June 1, 1869.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSI P. 



129 



constricted in the middle, and, like the bodies of the 

 Cystici and Cestodes, exhibits a number of hard 

 corpuscles dotted about immediately beneath the 

 skin, which in these two orders Siebold tells us 

 "contain carbonate of lime, and maybe regarded 

 as the vestige of a cutaneous skeleton." The 

 larger spheroidal bodies (f) seen through the 

 integument are ova, which (to make sure) were 

 extracted and examined ; but I do not think it 

 worth while to dilate upon them here. Below the 

 large circular mouth (c), with its encircling 

 armature of hooklets, a kind of cloak envelops the 

 anterior portion of the body, being slit up just 

 below the shoulders into four wing-like transparent 

 lappets (a a, b b) hanging free, by means of which 

 progression is effected. 



It climbs the cylinder of the alimentary canal 

 precisely in the same manner as in the good old 

 times, before Act 5 Vic., 1840, the poor little 

 sweep " shinned up " the grimy flue of a narrow 

 chimney. In the above figure w.e see the two side 

 lappets (a) contracted, with their apices (d) forced 

 up above the head, or oral orifice' (c), and their free 

 limbs extended outwards with a curve, so as to 

 press against the walls of the digestive tube : just 

 as the young sooterkin elevated his shoulders to 

 the top of his ears, then drew up his elbows square 

 with his shoulders, and having "got a bearing" by 

 digging with his " funny-bones " against the hard 

 rough bricks, swung himself off his feet and drew 

 his body up by the downward pressure of his arms, 

 stretching up his neck the while, and so arrived at 

 the end of the first stage of his first step in the 

 ascent ; so also, by a very similar set of evolutions 

 has his oceanic analogue, the Labidoceran " flue- 

 faker," accomplished the like feat, as shown below. 



Fig. 96. Second position in climbing;. 



And as the boy, after he had swayed up his body 

 by the downward pressure of his arms, next 

 proceeded to draw up both legs and to " get a set" 

 with his knees as he had previously done with his 

 elbows, so we observe that our Entomostracan 

 parasite having reached up with its neck, is 

 drawing up its second pair of lappets (b) to push 

 itself upwards by their downward thrust, and 

 thereby finish the second stage. 



In addition to the mouth proper (c), which is well 



shown in this last cut, there appears to be a 

 suctorial disc (d) on the apex of each lappet, used 

 as an auxiliary in climbing, for holding on with 

 between the lifts, and probably supplementing the 

 anchoring hooklets of the head, if not constituting 

 the main mooring apparatus by which the creature 

 secures itself in the new resting-place it has 

 reached. 

 Bury Cross, Gosport. 



ODD NOTIONS. 



THE collector of objects for a fresh-water aqua- 

 rium must often be struck with the marvel- 

 lous notions that prevail among rustics about many 

 of the commonest inhabitants of our ponds and 

 rivers : there really appears to be no rubbish too 

 extravagant for country people to believe, and it is 

 often no easy matter to undermine their convictions. 

 A few days ago, being in want of some newts — I 

 am at present studying the habits of these interest- 

 ing creatures — I adjourned to a neighbouring pond, 

 and was settling down to my work, when a farm 

 labourer, who was strolling about the meadows, 

 came loitering up. He watched ; me intently for 

 some minutes, and then, having probably made up 

 his mind that I must be trying to catch my break- 

 fast, and pitying my choice of a locality, he addressed 

 me, " This doantjUook a very loikly place for fish, do 

 it ? " I replied by showing him my captures, some 

 ten or twelve newts, and, explaining that these were 

 the objects of my search, asked him if he did not 

 admire their beauty. "Oh," he cried, with the 

 oddest mixture of surprise and terror in his coun- 

 tenance, " what are you agoing to do with them ? 

 they tell me these ere varmint spit fearful pisen." 

 Nothing that I could say to persuade him otherwise 

 was of the least avail ; the power of Triton cristatus 

 to discharge venom was evidently far too important 

 an article of his creed to be removed so hastily, 

 and he departed under the unshaken conviction 

 that I had enough there in my can to poison the 

 whole neighbourhood. Another time I was actually 

 earnestly advised by a man whom I met to throw 

 some beetles, I was carrying, back into the canal. He 

 seemed to have a vague idea that these unfortunate 

 creatures were intimately connected with sundry 

 witcheries that he had heard of, though in what 

 particular way the powers of darkness had managed 

 to form a league with water-boatmen he was unable 

 to explain. Of course I declined to accept his 

 advice, and, evidently hurt at my obstinacy and un- 

 belief, he left me with a final and solemn exhort- 

 ation : "Look here," he said, "1 knows more about 

 them things than most, and I can tell you this— they 

 never does nobody no good." 



Edwaed Banks. 

 Tettenhall, near Wolverhampton, 



