ACER NIGRUM WITH STIPULES.-Mr. J. F. Mills sends a branch of a black maple in which well-formed foliaceous stipules are developed, their bases adnate to the petiole. The peculiarity is confined to a single tree, and the like has not been seen before in maples, so far as we know. Mr. Mills should inform us if the peculiarity is reproduced next year.—A. G.

A SEAWEED NEW TO OUR COAST. This alga (Hildenbrandia rosea Kunze) occurs at Mt. Desert, in rocks between low and high water, in similar situations in Massachusetts Bay (Weymouth, Fall River and at Nantucket), and probably all along the coast. —H. WILLEY, New Bedford.

ZOOLOGY.

Fig. 151.

EMBRYOLOGY OF CHELIFER AND PHALANGIUM.- Prof. Metschnikoff, the Russian embryologist, has lately published in Siebold and Kölliker's Zeitschrift, an account of the embryology of Chelifer, of which our C. cancroides (Fig. 151) is an example. He remarks in closing "that in view of the great morphological and anatomical similarity between Chelifer and the scorpions we might expect that these animals would be alike in their embryological development. But observation shows that the mode of development of Chelifer reminds us much more of that of the lower Arachnids, namely, the Pycnogonids. The first embryological occurrence, the segmentation of the yolk, is total in Chelifer, as in the Pycnogonids, Pentastoma and Tardigrades, while the eggs of the true scorpions undergo a kind of partial segmentation. The most peculiar phase in the development of Chelifer, namely, the formation of the larva and its metamorphosis, is at all events much more like the development of the Pycnogonids than the scorpions. I

*

C. cancroides.

*These creatures are considered as Crustacea by perhaps the majority of zoologists. Dr. Dohrn concludes from a study of their embryology that "The Pycnogonidæ are neither Arachnida nor Crustacea; with the former they really have no relationship, with the latter they have, as a common starting point, the nauplius form, but they depart at this point from the course of development of the Crustacea, which continues to go on to the zoëa form.

now refer to the larvæ of Pycnogonum and Achelia described by Dohrn, and especially to the presence of the yolk within the maxillæ of the larva of Chelifer, which circumstance connects it with the embryology of Phoxichilidium.

"It is remarkable that the larva* of Chelifer stands still lower in its grade of development than the nauplius larvæ of Crustacea and the larvæ of the above mentioned Pycnogonids. It indeed presents a nauplius form with only two pairs of extremities, but in all cases the second pair is completely developed (in the form of forked swimming feet) while the same only appears in the youngest larva of Chelifer as a stump-like form.

"In closing I will remark that in its developmental relations Chelifer differs much more from the Araneina (spiders) and scorpions than Phalangium, the Phrynidae, and even the Acarina.

"The writings of Gerstaecker, Claparède and Zalensky, on the two last mentioned groups, show us that their embryology agrees in many points with that of the Araneina. I can say the same from the development of Phalangium opilio observed by me. The embryo of this animal resembles in its general features the well known embryos of spiders, and differs especially through the want of a (provisional) postabdomen, and the relatively less development of the abdomen."

The last number of the "Annales des Sciences" has just come to hand containing Balbiani's memoir "sur la developpement des Phalangides." The eggs and embryo just before hatching were so much like those of spiders, that he mistook them for such. The earlier stages such as Metschnikoff alludes to he does not seem to have noticed.

EMBRYOLOGY OF THE MYRIOPODS.- The only studies on this subject of any special value, previous to the researches of Metschnikoff, are those of Newport on the development of Julus; but these do not relate to the earliest changes in the egg.

In a note to the paper noticed above, Metschni'off states that he has observed a new instance of the total segmentation of the yolk in the egg of Polyxenus lagurus and he believes that this phenomenon is more widely distributed in the insects and crustacea than we suppose. "After the total segmentation of the

*The embryo is here referred to, as the term larva should be restricted to the animal after leaving the egg.-EDS.

yolk, transparent cells separate from the lower pole of the egg, which indicate the germ. In this soon appears a transverse impression whereby the germ becomes divided into two great divisions. Somewhat later the rudiments of six pairs of extremities bud out, of which the first pair, the antennæ, may be recognized by their larger size. The embryo presents in this stage a great similarity to the embryo of Gammarus, especially since the primitive streak arising from the germ is bent bow-like on the ventral surface. An amnion is formed in Polyxenus, also a serous membrane; only a few amoeboid cells separate from the germ, which have the greatest resemblance to the egg-amabæ observed in the Acarina by Claparède and Zalensky, and by me in an Araneid. The germ and embryo of Polyxenus originate from two layers, which correspond to the first two germ membranes of the scorpions and other articulates."

THE KINGBIRD OR BEE MARTIN.- In the rural life of American boys it is always with pleasure that the frequent scene is beheld of the kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis Baird) attacking the crow; oftentimes we have seen this plucky little creature pursue this great fellow, and alighting on its back "peg into" the great lubber, making it squeak in pain and terror, to our juvenile delight. This sort of persecution every crow must expect that unwittingly passes within a few yards of a kingbird's nest; and so inveterate is the antipathy of these little tyrants, that frequently I have seen three of them pursuing a luckless crow, who was winging a retreat at the highest rate of speed he could command. I have come to the conclusion that Tyrannus is not a kingly bird, but just as mean, and capable of as small dealings as some other folks. In fact, his sallies after the crow are for the most part actuated by a spirit of persecution, and in no sense is he a knight-errant in pursuit of some dark giant oppression. He is a mean, quarrelsome, contentious, selfish, unprincipled little fellow, and my admiration of him has gone plump down to zero. I had occasion a few days ago to visit my friend Captain Swan of Forked River, Ocean County, New Jersey. Opposite his house is a pleasant little grove with croquet ground, etc. The trees are bountifully supplied with bird houses, and the birds find in the captain a protector. He showed me a nest in the crotch of a maple tree, and said that he and his family had watched with great interest a pair

of robins build it. All the time of nidification eagerly watching the progress was a pair of kingbirds. Just as soon as the nest was completed these royal tyrants took possession. Of course there was a determined remonstrance from Mr. and Mrs. Turdus migratorius, who had no notion of being thus summarily ousted from a home which with hard labor they themselves had just built. But this king and queen Tyrannus conclusively settled the dispute by showing that might makes right, and Mr. and Mrs. Robin withdrew, as the only way to save their bacon. Having thus "jumped the claim," the kingbirds took possession, and raised a brood of young in peace. One of the young ladies felt her sense of justice so outraged that she wanted to rout the invaders with a broom; but the captain interfered, and they were undisturbed. The very noticeable fact is that these ornithic scamps kept prying around, watching with genuine royal indolence the progress of the labors of the busy unsuspecting builders; then when all was finished, with true kingly impudence they took possession as of royal right. SAMUEL LOCKWOOD.

ARACHNACTIS THE YOUNG OF EDWARDSIA.-The genus Arachnactis established by Sars for a small floating Actinia has been studied by Busch and myself who came to the conclusion that it probably was the pelagic stage of an Actinoid allied to Cerianthus. During the last summer I have succeeded in raising from young Arachnactis (like those described and figured by me in the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History) somewhat older stages, and to keep them alive till they lost their pelagic habits, and remained more or less stationary on the bottom, creeping slowly along by means of their tentacles on the elongated column.

The changes observed in the older stages of Arachnactis consist of the gradual resorption of the embryonic cells at the posterior extremity of the column, the increase of the number of tentacles, taking place in pairs at one extremity of the longitudinal axis of the disk, the elongation of the column, the increase in size of the ovaries, the differentiation of the column into an anterior part where the partitions are situated, becoming externally more and more corrugated transversally with advancing age, this anterior part being comparatively capable of but slight expansion and contraction, and a posterior part of the column capable of great expansion and contraction, especially at the very extremity of the

column. In fact the Arachnactis has now become a diminutive Edwardsia, with eight partitions from which are suspended ovaries of different lengths, as we find them in Edwardsia.*— A. AGASSIZ.

To

SWAMP RABBIT (Lepus Aquaticus). This is a widely distributed species. It abounds in the canebrakes of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas. It is found in the portion of country I have named, on all the watercourses, even on the little branches, rarely on uplands. Its flesh is considered the best, most digestible and most nutritious of all the small game. In sugar-cane countries it subsists principally on the leaves of the cane. procure the leaves of the tall cane, the rabbits will stand on their hind feet and cut the cane in two about fifteen inches from the ground. Being surrounded on all sides with other canes, the stalk cannot fall, but dropping straight down by the side of the stump it remains standing, when the rabbit stands up again and cuts it off as in the first instance, when it drops a second time, and so on, the animal continues to cut off fifteen inch sections until the top of the cane with its leaves comes down low enough to allow the rabbit to feed on it. Many of these little piles of cut up cane are seen in the cany bottoms of the rivers and creeks of Mississippi. Here in Texas where there is no cane, it feeds on various grasses and some of the wild herbage. Like the old field rabbit, when chased by dogs it seeks refuge in hollow trees, holes in the ground, etc. When it is captured it squeals fearfully and its heart beats audibly.-GIDEON LINCECUM, Long Point, Texas.- Communicated by the Smithsonian Institution.

THE SALT LAKE CRUSTACEAN.- A peculiarity of the little crustacean (Artemia fertilis Verrill), living in the waters of Salt Lake, which ought to be noticed is that of its congregating in masses of strange appearance in the water. When the masses are small they sometimes stretch out so as to have the form of a serpent. At other times they represent rings, globes and various irregular figures. A gentle breeze does not affect the water filled by Artemia, so that while the water on all sides of these dense congregations is slightly ruffled, that which they occupy remains as if covered by oil, thus indicating the figure of the mass. My atten

Though this point has not been mentioned before, nor the irregular number of tentacles varying from eighteen to thirty-two in large specimens of Edwardsia, showing that the development of the tentacles has nothing in common with the cyclical development of the tentacles of Madreporarians.