HARD WICKE 'S S CIENCE - G O SSI P. 



67 



chief difference in the new species is the greater 

 length of the snout. Tlie entire animal seems to be 

 much greater in size than its Australian bretlrren. 



Varieties of Medusa. — At a recent meeting of 

 the Linnean Society, Mr. G. J. Romanes read a paper 

 on varieties and monstrous forms of ]Medusa. He 

 said that among the naked-eyed group of jelly-fishes, 

 with their lowly organization and tendency to budding, 

 monstrosities are comparatively rare. In the cases he 

 had met with, especially in Aurelia anrita, the devia- 

 tions from the normal type always occurred in a mul- 

 tiplication, or abortion, or suppression of entire 

 segments. This affects the segments of the disc in a 

 symmetrical manner, whilst the ovaries and manu- 

 brium, to a certain extent, may not be implicated. 



Entomological Notes. — July 12th to 31st, at 

 Pegwell Bay, I took Galathca, Alexis, Argiolus, 

 Polychloros, Atalanta, yaiiira, Linea, and Sylvaims, 

 very abundant. L. Qiierais and Satin-moths com- 

 mon. July 15th, took a new specimen of C. Hyale, 

 but, although I frequented same locality till end of 

 month, saw no more. Took Edusa within i\ miles I 

 of Marble Arch. August loth, in Warm-lane, 

 Cricklewood, took a ? Edusa. August 23rd, in field 

 at .back of Rockhall-terrace, Cricklewood, took $ 

 Edusa. Saw another, but unable to catch it. Sep- 

 tember 6th, saw $ Edusa in Regent's-park, but 

 unable to catch it, as without net. On February 4th, 

 1877 — unusually warm — captured two 7-spot lady- 

 birds in St. John's Wood-road, N.W. Warm-lane, 

 Cricklewood, is a very fair collecting-ground. Query? 

 What is the proper generic name of Cardamines? 

 Mr. Morris szys Mancipium ; Mr. Colti-aTin, Erichloe, 

 and Mr. Stainton, Anthoca^-es. 



The Classified Index to Science-Gossip. — 

 We apologize for the unexpected delay in the publi- 

 cation of the classified index to the twelve volumes 

 of Science-Gossip. The work has been of a more 

 laborious kind than we imagined. We hope, how- 

 ever, it will be issued with the present number, or, 

 at all events, only a few days afterwards. 



" The Uses of Animals to Man." — We are 

 glad to see a reprint of the course of Lectures 

 delivered at [the South Kensington Museum, under 

 this heading, by the late Dr. Edwin Lankester, 

 F.R. S. No writer was better able to treat this com- 

 prehensive subject than he. The subjects are prac- 

 tical in their importance, and are treated in an un- 

 usually suggestive manner. They include " Silk," 

 "Wool," "Leatlier," "Bone," "Soap," "Waste," 

 "Sponges and Corals," "Shell-fish," "Insects," 

 "Furs," "Feathers, Horns, and Hair," and 

 "Animal Perfumes." 



New Species of Deep-Sea Ascidians. — Mr. 

 H. N. Mosely, naturalist on board the Challenger 

 during her three years' cruise, has given an account of 

 two new and remarkable species of deep-sea Ascidians. 



One of them, named Hybythius calycodes, was brought 

 up from the North Pacific from a depth of 2,900 

 fathoms. It is stalked and cup-shaped, and is be- 

 lieved to be allied to Boltenia. It differs from that 

 genus, however, in possessing a series of cartilaginous 

 plates, symmetrically developed in the soft test. The 

 second species is called Octacnemus bythius : this was 

 brought up from a depth of 1,070 fathoms. It is 

 star-shaped, with eiglit rays. The gill-sac is nearly 

 absent in it, and the usual gill network entirely so. 

 Muscular prolongations of the tunic run into the 

 curious conical protuberances of the test. The 

 nucleus is contracted and small, like that of Salpa. 

 This singular species is believed to be without living 

 allies. 



Swarm of Locusts. — It appears "that a swarm 

 of locusts passed over Yorkshire last autumn. At a 

 recent meeting of the Entomological Society of Lon- 

 don, Mr. McLachlan exhibited some of the locusts, 

 on behalf of Mr. W. D. Roebuck, of Leeds. Mr. 

 McLachlan is of opinion that the species visiting 

 us is not Pachytylus migratoHus, but P. cinerascens, 

 which is supposed to breed in the north of Europe. 



Large Specimen of Unio. — On March 7, 1876, 

 near Repton, Derbyshire, I took a specimen of Unio 

 tumidus, 4f in. in breadth, 2| in. in length, and 

 weighing 42 ounces. Jeffreys (" British Conchology,' 

 vol. i. p. 34) says, in his article on this shell, "The 

 Rev. A. M. Norman has recorded, in the ' Zoologist ' 

 for 1857, having taken specimens at Fleckney and 

 Wistow, in Leicestershire, of the extraordinary (sic) 

 dimensions of nearly 4^ in. in breadth, and more 

 than 2 in. in length, the weight being over 3 ounces." 

 It would be interesting to many conchologists besides 

 myself, to know whether any specimens of equal or 

 larger dimensions and weight have ever been taken. 

 — W. W. Fowler, Repton. 



BOTANY. 



"Fertilization of Orchids," by Charles Dar- 

 win, F.R.S. — -We have received a copy of the second 

 edition of this, one of the most striking of all 

 Darwin's works. It was the first to call attention to 

 the various contrivances by which Orchids, both 

 native and exotic, are fertilized by insects ; and how 

 the seemingly strange and fantastic shapes and struc- 

 tural parts of these singular plants could only be 

 understood from this point of view. A good deal more 

 has been learned concerning Orchids since Mr. Dar- 

 win first drew attention to them, and in this second 

 edition we find all the new discoveries included. We 

 are glad of a reprint of this valuable book, which it 

 has been impossible to purchase for two or three 

 years back, owing to its being out of print. 



"The Symmetry of Flowers." By John 

 Gibbs (Chelmsford : John Dutton, Tindal-street).-- 



