Notes and Memoranda. 239 



attacked by fungus cells resembling mushroom spores. They perforate the 

 cement and the ivory, but not the enamel. They live at the expense of the 

 organic matter of the teeth, winch they do not attack till after death. Their 

 action is noticed in fossil teeth. Eberth and Kolliker appear to have previously 

 made similar observations. — Archives des Sciences. Sibzungsher der Wiener akad. 



The Dry Fog op July, 1863.— In 1783 a dry fog covered the greater part 

 of Europe, and was considered one of the effects of the great volcanic eruption of 

 that year. The dry fog of July, 1863, was specially noticed in Switzerland. On 

 the 14th it began in the morning at Morges, and increased during the day. The 

 mountains of Savoy could scarcely be seen, and at half-past six the sun scarcely 

 projected any shadow, and none at 7'15. At night only large zenith stars could be 

 distinguished. These effects lasted for several days, gradually diminishing. The 

 Italian volcanoes were in action at the time. — Archives des Sciences. 



The Growth of the Mistletoe.' — M. Joseph Boehm states as the result of 

 examinations and experiments, that " the mistletoe has precisely the same relation 

 to its nutritive plant as a twig to its parent branch, or a graft to the stock. — 

 JBericM der Akad der Wiss in Wien. Annals of Natural History. 



Reasonable Conduct oe a Spider. — M. Barthet states in Cosmos that he 

 saw at Malta a scorpion caught in a spider's net. The spider immediately 

 attacked the scorpion, but on discovering the character of his opponent, retreated 

 hastily, and reappeared under his net, through which he could safely renew the 

 combat. M. Barthet returned to the place a few days later, and found the scor- 

 pion dead and the spider disappeared. 



Active Principle op Calabar Bean. — Dr. Vee obtains from the bean an 

 alkaloid which he calls eserine, "eser" being the native name of the bean. He 

 macerates the bean in alcohol, evaporates the fluid, rubs up the residue with a 

 little tartaric acid, which he removes with water, supersaturates the solution 

 with bicarbonate of potash, agitates with ether, which takes up the eserine, and 

 deposits it on evaporation. He-dissolved in ether, and allowed to evaporate spon- 

 taneously, it forms rhombic lamellar crystals. A dilute solution of eserine exhibits 

 the poisonous properties of the Calabar bean. A student tried the effects of this 

 substance on his own person. About half-past nine in the morning he took one 

 centigramme of eserine in solution (about 3-20ths of a grain). It had no imme- 

 diate effect, but as he was walking across the Place de la Concorde he felt a great 

 heaviness in his head. He read as he walked, but soon lost power of distin- 

 guishing the letters, suffered from nausea and extreme weakness, without fever. 

 With difficulty he reached the Tuileries gardens, having frequently to take hold of 

 the trees, on account of the state of his sight. About half-past ten he had an 

 attack of vomiting, after which he was able to sit down on a bench. He could 

 not distinguish persons who passed him, but he saw the colours of objects at a 

 greater distance. This condition lasted till half-past eleven, and it was not till an 

 hour later that he was able to reach home, when he looked at himself in a glass, 

 and found the pupils of his eyes scarcely perceptible. By one o'clock all the 

 symptoms of poisoning disappeared. — Cosmos. 



Preserving Elms prom Insects. — M. Eugene Robert, being directed by 

 the local administration to stop if possible the ravages of the Scolytus destructor 

 amongst the elms of the Boulevard d'Enfer, had the old bark lightly planed, and 

 then caused the fresh surface to be impregnated with strong spirits of camphor 

 rubbed in with a brush. M. Camille Schnaiter, writing in Cosmos, states that 

 the insects have disappeared. 



A Fossil Engraving. — M. Lartet describes to the French Academy a plate 

 of ivory dug up in Perigord, and having engraved upon it the head of a long- 

 haired elephant. 



Ancient Sculpture on Reindeer Horn.— M. de Vibraye has a paper in 

 Comptes Rendus on some sculptured ivory and bone dug up at Augerie, on the 

 right bank of the river Vezeres, Dordogne, and especially describing the figure 

 of an elephant's head carved in reindeer horn. The details do not coincide with 



