HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



iQ 



by J. E. Littleboy ; " Report on Insects observed 

 during 1884," by F. W. Silvester, &c. 



LlMN^EA GLUTINOSA.— In the August number, 

 p. 178, it is stated that Limneea glutinosa has been 

 recorded as living on Barnes Common. Mr. E. H. 

 Rowe, who recorded this locality in the Proceedings 

 of the Lambeth Field Club, now informs me that it 

 is incorrect, and arose in a misidentification. The 

 only other Surrey record for this species (Battersea, 

 Cooper) is also probably incorrect or relating to a 

 now extinct colony.— T. D. A. Cockcrcll. 



Helix nemoralis.— The following analysis of 

 four days' collecting may be of some interest to your 

 readers, besides showing co. Dublin to be rich in 

 varieties of this species : — 



Two other specimens, taken were, one bandless of a 

 chocolate colour, the other (as described by S. C. 

 Cockerell, to whom I sent it) "with very light red 

 transparent bands (confluent)," both specimens being 

 rather immature, in all 95 specimens made up of 

 19 varieties. The localities were Green Lanes, 

 Dollymount, Killester Lane, Artane, and Tolka 

 Bridge, co. Dublin. I intend working up some others. 

 — John R. Redding, Seville Place, Dublin. 



Abnormal Amceba. — A short time since I found 

 an amoeba of such extraordinary dimensions as to 

 justify its being recorded. In length it was within a 

 very small fraction of the fifth of an inch, breadth 

 about the fifteenth. This is ten times larger than 

 any mentioned in Leidy's monograph. As I managed 

 to keep it alive for nearly a fortnight, I had ample 

 opportunities of showing it to several scientists, who 

 all agreed with me as to its being an undoubted 

 amceba. To the naked eye it was visible as a milky, 



slowly moving mass. When first seen it was very 

 full of diatoms and fragments of other algas. Whilst 

 I had it under observation I saw it subdivide. This 

 was accomplished very quickly. Two protoplasmic 

 currents being set up, caused a necklike constriction 

 which rapidly grew narrower, until an actual division 

 took place, when each piece moved off in opposite 

 directions. The following is a brief description. 

 Form generally ovoidal, sometimes palmate and 

 radiate. Sarcode granular, dense, containing oil- 

 like globules. Ectosarc rather strongly differentiated 

 from endosarc. Pseudopodia broadly lobate. Move- 

 ments slow, except when animal was touched by 

 infusoria or other organisms, when sarcode moved 

 very quickly, to point of contact. Did not detect 

 contractile vesicle. I take it to be a very abnormal 

 form of Amceba protcus.—E. B. L. Bray ley, Clifton. 



Abnormal Trout.— When putting a number of 

 two months' old trout fry {S. Far id) into a reservoir 

 near here, I noticed one with two perfectly formed 

 heads joined by a web of skin just behind the gills, 

 the bodies merging into one at the dorsal fin. The 

 after part of the body is perfectly formed, and the fish 



Fig. 15.— Abnormal Trout Fig. 16.— Ditto. Upper view. 

 Fry, 2 months old. Side 



did not seem to have any difference of opinion as to 

 the direction it was to take in swimming and appeared 

 lively and well. It was brought away and put into 

 a small tank, where it has since died and is now 

 preserved in spirits. I am informed by the game- 

 keeper who hatched it that fry with two heads or 

 two tails are not uncommon, but that he has never 

 seen a yearling trout with two heads. I enclose a 

 sketch snowing side and upper views of the fish, from 

 which it will be seen that one head is about half 

 a head longer than the other. — Thomas Winder, 

 Sheffield. 



The Bottle-nose Whale (Hyfcroodon ros- 

 trains). — Almost every autumn we hear, from short 

 paragraphs in the newspapers, of specimens of this 

 animal turning up on our shores, but very seldom do 

 we hear of what becomes of them. Most frequently 

 they are purchased by the oil refiner for the sake of 

 the blubber, or they may fall into the hands of the 

 farmer and be used for manure. A male of this 

 species, twenty-one feet long, was stranded near 

 Dunbar, on the morning of Thursday 5th inst., and 

 I am glad to say has been purchased by Professor 

 Turner, of the University of Edinburgh, and removed 

 entire to a convenient place for examination and 

 subsequent dissection by him. As yet comparatively 

 little is known about the visceral anatomy of this 

 interesting xiphioid, but regarding it we may now 

 hope before long to be in possession of information 



