“74 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. (VoL. XXXIII. 
thoroughly accurate, is noteworthy for its simplicity and straightfor- 
wardness, and Professor Gage has shown himself a master in this 
form of composition. Not a little of the success of the pamphlet is 
due to the illustrations, which show a happy blending of informational 
and decorative purposes. In one respect only does the text seem 
open to some criticism ; the occasional endowment of the toad with 
semi-human faculties, while adding to the interest of the composition, 
is perhaps not wholly consistent with nature. The account is full of 
suggestions for outdoor studies, and concludes with some appropriate 
book references for the teacher. GH- P. 
Eyes of Annelids. — The histological structure of the eyes of the 
free-living marine annelids has been investigated by K. E. Schreiner.’ 
In Nereis the retina consisted of pigmented retinal cells and non- 
nervous supporting cells. In all other annelids examined, Eunice, 
Hesione, Lepidonotus, Phyllodoce, Asterope, and Alciope, only pig- 
mented retinal cells were óbserved. This difference the author 
believes to be of fundamental importance, and he therefore separates 
Nereis, so far as its eyes are concerned, from the other annelids. 
The remaining forms then make a natural series, from those with open 
cup-like eyes, such as are found in Eunice, to the closed vesicular 
eyes of Alciope. GH > 
Mesoplodon on the Norway Coast.— J. A. Grieg records the 
capture in August, 1895, on the Norway coast, of two specimens of 
the whale, Mesoplodon bidens Sow.” Previously this species had been 
noted in Scandinavian waters only five times. Of one specimen, 
presumably a female, only the skeleton was obtained ; the other, a 
male, received with the flesh on it, was photographed, and a cast 
made of it. Both specimens were mounted as skeletons for the 
Bergen Museum, and Grieg’s paper is occupied largely with an 
account of their osteology. It is reported that when the first one, 
which was found stranded alive, was shot, it made a noise like a calf 
being butchered. GHP 
Variation in Actinians. — J. A. Clubb has undertaken to examine 
large numbers of the common species of actinians found in the 
neighborhood of Liverpool, England, with the intention of ascertain- 
1 Schreiner, K. E. Histologische Studien über die Augen der freilebenden 
marinen Borstenwiirmer, Bergens Museums Aarbog, 1897, No. 8. 
- Grieg, J. A. Mesoplodon bidens Sow, Bergens Museums Aarbog, 1897, No. 5. 
