HA R D WICKE ' S S CIE NCE - G OSS I P. 



i37 



for out of one hundred and ninety-three eels supplied 

 by the United States Fish Commission three have 

 been found to be males. Professor Packard found the 

 nucleated spermatozoa in the cells. 



Boar-fish (Capros aper, Lacep.).— Numbers of 

 these fish have been thrown up on the beach here 

 during the present month (April) ; I have had thirteen 

 specimens brought to me, all of which are very 

 uniform in length, viz. 5 to 5^ inches. No transverse 

 bands were visible in any of them, but the general 

 rosy-pink colour was very vivid in most. I observe 

 that some of your correspondents refer this fish to the 

 genus Zeus (Linn.), but there are very marked dis- 

 tinctions between the genera Zeus (Linn.) and Capros 

 (Lacep.). : e.g. in the former the body is without scales, 

 and the first dorsal carries a series of long filaments ; 

 there is also a row of spinous scales at each side of 

 the base of the dorsal and anal ; whilst in Capros, the 

 body is clad with scales, and there are no filaments to 

 the dorsal and no spines at its base. I wish one 

 could discover some preservative fluid that would con- 

 serve the colour in fish ; few would realise, in looking 

 at the pale specimens in the jars the exquisite rosy 

 tint of the living fish. For the benefit of fellow- 

 readers of Science-Gossip who preserve fish, I may 

 mention that after trial of many preservative fluids, 

 the one I find handiest and most useful is Burnett's 

 fluid (chloride of zinc) largely diluted : i. e. I part of 

 fluid to 20 of water. This solution is slow in evapora- 

 tion, and of course does not crystallize about the 

 mouth of the jar or bottle. I believe it is the fluid 

 used in the British Museum for preserving fish. — 

 E. B. Kemp- Welch, Bournemouth. 



Mistakes of Instinct. — I desire most cordially 

 to support the suggestion in your April number, to 

 study the aberrations of instinct, as a means of arriving 

 at a more intimate knowledge of the normal workings 

 of that faculty. It is in fact the proper application of 

 the philosophical axiom " Exceptio probat regulam" 

 in its true sense. It is analogous to the study of 

 monstrous forms in animal or vegetable structures 

 (Teratology) in order to arrive at a knowledge of 

 the mode in which the ordinary forms are produced. 

 I would instance the Arum Dracunculus (the dragon 

 flower) the flowers of which when fully expanded 

 have a smell very much resembling that of putrid 

 meat, and I have often noticed the multitude of flesh- 

 flies that buzz and hover about the plant when in 

 flower ; attracted, as is very obvious, by the odour of 

 the blossom. I learn from a notice in your April 

 number, that Cuvier has stated that flies are so far 

 deceived by it, that they actually lay their eggs in 

 the floral envelope.* I have never yet observed this 

 myself, but I have a plant in my garden, which in a 

 short time will be in flower. And I will carefully 



* See Taylor's " Flowers : their origin, shapes, perfumes, and 

 colours," page 261. 



watch it, and if I find that any of the multitude of 

 flies that visit it have laid their eggs in it, I will send 

 the piece so operated upon to you, as a tangible proof 

 of a decided mistake of instinct, in a matter of the 

 utmost importance to the creature, and conclusively 

 shewing that in this particular instance the animal is 

 guided by the sense of smell alone, and does not 

 correct its inferences by the application of sight or 

 touch or any other sense to the object. 



Probably anglers could do good service in this 

 direction, if they would carefully observe, and note, 

 under what circumstances fishes are most readily 

 deceived by, or reject the allurements of artificial 

 flies. Is there any reason to believe that they are 

 guided by any other sense than sight, in snapping at 

 the sometimes not very close semblance of a dainty 

 morsel ? Another instance that occurs to one is the 

 common case of a hen being induced to sit upon a 

 chalk egg ; where sight and touch appear to combine 

 to delude the poor creature. The point requiring 

 observation, I think is — do not all the observed aber- 

 rations of instinct arise from mistaken sense ? Is there 

 any observed instance shewing that the creature is 

 able to correct a mistake of sense, by the application 

 of any other faculty, and if so, what is that corrective 

 faculty?— C. B. 



BOTANY. 



Function of Nectaries in Plants. — It is 

 stated in the "Times" of April 8, that the theory 

 of the functions of the nectary has recently been 

 called in question by M. Bonnier, in support of 

 which he gives various arguments. I was so much 

 pleased with the (to me) convincing proofs adduced 

 in "Flowers," by the Editor of SciENCE-Gossir, 

 that I hope his opinions, which are in accordance with 

 those of Darwin, Miiller, and others, will be confirmed 

 by the discussions that will no doubt take place, 

 refuting M. Bonnier's difficulties and objections, by 

 botanists who have given attention to the subject ; 

 and I trust that some of them may appear in SciENCE- 

 GOSSIP.— T. B. W., Brighton. 



Corn Cockle (Lychnis or Agrostemma Githago). 

 In January 1878, I received a few specimens of this 

 plant from my friend Mr. J. Leighton, so much 

 smaller than the ordinary form that I was not sure 

 whether to consider them a new variety or merely 

 starved specimens. So I sent one or two to Dr. J. 

 T. Boswell for his opinion, and he kindly informed me 

 that they were probably starved plants of L. Githago, 

 and that if their seeds were sown in good soil they 

 would doubtless produce the typical form. So I 

 labelled my mounted specimens as a " starved form of 

 L. Githago." But as Mr. Leighton in November last 

 again forwarded me precisely similar examples from 

 the same locality gathered last season, I wrote to 

 him that the plant might perhaps be a new variety, 



