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ZOOLOGY.

A PARASITIC ROTIFER? In some water taken from a pond near this place last Christmas, I found a few days ago several specimens of Daphne covered with a species of Rotifer, of which the following is a sketch. The power used was a quarter-inch. If

Fig. 74. Parasitic Rotifer (?) on Daphnia.

you or any of your correspondents can enlighten me as to the name and habit of this rotifer, I shall be much obliged, as it is quite new to me, and I can find no mention of it in any work on Infusoria which I have at hand.

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A BRITISH TURTLE. A young Hawksbill Turtle (Chelonia imbricata) was a few days ago exhibited in the streets of Hastings. It had been caught by a fishing-boat thirty miles off Beachy Head. The occurrence of this turtle in British waters is of very rare occurrence. The carapace of this individual was about a foot long.-A. W. L.

REPTILE HYGROSCOPY.-Toads have a fine appreciation of moisture in the air. Near the writer's residence is a sheet of water, situated on the top of a hill. In spring great numbers of toads come from the fields around and make for the pool, no doubt made aware of its proximity by their hygroscopic sensibility, and designing to deposit their ova at its margin. Unfortunately for themselves, they are not able to ascend the fence in question, and so fall victims in numbers to thoughtless boys.-R. G.

POPULAR SCIENCE.-The last number of the Popular Science Review contains several capital articles, from the pens of some of our most eminent scientific men, all of which will be read with great interest. Among them are papers "On the Structure of Camerated Shells," by H. Woodward, F.G.S.; another on "The Temperature and Movement of the Deep Sea," by Dr. Carpenter; one on the "Fhysiological Position of Alcohol," by Dr.

Richardson; and the last "On the Nature of Sponges," by H. J. Slack, F.G.S. In addition to the above are other articles by R. A. Proctor and S. J. Mackie, on the "Eclipse of last December," and "The Lithofracteur."

MARINE AQUARIA.-The success which has attended the foundation of a marine aquarium in the Crystal Palace has induced a number of gentlemen to start a company for the purpose of establishing one in Manchester. A site has already been obtained in the vicinity of Alexandra Park, and the aquarium at Sydenham will be taken as a pattern. It will be a promising feature in the future education of youth, when one of their amusements in every town and city will be an introduction to the many strange forms which inhabit the dark caves of ocean.

NORTH AMERICAN HYMENOPTERA.—Mr. E. T. Cresson has commenced, in the February number of the Canadian Entomologist, a series of descriptions of North American Hymenoptera. The first part begins the family Ichneumonidæ, with the genus Mesochorus. By the statute of incorporation, the Entomological Society of Ontario is required to furnish the Commissioner of Agriculture with an annual report of insects noxious or beneficial to agriculture, and the last report of this kind is now announced as ready.

NEW SPECIES OF SERICORIS.-Mr. C. G. Barrett has described, in the Entomological Magazine for March, a species of Sericoris, allied to Cespitana, which is new to science. Its habitat is in Ranworth Fen, Norfolk, in July. Mr. Barrett has named this new species Doubledayana, in honour of Mr. Doubleday, the well-known entomologist.

SAW-FLIES AND WATER.-A communication has been made to the Entomological Society by Mr. P. Cameron, to the effect that the gall-making saw-flies avoid those parts of willow-trees that overhang water, on account of the impossibility of the larvæ descending for the purposes of pupation in the earth. A similar fact has been recorded with regard to the American plum-weevil.

FRESH-WATER POLYZOA.-Mr. Stewart recently explained to the South London Microscopical and Natural History Club that he had succeeded in killing Polyzoa with the tentacles expanded, by adding a few drops of the best French brandy to the water in which they were living. He supposed they were overcome by the liquor before they could draw in their tentacles.

"THE name 'Lory' has been given to this tribe of Parrots because they have the habit of saying the word 'Lory' over and over again."—" Beautiful Birds in Far-off Lands."

BOTANY.

CHLOROPHYLL IN THE LOWER ORGANISMS.Professor Famintzin has communicated to the Academy of St. Petersburg a paper on the use of inorganic salts as an important aid in the study of the development of the lower chlorophyll-containing organisms. His solutions were made with a view to tracing the kind and amount of variability in the development of the lower alge under cultivation. Among other means he employed a solution of lime, potash, and magnesia, in which he found algae developed with remarkable freedom.

COLOURING MATTER IN FUNGI.-Mr. H. C. Sorby has determined the existence of at least thirty distinct colouring substances in fungi. The majority contain at least two, and many of them several, different kinds. Twenty of these have such well-marked optical qualities that they could be recognized without difficulty in other plants, but only one of them, a fine orange-colour, is known to exist in any plant not a fungus. As far as Mr. Sorby's observations extend, there is little or no specific agreement between the substances found in fungi and those met with in algae and lichens, though the two latter orders are closely related in this respect.

THE PASSION FLOWER.-The earliest passionflower introduced to the Old World is Passiflora incarnata, in 1629, from North America; but the universal favourite, P. cærulea, was not known here till 1699, from Brazil. Hence it is vain to expect a pre-Reformation example of this genus. Yet from the pertinacity with which decorators use this flower, especially at Easter-tide, it is evident that they assume it to have been a sacred emblem. I have been told the following is the interpretation given to the various parts of the flower. The columella is typical of the scourging-post; the 10 petals and 3 sepals, the thirteen apostles; the 5 stamens, the five wounds; and the 3 stigmas, the nails. The crown of thorns is represented by the inner circle of rays, and the crown of glory by the larger circle; while the leaves are emblematic of the open hand that struck the blow; and the tendrils, the scourges and bonds. Yet an authority, erroneous though it may be, must exist, for this wide-spread use of the ornament; and this it seems is the Rose-en-Soleil, the favourite badge of Edward IV., and used so repeatedly by him and his partisans. The badge is frequently to be met with in quarries of church glass; and the colour being yellow and outline only, it bears a consider able resemblance to the common Passion-flower, especially when on greenish glass. I have seen it in the church of St. Martin at Palace, Norwich, and also in Ely Cathedral, and was there told by the verger that they were passion-flowers. At

Martham, in Norfolk, the carver has used the P. cærulea as his model with considerable success as an ornament. -T. G. Bayfield.

THE TRUE SHAMROCK.-St. Patrick's day has passed and gone, but I have not till now had au opportunity of putting a query which perhaps some of your correspondents may be kind enough to answer for me. In the first place, what kind of plant may the so-called "true Shamrock" be? and secondly, what might be the supposed derivation of that word? for concerning the right answer to these two questions, a vast deal of uncertainty seems to prevail in the minds of people in general. Now, if we take into consideration that there are, as I believe, somewhere about a hundred and fifty species of trefoils, some being perennials and some annuals, and that the colour of the flowers varies from dark crimson, and sometimes scarlet, to purple on the one hand, and to white, cream-colour, and pale yellow on the other, it will be perceived that it is somewhat a difficult task to point out accurately which may be the said "true Shamrock." Of course, any one species would do as well as another to illustrate the doctrine of the "Trinity," and as far as that goes, there need be no preference given to one especial kind at all. I remember, when residing in England some years ago, having a small plant sent over from Ireland by a friend, of what he termed true Shamrock (we had plenty of what, to my uninitiated eyes, looked like shamrock growing on the lawn),—that, however, he called clover. Great care being taken of this true shamrock; the result was that in about three weeks it could not be identified from the clover above mentioned. Since then I have doubted the propriety of singling out any one kind of trefoil as the veritable shamrock of St. Patrick.-J. S. William Durham.

BERRIES OF ARBUTUS. A fact in vegetable Teratology of which we have seen no notice, not in Dr. Masters's volume for instance, is presented by the little Arbutus (so called) with mucronate leaf, often cultivated in gardens. In early summer its red berries, whilst yet on the plant, will be found, when they are opened, to have their seeds in a growing state; that is, each one with green leaflets as well as radicle.-R. G.

NEW FUNGI.-On the 6th of April I again met with the new Badhamia (B. capsulifer, B.), and I hope in a few weeks to meet with more of it, when I shall have pleasure in supplying any of my friends with specimens, as far as I can. Mr. Cooke's description, from Berkley's "Outlines of Badhamia," is as follows:-" Peridium naked or furfuraceous; spores in groups, enclosed at first in a hyaline sac." With the exception of a Badhamia on Jungermannia, which I have never met with, all others heretofore known to be British, have been found on wood.

The new one is to be found on the under-side of the leaf of Petasites vulgaris, known in this district as Butter-burr, and in some parts of the country is I called wild rhubarb. The other new fungus referred to in SCIENCE-GOSSIP last month, and which I found at Chelford, Cheshire, I don't expect to meet with until mid-winter. I may add that I found Uromyces ficarie and Ecidium ranunculacearum on the 25th March; these dates being unusually early.-Thomas Brittain.

GEOLOGY.

NEW FOSSIL BUTTERFLY.-The American Naturalist for March states that Mr. S. H. Scudder has discovered a new genus of fossil butterfly from Aix, which was deposited in the Marseilles Museum. The name given to it is Satyrites Reynessii. The specimen consists mainly of the two fore wings, the venation of which is very distinct. This butterfly is of the form and has the general appearance of Portlandia, although it is more nearly related to the East-Indian genus Debis. Butterflies allied to Indian species have been found fossilized in the miocene beds of Croatia.

FRANCE DURING THE JURASSIC PERIOD.-M. Saporta has come to the conclusion, from a careful examination of the fossil plants of the Oolitic or Jurassic epoch in France, included equisetums, ferns, conifers, and cycads, that that country enjoyed a mean temperature of 25° Centigrade nearly the same as that now prevailing in tropical countries.

FOSSIL FISH IN PALESTINE.-Under the above heading, a correspondent (G. F. Warner) in last month's SCIENCE-GOSSIP, quotes a passage from an early history of the Crusades, descriptive of a stone from the neighbourhood of ancient Sidon, which inclosed a fossil fish; and he wishes to know whether there is modern evidence as to such remains being still found in Palestine. It will interest him, and possibly some of your readers, to know that the evidence is abundant and conclusive that many genera and species of fossil fishes abound in the rocks of the Lebanon. They have been figured and described by many authors, but chiefly by De Blainville, Agassiz, Kotschy, Keckel, Pictet, Humbert, Egerton, and others. The fossils are found in a limestone, which is easily split in the direction of its bedding, and it is referred to the Lower Cretaceous period. In nearly every layer a scale, or a bone, or a fish, in a more or less perfect state of preservation, may be found. The colour of the stone is yellowish; that of the organic remains (which include some small crustacea as well as fish) is a rich reddish-brown. Examples are far from uncommon in which the profile of the fish, with the bones and the fin-rays in their normal

position, are most perfectly conserved; and occasionally groups of many individuals occur. Among the species are representatives of three of the four orders of fishes as founded by Agassiz; viz., Placoid, Ctenoid, and Cyeloid; and probably among the undescribed species, of which there are several, a Ganoid may be discovered. More than fifty wellauthenticated species have been described; those belonging to the Cycloid order are the most numerous, there being no less than nine species of Clupea or Herring. Specimens have for many years been preserved in public museums and in some private collections, both at home and abroad. The British Museum possesses a fair collection of these remains, among which is exhibited a specimen presented long ago to that institution by the eccentric Lady Hester Stanhope, who resided for many years in the Lebanon; and also some fine examples, some being new forms, from a large series collected by the Rev. H. B. Tristram during his scientific explorations in Syria and Palestine. If your correspondent desires further information respecting this subject, I would refer him to Pictet and Humbert's 'Nouvelles Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles du Mont Liban," 1866, where he will find a summary of all that has been written relating to it.—W. D.

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AMERICAN MASTODON. An interesting discovery has recently been made in the vicinity of Jamestown, New York. The remains of a skeleton of Mastodon giganteus was found imbedded in a post-tertiary deposit of peat and marl. The tusks were estimated to be twelve feet in length before they were much disturbed or broken. What is singular is, that, in proximity to the visceral cavity, a mass of undigested food, eight or nine bushels in quantity, was met with. The food consisted of shoots and twigs of pines and firs. The height of the skeleton is judged to have been fifteen feet, and its length seventeen or eighteen feet. It had six teeth, the largest of which weighed five pounds and a half.

NEW FOSSIL FISH.-Sir Philip Egerton has just described a new genus of fossil fish from the lias of Lyme Regis, to which he has given the name Prognathodus. Dr. Günther is of opinion that in its dentition it establishes an additional piece of evidence in favour of the connection between the Ganoid and Chimæroid forms.

A NEW FOSSIL BIRD.-Prof. Marsh has described the skeleton of a large fossil bird, stand ing at least five feet high, which he met with in the Upper Cretaceous deposits of Western Kansas. Although a true bird, it differs widely from any known recent or even extinct form. The name he proposes to give to it is Hesperornis regalis. In many respects, this unique fossil he considers to be most comprehensive in its relationships.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

SANDPIPERS.-It is not usual for any sandpipers, except the Purple Sandpiper, to do what "H. G. R." describes.-G.

SUGARING FOR NOCTUA.-Will some of the correspondents of SCIENCE-GOSSIP be kind enough to advise me how to make the best mixture for "Sugaring for Noctua "?-H. Elliott.

FIELD CLUBS.-The Leeds Naturalists' Field Club and Scientific Association meets every Tuesday evening. Rooms, Leeds Mechanics' Institution, Cookridge Street. President, Thomas Hick, B.A., B.Sc. Joint secretaries, James Brodie and Wm. D. Roebuck.

GOLDEN EAGLE IN SOMERSETSHIRE. It is worthy of record that a pair of golden eagles were seen some years since in the extreme west of Somerset, above Porlock. One of them was killed on Oare Common, near Badgworthy Wood; and this bird, preserved and mounted, is now in the possession of Mr. Snow, of Oare.-I. Gifford, Parks, Minehead.

ERRATUM.-In "Canine Gyrations," page 52, eight lines from the bottom, instead of the words may perhaps," read " can scarcely."-E. C. L.

HOUSE FLIES AND BLOW-FLIES (p. 94).-1 take leave to doubt the assertion that, either in England or New Zealand, the former species would in any way assist in exterminating the latter. Where one is abundant, it may sometimes happen that the other is scarce or absent; but, frequently enough, both are numerous and annoying at the same time. How should one affect the other? Their larvæ feed upon different substances; M. domestica breeds in dung and stable refuse, while its relative, M. vomitoria, is, as all know, a meat-devourer. The blow-fly, however, has its insect enemies; and amongst them is, I think, a parasite of the Dipterous order, whose history I have read, but cannot at this moment refer to.-J. R. S. C.

THE CLIONE.-I have carefully investigated oyster-shells, stones, &c., and find similarly sized cavities in stones, and as clustered as in oystershells. There is invariably, on close examination, to be found a shell, in some stage of development, in the tunnel, as far as my observation goes. go against the theory that the sponges bore for themselves. I have found this shell as small as a butterfly's egg in the tunnels both of limestone rock and oyster-shells.-G. E. R.

A SUGGESTION.-Having seen in SCIENCEGOSSIP several complaints of the inaccuracy of Local Floras, Botanists' Guides, &c. &c., I think the following (if practicable) would be a remedy. To form a botanical club or society, with a recorder to keep the lists of localities sent, &c.; and, when complete, to have them published. I think that a great number of botanists in all parts of Great Britain would be willing to give aid to such a plan. I should like to hear the opinions of other correspondents on this subject, through the medium of this journal.-J. B. Blow.

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in Davies's "Welsh Botanology," page 99 (published 1813):-"H. Tunbridgense: Filmy-leaved Fern. At Trewilmot and Holyhead mountain; very searce." It would be interesting to know whether it is to be found in those localities now or not.-Rev. W. Davies.

CLOTHES MOTHS.-I should feel greatly obliged by your informing me how to destroy thoroughly the tiny moths that eat woollen garments. I have suffered a wholesale destruction of coats, trousers, flannel shirts, &c., that has driven me, a very poor man, to the verge almost of madness. I have tried camphor, insect-powder, pepper, &c.; but all in vain. What can I do to save the remnant of my clothing that may be yet left to me, for I hardly dare to examine my clothes? Being short of boxes, I kept these garments mostly in bags that originally brought coffee or rice to England; but they have entered my two boxes even. I have caught and killed hundreds of these (Tinea, I think they are called) in only a week during last summer and autumn.-W.M. M.

ENDROMIS VERSICOLOR.-In the March issue of SCIENCE-GOSSIP, an article appears on "Webweaving Caterpillars," and among those instanced, is that of Endromis versicolor (the Kentish Glory moth). I should like to ask the writer (C. Lovekin) whether he so terms this larva from personal obser vation, and if not, whence his authority? During a series of years I reared hundreds of the larvæ and distributed thousands of the eggs, yet never saw the least approach to web-weaving; indeed its habits are directly opposed to that theory. When hatched, the young larvæ are black; they proceed at once to station themselves on the twigs of the Birch, in a position so as closely to resemble the small black stumps so numerous on that food-plant. their first moult they are green, and it is then almost impossible to distinguish them from the catkins of the Birch; when more advanced in growth, they resemble the developed leaves in colour and contour: thus protection by assimulation is afforded, and web-spinning is not only unnecessary but would be contrary to the usual economy of nature. A life history of this insect may be found in the Entomologist for April, 1865, page 184.-George Gascoyne.

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HYBERNATION OF SWALLOWs.-From time to time there have appeared, in SCIENCE-GOSSIP, papers on the supposed hybernation of swallows, whether above or beneath the water. The following incident may perhaps throw light on the origin of some of the ideas current on this subject. In the early part of the year 1843 I was residing at Great Glenham, in Suffolk. One morning about the beginning of March, I was told that a swallow had been seen coming out of a pond near our house. I expressed my disbelief in the correctness of this information, but was assured that there could be no mistake. Some days afterwards our gardener came to me in triumph, and told me that he had brought me the swallow, which had been found dead near the pond where it had be fore been seen. On taking it in my hand, I saw at once, from its webbed feet, that it was a storm petrel (Thalassidroma pelagica or T. Leachii); but, being quite a boy at the time, I was not then aware that there was more than one species. I must confess that, at first sight, it looked very like a swallow, and I should not have been surprised had the mistake been made by far better observers. Doubtless the poor bird had been driven inland by a violent gale,

with which we had been visited a few days previously, and had rested on the pond until disturbed by our informant. Had not the bird been found, the rising of the swallow from the pond would have seemed incapable of satisfactory explanation.E. N. Bloomfield.

DO ANIMALS EVER COMMIT SUICIDE? In support of the theory of your correspondent "J. R. S. C.," viz., that animals do sometimes commit suicide whilst in a state of insanity, I may call attention to the following incident of indubitable veracity recorded in Jesse's "Anecdotes of Dogs :"- “ "A fine, handsome, and valuable black dog of the Newfoundland species, belonging to Mr. Floyd, solici tor. Holmfirth, committed suicide by drowning itself in the river which flows at the back of its owner's habitation. For some days previous the animal seemed less animated than usual, but on this particular occasion he was noticed to throw himself into the water and endeavoured to sink by preserving perfect stillness of the legs and feet. Being dragged out of the stream, the dog was tied up for a time, but had no sooner been released than he again hastened to the water and again tried to sink, and was again got out. This occurred many times, until at length the animal, with repeated efforts, appeared to get exhausted, and by dint of keeping his head determinedly under water for a few minutes, succeeded at last in obtaining his object, for when taken out this time he was indeed dead."-H. A. Auld.

THE SWORD-FISH (p. 71). My attention has been fully directed to the subject named by "E. H. R.," and I concur with him in the opinion that the reverend gentleman who wrote the article alluded to has fallen into a very grave misapprehension. The fish which he describes as the Xiphias gladius, I take to be a species of seapike: the small specimens found on our coast are known as Gar-fish (gar, A.-S., "spear, pike, or javelin"). It was formerly classed with the Jack, as Esox belone; Cuvier named it Belone vulgaris, but it is now described as Lepidosteus lucius; Lepidosteus, from its hard scales; lucius (pike) being a misnomer, derived from the Fleur-de-lis, or White Lily of France. Two species may be seen at the British Museum and the College of Surgeons ; viz., L. lucius, the Gar-fish, and L. osseus, the Bony Pike; the latter is, probably, the fish figured in the Leisure Hour for January, the woodcut in question being altogether unsuited for the true Sword-fish (X. gladius), or for the Saw-fish (Pristis antiquorum).-A. Hall.

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FLEA-BITES! The extraordinary amount of irritation and swelling which these occasion in some instances can hardly be accounted for on the supposition that this bite is a simple incision. In SCIENCE-GOSSIP of last year, an interesting account was given of the tongue and lancets of the flea; but I cannot help thinking there is something which the microscopic investigator has missed as yet; viz., some gland or other apparatus which yields a poisonous fluid, that is thrown into the puncture. If there is anything of the kind, it must be exceedingly potent, since the supply of it cannot be large, and a flea will leap hither and thither upon the human skin, biting a dozen times in quick succession, each bite being followed by the usual result. From a friend whose experiences in this direction are particularly painful, I glean the fact that the bite of what is (presumably) the

male fica, or at least the smaller individual, is most to be dreaded.-J. R. S. C.

MICE AND BIRDS.-In reply to your correspondent "Tedesca's" question, I beg to state that one night, a few weeks since, I observed one of my birds, a linnet, which was ill, roosting near the lower part of my aviary. The following morning it was found dead, and partially devoured by the mice. During the summer of 1870 I missed one of my hen canaries from the food-troughs, and, on▾ examining the nest-box where she had been sitting, I found nothing but a mass of feathers, with scarcely a vestige of the poor bird amongst them: the mice had eaten all, even the bones, beak, and claws! Whether these birds were living or dead when the mice attacked them, remains of course an open question, but I have every reason to think that they have destroyed numbers of unfledged canaries in the nests. Can any one suggest a plan to prevent their entrance into aviaries and large cages ?-E. M. P.

FUNGI.-I shall esteem it a great favour if any of your correspondents who have had experience in preserving fungi will kindly inform me of the best mode of preparing them for the cabinet.-H. A. Auld.

NEW FUNGI.-Allow me to correct an error which appeared in the last number of SCIENCEGOSSIP, p. 90, in reference to Perichana quercina, F., found by Mr. T. Brittain. It was not I who identified the plant, but C. E. Broome, Esq., to whom I sent it, being myself unable to identify it. This may appear a trivial matter; but when a gentleman takes the trouble to identify a plant, it is but just that he should have the credit for so doing. William Phillips.

WOOD-PIGEONS. The turnip tops found in the crops of the Wood-pigeons are precisely what might have been expected, the green leaves and shoots of the turnip forming their favourite winter food. These are varied with clover-leaves in the spring; later on, seeds of the dock, chickweed, charlock, and other "pests of the farm." About harvest time, the above, with the addition of wheat and barley; after harvest, acorns and beech-mast, of which they are very fond. There is no doubt Wood-pigeons will feed on corn when they 'can get it; but their opportunities for harm are limited, for good unlimited; and the immense quantities of noxious weeds destroyed by them, at all seasons of the year, far outweigh the harm done, at certain seasons, in places where they unduly abound.-Thos. Southwell.

VITRINA PELLUCIDA.-It is very probable that those who assert that the Vitrina is incapable of wholly withdrawing into its shell, and those who assert to the contrary, are both right. My own observations lead me to believe, that when the Vitrina is found in a moist condition, no amount of irritation or force employed can make it withdraw itself entirely within its shell; but if put in a dry place, and left without moisture, it is then capable of shrinking entirely within the shell, so as to enable it to fit the mouth of the shell to any flat surface it may be attached to. Having kept a couple of Geomalacus maculosus for a few months under a bell-glass, and having introduced a few Vitrina pellucida under the same cover, 1 was surprised to find the Vitrina shells empty in a few days: this led me to believe that the Vitrina had

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