8o 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 





CONTRIBUTED BY G. 



GUDE. F.Z.S. 



Anxali del Museo Civico di Storia N aturale 

 Di Gexova. (Genoa: 1895. Volume xxxiv.) A 

 handsome portrait of the late Signor Andrea 

 Podesta forms the frontispiece to the first cited 

 volume. The voyage of Leonardo Fea, in 

 Burma continues to bear fruit in the present 

 volumes, in the shape of many important memoirs. 

 Mr. C. J. Gahan, of the British Museum, con- 

 tributes a list of the Longicorn Coleoptera, with 

 descriptions of new genera and species, occupj-ing 

 104 pages, vath i plate (English textj. Dr. R. 

 Blanchard treats of the Hirudinae (leeches), describ- 

 ing two new species ; M. A. L. JNIontandon, the 

 Hemiptera, vdth several new genera and species ; 

 Dr. A. Schobaut describes a new species of the 

 coleopterous genus R hip idius ; Herr J. Faust deals 

 with the Curculionidae (weevils), in a German 

 memoir of 218 pages ; M. A. de Bormans on 

 the Dermatoptera (earv^dgs) in French ; M. J. 

 Vachal describes new species of the hymen- 

 opterous genera, Halictus, Prosopis, AUodape and 

 Nomioides in French, with a discussion on their 

 taxonomic order ; Signor Carlo Emery enume- 

 rates the Ants, many of vrhich are new, and 

 Herr G. Budde-Lund, the terrestrial Isopoda ; 

 the Rev. H. S. Graham describes the Coccinellidae 

 in English, and !M. A. Grouvelle two new beetles 

 of the genus Rhysodes in French ; Mr. R. J. Pocock, 

 of the British Museum, reports on the Myriopoda 

 (English text). The v03'age of Signor Lamberto 

 Loria to the Papuan Region has also resulted in 

 many noteworthj- contributions to science. Of 

 these the Aradidae, a section of Hemiptera are 

 discussed in Latin by Herr E. Bergroth ; the Birds, 

 five nev.- species, by Signor T. Salvadori ; the 

 the Freshwater Fishes by Signor A. Perugia ; the 

 Brentidae (beetles) b}' Signor A. Senna. The 

 results of Dr. Elio Modigliani's travels in Sumatra 

 are also given : Signor L. Camerano treats of two 

 species of Gordius (worms) ; M. E. Candege, of 

 the Elateridae (clickbeetles), in French ; Herr L. von 

 Graff on the land-planarians, in German ; M. 

 Charles Kerremans on the Buprestidae (beetles), in 

 French; M. J. Richard on the Entomostraca, in 

 French. The collections made by the same traveller 

 in the Mentav,-ei Islands are treated of by 

 specialists : Mr. G. A. Boulenger, of the British 

 IMuseum, deals with the Reptiles and Batrachians, 

 in English ; Signor T. Salvadori, the Birds from 

 Sipora ; and Mr. Oldfield Thomas, the Z^Iammals, 

 also from Sipora. Other memoirs, the results of 

 various travellers' collections, are " On some 

 Mammals of Engano Island, West Sumatra," by 

 Mr. Oldfield Thomas, in English ; " On some new 

 species of the genus Coptosoma, from Australia and 

 New Guinea, belonging to the collection of the 

 Ci\-ic Museum of Genoa," b}' M. A. L. Montandon, 

 in French; ''Contributions to our knowledge of 

 the Diplopoda of Liguria,'' by Islr. R. J. Pocock ; 

 " Diagnoses of new species of Cave Miriapoda," 

 b}' Signor F. Silvestri ; "New Species of Anthicidae 

 (beetles)," by M. Maurice Pic; " Chilopoda and 

 Diplopoda from New Guinea," by Signor F. 



Silvestri ; " Cicindelae from Sumatra," by M. 

 W. Horn, in French ; "Chilopoda and Diplopoda, 

 collected by Captain G. Bove and Professor L. 

 Balzan in South America," by Signor F. Silvestri. 

 Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de 

 France. (Paris, April-June, 1896.) MM. Jules 

 de Guerne and R. Horst discuss a gigantic worm 

 from the Basses- Pyrenees. M. Louis Petit, in an 

 interesting article on "The Destruction of Birds," 

 states that at the present time the barbarous 

 fashion of decorating ladies' hats vrith birds is 

 fortunately on the decline. During the last two 

 years, he informs us, only wings and egrettes are 

 used (quite as bad) ; but as soon as the fashion 

 revives the provincial purveyors will recommence 

 their odious traffic, and thousands of these useful 

 and beautiful birds will be sacrificed to the vanity 

 of the weaker sex. S%vallows and swifts form a 

 large contingent of this wholesale massacre. After 

 close time in France, the author informs us, no 

 quail are allowed to be shot or offered for sale. 

 Quite right ; but of what use is this when their 

 destruction is authorized on the other side of the 

 ^Mediterranean ? One thing is certain, as soon as 

 the destruction of birds is stopped in France, the 

 caterers for this degrading traffic will start for 

 Algeria, as many have already done, and Tunisia, 

 v,-here thej- can kill and destroy vdthout let or 

 hindrance. One of the author's correspondents 

 assures him that during March every year quail 

 are killed by thousands in the en\-irons of Biskra, 

 Onargla, and other places. The author advocates 

 the formation of a committee with powers to 

 proceed against the offenders. It might be 

 suggested that a more efiicacious mode of pro- 

 cedure would be to make the traffic in birds killed 

 for personal adornment illegal, or, better still, to 

 make the wearing of them a penal offence ; but it 

 is to be feared our legislators are not yet prepared 

 for such drastic measures. Meanwhile, it is 

 gratifying to note this well-timed protest against a 

 barbarous custom on the other side of the 

 Channel, whence the goddess of fashion sends 

 her mandates to all parts of the ci\'ilized (?) 

 world. ISI. Armand Janet relates an interesting 

 instance of the adoption by a cat of a young 

 guinea-pig. A friend made him a present, for his 

 son, of tv.-o guinea-pigs, one thirty-four days old, 

 the other ninteen days, the latter not having been 

 weaned. They were placed vrith a cat v.-ho had 

 two kittens. Knowing that cats sometimes eat 

 guinea-pigs, they were carefully watched. The 

 cat was somewhat surprised at this intrusion, and 

 smelled the new-comers all over, but finally 

 allowed them to lie close to her on the straw. 

 Shortly after they were, however, removed. 

 Directly, the cat came crying to the door, and 

 upon its being opened, she entered at once and 

 took up the younger of the tv.'O guinea-pigs and 

 carried it to the box where her own offspring were 

 installed. She then tried to carry the older 

 guinea-pig, but as this resisted and squealed, it 

 was taken up bj' the o\Mier of the cat and placed 

 ^'.■ith the other. The cat v.-as now quite happy, 

 and impartially licked the guinea-pigs as well as 

 her kittens. They remained in the box with cat 

 and kittens during about a w-eek, and it was 

 obsen,-ed that the younger guinea-pig received a 

 fair share of the suckling. After a time they were 

 removed to a separate box, to which, however, 

 the cat still had access, and she still continued to 

 show her affection to her adopted children, coming 

 at once whenever they cried, and licking and 

 cleaning them just like her own offspring. 



