138 



HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



larval structures such as the calcareous spicules was 

 pointed out. The life-history of Comatula, one of the 

 Crinoidea, was ilkistrated from the older observations 

 of Sir Wyville Thomson, and the more recent work of 

 Gotto, and was traced from the pseudembryo to the 

 pentacrinoid stage, and from that to the adult 

 condition. In conclusion, the various larval forms 

 were compared, and their possible bearing upon the 

 classification of the group and its relationship to the 

 other invertebrata was briefly discussed. 



Mr. Coles' Studies. — Numbers i6 and 17 of the 

 second vol. of the "Studies in Microscopical Science," 

 are devoted severally to "Epidermal Tissue" and 

 " Development of Bone," both exquisitely illustrated. 

 That in the former part is a highly artistic coloured 

 drawing of a transverse section of the aerial root of 

 Dendrobium, X 130, from the well-known pencil of 

 E. T. D., the designer of our own coloured plates. 

 The slides sent out to illustrate these parts are among 

 Mr. Coles's best. Part 9 of " The Methods of Micro- 

 scopical Research " continues the subject of "Mount- 

 ing," and gives explanations of the kinds of materials 

 to be used. Number 8 of "Popular Microscopical 

 Studies" is taken up with the subject of "The 

 Intestine," and is illustrated liy a coloured plate of 

 the transverse section of the ileum of cat (injected) 

 X 50. 



ZOOLOGY. 



MoLLUSCA OF Brentford District. — The 

 following list of shells taken yesterday in a walk from 

 Brentford to Hanwell, may be of some use to London 

 conchologists, as the district appears to be a good 

 one, and would, I think, well repay a careful search. 

 I. Freshwater species, taken for the most part in 

 the river Brent. — Spluerium rivicola (dead shells 

 only, but from the abundance of these, this species 

 must be very abundant in some part of the river), 

 S. corneuni, and also its vzx.Jlavescens, Uniotumidus, 

 U. pictoru7)i, Anodonta anatina, Drcissena poly- 

 morfha (single valves very abundant), Faludina 

 vivipara, Bythinia tentacidata, B. Lcacliii, Planorbis 

 cortieus, P. vortex, PJiysafoiitinalis,Li7nna:aperegra, 

 L. pahisiris, and Ancylus lacitstrh. 2. Terrestrial 

 species ; these I did not search long for, and so my list 

 is scanty. — Ariott atcr, var. siicchica (a small speci- 

 men, why is this var. always small ?), Arion hortensis, 

 Limax agrestis (also var. mottled with black), 

 Succuua elegans, Zonitcs nitidulus. Helix aspersa, 

 H. hortefisis, (also vars. incar7iata and luted), H. 

 cantiana (I found two young specimens having the 

 last whorl strongly tinged with rufous, except a band 

 corresponding to number three in //. nenioralis, 

 which was strongly marked out in white), H. 

 rufescetts, and H. rotundata. On my way home, I 

 passed through Ealing, where there are two large 



ponds, one on each side of the road. The pond on 

 the south side contains Plano7-bis corneiis (some of 

 the young specimens were covered with very fine 

 longitudinal striae, such as are seen in P. albus, but 

 not so well marked), P. vortex, and L. peregra. The 

 pond on the north side contains^ P. corneus (large 

 specimens), P. albus, L. peregra, and Physafontinalis. 

 — T.D.A. Cocker ell. 



The Crested Newt. — I have to-day (April 5th) 

 taken a specimen of the crested newt [Triton cristatus) 

 having a clearly divided tail. The tail is of the 

 ordinary fully-developed size and shape common at 

 this time of the year, but within three-quarters of an 

 inch of the tip there is on the right side a small tail 

 clearly margined, and having a white band running 

 throughout its length. This tail is about a quarter 

 of an inch long and nearly the same in breadth, and 

 is rather abruptly truncated. It is not in any way a 

 division or splitting of the main tail, as it grows out 

 quite distinct from it, and the large tail is entire. I 

 enclose a rough sketch, natural size. Is this a 

 common occurrence in this kind of newt ? — Alfred 

 Sutton. 



The Scarcity of Butterflies. — I notice that 

 at a meeting of. the Entomological Society, several 

 members expressed their opinion that butterflies are 

 becoming scarcer. I can fully indorse their opinion 

 that it is too true ; and my opinion is that it Js 

 attributable to the increasing numbers of collectors ; 

 but more so to the wholesale slaughter that some of 

 them make. I know of two or three collectors who 

 took last year over two hundred specimens of the 

 orange tip, as well as scoi-es of red admiral, painted 

 lady, small heath, small copper, small tortoise-shell, 

 &c. If this goes on all over the country, there is no 

 wonder at the scarcity of these lovely creatures. I 

 hope all naturalists' -societies will urge their members 

 to take only a few specimens of a sort, and put down 

 this wholesale slaughter of our summer visitors. — 

 y. T. Jepson. 



Scales (?) of the Turbot.— Can any reader of 

 Science-Gossip confirm, from his own observation, 

 the statement made in some standard books on fishes, 

 that the turbot has small, smooth, cycloid scales, 

 besides the bony tubercles with which every one is 

 acquainted ? Yarrell writes that the skin of this fish 

 is "studded with hard, roundish tubercles, the sur- 

 face otherwise being covered with small, smooth 

 scales." Dr. Giinther writes of it : "Scales none, 

 or small and cycloid." Jonathan Couch distinctly 

 states that " the upper surface is without scales," but 

 mentions the tubercles. Donovan writes, "The 

 skin is covered with scales, but those are extremely 

 small." I have never been able to discover the small 

 cycloid scales mentioned, either by scraping away the 

 epidermis, or by examining the skin, properly pre- 

 pared, under the microscope by different illumina 



