HARD WICKE'S S CIENCE - G O SSI P. 



i7 



body of water, and the contrast between the brilliant 

 yellow disk and the pure white tentacles is very 

 pleasing. Like most other anemones, it opens best 

 at night, and should not be exposed to too strong a 

 light ; mine are kept in a north aspect, and the colour 

 of the disk is as brilliant as when I first had them. 

 The same remark applies to the highly-coloured 

 varieties of S. troglodytes, which are very apt to fade. 

 — Edward Horsnaill, Dover. 



A Five-winged Butterfly. — At a recent 

 meeting of the Entomological Society Mr. Meldola 

 exhibited a five-winged specimen of the Sulphur 

 Butterfly {Gonopteryz rhamni), which had been taken 

 in Norfolk by Mr. John Woodgate. At the same 

 meeting Mr. H. Goss, F.L. S., showed a specimen 

 of the Sulphur Butterfly, in which the left wings were 

 those of a male, and the right those of a female. 



Destroying Mites. — In reply to A. F.'s query 

 as to destroying mites in a cabinet of Lepidoptera, 

 I find the best and simplest method is to saturate a 

 piece of blotting-paper in chloroform (methylated is 

 cheapest) ; place it in the drawer infected, and close 

 securely, repeating the operation two or three times, 

 at intervals of a few hours. If the drawer be tolerably 

 air-tight, this will effectually destroy the mites, but it 

 should be carefully watched for some time afterwards, 

 in case of fresh mites coming into existence from 

 e gg s > upon which the chloroform would not take 

 effect. Camphor should be kept in the drawers of a 

 cabinet, and renewed as fast as it evaporates — it will 

 keep mites away ; but if they are introduced with, new 

 specimens, or otherwise, they will exist in spite of the 

 camphor. All fresh acquisitions should therefore be 

 put in quarantine before being placed in the cabinet. 

 Instead of camphor, a very good recipe is, equal 

 parts of "oil of thyme, oil of anise, and spirit of 

 wine," applied as I have described for chloroform 

 and renewed as often as the scent goes off : it must 

 not be allowed to touch the lining of the drawer, as 

 it will stain the paper. — H. Miller, Ipswich. 



The Berlin Gorilla. — Poor "Pongo," who 

 returned to Berlin to die, after holding his levees at 

 the Westminster Aquarium, has been post-mortemed 

 and dissected by Professor Virchow. His death was 

 ascertained to be due to acute inflammation of the 

 bowels, — the same disease which carries off young 

 children so rapidly. Even in his very diseases 

 therefore, the Gorilla claims an affinity with man ! 



Chameleon-like Changes in the Frog. — 

 The changes of colour noticed by "J. J. M." in the 

 frog are truly chameleon-like, and, together with 

 similar changes seen in fish, are brought about by 

 the same mechanism. The skin of these animals 

 contains branched and ramified cells pervaded with 

 fine granules of a dark-coloured pigment. Similar 

 cells are found in certain parts of the human eye, and 

 without the pigment in all parts of the body, in the 



so-called "connective tissues." They can nowhere 

 be better seen than in the preparation of frog's web 

 used to show the circulation. In such an object 

 many cells may be seen as mere black spherical 

 patches, whilst others cover a larger surface and show 

 the branches, joining similar ones from other cells. 

 Now under various stimuli, applied either to the 

 cutaneous surface or through the eye, the branched 

 patches of pigment may be made to contract with the 

 spherical form, whilst other stimuli have the reverse 

 effect. Inasmuch as the cell-branches join one 

 another, they obviously cannot contract ; it is the 

 contained pigment-bearing protoplasm that shrinks 

 out of the branches and forms the globular mass. 

 Obviously, when such a change occurs in the greater 

 number of the cells present, a change in the colour of 

 the animal must result. It has, moreover, been 

 proved that this change can only be brought about 

 so long as the animal's power of sight remains. 

 Destruction of the eyes renders the pigment masses 

 immovable. Section of certain nerves has a like 

 effect. When any of these animals are pursued by 

 their enemies, they are thus enabled, by rendering 

 themselves pale and therefore less easily seen, to 

 elude their would-be captors. Emotions other than 

 fear may also, perhaps, be expressed by this means, 

 and not only can some creatures render themselves 

 pale, but actually approximate their colour to that of 

 their surroundings. Such is the permanent state of 

 very many animals ; this condition being brought 

 about by natural selection, e.g. lions, sand-colour ; 

 muddy water fish, mud-colour ; green, sloths, &c. &c. 

 Pallor, as an expression of human terror, brought 

 about by a contraction of small blood-vessels, may 

 have had a similar cause, it at least seems analogous. 

 — D. A. K. 



Holes in the Head of Pike. — The apertures . 

 on the head of the common pike (Esox lucius) are 

 the openings of follicles, or mucus-secreting glands. 

 Similar but smaller openings may be found along the 

 lateral line that separates the dorsal from the ventral 

 half of any fish. These openings form an uninterrupted 

 series, from head to tail, and constitute the opening of 

 muciparous ducts that may be seen as white threads 

 by the naked eye on dissection. The function of 

 these glands is obvious ; they secrete the mucus 

 by which the integument of the animal is lubri- 

 cated, and probably act also as sweat-glands to 

 excrete waste products from the system. — R. 



New Habit of Red Grouse. — It does not matter 

 whether Mr. Dixon or Mr. Dealey claim the honour 

 of calling the attention of naturalists to the habit of 

 Red Grouse perching on trees. It is a habit that all 

 persons who reside near the moors (who take any 

 notice of the habits of birds) are familiar with. I 

 saw them perching on trees and hedges years before 

 the time they say they first observed them. — Jatnes. 

 Ingleby. 



