244 SELECTED NOTES FROM 



is covered with little doors ; but what are the doors ? Are they 

 the plates, or are they the little holes with which the plates are 

 perforated ? The knowledge of the etymology of a scientific term 

 invests it with meaning, so that it is no longer "a horrid crack-jaw 

 word," and when it resembles its equivalent in our own language, 

 it can be more easily remembered. 



F. J. Allen. 



The HolothiiridcB belong, according to Pascoe's " Zoological 

 Classification," to the sub-kingdom Echinodermata, which is 

 divided into four classes : — 



Body-stalked ... ... ... Crinoidea. 



Body not stalked. 



An external shell of calcareous plates Echinoidea. 

 No shell. 



Body lobed or stellate ... ... Stellerida.^ 



Body elongated or vermiform ... Holothuroidea. 



The Sea-Cucumbers (their vulgar name conveying a fair idea 

 of their appearance) differ from the Echmidce in having soft flexi- 

 ble bodies^ instead of a hard shell or test. The skin is full of 

 curious plates, which vary in different species, from irregularly- 

 shaped spicules resembling those of Gorgo?iia, to the beautiful and 

 well-known ones from Synapta and Chircdota^ both of which 

 latter belong to this class, Holothuroidea. 



H. E. Freeman. 



Mite from Gamasus Coleoptratorum, taken from Humble-Bee. 

 An account of this mite, with figures, will be found in '-'■ Science 

 Gossip ^^^ 1879, P- 8^- Since that article was written, I have tried 

 another plan for finding them without killing the bee. 



Having caught your bee, place it under a wine-glass ; then 

 moisten a bit of blotting-paper with a drop or two of chloroform, 

 and introduce it under the glass. Before the bee is perfectly 

 stupified the Gamasi will quit it, and may be picked up with 

 a damp brush, and placed in the live-box or hollow slip ; 

 whilst the bee, if put in the sun, will recover and fly away 

 relieved of its parasitic companions. My friend, Mr. Michael, 

 had some Gamasi obtained from a Humble-Bee preserved in 

 spirit, and he tells me that after he had seen me he examined 

 them, and found the mite. I do not think the mite is a Hypopus; 

 indeed, I think it requires a new name, (if it be not altogether a 

 new genus,) but perhaps time and patience will clear up this matter. 



C. F. George. 



