264 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



Amarantnus alius. — Found on cultivated land at 

 Woodendean, East Sussex. 



C'kenopodium vulvaria Linn. — Near Shoreham 

 in West Sussex. 



Chimopodiwm opulifolium Schrad.— By Shoreham 

 Harbour, West Sussex. 



Atripleoa rosea. — Fide Mr. J. Groves. 

 A group of vigorous plants occurred in 1900 and 

 1901 at Shoreham. 



Salieornia appressa, Dum. — Found in August 

 near Shoreham, West Sussex, and at Cuckmere 

 Haven in East Sussex. 



Polygonum minus Huds. — Found in August at 

 Amberley, Wildbrooks, West Sussex. 



Rumex palustris. — Near Lewes, and at Charles- 

 ton Pond, near Cuckmere Haven, East Sussex. 



Salix pentandra Linn. — Found in osier-beds at 

 Edburton, West Sussex. 



JEpipactis latifolia All. — Woolstonbury Hill, Pie- 

 combe, East Sussex. 



Potamogeton alpinus Balb. — In a stream at Bar- 

 combe Mills, East Sussex. P. obtusifolius Mert. and 

 Kock. — In ditches at Barcombe Mills, East Sussex. 

 Potamogeton tricfioides Cham.- — Reported before ; 

 has now been identified by Mr. A. Bennett as the 

 variety trimmeri Casp. 



Ruppia rostellata Koch. — Occurs in July in a 

 ditch near Lewes, East Sussex. 



Meoctiaris acicularis R. Br. — At a pond on 

 Slaugham Common, and abundant at Slaugham 

 Pond, West Sussex. 



Scirpiis setaceus Linn. — Ashdown Forest, East 

 Sussex. 



Eriopliorum vaginatum Linn. — At Amberley 

 Wildbrooks, West Sussex, in June. 



Rhynohospora alba Vahl. — Found in Ashdown 

 Forest, East Sussex. 



Caress Mrta Linn. — A form, almost glabrous, 

 is plentiful on the Downs, near Baldsdean, East 

 Sussex, where there is no water except sheep ponds 

 for miles around. 



Alopecurus fulvus Sm. — In a swamp in Ashdown 

 Forest, East Sussex. 



Poa bulbosa Linn. — On the race-hill at Brighton. 

 This grass grows chiefly in the sand on the coast. 

 I am not aware that it has been found elsewhere 

 on the Downs. 



. Festuca elatior Linn., x Lolium perenne Linn.- — 

 Occurs in swamp by the " Pad " at Lancing, West 

 Sussex. 



Equisetum maximum Lam. — Occurs at Poynings 

 in East Sussex. 



Pilularia globulifera Linn. — Found at the pond 

 on Slaugham Common, West Sussex. 



Tolypella prolifera Leonh. — Occurred at Amber- 

 ley in West Sussex in ditches in 1900-1901. Mr. 

 J. Groves writes of this plant : " It is a very in- 

 teresting find, not having been collected in Sussex 

 since Borrer originally described it." 



Nitella fiexilis Agardh. — Found in July at a 

 pond on Chailey Common, East Sussex. 



The following are alien genera : — 



Eriysimum repandum. — Occurs at Fishersgate, 

 East Sussex. 



Ambrosia artemisaefolui. — At Fishersgate in East 

 Sussex. 



Eruca sativa. — At Fishersgate, East Sussex. 



I am not able to compare the number of flowering 

 plants found in other counties with those of Sussex, 

 but the Brighton and Hove Natural History Society 

 have in their herbarium over 1,100 species and 

 varieties, all collected in the last ten years. 



16 Kensington Place, Brighton, 

 January 1st, 1902. 



AN INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH 

 SPIDERS. 



By Frank Percy Smith. 



(Continued from page 236.) 



GENUS ERO KOCH. 



Legs I. and II. are furnished with a row of long 

 strong spines upon the undersides of the tibiae, 

 metatarsi, and tarsi. " The abdomen is almost 

 spherical, ornamented with two or more protuber- 

 ances upon its upper surface. 



Ero furcata Vill. (Ero thoracic a in "Spiders 

 of Dorset " ; Theridion variegatum Bl. ) 



Length. Male 2.7 mm., female larger. 



In this species the abdomen is furnished with two 

 small prominences near the centre of its upper side. 

 It is not uncommon. 



Ero tnberculata De Geer. 

 Length. Male 3.2 mm., female larger. 

 Abdomen furnished with four distinct protuber- 

 ances. An extremely rare spider. 



FAMILY ARGIOPIDAE. 



The representatives of this family may as a rule 

 be distinguished from the Theridiidae by the clypeus 

 being narrower than the ocular area. The eyes are 

 usually arranged in three well-separated groups of 

 2, 4, 2. Most of the included species are of moderate 

 or large size, and the majority fabricate orbicular 

 snares. 



GENUS PACHYGNATHA SUND. 



Falces greatly developed and divergent. Maxillae 

 very long. Legs without spines. Female without 

 epigynum, the genital aperture being a simple trans- 

 verse opening some distance behind the spiracular 

 plates. The spiders of this genus are found in low 

 herbage, flood refuse, etc. They spin a snare of a 

 most rudimentary type, consisting simply of a few 

 threads placed apparently at random. 



Pacxiygnatha degeerii Sund. 

 Length. Male 3 mm., female 3 mm. 



