I 892. J 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



females were depositing ova in the heads of the CarHne thistle, where 

 they were placed with great regularity in the dried remains of the 

 flowers. Mr. Briggs called my attention to a male, on the wing of 

 which some ova were deposited. As the female is wingless, he 

 suggested this might be an occasional means of extending the range 

 of the species. In the morning the males are torpid, except those 

 just emerging, but in the evening they are lively enough. They were 

 so abundant that in about an hour we were all satisfied. Mr. 

 Newstead indeed was very soon done with them, and gave attention 

 to the Bees, concerning which he may have an announcement to 

 make which I will not forestal. — John E. Robson, Hartlepool. 



Sponge-like fungus. — Mr. McMillan, of Castle Gary, sends a 

 piece of fungus to be named, much resembling a fine sponge. Mr. 

 Soutter to whom we have submitted the specimen writes, " Although 

 at a distance from all my books, I have no hesitation in pronouncing 

 it to be Dry Rot, Meralius lacvymanas. It is most variable in its 

 appearance, and I need not say very destructive in its ravages. 



Mollusca. 



Notes on Varieties. — In this and the following articles I intend 

 to quote opinions and facts bearing on the causes of variation, from 

 various writers. I have before me a pamphlet by Prof. Wetherby, of 

 the University of Cincinnati, treating principally of Helix (Triodopsis ) 

 appressa^ Say. He speaks of a variety which occurs in the southern 

 part of Kentucky, smaller than the type, thinner, and very heavily 

 ribbed; of this variety he collected 129 examples, of which 43, 

 exactly one-third, were deformed. These Helices were collected at 

 the base of a mountain, on a talus of loose stones, liable to much 

 shifting, and consequently certain to inflict much injury on numbers 

 of the Mollusca inhabiting the place, in fact, the greater number of 

 distortions were clearly traceable to the breaking and repairing of 

 shells at different periods of their growth. After a somewhat detailed 

 description of the accidental deformities, and their results in 

 young examples, such as prominence and depression of spire, &c., 

 comes the following, which I give in the author's own words: — 

 "While accidental morphological characteristics are not likely to be 

 perpetuated ; and while general analogy stands in the way of the 

 suggestion, the character of hermaphroditism, and the mutual 

 fecundation of individuals abnormally alike, may present to such as 

 choose to investigate the subject further, a key to some of the 

 mountain molluscan fauna. At all events, we have numbers of specimens , 



