164 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



after careful search, I am unable to refer them to any 

 known British species. So here we find microscopic- 

 ally small spores floating at a great elevation in our 

 atmosphere, probably forming the nuclei around 

 which the hailstones formed themselves. Their pre- 

 sence here is very interesting and instructive, and 

 throws considerable light upon the manner in which 

 floating particles, whether minute animals, poisonous 

 bacteria or bacilli, or vegetable organisms, may find 

 their way amongst us, and settle wherever they 

 happen to secure a congenial nidus or resting-place, 

 or are distributed over new pastures. — Yours, &c., 

 Isaac C. Tliompson. 



ZOOLOGY. 



A Rotifer? — I visited Burdwan on Saturday last, 

 and took my box of empty bottles with me. Some 

 successful dips were made in the tanks at the Dilk- 

 hoosha (Heart'd Delight) Gardens, belonging to the 

 Maharajah. Amongst other beasties secured was 

 an organism, of which I send you a drawing. It 



Fig. iiJ. 



had no ciliary disk, and not much of a "gizzard" 

 {a in the drawing), but its viscera, both in colour, 

 arrangement, &c., were notably those of a rotifer. It 

 possessed two strong hooked processes, and, at the 

 base of these, two clear organs which looked like 

 eyes. Its general "get-up" was that of one of the 

 Rotatoria, and but for its bearing an ovum I should 

 have concluded it was probably a male rotifer. There 

 were, however, two specimens witli ova. I did not 

 detect a mouth, but this may have been due to my 

 not looking for it carefully. The "gizzard" was not 

 in action, and its parts were ill-defined. I think 

 there is no doubt that these curiosities were rotifers, 

 but to what class should they be referred ? — 

 IV. y. Simmons, Calcutta. 



Shells FiiOM North London DisTRicTs.--The 

 following records may interest conchologists resident 

 in the north or north-western portion of the metro- 

 polis. Taking Ilampstead Heath, Paliidina vivipara 

 and its unicolorous variety, vars. of Limnaa percgra 

 and auriciilaria, L. stagiialis, F/anarbis conwiis, P. 

 alines, P. spirorliis, Sphccriiiin conieum, and Anodonta 

 analhia are plentiful in the "bathing" and adjacent 

 pond ; LiiiuKca tnuuatiila, L. stagiialis, L. pcregra, 

 Paliidina vivipara, Spharitim conuiim, S. lacitstrc. 



Bithynia tciitacttlata, and Planorhis alhus exist in the 

 "Red Arches" pond; Ifyalina cellaria is to be 

 found on the heath ; Paliidina vivipara, Sphccrium 

 corncmn, Planorbis albus and spirorbis, with Limiura 

 percgra, are present in the " Leg of Mutton " pond ; 

 while near this last-named pond, and in a field on 

 the right of Piatt's Lane, is a pond wherein may be 

 found Limtiixa stagnalis, L. pcregra, and Spharium 

 corneitm with its variety brunneo-fasciata. In the 

 "Moat" at Finchley live L. stagnalis, L. peregra, 

 Physa fontinalis, Planorbis spirorbis, P. iimbilicatus, 

 Bithynia ientaculata, and Sphccrinin corneum ; and 

 near to the "Moat," in small ponds in a field 

 through which the footpath to Hendon runs, is to be 

 found Limncca stagnalis, with, comparatively speak- 

 ing, a fairly abundant number of subscalariform 

 monstrosities of that species. In a small pond near 

 the footpath leading from the " Spaniards " at Hamp- 

 stead to Hendon, exist Limnaa truncatula, L. palus- 

 tris, and L. peregra in tolerable plenty. In some 

 private fish-ponds near the Brent, at Hendon, Ano- 

 donta cygnca is very plentiful, some of the specimens 

 being of large size. In the river Lea at Tottenham 

 are to be found many specimens, of which an account 

 is to be found in my paper, " A Day's Shell-Col- 

 lecting," which was published in Science-Gossip 

 last year. On the way across the fields from Hamp- 

 stead to Hendon is a bank whereon live many 

 specimens oi Helix Cantiana, with its white variety. 

 Helix riifesccns, IP. ncmoralis, H. hortensis, and 

 Umax Levis are to be found in Highgate Woods ; 

 while near the bank where Helix Cantiana is to be 

 found, but nearer Hendon, is another nettle-covered 

 bank which contains very many varieties of Helix 

 ncmoralis and //. hortensis. Making use of the some- 

 what objectionable terms used by conchologists in 

 recording colour variations, I have found here the 

 following varieties of these two species : — Helix 

 ncmoralis, var. libel lit la, 00300, ooooo, 00345, 1 2345 ; 

 var. carnca, 12345 ; Helix hortensis, var. In tea, ooooc, 

 12345, (123)45, 123(45), 1(23)45. (I23)(45); var. 

 pallida, 12345, (12)345, ,(23)45, (I23)(45), CO345, 

 1(23)45— y. li'^- IVilliams. 



Parasites of the White Ant. — Errata. — Page 

 61, in the first line of the descriptive note to the 

 drawings, for " Figs. 46 to 54," read " Figs. 46 and 

 53 ;" same line, for " Figs. 49 and 50," read "Figs. 

 47 and 48." Second line of descriptive note, for 

 " Fig. 49," read " Fig. 47," and fur " Fig. 50 " read 

 " Fig. 48." Page 62, eleventh line from bottom, 

 for " (Figs. 49 and 50) " read " (Figs. 47 and 48 ) " ; 

 eighth line from bottom, for " 54 " read " 53 " ; fifth 

 line from bottom, for " worked down," read " looked 

 down." Page 76, ninth and eighth lines from bottom 

 should " run on," without being broken into separate 

 paragraphs; and should be read "eight hundretl 

 dianr.cters (F)." — The above errata have occurred 

 through the writer's inability to see the proof. 



