SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



211 



Photographing Rock-pools. — On page 138, 

 Science-Gossip, August, Mr. Welch speaks of 

 photographing rock-pools. Would he help amateurs 

 by explaining best arrangement of camera for this 

 purpose? — J. Maxwell, Peckham; October, 2.2nd, 1894. 



Five-leaved Clover. — On September the 26th 

 last, Miss Jane Woolas, of Exminster, found a five- 

 leaved clover. Are any of your readers aware of a 

 prior record of such a find ? — A . Henwood Teague, 

 F.L.S., Collegiate School, Penzance, Cornwall; October 

 1 6th, 1894. 



Antlers. • — There are still nearly one hundred head 

 of deer — the original deer of Epping Forest — as well 

 as the red deer which were found there in former 

 times and have lately been re-introduced with good 

 effect. An old forester or rather inhabitant, who 

 knows every inch of ground in the forest, informs 

 me, in answer to an enquiry as to cast antlers, that 

 although he has known the forest thoroughly for 

 nearly sixty years he has never found an entire cast 

 antler, and he says positively that the deer bury 

 them in the dead leaves and mould, turning them out 

 in the hard weather to gnaw. In proof of this he 

 asserts small portions of such gnawed antlers have 

 been picked up from the snow in places where the 

 deer have been over night. This may be taken for 

 what it is worth. As to the absence of cast antlers I 

 can speak personally, having searched for them 

 during March, April and May, frequently. I shall 

 be glad to know, however, if what is noticeable in 

 Epping Forest is, or is not, borne out in other 

 parts of the country, where the deer are not kept in 

 a semi-domestic well-fed condition all the year 

 round. — F.W. Halfpenny, Forest Gate. 



Proliferous Rush. — Enclosed herewith you 

 will find specimens of a plant which I found 

 growing plentifully at Colintraive, Kyles of Bute, 

 yesterday. It seems to me to be a variety of 

 Juncus siipinus, Moench, with proliferous heads. I 

 am not aware that any of the British Junci has 

 been recorded in this state. Asa Gray, in his 

 " American Manual of Botany," states two species, 

 viz., Juncus pelocarpus, E. Meyer, and /. acuminatus, 

 Michx, which have proliferous heads. Perhaps 

 some of the readers of Science-Gossip may be 

 able to give some particulars regarding this form 

 of rush. You might also kindly say if I am right 

 in regarding it as a variety of Juncus supinus. — 

 /. Ballantyne, Corporation Gas Works, Rothesay; 

 21st September, 1S94. 



[The specimens sent by Mr. Ballantyne are 

 Juncus articulatus, L., sub. sp. supinus, Moench, and 

 they are exceedingly proliferous, not merely from 

 the heads, but also from the obscure joints. In 

 Hooker and Arnott's "British Flora" (Sth Ed. 

 i860), the authors say of this species, under the 

 name of J. uliginosus, Sibth. : " sometimes the stems 

 are spreading or procumbent (/. subverticillatus, 

 Wulf ) " ; again, " these procumbent stems often take 

 root," which is probably a mistake for "become 

 proliferous." We have found it years ago in 

 similar condition on Wimbledon Common.— 

 Eds. S.-G.] 



New Microbes. — Dr. V. Von Klecki has 

 described five new microbes, which he has isolated 

 from rancid butter by first cultivating in plates, 

 and then transferring to tubes. In every case the 

 cultivations were submitted to microscopical 

 examination. They were grown in milk-pepton- 

 gelatine and in milk stained with litmus. Those 

 cultivations which had acidified milk were further 

 examined in Petri's capsules, or on ordinary plates. 

 When thoroughly pure, they were further examined 

 on other media. 



Messrs. Sinel and Hornell, of the Biological 

 Laboratory, Jersey, have hit on a happy idea in the 

 issue of a subscription series of fourteen specially- 

 prepared microscopical slides of rare and interest- 

 ing marine animals. Each series is completed in 

 one year, the slides being sent out in quarterly 

 instalments, and with each of the instalments are 

 issued twenty-four to twenty-eight pages of 

 descriptive matter, dealing in pleasant but exact 

 manner with the anatomy, life history and habits of 

 the respective animals, together with from two to 

 four full-page photo-engravings, all original and 

 drawn from nature, many, too, being coloured. 

 Every student of marine zoology should write for 

 fuller particulars. 



Insect Sight. — Mr. A. Mallock is led by his 

 observations and calculations (Journ. Roy. Micros. 

 Soc, Aug.), to conclude that insects do not see 

 well, at any rate as regards their power of defining 

 distant objects, and their behaviour favours this 

 view. They have, however, an advantage over 

 simple eyed animals, in the fact that there is hardly 

 any practical limit to the nearness of the objects 

 they can examine. With the composite eye, the 

 closer the object the better the sight, for the greater 

 will be the number of lenses employed to produce 

 the impression ; in the simple eye, on the other 

 hand, the focal length of the lens limits the distance 

 at which a distinct view can be obtained. Of the 

 various forms of insects examined, the best eye 

 would give a picture about as good as if executed 

 in rather coarse woolwork, and viewed at a distance 

 of a foot. 



Mounting Small Objects in Cells. — Mr. W. 

 Patten mounts a large number of objects under one 

 cover, in perfect order and in any desired position, 

 in the following manner : — A cell of the requisite 

 dimensions is constructed, and small drops, close 

 together in rows, of thick collodion and clove oil 

 are placed therein. An egg of Limulus, or head of 

 insect embryo, etc., is taken out of the clove oil, 

 drained, and placed in a drop of collodion in any 

 desired position. A great many eggs may thus be 

 arranged like serial sections under one cover-glass. 

 Before adding the balsam, the slide is immersed in 

 turpentine, which serves to wash away the clove 

 oil and leave the eggs firmly fixed in the collodion. 

 The only precaution necessary is not to use too 

 much collodion. It is surprising to find the small 

 amount requisite, and the firmness with which the 

 objects are held in place by it. 



