1 i IP 1^1 m*/j i si IHI W Mm HARDWICKE'S SCI ENCE-GOSSIP: 1883. H ARDWICKE'S ^tu^-ta plicatilis, 84 Spiromonas Cohnii, 84 Sporocarpon asteroides, 102 Sporocarpon cellulosum, 151 Sporocarpon compactum, 101 Sporocarpon- elegans, 100, 101 Sporocarpon pachy derma, 101 Sporocarpon traquaria, 156 Stem of Water Lily {.Yymp/iaa alba), Section of, 232 Succinia putris, Leeds, 4 Teleutospore of Phragmidium vit- laceum, n Thallus of Marchantia, 148 Thailus with Antheridia, 149 Thysanophyllum orientate, 275 Tradescantia, Circulation of Protoplasm in, 28 Tradescantia, Raphides in Stem of, 28 Tree-Toad [Hyla versicolor) 204 Tubers of Orchis mascula, 54 Typical Perlites, 133 Vanessa Urticce, 108 Water Lily (Xymp/uea alba) section of stem, 232 Wood frog [Rana sylvatica), 205 Zaphrentis, 274 Zaphrentis Bowerbankii, 274 Zygosporites brevipes, 157 Zygosporites longipes, 157 Zygosporites oblouga, 157 AN INQUIRY INTO THE ALLEGED HABIT OF HIBER- NATION AMONG NORTH AMERICAN SWALLOWS. By CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M.D. N the year 1750, Peter Kalm, the Swedish natural- ist, while travel- ling in America, made the follow- ing entry in his journal, during a brief sojourn in Southern New Jersey : " I ob- served the barn swallows for the first time on the 10th of April (new style) ; the next day in the morn- ing, I saw great numbers of them sitting on posts and planks, and they were as wet as if they had been just come out of the sea." On a subsequent page, he remarks : "The people differed here in their opinions about the abode of swallows in winter ; most of the Swedes thought that they lay at the bottom of the" sea ; some, with the English and the French in Canada, thought that they migrate to the southward in autumn, and return in spring. I have likewise been credibly informed in Albany, that they have been found sleeping in deep holes and clefts of rocks, during winter." Further- more, it is well to add that John Reinhold Forster, the accomplished translator of Kalm's travels, adds, in a foot-note, a series of well-attested instances of swallows having been found hibernating in the mud at the bottoms of lakes : among these instances he mentions Dr. Wallerius, a celebrated Swedish chemist, who affirmed that he had " seen more than once, No. 217.— January 1883. swallows assembling on a reed, till they were all immersed and went to the bottom ; this being pre- ceded by a dirge of a quarter of an hour's length." Commenting upon the above and like instances, Mr. Forster is led to conclude that in countries as cold as Sweden " swallows immerse in the sea, in lakes and rivers, and remain in a torpid state, under ice, during winter ; " and that some English swallows, and some in Germany, " retire into clefts and holes in rocks," while in Spain, Italy, and France, that they are strictly migratory birds. That our American swallows are strictly migratory birds, I have no doubt ; and it would never have occurred to me to consider otherwise than as a mere fancy the subject of hibernation of our swallows, had not an excellent American ornithologist stated re- cently the opinion that this alleged submarine hiber- nation of swallows was physically and physiologically feasible. This is a too hasty assertion, and has no warranty from known laws of life. Such an assertion having been made, however, and a semi-assent to the alleged habit of hibernation thus given by an authority in ornithological science ; it behoves the naturalist to determine, if opportunity permits, how great an amount of truth there is in the statements so frequently and forcibly made, of the persons claiming to have witnessed actions on the part of swallows, indicative of hibernation commenced ; and of the discovery of swallows in conditions indicative of hibernation in progress. Believing this supposed habit to be really a mis- conception of movements on the parts of swallows, and to be likened, in a measure, to the rolling habit of the mythical hoop snake, I have taken every available opportunity, since 187S, to observe the movements of the several species of swallows that frequent my neighbourhood , with the hopes of deter- mining what habits obtained among them, that might HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP. possibly have given rise to the world-wide impression on the part of many people, that swallows not only hibernate, but even deliberately bury themselves in mud at the bottoms of lakes and rivers. The species of swallow that I have had opportunity of carefully studying for the past three years, are the bank swallow {Cotylc ripariq), the cliff swallow [Petrochelidon lunifrons), the barn swallow {HiritnJo horrcoritm), and lastly the swallow-like swift {Chczhtra felagica), universally known as the chimney swallow. I do not propose to give you an extended account of the habits of these four species of well-known birds ; but relate such occurrences as I have witnessed, as seemed to bear upon the question. These birds I will treat of in the order named. Probably the most abundant of all our swallows is that known "as the, bank swallow, a name derived from the habit of building nests in the steep faces of earth banks, when of such composition or structure that these birds can burrow into them with safety to a depth of several feet. I say "with safety," for if the earth be [too yielding, and the sides liable to crumble, then the bank will be abandoned. In every instance that has come under my notice the chosen banks or escarpments occupied by a colony of bank swallows had a southern exposure, and directly fronting it, and never so far distant as to be out of sight, there was either a pond, a creek with some current, or the river itself. Now this association of water and the colonies of bank swallows is important. Least susceptible to changes of weather, and dependent upon food more than temperature, the bank swallow is the earliest of the family to appear in spring, and the latest to disappear late in autumn. The alleged hibernation is a habit that concerns us only at such times of year — in early spring— when they leave their muddy couches after prolonged slumber ; — in autumn when they seek these submarine retreats. Like all, or nearly all, migratory birds, the bank swallows return in early spring to their haunts of the preceding summer. When I have first noted their return, often as early as the loth of March, they were either flying to and fro over the water in front of the site of their nests of last year, or flying in and out of the old burrows of the preceding summer ; inspecting their condition, but not prepar- ing for the coming duties of incubation. Thus eaily in the spring, their flight is not as continued as it is a month later, as though they had not recovered from the fatigue of their migratorial journey, which I believe to be the case ; and they rest in small com- panies, not upon trees, but, I may say, exclusively either at the openings of the subterranean nests, or upon sticks, dead trees, and vegetation projecting from the water. Now let me add another very im- portant fact ; that the amount of food to be found by these swallows, thus early in the season, is limited ; and largely confined to a few hardy species of insects that are then astir, if the sun is shining, therefore their vigorous flight power of midsummer is visibly affected. Add to this, the depressing influences of cold rain-storms, which they do not endeavour to avoid, and we have causes sufficient to explain the well-attested fact, that these swallows are at this time of year often to be seen, as Kalm described those he saw in 1750, "as wet as if they had been just come out of the sea." Let me now give you the details of an incident of this kind. On the 17th of March, 1878, the weather for a week previously having been fairly pleasant for the time of year, and a few swallows seen ; it rained very hard until about noon, when it cleared suddenly, the wind shifting to the north-west. I started out for a short ramble in search of Indian relics, and passing by the bluff that for years has been frequented by bank swallows, I was attracted by the incessant but feeble twitterings of numbers of these birds, but none were to be seen. I looked for them for some time, and finally found a hundred or more sitting upon the top rail of a section of half submerged fence in the marshy meadow facing the cliff. Approaching as near as I could, I found them unable, or, at least, indisposed to fly ; and finally, getting to them, found them thoroughly soaked, and readily taken by the hand. Those that endeavoured to escape, fell into the water, and were lost in the dead bulrushes that projected above its surface. I presume that many were drowned. My explanation of the occurrence is this, they were insect hunting when the storm commenced, and taking refuge by perch- ing upon the fence, were awaiting the slow process of the drying of their feathers, by exposure to the wind and then fitful sunshine. This accomplished, they would have been themselves again. On the other hand, had I not seen these swallows previously, there was every reason to lead one to suppose that they had suddenly appeared from some near-at-hand hiding-place, where they had been quietly at rest, during the winter just closed ; and had any one following in my footsteps found the poor struggling birds that I had caused to fall into the water, then natural, indeed, to suppose that from the water itself had emerged these chilled and helpless birds at the first breath of spring ! Now, on the 19th of March, 1SS0, there was a cold storm, with both snow and rain. Two days previously I had seen two bank swallows. Think- ing that others might be about, and desirous of see- ing them during a rain, I went to the cliff, near my house, and saw nothing of these birds. Lingering about the place for some time, I finally saw three emerge from holes in the cliff, and after fluttering about a short time (the rain had then stopped) they alighted on a stake projecting from the water, and remained fully ten minutes. The rain commencing again to fall, one flew away, and I think to the cliff, the others flew to the same fence, where I had seen HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. scores of them the year previously, and sat near together facing the wind ; just as pigeons will arrange themselves on the peak of the roof of a barn during a rain-storm in summer. In this case, these two swallows certainly became thoroughly wetted, and had they been found later, when the storm was over, would certainly have presented the appearance of being " as wet as if they had been just come out of the sea." How easy it is to be misled by appearances, in this matter of studying bird-life ! Had I not known that swallows had been flying for days before I found these wet, bedraggled, storm-beaten birds, I could fairly have claimed, that my own experience fully confirmed the opinions of others, that swallows not only migrate, but remain in mud-encased beds at the bottoms of our ponds, creeks and rivers ; but until swallows are first heard singing their farewell dirge, as Dr. Wallerius describes, then seen to sink into the mud, and are then promptly resurrected, before a cloud of witnesses, it will be safe to assert that what others have seen is susceptible of other expla- nation than voluntary submergence in the mud of our water-courses. Furthermore, it can be safely asserted, I think, that bank swallows return year after year to their haunts of previous summers. A New York, or Connecticut, or Massachusetts colony of these birds, will not reach its haunt of last summer as early, as will the New Jersey colonies reach theirs. Although the recent observations of Mr. Scott at Princeton, New Jersey, conclusively show that migration at any night, when it is moonlight, customarily takes place, it does not necessarily show that migration at night is the common habit of all birds that migrate. Indeed, it is impossible to believe that however brilliant the moonlight may be, any bird could distinguish, at the elevation of a mile or more, the limited area of its former summer haunts, the particular thicket in which it nested the foregoing summer ; or, in the case of swallows, the little bluff, wherein a colony had had their sub- terranean summer homes. The most that can be claimed, is their recognition of the particular river valley wherein they have been accustomed to spend the summer. Granting this, if they migrated at night, then it is early in the morning after their arrival that we should expect to see them, resting, in scattered numbers, after their journey ; and when thus wearied from a protracted flight, and damped with the dews that have bathed surrounding Nature, they might well present the appearance of having arisen from the waters beneath, rather than fallen from the clouds above. (To be contmued.) Buttercup. — On December 2nd, I found a butter- cup {Ranunculus repens) in flower, and it was covered with ice. It was growing on an exposed bank be- ween two streams. — F. II, Parrott, Aylesbury. MOLLUSCAN JAWS ; THEIR VARIATION IN HELIX NEMORALIS, H. IIORTENSIS, AND VAR. HYBRIDA. ANY ONE watching a snail as it crawls along, cropping the alga; off the glass of a fresh-water aquarium, will notice that the shorn track is distinctly narrower than the foot of the animal. The lateral portions of this organ describe graceful contours, whilst this track has a jagged margin, and median interruptions of uncropped algae. It is evident that the motion of the foot has not caused that silvery streak on the inner part of the glass, for, running our eye along the muscular foot, from the posterior pointed portion which joins the path, the so-called tail of the snail, we shall see, however accomplished, whether by the elongation of the anterior portion, or drawing of hinder part forwards, by the alternate progressive movements of the sides, or any other movement common to special groups, that the use of the foot is for locomotion, and that it presents no cutting organ whatever. Anteriorly however, we find the foot of our gastro- pod, if it be a Limncea, becoming very broad and ending abruptly, and that there is differentiated dorsally a head possessing tentacles, eyes, &c, and having a mouth more or less ventral. Here, were we merely looking for the cause of that track, our quest would end ; for the combined move- ments of the head and the external organs of the mouth, whilst in search of and procuring food in these fields confervoid, pushed forwards by the foot, give rise to the complicated tortuous Molluscan tracks so common in some aquaria. A more careful examination of this mouth movement through the glass will reveal, in some genera more than others, a dark brown or chocolate-coloured crescentic boundary, the jaw, which is during life being brought constantly into opposition with the more ventral portion, which presents a muscular strap, on which are developed hundreds of carbonate of lime denticles, the radula. To the action of these organs, assisted by certain muscles, is due the seizure of the food, its comminu- tion and its passage to the oesophagus. The whole form the buccal mass. In this hasty examination we have localised and functionised an organ, whose action has at all times excited the admiration of observers of Molluscan habits. By its aid those of the snails and slugs of our canals, ponds, and country lanes can be found. The colour of the jaw varies from a light yellow to a deep chocolate. The cuticle of the common cock- roach presents the general colour sought to be described. Generally speaking, the jaw may be said to consist of a crescentic base, with or without accessory pieces, on which are developed transverse ridges or ribs of the same material. Neither the curvature of the base, nor the number or position of the ridges is con- B 2 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. stant. Their use is to assist the odontophore in triturating the food. The whole jaw assumes, however, a characteristic form peculiar to its own genera. In a common black slug {Arion aier) of this neighbour- hood, I found a semi-oval jaw, with numerous ribs of varying breadths, smooth on the concave and crenu- lated on the outer aspect, and barely projecting beyond the edge of the base (fig. i). Whilst in a jaw of Succinea pittris, from the towing-path of the canal in the centre of Leeds, we have a central tooth and a quadrate plate behind (fig. 2). Very little seems to have been done in determining the composition of Molluscan jaws, and books on zoology, microscopy, anatomy and conchology, seem content to share in the stereotyped and often ric, sulphuric, and acetic acids, potassic hydrate, Schultze's syrup, &c, I found that they were chitinous and not corneous or horny. Keratine, the basis of horn, hairs, feathers, &c, has a different chemical composition to chitin, and behaves unlike it under the same tests. The methods pursued in determining chitin and keratine are too familiar to be more than alluded to here. Cartilage, as is well known, is only found amongst invertebrates in Cephalopoda. The nucleated appearance of car- tilage and the laminar structure of chitin under the microscope are so dissimilar, that the cartilaginous nature of jaws must have been a guess and never tested. That they are not calcareous needs no con- tradiction, although salts of lime are deposited on Fig. 1.— Jaw of Arion aler, Leeds. Fig. 2. — Succiiica ptttris, Leeds. Figs. 3-5. — Helve netnoralis, Whitby. synonymous terms, composition corneus, horny, cartilaginous, calcareous. Through the microscope they have every appear- ance of being chitin (C 15 , H 26 , N 2 , 22 ) a substance particularly familiar to the worker with this instrument. Chitin might aptly be called inver- tebrate bone, for it enters into the composition of the endo- and exo-skeleton, locomotory (aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic), digestive, generative, and respiratory organs, &c, of various members of that great division. The Molluscan jaw and the serrated teeth of leeches (Hirudo), are but modifications of the same substance to suit divergent habits. On testing chemically the jaws of Helix ncmoralis and hortensis and portions of the gladius of Loligo vulgaris with hydrochlo- them occasionally. In my cabinet I have a jaw of Helix arbustorum on which are three star-like clusters of crystals, which polarise beautifully. Chitin, being a derivative product, does not involve the consequent destruction of its constructive cells ; whilst the opposite obtains in keratinous substances, their original cells having been transformed into horny matter. In vol. iii. pt. 8 of the "Journal of Conchology," the editor in an article on Helix arbus- torum takes us a step further. He states that the jaw "is composed of indurated or hardened mucus and is of a horn colour ; the minute sculpture is formed of longitudinal wavy lines which follow the exterior outline." These lines of sculpture are the lines of deposition of the chitin ; the alternate hard and soft portions arising during chemical metamorphosis of the cells into that substance. The laminae are here, as in Nature everywhere, the indications of formation and of transformation or change. The epiphragm maybe formed of " hardened or indurated mucus," but certainly not the jaw. The presence too of chitin in Mollusca is conceded by all embryolo- gists. It is the first hard substance met with. The shell gland, when first formed, is a chitinous plug in the posterior and dorsal portion in all normal, and in most abnormal forms ; whilst a depression on the dorsal surface of the foot of some Molluscs gives rise to a chitinous plate, the operculum. The whole of these chitinous substances are formed of epiblastic cells, and from similar cells are developed the buccal cavity and oesophagus. The anterior portion of the buccal mass is the jaw, its posterior attachment the oesophagus. tion has convinced me that, though a generic idea might be easily set up, yet as a specific classification it would be useless. The variations seem endless. In this article I merely treat of one group of land molluscs, Helix nemoralis, H. hortensis, and some of their varieties. As their specific relationship has never been satisfactorily settled, I trust the following notes on the shells and jaws will be a definite step towards that end. The group comprised under the above names are, as most naturalists know, those beautifully coloured shells found commonly throughout this country along hedgerows, especially nettle - yielding ones — plain yellow, red, or brown, or encircled with one to six bands. Those with dark coloured mouths are the H. nemoralis ; with white lip and rib, H. hortensis ; and those with a pink lip or rib, H. hortensis, var. hybrida. Amongst the H. nemoralis, characterised as Figs. 6 and 7. — H. nemoralis, Leeds (i grown). Fig. 9. — H. hortensis, Malton. Fig. 10. — H. liortensis, Driffield. Fig. 12. — Divisions of 1-100 of an inch. Fig. 8. — H. hortensis, var. hybridei, Malton. H . hortensis, near Leeds. It will (I trust) be clear, that the primitive epidermis or epiblast gives rise in Mollusca to the chitinous parts, and that these are in no case differentiations of mucus. I think we might safely say : — That no true horn is found in Mollusca ; That cartilage is not found in any of the inverte- brates, except in Cephalopoda, as a support for certain nervous organs in the head, &c. ; That chitin forms the shell glands and opercular plates of true Mollusca, the shell valves of articulate Brachiopods, the jaws, &c, of Gastropods, the gill supports and ligaments of Lamellibranchiates (Ano- donta), the gladius and acetabula of the squid (Loligo) and other Cephalopoda. It struck me, as far back as 1879, that if the cross- bars of the jaws of snails could be mapped, as the chemist does his spectra bands, one might, by working at a group, make some headway, but micro-examina- we have learned by the dark mouth, are sometimes found specimens which agree in every particular with typical nemoralis, except that they possess a white mouth and rib. Every conchologist must have specimens of this kind in his cabinet. For it I propose the name of//, nemoralis, var. albo-labris ; no mention of this, by no means rare variety, being made in " British Conchology." This variety occurs in the Leeds district. The varieties hortensis and hybrida of H. nemoralis, as given by Dr. Jeffreys in his " British Conchology," are to my mind a distinct species and its variety. No conchologist yet confused the two. The care with which he handles hortensis, and the admiration that its smaller, delicate, and more graceful form excites, is, to the practical specialist, an intuitive distinction. Perhaps, when the subject becomes better worked, we shall look upon the colour of the lip and rib of var. HA RD WI CKE 'S S CIENCE- G OS SIP. hybrida as homotypical of the lip colour of nemoralis, for its robust shells are provided with white and all shades of red, chocolate, and dark brown lips and ribs. The jaws, too, of II. nemoralis are larger, stronger, and deeper coloured than hortensis. Dr. Jeffreys remarks, too, that no two of these forms live together. I may add that hybrida is usually sought for and found amongst hortensis; the two-score specimens I possess of this variety were all found thus. I was, along with many others, a believer that nemoralis, hortensis and hybrida were not found together in any locality, but quite recently, and within a few miles of Leeds, I have, in the company of friends, taken the three forms associated. From the stems of a large cow parsnip (Heracleum) I took two //(•; three liortensis, and one hybrida ; whilst, amongst forty or fifty hortensis, two miles away, I procured one nemoralis and one hybrida. The hortensis from this, to me, new locality are very interesting. There are four or five sets which show the gradations of hortensis to hybrida very clearly, we have 1st, white ; 2nd, bright yellow ; 3rd, paler yellow, large whorl tinged with reddish-purple ; 4th, reddish salmon-colour; 5th, hybrida. Var. or set 3 shows what Mr. Norman denies, a coloured deposit on the columella. Some four or five years ago, I had the honour of describing a new variety to this country of H. hortensis ; this var. umbilicata, Crthr., had an umbilicus. I collected it at Tadcaster. An examina- tion of the large collections which are made of these ever-varying shells clearly shows that II. nemoralis and //. hortensis are distinct species, and hybrida to be a variety of the latter form, and I and many conchologists adopting this classification go with Miiller, Dr. Grey and Mr. Norman and against Forbes and Hanley and Dr. Jeffreys. Briefly, and generally, we might classify them thus :— Helix nemoralis, L. — Shell subglobose, usually opaque and solid, imperforate"; periostracum white, yellow, brown, chocolate, red, &c, either plain or encircled with one to five or six bands of varying widths and colours. Outer lip and rib deep pink, red, chocolate and black. On the inner lip the bands are usually hidden by a coloured deposit. Var. albo-labris, Crthr. — Form and colour as in type. Lip and rib white. Helix hortensis, Mull. — Shell one-third smaller and a little more globular than nemoralis, similarly coloured and banded, imperforate, thin, often translucent. Rib and outer lip white. Inner lip usually shows bands. Var. hybrida, Poiret.— Shell as in type in size and markings, somewhat solider. Outer lip and rib unged or coloured pink. Var. umbilicata, Crthr. — Shell like hortensis, trans- lucent, banded, possessing an umbilicus. Fuller descriptions will be found in books on British conchology of most of the above, also of the vars. major and minor of Helix nemoralis. The above classification is newer, more definite, and perhaps more accurate, as it is founded on later obser- vations. On bringing home the specimens gathered, it is better to clean them at once. The animals are extracted after treatment with hot water. The shells should be assorted as to colours, species and varieties, and mounted in pairs on small millboard tablets 22 by ij-in. by |-in. thick, covered on one side with tinted paper for coloured, and steel blue, or black paper for white shells. On the label affixed to one end should be written genus, species, locality and collector. For the method of dissecting odontophores, jaws, &c, of Mollusca, which should be done under water, in a white shallow dish, refer to books on the micro- scope, &c. I would strongly advise the simple method of dissecting the animal thus, with forceps and needles, to the common one resorted to by so many conchologists, of boiling the animal if small, or parts if large, in sodic or potassic hydrates, on purpose to procure the jaws or lingual ribbons. The attachments are often appended, and the object has a more natural appearance under the microscope. The jaws of small II. virgata can be seen with the naked eye in the dissecting trough, and the smallest species may be crushed and washed in the sunken cell of a micro-slip using a 2-inch objective for detection. As the jaws are found, place the different kinds in watch glasses, or small colour saucers, until so dry that they can be transferred to small pill-boxes, without any risk of their sticking to the bottom or sides, and so carrying foreign matter. Here they are dust free, and can be stored any length of time. On its lid should be written such information as is required for the micro-slide label. This method of preparation is not applicable to odontophores. In a day or two the_jaws will be thoroughly dry. After soaking in turpentine, they may be mounted on micro-slips in any soluble form of Canada balsam, and without a cell ; a wire clip will hold in position for a few days, until there is a little set in the medium. As evaporation takes place, fill up with fresh balsam ; wdien dry ring twice with a thick solution of dammar in benzole and varnish. Any number of jaws of Mollusca agreeing in characters or shell colour may be mounted on one slip, three or more are very easily treated, and with a little care in balancing the clip directly over the specimen or specimens, it will be found practical to mount one or two jaws without a cell. Canada balsam is much better for this work than glycerine or similar fluids ; it is more easily manipulated, requires no extra care in fastening up, and is handy for polariscopic work. Such a slide may be numbered, named, examined and mapped as below : — Slide Locality. Kind. Map. Species. No. of Ribs. No. 1 2 3 4 5 1 6 7 5 Tadcaster- Reddish. . >!MK A"rttfc . • ncmoralis i 23 Whitby . Yellow . hortensis . •• •• 1 •• •• •• • • 29 Driffield . Plain reddish -fr *tf> -H- *h hybrida . •• 4 The arc — . represents the base, and the cross lines the transverse bars of the jaws. By this method any number of jaws can be diagrammatically presented, and by thickening, thinning, or lengthening the strokes, the variations we find on the real specimens may be represented. It follows, that if in such a tabulation it had been found that II. ncmoralis, hor- tensis or hybrida had always a certain proportion of cross-bars, or that these ribs were differently placed, a classification might have been built up on these characters ; but although I long ago learned that the ncmoralis had larger jaws, and was generally better ribbed, yet the number of bars varies so much that specimens with two bars occur, and rarely we find five bars in hortensis and hybrida. The examination of one hundred and forty-two jaws gives the following results : — Specimens Species. Number of Ribs. examined. | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 67 Helix ncmoralis .. 5 7 23 22 7 3 Si Helix horte?isis . •• •• '9 22 9 1 •• •• 24 Var. hybrida •• X s 4 13 1 •• A glance at this table shows that II. kortensishas the lowest average of bars 2'8, hybrida 3'3, and nemwralis 4*4. A reference to my remarks on the shells, shows that this order is borne out in them too, hortensis thin, hybrida stronger, and ncmoralis a solid and more compact shell than either. In a district near Leeds, out of twenty-eight speci- mens (see table below), I find the proportion slightly increased, ncmoralis averaging five bars per jaw, and hortensis barely three. Of hybrida I only took two specimens. Specimens Species. Number of Rib examined. oi|2, 34 j5|6 7 6 Helix ncmoralis Helix hortensis . 2 ! 3 •• 22 •• .. 6 11 An opinion which I have formed after much reflec- tion on this jaw variation from tables and observa" tions may be presented in a few words. The ribs being auxiliaries of the odontophore, and abounding especially in terrestrial forms, vary in different situations to suit food plants. In a set made up of speci- mens collected by myself at Driffield, and from its neigh- bourhood by kind donors, I find the ncmoralis have generally two to four, and rarely five cross-bars, and the hortensis the same. These specimens were not near roads, but under walls and along wood sides. Specimens of ncmoralis which I gathered on the sea cliffs at Whitby, very exposed situation, herbage rank, hard and dry, had all, with one exception, a four-ribbed specimen, five or six bars to each jaw. The ncmoralis gathered on a road-side in Leeds, Carboniferous formation, are very strong and ha\ e dense jaws. Twenty-three full-grown specimens yield on examination ten with 4, ten with 5, two with 6, and one with 7 bars. I have two other examples of jaws with 7 ribs, from two different localities and limestone formation, but each were from hard herbage and dusty road-sides. Four quarter-grown specimens from a road-side in Leeds give one 4, one 5, and two 6 ribbed-jaws, and three half-grown ones, two 4, and one 6 barred jaw. In four 5 banded ncmoralis taken in a damp situa- tion near Tadcaster, near to which I have procured hortensis, hybrida and H. arbitstornm, I find two with 2, one with 3, and one with 4 ribs, which are particularly acute and narrow ; two hundred yards away on the dry dusty road-side, the ncmoralis yield a high average of jaw-ribs, one having 7 ribs. A slide from the river-side, and this locality compare thus : — ■ No. of Speci- mens. Appear- ance. Species. Locality. No. of Ribs. 2 | 3 4 5 6 r 4 4 ( Yellow, | IsbandedJ H. nemoralis River-side /Roadside, } I TadcasterJ 2 1 1 1 2 • • I The specimens taken where the herbage is strong and hard, yield jaws which are deeper in colour. The largest specimens from each of the slides last men- tioned give for the river-side a jaw T oo in. long (across), and T §5 in. broad in the centre, the road-side one being too x Ti>o m< The most distortious of jaws are in hor- tensis and hybrida, from road-sides, probably due to softer jaws and harder foods. In the article on H. arbustorum mentioned above, the writer says, when speaking of jaws, "In old specimens there are sometimes six ribs." Here is inferred that age adds the ribs ; if this were so my idea, 8 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. of variation to suit nature of food would not be tenable. For this reason I examined adult specimens of H. arbustorum which I had gathered from the base of a waterfall (Hydraw Scar), where the herbage is moist and tender ; the specimens did not develope a single well-formed rib, being mere chitinous crenula- tions. Some very young specimens taken on an exposed situation last year by myself in Derbyshire (High Tor, Matlock), yield 2, 3, and 4 bars. Two half-grown specimens from Tadcaster yield 3 ribs each. An examination of twenty full grown speci- mens from different localities gives plain bases (no ribs), and 1 up to 8 ribs. It is evident that the asser- tion has not been practically taken up. An examination of some young specimens is ap- pended : — State of Species. Locality. No. of Ribs. growth. 2J3 4 5 6 t i i i i f own » y y y y y nemoralis . hortensis „ arbustorum yy Roadside, Leeds . ,, near Leeds yy '» yy High Tor, Matlock . River-side, Tadcaster 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 From this table it is evident that the ribs on the jaws have no relationship whatever with the age of the Molluscs, and specimens which I have collected on Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, and in Fifeshire, clearly support both in very young and adult forms this view. There is much matter that could be presented to the naturalist from these examinations. We see that an exposed situation on a Carboniferous formation gives the greatest percentage of ribs ; an exposed area on a limestone formation a moderate ; whilst a protected or humid situation on the same formation gives a minimum number of ribs. With two deductions, new (I trust) to science, I conclude : — First. That the slight difference that exists between the jaws of Helix nemoralis and H hortensis is due to relational connection, and their specific divergence not being of long date. Second. That the rib-variation of the jaws of these types is due to the nature of their food, its modifying influence involving formation (geological), locality, situation (protected or not), and kind ; but having no connection whatever with age. Beeston Hill, Leeds. Henry Crowther. Brazilian Birds. — In reply to G. A. K.'s query, there is a work extant on the birds of Brazil published just thirty years ago. The figures are life-size, or nearly so, and beautifully coloured, although not so highly finished as the figures in Gould's works. It is in the French language, and was, I think, published in Rio dejjaneiro; title, " Ornithologie Bresilienne, par le Dr. J. T. Descourtilz." SUBMERGED FORESTS ON THE SUFFOLK COAST. THE "Geological Magazine " for December con- tains the following communication from Dr. J. E. Taylor, on submerged forests which he has investi- gated in the Orwell and at the mouth of the Deben. Dr. Taylor writes : — In 1874-5, whilst the river Orwell was being deepened, and a new channel cut, a bed of peat was discovered. This was carefully]examined and worked by myself and Mr. Thomas Miller, C.E., the Ipswich Dock Engineer, and the published results appear in the report of the British Association (Bristol) meeting 1875. This peat bed was as much as nine feet thick, full of the trunks of trees, and from it we obtained several grinders of the Mammoth. It was traced down towards Harwich for a distance of six miles, and, at the time, I pointed out that this ancient forest could only have grown when the land stood relatively so much higher than the present sea-level that the bed of the German Ocean must have been marshy land, probably characterised by similar extensive shallow lakes to those which are so abundant in the flat eastern parts of Norfolk, where they are known as " Broads." Fishermen off the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts fre- quently bring up lumps of peat in their trawl nets, and that the bed of the German Ocean off these parts must be occupied by extensive deposits of this kind is shown by the unfailing supplies. Bones and teeth of elephant, ox, deer, &c, are strewn over the area, and are often dredged up. Those who are acquainted with the magnificent collec- tion of these remains made by Mr. Owles, of Great Yarmouth, nearly all of which were dredged up by Yarmouth fishermen, will be prepared to sub- stantiate the statement that the floor of the German Ocean is occupied by extensive post-glacial deposits, with their characteristic organic remains. A post-glacial forest-bed occurs at Holm Scarf, off the Norfolk coast, and may plainly be seen at low water. It is a bed of peat, in which trunks of trees are imbedded. It was in one of these trunks that Mr. Edwards found a flint implement sticking. Within the last few days I have come upon the remains of another submerged forest or peat-bed at Bawdsey, near Felixstowe. It is only visible and accessible at low-water spring-tides, and even then it is seen sloping down into the sea. The cliffs at Bawdsey are formed of London clay, capped by Red Crag, and they do not waste so rapidly as many other parts of this coast. The London clay forms the bed of the sea, except near the northern side of the estuary of the Deben. There we find the peat- bed, resting directly on the London clay. It is about four or five feet thick at its thickest part, but it has evidently been much denuded, and is now merely a relic of what it once was. Remains of trees are .not plentiful in it, and the peat contains an abundance of fresh-water and marsh plants, but I found no fresh- water shells. The only animal remains I obtained are the upper part of the skully and horn-cores of Bos longifrons, but I was told that bones had fre- quently been washed out of it. Among the plants a species of Cyperus was abundant, and Sphagnum was also plentiful. Indeed the nature of the peat-bed indicates its formation under just such marshy con- ditions as geologists have assumed the bed of the German Ocean to have been in before the submer- gence took place which brought the sea-water over it, and so converted England into an island. The discovery of this remnant of a once extensive peat-bed, uncovered only in part even at extreme low water spring-tides, is therefore interesting as con- firming the geological speculations concerning the old marshy plain over which the German Ocean now extends. A LIST OF LAND AND FRESHWATER SHELLS OCCURRING NEAR LONDON. AS there have been so many queries in Science- Gossip lately, about localities for land and freshwater shells, I thought it might interest your readers to know that I have observed the following near London. Aquatic. — Spkarium cor mum, Chislehurst, &c. ; 5". lacustre, Chislehurst and Enfield ; Pisidium amnicum, Enfield (Middlesex) ; P. fontinale, St. Mary Cray ; P. pusillum, in a ditch at Bickley ; P. nitidum, in a pond on Chislehurst Common ; Unio tumidus, Enfield, very abundant ; U. pictorum, Enfield ; Anodonta cygnea, Beckenham, Kent (the form I have found is exceedingly large and swollen, and is probably the var. incrassata) ; A. anatina, plentiful at Enfield ; Neritina fluviatilis, Enfield ; Paludina vivipara, Enfield ; Bithynia tentaculata, St. Mary Cray ; Valvata piscinalis, St. Mary Cray ; Valvata cristate, occasionally at St. Mary Cray ; Planorbisnitidus, Chislehurst Common ; P. naiitilens, Chislehurst Common ; P. albus, St. Mary Cray and Enfield ; P. spirorbis, Chislehurst Common ; P. ■vortex, St. Mary Cray ; P. carinatus, Enfield, scarce ; P. complanatus, St. Mary Cray ; P. comeus, Enfield ; P. contortus, Chislehurst and Enfield ; Physa hypno- rum, ditch at Bickley ; P.fontinalis, St. Mary Cray; Limnica peregra, St. Mary Cray, &c. ; L.peregra, var. vvata, Bromley ; L. peregra, var. labiosa, Bromley ; /.. auruularia, Enfield ; L. stagnalis, Enfieid and Chislehurst ; L. stagna/is, var. fragilis, Enfield ; L. palnstris, St. Mary Cray and Enfield ; L. truncatula, in ditch at Bickley ; Ancylus lacustris, Chislehurst. Terrestrial.— Arion atcr, Chislehurst, &c. ; Limax agrcstis, Chislehurst, &c. ; L. maximus, Chislehurst, &c. ; Succinca putris, St. Mary Cray ; S. ehgans, St. Mary Cray ; Vitrina pellucida, Chisle- hurst, &c. ; Zonites ccllarius, Chislehurst, &c. ; Z. nitiduhis, Chislehurst, &c. ; Z. crystallinus, Chisle- hurst, &c. ; Z.fulvus, Chislehurst, scarce; Z. nit id its, Enfield ; Helix pomatia, Caterham, Surrey ; IP. aspersa, Chislehurst, &c. ; H. nemoralis, Chislehurst, &c. ; H. nemoralis, var. horlensis, Chislehurst, &c. ; H. Cantiana, Chislehurst, &c. ; H. rufescens, Chisle- hurst, &c. ; IP. hispida, Chislehurst, &c. ; H. virgata, Caterham and St. Mary Cray ; //. capcrata, Chisle- hurst and Caterham ; capcrata, var. ornata, Chisle- hurst and Caterham ; H. ericetornm, Caterham and St. Mary Cray; H. roticndata, Chislehurst, &c. ; H. rotundata, var. alba, Chislehurst, two specimens ; H. pulchclla, var. costata, Chislehurst and St. Mary Cray ; H. lapicida, Caterham ; Bulimus obscurus, Chislehurst, &c. ; B. obscurus, var. alba, Chislehurst ; Pupa umbilicata, Chislehurst and St. Mary Cray ; Clausilia rugosa, Chislehurst and St. Mary Cray ; C. lamiuata, Caterham ; Cochlicopa lubrica, Chisle- hurst, &c. ; Carychium minimum, St. Mary Cray ; Cyclostoma elegaus, Caterham and St. Mary Cray. It may be worth while to say that I have col- lected all the above during last year (1882), and that all those mentioned as occurring at Enfield were obtained in the course of two days. Glen Druid, Chislehurst. S. C. C. ON THE DISCRIMINATION OF DIFFERENT SPECIES OF WOOD BY A MICROSCOPI- CAL EXAMINATION OF SECTIONS OF BRANCHES. IN the course of seeking for microscopical fungi in the woods, I often picked up sticks which I was at a loss to assign to their true origin. This in- duced me to make sections of the branches of com- monly occurring trees, with a view to make myself familiar with the structure of the wood. I was somewhat surprised at the differences exhi- bited in the sections, and, pursuing the subject, I have endeavoured to classify the differences of struc- ture, in the hope that this may prove useful to others similarly situated to myself. It is not put forth that the classification here alluded to, with the verbal descriptions attached, will answer the purpose completely, but I think that it will assist a person greatly in the determi- nation of a species of wood. Take, for instance, beech and birch, lime and poplar. The differences are striking when the internal structure is examined, not so when merely the external aspect is observed. For the perfect determination of a species of wood, authentic sections or accurate drawings of such sections are needed for comparison. The character of the pith mass of the medullary rays, of the ducts in the woody tissue, and of the bark, are important elements in the determination of the plant, and will serve as a good guide to the enquirer, and facilitate reference to authentic sections. C. J. Muller. IO HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. ON BRITISH FRESHWATER MITES. By C. F. George. No. IV. THE species of Arrenurus described so far, have all of them the peculiar development of the last joint but two of the hind leg ; and I believe and extraordinary-looking mite ; has a very wide and rather short tail, of a bright yellow ; the ccecal mark- ings are dark brown, the central part white, and the posterior part of the body, where it joins the tail, is of a beautiful blue ; the impressed line does not extend so far forward on the body as usual, and the last joint but two of the hind legs is without the peculiar process described in A. globator, A. buccinator, Fig. r-$.— Arrenurus sinuator, Fig. 16. — Arrenurus albator, cf. Fig. 14. — Hind leg of Arrenurus sinuator, £ , Fig. 15. — Second leg of Arrenurus sinuator. Fig. 17. — Tail of Arremirus albator, £. Fig. 18. — Arre?mrus crassicaudatus. Fig. 19. — Arrenurus ferforatus, $. there are several more species described by Koch, which possess this peculiar process, such as Arre- nurus iulnilator ; these species, however, have not yet fallen into my net, and I shall now mention some in which this process is absent. Arrenurus sinuator (Midler). — This very pretty A. mandator and A. viridis (see figure of hind leg) ; the claws are double, and each claw is also divided. This claw is not peculiar to Arrenurus, but will be found in other water mites. Arremcrus albator (Miiller). — This mite is in many respects like the preceding one, but it is lighter in colour, and is provided with a very different . tail ; indeed, the tail is the part by which we distinguish one male Arrenurus from another, and it is very wonderful that it should differ so greatly in every species of the same family. I shall not attempt to describe this difference, as I think the figures will do this in a better, quicker, and more pleasant manner, and I trust many of my readers will be induced to search for, and examine the creatures for themselves. Arrenurus crassicaiuiatus (Kramer). — This mite much resembles in size and colour the mite just described, but differs in having the central part of ON THE BRITISH BRAMBLE PHRAGMIDIA. P HRAGMIDIUM BULB OS UM is a fungus well known to the British microscopists, and as a microscopic object it owes not a little of its popularity to Science-Gossip, in the pages of which many years ago Dr. Cooke gave a figure of its spores, which, doubtless, many readers still remember. Like many other fungi, the phragmidia suffer from a plethora of synonyms ; there are only eight European species, yet they have had some thirty or more names given to them by various authors ! Two well-marked Fig. 20. — Arrenurus perforatus, $ (under side) Fig. 21. — Teleutospore of Phragmidium i violacemn germinating. the tail shaped like the head of a spear, and scarcely projecting beyond the general contour of the tail. I think I am right in considering it to be the mite described by Kramer under the name of " crassi- caudatus." Arremincs perforatus (mihi). — This beautiful mite was described and figured by me in Science-Gossip for December, 1881 (p. 269). The tail, as will be seen by the figures, is very different from those of any of the other tailed mites ; the hind legs, like those of the three preceding species, do not possess the spur, which is so marked a character in some of the male mites of this family. The Norwich Natural Science Club has lately changed its name to that of the " Norwich Natural- ists' Field Club." The meetings are held in the Parochial Hall, South Higham, every Friday evening at So'clock, at which papers are read by the members on natural history subjects. The officers for the present year are : chairman, H. J. Thouless, Esq. ; treasurer, A. Notley : secretary. G. H. Perris. species occur in this county upon living bramble leaves. These species are generally confounded under the one name, namely P. bulbosum. My attention was recently drawn to them by] my friend Mr. Soppitt, who kindly sent me specimens of both kinds from York- shire. The accompanying figures are drawn to scale of 450 diameters by the camera from Mr. Soppitt's specimens, and serve to show the difference between two typical teleutospores, one of each species. The first, P. rubi, Pers., is rather the more slender of the two, it has a larger number of septa, and the papilla surmounting the body of the spore is the longer and more pointed. The sori are smaller, more compact, and generally do not spring from discoloured spots. The other species, P. -diolaceum, Schultz, is probably the more common. It has normally triseptate teleu- tospores, with smaller and more blunt papilla?, and the upper surface of the leaf from which they spring is marked with purplish-violet spots. It may be worth while to remark that these phragmidia have not only uredospores, but also recidiospores. The former are well known, but the latter have been hitherto, in this 12 HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OS SIP. county, overlooked almost entirely by fungologists. The cecidium stage of these fungi does not consist of cluster cups in the ordinary acceptation of the term, for the aecidiospores are not surrounded by peridia, but they are secidiospores none the less, being produced in chains, and not borne singly on the ends of separate mycelial branches as the uredospores are. Last April I found the aecidiospores growing in company {i.e., on the same leaves) with the previous year's teleutospores on a large bush of Rubits fritticosits near King's Lynn, which by reason of the very mild winter still retained the bulk of its foliage. These recidiospores are ripe, they in their turn germinate and protrude germ-tubes (fig. 23) which enter the stomata of the bramble leaves and give rise to the uredospores. I was fortunate enough to watch these germinations last April, and would suggest that some of the readers of Science-Gossip might be interested in doing the same next spring. The most striking feature is to observe the orange endochrome pass into the hyaline promycelium from a dark almost black teleutospore. It is obvious that the Decidio- spores are only produced once in the life history of the fungus, so that they are necessarily less frequently Fig. 22. — Phragmidium rubi, Pers. Fil;. 23. — Phragmidium violaceum, Schultz. Fig. 24. — /Ecidiospores of Phragmidium v'wlacatm germinating. secidiospores are produced as follows : The last year's teleutospores germinate by throwing out from each segment of the spore a promycelial tube, into which the contents of the spore are passed as orange granules ; in a few hours the promycelium has given off one or more short branches, at the extremities of which the spores are formed. Into these spores all the orange granules collect. These spores soon fall off, and under favourable circumstances, in a few hours germinate by throwing out delicate germ- tubes. If this takes place upon a bramble leaf the germ-tubes bore through the epidermis, enter the leaf, and in due time produce the aecidiospores. When the met with than the uredospores, which are to be found all through the summer months. For the benefit of those interested, descriptions of these two phragmidia, with their synonyms* are appended. Phragmidium rubi, Pers. (Puccinia mucronata, j3. rubi, Pers. Uredo bulbosa,\ Strauss. Phragmidium iiicrassaiitm, var. 2 Link ; P. microsomal, Sacc.) I. ^Ecidiospores in heaps," often confluent, elon- gated and following the venation of the leaf, orange- yellow, roundish polygonal, 18 to 22 mk. * Rabenhorst's " Kryptogamen Flora," edit. 1881, pp. 230, 231. II. Uredospores in small roundish, scattered or subconfluent sori, pale yellow, roundish elliptical or ovate, delicately echinulate, 17 to 32 mk. long, by 12 to 20 mk. wide. III. Teleutospores in small round, often confluent, black sori, borne on long stalks which are thickened below, 3 to 8- mostly 5 to 6-celled, warty, with a more or less elongate conical paler papilla or point, attaining a length of no mk. On Ritbus frnticosus, L., ccesius, L., and saxatilis, L. Phragmidium violaceum, Schultz. (Puccina viola- cea, Schultz. Phragmidium asperum, Wallr. Uredo vepris, Rob.) I. /Ecidiospores in roundish or elongated, scattered or irregular masses. Spores in short chains, round or elliptical, echinulate, orange-yellow 19 to 30 by 1 7 to 24 mk. II. Uredospores in rather large, roundish, cushion- shaped, discrete, rarely confluent sori. Spores yellow, round, seldom elliptical or ovate, with a thick, coarsely echinulate epispore 17 to 32 by 17 to 24 mk. III. Teleutospores with 3 to 5, mostly 4 cells, warty, having a paler subglobose or conical papilla, borne on very long dilated stalks, 105 mk. long by 35 mk. thick. On Rubits fruticosus, L. Charles B. Plowright. NOTES ON NEW BOOKS. CHAPTERS ON EVOLUTION, by Dr. Andrew Wilson (London : Chatto & Windus). Dr. Wilson's pen has turned out much good and useful work, but never better than this volume con- tains. It may be regarded as a very full and com- plete "Manual" of the new philosophy of biology. The author marshals his facts in the plainest and most telling manner, his explanations of them none can misunderstand, and occasionally his descriptive style rises to something like eloquence. He is not quite free from what Herbert Spencer calls the " Anti-theological Bias," but there is only just enough of it to flavour the book, although we notice several reviewers who are affected by the opposite, or " Theological bias," have taken unnecessary alarm. This volume is crowded with biological facts, which alone would have rendered it a valuable work, apart from its discussion of the philosophy the facts are intended to illustrate. We cordially recommend its perusal to all naturalists, or people fond of natural history literature, for here they will find many old truths mounted in new settings. Winners in Life's Race, or the Great Backboned Family, by Arabella B. Buckley (London : Edward Stanford). Like all of Miss Buckley's books on natural history, the present work is charmingly and attractively written. It is a work for general readers rather than students, and an admirable book to put into the hands of young people. The author has gleaned in every department of natural science, geology, embryology, anatomy, physiology, morphology, &c, and her facts include the latest discoveries. These she has made use of to trace the influence of the law of natural selection in its operation upon vertebrate animals, from their first appearance on the earth to the present time. She concludes as follows: — "It is most interesting to trace the gradual evolution of numberless different forms, and see how each has become fitted for the life it has to live. It gives us courage to struggle on under difficulties, when we see how patiently the lower animals meet the dangers and anxieties of their lives, and conquer or die in the struggle for existence. But, far beyond all these, is the great moral lesson taught at every step in the history of the development of the animal world, that, amidst toil and suffering, struggle and death, the supreme law of life is the law of Self Devotion and Love." Siberia in Asia, by Henry Seebohm (London : John Murray). Those who read Mr. Seebohm's book- on " Siberia in Europe," published about two years ago, will make all haste to procure this volume before us. Like its predecessor, it is beautifully got up, the woodcuts are gems of the art, the letter-press is clear and pleasant to the eyes. The author carries the reader with him to the very end, interesting him in all his own successes or mishaps, his hopes and fears ; for, in addition to an animated style of writing, Mr. Seebohm is in earnest, and has no time to waste, and we unconsciously feel it. Moreover, he is not a- mere sportsman. His description of the birds he- observes or takes, and his comparisons with represen- tative species, as well as his generalised remarks on their distribution, migration, &c, are most philoso- phical, and may be regarded as valuable contributions to the advanced thoughts of the day on all these subjects. Zoological Notes, by Arthur Nicols, F.G.S. (London : L. Upcott Gill). Some time ago we had the pleasure of favourably noticing a little work on geology by Mr. Nicol, and we are reminded of the fact by the handsome volume before us, devoted to general natural history. It is a pleasant repertory of anec- dotes and facts bearing on the lives and habits of animals, but chiefly on snakes, birds, and marsupials. The author is well read in the latest literature, bear- ing on all these subjects, and his readers will find themselves treated to the best and most philosophical views held on all that he discourses. The full page illustrations are excellent, especially that showing the platypus in its native haunts. Science in Short Chapters, by W. Mattieu Williams (London : Chatto & Windus). There are few writers on the subjects which Mr. Mattieu Williams selects, whose fertility and originality are equal to his own. We read all he has to say with pleasure, and very rarely without profit. The book before us is a reprint of many good things that would have been 14 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. hidden away in the columns of newspapers, or the pages of extinct magazines. The subjects discussed are astronomical, geological, chemical, physical, and technological. All the papers are short and lively. The reader is plunged into the subject at once, and immediately sees with the author how the case stands. Altogether there are forty-four short chapters. The longest and perhaps the best of them is that which gives us a clear digest of the author's work on " The Fuel of the Sun." The Sun, its Planets, and their Satellites, by the Rev. Edmund Ledger, M.A. (London : Edward Stanford). Thanks to several popular and able writers, such as Messrs. Proctor, Williams, and others, astronomy has once more become attractive to general readers, and the present work will main- tain the position thus gained. It is in reality the publication of the course of lectures upon the Solar System read in Gresham College, London. We have often thought it a pity the Gresham lectures had to be got up for so slender an audience, and we are therefore glad to find Mr. Ledger seeking a larger circle of students. We hardly need say these lectures are exceedingly full. The latest information afforded by astronomical observation all over the world is packed away in handy and available compass, and the author skilfully arranges his matter so that it comes in where it is most telling. Two lectures are devoted to the sun, and two to the moon, the planets having a chapter devoted generally to each of them, and one to the minor planets. There are nearly one hundred illustrations, besides coloured plates, photo- graphs and charts, and altogether these lectures make up a very handsome volume which will be found a very useful manual to all students of astronomy. Ancient Battle-fields of Lancashire, by Charles Hardwick (Manchester : Abel Heywood & Son). Mr. Hardwick is well known as an ardent and enthusiastic archaeologist, and the subject discussed in this little volume is one he has pre-eminently made his own, so that all he has to say will be listened to attentively by antiquaries all over England. But Mr. Hardwick is no mere local chronicler — he is well read in all the literature of comparative mythology and an- thropology, and he has a keen eye for detecting traditions and local myths which have been separated from the great stream. In consequence, we have a most attractive and delightfully fresh book, in which the author's crisp and natural style is not the least of its claims to public attention. Diseases of Memory, by M. Ribot (London : Kegan Paul & Co.). This is one of the latest published volumes of the invaluable "International Scientific Series." The author discusses a subject he has made his own by years of study, and we have in the present volume a psychological monograph upon the diseases of memory. The chief subjects discussed are memory considered as a biological fact, general amnesia, \ partial amnesia, exaltations of memory, &c. The student will find in this volume (as in all others of the series) a very helpful book. Water and its Teaching, by C. Lloyd Morgan (London : Edward Stanford). Here is a nicely got up and most suggestive little handbook, in which all that relates to water and its work, chemical, physical, geological, and geographical, is tersely arranged under properly classified heads. We have already found it very handy as a reference to the subjects it professes to deal with, and we are pleased to find so useful a little book contributed to English Science from South Africa, where the author resides. Footprints, by Sarah Tytler (London : T. Fisher Unwin). Those who are acquainted with this author's style will readily understand that a book by her on Nature, as seen from the human side, must be peculiarly attractive. Such is the present ; natural history objects form the texts from which charming sermons are preached, and about which pleasant anecdotes cluster. It will make a very welcome gift-book to young people. A Picture Book of Country Life, by James Western (London : T. Fisher Unwin). Indirectly this work proves how rapidly, natural science is progressing, for it is a book competing as a seasonal volume with ordinary Christmas books. It is beautifully got up, with large type of print, and abundance of wood-cuts, and from the way in which a young lady of the adult age of eight years has been absorbed in it (and we made her its critic) we safely prophesy the book will be generally successful. Boys will be particularly pleased with the fishing, boating, tricycling, and rambling parts of it, and the author will succeed in interesting them in natural history objects before they are aware of it. THE DANISH FOREST. By John Wager. No. I. — The Prehistoric Forest. THE Danes, like most other good people, have an affection for their country ; and the affection is well deserved, even though we Englanders may dispute with them the right to consider their country the most beautiful in the world. Nevertheless, after having, as in duty bound, claimed precedence for our own, we will readily admit that we scarcely know where else to find such a concentration of sweet and gentle scenes — so rich and varied a commingling and interchange of wood and water, snug thatched cottages, and quaint tree-embosomed homesteads — as may be seen to nestle among the Danish Isles. Denmark is entirely wanting in the grandeur which characterises the scenery of the other two chief divi- sions of Scandinavia, that of Norway especially ; but it has a compensating beauty of a character which, with peculiarities of its own, often forcibly suggests the quieter portions of our purely English landscape, where its streams are untainted, and its woods are brightly green ; thus agreeably associating a trace of home feeling with our enjoyment of another land. It has no grim mountains weighted with desolation of fractured rock and everlasting snow ; but its gentle hills and sunny slopes are loaded with richer grain. Its fjords are open to the day, mirroring the broad heavens, instead of hiding in the darkness of deep and sinuous ravines ; its streams are never impatient of life, rushing madly down to the sea; but they saunter quietly through the green meadows, brimful of contentment with all around them, and with them- selves; and if it has no vast stretches of gloomy pine forest, interspersed with wide mosses and dismal swamps, it has its solemn groves of oak, and its genial woods of beech — often overhanging the beet- ling sea-cliffs, or sloping gently to the edge of the rolling or rippling waves. Very pleasant to the writer are the recollections of their grateful shade, and of the lovely scenes to which they largely con- tribute in summer time when the sheltered bays, and friths, and narrow sounds, and more open seas of this fragmentary land are blue as the clear and often cloudless skies. The beechwoods of Denmark form indeed one of the most distinguishing features of its landscape ; Denmark is peculiarly the home of the beech ; nowhere else perhaps in the world does it grow, within the same limits, so abundantly and with such luxuriance. No wonder the kind-hearted and genial Danes love this noble and graceful tree, and have adopted it as the symbol of their nationality ; agreeing doubtless with our Gilbert White, who knowing the beech as it grew upon its favourite chalk soil, pronounced it "the most lovely of all forest trees, whether we consider its smooth rind or bark, its glossy foliage, or graceful pendulous boughs." No wonder that Danish painters delight in the beech wood, depicting with sympathetic care and Nature's truth, the brilliance of golden light upon its extended leafage, and the depth of contrasting shade its denser masses cast upon the ground. How charmingly too, as may be seen in the National Gallery at Copen- hagen, their pencils luxuriate among the anemones which in early spring disport in fairy troops around the great purply trunks — fluttering their gay attire in the breeze upon a sunny bank that slopes down to still waters, where they see themselves reflected along with the beech- trees' pendent twigs and quiver- ing leaves. This predominance of the beech is however an occur- rence of comparatively recent times, the result, mainly, of natural causes which have also effected other changes in the Danish forest. These causes and their effects have been studiously investigated by the late Dr. Vaupell, a Danish author, whose exposition of the subject, especially as regards the suppression of the oak by the beech, I will shortly endeavour to present in a summarised form. Meantime let us glance at the forest as it existed during prehistoric ages, though probably after man had migrated into the land. Professor Stenstrup is, I believe, the chief original authority on this subject, but the informa- tion which follows is derived from Erslev's "Dansl' I S I 6, Tor other plants. Send lists. — J. E. Sunderland, Bank House, Hatherlow, near Stockport. Offered, L. C, 7th ed., 40, 60, 79, 167, 180, 196, 202, 273b, 374> 4°4» 49°. SS6, 557. 584. 594. 611, 626, 715, 723, 810, 878, !337, I35 1 . J375. ^S. I 4 22 » I 47°» 1636, and many others. Wanted, .32, 65, 309, 580, 720, 721, 762, 819, 828, 845, 979, 990, 1035, 1042, 1103, 1212, 1245, 1266, 1267, 1417, 1621, 1622, 1659, and many others. — Send lists to A. W. Preston, 20 Queen's Road, Norwich. Offered, L. C, 7th ed., 14c, 25, 26, 60b, 70, 79, 89, 99, 146, 159. 288 purple, 375, 693, 1340, and many other rare plants, in exchange for good specimens of British ferns. — A. E. Lomax, 56 Vauxhall Road, Liverpool. Wanted, foreign frogs, toads, and other amphibia in spirit or skin, also skeletons of same, in exchange for rare natural history objects. — G. E. Mason, 6 Park Lane, Piccadilly, London, England. The following books are offered in exchange for books on natural history: "Ancient Stone Crosses of England," by Rimmer; "The Modern Playmate," by Rev. 'J. G. Wood; "The Three Commanders," and "The Three Admirals," both by Kingston. All are in excellent condition. — F. H. Parrott, Walton House, Aylesbury, Bucks. Wanted, Science-Gossip, unbound, for 1877 and all pre- vious years, 1869, 1871, and 1872. Will give British and foreign shells. Correspondence invited. — C. T. Musson, Burton Road, Carlton, near Nottingham. Duplicates : Planorbis lacustris, Helix carthusiana, Helix caperata (var. ornata and major), Helix ericctorum (var. minor), Pupa secale, and Clausilia Rolphii, in exchange for other British land and freshwater shells. — C. H. Morris, School Hill, Ldves, Sussex. 24 HARDIVICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Wanted, unmounted stained and injected histological and pathological sections, also unstained botanical sections of roots, stems, and leaves. Good slides in exchange. — F. R. Martin, Clevedon. I shall be glad to [exchange "dried plants (European) for others or lepidoptera, &c. Continental preferred. — G. H. Bryan, Thornlea, Trnmpington Road, Cambridge. Peucedanum officinale offered for Ligusticitm Scoticum or Peucedanum Ostentliium. Other Kentish plants on hand for exchange. — Alfred Wheeler, Ashentree Lane, Dover. Pui'^s of S. populi, Coryli, Myrica, F. nrcula, Vinula, Dictaea, Ziczac. Wanted, living sea anemones or British birds' eggs. — R. McAldowie, 82 Bonaccord Street, Aberdeen. Wanted, Science-Gossip, Nos. 13-99, IQ 6 & 107, also vols. for 1874-1877. Unbound preferred. Good exchange or cash. — R. C. P., Robin's Nest, Blackburn. Wanted, a good 3-inch microscope objective- One hundred well-mounted slides given in exchange. — W. A. Hyslop, 22 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh. Wanted, named living specimens of British anemones, Crustacea, or mollusca. — J. Darker-tSutterell, 2 St. John Street, Beverley. Eggs of red-winged starling, whinchat, dipper, sedge warbler, grey wagtail, reed bunting, golden-winged woodpecker, spotted sandpiper, redshank, oystercatcher, dunlin, common tern, moorhen, little grebe, black-headed gull, and lesser black- backed gull, for other eggs or Roman first, second, or third brasses. Desiderata numerous (including wheatear). — E. F. Bell, Botcherby, Carlisle. For tentacles of the barnacle send a stamped directed en- velope to W. H. Gomm, The Green, Somerton, Somerset. " Insects at Home," by Rev. J. G. Wood ; wanted, a copy in good condition, in exchange for eighteen rare and b:autiful micro slides. J. G. Patterson, 2 Dalrymple Crescent, Edin- burgh. Wanted, books on the honey bee, bee-keeping, &c. Other books in exchange, or purchase. W. T. Cooper, 16 Earl's Court Road, Kensington. Offered, Limncea pcregra, var. Burnetti, from Loch Skene, for Limncea involuta, or for tropical land shells. — F. M. Hele, Fairlight, Elmgrove Road, Cotham, Bristol. Seventeen flint implements for exchange'; take fossils from the chalk. — Edmund Tye, Stony Stratford, Bucks. A quantity of oolite and lias fossils for exchange. — Edmund Tye, Stony Stratford, Bucks. For parasites of grey phalarope and common skua, send stamped envelope to J. Sinel, Bagot, Jersey. Will exchange vol. xiii., 1877, of Science-Gossip for British birds' eggs, side-blown. — W. E. Collinge, 68 Springfield Place, Leeds. Wanted, good lumps of chalk from Gravesend, Brighton, Kent, or washed forams from such ; exchange, first class micro slides in every department. — J. Tempere, Storrington, Sussex. Wanted, large and good micro slides cabinet, to hold at least 500 ; liberal exchange in first-class slides. — J. Tempere, Storrington, Sussex. Wanted, "Midland Naturalist" for 1880, unbound ; also, unbound, Science-Gossip for 1865, 66, and 67, and Nos. 39 and 40 for 1868; state lowest cash price. — J. R. Murdoch, 24 Blenheim Place, Leeds. Gomphonema geminatum, remarkably pure gathering of this interesting diatom ; sample tube sent in exchange for three microscope slides, or 1 oz. bottle for twelve first-class mounted objects. — J. L. M., 106 Princes Street, Edinburgh. Polished mahogany store box (corked top and bottom), hook and eye, 24 X 18 X 4J, to exchange for facsimiles of seals and medals in any substance. — Tunley, Albert Road, Southsea. Duplicates : Lithoxylea, Carpini, Dispar (bred), Valligera, Graminis, Gamma (bred), Meticulosa (bred), Semele, &c. Desiderata: Antiopa (Continental), Agestis, .lEsculi, Irrorella, Complanula, Unguicula, Spinula, Serena, Punctulata, Luteata, Incanaria, Aversaria, Galeata, Gracilis, Libatrix, &c. — J. Smith, Kilwinning, Ayrshire. Wanted, unmounted, histological, pathological, and botani- cal sections, either stained or not ; also parts of insects, forami- nifera, diatoms, spicules of gorgoniae, sections of horns and hoofs, &c. ; also well-mounted slides of the rarer chemicals, such as platino-cyanide of magnesium, chloride of palladium, thalliums alts, &c. First-class slides in exchange. — Frederick Martin, Clevedon. Will exchange " Insect Architecture " and "The Architec- ture of Birds," both well bound, for Rye's " Beetles." Also, duplicates: Salacis, Sambucatae, Repandata, Pusaria, Amataria, Elutata, Spinula, Batis, Perla, Viminalis, Chrysitis. Deside- rata: Aglaia, Selene, Artemis, Athalia, Tages, Tristata, Circel- lata, Porata, Trilinearia, Omicronaria, Villica, Mendia. — J. Bates, Orchard Terrace, Wellingborough. Fok exchange, British land and freshwater shells, about 20 species, for others or fossils. — Send lists to A. H. Shepherd, 4 Cathcart Street, Kentish Town, N.W. For exchange, over 160 foreign stamp=, all different. What offers in marine or land and freshwater shells, named beetles, dragon flies, Ichneumons, Diptera, &c. ? Accepted offers answered only. — P. T. Deakin, 46 Princess Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Wanted, a few sea anemones and madrepores for an aqua- rium. — J. R. Murdoch, 24 Blenheim Place, Leeds. Wanted, lantern slides. Exchange, micro slides, material, intensity coil, &c. — F. S. Lyddon, 2 Oakland Villas, Redland, Bristol. Exotic Lepidoptera — Duplicates : Orn. minos, Papilio arc- turns, fine; Capaneus, fine; Merope, Nereis sescstris ; Doli- caon, fair ; Minctra gambrisius, fine ; Eurycus cressida, fair; Amauris Damocles, Heb. glaucippe, Diadema. bolina, Danais alcippvs ; Urania rhipheus, fine ; Morpho cypris, fine ; Ama- thonte, fair ; also many others. Desiderata (exotic lepidoptera only), very numerous ; please send lists. Wanted particularly, to lend, or keep, exotic butterflies in papers (need not be quite perfect) of the genus Papilio, for the purpose of figuring from nature in water-colours, with a view to a monograph of the genus ; 150 species already figured ; list of those figured sent on application. — J. C. Hudson, Railway Terrace, Cross Lane, near Manchester. Will any reader kindly help me in forming a collection of igneous and metamorphic rocks, named or labelled ? Any fossils would be thankfully received. I fear I cannot offer equivalent exchange ; would fresh boianical specimens be of use? — Heary Dobbie, Cringleford, Norwich. Wanted, Cassell's " European Butterflies and Moths," any parts between 16 and 41 ; will exchange insects, flower seeds, &c. — Robert Laddiman, Hellesdon Road, Norwich. Fossils, a series of splendid specimens of Upper Silurian, including many Trilobites, Encrinites, &c, given in exchange for a good cabinet. State dimensions to F., 106 Finch Road, Handsworth, Birmingham. Wanted, lichens, mounted or unmounted ; also a first-class section-cutter; liberal exchange in slides or material. — Arthur J. Doherty, 25 Boston Street, Moss Side, Manchester. Good mounted slides of selected diatoms, Arachnoidiscus Ehrenbergii, Heliopelta Melii, Triccratumfavits, Pleurosigma attcnuatum, P. qttadratitm, Strigosum angulatum, &c, for good gatherings of P.formosum, good sponge spicula, or offers. — W. White, 7 Warden Place, Nottingham. Twenty-five North American skins, including sparrowhawk, pigeonhawk, rail, red-headed woodpecker, pine, grosbeak, &c, to exchange for side-blown eggs, either British or foreign. — George A. Widdas, Wbodsley View, Leeds. British Mosses. — Wanted, south of England species in return for Alpine and sub-Alpine. — J. Cash, Osborne Road, Levenshulme, Manchester. New edition of Davis's "Practical Microscopy," not soiled, for well-mounted slides of micro fungi ; also good mesozoic fossils for well-mounted geological slides. — George Ward, 10 Friar Lane, Leicester. Wanted, a one-eighth or one-tenth inch objective ; also, specimens of edible frog, crayfish, freshwater mussel, hydra, amoeba, and chara. — T. W. Lockwood, Lobley Street, Heck- mondwike, Yorkshire. BOOKS, ETC., RECEIVED. " Siberia in Asia." By Henry Seebohm. London : John Murray. '' Zoological Notes." By Arthur Nicols. London : L. Upcott Gill. " The Sun, its Planets and their Satellites." London : Edward Stanford. "Water and its Teaching." By C. L. Morgen. London: Edward Stanford. "A Picture-book of Country Life." By James Weston. London : T. Fisher Unwin. "Footprints." By Sarah Tytler. London : T. Fisher Unwin. "Studies in Microscopical Science." Edited by A. C. Cole. Nos. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32. " Land and Water." \ "The Naturalists' Monthly." "Midland Naturalist." " Northern Microscopist." " American Naturalist." " Cosmos : les Mondes." "La Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes." " Le Monde de la Science." &c. &c. &c. Communications received up to i;th ult. from : — J. F. R.— C. P.-Dr. C. C. A.-F. R.— A. O.-J. E. S.— W. W. W.-C. J. M.— G. E. M.— C. T. M.— W. B.— F. H. P. — F. R. M.— G. J. W.— C. S— M. B.— F. H.— W. E. C— A. B.— S. C. C— A. W.- J. S— A. T.— G. F. W.-F. H. P.— J. T.-E. T.— J. R. M. — A. W. P.— C. H. M.— J. M.— W. H. T.— F. M. H.— W. T. C— R. McA.— W. T- G— J. R. P.— W. H. G.— E. T. R.-E. H. R.-J. S.-H. W. L.- J. E. T.-C. H. B— W. A. H.— R. C. P.— A. E. L.— A. H. W. -C. F. G.— H. C. B.-J. D. B.— E. H. B.-G. H. K.— F. M. —J. B.-A. J. — K. O. N.— A. H. S.— C. H. G.— J. A. S.— P. T. D.— W. T. S.— R. C— J. H.-C. L. W.— H. D— E. S. E. J. B.-F. S. L.— R. H.— E. P. D.—R. L.-G. B.— T.G. F. — M. L.— A. J. D.— W. W.-J. C. T.— J. C— G. A. W.— G. E. B.— G. W.— A. H. B.-W. F., jun.— J. B.— T.W. L.— G. H. K— &c. HARDWJCKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 25 AN INQUIRY INTO THE ALLEGED HABIT OF HIBER- NATION AMONG NORTH AMERICAN SWALLOWS. By CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M.D. [Continued from page 3.] tf-E ML. ONTINUING our consideration of these bank -swal- lows, let us now pass to the time of their annual dis- appearance, late in autumn, or at the onset of winter. Two conditions cause the change of locale, or, at least, the disap- pearance f r o m their summer haunts ; a much lower temperature, and absence of insects, their only food. Now, the onset of , severe frosts may be early in October, or delayed until November, but this alone does not decide the move- ments of the swallows ; for often they have wholly disappeared before October) and . then a year may pass, "with flitting swallows skimming o'er the lea, undaunted by the chill November fogs. The sup- posed regularity of their comings and goings is not applicable to their New Jersey haunts, howsoever it may be in more northern localities.' "What therefore I have seen of their movements in autumn, that has possible bearing upon alleged hiber- nation, is this : First, the effect of age. Now, it is as evident as that birds'grow old, that, in due course of time, these migratory swallows will reach that condition of decrepitude when they can make their migratory journey from south to north, or 'vice versa, for the last time.' In such case, there must necessarily be a large number that are left behind,' when the main body depart each year, unless it can No. 218.— February 1SS3. be shown that these age-worn birds die in the course of the summer at the north, or during their winter sojourn in the south. Both statements are true. The result of a summer's study of a colony of bank swallows, revealed the fact that a number of old unpaired swallows flitted feebly about the bluff, but never appeared to wander far from it. They were seen, often sitting at the openings of the nests in the cliff, and were taken for young birds. They were not fed by old birds, having young to look after, and fared scantily on such insects as they caught by their own exertions. Early in August I found many lying dead, both in the burrowings and at the foot of the cliff. Examination proved that all were old birds. In autumn, about October 1, the main body of the colony largely frequent the weedy marshes, and seem to be for ever on the wing, insect-catching, as they move in an endless labyrinth of curves over the quiet waters. I have seen thousands of them thus engaged, and far from their nesting haunts. ' Occasionally they would alight upon tall reeds and objects projecting above the water, and twitter without ceasing. Theri as by a signal, these thousands would rise together from their resting places, and rising to an unusual elevation fly away, to' return no more that season. These birds were associated colonies on the southern migration; but were' the sunny cliffs that so lately were' teeming' with : happy swallow-life now wholly deserted? Was there no trace of 'the many families that had here' spent a joyous, gleesome summer V Yes! There were' still a few. The lame, the weak, the blind, and the unburied dead of that avian city still remained ; and what a mournful spectacle they offered ! painfully so in themselves,' and the more' impressive when the thoughtless, glittering throng of a few days past was vividly recalled. Cheered for the time by the mellow sunlight that beamed upon them, the aged, half-helpless swallows, whose wing still responded to the will of their owners, languidly chased the few remaining insects flitting c 26 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. over the weedy waters. Others venturing less far, caught, with what skill they could command, the chilled and drooping flies that sought refuge from the cold winds, in these safe, snug harbours in the cliff. Indeed, this shelter-seeking flight of insect-life, that now teems about these deserted nests of the departed swallows, proves a veritable godsend to those poor birds that, from whatsoever cause, are fated to remain — a blessing, if it be one to prolong a joyless existence during a few brief weeks in autumn. But the importance of this sad phase of swallow-life as bearing upon our subject remains to be stated. Not- withstanding their weakness, the desire or instinct to migrate still remains, and when more pressed than usual by sudden accession of cold, or scarcity of food, numbers of such as remain will collect, as of yore, on the rushes and reeds about the water, and often essay to commence their protracted flight towards their winter haunts. Many straggling swal- lows doubtless wander miles before finally succumb- ing to the weakness of age, but never wandering far from water ; migrating in their accustomed course, which is always coastwise, down a river valley, when they finally stop to rest. When their course is finished they are found in the track of the hardy multitude that have passed successfully onward ; and, yielding to the severity of the increasing cold, they find watery graves beneath the nodding plumes of the russet grasses over which, in days gone by, they had flitted without fatigue, thoughtless of the morrow. Such swallows I have seen, year after year, and to them do I refer those that were said, by Dr. Wal- lerius, to have assembled on a reed "till they were all immersed, and went to the bottom ; this being preceded by a dirge of a quarter of an hour's length." Explicable, therefore, as I consider the movements of swallows to be, in so far as these might give the impression of hibernation beneath the water, it is not by the same observations that I have here re- corded, that the asserted finding of torpid swallows, during the winter encased in mud, can be explained. The mere finding of swallows in the mud, is, of itself, nothing strange, although the chances of their escaping the attacks of the turtles and carnivorous fishes, is very small ; but to find them alive, in such positions, is a different matter, and at once recalls the probability of the assertion that I have ques- tioned, that it is physically and physiologically feasible for swallows to lie dormant under water. If so, some great constitutional change must take place, for swallows, throughout the summer, are readily drowned, if held for even a minute under water ; and if their plumage is well soaked by re- peated immersions, they are helpless, until thoroughly dry again. The structure of their feathers, further- more, is wholly unlike that of aquatic birds, and therefore cannot resist the pervading action of the water, as do the oily, close-set feathers of the ducks and divers. Again, if torpid swallows are encased in mud, beneath a considerable depth of water, by what means can the reviving influence of returning spring influence them ? Whether warm or cold, mid-winter or genial April days, the mud at the bottoms of our ponds is of nearly uniform temperature, and certainly does not vary so much, as to start, by added warmth, the life-pulses of swallows that for five or six long months have ceased to beat ; and why should these unfortunates remain thus beneath chilled and often ice-locked waters, when in the mellow sunshine above it, other and wiser swallows of their kind flit and twitter as of yore, having happily chosen migration rather than submergence ? But the testimony on this point is too explicit to warrant one's belief that these witnesses could have been in error. To show how readily people can be mistaken, let me state a case : — A. B. has testified on oath as follows : " Early in April, 1836, as I was passing on foot down the Bordentown road, near the drawbridge, I heard a loud hissing in the bushes at my left, and turning my head, saw a large, checkered, black and white snake. It held its head well up, and darted its tongue at me. I was a good deal frightened and turned and ran, as I had heard of hoop-snakes, and found I was chased by this snake and that it was one. Luckily, I was running down hill, and covered the ground pretty lively. Near the bridge, I jumped behind a cedar tree, and the snake passed me. It had its tail in its mouth, and rolled along like a child's hoop, only a great deal faster. It turned off at the creek, and rolled into Crosswick's Creek, and then uncoiled, and swam like any other snake." Now in this statement, made in good faith by a conscientious man,; there is a curious admixture of truth and misconception. Mr. A. B. admits that he has heard of hoop-snakes, and as they are reputed to be more deadly than veritable rattle-snakes or copper-heads, it is very natural for such a person to see, not simply think he sees, a snake take its tail in its mouth and roll, hoop-like, down the sandy road. This impression is always the more vivid, when the snake happens to take the [same direction in which the poor frightened person may happen to flee. Now, if people are taught to expect to encounter any given form of dangerous animal, in any neighbourhood, when any creature having the similitude of this mythical foe to humanity is seen, it is promptly endowed, by the frightened unfortunate, with all these direful attributes, and his distorted vision converts into horrible monstrosities, and detects impossible capers on the part of, a harmless and inoffensive creature. Now, I have taken the trouble to question a certain class of people concerning this hoop-snake, and I find it is firmly believed in by hundreds, who affirm that they, their parents, or some one of their friends had seen them, been chased by them, or had indirectly HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSS IP. 27 captured them, by suddenly darting behind a tree, when the snake would uncoil, and striking its tail into the tree, would be held by it, and when in this position would be killed by the person pursued. Now, all of these statements are just as explicit as the finding of dormant swallows in the mud ; yet one and all are absolutely false. If, therefore, the impression is made on the minds of the young people of any community that swallows hibernate in the mud, it will be difficult to rid them of the idea that any swallow that may be found in, or even near water, is not indicative of their early teaching's truth, that swallows do really pass the winter in such a manner. Is this more unreasonable than that the belief in hoop-snakes should be so common, even among other- wise well-informed people ? If we cannot explain this impression that swallows hibernate in mud, and beneath water too, in some such manner as I have endeavoured to make plain, there is left but one other alternative, to exclaim, in despair, "Lord! Lord ! How this world is given to lying." Let us turn now to a less abundant, but no less interesting species, the cliff swallow. This bird, instead of burrowing into a bank, builds an elaborate nest of mud under the eaves of barns, along rocky ledges, and, in New Jersey more frequently than else- where, on the beams supporting the floors of bridges. Proximity to the water is desirable, evidently, but is not an essential condition of the locality chosen for their nests. As in the case of the bank swallow, these swallows live in large communities, and present much the same general features of swallow-life. The peculiarity of their nest, in being made of mud, of course necessitates frequent visits to water, whence they derive this material for their nests. Now, unlike the bank swallow, the cliff swallow is a late arrival, and no sooner here, tired as he must be, than he commences the work of nest building de novo, or of repairs to the old homestead. In either case one thing is absolutely necessary ; he must dabble in the mud. Day in and day out, for a week or more, his whole time seems spent in mixing mortar by the water's edge, and transporting it in little bits to the nest. He is wet and bedraggled much of the time ; and if a cold north-easterly rain sets in, as is so often the case the first week in May, then these swallows are in a sorry plight indeed, and suspend- ing building operations, huddle about in thickset numbers, twittering mournfully, on the principle that misery loves company. Such storms even some- times prove fatal to many of them ; and they are more frequently found dead near their nests, than are individuals of any other species. Find them then during a storm, or even notice them, for the first time, when they are sitting on the ground at the water's edge, dripping wet at times, and the impres- sion you will have will be that of Kalm, that they look " as if they had been just come out of, the sea." This impression too is increased from the fact that there are no heralds of the northward moving mass of swallows of this kind. One and all, they come together. Yesterday, not one was to be seen ; to-day, the entire community are settled in their old haunts, and ready for house-keeping. Their migrations are continued through the night, and either by starlight or moonlight, as the case may be, they are guided to their several haunts of the preceding summer. I am very positive that they arrive during the night, and I lay unusual emphasis on this fact ; because J:he ap- pearance of such a flight of swallows the morning following their arrival would be one to give an im- pression of aquatic hibernation, if such an idea had ever been expressed in your hearing. Not the entire colony will immediately seek the nests of the past summer ; there will be many young birds who have as yet not built nests, birds yet to choose their mates. Now such birds will sit in long rows on telegraph wires, on fences ; and if it be near, be very sure that they will congregate about the water. Seen, thus congregated about a pond early in the morning, perhaps after a heavy dew, and you can readily see that they will be "as wet as if they had been just come out of the sea ! " [To be continued.) NOTES FOR SCIENCE CLASSES. Part V. OUR next example is to study the form and structure of laticiferous vessels which may be detected in all the papaveraceous plants, as well as in Euphorbiaceoe, and in many Composite. The specimen from which the illustration is taken is the greater celandine [Chettdonium ma/us), a very com- mon species found just outside villages and around the hedges of old-fashioned gardens. Not unfre- quently sections of the petiole and stem are made on purpose to find the laticiferous vessels, but it often ends in failure, from the mere fact that the latex runs out of the vessel speedily when ruptured, so it becomes difficult to trace successfully. By far the better plan is to tear off the young sepals, laying them on the slide, with a drop of water, then placing on the cover slip, examine it as quickly as possible for the vessels along the outer margin ; ' they are readily recognised by the yellow juice. (Fig. 29. No. 1, margin of sep, ; 2, laticiferous vessel ; 3, -cellular tissue.) 1 Laticiferous vessels are simple or branched tubes, frequently : tlni ted into a more or less close network, as may be se,en in the lettuce leaf. The coloured fluid is known as latex, which is valuable in many cases, -as yielding gums and resins (opium, india- rubber, Sec.) They occur in a comparatively small number of plants, usually in the cortex, between the xylerii and bast cells, sometimes in the outer bar c 2 28 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. and pith, they accompany the fibro-vascular bundles into the leaves. Laticiferous vessels are distinguished from vessels containing raphides only by the absence of these crystals. (See fig. 25, raphides from stem of Trades- eantia. No. I, the crystals, or raphides.) These vessels are detected in the outer bark, also in the leaves of many Monocotyledons. A beautiful speci- men may be obtained from the decaying petiole of the rhubarb, mounted as an opaque polariscopic object. The crystals of oxalate of lime are really magnificent, when exhibited by an artificial light. Whilst we have the Trade scantia Virginiea, a plant termed rotation, as in Chara or Valisneria ; less often, as in the filaments of Tradescantia, it passes in threads and bands transversely through the cell-sap, and is then termed circulation. The currents are apparently irregular, sometimes suddenly arrested, then commencing again with greater rapidity. The old term spongiole, as applied to the growing point of the rootlet, is now expunged from our modern text-books ; still the student should learn to distinguish the root-cap, especially its form and com- position. The essential peculiarity in the roots of all Dicotyledons, is the root-cap. (See fig. 26, root-cap of Pontederia. I is the root-cap ; 2, growing-point, fig. 25. — Raphides in stem of . r Tradescantia. Fig. 36. — Root-cap of Pontederia. Fig. 27. — Pollen-tube of the Evening Primrose. Fig. 28.— Circulation of Protoplasm in Tradescantia. found commonly in cottage gardens, under examina- tion, it would be well to bring before the student the circulation of protoplasm observed in the hairs on the .filament (fig, 28).' ■ It is only requisite to cut off the hairs from.a.flower just expanding with the razor,' and place it with a drop of water on the slide j^the deep-pink cell ; walls' are sufficient .to. bring .out clearly the cell contents, without any staining-fluid. 1 is the cell-wall; 2, the. vacuole:; , and. 3, the proto- plasm in active motion, .moving around the vacuole. The protoplasm .which .'is .enclosed in 'a cell .wall has no power of escaping -from its envelope. The course of the current is usually along the Wall, and., in simple spiral or reticulate lines, and is then and 3, young root, composed of cellular tissue.) Beneath this root-cap, as it is termed, the production of new cells continues, whilst the cap itself acts as a protecting shield to the root. As many village students will be unable to procure the pontederia, the duckweed (Lem/ia. minor). will equally well ex- plain its nature and structure. , About the best, specimen with which .we are acquainted for exhibiting the pollen-tube, is the. evening primrose (Oenothera biennis). , Secure a flower early. in the morning, when it has just begun to droop ; for the petals are only open one evening ; and having cut away the stamens^and petals, make a transverse section down the style ; this requires a HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 29 little patience and practice to do it successfully. Lay the style along the first finger of the left hand, holding the ovary firmly by the thumb, then gently push the razor blade from you, towards the tip of the finger. I seldom fail in this way to secure satis- factory specimens for my class use. (See fig. 27. 1 is the pollen-grain ; 2, pollen tube ; 3, stigmatic surface, and 4, conducting tissue of the style.), When the pollen falls upon the stigma, it is excited by the viscid fluid exuded by the stigmatic surface, Fig. 29. — Laticiferous it then puts out one or more pollen tubes (2) which are unicellular and usually simple. These penetrate through the conducting tissue (4) of the style, and reach the interior of the cavity of the ovary in a few hours. Of the numerous pollen tubes which as a rule reach the ovary, one only penetrates through the micropyle, and reaches the embryo-sac ; at the apex of the embryo-sac, the pollen tube comes into contact with the embryonic vesicles, and fertilises them. "Vide Suspensor, in Part III. J. F. R. THE DANISH FOREST. By John Wager. II. — The Forest in Former Times. CHANGES in the forests of Denmark did not cease with the completed formation of the peat-mosses, but continued, and still continue to take place, both as regards constituency and extent, and through the agency of nature, as well as that of man. " Den danske Stat," by Ersler, contains a map showing the distribution of forest over Holstein, Slesvig, Jutland and the Danish Isles at the present day ; from which it may be perceived that the Danish islands are in general well-wooded, and that forest extends with varied density along the whole extent of the eastern coast of the peninsula from the south of Holstein, through Slesvig, and the greater part of Jutland ; becoming sparser, however, towards the watershed, and almost entirely disappearing on the western side of it, quite to the sea — isolated plots of wood being visible only in a few places here and there. The trees, too, are as strikingly different in point of size as the woods in extent ; on the west coast having a stunted growth of from two to four feet in height, and only in a few places attaining to twenty feet ; while on the east coast and the islands there are trees one hundred or one hundred and twenty feet high, with proportionate amplitude of bole. The west side too is flat, as well as treeless .- a plain of heath, or pasture and cornland intersected with dike fences, from the top of which at dreary intervals a crippled old thorn crouches prone before the pitiless western wind ; varied only along the coast by the peaked and ridged sand-hills, which stretch, like miniature Alps, in long parallel with the sea. But the wooded eastern shores present a constant variety of gentle hills and dales and rising grounds, very pleasant and picturesque in their own- quiet way, forming tree-crested banks and promon- tories, and grassy slopes, upon the ever-recurring bays, inlets and fjords, which indent the irregular coast. Such agreeable combination of water with wooded hills may be seen in the Veile-fjord; and yet more picturesque is the wooded scenery of Greisdal, between Veile and Greis Mill. The valley which is deeper and narrower than usual in Denmarl ,. winds among hills composed of gravel and rounded boulders, but nevertheless bold in contour and charmingly overgrown with beechwoods, which descend into the valley and cluster about a stream with, at least intermittingly, a brisk and lively course. Cottages with timber-framed walls and thatched roofs nestle by its side, and here and there the valley opens into green spaces of meadow and corn. But the western side, now so thoroughly denuded that some of its inhabitants have lived and died without seeing a lofty and well-grown tree, had formerly its great extensions of forest also, which have disappeared partly through the destructive operations of war, and partly through improvident cutting down. The great forests of Fuur and Sailing on the Liimfjord were destroyed during the wars of 1657-60 ; those of Thisted and Ringkjobing shared a similar fate ; and in 1559, when the Danes finally subdued the Ditmar- shens, they cut down a large forest which then extended over the present Ditmarsh Heath. A similar contrast is exhibited to the voyager as he sails alternately along the eastern and the western coasts of Sweden ; on the eastern side his eye ranges with delight over innumerable islands and islets beautifully studded with pine-trees ; on the western side it is everywhere chilled by thronging masses of bleak and barren rock ; and the Swedes, who tell you that these also once rose in beauty out of the sea, 3° HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. attribute their present nakedness to the war-fires of the Danes. The traveller will remember that the Grecian islands, which in classic times were richly wooded, have suffered a corresponding denudation. Turning now to the pages of Vaupell, we are made acquainted with changes which other causes have induced. Simultaneously with improvements in agriculture, which began about a century ago, the uncultivated forest has developed itself with a luxuriance before unknown ; and along with this richer growth, many phenomena in the life and mutual relation of the trees have conspicuously presented themselves to view. Young beechwoods are suppressing the ancient progeny of oaks ; alder- mosses, which for centuries enjoyed exuberance of health, have been seized with such mortality, that Lolland, once proud of its alder-mosses, as the best of cattle-pastures, can now scarcely supply alder for a pair of wooden shoes, while ash, on the contrary, extends itself and usurps the decayed stumps. Aspen, formerly common in openings of the woods, becomes rarer every day. But most remarkable is the density, scarcely conceivable for Denmark's soil and climate, which the more fertile forests have attained. In the former century, it was greatly complained that some of the woods had been quite uphewn ; that others had become miserably thin and open, grass widely extending, and trees disappearing ; while now the case is reversed, young beeches are supplanting the grass. Formerly a proprietor only felled a tree when needed for himself or his dependants, and when trees were removed it frequently happened that none grew in their place ; now the beechwoods usually grow so rank that they must be thinned, and timber also is felled for sale. This change is attributable to the allotment of lands, and the abolition of the common-rights of forest-pasturage in 1805. The aim of his work being in part to show how trees multiply and mature them- selves when freed from cattle, before treating of the present state of the Danish forest, Dr. Vaupell glances at its treatment in former times, that it may be seen how pasturage came to exert so great an influence on the rankness of its growths, and on the extension and form of the trees. In earlier times mast, not timber, was the most valued product of the forest ; acorns and beech-nuts supplied nourishing food for large herds of swine, such as may yet be seen in the great oak forests of Servia ; and when Gilpin wrote, they might be seen on a lesser scale, in our own New Forest, munching acorns with approving grunts, and on the sounding of the swineherd's primitive horn, rushing home, with many a squeal, to supper and bed. For centuries the flesh of swine was in most parts of Europe the most common and esteemed of animal food ; doubt- less Gurth and Wamba in old Sherwood enjoyed many a rasher of bacon of their own feeding ; and though Friar Tuck preferred to fatten on venison pasty, a brother monk of Denmark, quoted by Vaupell, thus expresses, in the language he held sacred, his devout affection for pork : "Sine carne suilla non est vita; si est, non est ita." " There is no life sans flesh of swine, Or if there is, it is not mine." Jonge, another Dane, remarks that of all "meat- wares, nothing is dearer to the Zealand peasant than bacon ; he could without tiring eat the rank fat to every meal." Heaven itself, without bacon, would have been no heaven to the old Scandinavians ; every day in the grand hall of Valhalla, countless heroes who had died in battle, after enjoying the invigorating exercise of morning's fight, with boundless slaughter and reslaying of the slain, sat down, no worse for the fray, to a hugh feast of this delectable dish, which came, smoking and savoury upon the board. During the Middle Ages the Danish peasants pastured their swine not only in the woods pertaining to their respective communities, but also in the great unappropriated boundary forests ; holding that these were commonalities, and that they had the right, not only of pasturage there, but also of cutting firewood and timber. Canute the Great was one of the first kings who began to dispute these claims ; and much strife between prince and peasant ensued. But by the end of the Middle Ages, through the growing power of the nobles, the peasant had sunk from the position of owner of the land he cultivated to that of mere tenant. No peasant, but only the nobles and the Crown, might own forest ; yet the peasants retained the .right of sending their cattle into the so-called common-forests ; a practice which continued till near the beginning of the present century, with great increase of usage since the peasants had ceased to be proprietors, and consequently with increased detri- ment to the forest growths. As in the Middle Ages, so, during the period of privileged country seats (16th, 17th, iSth centuries), mast continued to be the forest's most important _ product ; and not only neighbouring peasants, but many far distant towns and villages sent swine to the great forests. For instance, every autumn, when " Lash'd by furious squalls, Bright from their cups the rattling treasure falls," Lubeck and Hamburg sent droves of swine to the forests of Holstein, and even of Slesvig, there to grunt and grow fat. The payment per head raised a considerable revenue, in consideration of which the Crown had been induced to appropriate the great forests and deprive the peasants of the right of free pasturage within them they had formerly enjoyed. What swinish multitudes munched and crunched, and grubbed, and grunted under the oaks and beeches of these great old forests, may be learnt from Rantzan, who tells that in 1590, which appears to have been a good year for mast, 63,000 swine fed in six of the HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 3i Danish forests, from 4000 to 19,000 in each ; while in a moderately fruitful season the forests of Gottorp, in Slesvig, could supply provender for 30,000 of these unclean creatures, whose gluttonous appetites were thus rendered greatly subservient to the carnal desires of mankind. Swine do not, however, like other cattle in general, injure the forest, cropping the sprouting trees only when mast is scarce ; moreover, they plough and sow, as well as reap, burying acorns and beechnuts, and also destroying nests of mice, which are amongst the worst of the forest plagues. Exception was there- fore made in their favour, when the mast was ripe, by several forest-ordinances which forbid the pasturing of cattle in the forest ; as by that of 1S05. The cutting down of beech, oak, and hazel, as trees which bore mast, was also forbidden. Of all domestic cattle, goats are the most in- jurious to the forest, having as strong a predilection for branches and young trees as fcr grass. Large flocks of them were formerly kept ; and despite the passing of several ordinances in the fifteenth century and afterwards, their complete exclusion from the forest was not effected till the middle of the sixteenth. Deer, however, thereupon increased all the more, so that the booty secured at a royal hunt, August 1593, amounted to 1600 harts, besides a great number of calves, roes, hares, and foxes. It has always been customary for the Danish peasants to pasture their horses, as well as cows and sheep, in the forest ; and horses, by tearing off the branches, and top shoots of trees, damage the forest far more than cows. During the Middle Ages studs ran wild in several districts ; and subsequently the peasants, from old wont, took a pride in owning more horses than they had any real use for ; and pasturage costing nothing, the number of their horses greatly exceeded that of the royal studs. The custom continued down to the allotment of the commons ; in the severe winter of 1S02-3, flocks of small, hardy animals, belonging to the peasants of North Zealand ranged the forests there, scraping the withered giass from under the ice and snow, and eating the tops of young trees. Winter fodder being exhausted, the peasants turned their cattle into the forest in early spring before the grass had grown ; consequently they cropped the budding twigs and top-shoots of trees and shrubs, thereby greatly affecting the rankness, and the form and sanity of its growths. In many places underwood disappeared from amidst the oaks, and both oak and beech and other trees assumed abnormal forms in consequence of the treatment they received. The oak, however, is so tenacious of life that it can bear ill- usage with much more impunity than the beech ; if its top-shoot is bit off for twenty years in succession the young tree will persistently strike forth another, and larger, every spring. But the beech, though very patient under bovine or equine oppression, is more peculiarly affected by it ; transforming itself when repeatedly cropped into a low tree or bush, with short, out-spreading branches and twigs, which bear numerous leaves ; thus bearing, in some cases, a resemblance to a clipped yew, but forming, if libe- rated from dental interference, a low-stemmed many- branched tree. The oak more rarely assumes this form, and then, in general, only upon the old stub after a tree has been felled. Though cattle gnaw both oak and beech, and perhaps prefer oak leaves to beech, yet they injure the beech most. Open positions and wide grassy spaces are not particularly hurtful to oak, but beech- woods can neither thrive well on greensward nor in an open position. Besides, the cattle protect the oak by consuming the springing beech-plants, which in time, when luxuriant, have usually power to injure most oaks. A muster which took place in one of the forests of about a thousand acres in July 1722, shows how numerously they were grazed ; the number of the various domestic cattle it was found to contain amounting to 131 horses, 109 neat, 140 swine and 93 young pigs. Cattle that are sent from open pastures into wet forests are apt to be seized with a sickness caused by eating the grass, which often ends in death ; but it does not affect those which are brought up there. The Danish kings in general have been great lovers of sport, and consequently stocked the forests with numerous game ; Christian IV., on a journey from Copenhagen to Horsholm, killed twelve harts with his own hand. Many of the nobles and gentry over- stocked their forests in the same way. Royal studs and the timber axe also conjoined with the wasteful grazing on the common rights of the peasants to impoverish the forests ; which moreover in earlier times had been greatly diminished in area, and were in danger of becoming mere pasture-lands or arable fields. But the mischief had begun to be seen and felt too ; scarcity of timber and firewood became subject of complaint, and a fear lest the land should lose its forests altogether was expressed. In answer to a Government circular issued to the country magistrates in 1760, the mischief was attributed chiefly to the reckless manner in which the peasants exercised their communal rights ; over-stocking with all manner of cattle, and at unseasonable times, cutting promiscuous wood for fences and withy bands to bind the cattle, at any season, with no regard for future growth, and thus yearly destroying thousands of sapling oaks, ash and other trees. It was not, however, until 1805 that Government prohibited common grazing in the forests ; stating in a short preamble to the enactment that experience had shown the greatly deteriorating effect upon the forests of fellowship, and also that another cause of deteriora- tion consisted in the improvident felling of timber, especially since the sale of the timber had become a chief speculation in the purchase of landed property. It was therefore ordained that all fellowship in HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. forests must cease, and the allotment be affected by the 31st of December, 1810 ; that all forests must be protected, and therefore fenced ; and no cattle, except swine, be allowed to graze therein, nor any mowing under the trees take place. That, as the cutting down of forest ought not to be the chief speculation in the purchase of landed property, no one who by purchase becomes ownerof a forest, may during the first ten years fell for sale in the same, unless the Revenue Chamber, after inspection, has decided that the felling will not be injurious. Having seen the wretched condition of the Danish forest consequent on the prolonged mistreatment which the enactment of 1805 brought to an end, it has now to be shown how the trees, freed from oppression of the cattle, enjoyed without hindrance the bounty of nature and flourished with a vigour before unknown. OBSERVATIONS ON CLEAVAGE. IN text-books on geology, cleavage is usually represented as running in a number of straight and parallel lines in masses of rock extending through large districts. The beds are drawn folded in different directions, but the cleavage-planes are uniform in dip, and therefore cut the beds at all angles. When viewed in a large scale the parallelism of cleavage is remarkable, and, in small sections, is rightly represented as a number of parallel straight lines, but when we come to examine these planes closely local variations are by no means infrequent. Taking into consideration the diversity of the physical and chemical composition of rock masses, it would be indeed surprising if the cleavage-planes passed through such masses in straight and undeviating parallel lines. Such a condition is theoretically possible in a perfectly homogeneous rock, and hence the more homogeneous the nature of a rock mass the fewer deviations there will be in the direction of the cleavage-planes running through it. Rocks exhibit- ing cleavage being composed of beds of very different hardness, the planes will be bent when passing from a hard bed to a soft bed or vice versA. But the refracted planes preserve their parallelism, Now if we find one set of cleavage-planes passing through hard and soft beds, forming acute angles with another set passing through the same beds a little distance off, we may conclude there has been a local variation in the direction of the force which has produced. the cleavage. Let us assume, for the sake of simplicity, that the force has been mechanical pressure only. The result of this pressure, long continued, has in many cases been (1) the folding of the beds into anticlinal and synclinal curves, and (2) the production of cleavage-planes perpendicular to the pressure forces. We will now consider only the refraction of cleavage- planes produced by the very varying degrees of hard- ness of rocks, leaving evidences of local variation in the pressure-forces for another paper. We have an instructive example of refraction figured in Science-Gossip for November 1S81 (figs. 144, 145, p. 245) ; here is another, taken from the same district, Geol. Surv. Gt. Brit. 57 N.E. In the S.E. corner of the sheet some yellow dots represent Lower Llandovery rocks, consisting of " sandstones and slates," or b*. Our example occurs in a beautiful valley, on one side of which is situated the farm marked Paut-y-Pedwen on the one-inch map. In the quarter-sheet the beds are shown dipping E. Those represented in fig. 30 dip 72 E., and consist of alternate hard and soft bands. The cleavage-planes of the two sets of beds actually dip at opposite points of the compass. The bed 1 is nine inches thick, and consists of hard silicious clay-slate. The cleavage- planes in it dip 68° W., or form an angle of 40 with the beds, and are of irregular character. The bed 2 is similar to 1, but somewhat thicker ; the cleavage- planes running through it are parallel to I. The layers or lamince, the result of the cleavage, are roughly T | inch thick. The beds a and /3 are very thin, consisting of a soft shaly rock ; the cleavage is moreover uniform, dipping 81 E. or forming an angle of9° with the beds. The lamince are T ' a inch thick and less. Two, measured side by side, were only ^ inch ; this gives a thickness of only '03125 inch for each. The laminse are more- over very straight, although, as might be ex- pected, the planes occasionally run into each other. The clay slate of which they are composed is dark- coloured and very fine-grained. On the whole, these laminae present a marked contrast to the coarse, irregular, thick and light greyish ones of 1 and 2. Through a strong lens the beds 1 appear to consist of little irregular grains of quartz scattered through darker-coloured clay-slate. I was able to detect here and there minute specks of true pyrites, little brown patches of oxide of iron (probably the result of the decomposition of the pyrites), and thin plates of talc. In the beds 1 and 2 the latter are often quite large, and can be seen with the naked eye, they are colourless or greenish. The beds a and j3 appear to be of much the same composition, but the grain being very fine, a higher power must be used for their examination. There seems to be less quartz in these beds. There is no evidence to show us whether the cleavage-planes were propagated from E. to W., or from W. to E., nor is this important. We may assume, the strike of the beds and the anticlinal axes being directed about N.N.E. (true), that enormous pressure has been applied on the rock masses in a W.N.W. and E.S.E. direction, and therefore that the cleavage was produced simultaneously from N.N.E. and S.S.W. The important fact remains that the planes in passing from hard to soft, or from soft to hard beds were bent or refracted as much as3i n . HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. It should also be noted that in the hard beds the cleavage-planes cross the beds at large angles ; the line of least resistance of such beds would be 90° with the plane of the beds, whereas, in the soft beds, the cleavage forms acute angles with them. The line of least resistance of such beds is parallel to the original layers of the strata (compare also Science-Gossip, J-SSi, fig. 144). From these facts we may deduce silica (S.G. = 2"6) in 1 ? Although the densities are practically the same, there is a notable difference in the general hardness of the beds, which at once explains the refraction of the cleavage-planes. Referred to Mohs' scale H=4*5 (i.e. between fluor and apatite) in 1, and II = 2"5 (i.e. between rock- salt and calcite) in a. It must be borne in mind that the refraction of Fig- 3-- '=• 3 1 - the following general law :— When cleavage-planes pass from a hard to a less hard rock the planes are bent away from the normal, or plane perpendicular, to the surface of the beds, but when they pass from a comparatively soft to a hard rock the planes are bent towards the normal. The phenomenon is in fact analogous to the physical law which rules the refraction of a ray of light, but we are not here dealing (as in the case with light) of media of vary- ing densities, for I carefully ascertained the specific gravities or densities of the beds 1 and a ; the former, or hard bed, was 2715, and the latter 2763. Hence the soft rock is actually rather more dense than the hard one. Is this owing to the greater proportion of r 1 >, \ 1 i J-— 1 _— J if 77//// \ 1 \ \ \ J 1 - 1. 1 ! 1 z? Fig. 3:. ' cleavage-planes is greatly complicated by the non- homogeneity of rocks, and by the frequent pressure of joints and vacant spaces in them. In the same neighbourhood some beds dipping 71 E., and striking N. 35 E. (magnetic) showed cleavage-planes in soft beds 83 E., and in thick hard beds 64 W., or a refraction of 33 . The lines in the HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. latter are more irregular even than in I and 2 (see fig. 31), an evidence of still greater hardness, due probably to an increased percentage of silica. In the very quartzose beds of this district — the rocks as seen through a lens being largely composed of grains of quartz — the cleavage is still apparent, although very irregular, and passing through the beds perpen- dicularly, or at very high angles. Among other beds in this district, formed of much the same material as those described, but differently aggregated, we may particularise three : — (a.) Dark and very hard beds, exceedingly fine- grained ; the cleavage-planes are wider apart than in 1 and 2, one inch often intervening between two planes. S. G. 2'659. (b.) Hard beds the same as a, but coarse in texture. Brown patches numerous, and plainly visible to the naked eye. S.G. 2 - 688. (c.) Still coarser beds of a brownish- white tint. The grains of quartz are distinctly seen without a lens, and are opaque white, and non-crystallised. This rock is in reality a gritstone. The term "sand- stone" is not applicable to any beds described in this paper. Clay-slates gradually appear to merge into gritstones. A chemical and microscopic examination would no doubt reveal other interesting differences and peculiarities in the rocks of this district, but enough evidence has been adduced to prove that they have been metamorphosed, and in different degrees. The cleavage has clearly been formed after the metamor- phic action. S. G. 2"6c;5. The refraction of the cleavage-planes propagated through these beds appears to have depended, as has already been pointed out, not on the density of these rocks, but on their relative hardness. No doubt the hard and soft beds differ chemically as well as physically from each other ; the latter are less metamorphosed, and are therefore more argillaceous, or, in other words, less silicious than the harder beds. But the state of aggregation of the particles seems to have had less effect on the cleavage than one might have supposed ; e.g., the beds o and a are both very fine-grained and dark, but the cleavage- planes in the former are very oblique and packed exceedingly close together, whereas in the latter they form large angles with the beds, and are wide apart. As a matter of fact the beds a are much the harder, and are no doubt the more silicious of the two. I conceive it to be possible to calculate the relative hardness of two beds from the refraction of the cleavage-planes alone, but extended observations would be necessary in order to obtain a correct formula for the purpose. Further north, and quite outside the yellow dots marked on the one-inch map, or in the Bala (?) rocks, beds of very hard clay -slate often show no cleavage at all, while the soft beds exhibit it well. Fig. 32 is a typical instance. Indistinct lines of lamination are traceable in (/and e, whereas in/ these lines are entirely obliterated by the oblique cleavage-planes. But often, especially when the beds crop out, and have therefore been exposed to weathering action, the hard beds are broken up by almost vertical joints (fig. 33), which doubtless mark the direction of the cleavage-planes in these beds. It would be an interesting experiment to submit alternate layers of some hard and soft substance to great and mechanical pressure, not only to prove the refraction of the cleavage-planes, but also to show their regularity and distinctness in the soft layers, their many infections, and their vagueness in the hard ones. Professor Smith referred, some years ago, to the persistency of the westerly dip of the cleavage in Cardiganshire,* but we have seen that, in one portion of the district at least, this is true only with regard to the hard beds ; in the soft beds the cleavage dips E. at a higher angle than the beds. E. Halse, A.R.S.M. Since writing the above, I have ascertained the density and hardness of the beds a, and b, c, J, &c. (Science-Gossip, Nov. 1881, fig. 144), the result of which proves conclusively to my mind that the refraction of cleavage-planes is due not to the relative density, but to the relative hardness of rocks. The S.G. of a = 2*734, of b &c. = 2782, difference = 0*048, or exactly the same as the difference between the densities of the beds 1 and a. But the refraction in the former case is only 23 , while in the latter it is as much as 31 . Now the beds b, c, d, &c, are harder than the beds a, $ ; in the former H = 3, in the latter H = 2'5, while the hardness of the beds 1 and u are about the same. It would appear from these figures that the refraction is directly proportional to the difference between the hardness of the beds, Gi- ft ** , r ■ -o~=-T7-> where R = amount of refraction of one set of beds, and r of another set, and H the differ- ence in the hardness of one set, and h' of the other set. Substituting x for h\ we obtain the formula r' X H x — — — — , which, after ascertaining H and R in one set of beds, will enable us to obtain the difference in the hardness of any set of beds exhibiting refraction by merely measuring the amount of that refraction* But this law must not be considered as established until repeated observations in different districts have amply verified it. Since I last visited the slate-quarry a fresh section has been displayed ; a clinometer now showed the planes a dipping about 8o°, and the beds /', c, &c, about 55 , which gives a refraction of 25 . This shows that the beds vary in relative and absolute hardness at different points ; the irregular lines of the beds a and it are also evidences of variation in hard- ness. To ascertain then the mean refraction of the * '■ Memoirs of the Geological Survey," Vol. II., 1848. IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 35 cleavage-planes of any area, it would be necessary to make a repeated number of observations. I may mention that the beds, a, 1/, in grain are very like the bed a (fig. 30), but darker, and with brown patches visible to the naked eye. The cleavage-planes are nearly as wide apart as in a. The beds b, c, &c, appear very like the beds a, &, in composition and grain, but are less dark than the latter, and the cleavage-planes are wider apart. E. Halse. PRESERVING LEPIDOFTEROUS LARVAE BY INFLATION. By W. Finch, Tun. ALTHOUGH the method for preserving larvae for the cabinet may be well known to many -entomologists, there may be some of our readers to whom the method, simple as it is, may be unknown. Specimens are sometimes seen preserved in bottles of spirits ; but these seldom form very beautiful objects. These also cannot be arranged side by side with the imagos in the cabinet. Therefore, to be able to preserve the larvae, so that they may be placed in the -cabinet, with their imagos, will doubtless be a source of pleasure to many a tyro-lepidopterist. And as the season is advancing when lepidopterous larvae may be obtained in abundance, I offer these few remarks as to the apparatus required and the method of using it. Take a wide-mouthed bottle, of say two or three pints' capacity (a jam-bottle does admirably), into the neck of which fix an indiarubber bung, tightly ; bore two holes through this, one on each side, and about J inch from the edge. Now take a glass tube, to fit one of these holes, and on one end of it fix a piece of zinc (we will say the tube is J inch in diameter, then the zinc will be about ij inch long, by § inch wide), through the end of which you have drilled a hole g inch in diameter, this hole must come under the hole of the glass tube. After drilling, rub the zinc smooth, on both sides; then fix to the glass tube, by means of sealing-wax, making the joint perfectly air-tight. Then affix to the .zinc, at the opposite end to the hole, a strip of oiled silk (on the under-side, of course), so that one end forms a flap, loosely covering the hole. On sucking at the other end of the glass tube, it will be found that this flap of oiled silk forms an excellent valve, through which no air can pass whatever. Now thrust the other end of the glass tube through the indiarubber^bung from] the under-side (removing it from the bottle for this purpose, and refixing it). On to the projecting end of this tube (the valve, of course, is inside the bottle) affix an indiarubber tube (of any length), having at its other extremity a hollow ball . these tubes with ball affixed may be bought at the chemist's for about one shilling and sixpence. Now we have a capital air-pump, by means of which the bottle may be filled to bursting-point, on stopping up the other hole in the bung. The indiarubber ball, I should have mentioned, should have a small hole bored in it, so that it can fill itself from the outer air, as it cannot possibly draw any air out of the bottle, because of the valve. By placing the thumb on this hole, and squeezing the ball, a current of air is forced down the tube and through the valve (which closes again immediately) into the bottle. Now into the other hole in the bung thrust a glass tube similar to the one mentioned before ; but this need only enter the bottle about two inches, whilst the other should nearly reach the bottom. On the outer end of this latter tube fix a short length of indiarubber tubing, into the other end of which fix the tube with which to inflate the larva;. This should be of glass, drawn out to a point at one end, by means of melting it over the gas. You should have several of these tubes, of various thicknesses, according to the size of the larvae to be preserved. Now, the inflating apparatus completed, what shall we do to dry the skin of the larvae, while inflated ? Take a tin canister, clasp a band of iron wire on it, and fasten this to a wooden stand of any kind, taking care that the canister does not touch the wood at all, as it would burn it. Leave the lid of the canister on, so that if the solder (where the tin is joined) should melt with the heat, it will not come to pieces. Cut a piece out of the tin lid a little larger than a florin, and then you have a capital oven. Get a small glass lamp from the chemist's (cost is.), some wick'and spirits (methylated), and set to work in the following manner :— Take your larva which you wish to preserve, put him into a small vessel, with enough spirits to cover him. Next trim your lamp and light it, place it under the oven, to get it ready heated (you will soon find out the exact heat necessary) ; your larva will by this time be dead ; take him out of the spirits and lay him on a sheet of blotting-paper, turn him about a little, so as to get rid of all superfluous moisture, then take a pen-stock, or anything round, and of similar thick- ness ; and commence to roll out the viscera, or his inside ; commence near the anus, to get a good start, this prevents bursting. When you have rolled all the contents of the body out from the head, the whole length of the body, then insert the pointed end of the blowpipe into the anal orifice. I should previously have told you to clasp a bit of watch-spring round this end of your tube, bending it so that it nips tightly on to the pointed end, so as to hold the larva on, as the pressure of air would otherwise blow it off. Fix the watch-spring over the last pair of legs, and then commence to pump air into the bottle, by means of the ball, and soon the larva will become extended in a natural manner. Do not force too much air into the bottle, or the larva will be extended to the full extent of its skin, and look an unsightly ■6 HA RD U 7 C KE \S SCTENCE-GOS SI P. object. Just keep the skin full of air, and place it in the oven, holding it there until dry ; do not let it touch the sides, or you will scorch it. Green larvae lose their colour during the process, but this is remedied by inserting a grass stem into the body, down which pour a small quantity of dry colour ; shake this about inside the body, until coloured all over of the required tint. Complicated as this apparatus may seem, it may ON BRITISH "FRESHWATER MITES. By C. F. George. No. V. AND now let us briefly turn our attention to the females of this family, which, as I have before stated, are very unlike the males ; they are consider- ably larger and more numerous, and therefore are Fig. 34,—Arretturus ellipticus (upper side), 9 J objective. Fig. 37. — Arrenurus buccina- tor (upper side), 2 in. object. Fig. 38. — Arrenurus, sp. (from above). Fig- 35 — Arrenurus ellipticus (under side), 9 I object. Fig. 36. — A rreniims buccinator finder side), 2 in. object. Fig. 39. — Arrenurus, sp. all be made in less time than it has taken to write this ; while the advantage over air-pressure from the bungs is incalculable. Larvae preserved as above may be mounted on twigs, or dried leaves of the food-plant, and placed in the cabinet side by side with the imago forms. If this paper proves of any service to the readers (ento- mological) of this Journal, I shall think myself amply repaid for my trouble in explaining it. more easily and frequently found. In the case of globator, I have been able by inspection to satisfy myself as to the true female. In other cases where I give the name of the female, it will be understood that I am justified in doing so, only from its resem- blance in some respects to the male, or to some of the drawings of other authors. The females have palpi, exactly like those of the males, their skin is chitinous, and they have their circular or oval impressed line HARLWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. very distinctly marked, and complete. Perhaps the typical form of the body is oval or elliptical, and the first I shall figure is what I take to be Arrenurus ellipticits, q (M uller). This rather large and very pretty mite has a good deal of brown in the central part and blue at the sides ; it doubtless varies a good deal in colour, with the contents of its cceca ; on the under-side the thigh plates are yellow. The peculiar door-shaped sexual plates are well seen, these are very nearly alike in all the females of the hard- skinned specimens of Arrenurus, and have no circular marks or sucking discs upon them. On each side of these sexual plates is to be seen a chitinous plate which, together with the thigh plates, is much more 'finely punctured than the other chitinous parts of the brown, the eyes are of a beautiful red colour ; I do not know whether it has ever been named. Fig. 39 is of the same colour, but the body is very much shortened, and the cceca are of a beautiful dull vermilion ; the under-side (fig. 40) may be compared with fig. 36, when the great difference in shape position and size of the chitinous plates outside the genital aperture will be evident. I have met with another azure blue Arrenurus which was almost globular (fig. 41), and here these plates will be seen different in shape from any of the other sketches. Fig. 42, which I believe to be the female of Arren- urus tricuspidator, is of a dark brick-red colour, with black ciecal markings and coarse granular appearance, and in shape differing much from the other figures. Fig. 40. — Arrenurus, sp. (from belowV Fig. 41. — Arrenurus, sp. (under surface). Fig. 42. — Arrenurus tricusJ>uiator, $, 5 object. body. The shape of these plates varies considerably, and will probably be of much use in the discrimination of species when this family shall have been more thoroughly worked out. The next mite (fig. 36 and fig- 37) is still more elliptical or ovoid, and perhaps a little larger than the one just described. It is drawn under a two inch objective, and therefore looks less than the other. From the large amount and deepness of the blue colour, I think it may be the female of A. buccinator, although it has not the yellow legs described by Koch. The next example (fig. 38) is a mite of a most beautiful sky-blue colour, its outlines are seen to be rather angular, it has an opaque whitish Y-shaped mark in the centre, and the other cceca are light In addition to these, I have met with several females (whose names I could not make out) differing some- what in shape, size, and colour from those described, but, as I have not mounted or kept accurate descriptions of them, they will have to be taken again before beins: recorded. Wasps. — Upon several occasions I have seen a wasp catch a butterfly, nip off its wings, and then fly away with its body. Also upon several occasions I have seen one hunting in places where spiders are to be found ; but I cannot say that I ever saw one of these individuals caught by a wasp. — Thomas A'ingsford, Canterbury. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. .NATURAL HISTORY NOTES FROM SIMLA. THIS is perhaps one of the best known and most often described of Indian stations. There is something home-like in the neatly kept lawns, and in the trim garden hedges which add a charm to the natural attractions of the place. Nature here has been lavish in her bounty, and botanist, entomologist, and two or three other ologists might find much to interest and much to repay research and labour in their various pursuits. Take, for instance, the entomologist. Ere these heavy rains began, the air was alive with lovely Lepidoptera flashing their prismatic colours in the unclouded glory of the summer sun. The season had been one of unusually prolonged heat, and Papilios, which usually frequent the low valleys and Rhuds, came into the gardens, and might be found near every newly-watered plant. As to beetles, any one interested in them could make a most valuable collection up here. There are some very curious ones. Besides the common kind, whose busy wings whirr an unceasing concert during the rainy season, there is one kind which I had never heard until the beginning of this summer. Its approach was made known by a most musical sound, as if some one had struck a stringed instrument. The noise was not particularly loud, but so intense and clear that it could be heard at a great distance. We have often tried to follow the creature, but in vain. It was a musical ignis fatuus, and whenever we got to where the noise was last heard, off it went far out of reach, so we never saw it. I think it always chose fir-trees as its favourite haunts, and as our house and garden are set as it were in a frame of dark deodar pines, it had plenty of choice among them. After a few days it seemed to vanish, and I have never heard it since. There are the rose beetles, which are a very large and destructive class. What ravages they work and how pretty they are, glinting in the sunshine like burnished copper. Then the ornithologist (we have rather a distinguished one up here, by the bye) has a wide range before him — the mighty lammergau sweeping in its majestic flight across the mountain's barren side and swooping down into the valley, where in luxuriant pastures it finds a plenteous supply of dainty food among the herds and flocks. They are, indeed, magnificent birds, but they are worse enemies to the farmyard and poultry house than even the dreaded jackal. Of smaller birds there are the pert little mina ; sparrows, thrushes, robins, cuckoos, have all their representatives ; while as to crows, they are the most impertinent of birds. The martins build their mud-walled nests in the verandah eaves, the fly- catcher darts from his favourite perch, and the wagtail waddles across the lawn ; and you might fancy yourself in England, till a gaily decked hoopoo struts proudly into view. Deeper in the woods one finds nut-hatches, jays, doves that coo with a very familiar tone, kingfishers, and well-known little tits. Talking of things that fly, though they are not birds, I may mention the flying squirrel. It is very plentiful in some localities, but it is such a recluse that it is seldom noticed. But take a seat just after sunset underneath the deodar, and watch in the gather- ing twilight for a dark shadow. There it is, from the roof of the house it has dropped to a tree some forty yards off, and there it sits quite unconscious of your presence, or, at all events, quite unconcerned, nibbling at the bark or cracking a nut ; you may go close up to it and shoot it, and the only difficulty will be to get far enough, so as to be able to see it and yet not blow it to pieces. Unless shot dead, they cling to the tree, and never drop, however badly wounded ; this is lucky, as they are spirited little animals, and if caught and trapped alive, bite and fight for dear life with curious pertinacity. They are very destructive in the garden, no fruit comes amiss to them, and they are said to nibble the tops of fir-trees and eat the young shoots. Among themselves they are very quarrelsome, and it is diffi- cult to find an unmaimed one. An ear, or a leg, or an eye, will probably be missing. They have taken up their abode in our roof, and hardly a night passes without a terrible fight, when they squeal and scamper about in a most disturbing fashion. Their skins in winter time are exceedingly pretty, and make very charming rugs or mats, but the beasts look so happy darting about or nestling to the sides of the fir-trees, that, destructive as they are, one would feel sorry to shoot them. The creatures which are most curious to watch are the monkeys, and of course sheets upon sheets might be written about these caricatures of humanity. The likeness is the most striking, because, among their native forests they may be seen side by side with human beings so low in the scale of civilisation that many of the habits of the man and of the monkey are nearly similar. In the winter they grow very bold, and are fierce and troublesome. They will snatch the bread out of a man's hand as he sits munching his chupatee, while in the fowl-yard they will devour all the grain which is thrown to the fowls. It appears that the fiercest of the tribes which frequent our woods always belong to one family, and there is always a representative descendant who pesters the servants at meal-times. To shoot a monkey is sacrilege to a native's mind, and few people after they have once killed one would willingly shoot one, for to see a monkey die, is, it is said, one of the most painful sights that can be imagined. As to wild beasts, in the sense of beasts of prey, we have but few kinds, and these I shall leave to describe another time, as the mail is just going out, and there is not time for more to-day. Ben. HA RD WICKE'S S CIENCE- G OS SIR 39 ON THE DISCRIMINATION OF DIFFERENT SPECIES OF WOOD BY MICROSCOPICAL EXAMINATION. ' THE following is the classification of cross-sections of wood by Mr. C. J. Miiller, alluded to in the note on this subject in the last number of Science-Gossip : — Pith Mass Circular, or nearly so. A. — Edge of Woody Tissue next Pith Crenate, Name and Character of Medullary Rays. sEsculus hippocastanum. — -Thin, crowded. Berberis vulgaris, 2 years old. — Wide apart, thick, flexuose. Sambucus nigra, 3 years old. — Of unequal thickness, several thin between two thicker ones, flexuose. Tamarix gallica. — Broad, far apart, widening outward. Pyrus aucuparia, 2 years old . — Regular, strongly defined. Rosa canina. — 5 to 10 thin ones, lying between thick ones. Cytisus laburnum, 4 years old. — Mostly very thick, with a few intermediate thin ones. Crataegus oxyacantha, 4 years old. — Thin, somewhat evenly disposed. Hedcra helix. — Broad rays widening outwards, alternat- ing with intermediate thin ones. Proportion of Pith Area Character of Ducts or Air-vessels. to that of Wood, minus Bark. Abundant, forming bands, I to 2 many compound. Large in the lines of annual i to 3 growth, small elsewhere. The larger ducts form distinct i to ift rings, others scattered. Sparse, scattered, large. i to 17 Crowded and abundant, some- 1 to 8 what radiated. Various in size, the larger 1 to i T 7 B being in the lines of annual growth. Large, forming conspicuous 1 to 41 rings in the lines of annual growth, intermediate ones smaller. Scattered, openings angular. 1 to 52 Scattered and sparse, small. 1 to 7 Other Particulars. B. — Edge of Woody Tissue next Pith, Syringa vulgaris, 3 years old. — Thin, flexuose. Cornus sanguineus, 3 years old. — Strongly defined, with in- termediate thin ones, wavy. Ficus carica.- — Wide apart, un- equally distant. Corylus avellana, 2 years old. — Thin, crowded. Ulmus campestris, 4 years old. — Strongly defined, wide apart. Ulmus campestris, var. subcrosa, 2 years old. — As above. Morus nigra. — Thick, placed at unequal distances apart. Ligustrum vulgare, 5 years old. — Straight and regular, near- ly equidistant and well-de- fined. Cotoneaster vulgaris, 3 years old. — Thin, nearly equidis- tant. Large and crowded in the lines of annual growth, in- termediate ones small and scattered. Disposed in circular bands, abundant, of medium size. Wide apart, large, mostly compound. Mostly compound, arranged in lines radiating from the pith, with intermediate blank spaces. Large, arranged chiefly in parcels in the lines of annual growth. Large, sparse, scattered. Large, many compound. In rings in the lines of annual growth, intermediate ones few and scattered. Extremely small, form a ring at edije of each annual zone. Liber in a single ring. Woody tissue, mottled, epi- phlceum corky. Black spots in endophlceum, bark thick. Liber in distinct parcels. Liber abundant in 2 rings of parcels, bark rather thick. Curved bundles of liber lying between the extremities of each pair of the broad medul- lary rays. Liber in little parcels, wide apart. Liber in irregular parcels. Liber in small parcels, cells of epiphlceum large. even or nearly so. 1 to 13 J Liber abundant, forming com- plete rings, loose tissue out- side bark. 1 to 19 Bark rather thick. Liber very sparse. I to 5 Certain rings in the woody tissue, containing granules which give them a clouded aspect. I to 71 ' Liber in a ring, and also de- tached parcels. Bark full of crystals. 1 to 191 Liber abundant in dense rings and parcels, endophlceum full of crystals. 1 to 250 Great development of corky tissue in 6 or more parcels. ) 3^ Liber in detached parcels, and in a ring. 1 to 24 I Liber scanty. I to 170 Bark thick. Liber in parcels. 4o HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Pith Mass Triangular. Name and Character of Medullary Rays. Betula alba, 4 years old. — Thin, nearly equidistant, radiating in bundles from rounded angles of pith. Alnus glutinosus, 4 years old. — Thin, radiating in curvilinear bundles from rounded angles of pith. Fagus sylvatica, 8 years old. — 5 or 6 broad rays proceeding Irom each side of the trian- gular pith, and widening outwards. / r accinium myrtillus. — Crowd- ed, a few here and there, thickened. Character of Ducts or Air-vessels. Equally distributed, many compound. As above, but smaller. Large, abundant, equally dis- tributed in zones. Very small, dant. Proportion of Pith Area to that of Wood minus Bark. I to III i to 127 scattered, abun- 1 1 to 15 Other Particulars. Liber in a complete ring, pith with incurved sides. I to 81 Woody tissue, rather coarser than that of Bclula alba. Liber abundant in dense par- cels. One angle of pith truncated so as to give it a quadrangular aspect. Liber none, or incon- spicuous. Platanus orientalis, 2 years old. — Thick and wide apart, wi 1 h. occasional intermediate thin ones. Ilex aquifolium, 2 years old. — Some thick, and wide apart, with intermediate thinner ones. Acer campestre, 3 years old. — For the most part rather thick, and well defined. 6 well-marked clusters. Pr units communis, 5 years old. — Straight and nearly equi- distant, of unequal thickness and somewhat flexuose. Rhus typhina, 2 years old. — Regular, well defined, dis- tant. Acer pseudo-platan us, 3 years old. — Unequally distant, strongly marked, rather thick. Fra vinits excelsior, 3 years old. — Thin, evenly arranged, distant. Tilia Europcca, 3 years old. — Thin, evenly disposed. Pith Mass Ovoid. Large, crowded, openings angular. Very small and sparse, many compound. In rings or bands, moderate in size, many compound. Form conspicuous rings in the lines of annual growth, others scattered. Large, heaped near lines of annual growth, others few and scattered. Of medium size, not very abundant, mostly com- jjound. Large, forming conspicuous rings in the lines of annual growth. Numerous, varying in size, compound. 1 to 6 T < D 1 to 9 1 to 15 1 to 55 r to iv I to 5 to 4fD 1 to 55 Edge of woody tissue next pith crenate. Liber in irregular parcels. Bark full of crystals. Liber in a thin ring, pith cells full of granules. Liber in distinct rings, parcels of external corky tissue, edge near pith crenate. Liber in detached parcels wide- ly separate. Edge of woody tissue next pith crenate. Liber in curvilinear parcels all round, with a long elliptical opening in each parcel. Edge of woody tissue next pith, crenate. Liber in a single ring. Liber abundant in concentric circles." Liber in wedge-shaped bundles, broad next the woody tissue, narrowing outwards, crystals abundant in the bark. Pith Mass Pentangular or Hexangular. Salix viminalis, 2 years old. — Regular, rather distant, crowded at angles of pith mass. Sul ix alba, 4 years old. — Regular, thin, waved. Viburnum lantana, 4 years old. Evenly arranged, and of equal thickness. Scattered. Scattered, numerous, many compound. Of varying size, equally dis- tributed. 1 to 24 Liber abundant in parcels, pith 5-sided. 1 to 145 Liber in detached parcels, not so abundant as in S. vimi- ualis. 1 to 19 Liber sparse, bark full of cry- stals. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 4i Pith Mass Pentangular or IIkxangular — {continued). Name and Character of Medullary Rays. Quercus Hex, 4 years old. — Thin, close, equidistant. Rubus fruticosus. — Short, thick, in bundles, with intermediate thin ones. Castanea vesca, 5 years old. — Radiating in curvilinear par- cels from projecting points of pith, of unequal thickness. Populus nigra. — Thin, regular. Sparse, in radiating bundles, with intermediate blank spaces. Large, scattered. Large, arranged in the lines ot annual growth, apertures mostly oval. Abundant, not large, pretty equally distributed, mostly compound. Proportion of Pith Area to that of Wood, minus Bark. i to 19S I to I T 6 3 i to 62 Other Particulars. Woody tissue, mottled. Liber in a complete circle. Liber in curved parcels between the extremities of the medul- lary rays. Liber abundant in elongated parcels, woody tissue, mouled. 1 to 55 Liber in scattered parcels. Pith Mass of Irregular Shape or Angular. Clematis vitalba. — 12 in num- Very large, crowded. , , Woodv tissue in 6 broad wedge- ber, broad, connected near shaped bundles, alternating the bark by arches of liber. with six narrow ones, pith stellate, with twelve rays. rinus syhestris, 3 years old. — None, but a few lacunae. 1 to 197 Bark thick, containing resin. thin and crowded. Taxus baccata. — Thin and None, no lacunce. 1 to 227 Pith very irregular in outline, crowded. with processes. Robinia pscudacacia. — Thin, dis- Large in the annual ring, 1 to 8 Pith lobed. tant. small and scanty in other parts. Thuja. — Thin, crowded, fiex- None. • • Pith stellate, 4 rayed, very uose. small. MICROSCOPY. "Studies in Microscopical Science." — Variety and an artistically high character continue to distinguish these weekly issues. Among the recent studies we particularly notice the following : — - " Transverse Section of Spleen of Infant," "Transverse Section of stem of J uncus communis,'' " Ditto of Spleen of Cat." "The Journal of the Postal Microscopical Society." — No. 4 of this Journal has been published (edited by Mr. A. Allen), containing the following papers:— "On the Structure and Economy of the Daphnia" (Presidential address, by Mr. A. Hammond, F.L.S.) ; " On the size of Dust Particles of Wheat and Coal," by H. Epps ; " On the Bursting- point of some Starch Cells," by W. J. Dibdin ; "Pond Hunting in Winter," by E. Wade- Wilton ; besides selected notes from the Society's Note-book, Reports of Societies, Correspondence, &c. As might be expected by all who are acquainted with his drawings, the illustrations to Mr. Hammond's paper are excellent. "Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society."— The December part of this Journal is full of unusually interesting matter,' including papers on " Some Organisms found in the Excrements of the Domestic Goat and the Goose," by R. L. Maddox, M.D., and on "A Further Improvement in the Groves- Williams Ether Freezing Microtome," by J. W. Groves. In addition, we have a capital summary of current researches relating to Zoology, Botany, &c, as developed by microscopical research, as well as a full Report of the Proceedings of the Royal Microscopical Society. Fluid Cavities in Meteorites. — As the author of the paper on Fluid Cavities in a Meteorite, referred to by your correspondent in this month's Science-Gossip (p. 276), I may perhaps be permitted to state that I shall be very happy to give every additional information in my power to him and to all those who may have taken an interest in this subject. I have a number of sections of the Meteorite of Braunfels, and also a few fragments of the material, which I shall be glad to submit to the examination of experts. — Hcinricli HcnsolJt. Heliopelta. — In June 1844, a paper by Professor Ehrenberg appeared in the Monatsb. d. k. Akad. zu Berlin, entitled, " Ueber eine neue marine Tripel Bildung von der Bermuda Inseln," in which he says, 42 HARBWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. " Herr Professor Bailey in West Point, New York, der fliissige amerikanische Freund mikroscopischen For- schung, hat dem Vorfasser eine Probe einer Erdevon der Bermuda Inseln zugesandt, dass er dieselbe mikro- scopische analysiren und der Inhalt zu organischen Formen namhaft machen undbestimmen moge. Ihm ist sie von Herrn Tuomey aus Petersburg in Virginien mit andern Erdarten zugekommen." It is certain that Professor Ehrenberg jumped to the con- clusion that the deposit was from the Bermuda Islands. I saw many years ago a small packet of the deposit in question, which had been sent by Professor Bailey to Mr. Brightwell of Norwich ; it was labelled " Bermuda Tripoli, J. W. B.," nothing being said about islands, and in spite of the close resemblance this deposit bore to the other Virginian earths, we all fell into the same error as Ehrenberg ; it is pro- bable that Bailey himself knew no better, as he does not appear to have ever corrected Ehrenberg's mistake. I am convinced that a similar mistake has been made with regard to the Moron deposit, which Greville says came from Spain. Judging from the resem- blance the forms found in it bear to those in the Californian deposits, I think there can be little doubt that it came from some obscure place of that name in California. It has always been a matter of surprise to me that Ehrenberg should have figured so few of the beautiful forms more or less plentiful in the Bermuda deposit, particularly as the "Mikrogeologie " was not published until 1854. The species of Helio- pelta he figured and described are H. Melii (named after Jacob Metius, inventor of microscopes, 1606). II. Lceuivenkoekii (named after the celebrated micro- scopist, 1675) with 8 divisions : Monatsb. and Mikro- geo. Pritchard says it has 10. II. Eulerii (named after Euler, the famous optician), with 10 divisions : Monatsberichte ; Pritchard says 12. II. Selliguei (not Selligurii) (after a maker of improved microscopes), with 12 divisions ; Pritchard does not give the number of divisions, but spells the name erroneously (Seli- querii). //. Dol/ondii was first published in the Mikrog. (p. 263) but not figured. It is now generally admitted that there is not sufficient difference between Heliopelta and Actinoptychus to warrant the constitu- tion of a new genus, or that the number of " divisions" are of any specific value. Omphalopelta versicolor is the internal plate of Heliopelta. Frustules of Aulaco- discus margaritaceus not unfrequently occur with the processes differing in number on the opposite valves, and a few days ago I picked out a frustule of Cos- cinodiscus piinctatus. Ehr. (oval var.), the valves of which separated in mounting. One of them has the granules somewhat dtnsely packed, in the other they are close near margin, but scattered as they approach the centre. — F. Kitton. Mourne Diatoms. — Ehrenberg first described the Mourne mountain Diatoms in the Monatsberichte for 1842, and in the Mikrogeologie tab. xv. is de- voted to the forms found in this deposit, which he says is from Mourne Mountains, Down, Ireland. In 1867-8 Dr. Arnott and myself wanted to obtain some of this material, but were unable to do so, and we came to the conclusion that Ehrenberg's sample, re- ceived from the Countess of Caledon, was marked " Mourne " only, and was really the deposit from Lough Mourne, co. Antrim (sold as Lord Roden's Plate Powder), which he erroneously supposed came from the Mourne Mountains. In support of this ex- planation is the fact that the forms he figures are those occurring in Lough Mourne, such as Surirclla Caledonica (named after the Countess), Campylodiscus Hiberiicus, Sec. &c. — F. Kitton. Greenwich Microscopical Society. — "At the Annual Meeting, held at the lecture hall on the 20th December last, Mr. George D. Colsell, of 5 Hamilton Terrace, Hyde Vale, Greenwich, was elected Hon. Secretary of this Society." Magnifying Measurements. — Will any of your more experienced readers kindly explain a difficulty ? I cannot quite understand the magnifying measure of diameters as used in Microscopy. I have hitherto supposed that any object magnified, say 100 diameters, would appear 100 times as long and 100 times as broad as its real size. But when using the combination of I inch objective with B eye-piece, by a celebrated maker, said in his list to magnify seventy-six diameters, and using the stage micrometer as an object — the T J D of an inch divisions only appear to be one-third of an inch long, instead of, as I expected, T 7 iK>> tnat * s > three-quarters of an inch — a very considerable difference. Thus three magnified divisions of the micrometer appear to go to an inch, instead of one division going to three-quarters of an inch. I have hitherto thought that when each division of the micrometer (iooths), drawn by the camera lucida, measured one inch on the paper, the figure was magnified 100 diameters (X 100) ; but if this were so, each division, when viewed by a combination magnifying seventy-six diameters, that is, J of ICO diameters, would naturally appear f of an inch, instead of, as it does, appearing l. I shall be greatly obliged if any of your readers who under- stand the subject will explain my difficulty. — E. A. C. H. Canada Goose. — A few of these birds are shot along the south coast most sharp winters ; it must not be supposed, however, that these come from Canada. The bird is easily domesticated and agrees well with common geese, and may be found in many private grounds in England. It has long been naturalised in many parts of France, as both Buffon and Bewick speak of it as being common there. It is most likely that the bird referred to came from France, as during the prevalence of S.E. winds many wild fowl common to the French coast are to be met with in our own southern estuaries. — F. Cliurton. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 43 ZOOLOGY. The Littel Auk (Mergulus melanoleucos). — A specimen of this bird was picked up at Isleham, on November 2Sth, 1882, driven inland by the severe weather experienced at that time on the coast. — Albert Waters, B.A., Cambridge. Portuguese Men-of-War off the Suffolk Coasts. — It is not a foreign fleet of war vessels here implied, but certain members of the Siphonophora known by the above popular name, and distinguished by zoologists as Pliysalia utriculus. They were driven by the recent storms as far out of their ordinary oceanic coasts as Aldeburgh, where several specimens were secured by Dr. Hele, who kindly forwarded me a couple.— J. E. Taylor. Extracting Minute Snails. — The best plan which G. E. Bishop can adopt is to boil the shells in solution of potassic hydrate [" caustic potash "] ; this dissolves out the snail, and leaves the shell beautifully clean. They must be well washed after- wards in warm water. — R. A. R. Bennett, Oxford. The Butterflies of Europe. — Part XI. of this work contains some of the mosc artistically coloured sketches of butterflies of any yet published. The species and varieties figured and described are those of the genera Melitcea and Vanessa. The Mungoose. — A very interesting pamphlet on the mungoose now being employed on the sugar estates in the West Indies, has just been published by Mr. D. Morris, director of the Public Gardens and Plantations, Jamaica. The experience gained may be of some use in those parts of Australia where the common rabbit is a pest. The mungoose has now be- come^ thoroughly naturalised in Jamaica and Barba- does. It has been estimated that the loss in the sugar estates of Jamaica from the depredations of rats amounted to ,£100,000 per annum. Some of the best estates had actually been thrown out of cultivation by them, but since the introduction of the mungoose from the East Indies these estates have gradually been taken up again. Mr. Morris puts the annual saving from these animals at 90 per cent, of the rat-catching expenses, and at 75 to 80 per cent, of rat-eaten sugar canes. This would represent a total saving to the island of Jamaica alone of nearly £"45,000 per annum. Vitality of Insects in Gases. — Some interest- ing experiments have just been published in the " American Naturalist," to show the difference in tena- city of life enjoyed by some insects over others when exposed to certain noxious gases. The vessels used were large glass bottles fitted with inlet and outlet tubes for the gases. The following results were obtained : Oxygen. — The exhilarating effects of this gas seemed to pass off after a short time, flies living in it from 9 to 29 hours, the common yellow butterfly for 12 hours, a moth (Noctua) for one and a half days. Colorado beetles, although exposed for 3 days, seemed quite uninjured. Hydrogen. — House-flies became quiescent in 20 minutes, although one was able to fly after 24 hours' confinement. Upon Colorado beetles this gas seems to have as little effect as oxygen. A noctua died in 20 minutes, and a black wasp in 10 minutes. Carbonic acid anhydride. — Flies died in 10 to 15 minutes. Colorado beetles recovered after 3 hours' exposure. Bed-bugs also recovered after 2 hours' exposure. Carbonic oxide. — Ants died in half a minute to a minute. Colorado beetles revived after remaining in it for 45 minutes. Prussic-acid and nitrous acid fumes acted fatally in every case. Colorado beetles were the only insects which resisted chlorine after one hour's exposure. Nitrous Oxide. — Colorado beetles lived 2 hours, moths (Noctua) an hour and a half, young grasshoppers were but little affected. Variable mixtures of hydrogen, marsh gas, carbonic oxide and hydrocarbons. — Colorado beetles revived after an hour's exposure. Croton bugs (Eetobia Germanica) after half an hour, young of grasshopper after an hour. A cicada died in 10 minutes. The writer concludes by showing that a new way of preserv- ing insects is possible by having air-tight cases filled with some gas noxious to certain of the smaller insects. " The Practical Naturalist." (Manchester : John Heywood.) This is a new and well-placed competitor in current scientific literature, edited by Messrs. H. S. Ward and H. J. Riley, published at one penny. It promises well in every respect. Provincial Societies. — One of the most grati- fying signs of the times we live in is the multiplication of societies in our provincial cities and towns devoted to the study of natural science. The papers read are often of a high-class character, and the " Reports " and "Transactions" of such societies are therefore increasing in their scientific value. The "Transactions of the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopi- cal Society" contained the following papers : — " On a Nest-Building Fish," by Sylvanus Wilkins ; " On Underground Fungi," by the Rev. M. J. Berkeley; "On the Desmidieae of North Wales," by A. W. Wells ; " Freshwater Aquaria," by R. M. Lloyd ; " Notes on Papyrus," by W. R. Hughes ; " How to Work the Archaean Rocks," by Dr. C. Callaway ; and " On Commencing the Study of Fungi," by Dr. M. C. Cooke. The "Transactions of the Hertfordshire Natural History Society" (vol. ii. part 2) contains papers on "Local Meteorological Observations," by the Rev. C. W. Hervey and Mr. John Hopkinson ; " Notes on Insects observed in Hertfordshire during 1881," by Miss E. A. Ormerod ; "Notes on Birds observed in Hertfordshire " during the same year, by John E. Littleboy ; " On Clilorodosmos hisfiida, a new Flagellate Animalcule," by F. W. Phillips, &c. The " Proceedings of the Belfast Naturalists' Field-Club," 1SS0-81, contains, besides archaeological papers and 44 IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. very interesting accounts of excursions, the follow- ing :—" On the Boulder-Clay of the North-East of Ireland," by S. A.Stewart ;" On a Collection of Birds Shot in Belfast Lough," by Thomas Danagh ; " On Carnivorous Plants," by W. PI. Phillips ; and "Glacial Notes among the English Lakes," by Mr. F. W. Lock wood. The "Proceedings of the Norwich Science-Gossip Club" contains the President's Address, in which we find able abstracts of the papers read during the year. BOTANY. "The Botanical Exchange Club." — The Report of this club for 1S81 has appeared, edited by F. A. Lees, F.L.S., giving lists of new varieties, and new habitats of British plants, with notes and com- ments by various well-known botanists. Proliferous Sundew. — In a recent stroll across Putney Heath I obtained a few specimens of Droscra rotundifotia. On looking these over at home, I found among the sphagnum in which they were growing a single leaf which had become detached at some time. It was somewhat attenuated and the filaments shrivelled, but from the under surface two roots were given off. Near the growing-point these became clear and semi-transparent, whilst the growing-point itself was of the same crimson as the tentacles. From the upper surface three of the tentacles had become developed into buds which had now given rise to as many tiny sundews, each with four or five leaves with minute greenish tentacles. Is it common for Drosera to reproduce itself in this way ? I have had large numbers of them during the last five or six years, but have never noticed a similar case. — E. Step, Putney. "The Gardener's Chronicle " gives an interest- ing account of the effects of the stinging tree (Laportea gigas). The pain produced by the sting of a single hair on the right hand gave rise to remarkable symp- toms ; the pain being confined to the right side of the body, succeeded by a numbness and slight paralysis. Besides the pain, a sensation of losing the senses, or rather of becoming insane, was experienced. The severe symptoms lasted two hours ; the spot pricked remaining constantly painful for nearly a month after being stung. Early Flowers. — I picked to-day several specimens of Alereurialis perennis with male ilowers fully expanded. I have never known it so early. It grew on a sheltered bank. We have in our garden winter aconite, hepaticas (double and single), anemones, Alpine auricula, primrose?, violets, polyanthus and pansies in bloom. — M. E. Pope, Paddock Wood, Kent. GEOLOGY. MR. WIIITAKER'S READINGS OF RED CHALK.* My remarks I will limit to Hunstanton Chalk, Knowing nothing of Lincoln and little of York, Perfection I pine for — but still I must talk — Unanimity in drawing a different conclusion, From like premises adds to our native confusion, Yet this is the way that geologists mull, Giving birth to my Norfolk (not Irish) "bull." If we tot up the notions from which one may choose, We find there are fifteen quite possible views ; But eight I dismiss without an apology, By the aid of known fossils — or Palaeontology. Thus seven remain, of which two, none have thought, Though over the five they have squabbled and fought, And to the discussion bad reasoning brought. One takes up his views — oh, is it not droll ! Because "correlation's" the greed of his soul. While another whose thoughts are unsound and unripe, Founds all his conclusions on what he calls "type." But this let him smoke and put in his pipe — "Ever-varying Nature, in monotonous way, Never lays down a bed universal of clay," So why should at Folkestone lie " typical " gault ? Mr. Wiltshire, methinks that your reason's at fault. Why should Nature be "squared" to a type in this way, Explain it, O Wiltshire, explain it, I say. Now let us from fossils discuss the rocks' age, And try to decipher this obscure page Of Nature, and list to the words of a sage ! Your minds with the details I wish not to plague, For really the state of my own is but vague. But of seven conclusions we're left with but two, Which from fifteen at first is reducing "a few," But then one of them must be certainly true. It is Lower Chalk, or it is that and Gault, But between these opinions at present I halt, And so would all others if worth but their salt ! This is my belief to close all the talk, And none can gainsay it — Red Chalk is — Red Chalk. A. Conifer. The Geologists' Association.— No 6 of Vol. VII. of the " Proceedings " of this society contains papers on " The Progress and Prosperity of English Submarine Tunnels," by C. E. De Ranee, F.G.S. ; " Description of a Section across the River Severn," * " The Red Chalk of ISforfolk." Part of Presidential Address to the Norwich Geological Society. Geo. Mag., Jan. 1833. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 45 by Evans D. Jones ; "On the Geographical Distri- bution of Corals," by Stuart O. Ridley, F.L.S. ; together with interesting accounts of various geo- logical Excursions. Fossn. Worms. — Dr. G. J. Hinde has kindly forwarded us his paper (communicated to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences) "On Annelid Remains from the Silurian Strata of the Isle of Gotland." The descriptions are based chiefly on the jaws of errant worms found in the soft shales of Frojel and Wisby. Most of them belonged to worms nearly related to the existing Eunicea, nine species of which are here described under the generic name of Eunicites. Another genus, called Ononites, includes eight species ; the genus Arabellites has ten species, and Lumbriconereites four species. The jaws of all these species are beautifully figured. We have a great deal of real solid palseontological work here packed away in a very small space. This paper cannot fail to enhance Dr. Hinde's growing reputa- tion. Fossil "Walking-Stick" Insects. — Until the present only no species of insects were known from the Carboniferous rocks of the whole world. In France none were known until 1877, when M. Brongniart received some wings of Blattida? from St. Etienne ; and in the same year was sent him from Commentry a Phasmian, described under the name of Protophasma Dumasii. Since that date, at least 430 impressions have been obtained from the coal- measures of Commentry ; these include 300 Blattidse and 130 insects of various orders. From M. Fayol M. Brongniart has just received a remarkable Orthopteron of gigantic size, found in fine blackish shales at Com- mentry. All parts of the body, except the upper part of the thorax and abdonien, are preserved. It approaches the Phasmid?e or "walking-stick" insects most closely ; and to that group M. Brongniart refers it as forming a new genus, under the name of Titano- phasma Fayoli. ■ The genus Titanophasma comes nearest to" Protophasma among fossil forms ; among recent types it resembles Phibalosoma in size and the general form of the j body, and in the presence of numerous spines and . warts upon its legs. The occurrence of insects in which mimicry is so highly developed as in this group, so far back as the Carboniferous period, suggests that they must have had enemies, at present unknown to us, against which they were protected by their resemblance to inanimate objects. "The Missing' Link."— Whether this remark- able specimen of humanity now exhibited at the Westminster Aquarium is a " missing link " or not, nobody will deny it is of the greatest interest. It is a child seven years of age, capable 'of speech, whose body is covered with short, dense, soft hair ; with feet prehensile, hands capable of being bent quite back on the wrist, pouched cheeks, used to store food as in the monkeys, jaws slightly prognathic. It will not do nowadays to settle such an anomaly by calling it a lusus natures, for most naturalists are agreed that "sports" and "monstrosities" are often only "re- versions to ancestral conditions." The father of the child was covered with hair in a similar manner. The family was discovered in the Lao country, by Mr. Carl Bock, the well-known traveller and anthropo- logist. Miss Bird, in her charming book on Japan, describes the short, hairy aboriginal race of that country, known as Ainos ; and more recently Mr. A. H. Keene has described the Aino ethnology more fully and scientifically. In the extreme east of Asia we have these dwarf hairy Ainos fast becoming extinct ; and now a Siamese hairy family turns up with decidedly simian characteristics. In Burmah hairy people have been occasionally known. It will be remembered that, many years ago, Mr. Everett was sent to Borneo to explore the caves for possible early remains of man, as it has always been imagined that it is to the tropical and subtropical parts of the extreme East we should look for "missing links" between humanity and the lower animals. NOTES AND QUERIES. A poisonous Lizard, and new Snakes. — Perhaps those of your correspondents who do not already know about it, would like to hear that a new and poisonous lizard has been discovered in America, named the Heloderm. It can kill a guinea pig in three minutes ; its food at the Zoological Gardens consists of eggs and mice ; it is thought that its natural food is reptiles ; it has therefore been offered a grass-snake and a slowworm ; but it has taken no notice of them. It is a short thick-set, dull-looking creature ; its colour is dull yellow with dark 'mottlings ; its length I omitted to ascertain. - Some new snakes have been discovered about Jeddah ; there are several at the Zoological Gardens. Noting from one now before me, its description is as follows. Its length is about 5 feet ; it is very slender, and has an extremely thin and tapering tail. Its ground colour is a pinkish brown, the former hue predominating ; the fore part of its body is darker than the latter, and indistinctly spotted, while the tail end is clear and light, thus giving the creature a very strange appearance. Its head is noticeable, the eyes seeming to project above the top of the head, frog fashion. It feeds on frogs and mice, the latter for preference, and likes to lie in water. I shall be happy to send portions of the cast skin to a few microscopists, if they desire it. Can any correspondent tell me anything of the food or habits of the bombadier or fire-bellied toad [Bonibihdibr igneus) of which I have lately caught a specimen in Belgium ? — H. C. Brooke. White Flowered Plants. — I have the following plants with white flowers -.—Ajuga reptans (buglef, York. Lychnis Flos-cuculi (ragged robin), Pen Maen Mawr, North Wales. Polygonum hydropiper , (water pepper), York. Prunella vulgaris (self- • heal), Pen Maen Mawr, North Wales. Centaurea Scabiosa (great knapweed), Seaton. — Alfred Mailer, 1 York. 4 6 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Mildness of Season.— A specimen of the small white {Pieris Rapee) was captured in a garden near Nottingham on January 6. — IT. Allen. The Cricket. — With much interest I have read the paper on the production of sound by crickets, written in the last number of Science-Gossip by H. T. Bacon. But is that gentleman quite right in stating that the French name of this insect is " cri- cri " ? During the many years I lived in France I never heard it called anything but lc grillon ; under which name it is apostrophised by Beranger, in the well-known song, beginning : "Au coin de l'atre oil je tisonne, En revant a je ne sais quoi, Petit Grillon, chante avec moi Qui, deja vieux, toujours chansonne. Petit Grillon, n'ayons ici, N'ayons du monde aucun souci." La Fontaine and Florian have also made le grillon the subject of several of their fables. — IV. T. Greene. Mud Inhabitants.— It appears to me, that the green mud mentioned by R. M. W. in last Science- Gossip as a species of the unicellular chlorophyllous alga, Palmella, is possibly the form uriformis, and the " creature " described and inquired about, a Rotifer vulgaris. They are very common, and usually found in such habitats as "spouts of a building." Dr. Lankester's "Half-hours with the Microscope " figures and speaks of both Palmella and Rotifer. — H. W. Lett, M.A. Mud Inhabitants. — The little creature, en- quired after by R. M. W. in the December number of Science-Gossip, is the larva of a gnat, which I have often watched under a " half inch." It forms a mud house; and to see it building the same is amusing. It seems to hold by the tail when so occupied. I have taken a quantity of them with the mud and water out of the spout, put all in a basin, covered with muslin; after a while the sides will be ornamented with their mud retreats ; then gnats will be the result. In the same spout I have found Rotifer vulgaris, also " rolling balls," which may be Langenclla eitehlora, for they have the " red eye " as figured in Pritchard's *' Infusoria," 1852, plate 1, figs. 27, 28. — F. S. Sea Birds near Cambridge. — I have more than once seen gulls flying over the low-lying meadows even close to the town [of Cambridge]. I was greatly surprised, I remember, when I first saw them some winters ago, and could scarcely believe they were, what they proved to be, viz. sea-birds. This winter several guillemots, shearwaters, and common gulls have been captured in the county, especially in Bur- well and Toleham fens and near Newmarket. — Albert II. Waters, B.A., Cambridge. Large Viper. — What can have possessed Mr R. T. Green to so stoutly dispute my statement of the fact that I had killed an unusually large specimen of the female viper ? Permit me to assure him that it is he that has made a mistake, not I, for the reptile killed by me was a veritable viper (Peliits verus), and not a common snake (Tropidonotus natrix), nor was it a small crowned smooth snake [Coronella Icevis, which latter, judging from descriptions I have read, and coloured figures I have seen, much more nearly resembles the common viper than does the former, and probably few experienced naturalists would mis- take either one for the other. The colour, markings, general appearance, and attitude when attacked, serve, at once, to distinguish the viper from its harmless congeners. Your correspondent seems to be ignorant of the fact that the common English viper, like other members of the family Viperidne ; is ovo-viviparous — that is to say, brings forth its young alive from eggs hatched internally. The concurrent testimony of the ablest naturalists is too well estab- lished to be shaken by a single ex parte statement — a statement which, if not contradicted, might possibly mislead some few young naturalists into believing that vipers were viviparous, instead of ovo-viviparous. But for this, I should consider it quite unnecessary to trouble you to insert this reply. I may add that usually young vipers are born with fragments of their egg cases adherent to them.- — Edward H. Robertson. The Dormouse. — In answer to your correspondent " Meta," I am pleased to answer questions about the dormouse, of which I have had plenty of experience. It should be kept in a nice roomy cage, with a divided off sleeping-place, which should be filled with soft hay. It should have daily a slice of apple, or a little bread and milk, and three or four nuts, which must be taken from their shells for it. A little hemp is good now and then as a change, in cold weather. It should be kept in a warm room, or it will sleep all the winter ; even then it will occasionally sleep for a day or two, and when found so, should not be suddenly awakened, or this will in course of time damage its constitution. It should certainly not have one of those atrocious ' ' wheel cages " which generally result in severed tails, and, where two are kept, frequently in dislocated necks. Many years ago, I kept two squirrels in a wheel cage ; one got its back injured, another got its tail cut off. I have often seen mice tailless through being kept in these tread- mills. I do not approve of teaching dormice tricks, white and common mice are the best for that. The dormouse is naturally delicate and sleepy, and prefers trotting up and down its owner's arm, to running along a tight rope with a flag in its mouth. To give it exercise, fix some forked twigs in its cage, and then you will afford it a beneficial means of amuse- ment. I think, also, that owing to its sleepy nature, it would be rather hard to teach it tricks. If " Meta " desires any more information, I shall be happy to give it, on receipt of a letter addressed — H. C. Brooke, Grammar School, Staplehurst. The Dormouse. — "Meta" should feed her pet with nuts, beech mast, bread and milk, and a little corn ; but it will require little, if any, food in winter, unless the weather be very mild, or the temperature of the room in which it is kept be warm enough to rouse it into activity. No mice in a natural state hibernate, and spend the cold weather in a state of torpidity, but warmth rouses them easily. I had one dear little dormouse, so gentle and tame, it was a great favourite, and it had gone to sleep in its warm nest of cotton-wool and hay, in a tiny wooden box up in my bed-room, when one night I ordered a fire to be lighted, and next morming found my pet dead in the bath. The poor little thing had been roused by the warmth of the room, came out of its box, and climbed up the bath in search probably of water ; for I have noticed that they are very thirsty when first they awaken in spring. I never attempted to teach mine any tricks, but I found them very easy to tame and gentle when handled. I much prefer dormice to squirrels ; some of the latter bite severely, as I know to my cost. — Helen E. Watncy. Observations on two Spiders. — On entering my office this morning, I observed two spiders in close companionship upon one of the window panes, and on drawing near too rashly, surmised that one of them was in the act of draining the vital fluids from HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 47 the other. Upon touching them however, they slowly separated, and I then saw that they had been attached by an organ, which I did not at the moment recognize as one of the palpi, but which I was after- wards satisfied was really the case. Although dis- turbed by my touch, the spiders only drew back a short distance from each other, apparently being oblivious of my presence, so closely was their atten- tion concentrated upon each other. The male spider remained perfectly stationary, with its long and almost transparent legs advanced, and moving with a tremu- lous but regular motion, as though lightly tapping upon the glass. This movement was apparently quite intelligible to the female spider, which slightly responded, and then slowly advanced to the male, which, however, made no movement forward, but awaited until the female was in close companionship, when it touched her abdomen with one of its clubbed palpi, which it pressed gently but firmly against the region of the ovipositor, withdrawing it again immediately, this was repeated about three times, when I perceived a minute drop of transparent fluid upon the place which had been touched, but whether this proceeded from the palpus of the male, or the body of the female, I could not perceive, but imagine it exuded from the female. The male now pressed its palpina more firmly against the female, and apparently found some orifice or organ of attachment, for it was retained in that position for perhaps a couple of minutes. After repeating these processes the male remained stationary for perhaps a couple of minutes, slowly rubbing its clubbed palpi together, after which it slowly withdrew. Only one of the palpi was employed, so far as I could perceive, but the light coming strongly through the glass enabled me very clearly to note the action of the spiders, although I had no lens to assist my eyes, and was enabled to more clearly follow their movements in consequence of the transparency of their limbs ; for they were not the heavy dark house spiders, but, I believe, a species commonly found inhabiting a large, light web under the shelter of grassy banks. I need scarcely add that the spiders were un- doubtedly occupied in the processes of coition, but how far my observations coincide with what is known of their action during this process, I cannot say, as I have never read anything on the subject. — E. Lamplough , Hull. Sea Anemones. — Sea anemones always eject their food in the way described by R. Mc Aldwie, and he should either keep marine scavengers in the vase, or have a pair of the proper long wooden pincers, for removing any ejected scraps of beef or fish on which they have been fed. When living near the sea, I had some large tanks well stocked with different kinds of sea flowers, and I found it very necessary to keep the water pure, otherwise my stock sickened and died off. — Helen E. Watney. Autumn Dog's Mercury {Mercurialis perennis). — This plant has been found as an autumn flower for the past three seasons. The stations are some- times different from those of the primroses, and are warm, sunny ditch banks, on a light soil, in which circumstances they obtain a maximum of both heat and moisture. They also occur with primroses in woods, as described in the following paragraph. In December 1881 several plants in full fruit were gathered in South Beds. It would be well if observers of earliest dates would bear these facts in mind. Such plants as wild hyacinth, pilewort, hazel, and hawthorn, are of much more value for phenological observations. — J. S., Luton. Autumn Primroses. — This is now (1882) the third season in succession in which primroses have been plentiful during the autumn in several woods in South Beds. In fact, one begins to expect them regularly, and to wonder for how many seasons they may have blossomed unobserved. The stations in which they occur, are those portions of woodland in which the undergrowth has been recently cut down, and consequently the rootstocks are more exposed to the stimulating action of the sunlight, than those that grow in the more shaded parts. They are generally to be found in such situations during the whole of the winter, in more or less abundance, according to the weather, and the writer has gathered them in each month from September to the following June. — J. S., Luton. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now publish Science-Gossip earlier than heretofore, we cannot possibly insert in the following number any communications which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. To Anonymous Querists. — We receive so many queries which do not bear the writers' names that we are forced to adhere to our rule of not noticing them. 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. E. C. J. — Your application' came much too late for us to accede to your request. E. A. C. H. — Get Dr. Cooke's "Ponds and Ditches," price ■zs. 6d., published by the Christian Knowledge Society. It will introduce you to some of our common infusoria. " Microscopic Fungi," by the same author, coloured plates, price 6s. London : D. Bogue. " British Sea-Weeds," by W. H. Grattame, pub- lished at the " Bazaar" Office, price 2s. 6d. C. R. L. — The galls on oak leaves sent, go by the name of " artichoke galls," from their resemblance to the artichoke. They are formed by a neuropterous insect, called Aphilothrix gemmce. A. Thompson. — The minute objects from stomach of cod-fish are fragments of the tests of small sea-urchins. Miss S. Glasgott. — Will you kindly send us your full address ? Your note does not contain it. James Smith (Aberdeen). — Professor Owen is still alive and working, and we hope he may continue so for years to come. The President of the Royal Society is Dr. Spottiswoode; the President of the British Association is Dr. Siemens. W. G. W. — We think you will find Huxley and Martin's " Elementary Biology" quite sufficient. You might get the re- agents from Hunter and Sands, 20 Cranbourne Street, who would no doubt also procure you the skeleton of a frog. You would find McAlpine's " Biological Atlas" of great use. A. Bealy. — " Land and Water " is published weekly, price 6d., at 176 Fleet Street, London. " The Midland Naturalist " is published at 3 St. Martin's Place, at 6d. monthly. " The Naturalists' Monthly " is published by John Heywood, Man- chester, at a penny a month. E. W. Andrews. — Your letter miscarried, and we have only- just received it. We shall be happy to forward a letter from you to Dr. De Crespigny. H. C. Brooke. — Accept our best thanks for the specimens of cast skins of snakes you have sent us. W. M. Stevenson. — The " London Catalogue" is a list of acknowledged and recognised British species and well-marked varieties of plants It is published at 6d. by D. Bogue, 3 St. Martin's Place, Trafalgar Square. You cannot do better than procure (after using Messer's " Analysis ") Hooker's " Student's Flora of the British Islands," published by Macmillan at ior. 6d. H. G. Brieklev. — It is difficult to identify a species of such difficult plants as the freshwater alga; from so small a portion as you sent us, but we have little doubt it is Batrachospermnm alpestre. J. Smith. — Your question is rather obscure, but we presume you allude to the swollen condition of grain. This may be pro- duced by the microscopical fungus popularly known as the " bladder brand," from its swelling the grain. It is a stage in the development of Tilletia caries. W. Officer. — Will you kindly send us another specimen, as your others were lost in transit ': 48 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Meta.— Alas! The chrysalis reached us in as flattened a State as the arm of a strong post-office clerk could reduce it to by stamping. EXCHANGES. Will those applicants for polyzoa, which were advertised to be given away in the December number of Science-Gossip who have not already arranged for the expense of sending, kindly forward three or four stamps for postage ! The immense number of applications renders this request a necessity. Sections of the meteorite of Braunfels, containing fluid- cavities with vacuoles in perpetual motion ; well mounted. Will take in exchange scientific books.— H. Hensoldt, 7 Machell Road, Nunhead, Lundon, S.E. Wanted, three good specimens of Cladonta sylvatica. or of Sticta sylvatica for three of Sticta intricata, var. Thouarsii.— James McAndrew, New Galloway, N.B. ' Microscope, slides and apparatus cost 8/. Vv hat offers in books ?— F. Long, 20 Lome Street, Burnley, Lancashire. Fossil diatoms from Frauzensbad in Bohemia, and Celle in Hanover (any quantity), in exchange for whatever good micro- material, mounted or unmounted. — T. C. Rinnbock, 14 Sim- mering, near Vienna, Austria. Wanted, a correspondent in Ireland to exchange aquatic (phanerogamic) plants ; rarity is not so much wanted as good and carefully-dried specimens. European and British aquatic phanerogams, junci, or carices offered. — A. B., High Street, Croydon, Surrey. Wings of Urania ripha>us (most brilliant lepidopteron I known), Ornithoptera rhadaiuanthus, Procridae (green foresters, metallic scales), for the microscope ; the following shells : Helix ericetorum, Chiton marginatus, Helix Cantiana, Trochus tumidus, Bulimus acutus, Trockus cinerarins, Venus fasciat us, Xatica Alderi, Venus ovata, Zonites ccllarins, Cyclostoma elegdns, Vcncrufis iris, Tapes virgincus. Several species of Madagascar coleoptera, wood-section (Japanese). Desiderata, mounted microscopic objects, speci- mens of the Chrysididae, Rye's "British Beetles" or Messer's " British Wild Flowers by Natural Analysis."— Joseph Anderson, jun., Chichester, Sussex. Will send list of micro slides to choose from for unmounted material.— S. R. Hallam, 22 High Street, Burton-on-Trent. A packet of twelve unmounted animal hairs, including lion tiger, leopard, hyaena; black, white and grizzly bears, and' others for well-mounted slide.— A. Draper, 275 Abbey Dale Road, Sheffield. . «•' Scarce unmounted animal hairs for other objects ot interest. —A. Draper, 275 Abbey Dale Road, Sheffield. • . Wanted Carpenter's ''Microscope and its Revelations, 6th edition ; will give in exchange Cassell's "History of the War between" France and Germany," 2 vols, cloth gilt, illustrated, and Cassell's ".Household Guide," vol. 1.— J. Bur- ton, 78 Theobalds Road, London. L. C. 7tfr ed., offered 107, 858, 859, gob, 936, 1422, and others. Wanted rare British potamogetons, orchids, or other plants.— Alfred Waller, 17 Low Ousegate, York. _ Wanted unmounted, histological, human, and animal, also pathological sections stained .or- not, also parts of insects, cleaned foraminifera, diatoms, spicules, botanical sections of stems, and wood sections, stained or not, also well-mounted slides'of the rarer chemicals, as platino-cyanide of magnesium, chloride of palladium and thallium salts. First-class slides &c, in exchange.— Frederick Martin, Clevedon. Large phonograph cost seven guineas, for sale or exchange, what offers?— H. W. Wager, Bank Buildings, Regent Street, Stonehouse, Glos. _ .... , Some very interesting microscopic life, ottered in exchange for British land and freshwater shells, or a tube will be sent on receipt of six stamps to defray cost of postage, tubes, &c.— H. W. Wager, Bank Buildings, Regent Street, Stonehouse, Glos. . Exotic Lepidoptera.— Many species in duplicate, to ex- change for others, exotic only. Wanted particularly species of the genus Papilio for figuring, with a view to a monograph of the genus.— J. C.Hudson, Railway Ter., Cross Lane, Man- chester. . . , 1 will send a packet containing 36micro-fungi, or 24 spicules of sponges, Gorgonias, &c, some rare and all accurately named, in exchange for 3 really well mounted micro slides on glass slips. Sections and parasites preferred, no diatoms.— J. Tempere, Storrington; Sussex. . Wanted, Huxley's " Crayfish," Gosse s Manual of Marine Zoology," Bell's "Crustacea," and Itnyn's " Cyclas and Pisidium."— J. Darker Butterell, 2 St. John Street, Beverley. Wanted, tintoil for electric purposes, carbon clamps, binding screws and any cheap electricity apparatus. State lowest price and particulars to — K., 7, St. Paul's Close, Walsall. , „ . . . ... Having a large number of stamps, of all descriptions, both in albums or singly, or in sina 1 quantities, I will exchange them 'or microscopic slides, fossils, electric apparatus, or anything small, in scientific way. Write enclosing particulars to— K., 7 St: Paul's Close, Walsall. Eggs of king-bird, bluebird, American robin, chipping sparrow, dicker, Indian swift, weaver-bird, scissorbill, and many others, also some English and foreign nests to exchange for other-. — Geo. A. Widdas, Woodsley View, Leeds. A collection of foreign shells from South Africa, West Indies, &c, in exchange for British specimens on natural history, or popular works on the same. — S. B. Axford, 15 Commercial Road, Bournemouth. For exchange, about two hundred species of British lepid- optera. Desiderata: British or foreign lepidoptera; or offers. — A. H. Shepherd, 4 Cathcart Street, Kentish Towd, London. Lindsay's "British Lichens," Landsborough's "British Zoophytes," Lewis's "Sea Side Studies," &c, offered in ex- change for Bell's " Stalk-eyed Crustacea," or " Quadrupeds," Bates' " Sessile-eyed Crustacea," Johnston's "Zoophytes," and other Natural History works. — C. A. Grimes, Dover. A second-hand book called " Rural Bird Life," by Charles Dixon, which I should like to exchange for some fossils. — F. B. Mason, St. Gregory's, Stratford -on- A von. Wanted, trilobites and other Silurian fossils, encrinites with heads. Fossils, corals, and small recent corals, foreign. Cape, limpets, large ones, flint implements. Crystals from lead, iron and copper min^s, also any kinds of fossil Crustacea. Exchange, Haldon fossils, upper greensand ; limestone, fossils, Devon ; polished slabs of Devon corals and sponges ; minerals, Devon and Cornwall ; live marine animals, etc., and sections of the DevoniaiVcorals for the micro'. — A. J. R. Sclater, Mineralogist, Bank Street, Teignmouth, Devon. Wanted to know where I could get th« specimens of animal, and plant life mentioned in Huxley and Martin's " Elementary Biology." Also skeleton of frog, and the more uncommon re- agents referred to. — W. G. Woollcombe, The College, Brighton. Some typical rocks, fossils, and minerals offered in exchange for land and freshwater shells, recent or fossil, foreign or British. — B. B. Woodward, 51 Aynhoe Road, West Kensington Park, W. Wanted to exchange Foraminifera (mounted or unmounted: and Polycistinae mounted for other Foraminiferal material, diatoms or other objects. — Harvey, 2 Short Street, Cambridge. " English Mechanic," vols. 29 to 35, first six bound half- calf, cost £1. 12J., also "World of Wonders," Cassell's, coster, bound, also, number of common birds' eggs, such as rooks', wrens', &c. Will exchange for works by Darwin, Huxley, Proctor, Tyndall, Wilson, &c, for minerals, fossils, eggs, or insects. The minerals and fossils may be common as I have got none. — James Smith, 27^, George Street, Aberdeen. BOOKS, ETC., RECEIVED. " Report of Department of Agriculture," 1880. Washington : Government Printing Office. " Propagation of Food Fishes, &c. Commissioners' Report," 1882. Washington : Government Printing Office. " Colin Clout's Calendar." By Grant Allen. London : Chatto 6c Windus. "Man before Metals." By . London: C. Kegan Paul, &Co. " Studies in Microscopical Science." Edited by A. C. Cole. " Journal of Conchology." " Land and Water." . — " Northern Microscopist." "Midland Naturalist." / '' " Practical Naturalist." - f "The Field Naturalist." : " The Young Naturalist." . • " Natural History Notes." _ , . • " County Notes." " American Naturalist." " Canadian Naturalist." " American Monthly Microscopical Journal." " Boston Journal of Chemistry." " Good Health." . "The Botanical Gazette." " The Southern Science Record." . . - ■ ' " La Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes. ' " Le Monde de la Science." | . . " Ciel et Terre." " Cosmos : les Mondes." " Bulletin de la Socie'te Beige de Microscopic" &.C. &c. &c Communications received' up to iith ult. from : — R H.-F. L.-J. McA- H. H.-J. C. R.-E: C. J.— J. G.- A. H. W.— M. E. P.— H. R. A— A. B.— J. A., jun.— J. C— c F g.-J. B.— H. W. W.— W. B. G.-F. M.— J. S.— H. C. B. -A. D.- C. M.- E.W. A.-A. W.— W. B.— E. S.— J. S.-C. A. — R A R B.— H. E. W;— A. E. G.-W. O.— W. M. S.— A W.-S. R. H.-S. R. B.-T. M. R.-W. F.— B. B. W.— I T — F K— T. S.-C. L. C.-C. K.— T. K.— F. B. M.— N. A. J _r' \. G.— J. S.— A. H. S.— W. B. G.— F. A. A. S.— E. A.C. H. — A'.'j. R. S.— E. C.'j:— W..F.-J. D. B.-A. H. B.— G . r>. c— W; H. J.— R. U. W.— S. B. A.— G. A. W.— P. E. — W. G. W.— S. S.— J. S— A. B.— &c. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 49 AN INQUIRY INTO THE ALLEGED HABIT OF HIBER- NATION AMONG NORTH AMERICAN SWALLOWS. By CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M.D. [Continued from page 27.] N the reference made by Kalm to swallows, he spe- cifies the barn- swallow as being that which he saw on the 10th of April (new style), I750, in a wet, spiritless condi- tion, sitting on posts and planks. Now, in this case, we have a species of swallow that differs greatly in its habits from the preceding. While sociable, and willing that a neighbour should dwell near by, they are by no means gregarious ; and it is often observed that but a single nest will be in a building, however large it may be. Unlike the bank or cliff swallows, they are quite contented to seek their food, flitting over fields, and about the buildings wherein are placed their nests. They are not to be associated with water or its vicinity, any more than with the driest stretches of dusty fields. How then, are we to explain the soaked appear- ance of those seen by Kalm, sitting on posts and planks ? I think the preceding sentence explains it. He saw these birds first on the 10th of April, and on the next, far greater numbers of them, sitting on posts and planks. They had but reached their destination — probably had ju3t completed a pro- tracted flight of hundreds of miles ; and also, bear in mind, they travel at night, and probably only at night ; they were seen in the morning, as he ex- pressly states. Thoroughly fagged, at the end of a No. 219.— March 1883. long journey, and early in the morning, when all else was dripping with the moisture of a rain-like dew, would it not be strange indeed, if these new- comers, like all animate and inanimate nature about them, were not "as wet, as if they had been just come out of the sea " ? But the barn swallow asks no lengthy holiday on his arrival. He quickly recuperates, and the duties of the hour are squarely met. If, during the summer, his wanderings are less about water than land ; it is to the water that he goes first, when ready to con- struct his nest, or repair the structure of last summer. By the water's edge, he carefully mixes the adhering mud that forms the exterior of his house. Here, we have a repetition of what I mentioned with reference to the cliff swallows. Just at the time when the supposed mud-encased swallow should leave his submarine abode, and all bedraggled, wet and worn, should be seen spreading himself in the sun, and drying out, in readiness for a summer's campaign — then do we really find the beautiful barn swallows busy at the water's edge, and often well wet through ; but, instead \ of having lately emerged from the water, they have literally dropped from the clouds. But if, for many and good reasons, we set aside, as a misconception of the facts, the impression still retained by many, that swallows hibernate in the mud, at the bottoms of lakes and rivers — what have we to say of the more reasonable proposition that they hibernate, as do many animals in underground retreats, in clefts of the rocks and even in hollow trees ? Now, the one simple way to decide this matter, is to find them hibernating, as they are said to do. So far as my own experience extends, I have never found a swallow hibernating in any position, nor do I ever expect to ; and, furthermore, I believe nine- tenths of all the accounts that are published of the discovery of the hibernating swallows, could be So HARJDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. readily explained as something very different, if all the facts of the case could be ascertained. But when we come to study very closely the habits of a familiar bird, that to all but ornithologists is a veritable swallow, our common swift or "chimney-swallow," then I am fairly staggered, and find myself saying beneath my breath, " After all ! " In conclusion, then, it behoves me to consider this common chimney swallow very carefully and can- didly, and determine how far certain occurrences that I have witnessed, are indicative of hibernation. In a large unused chimney of an old house built in 1708, standing near my home, thousands of chimney swallows annually congregate, arriving in April — or appearing then — and departing, well ! I am not certain when. Now this chimney has an internal surface of about 425 square feet, and allowing one square foot to each nest, will accommodate so many pairs of swallows. But I find that not more than one-third of the avail- able space is utilised. At this rate, there would be one hundred and forty pairs of swallows occupying the chimney at one time. Now this may seem like a fish story, but it is an inconsiderable fraction of the truth. I have carefully timed by my watch an un- broken line of entering and out-going swallows, and seen them in these processions steadily enter and re- appear for five and a half minutes, without a break, each bird followed by another so closely, that inter- vening spaces were scarcely discernible. The down- Avard and upward series were of course different birds to a certain extent, and it is a fair estimate to say that fully one thousand swallows were making a nesting and roosting place of this one chimney at the one time. Not the least curious feature of these large colonies is the evident fact that but a small proportion of these birds are nesting at this time ; and we are lost in amazement, when considering that the fragile eggs and tender fledglings should escape destruction, sur- rounded as they are by such a crowd of jostling, climbing, crawling, tireless swallows. Nor is it at all easy to reach any definite conclusion concerning the object of these non-nesting birds, in thus continu- ously through the day entering their roosting-place — the chimney. Now these particulars are mentioned in this con- nection, to show that many hundreds of these birds often roost in the one place, and must be very closely packed together when all are at home. For a portion of every twenty-four hours they are well able to with- stand the depressing influences of a crowded condition, with certainly a minimum of fresh air to breathe. The same conditions would prove fatal to most other birds, if indeed not to all others. This feature of the summer-life of these birds please bear in mind. Any time after the middle of September there is likely to be a change. A severe north-east storm coming, they are gone ! A week may pass, and not a swallow is to be seen. You may listen at the chimney holes, and not a swallow is to be heard. The sky is as birdless as in bleak December. But again the weather becomes warm ; our magnificent October days are come. The mellowest sunshine of all the year gilds the broad meadows and adds a glory to the scarlet maples ; and, again, scores of chimney swallows as before are flitting all day long in the cloudless skies. Whence come these birds? They are not so many, indeed, as were here before the biting north-east winds bade all our summer birds depart ; but far too many to consider them as mere stragglers. Indeed they are too strong of wing to be thus looked upon. We felt, or might have felt certain, that the swallows had gone ; but with the returning cheery days, these birds are again with us. Either they were closely stowed away during the storm, or they are more northern birds which, leaving their summer haunts beyond the track of the storm that visited us, had only reached us as they were moving southward after the storm had passed. This, I think, very likely is the truth of the matter ; but many circumstances strongly point to the former supposition — that of temporary shelter during the storm. Here is an instance. On the 4th of October of the past year, the weather with us was warm, the thermometer ranging from 65 to 85 Fahr. Throughout the morning there was a brisk shower, or series of them ; but by 2 p.m. it had cleared, with a gentle wind from the north. It gradually grew colder, and by sunrise on the 5 th, the temperature had fallen to 40 Fahr., and the wind had increased in violence. All this day thousands of chimney swallows, and a few of other species, were seen flying southward ; keeping as near to the ground as possi- ble — just avoiding the tree tops, and in open spaces, often just clearing the ground. They were in dense flocks, and appeared to be driven helplessly before the cutting blasts of the north wind then prevailing. The weather moderated the next day, and on the 7th of the month, there were very many swallows flying about just^as usual ; they did not finally disappear before the 20th of October. Such flocks of swallows, as I have mentioned, are certainly indicative of a voluntary or forced migra- tion, to a certain extent. What becomes of such storm-driven colonies (and they are an annual occur- rence) I cannot say ; but they are certainly indicative of the habit of migration obtaining among these birds, to a certain extent. On the other hand, what of the many swallows that remained for fully two weeks after the storm I have mentioned ? As bearing upon this point, the following is worthy of note. In December, 1879, I had occasion to have a wood-stove removed from a fireplace, and one for burning coal put in its place. The removed stove had not had a fire in it for nearly a year. On detaching the pipe, there were found seven swallows in one of the elbows, occupying the space between the angle and the IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 5* damper. They were all perfectly well and compara- tively vigorous. On being placed upon the floor of the room, they soon recovered their full senses, and after a feeble flight about the room, passed quickly through an open window and were seen no more. The great bulk of the chimney swallows apparently departed by the 25th of October of that year. I certainly saw none later ; yet fifty-five days after that date, seven are found, in fine health and strength, snugly stowed away in a stove pipe. It is fair to suppose that they had lived for this length of time without food. If so, have we any right to limit the length of time that they may thus remain in a semi-torpid or hibernating condition ? To maintain that such a question is reasonable, is not an attempt to carry water upon both shoulders ; for swallows' hibernation in sheltered places, surrounded by the atmosphere, is vastly different from lying in mud at the bottom of a lake or the ocean. In a second somewhat similar instance that has come to my knowledge, a number of these birds were found in a hollow sycamore which was cut down in the month of February. These birds were dead when I saw them, and I was assured by the wood-cutter that they were stiff and cold when he took them from the tree. They were not frozen, however, and the appearance, on dissection, was such as to lead to the belief that they had died but very recently ; certainly before the tree was cut down, but not long previously. There was no decomposi- tion ; some trace of fatty tissue, and the blood liquid ; the bowels and stomach empty, but moist, soft, and flexible. In this case, happening during a remarkably mild winter, that of 1879-80, it is possible that swallows might survive in such quarters, when a season of ordinary severity would destroy them. It is claimed that we do not know where the winter haunts of these birds are ; if so, may it not be that, like the almost as abundant bats, these birds congregate in caves or hollow trees ? But if we grant this much, these hibernating places are not to be looked for in New England or the Middle States, but so far south as to be beyond the reach of the severest frosts of our winters. Certainly, did they hibernate with us, in the same manner as the bats, their hiding-places would have been brought to light oftener than even such instances as I have related, have been noticed. As a thousand or more may be found in one chimney during summer, it is fair to presume that, in hibernating, equal numbers would then also be congregated. No such swallow bonanza is yet upon record. On the other hand, if chimney swallows are thus disposed of during winter, it becomes easy to account for stragglers that, for some unknown reasons, have not joined the innumer- able ranks of their fellows in their southern flight ; but which, in lieu of this, have essayed to brave the winter by seeking such shelter, in protected places, as they may find. That such stragglers can survive an ordinary winter has not been shown — cannot be, until they are taken in full vigour from their hiding- places, at the close of the season. To find living swallows in a cave, tree, or chimney in February or March, would be a decisive matter ; to find such birds before New Year's Day, does not show that they would be able to remain in health the season through, and reappear in full vigour in March or April. So far, at least, as my own observations extend, the chimney swallow is practically a migratory bird, so far as New Jersey is concerned. In what manner the winter is spent beyond our boundaries, I cannot say ; but offer such trivial instances as I have related, as possibly confirmatory of the belief on the part of many, that, like bats, they strictly hibernate. It remains as yet, however, an open question ; but to discover that such was really true of them, would have little bearing upon such a strange belief as that true swallows hibernate in mud. What is still needed is a system of the most care- ful observations, made without a trace of preconceived opinions. What child but thinks that our flying squirrels really fly, instead of sail through the air ! Too often ignorant ourselves, we give illusive answers to our children, and many errors are thus perpetuated by the world at large, which a little patient observa- tion might readily have checked. On the other hand, when we affect to become observers, how often do we rashly jump at conclusions, based upon deceptive appearances ! Certainly, in my own brief experience, I can only testify to the apparent reality of a bird, less common than swallows, but superabundant in New Jersey, hibernating in mud. I refer to the little rail, or sora {Porzana Carolinensis). Early in August, with all the regularity of the passing seasons, these birds suddenly appear in vast numbers, in the meadows skirting the Delaware river. Now ornith- ologists know well enough, that the rail is strictly migratory ; and I have yet 'to see the first gunner, or other person familiar with our meadows, who ever saw a rail-bird earlier than in July, and seldom then. Nevertheless they are here weeks prior to that month, but so closely do they keep themselves to the muddy, weed-grown marshes, that their detection is well-nigh impracticable. Of course, there must be taken into consideration the fact that, prior to the middle of August, they are not sought for ; but then, and until after frost, thousands are killed by the gunners. Now, the gunners, the farmers, and those whose business or inclination takes them to these marshes, know the rail-birds as a suddenly acquired feature of these marshes, and if they see them, see them running lightly over the mud that skirts the ditches in our marshy meadows. They are as much a feature of such localities as frogs ; and, like those, they are extremely sensitive to frost. It is not strange, perhaps, that the impression of hibernation should have been entertained with reference to this bird j but it must be borne in mind, that mere sudden D 2 52 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. disappearance should not suggest hibernation in the mind of any thoughtful person. Birds that migrate by day, rather than in the night, disappear as suddenly as do the rail-birds, but being seen on their migratorial journeys, of course, are not invested with any peculiar habits. It seems never to have occurred to those who insist upon the hibernation of the rail-bird in the mud, that a still greater mystery is the impulse that should affect all these birds at the one moment ; for their sudden and simultaneous disappearance is always insisted upon. The truth is, however, that they do not disappear all together. After the first hard frost, be it early or late, the great majority of them promptly disappear ; but a fraction of their former numbers remain. Now, what, I believe to be a rational explanation of the apparent hibernation is this : The number of rail-birds in a given tract of marsh is suddenly greatly diminished (this occurs on the day following the first hard frost) ; those that remain are often weak of wing ; and many are found dead, probably having been wounded by the gunners. One and all are found only in the marshes, and coupled with these facts is the one more important than all, that the rails are not seen migrating. They invariably depart at night. Herein lies the solution of the common impression ; one far more prevalent than that concerning our swallows, whose movements we can watch. The while we are familiar with the rail-birds, they are associated with frogs and the aquatic life of our marshes. Frost comes and they are gone. We do not see either frogs or rail-birds disappear ; but we know where the frogs are, and remembering the amphibian habits of the bird, we con- tinue to associate them and relegate to the mud with the croaking frogs, these timid, weak-winged birds. But, in very truth, they have gathered themselves up in their long husbanded strength, and in the stillness of the frosty night, have winged their way southward, without a sign. As I pointed out in the case of the swallows, as a matter of course, many are unable to undertake the journey. It is safe to -say, that thousands that are crippled by the sportsmen remain in the marshes all the winter, but they finally succumb to the rigour of the season. Such old and crippled birds have been made a study by lovers of the wonderful in all ages, and the mis-read history of non-representative specimens has been strangely accepted by very many as the authentic life-histories of these birds for centuries. "Three-Toed Sloth."— In "The Museum of Animated Nature " it is mentioned, also by Charles Waterton in his "South American Wanderings." Waterton had one in his house for some weeks, he also saw this animal in its natural habitat. — Clara Kingsford, Canterbury. I THE COMMON ORCHIS {ORCHIS MASCULA). By Edward Malan, M.A. F Mary Howitt's theory about flowers were really the true one, then how would it ever be possible to account for the existence of such a plant as the common orchis? I don't think it would be possible. For the common orchis does not possess that beautiful brilliant colouring, nor that graceful symmetrical shape, nor that delicate rare perfume which ministers so much to our esthetic fancies, and which forms, as Professor Kerner says, the chief source of those dim romantic ideas with which most people regard flowers. It is, very probably, for this reason that the allusions to the common orchis in poetry are so few. Shakespeare increases our pity for Ophelia's death by mentioning her fantastic childish garlands. " Of crow-flowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples." And Miss Ingelow calls up the regret " that keenlier in sweet April wakes," by introducing the flower into her musical stanzas, in these words, — " Lost, lost and gone. The Pelham woods Were full of doves that cooed at ease : The orchis filled her purple hoods For dainty bees." Tennyson just catches the sullen characteristics of the plant in his " Dirge : " — " Round thee wave self-pleached deep Bramble-roses faint and pale, And long purples of the dale. Let them rave '." While Whittier refreshes us, like an afternoon breeze, when he speaks of western winds telling to orchard trees — " Tales of fair meadows green with constant streams, And mountains rising blue and cool behind, Where in moist dells the purple orchis gleams." These few notices, which are for the most part of sombre hue, appear to exhaust the poetical interest in the common orchis. It must be owned that they are hardly enough to explain the plant's existence. But as soon as the intelligent observer applies the modern theory, and perceives that flowers do really wear a robe of more than royal comeliness, and that every exquisite detail and amazing wonderful contri- vance, every streak, blotch, channel, and hair, every inflation or depression of surface^every posture of the various organs, and every abundant or scarce supply of nectar and perfume has been designed by the wise author of Nature to answer some definite purpose in the best possible way : and, while obtain- ing a benefit from insect visitors, to offer in return a wage for service done — then, behold ! in a moment his heart leaps up in ecstasy, Mary Howitt's lines become invested with a deeper and truer meaning, the distant economy of flowers appears like a wished face in HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 53 a crowd, and a far grander vision of creation unfolds before his view. At once, to quote Horace Smith's hymn, living preachers speak with voiceless lips, every cup becomes a pulpit, every leaf a book, and this new gospel is sounded in our listening ears — that no created organism can be selfish or self- sufficing, but that every unit is connected with its neighbour in some mysterious marvellous manner ; and that unless a double deed of good is done, when any good is done, a deed of beauty as well as a deed of duty, the doer does not fulfil his appointed end in Nature. I have selected the common orchis as a good example of this, and I hope to succeed in showing how curiously and unexpectedly it illustrates this creed, and proves itself to be not only useful to one class of insects, but also highly attractive to another. For whether the plant is a favourite with poets or not, it is in itself a most absorbing study, and will always be remembered for having occupied such keen intellects as Sprengel, Brown, Miiller and others, and for having furnished that higher estimate of creative power which we owe to our illustrious countryman, the late Charles Darwin. An enumeration of the various peculiarities of the common orchis will now be undertaken, ascending from the root upward ; and I must warn the reader that no little credence is required to rightly apprehend the series of surprises in store, for nothing about the common orchis is common. It is not common in the sense that bluebells, primroses, and buttercups are common : it hasn't got a common root : it hasn't got a common flower : it isn't fertilised in the common ordinary way : and the extreme care be- stowed on each part of it is anything but common. The root of the common orchis is a didymous or twin root (radix didyma), and consists, as Sir Joseph Hooker says (" Science Primer," p. 40), of two distinct fleshy tubercles, one large and the other small. These grow together at the base of the stem, and from the column, or place of attachment, numerous slender fibres spread out horizontally. When an orchis is in flower (April and May), the stem and leaves proceed from the crown of the larger tubercle, while the smaller one is attached at the neck. Later on in the year, when the orchis is seed-bearing (end of July), the larger tubercle has become brown and husky and withered, the fibres have disappeared, and then the whole plant dies. Meantime the smaller tubercle has grown plump and vigorous, and detaches itself into a separate plant with a plumule or growing- point of its own, which eventually becomes the orchis of the following year. The orchis is thus propagated by its tuber. The appearance of the plumule announces that the orchis belongs to the great order of Monocotyledons, which, of course, are distinguished for possessing (a) one seed-leaf only, (£) straight-veined leaves, (7) endogenous wood in long fibres, and (S) floral whorls in 3's and 6's. The snowdrop, crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, and tulip also belong to the same order, and flower early in the year, when the soil is hard and stubborn, so that the mechanical advantage of a single dagger-shaped growing-point is obvious. In general, bulbs which bear flowers die after fulfilling that debt, but sometimes, as just described, the plant is continued by the formation of a new bulb, which does not altogether perform the part of a true root. The tuber of the orchis is a case in point, for it contains a store of food, not for the leaves and stem, but for the new tuber. It is, therefore, composed of starch, loosely consolidated in minute granules like tapioca, and not in flakes like the bluebell. For the production of this starch, besides the usual amount of oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon obtained from the atmosphere, much potash is required, which, with nitrogen and sulphur, forms albuminoid, the chief food of the life-giving principle in plants. The commonest albuminoid is gluten (" Science Primer," p. 26). The whole nature of the orchis is viscid, and its tuber, when soaked in water, emits a transparent gum. The tuber itself survives for eighteen months, a period which may roughly be divided into three stages : (1) from the first appearance to the separate existence ; (2) from the appearance of the rootlets to the development of the new tuber and the perfecting of the leaves ; (3) from the appearance of the leaves to seed-bearing and decay. It would be an interest- ing discovery to ascertain the age of a tuber and the amount of increase annually : does a tuber, two inches in length, say, represent the reserve of twelve or more years? For it is evident that the common orchis grows extremely slowly. From the tuber is made Salep (Sahhleb, in Arabic), a nutritious preparation which forms a considerable part of the diet of the inhabitants of Turkey, Syria, and Palestine, and comes to us in hard oval cakes of a yellowish colour, not quite transparent. It tastes like arrowroot and is very wholesome, and contains a greater quantity of nutriment in the same bulk than any other vegetable substance known, one ounce mixed with soup being sufficient food for a strong man for a day. If this old-fashioned statement is true (" Library of Enter- taining Knowledge," vol. ii. p. 158), then the care taken by nature in preserving so valuable a product is at once explained ; but Dr. Lindley instances the orchis as being a case of beauty apart from utility, and he denies that Salep is prepared from its tubers. It is worthy of remark that the orchideae do not flourish in rich or highly-manured lands, the soil of grass-meadows suiting them better. Gloucestershire supplies many tubers, but those from the Levant are finer. I would now call attention to the shapeof the tuber, which seems specially designed to assist the peculiar growth of the plant. Like a royal progress through a disaffected region, the common orchis seems to have strayed into a dangerous quarter, where all 54 HA R D WI CKE ' S S CIENCE - G SSIP. sorts of precautionary measures are necessary to en- sure safety. First of all, the tuber is heart-shaped like a fishing-float, not inversely heart-shaped like the bulb of a bluebell, and the rootlets proceed from the plumule and not from the solid base. It has taken some time and much experimental observation to discover the reason for this arrange- ment, and indeed I am by no means sure that I have rightly apprehended the truth, even now ; but I am tempted to put down the reason as it appears to me, plant would be unarmed in the great struggle for existence, for it cannot abide deep-planting. To meet this peculiar requirement, how admirably is the shape of the tuber adapted ! Before it is detached, it is oval : after its detachment it -is heart-shaped : which accords with the law of solid bodies moving through liquids, whereby the larger and heavier part is made to go first. To ascertain this, I planted thirty-six tubers of Orchis mascula in a shallow box, on August 1st, 1SS1, and a single tuber in a deep large Fig. 43. — A, Tubers of Orchis mascula (April) ; B, roots ; c, neck. for there is no help to be gained from the books. The new tuber, being formed at the side of the old tuber, is evidently not intended to occupy the same space, but, on the contrary, it is purposely pushed more deeply down into the soil where the springs of life are not exhausted. Thus the plant makes a little journey annually, the tubers in April being about two inches below the surface, whereas in August they are six inches deep. So far from this being a fortuitous circumstance, it is one of those precautionary measures already mentioned, without which the pot. The plants all flowered last spring, but with this great difference : those in the box appeared above ground in September, they kept their spotted leaves through the winter, and were in flower by March 20th ; whereas that one in the pot did not appear above ground till February loth, and was not out in flower till April 30th ; after which it died, while the others survived. The case of the bluebell, which has to meet different engagements, is exactly the opposite : the bulb is inversely heart-shaped, the roots proceed from the solid base, and the plant starts HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 55 from a depth of seven or eight inches below the surface. One is here naturally led to ask why, sup- posing the above to be true, hasn't nature contrived that the new tuber should be settled in its proper place at once — wouldn't that have been easier ? Undoubtedly it would, but the general law, by which the descending axis of plants is made to seek depth and darkness, couldn't be broken ; and so the above plan is adopted. What a proof of Divine care ! The rootlets are formed during the second stage of the tuber's existence, and are made up of an outer skin with loose interme- diary cells between the skin and the central fibre. They have the appear- ance of whipcord, but they are brittle and sen- sitive. The cells are like tapioca ; their function is to absorb mineral moisture from the soil, to supply the plumule and the leaves. I think this must be the reason of their position,' for if the tuber supplied the leaves with nutriment, then clearly the rootlets would have to start from the base ; and, as a proof of this, I found in April a fine plant in flower, perfectly healthy and vigo- rous, but with the old tuber entirely de- voured by slugs, and the new one meagre and aborted. As it is, the rootlets spread upward, downward, and horizontally, either drawing the tuber to the surface and help- ing it to shoulder its way higher, or else preventing it from descending any lower. The last thing to notice about the tuber is its extraordinary scent, which resembles the scent of carbolic acid, nitrate of silver, or the reptile house at the Zoo. It is in- creased by darkness and moisture. It produces a chill shuddering sensation, if inhaled for any length of time, accom- panied by a feeling of headache and nausea. Now, I am anxious to know if this peculiar unsavoury reptilian odour is in any way a protection to the orchis, and I should feel greatly obliged to anyone who would en- lighten me. Consider the life history of the plant. It grows in meadows and hedges at a time of the year when the weather is severe, and forage for small animals very scarce. The gardening journals for the spring of iSSl contained many notices of the ravages made by mice among bulbous plants; but, although I have found many tubers destroyed by slugs, I have not as yet observed the marks of teeth on them. Why don't mice gnaw the tubers of the common orchis ? I will venture an explanation. Anything bitter is rejected by men and animals as disturbing the bile : the case of buttercups and toads will readily occur. Cats and dogs turn from shrew-mice in disgust, but hedgehogs and snakes devour them. Can this odour be intended to warn shrew-mice fof their natural enemies ? If so, what a truly remarkable plant the orchis is ! for there seems to be nothing but protective precaution about it. The case of the bluebell does not interfere, it will be noticed, with this explana- tion, because the orchis is only required in sparing abundance, as will be shown hereafter, and affords no pollen ; whereas the bluebell is deeply planted and supplies vast quantities of pollen. The cold clammy Fig. 44. — a, Root of Orchis mascula ; b, transverse section of root ; c, longitudinal section of root. reptilian character of the orchis certainly deserves greater attention on the part of botanists. The stem and leaves. The skin of the common orchis is a scape, or a simple erect herbaceous hollow cylinder, rising directly from the root and elevating the flower,'but not the leaves. It dies as soon as the seed is set, and when dry has a pungent snuffy odour. Its cellular tissue is arranged in isolated bundles. There is nothing extraordinary about the 'stem, except the fact that breaking it prevents the new tuber from flowering the following year. The Rev. B. S. Maiden was kind enough to point this out, for I was puzzled to know why some plants, with many 56 HARD WICKE ' S S CIENCE- G SSI P. leaves, bore no spike. The check to the system, no doubt, prevents the juices from being elaborated and ripened, and so the finishing-touch, as it were, is never put, and the spike suffers. The leaves are exceedingly interesting, and will amply repay all the trouble of microscopic investiga- tion. They are radical, simple, linear, smooth, with entire margin, common vernation, and purple spots. A spotted leaf is called coloratum, because it is not entirely green ; they are often blistered {bullatum) also. They lie most frequently in the form of a five- fingered star, they absorb a large amount of sun- action, and are most conspicuous. A leaf consists of (a) an epidermis, or stout white spotted upper skin, arranged in hexagonal cells, like the skin of a crocodile, ( /3) a layer of chlorophyll, and (7) an under- skin perforated with numerous stomata which are admirably situated to perform their functions. Free from the dust and the sun's rays, they are useful to catch the evaporation of the soil, to give off superfluous moisture, and to assimilate material from the air for food. The stomata must play an important part in the formation of the spike, which does not appear till the leaves are fully developed. The skin of the upper surface is more difficult to explain, but the beautiful appearance of the spots, either when seen, handsome and sullen in the woods, or blood -red and hexagonal under the microscope, arrests the attention and forces from us the questions, why should the leaves be spotted ? Do the spots protect the plant in any way by repelling foes, or are they merely ornamental ? Certainly their resemblance to the common snake is very striking, and as, according to some botanists, the orchid family survives by an organised system of deception, these purple spots may possibly be intended to deceive mice or other enemies. They are arranged without any order, sometimes many and large, sometimes few and small ; and, as far as I have been able to observe, the leaves of those plants which grow in hedges have the most spots. Is this only capricious chance ? or does Sprengel's conviction, that the wise Author of Nature hasn't created a single hair in vain, point to some set purpose ? During the past two years I have repeatedly tried to ascertain this, but those gentlemen with whom I have communicated on the subject, have not considered the above suggestion sufficiently esta- blished by facts to be worthy of much notice. They argue that if the spots are intended to deceive mice, what is the fate of those varieties of the common orchis which have no spots, and how can mice be deceived in the dark ? But if any organism, through misfortune or fault, abandons a protection provided by nature, then : it must be content with reduced safety ; for the spotted leaves generally seem less mangled than the plain. At any rate, it seems almost incredible that such conspicuous marking should be there for mere beauty apart from utility ; and the quaint Scotch superstition, though interesting from the piety with which it is conceived, does not offer a substantial explanation. It is strange that spots in the animal world should be connected with venom and rapacity. Can the spots secrete acrid j uices which emit an odour by night, and form a protection from slugs by day ? Mr. Britten, of the British Museum, and Mr. Stansfield, of Sale, do not think they form any protection, and I have frequently noticed leaves much spotted yet much gnawed ; though how much more they would have been gnawed, had the spots not been there, it is impossible to say. This theory of mine is occasioned by absence of information and the con- clusion that the leaves elaborate the spike ; for the spike suffers when the leaves are damaged, and when once fairly out in February, the leaves do not grow much larger. The plain-leaf variety I regard as a straggler on the line of march, who, for some reason, has not kept up with the main body, and whose kit and accoutrements are consequently not in perfect order. This may be the result of disturbance, soil, manure, lime, &c, for the specimens experimented with last year had every one of them paler flowers and fewer spots than the year before ; and Mr. Wallace has shown that spots, eyes, and lines vary and appear on the most highly modified parts. This, again, connects the flower and the leaf. A spot, when examined by the microscope, presents a beautiful series of hexagonal cells, like a honeycomb, depressed towards the centre, with a red hue, and light fawn- coloured ridges intervening. The colouring matter (erythrophyll) coagulates very soon, though, if dried at once, it retains its tint. Finally, can the age of the orchis be determined by the number of the leaves? Seedlings with one and two leaves are continually found in April, but these have no spike. I have not found a spike with less than three leaves ; so that, supposing a leaf is added successively year by year, the plant that has ten leaves must represent the accumulated reserve of twelve or more years. These are points which it would be deeply interesting to discover. The inflorescence. Hitherto we have been con- sidering the personal organs of the common orchis, or those relating to the individual vitality of the plant ; now we come to the relative organs, or those concerned with the reproduction of the species. These in all flowers are the most conspicuous, orna- mental, and interesting parts, and they compose what is generally understood by a flower. Our poetical ideas are centred in the flower, and most people regard the flower only, but an inquiry into the reasons of the different shapes and structures of flowers, so far from being dry and prosaic, is found to be, since Charles Darwin and others have brought their intellects to bear on the subject, an entirely new delight, which affords sure answers to otherwise un- solved riddles. For we have now arrived at the actual flower that will always be memorable in the annals HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 57 of botany, and the case is something like this. Thou- sands before Galileo had observed the stately swing of the great brass chandelier in the cathedral at Pisa, and thousands before Newton had noticed the fall of an apple on a chill October day ; thousands before James Watt had watched a boiling kettle, and thou- sands had seen bees flitting about the flowers of the orchis and loosestrife ; but it took the perseverance and genius of Darwin, to unravel the mysterious mechanism of this curious plant. It is strange now to read the remarks made about the fertilisation of the common orchis prior to the year 1862 : some said that it is fertilised by absorption, while others, carrying their ideas to the excess of caution, declared that it was one of those unexplained secrets of nature into which it was not proper to pry. The term inflorescence is applied to the general arrangement of flowers on a stem, which is managed in such a variety of clever ways that plain evidence of more than human resource and invention is given in bold characters. Take, for instance, a spike of the common orchis and a flower of the common buttercup ; the inflorescence of the one is the exact opposite of the inflorescence of the other. The buttercup is of primitive type, centrifugal, and with leaves developed : the orchis is highly modified, centripetal, and with leaves plain. In the buttercup (" Science Primer," p. 54), the flower that terminates the axis of the plant opens first, then the one next to it, and so on, until the flower farthest from the first has opened. Such inflorescence is called centrifugal, because the order of flowering is from the central axis outward, and the axis itself does not elongate. In the orchis, the flower farthest from the top opens first, then the next, and so on, till the one at the ex- tremity of the spike is reached ; and all this time the axis is elongating. The teazel is different again, for it opens its flowers first half-way up the head, and then works upwards and downwards. Here the very natural question may be asked : Why should two common flowers, which come out about the same time, have exactly opposite arrangements ? The answer happily is simple enough : the two flowers have two very different offices to perform. The buttercup supplies a vast amount of pollen, and the orchis supplies what ? That's the question ! That has been the object of these observations, to answer the question : What does the orchis produce necessary to secure the visits of bees ? With your permission, I will proceed very leisurely at this point of the inquiry, like a gossamer-spider feeling tremblingly along its line. A full-grown orchis-spike shows many sessile, irregular, labiate, ringent flowers, duly arranged one above the other. The process of opening, which is here only just begun, takes about a fortnight, so that allowing a fortnight for the ripening of the pollen, the entire period occupied in unfolding a spike is about a month. Durins: this time the flowers remain open, bidding for insect-services night and day, for an orchis-flower, unlike the marigolds and sun-eyed daisies, that close their winking flowers in rain, is incapable of closing again after having once opened ; but as soon as the ovary has been impregnated, the flower, having performed its office, fades away, and if the spike is a large one, the lower flowers are dead before the upper ones are expanded. Next, look at the delicate poise of the flower ; it is fastened like a spring. This provision is necessitated by the state of the case, for as the flowers cannot close when once open, it is manifest that the wet and heavy dews would soon spoil the pollen if the corolla faced up- ward, and it harmonises also with the centripetal inflorescence ; for it would be inconceivable that a flower should be made in such a way that a bee visiting it would be subjected to the inconvenience of flying backwards, as would occur if the inflorescence were centrifugal. Our examination, then, has not extended far before we see how eminently an orchis is adapted for the visitation of insects ; and, even if we were not familiar with all the deeply interesting facts about the order, I think the above could not escape notice. (To be continued.) THE PRE-CAMBRIAN ROCKS OF ENGLAND AND WALES. By W. W. Watts, B.A., F.G.S. THE study of the Pre-Cambrian rocks of England was for many years neglected and even ignored, from the time when Murchison declared that it was not possible for such rocks to occur there. He worked out to some extent the great gneissose rocks of the north-west Highlands, and not finding some of their characteristic details repeated in the Malverns he concluded that the gneisses of that place were merely altered Cambrian rocks, and thought that he was confirmed in this conclusion by the fact that the strike of these gneisses agreed with that of the flank- ing Cambrian deposits. The value of this we shall estimate later. In spite of this assertion from the lips of the director-general of the Geological Survey, many men believed that we had in England and Wales representatives of these very ancient rocks, and amongst them I may mention Mr. W. S. Symonds, who, writing in 1872, in "Records of the Rocks," states his belief that the crystalline rocks of Anglesey and Caernarvon, the schists of Holyhead, the rocks of Bardsey, and of the Lleyn or Caernarvon peninsula will all eventually be classed as Pre-Cambrian ; he continues and includes in this statement the Twt Hill rock of Caernavon, the syenitic axis of St. David's, and the Malvern gneiss. How far his ideas were correct this paper will endeavour to show, and we 58 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. shall see that in few or no points did he miss the mark. From several points of view these rocks are of great interest, for they admit us to a whole volume of the earth's history, which, when carefully read and thoroughly understood, will enable us (in part, at least) to bridge the gulf between the knowledge we have from stratigraphical geology on the one hand, and from celestial physics and chemistry on the other. But this volume is written in an obsolete language, and the ink was blotted and smeared before it had thoroughly set in ; and, in addition to this, the volume has been cut and torn into fragments, of which many have been entirely lost and many have become almost useless. So the translation is difficult from a triple cause, for we have to piece the rocks together and to supply what is lost or missing, to see through the changes, defacing, and obliteration which the original charac- ters have undergone, and to reason out the methods by which the rocks were formed ; for we cannot suppose that the agencies at work at these distant periods were precisely like those we can observe to day. In spite of these difficulties, the Pre- Cambrian rocks are being gradually re- duced to order, just as the chaos of "Tran- sition and Greywacke " grew up, under the skilled workmanship of Sedgwick and Mur- chison, into the beautiful and connected Cambrian and Silurian systems. In America, Dr. Sterry Hunt has identi- fied six distinct systems below the Potsdam sandstone ; they are, in ascending order : — I, Laurentian ; 2, Norian ; 3, Huronian; 4, Montalbian ; 5, Taconic ; 6, Keweenian. Of the first four of these an excellent account was published in Science-Gossip some time back. Each of these systems contains a great thickness of rocks, but they cannot be definitely correlated with their equivalents on this side of the Atlantic. Neglecting the American, Scotch, and Irish Pre- Cambrians, I propose to give a resume of the characters of these rocks in the district where they occur in England and Wales ; there are seven such districts, and, in the order in which they were originally described they are, 1, Malvern (1S64. Holl, Q. J. G. S. xxi.) ; 2, St. David's (1876. Hicks, Q. J. G. S. xxxiii. &c.) ; 3, Caernarvonshire and N. Wales (1877, Hicks, Bonney, Hughes, Q. J. G. S. xxxiv. xxxv. &c); 4, Anglesea (1877. Hicks, Hughes, Callaway, Roberts, Q. J. G. S. xxxiv. xxxvi. &c; Geol. Mag. 1880, 1SS1); 5, Shropshire (1879. Callaway, Q. J. G. S. xxxv. &c.) ; 6, Charnwood Forest (1876. Bonney and Hill, Q. J. G. S. xxxiii. &c.) ; 7, '.Cornwall. 1. Malvern. Holl, in 1864, wrote his splendid paper on these hills, and boldly claimed a Pre- Cambrian age for the gneisses there. -The rocks are mostly felspathic and hornblendic gneisses, some- times massive, but more frequently well foliated. Mica occurs plentifully in some parts, for instance near the Wych, and epidote is a rather common mineral. The fine hornblende rock of North Hill is well known for its handsome appearance and remark- ably tough character. There are good granitoid rocks here and there, some closely resembling those of the Wrekin. The general strike of these rocks is along the chain, i.e. north and south, but there are many local variations. The dip varies greatly, and is frequently as much as 85°. The sketch (rig. 45) gives an idea of the character of the bedding of the rock, which agrees with its foliation. Intrusive granites and diorites occur all along the ridge, and some care is requisite to distinguish be- tween the igneous and metamorphic rocks. On the east side of Herefordshire Beacon there is a curious halleflinta-like rock, which Dr. Callaway classes as Pebidian. Although the strike of the Pre-Cambrian Fig. 45 rock — Knoll south of Worcester Beacon. 1, Compact Hornblendic ; 2, coarse gneiss, with lenticular patches of fine gneiss in it. rocks agrees with that of the surrounding Cambrians, the dip is often in an entirely opposite direction, and in Raggedstone Hill, Holl has given a section of the unconformity splendidly displayed (fig. 46). As the Hollybush sandstones are probably the equivalents of part of the Lingula flags, there cannot be any doubt as to the Pre-Cambrian age of the gneisses, which are now acknowledged to belong to the Dime- tian system. 2. St. David's. About the same time as Holl was working at the Malverns, Dr. Hicks announced the presence of Pre-Cambrian rocks underlying the Cam- brian at St. David's. He did not however begin to work on these at once, but felt his way down to them, by working out the Cambrian thoroughly. He esta- blished the succession in descending order through Arenig, Llandeilo, Tremadoc, Lingula, and Menevian beds, down to the Harlech group in which he dis- covered a fauna of Trilobites, Brachiopods, and Annelids, exceedingly rich for beds so low in the series. Below these rocks were ashy shales, and HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 59 agglomerates, which had been previously called altered Cambrian beds, and were supposed to have been metamorphosed by the central " Syenitic " ridge. Finally, Hicks established here three systems, to which he gave the names of Dimetian, Arvonian, and Pebidian. The Dimetian System consists of a series of truly metamorphosed rocks of a curious character. True foliated gneisses are rare, but the rocks are massive in character ; they consist of compact granitoid rocks (granitoidite), with much quartz, and some felspar, little mica and some chlorite. A micro- scopic examination of these has proved them to be elastic or fragmentary in their origin. Besides these, there are quartziferous breccias, quartz schists, quart- zite, one band of crystalline limestone, and some green rocks which appear to have been inter-bedded lavas of a basaltic character. The Arvonian System of Dr. Hicks appears to be everywhere separated by faults from the Dimetian, and presents some curious varieties of rocks. Among Fig. 46.— Quarry south of Rag^edstone Hill (Holl). a, Holly-bush sandstone ; B, gneissose rock. these what the Swedish geologists call HliUeflintas are conspicuous. These are altered silicious rocks, which appear to have been formed from the denuda- tion of highly silicious lavas and ashes. In addition to these, however, quartz-porphyries or felsites, true volcanic rocks or acidic lavas occur in some quan- tity, often showing spherulitic structure. The Pebidian System is found in unconformable contact with the Dimetian, and faulted against the Arvonian rocks. It consists chiefly of volcanic rocks, agglomerates, conglomerates (by stratification and rounding of fragments), ashy beds, hornstones, and what, for want of a better name, are called imperfect ashy schists of green, grey, and purple colours. One contemporaneous felstone lava appears on the coast west of Porth Liskey, where the beds are well ex- posed. The basement conglomerate of the Cambrian System rests unconformably on these rocks, and contains pebbles of Pebidian rock, thus most indis- putably proving the order of succession and age of these rocks. (To be continued.) RECREATIONS IN FOSSIL BOTANY. (L YGINODENDRON OLDHAMIUM.) By James Spencer. No. VIII. THIS very singular but most beautiful fossil plant was originally described by the late Mr. Binney, F.R.S., from specimens obtained from the neighbourhood of Oldham, under the name of Dadoxylon OldJiamium. At that time this plant was generally thought to have belonged to the conifers;, and to have been the representative of that family of plants in the forests of the coal-measures. Some time after Mr. Binney's paper appeared, another paper on this same plant by Professor W. C. Williamson, F.R.S., was published in the Transactions of the Royal Society. In that memoir the author clearly demonstrated, that Mr. Binney's plant was not a dadoxylon, according to Brongniart's description of that genus. He also showed that its structure was so very peculiar and distinctive as to warrant him in placing it in a new genus; and as one of its distinguishing features consisted in the reticulated character of the vessels of the woody cylinder, he gave to the new genus the name of Dictyoxylon, still how- ever retaining Mr. Binney's specific name ; hence, throughout the greater portion of the memoir, our plant re- joiced under the new name of Dicty- oxylon Oldhamium. Towards the end of the memoir, the author again changed the name of the plant for the following reason : upon ex- amining a fine series of sandstone fossils in the Liverpool Museum, Professor Williamson thought that some of them were the casts of similar plants to his new genus Dictyoxylon. He subsequently learnt that similar sandstone fossils had been de- scribed by a Scotch gentleman of the name of Gourlie, under the name of Lyginodendron Lands- burghii. Upon reading Mr. Gourlie's description, he became confirmed in his conjecture, viz. that Lyginodendron and Dictyoxylon were only different forms of the same genus. Therefore following the rule laid down as one of the canons of science, namely, that the oldest name should claim precedence, he generously gave up his own name of Dictyoxylon in favour of the older name of Lyginodendron. But, as there was no proof that the Scotch plant was specifically identical with the English one, he still retained Mr. Binney's specific name for the Oldham plant, so that the correct name for this plant is now Lyginodendron Oldhamium. The Oldham district has long been noted for its 6o HARDWICKE' S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. rich stores of fossil plants, which have been brought to light chiefly through the labours of Messrs. Butterworth, Nield, Earnshaw, and the late Mr. Whittaker. Professor Williamson has frequently alluded to the invaluable aid that he has received from them, and of their untiring devotion to the Cause of science. By a curious coincidence, my first acquaintance with the fossil plant now under description, dates from the first time that I met Mr. Butterworth. I was geologising at Southowram Bank Top Coal Tit, near Halifax, one Saturday afternoon, when the unusual sound of a fresh hammer attracted my attention. It proved to belong to Mr. Butterworth ; mutual explanation took place, and among the Fig. 47. — Section of Lyginodendron Oldhamium (ma?. 12 diam in Author's cabinet), a, central cellular pith; b, medullary cy cylinder ; d, cortical bundles ; e, medullary rays ;/, inner bark "spoils" which we won on that occasion was a good specimen of Lyginodendron Oldhamium. Since then many a pleasant ramble have I enjoyed with my Oldham friends, both in Yorkshire and Lancashire, in search of fossil plants. Lyginodendron Oldhamium proves to be one of the most common fossil plants found in our Halifax district. My cabinet contains a large series of sections of this plant which I have prepared from specimens found in them. The one from which our illustration has been taken has all its various tissues in a beautiful state of preservation, and from which we are enabled to learn a great deal about the structure of the plant. On comparing a transverse section of Lyginoden- dron with a similar one of Dadoxylon, we see at once that there is a very great difference in the structures- of the two plants. We find that instead of the simple, but very compact arrangement of the tissues seen in the latter plant, there is a very complicated state of arrangement of them in the former plant. In Lyginodendron the tissues are not only more varied in form, but the component cells and vessels are also more variable in size and generally larger than they are in Dadoxylon. A transverse section of Lyginodendron Oldhamium (fig. 47) shows the usual tripartite division of the stem into pith, woody cylinder, and bark. The pith is formed of two distinct zones, after the manner of the pith of Lepidodendron Harcourtii, viz. a central cellular medulla (a) formed of a very regular hexagonal parenchyma, the cells of which are larger than those composing the pith in Dadoxylon. This central cellular pith is surrounded by an in- terrupted zone of vascular tissue, the cells and vessels of which arebarred(^). This zone is known as the " vascular medullary cylinder." In very young plants the central cellular pith is com- pletely enclosed by the medullary cylinder, but as the plant increased in size, the latter began to break up> and soon resolved itself into four detached bundles, and the inter- vening spaces became occupied by the extension of the central cellular pith. The woody cylinder (e) is formed of vessels which are arranged in ra- diating rows or laminas which are separated from one another by true medullary rays. In fig. 47 (/>) and in young specimens generally, many of these lamina; consist of a single row of vessels, but other lamina; in the same section have from two to six rows of vessels, while in older plants there are sometimes as many as twelve or more rows of vessels in each lamina and without intervening medullary rays. Generally speak- ing, the vessels increase in size in passing from the inner edge of the woody cylinder towards the peri- phery, up to a certain limit, when they split up into two ; those vessels which occur in single rows are generally the largest, and they gradually decrease in, size as the rows in each lamina increase in number. In longitudinal sections the vessels are seen to be long tubes, and, as already stated, their walls are reticulated, and not pitted as the vessels are in Dadoxylon, or barred as in the Lepidodendroid plants. The medullary rays (e) which bind the laminae together, form nearly one-half of the ligneous cylinder, and they are composed of elongated cells of mural parenchyma, similar to those which occur in ., from specimen linder ; c, woody ; g, fibrous layer. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 61 Stigmaria and other Lepidodendroid plants, and also in modem Dicotyledonous plants. These rays vary in size, from one or two to six or more rows of cells. and outer bark. The innermost portion of the inner bark is composed of cellular tissue of a very delicate character, which is known as the pseudo-cambium. Fig. 48. — Tangential section of fibrous layer in Lyginodendron (mag. 8 diameters). Fig. 49.— Ironstone cast of Lyginodendron (nat. size). The bark : this part of the plant is a most peculiar and highly characteristic structure. It may be divided into three portions ; namely, inner, middle, layer. This layer, however, is rarely preserved in the fossil state, although it occurs in several of my specimens. The remainder of the inner bark (/) is composed of larger cells, with thicker walls. The outer bark is also formed of similar cellular tissue to the last named, but is very rarely seen ; indeed the whole of the true epidermal layer has not yet been found attached to the plant, that I am aware of. The middle layer (g) is the most characteristic feature about the bark, and, on account of its almost indestructible character, it is nearly always more or less preserved. It is com- posed of a series of fibrous bands, formed of dark- brown tissue, and so dense in structure as to appear like black lines. These bands are of pretty uniform length, but very irregular in outline, so that they appear not unlike Roman numerals, which give to transverse sections of this plant a striking resemblance to a clock face. These dark bands are composed of true fibrous vessels, which appear round in transverse sections, but are seen to be long and fusiform in longitudinal ones. Tangential sections (fig. 48) show that these bands ascend the stem in an undulating manner, and interlace with one another, thus en- closing large lenticular spaces and giving to these sections an appearance not unlike that presented by cortical sections of Lepidodendron. But there is really no affinity between the two sets of tissues, for while the latter tissue is cellular, the former is true woody fibre. I have in my cabinet some large cortical sections of Lepidodendron obovatum in which the leaves have lost their raised central portion and 62 IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. nothing remains, save the narrow outlines of the edges, which cause these sections to look very like tangential sections of Lyginodendron. But upon comparing them under the microscope, the difference between them is seen at once. The large rhomboidal spaces between the fibrous bands are filled with cellular tissue, which varies considerably in form even in the same plant. In the transverse section from which our illustration is taken, this tissue takes the form of long oblong cells, which in some cases stretch across the spaces between the fibrous bands, in others they are trailed about in a very curious manner, which is very pro- bably due to shrinkage during or before fossilisa- tion. They gradually decrease in size, as they ap- proach the regular tissues of the inner bark. There is yet another interesting feature in connection with the bark. Placed amid the cellular tissues of the inner bark are four pairs of vascular bundles (d), formed of similar tissues as those composing the vascular me- dullary cylinder. These bundles form an interesting, and at the same time a most characteristic feature, in all transverse sections of Lyginodendron Oldhamium. In longitudinal sections they are not so conspicuous, on account of their component vessels being reticu- lated in the same way as those forming the con- tiguous ligneous zone, so that they appear to be merely its outer edge. The presence of these bundles explains a curious feature which is observable in most transverse sections of this plant, and which was for a long time a puzzle to me, and that is, the undulating outline presented by the ligneous cylinder. At the first glance it might appear, as it did to me, that these undulations were due to pressure, but such is not the case, as they occur in specimens which do not appear to have been at all compressed, and which have their tissues well preserved. These cor- tical bundles are placed in the hollows where the undulations curve inwards, while those of the medulla are placed where they curve outwards. It appears very probable, as was suggested by Professor William- son, that the two sets of bundles acted as stays or buttresses to strengthen the somewhat lax tissues of the plant. The great majority of specimens of this genus shew no signs of either branches or foliage, for the cortical bundles do not appear to have any connection with either leaves or branches. There are other bundles of tissue in the bark which may have had some connection with either leaves or branches. Some of my specimens show branches or fronds being given off from the bark. There are other petiolar bun- dles which originate either in the ligneous zone or medullary cylinder, but which, in many cases, appear to have terminated at[the outer surface of the bark, and most probably were connected with leaves or cones or other deciduous appendages. These facts render it pro- bable that the stem may have had a crown of fern-like fronds ; there are also other facts which point to the affinity of Lyginodendron with the tree-ferns. But on the other hand, in its double pith and woody cylinders, it is more allied to the Lycopodiaceae, as represented by the Lepidodendroid plants. It is one of the many coal plants, of which it may be said that we have yet to learn a great deal more about them before this can be placed in its proper position in the vegetable kingdom, and also one in which we may perhaps learn something about the great question of the evolution of the fossil plants of the coal- measures. The chief object which I have in view in writing these papers is,' that by the aid of our studies among the fossil plants found in our coal-ball nodules more light may be thrown on the history of our ordinary fossil plants, and especially on those forms the history of which is very obscure, so as to still further increase the growing interest taken in them. My cabinet contains a series of peculiar impressions of fossil plants with which I have long been familiar, but which I was unable to make anything of as to the kind of plant to which they had belonged. But after reading the above memoir on Lygino- dendron Oldhamhim, and becoming practically ac- quainted with the structure of the peculiar cortical fibrous layer as seen in tangential and transverse sections, a flood of light was thrown on these hitherto unknown fossil impressions. In the sandstone rocks of the millstone grit series, as well as in those of the coal-measures, we frequently find fragments of sandstone casts which are character- ised by the possession of a series of raised ridges and corresponding depressions, which ascend the stem in a somewhat spiral manner, nearly after the manner of the leaf-scars of the Lepidodendroid plants. These ridges and furrows vary considerably in length, accord- ing to the size of the plant, and very probably these variations also sometimes indicate different species. In some specimens the ridges are fully four inches in length, while in others they are not more than half an inch in length. They also vary considerably in height and form : some of them are smooth and rounded ; others stand up half an inch above the surface of the plant, ending in a sharp edge ; others again are rounded and striated. The most beautiful specimens are, however, found in the ironstones of the coal measures, as is usually the case w ith most of the ordinary fossil plants. Fig. 49 is taken from one of these ironstone fossils. Fossil collectors generally regard them as the impressions of Lepidodendroid plants, to which they bear a close resemblance. But this is one of those cases which not unfrequently occur among fossil plants, in which the ordinary impressions and casts convey but a faint idea of the real form of the original plant when growing in its native soil. These singular fossils are the impressions of the fibrous layer (fig. 47, g) in the bark of Lyginodendron, and, of HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 63 course, do not represent the external appearance of the plant when growing, as the real epidermal layer was outside of the fibrous zone. The many varieties of these sandstone casts indicate that there were probably many species of Lyginoden- drons. They are found in the sandstone rocks in the mill- stone grit series, and at various horizons in the coal strata. They have also a great horizontal range, occurring, as has been shown, in the Scotch coalfield whence the late Mr. Gourlie obtained his specimens, and also in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and very probably in other coalfields. The great range oi these plants and the abundance and large size of their remains, prove that they attained to arborescent di- mensions and flourished in great numbers, and that they formed a very important part of the flora of the Carboniferous age. The question maybe asked, What are these plants : but, like many other questions, it is far more easily asked than answered. I have already pointed out that Lyginodendron Ohihanmttn possesses affinities with both the Lycopodiaceas and the ferns of the same geological age, and that it was originally described as a Dadoxylon or fossil pine. But the fact is, the stem of Lyginodendron is so very anomalous in its structure, that we shall have to learn a great deal more about the plant before we can place it in its proper botanical position. We are not sufficiently acquainted with its mode of branching, or whether the branches partook of the nature and form of fern-like fronds as has been suggested, or otherwise, and nothing whatever is known about its roots; while in regard to the most important point as to the character of its reproductive organs, we have yet to learn whether it bore seeds or spores. It is, therefore, very obvious that, until we know more about these parts, especially about the character of its fructification, such an anomalous structure as is presented to us in the stem of Lygino- dendron must yield us an uncertain guide to its proper classification. This plant has been supposed by some fossil botanists to have been the parent of some of the gymnospermous seeds which occur so plentifully in the coal measures, and the great difference which exists between its structure and that of the true fossil pine. Dadoxylon has been accounted for in the very great difference in the habitats of the two plants. It has also been suggested that the seeds may have been brought from a distance by water and deposited among the debris of other plants. In the case of the seeds found in sandstone rocks and in limestone shales such was undoubtedly often the case, but my experience of the manner in which these seeds occur in the coal strata, and especially those which are found in our coal balls, leads me to think that it is highly improb- able that they have been brought from any great distance. On the contrary, there is an abundance of evidence to prove that the parent-trees must have flourished on the spot where the seeds are now found. In our coal balls, numerous species of Trigono- carpons and other gymnospermous seeds have been found associated with [the remains of the ordinary coal plants, such as stems, leaves, fruits, and abun- dance of spores. The occurrence of spores along with the larger fragments is almost certain proof that such vegetable debris must have been deposited on land and became entombed on the spot ; for if water had carried them away from the place where they had been originally deposited, the spores being so light could not have been deposited along with the heavier seeds and other fragments. Nor do I believe that the parents of the seeds could have been at all rare, or more easily destroyed than many of the other coal plants ; hence I am forced to the conclusion that we must look to some of the fossil plants with which we are already familiar for the parentage of these seeds. Whether Lygino- dendron may prove to be one of these we must leave for future discoveries to tell us, but from its near affinity to Dadoxylon it is not improbable that such may have been the case. POND LIFE IN MIDWINTER. IN several numbers of Science-Gossip last year, we were reminded of the fallacy of the opinion that ponds are destitute of life during the winter months ; and I should like to add my testimony to that borne by the Rev. W. C. Hey, M.A., and others, on this subject. More than once, after reading of some rare or common inhabitant of our ponds, I have had my desire to search for it dashed to the ground by being informed that it was not to be found during the winter months ! Last December, when I told a naturalist that I had found plenty of the very common cyclops and daphnia in some pump water, he told me they had no business there at that time of year ! But in the month of January last, I deter- mined to put aside and ignore all that had pre- viously obtained credence with respect to pond life in winter, and search for myself, in order to see if things were as they had been represented. With the memory fresh on my mind of what I caught in two excursions, I can truly say I am thankful I did so. I made my first excursion on Jan. 8, to a pond about two miles from Southampton, and I was soon con- vinced that this particular pond at any rate was not devoid of life, even though I visited it on one of the coldest days we had during the winter, and with a keen north-east wind blowing all the time. On this first visit, the only "fishing" apparatus I had with me was a bottlejwifh a narrow neck, attached to some odd pieces of string I happened to have in my pocket. Notwithstanding all disadvantages, before I left the pond I had managed to secure a good number of the H HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. ordinary "waterman "beetle ; any amount of Cyclops quadriconiis, female, male, and larvae ; Daphnia pulcx of course ; the larva of Ephemera marginata, and also of the phryganidre. While alluding to the caddis-worm, I should like to correct the erroneous notion which Mr. Ollard, of Enfield, gave expression to in the May number of Science-Gossip. He asked if any one could tell how it was that the bits of weeds, grass, &c, out of which caddis-worms make their cases kept their natural state so long as the insects required their use. But it is not true that the materials used do retain their " natural state " so long as the caddis-worm inhabits them. Many of the addis I have taken this year have been enclosed in cases which have lost all their greenness. On Jan. 1 1, I made another excursion to the pond mentioned above, and with much more satisfactory results. While I obtained duplicates of all the things above named, I also was fortunate enough to take others of much greater worth. Upon examination of the various bottles in which I had placed my spoil, I found the following : Noteus quadriconiis (of which a very good drawing is given on page 541 of the sixth edition of Carpenter's " Microscope ") ; Eosphora aurita, Trachelitis anas, and an abundance of Volvox globalor. I was much pleased with the last "find," as even so great an authority as M. C. Cooke asks, "what becomes of the Volvox globator during winter ?" I have not yet finished my examination of my bottles, and it is possible that the " half hath not been told " of what they really contain. But surely enough has been said to overturn the notion that our ponds in midwinter are wholly destitute of life. Rev. H. Carrington Lake. Southampton. COLLIERS' FOLKLORE.* A CURIOUS bit of folklore exists amongst the Lanarkshire and other colliers, to wit, that " the smell of the blooms of peas and beans makes the fire," — referring to explosions. It i3 astonishing how wide-spread the notion is. Were such ex- plosions most frequent during the hot months, when these "blossoms scent the gale," there might be reason for supposing the miner's dread of these months to result from a wish to connect cause with effect. Statistics however show that the hot months are the least liable to explosions ; and, although at that time, if ventilation be bad, foul gases and " damps" do arise from diminished barometrical pressure, it is in the [cold season with a high or rising barometer that explosions most frequently occur. Mr. Robert Hunt, of the Mining Record Office, to * Communicated by Mr. J. Young, a former collier, and ■now weigher at Quarter Iron Works, Hamilton, N.B. whom I wrote on the subject, writes as follows : " The 'peas blossom damp' and the 'trefoyle damp' is not unknown. " As Plott in his ' Natural History of Staffordshire ' (1686) says : ' 1 never heard that this was mortal to the workmen, the scent thereof freeing them from the dangers of a surprise.' He says that in the Peak country of Derbyshire, they appear to think that the odour of the flowers is a cause of the ' damp.' " But here they are wiser than to think it proceeds either from peas or trefoil ; it being rather appre- hended to arise from the workmen's breath and sweat, mixt with the streams of the golden marcasite (Arabic fire giving stone iron pyrites) or brass lumps, than anything else. "It is not generally supposed in any district that any ' damp ' can arise from peas, beans, or trefoil, but that damps do arise in the collieries having the smell of these blossoms." Mr. Hunt adds : " I give you on the other side a table of 234 explosions of fire damp which occurred from year 17 10 to 1878. You will see that the months of June and July are the most exempt from explosions. January, 21 explosions, February, 15 ,, March, 26 , , April, 22 ,, May, 19 June, 13 ,, July, 13 explosions. August, 19 ,, September, 18 ,, October, 20 ,, November, 25 ,, December, 33 „ I have just noticed that the author of the " Colliery Warnings" says that in 1882 there were 23 explo- sions with a rising barometer, and only six with a low, and that but 10 out of 30 were accompanied by southerly winds — supporting the belief that the most dangerous time is when the barometer is high or rising, although fire damp appears in greater quantities when there is a decrease of atmospheric pressure. A. G. Cameron. H.M. Geological Survey, Lincoln. Eels in Vinegar. — The other day, a friend called my attention to a small phial of vinegar, which, on being closely examined, was seen to be swarming with living creatures of minute size. When examined by the aid of a microscope, they had the appearance of eels, the microscope making them appear about an inch long, and about as thick as a pin. They appeared to be enjoying themselves im- mensely, wriggling about at a great rate. They were quite transparent, except in parts, where there was a dark matter in their interior which I took to be food. As a great many microscopists read this paper, I thought some of them would kindly explain what these were, and how they came. — W. Finch, jun. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 65 MATERNAL INSTINCT. WITHOUT desiring to rake up any of the evidence which has been tendered in favour of and adverse to the probability of the viper swallow- ing her young in presence of threatened danger — beyond noting the fact that, while there is no physi- cal obstruction to their being received into the mouth, gullet or stomach, there are certainly no special and exceptional facilities in the structure of those parts to admit of it in the adder, as has been alleged — may not this question be asked : — Supposing it to be proved that such a proceeding does take place, will not that be the only instance in nature of a mother betraying any protective instinct for a brood which do not in any way depend upon her for sub- sistence ? Snakes, whether hatched from extruded eggs or produced alive, are ushered into the world in a perfect condition, and are capable of getting their own living from the moment of birth. If we except slight pigmentary changes in the skin, and the addi- tional development of certain appendages, such as the rattle, the organs and the function in the infant snakeling differ in nowise from those of its parent, beyond mere capacity. Even venomous species enter upon life with a supply of ammunition all ready, and need no training or experience to put it to its proper use. The little nose-horned vipers which were born at the Zoological Gardens last winter killed mice before they had seen the light twelve hours ; and I have known rattlesnakes within three hours of their birth knock over young rats as though they had been shot. Little boas and pythons, too, begin to feed in a similarly short space of time, doubling up their quarry as artistically as the adult of thirty feet ; and newly-hatched grass and other serpents of the ovo- viviparous persuasion have been observed to take tadpoles almost immediately, without involving any maternal interference. In no other part of the world, as far as I have been able to discover, does such a theory obtain with regard to any snake — nor, indeed, with regard to any reptile, except that the Indians on the banks of the Orinoco declare that the female jacare or alligator keeps her young under shelter of ledges and caves in the rocks and disgorges her half-digested food for their benefit ; which, considering that this creature leaves her eggs in the sand to be hatched by the heat of the sun, certainly displays a degree of wisdom on her part equal to that of the oft-quoted wise child which knows its own father ! The common viper is so diffi- cult to keep alive in confinement, that no opportunity has hitherto occurred of settling this vexed question in menageries ; four were born in the Reptilium at the Zoo ten years ago, but did not survive long enough to afford any criterion, and died unswallowed. Russell's vipers, moccassins, and seven-banded snakes have bred there on several occasions ; two batches of hybrids between the Jamaica yellow-snake and a female pale-headed tree-boa were produced ; a large family of common boas made their appearance in the summer of 1877 ; and water vipers, nose-horned vipers, common rattlesnakes, yellow boas and ringed snakes have all been born there. But in the case of none of these has the slightest indication of maternal instinct been shown by the mother, nor have I been able to perceive a trace of anything of the sort in the horrid rattlesnake and others of my own which have given birth to young. The fact that parturient serpents are unusually savage, need scarcely, I think, be taken into account in dealing with this considera- tion. It was stated some years ago that a brood of young smooth snakes, born in captivity, were wont to rush to the mother and take refuge underneath her body when they were disturbed ; but whether there was anything else in the cage for them to take refuge under did not appear. Viviparous lizards occasion- ally swallow their young, but do so from pure alimen- tary motives, without any intention of restoring them to society, and one can conceive of cannibal elapidse, like the hamadryad and chequered snake, acting in a similar manner ; lizards, however, betray no concern for the welfare of their offspring, and it seems strange that if so defenceless a creature as a new-born slow- worm is left to fight its own battles, such elaborate provision should be made for the safety of little veneniferous beings so much better qualified to take care of themselves. In those curious and undoubtedly anomalous in- stances of incubation which have been observed among ovo-viviparous ophidians, an exemplification of something approaching this instinct has been manifested in the violent resentment shown by the serpent when the eggs were disturbed, and the per- tinacity with which she has adhered to her task. A grass-snake in this condition bit my hand as I was taking her temperature ; and to those who are ac- quainted with the character of this reptile, no better proof could be afforded of the intense revolution which its nature must have undergone. A remarkable variation of maternal intuition came under my notice in Nicaragua. Some alligator's eggs had been substituted for the legitimate contents of a hen's nest, and the deluded fowl continued to sit on them until they were hatched. (Alligator's egg s have a hard shell, and are very little bigger than a hen's — much smaller than one would expect.) No words can describe the surprise and astonishment depicted by that hen, as she surveyed the strange chickens. For several hours she pondered over them, never clucking, and making no effort to scratch food for them ; then, finding no solution of the puzzle, she gave it up and beat them to pieces. Arthur Stradling, C.M.Z.S. 29, Woodford Road, Watford. 66 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. NOTE ON CLADOSPORIUM DEPRESSUM. M Y friend Mr. Soppitt, of Saltaire, sent me last month a few leaves of Angelica sylvestris, on which were growing perithecia of Splnzrella ostruthii, Fr. These perithecia are remarkable, as being ag- gregated on small angular greyish spots which are dis- tinctly limited by the venules of the leaf. It appears that the mycelium which has begun to grow within the parenchyma of any intervenular area is unable to penetrate the vascular bundles of the venules, and is consequently confined to the area within which it originated. The perithecia of this species are almost constantly barren in this country, and it becomes a Fig. 50. — One of the serrations of the leaf of Angelica sylvestris, with three intervenular patches of Spluzrella Ostruthii. Fig. 51. — Tuft of fiocci and spores of Cladosporium depressum. question how the fungus is propagated. I was pleased to see one answer to this query in the small tufts of dematoid mould which grew on and round the bases of many of the perithecia. This I found to be Clado- sporium depression, B. and Br. It is well known that the perithecia of many sphneriaceous fungi are adorned in this way, as is so beautifully represented in the plates of Tulasne's " Selecta Fungorum Carpologia ;" and in point of fact most of the fungi contained in the suborder Dematici, like those in the Sphreronemei and others, will be found to be mere modes of repro- duction of species included in other orders. For instance, the common Cladosporium hcrbarum is known to be only the conidial stage of Sphccreia her- lartim, and in the same way it must be admitted that Cladosporium depressum" is the conidial phase of Spharella ostruthii, and the means whereby the fungus propagates itself during the summer, although it must have some other mode of continuing its existence through the winter months. W. B. Grove, B.A. MICROSCOPY. Manchester Microscopical Society. — The annual soiree of this flourishing society was held in the Athenaeum, Manchester, on Saturday evening, February 24th, and was attended by a large company of ladies and gentlemen. There was a capital show of microscopes and microscopic objects, living and dead. During the evening a lecture was delivered by Dr. J. E. Taylor, editor of Science-Gossip, on " Flowers and Fruits, and their Relation to Insects and Birds." Anatomical Objects. — We have received from Mr. R. G. Mason a series of cheap and very effective sections, illustrating the normal anatomy of the mammalian lung, with full instructions for mounting, &c. These cannot fail to be instructive to a young beginner. Meteorites. — Some time ago, I bought one of the slides showing moving bubbles, named by H. M. (page 276), and compared! it carefully with several genuine slides of meteorites, which in no respect does it resemble. I should think it is built up chiefly of waterworn quartz grains (with here and there a grain of orthoclase and (?) Microline) cemented together by an iron-oxide of some kind whose precise constituents can be determined by analysis only; probably it is limonite. M. Hensoldt is a stranger to me, but from all I learn, he would be the last man intentionally to .mislead his fellow-workers, and he could settle the doubt by obtaining an analysis from a recognised authority. Meanwhile will H. M. submit his slides to a competent judge of meteorites and let your readers know the result ? — T., Yorkshire College. Magnifying Measurements. — E. A. C. H. has made some mistake, either in the power of his objective and ocular, or in making his measurements. A 1 -in. objective (assuming, as is usually done by English opticians, that the distance necessary for perfect vision is 10 inches) magnifies 10 diameters. Ross's, Beck's, and Powell and Lealand's B. ocular, magnifies 7J diameters, giving an amplification of 75 diameters ; that is, supposing that the length of the body is 10 inches, but if, as is often the case with continental instruments, it is only 8 inches, or even less, the amplification would of course be only 60. But as E. A. C. H. says his objective and ocular only magnifies 33^ diameters, the length of the body of his HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 6 7 microscope must either not much exceed 4 inches, or his objective has a power of only 4 diameters. If this is not the case, he has made some error in using his camera lucida, and instead of projecting the image on the paper at a distance of 10 inches from the edge of the camera, he has placed it at only 5 inches (or less) ; this would of course diminish it one-half. When desirous of ascertaining the magnifying power of an objective and ocular, I place a six-inch scale divided into jjths, the same distance from the eye as the screw of the objective, and if one eye is directed to the scale, and the other to the magnified image of the divisions of the micrometer, the latter are seen upon the former, and the amplification is easily determined. As no microscopic illustration can be of scientific value, unless its true amplification is given, the correct magnifying power ef the objective and ocular employed should be ascertained and stated. — F. Kit ton. Meteorites. — Referring to H. M.'s remarks on this subject (Science-Gossip, December 1882) — a paper was read before the Quekett Microscopical Club, in November last, calling attention to the fact that the so-called Braunsfels Meteorite is not a meteorite at all, but a quartzite. The opinion of authorities was quoted, and specimens of ^quartzite, &c, were exhibited, showing the similarity existing between them and the so-called Braunfels Meteorite. The above specimens of quartzite, &c, containing fluid cavities, with bubbles which have spontaneous motion (as often enclosed in quartz) were also exhibited side by side, for comparison, at the last Conversazione of the Royal Microscopical Society. — F.R.M.S. Studies in Microscopical Science.— We draw especial attention to No. 38 of this admirable series — a section of rock, "red syenite" from Ord Hill, Sutherland, The slide accompanying the " study " is a most important object, clearly showing all the constituent parts, down to the air bubbles in the quartz. The plate of the "study" describing the syenite is coloured, and is one of the finest which have yet appeared. The letterpress description is written by Professor Heddle, M.D., and is very clear and full of matter interesting to the student. Birds of Brazil.— The following books relate to the ornithology of Brazil: Burmeister: " Systematische UebersichtderThiereBrasiliens " (Leipzig, 1855-56). Vols. 2, 3 relate to birds. Pelzen : " Zur Ornitholo- gie Brasiliens " (Wien, 1871). Spix : "Avium Species novae quas in itinereper Brasiliam anno 1817 collegit et descripsit " (Monachi, 1824-5). Swainson, " Birds of Brazil and Mexico " (London, 1841). Probably this list may serve the purpose of G. A. K., who at p. 277 Vol. XVIII. asks for titles of works on Brazilian Birds. — A Manchester Pythagorean. ZOOLOGY. Biological Works. — Mr. D. F. Howorth has published an admirable paper (read before the Ashton-under-Lyne Biological Society) on "The Natural Sciences as illustrated in the Ashton-under- Lyne Free Library." Local Ornithology. — We beg to call attention to an admirably drawn up " List of the Birds of the Banbury District," by F. C. Apton, B.C., the Rev. B. D'O. Aplin, B.A., and O. V. Aplin. This List is published under the auspices of the Banbury Natural History Society, by John Potts, Banbury. Stafford Scientific Institute and Field Club. — This society has made its influence felt in Stafford by introducing popular science lectures. The following gentlemen have addressed good audiences on various subjects : Dr. J. E. Taylor, editor of Science-Gossip, Mr. Richard A. Proctor, editor of "Knowledge," and Professor W. Barrett, of Dublin. Spiders. — The process described by Mr. E. Lamplough (Science-Gossip, pp. 46, 47, February, 1883) is well known as that by means of which the female spider is impregnated, and has frequently been described by various authors, beginning with Martin Lester in 1678. The exact .method of this process is probably different with most spiders. What has not been so frequently well observed as yet is the method by which the spermatic fluid is transferred by the male spider from its secreting organs to the palpal organs. An exceedingly valuable paper on this (from careful experiment and observations) was read a few days ago before the Linnean Society by Mr. F. M. Campbell, of Hoddesdon. I may add, for the benefit of those who may wish to study our indigenous spiders, that this subject is included, among others connected with spiders, in a work by the present writer, " Spiders of Dorset," published in 1879-81, by the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club, pp. 1-625, withintroduction, pp. i.-xlii., plates i.-vi. — O. P. Cambridge, Bloxworth, Dorset. Helix obvoluta. — I am glad to corroborate a note which appeared in an old number of your valu- able paper, as to Crabbe Wood, near here, being a locality for that rare shell Helix obvoluta. I have found it there for the last three years in company with Clausilia rolphii, both alive, and also the empty shells under hazels, where the snail always hibernates accord- ing to my experience. Winchester is at least fifteen miles from Buriton, the woods near which place are the only locality I have been able to find in works on conchology. Surely, therefore, its existence here is a strong argument for its being indigenous, inasmuch as (if my memory serves me rightly) Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys reasons the same point from its occurrence 68 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. in two woods near Buriton only six miles apart. I should be glad to hear from any of your correspon- dents, whether they have discovered localities other than those to be found in the principal woods. En passant, I may be allowed to mention that at Tenby — a very favourite watering-place of mine — I last year found Helix pisana as plentiful as ever, simply swarming on the grassy slopes by the town. This note may interest your readers. I must apologise for so much intrusion on your space. — B. Tomlin, Winchester College. Black Stork.— Your correspondent H. W. Lett will, I am sure, be glad to hear that the black stork recorded by him, although the first Irish specimen, is by no means the fifth British killed individual ; there are thirteen recorded instances of the occurrence of the black stork in England, in addition to which three were seen for some days in the county of Norfolk in the year 1823, all of which escaped the usual fate of rare visitors to our inhospitable shores. Mr. Lett's bird will therefore be the seventeenth British black stork.— T. S. The Yorkshire List of Lepidoptera. — For some years past Mr. Geo. T. Porritt, F.L.S., of Huddersfield, whose fitness for the task is well known, has been engaged upon a List of the Lepid- optera known to occur in Yorkshire, for the "Transactions of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union." He has been aided by the leading naturalists of the county, and has also paid attention to the literature of the subject, and has now finished the task. The result of his labours, which many besides Yorkshire naturalists will be pleased to see, has been the preparation of a catalogue which need not fear comparison with that of any other county in these kingdoms, including 1344 out of the 2031 on the British list, or a proportion of about two-thirds. The list will occupy about 130 pages of the Transactions. BOTANY. New British Species of Mucorini. — During the past four months, I have succeeded in finding the following six species of the Mucorini, concerning which I can discover no previous record of their occurrence in Britain : Pilobolus cedipus, Montagne. Stem short and thickish ; swelling turbinate ; colum- ella very obtuse, piercing the sporangium nearly to the summit. Spores spherical, granular, unequal in the same sporange, 10-5-1-48 /u, with a distinct epispore, germinating easily in water. On cow or pig's dung. Pilobolus Kleinii, Van Tieghem. Stem slender and elongated ; swelling ovoid ; superior hemisphere of the sporangium not reticulated ; columella conical, spores oval-oblong, variable, orange, averaging 15 /t X 8 fj., not germinating in pure water. On horse and cow dung. These two species have hitherto been confounded by observers with P. crystallinus r Tode. Pilaira Cesalii, Van Tieghem. This species, which is the Pilobolus anomalus of Cesati, has the sporange nearly the same in structure as Pilobolus, but differs in not projecting its sporange explosively as the latter does. It is a much taller plant, reaching above one inch in height, while the two Piloboli mentioned above do not exceed one-tenth of an inch. Columella hemispherical, the lower half forming an apophysis below the sporange ; stem cylindrical, not septate at the base. Among Mucor on horse dung. I have also found Chatocladium Brefeldii, parasitic on Thamnidium elegans ; Piptocephalis Freseniana, De B. & \V., parasitic on Mucor ; and a species allied to Morticrella tuberosa, Van Tieghem, which may possibly prove to be distinct. — W. B. Grove, B.A. Curious structure of an Orange. — While pulling an orange in half, a small cavity was disclosed at the stalk end, which contained another small orange covered with pulp and attached towards the stalk end by the same substance. I do not know whether such deformities in oranges are common, and should be glad to hear if any of your correspondents have observed any. — F. H. Parrott, Aylesbury. Autumn Primroses. — Observations similar to those of your correspondent, Mr. J. S. (Luton) reveal- ing the open character of the last three winters in their influence on the South Bedfordshire woods, should interest solar physicists, who will recall that in 1876 Professor Balfour Stewart asserted that the winter temperature range at Kew was greatest at the time of sun-spots. But what should likewise interest North countrymen, I have at the present moment lying before me a slim and slender primrose, picked on the estate of the Marquis of Bute, at Mountstuart, in the island of Bute, on the 9th of September last. It has scarcely half the dimensions of an English March blossom, and retains much of the sepulchral beauty of its native pine shade. Although it be rumoured Mountstuart is a paradise of mildness, there was an impression on my mind that the stray late-blooming primroses met with in the Western Highlands had been retarded by the excessive spring rainfall. Perhaps some one knows ? — A. H. Swinton % Guildford. Early Flowers.— While making for home this afternoon, I found some of the common avens, or herb Bennett (Geum urbamem) out in all its glory. Is it not very early for it to be so I—Alex. Ogilby. Early Flowers. — During the week January 8-15 I found several plants of the lesser celandine or pile- wort {R.ficarid) in blossom. They grew on a lawn, under a leafless but spreading Spanish chestnut tree,, whose branches ran along the ground for 15 to 20 feet. Locality — border of Sussex and Surrey ; HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 6 9 ■weather cold and foggy. Only a few of the blos- soms were perfect, the sepals and petals being often wanting. On January 21st, I observed that the •filberts (in the weald of Kent) showed many female blossoms, the male flowers being only partially expanded. — M. E. Pope, Edgbaston. Fungus in Oranges. — Would some reader kindly inform me the name of a fungus which grows in an orange ? I found one growing on a pippin ; it "had grown up to the rind, which was slightly black- ened. I have cut it out, and dried it. I never met -with one like it before ; curiously enough the fruit was not injured in the least, it grew up like a black tulip, not mixing with the fruit. — S. A. B. Etymology of Sphagnum. — Could any of your readers enlighten me with regard to the word Sphag- num ? I believe there is no classical authority for it ; and it cannot be imported from the Greek, as the word acpayvov does not exist. Pliny uses the word rrcpayvos. So it appears to me it would be more correct to speak of a sphagnus and the sphagni. — B. Piffard. GEOLOGY. Lower Palaeozoic Rocks, Cornwall. — Serpen- tines have been divided into Ophite (methylosis igne- ous rocks) ; Ophiolyte (methylosis calcareous rocks), while the latter may be Ophicalcite or Ophidolo- mite, in which respectively part of the calcite, or part of the dolomite, is unchanged. Most of the ophites ihat I am acquainted with are intrusive masses, but as some eruptive rocks are in bedded masses, some ophites after them are also in bedded masses. Tuffs more usually are changed into steatite and allied rocks, but some in part are changed into ophite ; ■such often have a look as if they were intruded into the bed of steatite, but more correctly they are part of the bed. Lately I met in the co. Wexford a peculiar bedded ophite — in part ophite and in part smaragdilyte. Ophiolytes are nearly invariably in bedded masses ; yet, in the eastern portion of the Mweelrea mountains, north of Killary Bay, co. Mayo, there are curious intrusions or protrusions of calcar- eous rock, generally more orlessdolomitic and in part ophiolyte or steatite. All the Cornish rocks, as far as I examined them, were ophitic, usually methy- losis Gabbro or diallage rock, and occurred as intrusions. However, on the coast line between St. Michael's Mount and the Lizard there are tuffs changed in part into steatite and in part into ophite, and these to me appeared to be in bedded masses. Elsewhere I have suggested that the Lower Palaeozoic rocks of the Lizard probably are either Cambro-Silurian (Lower Silurian) or Cambrian, as they and their associated eruptive rocks are very similar to the rocks of these formations in Ireland. There is, however, no direct evidence to prove their age, further than that they belong to one of the Lower Palreozoic formations, but to which of these it is hard to say, and my suggestion is just as probably correct as not. The Cornish ophites are metalliferous, as are also the Irish Cambro-Silurian ophites. — G. H. K., Lurgy brack, Letterkenny, co. Donegal. Fossil Oolitic Madreporaria.— A paper on this subject has been read before the Geological Society by Robert F. Tomes. The author called at- tention to the fact that there has been sometimes in the study of corals a confusion made between growth by fissiparity and by gemmation. If the former process result from the gradual conjunction of two opposite septa, so as to form a new divisional wall in the calyx, there is no risk of any such confusion ; but if the separation has been by the formation of a constric- tion in the central part of an elongated calyx, this may be, and has been, confused with growth by gemmation. A large number of the forms here described were col- lected near Fairford, Gloucestershire. They occur in a white marly clay, occurring between the Forest Marble and the Cornbrash. A detailed section was given, and the particulars of some other coralliferous beds. These are not all upon the same horizon, though there is a considerable relation between their coral faunas. The author gave a description of twenty genera and thirty-four species. Of these the follow- ing genera are new to the British Oolites : Bathy- ccenia, a new group of the family Astrteidae (Eusmi- linae), containing two species ; Favia, Astroccenia, Enallohelia, and Tricycloseris are for the first time recorded as occurring in the British Oolites ; and Confusastrsea and Oroseris, recorded by the author from the Inferior Oolite, are now added to the coral- fauna of the Great Oolite. In the discussion which followed, the chairman expressed his sense of the value of the paper. He observed that most of these corals were compound, and some of them especially peculiar to reefs ; although compound Madreporaria were found living as deep as 750 fathoms. They, therefore, did not seem to very much elucidate the question of the depth of the Mesozoic sea. Simple or solitary corals certainly did not throw more light upon the question, because they occurred from shallow water to very great depths, even to 3000 fathoms. Mr. Brown's collection, mentioned by the author, come not from two horizons, but all from one, at a spot about two miles W. of Cirencester, in a zone about 6-18 inches thick, near the top of the Great Oolite. Professor P. M. Duncan confirmed the statement of Professor Prestwich, about the horizons from which Mr. Brown's collection was made. These corals, described by Mr. Tomes, were from lenticular coral-beds, not from reefs. They could hardly be very deep-sea formations, from the oolite contained in them, which seemed at the present time to be a 7o HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. shore-formation. It was a mistake to suppose that live reef-building corals ever occurred below about 25 fathoms. It was to be regretted that a good writer such as the author did not come more frequently among his fellow-workers, for he would then have learnt that many of the statements made by him about calycular gemmation and fissiparity were already in print, and had been so from the days of Milne-Edwards. Fissiparity and gemmation were quite distinct things. Some corals keep the figure of 8 described by the author, some depart from it during subsequent growth. Unfortunately M. de Fromentel, referred to by the author, was not a student of recent corals. The cosmilian forms had been found exhi- biting fissiparity ; these had been actually renamed by Mr. Tomes, though the speaker had already assigned them to an existing genus. He felt doubts as to the validity of some of the genera proposed by Mr. Tomes. The coral could not be named Con- fusastrsea without a section ; it presented some char- acters allied to Favia. He called attention to the so- called Cyathophone, which had lost their septa and all their internal characters. Sections, he would observe, were absolutely necessary for the study of fossil corals. " Proceedings of The Geologists' Associa- tion." — No. 7 (vol. vii.) of the above, besides very interesting accounts [of excursions, contains papers "On a New Section in the Thames Valley," by J. L. Lobley, F.G.S., and " Notes on the Geology of Cumberland North of the Lake District," by T. V. Holmes, F.G.S. Discovery of Remains of the Large Elk at Monmouth. — A short time ago the discovery was made at a part of the river Severn, known as Hayward's Bay, near Aure, and the find is now in the possession of Mr. Charles Philps, of Aure. It consists of a fine buck's head and antlers, the former being partially petrified, while the latter are of gigantic dimensions. There are seven spurs on each antler, one spur on the left being no less than 152 inches in length. The length of the antlers, from the crown of the head to the tip, is 3 feet 7§ inches, while the bases of the antlers measure 7f inches, the width from tip to tip being 3 feet ij inches. The specimen, which is in remarkably good preservation, seems to point to the fact of the large elk, numerous remains of which were found in King Arthur's Cave, Doward, having been an inhabitant of Dean Forest. — L. Francis, "Love-mouse." — A day or two ago my daughter was presented with a dormouse by a cottager, who called it a " love-mouse." Have you or any of your numerous readers heard this name before, and what can be the origin of it ? — IV. Hambrough, NOTES AND QUERIES. Spontaneous Generation. — Mr. Hamson asks me to give my reasons for the statement that " There is no such phenomenon as spontaneous generation," and then proceeds to ask several questions. How do I know there is no such phenomenon as spontaneous generation ? Do I argue that because snails are not produced spontaneously, there is no such process at all ; or do I hold that, because spontaneous genera- tion has not yet been detected, no such process is possible, or, if possible, that it never will be discovered ? I think that my words were sufficiently clear, and that 99 per cent, of those who read my little article would understand me to refer to our present knowledge, not to the possibilities of future dis- coveries in this branch of science. I still contend that, so far as our knowledge goes at present, we are justified in saying there is no such phenomenon. Some of the greatest investigators have carefully and laboriously experimented in relation to this subject, and so far the results have been purely negative in character. All our knowledge of the life-histories of animals and plants points to the fact that they are the offspring of individuals of the same type, and, proceeding on the sound scientific principle of explaining the unknown by the known, we are more than justified in saying that all animals and plants are produced in the same way. Until it ^ is shown that ceitain species are produced spontaneously, I am justified in declaring there is no such phenomenon as spontaneous generation. With the future possibilities of development I had nothing to do. It is quite possible, perhaps probable, that in the future we may be able to raise our meat supplies spontaneously and thus do away with the necessity for imports from America ; but at present we are correct in stating there is no such phenomenon, and in so saying we cast no slur upon the possibilities of the future. Mr. Hamson also objects to the statement that no living cell can be produced, save by the division of an already existing cell, which is really saying in different words there is no such thing as spontaneous generation. He refers to Sachs to show that the division of a cell need not of necessity occur in the production of a new one ; but the cases he cites are not those of the production of new cells. In his first example it is only the cell-sac which is renewed, not the cell, which consists — according to Huxley — of sac and protoplasmic contents. The living portion remains unchanged, and we no more have a new cell than we have a new lobster when that crustacean casts its old covering and secretes a new one. Case number two is not an instance of the production of a new cell, but of the effacement of an old one ; just as Trembley in forcing one hydra into another did not produce a new individual, but effaced an old one by incorporating it with another. In conclusion, I must thank Mr. Hamson for the compliment contained in his first sentence and for the kindly tone of his strictures. — The Author of ii Pond-Snails." French Books on Natural History. — Will some reader of Science-Gossip kindly send a short list of the more important French works on Natural History t — JV. J. V. Vandcnbcrgh. Can Pigs Swim ? — There is a very general notion about that a pig cannot swim ; and that if piggy attempts the feat he "cuts his throat," and so comes to grief. Is this a well-established fact, or merely a popular delusion ? — IV. II. J. HARD WICKKS S CIENCE- G OS SIP. IT- Eagles and their Young. — Is there any foun- dation of scientific fact for the belief that eagles bear their young from their eyries upon their wings, in order to teach them to fly ? — J. H. Ingleby, North- allerton. Water Snails. — With respect to the statement of the author of the paper on " Pond Snails" that appeared in these pages last year ; in the first place I am greatly indebted for the extremely courteous reply, but I must deprecate the rapidity with which deductions are arrived at therein. I never meant to convey the impression that what I termed the "old belief," concerning the formation of the shell in mollusca, was altogether an "exploded statement." Audi alteram partem was the ground I took up, and a desire to give both views without bias inspired the intentionally cautious wording of the passage quoted from my paper, now two years old. Supposing, however, that I may have seen fit since that date to make up what I am pleased to call my mind on the subject, I fail to see the implied stigma attaching thereunto ; for I hold that conservatism in science is quite out of place. With regard to the second point in question, I can only express my admiration of an author who can pin his faith on the somewhat dogmatic assertion of an eminent but by no means undisputed authority. Professor Ray-Lankester's statement that "the foot is essentially a greatly developed lower lip," occurs towards the commence- ment of his paper and before he begins to treat of the development of Limncca stagnalis at all ; nor does he again allude to the subject throughout his article, and he even passes over without comment Kifer- stein's observation, which he quotes from a paper by that author in Braun's "Thierreich" (Bd. iii. p. 1230) and which reads as follows : — "Beneath the mouth the body now flattens itself out and forms a process . . . the foot." Yet on this solitary statement of Professor Ray-Lankester's our unknown author founds his observation that "it may be interesting to note, that what is known as the 'foot' of the snail is shown by this embryonic development be really an under lip." What I am anxious to obtain therefore is some proof of this statement, and up to the present I have searched unsuccessfully for it. Carpenter, Gegenbaur, and Balfour do not, so far as I can see, make mention of it in their Manuals ; whilst Professor Huxley in his " Manual of the Anatomy of Inverte- brated Animals " quotes Professor Lankester's paper frequently, but ignores hie theory respecting the homology of the " foot,' 1 and when describing the development of Limnrea, distinctly states (p. 500) that "The foot commences as a papilla immediately behind the mouth," and again, referring to the class Gasteropoda, he says, "The mesosoma is generally prolonged into a muscular foot ; " — no reference any- where to this under lip theory, nor can I find any conchological friend to support it ; but some, I believe, maintain that the foot in both Gasteropoda and Conchifera is a muscular extension of the mantle. Under these circumstances, when there is such want of agreement between professors, is it fair to us less well-informed students of Nature to put before us as facts, statements the correctness of which is not established ? It is, I venture to think, a matter for regret that a large number of writers for the general public still seem to consider any admission of want of knowledge a crime, and hence are tempted to give forth to the world, as established truths, statements based on observations which subsequent research proves to have been erroneous. The next generation of writers flourish forth assertions of perhaps an exactly opposite and equally erroneous nature, and Science is dubbed by the unitiated as fickle, and scouted by many accordingly — and all through the zeal of well- meaning votaries. The day has surely come when dogmatism may be safely relegated to theologians, for with Science it should have no part. In making these remarks, be it understood I am not actuated in the smallest degree by any feeling of ill-will towards my unknown correspondent, who probably is better acquainted with the subject than I can ever hope to be; but I am merely protesting against what I conceive has hitherto been far too largely a fashion with popular writers. — B. B. Woodward. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now publish Science-Gossip earlier than heretofore, we cannot possibly insert in the following number any communications which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. To Anonymous Querists. — We receive so many queries which do not bear the writers' names that we are forced to adhere to our rule of not noticing them. 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. R. H. Wellington. — What kind of "curiosities" is it you require to be named? We shall be glad to help you, either by referring to the proper books, or to name specimens you cannot easily find described. J. Smith (Kilwinning). — The spider you sent us is called Tegenaria atrica. X. Y. Z. (Campden). — Bramble No. 1, Rubus villicaulis. No. 2, Rubus r!ta}iinifolius (?). No. 3, a form of the true Viola canina, L. J. S. (Bolton). — No. 1, Funaria hygrometrica. No. 2, Tortula muralis, L. Nos. 3 and 4, also Funaria, intermixed with Bryum. J. E. A. — Thanks for your notes on " spiders," which shall appear at an early date. We shall be pleased to insert any further observations on the same subject. G. R. — The subject of Reason in Animals was thoroughly discussed from both sides in Science-Gossip for 1879, ana we could not afford space to reopen the discussion. Thanks for your able contribution. E. F. L. — Several articles have appeared in our columns on " Collecting and Preparing Botanical Specimens," and on " How to make a Herbarium." The former is republished in " Notes on Collecting and Preserving Natural History Objects." J. F. George.- 1 — Thanks for the specimen of earth. L. Francis. — The " markings " on the stone sent are the impressions of the bark of a fossil tree, called lepidodendron. G. E. East. — The " Proceedings of the Geological Associa- tion " are sold by E. Stanford, Charing Cross, at is. 6d. each part. "The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society" is sold at the Society's apartments, Burlington House, price 5*. The "Journal of Conchology" is published by Taylor Brothers, St. Ann Street, Leeds, price is. "Young Botanist." — Get Alcock's " Botanical Names for English Readers," published by LovelljReeve & Co. E. Maun. — The sketch you sent us is undoubtedly that of the bee orchis. E. J. E. Creese. — We cannot tell the definite species of parasitic fungus by your rough sketch. It is evidently in fruit. W. K. Mann. — You will find an index to the vol. for 1882 in the December number. H. L. (Maidstone). — No 1 is Lamium incisutn, Willd. ; No. 2, pepperwort [LeJ>idiumca}nJ>estre;Br.) ; Nos. 3 and 4, the same species, though it is very variable, Equisetuiti arvcnse, L.; No. 5, hairy willow [Salix lanaia, L.). EXCHANGES. Wanted, specimens of Lepidoptera, English or foreign, (must be suitable) for microscopic objects, named. Will give in ex- change, mounted objects or material ready for mounting.— M. R. I., 51 Great Prescott Street, London, E. For packet of zoophytes and marine algae send stamped envelope to — J. Wooler, 11 Farm Road, Brighton. 72 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. The undermentioned unbound books, in good order, for cabi- net for microscopic objects, to hold not less than 500 : — Science- Gossip, from 'Jan. 1865 to Dec. 1878, Sept. 1S76 missing; " Intellectual Observer " and "Student and Int. Ob ," Aug. 1864 to Jan. 1871, five or six coloured plates missing ; " Popular Science Review," Jan. 1870 to April 1878; "Leisure Hour," Jan. 1880 to Dec. 1882. Or what offers?— E. H. Robertson, Swalcliffe, Banbury, Oxon. Wanted, Rye's " British Beetles," in good condition ; will give in exchange, J. G.Wood's "Common Objects of the Mi- croscope," and Harper's " Glimpses of Ocean Life," coloured plates, new ; or any suitable exchange. Also, J. G. Wood's " British Beetles," coloured plates ; will give Coleman's British Butterflies," coloured plates. Wanted, Wood's "Insects at Home" and " Insects Abroad ;" suitable exchange. — John McKay, 30 Hope Street, Glasgow, N.B. Science-Gossip for 1878. Desiderata: British birds' eggs (side-blown, one hole), and Lepidoptera, numerous. — F. J. Rasell, 30 Argyle Street, St. James' End, Northampton. Wanted, " Popular History of British Lichens," by W. Lauder Lindsay, M.D. — Arthur J. Doherty, 25 Barton Street, Moss Side, Manchester. Wanted, "Notes on Collecting and Preserving Natural History Objects," by J. E. Taylor; will exchange Lankester's "Half Hours with the Microscope." Also wanted, "The Postal Microscopical Journal " for last year. — L. Francis, 20 Frogmore Street, Abergavenny. Fossils. — A series of splendid specimens of Upper Silurian, including many Trilobites, Encrinites, &c, given in exchange for a good cabinet. State dimensions to F., 106 Finch Road, Handsworth, Birmingham. Wanted, specimens of -the Pre -Cambrian rocks of Lake dis- trict, and other localities, suitable for comparison with Cham- wood Forest. Exchange. H. E. Quilter, 49 Earl Howe Street, Leicester. Duplicates : Atalanta, Antiopa, Rhamni, Aegon, Ocellatus, Opiformis, Sambucata, Repandata, Pusaria, Elulata, Litho- xylea, Psi, Viminalis, Meticulosa, Chrysites, Libatrix, Margin- ata, Salicis. Desiderata : Paphia, Agliai, Adippe, Selene, Artemis, Athalia, Z. Minos, Trifolii, Meliloti, Lonocerae, Tristata, Curtula, Reclusa, Trepida, Falcula, Humuli, Villica. — J. Bates, 10, Orchard Terrace, Wellingborough. Wanted Davis's " Practical Microscopy," Cooke's "Ponds and Ditches," and Microscopic Fungi," or_ other Natural History books. Good value in choice micro slides. List sent on application. — E. Hurry, Chard, Somerset. Good trolling or bottom-fishing rod, hardly used, to exchange for micro apparatus or books. — E. Hurry, Chard, Somerset. What offers for microphotographs, all French subjects, from the art galleries, mounted on polished glass slips ? List free. R. Blakeborough, 50 Church Street, Guisborough. Wanted correspondents in all parts of the world to ex- change living specimens of reptiles and amphibia. — E. Ehn- hart, 14 Gumpendorferstrasse, Vienna, Austria. Wanted a good double or triple nosepiece, also a first-class condenser. Exchange well-mounted slides ; sample slides sent if required. — George Ward, Wallwood Nursery, Leytonstone, E. Liberal exchange in first-class objects, for polyzoa, Angui- naria spatula. Communicate before sending to E. Wheeler, 48 Tollington Road, Holloway, London, N. Wanted side-blown eggs English or foreign, in exchange for griffin vulture, white stork, golden-eye duck, kite, caper- cailzie, buzzard, great bustard, and many others ; also some foreign duplicate nests and eggs to exchange. Model of the great ant's egg wanted in exchange for eggs.— G. Widdas, Woodsley View, Leeds. For unmounted hairs of orang-outan, chimpanzee, platypus, echidna, &c, send a stamped directed envelope to — George E. Mason, 6 Park Lane, Piccadilly, London. Books on Botany and Natural History in exchange for others on mosses, beetles and shells.— W. Macmillan, Castle Cary, Somerset. One dozen well-mounted slides of starches, all different, and true to name, in exchange, together or separately, for other slides of interest.— D. Burford, Bowbridge, Stroud, Glos. Helix sericea, Val. cristata, Sue. putris, Cyclos. elegans, Pupa secale, Plan, earinatus, and about forty other species in exchange for British or foreign shells. Lists sent. Unac- cepted offers not answered. — F. Wotton, Adamsdown, Cardiff. Wanted a copy of Hobkirk's " British Mosses."— A. E. Lomax, 56 Vauxhall Road, Liverpool. Transverse section of hedgehog spine, mounted opaque, in exchange for another slide.— John Moore, 12 Parchester Street, near Clifford Street, Birmingham. Marine Alg>e, wanted Odonthalia, Rhodomela, Bostrychia, Bonnemaisonia, Sphsrococcus, Nemalion, &c, for Dclcsseria Hypoglossum, Baccaria Whiggii, Polysiphona byssoides, Arthroclada viliosa, Sporochnos pedunculalus, Lomcntaria ovalis. — J. Wooller, n Farm Road, Brighton. Carefully named Silurian and other fossils to exchange for others, especially chalk, greensand, oolitic and crag, also Devonian, carboniferous, &c. specimens ; also an excellent ten guinea galvanic battery by Halse, to exchange for a food geological cabinet or well-mounted microscopic objects. — '. T. Gwom, Belmont, Wellington, Salop. Wanted to exchange a number of second-hand books, several on chemistry. What offers? — J. H. M., 17 Walham Grove, Fulham, S.W. Offered with an American unionida and British land and freshwater shells for a good Mitra regitui or Murex clavus. — F. M. Hele, Elmgrove Road, Fairlight, Cotham, Bristol. Wood's " Naturalists' Handbook," new, cardboard cells for opaque objects, and good slides. Want in exchange Natural Science books, good micro material and accessories. — J. C. Blackshaw, 57 Cross Street South, Wolverhampton. A 4-DRAW telescope with 5 lenses, cost 17J. 6d. ; will exchange for fossils. — F. B. Mason, St. Gregory's, Stratford. Diatomaceous earth rich in coxmodiscus, &c, from Calvert County, U.S.A., for a little Bermuda earth or polycistime. — F. J. George, Chorley, Lancaster. Wanted foreign polyzoas. I shall be glad to correspond with any one who will be able to send me foreign polyzoas. I will give in exchange first-class slides or material. Spicules and micro-fungi sent in exchange for unprepared material only. See Science-Gossip for February. — J. Tempere, Storrington, Sussex. Eggs of osprey, killdeer, spotted sandpiper, black-billed cuckoo, Colin, &c, in full sets, with data to exchange for other eggs. Offers requested. — W. Wells, Bladen Stone, Staffordshire- Wanted, coins, medals, tokens, |foreign stamps and post- cards. I offer in exchange good fossils from almost all forma- tions, or seaweeds and other natural objects. — F. Stanley,. 6 Clifton Gardens, Margate. Wanted the three guinea edition of Sowerby's "British. Botany," with coloured plates (last edition). — Edwin E. Turner,. Post Office, Coggeshall, Essex. One thousand foreign stamps for exchange, either in large or small numbers, for micro slides only, diatoms or insects pre- ferred ; accepted offers answered only. Particulars to F. E. H., 1 Harcourt Road, Wallington, Surrey. Wanted, extremely rare foreign postage stamps and English silver coins, in exchange for butterflies, moths, beetles, birds' eggs and skins, and foreign shells.— W. K. Mann, Wellington, Terrace, Clifton, Bristol. A mahogany cabinet, 20 in. Xi6in.Xi6in. with 8 drawers, each iiin. deep, fitted with trays to hold over 1000 microscopic slides, or without trays suitable for egg or cabinet. Wanted, good, microscopic slides, scientific books, or useful article. — R. L. Hawkins, Ivystead, Hastings. Wanted, Helix nemoralis, hortensis and hybrida from, different localities, also any information about their distribution, or pamphlets about them. I will try to make a return. — Hugh Richardson, Ackworth School, near Pontefract. BOOKS, ETC., RECEIVED. " Snakes." By C. G. Hopley. London : Griffith & Farran. " Flora of Hampshire." By F. Townsend. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. " Studies in Microscopical Science," edited by A. G. Cole. " Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society," Feb., 1883. "Transactions of Yorkshire Naturalists' Union," Part. 4. f Land and Water." " Northern Microscopist." "Midland Naturalist." " Practical Naturalist." "The Field Naturalist." " The Young Naturalist." " Natural History Notes." " American Naturalist." " Canadian Naturalist." " American Monthly Microscopical Journal." " Boston Journal of Chemistry." " Good Health." "The Botanical Gazette." " La Feuille des Jeunes Naturalistes." " Le Monde de la Science." "CieletTerre." " Cosmos : les Mondes." *' Bulletin de la Socie'te Beige de Microscopie." &c. &c. &c Communications received up to ioth ult. from : — T. T.— F. W. P.— J. B.— F. J. R.-J. S.— A. J. D.-W. G.— A. G. C— F. H. P.— C. F. G.— B. P.— A. H. B.-L. F.— E. J. E. C.-G. A. B. D.-A. W. O.— A. S.— J. T.-H. L.— M. E. P.— W. D.-J. C. B.— T. T. G.— J. W.— J. M.-A. E. L. — F M H — F. W W.— J. H. M.— D. B.— W. M.— G. H. R. — G. E. M.-G. W.-H. M. D.-E. W.-G. W.— C. E.— F. E H.- G. E. E.— E. E. T.-L. F.— F. S.— R. B.— F. B. M. -J. H.-A. O.-S. A. B.— F. J. G.-W. W. B.-E. I.- E H. W— E. H.— W. D. R— P. M. C. K— A. J. H.— W K. M.— G. S. B.— D. B. G.— S. S.— G. S. S.-H. R.— R H.-E. F. L.— H. E. Q.-F. T.-W. F.— 0. P. C— E. H. — T. E. A.-W. E. W.— R. G. M.— J. W.— W. J. R.— J. B.— G. R., jun.-S. A.-Dr. P. Q. K.-W. H.-J. S.-J. M. Sh.— E H. R.-E. H.— B. T.— M. R. I.— H. E. W.-G. F. H.— G. B.-R. H. W.-F. R. M. S.— H. L., &c. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 73 MIND AMONG THE LOWER ANIMALS. By Dr. P. QUIN KEEGAN. t£^P{\ N reference to some notes that have recently appeared in Science-Gos- sip relative to reason and in- stinct, perhaps it may be proper to endeavour to sketch and eluci- date as clearly as possible the actual constitution or condition of some of the higher types of mind among the lower animals. That many of these creatures possess exceedingly powerful and efficient senses, such as sight, hearing and smell, and, in a less degree, taste and general touch or sensibility, there can be no doubt. And there are strong grounds to conclude, that their more highly-endowed senses not only enable them to detect sensible qualities and effects of sight, sound, and smell, of which we are wholly ignorant, but also furnish them with a richer stock of what have been styled acquired perceptions. But these vigorous faculties convey a knowledge of objects in the concrete only. When, for instance, a dog smells or sees a piece of meat or other food, he does not recognise it as a piece of meat, &c. He does not know it by that or by any other name, he could not describe it as such : his mind does not expand to or embrace the general notion of " meat." He simply views it as this parti- cular piece of edible matter, having a certain shape, colour, and smell, which his organism recognises as proceeding from something fitted for diet ; and most probably every new piece of meat that is presented to his nostrils has to undergo the same process of sniffing, &c, before it is swallowed. There is no necessary No. 220.— April 18S3. connection, through memory or relation, between different particles of food offered to him at different times. Moreover, the lower animals are endowed with the faculties of memory, reproduction and imagination (i.e. the imaging power of memory) ; but these powers are exercised only upon concrete objects of thought. The power of association of ideas is extremely vigorously developed among such creatures as the dog and cat ; but the associated ideas generally come up according to the law of contiguity, seldom or pro- bably never according to the law of correlation. A dog in his dreams, for instance, recognises by his barking and growling some memorial of a strictly concrete object previously known and experienced. Man, on the other hand, can remember or reproduce general notions or concepts, as well as concrete notions, i.e. we can consider and reflect upon the general notion of flower, bird, &c, as well as consider or reflect upon any particular flower or bird. Brutes have little or no self-consciousness, and their conscious life is, for the foregoing reasons, concerned chiefly with the concrete. The conscious life of man, on the other hand, is more frequently exercised upon general notions. This is a very important and fundamental difference ; and it results therefrom, that the lower animals understand proper names only, and not common names. A dog can easily be taught to know the name of his master or his own name ; but you might thunder the word fish a thousand times into a cat's ear and she would certainly hear what you said, but she would not understand what you meant. "Dogs," says Bowen, "can even be taught to know the names of particular places and buildings, so that they can understand and obey when they are told to go to the barn, the river, or the house. But it is always the particular barn, or other object, with which they have been taught to associate this sound or significant gesture as its proper name. Carry the animal to a distant place, near which may be a set of correspond- ing objects, and then tell him to go to the barn or the river, and he will not understand the command as applying to the new set of objects, but will imme- 74 HARD WICKE ' S S CIENCE- G SSI P. diately set off for the old building or place, with whose proper name alone he is familiar." As the German metaphysician has it, "a dog knows his master, but does not recognise him through his peculiar marks or attributes, and thereby does not properly discriminate him from other persons." That brutes possess the faculty of voluntary reminiscence is very doubtful. Hence the power of reflection is denied to them, and hence also any elevated form of conscious sagacity is with them impossible. From birds upwards, there appears a subtle power, which may be termed the symbolic faculty. It constitutes a most important and indispensable factor in the operations of the mind of the lower animals. It implies a knowledge, not merely of the concrete object itself as observed by the senses, but also that this object is representative or suggestive of something else. The master putting on his hat and grasping his cane, &c, suggests to the dog the idea of some particular delightful walk pre- viously experienced, and he manifests by barking and frisking, the anticipation of enjoying such pleasure over again. This power operates through the asso- ciation of ideas, and is strictly confined to the concrete, and does not embrace the wondrous symbolic power of human language and gesture, which is absolutely unique. There is no doubt that brutes can compare one in- dividual object or event with another, and thereby ascertain some relation between them, as that of simi- larity or difference, or quantity, &c. But this sort of acquisition, although it enlarges knowledge, has been regarded as a fact of observation merely, not of reasoning, properly speaking. The latter does |not strictly enlarge our knowledge, it merely developes or unfolds or explicates it. Thus, for example, we acquire the knowledge that the elk is ruminant by reflecting upon the previously known proposition that all horned animals are ruminant. The lower animals cannot by an act of reasoning draw forth and prove their knowledge, or make it available for use in further inquiry. But they are sufficiently versed in that sort of knowledge which is concrete and par- ticular, and not summed up into general truths. Some speculators maintain that " the animal intelligence can elaborate that class of abstract ideas that may be developed by simple feelings such as hunger." This kind of abstract notion is, however, strictly personal, so to speak ; it does not embrace objects external to the animal itself. It is perhaps less frequently formed, even by man, than most other abstractions, it is of little service in advancing science or knowledge, and it is so constantly referable to particular instances, that it is almost hopeless to endeavour to demonstrate the reality of an abstraction at all. It is unquestion- able, however, that there exists among brutes a faculty of special association, but it operates exclu- sively amongst concrete or particular notions, and it is probably due mainly to the special strength, com- prehensiveness, and keenness of the faculties of obser- vation of these animals. Hence they can learn to play dominoes, but not to play draughts, and many of them can recognise the time upon a watch, &c, yet cannot perform the simplest feat in mental arith- metic. Any problem that requires for its solution that several reminiscences must be conjured up at will is utterly beyond the scope and resources of the lower animal mind. Such, it may be assumed, is the actual constitution of the higher forms of intellect among the lower animals. Now, in what manner does this intellect- power operate in the guidance of action ? This is a question of exceeding interest, of extreme subtlety, and of no small difficulty. Let us, however, endeavour to carry the torch of explanation into the thick shades of doubt wherewith the theme is en- compassed. The actual cause of any bodily action not merely spontaneous is, as we all know, some form of feeling or emotion ; but in the actual per- formance or carrying out of this action, a faculty that has been termed "reason" officiates as a guide or pilot. The steam-power impels the ship, but the man at the helm directs its course. Now, rejecting for the time all consideration of instinct, which is invariably unconscious and mechanical, it may be admitted that animals possess " a power of gathering up the past experience into rules of conduct that guide them in their solitary or gregarious life." This power clearly results from the association of concrete ideas according to the law of contiguity. It is possible, however, that much of this experience is organic, i.e., the organism has the power of register- ing the results of previous impressions. Thus, in the working out of a design, birds ' ' often learn to use special means when special ends have to be provided for." In these instances, it may occur that the innate power of the instinctive faculty may be able to spontaneously expand itself so as to meet existing circumstances ; and it may be fairly doubted if such intelligential modifications of the instinctive tendency are due to conscious reason on the part of the animal. The unconscious instinct of nest-building exhibited by birds must necessarily be adapted, or must spon- taneously adapt itself, to existing circumstances. The same unconscious faculty that induces a sand- marten to tunnel into a sand-bank, can also induce a jackdaw to build an extra support to a nest that had several times slid down a sloping window sill. It is barely necessary to observe, that the principal and more obvious actions of an animal, such as eating, sleeping, frisking, or wandering listlessly about, require for their guidance little or no power of intellect, as such. This latter faculty is more clearly exhibited in its function of pilot in these special actions, such as those of the dog, which so frequently challenge our admiration, and which are so com- monly and ignorantly ascribed to instinct. These specially wondrous and remarkable actions are guided either by special association of concrete HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 75 notions artificially produced by the training of man, or they result from imitation, which may be regarded as a sort of spontaneous training. Those domestic and other animals, such as the dog, horse, and elephant, that constantly associate with man, neces- sarily possess manifold advantages as regards this latter species of pilotage. Mankind in their actions and conduct may be guided by general notions ; but there is no proof whatever that the lower animals can be influenced likewise. A man, for instance, may go to consult an unknown doctor, being guided to him by the general notion of a "good doctor ; " but no dog or monkey was ever seen to go to an unknown baker's shop with the general notion of a " baker's shop " to pilot his steps. A man entering a strange town sees rolls in a certain window, and immediately conclud- ing, by reasoning or perhaps by association, that there lies a baker's shop, he goes in and makes a purchase. But no dog or other animal is capable of such conduct : no dog ever proceeded to a strange baker's shop with a penny in his mouth in order to purchase rolls, unless he had been specially trained to perform the feat in regard to a certain baker's shop in particular, or unless his "bump of imita- tion " was particularly well developed. No doubt a dog, wandering in a part of the country where he has never been before, may on seeing a well forthwith drink if he be thirsty ; but he does not recognize the spot as a well, or the water as water. He lowers his mouth and his senses tell him that there is water before him — and that's all. Every fresh perception of any particle of water is as it were a new perception to the animal, although the memory of former similar perceptions may or may not be added thereto. If the dog had to ask for the water otherwise than by simple "begging," or by making the usual canine signs, i.e., if he was compelled to explain by language or by common names what it was that he required, his powers would utterly fail him here, and he would assuredly forfeit his drink. The mind of the lower animals cannot possibly grasp the abstract or the general-motion ; it cannot by an act of will and by creative imagination call up and reflect upon different plans or methods of performing a certain contemplated action ; and it cannot judge beforehand that certain means are fitted to accomplish certain ends, or are the most efficient enginery for the execution of those ends. Where an action depends in any degree upon mediate reasoning, or upon ingenuity (which is a sort of original practical reasoning), brutes are paralysed ; they cannot budge if a general notion of any kind stands in the way. In all those instances where animals have been observed to use as means towards an end materials not forming part of their own organisation, the action is due to (i) a blind instinctive impulse innate, as it were, in the nervous structure of the creature ; or (2) the power of associa- tion of ideas in its various forms of imitation. Man can and frequently does deliberately and systematically act from principle, i.e., from a general notion of honesty, propriety, prudence, truth, right- eousness, &c, applied to each particular instance that turns up ; but brutes, having no general ideas or principles, and little or no command over their passions, are necessarily the creatures of impulse. This impulse is guided by the association of ideas, and being principally if not wholly an organic spring of action, is fresh or becomes wearied according to the particular organic condition of the animal ; and thus perhaps may be explained the apparent regularity, sanity, and timely cessation of the actions thereof. Having expatiated upon the positive functions and resources of the mind of the lower animals, let us now exhibit a catalogue of powers, feats, &c, which it does not display and cannot accomplish, and which the human mind does reveal and is able to execute. The lower animals do not possess the faculties of (1) self-consciousness, (2) constructive or creative imagi- nation, (3) voluntary reminiscence or attention, (4) the intellectual use of language as a symbol of abstract thought, (5) certain mere elevation kinds of emotion, (6) freedom of the will. In consequence of their mental penury in the powers and functions now specified, the lower animals are unable and unfitted to accomplish the following important processes of thought, &c, viz., reflection, abstraction and gener- alization, and the use of language strictly so termed, induction and deduction, the construction of artistic conceptions, &c, virtue and religion. Moreover, the most important at least of the higher forms of the whole tribe of what are styled intuitions or primary truths are never formed by, and are utterly unknown to, these creatures. They possess no artistic sense, they have no refinements of human civilisation, they can cherish no ideals of the beautiful, picturesque, or sublime. They cannot exhibit religion or virtue or feel the weight of responsibility, i.e., they have no sense of good as good and of binding obligation, nor have they a sense of evil as evil, and as deserving of disapproval. In fine, brutes cannot by voluntary contemplation or otherwisej modify in any way the relative force of different motives or appetencies. They cannot elaborate ideas of God, of infinity, of the beautiful, the lovely or unlovely, space, moral good, &c. Can Pigs Swim ? — The idea mentioned by W. H. J., at p. 70, is one of those absurd popular errors that have a knack of reappearing time after time, though constantly refuted. I have seen a pig swim, and I have known many instances at Warren- point where "piggy" took a header rather than be shipped for England. And so far from cutting his throat " the gentleman that used to pay the rent " performed the feat with an ease and speed that an Irish water spaniel might envy. — H. IV. Lett, M.A. £ 2 7 6 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. THE COMMON ORCHIS {ORCHIS MASCULA). Its Inflorescence. By Edward Malan, M.A. {Continued from page 57.) NOW look at the next illustration of a single flower (fig. 52). It is a miracle of design : compli- cated certainly, but soon explained. The outer floral envelope is composed of three pieces, the same colour as the petals, and constitutes the calyx (A, A, A,) which arrangement is called ternary. The inner floral envelope, also of three pieces, is the corolla, the lower one being the labellum (B, B, B). This labellum is produced into the nectary (C), which passes on one side of the twisted ovary (D). From the base of the ovary a bract (E), forming a careful protection for the bud, arises. Inside this bract the bud reposes before it opens, with the nectary laid flat against the stalk, so that when the flower first appears it is topsy-turvy. The whole spike is en- and how is the flower of the common orchis fertilised ? for self-fertilisation is out of the question. In 1840 the secret was not known, but it was supposed by Dr. Lindley and others, that the pollen-grains passed down into the ovules by means of the tissues, and it was not until 1862, that the late Charles Darwin, after years of laborious study, arrived at the truth. His description of the performance, which he says will not be endured by the general reader, leads to absorbing admiration of plant and man. He says (" Fertilization of Orchids," 2nd ed. p. 11) suppos- ing a bee alights on the labellum, which forms a con- venient landing-place, and thrusts its head into the little yawning throat of the flower, so as to reach the honey (propolis ?) in the papillae at the base of the nectary : it is scarcely possible, owing to the shape of the flower and its nicely-adjusted balance, not to touch the rostellum. Directly the rostellum is touched, a viscid drop exudes which sets hard and fast like cement, and when the bee withdraws its head, apolli- nium is firmly attached. Then another flower is I visited, and behold ! instead of the pollinium remain- Fig 52. — a a a, sepals, same colour as petals ; b b b, petals, light pink, with rostellum and anthers at g and h ; c, labellum, with nectary at n ; d, ovary, with nectary at n, labellum at c, and rictus at R ; e, bract ; f, fauces, with anthers showing. closed in a spathc, which keeps it safe from frost and rain. The apparatus for perfecting a vast supply of seed is the next thing to notice. In the gape of the flower [rictus), and immediately between the helmet and labellum, the conformation of the flower presents the appearance of a throat. Protruding into the throat from above, a fleshy process is seen, called the rostellum (G), strangely resembling the human uvula. This contains the pollinia, two in number, or large waxy club-shaped masses of pollen, not yellow and powdery as in the buttercup and other common flowers, but free and bottle-green, connected by means of tiny elastic threads, and supported by a long fila- ment, with a minute viscid disc at the end. These are the anthers, fitting into the anther-cells, from which as the anther-cells are merely folded longitu- dinally, they can easily be removed (A). The sta- mens and style are consolidated into one column, and the stigma is below and behind the rostellum. An enlarged illustration will make this most intricate plan clearer. Now how is all this costly apparatus employed, ing erect, in thirty seconds the viscid disc has dried, causing thereby the pollinium to sweep through an arc of nearly 90 in the direction of the apex of the pro- boscis, so that it exactly touches the stigma. For a fuller account, the reader is recommended Darwin's book. In hopes of witnessing this exceedingly curious operation, I placed, on April 23rd, 1881, some blue- bells, cowslips, and orchises out on the lawn, where crowds of bees were busy in beds of Egyptian cress, and pencil and paper were provided to check off arrivals. The result is too long to give here, but hardly had I settled down, when visitors began to arrive, and during an hour and a half, no less than twenty- eight bees, bumble and hive, approached the plants. Sir John Lubbock would be gratified to know that the bluebells only were visited. I inves- tigated the pollen of the bluebell, cress, and cowslip, under the microscope, and found that of the cress and bluebell nearly homogeneous, and I was struck by the wisdom of giving bees long-focussed eyesight, which gains a variety of colouring for flowers, and HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 77 the simple contrivance of making them confine their foraging operations on each journey to similar plants, which of course assists fertilisation. It is as simple as hunting for a book in a well-arranged library. On May 5th, 1881, the actual process was witnessed, for the first time, with extreme satisfaction ; and also again in April last year. It is quite impossible to discuss the probable end of the orchis in creation without glancing at the question of fertilisation. At first it seems very simple, if necessary, but as one proceeds, and the question breaks away, it becomes not only necessary but highly complicated. Few flowers are able to pistil, so that the vivifying fluid may pass to the ovules. The inanimate agency of the wind is em- ployed for those trees which flower before insects are about, but the most effective plan is to utilise the services of insects and especially bees, and so largely is this done, that one is lost in amazement at the wonderful facility in developing an idea, because by this means there is such a clear gain in good, expansion and variety, and high design. And when it is ascertained that this is in necessary subordination to the facts of creation, then a whole panorama of Divine resource, power, wisdom, and forethought sweeps before us. It is then that Mary Howitt's Fig. 53. — Pollinium, showing pollen-mass (/), filament (/), viscid disc'(rf), and pollen-grains detached (,f). Magnified with i in. power. fertilise themselves, and without fertilisation no seed is set ; this is a law which cannot be broken, and it is curious to watch the shifts and penalties flowers are put to, in order to prevent self-fertilisation ; for although the stamens may be close to the pistil, as in the buttercup, there is generally some hindrance which renders it impossible. The banns are pro- hibited as rigidly as in the Prayer Book, and thus the brilliant hues, streaks and channels, as everybody now knows, are accounted for. The small globules of pollen must shed their subtle influence on the ztmw Fig. 54-— Papillae, from inner surface of nectary. Magnified with i in. power. lines reveal their true meaning. In connection with fertilisation, the colour of flowers comes in. It seems that flowers were created before bees, but that bees have highly modified flowers. If Mr. Grant Allen's theory about yellow preceding white, white red, and red blue in floral colouring, can be trusted, then the colour of the common orchis shows the class of insects for which it is intended. But why isn't it blue ? Wait a minute. Perhaps, instead of being a useless flower, it may be found to serve a double purpose. To attract bees, flowers supply various condiments, of which pollen for bee-bread is the most abundant, and this is found chiefly in spring flowers, but the orchis supplies none. Next in importance is honey, which summer flowers produce ; but the orchis supplies none, or at any rate so little, that Sprengel called the order Scheitisaft-B 'lumen, sham honey flowers. Lastly propolis is required, a sticky resinous fluid for fixing the combs and caulking the seams of hives ; and this I believe the orchis provides. Now, at last, the object of the plant is discovered, and notice how this fits in with the whole economy of the plant. Bumble-bees, for whose especial benefit the orchis seems to exist, want less propolis than hive-bees, as they are not so abundant, and therefore the plant that supplies them need not be too common. Clover cannot thrive with- out bumble-bees, nor bumble-bees without cats. Can the common orchis thrive without spots ? The various methods to check abundance and yet ensure supply have been noticed, and now the intricate machinery 78 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. of fertilisation is better explained, for the plant is al- together too large for hive-bees. If this is so, clearly it is only fair to make bumble-bees fertilise the flower, and therefore it ought to be blue ; but as if nature consi- dered the supplying of bumble-bees alone not sufficient, the flower is red with spots on the labellum to feed flies. Anyone who has cultivated the orchis must have noticed the flies at work using their stopper-like proboscides, yet doing no good. Spiders soon find out how attractive the orchis is to flies. For it is a wonderful thing that the labellum, fauces, and nectary are all covered with minute papillae, and the nectary on the lower surface only, which is splendidly adapted to flies. The flattened and wider end of the nectary enables the bee to sweep his proboscis to and fro, and thus the papillae can be mown down, a motion well suited to rupture the rostellum. The white variety must be, according to Grant Allen, not so highly developed as the red, a fact which is borne out by the retrogradation noticed above. The flowers have a peculiar foxy odour in the red, whereas the white ones are scentless. The seed, which is produced in countless abun- dance, but does not germinate in one season, and only under most favourable conditions, is contained in capsules opening in three valves. The capsules are the same as the ovary, the inner surface of which (placenta.) has three separate ovule-masses attached at the sides, parietal. Every single seed is enclosed in a fine muslin case of fantastic shape, sometimes re- sembling a lady's scent-bottle, a horse-pistol, a stock- ing, a soda-water bottle, &c. Out of 50,000 seeds, perhaps one succeeds in bringing a plant to perfection. The matter for consideration suggested by this paper is various, and I am not aware that it has appeared before. Whether correct or not, I shall be most interested in learning. At any rate, an attempt has been made to locate the common orchis' sphere of usefulness in nature. FLUID CAVITIES IN METEORITES. YOUR correspondent T. advises H. M. to submit his meteoric sections to a " competent judge" of meteorites, in order to settle the question of their genuineness. Will he be good enough to furnish me with the names of a few of these competent judges ? I am not aware of the existence of a single individual who may in any sense be termed an authority on meteorites. The study of meteorites is not only in its infancy, but it cannot even as yet be called an organised science, for it presents no clear and defined rules on which we could base an inquiry, and I may safely add that there is little probability that the immediate future will augment our information. The sum total of our knowledge of meteorites amounts at best to a mere record of the discovery and analysis (the latter not always exhaustive) of a very limited number of fragments or blocks of material, which have been either witnessed in the act of falling upon the surface of our planet, or which, by comparison with such authenticated specimens, are presumed to be of extra- terrestrial origin. But the investigation of afl the meteorites and supposed meteorites in our museums and private collections has not yet enabled the leading scientists to lay down a single hard and fast rule for testing a specimen, or to furnish a satisfactory answer to the question : " What are the essential and characteristic features of a meteorite ? " It was at one time sup- posed that the presence of metallic iron constituted a convincing proof of the meteoric origin of a speci- men, but that belief has received its deathblow since Professor Nordenskjold has discovered huge iron masses in Greenland, whose origin has been clearly demonstrated to be terrestrial, masses in which the metallic iron is even alloyed with those two other metals, nickel and cobalt, which form so characteristic a feature in the iron of meteorites, giving rise to the so-called Widtmanstetten-figures, which appear on treating a polished surface with acids. Metallic iron has also been discovered in microscopical quantities in various basalts and other basic lavas, and Professor Judd, in his interesting work on volcanoes, states that masses, bearing the most striking resemblance to meteorites, and being composed of substances identical with those which constitute the latter, are sometimes ejected from volcanic vents in the shape of so-called volcanic bombs. These discoveries have practically extinguished the validity of the old convenient method of testing meteorites, and the foremost in- quirers have become very careful and guarded in their language. The fallacy of all previous reasoning is obvious. If we consider the countless myriads of meteorites which are known to traverse space (the swarms of shooting-stars and even comets have been identified with streams of minute planetary bodies, moving in regular orbits through the solar system), these countless myriads which most probably present a vaster diversity of mineral combination in the aggregate than exists on this globe'; and if, on the other hand, we consider the isolated few which have happened to fall on the earth— it appears an absurdity if, from the accidental composition of the latter, we were to determine what is possible and what is not possible in a meteorite. So much for the value of the assertion that the meteorite of Braunfels cannot be a meteorite, because it differs in appearance from most known meteorites. I repeat that the investigation, especially the microscopic investigation, of meteorites is quite in its infancy yet, and I doubt whether (with the exception of Dr. Sorby, perhaps) there is a single individual in this country capable of pronouncing an opinion on this complicated subject. Sections of the meteorite of Braunfels have been submitted to Dr. Sorby months ago, and the "paper" referred to by your other correspondent, HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 79 F.R.M.S., was virtually based on one or two quotations from the opinions of that gentleman. Dr. Sorby has simply stated that, as far as he had yet been able to examine one of the sections of this material, he felt inclined to doubt its meteoric character ; and as his sole reason for this, he somewhat vaguely remarks, that it did not " look" like any of the meteorites he had examined, and added, that not a single one of the many supposed meteorites which had from time to time been sent to him had turned out to be a real meteorite. I must confess I cannot quite agree with Dr. Sorby, high authority though he is. Apart from the circumstances con- nected with the discovery of the meteoric mass (I must continue to call it so, for in my own mind I am quite convinced of its meteoric origin), which have been accurately described in the beginning of my paper, there are many other evidences which un- mistakably tend to establish its meteoric character. In the meteorite you have a complete network of metallic iron, at least iron in a very low degree of oxidation, and I am not aware of any other mineral substance capable of receiving and retaining such an absolute metallic lustre or polish. The most im- portant evidence is afforded by the crust surrounding the hand-specimens of this meteorite, this crust having a general test-feature in meteorites. It would vastly swell this paper were I to mention every circumstance tending to prove that the me- teorite of Braunfels is really a meteorite, and I must therefore content myself by referring your readers to the additional information which I have recently furnished in a letter to the Secretary of the Quekett Club, and which will probably appear in one of the earliest journals of the latter. The specimens of " Quartzite " referred to by F.R.M.S. as having been exhibited along with the "so-called" meteorite, bore not the slightest re- semblance to the Braunfels material, and, except for the presence of fluid-cavities (which constitute no argument whatever) it is difficult to understand the kind of analogy they were intended to furnish. It seems to be an universal custom to decry anything novel, which may threaten to upset old- fashioned notions and certain fixed ideas, and in this instance the "authorities" have it much their own way, because the knowledge of the subject is limited to very few only. About two years ago, when Dr. Hahn made known his discovery of organic remains in certain meteorites found in Hungary, he was fiercely attacked by the "critics," especially of this country, and the very possibility of such a discovery was derided. Now, after more elaborate investigations, the truth of Dr. Hahn's assertions is clearly demonstrated, and the meteoric origin of his specimens is all but generally acknowledged. I quote this, not as proving anything in my case, but to show how common it is even for authorities to be in error. Heinrich Hensoldt. A CHAPTER ON SPIDERS. AS notes on spiders are not often contributed to your journal, a few may be acceptable to some readers. Some fragments of leisure have been devoted during the last two years to Arachnology, and at various times I have had from twenty to sixty spiders in captivity during summer months, and from six to a dozen during the winter. The pugnacious disposition of most spiders is a great obstacle to the observation of their habits when together, as opposite sexes fight without scruple, and, if placed together, one or the other, in a short time, falls a victim to the natural ferocity of the order. The females (being in most species the larger and stronger) usually kill the males, and more often than not devour them. I have frequently endeavoured to keep them in pairs when nearly adult, but without success, except in the case of those few species which habitually associate. On one occasion, however, I captured a pair of adults [Linyphia montana), just at the time when they were dwelling harmoniously together, the reproductory organs in both being mature. (When spiders are full-grown, and after the last moult, of which there are several, the sexual organs are uncovered and the external characteristics are clearly seen with a moderate magnifying power.) On reaching home my captives were transferred from the pill-boxes in which they were caught to one of the cells of a specially arranged cage, in which they speedily constructed a light horizontal web, somewhat differing from that spun when at liberty, and resumed domestic life in apparent disregard of altered circumstances. On the third day of their captivity I found the spiders attached to the under side of the web in coition, the male below the female, reaching round and over her abdomen, inserting each palpus alternately and at regular intervals into the epigynum. I should perhaps mention here that the reproduc- tive fluid did not flow from the body of the male into the palpal organ through any internal tubes, but was r I believe, taken into the palpus from the mouth. I cannot be positive that the fluid was received Trom the mouth, the position of the spiders preventing my observing this closely, but I am certain that it was received into each palpus before each insertion from some other part of the body. I think some species discharge the fertilising fluid on a little web, spun for the purpose, and dip the palpus into it. At the moment of insertion the soft portion of the terminal joint of the palpus became distended, having the appearance of a minute bladder, and was used in some way as an injector, causing the flow of the re- productive cells, through the discharge tube of the male, into the spermathecae of the female, from which the cells would pass through connecting tubes into the oviduct. Unfortunately I was unable to pursue my investi- So HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. gations, and note the period elapsing between coition and the deposit of eggs, for although the female lived for nearly a month no eggs were laid, as is often the case when spiders are in captivity. The savage propensities in this instance ultimately asserted them- selves in a provoking manner, and the female, after killing and eating her partner, leaving only his legs and a morsel of the harder skin of the cephalothorax, was found hanging dead in the web. When disturbed and caused to separate, the spiders did not manifest the same alarm as under ordinary circumstances, and returned to their original position after the lapse of a minute or two, the movements of both seeming to be guided by touch rather than by sight. From experi- ments I have made, I am inclined to think that the sense of touch is far more acute in spiders than that of sight, notwithstanding the number, and, in some species, the size of the eyes. I have taken a common house fly and gradually approached it to a spider, while it was struggling vigorously, not letting it touch the web, but the spider would take no notice ; yet, immediately the fly was cast into the web, it was seized. I have cast a fly into a far corner of a web, and the spider, instead of making straight for the fly, would advance hesitatingly, feeling with the claws of the front legs, sometimes taking a step in the wrong direction, and occasionally reaching the spot too late, the fly having broken away by struggling. I think your correspondent, E. Lamplough, must have mistaken the distended portion of the palpal organ for the minute drop of transparent fluid, as I fell into this error myself, before using a lens in ex- amining the action of the spiders. J. E. Arnett. Stourbridge. ON BRITISH FRESH-WATER MITES. By C. F. George. No. VI. I MUST now very briefly mention the soft-skinned division of Arrenurus. I have only met with a few examples of these mites as yet ; those that I have found, though females, have been very small ; they possess the same kind of mandibles as the mites in the other division, but the skin is membranous, and marked with lines, somewhat like those on our own fingers ; the body is globular, and has no impressed line on the back ; their colours are very marked ; they have rather long hairs sparingly scattered on the body, and these project behind, so as to resemble those seen on the hard-skinned specimens, each hair seems to spring from, or close to, the openings of a gland : their legs, mandibles, and thigh-plates are of course chitinous, and they also have a chitinous plate on each side, external to the vulva. I have recognised but two species as yet ; the first, I take to be Arrenurus frondator (Koch) ; the Y-shaped mark is white, and the other coeca appear to be in rough, roundish masses of green colour : the other somewhat resembles Arrenurus rutilator (Koch). The mandibles and legs are of a beautiful blue ; the body of the mite of a deep yellow, the Y-shaped mark is white, and the other coeca are yellowish- Fig- SS- — Arrenurus frondator (?) Q, upper side (5 objective). Fig. 56. — Arrenurus frondator (?) 5 , under side. Fig- 57- — Arrenurus rutilator (?), Q, upper side, (| objective). Fig 58.— Arrenurus rutilator (?) 9, under side. brown. The eyes of both these mites are of the colour of carmine. On dropping alcohol on one 01 the living mites, it ejected white threads, apparently of albumen, from the orifices of the glands near the hairs. I have observed the same things take place when other water mites were immersed in strong alcohol. Herb Beverages. — Will some reader of Science- Gossip say what plants are best for making herb beverages, and the best way to use them ? — Inquirer. HARD WICKE 'S SC IENCE- G O SSI P. 81 THE PRE-CAMBRIAN ROCKS OF ENGLAND AND WALES. By W. W. Watts, B.A., F.G.S., &c. {Continued from page 59.] THE succession of events in this area, while these rocks were being deposited, appears to have been as follows : — ' 1. Depression of pre-Dimetian land. 2. Deposit of some sediment with some Dimetian < volcanic action. 3. Consolidation, metamorphism, and elevation. '4. Land areas, with volcanoes, pouring Arvonian { out lava and ashes. lian < ( 5. Metamorphism and Elevation. like granite that they were long-considered to be such. Arvonian. — The granitoid rocks are flanked to the north-east of Caernarvon by a thick series of felsites, evidently lavas. A similar mass of felsitic lava occurs on the Llanberis lake, showing flow lines or fluxion structure, and containing one band of inter- bedded slate. Halleflintas, breccias, and felsites occur in masses in the Lleyn peninsula, one impor- tant band flanking the Dimetian axis of Rhos Hirwain. The Pebidian rocks cover the Arvonians with a certain amount of unconformability, and consist of grits, conglomerates, breccias, agglomerates, and slates. Many of them have a very beautiful ap- pearance. These rocks seem to be thick where the Arvonian lavas are thin, and vice versa — giving some support to Professor Bonney's classification, which N.w. Clegyn Valley. S.E. Fig. 59.— Section across St. David's Promontory (Hicks). I, Dimetian ; 2, Pebidian ; 3, Cambrian ; /, fault. Trefgarn Rocks. N ^^^^ Fig. 60. — Section across Trefgarn, Pembrokeshire (Hicks). 1, Arvonian ; a, Halleflintas, 5, Breccias ; a, Pebidian ; 3, Cambrian ; f, fault. Fig. 61.— Section from Porth Nobla to Aberffraw (Callaway). 1, Halleflinta ; 5, Dankschist. ■.-, 3, Quartz-schist ; 3, Limestone ; 4, Grey gneiss, (6. Depression of land. 7. Deposition of materials during a gradual submergence. Pebidian f „ _ ? , -,u Submarine volcanoes with pretty rapid depression. Re-elevation and consolidation. 3. North Wales. — Dr. Hicks extended his conquests to North Wales, but here several other observers have followed and modified some of his results. I may mention Professor Bonney, Mr. Houghton, Pro- fessor Hughes, and Mr. Tawney. The same three systems appear to be represented, but it seems pos- sible that the Arvonian and Pebidian ^re very closely connected here. Dimetian. — These rocks occur atTwt Hill, Caernar- von, the Lleyn peninsula, and a few other localities, and are chiefly compact felspathic-granitoidite, so considers the lavas and ashes as only the upper and lower parts of the great Pebidian series. Both Dimetian and Pebidian rocks underlie the Cambrian beds unconformably. The microscopic aspect of the granitoidite assigns to it a clastic origin, while the felsites are lavas, and the ashes and breccias are for the most part volcanic, and in some instances strikingly like those at St. David's. Dr. Hicks has discovered what he considers to be Pebidian rocks in the Harlech Mountains, here again underlying the Harlech or Low Cambrian beds. 4. Anglesey. — Among the principal workers in this field, I may mention Dr. Hicks, Professor Hughes, Dr. Callaway, Dr. Roberts ; but the geology of the county is so excessively complicated, and compara- tively so little has yet been done, that it is impossible to reconcile the conflicting views. Professor Hughes 82 HARD IVIC RE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. has been carefully eliminating the Silurian and Cambrian beds from confusion with the lower rocks, while Dr. Callaway has been engaged in classifying the pre-Cambrians, which he divides into two series, the gneissic and the slaty. He recognises five sub- divisions of the gneissic series : 1. Halleflinta rocks (somewhat rarely seen). 2. Quartz-schist and quartzite, of which five examples are seen at Holyhead, and the South Stack lighthouse. 3. Grey gneiss, a beautiful porphyritic rock with grey or pink felspar crystals, often of great size. 4. Dark schist. Hornblende and micaceous gneiss associated with chloritic and epidote schists. 5. Granitoidite, of a compact granitic type, rarely showing foliation, but otherwise like the Twt Hill rock. The slaty series seems to consist of slaty, ashy, brecciated rocks, sometimes like hornstones, with felspathic and quartzose grits, and some quartzites. The age of these rocks is determined by the fact that the Cambrian beds are made up of fragments from the slaty, granitoid, and gneissic rocks ; and besides this there is a striking resemblance between them, and the Dimetian and Pebidian series of St. David's, Caernarvon; and Shropshire. The gneisses and schists are, however, possibly older than these, but may be matched in the Malverns. (To be continued?) SKETCHES OF EMINENT NATURALISTS. By Henry Lamb. No. I. — JOHN RAY. " I persuade myself that the bountiful and gracious Author of man's being and faculties, and all things else, delights in the beauty of His creation, and is well pleased with the industry of man in adorning the earth . . . with shady woods and groves, and walks set with rows of elegant trees, with pastures clothed with flocks, and valleys covered over with corn." — Ray, Wisdom of God in Creation. JOHN RAY, the "founder of true principles of classification in the animal and vegetable king- doms," was born at Black Notley, a pleasant undu- lating village, near Braintree, in Essex, on the 29th of November, 1627. His father, Roger Ray, was a blacksmith in the village. Ray received a good classical education at the grammar-school at Braintree, and on the 28th of June, 1644, was sent to Cambridge. He was then in his sixteenth year. In 1649 he was made a Fellow of Trinity College ; afterwards, in 1651, Greek lecturer, then mathematical lecturer. He was also junior dean, college steward, &c. At Cambridge, Ray met with Francis Willughby, who became one of his private pupils there. Ray was always fond of natural history, but, being com- pelled through ill-health to take out-door exercise, he collected and studied the different plants which he met with in his walks round Cambridge, and from that time his life was devoted to its scientific pursuits. In 1667 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and contributed to their Transactions many valuable papers. His first publication was a " Catalogue of the plants growing in the neighbourhood of Cambridge." In this work he described 626 species. While residing at Cambridge he travelled over Great Britain in pursuit of botanical and zoological informa- tion, and was generally accompanied by Willughby. After leaving the University, these two naturalists travelled on the Continent. They sailed from Calais in April 1663 ; went through the Low Countries and Germany into Italy, returning by Switzerland and France to England in the spring of 1666. In this tour Ray attended to botany, and Willughby chiefly to zoology. They discovered many new species of birds and fishes in Germany and Italy during these travels. An account of the tour was published by Ray in 1673. In 16S2 he published his " Methodus Plantarum Nova." Ray first proposed the division of plants into dicotyledons and monocotyledons. Although he fell into many errors in his system of classification, many of his divisions were adopted by Jussieu, Brown, De Candolle, and others, in forming the natural system. His " Catalogus Plantarum Angliae " first appeared in 1670. This formed the basis of all subsequent works on the flora of this country. Ray's largest botanical work was a general " Historia Plantarum,"' published in 1686. In this work he collected and arranged 18,625 species, which included all the plants which had then been described by botanists. He also wrote several works on quadrupeds, birds and insects. Of his works on zoology, Cuvier says : "They may be considered as the foundation of modern zoology." Linnaeus, Buffon, and others borrowed largely from the works of Ray. In 1679 Ray settled in his native place, where he died on the 17th of January, 1704, at the age of 77, and was buried in the parish churchyard, where there is an obelisk erected to his memory. He married in 1673, and left three daughters. Ray distinguished himself, not only by his great scientific knowledge, but also by his "love of virtue " and his gentleness of manner— qualities which shone brighter and brighter to the latest period of his life. Great Grey Shrike (Lanius Excubitor) near Croydon. — A female bird of this species was caught by a bird-catcher at the bottom of Croham- hurst last November, and was sold to Mr. Thorp, our local naturalist. It was in very good condition and plumage. — F. L. B. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 83 MICRO-FUNGI BATHONIENSES.* No. I. IT occurred to me, after writing my papers on " Botanical Rambles round Bath,"t that it would be well to pursue a like plan with the Micro-Fungi of the district. I, therefore, during parts of the year 1SS1, added to my list of the fungi I had already found here, and went carefully over old ground, in order to be certain of localities. In these papers I purpose to give the result of my researches hitherto, with the understanding that, at present, they are to 'be considered in no way complete or exhaustive. The same locality, so rich with many flowers, will be also found to furnish not a few micro-fungi. I mean the lane leading from the top of Bathwick-Hill to Hampton Down.J Here, just at the entrance to the path leading through a small coppice, I found on a fir-tree Peridermium pini, May 1879. So abun- dant was this fungus, that it was apparent to any one there was something wrong with the leaves of the tree. This was a good find, as P. pini is only occasion- ally met with in England, though it is common in Scotland. This fungus is a worthy addition to the cabinet ; it has many points of interest. Besides the interesting structure of the peridium, which is easy of examination in this particular fungus, P. pini also has the largest spermatia yet examined. Dr. Cooke informs us that they have a length equal to ^ inch, but their width is rarely more than jjjJ^jj while in some the length does not exceed the width of those just named. § I offered this fungus in Science-Gossip for July, 1879, and as but very few availed themselves of the opportunity to possess a specimen, I have still some to give away to any one who sends a stamped and directed envelope to 4, Darlington Place, Bath. In the same lane may be found sEcidium ranun- tulacearum on the leaves of R.ficaria and R. repens. On May 20th, 1879, 1 found sE. Viola on the banks of the road leading to Claverton, but it was by no means plentiful, and I have not found it largely dis- tributed in this locality. VE. Tussilaginis on Tussilago farfara, sides of Brass Knocker Hill, and for the most part wherever the leaves of the plant are found. JE. Taraxaci on leaves of Lcontodon Taraxacum, banks of Canal, Limpley-Stoke ; by no means plentiful. I have once or twice found JE. quadrifidum on • [We are sorry that pressure of matter has obliged us to liold over these -valuable papers for a long period, but their apoearance at this time of the year will prove very seasonable. —Ed. S.-G.] + Science-Gossip, 1880, pp. 229-274. % Science-Gossip, 1880, p. 229. $ Cooke's " Rust, Smut," &c, p. 25, 3rd edition. Anemone coronaria, in the gardens of Turleigh Villa, but I have not met with it elsewhere. Passing on to Puccinia, I have only noted P. Saxi- fragarum on Adoxa moschatellina, and P. Umbellife- rarum on Bunium Jlexuosum. Both are plentiful in the lane leading to Hampton Down. Lecythea Rosa I find every year on a sweet-briar hedge in Turleigh Villa Gardens, in great plenty.* Trichobasis Geranii on Geranium molle, banks of Avon and Kennet Canal, Limpley-Stoke. These, then, are just a few forms which may be found during the early months of the year. In my next paper I shall furnish a list of other specimens, to be found later on in the year. I hope that others will follow my example, and endeavour to gain a knowledge of the micro-fungi of their district. The work will be found one of pleasure, and may be of much use, for it has been most truly remarked by one of our greatest naturalists, "that that district produces the greatest variety which is the most examined. "f Charles F. W. T. Williams. Path. (To be continued.) NOTES ON THE SCHIZOMYCETES. [Continued from Vol. XVIII. page 276.] NO. V. XI. SPlROCHiETA, Ehrenberg. Cells united in long slender threads, which present a considerable number of close spiral turns. The threads are very actively motile ; in fact they swim forwards or back- wards, rotating round their longitudinal axis, and can moreover bend themselves in the most varied manner. Not forming a zooglcea, but often felted in dense tufts. Distinguished from Spirillum by the long, closely wound, flexile threads. 52. S. plicatilis, Ehbg. Spirillum plicattlc, Dujardin. Spirulina plicatilis, Cohn. Threads very short and slender, with numerous close spirals; articulated; blunt at the ends, 110- 225 n long (according to Rabenhorst), diameter of the single joints (and thickness of the threads) 2\ /*, according to Ehrenberg. In bog- water, among algae. This species is said by Koch to be distinguished from the others especially by the doubly undulated contour of its fila- ments. But still filaments with a simple spiral are very abundant. * SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 1880, p. 230. t White's " Selborne," Letter xi 8 4 HARDWICRE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 53. 6". Obermeieri, Cohn. Morphologically almost the same as S. plicatilis, perhaps only distinguished by the fact that the threads are pointed at both ends. In the blood of persons suffering from febris rccurrens, and probably the cause of the disease. The threads of i". Obermeieri 'are either extended in a straight line, and wound in regular spirals, or else they bend themselves, moving with extreme rapidity in the most varied fashion, so that the spirals appear of unequal size, especially at the most strongly bent places. This species is found in the blood of those suffering from intermittent fever, and in fact only during the recurring fever periods, or for a short time thereafter. In the intervals of freedom from fever they disappear.* 54. S. Cohnii, Winter. Very similar to both the foregoing species, but always shorter, and for the most part more slender, articulations are not visible, but at times the threads break up into joints. In sea-water. The longest specimens showed sixteen turns ; not been discovered. fiagella have XII. Spiromonas, Perty. Threads "flattened like a leaf, twisted round an imaginary longitudinal axis." Multiplication by transverse division. 56. S. volnbilis, Perty. "Colourless, translucent, smooth, without any obvious differentiation, motion pretty swift, combined with a quick revolution round ' the axis about which the leaf-like body is twisted. Body often twisted very little, never forming more than a circumference. Length 753-155"'= 15-18 /j." In stagnant bog-water and putrefying infusions.* \AA/NiAA/>A/l/Vl'^ A yy vu VUw Fig. 62. — a and b, Spirochata plicaiilit ; c and d, S. Obermeieri {a and c after photographs by Koch ; b, after Cohn ; d, after Weigert). In d the blood corpuscles are represented ; the bent threads show the form assumed shortly before the cessation of the fever. Fig. 63. — Spiromonas Cohnii (after Warm- ing). °%^ f* Fig. 64. — a, Spirillum rugula; b, S. undula; c, S. volutans (a and c, after Cohn ; b, after Koch's photographs). than S. Obermeieri, and besides, like that, pointed at both ends. In the slime of the teeth ; discovered by Cohn ; figured by Koch, (Beitr. zur Biol., vol. ii. pt, 3, pL xiv., fig. 8). 55. S. gigantea, Warming. Threads cylindrical, blunt at both ends, about 3 n thick, with numerous spiral turns, the height of which is 25 fj., the diameter 7-9 \x. Flexile. The • It is a question whether this be not the same as the pre- ceding species, merely transplanted into a different habitat. — Tr. 57- S. Cohnii, Warming. Cells flattened, but sometimes faintly angular, acutely pointed at both ends, each with one flagellum, with 1 \ (seldom more) turns. Spiral elongated, 6-9 times as high as its diameter, 9-20 /j. in height, I *2-3 - 5 p. in diameter. Breadth of the cells 1*2-4 A*- Colourless, often with one or two longitudinal stria- tions. In stinking, very much decomposed water. XIII. Spirillum, Ehrenberg. ( Vibrio, Cohn ; Ophidomonas, Ehbg.) Cells cylindrical or slightly compressed, simply arcuate or spirally twisted, rigid, with a flagellum at each end (? whether in all species). Multiplication by transverse division, the daughter-cells for the most part soon separating. At times also a zooglcea is formed ; spore-formation similar to that of Bacillus. 1 unite with the genus Spirillum, the Vibrio of Cohn, and the Ophidomonas of Ehrenberg. The genus Vibrio in fact cannot be sharply defined, since fiagella have also been found in it. Cohn himself has already united Ophidomonas with Spirillum. Warming also combines all three genera. Although the name Vibrio has priority, still I have preferred the designation. • This is often considered as an Iniusorian. See Saville Kent' s " Manual," p. 244.— Tr. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 85 Spirillum, because gross misuse has been made of the former, especially by non-botanists, so that it is better to let it lapse altogether. 58. S. Rugida (Miiller). Vibrio Rugula, Miiller. Melanella flexuosa, Bory. Cells 6-16 \l long, about £-2§ ^ thick, either only simply arcuate, or with one shallow spiral, bearing a flagellum at each end, actively rotating round its longitudinal axis ; the cells are often felted in dense swarms. Height of the spiral generally 6-10 ft, Also frequently forming swarms, spirals 8-12 n, diameter 1 '2-3 ju. In various infusions. Height of the The dimensions recorded by Rabenhorst (13-28 /j. long) pre- sumably refer to threads composed of several cells. According to Warming, the height of the spirals is said to be sometimes as much as 22 /j.. 60. S. tentce, Ehbg. Cells very slender, 4-15 m long, about 2\ /x thick (according to Ehrenberg), with at least ih, usually, however, 2, 3, 4 or 5 spirals. Height and diameter of the spirals about I j-4 /u, or the diameter amounts Fig. 66.— Spirillum Jenense (after Ehr.) X 600. Fig. 65. — a, Spirillum serpens ; i, the same, felted in a " swarm ' c, S. tenue ; d, S. undula; e, S. volitions (after Cohn), X.650. Fig. 67. — Spirillum sanguineum (after Koch), X 600. Fig. 68.— Spirillum undula (after Dallinger). diameter '5-2 /a. Spores always at the end of the cell, globose. In bog-water, and various infusions j also in the slime of the teeth, &c. According to Warming, individuals occur the spiral of which reaches a height of 13-20 /x and a diameter of 2*5-5 f- 59. S. serpens (Miiller). Vibrio serpens, Miiller. Cells half as broad as in the foregoing species, II- 28 n long (according to Rabenhorst), "8-1 ' 1 fi thick, with several, usually three or four spirals ; often united in long chains ; with a flagellum at each end. to half the height. Moving very swiftly, but also often almost motionless and felted in dense swarms or masses, or united in a zooglcea. In various infusions. According to Warming only 1 ft thick, and the spirals times 8-10 /x high, with the diameter \-& of the height. Th appears to be some confusion between i". tenue and S. Undi Is at times 8-10 /x High, witn tne aiameter j~*% 01 tne neight. There appears to be some confusion between i". tenue and S. Undula. 61. S. Undula (Miiller), Ehbg. Vibrio Undula, Miiller. V. prolifer, Ehbg. (Infus. p. 81, pi. v., fig. 8.) Cells 8-12 m long, n-l-4/i thick (according to 86 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Rabenhorst) ; spirals wider than in the foregoing, 4-5 /x high ; each cell for the most part embracing only Jon, seldom I J to 2 or 3 spirals ; a fkgellum at each end. Very actively motile, at times also forming a zooglcea. In bog-water and various infusions. Ehrenberg gives for .9. tenue a thickness of xunn °f a ' me > f° r •S". Undula only -^Sn °f a ' me i at tne same tlme ne sa y s ' n tne •description : " Sp. fibris valde torulosis brevibus, validioribus." According to Warming -S". Undula is more variable than was formerly admitted. The spir.ds are often elongated, so that the cell appears almost straight; accordingly the height of the spirals varies from 3 to io'5 fi, the diameter amounts to J or j£ of the height, the thickness of the cells "6-X*3 n. Var. lit or ale, Warming. As much as 3 /x thick, spirals elongated, each 5 _I ° jx high, diameter | or J of the height. On the shores of the Baltic Sea. 62. S. volutans, Ehbg. Vibrio Spirillum , M idler. Melanella Spirillum, Bory. Cells slightly attenuated towards the ends, gently rounded, 25-30 /x long, about I5-2 xi thick ; each cell with 2^-33 (seldom more) spirals, the spiral 9-13 ju high, 65 /x in diameter; a flagellum at each end. In various infusions, as well as in bog-water among algae. According to Warming the spirals are often elongated, so that the cell appears almost straight ; the diameter then amounts to only 1 "5-4 n. Var. robustum, Warming. Thickness 2-4/5 Mi height of the spirals 10-20 11, diameter 1-3 jx. Usually with I J turns. Sometimes with two flagella at one end. In sea-water. 63. S. sanguineum (Ehbg.), Colin. Ophidomonas sanguined, Ehbg.* Cells cylindrical, only seldom attenuated at the ends, 3 ll or more thick, of various lengths, with usually 2, seldom h or 2\ spirals. Height of the spirals 9-12 tt, diameter about § of the height ; a flagellum at each end. Cell-contents coloured by numerous reddish bodies, with many sulphur granules. In putrefying brackish water [and pond water ?] According to Warming the longest specimens reach 65 /x ; the height of the spirals 15-37 Mt while the diameter amounts to J or 3, or in small specimens j— ^ of the height. 64. S. violaceum, Warming. Cells either crescent-shaped (and so without a complete turn) or with I or I; spirals, broadly rounded at the ends, with a flagellum at each. Cell- contents violet, with few sulphur granules. Height of the spirals 8-10 it, diameter 1— 1 *5 it, thickness of the cells 3-4 fx. In brackish water. * According to Saville Kent, the Ophidomonas sanguinea of Ehrenberg is a true monad, and not identical with Cohn's Spirillum sanguineum. See " Manual." — Tr. 65. S. Rosenbergii, Warming. Cells with 1 or \\ turns, 4-12 it long, 1*5-2 '6 /x thick, colourless, but with extremely numerous strongly refringent sulphur granules. Spirals 6-7J 11 high, of very varied diameter, which amounts at the most to half of the height. Moving actively and in the most varied fashion, but, as it seems, without flagella. In brackish water. 66. S. attenuatum, Warming. Cells strongly attenuated at the ends, usually with 3 spirals. The middle spiral is large and close (height about 11 it, diameter 6 11), the end spirals are elongated (10 it high, 2 it in diameter). Thickness of the cells 2 or 1 *2 it. In sea-water. 67. S. Jencnsc (Ehbg.)* Ophidomonas jfenensis, Ehbg. Cells obtuse at both ends, with flagella, olive- brown, 40 [x long, about 3], fx thick, with \-z\ spirals. Whether this is really a distinct species is hard to say, so long as it is not found again in the original locality. Possibly it is identical with S. volutans. W. B. Grove, B.A. {To be continued.) THE DANISH FOREST. By John Wager. III. — The Distribution of the Wild- Growing Trees. IN Denmark, as in other countries, most of the different species of wild-growing trees have their different localities, in which the one species affecting the soil, or acted upon by other circum- stances, prevails more than another ; while some species may even be almost or altogether absent from certain tracts. Dr. Vaupell devotes a long chapter to this subject, which is here compressed into more limited space. Beech is at home on a calcareous soil, and grows best on argillaceous sandy marl, the prevailing soil of nearly all the fertile parts of Denmark. Yet it grows also on heavy clay, and is the predominant tree on all wooded boulder-sand. The growth of the beech on such soil is peculiar to Denmark, and is dependent on the preparation which other trees, previously growing upon it, have made ; planters well knowing that on first planting such sand-hills they must not begin with the beech — spruce being usually chosen, though Scotch fir would be better. Beech-woods avoid swampy grounds and peat-mosses, • Saville Kent classes this as a true monad. See " Manual." I -Tk. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 87 but otherwise beech can grow in Denmark on any soils where the natural conditions for tree-growth are present. In Jutland it forms woods as far north as the soil will permit any woods to grow, close below the Scaw, in latitudes where in other countries it begins to be sporadic merely. Vet the beech is not so absolutely dominant in Jutland towards the west and the east ; though the ruling tree in many of the woods to the west of the proper forest-belt, especially in those of considerable, size, in many of the smaller woods, composed of oak, birch and aspen, it is less frequent, or quite absent. Such woods where beech is scarce or absent, are not only small, but outlying, and by elevation or otherwise exposed to the repres- sion of the west winds, or other ills ; but in those of larger extent, which do not suffer from west winds, wet soil, or ill-usage, the beech is either the ruling tree, or on the way to become so at no distant date. It is steadily extending itself in the westerly woods ; but the isolated position of certain woods renders its access to them difficult. For this reason it is absent from the natural woods of Bornholm, not having yet, in its course from west to east, advanced so far. The Oak is found interspersed in beech-woods, and forms also pure oak-woods in Jutland on boulder-sand, and upon the islands on fertile clay. In the natural oak-woods of the islands the trees stand wide apart, usually lifting their broad heads above dense underwood, chiefly of hazel and whitethorn ; thus affording a glimpse of the form of Denmark's best old oak-forests, of which our forefathers left us few remains. The oaks, too, which are here scattered through the beech-wcods, at the rate of less than one to about five oaks to the acre, among beeches of one hundred and forty years old, are the offspring of those ancient woods of oak ; on the east coast of the peninsula oaks are also scattered among the beeches, but in general both these and oak-woods are rarer than upon the islands. The free use of oak timber formerly has caused the disappearance of many an oak-wood, for oak does not renew itself so readily as beech, the young plants being more easily repressed by other kinds of trees which invade the grounds. Consequently the oaks have left the fertile east coast for interior sites, where the soil, being in general boulder-sand, and the isolated position, check the advance of the beech. Some have therefore concluded that in Jutland the oak has its habitat on the boulder-sand, and the beech on the boulder-clay ; but such preference of the oak is opposed to its habit on Zealand and the smaller islands, where the oak-woods usually rest on fertile soil. In Bornholm, where the oak has not come under the domination of the beech, it is plentiful, and both pedunculata and sessiliflora are found there, but the latter most frequently. Of Birch there are several kinds in Denmark, regarded by Linnaeus and others, not as different species, but as varieties of the white birch. The most common is the forest-birch (Bctula verrucosa), distinguished by its fissured bark and other marks from the northern white birch (B. gliitinosa). To the last, the dun-birch (B. pubcscens) is allied, though in general it is a mere bush on the mosses ; B. Cur- pathica is also allied to the white birch, and can attain to a tree, but is rare. The birch forest, even more than the oak, has suffered diminution during the lapse of time. Stems found in peat-mosses witness to its great extension in former ages ; but now, whether associated in woods or standing singly, the birch has been excluded from the best forest tracts by the nobler tree-species, and only retains its hold on localities which, either from isolation or sterility, are favourable to the beech. As a wild forest-tree, it has almost or entirely disappeared from several of the islands ; and even in Vendsyssel, the most northerly part of Jutland, birkenshaws have given place to beech-woods, though it maintains itself on swampy grounds. It is found also in parts of the interior of Jutland, but it nowhere on the peninsula forms an important constituent of the woods. The birch of the peat-mosses is marked by striking peculiarities ; its stems, often more than two feet in diameter, are swathed in beautiful, smooth, white bark ; while the bark of the birches now growing in North Zealand (where beautiful groups exist) fissures as soon as the tree attains a diameter of little more than half a foot. The leaves, catkins and winged fruit also of the fossil and the forest-birch differ; the former agreeing most nearly with the genuine northern white-birch, common to the Scandinavian peninsula, the northern part of the Russian forest, and the hills of Middle Europe ; while, on the other hand, the forest birch (B. verrucosa) predominates on the plains of Germany. It is only from the mosses of North Zealand that material for a thorough comparison has been obtained by Dr. Vaupell ; he notes also the tendency of the birch to run into varieties. Alder. — The red alder (Abuts glutinosa) occupies swampy parts of the forest, especially in beech- woods where the small or large marshy depressions which frequently occur are usually filled with alder-woods, or alder-mosses. Though red alder affects moisture,, yet individual trees are found on hard soil, where they often attain a greater age and finer form than on swampy ground. In recent times, as before intimated, such mortality has befallen the alders that in many wooded tracts they have quite given place to other species of trees, especially on the small islands and a great part of Funen and Zealand ; they still flourish on the east coast of Jutland and Slesvig. The white alder (A Inns iiicana) is admitted into the Floras as a Danish tree, and certainly no foreign tree has taken faster or more flourishing hold of the soil, from which indeed it is difficult to rid it ; for when cut down close to the roots, these strike out so many shoots that more space is covered than sufficed for the parent tree. It is common in the state forests of 83 IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. North Zealand, but does not grow wild in more northerly districts ; it is wanted in Jutland, and also in the south-western provinces of Sweden, first appearing again on the borders of Norway. Awhile since it was a good deal planted, but has fallen into disrepute as inferior to red alder and ash, and it is now chiefly used for planting on sandhills and heaths. Ash, next to beech, has been most favoured by the effects of modern husbandry and forest-culture. Into the fertile woods of South Zealand, and the smaller islands especially, it penetrates and forms considerable growths ; also in the greatest part of Lolland's forest-tracts ; and in those woods of Falster which have a similar soil, as well as on Moen it has a wide extension. But it is not so common in those of Funen, and the soil of North Zealand is unfavourable to its growth. It is rarer, too, in the forest districts of Slesvig and South Jutland up to the Veile-fjord ; its most important extension on the peninsula beginning north of Aarhus and continuing through the fertile woods along the coast of the sub-peninsula of Grenaa. North of Rander's fjord it appears in several moist woods. On Bornholm it has a wide extension. The Elm (Ulmus montana) is widely diffused over Bornholm, but in the rest of Denmark appears only sporadic in the woods. It cannot bear moisture as well as the ash, but on firm ground affects the same kind of soil ; though as fruitful as the ash, where they grow together the ashes far exceed the elms, except in some of the woods of Funen, where the rule is reversed. On Samso the elm was formerly the chief constituent of the woods. Hornbeam, of all Danish trees, most resembles the beech, and being similarly capable of enduring shade, can thrive in company with it better than any other tree ; moreover, it can endure a moister soil. It is found sporadic in the beech-woods all over Denmark, except in the north of Jutland. In some of the southern woods, and there only, it is sufficiently self- sowing to predominate and oppress the beech, especially in Lolland, where the ground is moister than usual in Danish woods ; in the Alminding forest on Bornholm, where it has not been subjected to the rivalry of the beech, it is also abundant. Of Maple, three species are found in Denmark ; the sycamore, the common maple (Acer campestre), and the Norway maple (A. platanoides). Sycamore, which the Germans say is not hardy enough to develop fully in North Germany, grows luxuriantly upon Als, and the parts of Slesvig adjacent to that island, but apparently does not advance into Jutland. It is frequent also in southern parts of Funen and Zealand, and over the islands to the south of these ; yet it may have been originally planted. The common maple, either as a tree or a bush, is at home in the coast woods of the islands, from Als in the east to Moen in the west, but rapidly declines towards the north. In North Zealand, however, there are trees with boles which girth forty-three inches ; some of those on Als are fifty-four feet high. In Jutland it is very rare, and restricted to the south of the Rander's fjord. The Norway maple is moderately common on Moen where it is associated with oak, ash, elm, and hornbeam. It is also found in some of the Zealand woods, and between Kolding and Ribe in the south of Jutland. The Lime (Tilia parvifolia).— Although, 'this tree advances into Norway, it has in Denmark its peculiar home in the south and south-easterly parts, extending into Scania, Sweden. It is found on Bornholm and Moen ; and is common in the woods of Lolland, where also it decks with low growths numerous grave mounds in a part of the island. Remains of its leaves and fruit are plentiful in the Lolland peat-mosses. Among other islands it is not uncommon in the south of Zealand, where at least one tree girths forty-eight inches in diameter of bole. In North Zealand it is rare, but less so in Jutland and Slesvig. It seems to have a partiality for the small islands, on some of which it forms groves. Its timbers being of poor quality, planters discourage its growth ; it suffers, too, from encroachment of the beech, and most frequently does not ripen its seed. The Aspen, in the same degree as the birch, is a light-requiring tree, and cannot bear over-shadowing ; like the birch, too, it was common in the forests of former times, if not to the same extent. Meantime, it has kept its ground better in the beech-woods ; not from greater power of self-sowing, but because, like the lime, its roots possess great tenacity of life, and more than those of any other tree can send out buds. It is, however, more frequent in the small woods which have not come under the domin- ation of the beech, as in the peasants' woods on Bornholm ; in Hald, an oak-wood near Viborg, in Jutland, also fine examples of it are found. On the heaths, too, it is common among the oak-scrub, and sometimes solely covers the ground ; but on such meagre soil its leaves are but one-third the size of those in Hald wood. Where ling has been cleared away, the vacant spaces often become overgrown with shoots of aspen, from old roots previously hid, but strongly retentive of life. In some of the forests with good soil it flourishes numerously, both dis- persed and in groups ; but the planters strive to rid it, its timbers being of little worth. (To be continued.) Sporting Blackbirds. — These are now in the grounds of The Brook villa, three miles from Liver- pool. These blackbirds, one with a white feather on each side of its tail, one with a white wing, and one with a perfectly white breast. They were first seen last summer. — W. B. HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 89 MICROSCOPY. "The Journal of the Postal Microscopical Society." — Part five of the second volume of this journal is to hand, edited by Mr. Alfred Allen. It contains papers on "The Exhibition of Magnified Objects," by Dr. C. P. Coombs ; " The Microscope in Medicine," by J. B. Jeaffres ; "A Method of making and mounting Transparent Rock-sections for the Microscope," by John Smith ; " The Maggot of the Blow-fly," by A. Hammond, F.L.S. (illustrated by some exquisitely drawn plates) ; " Half-an-hour at the Microscope " with Mr. Tuffen West, F.L.S. (beautifully illustrated) ; selections from the Postal Microscopical Society's Note-book, &c. This is the best part yet issued, and we are pleased to note the progressive character of the journal under its able editorship. "Journal of the Royal Microscopical So- ciety."— The February part of this ably-edited journal contains papers as follows: "Observations on the Oribatidae," by A. D. Michael; " On the use of Incandescent Electric Lamps, as accessories to the Microscope," by C. H. Steam; and " On a Minute Form of Parasitical Protophyte," by Mr. G. F. Dowdeswell. The latter describes a form of bacillus he had found in the lung of a mouse infected with septicaemia, and states it as his belief that the number in which these organisms may exist in the blood of an infected animal is incalculable, and may even be greater than in the case of Davaine's septicaemia in the rabbit, where the author had found that in some cases one drop of infected blood contained upwards of three-thousand millions of them ! The journal contains, besides the papers, the usual ency- clopaedic epitome of recent contributions to micro- scopical science. "TheMicrographicalDictionary." — We have received parts 18, 19, 20, 21 of the 4th edition of this important work, bringing it to a conclusion. Micro- scopic workers are fully aware of the high value it possesses, and what a vast repertory of information it contains relating to microscopical research. But younger students may not be cognizant of its import- ance to them as a hand-book, and to them we com- mend it in the strongest and most commendatory terms. The present edition is edited by Dr. J. W. Griffith, the Rev. M. J. Berkeley, F.R.S., and Professor T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S. It is illustrated by fifty- three plates, and more than eight hundred woodcuts. The publisher is John Van Voorst, 1, Paternoster Row. Highbury Microscopical and Scientific Society. — The members of this society last month presented to their honorary secretary one of Crouch's Premier Binocular microscopes, with rotating stage, removeable substage, four objectives, Wenham's achromatic condenser, and numerous other acces- sories of the latest design. The instrument bears the following inscription : " Presented to Bernard H. Woodward, by the members of the Highbury Microscopical and Scientific Society, as a token of their appreciation of his services as honorary secre- tary, January, 1883." ZOOLOGY. Helix obvoluta. — Mr. Tomlin asks (p. 67) for localities where this shell has been taken. The following short list includes, I believe, all the places which have been recorded, but I shall be glad to be corrected if it is incomplete. Proceeding from west to east, — Winchester, Buriton, Stoner Hill, Up Park, Singleton, Graffham and Duncton. The range is thus a narrow strip of country about thirty-five miles long and about six wide, following the line of the downs. Mr. Tomlin would do good service by tracking it westward towards Salisbury. — C. Ashford. The Dugong. — A fine specimen of the Dugong, or sea-cow {Halichore Indicus), from the Indian Ocean, measuring seven feet from the snout to the tip of the crescent-like tail, has just been received, together with the skeleton at the Museum, Owens College ; a few words upon which may not be out of place. It belongs to the Sirenian group of Mammalia ; only one other species in this suborder is now known to be living, the manatee ; they are very closely allied to the cetacea. The bones of the skeleton are remarkable for their heavy, close, ivory- like texture, thus adapted for its peculiar life in the ocean-bed, where it feeds upon sea-weeds. The hind limbs being absent, the pelvis is rudimentary, and it possesses no sacrum, whilst the fore-limbs are con- verted into a pair of flippers, or swimming paddles. The mammae are situated on the chest. This species has two sets of teeth ; the molar teeth are — - when 5-5 young, but reduced to — in the adult ; the incisors, said to be present in the young, are wanting in the mature animal. Many of the figures in our popular books are incorrect, especially about the head ; the snout is prominent and fleshy, whilst the lower por- tion of the upper jaw is bristly. This, conjoined with the pectoral teats, aided by the flippers, has caused them, when observed at a distance with the upper part of the body out of the water, to be mis- taken for the human form. In this way not a few stories of mermaids have arisen, and it is not at all improbable, says Scoresby, that the walrus has afforded foundation for others, equally wonderful. I have seen a sea-cow, in such a position that it required little imagination to mistake it for the human being, in fact, the surgeon of the ship actually reported it as a man swimming with his head out of 9° HAEJDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. the water. The Portuguese give the manatee a name signifying woman-fish, and the Dutch sailors call the Dugong, Baardmannetje, or little bearded man. One singular species belonging to this group, the rhytina, is now extinct, having been hunted down within a very recent period. It was first seen about 1750, in Behring's Island, near the coast of Kamtchatka ; it was here where Behring was wrecked, and he de- scribed it as abounding with the rhytina. The last was seen in 1768 ; it was estimated at twenty-five feet in length, and twenty feet in its greatest circum- ference. The skin was hairless, but very thick and fibrous. Steller, who described the species, states he was struck with the enormous size of the stomach, being six feet in length, and five feet in breadth, distended with masticated sea-weed. The sea-cow has not far to remove in search of food, hence the difference in specific gravity (betwixt this species and the whales) in the bones. The latter pursue a living prey, but it requires an effort on the part of the dugong to reach the surface of the water. — y. F. R. " The Weather of 1882." — Mr. Edward Manley, F.M.S., honorary secretary of the National Rose Society, has issued a valuable memoir on the above subject, more particularly as observed in the neigh- bourhood of London. The comparison of the weather of that anomalous year is made in all respects with that |of an average year. Much care and pains have been taken in the matter, and there can be no question the work will be a valuable addition to meteorological literature. "The Butterflies of Europe," byH. C. Lang, M.D., F.L.S. (London : Lovell Reeve and Co.). Part xii. of this beautiful work is out, containing descriptive and illustrative sketches of the various European species of Argynnis and Melitsea. Hemel Hempstead Natural History Society. — The annual report of this flourishing society for the year 1882 has just appeared. It includes a total of eighty-eight members, and is distinguished by the number of field meetings held during the summer and autumn. Public lectures were delivered during the winter months by Dr. J. E. Taylor, the editor of Science-Gossip, on "Volcanoes" and " Coal ;" by J. Saunders, Esq., on "Flowers," and by J. Littleboy, Esq., on " Migrations of Birds." These lectures are thrown open to the public, and have been largely attended. Frogs in Ireland. — The island of Rathlin, which lies three miles off the north coast of to. Antrim, was carefully explored last year by Mr. S. A. Stewart, M.B.S.E., of Belfast, with a view to correcting the lists of its fauna and flora. The examination made was thorough, and resulted in eliciting the interesting fact that the common frog is unknown in the island, though abounding on the mainland. There are several small lakes and other spots in Rathlin suitable for batrachian propagation, but for some reason Rana temporaria has not yet emigrated. On referring to Bell's "History of British Reptiles," p. 86, and "Edin- burgh Philosophical Journal," vol. xviii. p. 372, it will be found that frogs, though everywhere disseminated through Ireland, were formerly unknown there, and were introduced about two hundred years ago by a Dr. Guithers, one of the Fellows of Trinity College, Dublin, who is said to have procured frog's spawn from England and placed it in a ditch in the University Park, whence the species spread over the entire country. Evidence exists of frogs having been extremely rare, and of one being exhibited as a show in the north of Ireland in the middle of the last century.— .tf. IV. Lett, MA. Trout in New Zealand. — It may interest some of your readers to hear that trout are multiplying rapidly in our New Zealand rivers. A fine fish, turning the scale at 10 lbs., was caught in a tributary to the Wanganui river very recently. As it is not more than seven years since ova were first deposited in the river, it speaks well for the adaptability of our streams for nurseries and breeding grounds of this prince of freshwater fishes. Government very wisely protects both trout and salmon by a licence. — Charles Hardy, Wellington. " Another Book of Scraps relating to Natural History." — By this title Mr. Charles Murray Adamson has published a series of thirty-six lithograph illustrations from pen and pencil sketches of wild birds. They are exceedingly vigorous and natural, although merely outline sketches, and pro- claim the artist to be a true naturalist, possessed with acute observing power. The sketches relate chiefly to aquatic bird life. BOTANY. Podophyllum. — In re-arranging my collection of vegetable dissections a few days ago, I observed that Podophyllum Emodi is one seed leaved, and fearing that somehow it might have got a wrong label, I had a large root dug up. It was entirely underground, but the flower stalks were formed, about two inches in length, and just peeping into the light. On dissection, the stalks, rhizomes and roots everywhere are seen to indicate one seed leaf. Throughout them are abundance of starch, and signs of the presence of a resin or gum-resin. Podophyllum at present is con- sidered to be two seed leaved, and is placed about the beginning of the natural arrangement, but there has been great uncertainty as to a reasonable position for it. Some botanists, as Lindley and Balfour, place it among the Ranunculaceae ; some, as Asa Gray, among the Berberidese ; and others, as Loudon, in HARDWICKE'S SCONCE-GOSSIP. 9i an order by itself, rodophyllaceae, with the remark that on the one hand it is nearly related to Nymphaeacere, and on the other to Berberidea;. On recognising the fact that the plant is monocotyledonous there will be little difficulty in giving it a satisfactory place, which should be near the Smilacete, or perhaps among the Trilliaceae along with Paris and Medeola. P. Emodi, the Asiatic species, thrives very well in this part of Scotland, and produces great crops of its large bright- red fruit, yielding a plentiful supply of seeds which vegetate freely. I am not aware whether the podo- phyllin, now so considerably employed in medicine, is extracted from this or from the Canadian species, P. peltatum. If from Emodi, the vigorous growth of the plant appears to indicate that it might be pro- fitably cultivated in this country. P. peltatum is not so robust here, and dies out in six or eight years. It would be very interesting if some of the readers of Science-Gossip could tell whether the podophyllin of commerce is obtained from P. Emodi or from P. peltatum. Perhaps a third species exists. In an enumeration of plants (undescribed) I notice, I, P. peltatum, N. America ; 2, P. diphyllum, Virginia. — -John Sang, Kirkaldy. Proliferous Sundew. — Mr. Step will find several notes on budding leaves in Drosera. I recall, now, an illustrated paper by M. Naudin, in the " Annales des Science Naturelles " for 1840, xiv. p. 14, and a note on a Proliferous Sundew in Science-Gossip for 1S73, p. 259, by Mr. Laver. A somewhat similar specimen is stated to have been exhibited by Mr. Cross, at a meeting of the Chester Society of Natural Science, in 1876 (" Nature," xv. p. 18). I have noticed the same thing once or twice in New York State. — IV. J., Madison, Wis., U.S.A. David Douglas. — The numerous friends and cor- respondents of David Douglas will hear with regret of his decease, which took place at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, on the 13th of February last. Douglas was a hammerman by trade, but, in con- sequence of his successful devotion to botany, some friends used their influence to gain him admission as an attendant to the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art. It was noticeable how quickly he assimilated the biological information thus newly brought before him, and whilst not abandoning the study of plants, made rapid progress in comparative osteology and in the British fauna. Of late he had devoted the greater part of his leisure time to the study of beetles. As an evidence of the thoroughness which marked his work, he had begun Latin to enable him to interpret the diag- noses. That he was a man of ability, gifted with a quick eye, and a sound judgment ; and that he was a man of character, sincere and free from bitterness, none who knew him well could fail to perceive, and had he lived, notwithstanding the great drawback of want of early education, there can be no doubt that he would have made his mark in the department of study to which he was devoting himself. As an attendant, he was punctual and diligent, and gave to students and visitors freely of the information which he had acquired. His published work is almost wholly contained in the pages of Science-Gossip. His most interesting communication was on the discovery of the male flowers of Anacharis in Britain. In addition, he contributed various notices of the occurrences of rare plants in fresh localities, or upon new plant varieties, chiefly from the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. He was an active member of the Science Gossip Botanical Exchange Club, the pub- lished reports of which bear testimony to his discrimination and zeal. — T. S., Edinburgh. [It is with much regret that we hear the news of the death of this singularly modest and accomplished botanist. His life is an illustration of what the humblest individual can accomplish in the wide domains of Science. — Ed. S.-G.] "Botany Notes." — With this title Mr. A. Johnston has written a capital little hand-book for students preparing for professional examinations in medicine and science. The present part deals with systematic morphology, and arranges, in a very compact and succinct manner, the multitudinous details of this important department of botany. Epping Forest. — The Highbury Microscopical and Scientific Society passed the following resolution at their meeting held on the 8th of March : That this society desires to enter its most earnest protest against the proposed railway to High Beech, believing it to be entirely opposed to the true interests of the great bulk of the people, inasmuch as it will tend to deprive the forest of that exclusively sylvan character which it is most desirable to perpetuate. [We should be glad if every scientific society in and about London would loudly protest against the spoliation of this natural history recreation ground. — Ed. S.-G.] GEOLOGY. New Form of Recent Crinoid. — Among fossil invertebrates few can have played so important a part in primary and secondary times as the fixed crinoids, stalked radiate animals of the class Echinodermata. They are very scantily represented now. When Guettard, in 1755, found a live pentacrinus it was quite a scientific event, and this species was the only known modern representative of the group. Within recent years, however, the number of living species has been raised to fourteen. Among the animal forms brought up with the dredge during the recent cruise of the " Travailleur," off the coast of Morocco, is a new fixed crinoid, making the fifteenth. It has been named De?nocri?nts Parfaiti, after M. Parfait, 92 HA RD WI CKF 'S S CIENCE- G SSI P. commander of the " Travailleur." M. Perrier has described it to the Paris Academy. It is distin- guished from other forms chiefly by the composition of its calyx, which is formed of five long (so-called) "basals," making a sort of funnel. These are separated by a circular depression from five rudi- mentary, alternating "radials," on which are five free radials bearing as many arms. In no other fixed crinoid is the width of the calyx so small relatively to the stalk. This new form of crinoid is thought to be of considerable morphological significance. The Liverpool Geological Society.— Part 4, vol. iv. of the Proceedings of this well-known society have been published, containing papers by Mr. D. Mackintosh, F.G.S., on "Traces of an Inter- glacial land-surface at Crewe ; " " Marine beds and peat beds at Hightown," by Mr. J. M. Reade, F.G.S. ; *' Mammalian remains from ditto," by Mr. F. J. Moore ; " The Subsidence of Land in the Salt Districts of Cheshire," by Thomas Ward ; " The Carboniferous Limestone and Sandstone of Flintshire," by G. H. Morton, F.G.S., and " The Base of the New Red Sandstone around Liverpool," by the same author. The Metamorphic Rocks of Ross and Inverness-shire. — The following communication was read at a recent meeting of the Geological Society by Henry Hicks, M.D., F.G.S. The author described numerous sections which have been examined by him in'three separate visits made to the north-west Highlands. In some previous papers, sections in the neighbourhood of Loch Maree had been chiefly referred to. Those now described are to the south and south- east of that area, and occur in the neighbourhoods of Achmashellach, Strathcarron, Loch Carron, Loch Trishm, Attadale, Stronoe Ferry, Loch Alsh, and in the more central areas about Loch Shiel and Loch Eil to the Caledonian Canal. In these examinations the author paid special attention to the stratigraphical evidence, to see whether there were any indications which could in any way be relied upon to prove the theory propounded by Sir R. Murchison that in these areas fossiliferous Lower Silurian rocks dip under thousands of feet of the highly crystalline schists which form the mountains in the more central areas. On careful examination he found that in consequence of frequent dislocations in the strata, the newer rocks were frequently made to appear to dip under the highly crystalline series to the east, though in reality the appearance in each case was easily seen to be due to accidental causes. Evidences of dislocation along this line were most marked ; and the same rocks, in consequence, were seldom found brought together. He recognized in these eastern areas at least two great groups of crystalline schists metamorphosed throughout in all the districts examined, even when regularly bedded and not disturbed or contorted ; and they have representatives in the western areas, among the Hebridean series, which cannot in any way be differentiated from them. These he called locally by the names, in descending order, of Ben- Fyn and Loch-Shiel series. The former consist, in their upper part, of silvery mica-schists and gneisses, with white felspar and quartz ; in their lower part, of hornblendic rocks, with bands of pink felspar and quartz, and of chloritic and epidotic rocks and schists. The Loch-Shiel series consists chiefly of massive granitoid gneisses and hornblendic and black mica-schists. Thirty-three microscopical sec- tions of the crystalline schists and the overlying rocks are described by Professor Bonney, and he recognises amongst them three well-marked types. In No. I he includes the Torridon sandstone, the quartzites and the supposed overlying flaggy beds on the east side of Glen Laggan. These are partially metamor- phosed, only distinct fragments are always easily recognizable in them in abundance. In No. 2, the Ben-Fyn type, the rocks are crystalline throughout, being typical gneisses and mica-schists. In No. 3, the Loch-Shiel series, he recognizes highly typical granitic gneisses of the Lower Hebridean type. Dr. Hicks failed to find in these areas at any point the actual passage from group 1 to group 2 ; neither did the same rocks belonging to group 1 meet usually the same rocks belonging to group 2. The evidence everywhere showed clearly that the contacts between these two groups were either produced by faults or by overlapping. Group 3, placed by Murchison as the highest beds in a synclinal trough, supported by the fossiliferous rocks, the author regarded as composed of the oldest rocks in a broken anticlinal. They are the most highly crystalline rocks in these areas ; and the beds of group 2 are thrown off on either side in broken folds. These, again, support the rocks belonging to group I. The author there- fore feels perfectly satisfied that the crystalline schists belonging to groups 2 and 3, which compose the mountainsin the central areas, do not repose conform- ably upon the Lower Silurian rocks of the north-west areas with fossils, and that these highly crystalline rocks cannot therefore be the metamorphosed equivalents of the comparatively unaltered, yet highly disturbed and crumpled, richly fossiliferous Silurian strata of the southern Highlands, but are, like other truly cry- stalline schists examined by him in the British Isles, evidently of pre-Cambrian age. In an Appendix by Professor T. G. Bonney, F.R.S., Sec.G.S., on the Lithological Characters of a series of Scotch Rocks collected by Dr. Hicks, the author stated that he observed in the above series, as he had done in other Scotch rocks lately examined by him, three rather well-marked types : — one, where, though there is a certain amount of metamorphism among the finer constituents forming the matrix, all the larger grains of quartz, felspar, and perhaps mica, are of clastic origin ; a second, while preserving a bedded structure and never likely to be mistaken for an igneous rock, being indubitably of clastic origin, retains no certain HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 93 trace of original fragments ; while the third, the typical " old gneiss " of the Hebridean region, seldom exhibits well-marked foliation. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the first and second of these ; but this the author believed to be generally- due to the extraordinary amount of pressure which some of these Scotch rocks have undergone, which makes it very hard to determine precisely what structures are original. Even the coarse gneiss is sometimes locally crushed into a schistose rock of comparatively modern aspect. The least altered of the above series the author considered to be the true "newer-gneiss" series of the Highlands, but both of the others to be much older than the Torridon Sandstone. NOTES AND QUERIES. The prospect of a sharp Winter. — As regards abundance of holly berries, and hips and haws being a sign, I do not believe in it, as I have often found it quite the reverse ; and last winter it certainly was so with us, the weather being remarkably mild, and holly berries and hips and haws were very abundant here, and, what is very unusual, many of the holly berries remained on during the following summer up till about the middle of September, so that during the summer of 1882, I had in my garden holly-trees with some of the sprigs having not only the red berry of the previous winter, but also the summer blossom, and later on sprigs with the ripe and the green berries on them. — Thomas Kingsford, Canterbury. A recent Earthquake Shock. — "Fortunately," says Professor Duncan, F.R.S., "in the United Kingdom only very slight shocks of earthquake are felt on very rare occasions, and usually these are restricted to certain parts of the mountainous districts of Scotland, the north-west of England, and Wales. But it has happened that a very decided shake has been felt, reaching from Kent into the Midland counties, doing, however, little or no damage. Slight as may be the shake of one, if one is felt, it is never forgotten, for the body is slightly lifted up, or moved forwards, and returned to its original position, and the mind is surprised with the energy existing within the earth, which performed the unusual operation." So to say, this "unusual operation" once more made its appearance on the 16th of January, 1883. The shock was very distinctly felt at Abergavenny. The vibration was accompanied by a momentary sound, resembling the distant roar of artillery or thunder, and continued for a few seconds. The shock seemed to affect the coal mining districts in a far greater extent than other parts. At Blaenavon, a coal- mining district, about six miles from this town, the vibration was so great that the inhabitants left their houses, thinking that it was an explosion in the works. — Lester Francis, Abergavenny. Climbing Powers of the Dormouse. — Last summer, whilst walking in a plantation near Leeds, I disturbed a dormouse. It was under some leaves which I turned up with a stick. It ran off, and I followed it, as well as I could. I ran it some way and at last lost sight of it, at the foot of an oak-tree. I once thought it had ascended the tree, but I was not aware that these animals could do so, so I con- cluded he had doubled round the tree and hidden. Two or three days after I was with a friend in the same wood, nesting. He noticed a nest in a fork of the same oak and went up to it. It proved to be a blackbird's nest, with three eggs in. The nest showed unmistakable signs of mice having been there ; the hay being bitten off and arranged over the top, so as to form a nest, two holes eaten through the side, and other trees. My companion disturbed the covering and brought the eggs down. They were hard " set." The nest was visited again, but seemed quite deserted. I have no doubt but that the mouse I saw had its nest in this tree, for I can swear to the tree being the same in both cases. The mice had intruded on the nest when the old bird had begun to sit, and she had left it in disgust. Any information on the subject of the climbing power in mice would oblige — " Petrarch" A Giant Potato. — While in the country last summer, I saw a potato (champion) which had attained the height of thirteen feet. Can our readers tell me whether this often occurs ? — R. H. Wellington. Local Names. — The stoat is in this neighbour- hood called the " Clubstei." Is this a mere local name ? And why has this name been given to the stoat ? — J. H. Ingleby, JVorlhallerlon. The Tides. — In treatises on tides it is generally stated that the tide on the side of the earth opposite to that on which the moon is exerting its influence, is caused by " the earth being drawn away from the water," and thus causing an appearance of the water rising. Will some of your correspondents explain what is meant by this phrase ? Its literal meaning is simply impossible. — W. Dredging in Menai Straits. — Would any of the readers of Science-Gossip who have had any dredging experience in the Menai Straits, kindly let me know the result ? Is it a good dredging ground, and where would be the best place to stay at? Would Penmaenmawr do ? I have tried Llandudno Bay, but was much disappointed. Also are there any books published on the natural history of North Wales, particularly the marine zoology ? — IV. J. R. Birds sent to New Zealand.— I have some- where read of small birds, such as finches, linnets, &c, being sent over to New Zealand for the purpose of destroying the insects which infest the crops there. Can you oblige by telling me if this be true, and if so, what birds are sent ? I have a particular reason for desiring to know if yellow-hammers have been sent to New Zealand. — Hon. Curator, Cardiff Museum. Puss Moth, Sec— I should be much obliged if some reader of this paper could inform me of the reason of the last pellet of excrement of the larva of vinula (puss moth), invariably being partially red ; also I am anxious to find out where I can get "tea paper" for re-papering entomological cabinets and at what price. — T. A. Dymes, The College, Eastbourne. Fossil Oysters, &c, at Peckham.— It may interest some of your readers to hear that on digging for a well in this neighbourhood (Peckham Rye, Surrey), recently, the excavators, at a depth of twelve feet below the surface, came upon a mass of broken cockle-shells imbedded in stiff yellowish clay ; lower down there was a quantity of other shells, resembling the common periwinkle, and, lower still, oysters whole, in some of which, on being opened, the oyster was found converted into flint. — W. T. Greene, M.D., F.Z.S., &>c. 5 94 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Natural History Notes. — Autumn Primroses. — On November 2, 1882, while driving between Cushendun and Cushendall, I observed a Prim- rose in flower ; it was growing on a bank (facing west), by the roadside. Seasonable Notes. — Starling singing October 8, 1882, Cushendun. Thrush singing in Leeson Park, Dublin, December 3, 1882. 1883 ; Cushendun, frog-spawn, February I. Snowdrops and hepaticas, January 16. Ribes bursting into leaf, January 25. January 31, fuchsias, and hawthorn showing signs of vegetation. February 8. gooseberries sprouting. February 10, hazel catkins bursting into il., and primroses and dandelion in fl. February 12, crocus in fl. 23rd, celandine and coltsfoot in fl., Daffodils in fl., February 22. Ribes in fl., February 21. House-fly and blue-bottle seen, February 26. Specimens of tortoise and white-butterflies seen (in houses where they seemingly hybernate), in January and February. Swifts seen, September 2, r882, at Cushendun. Cuckoo seen near the Rock, co. Tyrone, September 9, 1882. — S. A. Brenan. Pond Life in Winter. — I wish to add my testimony to that of the Rev. H. Carrington Lake that there is abundance of (microscopic) life in ponds during the winter months. For several winters 1 have examined pond-water in this locality, and have found almost as much life there as in summer. I have always found cyclops, daphnise, vorticellse, Rotifer vulgaris, Pterodina patina, Cothurnea imberbis and many others. Last January I found some tardigrada, and last week some stentors. I have never been fortunate enough to find Volvox globator in this locality, though I am always looking for some. — Louisa M. Bell. The Late Transit of Venus. — I noticed the cauliflower stalk of Venus — just inside sun's disc. Proctor says this is the puzzle of astronomers. Possible solution of this. First, no telescopic lens has a true mathematical curve, as the metal changes with every variation of temperature, and there are also the errors of manufacture. This is one defect. Secondly, Dr. Litton Forbes, lecturing at the United Service Institution, July 2, 1882 (see U.S.J.G. vol. 26, No. 118, page 821), describes there what he calls astigmatism, that is, the mesial and longitudinal curves of the human eye, are in an abnormal condi- tion. If you hold out your hand before one bright light, bringing the thumb and fore-finger as close together as possible without touching and look between them, then the black drop of Dr. Forbes (see U.S.J., page 827), will be seen plainly as a dark bridge between the fingers. This is the cauliflower stalk of Venus.— A. II. Birkett. Orchis mascula (p. 53).— I don't understand Mr. Malan's statement that the orchis bears no pollen. I have often looked at it. Like some others, it adheres together in a heap. Is it not so ? — Edward Henry Scott. Spontaneous Generation (p. 70). — Will some advocate of this, it seems to me, absurd idea, tell me how there can be spontaneous generation when there is nothing to act spontaneously ? — Edward Henry Scott. Land-shells near Winchester. — The following are some of the rarer sorts of gasteropoda found within two or three miles of Winchester, during the last season: A. lacustris ; B. perversa ; C. rolphii ; B. leachii ; B. obseurus (white var.) ; C. elegans ; Helices aculcata, lapicida, obvoluta, sericea, Cantiana ; P. fontinalis ; P. carinata, contorta, nitida ; V. pygmcca ; Z. crystalliuus, fulvus, radialulus ; P. vivipara. Altogether Winchester can boast of sixty- five species out of the total number of British mollusca, or rather more than half, and probably there may be several others, e.jj. of the Vertigos and Pupoe, still to be observed. The watery nature of the ground affords locality for numbers of freshwater shells, and the chalk attracts special land -shells, so that there is a double field for observation.— i?. Tomlin. Sea Birds near Cambridge. — Mr. A. H. Waters mentions in your February number the fact that many sea birds are observed round Cambridge in the winter. During the summer months, usually, I think, before rain or stormy weather, sea-birds may be heard passing continually for a considerable time over the town by night. And at Abingdon, ten miles over the Gogmagog Hills, I have observed gulls wheeling over the valleys in August. May this not be an instance of instinctive habit ami inherited memory in birds from the time when north of the Cam was the Isle of Ely, and the wide fens (then undrained) clothed either bank of the river ? It is stated in Charles Kingsley's " Prose Idylls " that the tide was evident within ten miles of Cambridge in bygone days. If this is not the correct explanation, I fail to see what can induce sea-birds to travel so far inland during the summer as well as the winter months. — A. S. E., Cambridge. Pigs Swimming. — I believe that there is about as much truth in the saying that a pig cannot swim, as there is in another old saw, i.e., "That a pig sees the wind." I have seen pigs swim across a pond when they have been taken to be well washed. Pigs, although they like to " wallow in the mire," enjoy a bath and a scrub, and fatten better when well washed. Some wash their pigs in buttermilk, I allude to gentlemen who keep fancy pigs, and the poor people in water ; if near the seashore, they always try to give the pig a salt-water bath before they put it up to fatten. The pig's forelegs are curiously formed and placed, so it is just possible that the creature could not swim a long distance so well as a dog can. It does not strike out well, and I have heard the saying W. H. I. quotes as to a pig's cutting its own throat in swimming very often in South Wales, but not a scratch did I even see on the throat of any piggy that was thrown into the " Bryn Mor pond for a swim." — Helen E. Watney. Vinegar Eels.— Surely these little things are like "paste eels" and "wheat eels." Is not the right name " nematoid worms," or entozoa ? Some people I know, term them Vibrios ; but I lately read that this term was a misnomer, and I in another work saw that Vibrios were now considered to be micro- scopic plants, "Algae of the tribe of Oscillatoriceae." One thing is certain, good vinegar, that is vinegar free from mucilage, and possessed of the proper addition of sulphuric acid, is free from the vinegar worm or eel. Paste eels are most unnatural monsters, they eat their mothers up alive, and then run about inside her skin until the latter bursts, allowing them. to escape from their ' ' prison house." I believe the vinegar worm does the same, but no doubt some of the scientific readers of Science-Gossip will be able to give Mr. Smith a clear explanation. — Helen E. Watney. Vinegar Eels. — The small eel-like animals men- tioned by W. Finch, jun., as occurring in vinegar, belong to the species Anguillula acetica, or the "vinegar-eel." They always swarm in enormous numbers in bad, stale vinegar. The dark internal HARD WICKE'S S CIENCE- G OSS IE. 95 matter probably is their digestive system. Closely allied to them are the well-known "paste-eels," A. glutinis and A. Jluviatilis, found in rain-water amongst conf ervce and desmidiaceas, in wet moss, &c. Another species is met with in the ears of wheat affected with a blight, termed the "cockle." They all belong to the order Nematoidea (from the Greek, "a thread)," which order also includes the dreaded Trichina spiralis, of the class annelida.— J. Beecham- Mayor. Eels in Vinegar. — The eels which W. Finch, jun., saw in the vinegar he examined under the micro- scope in all probability were the common Anguillula ■acetica, which, however, appear only in vinegar of an inferior quality. Should he be able to obtain a copy of the " Popular Science Review," No. vi. p. 213, he will there find a very interesting article on the vinegar eel, by Jabez Hogg, F.L.S., as well as a valuable tinted plate, showing the various stages in the life of one of these curious creatures ; the drawing is by Mr. C. Whilley.— kev. W. A. Pippet, Rokeley, West Cowes. Double Oranges. — On two occasions I have come across a double orange, similar to that described by Mr. Parrott. The one I saw had the small orange growing at the stalk end of the larger one, and was also surrounded by the white pulp. It was about an inch in diameter, and was easily separated in five or six "liths." It contained no seeds. — S. M. Well- tvood, Glasgoiu. Rooks. — The wonderful sagacity of rooks has often been commented upon, and I am now witness- ing a remarkable example. Close to my residence on the banks of the Teme is a small rookery ; five or six pairs have of late years built their nests on a fine elm, growing on my side of the stream. On the other side a larger number have built in several poplars. The unusual floods have undermined the opposite banks, and one tree has fallen into the river. This seems to have alarmed the old occupants, and, although on my side, the birds have built as usual, on the other, they assemble in great numbers, have destroyed nearly all their old nests, but do not make fresh ones, and the daily commotion is quite remarkable ; they evidently fear that the destruction of their homesteads is imminent. Four days later, the river has gone down nearly two feet, and three pairs of rooks are building their nests. — G. C. Gold Fish in Spirit.— On Saturday, the 3rd of March, I placed in a bottle of spirits of wine a gold fish, which had died in my aquarium. I understood that, by placing any dead animal, fish, &c. (fresh), in spirits, it would be kept from decomposing, and also would retain its natural colour, in short, would remain just as it was when introduced into the bottle. Yet this fish, which I put into spirits, has, strange to say, lost all its colour and is now of a dirty white, and, to all appearance, is decomposing, being covered all over with a white film, just as it would if left to decompose in water. I should be pleased if any readers of this paper would kindly explain this. — IV. Finch, jun. Norwich Naturalists' Field Club.— The members of the above club held their annual exhibition of specimens in the committee room, Chapel-in-the-Field, on January 26th. The exhibits were very numerous, and consisted of animals, birds, fish, reptiles, plants, and insects. Three microscopes were kindly lent and exhibited. The exhibition was well attended and was a great success. Early Flowering of Lamium Galeobdolon (Cranby). — Yellow Archangel. On the iSth of February, 1883, I gathered a specimen of the above, one flower of which was quite open, and many buds on the point of opening. I gathered the Adoxa Moschatellina (L.) for the first time this season on the same day. — D. Noell Stephens, F.L.S. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now publish Science-Gossip earlier than heretofore, we cannot possibly insert in the following number any communications which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. To Anonymous Querists. — We receive so many queries which do not bear the writers' names that we are forced to adhere to our rule of not noticing them. 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. G. A. K. begs to thank "A Manchester Pythagorean," for the list of books on the above subject he has so kindly given. A. J. A. — Your specimen is the commencing growth of the well-known "cellar-fungus " [Tasmidium cellare). S. C. Cockerell. — The objects you sent us from a ditch are the valves of Cypris clliptica, a species of Entomostraca. A. Ogilvie. — The leaves of Arum maculatum are frequently spotted with lightish spots, from partial absence of chlorophyll. F. H. Streatfield (Pau). — The peculiarity of your ane- mone is that the leaves were affected by petalody — that is, had been practically converted into petals. A. Laban. — The so-called "louse" on swine is a species cf Ixodes, nearly resembling the dog-tick [Ixodes ricinus). C. H. Waddell.— Get the Rev. W. A. Leighton's "Lichen- flora of Great Britain," &c. You may obtain a second-hand copy of W. Wesley, bookseller, 28 Essex S treet, Strand. Papers on Collecting and Preserving Lichens appeared in Science- Gdssip for 1872. Dr. J. Needham. — We have searched in vain for a descrip- tion of your fish parasite, but can find nothing at all resembling your rough sketches. It is very likely a new form. Have you mounted the specimen? If so, please send us the slide. A. Draper. — Your freshwater shell is the young of Dreissina poly>7>iorpha, a bivalve now naturalised in England. It is believed to have been imported by timber ships from the Baltic. EXCHANGES. A large quantity of microscopic slides for exchange. Wanted books, la»tern apparatus, &c— F. S.Lyddon, 2 Oakland Villas, Redland, Bristol. 200 species of British shells, also Science-Gossip for 1880, 1881, and 16 numbers of 1879 and 18S2 offered for other British shells, minerals, fossils, or microzoa. Lists exchanged. — E. D. Wilson, 18 Low Pavement, Nottingham. Wanted, British and foreign land and freshwater, also British marine shells. Will give in exchange fossils from the chalk, or other shells.— Sydney C. Cockerell, Glen Druid, Chislehurst. Various books offered in exchange for ancient seal impres- sions. — W. H. Tunley, 8 Albert Road, Southsea. Wanted, any violets, except V. palustris. Fresh specimens preferred, in exchange for rare or critical British plants. — E. Straker, Kenley, Surrey. Partly silver mounted muzzle loader gun, 3!- vols. " Intellec- tual Observer," Nos. 48-68 inclusive, a few lias fossils. Wanted, microscope, fossil cabinet, fossils, or books. — J. Floyd, Strat- ford-on-Avon. Wanted, a few good pieces of brain coral and others in ex- change for grand new " Natural History," 36 col. plates, and new bamboo fishing-rod, or cash, if cheap. — J. Ellison, Steeton, Leeds. British shells for British or foreign land and freshwater shells, or European butterflies or nocturni. — T. D. A. Cockerell, Bertha House, Ethelbert Road, Margate. Wanted, Machaon, Sinapis, Rhamni, Hyale, Paphia, Aglaia, Adippe, Polychlorus, Io Cardui, Galathea, Davus, Rubi, Quercus or Adonis, in exchange for rare foreign stamps, send for sheet on approval.— F. A. Skuse, 143 Stepney Green, London. E. 9 6 HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Scorpio Cervasii, Gonyleptes, Scolopendra, and various large insects from Chili ^in spirit) offered fur good microscopic or lantern slides. Send li=t to H. E. Freeman, i Templeton Road, Finsbury Park, N. Single and double stained botanical preparations. Selected and arranged Diatomacese, &c, for good unmounted material. Large Echinus and Cidarus spines wanted. — \V. White, 7 Warden Place, Nottingham. "Davis' on Mounting," &c, for two or three mounted slides, hydra budding or parasites wanted. — Henry Beech, Lincoln Road, Peterborough. A good field-glass German silver mounts, length when out, 28 in. dia. of O.G. 16 lines for micro apparatus. Books or material polariscope wanted. — Henry Beech, Lincoln Road, Peterborough. Wanted, good foreign or English coleoptera or parts of ditto suitable for microscopic objects, sponge spicules, Poly- cistinse or vegetable hairs in exchange for well-mounted objects. Quantities prepared. — M. J., 51 Great Prescot Street, London, E. Wanted, well-set specimens of Pieris Brassies;, P. Rapce, P. Napi, Lasiomviaia Egeria, L. Megcera, Hipparchia, Tithonus, Ccenonympha Pamphilus, Polyommatus Argiolus, P. Alexis, P. sEgon and Pamfihila sylvanus. In exchange for stamps, other insects, &c. — G. H. S., 143 Stepney Green, London, E. Wanted, a few full-grown living Helix fusca. Land shells offered in exchange. — C. Ashford, Christchurch. Wanted, to exchange Soo well-assorted foreign stamps for cases for butterflies, &c. What other offers?— A. P. S., 143 Stepney Green, London, E. W T ELL-mounted slide of scale of Dee Salmon, splendid polar object, for other good slide ; desideratum Polycystina. — John R. Marten, Cottage Hospital, Red Hill. Will exchange a well-mounted specimen of Polyxenus Lagura for six well-set specimens of any of the following butterflies, Pieris Brassiere, Euchloe Cardamines (female), Lasiommata Egeria, L. Mcgeera, Hipparchia Hyperanthus or Tkecla Quercus. — ¥. A. Skuse, 143 Stepney Green, London, E. Wanted, model of great auk's egg in exchange