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having contour lines showing the form of the ocean 

 basin. Mr. Reade explained that in many localities 

 the more frequent the soundings the greater and more 

 numerous were the irregularities of the bottom, and 

 from this he inferred that as the ocean bed became 

 explored, many areas now supposed to be plains, 

 would prove to possess reliefs similar to those of the 

 land. There are submerged valleys and a mountain 

 chain off the coast of Spain, and great irregularities 

 in the soundings over the central ridge which traverses 

 the Atlantic from north to south. The effect of the 

 matter brought down by the great rivers the Amazon, 

 Mississippi, and Congo was then dwelt upon, the 

 conclusion arrived at being the existence of immense 

 thicknesses of geologically modern sediment as sub- 

 marine prolongations of the deltas proper, forming in 

 many cases submarine plateaus to the great con- 

 tinents. 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Notes on Birds. — I observe a notice in your 

 February number)' a white sparrow being found at 

 Anstruther. Here in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, near 

 one of the vice-regal lodge gates may be seen any 

 day a pure white chaffinch, flying about among the 

 trees and shrubs in company of others of its family ; 

 the bird is familiar to the mounted police doing duty 

 at the gate. On the centre road of the park may be 

 also seen a jackdaw of peculiar colour, a bronzy 

 lavender : he is an odd-looking bird : has stuck to the 

 same locality for the last three years. The hawfinch 

 or grosbeak is also to be seen in the park, one was 

 shot last November. Very large flocks of red-wings 

 frequented the park last month, but I have not seen 

 any for the last week. The missel-thrush is common, 

 feeding on the berries of the yew-trees, great fat 

 fellows like partridges. — William Dick, Phanix Park. 



Newt Casting Skin.— There is nothing unusual 

 in the fact that the newt kept by G. A. Simmons 

 swallowed its old skin. Most newts do so, as also do 

 toads. It is very amusing too to see the latter 

 disposing of his "old clo'." After pulling it off 

 with his fore feet, he proceeds to roll it into a ball, 

 and finally thrusts it into his capacious jaws and 

 swallows it, as it were a huge pill. Newts will often 

 cast off their skins and leave them floating in the 

 water. If they (the skins) are then carefully floated 

 on to a piece of glass and then allowed to dry, they 

 form very curious and interesting objects. — W. 

 Finch, Jan., Nottingham. 



Andersonian Naturalists' Society. — A meet- 

 ing of gentlemen connected with Anderson's College, 

 Glasgow, was held on the 25th August last, in the 

 College, and a Natural History Society was formed, 

 under the title of "Andersonian Naturalists' Society." 

 A code of rules was adopted, and Professor A. S. 

 Wilson, M.A., B.Sc, was chosen president. The 

 meeting w as very enthusiastic, and the prospects of the 

 society are good. Old Andersonian men and Glasgow 

 naturalists located at a distance from home, will be 

 glad to hear of this venture, and wish the new society 

 every success. Naturalists having anything to 

 correspond on, or any assistance to tender, should 

 communicate with the secretary, Mr. William 

 Gumming, West-End College, Chryston, by Glasgow. 



Starling Eating Earwigs.— Mr. W. Mattieu 

 Williams, in Science-Gossip for October, mentions 

 the case of a duck refusing to eat earwigs. About 

 twelve years ago I was at a station where we kept our 

 lamps and oil in a small wooden house at the end of 

 the office. I also used to keep a few geraniums in 

 the window of this house. During the summer months 

 this place was swarming with earwigs ; and I used to 

 get a number of stems of the cow-parsnip, and cut 

 them in lengths of seven or eight inches, and placed 

 them among the flower-pots. When I examined the 

 stems in the morning, they were always full of ear- 

 wigs. I had a tame starling, which I took out with 

 me when I went to examine the stems of cow-parsnip 

 in the morning. When I shook the earwigs out of 

 the stems on to the floor, the starling always 

 devoured them as fast as it could pick them up. I 

 also sometimes dug up the sand at the bottom of the 

 wall, where there were numbers of earwigs concealed 

 among the sand. When doing so, the starling 

 followed after me, and greedily devoured every ear- 

 wig that made its appearance. — F. Brebner, Portlc- 

 then, by Aberdeen. 



Lunar Rainbow. — One night, about the third 

 week in August (I have forgotten the exact date), I 

 was out collecting at the back of Caesar's Camp, 

 Folkestone, when, about 10 P.M., I noticed the left- 

 hand half of what appeared to be a rainbow. The 

 moon was moderately bright at the time, occasionally 

 covered for a few seconds with small clouds, and, as 

 far as I could judge, was due west. A fine rain had 

 been falling for three or four hours. It was a silvery 

 green, and stood out rather clearly against the dense 

 black clouds that filled the east. After some little 

 time it vanished and the right-hand half appeared, 

 from which side it gradually extended until it formed 

 the complete arc. Is a night rainbow of common 

 occurrence ? — Louis Jarman. 



Freezing Machine. — In reply to J. P., he will 

 find an account of Carre's Continuous Freezing 

 Machine, which produces 800 lbs. of ice per hour, 

 in Richardson & Watt's " Chemical Technology," 

 part v., page 296.— Ernest Hanwell. 



Fresh-water Shells.— I have little doubt that 

 similar incidents are more common than is generally 

 supposed, a>nd I have myself frequently met with 

 them. I have often seen the toes of newts, frogs, and 

 toads firmly grasped by small bivalves [Spharium 

 corneum). A short time ago I caught a fine warty 

 newt {Triton cristatus), with four Sphaeriums firmly 

 attached to its toes, and they seemed to have been 

 clinging there for some time, for the poor creature's 

 toes were quite white and transparent, as if they had 

 been sucked by their shelly appendages, and it could 

 with difficulty stumble along. I once captured a toad 

 that was tramping leisurely along the roadside, in the 

 dusk of evening, with a full-grown Limucea peregra 

 on its back. But the most curious instance of this 

 transportation of mollusca from one locality to another 

 came under my observation one evening when return- 

 ing from a moth-hunting expedition. A big beetle 

 came booming slowly along, and a random sweep of 

 my net secured it. It proved to be a fine water- 

 beetle {Dytiscus marginalis), and I was surprised to 

 find a full-grown Sphoerium firmly clinging to one 

 of its feet, and thus being conveyed by most unlikely 

 agency to some far distant locality. It is quite likely 

 that the larger bivalves, such as the Unios and 

 Anodons, may often be removed by wading birds, as 

 they usually lie with their valves slightly open, and 

 the toe of the bird being introduced, the shell would 

 firmly close, and then be carried away by the bird 



