SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



membrane. This process, in the mite now being 

 described, is somewhat narrower at the free end 

 than at the base, and the free corners are not 

 drawn out to a point, but rather bluntly rounded. 

 The side corners of the tail are rather thick and 

 project out obliquely. The petiole is fan-shaped 

 and has a central projection, giving it an orna- 

 mental character. On each side of the petiole a 

 curved upward-bent bristle projects, about as far 

 as the length of the petiole. The figures 1, 2, and 

 3 show all these points very distinctly. Fig. 4 

 shows the inner surface of the male palpus highly 

 magnified. 



Another peculiarity of this mite, shared by many 

 other male Arrenuri, is that the fourth internode 



Fit:. 7. A. ornatns. Male. Dorsal surface more fully developed. 



of the last leg is provided with a highly-developed 

 process or spur, as seen in fig. 8. Fig. 9 is a draw- 

 ing of the ventral surface of the female. 



Mr. Soar gives me the following measure- 

 ments : — 



Male. — -Extreme length, 1.12 mm.; length to 

 end of body, 1 mm. ; length of petiole, 0.12 mm. 

 width of petiole, 0.10 mm.; width of body, 0.S8 

 mm. ; width of posterior part of tail, 0.46 mm. ; 



Fig. 8 



Ventral surface. 



Female. — Length of body, 1.12 mm. ; width of 

 body, 0.96 mm. ; length of palpus, 0.21 mm. ; length 

 of first leg, 0.88 min. ; length of second log, 0.89 

 mm. ; length of fourth leg, 1.04 mm. 



During the present year I have been greatly 

 interested in watching the development of this 

 and several other Arrenuri from the nymph or 

 Anurania stage to the full adult form. In the 

 Anurania stage there is no appearance of tin- 

 petiole, and the creature, which is more or less 

 circular, looks very different from the adult. 

 When this earlier stage is passed the petiole is 

 well developed, but the side corners are not. (See 

 fig. (!.) In a day or two they become evident, as 



length of first leg, 0.(50 mm. ; length of second leg, 

 0.63 nun. ; length of third leg, 0.68 mm. : length of 

 fourth leg, 1.08 mm. ; length of palpus, 0.21 mm. 



Fig. 9. Ventral surface of female. 



in fig. 7, and soon afterwards they attain their full 

 development, as in fig. 1. 



At first the whole creature is of a deep yellow 

 colour, with a shade of green at the edges. This 

 colour is doubtless produced by the yellow contents 

 of the body shining through the light and dia- 

 phanous blue chitine. The deepening of the blue 

 colour proceeds, and at one stage I have seen the 

 central part of the petiole of a beautiful yellow 

 colour, whilst the outer parts were of a fine blue, 

 which was very striking and beautiful. Lastly, 

 the extreme ends of the side corners lose their 

 yellow colour, and the whole creature becomes of 

 a beautiful blue, which is rather intensified when 

 the mite is mounted in Canada balsam. The 

 colours during development are pure and beautiful, 

 shading one into another in a manner that must 

 defy the skill of any artist. 



Kiiion-in-Lhi(htji. 

 October 1900. 



Edible Earth of Fiji.— In a note to the Royal 



Society of New : South Wales Dr. 1'.. G. ( 

 gives the following result of an analysis by -Mr. 

 F. B. Guthrie. F.C.S., of a portion of the edible 

 earth of Fiji which was collected from near the 

 northern coast of Vanna Leva : — Moisture at 

 120° C, 2.45 ; combined water, 12. 7> silica, 1 1 .53 ; 

 alumina. 35.09 : Fe 2 O s , 7.66. 



