SCIENCE-GOSSIP 



109 



PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE NATTRALIST. 



'THE accompanying figure is a reproduction of 

 a micro-photograph taken by Lieut. -Col. 

 Linlay Blathwayt, F.L.S., of Batheaston, Bath. 

 It is a representation of hairs from the larva 

 of Tiresias serra, a small beetle of the family 

 Dermestidae. The larva: in this family are peculiar 

 in their hairiness, and Tiresias is no exception ; the 

 last four segments of the body are clothed with 

 thick tufts of very long and delicate hairs, which 

 are finely feathered and end in a sort of blunt 

 spear-head, with four round knobs at the base, 

 below which is a small cup. The larva, which 

 has the power of erecting these hairs and spread- 

 ing them out like a fan, is figured by Westwood in 

 his "Classification of Insects," p. 156, figs. 14, 18. 

 Most of the photographs 

 that have been sent for 

 reproduction have been 

 micro-photographs, but 

 we see no reason why 

 naturalists should not 

 utilise the camera more 

 than they do for larger 

 objects. There is no 

 limit to the subjects 

 that, if successfully 

 focussed and exposed, 

 would be of interest 

 and assistance to the 

 student. Why should 

 not the botanist supple- 

 ment his dried specimens 

 of certain plants by 

 photographs of the 

 living specimens in the 

 place where they grew ? 

 There are many subjects 

 — trees, bushes and 



climbers — of which he can only include minute 

 portions in his herbarium ; but if with these he 

 had a good photograph of the complete plant, a 

 new value would be given to his specimens, for it 

 could be seen at a glance whether the species grew 

 solitarily or in masses, erect or trailing, on hedge- 

 banks, rocks, by streams, or otherwise. 



To the lepidopterist the camera should be very 

 useful, inter alia, for depicting larvae in their 

 natural positions on the food plant, and at different 

 periods of growth. The conchologist might, in 

 addition to his collection of shells, keep an album 

 of photographs of living snail and shell combined. 

 The oologist, instead of being content with his 

 clutch of eggs might have a faithful picture of the 

 nest in situ, before the eggs were removed. The 

 geologist can carry away from a section, not 

 merely specimens of its fossils, but an undeveloped 



Hairs from Larv 

 Magnified 



negative showing the position of the beds and 

 their dip. 



It were idle to multiply instances of the camera's 

 potential aid to the naturalist in almost any 

 section ; the few we have mentioned will imme- 

 diately suggest to the reader ways in which he 

 could utilise such an instrument. If proof of its 

 practical value be needed let him glance at those 

 magnificent photographs of living corals and 

 sea-anemones taken by Mr. Savile Kent for his 

 work on "The Great Barrier Reef," or at Mr. 

 Gambier Bolton's portraits of mammals, published 

 in Major Nott's " Wild Animals." 



Probably the majority of our readers are mem- 

 bers of local scientific societies, and many are in 

 the habit of reading 

 notes or delivering 

 lectures upon some 

 phase or other of our 

 work. All such know 

 the labour involved in 

 preparing diagrams on 

 a scale sufficiently large 

 to enable their audience 

 clearly to follow their 

 remarks. The possessor 

 of negatives taken from 

 the natural objects 

 themselves can, in a 

 comparatively few 

 minutes, prepare a lan- 

 tern slide that will 

 enable him, with the aid 

 of the lantern, to throw 

 a greatly enlarged figure 

 upon the screen, giving 

 every detail of form and 

 marking. Even so small 

 an object as a fruiting moss may, without any aid 

 from the microscope, be so successfully photo- 

 graphed natural size, that, when enlarged upon the 

 screen, it will stand forth as a living thing, showing 

 the character of the leaves and stem, habit of growth, 

 form of capsule and calyptra, even of the peristome 

 in many cases. For some years I have made such 

 slides of mosses and the larger fungi, and found 

 them most useful for lecturing purposes. 



In many societies the value of the lantern in 

 scientific demonstration is properly understood, 

 although a few years ago it was regarded as a toy, 

 suitable only for the amusement of children. An 

 optical lantern should now form part of the outfit 

 of every scientific society, and an officer should be 

 specially appointed to have charge of it. 



Edward Step. 

 The Mays, Epsom ; June yth, 1894. 



a of Tiresias serra. 

 160 diameters. 



