186 SELECTED NOTES FROM 



pedigree rather than by personal quahties, the Brachiopods may 

 claim to be the aristocracy of the animal kingdom, for they have 

 existed almost unchanged from the time when nearly the earliest 

 fossiliferous rocks were deposited to the present day. The shells 

 are generally well preserved both in form and structure. Terabra- 

 tula mferjuedia is a large oolitic species, one of the common and 

 characteristic fossils of the corn-brash. It often retains traces of a 

 yellowish colour. The shell of Terabratiila is composed of elon- 

 gated prismatic fibres, placed obliquely to the surface, and perfo- 

 rated by numerous minute canals, which run from the inner surface 

 nearly to the outer, and in the recent state contain processes of 

 the mantle. 



In Rhynchonella the structure is similar, but the perforations 

 are wanting. Rhyjichoiiella obsoleta is a long species, common in 

 the Bradford clay (lower oolite). The cavity in the specimen before 

 us is filled with crystals of calcite. Such slides should be viewed 

 with the polariscope and selenite. 



H. F. Parsons. 



Proboscis of Drone Bee.— Is the shortness of the proboscis of 

 the Drone Bee the cause of the shortness of its life, and does it 

 die of hunger after being driven from the hive ? 



E. Hunter. 



Staining. — The logwood stains have become general favourites 

 among surgeons, especially those in hospital practice, as the rapid- 

 ity of action enables a portion of excised tissue to be stained and 

 examined before the patient is removed from the operating table. 

 Schaffer's formula, substantially the same as Mr. Bousfield's, is as 

 follows : — Five grammes Extract of Logwood and 5 grammes Alum 

 rubbed up thoroughly in a mortar with 100 cc. Water. The mix- 

 ture to be covered and allowed to stand overnight, then filter, and 

 add a few drops of Peroxide of Hydrogen. Will keep for two or 

 three weeks, but requires to be filtered immediately before use. 



W. Teasdale. 



Shell of Box Fish.— The hexagonal plate of the defensive 

 armour and the dentated suture of this sluggish fish suggest 

 extreme facility for the growth of the animal by marginal accretion 

 of new material. I bought three little box fishes from a Parsee at 

 Suez some fifteen years ago, but have reason to suppose that they 

 came from the China and not from the Red Sea, although they 

 are found in both, and also in the waters which lave the shores of 



