HARD WICKE 'S S CIENCE • GOSSIP. 



185 



How TO TRESERVE CRUSTACEANS. — Separate the . 

 upper from tlie under shell with a strong knife, [ 

 remove the contents, and anoint the inside with cor- ■ 

 rosive sublimate dissolved in methylated spirits ; \ 

 then fasten the shells together with strong glue ; if 

 the crab is large, remove a little of the under side of ■ 

 the claw, and clear it out with a hooked wire ; then 

 fasten the piece in, place the limbs in position, and ' 

 let it dry ; varnish is not required Echini simply 

 require to be hung up to dry without any preparing. 

 — G. Ciirrie. 



CoLiAS Edusa. — We have received upwards of 

 thirty letters announcing the early appearance of this 

 beautiful butterfly in nearly all parts of England. 

 The greatest surprise seems to be connected with its 

 unusually early appearance. 



The Hoopoe. — A fine specimen (male) of this 

 bird has been shot this summer at Tockwith, near 

 York. One wishes either that our rare birds 

 ^\■ould learn wisdom and keep away, or that their 

 shooters might learn a little more mercy and common 

 sense. 



The '•'Challenger" Results. — At a recent 

 meeting of the Zoological Society of London, Mr. 

 John Murray, naturalist to the Challenger expedi- 

 tion, exhibited and made remarks on a series of 

 sharks' teeth, whales' ear-bones, and other speci- 

 mens, dredged up at great depths during the Challenger 

 expedition. Dr. P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., then read 

 the first of a series of reports on the collection of 

 birds made during'the voyage of H. M.S. Challenger, 

 containing general remarks on the collection, which 

 was stated to consist of about 679 skins of terrestrial 

 and 198 of oceanic birds, besides a considerable 

 series of specimens in salt and in spirit, and a collec- 

 tion of eggs, principally of the oceanic species. A 

 communication was also read from the Marquis of 

 Tweeddale, F.R.S., containing a report on the collec- 

 tion of birds made during the voyage of H.M.S. 

 Challenger in the Philippine Islands. Amongst them 

 were examples of seven species new to science. Mr. 

 P. L. Sclater read another paper giving a description 

 of the birds collected at the Admiralty Islands 

 during the visit of the Challenger expedition to that 

 place. Amongst these were examples of six species 

 hitherto vmknown to naturalists. 



Current Scientific Literature. — The Po- 

 pular Science Rezneiu for July has a very important 

 article, by Prof. Duncan, called "Studies among the 

 Aiiia'bce," which will be diligently read by all natu- 

 ralists who use the microscope. A very readable 

 article is that by Mr. W. F. Kirby, on "The Geo- 

 graphical Distribution of Animals.' The Rev. W. R. 

 Symonds has a veiy interesting paper, based chiefly 

 on personal investigations, on " The Volcanoes of 

 the Haute Loire and the Ardeche." Besides the 

 above papers, there are others on various branches of 



physical science, by Prof Osborne Reynolds and 

 Messrs. R. A. Proctor and \V. N. Hartley. The 

 scientific summary of the quarter is always a strong 

 and attractive feature in this excellent magazine. 



Propagation of Food-Fishes. — We have re- 

 ceived Part III. of the " Report of the United States 

 Commission on Fish and Fisheries," consisting of 

 nearly Soo pages of printed matter relating to this im- 

 portant subject. The Report is in two parts, one of 

 which is devoted to an inquiry into the decrease of 

 our food-fishes, and the other into the propagation 

 of food-fishes in the waters of the United States. 

 The generous manner with which the United States 

 Government distribute copies of all Government 

 printed books on science contrasts severely with the 

 miserable stinginess of our own Stationery Office, 

 where the Reports of the Geological Surveys arc not 

 even sent to scientific journals for review. 



Sphinx Pinastri. — Early in July last a fine 

 specimen of this exceedingly rare moth was captured 

 in the gardens of Tuddenham Rectory, near Ipswich, 

 by the Rev. Mr. Long. A few days previously 

 a specimen had been caught at Waldringfield, a 

 parish about se^"en miles from Tuddenham. 



Capture of a Seal in the Solway. — A speci- 

 men of the common seal was captured by the 

 fishers at Port Carlisle on the 29th of June last ; it 

 was four feet long, and weighed 84 lb. — JV. D. 



Cleaning the Shells of the Smaller Species 

 OF MoLLUSKS. — I have recently adopted the follow- 

 ing method of extracting the animal from some of 

 the smaller species of land and fresh-water shells. 

 After killing them by immersion in boiling M'ater, 

 they are placed in a large test-tube, with a solution 

 of caustic potash, and heated to the boiling point ; 

 in a short time the animal is completely dissolved, 

 and the shells are freed from the potash by boiling 

 in plenty of distilled water. The method may not 

 be new, but suggested itself to me whilst preparing 

 some of the lingual ribbons of the mollusca with 

 potash for microscopic examination ; and, so far as I 

 have at present tried it, I am pleased with the result. 

 The epidermis of some species is injured by it, but 

 for many kinds it seems to answer admirably. — 7'. 

 E. Doeg, Evesham. 



The Blvborough Tick. — This arachnid, which 

 has been lately described either as Argas foriiiosns or 

 Argas Fischeri, and depicted in two plates of the 

 "Journal of the Microscopic Club," and several wood- 

 cuts in Science-Gossip, turns out to be the Argas 

 pipistrilhe, described in the "Proceedings of the 

 Entomological Society of London" for 1872, by 

 Professor Westwood. Mr. Gulliver, jun., took 

 specimens, obtained from Mr. C. F. George, to 

 Oxford, and the result was the determination of the 

 species just named, which was made the subject of 

 a communication to a late meeting of the East Kent 

 Natural History Society at Canterbury. — Q. F. 



