44 



SCIEXCE-GOSSIP. 



yg|ifg| |J^y|M 



ZOOLOGY 



Birds' Eggs at South Kensington. — An 

 exhibit of birds' eggs has recently been added to 

 the Central Hall of the Natural History Museum, 

 at South Kensington. The exhibit is distinctly 

 educational in character, the structure of the egg 

 being shown by diagramatic section, and the 

 varieties of form, size, colour and material by 

 specimens. 



Hybrid Sparrow. — At a recent meeting of the 

 Linnean Society, a wild hybrid between the house- 

 sparrow and the tree-sparrow, was exhibited on 

 behalf of the Rev. J. G. Tuck, of Tostock, near 

 Bury St. Edmunds. Several instances are on 

 record of these species interbreeding in captivity, 

 but only one other wild hybrid sparrow is known 

 to have been captured. 



Oology ix Caxada. — " Bird-Nesting in North- 

 West Canada " is the title of a book to be published 

 by the Sun Printing Company of Toronto, Canada, 

 during the coming summer. It will be by Walter 

 Raine, and should be welcome to many European 

 naturalists who are interested in the distribution of 

 birds. Among the coloured plates we are promised 

 figures of eggs of the knot, which it is said have 

 not been previously illustrated. The price will be 

 ios. 6d., but subscribers previous to June 30th need 

 only send 6s. 6d., which includes postage. 



Black-veined White Butterfly in Exglaxd. 

 — Bearing in mind the great scarcity and probable 

 earlj" extinction of Aporia cratagi in this country, it 

 may be well to place on record the fact that during 

 the second week of July, 1889, I observed a fine 

 specimen of this insect in the New Forest. It 

 passed in leisurely flight almost within arm's length, 

 and had not my attention been diverted at the 

 moment I should have effected an easy capture. 

 — C. H. Watson, Streatham Hill, S. W. ; Feb. 1894. 



The Opisthostom.^. — Land shells are commonly 

 smooth, marine ones are not uncommonly spiny, 

 and the tropical littoral fauna, as exemplified in the 

 crabs, exhibit a tendency to become terrestrial, 

 whence one would suppose that these spiny gastro- 

 pods are a marine type which is not yet adapted to 

 aerial existence. The same thin g might be 

 assuredly inferred in respect to the spiny fresh- 

 water shells which have ascended rivers or have 

 been enclosed in lakes. Can am- conchologist give 

 the names of their marine ancestors ? — A . H. 

 ton, Villa Flora, Monireux; Feb. 28th, 1894. 



Protective Colouratiox in Crustacea. — 

 Professor W. A. Herd man, of the Biological 

 Station, Port Erin, Isle of Man, has been making 

 some interesting observations on the protective 

 colouration of Virbius varians, a small prawn. This 

 little crustacean resembles the green, red and 

 brown seaweeds with which it is associated, on 

 sandy or gravelly bottoms, but there has been 

 some question as to the extent to which adult 

 specimens have the power to change their tints. 

 During 1893, many mdividuals of various colours 



were kept under observation in the laboratory, in 

 jars with seaweeds of different colours, a variety 

 of backgrounds,' and degrees of intensity of light. 

 The results go to prove that the adult can, slowly 

 but very thoroughly, change its colour to harmonize 

 with its environment. The alteration in colour is 

 said to be due to changes in the size and arrange- 

 ment of the pigment granules of the chromatophores. 

 which again may be the result of nerve action 

 dependent upon light, or of the direct action of 

 light upon the integument. 



Swaxs upox Lake Lemax. — Cygnus olor, domesti- 

 cated at Geneva in 1838, has since 1857 bred at 

 liberty. During the winter frost, individuals, wild 

 in behaviour, circle the basin where the gulls are 

 clamouring for crumbs and the grebes are diving 

 for garbage. Their nursery is at Villeneuve, where 

 last winter the skaters on the rink at sandwich time, 

 might have noticed two parents heading a flotilla 

 of five grey cygnets, steal round the reed}- point in 

 the warm sunshine and stand across the glassy 

 calm in the direction of the white walls of Chillon 

 Castle. — A.H. Sainton, Villa Flora, Montreux, 5 ttzer- 

 land; Feb. 13th, 1894. 



Protective Mimicry ix Strombus. — At the 

 February meeting of the Cambridge Philosophical 

 Society, Mr. A. H. Cooke called attention to the 

 fact that the shells of Strombus mauritianus, L., 

 and S. luhuanus, L., differ from those of all other 

 Strombi in their close resemblance to the shells 

 of Conns, a genus with which they are known to 

 live. Strombus is herbivorous with small and weak 

 teeth, whilst Conns is carnivorous with very large, 

 barbed teeth, and provided with a poison bag and 

 duct. It was suggested that this resemblance must 

 tend greatly to the advantage of Strombus, since the 

 dangerous properties of Conus would tend to prevent 

 its being touched by predatory fishes. 



Mild Wixter of 1894. — We have seen, and also 

 received records of, many instances indicating an 

 early spring following the exceptionally open 

 winter just closing in England. Several trees of a 

 species of hawthorn growing in the London parks 

 have been in green leaf since the end of February. 

 Entomologists are recording early appearances of 

 spring moths, some being quite excep :: oal Some 

 hibernating insects have been met with in an active 

 state all through the winter. Certain late autumn 

 species of moths have continued far into January- . 

 Young starlings and other birds were hatched in 

 January-. Among flowers, some of the earlier, such 

 as coltsfoot, green-hellebore and others, flowered 

 in February and earlv March. Sallows have been 

 in bloom in sheltered spots within easy reach of 

 London since February. 



Secoxd brood of Purple Emperor Butter- 

 fly. — Between the 2nd and 9th of August, 1893, I ' 

 found in the New Forest four specimens of Apatu a 

 larvae, all of which were in the second stage of 

 growth and quite a month in advance of the usual 

 time. On returning home I sleeved them on a 

 healthy- sallow, but lost one individual within a 

 fortnight ; probably- from the attacks of earwigs 

 which swarmed in the garden. At the end of 

 September only three larvae were visible, one being 

 full fed, another in the fourth skin, whilst the third 

 had only reached the third stage. On October 7th, 

 only two larvae remained — the full-fed one, which 

 was in healthy condition, and another, afflicted 

 with purging. The latter died a few days after- 

 wards. As the nights were growing colder I 



