890 The American Naturalist. [October, 
The Femoral Gland of Ornithorhynchus and Its Secre- 
tions.—At the July meeting of the Linnean Soc. N.S. W. a paper on 
the secretions of the femoral gland of the Ornithorhynchus was pre- 
sented by C. J. Martin and F. Fidswell The paper contained also 
notes of an experimental enquiry concerning the toxie action of these 
secretions. 
The gland is deseribed as belonging to the compound racemous 
variety with large alveoli possessing a wide lumen, and somewhat re- 
calling the appearance of a mammary gland. The alveoli com- 
munieate with ducts which eventually join at the hilus of the gland to 
form the duct leading to the spur. 
'The gland is surrounded by a capsule of fibrous tissue, exterior to 
which is a thin layer of smooth muscle fibres. A marked difference in 
the minute structure of the gland was noted in animals killed in June 
and those in April respectively, the former showing the appearance 
characteristic of an actively secreting gland, whereas the latter suggested 
that of a mammary gland when it had undergone retrogressive meta- 
morphosis. 
Examination of the poison showed it to consist principally of 
albuminous bodies, and the introduction of these into rabbits produced 
very marked poisonous results. When injected under the skin, local 
swelling and general depression and rise of temperature followed, but 
in three days the animal was well again. When the poison was intro- 
duced directly into the vascular system, small quantities (3 grain) 
caused death in under half an hour. Larger doses so introduced pro- 
duced almost immediate death, by producing nearly universal clotting 
of the blood whilst travelling in the blood vessels. Such clotting na- 
turally soon put an end to all circulation. 
In summing up, the authors compare the action of gas lens oh 
poison with that of the venousof Australian snakes 
to be diluted 5000 times. (Nature, Sept,, 1894) - 
e 
Change of Color in the Northern Hare.—From the study of » 
75 specimens of Lepus americanus collected for the express purpose of 
investigating the seasonal change of color, Mr. J. A. Allen arrives at 
the following conclusions : 
(1) The change of color, both in autumn and in the spring, is due to 
change of pelage, and not to a change in the hair itself. 
(2) The change is gradual, occupying many weeks. 
(3) The method of change, as regards the parts first affected is the 
reverse in spring in the order characterizing the autumnal change. 
