HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



21 



MICROSCOPY. 



The Vertical Camera. — I have very recently 

 received a vertical camera from one of the leading 

 London firms, and am working myself towards a 

 solution of the difficulties it presents to me. I find 

 that when the image is projected on paper laid on 

 the table in front of the microscope there is consider- 

 able distortion. The circular valve of a diatom 

 (under a one-sixth objective) is projected as an ellipse 

 (Fig. 5a). To remedy this, I have made a small 

 sloping drawing-desk of deal wood, the upper surface 

 of which is 10 inches square, and is fixed at an angle 

 of 45°. The image of the same diatom projected on 



Fig s- 



Fig. 6. 



the inclined surface of the slope is, as it should be, a 

 circle. Fig. 63. It is quite possible that this is the usual 

 way in which the distortion I refer to is rectified ; 

 but as none of the illustrated descriptive catalogues 

 and journals to which I have referred suggest the use 

 of a slope, this little note may be useful to those who, 

 like myself, have to think matters out for themselves. 

 Will any of your readers who work with vertical 

 cameras give a few "tips" in your columns on the 

 best way of using this appliance ?— W. J. Simmons^ 

 Calaitta. 



ZOOLOGY. 



The Great Grey Shrike.— I find there are no 

 authentic instances of this bird breeding in this 

 countr)'. The last week in May, 1 889, a great grey 

 shrike was given to me that was shot at Brackley. 

 The bird had all the appearance of being a brooding- 

 bird, and the fact of it being found so late in the 

 season almost proves that it does occasionally breed 

 in this countrj'. — H. Blaby. 



Shells in Banffshire.— I append a short list 

 of shells found during two rambles last October, at 

 Aberlour, Banffshire. This granite country yields 

 few shells, many only being found near walls and 

 rubbish heaps, where more mortar has been used or 



deposited. I was unable to make a thorough search 

 for fresh-water specimens. Unio 7nargantifcr, Ano- 

 donta cynaa, from the river Spey ; Limnaa peregra, 

 frequent ; Vitrhia pellucida, very common ; Zonitcs 

 paiinis, var. margaritacea, scarce ; Z. fulvus, mode- 

 rately common ; Z. nitidiis, common ; Helix lamellata, 

 one only ; H. horUnsis, scarce ; H. nemoralis, mode- 

 rately common; Clausilia riigosa, scarce. These 

 seem to approach the var. titmidula, being smaller 

 and more ventricose. Vertigo edentata, more common 

 than any of the above.— y. Chas. Smith, Penrith. 



Disease in Rook.— On Sunday Nov. i6th I 

 found a rook in a ditch near the Vicarage. When- 

 ever it tried to walk it rolled over and over. I 

 brought it home and put it in a room till after morning- 

 service was over ; then I took it some juicy beef cut 

 in small pieces. Whenever it attempted to swallow 

 it could only throw its head forward, and of course 

 threw the meat out of its bill. I noticed that it could 

 walk backward quite well, but whenever it tried to 

 walk any other way it rolled over. I gave it over to 

 a bird-stuffer next day, Nov. 17th, and he found that 

 although dead less than twenty-four hours— for I 

 wrung its neck — the liver was completely rotten. 

 There were no marks of any wound or injury. The 

 feathers were smooth and glossy, but the bird was 

 very light in weight.— .ff. Ashington Bullen. 



"Proceedings," etc., of Colonial and Pro- 

 vincial Societies : — 



The best token we could adduce of the scientific 

 research and love thereof in our Australian colonies- 

 will be best demonstrated by the following "Con- 

 tents" of the last issued "Journal of the Royal 

 Society of New South Wales ":—" List of the 

 Marine and Fresh-water Invertebrate Fauna of Port 

 Jackson and the Neighbourhood," by Thos. White- 

 legge; "The Analysis of the Prickly Pear," by 

 W. H. Hamlet; "Notes on New South Wales 

 Minerals," by C. H. Mingaye ; " Notes on Goulbourn 

 Lime," by E. C. Manfred; " The Australian Abo- 

 rigines," by the Rev. John Mathew ; " Aids to 

 Sanitation in Unsewered Districts," by J. A. Thomp- 

 son ; " Well and River Waters of New South Wales," 

 by W. A. Dixon; "The Aborigines of Australia," 

 by Ed. Stephens ; "New South Wales as a Health 

 Resort in Phthisis Pulmonalis," by Dr. B. J. New- 

 march ; besides Reports of lectures, &c. 



The "Proceedings" of the Bristol Naturalists" 

 Society are always full of good matter. The last 

 part contains the following important papers among 

 others : — " The Geology of Tytherington and Groves- 

 end," by Prof. C. L. Morgan ; "Flora of the Bristol 

 Coal-Field," by J. W. White; "The Fungi of the 

 Bristol District," by C. Bucknell, Mus. Bac. ; " Talpa ; 

 or. Remarks on the Habits of the Mole," by C. J, 

 Trusted; "Mimicry among the Lepidoptera," by 

 G. C. Griffiths ; " Putrefactive Organisms," by Dr. 



