440 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 
though some of them appear to contain, at first, a germinal vesicle.” 
The subject is one of great interest, in connection with the sup- 
posed kinship of ascidians with vertebrates, if there is anything 
in the fancied resemblance, which is much doubted by the most 
cautious and learned comparative anatomists. f 
Fıcnrixe BeerLes.— Mr. Lewis exhibited to the Entomological 
Society of London, an earthen jar, like an ordinary tobacco ‘jar, 
of Chinese manufacture. It had an enormously thick porous 
bottom, and it was stated that the inhabitants of Pekin use these 
jars for the purpose of confining large beetles, which they keep 
for fighting. The beetles are allowed no food but water, and be- 
come extremely ferocious. Prof. Westwood reminded the 
that the Chinese were already known to keep Mantides for fight- 
ing purposes. : a 
IMMATURE SEXUALITY IN Insects. — Mr. Lowne read a paper on 
this subject before the London Entomological Society. The author 
thought that species sometimes originated from the maturity of 
the sexual organization before the acquirement of adult characters; — 
a conclusion he had arrived at in consequence of the early develop- 
ment of the organs in the embryo and larva. He further stated, — 
that, in his opinion, the larval and pupal conditions were probably 
acquired and not direct stages of development. ; 
Tue EmeryoLocy or Scorrions.—Dr. Elias Metschnikoff has 
recently published in Siebold and Kélliker’s Journal, an elaborate 
account, highly illustrated, of the embryology of the Scorpio Ital- 
icus and of a species from Tyrol. The embryology of insects and 
crustacea as pursued at the present day by zodlogists, who are 
directing especial attention to the provisional membranes of the 
egg and embryo, depends almost as much on the skilful use of 
chemicals as the microscope itself. ‘The author says “ the methods 
which I employ in these researches are not complicated. I study 
the eggs removed from the ovarian tubes; or, place the living 
embryo in a drop of a weak solution of salt (salzlésung) ; or 1 
first submit them to the influence of solutions of chromic acid of 
different strengths, and then examine them either with a simple oY 
-~ compound microscope. Out of embryos hardened in this way * 
ean make sections. Much of the time I have to work with dissect 
-ing needles, whilethe embryos or portions of them treated in this 
