HARD WICKE'S SCIENCE- G O SSI P. 



163 



Type," and although far smaller in scope it contained 

 essentially the germ of Darwin's "Origin of Species," 

 which did not appear till the following year. 



The variation of species when left to itself was 

 exemplified by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe at the Royal 

 Institution, in his third lecture on the geographical 

 distribution of birds. It was shown that the 

 long separation of the British Isles from the 

 Continent had already produced a distinct modifica- 

 tion in certain types of birds common to both, the 

 plumage of indigenous birds having become in 

 general duller than that of their Continental repre- 

 sentatives. This is the case, for instance, with the 

 Scotch grouse, while the alteration is especially 

 marked in the case of the coal-titmouse and the long- 

 tailed titmouse. 



A WARM discussion has been going on in the 

 correspondence columns of " Nature " with regard to 

 certain discoveries of flightless birds made by Mr. 

 H. O. Forbes in the Chatham Islands, and the 

 deductions which he drew from this fact in a paper 

 read before the Geographical Society, and printed in 

 the "Fortnightly Review" for May. Mr. Forbes 

 has evolved a theory of an Antarctic continent 

 joining New Zealand originally with the surrounding 

 islands, and the existence of similar kinds of flightless 

 birds on more than one of these islands is a strong 

 link in his chain of evidence. When the ice age 

 split up the continent, its inhabitants branched off 

 in different directions, and hence we find certain rare 

 species such as the genus Aphanapteryx existing in 

 regions so far apart as Mauritius and Chatham 

 Islands. Mr. Russel Wallace combats this view 

 energetically, and asserts that the continued existence 

 of such ill-protected creatures as wingless birds is the 

 best possible proof that their domains were always 

 islands, as on any mainland inhabited by carnivora 

 their extinction would be speedy. His idea is that 

 the common ancestor of the different kinds of 

 Aphanapteryx was a bird of flight, and that the 

 degradation took place simultaneously and independ- 

 ently on the different islands. He protests against 

 the invention of so tremendous a hypothesis as an 

 Antarctic continent to account for an apparently 

 simple fact. Mr. Forbes differs about the simple 

 fact, and considers the notion of parallel degradation 

 a still more tremendous hypothesis. He justifies 

 his deductions on the analogy of Professor Alfred 

 Newton's theory to account for the dodo of Mauritius 

 and the solitaire of Rodrigues. If Professor Newton 

 could invent a dry land hypothesis without molesta- 

 tion, why not he also ? Moreover, he has shown that 

 the wingless Rallidse are by no means ill-protected, 

 and that in the long reeds of the marshes which they 

 inhabit they can make their security complete. 



Wasps in Devonshire. — It seems probable that 

 this year Devonshire people may look out for a 



plague of wasps. The number of solitary individuals 

 observed this spring hunting along the high banks of 

 the picturesque lanes so common in Devonshire for 

 suitable places to build their nests, was certainly 

 above the average, and it is to be presumed that the 

 greater part of them will succeed in forming colonies. 

 These visitors will be all the more unwelcome from 

 the fact that last year they were far and few between, 

 and a wasp's nest was an actual rarity. Their 

 sudden reappearance may possibly be owing to the 

 mildness of the winter in comparison with those 

 which preceded it, and which has enabled a larger 

 number than usual to survive until the spring. 

 Unless something is done in the way of destroying 

 the nests, it looks at present as if the cider orchards 

 were likely to suffer considerably in the autumn. 



Natural History Museum and Library. — 

 The Committee of the Haslemere Micro, and Nat. 

 Hist. Society will gratefully acknowledge any kind 

 contributions of specimens, books, etc., towards the 

 formation of a museum and scientific library. Com- 

 munications should be addressed to Mr. Chas. 

 Pannell, Tun., Hon. Curator, H. M. and N. H. S., 

 East Street, Haslemere. 



The June number of " The Annals and Magazine 

 of Natural History" contains the following articles : 

 " On New Species of Histeridse," and notes on others 

 by G. Lewis ; "On New and Little-known Tessa- 

 ratominae of the Order Rhynchota," by W. L. 

 Distant; "The Range of Placostylus : a Study in 

 Ancient Geography," by C. Hedley ; "Note on 

 Mesoplodon bidens," by the Hon. Walter Rothschild; 

 " A Contribution to the Knowledge of the Genealogy 

 and Classification of the Crustacea," by Prof. Karl 

 Grobben ; " Report upon the Stomatopod Crusta- 

 ceans obtained by P. W. Basset-Smith, Esq., 

 Surgeon, R.N., during the Cruise in the Australian 

 and China Seas of H.M.S. Penguin, Commander 

 W. U. Moore," by R. I. Pocock. 



Mr. Hilderic Friend is the early bird who 

 catches the worm. Here he is again with more 

 newly-discovered species described and illustrated in 

 two brochures reprinted from the " Proceedings of 

 the Royal Irish Academy : " viz., "On a New 

 Species of Earth-worm," and "On Some New Irish 

 Earth-worms." He also sends us "Studies of 

 British Tree and Earth-worms," reprinted from the 

 " Linnsean Society's Journal." 



Greenwich Observatory. — The annual visita- 

 tion of the President of the Royal Society and the 

 Board of visitors to the Royal Observatory at 

 Greenwich, took place recently. In a practical and 

 scientific aspect the present visitation is the most 

 satisfactory of any yet made, and this mainly because 

 of the evident advance in the means of astronomical 

 researches beyond the fundamental observations 



