i6 



HA RD Wl CKE 'S S CIENCE - G OS SI P. 



How to Clean Thin Covers. — The difficulty 

 of cleaning very thin covers without breaking them 

 is very great. It is almost impossible to handle them 

 in the fingers, and when they are rubbed between 

 two plain blocks covered with chamois leather, it is 

 difficult to clean more than one side, since one par- 

 ticular side will always stick to the leather next it, 

 and the other side only will be subjected to friction. 

 Mr. Jones has devised a very simple method of over- 

 coming this difficulty. Into a brass cylinder he fits 

 a heavy plug, the lower end of which is covered 

 with chamois leather. When a thin cover is placed 

 on a piece of stretched chamois, and the tube placed 

 over it, the under side only of the cover is subjected 

 to friction, and consequently a few rubs suffice to 

 clean it thoroughly. The tube is then raised, the 

 cover turned over by means of a delicate pair of 

 forceps, and the other side is cleaned. The pressure 

 of the plug is so even that there is no risk of fracture, 

 even with the most delicate covers. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Dublin University Biological Association. 

 — We have received three parts of the first volume of 

 the " Proceedings " of this well-known society, con- 

 taining some very valuable and well-written papers, 

 among which are the following : — "The Leaf Struc- 

 ture of Begonia" and " Irish Fungi," by Greenwood 

 Pirn, F.L.S. ; "Some Curious Marine Forms," by 

 Prof. Macalister ; and " Papers on Anatomical 

 Irregularities," by Mr. Malet and F. O. Ross, &c. 



Arctic Birds. — At a recent meeting of the Zoo- 

 logical Society, Mr. Henry Seebohm, F.Z.S., 

 exhibited and made remarks upon some of the rarer 

 Eggs and Birds which he had obtained during his 

 recent visit to the Arctic regions of the Yen-e-sey, in 

 Eastern Siberia, and gave a rapid sketch of his 

 journey. Some of the skins were interesting from the 

 fact that they extended our knowledge of geographical 

 distribution'; such as, Phylloscopus trochilns and 

 Acrocephahis schccnobanns, from long. 88° E., 

 Anthns Custavi of Swinhoe (A. Seedo/wii of Dresser, 

 A. batchianesis of Gray) from the same longitude, and 

 young in first plumage of this species. 



The Leeds Naturalists' Society. — We have 

 received a copy of the Report of this Society, and 

 are delighted to find it in vigorous health, and with a 

 good programme of work before it for the forth- 

 coming year. May we suggest to the secretaries of 

 Provincial Natural History, Microscopical, and 

 other societies, that they should send us the names of 

 officers, &c, of their societies, so that our volume for 

 1878 may be a kind of "Science Directory," for 

 provincial scientific societies ? 



Rose-coloured Pastor or Thrush {Turdus 

 rosens). — A specimen of this rare bird was obtained 



[ this year in the north-west of county Donegal, 

 Ireland, where it was captured alive in the garden of 

 the Gweedore Hotel, which is situated about four 

 miles from the coast of the Atlantic. It unfortunately 

 died a few hours after its capture, whilst being 

 conveyed in a basket to the residence of Lord George 

 Hill, the owner of the hotel. This is not the first 

 instance of this beautiful bird being found on our 

 shores. Thompson, in his " Birds of Ireland," informs 

 us of one or two specimens being shot in the 

 neighbourhood of Hillsborough, county Down, some 

 thirty or forty years ago. Perhaps some reader of 

 Science-Gossip could furnish us with other instances 

 of its appearance, either in Ireland or England, which 

 may have come under his notice, and which would be 

 interesting to all lovers of birds. — Shelah. 



Sagartia sphyrodeta. — A specimen of the 

 beautiful golden-disked variety of this anemone in 

 one of my tanks has twice undergone spontaneous 

 fission within about seven weeks. The original 

 specimen had been in my possession nearly twelve 

 months, and by care and regular feeding had in- 

 creased from about the size of a fourpenny-piece, 

 when fully expanded, to nearly that of a florin. 

 Previously to its first division, I had noticed for several 

 days that the base had been growing more oval in 

 outline, and, to my surprise, on the morning of 

 September 10th, I found it divided into two, right 

 across the centre. The severance was not quite 

 complete when I first discovered it, but became so in 

 course of a couple of hours ; the two portions dragging 

 themselves away from each other, until they were 

 about half an inch apart. The severed edges of each 

 gradually closed together, a suture was formed, and 

 in course of a few days I had two perfect anemones. 

 These have thriven well, fresh tentacles have been 

 produced, and both have increased in size, till last 

 week I noticed that the larger of the two, which I 

 suppose must be considered the parent anemone, was 

 again elongating its base, as if contemplating fission. 

 About noon of the 31st ult., I had the satisfaction of 

 seeing that the process had begun, and watched it at 

 intervals till completed. The base appeared to 

 separate into two lobes, which gradually dragged away 

 from each other, making a rent which extended 

 upwards, till only the mouth formed a connection 

 between the two. This eventually gave way, and the 

 fission was complete, the whole performance occupying 

 about five or six hours. A few acontia were thrown 

 out, but these were soon withdrawn, and the healing 

 process commenced. Two days later I was feeding 

 my stock, and offered food to the two halves, both 

 of which seized it greedily, but soon expelled it 

 through the partially healed rents in their columns. 

 I shall watch the further increase of my specimens 

 with great interest, as the species is one of the hardiest 

 and most beautiful tenants of the aquarium with 

 which I am acquainted. It feeds well, is almost 

 always expanded, thrives in a comparatively small 



