RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



85 



ting that more than one spermatozoon 

 enters the egg. That the embryo should 

 be spit up to such an extent as to produce 

 the various forms noted is quite improb- 

 able; but that deformities of the em- 

 bryo do not occur from fission is iindoubt- 

 edly true. A hypothesis that would ^o f^r 

 toward satisfying the queries is this : An 

 egg might have several micropyles. Many 

 of the eggs bearing deformities are not 

 more than the usual size ; pluralit}' of 

 micropyles would meet their cases better 

 than double yolks. I' does not seem at 

 all necessary, however, to demand even the 

 malformation of the egg in this manner. 

 I'rof. Alex. Agassiz furnishes a clew in his 

 statement that in all his experience in col- 

 lecting eggs at sea, he has never yet found 

 one of these freaks. If we compare the 

 conditions at sea, and at the hatcheries, we 

 shall find immense differences. At sea the 

 eggs are laid only when fully matured ; this 

 is not always the case at the hatcherj'. To 

 be sure, there are differences in the species 

 at the two localities, but we do not know 

 that any of the various species that have 

 been collected among pelagic fishes have 

 been reported productive of deformities. 



In the hatcherv, about the time the eggs 

 are ripe, the female is caught, and more or 

 less force is used in taking the eggs. Natu- 

 rally with those that are fully ripe others 

 not so mature are taken. The finishing 

 touches being put on the outer covering of 

 the egg, the capsule is most likely to prove 

 unfinished if the eggs are taken too soon. 

 The contents may be perfected, though the 

 capsule may not be completed. While the 

 capsule in niaturit}' ma}' resist the intrusion 

 of spermatozoa, compelling entrance at the 

 micropyle, in imperfect condition the same 

 capsule would prove a less effective barrier at 

 its pores or elsewhere. In the imperfection 

 of the capsule we may find at once a means 

 of accounting for the occurrence of the ab- 

 normal forms and groups on the egg, and for 

 their frequent apperance at the hatchery. 

 It does not seem unreasotiable to conclude 

 that the occurrence of the monsters at the 

 hatcheries is in great measure due to for- 

 cible and permature extrusion of the eggs, 

 consequent imperfection of the capsules 

 admitting spermatozoa at various points, 

 possibl}- before aggregation of the germinal 

 matter at one of the poles has taken place, 



and resulting in the formation of two or 

 more embryos, which ma}' or may not 

 coalesce." 



Sitta Canadensis. 



I WOULD like to note through your columns 

 of the capture by myself in Clarendon . 

 County, S. C, on the 4th of October, 1886, 

 of a fine male specimen of Sitta Canadensis, 

 I was collecting in a thick swamp, and ob- 

 served a small bird fluttering about the ter- 

 minal branches of a large Tripolo, or " Gum " 

 tree, after the manner of a Dendraeca. The 

 height of the tree prevented my determining 

 the bird, but the dark colored head seemed 

 unusual, and so I shot and brought down 

 the unknown. 



I can find no direct quotation of any pre- 

 vious capture of this species for South Car- 

 olina. 



Audubon sa^'s, " Southern limits seldom 

 farther than Maryland, . . . some at 

 the approach of winter venture as far as 

 South Carolina, although never seen in 

 the maritime districts of that state." 



Unless I am mistaken this will prove the 

 first occurrence of S. Canadensis, certainly 

 in the seaboard in South Carolina. / 



Ellison A. Smyth, Jr. / 



The Shell-Bearing Mollusca of Rhode 

 Island. 



BY HORACE F. CARPENTER. 



Chapter XXXIV. 

 124. LiMK.«A (Limnophysa) elodes, Say. 

 Shell tapering, elongated, inelegant ; color 

 nearh' black; whorls five to six, sometimt's 

 perfect at the apex, but generall}' decol- 

 lated ; aperture about one-half the total 

 length of the shell, sub-oval; lip thin, 

 sometimes with a reddish thickened margin ; 

 inner lip covered with a white enamel not 

 closely appressed at the umbilicus. Aver- 

 age length of shell nine-tenths of an inch. 

 It is very variable in form and size, and the 

 largest ones are thinner than the adult 

 small specimens. I have one in my col- 

 lection an inch and a quarter in length. 

 Found from Hudson's Kay to Pennsylvania 

 and from New England to Oregon. 



Like the preceding species, it was first 

 discovered bv Mr. Jessup, and described 

 by Say at the same time with it. Man}' 

 eonchologists are of the opinion that this 



