HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP For 1866, HARDWICKE'S AN ILLUSTRATED MEDIUM OF INTERCHANGE AND GOSSIP FOR STUDENTS AND LOVERS OF NATURE. Edited by M. C. COOKE, AUTHOR OF "A PLAIN AND EASY ACCOUNT OF THE BRITISH FUNGI," "MICROSCOPIC FUNGI,' "A MANUAL OF BOTANICAL TERMS," AND OF "STRUCTURAL BOTANY," THE "BRITISH REPTILES," ETC. ETC. LONDON: ROBERT HABDWICKE, 192, PICCADILLY. 1867. WYMAN AND SONS, ORIENTAL, CLASSICAL, AND GENERAL PRINTERS, GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON, W.C. / o 5" % ^ SCIENCE-GOSSIP. I crave forbearance for having thought that even the busiest mind might not be a stranger to those moments of repose, when the clock of time clicks drowsily behind the door.'and trifles become the amusement of the wise and great. Longfellow. " Outre Mer." T is natural to some minds, we would almost be- lieve, to look with horror on the face that can wear a smile, or to shudder at d of a hearty laugh, hope that the tor- enduring Christmas have not driven any such to the extremity of renouncing mankind for ever, and all as- sociation with laughing bi- peds. It is related of two ancient worthies, who flou- rished, we know not how many centuries ago, that one passed his life in smiles and the other in tears. One laughed con- tinually at the follies of his race, the other wept for them, as though their follies were crimes. That was the spectator of a continual comedy, this an actor in a tragedy without end. Each of these had his followers ; perhaps some may be living at this hour, or else we can scarcely account for the fact that the harmless enjoyments of some of the human species can cause sighs and sor- rows in others of the same great family. Not only will a season of festivity plant thorns in the morbid bosoms of such men, but " the trifles which become the amusement of the wise and great " in moments of repose are magnified into monsters that disturb their rest, and inflict upon them an eternal night- mare. It has been whispered abroad that we, in our humble endeavours to " Gossip :' freely over the little extracts which we collect from the book of Nature are giving offence. Not that we act as " snappers up of unconsidered trifles," but because we give to them an undignified name. On the threshold of the temple of Janus, with our first volume under our arm, we again announce our 1. Vol. II. name, however undignified it may be, and with it gain admission to the fireside of thousands, whilst the same talisman excludes us, we hope, only from the drawing-rooms of a few. Parents seldom give to their children names which satisfy all their friends, and we cannot hope to be more successful than they. Yet, after all, a name may degenerate, or become dignified, by its associations. We make no great pretensions, our desire being to gossip with our readers, as a man chats to his frieud, of passing events in which we are interested, to ask and answer queries, and pass a pleasant half-hour in talking of scientific subjects in the language of the fireside, and not as sacans. We do not aspire to be an oracle in Natural History, nor to enter deeply into the mysteries of Science, neither do we think it beneath our dignity to confess ourselves Gossipers, or criminal to unbend ourselves and seek amuse- ment, as well as instruction, in trifles. There is moreover a charge of frivolity to which we will scarcely advert, since our readers are the best judges of their own feelings, and if any of them should consider a long face and a grim visage the best style of physiognomy for a monthly visitor, who just drops in for a chat, we would not hurt his feel- ings by hinting at doubts of his sanity. Manner, or matter, we imagine our verdict must be, that as to changing the title, we couldn't if we would, and as to the substance, we wouldn't if we could. Not that we are above consulting our friends or taking their advice, but because we believe that in this decision we only represent the feelings of those whom it is our privilege and interest to serve— the supporters, readers, and contributors to our journal. If we were, ever so politely, solicited to commit personal suicide, we think that we should feel bound, as politely, to decline the honour of self- sacrifice at the shrine of friendship. So, when in- vited to perform a similar act figuratively, our im- pulse is strongly in favour of self-preservation. Therefore we trim the quill, poke the fire, dust the glasses, snuff the candle, and settle down for another year of Science-Gossip. B SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1866. THE STORE-KEEPER. ONE of the liveliest, prettiest, merriest, and, to judge from appearances, the happiest little animal one meets with in north-western wilds, is a tiny Squirrel, known and feared by the Indians, who have a name for it, unpronounceable by any mouth of ordinary conformation ; and to attempt writing it is only to give a long list of double and single letters, the type-pattern for spelling Indian words. Eor example, — ch-a-ta la-ch, — what can you make of that ? Corkscrew the word out, giving it all the throat sound and tongue-twisting you can manage, and it has as little resemblance to the name as rolled out from the larynx of a Red-skin, as the wheeze of a bagpipe has to the clear, rich, mellow note of the Mocking-bird. To the scientific world my furry friend is known as Tamias (nearly as bad as Indian) ; tamias being- Greek for store-keeper, the generic title. The specific name tells us that he has four stripes, or "ribbons" marking his skin. The Missouri Striped Squirrel is the familiar appellation of the white settler; the Ogress Squirrel of the savage — why so named will be shown in the sequel. The specific characters are briefly : tail quite as long as the body, a grey stripe along the top of the head, joining two others passing below the eyes, a hoary patch behind the ears; general colour, deep ferruginous red ; back marked with four equidistant stripes, nearly black, extending from the neck to the tail ; length four inches, without the tail. Incisors (cutting-teeth) strong, and deep orange- colour on the outer surface; on'each side of the mouth is a large pouch, opening just anterior to the molar teeth, and extending back to the shoulder. In these capacious sacks, seeds, bits of favourite roots, indeed anything either eatable or storeable, is carried to the " Store-keeper's " residence. The pouches are filled from the mouth ; the fore feet being used much the same as hands, to press the cargo back, and tightly pack it ; when emptying them, the fore feet are again called into requisition ; placed behind the corpulent bags, the contents are pressed out by a kneading kind of movement. Where a more striking evidence of Divine wisdom and forethought? but for these leather bags, it would be utterly impossible for this little animal to carry in a store of provisions sufficient for his winter supply ; he does not sleep, like the " Rock Whistler," and live on his own fat, but only partially hybernates, and hence needs a stock of food, with which he pro- vides himself during the sunny summer days. His mansion is usually under a fallen tree, or amidst the tangled roots of the giant pines. A small burrow neatly dug, aud round as an auger-hole, leads in a slant Lag direction to an open cavity, neatly lined wil h dry leaves, blades of grass, and moss, a bed soft as eider down, wherein the "Store-keeper" sleeps. In an adjoining opening, on a kind of earthen shelf, is his store neatly piled away, to be carefully hoarded, uutil the biting blasts of winter, sweeping through the forests, stripping land and tree alike of their verdure, warn the provident workman to retire into his snug quarters, not to shiver, cold aud hungry, until the spring-time comes, and bids the flowers ope their blossoms and the buds burst into leaf, — not a bit of it — his industry has provided not only a snug residence, but food in abundance, to supply his daily necessities; a garrison in which he can defy wind, rain, frost, and snow, and bide his time until the Ice-king yields his sceptre to the genial ruler of the summer. This squirrel seems to live everywhere. Wander round the margin of the emerald-green prairie, and there, amidst the hazel, mohouia, vine maple, and various shrubs that love the sunshine, the " Store- keeper " is sure to be seen, skipping along on a dead stick, or scudding through the bushes ; stopping con- tinually to have a peep at the intruder ; sitting- bolt upright, with its tail erected, defiantly chatters angrily, in a kind of half-laugh, half-bark, then uttering a shrill chirp, the danger signal to others, makes for its hole and disappears. Paddle in a canoe down the surging stream, past the piles of drift-wood, heaped mountains of dead trees ; and as the frail bark shoots by, you are certain to see the ': Store- keeper " scampering from log to log, his scolding and whistling lost in the noisy rush of the torrent. Dive into the dark shadow of the pine forest, — where mouldy life holds high festival, where huge fungoid growths, and giant agarici spring in tabby clusters from the oozy logs, — where the pools, thick and slimy, are covered with the green fleshy leaves of the " skunk cabbage," and each branch and spray, draped with the black lichen {Lichen jubatas), seem mourning over the death and decay on every side : in these damp solitudes lives the "Store-keeper " merry and quarrelsome, as in brighter scenes. Climb the mountain-side and scramble through the rock-walled ravine, where the pine clings to the stones rather than grows from their clefts ; there, no murmuring streamlet cools and refreshes thirsty nature, or breaks the solemn silence with its rippling music ; not even the footfall of the savage disturbs its echoes ; and naught living, save the denizens of the air, that peep into its weird depths from the tree- tops, ever visits it ; yet in the very loneliest of these glens the " Store-keeper " is sure to be met with ; climb on, higher, higher, to the perpetual snow-line, marking the boundary betwixt life and icy desola- tion, and there too, on the very frontier, he bounds, and jumps, from rock to rock, ever scolding, laughing, whistling, and toiling, to garner in his harvest. Two of them, husbaud and wife, took up their abode in an old saw-pit, close to our winter-quarters, on the "Upper Columbia,, and there constructed a Jan. 1, 1866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. nest during the mouth of July, for the mamma to bring forth and rear her offspring in. I carefully watched them from day to clay, and with the ex- ception of an occasional scolding, they took little heed of my presence. A hollow place was first cleared under one of the cross timbers of the saw- pit, then both worked hard bringing blades of dried j grass, leaves, and moss. I observed they carefully collected fragments of rag, and pieces of paper left by the sawyers ; so, to gratify this taste for the use of novel material, I brought out continually small buudles, composed of coloured threads, rags, paper, fragments of scarlet cloth, and small portions of gold and silver lace from my fishing tackle stock; all these were greedily seized on, and woven into the nest, that, when completed, after about sixteen days' work, presented the most extraordinary appearance imaginable. Such a nuptial nest no squirrel ever had before, or, perhaps, will ever have again. I am sure they were proud of their achievement, and deemed it a triumph of squirrel architecture. The family indue time came into the world; but any attempt to approach the nest was resented so furiously, yet combined with such evident terror for the safety of their babies, that I had not the heart to gratify my curiosity to see how many there were, and what they were like. Nearly three weeks passed, when the love of prying overcame all other scruples, and a peep into the snug, cosy, chequered retreat was irresistible. Separating with the utmost caution the walls of the entrance- hole, three baby squirrels were visible, — such queer little annimals, they seemed all eyes and tail. The papa and mamma were both loud in their remon- strances, and frightfully angry at the impertinent intrusion ; but as I did not touch the infants, and, as far as practicable, mended the torn entrance, why it appeared to me there was not much ground for complaint. Visiting my pets on the following day, imagine my surprise at finding the nest empty, and the old and young vanished together. Eirst I thought some poaching weasel had murdered the innocents ; but no : the old ones had carried them away into some other retreat, because I had looked at them, and meddled with the nest. Instinct here appears vastly near akin to reason ; what had happened once, the "Store-keeper" evi- dently thought might occur again, and wisely took the precautionary measure of concealment, selecting a spot unknown to the intruder. Its name, " Ogress Squirrel," arises from a singular Indian tradition, that I think is quite worth, as it shows us how readily uncivilized man seizes on the supernatural to account for everything beyond his comprehension. Spiritual agencies and wild myths form subjects for the daily chat round the lodge fire ; everything becomes mysterious that is not understood ; the very language of the Red- man is a tangled chaos of symbols, figures, and metaphors. A prominent performer in all their legends is a terrible old woman, half witch, half ogress, of very doubtful reputation, armed with teeth like a wolf, and the claws of a grizzly-bear ; her entire time spent in doing evil, eating children, and waging unceasing- war on the good and virtuous. To make the story brief, it seems this amiable old lady (at some period far away in the dim history of the past) spied a fat, dainty, young " Red-skin," the son of a brave and good chief, playing by the side of a mountain burn, not far from the wigwam of its parents. With wily words of endearment, and holding out a basket filled with ripe berries and gaudy flowers, the witch-woman coaxed the baby savage within reach of her terrible claws ; as she clutched it, the father and mother saw their loved one's peril, too late to rescue, to save, beyond all human power ; there was but one chance, one last frail hope to cling to; falling on their knees, both prayed, and in the agony of despair, besought the " Great Spirit" to use his power and save their child ; give it back to them, or change it into any form, so that it escape the teeth and talons of the dreaded ogress. The prayer was heard, and the boy assuming at once the form of a tiny squirrel, deftly slipped from out her grip ; but not unscathed, the marks inflicted by four of her claws remain to this day on its back as evidence of the story's truthfulness. Heuce it is that Indian boys seldom kill this squirrel, ill luck befalling all such profane trans- gressors, and that c: medicine men" (the doctors and conjurors of the tribes) wear its skin as a potent and all-powerful charm. The " Store-keeper bearing on its back the marks of the wicked old woman's" finger nails, may be seen by any who choose to visit the British Museum, where a specimen I shot is set up very near the " Rock Whistler." The Robin. — There are many anecdotes of the sanguinary habits of the Robin. I have to add another to the list. Many years since, during a very severe winter, I was looking into an enclosed yard, where I saw a Robin pecking furiously at another Robiu that was dead. Seeing no cause for this animosity, I went to the birds, and found that the head of the dead one had been entirely deprived of its feathers by its antagonist, but for wbat purpose I could not then ascertaiu. A short time after, I had occasion to enter the yard again, and seeing the dead bird still there, I took it up, and perceived that the back of its skull was broken, and all the brains scooped out by his enemy ; thus explaining why he had worked so hard, and proving that Robin Red- breast is a Cannibal. — /. B. A. B 2 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1866. A CAPTIVE OWL. A LTHOUGH the true method of obtaining -£*- a knowledge of the animal world is to i'ollo-w up the study out in the fields, where cvery ereature is to be seen free from all restraint, save the laws of its being; yet there are many habits and peculiarities belonging to various species that would probably never have been known but by watching them in a state of captivity ; e. g. the method of feeding the young, in the case of such birds as the Owl, Wryneck, and others building in dark and often inaccessible holes ; the different ways in which birds of prey eat their food ; the modes of spinning cocoons by caterpillars, &c. An objection is, however, sometimes advanced, to the effect that we must not form too decided on opinion of the habits of any animal when perfectly free by what it does when placed under restraint, and necessarily in altered circumstances. But I think we must not attach undue weight to this. Let the creature have as much freedom as possible, so long as you can keep it in your view, and then its habits will undergo very little change. I do not like to see any bird in a cage too small for it to exercise its wings in, and, above all things, I have a horror of confining a lark, which is truly a creature of the upper firmament, in a low- roofed house, where it spends a considerable portion of its time in beating its head in the many vain attempts to follow out its native instincts. On the other hand, few of us can afford, like Charles Waterton, to construct a natural paradise of our own, and therefore we must be content with imi- tating Nature according to our means. I have kept the commoner kinds of finches in a large airy cage at different times, and they have been a never-tiring source both of amusement and instruction. They had sufficient space to fly about in, were able to build their nests, and to bathe to their hearts' content. But, as my title warns me, it is of the Owl that I am to write ; and though, perhaps, many facts that will be brought forward will not be new, yet there may be a few that have not been at least set forth in print. They are all from personal observation, and so, if there is any error, I must be accountable for it. It was a long time beibrelcould ascertain the exist- ence of any Owls at all in this immediate neighbour- hood ; I could not meet with any satisfactory accounts either of young ones or eggs being found. At length, induced by promise of reward, a boy came in triumph one day, saying he had a " screech-owl's egg," and after considerable care produced it from a covering he had wrapped round it. His hopes sank as he ueared it, for he found the covering very moist with albumen flowing freely from a gaping aperture in the shell ; however, as he remarked, there it was, though unfortunately, it had been laid by a Kestrel. But iu the month of October, 1863, two young ones were brought to me half-fledged ; one died in a little more than a week, but his partner is still in my possession, and is a very fine bird. I have turned him occasion- ally into a large room at night, which he very much enjoyed ; and very ghostly he looked sailing backwards and forwards with noiseless flight in the gaslight that streamed through the windows ; the feet were, I believe, always stretched out behind. His appetite developed itself at a very early age. Before I had had him a fortnight, and while his body was still partially covered with down, he one night took six full-grown mice for supper (breakfast ?) and would have taken more if he could have got them : he swallowed them all whole. He does not, how- ever, as some naturalists say, invariably bolt them head first ; I have seen him take them tail foremost. When any live prey is given him, he always seizes it by the head and neck with his claws, and it is dead almost immediately, apparently strangled. After one shriek from a bird (and that is seldom given), the victim lies perfectly quiet and resigned, and if not dead, looks about it perfectly free from any terrified appearance. I cannot help thinking that the death which is inflicted by carnivorous animals is much freer from pain than we are apt to suppose. When he has killed his prey, or if it is dead when given him, he passes it between his jaws, crushing the bones, and then, if a mouse, he swallows it whole ; if a bird, or any large creature, he tears it to pieces. His instinct leads him to break imaginary bones in a piece of meat in the same way when he has it. He once endeavoured, after plucking off the head and larger feathers, to swallow a greenfinch whole ; he took two or three minutes, and apparently succeeded, for he closed his mouth, and it quite disappeared. Very soon after, however, he brought it back and plucked it to pieces. As usual, he casts up all fur and bones in pellets ; but it is curious to observe that these pellets are also cast up when he has had nothing but soft raw flesh to eat ; they then consist mostly of sand and small stones which have clung to the food as it lay on the floor of the cage. Besides mice and birds, he also takes rats, moles, rabbits (which he does not seem to care about), frogs, and black slugs, but he rejects grey ones. He flies to the food, and takes it from the baud, and the sound of a knife being sharpened brings him at once to look out for meat. The only noises he makes are what is called snoring, a sharp snapping with the mandibles, and a quiet internal twittering, something like that of the house-swallow, but not so shrill ; he makes this when the dog or cat goes near him, but very often when there is no cause. He is not frightened at the cat, nor does he bear any ill-will towards her, though she occasionally steals his meat. Once she got shut up with him all night, but they never quarrelled. The snapping noise is not a simple clashing of the mandibles ; they are brought nearly close,' with the tongue exserted on one side : this is suddenly withdrawn, and the result is — snap. Jan. 1, 1SG6.] SCIENCE. GOSSIP. His movements, when any live prey is put in the cage, appear to the observer ridiculous in the highest degree, owing to the great size of the head and the large round dark eyes. When he has more food than he wants, he stores it up in a corner. Although the outer front toe is reversible, I have never seen him perching but with two toes before and two behind. Until very lately I believed that the Owl never touched water ; for though I had frequently placed it in his cage, and kept it there for two or three weeks, I could never find that he either bathed in it or drank from it ; but a few days ago, seeing him very restless, I gave him another trial. He seemed quite pleased with it, and, hastening to it, drank heartily, and then jumped in and completely drenched himself with it. He does not appear to moult his feathers so often or so completely as other birds; for the primary wing-feathers have not been changed since I first had him. Hy. Ullyett. STICKLEBACKS' NESTS. MANY of the readers of the " Science Gossip " will no doubt be inclined to dismiss the notion of nest-building fish with ridicule ; nevertheless, as they with little trouble and much pleasure to them- selves can prove that many, if not all of the species of Sticklebacks, those well known inhabitants of every pool left by the winter's Hoods, and every ditch communicating with a river, do build nests for the concealment of their eggs and the protection of their young, is a matter placed beyond all doubt. The present writer having heard the fact reported, and read that such was the case in some popular works, but not finding it confirmed at first hand by any of the more respectable writers on Ichthyology— Yarrell not even alluding to it in the first edition of his "British Fishes," although an instance is quoted in a subsequent edition of that work, to which the writer has not had access— determined to do his utmost to put the matter beyond all doubt, at least as regarded himself, bearing in mind that non-success would prove nothing against the assertion as regards the fish in a state of nature when food and situation were favourable, while, on the other hand, success would most triumphantly prove it. An aquarium, about nine inches deep and from fifteen to eighteen in diameter, was procured, and a layer of sand an inch or two in thickness, and some large stones placed therein (this sand was procured from a brook in order that animalcules suitable as food might be present in the water), and some Anacharis and other water plants planted in it. The aquarium was then left to itself for some time, in order that the plants might take root, and the animalcules propagate themselves. Two pairs of sticklebacks we procured about the middle of April ; the males having already put on their spring dress of scarlet and green, and the females being full of spawn. After some clays a small hole was observed in t lie sand near a large stone. To this hole one of the males was paying the most assiduous and extraordi- nary attentions : he would poise himself at an angle of forty-five degrees or thereabout, and commence a tremendous motion of his whole body, making the centre the pivot, and at the same lime beating the water with his fins. This motion increased regularly in rapidity [for a minute or so, when it ceased abruptly, and the fish darted off either in pursuit of some tresspasser whom he chastised (the females not even being exempt), or to obtain materials to Fig. 1. Three-spined Stickleback and nest. increase his nest. These consisted of pieces of stick or moss, which, being saturated with water, were of such gravity as to prevent their rising. He deposited these with great care, leaving a beauti- fully rounded hole in the middle, and then having procured a mouthful of sand laid it over the looser materials to cement them together. When completed, the nest resembled a flattened haycock. Eor about a week after its completion it seemed deserted, but one morning it was found that some eggs had been laid. These for the size of the fish are very large, being about as large as a middling- sized shot ; they hatched in about from ten days to a fortnight, the young fish remaining in the nest until the yolk-bag was absorbed, when, being large enough to look after themselves, they went their ways, the parent who had so tenderly guarded them took no further heed of them, and himself died, such being the case iu both instances which came under notice, both parents sickening and dying from the effects of spawning and watching, or perhaps from the aquarium not being fitted for their recovery. Erom the time of the eggs being laid until the dispersion of the young fish, the male was continu- ally hovering over them in the manner described ; SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 186G. and so great was his pugnacity that he would attack a stick, or even the finger if put near him ; but the most remarkable instance of his pugilistic disposition was manifested when a caddis ventured near his charge : he would immediately seize it and carry it quite across the aquarium ; this being the more re- markable as he did not touch it until it moved, thus perhaps showing that in his judgment, if not in the judgment of many pisciculturalists, the caddis would devour or otherwise injure the spawn. It is remarkable that the male plays the part of mamma in every way, the female taking no heed of her off- spring. Thus much for the common three-spined stickle- back's nest. The nest of the ten-spined stickleback is said to be barrel-shaped and [placed, not on the bottom, but among the stems and leaves of plants. No doubt some who read this may like to try the experiment themselves. Nothing can be easier ; all there is to add is this : let your aquarium be without fish for some time ; perhaps it would be better with- out even snails. Do not omit to feed them with small worms every day, and, above all, do not over crowd them. Aphides or Plant-bugs. — The plant -bugs (Aphides) are insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, that is to say, to the group which in- cludes the Cicadidae, Cimicida) (bugs), &c. They form a very extensive genus, whose species are even yet far from being^all known. These insects arc genuine parasites, living upon vegetables, and in these temperate climates there is hardly a single plant but what supports its own species of Aphis, cither upon its stems, or its leaves, or about its roots. Many species of Aphis maybe classed among the noxious insects. Reaumur discovered that the punctures made by them, when in sufficient quantity, • not only exhausted the plants, but gave rise to nodular swellings, and to alteration of the tissues. The laniger plant-bug {Lachnus laniger), which attacks apple-trees especially, has on many occa- sions destroyed the plantations of Normandy. This species, which is one of the disastrous results of commercial intercommunication with other countries, was found in England, according to M. Tougard, in 1787. In 1812, it had reached the Erench depart- ments of C6tes-du-Nord, Manche, and Calvados. In 1818, it made its appearance in Paris in the garden of the " Ecole de Pharmacie ; " it was seen in the departments of the SeineTnferieure, the Somme, and the Aisne, in 1822. Einally, it was dis- covered in Belgium in 1827. This formidable little insect has for some years held its sway in the southern departments, no means of destroying it having been discovered. — mQitat 'refuges' Metamor- phoses. THE GREATER SPOTTED WOOD-PECKER. IN a recent number of the Zoologist (March, 1864), Mr. Maurice describes his observations respecting the Greater Spotted Wood-pecker, which had attracted my notice when in Oaxaca forty years ago ; and as I consider wood-peckers exceedingly clever birds, and capable of performing acts that would seem to denote, or require something more than instinct, I have been surprised not to find any explanation or suggestion regarding the wonderful provision made by the Great Spotted Wood-peckers for storing their winter food. It is in the higher regions of the Cordilleras that the habits of the numerous species of wood-pecker may be advantageously studied. In some such localities a large and very beautiful wood-pecker exhibits the most marvellous indications of fore- thought and design. The acorn is its principal food, the storing of which is performed, I suppose, by the wood-pecker taking the precise measurement of an acorn, and then making a hole in the bark of the pitch- (or candle-) pine so exactly the size and shape of the acorn that it must cost some trouble to pack it the narrow end foremost (which it invariably does), and the part that was attached to the cup, outside, but not protruding from the bark. I have seen trees in Oaxaca upwards of 100 feet high, so completely stuffed with acorns, that it seemed im- possible to find a place for an additional one. Trees thus treated have a very singular appearance. Some years ago (either 1854 or 1855) I saw in the Athe- ncBiim a similar discription to my own by a traveller in California, who considered that his observations were something quite new. But I have never seen any reason given, any guess hazarded, as to why the wood-pecker acts so wisely as he does in selecting the pitch-pine alone for storing his food. Why not take the white-fhy the cedar, alder, or hundreds of other trees that to an waobservant person would appear equally, if not better adapted to the purpose ? The question remains still unanswered as to why the wood-pecker prefers the pitch-pine? I therefore venture to offer my own explanation. In the forests the wood-peckers inhabit, there is scarcely, an oak-tree without a squirrel skipping along its branches. When the acorns are shed, or rotting, or producing young oaks, the squirrels have to look for food elsewhere. If the woodpeckers stored their food in the bark of the Cedar, White- Pine, or almost any other tree, the squirrels would find no difficulty in gnawing their way to the wood- pecker's dinner. But they are too wise to attempt to extract a single acorn from the bark of the Pitch- Pine, for they would have to gnaw into turpentine, and would be laughed at by the woodpeckers for their pains. E. G. Jan. 1, 1866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. THE HOUSE SPIDER. SPIDERS are not now ranked among insects ; because, as the handbooks of entomology state, "they have no antennae, no division between the head and the thorax ; they breathe by leaf-shaped gills situated under the belly instead of spiracles in the sides ; have a heart connected with these ; have eight legs instead of six, and six or eight fixed eyes. With the exception of the dragon-fly, whose head is terribly armed, there is not, perhaps, another creature possessed of such a fearful array of weapons as the spider. These weapons form beautiful micro- scopic objects, and as such they deserve attention. The house spider (Aranea domestica) has eight simple eyes ; these are set in two rows in the upper part of the head, and beneath them are the two larger jaws or mandibles ; each of these mandibles contains a number of teeth, and is terminated by a large claw, a portion of the inner side of which is finely serrated. The number of teeth in a mandible is perhaps variable : there are eight in the specimens from which the figure given in this paper has been taken (fig. 2), but sometimes five only have been found. The claws frequently vary somewhat in the curvature of their ends, and are more finely pointed in some instances than in others. I have read somewhere that the action of these claws is downward : this I have not been able to verify, for in the cases in which I have seen them in action, they were nearly horizontal, having only a slight inclination downward; and in the cast skins of hair is perhaps used to clean the teeth of the op- posite maxilla. ^PPB Fig. 2. Mandible of Spider. to be found on old walls, the claws lie close to the mandibles, and in a horizontal direction. Beneath the mandibles are the maxillae (fig. 3), or smaller jaws, each of these contains a row of very fine teeth, and at the end of each row there is a thick tuft of hair. The teeth are so placed that in all probability the two rows work against each other, aud each tuft Fig. 3. Maxillae of Spider. With the assistance of an ordinary pocket magnify- ing glass the action of the mandibles may be dis- tinctly seen. It is a curious thing to watch a spider making a repast of a fly ; to see with what dexterity it uses each mandible alternately, as, with the greatest ease, it turns the body of the fly round, and presses it until it becomes a shapeless mass of juicy pulp. The mandibles contain the poison, and the poison duct may be traced to the extremity of the claw, if the latter be sufficiently bleached before mounting. The rapidity and fatality of the action of the poison has frequently been a subject of remark; the following simple observation sets it in a clear light. A stout fly became entangled in the web of a spider : quick as lightning, out darts the spider and seizes the fly, and equally quick was the interference to the rescue; it was relieved and set at liberty, the fly then walked smartly up a window-pane, stopped a- while, brushed its wings with its hind feet, rubbed its feet, and dressed itself ; this was the action of a minute. It then walked about again, apparently all right. Presently it stood without motion, and after a few seconds, when touched, it was found to be scarcely able to raise its feet, and after a few seconds more it was quite dead. Much interesting matter relative to insects may easily be obtained by the exercise of a little patient and continued observation. The above has been written with the desire of calling the attention of the general reader to a few of the wonderful things in the common objects of nature, and pointing out to the young microscopist two objects easily found upon which the first efforts at mounting may be successfully exercised. Lewis G. Mills, LL.B., Armagh. SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan.], 1866. IMPERFECTLY DEVELOPED PLANTS. AS the record of variations in plants, and of ab- normal forms, seems to be interesting to many of the readers of Science-Gossip, I make no other apology for contributing a second chapter on the same subject. Fig. 4. Fig-. 5. In a very rich piece of newly broken-up ground I gathered, a few years ago, some leaves of Dande- lion (Fig. 4), which, owing to luxuriant growth, had become enormously large and much more deeply cut than usual, being, in fact, li-runcinatc. Leaves often become more deeply cut from poverty, and more simple through luxuriance, but in this case the extra cutting was undoubtedly caused by the rich- ness of the soil, there being several similar plants, each of which was nearly two feet across. In another case, however, of Horse-radish (Fig. 5), the radical leaves of nearly all the plants in my garden became last year so deeply cut as to be almost pinnate. This was no doubt caused by the dryness of the season. The horse-radish is a plant which loves a cool, moist soil, establishing itself by the side of water, and in the half-dry beds of rivers, where it grows luxuriantly, and the continued drought impoverished the plants. It is quite the character of the order Cricctferae to have pinnatifid or lyratc leaves, and it is somewhat remarkable that the horse-radish, in an unhealthy state, should so much more resemble the other plants of the tribe than it does when properly grown. I met with a leaf of White-Clover {Trifoliwm repens) in the autumn, in which the leaflets have a tendency to become pinnate (Fig. 6). An appearance Fig. 6. something like this often takes place when the tip of a leaf has been bitten whilst folded up, every leaflet being equally injured, but this seems so regularly formed that I think it is a natural mon- strositv. Fig;. 7. Figure 7 is a drawing of a not unfrequent form of Plantain (Plai/tagu lanceolata), which has become proliferous, producing small flower-heads on foot- stalks and several leaves from the base of the flower. Gathered at Beaumaris during the last summer. Jan. 1, 1866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 9 Fig. 8 is a very interesting example of Marvel of Peru {Mirabilis jalapa), which lias grown in my garden during the last summer. This plant, belongs to the natural order Nyctaginacesc, a tribe in which there is no corolla, but the calyx becomes coloured, and is placed, solitary or clustered, in an involucre Whilst at Llanberis during the past summer, I found, in the garden of the hotel where we were staying, a curious flower of Weigelia, very similar in its ab- normal development to a primrose which I described Fig. 8. of leafy bracts. In the case of the Marvel of Peru, however, no one would suppose, from merely looking at the flower, but that there was a beautiful crimson or yellow or streaked monopetalous corolla placed within an ordinary green calyx of five sepals. Botanists tell us, however, that this corolla is no corolla at all, but a calyx, and that what we supposed to be calyx is only bracts. In the specimen figured, two of these coloured perianths have grown within one pseudo-calyx, showing that the latter organ is really an involucre, and establishing the relationship of this plant with Nyctago and other genera in which the nature of the involucral leaves cannot be mis- taken. Such specimens have been observed before, and been made use of in proving the affinities of Mirabilis. I have several times noticed a curious variety of the Common Columbine {Aquilegia vulgaris), which I think comes up the same year after year, but on this point I am not sure. The flower of this variety is entirely destitute of the horn-shaped hollow petals so characteristic of the plant, but their place is taken by a second and often third ring of flat leaves, which are either altered petals or multiplied sepals, and which give the flower very much the appearance of the double form of Love-in-a-mist (Nigella), minus the pectinated involucre. I made no drawing of this variety at the time, but the following outline from memory will serve to explain it sufficiently (Pig. 9). a b Fig. 9. a. normal ; b. abnormal. of Science-Gossip. There was a corolla of the usual shape and size, which contained only one perfect stamen, all the other internal organs being couverted into a short branch, upon the base of which were placed two or three leaflike greenish bracts, and on the summit a second corolla, rather irregular in shape and containing half-developed stamens and pistil. The flowers of the double-blossomed Cherry, which are so great an ornament in our gardens in May, always show us some interesting examples of ab- normal development. The duplication of the flower is effected by the conversion of some of the numerous stamens into petals, a considerable number of the sta- mens remaining still unchanged, so that if the pistils were perfect, there would be no reason why the double-blossomed cherry should not always produce fruit. If the flowers be examined, however, the pistil will be found to have suffered change, becoming, not a new series of petals, but two little green leaves, folded one within the other, in the centre of the flower. Now and then the pistil remains perfect, and if it happen to be fertilized by the stamens it grows, and we do find occasionally one or two ripe cherries on a tree. Last year I observed on a tree in my own garden, that in very many of the flowers the two little central green leaves had become a regular calyx enclosing a second double-flower. The Poet's Narcissus (N~. poeticas), which we in Cheshire call by the pretty name of " Sweet Nancy," is very curious in its manner of duplication. I have many patches of it, some of which are semi-double, being either double ones reverting to single, or single ones becoming double, I know not which ; and in these the way in which the flower becomes double may be well seen. A single flower consists of six leaves united into a tube, around the mouth of which stands the crimson cup-shaped nectary, six stamens being attached to the sides of the tube. 10 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1S66. If one of these semi-double flowers be examined, it will be found that each stamen has become, not merely a new petal, but actually a new flower, for it forms a tube, the mouth of which consists of, on one side a crimson nectary, on the other a white petal (fig. 10, a), and frequently, attached to this nectary, a bristle (fig. 10, b), which I take to be a rudimentary stamen. These six new petals do not unite like the outer petals of the flower, but are always distinct from each other ; and if the flower becomes quite double, it is by a multiplication of these inner florets, the change sometimes extending itself to the pistil, which separates into three unshapely petals. Fig. 10. In the autumn my children brought me half-a- dozen double damsons which were all found on one tree. The old order Rosacea is, now-a-days, broken up into several minor orders, one of which is Brupaceee, which is distinguished from Rosacea; proper mainly by there being only one ovary in the flower instead of several, this one ovary becoming eventually what we call a " stone fruit." If any plum tree be examined whilst in blossom, one can scarcely fail in finding a few flowers in which there are two, three, or more pistils and as many carpels, showing a tendency in the order Drupacese "to assume one of the distinguishing characters of Roseworts," as noticed by the late Dr. Lindley in his " Vegetable Kingdom " (Order Drupacea:, p. 557). Generally, I think, these polygynous flowers drop off. Sometimes, no doubt, one carpel will come to maturity and the others will dwindle away, and we have only a one-celled fruit from several pistils, as is the rule in Cocoa-nuts, Hazel-nuts, and many other plants. But occasionally all the pistils become fertilized, and the result is a compound fruit as in the present instance. More than one botanical friend has remarked to me upon the prevalence of monstrous forms of flowers during the past summer. As far as my own experience goes, I have not found them more plenti- ful than usual ; indeed, I think that a wet season is generally more productive of abnormal growth than a dry one, such as we have had. But I am rather inclined to think that 1 do see, last year, some little difference in the character of the abnormal forms; that, whereas, in ordinary seasons, the tendency in monstrous flowers is a reversion to leaves ; this has not been so much the case during the dry, hot summer of 1865. Robert Holland. VEGETABLE E1BRES. A Ta recent meeting of the Quekett Microscopical -£^- Club, a paper was read on the application of the microscope to the discrimination of vegetable fibres. The object of this communication was to point out what had been done, and to suggest what remained to be accomplished, and the best mode of performing it. Although adulterations of food have been well cared for and deeply investigated, adul- terations or admixtures in fabrics, whether of animal or vegetable origin, have hitherto obtained but little attention. Yet, it is urged, the subject is an important one and well deserving systematic re- search. All fibres employed for commercial pur- poses may be divided into four classes, two of which are animal — /. e., wool and silk — and two vegetable ; which may be termed vascular and cellular. Wool has a peculiar structure, readily to be dis- tinguished from all other animal and vegetable fibres (fig. 11, b), and differing slightly in its own varieties, Fi£. 11. O. Cotton ; 0. Wool ; c. Silk. as may be seen by reference to a paper on hairs in our first volume. (Vol. i. p. 29.) Yet we have no work of authority, and no reliable figures of the microscopic appearances of different qualities and classes of wool, even of those ordinarily met with in commerce. It must be possible to characterize mi- croscopic features whereby Saxony can be distin- guished from South-down, and Australian from East Indian. Silk (fig. 11, c) is more uniform in its character, Jan. 1, 1806.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 11 and the difficulty would be greater to point out the features which distinguish the produce of the mul- berry worm from that of the Tussch of India, the Moonga or Erie of Assam, and the Aiiaute of recent introduction into Europe. Vegetable fibres of the cellular kind are hairs which invest the seeds of certain plants, Cotton being of the chief importance (fig. 11, a). This has been described as a flat band with thickened margins, and a delicate tracery down the centre ; much twisted throughout its length. This may appear to be the structure on a superficial examination of the dried cotton, but the normal structure is certainly that of a cylindrical hair with thin walls, readily collapsing and twisting as it becomes dry, its ap- parent margin being formed by incomplete compres- sion and the resistance at the edges as seen in the following section of a fresh ( fig. 12, a) and dried hair (b). The supposed tracery is an optical illusion, Fig. 12. caused by the irregular wrinkling of the two oppo- site walls when in contact. Very important investi- gations on this subject have been commenced in Manchester. Are there really any distinguishable microscopic differences between Sea Island and Egyptian, New Orleans and African, or between Brazilian and Surat ? Vascular fibres are derived either from the inner bark (liber) of exogenous or the vascular bundles of the leaves of endogenous plants. Each of these groups would possess their own peculiar features. Fig. 13. a. Flax ; b. Jute. The most important of liber-fibres is Elax, obtained from the common flax plant (Lhmm usitatissiriwm) . This possesses a variable market value according to country or climate of production. It is natural to inquire whether the microscope can detect differences between Irish and Belgian, or between Egyptian and Spanish flax. In I860, Dr. Eorbes Watson com- municated an important paper to the Society of Arts, in which the microscopic character of vege- table fibres received more attention than had ever before been given to the subject, and since that period nothing has been attempted in advance. The woodcuts used to illustrate these observations were prepared for that occasion, and have been kindly placed at our disposal by Dr. Watson. The micro- scopic characters we are about to give are those which then accompanied the illustrations. The Jlct.c fibre (fig. 13, a) presents at varying dis- tances certain characteristic cross markings, the outlines of the fibres are hard and smooth, and the ultimate fibiilke can seldom be detected until care- fully detached from the ordinary fibres. A strong fibre is obtained from the Chinese nettle, or Rhea, (see S. Gos., vol. i. p. 277), known botani- cally as Bmhmeria nivea, and sometimes called China-grass. Under the microscope its fibres present a peculiarly rough appearance, and when viewed by reflected light have an appearance not unlike frosted grass. Another Indian nettle, called the Neilgherry Nettle {Urtica lieterophylla), of which a figure has already been given (vol. i. p. 270), yields a similar but more woolly fibre. (Eig. 14, b.) Under the Fig. 14. a. Chinese nettle ; b. Neil gherry nettle ; c. Bedolee. microscope it exhibits considerably greater asperi- ties than the Rhea, and has been recommended as a substitute or for admixture with wool. A com- parison of the two figures (fig. 11, b, and fig. 14, it) will prove that such an admixture could readily be detected. The fibre of the Mudar {Calotropis procera) is similar in commercial value, but characteristically 12 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1SGG. different in microscopical structure (fig. 15, c). It is not unlike flax without its transverse markings. Fig. 15. a. Bariala; b. Ambaree; c. Mudar. The ultimate fibres are distinctly to be seen in the ordinary bundles, which is not the case with flax. A creeping plant called Bedolee (Paderia focticla) abounds in Assam, and yields a silky fibre possessed of great strength and flexibility. Under the microscope (fig. 14, fibre much valued for its tenacity. The ultimate fibres (fig. 17, b) are regular Fig. 1". a. Sunn; b. Jetee ; c. Dhunchee. in diameter, with slight rugosites on the surface. Dhunchee {Sesbania aculeala) has a very regular fibre (fig. 17, c), with a somewhat woody structure. We arrive now at the second group of vascular fibres, namely, those afforded by endogenous plants, of which the most important is that afforded by the Pine-afple (Anauassa sativa). Under the micro- scope they have a somewhat opalescent, glass-like appearance, and arc very refractive. Jan. 1, 1SGG.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 13 Manilla Hem?, the produce of a species of plan- tain (vol. i. p. 232) called by botanists Musa textilis, presents but little variation from other endo- genous fibres, except in the presence of distinct cross-markings (fig. 18, c). Fig-. 18. a. Pineapple; b. New Zealand flax ; c. Manilla hemp. The New Zealand Elax (Plionnium ten ax) has a peculiar flossy appearauce under the microscope. (Eig IS, b.) Of a vastly different character are the coarser fibres, which remain to be noticed. Fig. ig. a. Cocoa-nut coir; b. Ejoo. Corn, the product of the cocoa-nut palm {Cocos rti/c/fcra), (fig. 19, a), and Ejoo, the black fibres which surround the bases of the leaf-stalks and trunk of the Gomuti palm (Sc. Gos., vol. i. p. 77), Arevcja sacharifera. The figures of these fibres (fig. 19) will render description unnecessary. It is desirable that the investigations thus com- menced should be proceeded with, that a larger number of fibres should be examined, and their cha- racters ascertained, and especially that those already examined should he viewed with higher powers, sub- jected to chemical action, and viewed under all cir- cumstances. Polarization may bring new features into notice, and boiling in nitric acid should be tried. The figures in the Micrographical Dictionary, which exhibit some of the foregoing fibres after treatment with nitric acid, may be referred to, as in- dicating that the present is only initiative of a larger and more comprehensive work which still remains to be accomplished. At the last meeting of the Quekett Microscopical Club, a sub-committee was appointed to examine microscopically the different varieties of commercial fibres, with the view of ascertaining if distinct cha- racters could be found whereby one kind might be discriminated from another, and to report thereon. SIMPLE OBJECTS.-X. The Scale or the Perch. 'A r FISH scales are readily available for micro- scopic objects, and those of the Sole are often recommended ; but the scale of the common fresh water Perch is quite as interesting, and less commonly used. Those of the Roach and Dace are by no means to be despised. Scales are generally mounted dry, being first cleaned; but when it is intended to view them with the polariscopc, they must be mounted in balsam. There is so much of character in the scales of different species of fish that it is a matter for surprise that so few of the cabinets of amateurs contain even a respectable series. There are no difficulties to be surmounted either in procuring, cleaning, or mounting them ; and perhaps this is one reason why they have not had the attention they deserve.* * Consult " Micrographic Dictionary," p. 6o7, and " Davies on Preparing and Mounting Microscopic Objects," pp. 53, 78. 14 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1SC6. ECONOMIC FOUNTAIN FOR AQUARIA. THE MOA OE NEW ZEALAND. A very interesting volume, entitled " The World -£*- before the Deluge," by Louis Eiguicr, has re- cently been translated into English, in a very satis- factory manner, and published in this country. From this work, which is profusely illustrated, \vc have borrowed a woodcut representing the Dinornis, re- stored to what is believed to have been its natural iillm,lilia.illMUIIII,liiyii!m|||,||inlm;,;,ii1,,||lwl,!l:»iili,,hllllll,,,m.u.lii]lilliliillLllil Fig. 21. A S the water in my marine aquarium requires -£*- aerating pretty frequently, and as syringing is too troublesome, I have contrived a small fountain, of which I send a sketch and description. d is a wide-mouthed bottle, in the cork of which are drilled three holes. Through these holes pass respectively the three glass tubes, a, b, and c ; the latter reaching nearly to the bottom, the other two only passing through the cork, a is a wide tube with a funnel-shaped top, B is plain, and c is slightly bent at the top, where there is attached to it (by means of a piece of iudian-rubber tubing) a long tube, e, which is bent up and drawn to a point at its other extremity. The cork and tubes should fit perfectly. To set the fountain in action, fill the bottle, and when it is full, continue to pour water gently into the funnel until it is above the level of the bend in the tube c, when a little will flow over into the long leg e of the syphon. The water will then of course continue to flow until the level of the water in the bottle falls below the mouth of the tube c. The tube b is for the escape of the air while filling. Care should be taken to keep the bottle clean, and free from particles of sand and grit, or these will get into the pipe and stop the jet. Fig-. 22. The Diimvnls, restored. appearance. Writing of the post-pliocene period, the author remarks : "Two gigantic birds seem to have lived in New Zealand during this epoch. The Dinornis, which, if we may judge from the tibia, which is upwards of three feet long, and from its eggs, which are much larger than those of the ostrich, must have been of most extraordinary size for a bird. As to the Epiornis, the egg only lias been found." At the meeting of the Zoological Society, held on the 12th of December, Mr. W. H. Flower communi- cated some notes from Dr. Hector, Director of the Geological Survey, New Zealand, upon the bones of various species of Dinornis, which had been exhibited in the New Zealand Exhibition, recently held at Dunedin. We were led into an error in our last number (page 2S2), in stating that the Moa's egg was sold for Jan. 1, 1SCG.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 15 £120. It is true that this was the highest bidding, but there was a reserve beyond that sum, and we are told that the egg is to be repacked and sent back to New Zealand, as its owner is not disposed to part with it at the price. FOSSIL-WOOD IN FLINT. IN searching for fossils a few weeks ago iu an ex- cavation made in this neighbourhood, for the purpsse of getting chalk for the manufacture of whiting, 1 met with a fine specimen of fossil-wood embedded in a large tabular flint. With difficulty I succeeded in removing the greater part of it, together with a portion of adherent flint. The specimen measured eight inches in length, and seven in circumference. It is silicious throughout, bears traces of bark, and is riddled in places with circular holes, which are filled with pellets of flint ; the holes having been most likely bored by teredines before the wood had become petrified. As the silicified fibres when microscopically examined exhibit rows of circular dots, similar to those seen on the fibres of coniferous wood, there is little doubt that the speci- men is part of a pine-branch. The chalk in which the fossil was found is of the kind known as upper chalk, as it is interstratified at intervals of about six feet with densely packed layers of flints, some of which are of immense size, and when broken are often found to contain beautiful specimens of silici- fied arborescent sponge, coloured with oxyde of iron. Some of the hollow nodular fliuts are lined with ex- quisitely coloured mammillated calcedony. The chalk itself is not very fossiliferous, having succeeded in finding only a few Terebratulce with one or two of the commoner Echini; but the workmen had picked up from time to time several small pieces of petrified wood, which were also found to be coniferous. That such discoveries are sometimes noticed in scientific journals would lead to the conclusion that petrified wood is not common in chalk. The Geolo- gical 'Magazine for July last contains a notice, with a figure of a similar fossil, found also in the Hamp- shire chalk, near Winchester. The specimen is now in the Oxford Museum. Professor Phillips, the Avriter of the article, describes it as " a fragment worn and rounded in some of the prominent parts;" and adds that " it looks like a small portion of a pine-branch which had been exposed to rough treatment, so as to present a wasted surface de- prived of the bark. It is entirely silicious, and reveals in the utmost perfection the whole of the tissues." He then continues : " Traversing the woody fibres are several short tabular masses, swollen at the end, and marked more or less plainly with trans- verse rings. These are flint moulds in cavities left by boring shells, probably teredines. It appears that these animals must have begun their operations in a young state on the wood when it had been reduced to its present figure and magnitude ; for the moulds which remain in their holes appear to be quite small at the surface and quickly to grow larger within." Prom the engraving the wood would be about live inches long, aud one inch and a quarter broad, at- tached to a good-sized piece of flint. J. S., St. Mary Bourne, Hants. ZOOLOGY. Red-breasted Fly-catcher (JIuscicapa parca) . —Mr. E. H. Rodd has addressed the following letter to Dr. Gray, on the occurrence of this bird at Scilly :— " It may be interesting to you to know that another example of Muscicapa parm, very nearly in the same state of plumage as its predecessor at Scilly, was captured on Sunday week at Trescoe Isle, Scilly. The variation in its plumage consists in the scapularies and wing-coverts being more decidedly bordered with rufus. This, I think, shows it to be a bird of the year. I expect it breeds in Britain."— Penzance-, Nov. 14. (See also Annals of Nat. Hist., 18G3, vol. XL, p. 229 ; Zoologist, p. 8445.) The Glow-worm in Australia. — Those are mistaken who believe that the little luminous worm of this colony never displays its light nuless the soil is disturbed. The first time that I observed it was in the passage at the back of an old bush house near Mount Elephant, one very wet night. The rain had beaten in under the door, and the boards were wet and dirty. I was surprised at the brilliant light, so like that of the English glow-worm, and having carried one luminous speck into a lighted room, found it to be from a little whitish, semi- transparent worm, of which several specimens might have been collected from the floor and door-posts — Wm. Adeny. The Glow-worm. — It may be worth recording in Science-Gossip that I saw a glow-worm giving out a brilliant light, last evening, in a hedgerow near my house. It was about 7 o'clock. I never before saw a specimen later than September. — IF. W. Spice r, Itc/ien Abbas, Hants, Dec. 8, 1SG5. Bird Slaughter. — The President of the Naturalists' Pield Club (the Rev. G. C. Abbs) stated on Thursday, at the anniversary meeting of the club, that he had been calculating the number of caterpillars which the 6,000 sparrows killed by a member of a "sparrow club" in Essex, and for which he had actually received a prize of 10s., would have eaten. The amount was 0,307,000,000. While the clod-hoppers of Essex are killing sparrows by the thousand, the Australian colonists are im- porting them at a considerable expense from Eng- land, to act the part of protectors of the crops, and thereby of promoters of the comforts of the people. — Gateshead Observer. 16 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1SGG. Eleas. — Perhaps S. J. MTntire will allow me to make a small addition to the account of the Cat Elea. He says he has not seen the larva? of the common flea. Once, in a hot part, where fleas are rather too common,1 I found a blanket abounding with their eggs and grubs. When I was a boy we took some trouble to see the habits, &c, of fleas. I got a glass tube, about two inches long, and put some cotton wool lightly into the upper part of it, with two or three fleas. The other end was stopped with a cork, and to find them I used to take this out and apply the open part to the back of the hand, when the fleas made no trouble about] coming down and having a feast. In this way I kept them for some time, and they laid their eggs and hatched their larva}. Put the life of these I did not trace any further. Talking about different kinds of fleas, I would mention that our English ones are much lighter in colour than those found in Africa. They attach their eggs to the fibres of the wool or flannel. Whether they always lay the same number I do not know, but I have one I preserved many years ago, and it has five eggs of a plain oval shape. — E. T. Scott. Late Appeauaxce of Swallows. — Amongst the many characteristics of the extraordinary weather we have had this year none is more remarkable than the late period to which the Swallows have remained with us. The main body of them left us at this place on the 10th October. Almost every year it may be remarked that a few will be seen again about the middle of November, and accordingly this year a few made their appearance on the 12th and 13th November. Put on the 4th of this month a few were again playing about, the weather on that day being remarkably stormy. To my surprise, however, several House Martins appeared again yesterday, the 10th. The weather was fine; the wind east ; and at 3 p.m., when they were flying about, the thermometer was 4S3. I noticed upon this last occasion that they kept in their flight very close along the western side of the houses in the park here, and were only out between 2 and 3 p.m. They appeared very brisk and lively, but evidently did not like to get out of the warm stratum of air immediately in contact with the houses. On the 4th, however, they were flying high up in the air on the eastern as well as the western side of the houses, the thermometer at that time being 4° higher than on the 10th. Naturalists have long been puzzled to make out where these late stragglers hide themselves, and how they subsist apparently so long without food; and also whether they eventually migrate, or remain with us till the weather kills them. A curious fact in relation to this subject came to my knowledge about, twenty years ago. In removing the framework of an old clock in the tower of Oswestry Church, in order to put in a new clock, the skeletons of many scores of Swifts and Swallows (?) were found in the hollow places behind the frame of the clock. A colony of Swifts always frequented the tower every year, and they had evidently found access to the space behind the wooden frame of the face of the clock, which pro- jected about a foot in front of the stonework. These skeletons were apparently of all ages, most of them, if I remember rightly, full grown, and the feathers adhering to them. The sexton brought me a hat full of them, and said there were great numbers of them which the workmen had turned out. I regret that I did not examine them accurately at the time, to see if they were all Swifts, or some of them Swallows. Nor do I know whether Swifts and Swallows will breed in harmony in the same places. Put how came these scores of skeletons there ? The only conclusion I could draw was that some of the birds every year were either the produce of a second hatching, and so perhaps too weak to migrate with the rest, or else that, having been accidentally injured, they were unable to encounter the flight to warmer latitudes, and so remained behind and perished. The appearance of Swallows so late as the 10th of December is certainly a very remark- able occurrence. I have not " White's Natural History of Selborne," at hand, to sec what is the latest date at which he observed Swallows, but I think the very late period to which they have remained with us this year is worth recording in your interesting journal of Science-Gossip. — T. Salweij, Dec. 11. iEGEON Alfobdi. — In my hunts on our coast during this week I have had the pleasure of coming upon four specimensof the Anemone 2Egeon alfordi. On Tuesday, December 5th, I brought home two from the pools, formed by large stones and boulders, on the beach in Porth Crapa Pay, on the south side of St. Mary's. On Wednesday, the Gth, I found another in the same wilderness of stones, nearer low water mark ; and on Thursday, the 7th, I came upon the fourth in a narrow crevice of a ledge of granite under the Garrison Hill, running out into the roads on the north side of St. Mary's. All these, unlike the first specimens I found, were more or less imbedded in sand, much after the manner of Tealia crassiconris. The bases of all were expanded beyond the column, and of a red color. The column in all is very flexuous and distensible, the surfcae being divided into squares, with fine pellucid lines, each square containing a small crimson wart. The disc is cup-shaped. The tentacles arc long and flexuous, but much more so in one specimen than in the other three. One I found witli the tentacles quite hidden, but they were more concealed by the swelliug of the upper part of the column than by their own retraction. As to colour, the columns of all the specimens were much like the one described by Mr. Pope, but in two red prevailed chiefly ; in Jan. 1, 1S66.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 17 the others a neutral tint. The tentacles vary much ; in one they are of a grass green ; in the other three shades of grey and violet specked with white. Two of the latter have a rim of bright crimson round the mouth, and these have the rays of the disc more clearly marked than the others. The largest of the four, which is least attractive in its colouring, stands about five inches high without the column being fully stretched, and more than five inches in diameter of flower. Turning to another branch of natural history, you may like to hear that a Great Northern Diver, in mature plumage, was brought to me alive yesterday. It was found on the beach at Porth Crepa, too weak to make any effort to escape. It was probably driven here from a great distance by the recent storms, for, though it was miserably poor, it refused fresh fish, and died in the morning, apparently of exhaustion. It is twenty-two inches long. — I). P. Alford, Dec. 9. Late Swallows. — Hearing, last week, Swallows have been seen on the wing in Norwich and its vicinity, I wished to ascertain the truth of such an unusual occurrence. On inquiry, I found the state- ment to be correct. A friend of mine informed me that on the 4th and 5th instant he saw them at Carrow and Bracondale, and on the 6th, 7th, and 8th they were circling round the Castle Hill; but their flight in both cases was languid. I can only suppose these birds were hatched too late in the autumn to gain strength enough of wing to migrate with the rest of their companions. Has any corre- spondent noticed a similar appearance of these birds in any other part of England ? — E. J., Norwich, Dec. 11. Phosphorescence of the Sea. — In the number of Science-Gossip for November there is an article on the Phosphorescence of the Sea — that when animalculse of any kind are concerned, the light always proceeds from an electrical spark. I do not undertake to say, though I cannot help fancying it does, from many experiments I have made. There is a small kind of Medusa to be found on some parts of the coast, which I have caught sometimes when the sea has been luminous. It is about half an inch in diameter, and of an hemispherical shape, with, I think, five rays proceeding from the centre to the circumference. This shows the light very beautifully, and can be examined in the microscope. By touch- ing any one of the rays, or the part of the body where they are situated, the animal seems to be irritated, and a small spark of light, just like a spark of electricity, is emitted along that ray, and may be repeated at any one of the others. The shape of the animal— a kind of plain convex lens- causes the light at a little distance to illuminate the whole body; but it will always be found to be a sudden spark along one of the rays, and is evidently voluntary, being given out at that part of the body which is touched, and in colour and appearance exactly resembles a very minute electrical spark, perfectly sharp and distinct, not at all like the light from dead shell-fish— E. T. Scott. Guano and Guano-birds. — Much has been spoken about the Guano Islands during the last war between Spain and Peru. The three Chincha Islands contain more than 12,000,000 tons of it; the contents of the Lobos, Guanape, and other small islands is not known. Prom 1S11— first year of the exploitation— to the 31st December, 18G0, the exportation amounted to -1,026,] 71 tons, valuing 200 million dollars, or average value 10 millions of piastres a year; the exportation of 1861 reached 11 million dollars. The following birds are the great contributors to the produce :— The variegated gannet or Piquero (Dysporus variegatus, Ch. B.) ; different sorts of sea-gulls, or Gaciota (Blasipus Bridgesii, Ch. B. &c, &c.) ; the Alcatraz {Pelecanits s. Onocro- talus tliagus, Wagler.) ; the inca tern or Zarcillo (Sterna inca, Less.) ; the Potoyunnco {Pufinuria Gamotii, Less.) ; the Pdjaro nino (Spheniscus Hum- boldt/) ; different sorts of cormorants, or Cuervos de mar (Carbo cormoramis), (Stictocarbo Gaimardi, Ch. B.), (Hppoleucus Bougainmllii, Less.) ; the Anldnga (Plotus anldnga, L.), &c. — Bernardin. Bees and Eruit. — The season for collecting honey this year was very short. After Midsummer my bees did not add to their stores. When the fruit became ripe they took the place of the wasps, which are very scarce. I don't remember ever seeing them take to the fruit before as they have done this year, but don't think they obtained any honey from it, or carried any of it to their hives. They most probably lived on it, instead of consuming their scanty stock of honey, keeping that for more pressing times. The quantity of honey collected by each stock has been small in the neighbourhood. The honey-producing flowers did not appear this year as usual ; the extreme dryness of last year, I believe, killed them. I found most of my stocks wanted feeding in October, to enable them to stand through the winter. My plan is to make a syrup of 2 lbs. of lump sugar to 1 pint of water ; this I place in a feeding pan on the top of the hive, opening the aperture so that only the bees in the hive can get at it. They will take it in freely, if the weather is warm, and store it for winter use. I put some pieces of old comb, which I always keep by me for the purpose, into the pan, to prevent the bees drowning. I was very near losing one of my best stocks this season in feeding them ; not having put sufficient comb in the pan, the weather suddeuly changed to cold, and the bees ceased to take the food in. It was quite by chance I went to look how they were going on, when I was very much surprised to find the queen-bee struggling in the syrup and 18 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1866. nearly dead. I was not long in extricating her from her perilous situation, and a little warmth soon revived her; and on restoring her to her loving subjects they immediately began to lick her, and she soon retired out of sight. I never saw the queen- bee at the feeding-pan before. — P. P. GEOLOGY. The Shale Heap. — What is a shale heap ? And what possible interest does it present worthy the attention of the readers of Science-Gossip ? To the first question I answer : A large heap of refuse will be found at all collieries ; but the shale heap is only found at those collieries working the low main led of coal, and is formed principally of the black, slaty stone — hence its name — which immediately overlies the above-mentioned bed of coal, varying in thickness at different collieries in this district. It will be found at Dudley and the Cramlingtons to run about two inches in thickness, although I have fell in with pieces at Newsham Colliery more than four times that thickness. To the second question : The shale heap is interesting to the naturalist and the collector of fossils for microscopic objects. Vegetable fossils will occasionally be met with, but it consists chiefly of fish remains, such as jaws, spines, teeth, scales, and loose bones. Por a very obvious reason, jaws and spines are not so readily met with as teeth and loose bones. Some very fine specimens, however, of jaws have been found, vary- ing considerably in the number of teeth attached to them; but when ground and mounted, and examined through the microscope, present a most beautiful and interesting object. In no instance have I found, in my few years' experience as a fossil seeker, among this shale the slightest trace of the impression of a fish; while in the thiu dark blue layer of stone, which crops out at the crag near Cullercoats, they appear to be common ; the impression found there is planted on the stone in a most excellent manner. But no jaws, teeth, or scales, to the best of my knowledge, are found there. On two occasions, lately, parties of gentlemen from Newcastle and South Shields paid a visit to the shale heaps at Dudley and the Cramlingtons, with leather bags suspended from shoulder, hammer and chisel in hand, splitting and breaking, and splitting again until a bone, tooth, or jaw was found, which was immediately lagged, with as much interest as a disciple of Izaak Walton would creal a member of the finny tribe just drawn from its native element, to the no little amusement of the youngsters, and to the utter amazement of several of the seniors of the colliery village, as to what the gentlemen could want or find among the black stones on the pit heaps, although there are others courteous and willing to assist them whenever they come. — John Sim, miner, If est Cramlwgton Colliery. Objects in Tumuli. — Various small objects, entire and perforated, have been met with iu tumuli. They are made of different materials, and were chiefly used as ornaments. They might, how- ever, have been sometimes employed for purposes of exchange, as beads are still used in the slave trade in Western Africa. Among Roman remains, as at Richborough, beads and buttons, in various coloured glass, have been picked up in some quantity. The ancient Britons were accustomed to select objects already perforated, as the Dentalium, a cylindrical marine shell, which they strung to- gether to form necklaces— a neck ornament of this kind, with a bronze dagger and clay beads, having been discovered not long since, in a tumulus at Winterbourne Stoke, near Salisbury. In company with Bentalia, joints of the stem of a Peniacrinite, a fossil Echinoderm of the Hampshire chalk, were found in a tumulus near Salisbury ; and a Diadema, a fossil Echinus from the chalk, was also found in a barrow in the same neighbourhood. It is now iu the possession of the Rev. E. Duke, and, as it is perforated, was doubtless worn by its former pos- sessor to decorate the person. Beads of jet and amber are sometimes fouud in tumuli. The Orbi- tolina glohularis, a smsllforandniferous chalk fossil, often naturally perforated, occurs in drift deposits. They have been mistaken for fossil beads, and were supposed to furnish some proof of man's existence at the remote period of the drift, as the perforations were thought to have been artificially made. The holes, however, when they occur, for there are imperforate as well as partially bored Orhitolince, show the natural structure of the organism, and, it is suggested in the catalogue of the Salisbury Museum, may have occurred from the orbitolina having grown around the stem of some marine plant. I am not aware that these small objects were used as ornaments by the Celtic people, although, from their being commonly met with, it is not unlikely that such was the case. The Celts, like other uncivilized races, doubtless availed them- selves of any pretty natural objects for personal adornment which came in their way, whether the objects were perforated or not.— J. S., St. Mary Bourne, Hants. BOTANY. An Australian Buku— A kind of burr, not before observed, is likely to become a pest to the wool-growers in Australia. Dr. Mueller gives the following account of it:—" The plant submitted for my inspection is scientifically called Acaena Sangui- sorbce, and is a native of Australia, where it ranges from the southern borders of Queensland to St. Vincent's Gulf. We have no English name as yet established for the plant. The generic word, Jan. 1, 1S66.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP, 19 'acaena,' alludes to the prickly nature of the fruit ; the specific, to the resemblance which this plant un- doubtedly shows to the British Burnets (Sanquisorba and P ofc ri/i i,i). Like its European prototypes, this acaena seems not to possess any really important useful properties, otherwise they are as yet not as- certained. The prickly fruits readily adhere to wearing apparel, fleeces, &c, and are thus easily carried about. To destroy a perennial plant like this where it abounds, I see no other means than ploughing it in." — Fcrd. Midler. Cocode Mer — (S. G. Vol. I, p. 270.) A doubt is expressed whether the stem of the Lodoicea palm remains quite straight, undisturbed by tropical storms, or is so flexible that trees standing in each other's vicinity strike against each other, making an extraordinay noise. In a very interesting article, on the Coco de Mer, published February, 1865, in the Technologist, by Mr. G. Clark, who seems to have been on the spot, it is said " in strong breezes the plant bend -considerably, while their elasticity causes them to wave in the most graceful manner." Of the root, the same writer says : — "The root is in some cases bellshaped, and in other nearly hemispherical and a vast number of rootlets radiate from it in all directions except upwards; these extend to a great distance around it, and form ad mil-able stays to resist the strain which the play of so long a lever subjects them ; and so well do they perform their office, that I have never known an instance of a Coco de Mer having been blown down." — Beniardin. Vegetable Origin of Coal.— Though exhibit- ing little structure, there is no doubt of the vegetable origin of all coal. In some cases, shells and remains of insects, fishes, and even small reptiles, have been found embedded with coal, but there are no appear- ances of aqueous deposits of this kind in the sub- stance of the mineral. Evidence of the mode of ac- cumulation may no doubt be detected, not only in the position of the innumerable leaves, twigs, and stems of plants, in the neighbouring clays and sand- stones, but in the substance of the coal itself. But all kinds of coal have been so greatly altered in their conversion, they have lost so much of various sub- stances commonly present iu plants, in addition to carbon; they have become so compacted and are reduced so thoroughly to the condition of a simple mineral, that the absence of vegetable structure caunot be wondered at. It still remains a mystery how coal was formed, or what combinations were necessary to produce it. In most cases, especially in thick beds, it represents a mass of vegetation that must have taken many years, or a large area, to ac- curemlate, but yet in some instances there is proof that it must have been accumulated rapidly. That it is generally associated with certain shales, with ronstones, either in nodules or bands, and with sandstones more or less compact, and that in moss cases, though not all, it seems to have been accu- mulated near the mouths of large rivers or low swampy flats, and in estuaries, are facts and infer- ences that include the results of recent discoveries and investigations in this matter. — Austed's Prac- tical Geology. Botanical Congress. — An International Horti- cultural Exhibition and Botanical Congress is an- nounced to be held in London, in May, 1866. The Congress will be restricted to two morning meet- ings, when papers, previously printed and accom- panied by translations, will be read and discussed. The chair will be taken byM. Alphonse de Candolle, who will deliver an opening address. Dr. Berthold Seemaun is honorary secretary to the Congress, to whom any communications should be addressed. MICROSCOPY. Reelection on the Retina. — During the sum- mer, having the chrysalis of musquito under a low power of the microscope, the part under immediate observation being the eye, which in this state of the creature's existence is simple, I was much pleased and surprised to see the window-frame, and conse- quently any object presented to the pupa's eye re- flected on the retina. The hand with the fingers in motion was beautifully defined. I employed day- light and no condenser, the power not more than eight diameters. I have never seen this mentioned in any work on microscopy, aud hope some of your readers may succeed in obtaining a sight of this in- teresting object. — S., Oporto. Mounting Crystals. — I have been engaged lately with crystalization in connection with the mi- croscope and polarized light. I have only a few hours occasionally to devote to the pursuit at night after business, and I have no doubt a great many other amateur microscopists are similarly situated. It is therefore a great disappointment, night after night, to lose beautiful slides through not knowing in what medium to mount them. Eor instance, last night I prepared two slides of pyrogallic acid and chronic acid. If 1 tried to mount them "dry" they absorbed moisture from the air and returned to a liquid state; and in pure ," Canada balsam "or " glycerine " they dissolved. Could not some one thoroughly experi- enced and conversant in, and with the matter, pre- pare a list of salts, and opposite each name put the appropriate medium or mediums for that particular salt ?— W. S. Aleyrodes. — This is a very pretty object pre- pared for the microscope by mounting iu a dark cell the perfect insect and its pupa case. The Aley- rodes is a tiny white-winged creature, like a small moth, about the size of a large pin's head, found in 20 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1866. clusters under pear-tree leaves, and cabbage leaves. Sometimes they rise in a crowd from the shaken branch or leaf, and settle again as mere dots upon the neighbouring plants. They multiply with great rapidity ; one moth will produce 200,000 aleyrodes in twelve generations. Their transformations are very interesting and curious. The little group of eggs is so small that they appear as a mere film of white powder on the leaf. The lava is a flat semi-trans- parent scale upon the surface of the stem or leaf, having a folded hair-like proboscis, with which it pierces the plant, and sucks its juices, doing con- siderable injury thereby. The pupa case which is mounted with the perfect insect is like a fairy slip- per, fringed with golden dots, or seemiugly set with topaz on silver stems ; it is open at the top, where the aleyrodes emerged after its brief trance. The moth, which is not a moth, is worth minute examin- ation. When first I saw this pretty little creature, I thought it was the moth of a leaf-roller or leaf- miner (this was in the early days of my study in natural history), but placing it under the microscope, the wings were not those of a lepidoptera ; they had no scales or feathers, were covered with a white mealy dust; it had no long proboscis, and only a short antennae ; the eyes were divided into two sets, on each side ; the joints of the feet only two ; and from all these signs it could not be a moth. Then I supposed it to be a coccus ; but, further examina- tion proved this to be not so, although the relation- ship is very near. The coccus in the winged state has only two wings, the aleyrodes has four. The coccus has only one joint in its feet, and this insect has two. Also, both male and female aleyroids are winged, whereas the female coccus always remains in a scale-like, quiescent state. The aleyrodes rank amongst the Homoptera or tribe which comprises the green-fly or Apis, the musical Cicada, the strange foreign Lanthorn Ely (Fulgora) and the coccus ; but is in the border-land between the Lepidoptera and the Aphides, a connecting link which renders this preparation particularly interesting. — L. Lane Clarke. How to Mount the Proboscis of the Blow- fly.— The spreading and mounting of the proboscis of the blow-fly is a process which depends for suc- cess entirely upon the dexterity and practice of the operator. The head must be taken fresh from the insect, and gently pinched with the finger and thumb between the eyes. The fluids will cause the proboscis to swell, and now is the time adroitly to apply a glass slide, and get the trunk somewhat into position; then, without relaxing the pressure, another glass slip must be gently placed over the expanded proboscis, and the whole put by to dry. When this is accomplished, the operator must return to the attack, and moisten the specimen with clean water. Now arrange the brushes in their proper places with the needlepoints, and after placing the glass slip over the trunk for the second time, put aside. An American clip may be used to keep the glasses in close proximity, when the whole has been finally arranged. If too great pressure be em- ployed, either in pinching the head, or placing the glasses in the first part of the process, the delicate tissues will be ruptured, and all the labour thrown away. When the mounter is satisfied that the specimen is perfectly dry, he must then, with a sharp microscopic knife, remove the head from the pro- boscis by a clean cut. The head is by no means to be squeezed by the glasses like the proboscis, but must be kept outside their edges. All he has to do now, is to saturate the object with turpentine, and mount in balsam in the usual manner. In the preparation, frequent recourse must be had to a lens, as the task is a difficult one, needing plenty of care and patience. One of the best of Topping's beau- tiful slides of this object should be taken as a standard. 1 have seen the proboscis of the blow-fly prepared after a different plan. I think as follows : The extreme end of the trunk is cut off with flue scissors, and mounted in glycerine, so as to show the spirals as nearly as possible in the natural state. The former mode, though undoubtedly the most effective, hardly gives a true notion of the relative position of the parts. I am not aware that particular instructions are given in any book relative to the preparation of this subject, and I do not know what may be Topping's plan. The above directions are the result of an accidental discovery after many vexatious failures. Bxperientia docet.—S. M'liitire. How to Mount the Proboscis of the Blow- fly.— In answer to your querist, " T. S.," as to a method of preparing and mounting the tongues of flies, I beg to send the following, which I have found to give good results. Sever the head from the thorax, and gently squeeze it between the thumb and forefinger, when the tongue will be projected out ; soak the whole for two or three days in liquor potasssc, and well wash it in clean water ; lay the head flat on a slide, and then with a needle and fine camel-hair brush arrange the various parts. Place another slide gently on the tongue so as not to dis- arrange it, and submit the whole to pressure in a clip until dry. The tongue may then be cut from the head with fine scissors, soaked for about forty- eight hours in turpentine, and mounted in balsam. Too long steeping in turpentine bleaches too much. I may as well state that I have a dozen or so mounted specimens of the tongue and lancets of the drone-fly, which I shall be happy to exchange for other well-mounted objects, or will forward a slide, post free, to any address on receipt of ten postage stamps. — William Fredk. Rogers. Jan. 1, 3866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 21 FISH TATTLE. Eisn in Aquaria. — Since the communication at page 284, vol. I., I have had an opportunity of seeing two living- Sand Lances (Jmmodytcs lanced) in the aquarium of Mr. A. II. Meyer, of Hamburg. He has had them for some weeks, and at present they are quite well, in a tank measuring about four feet long, two feet broad, and eighteen inches high, with about four inches of flue sand on the bottom. They were got at Kiel, on the Baltic, and are in Baltic sea water, which is much less salt than ordinary sea water, the latter containing about 26 per mil of soluble matters, while the former has only from 12 to 11 per mil, or even less. The fishes pass most of their time buried out of sight in the sand, but as they are known to be always at one particular spot they cau be stirred up with a stick, when they swim about for a few moments (generally with their heads towards the light, and their noses to the hinder glass side of the tank), with an uneasy, rapid, wriggling motion, and presently they dash down into the sand with such instantaneousr.ess that they disappear before the subsidence of the little cloud of sand which they raise in the act of vanishing. They have not been seen to eat anything. Nothing else but these two creatures are in the tank, and this, con- nected with the facts that the tank is in a cool cellar, with a current ever passing through the water, explains the cause of success. My specimens were obtained in warm weather. These fish Mould not do with sea anemones, as they would be in- evitably caught by the latter. The Smelt, too {Osmerus eperlanus), 1 have now succeeded in keep- ing better than formerly, but I have it in fresh water not in sea water as before, and in a large, broad, shallow, and cool tank, with a fountain always playing in it. Under the same circumstances, I also maintain the Schnapel {Coregonus oxyrhynchus), a fish not found in Britain, and belonging to the same genera as the Gwyniad, of Wales (Coregonus laoaretus), and the Vendace, of Scotland [Coregonus WiUoughbii). These two fishes, belonging to the same family as the Salmon and the Trout, are difficult to maintain in aquaria, and it is surprising what an apparently small matter affects them. A trifling variation of temperature, a little impurity, or a difference between the oxygenating surfaces of two tanks, is a matter of life or death to them. Bor example, on placing some Schnapel and Smelt in a 300 gallon fresh-water tank, with a surface of water of 25 square feet and a temperature of 60° F., the fishes turned up immediately, and would have died in a few minutes, but on being transferred to a tauk of the same capacity, 300 gallons, but with a water surface of 48 square feet, and a temperature of 55° P., they revived immediately, and are still alive. Yet the amount of water running into both tanks was exactly the same — ten gallons an hour. Alford Lloyd, Zoological Gardens, Hamburg. -IF. Seized by a Pike. — I am indebted for the following to Dr. Genzik :— "In 1829 I was bathing in the swimming school at A'ienna with some fellow- students, when one of them— afterwards Dr. Gouge, who died a celebrated physician some years ago — suddenly screamed out and sank. We all plunged in immediately to his rescue, and succeeded in bringing him to the surface, and finally, in getting him up on to the hoarding of the bath, a pike was fouud sticking fast to his right heel, which would not loose its hold, but was killed, and eaten by all of us in company the same evening. It weighed 32 lbs. Gouge suffered for months from the bite." — Pennett's " Book of lite Pike." PiLcnARDs in Melbourne.— Prom politics to pilchards is not a change of topics more sudden and abrupt than was the arrival about a month ago in our bay of immense shoals of this beautiful and nutrici- ous little fish. They were a novelty in our waters, and they came in such prodigious numbers that one shoal is described (by the captain of a vessel sailing through it) as not less than three miles long. They were caught in tons, and sold about the streets of Melbourne at sixpenee a bucket full. As the drought has caused butchers' meat to be very dear at present, these fish were welcomed as a timely supplement to the table, and the butchers of Williams' Town memorialized the borough council praying that the fishermen should be compelled to use nets of a larger mesh, that the new competion might be eased oft' to the memorialists. During the last few days, how- ever, these fish have been dying in millions in the bay, and will probably soon disappear as suddenly and mysteriously as they came— Melbourne Corre- spondent of the Times. Short-finned Tunny {Thymus bracliypterus). — This fish is a native of the Mediterranean, where, perhaps, it is equally common with the Tunny, with which it appears to have been confounded until distinguished by the discriminating examination of Baron Cuvier. But it appears to be less a wanderer into the ocean than that fish, and there is no record of its having been caught in the British Seas until the summer of 1865, when an example was discovered among the numbers of small mackerel taken near Mevagissey, in Cornwall, in the drift nets, and sent to me by Mr. M. Dunn, an intellegent fisherman of that place. This first example was obtained on the Sth of August, and it is worthy of notice that within a week afterwards a specimen was taken at Polperro, and .in September three others at Mevagissev. — Couch's British Fishes. 22 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. :Jan. 1, 1866. NOTES A1TD aUEEIES. Plaster Casts.— Can you tell me where I can find any remarks on the making of plaster casts ? I want to take some casts of skulls, teeth, and other hones. — /. 67. To Kill Slugs.— Can any of your readers inform me what chemical preparation it is which, when dropped upon a living slug, destroys its vitality, but preserves it with tentacles extended and colours true as if it were alive?— J1. C. Y. Convocation or Sparrows.— Passing up St. Dunstan's Hill to-day, at 4 p.m., I descried a flock of sparrows on two trees, about 500 or 600 in num- ber. They made a great noise for about ten minutes, and then all flew off, creating quite a sensation among the people. Is such a thing very common (especially at this season of the year) ? And why do they all flock, and then fly off if it is not com- mon ?— /. A., jun. Dec. 12, 1865. Pees and Wasps. — In several places in Belgium the same has been observed as in England— that wasps were not to be seen, and that bees attacked the fruit. — B. Good Cement.— H. J. B. asks if any one can recommend a good cement for aquaria ? ElBRE OF THE COTTON PLANT.— Would it not be possible to extract the fibre of the stem of the cotton plant (Gossypittm herbaceum, fye.) ? I believe this is worth an investigation, and I recommend it to all who are acquainted with cotton growers. I tried a small delicate stem, put here in open ground, and got sonic fibres by beating it.—Ber- nwiin, Melle, near Ghent. [It has been done. Specimens from India were shown at the Exhibition of 1S62— Ed. S.-G.] Visitation of Spiders.— It may interest your northern correspondent and others to learn that the spiders alluded to at page 2S2 of your December number have visited the south. On returning from chapel after the morning service on the 12th Novem- ber last, I observed the railings from St. Thomas's Street to one of the entrances to Victoria Park swarming with almost any quantity of them ; but, strange to sav,_ I could not find a single specimen on the leafless twigs of the trees in the park, and the railings beneath them had only here and there one. They were very tame, running about the hand freely, and leaving it by attaching a thread to its margin, and so dropping down five or six inches, pausing thus for a moment, and then, with almost the speed of a winged insect, mounting high in the air, where their intensely black bodies could be seen in the bright sunlight some yards away. Accepting the belief that the aerial spiders make their flights by the lightness of the silk they throw off, it would be interesting to learn— first, how our little visitors contrived to detach the thread from the hand, or whether they merely held on by it while they spun another thread that was free ? Secondly, why the thread from the same creature at one time is a mere rope of suspension, and at another acts the part of a balloon ? Is it possible that the spiders capable of making these atmospheric ascents have some means, hitherto unknown, of inflating the air sacks or other part so as to reduce their specific gravity ? I spent some time the following morning in examin- ing the railings, ground, and crevices in the locality where the previous clay they had been so plentiful, and yet with the help of ten years' experience in such hunting I could not find a single individual. Their threads were there, stretching from point to point like fairy telegraph wires, that might have been put up by some joint-stock enterprise from the realms ot Queen Mab ; but of the workmen I saw none, alive or dead. Their task completed here, on what other fields has their great Maker employed them ? —W.E.Hall. Atmospheric Phenomenon— While travelling from Oxford, on the London and North-Western Railway, on the 20th July, I witnessed what, to me at least, was a novel phenomenon. The sun was 4 or 5 degrees above the horizon, the time being 7.10 p.m. In the east a dull haze extended some 0 or 7 degrees above the horizon, and terminated in light flocky clouds ■ above these the sky was clear. Exactly opposite the place of the sun a beam of light shot up from the horizon, extending across the haze and clouds as far as the clear sky above. In the course of about a minute three or four more beams became visible, apparently radiating from a point, situated as far below the eastern horizon as the sun was at the time above the western. The most southerly of the beams appeared faintly tinged with prismatic colours. I turned towards the west, thinking the sight I had witnessed must be a reflection of the "Moses' Horns," so often seen when the sun is on the point of setting, but could not see anything of the kind. The" appearance lasted, with varying intensity, for about ten minutes, fading away gradually, and quite disappearing before the sun had set. After the sun was below the horizon, a broad streak of rosy light filled the space before occupied by the beams, as though Aurora, having mistaken the hour, was about again to open the gates of day before Apollo had had time to repose. — IF. S., Buckingham. The Spawn of Doris— Would the spawn of the Doris (Boris phlota), deposited in my tank. ever hatch ? If so, would the young ones grow in an aquarium ? The Doris spawned on the 1st of November. Could any of your correspondents answer the above questions ?— IF. B. Preserving Birds with Wood Acid.— Mr. Newton, of Cambridge, says in his "Hints on making Collections of Eggs ": " Birds may be pre- served entire by pouring a few drops of pyroligneous acid down their throats.'' I presume this would only keep them for a time, until they can con- venicntlybe skinned. Or would it entirely preserve them without any other process ? Perhaps some of your correspondents have tried the plan, and could speak as to its results. — JF. F. Saunders. China Grass. — I believe different nettles are known under that name. According to Dr. Blume, the name of tchoum is given by the Chinese to Bcchmcria spicafa, Thunb. ; and to B. longispim, Steud. ; the Bhea of Assam is B. nivea and B. tenacissima, Gaudich. ; the tameh, rami, &c, of the Malay is B. tenacissima. Dr. Blume says (in Mus. Ludg. Bat.) that B. tenacissima is pro- duced by cultivation from B. nivea. — B. [All these names do not represent distinct species. Bo;hmeria nivea includes B. tenacissima— ^T>. S.-G.] Jan. ], 1866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 23 Sphinx Cokvolyuli.— Surely, the Hawk-moth generally known as the Convolvulus Hawk-moth, has not a double trunk, or proboscis. For my own part, I cannot sec why it should be called the Unicorn Hawk-moth, it' it had a double trunk; for it is pro- bably the remarkable length of the proboscis, which is quite as long as its body, t hat suggested the name of unicorn. — Helen Watney. Black Beetles. — I think that A. H. will find that cucumber peelings form a better bait for black beetles than even beer, as these insects are quite incapable of resisting the smell of the cucumber, and will eagerly climb the sticks to reach the delicacy— II. J'.B. II. Pilchards.— How is it that pilchards are not now to be had in London ? Some years back plenty were sold. The little dried sticks called " capelins," seem to be the only substitutes. — R. H. I. Behoving the Cuticle of Leaves.— Can any one tell me how to separate the cuticle of leaves for mounting? The leaves of some plants offer great difficulty, and cannot be stripped off in the slovenly manner recommended in some treatises. — W. W, 11. Proboscis oe Blow-fly. — In reply to ': T. S.," I would say, that of the twelve slides usually mounted to illustrate the anatomy of the blow-fly, that containing the proboscis is the most difficult to manage. To succeed, the microscopists must exer- cise some ingenuity, as he is left altogether without hint or guide by the handbooks as to the method of manipulation to be pursued. I have mounted several, and as the method I have pursued may he useful to some, until a better be given I freely supply it. But first I should say, that for various purposes con- nected with mounting, I find that pieces of strong- glass, less than an inch square, with their edges very slightly ground to take of their cutting sharpness, to be very useful. I cut off the head, and lay it on a glass slide with a little water, antenna; upwards. I then lay one of the small squares of glass upon the head, so that its edge may lie along the front edge of the head. I then find that, by pressing down the upper glass, the proboscis will shoot out, and the lobes of the ligula will expand beautifully, and, in most cases, just as I require. If the pressure be removed the tongue will relapse to its former con- dition. I therefore take advantage of the moment of expansion and, with another piece of glass, fix it in the expanded position, and maintain the pressure until the water has evaporated, when I supply tur- pentine, which gives it a permanent set. If the tongue does not expand properly, or I fail to fix it when expanded, I try another head, as it is utterly useless to work with needles, for they only tear, and mess, and lacerate the structure. I might have ex- tended the above, so as to be more minute in giving the details, but enough has been given to guide the operator, who in other respects may improve by ex- perience beyond any further hints I could give. I would only say, that I believe by no other method will he succeed with this object without more than usual trouble and care. — Lewis G. Mills, LL.B., Secretary Nut. His. Soc., Armagh. Action of Fungi-spokes.— Some recent investi- gations by French medical men serve to prove that the spores of Fungi introduced into the blood of the human subject are capable of inducing disease and causing death. An Ancient Sea- Anemone— In the year 1S20 the late Sir John Graham Dalzell took from the sea an Anemone {Actinia mesembryanthemwm), which he supposed to be then about seven years old. He placed it in a glass, and kept it till he died at about the year 1852, when the specimen was transferred to Professor Fleming, and on his death il passed into the hands of the gentleman in whose keeping it, I believe, still remains. Some time ago a friend of mine told me that its then possessor was a little oppressed with the responsibility of properly keeping alive such an historically valuable animal, and that if I wrote to him, offering to take great care of it, and to provide it with a luxurious home, it- might probably pass into my charge; but the answer I got was that there was no intention of parting with it. I quite forgot the gentleman's name, but if he should read this he will perhaps kindly accept it as an apology for what I did not intend as a piece of iutrusiveness : I was simply misinformed. Up to the year 1850 this specimen gave birth to about 700 young ones. I have often thought whether it is possible that Sea- Anemones and some few other animals never die of old age, but only of accident, or neglect, cold, heat, hunger, and so forth. I have kept anemones aud madrepores for many years — the same specimens, — and I have never beeu able to detect any signs which may be interpreted as "getting old."— W.Alford Lloyd, Zool. Garde,/*, Hamburg, Nor. 1S65. Evaporation and Condensation.— Over the vast area, consisting of nearly three-fourths of the whole surface of the earth, now covered by the ocean,— an area of 115,000,000 of square miles, — there is ever present an atmosphere of aqueous vapour, which, with the other air, is constantly being carried along by the winds, and at length reaches laud. In passing over the land the air becomes changed in temperature and in its electrical state, and ceases to retain the aqueous vapour mixed with it. From vapour the water passes into cloud, and from cloud to rain. Water or rain falls on the fifty millions of square miles of land, this water having previously been sucked up from thrice that area of sea; and the rain that falls in the course of a single year on the land would, if accu- ■ mulated, cover its whole surfcae to a depth of nearly three feet. — Ansted's Practical Geology. Pozzuolano is the name given to a natural vol- canic earth or trass, of a reddish colour, origiually found in the vicinity of Pozzuoli, not far from Naples. Similar material has since been obtained in large quantities from extinct volcanic districts, especially at Vivarais, inCentral France, at Briihl,near Andernach, on the Rhine, and even near Edinburgh. In the latter case it is also a volcanic material, but of very ancient date. It varies in colour, but retains its mineral characteristics. — Ansted's Practical Geology. New Species of Chare, — At t.ne meeting of the Zoological Society, on the 2Sth November last, Dr. Gunther pointed out the characters of a new- British species of charr, from Loch Killen, m Inverness-shire, for which he proposed the name Salmo killenensis. Crested Blackbird. — A specimen of a crested blackbird was exhibited at the last congress of the British Association, which it is supposed may even- tually prove to be a distinct species. 24 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Jan. 1, 1SG6. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. All communications for the Editor should be addressed to No. 192, Piccadilly, W. To avoid disappointment, contribu- tions should be received on or before the 15th of each month. No notice can be taken of anonymous communi- cations. All notes, queries, or articles for insertion, must be guaranteed by the name and address of the writer, which may be withheld from publication if so desired. Queries.— Having: been inundated with questions, we are compelled to announce that we cannot undertake to answer those of which the querist might satisfy himself by an appeal to any elementary book on the subject. We are always pre- pared to accept queries of a critical nature, and to publish the replies, provided some of our readers, beside the querist, are likely to take an interest in them. We cannot undertake to return " rejected addresses." A. G. R.— Your red fungus on Judas tree is Tubercularia vulgaris. J. S.— Scarcely so thin as it should have been. W. A. L. is thanked for his offer, but we receive " Hedwigia " egularly. K. D. — Your shells are those of Littorina obtusata, the Turbo obtusatus of Linnaeus, and Littorina littoralis of Forbes and Hanley. R. T. R. A.— Your black Staghorn fungus from decayed timber is Xylaria hypoxylon, very common. W. B. Maxfield would exchange thin, unmounted sections of turtle tbone for human or ostrich bone, or any kind of sponge spicules. — Address, Stone, Staffordshire. Aphides. — Mounted specimens of Aphides will be sent to such applicants as will pay postage for them, by addressing to Discipulus, School-house, Mulbarton, Norwich. E. C. and C. B. C. — We do not comprehend your queries. E. G. (Grasmere) sends vis an abnormal form of inflores- cence of Geum rivale (Water avens), in which a "flower is disposed in a whorl about the stem, two inches below the terminal one." It has been forwarded to the herbarium of the Society of Amateur Botanists. M. W. — The Micrographic Dictionary is published by Van Voorst (London), at 45s. G. T. P.— We cannot insert such a list as you send, and can only announce that you wish to exchange Lepidoptera. — Address, 8, Clare Hill, Huddersfield. Vallisneria Spiralis.— H. J. B. offers fragments of this plant, as well as Desmids from an aquarium, to correspon- dents.— 44, Camberwell Road, London. Testacei.i.a Mangel — A few shells of this mollusk are offered in exchange for those of Testacella Haliotidea, var. Scutulum ; or any of the foreign Parmacella. — Address, E. C, 7, Eldon Villa, Redland, Bristol. H. J. B. — Mosses may be found almost anywhere. What species do you want locality for ? O. I. T. corrects an error at page 286 (I860). For Althaa cerea read Ant/tea cereus. K. D.— What is " Crap," of which you inquire? E. G. — The yellow fungus on bramble leaf is Leoythea ruborum, which generally precedes or accompanies the brand. W. Ross.— Not a vegetable production at all. H. B.— Cuthill's treatise on the mushroom will give you the information you solicit. A dark cellar is not essential. The soil moist, not wet. H. H. — Tetraphis pe.llucida is not considered rare. R. H. wishes to exchange land and fresh water shells for marine or others.— 36, Swine Market, Halifax. Botanical Bibliography. — " Pritzel's Thesaurus," pub- lished on the Continent, may doubtless be obtained through some foreign bookseller— Williams ?< Norgate, Asher & Co., or Bailliere. .it is the most complete Bibliography of the Science published. A list of many of the works published since was continued until lately in the " Natural History Review." W. W. — We are not supposed to know anything of those who advertise in our " Gossip" beyond their advertisements. l.K. — Long lists of desiderata and exchanges must be in- serted as advertisements. M. A.— We expect that " British Reptiles" will really come in with the new year, and that you will be able to obtain it 011 application to the Publisher, at 192, Piccadilly. R. O. — The dried specimens of fungi to which you allude may be had at the office of this journal. There are examples of 100 species, and the price is one guinea. L. L. -We regret that your specimens were not named for you ; but suppose that either they were too many, or in an imperfect state. It is possible that they may have been mis- laid ; but we have no recollection of the circumstance. J. S. — The only work, of which we have any knowledge, on the parasites of birds and animals (Anop/euru) is " Denny's Monograph," published by H. G. Bohn, of Covent Garden. A. T. — We purpose devoting some space during the current year to fresh- water fish, with illustrations which will probably answer your purpose. S. J. P. — We cannot attempt to answer queries on any other subject than Natural History. R. A. C— If you wish to make any progress in the study of plants, you had better do what you purpose thoroughly. There is no science without technicalities. Communications Received. — A. H.— L. S. — E. T. S. — L. L. C— W. W. S. O. I. T.— J. R. E.— E. C. Y.— W. A. L. R. H.— L. G. M.— J. A.— J. S.— A. G. R.— H. W. N.— T. S.— W. W — W. F. S.— R. A.— D. P. A.— J. S.— W. Ross.— K. D — E. A.— W. S.— H. B.— E. C— T. P.— H. W. (Oxford).— G. T. P.— H. H.— M. W.-B. H— J. E. Y.— J. A., jun.— C. B. C— G. S.— H. J. B.— H. U.— Prof. Bernardin.— J. W.-E. G— A. N— R. H.— M. A.— I. K.— S. W.— R. O.— W. A. S.— Annie.— L. L — M. A. F— G. O.— R. A. C- W. B.— S. S. T.— W. W.— J. S.— S. J. P. Correspondents will please to append their own names, or initials, to their communications, which may be withheld from publication if desired ; but no notice whatever can be taken of anonymous contributions. BOOKS RECEIVED. " The World before the Deluge." By Louis Figuier. (Translated from the Fourth French Edition; pp.448, 8vo., illustrated.) London, Chapman and Hall, 1865. "The Book of the Pike." By H. Cholmondeley-Pennell. Ci ondon, Robert Hardwicke, 186">. UNDEE THE SNOW. When autumn days grew pale, there came a troop Of childlike forms from that cold mountain top ; With trailing garments through the air they came, Or walk'd the ground with girded loins, and threw Spangles of silvery frost upon the grass, And edged the brook with glistening parapets, And built it crystal bridges, touch'd the pool, And turn'd its face to glass, or rising thence, They shook, from their full laps, the soft, light snow, And buried the great earth, as autumn winds Bury the forest floor in heaps of leaves.— William Ci/llen Bryant. HE Snowflake, ar- rested iu its descent and transferred to the microscope, is an object of beauty, and teeming with matter for reflec- tion. The land- scape which the traces during the night delicate crystals on the ■% window-pane is a mystery to the child and a marvel to the ],tJ man. Here is exhibited beauty in combination with power. Great agents have been "frost and fire" in the physical revolutions of the world. How they began, and where they will end, let us leave for speculators to dream, and confine our business to the world as it is. After a night's downfall, as far as the eye can scan, everywhere lies the snow. It makes the leafless trees look elegant, hides the smoke-dried city garden, and buries all evidence of the scavenger's neglect. The town is as trim and clean as a chimney-sweep in his Sunday shirt, and the country one vast tablecloth to which birds are the only guests. But under the snow lies, fearful to contemplate, all the unpleasant experi- ences of mud and slop. So " frost and fire " conduce alternately to our pleasure and pain. The small experiences of snow which fall to our lot are sufficient to remind us of the glaciers and avalanches of mountainous districts. "The snow which during the whole year falls upon the moun- tains does not melt, but maintains its solid state, No. 14. where their elevations exceed the height of 9,000 feet or thereabouts. Where these snows accumulate to great thickness, in the valleys, or in the deep mazy fractures of the soil, they harden under the influence of pressure resulting from their incum- bent weight. But it always happens that a certain quantity of water, the result of momentary fusion of the superficial beds, traverses its substance, and this forms a crystalline mass of ice, granidated in struc- ture, which the Swiss naturalists designate neve. From the successive melting and freezing, provoked by the heat by day and the cold by night, the infil- tration of air and water in its interstices, the neve is slowly transformed into a homogeneous and sky- coloured block of ice, filled with an infinity of air bubbles ; this is what is called glace bulleuse, bubbled ice. Finally, these masses are completely frozen ; the water replaces the air bubbles ; then the trans- formation is complete ; the ice is homogeneous, and presents those fine azure tints so much admired by the tourist who traverses the masnificent glaciers of Switzerland and Savoy.53 Such are the glaciers which fill the gorges of the Alps, and by a gradual progress move onwards to the valleys, where they continually melt, whilst at their sources they are being as continually replenished. Such the means by which great and important changes have been wrought on the surface of the globe, and such the material for many a castle in the air more fragile and evanescent than snow. The parallel roads of Glen Roy indicate the action of the glaciers of Scotland in ancient times, and other evidences may be traced amongst the moun- tains of Wales. At one time a notion prevailed iu the vicinity of snow-capped mountains that an avalanche might be brought down by the firing of a gun or the tinkling of a bell ; that a trifling sound might cause a small fragment of snow to move, and in its motion down- c 26 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Feb. 1, 1866. wards to accumulate until it became an avalanche, which, like that of Val Calanca in 1806, might transport a forest from one side of the valley to the other, or bring destruction like that of the valley of Tawich in 1794, which buried the whole village of Bueras " under the snow." Ice has recently been made the subject of a very interesting communication to a contemporary, in which the process of crystallization during liquefac- tion has been thus graphically described : — " Here is a block of clear ice, such as any fishmonger can supply. Hows of air-bubbles can be seen running parallel to each other throughout the mass, aud in some irregular places there is a fine gauze-like ap- pearance produced by a web of minute bubbles. This is but the poetical way in which ice expresses a split ; for this beautiful netting is the result of nothing more than some accidental blow. Cutting a slice from the block across the bubbles, let us hold it close to a naked gas-flame, and now let us observe it. The lamp of Aladdin could not have wrought a more wondrous change. The part before clear and unmarked is now studded all over with lustrous stars, whose centres shine like burnished silver. A fairy seems to have breathed upon the ice, and caused transparent flowers of exquisite beauty sud- denly to blossom in myriads within the ice, and all with a charming regularity of position. It is the intangible fairy-heat that has worked this spell. The ice was laid down according to the same laws that shape the snow into those beautiful and well- known crystalline forms so often to be seen in snow- storms here and elsewhere. Ice is indeed only an . aggregate of crystals similar to those of snow, which, lying together in perfect contact, render each other invisible and the block transparent. When the heat of the gas-flame entered the slab, it set to work to pick the ice to pieces, by giving it, in certain places; a rapid molecular shaking, and the fairy flowers which appear in the warmed ice are the result of this agitation. On a priori grounds, we should therefore infer that the shape of these liquid crystals — for they are merely water — would be the same as the solid crystals which originally built up the ice. This is found to be the case. The two are seen to be identical, each has six rays, and the serrations in both follow the common angle of 60° ; just as the ice freezes, so, under suitable conditions, it liquefies ; the ice-flowers, or negative crystals, ap- pearing in the same plane as that in which they were formed. The air-bubbles in ice show this di- rection. The bubbles collect in widely distant layers, marking the successive stages of freezing ; between the layers there is either a clear intervening space, or those perpendicular rows of bubbles already noticed. Accordingly the ice freezes parallel with the former and at right angles with the direction of the latter bubbles." Beneath the snowandtheicewe all direct our hopes for the young year. There lie buried the germs which shall make our fields green, feed our cattle, make our gardens gay, replenish our granaries, fill our tables, store our cellars, and indeed supply all the substantial materials for our daily wants. It cannot cause much surprise therefore that, at this season of the year, all should feel an interest, though but few express it, of what lies hidden " under the snow." THE BELTED KINGEISHEB. {Ceryle Alcyon.) LAKE, river, streamlet, and sea-side, are alike enlivened in the Ear North-West by the presence of Kingfishers. Wherever fish are to be caught, there, attired in a quiet livery of pale-blue, one is certain to meet with a goodly sprinkling of these most greedy fish-eaters. In size, and strength of beak, it far outstrips the brilliant gem-like little bird, the Kingfisher of our own pleasant streams. Even staid old Romans looked upon Kingfishers with a superstitious love. Halcj-on, the Greek name of the Kingfisher, has given rise to the everyday saying " Halcyon-days." It was believed, the bird hatched its young in a nest that floated on the surface of the water ; and, being specially under the protection of the gods, could at will hush the roughest sea, during the period of incubation : hence the usually calm days near the summer solstice (corresponding to our latter half of May and first part of June) were called by sailors "Halcyon- days." The dead body of the bird, kept as a relic, enabled its possessor to shut up a thunder-storm or quell a household riot. In Tartary, the feathers of the Kingfisher, worn as an amulet, are supposed to ensure the wearer the love of any lady he sets his mind on. Had the skin of this little bird so recently sought after to adoni the hats and bonnets of the fair a like magic power ? There are many who believe even now that the body of a Kingfisher, suspended by a thread, will invariably turn its breast to the North. The savages in North- Western America have wonderful myths relative to the Belted Kingfisher, and use its crest, attached to bows, as a charm to make the arrow go true to its mark. It is always a pity to destroy poetic fancies, and demolish in five minutes the myths — very pretty, if only true— that have existed for centuries. The Belted Kingfisher never has a nest, neither has its British relative, but digs an ugly hole into a mud- bank, or, taking forcible possession of one already excavated, lays its eggs on the bare earth at the end of the burrow. I have dug out a great many nests from the sand-banks near the Columbia river, and can safely say, the only impression not likely to be readily forgotten is entirely nasal — a potent, pun- Feb. 1,1 SCO.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 27 gent, persistent odour of rotten fish clings to the birds, their tunnel, and everything about it. One hole I dug into was twelve feet from the entrance to where the eggs were resting on the bare earth ; these were ten in number, snowy white, and looked as if hewn from alabaster. The voice of this bird is most discordant, and often startling : wandering up some lone ravine, or round the rocky shore of a mountain lake, the piercing notes of three or four startled Kingfishers, as they dash past, with their crests erect, scolding angrily at the disturbance, make one think Indians, spirits, or bogies of some kind are upon him. It is not a shriek, nor a whistle, nor a hoot, neither is it analogous to any other sound made by birds and beasts in general ; but is more like the noise of a chain running through a hawse- hole, than anything else I know of. As the birds settle again quietly on a jutting point of rock, watch them : motionless as if marble-birds they sit, every eye peering into the still water ; one makes a sudden plunge, and ere the drops splashed into the air have time to fall, the fisher sits again upon the rock, with a struggling fish nipped by the powerful beak, as a steel-trap holds a beaver's leg. Wide as its mouth is, it cannot bolt a decent-sized fish crosswise ; to loose the pincers would, in all probability, let the slippery captive escape. To avoid any risk, the crafty bird beats the head of the fish violently on the rock until there is not a flap left in it. Elevating its beak, three or four skilful jerks twist the fish, head first, then a gulp sucks it down a throat scale and fin proof. These birds never appear to be the least wet on emergence from the water, yet the feathers are not like those of the Water-rail, Dipper, or smooth-backed Duck, and its oil gland. I could never discover any secretion enabling Kingfishers to resist wet. I suppose it is the rapidity with which they dash in and out of the water that keeps them dry. They cannot swim or walk under water like the Dipper. At Vancouver Island they frequent the sea-coast in great numbers. As the tide creeping off the rocks leaves the weedy pools stocked with captives, Kingfishers come from all directions to feast upon them ; scorning to plunge into the briny water, they thrust their horny forceps under the sea-tangle and blubber, or rock, dragging out the soft-bodied hiders. Often have I watched these pool-hunters ; anon one discovers a five-rayed "star-fish" ; despite the clutches made at every available mooring, the sucker-armed preyer on bi-valves is dragged upon the rocks, then thumped and battered until every ray, flabby, powerless, and smashed, becomes a dainty feast, enjoyed and swallowed at the captor's leisure. Soft holothuria, chitons, crabs, and annelides share a like fate. Surely sea-faring Kingfishers banquet right royally on viands, that are turtle and white- bait compared with the small fish dinners of settlers inland. The strong feet, armed with powerful hook-like claws, are well fitted for clinging to the slippery sides of rock-basins, and are also used, in nesting time, to hold on at the side of the hole, or, gripping the inequalities of the sand-bank, stick against it as do cliff-swallows (//. Luj/ifrous), or sand-martins (77. Riparia). Has any one observed the English Kingfisher feeding on the rocks as does its American brother ? Some readers of Science - Gossip can perhaps inform me. The heads of both male and female Belted King- fishers are crested. The feathers composing this head-dress can be erected and spread over the eyes like a sunshade ; and this, I believe, is its real use. I am led to think so from watching the birds during the hot summer (for weeks at a stretch) when hunt- ing and trapping in the Far North- West. When undisturbed, and gazing intently into the water, should the sun shine brightly, the crest is invariably spread, and the feathers thus erected seem as if intended to intercept the sun-rays that would otherwise dazzle the eyes and produce confused vision, just as we are prone to place our hands over our eyes if looking at any object in the sunshine. Many strange appendages to the plumage of birds, that we suppose merely decorative, I am disposed to think have some direct use that we should find out if opportunity were afforded, to watch their habits closely. I may be wrong in my ideas as to the use of the Kingfisher's crest ; and it may be asked why this Kingfisher has so large a crest, whilst others have not any, or too small to be of use as sun-shades. I answer by asking another question. Why has the skunk a horridly fetid secretion, and the pine-martin, fisher, and mink, none at all ?— they live the same, feed alike, and have similar enemies. I know it is so, but cannot tell why. J. K. Lokd, F.Z.S. WINGS OF BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. THE wings of moths and butterflies, as is well known, form interesting objects for examination with the microscope, but it often happens, that for want of a hint or two as to the choice of suitable specimens and the best mode of mounting them when obtained, many cabinets are destitute of ex- amples worthy of the appellation good. Yet there is no real difficulty in the procuring of such slides as, while they show the infinite skill and beneficence of the Divine Creator, will likewise, simply as exam- ples of harmonious colouring, provoke on their exhibition the warmest admiration. The consideration of foreign Lepidoptera is in the present paper waived. The few remarks about to be made are intended for those who wish to study the wondrous beauty displayed by our native butterflies and moths, and secure from them c 2 2S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Feb. 1, I860. such slides as may worthily be compared in extreme loveliness, if riot in grand colouring, with exotics. It is necessary that the wings chosen for display and permanent preservation should be perfect — a condition only to be obtained by killing the insect immediately it has completed the transformation into the imago state, and also that it be properly illumi- nated so that it may be seen to the best advantage. Some of the species most suitable for selection are as follow : — The Red Admiral, the caterpillar of which feeds upon the nettle, and may be obtained in June and July, exhibits marked contrast and depth of colour- ing on the upper surface of the wings. The red, black, white, and blue remind one of the glories of the denizens of warmer climates. We, however, prefer to bring microscopic power to bear on the under -surface of both wings. In the fore-wing a great number of tints may be found, from the brightest and most delicate to deep black, and in certain parts, small groups of scales of an iridescent green glow with refulgent beauty. The under- surface of the hind-wing presents a no less marvel- lous display— white, black, brown, blue, pearly grey, and iridescent green scales are scattered apparently in confusion, and yet the effect is one of surpassing loveliness. To the unaided vision these hues all blend into a warm brown marbled with other sober tints, and the indications of the sight described are so small, that few only would place this object on the microscopic stage, and expect to And anything worth special notice. All the butterflies of this family and its allies will supply good specimens ; but, in my humble opinion, the Red Admiral furnishes the most superb object, not even excepting the Peacock Butterfly, the splendour of which has been specially dwelt on more than once by able writers. I opine that there is little danger of such highly prized insects as the Camberwell Beauty, or the Purple Emperor, being cut up to make objects of. Those wings which are intended for viewing by reflected light must of course be mounted dry, in cells. Unfortunately I find they deteriorate in time. Confervoid growths make their appearance on the covering glass, and the colours themselves fade slightly. At the meeting of the Microscopical Society, in December last, the subject of cells for objects mounted in the dry was ably and fully discussed. The merits of cells made with glass, marine glue, tin foil, india-rubber, ebonite, and paper saturated with shellac, were each reviewed, and the hints then dropped from distinguished microscopists of long experience cannot but be of great value. The Small Tortoiseshell, any of the Eritillary Butterflies, or the Swallow Tail, will furnish a capital wing for mounting in balsam, to be viewed as a transparent object. The latter is also often mounted opaque. The Green-veined White Butterfly, in which a greenish tint is observable on the underside of the hind wing, when placed under the microscope shows the said green tint to be merely an optical illusion caused by the mixture of black and yellow scales situated there. Any of the Blues will make a splendid slide if mounted entire with the wings closed, suitable especially for a low power of seven or eight dia- meters. The moths now claim our attention. The Burnet moth gives a remarkably fine slide, and so does the Green Oak moth. It will be found that, owing to the iridescent property of the scales of these moths, some positions of the light bring out the colours more strongly than others. Badly illuminated the wing will look insignificant, but when everything is comme ilfaut, it will be declared magnificent, the scales having a metallic lustre, and returning from myriad -glittering surfaces the light they receive from the lamp. Towards the end of May, and all through June, a little glossy brown or black moth with long antennae is common in the suburbs of London. There are several species, and some will suit the collector better than others. I remember reading in Wood's " Common Objects of the Country" * a description of this little gem, and I was so determined to add it to my collection, that I lost no time in going to the British Museum to identify the insect. Having satisfied myself that I should know an Adela moth if one came in my way, I next went to Epping Eorest and got plenty. Since then I have, in the neigh- bourhood of Battersea, Wandsworth, and Streatham, on several occasions found, on palings, in the evening, a sort of Adela, having comparatively short antenna1, which is more beautiful still, and justifies all that the author quoted has said on the subject. The scales in this moth are prismatic, and if the light by which they are illuminated is slightly shifted the effect is remarkably pretty. Vivid rainbow and metallic tints alternately appear and disappear as the beam of light passes over the wing. No cabinet will be complete without the wing of the White Plume moth, an exquisite example of grace and beauty. The scales and hairs on this wing are of the purest white, and gleam with silvery lustre. The moth is common all over the south of England, and makes its appearance in the twilight * In his Nat. History he says, " If an observer be walking in the woods and should keep a careful watch among the leaves of the shrubs and underwood, he will often see sundry delicate filaments, like the threads of the gossamer spider, waving in the light, but having an iridescent surface, which shows they could not have derived their origin from the spider. On following these filaments to their source, he will find they belong to a little reddish-coloured moth, which sits on the branch with closed wings, and permits the long thread- like antenna; to wave freely in the breeze." — Vol. iii., p. 542. Feb. 1, 1S66.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 29 of July evenings*. The caterpillar, 1 believe, feeds on the wild convolvulus ; many specimens were obtained by the writer at Battersea. The minute moths which affect our hawthorn hedges, rose-bushes, &c, are too numerous to specify. They are, besides, when procured, so diffi- cult to mount without injury, that the task is almost impossible. These tiny Lepidoptera may be com- pared to the humming birds, and the prismatic lines in both seem to be analogous. It is very odd, but no less true, that the precise nature of the iridescence, both in the feathers of moths and the scales of insects, is scarcely under- stood. In some scales there are doubtless real colours present, but in others the effect seems to be brought about by the decomposition of light. x\n opinion which obtains greatly is that each scale is a laminated structure, and that in many cases the inner laminae contain the colouring matter (if colouring matter it be), while the outer ones are corrugated and quite transparent, and this is the cause of the brilliant reflections. Mr. Gosse says, " It is by the separation and reflection of prismatic hues that they appear beautiful, but by what law some reflect none but red, some none but yellow, some none but blue rays, we know not."f S. J. MTntire. GILL-EANS OE SABELLA. JL. D., writing at p. 262, vol. i., asks if it is a com- • mon occurrence for Sabella) to cast their gill- fans? Yes, very common; so much so that when Ihave some specimens of S. voluticornis (a very line species) sent me from England to Hamburg, I never expect to find them arrive with their gill-fans attached, but I always get them separated in transport, and lying in the vessel they came in. But I place the animals in a good stream of shallow sea-water, in one of the hospital tanks of this establishment, where they are unmolested by other creatures, and where they get more air in the water than in the show-tanks. In the course of two or three weeks, or a month, according to the season, very small and tender gill-plumes have grown (to replace the old ones), and these just peep out from the ends of the tubes. They then grow quickly, and in the course of a month longer are transferred to the tanks, where the public can see them. But the new fans thus grown, though in time they get to be as large as the original ones, are always whiter and more delicate-looking than those they had when in the sea. I have verified, with Sabella penicillus, S. casta, S. bombyx, and others, all that Sir John Graham Dalyell observed with respect to the manner in * I saw one this evening in London, Nov. 2. I860, t F. H. Gosse's " Life, its lower and intermediate Forms," page 163. which the tubes of these animals are added to at both ends. With me, as with him, Sabella; when they arrive here in separate tubes, like so many sticks, instead of being fastened to some firm sub- stance, give no signs of life, until they have bur- rowed their posterior extremities in the sand of the aquarium, and this they do very quickly, not caring if they cannot make a new portion of their tubes of mud (of which the tubes consist when in the sea), but continuing it in fine sand. When thus fixed, they raise themselves up from the horizontal position as when first placed in the aquarium, and expand their gill-fans, and live well for long periods. Serpula contortiiplicata too, with me, does not display itself at first, nor till I have kept it a week or two. Sabella tubularia (now Protida protensa) I find very handy. Some time ago, I, by accident, laid one down in a tank, with the mouth of its tube close against an upright piece of slate, so that the animal could not emerge, but it soon got over this difficulty by adding to its tube a new piece of about an inch long, turned abruptly at right angles to the original tube, and then, of course, the gill-fans expanded as usual. Much information may be got about annelids from an octavo book published this year, at seven shillings (pp. 365, with twenty plates), entitled, '" A Catalogue of the British Non-Parasitical Worms in the Collection of the British Museum. By George Johnston, M.D." This, though called "a catalogue," is not a dry list, but is a very readable book. The late Dr. Johnston, of Berwick-on-Tweed (1793 — 1855), was indeed such a genial man that he could never be dull. The volume is enriched with copious extracts from the writings of two other naturalists of the same class — those who observed the lower aquatic marine animals in a living state : Colonel George Montague (he died in 1S15) and Sir J. G. Dalyell (he died about 1852)— which is a valuable feature of the work, the books of these two natural- ists being expensive. I greatly admire their style of treating their subjects, their descriptions being both exact and vivid, and given in a manner which makes one feel intuitively that they had the living animals before them, and that they really loved them. Dalyell is especially felicitous in his language ; for example, in describing the suddenness with which the gill-fans of Sabella peniciltus collapse, he says, "Let the slightest shock be communicated, and the whole instantaneously collapses and disappears within the tube, almost before its image lias faded from the eye." Every one who has seen a tuberculous annelid flash out of sight, must feel how strikingly truthful are those words which I have marked in italics. Some years ago, when collecting materials for the history of the aquarium, I applied to the late Miss E. Dalyell, the venerable sister of Sir John, for any information she could give me respecting the system 30 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Feb. 1, I860. pursued by her brother in keeping marine animals alive ; for it is well known that, from the latter end of the last century to almost the middle of the present one, Sir John maintained aquaria in his house in Edinburgh. I asked Miss Dalyell, in the first place, whether Sir John chose the vessels in which he maintained his creatures, of any particular form or proportions, so as to obtain, for example, the largest extent of air-absorbing water-surface with the smallest amount of fluid, as would be obtained by the employment of shallow aquaria; and whether he frequently changed the water, or if he depended on the aerating 'effects of growing vegetation ; and whether, to cause more or less growth of algae, he chose various degrees of illumination, according to modern practice, by exposing his tanks to certain aspects of the sky. Also, if he attended much to temperature, and how long he kept the same animals without dying ? To which questions Miss Dalyell answered as follows : — " In answer to your inquiries regarding the way Sir John Graham Dalyell kept his marine animals, I will certainly give you all the information I pos- sibly can, by, in the first place, telling you that the vessels containing them were all made of the very finest, clearest glass, wide at the top, just the same width as at the bottom ; they were invariably round, and all sizes — some short, some long, some wider, some not so wide. I cannot remember ever seeing more than one fine specimen in one glass. No marine plant whatever was in the water where the animals dwelt. Sir John fed them himself; what he gave them I do not exactly know, but raw mussel, I know, was one thing. He kept many of his sub- jects eight and ten years alive. He was most par- ticular in giving them sea-water, always taken out of the sea when it was flowing, and he changed the water every morning, often twice a day if he per- ceived the smallest fragment amongst it, wiping and washing the glasses very clean. He got sea-water always twice a week, and sometimes three times. It was carried in an earthenware jar, holding about three or four gallons of water : a person was specially employed for the purpose. Sir John's subjects were always kept in a shelf under the window in his study. It was situated in the north out-look, but whether they were put there for any purpose, I don't know, but I think it was just to put them anywhere out of the way. Sometimes he had a fire in his study and sometimes none. He understood nothing of marine botany. His chief aim was water fresh from the sea, when it was flowing and full of animalculse, and particularly clean vessels. " If I can give you any more information on the subject, I will be happy to do it. — I remain, &c, "Jan. 2nd, 1860." "E. Dalyell. I then wrote again to Miss Dalyell, asking if she could give me any dates of her brother's aquarium- keeping, and she replied politely thus : — " Your letter of the 18th of January reached me, but it being a difficult task for me to perform — furnishing you with dates — I am sorry to say that I am unable to perform it further than to mention that the first aquatic subject I found was dated in the year 1790 ; and, as a curiosity, I desired it to be engraved upon one of the copper plates. It is the River- worm, which forms into a little fly. " As you have the work, you will observe a little fly, and beside it a black little worm. The worm ought to have been of the most brilliant scarlet colour. I know as to the Hydra tuba, Sir John was busily engaged about experimenting on it in aquaria, in the years 1800 and 1S03. This is all the informa- tion I can give you. I know very well once every subject was dated, but where these dates are now I cannot tell. " E. Dalyell. " Feb. m,im." I think '. that these two very interesting letters, bearing on the early history of the aquarium, deserve printing. W. Alfokd Lloyd. A EEW WORDS ABOUT SOME ASCIDIANS. THERE is one form of marine objects very little noticed by casual visitors to the sea-shore; yet on investigation we may find much of beauty and very much of curious interest among them. These are the Ascidians or shell-less Mollusks, of the different sorts of which a most interesting ac- count is given in the valuable work on "British Mollusca," by Prof. Forbes and Mr. Haidey. To attract attention, let us first look at these bits of stone or rock, under our feet, between tide-marks, gbttering like bits of mica slate; plunge them in clear sea-water, and look closely: the shining particles are beautiful little stars, five to nine rayed, but the prevailing number of rays to each star is seven. These are partially imbedded in, and held together, and held fast to the stone, by a dull slimy skin. This linking medium shows us that it is not a single animal which we are looking at, but a commonwealth of beings bound together by common and vital ties. (See fig. 23, which represents " Botryllus poly- cyclas") Each star is a family, each group of stars is a com- munity, and each ray of every star is an individual life, containing iu its inmost recesses all the machinery of life, the respiratory gill-plates and circulatory pumps, which a microscopic investiga- tion can discern to be producing minute whirlpools, taking in and throwing out currents of water as needful for the creature's existence. Bound each star, as if marking out the rays more distinctly, is a band of deep purple colour, giving the stars the Feb. 1, 1S66.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 31 appearance of being slightly raised in relief, on their connecting skin or integument. Eorbes enumerates six species of Botryllus, besides Botryllidse and similar objects. The size of each individual is about one-twelfth of an inch. Botryllus represents the ' true compound Ascidians." Fig'. 23. Butrylltis polycycla.s. Next let us take up out of the dredge some of these " associated Ascidians," queer misshapen masses. Their slimy, tough, leathery, and yet soft, horn-like substance is not pleasing to the touch ; indeed, at first it is rather repulsive, and reminds us of the " Deadman's bands " {Alcyonium digitatum), so disgusting an object until we have seen the beau- tiful polypes which emanate like flowers from the warts spread over its surface. Our tunicated Ascidians exhibit no such polypes. It is said that most of the tunicata undergo a sort of tadpole state on first emerging from the egg, swim about freely in the early stages of their ex- istence, and pass through curious transformations, before they become fixed on the ground, or rocks, or alga?, as found in their fully developed condition. Let us select this dark orange-coloured lump, or mass of lumps : it is probably Cynthia rustica (fig. 21). There are no polypes or whorls of tenta- cles on then- rough, wasted, wrinkled surface ; but iuside each of the agglomerated coriaceous lumps, which are really the tunica-, is an animal— a true Ascidian ; and if we place the mass iu sea-water we shall presently see two snouts or tubes of a bright red colour pushed out from each conelike projection; these have a square sort of opening, and the one takes in and the other ejects the fluids which sup- port the life of the animal. These fluids are some- times ejected with such force, that Mr. Gosse has called these creatures " squirters " ; the tubes are called syphons. There are about thirteen species of Cynthia recorded. The animals resemble a good deal in some respects, and differ in others from, those of the Pholas and other allied families of the true Mollusca ; but instead of shells they are invested in these tough coriaceous tunics, or jackets, and are hence named Tunicata, of which about seventy-four species are described by naturalists. M. Milne-Edwards has written very elaborately on the Ascidia ; but the merit of first detecting their real nature belongs pro- bably to Savigny ; though they seem to have excited the attention of Aristotle, who gives a most graphic description of them when he says : " They are the only kind of mollusca whose whole body is enclosed in the shell, and that shell of a substance between true shell aud leather ; it may be cut like dry leather. If we open them we find a nervous mem- brane lining this leathery case, and fixed to it at two points, corresponding to the two separate open- ings, the one to take in, the other to eject the water." He then makes further remarks on their anatomy, which convinced him of their truly animal nature, although on the first mere external survey, the inert and sponge-like forms rooted to the ground seemed to indicate a vegetable nature. Like most philosophic naturalists, the question of the distinc- tion between the animal and vegetable kingdoms was one of great attraction for the all-observing Aristotle, and this great father of natural history examined the Ascidia and many other creatures in - 3fiW Fig. 2-1. Cynthia, and its Tadpole. the hopes of gaining definite information respecting such distinction. This line of demarcation is eagerly sought after to the present day, but, as yet, the subtlest chemistry, the most unwearied micro- scopic searchings, have failed to settle the question. May it not be that the mingling and melting of one nature into the other are too gradual and impercep- tible for human ken ? It is worthy of remark that, so lately as 1845, the Ascidians have again played a part in that much- vexed question, and been obliged to submit to new cross-examination, and with very unexpected results, for they have shown in the composition of their tissues an unlooked-for relation with vegetable structure. Dr. Schmidt discovered in the tunic of an Ascidian mollusk a substance identical with cellu- lose. This statement was confirmed and extended by the inquiries of Professors Lowig and Kolliker, who found cellulose undoubtedly present in con- 32 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Feb. 1, 1866. siderable quantities in the tissues of many tunicate, both simple and compound. They explained this by supposing it might be dissolved by the gastric juices from the diatoms and many minute vegetable or- ganisms found in the stomachs of the Ascidians, and, being thus dissolved, was then absorbed into the tissues. Thus, as Professor Forbes remarks, if the presence of cellulose in the tunics of the Ascidian mollusks cannot be taken as an evidence of an approach to a vegetable nature in these bodies, it affords us at least a wholesome warning against the placing of confidence in asserted chemical distinctions between the great kingdoms of nature. P. S. B. THE NEW ILLUMINATORS FOP HIGH POWERS. THE principle of reflection has been made use of in optical instruments for a variety of purposes, and recently that employed in the transit instru- ment has been modified and brought to bear upon the microscope in a very remarkable manner. The instruments alluded to, are the new patent il- luminators of Messrs. Powell and Lealand ; Smith, Beck, & Beck ; and a reflector by Messrs. Ross of Lon- don, and Dancer of Manchester; which lat- ter has also adapted a small speculum answer- ing the same purpose. That of the first-named firm consists of a tube of brass, fitted at one end with a moveable male and at the other a female screw, thereby en- abling it to be screwed into the body of the instru- ment, and an objec- tive into the lower opening. Midway between their two orifices is situated a Fig. 25. Fig. 26. Powell & Lealancl's Patent Illuminator for Minute Opaque Objects. small plate of parallel glass, which receives light from a lamp through a small hole drilled in the side of the before-mentioned tube ; the hole is fitted witli a small diaphragm plate, perforated with four openings of different sizes. The action of the new apparatus consists in transmitting, by means of the plate of glass, the light (received through the side orifice) from a lamp through the object-glass down upon and illuminating the object, the rays therefrom passing upwards through the objective again, and impinging upon the field-glass of the eyepiece as usual. The illuminator by Smith, Beck, & Beck is in substance the same, but more simply carried out. The tube for screwing into the microscope, and the orifice thereof for the objective, is lighter than that just described, the moveable upper portion which screws into the microscope being evenly burnished in, to enable the hole, through which the light from a lamp is to be thrown, to be always brought round to the left hand. In lieu of a plate of glass for the necessary reflection, a round disc of ordinary thin microscopic glass is used, the same being fixed by means of shellac into a small pin, the pin and disc gliding centrally into position through a slot cut in the tube. The pin projects, terminat- ing in a small milled head, whereby the best angle of reflection can be obtained ; this will be found to be 45°. The next method consists in making use of the left-hand tube of the binocular microscope, which is fitted with a piece of tube carrying a mirror, the light being by its means reflected on to, and through the prism, and so through the object- glass, the right tube conveying the magnified image of the object to the eye of the observers. The specu- lum last referred to fits into the body of the micro- scope just above the objective, and, reflecting a small portion of the rays, acts similarly to the illuminators first named. After the above description of the apparatus, the next point to be considered is the illumination ; and, indeed, upon the management of this, nearly the satisfactory working of the whole depends. My remarks now will be confined to the two illumi- nators first mentioned. Too much light carries flare, and the object appears foggy and indistinct. The best method I have found, is to use the small condensing lens fitted into the stand (not the stage) of the instrument, the lamp being raised to the height necessary to illuminate the whole of the lens. The circle of light transmitted by the condenser should just fill the aperture of the small diaphragm one size larger than intended to be used. With the instrument by Smith, Beck, & Beck the same object- can partially be obtained by moving the lamp a little further away, or on one side. Another great improvement (with some objects) I find, can be made by causing the light to pass through a plate of thin neutral-tint glass, the flare, if not excessive, being entirely absorbed. We next arrive at the class of objects to which this description of illumi- nator is specially adapted ; these will be found to consist of scales, say Papilio Paris, Azure Blue, thin sections of wood, &c, or, in fact, anything which is tolerably flat. With respect to objects covered with glass, no matter how thin, the illuminators will not work, the reflection from the glass-cover enveloping Feb. 1, 1SGG.J SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 33 the object as depicted upon the field-glass of the eyepiece in total fog. The best object-glasses for use with these instruments appear to me, to be the X J_ l -L »Tnrl * 4) ~oi 8) "I11-1 ig" This brief notice of illumination for opaque objects with high powers must not close without reference to the last method previously mentioned, viz., the reflector and illuminator, which appears to possess certain elements extremely valuable. The glare is much reduced, and necessarily so, as the image of the object does not pass through any plate of glass, the binocular prism simply directing the rays of light into the objective, and thence to the object ; the magnified figure being seen through the right-hand tube without any medium being interposed. There are one or two drawbacks to this plan. Eirst, nothing can be seen biuocularly, although it is well known that a ^ and ^ may be used with advantage in some cases in the binocular ; of course, as one tube is taken up with the illumi- nating apparatus, the observer can only make use of the other. Secondly, as the prism cuts off half the pencils of light refracted through the object- glass, its power is sensibly diminished. Thirdly, it is somewhat difficult to get a field equably illumi- nated. The arrangement is nevertheless very simple and efficacious where the binocular is not required. Owuers of these contrivances must not rashly condemn either, as a great deal depends, as before mentioned, upon manipulation ; and there can be no doubt but that they place in our hands as microscopists, a new power, to be hereafter used in the solution of certain points which, without their aid, would remain in ambiguity. John Bockett. MOUNTING CRYSTALS. BY A. J. BOBERTS. rpiIE mounting of crystals, though at first -*- sight apparently simple, is frequently attended with some difficulty, aud is a sort of bugbear to microscopists. A few lines on the subject may not he altogether unacceptable to the readers of Science Gossip, or inappropriate to its pages ; more espe- cially as one correspondent has already expressed a desire for information on the subject. Perhaps the first thing to consider is the medium best adapted for this purpose. Canada balsam and castor-oil seem to be the two best media on account of their being little acted on by the substances to be mounted iu them ; gelatine, glycerine, and all aqueous media are, of course, quite inadmissible from their solvent power. With regard to the salts themselves, the best method of proceeding is to place a drop or two of a solution of the salt, which it is desired to crystallize for the purpose of mounting, on an ordinary glass slide, allow it to dry slowly and completely, and then, if balsam is to be used, it must be applied in a tolerably fluid state, the glass cover put on, and the slide finished in the usual manner, with the ap- plication of as little heat as possible. The use of castor-oil is attended with a little more difficulty. A perfectly dry spot of crystals being- selected, a small portion of castor-oil should be dropped on gently, and allowed to insinuate itself over every part of the spot to the total exclusion of air bubbles. The thin glass cover must now be carefully applied, all superfluous oil removed by the application of bibulous paper, and the cover sealed with shellac-varnish, during the drying of which the slide must be kept in the horizontal posi- tion. There are some substances which it is im- possible to mount, such as chromic acid and per- manganate of potash ; for, owing to their very power- ful oxidizing properties, they become decomposed in contact with organic matter. Crystals of such compounds must therefore be prepared for observa- tion extemporaneously, as, being very deliquescent, they soon attract moisture from the air and become liquid. There is, however, one salt specially worthy of notice, which may be mounted with free access of air, a thin glass cover to keep out the dust being all that is required. It is the platino-cyanide of magne- sium in its ordinary state ; the crystals are of a rich red colour with bright green reflections. When heated it becomes yellow from loss of water, and then gradually absorbs moisture from the atmo- sphere, and resumes its original red colour. A slide of this, like many other objects, is, a " thing of beauty," and a never-failing source of admiration ; its gorgeous colours being heightened by the polari- scope will call forth expressions of pleasure from the enchanted beholder. Other salts may also be enumerated as giving pleasing results, aud being tolerably easy to mount. The sulphates of copper, iron, magnesia, the double sulphate of nickel and potash, the nitrates of soda and potash, chlorate of potash ; among the organic bodies, saliciue, theine, quinine, aud the other cinchona alkaloids. Aloine, from aloes, either Socotrine or Barbadoes, may be thus prepared. A fragment of either variety of aloes being crushed on a glass slide, sufficient proof spirit added to dissolve it, aud the solution covered with thin glass, the arrangement set by that the spirit may evaporate, the aloine will crystallize out slowly (the slower the better). After a few days fine crystals will be formed, which will require no further preparation ; the glass cover may be fastened down. This forms a very beautiful slide. There is also another beautiful salt called " Hera- pathite." It is a salt of quinine ; its method of preparation may be found in Hogg's work on the microscope, and is too long for insertion here. This salt requires great care in mounting, but forms a nice object. 34 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [.Feb. 1, 1866. In mounting crystals the great aim of the pre- parer should be to obtain perfect and regular speci- mens. These will always be of value as a reference to the typical crystalline form of any salt. Most salts, if their solutions are rapidly evaporated, form a crystalline mass, of which the component crys- tals are so conglomerated together that the normal form is difficult, if not impossible, to be made out. Hence the necessity for slow evaporation. It is a good plan to prepare two or three slides, and, before mounting, to select the one which has the most perfect crystals. Of course (like everything else connected with microscopy) mounting crystals re- quires practice, and there is a certain knack which can only be acquired by repeated operations, and the observer must not be discouraged by frequent failures. While on the subject of crystals it may not be out of place to notice one other circumstance, which, though not of any scientific importance, is a source of pleasure to the observer, and deserves more attention than is frequently given to it, viz., the act of crystallization, which is very beautifully seen under a low power with the aid of the polariscope and selenite stage. The slide on which a drop of the solution of the salt under examination has been placed should be warmed and placed under the microscope. As evaporation proceeds, delicate forms are seen darting swiftly over the field, or more leisurely pursuing their path, accompanied by the most splendid play of colours, until the whole field becomes one mass of crystals glowing with all the colours of the rainbow. Sometimes minute crys- talline points dart into view, and, gradually increasing in size until they frequently join each other, form a spectacle which cannot fail to fill the mind of the thoughtful observer with wonder, and to raise ques- tions as to what are the laws which govern the for- mation of those beautiful shapes presented to his gaze, and why these varied forms should dhTer. The great questions respecting light and heat are gradually approaching solution, and may not those relating to the formation of crystals be solved by some patient investigator ? Death-watch. — Mr. Smith lately called the attention of the Entomological Society, to a query recently put to him by a correspondent respecting the so-called " death-watch." He was inclined to think that the "ticking" said to be caused by Atropos pidsatoriam was scarcely substantiated, as he could not conceive it possible that so soft and delicate a creature could produce any sound whatever ; and, with reference to that supposed to be made by Anohium, he thought it more likely that this was caused by the insect's gnawing the wood, rather than as being a special independent sound, as was generally supposed. — Entomol. Hon. Magazine. STARCH/ IT must be premised that in writing of Starch we do not use that term iu its domestic application, and that the Starch of the laundry is but one of several forms of the substance known in science under the general name of Starch, which includes also sago, tapioca, arrowroot, corn-flour, and similar alimentary substances. It was said by a noted lady-lecturer, Lola Montez, some years ago, that " Starch makes the man," alluding to the then prevalent fashion of wearing starched collars, shirts, and other portions of male attire, not to mention the starched petticoats and other garments of the gentler sex, before the intro- duction of crinoline. Her assertion is true in another sense, for wheat is not inaptly termed the " staff of life " in temperate zones, and rice in tropical regions; and it is largely on account of their Starch that they are of so much benefit to mankind. Of the history of Starch very little is recorded. It appears to have been known to the ancient Greeks; and Pliny attributes to the Islanders of Chio " the discovery of the method of extracting it from wheat." The Venetian traveller Marco Polo, who visited China and some parts of the East Indies in the thirteenth century, describes the method of extract- ing it from the sago-palm. According to Eosbroke, starches of various colours were imported into Eng- land from Holland in 1564— that which was yellow- being esteemed the best for ruffs and other articles. In histories and novels— treating of the early part of the seventeenth century — allusion is occasionally made to the notorious Mrs. Turner, who, in addition to dealing in spells and philtres, introduced into Britain yellow-starched ruffs, &c. In the presence of many women of fashion, this introducer of starched linen made her exit on the scaffold at Tyburn, rouged and dressed as if for a ball, and wearing an enormous ruff stiffened with her own yellow Starch. Despite her example, in a few years after her exit, the fashion she had introduced died out. It appears that much of the Starch used for stiffen- ing the enormous ruffs worn by "the upper ten thousand" of that period was procured from the root of the Arum maculattim; for that quaint old botanist, Gerard, writes : — " The most pure and white Starch is made of the roots of cuckoo-pint ; but most hurtful for the hands of the laundress that hath the handling of it, for it choppeth, blistereth, and maketh the hands rough and rugged, and withal smarting." To the unaided eye, Starch, highly purified, appears simply as a powder more or less white, and some- times with a glistening aspect. Under the micro- scope, however, this powder is seen to consist of granules of various forms and sizes, and on many of them is perceived, either in the centre or near one Feb. 1, 1866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 35 end, a small ring, groove, slit, star, or crack, termed the bile or bilum, around which may frequently be noticed faint rings, plications, or folds. The forma- tion of the granule, the structure and uses of its bilum and rings, have been the subject of much dis- pute amongst microscopists. By some it is affirmed that the granule consists of a nucleus and coverings, and that the plications are due to the coverings cropping out. Others are of opinion that it is made up of layers of amylaceous matter surrounding a bilum, and that the outer layers are denser than the inner ; whilst others assert that it is simply a cell filled with amylaceous matter enclosed by a plicated cell-wall . Leuwenboek, the eminent German microscopist, was of opinion that the granules of Starch were cells "having soluble contents, but an insoluble case." This was denied by Payen, Persoy, and Pritzsche, who stated that the granules consisted of concentric laminae superimposed on one another. M. Martin, librarian of the Imperial Polytechnic Institute at Arienna, and Mr. Busk, a distinguished naval surgeon and microscopist, are of opinion that the Starch granule is " a cell having a cell-wall much larger than the contents of the cell in a dried state, and therefore puckered and plaited as indicated by the lines on the surface." Lately, in a paper by Dr. Allman, of Dublin, pub- lished in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, the doctor agrees with Pritzsche's theory, that the Starch-granule is, in fact, " a series of cells placed within each other." He thus sums up his remarks : — 1st. " That the Starch-granule consists of a series of lamella?, in the form of closed hollow cells, in- cluded one within the otber, the most internal inclosing a minute cavity filled with amorphous (?) Starch; that the concentric striae visible on the granule indicate the surface of contact of these lamellae; and that the so-called nucleus of Pritzsche corresponds to the central cavity. 2nd. " That while the lamellae appear to be all identical in chemical constitution, yet the internal differ from the external in consistency or other con- ditions of integration. 3rd. " That the order of the position of the lamellae is centripetal. 4th. "That while the Starch-granule is thus a lamellated vesicle it must be included in the category of the true vegetable cell, from which it differs not only in the absence of a proper nucleus, but in pre- senting no chemical differentiation between mem- brane and contents." Wheat {Triticum mdgare).— This starch consists chiefly of large and small grains, with a few of in- termediate size ; those of common wheat range from •0001 to '0009 of an inch. The smaller are nearly globose, the larger rounded and flattened. In a few of the granules a hilum may be observed with faintly-marked concentric rings around it. Rice (Oryza saliva). — The granules of rice starch are polygonal and very small, about "00019 of an inch on an average, and the smallest of commercial starches. They do not, however, adhere in groups, as in many other irregular-shaped species. ah » § * .1 .-] hich it will diffuse itself in the water containing the object. — Rev. W. A. Leighton, in Ann. Nat. History. Uses of the Nipa Palm.— Malay and Dyak houses are raised on piles, varying in height from three to six feet. The walls are of wood, or more frequently of ataps, a species of thatch made from the leaves of the Nipa Palm. This tree supplies half the necessaries of life to the natives of the Ear East. It grows in large fields upon the water's edge, and thrusts out its leaves or branches twenty feet in length, like a huge fern, from the root. These leaves, when young, are an excellent vegetable ; and when old, are woven into thatch. Dried, they make cigarettes, matting, and hats ; from the root, sugar or salt is extracted, according to the process — for the Malays use their magnificent sugar-canes solely as a sweetmeat. In addition to the other uses of this noble palm, I have seen a native boat's crew hoist Nippa leaves as sails.— The Household. Feb. 1, 1SC6.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. ■13 GEOLOGY. The Dodo.— About last September, M. Gaston de Bissy caused to be dug from a marsh on bis property, known as "La Mare aux Songes,"in the Mauritius, the alluvium contained in it, to use as manure. After digging two or three feet tbe men came in contact with bones of tortoises and deer, the former in vast numbers. As soon as Mr. Clark heard of this he went to M. De Bissy, and stated to him what had long been his opinion as to the position in which Dodoes' bones might be found, requesting him to give orders to the diggers to lay by carefully what- ever bones they might turn up. M. De Bissy was much pleased with the chance of making so inter- esting a discovery, and at once ordered that Mr. Clark's request should be fulfilled. Mr. Clark visited the estate many times, but without obtaining any satisfactory intelligence. He at length en- gaged two men to enter the dark-coloured water about three feet deep, and feel in the soft mud at the bottom with then; feet. In a short time he had the inexpressible satisfaction of finding a broken tarsus, an entire tibia and part of another. He at once commenced operations in earnest, and has been fortunate enough to find every important bone of that remarkable bird, including crauium, upper and lower mandibles of bill, cervical and dorsal vertebrae, ribs, coraeoid bones, scapula? and clavicle, sternum, humerus, ulna, pelvis, femur, tibia, and tarsometa- tarsus, so that an experienced person can well build a Dodo from these remains, the toes being the only part wanting. The skull of this bird is of amazing thickness, and the cerebral cavity very small; the beak of great strength and solidity, as are the con- dyles of the lower mandible. Some of the cervical vertebrae are more than two inches in diameter, and of very elaborate structure. The sternum, of which the form shows a strong resemblance to that of the pigeon tribe, in some specimens is more than five inches wide and seven long. The keel is a quarter of an inch tliick, and about an inch deep in the deepest part, which is at the centre ; and the ster- num is there three quarters of an inch in thickness. Some femurs are nearly seven inches long, and more than an inch in diameter, the tibiae nine inches long, and the upper condyles two inches in diameter. The tarsometatarsi are of very solid bone, and have been found in greater numbers than any others. They are about the length of those of a good-sized turkey, but more than twice the thickness. Only two or three craniums have been found, with a few fragments. The paucity of these remains, as com- pared with other parts of the frame, may very possibly arise from the numerous apertures in the head, into which roots insinuate themselves, thus disintegrating the structure. The upper inaudible of the bill has suffered from the same cause, and only two tolerably perfect specimens of that organ have been obtained, while the under mandibles are numerous ; but only three or four have been found in which both rami remained attached. The tip of one upper mandible is two inches in depth, and an inch in thickness. The vertebra? are very strong, and show that the spinal cord was fully double the size of that of the turkey. These bones present a great diversity of colours. Those which were found near the springs in the marsh are nearly of their original hue. Some found alongside of a large bois- de-natte tree were nearly of the colour of that wood, and many others are nearly as black as ebony. Mr. Clark deposited the first specimens of Dodoes' bones he obtained in the museum at the Royal College, as well as those of the Flamingo, the existence of which in Mauritius was remembered by the parents of persons now living. He has also sent a complete set of Dodo's bones to Professor Owen for the British Museum.— Commercial Gazette. NewLabyiunthodont-Reptiles in Ireland. — Robert Etheridge, Esq., announces the discovery of no less than four, if not five, new genera of amphi- bian labyrinthodont-reptiles from the true coal-beds of Jarrow colliery, Kilkenny, Ireland. Three, out of the five forms, of these amphibians are un- doubtedly new to science, and, in all probability, the remaining two also. The first, and most remarkable genus, Professor Huxley has named "Opliiderpeton^ having reference to its elongated, snake-like form, rudimentary limbs, peculiar head, and compressed tail. In outward form Opliiderpeton somewhat re- sembles Siren lacertina and Ampliiuma,\m.i the ventral surface appears covered with an armature of minute spindle-shaped plates, obliquely adjusted together, as in Arclia>gosaurus and Pholidogaster. The second new form, which he names Lepterpeton, possesses an eel-like body, with slender and pointed head, and singularly-constructed hour-glass-shaped centra, as in Thecodontosaurvs. The third genus, which Professor Huxley names Icthyerpeton, has also ventral armour, composed of delicate rod-like ossi- cles ; the hind limbs have three short toes, and the tail was covered with small quadrate scales, or apparently horny scales. The fourth new amphibian labyrinthodont he appropriately names Keraterpeton, a singular salamandroid-looking form, but minute, as compared with the other associated genera. Its highly ossified veretebral column, prolonged epiotic bones, and armour of overlapping scales, deter- mines its character in a remarkable manner. These remains were collected by Mr. Galton, of the Geo- logical Survey of Ireland. The remaining genus is represented by portions of the posterior half of an animal nearly seven feet in length, which Mr. Huxley is inclined to believe may belong to the genus An- tliracosaurns, or one closely allied to it. — Geological Magazine. 44 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Feb. 1, 1866. MICROSCOPY. Clips. — I have tried various methods of pressing the thin glass upon the slides for the microscope, so to remain in situ during the time required to dry or harden, and none to give more satisfactory results than the following. A, a piece of wood Fig. 52. Wive Clip. 8 in. long and f in. thick. E, a spring made with thin iron-wire. The end of the spring is driveu into the table, as at C. A piece of i in. iron-wire is then run through the springs, which forms an axis to work upon, and also keeps them in their places. I place a pin at the side of the spring, so that it will fall on a given spot, and not rub the cover from side to side. The springs are made by binding the thin wire round the i rod about four or five times. — William Goode. How to view Live Animalcules.— Animal- cules begin now to abound. It often is difficult to obtain a fair look at them on account of their quick movements. Perhaps it may be pleasant to some to know how to remedy this in a considerable degree. This I do by keeping some clear thick gum-water, and putting a small quantity on the slide. It mixes with the water, and its thickness prevents such quick motion on the part of the animals.— E. T. Scott. Clips.— Having used a clip of my own construc- tion for some years, I venture to send you one that may appear to have the advantage of not being easily disarranged, and yet easily applied and re- moved, giving at the same time more equable pressure (a matter of some moment when very thin covers are used), and allowing the slide to be placed under the microscope. It is formed of thin sheet- steel (obtainable in Foster Lane, Cheapside, of any Fig. 53. Steel Clip. thickness), and cut out in one piece, of the form above, with a stout pair of scissors, and then bent the required shape with a pair of pliers. When used, the fore and middle fingers are applied on the under side, and the thumb on the spring. If great pressure is required, two clips may be used, one at each end of the slide, and for any delicate work the width of the steel can be reduced. — J. B. Spencer. A Beautiful Object. — While on a visit re- cently to Cumberland lead mine, I was informed that in one part of the mine, COO fathoms from the entrance, and 60 fathoms from the surface, there was a recess about 80 yards long, in which there is total darkness, and where the miners do not work. In the recess there are thousands of flies, a few of which I induced one of the miners to catch and bring to me in a bottle which I supplied for the purpose. The flies, when mounted and examined under a microscope, are seen to be possessed of great beauty. They are best mounted as opaque objects, and when the wings are seen under condensed light, thrown on them in the direction from the tips to the roots, they exhibit the most beautiful iridescent colours. The antennae, the eyes, and indeed the whole body, amply repay careful examination. They also form beautiful objects when mounted in balsam, after having undergone IJ6 hours' saturation in liquid potash. As many readers of the Science Gossip may not have access to lead mines, it may be desirable to mention that the same species of fly may be obtained in abundance from drains and en- closed places. It is known by the common name of Eeb. 1, 1866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 45 Gnat, and by the technical name of Psychoda phalae- noides ; order Diptera; family Phlebotomidee ; and although common, it is, nevertheless, like many common objects, well worthy of careful scrutiny. — T. P. Barkas. AQUARIA. Sticklebacks. — Some three years ago I deter- mined to keep " sticklebacks" for the purpose of watching their habits. Accordingly I procured five or six — two males, the rest females. My aquarium soon assumed a very lively appearance ; its inhabit- ants seemed to form anything but a " happy family." After awhile I removed all save one male and one female, the latter about to spawn ; and looking (as sticklebacks would say, if they could speak) very interesting ; but still there was no peace, the gentleman never ceased chasing the lady about from one place to another ; for a few moments, at times, she would manage to hide beneath a piece of rock-work, but the moment the savage green-eyed monster of a husband saw her, he resumed the chase; perhaps it was caused by incompatibility of temper. However, I found her one morning floating on the top of the aquarium, all but dead ; she expired shortly afterwards. I then gently pressed out the " ova?," and let it fall into the aquarium ; the male followed it till it reached the bottom, and then and there he began to form a nest ; for days he worked at it. I often assisted him by giving him little pieces of broken twigs, saturated with water and then pressed firmly, so that they would not float again so readily to the surface ; he was unremitting in his attentions, opened his mouth in the most frightful way at me if I dared to look at him, and seized my finger most viciously if I put it near the top of the water. After a time the young fish ap- peared, and proud indeed he looked as he sailed about the aquarium in the midst of his yeuthful progeny. Just then I had to leave my aquarium, and my landlord emptied it out, thinking he was doing me a great favour. However, when I re- turned, I found only three small fish with their father, and these three he devoured as I looked at them. I suppose, during my absence they had had nothing given them to eat, and this dreadful act of the once tender parent was perhaps the last resource to satisfy the cravings of the inner fish ; or, perhaps, seeing there was nothing before the little fishes but hunger and a wretched death, he compassionately relieved them of all anxiety about the future by re- ceiving them into the paternal mouth and digesting them in the parental stomach. — W. E. T. Sticklebacks' Nests. — In an article on this subject, in the last number of Science Gossip, it is stated, as the result of some experiments, that after the eggs were hatched and the young fish had be- come large enough to look after themselves, the parent, in each case, "himself died." I have for years been in the habit of taking the 15-spined stickleback " Gasterosteus Spinachia," and am of opinion that the utmost duration of its life is only twelve months, as I never, under any circumstance, found an old fish in the usual haunts after the ap- pearance of the young, about the beginning of July. — K E. (.¥. B.) Scully Axemoxes. — I must somewhat qualify my statement in your last number. Two of the four anemones there mentioned have turned out to be specimens not of JEgeon Alfordi, but of Bunodes Ballii, variety Funesta. Mr. Gosse.has settled this for me in reference to one which I sent him, and another of the four must be classed with it as being like it in all respects. However, the remaining two I still hold to be iEgeons, for in one the tentacles, though grey, were very long, and flexuous like those of Anthea Cere us; and in the other the tentacles were green throughout, as in the first specimen of iEgeon which I found here last March, and which was de- scribed by Mr. Gosse in " The Annals of Natural History," July 1865. I am sorry to say both the green and the grey perished on their journey to the wonderful tanks at Hamburg. I found another jEgeon at Porth Crassa, on January 3rd. Its tentacles were of a bright, satiny green. Besides the more common species, the following Anemones are abundant in these islands between tide-marks : — Sagartia miniata, both varieties ; S. rosea ; S. venusta ; S. nivea; S. sphyrodeta'; besides endless varieties of Corynactis viridis. — D. P. Alfokd, St. Mary's Parsonage, Isles of Scilly. Effects of Freezing Animals. — M. Pouchet has sent a paper to the Erench Academy on the effects of freezing animals. He finds that no animal really frozen is susceptible of revivification, as freezing disorganizes the blood. The temperature at which the death of insects, grubs, and snails becomes inevitable is far below the freezing point (from 7° E. to — 2° F.). Animals may be sur- rounded by ice without themselves being frozen, unless the temperature is very low. M. Pouchet states that when an animal is frozen, the capilla- ries contract, so as to prevent the passage of the blood, and the nuclei of the blood corpuscles escape from the envelopes, and become more opaque than in a normal state. — Intellectual Observer. Bugong. — At a recent meeting of the Entomo- logical Society of London, Mr. E. Smith exhibited specimens of a moth used for food by the aborigines of New South "Wales, received from Dr. Bennett. These moths, which are termed " Bugong " by the natives, are found in large numbers, in November and December, congregated on the face of granite rocks, and their bodies contain a large quantity of oil. They were considered to be the Agrotis spini of Guenee. — Entomol. Mon. Magazine. 40 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Feb. 1, 1SGG. NOTES AND QUERIES. Cement for Aquaria.— H. J. B. inquires for a good cement for aquaria. If lie wants cement for joining rockwork, the best is Portland ; if, however, he requires a cement for rendering the joints of the tank water tight, let him try the following :— White sand, one part ; litharge, one part ; rosin, one-third part ; mixed into a paste with boiled linseed-oil. — T. Clift. In answer to II. J. B., I would recommend, as a good cement for aquaria, ordinary white-lead, stiffened to the consistency of common glazier's putty by the addition of dry red lead and litharge, in equal proportions. I have used this cement in the construction of aquaria, some of which have been in use about five years without the slightest trace of leakage yet. — T. M. A Winter Martin.— During the afternoon of Monday (the 15th of January) two of my little boys and one of my female servants saw either a swallow or a martin (most probably a martin, but I cannot determine which from their description) flying about in the court-yard of my house. — W. N.. Uckfiekl. Grub of Cockchafer.— In this part of the world (Sussex) the fleshy grub of the cockchafer (Melo- lontha vulgaris) is called by the lower class of people a " Job-hassett." What is the derivation of this extraordinary name ? — W. N. Growing Eerns from Spores. — I have just had several specimens of the " Bustyback " (Cete- rach officinarum) given to me by a friend, and, as it is unknown here, wish to raise more from seed. As their roots were carelessly dug out from the wall, most of the radicles were severed, and the plants in consequence are dying. Will the spores germi- nate, if collected by putting these plants between paper (that is to say, will they be ripe and mature) ? I should feel much obliged by your answer, as I cannot find it stated in any book, and know no fem- grower. Owing to the very mild weather we have had, the white butterbur CPetasites alba) has been in ilower since the middle of December, here.— Dagdon Jackson, Hastings. Snipe-Ground.— I have frequently observed in boggy snipe-ground a sort of blue glaze, or scum, upon the water, and it has always appeared to me that in such spots the birds were more numerous than elsewhere. What is the cause of such scum ? Does the experience of any of your correspondents point to the same conclusions relative to the num- ber of birds in such places ?—H. 67., Bangalore The Avar-bird— In a little work, published a good many years ago, and entitled "Backwoods of Canada," there is the following passage : — " . American war-bird ; a very beautiful creature", some- thing like our British bullfinch, only far more lively in plumage; the breast and under-feathers of the wings being a tint of the most brilliant carmine shaded black and white. This bird has been called the 'war-bird' from its having first made its appearance in this province during the late Ameri- can war ; a fact that I believe is well authenticated, or at any rate has obtained general credence." Can you say what bird is meant in the above extract ? A friend of mine— an eminent naturalist— thinks the pme-bullfinch {Loxia envcleator) must be referred to, though it will be seen that its description does not quite accord with that of the "war-bird," so called. Some person who has resided in Canada mav possibly be able to settle the question. I myself have had the summer red-bird (Pgranga astiva) pointed out to me as the "war-bird."— ZZ". O., Bangalore. Fleas.— On referring to my rough sketch of the larva of the cat-flea, at page 278, vol. i., I find I have been led into a ridiculous blunder, which I hope you will give me the opportunity of correcting. The body of the larva has only thirteen segments, while in one of my figures I have drawn fourteen. I mounted several in glycerine and Deane's gelatine medium, and I really cannot say which mode of preservation is the worst, sorry representations are theyof their former interesting appearance. The specimens mounted in the latter material exhibit the gizzard, and many other points of internal struc- ture, when oblique light is thrown on them by the mirror. I have by me a preserved female mouse- flea, which contains seven eggs similar to those described by E. T. Scott, at page 16, vol. ii., of Science Gossip.— & J. M'Intire. Removing Cuticles from Leaves. — In reply to W. W. R., the fresh leaves of the Dentzia scabra must be soaked for a long time in dilute nitric acid (equal parts acid and water), then washed gently, floated on a slip of glass, and mounted, after drying in balsam. There is a straw -yellow colour left by the acid, which is not noticeable in the finished sljde under polarized light, but may be got rid off entirely, if objected to, by boiling the selected specimen in stronger acid for a few seconds before finally washing it. I never tried to separate the upper and under cuticles from each other : this operation seemed to me to be so delicate as to promise small chance of success. The stellate hairs are apt to refuse to be saturated with balsam, but prolonged boiling ;in that medium, or in turpentine, is _ the remedy. In this state they look well, illu- minated obliquely by the mirror. The Dutch rush and grasses may be treated in the same way. Car- penter gives full directions, and the " Micrographic Dictionary " treats of the subject at some length, saying respecting grasses, &c. : — " Preparations of this structure are obtained by treating little pieces of the wall of the fistular stem with strong nitric acid, to remove alkalies, and then burning them until quite white on a slip of platinum or thin glass. These should be mounted in Canada balsam." Many cuticles are only to be obtained by peeling them off, but not in a " slovenly " manner ; so far from this, the greatest care and patience, aided by a sharp knife, are absolutely necessary. The petal of the geranium yields a splendid epidermis for opaque examination. The under side of the thick part of the petal should be raised with a sharp knife, and then seized with the forceps, to facilitate the sepa- ration of the upper and under surfaces. After this process the upper cuticle will remain in the left hand, and may be attached to a glass-slip by simple contact. On drying, it will be found to be a splendid object, needing no further preparation, if intended to be viewed opaque. It may be mounted in bal- sam, however, and then is well suited for viewing by transmitted light under medium power, say 1 inch to T\ inch. Many other flowers, doubtless, would yield equally beautiful cuticles, if the thin- ness of the leaves did not present great difficulties to this treatment. — S. J. M'Intire. The method which I practise with success is: — Put pieces of the leaf into a test-tube with dilute nitric acid, and heat the whole. This soon loosens the intermediate tissues, and the cuticles, either upper or under, can be easily removed and washed. It may then be mounted in fluid (glycerine, I Feb. 1, 1SG6.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 47 prefer), or dried and mounted in balsam, or dry. Siliceous cuticles, such as Deufzia scabra, Eleagnus, Rippophae, &c, being good under the polariscope, I mount in balsam ; others, such as iris, opuntia, box, oleander, yucca, aloe, pineapple, fig, Ruscus aculeatus, &c, are, I think, better in glycerine. Delicate cuticles, such as pelargonium, &c, are, I believe, peeled oif, and, while moist, stretched across the cover glass, and when dry, mounted.—/. Slack. A good plan is to press the leaf tight on the hard, smooth surface of a pestle, raise the cuticle with a knife, and peel it off with forceps ; or, moisten the leaf, press it on the pestle, as before, and with a sharp knife scrape off the cuticle and matter of the leaf down to the other cuticle, which will remain adhering to the pestle.—/. Brown, Menstrie. The plan I have found to answer in removing the cuticle from leaves is the following -.—Take a leaf, or part of a leaf, and put it iuto a wide- mouthed test-tube, with an equal bulk of chlorate of potass, and as much nitric acid as will cover the whole. Then boil it over a spirit-lamp for a minute or two, until you see the cuticle separate from the rest of the leaf. Let the tube cool for a minute, then wash the acid away with distilled water. I then lay the cuticle in spirit and water (1 to 5) for a few hours, after which it is quite ready for mounting. In this way 1 have succeeded in obtain- ing the cuticles from the Deutzia, sea-buckthorn (Hipnophae rhamnoides), and several other interesting cuticles, suited for microscopic observation. — B. G. G. Atmospheric Phenomenon. — I have often ob- served the phenomenon mentioned by W. S. in the Jauuary number. It seems very curious when the sunbeams do not reach far above the horizon— almost as if another sun were about to rise ; but when the beams extend completely across the sky, it is at once evident that, as they are parallel, and are seen in perspective, they must appear to diverge from the sun, and to converge towards a point beneath the opposite horizon. For the phenomenon to be produced it is necessary that the sky should be hazy, so as to show the sun's rays; that there should be a few small clouds to intercept these rays, and break them up into beams ; and that the sky opposite the sun should be tolerably free from clouds.— F. W. M. To Kill Slugs. — In answer to E. C. Y., page 22, slugs may be killed by corrosive sublimate or ben- zoine. For details see pp. 90, 91, in Tate's " British Slugs and Snails," published by Mr. Hardwicke. — R. T. Objects in Tumuli.— J. S., page 18, makes an error with regard to the name and zoological posi- tion of the so-called fossil beads. The fossil is a sponge, Amorphospougia globular is, Goldfuss {Coscino- jpora). It is very common in the upper chalk, and is rarely found naturally perforated ; such is my experience, and I have collected the species in great numbers. — Ralph Tate, F.R.S., 8rc. Jerusalem Artichoke (v. S. G., vol. i., p. IIS). — The name of "artichoke" proceeds from the analogy in taste. The Journal cV 'Agriculture Pratique, of Professor Chas. Morren, gives (1S4S) a monograph, from which I extract the following particulars : — A Belgian botanist (Houdius) made the Jerusalem artichoke known to Europe. He gave an accurate description of it under the name of " subterranean artichoke." The continuator of Dodoneus, Van Baevelingen, says (Cruydoboeck, edit. 1614, page 1476), that in 1613 these plants were yet cultivated in great quantity in France and in Belgium ; in some parts of the latter country they were called " bata- tas of Canada," or " Canadas," because it was thought they came from that couutry; in other parts, " artichoke-apples of Terneuse." I remark the denomination of " Jerusalem " is not used in this country. — B., Melle, near Ghent. Impressions of Leaves. — Can _ any of your readers inform me how to take clear impressions of leaves with printing ink ? I have tried many times, but cannot succeed ; there are always patches of ink left here and there. I take mine in a wooden copying-press, of my own manufacture. — S. J. B. Ancient Toads and Frogs. — Monthly we have reports of living toads and frogs being found in strata of great depths below the surface of the earth, and yet the elite of the scientific world per- sistently ignore the evidence adduced. Is it a fact that living toads and frogs are found embedded at great depths, and have any of the readers of Science Gossip personal knowledge of the fact, founded on careful personal observation ? I have not. — T. P. Barlcas. The Chigoe. — We occasionally read of the ravages of the chigoe {Pulex penetrans) of the West Indies. Will somebody tell us what it is like ? Kirby and Spence give some account of it. (Popular editiou, page 53, "Wood's Natural History," article "Flea," and " Micrographic Dictionary.") — S. J. M. Mounting Desmids. — How can I mount rare Desraids ? I have received a number from Germany, dried on glass, but put up too thickly to be of any service.— W. W. S. Bees. — Would any classical bee-master kindly fa- vour me with answers to these queries from Virgil's ' Georgic on Bees' (lib. iv.) : — 1. Is it a fact that swallows devour bees, according to the lines 15-17 — " Et manibus Procne pectus signata cruentis. . . . Ore ferunt, dulcem nidis immitibus escam" ? 2. Have any modern observers noticed bees carrying small stones for ballast in a heavy wind (line 195), as Aristotle and Pkny state ? 3. Do bees live to their seventh year (Hue 207) ? 4. Do cockroaches devour honey in the hives (line 243) ? 5. When there is a pestilence among bees, do they hang together in a mass like a bunch of grapes (line 257) ? 6. Is any modern instance known of a swarm of bees inhabiting a dead animal, as Virgil tells us in the story of Aristseus, which is corro- borated by what Holv Writ relates of Samson ? — M. G. W. Ziricote and Ronron. — Could you tell me the scientific name of the Mexican woods called Ziricote, or thiricote, and Ronron ? — B. The Giant oe Lucerne.— In 1577, a storm having uprooted an oak near the cloisters ofReyden, in the canton of Lucerne, some large bones were exposed to view. Seven years after, a physician and professor of Basle, Felix Plater, being at Lucerne, examined these bones, and declared they could only proceed from a giant. The Council of Lucerne consented to send the bones to Basle for more minute examination, and Plater thought him- self justified in attributing to the giant a height of nineteen feet. He designed a human skeleton on this scale, and returned the bones with the drawing to Lucerne. In 1706 there only remained of these bones a portion of the scapula and a fragment of the wrist-bone. The anatomist Blumenbach, who saw them at the beginning of the century, easily recognized them for the bones of an elephant. Let us not omit to add, as a compliment to this bit of history, that the inhabitants of Lucerne adopted the image of this pretended giant as the supporters of the city arms. — The World before the Deluge. 4S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. |Teb. 1, 1SG6. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. All communications relative to advertisements, post office orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal should be addressed to the Publisher. All contributions, books, and pamphlets for the Editor should be sent to 192, Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri- butions should not be received later than the 15th of each month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi- cations which do not contain the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with- held. We do not undertake to answer any queries not specially connected with Natural History, in accordance with our acceptance of that term ; nor can we answer queries which might be solved by the correspondent by an appeal to any elementary book on the subject. We are always prepared to accept queries of a critical nature, and to publish the replies, provided some of our readers, besides the querist, are likely to be interested in them. We cannot undertake to return rejected manuscripts unless sufficient stamps are enclosed to cover the return postage. Neither can we promise to refer to or return any manu- script after one month from the date of its receipt. All microscopical drawings intended for publication should have annexed thereto the powers employed, or the extent of enlargemant indicated in diameters (thus — X 320 diameters). Communications intended for publication should be written on one side of the paper only, and all scientific names, and names of places and individuals should be as legible as possible. Wherever scientific names or technicalities are employed, it is hoped that the common names will accompany them. Lists or tables are inad- missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular names of British plants and animals are retained and regis- tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon. Address No. 192, Piccadii.lv, London, W. J. S. M. — No. 1. On oak-leaf are the spangles mentioned, vol. i., p. 240 of Science Gossip. No. 2. The red fungus on stick is Tuberciilaria vulgaris. No. 3. The black spots on maple-leaf are those of a fungus, Rhytisma acerinum. W. H. R. — As there are so many subjects to which no avail- able guide is published, it appears to us good reason for not entering upon the "Adulterations of Food," especially as Dr. Hassell has treated the subject so completely, and, after all, his works are not dear. W. T. P. — For obtaining and preparing crystals from the human breath, we refer you to our reply to J. C. M., at page 264 of vol. i. Diatom Wanted. — If specimen of Coscinodiscus radiafus is sent, postage will be repaid by J. Green, Jun., 19, Pump- street, Londonderry. J. A. — It is very unsatisfactory to attempt to name gums from such small samples. No. I. Gum Sandrach. No. 2. African Anime. No. 3. Copal Resin, or probably East Indian Dammar. British Land and Freshwater Shells. — Exchange de- sired. List of duplicates and desiderata to be sent to T. M., 14, Union-place, Lower Broughton, Manchester. Also to Aperta, 10, Mornington-place, Halifax. Harvey P. — No name or address enclosed. J. W. R.— Which do you refer to, the Red Peziza or the Red Cup Moss} — for they are not the same thing. E. A. C. wishes to know where he can find a Triceratium, which is said to be found in Thames mud, as he has been looking for it two years unsuccessfully in the mud from the river at Chiswick and Hammersmith. H. R. W. will find all the information he seeks in Davies on *' Preparing and Mounting Objects." Price half-a-crown. Pub- lished by Robert Hardwicke, 192, Piccadilly. G. F. S. (Durham)— We should be glad to receive a copy of the paper you name. L. A., E. B., and H. S.— Next month. W. B. M. — Try a hot-water plate. It is considered by many preferable to a lamp for mounting; or a tinman would con- struct a water-tight box for hot water, of any size. A simple paraffin lamp answers very well for the microscope. A. H. W. — Because one spider did not eat its web is no evidence that spiders never perform such an act. We think it has never been asserted that they always devour their webs. H. S. B. — You will observe that mounting crystals receives attention in the present number. We must repeat that mosses abound on all old walls, trees, stumps, &c, if you desire no particular species. C. H. recommends soaking in vinegar for some days the leaves from which it is intended to remove the cuticle. His communication was received too late for insertion. E. G. advises soaking leaves in water for a few days for the same purpose. Carboniferous Fossils in exchange for other fossils. — Address W. W., 29, Heaton Terrace, Bolton. S. J. M. — English gnats are quite different insects from tropical mosquitoes, at least from any species of mosquito which we have seen, notwithstanding the quotation to which you refer. J. C. W. offers bog-material rich in diatoms, &c, in ex- change. Address, Montpelier House, Budleigh Salterton, South Devon. E. G. W.— Next month we shall give several illustrations of the scales of insects. H. G. E. — The binocular dissecting microscope maybe used in the dissection of any objects. J. H. Ashford, Scarboro', will be glad to exchange British land and fresh-water shells. G. H. B.— The caterpillar of more than one small species of moth. E. S. — Wherever the information is supplied with the figures, your suggestion will be carried out. Diatomaceous Earth. — If any one having a duplicate specimen will forward it, stamps will be returned by W. C, 62, Kirkgate Street, Leeds. J. B.— A modification of your suggestion is under con- sideration. Zoophytes. — Unmounted specimens offered in exchange for earth or sand containing Foraminifera, by J. R. E., West- field Cottage, 9, the Mall, Newport, Isle of Wight. A. L. — Your Fly from Iceland is also common in England ; it is the Sand-fly (Simulia reptans, L.), and swarms in Lapland and other Arctic regions ; it is very pertinacious in sucking blood.— F. W. Dissecting Mollusca.— Consult "Tulk and Henfrey's Anatomical Manipulation;" the articles Articulata and Mollusca in Todd's " Cyclopaedia of Anatomy;" " Papers on the Anatomy of Gasteropods," by Dr. Lawson, in " Intellectual Observer" for 18*13; Rymer Jones's "Animal Kingdom;" Lacaze-Duthier's Papers in the " Annales des Sciences Natu- relles" for the past five or six years. The subject is one of vast proportions. Let Frank dissect the nervous system of the common slug, following Dr. Lawson's directions. This alone will occupy some time. — H. L. Aquarium Animals.— Mr. W. A. Lloyd would be glad to place himself in communication with any one willing to supply living aquarium animals on liberal terms. Payment and delivery to be made near London.— Address, Zoological Gardens, Hamburg, Germany. R. M.B.— The Gray Plover, Turnstone, and Peewit, have all a hind toe, whilst the Golden Plover, Thicknee, and Dotterel, have not. H. S. — We cannot venture to name a spider from brief description only. It can only be done satisfactorily from specimens. Communications Received.— H. G. E.— T. P. B.— S. J. B. —J. B.— M. G. W.— W. N.— H. G. K.— J, B. S.— S. C— E. G. W.— W. W. S— T. C— H. G. G.— A. W.— J. B.— H. H.— S. J. M.— G. C. O.— T. J. B.— T. P. B.— Prof. Bernardiv.— R. T.— J. C. W.— J. S.— W. W.— G. H. B.— J. H. A.— P. S. B. —J. W. P.— J. S M.— L. A.— E. T. S.— F. W. M.— W. H. R.— J. S.— Y. D.— W. T. S— J. G.— W. R. T.— H. H. K.— C. A.— J. B.— J. A.— W. G.— E. E.— D. J.— T. M.— A. H. W.— F. N. B. — S. D— R. M. B.— W. C— B— E. J. S. C— J. R. E.— E. G.— Y. D.— W. A. L.— E. B.— W. B. M.— H. R. W.— A. R.— E. A.— W. R.T.— J. W. R.— A. H— H. P.— C. H— Frank t Sheffield.'. —A. J. R.— H. J. B.— W. C— J. B. (Newcastle).— J. S. M.- E. S.— J. S— D. R.— J. H. A.— A. L. Local Names. — T. F. W.— Huddersfield. BOOKS RECEIVED. " Report of the Proceedings at the Birmingham Meeting of the British Association." London, Robert Hardwicke, 1865. " The Household ; " a magazine of domestic economy and home enjoyment. No. 1, January, 1866. London, Groom- bridge. " The Action of Fungi in the Production of Measles," Sec. By Tilbury Fox, M.D. Reprinted from Dr. Lankester's "Journal of Social Science." "The Popular Science Review." Edited by Henry Lawson, M.D. January, 1866. London, Robert Hardwicke. " The Geological and Natural History Repertory." Edited by S. J. Mackie, F.G.S., &c. January, 1866. London, Kent cN CO. Hooper & Co.'s " General Spring Catalogue for 1866." Barr & Sugden's " Descriptive List of Seeds," &c. 1866. "Cholera Prospects." By Tilbury Fox, M.D. London, Hardwicke. "The Structure of Animal Life:" six lectures by Louis Agassiz. London, Sampson Low, Son, & Marston. 1866. PEBIODIC PHENOMENA. When a man has learnt to take an interest in the varied operations of Nature which are everywhere being carried on about him, and has acquired the habit of directing his attention to such matters, and keeping' his senses always alive to any new information thereby afforded him, he has made himself almost independent of outward circumstances. He has opened to himself a source of occupation and mental enjoyment, but little affected by the ordinary vicissitudes of life.— Rev. Leonard Jknyns. ONSIDEUABLE interest attaches to what may be termed the "pe- riodic phenomena" of nature. Of such a character are the appearance and disappearance of animals, as bats and badgers, which conceal themselves during the winter, and pass through a period of hiber- nation ; the change of dress at dif- ferent seasons by the ermine, the stoat, and their allies ; the coming and going of the regular winter or summer migratory birds ; the retirement and hibernation of reptiles ; the move- ments of certain fish up and down stream for the pur- pose of spawning ; the appearance, transformations, and disappearance of insects ; the leafing of trees ; the flowering of plants ; the ripening of seeds ; the fall of leaves ; — all these, and more, are worthy of the attention of the lover of nature, and not beneath the dignity of man. Linnteus constructed for him- self a floral clock, in which the periods of time were indicated by the opening or closing of certain flowers. Gilbert White, and others since his time, not dis- daining to be his disciples in such a work, con- structed a calendar of which periodic phenomena presented themselves to their notice. Humboldt observes of the insects of the tropics, that they everywhere follow a certain standard in the periods at which they alternately arrive and disappear. At fixed and invariable hours, in the same season, and the same latitude, the air is peopled with new inhabitants ; and in a zone where the barometer becomes a clock (by the extreme regularity of the horary variations of the atmospheric pressure), No. 15. where everything proceeds with such admirable regularity, we might guess blindfold the hour of the day or night by the hum of the insects, and by their stings, the pain of which differs according to the nature of the poison that each insect deposits in the wound. And the naturalist, whose quotation heads this chapter, remarks, — "If an observant naturalist, who had been long shut up in darkness and solitude, without any measure of time, were suddenly brought blindfolded into the open fields and woods, he might gather with considerable accu- racy from the various notes and noises which struck his ears, what the exact period of the year might be." All such observations as we have alluded to are easily made and as easily recorded, and of all, none are of more interest than the migratory movements of birds. We know that some visit us iu the spring and abide during the summer ; others direct their flight hither late in the autumn, and spend with us their winter. But why this change, whence do they come, and whither do they go ? We can partly answer this question, but only partially, as the queries of our correspondent H.E.A. (vol. I. pp. 71, 143), still unanswered, testify. We may declare, in general terms, that self-preservation, and the per- petuation of the species, is the great moving cause. That the journey is undertaken in search of food, or a milder climate, or both, as a consequence the former of the latter, or in search of suitable con- ditions for rearing their young; yet there are many special circumstances in which this answer is in- applicable or insufficient. Knapp, in his " Journal of a Naturalist," a fitting companion to White's " Selbome," remarks of the Willow-wren: — "It is a difficult matter satis- factorily to comprehend the object of these birds in quitting another region, and passing into our island These little creatures, the food of which is solely insects, could assuredly find a sufficient supply of such diet during the summer months in the woods and thickets of those mild regions where they passed D 50 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [March 1, 1866. the season of winter, and every bank and unfre- quented wild would furnish a secure asylum for them and their offspring during the period of incu- bation. The passage to our shores is a long and dangerous one, and some imperative motive for it must exist ; and, until facts manifest the reason, we may, perhaps, without injury to the cause of research, conjecture for what object these perilous transits are made." The l'ecord of periodic phenomeua made in the same district over a scries of years is always of in- terest ; but contemporaneous records made at nume- rous stations, distant from each other, and in which the same kind of observations are made, would be of more interest still. Take, for instance, the first appearance of a swift for ten successive years in twenty stations between the Isle of Wight and Caithness ;' or the last note of the cuckoo heard between the Land's End and the Tweed. Many such trifles, apparently insignificant in themselves, become of importance when carefully and faithfully recorded, and such a work may be accomplished by those who make no pretensions to be men of science, but are content to call themselves "lovers of nature." ODD FISHES. rTniERE are quiet, steady-going, stay-at-home -*- fishes, quite content with the rocky shores of our "tight little island ;" as a rule, arrayed in sober- coloured garments, like well-dressed English folk are wont to be, all the world over : there are " dan- dies " in Eastern seas, more like fragments of the Aurora, or rainbows bathing, than real fish, so brightly are they robed, in pinks, blues, yellows, purples, greens, gold, and orange : there are disagree- ably greedy fishes, blessed with keen appetites, good digestion, and shai-p teeth, — dangerous neighbours, deservedly shunned and disliked : there are " gentle- men " fishes, famous for their domestic virtues, that build nests like birds, and, in the matter of wives, boast harems that would beat a Mussulman or a Mormon into fits : there are " ocean swells," that most of us love, and look at simply, and only, as things to be devoured : and, lastly, there are " odd fishes," peculiar in everything; some, round as a globe, are covered with spines like a porcupine ; some, armed with horns, are like marine bulls. There are "insect-fish," "bird-fish," and others, according to old writers, that "feedeth on herbs, and cheweth the cud like to the beasts." We find ugly monsters, like antediluvian leviathans re- vivified, half salmon, half shark, with a strong ad- mixture of conger eel, — flabby, scaleless giants. The Silurus Glank (Sly SUurus), one of the clique, has been brought from the Danube, and turned into our quiet streams, and should it live and flourish, will prove a " caution to anglers." Of what avail the trolling-rod and Jack -tackle, to a beast that bolts a baby, and rather likes it, as we should an acid- drop. The enthusiastic follower of the gentle art will be obliged to bait with a sheep, and use a cable and steam-power lifting-engine, to land his prize. I am induced to select for description a few of the oddest of odd fishes, in the hope of stirring up in my young friends a desire to know more of Nature's wonders. Should you visit the sea-side during the coming summer, or, still better, if you live near it, devote a little leisure to investigating rock-pools, fishers' nets, and crab-pots, where you can fish out more wonders than Colonel Stodare or Professor Anderson ever dreamed of. Peep into any little rock-basin or dark weedy cleft, or, turning up the bladder-wrack, hunt the hollows it hides, and you will discover hosts of oddities; — spotted gobies, re- sembling flowers more than fishes ; pugnacious crabs, that square their fighting arms at the shortest notice, and sidle off, twirling their hard eyes de- fiantly ; irritable star-fish, with arms like serpents, whose custom is to break themselves into bits, and die in fragments if you touch them ; chitons, that roll up like armadilloes ; hermit-crabs, that live rent- free in the houses of others : — but, enough, look for yourselves. As we cannot very well enjoy a rock- ramble in these wet and windy days, the next best thing is to visit the " oceans in glass " at the aqua- rium house at the Zoological Gardens, where we can quietly observe several odd fish, writh one of which I shall begin my story. In the fish-tanks opposite the door, you may see a number of stiff, taper, horny-looking creatures, with long snout-like noses, certainly not ornament- ing their wizened, shrivelled, ugly faces. They never appear to be enjoying life, or exercising their fins in submarine frolics, but float listlessly and lazily, as if, having nothing to do, they felt proud of doing it thoroughly. On reference to the illustra- tion at the base of the sea in glass, we learn these odd fish belong to the family Syngnathidce, or pipe-fishes, the generic name, Syngnathus (Gr. sun, together, gnathos, a jaw), is in allusion to the mouth, which is stretched out into a horn-like tube ; through it, minute mollusks, crustaceans of tender age, and even tiny fishes, are sucked in and swal- lowed. The action of this queer mouth is precisely on the principle of the common water-squirt ; the throat dilates, and the water flows through the tube- mouth, carrying in with the current, anything suf- ficiently small to enter, just as you suck water from a pool or saucer with a syringe, by drawing up the piston and causing a partial vacuum, — the water is forced into the nozzle, together with any material floating in it. Perhaps it may be as well to select the species (Syngnathus ocus) most usually found, for description, March 1, 1866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 51 as, in habit, all the family are very alike. I have often found them lurking under seaweed at low water on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, but in vast abundance in the snug bays round Arancouver Island. Next to the mouth, an important structural difference to ordinary fishes will be found in the arrangement of the gills. If you lift the gill-cover, and examine any of the edible fish usually sold, you wdl see the gills are pectinated, or arranged like the teeth in a comb, whereas in our friends the pipe-fishes the breathing apparatus assumes a tufted form ; hence the sub-order, including only this single family, is named Lophobranchia (Gr. lophos, a tuft ; brancJiia, gills). The body is encased in a kind of laminated armour, permitting great freedom of motion ; each plate, if examined closely, will be seen to radiate in striae from the centre. The fins are small, and the tail rounded. The male differs in a most remarkable manner from the female. Mr. Walcott tells us, in his " Manuscript of British Fishes," that in the male, the belly has for about two-thirds of its length two soft flaps, which fold together and form a pouch. Now the oddity of the pipe-fish consists in the male receiving the eggs of the female as they are laid, packing them safely away in this skin-bag, and taking the entire charge of them until they are hatched. Quoting from Yarr ell's " British Pishes," "The sub -caudal pouch is peculiar to the males only, and is closed by two elongated lateral flaps •. on separating these flaps and expanding the inside, the ova, large and yellow, were seen lining the pouch. In each of these, the opened abdomen exhibited true male organs." Mr. Walcott also further writes, " They breed in summer, the females casting their roe into the false belly of the male." The way this singular transfer of a numerous family to the unlucky papa takes place (the mamma being at liberty to flirt or enjoy herself in any way she deems best befitting her tastes and inclinations, utterly reckless of all maternal duties), has been described by Mr. Andrews : — " In shoal water, or at a low tide, these fish may sometimes be seen in pairs, side by side, apparently stationary on some rocky stone. At this time the ova— the Capsules but imperfectly matured— are liberated from the female and received into the abdominal sac of the male, the male fish having the power of expanding the lappings of the sac, and attaching the ova by a highly viscid or glutinous secretion; in time, as the process of maturation advances, the capsules of the ova enlarge, forming hemispherical depressions in the sac, and eventually the pouch is forced open by the full development of the ova and extrication of the young."* * Nat. Hist. Review, vol. vii. I860, p. 397. At Vancouver Island there are several species of pipe-fish very nearly allied to those of our own seas, but much larger in size. In the hot summer days, when tired of scrambling over slippery rocks, search- ing pools, picking shells, and capturing captives that ought to have " gone out with the tide," I have laid on a smooth rock, overhanging some sandy sheltered little bay, and gazed into the clear salt water to watch the strange assemblage of living cimos that elbow — perhaps fin is the better word — each other in these sea gardens, seldom did I fail to see a pair or two of pipe-fishes busy at the family transference. A kind of sea- wrack grows everywhere along the north-west coast like a sub-marine forest ; a straight stalk rising through the water spreads out two loug plantain-shaped leaves, that float like ribbons on the surface : apparently hooked on by their tails, that seem to be bent round the sea-trees, side by side, are Mr. and Mrs. Pipe-fish. How the eggs are con- veyed into the false pouch of the male, without being dropped into the water, I am unable to say, except by absolute contact, the eggs are glued, so to speak, to the inside of the receiving sac ; the slightest disturbance puts an end to the work, even a breeze of wind rippling the water sends husbaud and wife to some secure hiding-place. I feel quite sure the lady pipe-fishes are not the least particular in the choice of a papa ; if he has an empty quiver, they are quite ready to yield all or any part of their family to his paternal guardianship; thus it happens, if frequently disturbed, the ova of a fe- male often gets distributed amongst four or five males. The accommodating papa pipe-fish does not get quit of his numerous children as soon as they are hatched, accordiug to the usages of fish society in higher circles, where both parents, without a pang of regret, march off, leaving their eggs to take care of themselves ; but it is positively affirmed by many able observers, that the young, when hatched, quit the pouch to make pleasant little excursions round their "daddy," and on the slightest danger, dash with all speed into their sac shelter, huddle together, and, I dare say, play all manner of infan- tile pranks. Mr. Yarrell says, if you shake the tiny fellows out of the pouch into the water, they do not swim away, but return again, if the parent fish is held in a favourable position. To the truth of this I can bear testimony ; you can perform the feat any day in a sea-pool at Vancouver Island. The exact time they remain with the parent fish I do not know, as they return into deep water prior to the young leaving them. Neither, as far as I am aware, is it known how long the ova are hatching in the male sac. This singular appendage varies greatly in its structural form in different species. Iu the Hippo- campus., or Sea-horse as it is usually styled (which D 2 52 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Mapch 1, 1SG6. lias been — nay, I believe is, alive in our "glass seas"), the pouch is immediately under the tail; in Dori/rha/iipJius, the pouch is on the breast ; in Nerophis, the eggs are placed in rows on the under surface of the body, and not encased in pouches at all. But space bids me close. In my next I shall Lave more to say about these pipe and other " odd Gshes " that play similar eccentric pranks in the management of their families. J. K. Loud, F.Z.S. THE SPECTRUM MICROSCOPE. MR. Ii. C. SORBY has contributed an interest- ing article on this subject to the Popular Science Review, from which we make the following extracts : — "Every one is in the constant habit of distinguish- ing different objects by their colour. In many cases this is sufficient to characterize various small bodies seen with the microscope. Now, strictly speaking, spectrum analysis is nothing more than a refined and scientific method of applying the same principle, and the spectrum microscope is simply an instrument which enables us to employ it in the case of very small objects. It is a more refined method, because we may have a number of different substances so nearly of the same colour, that it would not enable us to tell one from another ; and yet, when examined with a spectroscope, their spectra might be entirely different and quite characteristic. On the contrary, we may have cases where the presence of foreign colouring matter so entirely disguises the natural colour of a substance, that its presence would scarcely be expected : and yet, when examined with a spectroscope, the spectrum may be so character- istic, that its presence is perfectly well established. In these remarks I refer to coloured solids or liquids. The spectroscope has been so commonly restricted to the examination of coloured flames— «'. most resembling the Actinophnjs Eichornii, as given in the " Micro-graphic Dictionary ;" * only in the present instance the animal seems larger, whilst the tentacles are much smaller in proportion. The body of the animal is spherical and opaque, and surrounded with a transparent cellular network ; from every angle of which springs a delicate hair- like tentacle, the length of which is about one- quarter of the diameter of the body. Within each Fig. 89. Figs. A and B, magnified 100 diameters. Figs. C and D, magnified 2*8 diameters. cell, and apparently near the surface, are small black granules (fig. C), which are in continual motion. The surface also shows occasional protuberances (figs. A, B a), which perhaps perform the office of mouths. The members of this family are said to draw into themselves, by means of their tentacles, any small organism, as a diatom, which may become entangled in them ; and gradually to press it through the external covering, until it enters the body, where its nutritive parts are extracted, and the rest ejected by a reverse process to that by which it was drawn in (fig. B c). In some individuals numerous vacuoles occur * Plate 23, fig. 7a. (fig. B), some of which contain dark-coloured matter, which is possibly the creature's food in various stages of digestion, as the occurrence of a diatom in one of these would seem to indicate (fig. B, b). J. S. Tute. AT GENERA OF DIATOMS. page 62 we illustrated four genera of Diatoms. The four remaining genera of the Navicular group, with free frustules, coutain but comparatively few species. Toxonidea has the valve elongated, convex, with the sides unsymmetrical, oblique stria;, and a longitudinal curved (or arcuate) line, the ends and terminal nodules of which curve towards the same side of the valve. We have only about two species (fig. 90, Toxonidea Gregoriana x 400). Donkikia. — So called in honour of Mr. Donkin, the discoverer of several Fig. 90. Toxonidea Gregoriana. Fig. 91. Donkinia carintita. new species. Has the convex valve keeled with sigmoid median line, and fine decussating stria;. Fig. 92. Amphiprora maxima. Fig. 93. Diadesmis Willi'jmsonii. The front view is fiddle-shaped, and as broad as the side view. There are about six British species (fig. 91, Donkinia carinata, front and side view, x400). 8S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [April 1, 1S66. Amphiprora. — The valve is convex, with a longi- tudinal sigmoid wing; the front view constricted at the middle. Of this genus we have about a dozen species (fig. 92, Amphiprora maxima, front and side view, x320). Diadesmis. — The valve is linear, the front view linear, dilated at the centre and each extremity. The frustules are united in a linear filament. At present only one British species is recorded (fig. 93, Diadesmis Williamsoni, front and side view, x 400). This is a marine species, dredged by Mr. Barlee off the Isle of Skye, and by Prof. Gregory at Loch Pine. ZOOLOGY. Sound-producing Beetles.— In answer to your correspondent, Mr. Brodrick, I may state that many of our British Coleoptera, beside the An obi a, are capable of producing sounds. Thus, the Ceram- hjeidd} are a noisy family, producing a " stimula- tion " by rubbing together the edges of the front and middle rings of the thorax. So is Lomia textor, another long-horned beetle. Cychrus rostratus, the beaked ground-beetle, makes a low hissing noise when disturbed. The common dung-beetle hums, as does its relative, Copris lunaris ; and the rose- beetle, Atonia aurata, utters a similar sound. Nor are instances wanting in the family of water-beetles, to which Pelobius Hermanni, the species mentioned by your correspondent, belongs. The males of Acilius produce a croaking sound, even when in their native element. That emitted by Pelobius is caused by the friction of the abdomen against the elytra, or wing-cases, as in Cyehrus and the dung- beetles. — W. II. Groses. Audacity or the Wasp.— In the farm depart- ment at Walton Hall, I have seen the pigs lying in the warm sunshine, the flies clustering thickly on their bodies, and the wasps pouncing on the flies and carrying them off. It was a curious sight to watch the total indifference of the pigs, the busy clustering of the flies, with which the skin was absolutely blackened in some places, and then to see the yellow-bodied wasp just clear the wall, dart into the dark mass, and retreat again with a fly in its fatal grasp. On the average, one wasp arrived every ten seconds, so that the pigsty must have been a well-known storehouse for these insects. — Wood's " Homes without Hands." The Cat. — The following quaint description of the domestic pussy occurs in an old heraldic book, John BossewelPs " Workes of Armoric," published in 1597 :— " The field is of the Saphire, on a chief Pearlc, a Masion ermines. This bcaste is called a Masion for that he is enimie to Mysc and Rattes. * * * He is slye and wittie and * * seeth so sharpely that he overcommeth darknes of the nighte by the shyninge lyghte of his eyne. In shape of body he is like unto a Leoparde, and hathe a great mouth. He doth delighte that he enioyeth his libertie ; and in his youthe he is swifte, plyante, and merye. He maketh a rufull noyse and a gastefull when he pro- fereth to fight witli an other. He is a cruell beaste when he is wilde, and falleth on his owne feete from moste highe places : and uneth is hurt there- with. When he hathe a fayre skinne, he is, as it were, prowde thereof, and then he goethe faste aboute to be seene." A Wobd about the Robin.— So great is the pugnacity of the robin after his prelude of song, that we have ere now rescued one from certain death, its victor having already broken its wing, and being ready to give the coup de grace when disturbed by our approach. The trustful manner, however, in which it draws nigh our dwellings in winter, and its cheerful song, will quite atone for this bad habit in most people's opinion. While treating of the robin's song, the beautiful legend may be mentioned which accounts for its red breast, by stating that one of them bore away a thorn from the Lord's crown at the Crucifixion. — Once a Vrcck. The Cuckoo. — Last year I had a cuckoo brought me out of a redbreast's nest. I kept it for several weeks, but finding that it began to pine and seem unhappy, I allowed it to fly away. A few weeks later, I myself found one in a pied wagtail's nest. Por several days I noticed the wagtails busy from morning to night, and constantly flying to the nest. On looking up to the nest one day, I saw a cuckoo, full-grown and quite strong on the wing, as it proved to me when I attempted to lay hands upon it. A few years ago, I had one from a linnet's nest. If any of your young readers should ever fall in with a young cuckoo, they may like to know what food to give it. 1 have fed two now with success upon chopped raw meat, mixed with soaked bread.— R. Blight. The Magpie. — In the early part of last Decem- ber, from the window I saw, at a little distance, a bird carefully examining a sheep's back in a most ludicrous manner. By the aid of a powerful tele- scope I could watch its movements carefully. It was a magpie. The sheep took not the slightest notice of the bird, but unconcernedly permitted it to walk from head to tail, from side to side, in every direction. I have often before seen jackdaws, and occasionally a rook, doing the same thing, but I never before saw a magpie. As far as I have been able to make observations for myself, I cannot dis- cover that any family besides the Corvidse do this. — It. Blight. Newts. — In addition to the numerous incidents all indicating a remarkable season, I may add another which came under my notice on January 16. As I was examining a pond, I was surprised to see a pair of the Palmated newt swimming along in company. Afb.il 1, 1SG6.J SCIENCE-GOSSIP. vt This to me is remarkable, for during three years in which I have watched their habits here, I have never seen them so early. In 1864 I did not see them till March 25 ; in 18G5 I saw them first on February 27 — R. Blight. Silver-striped Hawk Moth. — {Chcerocdmpa cclerio) — Mr. Henry Laurence, of Coggeshall, Essex, succeeded in capturing a single specimen of the above insect on July 18, 1SG5. Mr. Edward Newman, in his work on British Moths, says the perfect insect has occurred now and then in Eng- land, but can scarcely be regarded as a British insect. — C. Benny, Kelvedon. Woodcocks' Breeding. — In an article on wood- cocks, your correspondent states that he has occa- sionally found their nests in the woods near Canterbury. I believe, on investigation, more of those birds would be found to breed in England than is generally supposed. In proof of which opinion there were last year at Attlebridge, about seven miles from Norwich, on the estate of the Rev. J. N. Micklethwaite, five or six nests, and that was not an exceptional case, as the keeper for several years past was aware some were to be found, and even captured a young one. I feel inclined to think, from a peculiar adaptability of the soil, some of the birds return to the same spot for the purpose of incubation.— E. A., Norwich. The Great Ribbon ~Eisn.—(Trachypterits bog- marus — Vaagmar of the Norwegians.) — A fine specimen of this rare and beautiful fish was taken by a pilot at the Tees' Mouth, on March 2nd. It had been thrown ashore by the violence of the storm, and was not quite dead when found. After having been exhibited for a few days in Leeds, it was brought back to West Hartlepool, and the writer had the pleasure of seeing it while there. The name of ribbon-fish is particularly appropriate, for though this specimen measured fourteen feet six inches in extreme length, its greatest diameter from the dorsal fin to the belly was only thirteen inches. Like all the Tcenioids, it was clothed with very small pearly scales, and had a beautiful silvery ap- pearance. The ventral fins (near the throat) had each consisted of but one ray of great length. These, however, had got broken, owing to their fragility. The dorsal, as in all the members of this family, extended the whole length of the back, and had expanded, on the nape and head, to an elegant crest a foot high. This entire fin was of a bright red colour, and highly ornamental; but, owing to its excessive delicacy, and the brittleuess of the spurs, it had been sadly injured before I saw it. It is but the ninth instance on record of the capture of the noble vaagmar, and I am therefore particu- larly pleased to hear that this one is to find its way to the British Museum. One was taken at Whitby, January 22nd, 1759; two at the Eern Islands, some seventy years ago ; one at Newbiggen, in North- umberland, March 27th, 1791; another small one at the same place, January ISth, 1844; one at Corvie, near Macduff, March, 1844 ; one at Alnmouth, January, 1S45 ; and one at Cullercoats, March 26t,b, 1849. The last named is in the Newcastle Museum, and is the only preserved specimen in the country. It is probable that this fish inhabits very deep water, where a perpetual calm prevails ; as, from the deli- cacy of its structure, it seems quite unfit to en- counter a rough sea. It is thought by ichthy- ologists that the ribbon-fishes may have given rise to some of the strange stories respecting the " great sea-serpent." I think this is quite probable. — Robert Morton Mlddleton, Jun. Beetles and Ants. — Among the strange locali- ties in which Coleopterous insects are found, ant- hills supply the collector with several which are not met with in other situations, and to the list of foreigners who take up their abode in the Formic Republic, I beg now to add another; its scientific name is Helops striatus, Olivier. This beetle is stated by Stephens, in his " Manual," to be found under roots and bark of trees, and last year in April I found several in the nests of the yellow ant (Formica flava) in company with hosts of plant-lice {Aphides).— E. B. R. "The Pike." -In a work entitled " Civitates, Orbis, Terrarum (avctt. Georgio Bravnio seu Brvin, E. Hogenburg, G. Hoefnagle, '&c.) Colon. 1572- 1606," there are "a series of English costumes, with description and view of the Euglish manner of selling the Pike alive in the fish-markets, cutting it open to demonstrate its fatness to the customer, and, if not satisfactory, sewing it up again, and returning it alive to the vivarium." — IF. T. Illff. Song-Thrush. — A somewhat similar occurrence to that related by " J. M. H." (p. 63) came under my own observation. In October, 1864, whilst staying in Monmouthshire, I was one morning startled by hearing a sound as of breaking glass, and on proceeding to ascertain the cause, I found that a song-thrush had flown with such force against the kitchen-window as to break one of the panes into numerous pieces, the bird falling down in the middle of the room. This is the more remarkable from the fact that the bird was not in full flight at the time, but had (as seen by some of the servants) simply launched itself from the boughs of a small tree, which was situated within a yard of the window in question. Upon picking up the thrush, I found to my surprise that it was more frightened than hurt, bleeding a little only about the wings and breast. I opened the window, and after the lapse of a few minutes the bird rose from my hand and flew away apparently but little the worse for its mishap.— Roger J. Wright. &0 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [April 1, 1S6G. GEOLOGY. The Lower Lias of Somerset.— In a paper read before the Geological Society (Dec. Gth), the Rev. P. B. Brodie described a section recently exposed at Milton Lane, one mile and a half north of Wells, which exhibited the lima beds passing into and overlying the white lias and Avicula-contorta zoue. The author described the section (which was con- structed by Mr. J. Barker and himself) in detail, and showed that the limas series attained here a thickness of 10 feet 4 inches, and the rhsetic beds, including the grey marls, of 18 feet 6 inches ; he was not able to discover any trace of Ammonites planorbis, nor of any of the peculiar limestones in- dicating the " Insect " and " Saurian " zones. He found one fragment of bone-bed lying loose at the end of the lane, and containing characteristic fish- remains ; but though he searched carefully, he could tot find in situ the bed from which it had been detached. — Vide The Reader, December. Drift. — Bounded pebbles are not a necessary in- dication of the former presence of the sea. The degree of roundness or angularity will depend upon the nature of the stones, the distance they have rolled, and the length of time the area they occupy remains at a stationary level. In the Midland Counties, drift composed of rounded pebbles, and drift composed of angular flints, graduate into each other on the same horizon. There, also, drift, in- terstratified with beds of sand containing sea-shells, may be seen on the same horizon with, and graduating into, drift, in which no sea-shells have yet been dis- covered.— I). Mackintosh, in Geol. Mag. Objects in Tumuli.— I believe Mr. Tate is in- correct in his correction of the name {Orhitolina globularis) and zoological position given by me, in your January number, to the so-called fossil beads. These little fossils were at one time considered as sponges, but they are now placed with the Forami- uifera. In the " Annals of Natural History " for 1SG0 there is a complete nomenclature of the Fora- minifera by Messrs. W. K. Parker and T. Bupert Jones, the July number containing the following synonymy of the Orhitolina, with references to the works of the several authors from which the syno- nyms are taken, but which need not be mentioned here : — " Millepora ? globularis, Phillips and Wood- ward, Tragos globularis, Beuss, Coscinopora globu- laris, D'Orb and Morris, is our Orhitolina globu- laris." From this it would appear that Coscinopora and Orhitolina are now cousidered as identical. That Messrs. Parker and Jones are here writing of the true fossil beads is apparent from the next paragraph. "In some of the figured specimens of 0. globularis the not unusual hole in the base is indicated. Occasionally individuals are perforated by a more or less irregular tubular cavity. The roundness of the specimens, and their holes and tubular cavities, appear to have suggested to the old ' flint folk' of the Valley of the Somme that they might be used for beads ; for such perforated Orhi- tolina; are frequent in the gravel that yields the flint axes." In the " Geologist" (April 22nd, 1SG0) Mr. T. B. Jones published a letter on the same subject, in which he says: "These little fossils have had several names given to them, and they have usually been regarded as sponges ; but in 1S60 my friend Mr. W. K. Parker and myself were led to study them iu the course of our researches on Foramini- fera on account of one curious little form after another coming under our notice from different sea- sands and fossil deposits, all of which were related to Williamson's Patellina on one hand and to D'Orbigny's Orhitolina on the other." He then continues, after stating that they had more fully worked out the subject with Dr. Carpenter, "but we still are fully convinced that, however spongioid it may appear, the Orhitolina globularis is a forami- nifer and a variety of 0. concava, Lamarck." Orbi- tolinse are common in the upper chalk about here ; they are also found in chalk flints, whence they naturally appear in the drift gravel. Perforated specimens are by no means uncommon. I have met with them in various stages of perforation from a small pit to a complete hole; and the Salisbury Museum contains neatly perforated specimens. — J. S., St. Mary Bourne, Hants. The Uses of Petroleum. — Besides its utility for light, petroleum has several other uses. In Ger- many it is employed by the tanners ; in England and America it has been experimented upon as fuel for steam engines • it is employed also for keeping* the clay or paste plastic in the fabrication of hard china ; for dissolving chloride of sulphur in the vul- canization of india-rubber ; for cleaning copper or iron, when added to rotten-stone or to blacklead ; for driving away several insects ; for the cure of itch, &c. &c. — Bemardin, Melle, near Ghent. Fauna of the Eocene Period. — Mammifera, birds, reptiles, fishes, insects, and mollusks form the terrestrial fauna of the eocene period. In the waters of the lakes, their surfaces deeply furrowed by the passage of large pelicans, lived mollusks of varied forms, and turtles floated about. Snipes made their retreat among the reeds which grew on the shore ; sea-gulls skimmed the surface of the waters, or ran upon the sands ; owls hid themselves in the cavern- ous trunks of old trees ; gigantic buzzards hovered in the air, watching for jlicir prey • while heavy crocodiles slowly dragged their unwieldy bodies : through the high marshy grasses. All these terres- j trial animals have been discovered in England or in France, alongside the overthrown trunks of palm- trees. The mammifera which lived under the lati- tudes of Paris and London are only found now in the warm countries of the globe. — The World Before the Flood. Ape.il 1, IS66.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 91 MICROSCOPY. Podura Scale. — The scale figured in last month's Science Gossip is not from Podura plumbea but from a species of Podura which I have only occasion- ally met with. It is much more easily resolved than the scale which is esteemed as a test, and displays its beauty to great advantage under Powell and Lealand's TV obj. Different appearances are pre- sented according to the manner in which it is illuminated ; thus, with the central rays only of the achromatic condenser, the markings which I have figured are shown, while with the peripheral rays (one of the stops being interposed as for diatom illumination), the wedge-shaped particles of the outer lamina; are clearly seen, and each seems to be slightly striated. The " Micrographic Dictionary" says : — " The scales of P. plumbea, the so-called common spring-tail, are usually recommended ; but we believe that the most common Podura is not this species. This is, however, a matter of little importance, because the scales of several species belonging to even different genera, are exactly similar both in form and markings." It appears that the procuring of test scales is somewhat diffi- cult. A celebrated optician showed me the other evening several bottles containing, I should say at a guess, millions of scales, and told me he has spent whole evenings endeavouring to obtain from them a single scale or two exactly equal to his wishes. I have some of the reputed test scales, but prefer the others for display. The last time I found the Podura which is figured, several specimens were caught, and a few more slides made than I want. I shall therefore be glad to exchange with any one for other well-mounted objects of value. — S. J. JSPIntire, Bessborough Gardens. Magnifying without either Lens ok Re- flector.— After all is said that can be, in expla- nation of the effects of lenses, whether single or combined in the compound microscope or the tele- scope, our wonder at their marvellous effects is but little diminished. We have come to know much as to how these wondrous effects are brought about, and we have thus ceased, perhaps, to regard them as more mysterious than ordinary natural pheno- mena. But in this knowledge acquired we find fresh matter for astonishment and admiration, in the exceeding simplicity of the means by which results so varied and complex are accomplished. We are now, however, going to say nothing about the optical phenomena produced by lenses, or those by mirrors, and so need not concern ourselves as to how they act. Without calling in the aid of these contrivances, we are going to show how to produce two of the phenomena which are commonly con- sidered to be the peculiar property of these optical contrivances — to show how to magnify minute objects, and how to get inverted images of them. Nay, more than this, our apparatus works with complete independence of the laws of refraction and ■reflexion. Take a thin, opaque card (black or dark-coloured, by'preference), and make a hole in it with a fine needle, and the apparatus is ready. Do not despise it for its simplicity. A lens is only a piece of glass ; a reflector is only a polished piece of metal ; yet in these lie all the vast powers of the microscope and telescope. Our perforated plate of card or metal plate can, like these, be suitably mounted with ad- vantage. But let us not mind this mounting now. Proceed we to use our easily-acquired instrument. Stand facing a bright window or lamp, in a room where there is but one. Hold the card about two inches from the eye so that the light of the window or lamp enters the eye through the hole in it. The hole will then appear as a small circular illuminated field. Now take some small object — the end of a hair or the point of a needle will do — and bring it into this field by holding it between the hole in the card and the eye, say an inch or inch and a half from the latter. There will then be seen, apparently beyond the plane of the card, a magnified image of the object, with a position in the field and a motion across it the reverse of that of the object. If the perforated card or thin metallic plate be fastened over one end of an eye-tube, about two inches long, the effect will be more satisfactory, because side-light will be prevented from entering the eye. And if this tube is made of two parts, so as to slide one on the other, it will enable the per- forated plate to be placed at the best distance from the eye. Whatever tube is used must of course have a lateral hole for the introduction of objects. The objects may be supported by forceps, or fastened to a glass slide. If a slide is used with a dark tube there must be two slits made in the latter to allow of the introduction of the slide. This interesting fact was communicated to us by the Bev. E. Caswell, of Birmingham. There is no likelihood, we believe, of its receiving any practical application beyond that of a useful illustration of the laws of light. E. D. Cleaning Thin Glass. — The usual method is as follows : — Two discs of wood, about two inches in diameter, are procured, one side of each being per- fectly flat and covered with clean wash-leather. To the other side of these a small knob is firmly affixed as a handle, or, where practicable, the whole may be made out of a solid piece. In cleaning thin glass, it should be placed betwixt the covered sides of the discs, and may then be safely rubbed with a sufficient pressure, and so cleaned on both sides by the leather. If greasy, it must be first washed with a strong solution of potash, infusion of nut- galls, or any of the common removing liquids. — Duties on Mounting. 92 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [ArniL 1, 1866. BOTANY. The Coral-hoot. — The coral-root {Dentaria hulbife to) is one of the rarer British plants, being- found in but few of the English counties, and in but one Scottisli locality — in the county of Ayr. It is a very elegant species, growing, usually in patches, in woods, and blossoming at the end of April and beginning of May. Though a tall plant, and having large bright-coloured blossoms, it is extremely liable to be overlooked, except in the flowering season, as the stems and leaves soon wither, and the latter, in a young state, bear considerable resemblance to those of the Gout-weed {JEgopodium Podagra net). The method in which the coral-root is propagated is somewhat remarkable : its elegant flowers seldom, if ever, produce seed ; nor is this necessary, for in the axils of the leaves are small buds or bulbs, which are described by Parkinson (a voluminous writer of the seventeenth century) as being " of a sad purplish- green colour, which being ripe and put into the ground will grow to be a roote, and beare leaves like as the bulbes of a red-bulbed lillie." These bulbs easily fall off, and are with difficulty retained upon dried specimens ; to them the plant owes its specific name, bulbifera, or bulb-bearing. The flowers are of a delicate purplish-lilac colour, not easily imitated, and all the pictures of coral-root which we have seen fail to represent it correctly, but this colour fades away during, or shortly after, the process of drying. The blossoms have usually a faint sweet scent, and their shape at once places them in the order of Crossbeam's, or Cruciferee. Mr. Syme, in the new edition of " English Botany " now publishing, ranks the coral-root among the species of Cardamiue, or Bitter-cress, which genus it certainly resembles in many important characters. The English name, coral-root, and the Latin, Dentaria, or Tooth-wort, are founded on the curious appearance presented by the root, which is long, thick, brittle, and very white, running along horizontally at a short distance beneath the ground, and appearing somewhat like branches of white coral. It is covered with large white scales, which are supposed to resemble teeth ; when the root is dried, however, it shrivels up, and these pecu- liarities arc no longer observable. In the olden times, coral-root, like every other plant, had its " vertues." Parkinson, in his " Theatrum Botani- cum" (a quarto work of about 2,000 pages), in- forms us that " a drain of the powder of the roote taken for many days together in red wine is exceed- ing good for inward wounds that are made in the breast and longs ; " and it is also " very benclicial to be drunke in the distilled water of the hcrbe called Horsetail." A representation of the plant is also given, under the English name of " Toothed Violet," which exhibits many features of interest. This author appears to have first discovered the Dentaria in this country; he mentions it as having been found " at Mayfield, in Sussex, in a wood called Highreede, and in another wood called Eoxholes, both of them belonging to Mr. Stephen Perkhurst at the writing hereof." Bay, in his "Synopsis," takes no notice of it, nor does Dille- nius, his subsequent editor. Blackstone, in 1737, records it as growing abundantly in the Old Park Wood, at Harefield, in Middlesex, a locality in which, as well as in other neighbouring woods, it may still be found. Turner, in 1S01, mentions it in his "Botanist's Guide," on the authority of Mr. Gotobed, as growing in the woods at Loud- water, between Beaconsfield and High Wycombe, Bucks, where it still abounds. It is, indeed, to be seen in almost every wood round Wycombe, as well as near Chesham and Aylesbury ; so that the county of Buckingham appears to be the head-quarters of the plant. My own observations lead me to suspect that Oxfordshire will be found to produce it. In addition, the coral-root is found in Kent, Sussex, and Hertfordshire, and the county of Surrey is sup- posed to lay claim to it also. Many handsome species are cultivated in gardens. — B. Cedar. — A Cedar of Lebanon, in the garden of the Vicarage, Bredwardine, produced its first fertile cone last year. Prom good authority I make out its age to be 42-45 years. — B. B. Early Plowers. — I have found the following flowers here since the 1st of February : — Primrose on February 2 ; violet, February 5 ; wild straw- berry, February 5 ; early orchis {Orchis mascula) on the 7th of February ; daffodils and snowdrops on the 1st ; also wart cress and charlock on the 20th. There is also a horse chestnut nearly out about half a mile from here. — W. B., Tenby, Pembrokeshire. Heartsease (p. 67). — " Stiefmutterchen" is the principal German pet name, "Je longer je lieber" is not, but is applied to the honeysuckle. The Ger- man for "Three foldenness flower" is " Dreifaltig- keitsblume," and not "Dayfaltigkeitsblume, which has no meaning whatever. — Justus Eck. Heartsease. — The German name of Viola tricolor is "Dreilaltigkeitsblume," Trinity flower. The French " Herbe de la Trinite " is the Hepatic anemone {Anemone hepatica) . — B., Melle. Baxyan of India .—Perhaps the following memo- randum respecting a large banyan tree {Ficus lndica), now standing in the jungle at Margonerly, in Mysore, may be acceptable to you for Science Gossir. The trunk is 71 feet 2 inches in girth, and the greatest horizontal diameter of the head of foliage is 1SS feet; the height was not ascertained. — G. E. Bulger, Bangalore. British Fungi.— Socman's " Journal of Botany" for the present month contains descriptions of seventy species of minute Fungi, new to Britain, by Mr. M. C. Cooke. April 1, 1S66.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP 93 NOTES AND QUERIES. Stormy Petrel.— Can any of your subscribers inform me what foundation exists for the following- statement respecting the stormy petrel :— " Their whole bodies are so filled with oil, that the_ in- habitants of the Hebrides actually make them into candles by merely thrusting a rush through their bodies, and bringing it out at the beak, when it is found to burn brightly" ?— E. F. P. Pennant says ("Brit. Zool." vol. ii. p. 553), "Mr. Brunnich tells us that the inhabitants of the Ferroe isles make this bird serve the purposes of a candle, by drawing a wick through the mouth and rump, which, being lighted, the flame is fed by the fat and oil of the body."— Ed. Insects in Winter.— It is generally thought that a hard winter kills a great number of insects in the egg, larva, or ckrysalid state ; this opinion seems not to be well founded. "The caterpillars and chrysalids do not perish though they be con- verted into a piece of compact ice," says Professor Larcordaire. Perfect insects can also resist the same cold. De Geer has seen gnats return to life after having been some time inclosed in ice. Ac- cording to Lyonnet, winter is an inclement season only for a few species of insects ; the greater number resist the severest cold, and a rude winter kills less of them than a too mild one. — " Tehan, Harmonies de la Creation."— B. Kerria Japonica had its first flower here (Melle, near Ghent) on the 2nd February. It is rather remarkable that this plant, which _ supports so well the cold of our climates, was first introduced in the hothouses, and later in the orangeries. — B. Guayacol. — Several French papers said lately that the oily nuts of a palm tree, growing on the Pacific coast of Mexico, afford an excellent fuel for the steam vessels ; they call the tree Guayacol. Would any one have the kindness to tell me its botanical name ? Is it perhaps the same as the Ceyol, or the Cocoyol, two Mexican palm-trees ? I possess two small round nuts of the latter. — B., Melle, near Ghent. Bois Immortel (p. 69). — The Erytkrina indica, Lam.,/?, coral lodendron, /3.L., is called in theAutilles and probably in Demerara also, "Bois immortel, arbre a feu ;" at Mauritius it is called inFrench "Nourouc," and in English " Indian coral tree." This plant is used in Trinidad, Mexico, &c, for protecting the young cacaos or cocoa-trees ; thence the Mexican name " madre cacao." — B., Melle, near Ghent. Mode of Cutting Glass Tubes into Cells (p. 69). — Try making at the section a line with tur- pentine-oil, and then use a file. — B. "Purple-winged Sultana" (p. C)0).—Sultana- heii is the Porphyria hyacinthiuus of Northern Africa, sometimes met with in Southern Europe. Accord- ing to the " Ornitologo Ticinese, Lugano, 1865," it is domesticated and brought to market by the peasants of Lower Italy. — B., Melle, near Ghent. Proboscis of Hawk-moths. — Among the "Notes and Queries" in the Science Gossip for January is one in which the writer (apparently in reference to my query in the November number as to the use of the double proboscis of the unicorn hawk-moth) questions the fact of its being possessed of a double proboscis. I am sorry to contradict a lady, but if the writer will look in the 30th volume of the " Naturalist's Library," edited by Sir William Jardine, she will find, in plate 6, the Sphinx con- volvuli pictured with a double proboscis. The name unicorn, therefore, which she seems to think settles the question, is simply a misnomer. Further, since writing to Science Gossip in November, I have discovered that all the hawk-moths which 1 have been able to examine share the peculiarity of the divided or double proboscis. I should be glad to know from any of your correspondents whose op- portunities of investigation may have been more extensive than mine, whether the peculiarity be universal as regards the hawk-moths. — E. M. Desmids. — In answer to W. W. S., on treating desmids, when they have dried, the best way is to place them in distilled water until they have swollen to their natural size ; then wash them off with a hair- pencil into a watch-glass, or small phial, if many ; see that the endocrome or granules are not broken, if so, they are spoiled. Should they require cleaning- wash with distilled water, pour off the dirty water gently, and place the desmids' for twenty-four hours in the preserving liquid before mounting ; then place a sufficient number to Jill a shallow cell, either of glass or cement, till the cell with the liquid preserve, and cover with thin glass in the usual way. The liquor I use is one-third glycerine and two- thirds distilled water ; if stronger, the glycerine will soften the cell and spoil the object. There are several preserves mentioned, but I find the above the best. I have specimens mounted ten and twelve years. It is also an excellent preserve for marine algae. I have at present a specimen of a beautiful green conferver, exceedingly delicate— root and fronds occupying only half an inch diameter cell — as fresh as when put up three years back. I am at present manipulating upon some dried desmids. — li. S. Bos/cell, Torquay. Dipper Walking under Water. — I was much surprised, on opening my number of Science Gossip for last month, to see that Mr. J. K. Lord, F.Z.S., in his article on "The Belted Kingfisher," still be- lieves in what I thought was an exploded doctrine. I will, however, quote his own words—" They cannot swim or walk under water like the dipper." I will only use one argument which I think will strike most naturalists as a clear proof that the ■walking is impossible, namely, How is it that the water ousel, or dipper, which is specifically lighter than water, can manage, by some inherent power, to walk on the ground at the bottom of a rivulet ? The above argument is not my own, but one of the late Charles Waterton's, and I strongly recommend Mr. J. K. Lord, F.Z.S., to read his "Essays on Natural History," and after so doing, he will then, I fancy, not tell amateur naturalists the absurd story that a dipper can walk under water.— Geo. F. Smith, Durham. Preserving Anatomical and Physiological Preparations, &c— Perhaps some of your readers who have " put up " these preparations in spirits of wine, may not be aware that they have the ingre- dients for a much cheaper substitute close at hand, namely, chloride of sodium, or common salt and water." I have repeatedly tried a saturated solution for lizards, snakes, &c, and found it answer as well as the far more expensive spirit. The method I pursue is as follows : — Having made a saturated solution— or nearly so -of common salt, by pouring hot water upon it and leaving it until quite cold, it is then to be filtered through blotting-paper into a suitable glass vessel, and the animal to be preserved placed into it ; then tie the vessel over with a piece of bladder prepared by soaking it for some time in warm water, which in a few days hardens and drys, when it will be ready to receive a few coatings of 01 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Apeil 1, 1S6G. black japan varnish, which answers two purposes — it renders the bladder impervious to air and water, and greatly improves its appearance. The specimen is now ready for the cabinet or museum. — W.Bowen Davies. We used this solution for the purpose named ten years ago. — Ed. Tealia Ceassicoenis. — Your correspondent, K. D., appears to have been unsuccessful in his attempts to keep Tealia crassicornis, and asks for instructions. I have at present a magnificent specimen blooming in my aquarium, but as it has only been there two months, it affords but little evidence of the practicability of keeping the species alive for a lengthened period. That evidence, however, is forthcoming in the experience of two friends, one of whom, I know, has kept small speci- mens upwards of twelve months, and the other moderately large specimens for about two years, and they are yet alive and flourishing beautifully. We have an immense, number of "crass" on the Northumberland coast, and the difficulty of getting them without chipping away the hard rock, to which they adhere very tenaciously, is one great reason why they are not more frequently kept in aquaria. In order to succeed in preserving them alive the following conditions are desirable, if not absolutely necessary. Eirst, that the " crass " be obtained without any injury to its base, and that is best accomplished by searching until one is found attached to a small stone, when the anemone, on its natural habitat, may be introduced into the aqua- rium. The next point is to have a good supply of water of proper density and free from animal im- purities ; and the third is that the anemones be fed about once a week on oysters cut into small pieces. If these conditions be observed, K. D. will find that T. crassicornis will live and flourish as well as ordi- narily hardy anemones usually do. — T. P. Barkas, Newcastle-on-Tyne. We have also received communications on the same subject from W. H. Congreve, W. B. (Tenby), M. D. P., and W. M., which want of space compels us reluctantly to postpone. — Ed. Rose of Jeeicho. — Can you inform me what plant is known by the name of the "Jericho Rose" ? 1 was visiting a friend's house, and he showed me two dried flowers ; they possessed the curious pro- perty of unfolding when placed in water, but closed again when dry. — H. It is Anastatica hierochuntina, a cruciferous plant. See Gardeners' Chronicle, 1842, p. 363 ; " Lindley's Vegetable Kingdom," p. 354, fig. 245. — Ed. Solae Spot. — Did any of your readers notice any unusual appearance in the sun's disk last month ? On the 26th and 27th February, a large black "spot," or patch, on the sun was observed at its rising and setting. Several persons saw it on the two consecutive mornings, and compared the ap- pearance, in size and shape, to a rook. Its large size takes it out of the class of " sun-spots." It was seen by many persons here (Wonston, Hants), and also by the passengers in the early morning train from Southampton to Loudon. I am told that all the windows in the train were let down, and the travellers "with one accord" were gazing at the phenomenon. It has been noticed, I hear, in an Irish paper, but I have not seen it explained any- where— G. E. B. Ancient Toads and Eeogs.— Our correspon- dents seem to be labouring under an error as to the requisition of T. P. B. One of them sends us an account (W. K.) which he obtained of a friend. Another (J. W.) tells us that he buried a toad in the ground for three months, at the end of which period it was liberated alive and well. This is credible enough, but it does not settle the question. Whilst W. M. sends us a paragraph from a newspaper, and W. J. K. thinks the following incident conclusive : — "I was watching some work- men sinking a draw-well, and at the depth of about 10 feet I saw a young-looking and very lively frog turned out of the clay, in which it was embedded, and disport itself in a pool of water near." If the paragraph at page 47 be carefully read again, it will become evident that the above do not fulfil the con- ditions.—^. Ceystals op Aloine. — A correspondent com- plains of want of success in obtaining them by the method described at p. 33, to which Mr. Roberts replies—" With regard to the aloine, your corre- spondent did not follow my directions. I said proof spirit should be used to dissolve the aloes whereas he used chloroform in one instance and. strong alcohol in the other." — Albinus John Roberts. Aphides. — Your correspondent P. S. B. (p. 54) appears to labour under a mistake which might mis- lead. She states that she observed a very small soft grub enclosed in a smooth silky cocoon, which she thinks was the chrysalis state of the perfect aphis ! What she saw was most likely the larva of some fly or moth, as it is well known that the aphides are viviparous, bringing forth their young alive, perfect in all respects but in size, and therefore these can never assume the pupal nor even the larval form. The so-called eggs, which are laid by the female towards the close of autumn, are, it is conjectured, but a case sheltering the inclosed aphis from the severity of the winter season, and for the further- ance of this object the female of the A. lanigera covers each case with down from her own body. — Em He L. Ragonot. Salicine.— Can any reader of Science Gossip kindly tell me how the circular expansions of salicine upon a slide are to be obtained ? With me upon evaporation salicine always forms silky hair- like crystals, which do not produce so good an effect under polarized light. — /. H. Place small fragments of salicine on a glass slide ; fuse carefully by the heat of a spirit-lamp ; when cold, touch the glasslike fused masses with a piece of moistened blotting-paper or a moistened finger ; the smaller portions will then show the discoid, crystalline structure, which is so much admired. — A. J. Roberts. Mounting Rotifees, &c. — Would you kindly tell me if Yolvox globator, Rotifer vulgaris, Amceba, &c, &c., can be mounted as slides, and how ? And whether Fhistra foliacea and Scrupocellaria scntposa can be kept alive for two or three weeks, and how ? Also how they can be mounted as slides? — Fanny L.8. Has Eanny consulted "Davies on Preparing and Mounting Microscopic Objects V'—Ed. Nest of Kingfishee.— In Science Gossip (p. 27) Mr. Lord says : " The Belted Kingfisher never has a nest, neither has its British relative, but digs an ugly hole into a mud-bank, or, taking forcible possession of one already excavated, lays its eggs on the bare earth at the end of the burrow." The Rev. J. G. Wood, in his " Homes without Hands," says : " The nest is composed wholly of fish-bones, minnows furnishing the greater portion" (page 61). Also at page 60 he says : " That the eggs are laid Apiul 1, 1SG6.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. upon dry fish-bones is a fact that has long- been known ; but for an accurate account of the nest we are indebted to Mr. Gould, the eminent ornitho - logist." An explanation of these apparent contra - dictions would oblige. — R. P. Ellis. Woodpeckers stoking Acorns. — The acorns being in the bark is admitted ; but, are they put in quite tight, or loosely ? If loosely, would insects collect around them, and if so, would not the bird devour them, leaving the acorns to do further duty. — a. jr. g. A New Insulator.— Mr. W. A. Marshall, of Leadenhall Street, London, has invented an insu- lating material for telegraphic and other purposes. It consists in the employment of asbestos or amiantus (amiantc)' for insulating purposes. The invention also consists in protecting and completing the insu- lation of telegraphic wire, especially for submarine and subterranean purposes, previously covered with the asbestos or amiantus by surrounding or inclosing it in a metal tube, by preference of tin. — Popular Science Review. Atlantic Ooze. — Mr. T. Barkas says in Science Gossip (p. 70), that at the depth of 2,100 fathoms he has been unable to meet with a single complete diatomaceous frustule ; and, therefore, that the ex- treme depths of the ocean are probably not the natural habitats of the Biatomacere. I have in my possession a slide of "Atlantic Soundings" obtained at the depth of 2,070 fathoms, and was, 1 believe, part of the ooze taken up by the United States Atlantic Expedition, under the command of Lieut. Maury, containing a quantity of complete frustules of the genera Cosciuodiscus, Triceratium, Stauroneis, and Navicula with Polycystina, including a very pretty • colony of sponge spicula, consisting of sphero-stellate, spicula of Tethea, Tricuspid aucho- rate spicula, Triradiate spicula from Grantia, &c, &c. I have also had an opportunity of seeing three other slides from precisely the same locality and depth, and their characteristics are almost similar. — J. W. Leakey. Middlesex Elora.— Dr. Henry Trimen and Mr. W. T. Dyer, of Christ Church, Oxford, are collect- ing materials for a Flora of the county of Middlesex, on the plan of the Cambridgeshire aud Essex Floras. They will feel indebted to botanists for local lists, notes of localities, or information of any kind con- nected with the subject, and in the case of rare, critical, or doubtful species the loan of specimens will be very acceptable. Evergreen Bouquets. — I dare say it has not occurred to many people who have few flowers in their greenhouses in the winter, to make up bouquets of evergreens of various shades (camellias, if they can be got, look very well amongst them, with a few ferns). I have made up several of these evergreen bouquets this winter. The centre-piece is 114 inches in diameter, and 3 feet in circumference. One bouquet consisted of the following circles raised in moss, viz., fern [Pteris serrulata), to hang down ; burberis, red and green leaves, alternate ; Adiantum cuneatum (fern) ; red and white camellias, alternate ; ivy leaves and berries, the latter coloured blue; Gymnogramma sulphured (fern) ; a white camellia in the centre. I have also used the following ever- greens : — Cupressus Lawsoniana ; box, green and variegated ; Tuxodium ; yew ; holly, green and variegated, with berries ; aucuba ; arbor vitse ; Abies Canadensis; fir, &c. Also, ivy leaves, with the berries coloured red, blue, and white. An account of evergreen bouquets was given in the Gardener's Chronicle about a fortnight ago, but the person who wrote it objected to flowers being placed amongst them. But I have tried both, and find that ever- greens by themselves do not light up, but require some colour amongst them, particularly if they are for the dining-room. — A. W. The Veined "White Butterflies.— I do not know if it has been satisfactorily determined if "the dusky-veined white butterfly, Pontia Sabellica," is a distinct species from " the green-veined white, P. Napi." If it is not, the following may be of in- terest :— I took a male and female -of the P. Sabellieee at Cromer, Norfolk, together, in the sum- mer of 1864. The male as well as the female had the two dusky-black spots on the upper wings, which are absent on the male of P. Napi, but it was a good deal smaller than the female. The other day I looked at the scales of both species under the microscope. Those of P. Napi were generally much larger than those of P. Sabellica?, and I found some scales which I could not find on P. Sabellica ; they had a fringe something like the scales of P Cardamiues (orange-tip). Does not this seem as if they were a distinct species ? The scales I have taken from the males of all three species. Perhaps some more competent entomologist and microscopist than myself will study the matter. — E. 67. W. Aquaria Animals. — Mr. W. A. Lloyd would be glad to place himself in communication with any one willing to supply living aquarium animals, for which liberal terms can be offered. Payment and delivery to be made near London. Address, in the first instance, Zoological Gardens, Hamburg, North Germany. Graphite near the Sea of Azof. — A French journal states that a vein of graphite has been dis- covered in the above locality, and of a quality equal to that of Siberia. The same authority alleges that a source of petroleum has been found in the state of Archangel, near the course of a stream which falls into the Betchora. — Popular Science Review. The Caddis Larva is an incorrigible kidnapper, seizing on any shell that may suit its purpose, with- out troubling itself about the inhabitant. It_ is quite a common occurrence to find four or five living specimens of the Planorbis or Limncea affixed to the case of a caddis larva, and to see the inhabitants adhering to the plants and endeavouring to proceed in one direction, whilst the caddis is trying to walk in another, thus recalling the well-known episode of the Tartar and his captor. In these cases the cylindrical body is made of sand and small frag- ments of shells bound together with a waterproof cement, and the shells are attached by their flat sides to the exterior. — Homes Without Hands. Filberts were originally brought out of Pontus into Natolia and Greece, and were therefore called Pontic nuts. From thence they were procured by the Romans, and brought into Italy, where they ac- quired the name of Abellan or Avellan nuts, from Abella or Avella, a town of Campania, where the best were cultivated (Pliny, b. xv., c. 22), and from thence arose the French name, Aveline. When first known in this country they were called nuts with full beards, to distinguish them from the common hazel nut, as it will be observed that the husk or covering of this nut resembles a man's full beard ; this was first corrupted into " filbeard " and "filberd," and from thence into filbert— Phillies Fruits of Great Britain, 96 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [Apeil 1,1800. NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. All communications relative to advertisements, post-office orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal should be addressed to the Publisher. All contributions, books, and pamphlets for the Editor should be sent to 192, Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contri- butions should not be received later than the 15th of each month. No notice whatever can be taken of communi- cations which do not contain the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be with- held. We do not undertake to answer any queries not specially connected with Natural History, in accordance with our acceptance of that term ; nor can we answer queries which might be solved by the correspondent by an appeal to any elementary book on the subject. We are always prepared to accept queries of a critical nature, and to publish the replies, provided some of our readers, besides the querist, are likely to be interested in them. We cannot undertake to return rejected manuscripts unless sufficient stamps are enclosed to cover the return postage. Neither can we promise to refer to or return any manu- script after one month from the date of its receipt. All microscopical drawings intended for publication should have annexed thereto the powers employed, or the extent of enlargement indicated in diameters (thus— X 320 diameters). Communications intended for publication should be written on one side of the paper only, and all scientific names, and names of places and individuals should be as legible as possible. Wherever scientific names or technicalities are employed, it is hoped that the common names will accompanv them. Lists or tables are inad- missible under any circumstances. Those of the popular names of British plants and animals are retained and regis- tered for publication when sufficiently complete for that purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon. Address No. 192, Piccadii.lv, London, W. E. B.— For mounting hairs, see " Davies on Preparing and Mounting," pp. 79 and 105. Triceratium.— E. A. C. will, with the exercise of much patience and after frequent disappointment, find Trieerutium favus in the Thames mud of the river at Limehouse.— 8. F. W. F. W. C— It is not likely to be ready for two months. F. A. — The moth enclosed is Dasychira pudibunda, — F. HI. Crystals from the Human Breath, see p. 264, vol. i. T. W. W.— Many instances of hermaphroditism in insects are recorded in the " Journal of the Entomological Society," and a special paper by Mr. Wing was published in their " Transactions" a few years since.— F. M. C. S. B.— Have you tried the plan which you condemn ? W. F. Bogers is requested to furnish his address to C. B. Errata.— At page 66, col. 1, 1. 6, for "views" read "wires;" line 19 for "views" read "results."— If. Hislop. M. should state more explicitly what he requires. F. W. C— Too old ; nothing is left but stains. J. W. (Manchester). — Your shells are— 1. Helieella nitidula (young). 2. Planorbis imbricatits. 3. Pisidium sp.—R. T. J. F. C— It will evaporate unless completely hermetically sealed. 2. The Geological Map of England and AVales in the series published by the S. D. U. K. may be had of Stanford, Charing Cross, London. J. M. H.— The three-spinedandten-spined sticklebacks are both freshwater species; the fiftecn-spined is marine. See Couch's "British Fishes," vol. i., pp. 167-184; also "Zoolo- gist," p. 5,124. Yarrell's " British Fishes," vol. i., p. 99- R. A.— Loudon's " Encyclopedia of Plants," last edition, 1855, with two supplements, price 73s. 6d. We do not know of a third supplement. Your lichen is Ramalina calicaris. Platino-cyanidi; of Magnesium. — There appears to have been some mistake. Examination of the salt forwarded wil be made, and the result recorded in our next. M. D. P.— If two different qualities of plaster are used, or the same plaster after exposure to the air, the results will differ. New and good plaster may have been used at one time, and old or inferior at another. We do not imagine that Mr. Lloyd is a likely person to mistake appearances in the manner you suggest. C. F. Y. — Read the paragraph at p. 189 again, and you will discover your mistake. E. T. Scott does not write of the working part of a " microscope," but of a " diaphragm." W. L. — Your plants are— 1. Salvia verbenacea. 2. Lycoptts Europa-KS. 3. Bartsia odontites. J. E. T. will find it better to purchase " dead black " paper than attempt to make it. It is cheap enough, and may be had of any respectable stationers. F, W. — Your moss is Phascum nitidum apparently, mixed with P. mnticum. If you enclose directed envelope you may receive the specimens separated. F. A. A. — We have received no communication from you except your letter of the 20th, alluding to one. M.D.— (1.) The platino-cyanide of magnesium may be ob- tained from Messrs. J. Robbins & Co., 3/2, Oxford Street, at eight shillings per drachm, or one shilling for six grains (the smallest quantity supplied) .—A. J. R. (2.) Cinchonidine, we think, may be obtained of T. and H. Smith, manufacturing chemists, Coleman-street, London, E.C.— A.J.R. (3.) The injected microscopical preparations, to which we imagine you allude, were shown at the International Exhibition of 1862. The manufacturers were M. Burgogne Brothers, of Paris. (4.) We believe that thin glass in sheets may be procured of Claudet k Houghton, High Holborn, London. B. T. — Your moss is Sphagnum cymbifolivm, a very common species. Zoophytes postponed for examination. Qi/ekett Microscopical Club.— The monthly meetings will be held for the future (by permission of the Council) at University College, Gower Street. G.L.L — A species of Echeveria, but not being a British plant, and belonging to a group not very easily determined ; we have been unable to identify the species in time. It is allied to the stonecrops. EXCHANGES. Mounted Diatoms.— Twelve slides for an equal number of entomological slides. B.Taylor, 57, Lowther Street, White- haven. Silicified Wood from Tasmania. — J. W. Leakey, 3, Prince of Wales's Avenue, Maiden Road, Haverstock Hill. Mosses.— J. A. Bowness ; also R. G., 42, William Street, Ashton-under-Lyne. Land and Freshwater Shells.— List on application to C. A., Grove House, Tottenham, London. Foreign Shells for English Shells, or Birds' Eggs.— Beta, Post-office, South Shields. Diato.maceous Guano for other objects.— W. C, 62, Kirk- gate, Leeds. Communications Received.— R. J. W.— W. H.— E. J. S. C.-J. W. L.— W. II. C— B.-H. U.— H. J. W.— S. B.-P. S. B.-J. M. H.-G. E. B.— F. A. A.— J. C. W.— W. K. B.-C. S. B.— N. E. C— W. B. D.— C. B.— S. A. J — 2.— E. G. W.— W. M.— C. A.— J. W.— T. XV. W.— J. F. C— A. W.-R. S. B. — E. F. P.— W. W.— G. M.— M. P.— S. J. M.— J. S. T.— E. L. r._W. T. I.— J. W. (Belgravia)— W. H. G.— R. A.— J. B.— G. T. P.-S. C— W. B.— Fanny L. S.— F. A.— E. D. M— J. S. C. D.-T. P. B.— J. S.-W. M.-C. F. W.-T. S. B.-W. L.— R. M. M.-G. E. B.-J. L.-G. F. S.-F. W.-.T. E. T.-F. W c._j._W. C.-B. Q.-W. A. L.-T. A. C.-F. T. SphieruHeiibahuji.- Sent to C. A.— F.B.— J.B.— R.H.B — W. C. (Leeds)— W. C. (Bromsgrove)— W. C. (Canonbury)— F. W. C— J. H. D.— G. E— W. G.— M. J.-Dr.M.-C. T. N.— J. J. R.— F. J.R.-M. R.— I). R.— Mrs. S.— A. S.-F. W.-E. W. —J. H. W.— W. J. E- R. R. A.— G. G.— D. E. M.-G. E. Q. — H. W.— Mr. B.-Miss D.— H. H. M.— W. E. R.— F. S.— J. A.-J. B.-A. B.— B. B.-T. D. M.— J. H. S.-H. W.— j. D. W.— H. S.-Br. W.— Capt. W. — E G. W.— W. W — C. D. H.— J. A.— Mr. B.— J. C. M.— R. H, M.— J. R.— W. J. E. S P E I N G. How pleasant is the opening year ! The clouds of winter melt away, The flowers in beauty reappear, The songster carols from the spray. In darkness, through the dreary length Of winter, slept both bud and bloom; But Nature now puts forth her strength, And starts renew'd as from the tomb.— Dr. Mom. ROM the earliest ages concerning which we have any reliable records, the motions of the heavenly bodies have been a source of interest and an object of contem- plation to the members of the human family. Wherever man has emerged from a condition in which his thoughts and desires have been limited to the bare supply of his immediate wants, there the phe- nomena of the starry vault above him have awakened reflection, and stimulated inquiry, impressing him by their grandeur and excit- ing his curiosity by the mystery surrounding them. Thus the cradle of civilization seems also to have been the cradle of astronomical science : — Chaldean shepherds, ranging trackless fields, Beneath a concave of unclouded skies, Look'd on the Polar Star, as on a guide And guardian of their course, that never closed His steadfast eye. The planetary five With a submissive reverence they beheld ; Watch'd from the centre of their sleeping flocks Those radiant Mercuries, that seem'd to move. Carrying through ether, in perpetual round, Decrees and resolutions of the gods. Not so, however, with the periodic phenomena of the world below. The weather, it is true, has been the subject of many popular observations, which have been embalmed in proverbs and predictions of all degrees of accuracy. But the atmospheric changes, and the phenomena of the vegetable and animal kingdoms, which mark the course of each successive year, have received but little attention that is deserv- ing of the name, even from those under whose im- mediate notice they have been constantly taking No. 17. place. This is not difficult to account for. The objects and events of which we speak are less conspicuous and impressive in the eyes of a casual observer than the radiant glories of the solar and stellar systems ; and the succession of changes is less marked in its progress and effects. In most cases they do not force themselves upon the attention, and in very many they entirely escape the notice of the untrained observer. For observation is an art, and one of the worthiest contributions to popular education would be a series of works such as was commenced some years back, and to which the late Sir H. De La Beche contributed a manual, entitled " How to observe — Geology." "The great majority of mankind," said Dr. George Wilson, of Edinburgh, "do not and cannot see one fraction of what they were intended to see." The habit of careful observation is invaluable, and will well repay any pains spent in its acquisition. What delight and solace did White of Selborne find in noting the never-ending series of phenomena, of whose existence nine out of every ten men would have been entirely unconscious ; and how must this rare faculty have reconciled him to a lifelong resi- dence in an obscure village, where many would have died of ennui ! Gilbert White's record of his observations exerts even now an influence upon not a few thoughtful minds, and there is ample evidence that a goodly number of amateur students of nature are educating their powers of vision to some practical purpose. Iu the hope of interesting such, to some small extent, the present notes are written. Every one is aware that the temperature of any given spot is a constantly varying amount, and that this is the case whether daily or yearly changes be the subject of consideration. Each morning the thermometer rises, and falls again as evening comes on ; in like manner, the opening year brings a sensible increase of heat, which declines when the brightness of summer passes away. 9S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, I860. By observing the thermometrical changes which occur during the successive hours of each day in any given locality, the curves of daily temperature for that place are constructed, which curves will, of course, differ according to the season. Then by taking the mean temperature of each day of the year, the curve of annual temperature is formed, and it is with this that the observer of seasonal phenomena has chiefly to do. Nevertheless, the influence of temperature upon living organisms is strikingly illustrated in the effects of the daily curve. Eor instance, the opening and closing of flowers, which mostly depends on tempera- ture, is in many cases so regular and precise, that it becomes possible to tell the hour of the day or night with considerable accuracy by this means alone. The operations connected with the annual curve are, of course, much more complex, yet every child is aware of the general effects of summer's heat and winter's cold upon both the vegetable and the animal kingdom. Temperature, however, is not an isolated agency; other meteorological influences, more or less obvious, are associated with it ; and it is the study of these agencies in their relations to the periodic changes visible in organic nature, which constitutes the investigation of seasonal phenomena. Eor many reasons, the extensive range of the subjects involved being among the most cogent, we must look to the individual efforts of numerous observers for the successful prosecution of this interesting branch of study. In clays so busy as ours a division of labour is absolutely necessary, at least among amateurs. Leaving, therefore, the meteoro- logical influences which combine to bring about the course of the seasons, let us look at a few of our native seasonal phenomena, restricting our observa- tions, at present, to the noteworthy facts of spring- time. Every true lover of nature watches with interest the gradual departure of winter, and hails the approach of the vernal months, preparing himself to sing, with the poet Moir, the lines above quoted. And here arises a question or two, well worth considering. All winters are not alike. They differ now-a-days, old folks tell us, from those of lang syne ; and our modern winters differ from each other. Do these dili'erences produce corresponding effects upon the vegetable and animal life of the ensuing season ? or is it of no appreciable importance whether the winter be wet or dry, cold or warm ? In respect to insects, an able naturalist (the Rev. L. Jenyns) is of opinion that a wet winter must seriously affect those which pass the colder mouths in a torpid state, heavy rains drowning them in their retreats. Severe cold, he considers, would have little or no effect. Now, here is a point to be de- termined by continued and multiplied observations. We have just passed through a winter of a very de- finite character ; there has been abundance of rain, with little or no frost. It remains to be seen what effects have been produced. Will there be a sen- sible diminution in the numbers of those kinds of insects which are known to hybernate ? Is a differ- ence observable between those which pass the winter underground, as compared with such as seek a higher level ? Eor example, the caterpillar of the common cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicce), when hatched late in the summer, spends the winter months in a crevice of some wall or hollow tree, where rain could hardly reach it ; but the larvae of the saw-fly {Nematus ribesii), like many other insects, burrows into the ground, and consequently, would be much more exposed to the influence of a heavy rainfall. If rains can produce any diminution in the insects of a given year, certainly the floods which have laid so many parts of England under water ought to bring about that result at the present time. Hence the need for careful and extended observation, under- taken in different localities, affected in a greater or a less degree by excessive rains. On the other hand, the writer cannot help think- ing that a winter of unusual severity will be found destructive to some extent of hybernating animals. With regard to reptiles, it would seem that they be- come torpid when the thermometer sinks below 50°, and their own temperature then falls to freezing point. If reduced below this, life often becomes extinct. Would not similar influences be likely to affect the insect race, whose circulation is so much more energetic than that of the sluggish rep- tilia? In respect to those phenomena which may be re- garded as prognostic of an early spring, or as heralding the vernal season, we may be excused if we mention one or two classes of facts which, how- ever interesting in themselves, are not noteworthy in this respect. We find, for example, in the botanical department of a late serial, a communication recording the gathering of the dandelion, groundsel, and chichoeed in December ; on which the editor quietly observes that he believes the said plants may be found in flower at most of the seasons of the year. Let it be remembered, therefore, that there are flowers and insects which appear all the year round, and the discovery of which has, consequently, no seasonal value whatever. It is pleasant to find that, though — The rose has but a summer's reign, The daisy never dies ; but let a distinction be drawn between the star-like shining of the " wee, modest, crimson-tipp'd flower," and the yellow bloom of its associate, the buttercup, — a true plant of spring, opening its petals at the end of April or the beginning of May. Let a distinction be also drawn between local and more general phenomena. Sheltered spots encourage early flowering, [while bleak situations produce a corresponding retardation. Considering the back- May 1, 1S6G.J SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 99 wardncss of the present season, are not the facts re- corded by a Tenby correspondent in the April number of Science Gossip, due to local peculiarities ? At any rate, the finder of primroses, violets, snowdrops, daffodils, and wild strawberries, in flower before the end of the first week in February, would have been sadly out in his reckoning had he predicted there- from an unusually early spring. We were forcibly reminded of this when, on April 3rd, small hailstones rattled on our hat like a shower of sugar-plums. Care must also be taken not to attach undue im- portance to isolated occurrences which are simply dependent on a temporary rise of temperature. Such, for example, as the appearances of butterflies, &c, in the early spring months, are often recorded. But these phenomena have no seasonal value. When- ever a fine, warm day occurs, as it often does in February, or even January, the Brimstone butterfly (Goneptcryx rhamni),thQ Small Tor toiseshell {Vanessa urtiac), the hive-bee, and humble-bee, and various species of small beetles, may be met with on the wing. But they disappear with the sunshine, and when the cold returns they hide once more in the snug retreats in which they have dozed the winter away. Turning now to points which seem worthy of being classed among periodic spring phenomena, the writer ventures to think that special notice should be taken of the period at which trees are seen to be in leaf, as indicative of the course of the season. Among these, M. Quetelet, who has taken a prominent part in the science of periodic observation, suggests that particular attention be paid to the leafing of the fol- lowing common trees of spring : — hazel, elder, alder, yew, aspen, lilac, weeping willow, common elm, plum, blackthorn, beech, walnut, fig, vine, oak. Among the plants whose mean time of flowering is assigned to the month of May in the Rev. L. Jenyns's valuable " Periodic Calendar " — we name only these on account of space, — the following are recom- mended by Quetelet : — Bugle, herb Bobert, field chickweed (C. arcense), Avhitethorn, woodruff, red clover, common fumitory, white jasmine, walnut, celandine {Chelidonium ma jus), columbine, fly orchis, upright crow-foot (E. acris), raspberry, guelder-rose, and Jacob's ladder. The correspondence of these vegetable phenomena with the arrival of migratory birds should also be noted. The nidification of some birds appears to be subject to strange eccentricities. Quetelet sets down the nest-building of rooks as worthy of special observation; yet some of these creatures were so employed in the month of January in this year, according to the testimony of a writer in the Zoologist, while last season a pair or more were ab- surd enough to build in the month of November, and in the following month a thrush was actually found sitting on three eggs ! These and many like facts indicate the importance of not drawing general conclusions from isolated phenomena. It is only by combining a vast number of observations that we can hope to succeed in placing this department of inquiry upon a thoroughly scientific basis. Meanwhile, let each of us do his own work— observe, compare, reflect, record ; and then, mayhap, in years to come, the employment which now affords us so much pleasure and instruc- tion, will be found to possess a value and importance which we had but dimly realized. W. H. Grosee, B. Sc. MORE ODD-EISHES. " npHE six species of British Syngnathi recpiire -■- to be ranged in two divisions; the first of which includes two Marsupial pipe-fish (S. actis and S. typha) having true caudal fins ; four ophidial pipe-fish, which may be again divided into two sections, the first of which contains two species (S. cequoreus and S. anguineus), having each a rudi- mentary caudal fin ; the second section, also containing two species (S. opjJiidion and S. lumbri- ciformis) in which there is no rudimentary caudal fin, the round tail ending in a fine point." * Syngnathus typhle (the deep-nosed pipe-fish) differs a little from its near relative {S. acus). The face is more weazened and pinched, the little ver- tical mouth more compressed, which, together with the general flattened character of the tubular jaws, the upper and under edges of which are nearly parallel with the lines of the head and throat), gives a crabbed, miserly expression to the ugly, hard face. Its usual adult size appears to be about thirteen inches, and the ova are transferred from the abdo- men of the female to the marsupial sub-caudal pouch of the male, and there hatched, in the same odd fashion as we have already glanced at in S. acus, in a preceding number. The ophidial pipe- fish are represented, on the one hand, by S. cequoreus, sequoreal pipe-fish, and S. angineus, snake pipe- fish, having only a solitary fin on the back, the caudal fin being only a rudimentary appendage. The pouch for containing the ova is also absent ; instead of which we find a kind of hollow, hemi- spherical in shape, as though scooped out from the hinder part of the abdomen. This singular depres- sion is found only in the male fish, the females pre- senting no trace of such a cavity. "All the speci- mens examined, having these external hemispheric cells, proved to be males ; those without external depressions to be all females, internally provided with two lobes of enlarged ova. The males of this species, when taken by me, as late in the season as * Yarrell's "British Fishes," vol. ii., p. 3». 100 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 18G6. August, had.one ovum, of the size and colour of a mustard-seed, lodged in each cup-shaped cell." * There can he very little doubt, the eggs in these pipe-fish without pouches are regularly glued into the depression on the abdomen of the male, by a viscous secretion which has the pro- perty of hardening under water. Mr. Andrews, in writing about Nerophis erquoreus (one of the species just mentioned, not uncommon along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, recorded also from the coasts of Berwick and Northumberland), says,f " Under favourable opportunities of calmness of tides, these fish may be seen side by side, clinging with their tails to the tufts of Zostera manna, in which position the male is enabled to attach to the abdomen the ova by the same influence of viscid secretion alluded to hi the marsupial species." In the last section, on the other hand, we find even the rudiment of a caudal fin has entirely vanished, a single dorsal fin, containing about forty slender rays, being the only vestige of the propelling agents. These pipe-fish are represented in S. ophidian (straight-nosed pipe-fish) and S. lumbriciformis (worm pipe-fish), frequently taken on the coasts of Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, and other fishing-places. They are more slender than are other species ; the body being nearly cylindrical, tapers regularly from head to tail, the latter terminating in quite a sharp point. Between the head aud posterior third of the body are about thirty sculptured plates, sixty smaller ones filling the space betwixt these, and the long tapering tail. The jaws, instead of being long and tubular, are, together with the head, much short- ened. The nose, turned sharply up, gives a pert expression to the face, much more prepossessing than the long, shrivelled, horny jaws of the pre- ceding groups. The colour in some of them is the exact shade of olive green peculiar to the sea plants amidst which they live ; in others, the green is relieved with stripes of yellowish brown. The adult size is about nine inches. These fragile-looking fish offer additional interest- ing modifications in the arrangement of the appa- ratus for carrying the eggs. The depressions on the abdomen of the male are disposed in three, and sometimes four, rows; as in the others, hemispheric. Professor Pries, of Stockholm, made some sin- gular and valuable discoveries bearing on the meta- morphosis which takes place in the worm pipe-fish (S. lumbriciformis). "The young of this species, at their escape from the egg, have the entire tail covered with a fin-like membrane, which extends partly up the back, and also along the under surface of the body, as far as the anal aperture : the little fish at this stage pos- * Yarrell. t Nat. Hist. Review, vol. vii. (I860), p. 397. sesses also pectoral fins." Except the portion needed to form the permanent dorsal fin, all these, at a subsequent unknown period, are thrown off, in a way similar to that of the larva? of frogs rejecting their tails. Of the pipe- fish family, the hippocampus (sea-horse) is not by any means the least odd ; only one species, as far as I am aware, has hitherto been taken on our coasts (S. hippocampus, Linn. ; Hippocampus brevirostris, Cuvier — short-nosed hippocampus). Its general length varies from six to twelve inches ; the body, very much flattened, is short and deep ; its entire length divided by longitudinal and transverse ridges, the angles of intersection marked with tuber- cular points. Snout constructed, as in the other pipe-fishes, with a tiny mouth at the end. Pectoral and dorsal fins existent in both sexes ; the females having, in addition, an anal fin, neither ventral or caudal fins being discoverable in either sex. The hippocampus is best known in its dried, mummy- like form, exhibited in cabinets of curios as a " wonderful sea-horse," the head bearing a remote fancied resemblance to the horse's head usually sculptured on a chess-knight ; but affixed to a tail, such as dragons are supposed to wear. Seen alive in its native element the horse-like appearance vanishes, and the " dragon's " tail we find to be an admirable contrivance with which the hippocampus moores itself to any passing object. When swimming, the body is always maintained in a vertical position, and the quaint little armour- clad creatures seem, as it were, to be walking rather than rowing themselves through the water ; the pre- hensile tail, like that of a spider-monkey, twists aud turns about, ready at any instant to coil round the sea plants, or seizing on a bit of floating wood, thus lashing itself, as it were, to a spar, the sea-horse drifts idly, as breeze or current directs its course. Mr. Lukis gives an interesting account of two female specimens of Hippocampus, which he had living in a glass vessel twelve days : — " An appear- ance of search for a resting-place induced me to consult their wishes by placing straws and sea-weed in the vessel ; the desired effect was obtained. They now exhibit many of their peculiarities, and few subjects of the deep have displayed in prison more sport or intelligence." When two approach each other, they are observed to link their tails together, aud go in for a game of "Prench and English," as children do, by joining hands ; but the hippocampi hook their chins as well as their tails to the stalks of marine plants, or any other available object and, thus firmly moored fore and aft, tug at one another viciously until the weaker looses its hold. We once had four specimens of this curious fish pre- sented to our collection in the Aquarium House of the Zoological Gardens by J. P. Pinto, Esq., brought from'the mouth of the river Tagus, where they are said to be tolerably common. Amongst other May 1, 1SG0.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 101 oddities, the hippocampus possesses the power of moving each straw-coloured eye independently of the other. Watching their comic faces, it is hard to divest one's self of the idea that they are " making eyes " at you, so constantly do they roll and twist them about in opposite directions. If fish had pantomimes, the hippocampus as clown, if he could only wink, Mould make a certain fortune. The male, as in the marsupial pipe-fish, has a regular egg-pouch placed under the tail, formed by a doubling of thick skiu, with an opening at the com- mencement only. The female has no pouch. The ova are contained in the abdomen of the female, similar to ordinary fishes. The mode of transferring the ova from female to male is unknown (I believe). Most probably it is accomplished as in other Syn- gnathi. The worm pipe-fish, as previously observed, exhibit in their embryonic condition a remarkable similitude to the Batrachia (Gr. bat radios, a frog) in throwing off a portion of their bodies, on attaining a more advanced stage of development. But what shall we say to the extraordinary system for egg- carrymg and hatching, found to exist in the females oiAspredo batrachus ? This genus, the genus Aspredo, contains several " odd fishes," belonging to the Silu- roids which also take care of their progeny, that we shall refer to more at length in a future chapter. The Plpa Americana, or Surinam Toad, has been long known as a most remarkable example of repro- duction. If the female is carefully examined at the breeding season, an immense number of singular pits are discoverable, completely covering her back. The habit of the female is to deposit her spawn on the margin of some pool or stream ; but the male, after his paternal visit to the ova, instead of alon- ing, collects the whole mass, and manages, by some means, to get them upon the back of the female. "When this is accomplished, a single egg is pressed into every cell, which closes with a kind of lid. In these cells the development of the embryo takes place, in the same manner as the free larva? of Batracliians generally. The tadpole is a familiar example. Dr. Gunther * says :— " If the pouches on the back of the pipa were shallowed to mere impressions, and the walls between them severed into flaps, we should have the same arrangement as in Aspredo'' This extraordinarily anomalous system of fish-hatching I shall endeavour to more fully explain in my next communication. J. K. Lokd, E.Z.S. " When, amidst the solemn stillness of the woods, the singing of joyous birds falls upon the ear, it is certain that water is close at hand."— Livingstone's " Zambesi." * Cat. B. M. Fishes. DESMIMACE^. A ETER the slides purchased with a microscope -*-*- have been looked at, and such novelties as are to be found in the house, which beginners invariably make their first inquiries about, viz., a human hair, the edge of a razor, cheese mites, &c, have likewise passed in review, the buyer comes to a stand-still. How the objects are prepared he has not the least idea; he admires their beauty when mounted, but comes to the conclusion that a good collection is too expensive for him to indulge in. The re- sources of the instrument, and the mysteries of Canada balsam, that pons asinorum of young micro- scopists, are as yet unknown ; so he carefully puts his purchase away, aud there it remains, till some energetic friend gives his microscopical curiosity a new stimulus. The first suggestion some one who sees his posi- tion makes, is that some of the water out of a pond be procured, and he perhaps offers company and experience in getting it. Accordingly, away they go together, and bring home sundry bottles of a most uninviting-looking mixture of mud and water, on which none but the initiated would set any value whatsoever. A quarter of a minute's instruction in the use of the dipping-tube makes our young microscopist quite expert in depositing a small drop of the lighter sediment on the animalcule cage, and sub- mitting it to inspection. Conspicuous among the numerous objects passing under notice will be certain green bodies, of various sizes and shapes, sometimes symmetrical, sometimes fantastic, but always beautiful; and these he will be told are Besmidiacea, or, for shortness, desmids. We suppose the gathering to be made anywhere in the country, either from rivulets, ponds, clean ditches, or footprints of cattle in bogs. Eor the benefit of beginners, we offer a few remarks from our own experience with these minute organisms, corrected, so far as we are able, by reference to the authorities on the subject. They may be gathered in great profusion at Keston, and also, so Mr. Hogg says, near Tunbridge Wells. We mention these places only, because, being near London, they are convenient collecting grounds for our town students — the habitat of desmids being, in fact, everywhere. They all consist of a transparent envelope or case ( sometimes filamentous and attached, but often free), containing green colouring matter called endochrome or chlorophyll ; are beyond a doubt vegetable iu their nature, though very iow in organization; are useful aud important agents in the conversion of the septic conditions in stagnant waters into healthy oues ; aud furnish food to myriads of animalcules and small aquatic larvae, 102 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. whose wants Divine Providence has not overlooked. Their affinities in nature are with the diatoms and certain species of alga?. We only intend speaking of the commoner forms, which, fortunately for our friends, are inferior to none in beauty, and afford to all microscopists, young and old, the greatest pleasure, and ample scope for the use of the highest and most perfect powers in their examination. Fig. 95. Closterium sti-io/attim Fig. 94. Ctoslerium Leibleinii X 250. X 250. One of the most common bears the name of Closterium. The various species, of which Pritchard mentions some thirty-six, or thereabouts, are more or less crescent- shaped — some being nearly straight, and others curved like the new moon. The surface in general is smooth, but there are many examples of its being delicately striated. At each end of the frond there is a "terminal clear space, in which are active granules." These require a 5-glass to show their extraordinary dancing movements, as if each had an independent, merry existence. With bright illumination (and$-obj.) one may see, just beneath the surface, that the particles of enclo- chrome are seldom stationary, but in general move steadily up or down the frond, and no difficulty will be experienced in following with the eye the course of the circulation at the edges, where some have asserted they have seen cilia. We have never seen [May 1, 1866. this, but our examinations have not been careful to the degree which the observers referred to insist upon. Pritchard seems to think there is a possi- bility of an optical delusion.® While looking at these organisms, they will be observed to move slightly, but the means by which this is effected have, as yet, eluded detection. The other evening I saw the end of a bright-green Closterium seized by a large animalcule, Notommata myrmeleo (?) and subjected to the action of the teeth. Soon, I found that the particles of chloro- phyll were leaving the desmid, and passing down the gullet of the animalcule, evidently by suction, and I watched them with great interest; firstly, because I never before saw a rotifer taking a salad in so civilized a manner (for they generally transfer their vegetable diet into their crops by a rapid jerk, particularly when it is small enough to go down whole) ; and, secondly, because apertures at the ends of the frond are not generally believed in. When the animalcule had finished its supper, that is to say, when every particle of nutriment was extracted, it cast the empty frond among others that were strewed about, and I could not detect the slightest rupture in the delicate transparent case which a few moments before was so full of green contents. There may have been one nevertheless. Fig, 96. End of frond of Closterium lunula (showing active granules in chamber at the end ; the arrows indicate the directions of the surface circulation) x 500. The mode of reproduction in Closteria is twofold (?), by self-division and by conjugation. In every frond of Closterium will be noticed a central clear space, dividing it into two segments. Here a gradual separation takes place, occupying some hours before it is completed. The separated halves then each commence to grow independently, till ultimately a copy of the parent form is assumed. This is an outline of self-division. Conjugation is a different process ; two individuals approach each other and come into contact. They then intermingle their green contents and a curious globular f body * Other authors deny the existence of cilia in the desmids altogether, t Not globular in all desmids. May 1, 1SG6.J SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 103 is formed, called a sporangium, which is believed in due time to produce a multitude of individual spores, ultimately growing to Closteria. The opera- tion of forming a sporangium is said to be very- rapid, only occupying a few minutes. We have never been fortunate enough to witness it. A third mode of reproduction (in Cosmarium) is sus- pected, and mentioned in Pritchard. To this book, embodying the observations of a host of inquirers, we refer the reader for the fullest information, up to the present time, attainable. At most, however, very little is known of the desmids, and if the readers of Science Gossip will set to work, pro- viding themselves with the home-made growing- slides invented by Professor Smith, of Kenyon College, U.S., or with Mr. Beck's improvement, the results attained will repay them ; provided they diligently search after truth, rather than ad- vance speculations. The " Micrographic Diction- ary" says, "No less than four modes (of repro- duction in desmids) have been observed, and many points connected with the subject still remain to be cleared up." While we write we have under examination several species of Closterium, which were gathered at Keston, on the ISth December last, and have been kept in a bottle ever since (two months), with- out detriment.* We think the reader will readily identify the forms figured. One of the largest and most beautiful is C. lunula, the end only of which we have drawn, because, on the same scale, it would have filled our page entirely. Fig. 97. Euastrum oblongum (front view) x 250. Another kind of desmid introduces itself under the name of Ernst rum. This is somewhat lozenge- shaped (in front view), with rounded protuberances or inflations, and thicker near the middle than at the edges. The central division is strongly marked. We figure examples of E. oblongum in different positions, that some notion of the shape may be obtained. The endochrome is of a beautiful herba- ceous green, but then this colour is common to all desmids, so we need hardly notice it. Occasionally circulation may be seen in the interior, but not often. There are many species of Euastrum, * Except such as have been eaten by various animalcules and Crustacea; by no means an inconsiderable number. differing greatly from each other, both in size and form. Once or twice I found a frond ex- hibiting the swarming motion of the contained atoms to which we shall refer presently, and which appears to appertain to many other sorts as well Fig1. 99. Euastrum oblongum (side view and end view) x 250. The, Micrasterias is a large and beautiful represen- tative of the group. It is disc-shaped and flat, like a pan-cake. The edges are nicked regularly all round, as if with scissors, and the green contents I Fig. 99. Micrasterias rotata x 250. cease at a little distance from the margin, giving the whole a most delicate appearance. We have seen circulation in some specimens. The different species of Micrasterias are numerous. 1 1 ft* Fig. 100. Cosmarium margariti- ferum x 250. Fig. 101. Cosmarium mar- gnritiferum (empty frond) x 250. The Cosmarium is a singularly pretty organism of dumb-bell shape, having the surface covered with warts, which in profile look like spines. When the frond is empty, and many examples will be found, the sides collapse slightly, and the warts appear as 104 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1S6G. spines.* We have never observed circulation so as to be certain about it, but Lave often seeu the swarming motion of the particles of eudochrome, believed by many to be connected with some mode of reproduction only partially described, and not understood. Since last December up to the present time (Feb. 21) we have hardly examined one Cos- marium without noticing this peculiarity. At page 201 in Science Gossip, Vol. L, will be found a very good account of the mode of reproduction in Cos- murium Botrytls both by cell division and by con- jugation. Some desmids are very minute — AnMstrodesmus, for example, which is described as like a tiny bundle of faggots. Others appear as jointed chains enclosed in a glassy tube. Many, also, are so curious that no description without a figure would be intelligible ; but we cannot at the present time enter more minutely into their characteristics. "■■/.■ H^Tt^V^ Fig. 102. End view of Cosmarium Fig. 103. Aiikistrodesmus? margaritiferum x 250. x 250. The name Desmidiacese is derived from a word signifying a chain, and is descriptive of the appear- ance of many members of the family. A pleasant writer in " Recreative Science " sug- gests that our jewellers might copy these microsopi- cal plants with advantage to themselves. The idea appear to us to be a remarkably good one, and could they only imitate, in suitable materials, the display of beauteous forms, and delicate colours, so suitable for brooches, clasps, chains, bracelets, &c, which offer themselves in the Desmidiacese, the public would not be slow to appreciate their efforts. Before we conclude we will say one word as to the collecting. When in large quantities, they give a green tinge to the surface mud where they lie, and in this case the bottle must be filled with water as nearly as possible at the bottom. Invert it, and when it reaches them turn it on one side, and the contained air will escape while the light mud, with the desmids, will rush in. Another simple plan is to squeeze handfuls of the moss containing them into a large bottle. When the bottle is full of water the light sediment will be found rich in them. Sometimes the hand alone will have to be brought into requisition, to convey such as are known to be attached to the stems and leaves of aquatic plants to the surface. The most elaborate plan of all, * We may be under a misapprehension in this, and the specimen of an empty frond we have drawn, may be either a variety, or a totally different species. however, is to strain the water containing them through linen, and, when sufficient quantities arc obtained, to remove them from the linen to the stock-bottle. We must not dismiss the subject without alluding to the power of motion which the Desmidiacea; possess. Under the microscope several species may be seen to move slightly, and they are believed to retire in dry weather below the surface of the mud, where they dwell while it is soft, and when it is overflowed with water again, to reappear in the light of day, which they seem to love. If kept in a window, the greater part will make their way to the side of the bottle next the light, and numbers will attach themselves in some mysterious way to the glass, at various distances, from whence they cannot be dislodged without a smart jolt. Their small specific gravity, and the mucus in which they are enveloped, perhaps render them important aid in effecting this object. Having seen, at a recent meeting of the Micro- scopical Society, Messrs. Powell and Lealand's marvellous exhibition of the circulation in Vallis- meria spiralis under their new binocular and 1-lGth object glass, we were tempted to ask them to permit us to see more of the arrangement. With the courtesy which these gentlemen always display, they invited us to their manufactory, and to our astonishmemt showed the Amician test (Navicula rhomboides) stereoscopically, the markings being resolved into checks in such a manner as we never saw before. We then took from our pocket a small bottle con- taining some of the desmids we are describing, and with the help of Mr. Powell commenced an ex- amination of them under conditions which a mouth or two ago would have been considered incredible, viz., an amplification of GOO diameters and upwards, and the binocular relief as satisfactory as the most fastidious examiner could wish. S. J. M'Iktibe. ANIMALS IN AQUARIA. MR, P. H. GOSSE, in his "Aquarium," 2nd ed. 185G, p. 224, tells his readers that if they procure "a few bits of weed- covered rock from the level of low water," and place them in a glass vessel of sea-water, many very interesting creatures will creep out of the interstices of the stones and plants growing on them. I have been in the habit of thus procuring and observing small animals for some years, but I do not find anything so productive of such things as Serpula masses, and the various sub- stances upon which Serpula grow, when dredged from the Bay of Weymouth, iu Dorsetshire. No Mat 1, 1866.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 105 other locality known to me is so rich as this in the particular objects under notice. The sub- stances to which the Serpuke adhere are stones ; old shells, both bivalves and univalves ; broken or whole wine or beer bottles, — these bottles, espe- cially, are very full of various things, both inside and out, — and broken crockery. Not merely Serpula of two or three species are on these masses, but several species of Sabelke, and other tubiculous worms, such as Spio, TerebelUe, and others; and adhering to them, in considerable abundance, are small sea-cucumbers (Oaius), and within the empty univalve shells, such as those of Buccinum, are fre- quently found specimens of a somewhat rare vermi- form echinoderm, Syrinx Harveii. But the great value of these dredged masses does not consist merely in what is found upon them when first got, but also in the highly-interesting things which will grow upon them, from germs not at first seen, when they are properly treated in an aquarium. Here I have one large tank, of 300 gallons capacity, with a stream of sea-water running through it day and night, at the rate of 100 to 500 gallons per 21 hours, according to circumstances, and which is stocked mainly with Weymouth Serpula:, and other creatures naturally associated with them, or grown here on the same masses : I even grow Alcyonium on them. The animals, however, which spring up with greatest vigour in confinement, attached to the same stones, shells, and broken glass and crockery, are Tunicated Mollusks, of various sizes. These are without any shell, but are covered with a leathery tunic, — hence their name. Some of those I grow are of the simple or solitary kinds, i. e. which are not organically con- nected in masses, like the compound species, and look, as they stand up, permanently fixed to foreign bodies by their base, like miniature semi-transparent double-necked bottles. (See Hardwicke's Science Gossip for February, 1866, pp. 30—32.) These are Ascidians, and iu the Serpula tank No. 6 of this establishment, and in all other tanks where Ser- puke are contained, they swarm by hundreds, nearly all of them having made their appearance in situ ; and these specimens are much cleaner, and are therefore better for examination, than those ob- tained grown in the ocean. The simple kinds I mostly grow are, — Ascidia virginea, A. mentida, Molgula tnbulosa, Cynthia quadrangularis, C. gros- sularia, and others ; and the compound kinds which spring up are of two species, namely, Botryl- lus polycyclus and Clavelina lepadiformis. The Bo- tryllus comes in patches, in twenty or more places at once ; and it looks like groups of brilliantly- coloured violet stars set in firm jelly of a darker hue, and after a time it goes away. I have reason to suppose that excess of light is one great cause of their disappearance, for the only colony I now (February 1st, 1866) possess (and which I have pre- served all last summer, after all the rest went away in the spring) covers a surface of Portland cement in a corner of a tank which has been purposely, for another purpose,* closely covered by a board. I have often obtained Botryllus from the sea, but have never been able to keep it long ; and I remem- ber that, about twelve years ago, after many at- tempts were made to acclimatise it in the Regent's Park aquarium, London, a great patch, larger than one's hand, and containing several hundreds of indi- viduals, made its appearance, unbidden, on the slate end of one of the tanks. Clavelina comes similarly in great colonies, chiefly in spring and early summer, standing up like groups of little clear vases, much less opaque than when I obtain them from the sea ready grown, and less liable to die. But, whether grown or introduced as adults, they disappear after a time, being killed off, as I believe, by the great enemy of most of these beings, light. Clavelina is small enough to be placed j iu a zoophyte trough on the stage of the compound i microscope, and the circulation of its fluids produces a beautiful spectacle, which is figured in one of the ■ plates to Mr. Gosse's book, " Tenby ; a Seaside j Holiday." 1856. I should mention that the two ! compound Ascidians named do not commonly grow ' upon the Serpula masses, like the simple kinds, but rather through their influence ; not only because of the germs introduced with or upon them, but because, as well, of the healthy influences of the numerous forms of alga also growing upon them ; and their roughness of surface, or some other con- ditions, seems peculiarly adapted for encouraging the growth of other kinds of seaweeds, so that our Serpula tank is eminently a very healthy one, not easily put out of order, and with its water ever i brilliantly clear. Sponges, too, like the Ascidians, i are things which are not easily kept when intro- duced in aquaria when ready grown ; but they may be maintained for long periods when they grow up by chance ; and upon the Serpuke masses here, or in the Serpula tank, I have now growing (and bred here) five or six species in a state of great vigour, as, e.g., Sycon ciliatum, Cliona celata, Grantia bo- tryoides, Halichondria panicea, Leitconia nivea, and two others which I cannot name from any books in my possession. Some one, in Hardwicke's Science- Gossip, a little time ago, asked how to keep the Freshwater Sponge [Spongilla fluviatilis). I do not know, as I have often tried, and always failed ; but here, at any rate, is evidence that the dredged masses I am writing of, will, if placed under favour- able conditions, produce many things, and, among others, marine Sponges. At the Birmingham meet- ing of the British Association, last summer, I saw reported in the Athenaum, that Mr. W. R. Hughes * February 25th. I have just discovered another small colony, on the under part of the shell, of a large living spider- crab — Mni a Squinudo. 106 SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1SGG. had succeeded in keeping a living marine sponge, but the species and the circumstances were not mentioned. I should name that it is not always safe to place these dredged masses, when got fresh from the sea, into ordinary aquaria without preparation, as there are almost sure to be upon them some animals more delicate than others ; and if these are below the mass, between it and the floor of the aquarium, they pro- bably will die, and their death spreads destruction to other things around; and so, a small streamless tank, with an amount of aeration barely sufficient for its ordinary wants, is thus apt to become quickly and injuriously affected throughout. Accordingly, when in trade in London, I used, as a means of safety, to be obliged, with much regret, to carefully scrape and wash away all matters, however interesting, from these masses except the Serpuhe themselves ; and hi no other state could I sell them to my cus- tomers without chance of disaster. Here, however, I am only too glad to get such masses just as they are dredged, no matter how large, or how rough, dirty-looking, and scabrous; and I place them first, and for some time, in great shallow probationary troughs, with a strong stream of sea-water running through them day and night, and I turn over the masses occasionally, so as to present all their sides equally to the oxygen- ating influences of the current, and to check the tendency to decomposition which exists when the underlying parts of the masses are in close contact with the sand and shingle forming the bed of the troughs. When this is done, and all is healthy, and there seems nothing else likely to die, the masses are transferred to the show-tanks, and when any- thing grows up upon them in the manner described, I am very particular in keeping it in exactly the same spot as that hi which it made its appearance, as often a removal of but a few inches disturbs some delicately-balanced conditions, and a sudden disap- pearance is the result. The mention of sand and shingle in aquaria re- minds me that some early writers on the subject — the Rev. Messrs. Kingsley and Tugwell, for ex- ample— advise that no sand or shingle should be in aquaria, as they encourage the formation of the blackness which is a sign of the presence of sul- phuretted aud carburetted hydrogen gas, resulting from the decay of organic substances. Fine sand is even worse than coarse, as the particles lie so closely together, and around any object resting upon or in it, that water cannot freely circulate around. But the discomfort to the animals, and the unsight- liness of a bare slate or glass bottom in a tank, by far outweigh any advantages to be derived from the absence of sand and shingle ; and, indeed, no black- ness will form unless some decomposing substance is carelessly suffered to remain in the aquarium ; and when that is the case, its removal, and the gentle stirring up of the sand at the spot affected, will cure the evil in a short time. And as to the black layer which mil always in time accumulate at the bottom of the layer of the gravel, below its sur- face, and which cannot be prevented by any amount of good management, and which it is probably not desirable to prevent, as many animals seem not to dislike it by the manner in which they burrow in it, — that is harmless, so long as it does not crop through the surface. I have to remark, that Mr. Shirley Hibberd, in last November's number of Recreative Science, advises aquaria to be built up internally with old oyster-shells which have for a longtime previously been exposed to wind, rain, and drought, to destroy any germs of animal life happening to be upon them, and which, by decaying, would prove hurtful to other things. But this killing of all germs would deprive the shells of the only value they can possess, as they then would have no more worth than any other rough substances for the growth of alga upon them ; and it is contrary to good taste to intro- duce dead shells in an aquarium merely because they are shells, or because they are rough. Rough stones would be much better, and more natural- looking. W. Alford Lloyd, Zoological Gardens, Hamburg. PIN CENTRES AND ROSE CENTRES. IE any one will take the trouble to examine a bank of primroses, it will be seen that the flowers are by no means all alike. There is a great variety of colour : here and there one almost pure white ; a few almost lemon-yellow, with every possible shade between. They differ, too, in their form : some having a starry appearance, because the segments of the flower are narrow ; others looking solid and round, on account of the segments being broad and lapping well over each other, and these last are by far the handsomest flowers ; so that, if one wished to transplant primrose roots into a garden, the trouble of selecting plants would be well repaid in the effect produced. But there is, physiologically, a much more im- portant difference in primrose flowers than either the colour or the form. On some roots the flowers have the pistil much longer than the stamens ; on other roots the stamens are much longer than the pistil. In the first case there will be seen the pistil, resembling a pin's head just within, or even pro- truding from the throat of the flower, no stamens being visible, because they are situated low down in the tube of the corolla. In the second case, the stamens are seen forming a pretty coronet, which closes up the throat of the flower, entirely hiding the pistil, which, indeed, does not reach more than half way up the tube of the corolla. May 1, 1SGG.] SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 10? A reference to the accompanying figures will, perhaps, best explain tbese peculiarities. Exactly tbese same differences are found in otber primroses besides the wild ones, and polyanthus growers have, I believe, given to the two kinds of flowers the names of "pin centres" and "rose centres," and because the rose-centred flowers have Fig. 106. Pin Centre. undoubtedly a richer appearance, a polyanthus is not considered by the florists to be worth growing if it have a phi centre. Fig. 107. Rose Centre. But, for the botanist, there arise some rather curious speculations with regard to rose centres and pin centres. Thus, the primrose is apparently branching off into two distinct varieties ; will the gulf widen, and there be at last two species ? Or, do the pin-centred flowers show a tendency to lose their stamens, and the rose centres their pistils, and the primrose become eventually dioe- cious ? Again, referring to the figures, it will be evident that in the rose-centred flower the pollen will natu- rally fall from the stamens on to the pistil, and it will thus be self-impregnated. In the pin-centred flower, the pistil is in such a position that it cannot be fertilized by pollen from its own sta- mens, and it must depend upon insects bringing pollen to it from other flowers. Darwin says that the seeds of self-impregnated flowers do not pro- duce such robust plants as seed that has been fertilized by pollen from another individual. If this be the case, and if "a struggle for life" is going on amongst species or varieties, will there not come a time when the rose centres will have been " elbowed out " and become extinct, and when florists must admire the pin-centred flowers or none at all ? But are the rose-centred flowers always self-impregnated, or do the little black fellows that one finds so often in primroses carry pollen from one to another ? Are the pin-centred flowers never self-impregnated, or does the pollen work its way up the pistil by means of moisture and capillary attraction ? Are rose centres less robust than pin centres ? Are they more or less plentiful ? Do the seeds of rose centres and pin centres always produce plants like the parent ? Here is work for field naturalists — questions to be solved, the answers to which will not be un- interesting or unimportant. The hedgebanks are covered with primroses, and investigation will not only be a profitable, but a pleasant task. Robert Holland. FRENCH MARIGOLD {Calendula officinalis). fTHIIS plant is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, -*- and named in Erance Souci de Jard'ui ; in Germany, Goedblume. Loudon says, "The Mary- gold was introduced into England in 1572, from the south of Europe, and named Calendula, be- cause it may be found in flower during the calends of every month." According to Linnocus, these flowers are open from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. Bullein, who wrote in 1562, mentions, "TheMarygold with golden yellow flowers, named Caltha or Calendula, because it flowereth in the kalends of the year, and is named Solsequinum because it openeth his flower and turneth at day after the sun, and closeth in his golden beams at night. The flowers will change the hair and make it yellow." It is the corolla that yields a fine orange colour. In the olden time, good housewifes ex- tracted this juice to colour cheese. It seems evident 10S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. [May 1, 1S66. the Erench Marygold was a new and interesting flower in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. In Bacon's "Essay on Gardens," the Erench Marygold is in- cluded in his list of flowers for May or June. May we not, then, conclude it flourished in Shakespeare's garden at New Place, where, doubtless, he ob- served the habits he has so truthfully and poetically described ? Eor instance : — The Marygold that goes to bed with the sun, and with him rises weeping. This beautiful allusion to the sleep of plants Shakespeare elsewhere completes, when he describes the Marygold waking at morning : — And winking Marybuds begin To ope their golden eyes. Again he sings : — Her eyes like Marygolds hath sheathed their light, And canopied in darkness sweetly lay, Till they might open to adorn the day. The name of French Marygold was probably given to this flower in consequence of its having reached England from the South of Europe through Erance. It would be curious to know why our lively neigh- bours gave the melancholy name of " Souci