HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



139 



and annual variations in the temperature and pressure 

 of the atmosphere. Mr. John Aitkin's "dust- 

 counting " apparatus is used at the meteorological 

 observatory on the top of Ben Nevis, for the purpose 

 of constantly estimating and recording the number of 

 dust particles present in the atmosphere at any given 

 time. One of the conclusions arrived at is that when 

 there is much wind there is little dust, and when 

 there is much dust present there is little wind. 



The astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope, Dr. 

 David Gill, in a communication to the Paris Academy 

 of Sciences a few days ago, presented a photograph 

 he had recently taken in the southern hemisphere. 

 It embraced an area of only two degrees by two 

 degrees, and yet on this very limited sky-space from 

 30,000 to 40,000 stars had left their impression, 

 besides two nebulae. An exposure of three hours 

 and twelve minutes had been given to the plate. If 

 this exposure were possible for the whole photographic 

 map of the heavens, about 300,000,000 of stars 

 would be recorded. 



Most people are acquainted with those curious 

 leaf-insects which are common in many parts of the 

 tropics. Their wings mimic leaves both as respects 

 the veins and the green color, and on the ground 

 they resemble leaves so closely that even the ants are 

 deceived thereby. It was pointed out at a meeting 

 of the Linnean Society the other day by Dr. Sharp 

 that this leaf-resemblance of the wings is accompanied 

 by a similarity, amounting almost to identity, of 

 minute structure. The colouring-matter is undis- 

 tinguishable from the plant-green of actual leaves. 

 Even their eggs partake of this striking resemblance 

 to vegetable products. 



A Lady correspondent of the "Spectator " writes 

 as follows : — " Some attention has been aroused by 

 the recent attempt to reproduce monkey-talk by 

 means of the phonograph. It is perhaps not 

 generally known that in a little book, published 

 nearly a hundred years ago, at the sign (strangely 

 enough) of the Tour de Babel, on the Quai Voltaire, 

 Paris, a French writer made an endeavour to reduce 

 the chatter of the tiny marmoset to articulate 

 translatable language. The whistle, or ouistiti, from 

 which this little creature has its French name, he 

 describes truly as a long, sharp, piercing sound, 

 repeated two or three times, signifying the want of 

 something or some one. I would add to this, that it 

 is evidently the call used 'by one to the other. A 

 very' young one that I had always cried '■ Ouistititi, 

 ouistitititi,' to the older one for help, if it thought 

 itself in danger. 'Ghriii,' a loDg-drawn high tone, 

 he translates into 'come.' All those that I have 

 possessed have thus called me to come to them. 

 'Guenakiki' expresses, he says, terrible fear; 

 ' Trouakki,' violent, despairing grief; 'Trouagno,' 

 intense pain, 'save me.' One that had broken its 



leg thus warned me of it. ' Krrrreoeoeo,' often 

 repeated, means very happy indeed ; ' Keh,' a little 

 better; 'Korrie,' annoyed, disturbed; ' Ococo,' 

 deep terror ; ' Anic, ' feebly and melodiously uttered, 

 means help ! protect ! ' Quih,' ' I want something 

 very much ; ' ' Quoueee', ' despair of escaping some 

 danger, — this sound I have often heard all my 

 marmosets make at the sight of anything strange to 

 them, or which reminded them of some known 

 danger." 



The April number of the Journal of the Royal 

 Microscopical Society, in addition to Dr. Braith- 

 waite's excellent Presidential address on " Reproduc- 

 tion in Ferns and Bryophyta," has a short paper by 

 Mr. J. W. Gifford on "The Resolution of Amphi- 

 pleitra pellucida' ' (illustrated) . 



The Ipswich Scientific Society (President : Mr. 

 E. P. Ridley) held its triennial Conversazione at the 

 Town Hall on May 4th when lecturettes were de- 

 livered by the president, and by Dr. J. E. Taylor, 

 (illustrated by one of Mason's splendid lantern micro- 

 scopes). 



The Annual Exhibition of the South London 



Entomological and Natural History Society was 



held on May 6th, at the Bridge House Hotel 



Mr. H. W. Barber. Hon. Secretary, and Mr. C. G, 



Durrett, the distinguished entomologist, President. 



Professor Trelease, the Principal of the 

 Missouri Botanical, Garden, is almost offensively 

 energetic. Here is another capital brochure from 

 his pen-^" The species of Rumex occurring north of 

 Mexico." 



"Insect Life" (appearing in serial numbers, and 

 published at the Government Printing Office, Wash- 

 ington, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture), is 

 always welcomed. Numbers 7 and 8 are devoted to 

 the study and description of the economy and life- 

 habits of insects in their relations to agriculture. 

 The illustrations are all and always excellent. 



At the last meeting of the Geologists' Association, 

 Professor J. L. Lobley read a paper entitled " The 

 Gold of Quartz Veins — an aqueous hypothesis." 

 We should liked to have heard it. 



No science like geology can be named for inform- 

 ing us of the wonderful changes which have taken 

 place on our globe. We know that within the period 

 called Tertiary, gum-trees, banksias, Moreton Bay 

 pines, and other now distinctly native Australian 

 trees grew in England. During the Secondary 

 period the only warm-blooded mammals in Europe 

 were marsupials, resembling those peculiar to Aus- 

 tralia. Australia, indeed, is a sort of outlier — a 

 remnant of the Secondary and Tertiary periods. 

 Every now and then some new fossil mammal turns 

 up in the old rocks, but it is almost certain to be of 



