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George is of opinion that it may be a variety of some other Family. Living specimens kindly supplied by him, disclosed this crucial peculiarity, and substantiate the division of the Group into those possessing two eyes, the Hygrobatides, and those having four, the Hydrachnides.

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In every exhibition of Microscopic life, such exclamations as "wonderful," "beautiful,' quaint," are ordinary and natural forms of expression: so perfect, startling, and novel, are such visions as revealed by fine instruments, and, conceding this sweeping admiration as a condition of the mental excitement of a casual observer, most assuredly, to the more experienced, rarely are seen gems of animation equal to these creatures when exhibited with good illumination from an argand gas flame close to the mirror, reflected through a carefully focussed paraboloid. Under such conditions these dainty mites (beyond eccentricity of form) disclose marvellous beauty of colour: scarlets, azure-blues, browns, greens and yellows, of such delicate and subdued transfusions, as might teach a lesson in tone to the finest artist, and beyond this, a vivacity of motion, a humour of attitude, that every swirl, every movement reveals fresh shimmerings of light, and more comical postures.

In the December, 1882, number of this Journal, Mr. George states that to convey even an ideal representation of their beauty requires the assistance of "colour." It may be added, as a matter of experience, that even a mere semblance requires something more; the highest resources of the palette can never approach "light," and what is the white of drawing paper, or the most delicate resources of the lithographer, compared with the glowing hues and blazon of microscopical illumination?

The life-history of the Hydrachnea has been fairly traced; they are found in clear ponds, and slowly running brooks, easily discovered by their peculiarity of motion and brilliancy; a mustard seed in dimensions, a ruby in appearance, routing about with unmistakable carnivorous instincts; in their earliest stage they require hospitality; at birth the young swim freely, but eventually become commensal, possibly parasitic on some aquatic insect. They then assume a condition of passive contentment, increasing in size, and passing through successive larval stages to a perfect condition, only becoming free when ready for reproduction. . This is supported indirectly by Westwood, who, referring to pond beetles, states, "notwithstanding their large size, they are subject to the attacks of a minute parasite," at that time considered to be a perfected creature. But it was proved to be the immature state of an Hydrachna, affixed as a minute oval bag with a narrow neck to the upper side of the abdomen, infesting particularly Dytiscus marginalis, beneath the elytra. It is possible the Hydrachnea might be developed and reared in a tank in which the larger

water beetles were kept and liberally fed; it has been observed that an excess of the larger life in a tank will develop organisms not otherwise attainable. Mexican axolotls, the size of young rats, fed once a week on raw beef, have lived in captivity for several years in a receptacle of very limited dimensions; the water never changed, but merely replenished, has always been in all seasons a world of microscopic life. In their perfect condition, the Hydrachnea are predatory, capturing with ease, and living upon Entomostraca; they may be preserved for months in a vase with fragments of growing weeds; but living food must occasionally be supplied. They should be examined "alive" under such conditions as will subdue and restrict their activity. Mr. George states that, if a specimen be isolated in a saucer in a drop just sufficient to keep it endeavouring to swim, and then deluged with hot water, it will exhibit all its features, necessarily, in a passive condition. It may then be transferred to, and closed in a cell, in the same water, and kept sufficiently long to afford prolonged examination; but, as permanent objects for the cabinet they appear to be failures, the vascularity rotundity, "tightness," and delicacy of their integuments seem to defy any known preservative medium; "without pressure," they collapse, and become wrinkled; flattened, "under pressure," their integrity is too impaired, either for accurate observation, or drawing.

Crouch End.

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WINTER BOTANY.

CHILLON WOODS, MONTREUX.

WE

(DECEMBER 5, 1884.)

had arrived at our Montreux quarters for the winter, November 26th. After one or two days of brilliant sunshine, a heavy snowstorm had set in, fully six inches lying on the ground for the next thirty-six hours. This was followed by a rapid thaw with several very bright sunny mornings. On the morning of December 5th, we determined to revisit some of our old haunts, choosing a well-known path leading from Territet through the upper village of Veytaux, and climbing the wooded mountain slopes to descend on the opposite side by the woods and Chillon Castle. In previous years we had found an endless wealth of mosses, lichen and fungi, with some few interesting flowers still lingering as late as December. Nor were we disappointed in our search. Even in the snow-covered patches the hardy little Gentiana verna had opened its wonderfully blue corolla under the influence of the genial sun, and we counted twenty-four separate plants, at an elevation of 1500 feet above the sea in full vigorous bloom; they were smaller plants, it is true, than the ordinary spring growth, but equally brilliant in colour. Hard

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by, nestling in the thickest bed of moss, and sheltered by the stump of an old chestnut, the ever-green and tough-stemmed mountain Polygala chamabuxus was in full flower; the pairs of leaves closely resemble those of the box-tree, which the varied tints of the petals shade from white to yellow, red or brown; a honey-scented plant that grows in splendid masses in spring, and very frequently in company with Gentiana verna. A strong spike of Salvia verbenaca, larger in all its parts, and far brighter in colour than an English species, was growing out of a wall. It had escaped the heavy snows, and we left the plant in the hope that sunny days might preserve the handsome coloured stem for the last few weeks of the year. In the dry bed of a mountain torrent a tall mullein stood upright, crowded with golden yellow blossom to the very tip. The leaves were smooth, slightly clasping the stem; each flower had a patch of brown in the centre, while purple hairs covered the stamens; the species apparently being Verbascum Blattaria; again we had not the heart to cut it down. On every wall the delicate little creeper, Linaria Cymbalaria, with ivy-shaped leaves and lilac flowers, was out in profusion.

Two very striking plants next claimed our attention. Helleborus fœtidus, type of the Christmas roses, filled almost every crevice: the dark leaves deeply cut and serrated with the lighter green of the calices, afford a most pleasing variety, especially when the sepals have a tinge of reddish purple. Daphne laureola, the second of these evergreen plants, is also plentifully distributed through the Chillon Woods. The leaves are entire, of a dark, shiny green; the axillary clusters of greenish flowers were in full bud, but hardly open. A little later, or rather early in the next year, the sweet-scented Mezereon (Daphne Mezereon) will be abundant higher up in these very woods, flowering before the young leaves appear. Trailing in a thicket, though not in the woods, we found a large quantity of the orange scarlet capsules of the Physalis Alkekengi, or winter cherry. Though not indigenous in England, many will be familiar with the orange calyx, which fades away, leaving a network surrounding the orange fruit, which is extensively used as an article of food in North Italy, at the Cape of Good Hope, and other parts of the world. A handsome decoration may be made of this plant, which preserves the orange scarlet in a dry state for many weeks after it is gathered. It is a notable fact that, while the fruit of so many genera of this order are deadly poison, the physalis is harmless. Even the fruit of the potatoe is said to be injurious, and the tubers are unwholesome in a raw state.

By the side of a trickling mountain stream a few solitary flowers of Saponaria officinalis still lingered, though the beauty of the delicate flesh-tinted petals was somewhat lost. Here and there a crimson

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cluster of berries still hung on the boughs of Guelderrose (Viburnum Opulus), a shrub or tree not to be confused with V. Lantana, the mealy guelder-rose, so common to English hedgerows. In rocky crags, above the slopes of brush-wood, a splendid array of Asplenium fontanum was in full beauty; it is an evergreen fern, having lacy fronds which would enrich any collection, and is extremely easy to cultivate. It is said to have been exterminated in North Wales, where it once flourished. We would earnestly beg of botanists, not only in England, but also in Switzerland, to gather plants and ferns only with care and judgment. It is generally so easy both to obtain specimens, and at the same time to leave plenty of a plant for propagation. Unfortunately this care is not always exercised, and unscrupulous collectors are doing great harm each year in the Alps. So many thousand plants of edelweiss," for example, have been taken recently for trade purposes, that the Swiss authorities have been compelled to publish notices to tourists and would-be collectors, strongly urging care in the matter of gathering plants. Having been diligent in botanical collecting for over fifteen years we must emphatically repeat an opinion that it is never necessary to exterminate rare plants, even while obtaining the desired specimens. Asplenium trichomanes and A. viride, we found plentiful in several parts, the former, indeed, everywhere. A. Adiantum-nigrum is more sparingly scattered through these woods; splendid fronds of Polypodium vulgaris we noted, so large as to make us wonder if it was not a different species of polypody. While naming the winter ferns, we may remark that Polystichum lonchitis, the holly-fern, grows in woods, the opposite side of the lake, and Ceterach officinale covers one wall not two miles away from Montreux. The leaves of Chelidonium majus, the greater celandine, were still fresh on many of the stone walls. Out of curiosity we cut through the main 'stem of a strong-looking plant to see if the yellow sap was still flowing; there was little trace of the colouring matter; the stem appeared dried up and shrinking away. In February the fresh life will well up into leaves and stems; the mysterious power in nature which causes the renewal of vital energy will once more be in activity, and the suspended process of growth be continued. In a corner of a vineyard at Chillon, several deep crimson flowers of Fumaria officinalis attracted the eye. On the grassy slopes two pink-blossomed specimens of Erythræa centaureum remained, all the leaves faded, and, with a few terminal flowers only; a solitary plant of Solanum nigrum, with a cluster of white flowers, we found on a heap of loose stones, having several of the rather large black berries on a second stem. Of the numerous fungi we cannot say more now than to note the size and beauty of the scarlet Peziza cochinea, which is plentiful in parts of Chillon woods. It was a strange appearance to be gathering

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The fly is about the same size as the house-fly; is of a dark sage green colour, rather thickly covered with black hair. The wings have a tendency to assume a rusty brown hue towards the base; the legs are decidedly a dead black.

I have selected this creature as the subject of the present sketch, for the reason it may be looked upon as a typical example of form-all the teeth being similarly shaped, as in the blow-fly, but differing therefrom in the following respect: they terminate in three distinct points, having perfectly straight edges, and therefore differing from Musca domestica

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Fig. 1.-Teeth of Anthomyra meteorica, mag. 200 diams. a, position of secondary teeth.

TEETH OF FLIES.

ANTHOMYIA METEORICA.

By W. D. HARRIS, Cardiff.

No. III.

WOW troublesome and teasing is that cloud of flies (Anthomyia meteorica) which readers must often have noticed in summer rides hovering round the heads and necks of our horses, accompanying them as they go, and causing a perpetual tossing of the former (Kirby & Spence). To this might be safely added, if they cannot find the horse they have no very decided objection to accompany the pedestrian, and he must be very thick skinned, or come from a very well behaved stock, if he is not tempted to speak of his persecutors in language more forcible than polite.

minor. They are very long and narrow, but, nevertheless, very strong instruments, the chitine being quite dark as compared with some creatures.

Three of the central teeth appear to be backed up with indications of a second row (a); but the chitine is very delicate, and if present in the remaining teeth is difficult to make out; each lobe of the proboscis contains eight teeth, and here again is a distinction which often creeps in when the same form is preserved, as will be seen later on.

ON the 5th December, Mr. R. Meldola, F.C.S., read a paper at the Geologists' Association, on a "Preliminary Notice of the East Anglian Earthquake" of April 22nd, 1884. Dr. Hicks also gave a paper on "Some Recent Views concerning the Geology of the North-West Highlands."

THE

EARLY SUN-GLOWS.

'HE remarkable sun-glows of last and the present year having attracted a considerable amount of attention among scientists, and being believed by many to be wholly unprecedented in the history of the earth, it may be of interest and value to give an account of the occasions on which similar phenomena have been observed in North Europe, according to the most reliable Scandinavian historians.

Such purple glows as we have recently admired have been observed in the earliest times, when people believed that they were warnings from heaven of great coming disasters, as, for instance, war, plague, or famine. There appears, however, to be no reliable record of such a phenomenon until the middle of the sixteenth century. Thus, in the summer of 1553, such a glow, or, as it was then called, fire-sign, was observed all over Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and, strangely enough, a terrible plague visited these countries in the same year. In Copenhagen its ravages were so great that the academical lectures at the University had to be adjourned for several months, and the students left the capital.

The next glow was seen in the year 1636, when sailors, returning to Copenhagen from voyages in the Baltic and the North Sea, reported that for weeks the sky seemed on fire after sunset, and also in that year a plague visited the shores of Sweden and Denmark. By these coincidences popular superstition was further strengthened, although it was subsequently proved that the purple glow seen in 1636 was caused by a terrible eruption of Hekla, the great Iceland volcano.

On the night of January 4, 1661, a frightful storm broke over North Europe. One whirlwind after the other unroofed houses and uprooted trees in hundreds, while the tide rose so high on the coast of Jutland that large districts were flooded. For several days the sky seemed a bath of lurid fire, and a great terror was caused amongst the population, most of whom believed that the Day of Judgment had come. The celebrated Danish historian, Bishop Jens Birkerod, writes in his diary "that the sky was terrible to behold; it looked as if on fire; " while his father, Professor Jakob Birkerod, asserts that he felt shocks of earthquake in the island of Funen. The same authority records that evil prophets predicted the last day, and, as the phenomenon passed without disaster, they stated that it had only been postponed for a period of three years to give sinners time for repentance. When August 6, 1664, arrived, great terror prevailed in Denmark, and all churches were thronged to suffocation.

The next phenomenon of this nature was seen throughout Denmark, according to the first-named authority, on May 22, 1680, at sunrise. Long before

the sun rose the entire heavens were filled with a blood-red light, and when the sunbeams shot forth "liquid fire seemed to rain from the sky." Again people became terribly alarmed, which was further increased by the report of a great comet approaching the earth'; when it finally became visible in the following December, the popular mind was in a state of perfect madness.

Another aerial phenomenon occurred in Denmark on Shrove Tuesday, 1707. At about seven o'clock two enormous beams of light were seen running from W.N.W. to N.N.E., which made night for several hours as light as day. Some, however, refer this phenomenon to the aurora borealis, but it is strange that it should not have been more widely recognised as such in that country.

But the most recent true sun-glow was observed in 1783-exactly a hundred years ago-throughout Scandinavia. It first became visible in Copenhagen, on May 29th, and lasted until the end of September. This glow is stated also to have been seen in the whole of Europe, as well as Asia and Africa, in that year. The sky was red as blood at sunset and sunrise, but there was one great difference between this phenomenon and the last one, viz., that the sun's disk was semi-obscured during the day and almost completely so when rising and setting. In other respects, as, for instance, temperature, heat and cold, moisture and drought, the phenomena of 1783 was identical with the last one witnessed. This glow too caused great consternation in North Europe the last day being believed to be at hand. It should be mentioned as a point of weighty importance that, in the spring of the same year (the exact date is unknown), a frightful eruption of the Skapta Jökul, in Iceland, took place. This glow seemed in many respects to have resembled that of 1636, when Hekla was in terrific activity.

It will thus be seen that, although English records of sun-glows such as the recent ones are limited to one or two instances, the phenomenon has been observed in North Europe, more or less prominently, on several occasions during the last three centuries.

A

GOSSIP ON CURRENT TOPICS.

C. S.

By W. MATTIEU WILLIAMS, F.R.A.S. CURIOUS statement is made in "The Journal of Science," of last October, by a correspondent who states that, "If a workman is allowed to bring his dog into any manufactory where he is employed, it is astonishing how quickly the animal finds out who is who' in the concern. His profound respect for the head of the establishment, and for the managers, foremen, and office-bearers in general, forms an amusing contrast to his sauciness to private workmen." This is an observation well

worthy of experimental verification or refutation, and the required experiments may be easily made. I cannot help suspecting that the officer most likely to command the highest degree of canine respect would be the watchman or door-keeper, or whoever else had the power of turning the dog out, or allowing him to come in. If otherwise, a very interesting field of further observation is opened in the determination of the dog's mode of arriving at his conclusions concerning official status: whether the tone of command impresses him, whether he imitates the bipeds, or how otherwise he is impressed.

Further observations are also demanded in reference to a curious statement made by M. G. Rafin, in a communication to the French Academy of Sciences. He states that a large wood fire having been kindled near an ant hill in the Island of St. Thomas, the ants precipitated themselves into it by thousands, until it was completely extinguished, and he proposes to name this species of ant the Formica ignivora. The first impulse on reading this account of the fire-eating ants is one of incredulity, but further reflection on well-known facts modifies this impression. The fascination of a bright light on insects effects a wonderful amount of suicide. When I lived in the neighbourhood of Twickenham (towards Fulwell), I observed during three successive summers that the bottom glass of the road lamps was darkened by a deposit of very small flies that had flung themselves into the flame and perished; and that the ground around the lamps was strewn with thousands of their bodies. A multitude of similar instances may be named. Possibly the fire exerted a similar fascination upon the ants.

A correspondent to this journal (page 262) inquires concerning the food of tortoises. I found the same difficulty as he describes in feeding some that I had, but afterwards was very successful by simply placing them on a garden lawn under an inverted packingcase, in the bottom of which was an opening covered with wire gauze, or left open to supply light. They fed heartily on the clover leaves, and also ate some grass. The patches where they had been were distinctly displayed by their industrious mowing. By cutting away about 'three-quarters of an inch of the edges of opposite sides of the packing case, where it rested on the grass, the tortoises were enabled to shift their prison, and did so in their endeavours to burrow under the raised edges. They thus supplied themselves with fresh pasture during the summer, but died in the winter. Their mode of eating shows that it is scarcely possible for them to feed upon loose readygathered leaves. They do not bite the leaf through, but simply pinch it between their horny jaws, then break it by a jerk of the head, but, for this to be done successfully, the leaf must firmly be fixed by roots or otherwise.

The practice of swallowing their own cast-off skins observed by another correspondent seems to be a

part of the established domestic economy of the newt during their breeding time, when they live in water. Those I kept some years ago never failed to perform this duty, though well supplied with earthworms, their staple food.

The International Conference which decided upon the adoption of an universal prime meridian, and selected that of Greenwich for the purpose, also discussed some questions of clock reform, one being the desirability of counting and naming the 24 hours all round, starting from midnight as 24 o'clock. The advantages of this, especially in railway time-tables, would be very great, and the chief objections I have heard is that which is founded on the mere indolence that shrinks from all innovation. But this is really no innovation, excepting as to the time of fixing the 24 o'clock. I spent a few months in Rome in 1842-3 when the time was reckoned in 24 hours as a matter of course; all public announcements of time were made accordingly, but for the benefit of foreigners the time of opening certain theatres, &c., was further explained by adding the " tempo francese," or "French time as they called the 12-hour enumeration. The tempo italiano" was counted from the chiaroscuro, or twilight, a very clumsy device, seeing that the 24 o'clock had to be shifted every month. Some of the public clocks had (and possibly still have) a double set of figures. Referring to an old play-bill of the Teatro Alibert, I find that the performance on the 25th January, 1843, was announced to commence "alle ore due di notte," at two o'clock at night, i.e., two hours after the chiaroscuro. In this play-bill no tempo francese is given.

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When will science be decently represented in the organization of the British Government in such a manner that its scientific expenditure shall be wisely controlled and distributed? The pitiful anti-climax of the "Challenger" Expedition brings forth this question most glaringly. Here was lavish expenditure in the sumptuous equipment of a magnificent yacht ; every conceivable luxury was generously provided for the selected few who were paid for taking a charming holiday cruise, the avowed object of which was the obtaining of certain scientific information for the enlightenment of mankind at large, and the British nation in particular. By the aid of some genuine workers at home, the crude materials of the yachtsmen have been arranged and edited to form volumes of reference. These volumes contain all the fruits of the expedition (except the pay and personal recreation supplied to the aforesaid holiday-makers); all that can come to the nation that "paid the piper" is in these volumes. All the cost of finding and arranging materials, of engraving and setting-up the volumes has been incurred, and a few copies actually printed at a total prime cost of many thousands of pounds for getting up each volume. This having been done, the multiplication of copies would cost about ninepence per pound for paper and press-work on the sheets,

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