1892-93-] Exhibits in Natural History. 83 



burrow, is cylindrical ; and the lid is made to fit the aperture exactly it is 

 composed of a number of circular layers of small grains of earth, compactly 

 fastened together by the spider with its web. 



A Drift Seed, regarded as a Charm in the Hebrides.— This seed was pre- 

 sented? to Mrs Sprague by the Eev. Dr Alexander Stewart ("Nether 

 Lochaber,"), who writes regarding it : "It is held to be of great efficacy 

 by the people of the Outer Hebrides (mostly Roman Catholics), in the 

 alleviation of the pains of labour in women, and in infantile ailments. It 

 is locally known as 'Airne Moire '-the Virgin Mary's kidney. The first 

 idea of its sanctity probably arose from the natural cross to be seen on one 

 side of it. It is m reality the seed of a shrub that grows in Jamaica, which 

 lailing into a stream is carried to the sea, and eastwards by the Gulf Stream, 

 till it is picked up on the western shores of the islands of Barra and the 

 Uists. It occurs so rarely that it was with great difficulty I secured this 

 specimen. So far as I could discover, there are only some 12 or 13 of 

 tliem in all the Hebrides. The seed was sent to Kew Gardens to be 

 named, and proved to be lpomcea tuberosa." In the 'Annals of Botany,' 

 vol. vi. p. 369, there is an interesting paper on this seed by Mr W. B. 

 Memsley, F.R.S., Principal Assistant in the Herbarium at Kew 



Tortoise-Wee Beetles.-These beetles are from the Lower Himalayas, below 

 Uarjeeling. Colonel Sconce states that they have a very brilliant appear- 

 ance during life, the dark parts of the body shining like a glow-worm at 

 mght, and having a sheen of green and gold during the day. They have a 

 striking resemblance to a small tortoise : possibly this may be a case of 

 protective mimicry. 



A Pod of Tree-cotton from South India.— Br William Watson gives the 

 following information as to tree-cotton. The ordinary cotton of commerce, 

 He states, is obtained from a shrub called Gossypium herbaceum ; and tree- 

 cotton is a term applied to the fibres obtained from an allied shrub Gos- 

 sypium arboretum, D.C. This latter fibre is of no commercial importance. 

 lAe pod exhibited is from a common Indian tree, Bombax malabaricum, 

 which grows to a height of 150 feet in Himalayan valleys. It is found all 

 over India and Burmah. Without doubt this is the cotton of Ctesias and 

 old Greek writers. 



By Mr Symington Grieve. 



Skin of the Wolverine (Gulo luscus, Sabine ; Ursus luscus, Linn.).— The 

 skm exhibited was a very fine specimen obtained from a trapper at Glacier 

 m the Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia. The wolverine has a very 

 wide distribution, and is found throughout the whole northern parts of the 

 American continent. It is found as far south as 39° in the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and has been met with in New England and New York State By 

 some naturalists it is supposed that this is the same animal as the Glutton 

 of Northern Europe, the rossomah of the Russians. The Wolverine seems 

 to inhabit high northern regions, as its bones have been found on Melville 

 Island, which is about 80° N. lat. 



Roman Amplwra.-This was discovered during some excavations at the 

 mug's Head Tavern, Moscow Road, Bayswater, London, about the middle 



