58 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



The Government grant committee has wisely supplied 

 Professor Ewing, of Dundee, with ,£100 for the pur- 

 pose of instituting observations of earth movements 

 on Ben Nevis. The isolated position of this mountain, 

 distance from railways, factories, or other artificial 

 disturbers, renders it suitable for such observations, 

 which are to be added to the work of the observatory 

 already established there. 



According to a communication to the French 

 Academy of Sciences (December 29) from M. Sacc, 

 there is cultivated in Bolivia a cotton-tree which 

 yields abundantly a seed which is richer than any of 

 the known grains in nitrogenous food. M. Sacc is 

 convinced that the flour from this seed is destined to 

 take an important place in human food supply, 

 especially in the preparation of all kinds of pastes, as 

 it contains so much vegetable oil as to render the 

 addition of milk and animal fats unnecessary. The 

 vegetarians should look after this and obtain samples. 

 Their chief difficulty hitherto has been in finding a 

 supply of fatty matter sufficient to meet the food 

 demands of our climate, without being dependent on 

 animal products. Most of them would like to be 

 independent of the dairy ; the leguminous plants 

 enable them to be so as regards casein, but still their 

 puddings and pastry generally appeal for butter. A 

 seed containing both Hour and butter in pastry-cook 

 proportions is exactly what they now want. 



Carbon disulphide is growing in importance. I 

 remember buying it at two shillings an ounce in order 

 to make a solution of phosphorus for the precipitation 

 of metallic silver on plaster of Paris casts when the 

 electrotype was a new art. Now it is retailed at 

 sixpence per pound. This difference arises simply 

 from the increased demand which has usually such a 

 cheapening effect upon chemical products. At the 

 time I refer to the best obtainable was most foul in 

 odour, and even now, the ordinary commercial 

 samples are very suggestive of essence of sewage. 

 Ckandi-Bey (" Comptes Rendus," vol. 99, p. 509) tells 

 us that alone and in aqueous solution it arrests all 

 fermentations, kills microbes, and is one of the most 

 energetic of antiseptics. Dr. Dujardin Baumetz 

 administers its aqueous solution as a medicine in 

 cases of typhus. He says that it arrests diarrhoea 

 and disinfects the breath and excretions of the 

 patients. This is curious in connection with its own 

 foulness, even though that foulness be due to 

 impurities. It certainly does not obey the injunction, 

 " Physician heal thyself." 



Singing Mice.— There are several notices of 

 singing mice in Science-Gossip, as follows : p. 274, 

 1871 ; pp. 47, 65, and 94, 1872 ; and p. 187, 1873. 

 As regards the true explanation, that seems to be a 

 difficult task, for I find there are some who attribute 

 it to disease, whilst others consider it a natural 

 peculiarity, and even intelligence.—./. G. Rudd, 

 Lufion. 



BRITISH PLANTS IN NYMAN'S CON- 

 SPECTUS FLOR.E EUROP/EiE. 

 By Alfred R. Waller. 

 II. 



Jl/TCENCIIIA QUATERNELLA, Ehrh., 1788, 

 J VI rightly replaces M. erecta, Fl. Wett., 1800. 

 Stellaria umbrosa, Op., is placed as a sub-species 

 of S. media, Cyr., with S. Boreana, Jord., as a 

 variety. S. palustris, Ehrh., 1795, takes the place of 

 S. glauca, With., 1796, and Sagiua Lintusi, Pr., 

 1835, that of S. saxatilis, Wimm., 1S40. Spergularia 

 media, Pers., and S. sali/ia, Presl, are thought to be 

 species. The form of Linum pcrenne, L., we get is 

 L. anglicum, Mill. (Spr.), which out of England is 

 found only in West Germany and France (?). Tilia 

 platyphyllos, Sep., 1 772, rightly replaces T. grandi- 

 folia, Ehrh., 1790, as the name of the large-leaved 

 lime. Mtdicago dentieulata, W., is thought to be a 

 sub-species of M. lappacea, Desv., while AI. apiculata, 

 W., is raised to specific rank. Scotland might be added. 

 to the list of countries for Trigonella ornithopodioides . 

 The following are changes in the right direction : — ■ 

 Melilotus officinalis, Desv., 1797, instead of M. 

 aruensis, Walk., 1S22 ; M. altissima, Th., 1799, 

 instead of M. officinalis, W., 1S09 ; Lotus uliginosns, 

 Schk., instead of Z. major, Sm. ; Astragalus danicus, 

 Retz, instead of A. hypoglottis, L. Stellaria media, 

 Sper^ula arvensis, Sagi/ia procumbens, Trifoliuin 

 repens, and Geranium Kobertianum, are found in 

 every country in Europe. Geranium nodosum, L., 

 and Osalis stricta, L., are erroneously given as 

 natives. 



TEETH OF FLIES. 



THE DUNG-FLY {SCATOFHAGA 

 STERCORARIA). 



By W. II. Harris. 



No. IY. 



I HAVE selected for illustration on this occasion a 

 very interesting and robust form taken from the 

 common dung-fly {Seatophaga stercoraria), whose 

 winged eggs are always objects of interest, providing, 

 as they do, in a very remarkable manner, for the wel- 

 fare of the species. It is necessary for the development 

 of the larvae that the eggs should be deposited in soft 

 dung, at the same time they must not be immersed 

 entirely. To guard against such a misfortune the 

 eggs are provided with two lateral expansions, or 

 wings as they have been termed, which effectually 

 prevents them sinking by their own weight in the 

 soft dung in which (during the summer months) any 

 quantity may be procured. 



The teeth presented to us in this creature are of 

 three distinct forms. Taking the blow-fly a"s the 



