MISCELLANY 



639 



vonian has treasures of the same kind. In 

 the United States it has already afforded 

 Dadoxylon Halli from New York, and D. 

 Newberryi from Ohio, besides the curious 

 Ormoxylon rianum. No doubt other spe- 

 cies remain to be discovered, especially in 

 the Upper and Middle Devonian. 



Habits of Ileroi it-Crabs. In the Anier- 

 ican Journal of Science for October, Mr. A. 

 Agassiz records some observations on the 

 hermit-crab. He raised a number of these 

 animals from a very early stage in their life 

 till they reached the condition in which 

 they require the protection of a shell. A 

 number of shells, some empty, others occu- 

 pied by living moUusks, were now placed in 

 the glass dish with the young crabs. The 

 empty shells were at once taken possession 

 of. The crabs which were not so fortu- 

 nate as to obtain untenanted shells remained 

 riding about upon the mouth of their future 

 dwelling, and on the death of the tenant, 

 which generally occurred soon after in cap- 

 tivity, commenced at once to tear out the 

 animal, and, having eaten him, proceeded 

 to take his place within the shell. The 

 question arises, How did the crab acquire 

 the faculty of performing this act ? Not by 

 imitation, in this instance at least. Possi- 

 bly by inheritance ; Mr. Agassiz, however, 

 is inclined to regard the act as purely me- 

 chanical rendered necessary by the con- 

 ditions of the young hermit-crab. " When 

 the moult has taken place, which brings 

 them to the stage at which they need a 

 shell, we find important changes in the two 

 hind-pairs of feet, now changed to shorter 

 feet capable of propelling the crab in and 

 out of the shell ; we find, also, that all the 

 abdominal appendages except those of the 

 last joint are lost, but the great distinction 

 between this stage and the one preceding it 

 is the curling of the abdomen ; its rings are 

 now quite indistinct, and the test covering 

 it is reduced to a mere film, so that the 

 whole abdomen becomes of course very 

 sensitive. It is, therefore, natural that the 

 young crab should seek some shelter for 

 this exposed portion of his body, and, from 

 what I have observed, any cavity will an- 

 swer the purpose ; one of the young crabs 

 having established himself most comfort- 

 ably in the anterior part of the cast skin of 



a small isopod, which seemed to satisty him 

 as well as a shell, there being several empty 

 shells at his disposal." 



Position of Science in English Scliools. 



In their sixth report the British Commission 

 on Scientific Instruction relate their obser- 

 vations on the state of science-teaching in 

 public and endowed schools. The present 

 state of scientific instruction in the upper 

 schools is declared to be extremely unsatis- 

 factory. The returns furnished by the pub- 

 lic schools show that, even where science 

 is taught, from one to two hours' work per 

 week may be regarded, with very few ex- 

 ceptions, as the usual time allotted to it in 

 such classes as receive scientific instruc- 

 tion at all. Moreover, the instruction in 

 science is generally confined to certain 

 classes in the school. Of the 128 minor en- 

 dowed schools from which returns were re- 

 ceived, only 18 devote as much as four 

 hours per week to the teaching of science, 

 and only 13 have a laboratory of any kind. 

 The commissioners hold that science is a 

 complementary and not an exceptional part 

 of education ; that it should not be re- 

 garded merely as a by-work, whether to 

 satisfy the natural curiosity of most, or to 

 develop the peculiar tastes of a few ; and 

 that, if need be, Greek should yield place 

 to it in the universal curriculum. 



Llebig's Inflnence on German Science. 



Dr. Thudichum recently delivered a lect- 

 ure before the London Society of Arts, 

 on " Liebig's Discoveries, and their Influ- 

 ence on the Advancement of Arts, Manu- 

 factures, and Commerce." Toward the end 

 of the lecture he indicates, as follows, one 

 of the indirect effects of Liebig's research- 

 es : " The Prussian and other German uni- 

 versities now teach students of science and 

 agriculture in great numbers, where thirty 

 years ago law and theology filled the audi- 

 tories. In that time the number of stu- 

 dents of Protestant theology has decreased 

 in Prussia from upward of 2,000 to less 

 than 800, and in Hesse-Darmstadt from 50 

 to 13. One-sixth of all parsonages are with- 

 out incumbents, because there is no one to 

 receive the appointments. Such is the be- 

 ginning of the great reformation which is 

 now being wrought in human affairs by sci- 

 ence." 



