n6 



SCIEXCE-GOSSIP. 



ZOOLOGY 



•Jm 



White Vipers. — Since my letter about the 

 white viper, two more, almost exactly identical with 

 that recorded by me [ante, p. 92), have been killed 

 within a hundred yards of the spot where the other 

 was seen. They measure eighteen and • twenty 

 inches respectively, and were killed on the out- 

 skirts of a dense patch of heather and gorse in 

 which several vipers of the ordinary colour have 

 been killed in previous years. — /. T. Pym, Foxuvld, 

 Brasted, Kent ; June jth, 1894. 



White Viper. — During April I visited Lingfield 

 Chart a continuance westward of the same low hills 

 and a few miles from Brasted, where Mr. Pym 

 records a variety of Pelias bents, and there saw a 

 similar variety. It was really beautiful, the 

 contrast between the cream ground colour and the 

 deep black being very distinct. Is there a local 

 race in that district or is some special protection 

 there needed ? I shall in future look closely for 

 other specimens whenever in that neighbourhood. 

 Does anyone know where Bell' s white variety was 

 originally observed. — Hy. J. Turner, 13, Brakefell 

 Road, Hatcham, S.E. ; June, 1S94. 



Racer Crabs. — A friend of m in e, a master of a 

 steamer, recently arrived from Lagos, West Coast 

 of Africa, has brought me a curious Crustacean 

 which proves to be Ocypode cursor, and is, as its 

 name implies, a swift runner. He saw it running 

 about on the sand and carefully approached within 

 a yard of it, when it darted away ; after making 

 several ineffectual attempts to capture it, he lost all 

 patience and shot it with a charge of small shot, as 

 he was out shooting small birds at the time. The 

 great peculiarity of this crab is the position of the 

 eyes which are upon and around two stalks about 

 J inch long. These stalks terminate in a " brush " 

 of stiff hairs about £ inch long. It does not seem 

 to be definitely known what are the uses of these 

 hairs. Stebbing, in his " Crustacea," seems to 

 think they are connected with the auditory- nerves : 

 it also has the orifices of the branchiae between the 

 first and second pairs of legs which I believe is an 

 arrangement common to the genus. I find they 

 have no representative of this species at South 

 Kensington. — W. Manger, 100, Manor Road, New 

 Cross; May 26th, 1894. 



Scymnus pulchellus in SUFFOLK. — In search- 

 ing for coleoptera during the early part of last 

 month, in this parish, I had the good fortune to 

 take in numbers the very rare insect Scymnus 

 pulchellus = 4 lunulaius. In order to make perfectly 

 sure that I had determined it accurately I 

 forwarded a carded specimen to the Rev. Canon 

 Fowler, of Lincoln, who replied stating my deter- 

 mination was correct. I believe it has been taken 

 once or twice before in England, but only singly. 

 I have secured up to the present time ninety-one 

 specimens, which are all carded, and doubtless if 

 I desired I could obtain more. They were taken off 

 the Pinus sylvestris by beating. All were taken off 

 one particular tree, and although I searched 

 diligently upon trees of the same kind, many of 

 which were growing in close proximity, not one 



could I find upon them. I have taken as many as 

 six at one time in my net with one stroke of my 

 stick I use for beating purposes. I shall be 

 happy, as far as I can, to supply entomological 

 friends and correspondents who may wish to 

 possess this rarity, and are willing to assist me in my 

 desiderata. Should any application be made to me 

 and not replied to, it must be understood that my 

 supply is exhausted. — Frederick Fox, Coddenham, 

 lham Market, Suffolk ; June xiih, 1894. 



A Nightingale in North Wales. — A nightin- 

 gale (Daulias luscinia) has honoured us with a visit 

 here. I find on enquiry' that it is many years since 

 a similar event has taken place. The bird was 

 first heard on May 10th, in a coppice called 

 Wepre Wood, situated on the slopes of a small 

 valley, through which runs a little stream. This 

 valley is spanned by a bridge, on which crowds of 

 people congregated, night after night, to listen to 

 music which many had never heard before. I 

 believe the crowd amounted at one time to nearly a 

 thousand, many coming from Flint, Holywell and 

 other places, in waggonettes, carts and conveyances 

 of ever}- description. The bird continued to sing, 

 dispite all this, until Sunday, May 27th, on which 

 day some people living in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of its haunt decided to drive it away. This 

 they apparently effectually accomplished, provoked 

 to it by the damage done to their gardens and 

 fences by the crowd, and not by thoughtless 

 cruelty. The curious thing is that the bird actually 

 commenced to sing again on May 31st. The 

 novelty' having somewhat worn off, it was allowed 

 comparative peace, and I sincerely hope will nest 

 here, as I believe the hen bird to be with it.- — 

 A. H. Bastin, E-aioe Wood, Nort/iop, Flints. 



The Mollusca of the Lake District. — 

 Through the kindness of the Rev. H. A. Mac- 

 pherson, of Carlisle, I have been enabled to see 

 the paper by Miss Donald on "The Land and 

 Fresh-water Shells of Cumberland and Westmore- 

 land," referred to by Mr. Murray, of Whitehaven, 

 in the June number of Science-Gossip (p. 92), 

 and I find from it that with the single exception of 

 Sphzrium corneum, L., mentioned as being found 

 in the Derwent at Piel Wyke (a locality I have 

 searched in vain for it), I have taken all the species 

 listed for this district, and have considerably added 

 to the number. During the past few weeks I have 

 taken the following further additions to those men- 

 tioned in my communications on this subject (ante 

 pp. 58 and 92) : Helix pulchella, Mull. — Curiously 

 enough I have found this species only on the roof 

 of an old building in Bassenthwaite village living 

 amongst the moss-grown slates ; Pupa anglica. 

 Far. — Fine and very dark specimens amongst 

 moss on the banks of Chapel Beck, Bassenthwaite ; 

 Aricula lineata, Drap. — I was much pleased to find 

 a specimen of this species whilst searching for the 

 above, and on taking home a basket full of the 

 moss, drying it in the oven and sifting thoroughly, 

 I found no less than fort}' adult specimens, as well 

 as manv young. — W.J. Farrer (Capt.), Chapel He 

 Bassenthwaite ; June, 1894. 



Notes on Shellness. — The following lines are 

 penned in the hope that they may be of use to 

 someone who wants to collect shells as well as 

 spend a pleasant sea-side holiday. Since 1784, 

 when Boys and Walker published their book on 

 the small shells found near Sandwich, the Shellness 

 beach has been a well-known hunting ground, and 

 is still worth visiting. For this purpose Deal is 

 the best place to stay at, as it is easily accessible 



