MISCELLANY. 



251 



tar point, furnished with two barbs ; then 

 they become enlarged, and present on the 

 lower surface three portions of the thread 

 of a screw, while their sides and their up- 

 per surface are covered with short, strong 

 spines, projecting from the centre of a de- 

 pression with hard and abrupt margins. 

 The purpose of these spines is to tear the 

 cells of the orange pulp, as the rasp serves 

 to open the cells of the beet-root, in order 

 to extract sugar. The upper region of the 

 trunk is covered below and on the sides 

 with fine, close-set striae, arranged in half- 

 screws, which give it the properties of a 

 file; the striae are interrupted here and 

 there by small spines of soft consistence, 

 which serve for the perception of tactile 

 sensations. The orifice of the canal is situ- 

 ated in the lower surface, below the first 

 screw-third. All this will be seen better 

 from the annexed figures : 



Tp.r^K of OpJdderes fullonica. .4, in Profile ; B, 

 from below ; C, from above ; I, Interior Canal ; 

 o, Orifice of the Canal. 



On investigation, M. Ktinckel has found 

 that all the species of the genus Ophideres 

 possess a similar terebrant trunk. This 

 circumstance establishes a closer relation- 

 ship between the Lepidoptera, the Hemip- 

 U /, and certain Diptera in w hich the max- 

 illa; are adapted to pierce tissues. 



As we learn from Prof. A. R. Grote, the 

 group of Nbcluidce to which Ophideres be- 

 longs, called by Borkhausen Fasciatce, is 

 represented by only a few forms in Europe, 

 but it is largely developed in the tropics of 

 both hemispheres. The peculiar structure 

 of the maxillae observed in Ophideres has 



not been found in any of the North Amer- 

 ican genera of the group. In the genus 

 Catocala, which is largely represented in 

 North America, the spiral tongue or trunk 

 is simply furnished with lateral papillae, ap- 

 pearing like serratures, toward the extrem- 

 ity of the trunk. 



Cunning of the Adder. A correspond- 

 ent of the Milwaukee Sentinel confirms Mr. 

 Lewis's observations on the cunning of the 

 adder (in the February number of the 

 Monthly). This correspondent states that, 

 over thirty years ago, in Leeds, Greene 

 County, New York, his attention was one 

 day attracted by the plaintive cry of a cat. 

 Looking into a garden, an adder was seen 

 near the cat. The cat seemed to be com- 

 pletely paralyzed by fear of the adder ; she 

 kept up the plaintive cry, as if in great dis- 

 tress, but did not take her eye off the ser- 

 pent, or make any attempt to attack or es- 

 cape. Soon the snake saw that human 

 eyes were observing him, and he com- 

 menced to crawl slowly away. "I then," 

 continues the writer of the narrative, "con- 

 cluded to release the cat from its trouble. 

 I took a garden-rake and put it on the 

 snake's back, and held it without hurting it. 

 As soon as I had the snake fast in this po- 

 sition, it raised its head, flattened it out, and 

 blew, making a hissing noise, and something 

 resembling breath or steam came fiom its 

 mouth. When that was exhausted I re- 

 moved the rake, and the adder turned over 

 on its back, lying as if dead. With the 

 rake I turned it over on its belly again, but 

 it immediately turned on its back. This 

 was repeated several times. At last it was 

 taken out of the garden, laid in the road, 

 and we all retired to watch its movements. 

 It commenced to raise and turn its head 

 slowly (looking about the while), until en- 

 tirely on its belly, and started at full speed 

 for a little pool of water in the road, from 

 which it was raked out and dispatched." 



Measuring Distances by Sound. The 



Prussian correspondent of the London 

 Times makes mention of an instrument de- 

 vised by Major Le Boulanger, of the Bel- 

 gian Artillery, which, with great accuracy, 

 indicates the distance between two armies 

 from the report of their guns. The mo- 



