232 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



tongue to its full length ; thus dipping it deep into 

 the nectar. Tiie tongue is then withdrawn into the 

 tube formed of the maxillae aud palpi, and during 

 this act, as was first pointed out by Hermann 

 Miiller, the hairs are all erect, so that they sweep 

 the honey well into the maxillary tube. As the 

 tongue is again protruded, its hairs are pressed 

 closely against it as it passes out of the end of the 

 maxillary tube, whilst its inclosed portion retains 

 the honey and sweeps it upward by a number of 

 wave-like movements, in which the tongue-hairs 

 are alternately erect or depressed, according to 

 the direction in which the portion of the tongue 

 on which they are placed is moving. 



In this manner the honey is first lapped into the 

 tube, and is then swept upwards by small wave-like 

 movements of the base of the tongue, during which 

 the hairs are erect upon those parts of the organ 

 which are being withdrawn, and pressed down in 

 those parts which are being extended. 



In a healthy bee these movements are exceed- 

 ingly rapid, but in one which is nearly torpid they 

 are sometimes performed sulEciently slowly to be 

 observed. 



The maxillse, however, serve another purpose ; 

 they are the tools with which the bee works ; they 

 act as knives and trowels. A remarkable modifica- 

 tion of them is seen in the Roseleaf-cutter bee, the 

 insect which cuts such marvellous circles out of the 

 edges of the rose-leaves to bang as tapestry in its 

 underground chambers (fig. 142, c, d, and e). 



The edge of the much-curved maxilla; of this 

 insect is set with fine-pointed teeth, like those of a 

 saw : these are widely divergent, or widely set, as a 

 carpenter would say, and prevent the locking of 

 the blade in the soft rose-leaf. 



Every mechanic who uses a saw knows that large 

 wide-set teeth are best to cut through soft sub- 

 stances ; and so in these admirably-adapted organs 

 we find sharp-pointed but long, narrow, wide-set 

 teeth. The maxillae of the Roseleaf-cutter are even 

 more perfect, for the sides of the blades are 

 obliquely ridged, so that they not only cut along 

 their edges but file the edges of the leaf smooth, 

 with the surfaces of their sharp blades. Fig. 142i 

 is an end view of a section of one of the maxillary 

 lobes. 



It must not be supposed, however, that bees 

 have no mandibles : they possess these organs, one 

 on either side of the nientum, although they are 

 not represented in the figure. They are above the 

 maxillse, of course, and when they are brought into 

 action the sensitive and complex maxilla; and 

 labium are folded back under the head, the tongue 

 being withdrawn by an S-shaped curve into the 

 interior of the tubular mentum. 



Tiie mandibles are the tools for rough work : it is 

 by them that the carpenter and mason bees dig or 

 eat channels in wood, clay, or soft stone ; it is with 



the mandibles that the honey-bee collects pollen 

 and first shapes its waxen cell. The more delicate 

 processes only are performed by the sharp, slender, 

 and probably extremely sensitive maxilla;. 



B. T. LowNE. 

 {To be continued.) 



MICROSCOPY. 



Crystals of Salicine.— In reply to "C. E.B.'s " 

 inquiry in last month's Gossip, the easiest way to 

 get salicine is to procure it at a pharmacy, but if 

 he wishes to prepare it himself, he will find the 

 following method answer.— Boil a sufficient quantity 

 of willow bark {Salix alba) in water to form a 

 strong decoction ; pour off the liquid ; add to it some 

 lime recently slaked and mixed with a little water ; 

 let it stand for an hour, then filter through bibulous 

 paper, and add some strong spirits of wine (alcohol) 

 to separate any gummy vegetable matter ; filter 

 again, and evaporate with a gentle heat until 

 crystals begin to form ; then put a drop within a 

 circle of gold size (the proper thickness). If the 

 crystals that form are not good, redissolve and filter 

 through animal charcoal, aud recrystallize as before. 

 — Thomas Buck. 



How TO MOUNT Microscopic Pungi. — In reply 

 to your correspondent E. L. Hull as to mounting 

 microscopic fungi I beg to give the following in- 

 formation of my own mode of mounting. First, I 

 mount the fungus as I find it on leaves or otherwise, 

 on sheets of cartridge-paper, of royal octavo size, 

 usually taking care to place a portion near the edge 

 of the paper, so that the fungus can be examined in 

 situ as an opaque microscopic object. Second, in 

 some cases of JScidiaccie. (Cluster-cups) and others 

 I mount the fungus on the usual microscopic glass 

 slides as opaque objects in dry cells of gutta-percha, 

 or other suitable material. These are more conve- 

 nient for reference than theoctavo mountings. Third, 

 the spores of fungi 1 mount in balsam, reduced 

 with benzole, when they M'ill bear the action of the 

 chemicals; and when that action destroys the tissue 

 or renders the spores too transparent, I use — Fourth, 

 a composition of gelatine, which 1 buy at a shilling 

 a bottle of Mr. Aylward, of Cotham-street, Strang- 

 ways, Manchester. In this latter case (as also in 

 No. 3) I soften the fungus in water and then cut a 

 very thin section, or crush the fruit, asci, or other- 

 wise, upon the slide ; I examine the slide in the 

 water, and if I fiud the asci or spores in good con- 

 dition, I allow them to dry upon the slide, and when 

 dry I, after softening the gelatine by heat, breathe 

 upon the object and drop a small quantity of gehitine 

 upon it, let it harden, give the necessary japan 

 border, and the object is complete. The gelatine 

 mixture I speak of preserves the most delicate 



