602 General Notes. { August, 
more open, they are not frequently observed during the winter 
months 
. J. Maynard records the robin as a resident of Eastern 
Massachusetts, although they sometimes do not remain all winter. 
Chr ysomitris tristis is also found here abundantly during the win- 
ter. Lophophanes bicolor, Sitta carolinensis and Centurus carolinus 
have been noticed more rarely. 
May it not be that a few warm days in spring call out the ear- 
lier birds from neighboring wooded valleys rather than from the 
south? Yet I see no serious objection to the idea that the mi- 
gration of birds is largely due to the prevailing winds.—F# £. 
Todd, Tabor, Towa. 
Tue Eyes AND Brain OF CERMATIA FoRCEPS.—Mr. Norman N. 
Mason has made preparations of the eyes of this myriopod, 
which, contrary to the statement in this journal last year, is not 
uncommon in Providence, R. I., in dark places, and which is use- 
ful as a spider-destroyer. The eye of this myriopod appears to be 
constructed on the same plan as that of other species of the sub- 
class, but differing in important respects. Though Cermatia is said to 
have compound eyes in contradistinction from the so-called “ ocelli 
of other myriopods, the latter are likewise truly aggregated or com- 
pound, the “ocelli” being composed of contiguous facets, the 
nerve-fibres supplying them arising in the same general manner 
from the optic nerve as in Cermatia, where the facets are much more 
numerous. The eye of the Cermatia is composed of a hemis- 
pherical, many-facetted cornea, the lenses of which are shallow, 
doubly convex, being quite regularly lenticular, the chitinous sub- 
stance being laminated as usual: Each corneal lens is underlaid 
by a retina about as thick as the cornea, the inner surface of each 
retinal mass being convex. Corresponding to each lens is a sepa- 
rate mass of connective tissue which increases in thickness from 
the end of the optic nerve outward towards the cornea ; though 
the entire retina of the eye extends back to the ganglion opiicum. 
retina of the eye, lies next to the corneal lens a layer of “ vitreous 
cells” or “lens-epithelium”’ of Graber. This layer is succeeded by 
the series of rather large visual rods, one in each mass correspond- 
ing to each corneal lens; these rods are long and sharp, conical at 
the end, which extends nearly to the inner edge of the re 
mass ; they each possess a nucleus, and the connective tissue en- 
veloping the rods is nucleated, while there is an irregular layer of 
nucleated cells near or around the ends of the rods. There are 
no cones; these not being yet detected in the eye of myriopods. : 
This layer of cells is succeeded by a thin, slightly curvilinear, 
transverse strip of connective tissue passing through the sare 
eye, and behind it are the loose, nucleated spherical cells forming 
the ganglion opticum., i i 
The brain of Cermatia forceps, as shown by several sections, !5 
