234 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



The characteristics of this genus are : — Body soft 

 skinned. Legs without the long swimming hairs. 

 Claws to all tarsi. Epimera in four groups. Eyes 

 wide apart. Three discs on the inner edge of each 

 genital plate. 



I. Sperchon sguamostis Kramer, 1S79. 



Body. — Oval. Colour yellow, with brown mark- 

 ings. Skin coarse and covered with papillae, or 

 scales as suggested by the name given by Kramer. 

 Length about 1.04 mm. Breadth about 0.84 mm. On 

 reference to figure 5, it will be seen that the rostrum 

 in this Hydrachnid is pushed forward some distance 



Fig. 4. S. sguamostis. Ventral Surface, Female. 



in front of the first pair of epimera, even as much as 

 0.28 mm., giving this mite a very singular appearance. 

 All the species of the genus have more or less this 

 character. Koenike has found one species which 

 thrusts the rostrum very little forward, and named it 

 S. brevirostus, but at present this one has not been 

 found in Britain. 



Legs. — First pair about 0.52 mm., fourth pair 

 about 0.92 mm. They have a number of short 

 hairs, but are quite without- the long swimming hairs 

 we find on the legs of Hydryphantes and others. 

 Colour a pale yellow. All feet have claws. 

 Although without the long so-called swimming hairs, 

 they are very strong swimmers and move in the water 

 at a fairly quick rate of speed. 



Epimera. — In four groups and rather small in 

 proportion to size of body (fig. 5). 



Palpi (fig. 6). — Length about 0.42 mm. 

 Second segment is very thick and furnished with a 



Fig. 5, 

 S. sguamostis. Palpus. 



Fig. 6. 

 Genital Plates, Female. 



Localities. — Not common. Fotind in Epping; 

 Forest by Mr. Scourfield and in Lincolnshire by Dr.. 

 George. 



2. Sperchon setiger ? Thor, 1899. 



Body. — Oval in shape. Length about 1.20 mm. 

 Breadth about 0.92 mm. Colour, straw yellow with 

 brown markings. The surface dorsally is covered 

 with a quantity of dermal glands, which vary in size, 

 but are all very conspicuous. 



Legs. — Very much like the preceding species. 

 First leg about 1.20 mm. Fourth leg about 1.64mm., 

 with plenty of short hairs, but without the long 

 swimming hairs. 



Epimera. — In four groups like the 5. sguamostis,. 

 but the posterior pair are a little larger. 



Palpi (fig. 7). — The two last segments very long_ 



peg. Fourth segment has the small pegs or projec- 

 tions on the inner edge. 



Genital Area. — Composed of two plates, about 

 0.12 mm. in length. On the inner edge of these are 

 three discs (fig. 4). 



Fig. 7. .V seiiger. Palpus. 



and slender, being 0.88 mm. in length. These palpi 

 are the principal point of indentification. Previous 

 to seeing Thor's figure, I had always taken this mite 

 to be Sperchon glaudulosus Koenike, although I 

 queried it, because I could never satisfy myself about 

 the two small bristles on the inner edge of the third 

 segment, as neither Koenike or Piersig had drawn 

 attention to them. Thor, in his figure, which quite- 

 agrees in other particulars with the figures of S. 

 glaudulosus, has drawn three distinct bristles on the- 

 inner edge of the third segment. There are three 

 distinct bristles on my examples, but one is situated 

 a little further back from the inner line. 



Localities. — Common in England*. I took about 

 twenty specimens in Suffolk, in 1897. Mr. Taverner 

 has also found several specimens in Scotland. 

 {To be continued.) 



Vegetarianism. — An ex-vegetarian, Mr. Hector 

 Waylen, has in a contemporary given the conclusions 

 to which he has come after some years' trial of vege- 

 tarianism. He says after eight years' abstinence 

 from all flesh food he arrived at such a low condition,, 

 he was compelled to take meat three times a day, and 

 beef-tea in addition. Mr. Waylen also reminds us 

 "that animal tissues supply most easily the 

 analogous tissues in man. Vegetarians burden their 

 digestive organs with masses of crudestuff, practically 

 deprive, themselves ot fats and oils, and then think, 

 while they daily grow thin and nervous, that 

 they are improving in health. When the human 

 body is starved it begins to feed upon itself as a camel 

 does upon its hump, and vegetarians are thus them- 

 selves guilty of a species of cannibalism." The 

 writer further reminds us that "food reformers" are' 

 not consistent. He states "They seem quite to 

 forget how highly organised plants are, and while 

 they shrink from killing a sheep they have no regard 

 for the tender sensitiveness of Brussels, sprouts or 

 cauliflowers." 



