96 QUARTERLY CHRONICLE. 
by their method of examination, which consists in cutting off 
the head of the insect and placing it between two pieces of 
glass. The pressure destroys the natural arrangement of the 
parts, and rupturing the integument brings into view two 
small chitinous bodies which are mistaken for mandibles. The 
form of the head, narrow and pointed, is not adapted to 
supporting the muscles necessary for moving jaws; and, 
moreover, when the head is examined without pressure by 
reflected light, no jaws or mandibles are to be seen, but 
simply a sucking mouth. The author obtained several Pedi- 
cult from a workhouse, and kept them shut up in a box until 
they were hungry; he then placed one on his hand and care- 
fully watched its movements. No bite was inflicted; but a 
long delicate tube was protruded and passed into one of the 
sweat-pores of the skin, and a rapid rhythmic motion was 
observed in a sacular body near the mouth, whilst peristaltic 
movements were seen in the intestine. In this way the little 
animal was soon gorged with blood, when the author cut off 
its head quickly and examined the apparatus by which its 
operations had been effected, which he minutely describes. 
The mouth is simply a modification of the true Rhyncote type, 
and the Pediculi should merely be considered as bugs modi- 
fied to suit their circumstances. The instances of “‘lice-blanes,” 
&c., brought forward by Dr. Landois to support the view of 
the biting-power of Pedicu/us and Phthirius, can, says Pro- 
fessor Schjédte, readily be explained by other facts, and 
should rather be attributed to disease than any peculiar 
powers possessed by the parasites. 
“ The Chevreulius Callensis of Dr. Lacaze-Duthiers.”—Mr. 
Joshua Alder has written a letter to the ‘Annals’ (March) 
relative to the little Ascidian whose description by Dr. 
Duthiers we have chronicled above. It appears that the 
genus is not new, but has already been named three times 
previously—once by Professor Stimpson, whose name Schi- 
zascus, has priority, and twice by Mr. Mac Donald, who first 
called it Peroides, but afterwards changed this name. Neither 
of the earlier descriptions, however, are at all complete, and 
do not in any way detract from the value and interest of the 
paper by M. Lacaze-Duthiers. 
Miscellaneous.—The so-called “ spurious Entozoa’”’ of Dis- 
eased Meat.—A large field of inquiry has lately been 
opened by some researches on the microscopic character of 
the flesh of animals that have died from the cattle plague. 
Minute bodies, varying from =},th to 1 of an inch in length, 
have been met with among the ultimate muscular fibres of 
such meat, and it was at first supposed that they had some 
