2^8 



IIARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



" The Lung of Sheep," " Section of the human 

 Lung," and "Transverse Section of ^ the stem of 

 Pihilaria globuHfera." The coloured plates of each 

 part maintain their high artistic character, and 

 the slides sent out with the parts every week are 

 excellent specimens both of neat mounting and 

 section cutting. Unfortunately, in our last notice, 

 we stated the price of the illustrative part and slide 

 together was one shilling weekly. Instead of this the 

 price is twenty-four shillings quarterly — a sum 

 sufficiently low for value 'received, to leave workers 

 still wondering how it is done. 



The Postal Microscopical Society. — No. 3 

 Journal of this vigorous club has been published, 

 containing several valuable papers by practical 

 workers, among which we may mention those on the 

 "Embryology of the Podophthalmatos," by E. 

 Lovett ; on " The Adulteration of Coffee," by J. S. 

 Harrison; "A New Growing Slide," " Unpressed 

 Mounting for the Microscope," "How to prepare 

 Foraminifera," " Selections from the Society's 

 Note Books," &c. All the plates in this number 

 are very good. 



Journal of The Royal Microscopical 

 Society. — The October part of this Journal contains 

 a very important paper (illustrated) by Dr. Aser Poli, 

 on " Plant Crystals." The summary of current 

 researches relating to zoology and botany (principally 

 in vertebrata and cryptogamia), microscopy, &c., 

 including original communications from Fellows and 

 others, is unusually full and complete. We regard 

 this as the best and most valuable part of the Journal. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Land and Freshwater Shells. — As no one 

 h.as replied to A. Loydell's question in the September 

 number, p. 214, I venture to do so. He inquires if 

 certain recently added species are to be considered 

 indigenous or not. It is premature to answer the 

 question positively or negatively. Omitting the case 

 of importation of //. villosa from Switzerland to 

 Durham by Canon Tristram, I believe that //. 

 villosa, CI. parznila and CI. solida have as yet been 

 found in this country in only one locality in each 

 instance. But suppose that in the course of the next 

 few years, now that attention has been called to their 

 presence, one of them, CI. pannila, e.g., should turn 

 up in several other widely separated localities, there 

 would then be no reason to suppose the species other 

 than indigenous, or at least we should consider it to 

 have as much claim to that term (whatever it may 

 imply) as CI. Rolphii or CI. bipUcata. Meantime 

 their names must be provisionally retained on our 

 list, because they have been found in what, if speak- 

 ing of larger animals, we should call a wild state. 



As for IT. aperta, it has never yet been found alive in 

 these islands, and its name should be expunged from 

 the list. — C. Ashford. 



Cochlicopa Tridens, var. Crystallina. — I 

 recently found this variety in the grounds of Dudley 

 Castle, a locality that does not appear to have been 

 before noticed. The type occurs there plentifully, in 

 company with / 'itriita pclbicida, Zonites fulTms, 

 Carychiinn miniiiitim, &c. — y. JV. Ciindall, Bristol. 



Capture of "Apollo Butterfly" {Doritis 

 Apollo) IN Devonshire. — Is Mr. H. C. Brooke sure 

 as to the species of the insect he refers to as " an 

 Apollo butterfly," at p. 239 of last month's 

 Science-Gossip ? If no mistake has been made as 

 to the identity of the insect, the capture is an exceed- 

 ingly interesting one, and I am quite sure that all 

 entomological readers of Science-Gossip would be 

 glad to have further particulars. ^Yill Mr. Brooke 

 be kind enough to write a short note as to this, 

 giving the name of the locality, and a short descrip- 

 tion of the insect, and the way in which its capture 

 was effected? — W.y. V. Vandetibergh. 



Popular Natural History. — Under the title 

 of "Country Notes," the " Manchester City News" 

 (which has always been noted for the prominence it 

 has given to scientific news and reports of local 

 societies) is now republishing from its own readable 

 columns, in a neatly got up form, all the best papers, 

 notes, and memoranda relating to natural history. 



"The Butterflies of Europe," by Dr. Lang 

 (London : L. Reeve & Co,). Patt X. of this high- 

 class work has just been published, containing four 

 exquisitely coloured plates of butterflies of the 

 genera Polyommatus and Vanessa. 



Mimicry in the Plume Moths. — The following 

 note from Dr. J. E. Taylor on this subject has just 

 appeared in "Nature": — "I have not seen in any 

 Entomological work an attempt to explain the well- 

 known peculiar character of the wings of the plume 

 moths (Pterophori). They depart so thoroughly from 

 the rest of the Lepidoptera in having the wings cleft 

 into so-called featheiy plumes (although retaining the 

 microscopic scales characteristic of their order) that 

 we may be certain so marked a type must have been 

 evolved along definite lines and for specific reasons. 

 One species (Agdistcs Bcnnctii) may be regarded as 

 the first stage in the differentiation of these insects, 

 and from this species we have successive modifications 

 in the number of plumes up to Aliicita polydactyla,. 

 where the ordinary wings are split up into no fewer 

 than twenty-four. I have long thought this winged 

 peculiarity is due to mimicry, the objects mimicked 

 being the down or pappi of thistles and other com- 

 posite plants. The commonest of the plume moths, 

 perhaps, is the large white plume {Pterophorus 

 pentadactylits), and all entomologists are acquainted 



