AMERICAN N ATURALIST? AW hE S TRA TED MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY, EDITED BY A. S. PACKARD, JR., AND F. W. PUTNAM. E. S. MORSE AND A. HYATT, ASSOCIATE EDITORS. VOLUME V SALEM, MASS. PEABODY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 1871. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN LIBRARY Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, PEABODY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, in the Office of the Librarian at Washington. PRINTED AT THE SALEM PRESS. F. W. Putnam & Co. k by the h TE EEEF EEE ee yi a ale Aen a a e CONTENTS OF VOL. V. Tne POLARITY OF THE Compass Plant. By W. F. Whitney, THE FAUNA OF THE PRAIRIES. By J. A. Allen, f . . THE BARNACLE Goose. By G. N. Lawren SoME RELICS OF THE INDIANS OF VERMONT. rk By George H. Perki ims, THE PRINCIPLES OF ee PEN by Fr amerik William Forel HABITS or THR PRAIRIE Doc. Jilustrated. By B. C. Jillson, Tar Fuicut or Birps AND Insects. Illustrated, . . : THE SPRING FLOWERS OF — yE: b: Ai C SOMETHING ABOUT SEEDS. By i w. bales Taer LONDON Fog. . By J. Vila Blake, Tur Game FALCONS or New ENGLAND. By William Was A HEARTH OF THE POLISHED STONE AGE. m Nature, BRISTLE-TAILS AND SPRING-TAILS. With a plate and cuts. By A S. Packard, Jr., x ; : ; ‘ ‘ BRAZILIAN Rock PE S TOM With nine plates. By Ch. Fred. Hartt, i $ è . Dr. Kocn’s Hoori RIUM. yYrP.R AIT. 3 : : FLYING SPIDERS. ii By J. peor THE YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. ae “a Elliott Gaa., è CUBAN SEAWEEDS. Illustrated. By W. G. Farlow, THE LESSER APPLE LEAF-FOLDER. By William Lebaron, June RAMBLES IN THE Rocky MouyxTtarxs. By E. L. ne, : ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE STRIPED SQUASH BEETLE. sari By Henry Shimer, PEE LIFE IN THE Rocky Horini OF CoLoRaDo. Py w. H. Te ponai Dona Peres OF ae bie. Itustrated. y Ch. Fred. Hartt, Pence ATION OF FLOWERS BY ae. Mase ra ted, . A NEW SPECIES OF ERYTHRONIUM. Illustrated. By Asa Gray x. THE Stupy oF MINUTE FUNGI. icant By J. S. Billings, - Tue TOAD AS AN poh aetna nig pai Ritchie, . , -FRESH WATER SKETCHES. yL W.B MODE OF PRESERVATION OF Veer pad IN OUR p Coat Measures. By Leo Lesquere Sea ZOOLOGY AND Noumea By essieler Agassiz, at I Founp at Hampton Beacu. By J. W. E Jr., - Winer or THE Brack Bass. By S. T. Tisdale, - Gti) ‘iv CONTENTS OF VOL. V. Notes ON THE RANGE OF SOME OF THE ANIMALS IN AMERICA AT THE TIME oF THE ARRIVAL OF THE Warre Men. By W. J. Hays, LIFE AT Giir Darras. By P: M. Suntan : ON THE re AND HABITS OF SOME OF pemi Midias TEN By A: B. Verili, POLYMORPHIC Fonds: "By M. c. AACR + aidera, Address of the retiring President of the Pes oon for the Advancement of Science.. THE GEOGNOSY OF THE APPALACHIANS AND THE ORIGIN OF CRYSTALLINE Rocks. By as Sterry Hunt, THE on THE UNIVERSAL TYPE OF SEEDS. ig Thos M : Rem eke by Asi rey: 512; T ws Hilgara, p: 513 MECHANISM OF a AND EXTENSION IN BIRDS Wendin: By Elliott Cou i ON THE Ghia inont OF THE Gai OF Mention: ‘By E. Wi ` Hilgard, . : 5 ; ‘ ‘ s 3 A é = : Remarks by C. Whittlesey, p. 518; by C. A. White, p. 519; by A. ee 520; by G. Little, p. 520; by J. B. Perry, p. 521; by E: C. Andrews, p. 522; by R. Owen, p. 522; by E. W. Hilgard, p. 523. REMARKS ON THE AGE OF THE Rock pie DEPOSIT or PETITE ANSE. By E. W. Hilgard, . ; ON THE CARPAL AND TARSAL Hokio OF Dikha. By F. s. Möre, Remarks by T. C. Hilgard, p. 525; by C. A. White, p. 525 ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PRIMARY GROUPS OF THE CLASS OF MAMMALS. By Theodore Gill, ON THE RELATIONS OF ANOMIA. ByE. s. Mone e, On Eozoon CANADENSE IN THE CRYSTALLINE Piwestonns or ank . E0zoon LIMESTONE OF EASTERN Massacuusetts. By J. B. Perry, REMARKS ON THE GEOLOGICAL MAP AND SECTION OF THE ROCKS OF Missourt. By G. C. Swallow, ` Remarks by E. W. Hilgard, p. 541 THE GREAT MOUND ON THE ecw acs RIVER NEAR peat sm Ga. By C. Whittlesey, Remarks by W. C. Kerr, p. 543; by G. c. Swallow, p. B44. Tas Rock Inscriretionsin Onto. By C. Whittlesey, . rks by W. C. Kerr 546 ; a De by E. D. Cope, p. 546; by c. WESTERN our MEASURES AND INDIANA COAL. By E. T. Cox, Remarks by A. H. Worthen, p. 558; by G. C. Sine p. 558. NUMERIC RELATIONS OF THE VËRTEBRATE SYSTEM mey Ter Hilgard, . : ON THE EARTHQUAKE OF rdia, 1870. ‘By c. Whit ittles bey, Remarks by J. H. McChesney, p. 561; by Œ. Whittlesey, p. 561; by E. B. Andrews, p. 562; by y A. Winchell, p. 562. 589 CONTENTS OF VOL. V. - v TORTOISES OF THE CRETACEOUS OF New JERSEY. By E. D. Cope, 562 THE EMBRYOLOGY OF CHRYSOPA, AND ITS BEARINGS ON TEE CLASS- B IFICATION OF THE NEUROPTERA. y AzS: Fackard Jr; s 564 THE ORGANIC IDENTITY OF THE ALBUMEN AND oaia OF ALL THE PHANEROGAMÆ. By T. C. Hilgard, j 568 Paean y LEAVES. Illustrated. By W. j: Beal, . : é 571 N E OIL WELLS OF TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA. By T. Sterry ae t, A 5 : i r x f 7 à i i š 576 Tur DEVELOPMENT OF AMBLYSTOMA LURIDA. Illustrated. By P. l Ri Hoy, EREE $ $ 5 3 P ‘ 4 ‘ x 578 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SYSTEMATIC RELATIONS OF THE FISHES. E. D. Cope, . x ; 579 Remarks by F. W. Pathe: p. 5 t THE LAWS OF ORGANIC PAS do By E. D. Cope, " i 593 ON A NEW MICRO-TELESCOPE. y R. H. Ward, 608 ie WITH VIBRATING CILIA. Illustrated. By J effries Wy- ma 611 THE pane By W: wW. Bailey á 616 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL Ae OF THE Vartit. OF ITO 1. By James Orton, à á š 619 THE Genus HYSTERIUM AND SOME OF ITS pees With = . Billings, . 4 626 Some DIFFERENCES BETWEEN Wasteek AND Baarit ang By T. Martin Trippe, . 632 SYMMETRICAL FIGURES IN api Fa ATHERS. ideetats. Ras jepe as Lewis, 675 BULLOCK’S itere Mustrated. By Elliott Coues, k i j 678 THE CHINESE WHITE x INS y B. Silliman, n 683 INSTRUCTION TO a TEACHERS aT SOUTH poe Eok i 685 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY OF Quiro. No. II. By James Orton, . x : ‘ ‘ ‘ 693 NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. By Geo. H. Perkins, . í 698 Tue MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. By the Editors, . 739 ON THE CRUSTACEANS AND INSECTS OF THE MAMMOTH CAVE. a i : ‘ ` > T44 A SINGING HESPEROMYS. With music. By Samuel Lockwood, . 761 THE LONG-CRESTED Jay. Illustrated. By Elliott Coues, . š 770 REVIEWS. The Geology and Physical Geography of Brazil, p. 33. The Classifica- tion of the Eared Seals, pp. 37, 238. The Early Stages of Ichneumon Parasites. Ilustr ated. p. 42. Muscular Homologies, p. 108. Forms The ord of Ent ane? pp. Dea 422. aes of European ras ae kana in 1868, p. 158. The Genesis of Species, p. 223. Medical Microscopy, p. 226. Recent uate ener Publications, p. 234. Vi CONTENTS OF VOL. V. The Geology of Iowa, p. 243. The Geology of Michigan, p. 244. Geo- logical Survey of Illinois, p. 300. New Fossil Crustacea, p. 303. Age o si tal Delta, p. 804. Peabody Museum of American Archeology Ethnology, pp. 304, 705. Peabody Academy of Science, p. 305. Cor- and Polyps of the West Coast of erie p. 806. Economical aae in Canada, p. 307. Progress fi American Ornithology, p. 4 e Tenebrionide of the United ais, p. 374. The a adian En- s tianee p. 874. Zoological Literature, p. 375. Parasites of Man and the Domestic Animals, p. 375. Proceedings of the Essex Seta p. 375. The Earthquakes of New England, p. 376.. Honduras, p. 376. Inland Fisheries, p. 412. The May Flies, p. 417. Arrangement of the Families of Mollusks, p. 420. Asymmetry in Insects, p. 420. New Ornithological rks, p. 422. Economic Entomology in Massachusetts, saa p. 423. The Geology of Wyoming, p. 637. Geographical Distribution o the Beetles, p. 644. The Brachiopoda of the Coast Survey Expedition, p. 646. Seaside Studies in Aaea History, p. 646. Catalogue of European Lepidoptera, p. 646. The Early Stages of Brachiopods, p. 647. Position of the Caddis Flies, p. 707. n to the Catalogue of Ophiuridæ of the Cambridge Museum, p. 713. Gray’s Hand List of Birds, p. 775. Origin of Lowest Organisms, p. 779. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Botany. — Transpiration of Aqueous Vapor by the Leaves of Plants, p. 52. Male Flowers on the ear of Indian Corn, p. 54. Flowering of the Victoria regia in the Open Air, p. 54. Isoëtes in the Detroit River, p. 54. Climbing Fern, p. 115. Parasitic Fungi in the Human Ear, p. 116. Red Snow in Washington Territory, p. 116. Fertilization of Fumariacee, p. 117. Fertilization of Dichogamous Flowers, p. 117. Lichens, p. 118. The Jardin Des Plantes, Paris, p. 158. Ascent of the Sap in Pines, 160. Dimorphism in Deutzia, p. 161. Contrivance in the Corolla of Sal- via involucrata, p: 161. Albino Flowers, p- 161. Re-spindling of Cor p- 245. The Earliest Known Coniferous Tree, p. 245. The Chestnut Tree, p. 245. Wasps carry off Stamens. Bodily, p. 246. Darlingtonia Californica, p. 307. A Monstrosity in Anemone patens, p. 309. juga reptans L., p. . The Number of Plants and Animals, p. 427 Sponta- neous Double Flower of Nymphæa tuberosa, p. 430. Cross Fertilization of Plants, p. 647. Wolffa Braziliensis in tieka aa p-.-649. Anthers of Parnassia, p. 649. Geographical Distribution of Sea Grasses, p. 650. The Structure of Bog Mosses, p. 650. Peloria in Labiatæ, p. 651. Lem- na trisulca in Flower, p. 651. Lemna polyrrhiza in Flow «662. Vitality of oan Influence of the Period of Fecundation on the Sex of Plants, p. 715. Diatoms in the Hot Springs of Nevada, p. 716. On the Lever-like Anthers pi sran p. 782. Petals in Abeagene, p. 783, Transpiration of Leaves, p. 7 ZooLocy. — A New Genus of Brachiopods, p. 55. Embryology of Lim- we Ss CONTENTS OF VOL. Y. vii ulus, p.55. The Pigeon Hawk, pp. 56, 253. Parthenogenesis in the Pupa State of Insects, p. 57. Notes on American Deer, p. 118. Occurrence of . 120. Ringneck Duck, p. 121. Mocking Bird in Maine, p. 121. am bie. not Red, p. 121. Poison of the Cobra, p. 162. Distribution of Animals in the South Seas, p. 165. Sexes of the Lobster, p. 167. Oc- currence of Land Birds far out at Sea, p. 167. Iowa Birds, p. 168. The Colorado Potato Beetle in Niles, Michigan, p. 170. Destructiveness of the White Ants, p. 171. Singing Mice, p. 171. The European Hornet in America, 172. The Migration of esd p. 173. Longevity of a Ma- rine Shell, p. 173. The Wing of Bats, p. 174. Differences between Young and Adult Fishes, p. 175. Cardinal Grosbeak, p. 176. Arrival of irds, p. 176. The Chitons, p. 176. Cattle Tick in the Human Ear, pp. 176, 314." Anatomy of the Skunk, p. 246. The Nest of the Pigeon Hawk, p. 248. Spike Horned Deer, p. 250. Albino Swamp Blackbird, p. 251. Pelicans, p. 252. Preservation of Sea Fowl, p. 253. Identity of the Amer- ican and European Bison, p. 254. The Humming Bird, p. 309. Position of the Brachiopods, p. 310. A Zoologist on the Pacific Coast, p. 312. arae on of Moths, p. 313. Rapid Growth of the Pickerel, p. 313. e Star-nosed Mole, p. 314. White Spotted Muskrat, p. 314. Mimetic Kereta p. 377. Entomological Items, p. 377. A Strawberry Cut Worm, p. 878. Euphonia, p. 378. Fis se z or Ambiacu River, p. 378. Origin of api p. 430. Parasites, p. he Theory of Natural Selection, 5. Mode of Life of f the whe San and Pilot-fish, p. 436. Afri- can Ant Cats, p. 437. American Birds in Great Britain, p. 437. Wild Rabbit , p. 487. Two Ornithological Items, p. 437. The Notes of the Whipp Slt p. 438. The Bill-Fish in Fresh yfi p. 439. New Eng- land Ascidians, p. 439. Fighting Beetles, p. 440. Immature Sexuality in Insects, p. 440. The Embryology of Scorpions, p. 440. A South American Bird in the United-States, p. 441. Shad Eggs, p. 441. Discov- f the Animal of the Spongiadæ Confirmed, p. 441. Aquaria Studies. ei ah p. 653. ene between Cat and Raccoon, p. 6 Orni- thological Notes from Maine, p. 662. The Duck Hawk, p. 662. A New ‘Species of Alligator, p. 662. erst Mesozoic Mammals, p. 67 Former Eastward Range of the Buffalo, p. 719. Land Shells of Western pe chusetts; p. 720. Conchological Notes, p. 722. The Fau Lake Superior at Great Depths, p. 722. Sensitive Surface in soars io p. 723. Development of Noctiluca, p. 723. Relations of ppg to Pathology, p. 723. Cause of Phosphorescence in Animals, p. T i rape parasite, p.724. The Fauna of Madagascar, p. 725. wae Cocco- p. 728. New Habitat of Helix lineata, p. 728. New Entomological Books, p. 728. Spawning of the Goose Fish, p. 785. How Living Toads may occur in Limestones, p. 786. Young Worms feeding on Eggs of the viii CONTENTS OF VOL. V. Same Brood, p. 787. Black Varnished Insect Pins, p. 788. Hymenop- terous Parasites in a Beetle, p. 788. Madness in a Horse, p. 789. GEOLOGY. — Cave Mammals in Pennsylvania, p. 58. Remains of the Mammoth in Europe, p. 58. Fossil Meteorites, p. 59. Devonian Rocks in the Amazonian Valley, p. 121. Origin of Diamonds, p. 122. Discovery of et Glaciers in the Rocky Mountains, p. 123. Eozoon Canadense, The Bottom of the Sea off the Eastern United States, p. 124. To a Whale in the Drift, p. 125. Some Physical Features of the A Appa- lachian System and the Atlantic Coast of the United States, especially near Cape Hatteras, p. 178. Natural History of Deep-sea Soundings Aurora Island, pp. 184, 379. Geography of the Sea Bed, p. 184. Colossal Fossil Sea-weed, p. 185. Eozoon andits Allies in Later Formations, p. 255. omega of Mastodon Remains at Mott’s Corners, near Ithaca; N. ole p 314. he i of a Skull of a Musk-ox i n Utah, 315. Fossil Walrus, p. 316. he Pterodactyl in America, p. 316. Hooks polished by sand, p. 442. eed Reptiles from the Rocky Mountains, p. 443. Facts in Fossil Botany, p. 444. Crinoids injected by Silicates, p. 445. Remarks by E. W. Hilgard on the “alluvial” lands of the Lower Miss- Worthen on the Remains of the Mastodon in Illinois, p. 606, toriais on Fossil Vertebrates from Wyoming, p. 664. The Drift Period, e Structure of Fossil Cryptogams, p. 731. Supposed Vegetable Fossils, p 732. The Geology of the White Mountains, p. 732. Origin of ean Cubreiiie. p. 732. New Carboniferous Spider, p. 733. Singular eine 733. Geological Expedition to Kansas, p. 792. ANTHROPOLOGY. — Did Man exist in the ToMu Age? p. 59. Mounds near Princeton, Illinois. Illustrated p. 60." Probable Important Arch- 379. The Quissama Tribe of Angola, p. 380. The Patagonians, The Flattest Tibia on Record, p. 663. The Tanis Stone; a new Trilingual, p. 6 Where are the bones of the Pre-historic Men, p. 789. Discoveries of Platycnemic Men in Denbighshire, p, 792. x MIcRosc PY. —Photo-micrographs for the Stereoscope, p. 125. Mi- croscopy at the Army Medical Museum, p. 127. Improvements in the p. 185. Committee for Testing Objectives, p. 188. Eyesight and the Microscope, p. 189. Monochromatic Ilumina- tion, p. 316. The Foot of Dytiscus and the Fly, p. 3 Submersion ence, of the Sub-section and General Résumé, p. 607. Titles of Papers Read in the Sub-section, p. 609. Proceetiings of the pet fecal noc cb Sar igri nasa i malin: EE ny AP SS Pee ea Ree Ss we ra eee Byer) STE se See ee S CONTENTS OF VOL. V. 1x Section of leseni of the Boston Society of Natural History, Oct. 11, Ep State ei ait Society of Illinois, p. 735. The Mieroscope in Studying the Embryology of the ene ll, p. 735. Ahrens Binocular, p. 795. Nature of Ciliary Movement, p. 796. Combination of the ÁSRA and Polariscope, p. 796. A High One-fifth, p. 797. Fresh-water Algæ, p. 797. Photographing Histological Preparations, p. 797. Nobert’s Lines, p. 797. Stanistreet’s Lines, p. 798. Microscopy in Paris, p. 798. MISCELLANEOUS. — American Association for the Advancement of Sci- ence — Indianapolis Meeting, p. 177. Papers read in Section B, of which abstracts have not been given in this Volume, p. 605. only read by title in Section B. p. 605. Papers gi eral Session, and the Subjects of Lectures given in connection with the meeting, page 605. Papers read in CS sare A of special interest to mem- bers of Section B, p. 605. Remarks on Section B, and List of Officers of the Section, p. 607. General Shake of the Meeting, p. 610. Papers entered and read, p. 610. General Remarks, Excursions, Invitations, etc., p. 610. Officers elected for the Meeting of 1872, p. 610. Chicago Acad- emy of Sciences, p. 671, 801. Science Teaching in Boston, p. 798. Ger- man Museums, p. 800. Notes. — pp. 61, 127, 192, 256, 317, 382, 448, 667, 737, 798. ANSWERS TO CoRRESPONDENTS. — pp. 64, 128, 194, 258, 321, 386, 673, 738. Books RECEIVED. — pp. 64, 128, 194, 258, 322, 674, 738. List OF PLATES AND CUTS. — Pa List OF CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME V.— p. Xi. INDEX. — p. 803. ERRATA. L. IV. — Page 723, line 11 from bottom, insert more than before one. Page e 668, line 4, for upper read outer, and line 12 from bottom, for Lichena read L Page 674, line Z L Sperm PEE read Spermogonia. e 675, line 7, for Prodromv ad 1, = Athrocarpa read Athroocarpa. Parietina, wherever it oc- odro and line Curs, shonli read Pe VoL. V.—Page 493, for ner Vat read Emacs Jour. Sci. IT, xvi, 218. Page 526, line 19, for Micrencepha ws read se warege Aaj 531, last line, md: page 532, line si for condyloid, read glenoid. e 532, lin “mm æ abdominal” insert after ically (in deka p pts a 33, vie Todint goa (haar ; line iE for yeaa read Tardigrada, and for Doricata, read 6, for ventral read dorsal; line 27, dele and y iba mei Coleoptera; line 8, dele Donacia. Page 566, line 9, for unlike read like. Page 596. i 5 fad —_— com open. Page 596, line 11 d e prese 15 S tas cf ‘ds and age 593, orm ae divided read undivided. Page 601, line 10, for corner read cornea; line 21, for enj egg Page 604, line 3, for might read should; line 4, for would read had; line 5, omit ha ve, line 1, for compulsory choice read compulsion. Page 720, line 13, for tiliga read belong. ILLUSTRATIONS, LIST OF PLATES. a pe Page. Species of Hysterium, e twenty-one figures, LIST OF WOOD-CUTS. Plate. Page. a $ Thysanura, nine fi 96 2-10. Dreis Rock _lnseribtions, hundred fi 146 No. Pa 1,2. Indian Potte $ 14, 15 3-6. Indian Implem ents, . - 15,16 7,8. Burrow of Prairie Dog, 27, 28 9-13, he cil of baie: and In- i ? Da 14-20. Embryoiogy “of Tehneu- mons, . $ ‘ 9 » 22. Indian Pottery, eae ee ge Of Bootle, solifugus digesta 9G j. Campodea a staphylinus, Š 96 j. Smyn Sings CLA l, 28. eeri, $ AE |! 34 )-33. T lumbeus, « ae es AE 3d icant Pro ORSE Prof. J. ORTON, Poughkeepsie, N- X. Dr. A. S. PACKARD, jr., Prof. R. L. PACKARD, Washington Bea i f. G. H. PERKINS, u gto Ni B Pentavir Dig re). f. J erg Cambridge. EW “eer UTNAM, A. S. Rr TCHIE (trom “Ciaiealas Nat- uralist and Geologist). Dr. Henry SHIMER, Mt. a ng Til. Prof. B. SILLIMAN, New n. . TISDALE (f ARTIN TR mi Haven. . W. VOGEL (from Annals of Bee Cisa re Dr. R. H. Warp, Tro oy. Prof. e k. WHITE, Iowa City. W. F. WHITNE Dr. Wm. Woop, Winsor Hill, Ct. Prof. JEFFRIES WYMAN, Cambridge. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO THE REVIEWS. J. A. Allen, Cambridge. Dr. Eons Cones, U. S5. Arm Ay Theo ll, Washin A. S. p om dada Je alee F. W. Putnam, ooo Dr. “ge H. Ward, T Prof. B. G. Wi id Teiaes, N. Y. CONTRIBUTORS. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO THE MISCELLANY, ETC. Dr. C. C. Abbott, Trenton, N. J. Alexander Agassiz, Cambridge, J. A. Allen, Cambridge = pres = 5; "An g ihe 5, Marietta, Ohio. Prof. A Richard i Bliss, Cambridge G.A ardman, Calai o: Boston’ Bockety of N attal History. Dr. ba rendel, aoa > W Dr. rewer, Bòst aa ranba a ai mee L. E. Chittenden, New Yor 8. ©; ‘Ciarko, Jamaica Plain, Mass. A. S. Collins, Roches Co nchological "Section a. Nat. Sci. of Haddonfield, N. J. cda W. Montreal. Essex Inalt Sieta. George E, Emer , “Fairfax,” Vir irginia. . Thomas Fetnam, U. S. Consulat St. Helena. W. G. Freedley, Meola pna. Otis Fuller, Needham, M etroit. Dr. G. L. ale, Brunswick, Me. ta Asa Gray, Cambri idge. E. L. Greene, Golden City, Colorado. . Dr. E. M. Hale, Chicago. Prof. C. F mils pe Doaa, Ne Es W.J. H Hays, ork. ee Hace. Daréawort: Towa. Col. T. W. Hig: inson, Newport. - Prof. E. W. Hi lg d, Ox or, Miss, Dr. T. C. Hilgar aS. W. O. Hiskey, Minoapalis, ‘Minn. Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, Montreal. Prof. A. hdc Jarvis, Hanover, N. H. J. Gwyn Jeffreys, London Prof. J. W. P. Jenks, apices. , Mass. Bra _ S. Kneeland, B Prof. J. Leidy, Philadelphia. FAs Lin tner, Albany, N ney, yor lag ho omas Meehan, ‘Gernantown, ig Microscopical Section of Boston Society History. E w York. New York ‘Jiles Om of rekin History. Dr. Charles Palmer, I rof. H. W. Parker, Amhers t, Mass. Prof J. B. Perry, Cambridge, Mass. F. W. Putnam, Salem Prof. J. to Russell, , Salem. =i George Sceva, Bos S. H. Scudder, ee inii Aror N. 8. Shaler. ee. S. I. Smith, New H Smithsonian Tastitation. irar w, Lawrence, Kansas. or Spr: e, Bost Hon. "Ge 8 Sa uier, Rew Yo rk. a i E. er encase sag) per Prof. A. . Verrill, New Haven. B. Walker, Detroit. oe 3 ra Wari , Troy A. White, Io a City. Col. ç. Whittlesey, Cleveland. H. Willey, New Bedford. Prof. Alex. Winchell, Ann A Charles Wright, Cambrid dge, Mas J.J. Woodward, U. S. A. ; Menon: Pror. AR Worthen, a Ill. COPIED FROM. Nature, London. Academy, London. as oats and Magazine of Natural History, Girdenis Chronicle, London Monthly rae ca. fy Journal, London ren Set Journal of Mier op, Loain: opular oe Review, a oan Newman’s inert dat London Proceedings of the Royal Boctety, London. Land and mas, London. Field, Lond Pall Mall Budy t, Lond: evue des Cours helensghoues, Patil. Siebold and Kélliker’s Journal, Berlin. iy ana Naturalist and Geologist, Mon- American Journal of Science and Arts, New Haven. gg rgi. A the Torrey Botanical Club} ew Y Geological Survey of Illinois. "a oS 0 a geen Commissioners of T EE AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. V.— MARCH, 1871.— No. 1. eces eR DD THE POLARITY OF THE COMPASS PLANT.* BY W. F. WHITNEY. Tue first mention of the so-called ‘ polarity” of the Compass Plant, Silphium laciniatum, was made in communications ad- dressed to the N tea Institute, by General Benj. Alvord, then Brevet Major, U. S. A., in August, 1842, and January, 1843; although the fact was well known to many hunters and others, as subsequent letters have shown. The truth of his statement hav- ing been doubted, General Alvord presented another communica- tion at the second meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Cambridge, August, 1849, in which he confirms his own observations by those of other officers, all agreeing in the conclusion that the radical leaves of the plant really present their edges north and south, while their faces are turned east and west, the leaves on the developed stems of the flowering plant, however, taking rather an intermediate position between their normal or symmetrical arrangement on the stem and their peculiar meridional position. General Alvord’s first conjecture, that the leaves might have taken up so much iron as to become magnetic, having been neg- atived by analysis, he suggested that the resinous matter, of which the plant was full, and from which it was sometimes called “ Rosin Weed,” might have some agency in producing electrical currents. As to its geographical distribution, he stated that it extended * Read before the Harvard Natural ery Society, at Cambridge, Dec. 6, 1870. FOE NENT Entered wosoweinng to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, in the Office of the Libraro f Congress, at Washington. AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V. pi 2 THE POLARITY OF THE COMPASS PLANT. from Texas on the south to Iowa on the north, and from Southern Michigan on the east to three or four hundred miles west of Mis- souri and Arkansas ; its chief habitat being rich prairie land. * At the same meeting, Dr. Gray stated that ‘‘ there were plants then growing in the Botanic Gardens here, and these did not pre- sent the edges of their leaves north and south, or in one plane more than another.” He thought ‘‘ that the hypothesis of electri- cal currents was hardly probable, as rosin was a non-conductor of electricity ; but that it was due to the fact that the leaves were inclined to be vertical, and the direction of their edges north and south was the one in which their faces would obtain an equal amount of sunlight.” The statement of General Alvord was confirmed by the Rev. Mr. Morris, ‘‘ who had observed the fact while running lines for surveys on the prairies.” -= At the nineteenth meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Rev. Dr. Hill presented a paper on ‘“‘ The Compass Plant,” in which he gives additional evidence for the truth of General Alvord’s statement. + In November, 1870, Dr. Gray received a letter from Mr. Charles E. Bessey, of the Iowa State Agricultural School, in which he Says: ‘fwe have the curious ‘Compass Plant, S. laciniatum, growing in great abundance throughout all this region. The polarity of its leaves is very marked. Use is made of it by the settlers when lost on the prairies in dark nights. By feeling the direction of the leaves they easily get their bearings.” From the record of these observers there can be little doubt that the leaves on the prairies do assume a meridional bearing; and the cause assigned for this by Dr. Gray is undoubtedly the correct one, viz.: that both sides of the leaf are equally sensitive to light. It only remains to be shown what renders its two sides thus equally sensitive. It is well known that the two sides of a leaf usually differ in structure, that the number of stomata, or breathing-holes, is much greater on the under than the upper sur- face; and that the tissue of the upper is denser than that of the lower stratum. As the two surfaces of the leaf of S. laciniatum ap- peared somewhat alike, Dr. Gray suggested that it would be well to ee T . *For his paper see the Proceedings of the Second Meeti A si eeting of the American Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Science. * j ei For an abstract of his paper see the AMERICAN NATURALIST, Vol. IV, p. 495. THE POLARITY OF THE COMPASS PLANT. 3 examine the leaf microscopically in order to see if it corresponded with ordinary leaves in the above respects, or with truly vertical leaves, the two surfaces of which are usually similar or nearly so; also to compare with it the leaves of other species of Silphium, in which no tendency to assume a north and south position is shown. The species observed were the S. laciniatum, or Compass Plant in question, S. perfoliatum, S. compositum and S. terebinthi- naceum; the magnifying power used was about four hundred di- ameters; and the results obtained may be tabulated as follows : Average’number of stomata in the field of the microscope at one time, on the NAME OF SPECIES. > UPPER SURFACE. | UNDER SURFACE. S. laciniatum, vers ene wee ; 20 20 S perfoliatum s si oe enile a 10 30 S. compositumy, ans veg eR e 3° 9 S. terebinthinaceum,. ... +. +4 10 20 The cellular structure of the leaf of S. laciniatum, on making a traverse section, appeared to be homogeneous throughout; but, in the herbarium-specimens this could not be determined with cer- tainty. For this, and for more extensive comparison of the sto- mata of the two surfaces, further examinations should be made in summer upon the fresh plant. But the observations here recorded- appear to show: that the meridional position of the edges of the leaf is to be explained by the structure of the two surfaces, which being identical, at least in the important respect of the number of the stomata, seek an equal exposure to the light ;—the mean position of equal exposure, in northern latitudes, being that in which the edges are presented north and south, the latter to the maximum, the former to the minimum of illumination. NoTE.—In Longfellow’s reference to this plant, in “ lnm or 7 ee at thia Aallaata nt, that lifta ita h Af See how its leaves all ern to the north, as true as the aguas ot is the a cise wih, mar the finger of God has suspended th HL hT ws oy Over p t waste of the desert,” > it is enrions ti } } } . pi a ddi a and stout plant. — Eps. pect of this coarse THE FAUNA OF THE PRAIRIES. BY J. A. ALLEN. ENN In an article in a previous number of the NATURALIST, * atten- tion was invited to some of the distinctive features of the primi- tive flora of the prairies. In the present paper, which forms in some measure a sequel to that, will be noticed the more prominent peculiarities of the fauna of the same region. f The general facies of the fauna of the prairies, as well as of the flora, are determined by a few predominating species. The diversity of the animal and vegetable life of a given region being dependent upon the diversity of its physical. features, one at all versed in the general principles of zoological and botanical geog- raphy, would hence never anticipate finding on level plains the highly varied life one constantly meets with in regions broken by mountain chains and valleys. Woodless regions being also far less prolific in species than wooded districts, the prairies, with their level surface and general absence of timber, hence present conditions in a high degree conducive to the production of the slightly varied fauna and flora they are found to naturally support. On entering upon the prairies from the eastward, a marked change is met with in the mammalian fauna. Whilst few of the eastern species wholly disappear,{ many of them become re- stricted to the narrow belts of woodland that border the streams, so that they thus cease to be either prominent or characteristic. This is eminently true of the wood-inhabiting Rodents and Car- nivora, and also especially so of the bats. On the other hand, a few other species, which find their congenial homes in an open country, become at once numerously represented, some of them being peculiar to the prairies. A marked difference between the mammalian life of the prairies and that of the wooded region to the eastward thus results. Although the bats are generally wide-ranging species, most of those inhabiting the Northeastern * Vol. IV, pp. 577-585, December, 1870. { Northern Mlinois, and Central and Western Iowa. {See the writer’s “Catalogue of the Mammals of Iowa.” Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XIII, pp. 178-194, January, 1870, (4) THE FAUNA OF THE PRAIRIES. 5 States being found throughout nearly the whole continent, they are dependent for shelter upon the forests, or the caverns here and there afforded by a somewhat broken country. On the prairies they are hence primitively few in number, in respect to individ- uals, and locally restricted, forming no important element in the fauna. As settlements increase, they soon multiply and become more uniformly distributed, the outbuildings of the farms afford- ing them their required shelter. The feline and ursine Carnivora, as the Bay Lynx (Lynx rufus), the Panther (felis concolor Linn.), and the bear, are likewise rare on the prairies, as are also apparently the weasels. But the skunks, minks, foxes and wolves, being less dependent on a for- est shelter, not only maintain their relative abundance, but, through the addition of a few strictly prairie species, are repre- sented in more than their usual ratio at the East. Two species of the Western Canide, the Prairie Wolf (Canis latrans Say), and the Swift or Kit Fox (Vulpes fulvus Aud. and Bach.), here make their first appearance, as does also the Badger (Taxidea Americana Waterh.) and, especially at the southward, the little Striped Skunk (Mephitis bicolor Gray). * The luxuriant and highly nutritious prairie grasses afford am- ple sustenance to the Herbivora, and in addition to the common Deer of the East (Cervus Virginianus Bodd.) the prairies were once preéminently the home of the elk and the buffalo, which have but recently been driven beyond the Missouri. Of the Rodents, one or two species only are known to disappear near the prairie border. These are the little Chickaree, or Red Squirrel (Sciurus Hudsonius Pallas), which is to a great extent a northern and. a pine-wood species, and the Woodchuck (Arctomys monax Gmel.), which seems to be almost unknown much to the * westward of the Mississippi. A Vesper Mouse (Hesperomys Michi- ganensis Wag.), the Mississippi Fox Squirrel (Sciurus Ludovicianus Custis), —the latter, of course, a woodland species—two Ground Squirrels (Spermophilus tridecem-lineatus Aud. and Bach., and S. Franklini Rich.), and the Pouched Gopher (Geomys bursarius ich.),— a singular and strictly prairie animal—add at least five * This fae has but recently been made known as an inhabitant of a bk (see AMERICAN NATURALIST, Vol. IV, p. 376, August, 1870), whence the writer ceived two skins of this animal from Professor H. W. Parker, of Grinnell. The ee has also recently learned of its occurrence as a rather common species in Missouri and in Southern Ilinois . 6 THE FAUNA OF THE PRAIRIES. of the most characteristic and most numerous species of the prairies. The peculiar habits of the three last named render them also among the most interesting. The Bird fauna of the prairies presents peculiarities similar to the mammalian. Whilst nearly all the birds of eastern North America occur here,* most of the woodland species exist only as either sparse residents or casual visitors during their migrations, a few either wholly western or strictly prairie species, making up the bulk of the summer residents. The narrow timber belts that intersect the prairies are hence in summer comparatively quiet and tenantless. Even such widely distributed and generally abun- dant species as the robin, the blue bird and the chipping and song sparrows, are rarely met with in the breeding season in the unset- tled districts. The swallows are also rare, as are all the species that depend upon, forest shelter for nesting places. The field sparrows of the East, as the Yellow-winged (Coturniculus passer- inus Bon.), the Field (Spizella pusilla Bon.), the Bay-winged (Pæce- tes gramineus Baird), and the Savanna (Passerculus savanna), and especially the Black-throated Bunting (Euspiza Americana Bon.), and the Western Lark Finch (Chondestes grammaca Bon.), are char- acteristic and predominant kinds which almost alone enliven the broad stretches of the wild prairie. Not less characteristic than either, however, are the Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris), and the Meadow Starling (Sturnella Ludoviciana Swain.), whose song is here wilder and far more musical than at the East. Of the blackbirds inhabiting the grassy marshes, one, the Yellow-headed Troupial (Xanthocephalus icterocephalus Baird), is also strictly a bird of the prairies. Other birds not usually common at the East are the Cerulean “Warbler (Dendreeca coerulea Bd.), perhaps the most common warbler of the prairie woodlands, and the beautiful Swallow- tailed Kite (Nauclerus furcatus Vigors), whose graceful flight and elegant form one never tires of watching as it skims over the prai- ries in search of its reptile food. The Prairie Hen forms the chief game bird, and is nowhere else so thoroughly at home. The slug- gish Turkey Buzzard (Cathartes aura Ill.) is also conspicuous here, and the Sand-hill Crane is also more or less frequent. : c i the writer’s lists of the summer birds of Western Iowa and Northern Illinois, published in the Memoirs of the Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. I, pp. 493-503 ; A ; Also a nominal list of the birds of Iowa, in th : e Report of the Geolo; that , Vol. II, Appendix, January, 1871, Repo gical Survey of tha » THE FAUNA OF THE PRAIRIES. 7 The reptiles afford mainly negative features. In consequence doubtless of the annual fires that have swept over the country for centuries, all the land species, including the turtles, the snakes and the lizards, are extremely scarce, and form but an insignifi- cant feature. the fishes, doubtless several species are more or less pecu- liar to the prairie streams and ponds, but I am unable to give at present any facts respecting them. ` The land Mollusca have suffered similarly with the reptiles from the fiery ordeal to which for long ages they have been subjected, and are equally scarce and confined chiefly to the timbered river banks and bottoms. The fluviatile species are numerous, but do not appear to, essentially differ specifically from those of the western waters generally. The Insect fauna* presents peculiarities similar to those of the flora, on which their existence is so intimately dependent. Cer- tain groups are represented in an unusual variety of species and abundance of individuals, but the most numerous forms are often exceedingly localized. Other groups are again but sparsely repre- sented. No country, however, it is to be hoped, is richer in Orthoptera (grasshoppers), either in species or individuals; and a few species of butterflies are also especially numerous, of which a small proportion seem to be strictly prairie forms. The Hemip- tera and the Neuroptera exist in great abundance, the dragon flies being richly represented, both as respects the number of the species and the gorgeousness of their colors, many of which are rarely or never seen in the Atlantic States. The Hymenoptera, on the other hand, are comparatively few, especially the bees and wasps, notwithstanding the abundance of the flowers. If the Diptera, however, do not make up the equilibrium, it is not because mosquitoes and blood-sucking flies (Tabanide) are de- ficient either in variety of species, in number of individuals, in size, or in voracity. As regards Crustacea, the single family by which this class is mainly represented, the craw-fishes, or Astacide, seems here to almost find its metropolis; and as for worms, the ponds and streams afford leeches of gigantic size. In the above sketch, reference is had exclusively to the wild or * For a partial list os the Butterflies see the Transactions of the Chicago Academy, Vol. 1, pp. 326-337, 1 8 THE FAUNA OF. THE PRAIRIES. unreclaimed prairies; but in the long-settled parts of the prairie, great modifications of the original fauna have already taken place. No sooner does the pioneer encroach upon these districts of unri- valled agricultural resources than the larger mammalia at once and forever disappear. The elk, the buffalo and the beaver are the first’ to be exterminated, and soon after them must follow the deer and the wolves.* The small rodents perhaps for a time in- crease in numbers, especially the ground squirrels and probably the field mice, as the farmer’s crops afford them abundant sustenance, their great fecundity and reclusive habits further protecting them from diminution. The Pouched Gopher, from its remarkable subterranean habits, defies all means, except poison, that may be used for its extermination. Rarely coming to the surface, and only at night, the settler finds it nightly throwing up its little hillocks of earth in his garden, and even around his very door, as with the boldest impunity it digs its extensive galleries, uprooting ` the farmer’s favorite plants, and destroying his fruit trees by feed- ing in winter upon their roots. The bats, everywhere in our country beneficial to the agriculturalist, soon domicile themselves in his outbuildings, and rapidly increase in numbers. i ; Scarcely less marked changes in the bird fauna likewise occur, although few of even the larger species are as yet either wholly ex- terminated or even much reduced in numbers, whilst many of the smaller kinds have rapidly increased. The artificial groves, the orchards and the fields become soon peopled with the half-domes- tic species that likewise fre ient cultivated grounds at the East. The swallows, no longer restricted to the hollow trees of the lim- ited forests for nesting sites, confidingly occupy the numerous boxes erected for their use, or take advantage of the shelter afforded them by barns and outbuildings. The martin and the barn swallow thus soon become numerous, and colonies of the cliff swallow, migrating perhaps from distant regions, soon con- struct their nests beneath the eaves of barns and of public build- ings, and are not only undisturbed but cordially welcomed. The poor chimney swifts alone seek in vain for a home, for bricks and stone being scarce, the necessary stove-pipe substitute for chim- neys, or the various patented devices invented to take the place *The Prairie Wolf (Canis latrans) is well known to have been formerly abundant as far east as Illinois. (See “N LO as ` July, 1861.) ( otes on Ilinois,” in the Ilinois Monthly Magazine for THE FAUNA OF THE PRAIRIES. 9 of bricks and mortar, ee rarely afford them convenient nesting places. In traversing a new country, one is often struck with the differ- ences in the habits that many of the birds present, from those familiar to him as characteristic of the same species in long settled districts. The unsuspiciousness of the blue jay and the crow at the West, teaches us that the distrustfulness of man, exhibited by these birds at the East, is an acquired trait, while one is surprised to see the meadow lark, so wild and cautious in the older states, singing with the utmost confidence from the roofs of the houses in the enfbryo villages on the newly settled prairies. In regard to the changes in the numerical proportions of the species of the lower classes of animals, especially of the insects, space would fail, even if they were known, as unfortunately to a great extent they are not, to fully detail the disturbances that fol- low man’s occupation of the country. e destructive influence of the swine upon certain species, when these animals are allowed to run at large, is, in some cases, too patent to be passed over unnoticed, even in the present cursory sketch. The grasshoppers, during their times of periodic abundance, afford them, by no means unsavory meals; but their fondness for the river mussels (Unionide) is excessive. These they systematically hunt in the shallower parts of the rivers, especially in dry seasons, till for miles, in some cases, they seem to have thoroughly exterminated them ; and they also search for the craw-fishes, which everywhere abound in the marshes, with similar: >tidity, and must soon greatly diminish their numbers. It may be remarked, in conclusion, that the fauna of the prairies is not of sovhigh a type as that of the adjoining, more diversified, wooded districts situated under the same parallels. There are fewer carnivora and more rodents, the preponderance of the latter being greater than at the eastward. In other classes, especially among insects, the lower groups, as compared with the higher, are there both relatively and absolutely more numerously represented. In short, as in the flora,.so also in the fauna, there is a simplicity and uniformity that gives to both a comparatively low and uniform character. THE BARNACLE GOOSE. BY G. N. LAWRENCE. Durme the winter I was much surprised to see at the store of Mr. J. Wallace, Taxidermist, New York, a fine specimen of this species, which he had recently mounted. On inquiry, he stated that it had been sent from Currituck Sound, North Carolina, by a friend of mine, Mr. Elias Wade, Jr., who was there on af shoot- ing excursion. Mr. Wade wrote that he considered it very rare, and wished it carefully preserved. As it was of much importance to ascertain all the facts concern- ing it, I immediately wrote to Mr. Wade, for more precise informa- tion as to whether it was alone or with others of the same species, or in company with any other kind of geese, etc. I have received his reply, and as his letter gives the desired information, also other interesting facts connected with the locality where the speci- men was killed, I have thought best to add a transcript of it. “Currituck Crus Howse, Dec. 15th, 1870. © Your favor of the 9th inst., was duly received, and I thank you for the information contained in it relative to the oose I sent to o regret that I can learn nothing here, about the character or habits of the bird, no one, even amone the oldest the oldest people. It, of course excited great curiosity amon . : a s of absurd conjectures rela- tive to its origin, mongrel character, etc. The bird was killed on the 31st day of October, cannot be told. Our locality is in Currituck Sound, about 60 miles: south of Norfolk, and 30 north-east of Roanoke Island. We have nearly (10) FE ee F PE I eS ee Tee Kee TT ee SOME RELICS OF THE INDIANS OF VERMONT. 11 all the varieties of ducks, which frequent the waters in the neigh- head, some forty miles north of us, and for a considerable distance below us, is very nearly fresh, being very slightly brackish, and is avery ars filled with a species of grass, which serves as food for the birds, and for which they seem to have a great fondness. They begin to congregate the last of September, and remain, usually, from the first to the middle of March, oe generally the finest kind of shooting during the whole interv E. Wane, >I j The first announcement of the occurrence of this goose in North America, was made by Prof. Baird, in the NaruraLrist for 1868 (Vol. II, p. 49). A specimen was received at the Smithsonian Institution, from Mr. B. R. Ross, who obtained it in the Hudson’s Bay region. Its acquisition was considered by Prof. Baird a_ most important one, as thereby its claim to be considered Ameri- can was fully established. A second specimen now having been procured on the Atlantic coast, thus bringing it within the limits of the United States, it is deemed worthy of record. SOME RELICS OF THE INDIANS OF VERMONT. BY GEORGE H. PERKINS, PH.D. TuHovucH more rarely found now, Indian relics were formerly very abundant in many parts of Vermont. Especially favored in this respect are the borders of streams emptying into Lake Champlain, and the higher lands near by, as well as the shores of the lake and its islands. In a few localities the number of do- mestic implements found indicate the site of a village, or at least of a frequently occupied camping ground. Near some of these, burying grounds have been found, in which the dead were placed in a sitting posture according to the Indian custom Remains of ancient fortifications have been fonital near which multitudes of flint stones and arrow and spearpoints strewed the ground. ‘Here and there the number of unfinished articles, as well as the trimmings of stone, show where „they were manufactured. 12 SOME RELICS OF THE INDIANS OF VERMONT. On Grand Isle in the lake there was such a place, and in this case the stone used by these primitive workmen was unlike any exist- ing in the neighborhood. We are told that the country about Lake Champlain was occu- pied mainly by the Iroquois and Coosucks, though- undoubtedly other tribes visited these regions not unfrequently. How many of the implements found were made by members of these tribes is not known, but some of them must date farther back than the occupation of the ground by these tribes, as the style and char- acter of the work is unlike any they have produced. The greater portion of the relics which have been discovered were made from stone found in Vermont, either in place or as drift, but a few are of different material from anything found in New England. Pestles and mortars for pounding corn are not uncommon ; the latter being usually mere shallow cavities in some hard rock ; but sometimes they are deeper. The pestles are usually well made and taper from the middle, toward each end, though the larger. ones taper only toward one end. They are usually of compact material, as trap or granite, but some are of softer mateérial,* as slate or schist. I have seen only one that had any kind of orna- ment upon it. This is a large one, over two feet long, in the Museum of the University of Vermont. It is cylindrical as usual, and is rounded at one end, while the other is carved to resemble the head of some animal, it may be a wolf. + Small triangular articles are found, which, from the roundness and smoothness of the edges, seem made to rub down the seams in garments. Here, as in every locality in which Indian relics are found, great numbers of arrowpoints and spearheads have been picked up. Many are made of milky quartz and many more of flint or chert. They vary greatly in form and workmanship. Gouges and chisels are rather common all over the state. The ese long implements of soft or slaty stone 8 ; generally called “ pestles,” were probably used for mashing grain on a flat stone or log, by a rolling process rather aeea pounding, as the en material from which they are made, would, if used as a pestle, give rather more grit to the “ Indian cake” t i to realtek ae ae than even an Indian would be likely t In the collection of the New York State Museum at si g of identical pattern and same rough caryi yal a ap Museum hese are the only ones that have come handle carved to represent an animal, cha t h FPhah at dha i 31. under my observation, having the ‘though most of the longer implements of this ¥ if purpose of suspension, — F. W. P. PREEN AEE ENDE N N ETNEA E E A EISA EAA C ERR E EN FEE N E F CEN EES a oot a Ne a a a SOME RELICS OF THE INDIANS OF VERMONT. 13 former vary in shape, some being rounded on each side and some angular; some are grooved throughout the whole length, and some only for a short distance. They are from six inches to a foot in length, and are usually one and one-half inches to two inches broad. The chisels are smaller and less common. Both are made of various kinds of stone, some being of trap, others of granite or syenite, while others are of taleose and mica-schist, and could be of use only in working quite soft substances, or in dressing skins. Axes and hatchets of various kinds are found, but not very often. Ornaments or amulets of stone, disc-shaped, with a hole in the centre, are sometimes met with. They are an inch or so in diameter, and one-fourth of an inch thick. A very pretty pipe is in the Museum of the University at Bur- lington, and was dug up not far from Burlington. It is shaped like a common clay pipe, but the bowl is smaller and thicker, and the stem shorter. It is wrought from ‘a piece of dark clouded gypsum, and is nicely polished. The stem is two and two-fifths inches long, and one-third of an inch thick at the end, and three- fourths of an inch thick next the bowl. The sides are somewhat angular, and the bore quite large, being one-fifth ‘of an inch in diameter at thé end, and growing very gradually smaller towards the bowl. The bowl is one and one-half inches high and nine- tenths of an inch in diameter. It is encircled by two rows of ob- long cavities, about one-fourth of an inch broad, and from three- tenths to one-half of an inch long, and one-eighth of an inch deep, no two being exactly alike. There are seven of these in the lower row and eight in the upper,.and they were probably inlaid with some ornamental substance. Pots of various sizes and shapes have been found ; one holding twenty quarts. All these are made of burnt clay. There are a few articles of Indian workmanship in the Museum of the Uni- versity of Vermont which are peculiar and worthy of special - notice. One of the most interesting of these is the jar (Fig. 1). This curious relic was found about six miles from Burlington, in the town of Colchester, in 1825. It was found some distance below the surface and covered by a stone over which a root of a own; this tree was quite decayed, and the stone itself considerably decomposed. The jar is made of a kind of clay made very coarse by small bits of mica, quartz, an and felspar, 14 SOME RELICS OF THE INDIANS OF VERMONT. and obtained, it may be, by pulverizing granite. This is quite brittle, and inclined to crumble, but is made firm by a coating both on the outside and inside of the jar, of a fine smooth clay which Still bears the marks of some smoothing instrument. The jar is very rudely burned, and is much harder near the top than at the bottom. The color varies with the degree of exposure to fire. The bottom is reddish brown, which grows darker toward the top where it is almost black. The interior is considerably darker than the outside, being of a uniform black. The general form is very symmetrical. The lower third is hemispherical, and without orna- ment. Above this the form is compressed so as to be quadrilate- ral, and the sides taper towards the top and are quite elaborately ornamented. This ornamentation is entirely made up of straight lines and rings. Beginning below, we have first a row of deeply Fig. 1. AY i IMR N SSN impressed rings, running around the jar. These are .37 of an inch in diameter, the width of the ring itself .08 of an inch, thus leaving a centre of .29 of an inch in breadth. They are all of very nearly equal size, though some are more deeply imprinted than others, but were evidently made with the same instrument, a cylinder of bone probably; then come two lines very near to- gether. Above these the sides are covered with a series of straight lines running in various directions. Three of the sides are very nearly alike, but the remaining side, instead of having the V-shaped centre «filled with horizontal lines surrounded by oblique and perpendicular lines, has the lines differently arranged, as may be seen in Fig. 1, A. The upper edge of each side is bev- elled and ornamented by a series of short parallel lines, and a row of four or five rings occupies each corner. Above this the body is much constricted to form a neck. This is circular and about half ` SOME RELICS OF THE INDIANS OF VERMONT. 15 an inch wide, and has a row of the same rings around it. Above this neck the top again swells and becomes square like the sides, and the edge curves from the corners to- Fig. 2. ward the centre. It is ornamented with E a somewhat different arrangement of lines from that of the sides, as is shown in Fig. 1, B. The sides from b to ¢ are 2.5 inches high, and at the bottom about six inches broad, and five at the top. Two of them are a little broader than the rest. Around the inner edge of the = top there is a band of short parallel lines, but with this exception the interior is destitute of markings. All the lines Fig. 3. are very distinct, indeed they are narrow grooves rather than lines, being on the average .06 of an inch wide and from .02 to .04 of an inch deep. None of them are exactly straight, though very nearly so. The rings are twice as deep as the lines. The thickness increases from the bottom upwards, a piece broken from the bottom shows a thickness of .22 of an inch; at the neck, where a corner is broken off, it is .32 of an inch, and at the top .37. Other measurements are as follows: whole height 7.5 inches; diameter of top 5.1 inches (inside) ; di- ameter of neck 4.6 inches; length of curve, a to b, 11 inches; circumference of neck 16.5 inches; circumference Fig. 4. around a, b, i.e. the largest part, 27 inches ; length of one side of top, i.e. from c to d, 5.4 inches ; height of c, d, 1.75 inches. When filled to the very brim, it holds nine pints. Another larger jar, Fig. 2, was found in Bolton, Vermont, about fifty years ago. It is not ornamented except by a ring about the neck. The general form is spherical, the top being con- tracted to form a neck. The mouth is wide. The color is a drab, and the whole surface is entirely | smooth except the brim. Around this is a band about an inch wide, made up of oblique lines. Below this is a line of notch-like 16 SOME RELICS OF THE INDIANS OF VERMONT. grooves, and around the top is a narrow band and inside, another, both made up of short parallel lines. This jar is 9.5 inches in diameter at the largest part, and 7.5 at the mouth. The depth Fig. 5. is 9.5 inches. It is about one-fourth of an inch thick at the bottom, and half an inch at the top. It is in the ee ober of J. N. Pomeroy, Esq., of ^ Burlington. | Fig. 3 represents a singular implement resem- "| bling a pick. It is made of a greenish sand- 7 stone, and is as smooth as the material allows. The length is 8.25 inches. The ends are broad J and thin, but at the middle the thickness rapidly , increases, and at this point it is 1.75, while the breadth is 1.6 inches. The blunt points are | F smoother than the rest, bearing evidence of consid- erable use. This relic was found half a mile south of Burlington. Fig. 4is an implement the use of which can only be conject- ured.* Itis made from a light colored talcose slate, and is quite smooth. The middle is much thickened and perforated by a large hole .55 of an inch in diameter at the base, and somewhat less at the apex. From this central portion the sides diminish in thick- ness towards the edges where they are quite thin. The whole length of the implement is 4 inches ; the breadth at the top is 3.87 inches, and at the bottom 1.5 inches. Fig. 5 is an arrow or spearpoint of unique style. The mate- rial is peculiar, being, instead of flint or some hard stone, of a compact, but not very hard, mica slate ~ a gray color. The surface is covered with the marks of the instrument used in making it, and is not at all smooth. The _ sides are straight, the point rather blunt, SO PD the barbs short, sharp and angular. The shank is thick and the edges bevelled. The sides of the shank are scalloped sharply and These perforated stones are often found and are of various shapes and sizes. Squier a decd aes te mounds, on page 240 of their work, and we have one in the Museum of the Peabody Aca though made of different materi Squier and Davis place them under the » head of ornaments, or gorgets.— THE PRINCIPLES OF BEE BREEDING, 17 regularly. The whole length of this instrument is 2.75 inches, and the greatest breadth 1.33 inches. The shank is .8 of an inch broad and .3 of an inch thick. It was found at Corinth, Vermont. Fig. 6 seems to be a badge of office, amulet, or something of the sort.* It is made of a very pretty breccia composed of light and dark material. It is finely wrought and very smooth, though not polished. The upper side is worked to a sharp edge, from which the sides round outwards towards the rectangular base, which latter has a hole at each end running obliquely through the ends. The length of the relic is 4.5 inches and the height nearly 2 inches. This was found about a mile north of Burlington, Vt. All these articles, except Fig. 2, are in the Museum of the Uni- versity of Vermont. Besides such remains other traces of the Indian tribes are seen in the hieroglyphics. At Bellows Falls two rocks were found many years ago on which were rudely traced heads, a large group on one and asingle head on the other. Some of these had rays coming from the top. Near Brattleborough, by the side of the river, a large rock was found which was covered with tracings of animals, as snakes, birds, etc., in all, ten figures, some not recognizable as representing any animal. Such are some of the works which tell us of the former occu- pants of Vermont. THE PRINCIPLES OF BEE BREEDING.+ BY FREDERICK WILLIAM VOGEL. On the programme of the Sixteenth Annual General Convention of German Bee Keepers, held in the City of Nuremburg, on the 14th, 15th and 16th days of September, 1869, the first question was as follows: ee ~ this singular form and high = meee been found both in the ut never to my knowledge have they been mentioned from any New England State before. They are always two are alike in in their finish, though all AA A a above. Squier and Davis is (S. E Contr. Şi 39) sive figures of three of stones under — the head of ly for that F.W.P. t Translated from the German by Samuel Wagner, Editor of the American Bee Jour nal. From the Annals of Bee Culture, for AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V. 2 18 THE PRINCIPLES OF BEE BREEDING. What is the value of mixed breeds of bees produced by crossing the Italian, the Egyptian, the Carniolian or Heath Bee, with the common Black Bee ‘On the general subject of bee breeding thus introduced, but with incidental reference also to the production of improved breeds, Mr. Vogel, an experienced and accomplished bee keeper and breeder, of the Province of Brandenburg, in Prussia, who probably has more diversified, practical and experimental knowl- edge of it than any other apiarian, submitted the following re- marks : -~ If we carefully consider the topics embraced in No. 1 of our programme, we shall recognize, as the substance of them, this query, “‘Is it possible to produce an improyed breed of bees? And if so, what are the principles of breeding which we must adopt?” I do not deny that on this question I shall speak with a certain degree of complacency, for that which I have to communicate is not derived from the indulgence of an idle fancy, but is based on observations made at the hive— the only sure, living, and pure source of apistical science. In a discourse on the production of an improved breed of bees, we have to fix clearly in our minds the distinction between variety and race, for the two ideas are not unfrequently confounded, or used in a very arbitrary sense. The idea of variety includes a cer- tain amount of constitutional properties. In bees there are among others, good or bad temperaments, swarming propensity or the want of it, disposition to build drone comb, etc., etc. Allow me to include all such constitutional properties under the general term characteristics. Variety, accordingly, is based on the character- istics. Corporeal markings, size and color, do not come into con- sideration in determining the idea of ‘ variety.” If the bees of any particular district are distinguished by a marked propensity for swarming; or by any other special characteristics, we are warranted in designating them as a“ variety.” Thus, in my estimation, the heath bees of Luneberg, those of Lower Austria, etc., etc., are simply new varieties of our well-known black bee. The peculiar constitutional properties which characterize varieties are rooted in the psychical or spiritual nature of the insect, and are elicited by the kind or quality of the pasturage, by particular modes of man- agement, by diversity of climate, or some other dominating pecu- + THE PRINCIPLES OF BEE BREEDING. 19 liarity of the district. Accordingly these constitutional properties disappear or are lost by lapse of time, by removal to a different locality, and thus subjecting the insect to other climatic influences and other conditions of management or pasturage. Hence, it is obvious that for the production of an improved breed mere varie- ties are of very subordinate account. At the same time, however, I contend that the production of an improved breed of general value — that is, one equally suited to all parts of an extensive country— is an impossibility. On the other hand, I am clearly of opinion that, for each particular district possessing marked peculiarity of climate and pasturage, an improved breed specially suited to those conditions may be produced. And in this aspect, the existing varieties of the honey bees are of high significance and value. The meaning and extent of the idea expressed by the term race have long since been settled by science. The term embraces a certain amount of external corporeal markings, among which are size and color. When the bees of any extensive region, or even of a limited district, are found to be strikingly distinguished by their large or small size, by the color and quality of their pubes- cence, or of the tint of their dorsal bands, from the common type of the honey bee — assuming as such, for the present, our common black bee, we are warranted in designating them as a distinct Jari- ety or race ; and that each variety or race has its own distinguishing constitutional characteristics is generally known. Iam not of opinion, however, that in order to produce or im- n prove breed, recourse must necessarily be had to the foreign races which have been introduced among us, though it is often alleged that we should, from the start, have availed ourselves of them, and have endeavored: thus to originate an improved breed. But had that course been adopted, we should hardly ever have reached a satisfactory result. The pure races would have disappeared under our hands long before we could have succeeded in substituting an improved breed for them. It was much wiser to labor primarily to secure an ample stock of pure races, while at the same time the peculiar characteristics of each were assiduously studied. And now that both these points have been attained, we are placed în a position favoring and furnishing means and facilities, for the orig- ination and production of an improved breed. Permit me now to communicate the results of a series of experi- ments, all of which had for their object to ascertain the principles which should guide and govern us in the endeavor to produce and 20 THE PRINCIPLES OF BEE BREEDING. establish an improved breed of bees. The experiments instituted were so numerous, that they might be told by fifties or hundreds. 1. Crossing the black bee with the Italian.— When the Italian bee was introduced by Dzierzon, it was supposed that the workers produced by the Italian queen, fertilized by a black drone, would show an intermingling of the external markings of the parents. But this was soon found to be a mistake. In the second genera- tion already, degeneration became apparent — the hybrids divided numerically, one portion resembling the Italian, and the other the k bees. For the purpose of experiment, I continued breeding in these two directions, and in the fourth or fifth generation reached again on the one hand the pure Italian bee, and on the other in the fourth degree, the pure black bee. The hybridism was thus again resolved into its ataval elements. The facts thus experi- mentally ascertained are, however, of very subordinate significance, elucidating only the coloration of the hybrids. Of higher and much greater practical value, on the other hand, is the solution of the inquiry :—“ Do the constitutional characteristics of the two become commingled in the black-Italian hybrids? Or are those of the one variety or race simply transmitted to the other?” It is well known that very different answers have been given to these questions. Some breeders state that the hybrids of the black and Italian bees possess the constitutional properties of the Italians; while others allege the direct contrary. Some assert that the hybrids are more irascible than the black bees; others again say they are less so. Some declare that they will store more honey, while others say that they will store less, etc. ‘The truth is, the constitutional properties of the two are of an exceedingly subtile nature, which makes it extremely difficult to base a reply on the results of a cross between them. It is only by crossing the black bee with the Egyptian that we can obtain any clear light on the point under consideration. : 2. Crossing the black bee and the Egyptian. — When the Egyp- Yan: bee was consigned to me by the Berlin Acclimatization Society, I was of opinion that this bee was of little, or at most of only slight importance in a scientific point of view, for I supposed then that whatever was to be learned of the proposed mysteries of ` fi had — been revealed by means of the Italians. ‘ow, however, I feel assured that the future of apistical theo 4 tains to the Egyptian bee. - ne _— Very soon some of the Egyptian queens became fertilized by THE PRINCIPLES OF BEE BREEDING. 21 drones. The workers produced by these queens were not percept- ibly larger than the pure Egyptian workers, and in other respects still resembled the Egyptian type very much. The drones pro- duced by these queens — since impregnation exerts no direct influ- ` ence on them—vwere still pure Egyptian. I now raised some oung queens from these impurely fertilized mothers, and em- ployed.the Kohler process to secure their fertilization by black drones. According to the experience derived from crossing the black bee and the Italian, the workers produced by such queens should have been numerically one-half black bees, and the other half Egyptian. But when the hybrid workers made their appear- ance our anticipations were not realized. The hybrids diverged in two directions indeed, but the parental markings showed them- selves mingled or melted into each other, in a portion of the pro- geny. A portion of the workers resembled the Italian workers so perfectly, in color, size, and characteristics, that no expert could distinguish them from pure Italians. Another portion of them still resembled the Egyptian bees, showing a black body covered with a grayish pubescence, and manifesting the constitutional char- acteristics of the Egyptians. These observations led me to suppose that, probably ages ago, the Italian bee may have originated from a cross of the black bee with the Egyptian. I communicated this conjecture to, Dr. Gerstaecker of Berlin and other friends. The latter received the suggestion with great disfavor, regarding it as derogatory and dishonoring the Italian bee, and it required no inconsiderable labor to convince them that the conjecture had no reference whatever to any supposed value or want of value of any variety of the honey bee, but was of a purely scientific nature ; and that one variety might in economic value still rank high above another, though it be clearly demonstrated to be of hybrid origin. Dr. Gerstaecker informed me that he was unable to distinguish the workers produced by a cross of the black bee with the Egyptian, from the pure Italian workers ; but that I had assigned no reason for my hypothesis, and that the geographical distribution of the honey bee militated against it. I then again carefully studied the excellent little treatise by Dr. Gerstaecker, on “‘ The Geographical Distribution of the Honey Bee,” and found that the geographical for or against my views. Here the idea occurred to me that the conjecture would attain to the highest degree of probability, if a . 22 THE PRINCIPLES OF BEE BREEDING. hybrid queen of the second or third generation should be found to produce drones which could not be distinguished from Italians. Impatiently did I await the return of spring. The drones finally made their appearance and diverged likewise in two directions ; one portion could not be distinguished from Italian drones, while another portion resembled the Egyptian drones in size, but having black bodies with grayish pubescence. I then raised young queens from an Egyptian hybrid queen of the second degree of degeneration, and arranged to have them fertilized by drones de- rived from the same mother, but bearing Italian markings. The workers produced by these queens resembled the Italians, while the drones diverged in the two directions adverted to. I now pro- ceeded to breed in-and-in from the hybrids thus obtained, and in the third and fourth generations all the drones bore the Italian markings. It might here be objected that on ataval principles, these hybrids must revert to their distinct parental or primal races, as is the case with hybrids of the black bee and the Italians. But I have now before me black Egyptian hybrids of the nineteenth generation, and these still retain their characteristic markings unchanged alike in queens, and drones, and workers, though rather intensified in degree and permanence. Firmly established, there- fore, do I regard this fact — From a cross of the black bee with the Egyptian, a hybrid is produced which no man can distinguish from the Italian bee. Now what do these observations teach? For brevity’s. sake I will express the question thus :— Did Divine Omnipotence, when placing the animal creation upon the earth, provide in each case only one primitive pair? Or did He create each race at once in larger groups? And if the latter, were all the animals of the same class perfectly alike as regards size and color? Or did God create directly the different races of the honey bee? When we reflect that no mortal eye witnessed the grand act of creation, and further consider that no reply can be deduced from any known laws of nature, they may be regarded as highly presumptuous. But the arrogance apparently involved in them vanishes at once, when I state that I have not deduced the reply from my own mental cog- itations, but from facts with which I became acquainted when crossing the common black bee with the Egyptian. My observa- tions constrained me to accept two primitive races for the honey e. A portion of each of these races certainly existed since the THE PRINCIPLES OF BEE BREEDING. 23 dawn of history, and these I denominate original or primary races. In the course of. time others arose from the crossing or intermix- ture of the primary races and these I call derivative or secondary races, or varieties. The black bee and the Egyptian I regard as primary races. The Italians, Crecropians, Syrians, Chinese, etc., etc.—‘* Who can count the peoples? who name their names?” all these are nothing more than the hybridous products springing from the two original races— mere derivative or secondary races. I venture to say that if all these mixed products be entirely removed, leaving me only the pure black bee and the pure Egyptian, I could speedily reproduce any desired secondary race, by crossing those two primaries. Possibly, the strikingly black honey bee of Mad- agascar may yet prove to be another primary race 3. Crossing the Italian bee and the Egyptian. — What has hith- erto been said is of subordinate importance, so far as regards the production of an improved breed, because it refers only to the color or markings which it may be thought desirable to give to the improved breed. But of higher and more practical importance is the solution of the questions, Is the constitutional temperament . of one race transmissible to another? And if so, is this to be effected by means of the queen or drone? Or, again, do the con- stitutional properties of the two races or varieties become so com- mingled or melted into each other by the cross, that new and special constitutional properties are the result? In breeding we have hitherto relied mainly on the queen. We said —‘ this is a choice, populous colony with a fine prolific queen, therefore we must use some of its blood for raising queens.” But I do not believe that, inthe endeavor to procure an improved breed, it is sufficient to have regard only for the qualities of the queen. According to my. observations, those of the drone, too, must be taken into account. n order to accumulate facts, it became necessary to cross the Italian bee with the Egyptian, because these two are the exact coun- erparts of each other, as regards constitutional characteristics — the Egyptians having a fiery temperament, while the Italian is of a placid and gentle disposition. The first inquiry was :— Does the temperament reside in the seminal filament, or in the egg? In other words, is the seminal filament the germ of the young bee, or is the egg? When first the seminal filaments were discovered in the genera- tive fluid, it was thought that each was the incipient germ of a 24 ‘HABITS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG. nascent creature; and that the young animal is nothing more than a fully developed seminal filament. Accordingly, it was assumed that the egg only contained the requisite nutriment for the suste- nance and development of the seminal filament. Now, if this were in reality the germ of the nascent creature, the constitutional properties must be inherent in the drone. But every bee breeder is aware of the fact that an unimpregnated queen lays eggs which produce drones exclusively ; and he further knows that worker bees occasionally lay eggs from which living creatures are developed, and that these are invariably drones. From these facts it is evi- dent that the egg contains the germ of the young bee. Let us now inquire what observation and experiment further teach. I crossed pure Egyptian queens with Italian drones. In the hybrid progeny, the constitutional properties — the temperament — of the Egyp- tian seemed completely obliterated, as it were, and those of the Italian substituted. I next crossed the Italian queens with Egyp- tian drones, and the progeny displayed the Egyptian characteris- tics wholly. Hence, it was manifest that the temperament of the _ bee resides in the seminal filament. Accordingly, in our endeavors to provide an improved breed, our attention must be preéminently directed to the drones by which the selected queen is to be ferti- lized. We come now to the question whether drones possess di- versities of temperament; but the elucidation of this branch of our topic would oceupy too much time at present. I may per- haps have occasion hereafter to discuss it. Some may dissent from the views I have here expressed, but we cannot disagree in our object, namely, by steadfast endeavor and close scrutiny to attain to the knowledge of the truth which the Omniscient has embodied in that very diminutive member of ani- mated nature, the Honey Bee. HABITS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG. BY PROF. B, Ç. JILLSON, PH.D. Ocroser 26th, 1869, I received two Prairie Dogs, which irs been forwarded from Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory. The about the same size, each measuring thirteen inches in length, "a HABITS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG. 25 tail being three and an eighth inches long. For want of a better place they were kept until spring in one‘of the large rooms of the university building, where a box was assigned for their especial use, with full permission to run about as they chose, provided they remained on their good behavior. Hardly had they been placed in their new quarters when they began to make a foraging expedition about the room, and discovering several boxes of choice mineralogical specimens wrapped in soft paper, pronounced the latter article confiscated, and proceeded to appropriate it to their own use. Seizing the paper with their teeth they would soon strip the specimen, and sitting on their hind legs, and using their paws as hands, would cram their mouth and cheek pouches with the plunder—the long ends protruding—and then with a peculiar ambling gait cross the room, and, having deposited their load under a case of apparatus, quickly return for more. This was continued for several days, till they had gathered an immense quantity of warm material composed of every scrap of wood or paper that could be obtained. Not satisfied with this wholesale plundering, they commenced an indiscriminate gnawing of table legs, cabinet cases, boxes, ete., in fact everything upon which they could exercise their sharp incisors except.the stove, which I noticed they carefully avoided after once trying their skill upon it. So troublesome did they at length become, that they were confined to their box, and only occasionally permitted to run at large under a watchful eye. At such times they would amble about the room, occasionally stopping and whisking their tail in a most amusing manner. At the slightest noise they would raise them- selves upon their hind legs, with their fore legs hanging down in front, and with a quick, sharp, intelligent look in all directions, endeavor to discover the cause of the disturbance. They soon became very tame, coming when called, and eating from my hand, though they would sometimes give strangers who were too familiar, a pretty sharp nip. Their food consisted of the blade, stock, and grain of corn, the blades and roots of grass, cabbage leaves, celery tops, apples, nuts, etc. Of peanuts they were very fond, but of nuts with a hard shell they seemed to have no conception - whatever. Taking them in their paws, they would try their teeth upon them, and then let them drop in apparent disgust ; in this re- spect acting very differently from their near relatives, the squirrels. When the nuts were cracked, however, they seemed to enjoy them as a great luxury. Their peculiar, short, quick and sharp voice ~ 26 HABITS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG. was often exercised for the amusement of my friends. At a peculiar chirrup of mine, they would quickly assume an erect post- ure, their fore paws hanging in front, their heads raised as high as possible, and with mouth turned upwards, give forth a sound so nearly resembling the yelp of a domestic puppy, as to confer on these peculiar animals, the familiar, though by no means appropri- ate, name of Prairie Dogs. At each cry they jerked their tails, as if it cost them an effort to speak so loud. They were very affec- tionate, seldom quarrelling, and often standing with their fore paws on each other’s shoulders, rubbing their noses together. I once discovered that one of them had crawled through a small hole, and was wandering about between the laths and outside of the building. As often as I called, it would answer, and at length discovering that it had found its way to the ceiling, I removed a board from the floor of the room above and releasing it, returned it to its companion. The demonstrations of affection which fol- lowed would put to shame many a couple of higher intelligence. The next day the other one had not been released ten minutes, when it too passed through the same hole, and probably following the track of its predecessor, was finally removed from the same opening. On being returned to its quarters, demonstrations were — indulged in, similar to those of the, preceding day. During the greater part of December, January and February, they lay in a dormant state, although there was usually a fire in the room six days in each week. They were generally found occupying the centre of their paper heap, coiled up in such a way as to resemble two small parcels of fur. Their temperature was so much reduced that they seemed cold to the touch, and often provoked the remark from strangers ‘‘’They are dead, stone dead.” They never opened their eyes, and showed by their actions that they desired nothing so _ much as to be let alone. Towards the close of February they began to exhibit signs of returning life, occasionally leaving their box, to which, however, they would soon return. Early in the spring I took them to my home a few miles from the city, and placed them in a large pen where they had abundant opportunity of enjoying their well known digging propensities. Having $€- - lected a corner they commenced their labors and were soon out of sight. In a few days they had raised a mound around the en- trance one foot and a half in height and two feet in diameter. Their under-ground work, however, seemed never completed, for. they were constantly throwing dirt from the hole. In digging: eee HABITS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG. 27 ka they used their fore feet, throwing the dirt some distance to the rear with their hind feet. Sometimes they turned around and pushed the dirt before them with their paws. They had a singu- lar habit of using their noses as miniature battering-rams, and were constantly bunting the earth about their pen in this manner. They spent much of their time — sometimes one, and sometimes both — sitting erect on their mound with their paws hanging down in front, apparently taking a survey of their narrow quarters. At the slightest noise, they would dart into their hole shaking their little tails in a most comical and derisive manner. Hardly had they disappeared, however, when their heads would stealthily reap- pear with a gaze of curiosity and impertinence. Though ap- parently so timid, they sometimes exhibited an adventurous spirit, as shown by their frequent climbs to the roof of the adjoining coal-shed, while their hasty and awkward scrambling to get down was sometimes amusing to behold. Wishing to examine their under-ground habitation, I commenced November 24th, to dig them out. As their burrow passed under the coal shed, its depth was probably modified by this circumstance, and the task was not so great as I at first supposed. Fig. 7 Burrow of the Prairie Dog. In the above sketch, A B C represents the outline of that cor- ner of the pen in which their hole was commenced, and C BD the sides of the coal-shed wunder which they burrowed. The passages were about three and a half inches in diameter, and nearly round, being slightly flattened from above, downward. 28 HABITS OF THE PRAIRIE DOG. Their depth is indicated in inches by the figures in the cut, the measurements being taken from the top of the passage to the surface of the ground. shows the position of a side excava- tion, spherical in shape, and twelve inches in diameter, which, when opened, was found filled with dried grass, corn fodder, ete. F was also spherical, nine inches in diameter, and empty. was a blind passage, or cul de sac, three feet in length, packed solid with grass and little masses of dirt, the object doubtless being to keep moist the winter’s supply of food; the packing being accomplished by the bunting process already described. The burrow passed under E as indicated by the dotted lines, and Fig. 8. as shown by the section in the margin, where œ represents the surface of the ground, b one side of the granary FE, and c the passage way beneath. The distance from a to b was eight inches, the width of b at this point six inches, and the distance from b toc four inches. The total length of under-ground excavation was about twenty-five feet. The question is often asked, does the Prairie Dog require any water? The gentleman who brought mine on, said he had had them two months, during which time he had given them nothing to drink. I received them October 26th, 1869, and from that time to the 1st of May, 1870, I am sure they drank nothing. March 11th and April 3d, I placed a dish of water before them. Each time they merely smelt of it, and turned away without drinking a drop. From the 1st of May to the last of Novem- ber, they occupied their summer quarters, and though always rejecting the water placed before them, they may have received an abundant supply from the falling rain, the dew, and the moist earth. During the month of December, 1870, one of them drank four times, viz., on the 7th, half an ounce; the 9th, two ounces; the 14th, one and a half ounces; the 20th, one and a half ounces, and on the 22d, commenced its winter nap. It is often recorded in the books, that the Prairie Dog, owl and rattlesnake live lovingly together in the same hole. I have seen many ‘‘dogtowns” with owls and dogs standing on contiguous, and in some cases, on the same mound, but never saw a snake in the vicinity. I have conversed with many frontiersmen and have Section of Burrow. FLIGHT OF BIRDS AND INSECTS. 29 yet to find one who will acknowledge his belief in this singular phenomenon. In a region of country, where snakes are so abun- dant as in some parts of the West, it would be very strange if they were not occasionally found in “ dogtowns ” as well as else- where. In the room in which my dogs were confined, was a cage containing two full-grown, living rattlesnakes. This gave me an excellent opportunity for testing the friendship of these animals for one another, but my cautious skepticism exceeded my curiosity, and my little friends did not, this time at least, fall victims to scientific experiments. THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS AND INSECTS. Tue few last numbers of the French “ Revue des Cours Scien- tifiques” (Nos. 36, 38, 40, 1870), which has been suspended since the siege of Paris, contain the reports of a course of lectures by M. Marey on this interesting subject. The distinguished lec- turer has brought to bear on this difficult theme rare experimental and mechanical tastes, added to a nicety of manipulation charac- teristic of his countrymen. Who of us, as remarked to the translator by an eminent orni- thologist, can even now explain the long sustained, peculiar flight. of the hawk, or turkey buzzard, as it sails in the air without changing the position of its wings? and, we would add, the some- what similar flight of a butterfly? It is the poetry of motion, and a marvellous exhibition of grace and ease, combined with a won- derful underlying strength and lightness of the parts concerned in flight. Before we give a partial account of the results obtained by the delicate experiments of Professor Marey, our readers should be reminded of the great differences between an insect and a bird, re- membering that the former is, in brief, a chitinous sac, so to speak, or rather a series of three such spherical or elliptical sacs (the head, thorax and abdomen) ; the outer walls of the body forming a solid but light crust, to which are attached broad, membranous wings, the wing being a sort of membranous bag stretched over a framework of hollow tubes, so disposed as to give the greatest 30 FLIGHT OF BIRDS AND INSECTS. lightness and strength to the wing. The wings are moved by pow- erful muscles of flight, filling up the cavity of the thorax, just as the muscles are largest about the thorax of a bird. Moreover in the body of insects that fly (such as the bee, cock-chafer and dragon fly), as distinguished from those that creep exclusively, the air tubes (tracheæ) which ramify into every part of the body, are di- lated here and there, especially in the base of the abdomen, into large sacs, which are filled with air, when the insect is about to take flight, so that the specific gravity of the body is greatly di- minished. Indeed, these air sacs, dilatable at will by the insect, may be compared to the swimming bladder of fishes, which enables them to rise and fall at will to different levels in the sea, thus effecting an immense saving of the labor of swimming. In the birds, as everybody knows who has eaten a chicken, or attended the dissection of a Thanksgiving turkey, the soft parts are exter- nal, attached to the bony framework comprising the skeleton, the wing bones being directly connected with the central back bone; so that while these two sorts of animated machines are so differ- ent in structure, they yet act in much the same manner when on the wing. The differences are clearly stated by Marey, some of whose conclusions we now give almost word for word. The flight of butterflies and moths differs from that of a bird, in the almost vertical direction of the stroke of their wings, and Fig. 9. in their faculty of sailing in the air without making any movements; though sometimes in the course they pursue, they seem to resemble birds in their flight. The flight of insects and birds differs in the form of the trajectory of the wing in space; in the inclination of the plane in which the wings | beat; in the réle of each of the two alternating (and in an inverse sense) movements that the wings execute ; as also in the facility with which the air is decomposed during these different movements. As the wings of a fly are adorned with a brilliant array of colors, we can follow the trajectory, ‘figure, that each wing writes in the air; it is of the form of 4 figure of eight (Fig. 9), first discovered by Professor J. Bel Pettigrew of Edinburgh. By an ingenious machine specially devised for the purpos®s FLIGHT OF BIRDS AND INSECTS. 31 Marey found that a bird’s wing moves in an ellipse, with a pointed summit (Fig. 10). The insect beats the air in a distinctly horizon- tal plane, but the bird in a vertical plane. The wing of an insect is impervious to the air; while the bird’s wing resists the air only on its under side. Hence, there are two sorts of effects ; in the insect, the up and down strokes are active; in the bird, the low- ering of the wing is the only active period, though the return stroke seems to sustain the bird, the air acting on the wing. ‘The bird’s body is horizontal when the wing gives a downward stroke; but when the beat is upward, the bird is placed in an inclined plane like a winged projectile, and mounts up on the air by means of the inclined surfaces that it passively offers to the resistance of this fluid. In an insect, an energetic movement is equally necessary to strike the air at both beats up and down. In the bird, on the con- trary, one active beat, only, is necessary, the down beat. It cre- ates at that time all the motive force that will be dispensed during the entire revolution of the wing. This difference is due to the difference in form of the wing. The difference between the two forms of flight is shown by an inspection of the two accompanying figures (11, 12). An insect’s wing is small at the base and broad at the end. This breadth would be useless near the body, because at this point the wing does not move swiftly enough to strike the air effectively. The type of the insectean wing is destined, then, simply to strike the air. But in the bird the wing plays also a passive role, i. e., it receives the pres- sure of the air on its under side, when the bird is projected rap- idly onward by its ac- quired swiftness. In . these conditions the Trajectory of an insect’s wing. Fig. 11. whole animal is carried onward in space; all the points of its wing have the same velocity (vitesse). The neighboring regions of the body are useful to press upon the air which acts as on a paper kite (cerf-volant). The base of the wing also in the bird, is broad and provided with feathers, which form a broad surface on 32 FLIGHT OF BIRDS AND INSECTS. which the air presses with a force and method very effi cacious in supporting the bird. Fig. 13 gives an idea of this disposition of the wing at the active and passive time in a bird. The inner half of the wing is the passive part of the organ, while the external half, that which strikes the air, is the active part. cepted conditionally t to that of San Francisco. In preie to hold future meetings of the Association in the followin cities were received: Pittsburg, St. Louis, aie Arbor, and nwo A Co mmittee on the Geological Survey of Missouri, and one relating to Aton ions to be made at Niagara Falls, were appointed. ERS ELECTED FOR THE M oe or 1872. President, Prof. fw Lasrnexor Smirn of Louisville; Vice President, Prof. ben EX. WINCHELL of Ann Arbor; Pe ak rei See rear "i Re Josera Lov- NG om T E Gen neral Seer Prof. E x of Salem; Trensur e SV Keme of Philadelphia: Auliting Committers: Dr. D of Salem and Pro r H. L. Eustis of Cambridge; Sta nding Committee Ex Of m Messrs. luvin a sree? LOVERING, Morse, Vaux, ARKE AM. Committee aes ‘the Standing Committee to. arange for next meeting: Profs: J. L, Smrrn, Asa Gr: connection Peso a H Love committee from the Associati ; SMIT ~~ wie. 2 pipe on rh aia, consisting | of Profs. J. L. The Association adjourned on Tuesday night, August 22d. cae oon beeen en eee ui gE a a T AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. V.— OCTOBER, 1871.—No. 10. CABO) OD> EXPERIMENTS WITH VIBRATING CILLA. BY JEFFRIES WYMAN, M.D. —_+4-—_—_— Tue motions of vibrating cilia, and their action on the water around them, are among the most beautiful sights shown by the mi- croscope. They are best seen on the respiratory surfaces of both land and aquatic animals, and of the last, the gills of the Mytili are especially favorable for examination. In such cases, the effects are confined to the movement of the secreted mucus, or of the surrounding water, and the particles floating in it, while in others the cilia cover the outer surface and become the chief or- gans of locomotion, as in the Infusoria. In the eggs of Radi- ates and Molluscs, as in the remarkable phenomenon of fhe rota- tion of the yolk, much larger masses are moved, and among Batrachians, the yolk, soon after impregnation and segmentation, being large enough to be easily watched with the naked eye, is seen to revolve steadily under ciliary influence. Even the re- age hatched larve of frogs and toads are carried along bodily b same agents distributed over the whole outward surface., a the slightest aid from the muscular system. In all of these aniio however, although in some the mass moved is con- siderable, the motion takes place in a fluid, of nearly the same specific gravity as the objects, and so the forae required to give the motion is exceedingly small. Indeed everything serves to give the impression that cilia are capable of exerting only the Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, in ain Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Al TURALIST, VOL. V. 39 (611) 612 EXPERIMENTS WITH VIBRATING CILIA. most delicate efforts. There are several ways in which their effects may be shown without the aid of the microscope, but the most common is that of sprinkling some light powder over the ciliated membrane, from which the powder is soon swept away. The object of this paper is to explain some other methods adapted to class experiments having the same end in view, but by which motion is imparted to much larger masses, and also to show that in some instances a much greater resistance can be overcome than has generally been supposed possible. I. Experiments in water.— For these the gills of Unios and Anodontas are well suited. Their cilia are quite active, and vi- brate in such directions, that on the inner gill the motion is from the free edge, and on the outer to it, facts which the experimenter should keep in mind. If an inner gill is cut away from its at- tachment and laid on the bottom of a flat dish, its cilia acting as legs, it will soon begin to move with its free edge forwards, and will in the course of time, travel the entire length of the dish. We have seen a whole gill move ten inches in four hours. Under simi- lar circumstances the outer gill will move with its base or cut edge forwards. This difference depends, as will be readily seen, upon the fact that the cilia of the two gills vibrate in opposite directions. The result of ten experiments gaye the rate of motion of a _ piece of gill measuring 12mm. by 14mm., 6mm. a minute. If two outer gills are laid with their free edges towards each other they will at once begin to approach, and it frequently happens after meeting that one crawls directly over the other. Another and more striking experiment which shows the reaction of cilia on each other may be made as follows. Fasten a gill toa piece of cork under water, and place upon it a portion of a sec- ond gill about a half inch square. If this piece is so placed that the cilia vibrate in the same direction with those of the gill below, . it will remain stationary, or nearly so, since the cilia offer no re- sistance to each other. If now the upper piece is reversed 80 that the cilia vibrate in opposite directions, the upper piece will move with double the speed and through twice the distance in a — given time that it would with its own cilia alone, for while the lower cilia move the upper piece through a certain space, the cilia of the upper piece also move this in addition through an equal space. A third form of this experiment consists in placing the upper piece so that its cilia vibrate at right angles to those of the EXPERIMENTS WITH VIBRATING CILIA. 643 lower. In this case, while the lower cilia tend to move the upper piece from side to side, those of the upper tend to move this lengthwise of the lower. The direction which fhe upper piece takes, is a resultant one, viz., intermediate between the two. Experiments in air. Though the tissues of the gills of Unios and Anodontas are quite soft and incapable of resisting other than very light weights, they will nevertheless carry small discs of paper supporting a bristle, on the top of which is a small pellet of cotton or a flag of tissue paper. In order to show the flag more distinctly, a board painted black should be nailed to the edge of the one on which the gill rests, to make a back ground. With this precaution the experiment may be seen over a large room. To mark the distance traversed, a pointer of white paper should be set up on the board supporting the gill and at the be- ginning of the experiment, the end of the pointer brought in con- tact with the end of the flag on the gill. When left to itself, the disc on the gill with its flag at once begins to move to the opposite side and the flag is seen to recede from the pointer. The distance traversed may be increased to several inches, by placing two or more gills side by side, the free edge of the first slightly overlap- ping the cut edge of the second, etc. The mucous membrane from the roof of the mouth of frogs, is much more solid than the gills of Unios, and the cilia vibrate with much greater force. Different ciliated membranes exert very different degrees of force, but we have found none better suited for experiments than that just mentioned; especially, when taken from the mouth of the bull frog which gives a large surface. It has the advantage, too, of keeping up its activity for twenty-four hours or more, after being detached from its natural connections, if only kept cool and moist. For moistening it water answers sufficiently well, but the serum of the blood of the frog is still better. The attention of the writer was first called to the possibility of moving weights much larger than was supposed possible by notic- ing the ease with which a piece of skin which was accidentally placed upon the ciliated membrane was swept off. By loading the piece of skin with weights the mass moved was found to ~ unexpectedly large. In making experiments for the purpose just mentioned we have adopted the following method. The mucous membrane, being 614 EXPERIMENTS WITH VIBRATING CILIA. carefully dissected from the roof of the mouth, is pinned to a board. A piece of skin from near the throat of the frog, and from one-third to half an inch square, is placed upon this mem- brane with the inner surface in contact with the cilia, it being kept in mind that these vibrate from before backwards towards the throat. On the skin may be placed a plate of lead of somewhat smaller size. This serves as a vehicle to which weights may be added at will to increase the load, and also as a drag, to set in motion the instrument described farther on. To show the distance through which the load is carried, the flag and pointer may be used as in the case of the gills before described. Pains should be taken to have the board on which the experiment is made perfectly horizontal, otherwise a sliding motion, especially when heavy weights are used, may come in to vitiate the experiment. Although the results are not uniform, the following will give some idea of the force exerted, as shown by the time in which and the distance through which the weight was carried. The mean of four experiments shows that a weight of 1.300 grams was carried 15mm. in 61.2 seconds, or about 4mm. per second, the weight rest- ing on a surface 12mm. square. A weight of thirty-three grams resting on the same amount of surface, a mean of four experi- ments gave a distance of 6.6mm. per minute. We have seen forty-eight grams resting on a surface l4mm. square, moved, though very slowly, across the whole length of the membrane, but the exact time was not noted. Dr. H. P. Bowditch has repeated these experiments in the laboratory of Ludwig at Leipsic with even heavier loads. Finding that so much force was exerted, the idea of utilizing it was naturally suggested, and after various trials the following in- strument was devised for this purpose, in which the direct motion produced by the cilia was made to give rise to a rotary one. The instrument consists of two light toothed wheels (see figure), the arger 30mm. and the smaller 5mm. in diameter. To the axis of the first is attached a small drum 5mm. in diameter, around which is coiled a thread of the finest and most flexible cotton. The axis of the smaller wheel is prolonged through the frame in which both wheels move, and carries on its end an index made of two bristles inserted into a central piece of cork, which is attached to the axis. On the end of each bristle is a very light paper pointer. The whole length of the index is 110mm. but may be made longer EXPERIMENTS WITH VIBRATING CILIA. 615 or shorter than this, as may be convenient to the experimenter. Behind the instrument there should be a small black board at- tached to the base on which the frame rests, to serve as a back- ground against which the pointers are seen. The instrument is of sufficient delicacy to be moved by a weight of from one hundred to one hundred and twenty millegrams or of from seven to eight grains. All that is necessary to make an experiment is to attach the end of the thread coiled around the drum to the hook on the lead which rests on the piece of skin, which in turn rests on the mem- rane. The proportions of the wheels are such, that when the load resting on the membrane is carried through a space of 7mm. the index makes two whole revolutions, and, the point of the in- dex moves through a space of about two feet. One complete revolution is effected in about thirty seconds. This motion may be easily seen over a large lecture room. Fig. 110. Description of the diagram. a. A movable block of wood to which the ciliated membrane is pinned. b. Ciliated membrane. c. Piece of skin resting upon it. d. Plate of lead with a small hook to which the thread coiled around the drum is attached. e. and f. Pointers, one resting on the lead and the other on the board to which the instrument is fastened ; these are made of wire inserted into a base of wood or cork, and carry each a piece of paper or thin card; both are movable. The wheels are toothed. Attached to the axis of the large wheel is the drum, and to the projecting portion of the axis of the small wheel is the index. This figure is one-half the size of the instrument. The base on 616 THE GRASSES. which the instrument rests, should be made longer than in, the figure so that the block to which the membrane is attached may be farther off from the wheels. THE GRASSES. BY W. W. BAILEY. Tue earliest, as well as the latest sign of vegetable life is, per- haps, afforded by the grasses, whose green blades form the sward which we all so much admire. Did it ever occur to all our readers that these humble plants which form our out-door carpet or which are cultivated for forage, have flowers, often as beautiful in their way as any of their proud associates? All are aware that the tas- selled heads and silky plumes of the Indian-corn are beautiful, and gaze with delight upon a sea of grain when rippled by the gentler breezes or thrown into billows by the more wrathful. When another season shall present the opportunity, let those who are beginning timidly to woo Dame Nature, examine more closely the beauty which the grasses offer, and we think that they will thank us for the advice. To study them understandingly, it will be necessary to be provided with an ordinary field microscope of one or two lenses, and if in addition, the observer happens to possess a compound instrument for the examination of the minu- ter parts, he will find it very serviceable. A few words as to the structure of grasses, and the points in which they differ from other plants may be of interest, and while speaking of them, we will add a word about the sedge family,— their very next of kin. Both of these natural orders are so large, and the species so varied, that the study of them has become a specialty, and many men devote their whole lives to arranging and simplifying our knowledge of the classes, learning their habits, ‘and ascertaining how the useful species may be made more ser- viceable and the valueless eradicated. Although we are not one of these specialists, we will try to give a familiar, and at the same time an accurate account of the structure of both grasses and sedges, referring, when in doubt, to those whose word is law. THE GRASSES. : 617 The sedge family comes first in order, and includes the sedges proper, the bulrushes, cotton-grasses, and many other more or less familiar plants, all resembling the grasses, yet differing from them in essential particulars. The greater part of them have solid stems, called culms, around which the leaves form a closed sheath. The flowers are in spikes, have no calyx or corolla, and possess three stamens. The stem leaves, when present, are three- ranked, and the stems sharply angled. The fruit is one-seeded and forms what is technically known as an achene. e small beaked nutlets heaped up in the centre of a buttercup, will give an idea of an achene as it occurs in a totally different order of plants. Sedges may be regarded as weeds in every sense of the term, and their prevalence is an indication of swampy and poor ground. Unlike grasses, they are quite devoid of nutritious proper- ties as a rule, and are shunned by animals when any thing else is ob- tainable. Independent of their occasional use in the manufacture of baskets, they have scarcely any economic value. The papyrus of the Nile, from which paper and boats were made, is a somewhat famous exception to their general uselessness. Unfit though they may be to minister in any way to the benefit of man, they are yet, in their infinite variety and exceeding grace, most charming to any one whose attention has been once directed to them. Let us now pass to the grasses. Bearing in mind the several points of the above description, let us see how these differ from their near relations. Put them side by side and compare them. It will be seen that the grasses, unlike the sedges, have hollow stems swollen and closed at the joints, with two-ranked leaves, having many fine veins running parallel to the central vein or mid- rib, and split sheaths, the tops of which are prolonged into an appendage known as a “ligule,” from a Latin word signifying a shoe-strap. The flowers are arranged in spikes as in the timothy (Phleum), or in panicles as in the bent grass (Agrostis). These spikes and panicles differ greatly as to their concentration or diffu- sion, and the flowers themselves as to their appendages. Some are armed with long awns or bristles as in the barley and oats— and we wish here to testify that these are about as awkward things to swallow as in our juvenile days we ever tried. The stamens are usually three, with anthers or pollen cases attached only by one point, and therefore swinging freely. The styles are mostly two, with feathery stigmas which form charming micros- 618 THE GRASSES. copic objects. In common with sedges, the grasses have fibrous roots. To describe the flowers, without the use of actual speci- mens or drawings, is a difficult matter. Let the following quota- tion supplement the above remarks : “« A few rudimentary leaves collected at the pon of the branches of inflorescence Poa constituting flowers, a very small number of stamens inclosed in a thin pericarp [skin or alid" a the fruit], are all that aatik provides to enable these plants to preserve their race and to ptr gon their numerous kinds pta one another. Yet with such a simple apparatus, many thousand spe- cies are so precisely ADANA, that the natural order of grasses is perhaps one of the easiest to study and arrange, provided the task be commenced upon right principles.” There is, despite the above statement, scarcely an order more dreaded by the young student. It is a good test of his love for science and severe application, if he persistently investigates it. It contains three thousand or more species generally diffused over the earth. With us, the ai are usually small and grow close together, forming a mat, though even here there is much diversity in the habit of growth, the Aira or hair-grass, for instance, forming iso- lated clumps. In the tropics the plants are often much larger —the bamboo sometimes attaining a length of ninety feet —and there is little or no tendency to form a sward. It is useless to speak of the value of the grass family to man. It is enough to say that it produces all the cereal grains, most of the forage plants, the valued sugar-cane, and the bamboo, applied by the natives of the East to such a multiplicity of purposes, that we are led to wonder if they could survive without it. Man by observing processes of nature, has in some cases usefully applied certain species of grass to prevent the encroachments of the sea, the fibrous and interlacing roots serving admirably to bind the shifting sands. No injurious properties are known positively to appertain to the order, except in the case of the darnel (Lolium tennulentum), the fruit of which is acknowledged to be pernicious. Of our common grasses there are many that are beautiful, none more so to our thinking than the wild rice (Zizania), which we have often admired on our northern rivers as it nodded over the passing row-boat. The flowers are larger than usual in this genus, and are elegantly marked with light bands of red. It is curious how NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. 619 many fanciful resemblances one sees in plants. We were lately quite provoked to find that Winthrop, with whom we certainly never had conversed, had hit upon an idea which we esteemed pe- culiarly our own. It was the comparison of the heads of timothy to cannon sponges. Many other curious similitudes have been observed, nor has man in his architectural and ornamental work- manship, begun to avail himself of one quarter of the lovely models at all times displayed before him. If one makes a bouquet consisting alone of grasses, he will soon perceive how beautiful they really are. The panies and herd’s grasses are especially lovely, both in the fields, which some of them tinge with their ruddy smoke, and in the vase at home, where their ethereal delicacy can be more closely noted. The gras ses are so numerous that it is impossible to seth even briefly to one quarter of them. We can only,give our advice to “go and look them up.” CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF ' THE VALLEY OF QUITO.—No. I. BY PROFESSOR JAMES ORTON. a e Tue Geographical Distribution of organized beings is one of the unfinished chapters of natural history. Much has been done within the last twenty years in defining zoological and phytological prov- inces; but we are still very far from knowing the precise range of species. This has arisen partly from the failure of collectors to give exact localities, and partly from the ignorance of home natu- ralists, who often confound places hundreds of miles distant. The vast collections of Fraser, e. g., are of little use in determining distribution, as in many cases the indefinite habitat, ‘‘ Andes of Ecuador,” is given, which may mean the Pacific slope, the head- waters of the Amazon, or the Quito Valley —three regions quite distinct in physical aspect.* On the other hand, those who deter- mined his specimens have in some cases located them indiscrimi- * term Andes strictly belongs to the Eastern range, and Cordillera to the wes- tern; but this distinction is not always observed. 620 NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. ` nately on either side of the Andes, from an ignorance of the geography of the country. Our generalizations lose half their value from this want of care and precision. ‘‘ Could we only know the range of a single animal as accurately as Alphonse De Can- dolle has lately determined that of many species of plants, we might begin a new era in Zoology. It is greatly to be regretted that in most works, containing the scientific results of explorations of distant countries, only new species are described, when the enumeration of those already known might have added invaluable information respecting their Geographical Distribution.” * The importance of every fact relating to the natural limits of animals and plants is felt in its bearing on the great question of the day — the origin of species. Whether “all the grand leading facts of geographical distribution are explicable on the theory of migration, together with subsequent modification and the mul- tiplication of new forms,” cannot be safely answered until we have more precise as well as more extensive knowledge of habi- tats. We should know more thoroughly the conditions which favor migration, as also the effect of barriers in preventing the spread of species, and ‘‘ the narrowest limits within which animals of different types may be circumscribed.” The following contributions are based mainly on the writer’s personal observations. So far as we know, no attempt has been made to form a synopsis of the life in the region described ; and it is hoped that this list may serve as the foundation of a more perfect work. The Valley of Quito is selected because it is a re- markably well-defined district, having a uniform temperate climate. It is nearly three hundred and fifty miles in length, stretching om 1° N. to 4°S., and has an average width of forty miles, being walled in by the grandest group of volcanic mountains in the world. These barriers have an average elevation of 12,000 feet above the sea, and are broken at few points, chiefly by the narrow gorges of the Santiago and Pastassa, and the sources of the Mira and Esmeraldos. The valley is subdivided by ridges into three basins — Quito, Ambato and Cuenca, having the respective altitudes of 9500, 8000 and 7500 feet, and mean temperature of 59°, 61° and 62°. At Quito the thermometric range in twenty-four hours is * Agassiz, Essay on Classification, p. 35. t Darwin, Origin of Species, p. 355. i RE ea ne tar A Vee Cem aa ee ae Ee PAF Pg er Poe aoe EE PD Oo ae eee Pent Sea a, a Res VES ONY Re ee PR SEAE ee NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. 621 about 10°; and the extremes in a year are 45° and 70°. The mean annual fall of rain is 70 inches. The region belongs to Sclater’s ‘‘ Neotropical” ; more particu- larly, it is the northern part of Schmarda’s subdivision—‘*‘ the country of llamas and condors.” When we have full returns, it will be interesting to compare life in the Quito Valley with the nature and relative proportion of inhabitants in oceanic islands. Darwin has pointed out the important lessons which may be learned from the natural history of the latter; and the study of isolated mountain districts is of nearly equal value. It is cer- tainly of interest to ascertain whether the organic productions of the Andean Valley, like the endemic forms of the Galapagos Is., have a special adaptability for migration. The proportion of spe- cies to genera in islands is smaller than in continents ; how in this respect does Quito compare with Amazonia? The vertebrates of South America are remarkably restricted in their range: does this show that the continent has been lately split up into isolated dis- tricts? MAMMALS. Nearly all the quadrupeds seen in the Valley have been intro- duced from Europe, as the horse, ass (mule), ox,* goat, sheep (two, four and six-horned), hog, dog and cat. The horse, ox and dog flourish at the highest inhabited altitude, or 15,300 feet. Quito cats are no mousers; dogs are far superior. Six orders are represented by the indigenous forms; but the following list of species is very incomplete. Years of observation in every part of the valley, from Ibarra to Loja, and up to the snow-line are neces- sary to finish the work. The largest mammal is the llama, always domesticated. The equine and ovine races are fast super- seding it. It is usually of a dark brown color; but one of pure white is occasionally seen. The llama is not taken, we believe, as high up as the Hacienda of Antisana. A deer (Coassus rufus F. Cuy.?) occurs particularly about Lake Sn. Pablo at the foot of Imbabura. The Tapirus Rouwlini Fisch., possibly visits the vicin- ity of Loja; but its proper place is on the eastern slope. ` carnivores, the only certified examples are the puma which fol- *The prevailing colors of the cattle are white mas hren =) have often ob: served diag an old -e h resident) ored than in England pE S has a blue cast. I have. never seen one that weak be called jet black.” po i N of dogs are white or light brown curs. 622 NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. lows the deer into the valley, a large brown weasel with a light colored belly, and the skunk, Thiosmus mesoleuca Licht. (var. Quitensis Humb.?) called by the natives ‘‘ zoro” or Indian fox. The last is of a grayish color with black longitudinal bars. ‘* All the South American Canide belong to the dogs” says Murray ; but on the slope of Chimborazo we caught sight of an animal which had a very close resemblance to a true fox. The small black bear of the Cordilleras is not known to enter the valley. It does not exceed one hundred and sixty pounds in weight. Bats are not numerous, but there are doubtless several species. The only one we have examined appears to be a Nyeticejus. The Cavia cobaya Schr. (domesticated) is wonderfully prolific. The “cuye del monte” of the natives is confined, we believe, to the warm western slope. It is four times as large as the common guinea-pig, and covered, with a thin coat of long hair, mingled brown and black. We observed a hare, perhaps the Lepus Bra- siliensis Linn., the only one determined from South America. The squirrels, which are not uncommon, are probably distinct from the Sciurus estuans of Brazil. Compared with their number in other regions, mice (Hesperomyinw) may be considered rare: their scarcity may be due to the multiplication of the guinea-pigs. opossums we obtained two species ; pideipk ys Azare Tern., and - D. philander Linn. ? The palæontology of the valley of Quito has not been fully de- veloped; but enough is known to excite deep interest in the an- cient life on the top of the Andes. At Alangasi, near Quito, 4 large mastodon tooth was found many years ago; but the most extensive mammiferous deposit is at Punin, seven miles southwest of Riobamba. The bones are imbedded in an uns‘ratified cliff, four hundred feet high, of very compact silt or trachytic clay. They were evidently drifted to the spot and deposited (many of them in a broken state, and none in their proper relative positions) in horizontal layers along with recent shells. In 1867, the writer took out a large collection * which included vertebrae, patella and femur (solid!) of mastodons, adult and young; vertebre, leg bones and upper and lower jaws of two horses, one of ordinary size, the other about as large as the ass; vertebrae, leg bones and ischium of a llama or some auchenia; metatarsal like and large Wha e T * Now r Museum of Yale College. A erate vier similar xe mastodo; olumne Co., Californ OR ME i te li Y Aaa res a tg alae Re Ta pos i a 8 i NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. 623 as those of the camel; leg bones, jaw and teeth of a deer; re- mains of an unknown ruminant; and a small, hollow bone resem- bling the tibia of a bird. We are surprised at the absence of hollow-horned Ruminants, Rodents and Edentates which abounded in the Pleistocene of the Atlantic side. ‘‘ Undoubtedly [says Dar- win], the climate of the Cordilleras must have been different when the mastodon inhabited it.” We think, however, the great pachy- derm would have had little difficulty in thriving at the present day at Quito, on the score of temperature or altitude. But the vege- tation is hardly sufficient. . BIRDS. The avi-fauna is better known; and the following catalogue is believed to be nearly complete. It does not include all the emerge and other residents may be added from Loja which has not been thoroughly explored. Introduced species, as geese and ni are of course omitted. Those marked (*) were not obtained by the writer but are added on good authority ; such as are considered restricted to the valley are indicated by a dagger (t). The further known range of the migratory ones is also added. Turdide “Turdus s gigas Fras.— New Granada. sc pigaan Lafr. — Peru. * Swainsoni Cab. — From “ine Pere, Hydrobatide: Cinclus reer Scl.—New Grenada. Troglodytid p Thry othorus Basi aa t a lodytes solstitialis Sch ee ce slope? t ientacres wquatoria =i Law t Cinnicerthia peo thr. aka vg —New Granada. Pteroptochid æ: Triptorhinus orthonyx Lafr.—New Gra- [nada. Mniotiltidæ: Mniotilta varia Linn. — United veer <4 to eru, Basileuterus nigricapillus Lafr.— Bolivia. y iien a Tsch. — Peru. Setophaga rufico Kaup.— New Gra- nada. Dendroica Blackburnie Gm. -— United [States to Peru. Hirundinide soe Petrochelidon murina Cass oyanpienes, Vieill .— Bolivia, (Chili, Brazil, Paraguay. Coerebidæ: ty ae: aterrima Lafr.— New Granada. humeralis Fras. — New Gra nada. i Boiss.—New Granada, “ _ personata Fras.— New Granad is Lafr.— New Gran piap e Eens ia Dl .— New prenei A ae Sel. Dacnis pu +* Oreo ab sa ig oe: + Se Fra: Tan panegra Darwini Bp. —Pern. Pyranga æstiva Gm.— Canada to equator. Calliste atricapilla Lafr.— New Granada, Venezuela. Dubusia teniata Boiss. — New Granada, i idatate dubusia Bp. — New kiagoan Psittospiza Riefferi Boiss. — New Granada, (Peru, Buarremon assimilis Boiss.--New Granada. eer ine Du Bus. — Peru. * pallidinuchus Boiss .—New Gra- schistaceus Boiss.— New Beng leucopterus Jard. —Nan: PA eg Buthraupis E Edwardsii Ell.—New Granada. cullata Jard.—New Granada. tT cuioteanta Sel. Sillescesiiene atripileus Lafr. — New Gra- [nada. zs superciliaris Lat — New Granada. s canigularis Lafr. — tae 9 ada. Chiorochrysa calliparaea "m “a ew Gra- ada, Peru, t E cyanoptera C EEN Sard y mptuosa Less. — Peru, V: [ezu els, iE pA, victo w Granada. hie via oe ae New Euphonia nigricollis Viei, = New Gra- (nada, Venezuela, Brazil. t Pæcilothraupis atricrissa Cab. lunulata Du Bus.—N (Granada, Para. Fringillidz: Catamblyrhynchus diadema Lafr.— New (Granada, Catamenia avaloid : a homochroa Sc! * Chrysomitris icterica Lic! kii geg Magellanicus Vieill.---United [States? South America. 624 NATURAL * Pheuticus aureiventris Lafr. + chrysogaster Less. ni DEE ocular Se Kitt. r Lafr. et D’Orb.—Bolivia, (Chili. Sycalis arvensis Kitt. — Chili. Zonotrichia pileata Bodd. Icteride: * Cassiculus leacorhamphus Bp.— New Gra- ama ti Serna bellicosa De Fil Corvid: Cyanocitta turcosa Bp.— New Granada. Dendroonlaptide: ai mae Antisiensis Sel. th arnt on .—New Granada. Phi $ Cinclodes aibidiventris Sei. r Sel. a niger Lafr.— Bolivia. t Ochetorhynchus excelsior Scl. Picolap' lacrymiger Lafr.— New vas na Pseudocolaptes Boissoneautii Lafr.— New (Granada, Peru. Formicariid Grallaria. "hypotene a Scl.— New Granada. onticola Tafe. — New Granada. Quitensis Les pines pilla Laft. — New Granada. uamigera Prev.— ae air * £ E Tyrannidæ a "Agriornis audicola Sel solitaria Sel. *Elainia griseogularis Sel— New Granada, (Chili. {Mecocerculus amoenus Scl stictoptera Scl. — New a * Muscisaxicola albifrons Tsch. — Pe hay a amorat Phil. — Chili, tris Lafr.— [v via and ulti, Pere nigriceps Scl. bius cinnamoneus Lafr.— New Gra hada, Bolivia. tMyiothesetes ice ae tees yore New Granada. A AATA Law: E ie manus Go orig — Puna Is. Galapagos Is. enezuela. — New Granada, * Sayornis cineracea Lafr. — Serpophaga cinerea Str. * v parula Kitt. — pig C chile, at Cotingidæ: een Ampelion arcuatus Lafr.— New Granada. rubrocristata i et EDO. e art ranada, Bolivia. Cotinga cincta Bodd. — Gat Brazil. Pipreola melanoluma on * Tityra dorsali Sel. New G ra dorsalis ew Granad. Alcedinidz Several Ceryie "torquata Linn. — (Brasil, Are.’ Bolivia, Galbulidze: e * * Galbula peer Scl.— Napo? tamopectus ?— Brazil. Trogonide:, 'rogon Antisianus D’Orb, — Napo? New Granada, personatus Gould — z Ta Drai. nada, Brazil, Caprimulgidæ: Antrostomus nigrescens Cab. — New Gra- * “ HISTORY OF QUITO. Cypselidæ: Chætura rutila Vieill. — New Granada, Guatemala, Trinidad. Trochilid + Or eotrochilus Chimborazo Boure. Pichincha Boure. *Campylopterus xquatorialis Gould. — Mar- [anon. Colibri iolatus Gould. ee Bolivia. Mi Fanny Less. — Per Laf KE has Gayi Bourc. — Docin er ensiferus Boa — NE Gra- nada, Schliephackei Cab.— Nanexal. Hetianthes Lutetiæ Delatt. — New Gra (nada. Boiss. — pe ramada, Pterophanes Temmincki Aglaeactis Panoplites flavescens Lođd.— T Rhamphomicron Herrani Del Stanleyi micr [New Granz + Adelomyia Ati Gould. Metallura tyrianthina Lodd. — New Gra- [nada, Pun als, c. — New Grae [Peru, Puna Is. “ss -> Lesbia amaryllis Bour graons Gould, Ort i Lawr. Acestrura ‘Heliodori Boure. — New Gra- (nada, Mulsanti Boure, t “ t — New Gra- (nada. Chlorostilbon chrysogaster Bou — New Granada, Pacifi ic slo ope. Patagona gigas Vieill. — Peru, bone Eriocnemis Luciani Bour pe Aigre eet mata Gould. Cientsdee: Coceygus melanocoryphus Vieill. — Upper {[Amazon, Guiana, Paraguay. Capitonidæ: Capito Bourcieri Lafr.— New Grana artlaubi Lafr.— ae fei — ramphastinus Jard. c Bee te elegans Fras. — New Granada. Strix punctat * Bubo anat aaa PF: oo | ae Glaucidi Tem um infuscata Brazil, Guat- emala? *Speotyto cunicularia Mol. — Brazil Chile. ss. — New Granada, Syrnium albogulare Cas: CMfexico. Falconidæ t Milvago carunculatus Des Murs Polyborus Audubonii Cass. — — Texas to Ma- [gellan Sts. Craxirex unicinctus Tem.— hern U. ts. o Arg. Repub. Geranoaetus melanoleucus eet. — nail Hypotriorchis columbarius Linn. — — New Le (Granada, pore America. Tinnuneulus sparverius Lin razil, (Guiana, } North America. — BO aon gee erythrocemius Gray. (Brazil: t nigroplumbeus Lawr. C ireus cinereus Vieill. Vulturid ' Sarcoramphus g *Catharista atrata Andes er- Chili. ryphus Linn. t — tr.— Tropical Am Bartr p Gea, C (nada, Guiana, yams we are much mistaken, there is another undescribed, See Proc. Am. Assoc. Sci. 1870, p. ee ee a eee as of Sarcoramphus on the Andes & NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. 625 Columbid : Scolopacide *Chamaepelia gravativa Bp. — New Gra- Tringa Epere Vieill.—North America, nada.| *Tringoides macularius Linn. — N. A., Eu- * Chloroenas albilinea Bp.— New Granada, [rope. [Costa Rica.| * Gambetta melanoleuca Gm. — U. 8., Cen- * Columbula cruziana Lafr. [tral America. + Zenaida hypoleuca Bp. avipes Bp.— North America, Penelopidæ: Poli Eat an Aud, — North America. * Ortalida Montagnii Sy Gallinago nobilis Sel. * Crax x oe Spix?) — Upper Amazon, Ardeidw: Chamaepetes Goudatii Less. — “cg Ae =" al E A kaanpte Gardeni Baird, — U. 8, to Peru. wm Tinamidæ:; Rallus Virginianus Linn.— North America, bet Meire radrid nehotus perdix Mol. atid Fulica Chilensis Des Mu.—Pern, Bolivia, æ: anellus “resplendens Tsch. — Peru, * Querquedula discors Liua. — + ` in charge of L. F. de Pourtalés, with asec ‘and Discini nidee, by W H. Dall. Bulletin of the ager os of Comes aloes Vol. 3. No. 1 with 2 plates. Bidder May {Sea s ide Pt in Natural History, by Elizabeth C. Agassiz and Alexander Agas- siz. etre Animals of Mas rere se s Bay. Radiates. Boston. J.R. Osgo ood & Co. 1871. 8vo pp. 157, with 186 wood silii der Lepidopteren he tick pwischen trie genre L Masont bearbeitet von Dr. O. cto nger; II, Microlepidoptera, bearbeitet yon Dr. M. Woe en, 1871. 8vo. pp. 426. REVIEWS. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 647 Tae Earty Sraces or Bracniopops. * — The final memoir on this subject, of which an abstract by the author is given on p. 385 vol. iii., of this journal, has at length appeared. After describing the different stages of Terebratulina septentrionalis, which are fig- ured with many details on two excellent plates, Prof. Morse dis- cusses the relations of agen with the Polyzoa, and in closing remarks as follows : — ‘** With propriety may also be suggested a certain parallelism between the leading groups of the Polyzoa and the Brachiopods. We have forms like Lepralia, attached by one eege of their shell, this shell being yeni gtd and exhibiting ,minu inctures, which have been com to similar markings in certain T pods. So among the Txttar group do we find s attached, as , and pecies of Productus; and generally the pralia, while on the other hand, such genera as Pedicellina, with its long, pliant and muscular stalk, or Loxosoma, with a stalk highly retractile, may be compared to Lingula. The limits or in- tentions of this paper will not allow any considerations regarding the relations of the Brachiopods with the other groups of the ani- mal kingdom. I have elsewhere expressed my belief that they are gi pelt having nearer affinities with the Vermes; and in view of the above relations of the Brachiopods with the Pilea. it T interesting to remark that Leuckart has for a long so placed the Polyzoa with the Vermes, and in a iga edition of he ‘ Outlines of Comparative Anatomy’ Professor Carl Gegen wie removes the Poly zoa from the Mollusca, ia jote them with the Vermes. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. pit BOTANY. Cross FERTILIZATION OF PLANTS. — Mr. Meehan exhibited some flowers of the common Bouvardia leiantha of the green-houses, and of the hardy Deutzia gracilis, and referred to his papers, pub- lished a few years ago in the “ Proceedings of the Academy,” on practical dicecism in the trailing arbutus (Epigea repens) and *On the early stages of Terebratulina septentrionalis. By Edward S. Morse, Ph. D (From the memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History). Boston, 1871. 4to. pp. 10. With two plates. 648 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Mitchella repens, in which he pointed out that these plants, though apparently hermaphrodite, had the stamens and pistils of different characters in separate plants, and were therefore subject to the laws of cross-fertilization as indicated by Darwin. He had had his attention called to the Bouvardia, by Mr. Tatnall of Wilming- ton, Del., as furnishing a similar instance to that of Epigwa and Mitchella, belonging to the same natural order in which the Cincho- neous division of the Rubiaceæ, Bouvardia, was placed. | These had some plants with the pistils exserted, while in others only the stamens were visible at the mouth of the corolla tube. Mr. Tatnall had not had the matter suggested to him early enough to say that it was so in all cases; but he believed that these flowers, which practically might be termed pistillate and staminate, were found entirely on separate plants. This is a very important fact, as Bouvardia is not raised from seeds in green-houses, but from cuttings of the roots, and therefore, all these plants with separate sexes must have been produced from one original individual, with- out the intervention of seed, and thus confirm the position ad- vanced in a previous paper on “ bud variations,” namely, that va- riations in form, and, by logical inference, new species, may arise without seminal intervention; and that in this way identical spe- cies may appear in separated localities without the necessity of supposing an emigration from one small point, as Darwinism now does. In the specimens of Deutzia gracilis were two forms of flowers on the same plant. Besides the large ones with stamens and pis- tils apparently perfect as generally seen, there were numerous small flowers in which the petals were only partially developed. The filaments were entirely wanting, but the anthers were as per- fect, if not larger than in what we should call the perfect flowers. Any one could see that these small flowers were the result of de- ficient nutriment, and would be apt to pass the matter over with this simple reflection; but he wished to emphasize the fact that this defective nutrition rendered the female organs inoperative, while the male organs were still able to exercise their functions; thus affording another instance, if any more be needed, of the truth of his theory of sex, namely, that with defective nutrition, the female sex is the first to disappear ; and that only under the highest conditions of vitality is the female sex formed. In the case of the Bowvardia a similar law was seen. The > = Pars OLE en Pers per oe NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 649 most vigorous stems, or, as they would be technically called, woody axes, produced the female flowers. Woxrrta Braziiensis IN Micuigan.—On June 25, 1871, I found the Wolfia Braziliensis Wedd. var. borealis, in the River Rouge, a tributary of the Detroit emptying a few miles below our city. The little plants grew rather sparingly with W. Columbiana Karsten, and Lemna polyrrhiza L. Though the W. Columbiana, in general its associate, has been found in the east, the W. Brazil- iensis has not, I believe, been met with there. For those not acquainted with it, I will state that it is easily distinguished from the former, even with the unassisted eye, by its subacute, oblong fronds, bright green and shining above, and pale beneath. It is further distinguished by being contracted or somewhat concave . above, denser and less cellulose, by its more numerous stomata, and by being marked more or less with brown dots. It is also not so much submerged as the W. Columbiana, but floats on the surface of the water, the intensely green upper part lifted quite above it, bearing some resemblance to a little boat. Some botanists take the Braziliensis to be a form of the W. arrhiza of Europe. — Henry Giritman, Detroit, Michigan. ÅNTHERS or ParwnasstA.—In the ‘‘Journal of the Linnzan Society,” vol. xi, Mr. A. W. Bennett published, two or three years ago, an interesting article upon Parnassia—its structure, affini- ties, and its mode of fertilization. I am now to remark only upon its anthers, which are generally described as extrorse. Mr. Ben- nett, observing that the present writer, in the ‘‘Genera of North American Plants Illustrated,” describes the anthers as introrse, and gives a drawing of P. Caroliniana as an illustration, proceeds to say: “I do not, however, find any other observer to agree with Prof. Gray’s observation in this respect, except two American botanists, Dr. Torrey and Mr. Chapman, who have probably bor- rowed their descriptions from him; nor do any specimens of this species which I have been able to examine pe any departure ` in this respect from the ordinary type of the gen It is easy to show that Dr. Torrey’s obec at least, is independent and original. In his “Flora of Northern and Middle States,” published in 1824, p. 326, he described the anthers of P. Caroliniana as “incumbent ;” in his “New York State Flora,” 1843, 650 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. as “fixed by the base, introrse.” The first volume of the ‘‘ Genera North American Illustrated” appeared in 1848. This season I have, for the first time, had the good fortune to see both P. palus- tris and P. Caroliniana in flower, in the Botanic Garden of Har- vard University, the former blossoming at the beginning, the latter at the close of August. The difference between the two species ‘ hi nt of Science. Nineteenth Meeting, 9 gi * 0. pp. . u . cathe anaitian 3 Vaturatist and Quarterly Journal of Science, Vol.5, No. 4. Vol. 6, No.l Conchological Beige No. Vil, y e By R. E. C. Stearns. pp. 2 . an Journal of Conchology. Vol.7, Part Bowdoin $ June-Se Jul ` June, an fe of Mier ome oe egg y P g om if irs nenn Journal of the Franktin insti ute, yy yon Le Tele ain ae oh e-Sept. oo an Water. Nos for Ju June fe take a ug The Fie va ice ny Sy ist, Sept. e The Academy. “Nos. for Jui Angus "Sept. dene. i ‘ EER d gg ped and orld of Deiene, Lon- Can ada Beto z irta Ai me Wh 2 0.1. pe Revue T ue. June, July, An 1871. Paris, Mos American ientifigu Suly-Oet” na # nial Paris. eo Reports of Dep, of Agriculture, July-Sept, La France Scientifique, Nos. for Sept. oe ae AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. V.-_NOVEMBER, 1871.—No. 1l. xCD SYMMETRICAL FIGURES IN BIRDS FEATHERS. BY GRACE ANNA LEWIS. In the summer of 1869, whilst examining the feather capsule of a nestling dove, the microscopic slide was suddenly covered with a multitude of exquisite forms. Lost in admiration of the beauty of these brilliants, as seen under the effects of sun-light, for a time I forgot every thing else, but presently remembering that others might enjoy the sight as much as myself, I seized a pencil and rapidly transferred the outlines to paper, continuing until twilight obscured them from view. Resting for an hour, I re- turned to my microscope, but all had vanished like a dream, — nothing was left but a few drops, looking like perspiration on the face of the glass. The next day my German farmer climbed to the dove’s nest and procured a few more pen-feathers. Some of these were cut into fine shreds, rubbed in a drop of water, and placed under the microscope. In a short period the figures of yesterday were again before me. From the cut surfaces of the portions of the pen- feathers I had placed under the lens, granules appeared to stream forth like blood, covering the microscopic slide in countless num- bers. Mingled with these were numerous larger cells of a glob- ular or oval form, having a transparent centre. These and the granules, gave to the water a slightly glutinous consistency. As the fluids on the glass dried, lines at different angles shot across the slide, looking much as though an unseen camel’s hair pencil AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V. 43 (675) 676 SYMMETRICAL FIGURES IN BIRDS’ FEATHERS. had been swiftly drawn in opposite directions, sometimes at right angles but frequently at angles more acute. Probably, at the moment of trans:tion from a fluid to a solid condition, the trans- s parent centred, or nucleated, cells assumed the form of a square, Fig. 119. b & & : ; - Pie Q f Fl ae yt yt Po 3 9 m Qa : : oc gO S @ as See Symmetrical Figures in Birds’ Feathers. a lozenge, a starry hexagon, a erdss, or any other beautiful figure which could be formed of the parts which suddenly appeared in the spherical cells, these parts seeming at first, in some instances, i at least, to consist of m‘nute triangles. : At the same moment the little granules moved to order, and. 73 kd SYMMEIRICAL FIGURES IN BIRDS’ FEATHERS. 677 there before the astonished gaze were diamonds such as Aladdin might have envied, in form as varied, but far more symmetrical than the frost work on a window pane of a winter’s morning. Some of the figures, as I afterwards found on repeated trial, retained their outlines for several hours, in a few instances for days, even when exposed to the moisture of the atmosphere. hen examined by lamp-light many, but not all, cast an un- doubted shadow. The exceptions appeared to be symmetrical de- pressions instead of raised figures These figures must, of course, be common to skilled microsco- pists. It is not at all probable that forms due to universal causes should remain unseen ever since the invention of the microscope, but to me they were a new revelation, and I watched their forma- tion with intense interest, as the work of polarizing forces whose operation is co-extensive with the universe, and to which all things material are subjected. As the law of gravitation may be observed in a drop of dew as well as in the circling orbs, so it seemed pos- sible for these tiny jewels to elucidate principles of farthest reach- ing power. The frost work, annually repeated, is not less beautiful or inter- esting because it is common, nor do snow crystals grow unlovely because we have seen them before ;—the value of neither is lost when they are perceived to be related to certain other symmetrical forms, but on the contrary, all the members of the related groups rise in importance when they are understood to be varying expres- sions of one eternal omnipresent law of matter,—operating alike in dead and living forms, but according to modes peculiar to un- organized or to organized matter. One very beautiful form is not given in the cut. It was less distinct then the rest and I waited for a better example to copy. It never appeared again. It was a circle with ornaments at four opposite points, but as I cannot remember the exact style of the ornament, I do not venture to give even a suggestion of the figure. Other very beautiful designs were lost in the same way. Water containing material from the feathers of the common barn- door fowl produced, mainly, simple crosses, the lines usually cross- ing in the middle, but even in this, some beautiful six-rayed forms were seen. The feathers of the domestic turkey yielded more ar- borescent forms, as those seen at b, which are larger and stronger than those afforded by the feathers of the dove, shown at a. 678 BULLOCK’S ORIOLE. The majority of these symmetrical figures do not possess the sharp outline of crystals, whilst others can doubtless be referred to the mineral salts held in solution in the composition of the feather. There are both rounded and sharply defined figures,— a fact which any one can verify by the microscope. If I am not mistaken, the erystalline forms are derived from the nucleated cells, and the rounded figures from the granular matter. Of the conditions necessary to produce these forms I know ab- solutely nothing. I have never yet succeeded in obtaining them from feathers which had long been removed from the living bird. This, however, proves nothing as I have frequently failed to pro- cure any from freshly dropped or plucked feathers, which yield them most readily. Of different cuttings from the same feather made during the same minute, and apparently subjected to the same treatment, some presented figures whilst others did not. BULLOCK’S ORIOLE. BY ELLIOTT COUES. Attnoven the beautiful bird referred to in the works cited * has been known by name for nearly half a century, no complete biography has yet appeared; and doubtless many readers of | the Naruratist will be glad to have such information as we can furnish from our study of its habits. We will premise that it is a near relative of the Baltimore oriole, or fire-bird, or hangnest, as it is indifferently called; a bird whose striking colors and brilliant vocal powers, together with its abundance in our streets and orchards, have made it a well-known favorite. Like the Dbal- timore, it is chiefly black and orange in color, but it differs in 4 having a large white patch on the wings, and the sides of the A head and neck orange instead of black. The female, as in all the a orioles, is smaller than the male and with hardly a trace of his - *Xanthorthus Bullockii Sw AINSON, Phil. Mag. i, 1827, p. 436.—AUDUBON, Orn. Biog. ¥) 1839, p. 9, pls. 388, 433, and 8vo, ed. iv, 1842, p. 43, pl. 218.—Pacific Railroad Reports, a 1857, p. 87; ix, 1858, p. 549; x, 1859, p. 52; xii, 1859, p. 209, and Mex. Bound. survey, fi, pt. 2, 1859, p. 20.—CouEs, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philada., 1866, p. 55.—COOPER, pe: Birds, i, p. 278.— Psarocolius auricollis of MAXIMILIAN. BULLOCK’S ORIOLE. 679 brilliant hues, being plain olive-grey above and whitish beneath with pale yellow on the head, breast and some other parts. The young male at first resembles the female. This is only one of countless cases in which the sexes bear such relations in color. The mother-bird, almost defenceless amidst many dangers, and wholly incapable of protecting her young, is shielded by her hum- ble garb, matching the foliage in which she lives, that she may pass to and from her nest unobserved, and accomplish her impor- tant maternal offices in safety. We may judge how well this be- neficent design is accomplished, by a glance at any of our large collections Fig. 120. where this spe- cies is repre- Ys sented; fora Ba dozen or more è of the richly at- ` tired males will be found for one of the female. Of the many beautiful ori- oles that inhabit Tropical Ameri- ca, only two— the Baltimore and the orchard — range north- ward through the Eastern United States. In the west, several kinds reach our southern borders, but Bullock’s is the only one that proceeds further north. Its distribution in the west corresponds, in a general way, with that of the Baltimore in the east. Itinhab- its all the wooded portions of the Rocky Mountain and Pacific re- gions of the United States; in most of its range it is separated from the habitat of the Baltimore by the intervening treeless Cen- tral Plateau, though the two species approach closely, if indeed they may not be found together, along the Upper Missouri. We have no record of its reaching into British America, but should not be surprised to learn that it extends its range beyond the Uni- ted States in summer. Being strictly a migratory species, like all of its family, it passes south in the fall, to winter in the Bullock’s Oriole. 680 BULLOCK’S ORIOLE. warmer parts of America. It appears in Lower California in March, but does not complete its migration into the United States until some time in the following month, when the forests it loves to dwell in are clothed with verdure. In the pine clad mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, we never saw it until about the mid- dle of April; then, and until the cool weather of September, we were almost daily gratified with the sight of the gaily-hued birds gleaming through the sombre foliage like tiny meteors, and with the sound of their musical voices awakening echoes along the deepening aisles of the woodland. In the countries just mentioned, the belts of thick cotton-wood and willows that generally fringe the streams are favorite resorts, perhaps because the pliant twigs are best suited to their wants in constructing their nest. All the orioles are wonderful architects, weaving pensile nests of soft pliable fibrous substances with 2 nicety and beauty of finish that human art would vainly attempt to rival. These elegant fabrics are hung at the end of slender twigs, out of reach of ordinary enemies; and though they may swing with every breath of wind, this is but cradle-rocking for the cal- low young, and it is a rude blast indeed that endangers the safety of their leafy home. Little time passes after their arrival before the modestly-attired females, rambling silently through the verdure, are singled out and attended each by her impetuous consort, who sings his choic- est songs, and displays the prowess she admires most. His song” is an elegant paraphrase of the Baltimore’s, with all its richness and variety, though an ear well skilled in distinguishing birds’ notes can readily detect a difference. Their courtship happily settled, the pair may be seen fluttering through the thicket they have cho- sen, in eager search for a building-place ; and when a suitable one is found, no time is lost in beginning to weave their future home. It is a great mistake to suppose that birds of the same species al- ways build in the same way. Though their nests have a general resemblance in style of architecture, they differ greatly according to their situation, to the time the birds have before the nest must be used for the reception of the eggs, and often, we are tempted to think, according to the taste and skill of the builders. In the” work of this sort, birds show a remarkable power of selection, 45 well as of adapting themselves to circumstances ; in proof of which we have only to examine the three beautiful specimens how lying BULLOCK’S ORIOLE. 681 before us. Each is differently constructed; and while all three evince wonderful powers of weaving, one of them in particular is astonishingly i na og displaying the united accomplishments of weaving and basket making. Before proceeding, we may premise that the idea of the sn is a sort of bag or purse, closely woven of slender pliant substances like strips of fibrous bark, grasses, hair, twine, etc., open at the top, and hung by its rim in the fork of a twig or at the very end of a floating spray. The first nest was built in a pine tree; and if the reader will call to mind the stiff nature of the terminal branchlets, each bear- ing a thick bunch of long straight needle-like leaves, he will see that the birds must have been put to their wits’ end, though very likely he will not be able to guess how they made shift with such unpromising materials. They made up their minds to use the leaves themselves in the nest, and with this idea they commenced by bending down a dozen or twenty of the stiff slender filaments, and tying their ends together at the bottom. If you have ever seen a basket maker at work, with his upright pieces already in place, but not yet fixed together with the circular ones, you will understand exactly what the birds had thus accomplished. They had a secure framework of nearly parallel and upright leaves nat- urally attached to the bough above, and tied together below by the bird’s art. This skeleton of the nest was about nine inches long, and four across the top, running to a point below; and the ‘subsequent weaving of the nest upon this basis was an easy mat- ter to the birds, though, if one were to examine a piece of the fabric cut away from the nest, he could hardly believe that the thin yet tough and strong felting had not been made by some shoddy eontractor for the supply of army clothing. Yet it was all de- signed in a bird’s little brain, and executed with skilful bill and feet. Perhaps the young birds that were raised in the second nest did not appreciate their romantic surroundings, but their parents were evidently a sentimental pair. If they did not do their courting “under the mistletoe,” at any rate they built a cozy home there, tinting the sober reality of married life with the rosy hue of their earlier dreams. The nest was hung in a bunch of the Arceutho- bium oxycedri, an abundant epiphytic plant that on the western wilds represents the mistletoe, and recalls the cherished memories of holiday gatherings. The nest was a cylindrical purse some 682 BULLOCK’S ORIOLE. six inches deep and four broad, hanging to several sprays of the mistletoe, which were partly interwoven with the nest to form a graceful drapery. The felting material was long, soft, vegeta- ble fibre of a glistening silvery lustre, in artistic contrast with the dark-hued foliage. A few hairs were sewn through and _through, for greater security, and the pretty fabric was lined with a matting of the softest possible plant-down, like that of a button- wood or an Asclepias. The general shape and the material‘of the third nest were much the same as those of the last; it was, however, suspended from the forked twig of an oak, and draped almost to concealment with leaves. But it had a remarkable peculiarity, being arched over and roofed in at the top with a dome of the same material as the rest, and had a little round hole in one side just large enough to let the birds pass in. Such a globular nest as this is probably ex- ceptional ; but now it will not do to say that orioles always build pensile pouches open at the top. The eggs of this species are four or five in number, and rather elongated in form, being much pointed at the smaller end. They measure on an average just an inch in length, by about two-thirds as much in greatest diameter, which is much nearer the larger than the smaller end. In color they are very pale bluish, or rather whitish with a faint dull blue shade, and are everywhere irregu- larly overrun with fine sharp hair lines of blackish brown, or black- ish with a slight tinge of purplish. These curious zigzig markings ` are characteristic of the eggs of a majority of the birds of the family (Jcteride). They have no definite style, but wander | at random over the surface, and in no two specimens are they alike. Thus in one specimen the lines, fine as hairs, are wound round and round the butt, with such regularity that they hardly ever interfere; in others, they are snarled up in different places; and sometimes, particularly at a sharp turning-point, the lines spread into little spots; and there are often a few such isolated markings in various places over the egg.* We need say nothing of the general habits and manners of Bul- lock’s Oriole, for it does not differ from the well-known Baltimore bird in these respects. ie eee ee *The nests and eggs above described were collected in California and are now in the Smithsonian Institution, where we have 1 g ly all 1 to examine the J sistkce : T ae ey ES E A Pe O a EE T EE THE CHINESE WHITE WAX INSECT. BY PROFESSOR B. SILLIMAN. We find the following note on this insect (a species of Coccus) in an interesting volume by T. T. Cooper.* Chemists have long known the so-called ‘‘ vegetable wax,” ‘Chinese wax” or “pela,” also called ‘‘ vegetable insect wax,” or ‘vegetable spermaceti,” but we have had no definite knowledge before of its history or mode of production. It was generally stated to be produced on certain trees by the puncture of a species of Coccus. Byt Mr. Cooper supplies us with the first definite statement we have seen of what proves to be an extensive, and to us novel, industry. Unfortunately, he does not appear to have secured specimens of the insects produc- ing it, nor does he give us more definite information of the plant on which they feed than that it resembles our privet. It may be interesting to non-chemical readers to know that this insect wax is a definite compound somewhat resembling spermaceti in appearance but not in composition, being a Cerotic ether known as Cerotate of Ceryl of the formula C® H™ O?. It is crystalline, and of a dazzling whiteness like spermaceti, but more brittle and of a more fibrous texture. It does not completely saponify by boiling in potash water, but is completely decomposed when melted with potash, yielding cerotate of potassium and hydrate of ceryl. It is consumed in China for candles and also as a medicine. It melts at about 118° F. It does not appear clearly from the state- ments of Mr. Cooper, whether this wax is secreted by the insect or is not rather an exudation from the stems of the trees punc- tured by the insect. Mr. Cooper plainly favors the former suppo- sition; but other writers of more pretensions to science entertain the opposite view. The plant on which the Chinese Coccus lives is stated to be Ligustrum lucidium. There are several sorts of vegetable wax well known to chem- ists and new to commerce, and we find it stated by Rev. Justin Doolittle in his “Social life of the Chinese” that the “vegetable . *Travels of a Pioneer of Commerce in siden Tail and Petticoats, on an overland Jour- ney from China toward India. By T. T. Coo London. Murray, 1871. 8vo, pp. 471. (683) 684 THE CHINESE WHITE WAX INSECT. tallow” of China is obtained from the seeds or kernels which grow upon the so-called ‘* Tallow Tree.” But he also states that this tallow is hardened by a very hard white wax brought from the western or northwestern provinces of China, which is the very wax described by Mr. Cooper. The ‘tallow’ is not a wax in chemical constitution, and is the product of a shrub known as Stillingia sebifera. Our American myrtle wax (bayberry tallow) is a solid fat melting at about 118° F. and contains a large quan- tity of palmitic and a small quantity of myristic acid (Moore, Sill. Jour: [2] xxwiii,113.) From its high melting point and general physical and chemical properties we might infer that the white wax of China was the product of the Coccus, rather than of the plant on which it feeds, seeing the properties alludéd to are more like those of bees’ wax than of vegetable wax, known to be such. But of this we still lack the proof. Probably some of your entomological corres- pondents may know the wax producing, or provoking, Coccus. * Our quotation from Mr. Cooper’s instructive volume is as fol- lows :— “On the third day we entered the white wax country so named from its producing the famous white wax of Szchuan, which has been erroneously called vegetable wax. This district was less un- dulating than that of the tea gardens, and presented to the eye a of Szchuan, and ranks in importance second only to that of silk. Its production is not attended with much labor or risk to the cul- tivator. The eggs of the insect which produces the wax are an- “ white wax eggs.” The egg clusters which were described to me * Westwood (Modern Classification of Insects ii. p. 449) writes thus: “The Coccus ceriferus Fabr., described by Anderson in his letters from Madras (1781) and by Pear- son in the Phil. Trans. 1794, is employed in the production of a white wax, the body of ~ INSTRUCTION TC SCIENCE TEACHERS. 685 as about the size of a pea are transported carefully packed in bas- ‘white wax tree,” which they-are purchased at about twenty taels per basket. The trees by the middle of March have thrown out a number of long tender shoots and leaves, and then the clusters of eggs enclosed in balls of the young leaves are suspended to the shoots by strings. About the end of the month the larve make their appearance, feed on the branches and leaves and soon attain the size of a small caterpillar or rather a wingless house-fly apparently covered with white down, with a delicate plume-like appendage, curving from the tail over the back. So numerous are they that as seen by me appear as if covered with feathery snow. The grub proceeds in July to take the chrysalis form, burying itself in a white wax se- cretion, just as a silkworm wraps itself in its coccoon of silk. wax is skimmed off and run into moulds in which shape it is exported to all parts of the Empir It wou and hence the necessity of importing the eggs from Yunnan. In eggs is alone attended to, both frost and snow is experienced, so that it would not be difficult to rear the insect in Europe, anc considering its prolific nature, the production of white wax might repay the trouble of acclimatizing this curious insect.” INSTRUCTION TO SCIENCE TEACHERS AT SOUTH KENSINGTON. Durme the months of June and July, a number of science teachers from various parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, were assembled in London, for the purpose of attending special classes, arranged for their instruction under the auspices of the Science and Art Department. We propose to give some ac- count of the course of instruction in the principles of Biology 686 INSTRUCTION TO SCIENCE TEACHERS, which was directed by Prof. Huxley, to whose suggestion, we be- lieve, liberally accepted by Mr. Forster, and acted upon by the government, this important scheme for raising the character of science teaching in the various schools and classes at present in relation with South Kensington is due. It had long been felt by those who annually examined teachers and pupils for certificates in various branches of science, under the Science and Art Depart- ment, that the candidates displayed a sad want of practical ac- quaintance with the subjects in which they presented themselves for examination: many showed considerable ability and great book knowledge, but a knowledge of the things themselves with which science deals, a proof of personal intercourse with Nature, which after all is the only foundation of scientific knowledge, and without which all the ’ologies are so much book-wormery, was to a very great extent wanting. Under the existing state of things it seemed almost impossible to get out of this vicious condition, for the scholars who were in their turn destined to become teachers were for the most part taught by mer who were deficient in prac- tical knowledge; and with the increasing demand for science teaching there appeared to be a probability of the evil being in- creased by the rapid accession of the book-taught students to the position of instructors. The only way to meet this difficulty was to find teachers who had the requisite familiarity with the ‘ solid ground of Nature,” and set them to work to leaven the mass. The readiest means of doing this was undoubtedly that adopted by the authorities — namely, to summon to a central class, the ablest of the teachers at present distributed throughout the kingdom, and to impart to them as much practical acquaintance and per- sonal familiarity with the things of which they had read in books, as was possible ina given time. By annual repetition of this plan there can be little doubt that the body of science teachers through- out the country would be materially affected. Being already ac- quainted with the outlines and much of the detail of their sub- jects by hearsay, they would readily understand and appreciate the facts and methods of investigating facts placed before them, and after passing through such a course of instruction would be prepared to proceed further in the same direction by their own individual efforts, and what is more important, to teach, not at second-hand, but from experience, not as fluent repeating machines but as thoughtful students of phenomena. INSTRUCTION TO SCIENCE TEACHERS. 687 Thirty-nine students of whom one was a lady, attended the course of instruction in the principles of Biology, their expenses (involved in coming to London) being defrayed by the Government. The course occupied six weeks: the students attended every day, with the exception of Sundays, from ten in the morning until half- past four in the afternoon (Saturdays until two). Each morning at ten o’clock a lecture, occupying from an hour to an hour and a half, was given by Prof. Huxley, and the remainder of the day was employed in dissection, microscopic work, and demonstrations, in carrying out which Prof. Huxley was assisted by Prof. Michael Foster, Prof. Rutherford, and Mr. Ray Lankester. The students were placed in pairs at large working tables, and each table was provided with a microscope (with inch and one-eighth inch ob- jectives, and two eye-pieces furnished with micrometric square-rul- ing), with four scalpels, two pairs of scissors, two pairs of forceps, pins, thread, dissecting needles, watch-glasses, beakers, pie-dishes, glass-tubing, and camel’s-hair brush. The practical instruction proceeded pari passu with the lectures, the students at once taking their places at the tables after the lec- ture, and setting to work at materials provided for them to dissect or examine with the microscope in illustration of, or rather as the sequel to, the lecture which they had just heard. Each stu- ' dent was required to send in full reports and drawings as the re- sult of his day’s work, many of which proved very excellent; an abstract of the lecture was also given in by each student with the report of his practical work, and the lot were returned at the end of the course (after due examination by the lecturers) to the stu- dents for their future reference. Two prizes— which were two microscopes similar to those used by the members of the class, and provided like them with inch and one-eighth inch objectives — were offered to the students who should be considered to have done best during the course, especial weight being given to excellence in the practical work, as judged both by observation of the student when at work, and by the re- ports sent in. The names of the students were placed in two classes of merit at the termination of the course, arranged in alphabetical order. Now as to the subjects which were gone over in the time, which though limited to six weeks, yet by dint of hard work, was made to take in more than many a six months’ course. The yeast 688 INSTRUCTION TO SCIENCE TEACHERS. plant occupied the first lecture and each student was provided with some yeast, which was carefully examined and drawn under the microscope. Each student sowed some in Pasteur’s solution which he had himself prepared, and on the following day stu- died its germination. In like manner the Penicillium mould was studied, sections being cut through the crusts, and careful drawings made of mycelium, hyphee, conidia, etc. The latter were sown, and their development accurately observed and drawn by each student. A solution of hay was given to each, and the for- mation of a Bacterium film was studied, the form and movements of Bacteria were compared with the Brownian movements of gam- boge rubbed up in water. The structure of the higher Fungi was then studied in specimens of a common toad-stool, and thus a general notion of the morphology and life-history of the Fungi was obtained. Protococcus in its various stages, Palmella, and Volvox next formed the subjects of lectures and practical work, and from these simpler forms the students passed on to Spirogyra and Chara. In Chara the advance in cellular differentiation was noted by each student on specimens supplied to him, and the male and female reproductive bodies examined in detail, and the Anthero- zooids were obtained in active movement. The phenomenon of cyclosis was also very carefully gone over, each student compar- ing that of Chara with that seen in Valisneria and in the hair of the nettle and of Tradescantia ; drawings and descriptions being made and the specimens prepared by every student for himself. During this time a certain amount of familiarity had been obtained by all with the use of the microscope— not half a dozen of the class, be it remembered, having previously ever used the instrument at all, still fewer one of adequate power—and as well as the in- strument itself, the use of various reagents had been learnt, such as iodine-solution for demonstrating starch, and for delineating protoplasm, acetic acid, magenta-solution, ete. From Chara the class proceeded to the study of the Fern — the sori and sporangia were examined in the first place, and the general form of the fern- frond; then each student was provided with spores which had been previously allowed to germinate, of two stages of develop- ment, the one set with the quite young pro-embryo-like prothal- lium, the other more advanced exhibiting numerous archegonl! and pistillidia, the structure of all of which were examined and drawn; and in many cases active antherozooids were obtained. INSTRUCTION TO SCIENCE TEACHERS. 689 The structure of the fern stem followed, exhibiting typical scal- ariform, dotted and spiral ducts and other forms of tissue ; also the leaf of sphagnum ; the methods of recognizing starch and cellulose being here again used. From the fern the class passed on to the study of a bean plant as typical of a phanerogam. Its general mor- phology, the microscopic structure of its tissues, the minute struc- ture of the flower and the histology of the essential reproductive organs were examined during three consecutive days, and finally the development of the seed and the growth of the young bean plant were studied. In this work each student used a razor for making sections of the parts to be studied, and portions of turnip were made use of for embedding delicate pieces of tissue, such as leaves, in order to facilitate the cutting of thin sections. A few typical flowers (e. g., Campanula, Rosa, Viola, various Orchids) were next studied as examples of the kind of modification of parts exhibited by phanerogamous plants and also the female flowers of a small Con- ifer. Before proceeding to the animal kingdom, a lecture was de- voted to a retrospect of the steps through which the class had passed from the simple to the more complex forms, a comparison of the various methods of reproduction, and an outline of the physiology of vegetable life. Amebe, the colorless corpuscles of the Triton’s blood, and the ameboid particles of Spongilla were the first examples of an- imal life studied. each member of the class making drawings of the various forms due to protoplasmic movement presented by an individual example of each of these cases of simple organism whilst in the field of his microscope. The Gregarine of the earth-worm next occupied a day, and every student was able to observe and draw the actively moving nucleated Gregarina, its simple encysted condition, and its various stages of breaking up into pseudonavicule. The structure of Infusoria was next examined, as exemplified in Vorticella and Vaginicola, the nucleus, contractile vacuole, mouth, etc., being fairly observed and drawn by all the students. Specimens of Hydra were provided, on the following day, and the endoderm and ectoderm, thread-cells and reproductive organs studied. To this followed a copious supply of Cordylophora la- custris (from the Victoria Docks), in which the class were able to study a typical compound Ceelenterate, and to recognize not only 690 INSTRUCTION TO SCIENCE TEACHERS. the male and female gonophores, but the larval * planula-form” as it escaped from the reproductive capsules. Plumatella as a typical Bryozoon succeeded this, and then two days were given to the dissection and histology of Anodon, of which each student was provided with two or three specimens. The lobster as a typical Arthropod was then examined, a fresh specimen being | supplied to each table; the heart and vessels were first studied, then the alimentary canal, liver, reproductive organs and green glands. A large piece of mill-board covered with paper was used by each pair of students for placing out in order, numbering, naming and comparing the twenty somites and their appendages, an instructive preparation being thus made. The corresponding parts were again examined, and the microscopic structure of the muscular tissue, blood, liver, and gills, in specimens of the river cray-fish. The careful dissection of the frog next occupied some days and to this succeeded the rabbit. Simultaneously with the dissection of these vertebrata, the study of the microscopic structure of the various tissues and organs was commenced, so that whilst one student was using the microscope, his companion at the table was dissecting, and vice versa. The blood of the frog and of man}the movements of the colorless cor- puscles in both cases, and the action of acids on them, the varieties of epithelium, the various forms of connective tissue and its cor- puscles, cartilage, bone, muscular tissue smooth and striped, nerve fibres and cells, the termination of nerve in muscle, and the struc- ture of the more important organs, were examined by the class, not in already prepared and mounted “ slides,” but in specimens which each student took for himself, usually from the animal un- der dissection, and treated with various reagents, the methods of cutting thin sections and embedding tissues in wax or paraffin being learnt at the same time. A simple injecting apparatus (formed by two Wolff’s bottles and a large vessel of water) was put up, and the method of injecting & frog shown to each student. The best part of a day was spent in a thorough dissection of a sheep’s heart, and another in the dissec- tion of the sheep’s larynx. Vertical antero-posterior sections of the sheep’s head were supplied to the various tables, and in these the parts of the brain and cranial nerves (already made out in the rabbit), the tongue, the relations of the cavities of the mouth, nose, and ear, the ducts of the salivary glands, and the muscles of - . INSTRUCTION TO SCIENCE TEACHERS. 691 the eye were studied. The structure of the eye was again exam- ined by each student, in specimens of those of the bullock, supplied in quantity, aud the internal ear and auditory ossicles were dem- onstrated in rough preparations of the sheep and rabbit. But little time could be afforded to physiology ; and, indeed, it was hardly possible that each member of the class should perform many physiological experiments for himself. The movements of the heart in the frog after excision, and the localization of the nerve-centre, was made out by each student ‘for himself; also the phenomena of reflex action in the frog, after the destruction of the cranial portion of the cerebro-spinal nervous system. Again, each table was supplied with simple galvanic forceps, and the irritation of nerve and of muscle examined, also the action of chemical and mechanical stimuli on the nerve. The action of curare poison on the frog (Berndrd’s experiment) was examined by every student, and the condition of the poisoned and the unpoisoned leg com- pared. Every member of the class was made familiar with the simplest way of demonstrating the circulation in the frog’s foot, tongue, and mesentery, under the microscope, and repeatedly exam- - ined the phenomenon for himself. Rigor mortis and the artificial rigor produced by warm water were examined. The conversion of starch into sugar by the saliva, and the methods of proving the presence of starch and grape sugar, were made the subject of experiment by every individual of the class. The peristaltic move- ments of the intestine and the absorption of the chyle by the lac- teals were exhibited and closely examined. A model of the circulation, consisting of india-rubber tubes and pump, was used for demonstrating the nature of the pulse, the pressure (by means of manometers placed in connection) in the arteries and veins, and the effect of dilatation and contraction of the capillaries and of rate of pulsation on this pressure. Finally, the thorax was opened in a narcotised rabbit and the heart exposed, and each student satisfactorily witnessed the pulsations of that organ and the inhibitory effect of irritation of the vagus nerve; the b pressure was exhibited to each member of the class in a aiy narcotised dog by means of the hemodynamometer, a a tube being placed in the animal’s carotid artery ; and as à concluding demon- stration the important fact of the influence of nerves upon gland secretion was demonstrated by the beautiful experiment of Ber- nard, the chorda-tympana being irritated, whilst a canula was AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V- 44 692 INSTRUCTION TO SCIENCE TEACHERS. placed in the duct of the submaxillary gland. Great care was taken that none of the experiments exhibited to or performed by the members of the class should be open to the charge of cruelty, the animals used being either completely narcotised, or (as in the case of the frogs), having the cerebral portion of the nervous sys- tem destroyed in the proper manner. Throughout the course the morning’s lecture was made prepara- tory to or an extension of what was afterwards brought under actual observation. The concluding lecture was devoted to a retro- spect of the work which had been gone through, and an exposition of the idea which had guided the scheme of study pursued, the ob- ject having been not to make botanists, nor zoologists, nor anat- omists of the members of the class, but to give them a practical insight into the structures and activities of living things, in such a way as to enable them to observe for themselves the relations and connections of the various forms of life, and to follow from actual examples the characteristics and increasing complexity of different plans of structure. The reports of work and lectures daily sent in by the members of the class were entirely satisfactory, and the spirit and enthu- siasm displayed throughout proved how greatly the value of the course was appreciated. When it is remembered that with scarcely an exception, these teachers had hitherto never used the micro- ~ scope, never dissected a single organ or organism for themselves, nor seen one properly dissected, the advantage gained by the ex- perience they have now obtained, even if only a portion of what was condensed into six weeks’ work remains with them, is some- thing very considerable, for it is something of a new kind, a form of knowledge which they entirely failed to obtain before. It is exceedingly interesting to find that no difficulty was expe rienced in going over all these matters in a class which was not confined to men alone, and most heartily do we hope to see in the future a larger proportion of women engaged in this and other branches of scientific study. Those who imagine that women have some innate incapacity, and assert that if admitted to classes now limited to men they would be unable to profit by them, or would hinder the progress of the class by the greater attention they would require in order to keep them to the level of male students, _ may take this fact to heart—one of the microscopes offered as a prize for the best work done, and the best record of the lectures CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF QuITO. 693 and the day’s work, was adjudged simply upon the merits of her reports aud work to the one lady among the thirty-nine students who formed the class. On the other hand, this fact will probably stimulate that unavowed feeling, akin to the trades-unions’ hostil- ity to competition, which is the cause of the arbitrary exclusion of half of the community from our greatest educational institu- tions. — E. R. L., in Nature. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE VALLEY OF QUITO. —II BY PROF. JAMES ORTON. REPTILES. Tur herpetology of mountain regions is very limited, for the number of species diminishes rapidly as we ascend in altitude or latitude. The reptilian life of any district, however, is highly in- teresting, as it is more natural and well defined than that of other vertebrates, because reptiles have a limited range* and are less likely to be forced out of their original habitats or introduced by man. It has been supposed that in order of altitudinal range, lizards go highest, snakes next; and batrachians and chelonians last. There are no chelonians in the valley as far as we know; but we found frogs as high up as Antisana Hacienda, and no liz- ards there. Gibbon found no snakes at La à The only reptiles which we know to exist in the valley are as follows: Batrachians— Atelopus longirostris Cope (a new species found by the writer at Antisana Hacienda, thirteen thousand three hundred feet above the sea), A. levis Giinth., Hylodes conspicil- latus Günth., Bufo intermedius Gunth. ; Ophidicnie -ioari carinatus Boie, Streptophorus Drozii D. B. An active little lizard (a Pleurodont) occurs in the warm, dry parts of the valley ; but we failed to secure a specimen. FISHES. —— the size of the Machangara and Pastassa Rivers Ab elydra ser- ki k pentina Linn., which we found at Guayaquil on the Pacific coa EE ae equator. 694 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. and San Pablo Lake, it is remarkable that only one species of this class (so far as we can ascertain) occurs in the Quito waters. This is the Cyclopium Humboldtii Sw., one of the Siluride. It abounds in the Machangara, but we have never seen a specimen over four inches long. According to Dr. Gill it is generically distinct from the Stygogenes Humboldtii of Günther ; but we cannot distinguish it from the Pimelodus cyclopum mentioned by Humboldt* as in- * NOTE ON THE PIMELODUS CYCLOPUM OF HUMBOLDT. By F. W. Putnam. r James Orton, in 1870, presented to the Academy a specimen of a small Silu- rid which he obtained at Quito, Ecuador, and which he supposed ke the same as the — fish mentioned by Humboldt from the subterranean waters of the Andes. On compar- ing the sor with the descriptions of the species of Arges and i sp ee oa by Cuvier d Valenci iennes, and by Günther in kos — alight: G son apart ters of pre eee gre sing in every detail: with the short description given by Giinther of Arges brachy- anae pias me additional ATACE, A ies ing a short broad spine in front of the adip uter rays of the several fins which he men- rar satin f S. Humboldtii. Our specimen has the following smears which, it ea be er are taken almost by ach ft line distinctly marked by raised pores, and extending the whole length of the body. Maxillary barbles about one-half the length of the head. Anal and dorsal fins fold into slight grooves Fin formula of A. Cc. Academy specimen I+5. | 1+5+46 =13. A. brachycep halus, ars ; T eai : 6. Günther. S. Humboldtii. “ — af LEs yi i 8. D. I+6,0. I+9. 6. 6, [. ts | 6. This slight variation in the fin rays jee he the following for the three ee ud ctoral, 8 to 10. Ven ral, of the three specimens reduced to the presence or absence ae cee spine of the adipose dorsal, which could very easily be overlooked unless special search was made for it, the fin. specimen under examination, in which it was found Guus by the skin of th iderati Humboldt overlooked the spine in in his specimen, and also that it is possible that Giinther overlooked it in his specimens of A. brachycephalus. At all events I “eae regard its presence as of an generic or even specific value on the present dat y Mase ie ft * Pee Nh Pe ee r y ee ar eee” Rah Nt amy) ae (a ees CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. 695 habiting the subterranean waters of the Andes and thrown out in the eruptions of Imbabura and Caraguairazo. There are several species of the same family in the Esmeraldas, as P. cinerascens, P. elongatus and P. modestus. MOLLUSCS. There is little variety of molluscan life on the Andes. The land-snails predominate, belonging to the Helicide and Cyclosto- mide. The presence of the old world genus Clausilia, wanting in North America, becomes a significant fact, as Woodward ob- serves, when taken in connection with the affinities of the higher animals of South America and Africa. ‘These imply a land-way across the Atlantic at some very remote period.” The known fresh-water shells in the valley are few in number, and the exact localities of these cannot be positively given. Cas- talia Crosseana Hid., and C. Pazi Hid., are credited to Imbabura ; Hemisinus Pazi Tryon, H. simplex Tryon, H. Osculati Villa, Ampullaria modesta V. d. Busch and A. solida V. d. Busch to Quito; and A. Quitensis V. d. Busch to Ecuador. But Mr. Tryon informs me that the locality of Hemisinus is not certain ; and as I collected none myself, I am doubtful of all the others except Castalia. Hemisinus Binneyi Tryon, may be added to this pro- visional list. The type of the genus Arges (A. sabalo C. and V.), from the position of the eyes and ventral fins, may possib hy remain as the type of a genus under that name, distinct from pera genus Stygogenes, which I consider as covering my specimen as ide n chm ldtii i ss brachye cephalus, which I consider the same as Ameer er Pim cyclo; ra puig isi k as -Günther intludes it (doubtfully) as a distinct species s his genus Stygogenes, and as Swainson also named it Cyclopium Humboldtii, we have a singular confusion of ents which, following the strict law of priority of names erg should be rendered thus niger ge (Sw.) cyrcLopum (Humb.) Sy ; i us cyclopum Humboldt, Aa petna Humboldtii Swainson, 1838-9. 3. Arge Cuv. and Val., 1840. Of ihono essen nanea a se oan er 1,2; ii d 6 were unquestionably pro- posed p from sed wholly because Humboldt did not mention the spine gee B e 2d dorsal. No. 4 was considered as distinct, and placed in a separate genus on account of the ong not being present. The specimen now under examination re a feo and with it all the characters given of the species, hence I unite them all as one under a aoa non-euphonie designation of Cyclo- um pum, adding one more name to the list, which will be adopted, or classed as a synonym, according to foodie eee ut which, nevertheless, is the name that should be used to designate the species if the strict law of priority is followed. 696 CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. The following Notes on the Terrestrial Mollusca of the Valley of Quito, with a Catalogue of the species, have been contributed by the eminent conchologist, Mr. Thomas Bland. Looking at the subjoined catalogue * of the Terrestrial Mollusea attributed to, or which are known to inhabit, the valley of Quito, h d from the sedge il various works to which I have had ac- The genera and species are arranged = Ang eines given a Hea t he spec: The subgeneri of Butimus = pad capitais and of others in italics are from oe tas edition of Albers by V. Mart erie Helix species, the names of w J se iakat editions of Pfeiffer’s Monogra uitensis Pfr.— Quito. (Hyalina.) §11. lora Pfr.—Quito. EnO ) §35. pore ra riana Hid.—Ecuador, Paz. §102 cym es Pfr.— —9 A £ 2 OF jo Fe aes Sac O noe ®© ad eS £ ta Martinii ete Geko, Bernardi, j (he anegal, Martinez and Orto parea” py ev. et Hupe. — : Cuzco, Hupe bituberculata oe $ Martinez; ungu H = a} ao | © E e+ pS 7S ES 2 = ® =} a 5 = © 4 I apo? Orton. us or Pfr, — Ecuador, Pfeiffe _ oe lairianus Nyst.— Qui ega PTUS.) Fungairinoi Hid, — Othe. Hidalgo and Orton; Cuenca, Paz ine — Quito, P: aia Paz and aaee. Corydon Crosse. — Aristeus Crosse. — Fraseri Pfr.—Cuenca, Fraser; Chim- O G razo, Paz. abscissus Pfr. ito, t, 99; Bourcieri Pfr.— cae ey Bourcier. Thaumastus). coloratus Nyst.—Near Quito, Lattre; Prov. aen Columbia, Nyst. US). § 1 cardinalis, Pfr. — Quito, e E and Paz Aea: and Nanegal, Orton; 8. apo, Memblielinus Cros: uador, Paz and Hidalgo; ian Bi rere ny 18. lautus Gould.—Near Quito, Cout Er. uy. Nystianus Pfr. — Quit artinez; Machache. Paz; Val alley of Pomas Bourcier, ( Phaumastus.) — Near Quito, Paz; azo, Pfeiffer; Carthagena, Lea. (Drymaeus.) hich are in ene aphs e e F . 5 e t have been described since the publi- Bulimus fallax Pfr, — Tunguragua, Bourcier Quito, Paz and Martinez. Thau- [masius.) Hartwegi Pfr. m Loja, Hartwen: Paz and Orton Thompsoni Pir. r Quito, Pfei fer and Orton; Pea and Cuen- Soy Paz. (ORP Cuencanus Pfr. a, Fras Anthisanensis Pfr. 2S Antisanii “1000 “(Sua § 48. nguragua an : Chimbo- Coto TS — Cotopax fer p ; Al itisana and ‘Senos, po tinez Aas Mocha and Chimbo Paz; v ar. B. Ca paar Bourcier (Scutalus,) § 54. Loxens F atamaija PS6. Loja, Hartweg. (Thawmastus. : chameleon Pfr.— Quito, Bourcier, La Mocha, z; Cumbaya, ty and Nanegal rtinez; Pern, Al- oe ( Le aparen sequatorius *_ Sincholagua = himborazo Bourcier; Quito, cf Orton and Martinez; cha, Paz ss Se $57. Catlowie Pfr.— Near Quito, pin ne a Paz. (Scula pa Lim Ry. oe Lima O, Orthalicus Mars Pfr.—Ecuador, "Fras ser. §3- Achatina magnifica Pfr.—Near Quit’; apres 8 6. Oleacina saccata Pfr. —Ecuador, Fraser. 3 Clausilia Bourcieri Pfr Tunguraga, Es. [eler. Yenta) Cyclotus area Pfr.—Qui © $ t oh +6 wm ton; Na gp B P? fnada, Blan Nen Gee mate ee Lin- Popayanns Regn E him rand “ Bland. granulatus Pir eet uito. ~ pe Agua- Fisch Quito, Pazi y tinez. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE NATURAL HISTORY OF QUITO. 697 it does not appear that any considerable number of the species have passed beyond its limits. The most interesting question re- specting their distribution, is to ascertain if any occur both on the Pacific and Atlantic slopes of the Equatorial Andes, and so far as I am informed there are scarcely any. While several of the valley species are found also to the south in Peru, and a larger number to the north in New Granada, others are common to the valley and the eastern slope towards the headwaters of the’ Ama- zon. : The species mentioned in the catalogue, which from the habitats given appear to occur on the Pacific and Atlantic slopes, are Bu- limulus chameleon Pfr. referred to Nanegal on the former and Baeza on the latter, Bulimus irroratus Rv. from Guaranda and Macas, and B. Popelairianus Nyst. from Bodegas and Napo. Fur- ther exploration may increase the species known thus to occur, but the difference in the land-shell faunas on the Pacific and At- lantic slopes on the west coast of North America, warrants the belief that such species are few. The absence in the Quito valley, and generally on the west coast of South America, of various New World genera is worthy of remark, but they belong to the faunas of Brazil, Mexico, and the West Indies, with which those of the west coast have a scarcely appreciable alliance. In South America generally, and the valley of Quito is no éx- ception, the genus Bulimus has far more representatives than Helix (using both generic terms in the wide sense employed. by Pfeiffer in his monographs), but the reverse is the case in North America. In the Galapagos Islands there are a number of pecu- culiar Bulimi, but I believe no Helices, while in the islands off the west coast of southern California species of Helix occur but none of Bulimus. On the Atlantic side of the Continents, the islands (Cuba, Jamaica ete,) situate on the northern margin of the Car- ibbean sea, with numerous species of Helix, have very few of Bu- limulus, while the islands on the eastern side, near to the South American coast (St. Lucia and St. Vincent to Trinidad) have the only representatives of Bulimus in the West Indies and a larger proportionate number of species of Bulimulus. Cyclophorus Crosseanus Hid.—Ecuador, Paz. helicinæformis Pfr. — Quito, is Bourciera ine os ito, Paz.: Fraser. C¥elophorus Cumingi Sow. — Quito, Paz. § 15 elophorus Cumin w,— Quito, Paz. b yh it hematomma Pfr. — Quito, Paz, araqu Hidalgoi ardeii t e er Hh Paz. | Bourciera Fa Pir. — Cuenca, 698 NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. The form of Helix prevailing in; and which may be said to be characteristic of the Quito Valley is Isomeria, peculiar to the northern portion of the southern continent. Both Bulimus and Bulimulus are essentially characteristic of South America. The genus Orthalicus is also South American, but belongs ra- ther to the eastern than to the western side of the continent. Achatina magnifica, as Pfeiffer suggests, is probably an Orthalicus. Oleacina is most numerously represented in Mexico and Central America, and the nearest adjacent islands of the West Indies. One species is said to inhabit Ecuador, but the exact locality is not given. -Clausilia is a European genus, but has representatives in Asia, and a few species of the sub-genus Nenia in South America,—one only in the West Indies, C. tridens Chem. of Porto Rico. Species of three operculated genera occur in the Quito Valley,— Cyclo- tus, Cyclophorus and Bourciera. The latter, peculiar to Ecuador, is placed by Pfeiffer, in the sub-family Realia of the family Cy- clostomacea, but it would seem to belong to Helicinacea, with which, as pointed ‘out by Troschel, its dentition agrees, although in form of shell it is allied to Realia. Cyclotus has several species in Mexico and Central America, more in South America, but forty- two species in the West Indies, of which thirty-four belong to Ja- maica. It may be mentioned that half of the species attributed to the valley of Quito, occur also in New Granada. Cyclophorus has its principal development in Asia and adja- cent islands, but it is curious, as I have elsewhere noticed, that while there are a few species found in Mexico, Central and South America, seven occur in the West Indies, and all in Guadeloupe, Démitnies and Martinique. NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. BY PROF. GEORGE H. PERKINS. Nor least interesting among the many localities in the Missis- sippi valley that attract the geologist and mineralogist is the Illi- nois Geode region. This extends for twenty-five or thirty miles NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. 699 along the Illinois side of the Mississippi, reaching from a short distance above Niota on the northern border of Hancock County southward beyond Warsaw; and indeed the formation in which these specimens occur reaches as far south as the mouth of the Illinois River, but by far the greater part that have been collected were obtained between Niota and Warsaw, where they occur in very much the greatest abundance. Very many fine specimens have been obtained across the river in Iowa, and the region over which they are distributed is probably larger in this state than in Illinois. So far as my own observation goes, the geodes do not occur in Illinois at any great distance from the river, nearly all the best localities being within three or four miles from the banks ; but I do not speak with entire confidence in regard to this as nearly all my personal investigation has been confined to localities near the river and on the Illinois side. For this reason what may be said at this time will refer mainly to the region between Niota and Warsaw. The geodes from this region are, many of them, very beautiful, being often lined with most brilliant crystals of quartz, appearing like miniature caves lined with diamonds, or, less bril- liant but more exquisite, some are lined with a frost-work of small white crystals of the same substance, or with satin crystals of cal- cite and pearl spar. They are imbedded in a soft, brittle, argilla- ceous shale, which is sometimes a little calcareous, and in a very few instances passes into limestone, although the outer coat- ing of the geode is always aluminous. This mass of shaly rock forms what is called the “Geode bed,” a member of the Keokuk group of the Subcarboniferous age. The thickness of this bed varies in different places, but is nowhere very great. At Warsaw it is well exposed in a railroad cut; and here, according to Mr. Worthen, the thickness is forty feet. (Ill. Geol. Rep., Vol. 1. p- 335.) No trace of fossils has been discovered in the shale, but in some places thin layers of limestone are intermingled with it, and these afford the characteristic fossils of the Keokuk limestone. Whatever the inner coating of these geodes may be, the shell, or crust, is always siliceous. The outer surface, however, is usually coated with the same clay-like material as that which composes the shale in which they occur. Very often there is an outer layer of siliceous clay which forms a part of the crust and sends out numerous sharp, irregular projections into the next layer which is, probably always, chalcedony. It should be remembered that these, 700 NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. and other not yet mentioned ‘‘layers” of the crust are so called more for convenience, than because they exist sharply defined in every specimen, for such is not the case; in most they shade into each other by almost imperceptible degrees. The outer surface is generally light colored— either yellow, or drab, or yellowish brown; but when there is much oxide of iron present the color deepens to chestnut brown. The general form of the geodes is more or less spherical and in a majority of the specimens it is quite regularly so, but the character of the interior seems to have some influence in shaping the whole mass. In my own collecting, at least, it has uniformly been true that those geodes that con- tained only quartz were most regular in form and those lined with crystallized quartz are rather more regular than those lined with chaleedony. Those specimens that contain oxide of iron are often quite flat, as are those with calcite, though these latter are usually flattened more on one side than on the other and in various ways made irregular. Although sometimes packed almost as thickly as possible in the shale, the geodes are for the most part entirely distinct from each other; but sometimes two or more are found adhering to each other, either two of nearly equal size forming a dumb-bell shaped mass, or, more commonly, a large one is surrounded by several much smaller. These are not often so firmly attached that a sharp blow will not separate them entire. When broken these smaller geodes are usually solid. Sometimes small, pocket-like geodes are found in the crust of large and heavy ones, and some- times these extend so far over the surface that the geode becomes like a ball coated outside and in with crystals, with occasionally a thin clayey crust over a part of the outside. The geodes are not exactly alike in different portions of the region. In some places nearly all are small, while large ones are not infrequent in others, in one place most are regular spheres, in another most are quite irregular, in some parts of the bed they lie so thickly as to crowd each other, in other parts they are far apart. Not only do these and similar differences occur in places at some distance from each other, but in the same place upper, lower or middle portions of the bed may differ widely in the number, form, size and contents of the geodes. Everywhere many of the geodes are solid, and the first thing for a collector to learn is to judge by the weight of any given specimen whether it NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. 701 is solid or hollow, and also how hard a blow is needed to break it open, if he finds it light enough to be hollow; for a heavy blow, such as is necessary to crack a thick crust, would dash a thinner one into small fragments. Those large geodes that contain much calc spar are usually solid, while those that are smaller and lined with small crystals of this material are frequently quite hol- low. The quite large specimens are more apt to have thick walls, or to be entirely solid, than those of less size whatever the filling. The cavity of a geode does not often correspond with the exterior, as the walls are constantly varying their thickness. Many are lined with a single, plain layer of crystals, others have this crys- talline surface raised in rounded prominences, some of them long and cylindrical, others low and mound-like. In some, besides the lining there is a partition, extending across the cavity, lined with crystals on both sides. Rarely, the collector may find a thin crust lined with small bright crystals, within which is a hollow ball, but little larger than the cavity and attached at one or two points to the side, covered with somewhat smaller crystals. So, in innu- merable ways do we find these singular objects varied and, as the outside gives little or no indication of the inside, the charm of uncertainty is added to the excitement and pleasure of the collec- tor. So far as my own experience’ goes those specimens that are from one to three inches in diameter are least likely to be solid, though very fine ones may be obtained six or even ten inches in diameter without great difficulty. The range in size is quite large, as very pretty specimens not over half an inch in diameter may be found, while the largest I have seen were fully eighteen inches across the broken halves. But these larger geodes, aside from being very scarce, are not very desirable acquisitions as they are very heavy, weighing fifty pounds or more in the best examples. The geodes are most abundant, and hence most easily collected, in the beds and along the sides of those streams which intersect the geode bed, as nearly all those around Hamilton and Warsaw do. The geodes are dislodged from their resting place by high water, frost, ete., and are carried down by the streams, so that near the mouth, or in a basin, the ground is often paved with them, but good specimens are not rare along the sides of the streets, in cuts, or wherever the earth has been washed or dug in the neighborhood of the bed in which they lie. Few things are more unpromising or unattractive than a geode when first taken 702 NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. from its cavity in the rock, and unless its regular form caught the eye, it would be passed without a second glance as wholly unde- serving of notice. A mere ball of clay would possess fully as much elegance. But pick up that dull, dirty-looking ball, and, if it be a good specimen, its extreme lightness attracts attention and excites curiosity, and now the impulse is to see what there is in- side. A few strokes of the hammer and it breaks in halves, and as it falls apart lo! what wonders are presented to us! Who would have imagined that so uncouth and rough an exterior con- cealed such a splendid interior,—a crystal grotto, which flashes and sparkles when the sunlight strikes it as if made of gems of the first water. The geodes contain quite a number of different minerals which are very variously arranged in different specimens. Some of these minerals have been already alluded to, but they deserve a somewhat fuller treatment. As all the geodes are sili- ceous on the outside, so by far the most common variety is that composed wholly, or nearly so, of quartz. The structure of these is almost invariably as follows; first, the outer, earthy coating; second, a thin layer of white or whitish chalcedony ; third, a layer of clear quartz more or less granulated; and fourth, a layer of | crystalline quartz, with simple, pyramidal terminations lining the inside. The granular layer does not always extend around the entire sphere, but often the crystalline quartz rests directly on the chalcedony, and in some there is scarcely any or no granulated appearance, but it is present in most that have come under my notice. The crystals of the inner layer are usually clear and col- orless, but many times they will be tinged a more or less deep yellow by oxide of iron, and a few crystals have been found lying detached in the cavity of the geode, so bright a yellow as to cause them to resemble the topaz very closely, and some have been cut and sold as topazes. Not infrequently the crystals have a slight bluish tinge which, instead of the brilliaht white lustre, gives them a soft and liquid hue, as if just ready to melt into purest water. Crystals of smoky quartz are occasionally found, and I once had the good fortune to break a rather clumsy speci- men about three inches by four inches in size, the inner coating of which was rose quartz. Instead of a simple layer of erystals, either plain or variously convoluted, specimens are not uncommon ‘in which the crystals, many of them doubly terminated, are piled upon each other in all directions, and sometimes these clusters are A. w aa ete NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. 703 loose in the cavity, or the latter may be filled with single crystals, often so small as to appear like fine sand. The crystals are not always clear, but may be covered with a layer of chalcedony sometimes so thin as not to modify the form of the terminations, sometimes thick enough to make a papillose surface. This coating may be either light blue, flesh color, yellowish white, or a bluish opal-white, all of them appearing semi-transparent or of an opaque, chalk white. Many of this last color have the crystalline termin- ations so modified as to appear cubical.’ In a few very beautiful specimens that I have seen, a clear white chalcedonic surface was sprinkled all over with small, perfectly colorless crystals, looking like fine dew drops on a white flower. This coating becomes thicker and thicker, until all trace of the crystals is lost, and then we have a layer of chalcedony with a perfectly smooth botryoidal or mamillary surface, outside of which is a layer of crystalline quartz, then, usually, a granulated layer and then the outer chal- cedony layer. The inner layer is sometimes very thick, being twice the thickness of all the rest. The color of the chalcedony is most often a reddish purple, but not very seldom we find a greenish yellow or bluish white and rarely a chalk white. In rare cases there are two layers of differ- ent color, such as pure white over dark brownish purple. In a few cases the surface of the chalcedony is sprinkled with crystals of pyrites or other substances, but yet the geodes afford a marked contrast in this respect to those lined with crystalline quartz, for while the former are remarkably free from what might be termed foreign substances and never, so far as I have seen, is any consid- erable part of the cavity filled with them, in the latter variety we find, resting upon the quartz, all the different minerals found in the geodes, and often two or three together nearly filling the cavity. Besides the isolated crystals of calcite and dolomite found resting on the quartz crystals, we have some in which the lining is made up entirely of one or the other of these substances. Like all the rest these are siliceous on the outside. In the calcite geodes the crystals are usually small and of rhombohedral form, which is often obscured by their crowding together or piling upon each other. In color they differ, some being colorless and trans- parent, many white, or yellowish, or flesh color, and some few dark purple or chestnut brown, and in one case a layer of dark ` brown crystals was ornamented with here and there a cluster of pure white ones. Two or more forms of erystallization may occur 704 NOTES ON THE GEODES OF ILLINOIS. one upon the other in the same specimen, as, for example, a scal- enohedral crystal resting upon differently modified rhombobe- . drons. Sometimes the cavity of the geode is filled with a mass of white or, rarely, flesh colored calcite. Isolated crystals, or groups of crystals of pearl spar or dolomite, are of quite common occurrence both in the quartz and calcite geodes, but a complete layer of this mineral is less common. The crystals are generally quite large as compared with the size of the geode. According to Prof. Brush (Ill. Geol. Rep., Vol. 1, p. 91), this dolomite contains ‘‘a large per cent. of carbonate of iron with the carbonates of lime and magnesia.” Although the usual color of the dolomite is either a light yellowish brown or silvery gray of different shades, it is often stained a rusty brown by oxide of iron. The collector will once in a while meet with a geode, probably of quite small size, filled with a fine white powder. Prof. Brush states this to be a ‘‘ hydrous silicate of alumina.” The only metals thus far found in the geodes are iron and zinc. The iron occurs in the form of oxide, in small crystals and in powder öne geode about one and a half inches in diameter lined with small quartz crystals was filled with the powdered oxide. Besides this, long, slender, hair-like crystals of pyrites occur as well as those of cubical form. These are scattered over chalcedony, quartz crys- tals and calcite, and are also imbedded in the calcite. Zinc blende is quite common occurring either in crystals, some of them quite highly polished, or in a mass in the centre of solid geodes when it is associated with calcite. In the northern part of Hancock county a few geodes, all that I have seen being lined with quartz crystals, contain asphaltum. Prof. Brush describes one of these as “apparently more than half filled with asphaltum, breaking with a clear conchoidal fracture, having a high lustre and jet black color and containing imbedded in it detached crystals of quartz” (Ill. Geol. Rep., Vol. 1, p. 92)- This was four by three inches in size. Instead of asphaltum some are filled with petroleum. Besides those minerals enu- merated, Prof. Brush reports finding in a very few cases minute crystals of gypsum and in one of arragonite. Water is found in some of the geodes which is bitterish to the taste, and contains, according to Prof. Brush, a small per cent. of the sulphates of lime and magnesia and a slight trace of silica. As the crust of the geodes is wholly impervious to water, this must have been in, closed when the crust was formed. As Mr. Worthen remarks Feet S kT eee eee REVIEWS. 705 it is worthy of notice that, while the geodes are always surrounded by material rich in alumina, no crystallized forms of this mineral have yet been discovered in them. Geodes of fine quality oc- cur in Missouri, and Prof. White reports calcareous geodes, some of them entirely free from silica, in a soft magnesian lime-stone, in North Eastern Iowa. Any one who for the first time sees a fine geode and notes its regular form, its uncouth exterior and brilliant interior is sure to ask “ How was it made?” The more specimens he sees the more is his curiosity excited, and if he visits the locality and sees them in situ his wonder and interest increase to the highest pitch. There are very many difficulties to be overcome in trying to ac- count for the presence of the geodes and their formation, and it may be only presumption to attempt that which so many skilful mineralogists have passed in silence. However, a careful study of the geodes, both in cabinets and in their native bed, has convinced me that they must have been formed in some such manner as that here presented. What now constitutes the geode bed, was at one time a mass of plastic clay filled with siliceous and calcareous fluids. That it was plastic is shown by facts obvious to any one who has ever visited the locality. If now this mass were acted upon by steam or some other vapor, or gas, as dough is acted upon by carbonic acid, it would like the dough be filled with cavities of all sizes of a more or less spherical form, and irregularly distributed through the mass. Into these cavities the solutions of silica etc. would filter and in some cases crystallize, in others simply deposit the solids held in solution, according to circumstances. The form, arrangement, etc., of the various sub- stances would be determined, I suppose, by their densities and the laws of crystallization. After all the materials had hardened, the soft brittle clay would easily separate from the harder filling of the cavities and this would then fall out shaped by the mould in which - formed. REVIEWS. THe PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ÅRCHÆOLOGY AND ETHNOL- - oay.*——The fourth annual Report contains much that is of gen- Af; af American Archæ- * Fourth Annual Report of tt t f the P ology and Ethnology. Boston, 1871. 8yo. p. 27. 706 REVIEWS. eral interest. Professor Wyman, the curator, gives some exceed- ingly valuable ‘Observations on Crania and the parts of the Skeleton,” with comparative measurements of the fifty-six skulls from Peru, presented by Mr. Squier, together with thirty-eight from the mounds of Kentucky, obtained by Mr. Lyon, and eighteen from the mounds of Florida collected by the curator. He remarks that :— “The average capacity of the fifty-six Peruvian crania meas- ured agrees very closely with that indicated by Morton and Meigs, viz., 1230 c.c., or 75 cub. inches, which is considerably less than that of the barbarous tribes of America, and almost exactly that of the Australians and Hottentots as given by Morton and Meigs, and smaller than that derived from a larger number of measure- ments by Davis. Thus we have, in this particular, a race which ° has established a complex civil and religious polity, and made great progress in the useful and fine arts, as its pottery, textile fabrics, wrought metals, highways and aqueducts, colossal. architectural structures and court of almost imperial splendor prove, on the ame level as regards the quantity of brain, with a race whose social and religious conditions are among the most degraded exhi ited by the human race. this goes to show and cannot be too much insisted upon, ‘that the relative capacity of the skull is to be considered merely as an anatomical and not as a physiological characteristic, and unless the quality of the brain can be represented at the same as the ntity, brain measurement cannot be assumed as an indication of the intellectual position of races any more than of individuals. From such results the question is very naturally forced upon us whether comparisons, based upon cranial measure- ments of capacity as generally made, are entitled to the value usually assigned them. Confined within narrower limits they may perhaps be of more importance. But even in this case the results are often contradictory. If the brains of Cuvier and Schiller were of the maximum size, so were those of three unknown indi- viduals from the common cemeteries of Paris— while that of Dante was but slightly above the mean, and Byron’s was probably even below it.” He also refers to the singular perforations of “the humerus, which seems to occur in white, Indian and black races, but more commonly in the blacks; it is also quite general though not con- stant in the apes. The flattening of the tibia has been noticed in the reindeer period in Europe, and Professor Wyman finds that it prevails largely, but in a variable degree in our Indians. In regard to the REVIEWS. 707 bearings of these facts on the relations of man to the apes we quote as follows : — “ From a comparison of the skeleton of the human races, as far as made, it is quite clear that in several respects some of them have peculiarities which seem to assimulate them to the apes. These peculiarities are not, however, confined to a single race, but resemblances, and a wider distribution of them, than is n known. The increased length of the forearm, as compared with the humerus, is almost equally shared by the blacks and the re- cent Indians. The Indians, from the mounds of various parts of the country, as well as the inhabitants of the ancient cave dwell- ings of Europe, have the flattened tibia. The Indians, ancient as well as modern, in common with the Hawaiian Islanders, have the most backward position of the foramen magnum, while the Negro, on the other hand, with his lengthened forearm, has this foramen almost as central as in the white man. The small brain is not, as might at first well be supposed to be the case, found in the most degraded races alone, but in these, in common with a race which had, as already stated, risen to a semi-civilization ; nor is it con- stantly associated with the lengthened forearm, since in the Aus- tralians this is even shorter than in the white man. From these results it seems obvious that we cannot give to the alleged resem- blances between the human races and the apes their full meaning, until we have much wider comparisons than have as yet been made.” Tue Position or THE Cappis Frres.* —This paper, containing detailed descriptions with excellent illustrations, may be regarded, as the author remarks, as the continuation of several memoirs on exotic Trichoptera published in the « Transactions” of the Ento- mological Society of London. Quite a number of the species are from California, one is from the White Mountains, another from Newfoundland, another from New York, while the remainder are from other parts of the world. The descriptions of genera and species are elaborated with the author's usual care and thorough- ness, and great attention is paid to the illustration of details of structure, which gives the paper a lasting value. We are also indebted to the author for his views on the system- atic position of the Trichoptera, and for a very courteous criti- *On new Forms, etc., of Extra-European Trichopterous Insects. By Robert McLach- lan. Extracted from the Linnzan Society’s Journal.—Zoology. Vol. xi. London, 1871. 8vo. pp. 43, with3 plates. AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V- 45 708 REVIEWS. cism of the positions taken by the reviewer as to the classification of the Neuroptera. We will first quote the opinions of this able and experienced observer, and show wherein and why we differ from his conclusions :— “ But it is necessary, first of all, just to glance at the position generally accorded to the Neuroptera. It has long been seen that the order as defined by Linné, is composed of most incongruous ma- pseudo-Neuroptera, a veritable refuge for the destitute. i added, from time to time, Maillophaga, Thysanura, Thysanoptera, and even the Strepsiptera, for no other reason, 80 far as I can see, than that they would not fit in satisfactorily else- where; and the characters of the order being so elastic, it was easy to find some peculiarities which gave these outlying families admission therein. That the Linnzean families grouped now with Orthoptera have more affinity thereto than to the Newroptera as usu- ally constituted, is evident ; yet I see no reason whatever why the onata should not form an order apart, possessing as they do, characters absolutely swi generis. The admission of them into Orthoptera renders an already heterogeneous order an absolute chaos. For my part, I have been content to consider the Neu- roptera as an order, in the Linnzan sense, divisible into. three great divisions, pseudo-Neuropteru, Planipenna, Trichoptera, — but this only as matter of convenience ; for I am convinced that contained therein are constituents of several orders, each of equal value with such as Lepidoptera, and Coleoptera, and that the day will arrive when, from an increase of knowledge in embryology and anatomy, the order Neuroptera, as constituted by Linné, will a dismemberment that would have occurred do certain groups more elevated, others more “ degraded” than the rest. Acting upon this, he places the Hymenoptera as structu- rally and psychically, if I may use the term, superior to all other insects. Then follow Lepidoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and last of all, the Neuroptera, in the Linnean sense (but including Thysanura), an order which, according to him, ‘ mimics every suborder of insects,” being ‘‘ comprehensive OF synthetic types, combining the structure of all the other subor- ders”. I would here particularly call attention to the relative po- sitions occupied by Lepidoptera and Trichoptera, the latter form- - ing nearly the last division of Neuroptera. I emphatically enter a Ks : : . REVIEWS. 709 my protest against such a wide separation of the two groups, con- sidering, as I do, that, whatever may be the condition of the Tri- choptera with regard to others of the Linnean groups of igs ical their relationship to the Lepidoptera is close, and that an attempt to thus widely separate them is an outrage on both. In metamor- phosis the resemblance is nearly hpna the fact of the pupal limbs not being enclosed within a common integument’ not avail- taken into consideration : the poanian if mandibles by the Tri- chopterous nymph is not of much importance, insomuch as these organs bear no relationship to the aborted “ination of the imago ; they simply replace the acid or mechanical means by which a Lep- idopterous imago frees itself from its cocoon. The imago in Lep- idoptera is almost constantly furnished with scales on “the wings and body, scales of a peculiar nature, the analogues of which are seen only in Lepisma; but many Trichopterous insects have, in the male, a modification of these scales in the form of short in- flated hairs, generally intermingled with ordinary hairs; and in some genera this tendency towards a scaly clothing is as sca as is its absence in some Lepidoptera. The neural arrangem is not at all incompatible with a close relationship; nor are the parts of the mouth, excepting the absence of a developed haustel- um; yet many of the larger Trichoptera frequent flowers Vr the purpose of extracting the nectar ; an though I am unable to say by what means this is effected, it seems probable that it is ‘aon by prolongation, at will, of the upper portion of the esophagus into a sort of false haustellum. Perhaps the strongest are of demarcation is the presence, in bae Lepidopterous imagos, spine-like process near the base of the costa of the hind ace wanting in all Trichoptera. That this process is a modification First: we fully agree with the author that the admission of the Odonata (Libellulide) into the Orthoptera ‘‘renders an already heterogeneous order an absolute chaos.” But on the other hand, we think the burden of proof that the “Odonata” are not true Neuroptera rests on those who regard the group as an independent order. Where respectable authorities (taking it for granted that their characters are neither Neuropterous nor Orthopterous, which “we do not admit), regard them as a division of Neuroptera, no one having, as far as we know, considered them as Orthoptera before Erichson’s time; and others equally respectable regard them as 710 REVIEWS. Orthopterous, or Pseudoneuropterous, we would abide by embryo- logical data to decide the question. The embryology of the Libel- lulide is perhaps as thoroughly known as that of any other group of insects. During the past summer the writer has observed with considerable care the embryology of Chrysopa, a type of the “true” Neuroptera, in the restricted sense. In the earliest and later stages the development of this genus is almost identical with that of the dragon flies, as regards the structure and relations of the ‘“‘ammion” and ‘visceral membrane,” the relations of the primitive band, the early form of the embryo, and its position just previous to exclusion from the egg (see this journal, p. 564). The differences are merely such as we would expect to find be- tween two families of the same order. Thus embryology gives us the most unexpected and independent testimony as to the close alliance at least of the Libellulidze and Hemerobide. Should our conclusions stand the test of the observations and criticisms of abler naturalists, then have we not demonstrated the close re- lationship of these two divisions of (what we regard as) Neurop- tera? We conceive the greatest gap in the Neuroptera (in the Linnzan sense) to be between these two families. The Libelluli- dæ, through the Ephemeride, their nearest allies, pass into the Perlidz and Psocide ; on the other hand, the Hemerobide are con- nected by many characters with the Panorpide, and to the latter, as we believe, the Phryganeidæ (Trichoptera) are more nearly related than any other group of insects, whether we take into con- sideration the structure of the adults, or the form of the larva and pupa, and their metamorphoses. The gap between the Libel- lulidze and Hemerobide is indeed a wide one, but have we not seen that the foundations of the bridge have been laid in the em- bryonic stages, and may we not feel authorized in view of recent discoveries of paleozoic net-veined insects, in believing that the superstructure, the arches and timbers of the bridge, has been swept away by the storms and floods of past geologic ages! ? Evi- dence is accumulating and growing stronger each year, if we in- terpret the facts aright, that the gaps between what we consider the families of the Neuroptera are due to the extinction of genera and species in paleozoic and mesozoie times. So that instead of a “dismemberment” of the Neuroptera, we shall really have å more thoroughly compacted and natural group than as yet recog- nized by systematists. REVIEWS. j 711 Secondly, as to the relationship of the Trichoptera to the Lep- idoptera. It seems to us. that we each look upon this matter from a different standpoint. We would claim that the characters which Mr. McLachlan relies upon as allying the caddis flies to the moths are adaptive and of secondary importance. Let us leave them out of sight for the moment, and look at what the reviewer deems the more essential ones. Strip our examples of moths and caddis flies of their wings and legs up to the coxæ, removing the antennæ and palpi, and place the naked trunks side by side. We shall find a wonderful uniformity of structure in the head and body of the Lepidoptera, to which we have previously called attention. * We shall observe that the three portions of the lepidopterous head, the occiput, epicranium, and clypeus, always preserve much the same relation to each other. The front of the head is formed by the epicranium and clypeus, the latter usually being the larger of the two parts, though in the Tineids the two pieces are of nearly the same size. Looking at the thorax, another essential character of the Lepidoptera is the very short metathorax, and the absence of the præscutum. In one moth, the degraded Hepia- lus, the metathorax is much longer than in any other moth known to us, and the præscutum is well developed, resembling the “trae? Neuroptera in this respect. The head of the Phryganeidæ, though varying greatly in the different genera, differs invariably from that of the moths in the front of the head consisting of the clypeus alone enclosed in the broad orbits, while the broad vertex consists of the epicranium, which is-as large as the entire front of the head ; the head is wider and the eyes much smaller than in the moths ; and another important character is the broad, deeply excavated front edge of the clypeus, this part in the moths being invariably narrower and much rounded. { The metathorax of the caddis flies is always much longer than in the moths, often twice as long, and the prescutum is nearly always well developed. These characters of the head and thorax * Notes on the family Zygænidæ. Proc. Essex Institute. IV. 1864. p- 14. oe or further remarks and figures in illustration see our remarks On Synthetic Boston Society of Natural History. viii. 1863. Hallesus sp, Limnophilus des- pectus, Philopotamus sp., and Setodes exquisita. mi an ps me ve we ass tions of the body in these and other genera we eral ingoio whe er - a ave not overlooked the source of most most in use, such as the ti d sy cies. phara 1 varying in different sexes of the same spe- i149 . REVIEWS. noticed in the caddis flies are just those characterizing the Neu- roptera. If we place our trunk of a caddis fly by the side of that of any one of the Hemerobide we shall find a much greater simi- larity to this family than the moths. So far as we are aware neuropterists have never paid sufficient attention to the parts of the trunk to which we have referred, just as lepidopterists have uniformly overlooked the characters noticed above, and which are of the first importance in establishing families. * As to the less essential characters, called secondary or adaptive by naturalists, we have gone as far as any onet in noticing their re- markable analogy to those of the Lepidoptera. But we should not feel authorized on this account to remove the caddis flies from the Neuroptera, and place them in an independent group next to the Lepidoptera. On the same principle we might remove the Psocide and place them in an independent order next the Aphide ; or re- move the tailed Batrachians and place them among the lizards. Turning to the larve, we find that their most essential characters ally them to the aquatic Hemerobide and Sialidæ, the larve of some genera closely resembling in their essential characters that of Corydalus; in the pupa, the limbs are as free as in those of the two neuropterous families Hemerobide and Sialide. While in the majority of lepidopterous pup the limbs are soldered to the body, yet where they are partially free, as in some Tineide, the form of the lepidopterous pupa is throughout adhered to more strictly than would be inferred from Mr. McLachlan’s statement. Our author says that the mandibles of the pupa ‘bear no rela- tionship to the aborted mandibles of the imago.” May we ask with what organs he homologizes the mandibles of the Phryganeid pupa, if not with those of the larva and adult? Taking up the points of resemblance to the Lepidoptera, brought forward by our author, we would agree with him that they are for the most part very remarkable and suggestive, but would suggest that they are not of much value when used as ordinal characters. He does not seem to notice the fact that insects of other groups than the Lepidoptera and Trichoptera have scales on their bodies. We would go farther than him and say that the scales of Lepisma. and we would add of all the Thysanura (except in a few scaleless genera) are truly homologous, rather than “ analogous” with those ee ae Be. ie so ry, de 2? y Zygenide, + Synthetic Types, ete. REVIEWS. 713 of the Lepidoptera. Certain Diptera, such as the Culicids, have scales mingled with the hairs on their bodies, as many years ago shown by Mr. Jabez Hogg, and more recently by Miiller; the spe- cies of Amphientomum of the family Psocidæ, as he is undoubt- edly well aware, have scaly bodies ; so that this character is by no means peculiar to the two groups mentioned by our author. Did the Trichoptera possess the hook and bristle in the wings of the Lepidoptera (a most inconstant character even in the moths) why should such a trivial character be considered as of any importance in ranking ordinal (or subordinal) groups? Our own view, judging not only from the structure of the adults, but also of the larve and pup, is that the Lepidoptera rank next above the Diptera, the Tineids and Pterophoride having many points of agreement with the Culicide and Tipulide, which seem to us to be as deeply seated as the resemblance to the Phrygane- ide. In an evolutional point of view we have been accustomed to regard the moths as having perhaps sprung from these dipterous families. Hence we have been unable to agree with the opinion of E. Müller (see this journal, vol. v, p. 288) that the Lepidoptera have sprung from the Phryganeids, though we can easily see that many will be convinced by his statements. But he has, we venture to think, erred in the same way as our author, in overlooking the fundamental characters of the Phryganeide, and regarding the adaptive, superficial characters, drawn mostly from the appen- dages, as of primary value. SUPPLEMENT TÒ THE CATALOGUE OF OPHIURIDÆ OF THE CAM- BRIDGE Museum.*— This paper is particularly interesting from the excellent figures illustrating the most important species dredged at great depths between Cuba and the Florida Reef. The note on no- menclature and classification deserves mention in connection with the article on this subject by Mr. Alex. Agassiz, published on p. 354 of the present volume of this journal. As to the matter of changing the authority with each change in the combination of the name of a genus and species, Gen. Lyman opposes the view of Dr. Liitken, the distinguished zoologist, of Copenhagen in the following terse language :— ` “ For instance, we have, in 1854, Ophiura nodosa Ltk. I after- A Onti * Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, H g No vi. Supplement to the Ophiuridæ and Astrophytidæ. By Theodore Lyman. Cam- ridge, 1871. Royal 8vo. pp. 18. With 2 plates. 714 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. wards attempted to show that Ophiura was preoccupied, and made a name, Ophioglypha, to take its place; and owe questign now is, shall it be written Ophioglypha nodosa Ltk. or Ophio- glypha nodosa Lym? Dr. Lütken has no cause for aeon nea There are two parties to this question. That to which he belongs when an author’s name is lost sight of. The party whose views I hold maintains that nomenclature is a system of exact registration, and that, with the present enormous mass and confusion of titles, other guide is possible; and further, that the credit of a zoologist does not rest on his monogram, but on something better. Bias e To sum up, Astrophyton costosum Seba, and Ophioglypha nodosa Lyman, mean ne what they should mean, and nothing more ; to wit, that in the writings of these two persons will be We may add that the following rule regarding this subject was adopted (1868) by the Council of the Peabody Academy :—“ Vo- ted: that in labelling the collections the name of the person who first united the generic and specific appellations shall be given as the authority for the name, and that when the name of the original describer of the species is given it shall be in parenthesis.” NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. BOTANY. THE Parastie Fuxcı Founp 1N tHe Human Ear have recently been studied by Dr. Karsten. He confirms the statement made by Hallier and other previous observers, that when the spores of these fungi are sown elsewhere they assume very different forms, according as the matrix on which they are sown is rich or poor in material for nutrition; and that fungi described by early writers as distinct species, or even as belonging to different genera, are frequently merely different forms of the same plant. PE ae RERNE ey E > eee ee ee NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 715 Virauity of Camprum Layer or Bark. — Permit me to call attention to a curious fact, relating to the ‘* cambium layer.” While spending vacation in Andover, Mass., in July and August of this year, I observed an apple tree upon the premises of Geo. Ripley, Esq., from which the bark had been entirely removed in May, 1870, for the whole distance between the ground and the branches. The tree is about one foot in diameter, and its branches are some seven feet from the ground. Though this tree had been so thoroughly girdled, a new and healthy bark had formed upon its trunk, and the tree appeared vigorous and had a good crop of fruit upon its branches. Upon inquiry, I found that this girdling operation had been performed from no malicious purpose, but for the sake of improving the health and fruitfulness of the tree! I sought the acquaintance of the botanical magician who had proved himself so skilful in producing good from evil, and found him to be an old man of 86 years— Mr. Joseph Davis. He showed me several trees in an adjoining orchard, upon which the same opera- tion had been performed some six weeks previous, each tree mani- festing all the signs of healthful vigor and having a new, but very thin bark already formed upon its trunk. Mr. Davis insisted that the removal of the bark should be made about the first of June, when the new wood is most rapidly formed, and that the hand of the operator and every other object should be kept from contact with the stripped trunk for several days. He also stated that a heavy rain storm would kill the tree if occurring within a day or two of the loss of its bark, and pointed out a dead line upon one of the trees, running from the top to the bottom of the trunk, caused by the trickling down of rain produced by a light shower which fell within twenty-four hours of the girdling. I had never before seen so clear an illustration of the wonderful Vitality of the “ cambium layer,” a portion of which (called “mucilage ” by Mr. Davis) must have remained upon the trunks of these trees, and being protected from disturbance performed all the functions of the entire bark, besides speedily restoring the lost portions. — Frank H. Snow, Lawrence, Kansas. INFLUENCE OF THE PERIOD OF FECUNDATION ON THE SEX OF Pranrs.— The author of the “ Vestiges of Creation” advanced the theory that ‘all beings are at one stage of the embryotic prog- ress female, a certain number of them are afterwards advanced 716 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. to be of the more powerful sex ;” and Thury of Geneva believed — that the moment of fertilization relative to the maturity of the ovule, exercises a decisive influence on the sexuality of the prod- uct, the ovules fertilized earliest producing females, and those fecundated at a later period producing males. Professor Hoffmann of Giessen has recently attempted to test the truth of this theory in the case of dicecious plants, the species on which the experi- ments were made being Spinacia oleracea, Mercurialis annua, Iy- chius vespertina, and Rumex acetosella. In each case the female plants were separated into two portions, one being fertilized arti- ficially as early as the stigmas were developed, the other after they had been mature for a considerable period. The result of his ex- periments was, on the whole, decidedly opposed to Thury’s theory ; nevertheless he found that the period of fecundation had an Ur mistakable influence on the plant; and also that a remarkable dif- ference exists between the results of artificial and of natural im- pregnation which he was quite unable to account for.—A. W. B. Diaroms 1x THe Hor Sprincs or Nevapa.— Dr. Blake exhib- ited, before the California Academy of Sciences, under a powerful . microscope, specimens of Diatoms from a hot spring in Nevada, the temperature of which was one hundred and sixty degrees. Dr. Blake said they were more numerous there than in any other local- ity, six or eight hundred occurring in a bit of mud the size of i a pin’s head. Most of them were identical with the fossil spece® — described by Ehrenberg, from near Salt Lake, but many were D&W He mentioned particularly the red alge, living in the spring ani found in salt beds in many parts of the world. He found about fifty-two species, of which thirty are the same as Ehrenberg’s, WHO : mentions about sixty-eight. | ZOOLOGY. Fossi Mesozoic Mamas.” —The interest which in the ye 1854 centred around the important discoveries of Mr. ees T a small and apparently insignificant seam in a scarcely noticeable stratum of the upper Oolitic series has during the past few MOP” risen to satisfaction at our k fact that the epee nowledge of the m S ERED fer r erene emea sa a E AAEE E eae ae a * “ Monograph of the Fo olo ] i > ssil Mammalia of the Mesozoic Formatio 3 Owen, F. R. S, D.C. L. (Printed for the Palæontographical Society. erate y By professot NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 717 mens derived from the Purbeck beds have been at last fully and entirely described by Professor Owen. Sir Charles Lyell elo- quently and suggestively pointed out, with reference to the im- portance of the Purbeck discoveries, “when the geologist inquires if any land animals of a higher grade than reptiles lived through any one of these three periods, the rocks are all silent, save one thin layer a few inches in thickness. This single page of the earth’s history has suddenly revealed to us in a few weeks the memorials of so many species of fossil mammalia that they al- ready outnumber those of many a subdivision of the tertiary se- ries and far surpass those of all the other secondary rocks put to- gether !” In this locality Mr. Beckles worked for many years at his own expense ; and the result was the discovery of an extensive series of fossils, which were placed in the hands of Professor Owen for description. Some of these in the meanwhile were described by other paleontologists; and a controversy was carried on, both in the “Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society” and in some ephemeral publications, as to the nature and value of the principal genus of mammalia that was discovered in the Purbeck “ dirt bed.” This species, Plagiaulax, contained in itself one of those text- examples on which the truth and verity of all our physiological deductions may rest. And it is rather with a view of offering our readers some notion of the intellectual canons on which a scien- tific man may determine the affinities of a species than of describ- ing the form itself, that we briefly call attention to what, perhaps, is one of the most interesting genera which modern science has unveiled to us. The jaw of a very minute animal presented, as was thought by Dr. Falconer, its original describer, some points of analogy with the characters exhibited by the jaw of the kangaroo-rat ( Hypsi- prymnus), and much controversy was expended at the time of its discovery and shortly afterwards, as to tke precise value of those features which led one eminent scientific man (alas! since de- ceased) to affirm from the form of the jaw and shape of one of the teeth that it was an herbivorous animal ; while Professor Owen, on the other hand, declared it to be a carnivorous marsupial. That two such eminent men could in this way differ on the most simple, the most elementary, and the most obvious fact in the science, naturally leads students to suspect either that the infallible can- 718 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. ons of the science of paleontology must be wrong, or that errors both of fact and of definition must have been committed by one or other of the intellectual combatants. Ds ee Qq a is ait, Æmilius ; utii creditis, quirites ? t=] Though the species of animal, therefore, is of trifling dimensions, ` and though the technical argument is too complex to be entered - into on the present occasion, we must examine how far the canons of the science have been obeyed. Cuvier has said, “ La premiére chose à faire dans l'étude d’un animal fossile, est de reconnaitre la forme de ses dents molaires; on détermine par 1A g'il est car- nivore ou herbivore.” The few and small molars of Plagiaulas, however, bore no relation whatever to the like molars in any other herbivorous animal; while many other characters— e. g. the cut- ting and salient angle of the molar and premolar teeth ; the broad, high, and nearly vertical coronoid process ; and the very low po- sition of the articular condyle — amply demonstrate to the satis- faction of Professor Owen and his disciples the absolute reverse of Dr. Falconer’s theory. Plausible as the latter was, resting en- tirely on the apparent resemblance of one solitary tooth (and that one not even a molar) with the premolar tooth of the kan- garoo-rat, the words of Owen are amply confirmed, ‘that the prominent appearances which first catch the eye and indicate a conformable conclusion are deceptive ; and that the less obtrusive phenomena which require searching out, more frequently when their full significance is reasoned up to, guide to the right com- prehension of the whole. It is as if truth were whispered rather than outspoken by Nature.” The lesson, therefore which students ought to learn is that the true affinities of an animal do not lie on the surface of the speci- men; that one solitary premolar tooth is inadequate on which to found a theory of the ‘ saltatory ” nature of the animal to which it belonged ; and that the theory of Dr. Falconer, adroitly though it has been supported by many apparent or accidental coinciden- ces has not stood its ground before the more elaborate, more pro- found, and at the same time more simple interpretation of the affinities of Plagiaulax originally suggested by Professor Owen. After the lapse of some years (in fact since 1847) the oldest known mammal is still the Microlestes of the Triassic beds © Wurtemberg. This perhaps bears some slight resemblance to NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 719 Plagiaulax, although the allegation of affinity between Plagiaulax and Microlestes rested upon one of those “ hasty blunders” which detract from the safe and accurate progress of any science. Profes- sor Owen we believe on one occasion (‘‘ Palzeontology,” 1st edit., p. 302 ; 2nd edit., p. 339) pointed out that some of the teeth of Plag- iaulax bore resemblance to some teeth in Microlestes, in a sentence which was plainly and lucidly expressed. The incapacity as it seems, to apprehend the meaning of an ordinary sentence leads us also to doubt the capacity of judging of the nature or degree of the demonstration of the affinity of Plagiaulax to Hypsiprym- nus which a superficial observer may believe himself to find in the more exact writings of Falconer or Flower. Relegating, therefore, the unhappy little jaw of Plagiaulax far away from the sect of the “Jumpers” (Saltantia) to its proper posi- tion in the scale of insect or flesh feeding marsupials, associated with its congener, the large marsupial tiger of Australia ( Thylacoleo carnifex), the affinities of which as a bona fide carnivore Professor Owen also amply proves, we have to glance at the number of new forms of animal life described by Professor Owen in the present memoir. Eight new genera of mammalia and seventeen new spe- cies are described in detail, all of which afford marked points of distinction from anything of which the palontological student in his wildest day dreams could have ever realized. Nearly all of © these forms are unquestionably marsupial and allied to the pigmy “ opossums ” of Australia, differing not only from each other, but from anything previously. known to science. We can only won- der at the enormous amount of variety of ‘differentiation ” which appeared at so remote a period of the earth’s history, and the mode in which the places which nowadays in the Dorsetshire fields are filled by moles, hedgehogs, and shrewmice, were, at the time of the deposition of what is now called the ‘‘ Purbeck bed ” occupied by animals which, while they closely resembled in many of their characters the existing opossums, yet differed from them in retaining the more “ generalized” type, from which it is not merely rational but probable to believe that our forms of marsu- pial animals existing at the present day have sprung.— Pall Mall Budget. Former EASTWARD RANGE OF THE Burraro. — The occurrence of the buffalo in Virginia up to the close of the last century, can 720 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. ‘be substantiated beyond question. Surgeon J. Simpson, U. S. A., who was well acquainted with Nathan Boone (son of Daniel Boone the pioneer, and then a captain in the service*), informs me that he had the fact, in 1843, from Nathan Boone himself, who killed Buffalo in Virginia in 1793-97-98. Dr. Simpson has handed me a letter addressed to him by Dr. Charles McCormick, Surgeon U. S. A., dated Fort Gibson, Chero- kee Nation, August 18th, 1844, in which the particulars are given. The occasion for that part of the letter which relates to the buffalo arose in this way :— An officer to whom Dr. Simpson mentioned Capt. Boone’s statements being inclined to doubt them, Dr. Simp- son wrote to Dr. McCormick, desiring the latter to ask Capt. Boone, who was then at Fort Gibson, to put the facts in writing. This, it seems, Capt. Boone promised to do, but neglected to keep his promise, owing, probably, to the singular indisposition of men of his class to put anything on paper. The following extract, however, from the letter in question, is sufficient : — “I have just seen Capt. Boone,” writes Dr. McCormick, ‘‘ and he promises to write and tell you all about it. In the meantime, he says he killed al first buffalo, somewhere about 1793, on the’ Kenawha in Virginia. He was then quite a small boy. He has also killed butilo. on New River and near the Big Sandy in Vir- ginia in ’97 and ’9 I have thought best to be thus circumstantial in detail of per- sons, places and dates, in order to fix precisely an important item in the natural history of our country. But this occurrence of the buffalo in Virginia is only of a part with its general former range, as attested by accounts of other observers. — ELLIOTT Coves, Fort McHenry, Md. Lasp Suetis or Western Massacnuserrs.—In Vol. I, of the NatvRAList, was published a paper on the ‘Land-Snails of New England.” During the following summer I was myself engaged in making a small collection of the land-snails found at West Stockbridge, Berkshire Co., Mass., and to my surprise, many of my results were directly at variance with those given by Mr. Morse in the above-mentioned article. The reason for this difference was Se anne TO En ee of Rangers, 23 March, 1812; out of service to June 16, 1832; then made aptain of Mounted Rangers; Lieutenant Colonel, 2d U. S. Dragoons, July 25, 1850, and until death at Springfield Illinois, July 15, 1853. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 721 apparent when I considered my locality. Berkshire Co. occupies the extreme western end of Massachusetts, and therefore its fauna closely resembles that of New York; and further, it is eminently a limestone country, and for this reason, the land-snails exist in wonderful abundance. Frequently in a morning’s walk I have met with twenty or thirty of the larger species and quite a number of the smaller ones. Helix fuliginosus Binney and H. inornata Say were found in great abundance and in nearly equal num- bers. In some localities, near the marble quarries, I found H. alternata Say in wonderful profusion, but in general it was an uncommon shell. H. tridentata Say, of which Mr. Morse says, it “occurs only rarely in the western part of Mass.,” was very common in my immediate vicinity. Next to albolabris, inornata and fuliginosis, it was the most common shell found. H. monodon was rather rare; hirsuta was still more so, as between myself and a friend collecting with me, we only obtained three or four speci- mens. Of H. palliata, recorded as being found at ‘*Copperas Hill, Vt.,” I found one perfect specimen; of H. Sayii, I found five or six perfect specimens and several bleached ones. Of the smaller shells, none could be considered common except H. labyrinthica, and Zua lubricoides. The former I found most common on moss- edvered rocks, comfortably packed away in the moist earth and roots, between the moss and the rock. The latter were always found at the base of rocks, among the moist leaves and in the earth itself. Judging from the collections made by myself and friend, I should say that the relative abundance of snail shells in that locality is expressed in the following numbers: H. fuligi- nosis, ten; inornata, ten; tridentata, five ; albolabris, four ; alter- nata, three; monodon, three ; labyrinthica, two; Zua lubricoides, two; H. Sayii, one; all others only occasional. This excludes the locality where alternata was so plenty ; if that be counted, it would place that species at two or three times all the others com- bined. I have given these notes because they show how much local variation may exist in the distribution of the land shells, and how much the extreme western part of Mass. resembles the ` Middle or Western States, so far as its snail-life is concerned. — W. G. Freepiey, Philadelphia. CoxcHoLoGIcaL Nores — Mr Stearns called the attention of the California Academy of Sciences to the indefiniteness and errors in the catalogues of various families of the Mollusca, which are being 722 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. published by the Conchological Section of the Academy of Sciences of Philadelphia; these faults occur in the habitat of many of the species, while no new light has been thrown upon their geograph- ical distribution. In some instances; certain West American spe- cies which he named, had a range of a thousand miles further north than credited in the catalogues, and in some cases species had been credited to this coast that were exotic and whose true station was thousands of miles away. Such errors by an American author in connection with American species, were to say the least discred- itable ; the errors of Reeve, Sowerby and Kiener were repeated, while the labors of our own authors were practically ignored, and their more accurate work though equally accessible, was over- looked. He presented a paper upon the subject for publication. Mr. Stearns also gave a description of the animal of Trivia Cal- ifornica, with blackboard illustrations of the same, and of the corals upon which it feeds; worn beach specimens of this Trivia are the F. depauperata of Sowerby. Tue Fauna or LAKE SUPERIOR at Great DEPTHS. — An ex- amination of the fauna of the depths of Lake Superior has been undertaken the past season by the U. S. Lake Survey, and dredg- ing in different parts of the lake has been conducted by Mr. S. I: Smith. In all the deeper parts of the lake examined, the bottom is composed of fine clay, or clayey mud, apparently unfavorable to a great variety of life. The principal animals obtained below one hundred fathoms were, a species of Hydra, several worms, species of Ostracoda, with a few other forms of Entomostraca, one or two species of Amphipoda, a species of Mysis,* insect larve be- longing to the dipterous genus Chironomus and a species of Pis- idium. In the more shallow waters, a much greater variety of animals was obtained. The species of Mysis was found at à number of points from eight to one hundred and _forty-cight fathoms, and Mr. Smith regards its occurrence only as evidence that Mysis is another to be added to the list of genera common to fresh and salt water. Dredging was carried on down to one hun- dred and sixty-nine fathoms, the deepest known point in the lake, and water brought up from that depth was perfectly fresh. The temperature in all the deeper parts of the lake is near 39°, OF about that of the maximum density of fresh water. * Mysis relicta Lovén, and Pontoporeia afinis Lindst., both liying in Lake Wetter in n! i 2 Y a peeks a Sie ae he DS igs} T nS Seas a ity it pe WR I Dies LDS bene tl Se ee eee mae NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 723 SENSITIVE SURFACE IN Movuse’s Ear. — We learn from the “ Quar- terly Journal of Microscopy ” that Dr. Schobl, who lately published aremarkable paper on the wing of the bat, has made similar re- searches on the ear of the white mouse, with very interesting and surprising results. The first thing which attracted his attention was the immense richness of the ear in nerves. Even the bat’s wing is but poorly supplied in comparison. Calculating from the average size of the ear of a common mouse, he found that there are on the average 3,000 nerve terminations on each of its surfaces, making 6,000 on each ear, or 12,000 altogether. The function of this elaborate arrangement would seem to be, like that in the wing of the bat, to supply by means of a very refined sense of touch the want of vision to these subterranean animals. . DEVELOPMENT OF Nocrituca.—All that has been known as to the mode of development of this minute Fig. 121. animal (Fig. 121), that causes a great pn = part of the phosphorescence of our seas, is that they multiply by division and in- ternal budding. Prof. Cienkowski, as the “ Quarterly Journal of Microscopy” states, has traced the ‘ormation of spores like those of some fungi, and seen them swimming around like the zoospores of sea weeds. He has also observed the mode of sexual union of these animals. RELATIONS OF EMBRYOLOGY TO PATHOLOGY.— Dr. Dohrn reviews in the “ Academy” some observations made in the Pathological Institute of Jena by Prof. W. Müller, and published in the ‘‘ Jena Zeitschrift.” The papers contain a singular mixture of embryology and pathology, and embrace a field of comparative embryology that has hitherto remained wholly uncultivated. In regard to the chorda dorsalis, Miiller shows that it plays a secondary part in the forma- tion of the skeleton of Vertebrates. We can very well imagine animals, Dohrn says, with bones in their interior, and even ani- mals with a vertebrate skeleton, which present no traces of a chorda, while on the other hand we may meet with the chorda in invertebrate animals, such as the larvee of AARS, which devel- op no trace of an internal skeleton. Miiller’s papers also show ihat a new era in pathological anat- AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V- 46 724 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. omy is dawning, since comparative anatomy and embryology will aid in recognizing the nature of pathological processes and for- mations. Dohrn insists that ‘‘in addition to anatomy and physi- ology, which are subjects of equal importance, embryology and comparative anatomy should also be regarded as absolutely essen- tial to the completion of medical education” and urges that a new and special chair be devoted to these subjects in medical univer- sities and schools; and if this be a necessity for Germany, where the study of the history of development has of late years received such great extension, it holds still more for England, where scarcely any embryology is taught or made an object of study. How lamentably deficient our own medical schools are in these branches is sufficiently apparent. CAUSE oF PHOSPHORESCENCE IN ANiIMALS.—M. Panceri pre- sented to the recent congress of naturalists and physicians at Turin (Italy) the results of some investigations as to the cause of phosphorescence in animals, and especially in fishes. He has come to the conclusion that the cause of this phenomenon is the slow oxidation of fat, which he finds to be always present when the phosphorescence is observed in animal substances. In the case of fish the oxygen of the air very readily penetrates the skin, and acts upon the subcutaneous adipose tissue. The phenomenon is promoted by placing the phosphorescent substance in oxygen, but is entirely arrested by its immersion in carbonic acid, fresh water, alcohol, or any solution not containing oxygen. Phospho- rescence usually commences immediately after death, and contin- ues until decomposition sets in, with disengagement of ammonia, when it invariably ceases.— A. W. B. Piers RAPH Parasrre. — It will doubtless be an interesting item of intelligence to many of the readers of the Narurarsr, that the parasite, so anxiously looked for, as the only hope of preserv- ing the cabbage crop of our country from the destruction threat- ened it by the ravages of Pieris rape, has already entered upon its labors, and in so efficient a manner as to promise immediate beneficial results. During the latter part of September, I was informed that a num- ber of chrysalides of ‘P. rape which had been collected by a gen- tleman in this city, with a view of obtaining specimens of the NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 725 images for drawing, instead of disclosing the butterfly, gave out a number of small flies from each. Some of them having been brought to me in compliance with my request, I was delighted to find them to be of the genus Pteromalus which includes so many of our valued parasitic friends, and probably of the species which has been found so serviceable in Europe, in destroying the several cabbage butterflies there existing — viz., the Pt. puparum of Lin- neeus. From the close resemblance which many of the Pteromali bear to one another, it is not safe to assert positively that we have really been favored with the importation of the European parasite, to aid in the work of subjugation of the European pest, but should further examination prove this to be the case, it will be not only a most interesting event in its scientific aspect, but also in the pecuniary results which must necessarily follow it. In another number, I may give your readers the observations — quite limited, I regret — which I have been able to make on this welcome parasite. — J. A. Lintner, N. Y. State Museum of Nat. Hist. [We have also raised this parasite in considerable abundance and also received specimens from Vermont. We have likewise reared a Dipterous parasite from the cocoons. — Eps. ] Tue Fauna or Mapacascar.—M. Alfred Grandidier has re- cently returned from his third voyage of discovery to Madagascar, and has shown that the riches and eccentricities of its fauna have not yet been exhausted. His collections, which have only recently reached the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, although brought to France before the political storm of last year commenced, have not yet been fully examined. But they are said to include very full series of several species of Lemuridæ, the comparison of which is likely to lead to important results, besides examples of a new genus of Rodentia, and many other mammals of high inter- est. M. Grandidier has also paid much attention to the fossil de- posits of Southern Madagascar, which contain the remains of the extinct gigantic bird, Æpyornis maxima, and has arrived at some important results (such as the former presence of Hippopotamus in Madagascar), which may ultimately tend to modify some of the views generally held concerning the true nature of the fauna of this island and its origin. — A. W. B. 726 ” ‘NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. WALDHEIMIA SEPTIGERA AND TEREBRATELLA SEPTATA IDENTICAL. To:the Editors of the American Naturalist. Sirs :— Having in the course of a too short visit to North America been honored by re- markable kindness and attention on the part of my brother natu- ralists in this great hemisphere, I am rather disappointed at seeing in your excellent periodical a notice of the report submitted to the Royal Society of London by my colleagues and myself on the deep-sea exploration of parts of the North Atlantic, in H. M. S. Porcupine, during the summer of 1869. The writer of that notice, Mr. W. H. Dall, criticises in what I cannot help considering over- severe terms my views “‘ in regard of the specific and generic lim- its of animals ;” and he gives as an instance, Waldheimia septigera -and Terebratella septata, which he states belongs to different gen- era, although I have included both under the same specific name. I do not agree with Mr. Dall in his statement. Having had op- portunities of examining the types or original specimens of Tere- bratula septigera Lovén, at Stockholm, and of Terebratula septata (Philippi), at Berlin, and having carefully compared these speci- mens with the published descriptions and figures, I am convinced that both belong not only to the same genus, but to the same spe- cies. What seems to have been in the mind of Mr. Dall when he penned his hasty critique, was that Professor Seguenza of Messina had referred a species of Terebratella from the Sicilian tertiaries to Philippi’s species, and a species of Terebratula found in the same formation to Lovén’s species. The former may be the Terebratella Marie of Mr. Arthur Adams from the J apanese seas; the latter I have ascertained to be rather widely distributed in the North Atlantic. I have the honor to be, Sirs, your very obedient servant, Gwyn Jerrreys, Montreal, Oct. 6, 1871. Arrinitres or Coccoriras AND or Sponces. — Mr. H. J. Carter has enunciated the theory that the coccoliths and coccospheres which are found in deep-sea mud, and have recently been identified as a constituent of some very ancient geological strata, are not, as held by Prof. Huxley, lowly formed animal organisms, but are of vegetable origin. This theory will, the writer considers, ex- plain the apparent anomaly of the presence in deep seas of a large amount of animal life without vegetable organisms for their sub- sistence. To the sahe magazine in which this theory is pro- pounded, the “ Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” the NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 727 same authority contributes a paper on the ultimate structure of the calcareous sponges, confirming what has already been written on the same subject by Prof. H. James Clark of Lexington, Ky. The opin- ion of these two writers is, that the sponges as a group are most nearly allied to the Flagellate Infusoria, and not, as Prof. Heckel has proposed, to the Coelenterata. Mr. Carter has expressed his opinion that they are more closely related even to the compound Tunicata, a view which is, however, dissented from by Mr. W. S. Kent, who regards them as a distinct group of the Protozoa, allied on the one hand to the Flagellate Infusoria, in virtue of their uni- ciliated and funnel-bearing cells, and on the other to the simpler Rhizopoda, in the presence of the general pervading sarcode layer, subservient to the secretion of the common supporting skeleton. While opposed to Prof. Hxckel’s proposition of uniting: the Spon- giade and Celenterata under one sub-kingdom, Mr. Kent does not deny to the latter the position of the next round of the ladder in the ascending scale of organized beings, though he at present considers there are too many links missing to permit of their fusion. — A. W. B Lacorpatre’s COLEOPTERA. — I learn from that agreeable source of entomological information, ‘the “Petite Nouvelles Entomolo- giques,” that M. Chapuis has undertaken to complete M. Lacor- daire’s great work, which was interrupted by the lamented death of its talented author. M. Chapuis wishes to obtain specimens of the following genera, in which he is still deficient : — Megamerus, Prionesthis, Rhynchostomis, Atalesis, Ametella, Chiloxena, Poly- optilus, Macrolema, Eubaptus and Ateledera, etc. I am informed that our friend, Mr. J. S. Baly, who possesses the finest collection of Chrysomelide in the world, has offered it to M. Chapuis to make every use of; and I trust other entomologists will follow so generous an example. — Newman s Entomologist. Tue Srur SANDPIPER IN Massacuuserts.— A single specimen of this species, Micropalama himantopus, was taken here by Albert E. Mills, at Blacksmith pond, July 24, the present year. This is the first recorded instance of its capture in this State, although its occurrence had been anticipated. (Proceedings Essex Inst., Wy 294, and Amer. Nart., HOI, 639.) It was in company with a solitary sandpiper, Rhyacophilus solitarius, which was also secured. Both were adult females. —Orıs Furrer, Needham, Mass. 728 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. GIGANTIC SALAMANDER FROM Cunina. — Father David, a mis- sionary priest of the order of Lazarists, for many years resident at Pekin, and an enthusiastic naturalist, has discovered in China, besides several new and extremely interesting species of animals, a gigantic aquatic salamander, allied to the great Sieboldia of Japan. The remains of a closely allied reptile (Andrias) are found in the tertiary fresh water deposits of Central Europe. New Hapirar or HELIX LINEATA. — Among the North Ameri- can landshells that are remarkable for a wide range of distribu- tion is the little Helix (Hyalina?) lineata of Say, already credited with a range in latitude from ‘Gaspé to Texas,” with a longitude from the Atlantic to “ New Mexico.” I was much surprised to find specimens in a box of Helices recently collected on the banks and in the neighborhood of Salmon River, Idaho, and sent to me by Henry Hemphill, Esq. The internal peripheral teeth I should judge to be coincident with varical development or periodical growth, and rather eccentric in occurrence and number; not al- ways being in “pairs” * — but sometimes showing only one.—R. E. C. STEARNS. New EnxromoLocicaL Boogs.— The 14th fasciculus of Mul- sant’s “Opuscula Entomologica” is just published. The 3rd vol- ume of the “Natural History of the Hemiptera of France” will be ready in a few days, and will contain four tribes. M. Mulsant has published the new edition of his “ History of the Lamellicorns of France,” as well as the Ist part of the “Staphylinide.” A new edition of the “ Iconography and Natural History of Larve — of Lepidoptera,” by MM. Duponchel and Guenée, is about to be issued: the work gives descriptions and figures of a great number of the larve of European Lepidoptera, of course including Eng- lish species; these figures are contained in ninety-three plates, excellently coloured: the work is published in forty fasciculi, at one franc each. Of the Iconography and Description of unpu lished Lepidoptera of Europe, by P. Milliére, twenty-five fasciculi have been published, and these contain more than a thousand de- scriptions of larvee, pupe and perfect insects, with the plants on which the larve feed, and other details of their life-history: the work is worthy the support of all lovers of the science; nothing *Vide eai and Bland’s Land and Fresh Water Shells of North America, Part I, p. 82, fig. 84.—Smithson. Pub. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 729 can exceed the delicacy and finish of the figures.—Newman’s Ento- mologist. A GEOLOGY. Tue Drier Pertop.—In a paper read at the Lyceum of Natural History, New York Oct. 24, 1870, Prof. Newberry observed :— In the sequence of events included in our Drift period there is a marked break, a middle period, during which, over most of the north-western states, no Drift deposits were made, and when most of this area was covered with a forest growth and sustained many and large animals. At a subsequent period, all parts of this area, less than five hundred feet above the highest of our present great lakes was submerged, and most portions of it covered to greater or less depth, with new Drift deposits, clays, sands, gravel and boulders, a large part of northern and remote origin. Nearly all the large boulders of the Drift belonging to this later epoch are sometimes of great size (one hundred tons) and have been Jloated to their present positions, as they overlie undisturbed stratified sands and clays, which would have been broken up and carried away by glaciers or currents of water moving with sufficient ve- locity to transport these blocks. Hence they must have been floated from the Canadian highlands, the place of origin of most of them, by icebergs. This epoch of the Drift period I have there- fore termed the Iceberg Epoch. During this epoch the submer- gence of the land in the interior of the continent, was greater than in the epoch of the deposition of the Champlain and Erie clays, and all the area north of the Ohio was covered with water np to a height of over five hundred feet above Lake Erie, or one thousand one hundred feet above the ocean level. The highlands of south eastern Ohio, and most of the country south of the Ohio river were not covered by this flood and now bear no drift deposit of any kind. Tracing out the line of ancient water-surface, we find that the depression was greater towards the north, so that the Alleghanies and their foot-hills, and also a wide area of com- paratively low country in the southern states formed not only a shore, but a continental limit to the great interior iceberg-ridden sea of the later Drift Epoch. In the western reaches of this sea, which was of fresh water in the later centuries of its existence, was deposited the Loess or “ Bluff” which I have elsewhere desig- 730 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. nated as the later lacustrine, non-glacial drift. During the depo- sition of the Loess the interior sea was already narrowing and growing shallower by the cutting down of its outlet or by conti- nental elevation, or both. The descent of the water-level and decrease of water-surface have been going on perhaps constantly, but not uniformly, to the present time, when the area of the great lakes is the insignificant eighty-five thousand square miles it now is. In the descent of the water-level, retarded at certain periods, ter- races and beach lines were formed at various places by the shore waves. With these history begins. This then is the classification I would suggest of the drift deposits as they occur in the valley of the Mississippi, premising that here, as in other geological pe- riods, the column is nowhere absolutely complete : — PERIOD. | EPOCHS. STRATA. | NOTES. Terraces, Sand and gravel beaches with logs, Beaches, $ leaves, and fresh-water shells. Löess Löess. with fresh-water and iand-shells Iceberg Boulders, gravel, sand, and clay, Terrace. jJ Drift, ; drifted logs, elephant and mastodon dess. eeth and bones. Soil-peat with mosses, leaves, logs, Forest stumps, branches, and standing trees, Quaternary. } | Bed: mostly red cedar. Elephas, mastodon, Castoroides, etc. Laminated clays with sheets of grav- Erie el, occasional rounded and scratched Clays. soem boulders, many angular pieces ofn lyi . U diea" 3 t nderlying rocks i i Local beds of boulders and rare preg ; boulder clay resting on the glaciated j surface. From the above table it will be seen that the remains of ele- phant, mastodon, and the gigantic beaver, occur in the forest-bed and in all the succeeding drift deposits. It should also be said that they are found in still greater abundance in peat-bogs and al- luvial deposits which belong to the present epoch. We have seen that the submergence of the later drift epoch, though so wide- spread, left a large part of the area lying between the Mississippi and Atlantic uncovered. This area the elephant, mastodon, great beaver, eté., inhabited during the continuance of the flood that covered the forest bed. From this retreat they issued with the subsidence of the water, following the retreating shore-line, till they occupied all the region now exposed about the great lakes. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 731 By what influence they finally became extinct, we cannot yet say. It has been claimed that they continued to exist down to the ad- vent of man, and that he was an agent in their destruction. This statement may be true but requires further proof before it can be accepted with confidence. The vegetation of the forest bed in- dicates a cold climate, thus confirming what we had otherwise learned of the habits of the extinct elephant. He was clothed with long-hair and wool, was capable of enduring, and probably preferred a subartic climate, and was associated in this country as in Europe, with the musk ox and the reindeer. We may therefore infer that progressive increase in the annual temperature, drove most of the animals of the Forest-bed northward, and caused to gather on the shores of the Arctic sea, the herds of elephants whose remains so much impress ail travellers who visit that region. This was probably the scene of the last vigorous and abundant life, and of the death of the species; an event consequent, per- haps, on the action of local causes, which we shall comprehend when we have opportunities of studying the record. One remark- able statement in regard to the Forest-bed requires notice. In more than one instance, parties digging wells in south-western Ohio, have reported not only that they found a black soil and logs, but ‘some of the logs bore marks of the axe, and were sur- rounded with chips.” These stories I formerly rejected as pure fabrications ; but in the light of recent observations, they seem to me to be in part true, and not difficult of explanation.— Nature. Tue Srructure or Fossi, Cryptrocams.—At the recent meet- ing of the British Association for the Advancement of Science held at Edinburgh, Prof. W. C. Williamson read a paper in which he suggested a new mode of classification of fossil cryptogams. He proposes to separate the vascular cryptogams into two groups, the one comprehending Equisetaceze, Lycopodiaceze and Tsoetace, . to be termed the Cryptogamie Exogene, linking the Cryptogams with the true Exogens through the Cycads; the other, called the Cryptogamiz Endogen, to comprehend the ferns, which will unite the Cryptogams with the Endogens through the palms. He consid- ers the fossil arborescent Cryptogams allied to Lycopods including the Lepidodendra, Stigmariz, Sigillariz, etc., to be true crypto- ms with an exogenous woody axis, and not entitled to the epi- thet of Acrogens. They differ from ferns in not having closed - 782 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. fibro-vascular bundles ; but their growth results from the develop- ment, within the stem, of a vascular woody cylinder, which grew thicker year by year, suċh thickenings being the result of addi- tions to the exterior of the previous growth. Professor William- son’s theory was, however, sharply contested by Mr. Carruthers and Professors NcNab and Dyer, who adhered to the old view of the essential identity of structure of all woody cryptogamous stems.— A. W. B. SUPPOSED VEGETABLE Fosstrs.— At a recent meeting of the Geological Society of London, Mr. W. Carruthers enumerated a number of bodies which he believes to have been erroneously described as vegetable fossils. Among these are dendritic mark- ings which have been treated as foliage; two genera and three species of supposed fossil fruits which are really impressions of air-bubbles in moist clay ; reptilian eggs in the Stonefield Slate and Wealden of the Isle of Wight which have been considered to be fruits; and the curious prehensile hooklets, arranged in rows on the arms of a calamary, found fossil in the lithographic stone of Solenhofen, which have been figured and described by Count Sternberg as a fossil vegetable. — A. W. B Tue GroLocy or tHe Warre Mounraixs.—The geology of these mountains is most intricate. It is not known whether its granite and slate rocks are of Laurentian, Silurian, or Devonian age alone, or whether all of these formations may not be repre- sented. Prof. C. H. Hitchcock, the state geologist of New Hamp- shire, has made the interesting discovery of upper Silurian corals in Littleton, N. H. The limestone containing these corals has — been traced for about three miles, and appears to be overlaid by 4 clay slate, containing a few worm trails. The limestone rock appears identical, as we learn from the ‘‘ American Journal of Science,” with that cropping out upon Lake Memphremagog. ORIGIN or OCEAN Currents.—It seems that the views of ocean currents advocated by Prof. Carpenter were first recognized by Prof. J. D. Dana, in 1852, in the reports of ‘‘Wilkes’s Exploring Expedition” and the “ American Journal of Science.” Prof. Dana remarks that facts elicited by Carpenter from deep sea explora- tions “remove all remaining doubt with regard to the universality of the movement and the oneness of the system. At the same NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 733 time there does not appear to be any good reason for separating from the system the Gulf Stream, as is done by Dr. Carpenter.” Prof. Dana also seems to agree with Croll as to the thermal work of the Gulf Stream. New CARBONIFEROUS Sprper.—Mr. Woodward describes, as stated in ‘“ Nature,” from the Dudley coal field, a Phrynus-like spider which he named Hophrynus Prestvicii. A fossil Lycosa-like spider had previously been found, also a Phalangium-like species from the same formation. The present animal represents a third group of Arachnids which lived during the Coal period. SINGULAR ALBIno.—The Museum of the Agricultural Depart- ment at Washington, contains an “albino” Bob-o’-link (Dolicho- nyx oryzivorus), shot in that vicinity, illustrating a rare and curi- ous condition. It is of a uniform clear pale yellow, exactly like a canary-bird.— ELLIOTT Cours. MICROSCOPY. PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECTION OF Microscopy OF THE BOSTON Socrery or Narurat History, Oct. 11, 1871.— Mr. Greenleaf stated in reference to the living Amcebze shown at the last meet- ing, that he had not found the slightest trace of any return move- ment in those organisms. He had seen a central forward current, but never the two return side currents, so often described. He considered these merely optical. Mr. Stodder said he had tried collecting germs from the atmos- phere. He had always found great difficulty in obtaining micro- scopically pure distilled water. This last summer he had used a glass vessel filled with ice, on which the moisture of the air con- densed outside. In this manner nothing not in the air was obtained. In his examinations he had followed the method given Dr. Maddox in the Feb. (1871) number of the “ Monthly Microscopical Journal.” He first placed his germs in molasses, but subsequent examina- tions showed that this contained germs of its own. He next took pure crystals of sugar dissolved in the water collected, and placed on a slide. To keep the moisture present he had used the method given by Dr. Maddox. 734 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. His first collection, made Aug. 11, developed in a few weeks sphores, mycelium, and spores of fungi in great abundance. Other collections of the same date have as yet developed but little life. He had found that in these experiments no animal life was developed. Mr. Greenleaf showed a slide with a small hole drilled in the centre. By resting the slide on the edge of a shallow tray con- taining water, so that the hole shall be below the water level, we have a self-supplying water cell, which is completed by placing a thin glass cover over the hole. i Mr. Stodder said, ‘Dr. Woodward has, I think, carried micro- photography to greater perfection than any one else. I have here several photographs of great beauty, delicacy and accuracy, taken with high powers and of very difficult objects.” He then showed the following: Amhipleura pellucida, with Powell and Lealand’s so called +g, a Tolles’ 7% and qy and another ;1,, and Powell and Lea- land’s $, and with a Tolles’ 4, all immersion lenses, and all magni- fied to nearly 1000 diam. Also positives on glass of the same ob- jects with Tolles’ {920 diam. with eye-piece and 256 without. All these show the transverse strize distinctly. Also Stawroneis Stod- deri Greenleaf 1000 diam. and 3750 diam. and S. Baileyi with Powell and Lealand’s 3 — 3000 diam. Mr. Bicknell spoke of the difficulty of using the microscope vertically, a position which is often necessary in such work as ob- serving living animals in fluid, picking out Foraminifere from sand, etc. He had obviated this difficulty by using an ordinary Nachét camera lucida. By placing the camera on the eye-piece in the usual manner, and looking into the underside of the camera, at an angle of about 30° from the horizontal, a perfect view of the objects on the stage of the microscope is obtained. The position is thus very easy and entirely free from the usual constraint at- tending the use of the microscope when in a vertical position. — Mr. Bicknell also exhibited an achromatic condenser, made in the form of an eye-piece. Dr. Beale in “ How to work with the Microscope” has recommended the use of the Kellner eye-piece as a condenser, and says “ by stopping off the greater part of the light passing through the condenser, by placing over the upper lens a thin plate with a very small central hole, a great advantage results in working with high powers.” In the condenser shown by Mr. Bicknell the amount and direction of the light is controlled NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 735 by a revolving diaphragm placed between the lenses in the place where the diaphragm is usually placed in an eye-piece. There are three holes of different sizes for direct light, one hole with a central stop for dark field, which gives an admirable effect with objectives under 30°; and two oval openings, and one oblong opening espe- cially for the binocular. The oval openings are opposite each other and are in use at the same time, giving two oblique pencils of light, converging to a point, and which are very useful for the binocular. This condenser was used with various objectives from 14 inch ta = of an inch, giving ample light for the latter with the highest eye-pieces. Mr. Bicknell stated that with this condenser and a 4 of only 100° aperture, he had seen the same test object which had required al; or a 7 of 150° when used without it. Tue Srare Microscoricar Soctrery of Illinois has issued a pro- spectus of “ The Lens,” a Quarterly Journal of Microscopy and the Allied Natural Sciences: with the Transactions of the State Microscopical Society of Illinois; the first number to appear on the first of October. It will be an octavo, each number containing at least forty-eight pages of reading matter. Terms, two dollars per annum in advance. Address Charles Adams, Secretary of the Publishing Committee, 1000 Michigan Avenue, Chicago, or the the Editor, S. A. Briggs, 177 Calumet Avenue, Chicago. Though its appearance has been delayed by the fire, we learn that it will soon be issued. Tue Use or THE MICROSCOPE IN STUDYING THE EMBRYOLOGY OF THE SKULL. — His work had not direct reference to the subject of teleology, nor to the structure of the tissues ; but his object had been to work out the metamorphosis of the skull, and to see the tissues as they begin to differentiate and modify to form the em- bryo. The subject was a very large one, and had been principally labored at by the great German embryologists. He had spent the last two years in studying the development of the frog’s skull, in watching the different and numerous stages which that creature undergoes, and the relations it bears to other creatures of the ver- tebrate type, always remembering that the frog was essentially a fish. He had been in some degree unprepared for the extent of the metamorphic changes that the frog underwent. He had worked out this subject into ten artificial stages, the first of which he had obtained when the frog was in the egg. In the first stage of its 736 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. morphological development the animal was two stages below the youngest described embryo of the lowest kind of fish, but one. The larva of the lamprey was the earliest condition of a fish’s skull with which we are acquainted. He had succeeded in getting two stages below the larva of the lamprey. From this stage he had worked up the development of the frog until he came to the tadpole, which is the representation of the types of rays and sharks. As he ascended in the various stages the likeness to the other vertebrata became very apparent. In an adult frog (Rana temporaria) he had obtained a metamorphic development of such height that it bordered upon our own class,the Mammalia. At the same time it should be stated that other parts of that frog’s skull retained the simplicity of the adult lamprey. In the frog we had a creature who had run across the whole circle of types, creeping grad- ually up to the Mammalia and yet never losing his relation to the original type, but retaining its structure and relation to the very end, although subdividing and metamorphosing certain of the facial arches into the very number of parts that we have in our own inner ear. The chain of bones in the human ear (the hammer, the anvil, the round bone and the stirrup) had caused a great deal of trouble to anatomists in their attempts to trace the series of metamorphic changes. He had, however, made this clear by trac- ing the history of the facial bones of a frog, a creature which was but a fish in respect of its earliest embryonic conditions. Suppos- ing the doctrine of development to be true, it would seem that we ourselves have come originally in some line sub-parallel to the frog (he would not say from the frog itself, although man had repeated the form tail-less). Even in the highest oviparous vertebrates no sub-division of a facial bar to form that tiny but really important part of the human skull, the os orbiculare, ever obtained. In this respect the frog comes nearer to the Mammalia than any bird. Birds have branched out in a direction quite away from the ordi- nary line, and have culminated in their own glorious types. If it is desired to trace the development of the Mammalia, inquiries must commence with the Batrachia, and in such inquiries the thought constantly occurs that between us and the Batrachia there have been lost whole groups of creatures. We were only just be- ginning to see the manner in which the work ‘of tracing the devel- opment of the higher forms of animal life was to be carried on. —From Address of H. W. Parker, before the Royal Microscopical Society, in the Monthly Microscopical Journal. NOTES. r E The death of Sir Roderick Impey Murchison occurred on the 22d of October, at the age of seventy-nine. He was not a gradu- ate of either of the great universities, but like Faraday, Miller and several other prominent English scientists is said to have had in early life only an ordinary education. He studied at the Military College at Marlow, and was an officer in the army from 1807 to 1816. In 1831 he began to study geology practically and at the end of five years published his celebrated Silurian system. In 1836 he was employed in the geological survey of Russia. He contributed over a hundred memoirs to scientific journals, and was among the first to call attention to the Australian gold fields. He was long President of the Geological Society of London, and at the time of his death was President of the Royal Geological So- ciety. The U. S. Coast Survey Steamer F. R. Hassler, commander P. C. Johnson, U. S. N., now arrived at Boston, will be despatched as soon as ready to the coast of California for the survey for which she is designed. Prof. Peirce, Superintendent of the Coast Survey, to make this long voyage by way of the Straits of Magellan as profitable as possible to science, has offered to Prof. Agassiz the direction of a scientific party to sail in her, and pursue during the voyage deep sea researches and investigations in natural history at the different points of stoppage. The party will consist of Prof. Agassiz as director (accompanied by Mrs. Agassiz,) Ex-President Hill of Harvard College as physicist, Assist. L. F. Pourtales of the Coast Survey in charge of deep sea dredgings, Dr. Steindachner as icthyologist, Mr. Blake as ichthyologist and draughtsman. Some of the officers of the ship have also qualified themselves to assist -in various researches. The point at which the steamer will prob- ably stop will be Bermuda, Trinidad, Rio Janeiro, Montevideo, the Falkland Islands, the Straits of Magellan, Juan Fernandez, the Gallapagos. The ship is fitted out with a special view to deep sea soundings and dredgings, and with all possible contrivances for catching fish, etc. (737) ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. BOOKS RECEIVED. 738 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. E. M. B.,— The Sesia pelasgus is desc ribed rR aiia Synopsis of the Lepidoptera of U.S. published by the Smithsonian Institutio o BOOKS RECEIVED. Newman's Entomologist. Nos. 94 and 95. Sept., 1871. London Physical Diagnosis of Brain Biante. By R. y Vance. 8v0, pp. 8. Err of T A and Squirrels coliected in the vicinity of y hee Canada. By A. M. Ross. 8vo, pp. Sixth ree of the Quekett Microscopical Club and List of Members. 8vo. pp.39. London. July, 1871 z TGT of Quekett Microscopical Club. No. 15. July, 1871. London Abhandlungen herausgegeben vom naturwissenschafilichen Vree. zu Bremen. 2 Bd., IH Heft. Bremen, 1871. Bulletin de la Soci jete Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou. 1870. No.2. Moscou, 1870, Zitz ee de Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin im Jahre, 1870. Berlin, Des species of Fossils from the shales of the Hudson River Group, in n the ge A: or Cincinnati 0 io, By James Hall [advance sheets of Report New York State Cabi- net]. ts OP of pee Maly on en Physiology and Hygiene to be delivered by Prof. B. Wilder, ‘ornell pa nr wo with List ¢ of Prices and Rules of Health. pp.8. 1871. [Pr ice 10 cents. 4 Ey nsact soft the Literary and Historical Societ ty of Quebec. Session of 1870-71. Quebec, First Annual Report on the Noxious Insects of the State of Illinois. By W. Le Baron, M. D., State En atomologist (State document.) 8vo. 1871. tiania, I Ld Rs keap. riti af 5te Grad. Af Dr. A. 8S. dok 8yo. Christiania, 1869. a entation der Imaginaren der Plangeometric. Von Marius Sophus Lie, 8vo. Christi- an Nye Dybvandscrustaceer , fra Lofoten. Af G. O. Sars. ares Christiania, 1869, Ri Om den kyrenaiske Skole, navnlig Annikeris og Theodoros, Af Dr. G. V. Lyng. 8vo. Chris- Fortegnelse over Mynter fra Middelalderen, fundre i Aaret 1866 ved et Sted kaldet paa Huns- CrBentve, Sy Slethetds Grund under Gaarden Thjore i Haalands Præstegjeld paa Jæderen, Af C. Schive Ska ph hog i a bees K 1300. ntike Philosophis Histoire, Af Dr. G.V. Lyng. 8vo. Christiania Om et 4 majaid í ne she "pa. ved ss Aer Tider. Af J. HAD svo. getat ustacea e i p An ort ki aretha Auctore Š = ‘Christianls 1370. Ertsforekomster i sondhordland og paa Karmoen. T kanka ae d. 8yo. Christiania, e de la mer entre lisland, tecrosse et la Norvege. Par H. Mohn. 8vo. Christiania, Magnetiske Undersogelser foretagne i 1868. Af E, A. H. Sinding. 8vo, Christiania, 1870. Om en i Sommeren 1869 foretagen entomologisk Reise gjennem Ringerike, Hallingdal og Val- ers. AL H. Siebke. 8vo. Christiania, 1870, _ Zeitschrift fur die Gesammien Natu: perma paia BE pronar t von Dr. C. G. Giebel und Dr. M. Siewert, Neu ge h = F 0. Zeitschrift fur Akklimatisation, Organ n des Aitlimatisations-vererns in Berlin, Heransgege- . Nos. se ben von Dr. L i ei ol bias Jahrg. Nos. i-xii, 1870: ix Jah os. i-iv, 1871: 8yo. Berlin. Bon ou ae schen Vereins fur Naturkunde. Jabtgang xxiii und xxiv. 8vo. W Naturhistorisk Atlas for Sholan och Hemmet uti 623 afbildningar, hamtade ur de basta sve venska och ee kallor, syltemation: beeen och uppstalld ur B. F. iison. Med ett forord of Prof. C. J. Sunderyall. Sm all folio, Stockho! 1860. Nor. E huus-kalender 1859. ia. asser a. vore nyttige pae deres Indretning og Beboere, ved Robert Collett. 12m0. Rug Christianias 130 ad Snin s-Materiel Sor Almueskolerne. mo. Christi , 1870, Dritter 1 Beri cht ver Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Chemnite, 1368-70. Svo. Chemnitz, Zur Erinne erung an Wilhelm Haidinger, von Franz Ritter v. H . 8vo. Wien. Verhandlungen der k. E geologischen Reichsanstalt. Nos, 1-5, 7-10, 187 5 “ere. iis M No.6 not Sabi ee sen py i rbuch de r k. k. Geologischen Reichsanstalt, we 1871. xxi Band. Nos. for Jan.-June. Bulletin of the Torr ey Botanical Clu udoin Scientific Review. Oct Journal eared Franklin bares pt g“ 4g Get. ye "Ni í : er Journ nt by Selenec a posh is ine a a ee ye pi Oct. and ater, Nos. The x ning pe r Sept. ote ees Get. ( emy. Nos. Relenee yee . Oct La France Betentifgue. Mos: for Oct. Newman's Palomsotpiel: No. 96, Oct. ee ey AMERICAN NATURALIST. Vol. V.— DECEMBER, 1871.—No. 12. ~CERAGNH)OD 2-2 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. BY THE EDITORS. Arter the adjournment of the meeting of the American Associ- ation for the Advancement of Science, held at Indianapolis, in August last, a large number of the members availed themselves of the generous invitation of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, to visit this world renowned cave, and examine its pe- culiar formation and singular fauna. The cave is in a hill of the subecarboniferous limestone forma- tion in Edmondson County, a little to the west and south of the centre of Kentucky. Green river, which rises to the eastward in about the centre of the state, flows westward passing in close proximity to the cave, and receiving its waters thence flows north- westerly to the Ohio. The limestone formation in which the cave exists, is a most in- teresting and important geological formation, corresponding to the mountain limestone of the European geologists, and of con- siderable geological importance in the determination of the west- ern coal fields. We quote the following account of this formation from Major S. S. Lyon’s report in the fourth volume of the Kentucky Geological Survey, pages 509-10. “ The sinks and basins at the head of Sinking ae exhibit in a striking manner, the eroding effect of rains and fr — some of the sinks, which are from forty to one hundred ant amery feet Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, in the ‘Office of the Librarian cap at Washington. AMER. NATURALIST, VOL 47 (739) 740 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. tal. Near the centre there is an opening of from three to fifteen feet in diameter ; into this opening the water which has fallen within the margin of the basin has been drained since the day when the rocks exposed within were raised above the drainage of the coun- try, and thus, by the slow process of washing and weathering, the rocks, which once filled these cavities, have been worn and carried down into the subterranean drainage of the country. All this has evidently come to pass in the most quiet and regular manner. The size of the central opening is too small to admit extraordinary floods; nor is it possible, with the level margin around, to suppose that these cavities were worn by eddies in a current that swept the whole cayernous member of the subcarboniferous limestone of western Kentucky ; but the opinion is probable that the upheaving force which raised these beds to their present level, at the same time ruptured and cracked the beds in certain lines; that after- wards the rains were swallowed into openings on these fractures, producing, by denudation, the basins of the sinkhole country, and further enlarging the original fractures by flowing through them, and thus forming a vast system of caverns, which surrounds the western coal field. The Mammoth Cave is, at present, the best known, and, therefore, the most remarkable.” So much has been written on the cave and its wonders, that to ive a description of its interior would be superfluous in this connection, even could we do so without unintentionally giving too exaggerated statements which seems to be the natural result of a day underground, at least so far as this cave is concerned, for after reading any account of the cave, one is disappointed at finding the reality so unlike the picture. As the Association party was accompanied by one, * who while a most enthusiastic collector and explorer, was also a calm recorder of statements made by © the geologists of the party, we can not do better in conveying to our readers the general geological character and structure of the cave than to copy his account. ‘“ As we expected to remain within the cave a long time, our trusty guide, Frank, had provided himself with a well-filled can of oil, to replenish our lamps, and with this strapped upon his back he led the way into the thick darkness. We shall attempt no description of the cave. Its darkness must be felt to be ap- preciated, and no form of expression, understood by mortals who have never descended to its cavernous depths, nor trod its gloomy Ses aee *W. P. FISHBACK, Esq., of the Indianapolis Daily Journal. THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 741 corridors, can convey any thing like an adequate idea of the place. After spending fifteen hours wi ‘ithin its chambers, it is absolutely nauseating to read the descriptions which have been current in the letters of newspaper correspondents for a quarter of a century, and even the vigorous and picturesque language of Bayard Taylo becomes tame and commonplace when it attempts to describe this" subterranean wonder of the world How and when the cave was made, were the leading questions in the minds of the geologists. They do not believe that the cave was the immediate result of some violent rete of the strata, which left these vast crevices and chambers of w the cave is composed ; neither do they share the popular belief ‘that the rapid and violent action of some subterranean stream of water has worn Aims deep channels through the limestone ; on the contrary, steadily and quietly, through vast periods of time, ssibinnadtiahhee the marvellous wonders that now astonish the beholder. The cave is wrought in the stratum known as the St. Louis opera , which, in some places reaches a thickness or depth of four hundred feet. This stone is dissolved whenever it is subjected to the Bána of running or dripping water impregnated with carbonic acid m. Another fact should be stated. When, during this process of so- lution, the water becomes thoroughly impregnated with lime, it . loses its power to dissolve the stone. The following conditions, thén, were essential to the productions of the cave, assuming what is not disputed by geologists, that the place where the cave now is, was once nearly solid limestone. First, that there should be fis- sures in the strata, allowing the ingress of the surface water. ondly, there should be a place or places of exit for the water Gikeged with limestone in solution. Without the latter, the water would become charged with lime, fill up the crevices, and the dissolving process would cease. These conditions are all present to-day, and have remained the same during the countless ages that have passed away while the work has been in progress. There have doubtless at work to-day. In the Mammoth Dome, for instance — rarely seen by visitors, on account of the dangers and fatigue incident to the journey — where the chasm attains a height and depth of more 742 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. than two hundred and fifty feet, a cascade falls from a great height, and keeps the entire surface of the rocks covered with dripping water. This, falling into a deep pit below, finds an exit through which it bears away a portion of the lime composing the rock. After a walk of thirteen hours, our guide informed us that he would conduct us to the Mammoth Dome if we felt able to bear the fatigue of the journey. Foot-sore and weary, we were not in a favorable condition for so arduous an undertaking, but Mr. Thomas ite of Cincinnati, who had visited the locality thirty years ago, urged us to go, and told us the sight of this Dome was worth all the rest. Provided with magnesium and calcium lights, we crawled and climbed our way to the brink of the pit, the bottom of which was reached by a rickety ladder, slippery and dripping with water. portion of the party descended, and when all were ready the lights were ignited, and the immense dome was revealed to us in all its majestic beauty. Upon our return, three hearty cheers were given to the good friend at whose earnest solicitation we under- took this part of our journey. We are indebted to Professor Alexander Winchell, of the Uni- versity of Michigan, for the following abstract of his views con- cerning the formation of the cave. ‘The country of the Mammoth Cave was probably dry land at the close of the coal period, and has remained such, with certain them, and leaving deposited in the cave, some of the same quart- zose pebbles which characterize the surface deposits from Lake Su- perior to the Gulf of Mexico. Since the subsidence of the waters of the Champlain epoch, the cave has probably undergone compar- atively few changes. The well one hundred and ninety-eight feet deep, at the further end of the cave, shows where a considerable volume of the excavatory waters found exit. The Mammoth Dome indicates probably, both a place of exit and a place of entrance above. So of the vertical passages in various other portions of the cave.’ We believe that the views of Professor Winchell are in harmony with those of the other eminent geologists of the party, and when it is considered that the geologists of this excursion stand in the fron of the most eminent scientific men of the world, their views up n this interesting subject are well worthy of attention. Before dismissing this branch of the subject, we will take occasion Fo ge Nay OE See OR ates tsa eee THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 743 to correct a popular error concerning the formation of the beauti- ful structures that adorn the ceilings of some portions of the cave. with a white efflorescence that displays itself in all manner of beautiful shapes. It requires no stretch of the imagination to dis- cover among these, the perfect forms of many flowers. The lily form prevails, and the ceilings of many of the chambers are cov- ered with this beautiful stucco work, surpassing in delicacy and purity the most beautiful workmanship of man. These are not produced, as many suppose, by the dripping of water, and the gradual deposit of sulphate of lime upon the outer portions. stalactite is formed in this manner, but these are neither stalacti- form, nor are they produced in a similar way. Dripping water is the agency that forms the stalactite, while the efflorescence in the dryer portions of the cave cannot take place where there is much moisture. The growth of these beautiful forms is from within, and the outer extremities are produced first. They are the result of a sweating process in the limestone that forces the delicate filaments of which they are composed through the pores upon the surface of the rock, their beautiful curved forms result- ing from unequal pressure at the base, or friction in the apertures through which they are forced. Mr. L. S. Burbank, of Lowell, Mass., has kindly furnished us with the following abstract of his y exposure to air and moisture, oxygen unites with both the sulphur and the iron, producing sulphuric acid and oxide of iron, which combined, form a sulphate of iron. Then a double de- composition takes place; the sulphuric acid unites with the lime to form the gypsum; the carbonic acid of the limestone combines with the oxide of iron, forming a carbonate of iron, and this, on further exposure, parts with the carbonic acid, and leaves the brown coating of oxide, which is seen in many places on the sur- face of the rock. ; The gypsum is thus constantly forming in the rock, and, being soluble, is carried by the water to the exposed surface where it crystallizes. The crystals appear to grow out from the fock by additions from beneath, which continue to push the ends first formed, and if these do not become attached to other parts of the rock, straight needle- 744 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. like fibres are often produced. - Very commonly, however, the erystals begin to form when a small nodule of the iron ore is ex- posed at the surface; the parts first formed become attached to the surface around the edges, and as the chemical action proceeds towards the centre of the nodules successive leaf-like layers are. thrown out, and the rosette form is the result. Along lines of fracture in the surface of the rock, the crystals are curved in op- posite directions. The wreaths and other figures formed by the chains of the ro- settes, may be caused by the chemical action described taking place around the edges of large masses or concretions of the iron or e. These crystalline forms occur only in the dryer parts of the cave. Where there is more moisture, as in the ‘ Snow-ball room, the gypsum merely forms white, rounded concretions, originating from nodules of the iron ore on the roof and sides of the cave.” With these general remarks on the cave we give a brief account of its interesting fauna, comprising representatives of the Fishes, Insects, and Crustaceans. No Mollusks or Radiates have as yet been discovered, but the lower forms of life have been detected by Tellkampf, who collected several species belonging to the gen- era Monas, Chilomonas, and (2) Chilodon. On tHE BLIND FISHES or THE Cave. By F. W. Pornam. is part of the article is unavoidably postponed till the January number, as it was found necessary to illustrate it with two steel plates which could not be engraved in time for the present number. | ON THE CRUSTACEANS AND Insrcrs. By A. S. PACKARD, JR. Representatives of all the grand divisions of the Insects and Crustaceans have been found in this cave, and if no worms have yet been detected, one or more species would undoubtedly reward a thorough search. ` We will enumerate what have been found, beginning with the higher forms. No Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants) or Lepi- doptera (moths) are yet recorded as being peculiar to caves. The Diptera (flies) are represented by two species, one of Anthomyia (Fig. 122), or a closely allied genus, and the second belonging to the singular and interesting genus Phora (Fig. 123). The species of Anthomyia usually frequent flowers ; the larvae live in decaying vegetable matter, or, like the onion fly, attack healthy roots. It would be presumptuous in the writer to attempt to describe these orms without collections of species from the neighborhood of the r THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 745 cave, for though like all the rest of the insects they were found three or four miles from the mouth, yet they may be found to occur outside of its limits, as the eyes and the colors of the body are as bright as in other species. i Among the beetles, two species were found by Mr. Cooke. The Anop- thalmus Tellkampfii of Erichson, a Carabid (Fig. 124), and Adelops hirtus Tellkampf (Fig. 125) al- lied to Catops, one of the Silphidæ or burying beetle family: The Anopthalmus is of a pale Fig. 124. reddish horn color, and is totally blind ; * in the Adelops, which is Fig. 123. greyish brown, there are two pale spots, which may be ru- dimentary eyes, as Tellkampf and Erichson suggest. No Hemiptera (bugs) have yet been found either in the caves of this country or Europe. Two wingless grasshoppers (sometimes called crickets) like the common species found under stones (R. maculata Har- ris), have been found in our caves; one is the Raphidophora subterranea (Fig. 126 nat. size) . described by Mr. Scudder, and very abundant in Mammot Cave. The other species is 2. stygia sige tone from Hickman’s cave, near Hickman’s landing, Fig. 122. Anthomyia. Phora. Fig. 125. al Anophthalmus Tellkampfi Erhardt’s cave, Montgomery Co., hiye Prof. Cope T Feah or five spec- bacon of a new Anopthalmus, the A. a hundred feet from its mouth. The Pe ateme is a sna and all Saloon ‘ound together under a stone. Their moyements were slow, i of nary Carabide.” Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc. 1869. p. 178. 746 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. upon the Kentucky river. It is closely allied to the Mammoth Cave species. According to Mr. Scudder, the specimens of R. stygia were found by Mr. A. Hyatt “in the remotest corner of Hickman’s Cave, in a sort of a hollow in the rock, not particularly moist, but having only a sort of cave dampness. They were found a few hundred feet from the sunlight, living exclusively upon the walls.” Even the remotest part of that cave is not so gloomy but that some sunlight penetrates it. The other species is found both in Mammoth Cave, and in the adjoining White’s Cave. It is found throughout the cave, and most commonly (to quote Mr. Scudder) “ about ‘Martha’s Vine- yard’ and in the neighborhood of ‘Richardson’s Spring’ where they were discovered jumping about with the greatest alacrity Fig. 126. Rhaphidophora subterranea, upon the walls, where only they are found, and even when dis- turbed, clinging to the ceiling, upon which they walked easily ; they would leap away from approaching footsteps, but stop at a cessation of the noise, turning about and swaying their long an- tennæ in a most ludicrous manner, in the direction whence the disturbance had proceeded; the least noise would increase their _ tremulousness, while they were unconcerned at distant motions, unaccompanied by sound, even though producing a sensible cur- rent of air; neither did the light of the lamp appear to disturb them ; their eyes, and those of the succeeding species (R. stygia) are perfectly formed throughout, and they could apparently see with ease, for they jump away from the slowly approaching hand, so as to necessitate rapidity of motion in seizing them.” The Thysanurous N europtera are represented by a species of Machilis, allied to our common Machilis variabilis Say, common in Kentucky and the middle and southern states. So far as Tell- $ papers ees ane apes ee Pees THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 747 kampf’s figure indicates, it is the same species apparently, as I have received numerous specimens of this widely distributed form from Lexington, Kentucky, collected by Dr. Josiah Curtis. It was regarded as a crustacean by Tellkampf, and described under the name of Triura cavernicola.* He mistook the labial and maxillary palpi for feet and regarded the nine pairs of abdominal spines as feet. | The allied species, M. variabilis Say, is Campodea. Fig. 127. figured in vol. v. pl. 1, fig. 8, 9 (see also p. 94 of this journal). An interesting species of Campodea t of which the accompanying cut (Fig. 127) is a tolerable likeness, though designed to il- lustrate another species (C. staphylinus Westw.) was discovered by Mr. Cooke. Both the European and our common spe- cies live under stones in damp places, and the occurrence of this form in the water is quite remarkable. The other species are blind, and I could detect no eyes in the Mammoth Cave specimen. A small spider was captured by Mr. Cooke, but afterwards lost; it was brown in color, and possibly distinct from the Anthrobia monmouthia Tellkf. (Fig. 128) which is an eyeless form, white and very small, being but half a line in length. The family * Professor Agassiz in his meet noticea pi the Mampan can animals, ipes eat m of t upon the articulates as pai rem E that while “ Dr. Tellkampf’s account affords rming any conclusion t ex its proximate relations,” that, however, marka struc ture.” kapis figure of Mackin ie entirely wrong in representing the labial maxillary palpi as ene in kieti thus giving the creature a crustacean aspect; ni indeed y describes them eet! Cookei n. sp. isle allied to C. Americana, but it is much ee the an- tennz are Sei instead of sii as in C. Americana, and reach to the basal abdominal segment, while in ©. A na they reach only to the second ‘eas ; the terminal joints are much longer than i in n that species, the penultimate Joint being one- thitd longer ) the penul- timate very short. not half as long as the terminal, which i is longer and edee than in C. Americana, while the three are much narrower in proportion to the rest o ; ne pony erica tured in a pool of water, two or three inches deep, in company with EUO 748 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. of Harvest men is represented by a small white form, described by Tellkampf under the name of Phalangodes armata (Fig. 129) but now called Acanthocheir armata Lucas. The body alone is but half a line long, the legs measuring two lines. It should be borne in mind that many of the spiders, as well as the Thysanura, live in holes and dark places, so that we would naturally find them in caves. So, also, with the Myriopods, of which a most remarkable Eig. 128. form* (Figs. 130, and 130a X front of head) was found by Mr. Cooke, three or four miles from the mouth of the cave. It is the only truly hairy species known, an approach to it being found in Pseudotremia Vudii Cope. It is blind, the other spe- cies of this group which Profes- sor Cope found living in caves having eyes. The long hairs ar- ranged along the back, seem to suggest that they are tactile organs, and of more use to the Thous- and legs in making its way about the nooks and crannies of a per- petually dark cave than eyes would be. It was found by Mr. Cooke under a stone. Prof. Cope has contributed to the “« Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society ” (1869, p. 171) an interesting account of the Anthrobia monmouthia, * Spirostrephon ( Pseudotremia) Copei n. sp. Head with rather short, dense hairs; no eyes, andn 1 q } ind tt t th fina Ate, ; j j ean well rounded to the antennal sockets; behind the insertion of the antenne the sides of the head are much more swollen than in g. lactari i ctarius. A thick hairs; relative length of joints, the 6th being longest; 6th, 4th, 5th, 3d, 8th, 7th, Ist, Tth join i the t being much thicker than the 8th. Twenty-eight segments besides the head; they are entirely smooth, striated neither ] gitudinally nor tran versely ; a few of the anterior segments rapidly decrease in diameter towards the head. The segments are but slightly convex, and on each side is a shoulder, bearing three tubercles in a trans- ve giving rise to a long stiff hair one-half to two-thirds as as a men ck, and distinguish the species. No pores. Feet long and slender, nearly as long as the an- tenne, being very slender towards the claws. Entirely white. Length of body .35 inch; thickness .04 inch. It is nearly allied to Pseudotremia Vudii of Cope. It will be noticed that Professor ope characterizes the genus Spirostrephon as having “no pores”; though we find it difficult to reconcile this statement with that of Wood who describes S. lactarius as having “lateral pores.” Cope separates Pseudotremia fi Spirostrephon for th son that the have “two pores on each side the median line.” The present Species has no pores, but seems in other characters to be a true Spirostrephon, and we are thus led to doubt whether Pseud ia is a well founded g k + oa LIG tea g = j y zia Se eT a le, a en a a a aaa S } l j i | THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 749 cave mammals, articulates and shells of the middle states. He says that “‘myriopods are the only articulates which can be readily found in the remote regions of the caves [of West Vir- ginia] and they are not very common in a living state.” The Pseudotremia cavernarum which he describes, “inhabits the deep- Fig. 129. ES f m sa YS is A Y j for A AN AN O (7 Jem i \ ANS S nS iad ` ~— NS Acanthocheir armata. est recesses of the numerous caves which abound in Southern Vir- ginia, as far as human steps can penetrate. I have not seen it near their mouths, though its eyes are not undeveloped, or smaller than those of many living in the forest. Judging from its remains, which one finds under stones, it is an abundant species, though Fig. 130. Fig. 130a. Sptrostrephon Copet. rarely seen by the dim light of a candle even after considerable search. Five specimens only were procured from about a dozen caves.” The second species, P. Vudii Cope, was found in Mont- gomery Co. and he thinks it was not found in a cave. Professor ` Hyatt informs me that he saw near the “‘ Bottomless Pit” in Mam- 750 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. moth Cave, a brownish centipede-like myriopod, over an inch in length, which moved off in a rapid zigzag motion. Unfortunately, he did not capture it. Next to the blind fish, the blind crawfish attracts the attention of visitors to the cave. This is the Cambarus pellucidus (Fig. Fg. 131. 131, from Hagen’s monograph of the North American \ | Astacidæ) first de- \ i scribed by Dr. Tell- j kampf. He re- ; marks that “the j eyes are rudiment- | ary in the adults, but are larger in the young.” We might add that this is an evidence that the embryo devel- ops like those of the other species; and that the inher- itance of the blind condition is proba- bly due to causes first acting on the a- dults and transmit- ted to their young, until the production of offspring that be- L= come blind becomes | a habit. This is a partial proof at AN Gig ka least that the char- hd! ALA CII acters separating the genera and spe- : cies of animals are those inherited from adults, modified by their physical surround- ings and adaptations to changing conditions of life, inducing cer- tain alterations in parts which have been transmitted with more or Cambarus pellucidus. THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 751 less rapidity, and become finally fixed and habitual. Prof. Hagen has seen afemale of Cambarus Bartonii from Mammoth Cave, “« with the eyes well developed,” and a specimen was also found by Mr. Cooke. Prof. Hagen remarks that “ C. pellucidus is the most aberrant species of the genus. The eyes are atrophied, smaller at the base, conical, instead of cylindrical and elongated, as in the other species. The cornea exists, but is small, cireular, and not faceted ; the optic fibres and the dark-colored pigments surrounding them in all other spe- cies are not developed.” It seems difficult for one to imagine that our blind craw fish was created sud- denly, without the intervention of secondary laws, for there are the eyes more perfect in the young than Fig. 133. the adult, thus pointing back to an- J cestors unlike the species now ex- isting. e can now understand, why embryologists are anxiously studying the embryology of animals to see what organs or characteristics are inherited, and what originate de novo, thus building up genealogies, and forming almost a new depart- ment of science: comparative em- bryology in its truest and widest Caxcidotea stygia (side view). e. Of all the animals found in caves, either in this country or Europe, perhaps the most strange and unex- pected is the little creature of which we now speak. It is an Isopod crus- tacean, of which the pill bugs or sow bugs are examples. A true species of pill bug (Titanethes albus Schiédte) inhabits the caves of Carniolia, and it is easy to believe that one of the numerous species of this group may have become isolated in these caves and modi- fied into its present form. So also with the blind Niphargus sty- gius of Europe, allied to the fresh water Gammarus so abundant in pools of fresh water. We can also imagine how a species of Asellus, a fresh water Isopod, could represent the Idoteidz in our Cecidotea stygia (dorsal view). 752 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. caves, and one may yet be found; but how the present form be- came a cave dweller is difficult of explanation, as its nearest allies are certain species of Idotea which are all marine, with the excep- tion of two species: J. entomon, living in the sea and also in the depths of the Swedish lakes, as discovered by Loven, the distin- guished Swedish naturalist, while a species representing this has been detected by Dr. Stimpson at the bottom of Lake Michigan. Our cave dweller is nearly allied to Idotea, but differs in being blind, and in other particulars, and may be called Cecidotea sty- gia.* (Fig. 132 side view, enlarged ; Fig. 133 dorsal view ; b, in- ner antenna; ¢, ist leg.) It was found creeping over the fine sandy bottom, in company with the Campodea, in a shallow pool of water four or five miles from the mouth of the cave. This closes our list of known articulates from this and other caves in this country, the result of slight explorations by a few in- dividuals. The number will be doubtless increased by future re- search. It is to be hoped that our western naturalists will thor- oughly explore all the sinks and holes in the cave country of the western and middle states. The subject is one of the highest in- terest in a zoological point of view, and from the light it throws on the doctrine’ of evolution. Professor Schiddte, the eminent Danish zoologist, has given us the most extended account of the cave fauna of Europe, which has been translated from the Danish into the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London (new series vol. 1, 1851). He examined four caves; namely, that of Adelsberg, the Mag- dalena and Luege caves, all in the neighborliood of Adelsberg, > Generic characters. Head large, much thicker than‘the body, and as long as broad; subcylindrical, rounded in front. No eyes. First antenne slend , 8-jointed (2d anten- ne broken o: . Abdomi l seg t lidated into one piece. ffers chiefly from Idotea, to which it is otherwise closely allied, by the 8-jointed (instead of 4-jointed) Ist (inner) antenne, the very large head, and by the absence of any traces of the three ba- sal segments of the abdomen usually present in Idotea. sm e white: tegument thin, the viscera appearing a as segment, and a little more than twice as long. enn minute, slender, the four basal joints of nearly equal length, though the i ‘ smaller than thers, being one-half as thick and two-thirds as long as either of the four basal joints; sof ints giving rise to two or three hairs; terminal joint ending Ina more distinct knob, and bearing five hairs. e : i tinct, sutures deeply incised; edges of segments pilose; aajt with a very slight median projection; the entire pair of gills do not reach to e end of the abdomen, and the inner Ig iverge posteriorly. Legs long and slen- lst pair shorter, but no smaller than the second. Length .25 inch, THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 753 and the Corneale cave at Trieste. The only plant found was a sort of fungus, Byssus fulvus Linn. The only vertebrate is the singular salamander, Hypochthon (Proteus) anguinus, found in the Magdalina river. No shells were found. Regarding the articu- lates he writes : “ On searching along the walls within the entrance of the caves, among the rubbish and the vegetable debris along the sides of the river, we meet with a considerable number of Insecta, Myriopoda, ` Arachnida aod Crustacea, of various families which shun daylight ; being such species only as inhabit promiscuously other places, provided they are moist and feebly illumined. We find species of Pterostichus, inca) chus, Amara, Psd Homalota, Omalium, Hister, Tricho opteryx, Crypt S a, Ptinus, Ceraphron, elyta, a grasshopper of the Locust family, puAN the Raphido- phora cavicola Fischer, as it was only seen in the larva state, Trich- optera, Sciara, Psychoda, Phora, Heteromyza, Sapromyza, Tomoce- rus, Ap Gamasus, Crypt ope Julus, and Asellus. In pro- portion as we recede from the entrance the number of species as well as individuals greatly peti and at the distance which entirely excludes the light, only single individuals are found. In the deepest recesses thes e species are entirely wanting, except some few which have been transported by the Ngai only a os Diptera are found; namely, a species of Phor ee culata Meig., Heteromyza flavipes Zett., and avn oe nyo talma Zett., extending also very far into the caves, remotest accessible places in Adelsberg cave, more ges half an hour’s walk from its entrance. Dead moths are occasionally found far in the caves, being left there by the bats; and likewise acci- dental specimens of the parasites of the latter. Of the five ear- lier known animals which inhabit these caves, I found Pristonycha elegans Dej. rather frequently, and Homalota spelea Er. in consid- erable numbers. Besides these are Anopthalmus Schmidtii, which is very rare, and the wood louse, Titanethes alba. s he found were a beetle (Bathys cia ae) allied to our Adelops ;* Stagobius troglodytes, an aberrant genus of Silphids; a Podurid, Anurophorus Stillicidii ; and the two blind arachnidans, one a spi- der allied to Dysdera, the Stalita tenaria, and a false-spider, thrus speleus. Among the crustacea he found Niphargus stygius, t * Ludwig Müller enumerates four other species 4 Pag pe ss et bog rye tude sod three species from France, and Macherites spelæu Ver n Wien, 1855, p. See also Heller’s s Béltrage zur bé österreich. Grotten-Fauna. (Myrio- poda "snd Crustacea.) Vienna, 1858. He describes a myriopod with rudimentary eyes (Trac bahia Schmidtii) allied to Glomeris, and pes blind species (Brachydesmus terraneus) allied to Polydesmus: also a new Tithanethes (T. graniger), and notices Monolistra ceca G a (1861) also found a new Ph d (Leiobunum t dytes) with Cy e Pag com: og four ore agp of mites in by 9 caves of East he . niveus, chyspha . See also Ehrenberg’s list of cave insects (Mona beberiohte der Akad. PAG ` 1861.) tSev eral Species of i fats occur in the wells and hot springs in Europe. Accord- 754 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. allied to Gammarus, which lives in small pools of water and is white and blind; and the cave pill bug, Titanethes albus (Koch.).” In conclusion Schiödte remarks that : — “We may with ixan apply the collective term Subter- ranean Fauna to those animals which exclusively inhabit pete and are bresat eee iaire for such habitations. Still t is nothing in this name which would indicate that these apo have any claim to be considered as a separate group, beyond the mere peculiarity of their common place of abode. While a few of them possess such an extraordinary structure as to stand in no comparison with those animals which inhabit the light, there are others, forming only more characteristic links in the groups 0 animals more or less shy of light, of which many are found common in the localities of the caves ; and some belong to genera having a wide local, as well as geographical, extension. rite are accordingly prevented from considering the entire phenomenon in any other light than something purely local, and the similarity which is ex- hibited in a few forms (An nophthalmus, Adelops, Bathyscia) be- tween the rink Cave and the caves in Carniola, otherwise than as a very plain expression of that analogy, which subsists Vort Besides, it is clear to me that the fauna of the caves of Carniola enS s of two divisions, of which the essential character is refer- able on the one hand to the dark locality, and on the other to the additional confinement to stalactitic formations ; as yet we are not ing to Bate and Westwood (British Sessile eyed Crustacea) *“ the British examples have ore Bs ea ani pengi artificially excavated wells connected with houses for Momnestic In some instances the wells have been old, in others but recently dug. In their geological ‘conditien the habitats hav ie hogy goer various. At Corsham the well exists in the ite formation, at Rin chalk-flint grayel, at Mannamead in slate. At pA ea and Mannamead they are re icuad on a hill, at Ringwood they lie low F ppearance of some of als in ode Pot after ing Nt mi the surrounding reami: in fact they perish in the light. Itis im i ossible to und in men asa variety, or ea A tion of our only fresh ring Amphipod, Gam- = adap hearths Sear ainoa various parts not only differ in form, but some are altered in char- e er; for example, the extraordinary elongation and slenderness of one of branches wards which was found by M. Ermann in the w ~ i M. pera K ngs orci this genus. It is curious that we should. have vibes ps the ‘Kamntechatka pesca f | ro nin = hha tig rive i dag hae inhabit the deep artificial wells, without = ees a thet treams, its nearest allied form is to be found 5 iii Sen Phe ae TR rec! “gp Fg ee 8) THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 755 able vigorously to discriminate between the two. We shall ac- cordingly look upon the subterranean fauna, or more properly faunas, as small ramifications which have penetrated into the earth from the geographically-limited faunas of the adjacent regions ; and which, as they extended themselves into darkness, have been accommodated to surrounding circumstances. Animals not far re- mote from the ordinary forms, prepare the transition from light to darkness. Next follow those that are constructed for taiigats and on of all those destined for total darkness, and whose struc- s quite peculiar. Among these some are adapted for pooli localities, those which inhabit dry localities or detached little reservoirs being totally blind, while others, destined for running streams, have eyes of imperfect ee so as to receive the impression of rays of light, but no proper image o of illuminated objects. e may therefore with tolerable ion arrange the inhabitants of caverns under the following heads :— Shade animals. — Extensive genera and species inhabiting cav- erns near their entr cies and, generally, all cool, shady and moist localities. Of these, those that fly occasionally. enter far into the caverns (Diptera). Twilight animals.—They belong to widely spread genera, but are peculiar to the caves, and distinguished by their small eyes. hey are principally found near the entrances to the caves, oe although wingless, they penetrate often the whole extent of the dark space. — ( Pristonychus elegans, Homalota spelea.) Cave animals. — They form, a least in part, peculiar genera, are wingless and colorless, as far as the consistency of their integu- ments will admit, and exist exauaacnety in total darkness. The terrestrial division is blind ; the aquatic has a perception of light. group belong all the animals in the Mammoth Cave, and among those of the caves of Carniola, Anophthalmus, Bathyscia, perhaps likewise Anurophorus a Hypochthon, which, however, may belong to the following gro Stalactite cave animals. ar OEP Arachnidans and Crustaceans Etnis to peculiar genera, wingless, blind, brightly colored ccording to the nature of their integuments, either “light brown, yellowisn white, or snow white, perhaps a according to the pre- ponderance of the chitine ; living in total darkness, ares to stalactite caves, in part occupying the columns and constru ructed accordingly, either for ascent or hovering over them. Here belong most of the animals treated of in this memoir Stagobius, Blo- thrus, Stalita, Niphargus, and Titanethes A pertinent question arises as to the hee of the formation of these caves and when they became inhabitable. As previously stat- matin all deta Repos [ie Salma), or viie aot eos he discriminates six s AMER. Saroka, VOL. V 48 756 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. ed, the caves of the western and middle States are in lower Car- boniferous limestone rocks, though the Port Kennedy cave explored | by Wheatley and Copef is in the Potsdam limestone. They could not haye been formed under water, but when the land was drained : by large rivers. This could not have occurred previous to the Tri- assic period. Prof. Dana in his *‘ Manual of Geology” shows that : the Triassic continent spread westward from the Atlantic coast “to Kansas, and southward to Alabama; for through this great area | there are no rocks more recent than the Paleozoic.” ‘Through the Mesozoic period [comprising the Triassic, Jurassic, and Creta- | ceous periods] North America was in general dry land, and on the east it stood a large part of the time above its present level.” Though at the close of these periods there was a general extine- tion of life, yet this was not probably a sudden (one of months and even years), but rather a secular extinction, and there may be plants and animals now living on dry land, which are the lineal descendants of mesozoic and more remotely of Carboniferous forms of life. So our cave animals may possibly be the survivors of Mes- ozoic forms of life, just as-we find now living at great depths in the sea remnants of Cretaceous life. But frag the recent explora- tions in the caves of Europe and this country, especially the Port Kennedy cave, with its remarkable assemblage of vertebrates and Insects, we are led to believe from the array of facts presented by Prof. Cope that our true subterranean fauna probably does not date farther back than the beginning of the Quaternary, or Post Pliocene, period. We quote his “general observations” in his _ article on the Port Kennedy fauna. : of the | would te is cave will be found in the Proceedings oo Sy iety, April, 1871. The insects there enumerated ® robably not come under the head of cave insects, THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 757 masses of rocks fall in, which interrupt the passage below. one sapi however, exist when the strata are horizontal. Their is changed by joints or faults, into which the excavating ana eles found their w way. That these caves were formed prior to the postpliocene fauna is evident from the fact that they contain its remains. That they were not in existence prior to the drift is probable, from the fact that they contain no remains of life of any earlie er period so far as h in epoch. n extraordinary number of rapidly flowing waters must have operated over a great part of the Southern States, some of them at an elevation of fifteen hundred feet and over (perhaps two thou- sand) above the present level of the sea. A cave in the Gay Mountain, on the Kanawha river, which I explored for three miles, has at ware ae elevation. Th rritory experiencing such conditions was suitable for the occupation of such a fauna as the deposits contained in these caves reveal, is not probable. The material in which the bones occur in the south is an impure limestone, being mixed with and colored by the red soil which covers the gepi of the ground. It is rather soft but hardens on exposure to the The question then remains so far Se accel as to whether a pliocene mammalian fau That some important change too place is rendered ET by the fact, that nearly all the neotropi- cal types of the animals have been banished from our ee 4 and the pren part of the species of all types have tinct. Two facts have come under my observation which tate a subsequent submergence. A seri ise of caves or portions of a single cave once existing on the southeast side of a range of low hills among the Alleghany mountains in Wythe Co., Virginia, was found to have been removed by asp fragments of the bot- tom deposit only remaining in fissures and concavi vities, separated by various intervals from each other. "Thio fragments yielded the remains of twenty species of postpliocene mammalia.* This de- nudation can be ascribed to local causes, following a subsidence T R nans In a cave examined in Tennessee the ossife- be accounted for on local grounds. The islands of the eastern part of the West Indies appear to have been separated by submer- gence of larger areas, at the close of the period during which they * See Proceed. Amer. Phil. Soc. 1869, 171. 758 THE. MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. were inhabited by postpliocene mammalia and shells. The caves of Anguilla include remains of twelve vertebrates,* of which seven are mammalia of extinct species, and several of them are of large size. These are associated with two recent species of molluses Turbo pica, and a Tudora near pupeformis.; As these large ani- mals no doubt required a more extended territory for their support than that represented by the small island Anguilla, there is every probability that the separation of these islands took place at a late period of time and probably subsequent to the spread of the postpliocene fauna over North America.” I think the reader will conclude from the facts Prof. Cope so clearly presents, that the subterranean fauna of this country does not date back of the Quaternary period. These species must have been created and taken up their abode in these caves (Mammoth Cave and those of Montgomery County, Virginia) after the breccia flooring their bottoms and containing the bones of Quaternary ani- mals had been deposited; or else migrated from Tertiary caves farther south, which is not probable, as it has been previously Shown that those blind animals inhabiting wells immediately die on being exposed to the light. (British Sessile-eyed Crustacea, i, p. 313.) The case becomes much simpler when we consider the age of the rocks in which the Adelsberg and other caves mentioned by Schiddte are situated. The Alps were under water in the Middle Eocene ; consequently the caves could not have been formed until the close of the Tertiary. Hence the species of the cave fauna were evidently created either at the close of the Tertiary, or more probably the beginning of the Quaternary, as “even in the later part of the Pliocene era there was an elevation of three thousand feet in a part of the Island of Sicily” (Dana). We are therefore led to conclude that the species of the subterranean fauna the world over are recent creations, probably not older than the ex- tinct mammals associated with man. b De Rijgereman which mae A fourth species of gigantic Chinchillid has been found which be $ ted b; ‘A 3 a lus quadr Cope. It is represen One: jaws ge teeth of three individual Tris one of the largest species, equa ; m o pe in section; th the smallest. m. .063 or 2.5 Con in the outlines of the ae oo dwe peak agra approaches the genus Amblyrhiza. quadrans, and Amblyrhiza inundata > >S UOWS, mer. Phil. Soc., 1871, 58. 4 a E 7 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. 759 Assuming on the principles of evolution that the cave animals were derived from other species changed by migration from the outer world to the new and strange regions of total darkness, it seems evident that geologically speaking the species were suddenly formed, though the changes may not have been wrought until after several thousand generations. According to the doctrine of natu- ral selection, by which animal species pass from one into another by a great number òf minute variations, this time was not sufficient for the production of even a species, to say nothing of ‘a genus. But the comparatively sudden creation of these cave animals affords, it seems to us, a very strong argument for the theory of Cope and Hyatt of creation by acceleration and retardation, which has been fully set forth in this journal. The strongly marked characters which separate these animals from their allies in the sunlight, are just those fitting them for their cave life and those which we would imagine would be the first to be acquired by them on being re- moved from their normal habitat. On introducing the wingless locust, Rhaphidophora maculata, into a cave, where it must live not under stones, but by clinging to the walls, its legs would tend to grow longer, its antenne and palpi would elongate and become more delicate organs of hearing as well as touch,* and the body would bleach partially out, as we find to be the case in R. subterranea and stygia. The Carabid beetle, Anopthalmus, extending farther into the cave, would lose its wings (all cave insects except the Diptera have no wings, elytra excepted) and eyes, but as nearly all the family are retiring in their habits, the species hiding under stones, its form would not undergo farther striking modification. So with the blind Campo- dea, which does not differ from its blind congeners, which live more or less in the twilight, except in its antenne becoming longer. The blind Adelops, but with rudiments of eyes, does not greatly depart in habits from Catops, while on the other hand the remarkable Stagobius of the Illyrian caves, which according to pHs Ae Oe eee 3 zt £ hic views, origin of Species to learn what he had to say on the as of cave animals. He attri- e time an animal has reached, berl disuse will on this view have more or less perfectly obliterated its ane, A and natural selection will often in dars effected other changes, such as an increase in the length of the antennz or palpi, as sation for blindness.” “oth Amer. eg D: 143. We are glad to to find ¢ age were as to the increase in the length of th paly g eyesight. co ed by Mr. Darwin. 760 THE MAMMOTH CAVE AND ITS INHABITANTS. Schiodte spends its life in crawling ten to twenty feet above the floor over the columns formed by the stalactites, to which unique mode of life it is throughout perfectly adapted, is remarkably different from other Silphids. Its legs are very long and inserted far apart (the prothorax being remarkably long), with surprisingly long claws, while the antennz, again, are of great length and densely clothed with hairs, making them most delicate sense or- gans.* So also are the limbs of the false scorpion, and the spi- der and pill bug (Titanethes) of remarkable length. But the modifications in the body of the Spirostrephon are such that many might deem its aberrant characters as of generic impor- tance. It loses its eyes, which its nearest allies in other, but smaller, caves possess, and instead gains in the delicate hairs on its back, which evidently form tactile organs of great delicacy ; the feet are remarkably long, as also the antenne. These are not new formations but simply modifications apparently, by use or dis- use of organs present in the other species. The aberrant myrio- pod and Stagobius are paralleled by the blind fish, an animal so difficult to classify, and so evidently adapted for its abode in end- less darkness. And as an additional proof of the view here taken that these cave animals are modified from more or less allied spe- cies existing outside of the caves, we have the case of the craw fish, whose eyes (like those of the mole), are larger in the young than adult, indicating its descent from a species endowed with the faculty of sight, while in the adult the appendages are modified as tactile organs so as to make up for its loss of eyesight, in order that it may still take its prey. We thus see that these cave animals are modified in various ways, some being blind, others very hairy, others with long ap- pendages. All are not modified in the same way in homologous organs ; another argument in proof of their descent from ancestors rapid, piratical Arachnidans, or find adequate support on: columns, which it is so manifestly constructed. We are led in thi pect t næ. Whatever significance we attach to those enigmatical organs, we must admit that they are organs of sense, in which view an animal having them so much developed a Stagobius, must possess a great a vantage over its enemies, if these be only Arachni- 8. Its cautious and slow progress, and its timid reconnoitring demeanor, fully indicate that it is conscious of life being in perpetual danger, and that it endeavors to the t to avoid that danger. Darkness, which always favors the pursued more cum seeped, comes to its aid, especially on the uneven excavated surface of the columns. for inhabiting P| +h + i $ a i A SINGING HESPEROMYS. 761 whose habits varied as their out-of-door allies do at present. Had they been specially created for subterranean life, we should have expected a much greater uniformity in the organs adapting them to a cave life than we actually find to be the case. Another fact of interest in this connection is the circumstance that these cave species breed slowly, being remarkably poor in in- dividuals ; they are nearly all extremely rare. Did they breed as numerously as their allies in the outer world the whole race would probably starve, as the supply of food even for those which do live is wonderfully limited. It is now known that animals inhabiting the abysses of the sea are often highly colored: light must penetrate there, for we know that were the darkness total they would be colorless like the cave insects. In view of the many important questions which arise in relation to cave animals, and which have been too imperfectly discussed here, we trust naturalists the world over will be led to explore caves with new zeal, and record their discoveries with minuteness, and the greatest possible regard to exactness. The caves of the West Indian Islands should first of all be carefully explored. Also those of Brazil, those of the East Indies, and of Africa, while fresh and most extended explorations of our own Mammoth Cave should be made, perhaps by a commission acting under gov- ernment or State authority, in order that the most ample facili- ties may be afforded by the parties owning the cave. A SINGING HESPEROMYS. BY REV. SAMUEL LOCKWOOD, PH. D. Some twenty years ago, it was, that the ‘‘ London Charivari” shot its shafts of ridicule at a singing mouse on exhibition in the metropolis. Thus put upon the scent, the firm of Pooh, Pshaw & Co., whose merciless power is alike feared by philosopher and peasant, ‘‘ went for” the showman and his ‘‘ phenomenon.” And so hard was the punch-ing, To that musical mus! 762 A SINGING HESPEROMYS. Albeit the miserable end of poor Mus musculus, we are bold to declare our knowledge of the existence of singing mice of the above domestic sort; and farther, our belief that they are not very uncommon. But we now propose to introduce to the readers of the Naruraxisr an aristocratic, and entirely new candidate for their consideration—a musical wood-mouse. Last spring, my friend Philip Ryall, Esq., brought from Florida a mouse which he had captured in his residence there. He says that for a number of nights, a low sound of a more or less musical nature, had been heard proceeding, as was supposed, from the chimney, and which very naturally was attributed to the chim- ney swallow. One day a small mouse came from under the hearth into the middle of the floor of the sitting-room, sat up, and sang for about a minute, and retired. This explained the mystery. Its nightly music and its daily visit were continued, almost invariably, the visit being limited to the same small area of the floor. It was determined to capture the little stranger ; which after many unsuc- cessful efforts was finally accomplished. Last June the interesting little fellow was very kindly passed into my custody. My first concern was to add to its comfort by enlarging its cage, also to provide for it in every possible way a condition of things suited to its nature. For all this I was amply rewarded in the fine health, and the musical performances that followed. A little study soon determined that the pretty creature belonged to the vesper mice. It is known by the popular names of jumping mouse, wood mouse, and white-footed mouse. Our specimen is one of the smallest of its own genus, for the precise species is the one known to naturalists as the Hesperomys cognatus Leconte. This fact, so novel, once determined, gave additional zest to my purpose to make it the object of especial study. To give it individuality, as it was fast becoming a pet, I named it Hespie ; which name, as its object was a female, was certainly appropriate. I thought she soon learned to know me, and certainly I soon came to regard her with attachment. Yet, the truth told, she was a pretty, pert and unamiable little miss, and would permit no familiarity, always bit- ing the finger that attempted to touch her. Her animation, agility and gracefulness of motion were wonderful. Sometimes a fly would enter the cage, when she would spring at, and catch it, sometimes with her mouth, and at others with her hands. This she would eat with great relish. So uniformly quick were her motions, that on 4 e aE A E ESE E ES AEN Ee tee AESA ES A aN SE enaa a eo ee TETEN A SINGING HESPEROMYS. 763 one occasion my little boy said: “ Papa, I would like to see mousie walk just once.” Her taste was quite omnivorous ; although unlike the domestic mouse, she did not care much for cheese. But meat, bread, corn, nuts, sugar, and even pudding and fish were all accept- able. A little sod of fresh grass and white clover was occasionally put into the cage. This she enjoyed greatly, eating the greens like a rabbit; only always insisting on sitting up to do it. It was in- teresting to witness how ready she was for emergencies. Sitting on her hind feet, she would take hold with her hands of a blade of grass, and begin eating at the tip. The spear would rapidly shorten, and seemingly she must now stoop to finish it, or do it in the ordinary quadrupedal style. Now that was just what she did not choose to do. So when the emergency came, she would stoop down, and in a trice cut the blade off close to the sod with just one nip; then up again on her feet in a sitting posture, she would finish it in a comfortable and becoming way. On one occasion a worm crept out of the sod, and Hespie at once fell to it and soon had it tucked away without cooking. As to exercise, she manages to take a great deal. In the day time her exercise is less, as she does a good deal of sleeping then. It is at night that her peculiar talents appear to advantage, beginning at vespers, as her name might imply. Then, as a singer, her genius literally shines. It is with her singing that we are the most concerned; and indeed, at the moment of this writing (for it is night) she is in fine song. _ Perhaps, however, it will seem more literal and actual if her per- formances are described in the past tense. Our little musician had several snatches or bits of melody which were often repeated. But in her repertoire were two notable ones, each of which deserves to be dignified as a professional role. e one by far the more frequent is notated below ; and because it is her favorite, when running in her revolving cage, I have named it The Wheel Song.* The last bar of this would frequently be prolonged to two or three; and she would sometimes change from C sharp and D, to C natural and D, then warble on these two notes awhile, and wind up with a quick chirp on C sharp and D. The distinctness between the semitones was very marked, and easily appreciable to a good ear. I have always enjoyed the mellow little strains of the song sparrow and the house wren. But in either case it was short, and *The musical notation was written by my son, Ferris C. Lockwood. 764 A SINGING HESPEROMYS. apt to become monotonous from its admitting almost no variation. Monotony was not chargeable to Hespie’s Wheel Song. With unconscious skill she would work out of it a wonderful variety. Instead of the first measure she would sometimes open with the second one, then follow it with the first. Or she might start with the third, following with the second, or the first, just as fancy seemed to dictate. Then she had her own whims as to the amount of repetition of each bar; that is to say, she would double or even NO. i. THE WHEEL SONG. gestcs Aei triplicate a measure, when the notion took her. In this regard, time was quite ignored. Indeed, whatever may have been the Hesperomys’ canon of musical procedure or propriety, we could not but regard it as arbitrary, or beyond our comprehension. Still it must be admitted, that this little performer possessed precision, delicacy, and scope of execution. She had one role, which although the notation is simpler than that of the Wheel Song, yet I think to her its execution was more A SINGING HESPEROMYS. 765 difficult. It is certain that she was far more chary of its perfor- - mance; and to me its effect seemed more impressive. I have on account of its less frequency distinguished it as The Grand Role. This was seldom given, yet quite often enough to allow it to be written down. The second measure would be sung quite fast, sounding almost like the pecking of the woodpecker on the tree ; and at other times ft would be slow like the dropping of water. Although she had no ear for time, yet she would keep to the key of B (two flats), and strictly in a Major key. This fact I consid- ered interesting, as Wood declares his belief “that the untaught cries of all the lower animals, whether quadrupeds or birds, are in the Minor key.” Herein theory must yield to observation. If I might venture an opinion, it would be that the music of the really musical wild animals is oftener on a Major key; while the Minor key characterizes savage man. A remarkable fact in the above role is the scope of little Hespie’s musical powers. Her soft, clear voice falls an octave with all the precision possible; then at the wind-up, it rises again into a very quick trill on C sharp and D. Though it be at the risk of taxing belief, yet I must in duty record one of Hespie’s most remarkable performances. She was gambolling in the large compartment of her cage, in a mood indi- cating intense animal enjoyment, having woke from a long sleep, and partaken of some favorite food. She burst into a fulness of song very rich in its variety. While running and jumping, she rolled off what I have called her Grand Role, then sitting, she went over it again, ringing out the strangest diversity of changes, by an almost whimsical transposition of the bars; then without for an instant stopping the music, she leapt into the wheel, started it revolving at its highest speed, and went through the Wheel Song in exquisite style, giving several repetitions of it. After this she returned to the large compartment, took up again the Grand Role, and put into it some variations of execution which aston- ished me. One measure I remember was so silvery and soft, that I said to a lady who was listening, that a canary able to execute that would be worth a hundred dollars. I occasionally detected what I am utterly unable to explain, a literal dual sound, very like a boy whistling as he draws a stick along the pickets of a fence. So the music went on, as I listened, watch in hand, until actually nine minutes had elapsed. Now the wonderful fact is that the res between the roles was never much more than for a second of time ; 766 A SINGING HESPEROMYS. and during all this singing the muscles could be seen in vigorous action through the entire length of the abdomen. This feat would be impossible to a professional singer; and the nearest to it that I have seen was the singing of a wild mocking bird in a grove. For several days the wheel grated on its axle. This afforded Hespie great delight; and her own little warble was completely lost in the harsher sound. It was pretty much as it is with some of the modern methods of praise; as when the vocal is subordinated to the instrumental, a mere murmur of song, on which the organist comes down as with the sound of many waters. A drop of oil, and the sound of the friction stopped. This quite excited her temper; and she bit the wires of her wheel most viciously. A little device was hit upon which set her in good humor again. A strip of stout writing paper, a half inch wide, was pinned down in such a way that its clean cut upper edge pressed against the wires of the wheel, making with its revolution a pleasant, purring sound. It was on the principle, exactly, of the old-time watchman’s rattle, and the old toy known as a cricket. This for a while greatly delighted the capricious creature, and she made the wheel almost fly; at the same time, in unison with the whirr of the wheel, was her own soft, cheery warble. It was very low, yet very distinct. I remember once on a larger scale wit- nessing an analogous sight, when, unseen, I entered a room in which was a woman spinning wool, and singing at the top of her voice, in keeping with the loud whirring of her spinning wheel. Without her wheel the domestic life of little Hespie would be rather monotonous. Expecting to see some antics in the slipping line, the trick was tried of covering a part of the inside of the wheel with smooth sized paper. Mousie entered and started the wheel, and in the prettiest way jumped the smooth paper floor at avery: Hewolition; actually keeping the propulsion up with but a slight diminution of the usual speed. This was certainly a very pretty feat. We next shut her out by corking up the entrance. _ She worked desperately at the closed aperture; then in despair gave vent to a piercing little cry. It was surprising what ® strange pleasure this sound afforded me; it showed so clearly the difference in the timbre or quality of this sound of distress from that which I have called its singing. She was a good deal excited, and ran frantically into and out of her little bed-box, which had a hole at each end. Soon this tiny gust of rage passed over. She ates er A SINGING HESPEROMYS. 767 now, although running about her cage, indulging in little gambols, indicating exquisite grace and agility, struck off into a truly beau- tiful strain of song. It occupied about three minutes, and had in it considerable scope and variety. First there was a clearly enun- ciated expression like that of the cooing of a turtle dove, a soft note, with a deliberate slowness. This changed into a series of more rapid notes strangely suggesting, though not so weird-like, the conchy clamor of the American cuckoo (Coccyzus), then clos- ing with a series of short, rapid sounds, like the tapping of the woodpecker on a tree. A very noticeable fact was, that a great deal of this little crea- ture’s song was poured forth while at play—that is, while in ac- tual activity ; and, take the wheel-play, for instance, when really in quite violent exercise. A thing, too, which much surprised me, was, that often when eating she sang and ate at the same time, literally in the same breath. This singular habit, so suggestive of a great physiological difficulty, led to an incident, which caused considerable merriment for those who witnessed it. I had been examining some insect larve on a twig of black alder. Without any real motive, a bit of the twig, about an inch long, and an eighth of an inch thick, was offered to Hespie. She was delighted, and at once began in her usual pretty way, sitting up, to eat the bark, although it is very bitter. Thus she sat “bolt upright ;” and the manner in which she held this little black stick in both hands up to her mouth, at the precise angle in which a fife is held, although nibbling away, yet singing at the same time, it looked so like a little fifer playing on an ebony fife that laughter was irresis- tible at the comical sight. Wishing to see how this Hesperomys would behave in company, I put into her cage a young domestic mouse about one-third grown. She was asleep in her little box. When she woke, it was a pretty sight. What animation! How the black eyes started and spar- kled! To me they seemed to snap with fire. The whole frame was in a quiver— first of astonishment, then with rage. It was not a ran— but a jump which she made at the little involuntary intruder, who received a nip that made it squeal in terror. We removed the little captive, who was so astonished that it was quite content to lie in our hand. Its terror had won our pity, and we restored to it its liberty. I had a friend who had once a singing domestic mouse, of very moderate musical ability, however. But 768 A SINGING HESPEROMYS. one day he captured two specimens of the white-footed mouse (Hesperomys leucopus), and supposing it would be good company, he put them into the cage. Great mistake it was. The two white-footed barbarians abused the hospitality, and murdered poor Mus musculus. And now we ask are these phenomena that have been herein described the result of an abnormal condition of things or not? How much truth is there in the theory of some that the singing of these mice is the result of disease, or of some bronchial distur- bance? In my opinion the following reasons disprove the truth of any such theory. 1. The exquisite animal enjoyment, and actual physical condi- tion, for it is fat, and perfect in pelage and form, indicating high health. Every form of bronchial disease is in its most ordinary _ effect depressing to the animal spirits. 2. When engaged in song, the exercise reaches to the very depth of the chest, as is so often seen in the lowing of kine, where the muscles may be observed in action for the whole length of the ab- domen. Persons afflicted bronchially avoid deep vocal exercises. 3. The singing is so often performed under those precise cir- cumstances in which bronchially diseased persons are sure to keep still, if possible. For instance, take the Wheel Song. Here, al- though the exercise was violent, yet the song would be sustained all through with no diminution of vocal strength; and quite fre- quently was it the case, that when the animal stopped turning the wheel, though it continued the song, the momentum would throw it on its back, when as if in surprise, it would roll off four or five totes on a higher octave, and in a greatly increased loudness of voice. 4. Our vesper mouse delights in a role, the performance of which argues these three facts :— A high organization of the organs of the voice; delicate and skilful adjustment during use; 4 perf condition as respects health. She can sing and eat at the same time. When a boy the writer was fond of whistling, usually select- ing some ballad tune; and it was with perfect ease that the strain was continued through an entire stanza, without any break for the sake of getting breath; for ere the expiring air had become exhausted, he inverted the process, thus continuing his strain by the inspiring air as it came through the orifice formed by his lips. He also remembers that it was said of Jenny Lind that she could A SINGING HESPEROMYS. 769 use the inspiring breath in singing, though he cannot vouch for the fact. Now this fact, in the case of our Hesperomys, that it could eat and sing at the same time, even admitting, what is probably true, that there are intervals of a very short duration (so short as to be almost undiscernible) when the epiglottis closes to allow the food to pass down the gullet, demonstrates, as we think, that the organization of those parts was very delicate, and that the whole organism was in the very highest condition of health. We say nothing about that dual vocalization, other than that we think it looks in the same direction. Probably it may occur to some that the pathology could be bet- ter demonstrated by dissection. To us it hardly seems that such a proof is needed. But I confess to a desire for all possible knowledge from such a source as respects certain physiological questions which I feel impelled to propose. In the human ear is a stringed instrument of amazing delicacy. The physiologist calls it the Fibres of Corti. It is wonderfully suggestive of the strings and keys of a piano; and it is believed that it ministers to the musical function. Query: has our little musician this mysterious organ? If so, in how much is it like that possessed by man? And „as Hespie lacked time in her music, and as all animals, other than man, lack harmony, is this delicate organ consonant with that defect? Alas! we may not bring to this matter, though under our hands and our eyes, processes of investigation so delicate as the astronomer applies to matter far distant in space. We would not run into the vice of generalizing on too scanty a stock of facts. Yet we are disposed to think that as an order the rodents possess a large amount of undeveloped ability for musical utterance. Few of us are aware to what extent among the domes- tic mice singers abound. Singing rats also have been observed. We have now the Hesperomys, thus affording three well marked genera of the Muride. Of the Sciuride, or squirrels, I can only speak of three genera with certain knowledge—the gray squirrel, the chipmunk, and the flying squirrel. All these are capable of musical sounds, though not to be called singers. And there is also the whistling of the woodchuck in its burrow. Last summer I caught a young rabbit in a patch of wild lupines, and was struck with the silvery musical ring of its ery, when my hand touched it. It is worth asking how far man’s training or culture could develop and improve this potentiality or latent power in the rodents to 770 THE LONG-CRESTED JAY. sing. My friend, who caught the object of this article, is firm in the belief that on one occasiorf it made, not without some success, an effort to imitate the canary. If this is a fact, it would of itself prove much in the direction of these remarks. THE LONG-CRESTED JAY. BY ELLIOTT COUES. sin = Hi Tus bird is the Cyanura macrolopha of naturalists, and the genus it belongs to is distinguished among our jays by the ele- Fig. 134. The Long-crested Jay. gant crest that all the species possess, as well as by the rich blue color that shows particularly on the wings and tail, which are also barred with black. This group of birds will be immediately rec- ognized, when we say that the familiar blue jay of the eastern United States is the type of the whole; there are only half a dozen species, among which the common eastern species stands a little apart, being ornamented with richer and more variegated colors, and inhabiting a different zoological province. In the west it is represented by two kinds, Steller’s and the Long-crested, so much alike that they might be considered as one species ; the last named runs into the C. coronata of Mexico, and this into a South American kind called C. galeata; while from these last THE LONG-CRESTED JAY. 771 another Mexican species, C. diademata, differs but little. These birds are more sombre in general plumage, than the C. cristata of the east, but still they are beautiful; they differ mainly in the varying extent of the sooty blackish and the blue, and in the pre- cise character of the blue or white spots about the head. Our two kinds above named might be described almost in the same. terms; they are grayish black with a faint blue shade, passing on the rump and abdomen into bright blue, which becomes even richer on the wings and tail; these last are barred with black. The chin is slightly streaked with whitish; otherwise, the whole head is glossy black, except that the crest is prettily faced in front with blue or bluish-white, and there are frequently whitish spots about the eyelids, as in a robin. It is the character of these head-mark- ings, and the longer and fuller crest, that chiefly distinguishes the Long-crested from Steller’s jay. Both are about a foot long, and nearly half as much in spread of wing; the wings and tail are each about half a foot. The sexes can hardly be told apart, though the male is a little the larger; the young rapidly come to resemble the parents; but when they leave the nest they lack the black bars on the wings and tail, and the head markings. Then I was travelling westward in the spring of 1864, I saw some of these jays in the Raton Mountains, in New Mexico, which I believe to be about their eastern limit, at least on that latitude, for they are strongly attached to pine-clad mountains, and, like Clarke’s crow (Picicorvus columbianus) and the Blue-headed jay (Gymnocokitta cyanocephala), are found as high up as timber grows. In crossing the Rocky Mountains through Whipple’s Pass, I did not happen to meet with any, though others before me had been ` more fortunate; to the westward still, in the lofty forests of the San Francisco Mountains, they were abundant, and at that time (July), had just reared their families, and were rambling through the tops of the trees together. The old birds were in sorry con- dition, and had literally a “ crest-fallen” air, as if they felt they had lost their chief ornament, and were stuck full of pin-feathers besides. But when I came across them the third time, in the pineries about Fort Whipple, they were in good trim once more, and saucy as ever. They live in the mountainous parts of Ari- zona all the year, for they are able to endure pretty severe cold, being of hardy nature, and well clothed with very soft, thick plumage, while their food is such as can be procured at any sea- AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V 49 772 THE LONG-CRESTED JAY. son. Thus being non-migratory, their permanent habitat may be given with some accuracy; it includes the wooded Rocky Moun- tain region at large. To the north, and especially about the Co- lumbia River, they become mixed up with Steller’s jay, which is the boreal extreme, reaching into Alaska; while in the opposite direction they run into the Cyanura coronata on the Table Lands of Mexico. The imposing crest of this jay merits more than a passing al- lusion. It does not acquire its full size and beauty, after the July moult, until the approach of cold weather; but late in the fall, and all through the winter, this ornament is as striking as at the breeding season. It grows to be two inches and a half long, and is composed of many slender feathers with loosened barbs. The longest ones grow from the crown, while shorter ones fill in from behind and before, to make an elegant pyramid when standing close together, or a bundle of plumes when shaken apart, as repre- sented in the figure, taken from a perfect spring specimen. This crest is jet black, but it is trimmed in front with a lacing of bluish white, laid on in two rows running a third way up; the colored feathers are of a hard, dense nature, looking something like little bits of metal, and besides these, there are spots of like color about the eyelids, as already mentioned. The crest can be raised or lowered, and opened or shut at pleasure; and its rapid move- ments, when the bird is excited, are highly expressive. The jay seems to be proud of his top-knot, and generally holds it pretty high, unless he happens to be on a birds’-nesting expedition, which I am sorry to say is not seldom, when he lowers his standard, and makes himself as small as possible, as he skulks silently about, looking, and no doubt feeling, like the thief that he is. All the jays make their share of noise in the world; they fret and scold about trifles, quarrel over nothing, and keep everything in a ferment when they are about. The particular kind we are now talking about is powise behind his fellows in these respects ; a stranger to modesty, and forbearance, and the many gentle qual- ‘ities that charm us in some little birds and endear them to us, he is a regular fillibuster, ready for any sort of adventure, that prom- ‘ises sport or spoil, even if spiced with danger. Sometimes he prowls about alone, but oftener has a band of choice spirits with him, who keep each other in countenance — for our jay is a coward at heart like other bullies—and share the plunder on the usual THE LONG-CRESTED JAY. 773 principle in such cases, of each one taking all he can get. Once I had a chance of seeing how a band of these guerillas make their raids, and though they went at it in good style, they dame out very badly indeed. A vagabond troop made a descent upon a clump of bushes, where probably they expected to find eggs to suck, or at any rate some chance for mischief and amusement ; and to their intense joy, they surprised a little owl, quietly digest- ing his grasshoppers, with both eyes shut. Here was a lark ! and a chance to wipe out a part of the score that the jay family keep against the owl tribe, for injuries received time out of mind. In the tumult that ensued, the little birds scurried off at once, the woodpeekers overhead stopped tapping to listen and look on, and a snake that was basking in a sunny spot thought best to crawl into his hole. The jays lunged furiously at their enemy, who sat helpless, bewildered at the sudden onslaught, trying to look as big as possible, with his wings set for bucklers and his bill snapping, meanwhile twisting his head till I thought he would wring it off, trying to look all ways at once. The impudent jays, emboldened by the feeble resistance, grew more and more insolent, till their victim made a sudden break through their ranks, and flapped into the heart of a juniper tree, hoping to be screened by the tough, thick foliage. The jays went trooping after, of course, and I hardly know how the fight would have ended, but here I thought it time to interfere myself. I got the owl first, as the greater prize, it being the rare and curious Pigmy (Glaucidium gnoma) hardly bigger than a blue-bird; and shot four of the jays, before they made up their minds to be off. The collector has no better chance to enrich his cabinet, than when birds are quarrelling with each other; and so it has always been with the third party in a diffi- culty, ever since the monkey divided cheese for the two cats. ` Since I have spoken of the jay’s noisiness, I ought to say what his voice sounds like; but that is a hard matter, he is such a gar- rulous creature, and has such a variety of tones. Ordinarily, he screams out at the top of his voice, and keeps screaming till he is tired, or till something attracts his attention. This note is some- thing like our jay’s, but hoarser and heavier, and can be told in a moment, by its base quality, from the harsh outery of either Wood- house’s or Maximillian’s jay, both of which birds run higher up the scale. He has another way of expressing himself, that sounds like the rataplan of our golden-winged woodpecker ; and then TTA THE LONG-CRESTED JAY. again, when greedily regaling upon acorns, or hopping about with no particular object in view, or curiously peering down through the pine fronds to watch an intruder, he talks to himself in a queer way, as if thinking aloud and chuckling over some comical notions of his own; or perhaps simply because he likes to hear himself. Indeed, this talkativeness gave the name — Garrulince —to the whole tribe of jays; and versatile as they are in this, they are equally so in the matter of their food, whence they used to be called Omnivori. The long-crested jay will eat anything that is eatable. They say jays kill and devour small birds ; perhaps they may, but I do not think it is their practice. That they will rob birds’ nests, and suck eggs, no one doubts; and if they cannot catch winged insects, fat larvæ and beetles do nòt come amiss. But after all, they are vegetarians, and live principally upon seeds, berries and other fruit. Out there in the mountains where the Long-crested lives, pine-seeds contribute in large part to his nour- ishment. I have often watched the bird hammering away at a cone, which sometimes he would wedge in a crotch, and sometimes hold with his feet, like a hawk with a mouse. Though most at ` home in the depths of the pines where the supply is pretty sure, he often strays into the adjoining patches of scrubby oak and ju- niper after the acorns and berries, or to pick a quarrel with Wood- house’s jay, and frighten the sparrows. Wherever he goes he has it pretty much his own way, hated and feared by the other birds, whom he silences with his scream, and subdues by a show of au- thority. But who of his ilk has not enemies to be feared in turn? Cassius’ flycatcher, almost as noisy and audacious as himself, has many a set-to with him; and even the nimble little pewees pester him occasionally. The woodpeckers tease him particularly ; they can scramble about faster than he can follow, and laugh at him from the other side of a bough, till he quite loses his temper. But withal our jay has his good points, and I confess to a sneaking sort of regard for him. An elegant dashing fellow, of good presence if not good manners ; a tough, wiry, independent creature, with sense enough to take precious good care of himself, as you would discover if you tried to get his skin. As you ap- proach a tall pine where he is rollicking, his restless bright brown eye marks you for a suspicious character who wilt bear watching. Now thoroughly on the alert, he leaps like a squirrel from bough to bough till he reaches the top; and then, as you advance a step REVIEWS. 775 nearer, he is off with a scream that makes the woods echo his triumphant disdain. It will be of no use to follow him, now that he is alarmed ; give up the hope of that particular skin for your cabinet. But perhaps on another occasion he may be inclined to take a better look at you, for his curiosity is great, and so he may expose himself through the rift of the foliage that forms his look- out. That moment is your chance, and with the loud report of the gun comes his shriek of agony, as he falls all bloody from the bough he just mounted in such pride. If he is only wounded, you will find him game to the last, in such desperate strait as this, however he may show the white feather at other times; and you will have hard work to squeeze the last gasp out of him, with your fingers pressed on each side of the thorax, as you well know how. And even though you have a prize, you will think it is a cruel thing to do, as you plug up the shot holes, and thrust him in a stiff paper cone — especially guarding his superb crest — be- fore consigning his warm body to the bag along with other vic- tims. REVIEWS. Grav’s Hanp List or Brps.— With the third Part, which has appeared this year, one of the most remarkable ornithological works ever published is brought to a close. The urgent need of such a work as this has long been felt, while there seemed to be little hope that the want would be supplied, owing to the magni- tude and exceptional difficulty of the task. Since Bonaparte’s ‘Conspectus,’ with somewhat similar aim and scope, was abruptly broken off by the author’s death, no one has hitherto been found willing, even if able, to bend himself to the undertaking. But Mr. Gray has proved equal to the occasion. To a knowledge of birds possessed by only a few leading ornithologists, he adds an acquaintance with the literature of the subject in which perhaps he stands alone; while the British Museum affords unrivalled fa- cilities for one, who, like Mr. Gray, can use them to greatest advantage. To speak of the work in general terms elisa would be entirely superfluous. Mr. Gray has laid ornithologists under a lasting debt of gratitude. ` 776 REVIEWS. The three unpretentious volumes simply purport to be a “ hand- list of birds, distinguishing those contained in the British Museum ;” but this does not say what has been accomplished, nor more than hint at the immense labor involved. This astonishing compila- tion is really an epitome of ornithological literature. It under- takes to present and identify all the generic and specific names that have been proposed in ornithology from the Linnean times to to-day. And when we find that some five thousand generic titles, and over thirty thousand specific names, have been collated and identified, either as synonyms or as valid designations, we can appreciate what has been done. The index alone (which, by the way, takes up more than half the last volume) presupposes a familiarity with the literature of the science hardly to be expected in one man, to say nothing of the library work required in look- ing up authorities, and the mere clerical labor of transcription. But even this seems insignificant, when we recollect that two-thirds of the thirty thousand “ species” are synonyms, and that an equal if not greater reduction of the five thousand “ genera” was required ; that this great mass of bibliographical matter had to be thoroughly digested, the valid species to be sifted out and assigned to other proper sub-genera and genera, and then the load of sy- nonymy to be correctly distributed. Yet this has been approxi- mately accomplished. It is not within the bounds of possibility that all this should have been faultlessly done. In the first place, ornithological synonymy cannot now be completely disentangled ; in every fam- ily, and in every extensive genus, there are names that cannot be identified to everybody’s satisfaction. Secondly, the number of species cannot be fixed, owing to the well-known and unfortu- nate lack of agreement as to what shall be held for species and what for geographical or other differentiation. Supposing a man to have arranged before him every name that has been printed in ornithology, and to be personally acquainted with the bird upon which each one of these names was based ; yet then he would not be able to pass judgment that would not be contested or reversed by some other equally well informed ornithologist in at least one case out of ten. In such insurmountable difficulty as this, Mr. Gray has adopted the most judicious —in fact the only practicable —-course ; he gives doubtful species the benefit of the doubt. It was manifestly impossible for him to attempt, in his individ- REVIEWS. TIT ual capacity, critical discrimination in every instance; and the plan carried out is far more satisfactory. Suppressing only un- questionable synonyms, he retains all names not satisfactorily identified, and enumerates separately all geographical and other differentiations, in the cases of widely spread and flexible species, that have been distinguished by name. So in any given group we see at a glance what has been described as distinct, and may so be held with any show of reason whatever. As each name is accompanied by precise indication of locality, we can seize at once upon a probable indication of any specimen we may be look- ing up ; and after determining that it is such a species of such an author, it remains with ourselves to decide whether it is sufficiently distinguished from such another species. Thus any one inclined to be severe in the matter of species can lump to his heart’s con- tent ; whereas had Mr. Gray heaped up synonyms in a conserva- tive spirit, he would have made it like looking for a needle in a haymow for one of opposite tendencies to pick out the name he wanted. By this method, Mr. Gray makes an approximation to- wards a perfect mirror of ornithological literature only limited by common human fallibility. The list of species foots up a total of eleven thousand, one hundred and sixty-two, distributed among two thousand, nine hun- dred and fifteen genera and sub-genera. Making a reasonable reduction, upon the considerations just presented, the number probably will not exceed ten thousand—a figure that accords with current estimates. But the number of ‘“ genera” — one for every four species, and that in a class of animals of the fewest broad types, and an unusual proportion of closely interrelated orms —is a palpable absurdity. Mr. Gray, however, is not guilty of any such thing as this. The full genera he adopts are noticeably few—decidedly fewer than is now customary; at a rough estimate not one-fifth of the two thousand, nine hundred and fifteen names enumerated. For in this matter, he has been guided by the same happy judgment that dictated his disposal of specific names. In reducing the five thousand and odd genera that have been proposed to two thousand, nine hundred and fifteen, he suppresses only those that are positively homonymous— based upon the same type. The rest are given, as subgenera, each over its own type, without raising the question of their taxonomic val- ue; thus among the humming birds, we find only twenty-eight 778 REVIEWS. genera, but no less than one hundred and seventy-eight subgen- era! By this means we learn exactly what, if any, names have been based upon a particular species; and so knowing the types, we can combine or keep separate at discretion. If Mr. Gray had brought these various names under the one he adopted for the genus, we should be completely at a loss. One other reason for the prodigious number of generic names indexed, may be found in a peculiarity of Mr. Gray’s; he invariably preserves the original spelling of names, whether correct or not, against the custom of the purists who try to amend cacography, false etymologies, and other ‘barbarities’ of which ornithology is guilty ; he will not even correct typographical errors ordinarily ; and by citing all the dif- ferent spellings of the same word as distinct synonyms, his list is considerably swelled, since the same word is sometimes written five or six different ways. For the special purposes of this work, this method is undoubtedly preferable, though obviously it cannot be fully carried out. For instance, in the 12th edition of the Systema Nature, the genus Scolopax stands printed Scopolaz. The classification adopted in the hand-list is fairly open to crit- icism on every score. If there is any point upon which ornithol- ogists are almost unanimous in the midst of the taxonomic enterprises and conflicts of the present day, it is the entire ineligi- bility of this antiquated classification. Whatever may be said for or against any other system, this one at least will not do. We hesitate about mentioning the only other feature of the work that does not satisfy us; for it is much like asking the master of a feast why he does not have one more course. But, while a large proportion of the species (the leading ones in particular) are indicated by references to the works where they are described, the greater number-of names, including all the synonyms, are merely accompanied by the authors’ names, and the locality. This will often leave the student in the lurch, as he may have no idea where to look for the description upon which the name is based. This is complimentary to ornithologists, certainly: but it presupposes a knowledge of the literature of the science that all do not possess. It was not so much matter about the syn- onyms; but if the line allotted to each species had been filled out with the reference, as it might have been, we should judge that with little additional labor, and without perceptibly enlarging the volumes, the usefulness of the work would have been ma- REVIEWS. 779 terially enhanced. After what has gone before, we hardly need say, that the Hand-list is simply indispensable to the working or- nithologist.— E. C. OrıcrN or Lowest Organisms.*—The author’s aim in this and other writings is to prove that while some monads (Bacteria) orig- inate by subdivision of preéxisting individuals (homogenesis), others originate de novo, just as crystals originate by certain chem- ical laws. He thus goes still farther than those advocates of spontaneous generation who believe that Bacteria originate by the transformation of living matter (heterogenesis). For this new mode of spontaneous generation he proposes the term * Archebio- sis.” We should premise that Bacteria are monads, the lowest and most minute organized beings, forming mere points of organized matter ; they are highly refractive spherical bodies, and move with considerable activity. Torule are very similar bodies and are the germs of the yeast fungus. Professor Bastian has observed the ordinary reproduction by fission “ most plainly when a few Bacteria have been enclosed in a single drop of fluid, pressed into a very thin stratum, in a ‘live box’ kept at a temperature of about 90° Fahr. by resting on one of Stricker’s warm water cham- bers placed on the stage of the microscope. Under these condi- tions, I have seen a Bacterium of moderate size divide into two, and each of these into two others somewhat smaller, in the course of fifteen minutes.” These monas-like bodies, as is well known, de- velop into higher organisms. “It is a fact, however, admitted by many, and which any patient microscopist is capable of verifying for himself, that some Bacteria do develop into Leptothrix fila- ments, and that these are capable of passing into a dissepimated mycelial structure of larger size and undoubtedly fungus nature —from which, fructification of various kinds may be produced. Some Bacteria may therefore develop into some fungi, just as cer- tainly as Torule may develop into some other fungi, or just as surely as some multiplying gonidia may develop into lichens. That some Bacteria are produced from preéxisting Bacteria, just as some Torule are derived from preéxisting Torule, may, it is *The Mode of Origin of Lowest Organisms: including a discussion of the experi- ments of M. Pasteur, and a reply to some statements by Professors Huxley and Tyn- dall. By H. Charlton Bastian, London and N. York. Macmillan & Co. 1871. 12mo. pp. 109, with two cuts. $1.25. 780 REVIEWS. true, be considered as settled.” ‘‘ But” he adds ‘“‘so far as we have yet considered the subject, there may be just as good evidence to show that Bacteria and Torul are capable of arising de novo, as there is that some of them are capable of developing into fungi.” He next discusses the heterogenetic origin of Bacteria and Toru- æ :— , “It has long been known that Bacteria and Torulæ are fre- quently to be found within vegetable cells, taken even from the central parts of plants whenever these are in a sickly condition or are actually dying. They are apt to exist also within epithelial cells taken from the inside of the mouth; and the frequency and abundance with which such organisms are met with in these cells, is almost in direct proportion to the malnutrition and lack of vital power in the individual who is the subject of observation. Then again, in persons who have died of adynamic diseases, in the course of twenty-four or thirty-six hours (during warm weather), Bacteria may be found in abundance within the blood vessels of the brain and of other parts, although no such Bacteria were recognizable in the blood of the individual during life. n such cases we must in order to account for the presence the Bacteria or Torule are met with, are onthe eve of death), or else we must imagine that when the vital activity of any organism, whether simple or complex, is on the wane, its constituent par- ticles (being still portions of living matter) are capable of indi- vidualizing themselves, and of growing into the low organism in question. Just as the life of one of the cells of a higher organ- ism may continue for some time after the death of the organism itself, so, in accordance with this latter view, may one of the par- ticles of such a cell be supposed to continue to live after even cell- life is impossible.” : This latter theory (heterogenesis) he favors as in part account- ing for the production of Bacteria, as ‘evidence of a tolerably sat- isfactory nature, however, is forthcoming which may speak inde- pendently in favor of the doctrine of heterogenesis.” “It has been affirmed by Crivelli and Maggi that they have actually seen the particles within granular epithelial cells (taken from the back of the tongue of a patient suffering from diabetes) grow and elongate, so as to give rise to Bacteria, ox fuse in lon- gitudinal series so as to form a Vibrio. And, moreover, as I have REVIEWS. 781 myself ascertained, if one takes healthy-looking epithelial scales scraped from the inside of the mouth, which appear to contain nothing but the finest granules, and places them with a little saliva in a‘live box’ (and this within a damp chamber kept at a tempera- ture of about. 90° Fahr.), in the course of from five to ten hours, the cells may be found to be studded throughout with motionless Bacteria.” The origin, in the third place, of Bacteria and Torule by Ar- chebiosis is supported by evidence, in the author's opinion, sharply defined and conclusive. “ Simple experiments can be had recourse to, which are not ad- missible in the discussion of the question as to the origin of Bac- teria and Torulæ by Heterogenesis. Thus, we wish to establish the fact that living matter is capable of undergoing a certain metamorphosis, and consequently, we must deal with living matter. Here, however, with the view of establishing the fact that living matter can arise de novo, if we are able, shortly after beginning have been killed—we may feel pretty sure that any living organ- isms which are subsequently found, when the vessel is broken, must have originated from some re-arrangements which had taken place amongst the not-living constituents of the experimental so- lutions, whereby life-initiating combinations had been formed.” The possibility of this mode of spontaneous generation is ‘*in- timately associated with the doctrine as to the cause of fermen- tation and putrefaction. Bastian espouses Liebig’s theory of the cause of fermentation, i. e., by sets of chemical changes, against Pasteur’s, who believes that fermentative changes are begun by the influence of living organisms. He also attacks the theory that the atmosphere is laden with the germs of Bacteria and Torule, and thinks that if they do have germs, they must be microscopically invisible to us. He then gives the results of a series of experiments which ‘‘ seem to show quite conclusively that M. Pasteur’s explanations are alto- gether inadequate to account for the occasional preservation of boiled fluids in bent-neck flasks.” They lend no countenance, moreover, to his particular theory, that fermentation cannot be initiated without the agency of living ferments, — they are, on the contrary, wholly opposed to this restriction. In conclusion our author remarks :— 5 s . 782 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. “It would thus appear that specks of living matter may be born in suitable fluids, just as specks of crystalline matter may arise in other fluids. Both processes are really alike inexplicable — both products are similarly the result of the operation of inscrutable natural laws, and what seem to be inherent molecular affinities. The properties of living matter, just as much as the properties of aes Hee are dependent upon the number, kind, and mode of collocation of the atoms and molecules entering into its sitoa, There is no more reason for a belief in the exis- tence of a special “ vital force,” than there is for a similar belief in the existence of a special ‘ cry stalline force.” The ultimate el- ements of living matter are in all probability highly complex, whilst those of crystalline matter are comparatively simple. Liv- ing matter develops into Organisms of different kinds, whilst crys- talline matter grows into Crystals of diverse shapes. The greater modifiability of living matter, and the reproductive property by which it is essentially. distinguished from crystalline matter, seem both alike referable to the great molecular complexity and mobil- ity of the former. Crystals are statical, whilst organisms are dy- namical aggregates, though the evolutions of both marked by their peculiar characteristics, may be regarded as visible expres- sions testifying to the existence of one all-pervading power — “Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean, and ae living air, ago sash pe Apak and in the mind of man: spirit that ir ave All i thinking tetas all objects of all thought, And rolls through all things.’ NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. BOTANY. On THE LEVER-LIKE ANTHERS IN SALviA.—It must, I think, be evident to many observers that what we are prone to consider beautiful adaptations in the organs of flowers, are, as we should say of many of the operations of men, merely afterthoughts; that is to say that often parts would be formed without any idea of the uses which would be subsequently made of them. I have perceived this for some time, but hardly dared express it in the face of the universal belief that everything was designed for some special use and purpose. Last year, however, I submitted in these pages the NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 783 idea that if the petaloid lobes of the divided anthers in Salvia, which closed the throat of the corolla in most of the species, were really designed to aid in the diffusion of the pollen by insect agency, the subsequent clasping of the stamens by the upper lip of Salvia involucrata and thus preventing the said action, was a queer proceeding. I hope that this matter will not be lost sight of by those who advocate the universal adaptation theory, and to aid in keeping the subject fresh, I would point out that in Salvia coccinea the “lever” arrangement exists as in most other Salvias, but are set back against the upper surface of the corolla, in such a way as to be absolutely useless as an obstruction of the throat, or for any purpose whatever that I can see. It is getting to be the fashion to refer any useless organs or structures to some supposed distant progenitors, from which the modern organism sprung. Our whis- kers and so forth for instance, are said really to belong to the monkey from which we are descended, rather than to the modern man to whom they are now attached. It will be a curious study for botanists to trace out the progenitors of these Salvias which may claim the original uses of these petaloid anthers in cases where they are as useless now as the hair on our faces. But if we may be pardoned for deriding easy beliefs, as well as easy labors, we may say of some of these matters, as we say of pollen or of seeds themselves, that nature makes numberless things, for which she has no use whatever. Perhaps it may be, that like the human mind, the mind of nature likes variety and profusion, in the effort for which mere utility is not always consulted. —Tuomas MEEHAN. [Should Mr. Meehan read E. Miller’s Discourse, in the July number of the Naturauist, he will notice that, with the Darwin- ian school, and in virtue of the very terms of the theory which has imparted so much interest into the subject, ‘universal adapta- tion” is regarded as a consequence rather than as a forethought. Thus far he would seem to be in accord with Darwinians. But in nothing could he more widely diverge from their way of thinking than in his suggestions that “ Nature makes numberless things for which she has no use whatever,” if by his metaphorical ex- pression he means that the ‘‘things” are of no use to the beings that produce them. And of this sort, ‘pollen and seeds” are queer examples. Does he mean that these are useless because ~ perabundant enough to ensure against risk and loss and appropri- 784 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. ation by animals, through which fertilization and dispersion are subserved ? — Eps. ] PETALS IN ÅTRAGENE. — I have just taken a number of speci- mens of Clematis (Atragene) alpina which have well developed petals. In the subgenus Atragene, as is well known, the outer- most of the stamens are usually abortive, as if to represent the true petals, which are wanting. I have in one flower, not less than ten good petals, all of them being as long as the sepals, two- thirds as broad, and quite as deeply colored. These petals are all entirely destitute of any traces of the an- ther at their tips; nevertheless, in all the specimens in question, the transition from stamen to petal, is a gradual one, similar to what is seen in the flowers ọf Nymphcea. The usual four sepals are perfectly normal, and differ from the petals only in being broader.—Epwarp L. GREENE, Golden City, Col. Territory. TRANSPIRATION OF Leaves.—In the monthly report of the De- partment of Agriculture for March and April, 1871, page 149, is a short notice on transpiration of leaves. Pettenkofer is named as the observer, but he only made the report of the experiment, which was performed by Prof. Fred Pfaff in Erlangen. Being on a visit to Germany two years ago and standing under the same oak tree, which was the object of the observation, my old friend Mr. Pfaff explained to me his mode of calculations, which may be of interest to some of your readers. Cutting a small twig with the leaves, he brought it in a wide mouthed glass bottle, corked and weighed it. Then he exposed the leaves to the open air, weighed it again, after three to four minutes and marked the differences, from which he calculated the evaporation of the ‘leaves in a certain time. Then he outlined each of the leaves on fine paper, the weight and measure of which he had ascertained, cut the outlines out and weighed these again ; from the difference of weight he calculated the difference of meas- ute, and accordingly the surface of all the leaves. Afterwards he calculated the surface of the foliage of the whole tree in the fol- lowing manner: the crown of the tree was a regular elipsoid and easily measured ; deducting the inner leafless part, he found the bulk of the leafed part. Attaching cubes of different sizes, made of thin sticks representing the edges of the cube, to parts of the NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 785 crown of different density of foliage, he counted the leaves falling into the hollow space and calculated by repeated measurements the average number of leaves of the whole tree and the average surface of them. The loss by evaporation was measured at different hours of each day, from the 18th of May to 24th of October ; this reduced the average loss for a square inch surface, and from this was calculated the average loss from all the leaves of the tree during the season. Many minute precautions were taken, which to mention here is not necessary; but it may be remarked that when exposing the leaves for evaporation he suspended the twigs in the shade, and as the cut twigs during the experiment were deprived of any succor from the tree, the loss is to be considered as a minimum. The intention was not to find the exact amount of transpira- tion, but to prove that during the season the tree evaporates con- siderably more water than it receives by rainfall, and so the method answers the purpose.—Frep. BRENDEL, Peoria, Il., 9th of June, 1871. ZOOLOGY. SPAWNING OF THE Goose Fisa (Lophius Americanus).— During the summer season the fishermen on the New England coast often notice a substance floating in the water, which they term “a purple veil” the precise nature of which has caused much speculation on their part, and which answers singularly well to its designation. During a late cruise I encountered one of these veils, which presented the appearance of a continuous sheet of a purplish brown color, twenty or thirty feet in length and four or five in width, composed of a mucous substance which was perfectly transparent, to which, as a whole, a purple color was imparted by the presence of specks distributed uniformly throughout the mass to the number of about thirty or more to the square inch. I was unable to ascertain whether this was actually a simple sheet or a collapsed tube, as the material was so extremely slippery that it was impossible to retain it in a position where it could be easily examined. With much effort we succeeded in bringing a portion upon the deck of our boat, when it ran out almost immediately through the scupper holes. To our surprise on closely: examining the specks, which gave color to the mass, we found them to consist of embryonic fish, moving vigorously in their envelope but without 786 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. any appreciable latitude of motion, or change of relative position to each other. Portions of this veil, with its contents were brought home, hop- ing that we might be able to follow the successive transformations of this embryo, and thereby determine the species; but although the water in which they were kept was frequently changed they very soon died. It was, of course, evident that nothing but a very large fish could lay so heavy a sheet of mucus, covering as it did an area of not less than from sixty to one hundred square feet, and I am in- formed that they are sometimes found even much larger than this. Allowing one hundred square feet of surface, and an average of thirty feet to the square inch, the sheet in question would con- tain four hundred and thirty-two thousand eggs, an estimate de- cidedly within the mark. When this specimen was first selected, we had overboard at the stern of our boat a trawl net about thirty feet in length, of a tan color trailing behind, and the veil was first seen floating near it, und so entirely similar in general appearance and color, as to re- main for some time without attracting special attention, till one end floated off from that of the net, creating the impression that the latter had been torn longitudinally into strips by some unknown accident. Finding myself unable to ascertain anything about the true character of this spawn I sent specimens of it to Mr. Alexander Agassiz, who informed me that it belonged to the goose fish, and that he had studied out the development of the species from its earliest stage of growth to maturity. —S. F. BAIRD. How Livine Toaps May Occur is Limestones.— It is well known to all naturalists that none of the existing species of ani- mals were in existence during either the paleozoic or mesozoic pe- riods, and hence the reported occurrence of frogs or toads in 4 torpid but living: state, embedded in solid limestone strata, has not been generally credited by scientific men as worthy of serious consideration. Nevertheless it is not uncommon to hear persons assert that such occurrences have taken place within their own personal knowledge, and it seems hardly probable that such re- ports should arise in various and distant localities, without, some apparent foundation in fact. In the winter of 1853 the writer was informed by a gentleman NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 787 of undoubted veracity, that in laying the foundation walls for a warehouse in the town of Naples on the Illinois river, a living toad was found entombed in the limestone, which on coming in contact with the atmosphere soon resumed its wonted activity, though torpid when first discovered. Having occasion to pass through Naples a few days after- wards, I examined the walls of the buildings to see if I could discover any clue that might serve to explain so improbable an occurrence. I found the walls constructed out of the brown dolo- mite of the lower St. Louis, or Warsaw limestone, and observed that the rock had been more or less fissured, the fissures cutting the strata at right angles to the lines of bedding, and varying from a mere line to an inch or more in width. Many of these fis- sures had been filled wholly or partially with a deposit of stalag- mite, and in some places the exposed surface of the rock had been coated for an inch or more in thickness with the same material. These facts seemed to me to afford an easy explanation of the reported phenomena ; the toad had sought shelter in one of these crevices as his home for the winter, where he remained in a dor-* mant condition, until the constant dripping of water holding car- bonate of lime in solution sealed him in completely. Here he remained until he was released by the hammer of the workman, which broke the crust of his stony mausoleum, and restored him to liberty. Persons who had paid no attention to the manner in which limestones are formed, would make no distinction between the original dolomite which was formed beneath the ocean, eons of ages ago, and the incrusting stalagmite whose formation is still going on, and to them it would be all alike, solid lime- stone. As these comparatively recent calcareous deposits are of very common occurrence, it would not be surprising that living batrachians should be found in them, even more frequently than they are. It would be a matter of considerable scientific interest, to deter- mine, were it possible, how long animal life could be preserved under such conditions; and if the functions of life are so com- pletely suspended during hibernation, as to cause no waste et tissue, I see no reason why it might not be preserved for an in- definite period, though it is by no means necessary to suppose in the case cited above, that any long period had elapsed after the entombment of the animal.— A. H. Wortuen, Springfield, IU. AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V. 50 788 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Young Worms Frenne on Eces or tur Same Broop.—In a recent biography of the celebrated Swiss naturalist Claparéde, by M. H. de Saussure, published in the “ Bibliotheque Universelle,” he is said to haye made the strange discovery that among the eggs contained in great numbers in the capsule secreted by the worm (Clitellum) one only transforms into an embryo. This rapidly in- creases in size, since as soon as its mouth is formed, it devours the surrounding eggs, which thus serve as a reservoir of food. This phenomenon is analogous to that which has been described in certain gastropodous molluscs such as Purpura, etc. Brack Varnisuep Insect Prns.— M.. Peyerimhoff advocates the use of black varnished insect pins instead of silvered brass pins, which corrode in the body of the insects, especially of Micro- Lepidoptera, very soon disfigure them, and eventually utterly de- stroy them. The editor of “ Petites Nouvelles Entomologiques,” thinks that varnished brass pins may last somewhat longer, but that these will eventually perish in the same way. ‘We be- HYMENOPTEROUS PARASITES IN A BretLe.— Wishing to compare certain muscles of locomotion of butterflies with those of some other insect, I selected from a bottle of alcoholic specimens a spe- cies of Pimelia which I had collected in Egypt-—a large, compact, very hard-shelled beetle, with elytra connate to the last degree. On opening the beetle from above and removing the mass of nearly or quite developed eggs which lay on the upper surface, I noticed Some vermiform bodies lying free in the cavity of the abdomen. Examining them carefully, my astonishment was great on discov- ering that they were hymenopterous larve, closely resembling those of certain species of Braconide which are so easily reared from some lepidopterous larve. I had detected several when I was called away, and was afterwards unable to distinguish from ominal cavity of a perfect hexapod? Least of all should we expect to find them in such hard-shelled Coleoptera? How and NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 789 when do they emerge from their host, and do they interfere with its vital functions before the eggs are deposited? The beetle was one of a large colony of lively specimens captured beneath the ruined walls of an Arab hovel at Ismailia on the Suez canal. The specimens have been sent to the editors of the AMERICAN NATU- RALIST.— SAMUEL H. SCUDDER. [It is well known in Europe that several species of Conops, a wasp-like dipterous fly, live in the larva state in the abdomens of adult humble bees. We have reared a species also from the ab- domen either of Bombus vagans or B. fervidus.— Eps. ] Mapness 1N A Horse. — In the * Zeitschrift fir Parasitenkunde” published in Berlin, a remarkable instance is recorded of madness in a horse, caused presumably by the bite of a mad dog. The horse was brought to the hospital of the Royal Veterinary School at Berlin, having refused its food for two days, and exhibited ex- traordinary wildness and propensity to bite, not only other horses and inanimate objects, but also its own body, and had already by this means broken several of its teeth, and inflicted severe inju- ries on its mouth. When confined in a stall in the hospital, it cqntinued to exhibit this propensity to a terrible extent, but in a fitful manner; in the intervals of the paroxysms it stood in a be- wildered state, and would sometimes suddenly fall as if struck by lightning, then give a violent bite to one of its hind feet, then as suddenly spring up, staggering. The loss of blood caused it to become gradually weaker, and in the evening of the day on which it was admitted, it expired without any death-struggle. Except the outward injuries, and some interior swelling and inflamma- tion, the organs were found to be sound after death.—A. W. B. ANTHROPOLOGY. WHERE ARE THE Bones or Prenistoric Men?—In answer to this inquiry, M. W. Pengelly states in the ‘‘ Quarterly Journal of Science” that their bones may be more subject to decay than the bones of other animals, citing the experiments of Dr. Lindley who ‘t placed in water, in a tank, one hundred and seventy-seven spec- imens of various plants belonging to all the more remarkable natural orders, including representatives of all those which are constantly present in the coal measures, and also those which are 790 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. universally absent. The uncovered vessel was exposed to the air and left untouched further than filling it up as the water evapo- rated, until April, 1835, or a period of two years. At the end of that time it was found that certain kinds had entirely disappeared, others had left some more or less recognizable traces ; whilst others, especially fungi, ferns and coniferous trees were comparatively well preserved. In short, the plants remaining and the plants which had disappeared were respectively of the same groups as those which are not present amongst the coal fossils.” He also remarks that it is well known that oyster and limpet shells are more frequently found fossil than cockles, and it was found by Mr. Sorby that the carbonate of lime in the shells of limpets, oys- ters and other molluscs, were turned into calcite, while cockles and their allies were changed into arragonite, the latter being liable to disappear. He also says that after the conversion of _ the Lake of Haarlem into dry land, when thirty to forty thousand men had been buried in its land, or drowned in its waters, and thousands of miles of trenches and canals were dug through this made land, no human bones had been found, and only a few relics of human art. As direct evidence that the bones of man have been found mingled with those of extinct animals, he cites the following facts :— In 1824 Rey. Dr. Fleming stated that ‘man was an inhabitant of this country at the time these animals, now ex- tinct, flourished, his bones and his instruments having been found in similar situations with their remains.” M. Wre pe Gesa 1831, discovered “an undoubted human skull, very perfect and in good preservation” in the floor of a cave, mingled with the bones of “extinct and recent animals.” In 1833—’4, Dr. Schmerling of Liége, in a cave in the valley of the Meuse, discovered certain de- posits which ‘‘were covered with a floor of unbroken stalagmite, and contained the commingled remains of extinct and recent ani- mals, including man,” among which were several skulls, including the celebrated Engis skull. In 1840, Mr. Godwin Austin remarked that the bones of man occurred in Kent’s Cavern, Torquay, ” under precisely the same conditions as the bones of all the other ani- mals.” In 1841 he added, “at Kent’s Hole, near Torquay, ar- rows and knives of flint, with human bones, in the same condi- tion as the elephant and other bones, were found in an undisturbed bed of clay, covered by nine feet of stalagmite.” “The late Col. Hamilton Smith devoted a section of his “ Natu- ` NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 791 ral History of the Human Species” (1848), to the question of “ Bones of Man among Organic Remains” of which the following is a brief summary :— In a conversation with the author in 1824, Cuvier admitted that the opinions then in vogue on the point would require considerable modification. Donati, Germer, Ras- oumouski, and Guetard, maintained that human bones had been found intermixed with those of lost species of mammals in sev- eral places ; they had been detected in England in caves and fis- sures ; they were found at Meissen in Saxony, and at Darford in France, by M. Firmas. A fossilized skeleton found in the schist at Quebec, and in part preserved at the seminary, excited no at- tention ; and the well known Guadaloupe skeletons had been pro- nounced recent upon hypothetical reasoning. Those discovered by M. Schmerling in the Liége caverns were similarly disposed of, and Dr. Lund’s reports respecting partially petrified human bones, found by him in the interior of Brazil, in the same condition with those of numerous animals, now extinct, which accompanied them, attracted no more than incredulous attention. In the caverns of Bize, in France, human bones and shreds of pottery were found in red clay mixed with the débris of extinct mammalia ; a similar collocation was soon after detected by M. de Serres, in the caverns of Pondres and Souvignargues ; and Dr. Boué found human bones mixed with others of extinct species at Lahr. In 1833, human bones were found together with several species of the well known extinct cave mammals, in caves near Liége, beneath a thick coat of stalagmite ; and about the same period, the Rey. Mr. MacEmery collected from the caves of Torquay, human bones and flint knives, amongst a great variety of extinct species, all under a crust of stalagmite upon which the head of a wolf reposed. Amongst the bones of the mammoth and his contemporaries, found at Oreston, near Plymouth, at different times before and after that period, the upper portion of the humerus of a man was detected, and imme- diately thrown away as valueless on being pointed out to the pos- sessor. About the end of the last century, gypsum quarries were opened in the Vale of Kostniz, in Upper Saxony. The gypsum was groin in every direction by caves and fissures, which were filled with red clay containing clusters of bones of mamma- lia, iniia man, elephant, rhinoceros, horse, ox, elk, deer, rein- deer, a great felis, hyzena, hare, and rabbit. A fragment of an arm and a thigh-bone of a man were dug out of the clay at a 792 NATURAL. HISTORY MISCELLANY. depth of eighteen feet; and eight feet below, two phalanges of a rhinoceros.” Other discoveries, made since 1860, and well known to our readers, are alluded to. -The writer might have added the case, now apparently well authenticated, of the human skull found by Professor Whitney, under Table Mountain, California, associated with remains of the mastodon. FRESH DISCOVERIES or PLATYCNEMIC MEN IN DENBIGHSHIRE.— Mr. W. Boyd Dawkins records in ‘“‘ Nature” the opening of some freshly discovered bone-caves in Denbighshire, Wales, in which were discovered the remains of men with the skulls rather above than below the present ordinary cranial capacity, but with some of the leg-bones remarkable for the peculiar antero-posterior flatten- ing or platycnemism of the shin bones. They are associated with the remains of sheep or goat, pig, fox, badger and stag, and with four flint flakes. The interest of the discovery consists in the fact that the group of caves, which has been used by a race of herds- men in long-forgotten times as habitations and burial places, must be referred to the Neolithic age. And we can now be certain that those people who haye manifested the peculiar flattening forwards of the shin in Denbighshire belong to that age. Itis a point also well worthy of note that the cranial capacity of these Neolithic men was not inferior to that of the average civilized man, although the ridges and processes for muscles indicated a greater physical power.— A. W. B. GEOLOGY. GEOLOGICAL EXPEDITION To Kansas.—I write to give a brief account of the expedition of seventeen days which I have just made in the valley of the Smoky Hill river in Kansas. Through the courtesy of General John Pope commanding the department of the Missouri, I was furnished with an order on the post com- mandant at Fort Wallace for a suitable escort. This was fur- nished by Captain E. Butler (Fifth infantry), who spared no pains to make the expedition a success. We first camped at a spring eighteen miles south of Fort Wal- lace, and five miles south of Butte Creek. It had a fine flow of water, and being without a name I called it Fossil Spring. On a bluff on Butte Creek, Lieutenant Whitten discovered the frag- NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 793 ments of a monster saurian projecting from the shale, and on fol- lowing the bones into the hill, exhumed a large part of the skel- eton of a Liodon dyspelor Cope. This was welcome, as the species had been previously known from vertebrae only. The pelvic arch was found perfectly preserved, and the scapular arch and limbs partially so. The iliac bone is slender and straight, slightly expanded at the acetabulum. The ischium has a some what similar form, but is curved. The axis of the proximal por- tion is directed upwards, the shaft then turns into a horizontal direction and lies beneath and at one side of the vertebral column without uniting with its fellow. The pubes are elongate, but wider than the other elements and flattened. They are in contact in front medially, and have an angulate axis. A short process projects from near the proximal end, on the exterior margin. The femur is a flat bone slightly constricted medially, and with a decurved and projecting portion of the proximal articular sur- face on the inner side representing a head. The extremities of the dentary bones are each drawn to an acute point differing thus toto celo from those of the L. proriger. = On the same bluff another Liodon and a Clidastes were found with five species of fishes. On examining the neighboring bluff and denuded areas, bones supposed to be those of Pterodactyle, two species of Clidastes, a Dinosaur, a Crocodile, and numerous fishes were brought to light. In a similar location on Fox creek cañon, one of the escort, Martin V. Hartwell, to whom I am indebted for many fine discov- eries, observed the almost entire skeleton of a large fish, furnished with an uncommonly powerful offensive dentition. The jaws were stout, the dentary bone very deep. The teeth in a single row in all the bones, but of irregular sizes. There are two or three very large canines in each maxillary and one in the premax- illary; three or four in the dentary separated by one interval. The lack of the coronoid bone and many other characters, shows that it should be referred to the order Isospondyli, and is probably allied to the herring and the Saurodontide. The vertebre are grooved, and there is a pasioccipital tube but little developed. The teeth are simple cylindric conic, with smooth enamel, and project two inches above the alveolar border, and each descends an inch into its alveolus. The species and genus are new to our palzeontology, and may be named Portheus molossus. It turned out on subsequent explanation to have been quite abundant in the 794 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. Cretaceous seas. It was probably the dread of its cotempora- ries among the fishes as well as the smaller saurians. On another occasion we detected unusually attenuated bones projecting from the side of a low bluff of yellow chalk, and some pains were taken to uncover them. They were found to belong to a singular reptile of affinities perhaps to the Testudinata, this point remaining uncertain. Instead of being expanded into a carapace, the ribs are slender and flat. The tubercular portion is expanded into a transverse shield to beyond the capitular artic- ulation, which thus projects as it were in the midst of a flat plate. These plates have radiating lines of growth to the circumference, which is dentate. Above each rib was a large flat ossification of much tenuity, and digitate on the margins, which appear to repre- sent the dermo-ossification of the tortoises. Two of these bones were recovered, each two feet across. The femur resembles in some measure that ascribed by Leidy to Platecarpus tympaniticus, while the phalanges are of great size. Those of one series meas- ure eight inches and a half in length, and are very stout, indicat- ing a length of limb of seven feet at least. The whole expanse would thus be beyond twenty feet if estimated on a Chelonian basis. The proper reference of this species cannot now be made, but both it and the genus are clearly new to science, and its affini- ties not very néar to those known. Not the least of its peculiari- ties is the great tenuity of all the bones. It may be called Proto- stega gigas. The greater part of a large Liodon proriger Cope was found scattered over a denuded surface at one point, his huge, truncate bowsprit-like snout betraying his individuality at once. Portions of other examples of this reptile were afterwards found. Re- mains of several species of Clidastes occurred at various points in the neighborhood of Fossil spring. One (C. duw sp. n.) was found in the side of a bluff fifty feet above the bottom of the canon ; Martin Hartwell exhumed another near the C. cineriarum Cope almost complete. We subsequently left this locality and encamped at Russell springs on the Smoky Hill, twenty-six miles distant. On the way a large Clidastes of some forty or more feet in length was found lying on a knoll of shale, with the head displaying the palatal surface upwards. On the Smoky our explorations were attended with success. When we shifted camp, it was to go to Eagle Tail in Colorado, whence we returned again to Fossil Spring. The NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 795 richness of this locality was again apparent, and we added to our collection a number of species, among these may be mentioned Liodon ictericus Cope and a new Clidastes. The writer originally pointed out the existence of representa- tives of the orders Pythonomorpha and Sauropterygia, in this Cretaceous basin. Prof. Marsh’s explorations determined the ex- istence of Ornithosauria and Crocodilia. The present investiga- tion adds Dinosauria and perhaps Testudinata, or the group the new form Protostega Cope, represents. The preceding account expresses some points of interest ob- served. These with others now unnoticed will be included in a final report. The giants of this sea were the Liodon proriger Cope, L. dyspe- lor Cope, Polycotylus latipinnis Cope, and Elasmosaurus platyurus Cope. Of these the first was apparently the most abundant. The second was the most elongate, exceeding in length perhaps any other known reptile. The last named had the most massive body, . and exhibited the most extraordinary appearance in consequence of the great length of its neck. For kind assistance I am much indebted to Captain Edwin Butler post commandant at Fort Wallace ; to Dr. W. H. King post surgeon; and to Captain Wyllys Lyman. To Lieutenant James H. Whitten and Sergeant W. Gardiner who accompanied the expedition much of its success is also due. —Epwarp D. Corr, Fort Wallace, Kansas, Oct. 9th, 1871. MICROSCOPY. Anrens’ Brxocutar.— This instrument, the fourth new binocu- lar brought forward within a few months, was submitted to the Royal Microscopical Society, of London, on the eighth of Febru- ary last. It is applicable mainly to high powers, being manifestly unable to compete with Wenham’s arrangement for low powers. It naturally stands in comparison with the contrivances of Mr. Tolles and President Barnard. Like Dr. Barnard’s, which was published some months previously, it separates the light above the objective into two pencils by double refraction by means of Iceland spar, cut and cemented in a somewhat complicated and difficult manner. In other respects the two instruments are entirely different. In the new arrangement the pencils of light pass upward from the prism 796 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. at an equal angle on each side of the axis of the instrument, are crossed and at the same time rendered achromatic by wedge-shaped prisms of flint glass placed base to base, and proceed to the two eye-pieces through tubes symmetrically situated in reference to the axis of the instrument, as in Mr. Wenham’s early proposals for re- fracting binoculars. Adjustment for distance of eyes is made, as in Wenham’s present arrangement, by a draw-tube movement. In stereoscopic effect, as well as in illumination (only one of the two polarized rays being utilized), the new arrangement is no doubt inferior to Tolles’ binocular eye-piece, but it possesses the great advantage of enabling the eyes to look at the object, through the convergent tubes, at the natural angle of near vision. It may be made in the form of an eye-piece applicable to any large stand; or, more satisfactorily, as a supplementary compound body capa- ble of being easily fitted to any stand of suitable size, and of be- ing used interchangeably with the regular body belonging to the stand.— R. H. Warp. Nature or Cru1ary Movement.—Professor Heckel has made some highly important observations on the nature of ciliary move- ment, as we find in the ‘ Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Sci- ence.” Recent investigations by others had shown that physiolog- ically the ciliary is much more nearly related to the amoeboid movement than to the muscular. Heckel shows that the ciliary is merely a modification of the amwboid movement of protoplasm. “ Ciliated cells are of two kinds. In the one kind, Epithelium Jlagellatum, each cell is provided with a single long flagellum or lash. Sponges possess only this kind; in the other, Epithelium ciliatum, numerous hair-like appendages take the place of the flagellum. This is the kind found in most of the higher animals. The old notion, that in ciliated cells the cilia are attached to the outside of the cell membrane, must now be considered as entirely set aside. Many, probably most, ciliated cells are destitute of a membrane, and the appendages, whether flagella or cilia, are di- rect processes of the protoplasm of the cell.” Prof. Heckel’s observations on lower organisms during the last year have led him to the conclusion that ciliated cells arise directly by the transmu- tation of ameeboid cells. COMBINATION OF THE SPECTROSCOPE AND Porariscorr. — Mr. Francis Deas has introduced to the Royal Society of Edinburgh NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 797 a very curious department of microscopical study, the details of which are published in the ‘t Monthly Microscopical Journal.” He combines the spectroscope with the polarizing microscope, in or- der to analyze the colors given by double refracting crystals when viewed by polarized light. In his arrangement, the light from the mirror passes first through an adjustable slit below the isubstage, then through a Nicol’s prism and the achromatic con- denser, and forms an image of the slit on the double refracting crystal on the stage. The dispersion prisms are placed above the objective, and the spectrum is viewed with the eye-piece and ana- lyzing prism. Those who prefer to use the spectroscopic eye- piece, as most do in this country, would dispense with the slit below the substage, and place the analyzing prism over the objec- tive. A Hien One-rivra. — Assist. Surg. J. J. Woodward, U. S. A., resolves Amphipleura pellucida with a Tolles immersion one-fifth. This is a high one-fifth, but much less than a one-sixth in pow- er. Angular aperture 110° to 170° according to adjustment. As these lines count ninety-six thousand to the inch, Dr. Woodward expected that it might resolve the sixteenth band of Nobert’s plate. He only succeeded, however, in getting through the fif- teenth band. This result corresponds with his judgment, based upon other observations, that Nobert’s lines are more difficult of | resolution than lines of equal fineness on the natural objects usu- - ally studied in comparison with them. FRESH-WATER ALGÆ.— Dr. T. C. Hilgard’s paper on this subject, read before the Microscopical Section of the American Association at the Indianapolis meeting, was inadvertently omitted from the list of papers published in the Association Number of the Natu- RALIST. PHOTOGRAPHING HISTOLOGICAL Prerarations.— Dr. Woodward describes in the ‘ American Journal of Science and Arts” for October certain improved methods of using the light of the sun for photographing the soft tissues. Noserr’s Lixes.—President Barnard judges that it is not neces- sary to count the whole of one of Nobert’s bands in order to re- solve it unmistakably, but only to count a measured portion of a band. 798 NOTES. STANISTREET’S Lines. — John F. Stanistreet, Esq., of Liverpool, has ruled some stars on glass and steel, the rays of which, some fifty in number, consist of bands of parallel lines two thousand to the inch. The intersection of these different lines gives very curi- ous and beautiful optical effects under the microscope. Microscopy 1N Paris. — We learn from the ‘‘ Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science” that Hartnack is back at Paris, just as he was before the war. He is about to establish works at Potsdam. NOTES. — OM “A very large audience, consisting of the teachers in Boston assembled early in November, in the new hall of the Massachu- setts Institute of Technology to attend the opening of a series 0 lectures upon Methods of Instruction in Natural History. As it was the first time this hall had been publicly used, Profes- sor Runkle, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy, opened the pro App ber introduced, in a few appropriate words of welcome, Mr. ii s T. Bouvé, President of the Boston Society of N ities Histo Mr. Bouvé stated that “the society which he represented had for many years by its publications and meetings, but more especially public mind and endeavored to cultivate a taste for science in the community. he Teachers’ School of Science was a very appro- priate supplement to the other operations of the society and had been in contemplation by several officers of the society for some time past. The present active beginning, however, was due to the generosity of one of these gentlemen who had furnished the pecuniary means for making the necessary collections and paying the lecturers. The enterprise, however, was considered as an ex- periment to be worked out rather than talked about, and he would Mook without further delay introduce Prof. W. H. Niles, who would deliver the first course on ‘ Physical Geography.’ ~ . Niles made a few preliminary remarks upon the necessity of teaching science in the schools in a practical manner, and showed that t e projectors of the enterprise had no intention of forcing theories upon the minds of the teachers. They simply wished to help, to join with them in their efforts to educate the young, and to place before them such information as their special acquirements in different branches of knowledge would justify. NOTES. 799 eral, vegetable and animal. n a few concluding remarks the lecturer spoke of the general incompleteness of definitions, but also showed that they were es- sential to the analytical method of teaching, and, when used with the careful exclusion of all doubtful facts, of great use in classify- ing natural objects. This principle was amply illustrated by the objects on the table. It was really surprising to witness how much might be done with such simple things as a piece of marble, an apple, a plant, a squir- rel, a flask of water, etc., in giving a child the fundamental ideas that govern the distribution and classification of the three great kingdoms of nature. The spirit manifested by the teachers pres- ent was evidently very gratifying to the lecturer, and he referred We learn from one of the committee that they have long recog- nized the hopelessness of attempting to work upon the public at large by means of the usual lecture system. However effectual this may be as a means of cultivating a taste for natural science, it certainly does not produce any very definite or encouraging re- sults. Collateral study and practical work with specimens are essentials without which mere lectures are very barren to the ma- jority of minds. They have therefore concluded that their efforts should be concentrated upon the public system of education, and here they have been nobly seconded by the teachers, who have come forward to the number of seven hundred and fifty, while an average of nearly six hundred have actually been in attendance at the lectures, which have been given by Prof. W. H. Niles upon physical geography. On this subject the whole class of teachers can be instructed at once, but in subsequent courses upon miner- alogy, zoology and botany, it is proposed to divide them into 800 NOTES. smaller classes, so that each teacher will be able to use specimens and carry out completely the system of object teaching. committee hope by so doing, and furnishing the schools, wherever practicable, with type specimens, to meet the immediate wants of teachers, and by introducing them to practical laboratory work, to induce them to pursue for themselves some special branch of natu- ral science. The committee have been greatly assisted in their efforts by the masters of the public schools, especially the chair- man of the masters’ committee, Mr. Paige, and also by the super- intendent of public instruction, Mr. John D. Philbrick. The ex- periment owes its support at present entirely to the generosity of one of the committee, Mr. John Cummings. The aims of the committee (consisting of John Cummings, Esq., and Professors A. Hyatt and W. H. Niles) who have projected the entire movement, are wholly practical and will be to a large extent governed by experience. They intend if possible to meet the daily wants of the teachers now, and in the coming winters of 1872 and °73 to develop such a plan as will insure the permanent introduc- tion of the teaching of natural science in the public schools of Boston at least. We congratulate the Boston Society on so successful an inaugu- ration of science teaching, and believe that it has assumed the most practical form by which teachers can be fitted to teach the ru- diments of science. We look forward to similar courses in other cities in connection with the local scientific societies, and thus a defect in our system of education will gradually be remedied. We may divide the German Museums into—(1) Those founded with the intention of exhibiting objects of Natural History to the general public; and (2) those established for educational pur- poses. There are not many of the former class. To it belong the Museums of the formerly independent ‘“ Reichsstadte,” Hamburg, Bremen, and Frankfort-on-the-Main, one of the Vienna Museums, and the collections in Stuttgart and Darmstadt. There are others like that in Mayence, but they have more the character of well-ar- ranged local country museums. Although originally founded for the purpose of exhibiting curiosities, they soon took another position by receiving objects in which the general public takes a very lim- ited interest (as, for instance, botanical, geological, or mineralog- ical specimens), and by systematically collecting materials for the EE E N NOTES. 801 purposes of purely scientific research. In several instances the sci- entific results were sufficiently important and extensive to form not only a nucleus but the sole subject-matter of distinct periodical works, such as the ‘“‘ Annalen des Wiener Museums,” the ** Museum Senckenbergianum,” the ‘“ Abhandlungen des Hamburger Muse- s.” The Frankfort Museum became the head-quarters for the Zoology of North-eastern Africa; Bremen possesses a unique col- lection of African birds, celebrated not only for the great number of standard specimens, but also for their beautiful state of preser- vation. In the Vienna Museum particular attention was paid to European fresh-water fishes ; and travellers like Natterer, Russe- ger, Kotschy, enriched it with collections so numerous that the Austrian naturalists have been engaged in their examination till within a very recent period. The Stuttgart and Darmstadt Muse- ums are now celebrated for their valuable collections of South- German fossils, worked out by G. von Jager, Kaup, and others. In the museums of this class great attention is paid to the local flora and fauna, recent and extinct. Thus the Stuttgart collection may be mentioned as a model of what a museum ought to be; besides a most complete series of the plants and fossils, it contains a collection of the animals of Suabia in all stages of growth and development and of variation, in a perfect state of preservation and particularly attractive from the life-like manner + l in which the specimens are mounted. — Nature. The Middletown Scientific Association, accompanied by the members and friends of the Springfield Association made an Ex- cursion to Rice’s Cut, Reed’s Gap and Hamilton Mountain, on Sat- urday, October 28th. On this excursion, the party numbering about one hundred had an opportunity to observe some of the most remarkable phenomena connected with the trap rocks of the Connecticut Valley, and enjoyed one of the finest views in the vi- cinity. The Secretary of the Boston Society of Natural History, Rev. J. A. Swan, died late in October. He was much beloved as a man, and his scholarly attainments and zeal for natural history, made him an efficient officer. His successor has not yet been appointed. It is stated that Prof. Raphael Pumpelly has been appointed State Geologist of Missouri. Another report states that Prof. Swallow received the appointment. Which is correct? - 802 NOTES. BOOKS RECEIVED. Prof. E. Claparède, the eminent zoologist of Geneva, died ow the 2d of June, at Sienne, Tuscany. He had not yet reached his fortieth year. By his anatomical and systematic works on the lower animals, especially the worms, and illustrated with his facile pencil, he had attained the front rank as an investigator, and his death is a serious loss to science. His principal works were on the Evolution of Spiders, Studies on the Infusoria and Rhizopods, the Formation of the Egg in Nematode Worms, Studies on Aca- rina, and his splendidly illustrated works on the anatomy of the Worms. He was a pupil of Johannes Müller, and besides a high order of talent, must have been endowed with great powers of ap- plication to have produced so muc We are glad to announce that the Chicago Academy of Science have resumed their meetings and that the members are resolved to go on with their good work at once. At the meeting on Nov. 14, Col. Foster read a paper on the ‘‘ Colorado Mountains” which will be printed in our January number. Mr. Walker in behalf of the Trustees of the Academy made an informal announcement to the meeting that the Academy would have left from the fire about sixty thousand dollars with which to rebuild, and trusted that a lot would be secured near the lake shore. « BOOKS RECEIVED. n jap Grænland. Von Dr. Robert Bro 4to. 187 ‘Ber om Norges s Deltagelse iden raisindenge Industr Fo castining op Kuni —Udstillin- gent Stockhom 1866, og Pi 1867. 8vo. Christiania 10 Carcinologiske Bidra an til No orges Fna. Af G. 3: Sars. I. Monographi. Mysider, 4to. 5 plates. Christiania, 1870, Om Skuringsmærker Glaci arnam og at Passer samt om ‘Aa eg og sparagmit el- org fjeldt. Kart over Christiania image AA Randtegn inge r. 1871 ee de Justedal “ ses Glaciers par C. de Seue [witi f gla cier: ve Christiania, 1870. ae eae fe til i Lymphekjerternes normale og alharòptsko Anatomi. Af A. Hansen. 4to. 5 jaa: iristian Meteor oratia his e Iagttagelser det Sydlige Norge, 1863-6. Folio. dia gfe eng Meteorologiske qootenpataer’ paa Jem, Teregrafsiationer x ea Vorga ti st. Folio. Christiania, 1866. On a Method of Registering Natural History Obse by A red Newton. 8vo. pp. ll, with sample sheet. Norfolk, 1870. Characters of New we Species ‘of me collected by Dr. Habel i n the Galapagos Islands, By P.L. Sealter and Osbert Salvin. 8vo. fondon: 157 American Journal of por ei Pro T CMa, Philade [Nov. 24, 1871.] Fossil Plants of of the Devonian and U; er Silurian jsp Powe z E By J. W. Dawson. 8vo. pp. 100. plates, Geological Survey of Canada. oatren! Bulletin potted de la Societe Ee Eer ei 2e, Tom. 8. Nos. 9, a Ost Nov., 1871. Paris. On the Connecticut Valley Glacier, a Examples of Glacier gea along the Valleys of New England, red Jane es D. Dana. ee ‘ee Bh New r ven, 1 antas Toricus do Brasil, These de Concurso. Do Dr.J. M. Caminhoa. 8vo. pp. 186. Rio de Janeiro, 18 18; arterly Journal of Microscopical Science. No.45. Oct., 1871, Lond ~~ eek of the Torrey. Botanical Club. Nov. Bowdoin Seien tific Eois. Nov. rnal of the 6 ATER guint, Noy. Le Naturaliste Canadien, Nov. pt potas d Arts. Dee. Nature. Nos.for Nov. Land and Water ee OF. Oct. The Field. Nos. pits Noy. The Academy. Nos. for Nov. Science Gossip, N La France cientifique, Nos. for Nov. Newman’s s Entomologist. No. 97, Nov. INDEX TO VOLUME FIVE. ee sont eee 748. ctinuru PEA itas, 745. costes seed a Pg ae Bec ro, inate, 382, 383. Sien ‘Rivatian Telmads, 38 Alligator, New Species, 562. Amazonian Valle Devonian Rocks in, 121. Amblystoma, Development of, 578. American Association tor orano of aeey ce, tg 385, 451, 6. 33. Ano optimus Tellkampfii, 745. Anthomyia, Anthrobia Monmouthia, 747. oh ological Institute, 192. Ant C ats, ite 17 Ap ne Ar chological Discovery, 19 Arche ological, Survey of Tndia, 62. Archeology, Peabod. y3 a seum of, 404. Arctic Expedition, 62, 256, 385. rkan logical Survey of, 320. Racuiiane, So Atlantic Coast, Phy sical Features of, 178. Atragene, Petals in, 7 Aurora Island, Disappearance of, 184, 379. Aythya Americana, 662. ia, Origin of, 779. ` Bacteria, Bark, egre Layer, 715. sel ing 0: Bee Culture Bees, Sys of Breeding, 17. f, 17 i 167. land Tarsal Bones of, 524. Birds’ Feathers, 675. Birds, Flight of, 29. Birds, Hand List of 775. Birds, Iowa, Birds of the ra 6. bea bas 513. Biso Blackbird Blackbird, Yellow hordod, 195, Blind Crustacea, 74t. Blind Fish, 744. Bloc Bob-o-li Bolivia, Exploration of, 383. Bones of Prehistoric Men, 789. Botany, Fossi “ud Boe in Camden, N. J., 63. Boulder, Carboniferous, 606 Brachiopoda, 3 310, 646, 647. Bra EATEN new Genus of, 55 Bra beni Brazil, Takat Indian Pottery of, 259. Brazil ie tame 448. Brazil, Geolo Brazilan Roc Inscriptions, 139. TETT and Spring-tails, 91. Bullock’s Oriole, 678. Byssus fulvus, 753. Caddis Flies err din sty ye Cali swine Aca emy ow Science, 63. Cambar mee ee 750, 760. Cambium Layer, Neem, rn Cookal, Tir. omg Entomologist, 374. Gan Ca pelin, Spawning of, 119. Car pS irie gones 606. Cardiff Giant, Carpal Bones, 5 So, Casts, nett to Make, 3 t, Hybrid between, aad Raccoon, 660. Cattle Tick, 176. ve, Blind Animals of, 739. Caves, Mammals of, 58. i Chicago CC agen of Sciences, 671, 801. ate Chry Embryology of, 564. Cilia. 6 Cla: arede, Notice z 802. Clidastus dux, 794 imbing Pen, 15 fe Coal, Plan Coast A mean Boop ‘Sea Pog mae 646. areata gael a ae Colaptes au hey tl Coleoptera, oe 158 » 127 Coleoptera, Distribution of, 644. paoa Flowers of, 65 oe to, 258. Gon ifer eaa Corals of the nia Coast of America, 306. ale Flowers on the Ear of, 54. ‘3 ie. 245. i ain x in Wells, 754. bservations on, 706. (803) 804 Cretaceous Period, 6 S arene in Period, Sore of, 164. eous Perio od, a of, 641. grace Tortois Crustacea 157, 7. Crustacea, Fossil New, 303. Crustaceans of the Prairies, 7. Wells, 753. roos Cyclop Daniingtonia Californica, 307. nian ioe , 271. Deen "Ameni is. Deer, ’ Spike- “Horn ed, 250, Deutzia, I Dinon hia in, 161. [12 nin Amazonian Valley, Diabrothiea r s, Origin of, 122. Dianne 716. Distribution of Mammals in America, 387. Drift, 729. Duck, Ringneck, 121. Dytiscus, Foot of, 381. in, 116, 714. “5 n ee: "561. Ear, Fungi renbgy Fs ogy, Economical, 307. Entomology, one of, 158, 321. Eozoon Canadense, 123, 255. 535, 539. Erismatura, 44 rythronium, New Species of, 298. Essor — 375. Eupho Europe, Lepidoptera of, 646. Eyesight, and the Microscope, 189. Falcons, Game, of New la 80. Fauna of Lake soe org Fisheries, Inlan a U. 3. em a ee of, 319. Fishes, 175, 397, 436, 579. _ e of, Fog, Fossil Botan: my, 444. eae 4 Plants, 34I. Foss sil Repiiişn, , 443. Fos Franklin Society, 319. Fresh be reed Sketches, ges Fulix affinis, albino, 662 to,271. flO. | In INDEX. Fulix collaris, 121. Fumariacez, Fertilization of, 117. Fungi, 400. Fungi in the Human Ear, 714 panel. Spied in the Human Ear, 116. gi, Study of, 523. allinula galeata, 662. Gammarus in Wells, 54. Geologic cal Pictures, 193. psn een Survey, Geolo, I German Mu acu: § ot on the Rocky Mountains, 123. Ave p hei Fish, To of, 785. Grasses, 616 rasses, Sea Grave- mii op their Contents, 155. Grosbeak, Cardinal, 176. Gulf of Mexico, Geology of, 514. se a cigs 356. Haw Duck, 66% Hawk, Pige “os Hawk est of, Hawks, Migration of, 173. Ha den’s ‘xpedition, 383. Helix, 721. Helix see 728. enry, Prof., Honor Conf Hesperomys cognatus, 761. Holbrook, J. E., 667. a Muscular, 108. Honans 376. Horn et, 172. Heraa Madness i ina ee Humboldt oe ‘ Hybrid ‘Cat and Race n, 660. ee ae Parsee, 788. d on, 257 Hyst Ichne oea ‘th ada 42. Idol, Mex Illinois Geological ‘Collection Burned, 321. Illinois, Geological Survey, 300. Indian Implement, 317 In dians, mi oe in Vermont 11. Insects, 440. ar Insects, ee of Darwinian Theory nsects, Flight of, pater, Mimic Insects of the Byte Insects, Purtuedegensin of, 57. Iowa, Geology of, 243. Isoetes in Detroit Biver, 54. Jardin des Plantes, 158. Kansas, Geology of, 792. Kirtland’s Owl, 119. Labiatæ, Peloria in, 651. n, 120, INDEX. Lake Superior, Fauna of, 722. Lakes, Survey of, 384. oe er, Apple, 209. t pidoptera, era, 646. Leaves," — of, 78. Lepism Lemna polyrrhiza, Lemna tri a Pig 651. Lichens Life at Great Depta 393. Leuna m, 335. Lophius, Spaw n 785. Lygodium ek ho 8 115. Machilis Mage lis Madagascar, F Cauna of, 725 Madonos n ina a Horse, 789. Madre 444. Mallots pn pi s; Classification of, 526. ree Distribution of, ar. Mamm als in Caves; 58. Mammals, aera 716. Mammals of the Prairies, 5. Mammoth Cave, 739. Mammoth, Remains x. in Europe, 5s. 7e m = bebe E Mar miery pple of Science, 321. pei i 147; Illinois, 605; Ithaca, 314. May Flies, 417. Matoso Misamis, 716. Meteorite, Fossil, 59. Meteorology, 668. ny a Microscop of, 1 Microscopy, 1%, 235, i, B07, 733, 735. Micro-telescope, 608. Middletown Seicntific Association. 305. isso ogy of, 541. Si . Dr. Koch’s, 147. _ Mockin. aoe M idak 358 400 ; iongevit f, 173. ollus 3, 358 ms o Mollusks of Quito. 4 Mollusks of the Prairies, T ae Monac Monochromatic Illumination, 316. geen te Sea Seeds, 510. Moths, s Migrations i 313. Mou a near Princeton, Il., 60. Mounds, Tradition Relating to, 544 Mouse’s Ear, 72 Warchinon, Sir R., 737. Museum in Cea Zoology, 61. Musk Ox “Pie tah, 3. Muskrat, Natica Natural ‘History i in geen: oto — ropte - Route i ig Classification of, 564. New England, Game Falcons of, 80. New Mexico, Expedition to, 257. 805 New York Museum of Natural History, 256. Nile, rasta a of, pony n Wells, 753. Niphar Nitella. Nobert’s Lines, 797. Noctiluca, 723. Homeasisior Zoologicus, 193. deca ree gy é So nel rg Or nithological, 64. [326. No as ooa nstitute of Natural Science, Nuphar y ret alea alivons 119. Objectives, 188, 797. cean Currents, 732. Oil Wells, ant Ophiuride Organic Development, 593. Origin of Spe Omithologicil, 22, 4 37. Ornithological Notes, 120. Ornithological Pebivtations, 234. bee Ss CAB i Ow pra poaa 119. Oy sters Pacific Coast, es Paramecium, 65 Kotare 375, 4 ade emy of Science, 305. geere i I foseum of Archwology and Eth- 7, Wi, 705. lze] is) = FE ba = Petrificatio Se Phar Phanlangodes acai, © Aces S hical Society, A 257. Phosphate of Soun a 320. Phosphorescence, 72 See Photographing Histological Preparat ons, Photo-mierogra phs. ickere l, Gro ra of Sis. oat ao 5 rrey slop lants, crane fertilization of, 647. Plants’ Fe — pe n Plan nts, Num Plants, Rema ji KOs or, eye of pyare A Vapor pomeas rin Port porns 7 Gave, Fi Fauna of, 756. Portheus molossus. Portuguese prame ie 313. Pottery, 113. _ Pottery, Ancient, of Brazil, 259. Prairie 4 abi ts of, 24 Prairies, of, Prairie Fires, 68. Prosuchus fuscus, 662. 806 a ei Ghar 794. dotremia, 758, 7 Pterodactyl i a America, i Pteromalus puparum, 72 Quaternary rana 638. Quissama Trib e, 38 Quito, Natural Thatoi of, 619, 693. Rabbits, 437. Raccoon, Hybrid between, and Cat, 660. Radiate Piphitopnera subterranea, 745, 759. Record of rgita , 321. ER A ountains, Saad in come ‘213. otif Salamander, Salvia coccinea, 782. Salvia involucrat a, 161 Jommission, 63. T28. Sap, Ascent of, 160. Schools, Natural History in, 129. Science Instruction, 685, 798. Scorpio Sea Bed, Geography of the, 184. Sea Bottom, Formation of, 124. Sea Fowl, Preservation of, 253. neg paren Cua of, 37. Cla assification of, 234. n Corals j sh Sing ng ost Skun hatomy of, 246. Sou arene Comeptuaston of, with Polar- Spider, 733. Spiders, Flying Spirostrephon toh, 748, 760, Sponges, 726. Spongiade, i | Toa an INDEX. Spring-tails — Bristle-tails, 91. Squamella ga uirr oe ial Stagobi Stanietreeb’s Fy poe. 798. r, 657. Stilt, ‘2 7. Stone Age, Hearth of the, 88. Stone Implements, i Strawberry Worm, 3 Subterranean hte Tao. Sucking Fish, 436. Sun Fish, 360. Tanis Stone, 664. Peis Sete 524. nidæ, 374. Tertiary Peri rd, 6 638. Tertiary Period, Fishes of, 643. Tertiary Period, Flora of, 641. Tertiary. Period, y ertabrates of, 664. bo Sg bia, Fl “tened; 663, 707, 792. Ticks i in the unas Ear, 176. Tin n En ag rn 329. Toads in “Rocks, 78 Torto teop, oa Aan 562. Tortrix Tree, Chestant, 945. Transpiration of Leaves, 784. Triura cavernicola, 747. y Association, 382, 383. University of Pennsylvania, 384. Vallisneria, 339. Valsa, 323. Vertebrates. Fossil, from Wyoming, 664. ae tebrate Sy stem, 559. | Vorticella, 656, 657. Walrus, Fossil, 316 Wasps, "Habits of, 246. Wasps, Parasite on, 120. ax Insect, 683. pelle, Crustae ‘ea in, 753. Whale in oe Drift, 125. Whippoor + 438 White Mountains, Geology of, 732. Brazilie rent g 787. Wyoming, geoin “Of, 637. Wyoming, Xanthocephalus, 196. Zoological Literature, Record of, 193, 375. Zoology, Systematic, 353.