;86 



NATURE 



\Augnst 24, 1882 



parted to their studies. The book is copiously illustrated 

 with well executed woodcuts, most of which are original, 

 and have been specially prepared for the purpose. 



LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 



[The Editor dots not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed 

 by his correspondents. Neither can he undertake to return, 

 or to correspond with the writers of, rejected manuscripts. 

 No notice is taken of anonymous communications. 



[ The Editor urgently requests correspondents to keep their letters 

 as short as possible. The pressure on his space is so gr'at 

 that it is impossible otherwise to ensure the appearance even 

 of communications containing: interesting and novel facts.] 



School Museums 



In the new instructions to inspectors as to the application of 

 the New Code to Elementary Schools, it is stated that a 

 Museum will he required in a school in order to make a school 

 " excellent " under the " merit " clause. 



I would suggest to your readers that here is an excellent oppor- 

 tunity for their employing the scientific knowledge they possess 

 in promoting the study of nature in a very simple and easy 

 manner. Let 1 hem offer first to instruct and intere-t teachers 

 and pupil teachers in some one branch of knowledge — let it be 

 botany, geology, or entomology. Let them show the teachers 

 how to collect and press, say a dozen plants, help them to classify 

 and mine them, both in English and I atin, and let them teach 

 say to the First Standard, what they know on the subject, 

 making the children bring each plant after it has been shown. 

 Even in town schools there will be some country friend who 

 could send up two or three specimens every week in the spring 

 and summer. 



I would suggest that the discarded child school books will 

 make herbaria, and convenient books for catalogues of speci- 

 mens. 



For a geological museum a small cupboard with, say in this 

 neighbourhood, seven shelves, would hold two specimens from 

 each of our prominent strata, Lower, Middle, and Upper Lias, 

 tha Midford, or as Mr. Witchell, of Stroud, wants to call them, 

 the Cotteswold Sand% the Inferior Oolite, Fuller's Earth, and 

 Great Oolite, all of which can be seen from this parish if the 

 two higher beds are not actually in it. On the inside of the cup- 

 board doors might be put, boldly co'oured, sections of the strata. 

 Geologists might greatly help ia seeing that the names of the 

 strata and specimens were correctly given and pronounced, and 

 a catalogue written out. And if prizes were given to promote 

 even the most elementary knowledge in teachers and scholars, 

 much would be done to make " science subjects " interesting and 

 useful. 



I would sugge-t that natural history societies and field clubs 

 should take this in hand in their own neighbourhoods, and by 

 the expenditure of a very small um of money start a natural 

 history museum in every scho )L A. Shaw Page 



Selsley Vicarage, Gloucestershire, August 17 



Two Kinds of Stamens with Different Functions in the 

 same Flower 



In Nature, vol. xxiv. p. 307 is a very interesting letter on 

 this subject, in which w bile the functions performed by the two 

 kinds of stamens are very clearly indicated, the modus operandi 

 of fertilisation, it appears to me, is less clearly expressed. I 

 have witnessed in many instances the visitation by various species 

 of large Hymenoptera, such as Xylocopa and Bombus, of species 

 especially of the gems Melastoma, possessing stamens in all 

 points corresponding to that occurring in the Heeria described 

 in the letter referred to and what takes place seems to be as 

 follows. The large bees evidendy make for the yellow platform 

 offered by the short stamens, perhaps because they do not per- 

 ceive the pistil and long stamens owing to their projection against 

 the broad petaled corolla of the same colour in the background, 

 and invariably receive the pistil between their legs, their feet 

 settling on the fork of the co; nective, the instant effect of which 

 is to collect the whole of the long stamens into a bunch, and to 

 depress their anthers downwards and away from the body of the 

 visiting bee, while the pistil remains in constant contact with its 

 ventral side. At the moment of the bee's c'eparlure the hooks 

 on the bee's feet by pulling on the connective fork raise the 



anthers of the long stamens, so as to bring the tips of the col- 

 lected bunch into contact with its sides and abdomen. Dr. 

 Midler's statement "by moving the connective fork of the 

 larger ones" is somewhat ambiguous ; for it is movement only 

 in one direction that is of avail in raising the anthers of the 

 larger stamens, pressure at the connective hook of course tends 

 to depress the anthers and keep them apart from the bee's 

 ablomen while a very slight backward pull at once raises the 

 anther. 



In various ob: ervations and discussions arising out of this 

 letter, both Dr. Burck (the assistant director of the Botanical 

 Gardens in Buitenzorg) and myself were able to observe a fact 

 of considerable importance that there was, at any rate in those 

 species examined by us, a great difference in the pollen of the 

 two kinds of anthers. The pollen from the short stamens was 

 large and three-cornered, while that of the longer ones was very 

 much smaller and of a more oval shape ; and while both forms 

 were found on the pistil, only the pollen from the long stamens 

 seemed to be fertile. We could not detect any of the short 

 slamened pollen with tubes ejected. Henry O. Forbes 



Wai, Amboina, May 



Habit of Spiders 



I HAVE frequently observed that when a shock of any kind is 

 imparted to the leaves or twigs, to which the web if the garden 

 spider is affixed, the animal shakes violently in the centre of the 

 web, so as to become almost or totally invisible to the eye; 

 this quivering or dancing motion being kept up for many 

 seconds, and then suddenly stopped. The same thing occurs, I 

 have noticed, when a stick is presented suddenly to the occupant 

 of the web. The reason for these movements, which appear to 

 be effected by the spider in succession pulling the upper portion 

 of the web downwards by means of his strong hindermost pair 

 of legs, and then suddenly releasing it (the natural elasticity of 

 the web greatly assisting the occupier in the execution of these 

 movements), seems to be founded upon a desire on the part of 

 the spider to effect concealment when it feels that danger is near ; 

 just as we notice gnats and crane-flies dance rapidly up and 

 down, evidently with the desire of rendering themselves invisible, 

 whilst at rest on the window pane, trusting no doubt to their 

 speedy flight and general invisibility for protection when on the 

 wing. Frank J. Rowbotham 



42, Loftus Road, Shepherds Bush, W., August 21 



Messrs. McAlpine's Atlases 



I DOUBT not but you will grant me the privilege of replying to 

 the remarks made by Prof. Parker under the above heading in 

 your last issue, and fortunately in doing so I will not require to 

 trespass much upon your valuable space. The letter deals first 

 with myself personally, then with the Atlases. 



With regard to his reference to my student history, it may 

 suffice to say that I had no connection with the Biological 

 Laboratory at South Kensington some three or four years ago. 

 I studied at the Royal School of Mines from 1S72 to 1875, 

 spending Session 1874-75 > n tne Biological Laboratory ; but as 

 to the alleged copying of diagrams of type dissections, how, I 

 a>-k, was this possible when, as far as known to me, such 

 drawings were not in existence. 



Again, his statement as to my having presented myself for 

 examination in the two following years, appearing each time a 

 place or two lower in the second class is equally destitute of 

 fact. I was re-examined in 1876 and 1S78, but instead of 

 appearing either higher or lower in the second class, 1 invariably 

 stood at the bottom of it. 



I need not dwell furdier upon a personal matter, and it will 

 not be necessary, after the above explanation, to say much about 

 the Atlases. The opinions expressed with regard to my work it 

 is not for me to call in question, but will simply content myself 

 with saying that it has been favourably commented on by 

 journals — scientific and medical, at hi me and in the colonies- 

 only one of which I quote. Prof. Parker speaks of my work as 

 being " of the most inaccurate and slovenly description," while 

 the Canadian Journal of Medical Science says : " The truthful- 

 ness, accuracy, and neatness which mark each of its pages 

 compel us to sperk in very high terms of this book." 



Folwarth Gardens, Edinburgh, July 31 D. McAlpine 



Orange Culture in Florida.— A correspondent inquires 

 for the best work on this subject ; perhaps some of our readers 

 may be able to answer. 



