HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



115 



jet continued to get about and devour their more 

 securely transfixed neighbours." This manifesta- 

 tion of a carnivorous appetite in moths will be new 

 to our entomological readers ! 



Sphinx Coxvolvuli in Orkney.— Mr. J. T. 

 Boswell writes to the Scottish Naturalist for April 

 to say that in the autumn of last year Sphinx Con- 

 voh'idi was abundant in Swantistex, on the south 

 coast of the mainland of Orkney, about halfway 

 between Kirkwall and Stromness. The first was 

 taken on the 12th of August, and several were seen 

 on succeeding nights. M r. Boswell caught ten speci- 

 mens, hovering over the honeysuckle and single 

 pheasant's-eye pinks. They were all in fine con- 

 dition, and there seems to have been no doubt they 

 were bred in Orkney, but the writer is doubtful 

 as to what the larva fed upon, as no species of 

 convolvulus grows in the island. 



Teeth or Ely— The slide labelled "Teeth of a 

 Ely " is not inaccurately named. It is a portion of 

 the fly's proboscis, in the region of the oral aper- 

 ture ; the so-called teeth, which would be more 

 properly named] scrapers, are bifurcate rods, ar- 

 ranged in three rows (see figure in Monthly Micro- 

 scopical Journal, vol. i. pi. 16, fig. 4). Their 

 function is that of scraping and grinding hard sub- 

 stances. The writer has examined specimens of 

 hard amorphous sugar (caraway comfits), after flies 

 have fed upon it, and found the surface covered 

 with parallel scratches corresponding exactly with 

 the distance of the so-called teeth. (See also Lowne 

 " On the Blow-Ely," p. 48.)— W. T. Suffolk. 



Eauna and Elora of Hastings and St. Leon- 

 ards and the Neighbourhood.— The Hastings 

 and St. Leonards Philosophical Society are desirous 

 of obtaining accurate lists of the animals and 

 plants of the district, and invite the co-operation of 

 all who take an interest in the natural productions 

 of the neighbourhood. The district to which the 

 list is proposed to be confined may be stated roughly 

 as including Bexhill, Battle, and Rye ; but as it is 

 able to fix definite boundaries, the district is 

 proposed to be limited as follows : — Starting from 

 the coast beyond Bye, the boundary of the county 

 to be followed as far as the spot where the road from 

 Hawkhurst to Hurstgreeu meets the boundary ; 

 thence by this road to Etchingham, Burwash, the 

 east side of Heathfield-park, Cade-street, Turner's- 

 green, Dallington, Wood's-corner, Pont's-green, 

 Ashburnham to the west of the Park, Ninfield, 

 Hooe-common, south of High-wood, Little-com- 

 mon, to Martello-tower, No. 49, on the coast. This 

 district comprises portions of the two districts called 

 by Mr. Helmsley " Cuckmere " and " East Bother." 

 The dividing-line would be Dallington, Nether- 

 field-green, thence to Battle by the high road 

 dividing High-wood from Battle, between Beauport 



and Crowhurst parks, and through Hollington by 

 the London road, St. Leonards, to the sea. The 

 portion of the district to the east and north of this 

 line may be called " Lower East Bother," and that 

 to the west of the line " East Cuckmere." It would 

 be desirable to notice in which of these divisions 

 (which may be easily traced on the ordnance map) 

 any animal or plant is met with. Any persons able 

 to assist will much oblige if they will kindly com- 

 municate with A. L. Ward, 4, St. Paul's-place, St. 

 Leonards, or Philip Cole, 1, Linton-terrace, Hast- 

 ings, Hon. Secretaries. 



Self-acting Air-can for Eresh-water and 

 Marine Animals. — In answer to " G. S." and 

 other querists, I have much pleasure in giving the 

 sketch and details of my self-acting air-can for 

 aquatic animals. 



Fig-. 62. Self-acting air-can for aquatic animals. 



?fb 



Fig;. 63. Section of ditto. 



A is the cover of the can ; b the socket to fit 

 the cover; c the body of the can; dd, plate with 

 perforated raised zinc, showing the water forcing 

 itself into the chamber f, and then going back into 

 the can again ; g, the top of the cover, which rests 

 on line h, sinking down 1 in. below upper rim, so 

 that water forcing its way through the upper cover- 

 plate, also goes back into the can again through the 

 holes, as marked in cover on the under drawing, ii. 

 j shows the hollow, and how it is fastened to the 

 left side by a leathern strap k k passing over the 

 head to risht shoulder. It can thus be worn when 



