Sei't.1, 1S66.] 



HAEDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



211 



ZOOLOGY. 



The Spider Crab.— For the last fortnight I 

 have had a specimen of the common spider crab 

 (Stenorhynchusphalangium) enjoying himself in one of 

 my tanks. I constantly get them while trawling in 

 our hay (Youghal). lam, however, sorry to have to 

 differ from that accurate observer of aquarian 

 life, Mr. Lloyd, but think from my short experience 

 I can prove that Mr. Edward Jesse was right in 

 stating that these crabs have the power of clipping 

 off bits of seaweed and therewith adorning their 

 persons. A few mornings ago I was astonished (as 

 I had not heard of this habit before), and sat watch- 

 ing him for nearly an hour while he adjusted his slips 

 of uloa with greater dexterity than any one would 

 give him credit for, judging from the uncouth form 

 of his limbs. One long narrow piece he stuck on the 

 top of his head between the antenna? ; it projected in 

 front, and Iimagine he was very proud of it, as he several 

 times put up one of his claws to try if it was all 

 right; all the other bits of weed he stuck on his 

 legs. Occasionally he would pick a bit off and hold 

 it in contact with his mandibles by one of his claws, 

 and again return it to its place by rubbing it up and 

 down on one of his legs until it got firmly attached 

 to the spines ; he would then serve another bit 

 in the same manner. I hope you won't think this 

 too long for insertion, as my opinion is, that the crab 

 uses the weed as a bait for animalcules, and I should 

 feel greatly interested to know what others think on 

 the subject. — William S. Green, Youghal. 



Silver-striped Hawk-Moth {Chaerocampa 



Celerio). — In April I noticed the capture of a single 

 specimen of this insect (p. 89). Since then Mr. 

 Lawrence, of Coggeshall, has captured and reared the 

 caterpillar of the same insect. — C. Benny, Kehedon. 



Acorn Barnacles.— These form interesting 

 objects for a marine aquarium, where they will live 

 for some time if carefully detached from the sides of 

 piers or exposed rocks, which they cover in scurfy 

 patches ; one I have constantly casts what I take to 

 be the skin of its cirrhi, which makes a beautiful 

 object for the microscope. — C. A. J. 



A Rare Eish.— A specimen of the Greater Eork- 

 beard, Hake's Dane, Eorked Hake, or Goat Eish 

 (the Phycis furcatus of Yarrell), was taken on a 

 trot-line off the south-east coast of this island on the 

 13th instant. Mr. Couch says, " This species may be 

 regarded as scarce rather than rare, so that examples 

 show themselves singly, for the most part in the 

 colder months, although I have obtained an example 

 in June ; and there are not usually more than one or 

 two caught in a season." The example taken here 

 slightly exceeds the length of nineteen inches, and 

 agrees with the description given by Mr. Couch, 

 with the exception of the anterior part of the back, 



which is of a dusky purple ; the cheeks of this 

 example have a decidedly greenish tint. — J. T. G., 



Guernsey. 



Tree-Erogs. — There are several species of Tree- 

 frog in America, and I used to be highly amused in 

 watching one of them, called the " Peeping Erog," 

 change his colour. Its transformations were re- 

 markable. At one moment it would be a bright 

 green, like the leaves on which it swung; the 

 next instant a dull brown, the hue of the old lichen- 

 covered stumps on which it rested. A corre- 

 spondent in Science Gossip asks the cause of this 

 faculty of changing colour possessed by the Tree- 

 frog. I was told that they could, by the modifica- 

 tion of pigment-cells under the skin, change their 

 hue at pleasure; and it is, doubtless, a wise pro- 

 vision of Nature to enable them to elude their 

 numerous enemies. We have, I believe, but one 

 species in Europe, and " Mr. Wheler's " frogs, of 

 course, belong to it. They will, like their American 

 cousins, bury themselves in mud at the bottom of a 

 pond, and go to sleep during the winter, so I would 

 advise him to provide a nice little soft bed in an 

 aquarium for them. They will breed in the spring, 

 depositing their eggs in the water. There is a 

 beautiful green frog in the Southern States, the 

 H. viridis. It is more elegant in shape than its 

 Northern brother, and affects the broad leaves 

 of the Indian corn. Surely Mr. Lord, whose com- 

 munications in Science Gossip are so charmingly 

 interesting, will tell us all about Tree-frogs, 

 American and European. He will also probably 

 tell me that I am wrong about the Peeping Erog, 

 for I fancy the true Peeping Erog utters a shrill 

 whistle, and that the II. Squirella is the changeable 

 gentleman I used to admire, though my American 

 friends called it the "Peeping Erog."— Helen 

 Watney, Hambledon. 



Nest of the Bullfinch. — There seems to be a 

 strange uncertainty amongst ornithologists re- 

 specting the nest of the Bullfinch. Bewick says 

 that it is composed of "moss;" Bechstein, of 

 " twigs covered with moss ; " Graves, " moss and dry 

 fibres." Hewitsou, our great authority on nests 

 and eggs, says that it is built of twigs, and lined 

 with wool and hair. Your correspondent J. Bauson, 

 in last Science Gossip, seems to consider this the 

 usual composition. It would be a curious subject 

 of inquiry whether birds use different materials in 

 different localities. I have seen very many Bull- 

 finch nests, but invariably they were composed 

 of small twigs lined with fibrous roots, and occa- 

 sionally a few hairs. They are very loosely put 

 together, so that you can see the eggs through any 

 part of them. Indeed, they very much resemble 

 the frail nests of the Stock-dove, only the hollow of 

 the nest is considerably deeper in proportion to the 

 size— W. R. 



