2 5 8 



HA RD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G OSS I P. 



MICROSCOPY. 



New Portable Cabinet. — We have much 

 pleasure in calling our readers' attention to a very 

 handy and cheap portable cabinet, recently brought 

 out by Mr. J. B. Medland, 12, Borongh. It is just 

 the thing for a microscopist to take with him to a 

 meeting or conversazione. It has sixteen trays to 

 hold nine objects each, contained in a well-made 

 polished pine-case. When closed it is the same 

 height and width, and only two and a half inches 

 longer than the ordinary case holding only half the 



Fig. 165.— Medland's New Portable Cabinet. 



number. Each glass slip is held at its ends by the pro- 

 jecting side flap of the tray, which is held down by the 

 succeeding tray, and so on, the lid holding the whole 

 firmly down. When open, the lid and front fall 

 back (as shown in the accompanying engraving), 

 forming a stand or table to place the trays upon, 

 keeping them together and less liable to get displaced 

 or upset, as when placed among other apparatus or 

 upon the desk or work-table. 



Amphipleura pellucida. — In one of the earlier 

 volumes of Science-Gossip there is a notice of the 

 resolution of Amphipleura pellucida with a Seibert's 

 T ' s th water immersion and a Bramball's illuminator. 

 I have both, and have spent many hours in trying to 

 resolve A. pellucida, but without success. I do not 

 attach much importance to the resolution of these 

 very obstinate diatoms, and consider the time so spent 

 might be better employed, though I have grievously 

 sinned in this very respect myself. I should, therefore, 

 be glad if any of your numerous contributors could 

 spare time to say how A. pellucida maybe resolved 

 with Seibert's T ' s th and a Bramhall illuminator— the 

 position of the stand, the condenser, etc. I don't like 

 to be done even by a diatom ! — W. E. Simmons. 



Cole's " Studies in Microscopical Science." 

 — No. 3 of sections I, 2, 3, and 4 of these important 

 " Studies " has just appeared, and their subjects 

 are distributed as usual among " Botanical Histology," 

 "Animal ditto," "Pathological ditto," and 

 "Popular Studies." The first is devoted to the 

 structure of the leaf of the ivy, the second to the penis 

 of an infant, the third to the acute congestion of 

 kidney, and the last to a description of the spine and 



plate of a star-fish (Palucipes membranaccus). Each 

 is illustrated with very artistically executed plates ; 

 and the slides accompanying them are among Mr. 

 Cole's best mounting. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Slug Variation. — Mr. Williams's useful papers in 

 your columns on this subject have certainly supplied 

 a want, since the foreign literature on this subject is 

 not easy of access to those living out of London. 



This, however, makes it the 

 more imperative to correct 

 such slight errors and omis- 

 sions as occur in these papers, 

 and so I subjoin herewith a 

 list of them, giving the cor- 

 rect renderings only. Page 

 55 : (1) Arion ater, var. vi- 

 rescens, Mill. ; (2) var. albida, 

 Roeb., is var. alba, Linn., 

 the latter name of course 

 having priority ; (3) var. 

 albolateralis, back black, 

 sides white, fringe orange ; (4) var. pallescens, Roeb. 

 =pallescens, Moq. ; (5) var. cinerea — this I have cor- 

 rected already (p. 164) ; (6) var. aterrima is British ; 

 (7) add the varieties plumbea*, Roeb. (" Journ. of 

 Conch."), reticulata*, Roeb. (" Journ. of Conch."— 

 found in Ireland, and figured by Simroth from near 

 Leipzig), hibcrnus, Mab. (found near Paris, Mr. 

 Delap has found specimens of a purplish-red colour, 

 which may be this Tar., in N. Waterford), maculata, 

 D. and M. (dark red-brown, with black spots on 

 the mantle), campestris, Mab., livida, Colb., glauca, 

 Colb., and rufula, Baud. ; (8) add A. subfuscus, 

 Drap., with several varieties ; (9) add A. hortemis 

 var. lutea, Baud, (pale yellow, tinged with green, grey 

 above, with two ill-marked lateral bands). Page 

 99: (1) I am not aware that A. marginata var. 

 rufula is British ; (2) var. rustica, keel (not shield) 

 whitish ; (3) add to A. marginata vars. fulva, 

 Paulucci, and morgianensis, Paulucci (both Cala- 

 brian). Page 146 : (1) L. agrestis var. filans is 

 British; (2) var. sylvatica, Drap., is " violaceus, 

 immaculatus," according to the original description — 

 Moquin's sylvatica is not the same as Draparnaud's, 

 but Dumont and Mortillet's sub-varieties belong 

 rather to Draparnaud's than to Moquin's variety ; 



(3) Mr. T. W. Brewis sent me var. obscura a few 

 weeks ago from Rotherham, Yorks., together with 

 var. rufcscens, so these two varieties of L. agrestis 

 may be added to the British fauna — I have taken 

 the var. rufescens myself at Bedford Park, Chiswick ; 



(4) var. nigricans— the last part of description of 

 this is " tentaculis et linea colli utrinque nigris : " 

 Mr. Williams translates "linea nigris,'" "a black 

 line" ; (5) var. veranyana, Bourg. ; (6) the following 



