234 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



garden attached to the Museum. It was exhibited 

 at the Kensing-ton Entomological Society's meeting 

 on Eriday, 8th August, and was declared by Mr. H. 

 P. Pascoe to be Tropis cUmidiata of New Holland. — 

 W. H. Keiinell, Kensington. 



A New Ciruipede {Scalpellum regium). — Pro- 

 fessor Wyville Thomson, in his notes from the 

 Challenger, published in Nature for the 28th 

 August, describes a new species of Scalpellum, 

 which he has named Scalpellum regium. It was 

 brought up by the dredge, five days from Bermuda, 

 on the passage to the Azores, from the enormous 

 depth of 2,850 fathoms (3 miles, 1 furlong, 200yds.). 

 This line species, which is very far the largest 

 known living species of the genus, measures in the 

 adult female 60 mm., of which 40 mm. are occu- 

 pied by the capitulum, and 20 mm. by the peduncle. 

 It is most nearly allied to ^S". ornatum. In almost 

 all the specimens procured, several of the .parasitic 

 males (see SciENCE-Gossir, p. 199) were found 

 attached within the occludent margins of the scuta, 

 from five to nine of these males being found 

 attached to each female. " Under the border of the 

 mantle of one female there were the dead and 

 withered remains of five malfs, and in most cases 

 one or two of the males were fully developed ; 

 several appeared to be mature, and one or two 

 were dead, empty, dark-coloured chitine sacks." 

 Simple as is the structure of all these parasitic 

 males, tliat of Scalpellum regium is described by 

 Professor Thomson as the most simple yet observed. 

 It is oval and sac-like, about 2 mm. in length, by 

 9 mm. in width, covered witii fine chitiuous hairs 

 arranged in transverse rings ; no oesophagus or 

 stomach apparent, and the whole of the posterior 

 two-thirds of the body in the mature specimens was 

 filled with a lobulated mass of sperm cells. A more 

 detailed description of this interesting capture is 

 promised hereafter.—:/'. S. 



Shore Lark. — It may be a matter of interest to 

 some to be informed that last November, onEelix- 

 stowe beach, Suffolk, I shot a specimen of the rare 

 hivdi Alauda alpestris {^\\OYelj^v\i). This bird is a 

 very rare visitor to our shores, and I understand 

 that the specimen in my possession makes only the 

 fifth which has been shot in England since 1830. — 

 W. E. B. de r. Mathew. 



Respiration of Eishes. — M. Qainquand has 

 recently published a paper in the Comptes Rendus, 

 on the relative amounts of oxygen absorbed by 

 various species of fish under different conditions. 

 He confirms the observations of Humboldt and 

 Provencal, that there is a cutaneous respiration in 

 fishes, but shows that this is very feeble. 



EooD OF the Snake, &c.— Iu reply to a query 

 of mine in the July number of Science-Gossip, as 



to whether the snake swallows toads as well as 

 frogs, I have received two very interesting letters 

 on that and kindred subjects from a Somersetshire 

 clergyman, who has given me permission to publish 

 some of his observations. He says : "I have never 

 caught snakes in the act of doing so [i.e. swallowing 

 toads), but I have several times seen them disgorge 

 toads, in various stages of decomposition. I parti- 

 cularly remember one occasion, when more than a 

 mile from home, I caught a snake, which I saw had 

 very recently swallowed its prey. I took it home, 

 and placing it on the lawn, began to tease it, wiLh 

 the intention of making it disgorge its meal. It 

 immediately began to strain, and the protuberance 

 in the body moved slowly towards the head, each 

 strain advancing it a short distance. At length the 

 jaws opened, and the body of a toad was gradually 

 ejected. After remaining in statu quo for a few 

 minutes, the toad sliowed some signs of life, and the 

 limbs slowly regained their proper position. It 

 wiped off the slime from its face and head, and then 

 crept slowly away. I believe that the toad is the 

 natural food of the snake, quite as much so as the 

 frog ; in fact, I have seen more toads than frogs 

 disgorged by snakes. It has been only when teased 

 as described above, that the snake has endeavoured 

 to get rid of its prey, for the purpose, as I conclude, 

 of enabling it to move more rapidly away." The 

 same gentleman has likewise a little to say on the 

 manner in which the toad disposes cf his "old 

 clo' " :— " A few days ago I was fortunate enough 

 to see the operations of a toad casting, or rather 

 changing, its skin, and then swallowing it. I plainly 

 saw the skin of both the fore-legs drawn off like a 

 stocking and swallowed. The outer skin was per- 

 fectly dry, but the new skin was quite shining with 

 moisture. The toad sucked, or rather snapped, in 

 his skin as it does a worm, but there was no sign of 

 mastication. The aninjal was so intent upon its 

 occupation that it seemed to take no notice of the 

 thi-ee faces that were peering down, not twelve 

 inches from it." — IF. II. Warner. 



Bustard in Suffolk. — During August, a strange 

 bird was seen on Wangford and Lakenheath War- 

 rens, in Suffolk. It is described as being as large 

 as a turkey, and of a rusty colour, — in fact, more 

 like a turkey than anything else. When it flew, it 

 was described as being a long time before it could 

 raise itself from the ground. The bird was seen by 

 two gentlemen, and subsequently by various agri- 

 cultural labourers. There can be little doubt it was 

 a specimen of the Great Bustard, returned to visit 

 the former habitats of its ancestors, which were once 

 tolerably numerous iu this part of the country. 



Habit of Pandora. — In a short note communi- 

 cated to the Annah and Magazine of Natural History 

 for September, Dr. J. E. Gray states that he has 



