16 



HARDAVICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Jan. 1, 1868. 



It lias hitherto been stated that the two first- 

 mentioned species, the B. orientalis and the B. 

 americana, constituted the pest known as "black- 

 beetles" in London; but that other species of 

 Cockroaches are becoming nuisances, from their 

 great numbers, was brought to my notice a short 

 time since in the public room of an hotel near 

 Covent Garden, where I observed and captured an 

 example of the Ectobhcs germanica. 



On making some inquiries, I found that it 

 swarmed in thousands all over the place. How 

 long this had been the case I could not learn ; but 

 I have evidence of its existence as far back as the 

 year 1S57. 



The sketch cf this species given above is of the 

 natural size. The female has attached to her 

 abdomen the egg-capsule or case, which is a most 

 interesting object under a low power, and differs 

 greatly from that produced by the common species. 



A careful examination of a number of these egg- 

 cases in various stages of growth will, I feel 

 assured, convince the observer that what is said in 

 the books about "the difficulty the female has in 

 getting rid of this compound offspring " is an error ; 

 — that, in fact, the capsule is secreted, layer after 

 layer, and when the last of these is completed, the 

 whole is easily detached. 



It is doubtful whether the Ectobius germanica is 

 really a British species. It has been found in 

 Portsmouth and Plymouth, and in merchant vessels. 

 These localities would seem to indicate a foreign 

 origin ; and the specific name given to it has 

 certainly a like signification. 



It would be very interesting, but not very easy, to 

 discover if any other species of these two genera 

 are swarming in the lower strata of our overgrown 

 city. , 



The difficulty of carrying out this inquiry is 

 illustrated by the fact that the Ectobius germanica 

 has existed in vast numbers, for at least ten years, 

 close to Covent Garden Market, without attracting 

 the notice of one person in any way acquainted with 

 the subject. 



The great majority of our respected but non- 

 entomological fellow-citizens class everything in the 

 shape of a Cockroach under the convenient name of 

 " black-beetle," and they are, naturally, much more 

 interested in the means of exterminating it than 

 in making out the species to which it may belong. 



Kensington. II. C. R. 



An Evidence of Insanity.— "Things are not now 

 quite so bad as they were when Lady Glauville's 

 will was attempted to be set aside on the ground of 

 lunacy, evinced by no other act than her fondness 

 for collecting insects; and they had to appear at 

 Exeter on the trial as a witness of her sanity ! " 

 — Kirby ami Spencers Entomology. 



ZOOLOGY. 



A Kestrel's Defence. — A remarkable instance 

 of fearlessness in a kestrel in defending its nest, 

 came under my observation in the spring of 1S64. 

 A lad had climbed to the nest, in a tall fir-tree, and 

 was about to grasp the eggs, when the bird, which 

 he had disturbed from them, swooped at his hand, 

 which he withdrawing suddenly, one of the eggs 

 was broken to pieces by the talons of the bird. — 

 Har ting's "Birds of Middlesex." 



Left by the Tide. — On Sunday, Nov. 3, a 

 young blue shark was found stranded in Chichester 

 harbour - . It measured between six and seven feet, 

 and weighed upwards of sixty pounds.—// 7 ". C. 



Animals that Never Die. — Will the reader be 

 startled to hear that there are exceptions to the 

 universal law of death— that there are animals, or 

 at any rate portions of animals, which are practically 

 immortal ? Such, however, is really the case. I 

 allude to species of the genera Nais and Splits — 

 marine worms of no special interest to the ordinary 

 observer ; but those who have watched their habits 

 closely, tell us of a most extraordinary power of 

 spontaneous division which they enjoy. Self division, 

 as a means of propagation, is common enough 

 among the lower members of both the animal and 

 vegetable kingdoms; but the particular kind to 

 which I refer now is, I believe, peculiar to these 

 singular worms. At certain periods, the posterior 

 portion of the body begins to alter its shape mate- 

 rially; it swells and grows larger, and the transverse 

 segments or divisions become more strongly marked. 

 At last, just at the point where it joins the first half 

 of the body, a true head is formed, furnished with 

 antenna?, cirrhi, jaws, and whatever else goes to 

 make a marine worm "perfect after its kind," and 

 forthwith the whole drops off a complete animal, 

 capable of maintaining a separate existence. Nor 

 is this remarkable phenomenon confined to a single 

 portion of any given body. Midler (Zool. Dan.), 

 quoted in Cuvier's "Animal Kingdom," "describes 

 one mother Syllis prolifera, in which three foetuses 

 of different ages appeared iu one length. The 

 mother had 30 segments, the young one nearest to 

 it had 11, and the 2 hinder or older ones 17 seg- 

 ments each." After a time, the newly-formed 

 animal becomes itself a mother ; the same process of 

 spontaneous division takes place; and so on for 

 successive generations. Mr. Gosse, to whom we 

 are indebted for so much accurate information 

 regarding the life history of the lower marine 

 animals, when speaking of this curious mode of 

 continuing the species, adds :— " The facts have 

 been denied ; but we can give the testimony of 

 personal observation to their truth, having witnessed 

 the process." (Life, p. 141.) Whether the process 



