136 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. XXII. No. 553 



tendon pass to the third and fourth toes, some of the 

 fibres go to the second toe, while few, if any, are sent to 

 the fifth.) 



But occasionally this muscle inserts entirely into the 

 tendon of the M. flexor longus hallucis. The significance 

 of this condition will be apparent when we examine the 

 arrangement of the f)arts in the cat. But first let us take 

 a glance at anthropoid anatomy. Among the apes 

 the flexor accessorius is wanting. The flexor longus hallu- 

 cis, instead of the flexor longus digitorum pedis, supplies 

 the perforating tendons for the third and fourth toes, and 

 in Hylobates, for even the second j^halanx as well. In 

 this way it helps out the latter muscle, which supplies, in 

 these cases, only the second and the fifth phalanges, or 

 only the fifth phalanx, while the hallux receives usually 

 only a slender tendon, which, according to Bischoff, is en- 

 tirely absent in the orang. This miiscle (fl. accessorius) 

 seems to be a portion of the primitive M. flexor fibiilaris, 

 which has given rise to the two muscles, flexor long, hal- 

 lucis and flexor long, digit, pedis. The accessory portion 

 is not sjjlit oft' in the apes, — it is, in the case of man as 

 well as in the cat, and here its point of origin has grown 

 distad until all connection with the leg has been lost, ex- 

 cept in those infrequent cases where it still passes up 

 over the median face of the calcaneum into the region of 

 the leg. In both man and the cat it strengthens the ac- 

 tion of the two combined flexors of the digits, and by its 

 lateral pull gives a different direction to their action. 

 Innervation through N. plantaris lateralis (external plan- 

 tar). 



In Felis the accessorius is both less strongly developed 

 and more transverse to the foot axis, in its course, than 

 in man, and it is frequently entirely fibrous without any 

 muscular tissue, i. e., reduced to a mere ligament. When 

 well developed it forms a small flattened plate which 

 arises from the inferior portion of the external faces of the 

 calcaneum and cuboid, from whence it passes inwards and 

 downwards, posterior to the fused tendons of the Mm. 

 flexor longus digitorum pedis and flexor longus hallucis 

 to near where they fuse, at which place it inserts into the 

 internal border of the tendon of the flexor long, hallucis. 

 Usually the insertion is not confined to the internal bor- 

 der of this tenden but involves a greater jaortion of the 

 broad tendinous plate formed by the fusion of the ten- 

 dons of the two digital flexors above named. The fusion 

 of their tendons practically makes a single muscle out of 

 these two toe flexors. This is equally true of man. This 

 fact helps to explain the varying insertion in man from a 

 mechanical standpoint. 



Briefly summarized. — The accessorius in man usually 

 presents a muscular body, which, however, may be absent, 

 while in the cat it is often absent and normally of much 

 feebler development than in man. In the human subject 

 the insertion is usually into the external border of the 

 flexor longus digitorum pedis, though it may be entirely 

 into that of the flexor longus hallucis, while in the cat the 

 usual and best developed insertion is into the tendon of 

 the latter muscle. 



In conclusion, the muscle is an old friend, both in cat 

 and man. Howabd Aykes. 



The Lake Laboratory, Milwaukee, Aug. 24, 1893. 



There had previously been no sign of blight or dis- 

 ease, whatever, which could have caused the cotton to 

 droop. 



The rows run north and south, and five were affected; 

 three for nearly a rod, the one on the east half that distance, 

 and the fifth on the west very little, only two or three of 

 the tallest plants being affected. 



By common consent of those who saw the cotton it was 

 agreed to be the work of the thunderbolt, and was so 

 noted. No place where violence was done could be 

 found in the soil. 



Frequent observation during the first month has failed 

 to see any increase in the blasted circle. In the whole 

 space twenty-five or thirty plants have died, while others 

 have low branches thriving and bearing fruit and flowers. 

 If a fungus has done it some plants have resisted in part 

 and succumbed in part, or the fungus has but partially 

 done its work. 



My notion of a discharge from an electrified cloud is 

 that the interchange between it and the earth charged 

 with the opposite j^ole is carried on by every leaf and 

 point not repellant to the fluid; that if any plant from 

 a tender anniial up get more of the electric fluid than it 

 can safely carry it will be injured according to the 

 strength of the overcharge, even to total destruction, in- 

 volving ajjpearance of great physical violence, if the 

 charge is heavy; and that the discharges take the line of 

 least resistance, according to the common explanation of 

 the zigzag course of lightning. 



If this notion of lightning discharges is correct, is not 

 the supposition that this particular occurrence is due to 

 lightning based on tenable ground ? Might not a bolt of 

 lightning descend obliquely from one side or other, and 

 when near the earth be deflected upward, but yet come 

 near enough to the ground to destroy the life in the tall- 

 est of those plants while not destroying the low laterals 

 of the shorter plants ? Or may not this discharge be 

 considered as having entered the earth through those 

 plants with the observed effect to destroy so many of the 

 first conductors — the tallest ones — and nearly all of the 

 others nearest at hand; while of those furthest out only 

 the highest points were harmed ? Feank E. Emery. 



Raleigh, N. C, Aug". 26. 



Damage to Cotton by Lightninq. 



On July 26, 1893, during a thunder storm there was 

 one heavy report noticed in the direction of some cotton 

 plats. The bolt seemed to have "struck" near the plats. 

 The next day a spot in the midst of the plats was found 

 where the most succulent parts of the plants were wilt- 

 ing. Examination showed no visible injury as the cause. 



On Some Nesting Habits of the American Goldfinch. 



It is probably a truth that every ornithologist has 

 some bird which is his particular care to study ; and being 

 myself no exception to the rule, I thought perhajjs a few 

 notes on the nesting habits of the American Goldfinch, 

 observed while collecting a large series of their nests and 

 eggs, might be acceptable to the readers of Science. 



Although found in southern Michigan throughout the 

 winter in scattered flocks, it delaj's nesting until the latter 

 part of July or the first of August. On studying the nests 

 of the Goldfinch all will be found to be at least slightly 

 different, yet there seem to be two distinct patterns in 

 their architecture. The first and most common form is 

 massively built and forms a thick cushioned receptacle 

 for the eggs. An example of this class, which I have be- 

 fore me, has walls about an inch thick, while the distance 

 to the bottom of the crotch in which it is situated is about 

 three inches. The whole mass is composed of very fine 

 fibres and thistle-down; and as this pattern of nest is usual- 

 ly situated where the twigs are thickest, it may easily be 

 seen what a useful purpose it serves in deadening the force 

 of a sudden blow or jar, which might otherwise result 

 disastrously to the eggs. A two-storied nest of this kind 

 I found in a blackberry bush on August 3, The lower 



