126 West American Scientist. 



will not attempt a discussion of the relations and bearings of these 

 facts, on the origin and distribution of our flora. 



I would add, that I place no particular importance on the pres- 

 ence of the Potomagetous (among them P. natans, L.) in our run- 

 ning streams, and in the lagoons in the high mountains, or on the 

 occurrence of other widely distributed aquatic plants, like the 

 Azolla The presence of these species only show us that it is true 

 that aquatic species are of wider distribution, and less characteris- 

 tic of a flora under ordinary conditions, than are the non-aquatic 

 plants. C. R. Orcutt. 



ITEMS RELA TING TO INSECTS. 



What is said to be a fact not generally known is that bees collect 

 from only one description of tree or plant at a time. 



It has been demonstrated by Mr. J. W. Slater that caterpillars 

 are affected by magnetic currents, which hinder their development 

 and even kill them. 



A spiny African caterpillar, seven inches long and of a steel 

 grey color, was exhibited at a recent meeting of the Linneen So- 

 ciety of London. 



Recent comparison shows that the silk of Bengal is equal to 

 that of Italy, but the curious difference appears that the Italian 

 worm spins a thread nearly five times as long as that of the worm 

 of India. 



In a paper to the London Entomological Society, Mr. J. W. 

 Slater showed that all brightly colored insects do not live on flow- 

 ers, as Mr. Grant Allen has asserted, but that many species are 

 carnivorous. 



Maj. Gen. F. F. Burton has described certain large, yellow 

 hornets of India, which dispose themselves in regular circles upon 

 their nest, with their heads to the center. Thus they appear like 

 the spokes of a yellow wheel, and a nest of them is sometimes 

 mistaken for a sunflower. 



In an extensive series of experiments by Prof Graber, insects 

 and many other in vertebrates perceived odors much more 

 quickly and acutely than the vertebrates tested (birds and rep- 

 tiles). The attennae proved to be not the only organs of smell in 

 insects, although these appear to be essential to the perception of 

 some fine odors. In some cases the palpi of the mouth organs 

 are more sensitive than the attennae, but the perception of smell 

 through the stigmata or respiratory organs is not rapid or im- 

 portant. 



The records of locust plagues in the warm countries of the East, 

 in modern as well as in ancient times, almost surpass belief Kirby 

 and Spence mention an a'Pmy of locusts which ravaged the Mah- 

 ratta country, extending in a column 500 miles long, and so com- 



