HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



T37 



cilia in somewhat higher members of both groups. 

 Muscles are as absent in the protozoa as in plants. 

 Most physiological definitions of sensation jDresupjiose 

 the existence of nerve-ganglia. These occur in no 

 animals lower than the jelly-fish ; yet most natura- 

 lists would rather look at protoplasm as a diffused 

 nerve-matter. Would not, then, the instantaneous 

 reaction of the secretion in Drosera, its becoming 

 acid, be classed as one with animal sensation ? The 

 presence in the leaf of a normal electric current 

 similar to the one in the human muscle, the deflection 

 of which when the " vibrissae " are touched, causes 

 the leaf to coil up and enwrap the insect, is also 

 cited. The different ways in which the function 

 of reproduction is performed, are all parallel, 

 namely, fission, gemmation, and ovulation. But in 

 sexual reproduction, the most striking parallelisms 

 occur. 



"The Seals and Whales of the British 

 Seas." (London : Jarrold & Sons.)— Under this title 

 Mr. Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S., hon, sec. of the 

 Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society, has re- 

 pubhshed, with considerable additions both in text 

 and plates, the admirable essays on the subject which 

 appeared from his pen a few years ago in the pages 

 of Science-Gossip. We know of no other natur- 

 alist who is, better capable of dealing with this 

 subject than Mr. Southwell, and those of our readers 

 who enjoyed his papers will hasten to obtain this 

 handsome volume. Mr. Southwell has dealt with 

 this subject just in time, for we fear that a few years 

 will see the end of many of the species here figured 

 and described. A great deal of research is brought 

 to bear respecting the natural history of a very inter- 

 esting group of marine animals, whose life-histories 

 and habits are here very charmingly described. 



Grosbeaks. — Loxica coccothraiistcs or Coccothraiistes 

 viclgaris, mentioned in the April number as of rare 

 occurrence in England, is occasionally seen in this 

 neighbourhood. One was shot while in the act of 

 eating cherries, June 26th, 1878, the head and wings 

 of which are in my possession, Morris says, "it 

 is said to depart again in April," having arrived at 

 the beginning of winter. Sterland, in his " Birds of 

 Sherwood Forest," says that it "doubtless breeds 

 with -us." The close season of the Wild Birds 

 Preservation Act will, it is to be hoped, increase 

 the numbers of our rare visitors, and so tend to 

 prevent their otherwise probable extermination.^ 

 John N. Dii/ty, F.G.S., Tiixford, Nolls. 



Isle of Man Natural History and Anti- 

 quarian Society. — The annual meeting was held 

 at the Rectory, Ballaugh, 5th April, 1881, the 

 Rev. W. Kermode, Rector of Ballaugh, in the chair. 

 The Rev. T. Talbot was elected President for the 

 ensuing year. The chairman spoke of the impor- 

 tance of recording and determining the origin of our 



place-names before they were lost. Tiie Rev. E. B. 

 Savage read a paper on "Notes on the Parish 

 Register of Kirk Michael, Isle of Man." Among 

 many new and interesting specimens exhibited, were 

 the remains of some cinerary urns from the neigh- 

 bourhood, on which the chairman gave some interest- 

 ing remarks. They were of small size, simple designs, 

 and appeared very ancient. There were also exhibited 

 some stone implements found in the neighbourhood. 

 — P. N. C. Kcnnodc, Hon. Sec. 



Ranges of Land Shells. — A few months ago, 

 among a packet of shells received from Clifton, I 

 found some named Z. cdlariits, v. major. This I imme- 

 diately recognised as Zonites hicidiis (Drap.) a common 

 shell here. I was therefore much interested in the 

 note on this shell in your April number, and I think 

 the following remarks may interest other concholo- 

 gists. The English specimens are exactly the same 

 size as the finest Mentone ones, but the latter differ 

 in having the spire flatter, the suture deeper, the 

 colour darker, and the striae fainter. Neither the 

 English nor the Mentone shells attain the size of that 

 figured by Moquin-Tandon. On referring to this 

 writer's " Histoire naturelle des mollusques terrestres 

 et fluviatiles de France " — the standard work on the 

 subject, I find the following particulars. Drapar- 

 naud, in his "Tableau des mollusques terrestres et 

 fluviatiles de la France," iSoi, described the species 

 in question as Helix lucida. Beck, in the "Index 

 molluscorum praesentis aevi, musaei principis augus- 

 tissimi Christiani Frederici," 1837, described it as 

 Helicella Draparualdi. Therefore Draparnaud's name 

 ought to have the precedence. Moquin-Tandon 

 describes it as a distinct species, but observes in 

 a note that he suspects it to be only a southern 

 variety of ccUariiis. He distinguishes litcidiis chiefly 

 as being larger, and also as having the spire more 

 convex, the last whorl increasing more rapidly, and 

 the mouth being more oval and more oblique. Now 

 it seems to me that the first characteristic is simply 

 the consequence of a more genial climate — you observe 

 that the three localities given by J. Fitzgerald are 

 all noted for their mild winter ; the second distinc- 

 tion cannot be relied upon, for I have found speci- 

 mens as flat as and flatter than the typical cellariiis, 

 and I expect the third, fourth, and fifth would on 

 examination prove equally fugitive. This shell is 

 stated to range as far north as Lyons and the Jura, 

 and to inhabit the south of France and Corsica. Z. 

 cellariiis is not the only British shell which increases 

 in size as it wandei-s southward, for I find here the 

 variety oi H.ericelonuii, called //. cccspilnni (Drap.) by 

 the French " splitters ; " double the size it reaches at 

 home, and a large southern form of Cyclosionia ch-gans, 

 named C. Luleliaiium by Bourguignat. So I would 

 suggest that the new British form discovered by 

 J. Fitzgerald should be called Zoniles cellariiis, var. 

 hicidus. — Cliarles Hedky, Menlone. 



