HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



281 



The Statoblasts of the Polyzoa.— A short 

 time ago while collecting rotifera and infusoria, I 

 came across numerous polyzoaries of what I believe 

 to be, from the form of the branching cells, Pluma- 

 tella repens. This locality, while fairly rich in 

 microscopic fauna and flora generally, had never 

 previously yielded any of the polyzoa, and the 

 interesting fact of the above discovery set me to look 

 up our authorities on the subject. Now there is one 

 point in its life-history which seems to require some 

 elucidation, as naturalists differ somewhat in their 

 account of it. I refer to the manner in which the 

 statoblasts or winter-ova escape from the parent 

 mollusc, and what becomes of them afterwards. 

 The "Microscopical Dictionary" says, that when 

 mature, according to Beneden, they escape at an 

 orifice near the disk; and that this statement is 

 denied by Professor Allman. Carpenter) does not 

 touch on the point, but Hogg, speaking of crista- 

 tella, says the statoblasts are concealed by the 

 animal among tangled masses of decayed grasses 

 and conferva. He subsequently however quotes 

 J. Newton Tomkins on Alcyonella fluviatella, who 

 says, " numerous ova (statoblasts) were detached and 

 floated on the water ; " afterwards sinking down to 

 the bottom about January. Now I felt quite certain 

 that I had read somewhere that they sink to the 

 bottom of the water, and as it appeared to be a 

 simple matter of fact which could be easily tested, I 

 went early in September, in the hope of procuring 

 specimens, and, if possible, settling the point. I was 

 not fortunate enough to find the living animals, so 

 could not be certain of the species, but I managed 

 to get a mass of the polyzoaries of what I take to be 

 plumatella. These were all in a state of decay, and 

 while in my possession rapidly sloughed away. Of 

 course I at once put them in one of my aquaria, and 

 awaited further developments. I examined a portion 

 microscopically at once. No trace of the polypides 

 could be seen, but in the irregularly branching cells 

 numerous statoblasts were visible, while others had 

 already been set free by the sloughing away* of a 

 portion of the polyzoary. The process of disintegra- 

 tion rapidly proceeded in the aquarium, and hundreds 

 of statoblasts were set free. Three or four days 

 afterwards, on looking at the aquarium, I noticed a 

 large number of minute dark bodies floating on the 

 water, which I took to be the thecae of ferns, a 

 basket of which hung over the aquarium. However, 

 on placing a few under the microscope, they were 

 found to be the statoblasts. So far then as this 

 particular species is concerned, the statoblasts do 

 not "escape during the life of the parent through an 

 orifice near the disk," but are set free by the decom- 

 position of the parent. Mr. Tomkins is proved to 

 be right as to the floating ; and in all probability he 

 will prove to be correct in his accounts of their 

 subsequent sinking, but of this I cannot yet be sure. 

 It is, of course, quite possible that in other genera, 



the process may be different, and it would I think be 

 interesting if some of our microscopists, who have 

 paid especial attention to this class of animals, 

 would record their experience on this particular 

 point.— J. E. Lord, Rawtenstall. 



BOTANY. 



Aster campestrts in Colorado.— On the 16th 

 August, I found several specimens of an aster, kindly 

 identified for me by Dr. J. M. Coulter as A. cam- 

 pestris, Nutt., at Twin Lakes, in Lake Co., close to 

 the lower end of the upper lake. This species is 

 new to the flora of Colorado, not having been found 

 hitherto nearer than Idaho and Montana, and is 

 probably very rare in this State, since I have not 

 observed it elsewhere, and even the district in which 

 it was found had been carefully explored, without its 

 previous discovery. I found Saponaria vaccaria and 

 Setaria viridis growing by the mouth of Two Elk 

 Creek, in Eagle Co., where, however, they are 

 without doubt aliens. — T. D. A. Cockerell, West 

 Cliff, Custer Co., Colorado. 



Fungus Crop of 1S87. — It would be interesting 

 to know what effect the past dry season has had 

 upon fungi in different parts of the country. In the 

 neighbourhood of Kendal there has been an almost 

 complete absence of the species which are usually so 

 abundant in pastures, with the exception of the 

 common mushroom. Scarcely a Hygrophorus or 

 Lycoperdon was to be seen, and A. granulosus was 

 entirely absent. It was the same in the case of 

 banks and dry portions of woods which had been 

 rendered hard and dry by the long drought, but in 

 damper places which had not suffered so much there 

 was a fair abundance of fungi after the rain came. 

 The Boleti do not seem to have suffered from the 

 heat, and B. edulis was never so fine or plentiful. 

 Paxillus involutus was also very abundant. — C. FT. 

 Waddell, Kendal. 



Late Flowers. — The following is a list of plants 

 noticed by me in blossom during the past three days 

 (1st to 3rd of November), a list which might doubt- 

 less have been considerably larger had not the effect 

 on the ground of the recent rains been such as 

 decidedly to localise botanical exploration. — Ranun- 

 culus Lenormandi, R. Flammula, R. acris, R. repens, 

 Fumaria officinalis, Nasturtium officinale, Cardaminc 

 hirsuta, Sisymbrium officinale, Sinapis arvensis, 

 Lepidium Smithii, Capsella Bursa-pastoris, Viola 

 sylvatica, V. tricolor var. arvensis, Polygala vulgaris 

 (blue, white and pink), Stellaria uliginosa, S. media, 

 Cerastium triviale, Malva sylvestris, Geranium 

 Robertianum, Linum catharticum, Ulex Gallii, U. 

 Europaus, Trifolium prateuse, T. repens, T. pro- 

 cumbens, T. minus, Vicia sepium, Potcntilla reptans, 

 P. Tormentilla, Fragaria vesca, Rubus macropliyllus, 



