] 70 Miscellaneous. 



postoral pairs of limbs of the short stout cephalothorax. Respira- 

 tion by branchiPD or tracheae, sometimes leaflet-trachea?. 



Series III. (Onychophora, Myriopoda, Insecta.) — With an an- 

 terior pair of antennae (representing the frontal tentacles of the 

 Annelida) and a pair of mandibles (? representing the limbs of the 

 first or second bodj'-segment). Tracheal respiration. — Anzeiger der 

 I'ciis. Alcad. d. Wiss. in Wien, December 17, 1885, pp. 250-253. 



Virulence of the Common Parsnip. 



Mr. Mcehan referred to the deaths of some children at Danville, 

 Pa., in the spring of 1884, reputed to be caused b}' eating the roots 

 of the wild parsnip. This was usually understood to mean the roots 

 of CiciUa maculata or, perhaps, Conium maculatam. Roots had 

 been sent to him by the attendant physician among which was the 

 fragment of a portion that one of the dead children had partially 

 eaten, with teeth-marks on the remains. There seemed no chance 

 of error in this case. The root, which was evidently neither of the 

 two reputed to be virulent, was planted. It proved to be the 

 true garden parsnip, Pastinaca sativa, which has become an escape 

 from gardens in many parts of the United States. Although the 

 evidence that the deaths were from the wild roots of the common 

 garden parsnip appeared so conclusive, in view of the fact that there 

 seems to be no record of such a virulent character in connexion with 

 this plant, it was thought possible thei'e might still be some mistake, 

 and corroborative evidence was sought for. It was found that in 

 the cultivated form some growers are cai-eful about weeding or 

 working among the leaves while the dew is on them, as severe cases 

 of poisoning have been known to result ; and on large seed-farms 

 the workmen engaged in cutting the stalks at the seed-harvest have 

 to protect their hands and arms against contact with the juices, or 

 they are liable to be severely poisoned in a manner similar to that 

 from the poison-vine, R?nis toxicodendron. AVith these facts it 

 seems worth placing on record what seems to be indisputable, that 

 the deaths of the Danville children was really caused by the wild 

 garden parsnip, Pastinctea sativa. — Proc. Aead. Nat. Sci. Philad. 

 1885, p. 383. 



Freshwater Sponjes from Mexico. By Edward Potts. 

 Mcyenia jilumosa, Carter, var. Pahneri, n. var. 



Sponge (as seen in a dry state) dark brown, massive, attached to 

 and surrounding the dependent branches of small trees, whose stems 

 are flooded by the spring freshets. Texture very loose, and when 

 dry so l)rittle that the dermal surface cannot be satisfactorily exa- 

 mined. (The impression conveyed by the interior appearance of 

 this sponge is that it is made up of an infinite number of radiating 

 confluent branches.) 



Gemmuhe large, numerous throughout the deeper portions of the 

 sponge ; subspherical or ovoid, surrounded by long birotulates im- 

 bedded in a granular crust. 



