Mabch 26, 1909] 



SCIENCE 



503 



Ealando for Rolando, and page 180 in the last 

 line of has been omitted. 



An important adjunct to the work is the 

 well-chosen list of original papers which is 

 given at the end of the outline for each gen- 

 eral subject. While not intended to be ex- 

 haustive it is thoroughly representative and 

 includes all that the student could possibly 

 utilize to advantage at this stage of his de- 

 velopment. 



The voliime as a whole is a meritorious 

 contribution from a skiUful teacher and is a 

 welcome addition to the histological labora- 

 tory. Michael F. Guyer 



The Fauna of May-field's Gave. By Arthur 

 M. Banta. Pp. 114, with plates, map of the 

 cave, figures and tables. Published by the 

 Carnegie Institution, Washington, D. 0., 

 September, 1907. 



Mayfield's Cave is in Monroe County, Indi- 

 ana, 4.5 miles northwest of Bloomington, the 

 location of the Indiana University. It has 

 often been visited, and its contents have been 

 described in part by Bellman, Hay, Blatch- 

 ley. Call, Eigenmann and others. What has 

 been admirably done by Arthur M. Banta is 

 to visit it on an average once a week during 

 eight months in all, covering different seasons 

 of the years, 1903, 1904 and 1905, using the 

 strong, steady light of a carbide bicycle lamp, 

 observing all phenomena, noting the tempera- 

 ture and air currents, and in particular col- 

 lecting all varieties of animal life for detailed 

 study with the facilities afforded by the labor- 

 atory of the university and the expert aid of 

 C H. Eigenmann. Contours for the cave 

 map are by J. W. Beede, and the photographs 

 are by E. R. Cummings. Pull recognition of 

 work done by others is made in the introduc- 

 tion, and in a bibliography mentioning more 

 than 130 works and papers consulted. 



Mayfield's Cave is only a fourth of a mile 

 long, is from 6 to 20 feet wide, and is no- 

 where more than 12 feet high, while many 

 passages are mere crawl-ways. The roof is 

 usually flat and hard limestone, with small 

 domes here and there. The floor is strewn 

 with large and small fragments of stone, with 

 patches of gravel or soil, and occasional banks 



and mounds of earth. The excavation is in 

 the Mitchell limestone of the upper Subcar- 

 boniferous. The entrance is in a low bluff at 

 the head of a ravine once a part of the cave. 

 There are sink-holes without and springs 

 within, and in winter and spring a cave 

 stream flows through, which ceases to flow in 

 summer, leaving detached pools, parts of the 

 channel remaining moist and other parts be- 

 ing quite dry. The temperature of the earth 

 tends to counteract that of the air currents 

 from without, bringing the average to about 

 11.9° C, equalling the mean temperature of 

 the region. 



Cavern fauna depend on an irregular food- 

 supply and lead a precarious life. Flowing 

 water brings in algae, worms, insects, seeds 

 and other material; mammals and human 

 visitors leave various reminders; and fungus 

 grows abundantly on decaying organic matter. 

 Dry parts were poor collecting ground, while 

 better results were had in moist localities. 

 Most cave animals are scavengers. Some are 

 strays, or accidental visitors; others visit 

 voluntarily; while true cavemicola are classi- 

 fied as temporary, permanent and exclusive 

 residents— the latter never found elsewhere. 

 Banta also classifies them in their relation to 

 daylight, twilight and darkness. 



Sixty-six pages are devoted to detailed 

 scientific descriptions of the fauna of May- 

 field's Cave, under the heads of Mammalia, 

 Pisces, Insecta, Myriopoda, Arachnida, Crus- 

 tacea, Annelida, MoUusca and Turbellaria. 

 Six pages are filled by comparative tables of 

 species known to exist in Indiana caves as 

 compared with those found in this single 

 cave; the sum total being 138 species, 110 of 

 which exist in Mayfield's Cave. This is cer- 

 tainly remarkable. 



Of true cave fauna the most space is al- 

 lotted to the blind fish (Amblyopsis spelceus, 

 DeKay) concerning which curious experi- 

 ments were made as to its habits, anatomy 

 and its food as determined by inspecting the 

 contents of the stomach. Two varieties of 

 cave crawfish were found (Cambarus pelluci- 

 dus, Packard, and Cambarus pellucidus 

 testii. Hay) ; the distinction being the pres- 

 ence or the absence of spines. To the cave- 



