ig
| oy
\ gf

ys

A
“ah

al
ai

\

WN
Ws !

ae

ry
NIA
Vis

EPPS’S

iM Nature, Country

GRATEFUL- COMFORTING C
. : *
=

-

ESTABLISHED 1865

Now Series. Vol. VI., No. 72. MAY 1900.

CIENCE-COSSIP =

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY RECORD OF

EDITED BY
JOHN T. CARRINGTON,

ASSISTED BY

F. WINSTONE.

we

VZ ZAm yee

Lore & Applied Science. |

OCOA

Y)
aif.

LONDON:
* SCIENCE-GossIP ” OFFICE, IIo STRAND, W.C.
WHOLESALE AGENTS—HORACE MARSHALL & Son.
BERLIN : R. FriepLanpDeR & Soun, Car RASSE
(Adu Rights Reserved.)

PRICE SIXPENCE.

N.B.- SUBSCRIPTIONS THAT BECIN WITH VOL. VII. ARE NOW DUE,

a

III |

THE CAMBRIDGE

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT CO.

NEW ROCKING MICROTOME.
1900 PATTERN. [Patented.]

This Instrument possesses the following
great improvements over the old type of in-
struments :—(x) Increased rigidity. (2) The
impossibility of cutting thin and thick sections.
(3) The impossibility of tearing sections on
the upward movement of the object. (4) A
graduated arc for showing the thickness of the
sections. (5) Catch for holding the object
above the edge of the razor. (6) Improved
method of fixing the cord. (7) A new object
holder.

Price (including object holder) £5 O O
Write for Pamphiet descriptive of the above

ROSCOPICAL

MASONS ove . PREPARATIONS.

Series of 9 doubly stained Botanical Sections ; 6 Insect Dissections ;
18 Miscellaneous objects. 1/1 per Series. Quality Guaranteed.

All beginners should read ** Practical Hints on Mounting,” 6d.

Mason's ‘‘ S.W.”’ Series Mounted Speeimens for Students,
12 objects in handsome case, lying flat, 10/6, cheapest and best.

R. G. MASON (;.2°8%;), 69 Park Rd., Clapham, 8. W.
MIGRO-PETROLOGY.

A MOUNTED SECTION OF LLANYNYNECH LIMESTONE,
CONTAINING UNIQUE FOSSIL REMAINS,
Post free, Is. 4d.
6 UNMOUNTED ROCK SECTIONS, Illustrating Crystalline,

Vitreous and Altered Eruptive Rocks.
See Rutley’s “‘ Studies of Rocks.”

With Full Instructions for Mounting, 3s. 3d.

MASON. 69 PARK ROAD, CLAPHAM, S.W.

APPARATUS =: COMING SEASON.

Write for Illustrated Catalogue to

W. F. H. ROSENBERG, F.Z.S.,
Naturalist,
48, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C.

Try the ‘‘ MATADOR” Powder (registered), the best preserva-
tive against Mites, Moth, Dermestes, &c.
Price 3d. per oz., 2s. 4a. per lb., post free.
MME All species mentioned in Dr. Lang's Palaearctic Butterflies
Articles in Sc1eNcE-Goss1P either kept in stock or obtained if possible.

BECK’ S phere"

MICROSCOPES.

Instrument.
Address all communications :— »
INSTRUMENT COMPANY, CAMBRIDGE. 4
MIGROSCOPICAL.

UnmounTED MATERIAL, in fair quantity, 6d. per packet of
12 objects.

MounTED Insect DissEcTIONS, in new medium, wzthout
pressure, 1s. per Slide, post free.

LISTS FREE. ~ APPROVAL.
FRANK P. SMITH,
15 Cloudesley Place, Islington, London, N.

LIVING SPECIMENS FOR
THE MICROSCOPE.

Volvox, Spirogyra, Desmids, Diatoms, Amoeba, Arcella, Actino-
sphaerium, Vorticella, Stentor, Hydra, Floscularia, Stephanoceros,
Melicerta, and many other Specimens of Pond Life. Price 1s. per
Tube. Post Free. Helix pomatia, Astacus, Amphioxus, Rana,
Anodon, &c., for Dissection purposes.

THOMAS BOLTON,
25 BALSALL HEATH ROAD, BIRMINGHAM,

MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF
THE UNITED KINGDOM.
THE LABORATORY, PLYMOUTH.

The following Animals can always be supplied either living or
preserved by the best methods :—

Sycon ; Clava, Obelia, Sertularia ; Actinia, Tealia, Caryophyllia, ;
Alcyonium; Hormiphoria (preserved); Leptoplana; Lineus, i
Amphiporus; Nereis Aphrodite, Arenicola, Lanice, Terebella ;

Lepas, Balanus, Gammarus, Ligia, Mysjs, Nebalia, Carcinus ;
Patella, Buccinum, Eledone, Pecten ; Bugula, Crisia, Perdicellina ;
Holothuria, Asterias, Echinus; Ascidia Salpa(preserved), Scyllium,
Raia, etc., etc. For Prices and more detailed Lists apply to

The Director, Biological Laboratory, Plymouth.

Part ee

“) ]36/(fesee

No. s4.- Stand, Iris diaphragm No. 55.— Stand, Iris diaphragm No. 56.—Stand, Iris diaphragm No. 57.— Stand, Iris diaphragm

and mahogany case,

£3 12s. 6d.

and mahogany case,

£2 11s, Gd.

and mahogany case,

£4 7s. 6d.

and mahogany case,

£5 12s. Gd.

New One-twevrrx Incuw Or Immersion Opject Grass, N'A ro L_

Full Prices and particulars PR Br J BRECK, Ltd., 68 Cornhill, London, Ec

on application to

ail

SCIENCE-GOSSTP.

BRITISH
By Ee. J.

CENUS—MELOLONTHA,

N his interesting the Earth

Goldsmith

be History ol anc
Animated Nature ~ Oliver

the there
classes, distinguished by their feelers ;
with their ‘‘feelers clavated or

says :

“OF beetle kind are three different

and of beetles

knobbed at the end

Brit

1. Melolontha vulg (female) ;

of antennae expanded
castani (female); 5.
All natural size. 7

there are ten kinds, and among these . if the
knob. be and the belly be
streaked with white it is no other than the Dorr or
Maybug, an animal the noxious qualities of which
give it a very distinguished rank in the history of the
insect creation.”

May 1g00. No. 72.

divided at the ends

By the Dorr beetle is not here
Vol. VI.

SURGESS

Mu
3. WW. vulgaris (lateral and ventral view); 4. JZ. Aippo
M. hippocastani (male); 6. Rhizotrogus solstitialis (male).
. Antenna of common cockchafer enlarged.

COCKCHAFERS

Sopp, F.E.S.

meant the dumble-dor, ot which [ wrote in a former
article (av/e, p. 225), the name being applied by the
older writers to the common cockchafer (J/e/olontha
vulgaris), an insect whose ‘‘ noxious qualities” have
contributed to render it a familiar and dreaded object
To those

of us who have struggled with the unwieldy group of

to the agriculturist from the earliest times.

ISH COCKCHAFERS.

learts (male), showing lamellae

clavicornes, ot which over fifteen hundred are now
described as British, it is refreshing to learn that but
ten kinds were recognised in Goldsmith’s time, a
statement well calculated to make us envious of the
‘*good old days” that are past.
‘“clavated or knobbed feelers ”

His beetles with
included, moreover,
N

35+

the Lamellicornes, to the sub-family Scarabaeidae
Melolonthini of which division belong the cock-
chafers. The group is essentially a tropical one, and
is but poorly represented in temperate regions.
Rather over two hundred species inhabit Europe, of
which seven beetles, constituting five genera, are
indigenous to the British Islands; and of these, two
only can be said to be in any measure generally dis-
tributed throughout a large portion of the kingdom.
Of the Melolonthae, or true cockchafers, some thirty
species are known, and these are widely scattered
over the face of the globe. Two only occur in
Britain, although until within recent years the
beetles comprised in the closely allied genus A/zz0-
trogus were generally included with them. Under
the older Fabrician arrangement our single repre-
sentative of the Sericae and the more beautiful albeit
more distantly related chafer 4dzomala frischt were
also added to the list.

The Melolonthidae are mentioned by Aristophanes,
who likens a young glee-maiden to ‘‘a little golden
cockchafer*?; as well as by Herodes, Pollux, and
other ancient writers. With regard to the former, it
is not improbable he referred to one of the Rutelinae
or Cetoniinae rather than toa member of the genus
Melolontha as we now know it ; for it is certain that
some of the brighter of the species allied to the
rose-chafers were in earlier times sometimes spoken
of as ‘‘ golden” cockchafers. Greek children were
wont to amuse themselves by tying a string to the
leg of a cockchafer and causing it to fly, reference to
which practice is made by Socrates, who says: ‘‘ Do
not always revolve your thoughts around yourself,
but let your meditation free into the air, fastened
with a strong thread to its leg, like a cockchafer.”
This amusement is not, I believe, altogether unknown
to the youth of France at the present day.

Although we in England have occasionally had to
deprecate the ravages caused by these destructive
insects, the damage wrought in our islands is
infinitesimal when compared with the havoc occa-
sioned by them on the continent of Europe. In
Germany, France, Switzerland, and other countries
they sometimes swarm in incredible numbers, often
laying waste large tracts of land by their depreda-
tions. In Britain they have appeared a few times in
considerable quantities, and even in ordinary years
are responsible for sufficient damage to have moved
our Board of Agriculture to issue and distribute free
a leaflet (No. 25) suggesting methods for their
destruction. Mouffet, whose Natural History was
the first printed in this country, tells us that in
February, 1574, cockchafers appeared in vast num-
bers in many parts of England, and that the number
which fell into the Severn alone was sufficient to
stop some of the water-mills on that river. Mention
of this visitation is also made elsewhere; but, as
Kirby has already pointed out, there is probably
some slight inaccuracy with regard to the date, as
cockchafers do not usually appear until the latter end
of April or beginning of May, hence the synonyms

SCIE NCE-GOSSIP.

«*Maybug” in England and ‘‘ Maychafer” (Mai-
kafer) in Germany. Figuier mentions a somewhat
similar plague as occurring in the county of
Galway some 114 years later, when the destruction
of crops and general devastation wrought by these
unwelcome pests were so complete that in many
districts the natives had to fall back on the cooked
bodies of the invaders in order to stave off starvation.
Truly an ‘‘injustice to Oireland” such as is rarely
experienced. During a gale in 1804 so enormous
was the number of cockchafers precipitated into the
Lake of Zurich that their drowned bodies formed a
thick bank along the shore, the fetid emanations from
which putrefying mass polluted the atmosphere for a
considerable distance in the vicinity. Figuier tells
us that some years later vast clouds of these insects
traversed the Saéne Valley, causing terrible destruc-
tion to the vineyards of the Maconnais ; the streets
of Macon itself being so thickly covered by them as
to render it necessary to shovel them up with spades.
Similar instances of like periodic great plagues of
cockchafers which have from time to time occurred
on the Continent might be adduced without. number,
but enough has been written to show that a ‘‘ recon-
naissance in force” by a horde of these intrepid and
voracious beetles may not only become a serious local
catastrophe, but even conceivably assume the dimen-
sions of a national calamity.

The life-history of J/edolontha vulgaris, which is
the cockchafer par excellence, issoon told. The beetles
emerge from their subterranean quarters towards the
end ‘of April or early in May, about the middle of
which latter month the mating takes place, shortly
after which the males die. The eggs, which are
round-oval and ‘‘ about the size and shape of a hemp
seed” (Board of Agriculture Leaflet, No. 25), are of
a dirty yellowish-white, and are laid in June, each
female producing from twenty-five to sixty eggs,
which are sometimes deposited together, but more
often divided up into two or more separate batches.
These are placed in the ground, the insects using
their short powerful forelegs to scoop holes for the
purpose of laying in. These cavities range in depth
from 2 inches to 8 inches, according to the nature of
the ground ; but when possible the females nearly
always select a nice light well-worked soil, such as
is to be found in nurseries, gardens, fields, and
In fact, to a certain extent farm-
ing operations may be said to be favourable to cock-
chafer life, and it has been several times noted that
they often increase with the spread of agriculture. In
from a month to six weeks, the eggs in the meanwhile
having swelled considerably with the development of
the embryo, the larvae are hatched, and, being poly-
phagous, immediately commence to feed upon the
young and tender fibrous roots of whatever plants
may occur in their neighbourhood. When quite
young they can straighten themselves out and crawl,
but when older lose this power, in consequence of
which ambulatory evolutions above ground are
rendered practically impossible.

similar situations.

| SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 355

In colour the larvae partake of a dirty white,
with the head, thorax, and legs of a warm reddish-
brown hue; but becoming more fully
developed, when they attain a length of an inch and
a half, the abdomen generally presents a bluish or
leaden appearance. In Sweden the peasants entertain
a curious belief that from this circumstance can be
‘divined the approximate severity of the approaching
winter. If the larva be of a blue coloration, mild
weather may be expected ; but if on the contrary the
grub be white, then will the winter be long and
severe, They even venture into some detail in the
matter, for De Geer (iv. 275) tells us that if the
anterior part of the Bemirkelse-mask (prognostic-
worm) be white and the posterior blue —which is
more likely to be the case than the reverse —the cold
will be more intense at the beginning than towards
the end of the winter. This change of colour is due
to food. The outer skin of the cockchafer grub is
somewhat transparent, so that when the abdomen is
full the food, indistinctly seen through the body-wall,
gives the larva a leaden or bluish appearance; whereas,
should the animal have fallen upon hard times, its
posterior portion is correspondingly both lighter in
colour and less distended than is usually the case.

Cockchafer grubs ase known in many parts of this
kingdom as ** white-worm,” and where abundant to
any degree do considerable damage by devouring
the roots of corn, grass, and other crops ; for, possess-
ing insatiable appetites and strong jaws and digestive
apparatus, during the three or four seasons which
they pass in the larval condition (') they are capable
of consuming an astonishing amount of food. At the
end of each succeeding summer they burrow down to
a considerable depth below the surface of the ground,
where they repose in comparative safety until the
returning power of the sun in spring-time begins to
warm the soil above, when they again ascend and
renew their attack upon the young rootlets of whatever
kind chances to come within their reach. They are
unable to stand severe cold, and late frosts in April
and May will often surprise and kill vast numbers of
them.

Of foes, in addition to their arch-enemy man,
they have many to contend against, for moles,
weasels, shrew-mice, magpies, ravens, gulls, and—last
but not least—rooks are exceedingly fond of them.
Tt has, in fact, ofien been noted that the destruction
of rookeries in a district has been followed by an
increase of white-worm, and Miss Ormerod in one of
her delightful works on injurious insects states that
the black-headed and common guills will go for miles
inland to follow the plough for grabs of the cock-
chafer. Lesser foes they also have amongst the
reptiles and insects ; some of the predacious ground-
beetles, for instance, waging constant war against

later, on

@) “In Central Europe the life-cycle of the individual
occupies three years, though in dry periods it may be extended
to four. In Scandinavia the time occupied for development
appears to be five years.”—Sharp, ‘‘Insecis,” Camb. Nat.
Hist.

<

39

them.
auratus, an extremely rare insect in Britain, and not

More especially is this the case with Caradus

really indigenous to our islands, but which on the
Continent, particularly in France, is unrelenting in
its attacks upon these terrible pests.

Towards the end of the third or fourth autumn the
larva burrows down a couple of feet or so, and there
constructs a rude chamber in which to undergo its
change to the pupal state.
a week or so, and, after assuming the imago form,

In this condition it passes

still remains quiescent until the following spring,
when it emerges from its subterranean retreat to
enter upon its most important functions in life.

(Zo be continued.)

NIDOLOGY

By H.

OF

KIRKE

Tie ‘CUCKOO:

SWANN.

I; N the summer the cuckoo (Cweulus canorus Linn.)
is spread over the whole Palaearctic region,
migrating as far as South Africa, India, and casually
to Australia. In Scotland it is called ‘‘ gowk,”
from its Saxon name ‘‘ geac.” The cuckoo shares
with the swallow the distinction of being typical of
the spring bird of passage, but with a difference ;
for while the swallow is one of the sights of early
spring in an English countryside, the cuckoo is one of
the sounds, the appearance of the bird being far less
familiar to most people than its cry. The male birds
come to us about the third week of April, always several
days in advance of the females, and immediately
announce their arrival by the well-known musical
cry, usually delivered when perched upon the branch
of a tree, but frequently while on the wing in pursuit
of the female. The ‘ cuck—oo” note, or song, is
uttered by the male only, the note of the female being
a very dissimilar rattling or ‘* water-bubbling” cry,
usually heard while it is being pursued by the males.
There is no doubt that the males are always far
in excess of the females, and, considering this strange
disproportion in conjunction with the manner in
which several males may commonly be observed to
pursue one female, there can be very little doubt
that the cuckoo, unlike most other birds, is poly-
androus. Working upon this habit, we can arrive
at the conclusion, already accepted by more than
one ornithologist of note, that this constant harrying
of the female by several males is the natural explana-
tion of the remarkable fact that no nest is built, and
that'the female is obliged to intrude an egg into a
strange domicile here and there, and to leave the
raising of its progeny to strangers.

The egg is not, however, placed in a nest hap-
hazard ; for the’ female cuckoo really hunts for nests
in quite a systematic way—usually, I believe, by
watching the owners as they enter or leave. From
the situation of the nests thus selected, and from

N2

7

7

356 SCIENCE-GOSSTP,

actual observation of the cuckoo’s methods, there
can be no doubt that the egg is never actually laid
in the nest, but is invariably deposited upon the
ground or elsewhere, and then conveyed by the
female in its gullet to a nest previously selected. — It
is in this fact that we find the reat explanation of
the remarkably small size of the egg in proportion to
that of the cuckoo itself. It would be impossible for
the bird to carry safely the egg in its mouth if its
burden were in the least degree larger.

Before it became known that the cuckoo’s egg was
not laid directly in the nest, it was commonly sup-
posed that the reason for the egg beitig so small was
that it could thereby be introduced among those of
small insectivorous birds that would provide the
young cuckoo with its proper food. The fact that
the egg is frequently found in the nests of seed-
eaters, as well as in those of birds that lay larger
eggs, such as the blackbird, \c., renders the ex-
planation given above far more probable. A very
interesting fact in this connection, and one which
seems to have been generally overlooked, is that the
shell of the cuckoo’s egg is very much harder than a
similar-sized egg of any Passerine bird, obviously a
provision of Nature against the peculiar usage to
which the egg is subjected. As might be expected,
this extra strength results ina correspondingly greater
density and weight in the shell. Thus a trustworthy
means of identifying cuckoos’ eggs, formerly a diffi-
cult matter, is to take a suspected ‘‘cuckoo clutch ”
to a chemist and get him to weigh all the eggs
accurately, when the cuckoo’s egg, if really there,
will be indicated by its extra weight, on account of
proving 25 per cent. heavier than a similar-sized egg
of a Passerine bird. I am indebted to Mr. H.W.
Marsden, of Clifton, for the following table -illustra-
tive of proportionate weights, based upon practical
experiments, which will no doubt be found helpful
by oologists. The weights are in centigrammes :—

Cuckoo's of same

Species Weight size
should weigh
Skylark .. 60 o0 21 C.gr... 24 to 26 c.gr.
0 06 Do 60 U7 on vido 9 ”
+ 55 oe 00 LOmny 5 ”
a 59 : 20 19) 55 » »
1 (very large egg) .. 22 a wenel= 28 to 30 ,,
House-sparrow (very
heavy for the species) 2. 24 to 26 ,,
House-sparrow .. od HG) sp 22 to 24 ,,
ye oo . 18 5, os 7
Tree-pipit ae a9 LOVE ee 20 tO 23 ,,
Tree-sparrow .. 60 U3) Tyyl eee 20 tO 2r ,,

The eggs of the cuckoo are rather more globular
than those of most of the birds in whose; nests they
are found, and, moreover, usually show little or no
gloss. The Rey. Julian G. Tuck writes that he has
always noticed that the yolk is peculiar in colouring,
with either a greenish or brownish tinge.

Among the various species whose nests are selected
by the cuckoo as receptacles for its eggs may be
enumerated the hedge-sparrow, house-sparrow, tree-

sparrow, wren, linnet, bullfinch, swallow, wheatear,
nightingale, willow-wren, wood-wren, skylark, tree-
pipit, whitethroat, meadow-pipit, pied wagtail, sedge-
warbler, reed-warbler, yellow-bunting, cirl-bunting,
blackbird, garden-warbler, blackcap, redstart, red-
backed shrike, spotted flycatcher, redbreast, green-
finch, reed-bunting, chaffinch, song-thrush, mistle-
thrush, ring-ouzel, stonechat, and whinchat.

The existence of a remarkable number of widely
dissimilar varieties of eggs of the cuckoo is a point
around which a good deal of controversy has at times
been waged. Much careful observation is necessary
still to elucidate facts out of the many existing theories.
To describe all the different varieties in the limited
space at my command would be an impossibility. I
will therefore merely say that the more common
varieties vary from greenish-white to pale rufous-grey,
spotted and mottled closely or otherwise with olive-
brown or rufous-brown of different shades. The
average size is ‘90 by °75 of an inch; but they vary
a good deal, Among the principal yarieties may be
mentioned eggs almost precisely like those of the
skylark, pied wagtail, house-sparrow, tree-sparrow,
sedge-warbler, tree-pipit, reed-warbler, &c. In Con-
tinental collections a pale blue egg without markings
is not uncommon, although I have never known one
of this variety to be taken in Britain. This remark-
able and wholesale mimicry has given rise to an
absurd theory, still held to some extent, that the
female cuckoo has the power to lay an egg of any
particular colonr or markings she chooses, in order
to make it match those amongst which she intruded.
Thus when she selected a nest with blue eggs, such as
a hedge-sparrow’s, she would lay a blue egg, and so

on, A far more natural theory, however, is that’

certain individuals lay eggs of a certain type, and
therefore instinctively endeavour to select nests con-
taining eggs of a similar appearance to their own—
the fact that they sometimes deposit their egg with
a clutch of dissimilar eggs being, of course, explained
by the supposition of difficulty in finding an appro-
priate nest ; therefore it was put into the first likely
one.

A very interesting fact is that the nest selected
never contains incubated eggs at the time the in-
trusion takes place. This is, no doubt, usually made
sure through the cuckoo’s habit of watching when
the eggs of the rightful owner are laid. This fact is
very necessary, for otherwise the eggs of the rightful
owner of the nest might be hatched before the
cuckoo’s, and the foster-brethren thus enabled to
become too strong for their eviction by the parasite,
which event invariably takes place soon after the
latter is hatched. The unfortunate occupants are
then ejected from the nest one after the other, in
which way the young cuckoo provides insensibly for
the receipt of the enormous quantity of food it
requires, and withowt which it would inevitably
starve. It has been said that ‘this ejection takes
place when the parasite is nine or ten days old ; but
my experience is that it always occurs before the

SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 3357

third or fourth day of its existence. The remark-
able instinet possessed by a blind, naked, and
apparently helpless cv.ature to enable it to perform
such a feat strikes one with as much astonishment as
does the strength exhibited in its achievement.

The procedure of the young cuckoo in ejecting
other birds from the nest is to work its body under

BUDIERELIES OF THE

that of its foster-brother, then, balancing its burthen
in the natural cavity existing (at this age) in the centre
of the usurper’s back, it forces the young bird gradu
ally up the side of the nest, until, with a final effort,
the victim falls over the rim.
42 Dalmeny Road, Tufnell Park,
London, NW.

PALAEARCTIC REGION.

By Henry CHARLES LANG, M.D., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. Lonp.

(Continued from page 336.')

Genus 10. ?Z#A/S Schrank.

HIS genus was named by Schrank in ** Fauna
Boica,” pp. 152-162 (1801). /eris contains
butterflies ranging in expanse from rather large to
medium size. Second sub-costal nervure not given
off at the extreme end of the disc. cell of f.w., as in
Aporia. Antennae long, distinctly articulated, and
terminated by a very distinct club. All the Palae-

1861. Aporia hippia BR. H. p. 117. Crataegottes
Luc. Ann. Ent. Soc. Frang. 1866, p. 503.

56—73 mm.

Has somewhat the appearance of Aporia cratacst,
but the fore wings are more pointed and the h.w. less

rounded than in that species. They are more densely

scaled and of a duller white above. There is not
that entire absence of any pattern seen in -Iforta
(amopia = ** poverty”). F.w. with triangular marginal

Pieris krettnert.

arctic species have the ground colour of the wings
white, with the exception of a few aberrant forms.
‘The apices of the fiw. are generally marked with
black, and there is nearly always a black spot near
the inner margin in the female. The black markings
are always more developed in that sex than in the
male. The hind wings are decorated on the under
side with green or yellow scales, variously disposed,
but having a tendency to follow the course of the
neuration, or to form quadrate or triangular blotches
between the nervures.

LARVAE. Long, cylindrical, pubescent, slightly
tapering at the extremities, marked with longitudinal
stripes, more or less granulated on the surface. They
feed usually on low herbaceous plants, and principally
on those belonging to the order Cruciferae.

Purar. Angular, terminated anteridrly by a
single point.

1. P. hippia Brem. Bull. Acad. Pet.III. p. 464.

(x) This series of articles on Butterflies of the Palaearctic
Region commenced in ScteNce-Gossir, No. 61, June 1809.

Pieris davidis.

spots most marked near the apex, a black elongated
spot at the outer edge of the discoidal cell. Beneath,
the f.w. are white with broad grey lines following the
course of the nervures. H.w. Above, very much a;

in Aporiacrataegi. U.s. ground colour, light ochre-~

yellow, grey lines along the nervures, base narrowly
bright yellow. Head, thorax, and abdomen black.
Antennae black, with well-marked clubs.

Hap. Amur, Ask. Viad. Chabar. ete. VII.

LARVA. Rather larger than that of 4. cvavaegy,
with a longitudinal brown dorsal line and a lateral
row of brown spots; the hairs on the first and last
segments rusty-red, otherwise greyish. R. H. On
Berberis sinensis and B. amurensts.

a. var. fianschanica Gram. 50—57 mm. +
smaller and darker form, and more strongly coloured
beneath, than type. Hap. Tianschan.

b. var. martineli Oberth. A light form described
by Oberthur from Thibet.

2. P. kreitneri Friv. Rk. H. p. 115, 709-
50—55 mn.

358 SCIENCE-GOSSTP.

Ground colour much whiter and more opaque than
in /. h2ppia, or any of its vars. Above, markings
more intensely black. F.w. with a distinct black
discoidal spot; h.w. with the neryures broadly
veined with grey, owing to the markings of us.
appearing through. Often a distinct black disccidal
spot. U.s. f.w. white nervures narrowly black, with
a distinct discoidal spot. Apex bright ochre-yellow,
which colour extends along the costa between it and
the subcostal nervure. H.w. Ground colour bright
ochre-yellow of a uniform tint, except a faint indica-
tion of submarginal lighter patches; nervures very
broadly lined with black. The pattern and colora-
tion of h.w. w.s. is very similar to that of JZ. pelor7a.

Haw. Central Asia, Lob Noor, Mongolia.

3. P. bieti Oberth. R. H. p. 118.

50—55 mm.

About the size of the last species. I .w. have all
the neryures strong and broad, marked with black,
and the white ground colour is more or less streaked
with black shading. H.w. have the nervures marked
with black throughout their whole length, except the
six internal ones, which are only marked at their
extremities. Fringes of all the wings black. U.s.
fiw. with strongly marked neuration. Ground
colour tinged with yellowish along costa and ou.-mar.
H.w. strongly marked with broad black veins,
ground colour yellowish.

Har. Thibet, Mongolia. VI.—VIIT.

4. P. davidis Oberth. Etudes. Ent. II. p. 18.
1876. <Aporza davidis. R. H. p. 709.

41—43 mm.

Smaller than P. éze/7. F.w. with a sub-marginal
blackish band, and black rays reaching from it to the
costa. Nervures forming discoidal cell strongly
black, as also the sub-costals ; the rest of the neura-
tion less conspicuous. - H.w. without markings,
except a faint costal spot, and some shading along
the course of the nervures ; those nearest the costa,
however, are marked with black at their extremities.
Bases of all the wings narrowly black. U.s. much
as in P. kreitneri. H.w. with the ground colour
uniformly light yellow. The-nervures are marked
broadly black. Head, thorax, and abdomen black,
as also the antennae, which have the clubs'somewhat
‘more rounded than in the preceding species.

I{Az. Koko Noor.

5. P.leucodice Ey. Bull. Mosc. 1843, p. 541.

38-—43 mm.

Wings white. F.w. with a black ante-marg. band
and black rays reaching to the costa, as in P. davidis.
A black elongated spot at extremity of disc. cell.
H.w. much as in the last species, but with a faintly
marked disc. spot or streak of black. Wings nar-
rowly black at base. Fringes black. U.s. fiw. as
aboye, but with black markings intensified. H.w.
ground colour yellowish-white, with nervures marked
black. A narrow, black, wavy band continued as
far as the internal nervure. Head, thorax, and abdo-

men black. Antennae black, with ovate clubs as in
the last species.

Has. North.Persia, Central Asia, Turkestan. VI.
Said to occur-in North California.

a. var, lumina Grum. The black markings are
more intense and the lines of neuration more broadly
marked. Has. N. Persia, Alai, Turkestan.

6. var. altensis Stgr. Asmallform from the Altai.

This species is usually placed between P. cadlzdice
and /. daplidice, but it seems to me that its
proper place is in the present group of the genus, in
spite of the central band on the u.s. h.w.

6. P. butleri Moore. P. Z. S. 1882, p. 256.

P. potanmz A\ph.

35—38 mm.

Fore wing white, with three or four black streaks
near apex, and a rectangular black spot at end of disc.
cell. Base narrowly black. H.w. white, with light
grey streaks along the nervures. A long and narrow
black disc. spot; base broadly blackish. U.s. fiw.
as above, but apices ochre-yellow with brown veining.
H.w. ochre-yellow, with strongly-marked brown veins,
the nervures appearing as a light-coloured line in the
centre of each streak. Head and pro-thorax coyered
with brownish-grey hairs. Rest of thorax and ab-
domen black. Antennae with a distinct ovate black
club ; their shafts are ringed with white. (¢ only
described here. )

Has. Koko Noor, Mongolia, Prov. of Kuliab.
V.e. At great elevations in the mountains.

7. P. mesentina Cramer. Pap. Exot. III.
t. 270. 1782. <durota. Fab. Ent. Sept. 1793.

38—47 mm. ;

Ground colour of all the wings white in both
sexes. F.w. in ¢ with a narrow black spot at the
extremity of the discoidal cell. Apéx and ou. marg.
black to about half-way; on this black patch are six
white oblong spots between the nervures. H.w.
with a marginal border of narrow black chevron-
like markings. Neuration distinct, but not black.
Fringes black. Ilead, thorax, and abdomen black,
with whitish hairs. Antennae greyish-black, not
ringed. @ resembles the ¢ in the general character
of the markings; but the black spots and borders
are much wider, and with very little white mixed
with them, recalling at first sight the appearance of
a species of the genus Ze/anargia. U.s. as above,
but apices and costa of f.w. and almost all the
ground colour of the h.w. tinged with yellow.
Neuration marked rather broadly black on h.w.

Has. Syria (Jaffa, Beirut), Steppes of Kobish,
Persia, R. H. Asia Minor (var. aagusta Oliv.),
Kirby Cat. 456. III. and VIII.

Larva. Yellowish-green, with a broad purple-red
longitudinal stripe on each side.

On Aolcus (R. H.).

(Zo be continued.)
TuHeE Société Zoologique de France notifies the

change of address of its offices to the Hétel des
Sociétés Savantes, 28 Rue Serpente, Paris.

\ SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 336
DESMIDS.
By Dr. G. H. BRYAN, F.R.S.

(Continued from page 326.)

M OUNTING, —A thin cement cell is necessary to
prevent the varnish used in sealing up the pre-
paration from running in. I have used gold-size, zine
cement, brown cement, and sealing-wax varnish for the
cells, and gold size and brown cement for closing them
up. As to the efficacy of different cements it may be
possible to express some opinion when my slides have
been mounted twenty years. The well-known slides
mounted by Mr. Joshua of Cirencester, at about that
time ago, were sealed with zinc cement, and very few
of them now survive. Some of them were sent to me
about a year ago by Mr. Watkins, of Painswick, of
which I managed to save four by the application of
fresh glycerine and gold-size. In most of these once
beautiful slides, the zinc cement has chipped away
and the mounting medium has escaped, or evaporated.
Nevertheless, I haye mounted most of my desmids in
zine cement cells, trusting to the use of gold-size in
sealing them, as affording some protection ; and some
slides of Cosmarium and of the diatom Meridion
ctyewdare mounted in camphor water in this way, in
1890 and 1891, are still as good as new. Gold size
hardly gives cells of sufficient consistency. My pre-
sent idea is to place a thin ring of gold size on the
slide and over it to spin a ring of zinc cement, the
latter giving the cell the required degree of thickness,
and the former by its adhesion preventing the zinc
cement from chipping off.

The cell in which the desmids are mounted
should not be deeper than is absolutely necessary.
In order, therefore, to get a sufficient number of
desmids into the slide, it is best to push the pen-
filler right down into the sediment of desmids at the
bottom of the specimen tube or cork float contain-
ing them, so as to take upa thick mass of desmids
with little glycerine. In mounting such objects the
text-books tell us not to use more preservative fluid
than will just fill the cell ; but they do not say how this
isto be done. The only way is to make the fluid
form a convex drop, without extending quite to the
edges of the cell. The drop must stand higher than
the cell-wall, and, if a cover-glass is lowered hori-
zontally, the fluid will spread out and fill the cell.
The amount of fluid must be estimated by holding up
the slide and looking at it edgewise ; the part of the
drop projecting above the cell should just be suffi-
cient to fill the uncovered portions of the cell. If
too much glycerine has been used, the superfluous
liquid must be soaked up with blotting-paper; but
in doing thisa large proportion of the desmids are
apt to be drawn out from undér the cover. If there
is too little fluid an air-bubble will be left in the
cell. If this bubble is small it may be worth while
to try whether its presence renders the slides less

liable to leakage by allowing for expansion and con-
traction with variations of temperature.
up several desmid slides containing small air-bubbles,
but the bubbles
short time, fortunately without causing the varnish
to run in,

Before lowering the cover-glass, it may be well to
stir the drop of fluid with a needle to spread the
desmids. If the gathering is not exceptionally clean,
any particles of dirt that are visible to the naked eye
may at the same time be picked out with the mounting-
needle, while any dust-fibres which may have crept
into the material in the process of cleaning may be
similarly removed under the microscope. If the
cleaning process has failed to remove all the flocculent
matter or vegetable dééris, better results can some-
times be got by putting too large a drop of fluid on the
slide, and then drawing part of it off, which will remove
more of the dirt than of the desmids, often producing a
much cleaner slide. If saved is the chief impurity this
plan will only increase the proportion of it left on the
slide and spoil its appearance. In most cases a little
care in picking out dirt makes an immense difference
in the quality of the slides.

For sealing the cells I have used brown cement or
gold-size ; generally the latter. Most writers recom-
mend brown cement, or some other spirit varnish
containing shellac for sealing glycerine, in preference
to gold-size, on the ground that the latter does not
close the cell securely if the edges are moist with
superfluous glycerine. I have found no such diffi-
culty ; on the contrary, gold-size seems to me fully
as efficacious as the cements with alcoholic solvents.
When a second and thicker layer of gold-size has
been added it may take weeks to harden, and may
be easily indented with the finger after months ; but
it is probably the more reliable, because it dries so
slowly. The brown cement dries more quickly, and
has stood the test equally well up to the present.

Desmids, being as a rule far larger than the average
run of diatoms, are easily selected either by using a
bristle to move them from a drop of fluid into the
centre of the slide, or by drawing them up in a finely
pointed glass tube, and depositing them on a clean
slide. Possibly even a split hair from a shaving-
brush, though far too clumsy for manipulating diatoms,
might prove useful with the larger desmids. The
chief difficulty is that there appears to be no way of
fixing the desmids when selected, and there is a risk
of their floating from under the cover—or, at least, to
the edges of the cell when the cover is applied. To
obviate this, Mr. White, of Litcham, has used sunk
cells, in which the specimens naturally gravitate
towards the centre.

I have sealed

have generally disappeared in a

360 SCIENCE-GOSSLE.

Desmids may often be kept alive in a bottle of
water for a considerable time. On lately examining
a bottle of material collected last September, I found
a number of 2vastrum verrucosum still living.

There are many points in connection with the
manipulation of desmids which I have not tried, and
I am in hopes that the present papers may lead other
microscopists to give their experiences of them. For
example, the use of formalin as a fixative, the best
reagents for staining desmids, etc. It would be
particularly interesting to learn whether the gelatinous
envelope of such species as Ayalotheca can be stained,

or the tip of Closteriwm showing the motile bodies in
their cavity. Apart, however, from the undoubted
possibility of improving on the technique, or varying
it to suit individual taste or available appliances, it is
certain that, given a suitable locality, a great deal of
real enjoyment can be got out of collecting and pre-

paring these tiny little plants, without the risk of -

exterminating or increasing the rarity of species
which attaches to the netting of butterflies, or the
collection of phanerogams and ferns.

(Zo be continued.)

AN INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH SPIDERS.

By FRANK PERCY SMITH.

(Continued from page 330.')

FAMILY CLUBIONIDAE.

HE spiders contained in this family are of a more or
less cylindrical form. The eyes are widely spread
across the front part of the caput, the clypeus being
rather narrow. The arrangement of the spinners is
very different from that in the Drassidae. The
Clubionidae usually live in silken tubes, from which
they slp with wonderful rapidity when disturbed.
The pubescence on the abdomen often hides to a
great extent the real colour of the integument, but
this becomes at once apparent when the spider is
immersed in spirit.

GENUS CLUBIONA LATR.

The eyes in this genus are arranged in the form of
a crescent, the posterior laterals forming the ex-
tremities. The maxillae are long, the extremities
heing somewhat enlarged. The spiders which this
genus comprises are very similar to one another in
appearance, and their differentiation is often a matter
of difficulty. The male palpus, particularly the radial
apophysis, and the vulva are, of course, almost certain
clues to the identity ofa spider ; but as a large majority
of the specimens captured are immature, these indica-
lions in that case do not exist. If the eyes are care-
fully measured, and also the distances between them,
the species may be distinguished in most instances.
I have made drawings of the eyes of several species ;
and it will be noticed that the most tangible differences
are the relative distances between the eyes of the
front row, and also the distance between the hind
centrals, compared with their diameters.

Clubiona grisea L. Koch. (Cludiona holo-
seyicea Bl.)

Length. Male 8.4 mm., female 12 mm.

Cephalo-thorax brown with pale hairs. _ Legs
reddish-yellow, with some spines. Abdomen of a
pale brown tint, with a dense covering of grey hairs.

(1) This series of articles on British Spiders commenced in
Science-Gossir, No. 67, December 1899.

The radial joint of the male palpus is of a most
curious form, and almost indescribable. This spider,
which is not very common, is usually found among
the low herbage of damp ditches.

Clubiona terrestris Westr. (Clubzona ama-
vantha Bl.)

Length. Male $8 mm., female 9 mm.

Cephalo-thorax pale reddish-brown. Legs reddish-
yellow, with spines. Abdomen reddish-brown,
clothed with hairs, and having an indistinct marking
of a darker hue on the upper side. This spider is
not uncommon amongst low herbage and débris.

Clubiona reclusa Cambr.

Length. Male 6 mm., female 7 mm.

Cephalo-thorax with some vein-like markings upon
it. Radial joint of male palpus with a very prominent
apophysis. ~C. formosa BI. is probably an immature
specimen of this spider.

Clubiona lutescens Westr.

Length. Male 6 mm., female 6.5 mm.

This rare spider is similar to C. sevrestris Westr.,
but may be distinguished by the form of the radial
apophysis and the palpal organs; the falces are also
much longer.

Clubiona neglecta Cambr.

Length. Male 6 mm., female 6.3 mm.

This rare spider may be distinguished from its
congeners by the possession of a long, curiously
twisted spine connected with the palpal organs.

Clubiona pallidula Clk. (Clubéona epimelas
Bl.)

Length. Male 10 mm., female 10.5 mm.

Cephalo-thorax of a greenish tint, suffused in front
with brown. Abdomen reddish-brown, with small
markings of a dark brown colour. The species is
common and generally distributed.

Clubiona corticalis Wlk.
Length. Male 12 mm., female 12.5 mm.

SCIENCE

NATURE PRINTING IN COLOURS.

LEPIDOPTERA.

The Colours, Tints, and Shades of the Wing
and as perfect as if Photographed in C
They are done
from the real insect
Remittance with order.

BERNARD PIFFARD,

are true
jlours (were thi
and scarcely disti
. 6d. ; 4 doz., 85. ;

3y & Secret process,
5 1 Specimen, x

Hemel Hempstead, Herts.

SECOND-HAND BOOKS.

JOHN WHELDON & CO.,
38 GREAT QUEEN STREET, LONDON, W.C.,

can supply most Books on the various branches of
NATURAL HISTORY AND SCIENCE

in good condition at moderate prices.
STATE WANTS, OR CATALOGUE SENT POST FREE.

BRITISH BIRDS’ EGGS:

A Handbook of British Oology.

By A. G. Burter,

F.L.S., F.Z.S., ete. (of the Natural Hist xy Museum). With
Thirty-eight Coloured Plates. 8vo. cloth gilt. Price 25s. net.
An Illustrated Handbook giving particulars of Distribution,

Food, Habits, Structure of Nest, Time of Nidification, et:

of all the Birds that are known to breed in ithe British Islands.
With 370 accurate, coloured Figures, drawn by the Auth or to

illustrate all the most striking varieties of tlie eggs of each species.

HANDBOOK OF THE COLEOPTERA OR BEETLES OF
CREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, By H. PB. Cox,
M.E.S. Two Volumes, 8vo. cloth. Price 17s. 6d.

“The only complete, reliable and cheap recent work on the
subject.”

. G{C.,

0. E. JANSON & SON,

NATURAL HISTORY AGENTS, SMT AND
BOOKSELLERS

44 GREAT RUSSELL STREET, LONDON, W.C.

GOSSTP.

BARGAINS IN SCIENTIFIC BOOKS.

NEWMAN, F.Z.S. (EDWARD), BRITISH BUT-
TERFLIES AND MOTHS. _Ilostrate
Life-size Figures of Species of Bt ies a Moths.
royal 8vo. « loth, gilt « *$ (255.), x

BRITTEN, F.L.S. (JAMES), EUROPEAN FERNS,
THEIR FORM, HABIT, AND CULTURE, with :

simile Coloured Plates painted from Nat y D. BL MIR,
F.L.S. Demy 4to. cloth (21s.), 75.

CAMPBELL (D. H.), THE STRUCTURE AND
DEVELOPMENT OF THE AEP as AND FE RNS
(ARCHEGONIATZ:). By Di as He

Ph.D. Fully Illustrated. Medium 1 Bvo. (pub. 14 ct),

BATESON (W.), MATERIAL FOR THE STUDY

OF VARIATION, treated with especial regard to Discon-
tinuity in the Origin of Spe By WILLIAM Bateson
M.A., Fellow of St. John's Coll Cambridge. loth
(pub. 2 net),

“Phe whole work must be car efully read

dent; and there can be no question of its great ¢

value as a contribution to our knowled f a par f

variations, and as a stimulus to furthe in of

knowledge which is too much neglected.” —Nature.

HEADLEY (F. W.), THE STRUCTURE AND
LIFE OF BIRDS. By F. W. Heaptey, M.A., F.Z.S.,
Assistant-Master in Haileybury College. With 78 Illustra-

tions. Crown 6vo. cloth (pub. 7s. 6d.), 1s. 6d.

* We know of no book, at any rate no mod

precisely the ground of Mr. Headley’s Mar "Bice
decidedly a we ak point in Ornithological Literature

coupled with the excellence of the illustrations, waalt lens

a wide circdtaeone bis. 4

COUES (PROF. ELLIOTT), HANDBOOK OF
F{ELD AND GENERAL ORNITHOLOGY: a Manual of
the Structure and Classification of Birds, with Instructions
for Collecting and Preserving Specimens. Illustrated. Demy
8vo. cloth (pub. ros.), 2s. 6d.

ts
and this fi act,
ire for it

on the six.

H. J. GLAISHER, New and Remainder Bookseller,
57 Wigmore Street, London, W.
IMB” Caralogues Post Free on application.

Inland Postage 3d. extra on one, or 6d.

“The most admirable introduction to British ornithology extant."—A veld.

*“ The most concise and at the same time trustworthy book on birds of a single region that has ever been wantin "—Sctence-Gossip.

** There is no other work of its size in which so much information on the subject of British birds can be obtained.’

** Revised with the most painstaking care, up to date in all respects.”
I g » Up P

—Nature.
-Annals of Scottish Natural History.

The above are Extracts from eritical Notices of the SECOND EDITION of

AN ILLUSTRATED

MANUAL OF BRITISH BIRDS.

By HOWARD SAUNDERS, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c.

In One Volume, 816 pages, with 384 Lilustrations,

31 of which are new, and 3 coloured Maps.

8vo., cloth, £1 1s.

GURNEY & JACKSON, 1 Paternoster Row.

In One Volume.

SOWERBY'S

Described, with a key to the Natural Orders, by C.

With Coloured Drawings of every British Plant.

Three Guineas.

BRITISH WILD FLOWERS

The British Flora, with 1780 Hand-painted Illustrations on 89 Plates.
P. JOHNSON.

Super Royal 8vo., cloth, gilt edges.
Reissue, to which is added a Supplement

containing Ferns, Horse-tails, Club-Mosses, and later-discovered Flowering Plants.

GURNEY & JACKSON, 1 Paternoster Row.

(Mr. VAN

VOORST’S Successors.)

1V SCIENCE-GOSSTP.

THE

‘HORNTON.
ICKARD

CAMERAS
SHUTTERS

Make aeeTAERY 2

a £6 AMBER” snd ““RUBY”
| Cameras for Hand or Stand.
‘a Price from 44% 3s. 6d.
Time and Instantaneous *4
i Shutter, from 12s. 6d.
Standard Pattern,

from 18s. 6d.

New 1900
Iflustrated
Catalogue.

FSA Hut
Wat can

Prospectus and
Entry Form for
New £105 Prize
Competition
post free.

High
Sani

————

The THORNTON-PICKARD
Manufacturing Co., Ltd.,
ALTRINCHAM.

LOOK PLEASANT, PLEASE!

THE SECOND GREAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

EXHIBITION

OPENS APRIL 27th AND CLOSES MAY s5ru.

From r2 to ro daily.

All the Leading
Makers show-

ADMISSION
1/-
NO EXTRAS.

ing their
Latest
Novelties.

ANIMATED
PHOTOGRAPHS.

LIQUID AIR.
ENTERTAINMENTS.

LECTURETTES.
IMPERIAL
ORCHESTRA.

Smoking and
Refreshment
Saloon.

PORTMAN ROOMS,

BAKER STREET,
London, WV.

Secretary—ARTHUR C. BROOKES, Harp Alley,
Farringdon Street, London, E.C.

SCI NA PRLeC

ANY CHILD CAN FLY THEM.

THE WONDER OF THE ACE.

Kees.

THE SHIP KITE. THE BLUE HILL BOX KITE.

MOST INTERESTING FOR METEOROLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OR ASL

= _ THE SHIP KITE sails on the wind as if riding on the waves, the sails are so

| children.

| or amusement.

ingenious!y arranged that in catching the wind they drive the ship upward instead of in
a lateral direction. They afford an ‘endless amount of amusement to adults as well as
Kites of this type have attained the height of two miles. They go straight up
from the hand like a bird. Will Ay ina moderate breeze, and yet no wind short of a
gale is too strong for them _ Folds up into a neat, flat package.

THE BLUE HILL BOX KITE is the invention of H. H. Clayton, Chief Observer
at the Blue Hill Observatory, near Boston, and is used for Aerial Observation purposes,
Kites of this type have attained the height of two miles, have vesark-
able lifting power, and serve splendidly to raise weights into the air, such as Cameras,
for photographing ‘the country, Barometers for getting the pressure of the air at different
heights, Thermometers, and other weather-recording instruments.

From the Wew Vork Herald, March 3rd, 1899 :—‘* New Kite-Flying Record.
Recording Instrument carried up over two miles at Blue Hill, Boston, |
Mass.—The record for high kite-flying was broken at the Blue Hill Obsery. atory,
Tuesday, when 12,507 feet above the sea- -level was reached by a recording instrument
attached to a string of tandem kites. This is 383 feet higher than the preceding best
record, made at the same place on August 26th. At the highest point | of flight the

temperature was twelve degrees and the wind velocity, fifty miles an hour.”

Prices :—Blue Hill Box Kite, 1S 2s., 2 2s. 6d., 3s. 6d., 5s. 6d.

Ship Kites, 7s. and 10s.

JAS. PAIN &

SONS, 124 Walworth Road, LONDON, S.E.

SCIEN CE-GOossIiIPp.

And Agents throughout Great Britain.

SPECIAL CONCESSION.

Present and New Annual Subscribers desiring to complete their series of

The First FIVE Wolumes

of the New Series of SciENcE-Gossip can haye them delivered free, bound in cloth, with original covers and all
extra pages for reference, according to the latest fashion of binding Scientific Magazines,

Eor Fifteen Shillings.

The prices to ordinary purchasers are Vol.
is supplied at these prices, with usual discount.

I., 5s. 6d. ;

Vols. II., III, 1V. and V., 7s. 6d, each! The Trade

A

Cephalo-thorax reddish-yellow. Legs nearly White,
~ Abdomen of a yellowish-grey tint with a central and
some oblique lateral markings of a purplish-brown |
colour. This is a very distinct and handsome spider,
and seems to be rather local, though common where
_it does occur, Ihave received it in large numbers
from Norwich and Oakham. f

mee pede) |
« be

| 9000

Fic. IX. Eves or Ciustonipar.

J

a. Clubiona grisea. b. C. terrestris. c. C. pallidula. d.C.
corticalis, ¢. C. holosericea. f. C. compta. xg. C. diversa.
h. Chivacanthium mutrix. i. Micariosona Sestivum, all
from above. 7. VW. festivren from in front.

Clubiona holosericea Degeer.
Pphragmitis C. Koch.)

Cephalo-thorax red-brown, the caput being much
darker. Legs of a yellowish tint. Abdomen red-
dish-yellow, with an indistinct central marking of a
darker colour. This spider may be distinguished by
the form of the falces, which, especially in the male,
are enormously developed and very powerful.

(Clubiona

Clubiona brevipes BI.

Length. Male 5.5 mm., female 6.5 mm.
Cephalo-thorax and abdomen of a dark brown
colour, densely clothed with grey hairs.

This spider, which is not uncommon, may be
found in rolled-up leaves.

Clubiona coerulescens.

Length. Male 6 mm., female 6.5 mm.
Cephalo-thorax yellow. Legs pale yellow. Abdo-
men reddish-brown clothed with fine hairs. An
extremely rare species in this country.

Clubiona compta L. Koch.
Length. Male 4.2 mm., female 5 mm.

SCIENCE-GOSS/P.

361

Cephalo-thorax reddish-brown. Legs dull yellow.
Abdomen dark yellow, with a distinet central red-
dish-brown marking, followed by several oblique
marks of the same colour. This spider may be easily
recognised on account of its distinct pattern. It is
fairly common.

Clubiona trivialis L. Koch.

Length. Male 4 mm., female 4.5 mm.

This rare spider is similar in shape to the last, but
is smaller and not nearly so distinctly marked.

Clubiona diversa Cambr. (C/u/iona pallens
C. Koch and ‘ Spiders of Dorset.”)

Cephalo-thorax dull yellow. Legs of a yellowish
tint. Abdomen bright orange-yellow with an ir-
regular reddish-brown band along its upper side.
This spider is rather rare. I have received it from
Shoreham, Sussex, and have taken it quite recently
on Wimbledon Common.

Clubiona subtilis L. Koch. (C/usiona pallens
Bl.)

Length. Male 4 mm., female 4.2 mm.

Cephalo-thorax dark yellow with a tinge of green,

Fic. X. CHARACTERISTICS OF CLUBIONIDAE.

a. C. grisea, radial joint from above; 6. C. grisea, palpal
organs from beneath ; ¢. C. terrestris, radial joint from be-
neath ; d. C. compta, vulva 3 &. C. holosericea, radial joint side
view ; 4 C. holosericea, vulva ; g. C. diversa, radial joint from
above ; #. C. diversa, vulva; 7. WM. festivum, vulva.

the caput i ae Legs dull yellow. Abdomen

reddish-yellow. A local spider common in the Fens
of Cambridgeshire.

; (To be continued.)
N4

o>)
O)
to

SCIENCE-GOSSTP.

ON COLOURING OF BIRDS’ EGGS.

By J. A. WHELDON.

I AM glad to find my notes on this subject (ave

p- 200) have drawn such an interesting and
courteous reply from Mr. Hughes (azte p. 241), for
which I thank him. It is only by fully discussing
such difficulties as are presented that the truth can
be arrived at.

In some respects the drift of my remarks has not
been fully understood. I certainly did not intend to
express, nor do I think my remarks should be con-
strued as expressing, any doubt as to the results of
Mr. Hughes’s interesting experiments on the chemical
composition of the various pigments. These decidedly
confirm, or afford additional proof if such is required,
that iron is an undoubted constituent of the egg-
colouring matters. This I am prepared to fully
admit. Indeed it was proved long ago, by the
researches of Mr. H. C. Sorby, who, chiefly by
means of spectroscopic analysis, distinguished no less
than seven different egg pigments, all nearly allied
to the colouring matter of the blood and bile ; indeed
two of the most important, which he termed oorhodein
and odcyan, closely approach haemoglobin and bile
pigment in composition. Now haemoglobin is
derived from the red corpuscles of the blood, and is
stated to contain 0°4 per cent. of iron, as well as a
little sulphur, which is another of the elements de-
tected by Mr. Hughes.

The chemical composition of these organic colouring
matters is so complex, however, that the slightest
rearrangement of their elements causes an alteration
of tint, which might easily be produced by physio-
logical action, such as some selective power of the
pigment glands acting on the haemoglobin of the
blood. I have seen it suggested somewhere that the
effect of the environment upon the mental or nervous
constitution of the mother bird during the laying
period has probably some influence on the pigmenta-
tion of the shell.

The real point at issue between Mr. Hughes and
myself is whether the nature of the food bears any
relation to or produces any effect on the colouring of
the eggs. I was first led to doubt this from the
apparently insurmountable difficulty of arranging
birds into dietary classes, which would afford parallel
groups of eggs separable on account of colour. Nor
is this taxonomic difficulty the only one, for after
considering the chemical and physiological aspects of
the question I feel more strongly convinced than
before that we must look in other directions for an
explanation of this mystery, which appears to evade
solution as pertinaciously as does that affecting the
remarkable sculpturing of the eggs of insects and the
integuments of seeds and pollen grains.

To arrive at an idea of how slight an influence

food is likely to have on the colouring matter of
egg-shells, we must consider how the pigment supply
is obtained. As is the case with other secretions, I
presume it to be extracted by special glands from
the blood supply. All birds must obtain iron and
sulphur, no matter what the colour of their eggs may
be, in order to maintain the supply of red blood
corpuscles. It does not appear to me necessary that
these mineral essentials should be always entirely
drawn from the food supply, for the grit used by
many birds and the drinking water frequently con-
tain them. The vital point seems to be this, that no
matter how varied the raw material which enters the
stomach, the result is invariably the production of
blood of fairly uniform composition. I cannot con-
ceive that the particular diet from which the blood
is derived can have any influence on the subsequent
action of special glands on that fluid, except in ex-
tremely abnormal conditions produced by starvation,
poison, &c., which do not enter into the argument.
Given plenty of food of any of the classes named by
Mr. Hughes, fish, seed, or insect, and the bird-
machine will evolve so much blood of probably
identical composition, from which each species will
extract a different shell-colouring peculiar to its kind.

I think it will bé found the exception, rather than
the rule, that colours in the animal world are much
influenced by the chemical composition of the food.
I exclude, of course, diseased conditions produced
by poisons, under which I would class the action of
hemp seed on the plumage of bullfinches, and of
cayenne upon canaries. As a solitary example of
my meaning, it could not be established that the pig-
ment of the skin and¢hair of a negro differed from
that of a European because of the nature of their
diet ; and the same would apply to the various shades
of skin, hair, and iris noticeable in many races of
man and animals.

I frankly admit that I cannot explain why various
birds nesting in similar positions should have different
coloured eggs, nor can I call to mind any serious
attempt to account for thjs anomaly. It is one of the
afore-mentioned weak points in the argument for
protective coloration. I do think, notwithstanding
Mr. Hughes’s doubts, that a spotted egg has some
claims to be considered more protectively coloured
than a pure white one amongst the flickering lights
and shades of a hedgerow or the foliage of a tree ;
the rusty spotted robin’s egg might be readily over-
looked amongst the russet leaves it delights in strew-
ing about its nest. Spots and streaks on animals,
moreover, have been long looked upon as protective ;
and in my own experience mottled caterpillars and
pale green ones are often equally difficult of discovery

SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 363

on the same background—thus reproducing in another
direction the case of the hedge-sparrow and robin.

I take exception to Mr. Hughes’s statement that
only the eggs of birds which nest on the ground are
liable to be stolen. The jay and crow are both
inveterate thieves of the eggs of birds which nest in

hedges, trees, and thickets, and there may be other

offenders in this direction, although these are the only
ones of which I have actual proof, In other countries
serpents would probably be numbered amongst the
aggressors.

By the way, Mr. Hughes adduces several instances
of protective coloration, some of which had not
previously occurred to me. Some of the white-egged
species had even prejudiced me against the theory ;
but Mr. Hughes says most nocturnal species lay white
eggs. Is not this because their eggs are not likely to
he exposed to enemies by day, as the parents only
desert their nests after dark, when protective colour-
ing would be unnecessary ? Some birds, also, which
lay white or spotless eggs, cover them when leaving
the nest. Protective colouring is admitted in the
case of several species nesting on the ground, espe-
cially that of the nightjar, although I think Mr.
Hughes cannot fairly place its egg beside that of the
robin as a test, because one of the two would have to

be removed from its natural environment. Although
the nightjar is a nocturnal bird, its eggs require pro
tection, because they are laid on the ground and ex-
posed to the depredations of small nocturnal mammals
unlikely to menace the species breeding in trees and
bushes.

I do not contend that protective coloration ex-
plains everything, but probably it comes largely into
use ; and numerous cases will occur to all who are
familiar with the nesting of birds. So many excep-
tions of a puzzling and contradictory nature also
occur that I am often led to doubt whether the so-
called ‘* protective” instances are not often merely
accidental coincidences of colour and surroundings.

In watching a large flock of birds feeding together
in a field to-day, this discussion occurred to my mind.
There were gulls, rooks, starlings, and lapwings,
which daily resort to the low-lying fields around here
for sustenance. Their food must be similar, probably
worms and grubs in every case. Yet here we have
represented olive-green, spotted blue, plain blue, and
stone-brown types of eggs, falling under three sepa-
rate classes of Mr. Hughes’s arrangement, and not
with the uniformity that similar feeding should pro-
duce. No doubt other instances could be adduced.

60 Hornby Road, Walton, Liverpool.

BRITISH FRESHWATER MITES.
By CHaARLEs D. Soar, F.R.M.S.

(Continued from page 338.)

GENUS 4T7AX FABRICIUS, 1805.

|) SBS this genus, there have been between

thirty and forty species described during the
present century by different writers from various parts
of the world. In 1894 Piersig divided this genus
into two, retaining the name of A/ax for one portion
and Cockleophorus for the other. _Koenike does not
think Piersig had sufficient grounds to do this, so he
ignores the latter name ; and in his work on the
Hydrachnidae of Madagascar, published in 1898,
places all the species of these two genera under
the one genus dfax. Mr. R. H. Walcott, the
American writer on water-mites, thinks the differences
in the two genera above mentioned clearly defined,
and has accordingly adopted Piersig’s suggestions.
As I wish to follow Piersig as nearly as possible,
I will adopt these two genera, commencing with the
genus Afax.

Aftax has been also divided into two groups, free-
swimming and parasitic. The parasitic are to be
found within the shells of the fresh-water mussels.

Piersig describes from Germany seven species in
the genus d/ax. In Britain we are behind this
number, but I hope our list will be later increased.

The chief characters of this genus are: Body
soft. The first pair of legs of an unusual thickness.

In the free-swimming species the first pair of legs are
provided with long, stout, movable, sword-shaped
spines. Second pair of legs usually longer than the
third pair. Zfzmera in four groups, the posterior
pair being large and having rectangular claws to all
feet. Eyes wide apart.

Eo a :
WA eave
1 ers ;
Ve
i

Fic. 1. Atax crassifes. Ventral surface of female, showing
papillae on posterior margin.

1. Atax crassipes Miller.

FEMALE.—Body oval in form, length about
1.20 mm. Colour a pale transparent yellow, with
brown markings on the dorsal surface, and a brighter

304 SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

yellow T-shaped patch in the centre. Eyes are small,
and wide apart near margin of body; they are of a
bright red colour.

Lecs.—First pair about 2.64 mm. in length.
Second pair, 3.54 mm. Third pair, 2.44mm, Fourth
pair, 3.28 mm. In colour they are chiefly of the
same pale yellow as the body colour, but I took a
number of specimens in North Wales in 1896 which
had all the chitinous parts of a deep slaty-blue. The
first pair of legs are fitted with the long sword-like

®
Gey gS

ad | 2g

Fic. 2. A tax crassipes. Fic. 3. Atax crassipes.
Genital plate of female. Genital plate of male.

spines which are peculiar to this genus; they are
very strong, and movable at the base where joined to
the leg.

EPpiIMERA.—In four groups (fig. 1); the posterior
pairs are very large.

PaLpi.—About 1.0 mm. in length, being very long
in proportion to the body. The last segment but
one has three very strong pegs on the inner curve.

GENITAL AREA.—Composed of four plates on the
extreme posterior margin; each plate holds three
dises (fig. 2).

Mate.—Very much like the female in structure.
Length 0.92 mm. It also has the two papillae on
the posterior margin in the same position as the
female; and the long second pair of legs, which
measure 3.40 mm. The great difference is in the
genital area ; here there are only two plates (fig. 3),

ae)

o oO
e-

Fic. 4. d. crassifes. Posterior margin of nymph.

each plate holding six discs in the position shown in
drawing.

NympuH.—Has all the structure of the imago,
except that it has only two pairs of discs on the
posterior margin (fig. 4).

In Britain we have two distinct varieties of A/ax
crassipes, both having the same specific character-
istics ; but they differ so much in size that to distin-
guish one from the other I have named the large
variety major and the smaller mznzor. In var. menor
the palpi and legs are shorter in proportion to the
length of body than we find in var. major; but as
they appear to be fairly constant, I think a table

showing the differences in mm. will be of great
assistance in identification.
Atax crassipes :

Var, Major. Var. MWZinor.

2 3 2 é
Length of body bn Oey So CHB oo RO oo Oi
99 TSHle gy fe) 2-O4 e242 ed ODEO
45 and leg .. 3.54 3.40 .. 2.84 .. 2.50
7 grdleg .. 2.44 +. 2.40 +. 1.36 -- 1.10
50) 7 Wee ep eyes bo ete) bo Sy bo BA)
5 palpi See: Onn O72 OSS OME EO “CO

The above are mean measurements, taken from a
number of specimens.

LOocALITIES.—Very common everywhere. I have
taken large numbers from the Norfolk Broads, ponds
in Epping Forest, Suffolk, and North Wales.

2. Atax tavernerz Soar, 1899.

FEMALE.—Body about 1.12 mm. long, breadth
about 0.78 mm. Colour a pale straw-yellow. Very
similar in structure to the preceding species, and it

Fic. 5. A. taverneri. Ventral surface of male.

may easily be mistaken at first sight for Atax crassipes.
It has the two papillae on the posterior margin in
the same position (see fig. 5).

Lecs. —First pair, 1.44 mm. Second pair about
1.80 mm. Third pair, 1.40 mm. Fourth pair,
1.88 mm. The second pair are in this species longe

Fic. 6. A. tavernervi. Genital area of female.

than the third ; but the fourth are the longest. The
first pair have the sword-like spines, as in 4. crasszpes.
EpIMERA.—In four groups, but a hard chitinou

Fic. 7. A. taverneri. Genital area of male.

ridge runs down from the first pair of efzmmeva to the
third (fig. 5).

SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 365

PALPI.—About 0.48 mm. long, with three pegs on
the inner curve of the fourth segment.

GENITAL AREA.—Composed of four plates on the
extreme posterior margin (fig. 6). The two lower
plates contain three discs each, the two upper only
two each.

MALE.—Similar to female, except in the genital
plates (fig. 7). Here again we find two plates, with
five dises on each plate.

LocALiries. — Found free-swimming in clear
water, at Highams Park in Middlesex, by Mr.
Taverner. Several were taken, and a few nymphs.

3. Alax figuralis Koch.

FEMALE.—Body about 1.25 mm. long. Pale
yellow in colour, with brown markings ; it has two
very small papillae on the posterior margin, but
nothing to be compared to the size of those on the
two previous species.

Lrcs.—First pair about 1.64 mm. Second pair
about 2.58 mm., which, like ax crassipes, are the
longest pair. The first pair are not quite so thick
as the first pair of 4. crassipes, but they possess
similar long, strong spines.

EPIMERA.—In four groups (similar to fig. 1).

PALpiI.—Rather short, being about 0.40 mm.

GENITAL AREA.—Four plates, very much like
A. faverneri, having three discs in the lower plate
and two in the upper one. They differ in this respect

Pic. 8 al. figuradis, Genital area of male.

from A. faverneri, which has the three lower discs
nearly in a line, while in 4. figwra/’s they are so
placed as to form an angle.

MALE.—Very much the same as female, except in
genital area. Here we have two plates, with five
dises each, but arranged quite differently from the
male of 4. favernert (fig. 8).

Locativirs.—I have found only three specimens,
two females and one male, in September, 1898, on
the Norfolk Broads.

(To be continued.)

New CAaTrALoGurs.—Messrs. Nachet et Fils, of
Paris, send us their catalogue of Microscopes and
accessories. Messrs. Bausch & Lomb Optical Com-
pany, of Rochester, N.Y., send us catalogues of
Photographic Objectives, Shutters, &c.; also of
Chemical Apparatus and Reagents. The latter firm
have in the press new catalogues of Microscopes and
accessories, which we will deal with more fully when
they reach us.

THE NATURE OF LIFE,
bY fh. J: ALLEN, M.A., M.D.

ae ING for many years made a careful study

of the fundamental chemistry of life, I hope
I may be allowed to offer a few comments on
Mr. Geoffrey Martin’s paper, ‘* Life under other
Conditions,” in your issues for March and April
(ante, pp. 291, 326).

I have given a summary of my views on the
nature of life in the Proceedings of the Birmingham
Natural History and Philosophical Society for 1899,
to which I would refer Mr. Martin and others in-
terested in the subject. Life is too complex to be
defined in a concise aphorism. All definitions as
yet given have missed the mark ; and Mr. Martin’s
definition of life as ‘* organised motion ” is not more
successful than the others. In order that it should
convey a definite meaning we must first understand
what organisation is. Does life depend on organ-
isation, or organisation on life? John Hunter taught
the latter, but perhaps the discussion is an empty
one, for /2fe and organisation are almost synonymous
terms.

The most fundamental physical phenomenon of
life is the exergy traffic, or the function of trading in
energy. The chief physical function of living sub-
stance is to gather up radiant energy (e.g. from the
sunshine), store it in the potential form, and after-
wards to disperse it in the active or kinetic form.
The complex chemistry of life differs from other
kinds of complex chemistry, such as that of the
silicates, in that the former entails great changes of
energy, whereas the latter does not.

In seeking an explanation of the chemistry of life,
investigators have confined their attention too ex-
clusively to the properties of carbon. If they had
given equal attention to nitrogen, they might have
realised long ago that the most characteristic phe-
nomena of life are due to this element. The intense
instability or ‘lability’ of living substance is a
specialised form of the lability of nitrogen com-
pounds, as seen in gun-cotton, nitro-glycerine, ful-
minic acid, ‘‘lyddite,” etc. These compounds are
formed of the same elements (nitrogen, oxygen,
carbon, hydrogen) that form the bulk of living sub-
stance. Nitrogen combines readily with many other
elements, but has no strong attractions and few
preferences, the result being that its compounds are
the most changeable on earth. They are also the
most various in their properties. Compare nitric
acid, ammonia, cyanogen, azo-iniide, etc. In short,
nitrogen may be called the crztical element of this
world, #e. the element which under the given cir-
cumstances is always wavering as to its state of
combination.

Carbon, on the contrary, has one overruling
attraction—namely, for oxygen. It would exist on
this earth in combination only with oxygen, as
carbon !dioxide ‘and carbonates, were it not for the

366

it seems that under certain cir-
cumstances nitrogen compounds can interact with
carbon compounds, the nitrogen drawing off the
oxygen from the carbon and causing a re-arrangement
of the elements. Thus are produced the immense
number and variety of organic compounds.

In these actions nitrogen behaves as ‘‘ middle-
man”; z.e. all the elements pass in and out of the
compounds by forming a temporary union with the
nitrogen. Oxygen also plays an important part ;
indeed, so far as I can discern, every vital action in-
volves a passage of oxygen either to or from nitrogen.

The great vital function of carbon is ¢he storage of
energy. The removal of oxygen from carbon, with
the substitution of some other element, involves an
accumulation of energy in the new carbon compound.
Thus the complex carbon compounds in living beings
represent a store of potential energy which can be
expended in an active or kinetic form during vital
oxidation.

The functions of phosphorus, sulphur, and iron are
very important to life, and those of several other
elements are only a little less important ; but they
cannot be discussed within the limits of this article.

It seems probable that very diverse kinds of life
may occur in other parts of the universe, and that
different sets of elements may be engaged, according
to the circumstances of each case; but the properties
of silicon, mentioned by Mr. Martin, do not suggest
vital activity; nor represent any important trade in
energy. We have yet to find a class of silicon com-
pounds which could behave like carbon compounds in

action of nitrogen.

SCLENCE-GOSSIP,

the storing of energy. Silicon seems to perform a pas-
sive, not a dynamic function in the life of this world.
There are other elements whose properties seem more
suited than those of silicon for vital functions at high
temperatures: such are iodine, iron, and phos-
phorus.

It is hardly probable that the surface of the earth
was ever at a very high temperature. According to
the meteoric theory, the earth began its existence as
a collection of cold meteoric fragments, dust, and
gases. Heat was produced internally by compres-
sion; but the surface always retained a balance ~
between the high temperature of the interior and the
low temperature of stellar space. A small world like
ours could produce but little heat internally, and its
surface would always have been cooled nearly to the
absolute zero, had it not been for the compensating
action of the sun’s radiation, which has kept the
balance at a higher level. The surface temperature
is shown by geological evidence to have been for
countless millions of years about the same as now.
Igneous rocks seem never to be formed at the sur-
face. They are produced at a considerable depth,
and especially at points where lateral pressure causes.
a rise of temperature. Thus there may never have
been on this earth’s surface a temperature high
enough for any kind of life but nitrogen life ; and
the vast age during which this kind of life has
existed helps to account for the complexity and per-
fection of its products.

Kingsleigh, Colwall, Malvern,

April 10., 1900.

ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY IN ARIZONA.

By Proressor T. D. A. COCKERELL, F.Z.S.

THE MARKED MEALY-WING.

N October 17, 1899, at Mesa, Arizona, I found

on a few orange-trees in a single orchard
rather numerous examples of a minute flying insect,
a variety of d/ewrodes mori of Quaintance, a species
of mealy-wing. These creatures are pale lemon-
yellow, with four white wings, on which are rather
conspicuous black marks. The markings on the upper
wings consist of a spot on the lower margin near the
base, an oblique band near the middle of the wing,
bent sharply backwards some distance before the
lower margin, forming a Y, of which one arm is
longer than the other. A transverse band near the
end of the wing is broadly interrupted in the middle ;
and a longitudinal band passing from the tip of the
wing between the halves of the transverse band, or
sometimes not long enough to reach the latter, On
the under sides of the orange leaves will be found

minute black objects, fringed with white. These are
the pupae of the mealy-wing, from which the adults
emerge.

This is not the same mealy-wing which has been
so troublesome in orange groves in Florida: it may
readily be known from that by the markings on the
wings. It very closely resembles the A/ezwrodes mor,
lately described (Can. Ent., 1899, p. 1) by Pro-
fessor Quaintance for Florida and Jamaica, infesting
mulberry and a variety of other trees. It has also
been found by Professor E. E. Bogue on leaves of
Morus rubya, growing on the grounds of the State
University of Ohio, at Columbus. Recognising this.
resemblance, I sent specimens to Professor Quaintance
to be compared with his insect, and he replies
(December 17th, 1899) as follows :—‘* The 4/eurodes
on orange is quite like wor7, indeed. It will, how-
ever, average larger ; and in the adult the pattern of
wing-markings is somewhat different, and the red

ee LN Cle. © Soil P

AN ILLUSTRATED MONTHLY RECORD OF

NATURE AND COUNTRY-LORE

AND

APP ETE DS SC IEINGE

EDITED BY
JOHN T. CARRINGTON
ASSISTED BY

F. WINSTONE

VOL. VI.—NEW SERIES

LONDON,
110 STRAND, w.c.
WHOLESALE AGENTS—Horack MARSHALL & SON

BERLIN: R,. FRIEDLANDER & SOHN

“EACH MIGHT HIS SEVERAL, PROVINCE WELL COMMAND,
WOULD ALL BUT STOOP TO WHAT THEY UNDERSTAND.”
Alexander Pope.

“NEW OBJECTS AFFORD US GREAT DELIGHT, ESPECIALLY IF FOUND
OUT BY OUR OWN INDUSTRY.” John Ray, 1722.

““PELIX, QUI POTUIT RERUM COGNOSCERE CAUSAS.”
Virgil,

Our ANNUAL GREETING.

OW that another volume of ScieNcE-Gossip has been issued from
its independent offices at 110 Strand, the Editors may justly
congratulate the contributors upon the continued excellence of its
contents. In doing so, we would thank them all, and especially those
who haye furnished the serial articles of scientific value. We are
grateful for assistance to our honorary departmental editors for
Astronomy, Geology, Microscopy, Mollusca, and Physics, whose
columns have been so interesting to students in those branches of
science. We would add our thanks also to Mr. Dennett and Mr.
Shillington Scales, for their very useful chapters for beginners in
Astronomy and Microscopy, respectively.

A new feature will commence in the coming volume, by the
addition of a department for Experimental Chemistry. This will be
conducted by Mr. Harold M. Read, F.C.S., a gentleman with special
knowledge in that department of the science, and _ professionally
engaged as adviser in the making of apparatus used in Experimental
Chemistry. This innovation has been arranged for our magazine, in
consequence of frequent requests from readers, for more attcntion to
‘the subject. We shall be pleased to have articles and notes from them
for consideration. It is hoped to add other improvements to our
pages during the coming year, including a department for Photography
as applied to science and generally.

We venture to ask our readers for further support in extending the
circulation of Screncr-Gossip by bringing it before the notice of their
friends and correspondents. Continued improvements mean increased
expense ; therefore an enlarged circulation indirectly benefits those who
help us to obtain the means necessary for the many features that could
be added to our pages.

110 Strand, London.

May 1900.

am

Editor.

VOLUME VI.—NEW

Abbott, George, M.R.C.S.,
Allen, BE. J., M.A. Bn wace
Armitage, Eleanora, 50, OI, 323

Baker, Fred. W. Watson, 344

Barbour, John H., 130, 221, 224

Barker, E., 336

Blackburn, Rey. E. Percy, 286

Bliss, J., FRM S., 129

Bloomer, Ink Jal,

Boileau, Lt. *Col. ii ae! H., M.D., A.M.S.,

ney)

Bond-Smith, C., 9r

Boycott, Arthur E., 285, 286
Briggs, Thomas H., 347
Britton, E. C., 156, 221

Britton, C. G., 180

Brown, G Fletcher, 25, r19, 246

Brunetti, E., 328

Bryan, Dr. ics Firs) DESG elas. s 2575
325, 359 ‘2

Bullen, Rev. R. Ashington, F.L.S.,F G.S.,

80, 286, 347, 379
Burton, James, 210
Burr, A. E., 159 (62s)

Carrington, John T., 21, 40, 55, 65, 84,
II7, 120, 137, 149, 159, 161, 179, 181, 211,
244) 275, 300, 311, 319, 340, 343, 352, 369,

379

Clark, Frederick Noad, 218, 248

Cockerell, T.D.A., F.Z.S., 366

Cooke, ua H., F.L.S., F.G.S
ooper, J. E., 91, 139, 22

Cran, W., 86, a eons

Crawley, W. Ce,

Crossland, C., ey

Cummins, Major H. A., R.A.M.C., 97,
124

+3 33

Dennett, Frank C., 26, 27, 47 (dis), 60, 61,
63, 92, 93, 122, 123, 154, 155, 186, 187,
218, 219, 250, 251, 283, 284, 307, 316,
317, 348, 376, 377

Dickson-Bryson, R., B.A., F.P.S,, F.R.-
Ass., 10, 38

Doeg, T. E., 232

Dunton, W. F., 217

Durrant, E. T., 223

Aeschna grandis, ovipositing, 27
Alveolina. Limestone, 165
Ammeter-Voltmeter, 229
Arion hortensis, 243

3, sUubfuscus, 243

Bichromate Battery, 20:
Bidang Chu Lake, Sham 97
Boia and Miramshah, Between, 163
Bunsen Cell—Flat Form, 203
5, Round Form, 203
Butterfly, Terminological Diagram, a7.
BUTTERFLIES OF THE PALAEARCTIC
REGION—
Aporia crataegi, 336
Doritis apollinus, var. bellargus, 169
Luchdorfia pusiloi (2 figs.), 145
Mesapia peloria, § and 9, 335
Papilio maackii, 113
” machaon, ab. sphyrus, 112
+) authus, 112
<p) var. xuthitlus, 113
Par nassius, Abdominal pouches, 171
a apollo, var. hesebolus, 206
” apollonius, var. alpina,
230
s) bremert, Pouch of, 238
” cardinal § and® , 237
39 charltontus, 237
4) + var. princeps, 237
a clarius, 264
a1; aelphinius,
nalis, 236
in delphius, 236
9 eversmanni, 298
on Selderi, 265
1 graesert, Pouch of, 237
rs NOMUON, 207

var. infari-

CONTENDS

CONTRIBUTORS.

Earland, Arthur, 8, 53, 74, 104, 164, 214
Edwards, Thomas, 319

Emary, Percy, 347

Evans, Oswald H., 189

Freshwater, T. E., F.R.M.S., 2

George, C. F., M.R.C.S., 45, 210
Gude, G. K., F.Z.S., 15, 75, 99, 1475

Hamilton, W. P., 31

Hampson, Miss, 252

Hilton, Thomas, 91, 159, 221

Hinton, Martin A. C., 136

Horsley, Rey. J. W., x81, 223

Hughes, Reginald J., 127, 159, 172,
266, 351

Johnson, J. P., 25
Keegan, P. Q., LL.D., 110, 140, 222,

174

241,

359

Lane, Miss M., 273, 3

Lang, Henry Charles M. D., M.R.C.S.,
L:R.G.P.5) 53 35, 7£, 112, 144, 169, 206,
236, 263, 297) 321, 333; 357

Lidgett, James, 162, 220

Linter, J. E., 319

Littler, Frank M., 159

Martin, Edward A., F.G.S., 12, 22, 24,
41, 62, 78, 94, 115, 119, 142, 158, 189,
198, 222, 235, 246, 277, 296, 306, 318,
336; 350, 369, 378

Martin, Geoffrey, 291, 326 =

Menteath, C. G. S., 380

Mott, F. AD 105, 380

Murray, James, gr

Nelson, R. C., 57
Nicholson, C., 320

Orr, Hugh L., 192
Ough, Lewis, F.L.S., F.C.S., 51, 196, 232

Pearson, John, 86
Pearson, William, 180
Perceval, Spencer G., 253
Piffard, Bernard, 14.
Prout, Louis B., 255

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Parnassius nordmanni, 264

a orleansi, 265

” YOMANOVI, 207

a sczechent, 297

< stntonius, 208

9 stubbendorfil, 22

tenedius, 238

Pieris ’ davidis, 357
», krettnert, 357
Svricinus telamon (2 figs.), 144
Thais deyrollei, ab. albidior, 145
Vanessa urticae, Transformation, 72

“Camera, Freshwater,” The, for insects,23
Cara Balkam, 129
Heronry in, 129

Card Index Ca abinet, 77
Chalk Cliffs at Seaford, 199
Chalkpit at Riddlesdown, ia
Closteriuni costatum, 325

striolatum, 325
Cockcha afers, British, 353
Current bedding, 158

Demonstration Induction Coils, 168
Desmids with Foreign Matter, 257
0 Closteriume costatum, 325
mF) 73 striolatunt, 325
A Micrasterias rotata, 257
Diagram showing Construction of Small
Induction Coil and Connections, 168
Dichu Valley, Sikkim, 99
Digne in Provence, r
Dor-Beetles, British, 225
Dragonfly, Method of Setting, 275

Edser's Conductivity Apparatus, 276
Enlarged View of Index, 277

7

SERIES.

Quick, James, 28, 56, 90, 126, 133, 151,
167, 188, 201, 212, 217, 228, 244, 252,
268, 276, 278, 304, 515, 339, 349; 373

Read, Herbert M., 312, 342
Robertson, Edward H., 143, 159, 259
Robertson, W., V.S.,G.B.V.C., M.B.V.A.,

47
Robson, Charles, 23, 227
Rousselet, C. F., 183
Ruston-Harrison, C. W., 97

Salter, A. E., 24

Saunders, James, 166, 221, 379

Sauzé, H. A., 190

Scales, F. Shillington, F.R.M.S., 29, 57,
59, 86, 87, 124, 125, 156, 157, 181, 182,
184, 214, 215, 247, 248, 279, 280, 313,
314, 344, 346, 371, 374) 375

Sheppard, T., 24, 277

Sich, Frank, jun., 119

Silver, M., 220

Skinner, Major B. M., R.A.M.C., 163

Smith, Frank Percy, 1081 239, 308, 328, 360

Soar, Charles D.) EER: Me, 17, 44, 79,
102, 735 177, 209, 233, oe 302, 337; 363

Sopp, E . J. B., F.E.S., 82, 225, 262, 353

Sowerby, G. B., 181

Stock, T., 246

Stoyel, Aubrey C., 272

Swann, H. K., 355

Thomson, William, 220

Turner, Edwin E., gr, (47s), 159, (62s)
Turner, Henry J., 190, 287

Tutt, J. W., 272

Webb, S. Albert, 69

Webb, Wilfred Mark, 95, 128,
242, 253, 255, 285, 286, 205, 347

Wesché, W., 204

West, G., 30, 58

Weston, Lieut. D. St. A. Py, RN: 347

Wheldon, J. A., 43, 200, 362,

Wheler, BE G., 5, 48, 91, 106

Wilson, W., 238

Winstone, Flora, 28, g0, 100, 103, 127,
189, 190

Witshaw, Thos. W., 347

181, 223,

Fluoroscope Closed, 229
Extended, 220
1X orearm, Radiograph, 304
Forest, Submerged (2 figs.), 81
Fracture of Left Collar -bone, 269
Freshwater Gap, Islt of, Wight, 189
FRESHWATER Mites, BririsH—
Acercus cassidiforniis, 261
H ligulifer (2 figs.), 260
oD Uiliaceus (2 figs.), 261
Arrenurus bifidicodulus (2 figs.), 210
rs integrator, 210
Atax crassipes, 363, 364
», tavernert, “364
» Siguralis, 365
A tractides spinipe. s (4 figs.), 79
By -achypoda versicolor G figs.), goo 210
Diplodontis despiciens (4 figs.), 80
Frrontipoda musculus (3 figs.), 138, 139
Hydrachna globosa, 337, 338
1) ‘maculifera (3 figs.), 338
scutata, 338
Hydrochor eutes kramert, 209
ungulatus (4 figs.), 178
Hydrophantes dispar, 233
ruber (2 figs.), 233
LHyg rrobates longipalfis (5 figs.), 102, 163
ep RE (Gj figs. ),

. Woe (2 figs.), 138
Lebertia tauinsignita (4 figs.), 45
Limmnesia connata, 20

* histrioniea (4 figs.), 18

nN) koleniket (4 figs.), 19, 20

59 longipalpus, 19

D) maculata (3 figs.), 18

ae undulata (2 figs.), 19
Mideopsts orbicularis, 46

O.cus longisetus, 178
» strigatus ( ligs.), 7 178
1)

Pionacercus leuckarti (3 tigs.), 302
it uncinalus, 3o3
( vatra.c (2 figs.), 303

Sherchon setiger, 234
» . Sguamosus (3 figs.), 234
Teutonia primaria (4 tigs.), 44) 45
Fusicladium pirinium, 211

Giant's Tower, Gozo, 3
Globigerina from the Chalk, 12
Grove Cell, Zine of, 202

» Cells, Set of Eight, 202

Helix aspersa Mons., 181
» vermiculata Mons., 181

Biolock, Flowering Umbels and Leaves
of, 54

Heronry in Cara Balkam, 129

Hierapolis Cliff, 289

High Force, Teesdale, 371

Holocauste, Fractured Leg of, 270

Jguanodon, 307
Incandescent Lamp Resistance, 228
Txodes hexagonus (11 figs.), 107, 108
~ 4, Plumbeus (x0 figs.), 106
» reduvius (20 figs.), 6, 48, 49, 109

Jupiter, the Planet, in 1899, 27
Kvelrenteria paniculata, 180

Lake Gravel on Upturned Strata, 163
Leg Radiograph, 305

Lehfeldt’s Vapour Pressure, 276
Levy's Mercury Jet Interruptor, zor
Long-eared Owl's Nest, 245

Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex, 199

Mercury, Greatest, Least Diameter, 317
Meteoric Iron, Etched, 63
a >» _ Mass, 66, 67
Meteorite at Ochansk, 65
Ne from L'Aigle, 117
aM »» West Liberty, 117
Micrasterias votata, 2
Microscope, New Reading, 278
ai New Vernier, 252
Microscory [LLusTRATIONS—
Abbé Illuminator, 184
Achromatic Condenser, 215
Barley, Grain of, 57
Beale's Neutral Tent Reflector, 249
Béte rouge, 86
Birds, Parasite of (3 figs.), 87

Aepyornis maximus, Egg of, 220 -
Amber Mines of the Baltic, 273, 331
American Association of Science, 153
Annelids near Birmingham, 20
Ant, Alien Queen, 369
Antarctic Expedition, British, 62
Afporia crataegi in England, 159
Apple within an Apple, 342
Penacalogy in ern yehies 103
Arctic Exploration Fund, 213
Armature of Helicoid LandShells, 15, 75,
147, 174
AsTronomerS, Chapters for Young, 27,
60, 95, 123, 155, 187, 219, 251, 284, 317
Mercury, 317
Micrometer, 93
Spectroscope, 123
Sun, 155, 187, 219, 251, 284
elescope, 27, 61
Telescopic Apparatus, 93
Venus, 377
SETRONOUY, cs 60, 92, 122, 154, 186, 218,
250, 283, 316, 348, 376
Algol, Variable, New, 60, 92
Astronomical Association, British, 89
Chapters for Young Astronomers, 27,
61, 93, (23, 155, 187
Coddington’s Comet, 122
Comet (A 1900), 348
Comet, Small, 186
Double Stars, 60
x ee Guide to the Constellations,”
253
Holmes’ Comet, 60, 92, 122, 154
Isaac Newton Studentship, 348
Jupiter ue aus, Moonless, 92
rr ifth Satellite of, 92
1, in 1899, 26
Leonid Shower, Great, 186
Leonids, The, 218, 328

CONTENTS.

Mickoscory ILLUSTRATIONS —conHaued
Botterill’s Trough, 249
Carrier and Spots, 215 :
Com r, Davis Reversible, 29
Condenser, New, R. & J Beck, 29
1p Oil Immersion, 57
Davis Reversible Compressor, 29
Dissecting-stand, Home-made, 280
Eye-piece, ‘‘ Holoscopic,” 183
” Butea, 184
rs Kellner, 184
oY Micrometer, 248
Foraminifera, Apparatus for Prepara-
tion of (5 figs.), 54
House-fly, Parasite of (3 figs.), 87
Immersion Condenser, New, 156
Lens-stand, Home-made, 281
Live Box, 249 :
Microscope, British Student's, 87

Wy Continental, 88

” Diagnostic, 182

D Edinburgh Student's, 125
” Fram, 125

ns “ Histological,’ 88

” Histologist, 279

if Lamp, 249

n ‘New Medical School,” 88
aa No. 1 “‘ D.P.H.," 247

af The “ Iris,” 124
Microtome, New Cambridge Rocking,
345
Nose-piece, 248
A ew Triple, 29
Oil Immersion Condenser, 57
Side Silver Reflector, 215
Stage Forceps, 249 -
», Micrometer, 248
», Table, 30
Trough, New Microscopic (4 figs.), 58
Millimétres, Scale of, 195
Motor Mercury Interruptor, 201

Nummulitic Limestone, 165

Palaearctic Region, Map of, 3

Partridge’s Foot with Seeds, 220 |

Plectopylis, Map showing distribution of,
174

ay austent, 15

a1 biciliata, 17

3 caliginosa, 75

” clathratula var. contpressa, 75
” JSeddeni, 76

¥ Srancoist, 76

7 giardi, 76

A Shanensts, 77

1” wwoodthorpet, 16

ARTICLES, NOTES, ETC.

ASTRONOMY—continued
Mars, Double Canals in, 46
s» in 1898 and 1899, 122

», Rotation of, 26
McClean Equatorial at Cape, 122
Meteor, Beautiful, 92

a Brilliant, 218

cA Daylight, 283,
Meteors, 60, 92, 122, 154, 186, 376
Moon, Great Model of, 60
New Minor Planet, t22, 376
Paris Observatory, Nee Report, 154
Polaris with Companion, 154
Quadrantids, 283
Reflecting Telescopes, 316
Royal Astronomical Society, 316
Saturn's Ninth Satellite, 26

op Rings, Spectra of, 122
South Africa, Geodetic Survey, 122
Sun, Total Eclipse of, 60, 348, 376
Sunspots, 92
: t's Comet, 60, 92
‘Tempel's Comet, 60
Variable Stars, Observations on, 350
Visitation Day at Greenwich, 47
Wray’s Science-Gossip Telescope, 154
Yerkes Observatory Report, 307
Zodiacal Light, 316

Auricula, Glandular Hairs of, 210

Australian Scale Insects, 220

Babylon, Sociology of, 300

Balloon, Aluminium Steerable, x

Bat, Hairy-armed, ror ff

Bats in London, 232 f

Bibliography for Beginners 49

Binocular Field Glasses, 282

Birch and Alder, 140.

Birds’ Eggs, Colour
266, 362

of, 172, 200, 241,

Point-Cathetometer, 278

Pomatorhine Skua, 55

Projection BEpaTAUs, Diagram of, 187
Ptilinum, Seales of, 295

Punctograph, 135

Rabbit, Radiogram, 133
Radiograph Apparatus, 167
Radiolaria, 42

Resistance Frame, 228
Rheumatic Gout in Hand, 194
Rhytisma accrinum, a1

Samphire, rer
Scatophaga lutaria ( figs.), 294, 295
Secondary Battery, Portable form, 204
Sheep Ticks, 7
Spectroscope, MacClean's, 93, 123
Sripers, Brevis
Amaurobius similis, 239
Atypus piceus, 193
Clibionidae, Characters of, 361
+r, Eyes of, 361
Drassus lapidicolens, 329
Dysdera crocota, 399
Eyes of, 239
Prosthesima pedestris, 329
Segestria senoculata, 309
Tegenaria derhamii, 295
Spider, Foot of (magnified), 1
», Spinneret of (magnified), 1:
Sponge Spicules, 42
Stevens, Samuel, 161
Striae as Evidence of Ice Action, 158
Sun, Total Eclipse of, 284
Sunspots, 187, 219, 251

Teeth of Physa fontinalis, 243

», Lestacella haliotidea, 242
Tochi Valley, 163
The Wakes, Selborne, 21

Universal Lamp Resistance, 229

Venus, diameters of, 377
» Which is Larger? 377
Vizzanova, Forest of, 321
Grand Hotel de, 321
Weedon’s Patent Expansion Apparatus,
276
Wehnelt’s Electrolytic Interruptor, 202

X-Ray Tube, 230
Adjustable, 230
for Short Discharges, 230

” ”

Birkbeck Institution, 153
Bookshelves, Steel, 205
Books To Reav, 21, 55, 84, 120, 149, 179,
2II, 244, 275, 311, 349, 370
All about Birds, 56
America, Impressions of, 85
Applied Geology, 55
Arithmetic, Electrical Measure, 150
Bacteria, 85
Birds, All about, 56
British Breeding, 179
Glossary, British, Popular Names

of, 150 ae
Illustrated Manual of British, 55
of Breconshire, 120
of Eastern North America, 277, 311
of Humber District, 120
», Rarer British Breeding, 244
Birkbeck Institution, Calendar, 212
Book of Fields and Woods, 312
Booksellers, Directory, 150
Botanical Garden, Missouri, 179
Botany for Beginners, 277

» Practical Introduction, 150
British Flora, Origin of, 244 i

., Lepidoptera, Natural History of,

275
Buds and Stipules, 22
Canadian Experimental Farms, 212
Century Shear The, 84
_ Chats ahout the Microscope, 85
- Chemistry for Schools of Science, 312
Cheshire, Flora of, 21 |
Constellations, Easy Guide to, 283
Creation, The Witness of, 340.
Cries and Call-Notes of Wild Birds, 55
Croydon, New and Old, 3x1
Curiosities of Light and Sight, 79
Diatoms, Marine, of France and Eng-
and, 120

vi

Books TO REaAD—continued
Directory of Booksellers, 150
Dragonflies, British, 275
Eclipses, The Story of, 120
Electrical Measurements, 150
Entomological Society of Ontario, 56
Essays and Nature Studies, 150
European Fauna, History of, 149
Eyolution of Geography, The, 311
Experimental Physics, 276
Experiments on Animals, 341
Fauna, European, History of, 149
0) of Shropshire, 85
Flora of Cheshire, 21
» of Kent, 55
Flowering Plants, Grasses, &c., of Great
Britain, 150
Flowers of the Field, 370
Geology, Applied, 55
Geometry, Practical, Plane, Solid, 340
Glossary, Popular Birds’ Names, 150
Guernsey Society, Natural Science,
212
Heat for Advanced Students, 276
Hutton’s Theory of the Earth, 94
Ice, The Story of, 212
Impressions of America, 85
Insect Friends and Foes, Our, 179
Insects Injurious to Garden and Orchard
Crops, 212
» Part l1I., 84
;, their Structure and Life, 84
Journal of Researches, 341
Kent, Flora of, 55
Knowledge, The Advance of, 341
Laboratory Manual, 149
A Note-book, 341
Lancashire Sea Fisheries, 120
Larvae Collector's Guide, 212
Leicester Literary Society, 212
Lepidoptera of British Islands, 22
Life and Happiness, 341
Limurite in Tasmania, 212
Liquefaction of Gases, 244
London University Guide, 212
Man Past and Present, 179
Marine Diatoms, 120
Microscope, Chats about, 85
Microscopy, Annual of, 370
Milk: Its Nature and Composition, 22
Missouri Botanical Garden, 179
Museums Association, 120
Mycetozoa, The, 311
Mycological Society, Transactions, 212
Natural History of Selborne, 21
Naturalists’ Directory, 340
North American Rhopalocera Cata-
logue, 212
Nursery Handbook, 150
Object Lessons in Botany, 341
Optics, 244
s» Handbook of, 244
Palaeontology, Text-book of, 340
Phenomena of Nature, Some, 212
Physiology, Kirke’s Handbook, 341
KA Lessons on Elementary, 370
Plant Diseases, 211
>, Lhe Flowering, 341
Prestwich, Sir Joseph, Life, 2rr
Prize Pictures, Thornton-Pickard, 22
Proceedings, S. London Nat. Hist.
Soc., 22
Process Year Book, 179
Rambles with Nature Students, 56
Report of Department of Public Works
for N.S. Wales to June, 1898, 212
Romance of Wild Flowers, 121
Scenery, Scientific Study of, 370
Selborne, Natural History of, 21, 275
Sexual Dimorphism, 370
Shropshire, Fauna of, 85
' Slime-moulds, North American, 212
Smithsonian Institute Report, 340
South Coast Quarterly, 149
;, Eastern Union of Scientific So-
cieties for 1889, Transactions
of, 212
Stars and Telescopes, 22
Story of the Eclipses, 120
3,._ Life's Mechanism, 370
Strood, A History of, 311
Thornton-Pickard Album of Prize Pic-
tures, 22
Transactions. of the Hull
Society, 311
Vegetarianism, Logic of, 150
Volcanoes, their Structure and Signifi-
cance, 22
Wanderings of Atoms, 212
Water Birds of East North America, 277
Whales, A Book of, 311

Scientific

CONTENTS.

Books To READ—continued.
Who's Who—x1900, 244
Wild Birds, Cries and Call-Notes of, 55
», Flowers, The Romance of, r21
Wireless Telegraphy, History of, 212
Yorkshire Ramblers’ Club Journal, 212
Zoology, Elementary Course of Prac-
tical, 340
5 Manual of, 340
7 Treatise on, 370

Aecidium leucospermum, ot
Albinism in Flowers, 110, 159
Auricula, Glandular hairs of, 210
Backhouse's List, 374
Botany at Hunstanton, ros
Bryum murale, 9x
Ceratophyllum demursum in Norfolk,
221
Chamberlainia triumphans, 282
Duckweeds in Essex, 159
Fasciated Blossoms, 9x
“ Orchid, 159
Floral Aberrations, 180
Flowers, Albinism in, 110
6 August, 69
61) Aberdeen in December, 238
9 on Old Wood, 50
Hawthorn, Unusual Blooming, 232
Hunstanton, Botany at, 105
Koelrenteria in England, 180
Lamium album, Sport of, ot
Leersia aryzotdes, Unusual Form of,

159
Lord Roberts Orchid, 282
Plants Alien in Sussex, 221
», at Wells, 266
5, of Sussex and Isle of Wight, 91
Prunus, New Form of, 14
Puccinia betonicae, ot
Senecio paludosus and S. palustris in
East Anglia, 153
Teucrium botrys, 22%
Tulips and Orchids in France, 252
Wells, Plant Records for, 166
Yew, Poisonous Properties of, 221
Britain, Health Resorts of, 20
British Association, 139, 152, 342
s, Museum Catalogue of Birds, 31
Butterflies, Palaearctic Region, 1, 35, 71,
III, 144, 169, 207, 236, 263, 297, 333,
357
Aporia crataegi, 336
Doritis apollinus, 169
Hypermmnestra helios, 169
Luchdorfia puszilot, 145
Mesapia peloria, 335
Papilio alcinous, 113
4 alexanoy, 114
yar. judaeus, 114
3) orientalis, 114

” ”

” 0
o hospiton, 114
90 maackit, var. raddet, 115
a machaon, 114

var. asiatica, 114

aurantiaca, 114

7) 0) 5, centralis, 114

ab, drusus, 114

var. hippocrates, 114

kamtschatada-
lus, 114

ab. niger, 114

») wigrofasciata, 114

var. saharae, 114

ab. sphyrvus, 114

5) Watzkat, 114

” ”

0 ” ”

” ”
” ”

” ” ”

” »
» ”
” ”
” »
» 2
” podalirius,
var. feisthamelit, 113
», latteri, 114
3) MeLgit, 114
ab. undecemlineatus,
114
var. virgatus, 114
» iD ab. sanclaeus, 113
nA authus, 114
” ay) var. avuthulus, 114
Parnassius actinobulus, 208
54 actius, 208
” apollo, 206
var. hesebolus, 206
mongolica, 206
transbaicalen-
sis, 206
~ apollonius, 238
var. alpina, 238
ab. flavomaculata,

” ”
” ”
” ”

” ”

” 2)

” ”
»” ” ”

” ” ”

oy) ”
” ”

238
%) bremeri, 237
50 cardinal, 265
A charltonius, 265
¥) citvinarius, 266

BUTTERFLIES—continued.
Parnassius clayius, 297
By op var. dentata, 297
rf delius, 207
var. corybas, 208
intermedius,
208
5, .sedakoviz, 208
264
var, albulus, 264
tlustris, 265
infernalis,
264
infumata,
264
MAXIMUS,
265,
namanganus,
264
staudingeri,
264
styx, 264
a var. transiens, 264
a discobolus, 208
var. 71in07, 209
ab. 9 nigricans,

” »
” ”

»
oF delphius,
” ”

» ” ”
>» ” ”

ab

» ”
oy 7

209
Hh CUVEYSHLANNL, 298
50 Selderi, 298
29) SAESEFL, 237
Ay honrathi, 236
a6 tnsignis, 236
oA 5, var. tanschana, 236
BS MerCUFIUS, 207
30 minemosyne, 298

Ai n var, gigantea, 209
ab. melaina, 299
var. nubilosus, 299

5, ochracea, 299

yy ”
” ”
” ?

» - NOMLION, 207

» > var. nominulus,
207

» 9 yy 2OmiuS, 207

» noramtannt, 298

> » , var. minima, 298

-%) olympius, 208

” orleanst, 266

» rhodius, 236

” romanovt, 236

” S710, 238, 263

var. simonius, 238
>. 9) stmiulator, 263
A stubbendorfit, 299
op szechenyt, 266
a tenedins, 297
Pieris bieti, 358
», Sutlert, 358
», davidis, 358
» Aippia, 357
» krettnert, 357
», leucodici, 378
4. mesentina, 378
Sericinus telamon, 144 .
Var. AMUrENSIS, 144
3) JPXSENT, 144
5 a9 5, korvreana, 144
ay 3 «,, telemachus, 144
Thais Cassandra, 146
x 0 ab. flavomacula, 146
5, caucasica, 146
3 certsyt, 146
> aeyrollet, 146
ab. albidioy, 146
obscurior, 146
99 99 5) ochracea, 146
243 05 », pallidior, 146
s, medesicaste, 147
i aa ab. honoratiz, 147
», polyxena, 146
ab, bipunctata, 146
5) - », ochracea, 146
» vuniina, 146
>) 4p ab. cantenert, 147
Butterfly-collecting in Corsica, 321
i Black-veined White, 159
m0 White Copper, 220

” ”

” ”
” ”

” ”
> ” ”

” ”

Calypso’s Isle, Memories of, 33

Caprella, Larvae of, 143

Card Index, The, 77

Chalk, History of, 12, 41, 78, 115, 142
198, 235, 306, 336, 368 ,

Charlock, destroying, 372

Chigoe in Congo Region, 213

Cinchona Bark, 51

Coccidae in Australia, 162

Cockchafers, British, 253

Colour Printing, 372

Colouring of Birds’ Hggs, 172, 200, 241,

Coral Cleaning, 319

CONTENTS. Vii

CA BRALON DEK CB eal paceet Auk egy f Microscory—vontinued.
So-operative Science Collections, rt srogory, Dr. J. W., 282 Steel, Microscopical Examinatic
Exchange Clubs, 63, 128 Gheusce Br aly of Natural Research, 185 279 ; anata
Hereditary Effects of Occupations, 380 Sg Trough, New Microscope, 57
Irish Plant Names 101, 234 Health Resorts of Britain, 20 ‘Tubercle Bacillus, Stain, 247
Lassell Two-Foot Te lescope, 63 Heltx gealei Sold, 89 Volvox, How to Keep, 86
Lecturers’ Diagrams, 380 f Verafange Sold, 8&9 Wood Sections, Preparing and Mount-

Pearson's Hepaticae, 31 ry 12
Science Appointments, 63, 96, 160 Hughes, Professor D, E., Prize, 449
» _, Excursions, 3t Humming-bird Hawk-moth, 347

Variable Stars, Observations on, 451 Huxley, Professor, Statue of, 442

Wanted—A Science Censor, 64 Hybridisation, International Conference,
Counties of England, History, 372 9
Country Lore, 369 Hydrophagy and Fisheries, 199 Dinsec
Croham Hurst, 214 Fyepi
Cromwell Road Museum, 137 Insects Photographed, 23 i
Cuckoo, Nidology of, 355 Instinet in Ants, 38 Lamp, 249
Death’s-head Moths, Rearing, 319 rin Spiders, rr Liye Box, 249
Desmids, 257, 325, 359 Institution of Electrical Engineers, 9 Microscope, 59, 87, 125

Heronry in Asia Minor _ ing, 24
Microscopy for Beginners, 59, 87, 125, 157,
184, 215, 248, 280, 314, 346, 375
Heale's Neutral Tint Refec tor, 249
Botterill’s Tre

Devon, Late Spring in, 369 * International Monthly,” 282 Management, 314, 346
Diptera, Ptilinum of, 294 Trish Plant Names, 130, 191, 221, 224 Ms Stand, 59
Dresser Collection of Birds, 119

Objectives, 157

Screw for Objective, so
Stage, 59

Sub-stage Condenser, 87

Dublin Museum, Additions to, 213 July, Heat of, 89

Dumble-Dors, British, 225, 262
pane Mes), Br, 35 Fund 89 Lectures on Natural Science, 185 Tube,
Electrical Engineers, Institution of, 9 yon“ Wonders of Creation," 282 Mideopsts orbicularis, 45
' Lepidoptera, Stevens Coll., 379 Mites, British Freshwater, 17, 44, 45, 79

Emu Omelette, An, 347 1 44, 45,79)
Entomology, Economic, 366 Lepidopterous Pupae, 159 102, 138, 177; 209, 233, 260, 337, 363
Essex County School of Horticulture, 213 Lite under Other Conditions, 291, 326, 365 Acercus cassidiformis, 261
Euonymus japonica in fruit, 372 '" © Liverpool Physical Laboratory, 185 » — ligulifer, 260
Experimental Fish Culture, 282 » _‘taliaceus, 261
Field Columbian Museum, New Plants Macroglossa stellatarum, 91, 347 Arrenurus integrator, 210

yy ‘bed z ‘ he 2 Malarial Commission, 153 Atax crassifes, 363
Fi hia ve at3 Crystal Pal a8 Manganese in River-Gravels, 136 » Siguralis, 365
Foil Wen a FISH E AACE, 2 Mantis, Habits of Common, 159 \, tavernert, 364

: sin,

Killarney, Muckross Estate, 89

F.R.S., The New, 20
Fungus Foray, Yorkshire, 190

Ge phical Congress, International, 185
Geological Field Class, 372

Geologists’ Association, 347

GEOLOGY, 24, 62, 94, 119, 158, 189, 222,

246, 277, 318, 350, 378
Bovey Tracey Beds, 94
Borings in Sussex, 70 |
Brighton Cliff Formation, 25
Calcite and Aragonite, 246
Cambrian Times, Survivals from, 296
Chalk of Harefield, 246

»» Plateau Eoliths, 318

», . Water-line in, 350
Correlation of the Echinodermata 25
Cretaceous Beds of Folkestone, 119
Croydon Museum, 378
Current Bedding, 158
Davos Valley, Geology of, 25
Drift Nomenclature, 24 ;
Earthquake Shocks, Point of Origin in,

350 =
Echinodermata, Correlation of, 25

Flint Implements, Prestwich’'s, 372
Fluorspar and Calcite, Colouring Matter,

50
Folkestone Fossils, 62
Fossil Resin in the Chalk, 119
Geological Maps, Colouring, 350
in Society of London, 350

Geologists’ Association Field Meeting,62
Glacial Drift of Wheathampstead, 25
Great Crosby Boulder, 246
Ice-flow, Rate of, 119
Ightam Fissure, Fauna of, 180

rakatoa, 373
Lammellibranchs, New Carboniferous,

189

Malvern and Abbesley Hills, 350

Oldhamia, What is it? 3:8

Opal in Somerset, 246

Palaeozoic Ice Age, 318

Phosphatic Deposits, 378

Pieces, A Plea for, 158

Raised Beach at Brighton, 62

Rhine, Prehistoric, 378

Sandstone Tubes, 189, 222

Sections on Brighton Line, 1 58

Shell Deposits, Complex, 94

Stalactites, Growth of, 25

Stones, Wind-worn, 347

Strata “‘ Paper,” Formation of, 94

Striae as Evidence of Ice Action, 158,
222, 277, 318

Surrey Bourne, The, 222

Terrestrial Remains, Scarcity of, 246

Theory of the Earth, 94

Tubes, Sandstone, 189, 222

Watersheds, Ancient, in South of Eng-
land, 18

Wealden Bird, A, 62

Wheathampstead, Glacial Drift of, 25

Work of the Ouse, 24

Mashonaland, Minerals, 185
Matriculation Directory, 119
Memory, Training, 185
Meteorites, 65, 117
Microscopy, 29, 57, 86, 124, 156, 182, 214,
247) 279 313. 344, 374
Abbé Camera Lucida, 30
Achromatic Condenser, New, 29, 374
3éte Rouge of West Indies, 86
Botanical Study, Material for, 374
Cement for Glycerine Mounts, 248
Circuit Stage ‘Van Heurck'" Micro-
SCOPE, 5
Cleaning Sides, 29
Compressor, Reversible, 29
Copepoda, Microscopic Preparations of,
86
Decolorising Algae, 30
Dendritic Crystals in Paper, 183, 214
Diamond Beetles, 87
Diatoms, 86

Kyepieces, ‘‘ Holoscopic,” 183 a

Foraminifera, 8, 53, 74, 104
os from Kent, 87
Gregarinidae, 344
Haematoxylin, 86
Holoscopic Objective, Watson's, 313
House-fly, Parasites of, 124
Immersion Condenser, New, 156
Ny Objective, New din., 156
Liverpool Micro. Soc., 374
Locust Disease Fungus, 214
Malaria Parasite, 182
Manchester Microscopical Society, 156
Marine Animals, Killing and Preserving,

oO
Microphotography with Ordinary Ca-

_, meras, 183
. with Portrait Lens, 57
Microscope, Baker's Diagnostic, 182

af Crouch's ‘* Histologist,’ 279

5 Dissecting, 29
Microscopic Objects, 345
Microscopical Preparations, 124
Microtome, New Rocking, 345
New Cell for Liquid Mounts, 86
Nitrogen and N

Plants, 86 5
Nosepiece, New Triple, 2

Nummulites perforata, PNomeneincare

of, 214
Objective Changer, New, 27
Objectives, “‘ Holoscopic,” 183
Oil Immersion Condenser, 57

Parasites of House-flies and Dogs. 87,

124 ;
Ponds, Surgesics List of, 57, 86
Quekett Microscopical Club, 313
Richmond Park Ponds, 156 ©
Rotifers, Amusement in, 344
* Soloid " Microscopic Stain, 247
Spongilla lacustris, of, 313
Stage-Table, New, 30°
Standardisation of
tubes, 279

af

dé

odules of Leguminous

ib-stage and Draw-

Atractides spinipes, 79
pee versicolor, 209
Diplodontus despiciens, 80
Frontipoda musculus, 138
Hydrachna geographica, 338
globosa, 337
A maculifera, 338
oT scutata, 338
Hydrochorentes krameri, 209
Af ungulatus, 178
Hydryphantes dispar, 233
+ ruber, 233
Hygrobates longipalpis, 102
7 nigromacilatus, 138
Ay reticulatus, 138
Lebertia tauinsignita, 45
Limnesia histrionica, 17

oe koentket, 19

x longipalpus, 19
a maculata, 18
ne undulata, 19

Oxus longisetus, 178
5, strigatus, 177
Pionacercus leuckarti, 302
A uncinatus, 303
“A vatrax, 303
Sperchon setiger, 234
oF SYUAMOSUS, 234
Teutonia primaria, 44
Mivart, Dr. St. George, and his Church,
282; Death of, 372
Mollusca, 95, 181, 223, 253, 285
Arion ater, var. bocagel, 319
Bibliography for Beginners, 40
British Land Shells, Monograph of,
242, 285
Clausilia biplicata, New Locality, 181
Clausiliae, Protective Resemblance in,

95
Helices, Rock-boring, 286
Helix aspersa, Scalariform, 253
oF » _ var. exalbida, 181, 223
» fomatia in England, 95
Land-shells, Localities for, 34
o New Localities, Gauronean,

19
Limax flavus, omnes of, 253
Limnaea, Species of, 286
Mollusca in Buckinghamshire, 286
in Intermittent Streams, 286

’
yi Molluscan Fauna of Herefordshire, 253

Pulmonate Genus, A New, 223
Shell-mounting in Museums, 286
Shell Notes, 80
Shells, Essex, Colouring of, 286
Slug, New Species of, 286
Snails as Healers of Wounds, 223
Snails, Remarkably formed, 18
Sound by Mollusca, 285
Vertigo substriata, 253
Monaco Museum of Oceanography, 31
Mosses, Subspontaneous, 43
Mummies, Birds, and Mammals, 89
Museums, The New, 9
Mycological Literature, or

vill

‘Natural Science” Discontinued, 254

Nature of Life, 365

New Century, Commencement, 282

Notes and Queries, 23, 91, 127, 159, 180,
220, 319, 347, 379

Osrruary —
Allen, Grant, 205
Baumann, Dr. Oscar, 185
Beachey, Rev. Canon, 153
Berthon, Edward Lyon, 216
Blanchard, Emile, 343
Bridgeman, John, 216
Bunsen, Robert Wilhelm Eberhard, 122
Carpenter, James, 216
Castner, Hamilton Y., 185
Cones, Dr. Elliott, 282
Dawson, John William, C.M.G., LL.D.,
F.R.S., F.G.S., 216
Dowker, George, 216
Frankland, Edward, K C.B., F.R.S.,

115
Gill, W. Battershall, M.D., 312
Gregory, R. James, 254
Hewetson, Henry Bendelack, 30
Hodges, J. F., 343
Hofman, O., 372
Hogg, Jabez, 30
Howie, Charles, 119
Hughes, D. E., 312
Jones, O. G., 153
Layard, E. S., 312
Lankester, Mrs., 372
Liais, E., 376
Lloyd, Herbert, 30
Lowe, Edward Joseph, 343
Luther, Dr. Karl Theodor, 348
Milne-Edwards, 372
Myers, W. J., 216
Pamplin, William, 216
Pertana, Camara, 204
Prestwich, Lady, 153
Priestley, Sir W., 372
Prince, Charles Leeson, 30
Reed, John W., F.R.M.S., 213
Ruskin, John, 282
Smyth, Piazza, 348
Stark, Arthur C., 254
Stevens, Samuel, 161
Symons, George James, 343
Tate, Sir Henry, Bart., 254
Thorne, Sir Richard Thorne, 254 :
Tiemann, Johann Carl Wilhelm Ferdi-

nand, 216
Tissandier, Gaston, 153
Topping, Amos, 344
Vincent, Benjamin, 30
White, Wm. Farren, 216

““One Man Show,” 254
Opium, 197, 231 i
Ordnance Maps, Special, 185

Palpi of Male Spiders, 259
Petrology, 347
Photographing Insects, 23___
Photography and Natural History, 153
Phrygia, 289
Physical Apparatus, 143
Puysics, 28, 56, 90, 126, 151, 188, 217, 252,
278, 315, 349, 373
Actinium, 373 |
Arc, The Electric, 28 : :
Chloride Solutions, Refractive Indices
of, 188
Coherers, 56
Drawbridges, Electrically Operated, 151
Electric Fish of the Nile, 349
», Rail Welding, 278
Blectroplating Hulls of Vessels, 126
Flight, Artificial, 315
Fluorescent Screens, 349
a Solid Solutions, 126
Fluorspar and Calcite, Colouring Matter
of, 350 f
Glasgow Dante 217
Hydrogen, Solid, 373
Tiauction Coils, Contact Break for, 126
Insulators, Glass and Porcelain, 126
Meteorological and Magnetic Pheno-
mena, 151 ,
Micrometer, Electric, 373
Microscope, New Reading, 278
Monochromatic Light, 217
Multiple Images, 56
Newton and Optics, 126
Phosphorescence at Low Temperatures,

12 t
Photosraphic Action without Light, 28
Exhibition, National, 372
9 S. Eastern, 372
Plates, Restoration of, 151

”

”

Photography at Low Temperatures, 126

CONTENTS.

Puysics—continued,
Physics at British Association, 151, 188
"6 Problem in, 217
Physical Society in London, 217
Pilot Torpedo, 315
Point-Cathometer, A, 278
Radiator, Black, 56
Radium Rays, 373
Recorder of Photometric Readings, 56
Réntgen Rays, Printing by, 126
x ,, and Selenium, 373
Searchlights, 349
Seat of E.M.F. in a Voltaic Cell, 349
Space Telegraphy, 315
Stereoscopic Radiography, 90
Thermal Ammeter, 90
», Conductivity, Measurement, 126
Vacuum Electroscope, 373
Vernier Microscope, New, 252
Vessels, Electropating Hulls, 126
Volta’s Apparatus,
Water-pipes, Thawing with Electricity,
278
Wireless Telegraphy in South Africa,
217, 252
Plant Names, Irish, 130, 221, 224
Pleistocene Mammalia, 153
Plovers Flying at Night, 347
Polar Regions, Exploration, 153
Protection of Birds, 342

Rabbit Swimming, 220
Rainfall, British, 372
6 at Lynmouth, 369
Radiography, 133, 167, 201, 228, 268, 304,
339.
Rearing Snails in Captivity, 323
Royal Institution Lectures, 213, 254
s» Society Awards for 1899, 213
Salinity of Sea-water, 119
Saperda propulnea at Carlisle, 91
Science Abroad, 28, go, 127, 190
Acetylene Gas Generator, 28
Alaska, Situation and Climate, 190
Anthia bordasii, 90
Cactus made into Sweetmeat, 28
Coccidae, Australian, 90
Notes on, 127
Crustaceous Parasites, 127
Todine in Sea-water, 28
Land Snails of North-West America,

127
Malarial Microbe, 190
Meteorite, Fall of, 28
Olive, Growth and Culture, 190
Plague Microbe, 1g0
Rosaceae, Vegetable Parasites, go
Rotifer, A New, 127
Sugar-cane Mealy-bugs, 127
Wren, New, South American, 127
Science, Departmental Snubbing, 205
Gossip, 31, 62, 89, 119, 152, 185,
) 213, 254, 281, 312, 342
in Schools, 274
Section, Women’s International
Conference, 119
Scientific Roll, 185
Seagulls and Wind, 153
Searchlights for Fires, 349
Seeds, Dispersion of, by Birds, 220
Selborne Society Field Club Rambles, 31
Shells, Armature of, 15, 75, 147, 174
Sikkim, 97
Singing Flies, 23
Societies’ Notices, End of each Number
Societies’ Transactions, 190, 223, 255, 287,

”

”
”

319
Belfast Naturalist Field Club, 223
City of London Entomological and
Natural History Society, 190
Geological Society, 287
Geologists’ Association, 223
Glasgow Natural History Society, 319
North London Natural History Society,
255, 319
Royal Meteorological Society, 255, 287
Selborne Society, 223
South London Entomological and Na-
tuial History Society, 190, 287
Windsor and Eton Scientific Society,
255
Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, Myco-
logical Section, 190
South London Society Excursions, 89
South. To Find Due, 204
Spiders, British, 193, 239, 308, 328, 360
Amaurobius fenestralis, 310
” Sev 0x, 310
aD similis, 310
A typus beckit, 240
— lackwallii. 240

Sprpers, BririsH—continued.
Atypus piceus, 240
Clubiona brevipes, 361

coerulescens, 361

compta, 361

corticalis, 360

os diversa, 361
50 grisea, 360

os holosericea, 361
Zutescens, 360
neglecta, 360
pallidula, 360
56 reclusa, 360
53 subtilis, 361
terrestris, 360
3 trivialis, 36%

Dictyna arundinacea, 308

1 latens, 308

5 lugubris, 308

a pusilla, 308
uncinata, 308
variabilis, 308
wiridissimta, 308
Drassus blackwalliz, 330

5 braccatus, 330

» Cupreus, 330

” delinguens, 330
>, Serrugineus, 330
m7 infuscatus, 330

a lapidicolens, 330
a Minor, 330

9 pubescens, 330

Bs reticulatus, 330
* silvestris, 330

oF, troglodytes, 330
Dysdera cambridgii, 310
2 crocota, 310
Evesus cinnabarensis, 249
Gnaphosa anglica, 330
» lucifuga, 330
40 lugubris, 330
es suspecta, 330
Harpactes hombergiz, 310
Hyptiotes paradoxus, 308
Lethea albispiraculis, 309
», Aumilis, 309
+ mengit, 309
» Patula, 309
» puta, 309
+ Spinigera, 309
3, sudbniger, 309
Oonops pulcher, 328
Prosthesima electa, 329

a latitans, 329
4 latreilliz, 329
” longipes, 329
A lutetiana, 329
=) nigrita, 329

pedestris, 329
mA eLIVEV I, 321
Si hocibbeiek eee 2 3 ES
Scytodes thoracica, 328
Segestria bavarica, 310
3, Stlorentina, 310
D senoculata, 310
Uloborus walckenaerius, 308
Spiders, Palpi of Male, 259
Story of Photography, 185
Sturgeons Captured, 89
Submerged Forests near Hoylake, 81
Subspontaneous Mosses, 43
Surrey Bourne, 222
Swallows, Arrival, 369, 379
Syrphidae, Cause of Singing, 127

”

“Tandem Butterflies,” 39
Tanganyika, Lake, Exploration of, 31
Tanpits attracting Moths, 119
Teapot, Scientific, 213
Ticks and ‘‘ Louping-Ill,” 5, 48, 106
Tochi Valley, Foraminifera of, 164

5, River, Valley of, 163
Transactions (see Societies)

Universities, Parliamentary Representa-
tives of, 281

Vegetarianism, 234

Vespa austriaca in Northumberland, 226
Victoria Technical Schools, 153

Viper and Grass Snake Fraternizing, 159
Visitation Day at Greenwich, 47

Wasps and Moths, 272 ’
»,. Eating Insects, 328

Whales, Bottle-nose, 89

Wicken Fen, Purchase, 3r- = | *

Women as Fellows of Scientific Societies,
282, 350 sacle eee -

Woodlice, Notes on, 295

Woodlouse, New British, 254 -

Woodward, Dr. Henry, 153°

SCIENCE-GOSS/P. v

§. Louis's Students’ Mounted Objects,

FOR THE MICROSCOPE.
ANATOMICAL AND ZOOLOGICAL,

Series of 6 slides
BOTANICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS,
Serics of 6 slides, 48

These are all first-class slices, and are quite equal to those sold at
rs. and is. 6d. each Chey will illustrate:—The Srupy of
Anim au Cetis & Tissurs. Tie VecerauLe Gaul Conte

or C&LLsS. VaASscULA ti es, STEMS AND LeAvgEs, &

These are all superior to the S, Louis's series, which were

eagerly sought after when issued a few years ago.

SOLE AGENT—
W. WEST, 26 Woodville Terrace, BRADFORD.

LOUIS'’S MICROSCOPICAL OBJECTS.

24 Series, Unmounted, of CLEANED Diatoms, r2 tubes in each
Series, 4s. per Series. 5 Series of 24 Foraminiferous Sands at 2s
each, § Series of 24 Microfungi at 2s. eacl
tions of Woods, 2s. each. 18 Spicules of
of Sponges as. 18 Objects from Bx
as. 18 Sections of Horns, Hools, §
as. (2 series). 24 Scales and Skins of I
of 24 Miscellaneous Non-botanical Objects, 2
24 Miscellaneous Botanical Objects, &c. &e

18 SPICULES OF SPONCES. MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS
Series xliii.—2s. (BOTANICAL).

Renicra cratera. Series Ixvii.—2s.

Leuconia aspera. Abies pecting se a Tr.

Hymeniacidon caruncula. Salix alba T.

Pachymatisma Johnstonii. Pinus pinaster r ir,

Halichondria incrustans. Juniperus oxyce sis Eas.

Chalina oculata. Picea excelsa L.

Ue e rsigera Dec lorised les af, ae Circea

Jutetiana. &o.

W. WEST, 26 Woodville Terrace, BRADFORD.

Send Stamp for detailed List of 76 different Series.

24 Hairs of
and Kishes. 2S
each. 12 Series ol

SEND FOR OUR ————
Mlustrated Catalogue

MICROSCOPES

AND APPARATUS
Post Free to Readers of Science-Gossip.
MOUNTED SPECIMENS.

Specially prepared for Teaching purposes.—A Speciality.
SERIES|I. Illustrating Elementary Botany.
SERIES Il. : the Life Histories of Plants.

Either Set, 72 Slides, £3 3 O.

Special Set illustrating the Anatomy of the Frog.
COC. BAKER, Lvablished 1765,
244 High Holborn, LONDON, W.C.
SE a od SE

aaa SWIFT & SON,

Manufacturing Opticians.

SOLELY APPOINTED TO THE A.M. Dept.
WAR OFFICE, FOR THE SUPPLY
or Microscopes

Patent form of Student’s Micro-
scope, fitted with 2/3" and 1/é
Pan-Aplanatic Objectives, Iris
Diapbragm and Oculars, in Case,
from £5 5s.

These Instruments we have sup-
plied in numbers to the following
Medical Schools, viz., St. Mary's,
St. Bar holomew’s, ( suy *s, M iddle-
sex, London, and Sr. Thomas's.

fae Seven Gold Medals

manufacture.
Catalogue on Application.

81 TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD, W.

awarded for excellence of

Microscopical and Lantern Slides,

Illustrative of every department of

ZOOLOGY,
BOTANY

AND

GEOLOGY,

AT THE UNIFORM RATE OF

PER GS. voz.

The Student's Series of 48 Preparations

in Elementary and Advanced BOTANY, sent out

packed in rack boxes at £1 Is. net, post free. This

Series contains fourteen TYPE PREPARATIONS,

which can only be supplied separately at 1s. to
1s. 6d. per slide.

ANATOMY OF THE DEADLY NIGHTSHADE.
ATROPA BELLADONNA.

T. and L. S. of Tap root tm 1S. for the Entire
T. S. Secondary root .. my Gd, one ee
T. and L. S. Stem o. oe Ss "Slides,
DS ! A 2 6d. 45. post free.
T.Sor od. [

POSER 6d. Lantern Slides
TS 6d. } of this Series,
T.S 1s. 6d. per Slide,

Stem Structure, Leaf Structure, Floral
Structure, Ovaries, Fruit, Seeds, Plant
Hairs, Scales and Glands, 6s. per dozen.

Set Slides of Foraminifera, 9d. to 1s. per Slide.

Sections of Cotton, Flax, Hemp, Jute, China
Grass, Wool and Silk, &e., at 1s. per Slide.

BRAZILIAN LIANAS.

A Serles of Twelve Preparations, beautifully Double
Stained, at 9d. per Slide, or the entire Series
6s. Post free.

MICROSCOPICAL AND LANTERN SLIDE
CIRCULATING LIBRARY.

Slides to the number of 300 per year, sup-
plied in sets as required by subscribers, will be sent,
post paid, for the Annual Subscription of
£1 1s. payable in advance.

The slides will be sent one or two days prior to
the day of the lecture or exhibition, and must be
returned ¢he day Sollowing the lecture, post paid.
Special post boxes will be provided for this
purpose, which will obviate the usual trouble of
packing.

The whole of my very extensive stock will beat
the disposal of subscribers, and Lists of Additions
to it will be sent from time to time.

ABRAHAM FLATTERS,

Gold Medallist in Natural Science,

i6 & 18 Church Road, Longsight,
MANCHESTER.

Preparer of Textile Fibres and Demonstrator in
Microscopy to the Manchester Municipal
Technical School.

tar Send for Lists, &c., free per post.

‘ . ae 4

vi SCIEN CE-GOSSIP.

THE NATURALIST:

(Originally founded 1833.)

A Monthly Journal of Natural History for the Northern Counties
of England, viz, —Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Lincoln-
shire, ‘Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, West-
moreland, Cumberland, and the Isle of Man.

Conducted by—W. Denison Roebuck, F.L.S., with the assistance
of J. Gilbert Baker, F.R.S., F.L.S. W. Eagle Clarke, F.L.S.,
M.B.O. Ur Alfred Harker, M.A., F. Gas ; Charles P. Hobkirk,
IQSIURSY, § George T. Porritt, F.LS., F.ES.; and W. Barwell
Turner, F.R.M.S.

Monthly, Sixpence ; by post, Sevenpence.

Annual Subscription, Six Shillings and Sixpence, post free.

All Communications to be addressed--The Editors of “‘ The
Naturalist,” 259, Hyde Park Road, Leeds.

The Irish Naturalist.

A Monthly Journal of General Trish Natural History.
BOTANY. ZOOLOGY. GEOLOGY
Edited by Geo. H. Carrenver, B.Sc., and
R. Liroyp Praecer, B.A.

This Magazine should be in the hands of all Naturalists interested
in the distribution of animals and plants over the British Islands

Dusiin: EASON & ON, . 40, Mowensa ville Street, to which
address subscriptions should be sent.
London: Simpkin Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co.

The Entomologist’s Record & Journal of Variation.

An Iilustrated Monthly Magazine of General Entomology.
BDIDED BY, J. (We eDU I SAEs.
Assisted by H. St. J. K. DONISTHORPE, F.Z,S., F.E.S.
(Coleoptera),and MALCOLM BURR, F.Z.S., F.E.S. (Orthoptera).

Published on the r5th of -each month Recency enlarged to
28 pages. Double numbers post free to Subscribers. Subscription
price 7s. per volume (including Special Index, with every reference
to aberrations, varieties, species, genera, &c.).

The articles are written by the first entomologists of the day.

Each month are numerous short notes under following heads :—
“Coleoptera,” ‘‘ Orthoptera,’’ ‘‘ Scientific Notes and Observations, ”
“Life-histories, Larvae, &c.," ‘‘ Variation,” ‘‘ Notes on Collecting,”
“* Practical Hints—Field Work for the Month,” ‘‘ Current Notes,”
‘“ Notices of Books,” &c.

To LIBRARIANS AND OTHERS.—-A FEW complete sets of the back
Volumes are on sale at 7s. 6d. per Volume. Sfectal /ndexes at 1s.
each (those for Vols. I. and II. are out of print)—Subscriptions to
H. E. Pace, F.E.S., “‘ Bertrose,’’ Gellatly Road, St. Catherine's
Park, London, S.E.

ILLUSTRATED
Subscription, $1.00 per year, Foreign, $1.25.
ISSUED MONTHLY.

The Journal deals only with the practical side of
microscopical technique and apparatus. It contains a
large amount of original matier from the best writers in
all the fields in which the microscope is used. Reviews,
abstracts and notices of foreign literature put the reader
in touch with the whole field of foreign and domestic
work. While the most advanced methods are recorded,
there are series of articles specially for beginners.

SAMPLE Corres MaiLep FREE.

moe. APPLIED MICROSCOPY

P. O. Drawer, 1033.
RO@RMES IER, Ne We

TO FIELD NATURALISTS.

GHANKLIN, I. of W.—BOQARDING HOUSE near SEA.
Billiard and Bath Rooms. Private Sitting Room if required.
Cycle accommodation. Miss ‘ALICE GIBSON, Sconeycroft.

ws" Shanklin offers capital opportunities for ‘the study of the

Lower Greensand beds, and is within easy walking distance of the

well-known Tertiary beds of Whitecliffe Bay. It is false a convenient

centre for studying the Botany and Entomology of the Island, and
is in close proximity to the well-known scenery of the Landslip and
the Undercliff.

WE The house is recominended by the Geological Editor of ‘' S.G.”

ee

THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY’S CARDENS,
REGEHENT’S PARK.
Are OPEN DAILY (except Sundays), from 9 a.m. till Sunset.
Admission 1s. ; on Mondays, 6d. ; Children, 6d.

—————— Ee
ROYAL BOTANIC SOCIETY'S GARDENS,
REGENT’S PARK.

GARDENS OPEN DAILY from 9 a.m. to Sunset. SUNDAYS
Hom 2 ea to Sunset. Admission by Orders from Fellows of the

Society only.

B.A. and B.Sc. EXAMS.
MATRICULATION, INTERMEDIATE, FINAL.

PREPARATION by CORRESPONDENCE and ORAL
TUITION on a THOROUGHLY INDIVIDUAL SYSTEM.
Fees based on success.

The STAFF includes Graduates of Oxford, Cambridge, London,
and Royal Universities, Science Medallists, Prizemen, Scholars, &c.

SINGLE SUBJECTS TAKEN: Latin, Greek, French,
German, Mathematics, Science, Logic, Psychology, Political
Economy, &c.

For terms, &c., address Mr. J. CHartesTon, B.A. (Lond. and
Oxon.), The Burlington Classes, 27 Chancery Lane, London, W.C.

Monthly, Price 2d.

The Cheapest Natural History Magazine. Mailed free to any
part of the World, per annum es. 6d.
A Specimen Copy will be sent by JoHN Batt, Sons, and
Danietsson, Lrp., 83-89, Great Titchfield Street, W.,
on receipt of rd. stamp for postage.

NATURE NOTES: *° “‘tagazines°""

Edited by G. S. Boutcer, F.L.S., F.G.S., Professor of Botany

and Geology, City of London College,

NATURE NOTES is intended to be a record of progress
—progress in the love of Nature, in the knowledge of natural
objects, and in the war to be waged in defence of the beauties of
Nature against their more or less avowed exterminators. The
object of the Selborne Society is to unite lovers of Nature for
common study, and the defence of Natural Objects (Birds,
Plants, beautiful Landscapes, &c.) against the destruction by
which they are so constantly menaced. The sintsu2 Annual
Subscription (which entitles subscribers to a Monthly copy of the
Society's Magazine) is 5s. All particulars as to Membership may
be obtained from the SECRETARY OF THE SELBORNE SOCIETY, 20,
Hanover Square, W.

JOHN BALE, SONS, & DANIELSSON, Ltd.,
83— 89; Great Titchfield Street, London, W.

COLLECTIONS OF

MINERALS, SHELLS, FOSSILS, &e.

For SALE. Also DUPLICATES cheap.

4ppyto IX, WM. HELE,
Warwick Lodge, KNOWLE, near BRISTOL.

MINERALS. ROCKS AND FOSSILS.

Collections for Students.

Carefully labelled and arranged in Boxes with Card’ Trays.
50 Minerals, 12s. 6d. ; 1co do. 21S. ; 200do. 42s.
Rocks and Fossils at similar prices.
goo Minerals in Cabinet, £4 4s. ; 4oo do. £5 12s. 6d.
Catalogues Post Free.

THOMAS D. RUSSELL,

78 NEWGATE STREET, LONDON, E.C.

CHARLES JEFFERY 5 ee ca neeaaeer ae,

TETBURY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE,
Has for sale a very large and reliable stock of British BIRDS’
EGGS, SKINS, SHELLS, LEPIDOPTERA, &c., at low
prices; also all kinds of APPARATUS and REQUISITES
for use of Entomologists, Oilogists, Taxidermists, &c.
ESTABLISHED I6 YEARS. PRICE LISTS FREE.

Electrical Catalogue 6d. post free.
Mechanical Catalogue 6d. post free.

Lecture Table Switchboard.
Tr. TAMBLYN-WATTS,

SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS MAKER,
GOLDIELANDS, SETTLE, YORKS,

markings which I have always noticed in mor? are
quite absent in the specimens sent. This may be
within the variation of the species, and it would seem
safe, for the present at least, to refer your orange
Specimens to ort.” While T think it is not improb-
able that we have to do with a distinct, and new,
Species, it will not be amiss to follow Professor
(Juaintance’s suggestion for the present.

At present the creatures are not nearly abundant
enough in Mesa to make it worth while to take mea-
sures against them.

Other species of A/eurodes were found on ash at
Phoenix and on maple at Mesa, but they were not
numerous enough to do any harm, They are the
red-banded vine-hopper (Décraneura cockerellé Gil-
lette) and the variegated vine-hopper (7iphlocyba
wilnerata Fitch). These two species of vine-hoppers
were observed to be common on the grape-vines at
the experiment station at Phoenix, Arizona, October
9th. The red-banded species was the more abun-
dant. It is of a light yellow colour with greenish
eyes, thorax marked with orange; wings with a
broad oblique irregular band of the brightest red
and a small black spot not very far from the end.
The variegated species has a darker tint, being varie-
gated or marbled with white, dull red and grayish.
The banded species was also common at Mesa. In
the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico the vine-hoppers
are Dicraneura cockerelli and Typhlocyba coloradensis,
but in the Salt River Valley 7: ve/nevata takes the
place of 7: coloradensis.

Tt is not usually worth while to take any measures
against these insects in New Mexico, and probably
they are no more troublesome in Arizona. It is de-
sirable, of course, to collect and burn up all the
leaves and trash about the vineyards in the winter,
so as to get rid of the hibernating hoppers.

Tue Locust-TREE SHIELD-SCALE.

The typical form of this scale (Zecanium robini-
arum Douglas), on locust, was not observed ; but
what must be regarded as a variety of it was found in
Phoenix on.osage-orange and pepper tree. The scale
is very convex, dark brown, hard, about or nearly a
quarter of an inch long. So far as observed, it was
not abundant enough to call for. remedial measures.
Mr. P. J. Parrott, of the Kansas Agricultural College,
has been so good as to prepare a description of the
Phoenix specimens, which is given herewith for the
use of entomologists.

* Lecanium(Eulecanium) robiniarum, var. Female,
5 to 6 mm. long; 4mm. wide; 3 to 4 mm. high;
hemispheroidal, chestnut-brown, somewhat shining,
which is often concealed by a slight frosting. Some
Specimens are quite smooth and retain their form
without foldings, while others are plicate and pitted.
Specimens boiled in caustic potash give a reddish-
brown colouring matter, and do not bleach readily.
Mouth-parts prominent. Antennae and legs are
apparently deciduous. The antennae -are seven-

SCIENCE-GOSSTP. 307

jointed, the third joint being the longest, and th
sixth the shortest.
of one antenna were as
(1) 49; (2) 28; (3) 70; (4)
(7) 35 Formula 372546. L
slender, measuring as follows :
with trochanter, 119-140; tibia, 70-105; tarsus,
56-70 ; claw, 12-21 micromillimeters.

**These descriptions from specimens from osage-
orange agree with the typical Z. rodiniarum in the
fine punctuation along the lateral margin, and in the

The measurements of the joints
, in micromillimeters ;
20; (5) 21; (6) 14;
small and

follow

rather
coxa, 70-91 ; femur

presence of the large gland pits, but differ from it
in that the tesselature is very marked, particularly
along the margin. Specimens from pepper tree
(Schinus molle) present several slight differences,
They average about 5 mm. in length, 4 mm. in
width, and from 3°5 to 4 in height. The flatter
specimens resemble those of the osage-orange very
closely, while the more convex specimens are quite
smooth, and less shiny, and possess little or no
frosting. Boiled in caustic potash they give a
reddish-brown colouring matter, and become very
transparent. Legs and antennae are not easily
obtained. The antennae are seven-jointed ; the seg-
ments measure as follows in micromillimeters :—
(1) 143 (2) 46; (3) 793 (4) 255 (5) 233 (6) 233
(7) 41. Formula 3274 (56). The measurements of
the parts of the legs are as follows :—coxa, 70; femur
with trochanter, 140; tibia, 98; tarsus, 70; claw,
20 micromillimeters.” (P. J. Parrott.)

THE OLIVAcEOUs Locus?T.

A variety of Melanoplus olivaceus Bruner (MS.
Scudder) was found in Mesa and Phoenix in October
on the orange-trees; but so far as observed, not
abundant enough to do any serious damage. The
typical AZ. ofivaceus is from Los Angeles, California ;
the Salt River Valley insect is a distinct variety or
sub-species, having the following characters :—Male
cerci not quite so broad at apex as in type. Lateral
angles of pronotum with a more or less well-defined
narrow pale stripe, edged below with black; dise of
pronotum varying from dark olivaceous to a more
ferruginous tint, and the transverse sulci are usually
marked out in lighter colour. Femora largely scarlet
on the inner side. This must not be confused with
M. thomasi, from which it is easily known by the
paler, nearly uniform colour and measurements. The
female J/. thomasi has short tegmina, not reaching
the tip of the abdomen. The following measure-
ments are in millimeters :—

. Hind
if pet Tegmina femora
M. olivaceus, type; male.. «+. 23 20 13 3/4
ay y female “a 29 25 1/2 15 3/4
ny Arizona variety ;
male.. 28 24 16
oy “FF female 38-42 26 1/2-29 20-21
M. thomasi,from Tularosa,N.M.,
male.. 31 23 17
° female 35-40 22 1/2-23 18-19

368

A HISTORY OF CHALK.
By Epwarp A. Martin, F.G.S.

(Continued from page 337.)

‘pee Upper Greensand has been divided by Dr.

Barrois into two zones—viz. the zone of
Pecten asper above, and the zone of Ammonites
wflatus below. Taken as a whole, it may be said to
consist of clays and sandstones, with thin bands of
calcareous grit known as Chloritic Marl; this latter
contains an abundance of phosphatic nodules. The
Chloritic Marl may be held to represent the pro-
duct of the action of an advancing sea. As erosion
went on, fossils derived from strata undergoing the
process found their way into the Marl forming.
According to Murray and Renard (‘* Deep Sea De-
posits,” p. 396), phosphatic nodules tend to accumu-
late where currents meet, and it is well to bear this
in mind in connection with the many nodular layers
in the Cretaceous formation. If a shore on which
an influx of currents played were undergoing depres-
sion, the result would be that the layers of nodular
Marl forming would represent different phases of time,
and as in the case of the Chloritic Marl of the West
of England, would contain fossils proper to various
zones. It has been estimated that at the shallowest
the Marl was laid down in about 100 fathoms of
water.

The Chloritic Marl derives its name from the
grains of glauconite scattered throughout the Marl.
The particles are of a dark olive-green colour, and
are of a crystalline nature. In chemical composi-
tion they consist chiefly of silicates of aluminium and
magnesium, and usually contain a proportion of iron.
This Marl constitutes a basement bed to the chalk.
Jukes-Browne says:—‘‘ There is evidence of strong
current action at this epoch, and these currents seem
to have swept away portions of the deposits where
they formed the sea-bottom, sifting the soft marls
and sands, washing out such fossils as were hardened
by the deposition of phosphate of lime, and incor-
porating them in the basement-bed of the new
formation. In the South of England it contains
fossils derived from the Pecten asper zone ; but in
Bedford and Cambridge the derived fossils have been
obtained from the gault, and the bed is sometimes
called the Cambridge Greensand.” The Cambridge
Greensand is a coprolitic bed, and where it occurs
the gault proper is but a few feet thick ; whilst the
Greensand is crowded with fossils, both derived and
otherwise. Nodules of phosphate of lime are in such
abundance as to have been largely worked for arti-
ficial manure.

In a similar way to that in which, as we have
already seen, the remains of animals are even now,
in our existing seas, being enveloped at certain depths
in oxide of manganese, so here, as the sea became
shallower, animal remains became phosphatised and
were imbedded in the deposit forming ; along with

SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

boulders from neighbouring shores where the older
rocks of slates, schists, and granites were exposed.

The Cambridge Greensand is remarkable for the
evidence that it affords, by its included fragments of
various rocks, of the source from which it has been
derived. The currents that brought together the
derived material of the bed also brought fragments
of basalt, granite, felstone, sandstones, quartzite
and slate, with an occasional piece of limestone.
Mr. Whitaker suggested in his ‘‘ Geology of London ”
that these fragments were derived from a tract of
land off our eastern coasts, which, before the Chalk
was laid down, formed an exposed area and suffered
denudation at the time. Also from the nature of these
fragments we may be fairly certain that the then-
exposed area was one of ancient palaeozoic rocks.
In a boring at Culford, 25. miles from Cambridge,
palaeozoic rocks have since actually been found
immediately beneath the Gault Clay. It is possible,
as Jukes-Brown points out, that the derived nodules
of the Cambridge Greensand may have been ob-
tained rather from the Gault, which probably exists
underground in the neighbourhood of Cambridge,
and nearer to their present home; whilst on the
erosion of the Gault they became transferred to the
bed that was forming, and which we now call the
Cambridge Greensand.

While the Gault and the Upper Greensand were
being deposited in the east, a local deposit was
taking place in Dorsetshire and Devonshire, that has
been termed the Blackdown Greensand. A corre-
sponding depression to that of the Gault Sea was in
existence here, although, perhaps, not to the same
extent. This bed is probably of the same age as
part of the Gault, and the Upper Greensand, and is
deposited unconformably upon Triassic beds.

The greater part of eastern England must have
sunk beneath the waters of the Gault Sea, but unlike
the conditions of sea and land areas in the true
Chalk age, Wales probably was still dry land, as
well as the north-west of England. A change, how-
ever, came over the land in these parts. The
shallowing of the Gault Sea, which altered the
character of the deposit from a clay (Gault) to a sand
(Upper Greensand), did not continue until the
succeeding Greensand was actually raised above the
ocean. There is no palaeontological break between
the Upper Greensand (Chloritic Series of Lyell) and
the early Chalk beds, so we may safely assume that
deposition went on continuously. The land, too,
after possibly remaining almost stationary for a long
period, commenced to sink. The Lower Chalk beds
then began to be formed. With these we propose to
deal separately.

(Zo be continued.)

THE Jubilee Celebration Meetings of the Royal
Meteorological Society were most successful, and
included commemoration meeting, conversazione,
excursion to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and
a dinner.

SCIENCE-GOSSTP.

COUNTRY

Niza Xi)

eg ®

ALIEN QUEEN AN’. —The ants concerned in the
following account belong to two common species.
The one is Zasius niger, the small brown-black ant
that builds its nests in gardens and in hedgerows.
The other, Z. «mébratus, a fairly common species,
though not so frequent as Z. méger, is often over-
looked, owing to the resemblance its workers bear to
that commonest of all English ants, the yellow
L. flavus. In August, 1896, I had in captivity a
nest of Z. niger, which through an accident lost its
queen, that had been injured in moving the nest.
The ants still crowded round the dead body for
three weeks, when it was brought out of the nest and
thrown away. The nest being a flourishing one, I
was desirous of getting it a queen; but, knowing the
almost entire refusal of all ants to accept a new
queen, I was at a loss as to what should be done.
Thad at the timea solitary fertile female Z. wnbratus,
and finding that when placed in a box with several
L. niger workers she was not attacked, I put her into
the queenless nest of Z. niger. It might be men-
tioned that the female Z. wdratus is not at all like
the female Z. miger, the latter being larger, darker,
and of a different form. Nevertheless the little black
ants received the strange queen with ‘‘ open arms,”
and she was very shortly established as queen of the
nest. To anyone acquainted with ants’ habits, this
event will appear extraordinary enough. During
the year 1897 all the eggs and larvae left by the old
queen hatched, the last brood of larvae living
through the winter; but in that year and the next,
though I paid careful attention to the nest, I was
unable to trace any of the offspring of the Z. wnbratus
queen to maturity. As the workers of Z. wmbratus
are bright yellow, and those of Z. wer are black,
there is no possibility of confusing the two. During
the next year, 1899, however, numbers of the
L. umbratus workers hatched, over 300 being ob-
served by me to hatch. They were assisted by the
L. niger workers. All of these young ants were
either killed at once and eaten, given to the larvae
as food, or killed after a few hours’ duration. Some
very few were allowed to live for a day, and others
were carried out of the nest either before hatching
or immediately afterwards, and thrown into the
surrounding water-ditch. Owing to this sudden
influx of unnatural food, the nest refused food of
other kinds for some days. I had noticed that the
queen paid peculiar attention to the larvae before
they changed to pupae, examining them and licking
them—a rather unusual proceeding for a queen ant.
Perhaps she feared for them in the midst of barbarous
strangers. I rescued about thirty of these young
L. umbratus workers, and about the same number
of pupae, and formed a small nest, giving them a
young fertile Z. wmératus queen which I had found
previously. This small nest was augmented by
occasionally taking pupae from the nest of Z. niger,
and placing them outside, the workers carrying them
inside. Among these pupae I once put about a
dozen pupae of the little black ants, Z. xéger, and
was surprised to find that the Z. sbratus workers

309

carried them in as readily as those belonging to their
own species. However, these dozen pupac, before
being opened, were kept longer in the nest than was
pact them, and in consequence nearly all were
dead when taken out. These the 2. wmbratus
workers used for food; but I noticed one or two
alive that lived for a day or two, afterwards dis-
appearing. When all the pupae had hatched, two
black ants were left alive, and lived amicably in the
nest all the winter, their black colour showing a
sharp contrast to the bright yellow of their hosts.
One of them—the smaller—mingles freely with the
others, and crowds with them round the queen. The
other—a large ant—always holds aloof, and once or
twice I saw it attacked for a short time by a
L, umbratus worker. In February of the present
year, when the ants, kept in a warm room,
began to be active and to require food, I saw no
workers of JZ. umbratus feeding outside their
nest. Thinking that they must require food I kept
a close watch upon them, and found that about eight
o'clock every morning the larger Z. niger came out
to the honey and fed, afterwards returning to the
nest and feeding the Z. wébratus ants. I never saw
the other #7ger come out, nor any LZ. umbratus.
This arrangement still goes on, but I have not seen
the Z. niger feeding the queen; probably the ants of
her own species alone do that. It might be sug-
gested that the rightful owners of the nest compel
the solitary ant, as their slave, to work for them ; but
I suspect the reason lies in the greater activity of
L. niger, the L. umbratus being timid and rather
sluggish, not caring to venture out so early in the
year. The former case of a L. wbratus queen in a
nest of Z. #zger is interesting as throwing a light on
slavery and the case of the extraordinary ant Anergates.
If in this nest the young workers of ZL. umbratus
should ever be allowed to live, they would quickly
outnumber the Z. niger, who would practically
become their slaves.—(Aev.) MV. Cecil Crawiey,
Oddington Rectory, near Oxford.

LATE SPRING IN Nor?tTH DEvoN.—This spring
of 1900 is one of the most backward on record for
many years past. Cold easterly and northerly winds
predominated during February, March, and until the
middle of April. Swallows were not scen until the
17th of the latter month, when four crossed this
village hurriedly from east to west, as though still on
migration. Up to this, April 19th, not any other
summer migratory bird has been seen, excepting a
fine wheatear in breeding plumage. It sometimes
happens in this district that summer almost leaps from
lagging spring when it has been cold as this season.
This year we have missed those days when, as
Tennyson sang in ‘‘ Sir Launcelot and Queen Guine-
vere,” ‘‘ The maiden Spring upon the plain Came in
a sunlit fall of rain.” By the way, when the sun
shines through rain in these parts of the country, the
peasantry call it a monkey’s birthday Can anyone
suggest the origin of the expression? The rainfall
recorded during February last by Mr. T. H. Briggs
in the raingauge on the lawn of Rock House, Lyn-
mouth, was exceptional, being so high as 7°81 inches
that fell on the nineteen days when it rained. During
the previous two Februarys the fall was on twenty-one
days in 1898=2-62 inches, and in 1899 on twelve
days 4°34 inches fell. Not any but hybernated
butterflies have yet been seen, and these included
the ‘‘ brimstone ” (Gonapteryx rhamnz), tortoise-shell
and peacock butterflies ( Vanessa urticae and I. io).
Wild flowering plants are generally backward.—/ohn
7. Carrington, Lynmouth.

Ai SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

NOTICES BY JOHN T. CARRINGTON.

Flowers of the Field. By the late C. A. JOHNs,
B.A., F.L.S. 29th Edition. Re-written by G. S.
Boutcer, F.L.S., F.G.S. lii. +926 pp., 7 in.
x5 in., with numerous illustrations. (London :
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1899.)
7s. 6d.

A new flora of British plants is welcome.
Although this is the 29th edition, it is practically
new, as Professor Boulger has re-written and revised
the entire volume. It is also enlarged and some-
what altered. It thus becomes, under Professor
Boulger’s charge, a book to be relied upon, which could
hardly be said previously. In its new form ‘‘ Flowers
of the Field” will be found a useful book for the
beginner in the study of field botany and for the
lover of plants generally. We dislike to find fault,
but in trying to get conciseness the author has
carried that generally desirable quality almost too
far in his omission of the distribution of plants ;
there is hardly any indication in what British region
some very local plants may be found.

The Story of Lifes Mechanism. By H. W.
CONN. 219 pp., 6 in. x 3% in., with 50 illustra-
tions. (London: George Newnes, Limited, 1899.)
Is.

As an example of the present condition of public
opinion this small. book is instructive. Even within
our own lifetime the publication in shilling form of
the information contained herein would have raised a
violent protest from those who arrogated to them-
selves the direction of that which was to be read by
the young. The author deals largely with the lower
forms of life, embryology and evolution, —

Sexual Dimorphism in the Animal Kingdom. By
J. T. Cunnincuam, M.A. xi. + 317 pp., 9 ine x
6 in., with 32 illustrations. (London: Adam and
Charles Black, 1900.) 12s. 6d. net.

In this book Mr. Cunningham, so well known for
his investigations among our marine fishes, has worked
out the theory of the evolution of secondary sexual
characters. To quote from the introduction: ‘‘ The
essentials of animal existence are the acquisition of
food, the escape from enemies, and the generation of
offspring. Under different conditions these objects
are attained in different ways. In the most familiar
animals we observe in the bodily structure striking

‘and complicated mechanisms for attaining them.

Such co-ordinated structural adjustments are called
adaptations. The study of the modes in which the
structure of the bodies of animals enables them to
maintain their existence leads to two great questions :
(1) Is everything in structure essential or advan-
tageous to the maintenance of life? ; (2) What is the
cause by which adaptations are produced?” This is
the basis of Mr. Cunningham’s inquiry. He extends
it to the differences between closely allied animals
and even individuals of species. This brings us to
the reasons for deviations in kinships which go to
form species and sub-kingdoms. The title of the

book thus indicates its object. It is a thoughtful
work, and if only a fragment on account of the future
literature of a reat subject, it forms a sound basis
for the commencement of a valuable course of study,
and one that may be pursued by most intelligent
persons. ;

A Treatise on Zoology. Edited by E. Ray
LANKESTER, M.A., LU.D., F:R:S. Par Til.
EcHINODERMA. By F. A. BATHER, M.A., assisted
by J. W. Grecory, D.Sc., E. S. Goopricn, M.A.
viii. + 344 pp., 94 in. x 6 in., with 308 illustrations.
(London ; Adam & Charles Black, 1900.) 155. net.

This is the first volume issued of what promises to
be an admirable library in itself relating to the
subject of zoology. Under the able supervision of
Dr. Ray Lankester, the Director of the British
Museum of Natural History, such a work cannot
fail to be of the highest authority. It is to be
issued in parts, as written, and the portly volume
before us forms an excellent specimen from which to
judge the prospects of the work in full. We have
already promised by the publishers: Part I., Intro-
duction and the Protozoa; Part II., General Discus-
sion of the Metazoa—The Porifera—The Hydro-
medusa—The Scyphomedusa—The Athozoa—The
Ctenophora ; Part III., the volume under notice ;
Part IV., The Mesozoa—The Platyhelmia—The
Nemertini. Very wisely, the publishers intend
issuing the parts as ready, and without waiting for
sequence. The design of the work seems to be
admirable, the terminology the most recent, the
illustrations well chosen, and at the end of each
division is a bibliography that enables anyone desiring
further information to save much time in literary
research. The parts of this splendid work should be
secured as they appear for every public library in the
kingdom and Colonies. Private students will find it
a necessity.

Lessons in Elementary Physiology. By THOMAS
H. Huxiey, LL.D., F.R.S. Enlarged and Re-
vised Edition. xxiv. +611 pp., 6% in. x 4 in., with
187 illustrations. (London and New York: Mac-
millans. 1900.) 45. 6d.

A revised edition of this standard book will. be
useful to many persons as well as to young students
at large. Dipping into its pages recalls the charm of
the late Professor Huxley’s style, which is always a
pleasure to read. ¢

Scientific Study of Scenery. By JOHN E. Marr,
M.A., F.R.S. x. +368 pp., 73 in. x5 in., with
21 illustrations and 80 diagrams. (London: Methuen
& Co. 1900.) 6s.

In introducing this work to his readers, Mr. Marr
very properly points out that the natural sciences are
too frequently regarded from a purely philosophical
or a merely economic standpoint, and that their
aesthetic side is too generally ignored ; though this is
a valuable means of education. A scientific study of
the causes that have left the earth’s surface in its
present varied form and those which continue to
change the scenery of every district is within the
power of every person, even those without previous
instruction on the subject. This possibility is gained
through such a book as that before us. To fully
attain aesthetic culture and consequent pleasure
through full appreciation of scenery, we should have
at least a general knowledge of its origin. In the
twenty chapters constituting this book, Mr. Marr
clearly explains in easy language the natural phe-
nomena that brought about earthly change on its
surface and what have been, or will be, the results.

SCJENCE

He then takes the reader through the different types
of scenery, commencing with mountains, that occupy
These followed by
on valleys and a like space on lakes. The rest of

three chapters. are two others
the chapters are devoted to voleanoes, plains, and
plateaux, deserts, frost, snow and ice, glaciers and
ice-sheets, signs of former glaciation, oceans; and,
finally, a general
subjects Mr. Marr has given many of his instances
from our own islands, but has necessarily had to

onclusion, In diseussing these

go
abroad for others. All are clearly illustrated by
reproductions of photographs taken in some cases

for the We give one example, with the
permission of the publishers. It is a view of High
Force in Yorkshire to show form of valley
making. The other illustrations are varied views,
each given with a view of explaining the forma-
tion of scenery. Thus in a small compass we have

purpose.

one

EES

“ Hicu

(From the Scientific

a book that will give food for thought to any of
us who care to trouble to know more than hitherto
about either familiar surroundings or the places we
see in our travels or of which we read elsewhere. It
is a good book and one sure to be largely read.

Illustrated Annual of Microscopy, 1900. 148 pp.,

9g} in. x7 in., with 7 plates (2 coloured) and 115
other illustrations. (London: Perey Lund, Hum-
phries & Co., Limited.) 2s. 6d.

The large sale of the 1899 Annual has evidently
justified the publishers in continuing their venture,
and the present Annual is in no way inferior to its
predecessor either in variety of interest or in ap-
pearance. The contributors are writers well known

Fore EE.

GOSSTP. 71
3/
inthe microscopical wor : the print per
and beautifully produced j tratic ref th
greatest credit upon all con in t | itior
We miss in the pr t e Dr. H Var
Heurek’s review of microscop d apparatus during
the preceding year, but the pu rs have left the indi-
vidual makers to speak for | is to their ows
productions, and the plan se © worked well,

We have not space to mention i: ul the long list
of contributors and their respecti cles: but we
may refer to a( oloured plat with k illustrative of
pond-life, which will interest begin: n this |

ing-ground so dear to the amateur m copist ic
also to a coloured drawing ol a hy hin daphnia
as shown by dark-ground illumination, due Mr
D. J. Scourfield. This drawing is really quite a
work of art. Among other interesting articles w
may mention a further contribution by Mr. Juliu

TRESDALE.

Study of Scenery.)

RKhineberg on Multiple Colour Illumination ; an article
on **Some Mollusca and the Microscope,” by Mr.
Wilfred Mark Webb, with micro-photographs of
odontophores, etc., by Messrs. F. Noad Clark and
William Moss respectively ; an illustrated note on the
genus Arrenurus of Fresh-water Mites, by Mr. Chas.
D. Soar ; and an article on Dental Histology that
will be of service to many workers in this field of
research. There are several very practical notes on
photo-micrography, including one on chromo-photo-
micrography. In fact, the varied contents will in-
terest all microscopists, and we can strongly recom-
mend the volume to their notice. We are glad to see
this second year’s issue and trust the ** Annual of
Microscopy ” has come to stay.

—————

THE death of Dr. St. George Mivart, which took
place on March 30th, at the age of seventy-three
years, was not unexpected. Hewas born in London
and was educated at Harrow, King’s College, London,
and the Roman Catholic College of St. Mary at
Oscott, near Birmingham. He joined the Roman
Church in 1844, and it will be remembered that
quite recently he was denied its sacraments in con-
sequence of the advanced thought expressed in his
later, writings.’ Dr. Mivart was for a time Pro-
fessor of Biology at University College, Kensington,
was M.D., Ph.D., F.R.S., and of several other
learned societies. “Among his best-known books
was the important comparative anatomical treatise

on ‘‘ The Cat.”

Mr. H. Sowrersy WALLIS, the eminent meteoro-
logist, will continue, as already announced, the rain-
fall organisation founded by the late G. J. Symons,
F.R.S. Mr. Wallis writes asking ‘those who have
contributed records in future to address them to
himself at 62 Camden Square, London, N.W. In
writing he adds: ‘The burthen without his (Mr.
Symons’s) aid and counsel will be a heavy one, but
I am, hoping that it will be lightened by the feeling
that his correspondents will heartily co-operate with
me in carrying out his wishes.” Doubtless, new
contributors would be welcomed.

THE “ Victoria History of the Counties of Eng-
land,” which is being prepared under the supervision
of an important Advisory Committee, with offices at
2 Whitehall Gardens, Westminster, with Messrs.
H. Arthur Doubleday, F.R.G.S., and.G. Laurence
Gomme, F.S.A., as joint general editors, will in-
clude chapters on the fauna and flora of the respective
counties. Mr. Doubleday is appealing to recognised
workers in various branches of Natural Science for
assistance in completing the lists of species occurring
in various counties.

WITH regard to the fruiting of Euonyrtits. Japonica
at Southend (az/e, p. 343), we note a communication
from Mr. J. C. Tonkin, of St. Mary’s, Scilly Isles,
who says:—‘‘ Seeing an article in a recent issue
relative to the fruiting of the euonymus, I should like
to add my testimony as regards that shrub. I have
grown it for more than thirty years. During that
time T have raised from cuttings many thousands. I
have in my grounds fences from ten to twelve feet

high. It is grown chiefly through the islands for

shelter for the narcissus fields. During the whole
time that I have grown it I never have seen the least
sign of a fruit until the past winter, when the fruit
was very abundant, resembling holly berries—indeed,
it was freely used for decorations in lieu of the holly.
«\s a protection from the wind I know of nothing so
effective. It will stand any amount of pruning. I
have fences in mg grounds that would resist a charge
of heavy cavalry.’

THE following are among the lecture arrangements
at the Royal Institution after Easter :—Dr. Hugh
Robert Mill, Three Lectures on Studies in British

2 SCIENCE-GOSSTP.

Geography ; Dr. Alexander Hill, Two Lectures on
Brain Tissue considered as the Apparatus of Thought ;
Professor Dewar, Four Lectures on A Century of
Chemistry in the Royal Institution. The Friday
Evening Meetings will be resumed on April 27th,
when a Discourse will be given by the Right Hon.
Lord Kelvin on Nineteenth-Century Clouds over the
Dynamical Theory of Heat and Light.

Tue death is announced of the eminent French
biologist, M. Milne-Edwards, Chief Officer of the
Paris Museum of Natural History. He was 84 years
old.

LEAFLET No. 63, on the destruction of charlock,
is issued by the Board of Agriculture. Charlock is a
wide term covering a series of corn-weeds, including
Brassica sinapis, B. sinapistrum, and B. arvensis.
These leaflets are issued free on application to the
Secretary, 4 Whitehall Place, London, S.W.

SPECIMENS of a process of printing pictures of
lepidoptera in their natural colours have been sub-
mitted to us by Mr. Bernard Piffard. They are
interesting, as they form a kind of ‘‘ nature printing ”
of butterflies and moths.

InN connection with the annual Congress of the
South-Eastern. Union of Scientific Societies, to be
held at Brighton on June 7th, 8th, and 9th, there is
to be a photograph exhibition illustrating the asso-
ciation of photography with scientific work. The

‘exhibits will not be confined to the members of the

Union, and the’ Committee will welcome outside
assistance. The Secretary’s address is Mr. H. E.
Turner, B.Sc., Lindfield Lodge, Folkestone.

WE note the record of death of a celebrated Con-
tinental lepidopterologist,. Dr. O. Hofman, which
occurred on February 22nd. His careful and pains-
taking investigations among the microlepidoptera are
renowned, and ‘after half a century’s work in that
section of the Order his books have become authori-
tative Among other obituary occurrences for the
past month is the death of Sir William Overend
Priestley; the well-known surgeon and naturalist. "He
cameof the same family as the celebrated discoverer

. of oxygen, and was born at Morley Hall, near Leeds,

in 1829. The Liverpool Geological Society has lost
its founder by the death of George Highfield Morton,
an authority on the formations in the neighbourhood
of that city. Those botanists who have often read
the notes appended to the descriptions of plants in
‘© Sowerby’s British Botany” will be sorry to hear

‘of the. death of Mrs. Lankester, their author. She

was widow of Dr. Edwin Lankester, the popular
scientific writer of a generation ago.

Tue National Photographic and Allied Trades’
Exhibation for 1900 will be held at Portman Rooms,
Baker Street, London, W., from April 27th to May
5th. We have received from the secretary, Mr.
Arthur C. Brookes, 15 Harp Alley, Farringdon Street,
E.C., an advance prospectus of a number of scientific
and practical addresses that are to be given at intervals,
several times daily, during the exhibition.

THE Saturday afternoon excursions of the London
Geological Field Class, under the direction of Pro-
fessor H. G. Seeley, F.R.S., will commence on
April 28th. Further particulars can be obtained
from the Hon. Sec., R. Herbert Bentley, 43 Glou-
cester Road, Brownswood Park, London, N. These
classes have been successfully conducted for some
years past, and afford an excellent opportunity- for
geological study.

SCIENCE-GOSSIP. vii

SPECIAL SERIES OF The

STUDENT'S TELESCOPES

From 4% in. to 2} in. apertures, with first quality Object

Glasses and Fittings at moderate prices.

* A COMPLETE CINEMATOGRAPH

(CAMERA, PRINTER AND PROJECTOR)
FOR THE AMATEUR.

High-Class
Photographic
Lenses,

with Iris or
other
List of

Photographic
Lenses

Free.

‘Diaphragms.

: \
es
Iilustrated Catalogue of Telescopes, Microscopes, &c. &c., for stamp.

Highest Class Micro-Objectives, also made on
premises, at Closest Prices.

W. WRAY, *°°“uiti!sae, LONDON, N.

HUGHES’ PERFECT LA PETITE

CINEMATOGRAPH SNAP-SHOT GAMERA.

Printer, Projector, Reverser, fitted with high-class Lenses.

Price complete, £6 10s. REDUCED TO £5 10s.
Sensitive Films, positive and negative, 25 ft., 3s. 6d. each.
EXTRAORDINARY VALUE. Vo complications. So simple achild can use it.

HUGHES’ PETITE

AMATEUR PROJECTOR.

For Projecting, Reversing, and Enlarging only.

Price £3 17s. Gd. and £4 4s. _ Lanterns from 21s. to 30s. each, with
Oil Lamp. Film Subjects for above 10s: € each. Particulars Free.

OX HUGHES’ LA PETITE CINEMATOGRAPH CAMERA.

Simple and Easy to Manage. Note this ; others are not so. Some are so complicated that it is difficult
for Amateursto work. Our LA PETITE CINEMATOGRAPH SNAP-SHOT CAMERA
is constructed on truly scientific principles. Superb mechanism.

Nore.—Have you ever thought of it? What a beautiful thing for a son? fora
father? for friends ue do? to show living presentments of those they hold dear,

NI, either alive or dead. How much more interesting than ordinary camera work,
} which has not half the merit in it, while the other is entrancing. Therefore orc jer
Loh PE once a La Petite, take your own pictures, develop and project them, and all

r £5 10s. Haveno other. This is simple, perfect, and easy to manipulate.

HUGHES’ SCIENTIFIC LANTERNS

Oxyhydrogen, Microsc

OF. marvellous Pamophe'

pe, Triple, Biunial, and Finest Oil- lighted I anterns. ‘The
gives 12 ft. pictures like i The £6 6s.

ae reduced to £4 45.; the £4 4s. to £3 10s. List 9 Slides, Scenery
SY and rare Subjects, 6d. each. Grandly Lilustrated es, 180 Original
Engravings, 6d. ; Postage 4d. Grandly Illustrated Cinematograph List, 6d.
wl = The Home of Projection Lanterns and Anim £ raply.
TELESCOPIC BIUNIAL, complete with Jets, W. Cc. HUGHES,
Dissolver, and 3 Sets of Lenses, £13 13s. BREWSTER HOUSE, 82 MORTIMER ROAD, KINGSLAND, LONDON, N.

Viti SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

THe AUTOMATIC CYCLOSTYLE.

THE LATEST IMPROVEMENT

IN DUPLICATING APPARATUS.

FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS JUST MADE.

EEditor of ‘ ‘*SCIENCE-GOSSIP ”’ says: For printing Reports, Specifications, Price
& (MAY, 798, No.) Lists, &c., it is invaluable and soon
‘““ We can eK \ well recommend this Machine repays its cost.

Secretaries of
paring manifold

Scientific Societies and others for pr
copies of notices or other documents.

WITH C.MPLETE OUTFIT FOR
REPRODUCING HANDWRITING.

Octavo size, GF IOsuai
Quarto size, G#@ 15s2 5
Foolscap size, & Se
Extras for Reproducing Typewriting:
~ Octavo size, 70S2 Gdla =
Quarto size, 71/Se Gad. 5
Foolscap size, 72S2 Gal. =
Fitted with Unmeltable Rollers for Hot
Climates, BF WS-e extra, any size up
to Foolscap.

To those requiring a cheaper process,
less easy of manipulation, the following
is suitable :—

9 THE “NEO-CYCLOSTYLE”

i

No. 2 Model (as figured), printing 10 copies per
minute faster than the ordinary pattern, and with
shorter turn to handle, F’cap, £6, complete for
typewriting,

PS ed Send for full (illustrated)

particulars post free.

BIRKBECK BANK.
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C.
TWO-AND-A-HALF per Cent. INTEREST allowed on Deposits
repayable on demand. TWO per Cent. on CURRENT AC-
COUNTS on the minimum monthly balances, when not drawn
below £100. STOCKS and SHARES purchased and sold.
SAVINGS DEPARTMENT.
For the encouragement of Thrift the Bank receives small sums
on deposit, and allows Interest monthly on each completed £1.
BIRKBECK BUILDING SOCIETY.
How to PURCHASE A HOUSE for Two Guineas per Month.
BIRKBECK FREEHOLD LAND SOCIETY.
How to PURCHASE A PLOT OF LAND for 5s. per month.
The BIRKBECK ALMANACK, with full particulars, post free.

ESTABLISHED 1851, FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager.
eS

Public Opinion.
“THE BUSY MAN’S PAPER.”

Price Twopence.
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY MORNING.

It COLLECTS the OPINIONS
OF THE
LEADING PAPERS
IN
GREAT BRITAIN and EUROPE

ON ALL THE

CURRENT TOPICS OF THE DAY,

AND IS THE

MOST INTERESTING WEEKLY

TO

SEND TO THE COUNTRY AND ABROAD.

Subscription in the United Kingdom, 25. 9d.; to all
Places abroad, 35. 3d. per quarter.

Publishing Office: 5 New Street Square, E.C.

2s. 6d. per insertion.
j

HAND-ROLLER PROCESS.

Prices from 25S.e
Unmeltable Rollers for Hot Climates
supplied at an extra cost.

; THE CYCLOSTYLE CO.,°¢889ou 72

Cheapest and Best

COMMENCE Cameras and Lenses,
PHOTOGRAPHY. 37.7" ems

Expert Magazine Camera, 21s.
Stereoscopic Cameras, Stereoscopes, Slides, &c.

HENRY EBBAGE, Hall Quay, Great Yarmouth.
BORD’S
PIANOS

25 per Cent. Discount for Cash, or 14s. 6d. Per Month
(Second-Hand, LOs. 6d. Per Month), on the Three Years’ Hire
System. Illustrated Lists free, of CHAS. STILES & CO.,
40 and 42, Southampton Row, London, W.C.
Pianos Exchanged.

SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

Scale of Advertisements.
Inch in Column ... et eee Oeil
Eighth of Page ... es Ae Oae
Quarter-page, or Half-column ... 1 10

oooCo &

Half-page, or One Column 215
Whole Page pac st i 5 5
Back Page 6 6

Positions by Arrangement.

All Advertisements to be sent to ScrENcE-Gosstp Office, 110
Strand, London, W.C., on or previous to the 19th of each month.

QE Special quotations for a series of insertions, any
size space, matter changeable, on application.

Siruations WANTED will be inserted’ at the special rate of

de 2? ti Bi Re oid

SCIE NCE-GOSSTP.

CONDUCTED BY JAMES QUICK.

A Vacuum ELecrroscopr.—Experiments have
recently been made by Pflaum to prove that at the
highest vacuum obtainable electrical forces are still
exerted. A pear-shaped electroscope was constructed,
haying two strips of aluminium foil suspended inside
and attached to an aluminium plate. The vessel was
then exhausted to as high a vacuum as possible, and
the movements of the leaves recorded when a charge
was given to them. It was found that electrostatic
effects took place with great energy, no lag taking
place owing to absence of air resistance. Actual dis-
charges apparently cease through the high vacuum,
not the slightest luminous effects being observed.
The construction of such an electroscope is, however,
a difficult matter.

RGONTGEN RAYS AND SELENIUM.—A_ marked
effect is observed if a selenium cell is exposed to the
action of an X-ray tube at a short distance. In one
particular observation, recently made, when the X-ray
tube was at a distance of 5 cm from the cell, the
resistance of the latter fell quickly from 40,000 ohms
to 34,000 ohms, and kept oscillating about the latter
value, owing probably to variations in the intensity
of the rays. When these ceased to act, the cell re-
gained its.normal conductivity more slowly than it
does after the impact of light. The above diminution
in the resistance of the cell was the same as would be
produced by a gas-jet placed at a distance of 1°5
metres. The action of the rays diminished with
increasing distance, but was still sensible at 17 cm.

SoLtip HypROGEN.—This formed the subject of a
lecture of absorbing interest delivered by Professor
Dewar before a crowded and appreciative audience
at the Royal Institution on April 6th. No one can
speak with so much authority upon this line of
investigation as Professor Dewar, as it is to him the
honour is due of having reached a much lower tempera-
ture than any other investigator. Prefacing his dis-
course by a few general words, he very clearly led
his audience through many details of his brilliant
researches of the past few years; illustrating his
remarks with several successful experiments. Liquid
air and liquid hydrogen were freely used as if they
only cost a few shillings a pint to prepare, instead of
being the very expensive luxuries that they are really.
Professor Dewar showed that whereas it is possible to
solidify nitrogen solely by the cold due to evaporation
consequent upon reduced pressure, it is impossible to
solidify oxygen in this way. The latter gas was
solidified, however, during the lecture by surrounding
it in a proper manner by liquid hydrogen ; the solid
mass, as a white opaque powder being thrown out
on the lecture table in full view of the audience.
Solid hydrogen was afterwards successfully obtained
in a somewhat similar manner, this particular experi-
ment eliciting unanimous applause owing to the
temperature of the mass being practically the lowest
ever attained—namely, 15° upon the absolute scale,
or 258° C. below the freezing-point of water. Pro-
_ fessor Dewar has been able to reach a slightly lower

373

temperature than this, about 13° above the absolute
zero, but, as he pointed out, the difficulties en-
countered in thus obtaining a temperature of even
1° below the melting-point of hydrogen are enormous.
Another experiment performed was one illustrating
the work of Professors Dewar and Fleming on the
electrical conductivity of metals at extremely low
temperatures. A circuit was arranged including an
incandescent lamp and a coil of wire. The current
Was so regulated that it was just sutficient to keep
the filament of the lamp at a dull red heat when the
coil of wire was at the ordinary temperatures. The
coil was then immersed in liquid hydrogen and,
therefore, brought to an exceedingly low tempera-
ture. This resulted ina reduction of the resistance
of the wire, more current consequently flowing
through the lamp, which glowed very brilliantly.

AN ELECTRICAL MICROMETER.--At_ the _ last
meeting of the Physical Society of London, Mr. P. b.
Shaw described a very delicate instrument, an
electrical micrometer, which he had devised to
measure extremely small distances. It consists
essentially of a screw with a pitch of 0-5 mm, and
having a head divided into 500 parts. This serew
presses against the long arm of an aluminium lever,
the short arm of which presses against the long arm
of another, and so on through three levers. The
motion of the spherometer screw can thus be trans-
mitted to a fine platino-iridium point close to a small
platino-iridium dise, which, in Mr. Shaw’s experi-
ments, was fastened to the centre of a telephone
diaphragm, the movements of which Mr. Shaw has
been inyestigating. By careful and accurate reading
an observable twist of the spherometer head corre-
sponds to a movement of one millionth of a millimétre
of the fine point. Mr. Shaw has found that he cannot
hear any sounds from the telephone if the amplitude
of vibration of the diaphragm is less than 0°37
millionths of amm. <A motion of 50 millionths gives
comfortable sounds, 1,000 millionths uncomfortable
sounds, and 5,000 millionths sounds unbearably loud.

KApIuM Rays.—Much important work upon these
mysterious emissions from radium has been done
lately by Becquerel and Curie. The latter has
apparently proved without doubt that the rays
emitted from radium are composed of material
particles carrying negative electrical charges. From
first thoughts therefore it would appear that the body
emitting these rays would suffer a loss in weight, but
M. Curie has shown that the charges carried off are
so feeble and the mass of matter so small that probably
some millions of years would be required to remove
one milligram in the case of the most intense radia-
tion that has yet been observed.

ACTINIUM.—Scarcely a week now passes without
some work being done in connection with new
elements, or with elements possessing emissive pro-
perties. Radium and polonium have been recently
discovered and investigated, particularly by M. and
Mme. Curie, and now a new radio-active element is
reported to have been discovered by M. Debierne,
who names it Actinium. It has been produced from
the residues from pitchblende and is precipitated by
the principal agents for titanium. With the rays
emitted by actinium it is possible to produce the
same phenomena as those of the rays emitted by
radium and polonium. Further, in an intense
magnetic field, the rays of actinium, or rather a por-
tion of the rays, are deviated and will impress a
photographic plate placed below a lead cell contain-
ing the substance.

ee———aEEEeee 7

374 SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

re

D
Ce

(MICROSCOPY),

PPC ae
LS SSN
SS Sea

CONDUCTED BY F. SHILLINGTON SCALES, F.R.M.S.

LIVERPOOL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.—We have
received the thirty-first annual report of the Liver-
pool Microscopical Society, which is an interesting
record of the Society’s work during the past year.
Seven papers, including the President’s Inaugural
Address, have been read before the Society, each
paper being illustrated with the lantern, and at each
meeting various objects were exhibited by the mem-
bers. Two field meetings were held during the
summer, which were well attended. The President’s
(Mr. W. T. Haydon’s) address is printed in the
report in full, the subject being ‘‘ A Fresh-water Chert
from Asia Minor, with observations on its formation
and structure, together with some account of the
Organic Remains found therein.”? This is an interest-
ing paper, and suggests many equally interesting
directions in which to carry out further investigation.
The cherts referred to were ‘‘ Worked Flints ” found
in a cargo of horse-beans from Smyrna. ‘‘ Several
acknowledged experts” at first pronounced these to
be arrow-heads and scrapers, probably of the Neolithic
Age; and there are underlying ironies attaching to the
subsequent determination that they were really teeth
dropped from the old-fashioned threshing-boards still
used in Asia Minor to remove the beans from their
pods. These cherts were readily traced to their ori-
ginal source, and the paper above alluded to deals
with their chemical analysis, and more especially the
painstaking microscopical examination by Mr. Haydon
and his friends of the abundant vegetable and animal
remains found therein. For this, and for the con-
clusions drawn by the writer as to their process of
formation, we must refer our readers to the original
paper, the ultimate conclusion being that their origin
is mainly diatomaceous.

BaKER’s New ACHROMATIC CONDENSER.—Mr.
Charles Baker has recently submitted for our examina-
tion his new achromatic condenser, which has a N.A.
of 1-0, and an aplanatic aperture of about -9, being
in this respect a great advance upon the one hitherto
listed and sold by this firm, which had an aplanatic
aperture of only °65. The power is slightly higher
than usual, but not enough to make it a high-power
condenser, whilst we noticed with approbation its
light and compact mounting. The condenser is
fitted with the usual iris diaphragm and ring for
stops, but a rotating ring within the latter would be
aconvenience. The price is £3 15s. complete.

MATERIAL FOR BoranicaL Srupy.—The ob-
taining of suitable material for botanical study has
been a difficulty that the individual worker has had
to contend against equally with those in charge of
our laboratories, science schools, and colleges. For
some time past zoology has had an advantage over
botany in this respect, and we therefore note with
great satisfaction a new departure by Messrs. J.
Backhouse & Son, Limited, of the well-known
nurseries at York. This firm has for three genera-
tions been directed by gentlemen of high scientific

ability, and during this period they have devoted
a large amount of their time to the study of the con-
ditions affecting the naturalisation and distribution of
plants, especially those which are not indigenous to
Great Britain. As a result they possess in their
York nurseries a larger number of species, represent-
ing tropical and sub-tropical as well as Arctic floras,
than almost any firm in the country. They have now
decided to undertake systematically the collecting
and preparing of botanical material for scientific
purposes, and have opened a scientific department
under the special superintendence of Dr. Arthur H.
Burtt, D.Sc., B.Sc. They have further issued an
extensive classified catalogue which, though only
meant as a preliminary list, covers the whole field
very completely. It comprises Myxomycetes, Schizo-
phyta, Diatoms, Desmids, and other Algae, both
fresh-water and marine, Characeae, Fungi, Lichens,
Hepaticae, Musci, Filicinae, Equisitinae, Lyco-
podinae, Gymnospermae, and most of the more
important orders of Angiospermae. The material
will be supplied either fresh or preserved ; and in the
latter form it is intended to keep in stock large
quantities of material, so that students will be inde-
pendent of the season for their supplies. Special
attention will be devoted to microscopy, and high-
class and guaranteed preparations illustrating the
more important structural features of the principal
types will be generally available. The scheme will
filla long-felt want, and we trust it will proye as
satisfactory to its promoters ,as it will undoubtedly
prove of great service to students and teachers
generally.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

W. L. W. E. (Alresford).—The use of a Camera
Lucida will be fully dealt with in our next (June)
issue in ‘‘ Microscopy for Beginners,” see ate, p. 249.

B. B. (Bath).— Objects, other than crystallisations,
for polarised light are generally mounted in Canada
Balsam. The mounting of hairs is quite simple,
though it is advisable to give them a preparatory
soaking in turpentine or benzole beforehand. They
make striking objects when crossed or interwoven.
Mr. Cole recommends the following procedure in
mounting fish-scales:—‘‘ Scrape the fish from the
head towards the tail; if scraped the other way,
nearly all the scales will be ifjured. Place the
scrapings in a bottle of water, shake well, pour off
the water, and repeat the process until quite clean.
Examine with a microscope; and if you find that the
scales are not clean, pour off the water, add liquor
potassae, and soak for an hour or two. Then wash
away the potash with repeated changes of water,
dehydrate in methylated spirit, clear in clove oil, and
mount in Canada Balsam. Sometimes fish-scales.
buckle up in spirit, and they will not lie flat. When
this happens, put them into water again, and soak a
little while; then place them on a slide, and put
another slide over them, press down until quite flat,
and tie the two glasses together with twine, and place
them in a vessel of methylated spirit to dehydrate
under pressure. This method will answer for all
tissues that twist during process of dehydration.”

H. J. O. W. (Budleigh Salterton). —We haye not
met with a mixture of stearine and naphthaline for
embedding, nor can we find any reference to it in
any text-book available, so are not able to give you
the relative proportions in which the mixture should
be made. We have made inquiry in one or two:
likely quarters, without result. Can any one of our
readers give the necessary information ?

MICROSCOPY FOR BEGINNERS,

By F, Smictincron Scares, F.R.M.S.

(Continued from page 446.)

OPAQUE objects are illuminated by several methods.
The most frequent way is to focus the light directly
upon the object by means of a bull’s-eye stand con-
denser, remembering that the flat of the condenser
must be nearest to the object and quite close to it,
the focus being short. Ifa lamp be used, it will be

_ necessary to raise it well above the stage. A better
way is by the use of a ‘* side silver reflector,” which
isa small, silver, parabolic mirror, placed close to the
object and reflecting the rays of light thereon from a
lamp placed quite near and about level with the
stage. Its management is soon learnt. Perhaps the
most perfect means of illuminating opaque objects is
by the now but little used ‘*Lieberkthn.” This is
really a speculum fitted above and round the ob-
jective, the light being thrown from Aeneath the
object and reflected down again upon it. Its disad-
vantages, and those which have caused it to be largely
disused, are that each objective must be fitted with
its own Lieberkithn, and that the object must be
mounted not upon a black background, but in such a
Way as to give an annular ring of illumination round
it. When we deal with mounting, we will point out
that the generally recommended method of mounting
opaque objects upon a black background is not only
unnecessary, but inconvenient. The writer invariably
mounts such objects in an ordinary cell, and puts
under them a plain slide upon which a dise of black
paper has been fastened. What more is needed ?

efore leaving the subject of illumination we will
deal with the bull’s-eye condenser. In one of our

earlier papers (SCIENCE-Gossir, Vol. VI., N.S.,
page 215) we have alluded to the enormous spherical
and chromatic aberrations of this lens, and these
render it unsuitable for really critical work on account
of its bad definition. For this reason we do not
advocate its general use, save for opaque illumination.
Should it be necessary, however, to fill the field with
light by its means (see page 215) we would ask our
readers to bear its optical properties in mind and to
remember that to obtain parallel light the condenser
must be placed close to the flame of the lamp, and
with its flat side against the fame. The bull’s-eye
must, of course, also be placed both centrally and at
right-angles with the direction of the light. “It is an
assistance to beginners if they do their focussing,
both with bull’s-eye, and even with condenser, upon a
sheet of note-paper placed in the requisite position.
If the bull’s-eye be used, it must be properly and
carefully adjusted, or: it will only interfere with the
proper focussing of the condenser.

To pass now to the focussing of the objective itself.
This needs but little explanation, but it may again be
advisable to point out (see page 157) that the so-
called focal length of the objective does not in any
Way represent its distance from the cover-glass of the
object. In fact, with increase of aperture, the
objectives have got closer and closer to the object.
When using high powers it is a help, and sometimes
4 preventive of damage, if the aperture of the stage,
as is customary in English stands, is made sufficiently
large to admit of the insertion of the finger under-
neath the slide so as to slightly lift or tilt its fore-
edge. A high power can then be safely brought
down upon the object, and, the approximate distance
being found, the finger can be removed, and the
objective then brought gently to its ultimate focus.

SCIENCE-GOSS/P, 375

We do not think it advisable here to explain the
use of the correction-collar or adjustment of tube-
length for differences in the thickness of cover-glass.
Ths has been fully dealt with in an earlier paper
(Scrence-Gosstr, Vol. VI.,N.S., p. 184); but it really
requires a trained and critical eye, as well as a critical
object, to enable these adjustments to be satisfactorily
made. We may, however, remind our readers that
the oft-met-with instructions as to varying the magni-
fication by the simple device of altering the tube-
length are not really practicable save for very rough-
and-ready work, and we recommend our readers to
find out at the time of purchasing whether their
objectives are corrected for the 64-inch or 10-inch
tube, and to remember that they perform properly
only on the tube for which they are designed. Most
students’ objectives (for an unsatisfactory reason con-
nected, we believe, with foreign competition) are
corrected for the short tube ; but makers have a mis-
leading habit of giving in their catalogues complete
lists of magnifications calculated as if they were cor-
rected for the English 10-inch tube-length, and vouch-
safing no hint as to the real facts.

There are a few more suggestions that may be use-
ful to the beginner. The first is to remember never
to use a stronger light than is necessary. Nothing is
more fatiguing to the eyes, or more likely to work
mischief, than excessive glare ; but if reasonable pre-
cautions be taken, we do not believe the use of the
microscope is injurious to the eyesight. Some people
are much troubled with what are called ‘* floating
flies” in the eye, but this is to a certain extent a
question of ease of position. The second rule is to
accustom oneself to keep doth eyes open. The screw-
ing-up of the eye not in use is a most injurious and
unnecessary habit. At first, doubtless, some diffi-
culty will be found, and the eye that is not looking
down the tube will be distracted by external influ-
ences ; but this difficulty is only temporary, and a
little perseverance will overcome it. Some writers
recommend a shade, but we have advised many
beginners to commence simply by holding the hand
a short distance from the eye, and to gradually move
it further away as they gained experience, until finally
it was no longer necessary at all. All workers have
a tendency to use one eye more than another ; and in
this case the eye most used becomes generally rather
less sensitive to brightness of image, but more capable
of perceiving critical points. But every worker
should learn to use either eye with equal facility.

Various tints of biue or yellow glasses, or a disc of
ground glass, are useful for moderating the light, and
in some cases for accentuating the image.

Remember to use no higher magnification than is
absolutely necessary. The real microscopist uses the
lowest power that will serve his purpose, for reasons
that a very slight acquaintance with the microscope
makes abundantly evident, and in all probability
the most generally used lens is that of the modest
inch.

Remember also that the fine adjustment is a deli-
cate piece of mechanism, and endeavour to save it
(and the mechanical stage, if there be one) from the
very first. Any one of the microscopes we have
described will satisfactorily and easily focus a 2 inch
by means of the coarse adjustment alone. Do not
bear heavily upon any of the adjustments ; endeavour
to balance them gently between the finger and thumb,
that the motion may be uniform; and do not on any
account roll the fine adjustment by pressing one finger
to one side only of the milled head.

( To be continued.)

Seuiinsaenece:..<Senneneiamiens

376 SCIENCE-GOSSTP.

Y%

y (WARE

ar

CONDUCTED BY F. C. DENNETT.
Position at Noon.

1goo. Wises. Sets. Rd. Dee,
May “2.2. hnt. hm. oie
Su 3. 10s. 4:18 a.m... 7.34 p.m.).» 3.8) -- 17-35 N.
20 .. 4.4 7 4o 50 RY 25 DCPS)
30+, 3.52 so tha = 4.27 .. 21-45
Rises. Souths. Sets. Age at Noon.
May /.m. hm. UAE dad. h. Mm
Moon 10. 3.29p.m... 9.5 p.M. -. 2.12a.m. 11 6 37
20 -. — .. 444 a.m, -. g4z2a.m. 2x 6 37
gO -.55.27,aM.-. 1.43) p-M.-.9.54.p-M. | 0 21 TO
Position at Noon.
Souths. Seni- R.A. Dee.
May Am. Diameter. h.m. Od
WVEXCUP Ne LON LO. 4O;aeIe ee) SOU 1.52 8.55 N
2O\o=) LX-L0 asMseei | 2.01 3:20 ee Lost
JO bo REGEN oo BS! 4.28 .. 22.24
Venus 06 HG) og SMS fou T3514 6.19 -. 26.55 N.
20 3.4 p.m. 15.5// 6.55 -. 20.13
30) -. 2.55 p.m. 18.0!’ 7-23 ++ 24.52
Mars 20 .. 10.11 a.m. eps! 2.2 .. 11.40 N.
Jupiter +. 20... 0.32 a.m. 21.0// 16.21 -. 20.35 5-
Saturn +. 20... 2.28 a.m. Big 18.17 -. 22.229.
Uranus .. 20.. 0.48 a.m. 1.8// 16:38) y-) 2253) S-
Neptune .. 20... 1.50 p.m. gett! 5.41 .. 22.11 N.
Moon’s PHASES.
ha. him.
1st Oy... May 6 .. 1.39 p.m. Ful .. May 14 -. 3.37 p.m.
372 Orn. 6) yf 2nd Oosripem. Ved). 0, 280 2s50)pem.

In apogee May oth at 2 a.m.; and in perigee on
24th at 6 p.m.

METEORS.
heme
Apr. 29 May 6 » Aquarids* .. Radiant R.A. 22.28 Dec. 2° S.
May 3-9 a Serpentids .. 50 ay eS) gy HOPING
s» 5-June 172 Scorpiids O9 9 HOD pg BE Ss
op 2S -. 9 Aguilids .. Ws ym MOHD 49 CP
», 29-June 4 » Pegasids a 2212) 5, 27> N.

* To be looked for just before sunrise.

CONJUNCTIONS OF PLANETS WITH THE Moon.

ov
May 2 30 Venus* 5p-m. .. planet 4.55 N.
mp2 p06 Jupiter} OP SHANG. | on pp anes} INTs
ym 2% ca Saturnt 7 p.m. AA) eit) Ss
yo 00 Mars* Ayah a0 Ap eke Sh
> 28 50 Mercury* II a.m SO: 2ONSs
oy Be 6 Venus +. 10p.m 6.5 N.
ra Daylight. + Below English horizon.
OCCULTATIONS AND NEAR APPROACHES.
Dis- Angle Re- Angle
VMagni- appears. from appears. from
May Star. tude. hit. Vertex. him. Vertex.
° °
r..t Tauri SAR7asi) (Os 50)Pslewes)) 7L lly 9.48 PsIMei- 224.
5--A* Gancri .. 5.6 -- Baas p.m... 84 .. 0.42a.m... 240
6..0 Leonis 5.6 -. 11.1 p.m... 40 .. 11.51 p.m... 290

THE SUN should be watched, as spots are appearing
at more frequent intervals.

MERCURY is a morning star until 30th, when it
comes into superior’ conjunction at 7 a.m., but too
near the sun, however, to be observed ooo in
daytime.

VENUS is a splendid evening star all the month,
nearing its greatest brilliancy, situated in Gemini.

Mars is in conjunction with Mercury at 4 a.m. on

Blay 4th, 2° ro’ north of that planet. It is a morn-

ng star, but too near the sun for observation.

JUPITER is in opposition with the sun at 7 p.m.
on May 27th, and therefore in the most favourable
position for observation. Its great south declination”
is, however, much against good observation. It is
situated in Scorpio, nearly 6° north of Antares.

SATURN comes to the meridian about two hours
later than Jupiter, but is even more unfavourably
placed for observation.

URANUS is a degree and a half farther south than
Jupiter, and comes to the meridian about 17 minutes
later.

NEPTUNE is too near the sun for successful obser-
vation.

ECLIPSE OF THE SUN, MAy 28rH.—The path
of total shadow crosses Mexico, the United States
(Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South and North
Carolina), the North Atlantic Ocean, Portugal and
Spain, from Ovar to Cape Santa Pola, Algeria,
Tunis and, at the time of sunset, Egypt. In England
it will be visible as a partial eclipse, beginning 146°
west of the Vertex at 2.47 p.m. as seen from Gréen-
wich. The greatest phase will be at 3.54-9, at which
time 0°681 of the sun’s diameter ( 1-0) will be
obscured. The Eclipse ends 69° east of the Vertex
at 4.57°5 p.m. At all places north of Greenwich the
magnitude of the eclipse, and also its duration, will
be reduced.

ROTATION PERIOD OF VENUS.—We are glad to
hear that Dr. Belopolsky, of Moscow, is announced
to have confirmed the short rotation period of this
planet by means of four spectrograms.

A New MINOR PLANET was observed on Feb-
ruary 22nd by M. Charlois, of the Nice Observatory.

BRILLIANT METEOR.—On Sunday evening,
April 1, Mr. W. J. Reynolds, observing from
Woodford, in Essex, saw a most brilliant meteor,
many times brighter than Venus, travel from close
by that planet to within 2° of the moon’s terminator,
brightening just before its disappearance. It was at
7h. 1om. 15s. p.m., and therefore very nearly day-
light. It was so intensely white as to make the
moon look dull-orange in comparison.

THE COMING SOLAR EcLipsE.—At the meeting
of the British Astronomical Assoeiation, on March 28,
Mr. E. W. Maunder suggested that at the time of
greatest obscuration attempts should be made here
in England to photograph the corona. This would
need a photographic telescope on an equatorial stand
with a rigidly fixed guiding telescope. At the same
time it would be advisable to just stop out the image
of the sun by the help of a small diaphragm.

M. EMMANUEL Lials has passed away. He was
born at Cherbourg im 1826. After .being a pupil of
MM. <Arago and Leverrier he held a post at the
Paris Observatory. In 1858 he.went to South
America to observe the solar eclipse. His remark-
able drawing showed many of the details now revealed
more perfectly by photography. He became Director
of the Observatory at Riode Janeiro. He discovered
Comet I., 1860. In 1859 M. Lescarbault, a physician
of Orgéres, in France, announced the observation of
the transit of an intra-Mercurial planet; but M.
Liais was fortunately observing the sun with a better
instrument at the same time, and was able to show
that, whatever the object was, it was certainly not
the ‘planet in question. He returned to France in
1881, and at the time of his death he was! Mayor of
Cherbourg.

SCIENCE-GOSS// 7

CHAPTERS FOR YOUNG ASTRONOMERS
I (ot 9 | '
VENUS

rut autiful pla whose brillian i
idds such splendour to the sky as even t tartle
those who have not d astronomy, is tl rt
truest companion as Size is considered Ven
has a diameter of some 7,480 miles, and i
therefore, in comparison to that of the earth, as
eighty-four is to one hundred. Its density i hehtly
less than the earth’s, so that compared with our

planet, if one hundred be used to signify the mass. of
the latter, seventy-eig that of the former.
Its apparent diameter varies greatly, more so than
that of any other Mars. When it is
in superior conjunction with the sun, and shining as
a little full moon, it appears to be only g°5"' in
diameter ; whilst at the time of inferior

hte will give

planet except

conjun

VENUS AT GREATEST AND LEAST DIAMETED

tion, as at the time increases to 62
the difference being indicated by the accompanying
diagram. j

Like Mercury, Venus is never seen on the meridian
at night.

of transit, it

When farthest from the sun its greatest
elongation can never exceed 47° 12", at which ‘time it
presents very much the appearance of a little half-
moon, the phase being readily visible with very slight
telescopic Bera It does not : re
brilliance as an evening star until more than a month
later, when, altho
form is that of a
when distant

reach its vreatest

has increased, the
decided crescent. At
some 40° only from the sun, its bril-
liance is such that on a clear day it may be readily
seen with the naked eye, whilst at night it throws a
perceptible shadow. A singular phenomenon has been
observed by many with
difference of some few days occurring between the
alculated and the observed time of quadrature.
Schroeter found this difference to amount to as much
as eight days, whilst De Vico found it at least three
days, and quite small instruments will show the dis-
crepancy. Another phenomenon sometimes noticed
When Venus is near inferior conjunction is that the

h its diameter
such times,

respect to the phases; a

c

”“ phenomenon Is sometimes seen:

b 2

NOMs appear ie ! )
probably due to t ) he

The early observer 4 ele hie
matic refractors detect int laritic I
tor or boundary bet ine’ and
These gave the impr tk rf
mountainous. More recent I wit odert
instruments confirm thi \t ( f i
Schroeter carefully watched the laritic i
from changes occurring in them ¢ to the con
clusion that the planet revolved it I
23h. 21m. 8s. One feature that par larly str
this « ‘“rver was the frequent blunt fi of
southern horn, whilst at tir i small point appe
detached with an apparei rval Sometim

northern horn appr red blunted, but more frequentl
it was seen too pointed. These observations have
been confirmed by many observers since, using in-
struments of the finest definition
The intense brilliance of Venus makes it difficul

observe well, seeing that it not only dazzles the
observer, but finds out all the defects of the teles¢ Ope
If possible, observations in daylight and near the
meridian are the best, the planet then being less
affected by the tremulous condition of ouratmosphere,
whilst the brightness of the sky lessens the dazzling

brightness of Venus. Thus observed, the planet may
be followed very near to the sun ; Dawes thought to
within 1’ of his limb. When a j
it has been seen interrupted at three points. Schroeter
considered it would necessitate

seven or twenty-eight miles in height to produce the

very harrow crescent

mountains twenty-
effects he observed.

When viewed as a very narrow crescent
i the entire planet
As I write I have lying before mx
the names of at least twenty-four observers who have
thus observed it during the past 170 years. Some
have considered that the dark side of the planet shone
out with a pale ashen light, which made it just
brighter than the sky. Some few have fancied that
the planet was really dark, but seen projected upon
the bright background of the solar corona.
by the atmosphere of Venus may contribute some-
what in the matter. That the appearance is real
there no doubt, both from the trust-
worthiness of of the observers, and the pre-

singular

becomes visible.

Kefraction

seems to be
many
cautions taken by some of them. The dark side was
indeed visible when the bright crescent was hidden
behind a bar in the field of view. One point agreed
upon by many observers is that the unilluminated

portion of the limb is apparently a portion of a

THE LARGER

WHICH Is

smaller circle than is indicated by the bright crescent,
an effect doubtless due to irradiation, An illustra
tion of this seeming enlargement occurs in the well
known puzzle, ** Which is the larger?”

( Zo be continuea.)

CONDUCTED BY EDWARD A. MARTIN, F.G.S.

PHospHATIC Deposirs.—At the annual meeting
of the Geologists’ Association on February 2nd, after
the report and accounts had been disposed of, the
President, Mr. J. J. H. Teal, M.A., F.R.S., de-
livered his address, taking as his subject ‘‘ The
Natural History of Phosphatic Deposits.”” In view
of the phosphatic floors which have been found from
time to time in the chalk, the address, when printed,
will prove of great interest to students of that formation.

MuseuM at Croypon.—By the energy of the
local Natural History Society, the nucleus of a
museum has been formed and arranged in the Town
Hall. Mr. N. F. Robarts, F.G.S., is acting as
curator. For the present the exhibits are almost
entirely geological. A fine specimen of Jioceramus
cuviert is shown from the chalk, also a large flint
with seven specimens of 2chznoconus contcus im-
bedded therein.

THE ERUPTION OF KRAKATOA. —The tremendous
éruption of the volcano of Krakatoa in 1883 will be
fresh in the minds of many people, owing to the
extraordinary and grandly luminous sunsets which
were caused in our islands by the immense quantity
of material which was shot up into the air. The
finer particles were found to have made more than
one complete circuit of the globe. We are indebted
for very detailed accounts of the eruption to the work
of the Krakatoa Committee of the Royal Society,
which made its report in 1888. The group of
islands of which Krakatoa was the chief lie between
Java and Sumatra, and have long been recognised as
of volcanic origin, being probably the remains of an
immense cone that had at a very remote epoch been
shattered by a similar yet grander catastrophe. An
eruption had been recorded in 1680; but between
that date and 1880, when earthquake movements set
in, there had been apparently a period of rest. The
eruption itself commenced in May 1883, and con-
tinued almost without interruption until August
26th. The island was then lost under a cloud of
black vapour, which it was estimated rose to a height
of seventeen miles. Loud explosions were heard, and
these gradually increased in intensity and violence,
until early on the following day one of fearful
intensity rent earth and air. This was followed by three
others in the space of about three anda half hours. In
two days more the eruption was almost at an end.
During the period of greatest eruption a huge dust-
cloud travelled in about two hours to Batavia, a hun-
dred miles away, and for some hours the town was in
complete darkness. There ‘was scarcely a place on
the globe which did not seé the effects of the dust-
clouds. The materials are estimated to have been
shot up to a height of no less than twenty-fve miles
above the mouth of the crater, into an area of the
atmosphere the rarefaction of which makes this great
height the more remarkable. The after-glows seen in
our islands in November and December 1883, that
created such interest by reason of their beautiful tints,
were caused by the yninute powdery dust which was

SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

still floating in the atmosphere. The question of
greatest interest to geologists is that relating to the
after-results of the eruption on the island itself. In-
dependently of its effects on the smaller islands Kra-
katoa, an island of more than five miles in length,
lost in these terrible explosions about two-thirds of
itself. Where formerly was land, a depth of 960 feet
of sea has been fathomed. Some of the ejected
material had gone to form an extended coast-line
elsewhere, whilst great banks of ejected pumice
covered the sea for miles. Where all the lost material,
the relics of the land, had gone, even now has not
been satisfactorily determined.—Z. 4. Martin.

THE PREHISTORIC RHINE.—At the Victoria
Institute in London, on April 2, a paper by Mr.
W. P. Jervis, F.G.S., was read by Prof. Logan
Lobley on “ Thalassographical and Thalassological
Notes on the North Sea.” We print the title in full,
but there seems no real necessity for the introduction
of these barbarous terms into our language. A large
amount of useful detail is given, which has been
obtained from various soundings in and about the
Norwegian Fjords and on the Baltic coast; but the
theoretical portion of the paper, which deals with the
“« Palaeo-Rhine,” appears to be altogether lacking in
proof. After incorréctly quoting from Mr. Harmer’s
paper, in which Mr. Harmer deals with the former
probable course of the Rhine through the unsubmerged
North Sea area, he suggests that it is possible that its
course extended northward by what is known as the
‘Silver Pit.” The theory is interesting, and we quote
his remarks :—‘‘ Fifteen miles out to sea, off the coast
near Grimsby, lies the Silver Pit, well known to
fishermen. This remarkable physical feature is a
distinctly marked, tortuous, submerged river valley,
23 miles long by 2 miles broad, running towards the
north. For the first 15 miles the depth of the mid-
channel rapidly increases from 40 to 45 and 50
fathoms consecutively, bounded by lateral declivities
40 fathoms in height ; in other words, by respect-
able elevations of 240 feet. Farther on the
depth gradually diminishes to 35 fathoms, and finally
is only 23 fathoms, beyond which we cannot now
follow the valley, which has been quite filled in
with sediment. Cromer (Mundesley) is 33 miles dis-
tant to the south-east from the head of the Silver Pit,
which we consider to have undoubtedly formed part
of the course of the Palaeo-Rhine. There is nothing
to surprise us if all evidence of the line the river
followed should have been obliterated (as between
Holland and Walton), except in this one isolated
place, seeing that it ran principally through Tertiary
strata with low banks. Possibly the Silver Pit, on
the other hand, marks its passage through chalk
rocks. What with the strong littoral currents and
the detritus caused by the very considerable encroach-
ment of the sea on the east coast of Lincolnshire and
Norfolk, the wonder is that any trace of the original
valley should have come down to our times. If this
theory is accepted, we have been enabled to trace the
course of the Palaeo-Rhine for 60 miles farther than
Mr. Harmer.” Mr. Jervis is ingenious in his sugges-
tion, but we are unable to see in it more than a
suggestion, as proof must of course be lacking. The
same may be said of his theory of the extension of
the same river to (1) what is now a hundred- fathom.
sounding in lat. 58° 45’ N., long. 0° 22’ W.; and
(2) to the channel which now exists between the
Orkney and Shetland Islands. An interesting dis-
cussion followed the paper, which was remarkable
for the statements which were given utterance to by
Professor Hull.

SCIENCE-GOSS/P. 37

ARRIVAL OF SWALLOWS. —The first swallow I
have observed this season was on Easter Monday,
April 16th. This was in a Chine to the west of
Bournemouth, where it was hawking in the shelter of
pines that fringed the windward side of the narrow
valley. - James Saunders, A.L.S., Luton.

THE STEVENS COLLECTION OF LEPIDOPTERA. —
By the dispersal, at the well-known auction rooms in
King Street, Covent Garden, on March 27 and 28,
of the first and principal portion of the collection of
British Lepidoptera formed by the late Mr. Samuel
Stevens, a collection of some historical importance
has ceased to exist. Mr. Stevens was one of the fast
disappearing band of lepidopterists whose experiences
dated back to those times when the *‘ great copper”
butterfly was still occurring in the East Anglian
Fens, and could be purchased for one shilling and its
larvae for sixpence each ; at that time Zae/éa coenosa
Hb. and Noctua subrosea St. were common if local.
fhen, too, the gipsy moth (Ocneria dispar, H-S.)
was truly Pritish, and to be found in full pro-
portions in every collection. At that period
the metropolitan collectors worked in Hammer-
smith marshes and other fine localities close to
London that long since became the prey of
the speculative builder. Neither had the seaside
hunting grounds been invaded by cheap trippers,

golfers, and campers-out. Many were the quaint —

stories of expeditions of those days, told by Samuel
Stevens: how he and Edward Newman collected
in the flower-strewn and willow-bordered meadows of
Deptford. No wonder then that the Stevens col-
lection contained many fine varieties as well as rare
species. During his long life’s interest in butterflies
and moths, Samuel Stevens regularly attended the
sales at the auction rooms with which he was at one
time associated, as mentioned in our obituary notice
(ante, p. 161), so that he had many opportunities of
obtaining rare or historic specimens at prices far lower
than now obtain. Among these were some from
Haworth’s and other old masters’ cabinets. Latterly,
however, some specimens were purchased with less
of that sound judgment than formerly, which was
unfortunate, as doubtful authenticity is a great
detriment to any collection. The butterflies in the
Stevens cabinets comprised 117 lots for auction, and
produced a total of £271. The principal prices were
a Pierts daplidice taken by himself at Dover in 1872,
£1. A specimen of Co/ras edusa, exhibiting left side
male and right side female, £3 10s. A fine rayed
and suffused variety of Argynnis paphia, £3, and
two other aberrations of the same species, £4 10s.
and £2 10s. respectively. 4. ag/ia var. charlotta,
45 5s. Asilvery variety of 4. adippe, £6 16s. 6d.,
and other varieties of this fritillary reached £3 10s.,
£3 5s., and £3. A particularly fine form of 4. ex-
phrosyne, £6, and others from the some series, £4 10s,,
£2 5s. Haworth’s var. eos of JWeletaca athalia pro-
duced £6 1os., though Haworth’s var. dictynna of
that species only reached £2. A specimen of pea-
cock butterfly with ‘* blind eyes,” £5, and a remark-

379

able vanety of the Admiral butterfly (Vanessa
atalanta), £5 \0s. Two aberrations of the painted-
lady butterfly (V. cardur), £6 tos. and £8. Light
forms of Me/anarge galatca and Epinephele tithonus
47, £5 and £5 10s. per specimen. The fourteen
“‘latge coppers” (Folvommatus dispar) averaged
nearly £5 5s. each, the highest price being £8 for
one specimen ; this being with one exception the
highest price ever reached for one of these now extinct
butterflies. A golden var, of the small copper was
sold for £5, and asilver form £4. There was small
demand for Sphingidae and low prices, neither did
the Bombyces reach their value. The Noctuae made
bad prices excepting Noc/ua subrosea, at about £3 10s.
each. The two days’ sale of all the macro-lepidoptera
realised £625, by no means the highest price reached
for a collection of this section of lepidoptera, espe-
cially considering some specimens had historic value.

PRESTWICH COLLECTION OF FLINT IMPLE-
MENTS. —This collection is now available for inspec-
tion by the general public who visit our noble
geological collection at the Natural History Museum
at Kensington. The exhibits embrace the imple-
ments collected by Sir Joseph Prestwich in the
Somme Valley in 1859, when the discoveries by
M. Boucher de Perthes of the occurrence of flint
implements with the remains of extinct mammalia
were, after ten years, beginning to attract scientific
attention, The present writer has two photographs,
authenticated with the autograph Joseph Prestwich,
of the first implement seen by him 7 sifu, in un-
disturbed river gravel near Amiens. He used to tell
of the difficulty, in those days of wet-plate photo-
graphy, of getting a photographer to undertake the
work at a reasonable rate. But he succeeded in that,
as in everything else to which he put his energetic
hand. There are also his implements from Norfolk,
Suffolk, and Kent, collected about the same time as
those of the Somme Valley. In these matters Prest-
wich was no armchair geologist (vide ‘* Life and
Letters of Sir Joseph Prestwich,” pp. 160, 162,
165, etc.), but visited for critical examination the
sections where flint implements occurred. The
fine type collection of Eolithic implements con-
tributed by Mr. B. Harrison and others, illustrat-
ing Dr. Prestwich’s paper on ‘‘ Some Controverted
Questions,” are in a long case in the same
room near at hand. As Lady Prestwich says,
in the ‘* Life” {p. 356), ‘‘To the last Prestwich
persistently maintained his belief in the rude plateau
implements as being the handiwork of man, and not
mere natural flints.” Dr. Prestwich, when speaking
to the present writer on the long and bitter opposition
which greeted the palaeolithic tools from the Somme
Valley and elsewhere, and the long years it took to
establish their position as human handiwork, often
said that he was not surprised at the same treatment
being meted out to the eolithic specimens of the chalk
plateau of Kent and other localities; and he was
just as certain of the acceptance of the latter as man’s
handiwork as he had been of the former in 1859.
There, at all events, his specimens stand, worthily
housed in our great national collection, the only regret
that must be felt by all her friends being that his
indefatigable helper, Lady Prestwich, did not live to
see her wish fulfilled. Suitably, too, the South
African eoliths described at the Anthropological
Institute in April 1898, by Professor Rupert Jones,
F.R.S., are added to the Prestwich Collection, a
juxtaposition which will be useful to serious students
of prae-Glacial man.—(Rev.) A. Ashington Bullen,
F.L.S., F.G.S., March 1900.

CORRESPONDENCE.

We have pleasure in inviting any readers who desire to raise
discussions on scientific subjects,'to address their letters to the
Editor, at rz0 Strand, London, W.C. Our only restriction
will be, in case the correspondence exceeds the bounds of
courtesy ; which we trust is a matter of great improbability.
These letters may be anonymous. In that case they must be
accompanied by the full name and address of the writer, not
for publication, but as an earnest of good faith. Whe Editor
does not hold himself responsible for the opinions of the corre-
spondents.—Za. S.-G.

HEREDITY EFFECTS OF OCCUPATIONS.
To the Editor of SCYENCE-GossIP.

Si1r,—If acquired properties are transmissible to
offspring, must not the existence of hereditary trades
or occupations involve a vast field for the operation
of this kind of heredity? Should not the effect on
individuals after many generations be cumulative ?
Have, however, the castes of India—in Ceylon every
trade has its caste or the habits, diets, or occupa-
tions peculiar to each, produced any effects that
might be expected from this point of view? Might
not habits or surroundings in operation during the
whole or the greater part of their lives be expected
to extend their effects to the germ-cell potentialities,
even where sudden mutilations have apparently failed
to do so? This point has, if I mistake not, been
neglected ; but I should be obliged for references
thereto. C. G. S. MENTEATH.

Opper Bedford Place, W.C.

LECTURERS’ DIAGRAMS.
To the Editor of SCIENCE-GossIP.

Si1r,—During the last decade the method of illus-
trating lectures has been entirely revolutionised.
Lantern slides have taken the place of drawn and
coloured diagrams, and in many respects the new
method is a great improvement. A larger variety of
subjects can be shown within the limited time, and
generally with greater accuracy of detail. A box of
slides is more easily carried about than a big roll
of thick paper, and in many lecture-rooms there
is much difficulty in hanging diagrams so that they
can be well seen. Ncvertheless the old method had
some advantages. The lecturer did not have to
speak in the dark, and in the matter of colour the
diagram can often beat the slide. The change, how-
ever, has probably come to stay, and a question
arises as to what is to become of the vast collection
of diagrams which must be cumbering the cupboards
of perhaps hundreds of lecturers throughout the
country. Is there any prospect for them beyond the
bonfire ? Consider what vast labour has been be-
stowed upon them, and how beautiful are many of
them. I have seen some used for hanging on the
bare walls of corridors at soirées and exhibitions.
Could they be utilised in decorating Board School
rooms? Anyone who will suggest a useful career
for these superannuated servants will deserve the
thanks of the community.

It might help towards a practical result if we could
get together some statistics as to the diagrams now
lying idle—viz. the subjects illustrated, the number and
size of the sheets, and whether or not coloured. If
anyone feels sufficient interest in the subject to send
me particulars of his possessions in this line, I shall
have pleasure in collating them and sending the result
to SCIENCE-GossIP. F. T. Morr.

Crescent House, Leicester,

January 29th, 1900.

380 SCIENCE-GOSSTP.

“NOTICES OF SOCIETIES.

Ordinary meetings are marked +, excursions *; names of
persons following excursions are of Conductors. § Lantern
Lllustrations. é

NortH Lonpon Naturat History Society.

» May 3.—} Research Work in Local Societies. R.W. Roberts.

More Swiss Notes. C. B. Smith.

srg Epping Forest. James A. Simes.
SourH Lonpon EntTomorocicat anp Naturat History

Society. ‘

May to.—} § ‘‘ Orchids.”

s» 24.—1§ Another Life History. F. Enock, F.L.S.
LAMBETH FIELD CLUB AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY.
May 7.—} Growth of Plants. E. J. Davies.

» to. *Kingsbury. E. Step, F.L.S.
NorrinGHAM Natura Science Cun. D
May 5.- * Trent and Leen Valleys. J. Shipman, F.G.S.
19.—* Gedling Wood and Burton Joyce. W, Stafford.

”

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

To CoRRESPONDENTS £ND EXCHANGERS. — SCIENCE-GossIP
is published on the 25th of each month. All notes or other
communications should reach us not later than the 18th of
the month for insertion in the following number. No com-
munications can be inserted or noticed without full name and
address of writer. Notices of changes of address admitted free.

Bustness CommuNIcATiIons.—All Business communications
relating to ScreNcE-Gossip must be addressed to the Proprietor
of ScrENCcE-GossiP, 110 Strand, London.

SuBSCRIPTIONS.—The volumes of ScreNce Gossrp begin
with the June numbers, but Subscriptions may commence
with any number, at the rate of 6s. 6d. for twelve months
(including postage), and should be remitted to the Office, r1o
Strand, London, W.C.

EprroriaL ComMuNICATIONS, articles, books for review,
instruments for notice, specimens for identification, &c., to be
addressed to Joun T. CARRINGTON, 110 Strand, London, W.C.

Tue Editor will be pleased to answer questions and name
specimens through the Correspondence column of the magazine.
Specimens, in good condition, of not more than three species
to be sent at one time, car7zage paid. Duplicates only to be
sent, which will not be returned. The specimens must have
identifying numbers attached, together with locality, date, and
particulars of capture.

Tue Editor is not responsible for unused MSS., neither can
he undertake to return them unless accompanied with stamps
for return postage.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

F. B. (York).—The best way to soften wood preparatory to
section-cutting is to soak it in water for two or three days, or
to boil it for some hours. A more drastic means would be boil-
ing in a two per cent. solution of caustic soda ; but this would
require watching. The section-knife should be of the finest
steel, and have a strong but fine edge. An ordinary section-
knife is not strong enough, and a plane-iron knife is better.
Hard paraffin should be used for embedding. See a note on
“Preparing and Mounting Wood Sections” on page 215 of the
present volume of SclENCE-GossIP.

EXCHANGES.

Norice.—Exchanges extending to thirty words (including
name and address) admitted free, but additional words must
be prepaid: at the rate of threepence for every seven words
or less.

Wantep.—“‘Ginger Beer” Plant. Offered, rare named
algae, or will make best other return possible — Miss Stanley,
Dalhousie, Heathfield, Sussex.

Wanvtep Eggs.—Whinchat, wheatear, wood-warbler, kestrel,
pipit, swift, stonechat, chiffchaff, woodpecker, hawfinch, gold-
finch, cuckoo, dunlin, &c. Offered, choice American birds’
eggs and skins, &c ~ Lists exchanged.—Charles Jefferys,
Tetbury, Gloucestershire. k

LANTERN SiipEs of Geological subjects and Glaciers,
wanted in exchange for others.—Samuel Wells, Richmond,
Yorkshire. d :

Orrerep.—‘ The Naturalist,” 1891 to 1896, inclusive (com-
plete). Wanted, ‘Geological Magazine,” 1894 and 1895, or
before 1893.—T. Sheppard, 78 Sherburn Street, Hull.

Microscore Suipes of Diatoms. Botanical, and various ; also
recent books on Chemistry, Machine Drawing. Exchange
for “* Strasburger’s Practical Botany,’ books on Microscope, or
Beale’s Neutral Tint Reflector, other slides or material.— John

. Ward, Lincoln Street, Coventry. ‘

WanTED, eggs in clutches (side blown, with data) of birds ot
prey, including sparrowhawk and other British, also foreign.
Offered, clutches of eggs, British and foreign birds’ skins,
books, &e —H. K. Swann. 42 Dalmeny Road, Tufnell Park,

london, N.

SOu.

WATKINS & DONCASTER,

NATURALISTS and MANUFACTURERS
ENTOMOLOGY, BIRDS’ EGGS and SKINS, and all branches of Natural History

N.B.—For Excelle
Fatrons,

YNCE-GOSS/P.

nee and Superiority of Cabinets and Apparatus,
Museums

OF CABINETS and APPARATUS for

references are permitted to di

» Colle pes, Oe.

lineuished

(Our New Catalogue for 1900 (96 pages) is now ready, and may be had post free on application.

Plain Ring Nets, Wire or Can
Folding Nets, 3s. 6d. and 4s
Umbrella Nets (self-acting), 75.
Pocket Boxes, 6d. ; corked both sides, od., 1s. and rs. 6d
Zine Relaxing Box 6d. and 2s
Nested Chip 6d gross
Entomological Pins, mixed, 15., 18. 6d, per oz
Sugaring Lanterns, 2s. 6d. to 8
Sugaring Tin, with brush, 1s, 6d., 2s
Sugaring Mixture, ready for use, ws. od. per tin
Mite Destroyer (not dangerous to use), 18. 6d. per Ib.
Store Boxes, with Camphor Cells, 2s, 6d., 45., 58. and 6s
Ditto, Book Pattern, 8s. 6d., 9s. 6d. and 10s, 6d.
Setting Boards, flat or oval, 1 in.w6d. ; rh in., 8d. ;
rod. ; 24 in., 15. ; 3 in., 18. ad. ; 3h 1n., 18. 4d
5 in., 18. rod, Complete set of 14 boards, 10s. 6d.
Setting Houses, os. 6d. and 118. 6d. ; corked back, 145
Zine Larva Bo: Chloroform Be nttle, 2s. 6d.
Breeding Cage, 2s. 6d., 43., 58. and 7s, 6d

¢, including stick, us. 3d., 25., 28. 6d

1Zin., gd. ; 2in.,

ah in., 13. 8

es, od., 18, Brass

All articl

> 4 in., 1s. 6d. ;

les enumerated are kept in stock, and can be sent imm

Taxidermist’s Companion, #.¢. a pocket leather case

taining
st useful instruments for

3d. ; Label List Is’ I ad., 6d
er pair, 2 i! and 6d, per box
Cole opteri t's Collecting with tube, 1s. 6d., 1
Botanical Cases, japanned d € tin, 18, 6d., nd., 38. 6d., 45. 6d
Botanic il Paper, 1s. 1d., 15. 4d., 18. 9d., & per qui 78. 6d
Insect Cases, imitation mahogany, 2s. 6d. to 11
Cement for replacing Antenna, 4d. per bottle
Forceps reneemeein pinkie 15. 6d., 25., 6d, per pair
Cabinet Cork, 7 by 34, best quality, 1s. 4d. per dozen sheets.
ao sgt re rs, in le ather s sheath, 1s, od. Insect Lens, 1s, to 8s
Glass Top and Glass Bottomed Baven from 15. per dozen
1G Ald ans of British Butterflies, 2d.
Ditto Land and Fre sh-Water Shells,
Egg Drills, ad., 3d., od. ; Metal Blow Pipe, Xai a 6d
Our new Label List of British Macri 5-Lepid ptera, with Latin and

English Names, 1s. 6d.

tera, every spec a

Our new Catalo gue
numbered, 1s

diately o

of British Lepidop-
; or on one side for Labels, 2s.

n receipt M4 der,

The “ DIXON” LAMP NET (invaluable for taking Moths off Street Lamps without climbing the lamp posts), 2s. 6d.

CABINETS.

The following are the prices of a few of the smaller sizes ;

Minerals and Dried

nsect Egg r 3
Insec o5* Plants, Fossils, &c.
4 Drawers .... 138. 6d, 125. od, ros, 6d.

6 Drawers ...... 175. 6d. 16s. 6d. 15s. od

Special Show Room.

for measurements and larger sizes see catalogue.

Minerals and Dried

Insect =
ba Plants, Fossils, &

Eggs

S$ Drawers ........ a3.
ro Drawers ......+

255.

455.

56s.

A LARGE STOCK OF INSECTS’ AND BIRDS’ EGGS ae SKINS.

Birds, Mammals, &c., Preserved and Mounted by First-class Workmen true to Nature.

C All Ba

36 STRAND, W.C.

ks and Publicatic

(Five Doors from Charing Cross).

ms on Natural History supplied.

W. LONGLEY,

ENTOMOLOGICAL CABINET
and APPARATUS MAKER,
NATURAL HISTORY AGENT AND BOOKSELLER,

12 WHITE HART STREET,

Catherine Street, Strand, London, W.C.

Nets, Breeding Cages, and Apparatus of every descrip-

tion; Cabinets for Insects, Birds’ Eggs, Minerals, Shells,

Coins, ete., etc. ; Pocket Boxes, Store Boxes, and Book
Boxes. Sheets of Cork any size to order.

Scientific Development of the Natural Memory.

Mind-Wandering Cured. Success at Exams.
tg A quick, sure and easy method of learning all Branches of
Science, Mathematics, Languages, &c.
Lessons in ‘‘ the System" conducted in English, French, German,
Italian and Dutch.
““Ican confidently recommend the system in every instance
where much memory work is necessary
G. W. Connor, M. R.C.S., L.D.S. (Lond.).
* Pelman’s system exceptionally effective.""— Ep. Sctence-Gossig
Correspondence Lessons and Personal Tultion.
Prospectus post free on application to the Secretary,
SCHOOL OF MEMORY TRAINING, 70w, BERNERS ST,, LONDON, W.

Telegrams: ** AUKS,” LONDON

Telephone: 1824 GERRARD,

ESTABLISHED 1780.

STE VZEns,

J. C.
(HENRY STEVENS. D. PELL-SMITH.)

AUCTIONEER AND VALUER,
38 KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON, W.C.

This Old-established and widely known Business is now being conducted under new partnership arrangement.

Every Friday at 12.30 Sales are held at the Rooms of Microscopes and all Accessorles by best makers. Milcro-
scopic Slides, Telescopes, Theodolites, Levels, Electrical and Scientific Apparatus, Cameras and all
kinds of Photographic Apparatus. Lanterns by leading makers. Lantern Slides in great variety.

NATURAL HISTORY SALES once and twice a month.

Catalogues and all particulars of Sales, post free.

Valuations for Probate or Transfer, and Sales conducted

in any part of
the Country.

—

ee Sa

| —scnvceon Milligy 9
JOHN J. GRIFFIN & SONS, Lo,

3) Chemical, Philosophical, and Photographic Instrument Makers,

MAKERS TO THE ADMIRALTY, WAR DEPARTMENT, INDIA AND COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS.

gi AND CHEMIGAL APPARATUS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION,

NEW PATENT

HOT AIR MOTORS. | (@) |

NO NOISE. NO SMELL.

Invaluable in a Laboratory or Workshop,

As the full power can be obtained in
less than five minutes,

Gas not Essential. Spirit Burner Sufficient.

Various Sizes, from 7, to $ Horse-power.
FULL PARTICULARS ON APPLICATION.

20-26. SARDINIA STREET,
Lincoln’s Inn Fields,
LONDON; W.C.

W. WATSON & SONS’ MICROSCOPES, ec.

WATSON’S WATSON’S
“W” EDINBURGH STUDENT'S FRAM Z MICROSCOPE.
MICROSCOPE.

WATSON’S
HOLOSCOPIG EYEPIECES.
Provisionally Protected.

* Stand with 1 Hyeviece -- £9 10s.
Ditto, completely fitted with
= aoe ate and 3 in, Provided with adjustment to render
Observes Abbé eile: ‘and them over or under-corrected, they
Case .. oe £15. 2p x aS ‘ ares
LE, J can therefore be used with either

No) other’ Microscope ‘combines “4 Highost=einte Microscope at a very Apochromatic or Achromatic
so many mechanical conveniences moderate cost. ONimasees

and workmanship of such perfect Set X. Stand with x Eyepiece, 1 Me and } in.
character at so low a price. Objectives in Case, £6 15 Price .. .. 417s. Gd. each.

Watson's Catalogue of Microscopes and Apparatus (No. 2) contains Fat artical of their celebrated instruments.
Watson's Catalogue of Microscopic Objects (No, 3) is a Classified List representing a stock of 50,000 first-class specimens,

POST FREE ON APPLICATION TO
W. WATSON & SONS, Opticians to H.M. Govt,, 313 High Holborn, LONDON, W.C.
ESTABLISHED 1837.] 16 FORREST ROAD, EDINBURGH, AND 78 SWANSTON ST., MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA.

Srortiswoope & Co. Printers, NEW-STREET SQUARE, LONDON.
‘