HARD WICKK S S CIENCE- G OS SI P. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Cormorants inland. — It may be worthy of re- 

 cording that, on Wednesday, the 24th of August, 

 a cormorant estabhshed itself for some time on a 

 pond in the grounds of Mr. Montague Williams, at 

 W^oolland, near Blandford, and, when it moved, 

 appeared to fly still further inland. Woolland itself 

 is, by the ordnance map, sixteen and a half miles from 

 the sea, as the crow flies. The following day, perhaps 

 I need scarcely remind your readers, was one of excep- 

 tional rain and storm, even in this ungenial and 

 blusterous season. In my long experience I do not 

 know that I ever chanced to see one of these birds 

 so far from its marine haunts. — C, W. Bingham. 



The lesser Rorqual {Balanoptera rostrata, 

 Fab.). — A young female specimen of this whale was 

 captured near Fraserburgh by some fishermen on the 

 19th of August, having got entangled in their nets. 

 It was afterwards exhibited for a few days in Edin- 

 burgh, where I saw it twice, when the following 

 notes and measurements were taken : — 



h. in. 



Total length 14 2 



Greatest girth 5 5 



Length to tip of dorsal fin . . . 10 7 



Height of dorsal 06 



Tip of dorsal to end of tail . . -37 

 Breadth of tail, tip to tip . . . -37 

 Length to back of gape, along outer 



curve of mandible . . . . .29 

 Length to orbital opening . . . . 2 8i 

 Length of orbital opening . . . .02 

 Length to blow-holes . • . . i lo 



The head slopes gradually downwards to the front of 

 the jaws, at the same time narrowing sideways, so 

 that it is of an oblong, somewhat triangular form. 

 The baleen is about half an inch long at the front of 

 the jaw and gradually lengthens to about the inward 

 bend of the mandible, where it is five and a half 

 inches long, after which it quickly shortens. It 

 extends two feet nine inches along each side, and its 

 numerous plates form a beautiful screen, yellowish- 

 white in colour, and split into a hair-like fringe along 

 their under margins. The lower jaw is much larger 

 than the upper, and forms a capacious triangular 

 trough, the sides of which are formed by the jaw- 

 bones, and slope upwards and outwards. Conse- 

 quently when the animal's jaws are closed, a hollow 

 space, such as is formed between the base of a tea- 

 cup and the edge of its saucer, extends along each 

 side of the mouth, gradually widening and deepening 

 from the front backwards. The blow-holes are two 

 longitudinal openings in the forehead, with a furrow 

 between them. They are five inches long and have their 

 back ends curved outwards. The flippers are two feet 

 two inches long, measured along their outer margin. 

 A white band extends one foot one inch along each, 

 the rest being black. Their greatest breadth is eight 

 inches. The animal is black above and white 

 beneath, with the throat and belly furrowed. When 



I first saw it the fore part of the body was slightly 

 inclined to the left side, so that I was enabled to 

 ascertain its girth by measuring the right one ; but I 

 neglected to note the length and number of the 

 furrows, and when next seen there was no oppor- 

 tunity of doing so, as the animal was exhibited rest- 

 ing on its belly. For the same reason the sex is 

 given on the authority of the exhibitor. The white 

 colour on the under parts of the body is nowhere so 

 high as the flippers, except for about one foot behind 

 them. There, beginning at the flippers, it rises and 

 descends with a gentle curve, the highest part of 

 which is four inches above them. I had no difficulty 

 in identifying the species from Mr. Southwell's de- 

 scription, the white band on each flipper, and the 

 yellowish-white baleen, being characteristics about 

 which there could be no mistake. — David Douglas. 



Alternation of generation in Insects. — 

 It has been shown that the common cynips, or gallfly 

 is also a case in point. It had long been known that 

 in some genera belonging to this group males are 

 entirely wanting, and it has now been shown by 

 Bassett, and more thoroughly by Adler, that some 

 of these species are double brooded ; the two broods 

 having been considered as distinct genera. Thus,, 

 an insect known as Neiirotenis lenticularis, of which 

 females only occur, produces the familiar oak spangles 

 so common on the under sides of oak leaves, from 

 which emerge, not Nciiroteriis lenticularis, but an 

 insect hitherto considered as a distinct species, be- 

 longing even to a different genus, Spaihegaster bacca- 

 rum. In Spathegaster both sexes occur, they produce 

 the currant-like galls found on oaks, and from these 

 galls Neuroterus is again developed. So also the 

 King Charles oak-apples produce a species known as 

 Teras terminalis, which descends to the ground, and 

 makes small galls on the roots of the oak. From 

 these emerge an insect known as Biorhiza aptera, 

 which again gives rise to the common oak-apple. — 

 Sir John Lubbock^s British Association Address. 



Coccus Vitis Vinifer.^. — Can any of your 

 numerous readers inform me whether the coccus vitis 

 viniferte (Linnxus) so accurately described in White's 

 Selborne (Letter 53 to Mr. Barrington) is of common 

 occuiTence in England now ? White mentions it as 

 being most uncommon. I observed it a year or two 

 ago on a vine at Blackheath, and some time after came 

 across White's description, from which I recognised 

 this insect at once. — C. F. IVorters. 



Scarcity of Wasps. — I do not remember a 

 season when wasps were so scarce as the present, 

 although in May there seemed fully as many queens 

 out as in preceding seasons, and I destroyed a 

 goodly number. About the middle of June I de- 

 stroyed a nest containing only the queen and eight 

 or ten weakly young ones just emerged from the 

 pupa, and I have not seen a single wasp since. I 



