HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



89 



ZOOLOGY- 

 PERSONAL Observations in Natural His- 

 tory.— A neatly-bound little pamphlet has been 

 issued, written by Mr. Thomas Kingsford, of Can- 

 terbury, and entitled "Reminiscences of Animals, 

 Birds, Fishes, and Meteorology." It is a series of 

 personal jottings on natural phenomena, and indi- 

 cates the author to be a man fond of nature and 

 possessed of large powers of observation. 



Life.— A most thoughtful and suggestive paper on 

 "Life," appears in the Mtdico-Chirurgical Journal 

 for January, from the pen of that well-known 

 naturalist, Mr. R. Garner, F.L.S., of Stoke-on- 

 Trent. The subject is treated alike from the evo- 

 lutionistic and specialistic point of view, the author 

 boldly and eclectically accepting whatever views 

 appear to him most explanatory of facts. He argues 

 in favour of teleology, and against the idea that life 

 is the result of organisation. 



Danais Archippus. — A specimen of this North 

 American butterfly, taken near Hassock's Gate, 

 Sussex, was exhibited at a recent meeting of the 

 Entomological Society, by Mr. F. Bond. This 

 makes the third specimen of this species which has 

 been captured in England. 



Bathybius. — Notwithstanding that Professor 

 Huxley and other naturalists have given up, from 

 discoveries made by the "Challenger," the idea of 

 there being such a primitive animal substance as 

 Bathybius, Dr. Bessels, of the " Polaris " expedition, 

 states that he discovered in Smith's Sound a sub- 

 stance much like it, only even simpler in its structure. 

 He proposes to call it Protohathyhius. 



Provincial Museums. — We noticed, in the last 

 Report of the East Kent Natural History Society, 

 some remarks as to the usual contents of many local 

 museums, which remind us of the discourse on this 

 subject given a few years ago by Professor Gulliver. 

 The report shows how money is often squandered in 

 such institutions which might be advantageously 

 applied in making them worthy of their name. 

 Many museums are nothing better than old curiosity 

 shops, whose contents convey no lesson to the minds 

 of people. Thus the study of natural history is 

 retarded rather than advanced. Local museums 

 should be adapted to the best mental culture, and 

 their contents ought to explain the general principles 

 of nature. Systematic sets of specimens to explain 

 the general natural history of the district ought to be 

 especially exhibited, and all useless objects should be 

 weeded out. 



The Intelligence of Ants. — The researches 

 of Sir John Lubbock do not lead him to think so 

 highly of the intelligence of ants. In another of his 

 remarkable observational papers, lately read before 

 the Linnean Society, he states that they had not sense 



enough to drop from a height of only three-tenths of 

 an inch from the ground, but went a long way round, 

 owing to their want of power of calculating distance. 

 It appears, however, that in other respects they are 

 intelligent enough. Thus, they soon recognize their 

 friends, even after a year's separation. Slavery in 

 certain genera is a regular institution. The Amazon 

 ants {Polya-gKS riifcscens) absolutely require a slave 

 to clean, dress, and feed them ! Repeated experi- 

 ments prove that they will rather die than help 

 themselves. 



The Watford Natural History Society.— 

 The sixth part of the first volume of the Transactions 

 of this flourishing Society has just appeared. It 

 contains papers on the " Herefordshire Bourne," by 

 Mr. John Evans, F.R.S., the President; on the 

 " Herefordshire Bench-marks," by Mr. John Hop- 

 kinson, F.G.S., Hon. Sec, and an important one on 

 the "Polarisation of Light" (illustrated), by Mr. 

 James U. Harford. 



Public Aquaria.— Mr. John T. Carrington has 

 been appointed "Resident Naturalist" to the Royal 

 Aquarium Society, Westminster, in place of Mr. W. 

 Saville Kent. Mr. Carrington has for the last year 

 been studying aquarium management with Mr. W. 

 Alford Lloyd, at the Crystal Palace Aquarium. 

 Mr. C. P. Ogilvie, formerly a pupil of Dr. J. E. 

 Taylor, F.L.S., and who studied aquarium manage- 

 ment under Mr. W. S. Kent, at Westminster, has 

 been appointed Curator to the Great Yarmouth 

 Aquarium. 



Marine Aquarium.— My experience of the above 

 may be interesting to some of your readers. Last 

 July, when at Westgate, I collected half a dozen 

 common ]\Ies., and brought them to town with me, 

 Hkewise two gallons of sea-water and some small 

 stones with ulva and callithamnion growing attached. 

 I had a spare bell-glass, and, wanting something 

 better, I fitted this up, intending it to be pro tern. , 

 covering half the outside of the glass with light green 

 paper and copal varnish. Everything flourished so 

 well that, after a month, I determined to leave things 

 as they were. The anemones seemed at home, some 

 small mussels, limpets, winkles, and acorn barnacles 

 made their appearance, and also four small nereis; 

 and these always appear when the anemones are fed. 

 The food that I have found to suit them best is oyster 

 cut into small slips ; the only care I have bestowed 

 upon it is to remove the rejecta of the animals and 

 to add a little filtered fresh water when the hydro- 

 meter has indicated the necessity. Two months ago 

 I added six sagartia. These have flourished equally 

 well, and, a fortnight since, I discovered a colony of 

 over twenty young ones and sagartia attached to the 

 glass near the bottom. In addition, I may say that 

 the coats the anemones occasionally cast off, and 

 small pieces of ulva I have sometimes removed. 



