April 26, 1877] 



NATURE 



559 



\ 



is composed of two segments which are curved in opposite direc- 

 tions. The curvatures increase gradually in both segments, and 

 little by little transform themselves into two screws, of which 

 the upper one is turned from left to right. The primitive sinuous 

 curve very often spreads over nearly the whole of the tendril, 

 and in this case only two screws are produced, wound, of course, 

 in opposite directions. In all cases, with very few exceptions, 

 the number of screws thus produced in the tendrils is an even 

 one, and M, de Candolle demonstrates that the cause of this 

 phenomenon is a simple mechanical law. 



Eyeless Crustaceans. — A valuable paper on the eyeless, 

 cave, and deep-water crustaceans, by M. Alois Humbert, is 

 published in the same periodical. It is principally a minute de- 

 scription of Niphargus puteanus, which M. Humbert believes to 

 be an ancient genus, descended from a form which is now ex- 

 tinct, thus corresponding entirely with Proteus, Leptoderus, A no- 

 pktJialmus, and others. With regard to the question whether 

 the Niphargus found in the Swiss lakes are merely colonies from 

 the other animals of the same genus, which inhabit subterraneous 

 waters, or whether the reverse is the case, the author expresses 

 himself as follows : — If we suppose that the genus Niphargus 

 appeared before the ice period, it is impossible to say anything 

 with regard to its place of origin. But, if we do not suppose it 

 to date so far back, and only look at the present fauna, I incline 

 to the belief that the Aiphargus of our Swiss lakes originate 

 from those inhabiting subterraneous waters. When they reached 

 the lakes they acclimatised themselves at depths where they 

 found the darkness sufficiently intense, and in such a zone, all 

 but completely dark, where they found the necessary conditions for 

 their existence. In a more illuminated zone they could not have 

 escaped from their enemies so easily and could not sustain the com- 

 petition with their fellow-inhabitants, which possessed better visual 

 organs. If we consider the greater dimensions attained by the 

 forms inhabiting caves, it seems that the lake species, although 

 living in vaster bodies of water, yet find themselves in conditions 

 which are less favourable to their development and are suffering, 

 as it were, from atrophy. 



Origin of the Flying-power of Bees. — The following 

 interesting experiments made with bees, by Herr Donhoff, are 

 recorded in the Archivfiir Anaioniie und Physiologie. He took 

 some bees from the hive, just as they came out of the entrance 

 hole, and placed them under a glass bell at a temperature of 

 19° C. (66° F.). First they ran hastily up and down the sides of 

 the glass and flew about in the jar. Later on their movements 

 became less hasty, and after forty-five minutes they all sat quietly 

 together, moved slowly and clumsily. They were no longer able 

 to fly about. He let a few crawl upon a pencil, and by giving 

 it a jerk threw them into the air ; they fell down perpendicularly 

 without giving a humming sound, i.e., without moving their 

 wings. He killed and opened one or two and found their 

 honey-bags empty. To the others he then gave a solution of 

 sugar, and after they had fed for about 3I or 4 minutes he again 

 tlirew some into the air. They no longer fell down perpendicularly 

 but a little further off, and also moved their wings. A minute 

 afterwards they did not fall down at all but flew to the window ; 

 they had become the same lively insects as before. If the tem- 

 perature is under 19' C. they lose the power of flying even sooner, 

 and a longer period elapses before it returns after they are fed 

 on sugar-water. In higher temperatures the power returns 

 sooner. Herr Donhoff thinks it probable "that the bee loses 

 the power of flying because it does not possess the necessary 

 strength to be converted into muscular action, and that this 

 strength returns to its system because in sugar it finds the neces- 

 sary vital support." 



The Birds of Celebes. — In the March session of the German 

 Ornithological Society Dr. Reichenow gave a detailed account 



of the birds of the Island of Celebes. Although this island is 

 classed geographically with Borneo, Java, and Sumatra in the 

 Sunda group, yet its fauna is almost entirely distinct from that 

 of the other islands mentioned, approaching very closely to the 

 Australian fauna. Late investigations show that this is peculiarly 

 true of the ornithology of Celebes, and that in the geographical 

 distrilution of animals, the island must be classed with Australia, 

 New Guinea, &c., and not with the other members of the Sunda 

 group. The speaker exhibited six new varieties of Australian 

 Colibris lately found in Celebes. 



Italian Pliocene Equid.^:. — Dr. Forsyth Major (Florence) 

 will shortly publish a work embodying the results of his long and 

 diligent researches on the Italian Pliocene Equida: which will 

 form a very valuable contribution to the evolutional history of 

 the Horse. The publication of the book — illustrated with nume- 

 rous finely executed plates — is being prepared by the Swiss 

 Palseontological Society, under the supervision of Prof. Riiti- 

 meyer, A short rhuini of some parts of the work appeared 

 some time since in the Rivisia Scientifico'Industriale. 



Development of Mollusca.— Dr. Packard, of Salem, 

 Mass., writes with reference to Prof Lankester's review of his 

 work entitled "Life Histories of Animals, including Man" 

 (Nature, vol. xv., p. 271), totheeffect that onp. 112 of the work 

 in question, and also on p. iio, Prof. Lankester's name is cited 

 by him as the authority for the use of the word " trochosphere." 

 The paper in which Prof. Lankester proposes tlie term "veliger" 

 is quoted on p. 113. This he considers sufficient reply to the 

 reviewer's statement that he (Dr. Packard) dots not ascribe, 

 either the terms "veliger" or "trochosphere," or the views 

 connected with them, of which he makes use, to their author. 



Parthenogenesis in a Phanerogam. — Prof. Kemer, of 

 Innsbruck reprints from the " Sitzb. der k. Akad. der Wissensch. 

 zu Wien " an account of a remarkable instance of partheno- 

 genesis in a flowering plant. The instance is a small Alpine 

 Composite, Antennaria alpina, a. native of the high Alps and 

 Arctic region. Like some other allied species it is dioecious, 

 and the male plants are extremely scarce. Prof. Kemer has 

 never seen the male plant, and in 1874 cultivated the female 

 plant with very great care in the botanic garden at Innsbruck, 

 excluding apparently all possibility of foreign impregnation 

 either by this or any allied species. The plants produced, not- 

 withstanding, a number of seeds, which were sown the following 

 spring. Six of these seedlings germinated, but four out of these 

 shortly perished. The two remaining ones reached maturity, 

 growing as luxuriantly as the mother plant, and showing no signs 

 of hybridisation. It is not stated, however, whether they also 

 flowered and produced seed. From the extreme scarcity of the 

 male plant, Kemer believes that the seeds are ordinarily matured 

 without impregnation. 



Respiration of Roots. — From recent experiments oh the 

 respiration of roots (the plants employed being ivy and veronica) 

 MM. Deherain and Vesque conclude (i) That oxygen is neces- 

 sary for all organs of plants, and that for the life of a plant it is 

 not sufficient that its air-parts be in air ; the roots must also find 

 oxygen in the atmosphere of the ground in which they grow ; 

 (2) That the absorption of oxygen which takes place through 

 the roots is accompanied with only a slight development of car- 

 bonic acid, so that the roots produce a partial vacuum in vessels 

 in which they are contained ; (3) That this development of car- 

 bonic acid takes place just as well Jn an atmosphere without 

 oxygen as in one which contains it ; whence may be inferred 

 that the excreted carbonic acid does not come from superficial 

 oxidation of some self-decomposing organs, but from a regular 

 circulation of gases in the plant. 



