147 



Miscellaneous Notes, 



While collecting for the Survey in McPherson county, in the summer 

 of 1884, the director found the curious and interesting Azolla Americana 

 growing abundantly upon the shallow water and mud at the margin of 

 Lake Inman. It seems not to have been hitherto recorded from Kansas. 

 Later it has been sent to us from Neosho River at Oswego by Dr. W. S. 

 Newlon. 



Butlius Carolinianus appears to be generally distributed in Kansas, but 

 is evidently not common in our northern and eastern counties. I have 

 found it abundant in stony places on the Gypsum Hills of Barber county. 

 A specimen from south of Emporia has been contributed by Mr. Frank 

 Kizer. and a number <f young from McPherson Co., by I)r, John llund- 

 strom. Scorpions (which are probably of this species) are reported as oc- 

 curring commonly in the vicinity of Wallace, in the northwestern part of 

 the State, and, less commonly, as far northeast as Douglas county. 



A specimen taken near the fire, in a house in Medicine Lodge, in cold 

 weather, lias been contributed by Mr. G. L. Johnston. 



Dr. H. C. Wood first recorded this species from Kansas, and appears to 

 have been also the first to recognize the peculiar subtropical affinities of the 

 fauna of Kansas. (See his monograph of , the North American Pedip<dpi, 

 under B. Caroliniana.) 



Elevation above sea-level having a marked influence upon the distribu- 

 tion of insects, it may be interesting tc note, in connection with Mr. Bru- 

 ner's report on Orthoptera, the elevations of the respective localities which 

 furnished the specimens. They are ss follows, the numbers usually refer- 

 ring to the elevation at the depot grounds of the A. T. & S. F., U. P.^ and 

 S. K. railroads : 



Toivn. County. Elevation. 



Ellis Ellis (western) 2,117 



Garden City Finney (formerly Sequoyah) 2,827 



Great Bend Barton 1,841 



Lindsborg McPherson 1,332 



Medicine Lodge Barber 1,449 



Oswego Labette 895 



Reno Center Reno 1,525-1,550 



Sun City Barber (?) 1,750 



Topeka.*. Shawnee 884 



Many of the Barber Co. specimens were collected on the Gypsum Hills, 

 200-500 feet above the valley elevation above given for Medicine Lodge. 



Prof. E. D. Cope, of paleontological and herpetological fame, has twice 

 paused in his passage across the continent to note the progress of our work 

 and bestow a word of cheer. In one of these brief visits, he discovered 

 among some unstudied material recenrly collected by the director of the 

 Survey in Barber county, a specimen of Rhinocheilus LeContei, B. and 

 G., which shows some remarkable variations from the typical species. A 

 brief note upon this specimen will appear from the pen of the Professor in 

 our next Report. 



The specimen was brought, living, to the director of the Survey, by Mr. 

 Chancy Smith of Medicine Lodge, who captured it in a garden in that 



