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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



him nothing is easier. They are mounted in balsam. 

 All he has to do is to heat the slide on both plates 

 just sufficiently to remove the covering glass. If by 

 chance the photograph comes up with it apply a 

 little turpentine or benzole (I forget which I used) to 

 free it ; transfer to clean slide and remount in fluid 

 balsam. — Fred. H. Lang. 



New Rotifers, &c. — In addition to the two 

 Entomostraca found at Olton, new to this country, 

 a rotifer only recorded lately in America has been 

 found there, and a Peridinium (ceratiitm), only found 

 previously in salt water. I made a rich gathering 

 recently of Lacinularia socialis and Cristatella mucedo, 

 &.C., and send you a specimen of the former. — Thomas 

 Bolton . 



EUGLENA VIRIDIS AND ITS BULBED FLAGEI.LUM. 

 — It may, perhaps, interest Mr. Robson, to learn 

 •that I have seen all the forms of Euglena sketched by 

 Mr. Harkus in October issue of Science-Gossip, 

 .though I do not, of course, claim to be the first 

 observer of the peculiarity of the bulbed flagellum. 

 Neither do I claim to have settled the question of the 

 ■metamorphosis of the Euglena. Nevertheless, it is a 

 very singular coincidence, that two observers, alto- 

 gether unknown to each other, should witness in- 

 dependently a precisely similar phenomenon ; par- 

 ticularly so, if the suspicion at which I hinted in 

 my letter of August last have no foundation in fact, 

 and be erroneous. Ehrenberg studied the life history 

 of Hydatina scuta very fully ; would not a reference 

 to his work tend to throw some light on this point ? 

 From a circumstance I observed a few months ago, 

 I am led to believe that the bulbed flagellum is not a 

 necessary appendage to the Egleuna. On one occasion, 

 whilst closely watching the contortive movements of 

 .a full-grown specimen, I was much surprised to see 

 the little animal " bite off," if I may so term it, the 

 flagellum, which immediately floated away. Its 

 absence did not appear to cause the Euglena to suffer 

 any inconvenience, for it still continued to disport 

 itself with as much activity as previously. Mr. Robson 

 mentions the absence of the bulb from the flagellum 

 of No. r sketch of mine in the August number of 

 Science-Gossip. I noticed the same omission, but 

 suspecting it to be the result of the block having been 

 damaged, I did not consider it of sufficient importance 

 .to need any remark from me in the September number 

 correcting it, as I stated so plainly that all specimens 

 which had come under my observation possessed the 

 bulbed flagellum. If Mr. Robson has a few speci- 

 mens of the Euglena gathered by him, and would 

 send them to me I would willingly defray cost of 

 postage ; and as I expect shortly to be in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Preston, I will endeavour to obtain 

 and send to him a sample of Euglena, similar to those 

 I originally examined ; such exchange, if practicable, 

 •will serve either to establish the identity or dissimi- 

 larity of the two gatherings. — F. J. George. 



Cleaning Old Slides. — The easiest way I find 

 is to warm slide and push cover into sulphuric acid, 

 then put slide into a strong solution of common wash- 

 ing soda and boil for an hour or so. All varnish or 

 cement may then be scraped off with an old knife 

 with ease. Then wash all traces of soda away in 

 clean water. 



Leptodora Hyalina. — It is with much pleasure 

 that we put ourselves and our readers right on a 

 matter of fact. Mr. H. E. Forrest (to whom we 

 ascribed the honour of first finding Leptodora in 

 England), with characteristic fairness, writes to us 

 stating that it is not to himself, but to Mr. J. Levick, 

 a member of the Birmingham Natural History and 

 Microscopical Society, that the honour of its dis- 

 covery is due. 



ZOOLOGY. 



The Iceland Falcon (Falco islandicus). — A fine 

 young bird of this species in beautiful plumage was 

 captured in the Queen's Park, Edinburgh, about the 

 end of August last, under the following circumstances : 

 While Mr. R. B. Gilroy was walking there with some 

 friends, he saw some lads striking at an object in a 

 furze bush, and, on approaching, found it to be a bird 

 of prey ; stepping forward, he, with the assistance of 

 his friends, secured it. As the Queen's Park is largely 

 taken advantage of as a pleasure resort, they were soon 

 surrounded by a curious crowd conjecturing what 

 kind of a bird it was. One thought it was a hawk, 

 another knew it was a falcon, a third declared em- 

 phatically it was an eagle, while a fourth was equally 

 certain it was a parrot. Mr. Gilroy now procured a 

 cab and drove home with his captive, for which he 

 soon extemporised a convenient cage. But the bird 

 looked dull and would not eat, and Mr. Gilroy thought 

 it must either be exhausted by a long flight, or 

 seriously ill, as it made no attempt to fly when 

 captured ; accordingly he called in a doctor, who 

 forthwith administered a dose of castor oil, which had 

 a wonderful effect in reviving the drooping spirits of 

 the bird. It soon began to eat greedily, and was so 

 tame when I saw it twelve days after capture as to 

 eat meat out of the hand. So far as I am aware, there 

 is no record of this species having been previously 

 captured or shot near Edinburgh. — David Douglas, 

 Leith. 



How to Preserve Larvae. — Having seen in your 

 journal an article on preserving larvae, I thought a few 

 hints as to the plan followed by myself might be of 

 use. The larvae are killed, and the intestines removed 

 in the same manner as described in your paper, but, 

 before killing, I keep the larvae without food for a 

 couple of days, as if operated upon whilst full of 

 vegetable matter, it leaves a black stain just behind 

 the head, which spoils the look of the larvae. In 



