1885. ] Scientific News. 923 
be usually the. chestnut lamprey, and the material collected tends 
to confirm the suspicion expressed by Jordan and Gilbert in their 
“Synopsis of Fishes of North America” that this and the silvery 
lamprey may be only varieties of one and the same species. 
—At a late meeting of the Royal Microscopical Society, Dr. 
Maddox read a paper, “An experiment on feeding some insects 
a ‘comma’ bacillus, and also with another bacillus (Bact. 
subtilis)” illustrating the subject by preparations exhibited under 
the microscope. 
Mr. Cheshire said that he must, in the first place, congratulate 
Dr. Maddox on the time he had been able to keep his bees alive 
in a state of isolation. They were not at all easy to keep so under 
ordinary circumstances. He had tried himself some similar ex- 
periments, and thought he had succeeded in infecting Musca vom- 
ttorta ; but it might be well to remark that in one hive bee he had 
found eight or ten distinct kinds of bacilli, one of which had a 
distinct curvature. Amongst bee-keepers there used to be an idea 
that the bees had no diseases, although there was one affecting the 
larve, but directly a careful examination of the bees was made it 
s was found that they were subject to a great many. One kind had 
the curious effect of causing all the hairs to fall out, and on exam- 
ining bees which were so affected he found them all to contain 
large numbers of the short red bacillus. If any one intended to 
experiment in these matters it might be useful to know that if the 
bees were fed with food stained with aniline dyes very curious 
effects were produced upon the internal organs. Differentiation 
took place within the body, and when they came to dissect them 
afterwards they would find it a very ‘great help. 
— Among the new investigations started in the Department of 
Agriculture, not the least important is one relating to economic 
ornithology. This work has been begun as a branch of that of 
the Division of Entomology, of which Professor C. V. Riley 
t bas charge. Dr. C. Hart Merriam, a well-known ornithologist, 
and secretary of the American Ornithologists’ Union, has been 
appointed a special agent to take charge of this part of the divis- 
tonal work. Dr. Merriam will make his headquarters at Sing 
Sing, New York, until October 1st, and after that at Washington. 
_ The scope of the investigation will cover the entire field of the 
inter-relation of birds and agriculture, particularly from the ento- 
mological standpoint. The inquiry will relate primarily to the 
food-habits of birds, but will include also the collection of data 
ing on the migration and geographical distribution of North 
American species. In this last inquiry the department hopes to 
_ have the cooperation of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Dr. 
o erriam being in charge of the Committee on Migration for said 
nion. 
— An officer of the Italian navy (reports Mature) after a course 
of four months’ instruction at the Zoological Station at Naples, 
