SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



219 



Bulletin de la Societio Philomatio,ue uh 

 Paris. (Paris, 1895.) I n an illustrated article on 

 the salivary glands of Apis mellifica, neuter and 

 female, M. L. Bordas, D.Sc, describes the six 

 glands possessed by bees of the neuter gender, and 

 the action of the secretions. He also gives an 

 account of the same glands in the males which 

 differ from those of the neuters. 



Trinidad Field Naturalists' Club (Port of 

 Spain, August, 1S95). — M r - T. D. A. Cockerell gives 

 a description of a new Lecanium from Trinidad. 

 The name is Lecanium uricki, and it is described as 

 being "red-brown, very shiny, nearly circular, 

 moderately convex, the segments marked on upper 

 surface by black or blackish transverse lines 

 interrupted at regular intervals." There are some 

 "Notes on Scale Insects," by Mr. F. W. Urich, 

 F.E.S., giving an account of a variety of Dactylopius 

 virgatus, which is new to the fauna of Trinidad. 

 This number contains the second part of Mr. 

 Ewen's article on "The Economic Uses of the 

 Compositse." 



Proceedings of the Portland Society of 

 Natural History (Portland, Maine, U.S.A., vol. 

 ii., part 3, 1895.) This part constitutes a Supplement 

 to the Portland Catalogue of Maine Plants, by Merritt 

 L. Fernald. The author states that there has never 

 been a time when botanical science has had so large 

 a following in Maine as at present. The active 

 botanists in this State numbering considerably over 

 one hundred. It is satisfactory to find that their 

 labours have added so many as 158 species or 

 varieties to the Maine flora. Mr. Fernald, who is 

 attached to the Gray Herbarium at Cambridge, 

 Mass, refers to the conscientious attention which is 

 given by the Maine botanists to the investigation of 

 their local flora ; especially does this apply to work 

 by Messrs. E. L. Rand and J. H. Redfield. 



Feuilles des Jeunes Naturalistes. (Paris, 

 September, 1895.) M. Bavay continues his articles 

 on " The Collection of Mollusca." In this number 

 he writes of the habits of hermit crabs which inhabit 

 empty shells, also of the Pelargic Mollusca, that 

 float on the ocean, and the freshwater species. 

 Prof. J. J. Kieffer has an illustrated article on 

 " Observations upon the Nymphs of Cecidomyies." 

 1 le gives an account of the best means of preparing 

 them for observation, and goes on to describe the 

 places where they can be found. Many he said 

 change into cecid on the plants on which they 

 feed, but the greater number bury themselves in 

 the earth for the metamorphis. M. Cassman com- 

 mences in this number a series of articles giving an 

 analytical and critical account of Paleoncology, in 

 which he will analyze. the principal works appear- 

 ing upon this branch of science. His first article 

 consists of analysis of "Die triadischen Gastro- 

 poden der Marmolata, und verwandter Fundstellen 

 in den weissen Riffkalken Siidtirols," by M. Ernst 

 Kittl, a book published in Vienna in 1894, anc l °f 

 "The Pliocene Mollusca" of New Zealand, by 

 F. W. Hutton. 



The Proceedings- of the Royal Society of 

 Queensland (Brisbane, 1895) contains a paper "On 

 the Mandible of Zygomatus," by Mr. C. W. de Vis ; 

 in it he gives his reasons for questioning the judg- 

 ment of Sir R. Owen in pionouncing the fossil 

 shell named by Macleay Zygomaturus, to be but the 

 cranium belonging to his own Notolherum man- 

 dibles. There are also some " Botanic Notes," by 

 Mr. F. M. Bailey, F.L.S., in which he ^ives a 

 description of four new orchids recently received 

 by him. 



Bulletin de la Society Royale Linneene 

 de Bruxelles. (Brussels, June and July 1895) 

 M. Edward Couturier, in an article on Orchards, 

 gives an account of the best kinds of soil for the 

 growth of fruit trees, the mode of the grafting and 

 the arrangements necessary to ensure healthy 

 growth and fine fruit. In an article on the insects 

 of the cabbage, M. J. Hesnault writes of the larvae 

 of coleoptera and lepidoptera that attack and feed 

 on cabbages. He gives in each case the best means 

 of destroying these enemies. 



The Canadian Entomologist (London, 

 Ontario ; September, 1895) is an exceptionally 

 good number ; it contains an important article by 

 Mr. W. H. Edwards, of Coalburgh, on " Collecting 

 Butterflies in Western Colorado, with a particular 

 account of certain Papilios. ' ' He writes of a trip taken 

 by himself and Mr. David Bruce, another entomo- 

 logist, to Glenwood Springs, in 1894, to continue 

 some experiments commenced by Mr Bruce in 

 1888, on the dimorphism of certain Papilios. Mr. 

 Edwards considers that Papiliobairdii and P. ore- 

 gonia are dimorphic forms of the same species ; 

 there being nothing like this dimorphism in the 

 North American butterfly fauna. Mr. H. F. 

 Wickham, Iowa City, continues his articles on "The 

 Coleoptera of Canada." His subject in this month's 

 is " The Cleridas of Ontario and Quebec." There 

 are four illustrations. Some " Miscellaneous Notes 

 on Coccidae are given by Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, 

 Las Cruces, Mexico. 



Proceedings of the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, 1S95). 

 Professor T. D. A. Cockerell has an article on 

 " Some New Bees of the Genus Perdita." There 

 are, he says, thirteen given species of Perdita, of 

 which, however, four are considered only doubtfully 

 referable to the genus. Mr. J. B. Ellis gives an 

 account of some missing specimens of Pyrenomy- 

 cetes mentioned in the preface to " The North 

 American Pyrenomycetes." These specimens were 

 found in a package which had lain unnoticed for 

 some years in the Herbarium of the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. They are evidently 

 authentic, the papers in which the)' are wrapped 

 being marked in Schweinitz's handwriting, with the 

 abbreviation L.V.S. (for Ludivocus von Schweinitz) . 

 Mr. Ellis has given short notes on each species to 

 enable some of the Schweinitzian species that have 

 hitherto been only imperfectly understood to be 

 recognized. Mr. Gilbert D. Harris gives an 

 account of some " New and otherwise interesting 

 Tertiary Mollusca from Texas." He says that in 

 the lower Claiborne beds there are many fossil 

 shells, some of forms which are still common 

 in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and South 

 Carolina. There are also some new forms which 

 he describes in detail. "The Eocene Tertiary of 

 Texas east of the Brazos River " is described by 

 Mr. William Kennedy in a lengthy article. 



