23* 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



1 SCIENCE Z1BR071D 





Natur dnd Haus (Berlin, October and Novem- 

 ber, 1894). — Herr Josef von Pleyel contributes an 

 interesting article on an Australian Parrot (Psittacus 

 undiilatus), illustrated by well-drawn woodcuts, 

 while Herr Max Hesdorffer describes the various 

 species of Iris in cultivation, five of which are 

 depicted. Collectors of fossil shells will find many 

 useful hints in an article by Herr Cronberger. The 

 South American diurnal lepidoptera are described, 

 and this will be welcomed by lepidopterists, 

 especially as a chromo plate accompanies the text. 



COMPTE-RENDU DE LA S0CIETE PHILOMATIQUE 



(Paris, June 6th, 1894). — His Highness Prince 

 Henri of Orleans exhibited a new turtle, belonging 

 to the genus Geomyda, which he had discovered in 

 Tonkin, while M. Leon Diguet exhibited a collec- 

 tion of fishes from Lower California, consisting of 

 thirty-seven species, of which three appeared to be 

 new, two fresh-water and one marine. A note on 

 the fishes of the family Silurideas belonging to the 

 Madagascar fauna was read, including description 

 of a new species presented by M. Grandidier. 

 M. Bouvier described two animals who live in a 

 state of symbiosis in the interior of certain free 

 madrepores, where they inhabit a tubular cavity, 

 twisted spirally. The form of this cavity led 

 Deshayes to consider them as gasteropodous 

 mollusca. Both forms were dredged in the 

 Mediterranean by Dr. Jousseaume, at a depth of 

 eight metres. 



Revue Biologique du Nord de la France 

 (Lille, October, 1894). — M. Paul Hallez, in a pre- 

 liminary note, describes a new land planarian from 

 Cayenne. Eleven specimens had been forwarded 

 by M. Marie, a marine officer, who unfortunately 

 died shortly afterwards, so that nothing definite of 

 the habits of this new planarian can be made 

 known at present. As, however, the genus to 

 which it has been referred is one of two of whose 

 anatomy nothing is known, some addition to our 

 knowledge may be looked forward to in the forth- 

 coming communication. The sponges of the 

 English Channel are exhaustively treated by M. 

 Emile Topsent, who, stationed at Le Portel, near 

 Boulogne, for about thirty days, dredged no less 

 than seventy-three species, among which is one new 

 to science, which he dedicates to Professor P. 

 Hallez, the able director of the Faculty of Sciences 

 of Lille. The present nomenclature is compared 

 with that of " Bowerbank's Monograph, ' which will 

 prove extremely useful to students of spongiaria. 

 Dr. A. Peytoureau has the first instalment of an 

 important article on The Organisation and Compara- 

 tive Anatomy of the Last Segments of the bodies of 

 Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hemiptera. 



Feuilles des Jeunes Naturalistes (Paris, 

 November, 1894). — In this number we welcome the 

 commencement of the twenty-fifth year of its exist- 

 ence. M. Adrien Dollfus commences a series of 

 articles on The Idoteidce of the Coasts of France. 

 These are isopod Crustacea of elongated form and 

 somewhat large size, reaching as much as five 

 centimetres in length. Some fourteen illustrations 



in the text will enable the uninitiated to follow the 

 descriptions. M. R. Hickel, Assistant Inspector of 

 Woods, has a paper on Insects Injurious to Pines in 

 the Champagne District ; various remedies for then- 

 destruction are suggested. Mr. H. Hua gives a 

 report of the meeting of Botanical Society of France 

 in Switzerland, from which we learn that the Swiss 

 Botanical Society had invited the sister society of 

 France to hold its extraordinary annual meeting in 

 Geneva, to celebrate the centenary of. the founding 

 of the De Candolle Herbarium. 



Il Naturalista Siciliano (Palermo, August, 

 1894). — Signor E. Ragusa reports the capture of 

 new tortrix in Sicily. Signor De Stefani continues 

 and concludes his series of articles on The Hymenop- 

 tera of Sicily. Dr. L. Facciola on The metamorphosis 

 of Conger balearicus. 



Proceedings of the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences of Philadelphia (pp. 194-288), 1894. — 

 Professor E. D. Cope contributes a Third addition 

 to a knowledge of the Batrachia and Reptilia of Costa 

 Rica. The material upon which this paper is 

 based was communicated by the "Museo National 

 of San Jose." The author informs us that this is 

 only preliminary to a second illustrated memoir, 

 which, it is hoped, will present the subject in some 

 completeness. Of batrachia five, and of reptilia 

 seven new species are described. Dr. Hart Merriam 

 describes a new sub-family of marine rodents, 

 with description of a new genus and species and a 

 synopsis of the known forms, with several illustra- 

 tions in the text, and a plate. Descriptions of four 

 new species and two sub-species of white-footed 

 mice, from the United States and British Columbia, 

 by Samuel N. Rhoads. Dr. C. Hart Merriam 

 describes further eight new pocket mice of the 

 genus Perognathus, wdth seven illustrations in the 

 text, of sculls. Mr. C. W. Johnson has a list of the 

 Diptera of Jamaica, based on a collection made by 

 Mr. W. J. Fox and the author during April and 

 May, 1891. In addition to the species collected, 

 all those previously recorded from the island are 

 given. Several new species are also described. 



Bulletin of the Botanical Department 

 (Jamaica, June, 1894). — The influence of Eucalyptus 

 Plantations on Malarial Districts, by Professor 

 Dr. A. Laveran. Paludism, according to our 

 author, has disappeared almost completely from 

 a great number of localities formerly very un- 

 healthy, not only in Europe, but also in countries 

 were endemic paludism is very severe, for instance, 

 Algeria. Among some of the most efficacious 

 measures are drying of the morass, drainage, and 

 last — not least — cultivation of the soil. The drying 

 of the soil by cultivation and other methods 

 appears to modify the media in which the parasites 

 of paludism are developed, and the soil becomes 

 less susceptible to their multiplication. The plan- 

 tation of eucalyptus made during the last twenty 

 years in many marshy countries have already 

 rendered great service, instances of which are 

 Corsica, Algeria and Italy. Ramel is said to have 

 been instrumental in importing Eucalyptus globulus 

 in Jamaica. Eucalyptus globulus appears to be 

 the best -known species and was first introduced 

 in Europe, but latterly Eucalyptus rostratus has 

 replaced it, especially in Algeria. The older species 

 does not resist cold or great heat, while besides 

 it requires good soil, neither too dry nor too wet, 

 and it perishes soon in too marshy soil. On the 

 other hand Eucalyptus rostratus is more hardy and 

 will therefore gradually replace the other species 

 in countries where the temperature varies much. 



