa in Piemonte." — Lessona and Pollonera. See
Bibliography.)

Var. nemoralis, Dumont and Mortillet : animal of
pale colour, with the sides scarcely coloured, with
the mantle often of a lighter colour than the back.

I first noticed it upon this coast in 1882, when I
took three or four specimens in St. Clements Bay.
I sent these to various friends for identification, but
without result.

In 1884, while collecting in the same locality with
Dr. Kcehler (of the Faculte des Sciences, Nancy), I
called his attention to a specimen, which he at once
recognised from the description of Signoret as the
insect recorded from Rhe, and named sEpophilus
Bon?iairei.

We were fortunate in obtaining about a dozen
specimens in that one tide ; Dr. Kcehler was thus
enabled to make some observations on its anatomy

Fig. 40. — sEfophilus Bonnairei (X 16).

French. Locard found this variety in Savoy and
Haute-Savoie.

Var. alpestris, Dumont and Mortillet : animal of a
very deep colour, so that the bands on the mantle are
not discernible. This was also found by Locard in
Savoy and Haute-Savoie.

(To be continued.)

A MARINE HEMIPTEROUS INSECT.

THIS marine, or rather submarine, insect, which
appears to have escaped the attention of
English naturalists, is not uncommon on the coast of
Jersey. Hitherto it has been recorded in one instance
only (1879), as taken in the Isle of Rhe, in the Bay of
Biscay, and described by Signoret in, I believe, the
transactions of the Paris Academy of Science.

Fig. 41. — ,-Epophilus Bonnairei (under-
side X 16).

which are very interesting, and have now appeared
in his " Recherches sur la Faune narine des lies
Anglo-Normandes."

The following is a description of the insect :
Length, one-sixth of an inch ; breadth, one-twelfth ;
colour, deep reddish-brown ; body, limbs, and
antennas closely covered with fine silky hairs of a
yellowish tint ; eyes which are compound and very
brilliant, ruby-red ; wings, the horny portion (it
must no doubt be classed with the Heteroptera)
alone developed. It lives under stones which are
rather deeply set in the loose gravel, in proximity to
rocks. That it is unquestionably marine is shown
by the fact, that it is invariably found in company
with such animals as Nereis, Phascolosoma, Astemma,
and Gammarus. Upon some of these it no doubt de-
pends for its subsistence. It is a nimble little insect,
running with great rapidity, and, among the bits of

HARD WICKE ' 5 5 CIE NCE - G O SSI P.

57

stone and coarse gravel, not by any means easy to
capture.

The two or three localities in which I have taken
it are covered at high tide by about three and a-half
to four fathoms of water. How respiration is carried
on during the period of submergence, which amounts
during average tides to about seven hours out of
twelve, and during neap tides to some sixty or
seventy consecutive hours, is not easy to determine ;
for, from specimens which I have kept in a bottle and
carefully observed, ^Epophilus does not, like the
aquatic Coleoptera, enclose air either among its hairs
or under its rudimentary wings. Dr. Kcehler is of
opinion that it must be able to suspend that function
entirely during submergence.

It has but poor natatorial powers, and when put

THE GREEN GLAND OF ASTACUS
FLUVIATILIS.

By Dr. A. B. Griffiths, F.C.S. (Lond. & Paris).

THE so-called green glands of the fresh-water
crayfish lie in the cavity of the head, below the
front part of the cardiac division of the stomach.
The openings of these organs are to be found at the
base of each antenna. The organ, carefully dissected
out of the head of a freshly killed crayfish, is seen to
consist of two principal parts : an uppermost one,
which is a transparent and delicate sac-like body
filled with a clear fluid, and an underlying portion of
a green colour, glandular in appearance, containing
granular cells.

Fig. 42. — From a photograph of some of Uric Acid crystals isolated
from the secretion of the green glands of several crayfishes, and
mounted to form a slide for the microscope. In the above figure
the urinary pigments coating some of the crystals are to be seen.

Fig. 43- — From a slide of Murexide, prepared by the action of nitric
acid and ammonia on the uric acid obtained from the secretion of
the green gland of Astacus Jluviatilis.

into a bottle of water seems quite helpless, unless it
can get hold of some small stone or loose gravel in
the bottom, under which it quickly disappears.

The figure which I send herewith gives a very
good idea of the insect ; but, as I have not a micro-
meter, I cannot give the exact enlargement ; it is

about X 16.

Joseph Sinel.

David Place, Jersey.

The " Surrey Garner," edited by Mr. A. Ramsay,
F.G.S., of which No. I has just appeared, com-
mences with the mollusca of that lovely county,
and also contains the editor's address, on " Surrey
Scientific Researches," delivered as the presidential
address at the annual meeting of the Lambeth Field
Club last June.

Formerly, as is well known, these green glands were
looked upon as the auditory organs of the animal ;
but in 1848 Professors Will and Gorup-Besanez (see
" Gelehrte Anzeigen d. k. Baierischen Akademie,"
No. 233, 184S) said that this organ probably con-
tained guanin, and from this time it has been con-
sidered as a secretory organ.

Having made a careful study of the secretion of
this organ from a chemical and microscopical point
of view, this memoir details my work and conclusions
arrived at concerning this green gland.

The secretion of this gland is acid to litmus paper.
On treating the secretion obtained from a large
number of green glands with hot dilute sodium
hydrate solution and then adding hydrochloric acid,
a slight flaky precipitate was obtained ; and, on
examining these flakes under the microscope, they

53

HA RD VVICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

were seen to consist of small crystals in rhombic
plates. On treating the secretion with alcohol these
rhombic crystals are deposited, which are soluble in
boiling water. When these crystals precipitated from
the secretion are moistened with dilute nitric acid,
alloxanthine (C 8 H 4 N 4 7 ) is produced ; and this body
treated with warm ammonia, reddish purple murexide
or the ammonium purpurate (C 8 H 4 (NH 4 )N 5 6 ) of
Prout is obtained. This murexide so obtained crys-
tallises in prisms, which by reflected light exhibit a
splendid green metallic lustre, and by transmitted
light they are a deep reddish-purple. On running in
a solution of potassium hydrate on to a microscopic
slide containing some of these murexide crystals, they
were dissolved.

From these. reactions it is evident that these rhom-
bic crystals are deposits of uric acid (C 5 H 4 N 4 3 ),
from the secretion of the green gland of the crayfish.
On examining the uric acid crystals (deposited from
the secretion by means of alcohol) by means of the
microscope, they are seen to be covered more or
less with a very thin and superficial coating of some
brown colouring matter, probably some urinary pig-
ment.

But, beyond this discovery of uric acid in the
secretion of the green gland of Astacus fluviatilis,
I have found that on treating the secretion with
boiling hydrochloric acid, a solution was obtained
containing in suspension flaky uric acid, which was
filtered off; and, on allowing the filtrate to cool, a few
crystals of guanin hydrochlorate (C s H 5 N 5 0, HC1,
H 2 0) separate which are soluble in hot water ; and
on the addition of ammonia to this hot aqueous so-
lution, a precipitate is obtained of guanin (C 5 H 3 N 5 0),
the precipitated guanin being made up of numbers
of minute crystals. On running in warm dilute nitric
acid (on to the slide), these crystals disappeared, but
were precipitated again on adding a drop of silver
nitrate, in the form of the nitrate of silver compound
(C 5 H s N 5 0, AgNO,) of guanin.

I think this investigation proves that this so-called
green gland of Astacus fluviatilis is a true urinary
organ, its secretion containing uric acid and very small
traces of the base guanin. So the green gland is
physiologically the kidney of the animal ; the delicate
sac-like body is the bladder, and the small duct
between them answers morphologically to the ureter
of the higher animals.

In conclusion, I may mention that the crayfishes
were obtained from Messrs. Jowett & Co., of Cor-
poration Street, Manchester. I wish here to tender
my best thanks to Mr. F. J. Deakin (a pupil of mine
in the laboratories of the Technical College, Man-
chester) for the beautiful photographs he has taken
of the microscopic crystals of uric acid and murexide.

Mimulus luteus. — We have had notification of
this plant having been found wild on the banks of
the Ribble, near Mytton, by M. E. A.

GOSSIP ON CURRENT TOPICS.
By W. Mattieu Williams, F.R.A.S., F.C.S.

LOUIS AGASSIZ.— The biography of Agassiz,
edited by his widow, and lately published by
Macmillan, describes the career of a genuine student:
of one who struggled into science in spite of serious
difficulties ; who encountered poverty in consequence
of his devotion ; who finally overcame all, and by
dint of his own moral and intellectual energy rose
to a high place among the prophets of Nature.

One of the days that are written in very bright red
letters on the tablets of my memory is that which I
spent on the Aar Glacier (August 21, 1S42), where
Agassiz and his merry men were encamped on a
great boulder in a hut surmounted with a bold in-
scription, " Hotel des Neufchatelois." They were
studying Nature from her own text-book, in the midst
of many hardships, which they heartily enjoyed.
The great phenomena of glaciers were then but
recently revealed, and some of the most important of
the revelations were the work of Agassiz on this spot.
No less than ten of us, eight tourists and two guides,
started from the Hospice of the Grimsel, and invaded
his glacier sanctuary rather rudely and unceremoni-
ously (as I now think) ; but he received us most
genially and hospitably, supplying coffee and welcome
all round. We were chiefly students with one pro-
fessor, Pictet— if I understand rightly, the only one of
the party previously known to Agassiz.

The most interesting points of the glacier, the
glacier tables, cones, baignoires, trous meridionaux,
etc., were visited. We descended a great crevasse to
a smoking saloon hewn out of the ice about twenty
feet below its surface, and I learned more about
glacier details in one day than any amount of reading
could supply.

A little incident displayed the earnest enthusiasm
of Agassiz. I had come just fresh from attending
Jamieson's class on natural history in the Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, the old man having taken up the
new and startling doctrine of glacial extension very
warmly, in spite of his general conservative tendencies.
This had opened my eyes, and, in the course of a
walk from Paris to Switzerland, I had made some
observations and theories of my own. One of them,
which appeared then to be monstrously daring, was
that certain mysterious heaps of stones I had seen in
the forest of Fontainebleau were moraines of ancient
glaciers. I timidly ventured to propound this wild
speculation to mine host. He grasped my hand
most genially, telling me that he knew them, and
was satisfied that I was right, but I must not expect
anybody outside of the Hotel des Neufchatelois to
agree with me : the time had not yet arrived for belief
in die full truth of glacier extension.

Remembering this and the impression made upon
me by the enthusiastic go-ahead temperament of the

HA RD IVICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

59

author of " Les Poissons Fossiles," and " Etudes sur
les Glaciers," I must "improve the occasion" by a
preachment of warning to my readers. Beware of
the first symptom of second childhood ; the first film
which old age spreads over the intellectual vision ;
that blind conservatism that repels progressive inno-
vation int he region of your own speciality. Louis
Agassiz, the great progressive naturalist of fifty years
ago, died in darkness, having during his latter years
stubbornly shut his eyes against the new light of
biological evolution.

Solidifying Gravel-drift. — On sinking the
shafts for a coal-mine, many difficulties are encount-
ered. Outsiders commonly suppose that the hardness
of the rocks to be penetrated is one of the greatest.
This, however, is far from being the case. When
the sinkers are going through what they call the
"metal," i.e. the hardest rocks of the district, they
are paid at a higher rate per yard for their work, but
this does not practically increase the cost, as such
rock may remain bare, without the ordinary brick
lining. Softer shaly rock requires such lining, and
in some cases " tubbing " with iron. But the worst of
all is loose ground — gravelly deposits which run in
from the sides of the sinking, filling up the shaft as
the men sink it, and imperilling the whole super-
structure of internal brickwork, as the subterranean
tower formed by the ordinary lining must necessarily
rest on something below. When such running ground
is encountered, this internal tower has to be supported
by chains or scaffolding, or both, while the battle
with the loose ground is fought below at hourly risk
of life, until a solid substratum is reached upon which
a lower tower is built to reach up to the one that is
undermined and suspended.

The same difficulty may be encountered in tunnel-
ling — has been lately in making a tunnel at Stockholm
which passes through a hill of light wet gravel. The
contractor, Captain Lindmark, has successfully over-
come the difficulty by a novel and ingenious device.
He employs refrigerating machinery similar to that
which is used in supplying us with New Zealand and
Australian mutton. With this he converts the wet
gravel into solid rock, cuts it accordingly, and while
it yet remains frozen builds up the excavated portion
with suitable supporting masonry. We are told that
" the results have been in every way satisfactory, and
already several large houses have been safely passed
under." This being the case, but a small step further
is necessary in order to apply the same principle in
sinking pit-shafts through similar ground.

Seeing the Invisible. — This apparent paradox
has actually been achieved — is in fact now becoming
quite easy of achievement ; and the invisible objects
displayed to sight exist both in the heavens above,
and in the earth beneath. Our eyes can only show
.us the impressions that are made instantaneously on

the concave plate of nervous matter which lines the
back of the camera-obscura, constituting the forward
portion of our organic optical apparatus. But the
silver retina at the back of the photographic camera-
obscura has the faculty of accumulating the impression
it receives ; and thus, by long exposure to an object too
faint to make a picture at once, either on a silver salt,
or on the rods and cones of the organic camera, the
continuously repeated throbs of otherwise obscure
radiations ultimately coincide to produce a visible
picture. Stars still fainter than the debilissima of
Herschel, below the sixteenth magnitude, and beyond
the reach of telescopic vision, have been revealed by
photography ; a nebula in the Pleiades, of which the
most powerful telescopes gave no indication, has been
discovered, and all have been accurately mapped.

Leaping at a bound from the inconceivably great
down to the marvellously small, the photographic
retina applied to the eyeplace of the microscope
displays markings on the siliceous frustules of Dia-
tomaceas which the human eye similarly applied is
unable to see. Verily a new world is opened out
hereby. What mysteries of organic structure may
yet be revealed ?

Photographs of Speech. — As an appendix to
the above, I may direct attention to a note presented
to the Academy of Sciences on January 18, by M.
Leon Esquille, who claims to have succeeded, by
means of the photophone, in fixing on a photographic
plate the modulations of the voice, afterwards re-
producing the words by the telephone, and projecting
in oxyhydric light the positive image of the plate on
Mercadier's selenium receiver. Such is the announce-
ment of this exploit given in "Nature" — vague at
present, and liable to the disappointments that have
befallen Edison's phonograph, that was very much
announced. A little time, however, will show to
what extent the expectations thus suggested may be
realised.

Botanical Communism. — At the annual meeting
of the Association of German Naturalists, held at
Strassburg in September last, a subject of considerable
interest to students of natural history was discussed.
Several eminent continental botanists agree in affirm-
ing that a considerable number of phanerogams,
especially forest trees, do not draw their soil food
directly from the soil, but are clothed and fed by the
agency of an investing layer of fungus-mycelium, to
which the name of Mycorhiza has been given.

The investing fungus is not a parasite, properly so
called, though it appears to feed upon the rootlets it
clothes. There is a mutual dependence, an equitable
giving and taking, going on between the root and the
fungus — that kind of friendly proceeding known as
symbiosis. In many of the cases named the coating
of fungus completely envelops the root, and is
especially well developed at its apex, the thickness

Go

HA RD WICKE S S CIENCE- G OS SIP.

of the fungus often being two or three times as great
as that of the epidermis.

Dr. Frank states that all our native oaks, beeches,
hornbeams, chestnuts and hazels are covered with a
dense cortex of this Mycorhiza, organically associated
in growth with the root, completely enveloping it,
even to the growing-point. He found it present on
every root he examined of trees belonging to the
Cupuliferre, occasionally on Salicacefe and Coniferse,
but not on woody plants belonging to other natural
orders, nor on any herbaceous plant.

Here is a good subject for observation by our
amateur naturalists during the coming season, who
may be able to communicate some interesting results
to this magazine.

Do Snakes swallow their Young?— A very
positive confirmatory contribution to this question is
supplied in a letter from " A Creole " to " Nature " of
January 21. The usual evidence is that of seeing
the snake open its mouth and the young enter it,
which, considering the rapidity of movement, the
smallness of the objects, and the distance at which
they are observed (in the case of venomous snakes), is
by no means satisfactory, the alternative of taking
shelter under the mother being an open one. The
writer in " Nature," however, states a case which
leaves no possibility of mistake. A snake of the species
locally known as the labaria, was killed at Demerara
by a coolie ; its head cut off and buried, and its
body interred in a separate grave, according to the
prevailing coolie custom, thereby securing two objects
considered very desirable : the first, that no bare-
footed bushman shall tread upon the head, and thus
be wounded by the poison fangs ; and, second, that the
head shall not reunite with the body and thereby
effect a resurrection ! The writer of the letter had
the buried body dug up for examination by the coolie
that killed and buried it. When disinterred thus, the
coolie slashed his old enemy with his cutlass or long
knife, when, to the astonishment of the writer, " out
through the wound came seven young ones, varying
from five to ten inches in length," as roughly
estimated. " They were all quite lively, though
covered with a sort of thin film of saliva." Several
were killed. The body of the parent snake had been
buried at a depth of eight or ten inches from sixteen
to eighteen hours. A few more observations of this
kind would settle the question.

A Domestic Thermometer. — Most of the readers
of these Notes are doubtless observers of familiar
natural phenomena, and therefore I may venture to
direct their attention to a very simple fact that I
have long been in the habit of observing as a readily
obtainable demonstration of sudden and desirable
change of wintry weather. As we all know, the
condensation of moisture on the inside of our window-
panes is an indication of colder weather outside than

inside, and the freezing of this condensed water in
feathery crystals is a proof that it is colder still. The
converse of this is not so common, though more so
than many suppose. I am now writing on Feb-
ruary 12, just as a severe frost is going. Early this
morning the windows of every room in the house
excepting the kitchen were obscured with a dense
outside deposit. I was thus able to learn immediately
on rising in the morning that the weather had greatly
and rapidly changed during the night, by simply
looking at my bed-room window.

THE LOWER GREENSANDS, ATHERFIELD,
ISLE OF WIGHT.

By C. Parkinson, F.G.S.

THE development of the Lower Greensands at
Atherfield, as compared with the same forma-
tion in Kent and Surrey, is remarkable. Sir Charles
Lyell says that the Lower Greensands of Kent measure
but three hundred feet in thickness, whereas in the

Fig. 44. — Scafhites aqualis.

Island they suddenly acquire dimensions of more than
eight hundred feet, the intervening distance being
barely one hundred miles.* A great deal has been
written on this series of rocks by writers of wide
reputation, such as Mantell, Fitton, E. Forbes, and
others, from which it might be gathered that the
characteristic fossils are to be found merely for the
trouble of a day's hunting along the beach. The
locality has become famous, sections of the cliff have
been drawn, and catalogues of mollusca repeatedly
published ; in spite of this, there is something dis-
appointing to geologists who visit Atherfield ; and I
have known many cases in which the enthusiastic
collector has returned empty-handed, or nearly so,
either from inability to find the fossiliferous rocks, or,
worse still, having found himself unable to extract
specimens from the hard material. The truth is, one
single day is insufficient to obtain accurate knowledge
of the formation ; one requires a week or two in
order to get accustomed to the stratification of the
district. It may be of service to geologists to give
the experiences of an occasional worker among the
Atherfield clays. In the first place, it is necessary to
indicate the precise locality for studying the best

* " Elements of Geulogy," p. 293-

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

61

sections — that is, between Compton and Blackgang
Chines ; between these points all the beautiful
Atherfield fossils have been found. Hard work is
indispensable for extracting organic remains from the
rock, some of the concretionary limestones being of
the hardest texture. Referring to the monograph of
Professor E. Forbes,* on the Atherfield series, it will
be found he estimates the thickness of the entire
formation at 843 feet, dividing the whole into sixty-
three substrata, on account either of their fossil
contents or difference in composition. Mantell
statesf tnat > although the sections exposed are
vertical, they are in an oblique direction to the plane
of stratification, and, from the slight angle at which
the strata dip to the N.E., the cliffs as far as Black-
gang are composed of Greensand deposits.

For full details of the substrata we must refer the
reader to the monograph of Professor E. Forbes,
and to Dr. Fitton's memoir, "Geological Journal,"
vol. i., p. 179. Here we can deal only with the

(5.) Further deposit of blue clays with lobster, etc.
(fig. 1).

(6.) Zone of Terebratula, full of fossils.

(7.) Band of Gryphese and Scaphites.

It is in these lower beds the collector must search,
leaving the ferruginous sands as entirely unproductive.
A large geological hammer and a couple of strong
chisels are indispensable ; even with these tools it
will be found hard work extracting fossils. The best
place for descending the cliff is a path a few paces
beyond the flag-staff which indicates the coast-guard
station ; this is indeed almost the only safe place
where a descent can be made. Supposing the tide to
be receding, it will be advisable to walk a short
distance round Atherfield Point to the westward ;
here we at once see several feet at the base of the
cliff of a brown colour, numerous lumps of the same
being strewn along the beach ; from these lumps
well-preserved fossils may be obtained, the section
corresponding to Nos. 1 and 2 of the above list.

Fig. 46. — Grevillia anceps.

Fig. 47. — Meyeria Vectensis, McCoy.

'fossiliferous bands, which are, after all, those of the
greatest interest to the geological student. It is after
high tides and heavy seas that the cliffs are most
exposed, and it is better to fix a day so that the tide
shall be on the ebb during the five or six hours it is
is intended to study the rocks. The whole of the
Atherfield Greensand is divided into three main
divisions, in the lowest of which the fossils chiefly
occur. The substrata of the lower section care thus
given by Mantell —

(1.) Lowest Greensand clay, brown, 3 feet thick.
(2.) Perna Mulleii beds, 2 feet.
(3.) Atherfield clay strata, 100 feet, abound in
fossils in lower portion, few in middle, a small
species of lobster in upper part. This clay
is blue.
(4.) Cracker rocks ; beds of sandy clay with two
bands of concretionary masses of hard calci-
ferous sandstone.

Palaeont. Soc.

f " Geology of the Isle of Wight."

With regard to the blocks which lie on the beach,
I have found that the best fossils are usually visible
on the outside ; nevertheless, by splitting up such
blocks, we frequently obtain different mollusca.
Perna Mullet i (Desh.) is the characteristic fossil to be
met with, excessively difficult to extract on account
of the protruding valve, which, in five cases out of
six, snaps off. Gryphea sinuata abounds everywhere,
and is easily obtained ; also Terebratula sella (Sow.),
Rhynconella (sp.), Panopcea plicata (Sow.), Cordis
corrugata, Venus substriata, Pecten quinquecostatus
(Sow.), Trigonia caudata (Agass.), Trigonia dcedalia,
Area Raulini, Nucula seap/ia, A T atica rotundata, and
many other well-preserved shells. In one day I defy
anybody to collect even half these fossils ; in a fort-
night one might procure these and many others. The
loose blue clays will easily be identified as we walk
eastward from Atherfield Point ; here it is that the
small lobster, a species of Astacus, is to be found.
After rain I have found several specimens lying
washed out of the saponaceous clay. Larger Crus-

62

HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

taceans have also been discovered in the upper
layers.

The Cracker rocks, so called from the noise the sea
causes when dashing against them, are the next
series, and are usually the most difficult to identify.
From Atherfield Point it is half a mile eastward to
the precise spot where we can find this substratum.
It consists of two layers of hard nodular calciferous
sandstone imbedded in sands and clays, the hard
masses usually studded with a profusion of fossils,
beautifully preserved, but shockingly difficult to
extricate ; it requires the strength as well as the
weapons of a blacksmith to make any impression on
these rocks. On one occasion the writer was fortunate
enough to split a large piece of Cracker rock, that
one piece alone repaying the trouble and expense of
a fourteen-mile drive to reach the coast ; in it were
a perfect mass of the elongated bivalve Gervillia
anccps (Desh.) ; also Solen, Ammonites Dcshayesii
(Seym.), Venus, Thetis, Tornatella, and a fine spe-
cimen of Pteroceras, its wing admirably preserved.
This mass took two hours' steady hammering before
the best fossils were secured ; out of a dozen Gervillia
anceps only one perfect specimen was obtained ; as to
the other shells, they were taken home in rough
blocks, and, after a thorough soaking in water,
scraped clean with old pen-knives, etc. It is said
170 species of mollusca have been found in the
Atherfield Greensands. The beds in which the
celebrated ScapJiitcs gigas (D'Orb.) occur are met
with at the foot of Ladder Chine, but it depends
very much on the state of the beach ; the rule is, if
the prevailing winds have been east the rocks are
exposed ; if westerly, the rocks are covered over
with shingle, etc. I have never been fortunate
enough to hit upon this Scaphite or any large Am-
monite, but I have found a large Nautilus pliealus
(Sow.). Associated with the lowest Perna bed is a
thin layer of brown sand, in which are considerable
numbers of small bones, vertebrae of fishes ; these
require remarkably sharp eyes to detect the small
fragments. It is astonishing to find such numbers of
fossils crowded together in single blocks of stone, as
in the Cracker rocks, and I have for some time
sought an explanation of this : it may be the sea
currents were chiefly instrumental in causing this sort
of thing. If we imagine a number of living shells
carried along by the force of the ocean tide, till from
some local cause, such as rocks, a whirlpool is
formed ; this eddy will create a small hole in the
mud at the sea-bottom, in which the mollusca
ultimately get buried in considerable numbers. In
course of time such layers of mud become hardened
by pressure, and possibly altered by heat. In after
ages the mass is upheaved to form the Atherfield
cliff, and the puzzled geologist gropes in the dark,
finding rock with certain portions crowded with
organic remains. Speculation commences ; theory
after theory is broached ; we may be in the right,

or we may be wrong ; but, as that remarkable man
Robert Dick wrote to Hugh Miller, "We must
patiently go on collecting facts, and in course of
time geology may develop into an accurate science."
In that same letter of Dick's is advice which ought
to be studied by all geologists; he says, " When I
want to know what a rock is, I go to it, I hammer
it, I dissect it ; then I know what it really is."

With plenty of hard work and perseverance any
one may make a fair collection from Atherfield, but
it is only by real hard work that this can be done.
There are several local fishermen who are competent
to act as guides to the stranger, and Mr. Mark
Norman, of Ventnor, both knows the Atherfield
ground thoroughly and has a fine collection of
Atherfield fossils in his possession. Care should be
taken when working close under the cliff, as great
masses of rock frequently fall without the slightest
warning, particularly after heavy, rains. It is also
dangerous to work on the beach near high tide, for
every inch of beach is covered in many places, escape
up the perpendicular cliff being impossible. Of the
junction of Wealden and Lower Greensand I hope
to write at a future time.

The drawing (fig. 47) represents an astaciform
crustacean, the original being in the Natural History
Museum, South Kensington. Two specimens have
been found at Atherfield. It is perhaps the same
species as that figured in Professor Bell's mono-
graph,* Meycria Vectensis. Probably further research
in this substratum beneath the Cracker rock would
add important genera to the Cretaceous fauna. The
indications on the exterior of the nodules being ex-
ceedingly slight, great care is requisite in developing
specimens.

Professor Bell gives the following description of
M. Vectensis : Carapace very deep, much compressed,
the lower sides being nearly perpendicular. The
cephalic portion is narrowed forwards, terminated by
an acute rostrum. There are on this part seven
carinae, three pairs and one on the median line. The
lowest is short, and extends backwards ; the next is
acute, and, like the former, has small tubercles ; the
whole surface is granulated ; the abdomen com-
pressed, the segments long. The lateral processes
are irregularly sculptured and granulated ; the legs
are long, slender, and compressed, the first pair
having small spines. Length of carapace, 2 "5 inches,
height, I "2 inches ; length of abdomen, 3 - 5 inches.

It is stated (Pakeont. Soc, 1862, p. 34) the species
is common at Atherfield. This is apparently an
error, the small species of Mantell being evidently
confused with the distinct larger form.

This specimen was found about twelve months
ago at Atherfield, agreeing with both drawing and
description of Professor Bell's.

* PaliEont. Soc.

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

63

ON ANIMAL BEAUTY.
By Dr. P. Q. Keegan.

A CONCENTRATED individual force, an exal-
tation of mental, nerve, or animal force, a
signal development of forces operating from within
upon the animal framework— such, we apprehend, is
the principal cause of the beauty of animals. On a
piece of shapeless matter forces act either from
without or from within. A sculptor hewing a
statue is an example of the former ; but in the case
of all animal and vegetable organisms the forces
which determine their shape operate from within,
or dynamically. Now, whether we accept the
Darwinian hypothesis or not, we may assume that
every organism is developed from its conception or
birth in accordance with a certain type or exemplar,
to which at its maturity it conforms or resembles
more or less accurately. When it does conform
thereto with exceeding closeness, i.e. when the
forces which govern its development have done their
work fully, freely, and absolutely, then the result is
invariably beautiful. It has been said that "a
full development of any force or form is always
beautiful " ; and this doctrine is based on the
hypothesis, that all the originally created specific
forms or types or ideals are necessarily beautiful.
It is only some constitutional disturbance which
produces those "sports" or "variations" which
show themselves at each new act of reproduction as
part of the phenomenon of heredity, and tend by
selective breeding to lay the foundations of what
have been styled new species.

There is beauty of form and a beauty of colour ;
there is a beauty of movement and a beauty of
expression. The two former seem to be related to,
or to originate from, the material or animal forces ;
the two latter seem especially connected with forces
more strictly mental. The beauty of form, however,
i.e. the well-ordered relation of the various parts of
the animal frame, seems to constitute the very
foundation or indispensable substratum, as it were,
of all the other elements of beauty. All animals,
even probably some of the very lowest of the
Protozoa, exhibit in their ideal conformation an
approach to symmetry. The bilateral symmetry
of the mammalia, the fish, the insect, is equal in
beauty with the radiate symmetry of the star-fish,
the sea-anemone, etc. No doubt the perceived
similarity of one part of the body to another awakens
a sense of beauty, but if the separate parts are not
beautiful in themselves, their similarity or well-
ordered relationship will not much enhance their
attractiveness. The beauty of form arises in the
first instance in the perfection of the internal
skeleton. Nature, in the creation of the limb, etc.,
must have done her work thoroughly. The bones
must have been nourished with an adequate amount

of inorganic pabulum, and have been provided with
the full complement of muscles, ligaments, joints,
blood-vessels, etc., arranged harmoniously and in
the direction corresponding to the particular function
which is alloted to them respectively ; and, finally,
the external covering of skin and of celluloso-
adipose tissue must have been so disposed as to
ensure the most finished curvilinear beauty of the
whole. The primordial elements of every living
structure consist of cells, or rather cell-contents,
which are endowed with the power of altering and
appropriating certain matters in the blood, and of
imparting to these matters powers or properties
similar to those already possessed by the living
structure. These cell-contents or bioplasm originally
spring from the single cell or ovum fertilised in the
womb, and become as it were distributed among the
various cells which constitute the foundations of the
structure of the bones, muscles, matrix, fatty tissues,
etc. This bioplasm is the seat and principle of the
vital energy or force that alone lives, and can change,
convert, mould, and form the shape and structure of
the body and every portion thereof. It gradually
becomes resolved into formed material (the cell-wall)
which becomes the seat of physical and chemi-
cal change by the operation of the blood-corpuscles
thereupon. The original bioplasm, however, seems
invested also with the power of causing the elements
of matter to take up definite relations towards one
another, so that definite compounds may result in
the formed tissue, be it bone or fat or muscle, or
whatever it be. Now, all that we can proclaim in
reference to the beauty of animals as related to their
elemental structure is, that where this inherited
vital force, resident in the cells of the organism, is
signal and individual, and where no external im-
pediment exists to its full, free, and perfect develop-
ment in harmony with its nature, there beauty is the
inevitable result.

In every respect, save that of the ideal type of
shape and contour, it may be thought that the lower
animals have in the matter now indicated an eminent
advantage over man. Man is cramped and swayed
by the " conditions of existence," i.e. the conditions
of his food, light, air, temperature, etc., and also by
the current state of what is termed civilisation, so
that infinite varieties of human beauty and of human
hideousness are produced. The lower animals, on
the other hand, are generally free as the air ; and as
their life-history knows little check, their vital energy
finds free scope and enjoys full swing, so that among
the individuals of each species little difference of
personal appearance can be discerned. Their nervous
system, moreover, not being so acute or sensitive,
they are not so subject to disease or to temporary
variations of aspect and appearance as human beings
are.

No doubt favourable external conditions of exist
ence (as food, air, climate, etc.) must foster the

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

growth and development of the organism in closest
accordance with its perfect type or ideal. They un-
questionably co-operate with and support the working
of the internal forces ; but that they are not the sole
agencies (as Darwin and the materialists would have
it) in the production of this consummate beauty is
manifest by a study of our own species. We may
aver with great confidence, that no amount of external
or material comforls and advantages will alone suffice
to render a race or tribe of human beings beautiful
or fine-looking. The elements or fundamental
principles of animal beauty are seated within the
organism, and work from within outwards, not vice
versA. This was the doctrine of the ancient Greeks,
a people more versed in aesthetic science than any
other people before or since. Plato, believing that
everything in nature was a copy or embodiment of
ideal types or exemplars existing in or before the
Divine Mind, expressly maintained that "the type
or exemplar of the beautiful shines through its sensible
copies more than any other idea does, and that it
imparts thereto the highest brilliancy." What causes
this brilliant shining through the animal figure is
simply the special individual exaltation of the vital
forces. These are hereditary, but their energy
seems to be immensely stimulated by the lungs. It is
in races or individuals who foster humanity and whose
lung power is eminently developed that we find the
noblest and rarest examples of human beauty. ^

(To be continued.)

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY.
By John Browning, F.R. A.S.

DURING March Mercury will be an evening star,
setting on the 5th at 6 hr. 27 min., on the 12th
at 7.20, on the 19th at 7.58, and on the 28th at
8.10 P.M.

Venus will be a morning star.

Jupiter will rise on the 5th at 7. 15 P.M. and set at
7.27 a.m., will rise on the 12th at 6.42 r.M. and set
at 6.49 a.m., will rise on the 19th at 6.14 P.M. and
set at 6.26 a.m., and on the 26th he will rise at 5.38
p.m. and set at 6 a.m.

Saturn will be due south on the 5th at 7.13 p.m.,
on the 12th at 6.45 p.m., on the 19th at 6.19 p.m.,
and on the 26th at 5-52 p.m.

Venus will be at her greatest brilliancy on March
25 th.

Mr. Janssen has been writing on the evidence of
photographs as to the constitution of sun-spots. His
remarks refer to some exquisite photographs which
he has taken in 1885. These show the continuation
of the granulation of the general solar surface into the
spots. He particularly directs attention to a photo-

graph of the great spot of June 22, 1885, in which
the bright region which surrounds the penumbra has
apparently the same constitution as that of the
photosphere in general, being made up of granular
elements mostly spherical in shape. The photographs
show that the greatly increased brightness in such
regions is due to the granules being more numerous,
brighter, and arranged on a brighter background.
In the penumbra the granulations were less luminous
and more scattered, and have dark gaps between the
ranks and lines of the granulations which appear like
beads on a thread. The bridges across the spots
and the masses of luminous matter were also formed
of granules, so that it is highly probable that the
luminous matter which forms the solar surface has
everywhere the same constitution.

In No. 2707 of Astronomische Nachrichten there is
an article by Dr. Weiss, Director of the Observatory
of Vienna, from which it appears that two telescopic
comets now visible, namely that of Fabry and that of
Barnard, will be seen as very conspicuous objects
during the latter half of April and the first half of
May. Fabry's comet, when nearest to us — that is to
say, about the first half of May — will, it is calculated,
attain a brightness 666 times greater than at the date
of its discovery on December 1st, 1SS5. Barnard's
comet, about the middle of May, will be 265 times
as bright as when it was discovered on December
5th last year. Both _ these comets will be seen
simultaneously, and at the beginning of May they
will not be far apart. Their brightness will not
increase materially until the beginning of March,
after which time their increase of brightness will be
both marked and rapid.

The splendour of these two comets will be favoured
by the absence of moonlight at the time of their
greatest brightness. In the southern hemisphere
Fabry's comet will be observed without difficulty up
till the end of July, and Barnard's comet up till even
a later date.

On March 20th the sun will enter Aries : spring
commences at 4 P.M.

The mean temperature of the week ending on
January 9th was 3 degrees below the average, and in
the week ending the 16th, 2 degrees below the
average ; while in the week ending the 23rd it fell to
6 degrees below the average ; and in the week ending
the 30th it was still three and a-half degrees below
the average, so that it was the coldest January
experienced for many years.

Rain fell on eleven days in January, to the aggre-
gate amount of rather more than one and a-half
inches — that is, to nearly 160 tons to the acre.

The average mean temperature of London in
March is 42 Fahr. The average rainfall for London
in March is only between one inch and two inches,
but it averages full two inches at Brighton and some
other places to the west of Brighton along the south
coast.

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

65

OUR SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORY.

[It is our desire to bring out a Scientific Directory in the
monthly pages of Science-Gossip, feeling certain that it would
be very useful for our readers to know what scientific societies
had been formed in their own neighbourhoods. We shall there-
fore fee! very much obliged if Secretaries of any kind of
Scientific Society, in anv town or part of the country, will send
us the full name and title of each Society, together with the
names of the President and Hon. Secretary.]

ryiRMINGHAM Microscopists' and Naturalists'
JD Union. President, M. C. Beale, C.E. ; Hon.
Secretaries, Messrs. H. Insley, 15 Mansfield Drive,
Mansfield Road, Aston ; and P. T. Deakin, 46 Prin-
cess Road, Edgbaston.

Bury Natural History Society. President, Rev.
Douglas Walmsley ; Hon. Secretary, Thomas K.
Holden, Blackford Bridge, Bury, Lancashire.

Cirencester Microscopical and Naturalist Society,
President, E. J. E. Creese, Esq., F.R.M.S. ; Hon.
Secretary, Joseph Matthews.

Derbyshire Natural History and Philosophical
Society. President, Rev. J. M. Mello, M.A.,
F.G.S. ; Hon. Secretary, Mr. F. Beddow, Nor-
man ton Road.

Dorset A r atural History and Antiquanan Field
Club (established in 1875). President, John Mansel
Pleydell, Esq. ; Treasurer, Rev. O. P. Cambridge ;
Secretary, Morton Stuart, Esq.

East London A r atural History and A/icroscopical
Society. President, E. I. Lyndall, Esq. ; Hon.
Secretary, A. Dean, M.Q.M.C, 57 Southborough
Road, South Hackney.

El Toro Cycling and Naticralists'' Club, Barking
Side, Essex. President, J. W. Williams, D.Sc,
B.A. ; Hon. Secretary, F. W. Halfpenny, F.C.S.,
2 Fern Villas, Park Road, West Ham Park, Essex.

Greenhithe Naturalists' and Archaeological Society.
President, A. B. Farn, Esq., Fair Lome, Stone ;
Hon. Secretary, Miss S. Martin, 7, The Terrace,
Greenhithe.

Highbury Microscopical Society (founded 1878).
President, James Smith, F.L.S., F.R.A.S. ; Hon.
Secretary, Bernard H. Woodward, 80 Petherton
Road, N.

ILuddersfield Naturalists' Society. President, A.
Clark ; Hon. Cor. Secretary, Mr. S. L. Mosley,
Beaumont Park Museum ; Financial Secretary, J.
Tindall, 25 Union St.

Leeds Y. M. C. A. Naturalists' Club. President,
Mr. E. Hawkesworth. ; Hon. Secretary, Mr. Joseph
Motley.

Liverpool Microscopical Society. President, Rev.
II. H. Higgins ; Hon. Secretary, Isaac C. Thomp-
son, Woodstock, Waverley Road, Liverpool.

Metropolitan Scientific Association. President, J.
D. Hardy, F.R.M.S. ; Secretary, Grenville A. J.
Cole, F.G.S. Meetings, second Tuesday in the
month at 7 p.m. ; City of London College.

New Cross Microscopical and Natural History
Society (instituted 1872). President, W.J. Spratling,

B.Sc, F.G.S. ; Hon. Secretaries, M. J. Lindsey,
jun., and L. M. Biden, 11 Leadenhall Street, E.C.

Sidcup Literary and Scientific Society. President,
W. Law Bros ; Hon. Secretaries, T. S. Stacy and
W. Short.

South London Microscopical and Natural History
Club, Brixton Hall, Acre Lane. President, T.
Sebastian Davis, F.C.S., F.R.M.S. ; Hon. Secre-
taries, Henry Groves and Robert Briant.

Tunbridge Wells Natural History and Antiquarian
Society, Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells. President, R.
Norton, Esq., M.P. ; Hon. Secretary, Geo. Abbott,
M.R.C.S.

Youth. Scientific and Literary Society of London.
Hon. Presidents, Prof. H. A. Nicholson, M.D.,
D.Sc, F.R.S.E. ; Dr. J. E. Taylor, F.L.S. ; Thomas
Edward, A.L.S. ; President, Alex. Ramsay, F.G.S.,
F.R.G.S. ; Vice-Presidents, J. W. Williams. D.Sc,
B.A. ; Rupert Garry, F.S.Sc ; Hon. Secretary,
R. A. Neville Lynn, 42, Chalcot Crescent, Regents
Park, N.W.

SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

The water-plaintain is used in Russia as a
remedy for hydrophobia. The roots are dried and
grated, then spread on bread and butter, and a good
dose taken night and morning. Two or three doses
are said to be sufficient to effect a cure.

The old-fashioned theory about the formation of
dew, originated by Dr. W T ells, has received a severe
attack from Mr. John Aitkin, the distinguished
physicist, who has just read a paper before the Royal
Society of Edinburgh in which he contends that
dew does rise, and that it is not distilled from the
surrounding atmosphere. From experiment he
concludes that the dew rises as vapour from the
ground. The ground was found to be actually
hotter than the air above it ; and Mr. Aitkin thinks
that so long as the excess is sufficient to keep the
temperature of the surface of the ground above the
dew-point of the air, it will, if moist, give off
vapour ; and that it will be this rising vapour which
will condense on the grass and form dew. But this
theory will hardly explain why dew is generally
formed on the upper surface of leaves, instead of
the Imver. If it always came from the ground, it
ought to form on the lower surfaces of leaves rather
than the upper. That the moist soil gives off vapour
no one doubts ; but is this fact sufficient to establish
a new theory of dew ?

A BILL to propagate a contagious disease among
rabbits, with a view to exterminate them, is to be
introduced into the South Australian Assembly. The
experiment is to be tried on Torrens Island.

66

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

A woman of fashion recently ordered a dress to be
trimmed with canaries !

During one week in January many thousands
of larks were snared on Royston Heath, and no less
than 8 cwt. sent to the London market from Royston
Station within a few days.

On the nth ult, Dr. J. E. Taylor, editor of
Science-Gossip, lectured at the Chelmsford Museum
on "The Natural History of Dust"; and on the
15th, before the Hitchin Scientific Society, on
" Carnivorous Plants."

The "Journal of Anatomy and Physiology " has
a very able paper by Dr. Alexander M. M'Aldowie,
on " The Development and the Decay of the
Pigment Layer on Birds' Eggs."

The " Journal of Microscopy and Natural
Science " for January contains, besides the Presi-
dent's address, papers on "The Mouth-organs and
other characteristics of the British ground predaceous
Beetles," " Freshwater Alga?," "The Microscope,
and how to use it" ; besides "Half-hours with Mr.
Tuffen West," "Notes from the Postal Society's
books," etc. The lithographical illustrations are all
excellent.

The " Scientific Enquirer," No. I of which ap-
peared in February, is another proof of the large
and increasing interest taken in natural history litera-
ture. It is edited by Mr. Alfred Allen, and professes
to be a monthly medium for the supply of information
on all scientific subjects. Consequently there can be
no complaint as to the narrowness of the field in-
tended to be cultivated !

Mr. E. T. Draper, whose charming micro-
scopical illustrations will not soon be forgotten by
readers of Science-Gossip, is continuing the papers
from the 1st of March, price one shilling, but con-
taining two plates drawn from nature, with descrip-
tive text. They will be published by the author
at 11 Palace Road, Middle Lane, Crouch End,
London, N.

The Annual Report of the Hemel Hempsted
Natural History Society for 1885 is to hand, con-
taining papers on "Blue Mould," by Mr. W. G.
Smith; " Characese of the Midlands," by Mr. John
Saunders ; a catalogue of the British plants in the
Society's Museum, etc. etc.

The Annual Report of the Huddersfield Natura-
lists' Society for 1SS5 (established in 1847) shows
an active and vital state of things. The disposition
of officers in this society is admirable, and might be
copied with advantage by others. Thus, in addition
to the usual list, it has a curator, librarian, seven
members who form a sub-committee for a botanic
garden, and three who act as recorders in botany,
fungology, and entomology.

An unpretending but useful little journal is the
"Natural History Teacher," conducted by Mr. S. L.
Mosley, the lecturer on natural history in the
Huddersfield Board Schools. Every one knows what
a hold natural history has on the working classes
of the north, in some form or another, and Mr.
Mosley is doing good work by giving it a scientific
direction among the young.

"Changes in Land and Sea" is the title of a
capital article in the "Hull Quarterly" by Mr.
C. S. Whiting. It gives an account of the marine
denudations which are going on along the eastern
coast.

In the Transactions of the Seismological Society
of Japan, there is an elaborate paper of eighty-two
pages, by Professor Milne, giving the details of his
admirable series of experiments and observations on
earthquakes.

The last number of the " Proceedings of the
Folkestone Natural History Society" contains the
papers read. Among them is one on "Develop-
ment," on which there is a capital and good-
tempered discussion reported.

The Sidcup Literary and Scientific Society publish
their Annual Report, in which there are some ex-
cellent papers on "Varieties of Life," "Colour,"
"The use of the Microscope in Geology," "The
Dispersal of Seeds," " Detection by the Microscope
of Adulteration in Food," "The Bexley Deneholes,"
etc.

MICROSCOPY.

Colossal Amcsba. — Observing that Mr. Brayley's
query, as to a colossal Amoeba which he found,
remains unanswered, I would advise him to consult
Prantl and Vine's " Botany," where I think he will
find a similar organism described as the compound
Plasmodium of one of the Myxomycetes. Saville
Kent also describes this form : vide ' ' Manual of the
Infusoria," pp. 41 and 42. — E. C. Bousfield, L.R.C.P.

Zinc Cement. — I have been using white zinc cement
lately for finishing off slides, but somehow it doesn't
harden properly or become white, as it should do.
Would some reader kindly give me a hint on the
subject?— IV. M. Ratisoji.

The late Mr. J. B. Jeaffreson. — We record
with the deepest regret the death, on January 12th,
of Mr. J. B. Jeaffreson, M.R.C.S. He came of a
family distinguished for many generations in the
medical profession, having worthily followed his
father and grandfather in Islington, and he will be
succeeded by his eldest son, who is on the eve of
completing his studies. Mr. Jeaffreson had been for
many years one of the most active members of the

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

6 7

Highbury Microscopical Society, and was its presi-
dent in 1884. He had contributed many papers,
chiefly biological. He was much beloved on account
of his kindly, genial manners, and readiness to help
others with his knowledge, being well read in most
branches of natural history and having a remarkably
retentive memory ; and so, being always on the look
out for recruits, had enlisted many young men in the
cause of science. He was preparing a paper on
"Mites" for a meeting to be held next November
by the Highbury Microscopical Society, and had
already mounted many slides for that purpose.
He was interred at Highgate on January 16th, when
many friends, including most of the medical men
of the district, assembled to do him honour.

The Quekett Microscopical Club.— The last
issue of the journal of this flourishing society con-
tains the following papers : President's inaugural
•address, by A. D. Michael, F.L.S.; "Notes on
Palmadactylon sztbramosum, and on a new British
species of Vaucheria," by Dr. M. C. Cooke ; " On
an unusual form of tube made by Alclicerta ringais"
by T. Spencer Smithson ; "Historic Microscopy,"
by E. M. Nelson; "On a method of equalising the
thickness of slips when raising an oil immersion
condenser," by E. M. Nelson ; " Final notes on
the so-called desiccation of Rotifers," by Henry
Davis ; " Corrigenda to Professor Cleve's paper ' On
some fossil marine Diatoms ' " ; etc. etc.

Cole's "Studies in Microscopical Science."
— The last four parts of this ever-welcome work,
as usual cover various parts of biological ground.
All are illustrated by artistically coloured plates.
Thus, botanical histology deals with the structure of
the sexual organs of reproduction in the angio-
sperms ; animal histology with the disposition of
the organs in the invertebrata ; pathological histology
with Collier's disease (anthracosis) ; whilst the part
devoted to popular microscopical studies gives an
account of Trichina spiralis. The slides accom-
panying the above four parts present us with (1) a
transverse section of the mature ovary of Lilium,
(2) transverse section of young lamprey, (3) a slide
showing anthracosis of coal-miner's lung, and (4)
a diatom {Ccstodiscus supcrbus).

New Slides. — We have been favoured with an
admirably mounted set of slides, of Trichina spiralis,
by Mr. Ernest Hinton. No. 1 shows male and
female ; No. 2, the worm imbedded in the muscle ;
No. 3, ditto (larva) dissected from muscle, and freed
from surrounding material ; No. 4, Trichina in
capsules ; and No. 5, ditto calcined in the muscle.
All of them are of the highest use both to teacher
and student. From Mr. B. Piffard we have received
several slides of botanical specimens, some of them
stained by his new process of iodine vapour. Among
them are vertical sections of leaf of carnation,

showing stomata ; the dodder (Cuscuta) with its
tissues imbedded in the host-plant ; Hypha; of
fungi, etc. Mr. C. Collins, jun., has forwarded us
a well-mounted and valuable slide of the much-
debated "Dawn animalcule" {Eozoon Canadcnse)
from the Laurentian rocks. If there is no royal road
to knowledge, it is very certain that such available
aids as the above make the path both easier and
pleasanter for the student.

The Royal Microscopical Society. — At a
meeting of the above society, Dr. Dallinger, who
has been re-elected president, delivered the annual
address. Dr. Dallinger dealt in his opening remarks
with the growth of specialisation in science. This,
he thought, was at once a triumph and a peril. The
autonomy of the expert and the specialist was a
danger that all who care for the unity and wholeness
of human knowledge must be alive to. Dr. Dallinger
indicated the remedy as lying in the improvement ot
scientific education so as to secure breadth of culture,
and the careful linking of each small and special area
of research to, and viewing it in the light of, the
inconceivably vaster realm in which it was an essential
and inalienable factor. The special subject of the
address was an example of this connection ; it dealt
with a problem which lies at the base of all biology —
the importance of the cell-nucleus. The address was
a masterly one. After giving similar details about
several organisms, Dr. Dallinger summed up thus :
" One thing appears clear — the nucleus is the centre
of all the higher activities in these organisms. The
germ itself appears to be but an undeveloped nucleus ;
and when that nucleus has attained its full dimen-
sions, there is a pause in growth, in order that its
internal development may be accomplished. It
becomes practically indisputable that the body-
sarcode is, so to speak, a secretion, a vital product
of the nucleus. From it the flagella originally arise ;
by it the act of fission is initiated and in all probability
carried to the end ; the same is the case with fertili-
sation and the production of germs. We are thus
brought into close relation with the behaviour of the
nucleus in the simplest condition. No doubt far
profounder and subtler changes are concurrently
proceeding. We of course are no nearer to the
solution of what life is. But to come any distance
nearer to a knowledge of how the most living part of
the minutest organisms acts in detail has for me and
for most biologists an increasing fascination." The
address was illustrated by original pictures of great
beauty thrown upon a screen by a powerful oxy-
hydrogen microscope, and was greeted with loud
applause at its conclusion.

The "Journal of the Royal Microscopical
Society" for February contains a paper by Mr. A.
W. Bennett,- F.L.S. , "On the Freshwater Algre of
the Lake District ; " "The Preparation of Sections
of Pumice-stone and other Vesicular Rocks," by Dr.

68

HA RD WICKE S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

H. J. Johnston-Lavis ; "On the Cultivation of
Bacteria," by Dr. E. M. Crookshank ; " The Appear-
ances of Micro-organisms as exemplified by the
Microbe of Chicken Cholera," by Mr. G. F. Dowdes-
well ; "The 'Central' Light in Resolution," by
Mr. J. W. Stephenson ; besides which we have
the usual able and copious summary of current
biological researches.

ZOOLOGY.

Variations in Molluscs. — In an able article
published in the " Zoologist," Mr. B. B. Woodward,
F.G.S., enters a strong protest against the tendency
to " variety-mongering " and variety-naming which
is, unfortunately, so much, in vogue. It is quite a
scientific operation to observe and note the differences
in common species. Mr. Woodward remarks as
follows : " Surely the state of our knowledge is
sufficiently advanced to allow of certain variations
being admitted as normal, so to speak, to every
species, e.g., unusually fine specimens, dwarfed forms,
reversed examples, scalariform individuals, and
albinos, without its being necessary to distinguish
each one by a different varietal or ' monstral ' name.
It should be enough to record their existence, and
that of such variations as are more or less specific,
i.e., those of colour, markings, etc. In short, I
would advocate the adoption of the method followed
by Gray."

New Variety of Unio tumidus. — It may
interest some of your conchological readers to know
that I have obtained, from the fish-pond at Wistow
Hall, near Leicester, a variety of U. tumidus, which
Mr. J. W. Taylor of Leeds has named for me :
U. tumidus, var. ponderosa, Pascal. Mr. Taylor
remarks, "This variety has not, I believe, been
published as British." — //. E. Quitter, Leicester.

Arrenurus.— On August 3rd, 1S85, I found a
male Arrenurus, differing greatly from any I have
before described, and also differing from any of the
figures in Miiller or Koch. It was of a lemon colour,
with brownish cornu. The eyes were of a beautiful
crimson, and the legs transparent blue ; the central
projection from the tail resembles the same part in
A. viridis, but the colour is yellow. The mite differs
from this latter in size as well as in colour, and also
in the shape of the rest of the tail. The spur on the
last joint but two of the hind leg is large. After the
creature was killed, and prepared for mounting, it
was seen that the colour was entirely dependent on
the contents of the abdomen, the chitinous skeleton
being of the same blue as the legs during life. When
viewed as an opaque object there was a green shade
seen occasionally, evidently produced by the yellow
colour passing through this transparent blue of the
exoskeleton. If this creature has not been before

described or named, I should feel disposed to call
it Arrenurus luteus. It will be well to remember
that Koch says, " A. calcaratus has the central part
of the tail yellow " ; his figure, however, I think,
differs from the mite now described. — C. F. George,
Kir ton -in-Lindsey.

Bulimus obscurus. — It may be of interest to note
the occurrence of this shell in the Channel Isles.
Jeffreys, I believe, gives Devonshire as its southern-
most limit ; last September I took two live specimens
near the walls of Fort George in Guernsey. It is
only surprising that it has not turned up there before.
It does not occur in Cooke and Gwatkin's list in
1878. Its continental range is of course most exten-
sive — according to Clessin, from Sicily to St. Peters-
burg. On the other hand, Bulimus moutanus, Drap.,
does not seem to cross the Alps, though it occurs as
far south as the neighbourhood of the Pyrenees, and,
I think, on the Spanish side. Another curious point
about it is that, while not occurring in Denmark, it
appears again in the north of Sweden. — Brockton
Tomlin.

BOTANY.

Cardamine pratensis, viviparous. — Mr. John
Taylor (Note on Floral Varieties, p. 20, Science-
Gossip) will find the following about C. pratensis,
ladies' smock, or cuckoo-flower, being reproduced
by buds, such as he describes, in Thome's "Botany,"
p. 83 : "The bodies termed bulbils or gemmae, are
stem-buds, which detach themselves from the plant,
and can themselves give rise to new individuals
exactly like the parent. They are found, for in-
stance, in abundance on certain species of Allium,
on the leaves of Cardamine pratensis, &c." I have
several times found the leaves with the little plants
growing out of them — a peculiarity which is not
noted in any of the modern Floras that I am ac-
quainted with, while it is given in Smith's "English
Flora," vol. i.i. p. 190, London, 1825: "Radial
leaves, several, &c, sometimes viviparous." It is
a pity that so much of the interesting matter that
is only to be found in those dear old volumes of
Withering and Smith has been removed from recent
handbooks : it was attractive and most helpful to
those who wished not merely to classify their plants,
but to know all about them. I would add that the
seed -pods of Cardamine pratensis are seldom perfected,
the plan of reproduction from the leaves is provided
by the Creator, that it may be fruitful and multiply.
Another instance of a gemmiparous plant is Utii-
cularia, where also seed-vessels very rarely come to
perfection, while the perpetuation of the race is pro-
vided for by the terminal buds, which last throughout
the winter, when the old plants decay away. — // IT.
Lett, M.A.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

6 9

Primroses and Cattle. — While turning over
the pages of Withering's "British Plants," London,
1S01, since I wrote my query at p. 20 of Science-
Gossip, I found at p. 229 of vol. ii. the following
corroboration of my experience as to sheep and goats
eating primroses : " Sheep and goats eat it, cows
are not fond of it, horses and swine refuse it. — Linn."
Here we have the great Linnaeus saying the very
opposite to Dr. Spencer Thompson. Some of your
readers might give the ipsissima verba of the Swede.
H. IV. Lett, M.A.

Localities for Dianthus armeria. — Twelve
years ago I knew two localities for D. armeria near
Castletown, in the Isle of Man. One of them was
in a field adjoining the grounds of King William's
College, the other near Ballasalla. The former spot,
however, when I revisited it in 18S0, had been
converted into the site of a new chapel for King
William's, and I fear all traces of the plant there
perished. I hope that it may survive in the second
locality, but the island is so ransacked by tourists in
summer that the existence of any botanical curiosity
is mournfully precarious. — C. B. Moffat.

Plants from the Isle of Wight.— Of the plants
mentioned by Mr. Parkinson (p. 45), Ornithogahtm
2imbellatum and Polemonium caruleum have been
recorded before, and are both probably, the latter
certainly, the remains or escapes of cultivation.
Epipactls, or,'as it is now usually named, Cephalanthera
ensifolia, has never been authentically recorded as
found in the Island, and the locality, " woods of the
Undercliff," does not strike one as being at all a likely
one. This species, unlike C. grandiflora, is decidedly
rare on the mainland of Hants, and I have never
seen it or heard of it, except in beech woods on the
chalk. I cannot help suspecting that some other
plant has been mistaken for it, perhaps E. palnstris.
—F. I. Warner, F.L.S.

GEOLOGY, &c.

Bone Caves in North Wales. — Dr. Hicks and
Mr. W. Davies have just given the results of re-
searches carried on in these caverns in the summers
of 1883, 1884, and 1885 by Mr. E. Bouverie Lux-
moore, of St. Asaph, to the Geological Society. The
enormous collection of bones belonging to the now
extinct animals of Pleistocene age obtained had been
submitted for examination to Mr. W. Davies, and
afterwards distributed to various museum-. Several
wall-worked flint implements were also discovered in
association with the bones. The following are the
conclusions arrived at from the facts obtained
during the explorations : — That abundant evidence
has been furnished to show that the caverns had
been occupied by hyaenas, and possibly by other
beasts of prey, as dens, into which portions of
carcasses of various animals had been conveyed in
Pleistocene times. The very great abundance of

some animals, such as the rhinoceros, horse, and
reindeer, and the frequent presence of bones belong-
ing to young animals, proved that the plain of the
Vale of Clwyd, with that extending northward
under the Irish Sea, must have formed a
favourite feeding-ground even at that time. The
flint implements and worked bones showed also that
man was contemporary with these animals. The
ravine in which the caverns occur must have been
scooped previous to the deposition in it of the glacial
sands and Boulder-clays. This sand and clay, there
seems good evidence to show, must have filled up
the ravine to a height above the entrances to the
caverns, and such sands and clays are now found at
some points to completely fill up the caverns. The
following seem to Dr. Hicks to be the changes
indicated by the deposits. The lowest in the caverns,
consisting almost entirely of local materials, must
have been introduced by a river which flowed in the
valley at a very much higher level than does the little
stream at present. Gradually, as the valley was
being excavated, and the caverns were above the
reach of floods, hyaenas and other beasts of prey
occupied them, and conveyed the remains of other
animals into them. Man also must have been present
at some part of this period. Gradually the land
became depressed, the animals disappeared, stalag-
mite was formed, and the sea at last entered the
caverns, filling them up with sands and pebbles, and
burying also the remains not washed out. Floating
ice deposited in this sea the fragments of rocks
derived from northern sources, and these became
mixed with local rocks and clays brought down from
surrounding areas. The greater part of the Boulder-
clay in the Vale of Clwyd was probably deposited as
the land was being raised out of this mid-glacial
sea. During the process of elevation the caverns
became again disturbed by marine action and the
upper fine reddish loam and the laminated clays
were deposited. It seemed impossible to avoid the
conclusion, that these caverns must have been sub«
merged, and afterwards elevated to their present
height of about 400 feet above the level of the sea,
since they were occupied by Palaeolithic man and the
Pleistocene animals.

British Petrography. — We are pleased to
notice the appearance of the first part (price 3-r.) of a
work which has long been required, and which every
month it becomes more imperative to supply — Mr.
J. J. Harris Teall's Monograph on the ordinary rocks
of the British Islands. Every one interested in the
study of rocks will be glad to subscribe to this in-
valuable work, particularly as nobody is better
capable of bringing it out than Mr. Teall. The first
part contains two exquisitely got-up coloured plates,
with key-plates (by Messrs. Watson, of Birmingham),
and they and the text deal with Lherzolite, Serpen-
tine, Picrite, etc.

7o

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G 0SS1P.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Jackdaws. — The following facts seem of sufficient
interest to obtain a place in your ornithological notes.
A friend of mine is in possession of a jackdaw,
which was taken as a nestling from the nest in the
summer of 1874 f " rom Hadleigh Castle in Essex ; it
has been reared in a cage ever since, and has become
tame enough to go about the room, and the garden,
but is always very spiteful to strangers. It was
always believed to be a male bird ; as it had till
this year never laid an egg. On one occasion last
spring, some time between May 24 and June 23, on
cleaning out the cage, my friend noticed some yelk of
an egg, and a few days afterwards she observed the
bird to be sitting about in an unusual manner, and
the next morning, a Saturday, she found an egg ;
and on the succeeding Monday, she found a second
one. I give measurements of one egg : greatest
length if§ inch ; greatest width jjj inch. Since then
the bird has laid no more eggs. The bird has been
constantly in the care of the same person, so that it
would be impossible for any previous laying, if such
had occurred, to have escaped her observation. I
should be glad to know whether such an occurrence
as I have described is unusual or not. — Herbert
Taylor.

The Water-Ouzel. — Your correspondent F.
Burman, on p. 262, is quite right in his remarks on the
water-ouzel. I have written on the same subject
myself in much the same strain, and if he will get
"Oology," vol. i. page 78, Sir William Jardine, that
practical naturalist, says : " For the ova of any kind
of fish we have never detected in their stomachs or
intestines ; and we deem it almost impossible that
they could reach it after it was impregnated and
covered in the spawning bed."

Accidents to Birds. — It may be interesting to
many readers of Science-Gossip, as also serviceable
to any who have birds which they prize, to know
that I have been most successful in setting a broken
leg. The particulars are briefly these. A young
lark, which I have reared from the nest this year,
accidentally broke its leg. For a week I looked upon
it as a sprain, but, as the lameness did not improve,
but grew worse, I examined the leg more attentively,
and found that the tarsus-bone was broken high up
and just below the ankle, which is commonly mis-
taken for the knee. With the lustre of the eyes gone
and the feathers wet and matted together — probably
from perspiration occasioned by the pain — it looked
a pitiable object. I doubted if I could save its life.
I resolved to try the experiment to set the bone ; so,
with the assistance of a second person, I cut a piece
of thin post-card, and, having damped it, I folded it
round the leg from the ankle to the foot, allowing
the edges to just lap over. I then firmly bound a
considerable amount of darning worsted round the
card splint, and put the bird back into its cage. This
I did about three weeks ago, and it is now so far
better that it can open its claws and put its leg
down to steady itself. Before I put this splint on,
the leg, which was very hot and red and slightly
swollen, was drawn up and the claws folded into a
ball, while it supported itself by dropping its wing.
I hope very soon to have the satisfaction of seeing it
quite well. — I Falter T. Cooper.

The Violet Quotation. — In the course of my
reading I have come across two passages containing
the same idea, namely, an expressed desire that the

violet should giow out of the ashes of a dead person.
I cannot find a note, in any annotated edition which
I possess of either work, which gives any reason for
the birth of such an idea, and am in doubt whether it
is merely the result of chance that two authors should
have fixed upon the same flower — the violet — to
mention in connection with the burial of a corpse ;
or whether there is some tradition, or a natural
peculiarity of choice of locality connected with that
flower, which would lead one to expect its appearance
on a grave. One of these passages is from "Hamlet,"
act v. scene 1 : — ■

" Lay her i' the earth,

And from her fair and unpolluted flesh

May violets spring."

The other is from " In Memoriam," canto xviii. : —

" We may stand
Where he in English earth is laid ;
And from his ashes may be made
The violets of his native land."

Perhaps some of your readers may be able to aid
me with a satisfactory elucidation. — P. Q. Learite.

Mean Temperature and Rainfall. — I feel
obliged to Mr. Mattieu Williams for his courteous
reference in last year's Science-Gossip, p. 269, to
my paper on the Sequence of Mean Temperature and
Rainfall. I beg leave to point out two verbal errors
(possibly printers' errors) which should be corrected,
for the sake of any of your readers who may be in-
clined to follow out this interesting subject. I. In-
stead of "It is very rarely that a dry August is
followed by a wet September," there was shown to
be a strong probability for a very dry August to be
followed by a "more or less wet September." This
is remarkable as being the only instance in which a
tendency towards opposition between one month and
the next, and between one season and the next, is
found to exist, whether as regards their temperature
or their rainfall. 2. When either of the months,
April, June, July, August, September, December, or
January, is very cold, the succeeding month tends
to be cold, not, as stated, a " dry one." — FT. Conrtenay
Fox, M.R.C.S., F.R.M.S.

Arsenic and Malaria. — Whatever may be the
virtues possessed by Eucalyptus as a protective
against malaria, Dr. Tommasi-Crudelii is certainly
right in advocating the use of arsenic. As an
employe at the Cornwall Arsenic Company's works
at Bissoe for nearly forty years, I have had every
opportunity for making observations on this subject.
During that time I have never known a single case
of cholera or any other zymotic disease to occur in
that part of the valley where these extensive works
are situated. When the cholera, fever, smallpox, Sec,
have visited the county, many cases have occurred
in the same valley two miles below the works and
the same distance above it, but I have never known
a single case nearer the source of these deadly
fumes. — Stephen FT. Davey, Ponsanoot/i, Cornwall.

Lunar Rainbows.- — It has been said, " that man
is fortunate who has seen more than three lunar
rainbows during his lifetime." If this be true, I
have been favoured in this matter beyond the or-
dinary race of mortals. During thirty years I have
seen fifteen. Referring to my meteorological note-
book, I find three of more than ordinary brightness :
Dec. 22nd, 1868; Sept. 6th, 1870, and Sept. 27th,
1885. The last was the most brilliant I have ever
seen ; it was not only large, but of uniform brightness
throughout. There were two others the same night,
but not so perfect as the first. Night rainbows are

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

7i

by no means of common occurrence, but Louis
Jarman may rest assured they are not so rare as is
generally supposed. — Stephen II. Davey, Ponsanooth.
Cornwall.

The Electrical Eel. — I was' much interested,
on looking through the current number of Science-
Gossip, to see a fact recorded by Professor du Bois
Reymond which I have never seen in print before,
but which I observed myself a few years since ;
namely, the power the electrical eel possesses of
delivering its blow without actual contact with the
object struck. I have seen it stated that no shock
can be delivered unless the eel is touching the object
in two places so as to complete the circle, but, so far
from this being the case I have no doubt the eel can
send the shock through several inches of water. The
last time Frank Buckland was at Southport, we were
examining the various creatures in the Aquarium,
and among others some fine electric eels. We
wanted to try whether the shock was fatal to a fish
of a size suitable for food for the creature, or whether
it was only stunned. We therefore put a fine roach
into the tank. The eels became much excited, and
one big fellow sailed alongside and delivered its shock.
The roach instantly turned belly up without even a
quiver of its fins ; but what struck us both was that
the eel was certainly several inches off the fish when
the latter was struck. We repeated the experiment
with another roach and another eel, watching care-
fully to see the exact distance, and were both satisfied
that the eel was at least three or four inches distant.
We could not get another experiment, as the eels
would not use their power, or else had exhausted it.
Buckland was highly pleased, but did not want to
say anything about it without trying again to ascertain
more about it if possible, expecting very soon to
have an opportunity of verifying the observations.
His illness, and the death of the eels shortly after,
prevented the further observations being made. I
do not profess to be an electrician, but I cannot under-
stand how the shock can be sent through several
inches of water, which we were both convinced it
was. The two unfortunate roach, though so com-
pletely paralysedj as not to exhibit the slightest sign
of life, both recovered, having been removed from
the tank before the eels could seize them. These
creatures proved to be, like many other fishes,
cannibals. We had three in the tank, one rather
smaller than the others. One day the smallest was
missing, and the bloated appearance of one of his
companions showed only too clearly what had be-
come of him. — Charles L. Jackson, F.L.S., F.R.M.S.,
&*c., Honorary Naturalist to the Southport Aquarium.

"The Shard-borne Beetle" of Shakespeare is
in all probability Geotrupes stercorarius, the large
dung-beetle. It flies very much in warm weather in
search of dung, through which it bores, and deposits
its eggs. Not unfrequently it flops into our faces in
the dusk in rather a startling manner. Some people
have thought the poet meant the cockchafer (Melo-
lontha vulgaris) ; but the other insect is certainly
more obtrusive and, in most British localities, more
abundant, and therefore more probably intended. —
Rev. W. C. Hey.

The Shard-borne Beetle. — "The shard-borne
beetle, with its drowsy hum," is evidently meant for
one of the "Dor " beetles, G. vernalis most probably,
they being the ungainly, dignified gentry that fly in
all our country lanes on a summer's evening, and so
thoroughly ignore the presence of any intruder on
their happy hunting-ground as to think it unworthy

of their dignity to get out of the way, and endeavour
to fly through them or knock them over. — Louis
Jarman.

Mimulus luteus. — In August, 1885, I also
found the above plant growing in a stream (Whittey
Brook), in the village of Stockton, near here. It
covered the stream for a mile or more. — William
Weaver.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now
publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un-
dertake to insert in the following number any communications
which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month.

To Anonymous Querists. — We must adhere to our rule of
not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names.

To Dealers and others. — We are always glad to treat
dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general
ground as amateurs, in so far as the "exchanges" offered are fair
exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply
disguised advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost of
advertising, an advantage is taken of our gratuitous insertion of
" exchanges " which cannot be tolerated.

We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (or
initials) and full address at the end.

H. E. Quilter. — We shall be glad to hear from you on the
subject you mention.

T. W. M.— Dr. McNicol, of Southport, has published a
" Glossary of Natural History Terms." A cheaper book, how-
ever, is Rossiter's " Dictionary of Scientific Terms," published
by Messrs. William Collins and Sons, Publishers, London and
Glasgow.

H. P. M. — We are sorry to say your box of shells never
reached us. Your note is the first we have heard of them.

W. Hambrough.— Your specimens are unquestionably the
eggs of some lepidopterous insect, the species of which we wil
ascertain for you.

G. Forbes. — Stark's " British Mosses," and Lindsay's "Bri-
tish Lichens," each price ios. 6d., are the best you could get.
You may get them second hand, very likely.jof Mr. W. Collins,
Scientific Bookseller, 157, Great Portland Street, London, W.

A. S. — Stark's "British Mosses" (price ioj. 6d.), with beau-
tiful coloured plates, will admirably meet all your requirements.
See also article in Science-Gossip, vol. 1872, on " Collecting
and Preserving British Mosses."

P. E. G. — Mr. John E. Robson, Hartlepool, has published a
book of labels for British plants, with space fur filling up such
as you require ; price, we believe, 4J. 6d.

W. Smith. — The "Torrey Bulletin," published in Indiana-
polis, deals with American Cryptogama.

EXCHANGES.

Wanted, a good breech-loading double-barrelled gun, any
gauge between 12 and 16, either pin or central fire ; 16 pin-fire
preferred. Will give in exchange collection of eggs, 100 species,
also a few skins and books. Apply for list to C. Forge, South
Sea Farm, Flamboro', Yorkshire.

A few good specimens of Unio tumidus, var. i>onderosa,
Pascal (new British variety), U. pictorum, var. rostrata, Lam.,
and Anodonta cygnea, var. Zellensis, for exchange. — H. E.
Quilter, 4 Cedar Road, Leicester.

Wanted, a clean copy of " Forms of Water," by J. Tyndall,
vol. i., or "The Crayfish," by T. H. Huxley, vol. xxviii., or
"Volcanoes," by John W. Judd, vol. xxxv. (International
Scientific Series), crown 8vo, cloth, price $s. each, in exchange
for "The Doctrine of Descent and Darwinism," by Professor
Oscar Smidt, vol. xii., same series, price $s. — T. Fielding,
Constable's Tower, Dover, Kent.

A Williams freezing and imbedding microtome, by Swift &
Son, for good high-power objective or other offers. — W. Jenkin-
son, 9 Surrey Street, Sheffield.

Wanted, to exchange good typical Liassic specimens from
the Midland counties for similar specimens from other districts.
— W. D. Crick, 7 Alfred Street, Northampton.

Wanted, parasites and their eggs, either mounted or un-
mounted, in exchange for good slides and objects. — J. W.
Wilshaw, 455, Shoreham Street, Sheffield.

Wanted, vols. i. and ii. of " Proceedings of Geologists' As-
sociation." — B. H. Woodward, 80 Petherton Road, London, N.

Fertile eggs of Dispar from fern. 2^ inches across, to ex-
change for fertile eggs of Caja, Villica, and Ulmata. — L. Jarman,
304 High Holborn, London.

Well-mounted micro-slides to exchange for other good
micro or lantern slides. — Dr. Moorhead, Cootehill, Ireland.

72

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

BALSAM-mounted sections, well finished, for pathological or
histological specimens suitable for sections in chromic acid or
spirit. — Thomas Groves, Kilburn Dispensary, N.W.

Aquarium, octagon form, 20 inches high, 15 inches wide,
slate bottom ; open to offers — no books. Also, Cassell's
"Science for All," complete, unbound; desiderata, aviary,
cage, or good canaries, or other birds other than pigeons or
fowls. — Aquarium, 24 Park Road, Clapham, London, S.W.

Wanted, i-inch objective, or other microscopic appliances,
in exchange for 100 accurately-named British mosses. — G. A.
Barker, 1 Northwold Road, Upper Clapton, E.

" Lancashire and Cheshire, Past and Present " (Bains and
Fairbairn), 25 parts, published at js. each, one part missing.
What offers ? — J. Laing, 37 Main Street, Stapenhill, Burton-on-
Trent.

Wanted, first-class botanical and anatomical slides, also
diatom slides (selected), and good unmounted material of all
kinds, in exchange for entomological preparations, mounted.—
C. Collins, Bristol House, Harlesden, N.W.

Offerei', A. acicula, C. dubia, H. pisana, P. corneus,
L. stagnalis, var. fragilis, H. ru/estris, C. minimum, and
others, for L. auric ularia, L. glutinosa, Unio margaritifer,
H.fusca, and varieties of species. — Wm. Webster, Lofthouse,
Wakefield,

Wanted, No. 242 of Science-Gossip. — R. C. Chaytor,
Scrafton Lodge, Middleham, Yorkshire.

Goldsmith's " History of the Earth and Animated Nature,"
with notes from the works of the most distinguished British and
foreign naturalists, illustrated by upwards of 2000 figures;
Gosse on " Evenings at the Microscope ;" and " One Thousand
Objects for the Microscope by M. C. Cooke;" for exchange or
otherwise, unbound vols, of Science-Gossip preferred. — R.
C. Chaytor, Scrafton Lodge, Middleham, Yorkshire.

Wante<>, Eocene fossils from Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent
only, in exchange for others ; must be named, localised, and
perfect specimens. Also wanted, J. W. Lowry's " Chart of
Characteristic British Tertiary Fossils ;" state wants. — Geo. E.
East, jun., 10 Basinghali Street, London, E.C.

Exotic butterflies. — Duplicates : Orn. Priamus, Minos,
Richmondii ; Papilio Polymnestor, Hector, Diphilus, Philoxe-
nus (fine), Paris, Polyctor, Zalmoxis, Hesperus; Urania
Rhypheus ; Leilus ; Attacus Atlas, etc. Wanted, other exotic
Rhopalocera, particularly rare Papilios for figuring.— Hudson,
Railway Terrace, Cross Lane, near Manchester.

Lepidoptera. — Duplicates : Io, Atalanta, Cardamines, Co-
rydon, S.populi, tilue, ligustri, tiliaria (= alniaria), Defoli-
aria, Dilatata, Rhomboidaria, Pyraliata, Dubitata, Piniaria,
Rubiginata, jEscularia (2 ), Bucephala, Perla, Elymi, Lutosa,
Suffusa, Megacephala, Lucifera, Ferruginea (fair), Oxyacan-
tha, Lota, Spadicea, Rostralis,| Hortuellia, Pratellus. Cerella.
Desiderata: Pups of Carmelita, Chaonia, Dodonaea, or offers.
— George Balding, Ruby Street, Wisbech.

Micro-slides : a few slides of cane-sugar for polariscope (very
brilliant), also some selected diatoms and miscellaneous mounts ;
exrhange for other good mounts ; mutual approval. — Mathie,
42 McKinlay Street, Glasgow.

Well-mounted slides of Diatomaceae in exchange for other
•well-mounted slides, Forams. and Polycystina preferred. Send
list.— W. M. Ranson, The Cottage, Priory Road, Anfield,
Liverpool.

Micro-slides. — Two beautiful objects for polariscope, viz.,
spicula of Synapta in situ, and leg of cockchafer, showing
muscular structure ; in exchange for two good insect mounts. —
J. B. Bessell, Fremantle Square, Bristol.

Science-Gossip wanted, any No. from commencement to 34,
also 51, 52, 55 to 59, 67, 68, 72, 76, 83, 84, " Entomologist" 187,
199, 202, 221, 243, 244, 248, 249, 250. Good exchange given
for any of above. — W. T. Taylor, Seymour House, Keswick.

I wish to receive American plants in exchange for plants
of Europe, and especially of France and Switzerland. —
Mouillefarine, 46 Rue St. Anne, Paris.

Wanted, coins, medals, tokens, old china and bric-a-brac
generally ; in exchange, can offer fossils, shells, minerals. — F.
Stanley, 6 Clifton Gardens, Margate.

Wanted, Huxley's " Crayfish " or " Practical Biology ; "
will give the April, July, October, 1885, and January 1886 parts
of " Journal of Microscopy and Natural Science." — H. Hiller,
82 Pinstone Street, Sheffield.

"Compendium of the English Flora," by Sir J. E. Smith,
1884, with a printed list of Yorkshire plants by Ibbotson ;
Bloomfield's "Poems," illustrated by Bewick, 1811 ; Inglis's
" Channel Islands," 1834 ; Audubon's " Ornithological Bio-
graphy," 1831, folio, one volume, no illustrations ; Forrest's
"Sculptured Rocks on Rombalds Moor," pamphlet, rare;
MS. lists of Wakefield and Pontefract shells, for other natural
history books or specimens. — Geo. Roberts, Lofthouse,
Wakefield.

Swift's clinical and sea-side microscope with i-in. objective,
spot lens, and tripod foot, good condition. Also capital ^-in.
objective by E. Swift (for binocular). What offers? Apparatus.
Wanted a good compressorium, Ross model. — E. B. L. Bray ley,
13 Burlington Road, Clifton, Bristol. _

Wanted, a good second-hand slide cabinet to hold 500 or
750 slides, either oak or mahogany ; state requirements. — W.
Henshall, The Holl es, Bredbury, nr. Stockport.

Valuable collection of British land, freshwater and marine
shells, and a few foreign ; 360 species and vars. ; nearly 2000
specimens, named and localised ; offers requested. — Thos. H.
Hedworth, Dunston-on-Tyne.

Wanted, parts 1 to 16 of the "Journal of Conchology," or
any of them, also British land, freshwater and marine shells
in exchange for others ; lists on application. — J. W. Cundall,
Carrville, Alexandra Park, Redland, Bristol.

Science-Gossip in numbers for the years '80, '81, '82, '83, '84,
'85, with 24 coloured plates ; to exchange for coins or natural
history books. — Jas. Windoes, Chipping Norton, Oxon.

L. C. 7th edition offered: 1142, 1646, 420^, 421, 463, 464,
464?, 468?, i, g, tv, 452, 406. Many desiderata. — W. S.
Harrison, 15 Park Place East, Sunderland.

A good exchange for any of the following : Litnna , a glabra,
L. glutinosa, L. involuta,Acme, Vertigo alpestris, V. pusilla,
or Geomalacus tnaculosus. — S. C. Cockerell, 51 Woodstock
Road, Bedford Park, Chiswick, W.

Science-Gossip, January '84 to May '85, 16 parts, excluding
March '84. All clean and perfect, with plates. Wanted, well
set specimens of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera or Hymenoptera;
write first. — W., 22 Richmond Terrace, Clapham Road, London.

Wanted, Thecla bettila-, T. Pruni, T. IV. album, T.
Quercus, T. Rubi, Leucophasia sinapis and Polyonimatus
sEgon. Send list of requirements for a good series of any of the
alove. — F. A. A. Skuse, 36 Campbell Road, Bow, London, E.

Wanted, ^Egeria, Davus, Sibilla, Argynnidae andLycoenidae,
in exchange for freshwater rotifers. — W. Hayles, 9a Union
Road, Cambridge.

I will send one dozen micro-photographs of natural history
objects, in exchange for an equal number of slides of insect
preparations in balsam ; Enock's, Topping's or Norman's pre-
ferred. — M. H. Robson, 18 Albion Place, Newcastle-upon-
Tyne.

Wanted, museum specimens of an ethnological and anthro-
pological character. A large selection of microscopic slides of
marine life, etc. ; North American and British shells ; Crustacea,
and ottier specimens offered in exchange. — Ed. Lovett, West
Burton House, Outram Road, Croydon.

Wanted, foreign correspondents for the exchange of insects
of all orders. — S. L. Mosley, Beaumont Park Museum, Hud
dersfield.

Wanted, Gottsche, Lindenberg and Nees' " Synopsis Hepar
ticarum," clean copy if possible. Exchange in books. — W. Smith,
Ormiston Lodge, Arbroath.

Wanted, specimens of British Chrysididae or Vespidae in ex-
change for living chrysalides of Megachile ligniseca and Crabro
leucostoma. — D. W. Collings, 22 Balfour Road, Highbury, N.

BOOKS, ETC., RECEIVED.
" The French Metrical System," by Christopher Giles, Ade-
laide (London: R. Banks & Son). — "The Definitions of
Euclid," by R. Webb, M.A. (London : Geo. Bell & Sons).—
" Modern Science : a Criticism," by Edward Carpenter (Man-
chester : John Heywood). — " British Cage Birds," parts 5 and
6 ; " Book of the Goat," part 5 ; and " Fancy Pigeons," part
5 (all published by L. Upcott Gill, London).—" British Petro

The Illustrated Science Monthly." — "The American
Florist."— "The American Monthly Microscopical Journal."
— "The Botanical Gazette." — " Cosmos." — " Science."— "The
Amateur Photographer." — " Ben Brierley's Journal." — " The
Rochdale Field Naturalists' Journal."— " Feuille des Jeunes
Naturalistes." — " The Garner."— " The Naturalist."—" The
Midland Naturalist."— "Journal of the Quekett Microscopical
dub."— "The American Naturalist."— " British and Colonial
Druggist." &c. &c. &c.

Communications received up to the uth ult. from:
L. J.-M. A. H.— S. C. C.-W. B. G.-J. L.-H. E. Q.—
G. A. B.-W. F., jun.-A.-F. C. G.— I. M.-T. G.— P. T. D.
T. W. M.— T. W.-W. B. G.— J. E. L.— R. W.— R. L. W.—
E. H.-C. C-B. P.-W. C. C— E. G.- L. E. A.-F. G. L—
W M.— J. E. T.— R. D.— S. A. M.— W. C. C.-J. B.— D. W. C.
-L. E.-N. O. R.-A.-F. G. L.-C. P. C.-G. F.-T. E.—
T. S. S.-L. W. W. P.— G. A.— R. T. J.— J. J. N.-W. M.—
L. E. A.-P. Q. K.-A. S.-M. T.-H. E. T.-M. T.—
T. E. E — K. M. W. T.— T. M.— E. W.-G. H.— M. B.— J. M.
F -\v W.— G H. J.— W. S. B.— H. A.— Dr. A. M. M'A.—
H. G. W.— B. H. W.— C. P. F.— L. B.— C. B. M.— W. H.—
H P. M.-B. H. W.-H. M.— F. B.— J. W. W.— W. D. C—
J. M.-W. J.-J. G.-F. H.-T. F.-J. W. C.-T. J. P.—
W H. H.-W.-F. S.-C C— M.-W. T. T.-J. C. P.-
L K. B.— I. B. B.— W. M. R.— B. T.— W. M.— S. M.—
B H. W.-G. B.— H.— W. E. C.-G.E. E.— A. D.— M. E. T.
— R. C. C.-E. L.— A. P.— F. J. W.-W. W.— W. F., jun.—
C. C.-Messrs. S. S. & Co.-S. C. C.-E. C B.-W. S. H.-
J. W.-Dr. M.-A. S.-J. R—T. H. H.-M. D. H.-W. H.
— E. B. L. B.-P. E. G.— J. W. H.-J. T. T. R.-G. R.—
H. H.-W. G.-W. H.-J. C T.-F. A. A. S.-W. R.-
M. H. R.— &c. &c. &c.

HARDWICKKS SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

73

ON ANIMAL BEAUTY.

By Dr. P. Q. KEEGAN.

[Continued from p. 64.]

N the next place, the
beauty of colour in
animals claims our
attention. The

beauty of form is,
as we have seen,
referable to the in-
ternal skeleton, the
muscular and fatty
tissue ; but it would
appear that the
blood, the skin,
and the liver are
principally con-
cerned in the pro-
duction of organic
tint and hue. This
species of beauty
is in its effect more
sensuous and less
"intellectual, "than
the beauty of form. Nothing can exceed the loveliness,
the gorgeous colouring of the humming-birds, the
sun-birds, many fishes, the trogons, Buprestidse, etc.
Iridescence produced by the fibres, and the deposition
from the blood of distinct pigments, are the two
immediate sources of animal colours. The chemical
constituents of the blood, its activity and richness,
and above all the oxygen with which it is saturated,
contribute to their production ; and frequently the
transparency of the tissues imparts thereto a fairy-like
aspect which is inexpressibly charming . In discussing
the subject of form we have observed how it is that
to every animal configuration there is set, as it were,
an ideal exemplar or model which it more or less
embodies according as it exhibits more or less of
beauty. In the species of beauty we are now review-
ing, the necessity of such an ideal is not so patent,
nor does there appear therein such an obvious de-
velopment of force or such a thorough elaboration of
structure. When we see a hideous or loathsome
shape we recognise some defect of harmony or of
No. 256.— April 1886.

congruity ; when we see a pale or repulsive colour,
we judge it to be deficient in itself and as of itself.
Another feature worthy of notice is that, once an
animal is made, its stamp of form and contour is
generally preserved throughout its life ; whereas its
colouring is frequently subject to periodical change.

This periodical change of colour is observable
especially amongst birds. It is known that a change
takes place in the plumage of all birds at the beginning
of the breeding season. The pigment cells of the
feathers, etc., either increase in number, or, if already
developed, become expanded. These lovely creatures
are never more lovely than in the spring-time, when
their apparel changes in a wonderful manner from the
sombre shades of the winter to colours and tints the
most gorgeous. And this is the very season when
their life-energy is most potent and actively elevated ;
when, almost perpetually on the wing, they flit
restlessly from branch to branch, or make the
woodlands echo with their songs, or vigorously
engage in the active duties of parentage. Fishes,
too, at the breeding season assume lovely colours,
and roam in shoals over the waters, or pertinaciously
advance up rivers. In the case of insects it is seen
that so long as they remain in the dull and lifeless
larva and pupa states they are comparatively un-
attractive ; but, once they assume the imago or perfect
condition, they become active and beautiful. The
beetle tribe, which haunts and moves slowly about
the ground and rarely takes wing, is not very lovely;
but the remarkably active and practically energetic
bee, dragon-fly, and butterfly, etc., are among the
most gorgeously apparelled of animals. All this
periodical or seasonable change or modification of
colour would seem to indicate that animal beauty in
this particular arises not from any of the more solid
and permanent constituents of the organism, but rather
from some (such as the blood) which is subject to
great variation in respect to its quantity or quality or
to (the most efficient of all) what we may style its
vitalising property. Animal pigment consists of
granules usually enclosed in cells, and these cells

E

74

HARD Wl CKE ' S S CIE NCE- G OS SI P.

appear and fade, and in some cases (as in the cuttle-
fish) seem to be influenced by the will or nerve-state
of (he animal.

There can be little doubt that the beauteous
colouring of animals is occasioned primarily by the
presence of a large amount of oxygen in the blood or
in the tissues. No doubt can be entertained that
this gas lias the property not merely of supporting
life, but also of vitalising, animating, and beautifying
the living tissues and fluids. Dark and dun venous
blood, when infused by oxygen, immediately becomes
bright and beautifully scarlet. This red blood
suffusing ihe eyes (as in the look of love) <jr the
cheeks (as in blushing) imparts to the human face its
supreme attractiveness in these its moments of most
eminent loveliness. And if we consider for a moment
the potent influences in this respect of oxygen among
material bodies, then shall we have an earnest of its
sway in the case of organic bodies. Most schoolboys
are familiar with the experiment of burning a piece
of sulphur or phosphorus or iron wire in the gas,
and the brilliant and beautiful sight thereby witnessed.
Some metals (such as strontium, barium, copper,
etc.) have the property of imparting to their salts
when ignited tints of red, green, blue, etc. ; but
pyrotechnists in their coloured fires, in addition to
these, always use nicre or chlorate of potass, which
are highly charged with oxygen ; and thereby the
beautiful effects of their "stars," etc., are much
enhanced. The aspect of fire in itself when not
overpowering is pleasurable. Now, what is fire or
heat? It is simply an act of rapid chemical union
between oxygen and certain bodies called inflam-
mables. When an inorganic body is heated the atoms
or primary elements which compose its mass are
thrown into a state of active motion, and the presence
of oxygen around the burning body serves to increase
and intensify this internal agitation. A similar effect
no doubt occurs in the case of living tissues or
organic bodies. The presence of oxygen in the blood
increases the motion of its particles, and beautifies
their aspect. The presence of oxygen in the tissues,
especially the skin or epidermis, vivifies and increases
its activity, its decay and repair, the special organic
vitality of its molecules, and so-wise heightens its
beauty. As the action of this gas beautifies and
increases the motion of the ultimate particles of
in iterial bodies, so we may presume it beautifies and
perfects the primary vital motions of animal tissues.
In the former case the oxygen, it would seem, must
be generated, or be external to the bodies ; in the
latter case, the oxygen would appear to be stored in
the organic substance itself. Oxygen (as aforesaid)
becomes latent, and is stored up in every one of the
animal tissues, in every living bit of protoplasm. In
I is manner we shall perhaps be able to account for
the wondrous transformation which those lavish con-
sumers of oxygen, viz. birds, undergo in the spring-
time. It would seem that during the winter the

oxygen is gradually accumulated in the feathers and
skin, and on the approach of spring it bursts into
activity, when new feathers are developed, and the
exquisite embellishment incident to that season takes
place. This magnificent development of animal
decoration is connected also with, or at least runs
parallel to, the sexual impulse. The vital energy,
actuated by the stimulating influence of oxygen,
operates among other regions of the body, and stirs
other functions as well as those of the skin and its
appendages. In most animals the male is more
beauteously apparelled than the female, and the
former is in the spring-time more sexually perturbed
than the latter. So also if we consider instances of
animals not so signally decorated as birds, we shall
find their comparatively sombre colouring related in
some way to their small share of vernal vital energy.
Thus the mammalia exhibit grays, black, brown,
drab, yellow, fawn colours, but no green, and scarcely
any blue or brilliant scarlet ; and their periodical
vernal energy is, as exhibited by their sexual pro-
pensities, dull and languid as compared with that of
birds or fish. A few birds and insects, such as the
trogons and some ground-beetles, are dull and silent,
yet are they splendidly coloured. In these ex-
ceptional cases, however, it may be found that the
animal energy, although individually concentrated, is
limited in amount, or is drained off by some channel
to be utilised in some other department of the animal
economy. The great Darwin, viewing, as was his
wont, everything from a material or sensuous point
of view, was of opinion that active or voluntary
sexual selection is one of the chief causes, if not the
chief cause, of all the variety and beauty of animal
colour. This agency, however, although it may to
some extent practically account for the actual beauty
of certain individuals at present existing, cannot be
considered the fundamental cause thereof. Sexual
selection is at best a secondary and, as it were, visible
or tangible agency that occasions the primary and
recondite cause to operate.

{To be continued)

NOTES ON NEW BOOKS.

f^EOLOGY: Chemical, Physical, and Stratigra-
\JT phical, by Joseph Prestwich, M.A., F.R.S., etc.
In two volumes : vol. i. Chemical and Physical (Ox-
ford, at the Clarendon Press).

The stony science cannot complain now of the
want of advanced text-books. The real difficulty is
which to select, for the best and most renowned
teachers of modern geology have devoted themselves
to writing manuals. No other science is now so well
off in this respect. Jukes, Lyell (a new edition of
which, by Duncan, we recently noticed), Phillips
(edited by Etheridge and Seeley), the two Geikies

HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G O SSI P.

75

(Archibald and James), besides a host of minor, but
important, writers; Clifton-Ward, Jukes-Brown, H.
B. Woodward, W. J. Harrison, W. H. Penning, etc.,
everyone of whom must be considered both a capable
and authorised teacher.

And now we have another — two promised volumes,
of which the present is a substantial proxy — by the
veteran geologist, Professor Prestwich. Such a work
ought to be, is sure to be, of the utmost importance.
Those who personally know the man — his enormous
and ripened knowledge of everything geological,
literary as well as field-work — who are acquainted
with the almost historical record of the innumer-
able papers he has contributed to various scientific
societies, nearly all dealing with original observation
and research — the gentleness, nay, modesty, of Prest-
wich (a rare attribute, of which, in these days, we
may be reasonably proud as still existing among
English scientists) — will expect that this new manual
ought to fill, and will fill, a place none other can.
No other science has developed, or accreted as well
as exfoliated, so much as geology. And Professor
Prestwich's active geological life extends to the days
of Conybeare, Buckland, Mantell, Edward Forbes,
Lyell, Salter, and others. What a treasure-house of
rich geological recollections !

Moreover, Professor Prestwich was always dis-
tinguished for the lucidity of his style of writing.
We are afraid the literary faculty is not always
cultivated among scientists as it ought to be. It is
surely of great importance, if we have anything to
say, to be able to say it. Whatever Professor Prest-
wich says in the present volume is said well.

Professor Prestwich has remained consistently con-
servative amid all those radical changes which have
succeeded each other so rapidly that they have
eventually come round to the original point of de-
parture. He has always held aloof from Lyell's
charming theory of " Uniformitarianism " — of natural
forces always acting as we see them now. Professor
Prestwich's view has always been that ' ' the phe-
nomena of geology, so far from showing uniformity
of action in all time, present an unceasing series of
changes dependent upon the circumstances of the
time ; and that, while the laws of chemistry and
physics are unchangeable and as permanent as the
material universe itself, the exhibition of the con-
sequences of those laws in their operation on the
earth has been, as new conditions and new com-
binations successively arose in the course of its long
geological history, one of constant variation in degree
and intensity of action."

There are twenty-four chapters in this volume,
none touching on fossils except chapter v., which
deals with the " Order, Place, and Range of Past
Life." Here Professor Prestwich is too conservative,
notwithstanding his adherence to the evolutionistic
cause ; for he arranges fhe existing order of
animals, invertebrate and vertebrate, in_ a classifica-

tion which has been exploded for some time ; I
which we hope the author will correct in another
and a speedily required edition of this valuable life-
work.

Catalogue of the Palceozoic Plants in the Department
of Geology and Palceontology, British Museum, by
Robert Kidston, F.G.S. We are pleased to notice
this work (first) because the trustees of the British
Museum are the only Government authorities who
behave towards the scientific press of this country
after the generous manner of the United States
Government, in sending out their publications for
notice, and in thus letting the world know what they
are doing ; and (second) because no man has carried
scientific common sense into the region of Palaso-bo-
tany more than Mr. Robert Kidston. An enormous
amount of comparative work is here condensed into
scientific order, and the result is of the utmost im-
portance to geologists.

The Tourists' Guide to the Flora of the Alps
(London : Swan Sonnenschein &: Co.). This is the
very sort of book we are frequently asked to re-
commend by botanical tourists. , It was compiled
by Prof. Dalla-Torre, and has been translated and
edited by Mr. A. W. Bennett, so that it comes to us
with high warranty of excellence. The original
work was issued under the auspices of the German
and Austrian Alpine Club in Vienna. The get-up
of the work is artistic as well as utilitarian, for its
red morocco cover wraps over like a pocket-book.
The paper is thin, but strong ; the type clear, and
the book can easily be stowed away in the breast-
pocket.

Lewis's Pocket Medical Vocabulary (London : H.
K. Lewis, 136 Gower Street). A capital little dic-
tionary of the vast specialistic terms in medical
science which even the most distinguished of practi-
tioners cannot be expected to carry in his head ;
and why should he, when this little book of 217 pages
carries them much better in his waistcoat pocket ?

Handbook of Mosses, by J. E. Bagnall, A.L.S.
(London : Swan Sonnenschein & Co.). There was
unquestionable room for a popular work of this kind,
and we do not think any botanist in England could
have been better selected to compile it than Mr.
Bagnall. It deals with the appliances required for
the study of mosses, their development, habitats,
classification, geographical distribution, cultivation,
uses, preparation for the herbarium, etc., and is
profusely illustrated and published at one shilling.

We have also received — Kaffir Folk-Lore, by
G. McCall Theal, second edition (London : Swan
Sonnenschein & Co.), a selection from the traditional
tales current among the people living on the eastern
border of Cape Colony. The study of folk-lore is
now very popular, and this work is therefore both
useful and interesting. By-and-by we may expect
some writer will have genius enough to establish a
comparative system of folk-lore. Also, History of the

E 2

7 6

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSS I P.

German Language (same publishers), by H. A.
Strong, LL.D., and K. Meyer, Ph.D. Both the
authors are connected with Liverpool University
College. They have written the book to supply a
want often felt by professional teachers, to whom it
will come very handy. Rudiments of Chemistry, by
Temple Orme (same publishers). Another addition
to the increasing library of chemical works. It
professes, however, to be only the merest elementary
introduction, and it really explains the nature of
chemical research rather than attempts to teach the
science of chemistry. It is remarkable for the
simplicity and lucidity of the style, and will be an
excellent boy's first book in chemistry.

A Plea for the Rain-band, by J. R. Capon, F.R.A.S.
(London : E. Stanford). This is a re-issue, in a
more permanent and attractive form, of Mr. Capon's
now celebrated pamphlet (which latter has been
long out of print), with additions. Modern Science:
a Criticism, by Edward Carpenter (John Heywood,
Manchester), shows extensive reading, but poor
logic, and contains pages of such assertions as that
" Astronomy is the most perfect science because we
kno7v least about it " .' Life is too short for books of
this kind to stand a chance of success.

The Definitions of Euclid, by R. Webb (London :
George Bell& Sons). Useful to teachers in supplying
hints for explanations of difficulties felt by beginners.
Euclid will no longer seem foolishness to a boy who
has this book to help him.

A SYCAMORE FUNGUS.

IN the account of a "Nettle Fungus" in the
February number (p. 35) we were concerned
with that group of the Sphaeriacea; in which the
mouth is elongated transversely so as to form a kind
of crest or ridge. The fungus with which we are now
concerned belongs likewise to the Sphaeriaceae, but
to that group in which the ostiolum is elongated
vertically so as to form a beak or rostrum. In more
familiar terms it may be compared to a chimney,
seated usually on the summit of the perithecium, up
which the sporidia have to climb before they can
emerge into the light. This chimney, like a real
one, generally terminates in a circular opening at the
top, although in a few distantly allied species
(Melanospora), the opening is surrounded by a fringe
or tassel-like arrangement of threads — is in fact
fimbriate.

The ordinary type of a Sphaeria has a more or less
globular perithecium, which in by far the majority of
cases is crowned with a little prominence or papilla,
terminating in a pore. This papilla is in other cases
slightly elongated, and it is obvious that what is
called a beak is only a more exaggerated form of
the same organ, all the intermediate stages being
observable in one species or another. The departure

of the beaked Sphaerias from the typical form is less
striking than is that of the long-mouthed Lophio-
stomaceae, though even in the latter case also the
gradations of change are visible in some species.

This is probably the reason that induced Saccardo,
in his " Sylloge Fungorum," to adopt a different pro-
cedure in the two cases. He separates the crested
Sphaerias entirely from the Sphaeriaceae, and con-
stitutes them, as I have shown, into a distinct family.
But the beaked Sphaerias he distributes throughout

Fig. 48. — Leutomi/a ampulla sea {in situ), showing the beaks
emerging from the bark. X 50.

Fig. 49. — A Single Perithecium. X 100.

the Sphreriaceae, according to the form and colour of
their sporidia.

This is, I think, a mistake. The two groups
stand on the same footing, and are entitled to
similar rank ; they should both be considered as
sub-families of the Sphaeriaceae. In regard to the
beaked Sphaerias, in fact, this is what Saccardo him-
self would prefer. In a note on p. 227 of the second
volume of the " Sylloge," which seems to have escaped
the notice of his critics in this country, he recom-
mends that all those genera which have a decided
beak should be united by his successors in a sub-

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

77

family to be called Ceratostomese.* This is im-
portant, as showing that he is not wedded to his
" carpological" arrangement, when it is convenient
and just to depart from it.

It is frequently forgotten that, although the
ultimate aim of systematic arrangements of plants is
a genealogical one, yet, while our knowledge is as
imperfect as it is in the case of the Fungi, we must
be content with that approach to our ideal which is
most convenient in practice. After all, one of the
objects of classification is ease of reference, so that
we may readily identify the species which we find.
This was indeed the chief object of the "Sylloge,"
and how delightfully it fulfils that purpose is known

The contents of the perithecia (Fig. 49), pressed out
in water under the microscope, attracted attention at
once on account of the very peculiar outline of the
asci, which will be seen in Fig. 53.

This naturally reminded one of the figure given by
Cooke, in the Handbook, of the asci of his SpJia. a
ampullasca,* p. 876. The perithecia also agreed in
every respect, except that the beaks were scarcely as
long as he describes ; but the sporidia presented a
decided difference. The sporidia of Cooke's speci-
mens were " narrowly lanceolate " or rather oblong-
fusiform, with a guttula at each extremity, and con-
tinuous, i.e. not septate. Mine, on the contrary,
although closely alike in size and shape, were some-

Fig. 50. — Two adjacent '
Perithecia. X 50. j

Fig. 51. — Hexagonal cells'of Perithecium. X 1000.

Fig. 52. — Apex of beak, a, X 300 ; b, X iooo,
showing vermiform cells.

Fig. 53. — a, Ascus of L. ampullasca, X 500 ; b, more shortly
stalked ascus, X iooo, showing the thickened bilobed
membrane at the apex ; 1-6, the sporidia (the numbers
indicate the presumed stages of growth) ; at x, two
injured sporidia.

to all who use it. Afterwards, with fuller knowledge,
a more natural arrangement still may be evolved.

It was on the last day of the just departed year
that I found, at Sutton Coldfield, a prostrate trunk of
sycamore from which the bark had been partially
removed. A perfect storehouse of fungi it turned out
to be, and I may on a future occasion give an account
of the other riches it produced. On the inner side of
the hanging strips of bark, nestling among the fibres
of the liber, were numerous black dots, conspicuous
under a lens on account of the long projecting
beaks that looked like a forest of smoky chimneys
(Fig. 48).

* Horn- or beak-mouthed.

what curved, and showed in the centre an undoubted
though faint, transverse partition. A wider search,
however, revealed many of the sporidia without this
septum, and with the guttula at each extremity.

Others also were found, unseptate and furnished
with a hyaline conical appendage at each end.
These, however, could not but be less developed
states of the other forms, inasmuch as I had placed
only one perithecium under the microscope, and all
the forms proceeded therefore from one individual.
It may be remembered that the same deciduous
appendages were found in the case of Lophiotrcma
angustilabrum {supra, p. 37).

* Having asci shaped like an ancient jar or ampulla.

78

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE-G OSSIP.

The septum was, as I have said, faint and delicate,
and perceptible only under a magnifying power of
iooo ; but nevertheless no doubt could exist as to
its reality, as will be seen from comparing Fig. 53 x.
If a sporidium, when slightly crushed, separates into
two parts as there represented, or if one part can be
empty and dead while the other is still fresh and
r:ninjured, it must be two-celled. Moreover, I after-
wards met with more developed specimens in which
the septum was a conspicuous feature.

Now the presence of this septum removes the
species from the genus in which Saccardo has placed
it. Pie knew it only from Cooke's description in the
Handbook ; so it appears in the " Sylloge " under No.
1549, as Ceratostomella ampullasca. But henceforth
it must be placed in the genus Lentomita, which has
two-celled sporidia. It is interesting to notice, as
confirming the accuracy of this conclusion, that the
other species of Lentomita are said to have the
internal membrane of the asci thickened at the top.
This I observed in my specimens, as will be seen in
Fig. 53^, where the thickening is represented as cre-
nately bilobed. Under a lower power this projec-
tion of the membrane appears as a bright circular
spot (Fig. 53 rt )> an d forms perhaps that "globose
body " which Messrs. Berkeley and Broome observed
at the tip of the asci of Sphnria pilosa, ' ' the nature
of which " they "were unable to determine."

Another point worth notice in my specimens is that
the black (really dark brown) colour of the peri-
; I iecium becomes paler upwards, and at the tip of the
beak almost disappears. Moreover the wall of the
perithecium is submembranaceous : that is, the cells
of which it is composed can be clearly seen. They
ore hexagonal in shape, 15 ju in diameter (Fig. 51),
but they become elongated at the base of the
rostrum, and at the apex they form a subpellucid
prosenchymatous tissue, of vermiform cells 30 /j.
long and only i\ n wide (Fig. 51).

It thus appears that Cooke's species, Lentomita
amftdlasca, occurs not only on oak, as he records
it, but also on sycamore, Acer pseudo-platanus. But
this is not all. The form which I have been
describing occurred on the inner side of the liber
ayer of the bark ; the perithecia were globose or
ovate, immersed and scattered (Fig. 48), although
here and there two or three could be found in close
contact (Fig. 50). Occasionally, however, on the
outer side of the same bark, were found clusters of
perithecia which differed in two respects — the beaks
were sometimes shorter ; and, when the outer bark
was removed, the nearly ovate perithecia were left
seated just within the surface of the inner bark, i.e.
nearly superficial. But the identity of the two forms
could not be doubted.

Now in the Handbook, p. 877, immediately after
tlie description of Spkaria ampullasca is found
another of Splnvria stylophora, B. and Br., which is
said to have the " perithecia at first covered, at length

free, disposed in orbicular patches, ovate, attenuated
upwards ; ostiola longer than the perithecia ; asci
broadly clavate ; sporidia fusiform, hyaline, uniseptate,
appendiculate at either end." Moreover it occurred
on Acer platanoides.

It is obvious that, so far as it goes, this descrip-
tion will apply very nearly to the second form of
L. atnpullasca, which I have mentioned. The size of
the sporidia is not stated, but the figure given by the
authors closely resembles some of those from my
specimens, before the appendages have fallen off. The
figure of the perithecia represents them with short
beaks, but this is contradicted by the description.

Except by reference to the original specimens of
Berkeley, it is of course impossible to establish the
identity or non-identity of the two species beyond
a doubt. I only suggest a possibility. But their
resemblance is so close that it will be better to put
Berkeley's species as a variety of Cooke's : say
Lentomita ampullasca, var. stylophora. In some of
my specimens the perithecia grew in dense oval
patches, though in other respects remaining abso-
lutely identical with the typical scattered form.

One word in conclusion. It will be seen that the
position of a fungus in Saccardo's " Sylloge "is deter-
mined partly by the septation of its spores, and
therefore changes if additional septa are discovered.
This, if a fault, is one which the advance of know-
ledge will remove. There can be no doubt that
many species are at present imperfectly known in this
respect. If this occurs in the species described by
authors of the pre-microscopic or early microscopic
era, it can only be lamented ; but if, as sometimes
happens, perfunctory and imperfect descriptions are
given by writers of the present day, it would be
only just that those who come after them should
altogether ignore their misleading attempts.

W. B. Grove, B.A.

Birmingham.

IN THE 'WOODS IN APRIL.

/I PRIL yd, 1S85. — -A- beautifully warm day,
~/jL with the sun shining brightly — just one of
those days on which out-door work can be pursued
with pleasure and comfort, a condition not always
granted at this time of the year.

At 9.30 A.M. we started for Burwell and Haugham
Woods, which lie on the eastern foot of the Lincoln-
shire Wolds, at a distance of about five miles from
Louth.

Before reaching the woods we had occasion to take
cut our pocket-book to note that frog-tadpoles had
emerged from their ova. Many masses of ova also
lay in the ponds as yet unhatched.

Having arrived at the woods, we made our way
first of all to " the valley," the principal locality in
the neighbourhood for the local marbled-white

HA ED WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

79

{Melanagria galathea). It being between twelve and
one o'clock, we sat down upon an old prostrate tree to
partake of dinner, with a full view of this beautiful
grassy opening and its steep wooded sides. After-
wards, while walking among the long grass at the
bottom of the valley which in July and August is to
bring forth in plenty Melanagria galathea, but which
now lies in tangled masses upon the ground, we
were delighted to see a hibernated specimen of the
brimstone butterfly [Gonepteryx rhainni) come flying
down the hollow. Not having a net with us, we gave
chase to this angular-winged insect with our hat — the
only entomological instrument at hand — but failed to
capture. In many parts of England this is one of the
commonest butterflies, therefore it is nothing unusual
to see hibernated specimens in the spring ; but in
this neighbourhood it is not so, the brimstone being
very scarce here. This was the first specimen I had
seen for several years. The scarcity of this usually
common butterfly may be accounted for, perhaps, by
the fact, that the food-plant of its larvse (buckthorn) is
very rare, if not totally absent, here.

Leaving the " valley," we passed through the wood
to another grassy opening, where the straight stiff
stems of the ragwort (Seneeio Jaeobcea) will shortly
rise. This spot is, we believe, the only locality in the
district for the elegant black and crimson Cinnabar
moth (Eitehelia yacobeea), the yellow and black larvae
of which will swarm on the ragwort in June, July,
and August.

Plenty of primroses were in flower, and here and
there a few wood anemones could be seen with ex-
panded petals ; in various places, too, the pretty but
inconspicuous barren strawberry was in flower ; but
still it was evident that the woods would have yet to
undergo great changes before they were ready for
their welcome vernal guests, the pearl-bordered
fritillaries.

During the day we saw four specimens of the
small copper {Lyeasna phlceas). As we had not
heard of this butterfly hibernating, we concluded that
these must be insects of the first brood. But still
we think this (3rd of April) an early date. Ento-
mological works differ as to the time of appearance,
and even as to the number of broods of the insect.
Stainton gives May as the month for the coming
forth of the first brood. It is peculiar too that these
insects were flying along at a considerable distance
from the ground — out of reach — while those of the
later broods are generally seen skipping over the
short herbage of banks, roadsides, etc.

In these woods we noticed numerous platforms,
i.e. rectangular sods supported near a tree-trunk by
sticks, at about two or three feet from the ground.
These the keeper informed us, are used to capture
jays. On the top of the sod a trap is placed baited
with birds' eggs, a few twigs being stuck into the
sod to give the whole a natural appearance.

It does seem a pity that the jay, along with other

birds, should be so ruthlessly destroyed, ft is a
revolting sight to all true lovers of the works of God
to see beautifully plumed jays, innocent kestrels,
together with sparrow-hawks, stoats, weasels, and
other interesting denizens of the woods, hung moul-
dering upon the "keeper's trees." In the case of
the jay very little harm can be done to the game,
for, though it does occasionally take an egg or young
nestling, the principal part of its food consist); of
acorns, seeds, fruit, insects, reptiles, mice, etc. ; and,
further, the cheerful presence of this bird in the woods
ought to more than compensate the sportsman for
the loss of a few eggs or young birds. Speaking of
the jay, Jardine in the "Naturalists' Library" says,
" Altogether he is an ornament and acceptable
tenant of our woods." But gamekeepers cannot be
made to believe this. On our putting the question,
"Do jays do any harm?" to the keeper, he replied,
" Yes, they suck eggs." The way in which he spoke
showed that in his opinion no bird that ' ' sucked
eggs " had a right to live.

Leaving Burwell and Haugham Woods, we passed
to the old chalk-pit in Burwell "pasture," familiar
to us as another place frequented by Melanagria
galathea.

Leaving this pit, we began to walk in a homeward

direction, crossing through Maltby Wood on our

, way. At 5.30 we reached Louth again, after having

spent a very pleasant eight hours.

H. Wallis Kew.
Lonth.

ON MARINE COLLECTING WITH THE
SURFACE-NET.

[Continued from page 54.]

A VERY good way of making a live cell is as follows r
The bottom is formed of a piece of "patent
plate," and the sides by cutting an oblong 3x2 inches
out of a piece of indiarubber three-quarters of an inch
thick, and trimming it so as to leave the sidewalls
about a third of an inch thick. The rubber is easily
cut by means of a knife moistened with a strong solu-
tion of washing soda, and is cemented on to the glass
bottom by means of marine glue. Such cells stand
the knocking about, inseparable from sea life, better
than those built up of glass, and are less trouble to
repair when they get out of order.

The handiest form of simple microscope for this
purpose is one in which the stage is composed of a
piece of glass illuminated from below by a large
rectangular plain mirror. The lens — one of about
1 -inch focus is most generally useful — should be
capable of being moved freely in a horizontal plane
over the stage, as it will generally be found more
convenient to move it than the cell ; and, when cap-
turing a specimen that has been recognised by its
means, it is desirable to be able to turn it completely

So

HARD WICKKS SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

out of the way. For picking specimens out of the
cell there is nothing so handy as an ordinary section-
lifter with a rather small blade. Searching in this
way, the more peculiar specimens may be separated
and set aside. Those that are intended for examina-
tion alive must be placed in a relatively large bulk of
water, as they soon die if left for any length of time
in a confined space.

While this preliminary examination is going on,
the process of preserving the much larger portion not
reserved for immediate examination may be proceeded
with. For this all that is required is a glass funnel
in which has been placed a piece of muslin, arranged
like a filter-paper, and a couple of pickle-bottles, one
of which contains a few ounces of rectified spirit.

As soon as a trayful has been looked over, its
contents should be turned into this funnel, and the
water allowed to drain off into the empty bottle. As
soon as the whole has been collected in this way, a
little fresh water is allowed to run through, to wash
out the remaining salts, and, the bottle having been
emptied, the spirit in the other is poured in and
allowed to run through. The funnel is then shifted
to the now empty bottle and the spirit poured through

less dissolve and render brittle the delicate calcareous
shells of Pteropods and other small mollusks. It
may, however, be advantageously employed in cases
where for any reason a liberal supply of alcohol may
not be obtainable, as a much smaller bulk of glycerine
will suffice for the purpose.

When a large catch has been made it is well to
have two or three funnels at work, as it is very
important to get the specimens spirited as soon as
possible. To show the amount occasionally obtained,
I may mention that on one occasion the mass taken
in a single haul of the net, left out for the night, was
sufficient to more than half-fill an ordinary pickle-jar.

Fig. 54- — Aerating Apparatus applied to Live Cell.

again. By repeating this process two or three times
the specimens are very rapidly and completely
deprived of the greater part of their water.

The muslin is then gathered into a bag and sus-
pended in a jar of " 580 s.g. spirit for twenty-four
hours, after which the mass may be removed from
the muslin and stocked in small, wide-mouthed
bottles of spirit. If for this purpose absolute alcohol
be employed, the specimens may be allowed to half-
fill the bottle. With ordinary rectified spirit a more
liberal proportion of spirit must be allowed. When
engaged on daily work a considerable economy may
be effected, by keeping the used spirit and employing
it to extract the thick of the water from the next
day's specimens. Prepared in this way, the specimens
will keep for an indefinite time.

An alternative plan is to treat the mass in the
muslin with glycerine in the same manner. This
has the advantage of preserving the organisms in a
beautifully clarified condition ; but the treacly con-
sistence of the medium does not lend itself so well to
the subsequent process of sorting the specimens, and,
moreover, the glycerine has a tendency to more or

Fig. 55. — Aerating Apparatus.

A couple of hours is however quite long enough to
leave the net, as a rule, as beyond that time the
things first caught are apt to get damaged.

It is always worth while to examine some one
species of each catch in the living state. For this
purpose three or four, if obtainable, should be set
aside in a good sized bell-glass of sea-water, as they
die so rapidly in the contracted limits of a live cell
that several subjects may be required for a complete
examination. Apart from the wonderful view of their
internal economy which their great transparency
enables one to obtain, the movements of the animal
allow of one's forming a much better idea of the
relations and functions of its parts than can ever be
got when dead, as then it is kept by gravitation
obstinately in one position, in any other than which
it will be found extremely difficult to retain it.
(To be continued.)

We regret to record the death of Mr. W. W.
Leighton, who since the year 1867 has filled the
office of Clerk of the Geological Society of London.

HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G SSI P.

81

GOSSIP ON CURRENT TOPICS.
By W. Mattieu Williams, F.R.A.S., F.C.S.

THE DELIGHTS OF RESEARCH.— The
vulgar notion that scientific men are all
" theorists " is best refuted by referring the subject
of such delusion to a monograph by a specialist in
any branch of natural history. This will show with
what an immense amount of labour the details of
science are obtained. A treatise recently published
in Belgium on the anatomy of one species of nettle
(" Recherches anatomiques sur les Organes vegetatifs
de VUrtica dioica, L.," by A. Gravis, Brussels), which
covers 250 pages, with twenty-three plates, and
describes results obtained by means of 15,000 sections
of this one plant, supplies a very good example. To
an outsider, one of the self-styled "practical " people,
who have never investigated anything thoroughly,
such work appears miserably slow and wearisome.
In jumping to this conclusion these people are very
dreamy theorists indeed ; for, as a matter of practical
fact, no occupation is more exciting, more sensa-
tionally engrossing and enjoyable than a thoroughly
penetrating research into the minute details of anything
in Nature. The mere slayer of birds and quadrupeds,
the man who strides on a horse and runs after a fox
until some dogs kill it, and goes over the same routine
of shooting and following again and again and again,
is really a weary plodder, who leads a miserably slow
life compared with that of the investigating natu-
ralist. It is true that the brain must be trained to a
very different condition from that of the sportsman
before the greater excitement of the chase after truth
can be enjoyed, just as the muscles of the thighs must
be trained to enable the rider to grip his horse.

Crystallization and the Coagulation of
Blood. — If water that has been well boiled to expel
the air from it be placed in a smooth glass vessel,
and cooled down without agitation, it may be brought
many degrees below the freezing-point before any
freezing commences ; but if while in this condition a
grain of sand, a minute bubble of air, or a particle of
ice be dropped into it, crystals of ice suddenly start
from the nucleus thus introduced, and the whole
rises to freezing-point. Sulphate of soda (Glauber's
salt) is very soluble in hot water — curiously so, as at
32° Fahrenheit water will only dissolve about ten
per cent, of the crystals; at 91° they are soluble in
the water they themselves contain ; at higher tempe-
ratures their solubility decreases. If a saturated
solution be made in boiling water, and the air be
well boiled out, it may cool down nearly to the
freezing-point without re-crystallizing, provided the
bottle containing it is kept closed ; but directly air is
admitted, a sudden crystallization of the contents of
the bottle takes place ; they magically change from
the liquid to a semi-solid condition. The experiment
is very striking.

I am reminded of these experiments by some recent
researches on the coagulation of the blood, which
show that if it be poured when fresh into a smooth
greased vessel it does not coagulate. It may stand
thus for several days, provided no dust or other
points are presented to it. It may be stirred with an
oiled glass rod without coagulation, but if the rod be
dry coagulation is started by it. Other experiments
show curious analogies between coagulation of blood,
i.e. the formation of fibrin, and crystallization. It
must not however be inferred that coagulation is
actual crystallization — that the fibrin threads are
crystals, but that the act of solidification is in both
cases subject to similar conditions.

Another Application of Photography. —
It is well known to those interested that the issue of
non-transferable season-tickets to exhibitions, rail-
ways, etc., is liable to be abused by unscrupulous
holders. This is especially the case in exhibitions.
At the recent Hungarian Exhibition of the resources
of that country, a simple device for the prevention of
transfer was adopted. The tickets were of leather ;
on one side was the name of the holder, and on the
other his photograph, stamped by the exhibition
authorities.

Minerals in Hungary. — I learn further from
Mr. Bennett H. Brough's account of this exhibition,
that, in spite of what we hear concerning the terri-
torial power of the Magyar aristocracy of that
country, all mineral deposits of technical value are
the property of the crown, and that "royalties"
there really are what their name and common sense
and justice indicate. The minerals of Hungary thus
belong to the Hungarian nation. I will say no more
concerning what becomes of the vast amount of taxes
we pay upon all our coal, our ironstone, and all other
minerals in this country. I can name collieries
where as much as is. 6d. per ton has been paid for
the privilege of working the coal. If I say more my
gossip will become political.

Arbor-Day. — The great prairies of Western
America, in spite of the fertility of their soil, are
barely habitable until planted with trees, on account
of the meteorological violences of all kinds to which
the vast seas of treeless, shoreless verdure are subject
in their naked state. The early settlers protected »
themselves to some extent by planting little groves of
cotton-wood and other quick-growing trees around
their cabins, but still their cattle suffered severely
from "blizzards," sirocco blasts, and other storms.
Governor Morton, of Nebraska, struggled with the
problem of widely extending such plantations, and
finally hit upon a very successful expedient, viz. that
of making the 1st of May a general holiday, on which
all good citizens should make excursions and plant
trees, with festal accompaniments, as cheerful as

82

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

dancing round a Maypole, and vastly more interesting
and productive. This suggestion met with a ready
response, and in the first year of its adoption more
than two million trees were planted. The Arbor-Day
festival soon spread far beyond the place of its origin.
It is now formally adopted by seventeen of the
United States. Even in the older northern and
eastern states, originally over-wooded, some parts
are now suffering from the ravages of axe and fire.
School children, headed by their teachers, proceed
in grand procession, with music and banners, and
military battalions, to plant trees by hundreds of
thousands in suitable spots, dedicating them in some
instances, as in the Authors' Grove of Eden Park, to
favourite authors and eminent statesmen. This
development among the children appears to be a
most promising feature of the movement.

Trees and Climate. — The effect of trees on
climate has formed the subject of a recent article in
Petermann's " Mittheilungen " by an able Russian
observer, M. Wocikoff. He maintains that the
diminution of evaporation effected by forests is not
due to the lower temperature known to exist under
their shadow, but that the most important factor is
the resistance to the winds by the trees. This causes
the air of the forest to be changed more slowly, and
thus the saturated air is not so largely replaced by
dry air, and the moisture is less rapidly carried
away. The vicinity of a forest increases the summer
rainfall considerably, but has less effect in winter.
The storage of rainwater in the moss, fallen leaves
and herbage of the woods, affords a supply to
■vegetation during dry seasons. A. striking illustra-
tion of this is afforded by a forest on the western
coast of the Caspian, where the vegetation is very
luxuriant, although it never rains excepting in autumn
and winter. M. Wocikoff has observed that forests
lower the temperature of the country around them.
In Bosnia the summer is five or six degrees cooler
than in Herzegovina. This difference is attributed to
the woods.

Properties of Pure Zinc. — All who have to do
with voltaic batteries are acquainted with the troubles
due to "local action," and the necessity for amalga-
mating the zinc plates to prevent it ; and students of
chemistry know that ordinary zinc decomposes water
at its boiling heat. In a paper recently communi-
cated to the French Academy of Science ("Comptes
rendus," vol. 101, p. 1153), L. l'Hote has described
his experiments on pure zinc prepared by mixing
artificial precipitated zinc oxide (instead of the natural
ore) with calcined lamp-black, and distilling the
metallic vapour downwards. He finds that the pure
metal does not decompose water at boiling heat, nor
is it attacked by dilute sulphuric acid. If however
the pure zinc is melted and stirred with an iron rod,
it takes up from 003 to 0^05 per cent, of iron, and

the zinc, thus rendered impure with that very small
quantity of iron, decomposes boiling water and dis-
solves in dilute sulphuric acid. Very small quantities
of antimony or arsenic have the same effect.

These experiments confirm the old theory of local
action, which attributes it to the presence of such
impurities establishing local voltaic couples.

Poisonous Confectionery. — The results of the
investigations of Messrs. P. Caseneuve and R. Lepine,
described in their communication to the French
Academy of Sciences ("Comptes rendus," vol. 101,
p. 1 167) should be widely known. They made expe-
riments on the action of three coal-tar yellows which
are used somewhat largely in colouring confectionery
and beverages, viz. Manchester or Martins yellow
(dinitronaphthol yellow) ; N. S. yellow, a sulphonic
derivative of the Manchester yellow, and solid yel-
low, a sulphonic derivative of amidoazo orthotoluenc.
Manchester yellow, even in small doses, was found
to have a strong poisonous action, producing vomit-
ing, diarrhoea, panting respiration, and a high
temperature, followed by death. N. S. yellow has
no appreciable poisonous action, and solid yellow is
similarly harmless.

Should this " meet the eye" of any manufacturer
of yellow goodies or drinks, he will doubtless be
guided accordingly in the selection of his colouring
ingredient, as no such manufacturer would wilfully
select a poisonous colour, though he may have done
so without knowing its properties, as these are but
recent investigations, and all confectioners do not
read the weekly issue of the "Transactions of the
French Academy."

Effects of Pressure on the Respiration of
Plants. — Johannsen has recently made some in-
teresting experiments on the effect of supplying plants
with oxygen, first at ordinary atmospheric pressure,
and then at pressures of two, four, and five atmo-
spheres, the activity of vegetation being measured by
the quantity of carbonic acid evolved. At first this
increases as the pressure of the oxygen increases, but
the increase is only temporary ; the respiration
gradually diminishes, more and more quickly as the
pressure is greater, and the plants soon die. The
most curious result is that which follows when the
plant is subjected to the action of oxygen at a high
pressure for short periods, and the excess of pressure
then removed. The plant thus restored to the
action of ordinary pressure shows a great increase of
respiration, amounting to as much as 50 per cent, in
the case of maize. The cause of this after-action is
still a mystery.

Many of my readers have doubtless heard of the
" Thomas-Gilchrist process." It consists in lining
the Bessemer converter (the vessel in which the
molten pig-iron is subjected to the blast of air), with

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

a basic material which combines with the phosphoric
acid formed by the oxidation of the phosphorus con-
tained in pig-iron made from the most abundant and
cheapest iron ores. The phosphate thus obtained
should be useful as a manure, and M. Fleischer has
for some time past been working on the subject to
determine whether such theoretical anticipation is
verified in practice. The compound in question
fuses readily, and, being lighter than the molten iron,
floats on the top as a liquid cinder or slag. M.
Fleischer, as a mean of several analyses, finds that it
contains in ioo parts 17*5 of phosphoric acid ; 48 29
to 49/6 of lime ; 47 to 4^9 of magnesia, with small
quantities of iron, alumina, manganese, free sulphur,
sulphuric acid and silicic acid. Numerous experi-
ments made at various experimental stations show
very good results when this slag, ground to pow-
der, was tried against other manures, and, although
M. Fleischer thinks it premature to give a definite
opinion, he believes that there is a good future for
this material. Deep cultivation and mixture with
the soil for tillage, and early top-dressing in meadow
land, is recommended.

The subject is of considerable practical importance,
as the quantities obtained are very great : many tons
per day from every pair of converters in full work.

A GROUP OF ROTIFERS.

Notes on the Genus Euchlanis.

PERHAPS no class of animals have been greater
favourites with microscopists than the Rotifera ;
their minuteness, the beauty and variety of their
form, their liveliness, the remarkable transparency of
their integument, their ubiquity, and the many un-
solved problems in regard to their organization and
life-history, have always exercised a charm equalled
perhaps by no other class in the animal kingdom.
Every possessor of a microscope has been more or less
of an enthusiast, and has never tired of showing the
wonderful "wheel-animalcules" to a circle of his
admiring friends. This being the case, it is some-
what disappointing that so little is done towards
elucidating the organization, or recording the habits
and peculiarities of these remarkable animals. Our
magazines, whether devoted to general natural
history, or specially to microscopical subjects, rarely
contain any articles or notes, either on this class or
the more humble Infusoria. This has often been a
matter of considerable surprise to me, especially
when one calls to mind their wide distribution, so
that no one is so unfavourably situated as not to be
able, by carefully working his district, to procure, I
believe, at least 50 per cent, of the species known to
science. Considering the amount of activity being
displayed in other branches of microscopical know-
ledge, and the further fact, that numerous natural

history societies have been formed in various parts
of the country, that surprise is certainly not lessened,
but intensified. It is to be feared that too many of
the possessors of microscopes apply them, in the
words of the late lamented Dr. Carpenter, "in such
desultory observations as are of no service whatever
to science, and very little to the mind of the ob-
server." It is a fact that all the advance that has
been made in our knowledge of these animals in
recent years has been due to a very limited number
of earnest workers — a number which probably might
be counted on the fingers of one hand. We may not
all, by philosophic induction, comprehensive research,
and enlarged generalisation, be able to discover " the
grand and harmonious plan upon which all organic
creation is believed to have been formed ; " we may
not either by nature or education be competent to
discuss the zoological position of the Rotifera — whether
they have most affinity with the worms, the crabs, or
the insects ; but the most humbly endowed amongst
us, if not an absolute idiot, can become a careful ob-
server of facts, and it is upon these only that a correct
classification can be based. Holding these opinions,
and thinking I might interest and possibly assist
some of your readers, I have ventured to send these
notes on the genus Euchlanis, family Euchlanidota.
This family is one of the largest, containing, according
to our present method of classification, eleven genera,
and is second only to the family Hydatinrea. It is,
however, more than probable that this number will
be reduced, or at least that there will be a rearrange-
ment ; for instance, the three genera Metopidia,
Lepadella, and Squamella, separated by Ehrenberg
on account of supposed differences in the number of
their eye-specks, were pointed out years ago by
Dujardin as forming a very natural single genus.
While not prepared to go so far, I may say that I
have never come across any Rotifer with more than
two eyes. My friend Mr. F. Sutcliffe, of Bacup, an
experienced microscopist and careful observer, with
whom I frequently work, confirms me in this, and
further informs me that he has frequently found in
the same gathering specimens otherwise indistinguish-
able with two well-developed eye-specks, and others
in which these were quite invisible — an experience
which is in keeping with my own. Dujardin also
does not admit the genus Monostyla, but places the
four species comprising it in the genus Euchlanis-
The only species of this genus I have been fortunate
enough to see is one which, from my description and
drawings in the "Microscopical News" of June,
1884, Mr. Gosse identified as his Monostyla bulla ;
and it is confirmatory of Dujardin's opinion, that I
had myself noticed its many points of agreement with
other Rotifers I figured in the same number, not then
identified, but since clearly proved to be a species of
Euchlanis. On the other hand, the mastax of all
my Euchlanes are of the brachionsean type, and vary
very little indeed, except in size, while that of M.

8 4

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP.

bulla differs considerably both in the mallei and incus.
The most serious objection however to incorporating
Monostyla with Euchlanis is that in that genus the
foot is said to be "simple, styliform." On this
point Pritchard says, "Owing to the almost constant
vibration of the foot-like tail, it is difficult to observe
the true form of its termination, the motion producing
an optical illusion ; hence it appears double, though
in reality single." In spite of this warning, I believe
that the tail-foot of my M. bulla was a furcate one,
although I may be mistaken. Further information
on this point is much to be desired, and microscopists
having the opportunity would do good service by
working out this problem. In the genus Euchlanis
the lorica is more or less depressed, and in some
species is very diaphanous. Ehrenberg described it
as being "slit inferiorly," and Pritchard figures
E. dilatata as being quite open on the ventral surface.
Cohn was the first to point out that the Danish natu-
ralist was mistaken in this, and my own experience

have not been able clearly to distinguish the margins
of the two plates, owing to their thinness and trans-
parency ; indeed, this is often only made out by the
careful and prolonged observation of numerous indi-
viduals. From a drawing and description I sent to
Dr. Hudson, he was inclined to consider it as probably
Jllouostyla cornuta ; but that its tail-foot is a furcate
one I have not the slightest doubt. This fact, and
the further one of its dorsal and ventral plates being
separated, place it in the genus Euchlanis ; possibly
it may be E. Hornemanm ', though the description of
that species in " Pritchard " is too meagre for me to-
feel very certain. Fig. 57 a : animal retracted, and
showing its projection beyond the margin of dorsal
and ventral plates; Fig. 57 b : animal exserted, and
showing trochal wreath and longitudinal muscles.

Another Rotifer, slightly larger than the last, and
evidently belonging to the same genus, is shown in
Fig. 58, a and b. In this the lorica is somewhat broader
than in the last species, and is truncated anteriorly.

Fig. 57«. — Animal retracted.

Fig. 57^. — Animal exserted.

Fig. 58^. — Dorsal view.
Animal retracted.

Fig. 585. — Side view.
Animal retracted.

confirms his. In a letter to me Dr. Hudson says :
" No Euchlanis I have ever seen has a cleft-ventral
surface to its lorica ; in all cases the lorica consists, as
you state, of an upper and lower plate, with a furrow
between them, this apparently open groove being
closed by a flexible membrane." The dorsal plate,
in nearly all the species I have come across, is larger
than the ventral, and is generally much more convex.
It will be unnecessary for me to describe the two
large handsome species, E. triquetra and E. dilatata,
as they are fully described and figured in most works
devoted to this subject. I have however come
across four forms, which will not be so familiar to
microscopists, and of which they may be glad to have
figures and description. Fig. 57, a and b : this is a
small Rotifer I have frequently been able to procure
from a shady well in our neighbourhood. The lorica
is ovate and excised in an angular manner in front,
and there are four, either ridges or slits, on the back.
Of the two plates, the dorsal one is the largest, and
it is arched, while the ventral one is almost fiat. I

Its foot is very short, so as not to project beyond the
lorica, but the toes are long. Fig. 58 a, dorsal view,
animal retracted ; Fig. 58 b, side-view, animal re-
tracted, showing the large arched dorsal plate cover-
ing the sides, and the small ventral one. In Fig. 59,
a and b, is shown a Rotifer with many points of resem-
blance to the last. Like that species, it has a depressed
lorica, broadly ovate, truncated anteriorly ; but differ-
ing from it in having two anterior spines, and in the
toes being somewhat shorter. It frequently remains
retracted for considerable periods, but when it does-
extend itself it shows remarkable activity. It is not
very transparent, being generally, but not invariably,
of a brown colour. Fig. 59 a, dorsal view, animal
retracted ; Fig. 59 b, side view, animal exserted, and
showing the considerable interval separating the two
plates. It may possibly be Pritchard's E. hippo-
sidcros, but in my specimens the foot was not " armed
with one pair of bristles," neither was the space
between the plates exactly of the character indicated
by its specific name. In all the above rotifers there

HARD WICKE ' S S CIENCE - G O SSIP.

35

is the single eye, the depressed lorica, composed of
two separate plates, characteristic of the genus
Euchlanis, and in addition the jaws of all three are
identical in all their parts, varying only in size. This
latter character I consider as of the greatest value ;
and if we only knew accurately the structure of this
important organ in the various species, it would
considerably improve the chances of a correct classifi-
cation of the Rotifera. On the other hand, the trochal
wreath is not very obviously made up of rounded
lobes in the above species, and this fact may induce
our authorities to create a new genus, for these and
others of a similar character.

The next Rotifer, Fig. 60, is an extremely interesting
one, and is more like a typical Euchlanis, as it bears
a strong superficial resemblance to the well-known

young specimen, which I need not here transcribe.
In reference to its having two eye-specks when young,
I may say that I put this down on the strength of
there being two coloured specks clearly visible in the
egg ; it does not necessarily follow that they were
eyes, and, if they were, it is remarkable that not the
slightest trace of them was visible in the adult Rotifer.
It is unfortunate that I have hitherto been unable to
clear up this point ; however, some authorities con-
sider that the eye-speck possesses less value as a basis
of classification than Ehrenberg supposed. On the
other hand, it is possible that it might have an eye,
which, from absence of colour, or from being deep-
seated, I failed to detect. Of this Rotifer Dr. Hudson
says, "I have little doubt it is an Euchlanis."
Subsequently, however, he expressed some little

Fig. 59*1. — Dorsal view. 'Animal retracted.

Fig. 59$. — Side view. Animal exserted.

Fig. 60. — Euchlanis (?).

E. dilatata. It differs from it, however, in being a
smaller and altogether more delicate Rotifer, and in
the character of its toes and mastax, the rami of my
specimens being slighter than in that species, and
they are turned downwards laterally in a beauti-
ful curve. I take the following description from
my note-book : "Lorica hyaline, depressed, oval,
excised in front, rounded posteriorly ; foot long,
cylindrical, jointed ; toes as long as foot, not knife-
like, but round, and only slightly tapering ; eyes, in
adult, none visible ; two eyes when young ; jaws,
large, brachionsean ; rotatory organ consisting of
rounded lobes ; water-vascular canals, but no vibratile
tags ; eggs large, attached to conferva by a brownish
protecting cover (not bands), probably chitinous."
Then follows an account of the hatching-out of a

doubt, probably on account of my not detecting the
eye, saying, "I know of nothing like it, and hope
you may find it again, so as to complete the descrip-
tion." For myself I have now little doubt about it ;
the lorica, the trochal wreath, the mastax, the two
stomach glands, and coiled water-vessels, all point to
the genus Euchlanis, and it more resembles E. macrura
than any other species whose description I have seen.
It is all but useless, however, trying to identify many
of the free-swimming forms of the Rotifera, as it is
impossible in some cases to make them agree in all
points with any species described in our text-book.
In reference to this genus Dr. Hudson, in one of his
letters to me, very truly observes : " The species of
this genus are in wild confusion, and have, I believe,
been described under various names." It is wel)

86

HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE -GOSSIP.

known that this authority, in conjunction with Mr.
Gosse, has been working at this class for some years,
and microscopists all over the world are anxiously
waiting the completion of this forthcoming work. Is
it too much to ask of those who have been collecting
notes, and who are in a position to throw any light
upon the subject, that they at once place their know-
ledge at the service of brother microscopists ? If
this is done, and if others who have microscopes, and
have learned how to use them, will make good use of
their opportunities, the forthcoming "monograph,"
or at least subsequent editions of it, will be made
more complete, and really indicative of the state of
our knowledge of this remarkable class of animals.

J. E. Lord.
Rawienstail.

P.S. The second Part of Dr. Hudson's Monograph
is now in the hands of subscribers, and is really a
magnificent work. See page 90.

LEPIDOPTERISTS' WORK FOR APRIL.

WITH this month the real hard work of the
lepidopterist begins, therefore a few remarks
on the work to be done during the month may not
be out of place. Especially will they be acceptable
to the large and increasing number of our readers
who are tyro-lepidopterists ; though to the "old
hands " there may be something new. In almost
every writer's experiences we find something that we
did not know before : and it may be of value to us
to know it and bear it in mind, and at any rate it
will do us no harm to read it again if we already
know it.

We may fairly turn our backs on the winter now,
and turn with pleasure to the work which the spring
has brought us. Not that we have been idle during
the winter months — surely not. I hope that our boxes
and cages are pretty full of pupa;, from which imagos
should now be emerging. Those of my readers who
have not yet got their entomological apparatus in
trim for the ensuing season should lose no time in
doing so, for there will be no time for mending or
making or cleaning up after now. All our time and
attention will be taken up with the collecting of
specimens, preparing them for the store-box or cabinet,
and lastly, though most important, with the study of
our captures.

During this month many ova are to be found.
Many hibernating species deposit their ova about
now, as well as several which are freshly emerged.
Lose no time in this matter ; search constantly for
eggs, as they will not be so readily found when the
trees are fully in leaf. There is nothing more de-
lightful or more instructive in our most interesting
study than the rearing of our specimens from the
egg. Moreover, there is always something to be

j found out, always something new to be noticed, and
all observations of such should be duly noted down.
Females of hibernated butterflies and moths should be
captured and kept alive, supplying them with sprigs
of the larvae food-plant if possible, in the hope of
their depositing eggs thereon. Twigs of shrubs and
trees, leaves and grasses, should be minutely examined
for ova.

Of larvae we shall find abundance, especially
towards the latter end of the month. The hibernat-
ing species now begin to put in an appearance, and
a thorough search for them will well repay the col-
lector ; for, as they are in most cases nearly full-fed,
little trouble is given by them, and the imagos soon
put in an appearance. Of the common species, O.
Rotatoria may be found feeding on coarse grasses in
hedgerows, A. caja and A. villica on low-growing
plants, B. querciis on hawthorn, L. ntbi amongst
clover, &c, D. caritkccephala will be found in plenty
on hawthorn. I mention these because they are good
subjects to try " preserving" on, and look well when
done. Full instructions were given by me for pre-
serving larvae in Science-Gossip, vol. xix. p. 35.
They add greatly to the value and beauty of a collec-
tion when placed in the cabinet with the imagos.
E. Hchenea will be found in its old haunts on the
coasts, full-fed and about to pupate from now to

July-

The lantern must now be used to search for larvae
by night ; by this means the collector should reap
a good harvest. Birch and sallow bushes should
receive due attention, and undergo a close inspection ;
in the catkins of both larvae of several species may
be found. This should be thought of when visiting
the catkins for moths ; Fimbria, Tincta, and perhaps
Ditrafezium, may thus be found. Sloe-bushes will
repay a search — indeed, no bush or shrub should be
passed by without a search for larvae. Dead leaves
should come in for a share of the searching. Many
larvce will be found in them, and pupae too, especially
in birch and sallow leaves.

The sweep-net must be plied unceasingly this
month in all low herbage ; valuable captures are
often the result. Grasses and rushes are now produc-
tive of several Elachistidas and Coleophorae, and
several larger tribes. Sheltered spots in woods are
the best places, and for the larger species wet evenings
the best time. Hawthorn trees nourish hordes of
common larvce.

Not much in the way of pupa-digging will be done
this month, but the pupae from hibernated larvae just
changed should be looked for, as also the chrysalids
of some of the early summer butterflies, which, taken
in this way, insure to the collector beautiful and
perfect imagos. If dead leaves are observed still
adhering to the trees, they should be brought down if
possible, and examined ; heaps of the same will often
prove a prize. The hard brown cocoon of D. vinula
should be looked for on the trunks of willows.

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

87

As the days lengthen and the sunshine gets warmer,
the number of insects on the wing steadily increases,
and amongst those due this month there are several
rare species. Sallows are a great attraction, and
should be well worked on warm evenings. Fences,
tree-trunks, and heaps of stones should be carefully
examined. Hibernating species may now be met
with, both butterflies and moths ; and though most
of them will be "raggy," some few good specimens
may be obtained. Beating thatch is a method often
resorted to, and at this season many moths may be
beaten out, particularly hibernating Geometrse. A
little later on, numbers of Tinere may be thus captured.
Depressarise and some other species are commoner
now than before hibernation.

The treacling-pot will come into requisition, and
light will prove a good attraction. The lamps should
therefore be scanned. In districts where it has been
previously taken, my readers should look out for
V. antiopa, and I am sure we shall be pleased to hear
of such captures.

One great prize to be looked for is Endromis
versicolora, which flies briskly in woods near heaths
by day. If any of our readers are lucky enough to
secure a freshly-emerged female, they may try
" sembling," and, if there are any more of the species
about, they may be sure of a good harvest of males.

Towards the end of the month Lcbophora Polycom-

mata may be met with, and should be looked for at

night on trunks of trees, with the aid of the lantern.

William Finch, jun.
Nottingham.

ASTRONOMY AND METEOROLOGY.
By John Browning, F.R.A.S.

IN the February number of Science-Gossip I
referred to the discovery by MM. Paul and
Prosper Henry, at Paris, of a new nebula by photo-
graphy, which they had previously been unable to
perceive by direct telescopic observation.

Professor Pickering states, in the " Astronomische
Nachrichten," that certain irregularities had been
noticed in a photograph of the Pleiades taken at
Harvard College Observatory so long ago as the
3rd of November, 1885.

"They were supposed to be due merely to defects
in the photographic process ; but upon re-examination
it appears that one of them corresponds so closely to
what is described by MM. Paul and Prosper Henry,
that there can be no doubt with regard to its origin.
It must represent light photographically perceptible
in the vicinity of the star Maia, as stated by its dis-
coverers, who are undoubtedly entitled to the credit
belonging to the perception and proof of this in-
teresting phenomenon, although the Cambridge
photograph seems to be the first upon which it is
exhibited."

The Harvard photograph was exhibited at the
Albany meeting of the National Academy of Sciences,
on the 10th of November, and the irregularities then
received some attention. Professor Pickering adds,
that the explanation thus afforded of one of the
markings on the photograph in question renders the
others of more interest than at first sight appeared to
belong to them. There are indications of nebulous
light about Merope, and a faint narrow streak of
light projecting from one side of Electra ; but no
such light would be seen about Alcyone, Atlas,
Pleione, or Taygeta.

Mercury is an evening star at the beginning of the
month, and a morning star at the end, setting on the
2nd at 7 hr. 44 min. P.M., on the 9th at 6 hr. 47 min.
P.M., on the 16th at 5 hr. 47 min. p.m., on the
23rd at 5 hr. 6 min. P.M., and on the 30th at 4 hr.
48 min. P.M.

Venus will be a morning star throughout the
month.

Mars will south on the second at 9 hr. 56 min. P.M.,
on the 9th at 9 hr. 24 min., on the 16th at 8 hr.
55 min. P.M., on the 23rd at 8 hr. 28 min. p.m., and
on the 30th at 8 hr. 3 min. P.M.

Jupiter souths on the 2nd, at 11 hr. 16 min. P.M.,
on the 9th at 10 hr. 45 min. P.M., on the 16th at
10 hr. 15 min. P.M., on the 23rd at 9 hr. 45 min. P.M.,
and on the 30th at 9 hr. 16 min. p.m.

Saturn sets on the 2nd at I hr. 43 min. A.M., on
the 9th at 1 hr. 17 min. A.M., on the 16th at o hr.
52 min. A.M., on the 23rd o hr. 26 min A.M., and on
the 30th at o hr. 2 min. A.M.

There will be an occultation of Aldeburun, a first
magnitude star, on April the 8th. The disappearance
will take place at 5 hr. 8 min. P.M., and the reap-
pearance at 9 hr. 55 min. p.m. On the 16th there
will be an occultation of Manus. The disappearance
takes place 9 hr. 5 min. P.M., and the reappearance
at 9 hr. 48 min. p.m.

Meteorology. — The mean temperature of the week
ending February 6th was 4 below the average, i.e. 4
in the corresponding week of the twenty years
ending 1S6S ; in the week ending February 13th it
was 6 • 7 below the average ; in the week ending
February 20th it was nearly 4 below the average,
and in the week ending February 27th it was 7 '6°
below the average. This is an almost unprecedented
February for cold ; the temperature was within a
fraction of 6° below the average, for the whole
month and the thermometer never once reached 50 .
It only exceeded 40 on eight days in February.
More exceptional still is the fact, that from February
1 6th to March 2nd the thermometer never touched
40 in London. There has certainly been no such
February for thirty years.

The mean temperature of the week ending March
6th was 7 "7° below the average, and for the
week ending the 13th of March was 8 # 9° below the
average ; thus exceptional, as was February, it is

88

HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

probable that March will be for cold still more so.
Even in the Tropics the weather has been wintry.
In the West Indies it has been cold, and in Calcutta
a thermometer in an exposed position registered 36 ,
which is the lowest temperature ever known in or
near Calcutta during any cold season.

Rain or snow fell on ten days in February to the
aggregate amount of o - 73 in., that is nearly three-
quarters of an inch. This amount, though very
small, and much less than half the average, is
equivalent to upwards of S2 tons to the acre. That
the rainfall has been so low has been advantageous,
the effect of moisture being on the whole to lower
the temperature. Mr. Chadwick says that in one
instance which came under his notice, an elevation
of six degrees of temperature had been effected by
the drainage of a thousand acres of land.

The average mean temperature of London in April
is nearly 49 Fahr. The average rainfall of London
is between one and two inches, while along the
coast to the south and south-east it is full two
inches, and on the south-west coast, west 'of Ply-
mouth, it is three inches.

A NEW STAR GUIDE.
By John Browning, F.R.A.S.

ANEW Star Gaide has just been published,
which has been compiled by Messrs Latimer
Clark and Herbert Sadler, who are both Fellows of
the Royal Astronomical Society. This guide is
intended specially for owners of small astronomical
telescopes, from two to four inches aperture.

The authors justly remark, that many possessors of
such small instruments strain their eyes and waste
their time in the fruitless endeavour to catch faint
nebulae and separate difficult double-stars which are
beyond the power of their telescopes. This Star
Guide contains a carefully selected list of objects
which may be well seen with telescopes of from two
to three inches aperture, and in all it includes about
six hundred of the most beautiful and interesting
objects visible in the northern heavens with instru-
ments of this description. The positions and times
of transit are given for each tenth day in the year.

With very few exceptions no double-star has been
inserted in the list the brighter component of which
falls below the seventh magnitude — the magnitude of
the smallest of the satellites of Jupiter — or the fainter
of which is not brighter than a tenth magnitude star,
or any forms which are too close to be conveniently
seen in a telescope of small size. No red star has
been included the colour of which cannot be seen,
or any nebulae or cluster which cannot be conveniently
observed with such an instrument.

The distances of the double-stars are given in
seconds and tenths, and the angle of position, and the
magnitudes of the stars on W. Struve's scale.

Though popular, this work is scientifically accu-
rate ; its possession will double the value of any
small telescope, and all owners of such instruments
who avail themselves of it will feel under a debt of
gratitude to the painstaking authors.

OUR SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORY.

[It is our desire to brjng out a Scientific Directory in the
monthly pages of Science-Gossip, feeling certain that it would
be very useful for our readers to know what scientific societies
had been formed in their own neighbourhoods. We shall there-
fore fee! very much obliged if Secretaries of any kind of
Scientific Society, in any town or part of the country, will send
us the full name and title of each Society, together,, with the
names of the President and Hon. Secretary.]

Bedfordshire Natural History Society and Field
Club. Hon. Secretary, Mr. Thomas Gwyn Elger,
F.R.A.S., Kempston, Bedfordshire ; Hon. Treasurer,
Mr. J. Ekins ; Hon. Secretary of the Botanical
Section, Mr. J. Hamson. Meets at the Assembly
Rooms, Bedford.

Bolton Microscopical Society (affiliated to the Royal
Microscopical Society). President, C. L. Jackson,
F.R.M.S., F.L.S., F.Z.S. ; Hill Fold House, Sharpies,
Bolton ; Hon. Secretary, W. Ridecout, F.R.M.S.,
Seymour Road, Astley Bridge, Bolton.

Dover Field Club and Natural History Society
(Wellesley Hall, 5 Townwall Street). President,
S. Webb, Esq., Maidstone House ; Hon. Secretary,
Rev. T. Robinson, 9 Effingham Crescent.

Hemel Hempsted Natural History Society. Presi-
dent, J. Marnham, Esq., J.P. ; Hon. Secretaries,
B. Piffard, Hill House ; J. H. Harley, Herbert Street.
Leeds Geological Association. President, Mr. T. W.
Bell ; Hon. Secretary, Samuel A. Adamson, F.G.S.,
52 Wellclose Terrace, Leeds.

Liverpool Science Students 1 Association. Secretaries,
W. H. Read, 24 Fern Grove, Liverpool ; Miss H.
Fryer, 11 Tancred Road, Anfield, Liverpool.

Nottingham Naturalists' 1 Society (established 1852).
President, H. Handford, M.D. ; Hon. Secretary,
W. Handley Kay, Gresham Chambers, Nottingham.
Portsmouth and Gosport Natural Science Society
(Protestant Institute, Portsmouth). President, Gen.
A. W. Drayson, F.R.A.S. ; Hon. Secretary, T. H.
Larcom, 54 Shaftesbury Terrace, Gosport.

Stroud Natural Science Society. President, Thomas
Partridge, Esq., M.K.Q.C.P. ; Hon. Secretary, D.
Burford.

Sydenham and Forest Hill Microscopical and
Natural History Club. President, Mr. E. L. C. P.
Hardy ; Vice-Presidents, Mr. E. F. Jones, Mr.
F. Horniman; Secretary, Mr. A. C. Perrins, 12
Sunderland Villas, Forest Hill.

Warrington Field Club (the Museum, Bold Street).
Secretary, W. H. Woodcock.

Wiltshire Archaological and Natural History
Society. President, Nevil Story Maskelyne, Esq.,
M.P. ; Hon. Secretaries, Rev. Alfred Charles Smith,
Yatesbury Rectory, Calne ; H. E. Medlicott, Esq.,
Sandfield, Potterne, Devizes.

HARD WICKE ' S SCIENCE- G SSI P.

39

SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

At a recent sitting of the Paris Academy, Professor
Pasteur stated that out of 325 cases of inoculation for
hydrophobia, only one has failed, namely, that of the
youth Pelletier, who came too long after being bitten,
and under very unfavourable conditions. M. Pasteur
advocated the establishment of an international
hospital, to which patients would come from all
parts of the world. At the close of the meeting,
Professor Pasteur announced that he should next
investigate whether diphtheria could not be treated
by a similar process to that which he had found so
successful against hydrophobia.

Mr. G. K. Vine has been contributing an excel-
lent series of papers to "The Naturalist," entitled
" Micro-Palseontology of the Northern Carboniferous
Shales."

At the Society of Amateur Geologists, Mr. Henry
Fleck recently read a paper on the "Crag Deposits
of East Anglia." Professor Rudler has been kind
enough to give the members a " demonstration " at
the Jermyn Street Museum on "Common Rock-
forming Minerals."

At a meeting of the Entomological Society, Mr.
H. Goss read an analysis of M. Brongniart's recent
work on " Les Insectes Fossiles des Terrains Pri-
maires " (Rouen, 1SS5), and expounded that author's
views on the classification of insects from geological
data.

The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
are bringing out an excellent series of photo-relief
maps. We have received the map of Scotland.
The aim of this series is to present the various
divisions of the globe as if in actual relief, and thus
to render easily intelligible the distribution of moun-
tains, the water-sheds, the river valleys, and other
physical features.

Mr. E. B. Poulton has just delivered two lectures
at the Royal Institution on "The Nature and Pro-
tective Use of Colour in Caterpillars."

Professor Morre.n, the eminent Belgian bota-
nist, has died at the age of 53.

Dr. Haast, F.R.S., Director of the Canterbury
Museum, New Zealand, has been appointed Commis-
sioner for the exhibits of that colony, and is now
in LondoD, arranging for the exhibition of the geo-
logy, fauna and flora, &c, of New Zealand, at the
forthcoming Colonial Exhibition.

Professor Stokes, F.R.S., has been awarded
the Actonian Prize of one hundred guineas for his
lecture on Light.

Professor Tacchini has published the results
of his observation of the solar protuberances at the

Roman Observatory during 1885. The great pro-
tuberances were never seen in the neighbourhood of
the poles, but nearly always between the equator and
40 , corresponding almost invariably with solar
regions free from spots and faculse. As regards the
protuberances, solar energy may be considered as
having been more active in 1885 than during the
previous year.

The analysis of some specimens of the air taken
at Cape Horn by MM. A. Muntz and E. Aubin gives
the mean result of 20-864, as compared with 20*960,
the mean for the atmosphere of Paris. The propor-
tion of oxygen appears to be also very nearly equal
to that of the air in various other parts of the globe,
so that the variations in the quantities of nitrogen
and oxygen in the atmosphere oscillate within very
narrow limits.

Mr. Arthur Bennett, F.L.S., has published
in the March number of the "Journal of Botany"
a paper giving the " Recent Additions to the Flora
of Iceland."

We have received Part I. (1883-5) °f tne " Transac-
tions " of the Leeds Geological Association, containing
good abstracts of papers read, and brief accounts of
excursions made.

Mr. H. E. Quilter has published a paper in
the " Geological Magazine" on " The Lower Lias
of Leicestershire," and Mr. Thomas Beesley another
on "The Lias of Fenny Compton, Warwickshire,"
in the "Proceedings " of the Warwickshire Natura-
lists' Field Club.

We regret to have to announce the death, although
at the advanced age of 85, of Mr. Charles W. Peach,
A.L.S., the distinguished collector and observer, who
did more in the way of palseontological and zoo-
logical discovery than many men of much higher rank
in the world of science.

MICROSCOPY.

Preparation of Epidermis. — Would some
reader kindly inform me of the best way to procure
the epidermis of such leaves as the Urtica dioica, as
nitric acid is of no use ? — George Rovert.

Mounting Pollen, etc. — Can any reader tell
me what is the best liquid for mounting the pollen of
flowers for the microscope ? Also is it best to mount
sections of stems of plants in Canada balsam? — A.
Vcrinder.

Preparing Insects' Brains. — I am desirous of
preparing some brains of insects, and I found in an
old number of this volume a method given by Mr.
E. T. Newton in his paper on " Preparing a Model
of an Insect's Brain," in which he speaks of a solution

90

HARD WI CKE ' S S CIE NCE-GO SSI P.

of hyperosmic acid for hardening, previous to cutting
sections. I have tried in vain to obtain this acid
in my own town, but the chemists do not seem to
understand what it is. I should be very much
obliged if some reader could tell me where I could
obtain this solution of the strength of \ to \ per cent.,
or if any other medium would effect the purpose. I
also want to know how to harden such tissues as
stomach, intestine, eye, etc., of insects? — W. Henry
Pratt.

Mounting Gizzards.— If your correspondent
W. L. Tall (p. 17) will gently "pull the head from the
body of the cricket, he will find that the alimentary
canal and gizzard will come with it. The gizzard
must then be cut open, treated with liquor potassse,
and mounted in balsam. Should he not succeed, I
should be pleased to prepare one for him. — J. Moore,
86 Porchester Street, Birmingham.

Cleaning Microscopic Cover-Glass. — I had a
large quantity of such covers on hand, and was
endeavouring to get the best of them clean again for
further use with the usual great waste in breakages,
when some one suggested Why don't you boil them
in Hudson's Extract of Soap ? I never heard of such
a remedy, but, as a last resource, I thought I would
try it. To my great surprise two strong solutions of
this substance, kept at boiling point, quite dissolved
all the balsam and cements with which the covers
were thickly coated, and I found no further difficulty
in cleaning them. This hint may prove useful to
many persons who throw away their once used
covers, in the belief that, in the effort to clean them,
the breakages will be so numerous that " the game
will not be worth the candle." — S. J. Mclntire,
F.R.M.S.

Liverpool Microscopical Society. — At the
ordinary meeting of this society, a paper was read by
Mr. Alexander Barrow, M.B., on the "Development,
Structure and Functions of the Eye." The lecturer
first described the structure of the human eye, and
then gave an account of the development of the eye
in the embryo, as exemplified in the chick, etc., and
concluded by explaining the optical functions of the
eye, its power of accommodation to light, distance of
objects, etc. etc.

New Work on the Rotifera.— No work in
natural science has been wanted more than one on
the Rotifera or wheel-animalcules. These objects are
so common everywhere, and so beautiful, that it is
surprising their systematic study has not been taken
up before. Perhaps it is as well such has not been
the case, for both the hour and the men have now
arrived. No other naturalists could have been
better selected for such a work than Dr. C. T.
Hudson and Mr. P. H. Gosse, F.R.S. Both these
men have long been working at the subject inde-
pendently of each other, but fortunately they have

been brought together, so that their combined labours
are now appearing in a magnificent work to be
completed in six parts at \os. 6d., and published by
Messrs. Longman. Parts I. and II. are before us,
and they fully realise all that has been anticipated.
This work on the Rotifera promises to be a fitting
companion to Saville Kent's "Manual of the Infu-
soria." Each part contains forty pages of text, and
two uncoloured and five coloured plates, all crowded
with figures. The latter are exquisitely drawn and
tinted, and every detail of structure is carefully
represented. Altogether, we may say of the present
work that it is one which gives us a genuine pleasure
to recommend to our readers. So far as the two
parts already published go we have six chapters,
which are as follows : 1st, Introduction to the
study of the Rotifera. 2nd, The history of the
literature concerning the Rotifera. 3rd, On the
classification of the Rotifera. 4th, On the haunts
and habits of the Rotifera. 5th, Flosculariadae.
6th, Melicetadre. The illustrations are devoted to
the species of these two orders.

New Slides. — We have received a charming
object for microscopical examination from Mr. Fred
Enoch, in the shape of an ichneumon fly new to
Great Britain, Utetes testraceus, which was bred out
of a dipterous fly, in whose body the eggs had been
laid. Both with polarised light and by means of the
paraboloid, the muscles and general structure show
very plainly.

ZOOLOGY.

Hyalina Draparnaldi. — Mr. J. H. James has
lately sent me specimens of this species from Truro,
Cornwall, thus adding another county to the known
distribution of this species. He has also sent H.
glabra, H. alliaria, H. eellaria, H. nitidula, and H.
crystallina from the same locality, as also many other
interesting shells concerning which a report will be
sent in to the Practical Naturalists' Society in due
course. — T. D. A. Cockcrell.

Abnormal Amceba. — Referring to Mr. E. C.
Bousfield's communication in March Science-Gossip,
there is no doubt in my own mind that the organism
I described in the January number of your journal
was a true Amceba, and not a plasmodium of one of the
Myxomycetes. I had ample opportunities for testing
this during the fortnight I had it under observation.
Its behaviour towards other smaller Amoebae, the
absence of cyclosis (Kent), and the obscurity of its
contractile vesicle (which in the Myxomycetes are
numerous) all point to its not being a Myxomycetan.
I had previously compared it with Kent, and have
since with Prantl and Vine, and my first view is
confirmed. My only query is to which species of
Amceba it belongs. — E. B. L. Bray ley, Clifton.

HARD WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G O SSIP.

9 1

Provincial Societies. — The Transactions of the
Hertfordshire Natural History Society and Field Club,
vol. iii., part 7, contain (besides meteorological
papers relating to Herts), an important one on " The
Nests and Eggs of Birds," by Henry Seebohm,
F.L.S. ; and the List of Lepidoptera observed in the
neighbourhood of Hitchin and Knebworth, Herts,
by John Hartley Durrant. The catalogue of the
Library of the Society (compiled by Mr. John
Hopkinson, F.L.S.) has been published. It shows a
capital collection of scientific books and pamphlets,
admirably arranged, with list of authors, &c. The
Transactions of the East Kent Natural History Society
have commenced with a new series. The twenty-
eighth Report for last year shows a flourishing state
of things ; and it also contains a capital list of books
and periodicals. Among the abstracts of papers in
the Transactions are one on "Teredo navalis," by
Mr. S. Saunders ; " On the connection between
Plants and Animals," by Mr. G. Dowker F.G.S. ;
"The Cypris Clay of the Weald," by Capt. Mc
Dakin ; " Stephanoceros Eichornii," by Mr. T. B.
Rosseter ; " Popular Names of British Plants," by
Mr. G. H. Nelson, F.G.S. ; "The Marine Aquarium,"
by Mr. S. Saunders, etc., besides local and general
"notes "by the members. The ■Proceedings of the
South London Entomological Nattiral History Society
for last year contains the address of the President (Mr.
R. South), and also a paper by him " On Protective
Coloration of Lepidoptera ; " besides which there is
a series of entomological notes of exhibits at
meetings, etc. The Victorian Naturalist is the
Magazine of the Field Club of Victoria, Australia.
The last number (9) contains papers on " The Fungi
of North Gippsland," by Mr. H. T. Tisdall, F.L.S ;
" A Collector's Trip to North Queensland," by Mr.
A. W. Coles ; and a " Geological Sketch of South-
western Victoria," by Mr. J. Dennant.

BOTANY.

Leaf-bloom and Stomata. — Mr. F. Darwin
recently read a paper before the Linnean Society
"On the Relation between the Bloom on Leaves and
the Distribution of the Stomata." " Bloom " on
leaves is used by him to mean the coating of minute
particles of a waxy character, which is removable
by hot water or ether. But gradations occur, from
a distinct and appreciable greasiness, throwing off
moisture, to such as are easily wetted. A large series
of leaves of different groups of plants have been
studied by him, and for convenience in the analysis
of data he has divided them into four classes. Leaves
of Class I. are devoid of bloom on both surfaces, and
yield 54 per cent., which have no stomata on the
upper surface. In Class II. bloom is deficient above,
but present below, and 83 per cent, of the stomata

are on the leaves' lower surface. Class III. possess
bloom on the leaves above, but none inferiorly, and
100 per cent, of these have stomata on the upper
surface. Class IV. have leaves with bloom on both
surfaces, 62 per cent, of them having stomata above.
From such analysis and other facts and data given,
Mr. Darwin concluded that the accumulation of
stomata accompanies that of bloom, and, other things
being equal, that it is functionally protective against
undue wetting by rain, and injury to the leaf tissue.

Cardamine pratensis, viviparous. — I have
never seen a plant of the normal single form of this
flower that was viviparous, but I believe the so-called
double variety invariably reproduces itself in this
manner, new plants springing from the leaves where
they bend down so as to touch the ground. For the
information of those of your readers who may not
have met with this variety in flower I will mention
that it has single blossoms, out* of the centre of which
— sometimes directly, sometimes on a tiny stalk —
springs a bud that opens into bloom only as the lower
petals begin to fade. Your first thought on seeing it
is that some child has been there just before you, and
has stuck an unopened bud inside each flower for fun.
There may be other forms of this double variety, but
I have not myself met with them. — G. E. Dartnell.

Proliferation of Cardamine pratensis. — I
have for several years cultivated Cardamine pratensis
(the common wild form) with a view to watch the
process of proliferation from the leaflets, and my
observations have led me to suspect that this process,
so far from being exceptional, as is commonly sup-
posed, is more likely the usual method by which the
plant is propagated. A plant on my lawn, which
has had no chance of flowering, has spread in a few
years over several square feet. Another plant, in a
border, which has not yet flowered, has surrounded
itself with several young plants, one of which I last
year found still connected with the parent by the
withered midrib of a leaf. In that case the prolifera-
tion had taken place from a leaflet of a prostrate leaf,
and the new plant had rooted in the soil without
separation from the parent. In other cases the
proliferous leaflet becomes disarticulated and falls.
In others again it remains on the parent plant ; and
the young plant, failing to reach the soil with its
rootlets, perishes. The favourite site of proliferation
is close to the base of the leaflet, at the point where
the first pair of veins come off from the midrib, and
in this situation a careful scrutiny will often detect
minute tubercles, which represent the first stage of
proliferation, and which may or may not develop
into young plants. The process of proliferation is
greatly helped by damp, and is best observed on
plants kept under glass. — G. F. Burder.

Plants from the Isle of Wight. — I beg to
thank Mr. Warner for his note in the March No.

9 2

HA RD WICKE S SCIENCE- G OSSIP.

(p. 69). The white Cephalantheras (Epipactis, Sow.)
could hardly be mistaken for E. palustris (marsh
helleborine). The only doubt with regard to the
plant under consideration can be whether it is the
C. grandiflora or C. ensifolia ? I believe it to be
the latter, because of the narrow leaves and minute
bracts ; at the same time I only have the dried
specimen as forwarded to me. I have before me a
series of both species, gathered at Raveno, Maggiore,
some years ago. The leaves of C. grandiflora are so
much broader and the bracts more prominent than
with C. ensifolia ; the flower-spike of the latter is
smaller, with a few loose flowers. But when I come
to study the whole series, some variety is noticeable
in the different specimens ; the two species appear to
run gradually into each other. As a matter of fact I
believe neither C. grand/flora nor C. ensifolia have
been recorded from the Isle of Wight. " Woods of
the Undercliff " was a near enough locality for my
purpose, but I may add the information that the
character of rock is chalk marl at the precise spot.
May I take this opportunity of stating that the rare
Swertia was found in the north of England last
summer ? I dare not say more, except that I saw it,
and that it shall not be exterminated through me. —
C. P.

GEOLOGY, &C.

The Cambridgeshire Chalk. — An important
paper on this subject has just been read before the
Geological Society by Mr. W. Hill, F.G.S. The
author, giving a description of the Middle Chalk seen
in the cliffs east and west of Dover, stated that the
grit bed of Mr. Price, though much thicker, had all
the appearance and structure of the Melbourn Rock,
and this, with less hard, but still nodular, chalk
above, appeared to be the equivalent of the zone
of //. Cnvieri in Cambridgeshire. The zone of
Terebratulina gracilis is well marked in the Dover
cliffs, and is equal in thickness to that zone as
described in the Cambr. Mem., viz., 150 feet.
Above this zone the chalk became harder, withered,
with lumpy projections, and finally passed into a
series of rocky layers, separated by courses of softer
chalk, containing, however, hard crystalline lumps.
The passage to this rocky chalk was marked by the
occurrence of Ilolaster planus (zone of H. planus).
The rocky layers, extending upward of 80 feet, were
marked by the presence of numbers of Micrasters,
" Chalk with many Micrasters " of the author. His
division included all the nodular chalk of Dover, the
" Chalk with many Organic Remains " of W. Phillips,
and in it were found the fossils recorded as peculiar
to chalk rock in the Geology of Cambridgeshire. It
appeared divisible into two zones ; the lower 15 feet,
with Micraster brez'iporus (zone of J/, breviporus)

may be considered by some to be an extension of the
zone of H. planus, the form which marks the passage
from the soft to the hard chalk. In the remainder
M. cor-testudinariuni was common (zone of M. cor-
testudinarium). Seen in thin sections under the
microscope, the structure of the hard beds which
mark the limits of the Middle Chalk was stated to
be very similar. In conclusion, the author con-
sidered that the divisions of the Middle Chalk, as set
forth in the Cambr. Memoir, are well shown in the
cliffs of Dover ; but the hard beds, which appeared to
him the equivalent of the Chalk Rock, and mark the
upper limit of Middle Chalk, attaining a great
development at Dover, it became necessary to
examine the palseontological position of that bed, to
which the name ' ' Chalk Rock " was given by Mr.
Whitaker. Having studied Mr. Whitaker's descrip-
tion given in the " Geology of the London Basin,"
and the exposures of this rock between Cambridge
and the Thames, he drew the conclusion, that there
was probably more than one bed to which the name
Chalk Rock might be applied, and that these, prob-
ably not all persistent, may occur at different
palaeontological horizons. He therefore proposed
to take the zone of H. planus as the top of the Middle
Chalk ; although this zone was difficult to identify
inland, from the paucity of its fossils, the base of the
overlying zone was well marked by the abundance of
Micrasters and other forms, which appeared to him
more closely allied to Upper than to Lower Chalk.
He believed that while the Chalk Rock seen at Henley
may be considered the summit of the Middle Chalk,
the Chalk Rock of Cambridgeshire, though convenient
for marking the summit of the Middle Chalk of that
county, included that which was really the upper
part of the zone of H. planus and the base of the
true Upper Chalk, the equivalent of Chalk with many
Micrasters of Dover. He would therefore consider
the Middle Chalk of Dover to be that included from
the base of the grit-bed to the summit of the zone of
H. planus. Its thickness was 242 feet at Shake-
speare's Cliff.

The Geologists' Association. — No. 4 of vol.
ix. of the "Proceedings" of this society is pub-
lished, containing accounts of no fewer than seventeen
excursions. These accounts are always well, although
sketchily, written, and many of them are illustrated
with diagrams of the geological sections of the
districts visited. These excursions begin at Easter
and last till August, and are usually taken on
Saturdays and Bank Holidays ; but in July there is
a week's holiday to some special place of geological
interest at a distance, when large gatherings of
members usually attend, so that the "long excursion,"
as it is called, is one of the most delightful of summer
holidays. The monthly meetings are held from
November to July inclusive, when papers are read
on subjects relating to geology, followed by dis-

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

93

cussions, in which any member may take part. The
papers sometimes take the form of lectures or
demonstrations upon general questions of geological
importance, or upon certain groups of fossils ; being
always well illustrated by maps and diagrams, they
are thus of interest to all students of geology. The
methods adopted by the Association are well adapted
to meet the requirements of those who may, for the
first time, be directing their attention to geology ;
whilst the experienced geologist will be enabled,
both at the meetings and excursions, to add to his
own knowledge and impart it to others. The work
of the Association must especially commend itself to
students of science classes, or to those attending the
University Extension Lectures. Whilst laying much
stress on the practical means of acquiring a know-
ledge of geology, the Association does not underrate
the assistance to be derived from books ; and accor-
dingly have acquired, for the use of members, partly
by purchase and partly from gifts, a good geological
library, which is ever increasing. The library is
open for the exchange of books on the evenings of
meeting. By permission of the council of University
College, the members of the Association hold their
meetings in the spacious library of the College, thus
enabling them to carry on their work with a very
small subscription from members, the services of the
officers being entirely honorary. Members pay an
admission-fee of \os. and an annual subscription of
ios., or a composition-fee of £$. They receive free
by post the "Proceedings" and "Monthly Circu-
lars," and can obtain other publications of the
Association at a reduced price from the Secretary.

"British Petrography." — Part 2 of this noble
work is even more attractively turned out than the
first. The work will be completed in twenty-five
parts. The present plates show augite-picrite,
hornblende-picrite, beautifully coloured, with key-
plates for the same. The text deals with the micro-
scopical structures of igneous rocks generally. We
congratulate Mr. Teall on the rapid success of his
undertaking.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

The Shard-borne Beetle. — There is no reason
to suppose that any particular species is referred to
either by Collins in his "Ode to Evening "or by
Shakespeare in "Macbeth," " Cymbeline," and else-
where, although the former is probably describing
Melolontha vulgaris, or perhaps Gcotrnpes stcrcorarius.
" Shard" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon, "sceard,"
meaning a fragment, e.g. of pottery, and is hence
applied to the wing-case of a beetle. — Sydney C.
Cockerell, Bedford Park.

Venus chione var.— Among other shelis brought
me from Gibraltar by my friend the Rev. J. W.
Horsley was a pale grey variety of this species,
i orresponding in general appearance to the var. cine-
rca of Mactra stultorum. It entirely lacks the usual

element of reddish-brown in its colouring. If it
should prove to be undescribed, cinerea would be
a suitable name. — Sydney C. Cockerell, Bedford Park.

Abnormal Amceba. — Referring to the enormous
Amoeba found by Mr. Brayley and described in
Science-Gossip for January, I beg to say that one
day when pond-hunting in a moat which surrounded
my garden at Upminster I found a dozen or more
organisms exactly like the one which Mr. Brayley
describes. I took some of them in a bottle to the
Royal Microscopical Society, and asked the Assistant
Secretary to find out for me what they were. This,
however, he was unable to do ; and I then sent some
to the late Dr. W. B. Carpenter and asked him to
solve the problem. He replied that he believed
them to be the spores of one of the Myxomycetes,
which are figured in their amoeboid condition at page
388 of the last edition of " Carpenter on the Micro-
scope ; " the description is as follows: "Here and
there offshoots of the protoplasm are projected, and
again withdrawn, in the manner of the pseudopodia
of an Amoeba ; while the whole organism may be
occasionally seen to abandon the support over which
it had grown and to creep over neighbouring surfaces,
thus far resembling in all respects a colossal ramified
Amceba." In one of Professor Huxley's " Lay
Sermons," entitled " On the Physical Basis of Life,"
is the following: "There is a living body called
ALthalntm septicum, which appears upon decaying
vegetable substances, and in one of its forms is
common upon the surfaces of tan-pits. In this
condition it is to all intents and purposes a fungus,
and formerly was always regarded as such ; but the
remarkable investigations of De Bary have shown
that in another condition the ^Ethalium is an actively
locomotive creature, and takes in solid matters,
upon which apparently it feeds, thus exhibiting the
most characteristic feature of animality." Sachs'
"Text-book of Botany," p. 276, has the following :
" When a spore is saturated with water it opens, and
the whole of its protoplasmic contents escape as a
roundish naked mass ; but after some minutes it
assumes another form, becomes long and pointed at
one end, where it is provided with long cilia ; it has
in fact developed into a swarm-pore, which is either
endowed with rotatory motion or creeps along,
changing its form like an Amoeba." Prantl and
Vine's "Text-book of Botany" has the following at
p. 31 : "Naked primordial cells, as, for instance,
swarm-pores and antherozoids, swim about in the
water in which they live, rotating at the same time
on their own axes. The so-called plasmodia of
Myxomycetes exhibit an amoeboid movement ; that
is, the naked mass of protoplasm continually changes
its outline, new protrusions are thrown out from the
central mass, whilst others are withdrawn, and it
thus moves slowly from place to place ; at the same
time a rapid motion of the granules within the mass
is going on." I would suggest to Mr. Brayley that
it is possible his find may be of the same character
as mine. — J. C. Havers, F.L.S., F.R.M.S.

Starlings. — Huge flocks of starlings [Sturnus
vulgaris) were seen every evening during the month
of November, flying toward the west. They flew at
a great altitude, and from a distance looked like
immense clouds. Every morning they could be seen
returning towards the east, when they kept close to
the ground, rising a little to clear the hedges and
other obstacles which lay in their way, but dropping
as soon as they passed them, just skimming the face
of the land in their rapid flight. The morning flocks
were very much smaller than those seen in the
evenings, and, instead of huge dense masses like the

94

HA RD WICKE' S SCIENCE- G OS SIP

evening flocks, they formed irregular wave-like chains
about half a mile in length, and from ten to fifty yards
broad ; one such flock passed every three minutes for
one hour. Query — Where did they lodge at night,
and how far did they spread towards the east during
the daytime ? I remarked the last flocks came in
sight about nine o'clock, and settled in the fields
about this neighbourhood (Ponsanooth), where they
remained during the day, and departed towards the
west in the evening without joining the large flocks
which came from the east. — S. H. Davey, Ponsanooth ,
Cornwall. I

A Brighton Garden. — Your correspondent, G.
Davis, in his interesting article on "A Brighton
Garden," describes it as being only fifty square yards
in extent, which is only ten yards by five, or about
the size of a " good-sized " dining-room. In this are
several free-growing conifers, firs, and others. I
think that perhaps "fifty yards square" might be
intended, and yet that would scarcely require so
definite a description. With regard to the growth
of the various trees, etc., it is interesting to compare
it with that of the same plants under the very different
conditions 01 this neighbourhood. P. austriaca, P.
Cembra, P. excclsa do well, but P. insignis will not
stand the winter's cold. Picea Nordmanniana does
well for a time, but Picea nobilis does better. P.
pinsapo in sheltered situations succeeds well for a
time, but is caught by a cold winter. P. lasiscupo
comes into leaf too quickly, and the leaders perish.
Cupressus macrocarpa is useless, but C. Lawsoniana
does well, and also C. gigatitca. The ginkgo succeeds
fairly well, but does not grow rapidly. The Euony-
mus japonica is not planted here, as it is liable to get
killed in winter. It is needless to proceed further,
and many of the shrubs I could not report upon, but
I thought you could perhaps forward this to your
contributor. — Wm. Southall.

Food, etc., of Macro-Lepidopterous Cater-
pillars. — With a view to a monograph of the
larvse of British Macro-Lepidoptera, would entomo-
logical readers kindly help me with descriptions,
food-plants, etc., of caterpillars they have observed?
Localities of same would be of great advantage. — F.
A. A. Skusc, 36 Campbell Road, Bow, London, E.

The Brambling. — The brambling (Fringilla
montifringilla) has appeared here in some abundance
during the past few weeks. It seems to visit this
part of Cornwall only in severe winters. A bird-
stuffer at Falmouth told me he had several sent him
for preserving in 1880-81. I have a male bird in
fine plumage in my possession. Bulfinches (P. vul-
garis) are more than usually numerous. In October
and November, especially the latter month, their
chief food was a late kind of blackberry. Dock -seed
has also come in for a share of their attention. On a
mild morning in December I noticed the golden-
crested wren taking flies on the wing after the man-
ner of the fly-catcher. Is this usual? — T. J. Porter,
Perranarworthal, Cornwall.

Floral Varieties. — In North Wales I once found
a pure white specimen of Geranium Robertianum.
With the exception of the flowers being white, it was
exactly the same as the ordinary pink Geranium
Robertianum. — M. E. Thomson.

Cuckoos. — The following I quote from Science-
Gossip, 1881, page 68 : " Mr. H. B. Sharpe on
Cuckoos. — This well known ornithologist, in a lecture
recently delivered before the Birmingham Midland
Institution, said : ' The ground-cuckoos, unlike the

tree-cuckoos, built their nests, but they were not very
far advanced in the art of nest building.' " I should
be glad if some correspondent would kindly tell me
in what other respect (besides in the building of their
nests) tree-cuckoos differ from ground-cuckoos. I
should also like to know if the American cuckoos
(which Mr. Sharpe in the same lecture said "did
not lay their eggs and hatch them all at once, as
some English birds did, but would lay them at
intervals, leaving the young birds first hatched to
hatch the remainder ") are of the same genus as the
English ones. — A. Pittis.

Hedge-Sparrow's Nest.— On Febuary 14th a
hedge-sparrow's nest, containing four eggs, was
brought to me from Hendon. Was not this ex-
ceptionally early, considering the severe winter? —
G. Browne.

Miscellaneous Queries. — Will any of your
readers answer the following? 1. Do pike pair at
spawning time or not ? 2. Is a heron conscious of
standing on one leg in a profound sleep for hours,
with head under wing, other foot hidden in abdominal
feathers, or is it merely a mechanical or automatic
action ? 3. Does a bee fly in circles to and from
its hive ? if so, why ? — Mark Antony.

Arion ater, var. albolateralis. — It may
interest Mr. J. W. Williams (p. 55) to know that I
found four specimens of the var. albolateralis of
Arion ater at Kirk Braddan, Isle of Man, during the
first week of August, 1885. 1 also saw several others
at Onchan. One specimen of var. albida, Arion
ater, was found at Onchan. — J. Moore, 86 Porchester
Street, Birmingham.

Mimulus luteus. — I found this plant in consider-
able quantities last summer growing on the borders
of a stream near Enniskerry, co. Wicklow. Has it
been found elsewhere in Ireland ? — J. Grierson, Bray,
co. Wicklow.

The Violet Quotation. — The idea touched on
in "In Memoriam," xviii., is a very ancient one.
The earliest quotation that I can give for it is from
Persius —

" Nunc non « tumulo fortunataque favilla
Nascentur violae?" — Sat. i. 39.

Next comes Shakespeare ("King Lear "), followed
by Robert Herrick with his epitaph on his old house-
keeper —

" In this little urn is laid

Prudence Baldwin, once my maid,

From whose happy spark here let

Spring the purple violet."

Tennyson closes the list. Of these, Herrick un-
doubtedly drew his inspiration from Persius, while
the ashes of " In Memoriam " would seem to suggest
that the Laureate also had in his mind that fortunata
favilla of the Roman satirist. As for Shakespeare, I
do not myself think that he was indebted to Persius,
but rather that he here used the violet chiefly as a
symbol, in its shy sweetness and beauty, of so "fair
and unpolluted " a soul as that of Cordelia. The
origin of the idea may lie hidden away somewhere in
ancient folk-lore, or it may simply be that the ashes
of the dead have been found to stimulate the growth
of this flower. 1 should hardly consider a grave
nowadays to be a likely locality for violets to spring
up spontaneously in, though I have seen them
flourishing luxuriantly in soil which appeared full
of cinders and burnt bones ; but it is at least certain
that, let the connection of ashes, human or otherwise,

HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

95

be what it may with our flower, that of the ash-tree is

a very close one.

" Thick
By ashen roots the violets blow,

as a later stanza of "In Memoriam " so accurately
observes. — G. E. Dartnell.

A remarkable Robin. — According to a con-
temporary, there is now to be seen, at the old village
cobbler's residence at Framfield, adjoining the village
churchyard, a living curiosity in the shape of a robin
which was captured on the 25th January. The bird is
now caged, and sings delightfully in the true notes of
the robin. The plumage consists of a white breast,
wings resembling the chaffinch, a white crown, and,
more singular still, a white bill, whereas our old
English robin carries with him a black one.

Arion hortensis, var. subfusca. — Mr. Wil-
liams, speaking of this variety in his very interesting
article on the variation of slugs, in the recent number
of Science-Gossip, remarks, " This variety has been
recorded for Britain, but, I believe, on unreliable
authority." I took a quantity of slugs last March on
the banks of the Ely, at St. Fagan's, near Cardiff,
which I sent to Mr. Roebuck for identification. They
were : five Arion hortensis, var. subfusca ; five Limax
agrcstris, var. sylvatica, three L. agrestis, var.
tristis ; one A. atcr, var. nigrescens, and several
Arions difficult to make out, which Mr. Roebuck
thinks to be a new species not yet recorded as British.
Near the same place I took H. arbustorum, hortensis,
nemoralis, aspersa, rotutidata, and hispida, S. elegans,
C. minimum, Zonites nitidulus, Z.fulvus (scarce), and
Cock. lubrica.—F. W. Wotton, Cardiff.

A Suggestion for Scientific Societies. — I
am sure there are many students of nature who would
be glad to give the helping hand "An Hon. Sec."
asks for in Science-Gossip, vol. xxi. p. 263, and, for
my own part, I can lend him two papers on general
botanical subjects, with diagrams drawn by myself, if
he thinks they would be of service. However, I
have another object in writing this note, which is
to suggest to " An Hon. Sec." to get the members of
his society to take up the cataloguing of the plants,
shells, and insects, in all their various branches, that
are to be found in his district. I have no idea where-
abouts he resides, but I can scarcely think its flora
and fauna have already been completely worked out.
For, as Gilbert White writes in his "Natural History
of Selborne," " All nature is so full, that that district
produces the greatest variety which is the most
examined." Many local societies in England and
America have been thus making lists of what is found
within their bounds, and with most useful results.
In Ireland, too, the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club,
and the Royal Dublin Society, have been doing a
like work for the provinces of Ulster and Leinster.
And it occurs to me that such a treatment of the
natural history of "An Hon. See's" locality would
afford endless themes, as, at meeting after meeting,
portions of the various lists were brought forward by
the different collectors.— i7. IV. Lett, M.A.

A Query for Teetotallers. — How is the fact
(for a fact it is) to be explained — viz. that if you mix
Seltzer water with whisky, the usual air- (or gas-beads
rather) are seen in the mixture, which remains other-
wise quiescent ; whereas, if brandy be the spirit
employed, great frothy bubbles are produced on the
surface of the fluid, which fill the top part of the
tumbler which contains it, and have a tendency (like
champagne) to overpass the boundary of the rim ? It
has often struck me as being veiy curious. — W. H.

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