BED BURY's. “HET rere ‘“‘The standard of highest Purity.” — The Lancet. gsTABLISHED 1865, New Series. Vol. VIII., Mo. 88. SEPTEMBER 1901. SCIENGE-GOSSIP gay CE: 8 . we if i a f, Pe | A) = . fil ii Nature, Country Lore & Applied Science. bJ.9: =a si AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY RECORD OF \ ‘. { EDITED BY JOHN SY. -CARRINGHON AND F. WINSTONE. 6¢ SCIENCE-GOSSIP ” OFFICE, 110 STRAND, W.C. WHOLESALE AGENTS—HoraczE MARSHALL & SON. - BERLIN: R. FrigpLanpER & SouHN, CARLSTRASSE 11. [4d Rights Reserved.) PRICE SIXPENCE SCIENCE-GOSSIP. MASON’ MicRoscOPICAL SPECIMENS, | ROSS’ new mover SERIES OF BOTANICAL SECTIONS. INSECT DISSEC- PRISM BINOGULAR GLASSES, TIONS or MISCELLANEOUS, 1s. id. List for Stamp. Many new Preparations in hand for coming Season. Practical Hints on Mounting. (Copyright Pamphlet) 6d. “The Power and Field of a Telescope in the compass of an Opera Glass.” R. G. MASON, 69 Park Rd., CLAPHAM, S.W. 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Birds, Mammals, &c., Preserved and Mounted by First-class Workmen true to Nature. j@ All Books and Publications on Natural History supplied. : 36 STRAND, W.C. (Five Doors from Charing Cross). i SCIENCE-GOSSTP. 7 FLIES PROPER. By WALTER WESCHE. OST people with a taste for natural history collect something. The majority, attracted by the beautiful appearance of a neatly arranged case of the lovely insects, prefer butterflies and moths; some collect beetles, and a still fewer mumber are interested in flies, or, to be more pre- cise, the Diptera. In the case of most dwellers in cities the idea of a fly is formed by a distant acquaintance with DIAGRAM OF HOUSE FLY. Fic. 1. the house fly, and associated with the annoyance caused by that persevering insect on summer days. As to variety, small and large would be sufticient ‘definition, though some people might plead guilty to calling the larger ‘blue-bottles.” Even a countryman knows little about them, though you may hear him-speak of hawk- or hover-flies. It would be quite a matter of surprise to learn that the familiar daddy-long-legs or crane-fly, mos- ‘quitoes, and gnats are all made on similar lines, and belong to the same order as house flies. Further, that there are above 3,000 species in the British Isles. It is obvious that there must be plenty of variety, and that this variety will require more than cursory examination. The chief characteristic of Diptera is that they thave only two wings, and another is the “balancer,” or ‘“haltere,’ a little rod with a clubbed end, which will be noticed at the base of the wing (fig. 3). It is supposed to be the rudiment or else ‘the atrophied remains of a second wing. It can ‘be seen with the naked eye; but in small insects, ‘like the majority of flies, a lens is useful; and if all the most interesting and complicated detail is to ‘be made out, a powerful microscope is necessary. If we examine the diagrams of a house fly and a crane fly (figs. 1 and 2) we shall see that an SEPTEMBER 1901.—No. 88, VoL. VIII. insect is a far more complicated piece of mechanism than a mammal; but even then in these diagrams there is a vast amount of detail left out: all the mouth organs are hidden, the antennae only partly show, and the immense numbers of spines, bristles, and hairs, which are modified in many different ways for various purposes, are not even indicated. In fig. 4 I have attempted to show what the head of a fly looks like, but the proboscis is drawn diagrammatically to exhibit the position of the different contrivances with which it i sfitted: viz. the palpi, or feelers, and the lancets, hidden in the sharp cover or case which projects. Above that is /, one of the palpi covered with short hair and spines, and one of the levers which work the lancets, shows to the right. Atthe end of the proboscis are the well-known tubes through which the fly sucks up its food, and at their base are some Little teeth (fig. 5) with which it scrapes, scratches, and breaks up matter to a size that will pass up the tubes. It is interesting to find that in those flies feeding on pollen these teeth are absent, the size of the tubes being adapted to the pollen fed upon, which is sucked up whole. The lancets Fic. 2, DIAGRAM OF ORANE FLy. are used as an offensive weapon, and in those flies which live on other insects are used to kill the prey, the insect being guided in their use by the two palpi. The eyes are very large and com- pound, and contain about four thousand facets, or separate eyes. Besides this, to enable the insect to see above and behind, the head has on the crown three simple eyes. The compound eyes of the male are, as a rule, larger than those of the female, enabling him to see with greater ease, and of advantage to him in his search for a mate. In front of the head are the antennae. The use of these organs was long a mystery, but it now seems fairly demonstrated that they are for Published August 26th, 1901 98 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. smelling, and also in some degree for a sense of touch, the long bristle being obviously for this purpose. This bristle in the house fly is like an aigret, and is plumose, as the entomologists call it. It is a curious thing that insects should breathe through their backs, and not only breathe, but Fic. 3. “ Balancer” or “ Poiser” of Midge. make sounds. Under the outer shell, which is horny, are a vast number of minute tubes that practically are the lungs of the insect. This fact may be demonstrated by placing a drop of oil on its back, when it instantly dies, being suffocated. These tubes have little openings in the back, known as spiracles: they will be noticed on the diagram (fig. 1), two to each joint of the abdo- men. At the base of the fore legs will be observed two of a pear shape, and it is through these that sound is produced. My impression is that it is only made when the insect is in distress or pain, Fic. 4, Diagram of side of head of House Fly, showing the position of the eyes, antenna, palpus, lancet, and lobe of the proboscis. though I have noticed a Syrphus-fly, one of the pollen feeders I referred to just now, making quite a musical note while walking on a window- pane. The wings, that make 660 simple oscilla- tions in a second of time, also produce sound, which is, however, quite different from that emitted through the spiracles. _ The shell of insects is formed of a substance called chitin, which is horny and not sensitive to touch. ‘To repair this defect the body is in many instances covered with a quantity of spines and hairs, that act as nerves and enable the fly to feel the approach of danger and to have the sense of contact, which otherwise would be absent. To keep - all these hairs clean and free from dust and dirt, brushes are necessary (fig. 6), and these will be found on the legs. Any- one who has watched a fly during the careful cleaning of his body with the hind legs, and of his head with the fore legs, will readily under- stand this. As most of us know, flies will feed on almost anything ; but there are many families who are cannibals, thriving on their fellow-flies. Fig. 7 shows the shape of one of these—a little insect less than two lines in length. It has no popular name, so I have to give the scientific, which in length is in inverse ratio to the size, being Tachydromia arro- gans, or the arrogant Tachydromia. ‘The middle legs are remarkable: they are furnished with rows: of teeth to enable the insect to grip and hold the wings while the sharp-pointed tibia is dug into the side of the victim. The head is furnished with lancets for piercing, and trachae for sucking blood. One of the most curious and interesting things: in insects is what is known as ‘‘ mimicry”; that is, a modification of its appearance through the pro- cesses of evolution, so that it resembles either am Fic. 5, Expanded lobes of proboscis of House Fly, showing arrangement of tubes and position of teeth. inanimate substance, as a leaf or twig, or some other insect which is better capable of defending itself, or is in some way objectionable to other animals, perhaps to the taste or the smell. There are many flies, which to the unpractised! eye are easily mistaken for wasps or bees, that we well know have stings and poison-bags. I re-- member my first capture of Hrystalis tenax, a harmless fly that mimics a bee. It buzzes like: an angry one, and moves its abdomen up andi down ina manner most suggestive of being fur-- nished with a particularly sharp sting. As a matter of fact, it is a profound humbug, but like many humbugs it succeeds, or at all events has a measure of success, for I was most desperately cautious with it, and quite convinced I had caught. Fig. 6. Fore Leg of House Fly, showing arrangement of hair used in cleaning head and proboscis, an insect who only wanted opportunity to sting severely. The popular name is the bee- or drone- fly : it feeds on pollen, and its larva is known as the “rat-tailed maggot.” This lives in water and has a most wonderful telescopic tail, that it pushes up to the surface and by which it breathes. There are some flies of the family Bombylidae that are- SCIENCE. GOSSIP. 69 even more like bees than Hrystalis, and live with the wild or humble bees in their nests. Flies are of great use as scavengers, laying their eggs on decaying animal matter. The larvae soon hatch—no longer than in a day in the case of the house fly—and find their food surrounding them. The similar habit of the blow-fly is very well known, spoiling meat in summer-time, the larvae being the “gentle” so dear to anglers; but the harm done is probably more than balanced by the good, as, in addition to the disappearance of de- caying matter, some very troublesome insects are attacked in the same way. For instance, there is nothing more harmful to plants than the aphis or green fly. The larvae of the Syrphus-fly feed onthem, and it is a most curious sight to watch the ovi- positing. The fly hovers over a rose or other bush till it sees a leaf well covered with the green fly, Fic. 7, Diagram of small predaceous Fly. then settles quietly in the midst of them, lays an ege or two, and then as quietly flies away, seemingly conscious of having performed a virtuous action. The flies of this genus get their popular name of “hover” from this habit, and of “ hawk” from the male suddenly darting in pursuit of his partner. There are other flies that are well worth watch- ing. Seeing the Scatophaga, the large hairy orange-yellow fly, known to fishermen as_ the “dung fly,” seizing and killing a fly as large as itself, is most dramatic. Note the little Siphona geniculata, a fly with a very long and thin proboscis, which it pushes down the tubes of flowers such as the privet and camomile to suck the honey, or a blue or green bottle fly feeding on a disc of ivy blossom and getting quite drunk with the effects. I regret to say this dissipation is very popular with several orders of insects. Watch the beauti- ful Dolichopus, a fly of vivid iridescent green, with eyes shining as brightly as gold, skating on shallow pools, like the water-spiders, and catch- ' ing their food, which consists of minute insects, worms, and even slugs. Their legs are furnished with very delicate hair, that holds the air and prevents them from sinking. The mouth is also furnished with two powerful teeth (fig. 9). However, it is not only flies that prey on flies ; such innocent things as plants sometimes develop a carnivorous taste. At Kew you can see the tropical ‘‘ Venus’s fly-trap,” and in England we have the marsh-plant, the “sun-dew” (Drosera rotundifolia Linn.), which feed on flies. Early in last century this habit was unknown, and observers, seeing a number of a particular family on the plant, concluded that they liked the secretion, and named them Drosophilidae, or ‘Drosera lovers.” Though flies do an immense amount of good in the world, some species must be counted among the enemies of mankind. There are few more cer- tain sources to convey infection of disease from one person to another than by several of the commoner species. These infest the sick-room, and then stray to other places, carrying the microbes of disease on their feet or feeding organs. We can readily imagine that some of these bacteria are left on human food, such as meat or butter, which on being eaten pass the infection to uninfected persons. We have all heard also how certain kinds of mosquitoes pass the microbes of malaria to human beings, and the same may be said with regard to yellow fever in tropical countries. In conclusion, I ought to mention that for pur- poses of classification Diptera are divided into sixty families. Mr. Verrall, the English authority Fic. 8. Middle leg of same Fly much magnified, showing spikes. for holding and the pointed tibia used in killing prey. on this order, has one more, Limnobidae. These families are again subdivided into two large groups, depending for distinction on the nature of the pupae-cases. Roughly speaking, the first group consists of Tipulaoleraceae, Tachydrominae, and Dolichopodidae, the gnats and their relatives, typified by the crane fly ; the second group con- sists of Calliphora erythrocephala, the blow-fly and its relatives, typi- fied by the larger house-fly, Musca domestica, Siphona geniculata, the Syrphidae, and Scatophaga ster- COTaTIa. = : From the first group, known as the Orthorrhapha, Professor Packard has deducted the fleas or Pulicidae, placing them in an order by themselves. The older observers considered them degraded flies, like the bee-louse, Brawla caeca, and Taodes reduvius, the sheep tick, which belong to the second group, the Cyclorhapha. 90 Belsize Road, London. Teeth of Fia. 9. Fly — Dolichopus. 100 CLEANING SKULLS AND SCIENCE-GOSSIP. SKELETONS. By LIONEL E. ADAMS, B.A. AVING lately noticed several queries in various papers as to the best method of pre- paring skulls and skeletons, I have thought that the results of an experience of this work during the last thirty years may be of interest to the readers of SCIENCE-GOSSIP. THE ANT-HILL METHOD. Of course everyone has heard of the ant-hill method of cleaning bones, but those who have tried it, at least in this country, are not likely to repeat the experiment. The flesh is certainly cleared away more or less completely, but the soil and damp discolour and rot the bone, and it takes some months for the ants to deal with even so small an object as the skull of a mouse. In tropical regions the ants may do their work more expeditiously; but my own experience has not been satisfactory with the only specimen I tried— viz. a vulture’s head. This I suspended on a wall in the swarming track of some red ants, and, though most industrious, they failed to make much impression on it in three weeks. By TADPOLES. I once found a minnow in my aquarium reduced to a fairly complete skeleton by tadpoles; but these little creatures cannot manage any tough integument. - By SHRIMPS. Judging from skeletons which have lain in the sea water where shrimps abound, I should say they were the most capable of all such small scavengers. I remember a case some few years ago of the body of a man recovered three or four days after he had been drowned in the sea. The body was found perfectly skeletonised, and his clothes, by which alone he was identified, were full of shrimps. SAND, SEA WATER, SUN, AND WIND. Dr. R. J. Scharff, of the Dublin Museum, once informed me that he was very successful with the skeleton of a whale, which he buried in the sand within reach of the tide. No doubt in this case maceration and small crustaceans were mutually useful. That there is great bleaching virtue in sea water, especially if assisted by sun and wind, any- one will acknowledge who has found bones on the sea-shore. I have no doubt that the white con- dition of the bones piled up in Hythe Church crypt in Kent is due to the bodies having been left, perhaps buried, on the sea-shore, which was the scene of the battlefields, till the sea and small crustaceans had purified them. These bones have certainly not been buried in inland soil, or they would have lost their surface polish, have become discoloured, and lost more of their weight. A very similar collection of bones in the crypt of Roth- well Church, Northants, is in a very different con- dition, the bones showing all the signs of having been buried in the ironstone soil of the district. Even sand alone under some conditions is favour- able to bleaching. Scattered over the desert are commonly found beautifully perfect specimens of camels’ and jackals’ bones, which have been cleaned first by the vultures and flies, and then by the hot sand blown along by the wind. At Suez in 1872 I used to visit an old cemetery where victims of a former plague had been interred in the desert sand. Here I found all the bones in a remarkable state of preservation, and, though the short black hairs of shaven crowns were still to be found on many of the skulls, all the bones were beautifully white and glossy. They were then being dug up and utilised for making lime for building purposes. THE BOILING METHOD. Another rough-and-ready method is to boil, or rather simmer, the skull for some hours until the flesh is quite gone; but specimens so treated are always more or less discoloured. We all know the dirty grey appearance of boiled bones. This dis- ‘coloration, however, may be lessened if the water is not allowed to reach the boiling-point, and if it be changed from time to time as it becomes dirty, A little washing soda may be added at the last stage of simmering, or a small quantity of Hudson’s dry soap, or ammonia, which eliminates the grease. For large skulls where delay is impossible this method is perhaps the best; but for small delicate skulls, like those of the bats and shrews, nothing but water should be used, or the bones will part at the sutures. By MACERATION. The best results, however, are obtained in the following manner:—Remove all the flesh and detach the lower jaw. Scoop out the brain through the foramen magnum and place the skull in hard water. Rain water should be carefully avoided, as it often turns the skulls green or black. The water should be changed daily, and the skull as constantly picked, until little by little it becomes free from everything that the scalpel or scissors can remove. During the process of maceration the remaining portions of the brain and dura mater can be got rid of by an injection of water with a squirt. SCIENCE-GOSS/P. The time required for this process depends upon the size of the skull and the temperature of the atmosphere. In hot weather a dog’s skull may be clean in a fortnight ; in cold weather three or four months may be required. I have had skulls frozen for months without injury; indeed, I think freezing them is more likely to benefit the process. When no more flesh or ligament can be removed the skull should be washed in water with chloride of lime, the amount of which is not a fixed quan- tity, and must vary according to the size of the skull. As a rough rule, a dessertspoonful of chloride of lime is enough for a pint of water to wash a fox’s or badger’s skull. The lime should be well pounded before mixing with water, and about ten minutes is long enough for the lime to eat away any particles of ligament or flesh that may remain. ‘The skull when taken out should be well washed under a running tap, and brushed with as hard a brush as can be used without breaking the small processes protruding from some parts of the skull. Very delicate skulls, as those of the shrews and bats, should never be touched with lime, which soon eats them through. They should, however, be clipped clean with scissors whilst under water, when the small portions of remaining ligament stand out from the skull like fluff. When the specimen is finished, it should be placed to dry in the sun. The test of a perfect specimen is the absence of anything like ligament, which shows yellow when viewed under a lens. “NATURAL” SKELETONS. To set up an entire skeleton, of course, requires more labour. ‘The bones of a large animal are usually all separated and cleaned apart by the pro- cess already mentioned, and finally wired together. With small animals it ismuch less tedious to make what is termed a “natural” skeleton—i.e. by macerating the whole skeleton together, removing only the skull, taking care that it is not left long enough in water for the ligaments to give way. After the final wash in a little lime the skeleton is propped up by pieces of wood and card, and left to dry in the position required. ‘The ligaments will harden and shrink so as to be quite unnoticeable. When the skeleton is dry it will stand by itself without the aid of any props. Should a ligament give way during maceration, or, later, on setting up the specimen, a touch of diamond cement, fish glue, or gum tragacanth will make a perfect adhesion. AFFIXING THE SKULL. In the case of small animals like mice or weasels, a slight touch of the above-mentioned adhesives will be sufficient for this purpose; but with larger specimens, such as dogs, hares, and others, a plug of cork smeared with the adhesive should be inserted into the foramen magnum and also down the tube formed by the cervicals. The IOI lower jaws of small animals can be affixed with adhesive, and the jaws of larger animals kept in place by a ligature of slender wire. It is preferable in all cases where the whole skeleton is not set up to keep the lower jaw separate, so that a complete examination of the specimen can be made at any time. The lower jaw of the badger of course cannot be separated from the skull without break- ing the characteristic enfolding processes of the upper attachment. It is often desirable for purposes of study to obtain a disarticulated skull, and this is only possible in the case of juvenile subjects whose bones have not grown together. The skulls of half- grown puppies, etc., will come to pieces bone by bone during the process of maceration without much manipulation ; but in the case of the human skull, except when very young, the dovetailing of the sutures will hold the whole tightly together, and it is-impossible to effect disarticulation from without. This, however, may be effected by filling the skull with hard peas and immersing it in water, which will swell the peas and slowly burst the skull from within. In the case of birds, of course, the horny beaks and claws do not form part of the true bone; but, as the former are usually very characteristic, it is as well to preserve them with the specimen, which is easily done, as they slip off readily during the process of maceration. The fresher the specimen, the cleaner and whiter will be the bones. Specimens that have been allowed to get hard and dry are more difficult to bleach in proportion to their dryness. No skull, however hard and dry, need be despaired of; but in such a case the simmering process gives the best results. The same remark applies to speci- mens that have been preserved in methylated spirit, which toughens the flesh and brain beyond the reach of maceration. It should be noted that all good specimens must be kept under glass, even in the cabinet, as dust combines with the trifle of grease that is always present in the bone, and a skull once allowed to get thus discoloured is impossible to restore to its former white perfection. 68 Wolverhampton Koad, Stafford. SATURATING WooD WITH OREOSOTE.—About 75 lb. of creosote are required for the impregna- tion of an ordinary railway sleeper. Attempts have been made to reduce this quantity by dis- solving the creosote in a suitable liquid, but, owing to the evaporation of the solvent, have not proved economical. A more successful attempt at dilution is that recently described by F. Seidenschnur in the Zeit. angewan. Chem. In this process the creosote is formed into an emulsion with a rosin soap, and water added until the required propor- tion, say 15 per cent., of creosote is obtained. The sleepers are steamed under pressure, then ex- hausted under reduced pressure, and finally charged with the creosote emulsion ander a pressure of 7 atmospheres.—C. A. Mitchell. 102 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. CLASSIFICATION OF BRITISH TICKS. By EDWARD G. WHELER. (Concluded from page 74.) (@') RHIPICHPHALUS Koch, 1844. Synonyms: Acarvs Linn., 1758 ; Zxodes Latreille, 1795; Phauloivwodes Berlese, 1889; Boophilus Curtice, 1890. Eyes distinct. Base of rostrum wider than long, hexagonal on the dorsal side, forming a prominent angle at each side. Palpi short, wide (fig. 18). Coxae of the first pair of legs with two spines, usually strong. Peritremes of female in form of a short comma, generally long in the male. The male has one or two pairs of ventral shields; one pair placed on each side of the anus, triangular, some- times rectangular, large; a second pair, if present, smaller and placed outside. M. Neumann describes twenty- three species of this genus, most of which are African. It is to certain species of the genus that is to be # attributed the immense damage to cattle already referred to, which is caused by carrying the microbes of the disease known as “tick fever,” ““Texas fever,’ etc., from diseased to healthy animals. In the Cape Colony R. decoloratus, called the ‘blue tick,” and R. evertsi, called the “red tick,’ are best known as such; in the Southern States of North America a closely allied species, R. annulatus, is the chief cause of the disease, which in Australia is represented by a slightly different form named R. australis by Mr. Fuller. No British species is known, but one, #. sanguineus, is so widely dis- tributed that there is every possibility of its occurring in England. It is found not only in France and the south of Europe, but in Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. (@) DERMACENTOR Koch, 1844. Synonyms: Jaodes Latreille, 1795; Psendixodes Haller, 1882. Eyes present. Base of rostrum wider than long, rectangular on the dorsal face. Palpi short and thick. Peritremes shaped like a short comma. The ventral side of the male has, like the female, no shields. Haunches of the first pair of legs bidented in both sexes ; those of the fourth in the male greatly enlarged (fig. 20). Dorsal shield generally ornamented with various designs. Seventeen species of this genus are described. One only is British. Dermacentor reticulatus Fabricius. Synonyms: Acarus reticulatus Fabricius, 1794; Txodes reticulatus Latreille, 1804; Z. marmoratus Risso, 1826; Dermacentor reticulatus Koch, 1844-47; D. albicollis Koch, 1844-47; D. parda- linus Koch, 1844-47 ; D. ferrugineus Koch, 1844-47 ; Taades holsatus Kolenati, 1857; Pseudixodes hol- satus Haller, 1882; Haemaphysalis marmorata Berlese, 1887. FEMALE (fig. 24). When fasting, 3°86 mm. long Male. Female. Fic, 24. Dermacentor reticulatus. by 2 mm. wide. Body depressed, larger behind. Colour reddish-brown. Shield very large, extending to the level of the third pair of legs, punctuated with a few large and many small punctuations. Colour milky-white, variegated with reddish- brown. Sexual: orifice is opposite the coxae of Fic. 25. D. veticulatus. Palpi. the second pair of legs. Sexual grooves near together in front, rapidly diverging behind the haunches of the fourth pair, and terminating between the second and third festoons on the posterior margin of the body. Peritreme comma-_ al | | SCIENCE-GOSS/P. lo? shaped, short, and rounded. Coxae of front legs deeply bifid, the others with a moderate spine. A strong claw at the end of the tarsi of the three posterior pairs of legs, very small in the front pair. Length when replete up to 16mm. Colour light brown. When depositing eggs, mottled with dark brown above and beneath. Legs brown. MALE. Very like female (fig. 24). Shield reddish- brown, variegated with milky-white pattern; in front this takes nearly the appearance of the shield of the female, margined by a white border behind. Coxae of the fourth pair of legs three times the size of the third. Palpi having on the second joint a sharp spine pointing backwards (fig. 25), which is less pronounced in the female. Length 4:20 mm. This species varies very much in individuals, both in shape and colouring. It occurs in Ene- land occasionally on sheep. Specimens have been sent to me by Mr. Pocock which were found on sheep at Revelstoke in Devonshire. It is widely distributed in Europe and Asia. It also attacks cattle, deer, goats, roe-deer, and even man. The following is a short tabular synopsis of the foregoing classification of the Ixodidae :— I. Rostrum concealed beneath the fore part of the body, except in the immature states; no dorsal or ventral shields :— ARGASINAE. (a) Body flat with thin edges, finely sha- greened and punctuated, narrower in front. No eyes F Argas (>) Body with thick sides, often densely covered with small round shining granules in various patterns. Hyes sometimes present.! Ornithodorus Body more or less covered with a dorsal shield. Considerable differ- ence generally between the sexes. Dorsal base of the rostrum of female with two sym- metrical hollows finely punctuated, which ‘are absent in males, nymphs, and larvae :— II. Rostrum terminal. IXODINAE. (A) Rostrum and palpi longer than broad (fig. 6). IXODAE. (a) Anal groove contouring anus in front. No eyes (fig. 6). (a@) Palpi caniculated in both sexes Jaodes (a*) Palpi claviform, not caniculated in the male. legs very long. Haemalastor (fig. 10) (%) Anal groove contouring anus behind (fig. 7). (1) This is denied by Dr. Marx in Proceedings of Entomo- Rogical Soc., Washington, vol. ii., No. 2, 1892. (b') No eyes. Ad-anal shields. Aponomma (6?) Eyes present (fig. 5). Males have no ad-anal shields Amblyomma (03) Eyes present. Males have ad-aral shields (fig. 7) Hyalomma (B) Labium and palpi short and more or less conical; not, or very little, longer than broad. RHIPICEPHALAE. (¢) No eyes nor ventral shields in the male. Rostrum rectangular; second joint of palpi with lateral projection (fig. 21) Haemaphysalis (d) Eyes present. (@) Rostrum with salient angles. Hither two or four shields at the side of the anus of the male (fig. 19). Rhipicephalus (d*) Rostrum rectangular. No ad-anal shields, but usually a great develop- ment of the coxae of the fourth pair of legs in the male (fig. 20). Dermacentor It must be remembered that not only do indi- viduals of all species vary much in size when fast- ing, but the variation is immensely increased when distension takes place on a host. Full considera- tion must be given to this fact when referring to the measurements given above. ‘The colours of distended individuals also depend entirely on the quantity of blood consumed. When the disten- sion is complete the colour is usually a blue-black in all stages. I. am indebted to the Editor of the ‘ Royal Agricultural Society’s Journal” for kindly lending me the blocks of figs. 6, 11, 12,18, and 14. Figs. 8, 9, and 15 have already been produced in SCIENCE-GOSSIP. I should be much obliged for any information of well authenticated British species that may have been omitted, with full particulars as to the time and place of capture. Swansjield House, Alnwick, June 1901. CAVE-DWELLERS OF KENVER.—Near to Kenver are to be seen some remarkable caves, cut into the sandstone rock, of which a few are still inhabited. One old troglodyte tells me that he has lived in his cave forty-eight years. A few years ago his next cave neighbour died, so he dug a way through, and has now a double cave. ‘These places seem quite dry and comfortable ; they have old-fashioned glass and lead windows in front, and rough chimneys of drain-pipes run up the face of the rock. The inhabitants pay no rent for the caves, but a little to the lord of the manor for their ample gardens, of which they are very proud.— E. Parkins, Kenver. 104° SCIENCE-GOSSIP. HINTS ON DRYING FLOWERS. By THE REV. MATEURS and even skilled botanists are often much disappointed at the shrivelled and discoloured appearance of their specimens. Experience, however, shows that with proper means and sufficient care both defects may be generally avoided. The secret of success lies principally in three things: (1) ventilation, with some degree of heat if possible; (2) absorbent cotton-wool; (3) the use of acids when necessary. The first is pretty well known and practised by botanists who use various sorts of ventilating ap- pliances; but a daily, or twice daily, change of papers thoroughly dried in the sun or before a hot fire is all that is really necessary. In the case of succulent flowers like bluebells, it is advantageous to place the specimens, properly protected, for a while, or even altogether, in the sun. By this method such leaves as those of bluebells, may be made to preserve their colour. Very few specimens can be dried satisfactorily without the use of absorbent cotton-wool. This should be placed on both the leaves and the flowers. It prevents them from shrivelling, and goes far towards preserving the colour of both. When used, too great pressure is not needed, and is indeed harmful. Specimens should on no account be bruised. Flower-presses of the clothes-press type are an abomination. With cotton-wool specially prepared drying-paper is quite unne- cessary. There is nothing better than newspaper, foreign newspaper especially—the worse in quality the better for this purpose. Some flowers, how- ever, are too delicate for this method. I have obtained excellent results with Owalis acetosella by placing it between sheets of tissue paper with just a suspicion of cotton-wool on the petals only. This plan is the best also with-delicate ferns, which dry so rapidly that ventilation is unnecessary, but perfect flatness essential The use of cotton-wool, with proper ventilation, in most cases is quite sufficient for a very large number of flowers, especially yellow ones, such as Potentillae, prim- roses, buttercups, and several white, such as wood- anemones and water Ranunculi, which will keep their colour perfectly if dried rapidly and with frequent changes of paper. Here it may be well to mention the advantage of taking off on paper water-plants like water Ranunculiand Utriculariae. The living specimens should be floated in water, a sheet of white or tinted paper being then placed underneath, and the whole plant carefully lifted so that the water gradually flows off, leaving the specimens with the leaves spread out on the paper. This is troublesome to execute, and requires some F. H. Woops. practice ; but it is essential for success, as it is: the only way of getting the dried specimens to: resemble the living plant. With such plants cotton-wool is only necessary for the flowers. Several blue flowers, such as forget-me-nots and the smaller gentians like Gentiana vernalis, do very well with cotton-wool; but the colour of Campanulae usually goes, unless dried with con- siderable heat from the sun or by crossing with a warm flat-iron; yet even so it is often not per- manent. Many flowers, especially those of reddish or purple tints, and several that are white, will not. keep their colours if merely dried with cotton-wool.. Here the use of acids is imperative. Of these the best is sulphureus acid. Its use was first intro- duced into this country some years ago by Mr. Claridge Druce, F.L.8., an Oxford chemist (118 High Street), well known as the editor of the Oxfordshire Flora, the Berkshire and the Bucks Flora, now in preparation, and one of our leading field botanists. He received it from Dr. Schénland,. and it had been previously used in the herbarium of the Berlin Botanical Museum. The proportions. of the mixture as prepared by Mr. Druce, are two parts of sulphurous acid, freshly prepared and of ten per cent. strength, with one part of methylated alcohol of about sixty per cent. strength. The methylation should be preferably with wood spirit, -and not with mineral oil. The acid tends in course of time to become oxidised, and is then useless, so- that it is best to get a small quantity every year. The use of the acid is simple enough. The flower should be dipped in the mixture for a few seconds, when the colour will rapidly disappear, leaving the flower white. It should then be carefully dried with blotting-paper, care being taken to remove all the acid without bruising the petals. It may then be pressed in the usual way. Cotton-wool should be used for the leaves, which are, as a rule, unaffected by the acid, and should not be dipped into it. When the acid is used, it is best to place: cotton-wool only underneath the flowers, and above them pieces of tissue or blotting paper, cotton-wool frequently giving them a spotted appearance. The- natural colour of the flowers begins to reappear very soon after the acid has been removed, and returns completely in the course of a day or so. It is better to expose them for a few minutes to the air before pressing. The effect of the acid, besides. temporarily bleaching the flowers, is to prevent the growth of fungus, which otherwise destroys the colour. The tint, when it returns, is at least com- paratively permanent. I have by me specimens of SCIENCE-GOSSIP. iii Tuis Day 1s PUBLISHED. THE LIFE-HISTORY OF BRITISH SERPENTS AND THEIR LOCAL DISTRIBUTION IN THE BRITISH ISLES. By GERALD R. LEIGHTON, M.D. Thesis on ‘‘ The Reptilia of Monnow Valley,” Edin. Univ. 1gor ; Fellow of the Society ot Science, Letters and Art, London, &c.) With 50 Illustrations. Crown dvo. 5s. net. WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, EDINBURGH AND LONDON. THE LIBRARY OF USEFUL STORIES. Price One Shilling Each. Well Printed. Well Bound in Blue Cloth. Well Illustrated. BOOKS FOR HOLIDAY TIME. THE STORY OF KING ALFRED. WaLtTER BESANT, THE STORY OF WILD FLOWERS. By the Rev. Professor HENSLOwW. THE STORY OF ART IN THE BRITISH ISLES. By J. E. PHyTHIAN. 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HOWARD (cgé.ce), Chemist, GT. YARMOUTH. THAMES STEAMBOATS. LONDON TO CRAVESEND (Terrace Pier) and HERNE BAY, 7° MILES BY WATER. Fares to Herne Bay from London, Greenwich and Woolwich— Each Way. O/— Hach Way. To Gravesend (Terrace Pier), 1s. single, and rs. 6d. return. By the Favourite Saloon Steamer THE MERMAID. Every day, except Fridays— Charing Cross, 9.0 a.m. ; London Bridge (Old Swan), 9.30 a.m. ; Greenwich, to.o a.m. ; Woolwich, 10.15 a.m. ; Gravesend (Terrace Pier), 11.45 a.m. Returning from Herne Bay at 3 45 p.m.; and from Gravesend (Terrace Pier), 6.45 p.m. AS Vie 2 @uNGy W@ @1w eens Return. L/S Return. By the CARDINAL WOLSEY daily from Old Swan Pier, London Bridge, at 9.45 a.m., calling at all Piers up. Excellent Refreshments, Luncheons and Teas on board. No Intoxicants Sold. The Thames Steamboat Co. (1897), Ltd., 17 Philpot Lane, E.C. Brownies, 9a. Pocket K., 1/6 No, 1) HoPake2]= SCIENCE-GOSSIP. sweetbriar dried several years ago that are still quite bright. Even with the greatest care there must be inevitably many failures, so the collector must preserve a large number of specimens, and select the best. The acid answers extremely well with roses and orchids, including the white species of each, which otherwise inevitably turn brown. The effect on the butterfly orchis is curious. The flowers iose their fleshiness and get the appearance of white silver paper; the tints, however, of the bracts and all the green parts of the inflorescence become a pale greenish-yellow, showing that the acid does affect the leaves of certain plants, but not in the same way as the flowers. It is not easy to know, except by experiment, which white flowers require the acid; but in general it may be said that thin, quickly-drying flowers do not require it. In fact, with very thin flowers, such as in the genera Cerastium and Stellaria, its use is almost impos- sible, as the flowers would lose their shape irrecoverably. With some delicate flowers the 105 only possible way of using it is to touch them with a fine camel’s-hair brush dipped in the mix- ture; then soak up the moisture at once with blotting-paper, and spread out the collapsed petals with a pin. It requires infinite patience and con- siderable practice; but I have succeeded very fairly inthis way with Geraniwm molle, for example, which, when dried in the sun with cotton-wool, loses size and becomes too blue. The hints here given are the result of many years’ laborious practice. My own herbarium is not large, probably not more than 500 or 600 specimens in all, including British and foreign plants. I make no attempt at completeness, but every year dry some thirty or forty of those most interesting to me. I have found, however, that with sufficient trouble I can make nearly all speci- mens beautiful and natural. I have so often been asked by my friends how I managed that I thought a larger public might be glad to have the benefit of my experience. The Vicarage, Chalfont St. Peter, Bucks. THE MYCETOZOA. By J. SAUNDERS, A.L.S., AND E. SAUNDERS. (Continued from page 6.) HABITATS OF MYCETOZOA. ‘he is a curious fact, and one worthy of note, that fashion influences to a certain extent the subjects that engage the attention of natural his- tory observers, and shall we say scientific students? Some twenty years ago the stoneworts and other freshwater Algae were favourite subjects with botanists, whilst the closing decade of the last century found the Mycetozoa well to the front in scientific estimation. Consequent upon the latter circumstance the literature of the subject has recently experienced a remarkably large increase. In witness of this we need only mention the writings of Mr. A. Lister, the Right Hon. Sir E. Fry, Mr. G. Massee, and scattered notices. in the Proceedings of various provincial societies. No- where, however, have we met with any article that treats of these organisms from the standpoint in which they are regarded in the present communi- cation. In all catalogues and monographs of the Mycetozoa it is customary to mention the kind of vegetation on which they are found, but no one to our knowledge has grouped them according to habitat. It is almost superfluous to state that these creatures are, with rare exceptions, Sapro- phytes—that is, they feed usually upon decaying vegetation. They are denizens of such situations as heaps of dead leaves, fallen branches in damp woods, tree-stumps, old straw-heaps, and, much more rarely, bog moss and humus. Although they are sometimes found on living plants, in such cases BADHAMIA UTRICULARIS PLASMODIUM. (/’rom Nature.) they have crept up from the underlying decayed vegetation for the purposes of fruiting and the E3 106 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. subsequent dispersal of the spores. Even when found on living bog moss they have passed the plasmodium or feeding stage on the lower and decayed portions of these plants. Until the spring of 1897 the researches of British observers were limited almost entirely to rotten wood and decayed leaves, but from that period till now considerable attention has been paid to the possibilities of straw-heaps, especially those that have lain undisturbed for several months. These are easily recognised by the appearance of the surface, which resembles old thatch. The results ef these investigations have been most eratify- ing to those who have pursued them, for up to the autumn of 1899 they have yielded the previously undescribed species :—Physarum straminipes List.; Didymium Trochus List. ; the first known European record of Fuligo ’ BADHAMIA UTRICULARIS. FRUITING STAGE ON DECAYED WOOD. (Photog-aphed from Nature.) ellipsospora List.; and the first known British records of Badhamia ovispora Racib. ; Physarum didermoides Rost., variety lividum, var. noy. Lister (the latter being recorded in the “Journal of Botany,” vol. xxxvi. p. 161). Extended and frequent observations of the denizens of straw-heaps suggest another peculiarity in their occurrence, which is that certain species affect different strata of the accumulated material. In illustration or confirma- . tion of this suggestion the following data are advanced. The species usually found at or near the surface are Physarum calidris.List.; P. dider-..% moides Rost.; P. didermoides, var. lividum List. ; Fuligo septica Gmel.; Didymium nigripes Fy. ; Spumaria alba DC.; Badhamia ovispora Racib. ; Physarum compressum Alb. and Schw.; P. stramini- pes List.; P. crateriachea List.; Crateriwm pedun- culatum Trent. ; C. leucocephalum Ditm.; C. mutabile _Fr.; Chondrioderma spumaroides Rost. ; C. michelii Rost. ; and Perichoena variabilis Rost. Species usually found in straw-heaps at or below the line of saturation are Didymium difforme Duby., and D. Trechus List. “y In regard to D. Trochus List., it is remarkable that it rarely fruits in any other situation than where the material is saturated with moisture. We have had under observation during the last three seasons many thousands of the sporangia of this species, and it is most rare to find any of them near the surface, or in such situations as would favour the dispersal of the spores. They are usually so charged with moisture that it is expedient to lift out the lower layers of straw and spread them out to the wind, when the sporangia rapidly dry and are thus rendered conspicuous. Notwithstanding these apparent obstacles to the distribution of the spores, recent observations show that this species is of frequent occurrence in the South Midlands over an area of at least eight miles square. It has also been observednear Reigate by Mr. E. §. Salmon. Considering the extreme abundance of this species, especially in the year 1899, the question naturally arises as to where it existed previous to the spring of 1897, when it was first observed. ‘The only solution of the difficulty that presents itself to our minds is that it inhabited just the same kind of straw-heaps as are here described, but that these had never previously engaged the serious attention of ‘botanical ob- servers. Its distribution is partly effected by artificial means—such as ploughing, and using the straw to cover up root crops. The following list represents what has been noticed by us as to the habitats of the Mycetozoa in numerous localities in the South of England. The observations have ranged from the counties of Merioneth to Norfolk, and from North Devon to Kent; but the largest proportion of them are from the counties of Beds, Herts, and Bucks. The few notes that are not original are based upon speci- mens that have been kindly forwarded to us by Mr. A. Lister, Mr. C. Crouch, and Mr. Geo. Massee. It is hoped that the list is sufficiently varied and BADHAMIA NITENS. extensive to warrant us in bringing the matter under the notice of those who are interested in the Mycetozoa. It will be seen that some genera have been observed only on wood, but these could be further erouped as to the kind of wood on which they live; as, for example, Badhamia nitens, birch and oak; Lycogala flaro-fuscum Ross., elm; Cribraria aurantiaca Shrad., on Coniferae and Salix. |, Other species are apparently limited to straw- SCIENCE-GOSSIP. ‘heaps, such as Badhamia ovispora Racib., Physarum straminipes List., and Didymium Trochus List. A few species seem indifferent to their environ- ment, of which we may specify Didymiwmn diffusum Link., and D. difforme Duby. Sphagnum may be credited with two species in ‘Great Britain. ‘These are Badhamia lilacina Rost., from Pilmoor, Yorks, found by Miss G. Lister, and Flitwick, Beds; also Chondrioderma simplex Schroeter, Perthshire, by Miss G. Lister, and in Merionethshire. Of the widely distributed genus 7richia and its allies, Hemitrichia and Oligonema, no representa- tives have as yet been found by us on either decayed straw- or leaf-heaps. ‘The only exception is furnished by a small gathering that has recently been obtained from a straw-heap at Chaul End. The sporangia present the general appearance of a Trichia, but under the microscope the capillitium is seen to unite certain characters of both this genus and of Perichaena. It will be expedient. to await the rediscovery of this peculiar form before expressing a definite opinion as to its exact position in the accepted system of classification. It is desirable that it should be understood that these oservations have reference only to what is known as to the habits of the Mycetozoa in Great Britain ; and it will be readily understood that in tropical countries vegetable refuse would consist ‘of the remains of plants that are natives of those -districts,'or are cultivated in them. An interesting fact has come to hand in a letter from Miss G. Lister whilst this article was in_pre- paration, which is that Kwligo ellisospora List. is not uncommon on old straw in Iowa, U.S.A., which ‘coincides with the only known observation of this species in Great Britain. In explanation of the following list it should be stated that the term ‘“‘wood” includes rotten branches, tree trunks and stumps. ‘Straw’? in- cludes the refuse and haulms of cereals, peas, ‘beans, and the agrarian weeds associated with them. ‘ Leaves” include also the twigs of wood usually found in such situations, Wood. Straw. Leaves. ‘Ceratomyxa mucida, Shroeter Bear Badhamia hyalina, Berk. : Sg) ae B. utricularis, Berk. ; i Soese B. folliicola, Lister biotin : % B. nitens, Berk. . ; : Se B. panicea, Rost. . : : . # .B. ovispora, Racib. A Real 4 * B. lilacina, Rost. On sphagnum . % B. rubiginosa, Rost. —. : : * Physarum leucopus, Link. . . # P. murinum, Lister i é . # P. citrinum, Schum. . : hea P. psittacinum, Ditm. . : Sate P. viride, Pers. b : i a et P. nutans, Pers. . ‘ en var. leucophaeum j bahar 107 Wood. Straw. Leaves Physarum calidris, Lister. : * * P. compressum, Alb. & Schw. x x P. straminipes, Lister. , i , * P. didermoides, Rost. . 5 aged % x var. lividum, Lister. . : x P. crateriachea, Lister. Also on decayed ragwort stems . é * P. cinereum, Pers. 4 ; ; % % P. bivalve, Pers. . ; : ioe % P. diderma, Rost. : ‘ Base % P. contextum, Pers. J ; Batese * P. conglomeratum, Rost. : ae * P. vernum, Somm. * P. rubiginosum, Fries. . : : * Fuligo septica, Gmel, . ; coi * F. ellipsospora, Lister. ‘The only Kurpean record : ; ; x Craterium pedunculatum, Trent. . + x * C. leucocephalum, Ditm. 5 : x * C. mutabile, Fr. . ; y i % * Leocarpus vernicosus, Link, Bae? * Chondrioderma spumarioides, Rost. * x C. testaceum, Rost. ; : Baines % C. michelii, Rost... : i Oe % C. reticulatum, Rost. et C. niveum, Rost. x C. radiatum, Rost. i ; Bue Diachaea elegans, Fries. b BAe * D. subsessilis, Peck. : . % Didymium difforme, Duby. . sie x 3 D. trochus, Lister, sp. nov. . : % D. dubium, Rost. Chiefly ivy leaves * D. serpula, Fr. . , p sles D. clavus, Rost. . : : ue ie * D. farinaceum, Schrad. j Mee D. nigripes, Fr. . 3 ; ! * % D. effusum, Link. . : Ue ese * * Spumaria alba, DC. Also on erass 5 ; : ; x Lepidoderma tigrinum, Rost. eee Stemonitis fusca, Roth. : Rae var. confluens. : . * 8. splendens, Roth. 5 - i ise S. ferruginea, Ehrenb. . : saese S. smithii, Macbr. . : t hal 36 Comatricha obtusata, Preuss. . # x C. laxa, Rost. HERR ies: ; aia C. typhoides, Rost. : : ws C. persoonii, Rost. : : : * C. rubens, Lister . i 5 aed a * Enerthenema elegans, Bowra, % Lamproderma physaroides, Rost.. * L. areyrionema, Rost. . 5 . ¥ L. irideum, Mass. . x ¥ # L. violaceum, Rost. — : : fees Brefeldia maxima, Rost. * Lindbladia tubulina, Fries. . . ‘Cribraria argillacea, Pers. P ‘C. aurantiaca, Schrad. . 3 SA E 4 108 Wood. Straw. Leaves. Cribraria violacea, Rex. A Dictydium umbilicatum, Schrad. . Licea flexuosa, Pers. : Tubulina fragiformis, Pers. . Dictydiaethalium plumbeum, Rost. Enteridium olivaceum, Ehrenb. Reticularia lycoperdon, Bull. Trichia affinis, De Bary T. persimilis, Karst. T. scabra, Rost. T. varia, Pers. T. contorta, Rost. . T. fallax, Pers. T. botrytis, Pers. , Oligonema nitens, Rost. : ee Hemitrichia rubiformis, Lister . * H. clavata, Rost. ; Arcyria ferruginea, Sauter . as 25 A. albida, Pers. ; * var. pomiformis . * A. punicea, Pers. . : : 3 aoe A. incarnata, Pers. * A. flava, Pers. : ‘ peuiie Perichaena depressa, riper sae P. populina, Fries. : : peers ‘P. variabilis, Rost. : ; oe * Margarita metallica, Lister * nee harveyi, Rex. . : wie) D. depressum, Lister Prototrichia flagellifera, Rost Lycogala flavo-fuscum, Rost. ge L. miniatum, Pers. (To be ee. ) bite vt He Sere: dana RR ot at ty tener 4 * “KOK * AN INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH | SEEDERS: By FRANK PERCY SMITH. (Continued from page 76.) GENUS GONGYLIDIUM (continued). Gongylidium agreste Bl. in ‘‘ Spiders of Dorset,” p. 486.) Length. Male 2.5 mm. May be distinguished from G. fwuscum by the clypeus being narrower, in the present species it being lower than the ocular area. Apparently a rare and local species. (Neriene agrestis Gongylidium retusum Westr. retusa in ‘* Spiders of Dorset.”) Length. Male 2 mm., female 2:25 mm. This species may be easily distinguished by the form of the caput, which rises gradually from back to front and drops suddenly to its normal level just behind the eyes. A rare spider. (LWervene Gongylidium apicatum Bl. cata in ‘* Spiders of Dorset.”’) Length. Male 2.1 mm., female 2.3 mm. (Neriene api- SCIENCE-GOSSTZP. Very like G. rvetusum, but may be distinguished! by the presence of a small conical eminence, sur- mounted by a tuft of hairs, situated immediately behind the ocular area. A very rare species. Gongylidium gibbosum Bl. dosa in ** Spiders of Dorset.”’) Length. Male 2.1 mm., female 2.3 mm. This species may be easily distinguished by the forrn of the cephalo-thorax. At its central part is a very prominent protuberance, in front of which is a deep depression covered with strong hairs. A rare spider. (Nertene gtb- Gongylidium tuberosum Bl. vosa in ** Spiders of Dorset.’’) Length. Male 2.1 mm. Very similar to G. gtbboswum, but the protuberance- is not so pronounced, and there is no depression as in that species. (Nerzene tube- Gongylidium dentatum Wid. dentata in ‘* Spiders of Dorset.”’) Length. Male 2.5 mm., female 2.7 mm. The caput is somewhat raised, the most elevated. portion bearing a number of strong hairs. The falces are each furnished with a very prominent tooth in front. The palpal organs are large and complex. I have taken this species in large numbers, during the early spring, upon the rushes bordering the ornamental waters of Wanstead Park, Essex. (Meriene: Gongylidium gibbum Cb. Length of female 3 mm. Male unknown. Cephalo-thorax yellowish-brown with blackish- brown converging lines. Caput with a low conical protuberance. Legs pale orange-red, femora darker. Abdomen black. An extremely rare species taken: in Scotland. GENUS SUSARION CB. Tarsi much shorter than metatarsi. Spine on tibia IV. long and slender. Clypeus narrower than ocular area. Anterior row of eyes recurved. Posterior row procurved. Lateral eyes somewhat separated. Tibia I. with a double row of bristly- hairs on the underside. Susarion neglectum Cb. Length of female 2.1 mm. Male unknown. Cephalo-thorax dull orange. Legs bright orange-. yellow. Korir HAND CAMERA, Dimensions when closed, 24 x 43 x 51. “ OPTIMUS’ Plates, 4}"by 3} inches. Perken, Son & Co., of Hatton Garden, London. This camera is of such small size that it may be SCIENCE-GOSSIP. readily carried in the pocket. When in use it can be held in the hand, or it can be attached with screw to tripod for either horizontal or vertical pictures. Among the many advantages it possesses are the following:—rack and pinion focussing adjustment; rising and falling front ; swing back; roller blind, time and instantaneous shutter; automatic hood attached to ground glass, ren- dering focus-cloth unnecessary.; three double dark slides ; best workmanship throughout; well- seasoned, highly polished mahogany, or mahogany covered with black leather of durable quality. The square pattern, with reversing frame, is £6, and the oblong pattern £5. Messrs. Butcher & Son, of Blackheath, 8.E., also make a camera of this type; the price of which varies from £1 1s. to £4 10s., according to lens ——= ill Wf re oy a Hl hy cl SN SHEW'S “X1IT” CAMERA, CLOSED. and finish. We would, however, draw special attention to the pocket and folding cameras manufactured by Messrs. Shew & Co., of Newman Street, Oxford Street, W., the makers of the celebrated Xit camera, which is, we think, the SHEW’s “ Xir” CAMERA, EXTENDED. neatest, simplest, and smallest pocket-camera ever put on tiie market for plates. All cameras by this firm are Jbeautifully made and finished, and for a small. pocket-camera the new convertible Xit is all that can be desired. It can be fitted with any finder, Jens, or shutter the purchaser may desire, and also with dark slides or changing-box. The Xit cameras are made exceedingly light in weight, and are very portable. They are “easily adaptable for lenses of varying foci, and the Con- vertible Nit camera, fitted with the Zeiss Con- vertible Anastigmat lens, of either two foci or three foci, forms one of the most complete and all-round useful pocket-cameras that we have met with in our experience. (To be continued.) SCIENCE-GOSS/P. ‘CONDUCTED BY F. SHILLINGTON SCALES, F.R.M.S. FLATTENING AND FIXING PARAFFIN SECTIONS ON SLIDE.—In the ‘“‘ Journal of Applied Microscopy ” Mr. B. M. Davis recommends the alcohol method for fixing paraffin sections on the slide in preference to the water or albumin methods, as it entails less risk of clouding in staining, and does not necessitate the slides being absolutely clean. Mr. Davis tabu- lates the essential steps as follows: (a) Flood the slide with 70 to 85 per cent. of alcohol; arrange sections in order; hold. slide a few inches above small flame until sections are flattened. (b) Drain off surplus alcohol (use filter-paper or cloth) ; re- arrange sections in desired positions. (¢) Cut out two pieces of smooth blotting-paper same size as slide. Wet one in same strength alcohol as used in (a) and place over sections ;.over'this put the other piece dry; pass small rubber roller (such as used by photographers) firmly over the, dry blotting- paper two or three times; instead of using the roller, any weight with smooth surface may be pressed against. the blotting-paper.. The object of this step is to flatten the sections. completely, so that every part of the section will come in contact with the slide. (@) Remove any lint which adheres to the slide, and dry ina place protected from dust. At the ordinary temperature of the room two or three hours are necessary for complete drying. The ‘process may be hastened by keeping the sections at a temperature a few degrees below the melting point of the paraffin ; that is, helow 40° C. If this method has been carried out carefully, the sections may be taken through as many stains or reagents as desired, or left indefinitely in any solution which will not act chemically on them. FRESH-WATER AQUARIA. — The ‘American Naturalist ” for March 1900 contained some notes on fresh-water aquaria which may be useful to those of our readers who take advantage of the summer or autumn months to study pond-life, and yet have never tried to keep their captures for longer than.a few days, after which, without further attention, the contents of the collecting- bottle or receptacle become foul and useless. Mr. LL. Murbach, in the article alluded to, calls atten- ‘tion to the fact that most descriptions of fresh- water: aquaria insist oh the necessity for constant change of .water:if the aquarium is to be per- manent, whereas it is quite easy to so balance the animal against the plant life that the carbon dioxide given out bythe one is equalled by the oxygen.given forth by the other: The only thing needing further attention .is. the feeding of such animals as cannot themselves find. their source of food: in the aquaria, and this must be done so ‘carefully that no food is.left to decay. It is also -essential that:means be taken to prevent evapora- tion and to: exclude dust, etc. Suitable vessels may be: mreadily found, such as. jam-jars, battery- jars, and culture-dishes for the smaller window 119 aquaria; window-glass, properly cemented into wooden trames that are kept coated with paraftin or asphalt varnish, for a medium size; and slate bottom and ends, with plate-glass sides, for the larger, though more expensive ones. In setting up the aquaria it is better to begin with water from some clean pond containing considerable plant and animal life. Fill up to within a few inches of the top with water, and then add about one twenty-fifth its bulk of plants and animals. Rain or even hydrant water may be used, adding some plants and later the animals desired. Where there is no choice, snails and crustacea are the most convenient, unless they are hostile to the organisms desired for experiment. The snails feed on the plants, giving these carbonic acid in turn for food, while the crustacea feed mostly on the débris from other organisms. If the animals keep near the surface, too many are probably ‘present, and some must be removed jor more plants added. When the plants become yellow they are too abundant or have not had light enough. In some cases the water becomes foul on first setting up the aquarium. As this is one way of obtaining certain desirable results, keep it covered. until the foul odour disappears; and if new plants do not appear in time, add plants and animals to suit, and it may prove to be the best aquarium one has. Marine Protozoa have been kept this way in jars brought from the sea-shore several years ago. The pond scum (Algae) will be strongly attracted by light to the sides of the glass, so much so that by means of a tin stencil kept in position when the light was strongést Mr. Murbach was easily able to decorate the side of one of his aquaria with his monogram in microscopic green plants. Such aquaria as the foregoing might with advantage be utilised in class- and school-rooms. In one jar were kept Amoebae and other Protozoa, whilst another contained in addition diatoms, Oscillaria, some water-fleas, and Rotatoria. Standard Pattern, from 18s. 6d. LIGHT FILTERS. Write for Booklet ‘‘Orthochromatic Photography” (simplified), by JAMES CADETT, Gratis. Post Free. Prospectuctand NW) Entry Form for New £105 Prize CADETT & NEALL, Ltd. Competition 4 ! post free. ASHTEAD, SURREY. The THORNTON-PICKARD Mauufacturing Co., Ltd., ALTRIN CHA M.. Photographic Dry Plate and Paper Manufacturers. AND CGINEMATOGRAPHS. Hughes’ Marvellous PAMPHENGOS Gives brilliant 1e-ft. pictures like Limelight. z~\ The £4 4s. reduced to £3 10s. n THE / SCIENCE LANTERN An Innovation. Perfect. OXY-HYDROCEN MICROSCOPES AF zs HUGHES’ LA PETITE THE UNIVERSAL SNAP-SHOT CINEMATOGRAPH- H CAMERA, 4-wick Lantern >... : , Projector, Reverser, price With 4-inch Condensers, 18s. 6d. £6 10s., reduced to £5 10s. RS ee ——— Grandly Illustrated Catalogue, 180 choice Engravings, ar i Smaller ditto, 5A. Grandly Illustrated Cinematograph List, 6d. Z Post Free. HUGHES’ PHOTO-ROTOSCOPE CINEMATOGRAPH, £7 7s. A little gem. High class work. Tech- nical Flickering reduced to a minimum. tk" FOR SALE, BARGAINS.—A fine 7? EQUATORIAL ASTRONOMICAL TELESCOPE, by Cooke, with Battery of Eyepieces, cost over £600; also a fine 4-inch latest, by Cooke. An 8-inch Newtonian Reflector, £17 10s. . a 54-inch ditto, £1115s. Several 4$-inch Lancaster ; several smaller. Also a fine BINOCULAR MICROSCOPE by Beck, cost £120 ; a ditto by Negretti & Zambra, and several others. To be sold bargains. Zist Free. Can be had on the Hire-purchase system. X-RAY INDUCTION COILS, s-, 6-, and 8-inch Sparks. Bargains. Quite new. Also Batteries. List Free. HUGHES’ BIJOU ENLARGING LANTERNS An innovation, rectangular or square condensers ; full marginal bag 5 rere - # definition, perfect illumination ; portable, reliable. rapid, quick, artistic Enlargements. Before purchasing, see this high-class technical apparatus, which Is scientifically constructed for results. Price List, 2d. 300 Lecture Sets of Science Subjects and Travels, &¢. 60,000 Slides ; List, 8d. Post Free. 50 beautifully coloured Slides loaned for 38. By Subscription for the year, 450 10s. 6d. ; 1,000 21s. Hire List, 2d. w. Cc. EXUGHES,, Specialist in Optical Projection. (Established over 30 years.) Brewster House, 82 Mortimer Road, Kingsland, LONDON, N. SCIENCE-GOSSTP. A FILMLESS CINEMATOGRAPH | For taking and projecting life-size animated photographs with greatest perfection to the extent of over 500 pictures. Specially constructed for the Amateur or Professional. | SIMPLE and RELIABLE MECHANISM. Price £6 10s. Negatives Plates 2/6 each. Subject Plates, 3/-. 6d. allowed for each Plate returned unbroken. WEIGHT, about 8 Ibs. COMPLETE OUTFIT, MEASUREMENTS, 14 in, by 13 in. by 33 in. tern, Jet, Tripod Stand, Print- &e., £14 fis. With the KAMMATOGRAPH an ordinary dry glass plate is used | instead of cinematograph film. The method of developing KAM- MATOGRAPH plates is exactly the same as with dry plates, thus bringing cinematography within the reach of all. SPEGIALITIES—Can be seen at the Manufacturers. High-class Lantern and Jet, in travelling box .. = bo BSS Do., do., with patent electric arc lamp .. ne aie -- £6 PATENT RHEOSTAT, which takes from 12 to 50 ampéres at 110 volts without overheating. Price ON APPLICATION. Also made for 200 and 250 voltage. Write for Catalogue to the Manufacturers :— L. KAMM & C€O., Scientific Engineers, and Materials, Gd. post free. Mechanics, &c., Gd. post free. Gatalogue of Electrical Apparatus Gatalogue of Balances and Weights, Apparatus for the Study of T. TAMBLYN-WATTS, SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS MAKER, GOLDIELANDS, SETTLE, YORKS. BiRK BECK BANK. Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C. TWO-AND-A-HALF per Cent. INTEREST allowed on Deposits repayable on demand. TWO per Cent. on CURRENT AC- COUNTS on the minimum monthly balances, when not drawn below £100. STOCKS and SHARES purchased and sold. SAVINGS DEPARTMENT. For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank receives small-sums on deposit, and allows Interest monthly on each completed £1. BIRKBECK BUILDING SOCIETY. How to PURCHASE A HOUSE for Two Guineas per Month, BIRKBECK FREEHOLD LAND SOCIETY. How to PURCHASE A PLOT OF LAND for 5s. per month. The BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with full particulars, post free. ESTABLISHED 1851. FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. and Positive | including Kammatograph, Lan- | ing Frame, Developing Tray, | Works—27f POWELL ST., GOSWELL RD., LONDON, E.C. | Public Opinion. “THE BUSY MAN’S PAPER.” Price Twopence. PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY MORNING. It COLLECTS the OPINIONS OF THE LEADING PAPERS IN GREAT BRITAIN and EUROPE ON ALL THE CURRENT TOPICS’ OF THE DAY AND IS THE MOST INTERESTING WEEKLY TO SEND TO THE COUNTRY AND. ABROAD. Subscription in the United Kingdom, 2s. gd.; to all places abroad, 35. 3a. per quarter. Publishing Office : 5 New Street Square, E.C. GEO. REES, SAVOY HOUSE, 115 STRAND, A large selection of the best and highest-class opibustrated Catalogues: post iicerastauauss JRE- Highest Award (3 Medals) for Copying Apparatus, Paris Exhibition, 1900. THE AUTOMATIC « NEO-CYCLOSTYLE DUPLICATORS For Reproducing Type or Hand Writing. \ Cbs GESTETNER’S PATENTS. ANY NUMBER OF COPIES FROM ONE ORICINAL. No Mess. No Trouble. One turn of handle completes the operation. ’ Editor ScrENCE-GOSSIP says :—‘‘ Wecan well recommend this machine to Secretaries of Scientific Societies and others for pre- paring manifold copies of notices or other documents.” Prices from 265s. ILLUSTRATED Lists AND SPECIMENS MAILED FREE BY The CYCLOSTYLE CO., 34 SNOW HILDE, LONDON, E.C. SCIENCE-GOSSIP. - - Scale tor Advertisements. Inch in Column ... Bs £0) s/ea6 Eighth of Page ... ae 016 0 Quarter-page, or Half-column .:. 110 0 Third of Page. ... a ath 2.05310 Half-page, or One Column ae DANSEAG Whole Page 586 Ase sw 5 5 0 All Advertisements to be sent to SciENcE-Gossip Office, rro Strand, London, W.C., on or previous to the 2oth of each month. WME Special quotations for a series of insertions, any size space, matter changeable, on application. SCIENCE-GOSSI/P. ing these small particles in xylol balsam it is best to have ready a cover with a drop of solution spread upon it. Having taken the material from the bottom of the tube of xylol by means of a pipette, bringing over as little as possible of the liquid, it should be allowed to drop in the centre of the cover into the balsam, which must be put away to set. When mounting, this method will prevent any of the small granules from being pressed from between the cover and slide. ‘To mount, warm the slide and apply a small drop of balsam solution, press on cover carefully, and put aside to harden. Ring with Bell’s cement.—M. T. Denne, 12 Guilford Street, London. Watson & Sons’ HOLOSCOPIC OBJECTIVES.—On p. 25 of the present volume of SCIENCE-GOSSIP we mentioned two new objectives of Messrs. Watson & Sons’ Holoscopic series, to which we must now add a quarter-inch that has been recently sent us for examination. This was stated to have a numerical aperture of ‘93, but we found it to be nearer 94. When we remind our readers that this is equivalent to an air-angle of nearly 140°, it will be seen that Messrs. Watson & Sons have succeeded in making a lens which taxes the ability of an optician to an unusual degree. We believe that it is a matter of the greatest difficulty to make ob- jectives of this power and aperture, and to make them uniform; but the performance of this objec- tive leaves nothing to be desired. Its definition is excellent; it was flat in the field, and it bore com- paratively high eye-piecing well; whilst the working distance, though of course not great, was sufficient. We have now called attention to an inch of N.A. 30, a half-inch of °65, a quarter-inch of “94, and a one-sixth inch of :90, and await with interest two oil immersions, of one-eighth and one-twelfth re- spectively, of the same construction as the rest of the Holoscopic series and of similar high aper- tures. MEETINGS OF MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETIES. Quekett Microscopical Club.—Excursions, Septem- ber 7th, Hast London Waterworks, from Totten- ham (Hale); September 21st, Hale End for Higham’s Park, returning from Chingford. [For further articles in this number on Micro- scopic subjects, see pp. 102, 105, 108, and 112. ] EXTRACTS FROM POSTAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY’S NOTEBOOKS. [Beyond necessary editorial revision these ex- tracts are printed as written by the various members.—ED. Microscopy, 8.-G. ] CARMINE AS A STAiN.—Carmine is an excel- lent stain, but if kept too long deposits a sedi- ment (ante, page 91). It is best to filter through Swedish filter paper before using. Picro-carmine is a good stain, but the sections should be mounted in Farrant’s solution, in which case they improve each year in colouring. I do not like Ehrlich’s stain. Folded sections are troublesome, but if taken out of spirit and put into water, or vice versa, they twist about and unfold beautifully. Sections should always be floated, not dragged off a section lifter.—John Snift Walker. MOUNTING Micro-FUNGI.—I see that Mr. Lett (ante, pp. 27, 28) mounts his specimens in glycerine jelly. The best medium for mounting micro-fungi I2t is a mixture of acetic acid and glycerine in the proportion of 30 parts of acid to 100 of glycerine. This formula was given me by Mr. Murray, of the: Botanical Department of the British Museum, andi I find it the very best that I have as yet tried. Of course there is the usual difficulty with air- bubbles, and care must be taken to close the: mounts securely.—4. Montague. I have never attempted to mount micro-fungi in glycerine jelly. I may be wrong, but I think T° prefer a slide which gives the little plant itself in situ, also the asci and elaters issuing from a moistened specimen. That is the way I have- always mounted my own slides, and they are as. good now as they were when first done several: years ago. I simply mounted them dry, taking care that the asci were quite dry after being- moistened, before putting on the cover-glass. It. gives, I think, a better idea of the whole plant to- have it, asci, and spores, all on the same slide, whilst they are for the most part so minute that it is very easily done.— W. Jarrett. I have for years used the following medium for- mounting moulds and fungi: gelatine, 1 part ;. Water, 6 parts; Glycerine, 7 parts ; Carbolic Acid, 1 part. Warmed and filtered.—John Swift Walker, M.D. I frequently find forms similar to, but appa- rently not identical with, Musisporium roseolum (ante, p. 28) in the sediment of impure drinking- water sent me for analysis. The outer case or exo-- spores of many other varieties are frequently found in the same situation.— J. W. Gatchum. INSECT ANATOMY. Except in classification, the English flies have- had scant attention. We know comparatively little of the life-history of these common insects. Cer- tainly the Rev. J. G. Wood did something in this way to make a few species popular, and Mr. B. T. Lowne has given us a monograph on the anatomy and physiology of the blow-fly ; yet the subject is far from being exhausted. Sections of the Pulvilli of Sarcophaga carnaria (fig. 1).—These sections are somewhat vertically oblique ; they should be vertical, but it is difficult. Fic. 1. PULVILLUS OF Sarcophaga carnaria. to hit the exact plane when cutting so small am object. In this fly the pulvilli are abnormally large, and I have chosen it for that reason. The- upper wall of the pulvillus is composed of chitinous semi- or half-tubes directed lengthwise and joined together at their edges, thus forming a very flexible roof. ‘The lower surface is clothed with fine taper-- ing, unpigmented hairs; these hairs are usually said to be hollow, but I have searched in vain to. find alumeninthem. In some species the hairs. are trumpet-shaped—e.g. gadfly and a_parasite- from an Indian bat. In common with the pulvillt of other flies, I find they contain glands, but neither- muscle nor nerve. These sections are very rich in. glands that evidently elaborate the viscid fluid by which the fly is enabled to walk in an inverted! 122 position on ceilings and glass. Here we meet with a difficulty ; if the hairs are not hollow, and there are no openings in the lower wall near them, how does the viscid fluid get on to them? It has occurred to me that beyond the above-mentioned function the viscid fluid may fulfil a much higher purpose to man and other animals. In flies which deposit their eggs, but do not feed upon decom- posing and often diseased animal. matter, the fluid would entomb any disease germs taken up by their feet. This, of course, is supposing that the fluid hardens on exposure to the air, like the fluid emitted by the spinnerets of spiders and the larvae of some Lepidoptera. I do not wish to imply that flies do not in any case disseminate disease germs. This, I believe, is commonly done when they feed on fluids containing such germs. Hilara pilosa, Longitudinal Sections of the Tarsus of the Male (fig. 2).—In the male insect the first joint of the tarsus is greatly enlarged. In section, the most prominent feature is the numerous large glands with their ducts; the apodeme, the nerve, and tracheae are also shown, whilst no muscle is visible. ‘The ducts penetrate the inner wall of the joint, and the outlet can be seen in one of the sec- tions immediately behind a large hair. The pur- pose of the secretion from these glands in all Fic. 2. First Joist oF Tarsus or Hilara pilosa. ‘probability is the same as those in water-beetles, where the glands have their outlets in both the ‘large and small discs on the anterior feet. Sections of Head of Blow-fly (figs. 3 and 4).— ‘These commence with the first section at the back of the head and continue the series. From the -amount of loose embryonic cells seen in the sections it is evident that this fly had recently emerged from the pupa-case. On one slide there are numerous sections of the brain and optic tract ; -and as they are fairly thin, about 3; mm., most of the recent discoveries may be compared with them. M. N. Newton, “Mag: Nat. Hist.,” 1879, p. 397, states that ‘‘in the cerebroid or supra- -oesophageal ganglia are situated the organs of the perception of memory, of intelligence, etc. Hence they have a more complicated histolo ical structure than the suboesophageal ganglia, which principally govern the appendages of the mouth. These nerve-centres are nevertheless constructed -on the same general plan as the other ganglia. In the middle they present bundles of nerve-fibres, while the nerve-cells principally. occupy the periphery.” In these sections nerve-fibres may be ‘traced from the centre of the oesophageal ganglion ‘to well-defined peripheral nerve-cells. ‘There is here a likeness to the vertebrata, though in almost -every other respect we find the opposite, except- ing the muscles and nerves. The compound eye -and optic nerve have been so ably worked out by Hickson that I need only refer to his paper in the quarterly “Journal of Microscopy,” No. XCVIII. ‘The ocelli or simple eyes are well seen in these SCIENCE-GOSSIP. sections. ‘There are also several sections through the frontal sac. Lowne believed this to be an olfactory organ adapted to the appreciation of powerful odours. If we look at the head of the insect as an almost closed sac bounded by rigid walls, with all otherwise unoccupied spaces filled with a HEAD OF BLOW-FLY. Fie. 3. circulating fluid (the blood) whose communication with the thorax is by a very small neck and that small space partially taken up by the oesophagus, nerve-chords, and tracheae, it is evident that the blood could not pass so quickly into or out of the head as would admit of the quick protrusion or retraction of the proboscis. Hence in the frontal sac there is a_ beautifully simple contrivance well adapted for such a purpose. It is a simple sac suspended near the upper wall of the head with the under surface hanging in numerous folds. The sac is in free communication with the outer air through an opening in the forehead immediately above the antennae. ‘The outer surface is covered with numerous papillae; when the folds are brought so close together that the papillae interlock they always enclose some air, thus preventing any adhesion of the surfaces, which might be the case Fig. 4. HEAD OF BLOW-FLY. if the surfaces were smooth and moist. By this means an equable pressure is maintained on the brain and other organs. Some four or five years since I read a paper before the members of the Sheffield Microscopical Society on the frontal sac, which was afterwards published in SCIENCE- Gossip. There are sections also of the antennae. They are mostly cut through the second and third joints, the first not being in the same plane. Exteriorly the head is covered with two kinds of pigmented hairs; the finer and smaller appear to be nothing more than clothing, but the larger ones are hollow, their lumen continuing through the chitinous wall of the joint. The interior of the joint is lined with epithelium, the ends of the cells being drawn out and projecting into the lumen of the hairs. ‘This is distinctly shown in thin — SCIENCE-GOSST/P. 12 io) sections in which the epidermis is somewhat de- tached from the epithelium during manipulation of the sections. From the nerve numberless fibres are seen to enter the epithelium lining, but beyond that I have been unable to trace them. By using a more suitable stain the nerve-fibres may possibly be traced through the epithelium, or the epidermis itself may be endowed with the same con- SE ee irom aU eT a ducting power as the nerve-fibres. From this = =e = rich supply of nerve-matter it is pretty clear that the large hairs must be the seat of some @ pea. CONDUCTED BY F. C. DENNETT. Position at Noon. fre. 5. ANTERIOR THORACIC SPIRACLE OF Musca vomitoria, sensation ; but what sense they represent is very difficult to prove from experiment, because another quite different sense-organ is intermingled with them. It is highly probable that they are tactile, though this term is very vague, for it implies the suggestion of either cold or heat, humidity or touch, etc.; therefore further proof is wanting. The most highly developed tactile hairs are those Fre. 6. POSTERIOR THORACIC SPIRACLE OF Musca vomitoria on the lobes of the proboscis, where they end ina large bulb in immediate connection with the nerve. By their position they are, doubtless, organs of touch. In a well-distended proboscis cut ver- tically they are very distinct. Another feature well developed in the third joint of the antennae of the blow-fly and many of the domestic species is a somewhat spiral organ covered on the exterior with fine unpigmented hairs. These hairs penetrate the walls of the organ, which is also lined on the interior surface with epithelium, and receive a rich supply of nerve-fibres. are about eighty of these organs in one antenna of the blow-fly, and from their position and the well- known highly-developed sense of smell possessed by this insect there can scarcely be a question that they are other than olfactory. The extreme paucity of these organs in other species of different habits strengthens my conviction. (To be continued.) It is computed that there ~ 1901 = Rises. Sets. R.A. Dec. Sept. Am. hm. Ams. Caras Suns Ve 02) so) Oso army, 2) 6:45) pin.) 104330 aye Se Ost On Ns Moe yO Pa he GOP isn solely shy po ceils i) Ne 92) 2) 95:46) asm: 5. 0.59 pimy aellt55:29) 5, 0:29:22)-N Rises. Souths. Sets. Age at Noon. Sept. him. him. hem. d. hm. Moon.. 2.. 89 p.m... 240 am... 9.57 a.m... 19 3.33 5.46 p.m... 29 3.33 2s FO GhasmMsy e lL 2) fase) ace 11.52 p.m... 9 14.42 22... 245 pm ...7.16 p.m. .. Position at Noon. Souths. Semi- RA. Dec. Sept. hm. diameter. h.m.s. te Mercury... Dey MOLQICG Spsms oy 224) Plligos2 Ue nediezd2O.Ntw 12 .. 0.45°3 p.m... 2°5/ ..12: 8.26 .. 0.19.32.S: OP ne, 1 TOO THING soo CRO: Galley, LO 55) URE HIY IS Venus tor | 2ace) 23els3e apm ete Oda 2-4 ose Mien 4 Loon S. 12) 3) 25/539) spims e637. 13:28.59) - 9221378. 22 .. 2.11°3 p.m... 7:0” ..14.13.54 . 14. 5. 95. Mars ‘ac Leen 2 Oleh PIM mel: el Serle oml Ac soul ORs Jupiter 12 .. 6.50°9 p.m. ..18°8” . 18.15.10 ..23.31.25 S. Saturn .. 12 .. 7.181 p.m. .. 8:0!’ ..18.42.30 ..22.44.36 S. Uranus .. 12 .. 5.225 p.m... 18 ..16.46.34 22.24.39 S. Neptune ., 12., 6.4355 am... 1:2” .. 6. 5.49 ..22.16.44 N. Moon’s PHASES. hm. hem. 8rd Qr. .. Sept. 5 .. 1.27 p.m. New .. Sept. 12 .. 9.18 p.m. We OR bo cy Sh oo TWAS, 1 6g oy PKS) 00. Gkd Chal. In perigee on Sepucmiyer Ist, at 7 p.m.; in apogee on 17th, at 5 p.m.; and in perigee again on 29th, at 6 p.m. The September full moon is usually known as the harvest moon. METEORS. hem. @ Aug. 21 to Sept. 21 ¢ Perseids Radiant R.A. 4 8 Dec. 37N. ee) » 22 y Pegasids by 5 OO — tN. Sept. 7 to 24 e Taurids a oy eG PAINS 5 21 to .22 a Aurigids op op CS gy | EL INI OU a Taurids 6 | Ho gy WEIN, CONJUNCTIONS OF PLANETS WITH THE MOON. e) Sept.10 .. ee Juno* .. 4p.m. .. Planet 1.15 S. gy ud os . Mercury*f ¢ B55 50 » 349 N, BANG Tae co (GMP oo SEM 66 » LAL N. ep nlin es «. Marst oo. Chahine’ 66 OSES: gap i eys Jupiter* .. 3pm. .. » 448. SD OY wil .. Saturn .. 2am... » ood S. sae Ones 50.) JeeM Ap og bso, GG op dk Ol. * Daylight. + Below English horizon. OccULTATION AND NEAR APPROACHES. Angle Angle Magni- Dis- From ' Re- Strom Sept. Star. tude. appears. Vertex. appears. Vertex. him. i hm. 2 5 .. e Tauri 3:7... 4.2am... 146 .. 4.58a.m. .. 230 23... BCapricorni 3:4 .. 9.26p.m. .. 326 .. near approach. 28 .. 6 Piscium 46 .. 6.40 p.m... 18 .. near approach. THE SuN still continues in a very quiescent condition, although three tiny spotlets were visible on August 2nd in high southern latitudes. Autumn 124 is said to commence on September 23rd at 6 p.m., when the Sun enters the sign Libra. MERCURY, VENUS, AND MARS are evening stars all the month, but too close to the Sun for observa- tion. JUPITER AND SATURN are also evening stars, and must be looked for as soon as it is dark enough in the low south-western sky. URANUS is an evening star too near the Sun for observation. NEPTUNE, not far from » Geminorum, rises before half-past nine at night at the end of the month. PALLAS is in opposition on September 8th, appearing as a star of 8°75 magnitude. Souths. R.A, Dee. him. Ams. oe! Aug, 31 0.24°7 a.m. 22.57.53 .... 2.55.51 N. Sep usmle erect 11.28°5 p.m. 22.49.37 .... 0.34.48 N, V7 2O) sisters) LOIS2'8spim: 22.414 .... 2. 4.58 8, The path is from a point close to 8 Piscium, 4°6 magnitude, R.A. 22 h. 58 m. 51s., Dec. N. 3° 17' 12”, towards the south-west. LUNAR PHOTOGRAPH.—About the finest, photo- graph ever obtained is by the Yerkes 40-inch achromatic, using the full aperture. It is of the crater Theophilus and its surroundings, and was taken through a yellowish-green screen on a “Cromer ” isochromatic plate, with an exposure of about half a second. Nova 1901 PERSEI is still readily visible with the telescope. On July 15th and 16th it appeared not much differing from sixth magnitude, and on July 20th and August 9th it was not far from seventh magnitude. Its red colour has gone, and _ its spectrum either with prism or diffraction grating explains the reason. The red C line, formerly so brilliant, has disappeared with the 38-inch Wray. The bluish-green F appears the most brilliant, and three other bright lines are visible on the violet or more refrangible side of F, and there were sus- picions of a very faint line in the orange-yellow. Photographs by Flammarion and Antoniadi are said to show a nebulous aureola with a definite outline. AuRORA —On July 20th, from 10 to 10.20, the north-north-western sky was very brilliant, with three or four bright rays from that point, one extending so far as a Herculis. CoMET a 1901 is said to have been first observed on April 12th by M. Viscara at Paysandt in Uru- guay. The prevalence of bad weather prevented a continuance of observations. We hear that Mr. Maunder was successful in obtaining a photo- graph whilst at Mauritius. There is now no doubt that the objects observed at Yerkes and by Mr. Chambers were not the comet. Another mistake occurred in the Australian telegram describing it as near Aldebaran at atime when it was at least 50° distant from that star. Dr. TRUMAN HENRY SAFFORD, Professor of Astronomy at Williams College, Williamstown, Mass., who was born in 1836 and elected an Asso- ciate of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1866, is dead. PROFESSOR ERNST AUGUST LAMP was born at Kiel, April 4th, 1850. He held an appointment in the Geodetical Institute at Berlin, but afterwards removed to Kiel Observatory in 1877, where he remained for twenty years, and in 1889 became SCIENCE-GOSSIP. Extraordinary Professor. He assisted Professor Kriiger whilst there in editing the ‘‘ Astronomische: Nachrichten.” In 1900 he went to Africa on the settlement of the boundary between the Congo State and German East Africa, and there died at. Ruanda on May 10th, 1901. PROFESSOR ADOLF CHRISTIAN WILHELM SCHUR,. born at Altona, April 15th, 1846, was educated at the Kiel University. His first astronomical work was at Berlin assisting Professor Auwers in re- reducing Bradley’s observations. In 1873 he was asked by Professor Winnecke to become an assistant. at the newly organised observatory at Strasburg. The following year he accompanied Seeliger’s ex- pedition to the Auckland Islands to observe the transit of Venus. When Winnecke’s health failed, the greater part of the responsibility of the Stras-- burg work fell upon him until 1886, when he was chosen to succeed Professor Klinkerfues as Director of the Royal Observatory, Géttingen. His chief attention has been given to zone observations of stars and the calculations of stellar parallax and. cometary orbits. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1898. He died on July Ist last. A NEW VARIABLE STAR has been discovered. in Ophiuchus by Dr. Anderson of Edinburgh. On October 29th last its magnitude was 9-6, but by November 9th had risen nearly half a magnitude.. Its period has not yet been determined. LONGITUDE OF PARIS.—The observations for the determination of the difference of longitude be-- tween Greenwich and Paris will probably not be commenced until the spring, instead of in October, as announced in the report of the Astronomer Royal. THE CLUSTER 13 MESSIER IN HERCULES, photo- graphed on a plate exposed for two hours, is found by Mr. H. K. Palmer to contain 5,482 stars. One thousand and sixteen of the stars are described as bright, and the rest as faint. No nebulosity is. present. THE RING NEBULA IN LyRA, photographed by aid of the 3-foot Crossley silver on glass re- flector at Lick observatory, is found to be oval in shape, not elliptical, being slightly more pointed towards the north-east. The ring appears to be made up of a number of rings interlacing one another. There are also fringes on either side of the ring, as well as a faint light within. A remark- able fact is that the ring appears larger in the photograph than when measured with the eye. This is supposed to be owing to the great actinic power of the blue light given out by hydrogen gas,. which is largely present in the nebula. ENCKE’S CoMET, } 1901, is reported, by tele- gram from Harvard University, to have been ob- served by Professor Wilson, on the morning of August 6th, in the north-eastern part of the con- stellation Orion. It has since travelled through Gemini and Cancer. ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF WALES.—This Society has sent the last number of its organ, “The Cam- brian Natural Observer,” which contains much astronomical matter, and a fine plate of the planet. Saturn, from a drawing by Mr. Scriven Bolton. There is likewise a portrait of the late Principal V. Jones, F-R.S., of University College of South Wales ; also a picture of the Telescope House, im which Colonel Markwick makes his observations. SCIENCE-GOSSIP. SCIENCE GOSSIP}; AE ROLE iam Oak 2 a hs ee, THIS year’s meeting of the British Association at Glasgow will be held from September 11th to 18th. It should be of exceptional interest in con- nection with the International Exhibition now ibeing held in that city. DR. GERALD LEIGHTON is publishing through Messrs. Blackwood & Sons a work with fifty illus- trations upon the “Life History of the British Serpents and their Local Distribution in the British Isles.” Dr. Leighton, who, it will be remembered, is one of our contributors, has paid much attention to British reptiles. The price of the work will be five shillings. A NEw issue has commenced of ‘‘ Die Schmetter- linge Europas,” by Dr. Arnold Spuler. This work on the European butterflies and moths is hand- somely illustrated with coloured plates, 12 in. x 82 in. in size, closely filled with carefully drawn figures. It will be complete in thirty-eight parts at one shilling each. We understand that Messrs. Heyne Bros., of 110 Strand, are agents for this work. THE British Mycological Society appears to be full of vigour and in a strong financial position. Mr. Carlton Rea, 34 Foregate Street, Worcester, is the honorary secretary and treasurer. He sends us particulars of the fifth annual fungus foray, which is to be held at Exeter from Monday to Saturday, September 23rd to 28th. The headquarters are to be at the Rougemount Hotel, Exeter, and excur- sions have been arranged for four days of the meeting. Papers are to be read in the evenings. Iv is probable that the secretaries of some of the societies of amateur naturalists have noticed that latterly the reports of such societies have been omitted from our pages. The fact is that these reports have become so much mere lists of exhibits and exhibitors, with hardly any notes of general interest, that we received constant com- plaints from our readers that our space should be so occupied. We shall always be pleased to receive reports of societies’ meetings if of general interest— that is to say, if the exhibits are accompanied by remarks on facts not generally known in connec- tion with them. WE have received a communication from Mr. John A. Todd, honorary secretary of the Marine Biological Association of West Scotland, addressed from 190 West George Street, Glasgow. In it Mr. Todd states that the committee desire publicity regarding prizes offered by Sir John Murray, K.C.B., and known as the ‘Fred. P. Pullar Memorial Prizes,” for work on marine subjects. The three prizes amount in all to £150. Par- ticulars may be obtained from Mr. Todd, and the subjects appear to be within the reach of students of marine phenomena. It will be remembered that Mr. Pullar lost his life in an ice accident on ee 15th last. The prizes will be given in FIELD BOTANY. CONDUCTED BY JAMES SAUNDERS, A.L.S. DRYING FLOWERS.—A useful article on this subject appears on page 104 in this number. CEPHALANTHERA ENSIFOLIA.—A nice gathering of this somewhat scarce orchid was collected by Mr. Arnold McNaught at Symonds Yat on the opening day of the Worcestershire Naturalists’ Club, May 28th, 1901. The protuberances on the labellum are most marked. Who are the insect fertilisers. of this orchid, and what assistance do these protuberances afford them ?—Carleton Rea, BCL, M.A.E., 34, Foregate Street, Worcester. HELMINTHIA ECHIOIDES.—Several specimens of the bristly ox-tongue, a bold and handsome plant, were in flower on August 7th nearly opposite in Honeycrock Lane, near the habitat of Lathyrus nissolia reported in SCIENCE-GOSSIP (ante, p. 62). The borders of the road have unfortunately been cut for litter, and the lovely wild garden of Com- positae is spoiled for this year.--R. Ashington Bullen, F.LS., Aveland Park, near Horley. ALIEN FLORA OF BRITAIN.—I am anxious to have notes and records of alien plants which occur in Britain, and beg to ask your assistance in the matter. If any of your readers are willing to co- operate, I should be glad to have notes of such from any locality and, as far as possible, specimen plants. Should they have a knowledge or theory as to how any species of plant came to its situation, will they please giveit? In sending plants give names, if known; if not, I will do my best to name them. In any case, always give colour of flower. In- sufficient attention seems to have been given in this country to the importance of alien distribution.— Arthur Smith, Curator, Natural History Museum, 5 Cavendish Street, Grimsby, Lincolnshire. NARCISSUS BIFLORUS.—If a man happens to be something of a botanist and also a lover of the garden Narcissi, he is inclined to wonder how this species ever came to be regarded as British. In Barr’s admirable Catalogue of Narcissi it is said without any doubt that this is a hybrid between Narcissus tazetta and WN. poeticus. Nobody ever supposed that the former of these was British, and Messrs. Barr doubtless write with authority, knowing the results of the elaborate inquiry into the origin of garden Narcissi which was made a few years ago. Yet Johns, Sowerby, and Hooker all appear to be ignorant of its being a hybrid, though the second remarks that he has not seen the mature capsule and seeds. It is somewhat remarkable that the hybrid offspring of WV. tazetta should naturalise itself so freely, while WV. tazetta itself, a native of Southern Europe, has never done so. Are hybrids more hardy, or rather are their bulbs more persistent, since they do not mature their seeds ?—(Rev.) J. H. Kelsalt, Milton, Lymington. — se bie aie abt a ————eeeeSSSe___ Aer r= 126 Wircues’ Brooms.—I presume our Botanical Editor, in his reference to the scanty English literature on this subject, excluded English trans- lations of German works wherein witches’ brooms are referred to, but to those interested in this subject these translations are of value. These aberrations are mentioned in ‘Comparative Morphology and Biology of the Fungi,” by De Bary; ‘Diseases of Plants induced by Crypto- gamic Parasites,” by Tubeuf and Smith; and “The Diseases of Trees,” by MHartig, English translation by Somerville and Marshall Ward. The phenomenon is not alone caused by species of the Uredineae, but the Ascomycetes are also responsible for some. Thus Haoascus deformans is responsible for the witches’ brooms on Persica vulgaris, Amygdalus communis, Prunus avium, P. cerasus, and P. domestica; Haoascus insititiac on Prunus insititia ; EB. carpini on Carpinus betulus, and, I regret to say, many of them are to be met with frequently.— Carleton Rea, B.C.L., M.A., 34 Foregate Street, Worcester. STRUCTURAL anp PHYSIOLOGICAL BOTANY. CONDUCTED BY HAROLD A. HAIG. TORSION OF LEAVES IN THE DOUGLAS FIR.— With regard to the orientation of leaves, having as a result the turning of the assimilatory surface towards the incident rays of light, a well- ee instance occurs in Abies douglasii (fig. 1, @). Fig. 1. Position which would be assumed if there were no torsion. Position assumed by leaf in nature (arrow indi- cates direction of inci- dent rays). At a point close to where the leaf springs from the main axis there occurs a twisting of the leaf- base (see fig. 1, 7), which results in the bringing of the dark-green upper or dorsal surface of the leaf to lie in a plane that is best calculated to receive the optimum intensity of light. The several leaves of one side of the main axis belong to different spiral whorls, but it, may be seen that they are disposed in rows alternately one above the other, so as to lie in separate planes which cut the axis inclined at various angles to the trans- verse median plane. By this method every one of the leaves receives a definite amount of light, those most anterior receiving light at the greatest obliquity of incidence; those most posterior getting light of nearly vertical incidence. FRENCH VIEW OF THE LATENT VITALITY OF SEEDS.—M. Armand Gautier, in the ‘ Revue Générale de Botanique,” writes on this subject and says:—‘“A perfectly dry seed, a bacterium or its spore, or a rotifer deprived of water, all possess a fit organisation for the seat of life-processes ; but SCIENCE-GOSSI/P. they do not live in the true sense of the term : their fe is latent [vie latente]. Functionally speaking, hfe means assimilation. They only become the seat of the manifestations which con- stitute life when the determining causes, moisture, warmth, and an initial impulse furnish them with the necessary conditions for realising the virtual energy which their chemical constituents hold in reserve. ‘That a certain number of seeds lose after some years the power of germination is the natural consequence of the fact that the chemical prin- ciples which compose them are in a state of tension with regard to potential chemical energy. These chemical principles are slowly modified, and there is nothing to show that this modi- fication is a form of the vital function.” M. Gautier is evidently of the opinion that it is a species of ‘potential chemical energy” that gives to seeds their power of responding to external influences, and that all that is required to convert a given seed into an active element is an initial impulse, with the essential surrounding conditions. of warmth and moisture. What does he mean by “initial impulse”? Surely it depends upon those very conditions, and is not a thing to be spoken of apart from them. It is, one would think, a little difficult to accept M. Gautier’s explanation of the loss of vitality of seeds. Modification of the: chemical principles of the protoplasm argues a rearrangement of the molecules composing it 3 but there has been no proof yet of any such modifica- tion. We believe that Dr. Waller’s experiments. upon the “ blaze-reactions ” of living seeds which were mentioned in a previous paragraph (8.-G., ante, p. 31) throw much light upon the under- standing of this interesting problem. IsOLATED ELEMENTS IN LEAF OF ARAUCARIA.— There is an interesting instance of the deposit of raphides, or crystals of calcium oxalate, in the walls of certain elements in the case of some thick- walled, irregularly shaped cells that are to -be found scattered throughout the leaf of Araucaria. ' We find at certain parts of the mesophyll large LARGE THICK-WALLED CELL FROM LEAF OF ARAUCARIA EXCELSA. Fig, 2. r. Thick-walled element im a. Cell of the spongy parenchyma. i. Lati- the walls of which “ raphides” have been deposited. ciferous cell, 7. Raphides. stellate elements with rather thick walls, which latter have deposited in them numerous small crystals, rhombic in form, that can be seen to extend throughout the whole thickness of the wall, and even deposited on the outer surface (see fig. 2). These isolated elements are surrounded by the ordinary large cells of the spongy paren- chyma, and have in their vicinity an occasional SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 127 laticiferous cell, which stains deeply with toluidin blue. The wall of our isolated element also stains well with that substance. Another point to be noted is the presence of very fine nuclei in the cells of the spongy parenchyma of a size which one rarely sees in other plant-cells. A CONJUGATING YEAST.—Under certain con- ditions of existence Saccharomyces seems to possess the power of ‘rejuvenescence” by means of the process of conjugation. In a paper by Mr. peda barker, BoA. in “Proc. Roy. Sock.’ July, 1901, the various experiments on this subject are explained at some length. The essential points are that vigorously growing cells were observed in a drop of distilled water; the contents of a pair of cells first of all became vacuolated, and a beak- like process was put out by each cell. These pro- cesses met and fused, and the protoplasmic contents communicated through the passage thus formed. After afew hours the protoplasm began to contract and small round masses formed, which quently developed into spores. OOSPHERES OF PINUS.—On examining a longi- tudinal section taken through the embryo-sac subse- of some gymnosperms (Pinus sylvestris and P. A nk Fig 3. SECTIONS OF AUSTRIAN PINE-OVULES. Drawn by Harold A. Haig, from Photo-micrograph by A. E. Powell A. LONGITUDINAL SECTION THROUGH THREE ARCHEGONIA, SHOWING OOSPHERFS; IN THE MIDDLE ONE, DIVISION HAS COMMENCED. nk. Apex of embryo-sac. a. Archegonium. 0. Oosphere, showing central nucleus and numerous vacuoles. c. Canal. B. HIGH-POWER DRAWING OF “RECEPTIVE SPOT.” 0. Oosphere. 6. Vacuoles. c. Canal. 7. Portion of separated protoplasm forming the receptive spot. austraea), one cannot fail to notice the relatively large size of the archegonia and their contained corpuscula or oospheres. The protoplasm of these latter is very granular, and there are usually a large number of good-sized vacuoles scattered throughout its substance. The nucleus is, so to: speak, immense, and is very clear, with a small nucleolus near the centre (see fig. 3). An import- ant point to be observed about the time when fertilisation commences is the existence at the- micropylar extremity of the oosphere of a mass of protoplasm somewhat clearer than the rest, and apparently cut off from the top of the oosphere. It constitutes the ‘‘receptive spot” for the male generative nucleus, and is probably to be looked upon as being homologous with the ‘‘ polar bodies” that are thrown off by the animal egg-cells just at the end of maturation. It may, however, be pos- sible that this mass of protoplasm is the remains of the ‘ventral canal cell” formed during an early stage. DEVELOPMENT OF MTULIPA GESNERIANA.— D. Ernst has worked out some interesting points: with regard to the changes occurring during and after fertilisation in the case of Tulipa gesneriana (“ Flora,” Ixxxviil. pp. 37-77), and has shown also the existence of polyembryony in this plant. He found that of the male nuclei in the pollen-tube one fuses with the egg-cell nucleus, whilst the- other fuses with one of the polar nuclei; so that ultimately the definitive nucleus is the result of the fusion of three nuclei. ‘That is to say, the two polar nuclei, and one of the male nuclei, from the- pollen-tube. This may be considered as a form of double fertilisation. RECENT WoRK ON LATICIFEROUS TUBES.—For some time it was thought that the latex in the system of tubes of some plants (Huphorbia, Tson- andra, etc.) was actually modified protoplasm, but recently a work written on this subject by Hans Molisch has more or less disproved this. According to this observer, there is a cytoplasmic layer close to the wall of the tube, and inside this a space filled by the latex. The nuclei have also a peculiar feature, in that there is a clear zone just inside the nuclear membrane; but this may be only the result of the action of certain reagents. There is. also some account of mucilage tubes occurring in various plants, and investigation of the several substances present in the latex and mucilage—- soluble and insoluble proteids, carbohydrates, and oils—are found, and in some cases it was discovered that the leucoplasts produced, not starch-granules, but oil-globules. LEAF COMPARISONS.—The ‘interesting minor point” mentioned at p. 95 ante is, in fact, anything but minor. It is a.matter of very eminent import- ance indeed, and is alluded to in that veritable- mine of botanical lore, the ‘‘ Histoire Physiol. des Plantes d’Europe,” published by Vaucher so far back as the year 1841. He says: ‘The leaves of Picea abies are true leaves, whose petioles, like those of juniper, are laid down upon the cortex which has given birth to them, and are detached sooner or later in the form of epidermis; but the: leaf properly so called or its blade is similarly formed in pines, firs, and piceas. The leaves of Pinus are true branches which spring from the interior of the wood, and perhaps even of the pith,. and the woody connection of which can be easily remarked.” Descanting on the leaf of pine, he says: ‘The sheathed leaves must be regarded as belonging to so many branches regularly aborted.” These sheathed leaves are produced in the axils of first-formed simple leaves, which disappear, 128 leaving an easily perceptible scaly rudiment below ithe former. Similarly the ‘‘ boutons” which cover the branches of the larch, and open in spring to yield fasciculated leaves, are actual branches, half- -aborted. With regard to differentiation, it must ‘be remembered that the first shoots of the young pine are always formed of simple leaves whose structure is correspondingly simple, and it is quite -evident that these simple leaves disappear because they are not suited to the external conditions to which the tree is subjected in later life. However, that the fasciculated leaves are very remarkable and extraordinary is manifested not only by their internal anatomy, but by their physiology, as -attested by chemistry. For this latter feature my paper in ‘Natural Science,” vol. xv. p. 52, may ‘be consulted. There is another feature in con- nection with the origin and formation of the fibro- vascular system of the dicotyledonous leaf which ‘is worthy of a special note. In this the liber is always more developed in relation to the xylem ‘than that of the stem, and the internal, superior, liber of the leaf is never formed at the expense of the procambium, in which the inferior liber and the xylem of the bundle originate. The details are too complicated to be adequately described in a mere note. However, I would advise all your botanical readers to make the acquaintance of Vaucher’s book. It is a most valuable storehouse of accurate information, absolutely untainted by any trace of fad or fantasy.—(Dr.) P. Y. Keegan, Patterdale, Westmorland. [I am glad to have raised a point for discussion ‘with regard to the homology of the gymnosperms. I quite understand why Dr. Keegan objects to the ‘term ‘‘minor point”; but in comparison with the all-important homologies that appear during the re- productive cycle in Pinus, I think that the reten- ‘tion of stem-structure in the leaf is rather a minor ‘point, although, as I mentioned in the note in ‘question, it is such features as these which often help to corroborate previous deductions. I cannot quite accept the statement from Vaucher’s work, i.e. that ‘the leaves of Pinws are true branches,” ‘because it is not really the leaves which spring from the axils of the primary scale-leaves, but a -shoot, known as the ‘limited shoot,” and it is from this latter that the two leaves arise in each ‘case, the bundle splitting to supply each leaf.— H. A. H.] NOTICES OF SOCIETIES. 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