AMERICAN NATURALIST, A POPULAR ILLUSTRATED MAGAZINE NATURAL HISTORY. EDITED BY A. S. PACKARD, JR., E. S. MORSE, A. HYATT, AND F. W. PUTNAM. VOLUME |. | \ SALEM, MASS. PUBLISHED BY THE BSSEA I 'TITTUTES. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. THE LAND Swnalts OF New ENGLAND. By E. S. Morse. With a Plate and Illustrations, pp. 5, 95, 150, 186, 313, 411, BM, 606, 666 86 y THE VOLCANO OF AUEA, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, IN T. Brigham. With a Plate, 6 THE Fosst. REPTILES OF NEW anai.: R Fr of. E. D. Co 23 THE AMERICAN SILK Worm. By L. Trouvelot. With ae a- tions and two Plates, 30, 85, 145 WINTER NOTES OF AN UestoLoainnt By J. 4 Alle 38 Tue MOSS-ANIMALS, OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. er Alpheus Hyatt. With three Plates, 57, 131, 180 THE FERTILIZATION OF owneus Prien By J. i ae 64 INSECTS AND THEIR ALLIES. rr A. S. Packard, jr., M.D. dlius- ted, trated, . f ei T SOME ERRORS REGARDING THE Haa OF OUR Liane, By Dr. T. M. Brewer, .. 113 Tue Foop or THE Saathi. By J. wW. Dena LL. D. I- lustrated, f 124 TuE ROYAL Sine OF SRO: "By c. M. trae oh ae es ‘ 125, 470 TARANTULA KILLERS oF Texas. By G. m M. D. Jilustrated, . x s o o THE BIRDS OF Seine, By a À. Alen, 8 > JH Tue RECENT BIRD TRACKS OF THE Daae OF Moua By C. Fred. Hartt, A-M, . ; ; : i - 169, 234 Tue HABITS OF THE GORILLA. By W. Winwood Reade, . po ATT Parasitic Prants. By G- D. Phippen. Illustrated, . ‘ - 188 OYSTER C By F. W. Fell 196 THE Scorpion or Texas. By a cian M. D. Tlustratėd, 203 A NOTE FROM THE Far Nortu. By J. T. Rothrock, . è 205 THE SEA-HORSE AND ITs YounG. By Rev. S. Lockwood. fis- trated, 225 Somernixe ABOUT faite time: ‘By Edward s. Morse. With a Plate, ` AGENCY OF Inseors. IN Paine Baten, By W. i Beal, 254 ICE-MARKS AND ANCIENT GLACIERS IN THE WHITE MOUNTAIN. wy A. S. Packard, jr., M.D «. 5 % ‘ i ‘ a 260 THE Tae sisg or Arizona. By Dr. Elliott Coues, U. ‘6. A.. 281, 1, 393, 531 Tne COCKROACH AND Irs EneMy. By G. A. Perkins, M. D.. : 293 iii iv ; CONTENTS OF VOL. I. Fisn CULTURE. By Charles G. Atkins, p. 296 Tne DraGon-FLy. By A. S. Packard, jr., M. D. “With a Plate, 304 THE PHOSPHORESCENCE OF THE SEA. From G. H. Lewes. Zl- lustrated, E a OTG THE teks ERS OF urindi By G. L. Gébdale: M. D., i = 08T THE- ENCAMPMENT OF THE Herons. By W. E. Endicott 43 ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTIVATION IN FRANCE. By F. W. Followel, 346 THe Home or THE Bees. By A. S. Packard, jr., M. D. With a Plate and Illustrations, 364, 596 THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. aeihweioke’ s Setelicë GoustD. I fiuótiáteð, E 9 THE AWAKENING OF THE Brrps. By T. Martin Trippe AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. By W. J. Beal; è aii Tue TARANTULA. By G. Lincecum, M.D 4 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. By Burt G. Wilder, M. D. With two Plates and Illustrations, 414, 482, 631 THE CLOTHES-MOTH. By A. S. Pa ent; NA M. D. fe yar 423 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION: Irs METHODS AND TEN- DENCIES. By Prof. J. S. Newberry, . 449 DESMIDS AND Dratoms. By Prof. L.W. Bailey. With ¢ a Plate, 505, 587 A Sergey EXCURSION IN MY Orrice. By Prof. H. C. Wood, + M.D. illustrated, soir. AN “hoor € OF SOME kikihi OR aneio APS, D MASSACHUSETTS. se Prof. J. Oh eee . pim two ni ‘ : : a THE Bene. By Au ies Fowler THE FOSSIL INSECTS OF AMERICA. By s. H. Juodai Witha Plate, oa an Sorts MuscaDINe Grare. By D. H. Jacques. Tilus- ted, : A Po ice Trip TO ba By C. Fred. Hartt, A. M., ; - 642 Notes or a Fur Hunter. By Henry Clapp, REVIEWS. | e Lysianassa Magellanica. By Prof. L. W. Lilljeborg, p. 48. Bie iain to the goose of Crustacea, found living in Species of the Genus Ascidia. By T. Thorell, 49. On the Polypes and Echino- derms of New Sai Pa descriptions of New Species. By Prof. A. E. Verrill, 49. The Myriapoda of North America. By Prof. H. C. Wood, jr., 49. Natural History of Animals. By Prof. S., and Mrs. A. PS Tenney, 50. On the Young Stages of a few Annelids. By Alexander Preliminary Report of the Geological Survey of Kansas. Anih tions upon the Cranial Forms of the American Aborigines. By J. A. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. ¥ Meigs, M. D., 152. A Treatise on some of the Insects injurious to Vegetation. By 7. W. Harris, M. D., 153. Prodrome of a Work on the Ornithology of Arizona Territory. By Elliott Coues, M. D., 209. The first discovered traces of fossil neuropterous Insects in North On the 70. American Educational Monthly, 271 rnithology and Odlogy of New England. By Edward A. Samuels, 318. Jretaceous form- ation ns of Sioux City, etc. By Jules Marcou, 320 Lepidopterological Notes and Descriptions, I, II, ete. R Grote and C. T. Robinson, 320. The Taxidermist’s Manual. By 8. H. Sylvester, 321. The American Agriculturist. ee ap feast è n E o a of Chlöeon ataata dimidiatum. By Sir a PERET 428. tsi of the Fossorial NSA a of North Am By A. S. Packard, jr., M. D., 431. Manual of the Botany of the termes United sepa including the pistes a of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee. By Prof. Asa Gray, 491,548. Enu- meration of Hawaiian Plants. By Horace Mann, 547. The Glacial Phenomena of Labrador and New England. By A. S. Packard, jr., -D., 610. The Quarterly Journal of Science, 611. The Naturalist’s Note Book, 613. Quarterly Journal of Psycholog gical Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence, 672. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Botany.— Theory of the Origin of the Anther of Flowers PoE Physiological effects of the Calabar Bean, 51. Skeleton Saavik: 51. T Flora of Brognon, France, 103. Drying Plants by Heat, — two methods, 103. The May-flower, 154. Parthenogenesis in the Weeping Willow, 154. The Agency of Insects in Fertilizing Plants, 155. The annual increase in the circumference of Trees, 155. Curious F Aa R in a brick taken from the Pyramidś of Egypt, 322. A supposed w Columbine, and a new Ox-eye Daisy, 388. Change of Color in Pees placed under ot of different colors, 390. Herbarium for sale, 432. A Fern new to our Flora, 432. Thornless form of the Honey egal nea 433. Monstrous Roses, 433. Identification of a Chemical Test, 434. Botanical Notes and Queries, 493. vi CONTENTS OF VOL. I. May-apples in Clusters, 494. Invasions of Foreign Plants, 495. A variety of the Ox-eye Daisy, 496. Botanical Notes and Queries, 673. Salsola Kali growing mh 674. Robinia Hispida, 674 ZOOLoGy.—The Edible Crab in Sal Mass., p. 52. Mimetic Forms among the Pamats A 52. Fertile Ca aa among the Honey Bees, 52. A Black Migo 5 the Red Squirrel, 53. Flights of But- terflies, 104. A new Insect Box, Illustrated, ae Parasites of the Humble Bee, 157. poe ge Carpenter Bees, 157. Mimetic Forms among Insects, 155. Artificial Nests of Inseetvoron Birds in Swit- zerland, 211. The He jag Grasshopper, 271. Fish Culture, 322. Biscuit made of Fish, 323. e Pelican in Cayuga eons s N- Y., 323. Curious mode of aE in ahem 324. Habits of the ae 325. The Stuffed Whale in the Swedish Museum, 390, The Eggs of the Dragon-fiy, 391. ew Change of Color in Fish, 391. The Bittern, 434. Eggs of the Indigo Bird, 435. A Snail-like Caterpillar, 435. The Horned Corydalus, Jilustrated, 436. Breeding Place of the Pelican, 436. i The way of Se SR Eagles, 139. The Breeding Habits of Sues $25, Change of Color in Fish, 497. Common Objects of the Coun! The Tiger-beetle, Era 552. The Dodo, 6l4. Singular Variety of the Field Sparrow, 614. The Gigantic Birds of the Mascaren Islands, apia 615. The Eagle a Fisher, 614. GEOLOGY. — Disc covery of a Human Jaw in a Belgian Bone paji p. 53. A genio Serpent from the Chalk-formation of England, 5 Discovery of Chalk in Colorado and Dacota Territories, 53. ‘The ka appearance of Man on our Planet, 104. The Eozoön in Austria, 105. The Absence of the Northern Drift Formation from the western coast of Nerth America, 157. Advance of Geological Science, 212. The two earliest known Races Men in own T The of Miocene, Ter- tiary Flora of North Greenland, 325. i of Life on our Globe, n 55 PY.—Test Objects, p. 158. Diatoms, 158. Method of he Microscope in Medical see pencss 213. The Polycystina, 213. The Volvox and its Parasite, 276.. phorescent Entomostraca, 325. Preparation of Snail’s To The movements of the Diatomacee, 441. The Su te Fauna of Mid- ocean, 555. Student’s Microscope, 616. NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. Ornithological for March, p- 54. New England Reptiles in April, 107. Ornithological for April, 109. The Insects of Early Spring, 110. ILLUSTRATIONS. vil Ornithological for May; The Insects of May, Illustrated, 160. The Insects of June, Illustrated, 220. The Insects of fare Illustrated, 277. The Insects of August, Illustrated, 327. Insects in September, 391. CORRESPONDENCE. — n the Winter Plumage o iris Guillemot, p. 53. Wasps as Marriage Priests to Plants, Illustrated, 105. Good Books on Natural History and Taxidermy, 160. The Trichina spiralis, Illustra- te Study of Science and the Classi The False- Scorpion, 220. Preparation of Snail’s Tongues for the Microscope, 2 on North American Lichens, 326 e Aquarium, 327. About Snails, 441. Essay on Classification, 441. Works on Entomol- ogy, 441. b-like formation on Birds, rn, 498. Proceed- ings American Association, where obtained, 556. Works on Entozoa, 556. Snake Charming, 556. Gordius, 556. Exchanges, 556. agate retina: p. 159, 213, 216. F SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, pp. 56, 112, 164, 166, 0 167, 68 3, 2, 27, 280, 330, 334, 442, 444, 447, ie 686, 559, 674, GLO LIST OF PLATES. Plat Page Page i ‘hate omy of the Land Snails of 10. ie was the Bees, fifteen figures, 378 New England, thirteen agoro, 16 | 11. On the Hand.—Arm of Man, Fore- 2. The Crater of Kilauea, b leg of Tapir, Wing of Bat, Fore- 3. Fredericella regina, eight figures, 64 leg of Seal, Arm of Monkey, 4. Pectmatella magnifica, four do. 1 Hand of la, e of Man, 5,6. The American Silk W Hind leg of Tapir, Hind leg of Moth, ogee Polyphemus, . 1 igator, ten figures, 7. Cristatella ophidroidea, five fig- 12. On the Han man leg, arm, 490 ures, ete < % : smids —_ Diatoms, thirty- 8. Jelly -Fishes, Aurelia flavidula, mirabilis,Pleurobrachia, 14,15. Indian implements found in Tina. Tormos, Lizzia \ grata, the Shell-Heaps of New a ee Eucope diaphana, en land, nineteen E 16. Fossil insects ot America, ETAS ioh o o a MORE a a a a LIST OF WOOD-CUTS. 1. Larva ofthe American Silk Worm, 30 tr. Food of the Sea =n = I% 2. ofa _ ee ee ee TS Fak Fhe a < Dauber, ead cigs | | 3. Young Terebella, . Yay T4 | 19. gt ne $ ë . 139 Shrimp, . $ Z Spee = 76} 20,21. Helix Eiana . > o A 5. Wood-wasp, Ete 77 22, 23. eoe palam, oo er eee 6. May Fly, 30 »20. " monodon, . . S 7. a e: of American Silk Worm, 65 | 26,27. * ipae E . 151 8. Pupa 87 | 28. In Box, oo 3 ee 9. Tehneumon Parasite, Bes. 89 | 29. Coddling Moth, E a 10. Diagram of Snail, . « « 85180. The Squash Beetle, . : . PE il. Helix posers wrong 97 | 31. Plum Weevi e o a ee oes pula aaa ` e 32. byncss hortensis, x 186 ë > ix alternats; vo 1615 « “ Sentira . » 9 |35. Thé Dodder, . Pa 16. Pollen on Wasp’s Leg, . . 105 Scorpion of Texas, . . -23 Vill ILLUSTRATIONS. No. P ps i E d 42. Cogs p E f; Helix multidentata, .. . . 543 4 une RES T 7 UR ea T ‘ 44. Plant Lic = . 2 > Bees minuscula, J , 58, 50, Head c of Diplax, : ‘ 3 i vulgaris, . Lt se . . purpurea . _“_Diplax, . : “8 birdcollis, . . , Z pon pmpa, 4 ee pai Sore ° 35. Helix inornata. # punctulata, , 67. a fuliginosis . rouch’s Cove, Casco Bay, Me., -3 eN uca miliaris, . $ i7 - Kjækkenmæddin B 5 ), poena undulata, . x ). Se erg Andrena vicina, e 2 natra fusca, > arva 1e ah. aii paludum, . . ENA A Aaah oF Halictus parallelus, 4 picipes, PoTN . Phy ‘mata erosa, . ` ` = noinen Totteniana, . . . OUD ae prin te groan - 882, ehh ee -eye D; ‘ ý 4 : ea ovala ee a $ . GOT . Helix cuppressa, tt eg ol Zua lubricoides, . . `. 7 e SE eg Pe res mae d 3 Zonya harpa, ES a 3 a . . . re ; 90, 91, =. otis x ) Moth, k fallax, : -+ 609 heL Ho Sariin Gains The Géant, k OETAN E 7 Ks orn naii us ight 3 S r : - Zoösp re, er $ Daks of Åye-aye, + OEN dogonium, pater: he Muscadine Grape s . 637 ee t, 161. Embryology of Dous 676 ERRATA, VOL. I. Page 10, line 23, for interval, read instanc: © M, * 1 * fig.1, plate 2, read fig. 5, plate 1. om s is ere ae 2, “ 32,“ ToN % 42, dele lines ü ao aS R a udr “pag i a EN se a nt rènd iste, the dates Oi ty ents oe A Wave, eo + “ 1, “ 5 e a E 7 supernumerary; on lips irh aih real Us: a 95? af leg, neal hand; dc dele Ii 554, ee Ta r road, county; ar om at leagl read Scaphiocrinus; o Bo 20, Paleozoic localities, reni mony ec a 570, “ 15, “ Pl. 15, fig. 14, read Pi. 14, fig.3. ATI ps ae. n a pe ja fe — soe = AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. 1.—MARCH, 1867.—No. 1. —<~“>— INTRODUCTORY. In laying before our readers this first number of a pop- ular scientific monthly, we commence a publication in which we shall endeavor to meet the wants of all lovers of nature. zo The rapidly increasing interest in the study of the va- rious departments of Natural History invites the establish- ment of a journal which shall popularize the best results of scientific study, and thus serve as a medium between the teacher and the student, or, more properly, between the older and the younger student of nature. If the reader, however slight his intercourse with nature may have been, shall find somėthing in these pa- ges to stimulate his zeal, and direct his mind to the right methods of investigation, and also teach him new facts concerning the haunts and habits of his favorites of the- wood, the lake and the seashore, the great aim of this _ Entered a to 4 Act of Congress, in the year 1867, 2 eae ESSEX INSTITUTE, in rk f tl he District of Massac Zz INTRODUCTORY. journal will be accomplished. Should it do no more than to bring naturalists, both young and old, into an active “coöperation and sympathy, and promote good fellowship and amity between the great brotherhood of enthusiasts, as all true naturalists are, we shall gain a most important object. The value of our Magazine will depend more on its power to awaken the absorbing interest invariably ex- cited by the contemplation of nature, and of illustrating the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, than on any adornment of style, or cunning devices of the artist. We trust the Magazine will be equally welcome to the Farmer, Gardener and Artisan. We shall endeavor to point out the practical benefits resulting from the study of nature. The value of the study of the habits of insects, or Economic Entomology, the modes of breeding and de- velopment of animals and plants, and their distribution over the surface of the globe will be often discussed. This is an utilitarian age, and all the theories now float- ing on the sea of science, all the stray facts not yet group- ed in their proper places, besides the well digested facts which fill the treasury of knowledge, are all to be subor- dinated to the practical advantage as well as to the intel- lectual and moral elevation of man. As philosophers in seeking the truth for the truth’s sake, let us not forget that our science will be ennobled by publishing those facts _ and principles which interest alike the philosopher and the day-laborer. The farmer and grazier are as much inter- ested as the naturalist in all facts concerning the origin of SOR ee eRe ees rA jie hae ae ise ior eee er ee OE E SA M a ag age ee mE Ra en SRE S PETN ALY Sn oer ser ee INTRODUCTORY. 8 life and of specific forms, whether by direct creation, or by secondary laws as claimed by the followers of Lamarck or Darwin. In his work “On the Origin of Species,” Darwin gathers many of his most important facts from the experience gained in the farmyard and garden, and all such facts are of practical value to the cattle breeder or horticulturalist. The studies of the astronomer in his ob- servatory ; the daily observation of the clouds and dew point; and of the barometer and thermometer, and the tracing of the course of storms interest alike the meteo- rologist, the farmer and the mariner. In our monthly calendar of the periodic returns of ani- mals, farmers and gardeners will be warned of the attacks of insects injurious to crops. All inquiries respecting the attacks of such depredators will be answered in our col- umns, and modes of combating them be suggested. As a medium between collectors, we trust the NATURAL- ‘Ist will be. found of great use. Should the sportsman shoot a rare bird, or the insect-hunter capture a rare but- terfly or beetle it may be here placed on record; or should the conchologist pick up a new shell which he is unable to identify from the means at his command, it will give us pleasure to aid in determining the name of his rarity ; or, if unable ourselves, to place him in communication with specialists who have the requisite knowledge. Such, then, shall be the leading object of the journal— to amuse the reader, perhaps decoy him within the temple of nature ; and, if he be a willing student, instruct him in some of its mysteries. 4 INTRODUCTORY. The matter offered to our réader’s acceptance will be mostly drawn from original sources. Occasionally we shall extract from the pages of our contemporaries. The most recent discoveries of general interest will be gleaned from the English, German, and French reviews and jour- nals,—for science is cosmopolitan. Thus, following My Lord Bacon’s bidding, we shall “prick in some flowers of that he hath learned abroad” for the better adornment of this our Naturalists’ Companion and Solace. The editorial responsibility seems great, and nothing but the boundless wealth of nature spread out before us, the untiring good will of our scientific friends in contrib- uting to our pages, and the promise of the kindly appre- ciation of the public, can be an excuse for our appearance, and for any apparent presumption in our bearing. THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. PLATE 1. BY E. S. MORSE. We offer to our readers the first of a series of papers on the Land Snails of New England, with the intention of carefully figuring every species of land snail known to occur within the prescribed boundaries. We shall also give a general history of the group, mentioning the hiding places of different species, and whatever facts we may think of interest to the general reader. Certainly a more unassuming subject could not well be studied, for aside from the soothing pleasure of lying down, dorsal region uppermost, in some secluded grove, and hunting for half a day among the decaying leaves, up- turning the different layers of successive autumnal depos- its of withered foliage, even as the geologist throws open the different pages of the “Great Stone Book,” the earth’s crust, in quest of material for study,—aside from this quieting pursuit, we have no stirring incidents in their life to contemplate, no frantic hops, skips, and jumps of the insect tribe, no terrible bites to dread, or poisonous stings to shrink from, no enemy of our husbandry (except occa- sional injury from the garden slug) to bafle, no giant stride or rapid speed to wonder at; for the snail is pro- verbially slow in every respect. When disturbed, it does not, like many other animals, struggle violently to escape, but ceases motion, or quietly withdraws itself within its shell. Even the heart, which in higher animals, when agi- tated, pulsates with increasing energy, in the snail under similar excitement, throbs with a slower motion. And yet 6 THE LAND SNAILS we do believe that the careful study of a common snail will reveal the wonders of God’s Providence in as forcible a manner as the history of the higher forms of animal life. Before presenting an account of the different species of land snails to be met with in New England, we must first learn something about the habits and anatomy of the group in general. Land Snails are universally distributed throughout the world, occurring under stones in open pastures, beneath the dead leaves and prostrate trees of | the forest, in the interstices of bark, clinging to shrubs and spears of grass, lurking under damp moss, and occupying other positions of a similar nature. As they are depend- ant on the presence of a certain degree of moisture for their perpetuation and increase, they are more abundant in warm and damp regions, and are therefore found in greater numbers on islands, while in dry and desert places they are scarcely known to occur. The land snails attain their greatest size and beauty in the tropics ; the species diminishing in number and size as we approach the poles. Certain South American species attain the length of six inches, and the young when first hatched from the egg (which is as large as that of a pig- eon), is an inch long. We turn however with relief from the gaudy colored shells of the Equator, to our more humble representatives of the North, both modest and unpretending in size and color. The species native to the United States are essen- tially inhabitants of the forest, and there, dwelling under the damp leaves in continual darkness, do we seek the material for our study. Figures 9, 10, and 11, plate 1, represent the com- mon large snail of our woods, the white lipped snail or Helix albolabris. This snail is distributed throughout all ep ee ree ee E OF NEW ENGLAND. 7 the Northern and Western States, and is a fair type of the family. The body is quite soft, and spreads below into an oblong, flattened disk. This disk is called the “foot,” and forms their only locomotive organ. By means of nume- rous minute muscles distributed closely along this flatten- ed surface, they are enabled to creep along, at times with an almost imperceptible motion, gliding a over the roughest substances, ascending branches, and even bur- rowing in the ground. When we consider this sluggish, and too often despised snail, without legs, fins, or wings, and yet performing the important function of locomotion with as much certainty and ease as animals more highly endowed, we cannot but admire the versatility of the Great Creative mind in the various complete provisions made for the locomotion of all these humbler animals. During progression, the disk, or surface upon which they crawl, secretes a slimy, or viscid substance, which greatly facilitates their exertions, and they can often be traced to their hiding places, by following the silvery trail, which all snails leave behind, in their peregrinations. The Eng- lish gardener, annoyed as he is by the depredations of cer- tain species of snails, which nip the tender buds, and even devour the leaves of his plants, frustrates their destructive raids by encircling the plants with an earth work of dry sand; or better still, ashes. The snail, in attempting to pass this barrier, becomes completely en- tangled with the particles of sand adhering to its slimy body. Now, any irritation of this nature causes the snail to pour out this slime, or mucus, from all parts of the body, as can be easily proved by irritating the snail with the point of a stick, when shortly a ball of mucus will be formed on the stick, and the point finally rendered smooth. This provision to guard against such conditions, fairly ex- 8 THE LAND SNAILS hausts the snail in its attempts to pass the barrier, for the more abundant the secretion, the greater the entangle- ment, and finally the snail dies from exhaustion. Protec- tions of this kind would be of no use in rainy weather, as the sand adheres together, and the snail can then pass over it very easily. Certain species of slugs (Fig. 13, Plate 1), that is, snails having no coiled shell, but alike in other respects, have the singular power of lowering themselves from some projecting point by means of this mucus, which they throw off from the posterior end of the creeping disk ; and we have seen a common slug (a species occurring abund- antly in our garden and fields), lower itself from the back of a high chair to the floor. They have no power, however, like the spider, to retrace their course. They will often hang suspended in mid air for sometime, apparel for no other purpose than to enjoy themselves. The snail has no power to leave its shell as many sup- pose. The shell is as much a part of the animal, as is the hard crust of a beetle a component part of the insect. And. not only this, the snail is attached to the shell by a per- manent muscular attachment, and cannot be withdrawn from it alive. In order to clean the shell of its contents, it is customary to scald it in boiling water, when the mus- cular attachment becomes separated from the shell, and the soft parts can be easily removed. The finding of empty shells in the woods, has oftentimes been cited as a proof that the snail can leave its shell, and the occur- rence of certain species of snails which have no visible shell, has served to strengthen a belief in this error. When the creature dies, the soft perishable parts are soon decomposed, or else devoured by insects, leaving the more enduring shell as a monument to its memory. On the ap- k i es E E ARS E E RENNE E eee i o i a a a aa ye Nn a EE OF NEW ENGLAND. 9 proach of winter, or the continuance of a severe drought, the snail hybernates, that is, it ceases to feed, and with- draws itself far within its shell, leaving at the same time several barriers within the aperture of the shell, composed of the mucous secretions of the animal. In this condition it remains, motionless and apparently lifeless. The-mode of forming these partitions is quite curious, and will in- terest the observer. As the snail withdraws within the shell it inspires a certain quantity of air; the creeping disk, and the parts of the animal bordering the aperture of the shell pour out a certain quantity of: mucus, which stretches completely across the aperture of the shell. This soon hardens, and the snail by expiring most of the air in its lungs, and thus reducing its bulk, retires still farther within its shell, and again forms a barrier similar to the one just formed, and oftentimes several partitions are formed in this way, one behind the other, affording a complete protection against the inroads of cold and water, and apparently of heat as well, since they always do this when confined in a dry or hot place. In a certain foreign, | species, this partition partakes of a calcareous nature, and” thus affords a more enduring barrier. In the spring time the snail resumes its activity, the barriers are forced through by the tail, and frequently the snail devours them, as if famishing after its long continued fast. All species of land snails with few exceptions, are ovi- parous ; that is, the young are hatched from eggs laid by the parent. The sexes are united in each individual, though the mutual union of two individuals is necessary to fertilize the eggs. They lay from fifty to one hundred eggs ata time. The eggs of most species are very small, white in color, and resemble homeopathic pills. If the conditions are favorable, the young issue from the eggs in AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 2, 10 : THE LAND SNAILS the course of two or three weeks, furnished with a shell composed of one whorl and a half. The shell is increased in size by the addition of calcareous matter round the margin of the aperture. The successive lines of growth can be easily traced on the shells of most species. They attain their complete growth in from one, to two years. The number of eggs produced by an individual varies in proportion to the greater or less protection afforded to the animal ; thus in the common slug, Limax, and allied gen- ` era, having no exterior shell into which they may with- draw in times of danger, the number of eggs produced is much greater, and according to Dr. Peeks; hiv kept two specimens of the common garden slug in confinement, seven hundred and eighty six eggs were laid in one year. The vitality which the snails eggs possess surpasses be- lief. Certain French fhiduradiaty assert that they have been so completely dried, as to be friable between the fingers. In this dried condition they have been kept fora long time, and yet a single hour’s exposure to humidity and warmth, has been sufficient to restore them to their origi- nal form and elasticity. They have been dried in a fur- nace eight successive times, until they were reduced to an almost invisible minuteness, yet in every interval have they regained their original bulk in a moist situation. In all thèse instances the young have been developed, in the same manner as other eggs not subjected to this ex- periment. (Binney.) This wonderful vitality extends to the snail in all stages of its existance. We have seen cer- tain species frozen in solid blocks of ice, and yet regain their activity when subjected to the influences of warmth. Their dependence on moisture naturally places them in moist situations, yet we have seen certain species attached to leaves, where the sun had shed its scorching rays for si tag cl ipa, ie al ii OF NEW ENGLAND. 11 weeks, crisping the leaves, and baking the ground as dry as potter’s ware, and yet these conditions not affecting in the least their vitality. They have been kept for years in pill boxes, and yet on subjecting them to moisture, have crawled about appearing as well as ever. In “ Wood- ward’s Manual of Shells” is the following, chronicled by Dr. Baird, regarding the resuscitation of a desert snail. “This individual was fixed to a tablet in the British Mu- seum on the 25th of March, 1846, and on March 7th, 1850, it was observed that he must have come out of his - shell in the interval (as the paper had been discolored, apparently in his attempts to get away) but finding escape impossible, had again retired, closing his aperture with the usual glistening film; this led to his immersion in tepid water and marvellous recovery.” The power pos- sessed by the snail to reproduce certain portions of its body removed by violence, has long attracted the atten- tion of Zodlogists. The horns, or tentacles, and even portions of the head have been cut away, and in due course of time these lost parts have been restored by a new growth. The whole head has been cut away, and though in many cases terminating the life of the victim, yet in some instances the parts removed have been fully restored, This seems the more wonderful when we con- sider the complicated character of the head and mouth. The shell may be broken, and even portions of it removed, and yet after a certain lapse of time the injured parts will be repaired by a deposition of shelly matter at the frac- tured parts. We have thus far examined briefly the gene- ral history of the snail. Let us now proceed to examine more minutely its anatomical characters. Figure 10, on plate 1, represents the common large snail of the woods, the white lipped Helix, or technically x ag 12 THE LAND SNAILS speaking, Helix albolabris. It is represented as crawling, and consequently extended fully from the shell. The two larger and two smaller “horns” projecting from the head, are respectively called the upper or superior, and lower or inferior tentacles. The superior tentacles are the long- est, and stand uppermost ; at the tips of these are found the eyes, little black specks, though large enough to be distinctly visible. The eyes are very simple in structure, — and probably serve no important use, as the snail in pro- gression, appears to depend entirely on the tentacles as . feelers to guide the way. While they crawl, the tentacles are continually in motion, and the tips oftentimes come in contact with various objects on the way. If the eyes were capable of ordinary vision, this occasional contact of the tentacles would be avoided. That the sense of smell is enjoyed by the snail has long been known, since they will oftentimes travel some dis- tance in quest of food for which they have a particular fondness ; the exact seat of this sense, however, has long been a disputed question. An eminent French Naturalist believes it to be seated at the extreme tip of the larger tentacles. A magnified drawing is given (Fig. 1, Plate 1,) of the end of the larger tentacles to show the position of the nerves supposed to be the nerves of smell, or the olfactory nerves, (o, Fig. 1,) these are seen as minute threads or branches terminating at the extreme end of the bulb-like tentacle. In this figure the eye is also seen with the optic nerve. (e. eye, op. optic nerve. ) The larger tentacles are retractible, that is, they have the power ol withdrawing within the head, the eyes disappearing first, as a glove finger disappears as it is withdrawn over the hand, turning the glove wrong side out. The smaller, or inferior tentacles, have not this power of with- 3 OF NEW ENGLAND. 13 drawing within the head, but remain always extended. When the snail is feeding, it is very curious to observe the listless appearance of the larger tentacles. A dog, or a cat, when feeding will often partially close the eyes and appear drowsy. It would seem that similar sensa- tions are experienced by the snail, for while feeding, the tentacles are partially drawn within the head and hang downward, as if the delights of feeding were altogether too engrossing to mind the lax state of the tentacles. When on the trail, however, the tentacles are thrust out to their greatest length, perfectly rigid, and give an ap- pearance of alertness to the snail that it does not possess. Just beneath the lower tentacles the mouth is situated, having on the upper lip a crescent shaped jaw, (Fig. 7, Plate 1,) of a heavy texture, and quite hard. In some Species of snails, the jaw is quite smooth, and has a slight projection on the cutting edge. In other species, the larger ones especially, the jaw is ribbed, and the cutting edge is notched and jagged like so many tecth as it were. In fact this jaw answers all the purposes of an upper set of teeth, for it is capable of biting through the thick leaves of a cabbage; as can be easily proved, by keeping a snail in confinement, and feeding it on cabbage or let- tuce, of which it is very fond. When feeding, all the movements of the mouth are plainly visible, and not only can the little semi-circular cuts of the jaw on the leaf be seen, but while feeding the nipping sound of the bite can be distinctly heard. The larger snails are also very fond of flour paste, and while luxuriating in this simple diet each white mouthful can be easily traced in its course, from the mouth to the stomach, owing to the translucency of the snail’s body. The lower lip is not furnished with a plate, but just within the mouth there is 14 THE LAND SNAILS spread a membrane, very appropriately called the tongue, or lingual membrane, as the snail uses it in lapping its food. This membrane is quite long and broad, and is . covered with minute silicious denticles, or teeth, as they are called. As an object for the microscope, it will repay one the trouble attendant on dissecting this membrane from the mouth of a snail. A magnified figure of the entire tongue is given on plate 1, fig. 6. Nothing can exceed the beauty and regularity in the form and arrangement of the denticles. These are pointed and turn backwards, thus forming a series of little claws and hooks, and are admira- bly adapted to perform the rasping function allotted to | them ; fig. 1, plate 2, gives a side view of afew of these teeth to show their hooked character. The number of den- ticles on the tongue is very great. Some species, the white-lipped Helix, for instance, having nearly twelve thousand denticles. It is difficult to conceive the minute- ness of these particles, when we consider that the mem- brane on which they rest is not a quarter of an inch long, and only half as wide. The denticles are arranged in reg- ular longitudinal and transverse rows. Figure 3, plate 1, represents two transverse rows of these denticles, and fig. 4 a central tooth, with lateral teeth more highly magnified to show their form. It-will be noticed that the central denticles are symmetrical in form, having the two sides alike, while those on each side are not symmetrical. illustrating the dentition of a species, it is only necessary to draw one half of one transverse row, including the cen- tral denticle, at the same time mentioning the number of transverse rows on the membrane; thus in the white-lip- ped Helix, a specimen of which we examined, we found eighty-nine denticles in a transverse row, that is, one OF NEW ENGLAND. 15 central denticle, flanked on each side by forty-four lateral denticles. There were one hundred and twenty-three transverse rows, making the whole number of denticles onthe membrane ten thousand nine hundred and forty- - seven, or, about eleven thousand. The form, and number of denticles in each species vary, as we shall show here- after. In looking for the breathing hole of the snail, those ignorant of its structure might refer to the mouth as the opening through which it inhaled air. It is a common idea that insects breathe through the mouth, because the higher animals do so. Now insects breathe through little perforations on the sides of their body, and the snail has an aperture on the right side of its body, just within the aperture of the shell, through which it breathes. This aperture can be plainly seen in the mantle or skin which fills the mouth of the shell, (Fig. 11, a, Plate 1) by turn- ing the snail over. The lung is a simple cavity, lined with a net work of blood vessels. The blood is a bluish colored fluid, and is circulated through the body and lung, by a pulsating heart composed of two chambers,.an auri- _ cle-and a ventricle, separated by a double valve. -The heart’s pulsations can be distinctly seen through the lower part of the translucent shell of many species. Fig. 2, h, plate 1, represents the heart situated in the pulmonary sot In this figure the lung is represented as k from the animal, exposing the heart. Fig. 12 repre- sents the heart and lung of a common fuy. It would lead us too deep into the anatomy of the mai, were we to indicate the character and position of the liver, kidney, and many other organs which combine to make up the complicated structure of our apparently simple snail. Suf- fice it to say, that however insignificant many of the lower 16 THE VOLCANO OF KILAUEA, animals appear to the common observer, yet a description of their minute anatomy alone would form many a chapter of surpassing interest to those who delight in contempla- ting the perfection of God’s works. _In our next paper we shall commence the description of the different species of land snails to be found in New England. EXPLANATION OF PLATE lI. wig, 1 Seater? id of hn ie lareiras of a snail. op. optic eye; o. olfacto Fig. 2. Helin albolabris, ai shell pant | ad ee thrown back, sho ung and heart. m. mouth; h. heart Fig. 3. One row of teeth from the sam gnil Fig. 4. A portion of one row of A from the Raye, highly magnified. Fig. 5. Side view of teeth of the Fig. 6. Entire tongue of a ontgegend Fig. 7. Jaw of wee magnified. Fi 8. Nerve centres of Helix Cina Fi 9. Shell of Helis albolabri ig. S Fig. 10. Helix albolabris crawling. Fig. 11. d back, showing oritice to lung, a. Fig. 12: Ldu ng and eah of “Garten — Limax flavus. Fig. 13. id ONDINE from t THE VOLCANO OF KILAUEA, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, IN 1864-65, PLATE 2. BY W. T. BRIGHAM. Soon after one o’clock we came upon the brink of the great crater. From below us steam and vapor rose in a sluggish column, but we saw no fire and heard no noise: the conflagration had, as it were, left nothing but smoking ruins to mark the scene of its triumph. The deep plain before us was surrounded with steep rock-walls, from . a a Na E EE E EN EE NE CEN TA PERIE AINE S EE EI IAS i i a ke American Naturalist. áit Maas t4 AAN Ani A on a” ù WA WAY wathheu wu ANNANS SSNANIN WN NR VANS iba DE BER DERE NEE diiit slijedi shdddididéd gidhdddé torrewire es errean SPITS gatte” MORSE ON THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, IN 1864-65. 17 three to seven hundred feet high, and nearly nine miles in circuit. Boston could easily be accommodated within this crater, and Vesuvius would not much more than fill it. The whole circuit of the walls is much broken and interrupted, and we rode along over several large cracks, one of which opened about a year since (in 1863). Some are concentric, and others radial, and all along the edges of the abyss are fumaroles from which issue clouds of steam, not as at the Geysers of California, with great noise, but gently as a quiet respectable teakettle pours out its vaporous offering. The steam had no smell of sulphur, and ferns were growing luxuriantly over the openings, while the condensing vapor formed pools of sweet water, the only source of drinking water in this rer region. ‘When we reached the north-western part of the crater, we found on our left a ridge of reddish earth, from which steam and strong sulphurous fumes poured in many pla- ces. This was the western Sulphur Bank, and in its cracks were forming the most beautifully delicate crystals of sul- phur, almost mosslike ; and here and there a blue crystal of sulphate of copper, and greenish masses of sulphate of iron. The earth, which is formed by the decomposition of the lava, was quite hot, and we found some natives cooking fern stalks in the steam. While we were examining the sulphur deposits, our men came up with our blankets, and we at once engaged an old- kanaka who lived near by, to guide us down into the crater. Two other kanakas went with us to carry water and bring back specimens. The descent was at first quite steep, down the hard grey walls; and then the path wound along on broken shelves, under a grand precipice two or three hundred feet high, quite perpendicular, and > AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I: 3 18 THE VOLCANO OF KILAUEA, looking as if built of regular blocks of stone. Small shrubs grew by the way, and we picked berries (vaccinium) in abundance. At last after a rapid descent on a steep grav- elly bank, we stepped into the fresh black lava of the crater floor. This floor looked quite smooth and level from above, but we found it was very rough and uneven. The fresh lava we first met had broken up during the last winter and overflowed all the end of Kilauea, and it was piled in twisted masses and broken slabs and bubbles. Its surface was covered with a thin nitrous crust, which crumbled beneath our tread, sounding as hard-frozen snow does on a frosty morning, and iiss a distinct path -had been worn to Lua Pélé or To great fire-pit which is at the south-western end of the crater proper. Half a mile of such travelling and we came to a wall of hard trachyte, quite unlike the lava of the floor, which seems to have been floated up here from the walls below. The great blocks which compose it are said to change their position from time to time as the floor rises and cracks. Fissures of all sizes were common, and from many of them steam issued changing the black lava to a reddish hue. The action of vapors and gases had pro- duced fragments of all shades and colors, some so metallic as to closely resemble gold, others red, violet, green, etc. Now and then we broke through the thin crust of a bub- ble, and although we could not repress a momentary shudder as we thought of what might be the result of a fall into the regions beneath, the stirring interest. of the place drove away considerations of personal er. After two miles we came to a fearful erack about three or four feet wide, and so deep we could not see the bot- tom, but still there was no sound that we did not make ourselves, and we could not see any fire. I was certainly aig ie ne 2 a ee els Ome a a E ar ecg, 6 ES SO a pee Te BAS See pS aia tiie HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, IN 1864-65. 19 disappointed in this, for I remembered the accounts of those who had seen all this plain in a melted state. As we came near the Lua Pélé, however, we found a black cone some twenty-five feet high, with a bright spot at its summit. There was fire at last, but we pushed on over the loose slabs, and through the steam, until suddenly we stood on the brink of the lake of lava some seven hundred feet long, five or six hundred feet wide, and perhaps thirty feet below us. The surface was covered with a dark crust, broken around the edges where the thick blood-like mass surged against its banks with a dull sullen roar. The sulphurous vapors which rose from its surface were blown away by the wind, so that we could approach the very brink on the windward side, but the heat was so great that we had to hold our hands before our faces. The walls on which we stood and where we intended to sleep, were thickly covered with Pelé’s hair* which we saw con- stantly forming. The drops of lava spattered out as the waves dash against the walls, drawing after them a thread, or two drops spin out a thread between them like the finest “spun glass,” and these broken threads are caught against the rough points of the cliffs and form a thick coating. Occasionally a crack would open in the surface of the lake, and the white-hot lava boil up through it in several places for a few minutes, and then turning red, and cooling rapidly, become black as before. A current would often ‘set in towards the banks, and cake after cake breaking off from the crust be drawn in, causing a violent bubbling and spattering; and then this would cease, or run in an- other direction, but always from the centre to the edge. As it grew dark we were very tired, having travelled *Pélé was the Hawaiian Goddess of fire whose home was in Kilauea. EE 20 THE VOLCANO OF KILAUEA, since six o’clock in the morning, and hoping to wake up in the night when the fires would be more brilliant, we rolled ourselves up in our blankets, and, with our guides near by, went to sleep a few rods from the crater. At nine o’clock I waked, and as the night air was quite cold, moved to the very edge of the crater to warm myself, and enjoy the magnificent fireworks. The moon was up and almost full, but her light was dull beside the fires of Pélé. Find- ing the place quite comfortable, I picked out a soft rock Se a pillow, and went to sleep again. At twelve I awaked with a start. and found myself in a shower of fiery drops, some of which were burning my blanket. I shook myself. and jumped back, looking at my watch to note the time, and then stood gazing at the strange scene some time be- fore I thought of my companions, The whole surface of. the Jake had risen several feet, and was violently boiling and dashing - against the banks, throwing the white-hot spray some sixty feet over the upper Hanke, causing the providential rain that awakened me to see this grand dis- play. There was no thundering or bellowing, only.the splash of the waves as they fell heok, or the rattling of the cooled drops on.the upper banks. The light was so in- tense as to be almost painful, as the crust had wholly melted, and brilliant fountains of fire covered the surface. When I could think of anything else, I called the othe ers, but only succeeded in awakening the guides, and just then. drop of lava came plump into a greasy new ee the ‘dismay of our guides, who, thinking that the volcano had broken out at our feet, at once fled to a safe distance. ht our supper in, and it blazed up suddenly, to ‘ Failing to arouse them with my voice, I threw several — handfuls of gravel at the sleepers but-without effect, and I had to climb down, almost; bitada; a American Naturalist. WO. 1 2 BRIGHAM ON THE CRATER OF KILAUEA IN 1864-5, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS, IN 1864-65. 21 and shake them roughly.. When they at last reached the edge the action had greatly diminished, and in a few minutes more the dark crust covered the central portion, extending rapidly to the sides, and after watching the last crack close, we all went to sleep again. I was glad to see such distinct flames, as their existence has been denied in volcanoes. They were bluish-green, and shot up in tongues or wide sheets a foot long. In the morning we found it very misty, and the mist soon turned to rain. We went to the cone we had seen the night before, and climbing its spattered sides, looked into the hole in the top. We could see that it was white-hot within, but we were unable to excite it, although we threw in pieces of scoria, and poked it with our sticks. On the other side of the path was a cone, long and irregular, with many pinnacles from which much smoke issued. We got quite wet in climbing- up the bank, and at seven o’clock were eating our breakfast in the grass house on the upper ledge.: A year. afterwards I again went to Kilauea. Many changes had taken place. Aini Pélé was much larger, and two new pools had opened during the winter. The place where I slept last August had melted away, and I was obliged to camp in another place. The superstitions of the natives have always been greatly excited while in this cra- ter, and I saw many reasons for it. As we walked towards the bright lake about dusk, I thought I saw two or three men walking to and fro on the brink, and asked my guide what strangers had been down into the crater. “Aole haole aka akua paha”! (It is no stranger but perhaps a spirit) said the old man, so solemnly that I was startled. As the steam moved in the wind, it opened and brought te view the black cliffs beyond, and this we had taken for 22 THE VOLCANO OF KILAUEA. moving men, not reflecting that the forms must have been gigantic at such a distance from us. In ancient times the bodies of the chiefs who worshipped Pélé were committed to this pit. As we were sitting on the brink, a shrill shriek broke through the night air. We could see the black walls of the erater all around us, and between us and the pathway leading out, a line of watchfires, and I was quite as much impress- ed as my natives with the direful stories they had been telling me. The shriek was repeated, and it was evidently the utterance of a human being in great agony. Lighting the lantern we had brought for any emergency, we went slowly towards the place, until the shriek was uttered at our very feet. We hastily examined the cracks and call- ed, but there was no answer, and all was still. We looked everywhere, finding no one, and turned to go back, think- ing some poor kanaka, venturing down in the dark, had fallen into some crack, and at last died. We had gone but a few rods when the shriek was repeat- ed. The natives clung to me in mortal terror, but I in- sisted on going back, and -placing the lantern on a rock, we sat down to await developments ; it seemed as though the question, “are there any spirits present?” was quite superfluous. We sat more than five minutes in silence, and I could feel the poor fellows tremble as they sat close up tome. Then the shriek was repeated, but we saw the spirit that made it,—a jet of steam—and my boys were encou The saline lakes were close to‘ the surface, and I could - put my stick into the melted mass. It was strange to see how soon the lava cooled on the surface. As soon as it had ceased bubbling, I threw a small perfectly dry stick of wood into it, and it was more than fifteen minutes be- fore it smoked much. THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY. 23 This last visit was in August, 1865, and ever since that time the action in the crater has been increasing, until the floor of this vast pit has risen nearly a hundred feet, and at times has been quite inaccessible, owing to the streams of lava flowing over the surface, THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY. BY PROF. E. D. COPE. In traversing New Jersey from north west to south east, we pass over rocks and soils which have been deposited by an ocean whose coast has constantly moved toward the south east, until its position has become that now forming the boundaries of the State. Hence the material now nearest the coast is that last laid down, and as we proceed ` towards the north west, the beds are a sediment of succes- sively older and older date. Not, however, till we reach the red sandstone of the line of New Brunswick, do we meet with formations which have suffered a sufficient amount of pressure and heating to convert them into stone to any great extent. The gradual recession of the ocean has been occasioned by a miai regular elevation of the land in its rear. This elevation was however, only gradual during portions of the time ; between such eleva- tions existed long periods of rest. For instance the red sandstone mentioned before was for a very long time within the shore of the ancient ocean. During that time beds were deposited outside of an older coast land, which subsiding later, were covered by newer beds, which in- clude the remains of those creatures that have died near the 24 «CC THE FOSSIL REPTILES shore and been washed into the sea, or have died in the ocean. With a continued sinking, including now the red sandstone, the newer deposits reached in time the level of its summits ; and during the subsequent and long contin- ued risg, a succession of sea beaches gradually extended the area of the land to the south east. Abundant vegeta- tion clothed the shores, which supported insect life and large herbivorous animals, which were in turn fed upon by smaller and larger carnivorous forms. The period dur- ing which the deeply buried strata at the side of the red sandstone was deposited, is called by geologists that of the Lower Cretaceous ; while that which forms the surface resting upon the last, and extending from the red sand- stone over nearly half the remainder of the state of New Jersey, is the Upper Cretaceous formation. During the deposition of the former, extensive beds were being laid . down in various parts of the earth, especially western Europe, which entombed similar animal and vegetable types. With the Later Cretaceous of New Jersey also, corresponding strata were deposited in the far west of North America, and Europe, including in England the well known white chalk rock. At the close of this epoch, New Jersey, most probably, had accomplished in its south eastern section a very extended and considerable eleva- tion, and at the same time vast changes in other regions of the earth caused a great change in the temperature ; so great as to destroy all animal life then existing. It is also certain that the south eastern extremity of the region underwent a second gradual descent, and was again cover- with water to a coast line running north east and south west, dividing the present land between the south western bend of the Deleware and the present coast line into two nearly equal areas. Then began again the deposi- on Bea eRe Say EM au ea ee a . OF NEW JERSEY. 25 tion of beds, and the introduction of entirely new forms of animal life more like those of modern times. The period during which this deposit, so near the present coast line, was formed, as also many corresponding deposits in other regions of the earth, is called in geology, the Tertiary. Its beginning was the “morning of the sixth day” of the Mo- - saic record of the Creation, This great period, after hav- ing seen many changes, culminated in the creation of man. At this point history begins, and no extended geologic changes have taken place since. We have ad- vanced six thousand years, or probably, considerably far- ther into the “seventh day” or period. The beds of green marl were laid down during the upper Cretaceous period. Ata suitable depth of water along the several ancient coasts, lived immense num- bers of minute marine creatures, called Foraminifera, which inhabited delicate, almost microscopic shells, com- posed of numerous cells. After their death the chamber of the cells became filled with the fine mud formed of dissolved clay, oxide of iron and other substances, which are enumerated by Prof. G. H. Cook, in his valuable Re- port on the Geology of New Jersey. When the beds . were raised, the drying, and other agencies brought to bear, decomposed the delicate shells, and left only the hardened mud as casts. of their chambers. Hence the green marl now. resembles gunpowder, deriving its pecu- ` liar color from the protoxide of iron. The valuable properties of this marl, as a manure, no doubt depend on the products of the decomposition of the vegetables and animals formerly dwelling in the ocean or on the neighboring shores. The numerous fossiliferous beds, one or more of which are usually cut across by the diggings, have supplied in part this material. Most of AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 4 26 Š ; THE FOSSIL REPTILES the animals found in these beds were bivalves, with nu- merous Brachiopoda and Cephalopoda, or Cuttle-fish. Of 4 the unsymmetrical univalves, or Gasteropoda, compara- tively few specimens occur in the Cretaceous marl of New Jersey. Of Vertebrata, or those animals provided with a back bone, or vertebral column, numerous species, large and small, dwelt on the land and in the water. Their number has been so considerable, especially in the region opened by the diggings of the New Jersey Marl Company, as to materially affect the richness of the marl in phosphate of lime. Of cartilaginous vertebrates, such as the Sharks, we have found remains of the genera Otodus, Lamna and Carcharodon. Some of these were not only very nume- rous but attained a great size, and were of ferocious habits. There were also Saw-fishes closely allied to those of the present day. Fewer remains of the bony fishes, such as the Perch and Cod, have been procured from these pits; while in other neighborhoods Sword-fish and long fanged Sphyreena types have occurred. In huge reptiles the region has been especially prolific. Through the care of Superintendent Voorhees, the remains — of seven of the larger species have been exposed and pre- served during the excavations. Four of these belonged to the group of Crocodiles ; namely :— Thoracosaurus Neocesariensis DeKay ; carnivorous. Thoracosaurus obscurus Leidy ; Bottosaurus Harlani Meyer ; ti Macrosaurus levis Owen; eae? Hyposaurus Rodgersi Owen ; ? - These were probably dwellers by the cha and de- vourers of the large fishes and of any luckless reptiles strolling on | the beach. ee ee oF the still Ri Os SAS e ee See a A OF NEW JERSEY. 27 existing Lacertilia (Lizards) was probably whale-like in habit; and though not equalling these monsters in size was still formidable, attaining a length of thirty feet. It was probably in part also carnivorous. This huge reptile was called Mosasaurus Mitchellii by DeKay, and its re- mains are more numerous than any other, except those of the large Thoracosaurus. Another group of animals, the Dinosauria, while ap- proaching in some respects the mammals and birds, pre- sented more of the features of the reptiles. Many of them were the giants of the land of the Cretaceous time, as well as of its waters. Those whose remains have been found in the Company’s pits, are Lelaps aquilunguis Cope, which was carnivorous, and Hadrosaurus Foulkit Leidy, an herbivorous animal. The last was the most bulky quadruped of the period yet known ; a femur, or thigh bone, discovered near Had- donfield, measures nearly four feet in length. The animal is estimated by Professor Leidy to have been twenty-five feet long. The Lelaps has been found represented in the Company’s pits, only by remains sufficient to ensure its identification, a few small pieces from the neighbor- hood of Freehold, described by Professor Leidy, being assignable to an allied, or doubtfully to the same genus. As the former constitute the most complete indication of any individual of a carnivorous Dinosaurian hitherto dis- covered considerable interest attaches to them. The great reptile, Megalosaurus, is known by more numerous fragments, but they have been gathered from many diffi- rent localities; Dinodon is known only from its teeth, and Huscelosaurus, of the South African beds, by a femur only. The lightness and hollowness of the bones of the Lelaps 28 THE FOSSIL REPTILES arrest the attention of one accustomed to the spongy, solid structure in the reptiles. This is especially true of the long bones of the hind limbs ; those of the fore limbs have a considerably less medullary cavity. The length of the femur and tibia render it altogether probable that it was plantigrade, walking on the entire sole of the foot like the bear. They must also have been very much flexed under ordinary circumstances, since the indications derivable from two liumeri, or arm bones, are, that the fore limbs were not more than one-third the length of the posterior pair. This relation, conjoined with the massive tail, points to a semi-erect position like that of the Kan- garoos, while the lightness and strength of the great femur and tibia are altogether appropriate to great powers of leaping. The feet must have been elongate, whatever the form of the tarsi; the phalanges, or finger bones, were slender, nearly as much so as those of an eagle, while the great claws in which they terminated were relatively larg- er and more compressed than in the great birds of prey. There was no provision for the retractibility observed. in the great carnivorous Mammalia, but they were always equipped with sheaths and crooked points of bone. The toes may have been partially webbed, and it is not im- probable that the hind legs may have occasionally been most efficient propellers of these animals along the coast margins of the Cretaceous sea. The hind foot could not have been straightened in line with the tibia, owing to 2 most anomalous structure which has only been once before observed, and then in a species clearly referred to its type. The distal head of the fibula, or small bone of the leg, appears to have embraced and capped the tibia like an epiphysis, and to have given at- tachment to ee bones of the tarsus, by a condyle « directed Bee es Sat E E OF NEW JERSEY, 29 anteriorly. The object of this structure remains unex- plained, The whole hind leg could not have been less than six feet, eight inches in length. Fragments of the jaws indicate a face of very consider- able length, showing shining saw-edged, knife-shaped teeth ; but any nearer idea of. the beast’s expression can- not now be attained. If he were warm-blooded, as Prof. Owen supposes the Dinosauria to have been, he undoubt- edly had more expression than his modern reptilian proto- types possess. He no doubt had the usual activity and vivacity which distinguishes the warm-blooded from the cold-blooded vertebrates. We can, then, with some basis of probability imagine our monster carrying his eighteen feet of length on a leap, at least thirty feet through the air, with hind feet ready to strike his prey with fatal grasp, and his enormous weight to press it to the earth. Crocodiles and Gavials must have found their bony plates and ivory no safe defence, while the Hadrosaurus himself, if not too thick skinned, as in the Rhinoceros and its allies, furnished him with food, till some Dinosaurian jackalls dragged the refuse off to their swampy dens. This carnivore, then, is an interesting link between those of the mammalian series, and the carnivorous birds. In the first, all four limbs are equally developed, and sim- ilarly employed as weapons of offence; in the last, the functions of the anterior pair are altogether different from those of the hind a which are atone armed for the capture of food. In the Dinosaur, the hind limbs appear to have served the same purpose as in the Raptorial bird, while the fore limbs are simply miniatures of the same, and chiefly of service in carrying food to the mouth. - It will readily occur to the paleontologist, that the ex- 30 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. istence of creatures of the form of Lelaps, Iguanodon, ' and Hadrosaurus, would amply account for the well known foot-tracks of the Triassic Red Sandstone of the Connec- ticut Valley. The arguments adduced to prove that these were made by birds are equally applicable to their indica- ting the presence of Dinosaurians ; and as the latter have been found very much more nearly approximated in time —as Scelidosaurus in the Jurassic formation—the latter hypothesis is altogether the more probable of the two in the estimation of the writer. | gy THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. BY L. TROUVELOT. : WS The insect fauna of North America contains several gi- gantic species of moths belonging to the Lepidopterous family Bombycide. This family has long been known — to spin when in the larval, or caterpillar state, a cocoon which produces a large amount of silk, with a fibre of the most delicate texture, of great strength and of the most r ESEE n = So OOIE NES FIRE ET ee Bren ee a A Pres per eT ee Pe SES ee + THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 31 beautiful lustre. Every one is familiar with the beautiful and delicate fabric made from the fibres spun by that crawling repulsive creature, the silk worm. < Our country alone has eight or ten species of silk worms. Two of these, Callosamia Promethea and C. an- gulifera, feed on the lilac and wild cherry. They spin a small elongate cocoon of so very dense texture and so strongly gummed, that I have failed in all my attempts to reel the silk from the cocoon. These cocoons resem- ble very much those of Samia Cynthia, or the Ailan- thus Silk Worm, recently introduced into Europe from China, but the cocoon is of a looser texture. Platysamia Euryale, P. Columbia and P. Cecropia feed upon many different species of plants} they make a large cocoon, within which is another cocoon, or inner layer, of an oval form ; but as the larva in spinning the cocoon, leaves one end open for the exit of the moth, this prevents the reeling of a continuous thread. The silk, though quite strong, has not much brilliancy, and the worm is too delicate to be raised in large numbers. The cabanas of Tropxa Luna, the magnificent green moth with the long tail-like expansion of the hind wings, feeds upon. the cat; sycamore and other trees, and spins an oval cocoon, which however is so frail and thin, and the fibre so weak, that itis impossible to reel it. _ Practically, however, the larva of Telea Polyphemus is the only species that deserves attention. The cocoons of Platysamia Cecropia may be rendefed of some commercial value, as the silk can be carded, but the chief objection as stated above, is the difficulty of raising the larva. The Poly- phemus worm spins a strong, dense, oval cocoon, which is closed at each end, while the silk has a very strong and glossy fibre. 32 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. For over six years I have been engaged in raising the Polyphemus worm, and here present the following imper- i - fect sketch of the progress made from year to year in pro- pagating and domesticating these insects from the wild stock In 1860, after having tested the qualities of the co- coons of the different species of American silk worms, I endeavored to accumulate a large number of the cocoons of the Polyphemus moth, for the future propagation of this species. At first the undertaking seemed very sim- ple ; but who will ever know the difficulties, the hardships and discouragements which I encountered. This worm having never been cultivated, of course its habits were entirely unknown, though all success in my undertaking depended very much upon that knowledge. ` However I was not discouraged by the difficulties of the task. The first year I found only two caterpillars. The chance of their being each a male and female was very small, and it was another question whether the two sexes would come out of the cocoon at about the same time for the fecunda- tion of the eggs. So suecess was very doubtful. Spring came, and with it one of the perfect insects ; it was a male, one, two, three days elapsed, my poor male was half dead, the wings half broken, the other cocoon was not giving any signs of an early appearance; imagine my anxiety ; it was a year lost. The male died on the sixth day. The other moth came out more than a fortnight after; it was a male also. During the summer of 1861, I found a dozen worms, knowing then a little about their habits. In the spring of 1862, I was fortunate enough to have a pair of these insects that came out of the cocoon at the proper time, and I obtained from their union three hun- dred fecundated eggs. The pair which gave me these eggs eee cay Cero Bae E ETE E E ri iai i THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 33 were the originators of the large number which I have cultivated since. Of these three hundred worms, I lost a great many, not knowing their wants, but I succeeded in obtaining twenty cocoons in the autumn. It was only in 1865 that I became expert in cultivating them, and in that year not Jess than a million could be seen feeding in the open air upon bushes covered with a net; five acres of woodland were swarming with caterpillar life. Natural History of Telea Polyphemus. Early in sum- mer, the chrysalis of Polyphemus which has been for eight or nine months imprisoned in its cocoon, begins to awaken from its long torpor, and signs of life are manifested by the rapid motion of its abdomen. In the latitude of Bos- ton, the earliest date at which I have seen a perfect insect is the twentieth of May. From this time until the middle of July, the moths continue to come out of the cocoons. The cocoon being perfectly closed, and a hard gummy, resinous substance uniting its silken fibres firmly toge- ther, it is quite hard for the insect to open it, as it has no teeth, nor instrument of any kind to cut through it, and the hooked feet are far too feeble to tear such a dense structure. : But the moth must have some means of exit from the co- coon. In fact they are provided with two glands opening into the mouth, which secrete during the last few days of the pupa state, a fluid which is a dissolvent for the gum so firmly uniting the fibres of the cocoon. This liquid is composed in great part of bombycic acid. When the in- sect has accomplished the work of transformation which is going on under the pupa skin, it manifests a great activ- ity, and soon the chrysalis-covering bursts open longitu- dinally upon the thorax; the head and legs are soon dis- engaged, and the acid fluid flows from its mouth, wetting AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 5 34 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. the inside of the cocoon. The process of exclusion from the cocoon lasts for as much as half an hour. The insect seems to be instinctively aware that some time is required to dissolve the gum, as it does not make any attempt to open the fibres, and seems to wait with patience this event. When the liquid has fully penetrated the cocoon, the pupa contracts its body, and pressing the hinder end, which is furnished with little hooks, against the inside of the cocoon, forcibly extends its body; at the same time the head pushes hard upon the fibres and a lit- tle swelling is observed on the outside. These contrac- tions and extensions of the body are repeated many times, and more fluid is added to soften the gum, until under these efforts the cocoon swells, and finally the fibres sepa- rate, and out comes the head of the moth. In an instant the legs are thrust out, and then the whole body appears ; not a fibre has been broken, they have only been sepa- rated. | To observe these phenomena, I had cut open with a razor, a small portion of a cocoon:in which was a living chrysalis nearly ready to transform. The opening made ~ was covered with a piece of mica, of the same shape as the aperture, and fixed to the cocoon with mastic so as to make it solid and air-tight ; through the transparent mica, I could see the movements of the chrysalis perfectly well. When the insect is out of the cocoon, it immediately — séeks for a suitable place to attach its claws,’so that the wings may hang down, and by their own weight aid the : action of the fluids in developing and unfolding the very short and small pad-like wings. Every part of the insect. on leaving the cocoon, is perfect and with the form and size of maturity, except the pad-like wings and swollen and elongated abdomen, which still gives the insect @ Seg rere eee te THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 35 worm-like appearance ; the abdomen contains the fluids which flow to the wings. When the still immature moth has found a suitable place; it remains quiet for a few minutes, and then the wings aré seen to grow very rapidly by the afflux of the fluids from the abdomen, In about twenty minutes the wings attain — their full size, but they are still like a piece of wet cloth, without consistency and firmness, and as yet entirely unfit for flight, but after one or two hours they become suffi- ciently stiff, assuming the beautiful form characteristic of the species. If, while the Wings are growing, they aré prevented from spreading by some agency, they will be deformed forever. Sometimes when the wings are devel- oping, the afflux of liquid is so great, that some parts of the wing swell up considerably, and if one of these swel- lings be opened with a pin and the sac emptied a singular phenomenon will result ; the wing which has lost so much of its fluids will be smaller than the others, and sometimes it will retain the normal form of the wing, only being smaller, while the wound can be detected only on very close observation. I have in my cabinet a perfect speci- men of such an insect; naturalists would eye it as a monstrosity. The moth remains quiet ali day, andl sometimes all night and the following day, if the night be cold; but if it be warm and pleasant, at dusk or about eight o’clock, a trembling of the wings is observed for a few minutes and then it takes its flight, making three or four circles in the air. The male flies only a few minutes, and then rests for two or three hours in the same place, not making any motion. It is worthy of notice that. the place of rest is always the extremity of an oak leaf. Why he remains there so long I could not ascertain. The female continues to fly 36 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. about the bushes, and though a virgin, she lays eggs which are, however, of no use for the propagation of the species ; she continues so doing for two or three hours, and then rests all night attached to some plant, probably waiting for her mate, who during this time has either remained motionless, or has been feeding on the sweet exudation of the oak Jeaf. Soon after the female moth has laid these useless eggs, the males become very active, and fly in search of their partners, whom they soon discover, espe- cially if there be a slight breeze and the air loaded with vapors. j The moth lays her eggs on the under side of the leaves, sometimes on a twig; generally but a single egg is de-- posited at one place, rarely are two or three found togeth- er, Ihave observed that eggs are sometimes laid upon plants which the young larvæ refuse to eat, and in several instances where there was no other plant within a long distance, and consequently the young worms died; thus it seems that instinct, like reason, sometimes commits blunders, and is not so infallible a guide as has been sup- posed. The incubation of the eggs lasts ten or twelve days, ac- cording to the temperature. The young worm eats its way through the shell of the egg; sometimes the young larva comes out of the egg tail foremost, as the hole in the shell is large enough to allow of the exit of the tail, but is not large enough for the head to pass through, so the worm is _ RSS a gid COSPI SS aiii condemned to die in the egg. As soon as it is fairly hatch- ed out, the larva continues for sometime eating the egg- shell, and then crawls upon a leaf, going to the end of it, where it rests fortwo or three hours, after which it begins to eat. The hatching-out takes place early in the morn- ing, from five till ten o'clock ; rarely after this time. THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 37 The Polyphemus worm, like all other silk worms, chang- es its skin five times during its larval life. The moulting takes place at regular periods, which come around about every ten days for the first four moultings, while about twenty days elapse between the fourth and fifth moulting. The worm ceases to eat for a day before moulting, fiid spins some silk on the vein of tlfe under surface of a leaf; it then secures the hooks of its hind legs in the texture it — has thus spun, and there remains mòtikis y soon after, through the transparency of the skin of the neck, can be seen a second head larger than the first, belonging to the larva within. The moulting generally takes place after four o’clock in the afternoon; a little before this time the worm holds its body erect, grasping the leaf with the two pairs of hind legs only ; the skin is wrinkled and detached from the body by a fluid which circulates between it and the worm; two longitudinal white bands are seen on each side, produced by a portion of the lining of the spiracles, which at this moment have been partly detached ; mean- while the contractions of the worm are very energetic, and by it the skin is pulled off and pushed towards the poste- rior part; the skin thus becomes so extended that it soon tears, first under the neck, and then from the head. When this is accomplished the most difficult operation is over, and now the process of moulting goes on very rapidly. By repeated contractions the skin is folded towards the tail, like a glove when taken off, and the lining of the spir- acles comes out in long white filaments. When about one- half of the body appears, the shell still remains like a eap, enclosing the jaws, then the worm as if reminded of this loose skull-eap, removes it by rubbing it on a leaf; this done, the worm finally crawls out of its skin, which: is attached to the fastening made for the purpose. Once 38 ~ © WINTER NOTES out of its old skin, the worm makes a careful review of the operation, with its head feeling the aperture of every spir- acle, as well as the tail, probably for the purpose of re- moving any broken fragment of skin which might have remained in these delicate organs. Not only is the outer skin cast off, but also the lining of the air tubes and intes- tines, together witlrall the ‘chewing organs and other appen- dages of the head. After the moulting, the size of the larva is considerably increased, the head is large compared with the body, but eight or ten days later it will look small, as the body will have increased very much in size. This is a certain indication that the worm is about to moult. Every ten days the same operation is repeated ; from the _ fourth moulting to the time of beginning the cocoon, the period is about sixteen days. The worms seem entirely unable to discern objects with their simple eyes, but they can distinguish light from darkness, as a very simple experiment will show. If a worm be put in a box with two holes in it, one of them turned to the light, the other to the dark, the caterpillar will very soon come out through the hole turned to the light.— To be continued. WINTER NOTES OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST. BY J. A. ALLEN. The winter birds of the northern and eastern States are few in number. In Massachusetts, away from the sea shore, there are ordinarily but fifty-five to sixty species, ‘which consist mainly of permanent residents and win- ter visitors from more northern districts, . The resident OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST. 39 kinds are either rapacious birds, or such hardy species as Titmice, Jays, Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Finches and Grouse, whose means of subsistence is about equally sure at all seasons. A few are, more properly, migrant sum- mer species, of which only hardy adventurous individuals linger with us in winter, the majority seeking a milder home farther south: among such are the Meadow Lark, Kingfisher, Cedar Bird and Robin. The winter visitors are all from the north; many of these are irregular in their visits, coming to us only when driven southward by the severity of the weather, or more probably by scarcity of food. Of this whole number the limits of our paper will allow us to notice but a few, and even of the more interesting to give but very brief accounts. The rapacious or raptorial birds, the Hawks and Owls, though comparatively numerous in species, are not so in individuals. Shy and mistrustful, seeking the retirement of the wilderness or the forest, and the nocturnal kinds active only by night, they form but an inconspicuous fea- ture in our local ornithology. Constantly persecuted by man, they have decreased greatly in numbers since the first settlement of our country, and every year they seem more and more to avoid the cultivated districts, seeking a more congenial home in the less inhabited parts of the continent. — Of the true or typical Falcons, esteemed the ‘ noble” birds of prey in the old days of falconry, we have in win- ter, as at other seasons, now and then a Duck Hawk or Peregrine Falcon (Falco anatum Bon.), a Pigeon Hawk (Hypotriorchis columbarius Gray), and a Sparrow Hawk (Tinnunculus sparverius Vieill.), but so rare are they that a careful observer will ordinarily see but one or two of each in a winter, or perhaps oftener none at all. The æ 40 WINTER NOTES first of these, the dreaded Duck Hawk, is frequent along the sea border and large open rivers where abound the aquatic birds that farm. his chief prey. The celebrated White Hawk or Jer-Falcon (Falco candicans Gm.) is larger and more powerful even than the Peregrine, but it comes to us so rarely from its remote arctic home, as to be justly considered but an accidental wanderer. Of the hawks, properly so called : namely, the short wing- ed and ‘‘ignoble” birds of prey, the majority are migrato- ry in the more northern sections of the Union, going “south in winter. One, however, the Gos-Hawk (Astur atrica- pillus Bon.) is a winter visitor, and subsisting upon rab- bits, partridges, jays, and such other birds and poultry as fall in his way, is a bird of considerable celebrity for his strength and boldness. Formerly his European ally of the same name, and with which the earlier ornithologists supposed ours to be identical, was held in great esteem in hawking, and according to Pennant, was considered of unequalled value among the short winged hawks for the purposes of falconry. It is, moreover, when mature, of beautiful plumage, the white under surface being elegantly pencilled transversely with waved ashy-brown lines, and with broader longitudinal stripes of a dark ferruginous hue. The young are more plainly colored, and differ for several years so widely from their parents, as to be hardly recognizable as belonging to the same species. I once found a wing of this bird, which had been dropped in the woods by some bird of prey; the flesh had been torn from it, leaving only the bones of the upper and fore arm, and the primary quills, showing that even such ty- rants of the air are not exempt from enemies more pow- erful even than they. Possibly it was the Duck Hawk that in this case was the destroyer, since its representa- ONS Cpe eee ets are eens Mee: tac ree meas ot ia ce Owe OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST, 41 tive in Europe, the Peregrine, is known to have a partic- ular relish for the flesh of other hawks, and to hunt the poor Kestril as its most dainty game. The well known +‘ Red-tail,” ( Buteo borealis Gm.) from his retreat in the forest, sometimes makes sudden forays on the poultry. Several kinds of large and sluggish hawks silently await in the open meadows the appearance of their minute but favorite game, the field mice, and the Marsh Harrier (Circus Hudsonius Vieill.) anon skims rap- idly over the snowy fields in eager quest of food. But the most beautiful, when in mature plumage, as well as ` the largest of our winter birds of prey, is the historical White-headed, or Bald Eagle (Halietus leucocephalus Savig.), most inappropriately chosen for our national: emblem. The Golden Eagle (Aguila Canadensis Cass.), a far nobler bird, is perhaps almost too uncertain a visitor to warrant enumeration in our list. The Strigide, or Owls, the «< mysterious birds of night” are even less common than the preceding group, though in winter the number of species is increased by migrants from the north. The resident kinds of most frequent oc- currence are the Mottled Owl, (Scops asio Bon.) perhaps better known as the «Screech Owl ”, the Great Horned or Cat Owl (Bubo Virginianus Bon.), the Barred Owl (Syrnium nebulosum Gray), the Short-eared Owl (Bra- chyotus Cassinii Brew.), and the Long-eared Owl (Otus Wilsonianus Less.) Of the migratory species the most common and best known is the Snowy Owl (Nyctea nivea- Gray) which visiting us, at times, in considerable num- bers, at once attracts attention from its large size and. white plumage. Very rarely the Great Grey or Cinereous Owl (Syrnium cinereum Aud.), one of the. largest and. most handsome of the American Owls, pays us a visit. AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 6 42 z WINTER NOTES from his home in the Canadas and sub-arctic regions. In northern New England the semi-diurnal Hawk Owl ( Syr- nia ulula Bon.) is comparatively common, and lurking near the hunter profits by the pieces of game which he throws away, or now and then captures wounded birds. -. Excepting the cruel, selfish and solitary raptorial species, our winter birds mostly associate in groups, not of individuals of a single kind merely, but of species, drawn together chiefly perhaps from similarity of food, and probably also from real love of each other's society. The winter representatives of these birds are of larger size, and of brighter colors than those seen in summer. Inthe savage Butcher Bird or Northern Shrike ( Colly- rio borealis Baird), which seems but a hawk in miniature, we have, nevertheless, an exception to the gregarious ten- dency generally observed in winter among ow’ smaller birds. He is one of our regular, but not very numerous visitors during the colder parts of the year, though less common than in the fall and spring; when those that winter farther south pass us in their migrations. It is, however, bolder, recklessly pouncing on birds in cages exposed near open windows. The song of a Canary will often retain him in the vicinity for a long time, waiting, restless and impatient from hunger, for an opportunity to make it his victim. In the woods he is continually quar- relling with the Jays, which both fear and hate him, and I have seen him in hot pursuit of a Chickadee, which was trembling with fright. In winter all our birds seem to possess an unusual in- terest, perhaps no less from their scarcity than from the cheeriness their presence secms to lend. None, however, are dearer to me than the little woodland group of Tit- mice, the Nuthatches, the Creepers, the diminutive King- EE Sea a Te OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST. 43 lets, and the spotted Woodpeckers we so frequently meet in our forest walks. Although the smallest of all our birds, except the Hum- ming Bird, the Gold-crested Kinglet (Regulus satrapa Licht. ) is one of the most Jaig « of our winter visitors, and is the more interesting from his exceeding diminu- tiveness. With a body hirdly larger than a hickory nut, it is so thickly clothed with dowaiy: plumage that on a cold morning, when every delicate feather is fully expanded he looks Tike a ball of animated down, and thus clad, he is able to defy old Boreas, Our winter field birds, like the field birds of summer, are chiefly members of the numerous Sparrow and Finch family, or Fringillide. Among them the beautiful Snow Bunting (Plectiopiiies nivalis Meyer) is one of the lar- gest, and when whirling from field to field in compact flocks, their white wings glistening in the sunlight, form one of the most attractive sights of winter; and most commonly appearing about the time of heavy falls of snow, and disappearing during continued fine weather, there is in the popular mind a degree of mystery attached to their history, being the “Bad weather Birds” of the supersti- cious. Cold half-arctie countries being their chosen home, they only favor us with their presence during those short intervals when their food in the northern fields is too deeply buried ; and being strong of wing and exceedingly rapid in flight, they can in a few hours leave the plain for the mountain, or migrate hundreds of miles to the north- ward. The most cotta and frequently seen however, is the Yellow Bird (Chrysomitris tristis Bon.), but so changed in appearance in his plain winter suit of drab, that he is scarcely recognised as the beautiful Gold- finch we so much admired in summer. Feeding on the- 44 WINTER NOTES abundant supply of nutricious seeds furnished by the weeds that rise above the snow, as well as on the seeds of the hemlock, the spruce, the larch, the alder and birch of the swamps and thickets, he never lacks for food, even in the severest weather ; roving in flocks, social and joyful, he seems the very ideal of contentment. One of his more common associates is the Pine Finch, or Northern Siskin, (C. pinus Bon.) ; though rather more partial to the for- ests than he, they greatly resemble each other in their — notes and general habits; but the latter, from its more pointed wings and slender form, is swiftest in flight, and possesses milder and more wiry notes, often heard while its author is far beyond our sight. Some of the members of this large family, such as the two _ species of Crossbills, depend so much for food on the con- iferous forests as to be seldom seen far away from their borders. The Common or Red Crossbill (Chervirostet Americana Wilson), though partially resident, is of de- sultory habits, and is never commonly seen, except when the pine woods, their usual home, are well laden with cones. The White-winged (O. leucoptera Wilson), its smaller but more beautiful congener, and an inhab- itant of the northern forests of the Old World as well as- of America, we only see at irregular intervals, common- ly years apart. The winter of 1859-60 is memorable with bird collectors for their great abundance in out spruce and larch swamps, as well as for the occurrence of a very unusual number of other northern strangers. The Crossbills, by the great strength of their maxillary mus- cles, and their strong oppositely curved mandibles, are able to pry open the tightly appressed scales of the fir cones, and to extract at pleasure the oily seeds, which other birds eae one of have to wait for the elements OF AN ORNITHLOGIST. 45 to release. The Pine Grosbeak, or the Bulfinch of the North (Pinicola Canadensis Cab.), is another species more or less dependent on the forests, the Virginia Juni- per affording him favorite food. His home, too, is the mountains and uninhabited northern timber lands. They visit us but occasionally, and then in such small parties, locally distributed, as to escape general observation. Among our more familiar resident birds, there are but — _ few species that seem as numerous in winter as at other seasons ; of thesethe Blue Jay ( Cyanura cristata Swains. ), is a prominent example. Though unusually social in his disposition, he is yet hardly gregarious. The noisy screams of small scattered parties reach us from thé swamps and thickets almost daily, and in the severer weather individuals make fr ‘equent excursions to the or- chard and farmers’ cribs of corn, the few grains they pil- fer being amply paid for in the destruction of thousands of the eggs of the noxious tent-caterpillar. The poor Crow (Corvus Americanus Aud. ), despised or persecuted by nearly all, is a bird of unusual interest to every lover of nature, and is a true friend to the farmer, though he finds in the latter a most inveterate enemy. The few Crows that remain with us during the long cold winter, seem able to support but a miserable existence ; but no sooner does returning spring and the bare earthafford themasup- By of pre and other noxious insect larvee, than they fare , and their labors thus contribute vastly to the wee a the farmer. Capable of withstanding the de- foresting of the country, which has exterminated so many ef our larger birds, he needs but little encouragement to become one of our most familiar and useful birds. Passing by numerous species of our winter birds, inclu- ding the rasorial kinds, or the Grouse and their g 46 WINTER NOTES and others of equal interest with those already mentioned, we have but space to notice very briefly some of our win- ter water-fowl. Those found at this season inland or re- mote from the sea, ate so exceedingly few as scarcely to attract attention. They are confined exclusively to the tribes of Ducks and Grebes.. The Whistle-wing or Gold- en-eyed Duck (Bucephala Americana Baird), the Goos- ander or Sheldrake (Mergus Americanus Cass.) and the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus Reich.), are occasionally seen on the rivers about open water, being much more common at the beginning of the season or towards spring, than in mid-winter. Along our coast however, are found numerous representatives, many of which are visitors from more northern regions, and nearly all of which are of rare or of unknown occurrence very far inland. ‘These by their numbers serve most agreeably to enliven our bleak coast. Such are the Gannets and Shearwaters, Jager Gulls and Terns, with the Eider Duck, Puffin, Auks and Guillemots. The number of common species of winter birds is less than one-tenth the number of the common species in other seasons ; while the difference in the total number of indi- viduals is even much greater, a scarcity of birds being eminently, in our latitude, one of the characteristics of the season of winter. In reviewing carefully a complete list of our Winter Birds, we are forcibly struck with the small proportion of species that can be considered as regularly common. Thus, out of nearly sixty species of inland birds that are known to inhabit southern New England in winter, we find but fourteen that we can hope to meet with at all frequently ; the remaining seventy-six e cent. falling into the class of ene regularly occurring, migrants ere cee OF AN ORNITHOLOGIST. 47 and residents, or into the list of irregular and occasional visitors. The proportion of rare species to common ones, of irregular visitors to the regular, is perhaps well exhib- ited by the subjoined tabular résumé: Species common A è š 14 rare í : n f $ i . ` ; 45 py resident à > i z . . ‘ š s — g A irregular i in their visits (and occuring -A winter only). 7 of summer that ee ae pum ga in w 4 Total of Winter Birds è é 4 59 The following table further shows what families are re- presented, and the number of species of each, as well as the number resident and migrant, rare and common. Common, y its eae Migrant. Falconidæ (Hawks) . . Strigide (Owls) s e icidæ ( Woodpe eckers) Alcedinidee (Kingfishers) . urdi rushes, etc. 2) Bombyeilidi E aiis Laniadæ (Shri rikes) ’ rthiadæ (Creepers) Sittide uthatehes) mice è in Finches, etc. y free one Troupials) Corvid ws and Jays) , amh ne! Grouse meg ; Perdicidæ ( : 1 Anatide (Ducks) k d 18. Colymbidæ (Divers) . . feed feed feed feed ©. i E a aa wm o o m OO OH =] G OT CO te bi Oe A by ERE 395 73 ES P PY a a 3 4 + S| Heme wmO MEH HOOHOONG MSs St D E E S TE E raada aao mea i a D o H m D Sl oeoo Om O O m OH HE O i i CO 14 The whole number of families represented, as may be seen from the above exhibit, is eighteen; only five (Fal- conide, Strigide, Fringillide, Anatide, Colymbide) have each more than three species, and excepting those of one family (Fri ngillidee), are all to be reckoned among the rarer kinds. The Fringillide, or Finch family, has the greatest number, and probably in individuals outnumbers all the others together; it has, however, but a single resi- t e = description of the Lysianassa Magellanica, from Spitz- at the Nase of Good Hope, though not in the intermediate tropical re The a and also quotes as follows from Prof. Fries roeg the plants of © the: W 48 REVIEWS. a dent species (the Yellow Bird), and only two (the Yellow Bird and Tree Sparrow), that can be counted as regularly common in winter. The two families of raptorial birds have each five or six resident species, but of the total of nine species furnished. by each, all, as already observed, are rather rare species. REVIEWS. ——6Oo— f: ON THE LYSIANASSA MAGELLANICA, AND ON THE > gmp OF THE == SUBORDER AMPHIPODA AND SUBFAMILY LYSIANASSINA FOUND ON THE ene OF SWEDEN A a Norway. By Prof. Wi illiam iiilators g. pp. 38, i lates. Upsala, 1865. 4to. Ki L nis, bi Mastrted paper, which is written in our own language, ced to a very remarkable exception to the usual law oe the. distribution of animals. A species, one of the rn, by D'Orbigny, reappears, upon the authority of Prof. Fries, near Spitzbergen, ‘on the bank by Beering Island.” The spe- imens from the two localities were not actually compared, but a he te rgen, were found to agree perfectly with Milne Edwards’ type-speci- men Solisetsa ty D'Orbigny. Sceptics may require the specimens to be Placed side by side, before accepting the conclusions of even such i nt authorities as those named aboye. Other species of animals are aaa to be common to both poles. Three species of shells, ‘‘ Sax- icava arctica, Venus pullastra, and Pecten pusio,” and a Crustacean, are said by the author to be “found both on our northern coasts, and — uthor enumerates several genera of interpolar shells, — s: oker enumerates Erigeron alpinus, Preeti ue alpinum and Trisetum tum, but. AS is probable that on closer e ation these will be found to be species, both Are and Anart res mi not. pare elsewhere, is afforded by the beautiful i ily easily distinguished species Species of moss, Usnea melarantha, which is oo ae REVIEWS. 49 i more thriving and fructifies richly, whe ereas the former is a more ——— plant, = has never yet been met with in a fructificating state. It is also curious t istinct form as the Nephroma arcticum, which is so ipidan aet with = the northern al pine and subalpine regions, should nowhere else be represented by any analo, ogous or simi- lar form, excepting at Magellan Straits, where the very similar and Dane related Ne- phroma antarcticum is met sence Among the ‘Phanerogamous l neira plants, the genus Kiigetrumn prese sents tl represented by the £: hereas in Antartic ‘America the Empetrum r ubrum is the prevail- ing species, unless (as I in lately seen asserted) this latter be also found in Northern No a species of oe animal is known with certainty to be com- mon to both po anini TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF CRUSTACEA, FOUND LIVIN IN SPECIES OF THE GENUS AsciIpIA. By T. Thorell. From the Transactions of the Paika Academy of Science of Stockholm. iii., pp. 84, 14 plates. 4 In this valuable paper we si avery full account of some curious little crustaceans, allies of our common water-fleas found swimming in our fresh water pool These strange forms are parasitic in the outer thick envelope fest) of the ascidians, or ‘‘shelless clams”; much as Pinnotheres ostreum, the little oyster crab, lives as.a guest in the shell of the oyster. Observers should be on the look out for them in the ascidians of this country. ON THE POLYPES AND ECHINODERMS OF NEW ENGLAND, WITH DES- CRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. By A. E. Verrill. From the Proce = of the Boston Society of Natural Satory, April 18, 1866. pp. 25. vo. Teona Verrill here gives us a very useful list of all the sea Anem- onies, Star-fish and Beche-le-mers, or Sea-cucumbers, as they are often ed, which are found on our north eastern coast. To those who may be dredging, or engaged in the less erci search for these in- teresting forms in the tidal pools, a under the sea a weeds along the shore, this pamphlet will be inyalua! THE MYRIAPODA or NORTH Pin By Prof. Horatio C. Wood, jr. From the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. Phil- ae 1865. pp. 92, illustrated with 3 plates and over 60 cuts. Y To en collectors and entomologists generally, the Thousand-legs and Centipedes one e occasionally meets — in his rambles, are stumb- ling blocks. In this monograph, containi o complete an account of their structure and forms, the author Has ne -a great gap in Amer- can Natural History. The plates are in the main very well drawn; but there has been an oversight in representing all the legs pointing towards the tail, which is not the natural position. Those on the anterior half of the body should = been directed towards the. iT AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I a im o ial 50 REVIEWS. URAL History or Anmats. By Prof. Sanborn ite T and Mrs. SA A. Tenney. New York, 1866. Scribner & Co. This little work, as the title arias presents ina Saronic way the atural History of Animals. e illustrations are mainly the same as those contained in a previous abe by Prof. Tenney on Natural His- tory. The figures are mostly drawn from American sources, and the book will be found quite useful to those who wish to obtain a know- ledge of our native animals. As the work is intended for beginners, the style is plain and free from technicalities. Yet we regret the ab- sence of the technical names, for we believe that on all occasions, the ` scientific name of an animal should be coupled with its common one, so that gradually the popular mind may become accustomed to the use th gee and more particularly, a clear appreciation of the value of classifica- on. ON THE YOUNG STAGES OF A FEW ANNELIDS. By Alexander Agassiz. From the Annals of the Lyceum of Natural moy: New York. Vol. viii., p. 303. June, 1866, 6 plates, pp. 4 In this interesting article we find accounts of the in lives of some of our common marine worms. Though necessarily fragmentary, from the difficulty of obtaining these creatures in all their stages of growth, yet such facts as we here learn about the early stages of the Nareda- like worm, are of the highest interest to the philosophic naturalist. worm is a long, narrow, smooth-bodied Nemertean, with two cks on the head. The absence of the locomotive bristles and tentacles, found in the higher worms, such as Nereis, show its near re- lationship to oe intestinal worms. But the metamorphosis is remark- le, Th ung is provided with two tentacles, which in the course of pispieat ee off, thus affording us an instance of a sll grade course of development in the class of worms, like the Ba = among Crustacea, the young of which have feet and antenne, as in little water fleas (Entomostraca), while in advanced life these ‘take mostly drop off, and the animal would easily be mistaken for a shell fish. e quote some directions for observing and collecting these young worms, so tg as objects for the microscope : Johannes Mi t gauze net; ag e coat followed with eminent success by man Se fhe surface of the sea ain search of diminut tive animals, scarcely to ye tte 8 with the f 1 estigators at Seseo man Baur a introduced fishing with the gauze net by e et to any br the hand net. M 2nd Mol ee Eih have even attempted, with mesam reniei — = y of Kiel, bottom any animals there abounding. mna e P Pump up from the vicinity of the + + D ariy Stas aD di Tse eli NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 51 4 k PE EEE 7 3 y TAPE } dè a Tiat y these tiny creatures, v i table obstacles to p ghi investigations beyo mde a narrow limits. The only way is to go to the fountain head at ones, to vo poe aed oneself miary w iih the purrente at all hours or the tide and under all pos- ibl f wind; to opposite currents meet, and throw into long bands the Wealth of animal life they have swept along; to virbaciat so perfectly familiar with what you may expect to find u od =e conditions, that no ams Shan be = in looking for the most favorable would only if dentally. The habitat of the adult animals should be c arefully L 1, so that 4 surface dredging with the fine gauze hand-net in the vicinity of their abodes, and by a close atten- tion tò the direction which the eres take from these — at the mer = breeding we can often obtain specimens at all a nd of all sizes, till t nomadic or have assumed the habits they ect in their adult consists: NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Meret Score BOTANY. THEORY OF THE ORIGIN OF THE ANTHER OF FLOWERS.—Dr. Miiller read a memorandum of the monstrosities which he had met with in the flower and fruit of Me Jatropha pohliana, and deduced therefrom some conclusions on the theory of the anther. He thinks that this is formed neither by the hora of two ordinary leaves, nor by a leaf whose edges are incurvated towards the median rib, so as to form the two chambers of the pollen. He believes that the anther represents only a single leaf, and that the pollen is developed in the incrassated tissue of the parenchyma of this leaf.— Report of the Transactions of the Soci- ety of Physics and Natural History of Geneva, 1868-5. Smithsonian Re- 8 IOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF THE CALABAR BEAN.—Dr. Dor read a memoir on the apaa effects of the bean of Calabar, Physo- stigma venenosa. Studied specially in its effects on the eye, this sub- nce produces contraction of the pupil, and occasions a sort of cramp of the accomodator muscle. In this double relation it acts as an an- ina.— Ibid. SKI ves.—The following method has bhen communicated to the Ria ahead Society of Edinburgh :—“‘A solution of caustic soda is made by dissolving 3 oz. of washing soda in 2 pints of boiling water, and adding 14 oz. of quick lime, previously slacked; boil for ten mi- nutes, decdnt the clear solution and bring it to the boil. During ebul- lition add the leaves; boil briskly for some time—say an hour, occa- sionally adding hot water to supply the place of that lost by evapora- tion. Take out a leaf and put into a vessel of water, rub it between the fingers under the water. If the epidermis and parenchyma sepa- 52 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. rate easily, the rest of the leaves may be removed from the solution, and treated in the same way; but if not, then the boiling must be con- tinued for some time longer. To bleach the skeletons, mix about a drachm of chloride of lime with a pint of water, adding sufficient acetic acid to liberate the chlorine. Steep the leaves in this till they are whitened (about ten minutes), taking care not to let them stay in too long, otherwise they are apt to become brittle. Put them into clean water, and float them out on pieces of paper. Lastly, remove them m the paper before they are pa dry, and place them in a book or ponies) press.”—Dr. G. Dickson, Hardwicke’s Science Gossip, Jan. 1. ——*0 ZOOLOGY. THE EDIBLE CRAB IN SALEM.—A large specimen of the common dible Crab of the Southern markets, Lupa dicantha, was caught in the Spn during the past winter. With the exception of a young specimen found on Phillips’ Beach, it has not before been known to occur so far north as Massachusetts Bay. The oa oe is an inlet of Salem harbor, and the water is quite salt.—C. Mimetic FORMS E BUTTERFLIES. — Mr. A. B. Wallace states before the eae See alee that ‘‘the Heliconide, a group of butterflies with a powerful odour, such as to cause birds to avoid were enabled to escape pursuit, and deposit their eggs.”— The eta London, Oct. 6, 1866. FERTILE WORKERS AMONG THE Ho ONEY Bens.—Mr. Tegetmeier, at the meeting of the pe eaei Society of London, June 4, 1864, ex- hibited some drones hatched r Pas laid by fertile workers : They were prod nced by pl lacing g in Mare! z com De aape eggs and larvæ in work- ers’ cells only, i en, and which e contained no brood whatever. There no | orm i es royal t after the ‘letter: were o hatched ; the bees produced from them laid eggs. These w we re deposited 1 in the drone —— ices de which ine Canes being produecd. It was noticed that pate parties Metisse ere hatched er Taid eg befo Ajacent hives, eager that workers w were me produced by partaking of ie of the food d th tion yond ssc cde ie deposited in the ce Is adjacent to nA aoak © royal-one. This supposi- hiye con- ie shows that a too close interbreeding in bees is prevented eg drones from other hives ine EA the hive—while stranger work NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 53 ers are killed, stranger drones are readily received; thus the deteri- oration of the race is prevented, : A BLACK VARIETY OF THE COMMON RED SQUIRREL, Sciurus Hudsoni- cus Pallas. I have lately obtained a black specimen of the common Red Squirrel. It was killed at Letang, New Brunswick, where neither the Grey, nor the common Black Squirrel are known to occur.—G. A. BOARDMAN — 0O GEOLOGY. Discovery or A HUMAN JAW IN A BELGIAN Boxk CAVE.— pont has discovered in the Bone Caves of Farfooz, near Dinant, in Belgium, a strange human jaw. It is the opinion of Sir. W. V. Guise, and Rey. W. S. Symonds, who have vince maid Bon locality, “That the AEEY i pe riod of the eutombmer nt of the an jaw, with the remains of the extinct animal hich it > may cae ed to the epoch known t geologists as the low f Prestw a period recent in a geological sense, but enorm cide oe Sh Diim measured Dy time, for ‘the cold oF the glacial epoch was not altogether passed, t was the period o the deposition of the old river drifts of Me nchecourt, near Abbeville, which contain their human flint implements, interbedded with the bones of the Mammoth and Rhinoceros; the period of the deposition of the ancient river beds near Salisbury, and other parts of Eng- land, which teach the same history; and also, they believe of the English bone caverns,”— The Reader, London, Sept. 1, 1866 LIZARD- ENT FROM THE CHALK FORMATION OF ENGLAND. —Fossils indicating a creature of this character have been discovered by Mr. H. E. Seeley.— The Reader, London, Oct. 6, 1866. DISCOVERY OF GENUINE CHALK IN COLORADO AND Dacora.—“ Chalk of chalk, probably the only remainder of a mass which deindalici has ”—T. A. Conrad, Smithsonian Report, 1865. Dr. F. V. Hayden has also discovered in Yankton, Dacota Terri- tory, large deposits of a “ nearly white, soft chalk,” which “ will be found to to represent the White Chalk Beds of Europe, and be employed for similar economical purposes.”—Amer. Journal Science and Arts, Jan. 1867 i +e CORRESPONDENCE. On THE PLUMAGE OF THE BLACK GuILLEMOT.—How does it that we find the Back ‘Guillemot (Uria grylle Lath.), in full black plu- mage all winter? All our works on Natural History tell us they change to white or grey in winter, but I often get specimens which are black in mid-winter. May it not be that only the young are light in winter? I can hardly think it possible some would remain black, and others change; I can see no difference between my dark winter and summer gpectinéns,—C. A. BOARDMAN, Milltown, Me. 54 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. ORNITHOLOGICAL CALENDAR FoR Marcu.—In this Calendar we have endeavored to indicate the average time of the arrival and departure of the migratory birds in the State of Massachusetts for this month; States, reach Washington, D. C., in their northward migration three we i two weeks, and Southern New York nearly one week earlier; while the same species commonly reach the middle of Maine some ten to twelve tee later than they do Massachusetts. Ist to 10th.—Blue Birds, Song Sparrows, Robins, Purple Grakles, pero tint Black Birds Rü Grakles and Cow Birds,begin to arrive. 10th to 20th.—The preceding become more common. Meadow Larks, Bridge Pewees or Phæbes, Snow Birds and Pu inches, begin to arrive; the Hawks that in winter are represented by but fi individu as the Marsh, Red-tailed, Red- shouldered, etc., increase in number by arrivals from the South. The Goshawks, Snowy Owls and ne oe visitors of the raptorial tribes mostly retire northw: 20th = re —AIl those previously arrived receive new accessions to their numbers, and become generally distributed. Grass Finches, Mourning or Carolina Turtle Doves, Passenger Pigeons (of late, uncer- tain visitors), and the Fox-colored $ ws arrive; the Black Duck (Anas obscura), Canada and Brant Geese, Goosanders or Sheldrakes, Whistle-wings or Golden-eyes, Wood and Pintail Ducks, Red-breasted e the sea-fowl that are winter visitors, as the Eider Duck, Double- crested Cormorant, Skuas or Jager Gulls, Black-backed and Laughing Guillemots, return northwards; other kinds, as the Red- Cany itera Ruddy, Surf Ducks, Bestia, King, Eiders, Kitti- and such rare land birds as the Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Cross- bill, the Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) and Les- ser Redpoll, leave for the north, as do also many of the Butcher Birds. Such early breeding species as some of the Hawks and Owls pair during this month; some, as the White-headed- m Dik Hawk PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 55 and Great Horned Owl, which begin their courtships as early as Feb- ruary, choose their eyries, and the former commences incubation. Blue Birds frequently pair before the end of the month, and taking possession of breeding boxes or holes in trees, guard them carefully against intruders.—J. A. A. The Robins often lay the eggs for their first brood in March, in the vicinity of Salem.—Enps. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. N ACADEMY OF sae AND SCIENCES, Boston. Jan. 8, 1867. The Show! ing papers were rea Thermogenesis, or Theory si aia by Dr. J. D. Whelpey, of ston. The Object and Method of Mineralogy, by T. Sterry Hunt, of Mon- treal, Canada n the Inequalities produced in the Moon’s Motion by the Secular Va- riation in the position of the Ecliptic, by G. W. Hill, of Cambridge. Essex INSTITUTE, Salem.. Jan. 7, 1867.—The following paper was presented : A Catalogue of the Birds of No rth America contained in the Museum of the Essex Institute, with which is incorporated a List of the Birds of New England, with oat critical notes, by Elliott Coues, oan Da Ue Mr. C. Cooke made some remarks on the Sea o (Lodoicea sechel- larum); and i. E. Bicknell exhibited n samea the mi- croscope, of the poison fangs of the Rattlesnake. ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, Chicago. Annual Meeting, Jan. 8, 1867.—Dr. William Stimpson was appointed Director of ved » Museum, to fill the . Kennico The President, Geo. C. Walker, ~~ delivered h his annual address. The Secretary then submitted his The ee resolutions were canaens . HEREAS, r the Illinois General Survey has been too small to al- low of a sufficient! y rapid examin z That this Resolve the great ortance of this work, and | its hope mas the appropriation will be Increased to a degree that will carry on Resolved. he Gt 1A bly be respectfully requested to favor the fr of the appropriation. Boston SOCIETY or NATURAL History. January 2, 1867.—Mr. Ho- race Mann exhibited a large panoramic photograph of the crater on the summit of Haleakala, the mountain of East Maui, Hawaiian Is- 56 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. lands. This crater is situated on the summit of Haleakala, its rim being = np average elevation of 10,000 feet above the sea. Its depth is about 2,000 feet, and the comparatively level plain which forms — eae kede. at an elevation of 8,000 feet. The whole cir- — ee of the crater is thirty or TE miles, it being one of the largest in the Mr. Winwood ae of England, who was present as a visitor, read to the Society a paper upon the habits of the Gorilla, the result of his personal investigation in the Gaboon region. Section of Entomology, Jan. 23.—Mr. Scudder remarked on a small f fo Tertiary, probably Miocene, beds of Green River, near the boundary line of Colorado and Utah Territories. The number of species so to about fifty, though they are so imperfectly preserved as to cult, ae not gcse to identify. he abun orms are Diptera, and they comprise indai fetid. a the ri number, either in the larval or imago state; the others are = very minute Coleoptera, and there are besides several Homoptera, minute parasitic Hymenoptera, Pteromali, a mica, a moth, and a ag apparently allied to that of Limacodes The perfect Diptera are mostly small species of Mycetophitide and Tipulide. There are besides some which are apparently Muscide. Among the larve are those of Muscide, together with other larve be- longing to species of which the adults are not represented on these stones. The Homoptera belong to genera allied to Issus, Gypona, — and some ofthe Tettigonide. The collection does not agree, in the aggregation of species, with any of the insect beds of Europe, or with the-insects of the amber fauna on the shores of the Baltic. A paper was also read On Monstrosities observed in the wings of Lepi- = DR and on the method of producing them artificially, by D. velot eee s ‘ mS rete r ER E E IARE AVE eee Z Sa er ee yes a aaa ene) Sey tat PRI ice mee RE Fee apt aie als res a ase 2 foe Ba NNU EAEE ia a NATURAL History Sociey. Bloomington, Annual Meeting, December 19,1866. The nih resolution was passed: Resolved, That the e cre the general commissioner be instructed to correspond and i confer crea the principa I ee teeing natural s science of the va- "ea schools and ges in the state, with naturalists and friends of science. to detini vo local auxiliary societies, tons Pnnemnin an asl cine eg of on a rinig were presented to the society both at pe June and the pres- ent meeting, by Prof. Ma arcy, of the Northwestern Univers rsity, Vasey, Prof. ~h of the State Normal rents and Dr. F. Bren- del, of Peoria.— Prairie Farmer. - NOTE —The Editors desire desire brief minutes, such as those given above, of every mee of sll tie Seiontida Soniotine mn North fb ame A of the NATURALIST | be cont ae on aie a St cypress: fng as Sten such reports are are prom) a ae y nptly sent in tè ‘ 2 ae AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. 1—APRIL, 1867.—No. 2. to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the Massachusetts, ee THE MOSS-ANIMALS, as their marine relatives, the Gymnolemata, or Polyzoa with unguarded throats. Notwithstanding their harsh scientific name, the Phylactolemata are light, elegant, — mossy growths, and, when placed under a low power — of the microscope, are even more beautiful than the flowers they resemble. Their plant-like aspect, however, is a mere semblance, notwithstanding the branching mode of growth. If we q examine any one specimen of the genus Fredericella, we speedily learn that the trunk is not a single, straight, solid stem, as in the plants, but made up of a series of minute, dark brown, tubular cells, arranged in a line, with the main branches and shorter twigs, also con- structed of cells, arranged in a similar manner. Each cell (fig. 4) is a single animal, and contains the organs and muscles of one being, though so intimately attached to others, and so merged in the general life of the com- munity, that it cannot, strictly speaking, be called an- individual. An individual is but one animal, freely following the bent of its own will, and containing within itself an isolated, independent system of organs. : The lower portion of every cell is str ipit, being the continuation of the axis of the trunk, or branch of which i is a part; but the upper portion turns out of the direct line with an elbow-like bend, elevating one end above the stem. This end is free, and is surmounted by a trans- _ parent tube, which is closed by around disc, perforated | le á the mouth, and bearing a crown of translucent, slender _ threads, called tentacles, which gracefully curve upwards: ome of a ve t e 4, fo The wr flap : ere NWS Oa OM ET eT TT Ne ERES ee NEE A AE T e TETARA osition, as if it were hinged ae carious (th * OR FRESH-WATER POLYZOA. 59 although situated outside of the mouth (fig. 5,1’), it seems to answer many of the ordinary purposes of a tongue. It evidently discriminates between the different kinds of food, but is oftener employed to close the mouth over some struggling animalcule which obstinately refu- ses to be swallowed. It is a fleshy semicircular promi- nence formed by a fold of the disc (fig. 5, I), and is both | the door of a trap, and an organ of taste combined. The crown is interesting, not only on account of its beauty, and delicate transparency, but from the dreamy outline of each little thread, caused by the movements of the innumerable hairs investing them. The hairs, or cilia, themselves, are not visible, owing to their extreme ten- uity, but the waves they make in the water can be plainly seen. So many thousands of these cilia are simultaneously moving upward on the outer sides of the threads, and downward upon their inner sides, that they force the water along in strong currents from the exterior down toward the bottom of the open-work vase where the mouth lies. The meeting of these currents coming from all sides at once, creates a whirlpool, in which hundreds of care- less animalcules are continually caught and transported to the mouth. This being placed at the centre of the vortex catches all the objects entrapped by the current above, and it has, also, unfortunately for its helpless prey, a stomach beneath, which is indeed “an abyss no riches can ` fill.” The thousands of sleepless cilia are day and night constantly in motion, drawing into the throat an endless stream of food. The stomach below is equally active, and thus all the organs work harmoniously, like machinery driven by steam, untiringly capturing and digesting the food, which, when assimilated, supplies the waste occa- sioned by the great activity of these parts. The threads 60 THE MOSS-ANIMALS, @ or tentacles, also prove useful in many other ways. They can twist together with incalculable rapidity, barring out any objectionable animal which may manifest a dispo- | | sition to pry into the crown; or each one can by itself — bend over and eject annoying particles; or, if the throat — need a little cleaning, force its way down the tube and ` clear it, by pushing’; into the stomach whatever may be 4 clinging to the sides. They are most amusing, however, in the angry pettishness they occasionally exhibit toward intruding neighbors. First comes an admonitory push, then a eet ig one, if the first is not successful, and lastly, unmistakeable blows administered with vicious rapidity by many threads in unison. Sometimes a “big fish” enters — the crown in the shape of an animated Pals perceptible only when magnified twenty or thirty times its own size; then the sensitive tips of the threads curve together, an imprison the coveted morsel. Caged thus in a living net, and unable to break through the bars, it is soon exhausted by the power of the miniature maelstrom, and swept, in spite of many fruitless struggles, down into the gaping mouth. On the exterior of the tentacles, reaching about half- way up their sides, is a thin veil, looped up aid hanging gracefully between them like a delicate rufle with pointed folds (fig. 4, G). Between this veil and the dark brown cell is the pellucid tube, and through its walls we can ex- -~ amine the internal organs. Directly under the tongue- like projection of the | disc, or epistome, is the nervous , Which takes the place of a brain in all the Polyzoa, Sk it ~ nerves See to ax os the stom OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. 61 or false tongue above the mouth, being only a fold of the disc, is hollow. The nerve-mass retreats into this cavity at will, probably by means of minute muscular fibres ; and in this position, also, seeks security from injurious pres- sure, while the polyzoén is crowded within the shelter of its cell. Thus the epistome, in addition to its other mul- tifarious uses, serves at times as a brain box. The organs of digestion hang from the disc above, oc- cupying the centre of the tube, and floating freely in the rapidly moving blood (fig. 5, K, K’, K”). The throat is closed at the lower end by a valve (fig. 5, K”), which opens into a gourd-shaped sack, the stomach; close by this is another valve which opens from the stomach into the intestine (fig. 5, K™ )- The last is a canal leading up, side by side with the throat, for a short dis- tance, but finally bending away from it, and opening ex- ternally through an aperture in the pellucid tube, just below the base of the ruffle, and not far from the mouth (fig. 5, K), Though the walls of these organs are variously tinted, they are not opaque, and, therefore, while not interfering materially with the view through the clearer substance of the tube, add greatly to its beauty. The yellowish throat, — the stomach striped with dark brown, and the intestine, also dark brown, form a colored axis, giving a lifelike warmth to the airy delicacy of the surrounding film. We have seen by what strange methods the food is captured, but this is not more curious than the way in which it is digested. A throattul, for we cannot say mouthful, is no sooner admitted to the stomach, than it js rolled up and down from one end to the other, with great violence. The walls of this organ take on a circular constriction, which pursues the morsel without intermis- 62 THE MOSS-ANIMALS, sion, forcing it first to one end, and then back again to the other, from which it entered, until the particles are all crushed and reduced to a pulp. These violent con- vulsions also serve another purpose; they squeeze the — nutritious matter, resulting from digestion, out through — the membranes of the stomach into the cavity of the tube and cell, where it becomes mingled with the blood, and is carried off to give health and strength to the body. We have spoken of the plumes being withdrawn, in one of the colonies figured, and, though it has been only casually mentioned, this habit is the greatest obstacle to the observer while endeavoring to study their form. If the table be shaken ever so lightly, every unfolded crown vanishes, and often half an hour or more elapses before continued quiet allures them forth. All the finely proportioned, transparent parts are bal- anced upon a fold of the wall of the tube (fig. 5, B), which is retained in its place inside of the cell by many muscles, like fine hairs, attached by one end to the fold, and by the other to the cell wall (fig. 4, N, N', fig. 5, N). A continuation of the fold-membrane carpets the whole interior of the cell (fig. 4, 5, E), and to it are attached, near the lower end, the muscular fibres which drag the crown and the more delicate external parts into its “shol ter, at the approach of danger (fig. 4, M). The muscles are arranged in great broad bands rising in two trunks, “tie one spreading out above into numerous smaller s. These branches are attached to the stomach, ta pat and disc near the mouth, and one of them to the wall of the tube not far from the base of the veil (fig. 4, M.M, M"). They are diaphanous, but their delicate as- pect is no measure of eie Tai They jerk the crown and outer acs within tl —— e than the eye OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. 63 can follow them; and it is a curious fact, that after the movement is completed, and they are safely ensconced, the fibres are not content to rest, but still keep up a lively motion, writhing and twisting like bundles of mi- nute worms. The tentacles all the while lie gathered closely togeth- er in the sheath, formed for them by the tube, which has been doubled upon itself inside of the cell, like the finger of a glove inverted within the empty palm. When once more ready to emerge, the opening of the cell, which has been contracted by a circular band of muscle, like the mouth of a bag drawn up with a string, relaxes and per- mits the ends of the tentacles to protrude. These warily search for the cause of the previous alarm, and, if no hos- tile movements betray the presence of an enemy, the whole bundle slowly and cautiously follows, halts a mo- ment, and then confidently unfolds its circlet of sentient threads. The Polyzoén reasons from the impression made upon these feelers, and cannot be induced to expose itself until thoroughly satisfied, by their exquisite sense of touch, that no danger lurks near its retreat. a degree of complication in their relations, both social and physical, which the simplicity of the organization, and the to the philosophical observer, _ The wonders revealed in the structure of these lovely dwellers in the perennial shadows of our fresh waters, tempt one to linger, but the history of their circulatory 64 THE FERTILIZATION E: and respiratory functions, and their curious modes of reproduction must be deferred until the next number. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 3. Fredericella regina Leidy. Fig. 1, 2, and 3. Colonies attached to pieces of bark. Fig. 4. Magnified view of one Polyzoén. D, brown aii the ectocyst; E, pellucid wall of the tube and cell, the endocyst; V, funiculus; M, M', M", upper branches of the mus cles, the retrac tors; N,N’, muscles of the fold, the retentor rs; F, a small infold- ing of the endocyst, the brachial collar; G, the pointed ruffle, or calyx; H, the threads, or tentacles Fig. 5. Outline of the interior of part of a young specimen. Same on as above, with the exception of B, the invaginated fold of — tube; Y, a very Parte polyzoon, a bud; K, ras aft at or œs- i sea WY, cilia surrounding the mouth; K”, valve opening — into the stomach, BS gue valve; K’!, Soak KM, intestinal valve partly open; K”, intestin Ta opening of intestine, the : A anus; I, disc, the lophophore; a the little flap, the epistome; I’, — the mouth; S, nerve-mass. Fig. 6. Side view of the top of a cell, with the tube and crown arawn heal letters same as before with the exception of A”; contracted fice of the cell; L, position of muscular band, the RTE. abov te 7. View of the same from ; Fig. 8. Front view, showing upper Ditches of the retractors, which are attached to the wall of the tube and to the disc, M” and M’. It is now universally accepted by botanists that there exist distinct sexes in the vegetable kingdom, and that na- American Naturalist. VoL I, PI. 3: HYATT ON THE MOSS ANIMALS. i a BA 3 y 1 OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 65 of the flower we usually find one or more organs, called the pistil or pistils. The end or edge of this organ is called the stigma, which is generally more or less viscid. It is upon this viscid stigma that the pollen falls, or is conveyed by insects, the wind, or other agents. Soon a small tubule shoots out from the pollen grain; this tubule grows down through the stigma and style, into the ovary, where it comes in contact with the unfertilized ovule, which is then fertilized, and becomes capable of develop- ing in its cavity an embryo that in time, and under favor- able conditions, will became a perfect plant. In by far the greater number of flowering plants, we find both the’ male and female element in the same flower, or, in other words, such plants are hermaphrodites. One would nat- urally suppose that there could be but one object in thus placing the sexual elements in such immediate juxtaposi- tion, namely, that each pistil might be fertilized by its own pollen or male element. Late researches have, however, made it evident that often even among plants, the nup- tials cannot be celebrated without the intervention of a third party to act as a marriage priest, and that the office of this third person is to unite the representatives of dif- ferent households. To be aE seed capsules are most _ productive when their ovules are fertilized by pollen from — another plant, or flower of the same plant. “ Breeding in and in,” can by absolute experiment, be proven to pro- duce a degenerate offspring in the vegetable kingdom, no less than in the event of a PE between first cousins in the human race. Now the marriage priests vo officiate i in the vegetable kingdom are insects in search of honey ; the vinda, or anything which by accident, or design, may carry the pollen from one flower to another. How often do we AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 9 os _not one seed will be matured. This certainly was a “ca ital experiment.” Though the impotency of pollen whe eee of close fertilization. For Beak: most ff from view. When the flower first opens, we may obs 66 THE FERTILIZATION hear our agricultural friends complain, that they cannot succeed in keeping pure some choice varieties of vege- tables, in consequence of the pollen from some common stock being wafted or carried to the pure variety, and th contaminating it? Mr. Darwin has lately proven in the case of the genus Linum, or Flax, that though the stigma of a flower be completely dusted over with its own pollen, — age to its own ap a is absolute in this case, we ma are familiar with the general | habit of our common Law (Kalmia). We remember, also, that when in bloom, shows us a waving sea of beautiful, rose-colored flowe growing so closely together as to almost hide the le stamen, so that an. anther is. included i in each p Every stamen represents a spring just ready to fly to- natural position of rest, when ey cose. An insect OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 67 do not say it is prepotent; any reader of the “Natural- ist” may experiment for himself on the Kalmia. It is only offered here as a hint. . The field opened up by Mr. Darwin’s experiments is new, and alluring, and perchance for that very reason may sometimes be so attractive as to lead us beyond the limits of sound reasoning, and reliable experiments. Yet there exists a group of plants in the study of which we may almost feel safe in giving a loose rein to our theories, for facts already ascertained, prepare us to believe noth- ing can be too strange to be true, in relation to the fertil- ization of this group. I allude to the so-called dimorphic plants; where the same species presents two distinct forms, one with long stamens and short pistils; the other with short stamens and long pistils. Now it has been proven in the case of the Flax, and of the Primrose, that the most fertile union is that which results from the im- pregnation of the long-styled forms by the pollen of the short-styled, and the reverse. Some experiments made by myself, at the suggestion of Prof. Asa Gray, convince me that the same applies in a remarkable degree to our common little Spring Beauty ( ee or, as it is commonly called, Anhocence or Bluets.* "This a : | lustrate what. x. iint then by quoting at length, ‘though at second hand, from Mr Mr. Darwin's _ i paper, Spie the aaf . ual Relations of the ‘thr reef MALLE ithe *In Oldenlandia we find oe vident structural differentiation of both pollen and stigma. The relative length of the stamens of one form s- fertilization. I have frequentiy observed a species of Thrips aE ing gee from fiower to flower, with its back completely dusted ov: with pol oe THE FERTILIZATION “In Lythrum salicaria (Spiked Loosestrife) three plain- 1 í ly distinct forms occur; each of these is an hermaphro- — 7 dite; each is distinct in its female organs from the other two forms; and each is furnished with two sets of stamens i or males, differing from each other as much as if they be- longed to different species; and if smaller functional dif- ~ ferences are considered, there are five distinct sets of males. Two of the three hermaphrodites must co-exist, — and the pollen be carried by insects reciprocally from one to the other, in order that either of the two should be fully fertile ; but, unless all three forms co-exist, there will be a waste of two sets of stamens, and the organization of the species as a whole will be imperfect. On the other hand, when all three hermaphrodites co-exist, and the pollen is — carried from the one to the other, the scheme is perfect; — 4 there is no waste of pollen and no false co-adaptation. In short, nature has ordained a most complex marriage ar- rangement, namely, a triple union between three hermaph- rodites, each hermaphrodite being in its female organ quit distinct from the other two hermaphrodites, and partially nN in its male organs, and each is furnished with two PEISE Tt farther appears, “that only the longest stamens full fertilize the longest pistils, the middle stamens the middle pistil, and the shortest stamens the shortest pistil. And OF FLOWERING PLANTS. ; 69 vouched for, might well cause a rising doubt. He tells us that the pollen of one species of Passion Flower will fertilize the ovules of another species, though the ovules of the first may not in turn be fertilized by the pollen of ` the second. Thus Tacsonia mollissima will fertilize the ovules of Passiflora racemosa, but Passiflora will not fer- tilize Tacsonia. Interesting as may be the means resorted to in the ca- ses above mentioned, to secure cross-fertilization (mostly through the medium of insects) they yield in fascination to the adaptations by which the same results are accom- plished by the same agents in many Orchids. We must refer those who wish to go into the details of fertilization, as it is brought about in this gorgeous family, to Mr. Darwin’s interesting volume on “Fertili- zation of Orchids by Insects.” They will there find the subject treated of by a master mind in such inquiries. The temptation to meddle in work so much better done elsewhere, is too great, and we should be surprised at ourselves if we passed the subject entirely by. Among the Orchids and Milkweeds (Asclepias), we find that the pollen, in place of being loose, or at the most slightly coherent, is here neatly done up in two small decanter- __ shaped packets, which are connected at the top of the _ necks by a small, viscid BiG aes cs a Let us imagine that on some bright summer morning, a humble bee, for example, happening to be out in search of the material from which to get its store of honey, alights on one of ‘these Orchids. Standing, perchance, on the large lip (so prominent among these flowers), it dips its head down to the bottom of the flower in search of nectar. The chances are ten to one that its forehead strikes directly upon this viscid gland connecting the two | 70 | THE FERTILIZATION packets of pollen. By the'time the nectar is exhausted the gland has become adherent to the bee’s head, and as — it (the head) is withdrawn, the two pollen masses are extracted from their pockets, and now stand off in front like a pair of horns. The bee, most likely, flies to another plant of the same species, or still more probably to another fiower of the same plant. Suppose the stigmatic surface of © this species of plant be broad, or possibly Gepatuiod almost into two parts; we will find the packets have slowly but surely diverged so as to be the exact width of that surface. — : Suppose on the other hand, the stigma be a narrow one, _we shall find that the packets have come close together. In either case when the bee’s head bobs down into the next flower, it will almost certainly happen that these same pollen masses will be left sticking on the stigma when the bee leaves, or at least part of the pollen will be _ These masses of pollen have long since beer 7 quently observed on the bee’s head, but, until quite lately , no meaning had been attached to it. Some ento- mologists, I believe, have even been guilty of deseril i these as natural appendages to the bee’s head. OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 71 for 1862. Robert Brown long since called attention to insect agency, in the fertilization of the Milkweed family. Almost any summer day we may repeat his observations for ourselves. So adhesive are the glands of the Ascle- pias obtusifolia (Wavey-leaved Milkweed), that we often find honey bees unable either to withdraw the packets, or loose their feet from the gland, and thus they become prisoners for life. There exists yet another class of dimorphic flowers, in which we find the large and more conspicuous flowers less fertile than those of the other form, which are arrested in their development, and are fertilized in the bud. Hugo van Mohl has of late called especial attention to them. Such flowers have been happily termed precociously fer- tilized. Mohl concludes, after close examination of Viola, Oxalis, Specularia and Impatiens, that nature is here specially solicitous to secure close breeding, or that each flower shall be fertilized by its own pollen. “ He calls attention also to the fact, that in the large anthers of the smaller form of Oxalis acetosella, not more than two dozen pollen grains are found, while in the anthers of the larger form they are much more numerous. In the smaller saa however, the few grains are made more potent, and the exercise of their function is secured, by being placed in contact with the stigma. It results, ee gl! Sectors RIO a a ler, under the rep f accurate piv eatisce- tors, and that, what was supposed to To a special adapta- tion to secure close fertilization, i is, after all, but a more nicely conceived method of | an opposite result. For exam 2, We were faruerly cant that the interior petals of Co dalis clasped thé anthers and stigma of the flower in so tight an embrace that outside fertilization 72 THE FERTILIZATION OF FLOWERING PLANTS. was a thing not to be thought of. Dr. Hildebrand in- forms us however, that though the stigma of Corydalis cava be completely dusted over with pollen from the same flower, yet no seed will set if insects be excluded from carrying pollen from flower to flower. This fact is, as will be observed, another illustration of Mr. Darwin’s law of prepotency of pollen taken from one flower, and applied to another. Professor Gray also calls attention to the “effectual activity of so large an insect as the bumble-bee in fertilizing our Corydalis a aurea” (Golden Corydalis). Just now we can point to but one instance in which a plant of high order is found to produce perfect embryos, without the ovules having been previously fertilized ac- cording to the known method. In the Kew Gardens, near London, has been kept for many years a plant of the WS family, which furnishes this one example. Dr. ker writes to Humboldt concerning it, as follows: “Our t Coelebogyne still flowers with my father at Kew, as well as in the Garden of the Horticultural Society. It ripens its seeds regularly. I have repeatedly examined it with care, but have never been able to discover a pene- tration of pollen utricles into the stigma, nor any traces of their presence in the latter or in the style.” This plant belongs to the old Linnzan class Diccia. It is unisexual, and as there exists only (so far as known) the fema plant in England, it is difficult to conceive how the fertil- ization i a for the anthers, they do not oeh to have We may still b pese before accepting i of ps ss 1es s Ci INSECTS AND THEIR ALLIES. BY A. 8. PACKARD, JR., M: D. That branch of the Animal Kingdom known as the., ARTICULATA, is so called from having the body composed of rings or segments, like short cylinders, which are placed successively one behind the other. Cuvier selected this term because he saw that the plan of their entire or- ganization, the essential features which separate them 7} from all other animals, lay in the idea of articula- tion, the apparent joining together of distinct seg- ments along the line of the body. If we observe carefully the body of the Worm, we shall see that it consists of a long cylindrical sac, which at regular intervals is folded in upon itself, thus giving a ring- ed,annulated or articulated appearance to the body. In the Crustacea (Crabs, Lobsters, ete.) and in the Insects, from the deposition of an earthy salt, called . chitine, the walls of the body become so hardened, jarva of that when the animal is dead and dry, it readily mereva? nano breaks into numerous very perfect ri Though this branch contains a far picsa number of ` species than any other of the animal lecnigeloens: their myriad forms can all be reduced to a simple, ideal, typical figure ; that of a long slender cylinder divided into numerous segments, as in Fig. 1, representing the larva of a Fly. It is by the unequal development and the various modes of grouping them, as well as the differences in the number of the rings themselves, and also in the changes of form of their appendages, i. e., the feet, jaws, antennæ and wings, that the various forms of Articulates are produced. In all Articulates the long, tubular, alimentary canal occupies the centre of the body ; above it lies the “heart,” AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 10 74 INSECTS AND or dorsal vessel, and below, upon the under side, rests the nervous system. The breathing apparatus, or “lungs,” in Worms consists of simple filaments, placed on the front of the head; or of gill-like processes, as in the Crustacea, which form simple expansions of the legs; or, as in the Insects, of delicate tubes (trachea), woe ramify throughout the whole interior of the animal, and connect with breathing pores (stigmata) in the sides of the body. They do not breathe through the mouth as do the higher animals. The traches and blood-vessels follow closely the same course, so that the aération of the blood goes on, apparently, over the whole interior of the body, not being confined to a single region, as in the lungs of the verte- brate animals. Thus it is by observing the general form of the body- walls, and the situation of the different anatomical systems, both in relation to themselves and the walls of the body, | or crust, which surrounds and protects the more delicate organs within, that we are able to find satisfactory charac- i ters for isolating, in our os the articulates from all other animals. ts ed We shall perceive more clearly the differences THEIR ALLIES. 10 body. Soon this sac-like body grows longer, and con- tracts at intervals ; the intervening parts become unequally enlarged, some segments or rings, formed by the contrac- tion of the body-walls, greatly exceeding in size those next to them; and it thus assumes the appearance of a being, more or less equally ringed, such as in the young Terebella, here figured, where the ciliæ are restricted to a single ring surrounding the body. Gradually the cilix disappear and regular locomotive organs, consisting of mi- nute paddles, grow out from the side; feelers (antenne), jaws, and eyes (simple rudimentary eyes) appear on the few front rings of the body, which are grouped by them- selves into a sort of head, though it is difficult in a large proportion of the lower worms, for unskilled observers to distinguish the head from the tail. In the embryo of the Crustacean, such as the Fresh-water Crawfish, as shown by the German naturalist Rathke ; and also in the earliest stages of the Insect, the body at once assumes a worm-like form, thus beginning its embryonic life from the goal reached by the adult worm. - : Thus we see throughout the growth of the worm, no attempt at subdividing the body into regions, each endow- ed with its peculiar functions ; but only a more perfect but all becoming respectively more complicated. For € e, in the fresh-water Nais, each ring is plainly Q S tinguished into an upper and under side, and in addi- tion to these a well marked side-area, to which, 2s in the marine worm, - ereis, oar and paddle-like organs are attached ; in most other worms eye-spots appear on the front rings, and slender tentacles grow out, and a pair of nerve-knots ( ganglia) are apportioned to each Tings Thus, in the Worm the vital force is very equally distrib- 76 INSECTS AND uted to disci zoological element, or ring of the body ; no single part of the body is much handtak above the rest, so as to subordinate and hold the other parts in subservience to its peculiar and higher ends in the animal economy. But when we rise in the scale of articulate life, we see at once the action of a new principle. First in the Crus- tacean appears a broad distinction between the front and _ posterior end of the body. The rings are now grouped e Tes > into two regions, and the i J hinder division is subor- dinate in its structure and ' uses to the forward por- tion of the body. Hence the nervous power is transferred in some de- paistia endai tite: A tery, SPP! towards the head. a. cephalothorax; b. abdomen, The organs performingthe functions that distinguish animals from plants, such as locomotion and sensation, all reside in the front region; while the vegetative functions, or those concerned in the reproduction and nourishment of the animal produced, are mostly carried on in the hinder region of the booi (the abdomen). The Crustacean cannot be said to kavo a true head, in distinction from a thorax bearing the organs of locomo- tion, but rather a group of rings, to which are appended the organs of sensation and locomotion. s oe jaws become Temarkably like claws; or THEIR ALLIES. 77 tacea do not have a distinct head, but rather a “head- thorax” (cephalo-thorax) . When we rise a third and last step into the world of Insect forms, we see a completion and final development of the articulate plan which has been but obscurely hinted at in the two lowest classes, the Worms and Crustacea. Here we first meet with a true head, separate in its struc- ture and functions from the thorax, which, in its turn, is - clearly distinguishable from the third region of the body, the abdomen, or hind-body. These three regions, as seen in the wasp, are each provided with <@ three distinct sets of organs, each having distinct functions, though all are governed by, and minister to the brain force, now in . a great measure gathered up from the pos- / Fabr. ea W coe ` terior rings of the body, and in a more concentrated form (the brain), lodged in the head. Here, then, is a centralization of parts headwards ; they are brought as if towards a focus, and that focus the head, which is the meaning of the term “cephalization,” proposed by Professor Dana.* Ring distinctions have given away to regional distinctions. The former characterize the Worm, the _latter, the Insect. In other words, the division of. a transf mavens Damnoen | rs ae srt the otit tushaiio series. „Z, By the anterior of the locomotive organs participating to some extent in cepha- pi ET increased abbreviation, concentration, actness, and perfi structure, in the and organs of Of the aitarior portion of th of the body. perfection of reviation, condensation posterior, or or gastcic soe bee caudal portion of the’ perfection of structure in Hie phineesndon? aaa of the nervous system. This rise reach- 78 INSECTS AND well illustrated in the thorax of the Wasp. In reality the thorax of this insect consists of three rings, with a super- numary one—the first and basal ring of the abdomen— thus forming a compact mass, consisting of four of these rings. But. all are so intimately cated into an almost spherical, rounded mass, which is due to the unequal size of the parts composing the rings, some being enlarged, and others either diminished in size, or wholly wanting, that it needs the sagacity of a Latreille, or an Audouin, those fathers of Entomology, to detect the actual number of the elemental rings. Appended to the head, as the legs to the thorax, are spe- cial organs of sight and touch, into which the brain is im- mediately projected; as the simple and compound eyes, and the antenne, each with their separate pair of nerves. These are placed in front of the mouth. Behind the mouth, and on each side, are the jaws or mandibles, the — | with the ir palpi (or touchers), and last of all, and Ae to the oak the labium, or under lip, and its - palpi. Before the larva leaves the egg, these four pair g appendages are much alike in form, budding out as simple tubercles, and their relative position and succession are as given above; but during growth they change their po- sition, crowd forward about the mouth-opening, so as to _ ee meaty all traces of their normal succession, and, in con- THEIR ALLIES. 79 Insects, as a whole, are much smaller than the Crusta- cea; for example, compare a Honey bee or Hawk moth with a Lobster or Crab. This diminution of size is due to the greater concentration of parts, and their compression into a much less bulk. Crustacea are mostly inhabitants of the water, while Insects are, in some form, almost exclu- sively terrestrial. As the Whale exceeds in size the D or Lion, or Man himself, so does the Lobster surpass in bulk the Bee, though the latter is a much more highly organized animal, with a more complicated outer crust, a more complex system of nerves, bloodvessels and muscles. There are various grades of superiority among insects. Rank among men is determined by one’s superior intel- ligence, and less and less likeness to the savage. Thus writers on Ethnology place the European and Australa- sian at two extremes. On this principle the zoologist clas- sifies animals by their greater or less résemblance to the lowest types. Thus among Articulates, the Worms are the simplest in form, and in all respects the lowest. - The Crustacea are placed next in the natural system, which _ leaves the Insects topping the series. In classifying the subdivisions of the class of Insects, we observe the same principle. In locating an Insect in what seems to us its memes within its own group, we e must follow this na the Sone ale (Pods oped In these forms the body is slender and wormlike, and the head is many times smaller than the rest of the body. In the Honey — bee however, which is the highest among all prs the head is but little S and yet very distinct from 80 INSECTS AND the thorax; which again, is but a little smaller than the Fig. 5. abdomen. In the Bee, more than in other insects, the rings, or parts of ` rings remaining after the growth of ` 4 the animal has been completed, are more equally developed than in the lower insects—no single part attains a monstrous development over the other, as in the May-fly or Dragon- Ephemera, M fly. The Bee, of all insects, performs the most bam and complex intellectual acts; in its im- mense colonies—a rude foreshadowing of human repub- lics—are portioned out to the Queen, the Worker and the Drone, special duties in the insect economy. How varied _ those duties are, how readily a Worker will perform some acts rarely or never before attempted, and how ready these insects, and their allies, the Ants, are to adapt themselves to new and untried circumstances, all Bee on and entomologists are well aware. Let us for a moment look more closely at the tough parchment-like crust of the Insect. We shall then better understand what has been said of its complexity. We rig.6* find that each ring when examined by Yy 5 itself, consists of an upper (tergite), and wy” under (sternite), and side-pieces (pleurite, n” $ "' consisting of the epimerum and episternum). sections of a circle rest on each other, giving pe and resistance to the whole ring- — THEIR ALLIES, 81 ed, as seen in the body of the caterpillar. When, how- ever we turn to a thoracic segment, the relative size of the pieces is very unequal, the side-pieces being much larger than the upper or under piece, especially in the Dragon-fly, which is ever on the wing. In the Libellula, the upper part of the ring is greatly reduced in size, and the larger part of the ring consists of the side-pieces. As a rule, however, the under piece (sternum) is very small, the dorsal or upper-piece (fergum) is well developed, while the side-pieces are increased in a still greater ratio, as seen in the Wasp, which walks and also flies with ease. The side, or limb-bearing part of the ring, is generally largest in the running insects, as in the Beetles, of which Carabus, the Ground-beetle, is a type. On the other hand the dorsal (or tergal piece, the more technical name, since the word dorsal is more appropriate in speaking of the vertebrates, or animals with a back bone) part of the ring is quite small in the Dragon-fly and its allies. In these insects, which scarcely ever walk, merely using their legs in clinging to plants when resting from their long sustained flights, the side-pieces are disproportion- ately enlarged over the other parts of the ring, for the purpose of broad attachments to the muscles of flight. 7 -To the Be ot tha wpa yes, okt es and wings, are attached. In order that the legs may move freely on the body, and thus give play to hundreds of minute muscles within the legs, these side pieces are subdivided into several smaller sections. Were this not so, and the crust forming the exterior of the insect un- broken, thus forming a continuous series of cylinders, we should have the poor victims of this stern law of morphology enclosed in jackets of the straightest sort! AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 11 82 INSECTS AND -~ Whence comes, then, all the grace and perfect freedom of action seen in the vivacious motions of the Ichneumon fly and Butterfly? It lies in the fact that the whole outer crust is subdivided into portions which are finely hinged together by a tough membrane, forming points of attach- ment to thousands of little muscular fibres within, and thus giving the otherwise rigid crust a surprising degree of flexibility. The three pair of legs are inserted at the lower edge of the side-piece (cpisternum, Fig, 6, £s), as seen in the fig- ure, and the wings grow out between the upper side piece, (Fig. 6, £m ) and the tergum (Fig. 6,7). The body of all known insects consists normally of twenty of these cylindrical rings, each of which is theoretically sub- | divided in the manner we have shown ; but towards each _ extremity of the body, as in the rings composing the head and tail, but a part of the ring is developed, since the remaining portions have, during the development of the animal, either while still in the egg, or during its growth afterwards, become absorbed, and jive consequently disap- appeared. In the head of all insects there are, as a rule, seven such rings, in the thorax three, and in the hind body, or abdomen, at least ten, and perhaps eleven, ele- mental segments. Counting, in addition to the number of pieces which compose the trunk, the numerous joints of the legs, and those of the antennæ, which ap- in the Cockroach to nearly a hundred in number, A idea of the exceeding complexity of t crust. Thus w pripite entomology has to sion att Arran THEIR ALLIES. 83 ‘besides those entombed in its crust, as fossils, which can never be numbered. Thus the idea of articulation, upon which Cuvier found- ed this branch of the animal kingdom, which begins so simply in the worm and grows far more complex in the crab and its allies, is,in the insect, carried out with a bewildering richness and profusion of detail. It is like comparing a savage’s “dug out” to the “Great Eastern” steamship, or the rude wigwam of an Indian to the Cathedral of Milan. The German Naturalist Oken, who in his writings has . so often anticipated the results of subsequent laborious inquiries, said in his aphoristic style when discoursing of insects: “Every fly creeps as a worm out of the egg; then by changing into the pupa, it becomes a crab, and, lastly, a perfect fly.” The motions of these worms and crabs to which he aptly compares the two stages of the young fly, will show a farther analogy, though to many it may seem fanciful, between these forms of jointed animals. Worms wriggle along as they move. Now wriggling is one of the lowest forms of locomotion. The waddling of geese partakes of the same nature. In worms,,the many rings of the body, so similar to each other in form and size, move on themselves, and then move all together, and thus the creature progresses. In pepe the abdbiheti moves upon the forward part of the body; the insect jerks about by the motive power residing in the abdomen. Here is indeed a localization of the power of motion, and something is gained in the rising scale. Now the Crus- tacea, or crabs and their allies, all move by jerking. Watch the microscopie Cypris or larger Cyclops, i in its swift circumnavigation of a drop of water. It moves both by its thoracic legs, and by the Isomat 84 INSECTS AND THEIR ALLIES. power of its abdomen or hind-body, as it swims through — its little “world of waters” by jerks. So also the Am- phipod, a crab-like being, higher in the scale than the _ water flea, darts from weed to weed in the clear cool waters of tidal pools, by most gracefully jerking its abdominal rings. So also the clumsy crab clambers ~ cautiously obliquely backwards over the pebbles by a jerking sort of gait; and the lobster carelessly bends its tail beneath its breast, and like a flash, lands softly a fathom away, in its course leaping the Laminaria swaying to and fro in the ebbing tide. Compare with these stiff and clumsy motions, the flight -of a swallow-tailed Butterfly, as it emulates all the mo- tions of an eagle in its majestic flight over forests and through sequestered glades. The lowest of butterflies, the small dun colored Hesperiadx, or Skippers, jerk as they fly. Or compare again the swift, vivacious, inquis- itive motions of an Ichneumon fly, just as it has alighted upon a leaf. See the intensity of life in every dovanai of its open, restless wings ; the head turning this way and that, with the vibrating feelers and threadlike waving antennæ, prompted by the nervous energy within ;, its arching abdomen directing each incessant and swift dart- ing movement of its ovipositor, while running from leaf to leaf in its anxious search for some unlucky caterpillar in which to lay its eggs. In this tiny insect is a special- D a Ee: 85 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. BY L. TROUVELOT. Oe (Continued from page 38.) It is astonishing how rapidly the larva grows, and one who has no experience in the matter could hardly believe what an amount of food is devoured by these little crea- tures. One experiment which I made can give some idea of it: when the young silk worm hatches out, it weighs one-twentieth of a grain; when we days old it it weighs sa grain, or D times the original weight. : grains ‘‘ 30 ae ae ae ac 81 és Ls 620 “ ae ¿t “ 40 ét it ae “es 90 ae ce 1800 “ce ae i “ 56 ac se ae ee 207 ae ét 4140 ae é 4 When a worm is thirty days old it will have aE about ninety grains of food; but when fifty-six days old it is fully grown and has consumed not less than one hun-. dred and twenty oak leaves weighing three- fourths of a pound; besides this it has drank not Jess than one-half an ounce of water. So the food taken by a single silk Cocoon of Tela Polyphemus. a E worm in fifty-six days equals in weight eighty-six thou- sand times the primitive weight of the worm. Of this, about one-fourth of a pound becomes excrementitious matter; two-hundred and seven grains are assimilated and over five ounces have evaporated. What a destruction of leaves this single species of insect could make if only a one-hundredth part of the eggs laid came to maturity! A few years would be sufficient for the propagation of a num- ber large enough to devour all the leaves of our forests. 86 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. When fully grown, the worm which has been devouring the leaves so voraciously, becomes restless and crawls about the branches in search of a suitable place to build up its cocoon; before this it is motionless for some time, holding on to the twig with its front legs, while the two hind pair are detached; in this position it remains for some time, evacuating the contents of the alimentary canal until finally a gelatinous, transparent, very caustic fluid, looking like albumen, or the white of an egg, is ejected ; this is a preparation for the long catalepsy that the worm is about to fall into. It now feels with its head in all directions, to discover any leaves to which to attach the fibres that are to give form to the cocoon. If it finds the place suitable, it begins to wind a layer of silk around a twig, then a fibre is attached to a leaf near by, and by many times: doubling this fibre and making it shorter every time, the leaf is made to approach the twig at the ce necessary to build the cocoon; two or three leaves are disposed like this one, and then fibres are spread between them in all directions, and soon the ovoid form of the cocoon distinctly appears. This seems to be the most difficult feat for the worm to accomplish, as after this the work is simply mechanical, the cocoon being made of regular layers of silk united by a gummy sub- stance. The silk is distributed in zig-zag lines of about one-eighth of an inch long. When the cocoon is made, the worm will have moved his head to and fro, in order to ute Da a about two hundred and — aap THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 87 spread over all the inside of the cocoon. The larva con- tinues to work for four or five days, hardly taking a few minutes of rest, and finally another coating is spun in the interior, when the cocoon is all finished and completely air tight. The fibre diminishes in thickness as the com- pletion of the cocoon advances, so that the last internal coating is not half so thick and so strong as the outside ones. l During the process of spinning, the worm contracts and diminishes in size, as the silk reservoirs empty. Six or eight days after the beginning of the cocoon, the worm casts its last larva-skin, and then appears under a very dif- ferent form—a transitory one, which is neither worm nor moth; it is the chrysalis or : pupa. When the chrysalis comes out of the larva skin, if observed closely, it will be seen that its resemblance to a the perfect insect is striking ; Pupa of Tin Piesk a: the antennæ, the head, the legs and abdomen resemble very much those of the moth. The wings only, are very small, but in a few minutes they grow to about half the size of the abdomen. The legs of the chrysalis, at- least the tarsi, are enclosed in the articulated leg of the and third segments, and the antenne are rolled up in the lobes of the cranium. When the chrysalis comes out, every part is detached and free, and if then put in alcohol they will remain so; but when left to its natural course it will soon be observed that a general envelope covers the whole chrysalis, and that any motion of the legs, wings and antennz is impossible, since the insect is contained in the hard brownish envelope secreted by its tegument, and 88 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. now resembles an Egyptian mummy. If before the shell of the pupa has become hard, an antenna, a leg or a wing be changed from the position that the insect has given to it, that part of the body which would otherwise have been covered by the part removed out of place, will remain of a different color and of a thinner consistence, and an insect thus treated will not generally live to arrive at the imago state. Before the last transformation is accomplished, the insect takes a long rest, and this period is the longest of its life ; if it can be called an existence to live without eating, breath- ing, or even, probably, without having any distinct sen- sation. The pupa spends about nine months in this tor- por, and braves the hardships of winter, notwithstanding all the changes of the temperature, being frozen as hard as a stone. It is only when the warm spring days come that life awakens, and the pupa is transformed into a insect. w a worm be opened longitudinally, even when half grown, there will be found in the female a vast num- ber of little globular white bodies attached to a fine tube on each side of the stomach. These little bodies are the eggs of the future female moth, as yet in a rudiment- ary state. This is the only method of distinguishing the female from the male, while in the larva state. I have never Peeni able to find any other character: by which to pS THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 89 sure twenty five inches in length; these two reservoirs become very narrow as they approach the mouth, and unite together, terminating in a special contractile organ, attached beneath the mouth. When spinning, the silk is thrown out from the two reservoirs at the same time, and the thread is in reality composed of two distinct fibres which can be easily separated. The silk in the reseryoirs is sometimes used in com- merce, being sold under the name of “gut.” The pro- cess of obtaining the gut is very simple; it consists in preparing worms ready to spin by putting them in strong vinegar for eighteen hours; a transverse opening is then carefully made on the under side and about the middle of the body, taking care not to injure the silk reservoirs which are very distinct. The glands, or reservoirs, are then taken out and stretched parallel to each other on a board, and dried in the shade for several days. The Enemies of the Silk Worm. Birds are the most formidable foes to the silk worm, especially the Thrushes, . Cat-birds and Orioles. It is probable that ninety-five out of a hundred worms eat the chrysalis enclosed within the cocoon. Among insects they have many enemies, such as various spiders, ants, bugs and sargoria Linn. Ichnenmon Parasite : “wasps; but their most n the larva of Telea Polyphemus AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 12 90 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. dangerous foe is the Ichneumon fly. A Tachina-like fly also deposits its eggs in the body of the larva. The Ichneumon flies can pa seen in summer flying about bushes in search of caterpillars in which to deposit their eggs, and I have observed them often flying for an hour among shrubs where no worms were feeding, for which they searched carefully, peering under almost every leaf. When an Ichneumon detects the presence of a worm, she flies around it for a few seconds, and then rests upon the leaf near her victim; moving her antenne very rapidly above the body of the worm, but not touching it, and bending her abdomen under the breast, she seizes her ovipositor with the front legs, and waits for a favorable moment, when she quickly deposits a little oval white egg upon the skin of the larva. She remains quiet for sometime and then deposits another egg upon the lar- va, which only helplessly jerks its hae every time an egg is laid on it. She thus lays some eight or ten eggs” which adhere so firmly to the skin, that it is very difficult to take them off. After several days these eggs hatch out, and the small white larve e be seen at work as soon as they are out of the eggs, digging their way under the skin of the worm, on whose fatty portions they feed. The caterpillar, however, continues to eat and grow, and lives long enough to make its cocoon, but when once enclosed in it, ma parasites which prey upon it have already eaten the fatty portions, and now at- : the vital parts of the larva, which they speedily con- — THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 91 of them can find food enough to enable it to arrive at maturity; so probably the strongest one devours its weaker brethren when food becomes scarce, or else they die from hunger. Description of the larva of Polyphemus. When fully grown this larva measures over three inches in length, and the body is very thick. The head is of a light chestnut brown color; the body of a handsome transparent light yellowish green, with seven oblique lines, of a pale yel- lowish color, on each side of the body; the segments are each adorned with six tubercles, giving rise to a few hairs, which are tinted sometimes with orange, with a silvery spot on the middle; there are six rows of protuberances, two on the back and two on each side, and the oblique lines run between the two rows of lateral tubercles uniting the lower one to the upper one by a yellowish line. The un- derside of the body is longitudinally striped with a faint yellowish band ; the spiracles are of a pale orange color, and the feet are brown. The posterior part is bordered by * apurplish brown angular line similar to the letter V. Description of the Pupa. The pupa is much of the form _ and size of a robin’s egg ; the color is dark chestnut-brown, 7 Mr he Sa BE song te’ ere The : for sete T (Imig) atthe Syriopeta of Lepidoptera, by Dr. J. G. Morris*, only observing that there are at least six varieties : the yellow, the fer- ruginous, the brown, the greenish, the pale cream color,and another variety with the black lumule on the secondaries replaced by a ferruginous spot. The male can be — | *Published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 92 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. distinguished from the female by its lighter form, and by its smaller abdomen, which is not so highly coloured as that of the female; but the most striking difference is in the antenne ; those of the male are pectinated, broad, and like two feathers adorning the head, while those of the female are narrow and very much smaller. Description of the Egg. The egg is about one-tenth of an inch in diameter, almost eylindmeat; with the two ends convex. The cylindrical surface is brown, with a narrow white spot about one-half the width of the egg; the two convex parts are white. One hundred of them weigh on the day they are laid, eight grains, but an evaporation of the fluid contents of the body takes place, and on _ the day the young hatch out, the same number weigh only six and two-third grains. One hundred and ten empty shells weigh one grain; about six thousand worms are equivalent in weight to one ounce. I will now proceed to give some instructions as to the rearing of the worm. They will be easily understood, if I have been clear enough in explaining the natural history of the Polyphe- mus Silk Worm. Selection and preservation of Cocoons intended for Stock. The cocoons’ intended for the propagation of the species for the following year, should be carefully selected. AS a general rule the female larva is larger than the male ; 50 _ the cocoon of a female is also larger than the male cocoon. I estimate a cocoon to be a very good one, and the pupa vithin healthy, when it is heavy for its size, and resists” | ssure between the fingers, not being de- About one-half of the ‘Humber aaa THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 93 the smallest, but among the intermediate ones. When properly selected, they should be placed beyond the reach of rats or mice, in boxes, baskets or bags. The boxes should be stored in a cold, dry room, or cellar, where the temperature does not get above forty-five degrees, for if the temperature be higher, they will be liable to hatch before winter. While the temperature should not go above forty-five degrees, it can descend indefinitely with- out injury to the pupa. Hatching out of the Moth. Towards the end of May, in the latitude of Boston, the temperature sometimes reaches seventy degrees. I have said above, that a heat of fifty or fifty-five degrees continued for some time, is sufficient to put in activity the causes which transform the pupa to perfect insects. So about the middle of May, the cocoons should be taken out of the cellar and put into the hatching room, as the time approaches when the perfect insect will appear out of its prison. Tables or shelves should be placed in the hatching-room to lay the cocoons upon. Theyshould be spread out, and not piled one upon the other, as the insect in coming out would get to the surface with diffi- culty. Over the tables or shelves where the cocoons are placed, should be hung pieces of cloth, or net, to which -the insect can easily attach its hooks, for the purpose of all llowing its wings to develope. The perfect insect rarely comes out before noon, and very few after five o'clock in the afternoon. One should watch the process of exclusion, in order to help the insects when they do not readily find the net, or cloth to cling to, and also to remove those which disturb others whose wings are al- ready expanding. The rays of the sun abould not fall directly upon the cocoons, as the heat would cause a rapid evaporation, which would certainly kill the chrysalis. 94 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. Towards the evening of the day on which the moths leave their cocoon, an equal number of both sexes should be placed in the same cage, and after pairing, the females should be kept until they die, which will occur in four or five days after their union. The eggs which are stuck to the cage with gum, should be scraped off with a wooden, or whalebone knife, and then spread in a large pasteboard box to dry thoroughly. A ticket, with the date stating — when the eggs have been laid, should be put upon the box, so as to indicate the day the worm will probably hatch. The length of the period of incubation depends entirely on the temperature, but in June, the incubation generally lasts twelve or thirteen days, while in August the period is two days shorter. Eight or ten days after the eggs have been laid, they should be placed in the hatching box, — - Which should be made of tin, and about three inches long, : two inches broad, and one andahalf inches deep. In the middle, a narrow longitudinal band of tin should be- soldered, and bent so as to form a hook by which the box may be hung to some twig or branch. The box should be painted, and before it is dry sand should be sprinkled over it, so as to make a oe surface upon which the: worm can crawl with ease. The larve hatch out from five to ten o’clock in the morning, and the attendant should be ready at that time to piece, = box apar a branch which has its erani r La branch of moderate size for four or five days, and 95 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. BY EDWARD 8S. MORSE, (Continued from page 16,) We commence the specific description of the Land Snails .of New England with a group of the larger forms, of which Helix albolabris offers a fair example. It would be more natural to present first a chapter on the classification of the animals to be considered, but we think it better that our readers should first become acquainted with the forms to be classified, that they may the better understand and appreciate the principles upon which the species are grouped into genera and families. In fact, more or less familiarity must be acquired on the general and special history of any group of animals before one can clearly comprehend its classification. It would be proper that the slugs, or those snails without external shells, should first engage our attention; owing however to the want of sufficient material for accurate figures, we prefer waiting till the spring opens, and an opportunity is afforded to examine fresh specimens, be- fore presenting a chapter on this group. In order that the descriptions of the following species may be understood, _ We present an explanation of the various terms used in ce Spire eer twists, or , Me. whorls of the shell, excepting the last ~~ Ss.) or outside whorl, which is called the » sto — body whorl, Bw. The spire is said to be elevated, when the apex and whorls rise | above the body whorl, and depressed i a when the whorls do not rise above each other. 96 THE LAND SNAILS Apex, a, is the beginning of the spire, or the part first formed. : Base, is that region of the shell opposite the apex. A shell rests on its base, when the apex is uppermost. Suture, s, is the seam, or line of division between the whorls. : Umbilicus, u, is a cavity left in the central axis of the shell, around which the whorls revolve. The umbilicus is seen from the base of the shell. The umbilicus is said to be open when a distinct perforation appears in the base of the shell; closed, when a portion of the lip extends over it, (as in the adult condition of the shells of many species), and absent, when the whorls revolve so a as to leave no central space. Lip, l, is the border of the aperture. When the edge of the aperture is sharp, the lip is said to be simple. — When produced into a flange, it is called a reflected lip- The columella is that portion of the aperture nearest the — centre of the shell. Strie, st, or lines of growth, are minute lines, noni parallel with the border of the aperture, and indicate the successive enlargements of the shell. Nearly all shells have an outer coating of animal mat- ter, called the epidermis. After the death of the animal - this coating soon loses its color, and wears away, leaving the shell faded and bleached. : Heux ALBOLABRIS Say. The general description of this . n in our first number need not be repeat OF NEW ENGLAND. 97 brown, or greyish. The granulated markings on the body are very distinct. The shell is uniformly light yellowish or russet brown, having from five to ,six whorls. The aperture is bordered by a broad white lip in adult speci- mens; the lower portion of the lip extending over the umbilicus. Fig. 2 represents the shell be- = fore it has attained its complete growth; the umbilicus is open, and the lip is sharp. The presence of a reflected lip, in those species which have it, always indicates maturity. The ordinary diameter of the shell is one inch, though it sometimes attains a larger size. This species occurs throughout the United States, with the exception of the Pacific coast and the extreme Southern States. They are found in well wooded districts of oak, maple and beech, and oftentimes occur in great numbers on islands. They can be easily kept in confinement, and the shells of those raised in this manner are much more symmetrical and delicate, than those found wild. In order to raise them, it is only necessary to procure a wooden box, or better, a deep earthen bowl, and after filling to the depth of two inches with damp earth from — the woods, place a few bits of bark for the snails to lurk under. It is well to imitate as nearly as possible the con- : ~ dition of their native haunts. As the earth becomes dry, pees Pere the snails at the same time. They may be fed on flour or meal mixed with water, and occasionally a tender leaf of cab- bage or lettuce, of which they are very fond. The young can be easily raised from the egg by observing the above conditions. The eggs, from thirty to fifty in number, are laid in early spring, and hatch in the space of three or — four weeks. The snail when first hatched from the egg, AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 13 98 THE LAND SNAILS is quite unlike its parent. They attain their complete growth, in from two to three years. HELIX THYROIDES Say. (Fig. 3). The shell of this spe- cies resembles very much that of Helix albolabris, but differs in being smaller, slightly more globose, and in having its umbilicus only partly covered. The chief point of difference lies in the prominent tooth-like process on the inner lip. The shell is yellowish horn color; whorls five, finely striated with — lines of growth; aperture bordered by a broad white lip; inner lip furnished with a white tooth; umbilicus only partly closed; diameter three-fourths of an inch. Dr. : Gould says that, though by no means common, this shell occurs in nearly all parts of Massachusetts. It must be — considered a rare shell in New England, though it is a very common species in New York, the Western ioi some of the Southern States. Herx Savu Binney. (Figs. 4, 5). This patai was 4. 5. named by Dr. Amos Binney, in honor of : Thomas Say. The shell is depressed and thin ; color shining russet; whorls five, or six; aperture rounded, bordered by & narrow white lip, with a slight project- ing tooth near the uinbilieds:: There is also a prominent white tooth on the in- ner lip; umbilicus open, allowing all the volutions to be seen; diameter nearly = one inch. The animal is light reddish the aor ai Pret This species, though ighout F tis northern portion of OF NEW ENGLAND. 99 and several places in Maine. It seems to prefer mountain. slopes and hill sides. We have picked up the empty shell in numbers, on hill sides that had recently been burnt over, and the collector will often find clearings of this nature, that is where a light hardwood growth has been recent- ly burnt, a good collecting ground for the larger Helices, as the leaves under which they hide become burnt, and the snails are thus exposed, oftentimes uninjured. We extract the following from Binney’s Monograph of the Land Snails of the United States, p. 181: “On the third day of July, 1836, I discovered an individual of this species in the act of laying its eggs, in a damp place under a log. I * transferred them, with the animal, to a tin box filled with wet moss. The eggs were not much more than half as’ large as those of H. albolabris Say ; they were white, ad- hering together very slightly, flaccid, and apparently not entirely filled with fluid. During the succeeding night the number had increased to about fifty, and in a few hours they became full and distended. As the Snail now began to devour the eggs, I was obliged to remove it. On the twenty-ninth of July, all the eggs were hatched: the young snails had one whorl amila a half; the wnbilioas was open; the head and tentacles were bluish-black, and the other parts whitish and semi-transparent. They im- mediately began to feed, and made their first repast of the pellicles of the > SRS er e Et N just emerged. They grew rapidly, and @ before the middle of October, when they went into winter quarters, they had increas- ed their bulk four or five times, beyond their original measurement.” HELIX DENTIFERA Binney. (Figs. 6,7). Shell with spire flattened, convex below, 100 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. whorls five, with delicate oblique striæ; the aperture is flattened towards the plane of the base. The lip is broad and white, inner lip having a prominent tooth; diameter three-fourths of an inch. The animal is gray- ish on the sides, with the back darker. This species may justly be considered rare, as wherever it occurs, it is generally found sparingly. Dr. Binney found it on the eastern slopes of the Green Mountains. They were at one time numerous in the town of Stratford, Ver- mont. Four specimens only have been found in Maine, and these were discovered either on the slopes or sum- mits of mountains. It has never been collected in Mas- sachusetts to our knowledge. It occurs in Ohio, New* York and Pennsylvania. It will be hardly necessary for me to state, that the de- scriptions already given, and those which are to follow, — are mainly intended for those who are forming, or wish to form collections in this pleasing branch of Natural His- | tory. To such we feel that no apology is needed for the necessary dryness of specific descriptions, and we know — the figures will be acceptable, as the works in which — these species are illustrated are rare and expensive, and many of them have not heretofore been given with any 101 REVIEWS. _—oe PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE GEOLOGICAL VEY O SAS. G. C. Swallow, State Geologist. celiac atthe ihe. 8vo. Besides the General Report by Professor Swallow, this preliminary summery of the results of the Survey or Eastern and Central Kansas, contains wk reports upon the economical Geology of ten counties, by Maj. F. Hawn, with Reports upon the Climatology of the State, by Dr. Tiffin Sinks, and upon the “Sanitary Relations of the State,” by Dr. If the survey yh tay established the eas of extensive depo- sits of Gypsum, Salt, or Coal, it would have thrice repaid its expense to the State. Incalculable wealth may result ie a proper use of these discoveries, and the attractions they offer to the capital and la- r of the east are very great. The soils of the numerous valleys, and beds, with: their ‘“ gypsum marls,” are described as extremely rich. Even the Coal Measures, here unusually productive, are covered by the bluff formation which makes “the very best soils of the State.” The purely scientific interest of the Report we have no space to mention; it is almost wholly devoted to Economical Geology, and in this res- pect partakes of the general want of completeness manifested in many of our State Reports. This is in no way attributable to their scientific authors, but to the very limited pecuniary aid given them by our lators. This must necessarily render many of our State pepe super- ficial, and greatly inferior in point t of information and economical ‘value to what they might be, were the work of the American Geolo- gist an Pert ar by popular ey e E pe - n A AR hein State ap- — ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD oF Waticce OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FOR 1865. Wasklagion. 1866. 8vo. There are but few naturalists, especially those residing away from the scientific centres of our country, who have not been aided and en- 102 REVIEWS. aged in their studies, either by the private correspondence or Sabiha works of the Smithsonian Institution. How many youn naturalists, and we speak from a nal experience, scattered over ' the country, away from libraries and the stimulus of scientific inter- course, owe to this oP ri founded by the bequest of Jam Smithson, of England, ‘‘for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men,” a great part of their success in investigating natural Phenom: ena! No institution known to us, in any land, has by such a wise and economical management of its funds, done so much for the advance- : ment of all departments of science. or has been accomplished b the wide and generous distribution of its numerous publications, the use of its large and unique library of anit periodicals, its dupli- cates from the Museum of Natural History, and its loan, necessarily Apai of meteorological instruments, together with its ready aid to ucting original rer abt em and by its general sympathy with tie aaa scientific cultur The present volume, printed a distributed as a Congressional est at to of Man. Throughout the text are distributed numerous cuts illustrating the implements of the age of Stone, of Bronze and of Iron. The report of this able and cautious oi te —— out clearly the fact “that it — ‘was the same people who inhabited our soil [Switzerland] during the ages of Stone, and of Prone, and up to the time of the invasion as Helvetians.” 103 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. BOTANY. small tertiary basin, at Brognon, north-east of Dijon, in the depart- ment de la Cote d’Or, the following abstract of which is from L’ Institut of July 25:—‘ The vegetable remains are referable to 13 species of 12 genera, which are Flabellaria, Quercus (2), Migrica, Ficus, Cinna- momum, Andromeda, se Ilex, Zizyphus, Xanthozylon, Cercis, Pecop- teris. he an G namomum ally this flora to that of Japan; the jujube to that of Timor; Androinoda to that of the Isle Maurice. The maple and the holly still preserved at Armissan, es Monod, (Eningen, in the d@’Aix,’ and in the Swiss ‘Molasse The author concludes as ities; t : lst. That during the period when the flora of Brognon flourished, there was in this lo- uya San water lake, very rich in Saletan ms sediments ts by the agency of which the 2nd. That the age of the lake may be determined oe comparison with analogous de- Posits; it should probably ehi berg in the Lower Mioce 3rd. That this flora cons f a mixture of tropical and temperate forms, and such that characterize the Anon a Mexico and Central dancin: and that the temperature of Europe, sortable gd epoch, was to these regions.—R. Tate, Tita Oct, 1, 1866, my by, T adopted pan ri colours. Dla bate png pn ih ok, whch wa the Size of my sheets of the then placed i I fender, o or r on the hob, or in i oven if it were not too hot, and in three the whole batch of spe- cimens was perfectly dried. It required alittle care e to take them out at the right moment, when they were baked just enough, and not too much; but this care being given, the success of the plan was perfect. Many specimens still in my herbarium bear witness to the superiority of such sie gee drying over the old method.”—F, T. M. Loboro ugh. r Method.—‘‘ I have adopted the plan of drying Pena by heat for some ap o on the recommendation of a friend. Withsome plants 104 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. it acts very well, but not with others. Much depends on the mode of doing it. It should be done gradually, and with an iron not too hot. My friend told me that he had taken nearly two hours in thus drying a plant, but he found himself well rewarded. , I have Orchis fusca now that I ironed out in 1863, and it has lost very little of its colour. Oph- rys muscifera looks well ironed; so do grasses.” — Henry Utlyett. Hard- wicke’s Scientific Gossip, Aug. 1, 1866. ———-*«>o— ZOOLOGY. FLIGHTS or Butrrerriies.—In Europe, we have had notices of re- markable flights of swarms of butterflies; but Sir Emerson Tennent, in his work on the Natural History of Gaston, has related ie instan- ces of “flights of these delicate = ea generally of aw * yellow hue, apparently miles re: and of such Prodigio ex- tension as to occupy hours and even i, uninterruptedly in their passage” :— migrations, in Ceylon, were mostly Cal- . ck Marie, C. Alemeone and C. napig with straggling individuals of the genus Zup- oras and £. Their iiaa direction. A friend of mine travelling from Kandy to Kornegalle, drove for nine miles through a cloud of white butterflies, which were passing across the road by he went.” p. : ero GEOLOGY. Tue First remem OF MAN ON OUR PLaNET.—‘‘Although per- haps more interesting in arnbaii ix than in a geological point of view, we cannot altogether exclude from our notice the phenomena ~ attending the first appearance of Man on our planet. The discoveries of the last few years have cee shown that the opinions for- merly entertained of a great break existing between the period when the now extinct races of Mammalia dwelt in our land, and the first cre- ation of man, are no longer tenable. Here also we have been obliged to give up the sariga of great bre as hetwecii Successive fo formations. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 105 the recently discovered Foraminifera of the Laurentian gneiss.”— An- niversary Address of the President (Sir R. I. Murchison) of the Geological Society of London. 1866 Tue EOZOÖN IN Austria.—“ Prof. Hochstetter, after long and labo- rious search, has succeeded in saan in the crystalline limestone of Krummau, in South-western Bohemia, agglomerations of calcareous spar and serpentine, which have vile declared by Dr. Carpenter, to whom specimens had been sent for examination, to be undoubted re mains of Hozoon. pest ered se thinks the lenticular nodules partly composed of calcareous spar serpentin uin so abundant in the vicinity of the graphitic prt z Biwa rzenbach and Mugerau, to be ssibly of organe origin. f. Gümbel has batey’ found the Eozoön in the crystall ribet aah at Bavaria.”— Quarterly Journal of the Pies Ba il y. London. 1866 The oon is the earliest ra of animal life known; it belongs to the iwek type of animals, the Protozoa, and has only been found in the oldest rocks on the globe: i. e., the Laurentian System, consist- ing mostly of gneiss, limestone t syenitic rocks. It was first dis- covered in Grenville, Canada, by the Canadian Geological Survey, and afterwards in Connemara, Ireland. Singsaas CORRESPONDENCE. Wasps AS MARRIAGE-PRIESTS TO PLants.—‘‘Among these Wasps (though technically not a wasp at all), is a fine, handsome insect which has greatly piqued what itis? It is near the a au or the Scoliide Ooa Dae p aimes materially, I think, from | the m is as bu outs a \ highly ae gnified, I enclose. I think from the pearance of the spines upon the tarsus, that nearly °f ® wasp’s leg. all of them have borne these appendages, which have been broken off of such as are now without them. The terminal lobe of the appendage is light green, while the enclosed granules (or cells) are AMERICAN NAT. VOL. I. 14 106 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. SNEM., a geerood A Cleeenication of Poor, TON = fig. se p. aie ¥*a probab ly sir ni l- pus of one of the Larride, and surmises that it was an dns result of diseas From the general appearance of these appendages, their existe on all of the tarsi, and on all of the insects of this species hitherto examined by me, I do ote think they result from disease, but are cha- racteristic of the insect.”—-T. Chambers, Covington, Ky. he wasp is evidently allied to Tachytes, one of the Larride. We trust our correspondent will, during the coming season, secure speci- mens for accurate identification, and renew his observations on a point so interesting alike to the cope a and Botanist We sent Mr. Chamber’s drawings to Mr. Horace Mann, of Cam- bridge, without reem that the insect had been seen on the Ascle- pias, who thus write “I received your sii) with the very interesting sketches in it, last evening. The masses which have attached themselves to the wasp’s leg, are, as you suppose, pollen, that of some species of Asc lepias, the Milkweed or Silkweed. By referring to Gray’s Manual of Botany you will find the structure of the flowers described on p. 351, and by refer- ring to his Systematic and Structural Botany you will see it figured on p. 459. I showed the drawings to Dr. Gray, who was very much delighted with them, and begs; as I do, that you will have a wood-cut made of the small one, to show what a quantity the wasp managed to pick up in his perigrinations. A cut reduced to half the size of the drawing would atte every purpose, and be very interesting and in- structive to Botanis' In our specimen a Tea there are four pollen masses attached to the spines on two of the legs. They evidently adhered to the spine by the viscid base of the pollen mass. They agree well with the draw- ing of Mr. Chambers, of which we give a wood-cut reduced one-half. In regard to works on the Hymenoptera, or bees, wasps, etc., of this country, you will find many species described in H. de Saussure’s great work on the Vespidæ (Monographie des Guepes Sociales, Paris et Genève, 1853-58, 3 vols., 8vo). You will also find the Catalogue of Hymenoptera in the British NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 107 Society of Philadelphia, the Proceedings of the Essex Institute, the Boston Journal of Natural History, and the Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York.—Eps. NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. New ENGLAND REPTILES IN Aprit.—The month of gladsome sounds has come! The little ‘“‘pee-weep-ing” Tree Toads, with their high-pitch- ed whistling notes, will soon convince you of the fact, if you are so fortunate as live without the city walls; for on ‘the first balmy evening, when Nature seems to open her heart and voice, you will be strongly impelled to stroll beyond the limits of your recent walks, and be you ever so stoical, you cannot close your ear to the joyous ` sounds that will rise from every swamp, ditch, and poo Yes! the little Tree Toads have left their winter homes, and come forth to aay in joyful chorus that Spring is here; that th cold and erth rds are over, and to bid us welcome the bright úi happy ones toc Let us accept ae tavitatiod and visit the spot where the little revel- lers of night invite us so cordially. With what joy do they ad anticipate our coming—what music to the sympathetic ear. ten thousand little throats are sounding their welcome. Wace are near them.. Hush! all is still.—One timid, cautious note, peep, strikes our ears, and, regardless of prospective colds, we seat ourselves on the damp bank resolved to see the little musician; assuring the little pipers by our quiet and attentive attitude that we will listen to their song of joy and greeting. Peep, peep, comes from a spot not far away. Another pee-e-p, ; then pee-weep, pe-weep, pe-weép, pe-wèep, and the chorus is at its height. The thousand invis- ' that we love their not or all will be hushed; for these little minstrels are jealous of their pointed head rise cautiously above the water, and then,—pee- weep. Yes! there is one of the little fellows! and we return home ed by their music, and contented that we have discovered the pas acter of these happy little choristers of spring, and have found them i instead of Turtieni sa the first week in this month, the Little Tree Yo (jla 108 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. Pickeringii Le Conte) will be out in abundance, and about the 10th or sth their eggs may be found attached singly to the floating vege- tation; never in strings or masses, as is the case with all our other toads. and frogs. In about twelve days the young are hatched, and are much further advanced in the tadpole state, than in our other species of frogs and toads, which do not have distinct tails, well marked heads, and the power of free locomotion for several days after they are hatched, and therefore remain during that period in the gelatinous mass surrounding the eggs; but the eggs of the Little Tree Toad not being provided with this reiii substance, a young are forced to swim about in search o , aS soon as leave them, and are, therefore, more perfectly waive to their saloi of ‘‘fish-life” from the firs The peculiar half-grunts, hatching of the Wood Frogs (Rana sylvat- ica Le Conte) are first heard, generally, about the middle of the month in ponds or even temporary pools of water. In a few days their eggs are laid in masses about three inches in diameter, attached to spears of grass, and they leave the water for their summer abode in the damp and shady woods. The eggs are onlin in esi six days, and the cies rapidly developing, attain the form of adults by mporary ; the time the _ The Casia Toads (Bufo iieii Le Conte) usually appear from the 15th to the 20th of April, when their peculiar low trilling notes are heard in every direction for a month or two afterwards. Their eggs are laid in long double strings, from about the 20th of April to the middle of May, and often even as late as June, owing, — probably, to the great ‘distance many of the Toads have to travel in order to reach the water. The tadpoles cham ty hatched peee days after the eggs are laid. The Spade-footed Toads (Scaphiopus Holorookit Baird) are more tmeerthin in their appearance, being governed entirely by the dampness ordryness of the season, and are only found in isolated localities. Often appearing by the middle of this month, they may not, "e a following oe come forth until a long summer’s rain has mad i Their a ig wai eaei V N A ns a Seay E E E ae Chih re Laa a he ORS hl be e a e a eee a a ees NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 109 | is very rapid, not more than two or three weeks elapsing before the young toads leave the water. The peculiar, harsh croaking of this singular toad must be heard to be rhe and can then never be confounded with that of any other species. The only sound we can liken it to is that of a heavily loaded, PARTE wagon rolling over hard and ah ae ground. t the last of the month we have found singular bands of eg: ciel inches in length, each band consisting of three irregular tows of eggs, which we have taken to be those of the large Tree Toad onte heard throughout the summer, but we have never en able to con- firm the supposition. The eggs collected did not solve the question, as all the tadpoles’ which were hatched from them in the course of five The other species of Frogs found in Massilie do not lay their eggs | before May or June, though they all appear from the first to the Species of Spotted Frog, Marsh Frog, or Field Frog (Rana halecina ); the Green Frog (Rana clamitans Daudin); ; and the Bull Frog (Rana Catesbyana Shaw). The several species of Salamanders (improperly called “ Lizards”) are also to be found either in water, or under stones and logs, in wet, or damp and shady localities, each according to its peculiar habits, but they do not lay their ir eggs until later in the season. The Turtles and Snakes also creep from their winter retreats, and are to be seen on ae: aon Se their toe toe ei their Hawk l i period of the year. Th g: Wt aT Oth to 20th.—During this time appear the Hermit Thrush (Turdus Jais Cab.), White-bellied Swallow, and the Golden-winged Wood- pecker or Wakeup. Chipping, Field and Savanna Sparrows arrive; also, the Willet; the Tell-tales; Least, Semipalmated, Solitary and 110 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. Spotted Sandpipers, Wilson’s or English Snipe, Golden and Field Fox-colored and Tree Sparrows, Snow Birds, Pine Robins, Song Sparrows, ee Doves, Meadow Larks, the Crow, and the smaller Hawks pai 20th to 25th.—The wusi Thrash ( Turdus mustelinus Gm.), the Pur- ple Martin, Brown or Tit Lark, White-throated and reigns hs Terns, the Green Heron and the Little Bittern arrive; some of them scarcely halting in their passage northwar 25th to 30th.—The Chewink or Jihat Bunting, Barn Swallo Chimney Swift, Cat Bird, Black and White Creeper, eiriaa Woodpecker, Least Jüputeier, Warbling and Solitary Vireos and the Whip-poor-will begin to arrive; not usually becoming common until & week or ten days later. Blue som Robins, Grass Finches, = and Song Sparrows, and Kingfishers are now nesting, or have sionally even commenced incubation.—J. A. A., Springfield, Mass. Tue Insects OF EARLY Sprinc.—In April the Gardener should scrape and wash thoroughly all his fruit trees, so as to rub off the eggs of the Bark Lice which hatch out early in May. Many injurious cater- pillars and insects of all kinds winter under loose pieces of bark, or un- der matting and straw at the base of the trees. Search should also be made for the eggs of the Canker Worm and the American Tent Caterpillar, which last are laid in bunches half an inch long on the ter- minal shoots of many of our fruit trees. A little labor spent in this way will save many dollars’ worth of fruit. The “castings” of the Apple Tree Borer (Saperda bivittata) should be looked for at the base of the tree, and its ravages be promptly arrested. Its presence can also be detected, it is said, by the dark appearance of the bark, where the grub is at work: cut in and pull out the young grub. It is the wid oe of the year to catch and kill this pest. Cylindrical bark borers. h are little round black weevil-like Beetles, often causing ea pears, etc., are now flying about fruit trees to lay their eggs; and _ many other weevils and boring-beetles, especially the Pea Weevil 2 us pisi), the bga Weevil (Elendes wis and Hylobius pales terebrans, and the NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 7 111 lives, as all are on errands of love to their kind, but of mischief to the Agriculturist. hen the May Flower lable fl in minde” —blooms, and the willows hang out their golden catkins, we shall hear the hum of the wild bee, as “ Murmurs the blossomed boughs around. That clothe the garden’s southern bound, ad - the insect hunter will reap a rich harvest of rarities. Seek no n the abdomen of various wild Bees, such as Andrena, for that ete anid of all our insects, the Tasai Childreni.* cae curious laryvæ of the Oil Beetle, Meloe, may be found abundantly on the bodies of: various species of Bombu us, Andrena and Halictus, ial their heads plunged in between the segments of the bee’s body. The beautiful moth, Adela, with its immensely long antenne, may be seen, with other smaller moths, feeding on the blossoms of the willow. nts wake from their winter’s sleep and throw up their hillocks, and the ‘‘ thriving pismire” issues from his vaulted galleries constructed in some decaying log or stump, while the angle worms emulate their six aaa a During the mild days of March, ere the snow has mel “The dandy Butterfly All exquisitely drest,” will visit our gardens. Such are various kinds of Vanessa, Grapta and Melitea. The beautiful Brephos infans flies before the snow disap- Tenues will celebrate the coming of Spring, tiene his Choral ‘dance. Such is Trichocera hyemalis, which may be see ilight on mild evenings. Many Flies are now on the wing, such as Tachina eee as ao. ee aae ma i i l y i found elsewhere, assemble in quantities about the stumps of these trees, from which the sap oozes in March and April.—A. S. P. ei a a paa EA E E See an account of this curious insect in the Proceedings of the Essex Institute, ae. 130 1865. a o 112 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Boston SOCIETY or NATURAL History. Jan. 16, 1867.—Mr. W. Win- wood Reade, referring to his own remarks at a previous meeting, stat- ed that as the Cynocephalus must have been known to the Carthage- an that this was the animal seen by Hanno in his celebrated voyage, and whose skins were hung up in the temple on the arrival home account of the manner in which the race of Fans on the West Coast of Africa entrap the Elephant, suggesting it as possible that the Elephant of the Equator differed m that of Southern Africa, in certain res- twenty, instead of large herds, while it is by no means as wary as the more Southern form. Having discovered the proximity of Elephants in the forest, the Fans build an enclosure in the neighborhood, by sur- rounding a somewhat open space of a few acres with a strong, though low fence, leaving a small opening on one side. Into this they en- tice the Elephants, by scattering food of which they are particularly the Nepongwes, who were fast dying off, owing to the insalubri the climate, and who themselves, according to their traditions, for- merly came from the ‘‘bush,” or interior. The Fans were first made known to white men by the discovery of Mr. Wilson in 1852. Essex INSTITUTE, Salem. Jan. 21, 1867.—Mr. F. W. Putnam called attention to a donation of several Snakes from Hong Kong, and re- marked on the reptilian fauna of China, as compared with that of North America. X EN EE IOM 3 ROS: a ] l a oo : TT EA AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. I.—MAY, 1867.—No. 3 ——<~“>— SOME ERRORS REGARDING THE HABITS OF OUR BIRDS. BY T. M. BREWER, M. D. THERE are few who have written upon the habits of our birds that have not inadvertently committed errors. There are none of us, certainly no ornithologists, who, with all the care they may have taken to be right, and with all possible desire to be exact, have not had occa- — sion to retrace their steps, and seek to amend their rec- ord. There is no name, however celebrated in the annals of science, but has come down to us associated with more or less of inaccurate observations ; and the more extensive ee his researches, the more brilliant his discoveries, the more shall we find the mistakes and errors he shall e -the wrong conclusi i taeae iion from too few facts, or from facts which different circum- stances, at other times, cause to assume a very different aspect. At the same time, however charitable we may be, how- _ Tant UK District of Massachusetts, AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 15 ever lenient even towards errors and incorrect statements Ae ee Bata O a PE R E 114 SOME ERRORS REGARDING that apparently might have been avoided, we should also, all of us} never hesitate to expose and to correct whatever we know to be wrong. We all know but too well, that when a grave error has once been deliberately given as a fact by a distinguished authority, how hard and appa- rently impossible it is to stop its currency as truth, and to correct the mistaken belief it has caused, and is con- tinually causing. Take for instance the statement made by one of the ear- liest explorers of the natural history of our Pacific shores, that the egg of the California Vulture (Cathartes Califor- manus) is jet black. However conflicting with all infer- ence by analogy this statement must have ever appeared to every one familiar with Odlogy, it has found its way into nearly every work on American Ornithology pa lished during the present century. In no department of natural history is extreme accu- racy so absolutely indispensable as in that to the study of | which oe writer has given his chief attention, the nest- ing and eggs of birds, which, for convenience, is called ment, will have to confess himself not an exception to the rule—to which he can find none—and must retr amend, and, if he can, efface, it will become him to peel lenient in his allusions to the mistakes mat : lo THE HABITS OF OUR BIRDS. 115 his descriptions of some of the more common ones are so full and accurate, that they leave us little to add to them. Yet even Wilson, in several noticeable instances, in writ- ing about birds that are far from being uncommon or rare, has given descriptions and accounts which the ex- perience of others, and especially those of the writer, have not been able to verify. We will speak of only a few of these instances. Let us first take the common American Goldfinch ( Car- duelis tristis), so widely distributed, so familiar to every one, and read what Wilson writes in reference to its nest and eggs: “They build a very neat and delicately formed little nest, which they fasten to the twigs of an apple tree, or to the strong, branching stalks of hemp, cover- ing it on the outside with pieces of lichen, which they find on the trees and fences; these they glue together with their saliva, and afterwards line the inside with the softest downy substances they can procure. The female lays five eggs, of a dull white, thickly marked at the greater end; and they generally raise two broods in a season.” : It appears singular to all who are familiar with the nest and eggs of the Goldfinch, which in Massachusetts, so far as the writer has observed, agree in no one thing with the abo this ¢ on could have found a place > the work of so accurate and trustworthy a writer. The explanation is not easy, nor shall we try to suggest ‘one. We will only state, that, without exception, we have ever found the egg unspotted, of a uniform white color, which, when not blown, has a slightly bluish shade. The nest is neat, but “delicate” is far from being an appropriate _ expression. It is not to be used in reference to the nest of : this bird, as we should apply it to the nest of the um- 116 SOME ERRORS REGARDING ming Bird, or to that of the Blue-Gray Flycatcher. It is not a “little” nest in view of the relative size of the bird, and we never saw one that was ever covered on the out- side with lichen. With us this bird, so far as the writer knows, never builds its nest until as late as the middle of July, and never raises more than a single brood in one season. 3 To the question: To what bird did the nest described by Wilson as that of the Goldfinch belong? we will in Yankee fashion reply by asking another. Could he by any possibility have had in view the nest and eggs of the Polioptila cærulea? This is what Wilson says in regard to the nest and egg of this last-named bird: “It arrives in Pennsylvania, from the South, about the middle of April, and about the middle of May builds its nest, which it generally fixes among the twigs of a tree, some- times at the height of ten feet from the ground, some- times fifty feet high, on the extremities of the top of a high tree in ie woods. This nest is formed of very slight and perishable materials, the husks of buds,- stems of old leaves, withered blossoms of leaves, down : frail EG which one would think haii E fo. admit the id of the owner, and sustain even ° THE HABITS OF OUR BIRDS. 117 last epithet he would think of applying to any he has seen is the word “frail.” On the contrary, if he were asked to name a bird, the nest of which combined beauty, completeness, safety, and (in view of the small size and light weight of the parent) strength, he could think of no bird he would sooner name than the one he is speaking of. Remember that the bird, as Wilson himself tells us, “but for its length of tail would rank next to the Humming Bird in magnitude.” Its nest has invariably been found, so far as we know, very large. for the size of its builder, with soft but strongly felted walls, a great depth of cav- ity, so that there is no danger of the eggs ever rolling or being thrown out by the motion of the branches, or of being broken. same thing, and Wilson may have seen one not finished, x e _ that as it may, the whole ger , of Polioptile, ao far aa _ We know, P. cærulea, P. melanura and P. Lembergii, ait have the same style of nest, and all are conspicuous for their elegance and substantial form. | The Indigo Bird (Spiza cyanea), Wilson tells us, is “numerous in all the settled parts of the Middle and East- ern States,” and yet he says“The nest of this bird is usually built in a low bush, among rank grass, grain, or _ clover, suspended by two twigs, one passing up each side; 118 SOME ERRORS REGARDING and is composed outwardly of flax, and lined with fine dry grass. I have also known it to build in the hollow of an apple tree. The eggs, generally five, are blue, with a blotch of purple at the great end.” To this we must add the negative evidence, that we - have never found this bird breeding as above described, and, so far as we know, the eggs are invariably white, with only a very light tinge of bine, and they never have purple markings at the greater end, nor have they any spots or markings whatever. One more remarkable case of incorrectness on the part of Wilson, and we pass to consider other writers. Speak- ing of the nest and eggs of the Black-throated Bunting (Luspiza Americana), he says, “They seem to prefer — level fields covered with rye grass, timothy, or clover, where ead build their nest, fixing it on the ground, and forming it of fine dry grass. The female lays five white eggs, Daa with specks and lines of black.” The position of the nest and materials is, in most cases, as stated; but the eggs are not white, and are unspotted. They are of one unvarying shade of green, strongly tend- ing to blue. Occasionally the nests are built more elab- orately than others, and on low bushes or tufts of grass a foot or two above the ground. 2 Mr. Nuttall, of all our writers who have written so : THE HABITS OF OUR BIRDS. 119 of Massachusetts, and especially of that part where Mr. Nuttall resided for many years, is the I etic mini- mus, the habits of which, its nesting and eggs, he fully describes, but all of which he attributes to iis entirely different .species which, so far as I am aware, is never found in Massachusetts: I mean the Empidonax Aca- dicus. To be sure Mr. Nuttall was not alone in this. Even after the Bairds had discovered and described the E. minimus as a new species, it was several years before the natural sequence was traced out to its legitimate end. It seems to us now remarkable, as we look back upon the past, and consider how familiar a bird the Least Fly- Catcher was to Mr. Nuttall, that he never once seems to have suspected it of being a new and undescribed species. The error made by Wilson in describing the nest and egg of the Z. Acadicus, may have contributed to delay and to prevent the discovery of the general error and of the confounding of the species. It was not until by a lucky ac- cident, a parent bird of the true F. Acadicus, shot on its nest, was sent, with its eggs and nest, to Prof. Baird, that the whole was made clear, and facts in regard to the two species rightly understood. And here the writer may as well make the confession that all the while he had _ in his own cabinet the eggs of both species, but suppos- age the one to be the Acadicus, by the rule of exclusion ~ he guessed the other to be, possibly, the egg of the minimus, and both were wrong of course. The late Dr. Henry Bryant also, one of our most acute and observing ornithologists, * calls attention to what he supposed to be an error of writers in speaking of the Acadicus, as being wild and inhabiting the most solitary places, he having found the supposed birds generally quite familiar, and breed- * Proceedings of the Boston S iety of Natural History, vol. vi. p. 430. 120 SOME ERRORS REGARDING ing near his house. He was unaware that the writers he speaks of, were not wrong in what they had said of the Acadicus, and that he and they had different species in view, the habits of which were so different as to be no- ticed by him, yet not such as to lead him to detect their specific distinctions. Of Mr. Audubon’s inaccuracies, I will not here speak at any length, nor am I willing to be suspected of any sympathy with those who have sought, on this account, to detract from the transcendent merits of the great paint- er and student of nature. While, however, we honor all that was excellent, we may at the same time, without dis- paragement to his great merits, correct whatever mistakes may have crept into his works, and even be pardoned if we enjoy a quiet laugh over some conclusions, now known to be visionary, but which his exuberant imagination, now and then, led him to put into printed words. We will take only one instance. In his account of the common Black-Poll Warbler (Den- droica striata), we find the following eloquent picture of the delight with which he first discovered the nest of this bird: “One fair morning, while several of us were scrambling through one of the thickets of trees, scarcely waist high, my youngest son chanced to seare from her nest a female of the Black-Poll Warbler. Reader, just fancy how this raised my spirits. I felt as if the enor- mous expense of our voyage had been refunded. There, said I, we are the first white men who have seen such a est.” _ It seems almost too bad to apply the touchstone of sober reality to so charming an evidence as is here given f the whole-hearted manner with which this enthusias- tic lover of ornithology devoted himself to his missions THE HABITS OF OUR BIRDS. 121 His warmth and gratification have a touch of true poet- ry. But when we know that Mr. Audubon’s whole par- ty started in the expedition from Eastport, in Maine, where they also spent several days before they commenc- ed their voyage to Labrador, and that one of his party was a near resident to Eastport; and when we further know that all around Eastport, and especially on the islands, the Black-Poll Warbler is one of the most com- mon birds, we must see at once how far a vivid imagina- tion has supplied the material for his conclusions, and that they had but little foundation in reality. We will not dwell here any further upon the state- ments occurring in Mr. Audubon’s writings, not consis- tent with the facts, as now known to us, for our limits do not permit, and the instance given above will sufficiently answer as an example of the mistakes into which his over- sanguine temperament occasionally led him. His errors, we are sure, are never intentional; his statements of facts, when he tells us they are his own, we can rely upon: but when he accepts the information of others, or draws infer- ences from insufficient data, it is then that his accounts must be received with more caution, and that he exposed himself to the unkind and bitter attacks, in which those who do not appreciate his real excellences, or who are too intolerant of what are, after all, only venial faults, spots on the face of a great luminary, have too often in- ppa worde on our own iira, and we will close these desultory remarks. The Oölogy of North America, Part I., gives several illustrations which sub- sequent investigations show to have been not so well au- thenticated as they were supposed to be when published. They are: The egg given as that of the Goshawk (Astur AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 16 122 SOME ERRORS REGARDING atricapillus), on the authority of a Western naturalist; that given for the egg of the Western Rough-Legged Hawk (Archibuteo ferrugineus), on the authority of the late Dr. Heermann; that of the Pigeon Hawk (Falco columbarius), the grounds for which supposition were given in full; and that of the Violet-green Swallow (Hirundo thalassina), on the authority of the late Dr. Webb. Subsequent discoveries of well-authenticated eggs of all these birds, quite different from those figured, seem to show that in each instance there is an error in regard to their identity. The egg figured for that of the Goshawk is, possibly, & very faint specimen of a Red-tailed Hawk’s. The Swal- low’s egg may be that of Hirundo lunifrons, and that taken for the sie Hawk’s, that of a Cooper’s Hawk. The egg given by Dr. Heermann as that of the Western Rough-leg, cannot now be determined. It evidently is not what it was supposed to be. _ Without seeking to conceal the fact that four of the - eggs figured in the Oölogy, appear not to belong to the — places in which they are found, nor to wholly absolve — the writer from so much of the responsibility as belongs — to him, of having been led into errors by the mistakes of others, he may here state that in regard to the egg © of the Falco columbarius, it was given as such at the =. as with he full expression of grave doubts as to its authenticity. All the facts, all the contradictory evi- emer pre with all possible care, and to the reader iven all the data in the writer's power, to enable ment. n e traveller, o THE HABITS OF OUR BIRDS. 123 “London Ibis,” to comment, with some impertinence, upon the want of good judgment shown in not accepting Mr. Audubon’s testimony as positive, and as outweighing what seemed contradictory to it. It is a sufficient answer to all this, to here add that by not doing as this writer now suggests, supposing the case fully made out in favor of his views, another mistake was avoided. The egg figured and described by Mr. Audubon is, in my judg- ment, not that of this bird, but of the Sharp-shinned Hawk. My English friend was, therefore, a little fast, and his comments are not based upon quite so sure a foundation as he supposed. Another time, perhaps, he will confine himself to facts within his scope. In assum- ing that Audubon was ex necessitate right, he presumed beyond his ability to establish. If, in the above pages, I have shown, however imper- fectly, to all ornithological readers, how easy it is for the most careful and best intentioned to make mistakes, to be led into errors, to make wrong deductions, and to fail to see and to correct previous wrong conclusions ; and if Fa espedially, the absolute need there is always of the iot thorough identification of the bird to which their eggs be- -= long, I shall have done all that I} d ~ Never keep in your collection, except as a. curiosity, a an egg Or nest which has not been identified. Above all, rics guess at its parentage. Never name it without the most unquestionable evidence that you are right. While there are a few eggs that are unmistakable, there are more that you can never be sure of, save by positive Mikai of their parentage. THE FOOD OF THE COMMON SEA-URCHIN. BY J. W. DAWSON, LL.D. THoueu this creature* is so common on the north-eastern coasts of North America, the nature of its food does not seem to be generally known. In dissecting some speci- mens collected at Tadoussac, Canada, last summer, I found the intestine full of small round pellets, which proved to be made up of the minute confervoid sea-weeds that grow on submerged rocks, mixed with many diatoms and remains of small sponges. It would thus appear that the curious apparatus of jaws and teeth possessed by this creature is used in a kind of browsing or grazing pro- cess, by which it scrapes from submarine rocks the more minute sea-weeds which cling to them, and forms these into solid balls, which are swallowed, and in this state passed through the intestinal canal, where they may be found in all stages of digestion. The sea-urchin is thus a kind of submarine rodent, in so far as its habits are con- cerned. From these pellets the microscopist may, after di- gesting them in nitric acid, obtain great numbers of beau- tiful diatoms (or microscopic plants, for a long time classed with the Infusoria), which are collected by the animal with its food, and whose silicious crusts escape the digestive THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. 125 process. Though the sea-urchin is thus a vegetarian, yet near the fishing stations it may often be seen to feed greedily on the garbage of the fisheries, but I have not known it to attack living animals. I fancy that its mode of life at Tadoussac, where it is found in great abundance, may be taken as representing its natural habits, when re- mote from places where the offal of fisheries and similar matters may be found. << THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. BY C. M. TRACY. ae Tuose who study plants divide them into groups which they call families. This arrangement both expresses very closely the system of nature, and commends itself to the student as being at once pleasant to contemplate and easy to understand. These families of plants are in one respect like those of men: they have their distinctive characters, and transmit them onward, from generation to generation, with great steadiness ; but, as every likeness is apt to be by a difference, these, unlike their human- prototypes, never intermingle, but keep a lineal succession more pure and guarded than even that of the children of Israel. _ In countries where the “divinity that hedges kings” is- more readily admitted and revered than among us, men- tion is largely made of families termed “royal.” By vir- tue of blood more pure, or strong, or ethereal, than runs in plebeian veins, these are supposed to furnish candidates for the diadem, whose claims are to be adjusted only by and among themselves, no competitor from without being recognized for a moment. Now without stopping to dis- cuss the rights and wrongs of this question in the light of 126 THE ROYAL FAMILIES political science, it is enough to observe, that these “royal families” have always attained their eminence, no doubt, through some high qualification of wisdom, courage, en- terprise, or wealth. Some fortunate exhibition of a strong trait has compelled an acknowledgment of prerogative from the popular mass, and this advantage the recipients have been extremely careful to maintain. On looking over the families of plants, we find royal ones there also. There are four relationships of this kind that tower above all the host that surround them. “ He above the rest, In shape and gesture proudly eminent like a tower.” Perforce, we must call them royal. The chief of the four is the family known as the Composites, or, as we pre- fer to call them, the Asterids. The eminence of this vast group was very early recog- nized. The sagacious Ray had, by the year 1700, come to see its greatness so clearly, that, instead of a mere fam- ily, or order, he was willing to call it one of the primary divisions of the great Vegetable Kingdom. No other re- lationship unites such an enormous number of plants. Lindley, in 1853, reckoned the distinet species at nine thousand, and these as making one thousand and five sec- ondary sets or genera. His estimate for the total of all known plants of every sort, is ninety-two thousand, nine hundred and thirty, so that, practically, we shall find just about one of these plants in every ten we may gather, taking the world over. There is no other case that af- rds any comparison with this. These plants are met w all over the globe, excluded neither from the tropics nor the arctic valleys, and taking rank and position, it seems, very much as suits them, irrespective of latitude. Pa Presl er sec pt, OF PLANTS. 127 ` or more than half the whole flora of the island. In Ma- jorca and its companion isles, Cambessedes says they are equally plenty. Humboldt reckons every seventh plant in France to be one, every eighth in Germany, and every fifteenth in Lapland; while in North America he finds one in every six, and on the same continent within the tropics, fully one half of the whole. The immense sweep of this family is not seen in location and numbers only. They possess every variety of stature and form. They are annuals, biennials, and perennials; the Daisy and Dandelion have no true stems at all; the Chamomile and the Cudweed are not two inches high, while the Composites of St. Helena are chiefly trees. The Hempweed climbs over bushes, and the Sweet Golden Rod lies flat on the ground. They take possession of all soils; the Marsh Fleabane demands the daily drenchings of the sea, the Dwarf Dandelion affects the dry shelves of rocky uplands, and the Sweet Everlasting is equally pleased with both. those of any given division, there is yet no re- ‘striction or fetter, for if we look at our garden annuals, we find the Golden Crepis making a mat upon the earth, and the great Sunflower, the most immense of annuals, - throwing up its tree-like stem full of enormous flower heads, till, without a figure, ies fowls of the air may _ lodge in the branches thereof. = But how is this royal dee to be aT by the = vulgar? How may the common, unbotanical eye, detect the badge of such a vegetable nobility? Not without some slight examination certainly, yet a slight amount is enough. They are called “Composites” or compound flowers, and this gives the strong point in the case in a word. A Pink or a Potato-bloom is one flower. It has only-one set of organs composing it, and its fruit, wheth- 128 ‘THE ROYAL FAMILIES er pod or berry, is one and indivisible, though it may ; contain many seeds. So of the Apple flower and the flower of the Oak, and in short of every other flower whatever, except those of these Asterids. These reverse this rule entirely. What appears as one simple blossom in the Sunflower is really an assemblage of several hun- dreds. Every seed produced in the autumn had its sep- arate and individual little flower, complete in all its parts 5.. for no one of these originates more than one seed, and besides, there are some at the centre that never ripen their seeds, and also a row of broad-leaved, showy yellow ones round the margin that form no seeds at all. Now these two features—the gathering together of many small flowers in one head, surrounded by a few green leaves, and the production by each flower of one seed and one only—these are two of the three marks that will identify this family everywhere. The third is rather more minute. In all perfect flowers, of every kind, there are two kinds of organs concerned in fertilization, and known as stamens and pistils. The latter always stand in — the centre of the flower, and however numerous they may — be, nothing is found interior to them. The stamens, 02 the contrary, are always more or less in a circle, imme- — diately surrounding the pistils. A stamen consists, usual- | ly, of a knob more or less lengthened in its form, termed an anther, and borne on a thin stem called its filament. The reader need remember no more definitions just now- : ' third character of the Asterids then is, that in every their small flowers the five long anthers of as many mens sence ag round the one ney into a straight si pistil while the filaments, OF PLANTS. 129 ‘members of this most royal family by these three badges : 1, flowers collected into a compound head. 2, one sin- gle seed to each flower. 3, five anthers grown together in a tube round the pistil. There are but three other families whose structure tends to confound them with these. These marks are even more decisive than the thick lip of the Hapsburghs. The five anthers of the Lobelids grow together just in the way described, but their flowers are never in heads, and ° their pods have many seeds. The Dipsacids, or Teazles, have flowers gathered in heads in exactly the manner of Composites, but the stamens are entirely free from each other throughout. Then there is a remarkable little fam- ily of herbs in South America, known by no common name at all, but we will call them Calycerids. They have small simple flowers in heads too, and single seeds, but the anthers are separate, or nearly so, while the filaments grow together instead. So there is very little need to mistake any of these several orders for the true royal line. The only plant that commonly meets us with any such delusive tendency is the Scabiosa, or Mourning Bride, of ae which belongs with the Teazles. It grows and beak: Lettuce, Daioni, and TOE are the very best it can do in this way; of less account are Chicory and Salsify, hardly food at all, either of them. There are very few regal houses that boast of less utility. Medicines are not wanting among them; Arnica, Wormwood, and AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 17 = the, end of all, just as “hale, concluding winter comes at _ 130 THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. Thoroughwort have a good reputation, and Chamomile flowers have scented the saddle-bags of every village doc- tor since the days of the Pilgrims. We will not forget, besides, that excellent’ oil is obtained from some; such a plant is largely raised in India for this purpose, where they call it Ramtil.. Sunflower seed produces oil, it is said, but a species of Madia seems, according to experi- ments in Europe, to have great superiority as an oil- bearer. Pasquier informs us that it gives as much oil to the acre as Poppies, twice as much as Olives, and thirty- two parts where Linseed yields only twenty-one. To those who love floral display, however, for its beau- ty alone, caring little for the degree of more material use- fulness that may be found in connection, the great family of the Asterids is a perfect treasure-house. They swarm in every garden, they shine in every green-house, and no ~ bouquet is complete without them. The Sunflower and Marigold bring their “barbaric pomp and gold,” the Dahlia, a hundred hues and all splendid, forever tempting the gardener, and forever disappointing him; the Asters have piquant sprightliness, and the Daisies and Fever- fews a pure and lovely modesty. Then we have Gaillar- dias, Pyrethrums, Humeas, Rhodanthes, Cacalias, Gaza- nias, Centaureas and Catamanches, some of which have _ common names, and more have none, all replete with — beauty, and sure to be favorites wherever flowers are reck- oned with the beloved. Nor must there be forgotten, at _ PETEERE Fs SON Pee MER Re eA Tete te sake ee E tast, and shuts the scene,” the sterling Chrysanthemums, | ever choice with the florist, ever grateful for the garden- ` er care, ever heedless. of E S and chilly cine and THE MOSS-ANIMALS. 131 Thus much for the greatest of the Royal Families of Plants. Of the others we may speak hereafter. Their importance is not less than we have ascribed to these, and in some respects they far outvie the great division before us. From the study of their extended ranks we can but gain instruction; from their wonderful involutions there ` will still shine out a new light on the workings of that Spirit at whose bidding “the earth brought forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the tree yielding fruit after its kind.” THE MOSS-ANIMALS, OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. PLATE 4. BY ALPHEUS HYATT. ——+o0—__ (Continued from p. 63. Tue blood of the Phylactolemata is colorless, resem- bling in this respect that of most of the lower animals. It is composed of the liquid products of digestion, which exude through the membranes of the stomach, diluted with water drawn in through innumerable pores perfor- ating the wall of the tube. The water is the medium of conveyance for the gelatinous, nutritious liquid, prob- There is no organ resembling a heart to keep the blood moving, and there are no closed channels, such as arteries and veins, to conduct it among the tissues of the body. The absence of the first is supplied by cilia, which cover the interior of the tubes and cells with a dense, velvety nap, and by their unceasing vibrations sustain a healthy circulation. The course of this may be traced by the numerous floating parasites, beings of the simplest or- 132 THE MOSS-ANIMALS, ganization, consisting either of a single cell, or of larger cells containing many others, the cycle of whose lives is passed within the polyzoén, feeding upon its juices. These indicate the passage of a common stream up the branches, — and a return current along the free side, which flows into each tube. Our Polyzoén, also, has no breathing organs, neither lungs or gills to bring the blood in contact with the air, of which element there is always more or less in water, serving there as upon land, for the respiration of animals. The tentacles are supposed to be more especially devoted to this purpose, and the water admitted to the interior must necessarily purify the blood by the air it brings in, but nothing more definite is now known with rogard to this function. The Moss-animals have two modes of reproduction, one by buds, the other by eggs. The former occurs in two ways, by free buds or statoblasts, and by eprori buds, which develop only in summer. : The statoblasts are destined to carry their burdens of : vitality safely through the hardships of winter, and to per- ` petuate the race by founding new colonies in the spring- They appear at first in the shape of bead-like swellings from the centre of an organie cord, which connects the stomach with the cell (plate 3, fig. 4, and plate 4, fig. 1), _ ‘passing g between the bases of the muscles,-which retract — ie tube. They begin as single cells, but these goof ite into two, then into four, and so on, indet- OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. 133 nulus (plate 4, figs. 2 & 4,w’),and in others, for example in Pectinatella (plate 4), may have the edge of the ring ornamented with delicate spines furnished with hooks. Late in autumn the Polyzodén dies, and the statoblasts are set free to float during the long winter, the sensitive germ within being protected from the frost only by their tough coatings. They retain their vitality, however, until the warmth of returning spring awakens their sus- pended powers of growth. The young Polyzoén then increases in bulk, until it splits the sheath apart, and protrudes beyond the edges. The organs are well ad- vanced when this takes place, and the tube has already acquired its adult habit of retracting the plumes upon the slightest provocation. Its youth is a sunny holiday passed inthe open water, where it swims freely by the aid of cilia, which clothe the outer surface, but the sides of the stato- blast are finally separated so widely, that they drop off, and the wanderer seeks a resting-place under some old log or stone. Here a little gelatine, which subsequently becomes the tough, brown envelope (plate 3, D), fast- ens it to the surface, and henceforth its fate is insepara- bly linked to that of an inanimate mass. When securely ea eam ones hila still free, a little bulb : n is ernable -This was primarily a tiny, saclike ao... y AN ne parent cell, close to the bases of the muscles of the fold plate l; fig. 5, Y). The throat and stomach are derived from the transverse division of the minute sac into two portions, but it remains to be ascertained whether the intestine is made by an after-growth from the stomach, or by the division lengthwise of the throat. The tentacles 134 THE MOSS-ANIMALS, arise from the thickened rim, and draw out between them a web, which afterwards receding externally, becomes the veil, and the wall of the tube is merely an elongation of the membrane connecting the rim of the sac with the parent. The cell-bulb does not protrude externally until these organs are mapped out. The young one, though sti very imperfect, begins to stretch forth its arms as soon as the cell, or cænæcium, as it is more appropriately called, is well extended, and long before the characteristics reach perfection, gives other evidences of its natural precocious- ness in the statoblasts and regular buds, which spring up in their respective places within the ccencecium. At in- tervals two buds will sprout in different directions, orig- inating new branches, and thus a dendritic colony is gradually built up, which owes its origin entirely to one animal. Consequently the outer branches are the young- est, and often, as in plants, these are vigorous and quick with life, while the parent trunk is but an empty case, — frequently with nothing left to indicate its position but — the decaying cænæcia, or their faint tracery in the slime. The second mode of reproduction, by egos, takes place | only in the newly established colonies during the earlier summer months. These eggs are little colorless vesicles, developed internally from a bead-like swelling on the free side of the wall, near the orifice. When ripe they are dropped into the cavity of the cænæœcium, and there meet - with the fertilizing filaments which have been developed i1] neither male or female, but of the collective gender, an ermaph BS o n| inir g the r A a OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. 135 The eggs eventually attain the size of a statoblast (about one-thirtieth of an inch long), and have an oval outline. When full grown, their exterior is also clothed with cilia, which render them capable of rapid motion, and at this period they may be sometimes seen squirming in the tube, and tossing the stomach about with great violence. No orifice for their emission from the body has been discovered, and we have every reason to believe there is none, and that they force their way into the world directly through the walls of the body. In fact, Mr. Albany Hancock, an English naturalist, has observed a full-grown egg, which obtained its liberty by press- ing through the closed orifice of the cell, rending and destroying the parent in its course. The cceneecia, composing the trunks of the older colo- nies, are always empty, as previously stated, in the au- tumn, and it is not improbable that they are the remains of the unfortunate parents whose death was caused earlier in the season by their restless offspring, since all, even the younger autumnal polyzoa are incapable of bringing forth eggs, and produce only statoblasts and regular buds. The polyzoén is developed from an internal bud at one end of the egg, and when sufficiently large bursts the outer envelope, coming forth like the polyzoén of the statoblast, armed with abundant cilia, by whose aid it swims. Like this, also, after a time its wandering ceases ; it seeks some dismal retreat, glues itself to the surface, and becomes the progenitor of a new colony. All Polyzoa, both marine and fresh water, in common with other attached and branching forms, such as the corals among the Radiata, have been called Phytozoa, or « 136 THE MOSS-ANIMALS. plant-animals, but, like all others of this kind, their young, born from the egg, are free. Although thus resembling corals, they are widely sep- arated from them by their structure. Each little ani- mal, when reduced to its typical form, is a simple sac containing the stomach, and is allied to the clam, the oyster, and the snail, all of which have the same plan of structure. The coral, as may be seen by looking closely into any one cell, has a number of thin plates all pointing from the rim toward the vacant centre, like the spokes of a hubless wheel, and is, therefore, related to the star-fish, jelly-fish, and others, which have the parts arranged in a star-like or radiatimg manner. Thus, while by a process of budding, animals may be grouped into shrub-like colo- nies, with an external resemblance to each other and to the plants, with which the older naturalists classed them, their internal structure may show that they belong not only to animals, but to very distinct branches of the ani- mal kingdom.—Coneluded in next number. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 4. Pectinatella magnifica Leidy. Fig. 1. Enlarged view of one lyzoGn, situated on the end of # hollow lobe. A”, cavity of this lobe; D, mass of gelatine below; E, wall of this lobe and tube; J, brown stripes in the stomach, the hepa- tic folds; M’, M", muscles for withdrawing the tube, retractors; N, N’, muscles of the fold, which in this species is very narrow. Figs. 2, 3, 4, the upper and lower side, and profile view of the sta- toblast ; W’, horny sheath; W”, annulus; W”, spines with hooks. American Naturalist. Vok- -PL 4: HYATT ON THE MOSS ANIMALS. THE TARANTULA KILLERS OF TEXAS. BY DR. G. LINCECUM. The Mud Dauber, Pompilus formosus. From SAY. An investigation of the extensive family of Mud Daubers would be an interesting and instructive study. It would necessarily include that of the various types of Spiders, from the great hairy Mygale Hentzii, down to the small- est, almost microscopic species; for nearly every type of Spiders has its special enemy among the Mud Daubers. The large, red-winged “Tarantula Killer” (the Pompi. lus formosus of Say) is, as far as I know, the largest of the dauber group. It takes its prey by stinging, thus instantly paralyzing every limb of its victim. The effects of the introduction of its venom is as sudden as the snap of the electric spark. The wasp then drags it, going back- wards to some suitable place, excavates a hole five inches deep in the earth, places its great spider in it, deposits an egg under one of its legs, near the body, and then AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 18 438 THE TARANTULA KILLERS covers the hole very securely. A young Tarantula Killer will be produced from this egg, if no accident befalls it, about the first of June of the ensuing year. This large and conspicuous insect is everywhere in Texas called the Tarantula Killer, and is over two inches in length; the head, thorax, abdomen, and long spiny legs are all black, while the wings are some- times of a bright brown, with black spots at the tips. It is armed with a formidable sting, which it invaria- bly uses in taking its prey. This sting does not kill the Mygale, but paralyzes it—suspends all animation— and in this state, in a dry place, and at the proper temper- ature, it is in a condition to resist decomposition a long time. The entire group of Mud Daubers possess the power of paralyzing their victims, and in that condition they store up their spiders, caterpillars, and other in- sects, which are to serve as food for coming generations. The Tarantula Killer pursues several other species of the large ground spiders, but the Mygale Hentzii, or Tarantula, is his favorite. I have sometimes found under shelving rocks, and other sheltered places, dauber’s nests that were doubt- less several years old. In some of the cells, where the egg had proved abortive, the spiders were there, still limber, with no signs of decomposition about them. They did not seem to be dead, but looked as if they could almost move their legs, and were perhaps not uncon- scious of their deplorable condition. I should be fright- ened at the prospect of being stung by any of the larger _ types of this group of insects. I have, however, known ie but a single ir stance of this kind. Several years ago ~a person was stung by common black dirt dauber on the shoulder near- ck; he complained of numb- OF TEXAS. 139 ness in the part for a distance of some inches around the wound, but of no pain. Its effects lasted about twenty- four hours. I think it quite probable that the large Tarantula Killer would produce a more serious inconven- ience, and perhaps paralyze the whole system. The Mygale Hentzii, the Tarantula of Texas. From MARCY, Pompilus, however, is a good-natured insect, showing no signs of pugnacity, except when she has a fine fat Ta- rantula in hand, and then she only threatens violence by spreading out her red wings, and running a little way 140 THE TARANTULA KILLERS OF TEXAS. towards the intruder. She is quite tame, and will come familiarly in and about one’s yard and house, dragging the prostrate Mygale under the floor, where she hides it from the intrusion of other Tarantula Killers, who would, if they could find it, take out the egg and put one of their own in its place, as they are remarkable for such thieving propensities. The Mygale Hentzii, on the other hand, sometimes suc- ceeds in capturing his great enemy, as I once noticed. When first observed, the Mygale had the Tarantula Kil- ler, still alive, in his mouth, holding it by the back. The Tarantula seemed to be greatly elated at its success, which it manifested by capering about, and performing various other antics, such as running suddenly at any thing or person that came near it, holding on to his victim all the time. The Tarantula Killer appeared to be conscious of her condition, and was, as far as I could discern, fully resigned to her fate, remaining perfectly quiet. I regret- ted that I could not wait to witness the finale of this af- fair : such cases do not often occur. The Tarantula Killers have severe fights with each other. It occasionally happens, when one of them suc- and makes a violent effort to get possession of the para- lyzed spider., A fight ensues, which occasionally termi- both parties; at other times the con- party drives THE BIRDS OF SPRING. 141 It is surprising to one who has been educated to be- lieve that the faculty of reason belongs alone to man, to contemplate the consummate ingenuity which is displayed by these insects in their efforts to secure their eggs from the observation of their own thieving sisters, and to hide the food they have provided for their young dur- ing the period of its existence under ground. - The Tarantula Killer feeds upon the honey and pol- len of the flowers of the Elder, and of Vitis ampelopsis, the Virginia Creeper; but its favorite nourishment is taken from the blossoms of Asclepias quadrifolium. This species of Asclepias blooms through the summer, and the Tarantula Killer seems to know the locality of every plant. If one finds on the prairie a plant of Asclepias quadrifolium in bloom, and watches ten or fifteen min- utes, he will be almost certain to see a Tarantula Killer come to it. This insect requires considerable food, as its period of life extends from the first of June until Novem- ber, or till the frost destroys all the flowers, when it seems to die for want of food, as it is often seen at this time crawling about in a very feeble state. I do not think any of them ever survive the winter, as they never appear earlier than June. oe <> THE BIRDS OF SPRING. BY J. A. ALLEN. Tue arrival of our birds during the spring is by no means uniform; a certain number coming one week and an equal number the next, either in the accession of spe- cies or individuals; nor is the increase regular and un- interrupted. At first the comers are uncertain, both as _ regards number and the time of arrival. The few that 142 THE BIRDS OF SPRING. appear in March would scarce attract attention if ap- pearing with the hosts of May, while now the animation they afford our fields and roadsides is in agreeable con- trast with the dearth of bird life in winter. April brings larger additions, and May bursts upon us with such a profusion of species, that on all sides we are greeted with fluttering, restless wings and lively notes. But the in- crease has its intermissions; the first genial period at- tracts a few, but through the succeeding colder weather their numbers for weeks may scarcely increase, perhaps, indeed, if the cold prove quite severe, actually decreasing while a following unusually mild term hastens on many that seem to have been awaiting a favorable opportunity. A cold norther occurring early in May, impedes for days the thousands of Warblers and Flycatchers that are ac- customed then to migrate. The storm perchance closing at nightfall, a mild night ensues, and with the next day’s sun the woods are alive with little industrious insect hunt- ers, that the day before the most prying observer would fail to have detected; they increase with the advance of the day, and towards night the collector finds some spe- cies common, that he had looked in vain for in the morn- ing, and the hedges suddenly become vocal with their notes. Our limits would not allow us even to enumerate all the insectivorous species,—the friends of the orchardist, the gardener, the farmer, in short, of our race, —and much more to describe their pleasing colors, their inspiriting songs, and their hundred interesting peculiarities of habit and mode of life; how some hunt their prey, creeping among the foliage, others pursue it in the air, or suddenly dart upon some unlucky insect as it passes their perch. ~ Among the woodland species the very names of the THE BIRDS OF SPRING. 143 Green, the Chestnut-sided, the Bay-breasted, the Yellow Red-poll, the Black-poll, the Nashville, the Cape May, the Golden-crowned, the Orange-crowned, the Blackburn- ian, the Golden-winged, the Spotted Canada, the Red- start, etc., some of them scarce, but most abundant for a brief period in May,—are suggestive of all that is beauti- ful in birds: gay plumage, useful habits, and sweet warb- ling notes. Among the more common and well known later emi- grants, we welcome the Bobolink to our meadows, which he alone would render attractive. Brimful of animal spirits, he gaily fiddles away all the day long, perched on some tree or fence in his favorite bogs and meadows, or indulges in coquettish gambols in the air, meeting us in our walks as we approach his grounds with a eputident outburst of tinkling drollery, so varied and fanciful we half imagine it to represent personal allusions of either flattery or derision. We welcome the gorgeously colored Oriole, and the chaste-robed Vireo to the orchard, where the loud trumpet notes of the former, and the soft, sooth- ing warble of the latter, render them as agreeable as their services are valuable to the fruit-grower. We also welcome the Red Mavis, or Brown Thrush, to the hedges, the clear- voiced Veery to the swamps and moister woodlands, the twittering swallows to their homes under the eaves and in the barn lofts. | Not least valued by lovers of the pictu- resque is the Whippoorwill, which, from the roof, the well- curb, the door-yard fence, or the remoter precincts of the woods, is heard during morning and evening twilight, or at intervals throughout the moonlit night. During the spring months we have with us nearly every species of bird that ever visits us .during the entire year, embracing of course all the resident kinds, as well as all the migratory, except a few transient winter visitors ; 144 THE BIRDS OF SPRING. even the greater part of these latter may be found, if not every year, at least occasionally during the early part of March. The migratory species constitute two classes, according to their range in the breeding season, viz. : those species that spend the summer with us, and those that altogether pass farther north. Compared with the birds of winter, they embrace a very much greater pro- portion of common species, while nearly all are regular, if not abundant visitors. The proportion of rare species is but thirty-five and one-half per cent., instead of seventy- six per cent. as in winter. The number of rapacious species has hardly increased, but the insectivorous, in- stead of being extremely few, now constitute, taking only those strictly insectivorous, fully one-half the whole, and the diet of this remaining half (especially among the land birds) is mainly composed of insects. Such are some of the changing phases of bird life in our varied climate. In the following tabular statement we give a further summary.* Whole number of species (in Spring),. . . . 280 ommon, ‘* een 4 . . 190 Rare, $e & i i ` x 90 Migrant, <«“ e hs ee ont D0 Resident, ‘“ h ‘ e z 30 Migrants that spend the summer in a Birds, 136 Southern New England, ‘ "i Water ‘‘ i Migrants that pass the summer —— d Birds, 28 north, i ‘ k k ` Water “ 80 — 108 ; 18 ir allies, . 15 5 TT aa 4. 8-8 3 * ¢* © ee 8 @ American Naturalist. FEMALE OF THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. TELEA POLYPHEMUS. Vol. 1, PI. American Naturalist. VoL E PI MALE OF THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. TELEA POLYPHEMUS. [After HARRIS.] ~ THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. BY L. TROUVELOT. (Concluded from p. 95.) Rearing of the larva in the open air. There are differ- ent ways of raising the wild silk worms. I have for two years cultivated them in the open air. I had about five acres of woodland enclosed by a fence eight feet high; a net was stretched over the bushes, which were of six or eight years’ growth. This net, supported upon posts, was intended to protect the worms from the depredations of the birds. The eggs were put upon the bushes in the little hatching-box, so that after this, there seemed ‘but very little to do. But it was not so: over so largea Space, it was impossible to keep the net in good order, and the birds managed to get under it; the small ones could go through the meshes, and the larger ones through some holes in the old net, so I was obliged to chase them all the day long, as when pursuing them on one side they would fly to the other and quietly feed, until I again re- appeared. Thus, besides the insect enemies enumerated above, many of the caterpillars fell a prey to the birds. Rearing them under a shade. This year I made a shade open on all sides, protected by a roof to keep out the hot rays of the sun, and boards were arranged so that they could be raised up from the roof to give more light when the Sun was behind the clouds, and also at morning, even- - ng, and at night. This shade had a very fine net around It, so that it was impossible for the birds to get through the meshes. In this way an oak branch can be kept fresh for four or five days; a branch is placed in every two holes, so-as to leave a vacant one between any two branches, When the foliage of one branch is nearly eaten "p, a fresh one is put into the vacant hole, and small -a ORAN aTr VOLE 19 146 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. twigs, going from the old branch to the fresh one, are placed so that the worms can cross upon it without de- scending upon the table. When the worms are attached for the purpose of moulting, they should not be disturbed or taken away from the place where they are, as they could not so easily change their skin. Three times a day the excrements should be swept from the table. In warm days some water should be sprinkled with a watering-pot upon the leaves, as the worms are fond of drinking water. The worms should be handled as little as possible, and only when it is absolutely necessary. The space that re- mains open between the branch and the table should be filled with paper or hay, so that the larvee may not crawl under the table, as they would be drowned in the water contained in the bottle. For cultivating Silk Worms upon a large scale, it would be very well to select a place with a brook running through it, as the water could be made to flow under the table, in reservoirs, where the branches could always dip in fresh water; as the water put in the bottles is soon corrupted, and the branches absorb much of it, they need to be filled up several times a day. When a cocoon is well begun, the best way will be to separate from the branch the twig and leaves between which it is built, so that other worms will not disturb the larvee working inside; this cocoon should be placed upon lines stretched for that purpose in a special room, where the sun cannot reach it. Ten or twelve days after, they will be completed, and may be placed in baskets, and kept as I have indicated above. Some experiments made on our Silk Worm show how hardy it is, being the easiest of all the silk worms to take care of. O E im nce na THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 147 which was placed in another box containing ice and salt ; the temperature soon descended to four degrees below zero. They were allowed to remain in this refrigerator for half an hour. When taken out, the chrysalids were as hard as a piece of ice; they were immediately put into acold room. Several days after this, the temperature of the room being above the freezing point, the chrysalids gave signs of life by moving the abdomen. Some years ago, wanting to keep a cocoon in my collection, I thrust ; a pin through it, and it passed through the body of a liv- ing chrysalis inside of it; this was done in the month of 3 October. Nine months after, in June of the following year, I was astonished to find a great commotion in one of the boxes of my collection; all the specimens were broken, and I found the cocoon which had been pinned in’ the box, detached and open at one end, and the antennæ, head and legs of the moth projecting out of it; the insect was still living and could not come out, as the pin passing through it had also transfixed the cocoon. Through this insect had been thrust, for nine months, a pin covered with verdigris, and yet had not been killed by it! Naturalists state that it is very important, when transporting cocoons in a box, to pierce the box with holes so that the air may penetrate it, as if air was needed for a chrysalis inside the cocoon. Having observed how close and air-tight the cocoon of the Polyphemus seems to be, I could not con- ceive that air was needed for it to breathe. Desirous of ascertaining whether my idea was correct, I took three _ €ecoons, and at two different times I covered them care- fully with a thick coating of starch, allowing the first coating to dry before putting on the second one. After ae = € cocoons were covered at three different times _ With a heavy coating of shellac varnish ; thus the cocoons ee ee ee ee ee ee Tinh ee ee 148 THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. were made perfectly air-tight. They were kept in a cold dry room all winter. In July the moths came out per- fectly healthy, the fluid they discharge through the mouth having perfectly dissolved the starch and varnish. So these insects had been nine months with no air, except the very small volume enclosed in the cocoon, and they had accomplished their transformation just as well as if the air had been allowed to come into the cocoon. : It seems to me that when once enclosed in the cocoon, the pupa is in a transitory state. The process of assim- ilation, at least during the cold days, seems to have ceased. In the stomach of chrysalids can be found an albuminous, greenish substance; probably it is a food which can be assimilated, or at least transformed into some of the liquids which are discharged by the perfect insect when coming out of, the cocoon. If there is any elaboration of the food in the chrysalis, the process must be very slow, and surely no air is needed to accomplish it, nor any food, except what little food is in the stomach. The most striking phenomena manifested by life is the assimilation and elimination of food; but to assimilate, the animal must take food, either in the solid or gaseous form. We know that the chrysalis cannot eat; breathing -is very problematical. Before changing into a chrysalis, the worm evacuates all the contents of its stomach; so, in my opinion, the chrysalis does not breathe, or if at all, it is so very slight as to be insignificant. There is not much possibility ur being able to obtain two broods of the Silk Worm in the same year in this latit ude. > earliest date at which I have obtained co- coons was he first of August, twenty-two days after the moth hatched from the cocoon. On the fifth of Septem- ide ceo peo age THE AMERICAN SILK WORM. 149 month than in July and August, the larve did not grow so rapidly, and the moulting did not take place so regu- larly. The first moulting took place on the fourteenth day, the second the twenty-third day, the third the thirty- sixth day; on the first of November, or fifty-six days after their birth, they had not accomplished the fourth moulting. I could not continue the experiment, as I left ’ for Europe the second of November; but they had frozen several times, and the leaves were very hard, in fact I do not believe that the second brood would have come to ma- turity. I do not see that it would be of any advantage to obtain two broods, as the moths do not all come out of the cocoon at the same time, but sometimes there are two months between the first and the last; so the process of rearing can go on permanently = summer, which is equal to having two broods. Cion can be retarded in hati out by being put in a very cold room—an ice-house, for instance; in this way they can be made to hatch another year, or nearly twenty-one months after they have been in the cocoon. In fact, the time of their appearance can be put back for an indefinite period, as life is nearly suspended. Reau- mur states, that, at the time he was writing, he had in his -cellar pupæ which had been there for five years, which _Were still living. I have myself kept pupe of sphingide, or hawkmoths, for three years in my cellar. At the time I went to Europe, they were still living, but on my re- ‘turn I found that the rats had eaten them. THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. BY EDWARD S. MORSE. HELIX TRIDENTATA Say. (Figs. 8,9.) The shell of this species is depressed, and of a yellowish horn color ; whorls Figs.8,9. five or six, slightly convex. Aperture con- — tracted by the reflected lip, which has two teeth, and with a curved tooth on the inner lip forms a trilobed aperture. The whorls are obliquely striated, and the umbilicus is open. Diameter about one-half an inch. Guus” The animal is of a dark bluish slate color. This species is widely distributed throughout the Unit- - ed States, but is not common in New England. It has never been found in Maine, or New a eS or in the eastern part of Massachusetts, and occurs only rarely in the western part of the last-mentioned State. Dr. Bin- ney states that he has most commonly found it under lay- ers of wet and decaying leaves in forests. HELIX PaLLIATA Say. (Figs. 10,11.) Shell depressed, dark brown or chestnut color, covered with minute sti Figs. 10,11. hairs which give the surface a roughened ap- pearance. Whorls five, flattened above ; ap- ) erture three lobed, much contracted by the lip and teeth. Lip widely reflected, with two projecting teeth on the inner margin 5 the one at the base long and slightly prom- inent, the one above acute and prominent ; ~ inner lip having a broad white tooth pro- jecting Taled from the shell; umbilicus covered by a white callus, being an extension from the lip. Diameter nearly one inch. Animal blackish slate color. It is found Bo am stk, he THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. 151 Western, South-western, and Atlantic States, with the ex- ception of New England, as far south as South Carolina. Herx monopon Rackett. (Figs. 12, 13.) Shell light russet in color; whorls five or six, closely revolv- Fiss. 12,13. ing; aperture flattened, contracted by a deep Æ 75 groove behind the lip. The lip is narrow, and turned back, partially or wholly covering the um- bilicus. On the inner lip there is a long white tooth at the aperture, and within the aperture, projecting from the umbilicus, a shelly partition called the fulcrum. The shell is covered with numerous minute hairy projec- tions, which give the surface a velvety appearance. The diameter of the shell is usually three-eighths of an inch. Animal yellowish-brown, darker on the head and back. In some parts of New England this species is quite com- mon. Found in forests sad also on hill-sides in pastures, under bits of bark and stones, a situation in which it is unusual for other snails to occur. Two or three individ- uals are generally found together. HIRSUTA Say. (igs 14,15.) Shell nearly glob- ular, brownish in color, covered by numerous — rigid hairs. Aperture contracted, and nearly E closed by a long narrow tooth on the body whorl; Ya lip narrow, turned against the outer whorl. On g the inner margin of the outer lip, at the base of “W the aperture, is a deep notch. Ordinary diameter one- quarter of an inch; umbilicus closed. Animal whitish, head and tentacles slate colored. In the New England States this species has been found west of the Connecticut River, though not common. It is common in the Middle and Western States. — To be continued. .— In explaining the arts of the shell in the frst number Fig b tie PESE ware nena omitted : a, aperture, T, a shelly projection : REVIEWS. ee OBSERVATIONS UPON THE CRANIAL FORMS OF THE AMERICAN ABORIG- INES. By J. Aitken Meigs, M. D. Philadelphia, 1866. pp. 39. 8vo. kgs valuable observations here recorded are based upon the large ection of skulls belonging to the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia largely consisting of the celebrated Morton collection. or’s conclusions, niet derived from a study of this and other satel lead him to state that ‘‘it becomes very probable that her or the American variety of man neither unity nor genetic iso dation” It is well known that Dr. Morton advocated strongly the diversity of the origin of Man, and the uniformity of the American type of skulls; i.e., that the Indian is a distinct species from the Es- quimaux, Negro, or Caucasian, and was created on the soil he now in- habits. But M. Alcide D’Orbigny, with his observant eye and rare experience as a traveller in South America, contended that the races 1 the American races, was shared by Blumenbach, Lawrence and hani and others, especially Dr. Desmoulins and Bory de Vincent, two French Ethnologists. More recently, the late Prof. Retzius, a Scandinavian ethnologist of high E cri sanga Dr. anang views, mam that < ns is scarcely any p ft rld where such contra und between dtr ‘ing: kosii nits) and Sar enet had or square-headed skulls) as in America!” Dividing the American races into ‘neta: Same he ‘‘traces the pedigree of the Esquimaux into Asia, a the Chinese population, the transitionary link being the Aleu- he ibes) mes to be related to the Guanches of the Canary Islands, and the Atlantic tribes in Africa, as the Moors, Berbers, Tuaricks, Copts, etc., which are comprised under the Amazirgh and Egyptian Atlantidæ of La- tham. The American brachycephalic tribes which belong chiefly ie is d’Halloy, Latham, and, more recently, Wilson, the authorof ‘‘ Prehistor- ic Man,” have sated their belief in ce diversity of the American races. Our author gives many facts of much interest to the special student, and miter eset up Fae conclusions -— hag ; isd ¢ groups. REVIEWS. 153 1l i h owever, the ae That ny! Ta case of the Peruvian Skulls i the Academy) d forms gpa That in North America neither the Dolichocephalic nor Brachycephalic tribes when first known to Europeans, were restricted in their aphical distribution to an say ee — a the former were scattered over the continent, through all de- £ 1 longitude; the latter eet. o naya nei n, if we may jud; rom the Specimens in the M: i kes, at various places in the interior, in tl the Gulf of Mexico, in the so-called Paduea area, and especially “pera the portae es In general terms we may say that on the eastern or Atlantic inent ee ee appear to have prevailed; and on the western or Pacific side the Brachycepal This, ina great measure, seems to have been, and still is, e case in South America. 5th. That ms g and short-headed t ear or races are very commonly found throughout the two Ame y side. In the extreme north, for example, dolichocephalic an brachycephalic fi are contrasted i in She Esquimaux and thel eir it Soveraeeeet neighbors, the Kongi or Kadiakan Aleut g neg he Patagonians and Puciches. t thi z 3 +1 ; fA . ea tt d now ies smong extant tribes. 7th. That ld d iss in Europe and Asia the brachycephalic is te jehda form, in N orth America the doli- chocephalic is hag predomina: ; in That while in Africa all the people are dolichocephalio, in South America they are nearly equal 9th. That while in Europe and Asia tl Arctic people are chiefly brachycepha- lic, in eae they are wholly dolichocephalic. 10th. That various European, Asia tic, and African crania, such as those of Norwegians, oat o-Sa the Q jad Q 3 Germans, oe Finns, Lapps, Turks, Sclavonians, Kalmucks, Burats, Prognathic Negroes, aa That thie h PT * * ‘ aig ee farm ee = is shown in ab die ge E ay ally That the That; E . Ith. Tha licl ii types; y, the pyramidal, bo t-shaped, oval, cylindrical, oblong, and arched. R That the Brachycephali may be divided into round or globular, and square or cu- Phat th AT, + ak Ad ae | eats, Ds. f J 5 PS, tt . That di ethnical or typical groups are f founded Lipon osteological differences as A TREATISE on some OF THE INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION. By T. W. Harris, M. D. Third Edition. Boston. Crosby & Nichols. The publication of this work, aside from his strictly scientific oa Pers, secured to the author a high cual as an e Was one of those few naturalists who specially studied the habits 2 richly illus- TE pee VOL. r: 9 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. ER a BS BOTANY. m “May FLO WA i tiful family of plants, the eaths, there is none ae Bal has muth strong claims upon our regard as the apie May Flower, and none more likely to have its claims vindi- ed; for, toa certain extent, - has already become historical, in con- quence of its association with the Pilgrims, or more properly with the Pilgrim ship ‘‘ May Flower.” th humble shrubb y plant grows plen- tifully around Plymouth, and in piney cosets n many other localities o uld hardl play of sentiment. Even in that austere age, we doubt if it were frowned upon, as much of a sin, if the young Puritan, on his way to the meeting-house, chanced to tuck a sprig or two into his doublet, in expectation that the eyes of some Mary or Martha, who perchance sat on the opposite bench, weary perhaps with watching the slow- moving sands ofthe hour-glass on the pulpit, —might look the more graciously upon him. In the books, this plant is known as the ‘‘Epigea repens,” but otherwise as the Trailing Arbutus, May Flower, and Ground Laurel. Under ental name, however, it is sweet and ted m has puen a a rich, spicy fragrance, that we wonder how the fickle suns of A could p ia draw ioia the cold ground aroma of such deoak cacy. Pretty little branches of this early gem may now be purchased along the thoroughfares, and at the paepe of apga Sweet har- binger of Spring, dining souvenir of the season, go on your mission gladness, as young men and maidens, aa men and children wel- gard, laden with whisperings of joy to the young, hope to the afflict- ed, rest and peace to the weary and aged; to homes where every one, as in the words of a certain poet of New Bedford, may be strengthened and confirmed in every good impulse of patriotism and ! Ther te my heart, thy rock-ribbed hills, bitte ee "And tem] ots, ere winter y s her sway, i Be 7 : ; tes ens GRP. DES, ICI bert Spencer, in “The Princes of te” an ta the Weeping Willow m NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 155 plies for an indefinite period by ayamogendsii (or birth without a pre- vious union of the male and fi nts). This me ey been propagated throughout Europe, does not seed in Eur N THE PERIOD AND RATIO OF THE ANNUAL INCREASE IN THE CUMFERENCE OF TREES.—‘‘The Carolina Poplar (Populus monil- wa Ait.) was selected on account ofits rapid growth, enabling me easily note the increase of circumference each seven days. The re- ~~ peanulaled, show t = nee G n +4 ENT. and the middle of A = and that the ratio “of growth is much proier during the month between tl i tJ f July, than during the month preceding, and —T. MEEHAN, Proceedings of the cde v Natural Sciences, eg October, 1866. AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. —I have made Some observations and experiments on the fertilization of Phænoga- mous Plants, showing that in the genus Kalmia, and other genera also, insects are necessary to carry pollen from flower to flower in or- der to fertilize pistils. T have found, also, that of many plants which produce perfect flow- these two Ways they act as though they were monecious plants.— W. J. Brat. Curious FLowrer.—One of the most singular flowers growing in this pretty garden (of the Panama Railway Company) was an orchid, Called by the natives “Flor del Espiritu Santo,” or the “Flower of the Holy Ghost.” The Moso white as Parian marble, somewhat resembles the Tulip in form; its perfume is not unlike that of the Magnolia, but more intense. A att its beauty nor fragrance begat for it the high reverence in which it is held, but the image of a dove placed s centre. Gathering the freshly-opened flower, and pulling wed in gentle submission, brings the delicate beak, just ith carmine, in contact with the snowy breast.—J.K.Lorp’s “* The Naturalist in Vancouver Island.” ZOOLOGY. ‘Mimetic Forms AMONG Insects. — Among the living objects mim- icked by insects are the predaceonus species, from which it is the inter- est of the mimickers to be concealed. Thus, the species o m (a genus of Crickets) in South America resemble, in a w 156 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. erg different Land Wasps of large size, which are constantly on the ‘search for crickets to provision their nests with. Another pretty endo ; but som station Baa motionless on the axils of leaves and other parts -of plants, to wait for their Aini —H. W. Bartes, Linnean Trans- actions, 1862, p. 509. A new IxsecT Box.— The ecessity for a cheap, and ficient insect box, has long been Pegs by collec- tors. Sheet cork is not only j expensive, zi oftentimes dif- ult procure; linings of its merits for several years, not only in cases used for the transportation of specimens, but in those intended for permanent exhi- bition. A box is made of the required depth, and a light frame is fitted to its interior. Upon the upper and under surfaces of this frame, a sheet of white paper (drawing, or log paper answers the purpose) is securely glued. h r ha about one-fourth of an inch from the oaae of the box, and the pin is forced down through the two thicknesses of paper, and if the bottom of the box be of soft pine, the point of ex pin may be slightly forced into it. It is thus firmly held at two or three different a and all lateral movements are Sass sin Other advantages are secured firmness; when the box a cleaning a ec oat of a portion of the side and bottom of the NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. soe H F THE CARPENTER Bers. — I send specimens in alcohol of the pupa of Xylocopa virginica, the Carpenter Bee, with the pupæ of Anthrax sinuosa. The latter fly I take to be a parasite of the Car- penter Bee. I found them occupying alternate cells or divisions in the mines of the Xylocopa. Ceratina dupla, a little green bee, allied to pe Carpenter ag is now (May 18) busily boring and laying its in almost every variety of pithy stems, such as the Elder and Sy- Neate aM AMES ANGUS, West Farms, N. Y. SITES OF THE HUMBLE BEE.—I have lately obtained four ; specimens of a hoik Helia inocu from a Bombus nest kept since . last fall in a flower-pot, covered with a glass. — 1b. f PER E ERS GEOLOGY. ON THE ABSENCE OF THE NORTHERN DRIFT FORMATION FROM THE WESTERN COAST OF NORTH AMERICA, AND FROM THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTINENT. — Prof. manya made some remarks on the absence of the Northern Drift formation from the western coast of North America, and from the interior of the continent, throughout the region ae to the south-west of the Missouri River. - The term “Northern Drift” is understood to include the masses of unstratified detrital materials and boulders which have been transpo ed and distributed by some general cause, independent on a great de- gree of the present conformation of the surface and of. the direction ense masse The ‘cee of the Geological Survey of California have de- monstrated, however, that there is no true Northern Drift within the limits of this State. Our detrital ere at which often form deposits si Sreat extent and thickness, are invariably found to have been il of extensive glaciers in the Sierra Nevada, there is no rea- : sonto, suppose that this ice was, to any extent, an effective agent inthe Ea n of the superficial detritus now resting on the flanks of the mountains. Th The glaciers were confined to the most elevated por- 158 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. tions of the ear ate and verte the moraines which they have left as evidence of their former extension are often large and conspic- uous, they are Aarni i: comparison with the detrital masses formed by aqueous erosion. There is nothing anywhere in California which indicates a general glacial epoch during which ice covered the whole country and moved bodies of detritus over the surface, inde~ pendently of its aegis configuration, as is seen throughout the North-eastern Sta he same aan of things prevails in Nevada and through Ore- on, as far as explored by the members of the Survey. The detritus seems always to be accumulated at the base of the mountains — gravel, boulders, and sand lying below and not far distant from the bed of rock of which these materials once formed a part, and from which they ap- pear to have been detached by weathering and aqueous erosion. From the observations of Messrs. Ashburner and Dall, it would ap- pear that no evidences of Northern Drift have yet been detected on this coast, even as far north as British Columbia or Russian America, ee of ep gentlemen have observed any indication of a transport- o the north towards the south, or of any ns tall of ctor similar to that which must eee existed in the Eastern States during the diluvial epoch. oe of the Califor- nia Academy of Natural Sciences. 1866. Vol 3, part iii a ooo MICROSCOPY. TEST OBJECTS FOR THE Microscorpr.—To such wonderful perfec- tion has this process been rents that M. Nobert, of Griefswald, in Prussia, has engraved lines upon glass so close together, that upwards of eighty thousand would go in the space of an English inch. Several series of these lines were engraved upon one slip of glass. By these the defining power of any object-glass could be ascertained. As test objects, they are equal to, and even rival, many natural objects which 1-50,000th of an inch, while the finest lines engraved by M. Nobert are not more than the 1-100,000th of an inch apart. Podura : j most excellent “test object.” According to subtillissima and Hya- NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 159 Their hard silicious shells are characterized by being marked with fine delicate lines or rows of dots. They are found in all our waters, whether salt, brackish, or fresh. Their hard shells are preserved un- er bogs, where they form layers, resembling fine white silicious sand, and also in guano. They also occur fossil at Bermuda, Oran in Alge- ria, and Richmond, Va. i ` OBJECT TEACHING IN NATURAL Scrence.—I am strongly of opinion that it is more necessary than ever that we should teach as much as possible by the eye. In teaching any branch of natural science, the ; demonstration should be combined with oral teaching. T nt 4 hould at is ribed, and where it is not possible for th teacher to exhibit illustrative specimens, good a drawings, and explanatory diagrams should be supplied. It is e teacher to study how to communicate knowledge most easily and most clearly, E8 to save the student as much time as possible ; for it is not likely that the amount of work which is required by the various ex- Dg boards will be reduced, nor indeed is it desirable that it should be. Iti is, therefore, incumbent upon teachers to facilitate the Such a system adds greatly to the interest of lectures, and ena the student to acquire a correct idea of structure, which it is ‘aie 2 sible for him to obtain by reading, or from mere description with the e. aid of diagrams. — Bra EALE’S ‘‘How to Work with the Microscope.” —o SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITIONS. Mr. C. F. Hartt, now lecturing on Natural History in New York City, who gained much experience as an explorer in Brazil, in the late Thayer Expedition to the Amazon, under the conduct of Prof. Agassiz, purposes in a few weeks to visit anew the coast of Brazil, and study _ the coral reefs perry crete discovered by him, and also the marine fauna of these shores. Mr. Hartt goes thoroughly prepared for these im- portant a ey; and also as a student and assistant for several years in the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy, at Cambridge. k Mr. J. F. Allan, of Springfield, Mass., author of a series of ornitho- _Papers now publishing in the NATURALIST, and also one of 160 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. Prof. Agassiz’ party in Brazil, starts this month to explore western Iowa, both be collect and study the animals and fossils of that little- known region. If successful in this field, he intends to push on, another season, to the Rocky Mountains, and collect in that region. Sees CORRESPONDENCE. 2 G. H. K.—The most brief and erp Manuals of Tax- idermy, or the art of preparing cota ns of Natural History for the cabinet, are those published by the Smithsonian “kött tution, Wash- ington, D. C., in pamphlet form, apnay the Pirecsone for collect- ing, preserving, and transporting specimens of Natura . d Hi Tere —Among the best works from which to gain a ral knowledge of Natural deme are Prof. Asa Gray’s Biat p embracing the following How Plants Gro First Lessons in Bota Manual of Botany of the ‘United States. Illustrated. 8vo. Publish- ed by as Be Ivison & Phinney, New York. Gould’s Principles of Zodlogy. Gould & Lincoln, Boston. Say ss Nature. By H. J. Clark. Appleton & Co., New York, 1866. Tenney’s Zoölogy for Schools. C. Scribner, New Yor Harris’s Insects Injurious to Vegetation. Nichole & è Noyes, Boston. Westwood’s Classification of Insects. Lond rols. 8vo. Dana’s Manual of Geology. T. Bliss & Co., Piia ia. 8vo. Hugh Miller’s te’ Geology, and other works, published by Gould & wal Bos Prof. A. Guyot’s peau on Physical Geography, with his Physical Maps. C. oo New York. Earth and a Man. Gould & Lincoln, Boston. NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. ae woe CAL CALENDAR FOR May.—The first half of Maya wit- thought in some seasons there are many representatives of maining till the close of the month. NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 161 Ist to 7th.— The Barn Swallow, Chimney Swift, Br own Thrush, Cat Bird, Towhee Buntin ng, or Chewink, Least Flycatcher, beers: Vireo, Black and White Creeper, and Whippoorwill become common. The Eaves, or Cliff, and Bank Swallows King Bird, dakie and wW ponr: backed and Nashville Warblers; the House Wren and Marsh Wrens (Cistothorus palustris and C. RE and the Summer Yellow Bird, or Yellow War bler, begin to a 7th to 14th. — All the Re i become abundant, while the Bobo- link, Baltimore and ae Orioles, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scar- let Tanager, Night Hawk, Maryland Yellow-throat, Veery, or Wilson’s Thrush; Redstart Rus Spotted ea a Black-capped, Black-burnian, Bay-breasted, Teaio ue, Chestnut-sided, and Cape May Warblers; the Black-billed and PANE billed Cuckoos; the Red-eyed, White-eyed, and Yellow-throated Vireos; the Indigo Bird, Swainson’s rush; ; the Acadian, Great-crested, Traill’s, and Olive-sided RA ers; alo s Bunting, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Humming Bird arrive. The Tree na White-throated Sparrows, Hermit Thrush, and es Kinglet retire northwards, or to the mountainous dis- ‘tin to 21st.— Wood Pewee, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Black Poll Warbler arriye. The woods and thickets, as well as the orchards and arblers, tchers. 21st to 31lst.— To wards us close of the peak the omg eee of Warblers and their allies, that pass farther north to bre I thither and to the highlands. The Black Poll Warbler and eae h are (a few stragglers of other species still remaining) the only birds which remain in numbers, that pass north of central New Eng- d. All the summer visitors and vernal passengers have now arrived. Many of the early breeders, as the Blue Bird, Pewee, Robin, Song and Field Sparrow. WS, etc., have, at the close of the month, nearly full-fledg- ed ‘young; Apg nally the first brood takes wing. Others, as the t Bird, Yellow-winged Sparrow, Red- PRETRITE Meadow Tak, Brown Thrush, Blue Jay, Chickadee, Swallows, Whip- poorwill, etc., have commenced incubation; the Bobolink, Baltimore, War S, ad other Vireos, and several Flycatc Warblers, have either begun b g, and selecting nest sites. In _ 8nd choosing their summer homes, have entered Paaa the important : aties attending the reproductive season. —J. A ; TERAN AN NAT., VOL. I. 21 162 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. Tue Insects or May.—During this month there is great activity among the insects. As the flowers bloom and the leaves appear, mul- titudes wake from their long winter sleep, and during this month pass through the remainder of their transformations, and prepare for the summer campaign. Most insects hybernate in the chrysalis, or pupa, state, while many winter in the caterpillar or larva state, such as the larve of several Noctuide and the ‘yellow-bear,” and other cater- pillars of Arctia and its allies; while many insects hybernate in the adult or imago form, either as beetles, butterflies, or certain species of bees. It is well known that the Quoi Humble Bee winters under the moss, or in her old nest. During the present month her rovings seem to have a more definite object, and she seeks some deserted mouse- nest, or hollow in a tree or stump, and there stows away her pel- lets of pollen, containing two or three eggs apiece, which, late in the summer, are to form the nucleus of a well-appointed colony. The Car- penter Bees, Ceratina and Xylodspa; the latter of which is found in abundance south of New England, is bus and tunnelling of the naa or SAO pis uny upholsterer bee pregi a in sii: sovorit of these esdttlapslixe cells, aw ranging half a dozen of them side by side along the vault of this So ee AU: Meanwhile their more lowly relatives, the An- s bees, are engaged in tunnelling the side of some ar a or nt running long galleries meal sometimes for a foot or more, at the farthest end o are to ‘ound, in summer, little earthen urn-like cells, in ak the grubs live upon the pollen stored up for them in little balls of the size of a pea. Later in the month, the Gall Flies (Cynips), those physiological puz- zles, sting the leaves of aar paki, maples, and e ing ri +h. > 5 Sis vU : tifon deformities which deface the stems and leaves - : Fei : i Moth, ie coddi a: We spoks ix Mopraparusyn ny Coddling aa HARRIS ‘of which —— need ” be- forewarned, and NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 163 When the Kalmia, Rhodora, and wild Cherries are in bloom, many i re of Lycæna, Thecla, an rial At this time we have found the n July the butterfly rises from the cold mp bogs, where we have oftenest found it, clad in its rich dress. Later still, a hes the Lilac pions i and farther south the broad- eaved Kalmia, the gaily-colored H g Bird Moth (Sesia), visits the flowers in company with the ipaa Butterfly (Papilio Tur- nus). At twilight, Ba Hawk-moth, Sphinx, darts noiselessly throug our gardens, as soon as the Honeysuckles and Pinks and Lilies are in blossom. Among the Flies (Diptera), Te now appear, kases they have not yet perhaps strayed far from their native swamps and fens; and their FA allies, the Daaiy oni gs pe abo rise from the fields and mould of our gardens in great numbers. Of the each (Coleoptera), a which eat on leayes now become SPRAY active. The riasa Beetle ein Fig. 3. ow attacks the Squash which fill the air and enliven the fields and woodlands , just as summer Comes in, that a bare enumeration of them would overcrowd our a og tire the reader. A word, however, sions our Water Insects. Late in the month the May ty (Boheme era) appears, often rising, in immense numbers, from the surfac f pools and sluggish brooks. In Europe, whole clouds of these cies forms, with their thin white wings, have been known i fall like snow upon the ground, when the peasants gather them up n heaps to enrich their gardens and farms. Case Worms, or Caddis Flies, begin now to leave their portable houses, formed of pieces of leaves, or sticks and fine gravel, and fly oo T. resting on the overhanging hi usy Mosquito Hawks, or Dragon es (Libellula), herald _— oming of the summer brood of these adipem friends of the Agriculturist, uring their whole life below the waters, these entomo- 164 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. logical Herods have slain and sucked the blood of myriads of infant mosquitoes and other insects; and now, in their new world above the waters, with still more intensified powers of doing mischief, happily, however, to flies mostly obnoxious to man, they riot in bloodshed and carnage. This is the season to stock the fresh-water aquarium. Go to the nearest brook, gather a sprig or two of the Water Cress, which spreads so rapidly, a root of the Eel Grass, and plant them in a glass dish or deep jar. Pour in your water, let the sand a nd sediment settle, a then put in a few Tadpoles, a Newt ier Snails, (Limnea, Planorbis, and Valvata), Caddis Flies, and Wat eer together with the gatherings from a thicket of Eel Grass, or oikani merged plants, being rich in the young of various flies, Ephemeras, “feel at home,” and the aquarium will be swarming with life, af- fording amusement and occupation for many a dull hour, by day or at night, in watching the marvels of insect transformations, and plant- growth.—A. S. P. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. BOSTON ton oot or NATURAL History. January 16. Concluded. —Mr. W.W. Bailey read a paper on Epigea repens, the May flower, by Prof. i W. Bailey, of Fredericton, N. B., in which he mentions find- ing specimens exhibiting the following peculiarities: Corolla, imper- fectly salverform (the petals not thoroughly coherent into a tube, which were not hairy), and apparently not deciduous; the stamens re- Cea mai TRPE > = perme ne a di mon ae jess united. Some of th ment-like base, but no authors, ‘The atest were Gece and had reverted into petals. Feb. 6, 1867.—The Secretary read a paper by Dr. S. Kneeland, on 4 fungoid aoa or ce rpillar Fungus, from, the Philippine Islands, to which were appended some remarks of Mr. C. J. Sprague, on the tanical relations of this fun: xhibited, under the inicroscons, Ae young w the ; form PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. . 165 cutta, that a certain species of fish destroyed this worm, and only those who gogi in tanks unstocked with this fish were troubled by them. Mr. W. Winwood Reade said, that in Africa they were much more common in Guinea proper, than on any other part of the coast; it w there generally believed to be prevalent on account of the impurity = the drinking water. Mr. Theodore Lyman remarked on the laws of breeding Shad and Salmon, the gradual extirpation of these fish from our rivers by the erection of dams, and exhibited models of fish-ways which had recently been constructed on the Merrimac, under the direction of the State Commissioners. Mr. F. W. Putnam, after announcing the donation of two species of fish from Lake Witch gee one the Lota maculosa (Ling, or fresh- water Cusk), and the other a species of Lake Trout, probably the Sal- mo confinis of De Kay, remarked that it seemed to of doubt whether many of our Lake Trout are anything more than forms of the Brook Trout. Referring also to Mr. Lyman’s remarks on the habits of the Salmon, Mr. Putnam stated that Dr. Bernard Gilpin, of Nova Scotia, had recently been making observations upon the male Salmon, and had discovered that it must have three sets of teeth form- ed one after the other; that one set falls out just before ascending the river, when the ca cartilaginous enlargement of the jaws takes place; that a new set grows out durin g the ascent of the stream, which is de- Stroyed during its contests iti others of its sex, and by excavating ` hollows in the gravel for the eggs; in this condition it returns to the sea, where it again attains a new and normal set of teeth. upon a recent gathering of Diatomaceous mud, from Pleasant Beach, Cohasset, B. J. Jeffries exhibited some glasses and metallic mirrors used in examination of diseases of the eye. He made remarks upon the use of colored glasses (b blue), the mode of coloring, and the advantage of this particular color (cobalt blue) over green or grey in relieving the eye from the effects of sunlight. INSTITUTE, Salem, February 4.—Mr. F. W. Putnam exhib- ited a singular specimen of the Horned Pot (Pimelodus atrarius De Kay) from Lake Champlain, presented by Dr. B. Pickman, of Bos- ton. The fish was pure white, thus showing that albinos occur among as well as in the birds and mammals, though this was the frst instance of albinism known to him as occurring in this class. 166 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Tue Lyceum or NATURAL History or New Yorx.—At the an- nual meeting of the Lyceum of Natural History, held in Sra Hall on Monday night, Feb. 25, the following officers were elec Presi dent, Prof. Charles A. Joy (of Columbia College); First jrma Pres- ident, vas f. J. S. Newberry; Second Vice-President, Gen. Livingston Satterlee; Corresponding Secretary, Robert teh die; Recording Secretary, Robert H. Browne; Treasurer, one Prime; Curators, S. C. H. Bailey, Geo. N. Lawrence, Dr. Rich d P. Stevens, George Suckley, M. D.; Librarian, Oran V ag Mor This Society was founded in 1818, by a Mitchell, Dr. Torrey, Mr. Cooper, and a few students of science. The early records of their meetings contain amusing accounts of the Sear ae made by the members to remote parts of the Island of New York, and of their ad- ventures among the swamps and brambles of Pearl ae Canal streets, ie iew af the fact that the Society has no hall of its own, an effort will be made to raise $100,000 for the purpose of securing suitable ac- commodations. , AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SciENcEe.— The > Sera Annual sting will be held at Burlington, Vermont. The Session begins on Wednesday, August 21st, 1867, at 10 o’clock, A. M *¢ The last meeting of the Association at Buffalo, N. me. sae eb a week, and was considered a pleasant and aaora T wal of the yearly conventions of the Association. About ninety ee members in attendance, one hundred and twelve new members were elect- bii and sixty-nine papers were presented and re: “Fears lest the cholera might prevent the Meeting at Buffalo, as it did at Cleveland for one year, caused the circular to be delayed until after r many mem! mbers of the Association no left their homes for the nconsistent with a journey to Buffalo. On this keeount the ‘aes was not so well attended as on some other occasions. The previous meeting at Nev wport, R. I., had also been small, As the assessments a are collected, in large part, suffered from two baon rant PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 167 eetings, more thinly attended than the average, following each other # immediate succession. It will be impossible to print the usual vol- ume of Proceedings, unless the funds are largely augmented: the ex- pense of paper ‘and printing having greatly increased, while the collec- tions have dimi ed. If the arrears now due to the Association are promptly paid, ig Publications can proceed as usual, and the As ciation stand on an oe basis.”—JosEPH LOVERING, Permanent Secretary, Cambridge, Mas AMEI por Ea Socrety. New York, January 26, 1867 —Mr. A. M. Edwards read a paper entitled ‘Note on the relations of Monochrouiatic Light to Microscopical Observations,” calling atten- tion again to the fact of his ha aving some time back brought before this Society a theory of his, of the relation of active noiet to vision, and the definition of objects seen through lenses; at the s time detailing some recent investigations made by others, whic considered to confirm his theo pool zn then proceeded to illustrate his subject by using the colored plates in Chevereul’s book on the appli- cations of colors to the m arts, illuminating them by the So- dium flame, gas-light, and the light of burning magnesium succes- sively. He remarked how careful observers should be in drawing conclusions from what they think they see by means of the micros- cope. Mr. J. E. Gavit detailed two cases in which he had been called upon touse the microscope for the purpose of deciding points in which large Sums of money were involved. The first was to decide which of two Writings crossing each other —one in black ink, the other in red— was the most recent. Wit th a microscope, he was able to demonstrate, to the perfect satisfaction of the parties peate which was written last. The second case was to decide if a name written to the codicil of a will was a forgery or not, and deseribed ‘he manner in which he had used a microscope to determine that Mr. Edwards spoke of some discoveries it Prof. H. L. Smith, who thought he had seen the formation of an Amoeba from the contents of a Pinnularia, and the after formation of an Actinophrys from Ameeba. ENtomoxogicar, SocreTy oF CANADA, Quebec Branch. Annual Meeting, Jan. 9, 1867.—After the Address of the President, the Sec- read the Third Annual Report of the Council. er on a Parasite infesting the Trout, was read by Mr. William Couper, of Quebec Society has also a Branch Society at London and — . 168 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ACADEMY OF eae ScIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. Feb. 19.—The poy papers were presented :— A lis pi pian ed Pak mostly Southern, tas in the waste gro cant below Philadelphia Navy Yard, and at Kaighri’s Point and Petty’s Island, on the opposite shore of the ec in 1864, 1865, and 1866, by Aubrey H. Smith. n the-Habits of the Cutting Ant of Texas, by G. Lincecum, M. D. A letter was read from C. M. Wetherill, Bethlehem, Pa., regarding the Structure of Hacolumites. A communication was received from the Recorder of the Concholog- ical Section, announcing their organization and the election of officers. March 5.— Prof. Leeds remarked on the Magnesium Light Hayden exhibited some field sketches of the far West. Prof. Ennis spoke on the origin of the Stars, the causes of their motions, and their light. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA.— At a meeting held March 11, 1867, the following By-Law was unanimously adopted: x = Artal epe, — The Society shall be called the AMERICA piapa LOGI- tomological Science, $ etl + a hahi eT tar The above change has been made for two reasons. Ist. That the Society has to rely on the country at large for support, and in order rs ieee ow this support, the erroneous idea which is in many minds, ely, that the Society} is a local institution, must be displaced. 2d. re is believed that this change in the name will extend the reputation and claims of the Society, and awaken new and more extended exer- tions for the permanent support of the only Entomological Society in the United States. THE YORK INSTITUTE or Saco, Maine.— This PONA recently or- i of E r have furnished their room with cases in which to display their collection. PORTLAND Soc History.—We are glad to learn that this pocety, oe their anpere ERU = losing for the second time ý resume EARE n i AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. I.—JUNE, 1867.—No. 4. THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. BY C. FRED. HARTT, A.M. Atmost in the very heart of Nova Scotia is the Basin of Minas, a beautiful sheet of water communicating with the head of the Bay of Fundy by a narrow strait. It is triangular in shape, the longer, or northern shore being about sixty miles in length, running nearly east and west, skirting the Cobequid hills. The western or shortest side runs about north and south, along the edge of the fertile New-Red Sandstone district of Cornwallis, known as the “Garden of Nova Scotia,” or “Corn-and-po- tatoes-wallis.” At the southern angle of the triangle enter two rivers, or, more properly, estuaries; the Cornwallis, which comes from the west, and the Avon, which enters from the south-east. Between the mouth of these two rivers is the Grand Pré, the home of Evangeline, ren- dered celebrated by the delightful poem of Longfellow. The scenery of this part of Nova Scotia is very pictu- resque and beautiful. Almost at the mouth of the Corn- wallis is the pretty little village of Wolfville, the seat of Acadia College. From the cupola of that Institution we Ceres Oa aecoratin to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 22 170 THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS look over nearly the whole Basin and the surrounding country. In front of us is the Basin; to the left, some- what, Cornwallis, with its low, undulating lands dotted with farms’ and farm-houses, and beyond, the North . mountains that border the whole southern shore of the Bay of Fundy like a wall, breaking down abruptly on the western shore of the Basin of Minas, forming a noble promontory, Cape Blomidon, whose bright red sandstone cliffs and frowning trap-crags are not less grand than the Palisades of the Hudson. We see the high ridge of the Cobequids stretching along the northern shore eastward _ as far as the eye can reach, while just east of the Avyon are the Carboniferous hills of Cheverie, and on our right and almost at our very feet is the Grand Pré. At Halifax, and along the Atlantic shore of Nova Sco- tia, the tide rises but a few feet; but, as every one knows, the rise at the head of the Bay of Fundy amounts some- times to seventy feet. Arriving at Halifax by steamer, we take the cars to Windsor, a little town on the Avon, a few miles above its mouth, whence a small steamer plies to St. John, New Brunswick. We arrive two or three hours before the steamer is expected in. There is a crowd on the wharf, and we go down to see what is the matter, but to our as- tonishment we see a wide, deep valley, like a great mud ditch, and no water, except a narrow stream, excessively turbid, which meanders over the expanse of soft choco- late-colored mud and sand at the bottom. At the foot of the wharf, which is some twenty or more feet high, a bank of soft mud, scored with trough-like depressions made by the keels of vessels, slopes off ten feet further to the bed of the river. Vessels lie high and dry at the wharves, w E Fe OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 171 Below Windsor, one looks down the river some dis- tance, and then the view is shut off by an eastward bend. By and by we see something white making its appear- ance at this point. It is advancing up the stream, and there is a gleam of water behind it. Some one who has also been on the lookout exclaims, “Here comes the tide!” We see it coming steadily up the channels, with a line of foam* along its front. It rushes swiftly by us, passes under the long bridge that spans the Avon just above the town, and is out of sight. Meanwhile the Whole bottom of the depression is flooded, and the water is pouring in like a river. It creeps visibly up the edges of the mud banks, gains the bases of the piers, and sweeps out higher and yet higher the sun-dried, muddy fronds of the coarse, knotty-leaved fuci, that hang heavily from the pier. As we watch the flood eddying and rippling along the sides of the wharves, gaining steadily and visibly in height every moment, we can scarcely repress the question, Where will it stop? But a little while ago we looked down the river and saw it as a great empty mud tch. Now it is a broad expanse of water, that would be beautiful, were it not that its waves are excessively turbid, and of a coffee, or rather chocolate, color, contrast- ing Strangely with the green meadows and cultivated hill- Sides that border it. There is a little fleet of vessels too, that is being borne in on the current, and presently some one cries out, “Here she comes!” There is a long black line oe smoke issuing from beyond the elms on the point, and in a moment the little bay steamer makes her ap- pearance, and is soon blowing off steam alongside of the pier. Meanwhile the tide has risen so as nearly to fill ano Bie thape ofthe estuary oF the Peticodiac, in New B ic hast te g cn fa “bore,” or hi i iolently up channel in its narrow ra e,” or high wave, that sweeps vio: y up the ! part in adv. of the tide. f 172 ' THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS the channel. An hour afterwards, when the boat leaves, the marsh meadows are overflowed, and all the bordering flat lands would be deluged, were they not protected from the flood by a line of embankments, called “dykes.” Away goes the steamer with the turn of the tide, a few little vessels drop down on its current, and five hours af- terwards little boys wade across in the mud above the bridge to avoid paying the toll. The northern and southern shores of the Basin of Minas are bordered by bluffs of Lower Carboniferous sandstone and shale, and soft, bright-red beds of clayey sandstone belonging to the “New-Red” or Trias formation of geol- ogists. The western shore is wholly composed oii this One would expect that the action of tidal currents, such as we have described, combined with the amount of surface exposed to wave-action, between high and low water, would cause a great wear of the coast ; and such is the case, both in the Bay of Fundy and the Basin of Mi- nas. Frosts heave off every year great masses from the trap cliffs of Blomidon, or the shale and sandstone bluffs of the coast of the Basin, and every year sees them more or less completely removed, by the joint action of currents and floating ice. The wear and tear of the softer rocks furnishes a copious fine red mud, which is distributed by the currents over the whole bay.* During the intervals between ebb and flow, when the waters are stationary, this sediment that is deposited forms extensive banks, ex- posed over large tracts along the shores at low tide. Each tide adds its Hayes to et banks and sloping shores, samir vi but an exceedingly Di film, at others, espec- 4 M Tin a * fFu et +h + of Se aes even, as We info d by fisher » a8 far ok a bec River. — EDITORS. ; OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 173 ially after stormy weather, amounting to a quarter of an inch or more. The layer formed by a night tide is said to be thicker than that deposited by a day tide. The . mud banks, as well as the flat marsh-lands bordering the Basin, especially in Horton and Cornwallis, are composed of this material. Where large tracts had reached such a height as to be covered by only a few feet of water at high tide, the inhabitants, to whom the French Acadians set the example, have dyked them in, and as the “marsh mud” forms a very fertile soil, these dyked lands are very valuable. A little island lay a couple of miles from the southern shore of the bay, between the mouth of the Avon and Cornwallis. Mud accumulated between it and the main land, and as the deposits increased, it at last formed a marsh joining the island to the shore. The French Acadians dyked this in, and the great meadow thus formed was the Grand Pré, where Basil toiled in the forge and paid court to Evangeline. It is a beautiful day in June: let us pay a visit to the Cornwallis River, near Wolfville. The dyked land here, planted with oats and grass, potatoes, etc., is but a narrow strip bordering the river. We cross it, observ- ing the regularly laid-out ditches used to collect the sur- face water, and carry it off by sluices through the dykes, which is merely a mud wall a few feet in height, sufficient to keep out the waves at high tide. Outside this wall we find a flat area, in part bare and muddy, partly sedge- covered. Deep gullies are cut in it by the water as it is drained off, and at their bottoms we see immense num- bers of coarse black-looking little shells (Nassa obsoleta Say) crawling about. We find also a great many speci- mens of a kind of mussel, with a furrowed shell ( Modiola plicatula Lamk.), half buried in the mud. Occasionally a 174 THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS clam shell turns up (Mya arenaria Linn.), and perhaps a little thin round and flat shell (Macoma fusca Say), while a little univalve shell ( Littorina rudis Mont.) is not uncommonly found attached to the blades of sedge. “Fudge !” says our companion, looking at his but half- visible boots, “we might have chosen a better locality for an excursion than this. Lets go back for a ramble among the hills.” “Not so fast, my friend, we’ve come down here to take a lesson from Nature, and we’ll find something in- teresting by and by.” By dint of wading through the mud, leaping across ditches, an exploit rendered somewhat diffi- cult owing to the tenacity of the mud, which makes jump- ing out of one’s boots something easy to accomplish, we reach a sedgy tract, and this crossed, we are by the side of the river. The tide is out, and a scene like that we wit- nessed on the Avon, at Windsor, meets the eye. The bank slopes rather steeply from its top to the bed of the river. The warm sun has dried and cracked the mud on the sur- face along the upper edge of the bank, and it is divided into polygonal pieces by a network of cracks, like that of a dried up mud-puddle, and the upper layers are curled up a little so as to be partially separated from those un- derneath. This cracked and dried part forms a zone running along the whole bank, and extending downwards some distance below high tide mark. In the lower part the bank is always soft. Crack! goes a gun. We look around and see a, sportsman not far off, the blue wreath of smoke from his piece fast drifting over the dyke, while an immense flock of “Marsh Peeps” (Tringa minuta), is whirling around him, now almost invisible, now flashing up like a cloud of snow-flakes, as they take a different tack, exposing their white breasts. In certain seasons of the year this little bird is very numerous on this shore, OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 175 together with several other species of waders, and large flocks of them may be seen running busily about over the mud flats, searching for worms, crustaceans, etc. The baked mud of the upper zone is at present too hard to retain the impressions of their footsteps, while that near the bottom of the slope is too soft. The middle zone, with its smooth, glossy, partially dried surface, is eminently fitted to receive and retain the most delicate impressions, and it is covered all over with the long zig- zag lines of their little three-toed tracks. We distinguish readily the tracks of other species of birds that have run over the same surface. Here is the large three-toed im- pression of the foot of the Great Blue Heron, which we frightened away when we came up, and which is now wading about leisurely along the edge of a sand-bank in the middle of the river. Here are also tracks of crows and dogs, and here, the deep, brokenly-cut hoof-prints of a cow. ‘There are tracks both of booted and barefooted gun- hers. See! these impressions were made by a person walk- ing leisurely, but if you will follow them on a little you will find that they begin to be suddenly farther apart, and the toe becomes more deeply impressed. A sportsman has stolen quietly up to a flock of “Peeps,” fired, and then run to pick up his game. Here we find great numbers of tracks made by the flock into which he fired ; and we see, also, the long grooves made by the shot. There are feath- ers lying about, and we can tell from the different direc- tions in which he ran, that he has shot and picked up half a dozen birds. _ Let us now go up the slope a little further, to where the mud is dry and cracked. On this hardened surface we find the tracks of birds that ran over it a couple of hours azo, when it was still soft. We scale off a few 176 THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS, ETC. pieces of the upper layer to carry away with us as a speci- men, and in doing so discover that there are tracks of the same kind on the next layer underneath. On a previous day the birds ran about over the mud as to-day, leaving the impressions of their feet; these hardened in the sun ; the tide came up softly and flowed over them, depositing a new layer of mud upon them, thus preserving them. This layer is pitted with little pear-shaped impressions. “Why! these must be rain prints,” suggests our compan- ion, who has begun to be interested in mud-studies, “and the storm must have come from the west too, because the prints are not round but pear-shaped, and from the direc- tion in which the small end of the impression is turned, you can see whence the wind was blowing at the time; besides, the shower could not have lasted long else it would have made the mud too soft, and none of the prints would have been preserved. By the bye, we had a slight shower this morning, just a little while after the tide was full. TIl venture that near high tide mark we shall find some record of it. Yes! here they are, and these, too, are not round, for you remember that there was a smart breeze blowing at the time, and so the drops struck slantingly, making oblong impressions, the smaller ends of which are directed to the point of the compass from which the wind blew.” Shells, bones of fish and other animals becom buried in these beds, together with the remains of plants, leaves of trees, pine cones, or other fruits ; but it is an exceedingly rare thing to find on these flats a dead bird, unless it is one which has been killed by a iil wen cecum in next number. 177 THE HABITS OF THE GORILLA. BY W. WINWOOD READE. New Eyeuanp has the honor of having discovered this celebrated ape. The first specimen ‘was brought to Boston by Dr. Savage. It was discovered by Professor Jeffries Wyman, and named. by him after the wild men (gorilla) which Hanno mentions. Professor Wyman, however, advanced no hypothesis as to their identity. It has recently been suggested, and even asserted, that the gorilla of Hanno, and the gorillas of the present day are the same. But that is a conjecture, not impossible indeed, but incapable of anything like proof, Hanno, a Carthaginian, made an exploring voyage down the west coast of Africa. His log, or Periplus, has been preserved: He records the’ number of days occu- pied by his voyage, mentions its chief incidents, and de- scribes the features of the coast sometimes with minute- ness. The two great authorities upon the Periplus are Gosselin (Geographie des Anciens) and Rennell ( Geog- raphy of Herodotus). The former, a sceptic, will not al- low that Hanno sailed beyond the limits of the Barbary _ Coast; an hypothesis to be rejected: while Rennell, evi- dently desirous of taking him as: far as he can, fixes the - end of his voyage at a little below Sierra Leone. Now the chimpanzee is found in that region; but’ the gorilla is found only close to the equator. In the first place, pate: Hanno’s voyage must be stretched to the equa- r: Allowing that he did reach the equator, and that the Voleanie peak of Fernando Po was the Currus Deorum, “the flames of which seemed to touch the sky,” another AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 178 THE HABITS OF THE GORILLA. difficulty remains to be disposed of. He says that the gorille defended themselves with stones, and escaped over the precipices. Now there are no precipices on the coast of the gorilla country, and the gorilla of the nine- teenth century is not in the habit of throwing stones. The northern limit of its habitat I ascertained to be Cape St. John. I have not penetrated to its southern limit, but it is probably Loango. No good reason can be assigned why the gorilla should not be found wherever the chimpanzee is found; but specimens of the former have not yet been procured from the backwoods of Sierra Leone and Liberia, where the latter ape is met with fre- quently enough. How far east the gorilla country ex- tends is of course unknown. The Fans are the most in- land tribe at present known east of the Gaboon.. They told me that in the distant country to the north-east whence they came, the gorilla (ngi) was more common than in the Gaboon; so common that they could some- times hear his cry from their towns. The gorilla moves from place to place, but is almost always found in the thickest part of the virgin forest. His migrations, if they can be so called, are probably de- termined by the food seasons. He is very partial to one or two kinds of fruit. I was also shown a kind of grass growing in small tufts; wherever that grass grows, the gorilla is found. Waterton says that the monkeys have no home. This is certainly true of the gorilla and of the other anthropoid _ apes, and it is this which renders it so difficult to shoot them in a country which is one vast forest, with here and there a meadow or a marsh. The gorilla builds a nest, it is true, but not as a residence. The male arranges this rude bed of boughs when the female is pregnant ; she is THE HABITS OF THE GORILLA. 179 confined on it, and it is then deserted. Possibly a gorilla might be detected sleeping in one now and then, as birds often roost in old nests, but it is not made for that pur- pose. The gorilla is partly terrestrial in its habits. It moves on all fours, sometimes assuming the erect position, but with difficulty, and only for a short time. As it goes along it breaks the branches of trees on either side ; sometimes it ascends a tree to feed upon the fruit. The plantations of the natives are usually at some distance from their villages; the gorilla frequently visits them to eat the plantain and the sugar-cane, especially at morn and eve. At night it chooses a large tree to sleep in. Its ordinary cry is of a plaintive character ; when enraged, it is a kind of bark, or short, abrupt roar. It does not attack man without provocation. When assailed or wounded, it charges on all fours, seizes the offensive ob- ject, bites it, and immediately retreats. The gorilla is polygamous, and the male is frequently solitary ; in fact, I have never seen more than one track at atime: but there is no doubt that both gorillas and chimpanzees are also found in bands. The males are said to fight with one another in the rutting season. The dung is like that of man, but notched in a peculiar man- ner. There appears to be little difference in the habits of the gorilla and the chimpanzee. The former ape is confined to a smaller area, at least as far as we know. The chimpanzee is said by the natives to be more intelligent, and less ferocious. They also, though feeding on the same kind of food, appear to prefer different sorts ; for Which reason it is, probably, that they are found in dif- ferent localities. I have seen one young gorilla in a state of captivity ; it 180 THE MOSS-ANIMALS, was as docile as the young chimpanzee, which I also saw. It has been asserted, however, on good authority, that the young gorilla is sometimes perfectly untamable. All the authorities upon the habits of the gorilla are cited by Professor Huxley in his “Man’s Pliks in Nature,” with the exception of a curious passage in Monboddo’s “Origin and Progress of Language” (vol. i. p. 281). M. Du Chail- lu, in his “Journey to Ashango Land,” also gives some details which are interesting, rather as tending to confirm what was previously known, than as throwing any new light upon the subject. In fact, there is nothing remarkable in the habits of the gorilla, nothing which broadly distinguishes it from the other African apes, nor even from the ourang outang, which also builds a nest, which also assumes the erect posture now and then, and which also charges when wounded or brought to bay. i THE MOSS-ANIMALS, OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. PLATE 5. BY ALPHEUS HYATT. (Concluded from page 136. AutnoucH Fredericella has been snail particularly re- ferred to in the preceding Articles, they are, with one ex- ception, almost equally applicable to all of the Phylacto- lemata. This exception is the round disc, or lophophore, which in the other four genera changes to a horse shoe shape. (Compare Plate 3, fig. 4, with Plate 4, fig. 1.) These four have, like the Fredericella, very eupho- nious names, Plumatella, Pectinatella, Lophopus, and Cristatella ; and, while preserving a general identity, vary OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. 181 extremely in the details of their anatomy and habits of lif e. The Plumatellæ abound near the shores of our ponds, close to the surface, and are generally found with Freder- icella. Better fitted, however, to endure thè sun’s rays, they sometimes seck places more exposed to their influ- ence, One sultry summer day, while searching for ac under the shelter of a bridge, my attention was drawn to the long water-grasses farther out in the stream, where, to my surprise, I found a specimen of Plumatella Arethusa, its tiny branches and living crystalline flowers glittering in the light as they Suiga in the current unprotected from Ni heat. The colony is like that of Fredericella, and in some Species the unpractised eye would not detect the differ- ence until the horseshoe-like dises were discovered. In others, however, such as Plumatella vitrea, the outer en- velope remains gelatinous and transparent in the adult as in the young, and the tubes, or polypides, are in groups of two and more, counting sometimes twenty plumes. The colony is dendritic, but the branches are always creepers along the surface, and there are no constrictions between the polypides, the branch being merely an elon- gated, undivided sac. It approximates, in this respect, to the next genus, Lophopus, and would belong to it, but that the statoblast has the plain, oval annulus of its com- patriots among the Plumatelle, which ranks it with them. Lophopus has, also, lobiform branches, but they are supported in an erect posture by the ectocyst, a lump of clear jelly in which they are buried. The whole colony is very minute, the polypides are all gathered at the ends of the branches, and no longer oceupy separate cells as in 182 THE MOSS-ANIMALS, Fredericella and most of the Plumatelle. In the United States, Lophopus is very rare, only one specimen having been found in the Schuylkill River, near Philadelphia. In England, it is abundant upon the stems of floating duck-weed (Lemna) and other fresh-water plants. My first introduction to Pectinatella and Cristatella took place some years since at Pennissewasse Pond, in Maine, one of the smallest of the liquid gems adorning that State. Induced by the representations of a scientific friend, I visited the pond late in September, and its unexpected treasures kept me a willing loiterer for several succeeding weeks. The season was charming, full of haze and color, with an occasional leaf drifting through the still air, to re- mind one that the funeral cortege of the summer was pass- ing down the year. Our way to the pond led us through a tortuous, shallow channel, studded with the blackened trunks of trees, the remains of a grove that had once overshadowed the spot where we now floated. I learned that earlier in the season this channel was much deeper, wholly submerging the shattered stumps, which were covered by luxuriant growths of Pectinatelle, hanging over them like ivy over ruined towers. At this season, however, they were bare, the Polyzoa having sought the cooler depths of the pond. Passing under a picturesque bridge, we entered the main lake, a long expanse with undulating shores, more like a a river than a lake. One could readily imagine it on to the distant hills, closing the view to the northward, and the old logs which here and there lifted their sun-baked heads abeve the autumnal-tinted waters, half reclining with the current, added another river-like feature to the scene. We selected the oldest of these as most likely to furnish us with the objects of our search. OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. 183 It was firmly imbedded, but when we finally succeeded in bringing the under side in view, the rich harvest of speci- mens amply rewarded our labors. No marine or fresh-water animals of our northern cli- mate excel the Pectinatelle in beauty, or equal them in the tropical profusion with which they grow. The clus- ters, some as large as our heads, others broad and flat, were covered by hexagonal figures about an inch in diam- eter, traced by the plumed tubes of thousands of Polyzoa. Each hexagonal pattern, and there were hundreds in Some settlements, was a separate colony, The deep, amber-color of the gelatine beneath shone through their central spaces, and each thread of the dense fringe sur- rounding them was stained with a tiny scarlet dot, the mouth of a polypide ; the outline of one of these is given in Plate 4. The cause of so many being assembled on one common deposit of jelly, is not the least curious fact in the history of the genus. A minute examination proves that a col- ony of Pectinatella is little more than a hollow case, dis- tended by the fluids within, which prevent the soft walls from collapsing, and support the polypides protruding from the upper side in radiating lines. When this hollow Dee, or ccencecium, attains the length of an inch, or an inch and a half, a crease shows itself as if a cord had been drawn tightly about the soft walls. This, deepening, finally cuts the colony into two smaller ones, and these, h they grow, divide into four, which in turn divide into sixteen, and so on. Where this increase is very rapid, the interior. colonies are forced to expand upward, and, adding to the gelatine as they rise, build up, in some in- stances, clusters several feet in diameter, and eight or More inches in thickness. 184 THE MOSS-ANIMALS, Side by side with these, occurred thin patches of gela- tine covered with what at first appeared a different spe- cies of Pectinatella. The central spaces of the colonies, however, were long and narrow, and much less brilliant, being surrounded by tawny-colored fringes of Polyzoa. This genus discards even the remnant of a branch which we mentioned in the lobes of the Pectinatella, and is a hollow sac flattened into a disc below, by which the whole colony move upon the gelatine or ectocyst as one animal. In Fredericella, the hard, parchment-like condition of the ectocyst was owing wholly to the age of the colony ; in the young, it was gelatinous. We have seen, also, that Lophopus was buried in its own ectocyst, which remained gelatinous throughout life, and that- the Pectinatelle, though firmly attached, simply rested on theirs. And we now see Cristatella making the last step in this process, becoming entirely independent of its ectocyst, which is only a transient se- cretion thrown off from the creeping disc, like slime from the foot of a snail, to smooth the path over which it crawls. In large settlements the colonies lie closely to- gether, but it is not infrequent to meet with a stray one wandering by itself. Locomotion is accomplished by a complete net-work of muscles within the sac. These, with perhaps other muscles in the walls, enable them to ex- pand the dise in any direction, and then secreting gela- tine, and holding to what they have thus gained, draw up their remaining portions. They move so slowly, how- ever, that minute colonies require a day to get over an inch on the side of a smooth glass dish, the larger colo- nies: progressing even more sluggishly. In Plate 5, the outline of a single polypide is given, with a portion of the net-work of internal muscles. : OR FRESH WATER POLYZOA. 185 Cristatella is no exception in the animal kingdom; there are many instances in which compound animals move and act in unity. But here there is some hope of solving this mysterious diversity of number, with unity of will and purpose. The nervous system, wherever it is present, whether in the distinct form of brain, nerve-mass, or ganglion, is es- sentially the medium of sensation and of motive power. Now if the nervous system among the Polyzoa is a compound system, having a common trunk with branches leading off into each Polyzoén, a sensation in the main body could be conveyed to each individual, and thus the will of every minute tube be brought into harmony with all, causing the whole to move like one creature. Fritz Müller, a German naturalist, has actually ascer- tained that in one of the marine species of Seriolaria, the nerves followed up the hollow trunk and branches of the colony like the dark wood in the heart of a tree, supply- ing each animal with a nerve. He noticed that if the trunk of the colony was irritated, that all the Polyzoa withdrew their plumes as if alarmed, and this led him to investigations, which resulted. in such important discov- eriés. Whether all the polypides in a colony of Cristatella unanimously resolve to move, or whether the majority rule and, drag the minority at will, or whether again the desire to move is excited in the central nerve-trunk by external causes, has not yet been determined. _ One thing, however, seems probable, that the unanim- ity of action in the little republic is due to the union of various individualized nervules into branches, and finally into one grand trunk, otherwise parts of the mov- able sac might be travelling in opposite directions at the AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 24 186 THE LAND SNAILS same time, from the sides as well as from the ends, and the colony be broad and sedentary, instead of long, nar- row, and progressive. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 5. Cristatella ophidioidea Hyatt. Fig. 1. Magnified view of one Polypide, isolated, showing at E (above) is reduced in this genus to a circular constriction, and devoid of the muscles marked N', in preceding plates. Z, clear spaces in the wall of the arm. O, the bases of muscles which move the tentacles ; the upper portions of these are seen in Fi Figs. 2, 3, and 4. Upper and lower side, sä profile view of the stato- blast. W’, horny sheath; W’’, annular sheath; W, spines, only eight and five pairs of these are figured, there are in nature twenty- two short and thirty-two long spines. Fig. 5. View of intestine with upper part of stomach and lower part of throat in the background. K, throat; K’, stomach; K”, intes- tine; K, anus. e THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. BY EDWARD 8. MORSE. HELIX nonransis Maller... (Fig. 16.) Shell nearly globular, smooth, shining, yellow. Whorls five, convex, Fig. 16. spire somewhat elevated, suture at extrem- ma ity of last whorl curved toward the aperture. Lip slightly reflected, white, and having a 2 thickened margin within the shell; the re- J flected condition of the lip disappearing at . a the on of the shell. Aperture rounded; umbilicus ab- . sent. The base of the shell is quite convex. Specimens are so found with one or more brown bands re- volving with the whorls. Animal blackish, tinged with o — ws dise inky; ni Ty flesh-color. American Naturalist. VoL. I, Pid AM WA BY / HYATT ON THE MOSS ANIMALS, OF NEW ENGLAND. 187 This species has been found in the greatest abundance on certain islands on the coast of Maine, and also on the lower parts of Cape Cod and Cape Ann, ‘as well as in Canada and Nova Scotia. It is unquestionably identical with the European species, and is supposed to have found its way to this country through commercial intercourse, though it seems strange that, while in the old country it is found near the habitations of men, in this country it occurs only upon the most uninhabitable islands. In England, this species is very abundant, and forms a favorite food for the thrushes and blackbirds. Ralph Tate, the author of a very readable book on the land and fresh-water mollusks of Great Britain, says: “In a coun- try walk one may frequently see a large stone surrounded by fractured snail-shells; these are the slaughtering- blocks whereon the poor snail is sacrificed for the wel- fare of our songsters and their young progenies. The shells are very systematically broken. The bird strikes the shell upon the stone in such a position as to expose the principal mass of the snail at about the commence- ment of the last whorl.” In France, this species is used as an article of food. ALTERNATA Say. (Figs. 17, 18.) Shell flat- tened, heavily striated ; light horn-color, with dark brown bands and spots arranged obliquely across the whorls. Aperture, when viewed from below, nearly circular. Lip simple and sharp. Whorls six in full- grown shells.: In young specimens the Shell is carinated, that is, the outer whorl is keeled or angulated, instead of round- The base of the shell is lighter in color than the upper surface. Colorless shells are some- times found. Diameter about one inch. 188 PARASITIC PLANTS. This is one of the most common species of snail in New England, though occurring only in certain localities; it generally occurs in great numbers. It is found in forests, and sometimes in open fields in damp situations. On islands they often occur in the greatest profusion. When in captivity, they lie buried most of the time under the moist earth, and appear to suffer more from the want of moisture than other species. — To be continued. PARASITIC PLANTS. BY G. D. PHIPPEN. To persons familiar with the principles of cultivation, and with more or less knowledge of our native plants, the fact that there are tribes of plants in other regions of the earth, that, without any attachment what- ever to the soil, grow and pro- duce flowers of the most novel form and brilliancy of colors, seems wonderful in the ex- treme. Such are the Epi- phytes, or air-plants of the tropics, whose seeds, lodging on the branches of living or decayed trees, or even upon ga the very rocks, readily vege- tite, and draw from the surrounding atmosphere the con- stituents of their growth. This is accomplished chiefly Dont their roots, as in PARASITIC PLANTS. 189 other plants ; and as they are found to increase with much greater luxuriance in the recesses of the forest, by the banks of streams, in a sultry, humid atmosphere, we see less difficulty in comprehending the possibilities of their growth and the economy of their being; indeed, their na- ture is now so well understood, that they are cultivated with ease in our conservatories. We do not, however, intend to write of air-plants, as our country produces none; but we have, among our na- tive plants, those whose methods of growth are perhaps scarcely less novel and wonderful; such as our parasites, which derive their nourishment from other living plants to which they adhere,—depending upon the leaves and roots of such plants for the necessary contact with the atmosphere and the soil. The name Parasite is of great significance, for such plants are robbers in the fullest sense, and live solely at the expense of their neighbors. The most marked example in this region of such anom- alous plants is the Dodder. Our species, the Cuscuta Gronovii (O. umbrosa Torrey, or C. vulgivaga Engle- mann) is as strongly marked,and more widely distributed than either of the other American species. The genus Cuscuta has generally been appended to the Convolvulacee, or the Convolvulus tribe, which con- sists chiefly of twining plants, and have regular monope- talous pentandrous corollas, and two to four-celled cap- sules, with large seeds. This order is well represented by the Cypress vine and the Morning-glory. The Cuscutas have no leaves, for these plants need none; all the necessary functions of leaves, as has been stated, being performed by the leaves of other plants on which they grow. They have, however, a few minute . 190 PARASITIC PLANTS. scales in alternate succession, which are in place of leaves, and from their axils spring the branches. (See Fig. 1.) Although so anomalous as these plants are supposed to be, yet the right of being perfect plants must be conecded them, and they are properly assigned a place with other Convolvuli. Eight or nine species grow freely in this country, two of which are found in New England. O. epilinum, or the Flax Dodder of the old world, mentioned by Gerard and more ancient writers, is natu- ralized here to some extent. It is said to grow only upon flax, to which it is a great pest, spoiling large quantities. It was noticed by Dr. Cutler as being destructive in his time ; but as that useful plant is now seldom cultivated in this region, the Flax Dodder is but rarely detected. A monograph of the American species, prepared by Dr. George Englemann, of St. Louis, can be found in Silli- man’s Journal, vols. 43, p. 333, and 45, p. 73. ~ Under the name O. Americana, the various native spe- cies were for a long time confounded. The botanical text-books tell us that the seeds of this strange plant germinate 'in the earth in the ordinary manner, throwing downward a root into the soil, by which for a short time the tender plantlet is sustained, until it elongates its thread-like stem sufficiently to reach some foster-plant, around which it immediately twines, and into whose tender bark it thrusts aerial roots, which feed upon its juices; after which, no longer needing attachment to the soil, the primitive root withers away. - After many times plucking the cord-like stems of this plant, and noticing the decisive development of its flowers and seed (for they are as perfect as upon leaf-clad plants), we resolved to prove, with our own PARASITIC PLANTS. 191 eyes, its double nature and singular method of growth. Accordingly we procured some perfect seed of which the wild plant produces an abundance, and of a size by no means diminutive, and planted them in a bed with other seeds, in small rows, each appropriately tallied, and all designed for transplanting, in due time, to suitable places in the border. In a very few days after planting, the Cus- cuta-seed uncoiled its feeble embryo, and erected its sim- ple yellow thread into the sunshine and air; but while we waited for further developments, the spring winds and the warm suns of noon quickly withered them away. Thus our first attempt at cultivation utterly failed, and solely for the want of some older plants in sufficient prox- imity for the young seedlings to cling to, but which at the time escaped our reflection. Months elapsed before the experiment was again tried, which was done within doors and in mid-winter with perfect success. The seed _ readily germinated as before, and when the young plants were about an inch in height, they were taken separately from the earth, and placed here and there on the axils of the leaves of plants near at hand, such as Fuschias, Ge- raniums, and sundry hanging plants. With the instincts of their nature (if it be pardonable to use that term), they in a few days attached themselves to these plants, particularly to the Fuschias; and as the spring advanced, they grew with great luxuriance and flowered freely, but, as might be supposed, to the mani- fest detriment of the plants about which they twined. This, however, was overlooked in the satisfaction arising from success ; for had their yellow stems been gold, and their clusters of flowers pearls, the satisfaction would hardly have been greater. Those placed on the hanging Plants, although they adhered, made but feeble growth. 192 PARASITIC PLANTS. One seedling placed upon a plant of Déelytra spectabilis did not twine or extend itself with much freedom, but, taking a turn or two near the extremity of one of the branches, it there expended its strength in perfecting a large conglomerate cluster of one hundred or more bells of unusual size and purity of color. In the process of transplanting from the earth to their aerial abode, we at first attempted to convey a ball of earth with each seedling, but this was soon found to be worse than use- less. C. Gronovii, the species under consideration, is found in low damp places, and by the side of brooks and ponds, twining and climbing over such plants as the Wil- low and Cephalanthus, Decodon and Lythrum, Solidago and Impatiens, to which it attaches itself by “tuberculous processes” or “radicating papille,” as its roots or suck- ers, under the partial knowledge of their nature, have hitherto been called. This plant grows often to the length of five or six feet, with its branching, leafless : stems, considerably resembling tangled cord, and are of a deep yellow or orange color, being thickly studded with cymose clusters of small white bell-shaped flowers, somewhat like those of the Lily of the Valley, but much more diminutive. We have seen this plant growing on the banks of Ipswich River and its brooklets, in great lux- uriance, stretching far over the water upon the deeply- immersed stems of the Button-bush and Decodon. This species of Cuscuta does not appear p> to have any partiality to particular species of foster-plants, but freely attaches itself to such as grow within its reach (Fig. 2). Its flow- ers, or little globose bells, consist of short five-lobed tubes, with calices similarly divided, and five PARASITIC PLANTS. 193 stamens inserted between the lobes of the corolla, upon peculiar scaly fringes, not visible in the drawing, which are an expansion of the filaments of the stamens. The seed contains a filiform embryo, without cotyle- dons, lying spirally coiled in fleshy albumen, and is dis- tinctly discernible while the seed is in a green state; and here we see written, in the spiral form of the dormant embryo, a prediction of the character of the future plant. In the process of germination this ee embryo simply uncoils itself; one end as a radicle strikes downward into the soil, while the other, as a plumule, rises from the earth, first breaking ground in the form of a © loop, then when the point becomes disengaged resem- bling a fish-hook, and finally appearing quite straight in its efiort to reach some friendly support (Fig. 3). : It is generally represented in plates as rising in a spi- ral form, as also are the branches of the older plants, but this form is not manifest while the unsupported thread is stretching upward for succor, as if attracted by some neighboring object; it is only when the stem is obstruct- ed, or when it reaches the coveted prop, that the spiral form is assumed, and then it becomes very quickly ap- parent. This is probably true of all twining plants. We have seen the tendril of a squash vine rolled into a per- fect ball, when beat by the wind against a stone-wall, the irregularity of whose surface it in vain tried to grasp; while others upon the same plant, not meeting with ob- uction, were nearly straight. : The radicle, which is club-shaped, is often turned up _ form like a boot ; it never increases in size, or ramifies m the ground, but is sufficiently absorbant to keep the 25 AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 194 PARASITIC PLANTS. young plant alive for some time, but not enough so to add materially to its primitive development. If at this time a young plant be pulled from the earth, and laid upon its surface, or placed upon some other plant, it will live many days without attachment; and here we see a wise provision of nature, adapted to the peculiar circum- stances in the infancy of the plant. Generally, on the fourth or fifth day after the feeble seedling has been placed upon its guardian branch, it will make one turn around the stem, and the tubercles will immediately appear on the inner side of the twining part, and, after a few more days have passed, the work of ab- sorption will commence. These tubercles, as they grow quite near together along the stem, bear a superficial re- semblance to the feet of caterpillars. (See Fig. 1.) Under the microscope each one, in its early stages of develop- ment, appears to be composed of a circle of smaller promi- nences, which finally unite in forming one root or sucker. As the plant continues to twine, these papille rapidly multiply wherever the stem closely touches other living tissue, and they are found to unite readily even on other parts of its own stem; they often incipiently form along the inner side of the vine, when at a considerable distance from contact. After passing many of these papille un- der the microscope, we at last detected the manner of at- tachment and the character of the union. sacl me depression in the centre of the above-de- scribed circle of swollen cells, a very manifest horn-like process protrudes, IE- and inserts itself into the tissues of the fate aan and rapidly unites with it (Fig. 4)- Where. the supporting stem is succulent, this root plunges far beyond the cuticle, even into the very pith of the PARASITIC PLANTS. 195 plant, and soon forms a perfect graft (Fig. 5). The cells of the parasite can be traced deeply imbedded, until lost at the margin, among the cells of the ; guardian plant, which is thenceforth compelled to support the vine to frui- tion,—expanding its flowers, and per- fecting its numerous progeny of seeds. Though these aerial roots (which are the only true roots the plant has), are thus seen to penetrate to a consider- able depth, their union is of such a character, and the absorption and assimilation of the two classes of cells so gradual and complete, that no manifest swelling of the tissues of either plant in contact is visible. When grown within doors, the plant is somewhat green, and does not take on that deep orange color, so general in its native state. Such are a few observations that this humble plant has afforded. It merits farther investigation, and, in the economy of its nature, is as worthy an object of study as the venerated oak, or the tree that yields us fruit. Among our wild plants are to be found many others of a parasitic nature. With but a passing allusion to the lichens, fungi, and mosses, many of which grow by at- tachment to other plants, and are more or less Epiphytic in character, we proceed to notice a peculiar tribe of ab- normal plants, that however much they may resemble fungi in certain aspects of their being, yet, as they have flowers and fruit conformable to those of the highest organization, will ever maintain a place among true phenogamous plants, such as Beech Drops,—Epiphegus, and different species of Orobanche,—whose seed are said to germinate only in contact with the roots of beech, or other favorite of the particular species. In the subdued 196 OYSTER CULTURE. light of the forest, these verdureless plants elevate their brown and yellow stems, covered with scales instead of leaves, but having perfect flowers. The Monotropa,—Indian pipe or Pine-sap,—more fungus-like still, holds a rightful place among the Pyro- lace, or Heaths, and with its clusters of white or tawny stems, each crowned with a large distinct flower, grows from the decayed roots and leaves of the oak and pine. It has also been found that sundry leaf-bearing genera, situated at no great remove from the Orobanchx are more or less parasitic upon the roots of other plants; and it is probably from this cause that the Castilleja, or painted cup, the Gerardias, and Pedicularis are so difficult, or so nearly impossible to cultivate. We have often transplant- ed them from their native wilds to the garden, and have as often met with disappointment. An English species of Comandra, similar to our Thesium umbellatum, whose fascicles of flowers remind one of diminutive bunches of white lilacs, is also said to form parasitic attachments upon the roots of trees. OYSTER CULTURE. BY F. W. FELLOWES, Bryonp dispute or question, the French government has taken the lead of all the world in the scientific propa- gation and skilful culture of the oyster. For the past six years, the great discovery by the distinguished French savan, Professor Coste, of the mode of reproduction of this mollusk, has been converted to practical use ; and in suitable localities on the western coast of France, im- _ perial farms, or parcs, as they are called, have already OYSTER CULTURE. 197 been put into successful operation. Many hundred mil- lion of these delicious bivalves (they are sold in France by the hundred, or count, and not by the bushel as with us) now flourish and fatten in shallow bays and basins, where, a few years since, not a solitary specimen could be taken, owing to the thoughtless and improvident, industry of the fishermen, who captured and sold every oyster they could find, regardless of season, size, or condition. As a natural consequence the native growth was exter- minated, and it seemed probable that a source of profit- able labor was gone forever from a very considerable number of the Radia class on the seaboard, who, in over- populated France, could ill afford to lose one chance of earning their few sous a day; while, on the other hand, the tables of the rich were likely to be deprived of one of their favorite and most esteemed luxuries. Just at this time, in 1858-9, Professor Coste settled a long-mooted point in natural history, namely, that the oyster—in common with many of the lower order of aceph- alous animals—is hermaphrodite, combining both sexes in the same individual, and his theory of its generation is substantially as follows :— Possibly the second year, but certainly the third year, the oyster reproduces its kind. During the summer, at seasons varying with locality and temperature from April to July, many hundred thousand ova are simul- taneously produced in capsules provided for them ; these ova are fecundated at an early period of their growth, long before their increase of size and weight causes shows to burst the ovarian capsules, and com- mence their existence in the milky fluid which is pre- pared for them at this time. The ova are especially en- veloped and protected by the branchial folds of the 198 OYSTER CULTURE. mother oyster. By an admirable provision of nature, this milky fluid now begins to dry up and thicken, form- ing a paste which deposits upon the ova exactly what is necessary to form a delicate shell in a few hours, when brought into contact with the salt water by expulsion from the shell of the parent oyster. No sooner is one brood thus sent out into the world of waters to shift for itself, than this process is immediately repeated, and it is known that an adult oyster produces between two and three million of young during a season. Although the oyster is so remarkably prolific, the “spat” or “spawn” has so many enemies who feast upon it, and there are so many chances against its safely finish- ing the second year,—when it is tolerably safe,—that an average of less than one-tenth is permitted to attain a merchantable size. The spawn does not escape of its own accord from the mother oyster, but is expelled (Jancé) with considerable force, forming at first a grayish cloud which soon dis- perses and disappears by motion of the water and by in- dividual action, as each young oyster—gifted with slight filial affection—seems eager to remove as far as possible from its parent and the place of its birth, and fearlessly swims away, henceforward to take care of itself and find its own means of existence. These independent little ones are provided with a special locomotive apparatus,— which is at the same time an organ of respiration, and perhaps of hearing and of vision,—by means of which they disperse themselves at the proper time in search of some hard and solid body like a stone, a branch, or a shell to which they can attach themselves and “settle down” for life. | “Nothing is more curious and more interesting,” says OYSTER CULTURE. 199 M. Davaine in his “Recherches sur la génération des hut- tres,” than to see, under the microscope, these little mo- lusks travel round the portion of a drop of water, which contains them in vast numbers, mutually avoiding one another, crossing each other’s track in every direction with a wonderful rapidity, never touching and never meeting.” This curious motive power consists of a great number of hair-like filaments, called cilia, which take their rise in a dark-colored fleshy mass that emerges from, and over- laps the valves of the oyster on the edge opposite to, and farthest from the hinge, and operated by powerful mus- cles, can be at pleasure drawn entirely within the valves. If the young wanderer meets with any hard substance, it clings to it, and in a few hours—as it is at this time rapidly making its shell—a calcareous deposit fixes it there, and, in due course of time, the cilia drop off. But even if no such suitable object presents itself, these wan- derings must certainly soon come to an en The base of the locomotive apparatus gradat nar- rows, this organ becomes more and more prominent, un- til it is only attached by a single slender membrane to the ‘oyster,—which still continues to travel with it,— when, at last, it entirely detaches itself from the oyster, which at once sinks, incapable of farther motion, while the cilia keep on swimming ; but, like a vessel without @ helm or pilot, their motion is undirected, they roll over and over on themselves, colliding with everything in their course, and, though they can hardly be said to die, soon cease to move. As soon as the cilia are removed, the oyster com- mences life in earnest: lips to seize its food, and a stom- ach to digest it, are developed; branchiæ, or respiratory — 200 OYSTER CULTURE. organs appear ; the heart reveals itself and begins to beat ; all the functions necessary for existence are set in motion in good working order; and if fortunately placed for obtaining infusorial and vegetable nourishment, in three or four years this embryo “Cove” or “Millpond” or “Shrewsbury” will become a delicate mouthful for the consumer Though there are many other enemies of the modest and inoffensive oyster, there are three which are specially feared, and cause the greatest loss to the planter in Amer- ican waters, namely, the “Starfish” (Asterias arenicola Stimpson), the “Drill” (Buccinum plicosum. Gould), and the “Winkles” (Pyrula canaliculata and P. carica). All are familiar with the appearance of the Starfish, though few, even of old oystermen accustomed to annual- losses from this five-fingered pest, are acquainted with the manner in which it is so destructive. Even writers upon the oyster, whose general information upon this subject should have taught them better, have fallen into the same error of supposing that the taper fingers are introduced between the valves, and, in some mysterious manner, kill and devour the contents. The Starfish is provided with an extensible mouth, sit- uated in the middle of the underside, and can only injure an oyster of a certain size relative to its own. If the oyster is small enough, it is swallowed shell and all; the body is digested, and the shell ejected. But if its victim is a little too large for this operation, Nature has provid- ed this scourge with the power to turn its stomach inside out, envelope the unhappy oyster, and absorb the dainty flesh within by means of gastric juice. A. Agassiz, in “Seaside Studies,” speaks of this peculiarity as follows: “These animals have a singular mode of eating; they OYSTER “CULTURE, 201 place themselves over whatever they mean to feed upon, as a cockle-shell, for instance, the back gradually rising as they arch themselves above it; they then turn the digest- ive sac, or stomach, inside out, so as to enclose their prey completely, and proceed leisurely to suck out the animal from its shell.” When nothing more within the shell remains to be eaten, the stomach is turned back again, and, gifted with a constant and insatiable appetite, the Starfish is ready to recommence its filthy feeding upon the first oyster within its reach. The countless suckers on the under- side of this animal are used only for locomotion, just as the fly walks upon the ceiling by means of a similar con- trivance on the feet. The general belief that the Starfish takes its nourishment in some mysterious way by means of these suckers is consequently an erroneous one, as they have no openings at the ends, and do not connect in any way with the stomach. The Drill is a troublesome and destructive intruder upon the oyster-bed, the more so that, from its small size and rapid multiplication, it is difficult to eradicate from a locality when it has once colonized in force. Whole are sometimes taken up and transplanted, to avoid this detestable little thief. A slightly different species of the Drill forms no small item of cheap food for the French peasants. They call it the Bigorneau (Murex tarentinus), and, when boiled, the meat is picked out with a large nee- dle. Its flavor is excellent, though it is repulsive in ap- pearance, being of a dark green color, and having a de- cided spiral tail, which renders it anything but inviting to a person about to eat it for the first time. The Drill has a dark, ridgy, conical shell, about an inch long, and by the help of a broad, flat, fleshy foot, with AMERICAN NAT., VOL. L 26 202 OYSTER CULTURE. which it is provided, fixes itself exactly over what is commonly called the eye of the oyster, and by means of a rough file-like tongue, which it moves forward and back, over the chosen spot, soon drills a round hole through the shell, and sucks out the life and juices of the oyster at its Ioisure. The Winkles are a much larger species of the same tribe, and destroy the oyster in a similar manner, only not being so numerous, they cause less damage, and are not so much dreaded by the oyster planter as the little Drill. The oysters to be found on the carte of any good res- taurant in Paris are,—the common oyster, price fifteen cents per dozen; the Ostend, price thirty-five cents pcr dozen; the Marennes, or green, price thirty-five cents per dozen; and the Imperial, price forty cents per dozen. Each variety has a peculiarity, and its special admirers. The last three, during the winter months, are fat and full- flavored, though small; the Ostend and Imperial being English born, but cultivated and manipulated in France. The French oyster-shell is more round and flat than our -own, the body lying in a sudden deep depression close up to the hinge, while a considerable space of the interior of the shell is unoccupied by anything except the mantle. A dozen of either of the last three varieties is a better appe- tizer to commence a dinner with, than any kind known in this country ; while for cooking in every form, the much larger size of the American oyster renders it by far, _ The French lay great stress upon having the shell of this oyster extremely clean (bien nettoyé). A gentleman at Marennes, who cultivates the green oyster, has recently . a tide-mill—for which he has a patent—for the SCORPION OF TEXAS. 203 double purpose of smoothing the roughness and perfectly cleansing the outside, and of wearing off enough weight of shell by ¢rituration to save a dollar freight on the rail- way carriage to Paris, of a panier containing a thousand. SCORPION OF TEXAS. BY G. LINCECUM, M. D. Tue scorpions of Middle Texas, so far as I have investi- gated the subject, do not extend Sasi a single species. There may be others, but I have not observed them. The species we have is viviparous, carrying its young, eight in number, on its back, until they are three-fourths of an inch in length. When first seen, cling- ing on the back of the mother scorpion, they are so small that it requires a microscope to ex- amine them satisfactorily. They are white, and look as if they were very tender. They cling tenaciously, and when by vio- lence they are separated from the mother, she shows manifest signs of distress, running about till she comes in contact with the lost ones, ohen they immediately climb up and cling again closer than before. At this early period, they seem already to be well versed in scorpion tactics, wielding their nimble tail, and its recurved weapon, with dexterity and swiftness. Scorpions pass the winter in close quarters, and gen- EF j te pipas ii | ee BEPPES E E — = Sea EG a) se Sale 204 SCORPION OF TEXAS. erally in a torpid state. They are seen early in warm weather coming out at nights, and sometimes during warm damp periods in winter. They are altogether noc- turnal in their habits, and are carnivorous, subsisting on insects of various kinds, and even small lizards. As a speciality, they prey largely on crickets. They dwell under old logs, rocks, in old stumps, under the bark of dead trees, under old fences, between the shingles on house-tops, and particularly about the jambs and hearths of fire-places. In temper they are hasty, and will employ their weapons on slight occasions. The pain occasioned by their venom, when injected into one’s flesh, is very quickly felt, and quite severe, giving the idea of a burn- ing-hot fluid thrown into the system. It does not last long, nor does it swell much, and is not so painful, nor does it produce so much inconvenience as the sting of the honey-bee. In countries where they abound, people do not regard them with much terror. Chickens are very fond of them, and voraciously devour every one they can find. I once found a mocking-bird ( Mimus polyglottus) which by some awkward stroke in his rapid flight, had fractured his right wing. It was running on the ground, and had become quite hungry and light. After dressing and se- curing the little songster’s wing, I turned over some old rails in search of something for him to eat. There were plenty of crickets and scorpions concealed under the rails, for the latter of which he showed the greatest pref- erence. He would peck at them, and by bruising and _ thus stunning them a little, readily swallow them whole. After he had swallowed seven of them, I thought, as I _ had volunteered my services as surgeon and physician for him, it would not be prudent for me to suffer him to in- A NOTE FROM THE FAR NORTH. 205 dulge farther at this time; so I placed him in a large cage with some canary birds, where he remained feasting on nine scorpions a day, until he had recovered the use of his wing, when I set him free. Scorpions are generally found two or three together, sometimes in larger numbers. They shed their skins without a rent, coming out at the mouth, like the snakes. They moult when they are about half-grown, and again when they come to maturity, and I do not know that they ever again cast their skin during the remainder of their life. They live through two winters, as I can testify, and may exist many years. They are not possessed of much intelligence, making no nests or preparation for winter, Bead crawling petn rocks and other dry and sheltered places. Their principal cerebral developments are ama- tiveness, alimentiveness, and cautiousness. A NOTE FROM THE FAR NORTH. BY J. T. ROTHROCK. Earty in the year 1865, the writer of this scrap eagerly embraced an opportunity afforded him of visiting the less known parts of North-western North America. The region travelled over lay between the Coast Range and the Rocky Mountains, and from latitude 50° north to. 61° north. From latitude 56°, as far north as Fort Youkon (a post belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, exact position undetermined) , a distance of at least 1,500 miles, the country was, and still is, in part, a terra incognita. It is to be hoped that erelong much of the uncertainty hang- ing over it will have been cleared up. Geographers, it is 206 A NOTE FROM THE FAR NORTH. true, did manage to fill up the blank in a wonderfully in- accurate way, just as they used to— “In Afric’s maps With savage pictures fill the gaps, And o’er inhabitable d PI h ? want of towns.” en Even of the upper waters of the Fraser, Nasse, or Skena Rivers, no trustworthy chart existed. Much less could we expect those of the Pelly or Liard to be accurate. At Fort St. James, on Stuart’s Lake, latitute 54° 44’, longitude (approximate) 124° 48’, the unknown country may be said to begin. Here for the first time we notice the outlying peaks of another set of mountains, which completely fill the valley (a degree farther north) be- tween the Coast Range and the Rocky Mountains. These mountains, though known by name to geogra- phers, have always had their altitude underestimated. Near Stuart’s Lake they are as high as three thousand feet above the general level of the lakes. At Lake Tatleh they rise to five thousand feet. At Bear Lake, about lati- tude 56° 15’ N., they are from six thousand to eight thou- sand, and near Lake Toutah they rise often as high as ten thousand feet. These altitudes are only given as ubove the general, or lake levels. Add to them from three thou- sand to five thousand feet, and it will at once be seen that they attain no mean elevation above the sea level. Per- haps I can give no more just idea of the general features of the country around Lake Toutah, than to state that the land rises into a plateau, about 3,500 feet above the sea level. This plateau, lying between the Coast and Rocky Mountaii , is dotted over with peaks of the above-men- tioned heights. Sometimes neighboring peaks are joined by their bases; often one finds them completely isolated. Nature seems to have set at defiance all law and order, A NOTE FROM THE FAR NORTH. 207 and to have been governed only by the wildest caprice in their distribution. No axis can be traced, and it is a physical impossibility to walk for a day in a straight line over the prairie plateau at their base. One may as- cend, as a rule, the southern slopes of these peaks readily enough, but the northern slopes almost invariably give you from 1,500 to 2,000 feet of sheer precipice at a sin- gle leap. Skirting their bases are found dwarfed balsam trees, whose limbs are festooned with the long gray lichen eaten by the Caribou, or now and again a stray cotton- wood may present itself. So thickly are the peaks dis- tributed over the country, that the original plateau is seen only as a narrow and almost treeless valley, winding about between the peaks. Yet by following these valleys one may reach the waters of the Liard without crossing a single mountain. The storms which sweep through the passes must, at times, be fearful. I remember seeing a tree (the largest one indeed which I noticed at this elevation) full two feet in diameter, that had been twisted off by the wind, and carried two hundred feet away from the stump. Near the top the peaks are bald, and offer no other inducement to the adventurous botanist than a few lich- ens. Even the snow will not lie on the summits during the winter months, but is blown away into the valleys below, and into the gulches which streak the declivities. Hence, during the winter, when the valleys are buried beneath twelve or fourteen feet of snow, the Caribou seek the mountain tops to eat the lichens. The valleys are worn out into deep gulches by the melting snow, and everywhere you are met by miniature cafions in crossing them. Even in mid-summer the snow falls to a depth of a foot or more, at times, on the mountain sides. Among 208 A NOTE FROM THE FAR NORTH. these mountains lies Lake Toutah, a beautiful sheet of water, full sixty miles long. At certain places the moun- tains come jutting down to the very water's edge, and at others recede so as to allow a beautiful open prairie to stretch along the edge. This lake is the head of F inlay’s Branch of Peace River, which in turn empties into McKen- zie’s River. Yet within less than two hundred yards of its southern end rises a tributary of the Skena River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean in latitude 54° N. The extremes of temperature are great. September 15th, in latitude 56° N., the thermometer stood at 6 o'clock, A. M., at 15° Far., at 2 o'clock, P. m., at 83° Far. After the avalanches and solar heat have carried off the snow from the mountain sides and valleys, the vegetation again starts up with a rapidity that would astonish even a native of the tropics. Hardly a fortnight elapses after giving up the snowshoes, before one finds the lower and more fertile spots covered with verdure, and blooming as a garden. Among these early flowers we find a Nardosmia, Calypso borealis, several species of Violets, a Polemonium, Vale- rian, ete. These mountains form an Indian paradise. Se- cure here from any present or prospective annoyance from the whites, the Siccannee, Nahanni, Koninah, and Klo- o-dini tribes hunt the Caribou, Grizzly Bear, Moose, Beaver, and Marten. Perhaps the beavers are nowhere in the world so numerous as among the Peak Mountains. The Indians are, as a rule, friendly, and no man of ordi- nary courage need to be deterred through fear from going where he lists. To the young, active adventurer, who wishes to make a name for himself as an explorer, no more promising field than the one we have noticed can present itself. Md i r P l 209 KENST PRODROME OF A WORK ON THE BERET OF ARIZONA TERRI- TORY. By Elliott Coues, M. D., U. 8. A. Philadelphia, ae 8vo. pp. This forerunner of a larger work on the Birds of Arizona contains a Whipple, with which are enumerated all other species ascertained t inhabit the Territory; together with brief critical and field notes, at descriptions of several new species. We extract several paragraphs showing the great interest eam the ne of a new fauna, and the relation of animals to the soil they Ne athe fs features, ees ae — piae Sagaen arate Arizona from adjacent regions, ap as those which distinguish “A fro she Sr spade ‘ sg inl i bs the ath say from tee nora, of several Mexican and subtropical species, A E edger. so tos speak, of these ty pes is pushed a little northward of Mexico, and they are ly the birds of Southern Ari- zona, and of the Colorado males: for : a considerable distance, Perhaps this is more decid- edly the case here than at other points, om our southern border. A considerable nuri- ber misasi Ppeiy belonging to the United States Fauna, and generally distributed througho beyond the Sonoran border; while at the same time ai interesting to note that — species urosa one Bigh upm n Ariko — a even further hich a +th ir hi h, w ERTE neither the climate nor physical geog graphy ake seda n aa diverse e Avifaunz, un- rg mage the apparent absence of one family can be PADE as a marked pecu- “Some fact. the birds, From the hemia of water throughout almost eve ry mene of the meeribory | ek pee as a nat- aucity of Grallatorial and Natato) uch so, that wit a afew ie exceptions, a list of the Water Birds of the pone! fee y little more There is also to be noted, interesting fact, the effect of the hot, arid, desert wastes of the region of the Gila, ands Southern , Ari A light, dull, v Dparent ahd ey PETZ ig tet Fe m oe a all lines and streaks are more or less obsolete in character, is met with in nume- rous instances, forming true local races or varieties, In other cases the ters which distinguish birds of this middle southern province from other closely allied species, partake, in a measure, of this peculiarity. “In this connection L may advert to an interesting point, which I consider as quite En able, though contrary to hae bse pattie of migration; viz., that many of the birds of Poa peta apc which r residents, instead of migrating far to the im spring, by t turning simply t to oa here find in the region of which Fort Whip- Ea r © da € Seasons are well pronounced at Fort Whipple, and do not one notably from sneha Made Atlantic States. This enables us trenchantly to divide those of its tory h are not permanent residents into summer and winter ane aes migra- Mances passing through in the spring and autumn. And I have noticed in many in- S inat the times of arrival departure of non-residents are strikingly similar to migratory rough n, ‘the reverse 210 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. the case in southern Arizona; where the protracted heat and drought of a long summer, which seenecies on intermediate seasons, eaxircested the regelar: arity of migration; or even entir ely ta! ay fi y impulse.” The habits ofa PS of EPSE are thus described :— The ge isa xylo paana rather than an insectivorous one. I do not mean that the Fa n never eat insects, for coleoptera and their larvæ may often be HIE in sa stoma But their lai. sustenance is the cambrium, or soft, inner, live 10ugh to discri cies of Picus, Melanerpes, Centurus, ae Instead o simply “ “ta pping 7 trees yt larv working within, ‘the Sphyrapicines denude live nrescheg of their varn — gr iei area of several square inches at a tim from which the bark has been re paved from large ir rregularly shaped spaces; and the PEN as mg ht be expected, - ones eedingly different from that produced from the mips Bes ides — Sey g sheep species, particularly in the full, feed The occurrence of hybrids TREE closely allied species of animals is now well known sometimes to occur. The author thus speaks of a — caer two “nig of TO the Snow-bir ceps, because in a my collection are several examples which I regard as most undoubtedly brids between the two. Their general aspect is that of caniceps; t the head, Hedley ae throat being slate gray, not black; the lores decidedly blackish, etc. in sal area, colored as in oregonus, ey most marked feature of all, the sides are strongly Hngen with pinkish fulvous. S, exactly as in nei ie instead of being plain m gray, S in caniceps. _ Oth r speciimens ] agate means still more to- rds oregonus, j i “The ee, are pich ep hybrids, that they mere not in the least invalidate ot negii tio: ag nak species. In the case o Bees ‘olaptes auratus i and me. s, it has i a hathi ? * a sees allied ane ane distinct species.” The Wild Turkey was found to be “a permanent resident of co much so that I procured no specimens. In some portions of ‘tis Southern Rocky Mountains region, it is exceedingly numerous.” KATUBAL HIST KORT, MISCELLANY. TERET Tue Lotus.—All the tribes a the White Nile have their harvest of the Lotus seed. There are two species of water lily —the large white flower, and the small tcl The seed-pod of the white lotus is like an —— ws kilichoko, containing a number of light-red grains equal in size t must; at seed, i ak p d lik PES E A the poppy, and NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 211 similar to them in flavor, being sweet and nutty. The ripe pods are collected a strung upon sharp-pointed reeds about four feet in lengt n thus threaded they are formed into large bundles, and carried ri the river to the villages, where they are dried in the sun, and stored for use. The seed is ground into flour, and made into a kind of porridge. — Baker’s Albert Nyanza. pier Troe ZOOLOGY. RTIFICIAL NESTS OF INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS IN SWITZERLAND. —I is evident that the agriculturist must mainly rely on the insectivorous birds to guard against the attacks of injurious insects. The subject has attracted much attention in Europe. For twenty-five years, M Auguste Burnat has domesticated in artificial nests, numerous species of birds which have effectually stopped the ravages of insects. Such nests, made of various forms and of different materials to suit their occupants, were placed in the ete in ln orchards, and in public promenades and parks. The birds most easily raised were the spar- rows, etc. (Fringilla, aah Seia the ernis (Sitta), and the Sasdpicker TS, W. wr last are very serv Swallows. The starli ing had ‘een n raised. in great numbers, being more TEN multiplied an myo ord During the years 1852 to 1857, t ts, M. Dietrich, at Grun- beim, in Saxony, n ed that two species of Beetles, the ‘inc abietis and ater [allied to our Pine Weevils], h e firs of his district. During this time there were spent in dest: stroy ing these insects over four thousand francs, but in spite bined effort the evil still existed, It was then remedied by the Starlings. The inspec- of pines (epiceas). The neces was complete. At the end of May, in examining some son oe scarcely ae to fly, — stomachs were found filled with Weevils, whose ” had been, previously to their being swallowed, broken off by the parent birds. Ir th IF the Star arlings some etime feed o on plumb s an grapes, 6, the, ey can be sasiy frightened of, ve may attribute the cause, in part, to the artificial nests established for ae Starling. It the same in Holstein and in oe where Sari take the same care in multiplying the Owls.” — Bulletin de la Societe d Acclimatati We learn that two hundred E hie sparrows were last year domes- ticated in Union Par k, in New York city, and that they on destroyed the Canker-worms infesting the shade trees. pai nore just been imported into New Haven. The English Spel o this Society, a April 18th, Dr. Charles Pickering called attention to the recent in troduction of the House sparrow of Europe into this country. As it threatens great evil, preventive measures should be 6 912 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY speedily adopted. Proofs of its destructive habits were cited from rd authors, showing that the bird had been the paiana enemy of mankind for more than five thousand years. When writin was invented the Rip was selected for the hinsoaly phie cuca. ter signifying enem “ Sonnini, in the Tee Histoire Naturelle, published in 1817, says :— “t Sparrows are impudent parasites, Todal ai m society with n man and dividing with his grain, his fruit, and his home; they pens, the grain as it approaches: maturity, and even shat whieh has been stored in granaries, Some writers i by them compensated for their ravages on grain; eighty-two gajos of hka were counted in the eade fa sparrow eop by the writer, and Rougi my, estimates that an pekti of France consume annually ten million bushels of wheat. «Jardine says that a price is set on their heads because of their se- vere depredations on grain and garden seed, and Valmont-Bomare makes a similar statement in his Dictionary. “That their destructive propensities were popularly known in Erg- land is shown by Cowper’s sate :— “ often scared As oft return, a pert, voracious “kind?” native insectivorous birds, including the Crow and Robin aige and insects, than he loses by their fondness for grains and If we destroy the balance of nature, and cause a diaproper- or taea the number of insectivorous birds and their insect food, we shall certainly suficr from the increase of obnoxious insects. UTRINE EA GEOLOGY. ANCE OF GEOLOGICAL Scrence. — In his inaugural address, the President (W. R. Grove) of the British Association stated that most geologists of the present day, instead of holding that the breaks or mation of the earth’s crust, adopt the iemsires that they arise from dislocations occasioned since the original deposition of strata, or from gradual shifting of the areas of a that the advance of the ne of admitting unlimited modification of species would seem to have arisen comparison of the extreme ends Se re ee einen nn or some of them, were ‘wanting. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 213 In these statements the President struck the key-note of the pro- ceedings of the Geological section during the following were Never, probably, did the authors of papers, or those who took part cussions which they elicited, appeal so little to convulsion, soda, or catastrophe. — Quarterly Journal of Science, London. MICROSCOPY. Tue MICROSCOPE IN MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. — In a case of poi- soning by means of corrosive restr ate maliciously substituted for the proper medicine, and in which there was a doubt of the utmost importance to remove, as to the source of the poison, rendering it un- certain whether the child had met with its death by accident, careless- ness, or otherwise, Mr. Deane, by the aid of the microscope, deter- house of the child’s parents, where it died, thus rendering it quite certain that the death of the child was premeditated, and at the same time removing cated! trace of suspicion from innocent parties, whose an e had been called in question. — Address of the pak pais ahs. of the Microscopical Society, London. THE Potycystina.—In a paper on the structure and affinities of the Polycystina [one of which, Podocyrtis Schomburgkit, is figured on the left side, at the bottom of the title-page of the Narurauist], Dr. Wallich has furnished us with an elaborate account of this obscure and around which their soft part, or sarcode, is sus ———+— EXPLORATIONS AND WORKS IN PROGRESS. The Lyceum of Natural History of Williams College, propose to Send out early this summer a scientific expedition to South Amer- ica. It will be under the charge of Prof. James Orton, of the Univer- ia of Rochester. The design of the party, to consist of twelve, is to collect specimens of Natural History, and study the physical geolo sad the Cordilleras, making Quito the base of their operations. $ -cial Fa This active society has already sent out five expeditions; two to Nova Scotia, one to Newfoundland, one to Florida, and one to Lab- tador and Greenland. S to aid the expedition are desired 214 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Dr. T. M. Brewer is engaged in preparing for the press the second and last part of the North American Odlogy, the first part of icon appeared in volume seven of the Smithsonian ‘‘ Contributions.” eggs and nests of about one hundred and fifty birds will be desende The illustrations will consist of about one hundred figures, in five or six 4to plates p We have received some advance sheets of a work on the Ornithology and Oölogy of New England. By Edward A. Samuels. Nichols & Noyes, Boston. e shall give a farther notice of it hereafter. It will contain over five hundred 8vo pages, and be illustrated by twenty- three plates of Birds, four plates of Eggs, and a large number of wood-cuts. ceo ety ae CORRESPONDENCE. In answer to several inquiries regarding the disease resulting from eating pork infested by the Trichina, we print the following account wien pre KE for the Naturalist by a well-known authority on this subje Printia spiralis. — This entozöon is the cause of a serious and often fatal disease of the intestinal canal and muscular system of man, called Trichiniasis or Trichinosis, which is produced by eating the flesh of pies similarly affected. Before giving an account, however, of the natural history of this parasite, it may be well to state that trichinous us is not measly pork. Measles in the hog is the encysted stage of the common tape-worm of man (Tenia solium). Measly flesh being eaten, the little cysts or scolices, as they are called, which consist of e future head of the mature animal inverted, escape from their sacs within the stomach, unless previously destroyed by cooking, and at- tach themselves by their armed heads to the intestinal walls. From this head are developed one after another the joints which make up the body of the tape-worm. The first formed or oldest pe or proglottides, when sexually mature, escape from the intestinal c€ of their host, and, being eaten by swine, the ova they contain are sS a free. During digestion, the eggshells are dissolved, and the minute embryos find their way into the tissues of their new host, to be again converted into encysted scolices, or measly pork. In this stage the tape-worm is called Cysticercus cellulose The Trichina spiralis, on the other biah does not belong to this order of Cestoidea or encysted worms, but to the Nematoidea or round worms (of which the pin-worm is an example), and its develop- ‘ment is much less complicated. If trichinous pork is examined by the microscope, the muscular fibres will be found occupied by minute NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 215 cysts varying in size, from 1-30th to 1-60th of an inch in length, and 1-100th to 1-150th of an inch in thickness ; thirty-five thousand of these have been counted in a single cubic inch of muscle, and it has been . estimated that an ounce of such flesh would T three million cysts. Within them may be seen coil- ures. (Fig. 1, the young worm; and Dee Fig. 2, the cysts, after Dalton. ) If now Trichina spiralis. ay ay about such hie is eaten by man, the one hundred tim are dissolved during digestion, tes a young worms, unless pre- the development of the embryos is from four to eight days, after which they begin to leave the oviduct in the form of exceedingly small, trans- parent worms. They may continue to be dis- charged in immense numbers, however, for six t velopment of the whole number of ova; from three d to mediately after birth the young leave the resi- dence of the adults, the intestinal canal, and give Trichina spiralis, in cysts, rise to the first symptoms indicative of their from muscular tissue Presence. They bore into the intestinal walls, Ham. Magnified. and wander along the areolar tissue, penetrating to nearly all parts of the muscular system. - Entering the primitive bundles of this tis- “Wandering begins immediately after birth, but it may be several weeks before the whole brood has found its final resting-place. In this qui- 216 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. escent stage they may remain alive for many years, and after death of their host may become mature in turn by entering the Pha tinal canal of some other host. The symptoms caused by their presence in man vary according to the number eaten and the stage of development. At first nausea, loss of appetite, and intestinal irritation. Afterwards debility, fever, œde- e glutition, speech, and respiration, and finally death from exhaustion. only a small quantity of the trichinous pork be eaten, the symptoms will be mild, and in all cases res will disappear when the worms have become PEARES or encysted in the muscular tissu The history of the trichina is s interesting, and pi be briefly told as encysted, in the flesh of the hog, and since then it has often been no- ticed in dissecting-room subjects, giving a sanded aspect to the red muscular tissue. It was always considered harmless, however, and in 1855 Kiichenmeister published a theory that it was only the imma- ture form of Trichocephalus dispar, a minute thread-like intestinal Experiments conducted by Virchow and Leuckart, however, ra fibres, not, as had been supposed by some observers, GD the capil- lary tubes. These results pointed unmistakably to the manner in which -hospital at Dresden, after a month’s sickness, with symptoms like those above mentioned, and on examination after death Zenker found ‘the muscular system filled with free and moving trichine. He con- -cluded that it, was a case of fresh infection, and that the worms had -been the cause of her death. A microscopic examination of the con- _ tents of the intestine | rerealed the presence of numerous mature tri- exon tha ales st s. Por- tions of the muscular tissue of the os NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 217 - = in the subject. The former administered it toa rabbi ich was killed by the wandering of the young brood set free an. = intestine; the others, as well as Zenker, fed dogs with the owing the frequent occurrence of trichinæ in these m con- cluded that some connection would be found between the disease and the meat. On visiting the place, he found that the farmer n whom she had lived had killed a hog on December 31st, and that the ham and sausages, which still remained of it, contained numerous encysted trichinæ. He found, also, that the farmer and his wife and the butch- er had all been ” with symptoms similar, though milder, to those the girl had exhibite is case, so sone ea in itself, not only established the connection between trichina in the hog and in man, but demonstrated the exist- ence of an unsuspected and frightful disease, and explained much that had been mysterious in former cases of death from so-called sausage- poison and other unknown causes. It was followed by other epidem- d commissions have been appointed by many governments to study the disease, and the natural history of this little worm has become of national and political importance, and has received the attention of some of the best scientific observers of the day. been laid under suspicion, and aea et a little nematoid worm which infests the beet-root, but this, too, was found to be zoölogically distinct. Statements have also been made that beef is not free from trichine, but there is no just ground for such reports, and the same may be ma of the flesh of birds like ducks, geese, and pigeons, which Might receive infection by means of the intestinal discharges oe NAT., VOL. I. 28 218 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. chinous animals, for it has been ases — to reproduce them by artificial feeding within these an A committee appointed by the BER Society of Physicians, at Vienna, has just presented a report on trichinosis, in which it is stated that the real source of infection in swine lies entirely in the ri In Austria the ith Sse was not more than four pr. cent. The com- artificial pac of the disease from the rat to the cat, t in great qua ntity, and such persons, not sick enough to keep the house, are the probable sources of infection in swine. It has, in fact, swine are anok again killed until the next general slaughtering sea- n comes, when another follows, to be succeeded by others after a iimilar interval. It may also be possible that portions of trichinous ged be ne have access to them; and lastly, it is not impossible that swine may infect each other by intestinal tHichine: alone. Trichin osis is no new disease. It existed many years ago, and it is as old as the beams of pork eating; we are only beginning to recognize it. Ince nn aga of Europe where raw pork is large ely 4 in nearly all of which NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 219 some of the cases have been fatal. Within the last month six cases of the disease have occurred in this State, one of which proved fatal. the history of some of the epidemics illustrates. Unfortu eases the disease is latent in them, producing no symptoms which ca presence to be suspected, and the appearances of the flesh tiie aus are not such as to attract attention. It can only be recognized by its effect on those who unwarily eat it, or by microscopic examination. Tn some parts of Germany government obliges all pork to be in- spected by an appointed person, before it is sold, and even the butch- ers are forming associations among themselves for the same purpose, and are learning the use of the n th ns preson MoO of pork uch studie he inspection ad been sent for examination , and that other parts were abundant infected. It has been found ‘that the muscles contain most frichinss nearest their attachments, and that in ham they occur in greatest numbers in these parts about the lower leg. Every hog should be ex- amined in at least five places before it can be pronounced clean, for the parasites are sometimes distributed in the most unequal manner. In Brunswick, out of twenty thousand swine examined, but two were found to be trichinous, but it will be remembered that each of the two great epidemics in Germany were caused by eating the flesh of one animal alone, but these two animals caused mi sickness of five hun dred, and the death of over one hundred perso The results of the sdahelpncines of the commie of the Chicago Academy of Sciences show, however, that the disease prevails among the swine in our Western States to a much greater extent than in Germany, for of 1, .394 animals examined, twenty-eight were found tri- chinous, or one in fifty. Were the habit of eating raw ham and sau- Sages as prevalent in America as inGermany, it will be seen, therefore, w frequent the disease might become amongst us. Fortunately, thorough cooking destroys the vitality of the young worms, but it Should be carried to complete coagulation of all the juices of the flesh, even to its very centre, to be effectual. —J. C. W. A-H. S., iid aang lg is quite i for one who ie to become turalist, to know enough of Latin Language to be able to read bea Fathi descriptions of species, sy know the meaning and 220 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR.: derivation of Latin words. A little study will give one enough know- ledge of the age for ordinary practical purposes. A large num- ber of scientific terms are derived from the inal some knowledge of which is indis sn to the naturalist. Mr. George B. Emerson, in an article on the Study of Latin Gram- mar, published in the Massachusetts Teacher, A 1867, says that “DArcy W. Thompson, a man of genius, now Professor of Greek in Queen’s College, Belfast, Ireland, author of the part Dreams of a Schoolmaster,’ will engage to put all the Latin Grammar necessary to make a good scholar ot! a sth ai twenty-four pages of a little work that shall sell for sixpence Read also the Inaugural Airi; delivered at the University of St. Andrews, Feb. 1, 1867, sea John nee Mill (published in Littell’s Living Age, Boston, No. 1,189). s treats in a very comprehensive way of the study of science and ies iin It should be read by every naturalist. shall issue a shoe rg and full index at the close of each volume of ika a G. W. P., New —The insect you enclose is a False-Scorpion felis. The iN claws are adapted for seizing their prey, as the habits of the insect are somewhat like those of the Scorpion, though from its different structure it is more closely allied to the Mites. NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. Insects oF June.—In our monthly calendars we propose to notice more fully than heretofore the injurious insects. References the times of their appearance must be necessarily vague, and ap- ply only, in a very general way, to the Northern States. Insects ap- pear in Texas about six weeks earlier than in Virginia, in the Middle States six weeks earlier than in northern New England and. the North-western States, and in New England about six weeks earlier than in Labrador. The time of the appearance of insects corresponds to the time of the aang or leafing out of certain trees and herbs; for instance, the larvæ of the American Tent Caterpillar, and of the Can- ker-worm, hatch just as es apple-tree begins to leaf out; a little later, the Plant-lice appear, to feast on the tender leaves, and when, during , the first week in June, our forests and orchards are fully leaved out, hosts of insects are marshalled to ravage and devour their foliage. oor w 15th. — Early ie! the month the Parsnip Butterfly (Papilio ) may beds of parsnips, laying its eggs for NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 221 the brood of caterpillars which appear in aigi At the time of the flowering of the raspberry. and sai a fe e young larve of Væ- nessa Antiopha, one of our abundant nt sii may be ys living socially on the leaves of ki 9 willow; while the mature larva another much smaller butterfly, the little Copper Skipper = por nus Americanus), so abundant at this time, may sometimes e clover. It is a short, oval, greenish worm, preg pri legs The dun-colored Skippers (Hesperia) abound towards pi middle of the month, darting over the flowers of the blueberry and blackberry, in sunny openings in the forests. The family of Hawk Moths (Sphinges) now appear in greater abun- dance, hovering at twilight over flower-beds, and, during this time, de- posit their éggs on the leaves of various fruit-trees. The American Tent Caterpillar makes its coc oon, and assumes the pupa state’ The caterpillar passes several days within the cocoon, in what may be called the semi-pupa state, during which ae ae pei CUBE skin is forming beneath the contracted and loosened larva We onc experimented on a larva which had just completed its cocoon, to learn n on spun a third but frail web, scarcely concealing its form. A minute chneumon parasite, allied to Platyg ygaster, lays its eggs within ee of this moth, as we once detected one under a bunch of in and af- terwards reared a few from the same lot of eggs. A still more minute €gg-parasite we have seen ovipositing in the early spring, in the eggs of the Canker-worm. It has been described and figured in Harris’ “Treatise on Insects,” third edition, p. 471. Among. that beautiful family of Moths, the. ap comprising the Geometers, Loopers, or Span-worms, are two formidable foes to we can be in a great measure prevented. The English Sparrow, Doves, and other insectivorous birds, such as are noticed elsewhere in our pages, should be domesticated in order to reduce the number of these pests. More care than has yet been taken should be devoted to de- stroying the eggs laid in the autumn, and also the wingless females, 2s they crawl up the trees in the spring and fall to lay their eggs. The evil is usually done before the farmer is well aware that the calamity has fallen upon him. As soon. as, and even before the trees have fairly leaved out, they should be visited morning, noon, and night, shaken* * Read in t ve “ Practical ” 1967, an scout by the Editor, of the Curculio-catcher, and the ebay asp smaking or pd ing. tree oe s paper is indis- riy the agriculturist. Published by g iety at Phila- 299 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. and thoroughly examined and cleared of the caterpillars. By well- concerted action among agriculturists, who should form a Board of Destruction, numbering .every man, woman, and child on the farm, this fearful scourge may be abated by the simplest means, as the easur aver taking proper sanitary precautions. The Canker-worms hatch out during the early part of May, from eggs laid in the fall and spring, on the branches of various fruit-trees. Just as the buds unfold, the young caterpillars make little holes through the epe leaves, — the pulpy portions, not touching the veins and midribs. When weeks old they creep to the ground, or let Scere down by — ning a silken thread, and burrow from two to six inches in the soil, where they change to chrysalids in a day or two, and in this state live till late in the fall, or oe the early spring, when they assume the imago orm orm. The sexes then unite, and the eggs are deposit- ed for the is generation. The Canker-worm is widely distributed, though its ravages used to be confined mostly to the immediate vicinity of Boston. We have seen specimens of the moth from New Hampshire, and Norway, Maine, and Michizan. Last October, late in the month, and in November, we ob- served numbers of them at the White Mountains flying at twilight. The Abraxas? ribearia of Fitch, the well-known Currant-worm, de- foliates whole rows of currant-bushes. This pretty caterpillar may be easily known by its body being of a deep golden se spotted with black. The bushes should be visited morning, noon, and night, and Soro shaken (killing the caterpillars) and spiked with ashes. mong multitudes of beala (Coleoptera) injurious to the crops, are the June Bug, is sage Jusca (Fig. 1, from Hasna), whose larva, Fig. 1. a larg ite grub, is injurious to the roots of grass Ss - stages of growth on all kinds of grain, on corn and herds-grass during the whole summer.” So widely spread is this insect at present, that we have even detected it in August on the summit of Mount Wash- -ington The Diners, or two-winged flies, contain hosts of noxious insects, such as the various oe or two-winged Gall-flies, which now NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 223 sting the culms of the wheat and grasses, and various grains, and leaves of trees, producing gall-like excrescences, of varying form. Legions of these delicate minute flies fill the air at twilight, hovering over wheat- fields and shrubbery. A strong heraz west wind, at such times, is of incalculable value to the farmer. Moreover, minute flies, allied to the house-fly, such as 7 Terrin peren, etc., NOW attack the young cere- als, doing immense injury t Millions of Aphides, or ak is (Fig. 2), now infest our shade and fruit-trees, crowding deel zreen leaf, into which they insert their tiny beaks, sucking in the sap, causing the leaves to Fig. 2. curl up and wither. They also attack the stems < even the roots of plants, prsa these iy Stipes tet , a differ Boa game! from the e Plant-lic should be again washed nie rabiei to aie wt young Bark-lice, of which the common apple Bark-louse Files pan Aan whose oyster-shaped scales may be found in myriads on neglected trees, is a too familiar exam mple. Another pest of apple-trees is the woolly Blight (Eriosoma lant; gera). These insects secrete Fig. 3. from the surface of the body a downy, cottony sub- stance which conceals the anim mal, and when they are, as usual, grouped together on the ig look like patches of mould. We figure (Fig. 3) from Harris, the Coccus adonidum found on Tke The natural-insect enemies of the Plant-lice no abound; such are the Lady-bugs (Corint the larva of t the Syrphus-fly, which devours immense quantities, and the larva of the Rochen Lace- oO ge 8 15th to 30th. — The last days of June are Pagid the hey: k and jubilee of insect life. The entomo- logical world holds high carnival, though a this country they are, perhaps, more given to mass- meetings and caucuses. The earth, the air, and the ‘ang teem "a insect-life. The insects of mid-summer now Among the butterflies, the -Wood-satyrus (Ne CON eury- thris) skips in Py low flight through the p ne e la of Grapte rs on th nts, while ais Currant-borer moth ( Tro- chilium tipuliforme) darts about the leaves on hot sunny days. The a ynthia cardui may be found on the hollyhocks; the edt or of July. The Hyphantria textor now lays its smooth, spherical on broad patches on the under side of the leaves of the apple, which the caterpillar will ravage in August; and its ally, the Halesidota 224 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. carye we have found ovipositing the last week in the month on the leaves of the butternut. The Squash-bug, Coreus (Gonocerus) tristis, is now very abundant, eu di about the roots of the Squash vines, often in immense numbers, blackening the stems with their dark, blackish-brown bodies. pe insect is easily distinguished from the n our las is a true bug (Hemipter, of which the bed-bug is an example), piercing the ohen and stalks, and drawing out the sap with its long sucker- S E: PROCEEDINGS BESIEN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. SSSEX INSTITUTE. i pritte, Feb. 18, wea tee —Mr. N. E. Atwood, of Provincetown, presented some observations on the different ava of whales, and alluded to their phen The Sperm Whale feeds princi- pally upon the Squid, or Cuttle-fish. The favorite food of the Right Whale consists of small crustaceans, meduse, etc. The Finbacks ced on menhaden, and other small fishes. He then spoke of the re- lative size of the sexes. The males of the Sperm Whale have yielded as largely as one hundred and forty barrels of oil, whereas the females only yielded from fifteen to twenty barrels. Among the Humpbacks, e females exceed the males in size ade a few remarks u n the microscopic structure of ae ce, stating that, in his opinion, in addition to se as a stra’ he food of ae whale, the fringe of hairs, with touch, notifying it of the presence of its food. This theory is based u the fact of the hairs being but the termination of a series of tubes, which are continuous from their base to their termination in ree ends, and which are filled ebb a vascular pulp, which he had no doubt contained a nervous substan The examination of pieces of sh whalebone would be freman i decide the question. ACADEMY or NaTorat Scrences. Philadelphia, March 12.—Prof. ae ses Ene | oneal a spertinen of te skull of a la arge turtle in a t Barnes- boro, Camden Smor. New Jersey. It was of great interest, not p from the rarity of fi il Chelonian crania in our colle ctions, bu from its peculiar ee features. Prof. Ennis remarked on the pa Tiai Condition and Habits or the Gipsies.” s Ea. 2 AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. I.—JULY, 1867.—No. 5. So THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG. BY REV. SAMUEL LOCKWOOD. “Sir,” said an aged fisherman, “there is nothing on the Land that is not in the Sea!” The old waterman’s terse- ness forestalled the ed: philosophic dictum of the poet,—* Whether we live by the sea- side, or by the lakes and rivers, it concerns us to attend to the nature of fishes, since they are not phenom- universally dispersed.” sce gore pee is a re- markable Order, called by systematists the Lophobranchs, Which stand apart from the others by two well-defined, and very curious distinctions. They differ from other a in the peculiar structure of the gill arches, by tofe in the year 1867, 2 by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the ONLTeESS. asetti, AMERICAN NAT., VOL 1 29 926 THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG. which the gills are arranged in little tufts on each side of the head under the “cheek” bones or gill covers. Hence the, name Lophobranch, which is derived from the Greek, signifying tuft-gilled. But, perhaps, more curious is that distinction drawn from their mode of repro- duction ; a trait so strange, as to suggest the seemingly abnormal habits of the Marsupials, —the Opossum and the Kangaroo,—although the eccentricity of the fish is far greater than that of the land marsupial; for, in ri latter, it is the female whose pouch receives the immature young, and which are therein nourished to complete their development. The parental relation of the female Lophobranch, however, is restricted to the simple emission of the unimpregnated eggs. Beyond this, maternity she has none. The male is really, and literally, father and mother to the progeny ; and so far as the reproductive instincts are concerned, it would seem that the female manifestation is summed up and exhausted in the one solitary and singular act of a formal consign- ment of the ova to the embryonal sack of the male. Though the species of the Lophobranchs are quite nu- merous, they are all referable to three principal groups or families, of which the Flying Dragon (Pegasus), the Sea-horse (Hippocampus), and the Pipe-fish (Syngna- thus) are types. The following observations were made upon the Hippocampus hudsonius De Kay, or the common Sea-horse of the Atlantic coast of the United States. A sea-side residence favoring the design for the past ten years, I have let no opportunity slip of studying the habits of the Sea-horse, hoping to get at some of the _ necessarily interesting facts which must stand connected with its peculiar mode of reproduction. Owing to diffi- culties too tedious for detail, nothing like gratifying suc- THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG. 2217 cess was attained until the autumn of 1866. Nearly a year had passed without obtaining a single living speci- men, when a waterman brought me two full-grown ones, and to my great joy they proved to be “gravid” males. Alas ! my oft-repeated experience returned ; for, owing to the shock produced by the ordeal of acclimation, they be- gan to involuntarily emit their young. None but a work- ing naturalist can appreciate the anxiety I then suffered. The next day one of my Hippos died, having from de- bility first set free all its immature young, which were sufficiently developed to indicate plainly their family relation. My estimate was that they were twelve-day embryos. I now redoubled my efforts to invigorate and Save the remaining adult, by solicitously watching every circumstance of temperature, eration, and light. In spite of all, the emission of the young went on, until instinct, prompted by increasing debility, led the parent to expel the rest by voluntary effort. How this was done was a great point gained. Except a few floating fronds of Ulva, other than the fish, there was no object in the water. And here the structure of the Sea-horse’s tail should be borne in mind, so unlike that of any other fish, covered with an envelope, consisting of bony scales; four-sided, and Suggesting a small square file; in faculty, prehensile, like that of some monkeys; and of considerable length. Bending this appendage upwards like an inverted crook, thus imparting to it muscular rigidity, the animal pressed it against the bottom of the embryonal pouch, which Occupied the lower part of the abdomen, thus pushing its contents upward, and forcing them out of the opening on the top of the sack ; the creature all this time sustaining its normal, erect position in the water. The extruded young immediately perished. Relieved of his charge, r 228 THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG. my Hippo soon recovered strength, and became for sev- eral months a very interesting pet. September 7. To-day fortune smiled and brought me another “gravid” male Hippocampus. This also, under the weakening effects of acclimation, began excluding the young, having emitted a full dozen. Circumstances favor- ing, and profiting by a varied experience, I was enabled to carry my new Hippo safely through the dreaded or- deal. Most anxiously was he watched day by day. To my astonishment no enlargement of the embryonal sack could be detected. I supposed that as the young increased in size, the distension of the pouch would go on equally. Again my apprehensions were aroused,—now I feared that the foetuses were dead ! September 21. A red-letter day! To-day near noon I observed three young Sea-horses swimming about. They had just made their debut. Very minute creatures they were; but, to my great joy, nearly perfect. From that hour the Pater-mater kept busy setting his progeny adrift. At the bottom of the vessel was a broken Winkle- shell, put there for the attachment of the animal’s tail, when fatigued by swimming, as the Sea-horse is very easily tired, and this, monkey-like, is its favorite mode of taking rest. The Winkle afforded real help in the labor of extruding the young, which is in no sense a parturient process, but on the contrary is entirely me- chanical, and in the present case was effected in the fol- lowing manner. With its abdomen turned towards the shell, its tail attached to the under part of it, the body erected to its full height, the animal, by a contractile - exertion of the proper muscles, would draw itself down- wards, and against the shell, thus rubbing the pouch upward, and in this simple, yet effective way, expelled THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG. 229 the fry at the opening on top of the sack (See Fig. 1). It was said above that the Sea-horse is soon wearied, with even moderate exertion; hence, probably, it was, that these repeated acts were each followed by a few minutes of rest. Indeed, the extrusion of its young lasted for nearly six hours, from three to six individuals being . set free at a time. The scene that followed was one of singular and lively interest. Iwas nervous with delight, and wished that every Naturalist could see it for himself. I am sure there is no student of nature but will excuse the enthusiasm which prompted me to write at once to a friend, that “he must not set the minister down as a horse-jockey, on being informed that he was now the proud possessor of e most numerous drove of colts ever owned by one man the whole wide world over.” Using my best judg- ment,—for, owing to the mazy motion of this tiny throng, counting was out of the question,—I set the number down as not far froma thousand. Each measured from five to six lines in length. Very minute creatures, truly, when one considers how large a portion is taken up by the tail, which organ was of but little more than thread- like dimensions. We might suppose it would require a few days for the young Hippo to find out the remarkable monkey-like endowment of its tail. Not so. Only look at what my- own eyes beheld many a time, when a “stam- pede” of these little colts was going on, although they were but one day old. There come two little Hippos, each swimming in a direction at right angles to that of the other. Just at the point of passing, one, lasso-like, whips his caudal extremity round that of his fellow, who, ` of course, in like manner, returns the caudal compliment, which, to speak technically, acts as a “double lock.” Of 230 THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG. course both pull, and, by a natural law, the force is ex- erted in exactly opposite directions, and the right angle is resolved into a straight line. It is but poor head-way they make, nor does it mend the matter much, that a third little fellow comes giddily on, and, switching his tail, takes a hitch at that precise point in space where the other two met. Now a triple force is exerted, and the effect is, with two straight lines to project three obtuse angles. And so the three toil on, obtusely laboring in statu quo. But a droller sight is that of yonder juvenile Lophobranch, who seems to be of somewhat belligerent proclivities,as he is leading by the nose a weaker member of his own species, having with his caudal extremity noosed him on the snout. These funny antics, though oft repeated, are of short duration, as the parties soon have to rest, from sheer fatigue. On the fifth of October the last of my little Hippos died. In the matter of fcetal sustenance, I find a remark- able marsupial analogy in the Hippocampus. The pouch of the Kangaroo and the Opossum contains teats, with which, by true lactation, the young are nourished until fully formed. Nor is the embryonal sack of the Sea- horse a mere receptacle, or nest, for the hatching of the eggs,—the fish does, in and by the pouch, supply nourishment to the growing young. The mass of fry on the day of its extrusion is certainly in bulk several times greater than se y the original egg-mass. We know that the bear duri lives upon the fat acquired the previous PERR y that ahstinence from food, the well-conditioned camel will subsist on the rani of its fattened hump. —— of the frog, which has just E M ES, SET E PEG” . does not E = d UUJ THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG. 231 pass off by atrophy, but is really a wise provision for the ` creature’s support by absorption, during the few days which constitute the most critical period of its life. This fact I have demonstrated elsewhere by obser- vations from the spawn to maturity. But in these and similar cases, the animal is simply nourished by some superabundance in itself. Ruling out lactation, and the placental phenomena of gestation, is there any instance in which, as a normal fact, the young feeds upon the parent? This fact, seemingly so anomalous, I assert for the Hip- pocampus, although its physiology I may not be able to explain. The male Sea-horse not only hatches the eggs in the embryonal pouch, but also feeds the young by al- lowing them to absorb a portion of himself. This is done _ during the embryo’s consumption of the placental yolk, and also, especially and more rapidly, after that source of food is all exhausted. Of course, upon receiving the ova the pouch might be supposed to be considerably distend- ed. This distension is really very trifling. And during development the enlarging of the sack might be expected ; but it is inappreciable. At the time of receiving the spawn, the wall of the pouch is not less than three lines thick, and well stored internally with fat. At the time of expulsion of the developed fry, the same sack is not half _ a line thick, and hangs flaccid on the animal, a mere thin membrane. In due time it becomes again thick, firm, and fat as before, and in such state has been mistaken by me for a gravid condition. This interesting fact of a true marsupial nourishment, and of so unique a character, although suspected, was not accepted, until established by dissection, and observation of a male that had gone through the course described. Moreover, I believe in part may be thus explained the impulse to that forcible 932 THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG: eviction of the immature young, which has been already described. The debility caused by the consumption of the parent, together with the weakening of acclimation, seems to have impelled to the act. But with the exclusion of the young, the marsupial like- ness stops in the Sea-horse, though the young Pipe-tishes are said to reénter the pouch on finding themselves in danger. It is my belief that with the Sea-horse the ter- mination of development is the end of their solicitude for the young. As to the moral relation of the sexes in this apparently abnormal creature, I must regard it, on the instinctive side, as but little superior to the relation of a pistillate to a staminate plant. The emission of the ova by the one is a simpler matter, all the facts considered, than the seeding of the other. Certainly the love emotion, if any, must be very simple, scarcely more than the poetic figment of the loves of the flowers. Is not the fertilization of the spawn performed by the male after its reception into the embry- onal pouch? . Besides, that which is usually normal in the female, is in this instance wholly wanting, namely, affec- tion for, and even the knowledge of the young; for she never sees them, Whereas the male,even though pressed by hunger, will not molest his offspring,—a remark- able fact, when we reflect that generally fishes have no scruples against devouring any fry, even their own. This trait of the male Sea-horse is found in the male Stickle- back. The former is not very demonstrative, nor can he be, owing to his organization; but the latter is highly £0, even to vindictiveness, as I have seen him severely pun- ish the female in his anxiety for the safety of the spawn- ele are other undetermined, although interesting facts, _ connected with this question of sexual relation. What is THE SEA-HORSE AND ITS YOUNG. 233 the numerical proportion of the sexes? Does the male incubate the ova of more than one female at a time? _ Allusion has been made to the Stickleback. It was to the two-spined species ( Gasterosteus biaculeatus), This species breeds in the months of March, April, and May. Much depends upon the season. Generally the whole matter is over by the last week in April. My experience, from the examination of many gravid specimens, indicates that the Sea-horse breeds in August and September. Fig. 2, though drawn without the proper aid from the microscope, is intended to exhibit some of the fetal phenomena, and represents the premature Fig. 2. young, which I have supposed to be twelve & ATE days old from the commencement of incu- Py, bation. Fig. 3 is one of the same magnified, and pre- sents the following particulars worthy of note. First, the tail is round, instead of quadrangular ; second, the dorsal fin is set farther back than in the adult ; third, the pectoral fins are also farther back on the nape than in the adult (though not to the same extent, £ yet facts two and three I have seen in ¥ foetuses much older) ; fourth, the extreme shortness and great width of the muzzle. The Sea-horse, when taken fresh from his native home, though almost laughably grotesque, is a very pretty crea- ture. Its general color is ashen gray; at first glance, an exceedingly sober suit. But if examined more closely, it will be found thickly studded with tiny spangles of me- tallic silver. Add to this its rich armature of daintily carved plates, like a coat of mail, its body always pertly erect, and, bent forward, it looks like the steed of a Knight-errant in quest of adventure; and those pretty, AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 30 234 THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS golden, yet queer little eyes, chameleon-like, independent of each other, intently gaze two ways at once. Then as to that dorsal fin, in oddity and beauty it has no com- peer among its ichthyic rivals, so tastily fringed with a neat border of delicate yellow, precisely like the yellow tipping of the tail of the Cedar-bird (Ampelis cedrorum). In truth, this dorsal fin is cruelly libelled in every engrav- ing we have ever seen. In nature it is an exquisite fan, in form, size, and ornament, worthy the hand of Queen Mab. Thus our Sea-horse, though anomalous in form and habit, has beauty united with its strange features, and grace with its eccentricity. In fine, as we look at his equine appearance, and think of his monkey faculty, and his opossum traits, and that queer blending of innocent oddity with patriarchal dignity, we have to accept the old fisherman’s proverb,—“ There is nothing on the Land that is not in the Sea.” THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. BY C. FRED. HARTT, A.M. (Concluded from p. 176.) Sir CHARLES LYELL, who visited Nova Scotia in 1842; first called attention to the recent bird tracks of the Basin of Minas, and Dr. J. W. Dawson, the distinguished Nova Scotian geologist has treated of them in his interest- ing little volume, “Acadian Geology.” l The mud flats of the Minas Basin are made up to a very large extent, some entirely, of these thin layers of mud, deposited by the successive tides. The deposition of the _ layers does not of course go on equally everywhere, but OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 2399 only in localities sheltered from the action of too strong currents. In these accumulations there is thrown down a layer for each tide, those deposited by the night tides being thicker than those formed during the day. During a long interval of repose thin layers only are deposited, while just after a heavy storm that stirs up the whole bay, the deposits are much increased in thickness. Nor are these accumulations confined to the shoals laid bare at low tide; but they extend over the bottom of the Basin, though they must naturally be much thicker near the shores whence the materials were originally derived. Dr. Dawson says that “these layers are thicker on the edge of the flats than near the shore; and hence these flats, as well as the marshes, are usually higher near the channels, than at the inner edge. From the same cause, the more rapid deposition of the coarse sediment, the lower side of the layer is arenaceous, and sometimes dotted with films of mica, while the upper side is fine and shining, and when dry has a shining and polished surface. The falling tide has little effect on their deposits, and hence the growth of these flats, until they reach such a height that they can be overflowed only by the highest tides.” It is to the zone embraced between high and low-water marks that the subaerial tracks, such as we have described, are confined, the only markings made on the submerged layers being entirely those of aquatic animals, tracks of crabs and other crustaceans, trails of shell-fish and marine worms, or scratches made by fishes; but markings of this kind may extend over the whole part reached by the tide, while low tide is the lowest limit at which tracks of land animals can be found. The Tringw and other waders visit the shores of the Basin only in the summer, so that through the whole 236 THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS series of layers formed during the winter, none of these tracks occur. In the winter months the shores are en- cumbered with masses of ice and snow, and are quite de- serted. The floating ice scores and ploughs up the banks in exposed localities, and the regularity of the deposits must be very much broken during that time. The ice forming on the shores and floated off at high tide carries away an immense amount of shingle and loose material, often large boulders, and drops them over the bottom of the whole Basin, and one sees blocks of trap from Blom- idon lying on the flats about Horton and Cornwallis. This annual drift phenomena must leave its record in the boulders and coarse material distributed through the finer material laid down during the winter, while the summer layers would be entirely free from them. It will be readily seen that the mud deposits can only accumulate in the quieter parts of the bay, and that as we go from these to points where the tidal cur- rents increase in velocity, we shall pass from mud de- posits to those of sand and gravel, while the shores will vary in the character of their beaches according to the kind of rock exposed at the water’s edge. Thus under the red sandstone cliffs of Cornwallis and Blomidon, we have sand beaches in exposed localities, muddy shores where the waves are shut out, while trap-shingle is strewn along the shores of Blomidon. The Strait of Minas is very narrow, and one can read- ily imagine that the immense mass of water which twice a day is poured into the Basin, and twice a day drained off again, must cause tremendous currents setting through the strait, and that wherever these are felt, only the coarser deposits are to be looked for. These mud banks, these accumulations of sand, gravel, OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 237 and shingle really form a great diary of the life of the Basin, and we see that the history that is daily written upon them is readily to be translated. Well, we have got our boots and pants well covered with mud, we have gathered a handful of specimens of bird tracks and a pocket full of muddy shells, and we haye learned some- thing of how Nature writes down in her great Stone Book the history of the world. Before us are the last few pages of the manuscript, and we have watched in the tracks left by the running bird, the pen gliding over the page. Aye, we too have added our lines to the history. Will the coming tide respect them and seal them up forever, or will it blot them out as unworthy of a place on the page? Behind us and around us in the hills are volumes written long ago by the same ever-recording pen; but Nature makes palimpsests,as did the scribes of the middle ages, and writes over and over on the same page. See, yonder at the mouth of the Avon is a range of cliffs called Horton Bluff, formed of layers of the lower coal measures. They form a chapter in the geological history of the Prov- ince, and are written all over with quaint old records of ancient forests of coal-plants, and of antique mailed and Spine-armed ganoid fish; but the scribe, wanting mate- vial on which to record the history of the present, is de- stroying the old manuscript, spreading out its leaves anew, Te-prepared for the more modern characters in which the chapter of to-day is being written. After all our scribe is but a chronicler, like ‘ald Froissart. Geologists are the historians that work over this material. They are hot satisfied with leaving the detached facts recorded, but ask the why and the wherefore of their occurrence and their relations one to another. One who merely translates the detached facts of the geological record is no more 238 THE RECENT BIRDS TRACKS entitled to be called a geologist, than a translator of Frois- sart can claim to be a historian. If you were to examine the beds of Horton Bluff, you would occasionally find one on whose surface are mark- ings, such as we observe nowadays being made on the sea-shore ; some of the layers are ripple marked evident- ly by the waves, or by shallow agitated water. All these beds were deposited under water in the shape of sand and mud. The late Dr. Theodore Harding, of Windsor, dis- covered on the surface of one of these layers, the tracks of a kind of reptile. The animal had evidently walked about over the rock when it was soft, and its footprints were preserved just as the recent impressions of birds’ feet are now being preserved on the shores near the bluffs. Tracks of worms are sometimes found on the same beds, and at Parrsboro’ we have found what appear to be the tracks of some large crustacean. Tracks of animals have been formed, of course, ever since the world has been inhabited, and these are preserved in rocks of all ages wherever the necessary conditions ob- tained, from the Lower Silurian “Lingula flags”* of St. John, New Brunswick, to the deposits now forming. Many years ago, Dr. Deane found on the surface of slabs of sandstone, quarried in the Connecticut valley, the tracks of a three-toed animal which he took to be a turkey 3 but Professor Hitchcock, of Amherst, having examined them, showed that they were not made by that fowl, but by some bird-like animal long since extinct. Attention being called to the subject, it was found that these and other footprints were scattered through a great thickness of these sandstone beds, and Professor Hitchcock, before he died, described over one hundred species of animals from * The writer pointed out the primordial of these beds in 1865. Mr. E. Billings believes them to be the exact equivalent of the “ Lingula flags ” of England. OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 239 their tracks found in the Connecticut River sandstone. There cannot be the slightest doubt that during the Trias- sic period the valley of the Connecticut, from New Haven to a point about one hundred and twenty miles north of that city, and with an average width of about twenty miles, formed an estuary, to which the sea had imperfect access, and that the sandstones and shales which now fill it, were therein deposited, under circumstances exceed- ingly like those under which the mud deposits are now accumulating in the northern estuaries of the Avon and Cornwallis, though there was there a slow submergence going on which gave an opportunity for the distribution of the tracks through hundreds of feet of beds, a thing which would otherwise have been impossible. In this estuary were extensive mud-flats and sand-banks covered by high tide, and left bare when the tide was out, and these were the resort of great numbers of animals whose footprints are alone preserved. The majority of these animals were reptiles, but others were probably birds. Huge fellows were some of them, making tracks about two feet in length. Yet, though these footprints are very abundantly handed down to us, the rocks themselves hold scarcely a vestige of animal remains. Besides a few fish, a shell or two, and an insect, only a few broken bones have been discovered thus far, and these last enable us to form only a suspicion as to the character of the animals to which they belonged. It would be very unlikely that the re- mains of land animals, which only frequented the shores between the tides, should be found in the deposits there forming, and we have already remarked how rare it is to find a dead bird on the Horton shores. Some of the shale-beds of the Connecticut valley resem- ble very closely, both in color, texture, and composition, 240 THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS the dried mud-layers of the Basin of Minas. I have be- fore me now a slab from one of the finer-grained beds of the Connecticut valley. Except that it is more solid, it could not easily be distinguished from a well-baked speci- men of the Minas mud. Its surface is marked with beau- tifully preserved rain-prints, as clearly impressed as one sees them after a mid-day “sprinkle” on the Horton mud- flats, and to make the resemblance more complete, there is on one side an incipient crack, like the gash of a knife where the mass in shrinking had begun to tear apart, but had not separated sufficiently to form a complete crack. From these studies we must see that the phenomena going on around us must be the Rosetta stone, which shall furnish us with the key for the deciphering of the hieroglyphics of the Stone Book, and that we shall under- stand the results of the forces which acted in the past, in proportion as we correctly understand their action in the present. Let us now see what was going on “down east” when the Connecticut valley was an estuary. Nova Scotia had _ at that time very much the same appearance as at present, but the land was more sunken, and the range of hills that skirts the Bay of Fundy, the North Mountains, did not then exist. The bay washed the northern slope of the South Mountains, and the Basin of Minas formed the head of the bay. The shores of the Minas Strait were then on the north, very nearly as at present; but Capes d’Or and Sharpe, as well as Partridge Island, and the Two or Five Islands, now noted for their beautiful zeolitic minerals, had not yet a being; neither had Isle Haute lifted its lone head above the waters of the bay. On the south the shore ran along the range of hills, the continuation of the South Mountains, from Kentville by Wolfville, and the OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 241 Horton Mountains to Truro. There was then no strait at all. The Basin opened broadly into the Bay of Fundy. Cobequid Bay was much wider than at present, and pene- _ trated eastward beyond Truro. One of the Acadian prov- inces, Prince Edward Island, was wanting. Within the whole bay thick beds of red sand were de- posited, and similar strata were at the same time accumu- lating in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off the northern coast of Nova Scotia, and especially over the area now occupied by Prince Edward Island. These beds now form a coarse friable red sandstone which is almost entirely bar- ren of fossils, for it had afforded only a few reptilian ‘remains in Prince Edward Island. Acadia must at that time have been peopled with animals, and covered with vegetation ; but the conditions for the preservation of the remains of either were very unfavorable. The bay was then open to the full sweep of the tide, which may at that time have acted with even much greater force in the region of the Basin of Minas than at present, because the tidal wave, not being obliged to pass, as at present, through the narrow Strait of Minas, would have had an Opportunity of exercising its full force, rising higher and higher as it rushed up the ever-narrowing head of the bay, but it may have been that at that time the isthmus which unites the peninsula of Nova Scotia with the main land was submerged, in which case the extraordinary tidal phenomena of the Bay of Fundy could not have resulted. The sandstone beds show, in their oblique lamination, the action of strong and shifting currents. There was not — e Same opportunity presented for the preservation of such footprints as may have been left on these sands, as existed in the quiet estuary of the Connecticut, or the Present Basin of Minas. At intervals during the deposit AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I 31 942 THE RECENT BIRD TRACKS of the Connecticut River beds, there were volcanic dis- turbances, attended by the formation of dykes, and the spreading out over the beds of thick masses of lava. The New-Red Sandstone period was attended in Nova Scotia by similar phenomena. Just after the formation of the sand- stone beds in the Basin of Minas and Bay of Fundy, sub- marine volcanic action broke out along the line of the present North Mountains, and immense quantities of melted matter were thrown up from beneath, and spread over the New-Red Sandstone strata, either in liquid, mol- ten streams, or a volcanic ash. This ancient lava is called trap. The volcanic disturbance went on for some time, until’ these beds had acquired a great thickness. Similar eruptions took place at the same time at the Two, Five, and Partridge Islands, Capes d’Or and Sharpe, and at the Isle Haute. It is very probable that all these now iso- lated trap masses may have been at that time continuous. The land was then elevated so as to bring all their beds in the Basin of Minas, and along the shores of the Bay of Fundy above water, and as the red sandstone beds had a slight dip to the northward along the southern coast, the volcanic beds had a like dip towards and under the bay. The trap beds were very thin inland, but became thicker towards the shore. Running water began its work on the southern edge of the trap deposit, along the present line of the valley between the North and South Mountains, and with the assistance of glacial action and the sea, _ which afterward flowed through it, excavated that depres- sion. To the north, the waves, beating along the whole bay coast for centuries, cut away the trap-beds, so that we have now only a narrow strip left, the North Moun- tains from Blomidon to Briar Island. At the time of the elevation of the New-Red Sandstone beds, the Basin of OF THE BASIN OF MINAS. 243 Minas, as well as a large portion of the Bay of Fundy, was occupied with them; but they have since been largely removed, except where overlaid by trap deposits, or otherwise protected, and only small remnants are now left fringing the shores of Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick. Prince Edward Island made its appearance with the rise of the land, and it must at first have been of much greater extent than at present, perhaps even having been united to Nova Scotia. a g go <4 om > aa Sock colony si Pokot oi ae i opt | ; + H : IDS nL E. == A NN il Dim SS @, Silurian strata. b, Carboniferous sandstone and shales, €, C, C, ¢, ©, Triassic red sandstone. d, Trap overlaying red sandstone. The reptiles and birds of the New-Red Sandstone pe- riod have passed away, and the earth is peopled by a new creation. In that period the world had reached that Stage in its development when it was fitted for the rule of 4 the brute force of giant reptiles. To-day mind rules. God’s other creations signed their mark on the pages of Po aien history. OTE.— The above di: an ideal vertical sec selen rar the pipt from ek Seah to pone gh the rants: position of the beds o. of Diett 8: t i „€, which, ress iets Frege oc Y ‘0 verlying Ses ore tray k re worn away into low hills, or i mise ae at Blomidon es aiae Island, are y é nta t of the the evel.” This ce oeli a 4 DAINA oa one by Dr. Dawson, in his “Acadian ogy, additions by the 4 244 SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. BY EDWARD 8. MORSE. PLATE 8. Tue loiterer by the sea-side may have noticed in his rambles on the beach, certain gelatinous substances left by the retreating tide. An interest excited by so strange a sight may have prompted a closer examination, and yet recognizing nothing tangible or definite in the struc- ture of these shapeless bodies, a desire has been really awakened to know something about them. We will try to satisfy this curiosity, by giving a brief account of a few of our more common Jelly-fishes; for these shapeless lumps of jelly, seen stranded on our beaches, are really animals, assuming the most graceful and symmetrical forms in the water. The Jelly-fishes, or Modu, have long excited the at- tention of naturalists from their aingalar structure, and the wonderful changes occurring diving their growth. While in the higher expressions of animal life the anat- omist may puzzle over the intricacies of a complicated organization in the Jelly-fishes, he is at first more per- plexed to find anything like organization in their parts, though they are really highly organized compared with animals still lower in the scale. So transparent are some, that one can hardly detect their presence in the water, and so largely does the sea-water enter into their com- position, that certain kinds when dried lose ninety-nine one hundredths of their own weight. ` Peron and Lesueur, two distinguished French patiki ists, who, in the early part of this century made a voyage around the globe, thus summed up the results of their combined observations on these animals. “The substance SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. 245 of a Medusa is wholly resolved, by a kind of instanta- neous fusion, into a fluid analogous to sea-water; and yet the most important functions of life are effected in bodies that seem to be nothing more, as it were, than coagulated water. The multiplication of these animals is prodigious, and we know nothing certain respecting their mode of generation. They may acquire dimensions of many feet in diameter, and weigh, occasionally, from fifty to sixty pounds; and their system of nutrition escapes us. They execute the most rapid and continued motions ; and the details of their muscular system are unknown. “Their secretions seem to be extremely abundant ; but _ We perceive nothing satisfactory as to their origin. ey have a kind of very active respiration; its real seat is a mystery. They seem extremely feeble, but fishes of large size are daily their prey. One would imagine their stomachs incapable of any kind of action on these latter animals : in a few moments they are digested. Many of them contain internally considerable quantities of air, but whether they imbibe it from the atmosphere, extract it from the ocean, or secrete it from within their bodies, we are equally ignorant. A great number of these Meduse are phosphorescent, and glare amidst the gloom of night like globes of fire; yet the nature, the principle, and the agents of this wonderful property remain to be dis- covered. Some sting and inflame the hand that touches them; but the cause of this power is equally unknown.” Professor Richard Owen quotes these “lively paradoxes” to show the progress made since then im clearing up many points that were obscure at their time, and to show that even the skilful naturalist, with abundant material at hand, may plod on with uncertainty unless aided by the higher powers of the microscope. Recent works published by 246 SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. Professors Agassiz and Clark, and Mr. A. Agassiz, have detailed very fully the anatomy and classification of our native species. The Jelly-fishes of our coast are represented by nume- rous globular and disk-like animals of a gelatinous tex- ture, more or less transparent, having certain appen- dages consisting either of longitudinal Bands of vibrating fringes, as in one order; or, as in another order, having appendages surrounding the mouth, and others, thread- like, hanging from d margin of the disk. The parts most conspicuous within the body are the ovaries, or egg- sacks, the stomach, and certain tubes running from the stomach to the periphery of the body. These animals are apparently radiated in their struc- ture ; at all events, it is difficult in certain groups to dis- tinguish a right and left side, and for this reason they are called Radiated animals, and form one of the three classes of the branch RADIATA. The Jelly-fishes of our coast are common in our har- bors and inlets, where the water is fresh and pure from the ocean. A very ready and convenient way to collect them is to moor your boat on the shady side of a wharf where the reflected rays of the sun are avoided, and, as the tide sweeps gently past, to dip them as they are borne along by the current. Some little practice is necessary to discern the smaller kinds, for many species are very minute, and other species, though of good size, are never- theless hard to distinguish on account of their extreme transparency. They may be dipped from the water with a tin dipper, though a wide-mouthed glass jar is better for this purpose. As they are duvi they may be poured into a wooden pail for assortment and examination at home; or, better, a large glass jar, carried on purpose SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. 247 to hold them, may be filled at once, as too frequent changes destroy them. Some species are very hardy, and may be kept alive for weeks, while others live only a few hours, gradually diminishing in size till they appear to melt away in the water. Among the more common forms met with on our coast is the Pleurobrachia (Plate 8, Fig. 8). Words fail in describing the beauty and singularity of this Jelly-fish. Conceive a globular body the size of a walnut or larger, but perfectly transparent, having eight bands of rapidly Vibrating fringes surrounding the body, running from one pole to the other like the ridges on a walnut, and two thread-like appendages, festooned with hundreds of shorter threads, trailing out behind the body like the tail of a ‘comet, and you have a general idea of this Jelly-fish. The zones of vibrating fringes act like so many little oars, and impel the body through the water. At times, only the fringes on one side are in motion, and then the body rotates in the water like a vital globe. Anon, the different zones alternate in action, and the body describes 4 spiral course in the water. The most beautiful pris- matic hues are exhibited when these fringes are in motion, and these brilliant changing colors often lead to their detection in the water. The long thread-like appen- dages, already mentioned, are the most wonderful portion of the structure of this Jelly-fish. They are lined with hundreds of smaller threads which start at right angles. from the main threads, and are all of the extremest te- nuity. The distance these appendages can be projected from the body, the instantaneous manner in which they are, drawn within the body, and the perfect control the animal manifests in their movements seems incredible, 248 SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. until the movements have been actually witnessed. When contracted, these appendages occupy a space of exceeding minuteness, and when projected from the body seem to run out as a cable runs from a ship. We have sought in vain for any definite solution of the function of these threads, and are compelled to offer one derived from our own observations. Beside the locomotive power derived from the longitudinal zones of fringes, the body will be seen to oscillate to and fro, this motion being produced by the alternate contraction and relaxation of these threads, the resistance offered to the water by the sudden contraction of the expanded threads being sufficient to oscillate the body. The Jelly-fish in question, unlike most members of the class, swim with the mouth upward, and the appendages start from the pole opposite the mouth ; and since the mouth is unprovided with any or- gans whereby to grasp food, the mouth has the power of sweeping back and forth in the water by the oscillations of the body, affording greater chances of coming in con- tact with their food. It has the power of seizing little shrimp-like animals, and a singular sight it is to see this Jelly-fish, with its repast perfectly visible within its transparent body. There are two other forms of Jelly-fishes not uncom- mon in our waters, which have the zones of locomotive fringes, but have no trailing appendages, as in the species just described. One of these forms is called Bolina, and is spew larger than Pleurobrachia, being pear-shaped, and the larger jes divided into two lobes which surround the mouth. These lobes have the power of expanding and contracting, and the contour of the animal is mate- rially altered by their movements. They may sometimes be seen gaping wide, disclosing the mouth, and ready to SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. 249 entrap its food, and again so contracted that the mouth is quite hidden. Another form called Jdyia is long and cylindrical like a tube rounded and closed at one end, the other abrupt and open; the open end constitutes the mouth. In fact, it is hardly more than a locomotive stomach. This Jelly-fish has more consistency than those heretofore described, and is quite opake. At certain seasons of the year they are pinkish in color. An individual of this species, when confined with Pleurobrachia, soon manifests its carnivo- rous propensities by attacking, and often swallowing the Pleurobrachia whole. It does not appear daunted if its victim proves larger than itself, but slowly, patiently engulfs its victim; and a curious sight it is to see the Idyia directly after this feat is performed, presenting the appearance of a tight skin drawn around the innermost Jelly-fish, though in a short time its food is digested, and the Idyia resumes its normal shape, and not in the least augmented in size, It probably requires a dozen or more of such game for an ordinary lunch. This state- ment will not be wondered at, if the experiment is tried of drying a specimen of Pleurobrachia on a white card, and finding nothing left but a few crystals of salt. The Vitality of these Jelly-fishes is remarkable: they can be cut in several pieces, and yet each piece will remain alive for a long time in the water; and one naturalist, after having cut an Idyia in half longitudinally, observed one half to enfold, and digest another Jelly-fish. The three forms thus far described are common repre- Sentatives of an order of Jelly-fishes called Ctenophore, or Comb-bearers, the fringes or paddles having been com- pared by some writers to the teeth of a comb. These fringes form a distinguishing trait of the order. The AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 32 250 SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. members of this order are reproduced directly from eggs. We will now consider another order of Jelly-fishes called Discophore, or disk-like Jelly-fishes, since the form of many species present a disk-like appearance. Members of this order are very conspicuous in the water, owing to their large size, their opacity, and the distinct- ness of their egg-pouches. They have no zones of loco- motive fringes, but hanging below the disk and surround- ing the mouth are numerous appendages, and surrounding the border of the disk is seen a delicate fringe of threads interrupted at regular intervals by little dots called eyes. These Jelly-fishes swim in the water by successive ex- pansions and contractions of the disk, making a motion something like the motion made by the partial closing and opening of an umbrella. This motion is very leisurely performed, and the animal appears drifted by the currents and eddies with but little power to direct its course. Our most common species, the Aurelia (Plate 8, fig. 5), occurs abundantly in our bays, sometimes in vast multitudes. When full-grown they measure from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter. Another form, called Cyanea, often attains an immense size. Mr. A. Agassiz gives an account of one that meas- ured seven feet across the disk, and whose appendages stretched out to the length of one hundred and twelve feet ; their average size, however, is about one-third the dimensions just given. nettling sensation produced by certain Jelly-fishes, when brought in contact with the naked body, has long excited the attention of naturalists. The Cyanea is one of the mori fornidable in this respect, and Prof. Edward Forbes d ies as “the terror of ten- SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. 251 der-skinned bathers. With its broad, tawny, festooned, and scalloped disk, often a full foot or more across, it flaps its way through the yielding waters, and drags after it a long train of riband-like arms, and seemingly inter- minable tails, marking its course when the body is far away from us. Once tangled in its trailing ‘hair,’ the unfortunate, who has recklessly ventured across the graceful monster’s path, too soon writhes in prickly tor- ture. Every struggle but binds the poisonous threads more firmly ryan bis body, and then there is no escape ; for, when the winder of the fatal net finds his course im- peded by the terrified human wrestling in its coils, he, seeking no combat with the mightier biped, casts loose his envenomed arms, and swims away. The amputated weapons, severed from their parent body, vent vengeance on the cause of their destruction, and sting as fiercely as if their original proprietor itself gave the word of attack.” Peculiar oval cells, each containing a little filament capa- ble of protrusion, have been supposed to be the seat of this nettling sensation. These are called urticating cells, and the whole class of Jelly-fishes are called Acalephs, or Sea-nettles, from this peculiar property. These stinging cells cover the surface of the body and appendages, though, strange enough, there are many species possessing these cells that produce no stinging sensation whatever. The strangest feature in the history of certain Jelly- fishes belonging to the order Discophore, as the Aurelia, for instance, is their wonderful mode of reproduction. It would require too long a time to detail the successive steps made before the whole truth was known the development of these Jelly-fishes. How hae succes- Sive stages were described by different zodlogists as en- tirely distinct animals, until at last it was proved that 252 SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. they all represented the different stages of growth of one animal. The Aurelia, for example, gives origin to little locomotive eggs ; these, swimming in shoals, finally effect lodgments on the rocks, one end becoming attached, and the other throwing out little tentacles as in Fig. 1, on Plate 8. In this condition they resemble miniature Polyps. Gradually they increase in length, and little transverse seams, or constrictions, appear on the sides of the body, these constrictions deepening, and their edges becoming scalloped. (See Plate 8, fig. 2. ) Finally, the seams haye deepened to such an extent that their appearance have been compared to a pile of saucers, and at last they be- come separated one after the other, each turning upside down, and swimming off free Jelly-fishes. In this stage they are called Ephyra, and are entirely unlike their parent in appearance. By the fall they will have attained their adult form, and a diameter of twelve or more inches. Figs. 3, 4, on the Plate, represents Ephyras in dif- ferent stages of growth, a short time after separating from the stalk. In spring time the water is alive with them. By far the greater number of our smaller Jelly-fishes belong to another order called’ Hydrotds, and pass through phases of growth equally as strange as those above re- counted. The limits of our paper will allow only a few words on this group. On the rocks at low water, and on floating weed, little moss-like tufts will be found in abundance. This plant-like growth, when examined un- der a lens, will be seen active with life. The ends of the little twigs ‘and offshoots appear as little bell-shaped cups, with tentacles studding the free ends like the plates of a flower; these are the fixed individuals, and are the purveyors of the community. In the spring time little _ capsules will be noticed on the twigs, within which are American Naturalist. Vol. LTPES MORSE ON THE JELLY FISHES. SOMETHING ABOUT JELLY-FISHES. 253 to be seen minute globular bodies, to be finally set free by the rupture of the capsule, as free swimming Jelly- fishes. (See Plate 8, fig. 12: a, fixed individai; b, capsule containing young Jelly-fishes.) Others bud di- rectly from the twig and drop off singly, as in Coryne. (Fig. 7, buds forming from Hydroid stalk ; Fig. 6, adult Coryne.) These are found by thousands in spring time. Not only do these free Jelly-fishes bud from fixed com- munities, but in one species young ones bud from the Jelly-fish itself, as in Lizzia (Fig. 10), and certain others where the young bud from the stomach. All these Hy- droid Jelly-fishes produce eggs, which again give rise to plant-like communities. At another time we hope to de- vote a chapter to the structure of Jelly-fishes, and illus- trate more fully the character of the Hydroids, of which we have scarcely touched in this paper. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 8. Fig- 1. Early condition of Aurelia, —after AGASS Fig. 2. Older condition of same, showing sioniaab about to separate, —after AGASSIZ. Fig. b; Da a short time after Bird itself, — original. Fig. 4. Advanced stage of above, Fig. 5. Aurelia, in adult condition, Pin Kannik Fig. 6. Coryne mirabilis Ag., —original Fig. 7. Hydroid community of Gie TN Doriy Jelly- — origi Fig. 11. ompr gam te Pe ‘of Eucope diaphana Ag.,—after A. GASSIZ. Fig. 12. Showing one twig of Eucope with fixed individual A, and reproductive 3 ‘A arogan a number of young Jelly-fishes, — after Fig. 13. Eucope, in adult jere aA, —original. 254 AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. BY W: J. BEAL. Mr. CHARLES Darwin and other botanists have proved beyond a doubt, that some flowers, in which the pollen may easily gain access to the stigma of the same flower, are sterile unless fertilized by pollen borne from other flowers, while many are much more productive by a cross fertilization. For information concerning the peculiar manner in which fertilization is effected in the Balsam, Wood-sorrel, Violets, Dicentra or Dielytra, Corydalis, } Mitchella or Partridge-berry, Oldenlandia or Houstonia, Primrose, Barberry, Lysimachia or Loosestrife, Orchids, Dutchman’s Pipe, and others ; consult the. observations recorded by Mr. J.T. Rothrock in the second number of the NATURAL- ist, Mr. Darwin’s work on the “Fertilization of Orchids,” and seven articles by Dr. A. Gray in the “American Ag- riculturist,” beginning in May, 1866. With the fact that insects are necessary to fertilize some plants, and the theory that all are improved by crossing, let us see how this is accomplished in plants which may not seem to require the aid of the wind or insects. Plants are very rarely found in which the pollen may not, occa- sionally at least, get to the stigma of another flower of the same, or an allied species. Then if the pollen is “pre- potent” or most effective on stigmas when thus transferred, a cross is very sure to result, even though much pollen comes in contact with the stigma of the same flower. Dr. Gray, acquainted with hoier facts, and familiar with the structure of the Iris, saw that insects must be needed for : the fertilization of this plant also, and without seeing the Ip , shrewdly pointed out the manner in which AGENCY OF INSECTS, ETC. 255 they must carry the pollen from one flower to another. We verified his theory by observations made two years ago, and found it to be true in the essential particulars. Without giving a scientific description of the flower, it is enough for our present purpose to say, that the parts consist of three curved tubes, each just about large enough to admit a common honey-bee, being a trifie larger than a cell in her comb. ; There is a showy crest, or attractive platform, projecting at the outer end of each tube upon which the bee first alights. When going into the flower for the first time during the day, she is free from pollen. She brushes against a lid which hangs from above, not unlike an old- fashioned swinging door of a cat-hole, as sometimes seen about barns or corn-cribs. When farther in beyond the lid, she comes against the anther, which only discharges pollen on the side next to the bee’s back.. After getting _ What nectar she can at the lower end of the tube, she backs out again, pushing the trap-door in the opposite direction. The outside of this door is the only part of the stigma upon which the pollen will produce any effect, so upon visiting the first tube no pollen adheres to the sensitive side of the stigma, although the bee leaves the place with her back well powdered. Calling at another tube, she dives in as before, this time dusting the outside of the lid with pollen which was brought from the tube first visited. In the early part of June, I examined the common Blue Flag (Āris versicolor Linn.) at different times during the day, and always succeeded in seeing the bees at work while their heads and backs contained an abundance of pollen. In wilted flowers, and in some that were fresh, I saw bees occasionally get in and out at the side of the 256 AGENCY OF INSECTS tube, without touching the stigma at all. Sometimes they went in the tube as first described, and then slipped out at the side instead of backing out. Several went on top of the flower and tried to find other ways to get at the sweets below, but in every instance they failed, and soon left that position. At the Botanical Garden, Cambridge, Mass., I noticed bees on several foreign species of Iris, in some of which, as Iris pseudocarus of Southern Europe, the tube is more nearly perfect, so that it is impossible for them to find a side entrance or egress. The corolla of Andromeda floribunda Pursh, is nearly urn-shaped, hanging with the open end or entrance down. The ten long anthers open at the apex by two round holes, and each anther is supplied with two horizontal or reflexed awns on the outside next the corolla. The stigma is just at the narrow mouth of the corolla. . Bees in abundance visit the flowers, thrusting their long tongue or proboscis against the awns or horns of the anther, as they reach in for nectar which is secreted farther on. By hitting the awns the anthers are disturbed, and the holes brought close against some part of the bee’s probos- cis, which is well sprinkled over with pollen, as well as the other mouth parts hanging below the flower. Bees were examined, and found to have the parts mentioned covered with the four-grained pollen which is peculiar to a few plants. I cannot see how pollen alights on the stigmas of this plant, for in falling out in the natural way it must pass by to the ground. But the insect puts the material in place every time as effectually as a mason can stick mortar on the ceiling of a room. The Blueberry ( Vaccinium) is similar in structure to the Andromeda, except that the IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. 257 awns are wanting. Probably most flowers which droop — or hang down are fertilized by insects. For otherwise, how can the pollen find the tip of a stigma, when the - style is suspended ? The mode of fertilization in the American Laurel ( Kal- mia) has already been well described in the NATURALIST, but I may be excused for adding my testimony concern- ing this beautiful and interesting plant. When the anthers are liberated from the pockets in the corolla, the stamens suddenly straighten and throw jets of pollen often for a foot or more, “acting,” as Professor Gray used to say, “like a boy’s pea-shooter.” Many times when the dew was on, I have seen the common honey-bee and other Hymenoptera about these flowers. When the bee alights on a flower, the style Comes up between the legs where they join the body, or _ Sometimes farther back against the abdomen. Tn this position they turn around, as though they were balanced on a pivot, generally inserting the tongue out- side of the filament, and, while doing this, pull the sta- mens with their legs towards the centre of the flower, re- leasing them and frequently receiving the shots of pollen on their own body. A single visit from an insect is suf- ficient to release all the anthers. By noon it was a diffi- | cult matter to find a flower which had not been visited in this way. Insects seem to be absolutely necessary for the perfect fertilization of Kalmia angustifolia and K. latifolia, for I tied small nets over some flower-clusters (corymbs) , and found that when the bees were kept away, the flowers withered and fell off, most of the anthers still Temaining in the pockets, and the filaments so decayed that their elasticity was entirely gone. The very few an- AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 258 ' AGENCY OF INSECTS thers liberated were probably brought out by the shaking of the bushes by the wind. Considerable pollen was found stuck on the corollas by the nectar, which was uncommonly abundant, as no in- sects of much size were allowed to remove it. The wind might have carried some of this pollen to other flowers, or it might have dripped from those above to flowers be- low in drops of water (there were two showers during these experiments); but I infer this was not the case in the examples mentioned, because the flowers, especially the stigmas, remained fresh much longer than those which were left exposed to the visits of insects. The flowers of several Honeysuckles, of the Mustard Family (Crucifere), of the Bladder-nut (Staphylea tri- Jolia L.) were noticed, and in each ĉase the conclusion reached was, that the chances are better for cross fertil- ization than otherwise. The long cylindrical, bell-shaped corollas of site Purple Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) are much visited by bees. flowers are mostly obliquely suspended, and in all thus situated, the stamens and style are close to the up- per side of the corolla. The insects alight at the opening of the corolla, on the side opposite the stamens. This is generally the lower side as the flowers hang, then reach- ing above, they catch hold of the style and stamens, & crawl in with the back down, brushing the whole length of the underside of the body, first against the stigma, and, farther on, against the anthers. - They seem unable to get into the flower without catch- ing hold of the stamens, and it is often with considerable difficulty that they enter at all, for they are obliged to hold on to the edge with the hind legs until glad n catch the stamens with their fore legs. IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. 259 In the Evening Primrose (Oenothera glauca Michx., Oe. Missouriensis and linearis Michx.), the stigmas pro- ject beyond the anthers, and the flowers vary from an erect to a horizontal position.’ There are four large stigmas for each style, spreading in the form of a Greek cross. The pollen, slightly held together by delicate threads, is collected in the morning by great numbers of small wasps, about two-thirds the size of honey-bees. I have often watched them while coming down on, or just over, the stigmas, leaving pollen as they went in, and after col- lecting what they could, fly out at the side without touch- ing the stigma. On one of these plants, at two different times, a wasp was eagerly trying to pick up the pollen which had been left on the stigmas; the more they tried to collect, the more they scattered pollen about on the glutinous surface, until, as if discouraged or disgusted, they rapidly cleaned their legs of all the tangled mass, and flew away, leaving that cluster of flowers entirely. In the flowers of the Pea, False Indigo, Yellow-wood (Cladastris), Red-bud or Judas-tree, Red and White Clover, Locust, and others of this large and important family (Leguminose), the anthers surround the stigma, and are closely covered by the corolla. This certainly looks like a very clear case for self-fertilization, but I doubt not the reverse is very often the case. Many of the flowers, as the Pea and Locust, have one petal much larger than the rest, called the standard or banner. Opposite this is another part composed of two petals Sometimes united, termed the keel. On this keel bees uniformly alight, and crowd the head down next to the banner-petal. To enable them to do this, they kick keel and side petals (wings) with their hind legs, nd push them back so that the anthers and stigmas stigmas 260 ICE-MARKS AND ANCIENT GLACIERS come out from their concealment and meet the underside of the insect where pollen may be left or received. + Why the style should be so uniformly curved upward, and all should be brought against the abdomen of insects, I can- not well conceive, unless it be of some use to the plant. Lupine, another species in this family, has a remarkably long keel which makes a close sheath for the inside parts. Ont the style, just below the extremity, is a circle of long stiff bristles. As the keel is pushed down, only the stig- ma, with the bristles below, appears outside, and this pushes out a mass of pollen which generally hits some part of the insect. When left, the flower resumes its former position again. For about six times pollen can be pushed out in this way, when the supply becomes exhausted. Insects begin on the lowest flowers, and so go up the spike to others which are higher and younger. No experiments have been made on Lupine to show whether it will produce more seeds when visited by insects than when protected. a ee —— S ICE-MARKS AND ANCIENT GLACIERS IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. BY A. S. PACKARD, JR., M.D. Durme a visit last autumn to the White Mountains, we found ice-marks in the valleys of the Saco, Ellis, and _ Androscoggin Rivers. These grooves, and other signs of ice action, give the clearest evidence, that, during the - Glacial Period, the White Mountains were covered by à central mer-de-glace, which discharged local glaciers into _ the principal valleys radiating op Pier: the central peaks. - Like the glaciers of the Alps, of the mo mountains of” IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 261 Norway, of the Himalaya Mountains, and the mountains of New Zealand, the Andes, and the polar regions at the present day, these rivers of ice flowed down the val- leys, like a plastic mass of frozen and refrozen snow and ice. We learn from the writings of geologists that in former times the Alpine glaciers, which now cling to the mountain peaks far up the valleys, descended during a period of great cold, when the Polar Bear, Reindeer, and other arctic animals were spread over Southern Eu- rope, and extended far out upon the broad plains of Italy and Germany. Such must have been the scene in New England during the time of intense cold, known as the Glacial Period. But before theorizing, let us . present the facts which seem to us new, and to confirm the opin- ions. that have been before expressed by some of our geologists, that the principal valleys of the White Moun- tains have been filled with these rivers of ice. Our ob- servations only relate to the eastern part of the mountains. Let us first explain what is meant by ice-marks or glacial scratches, striw, grooves, and moraines. The rocks and ledges in all the Alpine valleys are grooved and fluted by nearly parallel marks made by gravel and Pebbles frozen into the bottom and sides of the slowly- moving mass of ice. The glacier thus grinds down, polishes, and scratches the rocks over which it moves. So steady and uniform is the motion of these immense bodies of ice, that the marks preserve a remarkably uniform course over the uneven surface of the valley. Sometimes a huge ledge projects into the valley. Around this the glacier sweeps, and the marks are curved at this point. Where the glacier debouches on to a broad plain, the ice-marks tend to radiate outwards, fan-like, from the mouth of the valley. L a 262 ICE-MARKS AND ANCIENT GLACIERS Moraines are formed of the debris or loose refuse mat- ter accumulated either upon the surface, or crowded be- neath the ice. The material derived from the latter source forms masses of clay, sand, and rounded stones, the latter of which are often found to be striated on one or more of the sides, like the surface of the solid rock beneath. On the top of the glacier rest long rows or trains of more angular blocks which have fallen from the cliffs above. These windrows of stones are called “lateral moraines,” because they are found on each side of the glacier. When such a glacier melts away, a great semi- circular heap or hillock of ee and dirt forms what is called a “terminal moraine.” We would naturally ex- pect to find the finer, clayey portions with rounded stones, grooved and scratched pebbles, and boulders at the bottom of the rude mass, while the more angular stones would remain upon the top. From the melting of the ice arise rivers whose turbid and swollen waters rus out from beneath the end of the glacier, and further aid in rounding the stones. Such torrential streams are the sources of the Aar, a branch of the Rhine, of the Rhone, and of other rivers which spring out from under the gla- ciers of the Alps and of Norway. Our route to the mountains lay up the valley of the Ossipee River, in which Ossipee Lake, Six Mile Pond, and numerous other ponds lie. Looking from the village of Ossipee up the broad valley at the head of which rises the majestic Chicorua, and beholding on all sides lateral moraines thrown up in hillocks of partially strat- ified gravel and pebbles, and the beautiful glacial lakes -embosomed in the gently swelling hills of this delightful valley, it was not difficult to imagine that old Chicorua, in former times, shook off from its icy dome streams of ice IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 263 which crowded far up, and even overflowed the sides of this valley, and when all had melted away, left as witnesses of the floods these placid lakes. These sheets of water, however, are not scattered at random over the face of New England. In this valley and the neighboring parts of Maine, they are arranged in a general north-west and south-east course, following that of the rivers. This direction is probably due to the fact that the valleys cut across the general north-east and south-west course of our mountain ranges, which compose the Appalachian chain. We had no time to search for glacial scratches in the Ossipee valley, but cannot doubt that on examination they will be found pointing towards Mount Chicorua, where, according to Dr. C. T. Jackson,* they follow the gene- ral north-west course of this valley. Riding up the Conway valley, with Kearsarge on our right, and the Mote Mountains on our left, up through Bartlett to Jackson, we observe moraines innumerable rising high up the sides of the valley, and covered with boulders, revealed more distinctly in all the cleared lands. Above these moraines rise rounded and embossed rocks, while the evenly terraced valley, over which the ' road passes, shows that at a former period (though long after the close of the glacial epoch) the river, then a se- ries of broad lakes, rearranged and resorted the confused materials composing the mounds left by the melting glacier, into finely, evenly stratified fresh-water deposits, which now form the arable land of the plains, over which are scattered the picturesque villages and hamlets so fa- miliar to the White Mountain tourist. Ice-marks were first noticed at Jackson, on Thorn _ * Report on the Geology of New Hampshire. 264 ICE-MARKS AND ANCIENT GLACIERS Mountain, a peak lying just south of Tin Mountain, and estimated by Prof. Guyot to be 2,500 feet high. Here the grooves are well marked, and point directly towards Mount Washington, their course being north 25° west. Even portions of a quartz vein which appears upon the surface is smoothly polished and finely striated. On re- moving the soil from the surface of the rock a part of the way up the mountain, and also directly upon the summit, these ice-marks could be easily discerned, all running in the same north-west and south-east direction. On Mount Kearsarge, three miles distant, which bears south 25° east from Thorn Mountain, Dr. Jackson states, in the Geology of New Hampshire, that part way up the mountain the drift-marks run north 35° west,—thus pursuing the gene- ral north-west and south-east course the valley here as- sumes. In hastily ascending this mountain on the north side from Jackson, we were not fortunate enough to dis- cover any grooves in the rocks. Half way up the side, however, we found a boulder of a peculiar mica slate, containing large crystals of staurotide, or cross-stone, which must have been borne down on the back of the glacier from Mount Washington, as thick beds of this rock occur near the limit of trees, a little over four thou- sand feet up that mountain. Similar boulders occurred on some of the hills below. On an adjoining hill near Goodrich’s Falls, are very distinct ice-marks. Here we found a huge angular boulder of many tons weight, which had been ap- parently detached from the parent rock beneath, and moved a few rods to the south-east; for to the north- west are polished surfaces and grooves which had evi- - dently been made by this large, slowly-moving mass of. = when frozen, info the bottom of a glacier. The o IN: THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 265 surface of the reddish sienite had here been polished smooth as porcelain, as seen in little patches which had survived the centuries of weathering by frosts and snows, which has effaced most of the slighter traces of glacial action in our mountain regions. Here the marks point- ed north 30° east. There were also strange marks in the rocks, called lunoid furrows, which are crescent-shaped depressions in the rock, with the concavity looking to- wards the north. The origin of these lunoid furrows have been thus explained. It is known that the glacier is in constant motion, advancing a few inches in sum- mer, and then contracting in winter. Now imagine a stone frozen into the ice, and thus acting as a gouge. Pushed onward and then withdrawn by the powerful hand of the ice-king, it soon wears this peculiar shaped hole, then turns over out of the rut, and catches again in some inequality of the rock, and makes another lunoid furrow, or perhaps a series of four or five, often very regular in form, though the distance between them may vary. : Crossing over the range of mountains north of Mount Kearsarge into Stowe, Maine, we descend into the charming valley of the Cold River. This is a branch of the Saco, and, though now comparatively unknown, it must in future attract many travellers. We pause at the entrance of Evang Notch, a mountain pass of great interest, and far surpassing Pinkham Notch in grandeur, reminding us rather of the White Mountain Notch. The . gate of the pass is guarded on the west by Mount Royce, on the east by Speckled Mountain, whose nine spurs ra- into the towns of Stowe, Albany, and Stoneham. On the broad, flattened, glaciated summit of Speckled tain ice-marks abound, pursuing a course north 15° AN NAT., VOL. I. 34 ’ 266 ICE-MARKS AND ANCIENT GLACIERS east, following the course of the valley at this point, and pointing PeT a | higher peak situated a little to the northward. In one place a beautiful beryl, in fine crystals of which the coarse granite abounds, has been sliced off by the abrading agent, and polished even with the surface of the feldspar matrix. There are broad surfaces of rock planed down by ice, both on the north-western and north-eastern slopes, showing that the ice must have slid down in both directions from the reservoir of snow which rested on the water-shed between the two valleys. Here, also, occur numerous lunoid furrows, pointing in the same general direction as the straight fine grooves. In the fields, at _ the bottom of the mountain, are several parallel trains of boulders, formerly lateral moraines, which lie ten or fif- teen rods apart. We were informed that these windrows of boulders stop the plough, and it is only possible to turn the sod in the intervals between them, which are entirely free from boulders. On Mount Baldface, which lies about three miles west of Speckled Mountain, and is composed of a pale fine sienite, with an unusually perfect rift, enabling it to be split into long thin slabs for building purposes, the glacial marks assume quite a different direction, run- ning north 10° to 15° west. On the north-east face, per- haps five hundred feet below the summit, may be seen strie and lunoid furrows in abundance, running over 4 smoothly glaciated spur, on which the striæ run north 10° west. Here the lunoids were quite abundant. Some were ve large, oe from one to three feet in aia dell of the mountain saab covert angular boulders of a peculiar porphyritic sienite, containing IN THE WHITE MOUNTAINS. 267 curious oblong crystals of albitic feldspar. Our guide to their source—the trusty ice-grooves—point to Peaked Mountain, a peak lying perhaps half an hours walk ‘in a direction north 10° west. Under their guidance, and by occasionally following the paths made by bears through the stunted growth of spruce, we find the parent rock from which they had been torn, on the summit of Peaked Mountain, which is composed of this peculiar porphyry. Passing through Evans’ Notch into the valley of the Androscoggin, in the town of Gilead, we find marks on a ledge near the river, which follow a general north-west and south-east direction. This is the general course of the Androscoggin River at this place. Following this river to its mouth, where it empties near the sea-shore into the Kennebec River, the traces of glaciers observed at Bethel, Lewiston, and Brunswick show that a stream of ice once filled the valley throughout its whole length, om the mountains to the sea. There was also a Peabody River glacier, which joined the Androscoggin glacier, as we may call it, at the junc- tion of those two rivers near the Alpine House, at Gor- ham, N. H. A geological friend has detected on the north-east side of Mount Washington, on the carriage road, glacial grooves which point down the Peabody valley. . Thus we see the traces of five distinct ancient glaciers, — ing as many river valleys, descending from the higher peaks of the White Mountains. In rounding off the tops of the mountains, scooping out the valleys, and levelling with their moraines the deep depressions in the surface of the earth, they were important agents in preparing the way for the advent of man, who should till the soil they 268 ICE-MARKS AND ANCIENT GLACIERS. have borne down from the mountains and spread out in fertile plains. Such are the lessons to be learned of drifted boulders, ice-marks, and moraines. Now looking back through thé past, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of years, when an ice-dome capped these mountains, then probably rising much higher above the sea, and sending a glacier down each broad valley into the ocean, where their huge icy cliffs were layed by the waters of a frozen sea, we have to imagine ourself as if on the present coast of Greenland or Spitzbergen, and, looking inland from some mountain peak upon the coast, behold a vast sea of ice with jagged peaks rising up through the broad expanse, cleaving and throwing aside the slowly, imperceptibly moving currents of this inland sea of ice. Near the sea, partly warmed perhaps by the remote influence of the Gulf Stream, whose powers upon the coast of New England were greatly lessened during this period of intense arctic cold, were sunny valleys, carpeted with moss and sprinkled sparingly with lovely arctic flowers,—whose descendants still linger upon the summit of Mount Washington, —half- hidden beneath the snows, or clinging to the cliffs as if shrinking from the icy embrace of the glacier. Here the Reindeer and the Bison* met in herds, the arctic Foxes barked, and the arctic Hare nibbled the short summer's growth ; while upon the drifting ice-cakes the Polar Bear sat watching for some stray seal, and the Mammoth, found fossil over the northern part of both hemispheres, __ *The teeth of the Walrus and the Bison were discovered by Sir Charles Lyell in the clay-beds at Gardiner, Maine. These are still preserved in a privato collage _ REVIEWS, 269 stalked over the plains. The Gare Fowl, or Penguin of the north (Alca impennis), probably reared its young fattening them on the Caplin, which has been found fosei] in our clay-beds; and the smaller Auks, the Gannet, the Puffin, and Eider Duck filled air and water with their hosts. Through the waves, schools of Narwhales may have disported snd: waged war with that Bull-dog of the north- ern seas, the Kiler; ; while the Walrus and Greenland Seal thrust their half-dog,'half-human face above the waves, and with angry hark, crowded and jostled each other off the smooth-backed skiers skirting the coast. Did man gaze upon this scene? Did the forefathers of the Mound Builders or of the ancient Copper Miners of the Great Lakes ply these waters in their kayaks, aud build their winter huts of snow amid these arctic Scenes ? REVIEWS. An INQUIRY INTO THE ZOGLOGICAL RELATIONS OF THE FIRST DIS- o THE WINGS OF LIVING NEUROPTERA. By S. H. Scudder, From the Memoirs of the Boston Hot of Natural History. Vol. I. pp. 20, gto. 1867. With a pla _ The study of the fossil remains of insects is attended with ae difficulty. Indeed le’s is known, perhaps, of the Insect Fauna of former geological periods, than of most other classes of animals, with the exception of the worms and cave (acalephs). From the t R present day, just as Cuvier restored the quadrupeds of the Paris Ba- ~ delineating their often rude, embryonic forms, from hints afforded y pieces of bone and in some 270 REVIEWS. cases, however, quite complete, discovered by the quarrymen of Mont- martre. The descriptions here given are of the remains of two insects found in the Coal Formation of Morris, Illinois, in company with various coal-plants and amphipod crustaceans, which latter are related to our hetke beach fleas. These insects were described and figured by Prof. J. in the ‘American Journal of Science and Arts,” in 1864. Each a the two insects is supposed by the author to form the type of a new family of the kebti both of which are described and com- pared with the other families. For such comparisons the author finds the neuration of the wings indispensable as a guide in tracing their affinities, and in limiting the different groups of the Neuroptera gene- rally, of which the Dragon Fly, gansta and Ephemera are ex- amples. These two extinct families afford instances of a ‘‘synthetic is the eee which retains the more essential characters of the fishes, while mimicking the scaly reptiles. The plates contati partial restorations, one of the right upper of Hemeristia occidentalis, an insect allied remotely to the Golden- eyed, — fly, so common in our on in summer, and the other (Miam the gigantic Corydalus, found not e flying ep and nates at twilight in summer. ON THE PARALLELISM BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF LIFE IN Luscous. ORDER TETRABRANCHIATA. By Alpheus Hyatt. From the Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History. Vol. I. Part 2. 1867. pp. 16, 4to. In this paper, the author makes a comparison between the old age, or period of decline, and the adult forms of allied species of animals, represented at Pa bg the Nautilus and Argonaut. During ¢x- o speak, falls into its ‘‘second ch hildhood,” as stated, though in a more scientific way, by the French naturalist ee. This idea is, in the present article, still farther extended to collective life of this order of the class of Cephalopoda «lala a a Stes, U E tae Y Y Sasi ania the Nautilus, etc, as well as of the earlie st generic stages of the life of the individ- f tira iife gi NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 271 AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL MONTHLY. — Devoted to Popular nee and Literature. June, 1867. J. W. Schermerhorn & Co., York his lively and independent monthly does good service in the cause of education. Every number contains an article on Natural History, _ besides a special department 2a gleanings in Science and the The present number contains valuable hints on the importance of the study of Natural History in pitta: Ss. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. piece Cte BOTANY. ROTTENNESS OF Frvuirs.—The experiments of M. Devaine, record- ed in the ‘“‘ Comptes Rendus,” Aug. 20, 1866, prove that the rottenness ef fruits is the result of the attacks of fungi, the different varie- rot, Produces a black putridity; a Selenosporium? Corda, which Devaine observed upon the cucumber, and which he propagated on this fruit, gives a beautiful red color to the flesh of the cucumber, whilst the rottenness of the same fruit, resulting from the invasion of a Mucor or a Penicillium, has no particular coloration. — Quarterly Journal of Science. ae ZOOLOGY. #D-LEGGED GRA SSHOPPER. — This terrible pest has been for far Now the farmers are in a quandary, and some are In despair, not sow- ing or planting, believing that it would be labor spent in vain, while others run the risk.” It used to swarm at certai rtain times in the East- ern States. Harris enumerates its visitations in New England in the last century, when it devoured. every green thing, so that ‘days of 272 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. fasting and prayer were appointed” on account of the threatened calamity. How shall the ravages of this well-known grasshopper be stayed? We doubt not that when the West is more thickly settled, and the eggs and young of the Re ANGE exposed to the attacks of domestic animals, it will be less abunda he habits of this species are he well known, except that they ap- pear in mid-summer in the winged state. The wingless larvæ appear in June, and, as Harris recommends, hay crops should be mown early, before they flyinswarms. The last of summerthey couple, and probably lay their eggs in holes in the earth, which are hatched in the spring; at least such are the habits of the common Carolina Locust. As Harris and late in the sa at of collecting locusts and their eggs, the latter being turned out of the ground in little masses, cemented and cov- ered with a sort of gum, ahd which they are enveloped by the insects.” Various forms of drag-nets can be invented for collecting them in l hot water, and fed to swine. An entomological friend has found by his own experience, that roasted grasshoppers are excellent eating, — ‘ better than frogs.” Only let some enterprising genius of the kitchen once set the example of offering to his customers roasted grasshop- pers, rare done, and fricasseed canker-worms,— for we have it on the word of an AEEA that caterpillars are pleasing to the palate of n= droves of entomological beeves will supplant their vertebrate rivals at the shambles, and instead of etfs, we shall have Grasshopper Festivals, and County Caterpillar Show GEOLOGY. | Tur Two Earuist Known Races or Men rv Evrops.—Recent discoveries in archxology, now generally accepted among scientific men, tend to show that man has before History gives a hint, either by tradition or written record, of his ‘existence. The: are races of fossil men, which have peo! certain hen passed away, their places to be filled by new and strange peoples- Thus the study of prehistoric man belongs with the study of fossil e a a The life of man upon the earth can onl ee O NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 273 years. Thus Paleontology fades into Archeology, or the study of ancient or prehistoric man; and Archeology graduates into History, Though the subject is still in a crude state, the conclusions here resented result from the careful observation of facts, now generally prehistoric man have been most carefully studied, they have been considered to characterize three periods, or ages, namely: first, the Stone age, when stone viet not metals, was used in the construction of implements ; second, the Bronze aes characterized by a higher style of art, and the use 2 implements made for the sis part of bronze; and third, the Iron age, sY such implements of the chase, of war, and domestic life, were constructed largely of iron. Each period is a step towards a higher civilization. From being a simple Savage, living singly or in small tribes, without organization, and scarcely able to hold his own against the gigantic wild beasts of those his relations our ideal man, caedere the human species as a whole, shows a constant progress up Races of gigantic tenfa dg uef as the Megatherium. oth, and Mastodon, two species of Rhinoceros, the Cave Bear, Lion, Irish Elk, a large species of Beaver, and the Aurochs, a passed away be- fore his attacks. The rudiments of the art of sc taingan and printing appear at a distinct period, the domestic animals are d, the cereals and implements for converting them into ee appear, some- thing like national unity binds together haries of savage men, when History lifts the veil. Doai this long period of more than Cimme- rian darkness, the surface of the earth had so great changes. climate of northern Europe and America was much like that of Greenland at the present day, though the extremes of the climate could not have been so great, it seems to us, as generally stated by. European writers. All our rivers ran in much deeper channels, while paa estuaries. and chains of lakes covered what are now fertile Plains and intervals, dotted with towns and villages. It is safe to say, that man lived as long ago as the Terrace or Lake Period of ge- ologists, on which the Glacial Epoch overlapped. In an interesting article in the London “Quarterly Journal of Sci- ence,” by W. B. Hawkins, “On the Habits and Condition of the Two AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 274 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Earliest Races of Men,” the author gives an account of the two races, which succeeded one another during the first, or Stone Period. He states that — “The FIRA of Franoe and England, and the bone caverns of crate jes countries and of Belgiu The orig- mal ‘discoveries bes tne de shoes at — and Abbeville, Leon gigi up by the h, p th ssil mam- oth and wi oally + Sarasa ae e e Somme, at a time when it flowed at a higher level than at present, and Sala a regan of hill and valley were alto- gether different in that district. The labors of the latter, and of Mr. Evans, F. R.S., have resulted in the pr n lived ne Britain, from Suffolk on the east, as far south as the coast of Hamps' AES My own discoveries in Wookey Hole, Hyæna- den, extend their e into p R those of Mr. MacEnery, in Brixham, into Devon- shire; and, lastly, those of Dr. ae in Pembrokeshire, into South Wales. Through- out the wog of this area, the e types of flint implements and weapons prev: A splinte: of flint afforded 1 the only cutting edge ts bener = ares of ns rudely ahi Ś spear- thei ipal weapon. The s o-called ‘s ling-stones,’ eres intended ies use as ae mite or imbedded in in gum, or bound round with withes, as axes, and some pointed masses of flint which may have been used for digging, comprise the list of their remains mo the gravel-beds.... own. and that the cave was inhabited. The evidence s afforded by this scant list of the imple- and weapons proves that the race of m ho used them were savages of the very lowest order, unacquainted with the art of orina or of making pottery, and living on the fruits of the chase without the aid of the ise . +. Thus scant is our knowledge r me wh men, Flint Folk par excell that i Woolly Rhinoceros with whom they lived, To M. Lartet, an late M. Christy, f a second race of men in the oat ot France, in t he Department of Dordogne, in the ahad through which flow the Vezere, the Dordogne, and their t tributaries. They g , and ac- I animals they eat, and vast quantities of the implements and weapons they used. In all “the caves aig rock: shelters gees one, ituted the dan these savages of the Dordogne, who may therefore be conveniently termed grd Folk, in contradistinction to the Flint Folk, desorbed apo The presence of the PREK the "refuse h cape; proves — the f the M d Reindeer. fi l d regions of the north, indi- cates Bap nature ‘of the climate at that time in France. The implements are of & higher ili f the Flint Folk...- The most ost remarkable remaina, however, by far are > figures of animals engraved upon stone. antler, ne, or ivory, hiet f h at. f a deer; the lines, however, are too con- fused for specific i dentification. The rock-shelter augerie-basse has furnished an out- ere dant, and as ne had. no room to draw the hind legs in thelr their natural tion, he doubled il agape cypress and thus completed the whole with eves. ery eran ta ost aise formed the handle of an Picanto è s upon | - d figure oe ene species of Fipan wash E NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 275 belonged.* The artist has given to it, not only the tusks with eccentric curvature which are so common in the drini-gravels, ss also psy mar ken ta n a most unmistakable way; the long hairy 1 tl north of Tusai: raer that extinct animal. Th specimen, therefore, is most seaport mens, no’ niot only foes an example of the er early das , but also bee it stamps the Mr. Dawkins states that the Reindeer Folk seem to have differed from the Flint Folk, ‘because, although both lived very much under tae same physical conditions, in no case are their implements or h ‘ dicate a, more civilized as well as more modern people, and the small handles of their sag oy the similarity, of the bone needles, of the i nimals on deer Folk, have caused this fossil race to be compared to the present Esquimaux. Itis indeed, as Mr. Dawkins states, not improbable that the oleae or allied races, formerly ranged as far south as the Alps or Pyren he differences Dies these two races are also borne out by other palæon iy RS evidence. With those of the Flint Folk occur remains of the‘ Sabre-toothed Lion (or Tiger), the Elephas Antiquus, the Hip- the Pliocene.” In the refuse heaps of the Reindeer Folk, however, only two extinct species of mammalia are found, the Irish Elk, and the Mammoth, “both of which sprang into being in the Pleistocene [or Quaternary] period.” “The three pana that especially characterize the Reindeer de- posits of Dordogne, as compared with those of the Flint Folk age, are the Antelope Saita. the Ibex, and the Chamois; of e the former ranges now through the great central STE of Asia, the second lives in the Pyrenees, and the last in the Alps After these two races had passed w their soil was occupied western Europe by a people whom Sir John Lubbock terms Neolithic (neos, young; liier, stone). This race invented the use of pottery, and the art of sp ning. cles, which dwelt in wá the bottoms of which are now known under the name of = ‘oon ener ‘ith hill ia tein neva for the piapa buried without t burning.” Their implements were elaborated with more skill; they had do ticated the dog, and in the Pile-works of Switzerland are found eit * Annales des Sciences Naturelles, 5e. ser. t. iV., 6 cahier, 276 * NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. earliest known assemblage of domestic animals, the horse, pig, goat, sheep, and ox,” and the cakes and seeds found in their dwellings prove that they were acquainted with agriculture. Nearly contemporaneous, or perhaps earlier, lived a similar race in Scandinavia, in whose refuse heaps occur the bones of the Great Auk (Alca impennis), which, during ie century, has become extinct in Europe and North aT Aba and he Oyster, which they largely fed on, has also disappeared from the Paiti Sea. “The habits of this race were PT similar 6 the sayages of Tierra del Fuego at the present day. The *“ Bronze-using Folk arrived in Europe before the dawn of aaa tory, and lived there up to the time when history begins They were acquainted with the use of the potter’s wheel, aid were in the habit of burning their dead.” They used the horse, and had flocks and herds. The Iron Age came in before the Romans invaded Northern Europe, as they met the Gauls riding in chariots, armed with iron weapons, on the battle-field. How far these distinctions apply to other countries than Europe, even in the old world, and how far they agree with the very incom- plete history of ouf Aboriginal refuse-heaps, eae and relics of American prehistoric races, remains yet to be s MICROSCOPY. Tae VOLVOX AND Irs Parasire.—-In examining with the micro- scope some specimens of reer globator,” one was found contain- ing one of the Rotifera, a female of Notommata Parasitica (mentioned by Pritchard as sometimes found in such a situation). When first seen it was feeding, picking out the green masses composing the Vol- vox, and swallowing them, occasionally shifting its position and se lecting a fresh spot. Two eggs had been deposited, and another could be seen in the ovary; they were of a reddish tint, and filled With granules. There was no sign yet of organized structure. . ‘hove hours after, the Rotifer was dead, but = young could Jae broke through t the jäin him, and, after à few energeti NS ee and i i ig ne na abon! nterior of his pri but did make it ezg-shell or membrane left } akad i was very ry delicate and transparent, - without dots or mark the aperture broken off by the animal being plainly visible. The other egg would have soon hatched, as the anii notion within it, but unfortunately th l = VW LCE I X y NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 277 of the live-box containing it, put an end to the observation. The Volvox did not seem disturbed by its strange occupant, but continued its stately revolutions as though they were not present.—B. WEBB NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. ara ins or Juty.—During mid-summer the bees and wasps y busy building their nests and rearing their young. The ener, late in June and the first of this month, send out their first broods of workers, and about the middle of the month the sec- ond lot of pri are laid, which produce the smaller-sized females and males, while those eggs laid late in the month and early in August, produce the centage queens, whi soon hatch. These hybernate: The habits of their peculiar parasite, TAS an insect which closely resembles the Humble-bee, are still unknown. The Leaf-cutter Bee (Meyachile) iiy ie seen flying about with pieces of rose-leaf, with which she builds, for a one of twenty days; . Putnam’s estimate,* at least one thousand pieces! The bees referred to “worked so mares, that they ruined five or six Tose-bushes, not leaving a single unblighted leaf uncut, and were then š forced to take the leaves of a locust tree as a substitute.” aper-making Wasps, of which Vespa maculata (Fig. 1), the ges Fig. 1 Serted nest of the American eas Caterpillar. Numerous species of Wood Wasps (Crabronide) are panel in tunnelling the stems of the blackberry, the elder, and syringa, and enlarging and refitting aa es, and g in rotten ak storing their cells with flies, caterpillars, anhiden, and spiders, according to the habit oaa S a Cn TT #*&, 3. tha F: Tnctitute. vol. iv. p. 105. Z / 278 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. of each species. EFumenes fraterna, which attaches its single, large, thin-walled cell of mud to the stems of plants, is, according to Dr. T. W. Harris, known to store it with canker-worm: ee the mud+dauber, is now building its earthen mare Spens as them ọ a ae and sto lls. e Saw-ilies (retina etc., abound in our gardens this month. ee Selandria vitis attacks the vine, while Selandria rose, the Rose- slug, injures the rose. The disgusting Pear Slug-worm (5S. cerasi), often live twenty to thirty on a leaf, eating the parenchyma, or softer tissues, leaving the blighted leaf. The leaves should be sprinkled it mixture of whale-oil soap and water, in the proportion of two pounds of soap to fifteen gallons of water. Sg ee g the anaien ene aoii in the south, and M. Har- jin pon rth, is sometime A second brood of Colias pea ce, oc Sonne tia butterfly appears, a Pieris oleracea visits turnip-patches. It lays its eggs in June on the leaves, and the full-grown, dark green, hairy larva may be found in August. second brood of the larva of Chrysophanus Americanus may be found on the sorrel. The larvæ of Pyrrarctia isabella hatch out the first week in July, and the snuff-colored moth enters our windows at night, in company with a host of night-flying moths. These large moths, many of which are injurious to crops, are commonly thought to feed on clothes and car- Fig. 2. p true Fig. 3 ets. The carpet and clothes oths minute species, W. flutter noiselessly about rt- men narrow, feathery wings and almost the slightest touch kills . them. Among Beetles, the various borers such as the Says or apple-tree deen, are now pairing, and fly in the hot sun about trees. Nearly each tree has its ae enemy, which drives its galleries into the trunk and branch- Fig. 4. es of the tree. Among the Tiger Beetles abiau sandy places, ndela generosa (Fig. orl 2) a and the elena hirticollis are a bial common. The eloni lary. p d-panka : ‘Then 1 Lady B Ili tata (Fig. 3, with pupa) Sone of a largo group of beetles, most beneficial from their habit of i PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 279 feeding on the plant-lice. We figure* another enemy of the Aphides, hrysopa, and its eggs (Fig. 4), mounted each on a long silken stalk, thus placed above ae reach of harm Fig immense family of Libe ellulide, or Dragon fies, of which Diplax Bere- nice Drury (Fig. 5), is a fine representative. The Forceps-tail, or Pa- norpa, P. rufescens (Fig. 6), is found in bushy fields and shrubbery. They prey on smaller insects, and the males are armed at the extrem- ity of the body with an enormous forceps-like apparatus. — A. : PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA. March 19,1867. Prof. E. D. Cope presented to the Academy a young specimen of the Whale, known as the Bahia po procured near Bahia, Brazil; the atifrons. f. Ennis inquired whe gra remains of the Hippopotamus had been found in this country. Dr. Leidy replied that no evidence ex- — isted of the animal, though i 7 A. Conrad had at one aed which he considered to have belonged to the Hippopotam ` April 2.—Mr. Thomas Meehan presented a paper “ as Dicecious oem et ean L.” Prof. Ennis remarked upon ‘the differ- * The cuts used in this were kindly allowed to be taken from a Report on the freee piei he rerio by Mr, . @. Sanborn, in the Massachusetts Agricul- 280 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ent ranges of temperature in the Provinces adjacent to the United States.” He also spoke upon “The rise and fall of the floor of the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting geological phenomena.” ston SOCIETY or NATURAL History. March 6,1867.—Dr. J. C. White exhibited a specimen of Guaranà, moulded into the form of the Jararaca, the most poisonous of Brazilian serpents; it was brought from Brazil by Mrs. Agassiz, and was presented to the Socicty by Dr. Cotting. The Guarana is made from the seeds of the Paullinia sor- bilis, which are roasted, ground, mixed with water, moulded, dried hard in an oven. It contains a larger quantity of cafline than either tea or coffee, and resembles in appearance common chocolate; dissolved in water it is used as a refreshing drink, and as a remedy for fevers and other ailments. The Manés Indians, who manufacture it, believe it to be more efficacious when made into the form of a ser- pent, as in the specimen exhibited. Dr. T. M. Br rewer ATM upon the Wood-warblers of North America, a group of birds which unite in a remarkable degree the hab- its of the tree-creepers with those of the fly-catchers. In some species these habits are alternated as occasion seems to prompt. Some are almost entirely creepers, others almost exclusively fly-catchers. The yellow red-poll warbler is the only one of this group which is known to breed upon the ground, or to be at all terrestrial in habit, by choice; when occasion offers it can be an expert fly-catcher, but when seeking its food on the ground its motion is graceful and easy, show- ing that the habit is native to the bird, and not assumed by the prompting of necessity. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY oF CANADA. Toronto, March 1, 1867-— The Secretary announced that Mr. Saunders, the Curator of the Lon- don Branch, was having published for the Society alist of Canadian Coleoptera, which would aeons Trees t eight hundred species. The meeting then proceeded to the mination andi discussion of Cana- dian Sphingide, the subject enone wr for the evening. The f capture, in 1866, of gona satellitia Linn., for the first time in Canada, erored at Grimsby, C. W. Prof. Hincks made some remarks upon the the classification of the Sphingide, and insects in general, on a “ qui- nary system. TE was resolved, that anedeom Ey ee Field Meetings be held ao. EIEE ee AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. I.—AUGUST, 1867.—No. 6. —<»~“>—— THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U. S. A. Tue wild and primitive region which constitutes the Territory of Arizona exhibits a remarkable diversity of surface in its mountain ranges, grassy plains, and desert wastes; and its Fauna and Flora are varied in a corre- sponding degree. The traveller meets, at each successive day’s journey, new and strange objects, which must inter- est him, if only through the wonder and astonishment they excite. In every department of Natural History there is ample field for observation and study ; and even at this late day, opportunities for discoveries in Zoölogy and Botany. First in importance, as they are also in general interest to the observant traveller, are undoubt- edly to be ranked the quadrupeds of the country; and So savage and unreclaimed is its condition, that they are there to be seen in what is truly a state of nature. Their habits, and even their numbers have been as yet scarcely Subjected to modifying influences by contact with civili- zation; and he must be stolid indeed, who, under such rarely favorable circumstances, does not look about him Court of the District of Massachusetts, Cenutered a oprding to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 36 (281) 282 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. with interested attention, and learn something of the strange animals by which he is surrounded. The number of species resident in Arizona is not very great; but nearly all our North American families are represented, and some very fully, which gives to the country its full share of variety in its mammalian forms. At the same time, the individuals of many species occur in multitudes, and constitute marked features of the region in an economic, as well as scientific point of view, from the destructive agency,of some, or the value of others as furnishing food and clothing. About seventy species are accredited to the Territory ; though this esti- mate must be regarded as merely approximate, since our most accomplished naturalists are comparatively unfa- miliar with the full richness of the Fauna. Of this num- ber, perhaps not more than half are abundant, or from their size, habits, and general importance often brought to the notice of other than professed naturalists. A still larger proportion, though common enough, are very incon- spicuous on account of their diminutive size and retiring disposition, and, therefore, are but slightly known. But they should not, on these accounts, be considered less interesting and attractive. The shrew, the mole, the rat, rightly estimated, afford as wide a field for investigation and reflection as the bear, the deer, or the buffalo; and their careful study will as amply repay the naturalist. No single thing in nature is insignificant ; nor is there any 0b- ject incapable of affording both pleasure and instruction to him who will examine with that hearty enthusiasm, and in that true spirit of enlightened inquiry, which should be possessed by one who would call himself a naturalist. The following pages are prepared mainly from field- notes taken by the writer during his residence in the THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 283 Territory. The predominant features of the mammalian Fauna are noticed, and all the species which have fallen under his own observation, or are otherwise known to him as inhabitants of Arizona, are at least alluded to. But the limits of an article like the present necessarily preclude a detailed account of the habits and manners of other than the more characteristic and interesting ani- mals. Order Cheiroptera, the Bats. Of this remarkable and interesting order two groups are represented: one by a single species, the other by numerous forms. The Zsti- ophora, or Leaf-nosed Bats, are so called from having a curious membranous expansion of the snout, of a fanoied foliaceous appearance, in which the nostrils open. is group is represented by the Macrotus Californicus, the Long-eared Bat of California; described and figured by - Professor Baird in the Zodlogy of the Mexican Boundary Survey. The type specimen was obtained at Fort Yuma, at the extreme south-west corner of the Territory, and was the first indisputable instance of the occurrence of the group in the United States. I have not met with it personally, and am not aware that any account of its habits has been placed on record. The other known species of Arizonian Bats belong to the extensive family Vesper tilionide, which is so gene- rally distributed throughout the United States. Perhaps the most interesting species, and one of the commonest, is the Pale Bat inbus pallidus Allen), first described by Major Le Conte from California, but now known to Tange over New Mexico and Arizona. Besides some dental and cranial peculiarities, which separate it generi- cally from Vespertilio, its index finger has two phalanges, exhibiting a tendency towards the characters of an en- 284 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. tirely different family. This Bat is, as its name indicates, much lighter and paler in color than most of our other species; and it has also a peculiar physiognomy, more repulsive and forbidding than is usual even in this family, none of whose members have remarkably prepossessing features. Its naked muzzle has a peculiar livid hue in ife. The species is very abundant at Fort Yuma, where, during the hot months, it becomes a decided nuisance. Numbers take up their abode in the chinks and crannies of the officers’ quarters; and the proximity of these re- treats actually becomes offensive from the multitudes crowded together. During the daytime a continual scratching and squeaking, as of so many mice, is heard in their retreats, and at night they are even more annoy- ing, by fluttering in scores about the rooms. They are accused of harboring about their bodies quantities of those nocturnal pests, the bed-bugs; but whether justly or not I cannot say. When caught or disabled, they have a harsh squeak ; and if incautiously handled, bite with vigor and considerable effect. The well-known little Brown Bat ( V. subulatus Say) is generally and abundantly distributed throughout the Territory. In the Colorado Desert, near Fort Mojave, I procured ` -a small Bat, much like the preceding species ; but which my friend Dr. Allen, who kindly examined it, considers as probably a new species, and has named Vespertilio macropus.* It chiefly differs from Vespertilio subulatus in the degree of the attachment of the wing membrane to the foot. When shot, it was industriously capturing insects -over a small pool, in broad daylight. a it, 1800. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, for THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 285 Other Arizoniah Bats, which I have not personally met with, but give on Dr. Allen’s authority, are Lasiurus cinereus, Vespertilio lucifugus, V. evotis, and V. nitidus. Order Insectivora, the Insect-eaters. Arizona, so far as is known, is remarkably deficient in small insectivo- rous mammals, such as the Shrews and Moles. I have never met with a single species, nor am I aware that any have been brought to the notice of naturalists from within the actual limits.of the Territory. These animals, how- ever, are very inconspicuous, from their diminutive size, and peculiarly retiring habits ; and, therefore, easily escape detection. It is extremely unlikely that none exist; and most probably future investigations will bring to light several species already known from other localities, and some new to science. Order Carnivora, the Flesh-eaters. As might be ex- pected from the unreclaimed condition of the Territory, the native carnivorous animals are still to be found in scarcely diminished numbers. Representatives of all our North American families are furnished, and some of them exist in great abundance. Of the family Felida, the Cats, first in size and general consequence, if not in point of numbers, is the Congar (Felis concolor Linn.). > With hardly the exception of the Jaguar (F. onza Linn.), this is the most powerful of all our digitigrade carnivores. It was formerly distrib- uted quite across the continent, and to high latitudes ; but, like most large Fere, it has been gradually driven westward by the progress of civilization, till its occur- rence in the East is rare, and only known in the most _ mountainous and unfrequented regions. Few animals have a greater variety of local names than this one. Its common appellation, “panther,” generally becomes “ pain- 286 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. ter” in the phraseology of backwoodsmen. Its proper English name is probably a modification of “Cuguar,” a word which, as suggested by Dr. Schott, may have, been formed after- the same model as “Jaguar,” and bestowed from some fancied resemblance in sound to a common cry of the animal. Another English name is “Puma.” The Californians call it “lion,” and the Mexicans “ leon,” and the Apachés “yutin.” Though generally distributed, and particularly in the wooded and mountainous portions of the Territory, it is not a very abundant species. During a somewhat protracted residence in the Territory, I never met with one, or heard its peculiarly mournful, though terrifying cry, which has been so fancifully interpreted by different writers. Mr. Audubon doubtless comes nearest the truth, when he ascribes to it a variety of sounds, dependent upon age, sex, season, and other vary- ing circumstances; though nothing to be dignified as a roar has ever been attributed to it. Authors agree better in considering it as a cowardly beast, despite its size and strength ; and though there are undoubted instances of unprovoked attacks upon man, these were doubtless made under peculiar exigencies, as when its retreat has been cut off, or the animal was tormented with hunger. _ That the Indians pursue it successfully with only their bows and arrows I know to be a fact, as I have found skins in their possession cut in various places with the sharp stone points of their arrow-heads. Two other species of true long-tailed cats may possibly exist, particularly in the south-eastern portions. These are the Ocelot (F. pardalis Linn.), and the Jaguar (F. onza Linn.). Within the limits of the United _ States, however, they have as yet only been found in the valley of the Rio Grande of Texas. THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 287 A species of Lynx (L. rufus var. maculatus) is quite abundant. The most obvious external difference between these animals and the true cats is the shortness of the tail; this member being only a few inches in length. They also stand higher for their length, are more heavily built, and have perhaps less of that lithe and supple movement for which the cats proper are so noted; though they are quite as vigorous and muscular. Their ears are often tufted, and one species, at least, has “side-whisk= rs,” formed by the true fur, in addition to the labial bristles which ordinarily receive this name. In dentition they differ in the absence of «c one upper molar tooth on each side. Lynxes are very common in the mountainous portions of Arizona. Near Fort Whipple, a small stream is known as “Lynx Creek” from this circumstance ; and the animals may often be seen in daylight in that vicinity. A good many are killed by the Indians, who use their beautiful Spotted skins for arrow-quivers. A horizontal cut is carried across the buttocks, just under the tail, out of which aperture the animal is withdrawn. The legs are Skinned part way down, and the head quite to the eyes and lips. These latter are then sewn up, the legs cut off, or suffered to dangle, the whole hide is ET softly, and subjected to a lengthwise stretching. After being rned right-side out, it makes an elegant arrow-case, which is slung by a thong, as we would carry a carbine. The Apaché arrows are over three feet in length, and it requires a Lynx’s skin, well stretched, to hold them. Besides these quivers, the Indians also make bags and pouches, for a variety of purposes, skinning the animals in the usual way. . In point of numbers, the family Canide, the Dogs, 288 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. stands foremost among the carnivora, though the family is represented by only two species of Wolves, and perhaps as many of Foxes. The word “wolf” is seldom heard in Arizona, even among the whites, who have completely anglicized the Mexican appellations, which are “lobo” for the larger species, and “coyoté” for the smaller. The Spanish for Fox, “zorro,” is less frequently used. Of the many varieties into which the Gray Wolf of America (Lupus occidentalis Rich.) runs, I met with but one, the griseo-albus, which is perhaps the commonest race throughout the greater portion of the West. The re- markable variations of color, which, though chiefly local, seem to mark races, as they are transmissible from parent to offspring, have caused great confusion among writers, and great uncertainty as to how many species really exist. Wolves may be found from nearly white to pure black, through every gradation of gray, rufous, and dusky ; and these diverse colors exist in such varying proportion, and present such an unbroken chain from one extreme to the other, that it seems impossible to consider them as indi- eating more than remarkable variations to which a single - Species may be subject, arising from differences in food, climate, and other circumstances. All the large wolves I saw in Arizona were of the grizzled grayish-white variety. In winter they are very light colored, appearing from a distance almost white; but along the middle of the back, and down the shoulders and flanks, the light color is mixed with slaty or grayish- black. I met with no winter skins showing any brownish or tawny. At this season their pelages were thick and heavy, and a good many of the animals were killed with poison for the sake of the fur, which made very beautiful robes. They were common enough about Fort Whipple, THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 289 though shy and wary, and seldom making their appear- ance by day ; and notwithstanding their size and imposing appearance, the part they played was insignificant com- pared with that of their smaller relatives, the Coyotés. This latter animal, the Prairie or Barking Wolf (Canis latrans Say), is by far the most abundant carnivorous animal in Arizona, as it is also in almost every part of the West. Practically, the Coyoté is a nuisance; theo- retically, he compels a certain degree of admiration, Viewing his irrepressible positivity of character, and ‘his versatile nature. If his genius has nothing essentially noble or lofty about it, it is undeniable that few animals possess so many, and so various attributes, or act them out with such dogged perseverance. Ever on the alert, and keenly alive to a sense of danger, he yet exhibits the coolest effrontery when his path crosses ours. The main object of his life seems to be the satisfying of a hunger which is always craving ; and to this aim all his cunning, impudence, and audacity are mainly directed. Much has been written concerning the famous polyglot Serenades of the Coyoté, by those who have been unwil- ling listeners; but it is difficult to convey an adequate. idea in words, of the noisy confusion. One must have Spent an hour or two vainly trying to sleep, before he is in a condition to appreciate the full force of the annoy- ance. It is a singular fact that the howling of two or ` three wolves gives an impression that a score are engaged, so many, so long drawn are the notes, and so uninterrupt- edly are they continued by one individual after another. A short, sharp bark is sounded, followed by several more in quick succession, the time growing faster, and the pitch higher, till they run together into a long-drawn lugubrious howl, in the highest possible key. The same AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 37 290 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. strain is taken up again and again by different members of the pack, while, from a greater distance, the deep melancholy baying of the more wary lobo breaks in, to add to the discord, till the very leaves of the trees seem quivering to the inharmonious sounds. It is not true, as asserted by some, that the Coyotés howl only just after dark, and at daylight. Though they may be noisiest at these times, when the pack is gathering together for a night’s foraging, or dispersing again to their diurnal re- treats, I know that they give tongue at any time during the night. They are rarely, if ever, heard in the day- time, though frequently to be seen, at least in secluded regions. Ordinarily, however, they spend the day in quiet, out of the way places, among rocks, in thick copses, etċ., and seek their prey mainly by night, col- lecting for this purpose into packs, as already noticed. The Coyoté, although a carnivore, is a very indiscrim- inate feeder, and nothing seems to come amiss, which is capable of being chewed and swallowed. From the nature of the region it inhabits, it is often hard pressed for food, particularly in the winter season. Besides such live game as it can surprise and kill, or overpower by persevering pursuit and force of numbers, it feeds greedily upon all sorts of dead animal matter. To procure this, it resorts in great numbers to the vicinity of settlements, where offal is sure to be found, and surrounds the hunter’s camp at night. It is well known to follow for days in the trail - of a travelling party, and each morning, just after camp is broken, it rushes in to claim whatever eatable refuse may have been left behind. But it cannot always find a sufficiency of animal food, and is thus made frugivorous and herbivorous. Particularly in the fall, it feeds exten- sively upon “tunas,” which are the juicy, soft, scarlet THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 291 fruit of various species of Prickly Pear (Opuntia) ; and in the winter upon berries of various sorts, particularly — those of the Juniper (Juniperus pachyderma, and others). Coyotés are so annoying, that a variety of means are employed to destroy them. They may be shot, of course, but to hunt them in the daytime is uncertain, and hardly worth the trouble, while night-shooting is still more laborious and unsatisfactory. Their cunning, inquiring disposition is ordinarily more than a match for man’s ingenuity in the way of traps. The most certain, as well as the easiest method of obtaining them, is by poisoning the carcass of a dead animal, or butcher’s offal, with strychnine. There is no doubt, also, that the odor of assafcetida is attractive to them, and a little of this drug rubbed into the poisoned meat greatly heightens the chances of their eating it. Since, after taking the poison, they suffer greatly from thirst, it is well to place a tub of water conveniently at hand, which generally keeps them m making off for water, and so being lost. There is considerable difference in the fur, both as to quality and color, according to the season. In the winter it is fuller, icker, and softer than in summer, and has much less — tawny or rufous about it, being almost entirely black and grizzled grayish-white. Except under certain circumstances, there is a chronic feud between our domestic dogs and these dog-wolves. A good-sized dog will easily whip a Coyoté, though he may not come off unscathed from the sharp teeth and quick snaps of the latter. I have known a smallish terrier even to kill a Coyoté, of which he caught a throat- - hold, enabling him by vigorous shakes to beat in the wolf’s skull against some boulders between which the conflict took place. Notwithstanding, there is abundant 292 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. evidence that the Coyoté will cross and bear fertile off- spring with the domestic dog; and I believe the female of either will take the male of the other. During the season of heat, which is in spring, I have known dogs to _ disappear for several days, and return in such a dilapi- dated condition as to leave no doubt they had been decoyed away by some female Coyoté, and received hard treatment from her or her relatives. The hybrid is said to possess the bad qualities of both parents, and the good ones of neither, as usual with bastards; and to always remain snappish and intractable, spite of severity or kindness. The gestation of the species, as is well known, does not differ materially from that of its allies. It brings forth in May or June, in secluded places, usually under or among rocks. Five or six puppies are ordinarily pro- duced at a birth. A variety of absurd stories regarding its reproduction pass current, among even the best in- formed backwoodsmen ; many affirming that the pups are born shapeless, inchoate masses, to be afterwards licked into proper shape by the mother. Among the quite numerous Foxes of North America, but one, the Gray Fox ( Vulpes Virginianus), is known as an inhabitant of the Territory. Two others, however, the Prairie Fox (V. macrourus), and the little Kit or Swift Fox (V. velox), may possibly occur. The Gray Fox itself, though generally distributed, does not seem to be abundant. I procured a number of fine skins from the Indians, who use them as articles of dress, for pouches, and a variety of other purposes. I believe they are always skinned in ordinary hunter fashion, by cutting © from chin to tail, which latter is left attached, though the greater part of the legs are removed. — To be continued. THE COCKROACH AND ITS ENEMY. BY G. A. PERKINS, M. D. Tur instinctive habits of insects furnish no small pro- ` portion of the interest which attaches to the study of that class of the animal kingdom. The wasps furnish their full share, and the student of nature never tires of inves- tigating the different methods by which they arrive at the same end,—each species following out the law impressed upon it by the Creator with its very being. The various species of Vespa deposit their eggs in a _ paper cell, and feed their young, in a larval stage, with insects, which they chew, and partially digest for this purpose. Another genus (Pompilus) excavates a hole in the sand in which she deposits numbers of flies, Spiders, etc., and with them an egg, and, burying them, leaves the larva to select its own food from these ma- terials. - Others, such as -Pelopeus, the Mud-dauber, places the same materials in curiously constructed cells of clay, and closes them up with the same masonry. Others still, not content with such small game, select the body of one of the larger insects, and deposit in it the germ of their future offspring. : Of this latter class is a beautiful trig little species (Ampulex Sibirica Fabr.), very common in Western Africa, and whose polished metallic body, shining like burnished steel, is familiar to all dwellers on that coast. The Ampulex selects the body of the gigantic Cockroach as the receptacle of its egg, and it is not-a little amusing to see in what a business-like and determined manner she sets herself to the task of capturing her victim, and serv- (293) 294 THE COCKROACH AND ITS ENEMY. ing her writ of habeas corpus upon the Sapmee roach, full a dozen times her size. The wasp enters the apartment, and instantly a great commotion takes place among the cockroaches (and their name is legion in the tropics); frantic with fear, they seek a place of greater security, and, in their haste, often rush into the very danger they seek to avoid; for, should the keen eye of the wasp light upon them, the case is a hopeless one. (It is a matter of wonder in what manner the roach should know of the presence of the wasp, and we can only conjecture that its keen perception may dis- tinguish a peculiar sound in the vibrations of the wings of its enemy, as the larger animals are said to in the roar- ing of the lion.) The wasp flies like a fury at the roach, anid a severe struggle takes place; both using legs and _ wings in the fight, the contest is usually a short one, for the wasp, seizing its victim by the head, or front of the tho- rax, bends its body short round and plunges its sting into the nearest part, and the roach, who a moment before was fighting for dear life, becomes as quiet as a sleeping in- fant,—not a leg moves. The victorious wasp draws off a few inches, seeming to survey her vanquished foe with pride, then proceeds to brush off the dust from its bril- liant coat and wings, and, after pluming its antenne, pre- pares to place its prize in a secluded spot. Taking the roach by the head, she leads him away a few feet, and, leaving him, examines the vicinity for this purpose. In ‘ one instance, the cockroach was dragged with consider- able trouble between the leaden lining of a tea-chest and the outer box; in another, an open-backed book answered her purpose; but the most singular spot was the inside of a door-lock. The cockroach walked slowly up the door to the key-hole, led by the wasp, and, after THE COCKROACH AND ITS ENEMY. 295 much pulling on the part of the wasp, was forced into the interior. After being out of sight a few minutes, the wasp returned, took storil nails frau a paper which lay on the floor near by, and carried them, one by one, into the key-hole. I could not but admire the perseverance manifested in this effort. The wasp was obliged to walk backwards up the door to the key-hole; the nail could not be turned by the wasp into a proper position to enter endwise, and, consequently, fell to the floor several times before being successfully drawn in, and each time the wasp descended immediately to renew the attempt. The lock was taken off carefully, and six four-penny nails found covering the body of the roach. Not the least singular feature in the case is, that the sting of the wasp does not kill the cockroach, but only stupeties him, so that the roach, when he walks to his - final resting-place, may certainly be said to go to his own Suneral as chief mourner ! The bodies of this species of cockroach are often found with the empty cocoon of the wasp occupying the cavity of the abdomen; the young wasp, having been hatched there, and, after completing its larval stage, spinning this cocoon, still ‘remains there to complete its development, when it comes forth a perfect insect, in all respects like its parent. To show with what tenacity the wasp sticks to her prey when once within her grasp, we once put a cockroach, — Which had been paralyzed, with the wasp, in a glazed- earthen pitcher, and watched the result. The wasp at- tempted to lead the roach out of the pitcher, to which move the cockroach made no objections, and walked up the inclined side of the pitcher as far as his feet would . permit him, but not being furnished with the little pads 296 FISH CULTURE. or suckers with which our common fly and many other insects are provided, he found it out of his power to com- ply with the requirements of his master, and on attempt- ing to continue his walk, fell to the bottom. The wasp again led him up, and again he fell. This was repeated for the space of three hours, the wasp, in some of her attempts, nearly sustaining the whole weight of the roach. After being convinced of the impossibility of her accom- plishing the feat, I liberated the pair, the wasp soon storing her prize away under a bookcase. ig _— FISH CULTURE. BY CHARLES G. ATKINS. Nearzy all of our common fishes are oviparous, which term, as distinguished from viviparous, we may apply to those species of animals which are reproduced by eggs laid in an undeveloped state. In most cases not only are the eggs extruded from the female fish before their development, but also that contact of the male element which impregnates them, and without which no develop- ment is possible, is effected after their extrusion. The operation of spawning, or depositing and impreg- nating the eggs, as performed by the parent fishes, is essentially as follows. At the spawning season, mature fishes of both sexes repair to a suitable locality ; and, having selected a place, the female extrudes her eggs, which sink to the bottom among the pebbles, or, if gluti- nous, adhere to sticks, weeds, and stones. At the same time, or immediately afterward, the male emits the milt, the fecundating element, which, diffused through the FISH CULTURE. 297 water, comes in contact with the eggs and impregnates them. In due time, nourished by the water in which they are deposited, and quickened by its heat, they de- velop and hatch into living fish. Now a little examination into circumstances will make it evident that a great waste must here occur. A multi- tude of greedy creatures hover around, ready to devour the eggs as soon as they are left by the parent, or are Swept within reach by the current; a portion fails to come in contact with the milt; others are destroyed by noxious sediment or parasitic fungi, or buried deep be- neath the shifting sands which the floods may bring down upon them. Should a portion of the eggs escape these dangers, the newly-hatched and defenceless young are eagerly hunted out by all the carnivorous tribes of the water. In the end, comparatively few of the eggs laid result in mature fish; it is perhaps impossible to ascertain e proportion with precision, but one per cent. would be far more than sufficient to maintain and increase the numbers of any species, so enormously fecund are they. Indeed, a rough calculation shows that were one per cent. of the eggs of a salmon to result in full-grown fish, and were they and their progeny to continue to increase in the same ratio, they would in about sixty years amount, in bulk, to many times the size of the earth. Nor is the salmon among the most prolific species. I have counted in a perch (Perca flavescens), weighing three and a half ounces, 9,943 eggs; and in a smelt ( Osmerus viridescens), ten inches in length, 25,141. Some of the larger fishes produce millions at each spawning. Now if in some way the eggs can be protected from these various dangers that threaten them when abandoned by the parent fish to the-ordinary course of nature, it will AMERICAN NAT., VOL. IL 38 298 FISH CULTURE. at once be seen that a great gain will be made in the number hatched from the spawn of each mother; and if, farther, the young fish can be protected from their ene- mies until they have acquired size, strength, and agility sufficient to care for themselves, another gain will be thus effected. These two problems are among the most im- portant with which Pisciculture has to deal, but have, we think, been satisfactorily solved. An interesting experiment was made in Sweden in 1761, by Pharies Frederick Lund. He obtained some breams, perch, and mullets, with mature spawn, and placed them in large submerged or floating wooden boxes, in which he had placed quantities of pine boughs. In these boxes the fish were kept several days, until they had completed the process of spawning; they were then re- moved. The eggs had ‘adhered to the boughs. ‘These species hatch quickly, and in a short time multitudes of young fish emerged from the boughs. In this way he obtained from fifty female breams, 3,100,000 young; from one hundred female perch, 3,215,000 young; and from one hundred female mullets, 4,000,000 young. These are certainly wonderful results. They were placed in the Lake of Rexen, and dismissed to care for them- selves. In a similar way those species, like the trout, whose eggs fall free from each other to the bottom of the - stream, may be made to spawn in places where it will be convenient to protect them by enclosures from maraud- ers; and, with a suitable arrangement of small ponds and streams, the young fry of all species may be sepa- rated from the old ones that would devour them. - But the crowning discovery in Pisciculture was that of artificial fecundation. This discovery was made during the last century, but was turned -to no practical account, FISH CULTURE. 299 and was hardly practised except in laboratories, when it was re-discovered in France a few years ago, under cir- cumstances that brought its economic bearing -promi- nently before the attention of learned men. Since the operation of extruding the eggs and milt is essentially mechanical, it can be as well performed by man as by the fish, and, once extruded, the milt performs its own office upon the eggs, and fertilizes them, with no other interference than suffices to bring them into con- tact. Nay, man can do better than the fish: he can express the eggs into a vessel where none of them will be Swept out of reach of the milt, or into the maws of the expectant throng of bystanding fishes; he can then press the milt into the same vessel, and, by stirring them to- gether, insure that the milt shall reach every egg. This is artificial fecundation. But let us examine the method employed. The operations of Pisciculturists, who have practised artificial impregnation, have been mostly confined to a few species of the family of Salmonide. The processes pursued will therefore apply only to a limited extent to the members of other families. Perhaps salmon and trout have received the most atten- tion. Both these species always seek clear, running, shallow water, and spawn in the autumn or early winter. A female and male, both ripe and ready to spawn, seek a proper place, and on a gravelly bed, swept clean of sand for a small space, the female deposits her eggs, and the male his milt. The operation is described with great minuteness by European writers, but I think that our brook trout (Salmo fontinalis) has not been observed suf- ficiently to ascertain whether its habits are precisely those of the European trout. ~ 800 FISH CULTURE. All fishes, when spawning, are so intently engaged upon it, that they take very little notice of anything else. Trout can be captured with the greatest ease at this time, . —not unfrequently they can be taken with the hand. The following is the artificial process as described by a practical breeder of the brook trout. The trout, male and female, must be taken with a net, or in some manner that will not injure them, just at the time they are preparing to spawn, and placed in baskets standing in the water in some convenient place. A pan or pail with three or four inches of water in it is brought near the baskets containing the trout. AJl things being ready, a female trout is taken out of the basket with one hand, and with the other the abdomen is gently rubbed from the gills downward, whereupon the spawn flows in a continuous stream into the vessel. The rubbing is con- tinued until the spawn is wholly extruded, and the trout ` is then quickly replaced in the water. This operation must not continue more than one minute if possible. On one side of the egg is a small white speck ; this is where the impregnation takes place. This side of the egg being lightest, it always falls uppermost. A male trout is now taken, and in like manner the milt is expressed; it falls through the water, and settles upon the eggs. All the trout in the baskets are served in the same manner. The spawn and milt are then placed in shallow vessels, and deposited in water, where they are allowed to remain an hour or more. (Other operators find a few minutes suf- ficient to insure impregnation, and at the end of that time rinse the eggs thoroughly. _ The manner of proceeding with salmon. and other Species is essentially the same. The eggs, being thus artificially impregnated, may be FISH CULTURE. 301 deposited in a natural stream, under circumstances as closely as possible resembling those chosen by the fish, and left to themselves; or, as is far better, they may be subjected to artificial hatching. By this they may be guarded from various mishaps, the supply of water can be so regulated that it will be uniform, and the eggs can be examined from time to time, and dead and diseased ones be removed before they can injure their neighbors. It is essential that the incubation be conducted under circumstances like those under which it naturally takes place. The temperature, quality, and state of the water are the main conditions. Some species spawn in fresh water, and some in salt; some in rapid streams, and some in lakes and ponds ; some in winter, and some in summer. The temperature required by trout is about forty-one degrees Fahrenheit, ranging, however, from several de- grees below this, to gious fifty degrees ; ; while some Species of summer-spawning fish require a temperature higher than sixty degrees. - The time required for de- velopment. varies with different species, and is much affected by temperature. Some species hatch in five days, while the trout is rarely less than fifty days, and at thirty-seven degrees of heat requires one hundred and thirty-six days. The apparatus employed in artificial incubation is of various kinds. A metal box, with many holes to admit a free circulation of water, was one of the first employed ; this is immersed in the water. Troughs of stone, vessels of earthenware, willow baskets, and wooden boxes have all been used with success in the incubation of salmon and trout. — : A favorite form of hatching-box for trout is a long wooden trough, its bottom inclined sufficiently to cause a 302 FISH CULTURE. » gentle flow of water through it, and covered with a layer of gravel; the whole covered in by a lid. The eggs are deposited in the gravel or sand, and a stream of water, an inch or two deep, led through the trough. At the French Piscicultural establishment at Hunin- gue, and at the Stormontfield salmon-breeding ponds, the hatching apparatus consists of a series of horizontal troughs, arranged side by side like the steps of a stair- way, through which a stream of water falls in succession from the uppermost. After the eggs are deposited in the hatching-boxes, a proper supply. of pure water must be kept up until they hatch. They must be frequently examined to remove diseased eggs, and guard against the collection of sedi- ment. It is better that they be kept in darkness, for light encourages the growth of a parasitic fungus. When trout hatch they have still a large portion of the egg attached to the abdomen; this is endially absorbed, and while it remains they-require no food. It is the “yolk-sack.” Upon its complete absorption the young trout begins to feed, and must be placed where he can find his own food, or must be regularly supplied with such as is adapted to his infantile condition, and wi attract his attention, and tempt his appetite. The whole process of producing fish, by artificial im- pregnation and incubation, is in practice remarkably suc- cessful. More than.ninety per cent. of the eggs become living fish. Mr. Ainsworth, the authority quoted above, has this year obtained twenty thousand trout from twenty- one thousand eggs, being more than ninety-five per cent. In another point of view this process is of vast impor- ‘tance. It facilitates the transportation of species from one * water to another. Salmon eggs, fecundated, were carried FISH CULTURE. 303 from Scotland to Australia, in 1865; were successfully hatched in the River Plenty ; and, having returned from their first migration to the sea, may now be considered as established there. In a similar manner the Merrimac River has been sown with salmon-eggs brought from New Brunswick, and a harvest may be expected therefrom. The rearing of fish in artificial ponds and reservoirs, and then bringing them into marketable and eatable condition by regular and systematic feeding, has been successfully carried out, and it is found to be quite prac- ticable as an industrial occupation, bringing better re- turns, when trout are reared, than the growing of any other kind of animal food. Yet to determine with cer- tainty what are the conditions of success in this branch of Pisciculture requires further experiment. Pisciculture is not a new art. Jt was practised among the ancient Romans ; yet not as an industrial pursuit, but as a source of amusement to men of wealth and. leisure, or to supply with delicacies the tables of a gluttonous no- ility. In Catholic countries, since the establishment of ‘Monasteries, fish preserves have been commonly attached to those institutions, to supply the devotees with food during their frequent religious fasts. There is no reason, however, to suppose that they had any knowledge of artificial impregnation. In China, it has long been an important branch of industry, and although we know very little of. the process that they employ, it is certain that they succeed in making fish an abundant and cheap article of food. Since the pee æ of the public mind to this subject in Europe, government establishments have been put in Operation in France and Germany, and private opera- tions of great importance have been carried on in the 304 THE DRAGON-FLY. British Isles. It is thought that primitive abundance may be restored to their now exhausted rivers, and not many years hence an acre of water shall be made to produce as much food for man as an acre of land. In America many persons have engaged in pisciculture as an experiment, and some attempts have been made to carry it farther ; but as nothing has been done on a large scale, no great results have yet been attained. THE DRAGON-FLY. PLATE 9, BY A. S. PACKARD, JR., M. D. _ Were we to select from among the insects a type of all that is savage, relentless, and bloodthirsty, the Dragon- fly would be our choice. From the moment of its birth until its death, usually a twelve-month, it riots in blood- shed and carnage. Living beneath the waters perhaps eleven months of its life, in the larva and pupa states, it is literally a walking pitfall for luckless aquatic insects ; but when transformed into a fly, ever on the wing in pur- suit of its prey, it throws off all concealment, and reveals the more unblushingly its rapacious character. Not only does its horrid visage and ferocious bearing frighten children, who call it the “Devil’s Darning- needle,” but it even distresses older persons, so that its name has become a byword. Could we understand the language of: insects, what tales of horror would be re- vealed! What traditions, sagas, fables, and myths must adorn the annals of animal life regarding this Dragon —s insects ! American Naturalist. Vol. I, PI. 9 ag ie Pree) Ld A PACKARD ON THE DRAGON FLY. THE DRAGON-FLY. 305 To man, however, aside from its bad name and its repulsive aspect, which its gay trappings do not conceal, its whole life is beneficent. It is a scavenger, being like that class ugly and repulsive, and holding literally, among insects, the lowest rank in society. In the water, it preys upon young musquitoes and the larve of other noxious insects. It thus aids in maintaining the balance of life, and cleanses the swamps of miasmata, thus purifying the air we breathe. During its existence of three or four weeks above the waters, its whole life is a continued good to man. It hawks over pools and fields and through gardens, decimating swarms of musquitoes, flies, gnats, : and other baneful insects. It is a true Malthus’ delight, and, following that sanguinary philosopher, we may believe that our Dragon-fly is an entomological Tamerlane or Na- . ` poleon sent into the world by a kind Providence to pre- vent too close a jostling among the myriads of insect life. We will, then, conquer our repugnance to its ugly looks and savage mien, and contemplate the hideous monstrosity, —as it is useless to deny that it combines the graces of the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Dickens’ Quilp, with certain features of its own,—for the good it does in Nature. Even among insects, a class replete with forms the very incarnation of ugliness and the perfection of all that is hid- eous in nature, our Dragon-fly is most conspicuous. Look’ at its enormous head, with its beetling brows, retreating face, and heavy under jaws,—all eyes and teeth,—and hung so loosely on its short, weak neck, sunk beneath its enormous hunchback,—for it is wofully round-shouldered, —while its long thin legs, shrunken as if from disease, are up beneath its breast, since our fiend of the air is a poor pedestrian. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 89 306 THE DRAGON-FLY. Its gleaming wings are, however, beautiful objects. They form a broad: expanse of delicate parchment-like mem- brane drawn over an intricate network of veins. Though the body is bulky, it is yet light, and easily sustained by the wings. The long tail madenbtediy acts as a rudder to steady its flight. These insects are almost universally dressed in the gayest colors. The body is variously banded with rich shades of blue, green, and yellow, and the wings give off the most beantifal iridescent and metallic pilockiont: During this month, the various species of Libellula and -its alico most abound. The eggs are attached loosely in bunches to the stems of ues and other water-plants. In laying them, the Dragon-fly, according to Mr. P. R Uhler’s observations, “alights upon water-plants, ap pushing the end of her body below the surface of water, glues a bunch of eggs to the submerged stem or leaf. Libellula auripennis, I have often seen laying eggs, and I think I was not deceived in my observation that she dropped a bunch of eggs into the open ditch while balancing herself just a little. way above the surface of the water. I have, also, seen her settled upon the reeds in brackish water with her abdomen submerged in part, and there attaching a cluster of eggs. I faak: pretty sure that L. auripennis does not always deposit the whole of her eggs at one time, ag I have seen her attach a cluster of not more than a dozen small yellow eggs. There must be more than one hundred eggs in one of the large bunches. The eggs of some of dig. Agrions are bright apple-green, but I cannot be sure that 3 have ever seen them in the very act of oviposition. They have curious habits of settling upon leaves and grass growing in the water, and often allow their abdomens to fall below the surface of the THE DRAGON-FLY. l 307 water; sometimes they fly against the surface, but I never saw what I could assert to be the projecting of the eggs from the body upon plants or into the water. The English entomologists assert that the female Agrion goes below the surface to a depth of several inches to deposit eggs upon the submerged stems of plants.” The Agrions, however, according to Lucaze Duthiers, a French anato- mist, make, with the ovipositor, a little notch in the plant upon which they lay their eggs. These eggs soon hatch, probably during the heat of summer. The larva is very active in its habits, being provided with six legs, attached Fig. 1. to the thorax, on the back of which are the little wing-pads, or rudimentary wings. The large s-------- head is provided with enormous eyes, while a pair of simple, mi- nute eyelets (ocelli) are placed near the origin of the small bris- 2------------- tle-like feelers, or antenne. Seen from beneath, instead of the for- p --..-- midable array of jaws and acces- sory organs commonly observed in most carnivorous larve, we see nothing but a broad, smooth ,,,| mask covering the lower part of ._. the face ; as if from sheer mod- esty our young Dragon-fly was Under side of head of Diplaz, with endeavoring to conceal a gape. ed. z, zh 2” sub- But wait a moment. Some un-` maxillæ, or second pair of jaws. wary insect comes within striking distance. The battery of jaws is unmasked, and opens upon the victim. This mask (Fig. 1) is peculiar to the young, or larva and pupa 308 : THE DRAGON-FLY. of the Dragon-fly. It is the labium, or under lip greatly enlarged, and armed at the broad spoon-shaped extremity (Fig. 1, x) with two sharp hooks, adapted for seizing and retaining its prey. At rest, the terminal half is so bent up as to conceal the face, and thus the creature crawls about, to all appearance, the most innocent and lamb-like of insects. Not only does the immature Dragon-fly walk over the bottom of the pool or stream it inhabits, but it can also leap for a considerable distance, and by a most curious contrivance. j a syringe-like apparatus lodged in the end of the body, it discharges a stream of water for a distance of two or three inches behind it, thus pro- pelling the insect forwards. This apparatus combines the functions of locomotion and respiration. There J are, as usual, two breathing pores (stigmata) on each side of the tho- rax. But the process of breathing seems to be mostly carried on in the tail. The tracheæ are here collected in a large mass, sending their branches into folds of membrane lining the end of the alimentary canal, and which act like © a piston to force out the water. The entrance to the canal is protected by three to five triangular horny valves (Fig. 2, 9,10, 2 a, side view, 2), which open and shut at will. When open, the water flows in, bathing the internal gill-like organs, which extract the air from the water. This is then suddenly expelled by a strong mus- cular effort. In the smaller genera, Agrion (A. saucium, Plate 9, fig- Fig. 2 b. THE DRAGON-FLY. 309 T. Fig.26, side view of false-gill, showing but one leaf), Lestes and Calopteryx, the respiratory leaves, called the tracheary, or false-gills, are not enclosed within the body, but form three broad leaves, permeated by tracheæ, or air-vessels. They are not true gills, however, as the blood is not aerated in them. They only absorb air to supply the tracheæ, which aerate the blood only within the general cavity of the body. These false-gills also act as a rudder to aid the insect in swimming. It is easy to watch the Dragon-flies through their trans- formations, as they can easily be kept in aquaria. Little, almost nothing, is known regarding their habits, and any one who can spend the necessary time and patience in rearing them, so as to trace up the different stages from the larva to the adult fly, and describe and figure them accurately, will do good service to science. Mr. Uhler states that at present we know but little of the young stages of our species, but Fig. 3. “the larva and pupa of the Libellulide $ may be always known from the Æsch- nidæ by the shorter, deeper, and more ` robust form, and generally by their thick clothing of hair.” The pupa scarcely differs from the larva, except in having larger wing- pads (Fig. 3). It is still active, and as much of a gourmand as ever. When the insect is about to assume the pupa state, it moults its skin. The body ving outgrown the larva skin, by a strong muscular effort a rent opens Pupa of Æschna. — along the back of the thorax, and the insect, having fastened its claws into some object at the bottom of the 310 THE DRAGON-FLY. pool, the pupa gradually works its way out of the larva- skin. It is now considerably larger than before. Imme- diately after this tedious operation, its body is soft, but the crust soon hardens. This change, with most se probably occurs early in summer. When about to change into the adult fly, the pupa climbs up some plant near the surface of the water. Again its back yawns wide open, and from the rent our Drigouly: slowly emerges. For an hour or more, it remains torpid and listless, with its flabby, soft wings re- maining motionless. The fluids leave the surface, the crust hardens and dries, rich and varied tints appear, and our Dragon-fly rises into its new world of light and sun- shine a gorgeous, but repulsive being. Tennyson thus describes these changes in “The Two Vioioue "NS To-day I saw the Dr Came out clear plates of sapphire mail. H wings; o gauze they grew; Through rohé and pastures with with dew A living flash of light h he fl Of our more common, typical ‘ies of Dragon-flies, we figure a few, commonly observed during the summer. Libellula trimaculata of Count De Geer, a Swedish ento- mologist, of which Fig. 1, Plate 9, represents the male, is so-called from the three dark clouds on the wings of the female. But the opposite sex differs in having a , dark patch at the front edge of the wings, and a single broad cloud just beyond the middle of the wing. Libellula quadrimaculata (Fig. 2, Plate 9), the four- spotted Dragon-fly, i is seen on the wing in June, flying through dry pine woods. The largest of our Dragon-flies are the “Devil’s Darning- - THE DRAGON-FLY. 311 needles,” Zschna heros and grandis, seen hawking about our gardens till dusk. They frequently enter houses, carrying dismay and terror among the children. The hind-body is long and cylindrical, and gaily colored with bright green and bluish bands and spots. Mr. Uhler informs us that the pupa of Æschna, figured above, from a drawing by Mr. F. G. Sanborn, is per- haps that of Æschna constricta, or Æ. clepsydra. One of our most common Dragon-flies is Diplax rubi- cundula, the ruby Dragon-fly, which is yellowish red. It is seen everywhere flying over pools, and also frequents dry sunny woods and glades. Another common form is Diplax Berenice of Drury (Plate 9, Fig. 3 male, Fig. 4 female. The accompanying cut represents the pupa, prob- ably of this species, according to Mr. Uhler.) It is black, _ the head blue in front, spotted with yellow, while Fig. 4. the thorax and abdomen is striped with yellow. There are fewer stripes on the body of the male, which has only four large yellow spots on each side of the abdomen. Still another pretty species is Diplax Elisa of Dr. Hagen (Plate 9, Fig. 5). It is black, with the head yellowish and with greenish yellow spots on the sides of the thorax aiid base of the abdomen. There are three dusky spots on the front edge of each wing, and a large cloud at the base of the hind pair toward the hind angles of the wing. Rather a rare form, and of much smaller stature is the Nannophya bella of Ubler (Fig. 6, female). It was first detected in Baltimore, and we afterwards found it not unfrequently by a pond in Maine. Its abdomen is un- usually short, and the reticulations of the wings are large and simple. The female is black, while the male is frosted over with a whitish powder. Many more species riod of 312 THE DRAGON-FLY. of this family are found in this country, and for descrip- tions of them we would refer the reader to Dr. Hagen’s Synopsis of the Neuroptera of North America, published by the Smithsonian Institution. The Libellulide, or family of Dragon-flies, and the Ephemerid, or May-flies, one of which is figured in our second number, are the most characteristic of the Neu- roptera, or veiny-winged insects.. This group is a most interesting one to the systematist, as it is composed of so many heterogeneous forms which it is almost impos- sible to classify in our rigid and at present necessarily artificial systems. We divide them into families and sub-families, genera and sub-genera, species and varie- ties, but there is an endless shifting of characters in these groups. The different groups would seem well limited after studying certain forms, when to the systematist’s sorrow here comes a creature, perhaps mimicking an ant, or aphis, or other sort of bug, or even a butterfly, and for wliich they would be readily mistaken by the uninitiated. Bibliographers have gone mad over books that could not be classified. Imagine the despair of an insect-hunter and entomophile, as he sits down to his box of dried neu- roptera. He seeks for a true neuropter in the white ant before him, but its very form and habits summons up 2 swarm of true ants; and then the little wingless book- louse (Atropos) scampering irreverently over the musty pages of his Systema Nature, reminds him of that closest friend of man— Pediculus vestimenti. Again, his studies lead him to that gorgeous inhabitant of the Mediterranean shores, the butterfly-like Ascalaphus, with its gorgeous wings, and slender, knobbed antenne so much like those of butterflies, and visions of these beautiful insects fill his mind’s eye; or sundry dun-colored caddis flies, modest, THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. 313 delicate neuroptera, with finely fringed wings and slender feelers, create doubts as to whether they are not really allies of the clothes moth, so close is the resemblance. Thus the student is constantly led astray by the wanton freaks Nature plays, and becomes sceptical as regards the truth of a natural system, though there is one to be dis- covered ; and at last disgusted with the stiff and arbitrary systems of our books,—a disgust we confess most whole- some, if it only lead him into a closer communion with nature. The sooner one leaves those maternal apron- strings,—books,—and learns to identify himself with nature, and thus goes out of himself to affiliate with the spirit of the scene or object before him,—or, in other words, cultivates habits of the closest observation and most patient reflection,—be he painter or poet, philosopher or an insect-hunter of low degree, he will gain an intellectual strength and power of interpreting nature, that is the gift of true genius. THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. BY EDWARD 8. MORSE. (Continued from page 188. THE snails thus far described een a natural group having, generally, a stout, heavy shell, and usually a re- flected lip to the aperture. The jaw is heavily ribbed, and the teeth are short, and, on the extreme border of the membrane, serrated. The jaw and teeth of Helix albo- labris, figured in the first number of the NATURALIST, represents well like characters of the group. The species now to be considered have smooth or polished shells, the AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 314 THE LAND SNAILS _lip simple or sharp, and the teeth are claw-shaped ; the jaw being devoid of ribs, having, however, a central pro- jection, as shown in Fig. 19,—( jaw of Helix inornata.) VITRINA LIMPIDA Gould. (Fig. 20.) Shell globular, very thin and fragile, transparent and shining. Whorls Fig. 19, two to three, the last, or body whorl, very large and expanded; no umbilicus; diam- Fig 2). eter nearly one-fourth of an inch. Animal greyish, or nearly black, and large com- QB pared to the size of the shell. The mantle extends from the aperture of the shell covering the back of the animal to the base of the tentacles, a portion ex- tending backward covering the spire. The animal is always very moist, and appears còvered with water. This species is probably carnivorous in its habits, as in confinement it has been noticed to feed on dead and even live earth-worms, while vegetable food has been rejected. It has been found in northern Vermont, in northern Maine, and near Portland, Me., quite abundant. Outside of the limits of New England this species occurs in the North-western Territory, and the northern parts of the United States bordering on Canada. It is generally found in open ground or low underbrush in damp places. HELIX ivornata Say. (Figs.21, 22.) Shell depressed, Figs-21,22. yellowish horn-color, smooth and shining- Waa Whorls five; lip simple and sharp, the lower ~Z part reaching to the umbilicus, which is small. Within the lip there is a thick, white shelly deposit which tends to strengthen the fragile aperture. Diameter of shell less than three- fourths of an inch. Animal bluish black, disk whitish. _ At the termination of the tail there is a gland from which the mucus pours freely when the animal is in motion. OF NEW ENGLAND. 315 This shell is recorded. as being found in Vermont by Professor Adams, though it cannot properly be regarded asa New England species. It is common at the West. Hewix ruiiernosis Binney. (Figs. 23, 24.) Shell thin, flattened above, nearly chestnut-color, sometimes a green- ish horn-color. Whorls four and a half; Figs. 23, 24. last whorl very large, suture slightly in- so dicated. Aperture large, nearly circular, within pearly. Lip simple, brittle, slightly thickened within by a testaceous deposit. Umbilicus not large. Diame- ter an inch or more. Animal blackish, or bluish black. On the tail there is a slit from which the mucus pours freely. This shell resembles somewhat that of Helix inornata, but differs in being much larger, and always having one whorl less. The umbilicus is larger, and the aperture is more circular. This species occurs in nearly all the States east of the Rocky Mountains. It is extremely rare in New England, having been found only in the extreme western limits. Of the species thus far described in these papers, only three of them can be considered as really common in New England, namely, Helix albolabris, monodon, and alternata. The others are rarely to be met with. It is difficult for the collector to obtain more than ten or twelve specimens of the larger species in a day’s ramble, though at the West they may be found by hundreds. The cause of this dis- parity in numbers is attributed to the abundance of lime- rock at the West; this rock favoring the multiplication of shell-bearing mollusks, while in New England, granitic formations prevail, and the soil from such rocks retards the increase of these animals. — To be continued. THE PHOSPHORESCENCE OF THE SEA. Tue Noctiluce are little crystal balls of about the size of a pin’s head, which, under the microscope, present the appearance here figured. The transparence of its struc- g ture permits an easy investigation. Not a fibre is to be seen, unless, with De Blainville, we consider the trans- verse markings of the tail in the light of muscular fibres, a supposition which is very questionable. In the neighborhood of this tail there is usually a mass of food, or the indigestible remains of food. Not that we are to look for a stomach in this animal,—nothing of the kind exists; but in lieu thereof we find, as in Infusoria, a number of vacuole, or assim- ilating cavities, which appear and disappear, according to need, formed out of the contractile substance which is seen radiating in filaments all through the substance of the animal, and which M. Quatrefages likens to the sarcode described by Dujardin. In this curious animal, not a trace has been discovered of vessels, nerves, senses, or indeed of any “organs” whatever. It is a mass of animated jelly, with a mobile tail. Its mode of reproduction has been variously expounded, but the observations of Quatrefages and Krohn seem placed be- yond a doubt by those recorded in Mr. Brightwell’s ` paper, proving that they multiply by spontaneous sub- division. No one has yet observed anything like repro- duction by means of ova. To these Noctiluce the sea owes much of that brilliant phosphorescence which at all times has been the marvel of (316) THE. PHOSPHORESCENCE OF THE SEA. 317 travellers. Place your vase in a darkened room, and strike the glass, or agitate the water, and you will be delighted with the spectacle presented. From every part brilliant sparks appear and disappear, until at length no agitation of the water will produce more; their power is exhausted, as that of the electric eel is exhausted, after a few shocks. You want to know the cause of this phos- phorescence? Unhappily the point is still sub judice. It is only since the beginning of this century that the atten- tion of naturalists has been fixed upon the Voctiluce as sources of the phosphorescence, in all times observed, and in former times attributed to the presence of decaying organic substance, to electricity, to “an absorption of Solar light disengaged in the dark.” The investigations of M. Quatrefages led him to the following conclusions : There are two different kinds of phosphorescence observed in the sea. The first is of very brilliant but isolated sparks, and is due principally to Starfishes, Crustaceans, and Annelids. The second is of a general luminous tint, over which are strewed isolated sparks, and is due to the Noctiluce. These Noctiluce have no special organ which produces the phosphorescence, as the other animals have; but the light emanates from the whole substance of their bodies. Every irritant, no mat- ter of what nature, produces this phosphorescence in them. The phenomenon is not, as in insects, one of combustion ; but is intimately connected with the contraction, spon- taneous or provoked, of their substance. It is indepen- - dent of all secretion, and it is probable that the sparks are due to the rupture and sudden contraction of their Sarcodic filaments; while the steady light they emit in dying, results from the permanent contraction of this Sarcodic substance. — From Lewes’ Sea-side Studies. REVIEWS. . PGE Ua he shan RNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY oF New ENGLAND. By Edward A. Sam- uels. Boston. Nichols & Noyes. 1867. 8vo. “Illustrated. me this work as one long needed, and trust that it will pages, if within their RE May we not hope that the enterprising Publishers of the work, who deserve great praise for their present un- rtaking, will issue a ppt edition, that it may become accessible to all? The volume is gotten up in fine sigma oa no eee has been spared on the typography and paper. The the illustra- tions of the eggs* are perfect gems (a art of wood-cutting i in this executed for the work with the same care, for the only serve to mar the beauty of si ‘snes and are, with few exceptions, of very little value to the read The character of he volti is such as to instruct and interest; the scientific details and matters of classification are well arranged, an -Copied from the best authors, for which full credit is given. In fact, the author has, so far as we can judge, been honest with all his quo- tations and clippings from others, and in writing such a work original- it-grower, and serve to remove many prejudices that have arisen regarding the comparative benefit and injury derived from the feathered inhabitants of our gardens and woods. Thus, while the $$ go Sni platas coi representations of of the following birds: etg ed catcher, Bine Yello je we etn fd e orate Hawk, Great-cr ested Yellow-! Skea Warbler, W Thrush, Blackcthro ated Green Warbler, = lied Nu Red-bellied Nuthateh, White-fhroa “nity boas sl Snow-bird, Tree eth Canada G B Plover, ae Pusty Bisckt p rpland Virgin Raib Eee ioe kai selina tae al Wi G 18) . REVIEWS. | 319 author’s account of the habits of the ‘Poor Crow” may be the cause of many being destroyed at certain seasons of the year, his account of the food of the Robin will undoubtedly be the saving of the lives of thousands of these, by some, most loved, and by others, most perse- cuted of birds. We extract the following from the account of the hab- its of the Robin :— Perhaps none of our birds are more unpopular with horticulturists than this; and I will here give the observations of different scientific men, and my own, to show that the rej e bir enetrate se bly ten robins, for one of all others, thus pyta him; and, ign res ` these birds which he has opened a hi were unripe; on the contrary, it was all through the se ason. His pees is surrounded with scrub-oaks huckle Perren These latter were loaded witb fruit, which was easier access to the birds than the worms; T no: ne was fo i d in them. ae say 3 suey puna from all quarters to — his silkworms. th birds together. He said that, in = ojiin, if the birds TOS all killed o TE would be entirely loua "To tes re; hem, he placed on a iws eriat near his door two thousand of gip ox pill the ay og the be was easily acce go but they preferr ee! we worms, Why use the young of these, as w as those of most other bi alge i be fed on animal food. Earth- worms assist m ne ay at te often birds like the Robin, Cate Thrush, etc., get these? th hey go to the subsoil, out of the Arar of birds; and it is not necessary here e to say what pamaos of the time the ground is very dry through the eraren Caterpillars, grubs of various kinds, and insects, possi constitute the chief food of these birds; and of t r- pillars , and most aa nil of course, the larger proportion, In fact, the Thrush rid the surface of the soil of noxious often pursued by most other — The warblers capture the insects that prey eg: eas h the Pah on amii r y th f the earth ge pns nearly all kinds of grubs, Caterpillars, and worms that live upon the greensward and cultivated soil, and large quautities of crickets and grasshoppers before they have become perfect insects. The grubs of locu: tee r the fruit and crawl about ta ge of new iselters ana ‘those su subt cutwo: at come out o: yal g + erly devoured by the ue and other Thrushes. emerge Sow ie soil during the night to seek for food; and the Robin, whieh is one of the mesa birds to = oad in the morning, is very diligent at the dawn hese verm fore they have - back into aptae retreat, The sabes ‘of these ake oo immense...“ ipe l cornfields,” sa s Dr. Harris, * ‘are sometimes laid waste by by the plough hoe, and their en em m the soil; apple-worms, when they leave the t pape w yae e ter: rranean caterpillars, the n E a i par 320 REVIEWS. destro bas sig them. Potato-vines, beans, beets, and various other culinary plants, suffer in the e way.” The services of the robins, in destroying these alone, gave: ore than pay m the fruit they devour. Indeed, during the bre age ing season, a robin is seldom seen without having in on mouth one of these caterpilla: b, which he designs for his young; das the Mobi — Aisa ene broods of young during the season, hi f noxious insects than almost all other mini er In my gardening i I have had my full share of cutworms; itl sh Cat-bird busy early in the morn- , Br wn n Borida before oe —_ are out of their feather-bedsy fgur ra ca raamo T AEC! hing t LIESE THE neice FORMATION OF THE — or Sioux Kan OF THE MISSION OF OMAHAS AND OF TEKAMA, ON THE BORDERS OF Missourr. B aia Marcou. sands the Binid: of the Geological Sei of France. 1866. 8vo, pp. 15. With a plate In tbis and a previous paper,* the author shows that there is a re- e bed rocks containing them. The facts are thus stated in the present Cle :— Between Omaha City, Nebraska, my Sioux City, is a fresh-water bene inetagecoinell ee a flora ent ich, in Euro pe, h the epot: h of te Miocene (middle) Tertiary Period, but Which in America, however, is found in the The steps that led to this discovery are detailed quite fully by Prof. F. V. Hayden, in the American Journal of Science for March, 1867. LEPIDOPTEROLOGICAL No OTES AND DESCRIPTIONS, I, II y Aug. R. sie and Coleman T. Robinson. 8vo, pp. 30. 1865-6. With five lates. Notes ON THE SPHINGIDÆ or Cupa. By Aug. R. Grote. 8yo. 1865. With two plates. NOTES ON THE ZYGENIDE oF Cusa. By Aug. R. Grote. 8vo, pp- 16. NOTES ON THE LEPIDOPTERA or America. By A. R. Grote and Cole- man T. Robinson. New York, 1867. 8vo, pp. 35. With two plates. of papers, of which we select the titles of but a few, pub- - lished b pas authors in the Proceedings of the reaa iS pa New York, are descriptions of new and interesting forms ep our native moths, sia | by a admirably pip lithographic plates, g y of the rarer er new or previously i The authors have delineated many of the forms of that beautiful and wA Geitis ; i ; Society | ae ee Recomnolanan ia Nebraska, From the Bulletin of the Geological REVIEWS. 321 interesting group of moths, the Bombycide, which contain the silk- worms of the old and the new world. If, while reading the account of the American Silk-worm ponie in this journal, the reader wishes to become acquainted with its nume- rous allies, he cannot do better than consult the well-executed a accompanying the papers under review. In several articles, such as those on the Sphinges and Zygenide, or Day-flying Ta of the Island of Cuba, prepared by the first-named author, and also accom- . panied by lithographic plates, many facts are adduced to ain how pe dry reading and of little immediate profit to sci TAXIDERMIST’s MANUAL. Third Edition. A S. H. Sylvester. aiations Mass. 16mo, pp. 29. Price $1.00 A very brief, but so far as it goes, accurate account of the mode of siting b birds and mammals, with a few hii on the methods of pre- paring skeletons, preserving eggs, and mounting insects. The infor- mation given is too sca nty, and sie should have been added illustrating the methods described. The price of this little book is altogether to o high. THE AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. Orange Judd & Co.,New York. We cannot speak in too high praise of the Natural History a tions in the above-named journal. Every number issued contains merous illustrations of animals and plants, drawn with fidelity, = engraved with the utmost skill. The generous manner in which this branch of science is treated, renders the journal alike valuable to the lover of nature, and to the agriculturist. AMERICAN PoMoLOGY. ArrLES. By Dr. John A. Warder. 29 Illus- trations. New York, Orange Judd & Co., 41 Park Row. 12mo, 1867. A carefully prepared and well-printed volume, which must prove of great value to all fruit-growers. While the book is intended for read- ers in all parts of the country, it is especially adapted to the wants of AnD in the Western States. and rather new — on i pA compact HANN s e large number of pages (fifty-fi the insects i injur ons, notes epuedling their tik and ie —, their attacks, which NAT., VOL. I. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. BOTANY. ENACITY OF LIFE AMONGST THE HIGHER PLANTS.— Specimens of Lewisia ea a Portulacaceous plant, large-flowered and fleshy, growing in British Columbia, Oreg an lifornia, will grow, although they have been dried erbarium for r three years; and indeed the samples are often troublesome from sprouting fi ? hilst between the papers. One species, collected by Dr. Lyall, of the British Navy, was “immersed in boilin ing water” to stop this growing propensity, before submitting to the drying process, and yet more than a year and a half afterwards it showed symptoms of vital- ity, and in ape 1863, it produced its mii flowers in the Royal Gardens ew. — Quarterly Journal of Scienc re OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN A BRICK TAKEN FROM THE or EGYPT. — Professor Unger has communicated to the Tupe ree of arga at Vienna, a paper on the vegetable dr m i i nd animal remains an of manufacturing art, contained in & brick taken from one of the fey pela pyramids mined a brick from the pyramids of Dashour, which dates back from between 3,400 and 3,300, B. C., and found imbedded in the Nile mud or slime of which it is composed, animal and v mains so perfectly pre- served that he had no difficulty whatever in identifying them. Besid two sorts of gran ba: found the ng amiliar p _— oo ar- n e bricks also contained abundant remains of fresh-water insects, fishes, etc. Quarterly Journal of Science, London. ZOOLOGY. ten Currure.—In the International Exposition of the Produce and Implements of Fisheries, at Bergen, were collections of young (822) NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 323 os illustrating the development of the Cod, presented by M. O. Sars; f the Herring, by M. A. Boeck; and of the Trout, by C. Vogt Series of designs were also exhibited representing the history of their development, from the vesicular state (l état vésiculaire) in the egg, up to the moment of ppr and the different aspects of the fish from the time of birth to adult age. Next the drawings were placed Jars containing specimens ARE the different stages of growth. Several bottles,containing specimens ak eee the process of the ar- b tificial fecundation of the Co d, discover y M. O. Sars, comprised: = R, sal the Cod TEERAA tecondated, three. or fone, houro after the operation, fen sh f th ; 2. Eggs artificial ieuiaas eleven or twelve hours after the “operation, and sh owing the division of Pal germinative disk; 3. Eggs artificially fecundated, after two or three days, showing a greater reaps of the disk; 4. Eggs after four ie of in reden n, showing the perfect anti e disk; 5 Eggs night days att AEN DURES nao omma the embryo a fo sine g the yo 0 h (alevin) pertety developed, and after the rupture of its envelopes; 7. Young Cod teent. — Bulletin de as aa Te @ Acclimata- T MADE OF FisH.— Professor Rosing, of Aas, France, has in- Secs a biscuit of flour made of fish (farine de poisson), prepared like the sea biscuit. It forms a very nutritious and compact article of food, being four times as rich in albuminoid substances as beef, four imes as much as fresh codfish, and sixteen times as much as milk. Besides, it has the advantage of being very rich in iia — Bulletin de la Société impériale Zoologique @ Acclimata- AN IN CAYUGA COUNTY, X. Y.— Some time during the were other was one o site hunters had ever seen anything of the i out here before. It proved to be imen of the white or gh-billed Pelican (Pelicanus erythrorhynchus Gmelin), in good con- dition, a: its s u ight feet from ti tip. . S. F. Baird, of the — Institute, Washington, D. C., in speaking of this bird The male has on the upper ie (upper part of the man a thin, elevated, bony Process. ahont ee or four inches. i female difa It lives through- out the United $ meine rade ox on the coast of the Middle and Northern States; found as far north as the 6lst parallel. This species breeds in the fur countries, generally selecting inaccessible places in the neighborhood of waterfalls. ‘They also inhabit throughout the Rocky Mountains and in California. In winter they are very abundant on our Southern Coast, from Texas to Florida. They remain inactive on sand-bars most of the day, pro- Caring their food about sunrise, and again just before sunset. They swim Por; — Aa ce + an sneh ao ? 324 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. secure their food by thrusting the head under water, but not keeping it below the surface for any length of time. The peculiar bony process on the ridge of the tat mandible appears to be used for the purpose of defen nce, when combating with their ont in some old individuals it is much abraded and wo orn, apparently caused by many and severe con- tests Eudibon thus speaks of its habits :— anged along the margins of the s sand-bar, in broken array, stand a hundred heavy-. bodied Pelicans, pluming themselves. ag e gorged Pelicans patiently wait the return of unger. Should one chance to gape, all, as if by sympathy, in succession open long and broad mandibles, yawning lazily and itai. I one afternoon observed a number of White Pelicans swimming against the wind and Current, with their wings partially extended, their neck stretched out, the upper man- dible alone linge rep ove the surface, while the lower must have been used as a scoop- r m bill immediately Pas to a perpendicular position, the water was allowed to run out, and ne bill being again r raised u u pwards, the fish was swallow ed, er thus swimming for about a h and narall h +h er, pi 7 $ +h in o wheel. about, and arg a t sbe: place where the ir fishing commenced, w hey would mee of si er hano destroyed b by : ‘inte bint is quite extraordinary On pcm we found in it of fishes, of the size of what are usually pag minnows. Tis cn is rank, fishy. nause "Tne fe- eis rather smaller a the male, and, in as far as I a vidios by the poner a of several individu. tating, is destitute of the horny crest of the upper ma Judging from è bony process on the bill, which was sai one inch high and two and a half inches s long, I concluded, from the de- scription given above, y this bird was a male; but upon dissection, I was much surprised to find the specimen a female. The œsophagus contained two flat-fish (Bream or map Pomotis vulgaris) in quite a perfect condition, one of which w and the other eight inches in length. There were also the remains of two alpine which must have been eight or ten inches in length. I found no small fish. Mr. Cave, Legal es the bird, saw her fishing, aS paral by Audubon. — W. J. B CURIOUS MODE OF GESTATION IN Fısn.—Dr. W. Turner, of Edin- burgh, described the very curious method of gestation in a new fish, belonging to the genus Arius, which he had received from Ceylon. und, where they were caught in ae numbers by the natives. i peened of itis British Museum, said it was very re- rica there was a fish almost exactly like _ that which Dr. Turner had poer and Agassiz had lately described several others from the Amazon, possessing this curious method of gestation; none, however, had been observed in Africa. — Quarterly Journal of Science, London. isd a NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 325 HABITS OF THE BirrERN.—I notice some statements respecting the breeding cits of the Bittern oe lentiginosus) in the lately published work of Mr. Samuels, on the Ornithology and Odlogy of says that these birds build in bushes or low trees or tufts of grass; that the nest is of twigs, grass, and a few leaves; and that they breed in communities, a dozen or more nests being often found in the space of a few rods. The few eggs that I havé found have all been on the ground— bare ground — — among thick tufts of lambkill, on the ‘‘ Fowl ‘ia wW bird’s udit buagh to go unnoticed; and because I am cony iaceat iik he, who should expect to find a community of stick-built bittern’s nests on bushes or trees in this vicinity, would be disappointe South Canton, Mass. W.E. Koor silyl GEOLOGY. Tue MIOCENE TERTIARY FLORA or NORTH GREENLAND.—Differ- ik voyagers have, from time to time, brought from Greenland, and st a steep hill, Ri Atanekerdluk, opposite the Isle of Disco, in lat. 7 A total of six -six species have been recognized, and from them and , the Miocene epoch the climate of North Greenland was warmer than it is at pta by fully 16° C., or 28’ 8° F.; and he thinks that “we © = ot by any rearrangement of land and water produce for the emisphere a climate which would explain the phenomena in a Satisfactory manner.” ‘We must admit,” t we are face d, and we doubt not —— by the astronomer.” — Quarter! y Journal of Science, London PEE MICROSCOPY. Puospnorescent ENToMosTRACA.—Minute Crustaceans, belonging to this order and allied to the genus Cypridina, were discovered in - 326 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. the Pacific Ocean by Prof. J. D. Dana, while in the United States Ex- ploring Expedition. Others have been described and figured by Major a? in the TREE Journal for 1866 :— +h with them. When swallowed by, or entangled ‘with other creatures; they in their turn appear to be also luminous. They also give them. When they are at rest, they gradually cease to five out light; but as soon as they are disturbed or in com ¿or the vessel con- taining them is shaken, they again become bright, even after many hours’ confinement. beard pre seen the ship’s deck running with liquid fire when the net containing this species had been rien on board. + CORRESPONDENCE. L. Q., Pennsylvania, asks for information regarding the prepara- tion of snail’s tongues for microscopical objects. They are generally » mounted in Canada balsam, using a thin piece of glass as a cover to the preparation. To dissect the membrane from the mouth, one must use needles for the very small snails, and fine knives for the la arger species. One can cut with certainty on such snails as Helix albolabris, iss slitting the cesophagus open from above, care being taken not to cut the jaw, teeth is quite tough, and can be picked away with needles. For the minute snails the readiest way is to pick the head in small pieces on 4 glass slide. With the microscope, the portion containing the tongue ith considerable care and patience the tongue may be removed entire. During this work the preparation must be well moistened; & drop of water is sufficient. — E. L., Illinois. — The following works have been published on North , American Lichens : SR ‘aa of the Lichens of New England, the other North American States, and British America.” By Edward Tuck- erman, A. M., Cambridge, 1848. 1 vol. 8vo, 93 pp. ‘‘An Enumeration of North American Lichens, with a a Preliminary View of the Struc- ony and General History of these Plants, and of the Friesian System,” ' By Edward Tuckerman, A.M. Cambridge, 1845. 8vo, pp- 59- Ww. H. S., Minnesota. — You will find Shirley Hibbard’s Book of the Aquarium, published in London, 1856, the cheapest and best manual b NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 327 we know of. For fresh-water aquaria, use glass jars and dishes. Large aquaria can be made of glass set in a soapstone frame, made water-tight by cement. Any glazier can make one. Shirley Hibbard thus describes a large tank :— ent of a dwe Mh, ora rE an oblong tank, EE e min 0 back of eg z y — ee ‘oom _— jarra Siepen form ı for such a body is that of the do k d depth, so that if it were cut “site two equal parts, two cubes would be formed. The s must be set in n grooves in the slate, and ane outaiie with zine or taraia piers: of ae wood. The best Samai is white-lead putty, or iti hich it my power to inform the reader, If a coating of shell-lac, dissolved in naphth d made a a paste with whiting, were laid: over the Wht te kesa cement, ae water roula be kept Theus Paat E Ra page hi re fix pock-w: rkr OTK, the cement t } o glass. ` But if rock-work is not tho , the sl ate ends may be dispensed wii on and the vessel may be co: posed winy o of glass, except the bottom, which may be of slate or wood. I have seen some handsome tank posed wholly of w and glass; it is only necessary to choose well-sea q oe and unite the joints very perfectly. L. Q., Pennsylvania. — We can scarcely tell from your drawing what the object can be. It is probably a Polyzo6n, ep possibly a species of Lophopus, mentioned in the June number of the NaTuRALIsT, and if 50, is very rare, and specimens would be very mie. . NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. inition Insects or AvGust.— During this month great multitudes of bugs (Hemiptera) are found in our fields and gardens; and to this group of insects the present chapter shall be devoted. They are nearly all injurious to crops, as they live on the sap of plants, stinging them with their ma suckers. Their continued attacks cause the leaves to aceon Tho ee at certain years, desolates our wheat-fields. We have a the heads black with these terrible pests. They pierce the grain, extract the sap, causing it to shrink and lose the greater part ofits bulk. It is a most insidious and difficult foe to overcome. The various leaf- hoppers, Tettigonia and Ceresa abound on the leaves of plants, sadly blighting them; and the Tettigonias frequent 328 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. amp, wet, Swampy places. A very abundant species on grass pro- be what is called ‘‘frog’s spittle.” It can easily be traced through l its changes by frequently examining the mass of froth which surrounds it. Tettigonia vitis blights the leaf of the grape-vine. It isa tenth of an inch long, and is straw-yellow, striped with red. Tettigonia rose, a still ae species, in- fests the rose, often to an a arming exten he Notonecta, or water boatman, is nine like a Tettigonia, but its wings are transparent on the outer half, and its legs are fringed with long hairs, being formed for swimming. They row over the surface in pursuit of insects. Notonecta undulata of Say (Fig. 1, from Sanborn) is a common form in New ngland. an Another gorg is the singular Ranatra fusca (Fig. 2, from anb surface of the water when it wishes to breathe. wa species connects the Water - boatman withthe Water-skaters Fig. 4. or Gerris, a fami sect, of which patio’ paludum (Fig. 3) is ommon monly seen run- nin er the surface of streams and pools. ius and its al- lies belong to a large family of very useful insects, as they prey largely on caterpillars and noxious insects. Such is dioheaygee (Fig. 4), a common species. It is an ally of Reduvius personatus, é NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 329 valued friend to man, as in Europe it destroys the bed-bug. Its Specific name is derived from wie eped while immature, of conceal- ing itself in a case of dust, the better to approach its prey. Another friend of the ef te is the Phymata erosa , (Fig. 5). Mr. F. G. Sanborn states that ‘these insects have been taken in great numbers upon the linden trees in the city of Bos ston, and Fig. 5. were seen in the act of devouring the Aphides, which hay infested the shade-trees of that city for several years ae hey are described by a gentleman who watched their op- erations with great interest, as ‘stealing up ta a louse, coolly seizing and tucking it under the arm, then inserting the beak and sucking it dry.’ They are Sa to feed also on other vegetable eating insects as well as the plant lou found upon different regions of the b Different varieties are found living upon the bodies of different races of men An allied group, gr pepeg nn: live on the hair of mam- Malia and feathers of birds. In this group there are distinct jaws. shag every bird wie mammal has its parasite, so that the number of ‘tes is actually very large. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. 1. 42 330 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. - During this month the ravages of grasshoppers are, in the West, ery wide-spread have just received from Major Hawn, of Leavenworth, ,a most interesting account of the Red-legged Locust ( Caloptenus a um) The mmence depositing their eggs the latter part of August, which are fusiform, slightly gibbous, a buff-color. They are placed about three-fourths of an inch war d whole presenting a cylindrical structure, not unlike a small cartridge. T ommence hatching in March, but it requires a range of temper- ature above 60° F. to bring them to maturity, and under such con- Pe as they become fledged in thirty-three days, and in from three to ve days after, they enter upon their migratory flight. ‘“ Their instincts are very strong. When food becomes scarce at one point, a portion of them migrate to new localities, and this movement takes place ene te over large areas. In their progress they stop at no obstac hey can surmount. In these excursions they often meet with omé trains from an opposite direction, when both join in one. “The insects are voracious, but discriminating in their choice of food, yet I know of no plant they reject if pressed by hunger; not even the foliage of shrubs and trees, including pine and cedar.” —A. S. P. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 1 Lyceum or Naturat History. New York, April 22, 1867.—Prof. h A the present time. Of this sketch the most important facts cited were as follows :— First, — Vegetables only have the power to assimilate inorganic sub- plants first, of animals only from them. Remains of eae occur in the oldest rocks, but only of the lowest types, seawee _ Second; —The first land plants appear in the Upper Saved rocks, PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 331 conifers, ferns, eS etc., the advance guard of the carboniferous flora, and having the same general character. From the variety and Eey high aeee ess of these plants we must infer either the somewhat sudden creation of an elaborate flora, or a great hiatus in t history, in which its origin and development are lost. hird, — The carboniferous flora of America is ara: the same as that of the coal-measures of the old world. Of six hundred species - Tecognized here, at least one-third are considered ei with Eu- north of the St. Lawrence was then—as it has constantly been since the beginning of the palæozoic ages —o out of water, as was most o New York, and part of New England. The coal-plants grew in marshes world at this period was of the character indicated by these elec and that more highly-organized plants had not hat been called in existe Fifth, —The Permian flora was not represented in any collection made on this continent, but from the plants obtained from the Permian rocks abroad, it was evident that the flora of that period was, like the moll an of “eos a walking, flying, carnivorous and her- bivorous, in size ranging from the mouse to the whale, they filled the Places now occupied by reptiles, birds, and mammals. The vegetation the triassic and jurassic periods was as peculiar as the fauna, and constituted a distinct chapter in the botanical history of the world. he most conspicuous plants of this flora were the cyca ads, —now represented, by the Lagopalene, etc., — which had no existence before, -332 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. and has since formed an insignificant portion of the vegetation of the earth’s surface. Drawings were exhibited of cycads, conifers, and ferns from the mesozoic rocks of Europe, China, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Sonora, showing the similarity of the flora of different cunntiibs in the triassic and jurassic periods. Seventh, — With the commencement of the cretaceous period the flora of the world was again revolutionized, and the highest order of plants — the angiosperms — make their first a EE in Europe, chalk period to the present time, showing great permanence in the physical condition of the count Eighth, — Of our Eocene Ara we have obtained few specimens. The flora of Europe, during that period, was decidedly tropical in arac Ninth, — The Miocene flora of America has been very fully illustrated by the collections made in Mississippi, on the Upper Missouri, near the mouth of Frazer River, on the McKenzie, and on Disco Island, off the west coast of Greenland. Over one hundred species have been obtained from these localities, some of which were common to them all. Several of these species are now living in our c pet and quite a number have been found in the Miocene tertiary of Europ t important part of Dr. Newberry’s paper was t sine which’ included a comparison of the Miocene flora of America with that of First, ote Phe living flora of North America is ae eee progeny of the cretaceous and tertiary floras of the same continent; most of the genera of the earlier floras being co: aira. into the ests one, and many species of the Miocene being apparently identical with so now living. Second, —In the Miocene epoch, the European and American conti- nents were connected at the north, pred over this bridge the American flora passed to Europe, leaving its rds on Disco Island, aga the Island of Mull, ete. This flora ka OR of a temperate clima e, and, following a depression of temperature, it replaced the Eocene nd PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 333 flora of Europe, and for a time covered the surface of that country with American plants, magnolia, liquid — sassafras, liriodendron, etc., etc. Third,— That at a subsequent period, the connection between the two continents was severed by a depression of North-west Europe, and the American flora was nearly exterminated by the present flora of Europe, which is mostly of Asiatic origin. Fourth, — The present flora of China and Japan, as Professor Gray living only there; and several American Miocene and living species (Onoclea sensibilis, etc.) now form part of the flora of Japan. These plants are — bly the descendants of American Miocene emigrants. Dr. Newberry also exhibited = of a number of fossil fishes and reptiles from the coal-measures of Ohio. genes fishes represented the genera Diplodus, Pleuracanthus, oe . Paleoniscus, Cœ- hi he 5 aS =| ctr ij 2 e m. N Je = B ls =] Ge > Ens 5, 2 oO et CP © = N Oo O = oO n = oO S —— under the name of TPE? or A a very A name, as these reptiles had an elongated snake-like form, with insig- nificant = something similar to our living Cecilia, but being doubtless an amphibian. The associated reptiles were also probably ev leg aquatic in habit, and to be compared with Menopoma and enobranchus. The president, Professor C. s Joy, read a report upon recent chem- ical discoveries and applicatio - Bailey exhibited a sat te frog from the brown coal of the Rhine. It resembles closely some of the living species, and the iste was discussed whether live toads were ever actually found imbedded in the rock. T live toad having been found in the solid rock. All such stories were myths, and no scientific man gave any credence to them. ka 334 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. San Francisco, May 6, 1867. — The Committee on Field Excursions reported in reference to the recent excursion to the Twelve Mile Farm, on the San José Road. the above place,—a blue sandstone, which is undergoing decompo- Sition, containing many species of shells o = — forms, many e as living species, accordin Mr. Stearns. Prof. Waor remarked upon the aingulariy i is olated sation of this out- traces of it many miles beyond, but did not suc e fact was one of many evidences going to show the extensive denudation that had occurred in this part of the State ehr presented a chrysalis dergo a metamorphosis or change from the grub state, while the mate is the same as other moths Mr. Stearns submitted, on behalf of Mr. J. Rowell, a description of a new species of Pisidium, a genus of fresh-water bivalves, found ich moon were infallible signs of r His ervations proved that in some seasons these signs biei failed in — and at the T no rule, he thought, could be established on the subject. r. Goodyear read a paper by Prof. Silliman, Sa new localities ie roe monds. One from French Corral weighed 5.114 grains, equal to 1} carats, symmetrical in form, and slightly yellow in color from being subjected to a fire test. It was found in the gravel washings- The second specimen is from Diets Hill, El Dorado [Placer ?] county; weight 5.673 grains, equal to nearly 14 carats; color good, but less - the ape: Since 1855 five. diamonds are known to have been h over a carat. All were found, . in a gray, cemented gravel iS a stratum of lava or comp olcanic v ashes. The fourth specimen is from Cherokee Flat, Butt pep ange which has a some reputation as a diamond locality. It cut and set in a ring. _ Prof. Whitney remarked that there are fifteen localities in Califor- nds bid a which dinni | have been found in the course of washings for PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 335 sei In reply to a question if there was not some familiar test by hich miners might prove them, he answered that the easiest way and toughness. H emarked further that it would not pay in Califor- nia to wash the gravel beds solely for diamonds. Diamond washings do not pay in any country except with slave or convict labor Prof. “Whitney read a paper on the geological position of coni. The @ bar object of this paper was to show how com ly the result of in n geological explorations and discoveries had done away with the old idea that valuable beds of coal are confined e member of the Series of geological formations. The recent peee of geol- ogists in India, China; Australia, New Zealand, South America, and on the Pacific Coast of North America were noticed and commented w . eae and Eas rm United tates are of Paleozoic age, those o opposite sides of the globe; one of them is of Paleozoic and the other of Mesozoic age.. He referred Aner to the coal of the Pacific Coast of North America, and gave a brief account of its geographical distribution and geological age, noticing particularly the fact that most of the valuable fields of that region belong to the Cretaceous Series, a geological formation which, in other pa f world, has been found to be one of the most barren in combustible materials. In conclusion, the importance coal discoveries in ween mi at the head of which is Mr. King, late of the California Survey— might be the means of giving to the world reliable information in regard to the coal resources of that region, of which we now know so little. Dr. cr stated that Mr. Bischoff, the zoblogist appointed to ac- the Government exploration of — America, now on his wiy hither, iť he had not already arrived. When on that coast before, he had found birds nearly identical with living species in Asia, a fact of Much interest, since none of the same — are found on 336 ‘BOOKS RECEIVED. the eastern coast of America. There is here another mie mie of the former intimate relations between western America and Asi Prof. Whitney submitted for publication a very valuable See origi- nal paper by Baron Richthofer, on the subject of geology, particularly with reference to the natural system of volcanic rocks. Its publication as the first volume of the Academy’s Memoirs was proposed. It con- sists of one hundred and fifty manuscript pages. BOOKS RECEIVED. Observations upon the Cranial Forms of the bape ye ee S By J. Aitken Meigs, M. D. Philadelphia, 1866. A American BB bt Apples. By Dr. a A. "Warde. 290 illustra- tions. e k, Orange Judd & Co. 12m Hardwicke’s # Seine Gossip. London, fey 1867. London, R. Hard- wicke. Ro The Feau Noles tik No. 5. May, 1867. London, small 4to. Notes on the Vespertilionidæ of Paloa PUTA By H. Allen, M.D. From the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences. August, 1866. 8vo. pp. 9 Goor Cna of the Mollusca found west of the Rocky Moun- tains, between latitudes 33° and 49° N. By J.G. Cooper, M. D. San Francisco, 1867. » pp. 4 Practical Entmologi Patricks Entomological Society. April, May, June, 18 The pan Bee Journal ” e Vol. 2, Nos. 11, 12. May, June, 1867. Washington, D.C. The Taxidermists eS tusk Edition. By S. H. Sylvester. Middleboro’, Mass. 16mo., pp. Abstract from a Verbal Discourse upon the Mounds ad - Mound Builders o L g By Colonel Charles Whittlesey. 8vo, p Report e Progress of the Geological Survey of North O olind, 1866. By. brakes C. Kerr. Raleigh, 1867. An Elementary Treatise on American Grape Culture and Wine Making. By Peter B. Mead. Illustrated with nearly 200 engravings drawn from nature. New York, Harper & Brothers. 1867,8vo. From A. Williams ` Big des Picea qui se rencontrent dans les Limits duCanada. Par L’Abbé Ovide Brunet. Quebec, 1866. 8vo, pp. 16. With three plates. _ Catalogue des Végétaux a lu Canada. Par L’Abbé Ovide Bru- net. Quebec, 1867. 8vo, pp. 64 oe es AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. I.—SEPTEMBER, 1867.—No. 7. —< io THE GEYSERS OF CALIFORNIA. BY G. L. GOODALE, M. D. Tue Geysers of California are situated in lateral ra- Vines of Pluton River, a tributary of Russian River. ‘The picturesque journey from San Francisco to the Geysers has been truthfully described by many tourists ; hence most of our readers are doubtless familiar with the sail over the bay and through the Tulé marsh, the ride up the White-wine valley, the slow ascent of an outlying crest of the Coast Range, and the perilous drive down into the cañon. It is proposed to embody in this paper some observations based upon studies at the Geysers during the last week in May, 1866. G It is, therefore, necessary to pass over, without re- mark, the interesting journey thither, and occupy our- selves with a description of the Avernus rather than the Jacilis descensus. The Avernus of the Æneid seems to have been a watering-place of some repute, which was in such immediate proximity to the lower regions, and pre- sented such great attractions on account of being upon the most ti route thither, that the name came, at Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the Clerk’s Office of the District ee of she District of Massachusetts. (ser) 43 AMERICAN NAT., VOL. 338 THE GEYSERS OF CALIFORNIA. last, to be applied as much to the sulphurous depths be- low as to the oak-shaded lake above. Various points of interest in this occidental Avernus have received appel- lations suggested by the surroundings; and while some other localities on the Pacific coast have been named for public officials, it has not been considered complimentary to attach modern proper names to anything in the vicinity of the Geysers. For this reason the classics have been laid under contribution. The stream into which the main canon opens is called Pluton River, the gorge is known as the Devil’s Cañon, and a sulphurous grotto has been long named for Proserpine. In gaining a clear idea of the California Geysers, it will be necessary to forget the geysers of Iceland, with their columns of water and capitals of cloud. Upon ap- proaching those upon Pluton River, your first impression is that there has been a great conflagration, and that the fire engines are blowing off steam preparatory to going home. The gorge is lined with masses of smouldering ashes, from which hot steam is being drifted by the wind, and, in some places, you can imagine that the embers are ready to relight. In the bottom of the cañon, turbid and blackened water, from which vapor slowly lifts, is run- ning among the discolored rocks. Here and there, es- caping steam hisses, and, in some places, roars like the “exhaust” of an engine. In other smaller cañons and depressions on an irreg- ular table land, there are like appearances of chemical activity. The rocks in the vicinity are mainly sandstones _ and silicious slates, which are highly metamorphic. The _ intermediate varieties are innumerable, all belonging to the Cretaceous Series,* which is largely represented in * Geology of California, vol. 1, p. 94 et seq. ty gee THE GEYSERS OF CALIFORNIA. 839 the northern Coast Range of the State. Two belts of eruptive rock have been observed in this part of the State, one lying thirty miles south, and the other found between the Geysers and Borax Lake, twenty or more miles away. Both are on the line of former voleanic activity, and near both we find many thermal springs. Besides hot springs, incrustations of sublimed sul- phur, pumice, and the light lavas are regarded as traces of volcanic action. These are found in many places in California, and in Nevada. The writer has observed these indications near the summit of the extinct volcano, Shasta.. In all cases they point to former igneous activ- ity. Therefore, the steam-springs and the Solfataras may be considered, for all practical purposes, as the poor re- lations of volcanoes in reduced circumstances. Such are the Geysers. Upon the 28th of May there had been a slight fall of rain. The morning of the 30th was quite cloudy, the thermometer ranging at eight o’clock from 60° to 62° Fahr. The temperature of the water in Pluton River, immediately above the confluence of the stream from the Devil’s Cañon varied from 65° to 70°. At the mouth of the cañon the temperature of the water was 90°, and upon walking up the bank of the stream the different temperatures of 95°, 97°, and 100°, were noticed. A light vapor was rising from the surface of the water. The first spring where ebullition was observed had a temperature of 135°. There was a free escape of sul- phydric acid from the cloudy water, and here the hot, stifling moisture began to make the walk one of discom- fort, ‘Upon the right hand several small springs of 190°, all giving off sulphydric acid, were boiling violently, and at the edge of a queer miniature cave on the same side, 340 THE GEYSERS OF CALIFORNIA. there was a furious little cauldron seething at 200°. Sev- eral of the springs had low forms of cryptogamic vegeta- tion growing upon the walls of the basins, and, in some instances, confervæ were observed thriving in water of a temperature of 145° Fahr. Seventy or eighty rods from the mouth of the cañon, there is a jet of escaping steam, and a little farther on there is an escape-pipe, nearly ten inches in diameter, through which steam is forced out several feet. Part of the steam condenses at five feet from the orifice, the rest ascends as light vapor, and is borne away by the wind. The greatest degree of tempera- ture observed was 206° Fahr., where there was, of course, as in the other cases mentioned, apparent ebullition from escape of gases. In no instance was the temperature of 500° noticed, which Mr. Bowles* speaks of in his en- tertaining “Across the Continent.” Obviously, this is a slip of a flying quill. Upon the east and west sides of the cañon, at this point, the ground is made up of decomposing rocks of clayey consistence, and of various colors dependent upon metallic oxides; each little locality seeming to be a labo- ratory for the decomposition of silicates. Wherever the light soil was dry, there was no vegetation whatever; wherever there was a good degree of humidity, confer- void growths were scattered. Near springs, a few r farther east, a species of grass, Panicum, was seen grow- ing; and, in one instance, at the water’s edge where the panicle was bathed in slowly-rising vapor. This species is abundant near fumaroles, which are little natural blast chimneys, lined with crystalline needles of sublimed sul- phur. Se a ik *“ Across the Continent,” p.282. They are of all degrees of temperature, tron AST the Continent,” p.289. «Th e y THE GEYSERS OF CALIFORNIA. 341 This leads next to the subject of incrustations, which for our purpose we may divide into three groups, namely : silicic acid, sulphates, and sulphur. The first comprises the crystals of quartz, which are found upon slates embed- ded in the soil. They are minute, but very perfect. The sulphates, such as crystals of ferric and magnesic sulphate, and the alums were not seen in their best es- tate. The rain of May 28th had dissolved the largest ones, and while we regretted this loss, we consoled our- selves with the thought that the rain, which had robbed us of our jewels, had added intensity to the chemical ac- tion going on around and below. It is stated upon good authority that the action is more intense during, or at the close of the rainy season, which is the winter of Cali- ornia. The sublimed sulphur presents the two prevailing forms; namely, that which has crystallized with free access of air, and resembles the obtuse oblique rhombic prisms of sulphur familiar to chemists; and that which is produced under pressure, and has a slight inclination of the vertical axis. In some limited localities there are effloresced salts, and pale, faded carbonates. At one spot, a light green cupric carbonate was partially covered with a darker green confervoid growth, and each shaded into the other like colors on a palette. But the salts just referred to are those which have been left by the heavily charged water. Imagine, therefore, the Variety of dissolved salts which must have been formed, by the over-heated steam and sulphur acids, from. the rocks which are being so rapidly leached under pressure. The solutions are, almost in every case, acidulated by a high sulphur acid; free sulphur floats in the water, and 342 THE’ GEYSERS OF CALIFORNIA. sulphydric acid escapes with violent ebullition. It must be supposed that in these acidulated solutions, the iron exists as a ferrous salt, since sulphydric acid has this re- ducing power. In one spring, which is very nearly neutral, the iron has been incompletely precipitated and is suspended, in the agitated water, with other insoluble sulphides. Another spring is strongly acidulated, and contains only the merest trace of the sulphydric acid, which every- where fills the atmosphere. The rationale of the reac- tions observed at the Geysers is not obscure, but so far as the writer is aware, no careful analyses of the waters and sinter have been made upon the spot. The scrupu- lous care with which the geological survey of California is being conducted, warrants the conclusion that trust- worthy examinations will be published in due time. The writer is unwilling to conclude this imperfect sketch of one of the wonders of California, without bear- ing his personal testimony to the value of the labors of Professors Whitney and Brewer, and the hard-working corps. The first volume upon geology has been read and ques- tioned in the presence of the Coast Range and Sierra, from Point Concepcion to the Oregon line, and it has, at all times, proved a reliable guide. „Norte. — See, also, a very interesting article by Professor F. Shep- herd, in “‘Silliman’s Journal” for September, 1851, when the springs were far less easily accessible than now. THE ENCAMPMENT OF THE HERONS. BY W. E. ENDICOTT. AN account of an encampment of the Herons may not be uninteresting to such as have never seen one. The herony in question was in Norfolk county, Mass., until the present year; the birds have now, however, taken up their abode elsewhere, because of the almost ceaseless per- Secution they have suffered. The species was the Night- heron or Quawk (WNyctiardea Gardeni). The bird is by no means as graceful as the other herons in figure, being thicker, with a larger and clumsier neck ; as to color, how- ever, it is quite handsome, being white, slate, and lilac. It has the long nape feathers characteristic of the herons, rolled, as usual, into the likeness of a tube. The place in which they have hitherto bred is a swamp, wet, and difficult of access, with no turf to set foot on, owing to the shade of the swamp-cedars with which the quagmire is covered, whose slippery, mossy roots furnish a doubt- ful footing in some cases, and a formidable obstacle in others. The certainty of “slumping” through the moss, thereby going into the thick slime above the knees, the Probability of missing one’s footing, and going down, full length, on breast or back, and the prospect of hard and disagreeable work in climbing to the nests, are among the allurements to ‘the herons’ paradise. The birds undoubt- edly built there in 1861, though they were not found until June, 1862, when a gunner, breaking in upon their fancied security, shot over twenty for sport, threw them into a pile, and left them. | All, of course, who cared for natural history, who were few; the idlers, who were more; and many who had (343) 344 THE ENCAMPMENT OF THE HERONS. never killed anything larger than a robin, and now were all agog to cover themselves with glory by shooting a quawk, frequented the spot nearly every day during that summer. The first thing which called the attention of the explorer was the whiteness of the ground, owing to the excrements of the birds; the air, hot and close, was loaded with its keen, penetrating odor ; the fine particles of it, floating in the air and coming in contact with the perspiring body, made one smart all over. There was also a smell of the decaying fish which lay around, some dropped by accident by the old birds (who, I believe, never stoop to pick them up again), and much more disgorged by the young when their tree was assailed. These fish were mostly such as could not be obtained in the ponds and rivers. I once saw a piece of a pout, and once @ fragment of a pickerel, but most of the remains were those of herrings. On the branches of some of the trees I have seen eels hanging with their heads digested of. The rough nests were always built against the trunks of the trees, six or eight feet from the top; and sometimes two, three, or even four might be seen in one cedar. The light-green eggs were usually four in number, but I have seen five and six repeatedly, and, once, seven in a nest. e young are downy, soft, helpless things at first, but soon gain strength enough to climb to the upper branches where they hang on with bill and claws, and are fed by their parents till nearly full-grown. Two broods are often reared in a single year, and it is no uncommon thing to see four or five of the first brood sitting on the tree-top, while the nest below contains as many more of their younger brothers and sisters; both lots, of courses to be fed by their parents. They climb clumsily, and seem, at every step, to be in immediate danger of falling, THE ENCAMPMENT OF THE HERONS. 345 yet it is very difficult to dislodge them. When they strike the ground they set off at full speed, and might easily escape did they not croak unceasingly as they run. The first year many of the young were carried away as pets. I kept one several weeks. No confinement was needed, for he had no more idea of running away than my hens had. Early in the morning, and for an hour or two after sunset, he. would walk away into the lowlands, ‘but would come back to his perch regularly. He was unable to forage to his complete satisfaction, however, and would sometimes try to catch my young chickens. I then took to fishing for him, and then, to my sorrow, I found out what a heron’s appetite is; and thought, with pity, of the poor parent-birds in the swamp with six or eight such maws to fill. Five bream, as large as my hand, were not too much of a meal for him. He would catch them, all alive, out of the tub of water by the mid- dle of the back, toss them up until he got them into the right position, head first down his throat; then he would Swallow them by dint of great exertion, his neck present- ing a curious appearance, as the fish, four inches broad, _ passed slowly down, making occasional convulsive at- tempts to struggle; a proceeding which seemed to en- hance the pleasure of the bird. I once gave him a dry dead fish which he got half-way down, where it stuck ; he tried and tried in vain to swallow it;then he made: equally futile efforts to disgorge ; then he turned his eye on me reproachfully and imploringly, so I was fain to take him between my knees, and tip up his bill and pour water down over the fish with a spoon, until the dried-up Slime became again moistened, when, with a long pull and a strong pull, the bird engulphed him, gave me an ungrateful peck, and stalked off with a “q-u-a-w-k.” AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 44 s ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTIVATION IN FRANCE. BY F. W. FELLOWES. IN a previous article having briefly described the gen- eration of the oyster, the writer will, in the present one, give an account of the cultivation of this favorite mollusk as practised in France, and notably at the imperial, or: model parcs in the bassin d Arcachon. This bay was apparently intended by Nature for an oyster farm, and its rich, firm, muddy bottom has always yielded them in vast quantities until about 1840, when, to the regret and astonishment of the fishermen (who had mercilessly dredged them up at all seasons, and had killed the goose that laid the golden eggs), their mine was found to be exhausted ; fine, full-flavored oysters that had been heretofore bought for three or four sous the hun- dred, now readily sold for three francs and upwards, and even with these prices the oystermen were starving. In 1859, Professor Coste, by order of the emperor, passed the summer at Arcachon, and studied the then unknown subject of oyster cultivation, located the now flourishing and successful parcs, and addressed a report to the emperor urging the immediate replanting of these exhausted beds. The following year his suggestions and plans were carried out under the immediate supervision of this naturalist, with surprising and satisfactory results. Here are nearly two thousand acres of excellent bottom for growing oysters, wncovered by the tide for an average of two hours at each low-water, and with the mild winter climate of the southerly coast of France, this circum- stance is of priceless value, as it enables the laborers to : (eis) : ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTIVATION IN FRANCE. 347 work among, and even handle the oysters at will, and renders the term “oyster farm” specially applicable to this locality. > . A pare is regularly laid out like a market garden, into Squares of say two hundred feet, a path goes all around and through them, a post is fixed on the corner with the number of the lot painted on it, and a record is kept by the superintendent of what size, quantity, and quality of oysters are planted on each, and his books and stock are inspected at stated intervals. Common curved tiles of baked clay, costing less than a sou a piece, have—after experiments with various contrivances—proved to be the most practical method of catching the drifting “spat.” These tiles, or tuiles as they are called, were used at first just as they came from the kiln; but it was found that so large a proportion of the “spat” followed with its young shell the inequalities of the surface, grew so firmly to it, and were destroyed in separating them from the tile, that another ingenious plan was adopted. The tiles are dipped into a kind of cement containing sand and hydrau- lic lime, which, drying in a few minutes, coats them with an evenly rough surface in every way attractive to the “spat.” When it is desirable to remove the oysters, a chisel, fashioned to follow the curve of the tile, is easily introduced between it and the oyster, which drops off un- injured. About the middle of May these tiles are arranged in Piles, ten feet long, five feet high, and five feet wide, which structures are called ruches or les ruches tuilées. hese tiles are piled in various ways; usually they are placed with the concave roof uppermost, each layer run- ning transversely across the layers beneath it. The sides of the tiles do not touch, but are separated by about 348 ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTIVATION IN FRANCE. three inches of space, and often, though not always, adult oysters are laid along in these spaces. When the ruche is otherwise completed, heavy stones are placed upon the top to make the mass more solid and safe to resist the action of the stormy waves. Oysters are strewn all around these ruches, which are regularly separated from each other by a space of fifteen feet. Between the ruches bundles of faggots, or fascines, bound together in the middle with galvanized wire, are suspended about one foot from the bottom, by a cross piece made fast on two low posts. When the drifting “spat” is ready to adhere to a suitable object, a very large proportion of it is caught by, or seeks refuge in one or the other of these friendly asylums, and safely grows to the usual merchant- able size. : One of Professor Coste’s early experiments was with a box a yard square, perforated with holes, containing two shelves with bottoms of coarse wire-cloth. Sixty adult oysters were placed on these shelves and on the mud on the bottom. The sides and top of this box—made in pieces to take apart—were roughed up with an adze to attract and secure the “spat,” but this plan was abandoned for two reasons; first, the unavoidable expense, and, secondly, it was found that the “spat,” when first evolved, is not ready to adhere to anything, however suitable, but must swim about for a few days; and so the enormous quantity of little ones, given out by the mother oysters in the box, escaped through the holes and located themselves elsewhere. The tiles oe the faggots are now in uni- versal use. By the middle of August the oysters have finished their reproductive labors, and begin to fatten again, having become very poor during the summer, but the tiles and faggots are not taken up until a month later. ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTIVATION IN FRANCE. 349 By that time, all the “spat” has located itself, and the ruches are carefully taken apart, each tile being laid down in the same position as in the ruche, side by side in long furrows or ditches prepared for them. There they are allowed to remain until the following summer, when the oysters on the upper side of the tiles are removed and planted in beds, hollowed out about three inches deep, running the length of the parc; while the tile is then turned over with the roof-side down- wards, and the oysters on the other side are left to grow as they at first’ fixed themselves, unless, being too much crowded, they grow upon each other, and in irregular Shapes; in this case they are thinned out. The writer Saw many thousands of tiles in rows, with oysters three years old, and of handsome size, still growing where they first were “set ;” but usually they are all removed to the beds the second year, and the tiles, after being redipped in the cement, are again piled as before. The faggots are taken to some enclosures, which are called claires, which are made of solid mason-work, water-tight, where the water can be admitted and ex- cluded at pleasure, and where the waves can have no power, and are there unbound and left to themselves to stow until large enough to be separated from the branch- €s, which is usually six to eight months, when they are treated like those grown upon tiles. At the end of the third year, the oysters have attained the most desirable size, and are ready for the market. Those grown in the imperial parcs are not sold, but are consumed by the emperor, presented by him to crowned heads and friends, either for use or to stock their private pares, or abandoned to the poor fishermen, who on a cer- tain day are allowed to gather them. 850 ARTIFICIAL OYSTER CULTIVATION IN FRANCE. The princess Batichiochi, a near relation of the empe- ror, has a large farm in the bay of Quiberon, and sells oysters to supply the Paris restaurants and others, in large quantities; and, though her farm was only in its third year, it was, as the superintendent remarked with pride and pleasure, more than paying expenses ; but next year! “mais année prochaine nous ferons des belles affaires, allez!” The sale of the yearling seed is made a special business by some oystermen, and they bring from four to six francs the thousand. They are put up in round baskets with a small hole in the top, and are kept, at the season of sale, suspended from scaffoldings erected over the water for the purpose, so that the baskets are never above the suriace. The French oyster-growers are very particular that the oysters taken up for market shall lie for five or six days in the claires, before forwarding them to the consumers 5 this is done in order that all mud and impurities shall be washed out in the pure sea-water, and the oyster is cer- tainly whiter-and handsomer for this clean bath. e Marennes, or green oyster, is colored by being placed in 'clatres when the tidal water is let out at certain intervals ; a confervoid growth is induced which gives the highly prized color and flavor, and doubles the value of the oyster. The Ostende oysters are placed in wooden vats, and are frequently tossed and tumbled about by women with rakes, thus breaking off the thin edge of the new growth of shell, and forcing it to grow more round and deep- _ Labor, in this country, is much too high to make a re- munerative cultivation of the oyster in this manner prac- ticable. THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 851 Oyster-growers recognize their own éuiles by a sort of trade-mark, which, by French law, it is forgery to imi- tate. After the tuile is moulded, and while still soft, a hole is punched in the top, either round, square, trian- gular, or of any desired shape; this private mark is re- corded in due form, and wherever a tile bearing it, is found, it is the unquestioned property of the one who has, so to speak, put his sign manual upon it. Our own laws protecting the oyster-grower need considerable al- teration and improvement, especially in the State of Con- necticut, where the oyster interest is a very large one; but our legislators, when the subject is properly put be- fore them, will no doubt see the justice of giving the Same protection to the marine, as to the cereal farmer, when each invest their money, and conduct their business equally in accordance with the law. | THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U. S. A. * (Continued from p. 292.) Famy Viverride, the Civets, ete. The very curious animal which forms the sole North American represen- tative of this family, containing numerous species in the old world, has been found in so many localities contig- uous to Arizona, that beyond a doubt it should be in- cluded here, though I am not aware that it has actually been taken in the Territory. The Ring-tailed Civet Cat (Bassaris astuta) is a queer animal, combining in itself the features of several distinct groups. Thus it has the tinged tail of a raccoon, the pointed snout and cunning 352 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. look of a fox, and the habits, at least in semi-domestica- tion, of a house cat: It is well known to the hunters and miners of California, and by them highly prized as a pet. It is indifferently called “Mountain Cat,” “Cat Squirrel,” and “Raccoon Fox” ; is easily tamed, and makes an inter- esting pet, as well as a useful one, from its dexterity in catching rats and mice. In a state of nature, it is said to be chiefly nocturnal, and to show spirited fight when at- tacked. It is about as large as a house cat; above, is yellowish or brownish-gray ; below, white ; and its tail is annulated alternately with black and white. Family Mustelide, the Martens, etc. I am not aware that either of our two North American species of the genus Mustela occur so far south as Arizona. Of the Weasels, composing the allied genus Putorius, the species most likely to occur are the Bridled (P. frenatus), or its Californian representative, P. xanthogenys. The common American Mink (P. vison), of so very general distribu- tion, may also occur. Hunters have several times de- scribed to me an animal they called the “Carcajou,”— which is the Wolverine ( Gulo luscus) ,—and their accounts seemed quite pertinent, though I do not venture, upon such doubtful authority, to assert that it is an inhabitant of Arizona. Its existence has not been demonstrated farther south than Salt Lake City. The whole sub-family Martine, composed of the three preceding genera, is by no means so well represented as the Melinæ, comprising the Badgers (Taxidea), and the Skunks (Mephitis). The family is chiefly developed in Arizona in these last-named animals, which have attained so unenviable @ notoriety from their peculiarly disagreeable odor, be- lieved to be the most powerful and noisome animal stench known. With this drawback, they are certainly beautiful THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 353 animals, both in form and colors. The latter are always pure black and white, at least so far as North American species are concerned; and there is a great similarity between them all in this respect. Dr. C. B. R. Kennerly obtained a Skunk at Pueblo Creek, which he says was intermediate in size between Mephitis mephitica, and M. bicolor. It probably belonged to the former species. Others, well known to occur in Texas, New Mexico, etc., and therefore likely to occur in Arizona, are M. bicolor, the little Striped Skunk; M. varians, the Texas Skunk ; and M. mesoleuca, the White-backed Skunk. The first named of these extends across the Territory into Califor- nia, and quite to the Pacific coast, where I have myself known of its occurrence. It is the smallest of all our species, and the only one which is spotted or streaked. The last is a most beautiful species, well figured by Au- dubon and Bachman, though under the erroneous name of M. macroura.. It belongs to a different sub-genus ~ (Thiosmus) from the rest, being distinguished by hav- ing one less upper molar, and a peculiarity in the position of the nostrils. Concerning the occurrence of the third sub-family, trine, I am unable to speak positively. It is most probable, however, that Otters do exist in the Territory, and they may be referable to that species described by Dr. Gray as Lutra Californica, which Professor Baird has considered to differ in some appreciable points from the common L. Canadensis of the Eastern States. Family Urside, the Bears. The two North American genera of plantigrade carnivora are represented by the ms and the Bears. The former, Procyon, dif- fers from Ursus, which comprehends the true Bears in dentition, and in many external characters, among which NAT., VOL. I. 45 354 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. the most notable are its small size, and elongated tail. I met with no Raceoons in Arizona, and it is doubtful if any exist; though Procyon Hernandezii, or that variety of it which Professor Baird has called P. Mexicana, from Sonora, may possibly occur. 7 Bears of at least two species are found, and are not un- common, at least in all the wooded, and particularly the mountainous portions of the Territory. The vicinity of e San Francisco and Bill Williams Mountains was for- merly noted for the numbers of these animals found there, though they appear to have somewhat decreased of late. The southern Rocky Mountains, and the ranges of- Cal- ifornia, seem to be particularly the home of the huge Grizzly (U. horribilis), which becomes less numerous farther north. A variety, characterized as U. horriæus, extends into Mexico. The common Black Bear (U. Americanus) also includes Arizona in its very extensive ge. Order Marsupiata, the Marsupials. A single family and genus (Didelphys) represents this remarkable order in North America. The Opossum of the Pacific slope is the D. Californica, which differs from D. Virginiana in several respects. It is smaller, and darker colored, especially about the head and feet, which parts are almost dusky ; besides which the ears are black, blotched with yellow; and the tail also is particolored. Order Rodentia, the Gnawers. This extensive order embraces animals which, by their individual numbers, and their great diversity in form and habit, always constitute a marked feature in the fauna of any country which they inhabit. It is remarkably well developed in Arizona, _ Which has more Species of Rodents than of all other or- ders taken together. If the part these animals play be THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 355 less prominent and conspicuous than that of the large carnivores or ruminants, it is not on that account the less interesting. And even in an economic point of view, it is scarcely less important; for the commercial value of the fur of some species, and the destructive agency of others, in field or in warehouse, gives them a consequence to a degree surpassed by no oiher animals. Aside from these practical considerations, the naturalist finds in this extensive group large room for study and investigation ; and the diversity in form and structure and variety in habit exhibited, cannot fail both to please and instruct. e transition from the graceful, vivacious, arboreal squirrels to the clumsy, inactive, terrestrial marmots is great; but no intermediate links in the chain are wanting, and each one is curiously wrought and chased, with a story of its own to tell. Space will allow me to notice in detail only some of the more prominent rodents; and of the others I must perforce “make mere mention.” Family Sciuride, the Squirrels, ete. The most char- acteristic, as well as most abundant species of Squirrel, is the Tuft-eared ( Sciurus Abertii), discovered by Dr. Wood- house in the San Francisco Mountains. It is one of the largest, and certainly the very handsomest of all our North American species. Besides very beautiful and harmonious colors, it rejoices in the possession of long pointed ear-tufts, extending an inch or more from the edge of the conch of the ear, which give it a peculiarly Sprightly and truly elegant appearance. But it is not | the case, as generally believed, that these ornaments are constantly present. Ido not know what regulates their _ growth or fall; but certain it is, that under some circum- stances, or at certain seasons, they are wanting, either wholly or in part. I have eyen shot specimens on the 356 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. same day, in some of which they were fully developed, and in others wanting. They may possibly be a sexual distinction. Their absence is the main diagnostic point of a S. castanonotus, described by Professor Baird,—a supposed species most probably identical with S. Abertiz, as that eminent naturalist himself now believes. The pine-clad mountains of northern and central Ari- zona are the chosen home of this Squirrel; and it rarely, if ever, quits these woods for other situations. It is there a resident species, breeding in abundance, and braving the rigors of winter. Its food is chiefly pine and other seeds, particularly pinoñes, the fruit of Pinus edulis, to- gether with acorns’ of the several species of oaks which grow plentifully in the openings among the pine forests. Considering how seldom it is molested in those wild re- gions, it is a shy and wary species, and when it discovers an intruder, leaps with great celerity to the top of the pines, whose size and dense foliage in a great measure screen and protect it. It is also a very vigorous and muscular animal, requiring to be “hard hit” before it can be dislodged from its stronghold. Even when mortally wounded, it clings with surprising pertinacity, and for a long time, to its perch. Its cries are’ much like those of a Fox Squirrel. If wounded and captured, it shows de- termined, fight, and can inflict a severe wound if incau- tiously handled. Near the eastern limit of the Territory I one day ob- served a small squirrel, about the size of our chickaree, running among some rocks and bushes. Unluckily I failed to secure the specimen; but have little doubt that it was the rare and slightly known S. Fremontii Aud. and Bach. If this idéntification be correct, the locality 18 the southernmost as yet on record for the species. THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 357 It is just possible that a western Fox Squirrel (8. Lu- dovicianus Custis, or 8. limitis Baird) should extend into eastern Arizona; or that S. fossor Peale, of California, should reach the Colorado River. These, however, are rather speculative than demonstrated assertions, and await proof. In addition to the preceding, a true Gray Squirrel in- habits Arizona, which I am inclined to think is a species new to science. It must be quite rare, as I never saw or obtained but a single one,—a female, shot December 20, 1865, at Fort Whipple. In general appearance it is similar to the common Eastern species, with which it agrees closely in the colors of the body;, but it is smaller, and at the same time the tail is both relatively and absolutely longer, as well as much broader. It is possible that this may be the species alluded to by Pro- fessor Baird, page 263 of his “Mammals of North Amer- ica,” as “Sciurus Carolinensis??”, from Santa Catarina, N. M. But his description applies only approximately to my specimen, which I shall describe as new.* SCIURUS ARIZONENSIS Coues, sp. nov.— S. forma et coloribus co: ro Sciuro Carolinensi similis; sed we Bel cauda Fete Sis latiore, subtus distinc E Detoription.— — Rather smaller than the Eastern Gra Squirrel; of the same form and body-colors; the tail lo ang — and m cig, Mia, oo Ears moderate, untufted, both sides en Palms rculated, pran n naked, but a little hairy on the concavities of the fingers; ith ge lon st, 3d nearly equal, 2d equal to Sth. Soles 6 tubercal ulated, naked to the heel, but furred E gay tap then sides; est, 2d and ad pearl equal "saa but Jitte shorter. Tail to of vertebræ équallin g length body from nose to root of tail, the hairs — . ing 31-2 inches beyo bona vertebra. Above, from nose to root of tau, efined e the upper parts and sides. Both eyelid s and a about me EPS i woolly space at base of ears ochraceous te. e tail fro ena = Same color as outside of thighs, the tawny of the back Stopping at orap for ~ the rest of its extent it is black; p iak portion Viewed froin ng the air tallies oe 3 Raaya prance y orehia r kens in p with black, which is in turn fringed with white j ieee r canthus of eye, 1.1 (inches and tenths); to roo of tail 9.5, tail Py pop piper eds 9.5; to end of hairs 13.0; its width at broa aout tof ear .8. Longest whisker 3.3. Palm to end og apima with claw 162 = ————" tto 3.6. rE corer tage oe on 3 Sreatest width of so! 358 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. Of the Striped Ground Squirrels, or “Chipmunks,” composing the genus Tamias, only one species is common, which is the Gila Chipmunk (T. dorsalis Baird). It is a beautiful little animal, rather larger than the common Eastern one, and conspicuously different in the character of the dorsal stripes. It was first described from the deserts of Southern Arizona, but I found it abundant at Fort Whipple, and it may extend considerably farther north. Unlike most others, it is a rock-loving species, and rarely quits its favorite resorts. Among masses of lava and gneiss it may be seen tripping lightly and grace- fully, its pretty tail held arched downward, or flirted from side to side. It is a shy and suspicious animal, though so rarely molested, and scarcely exhibits the fa- miliarity of disposition shown by its Eastern congener. When alarmed, it hurries precipitately to the mouth of its retreat, where, as if conscious of security, it sits and chatters an angry defiance at the intruder. It isa per- manent resident around Fort Whipple, but hardly seen during the winter, which it passes in its burrows, in which an abundant supply of food, in the shape of nuts, acorns, and seeds, is laid up during the fall *for winter use, I think that one other species of Tamias— possibly T. ownsendii—occurs rarely, but E cannot speak posi- tively on this point. I have no knowledge of the exist- ence of any Flying Squirrels (Pteromys) in Arizona. The genus Spermophilus, comprising the true Ground Squirrels, or Squirrel Marmots, is well represented by quite numerous species, though none of them occur in such multitudes as to form the colonies for which some are so noted in other countries. One of the smallest and the most beautiful of our + THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 359 Spermophiles is the elegant little 9. Harrisii of Audubon and Bachman. It is only about ag large as a Chipmunk ; has stripes which make it look very mask like one, and many habits in common with it. The Arizonian species particularly resembles the Tamias dorsalis in general- ap- pearance, as viewed in life, and frequents precisely the same sort of localities. Though still very rare in collec- tions, it is common enough in Western Arizona, and in fact in the greater part of the desert region about Fort Mojave, on both sides of the Colorado River. I saw a great many at different times in the autumn near Beals Springs, where I found them in the most rocky and pre- cipitous places. It was difficult to procure specimens, not only from the nature of the region, but on account of their extreme agility, and their unwillingness to venture at any time far from their secure rocky retreats. The common and notorious California Ground Squirrel (S. Beecheyi) ranges eastward across the Colorado val- ley, though in Arizona it is by no means sò abundant as in California, where it forms colonies approaching those of the prairie dog in extent, and is a great pest to the farmer. In the vicinity of Los Angeles, I had an excel- lent opportunity of studying its habits. On the flat or slightly rolling dry plains which stretch between that town and the sea-beach, it is exceedingly numerous. The burrows occur usually in clusters, and upon little mounds or hillocks of dirt formed by the soil heaped up during their excavation; but single ones are scattered in every direction. Upon these “earth-works” the animals may be seen at all times, sitting upright, and motionless as statues, their fore-paws drooped, and their eyes intently fixed upon the passer-by; or, when no suspicious object appears, lying and basking in the sun, or playing merrily e 360 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. with each other upon the ramparts of their citadels. I have no doubt that the subterranean passages intercom- municate, and that each animal does not have its own entrance, though he may possess private apartments be- low. In the vicinity of large encampments, the grass, herbage, and in fact everything green is so closely crop- ped, that the ground is almost bare; and it becomes a matter for wonder that so many animals can contrive to fill their stomachs. As is the case with those of the prairie dog, the villages are inhabited by a species of burrowing owl, which takes possession of deserted holes. Over the dry plain the graceful mountain plover courses swiftly along; while overhead, or resting upon the ground, is the great squirrel hawk, on the look-out for its prey. The general manners of these animals call forcibly to mind the prairie dogs. Like them, they hardly venture far from their burrows, to which they hasten precipitately on the first sign of an alarm. Reaching the entrance, they stop a moment in a squat attitude, or rise on their hind-quarters, the better to reconnoitre, venting their displeasure and suspicion by a sharp, chattering bark. They are tough, muscular animals, and must be hard hit to be killed; and even when mortally wounded, will make use of their convulsive death-struggles to reach their burrows, into which they at last drop exhausted, and may be thus lost to the collector. The Line-tailed Spermophile (S. grammurus Say), iS another common species, especially of the southern por- ' tions, whence it extends into Mexico. It has a peculiar appearance, produced mainly by its tail, calling to mind a true Sciurus; so much so, that it has been placed in that genus by some writers, although a true Spermophilus. ere te eke ee a fn as eee mite nei e THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 361 Observers agree in according to it decidedly arboreal habits. It is both a rock and woods-loving species, and Mr. J. H. Clark, who found it abundant at the copper mines, says it seems to choose its abode mainly with refer- ence to a supply of food, making its burrow indifferently in loose soil, under rocks, or in hollow trees. The Round-tailed Spermophile (S. tereticauda Baird) is a little known species, first described from specimens taken at Fort Yuma, whose precise extent of range re- mains to be determined. I have not met with it, and believe that no information concerning its habits has been put on record. The chief peculiarity lies in its tail, which is disproportionately long for this genus, cylindrical in Shape, and very long-haired. It is among the smaller Species, being only about six inches in length of body; is above of a light yellowish-brown, finely grizzled, and ` below of a soiled yellowish-white. In addition to the preceding, several Mexican species may very likely extend into the Territory from Sonora. Such are S. Mexicana, 9. spilosoma, and possibly S. Cou- chii. The common little S. tridecemlineatus, of the Mis- Souri region, has been found so far south-west as Fort Thorn, N. M., and possibly should also be included. 8. lateralis, a species closely allied to S. Harrisii has been found in the Des Chutes Basin, and may extend as far south as Arizona. A step further from the true squirrels brings us to the Prairie “Dogs,” as they are called; formerly classed with the Spermophiles, to which they are closely allied, but now more properly placed in a distinct genus ( Cynomys). They mainly differ from the true Spermophiles in the ex- treme brevity of the tail, the very rudimentary cheek- pouches, and some dental and cranial peculiarities. The ` AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 46 362 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. species are strictly terrestrial, and eminently gregarious, being noted for the large colonies which they form. Long as they have been known, and much as has been learned about them, there are many points of their social and in- dividual economy which remain very obscure. Such are those relating to their migrations, their supplies of food and water, their gestation, and their relations with the owls and rattlesnakes found among them. The common- est of our two species, C. Ludovicianus, is mainly confined to the great central plains. A second species occurs in Arizona; the short-tailed Prairie Dog (C. Gunnisonit Baird), named in 1855 from specimens brought from Coachetope Pass by Capt. Beckwith. It is distinguished from the other by its smaller size, somewhat different colors, and still shorter tail, which is not tipped with black. I was so fortunate as to secure a specimen of this rare animal, near the San Francisco Mountains, in July of 1864. A colony had settled in one of the little open . grassy glades which are scattered like oases through that wild and broken region. No owls or rattlesnakes were to be seen, though a species of horned toad (Phrynosoma Douglassii) was extremely abundant. Their cries, move- ments, and general manners were much like those of the common species. i Passing over the marmots proper (Arctomys), of which I have no knowledge as Arizonian animals, there only remains to be noticed one more member of the Sciurid@, —the Beaver (Castor Canadensis Kuhl). This animal differs in so many essential features, both external and anatomical, as well as in habits, from the family types» that naturalists doubt the propriety of retaining it in its ‘present position. It is found abundantly on all the streams of the Territory. Judging from the accounts of THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 363 old trappers, its numbers seem even to have increased of late; owing, doubtless, both to the diminished value of its fur, of which so many articles now take the place, and to the Indian difficulties, which prevent the penetra- tion of the hunter to its abodes. Particularly upon the Rios Salado and San Francisco is it very abundant; and its dams occur, in some places, every few hundred yards. The almost unbroken seclusion of these retreats gives the animals such a sense of security, that they are less strictly nocturnal in working or playing than in most localities. I have frequently seen them swimming about in broad daylight. An Indian name of this animal, which I do not recall, signifies “little brother,” and is given in recognition of that sagacity, or instinct, or reason, as it may be called, ` which is displayed in its social and domestic economy. But as one writer has well remarked, all that ‘has been said concerning the wonderful intelligence, or even appa- rent “forethought” of the Beaver, only argues an instinc- tive knowledge to a degree possessed by a multitude of other animals; and far outrivalled by that required for the construction of many a bird’s or insect’s nest. Even the humble and despised muskrat builds habitations re- quiring almost as much constructive dexterity; and, in Many of its habits, evinces a “forethought” quite equal to that of the Beaver. The keen pursuit of the Beaver for its money value, and the conspicuousness of some of its works, are the main causes of its unusual notoriety, and of the admiration with which it is always mentioned -in trappers’ narratives, and naturalists’ embellishments of them. — To be continued. THE HOME OF THE BEES. BY A. S. PACKARD, JR., M. D. Tue history of the Honey-bee, of its wonderful in- stincts, its elaborate cells and complex economy, have engrossed the attention of the best observers, even from the time of Virgil, who sang of the Ligurian bee. The literature of the art of bee-keeping is already very ex- tensive. Numerous bee journals and manuals of bee- keeping testify to the importance of this branch of agri- culture, while able mathematicians have studied the mode of formation of the hexagonal cells,* and physiologists have investigated the intricate, and, as yet, unsolved problems of the generation and development of the bee itself. In discussing these difficult questions, we must rise from the study of the simple to the complex, remember- ing that— “AN nature widens upward. Evermore, The simpler essence lower lies: owning more woins Discourse, more widely wise,” and not forget to study the humbler allies of the Honey- bee. We shall, in observing the habits and homes of the wild bees, gain a clearer insight into the mysteries of the hive. The great family of bees is divided into social and sol- itary species. The social kinds live in nests composed of numerous cells in which the young brood are reared. These cells vary in form from those which are quite reg- ularly hexagonal, like those of the Hive-bee, to those which are less regularly six-sided, as in 1 the Stingless-bee + Š ation f the Lee ee (364) a; . THE HOME OF THE BEES. 365 of the tropics (Melipona), until in the Humble-bee the cells are isolated and cylindrical in form. Before speaking of the wild bees, let us briefly review the life of the Honey-bee. The queen bee having win- tered over with many workers, lays her eggs in the spring, first in the worker, and, at a later period, in the drone-cells. Early in the summer the workers construct the large, flask-shaped queen-cells, which are placed on the edge of the comb, and in these the queen larvæ are fed with rich and choice food. The new queens form new swarms. The new-born queen takes her marriage flight high in the air with a drone, and on her return undertakes the management of the hive, and the duty of laying eges. When the supply of queens is exhausted, the workers destroy the drones. The first brood of workers live about six weeks in summer, and then give way to a new brood. The queens, according to Von Berlepsch, are known to live five years, and, during their ` Whole life, lay more than a million eggs. In the tropics, the Honey-bee is replaced by the Meli- ponas and Trigonas. They are minute stingless bees, _ Which store up honey and live in colonies often of im- mense extent. The cells of Melipona are hexagonal, nearly approaching in regularity those of the Hive-bee, while the honey cells are irregular, being much larger cav- ities which hold about one-half as much honey as a cell of the Humble-bee. “Gardner, in his travels, states that many species of Melipona build in the hollow trunks of trees, others in banks ; some suspend their nests from the branches of trees, whilst one species constructs its nest of clay, it being of large size.” (F. Smith.) ; In a nest of Trigona carbonaria, from eastern Australia, Mr. F. Smith, of the British Museum, found from four 366 THE HOME OF THE BEES. hundred to five hundred dead workers, but no females. The combs were arranged precisely similar to those of the common wasp. The number of honey-pots which were placed at the foot of the nest was two hundred and fifty. Mr. Smith inclines to the opinion that the hive of Trigona contains several prolific females, as the great number of workers can only be thus explained, and M. Guerin found six females in a nest of Melipona fulvipes. At home, our nearest ally of the true Honey-bee, is the Humble-bee (Bombus), of which over forty species are known to inhabit North America. The economy of the Humble-bee is thus: the queen awakens in early spring from her winter’s sleep beneath the leaves or moss, or in deserted nests, and selects a nest- ing place generally in an abandoned nest of a field-mouse, or beneath a stump or sod, and “immediately,” according to Mr. F. W.Putnam,* “collects a small amount of pollen mixed with honey, and in this deposits from seven to fourteen eggs, gradually adding to the pollen mass until » the first brood is hatched. She does not wait, however, for one brood to be hatched’ before laying the eggs of another, but, as soon as food enough has been collected, she lays the eggs for a second. The eggs (Plate 10, Fig. 2), are laid, in contact with each other, in one cavity of the mass of pollen, with a part of which they are slightly covered. They are very soon developed ; in fact the lines are nowhere distinctly drawn between the egg and the a aed BE 5 : ` ‘ titute, *Notes on the Habits of the Humble-bee, Proceedings of the Essex Ins vol. iv, 1864, p. 101. Mr. Angus thus writes us concerning the habits of B. eee fo near our garden fe: it by the be made by amouse. They seem to be quite numerous. I was attracted to many noise they were m: ing a ening. I coun 0 several as seven thus enie, and the sound could be heard several yards off. i ai Males were at rest, but mostly on the wing, when they would make a pagel pe 0 the fanners, und all would scatter and sport around. The workers seem "opning a uniform size, and full as e as the males. I think the object of the was to introduce air into the as is done by the Honey-bees.” THE HOME OF THE BEES. 367 larva, the larva and pupa, and again between the latter and the imago; a perfect series, showing this gradual trans- formation of the young to the imago can be found in almost every nest. “As soon as the larve are capable of motion and com- mence feeding, they eat the pollen by which they are surrounded, and, gradually separating, push their way in Various directions. Eating as they move, and increasing in size quite rapidly, they soon make large cavities in the pollen mass. When they have aiaia their full size, they spin a silken wall about them, which is strengthened by the old bees covering it with a thin layer of wax, which soon becomes hard and tough, thus forming a cell. (Plate 10, Figs. 1, 2.) The leave now cuadually attain the pupa stage, and remain inactive until their full devel- opment. They then cut their way out, and are ready to assume their duties as workers, small females, males or queens. “It is apparent that the irregular disposition of the cells is due to their being constructed so peculiarly by the larvæ. After the first brood, composed of workers, has come forth, the queen bee devotes her time principally to her duties at home, the workers supplying the colony with honey and pollen. As the queen continues prolific, more workers are added, and the nest is rapidly en- larged. “About the middle of summer, eggs are deposited, Which produce both small females and males.” . . . “All eggs laid after the last of July produce the large females, or queens, and, the males being still in the nest, it is pre- Sumed that the queens are impregnated at this time, as, on the approach of cold weather, all except the queens, of which there are several in each nest, die.” 368 THE HOME OF THE BEES. While the Humble-bee in some respects shows much less instinct than the solitary bees mentioned below, it stands higher in the series, however, from having work- ers, as well as males and females, who provide food for the young: The labors of the Mason-bees, and their allies, terminate after the cell is once constructed and filled with pollen. The eggs are then left to hatch, and the young care for themselves, though the adult bee shows greater skill in architecture than the Humble-bee. It is thus throughout nature. Many forms comparatively low in the scale of life astonish us with certain charac- ters or traits, reminding us of beings much superior, phy- sically and intellectually. The lower forms constantly reach up and in some way ally themselves with creatures far more highly organized. Thus the fish-like seal re- minds us strikingly of the dog, both in the form of the head, in its docility and great intelligence when tamed, and even in its bark and the movements of the head. The parasites of the Humble-bee are numerous. Such are the species of Apathus, which so closely resemble the Humble-bee itself, that it takes long study to distin- guish them readily. Its habits are not known, other than that it is found in the nests of its host. It differs from the Humble-bee in having no pollen-basket, showing that its larvæ must feed on the food stored up by their host,as it does not itself collect it. The mandibles also are not, like those of Bombus, trowel-shaped for architectural purposes, but acutely triangular, and are probably not _ The larve of various moths consume the honey and waxen cells; the two-winged flies, Volucella and Conops, and the larve of what is either an Anthomyia or Tachina- like fly, and several species of another genus of flies, THE HOME OF THE BEES." 369 Anthrax, together with several beetles, such as the Meloe, Stylops, and Antherophagus prey upon them. The power of boring the most symmetrical tunnels in Solid wood reaches its perfection in the large Virginian Carpenter-bee ( Xylocopa Virginica). This bee is as large, and some allied exotic species are often considerably larger than the Humble-bee, but not clothed with such dense hairs. We have received from Mr. James Angus, of West Farms, N. Y., a piece of trellis from a grape- vine, made of pine wood, containing the cells and young in various stages of growth, together with the larve and chrysalids of Anthrax sinuosa, a species of fly parasitic on the larva, which buries its head in its soft body, and feeds on its juices. (Plate 10, Fig. 5, tunnel containing pollen and young; 6, the larva; 7, the pupa, of Anthrax sinuosa. : Mr. Angus thus writes us regarding its habits under date of July 19: “I asked an intelligent and observing carpenter yesterday, if he knew how long it took the Xylocopa to bore her tunnel. He said he thought she bored about one-quarter of an inch a day. I don’t think myself she bores more than one-half inch, if she does that. If I mistake not, it takes her about two days to make her own length at the first’ start; but this being across the grain of the wood may not be so easily done as the re- mainder, which runs parallel with it. She always follows the grain of the wood, with the exception of the entrance, which is about her own length. The tunnels run from one to one and a half feet in length. They generally run in opposite directions from the opening, and sometimes other galleries are run one above the other, using the same Opening. I think they only make new tunnels when old Ones are not to be found, and that the same tunnels are AMERICAN NAT., VOL. L 47 . 370 *THE HOME OF THE BEES. used for many years. Some of the old tunnels are very wide. I have found parts of them about an inch in diam- eter. I think this is caused by rasping off the sides to procure the necessary material for constructing their. cells. The partitions are composed of wood-raspings, and some sticky fluid, probably saliva, to make it adhere. “The tunnels are sometimes taken possession of by other bees and wasps. I think when this is the case, the Xylo- copa prefers making a new cell to cleaning out the mud and rubbish of the other species. I frequently find these bees remaining for a long time on the wing close to the opening, and Jobbing their heads against the side, as if fanning air into the opening. I hase seen them thus em- ployed for twenty minutes. Whether one bee or more makes the tunnel, that is, whether they take turns in boring, I cannot say at present. In opening the cells, more than one are generally found, even at this season. About two weeks ago, I found as many as seven, I I think, in one.” * The hole is divided by partitions into cells about seven-tenths of an inch long. These partitions are Con- structed of the coarse dust or a made by the bee “Since writing the above I have opened one of the new holes of Xylocopa ‘ener was rommenced Led ag three and four weeks ago, in a pine slat used in the staging of the greenh The iA were as follows: 3-8 wide; depth 7-16; whole. e length at ee 65-16 inches. The tunnel brancb ways from the ho yr 5-8, pey Bene "i a two with larva and poll en, the thi Sid ae ety. her side o: opening, 0 rest of the with th e exception of bye old bee (only one) at work, 5 I think this was the work or one bee, and, as n an judge, about twenty- days’ San Width of tunnel anije at widest 9-16 in ns d ‘or. some days thi has been dischar: antity of saw- -dust an ve is bee a great t she pomy which I had collected by placing a vessel under Pe Tt bet giles seem thai at cig constructed also in the opposite side of a ne hole, and that she re! pee rf ae tuff thrown out, I cots partition ofa Aer t e oe I will enclose you the stuff greand lected, d, and also some of the I have just found a Xylocopa bobbing at one of the holes, and in bed wagons tain the depth of the tunnel, and to see whether there were any others in hemi sounded with a pliable rod, and found others in on one side, at & a pth lof ivo an was cool, so that the object in bobbing could not be to introduce teal adroit of air, but must have had some relation to those inside. Their legs on such occasions are as I have noticed, loaded with pollen.” a THE HOME OF THE BEES. 371 in eating out her cells, for our active little carpenter is provided with strong cutting jaws, moved by powerful muscles, and on her legs are stiff brushes of hair for cleaning out the tunnel as she descends into the heart of the solid wood. She must throw out the chips she bites off from the sides of the burrow with her hind legs, passing the load of chips backwards out of the cell with her fore-limbs, which she uses as hands. The partitions are built most elaborately of a single flattened band of chips, which is rolled up into a coil four layers deep. One side, forming the bottom of the cell, is concave, being beaten down and smoothed off by the bee. The other side of the partition, forming the top of the cell, is flat and rough. At the time of opening the burrow, July 8th, the cells contained nearly full-grown larvæ, with some half devel- oped. They were feeding on the masses of pollen, which were large as a thick kidney-bean, and occupied nearly half the cell. The larve (Plate 10, Fig. 4) resemble those of the Humble-bee, but are slenderer, tapering more rapidly towards each end of the body. The habits and structure of the little green Ceratina ally it closely with Xylocopa. This pretty bee, named by Say Ceratina dupla, tannels out the stems of the elder or blackberry, syringa, or any other pithy shrub, excavating them often to a depth of six or seven inches, and even, according to Mr. Haldeman (Harris MS.), bores in acorns. She makes the walls just wide enough to admit her body, and of a depth capable of holding three or four, often five or six cells (Plate 10, Fig. 11). The finely built cells, with their delicate silken walls, are cylindrical and nearly square at each end, though the free end of the last cell is rounded off. They are four and a 372 THE HOME OF THE BEES. half tenths of an inch long, and a little over one-third as broad. The bee places them at nearly equal distances apart, the slight interval between them being: filled in with dirt. Dr. T. W. Harris* states that, May 15, 1832, one female laid its eggs in the hollow of an aster-stalk. Three perfect insects were disclosed from it July 28th. The observations of Mr. Angus, who saw some bees making their cells, May 18th, also confirms this account# The history of our little upholsterer is thus cleared up. Late in the spring she builds her cells, fills them with pollen, and lays one or more eggs upon each one. Thus in about two months the insect completes its transformations ; within this period passing through the egg, the larval and chrysalid states, and then, as a bee, living a few days more, if a male; or if a female, living throüph the winter. Her life thus spans one year. . The larva (Plate 10, Fig. 10) is longer than that of Megachile, and compared with that of Xylocopa, the dif- ferent segments are much more convex, giving a serrate outline to the back of the worm. The pupa, or chrysalis, we have found in the cells the last of July. It is white, and three-tenths of an inch long. It differs from that of the Leaf-cutter bee in having four spines on the end of the body. In none of the wild bees are the cells constructed with more nicety than those of our little Ceratina. She bores out with her jaws a long deep well just the size of her body, and then stretches a thin delicate cloth of silk drawn tight as a drum-head across each end of her chambers, which she then fills with a mixture of pollen and honey: _ pas efon to anote in MSS. deposited 1 the Library of the Boston Society of THE HOME OF THE BEES, 373 Her young are not, in this supposed retreat, entirely free from danger. The most invidious foes enter in and attack her young, Three species of Ichneumon-flies, two of which belong to the Chalcid family, lay their eggs within the body of the larva, and emerge from the dried larva and pupa skins of the bee, often in great numbers. The smallest parasite, belonging to the genus Anthophorabia, so called from being first known as a parasite on another bee, Anthophora, is a minute species found also abun- dantly in the tight cells of the Leaf-cutter bee. The interesting habits of the Leaf-cutting, or Tailor- bee (Megachile), have always attracted attention. This bee is a stout, thick-bodied insect, with a large square head, stout, sharp, scissors-like jaws, and with a thick mass of stout dense hairs on the under-side of the tail for carrying pollen, as she is not provided with the pollen- basket of the Honey and Humble-bee. The Megachile lays its eggs in burrows in the stems of the elder (Plate 10, Fig. 9), which we have received from Mr. James Angus; we have also found them in the hollows of the locust tree. Mr. F. W. Putnam thus Speaks of the economy of M. cent ris, our most com- mon species. “My attention was first called, on the 26th of June, to a female busily engaged in bringing pieces of leaf to her cells, which she was building under a board, on the roof of the piazza, directly under my window. Nearly the whole morning was occupied by the bee in bringing pieces of leaf from a rose-bush growing about ten yards from her cells, returning at intervals of a half minute to a minute with the pieces which she carried in such a manner as not to impede her walking when she alighted near her hole.” We givea figure of the Leaf-cutter bee in the act of cutting out a circular piece of a rose-leaf (Plate 10, Fig.8). 3874 THE HOME OF THE BEES. She alights upon the leaf, and in a few seconds swiftly runs her scissors-like jaws around through the leaf, bearing off the piece in her hind legs. “About noon she had proba- bly completed the cell, upon which she had been engaged, as, during the afternoon, she was occupied in bringing pollen, preparatory to laying her single egg in the cell. For about twenty days the bee continued at work, building new cells and supplying them with pollen. . . . On the 28th of July, upon removing the board, it was found that the bee had made thirty cells, arranged in nine rows of unequal length, some being slightly curved to adapt them to the space under the board. The longest row contained six cells, and was two and three-quarters inches in length the whole leaf structure being equal to a length of fifteen inches. Upon making an estimate of the pieces of leaf in this structure, it was ascertained that there must have been at least a thousand pieces used. In addition to the labor of making the cells, this bee, unassisted in all her duties, had to collect the requisite amount of pollen (and honey?) for each cell, and lay her eggs therein, when. completed. Upon carefully cutting out a portion of one of the cells, a full-grown larva was seen engaged in spin- | ning a slight silken cocoon about the walls of its prison, which were quite hard and smooth on the inside, proba- bly owing to the movements of the larva, and the eon- sequent pressing of the sticky particles to the walls. In a short time the opening made was closed over by a very thin silken web. The cells, measured on the inside of the hard walls, were .35 of an inch in length, and .15 in diameter. The natural attitude of the larva is somewhat curved in its cell, but if straightened, it just equals the inside length of the cell. On the 31st of July, two fe- male bees came out, having cut their way through the THE HOME OF THE BEES. 375 sides of their cells.” In three other cells “several hun- dred minute Ichneumons (Anthophorabia megachilis) — were seen, which came forth as soon as the cells were opened.” The habits of the little blue or green Mason-bees (Osmia), are quite varied. They construct their cells in the stems of plants and in rotten posts and trees, or, like Andrena, they burrow in sunny banks. An European species selects snail shells for its nest, wherein it builds its earthen cells, while other species nidificate under stones. Curtis found two hundred and thirty cocoons of a British species ( Osmia paretina), placed on the under side of a flat stone, of which one-third were empty. Of the remainder, the most appeared between March and June, males ap- pearing first; thirty-five more bees were developed the following spring. Thus there were three successive broods, for three succeeding years, so that these bees lived three years before arriving at maturity. This may account for*the insect years, which are like the “apple years,” seasons when bees and wasps, as well as other in- sects, abound in unusual numbers. Mr. G. R. Waterhouse, in the Transactions of the En- tomological Society of London, for 1864 (3d series, vol. 2, p. 121), states that the cells of Osmia leucomelana “are formed of mud, and each cell is built separately. The female bee, having deposited a small pellet of mud in a sheltered spot between some tufts of grass, immediately commences to excavate a small cavity in its upper sur- face, Scraping the mud away from the centre towards the margin by means of her jaws. A small shallow mud-cup is thus produced. It is rough and uneven on the outer Surface, but beautifully smooth on the inner. On wit- essing thus much of the work performed, I was struck 376 THE HOME OF THE BEES. with three points. 1st, the rapidity with which the in- sect worked; secondly, the tenacity with which she kept her original position whilst excavating ; and thirdly, her constantly going over work which had apparently been completed. . . . The lid is excavated and rendered con- cave on its outer or upper surface, and is convex and rough on its inner surface; and, in fact, is a simple repe- tition of the first-formed portion of the cell, a part of a hollow sphere.” The largest species of Osmia known to us is a very dark-blue Species.* We are indebted to a lady for speci- mens of the bees with their cells, which had been exca- ; vated in the interior of a maple tree several inches from the bark. The bee had industriously tunnelled out this elaborate burrow (Plate 10, Fig. 12), and, in this respect, resembled the habits of the Carpenter-bee (Xylocopa), more closely than any other species of its genus. he tunnel was over three inches long, and about three-tenths of an inch wide. It contracted a little in width between the cell, showing that the bee worked in- telligently, and wasted no more of her energies than was absolutely necessary. The burrow contained five cells, each half an inch long, being rather short and broad, with ~ the hinder end rounded, while the opposite end, next to the one adjoining, is cut off squarely. The cell is some- what jug-shaped, owing to a slight constriction just be- hind the mouth. The material of which the cell is com- posed is stout, silken, parchment-like, and very smooth Within. The interstices between the cells are filled in _ With rather coarse chippings made by the bee. Se ee ee Te Ais seems to be an undescribed species. We will call it the wood-bo Osmia (Osmia lignivora). It is larger than the Osmia lignaria of Say, poing at T oo te bend in Ha vr and pst sanare 85 on the thorax yellow ore sa a e all æ is clothed with dark hairs, greenish with yellowish hairs. The body is deep THE HOME OF THE BEES. BIZ The bee cut its way out of the cells in March, and lived for a month afterwards on a diet of honey and water. It eagerly lapped up the drops of water supplied by its keeper, to whom it soon grew accustomed, and seemed to recognize. Our smallest and most abundant species is the little green Osmia simillima of Smith. It builds its little oval, somewhat urn-shaped cells against the roof of the large deserted galls of the oak-gall fiy (Diplolepis conflu- entus), placing them, in this instance eleven in number, in two irregular rows, from which the mature bees issue through a hole in the gall (Plate 10, Fig.14. From speci- mens communicated by Mr. F. G. Sanborn). The earthen cells, containing the tough dense cocoons, were arranged irregularly so as to fit the concave vault of the larger gall, which was about two inches in diameter. On emerging from the cell the Osmia cuts out with its pow- erful jaws an ovate lid, nearly as large as one side of the cell. In the Harris collection are the cells and specimens of Osmia pacifica Say, the peaceful Osmia, which, according to the manuscript notes of Dr. Harris, is found in the perfect state in earthen cells beneath stones. The cell is oval cylindrical, a little contracted as usual with those of all the species of the genus, thus forming an urn-shaped cell. It is half an inch long, and nearly three-tenths of an inch wide, while the cocoon, which is rather thin, is three-tenths of an inch long. We are not acquainted with the habits of the larva and pupa in this country, but Mr. F. Smith states that the larva of the English species hatches in eight days after the eggs are laid, feeds ten to twelve days, when it becomes full-grown, then spins a thin silken covering, and remains in an inactive state AMERICAN NAT., VOL. IL. 48 378 THE HOME OF THE BEES. until the following spring, when it completes its transfor- mations. In the economy of our wild bees we see the manifes- tation of a wonderful instinct, as well as the exhibition of a limited reason. We can scarcely deny to animals a kind of reason which differs only in degree from that of man. Each species works in a sphere limited by physi- cal laws, but within that sphere it is a free agent. They have enough of instinct and reason to direct their lives, and to enable them to act their part in carrying out the plan of creation. — To be continued. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 10. Fig. 1. å o of the Humble-bee; natural size, with the pollen ass built upon the top Fig. Siha view.of the same el oes the three eggs laid in three divisions of the Fig. 3. Xylocopa Virginica, the Sritis Bee Fig. 4. The larva of Xylocopa Feit, the Carpenter Bee; nat- ural size. Fig. 5. The nest containing the cells of the same, with the parti- tions and pollen masses, on which the young larva seen in the act of feeding; natural one Fig. 6. Young larva of Anthrax sinuosa; side . Fig. 7. Pupa of Anthrax sinuosa ; side-view; natur: ad size. Fig. 8. The Leaf-cutter Bee (Megachite), ona rose-leaf, in the = of cutting out a circular piece. Fig. 9. Cells of Megachile, in the elder; natural size. Fig. 10. Larva of Ceratina dupla, the little green upholsterer Bee; enlarged. Fig. 11. Cells of the same in the stem of the elder; natural size- Fig. 12. Cells of Osmia lignivora, new species, the mood de Mason-bee, excavated in the uaa natural siz Fig. 13. Cells sata Osmia simillima, the common green Mason-bee, built in the deserted gall of the Oak-gall Fly. — e TA A A single earthen cell of the same; natural size. = a 15. Pollen mass, or bee-bread of Osmia lignaria ; natural size» Te is made up of distinct pellets of pollen, which se ‘probably stuck together with saliva. American Naturalist. Yeah SZ PACKARD’S HOME OF THE BEES. THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. BY TILBURY FOX, M. D. _ Norse could more clearly have shown the amount of ignorance of the natural history of minute life abroad amongst the public, and the little trouble people will take to make the most trivial use of their common sense, when a novelty, embellished by plausible description, is pre- sented to them, than the rampant nonsense which has been penned and believed in regard to the so-called gre- garine infesting certain varieties of false hair. The “chignon controversy” has been one of the most wide- Spread, but at the same time transient sensations of the age: started abroad, it soon reached England, where it bewildered the fashion worshippers of the day. The im- mediate cause of this hubbub was the appearance in the Hamburg paper Der Freischiitz, of the 7th of February, 1867, of an artigle based upon the account given in the “Archiy der Gerichtlich Medicin und Hygiene,” and in which we are informed that “Mr. Lindemann professes to have discovered and observed a new microscopical para- site, to which he has given the name of Gregarine. He reports, according to his observations, that the gregarine —a protozoic animaleule—is of the lowest order of de- velopment of the animal organism, and is found parasit- ically within the animal and human body, where it floats about with the blood, by which it is nourished. The Most striking instance of the parasitism of the gregarine 18 said to be its existence on the human hair. The gre- garinous hair, however, differs in no way from the sound hair. Only if one looks very closely, little dark brown knots, which are generally at the free end of the hair, (379) 380 THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. may be distinguished even with the naked eye. These are gregarines. Out of thirty samples of hair procured from a hairdresser in Nishni Novgorod, gregarines were found in seventy-five per cent. And it is well known that the hair used for the chignons of the better half of Russia is bought of the poor peasant women, who are proverbially of dirty habits. Pursuing his inquiry, Mr. Lindemann has discovered that almost every louse has in its interior an enormous number of gregarines, and he convinced himself by further experiments that the grega- rines on the human hair are deposited there by lice. He observes that the most favorable conditions for the growth of gregarine are light, increased temperature, and a moist atmosphere ; and he declares that in the ballroom these are not without their influence on the parasites when they — exist on false hair, for they at once revive, grow, and multiply, get disseminated in millions, and in consequence of the increased respiration produced by the exertion of dancing, are inhaled freely into the lungs, reach their specific gregarine nature, and after a while induce disease in the body.” In these quotations prevalent fashions were depicted as sources of danger, inducing discomfort and disease. A writer in one of the daily papers (“Investigator”) assert- ed that he had witnessed from direct observation the development of gregarine into lice, an assumption that implies a liberty with Darwinism that its most zealous and radical devotees would at the present time hesitate to suggest. It is only just to say that the Lancet, which first noticed the matter, and confined itself to a mere mention of the facts, urged its readers to accept the state- ments put forth, with the gravest caution. Lindemann’s assertions are very startling to scientific men, because THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. 381 they are wholly in antagonism with observed facts. Whilst scientific research has as yet afforded little insight of the habits of the lower forms of animal and vegetable life, the revelations of the microscope within the last few years are pregnant with significance as regards their ubiquity, and teach us that we are not to be astonished if we find living forms in unexpected sites, undergoing the most manifold variations in aspect when brought under the play of different influences. At the same time we have the amplest experience to caution us against the acceptance of new species without the keenest criticism. What, then, is the truth in this matter? In my devotion to the subject of diseases of the skin, it has lain in my way during the last ten years to investigate the whole subject of diseases of the hair connected with the devel- opment of vegetable parasites, and I think no one has made a larger number of microscopic observations. I have never seen a true gregarina in connection with the hair; but I have recently found a vegetable growth on false German hair answering in naked eye appearances to that described by Lindemann as little dark specks sur- rounding the hair towards its end. Gregarine, according to Lindemann, are made up of cells, which he states to be Vegetable, and it is possible that that which I have found may be identical with his gregarine. I cannot help thinking that many bodies totally dissimilar in nature have been classed with gregarine, which my friend Ray Lankester, than whom no higher authority on the point exists, declares to be truly animal. The growth I have found I now proceed to describe. | If you take a hair on which the parasite exists, and hold it between yourself and the light, towards the outer half you will see one or more, perhaps half a dozen, little dark 382 THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. knots the size of pin-points, surrounding the shaft of the hair; they are readily felt on drawing the hair through the fingers ; they are somewhat difficult to detach. If a hair be placed under the microscope with a quarter-inch objective, the mass will be seen to be made up of cellular bodies surrounding the hair, such as are seen in Fig. 1, Fig: L kindly drawn for me by Dr. Braxton Hicks; F. R. 5. It will be seen that the mass has the appearance of a fungus growth, of which two dis- tinct forms are here present, viz., mycelial or filamentous, seen in the central part of Fig. 1; and sporular or cellular, seen in Fig. 2, which is the outer part of Fig. 1. The hair is apparently healthy, and if the slide be pressed the mass will break away from 2 the hair on either side, bringing away with it more or less of the satiate: and leaving behind a healthy shaft. The cells are seen to be of various shapes and sizes. Fig. 3 gives a good representation of them; they are from aos tO xw inch; many are like the torula Fig. 3. cells developed from Penicillium. Others are larger, undergoing divis- ion very actively ; they may be sub- divided into two, three, or four parts, or much more freely. This indicates the assumption by the parasite of an algal condition. In watching the mass on the hair carefully, it is evident that THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. 383 a number of cells become detached from the outer or sporular form, and at once move actively about. These small cells indicate an active growth by subdivision, and a fruitful source of propagation; they subsequently be- come the cells seen in Fig. 3. Certainly this variety of fungus so far described is the most active growth I have come across in my researches, and I have been enabled to germinate it most successfully, so as to set all questions as to its nature completely at rest. Placed under favor- able circumstances in water, the spores (Fig. 3) enlarge considerably, and the mycelial filaments increase also ; but there is at this time to be observed a very remarkable occurrence, though not in all cases. Some of the large cells in Fig. 1, have become filled with smaller cells; and in others, in addition to these, processes have been put _ forth from the circumference of the walls in a radiating manner; in other cases the enlarged cells have two long cilia attached to them, by which they move about rap- idly, whilst a part of the hair, previous to this free from the fungus, has become dotted all over by minute cells similar to those seen in the in- Fig. 4 terior of the larger ones. All this is seen in Fig. 4. But more than this, I have observed most distinctly large cells filled with smaller cells, furnished with exceedingly deli- cate radiating processes and put- ting forth pseudopodia. One of these cells of large size is represented in Fig. 5. It will here be seen to have assumed the features of an ameboid body. Nothing could have been more distinct to myself, and those who were observing with me, than 384 THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. this peculiar form ; and it seems to me that we have here a pretty complete history of the life of this fungus,— namely, the sporular subdividing and assuming an algal Fig. 5. form, which in turn becomes amecebi- form, and furnishes ciliated cells that supply the earliest condition of the fungus, as seen in Fig. 4, scattered over the hair. But not satisfied with these results, I set to work to grow the fungus in sugar and water, under constant observation. A rapid enlargement of the sporular cells took place, as in the former case, and in some of the larger cells the most distinct circulation of the granules around the inner circumference of the parent cell was witnessed by myself and my friends, and a beau- tiful object it was. Finally, I obtained a result similar to the former one. Fig. 6 represents the appearance of the fungus at the end of fourteen days, seen with an 4 inch object-glass- Fig. 7 is a portion of the mycelium, taken from the part over the hair, more highly magnified with a 1-12th object-glass. The ends of the filaments seen in Fig. 8 are analogous, in fact identical with those forms which I have figured in my work on parasitic diseases of the skin as resulting from the growth of oidium. The globose head contains spores, and is an early stage. The double cell figured in the centre was of a green color like many others. THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. 385 Accompanying these appearances were, as in the former case, cells—filled with smaller cells and granules in ac- Fig. 7. Fig. 6. tive motion—furnished with cilia, and bodies undergoing the “amceboid” transformation, as seen in Figs. 9 and 10, with 1-12 inch Powell and Lealand. Here, again, we have the growth taking on an algal Fig. 9. Fig. 10. phase in one direction, and fructifying into a perfect fun- gus on the other hand. The drawings I have given were made on the spot from the microscopic objects, and I AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 49 386 THE CHIGNON FUNGUS. must do the artist credit to say he has most faithfully and cleverly portrayed the actual appearances presented by the parasite. The observations now recorded are in com- plete harmony with those of Dr. Braxton Hicks on the Volvox, and De Bary in his work published in 1864, at Leipsic, “Die Mycetozoen, Ein Beitrag zur Kentniss Der Neidersten Organismen,” and are completely confirmatory of the opinion before advanced by myself, that the fungi found upon or within man belong to one genus, and un-- dergo an infinity of variations under different circum- stances. In the present case the fungus approaches to the character of Torula rather than any other. There are many most interesting questions that cannot be dis- cussed here. The only one I need refer to is the influ- ence which this species of parasite has in the production of disease. In the immediate condition in which we find it on the hair it need cause but little anxiety; but the minute form as seen in Fig. 4, transplanted to a suitable soil—and the scalp of delicate children best furnishes it —would produce disease of the scalp: of that I have no doubt. Luckily, the tissues of adults, namely, those who _ wear chignons, are not prone to the more severe forms of diseases produced by vegetable parasites; and as the mass of false hair used in England is free from the fungus described above, the total danger, on the whole, is slight- —Hardwicke’s Science-Gossip. Nore.— Torula, Penicillium, and Oidium are microscopic genera of fungi. The word algal is derived from alga, a sea-weed, of which there are many minute species. Pseudopodia is derived from the Greek, meaning “false-feet ;” they are the organs of locomotion, being Mere extensions of the side, or walls of the body of Infusoria. 1 Fig. 5 they radiate like hairs from the body of the plant. Ameba is & low Infusorium, or Rhizopod. REVIEWS. Š a AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON AMERICAN GRAPE CULTURE AND WINE NG. By Peter B. Mead. Illustrated with nearly two hundred engravings, drawn from nature. New York, 1867. Harper & Broth- ers. 8vo This is a carefully prepared work, and we are informed by those ra n. . Me well prepared for the task ot him. Besides the several chapters Cli ca duced by a different vegetable parasite or fangus, which, if allowed to goon Hd mature growth, will spoil the wine, but which is prevented by heating. This heating does not injure the wine, bu ut enna according to M. Pasteur, has the effect of hastening its ri and forth in a few hours those fine qualities that have heretofore only been secured by long and careful keeping in goo AnnuaL REPORT oF THE Sigur OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARA- ZOOLOGY, CAMBRIDGE, TOGETHER WITH THE REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR, 1866. Boston, vog 8vo, pp. 37. fishes and at «Of fishes alone, no less than 50,000 specimens Were actually counted, representing over 2,200 species, the majority of which, say 2,000, are probably new to science and to our collections. This estimate does not include the smaller specimens, less than two inches in length, which also number many th thousands.” The reports of essrs. A. Agassiz, P. R. Uhler, J. G. Anthony, and N. made ir d -the assistants, Messrs 8. — show that good progress had been in their prye senind number of the Illustrated Catalogue, The North American (387) 388 - NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Acalephæ, by Mr. Alexander Agassiz, has been printed and distributed. The third number will contain Professor Agassiz’s Report on the Co ls hay n ists, abroad and at home, for study and identification, many of which were sent from the Brazilian Expedition, though u unfortunately lost. The practice of scattering among naturalists the material for study, system now pursued by nearly all museums, public and private, f e study of science. The benefits are not local, but are shared by all, and not in one country alone, but throughout the scientific world. Thus, a large museum carried on in the interests of the highest edu- cation, must do much towards uniting all men in interpreting the marvels ists creation. 3 y in this country the value of maintaining large museums 1S “ace a, We cannot afford to stint any of our educational insti- tutions. We cannot have too many ita schools, or too many museums, and money applied to their endowment will surely tend to enrich the nation, as well as advance good Siig and the broadest culture THE AMERI EE JOURNAL AND QAZETTE. aia and published monthly, by Samuel Wagner, Washington, D. C. 8vo, $2 a year. With the July number this i important journal begins a new volume, and in an improved dress. It has been steadily gaining in interest and that the growing interest in so remunerative a branch of agricul- ture as bee-keeping il enable it to be a success. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. iSi BOTANY. New COLUMBINE, AND A New Ox-sye Darsy.— 02 the 15th of May, 1866, I found on the heights west of the Hudson, and opposite the city of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., a cluster of wild Columbine s variety, “but never before one in which NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY, 389 red or purple was wholly absent.” On the 17th of May this year, 1867, I found the same variety again, near the same place where I found it last year. Is it probable that it is a well-marked variety, or per- haps a new species? I shall try to raise it from the seed, and the readers of the Naruraist shall in due time be notified of the result. a). n the 8th of June, 1867, several of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., two of which XN were kindly sent to At first I thought that the plant could be noth- freak of nature; and when, on the 10th T inst., I went in search of more speci- mens, I half expected to find the new form and the common one growin upon it. Nor do the two forms in any observed case—and I have observed many—come from the same root, although the roots of this and the common form grow promiscuously together, and often 50 near as to touch each other. ' The two prominent characters which distinguish this daisy from Z. vulgare, are the following, namely: its ray flowers are all tubular, un- equally 4~—5-lobed, in some cases only 3-lobed, and the receptacle—so na mum. Yesterday, June 13th, I revisited the locality of this flower, and brought home specimens enough for all of my class in botany, —over a hundred in number. I would only add, that I have received a letter from Professor Gray, to whom I sent specimens of the daisy, in which he informs me that while he does not regard it as a new species, he Will introduce it into his Manual of Botany as a variety, adopting the name I have given it.— SANBORN TENNEY. 390 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. CHANGE OF COLOR IN FLOWERS PLACED UNDER GLASSES OF DIF- FERENT CoLoRS.—M. De Candolle suggested the construction of experimental green-houses and hot-houses, and gave his views as to the plan to be adopted in their erection, so as best to serve the pur- pose of the physiologist. “A building, such as I propose, would allow of light being passed through colored glasses or colored solutions, and so prove the effect of the different visible and invisible rays which enter into the composition of sunlight. M. Von Martin placed some plants of Amaranthus tricolor for two months under glasses of various colors. Under the yellow glass the varied tint of the leaves was pre- served. The red glass impeded the development of the leaves, and produced, at the base of the limb, yellow instead of green; in the mid- dle of the upper surface, yellow instead of reddish brown; and below, a red spot instead of purplish red. With the blue ae which al- lowed some green and yellow to pass, that which was red or yellow in the leaf had spread so that there remained only a sae border or edge. Under the nearly pure violet glasses, the foliage became almost uniformly green. Now that plants with colored foliage are becoming fashionable, it may interest horticulturists to know that by means of colored glasses, provided they are not yellow, they may hope to our present vegetation would take an excess of carbon from the air, eral existence were inconvenienced by it. Then might ' be ascertained what tribes of plants could bear this condition, and what other families could not have existed, supposing the air had formerly had a very large proportion of carbonic acid gas.”— Quar- terly Journal of Science, London. r —1+ ZOOLOGY. Tae STUFFED W. SwepisH Museum. — Professor Lill- jeborg describes, in a letter to Dr. J. E. Gray, how this species of be (Baleoptera) was stuffed, which we translate as follows. The of the same was divided into several portions, and then stretch- res over a model made of wood of the exact form and size of the ani- wrinkles, which, however, are not to be seen.— Annals and Magazine of Natural History. NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. 391 THE EGGS oF THE DRAGON-FLY.—Since ~~ the article on the Dragon. in our last number we have had an oppo rtunity of seeing the eggs collected by a friend at Haverhill, July 3d, at the first field- meeting of the Essex Institute. The eggs are laid in immense num- bers in long ropy, gelatinous masses, nearly one-half an inch thick, attached to an aquatic grass. When folded together, the entire mass was nearly the size ofa hen’s egg. The new-born larve looked like small spiders swimming in the water, as the abdomen is very short, and the legs remarkably long, the hindermost pair being one-half longer than the body. The body is very transparent, and through the thin wall can be seen the blood coursing rapidly through the dorsal vessel or heart, and returning along the side of the body, as also the smaller currents thrown into and returning from the legs. The little creatures are very active, — by hundreds through the water, or crawling over the mass ofe shall Speak at another time of the changes the embryo un goes sena hatching. The eggs are only two and one-half oo of an inch long. It is probable that they are the young of Diplax, as they bear a close resemblance to the pupa (fig. 4) figured in our last number Rar CHANGE or COLOR IN Fısn.—I caught the other day in fishing for shells, a small ‘*horned-pout,” about two inches long, in- tensely black in color. I put him in a white bowl to examine him. In half an hour he had turned white, so clear and pretty in color, por you could wen the circulation under the skin of the body. Only “feelers” and eyes remained black, and he is now, three days ‘fale capture, eras: healthy, and well bleached. Do these fish usually change their color in this way?—E. C. BoLLEsS, Portland, Me. NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. —~1o0—— INSECTS IN SEPTEMBER. —Few new insects make their first appear- ance for the season during this month. Most of the species which in the early part of the month are the August forms, which live until they are killed by the frosts late in the month. From this Cause there is towards the end of the month a very sensible diminu- tion of the number of insects. The early frosts warn these delicate creatures of approaching cold. Hence the whole insect population is busied late in the month in look- = Out snug winter quarters, or providing for the continuance of the e 392 NATURAL HISTORY CALENDAR. species. Warned by the cool and frosty nights, multitudes of cater- pillars prepare to spin their dense silken cocoons, which guard them against frost and cold. Such are the “Spinners,” as the Germans call them, the Silk-moths, of which the American Silk-worm is a fair ex- ample. The last of September it spins its dense cocoon, in which it hybernates in the chrysalis state. The larve of those moths, such as the Sphinges, or Hawk-moths, which spin no cocoon, descend deep into the earth, where they lay in rude earthen cocoons. The wild bees may now be found frequenting flowers in consider- able numbers. Both sexes of the Humble-bee, the Leaf-cutter Bee, and other smaller genera abound during the warm days. ention during an unusu ally warm and pleasant day in this nearly all ants, and, perhaps, to belong to a single species. Looking about on the ground, an unusual activity will be jasia in the ant- This is the swarming of the ants. The autumnal heod of females has appeared, and this is their marriage day. The history of a formicarium, or ant’s nest, is as follows: The workers, only, hybernate, and are found early in spring, taking care of the eggs and larve produced by the autumnal brood of females. In the course of the summer these eggs and larve arrive at maturity, ani swarm on a hot sultry day, usually early in September. The females, after their marriage flight, for the small diminutive males seek their company at this time, descend and enter the ground to lay their eggs. for new colonies, or, as Westwood states, they are often seized by the workers and retained in the old colonies. Having no more inclination, to fly, they pluck off their wings and may be seen running about wing- less. autumnal brood of Plant-lice now occur in great numbers on rious plants. The last brood, however, does not consist exclu- individuals ound that many were in reality of the ordinary gemmipa- rous form, such as those composing the early summer broods. The White Pine Plant-lice, Lachnus strobi, may be seen laying their long string of black oval eggs on the aes of the pine. They are Mich drops upon the leaves leaves beneath. — A. S. P. if BE = pet AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. I.—OCTOBER, 1867.—No. 8. —<»~“o— THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U. 8. A. (Continued from p. 363.) Famy Saccomyide, the Pouched Rats. This is a curious and interesting family of Rodents, represented in Arizona by quite numerous species. Its several genera differ to a remarkable degree in external characters, but agree in the possession of very large cheek pouches, open- ing outside the small mouth, and capable of enormous extension; and in numerous anatomical features. Two subfamilies exist in North America,—the Geomyine, and the Saccomyine. The former includes the “Gophers” or “Salamanders” or “Pouched Rats,” as they are vari- ously styled in different sections. They are clumsy, thick-set animals, with large heavy heads, short thick necks, small inexpressive features, short tails, and very strong muscular legs, armed with large claws, eminently fitted for digging. They are also wholly nocturnal, and live in subterranean galleries which they excavate. The Saccomyine, on the other hand, are elegant in shape, of pleasing colors, and graceful motions; and though par- Entered di Act of C in the year 1867, by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the Massachusetts. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 50 (393) 394 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. tially subterranean and nocturnal, often come abroad in the daytime. They are known in the vernacular as “Kangaroo” or “Jumping” Rats and Mice, and are en- tirely confined to Transmississippian regions. The larg- est species is about as big as a third-grown rat, while the smallest is among the most diminutive of all our animals, unless some of the shrews are still less in size. These animals have well-formed bodies, very large and muscu- lar thighs, small hands, large rounded ears, full protu- berant eyes, and very long tails, often tufted at the end. Their fur is peculiarly soft and lustrous. The two genera of the Geomyine, though very similar to each other, are distinguished, among other features, by the absence in Thomomys of the deep central longitu- dinal grooves in the upper incisors which exist in Geo- mys. The latter is hardly known west of the Rocky Mountains, nor the former to the eastward of them. Though two other species may occur in Arizona ( Thom- omys bulbivorus from California, and T. umbrinus from Sonora), only one, the Red Sand-rat (T. fulvus) is at all common. It was discovered by Dr. Woodhouse in the vicinity of the San Francisco Mountains, where it is ex- ceedingly abundant. It lives mainly in light sandy or loamy soil, such as may be readily excavated. “The soft soil of grassy hill-sides, or sloping meadows, especially in the vicinity of oaks, or clumps of nut-bearing trees, are favorite resorts, as it finds there an abundance of acorns, seeds, and grasses, upon which it feeds. The succulent stems and roots of many herbs also furnish it with food. Wherever it takes up its abode, little piles of fresh moist earth may be seen in every direction, sometimes scores within a radius of as many yards. These are especially noticeable in the morning, for the animal is strictly ; n ; i k: 2 : . x se a THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 395 nocturnal, never working, and rarely venturing from its burrow in the daytime. During the night it is very industrious, both in collecting food and in enlarging its galleries; and the amount “of fresh earth visible one day, where none had been the day before, is sometimes astonishing. Should Arizona ever become a cultivated region, this gopher would be wellnigh as great a pest to the farmer as the 7’. bulbivorus and Spermophilus Beecheyi are in California. We were much annoyed by their dig- ging around, and partially undermining our tents, causing the canvas flooring to slump in when trodden upon. Pouring water in their holes, or plugging them up with sticks, seemed to take effect mainly as a provocation to them to dig others. Though thus daily “bored”— literally and Sprivalivelycciby these beasts, I never saw one in a state of nature, and only procured two specimens in as many years. It is notorious that a person may live Surrounded by them for years, and never see one, so timid and retiring are they, and so strictly nocturnal. The Pouched F Rat (Dipodomys Ordii) is the main representative of its subfamily in Arizona, and ex- tends also over New Mexico, Texas, and part of Mexico. A closely allied species (D. Philippii) replaces it in Cali- fornia. It is one of the most abundant of the Rodents about Fort Whipple, where it more nearly takes the Place of the house rat and mouse than any other native Species, except an Hesperomys, to be presently noticed. It is beautiful in form and colors, and its motions are agile and graceful. Above, it is of a clear fawn color, deepen- ing along the middle of the back into brownish gray; the Whole under parts are pure silvery white, which color also forms an artistic contrast to the fawn, by striping the head and thighs. The long tail, tufted near the end, 396 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. is mouse-gray above and below, and pure white on its sides. The fur is peculiarly soft, smooth, and lustrous. It chiefly inhabits loose sandy soil, like a gopher, though its “sign” differs greatly from that of the last named; but it is not entirely subterranean in habit, as it may be found living in piles of brush, fallen logs, ete. Though it labors at its domicile, and collects food mainly by night, it should not be called a nocturnal animal, any more than a House Rat, though the latter is liveliest and most plaguey after dark. Since the erection of buildings in the interior of Ari- zona, the Kangaroo Rat has in a measure taken up its residence about them, showing the same adaptability to semi-domestication that the House Mouse exhibits. Many used to live in our storehouses and granaries at Fort Whipple, and even brought forth their young there, in just such nooks as the common mouse would select. Par- turition occurs in May or June, though more than one litter may be produced in one season. The young are for some time much darker and grayer than their parents. Although sullen, and apparently much cowed when fi t caught, these rats soon become familiar, and make agree- able pets. I have frequently seen them enter my tent at night, when all was still, and search about for food. They ordinarily move on all-fours, with a motion not unlike that of a rabbit when leisurely moving about. The body is alternately strongly arched and extended ; the long hind feet rest on the ground to the heel, and the heavy tail trails straightly after. If frightened, this easy motion is changed to a succession of astonishingly vigor- ous leaps. Perhaps the most beautiful features of these animals are their eyes, which are round and full, glossy black, and softly brilliant. THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 397 Another genus of Pouched Mice (Perognathus) occurs in Arizona. Its species much resemble those of Dipo- domys in general appearance. Prominent amongst them is the P. penicillatus, also discovered by Dr. Woodhouse on the San Francisco Mountains. It is the largest species of its genus in the United States. Two others known to occur are P. flavus and P. parvus, both of which are among the most diminutive of all our animals. Little is known of these comparatively rare animals, though it is presumed that their habits are in general similar to those of Dipodomys. Family Muride, the Rats and Mice. A species of this extensive family—the Jaculus Hudsonius—is also called the “Kangaroo” or “Jumping” Mouse, but must not be confounded with the preceding. It belongs to the same subfamily (Dipodine) as the Jerboa (Dipus sagitta). It has no cheek pouches, and is otherwise conspicuously dif- ferent from any member of the Saccomyine. It is of very extensive diffusion throughout North America, though I believe its actual occurrence in Arizona requires confir- mation. Exclusive of the Dipodine, the Muride are represented in North America by two subfamilies: the Murine, or true rats and mice, and the Arvicoline.. The latter is composed of the Meadow-mice (Arvicola), the Musk-rats (fiber), and the Lemmings (Myodes). The first sub- family is usually divided into the Mures, or “Old World Rats,” as they are called, and really were originally, though they are now cosmopolite ; and the Sigmodontes, or “New World Rats,” embracing such forms as the Cotton _ Rats (Sigmodon), the Bush Rats (Neotoma), and the Field-mice (Hesperomys). I am not aware that any “Mures” have as yet made their way into the central and 398 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. unfrequented portions of the Territory, though the usual number of them exist at our various footholds on the Colorado River. In the interior, the indigenous species hold full sway, or at least did so two or three years — ago,—the time of which I write,—though since then the Brown Rat (Mus.decumanus), and the House Mouse (Mus musculus) may have migrated all over the Terri- tory, or been transported wherever the white man has settled. The genus Hesperomys is, perhaps, the best represented of the Sigmodontes. At least one species (H. eremicus Baird) is very abundant, both along the Colorado valley and the interior of the Territory. I found it very nume- rous at Fort Whipple, where it in a great measure seemed to abandon its primitive habits, and take up its residence _ as a veritable house mouse in buildings, particularly our granaries and store-rooms. It was sufficiently numerous to become quite an annoyance, sharing the plunder and comfortable home with the Kangaroo Rats. It ordinarily lives in bushes, brush-heaps, scrubby trees, etc., where it builds a somewhat bulky nest, of a globular shape, of grasses compactly matted together, and warmly lined. Another species (H. Sonoriensis) which I have never per- sonally met with, occurs in the southern portions of the Territory. Mr. Clarke says that it seems to live, as cit- cumstances may determine, either in the ground or in hollow trees. The species (or perhaps only variety of H, leucopus) called H. Texensis by Dr. Woodhouse, may also occur in South-eastern Arizona. The genus Reithrodon (of which the little Harvest- mouse of the Southern States (Reithrodon humilis) is a — _ typical species) is very similar to Hesperomys, but the upper incisors are longitudinally grooved instead of being THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 399 perfectly smooth. Those species most likely to occur are Reithrodon montanus Baird, of which the type is from the Rocky Mountains in latitude 39°; and R. megalotis in the regions contiguous to Sonora. They must either be quite rare, or of very inconspicuous habits. The Bush Rat (Neotoma Mexicana) is abundant throughout the Territory, and forms no small item in the economy of the Indians. Not only the numerous tribes of the Colorado, but also the various branches of the Apaché family, make great use of them as an article of food. After the destruction of Apaché “rancherias,” we always found, among other implements and utensils, numerous sticks, about as big as walking-canes, one end of which was bent in the shape of a hook, hardened in the fire, and a little sharpened. These, I was’informed and have every reason to believe, were used to probe holes and poke about brush-heaps for rats, and to drag them out when discovered. This statement may be doubted by those who know of the Bush Rat only as an arboreal species, building a compact globular nest of grasses and sticks in mez- quite and other low thick trees. While this is cer- tainly the case, there is no doubt that, under different circumstances, it may live underground, among rocks, or-in brush-heaps. I have seen many heaps of rushes, sticks, and grasses, which could have been the work of no other animal, and formed either the nest itself, or the “vestibule” of a subterranean abode. I have also been informed to the same effect by several hunters and good observers. Dr. Kennerly has found it living under stones. It shows no tendency to modify its primitive habits by taking up its residence with man. The food of these rats is entirely vegetable, and ob- 400 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. servers agree in noting their particular fondness for mez- quite beans ; both the long straight pods of the Algarobia glandulosa, and the curious spirally-twisted fruit of the “screw-mezquite” (Strombocarpa pubescens). As might be expected from the nature of their food, their flesh is excellent eating. The idea of eating rats is doubtless disgusting to most persons—not Chinese nor Indian; but all such must re- member that they take their notions from the House Rat, which is a dirty beast, feeding upon sewerage, garbage, and any decaying animal or excrementitious matter which may come in its way. The Bush Rat’s food is as cleanly as that of a hare or squirrel, and there is no reason why its flesh should not be as good, as in truth I can assert it to be, having eaten it myself. Arizona seems remarkably deficient in Meadow-mice (Arvicola). I am not aware that any species has been recorded from within its limits. At least one exists, however, as I know, having taken some fragments, too much mutilated for identification, from the stomach of a large hawk. The Musk-rat, or Ondatra (Fiber zibethicus), so ex- tensively diffused over North America, finds a place in Arizona, and is common on many of its streams. It is said that this animal and the beaver cannot live harmo- niously together, the one harassing and finally dislodg- ing the other; but I cannot vouch for the truth of the assertion. The Indians make considerable use of Musk-rat skins for quivers, a number of them being sewn together, though a single skin of some larger animal, as a lynx, 18 usually preferred.— To be concluded. cae ee THE AWAKENING OF THE BIRDS. BY T. MARTIN TRIPPE. To those who are in the custom of studying the habits of our native birds, their awakening, and early songs are very interesting. It is in the early morning that birds are in the highest spirits ; then it is that they appear to the best advantage ; and then it is that their songs are sweet- est. When summer comes on, and the days grow hot and long, and the singing of the birds ceases nearly alto- gether, early in the morning, ere yet the sun has warmed the cool air, the birds sing with all their former vivacity, and seem the same merry-hearted beaux that they were in spring. The early morning has always been a favorite time of mine for studying Natural History, and especially Ornithology ; and I always learn more in one hour then, than in three or four in the middle of the day. Some birds rise much earlier than others. As a rule, those that live in the fields are much earlier risers than those dwelling in the woods; and, per contra, the field birds go to bed earlier than the wood birds. The Robin is our earliest songster. While the stars still twinkle, and the first gray streaks of dawn have but just appeared, the Robin wakes from his sleep, and pours forth his matin hymn. From all sides the songs proceed, —from the orchard and garden, from the edge of the neighboring woods, and from the trees that fringe the brooks and ponds, you hear the joyous, ringing strains of this delightful songster. After singing for ten minutes or so, Robin descends from his perch, and seeks his breakfast with an appetite sharpened by the morning air; _ yet you hear him throughout the morning, but not so AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 51 (401) 402 THE AWAKENING OF THE BIRDS. often as in the early dusk. Then he puts forth his finest effort; and if you would fully appreciate his song, you must listen to his matinee which he gives in the earliest light. “While the Robin is yet singing, the two Pewees awake, and mingle their mournful itos with the Robin-concert. These notes, though so sad and plaintive, have, never- theless, a pleasing effect; and the common Pewee espec- ially is welcome. Long after you have ceased to hear him in the broad glare of day, or even in the quiet even- ing, you may listen to him in the early morning, the fresh air of which seems to have an electric effect, not only upon him, but upon all the other birds besides. Shortly after the Robin has finished his song, or rather while he is still singing, the Bluebird is heard “saluting the morn with his soft notes.” You seldom hear him during g the hot summer days of June and July; but here, in the early morning, he is the same gallant and musical fellow that he was in March and April. Simultaneously with the Bluebird the Chipping Sparrow awakes, and is soon heard chanting his simple cricket-like song from the garden and lawn. But now, as the light increases, and the clouds in the east give evidence by. their crimson hues that the sun is nearing the horizon, birds of all sorts begin to awake. The sharp “sphack” of the Least Flycatcher comes from the orchards; the King-birds make the fields noisy with their notes, and the songs come so thick and fast, that it is next to impossible to tell which was the earliest. The Song Sparrows and the Indigo-birds sing sweetly from their accustomed haunts, white the Vesper Sparrow de- livers his delightful strains from the broad open pasture- lands. This latter bird seems to take a fancy to singing AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. 403 in the dusk, for, although one may hear him at all hours, still he prefers the dim morn or the quiet twilight. The Bobolink is an early riser too, and his jolly, jingling notes add much to the chorus of bird-voices that now chant so sweet a concert on every side. The forest birds are now awake, and from the dark, distant woods come the faint bell-like notes of the Wood Thrush, our prince of songsters. The Veery, and the Rose-breasted Grosbeak join in with him, and the woods soon ring with the notes of these three birds, who are unquestionably our finest songsters. The Vireos, who ve been awake some time, lend their sweet voices to swell the choir; and as the sun rises in the sky, the con- cert each moment grows louder and louder. The Golden- crowned Thrush begins his hurried, ecstatic song; the Wrens, Catbirds, Orioles; Warblers, and Sparrows, all add their notes to the sylvan concert; and by the time the sun has lifted himself well above the horizon, all the birds are awake and in full song. AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. ; BY W. J. BEAL. ncluded from page 260.) THERE are two hes peculiarities among certain plants by which a cross-fertilization is made most probable, and even very sure in some cases, Ete the flowers are all perfect and of one form. In some of these the stigmas come out and are fertil- ized before the anthers of the flower burst open; while in 404 AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. others the anthers are in advance, and discharge their pollen before the stigmas appear. In either case the flowers act as though they were moneecious. These peculiarities have been termed dichogamy by Sprengel, who made the discovery many years ago. O the first kind, in which the stigmas are in advance of the anthers, I examined the young flowers of several species of Spiræa, just before any of the anthers had opened, and in all I found the stigmas quite plentifully covered with the yellow powder. Many stigmas were dry and with- ered, while some of the anthers were still full of fresh pollen. Similar observations were made upon False Solomon’s Seal, several species of Potentilla, Plum, Cherry, and others. One of the best examples of this kind was pointed out by Dr. Gray, in the case of the Plantain or Ribgrass (Plantago lanceolata Linn.), a troublesome piii: which is*too rapidly finding its way into meadows and waste places. These flowers, in arrangement, somewhat resemble a short tapering spike of Timothy or Herd’s-grass. The long hairy stigmas come out first at the base of the spike, and are quite withered and dead before the stamens of the same flowers appear in sight. By the time the long thread-shaped stamens of the | lowest flowers hang out their anthers, the stigmas of other flowers higher up the spike are exposed and ready to receive the fertilizing element. So new pistils continue to come forth, keeping in advance of the stamens. The long filament raises the anther 50 high that it is brought near the stigmas of younger flow- ers farther up the spike. This plant, like most of the large Grass-family, is not visited by insects, as it secretes _ Ro nectar, but each anther is hung on a mere point (ver- -~ Satile) and every slight motion of the air keeps it flutter- AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. 405 ing. By applying a low magnifying power, the pollen was seen with its long tube thrust into the stigma before anthers had shown themselves above the calyx. While within the calyx the filaments are folded upon themselves, which accounts for their great length as soon as as come forth. The Broad-leaved Plantain (Plantago major Linn.), so common about door-yards, resembles the one above men- tioned as regards its mode of fertilization. On the Iong spikes of flowers of the False Indigo and Lead-plant (Amorpha fruticosa Linn., and A. canescens Nuttall), the bees and wasps were seen beginning at the base on the older flowers, and so passing up, visiting those above in which the anthers were still young and enclosed by the corolla. Here, as in the Plantain, the pistils are a day or two in advance of the stamens, and the insects are a means of affecting a cross-fertiliza- tion. The common Dandelion ( Taraxicum dens-leonis Desfon- taines) is a good example of the other kind of dichogamy, in which the anthers discharge the pollen before the stig- mas are ready to receive it. This belongs to a very large family called Compositæ, which contains from one-eighth to one-tenth of all the flowering plants in this part of the world. Each yellow head in the Dandelion is a cluster of small flowers packed closely together, and not one large compound flower as the name implies, which was given by the early botanists. Each pistil bears two long slender stigmas surrounded by the anthers which are united by their edges, forming a tube (syngenesious). The stigmas are covered on the outside with small hairs, having their tips pointing upwards, like the beards on a head of barley. 406 AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. Imagine a head of barley much lengthened and split in two down the middle, and you have a good represen- tation of the stigmas of a Dandelion. When the tips of these are just above the apex of the anthers, the pollen is discharged and carried up on the hairs by the style which grows very rapidly at this time. e stigmas are closely pressed together until clear above the anthers, when they begin to spread and roll- back, exposing the inside surface which alone is sensi- tive to the action of the pollen. Several kinds of bees, flies, and smaller insects visit these flowers and brush the pollen off the outside of the style, and leave some on the inside surface where it can take effect. Were it intended for close, self-fertilization, as a superficial examination would seem to indicate, the style should be shorter, and the stigmas a little separated, so that pollen would meet the proper surface before the stigmas leave the surround- ing anthers. Or else the surface, which is sensitive to pollen, should be on the outside instead of on the in- side. I have examined Coreopsis, Fall Dandelion (Leonto- don), and Succory, and Taany more of this vast family, which showed these same peculiarities mentioned above. In Sweet Coltsfoot (ardosmia), a rare plant of this order growing north of this latitude, some of the little flowers are sterile, i. e., the imperfect pistil bears no seed, but the top of the style has a tuft of little hairs which push up the pollen from the anther-tube that it may reach the stigmas of other flowers, and so not be en- tirely lost. At the suggestion of Dr. Gray I examined some half a dozen or more species of Bellflower, or Campanula. The one most carefully noticed was Campanula rapunculoides. AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. 407 It has five anthers which stand up close together, although not joined by their edges into a tube as in the dandelion. In three other respects it resembles this plant; namely, in having the style covered with hairs or short bristles on the outside, and in having the sensitive part of the stigma on the inside. In the same way also the style nearly doubles in length after the pollen is discharged. The pollen begins to discharge very soon, so that by the time the corolla is fairly open, the anthers wither, and are coiled up at the base of the flower. After the hairs on the style have nearly all disappeared, and the pollen which they held has been removed, or has turned brown in decay, the stigmas separate at the top, and ex- pose the sensitive surface. For each flower to be self- fertilizing, this plan is a perfect failure. Bees are willing agents here, as in other instances, alighting first on the stigmas of the oldest flowers, which are farthest down the stem, and then passing up to others which are younger. Besides collecting nectar at the bot- tom of the flower, they collect the pollen by scraping the style upon each side with their legs, and, when call- ing at the next flower, first strike the exposed stigmas, leaving a few little morsels as tribute for their bountiful supply. The flowers of the Mallow Family have numerous sta- mens, joined into a column or tube (monadelphous), through which the stigmas are protruded. My observa- tions on this family have been rather limited, but in the High Mallow (Malva sylvestris Linn.), the anthers all burst, and very littľe pollen remains about the flower, when the stigmas first come to the light, as brides too late for the marriage, for the bridegrooms have been carried away by the priests, and perhaps wedded to others. 408 AGENCY OF INSECTS IN FERTILIZING PLANTS. The fact once well established, that insects are neces- sary to fertilize plants, brings up some other interesting inquiries in reference to the origin of animals and plants. Some would probably say that plants, which now require the agency of insects, have arrived at their present form by a long series of gradual changes, and that before the - proper insects were created they were capable of self- fertilization. Others may say that the plants of this structure were created later than those capable of self- propagation, and upon which the insects could subsist for atime. Another plan can, however, be devised, as they are alike useful to each other. “As the bow unto the cord is,” they may have been called into existence at the same time, the flowers to secrete nectar for the insects, and the insects to fertilize the flowers. Were Dr. Watts again alive, and should some one tell him these facts of science, he might well exclaim, as the Queen of Sheba did ‘to King Salaah, ‘Behold the half was not told me.” He gave us but half the story, and that the one which teaches the least instructive lesson. It is now over two years since some one, I "a I knew his name, rung the change, — “ How doth the little busy bee, Impro ve each shining hour, By carrying ae day ed day, To fertilize eac The bees go buzzing through the air visiting flower after flower, not only to get their daily bread, but render an essential aid in perpetuating the existence of the very same plants which furnish them food. This furnishes another pertinent illustration of the mutual dependence of the animal and vegetable king- doms THE TARANTULA. BY G. LINCECUM, M. D. Tus very large hunter-spider makes its appearance in Texas some years as early as the twenty-fifth of May, generally, however, not earlier than the first days of June. They dwell in the ground in a hole, which they excavate themselves, about one inch in diameter, and six or eight inches deep, widening a little at the bottom. They make their nocturnal hunting excursions for some distance from the hole, returning to it early in the morning, and are occasionally seen walking out of evenings, and also in cloudy days. They would probably hunt their prey alto- gether by daylight, were it not for their dread of the great Pompilus formosus, or Tarantula Killer, their natu- ral enemy. Towards sunset, about the first of June, the Mygale Hentzii, or Tarantula, is often seen creeping along the narrow paths in the grassy woods, or in the prairies, searching for some kind of small game,— worms, grasshoppers, small lizards, anything they can kill, upon which they leap with great violence and wonderful agil- ity. I discovered one of their holes several years ago in my garden, and, looking into it, could see the eyes of the Tarantula glittering like coals of fire. I procured a large fat grub, and holding it near the mouth of the hole, the Tarantula instantly rushed out, and seized the grub With such violence as to startle me. I fed it daily for two weeks, and it consumed two large grubs each day. It became quite tame and much more decent in taking its meals from my hands. On going into the garden one evening, I met our large ted-winged Pompilus—it was also one of our pets, parad- AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 52 (409) 410 THE TARANTULA. ing about the house and yard—dragging my murdered Tarantula, which was as limber as a rag, out through the gate. She dragged the paralyzed victim to the dwelling- house, distant about fifty yards, and entombed it in her great cemetery under the floor, where she had already deposited many of its kindred. i I have been observing this spider as closely, consider- ing its nocturnal habits, as I could during the last twenty years. I have seen no nests, no webs, no eggs, nothing but a roughly-made hole seven or eight inches deep, car- ried down not quite perpendicularly, and widened a little at the bottom. I have examined many of these holes, and, except an occasional dead grasshopper, saw nothing in them that suggested the idea of a nest. These holes seem to be fortifications only, to protect them while they sleep from the incursions of their diurnal enemies. I have seen their young many times, always sticking among their stiff hairs, and clinging to their legs and body ; but where these young ones come from I am not prepared to explain, nor can I with my present experi- ence say, whether the Mygale Hentzii is viviparous Or oviparous. Its habit is to carry its young on its back until they are large enough to capture small insects for themselves, when it turns them off in some good hunt- ing-ground in such numbers that they would soon, if they could all come to maturity, monopolize the entire privi- leges of spiders on this little green globe. : Some of the ground spiders carry their eggs in a sack attached to the tip of their abdomen. One species makes nests with a trap-door to them. They are rare in this _ country. Ihave never seen any such contrivances about the hole of the Tarantula, nor have I ever seen it carryig an egg-sack. It may be possible that they keep such 4 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. 411 sack at the bottom of their hole, and, when the young hatch out, take them on their back and carry them about, as I have often seen them. I have, however, never discovered any such egg-sack, though I dug out many of their holes. It may be that I did not dig them up at the proper time to find their eggs. They are too filthy when confined, or I would send you a live one. Two or three species of Mygale carry a sack well filled with eggs, attached to the tip of their abdomen; and when the young ones hatch out, they take them on their backs and carry them like the Mygale Hentzii. There is one species of the family that constructs an exceedingly curious gossamer nest in a hole in the ground. It first digs the hole about six inches deep, and then lines it thickly to the bottom with a very fine white web, finishing it with a cunningly wrought and very neatly fitting trap- door, having hinges and a string to fasten it on the in- side. This type of spiders is very rare in Middle Texas. THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. BY EDWARD S. MORSE. (Continued from page 315.) WE continue our descriptions of New England Land Snails, with a species very common in certain portions of — the West and South, though of very rare occurrence in New England. Hewrx suppressa Say. (Fig. 25.) Shell thin and pellucid; yellowish horn-color, polished ; Fig 25. Spire flat. Whorls six, closely revolving; O Tea suture distinct; lip simple, thickened with- in. Base of shell rather convex; near the aperture 412 THE LAND SNAILS opaque, and yellowish white. Umbilicus absent, or hardly apparent in adult specimens. Within the aper- ture on the outer lip are one or two long thin teeth. Diameter of shell about one-fourth of an inch. Animal bluish black, upper tentacles long and delicate. A mi- nute slit on the extremity of the body exudes mucus freely when the snail is crawling. This species can at once be distinguished from all the others to be described, by the peculiar teeth in the aper- ture. Common in the Middle States and Ohio. It has been found in the extreme western part of Connecticut. Mr. W. G. Binney states that he has generally found them in open fields at the roots of grass, and not under decaying » stumps and rotten bark. Heux concava Say. (Figs. 26,27.) Shell de- pressed, whitish horn-color. Whorls five, flattened Figs. 26,27. above, rounded below; suture very dis- eo tinct. Umbilicus wide and deep, reveal- ) ing all the volutions to the apex. Aper- ture rounded, slightly flattened above. ‘ss Usual diameter one-half an inch. im L} grayish, disk dusty white, with reddish dis- 7 O colorations. Found in nearly every State Ww inthe Union; quite rare in New England. This species is peculiar in its habits. It lives in wage dark woods, and is a regular cannibal in its propensities. Its body is long, slender, and worm-like. Its jaw has 4 sharp projecting point to cut and tear its prey, and the teeth on the tongue are unusually long and pointed, a> well adapted to subserve its rapacity. It lives on the flesh of other snails. With its long and slender body; it insinuates its head into the aperture of the shell, the inmate of which it is about to devour. The victim with- i OF NEW ENGLAND. 413 draws far within the shell, but in vain. Its enemy slowly approaches, and the hapless victim having no barrier to interpose, nor any line of retreat open, is actually de- voured bit by bit. We remember collecting a lot of rare snails in the backwoods of Maine. W hiig to study them, they were unsuspectingly placed in a box of moist earth containing a few specimens of our cannibal snail. Imagine our sétonishtodnt and indignation on examining the box a few days after, and finding our special rarities completely destroyed, only a few empty shells remain- ing as tokens of the cannibal feast. We could almost see the murderers smacking their slimy chops and begging for more. Other species are known which possess this desire for animal food, and the collector in France oftentimes se- cures a goodly number of specimens by placing a piece of fresh meat in the woods, the odor of the meat attract- ing certain species; for snails apparently possess, in a considerable degree, the faculty of smell, and will, with nice discrimination; select from a parcel of leaves those most succulent and agreeable. . INDENTATA Say. (Fig. 28.) Shell flattened, thin, pellucid, highly polished, whitish, sometimes pink- ish. Whorls four, rapidly enlarging, Fig. 28. With regular impressed lines radiating from the suture, reaching nearly to the aC, base of the shell. Lip sapie, extending to the centre of the shell at its base. Umbilicus absent, though its region is indented. Diameter of shell nearly one-fi of an inch. Animal bluish black. Inhabits deep woods in the Northern, Middle, and Western States. This beau- tiful species is not common. It can readily be distin- guished from allied species by its closed umbilicus. 414 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. We refer our readers to the early papers on this sub- ject in this Magazine, where an explanation of the terms used in these descriptions may be found. The brevity of these papers is owing to their being intended principally for, those who are making, or wish to make collections in this entertaining branch of natural history, and are offered as guides to them. Hopes are entertained that others may be led to form collections, from the brief hints thrown out respecting the hiding- places of these almost obscure animals. Many who spend their leisure time in solving illustrated riddles, and de- rive, as the result of their labor, simply an answer, would find that the expenditure of half the brain-work, if ap- plied to the identification of the fruits of a day’s ramble in the woods, would furnish not only a healthier intellec- tual enjoyment, but, with proper training, lead to an endless pleasure in the contemplation of the boundless wealth of creation. St. Augustine has truthfully written that “every species of animal has beauties peculiar to itself. The more man considers them, the more they engage him to adore the Author of Nature, who has made everything in wisdom, who has subjected everything to His power, and whose goodness governs the whole.” ~~ THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. BY BURT G. WILDER, M. D. Narvrat History is not now the simple thing it was acentury ago. Leaving out of view the two great depart- ments of Botany and Mineralogy, it then consisted of & = American Naturalist. Vol. I. PL 11. Fig. 2. THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 415 limited and superficial acquaintance with the habits and external appearance of the few known animals; how few these were, as compared with those we now know, may be seen from this, that, in 1748, Linnzeus enumerated two hundred and eighty different kinds of fish; at the present time, the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Cambridge, Mass., contains over nine thousand species of that class, about twenty-two hundred of which were collected in the late Thayer Expedition to Brazil. So impossible is it for any one person to gain a thor- ough knowledge of all animals, that we find men Sevging ; years, their lives almost, to the study of a single species ;* while it is daily becoming more and more apparent, that in order to advance or even to keep up in modern sci- ence, each must devote himself principally to a few branches of Natural History To show how far this division of labor has already ex- tended, take the single department of Comparative Anat- omy, which embraces the following lines of study: 1. The anatomy of a single species apúdasů by itself; as Anthropotomy, or kinai anatomy; Hippotomy, the anatomy of the horse, ete. When this kind of study is extended to the microscopic investigation of the struc- ture of tissues, it is called Histology. 2. One or more Species may be traced in their development and growth from their beginning as an egg to the adult condition, —this is Embryology. 3. We may enlarge our concep- tion of the plan of creation, by comparing with the ani- mals which now live the fossil remains of those which *For ee 2 dren pou descriptive mes of te text anda laze folio atlas atlas pre ete 845, compris quarto Hy ment sear 3 t tr t igamen “ Traité ae) et Sea of only th he bones, de cong *darva of the yore or Cossus tigniperda), by Pierr A Fibs a quarto of 615 pages and eighteen 416 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. existed in past ages, this constituting the science of Palæ- ontology. 4. Then comes Physiological Anatomy, which treats of organs in reference to their functions; and, lastly, there is what is called Homology, in which parts and organs are considered, not according to their size, or shape, or the specific functions which they perform, since these vary greatly in different species, but accord- ing to their essential structure and their connections with other parts; these last are called morphological charac- _ ters, and they alone are sufficiently constant to serve as the basis of zodlogical classification. This branch of anatomy is generally followed with a view of determining and comparing corresponding or homologous organs in different animals, but the same methods may be employed in another way, which has been in existence for hardly a century, and for which no name has yet been fully ac- cepted ; it consists in the determination and comparison of corresponding parts in different regions of the same indi- vidual. To illustrate the distinction between these two kinds of Homology, by reference to familiar objects, the former would compare the foremast of one ship with that of an other, and note their difference in the size and proportion of the various pieces; while the latter would compare the foremast with the mainmast of the same ship, pointing out their resemblance, and the differences in the length of the various pieces. It is to this latter kind of anatomy that I propose to call attention, and have chosen for a subject an orga? which, though small, is most comprehensive, gathering within its grasp far more than can be illustrated in this short article, —the Hand. It is a time-honored theme, and he stands in great dan- THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 417 ger of repetition who takes for his subject a part of our corporeal frame, concerning which there has been written by men of science, preached by divines, and even sung by poets, more than of any other organ, excepting, perhaps, the eye. He would indeed be most presuming who should, without the reputation and consciousness of most pro- found knowledge, undertake to more than express his concurrence in what has been already said concerning the beauty of form, the complexity of structure, the marvel- lous skill, and the wonderful diversity of function which characterize the human hand. There is, however, a view of the subject to which little attention has been paid by those who have treated it, but a correct idea of which is really essential to the fullest appreciation of the wonders so eloquently set forth by Sir Charles Bell,* and by anatomists generally,—a view in which the human band, while furnishing to the student of final causes, to the teleologist, his most perfect illustration of the adaptation of means to desired ends, becomes to the morphologist, to the student of unity of type under diver- sity of form and function, a fruitful source of anxiety, and even, as will be seen, of serious error. So widely spread and so deeply rooted is this error, and so almost wholly is it due to the peculiar structure and endowments of the hand, that we are justified in drawing a comparison between it and that other organ whereof the Apostle wrote, —“Even so the tongue is a little member. . .. . It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” Now it is evident that by tongue in this connection is by no means indicated the mere anatomical organ which all vertebrates carry in the floor of the mouth, composed of certain muscles, supported by certain bones, and sup- a the Hand sPreauise hi AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 53 418 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. plied with nerves of motion and of sensation. We are indeed right in applying the name tongue to the fleshy pad in the mouth of the fish, to the prehensile fly-catcher of the chameleon, to the barbed harpoon of the wood- pecker, and the glutinous snare of the ant-eater, thus re- cognizing in a cold, scientific way, their anatomical or morphological identity with the corresponding organ in the human body. But this last alone is used as a synonym for language ; it alone is the facile medium of ideas, as well as of sensations; it alone has entered the service of an immortal soul, and is characteristic of man. So with the hand. We recognize the same bones which form our upper limb (Fig. 1) in the foreleg of the quadruped (Fig. 2), in the wing of the bird and of the bat (Fig. 3), in the flipper of the seal (Fig. 4), and still more strikingly in the so-called arm of the ape (Fig. 5); and though the forefoot of the bear is merely a paw when supporting his ungainly bulk upon the earth, yet when it is flourished in the air as he sits erect upon his haunches, we are glad to escape the blow of what is then admitted to be a tolerable imitation of a hand.* And yet it is not really such ; for if the presence of a thumb, capable of being opposed to the tips of any or all the fingers, is the distinguishing feature of a hand, we shall look for it in vain throughout the whole animal kingdom below man; for even in the gorilla the first digit, though strong, is short, and reaches only to the knuckle of the forefinger (Fig. 6), while in many of the lower monkies it is alto- gether wanting, and when present in quadrupeds is so in- timately connected with the other digits as to have no independent motion. We may assume, then, that the tongue and the hand, * As in Pliny, 8. 36. 54. THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 419 not in the anatomical or morphological, but in the func- tional or teleological sense, are the really characteristic organs of man, corresponding with his peculiar endow- ments of rationality in thought, and freedom in action ; and so it is not a little significant that to these same or- gans alone, which, being the most capable of good, are, by perversion, the most potent for evil, can the term un- ruly properly be applied. For they are, either singly or together, the chief ground of discussion as to “man’s place in nature,” showing him to be a most unruly mem- _ber of the animal kingdom; they are the agents of the individual in becoming an unruly member of society, and they are, or represent, those regions of the body whose relations to other parts have ever caused the greatest trouble among the students of Philosophical Anatomy.* Leaving to the zodlogist, the moralist, and the histo- rian, the consideration of their respective claims to the “bad preéminence,” and confining our attention to one of them, it may also be said that not only is the hand, as a whole, the main element in the discussion to which I have referred, but that the very heat and fierceness of the strife has always centred upon the most character- istic part of this characteristic organ of humanity,—the umb. But it is asked, What is this terrible discussion all about, and what is the matter with our hands, and espec- ially with our thumbs? In brief, a careful study of the anterior limbs of verte- brate animals having shown that all are built upon one general plan, but varied in form and proportion to suit *See the various and diverse theories of the skull, especially th stig ones of Meig " etype and gap ee me the pareden Ske ton; Report of the tia ka Aebcenatiee foe “ Elements of Comparative my.” 420 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. the special needs of man, of the beast, the bird, and the reptile, and a like survey of the posterior limbs having shown the same to be the case with them (Figs. 7, 8, 9), so that they all present different degrees of homology or morphological relationship, our anatomical pioneers have conceived that a similar correspondence prevails between the anterior and posterior limbs themselves; so that not only is the shoulder, at one end of the body, merely a repetition of the pelvis at the other, but the arm as far as the elbow is seen in the thigh with the knee, the fore- arm in the leg, the wrist in the ankle-joint, and the hand, alas, in the foot, —* Pes altera manus.” * ut here, in extremitatum extremis, humanity rebels. Science has gone far enough in proving that, for purposes of rational comparison and anatomical inquiry, man must assume a horizontal position on all-fours like a beast, 80 _ . that his arms and legs become mere “anterior and poste- rior extremities ;” after which degradation he can indeed arise and resume the attitude proper to the lord of crea- tion. But to his upper and nobler parts this last come parison is most odious. They entreat us with clasped hands, they threaten us with clenched fist; they would flee from the threatened contamination ; they would sit in sullen scorn at the degrading fellowship: but neither active or passive resistance is possible without the aid of the despised member, and so by slow degrees it is grant- ed that the ‘ium (Fig. 7 1) does look very like a scapula (Fig. 1 s); that the femur, or thigh-bone (£), bears 4 wonderful resemblance to the humerus, or bone of the arm (m) ; that the knee-pan (P) is quite as exposed a part as the elbow; and that, perhaps, the taper forearm is only 3 *These are the closing words of the first treatis this subject, —a paper by Felix Vieq d’Aryr. . Œuvres akaa M de 305, Vi L IV. p. 37. Mems. dela Academie Royale des Sciences, T94. | 0 0mh eee THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 421 better view of the “calf” of the leg; but as for admit- ting between the hand, — ee hia In whose comparison all white iiie ing mor wy bg sinters to ‘whose sof seizure Hard as the palm of ploughman Wey any equality whatever with the foot, which is so ugly that here, as well as at the antipodes, the bootmaker’s skill and our own endurance are taxed to their utmost to force it into proper shape; this is too much, and not to be allowed. And here it may be added that the foot presents, in this respect, a contrast with the hand, not only physical, but, as it were, metaphysical; for it is plain, honest, and inoffensive, and, though much abused, shows no dispo- sition to become an unruly member. In ancient times, indeed, warriors did cut off the great toes as well as the — thumbs of their captives, but the toes are the only part of the body thrown into disuse by modern civilization, while the fingers are cherished and exalted to the highest de- gree. The foot is the hand’s poor relation, and, though not ambitious to share its high offices which nevertheless it has often shown itself pabi of discharging to an as- tonishing degree, yet claims, and justly too, its right in the family name. But no; the haughty hand heeds not the humble foot, and at length, with the single warning, that, in case any remote cousinship is proved between them, the thumb has sworn to admit into his society only the great toe, which, like himself, has but two joints, and in the ape (Fig. 10) does bear him some slight resemblance, distressed hu- manity resigns the whole affair to the comparative anato- mist. And now, after a hundred years of controversy, 422 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. ‘comparative anatomy presents her report, admitting with shame, that, in spite of their meagre number, scarce two of her votaries can agree upon any one point, and that only two or three have ventured to disregard the above- mentioned threat on the part of the thumb. It will be seen, however, that while thus heeding the wish of that powerful constituent of the more aristocratic mem- ber, there has been a general though tacit recognition of the good conduct and sobriety displayed by its humbler representative, so that, with one notable exception,* the lower limb has been left unmolested, while the more pre- tentious arm has suffered all the pangs of dislocation, misplacement, twisting, and compound fracture, as the consequence of the thumb’s stubborn pride. A brief sketch of such portions of the controversy as best illustrate the unruly character of the hand, it is my purpose to lay before the reader in succeeding articles. EXPLANATION OF FIGURES ON PLATE 11. In all the figures, S denotes the Scapula, or shoulder-blade; I. the shin or chief bone of the pelvis; H, the Humerus, or bone of the upper F, the Femur, or thigh bone, the corresponding bone of the leg; O, the Olecranon process, which forms the tip of the elbow; P, the Patella, or knee-pan; U, the Uina, or inner bone of the forearm; T, the Tibia, or inner bone of the leg; R,the Radius, or outer bone of the fore- arm, which supports the thumh when there is one; and Fi, the Fibula, or outer bone of the leg. The hand and foot are easily distinguished in all the limbs; but Po, indicates the Pollex, or thumb, and Ha, the Hallex, or great toe. ig. 1. Arm of Man, as it is when we get down upon “all-fours.” Fig. 2. Foreleg of Tapir; it has no thumb, and is, of course, mavh thicker and stronger, but otherwise corresponds quite closely with __Fig. 3. Wing of the Bat. The scapula is very small, but the other Co ee PeBe. T small, but the TTY in twain Which both thumb and great toe are considered too large, and are split lesser fingers: ooTesPOnd, the one to the two lesser toes, pey A other to the two THE CLOTHES-MOTH. 423 especially the fingers, are very long and slender, to support the meh g ig. 4. Foreleg or ca of Seal; the bones are in great con- trast with the last, but the same parts are represented. Fig. sindap which has no thumb. Fig. 6. Hand of the Gorilla; the thumb smaller than in man. Fig. 7. Leg of Man. Fig. Hind leg of Tapir. Fig. 9. Hind leg of Alligator In these three nam it is mit to trace the corresponding bones, as in Figs. 1, 2, 3, Fig. 10. Foot of Gorilas the great toe very large, and standing off from the others like By comparing ote ‘ 2, and 4, with Figs. 7, 8, and 9, one can SAS gs =] so that the three figures on one side are, to those on the o ight arms to peri left arms; they are symmetrical. <> THE CLOTHES-MOTH. BY A. S. PACKARD, JÈ., M. D. For over a fortnight we once enjoyed the company of the caterpillar of a common Clothes-moth. It is a little pale, delicate worm (Fig. Fig-3. Fis.2. Fig. 1. 1), about the size of a « darning needle, not half an inch long, with a pale horn- colored head, the ring next the head being of the same color, and has sixteen feet, the first six of them well developed and constantly in use to draw the slender body in and out of its case. Its head is armed with a formidable pair of jaws, with which, like a scythe, it mows its way through thick and thin. 424 THE CLOTHES-MOTH. But the case is the most remarkable feature in the his- tory of this caterpillar. Hardly has the helpless, tiny worm broken the egg, previously laid in some old gar- ment of fur, or wool, or perhaps in the hair-cloth of a sofa, when it proceeds to make a shelter by cutting the woolly fibres or soft hairs up into bits, which it places at each end in successive layers, and, joining them to- gether by silken threads, constructs -a cylindrical tube (Fig. 2) of thick, warm felt, lined within with the finest silk the tiny worm can spin. The case is hardly round, but flattened slightly in the middle, and contracted a little just before each end, both of which are always kept open. The case before us is of a stone-gray color, with a black stripe along the middle, and with rings of the same color round each opening. Had the caterpillar fed on blue or yellow cloth, the case would, of course, have been of those colors. Other cases, made by larve which had been eating “cotton wool,” were quite irregular in form, and covered loosely with bits of cotton thread, which the little tailor had not trimmed off. Days go by. A vigorous course of dieting on its feast of wool has given stature to our hero. His case has grown uncomfortably small. Shall he leave it and make another?—-No housewife is more prudent and saving. Out come those scissor-jaws, and, lo! a fearful rent along each side of one end of the case. Two wedge-shaped ‘ patches mend the breach ,—caterpillar retires for a mo- ment; reappears at the other end; scissors once more pulled out; two rents to be filled up by two more patches or gores, and our caterpillar once more breathes freer, laughs and grows fat upon horse hair and lamb’s wool. Tn ae way he enlarges his case till he stops growing. Our caterpillar seeming to be full-grown, and hence out THE CLOTHES-MOTH. 425 of employment, we cut the end of his case half off. Two or three days after, he had mended it from the inside, drawing the two edges together by silken threads, and, though he had not touched the outside, yet so neatly were the two parts joined together that we had to search for some time, with a lens, to find the scar. To keep our friend busy during the cold, cheerless weather, for it was in mid-winter, we next cut a third of the case off entirely. Nothing daunted, the little fellow bustled about, drew in a mass of the woolly fibres, filling up the whole mouth of his den, and began to build on afresh, and from the inside, so that the new-made portion was smaller than the rest of the case. The creature worked very slowly, and the addition was left in a rough, unfinished state. We could easily spare these voracious little worms hairs enough to serve as food, and to afford material for the con- struction of their paltry cases ; but that restless spirit that ever urges on all beings endowed with life and the power of motion, never forsakes the young Clothes-moth for a moment. He will not be forced to drag his heavy case over rough hairs and furzy wool, hence he cuts his way through with those keen jaws. Thus, the more he travels, the more mischief he does. er taking his fill of this sort of life he changes to a pupa (Fig. 3), and soon appears as one of those delicate, tiny, but richly variegated moths that fly in such num- bers from early in the spring until the fall. Very many do not recognize these moths in their per- feet stage, so small are Aiea and vent their wrath on those great millers that fly around lamps in warm sum- ' mer evenings. It need scarcely be said that these large millers are utterly Jopu of any attempts upon our AMERICAN NAT., VOL. 426 THE CLOTHES-MOTH. wardrobes, they expend their attacks in a more open form on our gardens and orchards. We will give a more careful description of the Clothes- moth which was found in its different stages June 12th in a mass of cotton-wool. The larva is white, with a tolerably plump body, which tapers slightly towards the tail, while the head is much of the color of gum-copal. The rings of the body are thickened above, especially on the thoracic ones, by two transverse thickened folds. It is one-fifth of an inch long. The body of the chrysalis, or pupa, is considerably curved, with the head smooth and rounded. The long antennæ, together with the hind legs, which are folded along the breast, reach to the tip of the hind body, on the upper surface of each ring of which is a short transverse row of minute spines, which aid the chrysalis in moving towards the mouth of its case, just before the moth ap- pears. At first the chrysalis is whitish, but just before the exclusion of the moth becomes of the color of varnish. When about to cast its pupa-skin, the skin splits open on the back, and the perfect insect glides out. The act is so quickly over with, that the observer has to look sharp to observe the different steps in the operation. Our common Clothes-moth, Tinea flavifrontella (Fig: 4), is of an uniform light-buff color, with a silky irides- Fig-4. cent lustre, the hind wings and abdomen being a little paler. The head is thickly tufted with hairs and is a little tawny, and the upper side of the densely hirsute feelers (palpi) is dusky- The wings are long and narrow, with the most beautiful _ and delicate long silken fringe, which increases in length- towards the base of the wing. They begin to fly in May, and last all through the sea- THE CLOTHES-MOTH. 427 son, fluttering with a noiseless, stealthy flight in our apart- ments, and laying their eggs in our woollens. There are several allied species which have much the same habits, except that they do not all construct cases, but eat carpets, clothing, articles of food, grain, etc., and objects of natural history. Successive broods of the Clothes-moth appear through the summer. In the autumn they cease eating, retire within their cases, and early in spring assume the chrys- alis state. Careful housewives are not much afflicted with these — pests. The slovenly and thriftless are overrun with them. Early in June woollens and furs should be carefully dusted, shaken, and beaten. Dr.T. W. Harris states that “pow- dered black pepper, strewed under the edge of carpets, is said to repel moths. Sheets of paper sprinkled with Spirits of turpentine, camphor in coarse powder, leaves of tobacco, or shavings of Russia leather, should be placed. among the clothes when they are laid aside for the summer ; and furs and other small articles can be kept by being sewed in bags with bits of camphor wood, ~ red cedar, or of Spanish cedar; while the cloth lining of carriages can be secured forever from the attacks of moths by being washed or sponged on both sides with a solution of the corrosive sublimate of mercury in alcohol, made just strong enough not to leave a white stain on a black feather.” The moths can be most readily killed by pouring benzine among them, though its use must much restricted from the disagreeable odor which remains. The recent experiments made with Carbolic acid, how- ever, convinces us that this will soon take the place of all other substances as a preventive and destroyer of nox- ious insects. REVIEWS. toe THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHLOEON (Ephemera) DIMIDIATUM. By Sir John Lubbock. Parts I. II.. From the Transactions of the Linnean Society, London. Vol. XXV. 4to, 1866. One of the most interesting discoveries in ‘entomology is the fact that the May-fly, or periei during its development from the time of leaving the egg up to maturity, moults its skin nineteen times before leaving the water, and once afterwards on arriving at the winged state. All the books teach that there are three distinct states of the in- not fixed and absolute. In the beetle or butterfly, the grub or cater- pillar certainly seems very distinct from the chrysalis. But we have in the collection of the Essex Institute a series illustrating the trans- formations of the caterpillar into the pupa or chrysalis, which show to the student. There is also a gradual change of form from the pupa to the imago or perfect state, which most observers have not noticed. The writer has shown* that the Humble-bee, before reaching the winged state, Saar at least ten times, and probably a emery num- ber. The bee-state is reached by a very gradual change of form. The newly hatched sake differs but slightly in appearance from ie pekom embryo just before hatching. The worm-like larva merges gradually to th i s almost ible to say absolutely keg is pupa and which imago, from the inspection of specimens before u _— metamorphosis İS Tint a pih and evolution of had to speak, at certain intervals to adapt it to certain modes or stron of life. In those ee ee - __ *Observations ‘on the Development and Position of the H era, with notes on = of _ Mepptoloay oie Insects. s. bya. B. Paci „Packard, jr. From the of the Boston 5>- (428) REVIEWS. 429 insects which are active nf the preparatory et ok and have the same abits in maturity as in the larva and pupa stage, such as the grass- hopper and its allies, = pdas are slow, and the metamorpho- sis slightly marked.. In the butterfly and bee, however, whose life is so distinct in the perfect state, from the caterpillar or grub, the changes are rapid, though gradual, and strongly marked. They are not Perhaps due so much to immediate physical agencies, as to the plan We must look deeper than si agency of sind causes in the pro- duction of the various forms of life. In endeavoring to solve the problem of life and its manifestations man may advance in knowledge without actually grasping the tru The th n vogue, oe patai by Lamarck or Darwin, o tter.. We must still wait patiently, and meanwhile observe, experi ment, and reflect, and thus continue to question nature until she yields La cone. rep foll i ks on the metamorphoses of insects, with the author’s general conclusions : — larve of insects are generally regarded as being nothing more than immature io tinea in the development of the egg into the imago; and th this niin more es- pecially blance in form ting of course so far as relat es to the wings) to the Perfect insects, ee Nevertheless, we see e that this would be a very incomplete view of the case. The larva and pupa undarg o changes Which have no relation to the form which they will ultimately assume, Wit of wings, to this goal, there are combined other changes bearing reference only to their existing wants and monan., Nor is th External circumstances act on the “ecg in its susim states as well as in its perfect condition. Those who believe t f great, though gradual, he influ- ence of cag conditions, whe ether acting, pas Mr. ‘Darwin has suggested, through natu- ral neenon or in any other manner, to the mature animal. And it is evident that creatures which, like the majority of insects, live during different periods of y may undergo tion, in consequence of forces acting on on their larval condition, no not, in E dina: sek a a geak to any corresponding extent, their ultimate form. that is to say, +h +t 4 terpillar its diffe from the butterfiy to the early stage at which it leaves the se g; but its ac fl w IL p: 112, 430 REVIEWS. den and abrupt nature of the changes spes ch insects undergo. Isay“ Semra oe cause the changes in the internal organs, though rapid, are in reality gradual; and e - a — serernal form, tho: ou, pre = metamorphosis ad take fi a few sere be re, of the curtain; and the n , perhaps, weeks before. Swammerdam, indeed, supposed (and his view was ado opte ed by Kirby and Spence) that the tear contained within itself “t of the future butterfly, enclosed in what will be t ase of which is itself cae in the three or more skins, one over the other, that will herpes cover the a.” This is entirely a mistake; e osai if yod exam mine a shortly belie k becomes a pupa, you bee find biae the skin ithi y be traced. In the e mann you ex- min t to disclose the butterfly, you will pies chee: piian soft oe and “imperfect, reg still easily re ae coment eh g more or less loosely within the kin. ‘Oat fundam maa -e between an insect haar a vertebrate —- is, — i scles ny man He ence the necessity for the hard and horny dermal investment of skeleton, in oea, no se skeleton exists. They have no bones, and their muscles are ed Enr S n skin. Moreover the result is, that without a change of skin a dn of form is impossible. The citi, or horny substance, forming the outside of an insect, is formed by a layer of cells "e benea th it, and, once formed, cannot be altered. From this it follows, that May AUCO p anied a change of skin. In some « as for instance in Chloeon, silts change of skin is a tinned 1l change of form, and thus the perfect insect is more or less gradually evolved. tn others, as for instance in Cate llars, several changes skin take place aben any alteration of form, and the change, instead of being roa over many, is confined to the two moults, ory litt} im The mouth of the Caterpillar is provided with a pair of strong jaws, fitted to eat leaves; and the digest- ive organs are adapted for this kind of food. On the contrary, the mouth of the butterfly is suctorial; it has a long proboscis, beau- indeed, only an embarrassment to the larva. Th ive o ted for assimilation, not aia but of honey. Now it is evident that if the mouth-parts of the larva were gradually metamorphosed into those of the perfect insect, through a num- ber of small changes, EPER in the mean time be unable to feed, and liable to poran of starvation in the midst o of plen whic the changes are gradual, the mouth of te so-called larva resembles that of the poe insect, and th = Simil: id sb ri PER + 1. etate— o E voni pupa state iod of d like qui which mis one of the most striking ch teristics of insect-metamorphosis. The comparative q of the pupa is mainly nwin e. +h mts _ In n the'chrysalis of a butterfly, for instance, not only, bond has been already mentioned, ee ation: and even chao if they were in a condition fay ourable to patios py gassing gen or the oneal eee are regulated, is also in astate of such rapid change that it - The conclusi th which T think A h dine and other con- si ore id J afoul P ee siderations, are: — g Ist. That the o 1ce of me > MEP Se e a i > ska oondition That the i a a riginal vermi- originar v frm pes depenas in grent measure on the conditions in which it teak The REVIEWS. 431 forces acting upon it are different from those which affect the mature form; and thus changes are Aisy in the young which have reference to its immediate wants, rather than to its fina 3rd. That iian may therefore be divided Paes two kinds, developmental and adaptational. 4th. The apparent abruptness of the changes which insects undergo arises in great — from the hardness of elr skin, which permits no gratual alveration: of form, and ee aor ‘oft the miia or chrysalis depends on the rapidity of the changes oris 6th. Alth ng jority tsg gh th vell the egg, still a 1 b i ity tl gh hat indefinite number of slight ch ith. When xternal organs arrive at this final form before the organs of osd tion are S these changes are known as me ae cake het ge the secs the organs of reproduction are functionally perfect before th the creature has the power of budding, Da the oak is known as i e generation: Insects present every gradation, fi impl th to alternation of g ti 8th. Thus, bl from the si certain animals leave the egg at a very ane oge “or dotia and that the inae forces acting on the young are different from those which — * the e mat nre re form 9th. phism of the mature form which we find, for instance, in ants and bees; it would therefore oe to distinguish it by a different name; and I have ventured to suggest the rms Dicidiom and Polyel dism I ‘kabl of generations the ee is agamic in the one fi This is because impregnation — the -erinan — of external and inter: nal organs; and if the phenomenon gribes, al "on been ex Eya Actes qere cannot take place, 4 — reproduction will only roonlt pa those pe VISION OF THE FossiL H or NORTH America. I. Cra- _bronide and Nyssoni iain By A. 8. Packard, Jr., M. D. From the oceedings of the Entomological Society. Philadelphia, 1866-67. This work treats of the classification of a large group of the fosso- or digging wasps. It contains descriptions of nearly all the genera and species known to inhabit North America. The species, as well as the genera of the digging wasps, are difficult to identify ; but with the detailed descriptions of the genera here given, and the synoptical table of the species, the work of identification has been rendered com- paratively easy. The names of species not seen by the author | are added of which. one new genus and fifty-eight new species are The family characters are discussed at length, and there are a few cto their zodlogical characters, and geograp phical distribution. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. BOTANY. RBARIUM FOR SALE.— The collection of the Swiss botanist, the late n fi r sale at the Jardin des Plantes, i Paris. This collection is of inestimable value, and embraces the E ea The author has worked upon it with rare pa- from whom this information is derived, believes the Herbarium to be awe at the low price of 30,000 francs. Propositions from those wishing purchase would be gladly entertained. Parties may address (post-paid) Dr. HENRI DE Saussure, Genthod, près Genève, Suisse. RN NEW TO OUR Fiora.—I enclose a specimen of a fern yas in July, in shaded wh i Berlin Falls, N. H., which I judge to be Aspidium fragrans Sw. (Gray’s Manual, p. 598). As this fern is mentioned as occurring only in Wisconsin or high northward, the remarkable that bare plant has not been before detected in so frequent- eS a locality. found Aspidium aculeatum in a place called “the Gulch,” about oe miles from Gorham village; but this I believe has previously been “soni in the mountains. This gulch is an interesting place, where ice remains during the summer, and I regret that I had not time to ex- = i horoughiy engaged chiefly in looking for lichens, aia I found, at ad ees an interesting plant, Biatora lucida, which is p new to the White Mountain region. This pretty lichen is quite com- mon giving it a very lively pencapnace, This lichen, I be- NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 433 lieve, does not usualy occur so far from the coast.” —H. WILLEY, New _. Mr. H. o whom we ve rotted the specimen, says, ‘‘ The fern (Aspidium ales Sw.) which Mr. H. Willey sends, is from quite a before on this side of the sara River (where it is quite common), e hundred miles farther north AT THORNLESS Form or THE Honey Locust Tree.—I have been for the last three months watching a cluster of four Honey Locust and that new wood that might grow this spring ies have thorns them. Is it something unusual, or are they sometimes thornless ?—J. Hugues Hunt, Harrison mls: Ohio. A very obscure form without thorns, which by some is supposed to be a new species, has been known to exist in the Western States. — Eps. f Monstrous Roszs.—There is a small rose-bush in oe ape Which bears flowers called “very double.” Every summer, some of the blossoms send up a column or continuation of Ca lees from the middle of the flower. This column, after running up straight for an inch, branches off and bears buds, which develop into small tance, I cou single ewes. Another plant, in the same yard, this year produced a Monstrosity a little different bate the one above ABORT 6 8 The cup Was very shallow and of thin texture. The points of the calyx were More leaf-like than common, one of the rie pete. five leaflets, another four, another ens another two, and the other only one. In- Side this calyx or whorl of leaves were plenty of petals, a few sta- Mens, but the pistils were united into a column about half an inch long, tah as large as the stem below the flower. This column had Small prickles on two Pecan and towards the top were some petals, colored on one edge, and green on the other, with fringes imitating leaflets on the green edge. At the top of the column appear five leaves, with stipules and leaflets in perfect condition. These are ex- amples going to prove that “the blossom is a sort of branch, and its AN NAT., VOL. I. 55 434 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. ‘parts men and ‘‘that the receptacle of a flower is of the nature of the stem.” See reed s Botanical Text-Book, p. 230.—W. J. BEAL, Union Shing eN. IDENTIFICATION OF LICHENS BY A CHEMICAL Test.—The Rev. W. A. Leighton continues his series of papers on this subject in the “Annals.” He has lately given a notice of the A Comans essay which is found so useful, is that of hydrate of potash, which in certa cases produces a yellow color, whilst in others there is no reaction, or only a slight fuscescence. In no case, says Mr. Leighton, is the reac- tion of greater utility than in the difficult tribe of Cladonie, that crux the ampere ea and forms which may resemble each other xternal character. — Quarterly Journal of Science, parka ——oe———— ZOOLOGY. THE Birrern.—I notice in your August issue a letter from Mr. Endicott, in which he rather questions the accuracy of my account of the habits of the American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), page 405, Ornithology of New England. I am perfectly familiar with the meadows which Mr. Endicott refers serena there in the area of a hundred acres, and doubt if any other ver did. They seem to be most numerous in that locality in Daban about the time of Snipe-shooting, and doubtless are then on the passage from the north. So I do not think it strange that Mr. Endicott has never met with many of the nests. But we cannot SREY the habits of a species from individual cases, we Mnai gene- wea i Bittern, as a general thing, in New England, judging from the observation of the majority of my a and correspondents, and my Own, oftener nests in bushes than on the ground, and in some locali- ties it gathers in communities, es and detached if you will, but still c es, not of course extensive heronries, such as we see among the Night Herons and others, but still heronries. _ Almost every nest that I ever saw or heard of was built in low NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 435 bushes or scrubby alders, usually overhanging the water. Sometimes anest is found placed on the ground, or rather in a tussock of grass, but in such instances the meadow or swamp is comparatively dry, and not subject to inundations. We cannot be too deliberate in forming conclusions on the habits of any animal, and our decisions must be made from numerous obser- vations. What would Mr. Endicott say if I should affirm that the Dusky Duck tage obscura) — which is oel a ground nester — builds in ae trees? yet Mr. George A. Boardman found one with her nest full f eggs in such a position; or that a Chipping Sparrow . (Spizella saa nests in bushes? I have known it to; or that the uffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) lays in deserted crow’s nests? I have heard of three instances; or that the Towhe Bunting (Pipilo meet nests inlow trees? it has been found to do so at uld say, and so would any one, that I should not judge ae one or two occurrences. — E. A. SAMUELS, Boston. EGGS or Inpigo Brrp.— Dr. T. W. Brewer, in the NATURAL- Ist for May, doubted that any a eggs of the Indigo Bird (Cyanospiza cyanea) have yet been found. I have several specimens Compare the eggs with your description, when I found that I had be- mace sent you some specimens marked in a similar manner. I think present set is rather more sprinkled than any I ever found.” — E. å. SAMUELS. UELS, Boston A SNAKE-LIKE CATERPILLAR. most extraordinary instance of imitation I ever met with [on the Amazon] was that of a very goal caterpillar, bra stretched itself from amidst the foliage of a tre wale e day examining, and startled me by its Piian to a small a e. The first three segments behind the head rs dilatable at the will of the insect, and had on each side a large b Pupilated spot, which resembled the eye of the reptile; it was a or Sonous or viperine species mimicked, and not an innocuous or colum- bine snake; this was proved by the imitation of keeled scales on the crawn, which was p recumbent feet, as the caterpillar 436 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. threw itself backward. The Rev. Joseph Greene, to whom I gave a description, a the insect to have belonged to the family ze odontide, many which have the habit of thus bending them- elves. I Sartied a the oo and alarmed every one in the sagi where I was then living, t hom I showed it. It unfortu- nately died before an pn the elin form. — H. W. BATES, Linnean Transactions, 1862, p. 5 HORNED Corypatus.—One of the largest and most formida- ble looking, though perfectly harmless, insects we have, is the Cory- ` dalus cornutus. Its large size, its broad net-veined wings and slow- and fens of Carboniferous times. It is probable that the Sialide, the ` family to which this insect belongs, were much more numerous in those early ages of the world’s history than now, as there are wide gaps between the genera, prani were the geological record com- plete, we could undoubtedly fill We do not yet know how oe io are laid by the parent, or their form er see Those of Sialis, an allied genus, are cylindrical, ter- minating at the top in a sudden point, and are at- tached, side by side, to sat with the greatest pene according to Wes The larva (Fig. 2) is broad ee fatte ned, with @ = on long, thick respiratory filaments attached side of each ring of the abdomen; and ws, insects, which it seizes in its powerful jaws- When of full size, it leaves wy stream or pool in which it has been living, and makes an earthen cell in the bank, in which e inactive pupa un- dergoes the rest of its transformations. Our figure insect resents the female. In the male, the jaws are nearly as long as the antennæ, and much like them in form, being very slender. BREEDING F THE PeLican.—In your August number ap- pears a statement of Mr. Beal in regard to the White Pelican cap’ in Cayuga county, in which he copies the following extract from Pro- fessor Baird’: t of the bird, in reference to its b z : 437 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. X THE HORNED CORYDALUS. 438 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. “ This species breeds in the fur countries, rape selecting inacces- sible places in the neighborhood of waterfalls.” From the above it it would seem that this bird only breeds in mths countries far to the New Found Harbor, in Indian River, Florida. They lay their eggs about the middle of May on the bare sand, making no nest whatso- ever. — CHARLES H. Nauman, Lancaster, Pa. GENERIC AND Speciric Names.—The scientific name of an animal or plant consists of mn names, the generic and specific, which are m name of the Lion, is Felis leo Linn. Felis is the name of the genus, and leo is the name of the species. Linn. stands for Linneus, being either the founder of the entire name, or the first one to describe the species scientifically. So also with the name Helix albolabris Say. Mr. Say was the first author to describe our common ee Snail belonging to the genus Helix, and species albolabri. ANALOGY AND Homotoey. — Anal is a resemblance in function ofabird. In this sense must be understood the comparison made by Oken, between the pupa, or chrysalis, of an insect, and a crustacean, such as the Shrimp. The resemblance is vague, but yet sufficiently apparent to many to enable the two things to be thus compared. ent. Thus the arm of man and a bird’s wing are said to be homolo- gous, since their anatomical To is fundamentally the same, though their uses are so differe THE AQUARIUM. —In the matter of cementing aquaria, I have had considerable experience. I have always found white lead of any kind bad. Isent to England and paid a good price for a “secret” cement of one of the leading dealers, but found it useless, as it contained white lead or litharge. The best cement is applied hot. Marine glue, when it can be got, would answer capitally ; but I have found a mix- : pre bottom. be scrubbed with sand internally, as is sometimes desirable. By far the best aquaria I ever saw were made by the well-known come C. E. Hammett, of Newport, R. I.— A. M. Epwakrps, New York NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY: 439 TEACHING OF NATURAL SCIENCE IN cata ScHooLs.—In a paper read before the British Associa tion, Rev. W. Farrar “expressed his conviction of the necessity and desirability 2 extensive education in physical science.” Dr. Hooker Hooniidersd chemistry as too rigid a properly opened to them. The habit of verification by experiment, and the consciousness of a power of prediction, were most important characters to implant in the mind; but this could only be done by a true and philosophic study.” 3 “att OF OBTAINING A NEW QUEEN BEE FROM WORKER-GRUBS. — Mr. Tegetmeier has described a practical application of Shirach’s dis- sien: respecting the power of bees to raise a new queen from a neuter or worker grub, by means of which the contents of old hives can be taken gaa LAS S the bees or sacrificing any brood :— “ The pla , and about half the bees in the spring, and establishing them as a new swarm, when the bees remaining in the old hive fave to raise a new slaw en from a worker grub. From the time required to accomplish this, it po no egg can be laid cee about three Weeks; by mis ume the workers, proceedi ng fro: , when the whole of the bees are to be driven out, and the honey, which will be found perfecti from brood, retained for use.” — P NoveL way or Smoorme Eaces. —Hunters find it a very easy matter to shoot the Bald Eagles, which are occasionally found in win- ter along the shores of Cayuga Lake. They approach the birds on horseback, to within fifteen or twenty yards, and then slide from the orse and shoot them at their leisure.—W. J. BEAL. ee ae GEOLOGY. ORIGIN or Lire on our GLOBE. — With regard to the origin of life on our globe, M. Figuier does not dogmatize:—Did plants precede als, we cannot tell, but such would appear to have been the order of creation.” Our globe, he thinks, during the Cambrian and Silurian Trilobites not maint on the globe during the Cambro-Silurian period. ‘Those who 440 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. think the Darwinian theory approximates to the truth, and especially those who hold the “complete” theory, will of course believe, that of the last chapters in the book of ‘Ancient Life.” — Quarterly Journal of Science, London. 2 MICROSCOPY. EPARATION OF SNAILS’ TONGUES. —I present a plan devised many lin- dle. Iuse a rather strong solution of caustic potassa, the strength of which I cannot exactly specity, as it must vary with the species under tube or other convenient vessel, plunge the wh an age of the creatures, sh dall. Th cimen may be fresh, or preserved in alcohol, but on the former e potassa wilł act m vigorously. I have found that one good way is to let the animal d in the shell until it dies and begins to eee when it can readily be removed, pieces. The bbon, as a gen- e S, is not easily decomposed. Now either set the solution, with the animal in it, aside for some days, or boil it at once. You will then find that almost eve lves and becomes “soap,” except the shell and operculum, a few shreds of muscular fibre, and the prized lingual ribbon. Frequent washing with fresh ‘perfect order. It can then be mounted in an: any preservativ: e fluid which is miscible with water, and is best removed to alcohol to be kept until it is is mounted. To mount it, remove it from the spirit, and without plunge it in pure spirits of turpentine, in which it — sit boiled for a short time to drive off some of the alcohol. © * NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 441 be mounted in Canada balsam, when it shows all its beauties in a re- markable manner, and, at the same time, shows its effects on polarized light. I would say, that the potassa cleans the shell and operculum beautifully. — A. M. EDWARDS, New York THE MOVEMENTS OF THE DIATOMACEÆ.—The movements of the - Diatomacee still continue to puzzle microscopists, and various expla- nations of this phenomenon have been advanced. Professor Schultze as carefully studied a number of species, Pleurosigma angulatum, Pleurosigma fasciola, Nitschia sigmoides, Surirella bifrons, and others, maki eriments and observations upon them e ed from these researches to conclude that a glutinous organic substance, which is concerned rapi vement, is spread over the external Bacillarie become adherent to one another. Professor Schultze does not consider that this view affects the question of the animal or plant other unicellular beings, as of ‘‘uncertain kingdom,” until we know more of what constitutes the boundary, if there be any, between plants and animals. — Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. a ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. J. T. M., Grand Isle, Vt.—The land snails sent for identification are follows: The “largest, No. 1,” is Helix concava Say. “horn-colored, No. 2,” is Helix chersina Say. The “small reflected lipped, No. 3,” is Helix minuta Say. The ‘light-colored conical-shaped, very favorable time for collecting, as the leaves, having fallen, no longer obstruct the light, and the snails can be easily detected by turn- ing up the damp layers in hard-wood growths. r D.S. C., Rockport, Ill. — “Essay on Classification,” by Professor Agassiz, was published separately in London; Longmans & Co., 1859. You can undoubtedly obtain it by ordering of any prominent bookseller in New York. The cheapest form of cabinet for geological specimens is an upright case of shelves, like a bookcase. The shelves to be in- clined, or to have separate steps on each shelf. For a conchological case, make a set of shallow drawers, 18x24 inches, and from two to five inches deep. For exhibition, nothing is better than a horizontal- È Show-case, though this takes up a great deal of room. E. L. M., New York.—Besides the works on Entomology already mentioned in the NaTuRaList, you need the works on American AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 56 442 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Entomology, published by the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, is end for its list of works for January, 1866, with the prices att . We intend hereafter to publish in the NATURALIST an ex- r list of the most important works on Insects. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. PSRS AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE. — The Sixteenth Annual Meeting was held at Burlington, Vermont, comment- ing on aoigh August 21, and continuing until Monday night, August 26 In ps Sir 1847, the ‘‘ Association of American Geologists and tur Advancement of Science. * ‘The new organization held its first meet- are the holding of annual and iiien meetings, to promote inter- the country, and to give impulse, system, facility, and wider usefulness to the labors of scientific men. About seventy-five members from various parts of the country were in attendance during the five days’ session at Burlington, and many interesting papers were read and freely discussed during the meeting. ral meeting for business, and then the members adjourned to SECTION A, — Mathematics and Physics ; or to Section B, — Natural History and oe as their tastes inclined. riday evening, the President, Professcr J. S. NEWBERRY, of Columbia ce New York, gave an address on Modern Scientific In- vestigation—its Methods and Tendencies. His address applied to the whole range ae the sciences. It was comprehensive, profound, and ably written, and gave great sanletation to the members present. - This ad- dress will be p URALIST- On Saturday, after a se session in the morning, the Association and their friends accepted the invitation of the Champlain Trans sg tation Company, and made an excursion to the Au Sable Chasm, in Sete ee New York, a singular and very beautiful chasm in rocks, through which the Au Rahe River makes its way to the Lake. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 443 In our next we shall endeavor to give abstracts of the various papers read before the NATURAL HISTORY SECTION, only having space in this number for their titles. FIRST Day. The Distribution of Precious Metals in the United States, By Col. CHAS. WHITTLESEY, SEC The Geological Relations of the oar fos soak Elephant of North America, By Prof. JAMES HALL raren drawn Srom the Study of the Orthoptera of North America, By SAMUEL H. Scu arias 7 Ancient Glaciers in the Wais pee By G. L. Vos: The Origin of th somites. By Prof. O. © MARSH. Geographica Distribution p the Sediments and the Fossils of the Hamilton, Portage, bd “gece pedi mpd New York, By Prof. AMES . on gnate g By L. E. CHITTENDEN. THIRD DAY. Tellurium a Metal. By Prof. L. Bradley. Fossil Fi d by Rev. H. Herzer from the Devonian Rocks a ii Ohio. By Prof. J. $. NEWB: The Fossil Insects of North America. Coal Measures of Illinois. By Prof. A. H. WORTHEN. on Points in the Geology of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. -By Prof. J. W. DAW- 80) FOURTH DAY. On some New Fossil e from the Lower Silurian. By Prof. O. C. MARSH. Pai the raganu of Fossil Sponges in the successive groups of the Palæozoic Series, By f. JAME The American Beaver. By LEWIS H. MORGAN. The Distortion and Metguarphests of Pebbles in , Conglomerates. By C. H. HITCHCOCK. _ FIFTH DAY. On som i Reptiles and Fish the Carbonife Strata of Ohio, Kentucky, and Minois, ign f. J. S. NEWBE See Law wi the Earth's pcm eee . By R. W. RAYM n Mountain Masses of Iron Ore in the United States, on CHARLES WHITTLESEY. e the Lower Silurian Brown Hematite Beds of By B. 5. LYMAN, ions of t. ical of Maine. Prof. 0. COC. of K. or the poreo Distribution of Radiates on the West Coast of America. By Prof. A. eah pnsidóraii ations relating to the Climate of the Glacial Epoch in North America. By Prof. EDWARD HUNG: GERFO Depression th ial Period. By Col. CHAS. WHITTLESEY, Ripton Sea Baches, By Prof. EDWARD HUNGERFORD. On the Cretaceous and Tertiary Flora of North America, By Prof. J. S. NEWBERRY. On certain Effects produced upon Fossils by Weathering. By O. C. MARSH. Geology of Vermont. By Prof. C. H. HITCHCOCK. The Insect Noat Satis s ts aai head Washington as compared with that of Labrador. ‘By Dr. y Dr. A. S. Pac CARD, Jr. napa he Ichth: cs: a ho (th By F. iy A Embryology of Libellula (Dipl) with notes on the Morphology of Insects, and the easieatin of the Neuroptera. By Dr. ri S. PACKARD, jr. the Phisertag of Plants. By JAMES HYATT. 444 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. The following Resolution was proposed by Prof. O. C. MARSH, of Yale aaa — ed, That the pce’ appoint a commission of nine members to examine the rules of Zoo logical Nontenslatars by e A ht of en suggestions and ex- Geren s of recent fi so ang ar ies 5 ape aws and recommendations in conformity with the best mo sage, to be su ubmitted t o the Association at the next annual gostei the perire to care authority to fill vacancies and in- crease their number to twelve, if deemed advisable. This Resolution was unanimously adopted, and ‘he chair appointed the following committee :—Prof. J. D. Dana, of Yale College; Prof. JEFFRIES Wyman, of Harvard University; Prof. S. F. BAIRD, of the Smithsonian Institution; Prof. JOSEPH seak of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science; Prof. J. S. NEWBERRY, of Columbia a Col- lege; Prof. J. W. Dawson, of McGill College, ee Dr. WIL LIAM STIMPSON, of the Chicago Academy of Sci ; S. H. SCUDDER, of the Boston osia of Natural History; a i. W. Putnam, of the Essex Ins r. HENRY ND, Secretary of the Essex Institute, offered a resolution, which was unanimously adopted, tendering the thanks of the Association to GEORGE PEABODY, Esq., for his munificent dona- tions, amounting to over four million of dollars, for the increase of science and education in the United States The President was requested by the Association to forward a copy of the resolution to Mr. Peabody. e adjournment of the meeting on Monday night, the mem- bers met at the house of Dr. Wm. C. Hickox, and passed the few last hours of their stay in Burlington most pleasantly. On the following day a number of the members accepted the invita- tion of W. H. H. Bryeuam, Esq., to visit Mt. Mansfield, where they were most cordially entertained. The next meeting will be held at Chicago, commencing on the first Wednesday of August, 1868. The following are the officers for the next meeting :— President, Dr. B. A. GOULD, Cambridge. Vice President, Col. CHAS: Yrer. “hander Ohio. Permanent Secretary, Prof. JOSEPH LovERING, dge. General Secretary, Prof. A. P. ROCKWELL, New Haven. a Dr. A. L. ELWYN, Philadelphia. The were invited to hold the meeting of 1869 in this city (Salem), and pa they accept, as we earnestly hope’ they will, we know they will be most cordially welcomed by our citizens. _ Boston Socrery or Naturat History. March 20, 1867 —Mr. A. S L. Fleury, of New York, read an essay entitled : “Rocks in Nature = _ in the Arts,” treating of the physical and chemical properties PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 445 nda and the theories proposed to account for its origin. Observ- ing th at in nature quartz-rock is often dissolved in water by the for- path thus indicated, and produce, artificially, a liquid hydrate of Silica. The Secretary read a paper by Col. Whittlesey, of Cleveland, on the weapons and military character of the Race of the Mounds. The au- thor brought to notice the curious fact, that while extensive fortifica- tions built by the Mound race remain scattered over the plains of Ohio, no weapons formed exclusively for warfare have yet been dis- 0 , hor there any indications that the defences have ever writers distinguish the progress of mechanical arts among men as the ages of Stone, of Bronze, and of Iron, in the Western siny the an- retrograded. He believed that the European age of Bronze corre- sponded to the age of Copper in this country, to which the age of Stone has succeeded, and that to this age the Indians of the present day belonged April 4, 1867.— Mr. James G. Swan presented a paper on the Meteo- rology of si Flattery, Washington Territory, the result of personal observation of the thermometer and rain gauge for three consecutive ears. . Andrew Garratt exhibited a bony mass taken from the interior of an external shell of fibrous tissue, dense and glistening like parch- ment, and an interior spongy mass of a brownis hat fatty substance; isn opaa to be a coagulum of fibrine, or possibly a patho- logical growth from the valves of the heart At ies vey atest of the Section of Entom ology —records of which were read at this time—Mr. S. H. Scudder exhibited drawings and 446 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. r. Scudder exhibited a photograph of another fossil wing, found in an Carboniferous rocks of Cape Breton. It was _— in struc- ture, of — yea ~ probably belonged to the May fli es of a visit to the Pinjrapal, or animal hospital a Bombay, were read es Mr. W. P ee gham. A space of six or seven acres in the heart of the city was enclosed, and divided into wards, for the re- ception of sick and helpless animals ; cattle, deer, dogs, goats, mon- keys, and even tortoises, had all their separate abodes; fish, too, res- cued from impending death by the pious Hindoos, whe religion for- bids ag Gernot of animal life, swam unmolested in their proper tan urgical aid seemed to be given, but the aren were well fed ss cared for by a large staff of attendants or nurses. There are several of these establishments in India, supported Éy the donations of wealthy Hindoos. April 18, 1867.— Dr. Jeffries Wyman gave an account of an excur- sion he had recently made to the St. John’s river, Florida, for the e ered in the sand under a shell mound eight feet high. The nor were principally univalves of the mee Ampullaria and Pal some fresh-water mussels, Unionid: The age of these mounds was not pt es but the occasional occurrence of live oaks five feet in diameter proved that the mounds _ had not been materially eps since the advent of the white man, more than three centuries ag There was a marked aeeoe in the fragments of pottery belonging to different localities. Specimens from the upper portion of the river wore slightly ornamented by square and regular indentations; those from the rhood of Lake Munroe were marked b; y complicated figures, traced on the clay with a pointed instrument, ae near the ~ PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 447 mouth of the river these patterns became still more elaborate, and in reeg ka instance the clay, forming the earthen ware, was mixed with sand. This was rarely the case in specimens obtained from the upper erii ACADEMY OF SCIEN NCES. Ghdoagos. June 11, 1867. mibe Secretary presented a paper entitle Dr. Herman Haig, accompanied bya letter from the author, in which he stated that he had submitted the same to Humboldt shortly before would meet with public recognition through their means. On motion, the paper was referred to a committee of three, consisting of Dr. S. A paper was presented from Charles A. White, M. D., and O. H. St. John, entitled, ‘Descriptions of New Subcarboniferous and Coal Measure Fossils, collected upon the Geological Survey of Iowa, to- gether with a a notioe of new generic characters observed in the species of pea Ju aiea Secretary read abstracts of a couple of papers by Potsior T. H. Safford, one on the motion of the solar system in space, and the other relative to observations on nebulæ with the large reflectors of the Dearborn Observatory. The papers were referred to a special committee, composed of Dr. Blaney and the Secretary. Dr. Blaney then made some remarks on the spectral pede the manner he using it, and the purposes for which it was em yed : The presiding era fence in reference to the continued dane ies of iret in Colora Dr. Blaney: cipe nii he had assayed some chips taken from the bottom of a well in Canada, dug down three feet deep in the rock, and got out $9 in pecte The well had been dug under spiritual guid- ance, Remarks were made by the presiding officer and Dr. Blaney, rela- tive to salt deposits in the Western Territories, after which the meet- ing adjourn F NATURAL S F PHILADELPHIA. March 19, 1867. Prof. E. D. Cope presented to p petra a young specimen of the rnale, Bahia Finner, procured near Bahia, Brazil; the length was twenty-one feet. It was shown to belong to the genus Megaptera Gray, the Hump-back Whale of sailogs. Dr. nand exhibited a number of plates of a forthcoming work on the extinct mammals of Nebraska and Dacota, among which was 448 BOOKS RECEIVED. one representing an almost complete skull of an animal, which he characterized under the name of Agriocherus latifrons. rof. Ennis inquired whether remains of the Hippopotamus had been found in this country. Dr. Leidy replied that no evidence ex- isted of the animal, though Mr. J. A. Conrad had at one time a tooth which E considered to have belonged to the Hippopotamu April 9, 1867. — Professor H. C. Wood, jr., presented a peee en- titled, aen of New Species of Texan Myriapoda.” A as read from Isaac Lea, LL. D., on two new. —— (Lesleyite and SRR oe Chester county, Pennsylva Professo f the ‘Geological Changes ba from the rise ba = at the Ocean level;” also upon the *‘ Natural History of Man Pratat Cope exhibited several vertebræ of a new species n Gavial ( Thoracosaurus Biibaa Cope), from the cretaceous marl o Burlington nn y, New Jer April 23, 1867.— Mr. J. caiit read a paper entitled, “A third Study of the D c nea Icterinæ BOOKS RECEIVED Petroleum in h America. By amaa ds = Hitchcock. (Extracted from the Geological Fido Boe eae 1867.) 8vo, account of Barettia, a kai pae Shell from the Hippu Limestone pi Jamaica. By S. Pp Woodward. Reprinted from the Geologist, 1502. ben 1, 2. Svo, PP- 8. bastante n the Structure of the Xiphosura, having reference to their tte snip with the Burypteriden By Henry Woodward. (From the Quarterly: Journ of the psa Society for COn, 1867.) Plate 1, 2. 8vo, pp. Some Observations on the Zoantharia Rugosa. By Gustave phates Ph.D. bs? plate. (Extracted from the Geological Magazine, Aug. and Sept., 1866.) 8v0, pp. 14. Quarterly Journal of Science. ake 1867. London Results of Meteorol ker Clear made at Brunswick, Maine, between Ly and 1809. By Parker ieaveland, L LLD. Reduced and discussed by Charles Schott. From the mian Contributions. Fie dnerican japo parga Gazette. Vol. h No. 13, July, August, 1 The Chemical News and Journal of Physical Science. Vol. I. No.1, 2. July, Av- Prize Essay on Medical and Vital Statistics. By F. B. Hough, M.D. Albany, 1867. 8yo, pp. 37. a on Wilson's Readers. Bac kicker Haldeman. 1866. 8vo, pp. 24- Survey of Preliminary Notice of New Genera and Species ses O. A. White, M. D D., State Geologist, ats. H. St. John, Assistant. i a ‘By John Cassin. 1867. 8vo, pp. 74- of Plants observed near Philadelphia. By Aubrey H. Smith. 1867. _ Revista de Educacion, bibliografia i Agricultura, bajo ‘los Aus- a. Volumen I. Nueva York, 1867. 8vo. Farm and the Sea, and other familiar Chemical Essays. By J- B- a E a ib =H AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. I.—NOVEMBER, 1867.—No. 9. <“ MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION: ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES.* BY PROF. J. S. NEWBERRY. Gentlemen of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science: Every day of our lives we hear that : this is an age of progress; and that it is so we find evi- dence at every turn. The rapidity with which effects follow causes in human events, the celerity with which the plan is carried into execution, gives to a year in the experience of one of the present generation the practical value of a lifetime in ages past. Much labor has been expended on the exposition of the causes of the mental activity of the present age, and of the grand achievements which have attended it; and yet, the key to the whole or defend this proposition, and I must therefore trust to its acceptance without argument, while we pass to con- *Annual Address of the President, delivered at the Meeting of the American 2 Sociation for the Advancement of Science, held at Burlington, Vt., August, 1867. Entered accor to Act of Co in the ; S in thi : mgress, year 1867, by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 57 (449) 450 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : sider that branch of the subject which more immediately demands our attention. i Although the progress of the age to which I have re- ferred has been a matter of wonder and delight to all- students of humanity and civilization, many of our best men have been somewhat alarmed and dizzed by it; and while accepting the achievements of modern industry and thought as full of present good and future promise, they are not a little concerned lest our railroad speed of pro- gress should lead to its legitimate consequences, a final crash—not of things material, but of those of infinitely more value—of opinions and of faith. As often as it is boasted that this is preëminently an age of progress, that boast is met by the inevitable “but” (which qualifies our praise of all things earthly) “it is equally an age of scep- ticism.” For the truth of this assertion the proof is nearly as palpable as of the other; and in view of the ruthlessness with which the man of the present removes ancient landmarks and profanes shrines hallowed by the faith of centuries, it is not surprising that many of the good and wise among us should deplore a liberty of thought leading, in their view, inevitably to license; and mourn over this wide-spread scepticism as an evil and in- scrutable disease that has fallen upon the minds and hearts of men. Now for every consequence there must be an adequate cause ; and while confessing the fact of this modern lack of faith, I have thought that a few moments given to an analysis of it, and an attempt to trace it to its source might not be wholly misspent,—might possibly, indeed, result in giving a grain of encouragement to those who _ look with distrust and dread upon the: investigations and =~ discussions which now occupy so large a portion of the oe : time and thought of our men of science. ` ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 451 If the wheels of time could, for our benefit, be rolled back, and we could see in all its details the civilization of Europe three or four hundred years ago, we should find that our so much respected ancestors, who fill so large a space on the page of history, were little better than barbarians. Among the English, the French, the Germans, Spanish and Italians we should find a phase of civilization which, excepting that it included the elements —as yet but imperfectly developed—of a true religious faith, is scarcely to be preferred to that of the Chinese. Aside from the vast difference perceptible between the civilization of that epoch and ours, as exhibited in the political condition of the people, in their social economy and morals, the general intellectual darkness of the period referred to could not fail to impress us both profoundly and painfully. Out of that darkness and chaos have come, as if by magic, all our modern democracy with its individual liberty and dignity, all our civil and religious freedom, all our philanthropy and benevolence, all our diffused comfort and luxury, most of our good manners and good morals, and all the splendid achievements of our modern scientific investigation. It is unnecessary for me here to describe in detail the origin and growth of modern science. That has been so well done by Dr. Whewell that all men of education are familiar with the steps by which the grand, beautiful, and symmetrical fabric formed by the grouping of the natural Sciences has acquired its present lofty proportions. Previous to the period when the Baconian philosophy _Was accepted as a guide in scientific investigation, but one department of science had attained a development which has any considerable claim to our respect. Mathematics, both pure and applied, had been assiduously cultivated 452 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : from the remotest antiquity, and with a degree of success which has left to modern investigators little more than the elaboration of the thoughts of their predecessors. In Metaphysics—which had claimed even a larger share of the attention of the scholars of antiquity—little progress had been made. Perhaps I am justified in saying little progress was possible, inasmuch as in the light of all the great material discoveries of modern times the meta- physicians of the present day are debating, with as little harmony of opinion, the same questions that divided the rival schools of the Greeks. Each successive generation has had its two parties of idealists and realists, who have discussed the intangible problems which absorbed the great minds of Plato and Aristotle with a degree of enthu- siasm and energy—and it may be of acrimony —which seems hardly compensated by any expansion of the human intellect or amelioration of the condition of mankind. Of the physical sciences we may say that, except As- tronomy, no one had an existence prior to the time of Bacon. There were men of vast learning, and much that was called science in the mass of apatio observation that had been accumulating from century to century, until it had become “rudis inchigemanice moles,” in which— though it constituted the pride of universities, the intel- lectual capital with which the savant thought himself rich, and that on which the professional man depended for suc- cess—there was far more error than truth, and of which _ the study was sure to mislead and likely to injure- ie these circumstances the task before the scientific reformer Was one far more difficult than that of clearing the Augean stables; no less, in fact, than to seat himself before this great heap of rubbish, this mass of truth and error,—of the sublimest philosophy with the wildest fiction, —to P® ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 453 tiently winnow out the grains of truth, and from infinites- imal facts build up a fabric that should have a sure foun- dation below, and beauty and symmetry above. What more natural, then, than that the process adopted in win- nowing this chaff-heap should be that which had given Success to the only true science of the period ?—that the mathematical touchstone should be the test by which every grain was tried? And such precisely was the course pursued ; perhaps we may even say the only one practicable. Provided with this test, the reformer was compelled to rejudge upon its merits every proposition submitted to him, and accepted only as true such as coul be demonstrated. The materials which composed the sci- ence to be reformed naturally fell into several categories. First,—That which had been demonstrated to be true. Second,—That which was demonstrable. Third, —That Which was probable. Fourth,—That which was possible, and Fifth,—That which was impossible. Of these he sys- tematically rejected all but the first and second classes. nd this, in few words, has been the method adopted, not only in the purification of old science, but in the crea- tion of new. Í- It will be seen at a glance, that in this process all that was contrary to the order of nature (supernatural or ~ spiritual) was necessarily excluded; and it was taken for : granted that the mathematical or logical faculty of the human mind was capable of solving all the problems of the material universe. Sir William Hamilton and others have demonstrated the inadequacy of mathematical pro- S as a guide to human reason, and a moment’ cesse s thought will show us that our boasted intellect is incapa- le of grasping even all the material truths which are _ Plainly presented to it. To illustrate: as we scan the 454 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : heavens of a clear evening, we recognize the fact that we staid as it were on a point in space, where our field of vision is limitless; the heavenly bodies stretching away into the realms of obscurity, and becoming invisible only through the imperfection of our orgaus of vision. Bring- ing to our aid the most powerful telescopes, we are appa- rently as far as ever from reaching the limits of the universe; and when we endeavor to conceive of such a limit, the reasoning faculty finds itself incapable of grasp- ing either of the two alternatives offered to it, one or the other of which must be true. The universe must be either limited or limitless. But no man can conceive of a universe without a limit; and if it be regarded as ter- minated by definite boundaries, the imagination strives in vain to fill the void which reaches beyond. In fact we stand here face to face with infinity, and recognize the, fact that the infinite exists without the power to compre- hend it. The same is true of time. We cannot conceive of its beginning or its end. All things which come within the scope of our senses are limited in duration and circum- scribed in space, and though we prate flippantly of the infinite, the pretence that we can grasp it is simply idle Ik. Conducted on such a plan, it was inevitable that scien- tific investigations should be narrow and materialistic in their ieintioncy, No matter how strong the pitar in favor of the truth of a certàin proposition, —though the whole fabrie of society were based upon its acceptance, and it formed the foundation of civil and moral laws, €00- trolling the actions of the philosopher himself, —if not | on consistent with nature’s physical and material laws it must be rejected as unworthy to enter into the cor- ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 455 struction of the edifice he was erecting. In his great task of undoing the work of blind, unreasoning faith, and wild, illogical speculation, all the fruit of such faith or specu- lation must be looked upon as matter valueless to his and. We may even go further and say that were it true that the Supreme Intelligence had created the material universe, and by special providence modified or thwarted the general laws through which that universe was gov- erned,—such Divine supervision, and such miraculous interposition must necessarily have been ignored. Let it not be inferred, however, that each and all of the great men who have been engaged in this work of scien- tific reformation were necessarily driven to be impious iconoclasts, or that in their efforts to emancipate them- selves from time-honored errors, they necessarily pros- tituted the liberty they gained to selfish or sensual pur- poses. On the contrary, the most important advances which the human intellect has made within these later centuries have been due to the efforts of men of the purest and most conscientious character ; men whose lives were devoted with the utmost singleness of purpose to determine what is truth; men who, knowing that all truth must be consistent with all other truth, were willing to go whithersoever it should lead. If it shall prove that they have been occupied with “mint, anise, and cumin,” omitting the “weightier matters of the law,” it is also true that in no other way could the material laws of the uni- verse be thoroughly investigated than by making them the subjects of an absorbed and undivided attention. And it is not true, in any sense, that these devotees of science have lived in vain; for to them we mainly owe the fact, that man is not only wiser now than formerly, but that he is better and happier. It would be as just to impugn 456 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : the motives and decry the merits of the maker of our almanacs because his mathematical calculations were not interlarded with moral maxims, as to reproach the student of natural phenomena because he did his work so well, and left to others the codrdination of the results of his efforts with the accepted dogmas of religious faith. In justice to the man of science we must go still farther than this, and claim for him the position of co-laborer with, and indispensable ally to the philanthropists and moralists: for from no source have they drawn richer lessons, stronger arguments, or more eloquent illustra- tions than from his discoveries. And yet while conceding conscientiousness and purity of motive to the vast majority of our men of science, and acknowledging the contributions they have made, and are making to human happiness; compelled by my sense of justice to defend their spirit, approve their methods, ad- mire their devotion, and assert their usefulness, I cannot deny that the tendency of modern investigation is decid- edly materialistic. All natural phenomena being ascribed to material and tangible causes, the search for and analy- sis of these causes have begotten a restless activity and an indomitable energy which will leave no stone unturne for the attainment of their object. But while this 1s apparent, and, indeed, inevitable, as has been seen from the sketch of the growth of modern science, I am far from sharing the alarm which it excites in the minds of many good men. Nor would I encourage or excuse that spirit of conservatism—to call it by no harsher term— which for the safety of a popular creed, would by any and all means repress, and, if possible, arrest investiga- _ tions that may possibly become revolutionary and dan- s ® ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 457 Such opposition, in the first place, must be fruitless. All history has proved that persecution by physical co- ercion or obloquy is powerless to arrest the progress of ideas, or quench the enthusiasm of the devotees of a cause approved by their moral sense. The problems before our men of science must be solved in the manner proposed, if human wisdom will suflice for the task. In every de- partment of science are men actuated simply by a thirst for truth, whom neither heat nor cold, privation nor op- position will hold back from their self-appointed tasks. We may, therefore, accept it as a finality, that this prob- lem will be carried to its logical conclusion. In the second place, if pose, the arrest of scientific investigation would be not only undesirable, but an infi- nite calamity to our race, As has been so often said, truth is consistent with itself. If, therefore, our faith in this or that is based on truth, we have no cause for fear that this truth will be proved untrue by other truths. And more than this: it seems to me, that, in the reach and thoroughness of this material investigation, we may hope for such demonstration of the reality of things imma- terial as shall produce a deeper and more deml Jaith than has ever yet prevailed. Through this very spirit of scepticism which pervades the modern sciences we are compelled to exhaust all ma- terial means before we can have recourse to the super- natural. When, however, that is done, and men have tried patiently and laboriously, but in vain, to refer all natural phenomena to material causes, then, having proved a negative, they will be compelled to accept the existence of truth not reached by their touchstone, and faith be re- cognized as the highest and best knowledge. That such will be the result is the confident expecta- AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 458 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : tion of many of the wisest of the scientific men whose influence is looked upon with such alarm by those who, in their anxiety for their faith, demonstrate its weakness. ; Already, as it seems to me, scientists have reached the wall of adamant—the inserutable—that surrounds them on every side, and, erelong, we may expect to‘see them re- turn to that heap of chaff from which the germs of modern science were winnowed, with the conviction that there were there left buried other germs of other and higher truths than those they gleaned; truths without which human knowledge must be a dwarfed and deformed ng. A few illustrations from the many that might be cited will suffice to show the materialistic tendency of modern science. In “Pure Philosophy,”—as the students of Psychology are fond of styling their science, —the names alone of Compte, Buckle, Herbert Spencer, Mill, and Draper will suggest the more prominent characters of the school they may be said to represent. The most con- spicuous feature in the “Positive Philosophy” of Compte is the effort it exhibits to coordinate the laws of mind with those of matter. Spencer is a thorough-going men- tal Darwinist, who considers the highest attributes of the human mind, the loftiest aspirations of the soul, as only | developed instincts, as these were but developed sensa- tions. Mill, more guarded, more fully inspired with the spirit of the age, —which believes nothing, and is a foe to speculation, —leaves the history of our faculties to be written, if at all, by others; takes them as they are, but reasons of conscience and free-will with an independence _ of popular belief that savors more of the material than the ‘Spiritual school. Buckle wore himself out in a vain chase ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 459 after an ignis fatuus, an inherent, inflexible law of human progress, and hence of human history. Draper is a de- velopmentist, but not a Darwinian. With him civiliza- tion is a definite stage in the growth of mind; a degree of development to which it is impelled by a vis a tergo, not unlike, in kind, to that which evolves from the germ, the bud, the leaf, the flower, and the fruit in plant-life,— a development which, when unchecked and free, will be regular and inevitable, but which is so modified by the accidents of race, climate, soil, geographical position, etc., as to render it difficult to say whether the rule or the exception has, in his judgment, greatest potency. If he were a consistent Darwinist, the accidents of develop- ment would be its law. Among the students of “Social Science,” —a new and important member of the sisterhood of sciences, —as in most of the other departments of modern investigation, two groups of devotees are found; one patiently and con- scientiously studying the problems of social organization, inspired with the true spirit of the Baconian Philosophy, ready to follow whithersoever the facts shall lead, and having for their object that noblest of all objects, the in- crease of human happiness. The other class of investi- gators, in whom the bump of destructiveness is largely developed, would be delighted to tear down the whole fabric of society, and abrogate all laws, both human and divine. Looking upon man as literally the creature of circumstances, as an inert atom driven about by material forces, conscience and responsibility are by them repu- diated, and laws and penalties regarded simply as relics of barbaric despotism. The dreary soul-killing creed of these fatalists is fortunately so repugnant to the reason and feelings of the majority of men, that there is little 460 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : danger that their efforts will reach their legitimate con- clusion in throwing society into a state of anarchy and chaos. In Theology or Biblical Science the tendency of modern investigation is so distinctly felt, that I need only refer to it. The spirit of independent criticism, so noticeable else- where, is still more conspicuous here; assuming some- times the form of derisive scepticism, but oftener of cold, passionless judgment on the reported facts of sacred his- tory, or the psychological phenomena of religious faith, studied simply as scientific problems. The names of Strauss, Renan, and Colenso, will suggest the results to which men, possibly honest, are led by this so-styled “enlightened and emancipated spirit of enquiry” ; while “Ecce Homo” and cognate productions may be considered as the fruit of this spirit, tempered by a very liberal but apparently sincere faith. Aside from these more marked examples of the decided “set” in the tide of modern religious opinions, we every- where see evidences that no part of the religious world is unmoved by it. In every sect and section an impulse is felt to substitute for abstract faith, the “faith without works,” rather a characteristic of the religion of our fathers, and not unknown at present—that other faith which is evidenced by works. In other words; in our day more and more value is being attached to this life, a8 a sphere for religious effort and experience. With what propriety, I leave to the individual judgment of my audi- tors; the faith of every sect and man is coming to be respected and valued precisely in the ratio of the purity, unselfishness, and active sympathy in the life produced by it. While, therefore, we have less now than formerly of ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 461 the self-centred and fruitless piety of the old deacon whom I chanced to know, who excused his avarice by proclaiming that “business was one thing and religion another, and he never allowed them to interfere”; in place of that we have many an Abou Ben Adhem, and all the splendid exhibitions of modern philanthropy. Though the golden mean displayed in the life and words of Christ is far better than either extreme, I cannot but think the present religious condition of the world is better than any which has preceded it. So far as regards the facts of sacred history, it is well known that modern antiquarian researches, especially those of Leyard, Rawlinson, and Hinks, among the Assy- rian inscriptions ; of Champollian and Lepsius, in Egypt, have confirmed in a remarkable manner the accuracy of the historical books of the Bible. In Ethnology—the pre-historic history of the human race—the researches of the large number of investigators who are devoted to its study have made interesting and . important additions to our knowledge ; but it cannot be denied that the result of such investigation has been to create general distrust of our previously accepted chro- nology, and give an antiquity to man such as the scholars of a previous generation would have looked upon as not only unwarranted but impious. It should be said, how- ever, that our preconceived opinions of the antiquity of the human race—like those of the age of the earth itself — were based upon no solid foundation in nature, history, or revelation; and that our system of chronology was a matter of convention, about which there has been a wide latitude of opinion among the scholars of all ages. In regard to the origin of man—whether by special Creation or by development—we may confidently assert, 462 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : that modern investigation has given us no new light. Among those who have accepted the theory of a special creation, and have differed only in regard to the number of species and their places of origin or centres of creation, there has been such a diversity of opinion that all confi- dence in their reality and value of the bases of their rea- soning has been lost. Among the advocates of a multi- plicity of species and diversity of origin we have from Blumenbach to Agassiz almost every number between fifteen and three as that of distinct species of the human race, scarcely any two writers advocating the same num- er. We may, therefore, very fairly infer that the facts upon which their conclusions are founded, are not of a very clear and unmistakable character. The subject of the origin of the human race brings us into the domain of zodlogy, and opens the wide question of the origin of species, which, of late years, has been shaking the moral and intellectual world as by an earth- guake.: While the various writers upon the origin of the human race were gathering with so much industry, and reporting with so much eloquence the proots of a diversity of origin, the Darwinian hypothesis comes in and refers, not only all the human family, but all classes of animals and plants, to an initial point in a nucleated cell. It would be impossible for any one to discuss, in a fair and intelligent manner, the great question of the origin of species, in anything less than a bulky volume. The merest mention is, therefore, all we can give to it at the present time. Although the appearance of. Darwin’s _ book on the Origin of Species communicated a distinct _ shock to the prevalent creeds, both religious and scien- —s ibe hypothesis which it suggests, though now for ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 463 the first time distinctly formularized, was by no means new; as it enters largely into the less clearly stated de- velopment theories of Oken, Lamarck, De Maillet, and the author of the “Vestiges of Creation.” There was this difference, however, that in the developmental theories of the older writers the element of evolution had a place; the process of development had its main spring in an inherent growth, or tendency, such as produces the evolution of the successive parts in plant-life, while, according to Darwin, the beautiful symmetry and adaptation which we see in nature is simply the form assumed by plastic matter in the mold of external circumstances. Although this Darwinian hypothesis is looked upon by many as striking at the root of all vital faith, and is the béte noire of all those good men who deplore and condemn the materialistic tendency of modern science, still the purity of life of the author of the “Origin of Species,” his enthusiastic devotion to the study of truth, the industry and acumen which have marked his researches, the candor and caution with which his suggestions have been made, all combine to render the obloquy and scorn with which they have been received in many quarters peculiarly unjust and in bad taste. It should also be said of Mr. Darwin, that his views on the origin of species are not inconsistent with his own acceptance of the doctrine of Revelation ; and that many of our best men of science look upon his theory as not incompatible with the relig- ious faith which is the guide of their lives, and their hope for the future. To these men it seems presumption that any mere man should restrict the Deity in his man- ner of vitalizing and beautifying the earth. To them it is a proof of higher wisdom and greater power in the Crea- tor that he shold endow the ‘vital principle with such 464 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION: potency that, pervaded by it, all the economy of nature, in both the animal and vegetable worlds, should be so nicely self-adjusting that, like a perfect machine from the hands of a master maker, it requires no constant tinker- ing to preserve the constancy and regularity of its move- ments. This much I have said in view of the possible accep- tance of the Darwinian theory by the scientific world. I should have said, in limine, however, that the Darwinian hypothesis is not accepted and can never be fully accepted by the student of science who is inspired with the spirit of the age. From the nature of things it can be proved only to a certain point, and while we accept that which is proven,—and for it sincerely thank Mr. Darwin, —that which is hypothesis, or based only upon probabilities we reject, as belonging in the category of mere theories, to disprove or purify which the modern scientific reform was inaugurated. Much, too, may be said against the suffi- ciency of “natural selection in the steagpls of life,” from observations made upon the TEP of the economy of nature. Necessarily, the action of the Darwinian prin- ciple must be limited to the individual, literally and purely selfish; and if it can be proved that a broader in- fluence pervades the created world, that something akin to benevolence enters into the organization of the indi- vidual, something which benefits others and not himself, one single fact establishing this truth would hurl the en- tire Darwinian fabric to the ground, or rather restrict it to its proper bearing upon the limits o variation, and the mooted question of “what is a species.” One of the most potent Mijpacoki in the perpetuation of species is fecun- dity in the individual, whereas we see in social insects the tarojomy of the community is best served by a total ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 465 loss of this power in the great majority of the individuals which compose it. This objection will perhaps be met by the Darwinians with the assertion that the community, in fact, constitutes an individual; but I must confess that I find it difficult to comprehend how the sterility of the workers in ants and bees was ever introduced through the medium of modified descent, the Darwinian method, or how it is kept up from generation to generation among those individuals who have no posterity to inherit their peculiarities of structure. The Honey Ants of Mexico offer additional difficulties. Among them a portion of the community secrete honey in the abdominal cavity until they resemble small grapes, and these individuals, during the winter, are dispatched in succession to furnish food for the other members of the colony. How, by modified descent, is this honey-making faculty transmitted, when those who possess it are sys- tematically destroyed ? A still harder nut for the Darwinians to crack is fur- nished in a fact stated by Dr. Stimpson, that among the crustacea, which do not live in communities, a very large proportion of the individuals of a numerically powerful spe- cies pass their lives as neuters, or undeveloped females. Another element in nature’s economy, which at first sight suggests an objection to the Darwinian theory, is that of beauty, which affects others far more than the pos- sessor. This is considered by the Darwinians simply as an attraction to the opposite sex, but as a fact we find that in the larval condition of some insects—a condition in which no propagation is effected—varieties of form and combinations of color exist which appeal to our sense of beauty scarcely less forcibly than in the perfect insects. Again, the origin of life is left completely untouched AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 59 466 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : by the Darwinian hypothesis, and so long as the vital principle resists, as it has done, all efforts of theorists and experimenters to bring it within the category of material forces, so long we must regard the world of life as includ- ing elements not amenable to the laws which control sim- ple inert matter. Upon this question of the origin of life so much is being done and said that you will expect a word of refer- ence to it at my hands, yet little more can be reported as the result of all modern research than that the origin of life is as great a mystery as ever. You will all remember how, a few years since, we were startled by the announce- ment of the discovery of the generation of the Acarus Crossii; and, while our original distrust of the accuracy of the observations of Mr. Cross was strengthened by the failure of all subsequent experimenters to reproduce his results, our unbelief is further confirmed by the unanimity of all the more modern and intelligent devotees of spon- taneous generation in the assertion that life can only origi- nate in its simplest form, that of a unicellular organism. There is no Darwinist who will concede the possibility of an animal as highly organized as an Acarus, with body, head, limbs, digestion, and senses, all more or less com- plete, being the product of spontaneous generation and not the result of slow and gradual development. Still farther ; it is known that the animal kingdom rests upon the vegetable as a base. Animals being incapable. of assimilating inorganic matter could not exist without plants. Plants must therefore have preceded animals, and the fruit of spontaneous generation must be a proto- phyte and not a protozoan. As I have said, the materialists have so far utterly failed to coördinate the vital force with those which we ITS METHODS AND’ TENDENCIES. 467 designate as material. The beautiful and important dis- coveries which have followed researches into the correla- tion and conservation of forces by pointing to a unity of all the forces in the material world have naturally prompt- ed efforts to centralize, with electricity, magnetism, and chemical affinity, that which we know as vital force. But a moment’s reflection will show us how far removed is this vital force from all others with which it has been com- - pared. The nicest manipulations of chemical science will prob- ably fail to detect a difference in composition between the microscopic germs of two cryptogamous plants. Each consists of the same elements, carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen, in nearly or quite the same proportions. Both may be planted in a soil which laborious mixture has rendered homogeneous, and subsequently supplied with the same pabulum, and yet, in virtue of some inseru- table, inherent principle, one develops a humble moss, and the other rises into the beauty, symmetry, and even grandeur of a tree fern. The same may be said of the Spermatozoa of the mouse and the elephant. Indeed all the phenomena which attend the reproduction of species are totally at variance and incompatible with those which mark the action of material laws. Why, in physical cir- cumstances differing toto cælo, does the germ produce a plant or animal so closely copying the parent? and whence this tenacity of purpose in the germ which reproduces, through a long line of posterity, the trivial characteristics of a remote ancestor. Even within our limited observa- tion we have been struck by the reappearance in the grandchild of the voice, the gesture, the stature, the fea- tures, or some other marked peculiarity of his grandsire. Whence comes the force of the axiom that “blood will + 468 MODERN SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION : tell” ?—and how incomprehensible that, by the action of only material laws, mental force, or, it may be, moral in- firmity is transmitted from generation to generation, in spite of the system of infinitesimal dilution through which it passes ! Strange as it may seem, there are to-day men, respecta- ble by their numbers and attainments, who are believers in spontaneous generation; but with this proviso which leaves the mystery as great as ever, that only from or- ganic matter can organisms be produced. So that to the original and primary appearance of life upon the earth, modern science has given us not the slightest clue. And now, even with this hurried and sadly imperfect exposition of the tendency of modern science, the time at our command has been consumed. Before leaving the subject, however, I crave your indulgence for a word to those who, wholly absorbed in the study of the laws which regulate the material universe, are so deeply im- pressed with their universality and potency, that they forget that law is but another name for an order of se- quence, and has in itself no force. These are they who, in their pride in the achievements of the human intellect, fail to realize that the universe furnishes conclusive proof that all our philosophy, all our logic, all our observation are utterly inadequate to solve the problems that are pre- sented to us; inadequate not simply from the limited na- ture of our powers of observation, but because the human mind, though forced to confess the existence of the inti- nite,is utterly unable to grasp it; and that while the logi? reason and the logic of numbers suffice for a qualifi understanding of the manner in which material forces work, of the origin and nature of these forces we are -~ must ever remain ignorant, unless gifted with bigher ITS METHODS AND TENDENCIES. 469 powers than we now possess. As has been stated, seen from the stand-point of our modern materialists, and judged by the criteria which they have adopted, spiritual existence and supernatural phenomena, even if as all-per- vading as the most devout religionist believes, must, from a priori considerations, be utterly ignored. Of those whose regard for the dignity of material laws leads them _to reject the idea of a creative and overruling Deity, I would ask, Is not man himself a disturbing element in your universe? Whatever may be said in regard to man’s free-agency, and however confidently it may be asserted that his will is but the resultant of the various motives that operate as distinct forces upon it, conscious- ness lies at the bases of all reasoning ; and the conduct of every man proves that he accepts this axiom. As he issues from his door he is conscious, beyond all argu- ment, that it is in his power to turn to the right or to the left; and while he holds himself responsible for his voli- tion, he cannot blame us if we ascribe to him free-agency. Man is therefore an independent power in the universe. He wills and creates. The locomotive is as truly his cre- ation, as himself fashioned from the dust of the earth and vitalized by the breath of the Almighty, is the work of his hands. If, therefore, all the realm of nature is controlled through material laws, by forces that, like attraction, elec- tricity , chemical affinity, etc., act in an invariable and inflexible way, in this universe man is a stupendous anomaly; and unless he can be degraded from his po- Sition of preéminence in this material world, the boldest and most irreverant of modern philosophers will strive in vain to dethrone the great Creator from the rule of the universe, or from his place in the hearts and minds men. ‘THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. No. II. BY C. M. TRACY. Tue second of the royal lines in the vegetable world affords a view greatly different from the first. That, it will be remembered, consisted of the composite flowers, or the Family of the Asterids. Now we will contemplate for a while the family of the second degree of botanical importance. It is familiarly known to us in the Pea and Bean. It has long been called by students the Legumi- nose; that is, the Leguminous Plants, or those bearing a legume, or simple pod, for a fruit. Lindley thought proper, in arranging the “Vegetable Kingdom,” to cal this family the Faba, from faba,.a bean; but if the reader please, we will employ a title for them here shorter and more convenient, and derived from the group that best typifies the family, which the bean does not. We will term them the Pisids, from pisum, or the Pea. The royalty of these Pisids is quite different from that of the Asterids. Those challenge admiration by their vast numbers and universal presence ; but these more by their peculiar nobility of style, whether as to beauty or _ grandeur. Not that these are much inferior, numerically ; for, in the best enumerations of the day, six thousand five hundred species are reckoned, arranged in four hundred and sixty-seven separate groups or genera. We have no calculations made so recently as to warrant our stating eee : very exactly the geographical distribution of these spe = in various regions. They are not, however, greatly posed to stray ‘about and play the emigrant over the ords broad acres ; but are rather remarkable for sitting aie ~ at n and enjoying their separate dig- (470) THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. 471 nities in their original possessions, as self-satisfied as the old grandees of Spain. Thus there are species in Aus- tralia that no other country can furnish; for they have never travelled from the island yet, whatever they may be tempted to do hereafter. So with those found at the Cape of Good Hope; and even of the European genera there are some that never have’ penetrated into either Asia or Africa more than a very little way. Yet, in one form or another, they are met with almost everywhere ; in fact, we hear only of two spots entirely without them, namely, the islands of St. Helena and Tristan d’Acunha ; and perhaps it detracts nothing from the royal wisdom of these plants that they have kept themselves clear of two such Heaven-forsaken places. Before, however, proceeding too warmly into the ad- miration of this grand order, we should give the reader some simple means of recognizing it when he meets it. In these familiar views of natural families, we like to bring luminously before the eye of the untechnical lover of plants the few constant marks that we hold to exist in every such family somewhere, as the true key to all their ‘Mutual relationships, and the fit signs by which they may be readily and definitely known. Now, as we had three marks whereby certainly to know an Astertd, so we have three that as certainly indicate a Pisid; but whereas in the other case all three are always present, here one may be absent, but never two, and one never disappears at all. Get the first pea, bean, or locust flower yousee. A large flower is easier to study than a small one, and these are the largest we have. The Sweet Pea is, perhaps, best of all, but the bean-flower has some obscurities to the common eye. Turn the flower face to face with you. 472 THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. All flowers, or at least the great majority, are made up of five leaves or petals; and so is this, if you will believe it. But you can hardly see any such structure; it merely looks like a miniature lady’s head in a high-front bonnet of the year 1838. Or perhaps it suggests the idea to you that it has to scores of others, who for years have likened such flowers to butterflies. Hence these plants are often called Papilionaceous, from papilio, a butterfly. Such notions are all fanciful ; but the structure of these flowers is quite decisive. As you now hold it, the large, showy top leaf or petal is one only, and, we might say, about as large as it should be. Below it, right and left, are two more, mated like your gloves; these have been called the wings. They are considerably reduced, usually paler, and sometimes of a very different color from the large one above, which we may call the banner. This makes three petals. Next, between the wings, wrapped up in them closely in some cases, is what does not look much like a petal or leaf of any sort; but is really the fourth and fifth, very little developed, and grown together by the edges. They make what has always been called the keel. This is the structure of the Pea-flower the world over. It never appears outside of the Royal Family of Pisids, and it is present there in a vast majority of cases. It is one of the three badges of their regal character. Next, take a pea or bean-pod, just fit to shell. It is one-sided in its form; that is, the point farthest from the : stem is on one side more than the other, so that of the two seams at the edges of the pod one is nearly straight, and one very much rounded. Now split this pod cau- tiously along the straight side. The seeds lie within, and if you have done the thing nicely, you have laid the pod open flat, with each half claiming the alternate seeds, 50 THE. ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. 473 that in a well-filled pod of peas, about four are found growing on one side, and as many on the other. This is the structure of the legume, or simple pod. Possibly it appears, in some instances, outside the royal family ; but very rarely, indeed, if ever. It is not like the pods of the Mustard and Gilliflower, for they have a partition running through them flatwise, and the seeds hang upon both Seams instead of one. The pods of the Milkweeds are very different, again, being mere bags in which the seeds are enclosed without the least attachment to any part, but grow upon the end of the stem where it passes into the interior. The simple pod, or legume, then, is the second mark of the Pisids, and any one can tell it at a glance. The third mark is simple, curious, and infallible, to the highest degree. The family most likely to be confounded With these is that to which the Rose and the Apple be- long; in fact, though we might not expect it, the two run So closely together, that only this third mark is decisive as between them. And yet, all-important as it is, it seems the merest trifle. Look at the bottom of the Pea- flower, outside. There are five small, green, pointed leaves surrounding it, that together are called the calyx, and severally are termed sepals. Now find a flower that grows pretty low down on the stem,—from the angle of a leaf perhaps, —and carefully lift it up against the stem without giving it any twist one way or the other. Thus you bring the real top of the flower to the stem. Notice, now, that if you have worked fairly the stem comes, not against one of the green sepals, but into the notch or Space between the upper two of them. The odd sepal, so to speak, is on the outer or lower side. If we had taken aà rose or an apple-blossom or the flower of a Spiræa, and 80 examined it, we should have met just the reverse ; the AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 474 ` THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. odd sepal will always be found at top, or next the stem. The invariability of these facts is really wonderful. It is one of those great little things whose discovery sheds such lustre on the genius of Robert Brown, the man whose eye pierced more keenly through the vegetable millstone, than any other man’s before or since his time. Recapitulate then. The marks of the Pisids are,— 1. Butterfly, or better, pea-flowers. 2. Legumes, or simple pods, for fruit. 3. The odd sepal turned away from the stem. True, these are not all the marks that are useful in dis- tinguishing this family. But they are the most simple and certain at once. Almost all have compound leaves, such as are found on the Locust, Clover, and Acacia. But we cannot be entirely safe in depending on this; for, not to speak of exotics, the Woodwaxen contradicts the point at our very door. But the Woodwaxen has the three great marks all very plainly, and therefore is a true Pisid, belonging or to the royal line, hate it as we will. In this great family there are three sets, or, as We might say, cousinships. They are each marked by some distinctive properties, and each varies in certain degrees and manners from the typical structure which belongs to First. We have a set with perfect pea-flowers and mostly true pods; but in some, as the Tonka-bean, and the Ground-plum of the West, the pod grows thick and fleshy, and closely resembles a drupe, or stone-fruit of some sort. In this tribe we meet with nearly all the ‘Species that afford valuable food to man or beast. We | — need to cite examples. Second. We finda set with flowers quite indefinite in $ THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. | 475 form; some nearly perfect by the type, and others almost as regularly five-petalled and circular as an apple-bloom. But here the pod keeps as close to the normal style as the flower departs, so that we never lose our guide. In this set are the chief medicines and drugs that the family produces. We see examples of this tribe in the Wild Senna and Honey Locust. Third. A set remains in which the pea-shape is wholly obsolete, the flowers being as completely regular as any to be found. The pods, however, so far as we are informed, preserve the simple form, and our marks are fully vindi- cated. We have no indigenous plant that belongs here ; the greenhouse Acacias are those most familiar. The peculiar properties appear in the abundant production of gum and tannin. Like princes true, these plants take up nearly every variety of stature, habit, and soil. In regard to size, their range is perfectly enormous. In the gardens are species of Lotus that the gardener loves, and species of Medicago that he hates for the wretched weeds that they are, and neither of them is an inch high, but they creep on the earth like a carpet. There are perfect plants of the Pussy Clover that will go into an ounce vial with little crowding. Then, per contra, take the great Locusts of Brazil, described by Von Martius. Fifteen Indians, with outstretched arms, could just encircle the base of one of them. Some were measured and gave eighty-four feet in girth at the ground, and sixty feet where they first became cylindrical inform. This reliable observer made careful calculations on the age of these trees, and carried it back, in some cases, to the time of Homer, and, by all probability, beyond the Christian Era. The style and habit of these plants vary quite as much. The Honey 476 THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. Locust, especially where at all stunted or neglected, is a tree that a cat can hardly climb, bristling and horrid, a perfect chevaux-defrise of thorns; and the Hog Peanut glides over and round the bushes, where it climbs with a stem hardly strong enough to bear its own foliage, a half invisible thread of green. The Bauhinias bind themselves round the great South American trees like ropes of wire; the Wistarias climb and revel in the Chinese thickets like grape-vines; while the Sensitive Briar creeps timidly among the herbage of the Carolinas, and the graceful little Tare intrudes in northern fields, presuming on its good looks for a chance of renewed impertinence. They are hardly as partial to maritime situations, yet the Beach Pea loves no place so well as its “home by the deep, deep sea,” and the Wild Bean equally delights to hang its wanton herbage over bluffs where it can hear the scream of gulls, and see the fisherman casting his lines, hardly more twisted than its own. _ As hinted already, the nobility is very different from that of the Asterids. That family surprises us by its inutility ; this overwhelms us by its wonderful wealth. There is hardly a thing of any use to man that is not, somewhere or other, produced by this family. The other was the royalty of blood and self-complacency ; this is that of profusion, extravagance, abundance without limit or stint. We are not writing a volume, and so will not try any enumeration of the duonenne products here to be found; but do we desire fine timber? We may take our choice of Rosewood, West India Locust, Itaka-wood, Purple-heart, Acacia-wood, Mora-wood, and a score of others, not forgetting our own Locust, whose fibre defies almost every destroying agent but the borer. Or would we prefer dyes? Logwood and Indigo, Gum THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. 477 Lac and Dragon’s Blood come at call, with Brazil-wood, Brasiletto, Camwood, Sappan-wood, and Red-sanders. Besides, in India, there are fine yellow dyes from several Buteas, and in Japan from a large tree (nameless to us), while we may have almost as good from the Woodwaxen. If we seek perfumes we shall not go far astray. Tonka- beans, Lign-aloes, Calambac, Balsam of Peru, Balsam Tolu, and Acacia-flowers, are ready representatives in this department. The tanner needs little help from any other tribe if he only have this. The Acacias, Bauhinias, and Cassias give their bark, and Prosopis its pods for his purpose, and they fairly dispute precedence with the Oak and Sumach. In gums they rule the world. Gum Arabic, Tragacanth, Senegal, Animi, Brazilian Copal, and Kino attest this. And yet in drugs their precedence _ is greater still. Liquorice comes here, with Manna, Sen- na, Cowhage, Fenugreek, Copaiva, and Catechu, and perhaps a hundred more might be added. If we like to study poisons, we might get a large selection of speci- mens here ; in fact, there is a suspicious character, a kind of royal treachery, underlying the whole group. The beautiful scarlet seeds sold in the shops for beads, and called by the children “ Black-eyed Susans,” are reported as highly poisonous; certain wild plants of this family once killed whole flocks of sheep in the Swan River Col- ony; and others are common fish-poisons in Jamaica. Indigo is by some pronounced to be deadly, but others dispute the point seriously. There are not, perhaps, many of these hurtful products that appear as known drugs, but they are none the less present. The seeds of various Sweet Peas bave been used in Europe during famine, with such evil effect that they had to be inter- dicted by government. The Coronillas, common in gar- a 478 THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. dens, are likewise condemned; and the seeds of the Laburnum have done serious mischief. But despite some poisonous and hurtful tendencies, there is a noble excellence in the royal race. They fur- nish food unmeasured to thousands of hungry dependents. We may begin with the Peanut, indispensable every- where, from the Yankee town-meeting hall and circus, to the negro-huts of Senegambia. The quantity of these consumed for food the world over is probably far greater than generally supposed. As to Peas and Beans, not only Aaaa the soldier of the Rebellion fully know their value, and every New Englander who loves his Sunday breakfast bear witness, but the world admits it all since the time when Daniel and his three friends grew fatter upon pulse than on the King’s meat, The sacred writer does not say they changed their diet from the “King’s meat” to the very flesh of royalty, but so it really was- The Tamarind is the cheerful friend of the convalescent; and Shenstone says of a drink skilfully made from it, — “ Whoso drank the pas draught Would neyer wish for wine.” There are several sorts, produced by related plants,,and known as Brown Tamarinds, Velvet Tamarinds, and Tam- arind Plums, all highly prized. The Carob-tree has a pod in which the seeds are buried in a dry, mealy- pulp, very nutritious, and eaten freely by horses in Spain an the Levant. It is supposed to be the tree which furnished the “locusts,” or locust-pods, that fed John the Baptist in the wilderness. The West India Locust affords some- thing very similar, and as readily eaten. The Parkia, an African tree, furnishes seeds of which the natives make @ sauce for "a b cakes like chocolate, eating also the the pods. The famous drink of Cone? THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. 479 America, the Chica, deserves mention, as prepared from the sweet pods of a Prosopis; but the manner of making it is such as would forever sicken any one not well hard ened in savage life. Of course these are not all the points of wealth in this noble family. Their treasury never is bankrupt. The Bauhinias have tough bark that makes good ropes. We have in New England a plant called Rattle-pod ; and ano- ther of this same genus in India produces the Bengal Hemp, very useful fois cheap bagging. Some are effectual to destroy vermin, and others Field a juice much em- ployed in the manufacture of Indigo in certain parts of the process. The beasts fare no worse than their human guardians. At the head of the list stands Clover, so acceptable in its green state to the horse, that it is said that he will eat it till he bursts. Closely related to this are the various Species of Lucern and Medick, and sundry Trefoils, all Sweet and nourishing to every flock and herd. Saintfoin and Serradilla stand in the same line of usefulness. In the arid deserts of the East grows a stunted bush, the tender character of whose herbage has, in those wastes, earned it the name of the Camel’s Thorn. Among the Afghans this plant is depended on above all others for the support of cattle, and if the supply is cut off by war at any time, the herds suffer or perish. So the Wood- waxen is eaten well by sheep, it is said; and many farms, we learn, are pastured in the British Islands at good o though they produce little save the prickly “W hin.” _ Nor would the kingly rank be well sustained by the Pisids if they could not boast of beauty ; but in this there is no more lack than in other respects. The most splen- didly beautiful tree in the world, when in flower, is said 480 THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. to be the Amherstia nobilis, a grand ornament of the Turkish gardens. There also the Cercis, or Judas-tree, lifts its head in purple magnificence; while its plainer, but still charming co-species, the Red-bud of the Canadas and Northern States, is glowing through the woods in the pride of its early bloom. All New Holland is golden with a wealth of Acacia-flowers; and other species, with red instead of yellow, put the most charming blush on the forest-cheek of Mexico. Europe is rich in fine La- burnums ; and South America is all aglow with splendid Ingas and Mimosas. The Californian has brought from New Zealand the Glory-pea, and given it a home by his own door, that suits as well as its own. Our own country is full of beautiful plants of this kind; Lupines and Locusts, Hoary Peas, Wistarias and Prairie Clovers, Tick- trefoils and Yellow-wood, Partridge-peas and Ground- piums, all showy and lovely. And whosoever will pene- trate the conservatory, and study the floral wealth there displayed by these pea-flowered princes, will find these thoughts well sustained and illustrated. And yet we have only just come to the most interesting trait in the character of these most royal plants. In them does vegetable life reach its acme, and attain a grade that lacks but the merest step to equal the vitality of animals. The Joint-vetch, of the Virginian river-banks, is some- times sensitive, and shrinks from the touch, closing its leaflets. Another step, and we have the Sensitive Briar, common through the South, and showing this sensibility in a much higher degree. Then going to Central and South America, we have Mimosas endowed with every degree of this power, till some will hardly bear the hu- man _ breath upon them, even though they may bear the beating of wind and weather. Great numbers of THE ROYAL FAMILIES OF PLANTS. 481 keep careful watch of storm and sunshine, however, as well as of day and night, and close their leaves promptly ' when unfavorable conditions arise. This is but a small matter; other plants do the same; but no other tribe shows such tenderness of feeling in the foliage. Nor do they stop here. In the East Indies grows the strange plant, Desmodium gyrans. It may be compared, perhaps, in appearance, to our Wild Indigo, but its leaves are more like those of the Rose. The leaflet at the end only folds up at night and opens by day ; but the side-leaflets are always moving, the two sides alternately up and down with a jerking motion, as one says, like the second- hand of a watch. The touch arrests it, or so does cold or narcotics. But left to itself it soon begins again. Now this, seeing there are here no bones, joints, mus- cles, or other machinery to execute such movements, is a ‘Most astonishing thing. Nearest of anything the world affords does it come to showing the Abstract Life work- _ ing independently, without mediate agency, and challeng- ing all our skill to grasp it, or account, in any satisfactory way, for the presence that we so unequivocally recognize. Electrical and chemical action are called to explain it, but they fail. We leave it, as one of Nature’s mysteries. This hasty glance gives but a superficial notion of the real grandeur of this most kingly of these Royal Orders. From these considerations, however, we may probably gain sufficient evidence to prove the great importance of these plants in the economy of nature, as related both to man, to the animal kingdom in general, to the great Principles of vitality and development, higher and broader than all. A further illustration of these ideas may be had from the study of the other of these families, which will engage our future attention. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 6l THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. BY BURT G. WILDER, M. D. [Continued from page 423.] In the first part of this article, taking for granted that all readers of the NarurauisT are aware that the mam- mals have two pairs of limbs, of which the hinder are gen- erally called legs, while the anterior are either legs or wings or flippers or arms, according to the use their owners make of them, I made the following statements: 1. That, in spite of great differences in appearance and in the movements which they perform, there is a close anatomical resemblance between the human arm and the foreleg of beasts, the wings of birds, the flippers of seals, etc. 2. That there is a similar resemblance between the leg of man and the hinder limbs of animals. All this is now generally admitted, and, however distasteful may be the actual comparison between the limbs of the bear or of the monkey and our own, we cannot help seeing, that when we get upon all-fours like the one, or stand semi- erect like the other, our limbs really occupy partly the same position in regard to our back-bone as do those 0 the creatures first mentioned: and I might add, that there is a time in the early stages of growth of all vertebrates, when the limbs are just beginning to form, and are mere little fleshy buds or pads projecting from the sides of the body. (Fig. 6, Plate 12.) This kind of comparison between the fore or hind limbs of different species is called the study of Homologies, and formerly constituted the whole of Comparative Anat- omy. But I also stated that within the past century there has arisen a new kind of Comparative Anatomy, which has for its object the comparison, not of corresponding THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 483 parts in diferent animals, but of corresponding parts in one and the same animal; in short, the human arm is compared, not with the foreleg of a quadruped, but with the human leg: and in like manner the fore and hind legs of a beast are compared with each other. And, lastly, I stated that it is now pretty well agreed that in this comparison the shoulder and pelvis repre- sent each other; that the humerus and femur are sim- ilar parts in the two limbs; that the elbow and the knee, the forearm and the leg do in some way correspond with each other ; and that, finally, the foot is, as a whole, the humble representative of the hand. Yet there is a very Wide difference of opinion as to whether or not the great toe is the counterpart of the thumb; and this because the rotation which takes place in the forearm allows the thumb to come into two different positions. If you will take the trouble to place your hand upon the table, the palm downward, and the fingers pointing forward, you will see that the thumb comes upon the inner side of the hand, that is, toward the middle line of the body, as does the great toe in the foot; but if you Suptnate the hand and place it on the edge of the table so that the fingers point backwards, the palm facing down- Ward and forward, you will see that the thumb now comes on the outer side of the hand, and is opposite the little toe. You will say at once and truly, that the former is the easier and more natural position, and coincides more nearly with your previous ideas respecting the thumb and the great toe, and it might perhaps do very well if the hand and the foot were the only parts concerned ; but un- fortunately the arm and the leg must also be taken into _ Consideration, and whatever principle we adopt for the former, ought to apply equally well to the latter. 484 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. Now what idea is suggested when we compare the hand and the foot in the manner first described? The whole foot points forward, and the sole faces downward and backward; the hand and fingers also point forward, and the palm faces downward and backward : at once we say the corresponding parts point in the same direction, they are parallel with each other ; and if the hand and foot are parallel, why, of course, the other corresponding parts in the two limbs are or ought to be so too. But here comes the difficulty. The other segments of the limbs are nof parallel, but the contrary; the thigh points forward, and the upper arm backward; the con- vexity of the knee looks forward, while the elbow pro- jects backward ; the forearm and the leg likewise point, » not in the same, but in exactly opposite directions. The upper parts of the limbs, then, suggest antagonism or oppositeness; the hand and the foot suggest parallelism. Which shall yield to the other? Shall the upper ses- ments of the limbs be so turned or twisted or viewed as to conform to the idea of parallelism, or shall the hand be supinated and the fingers made to point backward so âS to be in antagonism with the foot? This, as was said, brings the thumb on the outer side, and so into relation with the little toe. To this, the thumb objects, and the whole controversy rests between those who favor it ex- clusively, and those who are willing to pay some regard to the other portions of the limbs. The former lay great stress upon the functional supe riority of the thumb, upon its size and strength, and upon its constant usefulness at every age, from infancy to the time when the man has leisure to reflect upon its wonder- ful powers and the prominent part it takes in all the ope- — rations of the hand; and in view of all this, they ut3° THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 485 that the thumb should be allowed to associate in this com- parison with the largest and strongest of the foot’s fingers, at any sacrifice on the part of the upper and less conspic- uously useful segments of the arm. But the latter believe that the above considerations do not apply in this kind of comparison, and offer facts and arguments (which will be given in another place) to show why the thumb should not be the only part thought of in this connection, and even that it ought to content itself with whatever position as regards the toes may be most convenient for the upper portions of the limb which supports it. The former uphold one organ against many, and might for that reason be styled the aristocratic party, but for - the somewhat incongruous fact, that at the present stage of the controversy, they far outnumber the more demo- cratic members of the other party, who believe in more equal rights for all the parts of the limbs. So more appropriate titles may be derived from the two | ideas which we have found to be suggested, as the thumb : is or is not the first part considered in comparing the hand = With the foot. If it is, then Parallelism is the idea, and , its advocates are the Parallelists. If not, then Antago- i. nism is the idea, and its advocates are the Oppositists. = Among the Parallelists the more prominent in this dis- cussion are Vicq d’Azyr, Bourgery, Cuvier, Flourens, Cruveilhier, Turenne; Owen, Maclise, Martins, Huxley, Mivart,* and Cleland ;+ to which list might be added the lames of as many more anatomists, who have declared themselves more or less decidedly in favor of one or ano- ther of the views advanced by those whose names are given. Those who have more or less completely adopted the X * Anatomy of Echidna Hystrix. Transactions of Linnæan Society, Vol. XXV. P. 400. TQuain’s Anatomy. Seventh Edition, 1866. pp. 115-117. 486 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. idea of Antagonism are Oken,* Gerdy, Agassiz,+ Hum- phrey, Wyman,} Foltz,§ and Dana,* with which small number the writer has the honor to be associated. THE PARALLELISTS. The ancient anatomists contented themselves with pointing out certain obvious correspond- ences as to general appearance, as those between the bone of the upper arm and that of the thigh, between the knee and the elbow. Their prudent example is still fol- lowed by those who do not care to involve themselves in a controversy, and who find it easier to adopt, unques- tioned, the opinions of a predecessor; and, in spite of errors and inconsistencies, this method had generally the merit of non-interference with Nature, and may, in medi- cal language, be styled the expectant plan of treatment. But a large and distinguished majority of investigators seem to have made up their minds beforehand that some- thing was out of the way, and, in their endeavors to rectify the supposed disordered state of the limbs, have pursued a more heroic course of treatment which, from the various methods employed, may be divided into dislo- cation and reversion, fracture and torsion; or, as their advocates might say, since in their opinion the Creator _ had already inflicted the above-named injuries upon their unhappy patients, reduction, setting, and untwisting. Dislocation with reversion and substitution. The fi “resolutely undertake and seriously discuss the problem of the comparison between the extremities in man The positions of Oken and of — this ape are peculiar, and will be Pied aee farther on. i SO stp ary June 6, June 5, 136 Saia tes embres pelviens et Rorasi ues de Attell Jou rnal de la ; inia ol Tome VI. pp. 49-81, and 379-421. 7 April, 1863. The sin of ; Mar: ms Te Siloa Dy Miv Art ns i i tes wank ei , and DY E a, neren i des Membres elviens et thoracique, ete. Mems. de Montpelier. . p- 473. THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 487 animals,” was Felix Vicq d’Azyr, who published a me- moir upon the subject in 1774, four years prior to his election as the successor of Buffon, in the French Acad- emy. He began his comparison by detaching the right arm (Fig. 2) from the shoulder, and placing it by the side of the leg (Fig. 1). He does not specify the position of the hand in this first comparison, but we must conclude that it was pronated so as to face the palm backward like the sole, and to bring the thumb (Po) upon the inner side op- posite the great toe, both because this was the universal method of viewing them, and because otherwise the idea of parallelism would hardly have suggested itself at all. Perceiving the resemblance of the elbow (O) to the knee (Pa) ,and thinking that, being similar parts, they must face in the same cadia he saa the arm around so that the elbow pointed forward, the hand being left as it was (Fig. 3); the two bones of the forearm (U and R), be- fore crossed, became parallel with each other, the thumb, of course, remaining opposite the great toe. But although the lower portions of the two limbs were thus in harmonious agreement, the anatomist, on exam- ining their upper ends, perceived that, while the smooth articular surface (Fig. 1, Hd) of the thigh-bone was look- ing inward and toward the middle line of the body, the corresponding surface (Fig. 3, Hd) of the humerus, by which it is attached to the shoulder-blade, was looking in exactly the opposite direction. = What was to be done? If he left things as they were, then the heads of the two upper bones set their faces against his idea of parallelism in the most uncompro- mising manner ; while if he restored them to their original condition, the elbow and the knee came into direct oppo- 488 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. sition with the idea and with each other at the same time. To avoid both horns of this dilemma seemed at first im- possible ; but suddenly it occurred to him to drop the unconformable arm, and to try its fellow of the opposite side; and now, upon placing the left arm (Fig. 4) by the side of the right leg, and turning it as before so that the elbow pointed forward like the knee, the two bones of the forearm remaining parallel with each other, he was re- warded for his ingenuity by seeing the articular surfaces of the humerus and femur both looking inward. With this very artificial arrangement he seems to have been satisfied, and dismisses the subject with the remark, that “the corre- spondences of the fingers with the toes are so evident that it is unnecessary to enumerate them”; either not perceiv- ing or caring that though the fingers pointed forward like the toes, yet the thumb was now upon the outer bor- der of the limb, and was thus made to correspond with the Jittle toe. We shall, I hope, ba convinced that, in spite of the fact that the thumb and great toe have only ¿wo joints, the above is really the true relation so far as concerns them alone; but Vicq d’Azyr had no reason for thinking 80, since the opinion upon this matter which, then as now, was nearly universal, is well expressed in these words of a later writer, “il est évident pour tout le monde que le pouce est l'analogue* du gros orteil.” Vicq d’AzyT seems rather to have been loth to enter into particulars, and really ignores the hand altogether; for it was doubt- less the apparent parallelism betwedn the foot and the hand in its ordinary state of pronation that induced him to force the whole limb into a similar relation by turning ; ai evident to every one that the thumb is the analogue of the great toe 2; in ER ares used by Martins in the sense of “homologue > tly limited | se ofthe word, | the thumb is the analogue of the great toe THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 489 the elbow forward; but when he is obliged to take the arm of the opposite side, he seems to have lost all faith in the hand, and leaves it in a position which, though cor- rect in so far as the thumb is made to correspond with the little toe, is inconsistent with his own theory, and inadmissible on account of the displacement of the whole limb. And here was his error, in supposing that a ra- tional comparison of the limb involved not merely a dis- location and reversion of the arm, but a transposition to the opposite side of the body, the right arm being thus made to correspond with the left leg g, and the left arm with the right lee. And while we Hator the great anato- - mist, who, in attempting a comparison between different regions of the same individual, really originated a new kind of Comparative Anatomy, which is destined to fill a large place in future investigations, we must deplore the method he employed, a method repugnant alike to common sense and the respect we ought to entertain for the relations God has established between the different parts of the animal frame. And it is doubtless to this pernicious example of Vicq d’Azyr that we must ascribe the extraordinary liberties which some of his successors have taken with the limbs, forcing upon them their pre- Conceived ideas, as if each had said, “if the facts do not Pored with sa theory, why, so much the worse for the facts Tt i is hard for us to believe that the great Cuvier, whose masterly demonstrations of corresponding parts in differ- ent animals constituted an era in anatomical science, and at the same time furnished the basis for a true classifica- tion, could have been so blinded by his exclusive devotion to Final Causes, and by his dislike for the transcendental theories of St. Hilaire as, during at least the cag! part AMERICAN, NAT., VOL. I. 490 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. of his life, to have attached little value to the comparison with each other of parts of the same body; but we could wish that he had ignored the subject entirely, rather than that in 1835 he should have lent the weight of his author- ity to the views of Vicq d’Azyr, as is shown by the fol- lowing passage: “C’st la droite d’une paire qu'il faut comparer a la gauche de Pautre.” * ` Blandin, like Vicq d’Azyr and Cuvier, let the hand and fingers alone, the thumb still remaining opposite the little toe; but, in 1846, this inconsistency was pointed out by Turenne, who, desirous of making all things as harmo- nious as possible, in imagination, cuts off the two hands a little above the wrist, and transposes them, which of course brings the thumb on the inner borders, and opposite the great toe (Fig. 1 and 5); nor is it, perhaps, surprising that he should have regarded this as an improvement upon the proceedings of Vicq d’Azyr, and we ought rather to be gratified that, after putting the left arm in place of the right, and again changing the hands, he did not see fit to invert the entire limb, fasten the fingers upon the shoulder- blade, and declare the end of the arm-bone to be homolo- gous with the great toe. Indeed, the whole proceeding is so extraordinary, that, but for the gravity with which it is proposed, one would incline to regard it as a burlesque, intended to bring the original view into ridicule. Yet only ten years ago, the doctrine of Vicq d’Azyr was again, though we hope for the last time, revived. ~. The errors in this view consist in the assumptions: 1. That the thumb corresponds with the great toe. 2. That the two limbs are parallel. 3. That it is either necessary or proper to compare the arm of one side with the leg of the ata side. Sate a + z p Lah Pe sey eee f the other.” Vol. FP p. Fig.5. Fig.6. Fig.7. WILDER ON THE HAND. REVIEWS. 491 EXPLANATION OF PLATE 12. The bones of the limbs are marked as in Plate 11. F, Femur, or thigh bone; T, Tibia; Fi, Fibula ; Pa, Patella, or SEES one Ha, Hal- lex, or great toe; H, Henin: or iris bone; O, Olecranon process of elbow; U, Ulna; R, Radius; Po, Pollex, or thumb; Ha, Head of Hu- merus, or Femur Fig. 1. Bones of human leg, right side; the knee looks forward. 2. Bones of human leg, right side; in th ition in whic Vicq d’Azyr began his comparison; the elbow looks backward, and the forearm is in pronation, the radius being crossed upon the ulna so as to leave the thumb on the inner side. (This and the three follow- ing figures are to be supposed behind Fig. 1, in order to be compared With it.) Fig. ght arm turned half way round so as to face the elbow forward like the knee; the hand remains as before, so that the fore- arm is untwisted, or supinated. The head of the Humerus now faces Fig. 4. Bones of left arm; all the parts shar with the leg except the thumb, which now comes on the outer side: this is as Vicq d’Azyr left it. Fig. 5. This illustrates the comparison of Turenne. The upper parts of the limb of the left arm as in Fig. 4; but the hand has been cut off and rhin by the right hand as in Fig. 3 Fig. 6. Diagram of human fætus, showing the radiis of limbs. REVIEWS. MANUAL OF THE BOTANY OF THE NORTHERN UNITED STATES, IN- tory in Harvard University. Fifth Edition. With twenty-five plates, illustrating the — Grasses, Ferns, &c. New York: Ivison, Phinney, Blakeman, & Co. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co. 1867. pp. 701. ee reais el Mosses and Liverworts, nor the “Garden Botany.”] This new ie vie sa « Manual of Botany” is the result of the author’s continuous re to improve and make more perfect an -r one > (published in etre eit prepared to supply a pressing wan 492 REVIEWS. In the second edition, which appeared in 1856, 2,426 species of Flower- ing Plants, and the higher Cryptogams, or flowerless plants, were de- scribed. Inthe third and fourth editions species new to science, or ewly Hien within our limits, were given in addenda, with such E erations in the stereotype plates as were possible. The present edition bege entirely rewritten) is printed from new stereotype plates, and in it are described 2,634 plants of the say en ggg and the higher Cryptogamous series; an increase in number of 208. In account- ing for so great an increase, we find that 308 out of Taa whole number are introduced species, being forty-e eight more than in the former edi- tion; thirty or forty have hitherto been considered as varieties (or as included in other species), or are new species, and the remainder have been newly discovered within the geographical limits of the work, and, as might be supposed, occur mostly on the borders of the area treated of. i most important changes which we notice are the combination of Nelumbiacee, Cabombacee, and Nympheacee proper as suborders 0 m Rubiaceæ to its place een Gentianacew and Apocynacee. Cal- lu lyaris is regarded as a native plant. Our species of C are described for the “Manual,” by D ngelmann, of S ble rule of priority, for the familiar one of Benzoin; the genera Calli- triche and Euphorbia have been carefully reélaborated, as to our spe- cies, by Dr. Engelmann, for this Spree the Cupulifere and Betulacee have been thoroughly overhauled; the genus Lemna has been care- fully revised with the aid of notes Prot ieee by Mr.C. F. Austin, and the genus be (represented by W. Columbiana)t is now for the fi time indicated in a ook of Botany, as found in America, though discovered dels years ago by Dr. Robbins, who has now monographe anew our species of Potamogeton. Habenaria is now introduced as including all our species of Platanthera and Gymnadenia; Spiranthes S a Sa RO E _*The es which are à deseribed as new are Cab po ignei. Poly: - Cartisii, arsonii, j elia Canbyi 3 Sae an amnis, raspy soma Austin, Lemna P i Torreyi, P hr T eerie fants, È» : ban ti is Lincastriensis Scirpus Smithi ainis os Sinithi, Aad Smithii, oie rasan as aseovered grey PEENE (European) species, W. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 493 has undergone changes for the better, and §. Romanzoviana, hitherto identified only on the western slopes of North America, where it was long ago found by Chamisso, and at the single station of Bantry Bay, Ireland, is found to be present in the northern part of our region. Liliacee now includes Melanth d Trilliacee, and the genus Nar- ste and the Junci have undergone a careful and critical revision e hands of Dr. Engelmann. Much laborious study has been given ` the Cyperaceæœ, and we see the number of Carices raised from one hundred and thirty-two to one hundred and fifty-one; the Ferns have been contributed by Professor D. C. Eaton, of Yale College, who has introduced a few changes which we are glad to see, as with Pellæa and eagan aeeie and Phegopteris, and the species of Botry- chium. The unt of our species of Isoëtes has been contributed by Dr. sekeng an has given them much careful study, and who characterizes within our area seven species, while there are two more in the Southern, and three more in the Pacific States. í re glad to see the promise of a ‘‘simpler and more elementary work,” which will include the ‘‘Garden Botany” of the last sion and more, and ‘designed especially for school instruction, and fi those inte _ in on coe Field, Forest, and Ga fonts t Shall als with e volume, to aaa the ton ses and Liverworts, newly elaborated suppose, and the “ Lichens, if not all the other orders of Lower Cryp- togamia.” Above all we congratulate Botanists that there is a pros- pect of the issue, before many years, of a somewhat similar Flora of the whole national domain. The addition of six beautiful new plates (in the admirable workman- Ship of Mr. Isaac Sprague), of the genera of Cyperacee, is an impor- tant item to the beginner, and even to those more thoroughly versed in Botany. Every one will be pleased with the slight changes in the typographical execution and arrangement of the work.—H.M. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. ; BOTANY. _ Botanical Notes and Queries. A recent number of the Revue Hor- ticole (Aug. 16, 1867) calls in ques stion the native country of Sambu- cus Canadensis Linn. ., our common Elder, not only regarding it as a mere variety of the European S. nigra,— which it well may be, —but pyan if it be really indigenous to this country. The same mesas been raised in my own mind. Can any of the numerous 494 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. e sets no fruit either in the old world or the new; also that, on ry, no one seems to know it away from cultivation. This year, ape Some pods are forming in France. Has any one seen pods nd seeds in this country? Th quiry is in this case particularly addressed to Southern correspondents. Th re in cultivation forms singularly intermediate between hispida and the seuda- cacia, or common Locust, but these are more likely hybrids. The Rose Acacia is said to be indigenous to Georgia, apparently with good ason. But definite indications of it, and fruiting specimens are de- sirable As the above-mentioned number of the Revue Horticole gives a figure and description of that charming hot-house climber, Cleroden- dron Thompsone, I may take this occasion to refer to the curious, and perhaps as yet unnoticed, arrangement of its stamens and pistils, so as to favor, if not to secure, PSSA R The long and slender — and style in the flower-bud rolled up in an incurved coil, r the manner of the genus. Schenk i crimson corolla opens, set- a these organs free, the filaments straighten at once into nearly & horizontal position, and their anthers opening are covered with fresh pollen; while the slender style is strongly recurved, carrying the forked stigma downwards and backward far under the flowers. After under the tube of the corolla, while the style has risen to the hori- zontal or slightly ascending position, so placing the stigma where the anthers were the day before. Evidently there is only a short period during which a moth, or such insect, visiting the flowers can brush any pollen from the anthers to their own stigma; but the sae of freshly opened flowers will, in the progress of the insect from m to blossom, sey d the stigma of oes e's ex- : panded the day before. — A. Gra May-apples in Clusters. — In "i new edition of the “Manual of the Botany of the Northern States,” it is too briefly mentioned that Podo- Phyllum has been found in Ohio, by W.C. Hampton, with two carpels! i o emntenes on a visit to the Agricultural College of Penn- NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 495 Sylvania last summer, my friend, Professor H. J. Clark (whose acute original observations I have frequently had to record), showed me Several clusters of well-grown fruits of Podophyllum, of three or four I thi pect now and then a similar monstrosity in Jeffersonia ; and the mat- ter has a certain a bataile interest beyond the mere curiosity of the thing. — A. Gra Invasions of Foreign Plants.—The prepotency of foreign plants over Shan vitsin, especially in the New World, in sie ealand, Australia, st has of late ATR attention and remark. That en bles them to conquer new worlds wherever they get a foothold. Somehow or other these plants do seem, in this respect of prepotency, to take oe the particular human race whose footsteps westward they fol =a rats are suggested by a recent instance of the sort, on the part of a Chinese or Japanese leguminous plant, Lespedera striata Hook. and Arn., which has got an introduction, nobody can tell how, into the interior of Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina, and is now multiplying at a wonderful rate. I first received it a year ago, but fessor Darby informs me that he detected it about ten years ago, at the railroad station in Altoona, Georgia, and he has lately met with it in all the adjacent States. ‘Now,’ he adds, “it covers thousands [native] Helenium tenuifolium took possession. Now, thi à der conque h.” The newspapers have lately mentioned that “a new , of the nature of a clover,” has widely ap in forage plant, as it well may be, this intruder, which takes such a liking to the poor soil of the South, will prove a real blessing to the RA y.— À. 496 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. A VARIETY OF THE Ox-EYE Daisy.—I am not a little interested in the note in the NATURALIST for September, by Professor Tenney, in relation to the form of the Ox-eye Daisy, which he suspects to be been detected. Within a period of fifteen years past, I have found it some three or four times, I think; and I never suspected it to be any- thing but a chance variety of Leucanthemum vulgare. In the summer of 1865, it was brought to me from a spot close by my house, agreeing in all respects with the description by Professor T.; and wishing to could become known. I cannot believe it to be specifically distinct from the common Leucanthemum, or anything more or less than a va- riation, through accidental neta from the normal state of the spe- cies. To my mind it stands in the same line with the petaloid form of Penthorum, or the yna condition of Linaria vulgaris; an many other genera might be cited as furnishing instances of like de- partures now and then from the ordinary and natural style. —C. M. RACY. E nnass ZOOLOGY. Tue BreepinG Hairs or Birps. — In reading the lately published work of Mr. Samuels, on the Ornithology and Odlogy of New Eng- land, I noticed some statements regarding the breeding habits of some of grasses, leaves, and feathers, is built, —or laid, which would, per- haps, be the better term. This hole is sometimes as oo as six or eight feet, usually from four to six, in length.” Page 1 My experience in regard to the breeding habits of a Kingfisher is entirely at variance with the above. Of two burrows Spring, one measured thirty-four, aa the other thirty-five inches in length; they were excavated in the form of an elbow. The pas- ‘Sage leading from the entrance in one of them was PETR inches in length; and then turning to the right, lead to a cavity of about ~ ten inches in diameter, the bottom of which was three-fourths of an inch below the bottom of = way leading to it, and four and a half inches oo the form of an oven; including the cavity, : e ” . e NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. ee the length of this part of the burrow was eighteen inches. The eggs were placed in the hollow on the bare earth. I have seen many of their burrows, and have yet to find one in which anest is made of any material Again he says: “The Mottled Owl selects for a nesting-place a hol- low tree, often in the orchard, and commences laying at about the first being nothing more than a heap of soft ry ea This is another instance in which the bird makes no peada or at least I have never found one. All rapacious birds are awkward workmen at nest-building, especially the Owls. Those Owls which occupy a nest Tepair it with dried sticks, sometimes green ones with the leaves ad- ering, which they break from the neighboring trees ; and with bark collected from dead limbs, etc.; very seldom do they construct a new nest. i The difficulty with which Owls and Hawks obtain the material for building their nests, compels them to use the same nest year after year; the upper mandible so overhangs the lower one, that it is difi- cult for them to pick up a stick from the ground, and they often use their claws to carry the material. Had n ot Mr. Samuels been an eye-witness of the weaving capacity in the meadow, and lay their eggs on the bare turf; and when they pretend to build a nest it will not compare in architecture with that of = common hen make these Tetadeiaainta: because i pelieve facts concerning the ses should be given as well as the minutix of classification, as in this way information will be the better imparted to those seeking knowledge; and we shall then have the natural history as well as nomenclature of birds. —AUGUSTUS FOWLER, Danvers, Mass. GE oF CoLor IN Fisu.—A medium-sized ‘‘horned-pout,” in a dining « saloon in this city, ces color in a few days from black to a h has remained in running water some is _ fact may help to confirm Mr. Bolles’ observation mentioned in the N ATURALIST, p. 391.—W. B. CHAMBERLAIN, Worcester. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 63 ? 498 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. Can you inform me what is the use of the comb-like formation on the inside of the middle claw of the Night-heron, the Night-hawk, and Whippoorwill? Is it peculiar to night birds? I find it-on those men- tioned, and have not noticed it on any bird of the day that I have shot, or is in my collection. — BALDWIN COOLIDGE, Lawrence. We referred these questions to Dr. T. M. Brewer, who thus writes: I have shown your letter to Mr. G. A. Boardman, and have secured & very satisfactory explanation from him of the purpose and use of the “formation” in question. It.is used by the birds to clean their heads, and such portions of their neck, back, etc., as they cannot reach with their bills. He often finds them containing feathers, down, dead skin, etc. H. W., Massachusetts.—The Fern, from Genesee, N. Y., en- Z is mg nothing but a poor ites: of Aspleniuva aon teroides Mic PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIF IC SOCIETIES. a er AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE accumulation of snow and ice as the glacial hypothesis supposes to have once existed. The author called attention to the extremely broken gondie of the northern border of the continent, and to the probable effect of & snow line by a depression of the summer temperature. A large ex- tension of the area of perennial snow would result from this. But every one hundred feet of snowy accumulation would be more than equivalent in climatic effect to a hundred feet of continental eel introduced. We should thus have a great snow and ice plateau, cov- _ ering the northern portions of the maent without resorting to & : very extended upward mo movement of the s $ + PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 499 The paper then entered upon a discussion of the direct frigorific effects of such an immense plateau, composed of such material, con- trasting it with a similar plateau of bare earth, and applying to it various meteorological considerations, all tending to show that in the interior of such a plateau an intensely cold climate would continue through the year. Application was made of basic considerations to the question of a d ove the retreat of the china. By the cae motion the ‘dewtenn is trans- Ported over limited distances. For the remote transportation of drift, the agency of icebergs and ice-rafts is necessary. This latter Point is discussed in the paper on the Ripton Sea-beaches. “The Ripton Sea-beaches,” by Professor E. Hungerford. This pa- per gives a somewhat detailed description of a series of terraces, present position and form. The configuration of the country being rded as unfavorable to the accumulation of a large body of fresh water at this point, these deposits are cited as a strong confirmation 2,000 feet beneath the sea since the glacial epoch proper. The author of the paper took occasion to concisely present his ena. The geological events enumerated succeeded each other in the ae order :— . The formation of a continental glacier to whose partial m sine; always limited to a comparatively narrow belt upon the ati ern or seaward margin, are due the erosive phenomena, and the trans- _ portation of the drift over limited areas. 500 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 2. A depression of the continent, bringing the ocean into contact with the long Lp border, which, on its retreat, sends off icebergs d icerafts into the ocean. To these are attributed the further trans- portation of rered and boulder: . Emergence of the leapan — the higher beaches marking the earlier, and ae Champlain terraces the later stages of this process. “On the Geological pees of the Mastodon and Fossil Elephant of North America,” by P Ofensor — Hall, of Albany. Professor autum He ‘tial deastevse position by the melting of a glacier. He considered the facts as evidence that the mastodon extended back to the close of the glacial epoch. The paper stimulated so lively a discussion that the time of the session was extended three-fourths of an hour, when & farther discussion was postponed till the next day. During the discus- Bad with foreign observations. He noticed that remains of cig a identical with the one found in Siberia, were numerous 1 Russian America, and he suggested that the day might come when fossil ivory would become an important article of export from that territory. “ Considerations drawn from the Study of the Orthoptera of North America,” by S. H. Scudder, of Boston. This p gave a general account of the Orthopteran (grasshoppers, crickets, and the like), fauna of North America compared with that of Europe; showing = greater comparative richness of the American fauna under similar- climatic influences. It was followed by a more detailed notice of the groups which are characteristic of one continent in contrast WI with _ those forming the essential features in the fauna of the other. _ “On recent Geological Discoveries in the Acadian Provinces of Brit- ish America.” By J. W. Dawson, LL.D., F.R. S., Principal of a = ‘University. The object of the paper was to notice some rece coveries, which, though of interest, might have escaped the notice of : = ore sp aaa PROCEEDINGS Oe SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 501 In New Brunswick, the older rocks in the vicinity of the city of St. ro principally through the labors of Mr. thew, Mr. Hartt, and Profes- sor Bailey. The first step toward the yd of their precise date _ Was the a of a rich land flora in some of the u per beds, next below the Lower Carboniferous rocks which overlie them unéonforma- bly. These Pai plants I was enabled to recognize as of the Devonian Period, and the zealous researches, more especially of Mr. Hartt, have brought to light no less than forty to fifty species, or half of the whole number known in the Devonian of Eastern America, as well as six der.* These insects are the first ever found in rocks older than the Carboniferous. _ Th hese rocks, consisting chiefly of hard shales and sandstones, hav- thickness of underlying rocks of uncertain age. In the upper member of these rocks, the same active obseryers already mentioned have ob- served a rich primordial fauna, embracing species of Conocephalites, Paradozides, vraag and Agnostus, as well as an Orthis, and a new type of Cystid These foarte are regarded by Mr. Hartt and Mr. Billings as seg the age of Barrande’s. “‘ Etage C,” and as marking & new and older period of the “ Piaras Primordial” than any other as yet recognized in America, W with the exception of the slates holding rado: in Slate emenn of Jukes, in Neniom and. Descriptions of these i of these beds, consisting principally of conglomerate and trappean beds, is regarded by Messrs. Matthew and Bailey as of the age of the l ere Huronian. Th ainder, containing much gneiss and a b talline limestone, mee m rd as Laurenti If this view is correct, and it certai ms to be probable, these rocks thus rising through and auc of tha Atlantic coast; the latter as has been pola out by * Canadian Naturalist and Geologist. me 502 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Professor Hall and Sir W. E. Logan, so remarkably distinguished by the predominance of mechanical sediments, and by a development of the lower rather than the upper members of tho Lower Silurian. To ascend from these rocks to the Carboniferous, — recent pio of Mr. Davidson, Mr. Hartt, and the author, had led to the division of the Lower Carbo seta into successive subordinate —_— and to the determination of m f the marine fossils, and also to the expla- nation of the curious wis cs ently anomalous fact shat some forms allied to Permian species ue exist in the Lower Carboniferous, proper, can fairly be made in Nova Scotia, ine the gran development of the er dene in thicknes After noticing the large advances made in a fossil botany of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the paper referred to the discovery by Mr. Barnes of two new species of insects, and to the discovery by the writer of a new pulmonate mollusk, described by Dr. P. P. Carpen- ter, as Conulus priscus. There are thus in the coal formation of Nova Scotia a Pupa and a Conulus or Zonites, generically allied to living pulmonates, and representing Babies in that early period two of the eee types of these creatu S mens of these ean were aes and also specimens and a = seen of the Laurentian fossil Zozojn Canadense sent by Sir W. E. Logan. Special attention was drawn to the specimen recently found by the Canadian Survey at Tudor, which shows oie organism in a state of preservation comparable with that of ordinary Silurian fos- sils. ‘On the Distribution of Radiata on the West Coast of America.” By Professor A. E. Verrill. In this paper the author has endeavored to present all the facts hitherto published in regard to the geographienl distribution of the Radiates along the entire Pacific coast o as well as many new observations upon those found in the orad re on. The present state of our knowledge indicates that the entire Ome may be divided into at least eleven regions, or zodlogical provinces, the bounds eN adjacent provinces, on one or both ends, in dimin- ished ı Temperature was shown to be the principal physi- cal agency ii Halting the distribution of species, but the nature of the bottom and the character of the shores have their influ- ence. "oe depth of water gerend bas a e mmaala Shallo of many Mollusca, Crustacea, and Fishes, but not the PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 503 Species, but its principal influence is indirect, by influencing tempera- animals to extend in deep water farther toward the equator than upon the shore. The number of species of each class of Radiates found in the Several provinces was stated, together with those that were peculiar sou Th coasts of America and Europe, and, in some cases, upon the Pacific coast of Asia; several of the common New England Star-fishes, Sea-urchins, and Actiniæ are examples of species having this wide O the latter being common e Tropical or Panamian province, extending from the head of the ide of California and Cape St. Lucas to Cape Blanco, Peru, was compared with the Caribbean province, extending on the Atlantic pri from Florida to Brazil, ahd including the West Indian Islands. Very few species of Radiates are recorded as identical between the Atlantic and Paciñc, and these are all Holo- thurians, and therefore doubtful. The Polyps and Corals are remark- vin n to those ofthe Atlantic. All the evidence is against the suppo- hmus, since the more evidence of existing ific species passing into the Atlantic, than the contrary. In conclusion, it was thought that a depression of about three red feet, causing a connection across the Isthmus by means of a w estuary of brackish’ water, sufficiently pure to sustain the life floating germs of of Corals and other Radiates, would: waticieaty account for the distri- ut to account for the distinct In- “open species belonging often to genera not found in the East 504 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. dies and Central Pacific, it will be necessary to suppose that they were created gan rately, as we find them, each adapted to its province; or else that they have descended from common ancestors, becoming si ep ici by natural selection or otherwise, and pointing to an earlier, very ancient, and extensive connection between the two eans. Prof. O.C. Marsh exhibited some remarkable fossil Sponges from the Lower Silurian of Kentucky, for which he had recently proposed the new genus Brachiospongia. The type of the genus was B. Remerand, and several other species have recently been discovered. These forms v nlike any known ‘sponges, recent or fossil, and are of great Scientific interest. A full description of them will soon be published. “On certain Effects produced upon Fossils by Weathering. > ay Professor OU C. Marsh. Certain ena tay in some fossil shells, different genera on the same specimen. This is very often the case with Ceratites nodosus, from the Trias of Germany. — This number is devoted largely to the a Hg of the Pensa apie cgi for the Advancement of Science. In order to make room for the valuable and interesting address of the President, and the abstracts o; y ers read in the Natural History Section, we have crowded out articles and illustrations originally intended for mber. We trust all our readers will feel an interest in the growth and uccess of the American Association, whose meetings are doing so much for the diffusion and advancement of Science in this country, and prove such pleasant reunions for all interested in the cause The abstracts of the papers will be continued in future numbers. BOOKS RECEIVED. ife Beneath the Waters; or the Aquarium in America. By Arthur M. E New York, 1858. Izmo. Tiustrated. se `- Islands, Hion) Parasite, or Cat illar Fungus, from the Philippine Ps Dr. Samuel d Spesland, and. (Erom the 1 Proceedings "Boston Society Natural History gso: of the Geo! and its vicinity ; prepared by L. Von $ for Schools and Academies. By L. C- Co. 1867, Motes on: ai anada, and o merae te EEEE OTAS yaa Dawson Li Da wi with Notes by W. pic ing oe the Proceedin logical Boctety. , May 8 IN OBITUARY NOTICE. Ir is our painful duty to announce the death of the President of the Essex Institute, which took place at his residence in Salem, on Thursday evening, October 31, 1867. Francis PEABODY, born at Salem, December 7, 1801, was a son of Joseph Peabody, an eminent merchant of Salem during the close of the last and the beginning of the present century. Soon after leaving school he made an excursion to Russia and Northern Europe, and on his return settled in Salem, where he continued to reside until his de- cease, except during occasional visits to Europe. He was early in- terested in the study of chemistry and the kindred sciences, and their application to the useful arts. He was the first President of the Board of Trustees of the Peabody Fund for the promotion of science and useful knowledge in the County of Essex; a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and other institutions. In November, 1827, the Essex Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, in Salem, of which body he was an honored member, voted to have a course of Literary and Scientific Lectures; about the same time the Salem Charitable Mechanic Association appointed a committee to Provide for the delivery of lectures before the members and their families. Before both of the above-named institutions Mr. Peabody delivered several lectures on the Steam Engine, Electricity, Galvan- ism, Heat, and similar subjects. At the organization of the Salem Lyceum in January, 1880, Mr. Peabody took a leading part, and was on the first board of management, and delivered several lectures on Scientific subjects. These several institutions may be considered as having made thé first movement in the general introduction of pop- ular and instructive lectures, which have been so universally adopt- ed in this country. About 1826 Mr. Peabody engaged in the manufacture of white lead, which business he pursued until 1843. During that period he was also interested in the manufacture of paper and linseed oil, and owned es- tablishments for the refining of sperm and whale oils. From that 2 time, until his decease, he engaged extensively in commercial enter- prises, in connection with one of his sons, and had recently erected a mill for the manufacture of .gunny cloth on new principles. Mr. Peabody had a very active and inventive mind, and was always interested in the conducting of experiments in the Physical Sciences, or in the invention of machinery useful in the arts. He had always been an efficient and zealous member of the Institute, and in May, 1865, was elected its President; during his official connection with that body he contributed very largely for the promotion of its objects. The decease of the President will not only be a great loss to the Institute but to the community in which he had spent an active and useful life. His memory will long be cherished for his many virtues and his great interest in all worthy undertakings. At a meeting of the Essex Institute, held on Saturday, Nov. 2, 1867, Vice-President A. C. Goodell, jr., in the chair, the following Resolu- tions, offered by Henry Wheatland, were unanimously adopted : — Resolved, — That the Essex Institute receives see tidings of the bee of its President, FRANCIS iape Esquire, with p found BortoW; that in h in Con of it it officer, but of a friend ai atron of science anà the useful arts, w who, while vais menman of cose and the inp vane of now sources of api a man w ose mou tha iata 3 osperity of any binilir, wi. ya its more inti- mate and private ae wan asa ane and blameless. Resolved, — That, as a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased, the Rooms of the Institute be aie to the geet erage Nov. 4, and that me members assemble at this p f their late President. — That the Hon. C. W. Upham be invited to prepare a Eulogy upon life and shernater of of the deceased, to be read before the members of the nie at such time as shall be hereafter determined upon; and pore the Trustees of the Resolved, — That a copy of these Reso coupons to the family of the de- ceased, to whom the Institute hereby tender its sincerest sympathy and condo- enoe; SHA Mat a copy Do also » forwarded to George Peabody, sa of RRS his large done tion for the promotion of science and useful knowledge in the County of rR and the deceased the warmest feelings of kindred and friends Cet E AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. I.— DECEMBER, 1867.—No. 10. <> DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. BY PROF. L. W. BAILEY. It is the purpose of the present article to present in a familiar way the more important features in the structure and history of some organisms in general but little known, the Desmiprace® and DraTomacE®, and to suggest a few reflections upon their habits and economical value, but more especially their importance, both in past ages and at the present time, in modifying the physical fea-. tures of the globe. Without entering into the facts of the discovery and history of these microscopic Algx, it may be sufficient to. say that they were originally included, together with two: other very interesting groups, the Polygastrica or Many- Stomached animals, ane the Rotatoria or Wheel-animal- cules, by the Prussian naturalist, Ehrenberg, under the common name of Infusoria. It is much to be regretted that a systematic classification, embracing numerous sub- families, genera and species, should thus have been in- troduced into scientific nomenclature, at a period when so little was really known of the true position of these organ- Entered li Act of Congress. in the year 1867, by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the Massachusetts. (505). AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 64 506 DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. isms, and that names devised to represent their supposed characters, but calculated to lead into constant error, should thus have been perpetuated. The name of Infu- soria, applied to the whole assemblage of animated forms first revealed by the microscope, was derived from the in- variable presence of these bodies in all infusions of decay- ing animal and vegetable matters. It is to their rapid ap- pearance and development under circumstances calculated to remove or destroy all germs of organic life, that the doctrine of spontaneous generation, still maintained by many able observers, owes its origin. Into the character and habits of the Infusoria proper, or Protozoa, as they are now called, as well as those of the Rotatoria or Wheel- animalcules, I do not now propose to enter. Suffice it to say, that the two remaining families, the Diatoms and Des- mids, after repeated tossing from the one kingdom to the other, are now universally admitted into the department of the botanist, and can really have nothing in common with that of the zodlogist. The Desmids and Diatoms were grouped together by Ehrenberg, under the single name of the Bacillariæ, from bacillum, a rod or wand, a name singularly inappropriate as applied to the whole family, including as it does a large proportion of forms having no such resemblance. By naturalists of later years the two are included as co- ordinate suborders of the minuter Cryptogamia, termed Alge by botanists. The Desmids, or Desmidiacez, so called from the par- tial division of the single cell of which they consist into two by a deep constriction in the middle, which is highly characteristic of the whole family, are pseudo-unicellular alge of a beautiful green color and great variety in size and outline. Unlike the Diatomacee, they are confined DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. 507 solely to fresh water, where their delicate green cells, forming mucous tufts or films on the surface of boggy pools, or coating the stems or fronds of aquatic plants, often multiply in sufficient numbers to impart a pale green tint to the water. Only the most quiet and the purest water seem favorable to their growth. Running streams, brackish inlets, the turbid waters so productive of the minuter forms of animal life, seem wholly unfitted for these delicate organisms. Asa general rule they are much less numerous than the Diatoms, the latter far exceeding them in families, genera, and species, as well as in the number of individuals. Their outline is very varied, but generally characterized by a great number of incisions of greater or less depth, which seem constantly tending to divide the original cell into a number of smaller ones. Many of them have in general a circu- lar outline, but still marked with deep constrictions (as Micrasterias, Pl. 13, fig. 4), others are lengthened and sigmoid (Closterium, fig. 5), recalling some genera among the Diatomacese; others, again, are compound or concatenate ; and yet others, like the Diatoms, form long and waving graceful filaments. A tendency also towards outward development, as shown in the nume- rous projecting arms which are so prominent on many Species (figs. 1, 2, 6), is also a noticeable feature in their structure, and aids greatly in the determination of their Specific characters and their relations to other families. The Desmids consist, as I have said, essentially of a single cell. This cell has the usual number of external Coatings, a membrane of firm though flexible consistency, often containing particles of silica, and showing the affini- ties between this family and the Diatomacez ; a second Coating or “primordial membrane” included within the we o DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. former, and containing within its cavity the “endochrome,” or green coloring matter, which seems to be analogous to the chlorophyl or leat-green of the higher plants; and, lastly, a thin hyaline membrane enclosing the two former, and analogous to a similar membrane among the Diato- mace. The surface of the cell thus enclosed is often ornamented by the existence of numerous markings, strie, lines or dots, but still oftener by the presence of projecting points or spines, which give to many of the genera a singularly beautiful appearance. In the interior of this cell may sometimes be seen a curious movement of the cell contents, which has given rise to much discus- sion among the students of these forms. Some assign the circulation thus witnessed to ciliary action, others to the spontaneous movement of enclosed zoéspores ; but as this is still a debated point, I shall not at present dwell upon it. The same is true of the motion quite commonly observed of the whole Desmid through the medium in which it lives, with a slow majestic movement, very sug- gestive of animality, and which caused these organisms to be assigned by the earlier writers to that kingdom. The existence of external “cilia,” either in these or in the Diatomacex is exceedingly improbable. Like other plants, they have a marked tendency to travel towards the light, and have sufficient power of locomotion to penetrate to the surface of mud in which they have been imbedded during the drying up of pools. The multiplication of the Desmids is accomplished by two methods: by self-fission, or the dividing of the cell- contents into two portions, as is commonly the case with all Alge ; or, secondly, by a true generative process, “N the formation of “Sporangia.” As, however, these pro- cesses are very similar to those which characterize the DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. 509 reproduction of the Diatomacee, and as it is chiefly of the latter that this article is designed to treat, it is unneces- sary to enter into a more minute description. Before dismissing the subject of the Desmidiacee, I may say that they are exceedingly common, especially in open tracts, abounding in exposed localities. They are ex- ceedingly beautiful, and, with the Diatoms, which are always associated with them, form objects well worthy of search on the part of those provided with the proper instruments to discern their beauties. They are very tenacious of life, I having frequently found them still green and healthy in bottles of water from which all other varieties of vegetable life had long since disap- peared. As agents in the mechanism of Nature, the Des- mids play an important part, not only by directly serving as the food of many aquatic animals, but also by their furnishing, in company with other plants, the oxygen which is so necessary for the purity of the water in which these animals are to dwell. Lastly, the Desmids have a peculiar interest from the fact, that, notwithstanding their being destitute of the hard parts which constitute the fossil remains of other plants and animals, they are yet found in considerable numbers in the fresh-water marls of North America, and bodies bearing a striking resemblance to their Sporangia occur tbhindantly i in the silicious nodules of the chalk, and even in the flinty hornstone of the Silurian and Devonian eras.* To this fact allusion will again be made in the diseussion of the geological relations of the Diato- macez, *It is generally stated that these organisms, sign l be eegnen are the spora gia of Desmids; ut if so, how is it that they occur in rine deposits, suc ter for the chalk and horn while the recent Desmids are exclusi ely fresh-water forms : In alusi ions to ae e fossils this fact seems to have been generally overlooke 51Q DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. The close analogy existing between the structure and mode of growth of the Desmidiacez and that of other un- doubted unicellular Algæ became evident with the rapid improvements in the instruments of observation. Not so, however, with the Diatomacez, for although the opinion is now almost universal among those most competent to decide the question, that they are truly vegetables, this conclusion was long opposed by able writers, and even now is by some authorities strenuously disputed. With the majority of observers I will assume their vegetable nature, and endeavor to describe the most important fea- tures in their structure and mode of growth. The Diatoms (from dia and temno, to cut in, two) are, like the Desmids, unicellular Alge, consisting essentially of two plates, concavo-conyex, Dai, hemisphere or depressed, connected together by a band or hoop called the “connecting membrane,” applied to and coinciding with the circumference of the valves, and enclosing within a coloring matter, which, unlike that of the Desmids and most true plants, is of a yellowish or orange-brown color. The form, structure, and marking of these valves are often very complex as well as beautiful, and are of vast importance in the classification of these organisms. As to form, the Diatoms present an infinite variety of size and outline. Mathematical curves of the most exquisite perfection, combinations which the designer would grasp with eagerness in the planning of his “modeli, surfaces adorned with the most unlimited profusion of style and ornamentation, are everywhere presented. They may conveniently be arranged under two great heads; first, of the forms more or less linear or eiii in outline, in- cluding most fresh-water species; and, secondly, those - Which are eet almost solely marine. This division is DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. 511 not an accurate one, many linear forms being marine, and a few discoids fresh water, but the distinction is a con- venient one, and sufficiently characteristic to apply to the majority of cases. . Among the forms whose general outline is linear, we have those which are straight and free (such as Witschia, Pl. 13, fig. 8), those whose “frustules,” as the separate individuals are termed, are adherent by the base, and which produce fan-like clusters, or even star-shaped ag- gregations (as in Synedra, fig. 33; Asterionella, fig. 17; and Licemophora, fig. 20); those with the individuals adherent by the sides, and producing lengthened fila- ments (fig. 18), which if one end of the cell be smaller than the other, will give rise to spirals (as in Meridion, fig. 12), or again lying free with others of its kind in a sort of gelatinous envelope or cushion (as in Mastogloia, fig. 19, Encyonema, etc.), or adhering by alternate cor- hers and producing zigzag chains (as in Diatoma, fig. 16; Grammatophora, fig. 30; Tabellaria, fig. 13) ; or, lastly, not included in either of the above divisions, but still having a certain general resemblance to the typical straight line (as Cocconema, Gomphonema, etc.). These are by no means natural or scientific divisions, but aid in fixing in the memory their characteristic shapes. Between each other and the second great class of circular or discoid forms, there is every variety of gradation, the one insen- sibly passing into the other. The latter, or discoid forms, which, as I have said, are mostly but not exclusively marine, are .also characterized by even greater variety of form and outline, often exceeding in beauty of conception and in delicacy of execution the most elaborate works of human ingenuity. As a general rule the surface of their valves is more or less broken into numerous dots, depres- Sr DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. sions, or elevations, and frequent areolations, circular or hexagonal. This is a very general character of all the Diatomace, and is due to the deposition of layers of silex variously disposed within or between the different membranes which enclose the cell, and which, remaining persistent and retaining all their delicate sculpturing after the removal of the organic contents, are the portions which become fossil and which, even in recent gatherings, are the chief features used for the discrimination of the species. Frequently several different modes of ornamen- tation are visible upon the same shell, and are possibly situated in its different layers. The exact position, and the number of such membranes, and the nature of the markings, are still subjects of discussion among the stu- dents of these forms. The presence of this silex, how- ever, is the fact of most interest in their structure, whether they be regarded in a strictly scientific, or in an economical point of view. ; Among the discoid forms may be enumerated those with a circular outline, and circular or hexagonal areo- lations (such as Coscinodiscus, Pl. 13, fig. 34; Craspedo- discus, etc.), those with a circular valve divided into partitions by radiating lines (as Axachnodiscus, fig. 29), _ those with a simple disk, but united into continuous fila- _ ments (as Podosira, fig. 25; Melosira, etc.), those with a more or less circular outline, but with the surface pro- jecting into spines or processes which seem to connect adherent frustules (as in Biddulphia, fig. 31; Eupodis- cus, etc.) ; or, lastly, of forms not truly circular in out- line, but really modifications of the circle, and approach- ing that shape by insensible gradations (as Triceratium, fig. 27; Amphitetras, fig. 36; Campylodiscus, Surirella, ete.). Asa rule, the circular forms may be compared to = DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. 513 tolerably flat thin pill boxes, or, still better, to a common watch. One genus, indeed, the LTyalodiscus, when mag- nified over 2,500 diameters, bears a striking resemblance to the covers of an engine-turned watch, two sets of deli- cate dots radiating in eccentric curved lines from the cen- tre towards the periphery, and giving to the shell, under bright illumination, a truly exquisite appearance. Some have the disks so convex as to make a nearly spherical figure, others have the surface depressed at the centre, while others again are beset around the margin with a glittering row of spear-like points. The imagination can scarcely picture a form of beauty which does not find a counterpart among these most wonderful of Nature’s me- dallions. The multiplication of the Diatoms, like that of the Desmids and other unicellular Alge, takes place accord- ing to one or the other of two modes, either by simple cell-multiplication, the original frustule dividing into two which again subdivide, or else by a true generative pro- cess, and the formation of Sporangia. The first method is exceedingly common, so much so, indeed, that we can Scarcely find a specimen in which the process is not just ended, or in some stage of advancement. This multi- Plication takes place by the gradual enlargement or Widening of the “connecting membrane” before alluded to. (See Pl. 13, figs. 31 a, and 23 a.) Nearly at the beginning of this process the contents of the cell are di- vided into two portions, while the lining or inner mem- brane of the parent cell becomes doubled inwards in an annular ring about the whole circumference along the line of division. This infolding membrane continues to ad- vance, until a nearly complete division has taken place of the old cell into two new ones, the two new contiguous AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 65 514 DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. valves becoming impregnated with silex before they have become free of the connecting membrane. (Pl. 13, fig. 31a.) In this way a complete septum is formed, the two new frustules often remaining enclosed within the connecting membrane, like the inner tubes in a telescope. These new cells, which in every way are the exact coun- terpart in size and structure of their parents, may remain thus enclosed, but more frequently are left free by the falling off of the connecting membrane. The new frus- tules thus formed, by the greater or less adhesion among themselves, which differs in different species, give rise to all the different forms of aggregation already alluded to. If adherent side by side, the effect is to produce a length- ened filament, either straight (Pl. 13, fig. 18), or spiral (fig. 12); if adherent only at corresponding corners, & star-shaped figure is produced (fig. 17); if at alternate corners, a zigzag chain (fig. 16). Frequently processes of greater or less size are developed at the corners, which serve as means of adhesion between the two (fig. 23). Lastly, the division may be complete, and the resulting cells remain aggregated in a spongy mass (fig. 19) 5 oF else, entirely free, swim slowly through the medium in which they live (figs. 9, 10, 28, 32, ete.). : Of the contents of the cells or “frustules,” their chem- ical composition, changes, and internal movements, it is unnecessary now to speak. Suffice it to say, that the ex- istence of the so-called stomachs, organs of locomotion, ete., which Ehrenberg asserted that he had detected in their interior, have been entirely disproved by the re- searches of later authors. The “endochrome,” as I have already said, is of a different color from that of most plants, and is even supposed by many to be of a different - chemical composition; but in most. other respects their DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. 515 resemblance to true plants is very marked, and as they bear the closest analogy to the Desmids, which all ob- servers now admit to be vegetables, it can scarcely be doubted that they, too, are of the same nature. One of the greatest obstacles to a belief in the vegeta- ble nature of the Diatoms has always been the wonder- fully curious motions which nearly all of them exhibit in their living state. This is not a merely mechanical mo- tion, due to light or other external agents, although they share this property with other known plants, but they seem to have a certain internal principle of locomotion peculiar to themselves. They may constantly be seen swimming through the water, with a motion slow, to be sure, when we consider how much that motion is mag- nified, yet certainly as rapid as that of many undoubted animals among which they dwell. As a general rule these motions are simply backwards and forwards, any interposing obstacle being pushed aside, but not avoided ; at other times, the motion is a slow rolling from side to side. In one species, however (the Bacillaria paradoxa, (PL I3, fig. 18), so singular are the movements exhib- ited, and so unlike anything that occurs either in the animal or vegetable kingdom, that they never fail to ex- cite astonishment in those who, for the first time, behold the curious phenomenon. Like a lengthened ribbon, crossed by numerous close and parallel bands or bars, the Bacillaria frequently attains a length of an inch or more. Hanging from some green confervoid plant, or floating freely in the water, this fragile form, transparent and lustrous as the finest spun glass, is at first quite motionless. Slowly detaching itself, however, at one end, a strange activity will soon become apparent throughout its entire length. Each 516 DESMIDS AND DIATOMS. glassy bar takes upon itself an individuality, and though still connected with the rest, moves as with an impulse of its own. The middle bar alone is motionless. Those on either side slide gently on the last, the one to the right, the other to the left, with clock-like regularity. The movement of the first is the signal for all the rest. Each in turn slips quickly along his neighbor’s side, until from a long and ribbon-like band, we now have a séries of glassy steps, each crystal bar resting slightly upon that below it. But the change is transient. When the whole series has thus unfolded, as it were, it begins to slowly recoil again. Each plant or bar resumes its former place, and the ribbon-like band again hangs motionless from leaf to leaf. The cause of these motions has been severally assigned to the action of minute vibratory cilia, to an undulatory motion of the outer membrane, and to the mechanical effects resulting from thé absorption or discharge of water. The subject, however, is one which yet remains in great obscurity. — To be concluded. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 13. igs. 1-5. Dersmrps,—1 and 3, Euastrum; 2 and 6, rs eT — fossils found in flint; 4, Micrasterias; 5, Closterium. -21. DIATOMS, — Fresh-water. 7, Navicula; Al Nitschia; 9, baoa: 10, Pinnularia; 11, Eunotia triodon; 12, Meridion ver- ; 18, Ta bellaria peo a, —a, front view, b, side view; 14, CY- clotella Zap aaa side view; 15, Acnanthes; 16, Diatoma floc- culosum ; 17, peonpi 18, Bacillaria paradoxa; 19, Mastogloia; 20, Licmopho ra; 21, Odontidium Figs. 22-36. DIATOMS n,- Marine Forms. 22, Amphiprora; 23, Am ee , forming a zigzag chain, —a, a frustule about to divide into two, b, two Da newly formed but not yet separated, the “com” _ necting membrane” having fallen off; 24, Asteromphalus, a peautiful deep-sea form, taken from below 2,000 fathoms in the sea of Kams- chatka; 25, Podosira ; 26, Navicula didyma; 27, Triceratium; 28, Nits- American Naturalist. Wo. J, PL 19. BAILEY ON DESMIDS AND DIATOMS A BOTANICAL -EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. sly chia; 29, Arachnoidiscus; 30, Grammatophora; 381, Biddulphia,—a, two frustules, still enclosed by the ‘‘ connecting membranes,” b, ‘‘ con- necting membrane,” widening previous to self-division; 32, Pleuro- sigma; 83, Synedra; 34, Coscinodiscus; 35, Triceratium; 36, Amphi- tetras. The forms are not accurately drawn to scale, but are for the most part magnified about four hundred diameters. eee eens A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. BY PROF. HORATIO C. WOOD, JR., M. D. PROBABLY most of the readers of the NATURALIST have, at some time or other in the last five years, owned, or at least been interested in aquaria. If what happens in Philadelphia may be’ taken as an index, many such ob- servers of water-life have been pestered by a minute growth, which seems to flourish alike on plant or stick, on the living and dead. Last winter and spring the writer of this article had a small aquarium, which, as far as plants were concerned, was stocked chiefly with the Ceratophyllum, or hornwort, which, as is well known, possesses a vast abundance of finely dissected, twig-like leaves. Glancing one day at his water-garden, he noticed on these little cylindrical divisions a fine hazy fringe, scarcely to be perceived except by allowing the light to shine through the vessel containing the plant. Now this fringe, this nebulous garment clothing the horn- wort, was the minute growth alluded to, which, though not strictly parasitic, not feeding on the plant to which it is attached, is, in most cases at least, associated with a sickly state of the larger plants, and certainly detracts om their beauty when viewed with the unaided eye, as in aquaria. But let us take our forceps, break off -one 518 A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. of these little twigs, place it on a glass slide, put over it the cover, and carry it to our microscope. For this ex- amination, a power of about one hundred diameters is the most satisfactory, say an 38; or 3 objective. Let me place the object on the stand, adjust the light and focus, and now peer through the eye-glass, and lo ! T our scarcely perceptible prize starts into view as a huge subaquean forest, or rather cane-brake, with great lafos stems ; here and there more sparse and open, here and there more close and impenetrable. A wonderful land is this we have entered upon, —a * land more strange than ever was dreamed of by Eastern romance. It has not only a vastly diversified flora, but also myriad animal forms. If time and space would allow, we might watch the little groups of Vorticellas, making, by “theft rapidly- moving cilia, numerous whirlpools, which, to many of the inhabitants of the drop of water, are as fearful as ever maelstrom was to ocean wanderer ; for down in the centre of each miniature whirlpool lurks their destruction, to- wards which the current resistlessly forces them when once within its grasp. Perhaps a huge many-armed hydra might be found lurking in the thickets, or the jelly- like, formless mass of an Amæba writhe itself into ever- varying shapes before us. But we must pass by rotifers, infaiorin: entomostracans, arachnids, —all the marvellous animal inhabitants to be seen,—as well as the various diatoms, desmids, and other plants, save the species which is the predominant feature of the scene we have been looking at The packet of the intense interest excited by these microscopic objects in any naturalist who has once fairly entered upon the study of them is the fact, that here we A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. 519 are brought, as it were, face to face with the greatest of all mysteries—Jife; here we see it in its simplest expres- sion, and are able to watch all its processes, to perceive every movement, and, in fact, come as close to the force or forces which constitute life, as the chemist in his labo- ratory, or electrician in his study, to the forces whose action they investigate. The study of infusoria or of microscopic alge is not merely, as in most natural his- tory studies, one of form and relation, but rather is it the study of life. The scope of this paper is not such as to allow any- thing more than an entrance into this subject just far enough to glance at the beautiful prospect beyond. The plant itself is one of those simple forms which prefigure some variety of vegetable tissue, as seen in higher plants. It is composed of a number of cells placed end to end (Fig. 1), so as together to form a filament. Let us pause a moment here to learn what a vegetable cell is, if we do not already know. The micro- scopist has given the name of cell ‘ to little vesicles, closed spheres, Seog ene re cylinders, or some other hollow iwas formed: b,zoöspore, forms, which his investigations have on. iens prima” taught him, compose the animal and vegetable creation. Mayhap the reader of this article has, at some time in his summer saunterings, sat beneath a giant oak, and, peering into the water rippling at his feet, watched the little green mosses waving in the stream; or, stoop- ing to pick up a pebble, has “noticed the dark lubricous stratum on its surface. How different do these seem from the tree that shades him! Yet in their essence 520 A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. they are the same. That scarcely perceptible speck on the quartz is a vast assemblage of little plants, composed each of but a single vesicle or cell; whilst the oak that towers above is nothing but a vast assemblage of such cells united into a single plant. All plants, from the lowest to the highest, then, consist of cells, which are essentially the same throughout the _ whole vegetable kingdom. Let us take a cell of the plant before us, and examine it as a specimen of the vegeta- ble cell. Tn the first place, on its exterior we find a dense, but transparent coating, resistant to external force, and appa- rently structureless. Examine it with our highest pow- ers, and still it is structureless, a homogeneous, perfect membrane, without pores or any interruptions whatever. Yet it is easy to prove that water and various fluids can pass through it. Place the cell in a dense syrup, and the water will be drawn out of it so rapidly, that the contents will shrivel up. Again; the contents of the cell are, as we shall know directly, composed largely of a substance which shrinks and hardens under the action of various substances. Put a plant in diluted acid, or strong alco- hol, and see how the contents gather themselves together ; or surround it with a solution of iodine, and see how soon the change of color in the most central part betrays the presence of that element. Such experiments as these prove that although the cell wall is absolutely homoge- neous, destitute of all pores, yet fluids can pass through it. You see how, in the very onset, we are led into one of life’s processes, osmosis, as it is technically called ; but we must pass it by. Let us try a little microscopic chemistry. Put a fila- ment on a clean slide, and allow a watery solution of A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. 521 iodine (dissolved by means of iodide of potassium) to flow round it. Then adda drop of sulphuric acid, and see! the transparent, colorless outer wall has become of a decided bluish or purplish tint. This is the test for Cel- lulose, a substance identical with starch in its constitution, of which the outer wall of all vegetable cells is composed. When a plant wishes to store up its material for future use, it throws it into the form of little insoluble granules (starch), which are deposited in the cells in various store- houses,—sometimes underground stems, sometimes roots, Sometimes leaves, sometimes other parts are selected. When the plant wants to move its material from place to place, it converts it into deztrine, which is soluble, and therefore capable of being transported. But when the material is to be finally disposed of, stored away, then it is made to take the form of cellulose. Within the cell, lying immediately against the outer wall, is a thin, gelatinous, scarcely perceptible layer, which is colored brown by iodine, and coagulated and rendered more apparent by alcohol, sulphuric acid, and Various reagents; this is the so-called primordial utricle, an albuminoid, homogeneous mass, in which much of the life-activity of the cell resides. Inside of this is a semi- uid mass which is very complex in its constitution, and different at different times. The essential parts of it are protoplasm and chlorophyl. The former of these is prob- ably identical with the primordial utricle, and shows its wonderful formative power. Chlorophyl is the green color- ing matter of plants. It is chlorophyl containing proto- plasm, which alone stands between all animate creation and death by starvation. For it is this alone which pos- Sesses the marvellous, almost creative power of seizing the inorganic siamini and opon of the earth and CAN NAT., VOL. 522 A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. air, and changing them into organic principles capable of life. But to do this, light is necessary ; it is only by the aid of that force that the chlorophyl can awaken into life the clod and breeze. Without light, — “The world were void, The populous and the powerful were a lump Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless, A lump of death, —a chaos of hard clay.” Somewhere in the protoplasm is generally to be found a spot of great refractive power, the nucleus; in the cell before us mayhap we can find it close to the wall, may- be it is absent. The nucleus is nothing more or less than a little solid protoplasmic ball. Much importance is assigned to it by most authorities, and in fact it, when present, plays a very important role in the life-history of the cell. But in these alge it is often absent, and the truth seems to be, that the primordial utricle, nucleus, and general protoplasm are identical in constitution and formative powers. In other words, that they are differ- ent manifestations of the same substance. Now let us place one of our filaments under a high power and examine it closely. Under a + objective, we will plainly perceive a very curious phenomenon going on inside of some of the cells. Notice among the general semifluid contents a number of minute dark specks or dots; these are minute granules of protoplasm. See! they are in active motion,—some are busy travel- ling from one end of the cell to the other, and all along it they are passing one another. But the mass of them are collected in two groups at the ends of their cells; all of them busy bustling about in all directions amongst them- selves, reminding one of a hive of bees about to settle. We have thus in our little plant had a sight of a Pro cess, which, variously modified, is probably present in all A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. 523 vegetable cells during some period of their active life. To these protoplasmic movements the name of Cyclosis has been given. Among the higher plants, the hairs of the stamens of the Tradescantia Virginica, or Spider- wort, are favorite subjects for the study of Cyclosis. It is well known, that, in our ordinary flowering plants, there are two distinct methods of continuing the species. In the one case, there is a peculiar system of organs pro- vided, which are in a measure antagonistic to the growth of the individual, and which produce seed, little bodies capable of renewing the life of the species; in the other case, certain portions of the ordinary nutritive organs of plants are set apart to reproduce the species. Thus in our common potato, by means of the flower, with its stamens and pistils, seed is produced; but, at the same time, portions of the underground stem become store- houses of vital force and starch, to serve as material out of which that force may obtain its building stores. Other familiar instances of this changing of the destinies of a part, are seen in the so-called bulbous roots, in the little aerial bulblets of the Tiger-lily,—all of them nothing but ordinary leaf-buds gorged with nutritive materials, and made the depository of vital force, in order to survive the death of the individual, and perpetuate the species. As it is in the highest plants, so do we find it in the lowest. Unity in diversity seems to be the motto of cre- ation ; the broader we extend our studies, the oftener will We find the same ideas outcropping in different forms. In the little confervoid growth under consideration, then, there are two distinct plans by which the species is perpetuated. The first is by a setting apart of certain ordinary nutritive parts of the plant, the other the spe- Cialization of a peculiar set of organs. 224 A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. Let us study the former of these. Imagine our plant under the microscope, just as some one or more of its cells are to be sacrificed for the production of a new life. Watch that cell. See the endochrome, or green contents, gathering itself by an imperceptible motion into a con- densed mass at the distal end of the cell. Now a separa- tion is evidently taking place between this cell and the next at its distal end. Slowly they part from one another, remaining attached at one corner, so as to open like a hinge until the sundered parts, instead of being in one continuous line, lie side by side more or less parallel to one another, and a free opening is left at the end of the cell. Slowly the mass of endochrome continues to move, so slowly, that, even with a very high power, the motion is imperceptible. Perchance the outlet seems too narrow for it, and, in twisting itself out of it, the plastic mass assumes various shapes constricted in the middle where the orifice is. It continues, however, to advance, until at last it is out of the cell in the free ocean around it. (Fig.1.) It "Eg" 2S now recovers very quickly its =e ortly after Shape, and is a bright green, zobspore “ i À Gdogonium growing in globular or oval mass, with “fied to oh deed ToT end. As I have seen the species under consideration, this little ball is at first coated with a transparent gelatinous material, which rapidly dissolves off in the water. Let us keep our eye still fixed on the ball. See! the coating is nearly gone, and, is it true? the little bali begins to rock without apparent cause. Now it rocks faster and faster, and now it is gone out of the field like an arrow. Here it comes back, moving hither and yo? ‘now very rapidly, now with a slow laterally rolling A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. 929 motion. The plant has given birth to an offspring pos- sessing apparently the peculiarly animal power of spon- taneous motion. Let us now place a little solution of iodine or laudanum so that it will come in contact with our little moving body, and in a moment motion ceases, —we have killed it! Let us now carefully arrange our light, illuminating the stage a little obliquely, put on our 4 objective, adjust it ‘for the glass cover, and see if we cannot discover the cause of the motion. Do you not see a circle or crown of long, lax, streak-like particles attached around the bright transparent space before spoken off. These are cilia, fine threads of condensed protoplasm. If during life one of these motive bodies is placed in a liquid con- taining very fine particles, as a dilute solution of India- ink or gamboge, and watched, constant currents will be seen to be produced by these cilia, which are in such rapid motion that they cannot be otherwise detected. It is, then, by virtue of the constant lashing of the cilia, that the little body moves, just as a boat moves by means of the scull. The movement of the cilia themselves is not a voluntary one; it is a form of the protoplasmic movements, of which cyclosis is one type. Let us take our motive body, killed by means of. the iodine, and add sulphuric acid to it; if cellulose be pres- ent, a bluish or purplish color will be produced. But there is none. In other words, our little body is composed simply of protoplasm and chlorophyl ; it is a cell without a wall. To these moving bodies the name of zoöspore is given. If you watch a living zoospore, in a little while its motion ceases, its cilia drop off, and it surrounds itself with a cellulose wall. i In most plants allied to the species under consideration, 526 A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. from the position of the cilia (Fig. 2) there grow, during this process of germination, little root-like processes which attach themselves to some anchorage, but I have not been able to detect them in the aquarial inhabitant. The cell, having acquired a wall, and thus perfected itself, now begins to elongate; by and by it undergoes cell division, and thus divides itself in its length into two cells, which grow and divide, and by repetitions of this process, the filament is formed, that which we noticed at first. This plant belongs to the genus G/dogonium, the species of which are arrangeable into three sets; first, those in which the single filament produces both male and female organs; secondly, those in which male and female organs are produced in distinct filaments; thirdly, those in which the female filaments produce, besides the regu- lar zoéspores, others which, in germinating, grow into peculiar dwarf plants, in which are formed “the male germs. These three sets are known respectively as mo- neecious, dicecious, and gynandrosporous plants ; the term androspore being given to the zodspore, whose function is to grow into the little dwarf male plant. The Œdogo- nium of the aquarium belongs to the gynandrosporous division. Besides these zodspores the CEdogonia produce, by means _ of a specialized reproductive system just alluded to, a spore or seed which is known as a resting spore. In our plant this is produced as follows: a cell in the main filament begins to enlarge, and, at the same time, a communica- tion is opened between it and the next proximal cell, whose endochrome is emptied into it. The two consoli- dated endochromes now contract themselves into a round- ish ball in the swollen cell, the sporangia or spore-case- About this time hrast of the poves (Fig. 3) attach A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. 527 themselves ‘generally on the emptied cell (Fig. 3), Sometimes on the sporangium, and soon grow into a Fig. 3. peculiar two-celled little plant. The base of the first of these cells is enlarged into a roundish, disk-like part, which is attached to the anchor- age, and is known as the foot. It is the distal of the two cells in which are formed the male germs, the so- called spermatozoids. These are little i bodies very similar to the zoéspores, ein. female plant but much smaller, and almost desti- oriy anda dwarf ‘male tute of color. They are similarly cil- plant on i ge emp cell. 5 opi Fo male ‘pla an mts by iated, and have sim- Fzt innod spore; c, opening ilar powers of loco- r: A cell motion. been used fh making the r ee e ize). at they are per. fected. tone is formed a lateral open- ing in the proximal or lower part of the sporangium of the resting spore. Through this orifice one or more of these spermatozoids enters and im- pregnates the endochrome, which con- tracts itself still more, and matures into the fully formed resting spore. $ During its maturation its green color AE P seite ‘ptint changes into a reddish-brown, and it magnified about Jin ain acquires two coats, the outer of which wim granular protoplasm is very thick and provided with a cu- direction eira rious spiral band or marking. (Fig. 5.) Se ea peel The exact way in which germina- tle abov tion of the resting spores takes place in the genus 528 A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. CEdogonium, has never been determined. In the allied genus Bulbocheeta, the resting spore finally breaks up into zoédspores, which grow into the plant in the same way as aber ZOOSpores. If we examine our filament closely, we will find it terminated by a long, exceed- ing delicate, bristle-like hyaline point, composed of cells whose walls are so deli- cate, as to be scarcely perceptible with very high powers, and at the end appa- rently consisting simply of primordial utricle, though I confess never to have ac- curately determined this by micro-chem- ical tests. Again, if we look at some {| of the large cells of the filament closely, Portionoffemateata. We Will find near their distal end one, oe Shana « two, three, or more streaks surrounding og mae ghowing> them like so many collars. Let us look still more closely. Why! such cells evidently have their wall beyond the first streak or line thickened, in fact bear on their upper ends little caps, as it were, the lines being in the caps. The causes of these two phenomena, the hyaline point and the little caps, are to be found in the peculiar methods of growth of the Œdogonia. The larger cells increase by a variety of cell multiplication by division. Cell multiplication by division is almost the _ only way in which all vegetable growth takes place. The process, as it ordinarily occurs, may be outlined in afew words. If a cell, about to undergo it, contains a nucleus, the first change takes place in that nucleus; a constriction can be. seen encircling and increasing in depth, until the nucleus is divided into two. When this : has taken place, a doubled reflection from the primordial La _ A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. 529 utricle grows inwards, and, dividing the protoplasm and contents more and more completely, finally meets in the centre, and the single cell has been divided into two, each half of the original size. ‘These small cells now in- crease in size by an interstitial growth of their cell-wall until they reach their full size, when, perchance, the pro- cess recommences. Sometimes a globular cell will divide into three, four, or more parts, but the process is essen- tially the same. In Sree cell formation, the protoplasm of a cell condenses into a varying number of little masses, which, whilst lying free in the interior of the mother cell, Secrete, each around itself, a cellulose wall. In this way is formed a number of perfect cells, en- Fig. 6. closed in, but independent of, the original cell, by whose dissolution they are finally ahi Set free. But let us return to our little plant and observe together a cell about to divide. The first noticeable change is the appear- . ance of a dark streak around the cell near i the distal end. At the position of this Two cells taken from . a species of (£do- streak outgrowths take place from the gonium growing in primordial utricle as just described, and cpm coed the divide the old cell into two parts, the up- in which division is per being much the smaller. (Fig. 6.) p AE gh enin vean Watching the dark streak just spoken of, Ue senile oF oid in a little while it begins to widen into a Giochrome;’ a its trench, and still continues to widen; the lose wall: d, old cel upper smaller division is growing by an separated elongation of the primordial utricle at the line of separa- tion of the two parts. As the primordial utricle grows, it bears the old cellulose wall, like a cap upon its end; and, when it secretes its own proper cellulose wall, the AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 67 530 A BOTANICAL EXCURSION IN MY OFFICE. latter is of course inside of this. When the newly formed cell has attained its full size, it recommences the process Fig.7. again. The dark line now appears just below the edge of the old cap, and gives origin to the edge of the second cap, that of the former re- maining apparent as a dark line. Again the process is gone through, and a third cap is formed, the margins of the first and second persisting. And so repetition after repetition, until a cell is formed bearing on its end a cap which is ringed with half a dozen dark lines, and composed of as many layers of cellulose. . The dark rings of course mark the edges of the successively cut off ends of cells. If there be six such lines, cell division has Riges, taken place six times since the original was formed. (Fig. 6.) Whilst the cells near the base are thus lengthening the fila- ment by their increase, the end cell seems to grow by a sort of af) out-pushing of the primordial Ra o de Pa ok utricle from the central part of perfected spore of hyaline point-the fore end. This makes a ¢,,°pft't5staxen- little cylinder, which is soon cut off from its evens cell by a partition, secretes a cellulose coat, and then pushes out a new shoot from its free end, just as itself was formed. By a repetition of this, a series of cells is made, each of which is smaller than the proximal one; and, finally, the filament is drawn out into a fine hyaline point. : ae 1.) THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U. S. A. (Coneluded from p. 400.) Fairy Hystricidæ, the Poreupines. The yellow- haired Porcupine (Hrethizon epixanthus) is a large and handsome species, which replaces the common one in the Western regions. Besides being somewhat larger than the last, there are differences in the color of the hair and quills, and some peculiarities of the cranial bones. I believe nothing has been observed regarding its habits whereby it differs from the Eastern species (E. dorsa- tum). It is particularly abundant along the Colorado Chiquito River, and nearly all our alires have obtained one or more specimens in that vicinity. Family Leporidæ, the Hares. Two species of the fam- ily are very abundant, and generally distributed over the Territory. These are the Great “Jackass” Hare (Lepus callotis), and the Sage Rabbit (L. artemisia). Certain other species, as Z. Oalifornicus, in the Colorado Valley, or L. campestris, in Northern Arizona, may possibly occur; but the two first named are the only common and characteristic ones. The Jackass Hare includes in its extensive range nearly all the great Western prairies extending into Texas and New Mixies; and is, in places suited to its wants, a very abundant animal. In some desert regions it and the Coyoté are almost the only animals of any size to be found, and it is difficult to i imagine how they derive nourishment from such forbidding Igcalities. It must feed largely upon sage-brush, grease-wood, kreosote-plant, young mimosas, and the ike. for these constitute the main features of (531) 532 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. the flora over large tracts, where grasses and succulent herbs are mostly wanting. Its flesh is said to derive a bitter taste from this sort of food; though I have eaten — these hares from various regions without noticing any difference in their quality. At Fort Whipple, the species is very common the year round, and almost every sort of locality is frequented by them, though they chiefly affect grassy meadows and open glades, interspersed with copses, or clumps of oak trees, or patches of briery un- dergrowth. The gulches or “washes” as they are called, leading out of mountain ravines, and thickly set with grease-wood (Obione canescens), are favorite resorts. They feed much upon this plant; and by their incessant coursings through patches of it, they wear little intersect- ing avenues, along which they ramble at their leisure. When feeding at their ease, and unsuspicious of danger, they move with a sort of lazy abandon, performing a suc- cession of careless leaps; now nibbling the shrubs over- head, now the grass at their feet. They are not at all gregarious, though peculiar attractions may bring many together in the same spot. They do not burrow, but construct a “form”. in which they squat. I do not think these are permanent; but rather that they are extem- porized, as wanted, in some convenient bush ; though the case may be different during the season of reproduction. It has been stated by some authors, that only two or three are produced at a birth, which I know to be at least not always the case, having found as many as six embryos in the multipartite womb of a pregnant female. In the lat- e of Fort Whipple the young are brought forth in Although so timid, like all hares, is species will ad- mit of a very close approach when it fancies itself hidden THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 583 in its form; though it hardly squats so pertinaciously, nor is it so easily concealed as the little Sage Rabbit, on account of its size. Trembling at heart, yet with motion- less body and eyes intently regarding the intruder, it sits all doubled up, as it were, the head drawn in, and the long ears laid flat upon its back, until one may almost touch it, when, with a great bound, it straightens out, clears the first intervening bush, and is off like the wind. It has a long swinging gallop, and performs prodigious leaps, some of them over bushes four feet high; now in the air, its feet all drawn together and down stretched ; now on the ground, which it touches and rebounds from with marvellous elasticity. It will course thus for a hundred yards or so, and then stop as suddenly as it started ; and, sitting erect, its long wide open ears, vibra- ting with excitement, are turned in every direction to catch the sound of following danger. The eye and hand of the sportsman who would cut short the first rush of the Hare must be quick, or he will be more likely to behold only a “rear elevation” of his game than to see it lying upon its side in the agonies of death, playing the prelude to its last appearance, in the culminating scene of its brief life’s drama. The skin of this species is very thin, tender, and easily torn, and nearly worthless for any practical purpose. After parted with by its owner, it is only fit for a natural- ist to puzzle over, in the attempt to determine its species. In the regions where I studied the animals, there is no appreciable difference in color, between summer and win ter pelages. They are always yellowish fulvous above, grizzled. with gray, dusky, and black; and dull white below, tinged with fulvous on the throat. There is a longitudinal arios of pure black on the rump, and ex- - 584 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. tending on the upper surface of the tail ; the under surface of which, as well as the surrounding parts, are white. The long ears are mostly grayish, or slightly fulvous, their posterior margins pure white, and their broad ends pure black for an inch or more. This parti-coloration heightens the conspicuousness which their size alone would give them. The Sage Rabbit (L. artemisia) is as abundant in Ari- zona as the Jackass-rabbit ; and, like the latter, has an ex- ceedingly extensive range throughout the West, from the Missouri region into Mexico, wherever the sage-bush, and other desert shrubs are found. It seems rather to avoid rich, grassy, and well-watered regions, and to take up its abode in the most sterile and desolate localities. Besides ordinary desert tracts, it shows a fondness for rocky, broken, and precipitous places, such as are usually shunned by the larger species, though the two are often found side by side. It burrows in the ground, and also lives under rocks, or in the crevices between them. It is a squat, bunchy little species, and its gait differs greatly from that of the hare. . It runs close to the earth, and instead of bounding over obstacles, scuttles around them with great agility. It is quite as difficult to shoot as the Jackass; for although slower of foot, yet it runs in a more tortuous and zigzag course. It squats so pertina- ciously in its hiding-places, that a small bush may be kicked several times before it will come out. It may not be generally known that this species, at least in some localities, changes its colors considerably in winter. At Fort Whipple I procured one in January, whose fur was very long, thick, and soft, and without a trace of the rownish or fulyous so conspicuous in summer. It was pretty much all over of a clear mouse or steel gray, THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 535 which, on various parts, particularly the belly and limbs, passed into white, more or less pure. Order Ruminantia, the Ruminants. Both naturalists and hunters distinguish two species of Deer in Arizona, called the Black-tailed and the White-tailed. Of these the former is by far the most abundant and characteristic ; although, judging from accounts formerly given of it, it has considerably decreased in numbers owing to the per- secution to which it is subjected so constantly from both the native tribes and the white settlers. It is the Cervus macrotis of Mr. Say; and is also called the “Mule Deer,” from the length of its ears. A novice, on seeing it for the first time, running directly from him, would hardly think to call it “black-tailed,” but rather the reverse. The black exists only on the upper surface of the tail, and near the end; and, as this member is ordinarily elevated and vibrated from side to side as the animal bounds off, only the white of the under surface and neighboring parts is exposed to view. This deer forms no small share of the food and clothing both of the Indians and white set- tlers. The former have as yet not generally obtained fire-arms, and in the chase resort to a peculiar stratagem, to be more particularly noticed in speaking of the Ante- ` lope. That their artifice is ordinarily successful is abun- dantly proved by the numbers of buckskins to be found in their rancherias. They possess the art of dressing them very perfectly, which is the more remarkable con- sidering the primitive means they employ. Unlike the skins of lynxes, foxes, etc., those of the deer have the hair removed, and are dressed as cloth, to be used for a great variety of purposes besides clothing. The horns of this species differ somewhat in configura- tion, though not materially in size, from those of the Vir- 536 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. ginian, or of the Columbian Deer. At their roots they are corrugated and nodulated for a short distance, when a small curved basal snag is given off. Near the middle they fork into two about equal branches, being widened and flattened just at the point of divarication. Each of these branches is again dichotomous not far from its . middle, one of the terminal forks being ordinarily larger than the other. The whole amount of curvature of the main stem of the antler is rather less than in some other species. The horns are shed in the spring, and the new ones are in the velvet during the great part of the sum- mer. By October, both sexes have finished changing their light coarse summer vesture for the softer and thicker winter coat, which, for some time after the change is completed, is extremely sleek and glossy. Its color is darker than it is in summer, being chiefly mouse-gray, finely waved or annulated with lighter and darker shades. In summer, there is much of a brownish or even fulvous tinge on many parts. The fawns are brought forth in June or July, either one or two at a time. They are at first of a light reddish-brown,—whence our familiar term “fawn-color,”—beautifully spotted with pure white, ` which is mostly disposed in straight rows. Except at certain seasons, this deer is more apt to be found singly than in herds of any size. But frequently in the autumn two or three are seen together; and on one occasion in October, I enjoyed the rare sight of twenty or thirty feeding together in a little open glade among thick pine woods. It is not an inhabitant of open prairie land, and is but rarely to be seen in such situations. Thinly wooded tracts of country, interspersed with oaks or juni- pers; hills and mountain sides covered with pines, as well as those places known as “chaparrals,” are its favor- THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 537 ite resorts. In warm weather, and particularly during ie the heat of the day, after its morning graze and drink, it r is fond of repairing to the thickest brush, where it lies down, and doubtless sleeps, as at such times it may be more easily and nearly approached than at others. I cannot positively determine the White-tailed Deer of Arızona, as I never procured a specimen. It may be a race of C. Virginianus, or that species called C. Mexi- canus in Professor Baird’s work, or not impossibly the C. leucurus Douglass. The white-tailed deer of our conti- ‘nent are all so closely allied, that it requires a practised eye and patient labor to distinguish them with any degree of certainty; and I believe it is a question with some, : whether they all are not merely local races of one com- mon stock. Though the dry plains of Arizona are not frequented by deer, still they are not wanting in inliabitants among the beasts “that cleave the hoof.” Over them the Prong- horned Antelope (Antilocapra Americana), the swiftest animal of America, runs races with the winds, making the long miles shrink into mere spans at the touch of his ‘ almost magic hoofs, whose impress upon the green sward writes down, in wild yet graceful stanzas, the “poetry of motion” which every attitude and movement of his supple form embodies. As on the land-sea of the Great Plains, _ 50 on every land-lake of Arizona he is at home; for home to him means the grassy surface of the earth, where his _ food is under and around him, and water may be reached by a bagatelle canter of a score or so of miles. Every one has heard of that strange trait of the Ante- lope’s character, which leads it irresistibly to approach any unusual object which it cannot make out, for a nearer View of the thing which so Saoi: excites its astonish- AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. S NG Te aa E ae) oe) pe EA, OE EG ag ee ed PTT gee at = Sy ye y 538 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. ment as to overcome its natural timidity. This remark- able curiosity is taken advantage of by hunters, to lure the animal within range, by displaying some brightly- colored piece of cloth, while they lie concealed close by, rifle in hand. The shallower the artifice, the more it seems likely to succeed; a handkerchief fluttering from the end of a ramrod, or even the hunter himself standing on his head and gesticulating with his heels, have com- passed the death of many an antelope. But the Indians seem rather to surpass the white man in ingenuity, or rather in a sort of instinctive sagacity, perhaps born of necessity ; and take advantage, not only of the common weaknesses of the species, but of that emotion or rather passion which at times absorbs all others, as it should, since on it depends the maintenance of the species, while the rest affect the life of an individual alone. They skin the head and neck of a buck antelope, and stretch the skin, after proper stuffing and drying, upon a light framework, the bottom of which is a hoop which fits their own heads. The horns are scraped or shaven, until they are thin and light, though still preserving their shape. This primitive taxidermy produces an imitation of an antelope’s head, which at a little distance is very perfect, and the artifice is very successful during the rutting sea- son. Concealing their bodies, the hunters expose the false mask, and imitate the motions and noises of the now pugnacious and easily excited buck. The latter, flushed with sexual vigor, hears the challenge, and sees the men- acing attitudes of his supposed rival, upon whom he ates to offer battle in the cause of the object of his passion, who may be feeding quietly near by, affecting ‘Rot to notice the fiery zeal of her lord. The bowstring : oe and tise —— shaft does its bloody work for ST ge eee re ye pee Eevee is Sot A eae ance eR petal Mee Sie rae OT Se Ee TR ee Vays THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. 539 him; while she bounds off, with terror and regret, and soon solaces her ad interim woe with another conquest. This animal takes its common name from the peculiar shape of its horns, which have a single somewhat trian- gular prong jutting from near the base or middle of the shaft, and sometimes flattened or somewhat bent like a scroll. But the position of this prong, as well as its shape and size, varies greatly; while the length and apical curvature of the main shaft is equally variable. Searcely any two pair of horns are precisely similar in these points, and a second species has even been charac- terized upon these differences alone. The curious reader will find a great variety figured in Plate XXV. of Profes- sor Baird’s work. A pair which I obtained in Arizona Were of very unusual shape. They were most like Fig. 890a of the plate referred to, having a very large, flat, triangular prong springing from their very bases; but their tips bent over till they pointed directly downwards, in a direction quite parallel to the axis of the shaft, which is a degree of curvature rarely seen. It is scarcely necessary to add, that the Antelope’s horns are not decid- uous, like the antlers of the deer, but permanent, like the horns of rams and bulls. Arizona has woods and plains which are roamed over by the deer and antelope; but a great portion of her territory is unfitted for either of these, being upheaved into lofty mountain ranges and precipitous cliffs, or rent asunder in yawning chasms, and rocky canons, by the rude shocks it has undergone through the convulsive vio- nce of volcanic action. Masses of plutonic rocks are piled up in wild confusion, and black lava vomit is poured over miles of surface. In the most rugged and broken regions, rarely visited by man, or ‘netiondnaibile to him, and 540 THE QUADRUPEDS OF ARIZONA. amid scenes that are terribly grand in their frowning desolation, is the favorite home of the Rocky Mountain Sheep ( Ovis montana). Fearless and intrepid, fully trust- ing his powers, he stands in bold relief upon the edge of some abyss, —his massive horns, and towering form, and sinewy limbs clearly delineated,—the centre-piece of a great picture whose background may be a mountain or the sky itself. He stands a fitting headstone for the graves of the Titans, now quietly slumbering beneath the mighty monuments they erected to their own memory with their last convulsive throes. The Mountain Ram has a very extensive range, which includes nearly all the elevated mountains and broken re- gions from our northernmost Territories into Mexico. In Arizona it has been formerly much more abundant than now, for though it still exists in the more inaccessible portions, it is rarely to be seen. But its great horns may be found scattered about the bases of nearly every cliff and precipice. There is abundant evidence that the Buffalo (Bos Americanus) formerly ranged over Arizona, though none exist there now. The habitat of this “monarch of the- plains” is contracting year by year, and its numbers are gradually diminishing. Like the Indian, the buffalo seems doomed to disappear before the overwhelming tide of advancing civilization, and must before long, though not in our day, be known only in history. The nature and needs of both are diametrically opposed to the spirit of the white man’s progress; and in the inevitable con- flict, —with them for bare existence, with us for suprem- acy,—they cannot hold their own. Sad spectacle, this passing away of a race of men, and of a species of anl- mal; yet in strict obedience to an inexorable, mysterious š THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. 541 law of Nature, which determines the origin, duration, and ending of every form of animal life, by the operation of forces of which we can see dimly some disjointed frag- ments, but cannot hope to ever wholly comprehend. THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. BY EDWARD S. MORSE. vu setae k Fon pade dli) Tue following species belong to a group of small snails, whose thin polished shells furnish a distinguishing char- acter. Jelix indentata, described in the October number, belongs to this group. We promise that those who may have become interested in these papers will find the task of identification growing more and more difficult as we proceed, as with few exceptions the shells have very few distinguishing marks, and the differences are only promi- nent to those who make it a study. Hewix cerzanm Miller. (Fig. 29.) The shell of = this species is flattened; spire depressed, shining ; whorls five, thickened within at the base; color pale _ Fig. 29. horn, opaque white below. Diameter less than half an inch. Animal light indigo-blue, darker on head and tentacles. This species is not a native of this country. It has been imported from Europe to our Shores through the medium of commerce. As these snails are generally confined to cellars and gardens, their eggs have probably been brought to this country on wine-casks r on the roots of hot-house plants. In a previous number AS have dwelt on the extreme vitality possessed by the eggs of this family. A lady in Portland, in whose cellar 542 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. the writer collected a great many, stated that the snails annoyed her by crawling into her pans of milk. We can well imagine an enthusiastic collector delighted in being able to dredge specimens from the bottom of his coffee- cup at the breakfast table ! Another species, a true native however, though much resembling an English species, is HELIX ARBOREA Say.* Fig. 30. (Fig. 30.) This is extremely common in \ ax, New England, and there is hardly an old Gao log by the roadside but that shelters them. j The shell is thin, pellucid, polished, and of © S a brownish horn-color ; whorls four to five, slightly increasing in size. Umbilicus not large; diam- eter about one-sixth of an inch, though occasionally larger. HELIX ELECTRINA Gould (Fig. 31) resembles the last species somewhat, being of the same size, though its color sen is darker, and the whorls rapidly en- ©) large. In this latter character it re- sembles Helix indentata, though differ- ing from that species by its dark smoky horn-color, and its open umbilicus. It occurs in damper situations, often- times under leaves near stågnant pools of water. Biıxseraxa Morse (Fig. 32) resembles M. al dentata very much, and has always been confounded with Fig. 32. that species ; it differs in always having an open umbilicus, and the color a ss different, being a greenish white, while / H. indentata is white, with a pinkish tinge. The differences are very marked in certain Mir _ eroscopical characters of the animal. we ne malor figuros accompanying the cuts represent the natural size of the THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND, 543 HELIX MULTIDENTATA Binney. (Fig. 33.) This is one of our most beautiful species. The shell is less than an eighth of an inch in diameter, the whorls Fig. 33. are six, very closely revolving, and at the @ QD base of the shell within are seen two or a more rows of teeth radiating from the umbilicus. The shell is of a very light horn-color, and the animal is often rosy white. It is extremely rare, having been found * but Sparingly in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and Ohio. Another charming shell, when viewed under a micro- Scope, is HELIX EXIGUA Stimpson. (Fig. 34.) The shell has four whorls, banded by numerous brs sharp ribs, and the spaces between marked with waved lines running parallel to the whorls, The umbilicus is very wide, and the color of the shell a decided greenish white. Diametér about one- tenth of an inch. This species occurs in nearly all the Northern States; in some places quite commonly. Heutx minuscuta Binney. (Fig. 35.) About the Size of the last-named species, having four whorls ; suture _ quite deep ; umbilicus large ; color white. Fig. 35. It is common in the West, but extremely rare in the Eastern States. It is said to be very common in grass in the gardens of Cincinnati, Ohio. Rey. E. Q. Bolles has recently found a number of specimens in the State of Maine. ELIX MILIUM Morse (Fig. 36) is a very minute spe- _ Cies; the whorls rapidly enlarge; umbilicus quite large. The i upper surface of the shell is reticu- - 36. lated by slightly raised ribs, and wavy ẹ revolving lines. The under surface is Shiny ; aat greenish-white. Diameter one-twentieth 544 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. of an inch. This little species, first described by the writer from specimens found in Maine, has since been discovered in Massachusetts, and two specimens have re- cently been received from California, one from San Fran- cisco, and the other from the Sierra Nevadas, showing an unusually wide distribution. Hewtx Ferrea Morse (Fig. 37) is slightly larger than seh H. milium, and has a steel-gray tinge, © os and an outline more like H. electrina. It LA has been found in Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. Herrx cnersINa Say. (Fig. 38.) A very character- istie species. The shell is conical, thin, polished, amber-colored ; extremely fragile. Whorls five to six, rounded. Base convex; aperture narrow ; umbilicus absent. Diame- ter one-tenth of an inch. This species occurs in nearly all parts of the United States, and is quickly recognized by its turreted and fragile shell. The shells of the following group are not smooth and polished as in the majority of those just described, but many of them are coarsely striated, and a few have re- flected lips. They are all quite small, and variable in form, certain species having an elevated spire, while others are quite flattened. The denticles on the tongue are not claw-shaped as in those previously-deseribed, but are notched like a saw.* All the species are very charac- teristic, and easily recognized. HELIX MINUTA Sar y (Fig. 39) BON a little white, wiley translucent shell, with four rounded ee WT the last one flaring at the aper- -3 ture. Aperture nearly surrounded by a -> ci lip. Umbilicus large. Diameter one-tenth a ein E Was cc a OE E AEE E THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. 545 of an inch; animal whitish. This species is closely allied to Helix pulchella, of Europe, and by many authors is con- sidered the same, though we believe them to be distinct. The two species have an extreme range through the northern hemisphere. It is found plentifully about old stone-walls in gardens, and in grass on banks of rivers. HELIX STRIATELLA Anthon, y. (Fig. 40.) Shell de- pressed, convex, thin; light horn-color. Whorls about four, with delicate oblique strie. Su- Fig ? l E “ih LAA SS ture distinct; umbilicus very large ; lip thin. Diameter less than one- fourth of an inch. Animal lightish-blue above, with brownish dots. Creeping disk yellowish white. Occurs throughout the Northern States; very common in New England i in hard-wood growths, and under chips and logs ` by the country roadside. The shell is quickly recognized by its satin lustre, and the distinct striations upon its surface. Hex wasyrintuica Say. (Figs. 41, 42.) Shell minute, conic, apex obtuse ; brownish horn-color. Suture distinct; whorls six, with well-marked ribs Figs. 41, 42. following the lines of growth. Lip thick- : ened, oiai: base flat; umbilicus small. Within the aperture are six revolving ribs, terminating some ways within the aperture. Three of these are on the body whorl, one on the umbilicus region, and two at the base of the aperture. Under the micro- Scope, the three ribs on the body whorl are seen to be armed at intervals with numerous sharp-pointed proces- ses, pointing towards the aperture. Diameter of shell one-tenth of an inch. Animal bluish black. Found in nearly every State in the — AMERICAN NAT., VOL. L 546 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. This is a very characteristic species, in outline similar _to Helix chersina described above, though differing in the coarse ribs, the reflected lip, and the peculiar teeth within the shell. The young shell (Fig. A is quite flat, with the outer whorl sharp. Herrx asterscus Morse. (Fig. 43.) Shell minute, having four rounded whorls banded by twenty-five to Fig. 43. thirty thin transparent prominent ribs. FR Spire flat; suture deeply impressed ; lip \\ sharp. Umbilicus quite large; color light-brown. Diameter one-sixteenth of an inch; animal bluish-white. This little species, first discovered in Maine by the writer, has since been found on the Hudson River, N. Y.; on the northern shores of Lake Superior; Gaspé, C. E.; and in the vicinity of Salem, Mass. Rev. E. C. Bolles has found it plentifully near Portland. It is a rare shell, and seems confined to wet and boggy ground, where spruce and pine is inter- mixed with alder. HELIX LINEATA Say. (Fig. 44.) Shell very small, discoidal, light greenish in color. Whorls four, equally visible on both sides of the shell, having a series of raised lines revolving with the whorls. Umbilicus wide; aperture narrow, on the outer wall of which are two pairs of minute white teeth, one pair more remote. Diameter one-eighth of an inch; animal white, thread-like. Inhab- its all the Northern States, though not common in the West. In New England, a very common species along country roadsides. Heux muiyutissrua Lea. (Fig. 45.) This is the smallest land shell in the country, measuring only six- hundredths of an inch. The shell is subglobose, spire REVIEWS. 547 slightly elevated ; below convex; umbilicus large ; suture impressed ; whorls four; lip sharp; color light brown. ‘irst discovered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Fig. 45. since found in various places throughout | C New Engkind. This species is not uncom- K) mon, though owing to its extreme minuteness is not often found. The writer has separated this into a distinct genus, from the fact that the jaw is composed of sixteen distinct pieces, and not one solid plate, as in other snails. For reasons already given, the species are described un- der their old generic names. — To be continued. REVIEWS. tig ENUMERATION OF et Prants. By Horace Mann. (From the ro SP of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. VII., 1866.) Gambit, July, 1867. 8vo. pp. 92. The collection which forms the basis of this enumeration was made during a visit of over a year to the Hawaiian Islands. The enumera- tion, consisting of a list of the entire know of land-plants, with descriptions of new genera and species, is i piekabi by a sketch of previous botanical RN in these islands, with a description of Er physical geography of the five islands visited by the author, and marks on the a of the plants, which latter depends on the ie tition of heat and moisture, and vation of the soil. The wet region of Hawaii, for example, extending on the eastern side of the island, from a height of 1,500 or 2,000 feet, to about 5,000 feet,* is the most heavily wooded of the group. The parts between 1,500 feet and *" The bs yng of st Mani. Oahu, and Kauai, lying between the heights of 4,000 and 6.500 feet, re just in tie, foid level. and, being a also > peaks yiee Eae T r long been active, le soil has become scovewh at ii im alge s to camiea te: which th erate p ~ svg surface, The region has a pee aspec which Ba : one e$ recognized 1 iy aee seen mug m a à rosideros Im ountains. The onis forest ae ihe vt ets bs yide bpaticæ, w which piapa emains on saaa Hi trunks are ĉovered with a : i arn AS tak & moi SO as render everything dripping wet; and 1 os of flower ride, plants and ferns oeeur in tine whole: Above this, on He m eenaa of West Mam and Kaun thet is an open tract, where the lebia, one of the lar; dosed fo Pea onan ag pen at an elevai p) * » : me two satiny in spre evation of 2,000 feet, has emma a arfed, a foo! aS tuned ths le iar te but still flo bi t f su ci clum these — a nd inthe neighboring tuss piit eks nf sedge (a an n Oreobolus) are founa “the few other Plas a. high nicer kere sak aawnere cae, to the number OF Cane E r nine; also Droser a longifolia ge peal ES of miles from its next nearest known 548 REVIEWS. the sea-level comprise comparatively few species, and but little of the peculiar vegetation. The high and dry mountain tracts, above 4,000 or 4,500 feet, are very distinct in their character and vegetation from either of the regions below. The highest lava summits are nearly destitute of vegetation. There appear to be about seven hundred nae of Flowering Plants, Ferns, and Club-mosses (including the fifty Grasses, which are not yet worked up, being still in the hands of Beadle Munro), indigenous or well-established in the islands,—a large portion of which (nearly two-thirds) are quite peculiar to them. The Lichens are catalogued y Professor E. Tuckerman, who states that ‘ta large proportion of our knowledge, especially in the crustaceous groups [comprising those forms which grow closeiy, adhering to rocks or the bark of trees, and cannot be removed without crumbling up] is due entirely to his [Mr. Mann’s] researches, directed, as they were, by previous study of North American Lichens.” MANUAL or THE BOTANY or THE NORTHERN ecr STATES; IN- CLUDING THE DISTRICT EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI AND NORTH OF NorTH CAROLINA AND TENNESSEE. Arranged endi to the Natural zen By Asa Gray, Fisher Professor of Natural His- tory in Harvard University. Fifth Edition. With twenty-five plates, illustrating the Sedges, Grasses, A &c. New York: Ivison, Phinney, gee man, & Co. Chicago: S.C: eee te 1867. pp. 701. Fi including the Mosses and ei nor the “Garden Botany It must be yrtti to all ih of Botany that the science is so widely studied as to warrant a new edition of Dr. Gray’s Manual; and it is no less gratifying to konat, that it makes its fifth appearance. in public in such an elegant form. It is brought up to the latest and iglrest knowledge of the day, and its comprehensiveness, accuracy, clearness, and simplicity, its abundant synopses and analyses. its ad- mirable plates, and its clear and well-contrasted type, make it alto- get i2r a most important acquisition to our botanical literature. With this volume in hand, one can travel from Maine to Virginia on the coast, and westward to the Mississippi, and find therein lucid and ample descriptions of all the flowering plants he may meet in that ex- tensive area. Everything in the way of botanical discovery in this T country has focussed upon Dr. Gray’ s table; and the result is, that his new A a is not a mere reprint, but a rewriting of the whole work, with important and ane aie changes. The nomenclature of our Flora has suffered much syne and now this last publication pa us alterations. Dr. Gray has, with a ¢ NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 549 prehensiveness which distinguishes him, swept away several of the trifling divisions which have been erected between close kindred. Some ten orders have been merged in others, and more than a score of genera have been similarly dropped out. We can now call the lit- tle Houstonia by its old familiar name again, and forget the flavor of Oldenlandia in our mouths. 10se who have measured the angles of “ty eo ee to see what degree or proximity might entitle e bearer to this or that name, will find that Gymnadenia and Platan- vobs are no more; gue that they resurrect in Habenaria. Whether an anther may turn its face or back to you will not now win for it an ordinal title of Melanthacew, for it belongs to ‘the me number of Liliacee. And no one will be longer vexed with the protean forms of Oak-leaves, which have swayed him between black and scarlet, for Quercus tinctoria is now only a variety of Q. coccinea. Alsine, Mehr- ingia and Honkenya are now Arenaria; Oxalidacee, ‘athoatianah and Limnanthacee are now all Geraniacee ; Grossulacee and Par Siacee are now Sazifragracee. As an offset to this absorption of names, Dr. Robbins has increased the twelve species of Potamog Aa of the last edition to twenty-three in this, with varieties enough t delight a Darwini Dr. Gray has te the Mosses, Lichens, Fungi, and Algae, and very properly, for they are specialties in botanical science. We hope that some day the long hoped for supplementary volume may appear, in which all these orders shall be treated with equal thoroughness and accuracy, as the Mosses have been by Sullivant. Tuckerman and Curtis have all the material for their respective orders he plates of the Sedges are new to this volume, oa have all the finish and nicety of Sprague’s drawings. The young botanists of this country are favored in having for the writer of their manual one of the great masters of their science. When our hand-books are written _ With the same learning and breadth of treatment which are given to the most abstruse and recondite works of science, there is certainly ‘Unusual incentive and unwonted means for effort and advancement at our disposal. — NATURAL HISTORY. MISCELLANY. ZOOLOGY. Common OBJECTS oF THE Country.—From our extensive piazza, the number and variety of birds that we daily behold are to me so 550 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. marvellous, that, at the very least, I cannot forbear giving you a bit of “gossip” about them. As I have before stated, we live in the coun- ito and are therefore supposed, by the pitying denizens of brick and tone, to be rather destitute of resources, and having no immediate neighbors, to be very dull and lonely, — but such is not possible where so many birds, insects, and creeping things abound, that the very air seems instinct with life and motion. Sitting upon the piazza at this moment, I am not without compan- ions, for the Mud-wasps are building upon the window ledges, the little brown Wren is in the box beneath the eaves (having first ejected the Blue-bird and its eggs), and the Carpenter-bee has accumulated h quite a heap of a from the railing, which is bored in more pen than one by her long s gallerie es and passages. I can also see n the gravelled a the ridges thrown up by the Mole, of which wot common and star-nosed a have been captured here, and can detect in the grass the perforations of ana animal of the rat or mouse kind, a sight of which has thus fer n denied us, as our old dog seems to think them too appetiz ng exhibit before they are devoured. We only know they are romi ul, and their depredations annoying. The dogs were less particular with a muskrat which came to an untimely end through their means last season; when also a plump young woodchuck, captured by the mowers, and which they were ANE to place in confinement, fell a prey to their murder- ous propensities. What ein can be devoid of excitement where turtles are discov- ered feasting in the strawberry bed, and where, in the sleeve of a cast- off garment hanging in the bathing-house, we once found the nest of a field-mouse, and with breathless delight watched the frightened mother, with her large deer-like eyes and graceful motions, as she crept timidly to the spot, and one by one removed her young toa What revery can be lonely which is liable to be broken off by the plaintive cry of the fish-hawks, wheeling and circling about their see which is reared upon the summit of a blasted pine, not eee rod from the house, and who may be descried passing overhead a eu : a, the day, with some inmate of the deep depending from saute t s? We are also visited by another huge bird, a pair of which sit mo- a through the summer afternoons, upon the edge of the salt- : - and are known among the country people by the ad tite of — ‘The only ornithological description at all a eing wik the Qua-bi ight-heron; and yet we gertstoly n the same vicinity NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Jol we occasionally see a blue crane, and another larger bird of the heron species, describing that peculiar motion attributed by negro min- Strelsy to Nelly Bly, — “ When she walks she lifts np foot, And ts she puts- it dow and get they treat their long red iia as something to be careful of, to be deposited gingerly upon the mud, rue lifted again with due deliberation. In strong contrast is, the mo of the sandpiper, two three varieties of which are always to vi ‘ = notice. — T. MARTIN TRIPPE. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 615 E GI core Sa OF THE MASCARENE IsLANDS. — With the Dodo were associated a large Parroquet, the Solitaire, the Géant (Gallinula gigantea woes ed the Porphyrio (Notor- nis?) cwrulescens Schl., which last is as large as a full-sized goose, blue, with the beak and feet red. It could not fly, but ran with great ness We figure from Schlegel’s account in the French Annals of Natural Science, 1866, the large as that of a E srt with a madik spot under the very sm ings. These singular birds Na the land replaced the mammals, of which these two groups of islands are ride and thus ex- plains why these most characteristic birds are so peculiar in their size and endian These birds were destroyed as early as 1700 by the European settlers, the cats and dogs, and the N maroon Negroes. The Dodo and Solitaire are he Géant,” a natural size.. figured in Dana’s Manual of Geology. THE EAGLE a Fisner.— The American bald eagle (Horne leuco- chat) ILGA g the group of fishing-eagles, as might be inferred fi he genus, which is derived from hals (sea), and es pie e); Whence Hel-i-a-et-us (and less properly in science, the c form Haliæetus), a name applied to the osprey by = e Greeks. The G k alate tus” and the pronunciation ‘‘ Haliâetus” are erro- neous. The East Indian H. ponticerianus is known to be a fisher, and the South African H. vocifer is called ‘the fishing-eagle ” at the Cape of Good Ho The mode in which the bald eagle pursues and robs the fish-hawk is well known from the description of Alexander Wilson, which has been often quoted, as in the fourth volume (p. 92) of Harper’s School and Family Readers, by Marcius Willson, who, however, has interpolated the words ‘‘as he is not a fisher himself.” In my “‘ Notes on Willson’s 616 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Readers” (1864) I state that the bald eagle, ‘‘ with wings nearly closed, darts pays into the water for his prey, in the general manner of e fis E re was an eagle’s nest high up on a large buttonwood (Platanus, ignorantly termed sycamore in some SRE on an island in the Susquehanna, about ten miles above Col mbia, Pennsylvania, and in sight from my father’s house, about a fate istant, where I had abun- dropped it before the eagle was near enough to seize it in its fa ward the water or the ground: for in the latter case, which was rare, I have observed the eagle to turn away without attempting to seek the fish on the earth. n there are no fish-hawks to depend on, the eagle fishes for iatt taking the fish (if I remember rightly) with the feet, and leav- ing the water with apparent difficulty, and a good deal of flapping, which accords with the habits of the East Indian species. — S. S. HAL- DEMAN, Columbia, Pa. suse MICROSCOPY. Ts’ Microscorr.— We call the attention of our readers to the lenses are excellent. It is the best and cheapest microscope for general use for the physician and beginner in microscopy now in the market. EEA EXCHANGES. vr. Hermann Loew, of Meseritz (Posen), ermes is very desirous of obtaining fresh and w besten rved specimens of North American ra. They are very nece ae the Saai of his work on the North American Flies, now oe peeling by the Smithsonian Insti- tution. He will send very fine specimens of European Coleoptera to any Entomologist who will furnish specimens of Diptera in exchange. Packages may be sent through the Smithsonian Institution, Wash- ington, D. 6. PETTA S EXPLORATIONS. Mr. W. H. Dall, of the Scientific Corps of the Western Union Tele- graph Company, Russian Extension, writes from St. Michaels, R. Am., Aug. 14, 1867: “I have travelled in winter, with the ial boss to 40° with ons sleds and snow-shoes, about 300 miles; and NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 617 the summer just past, I have paddled 650 miles up stream under the scorching northern sun, and 1,300 down stream in open canoes. I have made the first trip from Fort Youkon to the sea by the river Youkon ever made, and have geological notes of the whole of this distance, and have collected about 4,550 specimens, including some 00 or 400 birds and mammals, and have got, I hope, some fine new Species of white fish. satis PUN ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. R. A. S., Wisconsin. — The worm you send came dried up and im- Possible to identify.’ It is probably an Ascaris, one of the round intestinal worms. Among the best works on the Microscope are cro delphia; Queckett’s Treatise on the Aoroecone, London; L. Beale’s How to Work with the Microscope, Philadelphia croscope, London; P. H. Gosse’s Evenings with the p; New ork. D. Appleton & Co. Wo He Ba elsto ig shells appear to be robust specimens of Physa sp et “ worm-like animals” are the larve of the Caddis-fly, o a son whose riis constructs a case of pas or pn of twigs and stic e othe Specimens were young Cra, , Cambarus Bartoni, y oud in brooks in the Middle weg pass ee We have found this o an allied species hiding under stones o: northern Maine. On the Aroostook oa they did great damage by undermining a dam, at or near Presque e Isle. The Cray-fish has under- Mined the levee at New Orleans and vicinity spinnerets), and catch on adjoining objects, serving as foundations for aw ; , AE, and. —Your Myriapod, which you say “ ae nee at this place eek, Md.) within a few years past, and has infes many houses,” is the Cermatia forceps, Wood. It is peo GEEA throughout the Eastern, and especially the warmer parts of the United States. Scarcely anything is known regarding its habits. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 78 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. —_—_— or AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE erat OF CE. — NaTuraL History SECTION. Burlington, Vt., August 21-26, 1867. “On the Zodlogical Affinities of the Tabulate Corals.” By Professor A. E. Verrill. Coral-like forms were stated to be formed by various kinds of animals, and a by some plants. Thus we have Protozoén corals (Hozoén, Polytrema, ston ny sponges, etc.); Pa EP corals (Bryozoa); ee een Satkaat ee: Poly! Is (G Psa ugh there are still some doubt groups of corals, peg ure oe ice forms is now well known. The most important do oe groups are at present the ÜJüthöpäyied corals (Rugosa Edw.), and the Tabulate corals. N early all authors ene both these great groups among the true Polyps, but a few advocate the Molluscan affinities of some of the Cyathophylloids, and hain ai of the Tabulata ( Che- tetes, etc.), the Bo being compared with Hippurites, etc., and the latter with Bryoz ofessor pican has, however, referred both these groups to the Hydroids, placing them, therefore, in the class of Acale ephs. As both are abundant in the Silurian rocks, this generalization catrios the ap- assa ails humerous spec cik Professor Agassiz examined the living animals of Millepora several other Hydroids. m these observations, upon a single genus, he has concluded that < pros Tabulate corals, living and fossil, are also dro: (618) . PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 619 exsert when expanded, and have twelve equal cylindrical tentacles surrounding the margin in a single circle, six of them being held hori- tally, and the alternating ones erect. This peculiar posture was the principal difference observed between these animals and those of. Porites, when compared side by side From the disagreement in the character of the animals of Millepora and Pocillipora, in connection with great differences in the corals, it It is probable that Favosites, and many other extinct tabulated genera belong with Pocillipora, while Helio- lites, etc., may go with Millepora. Therefore we must regard the Tab- ulate structure as a character of secondary importance and the arti- ficial group of Tabulata must be dismembered. “On the Coal Measures of Illinois, with a vertical section of the 8 SB n the prosecution of the Geological Survey of Illinois, it seemed desirable to identify our i ch as the Illi- nois and Kentucky coal-field was known to belong to the same basin; and with this end in view, a general examination of our coal-measures the main coal-seams occupied in the Ilinois section, especially those recognized as the equivalents of Nos. 5-9 and 11, of the Kentucky Section, were erroneous, and that if that section was correct, no paral- coal-seams of the two States. ately above the conglomerate. This ‘Sta tween the two. Hence we were led section in Kentucky, a single 620 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. sands ee outcropping at different oe had been mistaken for two different beds, to one of which the name of Anvil Rock was given at one eano while at the other it was SO Mahoning Sandstone, and in this way their section was increased in thickness about three hundred feet or more beyond what g sra should be, and the number of workable coal-seams nearly doub This view of the case is aca wre by the fact also of a general correspondence ce between the upper portions of the two sections, both tor of vas recognized ie — r Meek as common in the upper coal- measures of Kanzas, and as the equivalent of beds to which the term ** Permo-carboniferous” Was pepa z himself and Dr. Hayden in their paper on the rocks of Eastern Kansa ain, by placing these aa t ona parallel, and giving & down- ward section for three hundred feet as given in the Kentucky section, and we have an almost equal repetition of beds. If we take the Kentucky section as published, and place these sand- between it and the lower bed. This gives a general correspondence between the. Illinois and Kentucky sections, such as might be expected ar in different portions of the same coal-field “On the Lower Silurian Drowa Hematite Beds of America.” By region. At three or four exposures the solid ore-bed is, to be, seen; pa the others only loose lumps of ore mixed with The other American brown keune deposits of the same age, Te- semble these so closely as to leave the impression that where only 2i blocks of sandstone near the outcrop of a sandstone bed, Of to the coal-dirt of a coal ee. or to gold or tin alluvial deposits, aracteristic making allowance of rse in the comparison for the ch PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 62 1 hardness and heaviness of the brown hematite, and for the thickness of its beds. The ore lumps would be mixed not only with the rubbish of neighboring rock-beds, but with the remains of plants that grew during the accumulation of the ore-lumps, such as the Brandon and Mont Alto lignites. Lumps of carbonate of iron, found in some such deposits, go towards showing that the ore was originally a oo and afterwards altered as the coal-measure carbonates so often a The author thought these lumps were not concretions. “ The Winooski Marble of Colchester, Vermont.” By C. H. Hitch- cock. and polished specimens of a beautiful marble, obtained miles from Burlington, were exhibited. from pastas less than six and is a silicious It belongs to the lower part of the Potsdam group, a dolomite. It contains eee of calcite enclosing ners silica, which render the ston to saw than statuary marble. The prevailing color is some eerie of red, with variations of white brown, chocolate, and yellowish tint “ The Distortion and sbi of Pebbles in Conglomerate.” cheo dv h mical character had been altered by metamorphism, so that frag- ments, originally an impure limestone or a schist, had become changed into quartz. The process had probably been carried so far in some instances specified, that the original sandstone and conglomerates had been converted into schists, gneiss, and’ granite. The agents pro- ducing these changes were thought to be the chemical action of infil- loosely cemented coarse gravel, with round pebbles; but where folds abounded, the stones had been indented, flattened, and bent, and the See were noticed eis Middle- j llingham, Mass., Washington County, Mount Battie, an Sardy River ` Plantation, Me., san Wallingford, and Plymouth, Vt., elflue in Switzerland, and the Permian conglomerate in Eag- land, etc. The opinions of eminent European geologists in favor of a superinduced distortion were quoted, as well as the experiments of Mr. Sorby, illustrating the greater efficiency of chemical action under press 622 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. “The Geology of Vermont.” By C.H. Hitchcock. A large geolog- ical map of this State was shown, illustrating the great advance of our knowledge of its rocky structure since the gemas -o the author’s map in the tele Report upon the Geology of Ver 1861.. Th additions our knowledge were largely afforde i "es "e extension southerly a the recent discoveries of the Canadian survey. “ Explanation of a Pte ata Map of Maine.” By C. H. Hitchcock. The author exhibited a large geological map of Maine, prepared from the materials garnered during two years work in the service of the State in 1861, Bos SOCIETY OF NATURAL History. October 2, 1867.—The ipie exhibited a series of Flint nee from the Island of Regan, and from Norway and Sweden, consisting of arrow and spear héads, square cut chisels, ete. One was a hatchet with a circular hole for the insertion of the handle, the interior of which was smooth and the diameter uniform. Mr. Rau, the Danish Consul at New York, had shown how these holes might be drilled, by boring half through a paving stone with a rotating broomstick and sand. A few implements TY Dr. Wyman further gave an account of a recent visit of a party of members of the society to shell-heaps upon Goose Island, in Casco Bay. The objects exhumed were mostly similar to those found at Mount Desert, and described by Dr. Wyman at a previous meeting. Among the most interesting were bones, apparently of the Great Auk, a bird now extinct on our coast. Mr. Edward S. Morse called attention to the evidences of great tiquity in hart shell-heaps upon Goose Island. The deposits pikire” of broken clam-shells, with other species in ntermixed. Over five kdai square feet of surface had been examined, and the ab ; sence ar The heaps, which thickened towards the centre, COY- areas of from ten to fifteen feet in empi re showed an out- ig on the bank of from two or three to fourteen or fifteen inches in ae Since in many cases heaps of this afidi had been almost ! the surface of a rock smoothed and scratched by g poe Gece time bad Hh gs to erase meee | all — marks fr ee poet on ruse ve PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 623 the primitive soil; the turf covered the heaps to the depth of six or seven inches, while there were no traces of soil below. The land- shells, such as Helix Book T mudtidentate, and others, remains of which were found in the lower portions o eaps, can only exist in hard-wood growths. The po Nir Se of the stand where these heaps occur is at present covered with large spruce growth. The ahog, found spe in these heaps, is extremely rare in Maine. Thus we have a change of vegetation, a change of certain species of ani- e k archeologists regarded similar heaps in Denmark as being older than the stone age — in fact, as among the earliest evidences of the sonar cic A short discussion ensued upon a probability that the a rested upon the primitive soil. dder Dr. Jackson spoke of the chemical means by which this could be brought about. Papers were read by Dr. H. Hagen, Mr. P. R. Uhler, and Mr. S. H. Scudder, on the Dragon-flies of the West Indies. LYCEUM or NATURAL History. New York, April 29, 1867. — Mr. north as Bahia, but which Professor Agassiz has claime i} on the Amazon. “Everywhere,” said the speaker, “the gneiss hills are rounded evenly down so as to present all the appearance of ‘roches moutonnées,’ and immediately over their surface, and clinging Ped vy never have been deposited by water, and where it is eet of oe kjee clay, very variable in thickness, such as would Groni from ical grinding Pe A the gneiss. This clay shows no pean of the sorting action o water, the felspathic This: broken quartz grains and mica ca -crystals 624 BOOKS RECEIVED. being all present. It contains occasional angular and rounded frag- ments of quartz, sometimes of gneiss or some other material, scat- tered through it.” This drift-sheet was described as extending from the Sierras down over the tertiary deposits occupying the low grounds along the shore. e Speaker mentioned the existence of cretaceous beds near Bahia, some fish remains which he found having been identified as ment of the sea, now extend along it like linear walls of rock. At Porto Seguro he discovered quite an extensive reef of coral, ey he was able to trace southward to the Abrolhos Islands. This reef he party, which he hoped would = fitted out by the new Natural History Section of the Cooper Institu _ Oe gor RECEIVED. Popular Review, on. July, October, 1867. acre A stein of Sen Speedie uly, October, 1 Naturalist’s Book. Tondon. to November, 1867. hepical News and Journal of Physical ielaboe: New. York. September, October, de M. Aroi à M. Marcou sur la géologie de be oe de? Amazone, avec s de M. I ‘bear guts Jules Marcou. (Extrait de Bulletin de la Société géologique ponent t. xxiv.) 1867. 8vo, pp. 3. sg agen » to ascertain the ultimate Distribution of the Nerves of Gus- ultimate distribution not not terminal. By Rufus K, Browne, M.D. 8vo; PP. u pea York, 1867. : Bet ars of the Museum of poe Zoölogy. I. paier and rae By Theodore Lyman. Il. North American Acalephe. By Alexander A emoranda, No. 2. (From Proceedings California Academy of Aerial Science, August 20, 1867). 8vo, pp. 7. A amieta Encye. ice des we ade des Sciences. Vol. 6. July 6 to ys OP THE INSECTS OF ANCIENT AMERICA. BY S. H. SCUDDER. Untiu within a very few years not more than four or five kinds of fossil insects had been found on this conti- nent. Indeed, little thought had been bestowed upon their possible discovery, and while hundreds of eager students had carefully examined the living insects, few turned to the ancient representatives of this class upon the globe. New and interesting discoveries have thrown some light upon the insect-life of Ancient America, but even now, the known species, occurring in many local- ities and in various deposits, will not number one hundred different kinds. The discovery of the oldest insect remains in the “váh is due to Mr. C. F. Hartt. While collecting fossil plants in the Devonian slates near St. John, New Brunswick, he first perceived faint traces of insects wings. Few per- sons would have noticed these insignificant relics, but Mr- Hartt having discovered a anio insect, thoroughly ex- amined all hib rock specimens until six other fossils were brought to light. In the more carefully gleaned fields of Entered at to Act of Congress. in the year 1867, by the ESSEX INSTITUTE, in the of Massachusetts. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. L 79 (625) 626 THE INSECTS OF ANCIENT AMERICA. Europe, a few species have been found as low down as the Carboniferous rocks of Wetterau, Saarbrick, etc., but these fossils from the Upper Devonian carry the first appearance of insect-life back to a previous epoch, and make their advent in North America synchronous with that of land plants. The specimens obtained by Mr. Hartt are intrinsically interesting; although they are all fragments, broken gen- erally from the centre of the wing, enough distinctive parts remain to determine the character of the fossils. They are all Neuroptera, or Lace-winged flies, and, with the exception of one or two Ephemerina, or May-flies, represent families which are now extinct. One of them is provided with a few veins forming concentric rings near the base of the wing; these rings bear such a striking resemblance to the stridulating organ of the green grass- hoppers, that I am inclined to believe there were chirping Neuroptera in those days! _ Similar in interest are some specimens of Neuroptera from the Carboniferous beds of Morris, Illinois; they occurred in small flattened iron-stone concretions, like the clay-stones in clay banks of the present day. These Neuroptera also represent families distinct from any now living, and, like many of the Devonian insects, are syn- thetic in character; that is, combine in one and the same form features which, in after ages, are distributed among the members of different families. In this case the syn- thesis unites families belonging to different sections,— some to Neuroptera proper, alien to Pseudo-neuroptera. The Neuroptera proper include those families where the pupe are inactive, and the limbs are folded against the body; such as the Sialina, Hemerobina, Mantispade, “eps and Phryganina (Caddis-flies). In the Pseu- THE INSECTS OF ANCIENT AMERICA. 627 do-neuroptera—classed by some naturalists with Orthop- tera—the pups are active and are provided with rudi- mentary wings; otherwise they differ but little from the larvæ: among them are the Termitina (white ants), Pso- cina, Perlina, Ephemerina (May-flies), and Odonata (Dragon-flies). Had these insects of former days active or inactive pups ? Two other remains were found in these iron-stone con- cretions; they appear to me to be those of worms, but naturalists have described one form as a centipede, the other as a caterpillar of a moth; the caterpillar was re- ferred to the family of Arctians, to which our woolly caterpillars belong. The last, if true, would be a most interesting discovery ; for in Europe only one moth, and that of the lowest family, the Tineids (of which the ` elothes-moth is a member), has been found as low down as the Jurassic period. Dr. Dawson, of Montreal, has been quite fortunate in discovering various kinds of insects in the coal-beds of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; traces of the mining of larvæ were found on the leaf of a fossil fern, and this was the more remarkable because ferns in our day are peculiarly exempt from attack by mining insects. Among the fossil remains were numerous fragments of Myria- pods, which had secreted themselves in the trunks of decayed trees ; coprolites of the reptiles which had sought shelter in the hollow trunks proved that the animals fed partially, at least, upon insects, —they were filled with comminuted fragments of the bodies and limbs of Orthop- tera and Neuroptera of large size, and, in one instance, Dr. Dawson found the eye of a dragon-fly. Professor Marsh, of New Haven, has also obtained an insect’s wing at the Joggins in Nova Scotia; he thought 628 THE INSECTS OF ANCIENT AMERICA. it similar to a cockroach’s wing found by Professor Les- quereux in the Carboniferous rocks of Frog Bayou, Ar- | kansas, but it was put away at the time of its collection, and has never since been examined. Mr. Barnes has just discovered a wing of a similar kind in the coal formation of Pictou. There has been but one other instance—and that of very recent date—where a fossil insect has been found in the Carboniferous rocks of this country ; it was the case of a single wing, gigantic in size, peculiarly veined, and piehatili allied to our May-flies, which oc- curred in the coal-beds of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Professor Hitchcock, in his examination of the foot- prints in the New-Red Sandstone of the Connecticut Val- ley, described and figured some small tracks which he sup- posed to have been made by insects ; but the footprints of insects have been little studied, and the whole subject is so difficult in its nature, that it would be an arduous task to prove whether the tracks were made by insects or not. In the shales accompanying the New-Red Sandstone, however, quite a large number of insect remains have been found, all of which belong to the larva of a single species. Pro- fessor Hitchcock believed them to be neuropterous, but I think they should be referred to the Coleoptera, or bee- tles. The species must have lived in the water, since the specimens are comparatively numerous; on a small slab I have counted more than twenty individuals. Professor William Denton has obtained the largest col- lection of fossil insects which has yet been made in this country. The specimens were brought from an unin- habited region beyond the Rocky Mountains, near the junction of the White and Green Rivers, Colorado, —a “ne probably far richer than that of Œningen, in erland. _ Professor Denton was able to obtain but THE INSECTS OF ANCIENT AMERICA. 629 few specimens while passing rapidly through the country, but he describes the shales in which they occur as a thousand feet thick, varying in color from a light cream to inky blackness, and crowded with the remains of in- sects and leaves of deciduous trees. Between sixty and seventy species of insects were brought home, represent- ing nearly all the different orders; about two-thirds of the species were flies, —some of them the perfect insect, others the maggot-like larve,—but, in no instance, did both imago and larva of the same insect occur. The greater part of the beetles were quite small; there were three or four kinds of Homoptera (allied to the tree-hop- pers), ants of two different genera,and a poorly preserved moth. Perhaps a minute Thrips, belonging to a group which has never been found fossil in any part of the world, is of the greatest interest. At the present day, these tiny and almost microscopic insects live among the petals of flowers, and one species is supposed by some entomologists to be injurious to the wheat; others believe that they congregate in the wheat, as well as in the flowers, in the hope of finding food in the still smaller and more helpless insects which congregate there. It is astonishing that an insect so delicate and insignificant in size can be so perfectly preserved on these stones ; in the best specimens the body is crushed and displaced, yet the wings remain uninjured, and every hair of their broad, but microscopic fringe, can be counted. The specimens came from two localities about sixty miles apart, called by Professor Denton Chagrin Valley and Fossil Cañon ; these two faunas are apparently quite distinct: the ants, the moth, the thrips, nearly all the small beetles and the greater part of the flies come from Fossil Cañon, while the larve are restricted to Chagrin Valley. 630 THE INSECTS OF ANCIENT AMERICA. While no definite conclusion can be drawn concerning the age of the rocks in which these remains occur, there can be little doubt that they belong to the Tertiary epoch. Professor Denton believes them to be at least as old as the Miocene. The species of fossil insects now known from North America, number eighty-one: six of these belong to the Devonian, nine to the Carboniferous, one to the Triassic, and sixty-five to the Tertiary epochs. The Hymenoptera, Homoptera, and Diptera occur only in the Tertiaries ; the same is true of the Lepidoptera, if we exclude the Mor- ris specimen, and of the Coleoptera, with one Triassic exception. The Orthoptera and Myriapods are restricted to the Carboniferous, while the Neuroptera occur both in the Devonian and Carboniferous formations. No fossil spiders have yet been found in America. EXPLANATION OF PLATE 16 Fig. 1. Miamia Bronsoni. A neuropterous insect found in iron- Fig. 2. Archimulacris Acadica. Wing of a PERS observed by Mr. Barnes in the coal-formation of Nova Scoti Fig. 3. Platephemera antiqua. A gigantic Mirer obtained by Mr. Hartt in the Devonian rocks of New Brunswick. Fig. 4. Xylobius sigillariæ. The Myriapod (or Gally-worm) found in the coal-formation of Nova Scotia, by Dr. J. W. Dawson. Copied ‘from a figure in Dr. Dawson’s Air-breathers of the Coal-period. Mag- ified. Fig. 5. Tietoni Hartii. A neuroptero sect, the specimen first discovered by Mr. Hartt in the pevedlank ener of New Bruns- wick. This fossil, and those accompanying it, are the oldest insect- remains in the world. _ Fig. 6. Three facets from the eye of an insect, considered by Dr. ae Dawson a Dragon-fy. It was found in coprolites of reptiles in the American Naturalist. Fig. 5. a beer tes boa ee NS eS er Oe Pe a eee ees $ 3 > 3 SON = Yeu nae “i s EN Ñ \ SCUDDER O Sal $ Ni \ Fig. 8. Æ N FOSSIL INSECTS. INSYA E. Az Vol. I. Pl. 16. THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 631 rocks containing the myri oe i's timo in Fig. 4. Copied from Dr. gen: s figure, greatly magnifie g. T. Homothetus fossilis. R Popii insect from maa Devo- nian ots of New Brunswick; it was discovered by Mr. Ha Fig. 8. Huplophlebium Barnesii. A curious neuropterous ae of large size, probably nm ed to our May-flies; taken by Mr. Barnes from the = of Cape Bre These figures, ie re exception of 1, 4, and 6, are of life ma and borrowed from the new edition of Dr. Dawson’s Acadian Geology. THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. BY BURT G. WILDER, M. D. (Concluded from page 491.) Fracture or Crossing. This is the name given to a view of the limbs, which, under various modifications, has been entertained by four celebrated anatomists, Bour- gery, Cruveilhier, Flourens, and Owen. Its essential feature is the pronation of the forearm so as to bring the thumb on the inner side, opposite the great toe; but this has the effect of crossing the radius upon the ulna, so that its upper end is to the outer, while its lower end is to the inner side of that bone. This condition of things, though contrary to the relation of the corresponding parts in the leg, is accepted by Owen* and Flourens, who simply seek to show that the front of the arm really corresponds to the front of the leg, and vice versa, so that the concav- ity of the elbow is made to represent the convexity of the knee ; but the other two anatomists try to explain the crossing of the bones, upon an idea which was distinctly enunciated by Cruveilhier, in the following propositions : “1. Neither bone of the leg is represented by a single bone of the arm. *Comparative Anatomy of Vertebrates, ii. 310, 360. 632 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. “2. In each bone of the leg we find characters which belong, partly to the ulna, and partly to the radius.” The practical result of this view is to cut the two bones across the middle, and reunite the upper half of the one Fig. 1. with the lower half of the other ; a convenient and ingenious, but unjustifiable mode of pro- cedure. Torsion. This last of the three principal theories adopted, or rather invented, in sup- port of the idea of parallelism, was first pro- posed by Maclise, in 1849. Like all the rest, he assumes that the thumb corresponds with the great toe; that the hand points forward like the foot, and that the limbs are, or ought to be, parallel: but he saw that his prede- cessors had been unable to fulfil these three conditions without pronating the hand, and so crossing the radius upon the ulna, which crossing he could not reconcile with the fact, that the corresponding bones in the leg (Plate 12, fig. 1)* were parallel with each other. oy, He then perceives that the front of the fore- j ri Q arm really corresponds with the back of the PUIU \ leg, and vice versa; whereas, according to the idea of parallelism, the front of the one ought to correspond with the front of the other, as 7 - believed by Owen and Flourens. To recon- cile this new fact with the old theories, he reminds us that “anatomists have long since remarked upon the sin- gular twisted form of the humerus,” and then says, “this Mactse ana artas. Ehe bend bts elbow a Ueousht tote feat ana the IWO of the forearm is in the effort to br ring corresp pense. i f the two limbs to faco in the same c direction. Campie Mi —_ ein T pies epee raging requires simply that the for the outer side like the little toe. x RE L A E E a a O E oe AN E a E NE a e eS Met THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 633 fact of torsion in the shaft of the humerus I consider as fully explaining the above-mentioned peculiarities which distinguish the upper from the lower member; while (in idea) I untwist the humerus by bringing its back to the front, I at the same time unravel the gordian knot of that problem which has so long existed as a mystery for the homologist.” But, before accepting this ingenious solution of the problem, you may be inclined to ask how it is, that, if the humerus is really twisted, anatomists have never observed and described the various stages of the operation, instead of simply commenting upon the twisted appearance of the bone. This very reasonable question is thus answered by a French anatomist, Martins, who in 1857, and appar- rently unacquainted with the views of Maclise, proposed this very same theory of torsion. Martins admits as a “metaphysical difficulty,” the fact that the humerus never undergoes the actual operation of twisting at all, and that in the earlier stages of growth not the slightest traces of torsion exist; but asserts, never- theless, that “a virtual torsion does take place during growth, and that this produces the same effects as if it were real.” The chief indication of this is the raised line for the attachment of muscles, which runs obliquely upward, from the outer side of the lower end of the hu- merus, and is lost upon the posterior surface, giving to the lower part of the bone the appearance of having been twisted. But it may be seen that the posterior surface of the thigh bone presents a similar raised line,even more strongly marked, so that there is quite as much reason for untwisting that bone, which would leave matters rela- tively just as unconformable as at first; and it is well known that both these lines are solely for the attachment 80 AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 634 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. of muscles, that they do not exist in young or feeble indi- viduals, and that in some animals, as in the ant-eater, and even in the horse, they form prominent ridges which can never be accounted for by any twisting of the bones. There is really a fourth theory of parallelism, modifi- cations of which are entertained by three eminent English anatomists,* and which is, in many respects, the most plausible and the most difficult to refute. According to this view the limbs are supposed to stand out at right angles from the side of the body, the elbow being moved forward and outward, and the knee backward and out- ward into a position which nearly corresponds with the condition of the limb in many reptiles, and also in the early stages of growth of the higher animals; and in view of the great weight which is now deservedly attached to the facts of eili yolar; it will be evident that such a view must not be rejected without very good reasons. It will be noticed, too, that this view does little violence to the limbs, although the limbs of mammalia would be placed in rather uncomfortable positions, in order to eon- form to it. I feel sure, nevertheless, in spite of the apparently natural arguments, and in all deference to its distinguished advocates, that it is based upon a partial consideration of the subject, and I wish that it were pos- sible in this connection to offer my reasons for dissenting therefrom. But it involves so much, and would require a discussion of so many still controverted points, that I should be obliged to present in full the grounds upon which my own opinion is founded, which would far ex- ceed the limits of an article like this. + 2 Mivart, and Cleland, before 3 men einen ie igp ofthe anatomy who glora relation o; are refe: Fas i cited in the preceding num umber, sod tho following pe ; by the writer: ‘On Morphology and Teleology, June 3, 1866, M THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 635 And to do this was by no means my object, but sim- ply to give an idea of the trouble which has been given philosophical anatomists by the hand; for, as has been shown, the hand suggests an idea of parallelism which it is very difficult to overlook, so that the majority of those who have treated this subject, have made more or less in- genious attempts to apply the same principle to the upper portions of the limbs. These various attempts have been briefly, though I think fairly stated. What seem to me their fallacies have been brought more prominently into view and criticised as severely as possible, partly on the abstract ground that a great step in our investigation of truth is the full recog- nition and rejection of error; and partly, in accordance with the purpose of this paper, to show what strange and _ widely diverse opinions have been entertained by those who have regarded the Hand in its ordinary position, and with the common estimation of its value. The space allotted to me will permit only the briefest presentation of the grounds upon which is based the other view,.that, namely, of a symmetrical or antagonistic rela- tion between the fore and hind limbs; the principal point is, that instead of beginning with the hand, and forcing the rest of the limb to conform to it, we should re- cognize that the hand is a peripheral organ and subject to variation ;* and that its morphological value is by no means equal to its teleological or functional value; and that, finally, the attitude whic it has in most animals is Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. I. No.1; On a Cat with -N istory, hee ay 16 6,1 Hand (Abstract of a paper read before => D S T aot know. gnized n ratio heh rn the s cea greeter ate Baraliclists to t to the ides of symmetry stic relation ximal segments of paran, 1 ‘have prevented most of the Oppositists from carrying ou at this id beyond 636 THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. in consequence of the necessity for the extremities of both pair of limbs to strike the ground so as to propel the body in the same direction : but if we begin with the upper parts of the limbs, we shall perceive an idea of antagonism which may be easily traced in the hands when they are put in what may be termed their normal position (Fig. 2) ;* and although this brings the thumb on the outer side, and thus opposite the little toe, yet if we recollect that in most animals the thumb is rather smaller than the other digits, instead of larger as in man, and that therefore its assumed superiority is really confined within a very narrow limit, we may conclude, when the question comes, Shall the thumb force the arm and the forearm into parallelism, or shall it conform to the idea of antagonism which they sug- gest, that the latter is the fairer and more philosophical view of the matter. It sums up thus. Begin your studies of the limbs at the periphery, with the hands and the feet, and assume a correspondence of thumb and great toe, you will then see an apparent parallelism as to the extent of which no two investigators can agree, and by which they have been led to twist, to fracture, and to dislocate the limbs in a manner most unjustifiable; and to regard the body as a structure with but one end and no centre, a geometrical absurdity. But commence at the centre, at the middle of the ver- tebral column, and regard the body as having not only two sides but two ends, antagonistic in position and in function ; then you will see that the limbs which are given = from the two poles of this longitudinal axis, are like- ind limbs in than a natural ranged are isine that there is no one natural atti THE HAND AS AN UNRULY MEMBER. 637 wise antagonistic in every part but the terminal segments, while even these disagree only in what is the natural atti- tude of the hand in the forward moving animal, and come into a proper antagonistic relation in what may be con- Tear here Of eee aye eC. ae tem) MeL Ea a y Fig. 2. Limbs of left side of Aye-aye (Cheiromys Owen.* (By permission from American rahe Ay! Foreleg in its natura maie : ' e in D Sage? dius spose tha a ze pT in leg. B, foreleg in its normal ponon, iae hapa being supinated so as to bring the thumb (5) on the outer side, and Opporive ig little toe (5). The radius X is now wholly on the outer side of the = Land the fingers int backward, as oes point forward. All arts . T sfr a ip h p l digits of and > R, Radius; Fi, Fibula. The homologous d í 4 : a 1, 2, 3, 4,5, starting from the so-called little finger and great inter op i nu- merals attached to the digits of A indicate their analogies w1 . a ae "M ' tive Anatomy and Physiology of 3 ph of the Aye-a Plate 7. Also, Compara _ Vertebrates VoL Il. Fie oi” : 638 THE SOUTHERN MUSCADINE GRAPE. sidered its normal position. To all this, the thumb is the only objector ; but mighty as that is in all matters of com- mon life, you must already have perceived, by a kind of “reductio ad absurdum,” that the less it, and, indeed, the whole hand are regarded in our morphological compari- son, the less liable shall we be to fall into such extraordi- nary and fantastic notions as some of those we have been considering. Fortunately, however, man can but inter- pret Nature; he cannot change her. His errors die with his interpretation, while the facts belong to God, and are safe from the interference of man. THE SOUTHERN MUSCADINE GRAPE. BY D. H. JACQUES. CLIMBING the tallest trees, covering and almost smoth- ering the smaller undergrowth, hanging over rail fences, hiding pine stumps and brush-heaps, or, for want of other support, trailing on the ground, one may see almost everywhere in the South, from the seaboard of Georgia and Florida to the mountain slopes of North Carolina, the graceful vines of the Southern Muscadine, and, in its season, the ripened fruit, with which many of these vines are laden, will allure the traveller at every turn from the dusty road. Few who have once eaten this fruit, in its perfection, will be able to resist the temptation to dis- mount and eat the tempting clusters. As this grape is not found (I believe) north of the soutl slopes of the Alleghany Mountains, and is little known, and often erroneously described, a brief notice of it may not be out of place. souther = t THE SOUTHERN MUSCADINE GRAPE. 639 The Southern Muscadine, otherwise called Bullace, Bull, and Bullet-grape is the Vitis Rotundifolia of Mi- chaux ( V. Vulpina Linn.), and is very distinct from all other species. Its light-brown slender wood, its innu- merable small branches, thrown out tree-like rather than in the manner of other grape-vines, and its small, ligbt- green shining leaves, give it a peculiar and singularly beautiful appearance. The following is a correct descrip- tion of it :—Stem smooth, light-brown dotted with white, lithe, tough, and without pith; branches minutely ver- rucose, numerous, slender; leaves small, cordate (but somewhat rounded, whence Michaux’s name); dentate, 640 THE SOUTHERN MUSCADINE GRAPE. sometimes obscurely three-lobed, glabrous, shining on both surfaces ; flowers in racemes, composed of numerous small umbels; polygamous, yellow; berries large, black, musky sweet, with a tough skin; flowers in June; first ripe in September. The Southern Muscadine produces its fruit in clusters of from three to eight berries, on small branches put out from all parts of the vine, and,if the soil and other con- ditions be favorable, is often very prolific. The berries vary in size, from half-inch to an inch in diameter. They are brown-black and shining when commencing to ripen, but a dull-black, dotted and sometimes blotched with red when fully ripe. They vary much on different vines, being sometimes hard and sour, but often tender and de- liciously sweet. In the best specimens the pulp finally dissolves, and the skins become literally bags of wine. The fruit generally falls from the vine soon after it be- comes ripe, but I have seen some vines on which the berries have clung with as much tenacity as in any other species. I have gathered bushels of these grapes during the present season, out of a portion of which I have made some excellent wine. Professor Asa Gray, in one of his Botanical Text-books (see “Manual of Botany of the Northern United States,” page 78), describes the Muscadine as the parent of the Catawba and the Sewppernong. The former is a variety of the Vitis Labrusca, or Northern Fox-grape. In regard to the latter he is correct. The Scuppernong is a seedling of oa Muscadine, and Was found growing wild on the enka of the Scuppernong River in North Carolina. The wood is a shade lighter than that of the parent, but dotted like that, sak the . folia and habits of growth of the plant are mainly the HR pt eee ee pes a a> ie ee ere ee ers ene ee yee i. THE SOUTHERN MUSCADINE GRAPE. 641 same. The fruit is a pale green when fully ripe, and dotted with brown. It is large,— often an inch in diam- eter,—very sweet, less musky than the common Mus- cadine, and with a thinner and tenderer skin, and is a delicious table grape. For wine, it is superior to all other native varieties, being emphatically the wine-grape of America. Unlike other cultivated grapes, it is per- fectly free from all diseases, no rot or mildew ever infect- ing wood, leaves, or fruit. Flower’s Grape is a black variety of the same species, and is thought by some to be equal, if not superior, to the white or green variety. It is sweet, juicy, and fragrant, and makes a fine wine of any desired shade of red. It ripens about a month later than the Scupper- nong, and does not fall off like that variety. Both are enormously productive, so much so that I hardly dare to state how many bushels of fruit a single vine may bear ; but from 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of wine per acre is con- sidered a moderate estimate for a vineyard in full bear- ing, in which all the arbors are fully covered,—that is, when the whole ground is completely canopied with vines. The vines are planted from twenty to forty feet apart, and trained on arbors made with posts notched on the top, and supporting a layer of common fence-rails. This arbor is extended with the growth of the vine, till the ground is covered. The vines require no pruning, ex- cept for the removal of dead branches, or to improve their symmetry. A Scuppernong vineyard is worth a journey from Salem to Savannah to see. Such is the Muscadine of the South and its offspring. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 81 A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. BY C. FRED. HARTT, A. M. New York to Para. On the 22d of June, 1867, I left New York in the | steamer “Havana” to spend my vacation on the Brazilian coast, my especial object being an exploration of the coral reefs of the vicinity of the Abrolhos Islands, and the study of the geology of such parts of the Province of Bahia as might be accessible to me. Nothing of note occurred on the voyage to the Island of St. Thomas, where the steamer was delayed a day to take in coal, and where I had an opportunity to make a good collection of corals, etc. A long account of my day’s examinations having already appeared elsewhere,* I propose in this series of articles to take up my description of some of the more interesting results of my voyage after leaving the West Indies, and to offer a closing article on St. Thomas and the Windward Islands, in which I will incor- porate new material collected on my return home. Steamships have robbed the sea of half its poetry, and a voyage by steam is often very barren in incidents; 80 with this voyage, we have had no storms, no accident to break the monotony of our life at sea, so that our journals have not been much enriched by any very interesting ex- periences when out of sight of land. To be sure we have fisted up gulf-weed, fend collected the delicate little ani- mals ind growing on it, and we have watched the flying- fish and porpoises and whales ; but one sees about as much of these things from a steamer, as he does of the cattle of a country he travels through by rail. . Te Sars 7, 1867, —“A Naturalist in the West Indies.” ee et ee eT SW ge irs cee Urea ee Am ek AE NT ra ee I Dee Wale 3 A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. 643 A word about the flying-fish. Of these there are many different kinds, not only belonging to different genera, but different families of fishes. The common flying-fish of the Atlantic belongs to the genus Hxocetus, a name given to the Mediterranean species by Aristotle, because it was currently believed by the ancients that the fish, spending the day in the water, flew out at night and slept ashore, whence the name which signifies a sleeper out. The com- mon flying-fish somewhat resembles a pickerel, with a squarish head and body; but its pectoral or forefins are very long, and capable of being expanded like broad wings. The abdominal, or ventral fins, are rather large and irregularly fan-shaped. In the water the fish swims, as most other fish do, with the tail, the long fins being folded against the body. But, not satisfied with swim- ming, it seeks to imitate the birds, and ever and anon it leaps into the air, and takes short flights, sustained on its broad pectoral fins. Ordinarily the fish are seen to rise from the water near the ship, and glide off diagonally, almost in the direction she is going, and very often right against the wind. They rise at a very low angle, and keep close to the water. On rising, the tail is seen to quiver, sometimes beating the water for several yards, leaving a wake behind, and at the same time there is a very perceptible tremulous motion of the fins; but when: once fairly in flight, the fins, both pectoral and ventral, are fully extended. The latter are held obliquely down- _ wards, while the position of the former seems to vary- very considerably. Usually the forefins are inclined a little upward, while the body is carried with the tail a little lower than the head. If there is a heavy sea running, _ the fish is seen to rise and fall over every wave without _ touching the water, and this is done apparently with as 644 A. VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. much ease as if it were a bird. I have observed that the vertical inclination of the “wings” is varied considerably, and the vertical undulations of its flight appear to be directed by these fins. It has evidently no power of di- recting its lateral motions, although one might rather look for the use of the tail for that purpose. If the fish darts right against the wind, its flight may be in a straight line, ending by its pitching plump into the water, but if the course be oblique to the wind, it is soon blown aside. Of the thousands of flying-fish I have observed, I have never seen one tack up into the wind, unless it plunged into a wave and took a fresh start, as is not infrequently the case, when it darts into the water and out again, like an arrow shot through a wave. I have spoken of the flapping of e fins on rising; during the rest of the flight this is ordinarily not observed, their only motion being the gentle variation in inclination; but if the animal finds itself settling before its flight is finished, as soon as the tail touches the water, that fin is agitated, while there is a fluttering seen of the pectorals: should the fish rise again, the fluttering ceases. The fish seen rising near the ship are evidently frightened by her approach. Looking over her bows when the waves are not disturbed by minor undulations, one may see shoals of them darting irregularly about in the water. Sometimes they spring up suddenly in clouds. The bonito, sharks, and other fish prey on the flying-fish, and the latter, when attacked, leap out of water to elude their enemies. One day we saw a school of bonitos which. were ever and anon leaping out of the water. Before them the flying-fishes were flying away like clouds of grasshoppers in advance of one _ Walking through a grass field. Overhead whirled some - large, graceful, white, long-tailed tropic birds (Phaëton), A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. 645 which were engaged in catching the flying-fish as they rose, so that the poor little animals found themselves safe no- where. The distance flown by one of these fishes varies greatly, and depends much on the wind. They frequently go two . hundred to three hundred feet without moving the fins, but the little ones never fly far.* In these cases, the fish glides through the air with an initial velocity, obtained by the action of its tail-fin before leaving the water, and the flight is no more like the flight of a bird, than is that of the flying-squirrel, or the Galeopithecus. I have had a few opportunities of witnessing the flight of flying-fish during calm weather, when I have then repeatedly seen the common Exoccetus fly more than a hundred yards, and, in two or three instances, I have seen what appeared to be a different species fly at least a thousand feet in a kori- zontal line, with a perfectly well seen continuous move- ment of the fins like a bird. The first specimen I saw I took to be a little bird, and I should never have known it to be a fish had I not seen it disappear in the water, and soon afterwards seen others rise near the ship. These observations were made near Barbadoes, and at the time there was not a ripple to disturb the glassy surface of the ocean waves. This SJlying species seemed to me to be quite different from the common Exocetus, having broader and darker-colored fins; but I did not see it sufficiently clearly to enable me tó speak confidently of other than its general appearance, as my attention was occupied with its flight. Was it not a Flying Gurnard, or Sea Robin? (Dactylopterus). When but a short distance north of the Amazonas, on *Some of the little animals which leap out of the water in shoals, and are often Mistakea for eee are cuttle-fishes. 646 A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. the present voyage, I was surprised at seeing not far from the ship that the blue color of the sea turned abruptly to a bottle-green. We were evidently on the edge of a current, whose boundaries were as well defined as if the blue ocean water through which it flowed had been solid land. This was probably the outer edge of the current flowing north- ward along this coast. ’We struck it immediately, and soon entered it, when to my delight I found the difference in color was owing to an immense number of little jelly- like animals'which swarmed there so as to destroy the transparency of the water. Just on the edge of the cur- rent these were collected together in the most astonishing quantities, but in the blue water a foot from the edge I did not see a single one, so sharply defined was the line marked. This line ran about E.S.E., and extended to the horizon on both directions, while the opposite side, if there were any, was not'visible. Half the circle of the sea was ultra-marine, half bottle-green. As soon as pos- sible I had a bucket lowered, and after many trials some of the animals were captured ; I found them to be Salpe, a low kind of mollusk, with small, gelatinous bodies, almost perfectly transparent, and growing in compound communities, which swim by taking water into the cavity - of the body, and propel themselves by the reaction caused by the expulsion of this water, in the same way as the cuttle- fishswims. There is a very interesting law which obtains among many of the lower animals, ealica the alternation of generations, according to which the offspring is unlike its parents, but like its ‘grandparents. These salps are good examples of this law, for one generation consists of -compound communities, and the next of single individ- uals. Some of the chains were three or four inches in _ length, and the individuals of which they v were composed - size of a go : A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. 647 On the surface of this current floated hundreds of beau- tiful “Portuguese men-of-war” (Physalia), and we saw in eddies on the edge of the current two or three fleets of several hundreds each, looking like beds of large pink flowers, on a smooth green lawn. They drifted thickly by us, their brilliant floats careening on the wave. Now and then they were overwhelmed in the great foam sheet ` that broke frem the steamer’s bow; but their upset barks soon righted themselves, and floated away on the foaming waves astern. As I looked down on their airy, bubble- like forms, anchored deep in the green water by their numerous cables, how I wished I could capture one, but from the high deck of the steamer it was hopeless to at- tempt it. Fancy now a light bubble-like float, of a semi-transpa- rent membrane, blown plumply out with air, and shaped somewhat like an egg laid on its side, with the upper part flattened into a sort of a crenulated, or, to use a mil- liner’s term, “pinked” crest. Tint this float of a rosy hue, deepening it toward the crest, and color the lower part a warm violet, and you will have a faint idea of the beau- tiful float of the “Portuguese man-of-war,” one of the most interesting members of the class of jelly-fishes. But this is not all; this is really only the float or swimming sac of a colony of animals which hang from the lower part down into the water, like gelatinous cords. Agassiz tells us that in this colony the sack is one animal developed for the special purpose of sustaining the colony in the water, and that of the others some are constructed for one pur- pose and some for another; some catch the food, but it is, figuratively speaking, to please the palate of others, while what one eats goes to nourish the whole colony. _ Sailors will tell you that the animal is poisonous, and burns the hand. Every one who has been on the sea-shore - 648 A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. has seen a common jelly-fish,and some may know that some species have the power of stinging. Talk about nettles and stinging ivy! The first specimen of the Physalia I ever collected, I found one evening at dusk on the shore of Porto Seguro. It was half-buried in the sand, much wilted, and I took it to be a shell, Janthina. I picked it up, and while examining it, the long tentacles slipped — through my fingers, and brought very forcibly to mind that they were very plentifully armed with minute cells, in each of which was coiled an exceedingly fine thread, which, thrown out on the bursting of the cell when it is touched, penetrates the hand, and immense numbers thus wounding the nerves produce a very intense burning sen- sation, which, sometimes extending itself up the arm, as it did in this instance, causes acute suffering. He who once takes a living Physalia in his hand will not be likely to pick up another. On the 10th of July we arrived off the mouth of the Para river, the southern mouth of the Amazons; but as it was impossible to enter the river and pass the shoals in the night, we stood across the mouth for the light at Salinas, on the southern bank of the river. We were to sight the light at eleven o’clock, p.m. At half-past ten the engine was slowed, a man was in the fore-top on the lookout, and with a friend I remained on the bow peering anxiously into the darkness ahead, as the steamer plunged cautiously over the big swell. A dim light, like the first ray of a rising star, is seen. “Two points on the weather _ bow!” cries the man on lookout. A moment after and _ the light flashes brightly out and disappears. It is the r realization of a saudade,* and the heart is glad! . All night we killed time steaming up cod down, wait- eh wont dear to the Por as word home, and nearly as untrans- Jatable. ‘It has all Gis tcaine o riem beni but it also expresses a deep long- ie taken: e nen nm abeent ttiend, or tome loved distant spot. Sees.) ee eee ee en ee = wile fia ž OTTER Anes ae A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. 649 ing for the morning. Day broke with the land in sight, no grand blue serras lying cloudlike on the horizon, but a long, low stretch of trees level as the line of the sea. Here we are in the mouth of the Para, but only one side can be seen, and from the middle neither side is visible, for it is here thirty-three miles in width. There are a number of extensive sand-banks in the mouth of the river which make it difficult to enter. The main channel lies between two of these banks, over which the waves break sometimes fearfully. This channel is not more than two miles in width.‘ An experienced pilot of the Para is attached to the steamer. We passed up the channel early in the morning against the tide, with a fine view of the breakers on each side. Hitherto there has been nothing to mark this channel, but lately two buoys have been placed at the entrance. What is much needed is a lightship, for at present the entrance is impracticable by night. Steaming up the river we soon left the brack- ish water, and came into the turbid waters of the Ama- zonas, finding ourselves on what seemed to be a fresh- water sea. The water is very muddy, and of a light milky brown. This is the color of the main river of the Amazonas. When one looks at the mighty flood pouring steadily out of the mouth of the Para, and strives to cal- culate the amount of solid material it is bearing down from the land to the sea, he cannot but. be amazed at the work the giant river is doing towards cutting away the continent, and in spreading it out anew over the bottom of the Atlantic. About one hundred miles from the mouth of the Amazonas, a small stream flows off south- ward, when it meets with the Anapa, Pacajos, and the great Tocantins, which last is sixty miles wide at its mouth, and swells into the Para, which Agassiz calls one N NAT., VOL. I. 650 A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. of the mouths of the Amazonas, though apparently it receives only a small part of its waters from the main stream. By and by the opposite bank of the river makes its appearance, and we have on each side a long level line of trees rising from the water. Looking both up and down stream, a water-horizon is seen; still farther up large wooded islands come in sight, and these like the shores are flat, and only slightly elevated above the water level. Looking up among the islands, it appears like looking out to sea from a large bay. The banks are very heavily wooded. There are no clearings of any size visible, and there are only a few little huts seen nestled in among the trees. On the projecting points along the southern bank of the river are stations from which are displayed signal flags, to give notice at Para of our arrival. At length, ahead on the water-horizon gleams a white object, which seems to be a ship; but the opera glass shows it to be the tower of a church, and the pilot tells us that it is the cathedral of Para, but it seems out at sea. Soon other towers rise above the turbid horizon, and ere long there „gleam in the afternoon sun the white buildings of the city of Para, the capital of the province of Gras Para. It seems like the work of enchantment. With the city in view, we run along close to the southern shore, passing a few fazendas, some tile-making establishments, a church or two, all backed by the dense Amazonian forest, that — sheet of vegetation, which, almost unbroken save by ~ rivers, covers the whole Amazonian valley like a sea, to _ the very foot of the Andes. At a distance the forest ~ Yesembles our own hard-wood forests, only it is denser — = more luxuriant. Once in a while a large round- oa tree is scen, blushing deeply with blossoms like : the topo of ee bathed i in the red evening sun- A VACATION TRIP TO BRAZIL. 651 light; but the only feature that strikes the uninitiated eye as tropical in this scenery is the occasional slender, graceful curved stem of a palm, with its beautiful leaf and crown. The breeze comes to us warm and fragrant, and one breathes it in in long draughts. But now comes a clearing, and a low projecting tiled roof is seen nestled in among the heavy foliage. In front is a long line of cocoa palms. One sees the large, deep green, shining leaves of the Jaca, or bread-fruit ( Artocarpus integrifolia), two spe- cies of banana and orange trees, and would never dream he was anywhere else than in the tropics. There is one palm seen here (Mauricea) which I do not remember having seen elsewhere in Brazil. It is a large palm, with immense ragged-edged, fan-shaped leaves. There are numbers of them on the shore just below Para. Mean- while that we have been sweeping the shore with an opera glass, watching the little Chinese-looking boats, with their leather-colored cotton sails, or a little Brazil- ian sidewheel steamer, outward bound, we come up with a little fort, an old-fashioned, circular structure, built on a tiny island a few miles down the river. Over the para- pet appears the mouth of an enormous speaking-trumpet, . that hides the head of the officer who hails the ship :— Donde vem?” (Whence come you?) “New York,” answers the Captain. * Quantos dias?” (How many days?) “Nineteen.” * Para onde vai?” (Where are you going ?) “Rio de Janeiro.” “Boa Viagem!” - At five o'clock we are anchored off the city, having consumed the day in ascending the river, a distance of seventy miles, for all the morning we had to stem the strong outflowing tide. , NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. BY HENRY CLAPP. —-—2Oe— — [When exploring the slate-bearing region of Maine last fall, I had occasion to employ as guide Mr. Henry Clapp, of Brownsville, Pis- . cataquis county, of that State. ` His home is at the foot of the Ebeeme Mountains, which form the southern portion of a mountainous dis- trict, extending away north to, and including Mount Katahdin, a dis- rict well watered by the Penobscot and Upper Kennebec, and their s them and enlarge upon them, but they seem to me to take their prin- cipal value from the fact, that they are a record essentially as given of an intelligent, experienced hunter’s account of the results of his observations. — J. E. M.] Pantuer, or Caramounr (Felis concolor Linn.). I never saw a Panther, or Catamount. One night I found a deer bitten through the back. There were many tracks (not of deer) right about him, but I could not find any leading off from the spot. I think the beast jumped on to the deer from a tree. I heard his shrill screech, like that of a woman in distress. I heard the same screech and saw the same track again not far off. I think the animal _ Was a catamount. ___ Lywx, or Loup-cervier (Lynx Canadensis Raf.). The Loup-cervier lives upon partridges, deer, rabbits, ete. ` It _ an climb trees. I have seen one in a tree. Ihave had One carry my trap with a heavy clog into a tree, and found him dead with it in the limbs. The animal is about _ NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. 653 two feet or more high. They are quite numerous about here: one man caught nine within six miles of here. They are easily killed by a blow with a stick. I once found a fox’s tail in a rabbit-path, with Loup-cervier’s tracks about. I judged that the fox was going one way in the rabbit-path, and the Loup-cervier the other way, and the Loup-cervier sprang upon the fox and ate him, leaving his tail. They often go in families, five and six together. I met four one bitter cold day. They came on to the ice, not in single file, but right and left, and from four to six rods apart; and from examining their tracks, I judge this to be their habit. I think they travel in this way to scare up more game. Winp-cat (Lynx rufus Raf.). The Wild-cat is not quite so. large as the Loup-cervier. It has black rings around its legs ; its fur is not so long as a Loup-cervier’s ; its foot is more like a dog’s or house-cat’s, the bottom of it being bare, while with a Loup-cervier it is covered with fur. Its leg is quite dark or black toward the foot. Its skin is not worth so much as that of a Loup-cervier. Wor (Canis occidentalis Rich.). I know little about Wolves. Ihave seen them, but never killed one. They often kill deer on the ice of the lakes; more on the ice, I think, than in the woods. I found one deer, which they had killed and skinned in such a way that I got a pretty good skin from it. They stripped it off so that it clung to the legs. It seemed to have been torn open along the belly. The meat was taken off, leaving only skeleton and skin. Rep Fox (Vulpes fulvus, var. fulvus). The Red Fox does not weigh as much as he appears to. His weight is about ten pounds. I have found but one that came up to eleven pounds, but have found a number that weighed 654 NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. nine pounds. He lives on mice principally, also on beech- — nuts, fowl, and rabbits. House-cat meat is good bait for them, so is honey, cheese, and pork scraps; and hog’s liver is excellent. I make a bed as large as a cart-wheel, strew on ashes and chaff, and then get the foxes familiar with the place. I go there often myself, until they get so familiar with my track, finding it brings them no harm, that it does not scare them. A strange track, or mine, if I stay away a little while, would keep them off for a night or two. I cover my trap with ashes, which seems to prevent them from smelling it. I attach a grapple to my trap, so that when the fox runs off with it, it will catch and hold him before he goes far. I don’t fasten it to the bed, because the digging of the fox caught would frighten away others. The fox is not so much afraid of the iron as of the man who handles it, and, therefore, I avoid touching the trap with my hand. If I have a dead horse, or other carcass, I throw it into a hollow where the snow will cover it. When the foxes have made a path to it, I set a trap in the path, covering it with snow from the carcass and the fox path, and making new tracks over it with a fox’s foot if I have one. I don’t touch any- thing about the trap with my hand, but use a wooden shovel. Sometimes I smear the trap with a mixture of tallow and fox dung. Red Foxes are plenty about here. In 1865, I bought thirty-seven skins taken in the neighborhood. One St- -~ -VER-GRAY Fox ( Vulpes Firginiamis Rich.?), was caught _ in Brownville or Milo, three or four years ago, and was _ sold for $35.00. I have seen one skin of the Brack Fox z m AS var. argentatus?). It was from Sanger- ville is also a kind called Cross-eray ( Vulpes S, var. i account of a cross made by NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. 655 dark color and gray. In 1865, Red Fox skins were worth $4.50 to $5.00.. Last winter I paid $2.50 for them. I think they will be lower this year. Fisuer, or Fisner-cat (Mustela Pennantii Erxl.). The Fisher is much like the sable, but larger, weighing six times as much, say from eight to ten pounds, some more than this. They live on rabbits, partridges, squir- rels, and berries, especially berries of the mountain- ash; they are also very fond of porcupines, the skins often having quills stuck in them, which, however, do not enter far into them. They also eat beechnuts. The Fisher runs with a “lope” and a jump; I never saw one trot. He leaves but two tracks, one a little farther forward than the other, thus, *. °., as do also the mink and sable. Sometimes they leave more, but the habit is to leave two. The color is dark-brown or gray. He nests in hollow pine stumps and ledges, I think. They are not very plenty about here. I caught seven last fall, and one this fall. The trap was set with bear’s meat. I also caught a fox in the trap. SABLE (Mustela Americana Turton). The Sable is of about the size of the mink, a little larger, and with longer legs. Its color is red or yellowish. It lives on mice, squirrels, partridges, rabbits, beechnuts, and mountain- ash berries. It don’t like porcupine meat as well as the fisher. It will eat fresh fish, but I don’t think it catches fish. I catch them in a “dead-fall” trap, sometimes in a steel-trap. I catch them in the mountains north of here. They nest in hollow trees. I never saw a sable swim; I once thought I saw one swimming, but when I caught the animal, I found it to be a mink, with the sable’s color. They are never very plenty about here. Price of skins last winter, $2.25 to $2.50; year before last, $3.50 to . . 656 NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. Weaset (Putorius).* The Weasel lives principally upon mice; is said, I don’t know how truly, to kill hens and partridges. Once I found that some duck feathers I had left in a camp had. been dragged into a barrel of hard-bread by a weasel, for lining toa nest. I have had them so tame in the camp, as to come into my lap and eat fresh fish and partridge. They are brown in summer, and white in winter. Mink (Putorius vison Rich.). The Mink is a sly, thiev- ish creature. They eat fish and frogs. I have seen where they brought the frogs in to their young. The nest was under the roots of a tree. The color is black or dark brown; when shedding their coat, they are a little more reddish. We catch them in both “dead-falls” and steel-traps, baited with fresh fish; though they will take also muskrat, partridge, and red squirrels. They are not very plenty about here. Their skins are worth $5.00 to $6.00. OTTER (Lutra Canadensis Sab.). I estimate the weight of a good-sized Otter at thirty pounds; their average weight is twenty-five to thirty pounds. They live on fish and muskrat. They dive down, and then rise into the passage way of the muskrat house, so as to push their jaws into the house and catch the muskrat, unless, as is sometimes the case, the muskrat has a second passage to escape through. The otter has no house, but lives in holes in the banks of streams, and in hollow logs, and under roots. His hind-foot is partially webbed 3 I dont _ remember about his fore-foot. He dives and chases fish -~ under water. I saw one do this, and then shot him. He seems to like to slide instead of walking down a slope, 3 to have certain places for voiding his exere- 2 i ene to ag aha a 5 i oY Y D ii f. RTE ig 3 TY CaSCIi” NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. 657 ment. Color, dark-brown or black. Legs very short; body and tail very long. He is a roving animal. The skin sells for from $6.00 to $8.00. Skunk (Mephitis mephitica Baird). The Skunk lives on locusts and crickets principally ; will eat chickens and suck eggs. They are plenty about here. The skin is worth ten to fifteen cents, and has been worth fifty cents. I bait them with meat. Raccoon (Procyon lotor Storr). The Raccoon is very rare about here. I have caught them in a “dead-fall,” baited with fish. I have known them to go into the corn- fields and eat corn. The skin is worth from half a dollar to a dollar. Brack Berar (Ursus Americanus Pallas). I don’t think there are two species of bears in the country here, but the single species varies exceedingly in color and size and disposition. I had at one time two tamed, which I caught with their mother when they were cubs. One was what is called the “Ranger” Bear, that is, it was long-legged and long-bodied, and not so black, and. with a little coarser fur than the other variety. The other was what is called a “Hog Bear,” and was shorter-legged and blacker. So I am sure the Hog Bear and Ranger are of one species. I have seldom found two alike. I have caught a great many, as many as sixteen in one year, from May 1st to July Ist, around Schoodic and Seboois streams, a few miles east of here. I caught seven the last summer. The larger of the two tamed ones I had was of a milder disposition, and would learn more tricks than the other. Both were females. They had a dispo- sition to pry into everything. One of them got into the pantry once, and upset the flour barrel and went to eating the flour. When she got her mouth so full as to be AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. . 658 NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. clogged, she would clear it out with her paws. She threw the sieve and breadboard out into the kitchen very hand- ily. Another time she got in and took the eggs. They like milk, and honey, and molasses. One of mine would drink milk from a dipper, holding it in her fore-paws. One of my tame ones, if she got loose, would find every hen’s nest in the barn and eat the eggs. In the woods they feed on berries and beechnuts and acorns and roots; and they will eat meat of any kind, and will take bear’s meat for bait; they will eat fresh fish, corn, and pump- kins, and are fond of oats; in the spring they are fond of the offal left where moose are dressed. They strike their enemy and try to throw him down, and then bite and tear him. I never saw them hug, and don’t believe they do it. They can climb small trees as well as large ones; I have seen where one climbed a cherry tree not more than three inches in diameter. I kept one of my tame ones till she was six years old, and have time and again seen her climb a pole four inches through. She climbed with the ends of all her claws touching the pole; would climb deliberately, and a hun- dred times a day for gingerbread, apples, ete. She would walk hand over hand along a horizontal pole with her body hanging under it. They climb the tallest of beeches, | _ and break off limbs two inches through, and throw them down, and then come down and eat the nuts. If the limb wont break, they bite it with their teeth, and then . pull it toward them and break it. They also gather 4 part of the top of the tree together, and eat the nuts there. Bears hibernate, going from three to four months with- - out eating; sometimes during December, January, Feb- =, and March, sometimes during January, February, NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. 659 March, and April. This year there are no beechnuts, and they will probably disappear early. As soon as they begin to eat in the spring, a plug comes away from them, black, shining, and hard, resembling gum, so much so, that some say they eat gum to form it; but it is not so, for the same came from the tame ones in my barn, where they could get no gum. I think it is from the mucous in the intestines. In the barn they covered themselves with straw all over, excepting their ears. Their paws were brought forward around the nose, which was dropped forward and downward. They don’t suck their paws. When I spoke to the tame ones in my barn ` during the winter, they would look up very bright, but would run out their tongue, gape, and drop their heads forward and down between their paws again. I could see the motion of their breathing, and in a cold day could see their breath condensing. I noticed this particularly, because I have heard it said that they did not breathe when hibernating. In the woods they make for winter- quarters a nest of leaves and cedar bark, and I have sometimes seen cedar and fir boughs in their nest. I don’t think they get enough of the material to cover themselves as completely as the tame ones did in my barn. Bears bite fir and spruce trees, and tear down the bark, and when one has bitten a tree, others are apt to do the same, and thus their ranges or lines of travel become spotted as it were. They follow their ranges year after year. The skin of a bear is worth from $3.00 to $12.00. Gray SQUIRREL (Sciurus Carolinensis Gmelin). Have Seen a few Gray Squirrels this year; never saw but one before. . Rep SQUIRREL (Sciurus Hudsonius Pallas). The Red Squirrel deposits his winter store in several places. The 660 NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. bear often finds the half-pint of beechnuts hidden by the Red Squirrel under the leaves and eats them. STRIPED SQUIRREL (Tamias striatus Baird). The striped Squirrel deposits his winter store in a single place. Woopcnuck (Arctomys monax Gmelin). The Wood- chuck lives in holes in the ground; is partial to beans, but lives principally on grass. I think it hibernates. EAVER (Castor Canadensis Kuhl.). I have caught seventy Beavers. Have killed seven from one house, and left one or more. I killed five from another house, and opened the house, which was about four feet across on the inside, and two feet high. It was oven-shaped. There was but one room to it, and I never saw a house with more. The houses are sometimes round, some- times oblong. The house is made of brush thrown into a pile, and covered with mud and sticks. The room is eaten out of the brush; that is, the brush is in a pile, and the room is made by gnawing out a part of it. The passage way is a ditch passing downward and forward into the water, and is covered with brush and’ mud. Right on top of the house is a part of the roof where there is no mud on the sticks, thus leaving the wall open enough there for ventilation. The Beaver makes his pond to enable him to bring and store his food, which is the bark of white birch, yel- low birch, mountain ash, swamp maple, poplar, and wil- low, and perhaps some others. They throw their brush over their passage way, so that the top of it is in the water; that is, the butt of the bush is over the passage way, and the twigs of the top in the water. They cut down the trees, which are for food, and stick the butts _ under the brush, leaving the tops to float. If the tree is NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. 661 larger than one and a half inches, or two inches at far- thest, the beaver cuts off the top, and drags it and the stems to his house separately. I have seen the wood as large as five inches, and three or four feet long. Have seen a white birch felled by them four inches in diame- _ ter. In the winter they come up under the ice and gnaw their bark there. Gradually in such places air collects under the ice, which is, I think, what they breathe out when they are there. I have seen one stay under water seven and one-half minutes by the watch, and have heard from a reliable man of their staying twelve to fourteen minutes. The Otter will kill young Beavers. I don’t know of anything else that destroys them except man. Their meat is excellent, and the meat from their tail is a delicacy. The Dam.—I will describe one dam. It was lately built. It was six rods long; not straight across the stream, but the middle was further down stream than each end. The groundwork was of small alders, cherry trees, and bushes. Nearer the top, trees from one to one and a half inches in diameter were placed on, the butt being hauled over so as to rest on the bottom of the stream below, and the top woven into the dam. On the up- stream side it was covered with moss, mud, gravel, and rocks, and some of the rocks I judge would weigh fifteen to twenty pounds. The water dripped over the dam evenly the whole length. The dam flowed the pond above, which was a mile long. It was not at a narrow place in the brook. It had been built the summer before, and in the fall while I was there, I caught six beavers there, and think I caught them all. There were seven houses in the neighborhood, but only one of them was new. I drove them from this to one of the old ones, and 662 NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. then to another. This last was a mile from their dam. They began to haul wood to it. I caught none at the new house, but two at the first old house they fled to, and four at the second. I frightened them from the new house by paddling around it in my canoe. It was on an island. They work on their house, putting mud and sticks on it, till freezing weather. I will describe another dam and settlement of Beavers, on the Restigouche River, in the northern part of New Brunswick. The pond flowed was a mile long. At the foot of the pond was a dam five feet high. Four rods below was a dam three feet high which flowed back to the first dam, raising the water against it one and one-half feet. Three rods farther down the brook was a third dam, not more than two feet high, also flowing back to the dam next above. A rod or two below was a fourth dam, not more than one and a half feet high, which flowed the water back to the third dam. There were two beaver-houses on the pond. The new one, which was the one inhabited, was one-quarter of a mile above the dam. The old one was fifty to sixty rods farther up. I killed seven beavers here that winter (1852 or 1853). I cut the second and third dams down a little at the middle so as to have a running, open stream, and caught four otters there during the winter. I never saw more than one passage way to a beaver- 3 house, but it was said that there were several to this use. It was, by outside measurement, twenty-one feet across at the base; and we judged it to be ten feet high, but it had the appearance of being two houses joined to- gether. The men who opened it said it had but one room, and nine beavers were in it. I don’t think the . — Bavor uses the tail much in swimming, but it makes NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. 663 much use of it in diving. In trapping, we take care not to drive the beavers away from the pond before it freezes ; after it freezes they leave very reluctantly. We bait with swamp maple or mountain ash. We tie the trap to a dry spruce stake, which they will not gnaw. The beaver weighs from twenty-five to sixty pounds ; the latter weight is very large. A good beaver-skin weighs from one to three pounds; price now $2.50 a pound. I think the beaver gets the oil from the “oilstone” on to his fur by letting it out into the water around, whence it is caught on the fur. I use the “castors” to attract the béavers. Muskrat (Fiber zibethicus Cuv.). The muskrat lives in hollows in banks of streams, and also in houses. Eats roots, grass, and clams. Porcurme (Erethizon dorsatus F. Cuv.). The porcu- pine lives in winter on bark. It eats grass; will eat green corn when it can get it; it is very fond of salt; will even gnaw through pork barrels to get the salt. It has been known to get into the cellar and take milk. It is destruc- tive to boots and rigging and tools, where any salt has been left on them. Moose (Alce Americanus Jardine). Moose move over but a small district in a winter’s day, four or five miles ; sometimes in a thaw they move farther. When their tracks are obliterated by the snow, I often track them in this way: I notice the side of the tree from which they have taken the bark. This was the first side of the tree they came to; they then moved on and took the bark from the first side they come to of another tree, and thus left a.“blaze” behind them. Sometimes when the old cow lies down, the calf will eat the bark all around the 664 NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. tree, but this is not the rule. They seem to tear the bark up with the teeth of the lower jaw. Sometimes they may be found in the spring not more than a mile away from where they began in the fall. They like best the bark of moose wood (the small maple with dark striped bark), mountain ash, and swamp maple. They take the bark of the mountain ash more than of any other tree; but they browse the twigs of the swamp maple most. They will also browse fir and willow and moose bush, and sometimes cut the bark of poplar. They also frequent ponds for the pond lily and the yellow lily. The largest herd I ever saw had nine in it, but they more often live in herds of four or five. The female brings forth two calves, and they stay with the old cow the summer and winter following. The males more often yard by themselves, but are sometimes found with the female. The sexes come together about the last of Sep- tember or the first of October, say from September 20th to October 20th. Moose are not now very plenty about here, but ten years ago they were plenty. I killed two in one August night in Lower Ebeeme pond. They come into the ponds to feed on the lilies. I have seen them in the pond the first of June, with the water half way up their sides, reaching down and taking up the roots of the yellow lily. They come out on very soft bog with no trouble; they ~ drop their body so as partly to swim and partly to wade till they come to shore, then they put their nose on the shore, if it is soft, then raise their forelegs, and then their hind legs one at atime. When swimming undis- turbed, I have seen a moose settle down under the water a — De or four rode and then rise and snort NOTES OF A FUR HUNTER. 665 and go down again. Whether he did this to get the flies from his ears, or whether it is his habit, I don’t know. A young man who hunted moose with me had seen the same thing, and spoke to me of it. When undisturbed they move, on land, slowly and quietly, but when startled, are all alive. Their principal gait when not walking is a trot, while the deer jumps. In the season for the coming together of the sexes, I have seen the male standing on a log, and heard him grunt at intervals; at other times I have heard them low aloud. Sometimes we call them by imitating the low of the male by sounding through a roll of birch bark. The males answer this cry, and come to it; and as they draw near we place the mouth of the trumpet near the water, or, if on land, near the ground, which makes the sound seem farther off, and leads the moose to rushon. When he gets pretty near, it don’t do to keep up the deception; then we dip up and pour out water, which brings him right out; or, instead, make a kind of “splash” with the paddle, or any noise that will sound like the stepping of a moose in water. Care should be taken to keep to the leeward of the moose if possible. A common way of hunting them is to watch in summer nights at places where they come down for lily-pads, and shoot them there. Another way is to hunt them down in winter when there is a crust. The average weight of a moose’s meat after it is dressed is four hundred to five hundred pounds. I have killed one which I think weighed, meat and hides, one thousand pounds. I weighed the meat of one which weighed six hundred and thirty pounds. Moose meat is worth say ten cents a pound, and the skin has been worth from five to twelve dollars since the beginning of the war; I don’t know what it is worth now. ` AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 84 666 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. CARIBOU (Rangifer Caribou Aud. and Bach.). Caribou are quite plenty a little north of here, about Ragged Lake, Black Brook, ete. Caribou live principally on moss, but eat some twigs. It is faster, I think, than either deer or moose; of these two, the deer is the faster. The meat of a caribou when dressed weighs, I judge, from two hundred and fifty to three hundned. pounds. Derr (Cervus Virginianus Boddaert.) Deer are not very plenty about here. They browse “moose-bush,” fir, cedar (Arbor vitæ), willow, swamp maple, and lynois bush; in summer they like lily-pads, leaves of trees, and grass. I think that, like the moose, the deer generally bears two young. [We have introduced the scientific names of the animals mentioned by Mr. Clapp, and would refer those of our readers who wish for in- prehensive and invaluable work of Professor BAIRD D, on the ‘‘Mam- mals of North America,” forming the eighth volume of the Pacific Rail- road Reports, published by order of Congress in 1857. — EDITORS. | THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. BY EDWARD S. MORSE. (Concluded from page 609.) Tue following species, though minute, are very char- acteristic, and with the aid yt the engravings, but little trouble will be encountered in identifying them. For- ~ merly included under the old genus Pupa, they are now _ Separated under a distinct genus called Leucochila. But slight differences are noticed between the soft parts of the a smene to be described, and those given previously. onc ibe CONTRACTA Say (Fig. 54) is an oval, THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. 667 conical, whitish shell, having five convex whorls ; the spire tapering to a somewhat pointed apex. Fig. 51. The aperture is quite large, and is bordered by a widely reflected lip. The aperture is nearly closed with four tooth-like folds, and one is inclined to wonder how it is possible for the \ animal to protrude and withdraw his body X within the shell. The shell has a distinct um- bilicus. Length one-tenth of an inch. Animal blackish above ; disk light gray. Almost universally distributed throughout the United States east of the Rocky Moun- tains. It is not a common species in New England. Found in beech groves under bits of rotten bark. LEUCOCHILA ARMIFERA Say. (Fig. 55.) This is a much larger species than the preceding one. The shell is cylindrical oblong, of a waxen-white color, Fig. 5s. having from six to seven smooth convex whorls. 2 Apex rather obtuse; lip reflected, nearly sur- ¢ rounding the aperture. Within the aperture , \y are four or five projecting teeth, the largest aN being bifid, and starting from the body whorl; in others projecting from the walls of the aperture, and deep seated. Shell slightly umbilicated. Length 7% inch; diameter half the length; animal black. This species appears to be plentiful in many of the Middle and Western States, extending as far east as Vermont, where it has been found on the shores of Lake Champlain. n Levcocuma peÊxToDoN Say. (Fig. 56.) This species is a third smaller than L. contracta, being only 4 of an inch in length. It has about five whorls ; is whitish or greenish-white ; translucent, ð though often obscured by dirt that adheres to its surface. Aperture having a thickened ridge within, on which are 668 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. several minute teeth, the longest one projecting from the body whorl. The number and size of these teeth vary greatly in this species, but the shell is quite characteristic when once determined. It is found in very wet places, under bits of wood by watery ditches. Found in nearly all the States this side of the Rocky Mountains ; common in New England. In the following species the lower tentacles are absent, and the head has lappets on each side, and when viewed beneath seems partially separated from the creeping disk, more like the fresh-water air-breathing snails. As they are best known as Vertigo, we describe them under that head. As the species are very minute, we have given not only magnified figures of the entire shell, but a still more magnified fram of the aperture, as the characters of the species lie mostly in the contour of this portion of the shell. VERTIGO ovara Say (Figs. 57, 58) has an ovate, dark, amber-colored, and highly polished shell. Within ioe ce Fig-58. the aperture are seven or eight teeth; these vary CA greatly in different speci- \ mens. ; This is the largest of New England Vertigos, though measuring only 7s of an inch in length, and 2; of an inch in breadth. It is more globose than the spoelt a _ to follow, and has more teeth within the aperture. This species is almost aquatic in its habits, living under bits of _ Wood and stones, in wet and soggy widens Inhabits all _ the Western, Middle, and Eastern States. Is common in ; _ New England. THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND 669 Vertico Goutpi Binney. (Figs. 59, 60.) This spe- cies is smaller than V. ovata; is not so broad compared Fig. 59. Fig. 60 to its length, and is not polished, but distinctly striated. The teeth within the aperture are five in number, that on the body whorl very large. Length of shell şs inch, breadth »; inch. It occurs in woods and groves under leaves. It appears to be common in New England, and has been found in some of the Middle and Western States. VERTIGO ventricosa Morse. (Figs. 61, 62.) In out- line the shell resembles that of V. ovata, and it has always been confounded with that Fig. 61. Fig. 62. species. The shell is much small- er, however; has one whorl less, and has only five teeth within the aperture. Length ;35 inch. It is not a common species, though I have received it from New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Maine. Vertigo BoLLesrana Morse. (Figs. 63, 64.) This species has been heretofore confounded with V. Gouldii. It has a small shell, lighter colored, Fig, 83- vig. ni. polished and translucent. The teeth y are five in number, but less promi- \ nent. Length ;§>5 inch. Found in hard-wood growths, in company with the smaller snails. It is not a common species. Vertico mium Gould. (Figs. 65, 66.) Despite the infinitessimal character of the species described above, this species is much smaller than any of the others, being only z$o inch in length, and weighing but roso of a N 670 THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. grain! and this tiny shell encloses a pulsating heart, a lung, stomach, liver, and all the organs we find in the Fig.65. Figo. larger snails. The shell has six teeth within the aperture, those on the lower portion of the aperture being long | ridges running far within the shell. ' This species is found under decaying leaves in woods, and sometimes under stones in open pastures. It has a wide distribution in the United States, though it is rarely met with on account of its exceeding minuteéness. VERTIGO stupLEx Gould. (Figs. 67, 68.) The shell ee, Fig-68- is quite long and cylindrical, <> having five whorls: The aper- wen ture is entirely devoid of teeth, we and has a sharp lip. Length i) È C] 7s of an inch. Found in all the : New England States, New York, and some of the Western States. VERTIGO DECORA Gould. Mr. L. L. Thaxter has found this species at Ascutney, Vermont. We learned this fact too late to prepare a figure of it. We may briefly state that it is something like V. Gouldii, though twice the. size of that species, and darker colored. It was first dis- covered in the region of Lake Superior, and one specimen has been identified from Great Slave Lake. fo a = The following group, though air-breathing, are am- ue phibious in their habits. The animal has only two ten- _ tacles, with no power to draw them within the head, as in oa those above described. The eyes, instead of being at the : tips of these tentacles, are at the base. _ CARYCHIUM EXIGUUM Say (Fig. 69) has an elongated TR TN! Sie ist THE LAND SNAILS OF NEW ENGLAND. 671 -white shell, with five convex whorls, tapering gradually to the apex. Aperture obliquely oval, bordered pig. 69, by a roundish, thickened margin. On the outer £ margin of the aperture, there is a tooth-like pro- jection, and on the inner margin there is another } more prominent. Length of shell 75 inch. Lives in very wet and boggy places in woods. Found in nearly all the States east of the Rocky Mountains. ALEXIA myosotis Drapanaud. (Fig. 70.) Shell ovate, conical, smooth, horn-color. Spire having six or seven whorls, making a short, elevated, pointed spire. Fig.70. Aperture long and narrow, having on the inner & margin two or more thin white teeth. Length 3% inch. Found in the crevices of old wharfs and sea-walls, below high-water mark. It is never found away from the salt water, and if it breathes air like the rest of the group, it must take in a supply at low tide. MELAMPUS BIDENTATUS Say. (Fig. 71.) Shell ovate, conic, whorls five, the last one three-fourths the length of the shell. Apex short; aperture having two folds rig.z1. A or teeth on its inner margin. Color brownish horn. f) In adult specimens the shell is whitened from ero- sion. Very young specimens are oftentimes or- namented by dark, revolving bands. Length not quite half an inch. Inhabits the salt-marshes of our coast, where they may be found by thousands just below high- water mark. It is found all along the coast to Florida, though extremely rare north of Massachusetts Bay. With this species we close the description of the Land Snails of New England as continued articles. In a future number of the Naruratist we hope to give an account of the Slugs or Snails without external shells. To those who have not the earlier numbers of the Nat- 672 REVIEWS. URALIST, we would say that the terms used in describing the different species are explained and illustrated in the April number, and that a general account of their habits and anatomy may be found in the March number., REVIEWS. THE QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL MEDICINE AND MED- ICAL JURISPRUDENCE. Edited by William A. Hammond, M. D. Vol. I. Nos. 1,2. July, October, 1867. Quarterly, 8vo. A. Sampson & Co., New York. Our notice of this journal, which fills an important gap in medical literature, has been long delayed. It will also interest many of our gh S it t bears on those subjects in which all naturalists, espe- cially p o most interested. The three leading articles are sion H Editor. The article On Instinct, its Nature and Seat, gives an aa summary of the views of various writers on a subject on which much has been written without reaching satis- factory results. The author's views may be summarized thus: Animals perform three sets of actions; Ist, reflex, such as eating, breathing, peti tion. “The new-born child does not breathe because of a ‘natural blind impulse’ to do so, but because the placental connection mi its mother, by which its blood was oxygenated, having been severed, and the stimulus of atmospheric air having been applied to its skin, an impression is conveyed to the nervous centres, it is reflected to the respiratory muscles, and breathing takes place.” This is a reflex action of the nervous system. It is not instinctive or an act of the reason. 2d, instinctive, which are “‘the result of impressions received from within.” ‘Instinct is that innate faculty which organic beings _ possess, by which they are enabled or impelled to perform acts Mii Oout being prompted by the intellectual powers, and even in direc opposition thereto.” Dr. Hammond, from whom we have quo ne farther states that “instinctive acts are not the result of instruction - " experience. This is one of the most prominent points wherein the om those which are the result of intelli- rational. These are, as the author states, of NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 673 “eccentric origin, ts » impressions conveyed to the mind through the senses and nery Instinct is sia in the lower animals, and the new-born of the higher. The young acts first by instinct, until experience and contact with the outer world awakens the dormant reason. The author thinks that instinct is capable of improvement, that it can be educated through a series of generations, so that ‘‘the intelli- gence of former generations becomes converted into instinct in the descendants.” Instances of the abe have instinct; that is, a force co-existent with their growth, and im- planted originally in the seed, which impels them to the performance of act ioa, calculated to preserve their existence, or secure their well b u efer the reader to the article itself for facts in illustration of o pae NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. PAA Ea BOTANY. BOTANICAL NOTES AND QUERIES. — Is Tillandsia usneoides, the “ Black” or “ Long Moss” of the Southern States, strictly an epiphyte, or in some sort a parasite? I was once informed by a very intelligent person, that in Florida, where the Tillandsia is used by lumbermen as fodder for cattle, the plant always withered and died when the tree that bore it was cut upon the dead surface of the bark. My gama is ae ag to this point by a paper on The Relation of he health and value of Trees, read by Dr. Lindsay before the ae ce of the British Association. Noting that arbo- -_riculturists generally regard Lichens as detrimental to the trees they w on, Dr. Lindsay adduces, in confirmation of that view, the fact gro that Lickeus of the sort, such as Usnea, Ramalina, etc., contain silica, hich could not have been come from the foster- oes not certainly =~ however, that the Lichen is para- sitic, as Dr. Lindsay is disposed to think, for the thallus may as well take up these earthy elements fin the dead and decaying bark, and be without connection or contact with any living part of the tree. The general opinion of nurserymen and tree-growers is, that upon the tree, or at least in some way injure it.—A. GRAY. AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 5 Lichen-grow 674 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ALSOLA KALI GROWING INLAND. — Every summer, for the last five years, on botanical: excursions, I have found at New wburgh (sixteen miles from this place) the Salsola peg ~~ quite abundantly on the Erie railroad near that city. orks on Botany that I have, designate this as a maritime ase T es no other habitat for it. Those specimens which grow most vigorously are found covering the side of an embankment (formed of dry, loose — facing the mea and consequently exposed to the scorching rays of the sun'all su The material in which the plants are rooted is not one from w ae I Should suppose that they could derive any of those saline matters that enter so largely into their composition. — W. R. GERARD. OBINIA HI The responses to the query in the November number about lido plant are unanimous, and direct to i point, that it is Ee and truly indigenous in the pine barrens of the low coun- n barren or rocky hill-tops of the upper country of the At- niir botiheri States. Dr. M. A. Curtis has fruiting specimens col- lected on the summit of Table Rock, North Carolina (a conclusive sta- non as to a. and thinks that it fruits in the lower country as well.— A. Gra PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.— NATURAL History SECTION. Burl rlington, Vt., August pe -26, 1867.— ‘“ The Insect Fauna of the Summit of Mount PEAR as compared with that of Labrador.” By A. S. Packard, jr., M. D. The following notes are thrown together rather to give a summary, from data only approximately correct, of our present knowledge of the distribution of Alpine rctic Lepidoptera, than to give anything like a complete account. The summit of Mount Washington, or that portion lying above the limit of trees, agrees in its climate and other physical features very closely with those of bane mi of Northern Labrador, as observed at latitude Thes peletan soniai rare exactly, as the snow melts in the early summer, and ice is formed early in the autumn at about the same dates. _ As is well known, the Alpine flora of the White Mountains is iden- tical With that of the arctic regions, which extends far southward along the Atlantic shore of Labrador. Not only is the flora identical 4 T duiiperies of plant is known to be restricted exclusively to Ss. p but the times ot Ue tomednns and fruit PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 675 ing of plants is much the same. Such was observed in the Rubus chamemorus and Arenaria Opeéntanaton for example. It is also the same apparently with the fauna. The Chionobas semi- dea flies late in July and early in August, in greatest abundance, at the same time that its representative species swarm over the bare roc. hill-tops of the Labrador coast. Their appearance heralds the close of summer, both on the extreme summit of Mount Washington and the neo hills of Labrador st is known of the Lepidoptereia fauna of Alpine and arctic re- gions, both in America and Europe, and our data will be drawn from this group of insects. In Europe, Faa erg, Zetterstedt, Pupok nchel, Boisduval, Staudinger, and Wocke, have studied the circumpolar lepi- der, Shurtleff, and Sanborn have ie ag the insect fauna of Mount Washington, ae other Alpine summit According to Dr. Staudinger, out s sixteen butterflies found in Finmark, two only ae Manto and Argynnis Thore) occur in the Alps, and also in Siberi But one butterfly, Chionobas Aello, so far as we have been able to ane is Liar to the Alps. Of 122 species of lepidoptera inhabiting maaten J arctic America, while t pis T circumpolar, namely, occur on both sides of the Arctic pia being found in Finmark, igs and the mountains of Norway; six species inhabit the summit of Mount Washington, and four or five of the whole number also eer the Swiss Alps. Two of the European Alpine species are found on Mount in ects, as among Mollusca, are almost ex- clusively arctic. Such are econo and saab which are paralleled by the two marine genera Astarte and Bucci Two species (Polyommatus Fr Wanton my Ctdarks polata) abounding in Labrador and the polar regions have not yet been found on Mount Washington. This is paralleled by the occurrence of certain ee e. g. Leda truncata, in the h arctic seas, which have become ex- tinct in the seas southward, where they are now found fossil; so Pia the distribution of the arctic insect fauna seems to ralleled p of an Arctic marine fauna, so the Alp abysses, rising out of a temperate into an Arctic climate, seem peopled by outliers of an arctic land fauna. These outliers are relics of an arctic prige that during the early part of the Quaternary period, i. e the Glacial Epoch, peopled the surface of the temperate zone. 676 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. . We cannot suppose a special creation of organized beings for the Alpine summits. Chionobas semidea, thus far only known to inhabit the summit of Mount Washington, may still be found northward; or, if not, probably became extinct north, finally localizing itself on the Single peak where it now occurs. “ On the oie agm of a Dragon-fly, Diplaz.” By A. S. Packard, jr.. M.D. 1. In all the eggs observed, the blastoderm had been formed, and Adie the blastodermic cells had disappeared, and, at this stage, there was a clear space about what is probably the ante- ee pole of the egg, where the head is eventually to be developed. . In the next stage (Fig. 1) the head is partially sketched out, with ` is re bel the limbs mouth-parts; and the sternites or ven- ral walls of the thorax rt of the two dy rings of the head appear. The an- terior part of the head, ‘ne so-called « procephalic lobe” overhangs and con- eals the base of the antenne. The antennz, mandibles, and maxille form a group by theinselves, while the e Fig. 1, a. men, those at the extremity appearing ast. The development of the hinder or post-oral rings of the head, together with the antennal segment, i. e. the first one in front of the mouth, at this time accords with that of those of ree tho- dages are identical throughout. 3. In the next stage (not figured) the yolk is gears | walled in, though no Ventral view of the same. traces of segments appear on the dorsal and pleural areas. The yolk granules fill the sate cavity of the body extending into the appendages. The head has enlarged, the perenne abdominal urites appear, and the abdominal lobe or post-abdom PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 677 is indicated, ee curved under the body, and touching the middle of the abdor The faaiioa of the eyes appear as a darker rounded mass of cells indistinctly seen through the yolk-granules, and situated at the base of the antennæ. The three anterior appendages, when seen sideways, i in size and length, the antenna being very contiguous to shiek he ash maxille are re over twice the length of the first maxille and are grouped wi e legs, being curved backwards. They are, however, now Sie thd shorter than the anterior legs. The - second maxillary sternum is still visible. e legs are now unequal in size, the two anterior pair being of the same length, though the middle pair are slightly thicker than the first pair; while the third, or Pe hae pair, are a third longer, and drawn back upon the side of the body, the Fig. 2 ends nearly reaching the ie of the egg. The tip of the abdomen (or post-ab- obscurely divided into two obtuse lobes. The abdominal sterna (urites) are now well marked, and the nervous cord is represented by eight or nine large ob- | š : AVIVI Yy The formation of the eyes, the post- S prasephate bane Pde ; ; abdomen, the sterna, and median portion I. the rudiments of the intestine. of the nervous cord seem ee ci RSEN with the closing up of . 3. rsal walls of the body over the E V VI v Gus 4. The ‘wucdecliieg stage (Fig. 2, compare Zaddach’s fig. 40) is signal- ized by the appearance of the rudi- ments of the intestine, while the second u ; = he embryo stil farther, advanced. and clypeus, together with the approx- sabes of the second pair of maxille, which, when un labium, the extremities of which are now situated in the middle of _ the bod: 678 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. The antenne now extend to the middle of the labium; just passing beyond the extremities of the mandibles and maxillæ. The suture separating the eye-bearing piece from the ante: diii, EAE and maxillary pleurites and supra-clypeus, is distinct, the clypeus is now very distinct, and as large, seen laterally, as the supra-clypeus, though differing from it essentially in form. The abdomen is now pointed at the extremity and divided into the rudiments of the two anal stylets, which form large acute tubercles. The yolk mass is now almost entirely enclosed within the body walls, forming an oval mass. 6. At this stage, the embryo is quite fully formed, and is about . ready to leave the egg. The three regions of the body are now dis- tinct. The articulations of the tergum are present, the yolk mass be- ing yes enclosed by the dorsal walls, The ventral ganglia fully formed and are seen laterally to be Square, with the square ends opposed, though the commissures cannot be distinguished. More care- ful observation. will undoubtedly reveal their pres- ence. The body is so bent upon itself that the extremities of the second maxille just overlap the ip of the abdomen. The front of the head is now still farther differ- entiated. The supra-clypeal piece seems to be merged in with the opthalmic ring, the sutures between them having disappeared. The insertion of the antennz are removed higher up to just in front of oe red or rather the eyes have dropped down, as . The clypeus is broad and large, . me a e labrum is separated from it by a The mandibles and maxille are still tu- ee, in shape, the teeth of the former not yet ae appearing. The two limbs of the labium are now ké e side by side, with the prominent spinous appendage on the outer edges of the tip. These ae spines are the rudiments of the ssi palpi. Th e abdomen should į are directed upwards and the two claws are sim- ae ae of eleven, pseu con- ple, straight, and equal in size. The tip of the ab- minute. tr Netthglat domen ends in two unequal pairs of stylets, ter- aminating in 2 a long bristle, 6: a Sag 4.) Thegen- ken from the F Ol ius taken PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 679 egg sae bermightoned oak, meminda us arikingly of the ii. and l Lepisme, and allied gen- 5. era, are e eabryonis forms, of Neuroptera, and should’ therefore be considered a y family of that suborder. I een laterally, the body gradually tapers from the j large head to the ted extremity he b flattened from above down- wards. is ge th embryo, but the limbs are still laid along the body. “Jy Fig. 6. y T ij after the exclusion of the Sites She gta © nc gun of whieh the’ eyes F et p de ger, and re g shorter pla the recently hatched larva, gl on to the body. The antennæ, man- dibles,andmaxillmarenow só o JI cal af tie abdomen, wich open and free, and have taken on a shut otk orth on, are represen ted s being ust hatched and swimming in the water. me Stale ord or nervous ganglia; D, dorsal ves- more definite form, being Peni Eon like that of the young larva, and ante oa free pi the body. The head is much smaller in proportion to the rest of the body, and bent more upon the breast. 8. The Larva (Fig. 5). The head is now free, and the antennæ stand out free from the front. The thorax has greatly diminished in size, while the abdomen has become wider, and the limbs very long; and the numerous minute tubercles seen in the preceding stage have given origin to hairs. The dorsal vessel can now, for the first time, the dotted ponte cross one ork of trac 680 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. be seen. The resemblance when in motion to a spider is most strikin ig. 6 represents the pupa of Diplax Essex Instrrutr, March 4, 1867.— Mr.’E. S. Morse spoke of the Cephalopods, and alluded to the many fallacious stories regarding the Cuttle-fish, citing Victor Hugo’s description of the Devil-fish, in which the characters of two entirely different animals were mix Vice-president Goodell called the attention of the m ssthi to the Hi y, and the reply of the Trustees. F. W. Putnam, TA sym of the Museum, introduced the fol- lowing AAR t ifi g pe 5 eve inhabitants of the County of Essex, of the steady pa knowledge of the Natu tural ; x tizen. and sical Sciences, and of their application to the Useful Ar ts;” and w citizens of this ” county, the membi of t te are ju roud that this a comes tive of the nti they are most deeply rages of the honor confe: upon eg Geor, shat te Loring voabiada. the Resolution with appropriate remarks, and it was unanimously adopted. committee of seven members of the Institute was gaa to confer with the Trustees of. the. Peabody Fund in regard to the operation of the Institute. May 8. Annual Meetin -— Reports of the officers were read; seven- ty-seven resident, and sixteen corresponding members have been ected during the year, and notices of the death of five resident, and four corresponding members have been received. Five field eR. publication of the Proceedings and Historical Collec ctions, it is hoped, will not occur again, now that the i has established a printing office. ni is meara koe a0 peers of My: Bicknell as a pre- rk will prov ve instrumen- tal in h promotion of some of the objects of the — The total nditure expe e year was $2,491.41, receipts 1.33. Four thousand and sight? six volumes, and parts of couse, pamphlets, etc., were received the year, from two con- = Thirteen thousand specimens have been added to the ‘Natural story Department, by two hundred and eighty-eight dona- - tions; and sixty-six donations have been made to the Historical De- _ Partment. Over four hundred zodlogical specimens have been pre- T eoar societies, and to individuals during the year. GLOSSARY. Abdomen. Applied in insects and crus- tacea b the third or last region (hind- doalehe Pu cog oe cale reek acalephe, stin J; so Ani mals, So called fs igin g and f Rhizopods. 1 The. Mite jprm ag mite, etc.), a low degraded form o. — The act ma Bev bea the aie making v pore of Dia canis $, a i A genus woh am Bischna A genus of garici us. (From Ag e Seia Do mg. crinos). The Masiro like po eange A A genus s of ra. A ge ‘ r. agrios, rura us 0: small ll. r Dra P Alga (pl. Algæ). on weet? ; an order of erypeogamous spec et mostly nthropoid. Man-like; applied to the “higher apes. w ar aphuo, to drink to ex- A i Arachnids (Gr. arachne, a a spider). The Leo of Spiders, Scorpions, Mites, etc. nodis SiE coat dis- poe neve A pi s of Dia’ “ yellow be: renaria. The ‘Sandwort; one of the iow ap E Argy mythological name. A gens of butterflies. Ascalaphus. A genus f Dragon- fly-* ne Hemerobiidæ, a HARTO terous a % teach The eet te ev mk genus of the Silk-weed amy: idium. The skiej- fern, ood-fe: Asterionella (Diminutive of Aster, a Piit tle star). A po ofl paeng" inhabiting the o and om- Allosorus.* The Rock bike: ; a species OP aee. navel). we genus of Dates of fern. ete ar scone urans, Alsine. The Grove Sandworts; a genus taining Ae genus Astrophyton, the of et Pink family. Medusa’s head sand-star. A aranth. genus of Jelly-fish. cates. Shapeless; haere dace any | Au a ts the Lithu- mcrae A f Dia Aci. “ithe a is Samy aonek mp. oH ohn us 0 e an Amphitetras. A kamis of Aa: ma stem, or by a branch . A genus of Sphegidæ or Sand Ampullaria eres, bottle Bacillaria. A genus of ena ahs shells. —, Bacillarie (L. amare a rod 0 T wand). Andromeda. “Mythological name. Age-| Aname originally a lied to > the Des- nus of the H mids and rigs “oo ma tach Androspores. ioe te applied to Pe P alams o o ns collective family of of niih is develo S: into the dwarf male us substance exud- Antenna (L. a sail- ). The first pair "from ye ne Styrax benzoe, or ben- of feelers; i the second. oe a nage of Sumatra. jP! Anthomyia (Gr. anthos, flower, and mu- potanical family zo, to suck). A genus genus of tage es (Diptera) Perches C peor 0 state. ; Riddulphia. A genus of Diatoms. Anthophorabia (Anthophora, a wild bee, | Biology. The ce of Life, embre and bio, to live). A parasiteof Anthi: |.. Toe ne nt of organized bends Anthrax (Gr. anthrax, coal). A genus | Blast: The primitive skin of the of ee : emb 86 681 AMERICAN NAT., VOL. I. 682 odermic ceils. Blastoa The ceils forming the blastoderm. Boling. From the Latin, rv yg Si lit- tle ball. = Boo of Acaie Bombycic ac n acid sec ater by the sed ry Silkworm, homo allied genera. From Bombyx; a family ‘on ie meu Botaurus Gr. dos, bull, taurus, bull). A genus of Herons. - A genus of Ferns. - A genus of fossil Croco- diles from the Cretaceous formation. Boucuetin. The Wild Goat. Brachiopoda (Gr. brachion, arm, and pous, foot). An order, of Motinsea, so called from the arm-like frin ners the ton m Brachio: arm, ukor gia). A se af fouail pen onges. B c on pe ae bg lbus, bulb, an ‘aie ite, bristle). A genus of fresh-w ralgæ. The Water-shell family eat ia. The Indian Plantain. Caffeine. A bitter substance in coffee Calca nsistingof chalk or lime. Callit 5 e Water-star wort, a ge- u C . Mythological name (botany). r. A term applied in Great Britain to marosi lowermost strata of ‘arnt ecu ( Italian Campana, a bell The fodiens ce 7 i A 5 Campy cus (GT. Ci 08. Xib diskos, pene y etosan eien : Capsule. A pod; seed-vessel which la open when dry. Carbonife meee to the coal “odon come A of shark > us of s 8. oe ti eke sedge. A gen ough, us one of peckers (G: r. kephale, head, pous ). The Cuitle-fishes, nee etc. A class of Mollusc terior region of the body es Hay iene: a applied to the similar p ioe z (Gr. ceras, a horn). A fossil | Certain One's the divisions stio GLOSSARY. Chalcid. Relating to the hymenopte- rous famil Tae cididæ. pepee ing to the Chelonians, Chenopodium. Goose-foot, a gs i a genus of the Goose-foot famil y. Chionobas (Gr. chion, snow, bio, to live). A genus of pruo butterflies. Chloeén. A genu Mo neuropterous family, Epheme eet hrysatis. The pupa, or second stage in the transformation of insects. Chrysopa (Gr. chrusopes, golen; —— it hana lace-winge europterous ‘family H P atann APRA a chrusos, golden, and phaneo, to appear). A genus of but- terflies Cicindela. The pete A genus of the Coleopterous family Cicinde- am] idæ. 'imex. The Bed-bug. A genus of the Hemipterous family, Cimicide. Circes, pl. of Cercis. The Judas-tree; Red-bud. s kar- of sath fgg family. 34 i Clador e Rein- or Closterium, om genus of Desmids. eus. e piece lying in front of x e larei iaa gy and next the labrum. pease ema. P genu Cæanothus. The din Jersey tea; Red- genus wood. A of Buckthorn family. ae A genus of the Spurge amily. Colsoptirs (Gr. eos, th, et wing). The tles. Bee So called from the upper wings being thickened, and covering or ensheathing the under membranous pair. — The family of Divers and fcc ra. The bastard Toad-flax. A cane of ho Bandar Tod family. Comatula na us). A genus of liv- Conte.” The knuckle; = a bone at its one Gono , confervoi Rel: ting to Con- ery xe 5 a “hi of pong or sea-weeds. Conifers. Pines, or cone-bearing Conocephalites (Gr. conos, cone, head). A „gonna o of Trilobites. Conularia (L. ulus, a little cone). genus of Pieropod S. Conulus (L. diminutive of CONUS, a cone). A genus of Land-snails. ed tke & process fp bl €; aye ed li i crow’s bea Cor eaves of prang E the caly p | rae ac en ve. us of Aca’ a ag ie a sieve, diskos, disk). A genus of Diatoms. Corydalus. (Gr. korydalos, Alauda cris- GLOSSARY. iata) ) A genus of the Hemerobius muy of Neuroptera. Cotyledon: on. st leaf. The seminal leaf o: Crabron aa. e Hymenopterous fam- ily of Sand and Wo od-wasps. bas ESN Picks rak edge, disk). A genus of Dia- Ge us. The name of ea chalk for- ly or geological per pruo cam lating to Grincidea (Gr. 08). Piotr The class of articulata com- =e the crab, lobster, beach-flea, dane amia aion the Greek, meaning hidden ification”). Flowerless = rok a tearing real blossoms or e seeds (i.e., with an embryo ready- a ley ithin. Cryptogamous. "Relating to the Crypto- amia. bisa A om The stem of grasses an Cimara aih Oak-family. Cuscuta. The Dodder. A genus of the Convolvulus family. C goei nus (Gr. ouaiiian: cup, -rinos, C; Ke h as aot O Cyathop phi ll A rean A e Cyathophylius. 5 of TOR iall corals, shaped like a o sage inter- cas ‘A genus Oyeads (oponer B E — between the pal ‘ern. Cyclosis. The circulation in closed cells Of plants. Cyclotella (Gr. were of kuklos). A Baboon; Sadism The Se ‘amily. Cypridi: A ne teaun fam Entomostraca; 2 grou es — Crustacea, called water- uens (Gr. Lustis, sac, bleddes,idice, e). A group of fossil Echinoderm Deciduous. Falling off; said of leaves which fall i in mieng y s of the Hemipterous family € Cercopide. Dendritic. Tree-like in form. of the anpra ag the Old-Red Sandstone. Dextrine matter into which the interior sey d etyan of starch bi is converted by certain acids, Diatomacee (Gr. dia-temno, to cut in ro The group of silicious-shelled Dichotomous. T He Dideiphys (Gx. din, Soutie, datphus, mte- 683 rus). TheOpossum. A genus of mar- ime: Dimorphism. When a part, or an animal itself f takes aa ae ers ora minera Dialah. "A gues er PAE E pet omer Dizcious : or zeroi icous, PE oer be sta- e flow- genus of ‘prepa iat Diplole, (Gr. diplods double, Jlepis, PATĂ A f Hyme enopterous Totara ts (Gr. dis, two, pteron, wing). ged insects, like the x esti Minim a Toi. Discoid. Like a disc. Dycotyledo Having a pair of co- tyledons. Echinoderms (Gr. Echinus. sea-hedgeh: Acie OE RAAI Empetrum. Mhe Black Crowberry. mpidonax. The Fly-catcher; a genus oles mom s of Crin e stalk: Eneye ica Ge kuos Bee g ak i eE A genus ‘of Dia- eran (Gr. Entomon, insect, os = hanpa speni An e a Crustacea, Entozoðn, p aia (Gr. pn Diy ‘within animal). A group of ini pa ape itic worms. p. ous genus. apimeee a z Page ee mAn, resen pio i apiri The sidespiece ofa a thoracic d si behind the epister- Í z a bone sepa- kon te rege bone by a becomes converted ids, ‘ucope. A small Jelly-fish. rogaa G Eumenes, benevolent). genus of Wasps. flow : Bearna pe Eu, beautifal, mane star). A genus of Desm A 684 A ry sents eee Sembee: The Spurge Pla Eurylepis (Gr. navi broad, wept scale). A genus of Fish Euryteri on privet broad, pteron, ) e family of which Euryteris is the Eusoelosaurus. A genus of fossil rep- j aaee A close cluster. me An assemblage of animals ing certain country. We a So "peak of. the Bird-fauna, or Insect- a coun! Favositide. The family of corals repre- d by the genus Favosites. ur. The thigh bone. Ferrous. Relating to iron. ghera Belonging to the fibres of Pouas ipne long bone by the side of parore oa wee r or filamen Flabellari ators, alittle. fan. Flora. “An assemblage c = plants nei A ing t certain We The yi young of any animal in the womb. gline enpa sda The shell-making Rhizo- | Pa: ods. Forbesiocrinus us (Forbes, krinos, lily). A pes of nine named in honor of — For Fumar. rigor in a volcano from pte acai issnes. Fusiform. Spindle-shaj Ganoid. Rela to the oid ee Aiurea ia te oo rang ale : Gavials. A genus of Crocodiles. poe aig Gro rowie by buds, as in ntianaceæ. ae Gentian family. s dees mtr family. GLOSSARY. Gynandrosporous. See p. 526. Gypona. A ponas of the Hemipterous family Cercopidæ. Habenaria. s of Orchi Halesidota, Halysido ido ti (Gr. h asbhobed, chain). A aaa or the Peri perenras: omb; el r. A genus of someone ds wers Heliolites ents helios, sun). A genus of fossil ¢ Heiminthosporium (Gr. kelmins, worm, eed). ook syed of Fungi. Hem vatite. AY ety o of native oxide of Héneriutiä (Gr. hemera, ey he ‘ossil neuroptera, allied Hemerobina (Hemerobiidz). A neurop- terous family named from the typical genus Hemerobius. Hemiptera (Gr. hemi, half, pteron, wing). The sub-order of "pugs, including the A genus to Cory- Cit Hippiirites (Gr. pos, horse, oura, tail). a pid fossil shells. 2 Hototha (rians (Gr. ~poloth of Echin Homoptera laaa, similar, pteron, wing). A subdivision of the Hemiptera. Honkenya. The Sea-sandwort. A genus Msi eei has apd The thigi-bone. ay miners ` Transp py comer (Gr. Pea, hyaline, discos, disk). A genus of Diatoms. droids (Hydra-like). An order of Aca- Hymenoptera = r peria membran l Gerris, The Wa ter-skater; a homopte- Ca e genus. Ianthina or — oc Poe ET 4 $. o mo: Globigerina. A DA genus of fak gens Pe E OE O Goats. the shells consisting numerous | Icteride. The Blackbird family. P homed an wedge, ne- ose (ape a “a Gr. odon. pani guana, GY. ” oak a intend). ‘A genus of Diatoms. tooth). A genus . Grammatophora (Gr. F sre Bhd | Ilex. The Holly. _ phoreo, to bear). A genus Ilium. One of the bones of the pelvis. ; ( 0 distinction oF pupa Impatiens. The Balsam, aaa c animals and plan ipee ain fiar apies of plants; somaoaaty called animaicules. Iséetes. Quillwort; an eae crypto- gam. GLOSSARY. sus. A — of the hemipterous fam- | Is ily Cer Jatropha. The Spurge-nettle. Juncus, pl. Junci. The Rush. Jurassic. A geological formation. Kjekkenmeddings, pronounced ae: en-merdings. From the Danis meaning kitchen-refuse. um. The second pair of maxille of ates: pda ag into n piece forming the under of insects, and opposed to the eras or ees ip. pmsl Relating to a lake. amna. A genus of Sharks. Tarai, The first stage of the young in- sect sede * hatching. us = so Laurentian. A ai formation,the oldest anes T iua from the St. Lawrence r E A pte (Gr. lepis, scale, pteron, wing, AAN ANE PA J JA e gerig of insects; po ee moths. Léporides e Hare: Leptorine. Relaring t k the h Lesleyite. her Lespedeza. Tha Bush-elover: Lestes. A genu small Dragon-flies. Tabelka T ibeta, =f little book). a the Lennon ` A genus of Diatoms. Liliacee. The Lily fa amily. AE (Gr. limacodes, herb-feeding). A “ag Bombycidz, whose larva apii Limneæa. i genus of fresh-water snails. Limnanthacee. The Limnanthus a_i, Linaria. The Wood-flax; a genus the Fig-wort family. indera. The Benzoi Lingual. pe o i rh Lingula ( petai y r genus of htt Newb ingua, Also the name of a sub-formation of the Lower p formation. Linum. The elating to the of Shell riodendron partons (L. "Titian. Lyceena (Gr. lukaina, she-wolf). A genus of butterflies. ianas. A genus of “ at Bands! flea,” pod Crustacea. Macropus (Gr. macros, large, pous, foot). Macrosaurus _ macros, Jyh 7 reptile). A gigantic fossil odile. 685 Mandible. The biting, chewing “jaws? or first pair of jaws of insects, corre- sponding to the jaw and teeth of verte- brate animals. p ape ag rig a opterous family, med fi e typical genus Man- tis, “the rama Insect. Marsupials. The Pouched pgp ya Ma The May- a a genus of ; the rock in which setea- are imb gas The amiy — applied also e second mhe M pame ot lasete Maticago, k. A genus of the ` Pulse fam Medullary. Ses to the spinal mar- a or ‘hese Megatichtiys stor ieh). Menobranc. hus (Gr. menos, atren eth, beapches gill). A genus of gilled sala- pomi Gr. menos, poma, operculum, d i gina ae Of geese page = heesoatie (Gr. mesos, middle mal). The midäle division of f gcolog- oic being most Metamorphic. Relating to crys een 4 eae from pemapiigtnes Neto etc. etatarsus, he toes and tarsus, Micrasterias (Gr. micros, small, aster, star). A genus of ra (L. mille, onsand, porus, pore, hole). A genus of Corals. (Gr. meion, less, kainos, recent). The second division of the Tı epoci The Horse- ieena Fro nc A yon. “he branch or sub-kingdom o of Shell-fish, etc. Monochromatic. anyon oh — ona color. Monæcious. Having stam or pistils Monopetalous. Whoa me n the corolla is com- posed of but on Morphology. The study of typical forms. Mucedinee. A group of minute fungi, E r a genus of minute fungi, or mould. rtite. With many y partitions. Museidæ., A family of Diptera, tera, so called 686 Mycelial. Uan TOT to oy piia from which m Myriapoda (Gr. ios, thousan nape foot). An order ror: pey the Een pogei Galley-worms, Thousa: nd-legs, etc. Myrmica (Gr. murmex, ant). A genus of Ants. Nareda. A genus of Nemertean worms: one of the smooth round worms Narthecium. The Bog-asphodel; & ge- nus of 1s arn th as Nardosm Coltsfoot; a genus TLE the € Coniposite family. Nassa. A genus of Sea-shells. Ni debe Noting a Swimming-bird. genus hat Sts orca Katoa (L. dimin e of navis, a ship). A pena of Diato) rrei Neocæsariensis. Relating to New Jer- e ertean, harakai Al Relating to ne- und pam: on a A eset) nerve, pteron, y The y iny-winged insects; on-flies, Ephemera, e es Nitschia. go 9g ag Noctuide. A of M loths ; fous hy Tae bal ecta (Gr. no ack, nektos, swim- A genus of pade Banoi, whith aima -= their b: Notodontidæ. A group, OF Moths be- ging Tike e Bombycid (Sie ste apm of Rotifera 'mmphæaceæ. The family of Water- Nyssonide æ (Gr. nusso, to sting). ; nl Bday a , 0 called from tite pol 5 of Confery iir a Tie tt Houstonia, , Tano- der family. Shoshone Onagracee. The Evening Primrose amy . The Sensitive Fern. a : a _ Opthalmic. Relating to the e a gee omen cA ogee or Orbs, a peer of Foraminiferous he “ > PANTENE GLOSSARY. nite this (Gr. orthis, eo Sp f fossil Brachiopod shells. orthoptera r ki siraiehk: pteron, ro gin “winged ‘Insects. Th shompere — (Gr, osme, odah. The Mason-bee. Ht e passage of fluids through A genus mom Otodus gre goitik of Fishes pomos The Wood-sorre reeds: a genus of a Oxalde, or Wood-sorrel fam- ily. Pabulum (L. for food). Pachydermata See pachus, thick, derma, skin). The thick- rea mammals, tude nt of fi fossils. inal). Eo w the oldest Fos- ENGER leonis ee A ge of Fossil fishes. Palimpeest. Pateni from which one baht ng Frome been erased to make room Paladina, ( b palus, a swamp). A genus of fresh-water Shells. Panorpina (Pan orpidæ). neuropte- rous family; so ung from the typi- cal genus Panor Paradoxides (Gr. foe radoxos, paradox- es One of the oldest genera of Tri- obi Parenc kma The soft cellular tissue oe like i the green pulp of eaves. eo The Parnassia family of Passi ora. The Passion-flower. Patersonite. A mineral named after Paterson, a mineralogist P of animais: Relating to diseased parts nia. The Guarana As an oanien: A genus of Ferns. = icule oe Phase Louse; a genus of bugs, emip Pilade. rih air, skin of a wild beast. oe ‘The Clift-brake. 3. Are of Mud-wasps. Pemicitlium A genus of microscopic Pentacrin pentas, five, crinos. (Gr. A genus or Crinoids. Arpek e. Having five stamens. Diteh- stone crop. A genus of of the S Saxitrage family. entremites cdl: soo of Crinoids. reumference of a cir- Peripheral. Relating to Periphery. eho (Perlide). A family of Neurop- Hiks, The name of a geological for- mation. -like. Helating au ag Phane- veapeius. A gen opns “oils = A genus GLOSSARY. Phymata (Gr. phump to swell), A ge nus of Hemipte Phytocoris (Gr. bug), A genus Pinus. The Pin Pinnularia (L. Merke om s “dn na, & ay ane g). Ta gonan of Diatom Placental. “Relating to the placenta. P Rei ined se-orchis; a genus new). tiary, or beginning of og period. The ‘Quarternary Devos (Gr. pleion, more, kainos, new). The newer Paai r third subdi- . _ vision of the RF er nan: Pleurosigma. A genus of Dia Plumule. Tio ‘little pa or fest aie of a germinating plantlet above the a ho ora. "A genus of Corals Podophyllum.” pate May- -apple Man- drake. s of the Barberry fam- y. Podosira. ti genus of Diato; a Polemoniu oer Greek Valeri us of Piy-catchers. : Polycystina (cr. pae, many, custis, cyst, sac). Minute rhizopods, bearing a licious shell, ornamented with ns uo some pn Polyps (Gr. Polypus). The Sea- a ies,ete.; aclass of Radiate ani- Prodrom. “Forerunn ner. Productus. A genus of fossil Brachio- Pronated, 1 Z DAA To turn the palm o Protoplas aatoro (EE. prot ofe alts. i imal) Protozoa (Gr. pr z06n. : The si , gegra e life, form- x spus of animals. ft nitrogenous lining | 687 aippeneds ae oy upa. urelia, or second stage in the transformation of insects, Tare ty e We lvinu ia TA wen nus of Foraminifera. Pyrrharctia (Gr. p3 ston red, arctia). A genus of Bom al Pyrula. A genus of oe R S shells. The latest, or post-ter- “tare r geological eriod, nomena into the historic peri ee reus. The genus of Oaks. cluster, with o gp sen ten D ie along the sides fe a general “ges ony or stem. dicle. m part cf the embryo, the low are of which forms the root. ape, (Gr. ranter, heian i ge- nus of aquatic hemipter: Raphanus. Radish. Reduvius. A genus of Hemipterous in- sects. Ne e eticulat Rhizodus. re~ genus of fossil i halves. Rhos ahi. Like om Rotifera (L. Pala. wheel, Jero, to bear). The Hiag g nen ules ; = B gan ges ferred to the Cru: o the Wotan. Rubiacee. The Madder emi. Sare r. sarx, flesh, kin). ode (G The jelly-like Supstance, "composing the bodies of Protozoa, corresponding aks odos, tooth). ange family Tenthredinidz. A genus oft pee fungi. ` Partially ilurian, from Silures ; Welsh; applied to a geologi Skier. A small island, islet t The meno of shell-ish, e zoid. The male ingidæ. "e family of Hawk-moths, aa the genus Sphinx. 688 Sphegide. The family of Sand-wasps ; from the pens Sphex. p. cng group of Woodpeckers. Sphyrena. A a a ge ee . Spirifer (L. spira e, fero bear). A genus of fossil e shalt Spiracies. The hing-holes of = sects, Scant ie air is conveyed’ into Sporangium. Z$ Spore. “The see of] Perea: Mosses. Sporular. Sy pee cha a ‘spore or spo- role Aa amal ale p: Beni noe, a cross, neis, a Sea boat). ee geans of age Si wild bee Serna ie g Aliet, piece forming the lower arch of the segment of an in- sec A genus oft Dintoms Ss Comprehensive; see p. 270.. Tate Having a vertical row of ates Tachina. A us of parasitic flies, like the aeir. . p Tarsus. The toe; in insects the terminal joint of the les, divided into from two to five join thr gay Terebella. A pne of marine w orms. Terebratula (L. terebra, a gimblet). A nus of brachiopods. (Gr. tetti, Fae agien A genus ak (Gr. Seadweller), A group us of . A genus of fossil rep- tiles. Tibia. The Shank-bone. ; of Butterflies. 7 Thomomya Gr. ir. fhomon h heap, mus, | cue d floating | GLOSSARY. | g to the Sigg or New- Re Sandstone | formati re ar vies, three, 1 keras, us of Diat Lim Enig “A genus of Grasses. ———— — triton). A genus of ma- Uina. The larger and inner of the two bones "i = pies bels. ita like bunch of æ. The Naiades; a family of fresh-water Mussels. Urite. dominal sternum; (ster- nite. » Utricle. A small, thin-walled, one-seed- m ed fruit, as of Goosefoot. Vascular. Relating to the blood-vessels. Vesicular. Con namine vesicles or cells. Gems Si nae Bis aper-wasp; a genus of ey Vespertilio pr vesper, evening). The pein genus of the family Vesper- ion nee: ‘The sit beeen, Tare; a genus of the Viola. he Vio we Vitis. The Gra Vitri re (L. vitrea, ja pro A genus of Votan (L. pasa A genus of micros- copic plants —— (L: vortex). A genus of Pro- ada A genus of the Duckweed fam- y. yrn A anggi a burr). A genus E Aen of fossil Crus- ines, Miia to the > the Horse-s moo Crab. Xylophagous. Wood-dev ——. A genus of Crinoids. Relating to the Zeolite family of S. premas A genus T e Land Sn: —. oöspore (Gr. zodn, anima aes see The male germ, k micro- or embryo of scopic plants. Seep. psy