AUGLST, 1902.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



183 



BoTAxrcAL. — l\irthenoE;eiiesis has been discovered by 

 Mr. J. B. Overton in Thalli-trtim piirpiirascens, and is the 

 subject of a jniper in the May numlter of the Botanical 

 Gazette. Another species {T. Fendhri) was suspected to 

 eshibit this phenomenon. In 1896, Mr. D. F. Day wrote 

 that he had grown pistillate plants of this soeeies, and 

 although no staminate plants of any species of Thalictnim 

 were in the neighbourhood, an abundance of g'lod seeds 

 were produced. As it seemed doubtful whether this was 

 a case of parthenogenesis or of vegetative apogamv, Mr. 

 Overton undertook a careful study of the development of 

 the embryo of T. pttrpurascens, in which fertilization could 

 not possibly have taken place. He determined that 

 in tbis plant fertilization is not necessary to embryo- 

 development or to endosperm-development, that embryos 

 were produced parthenogenetically under ail conditions, 

 and that the development of the embryo in partheno- 

 genetic material is the same as in normal material. 



Among the plants which are adapted by their peculiar 

 habit of growth to serve the office of sand-binders and 

 beach-builders, as illustrated by the British Fsamma 

 areiiaria, is the extremely interesting Jfaiadaceous genus 

 PhyUiiitpadiz or Eelgrass. This, as Sir. R. E. Gibbs states 

 in his paper on the plant in the American Naturalist for 

 Februarj', grows in extensive beds in shallow water along 

 the rocky shores of Bodega Bay, California. Its fruit is 

 furnished with two arms, and after it has detached itself 

 from the parent plant, these arms ultimately become 

 barbed in consequence of the wearing away of the softer 

 tissues through friction with rocks and stones, which 

 exposes a series of elongated lignified cells. These cells 

 stand out as strong barbs, enabling the fruit to anchor on 

 branches of sea- weeds. It is commonly found on Amphiroa, 

 the segmented stems of which provide a firm resting place. 

 The seed then germinates, and gives rise to a thick mattress 

 of rhizomes, covering boulders and binding stones, sand and 

 other material firmly together, thus forming a " more 

 coherent and stable foundation of the beach." — S. A. S. 



ZooLuGic.vL. — In a paper published in the June issue 

 of the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 

 Dr. Ludwig von Loreiz describes and figures a mounted 

 specimen of a quagga preserved in the Imperial Museum 

 at Vienna. As this example differs somewhat in its markings 

 from other sj)ecimens, the author suggests that there may 

 have been two or more local races of this now extinct species. 



The fossil voles of the Norwich Crag and the Pliocene 

 deposits of the Val d'Arno form the subject of a com- 

 munication by Dr. Forsyth Major to the journal just 

 quoted. The forms characterized by having rooted cheek- 

 teeth the author proposes to designate by the new generic 

 term Mimoinys, na.ming one of them M. newtoni, in honour 

 of Mr. E. T. Newton, the well-known describer of Crag 

 vertebrates. 



In concluding an account of his investigationB on the 

 phylogeny of the dentition of the hedgehogs and their 

 allies, published in t\\e Zoologica, Dr. W. Lecbe, of Stock- 

 holm, expresses the opinion that the European Oligocene 

 genus j\^ecroyi/m;( ?«(•!« is the oldest representative of the 

 family known to us. From this have sprung two branches. 



one including the extinct Giilerix and Lanthanotherium 

 and the modern Bornean Gymnura. and the other the 

 true hedgehogs (Etnnaceus) and the Malay Hylomys. 



Dr. Gadow, of Cambridge, in a paper on the origin of 

 mammals contributed to the Zeitschrift fiir Morphnlogie, 

 sums up as follows : — " Mammals are descendants of 

 reptiles as surely as they have been evolved from Amphibia. 

 This does not mean that any of the living groups of 

 reptiles can claim this honour of ancestry, but it means 

 that the mammals have branched where the principal 

 reptilian groups meet, and that is a long way back. The 

 Theromorpha, especially small Theriodontia, alone show us 

 what these creatures were like." It may be explained 

 that the Theromorpha, or Anomodontia, are those extinct 

 reptiles so common in the early secondary deposits of 

 South Africa, some of which present a remarkable resem- 

 blance in their dentition and skeleton to mammals, while 

 others come equally near amphibians. 



As the result of his explorations in North-Eastern and 

 E.astern Africa, Mr. Oscar Neumann has been able to 

 determine a number of new species, including a guereza 

 and several other monkeys, a jackal which he names Canis 

 haffensis, a harnessed antelope called, in honour of the 

 Emperor of Abyssinia, Trayelaphus meneliki, together \\\th 

 several other members of the same group, and two 

 " dassies," or hyraces (Procavia). The descriptions are 

 published in Nos. 3, 4, and 9 of the Sitzumjs-Berichte of 

 the Berlin Naturalists' Society for the present year. 



Mr. O. Thomas, of the British Museum, in the June 

 number of the Annals of Natural History is able to 

 announce that at least three local forms of that remark- 

 able animal the African hunting-dog (Lycaon piictus) can 

 now be recognised, namely the typical Mozambique race, 

 the Cape race, and the Eastern race. As showing the 

 absolute necessity of having large series of specimens of 

 animals in our museums, the following remarks of the 

 author are worth quotation : '' Owing to their peculiar 

 irregular coloration," he writes, " specimens of Lycaon are 

 particularly difficult to compare effectively with one 

 another, and still more to describe in an effectual m.anner. 

 As is veW known, uo two individuals, even if from the same 

 pack, are precisely identical, and it is only by the general 

 average coloration that one is able to distinguish the local 

 races at all." 



♦ 



Bntisi) ^rntttjologtcal Notes. 



Conducted by W. P. Ptcraft, a.l.s., f.z.s., m.b.o.u. 



Wild Birds' Protection Acts. — The Field, June 2Ist, 

 contains some interesting comments on the numerous 

 amendments to these most salutary Acts, amendments 

 which, it must be admitted, though framed with the best 

 intentions, have not always been wise, and have not in- 

 frequently failed to effect the object aimed at. The latest 

 amendment is contained in a Bill introduced by Lord 

 Jersey, and passed through the third reading in the House 

 of Lords during the second week in June. According to 

 this Bill, any person convicted of an offence against the 

 Wild Birds' Protection Acts, 1880-93, may be condemned 

 by the Court, in addition to the penalty imposed, to forfeit 

 any wild bird, or wild birds' eggs, in respect to which the 

 penalty was imposed. The forfeited property is to be 

 disposed of as the Court may think fit. The need of such 

 an Act has long been felt. Hitherto, in the case of rare 

 birds or their eggs, the fine imposed acted by no means 

 as a deterrent, forming, as it did, but a small fraction of 

 the value of the specimens now to be confiscated. 



Acquired Habits in Wild Birds. — Mr. W. B. 

 Tegetmeier, in the Field of June 28tb, makes a few 

 observations on certain "'acquired habits" in the Sparrow, 



