that would paralyze even Mr. Wood's powers of literary work.

MICROSCOPY.

DIATOMACEÆ CARBONIFEROUS

Count F. Castracane, a well known microscopist, and investigator of those minute but exceedingly interesting organisms, has (says Der Naturforscher) announced to the Accademia Pontificia at Rome, that he has been fortunate enough to prove the existence of diatomaceæ during the Coal period. His first object of investigation was a piece of Lancashire coal, which was pulverized and then exposed to a white heat. The decarbonized dust is then treated with nitric acid and chlorate of potash in test tubes, and washed clean with distilled water, and then placed under the microscope. The diatomaceæ found in this coal belong, with the exception of a Grammatophora, of a small Coscinodiscus, and of an Amphipleura, entirely to freshwater genera and species, such as the following: Fragillaria Harrisonii, Sm., Epithemia gibba, Ehbg., Nitzschia curvula, Kz., Cymbella scolica, Sm., Synedra vitrea, Kz., Diatoma vulgare, Bong. The presence of the marine forms, which were present among the very numerous freshwater diatoms, only in one single specimen, appears to prove that, at one time, even sea-water found its way among the vegetation from which the coal under investigation originated. Besides this Lancashire coal, Count Castracane investi

gated coal of the Carboniferous era from other locations, as, e.g., a piece of the so-called Cannel coal from Scotland, from Newcastle, and from the mines of St. Etienne. In every one of the pieces, the presence of diatomaceæ in greater or less numbers was proved. And in none of the specimens was there a single form found which did not belong to fresh water. The species varied in the three different specimens of coal, but, as in the case of the Lancashire coal, not even a single new form was discovered, but all closely agreed with the existing freshwater diatomace, from which they could not be distinguished by the most practised eye. The shapes of the coverings, the details of the structure, form, and number of the markings,in short, all the signs by which the species of diatomaceæ are generally distinguished, are, in the diatomacea of the Coal period, identical with those of existing species; so that these organisms, in the indeterminably long period from the Coal epoch to the present time, have undergone no perceptible modification.-J. S. Hill.

YEAST IN MEDIA FREE FROM OXYGEN.-M. Traube has described certain experiments which tend to prove Pasteur's doctrine that yeast may be originated in the absence of free oxygen, to be erroneous. When care was taken to exclude free oxygen by means of a stream of carbonic anhydride no yeast was formed, even in the case of fermentable liquids, which rapidly developed yeast on exposure to the air. Ready-formed yeast, however, can increase when free oxygen is excluded, but there is reason to believe that the oxygen required for this increase is not derived from sugar, but from albumenoid substances, as the yeast was found to cease growing while unaltered sugar remained in the liquid. When oxygen is excluded, yeast can produce fermentation in pure sugar solution; but in this case the yeast does not increase. It seems probable, therefore, that fermentation is not a purely chemical but a vital process.

MICROCHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF ANGUSTURA BARK.-The Journal of the Chemical Society states that when thin transverse sections of true Angustura bark are examined under the microscope, and compared with sections of false bark, both being moistened with glycerine, irregularly scattered cells will be observed in the true bark, whereas the false bark presents two zones of sclerogenous cells entangled with one another. When the sections are moistened with water, cells containing calcium oxalate are seen in the true bark, but they are absent in the false bark. When true Angustura bark is moistened with nitric acid, a granular substance, supposed to be cusparin, melts in each cell, with disengagement of gas, into a red liquid, which finally disappears with excess of acid; but in

the false bark the coloration spreads through the tissue. When a thin section of the suberous layer of false Angustura bark, first treated with nitric acid, is immersed in glycerine, the cells are observed to be rounded, empty, and coloured emerald-green on the sides: this appearance is not observed in the suber of true Angustura bark.

ZOOLOGY.

THE LATE CHARLES KINGSLEY.-All true naturalists will mourn the loss of this earnest and genial popularizer of modern science. Our columns have frequently been enriched by his kindly answers to querists, for he was one of those who did not think it beneath him to help a learner out of a difficulty. His memory will live long in the hearts of many young naturalists, whom he introduced to some of the marvels of God's creation; and our library shelves will long continue to bear his volumes, for the sake, not only of their suggestive science, but for the clear and manly English in which they are written. Charles Kingsley occupied a place in the debatable ground between theology and science which it will be hard to fill.

RARE BIRDS.-It may interest your readers to know that on the 6h ult., on the Burrows, near Bideford, I had the good fortune to observe, among the flocks of larks and other birds, numerous snow buntings. I obtained two specimens, both very fat, their crops being full of small seeds. A specimen of the shore lark was also shot, and others seen. Are not both of these birds rare so far south as Devonshire ?-E. V.

PATHOLOGY OF OAK-GALLS.-At a recent meeting of the Linnean Society, Dr. Hollis read a paper on the pathology of oak-galls. Oak-galls may be divided into two classes, -the unilocular or onecelled, which include the woody marbled oak-galls, the ligneous galls of Réaumur, and the currant leafgalls; and the multilocular or many-celled, including the spongy oak-apple and the oak-spangles of the leaves. The author went with some detail into the structure and history of development of each of these kinds, taking a few examples of each. With the exception of the oak-spangles, all the different kinds appear to be formed during the growth of the leaf.

The pathological differs from the healthy development in the more rapid growth of its cellular elements and in the larger size they attain: this is gained at the expense of the differentiation of the matrix of the bud. The author traced the origin of the different layers of the gall itself to the different layers of the leaf from which it is produced.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.-At a recent meeting, Professor Newton, F.R.S., gave an account of a MS. in the French Archives de la Marine, which contained some additional evidence as to the original fauna of Rodriguez, and called special attention to the unknown writer's account of the terrestrial birds of that island, amongst which were mentioned the "Solitaire," the Erythromachus leguati of A. Milne-Edwards, and other now extinct forms. A communication was read from Dr. A. B. Meyer, Director of the Royal Natural History Museum, Dresden, containing the description of a new Bird of Paradise, skins of which had been sent to him, and which it was proposed to call Diphyllodes Gulielmi III. The habitat of this new bird is stated to be the inner mountains of Eastern Waigiou.

FISHES OF THE MAMMOTH CAVE.-Professor Putnam has recently made some interesting additions to our knowledge of the fauna of this remarkable cave. He passed ten days in the Cave, and succeeded in obtaining large collections of its inhabitants. Among them were five specimens of a fish, of which only one individual had heretofore been known. This was obtained in a well in Lebanon, Tennessee. Professor Putnam had previously described it under the name of Chalcologaster Agassizii, and as being of a dark colour, and very different in its habits from the blind fishes of the Cave. It lives principally on the bottom, and is very quiet in its motions. It belongs to the same family as the two species of blind fish found in the Cave. Professor Putnam also obtained fine specimens of four species of fishes that were in every respect identical with those of the Green River, showing that the river fish do at times enter the dark waters of the Cave, and when once there apparently thrive as well as the regular inhabitants. A large number of the white blind fishes were also procured from the Mammoth Cave and from other subterranean streams. In one stream the blind fishes were found in such a position as to show that they could go into daylight if they chose, while the fact of finding the Chologaster in the waters of the Mammoth Cave, where all is total darkness, shows that animals with eyes flourish there. Professor Putnam found the same array of facts in regard to the crayfish of the Cave, one species being white and blind, while another species had large black eyes, and was of various shades of brown colour. A number of living specimens of all the above inhabitants of the waters of the Cave were successfully brought to Massachusetts, after having been kept in daylight, proving that all the blind Cave animals do not die on being exposed to the light, as has been stated.

TENGMALM'S OWL.-It may interest some of the readers of SCIENCE-GOSSIP to hear that a specimen

of Tengmalm's Owl has been taken in this neighbourhood. It was shot by a son of the gamekeeper of the Egtou estate as it was sitting in a tree. Hearing that a small species of owl had been killed, I sent for it and stuffed it, expecting it was the Little Owl; but after seeing a description of Tengmalm's, I thought it was the latter, and sent it to friend who knows them well. He returned it last week, saying it is Tengmalm's Owl without doubt. As it is not a common bird, I thought a notice of it might be acceptable. Wm. Lister, Glaisdale, Yarm.

THE POSITION OF HYBERNATING WASPS.-I last season placed a piece of wood in our garden, in which I had made some holes, to try and induce a leaf-cutter bee to form her nest in it. I did not succeed in this; but on examining it this morning, I found three wasps (V. vulgaris) hybernating therein. What struck me was the uniform and peculiar way in which they had folded their wings: the abdomen was slightly curled; the antennæ, anterior and intermediate legs were folded close to the body, and the folded wings, instead of being along the back, as is usual with these insects, were brought beneath the body, behind the posterior legs, and laid side by side, the tibia of the posterior legs passing over the wings, as if to keep them down; and the tarsi were between the abdomen and the wings. I have sent this-it may be nothing new after all; but I never saw it before, or remember to have seen it noticed.J.B.B.

BOTANY.

ALPINE BOTANIZING.-Having read with much interest the paper on "Alpine Botanizing," which appeared in the January number of SCIENCE-GOSSIP, I should like to add a few remarks, as suggested by the writer at the close of his paper, which may be of further service to collectors. I quite agree with the plan recommended of putting the plants as soon as possible under a heavy weight, and the very simple expedient of placing the dryingcase each night under the mattress of one's bed, answers admirably, insuring a useful amount of weight and also heat, which is most beneficial in drying flowers. Collectors will do well always to furnish themselves with a book, in which to mount their specimens when dried; with a small bottle of adhesive cement and a brush, for fastening them in; and some strips of paper gummed at the back, for the stems and thicker parts of the plant. None of these articles take up much space. The gummed paper is kept in the book, which is strapped to the drying-case, while the cement and the brush are not a great increase to one's pocket, or a wallet, which is a useful adjunct to all tourists. Dried

plants do not keep well unmounted, especially during a journey; the sooner they can be mounted the better, for I am convinced that this helps to preserve the colour. I have now some beautiful blue Gentians, which were gathered on the Rigi, in June, 1873, and have retained their tint almost perfectly; these were in press I think only two, at most three days, and were then transferred to my book; it is true they were not then fully dry, but I do not think it is always necessary that they should be before mounting, as with a piece of blottingpaper over them the process of drying still goes on. Alchemillas, Gnaphaliums, and other hard plants, may be put into the book with advantage the day after being gathered, and their colour will be found to be much more permanent than if allowed to be all absorbed by the blotting-paper. The advantages of this speedy mounting during a tour are manifold; besides those above mentioned, there is always much more interest attaching to the flowers before they have lost their first beauty; if they are kept unattached for several weeks, waiting to be mounted, it is very probable that in many cases they are sacrificed, whereas, by placing them at once in a book, with the locality and date of finding, they furnish a pleasant memorial of one's journey, and formed with very little trouble, and without a great tax on one's memory or time, while the much-needed space in one's drying-case thus given is no little boon. Of course, this plan is one only suited to amateurs (or as an additional collection to the more scientific one of the regular botanists), the objection being at once felt, that where it is pursued, there is almost an impossibility of classification. However, if the object of the collection is to preserve reminiscences of a summer trip in the Alps during holiday time, I think the collector will be well rewarded, and may leave his more scientific friends to pursue botany as a business, with more method and more leisure. It is sometimes well to empty out one's drying-case, and let it dry thoroughly in the sun, or on a stove. When flowers grow much clustered together, or have very fleshy stems and leaves, it is always advisable to remove the flowers, and press them quite separately in a pocket-book, or any odd volume one may have at hand; if not, the blossoms are almost sure to be spoiled, while, with a little care, there is no difficulty in building up the plant again in a perfectly natural manner, when ready to be mounted. It is interesting to obtain, if possible, all the parts of a plant, including the root and seeds, as only a very partial knowledge can be gained from the flower and leaf alone, these only being often all that is to be found in amateur collections. At the poverty and meagreness of these I am sometimes surprised; but I think decided improvements may be obtained by attending to the valuable hints of Mr. Howse, and to the above suggestions.-M. Y. S.

FLEUR-DE-LIS.-Can any reader of SCIENCEGOSSIP explain why this flower became such a universal favourite as it is, and always has been, in churches, both ancient and modern, and elsewhere? We find it not only in churches but in heraldry, armorial bearings, crests, &c.; it is also a common pattern for papering walls, especially in parsonage houses; it is also a public-house sign as the "Flower-de-Luce," the name given by old English writers. The name Lis is evidently a misnomer, as every one knows the Fleur-de-Lis is always represented as an Iris, and bears no resemblance to a Lily, although several of the Lily tribe are in France called Fleur-de-lis; it has been said, however, that the word is is a contraction for Louis, because the Fleur-de-lis was worn by the kings (Louis) of France as a cognizance in the wars, and originally called "Fleur-de-Louis " (or by contraction "lis"). It may, perhaps, have been chosen by the French priesthood not only as the emblem of France, but out of reverence for Saint Louis, the ninth French king of that name. The word 'Luce certainly comes nearer to Louis than lis. The Iris has also been called Lis de Saint Bruno, and probably after other saints also, which may account for its introduction as a church ornament in the middle ages. The Fleur-de-lis forms part of our royal arms, and was probably introduced into England by the Dukes of Normandy, or by the subsequent monarchs of Great Britain, who were styled "kings of Great Britain, France, and Ireland." Loudon says the name of Iris was given by Theophrastus, Dioscorides, and Pliny, from the variety of its colours, and that, according to Plutarch, the word Iris signified in ancient Egyptian tongue eye, the eye of heaven.— T. B. W., Brighton.

THE GERMINATING POWER OF SEEDS.-M. Böttger states that a moderately concentrated solution of caustic soda or potash promotes the germinating power of seeds to an extraordinary degree. If a handful of common coffee-berries are shaken up in a tumbler with a weak solution of caustic potash, snow-white shoots, one or two millimetres in length, will appear, often within the space of two or three hours.

THE GLASTONBURY THORN.-My descendant of the true tree was full of buds almost bursting before Christmas, but the frosts of the joyous season of this year completely killed some of these early bunches of flowers. However, the fine warm weather we have experienced for the last three weeks has at the present time brought an abundance of buds nigh unto bursting. I have ere now had some well-formed bunches of flowers from this tree fully opened on my dinner-table on our modern Christmas-day; but usually when it flowers so early the flowers are somewhat ragged and imperfect. It