When spread

the consistence of thick gold size. over the edges of the glass cell or vessel intended to contain the object, it should be allowed to dry for a quarter of an hour, by which time the benzine will have evaporated, leaving the surface exceedingly sticky; and this stickiness is not impaired by its immersion in water. Consequently, if the cell or vessel, with its contents, is wholly immersed, the cover may be applied and pressed firmly in its place while still under the surface of the fluid. No other fastening is absolutely required, but it is better when the surfaces are dry to apply a solution of shellac or other varnish round the edge of the

cover.

ZOOLOGY.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION.-The meeting at Belfast, on the 19th of August, promises to be a very successful one. The President, Professor Tyndall (himself an Irishman), delivers the inaugural address, and Professor Huxley and Sir John Lubbock deliver the other two customary discourses. Excursions to all places of interest, such as the Giant's Causeway, Lough Neagh, Carrickfergus, &c., in the neighbour. hood, are arranged for on the Saturday afternoon and the following Thursday, and, as is well known, these have a world-wide celebrity for their geological importance. In another part of our columns will be found an exhaustive sketch of this department of science, written by a competent authority, which we hope will be found useful to such of our readers as may be members of the Association. A new feature of interest this year is the room to be set apart for the exhibition of specimens and apparatus used in illustration of papers.

NATURAL HISTORY OF NORFOLK.-The Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society stands foremost among the provincial associations of its kind for the earnest and excellent work its members have done within the few years of its existence. Starting with the idea that their duty was first of all to investigate the natural history of the county, they were enabled all the better to do this through having among their ranks gentlemen of well-known authority on several subjects. Among others, Mr. C. G. Barrett, the assiduous entomologist, had already done good work, not only in always being ready to help younger students, and as a reference to any difficulty arising in respect to entomology, but more particularly he had been noted for the exhaustive manner with which he investigated the Lepidoptera of Norfolk whilst he resided at Norwich. Many of his notes were published in the Entomologists' Monthly Magazine, and now we have the pleasure of drawing attention to the "Supplement" (of 80 pp.) to the "Transactions" of the Society, in which the lepidopterous fauna of Norfolk are minutely described,

and many of their varieties noted. The lists an habitats are further enriched by Mr. Barrett's great knowledge of the literature of the Lepidoptera. No fewer than 1,240 species are thus enumerated, and entomologists generally will appreciate as they ought this important contribution to natural science.

"BIRDS AND PRIMROSES."-For several seasons we have been annoyed by finding the ground around our primroses, &c., strewn with their blossoms. Careful watching at last discovered the cause of the mischief. Chaffinches and other small birds were detected in the act of nipping off the flowers, and no doubt rested on our minds that their object was -as suggested by Mr. Darwin-to obtain the nectar. I may add that the flowers attacked were perfectly healthy: we saw no insects.-H. M. C. Alten, Barcombe.

POPULAR SCIENCE.-The Popular Science Review for July contains several valuable articles, all by eminent writers, to which we are anxious to draw the attention of our readers. Among others are to be noticed a fully illustrated paper on "Plumularians," by the Rev. Thomas Hincks, F.R.S.; one by Dr. Leith Adams, F.R.S., on the "Natural History and Geographical Distribution of Living and Extinct Bears;" and a third on "The LichenGonidia Question," by the Rev. J. M. Crombie.

NOXIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.-The sixth Annual Report on the Noxious, Beneficial, and other Insects of the State of Missouri, by C. V. Riley, State Entomologist, has just appeared. Like the rest of these valuable reports which have been given to the world, the present is marked by careful observation, and details of the life-history of the insects, which cannot fail to be of great economical value. The illustrations are often of every stage, so that the recognition of the different species is rendered an easy matter for those to whom the report will be most useful. A word of commendation ought to be given to the artist for the excellent style of the illustrations.

INSECTS AND FLOWERS.-I have observed this spring that the bees extract honey from the flowers of the Wisteria by drilling a hole through the calyx. I have seen the big bumble-bees drilling the holes, and the honey-bees making use of these holes. Whether the latter have strength to bore the holes I am not sure; but it is curious that they should not treat the honeysuckle in the same way. It would be easier to pierce the corolla of that flower than the tough calyx of Wisteria, and it would yield a more abundant supply of nectar. No doubt there is some reason why they do not, and perhaps you can inform me what it is.-C. T.

SKELETONS OF SMALL ANIMALS.-I can recommend the following as a ready mode of obtaining

the skeletons of small animals :-Remove the skin and as much of the viscera as possible, together with such portions of the flesh as are easily cut away. Then place the animal at a little distance from a wasps' nest; and, in the course of a day or two, the wasps will have cleared away all the remaining portions of flesh, so that with a very little further care and trouble the skeleton will be ready to set up.J. S. Tate.

"SKELETONIZING."-In answer to "J. E. W.'s" inquiry, I would advise him to try the following plan, which I have proved to be most effective and simple-Place two or three dozen mealworms, which may be obtained in a bakehouse or other place where meal of any description is stored, in a tin biscuit-box partly filled with bran; then let him adjust the specimen of which he is desirous of securing the skeleton upon a suitable stand, and introduce it, without skinning or any further preparation, into the midst of the bran, and I will answer for it that in a few weeks' time he will find as perfect a skeleton as he could wish, only requiring a slight finishing touch with a camel's-hair pencil. -H. L.

EGGS OF LAMPERN OR OF LAMPREY.-I have failed to obtain the eggs of the Petromyzon fluviatilis from our fishermen at Oxford, and have thought it not unlikely that the readers of SCIENCEGOSSIP might help me to make sure of a supply next year. I am prepared to go to an expense of several pounds in order to secure an adequate series, and shall be very sincerely grateful for inforImation which will enable me to carry out my object. My purpose is to study minutely the development of the eggs, and what I desire chiefly is to know with certainty where, and at what season, and precisely how, they may be obtained next year. Whilst asking for help, I may as well make another similar request, viz., for information as to the eggs of Limax and Arion. I have obtained them in quantity in Germany, but have never met with them in England.-E. Ray Lankester, Fellow and Lecturer of Exeter College, Oxford.

THE CANTERBURY TICK (p. 121).-The generic term Argas is derived from the Greek apyns, white, glistening. Certainly, being entirely eyeless, it can have nothing to do with him "of the hundred eyes." It is a most interesting creature, and I have long suspected it would turn up in England in some ancient dovecot, though little prepared to hear that it has lurked at Canterbury for a quarter of a century. Is the representation of the connection of the claws with the foot, at fig. 86, quite correct ?-W. W. Spicer.

UNSUSPECTED PROPERTY OF THE STAG-BEETLE. -When we incautiously handle nettles, red ants, and certain hairy caterpillars, an irritating sensa

tion is experienced, followed by more or less inflammation. This effect is said to be due to an organic acid, which, in the free state, produces that result on tender skin. Formic acid, so called from its being first discovered in the body of the red ant (Formica rufa), may be detected by simply holding the hand over an ant-hill; a peculiar tingling sensation is the consequence, accompanied by the pleasant aromatic odour of the acid. To examine the acid qualitatively a few of the ants may be digested with water; on filtering, and adding chloride of gold to one portion of the filtrate, the compound is reduced to the metallic state, carbonic anhydride being evolved. Another portion of the solution may be heated with concentrated sulphuric acid, when carbonic oxide is given off. These are the ordinary tests for formic acid. I am not certain if it is known to entomologists that the stag-beetle possesses properties analogous to the above. The beetle should be allowed to walk over the back of the hand, at the same time being gently pressed; the skin should then be rubbed with a piece of dry cloth. The hand soon throws out a rash, strongly reminding one of the measles. The question arose, which of the twenty-two movable claws were urticaceous? At the lower extremity of each tibia of the first pair of legs there is a movable claw; the tibia of the remaining two pairs possess two each. These are the only claws so disagreeably endowed. The attempt to discover an organic acid proved a signal failure, for when blue litmus-paper was pierced with these claws no acid reaction took place, indeed no fluid appeared to issue from the extremities at all. I experimented with a female stag-beetle from Kew Gardens. Nearly all beetles possess these movable claws; they are seen to perfection in such beetles as Dynastes Hercules, and certain members of the genus LUCANUS. The question is, are all clawed beetles gifted with similar properties, and is the effect due to formic acid?-G. Halse.

BOTANY.

SEASIDE PLANTING.-The following observations on this subject have been received from Mr. C. B. Saunders, nurseryman, planter, and florist, of the Cæsaren Nurseries, St. Saviour's, Jersey:-"Atriplex halimus is a plant of very vigorous growth, and is well adapted for planting in exposed situations near the sea; it grows in great abundance in the hedgerows in the Bay of St. Brelades, island of Jersey; its pretty silver-grey foliage recommends it very strongly to the admirers of variety in foliage; it thrives in most descriptions of soil, growing luxuriantly in sand, and with equal vigour in the strong loam of my nurseries. The propagation is most easy from cuttings of ripened growth under bell

glasses in the shade; associated with Elder, Tamarisk, the different varieties of Euonymus, Japonicas. the evergreen Oak, Cupressus macrocarpa, Pinus Austriaca, and the Silver Poplar, it forms a very pleasing effect, and well deserves the attention of all planters on the southern, western, and eastern coasts of England; the peculiar cylindrical and pyramidal form of the branches renders it less liable to be broken by the winds than most other plants, and, from the pliancy of the branches, it yields to the pressure of the gales off the sea, and resumes its erect form as soon as they have passed over. Being indigenous to a warm climate, it is liable to lose its foliage during the winter months, but its growth is so rapid in the spring that reaction commences almost as soon as it is denuded of its leaves, and it soon recovers its wonted beauty. It is desirable that in the selection of plants for seaside planting, attention should be paid to their peculiar form of growth; the peculiar power of resistance which the Tamarisk (Tamarix Gallica) possesses is attributable to this; the Cupressus macrocarpa (broad-leaved Cypress) also presents the same form, and I know of no other conifers which resist the sea breezes so well as these two particular plants. It would appear that the battling of the wind tends to accelerate rather than diminish their growth, after they are fairly established in the soil; but as it is impossible to form a plantation of rows of trees with these shrubby-growing plants, we are obliged to have recourse to other descriptions of trees, and here of necessity attention should be paid to form, the pyramidal being the most acceptable, as being least affected, and of which the Guernsey Elm (Ulmus sarniensis) is a fair type, and recommends itself very strongly on account of its hardness and its very persistent foliage. The evergreen Oak (Quercus ilex) may also be strongly recommended, as, in addition to its pyramidal growth, or rather susceptibility of being kept in that form, and rapidity of growth, with the hardness of its foliage, it suffers less than most evergreen trees.

The Black Austrian Pine (Pinus austriaca) is also a very hardy tree, and grows, in spite of wind and weather, in the most exposed situations, its long pliable leaves being a great protection to its branches, and its marked peculiarity of retaining its lower branches, so as to form a robust pyramid of growth, which is in reality the most acceptable of all forms." With the above observations Mr. Saunders writes:-"I have thousands of evergreen Oaks in pots, from one to six feet high, of pretty pyramidal growth. I also find I have six or seven dozen strong plants of Atriplex halimus in pots, and would engage to furnish any number of young-rooted plants at 1d. each by next Easter, if they were required, and early notice be given me. The seeds I have never been successful in saving.”—T. B. W., Brighton.

MERCURIALIS AMBIGUA.-I lately found this plant on a spot in cultivated chalky ground, on the Brighton Downs, near the race-stand. It appears to be rare, as in Hooker's "British Flora" two localities only are given, viz., Jersey and the Isle of Wight. Sir William Hooker calls it a variety of the Mercurialis annua, adding :—“It certainly has a very different appearance, but Decandolle and most authors do not consider it distinct." It differs, however, from M. annua in being monœcious, having male and female flowers on the same plant, and is, as Hooker says, so different in appearance that it might well be called a distinct species. Withering does not notice it, and Wildenow refers to it as M. ambigua. (See Loudon's "Encyclopædia of Plants.")—T. B. W., Brighton.

SEA-SIDE SHRUBS.-The variability of trees and shrubs, when planted on exposed sea-coasts, has been the subject of discussion in SCIENCE-GOSSIP for several of the last numbers. Premising the opinion that it is not the saline state of the air or soil that is per se the difficulty which the planter has to encounter, but that, whether on the sea-board or in the inland, a sufficiency of suitable soil and a degree of shelter are the two greatest requisites, we may mention, from our notes, the plants which we have ourselves remarked to flourish in more or less exposed situations on the sea-shore; and more or less luxuriantly. On the coast of Normandy, about Havre, may be well studied what trees and shrubs are likely to succeed on our own chalky southern coast. The Halimus grows well there, as also species of Ilex, Euonymus, Cornus, Arbutus, &c., likewise the red-flowered Horse-chestnut. On the English side of the Channel Tamariscus is seen at Margate and Hastings, and I dare say at many other places not noted by the writer. It is very large near the Lizard, growing on poor sand. We think Hippophae does not grow, at least wild, west of Kent. We noticed a luxuriant hedge of Halimus at Ventnor on the exposed beach, and another of Euonymus (latifolius ?). Ruscus aculeatus grows in sand about Portsmouth, as does the Gorse, covered with the Dodder, there and at Land's End. Escallonia flourishes, as a garden plant, in the Isle of Wight, but not more luxuriantly than in the Isle of Man, where also occurs, of large size and almost naturalized, the Fuchsia. In this latter island, too, are seen growing in luxuriance the Tree-mallow, Buddlea, Hydrangea, often with blue flowers, large myrtles, and several genisteæ. Penzance, as well as Havre, is a good locality to ascertain what plants will thrive in sea-air. We noticed large aloes, treeveronicas, mesembryanthemums, verbenas, daphnes, arbutus, escallonia, bays, fuchsias, giant-geraniums, myrtles, cistus, cape-jasmine, buddlea, laurestinus, pomegranate, and palms growing luxuriantly in the open air. The Fig seems all but wild north of

Hayle. But, what is more to the purpose, several of the willows and sallows grow well on the shore, the former becoming large trees. The Austrian Pine and Pinaster will form a fine grove. The Larch lives, but, instead of rising nobly aloft, becomes twisted in a very remarkable manner; and so with the Ash, for we noticed one at a farni-house near the Worm's-head, so horizontally bent that it covered over the farm-yard with its umbrageous branches, just above the heads of the hinds and cattle.-R. G.

TERATOLOGICAL NOTES.-As an addendum to the very interesting paper on Teratology in your last number, I may mention that I found the other day a remarkable head of clover (Trifolium pratense). The calyx was normal; the standard petal of the corolla was much enlarged, and green and leaf-like. The other petals were reduced to scales, and within them, on a slight prolongation of the axis, was a whorl of tiny though perfect flowers about nine in number, apparently replacing the stamens. There was but a simple abnormal head on the plant.— G. P.

HIERACIUM MACULATUM.-In company with that detestable weed Lactuca virosa, this fine hieracium is still to be found in Chichester, where it was observed by Borrer-floruit, floreat. I believe that this is its only station in Sussex; but should like to know to the contrary. There are points of interest about this hawkweed, as will be seen by reference to Smith and Sowerby; and I shall be glad if any one, through the medium of SCIENCEGOSSIP, will state other localities in which it now abounds.-F. H. Arnold, LL.B., Fishbourne.

A WIND-FERTILIZED CRUCIFER.-At a recent meeting of the Linnean Society, Mr. A. W. Bennett exhibited drawings of the style, stigma, and pollengrain of Pringlea antiscorbutica, Hook. f., describing the remarkable manner in which the pollen of Pringlea differs from that of other nearly allied Crucifers, being much smaller and perfectly spherical, instead of elliptical with three furrows. This he considered a striking confirmation of Dr. Hooker's suggestion that we have here a windfertilized species of a family ordinarily fertilized by insects, an hypothesis which is again confirmed by the total absence of hairs on the style of Pringlea.

GEOLOGY.

THE DIAMOND-BEARING ROCKS OF SOUTH AFRICA.-Prof. Maskelyne and Dr. Flight have recently read a paper on this subject at the Geological Society of London. The authors confirmed certain statements made by one of them from a superficial examination of specimens brought to this country by Mr. Dunn. The specimens ex

amined and analyzed by Dr. Flight were obtained from various diggings and from different depths, down to 180 feet in the case of one mass from Colesberg Kopje. Their characters throughout are essentially the same. The rock consists of a soft and somewhat pulverulent ground-mass, composed of a mineral (soapy to the touch) of a light yellowish colour in the upper, and of an olive-green to bluishgrey colour in the lower parts of the excavations. Interspersed in the mass are fragments of more or less altered shale, and a micaceous-looking mineral of the vermiculite group, which sometimes becomes an important constituent of the rock, which also contains bright green crystals of a ferruginous enstatite (bronzite), and sometimes a hornblendic mineral closely resembling smaragdite. A pale buff bronzite occurs in larger fragments than the green form of the mineral; and in the rock of Du Toit's pan an altered diallage is present. Opaline silica, in the form of hyalite or of hornstone, is disseminated through the greater part of the rock-masses, and they are everywhere penetrated by calcite. The analyses of the component minerals (given in detail in the paper) show that this once igneous rock is a bronzite rock converted into a hydrated magnesium silicate, having the chemical characters of a hydrated bronzite, except where the remains of crystals have resisted metamorphism. Except in the absence of olivine and the small amount of augitic mineral, it might be compared with the well-known Lherzolite rock. The diamonds are said to occur most plentifully, or almost exclusively, in the neighbourhood of dykes of diorite which intersect the hydrated rock, or occur between it and the horizontal strata through which the igneous rocks have been projected. The authors compare the characters of the diamonds found in different positions, and come to the conclusion that their source is not very remote from that in which they are now found. The mineral above mentioned as resembling vermiculite is described by the authors as a new species under the name of Vaalite.

GEOLOGY OF BARNET.-The geology of Barnet is on the whole rather uninteresting to the collector, but the deposits in its neighbourhood possess much interest to the student of physical geology. In reply to your correspondent K. Brierly, I may mention that he will meet with the following deposits in the neighbourhood of Barnet:-1. Londor clay; 2. Gravel and sand; 3. Boulder-clay. 1. The London clay forms the substratum of the entire country in the vicinity of Barnet, and although it is exposed here and there in brick and tile-yards and in the railway-cuttings (Great Northern main-line), it rarely yields many fossils. It is a stiff bluish-grey and brown clay, containing here and there bands of septaria or cement-stones. 2. The gravel and sand cap most of the hills at

Barnet and round about, but the gravel varies in different localities in its structure and composition, so much so as to lead some geologists to make two divisions; namely, pebble gravel and middle glacial: the whole of it is, however, older than the boulder-clay. The middle glacial gravel and sand underlie the boulder-clay of Finchley and Whetstone, and contain fragments of many rocks, of which flint, quartz, and quartzite are predominant, the flint being sub-angular and rounded; the gravel also contains numerous rolled fossils from many different geological formations. The pebble gravel is characterized by the very rounded nature of its materials, and is made up almost entirely of pebbles of quartz and flint. It caps the high grounds at Barnet and other places north of Finchley. I am not aware that any derived fossils have been found in it, and it would therefore be interesting if your correspondent found some. 3. The boulder-clay may be recognized by the occurrence in it of numerous pellets and boulders of chalk, which often give it a whitish appearance. It also contains unworn flints, and rocks and fossils from a number of geological formations. Mr. Wetherell, of Highgate, has made an extensive collection of British fossils from the boulder-clay and gravel of Finchley and Muswell Hill. It may be studied in the railwaycuttings near Church End, Finchley, and it is also scattered here and there over the country to the north. In regard to publications referring to the district, I may mention Mr. Henry Walker's pamphlet on the "Glacial Drift of Muswell Hill and Finchley," 1874 (price 6d.); also the Geological Survey Map, sheet 7, showing drifts, which in the neighbourhood of Barnet were surveyed by Mr. F. J. Bennett and myself, and Mr. Whitaker's "Memoir on the Geology of the London Basin." The two latter publications, albeit rather expensive, would be useful in long excursions, when the chalk and Reading beds displayed at South Mims and Northaw might be examined.-Horace B. Woodward, Geological Survey of England and Wales.

FOSSIL OYSTER BED.-A fossil oyster-bed has recently been discovered near Croydon; it extends over a considerable area, and lies about ten feet below the surface, in a stratum of clay, sandy loam, and pebbly gravel, locally known as pea gravel; the bed is a friable mass of shells and is only about seven to fourteen inches in thickness: some casts of oysters are very perfect, and several other species of shells occur, but not in such good condition. I have heard that a lobster has also been found in the same bed.-E. Lovett.

GEOLOGY OF BARNET.-K. Brierly should get, or see sheet 7 of the Geological Survey Map, the last edition (with the drifts shown). The Memoir on that sheet is out of print, but the greater part of it