206 The Scottish Naturalist. 



of the habits. In this respect, therefore, the book marks a great advance on 

 our material for a comprehensive monograph of these creatures. 



The author has greatly facilitated the labours of future students by the very 

 full bibliography, as well as by his criticisms of the classifications that have 

 been proposed by writers on the Acarida. Chapters on the habits, the best 

 moles of collecting and of preserving for future reference the specimens 

 collected, and on the anatomy, both external and internal of these mites, add 

 much to the completenes of a work that, despite the disclaimer in the preface, 

 must be ranked among monographs of the best and most useful kind. 



Of the forty species, the following are specially recorded as from Scotland : 

 — Oribata Edwardsii Nic., near Loch Maree, and Cepheus bifidatus Nic. and 

 Tegeocranus femoralis Nic, found near Glasgow by Mr. Cameron ; but the 

 following are said to be common and generally distributed, and therefore pro- 

 bably are Scottish species: — Pelops acromios Herm., P. farinosus N c. , P. 

 laevigatus Nic., Oribata mollicomus Koch, O. lapidaria Lticas, O. globula /Vic, 

 O. orbicularis Kocli, O. piriformis Nic, O. setosa Koch, O. punctata Nic, O. 

 alata Herm., O. cuspidata sp. n., O. Lucasii Nic, Leiosoma simile Nic, L. 

 ovatum Koch, Cepheus tegeocranus Herm., Tegeocranus latus Koch, T. cori- 

 aceus Koch, T. labyrinthicus Michael, T. marginatus sp. n., T. elongatus 

 Michael. 



SCOTTISH GALLS. 

 By Prof. J. W. H. TRAIL. 



DURING the past two seasons I have met with a number of 

 galls not previously recorded by myself from Scotland, 

 though a few of them have been published as Scottish by Div 

 Greville (" Scottish Cryptogamic Flora," &c), or by Mr. Cameron. 

 Dr. Buchanan White has also, with his usual kindness, sent me 

 several that he had found in Perthshire or in Forfarshire. Most 

 of the galls described below are the work of Mites (Phytoptns), or 

 of A7igiiihulidiz, and are by no means conspicuous ; but a few are 

 sufficiently readily seen to prove that even among the larger galls- 

 in Scotland there are still some remaining to be discovered, even 

 in localities that might be supposed to be well wrought. I shall 

 be glad of any assistance, however little, in working out the dis- 

 tribution of Scottish galls. 



THALICTRUM MINUS, var. MONTANUM, Wallr.— Carpels 

 galled by Cccidomyia Thalictri H.Lw., were rather common on the 

 shore of Loch Rannoch at Kinloch Rannoch in September, 1882. 

 The carpel becomes swollen to twice or thrice the natural size, and 

 becomes ovate or nearly globular. Its colour changes through 

 yellowish to brown. In other respects externally it does not differ 

 much from a ripe healthy carpel in appearance. On section the 

 walls are found to be about the usual thickness of those of a ripe 

 carpel ; but the seed is absent, and its place is occupied by one 



