SCOTTISH PHORIDsE 21 



I regret that I have to sink Dr. Wood's species, domestica, as 

 only a synonym of Bergenstammi, Mik. I do so because, in a lot 

 of PhoridcR) sent me by Dr. Jenkinson of Cambridge, there is a pair 

 taken in cop., which represents both species. Dr. Wood had some 

 doubt about their being distinct species, but the evidence was so 

 strong that such was the case that he decided to describe domestica 

 as new. The $ has only one pair of dorso-central bristles, while 

 the $ has two pairs. In maatlata, which I have only seen from 

 Cambridge, I find that there are always two pairs of dorso-central 

 bristles. 



(To be continued.} 



DALYELL'S SCOTTISH HYDRACHNIDS. 



By WM. WILLIAMSON. 



THE Hydrachnids have not contributed much in past years 

 to the Natural History literature of Scotland. It was 

 therefore with a hope that something worth might be in 

 store that I turned to Dalyell's " Powers of the Creator," 

 which Mr. Wm. Evans kindly brought under my notice. 

 In this I have been greatly disappointed, and, but for the 

 record of localities and some species which can be recognised, 

 it seems to me that Dalyell's contribution is of little value. 

 Notwithstanding that, at the date of publication (1851), 

 Hydrachnids had been divided into genera, Dalyell, never- 

 theless, preferred to revert to Miiller's arrangement because 

 he considered it more suited to the popular nature of his 

 work. Had he followed out, instead of deprecating as he 

 did, the minutiae which the writers later than Miiller gave 

 attention to, we might possibly have had a contribution of 

 some value. The only dates he gives for his observations 

 are 1802 and 1809, an< ^ if> after the long interval between 

 that and the date of publication, he depended on memory 

 for his facts, then some of his statements may be accounted 

 for. It would be interesting to know what caused the 

 " fits " which he observed some hydrachnids to have taken, 

 or how they managed to nibble the stems of equisetum 

 (? limosum), or how many females contributed their quota 

 of eggs to the mass which weighed down the leaves of a 

 privet dipping in the water, and of which one twig with 



