HARDWICKE'S SClKN (J K- GOSSIP. 



Zoological Society. — At a recent meeting, Pro- 

 fessor Newton, F.R.S., gave an account of a MS. 

 in the French Archives de la Marine, which con- 

 tained some additional evidence as to the original 

 fauna oi' 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 leguuti of A. 

 Milne-Edwards, and other now extinct forms. A 

 communication was read from Dr. A. 13. 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 Waigioxi. 



Fishes of the Mammoth Cave. — Professor 

 Putnam has recently made some interesting addi- 

 tions to our knowledge of the fauna of this remark- 

 able cave. Fie 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 pre- 

 viously described it under the name of Chalcolo- 

 gaster 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 spe- 

 cimens 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 success- 

 fully 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 neigh- 

 bourhood. 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 a 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, 1 thought a notice of 

 it might be acceptable. — IFm. Lister, Glaisdale, 

 Farm. 



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 wnich they had folded their wings : the abdomen 

 was slightly curled ; the antennae, anterior and inter- 

 mediate 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. 1 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 drying- 

 case each night under the mattress of one's bed, 

 answers admirably, insuring a useful amount 

 of weight and also heat, which is most benefi- 

 cial in drying flowers. Collectors will do well 

 always 1o 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 



