Feb. 1, 1S67.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



43 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Relations at Sea.— A very interesting paper 

 was recently read by Dr. Gi'mtlier, at the Zoo- 

 logical Society, on the Eishes of Central America, 

 in which he brought zoological research to bear 

 upon the history of earth-changes. It had been 

 supposed that the existing fauna of the Atlantic 

 was quite distinct from that of the Pacific ; but 

 Dr. Giinther finds (in a collection recently made by 

 Mr. Salvin), of the total number of species taken 

 on both sides of the Isthmus of Panama, 30 per 

 cent, to be specifically identical. Nay, they do not 

 even appear to vary enough for Dr. Giinther to be 

 able to tell whether any given individual came from 

 the Atlantic or the Pacific side. There was, there- 

 fore, no doubt, a communication between the two 

 oceans, since the existing species of fish came into 

 being; and the land across the isthmus near 

 Panama is nowhere more than 400 feet high ; while 

 to the north, through Lake Nicaragua, there is 

 auother tract, nowhere more than 150 feet above 

 the sea-level. That these low tracts o§ land mark 

 the site of former sea-channels, is rendered still 

 more probable from the fact that in the Lake 

 Nicaragua a sea-fish still exists, the ancestors of 

 which were probably imprisoned by the land's 

 upheaval. Dr. Giinther believes that there has 

 been no such interoceanic communication since the 

 latter part of the Pliocene period ; in which case, the 

 persistence of these piscine specific forms would be 

 very remarkable. It is well known that, in ancient 

 Miocene times, one fauna extended on both sides 

 of what is now the separating land ; but the specific 

 identity of so many existing forms is quite a new 

 fact. — British Medical Journal. 



Insects in Cabinets.— S.L.B. remarks, having 

 read that camphor by its evaporation obscured and 

 injured specimens in cabinets, and should never be 

 used, desires a substitute. The caution originated 

 in a " mare's nest," for the volatility of camphor, 

 which causes it to evaporate and deposit again on 

 insects, will also cause it in turn to evaporate from 

 them until no trace is left. Let S. L. B. try a lump 

 of camphor under a tumbler, and after it is all 

 evaporated, report to us how much residue he finds 

 anywhere. He may try " benzole " for a change, 

 but will without doubt return again to camphor. 



Frog in Oolite. — I beg to submit the following 

 certificate and observations to those who are inte- 

 rested in natural history : — 



" I, William Munton, of Waltham, in the county 

 of Leicester, quarryman, hereby certify that I was 

 witness to the discovery of the stone and frog, now 

 before me (in possession of Mr. Simon Hutchinson, 

 of Manthorpe Lodge, Grantham), in the stone 

 quarry, at "Waltham, from ten to twelve feet below 

 the natural surface of the ground, in solid rock. 

 When the stone was split, the frog appeared alive ; 

 in size equal to the cavity therein. It continued to 

 live about ten days after its release, and was after- 

 wards preserved in spirit by the late Mr. Stow, of 

 Waltham. Before the stone was broken, no crack 

 or crevice was anywhere visible. As witness my 

 hand this 1st day of December, 1S66. 



William Munton." 



This discovery is familiar to persons now living 

 at Waltham, besides Mr. Munton ; therefore, per- 

 sonal inquiry can be made by the sceptical, or 

 silence, in future, will be most becoming. The 



skeleton of the frog and the stones, also, are open 

 for inspection. It is natural to exclaim, how could 

 a helpless frog penetrate solid stone ? It is not dif- 

 ficult, however, to imagine a live frog first enveloped 

 in mere mud, which afterwards hardens into solid 

 stone, ever remaining sufficiently porous to admit 

 air and moisture enough to maintain torpid exist- 

 ence ; and which, like seed of natural vegetation 

 buried immensely deep in the outer crust of the 

 earth, from its first formation, remains dormant, 

 until some accident brings it within the influence of 

 the sun to re-animate or develope, and ultimately 

 exhaust its vitality. As to the age of the animal, I 

 offer no theory. — Simon Hutchinson, Manthorpe 

 Lodge. 



The Apple. — The English name of this valuable 

 fruit is evidently derived from the Saxon word 

 (eppel; and from which circumstance we may safely 

 conclude that the fruit was cultivated in this country 

 under the Saxon government, if not previously by 

 the Romans. — Phillips's "Fruits of Great Britain." 



Last and Next November. Stab Showers. — 

 A comparison of the whole number of meteors 

 observed, with the numerical results of previous 

 showers, shows that this shower was far less signifi- 

 cant than some of its predecessors. Whether other 

 parts of the world witnessed a grander phase in the 

 display than we in England did, we cannot say, for 

 there is at present no authentic information on the 

 point. M. Coulvier Gravier, who ought to be an 

 authority, at a recent sitting of the French Academy 

 of Sciences, suggested that the maximum display of 

 the epoch might be expected in November, 1S67; 

 because, he said, the really great showers are thirty- 

 four years apart instead of thirty-three, and the last 

 of these was that of 1833. Moreover, he called 

 attention to the fact that every very grand shower is 

 preceded by one not so grand in the year before it. 

 This was the case in 1832-33 ; whether it will be so 

 this time we must wait till next November to learn. 

 — The Gentleman 's Magazme. 



Is it Podura? — While searching for poduras 

 very lately, a black individual made its appearance 

 which 1 immediately recognized as a species new to 

 me. Its motions were far more rapid than those of 

 poduras generally, and its antennae, which were 

 longer than usual, extended out straight instead of 

 curved over, as is mostly the case. On microscopic 

 examination I found it had twelve eyes, while all the 

 poduras I have met with have, I think, sixteen ; 

 but it possessed the curious forked tail, and was in 

 other respects a good deal like the black podura 

 (Macroloma nigra). I killed it with chloroform, and 

 on examining the scales, found to my surprise they 

 were not like podura scales at all, but were more 

 like lepisma scales, pleated like those of Lepisma 

 saccharina and cross-striated like those of the sea- 

 side species, Petrobius maritimus, — both of which 

 are figured in Science Gossip, vol. ii., p. 5G. The 

 scales are minute and very finely marked ; many of 

 them are pentagonal, more or less regular, and 

 many of the form of those of Lepisma saccharina. 

 I have some recollection of having seen for sale, 

 slides of Lepisma-like scales labelled " Podura 

 scales," but I thought this an error on the part of 

 the mounter. Is the insect known, and what is its 

 name ? — /. Mclntire. 



[In the genus Orchesella, the individuals are 

 characterized as particularly agile, and with six eyes 

 on each side. See Templeton in Transactions 

 Entom. Soc, vol. i., p. 93, PI. xi— Ed.] 



