HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



263 



man as perfection, would judge everything else in 

 comparison with him, and then talks about " abnormal 

 development of the organs of sight or hearing." To 

 imply that an animal in a natural state can have 

 abnormal development of sight or hearing, is a 

 contradiction in terms and a manifest absurdity. 

 Why should we claim perfection for ourselves and 

 deny it to all other organisms, merely burdening 

 them with excrescences, or trimming them with 

 deficiencies ? Surely in their physical proportions, 

 all animals are as perfect as man, and as admir- 

 ably adapted to their surroundings, but to none 

 will we say that evolution, which has done so much, 

 will do no more. They are perfect for the day, but 

 the day may now be passing. Evolution starts from 

 a centre. We see only an outer ring. If looking 

 back along the diverging rays, we can see some 

 small trace of the path each organism has travelled, 

 surely this does not detract from its present perfec- 

 tion. As with the others, so with man, all have 

 come by tortuous ways, and we see only the present 

 result. Then, if by patient investigation, we find the 

 way which he too has come, we may be led to the 

 conclusion that he is of lowly origin, but never to 

 believe that this is in itself an insult or a disgrace. 

 To conclude, Miss Layard shrinks from insulting man 

 by allowing that any of his organs contain either the 

 rudiment of what might be, or the vestige of what has 

 been, and yet would say of a Creator that of all His 

 countless works, one only shows harmony in structure, 

 one only is perfect. This is a singularly curious 

 conception of the work of an Omnipotent God. — 

 F. G. Fcnn, Isleworth. 



Cuckoo. — Is F. James George quite sure he saw 

 the bird? I once heard a similar double note, and, 

 with two gentlemen who also heard it, stole gently 

 into the little copse in hope of seeing the bird without 

 disturbing it. To our great surprise, we discovered 

 sitting in the fork of a tree, a little urchin of a boy, 

 whose perfect mimicry had caused us a number of 

 scratches with thorns and brambles, as well as 

 chagrin at our being so thoroughly taken in. — J. 

 Wallis, Deal. 



NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Geo. Browne. — Accept our best thanks for the remarkably 

 artistic and accurate pen-and-ink drawings of microscopical 

 objects. 



J. Capella. — Yarrell's " History of British Birds," 4 vols., 

 revised by Professor Newton and H.Saunders, is the best work. 

 The objects on the backs of oak-leaves are : the lar ^e ones 

 formed by an insect, Cynips longipennis ; the small ones are 

 formed by another insect, Neurobius Reaumuri. See Taylor's 

 " Half-Hours in the Green Lanes," pp. 196,197, for illustrations 

 and description. 



W. T. Haydon (Dover). — Accept our best thanks for your 

 slides of sections of union of toothwort with hazel root, oro- 

 banche with galium, dodder, etc. They are capital illustrations 

 of parasitism. 



G. R. M. — You will, we believe, obtain the notes accompany- 

 ing Twining's Diagrams on " Science Made Easy," from Messrs. 

 W. H. Allen, Waterloo Place. They were formerly published 

 by Mr. David Bogue, 3 St. Martin's Place. 



To Correspondents and Exchangers. — As we now 

 publish Science-Gossip earlier than formerly, we cannot un- 

 dertake to insert in the following number any communications 

 which reach us later than the 8th of the previous month. 



To Anonymous Querists. — We must adhere to our rule of 

 not noticing queries which do not bear the writers' names. 



To Dealers and Others. — We are always glad to treat 

 dealers in natural history objects on the same fair and general 

 ground as amateurs, in so far as the "exchanges" offered are fair 

 exchanges. But it is evident that, when their offers are simply 

 disguised advertisements, for the purpose of evading the cost of 

 advertising, an advantage is taken of our gratuitous insertion of 

 " exchanges " which cannot be tolerated. 



We request that all exchanges may be signed with name (or 

 nitials) and full address at the end. 



We have received several complaints concerning the conduct 

 of James Ellison, Steeton, West Leeds, in the matter of ex- 

 changes of eggs. Of course we cannot guarantee that all the 

 exchanges offered in our columns are bona fide. We do our 

 best to keep them so ; but Mr. Ellison has explained the difficulty, 

 ani we shall be pleased to insert his exchanges as usual. 



P. F. G. — The Society of Amateur Botanists does not exist 

 now. Poor Mr. J. F. Robinson, of Frodsham (one of the best 

 and most unaffected English botanists that ever lived), was the 

 heart and soul of the matter. He is dead, and the Editor never 

 lost a more useful friend. 



EXCHANGES. 

 Wanted, fossils from the Paris basin, or foreign eocene, in 

 exchange for British eocene. — George E. East, jun., 10 Basing- 

 hall Street, London, E.C. 



Wanted, mounted specimens of blood (stained), representing 

 any order whatever ; will try to make a good return in Lepi- 

 doptera, wings of same, etc. — Frank G. Jones, 1623 Mont- 

 gomery Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. 



Wanted, micro material of a histological, embryological, or 

 pathological nature ; also mounted slides representing any de- 

 partments of the above subjects. Will give in return American 

 Lepidoptera, wings of the same for micro objects, or histological 

 material. All communications answered. — Frank G. Jones, 

 1623 Montgomery Avenue, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. 



Binocular microscope with several first-class objectives, 

 various objects, and apparatus ; will exchange for tricycle.— 

 E. B., 78 Junction Road, Highgate. 



Microscope, Crouch's Student's Binocular, fitted with Swift's 

 popular condenser and i-inch O.G., taper front of same maker, 

 in case, etc, all as good as new. What offers? Cost ^16. — 

 H. J. Parry, 10 Windsor Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 



British and foreign oological and conchological specimens 

 offered for others not in collection. Colonial correspondence 

 invited. — Dr. Reed, jun., Ryhope, Sunderland. 



Diatoms.— Selected or spread slides of the Oamaru deposit 

 in exchange for other diatom mounts. — J. B. Bessell, 8 Elm- 

 grove Road, Bristol. 



Old Family Bible, large edition, by Rev. J. S. Sutcliffe 

 (1812), numerous steel plates and commentary. What offers in 

 books or micro material? — W. E. Watkins, 32 Huntingdon 

 Street, Barnsbury, London, N. 



Will give complete and good sets of lantern slides with MSS. 

 of " Niagara " and " Far West," for first-class religious sets. — 

 H. W. Case, Cotham, Bristol. 



Wanted, Uranias morphos, or any brilliant exotic lepidop- 

 tera ; will give a good banjo, also pair of leggings. — W. Scott, 

 14 Prospect Hill, Leicester. 



Engravings of all the British varieties of Anodo>ita cygnea 

 (nine in number), and several of A. anatina, for peculiar or 

 local forms of Anodons or Unios, British or continental. — Geo. ■ 

 Roberts, Lofthouse, near Wakefield. 



" Rock Sculptures on Rombald's Moor," a rare pamphlet, 

 and about seventy numbers of " Gardening Illustrated," for 

 British or continental land or freshwater shells. — Geo. Roberts, 

 Lofthouse, near Wakefield. 



Duplicates: S. rivicola, P. amnicum, A. cygnea and vars., 

 U. margaritifer, N . _fl uv iat His and var., P. contecta, PL niti- 

 dus, PLnaittileus, Pl.dilatatus, PL complanatus, PL cor?icus 

 and var. albinos, L. sta^ualis, An. fluviatilis, A. lacustris, 

 Helix pisana, H . rupestris, and others. Desiderata : P. 

 roseum, L. involuta, L. punts, L. radiatuhts, L- fulvus, 

 H. lamellata, H. aculeata, H. fusca, H. pygmwa, Vertigos, 

 Acme lineata, and others.— W. H. Heathcote, M.C.S., Preston, 

 Lancashire. 



Duplicates: A. cygnea-, vars. inflata and zellensis ; Pain- 

 dina contecta ; Planorbis dilatatus. Desiderata very nume- 

 rous, especially well-marked varieties of Unios, Anodons, 

 Sphaeriums, and Pisidiums. — Charles Oldham, Ashton-on- 

 Mersey, near Manchester. 



What offers for American eocene fossils ? Wanted, British 

 or French eocene fossils from Thanet sands, London clay, 

 Bembridge or Headon beds, or Paris basin; send lists. Also 

 Lea's " Contributions to -Geology." — George E. East, jun., 

 10 Basinghall Street, London, E.C. 



Beautifully constructed Gregorian telescope, by R. B. 

 Bate; four powers, viz. 30, 50, 80, and no; 2-inch reflector, 

 two small reflectors, two systems of lenses, tripod stand ; all in 

 mahogany box, 8i in. X 4i X 3^ ; very clear definition. Wanted, 

 thoroughly good microscope and accessories. — Smith, c/o Mr. 

 Wallis, Deal. 



Scales of Mediterranean fish, cleaned ready for mounting, 

 including Menora, Buga, Laserto, Trilja, Lodola, Botta di 

 Mare, Pagaro, Melletto, only a few of each left ; also forami- 

 nifera from Menton, France, in exchange for well-mounted 

 slides. — J. R. Marten, 40 London Road, Brighton. 



