NATURAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



23 



Hydroids, etc., should be preserved 

 as for microscopic work. 



Algae and, for that matter, all 

 plants may be preserved, as for 

 Microscopic work: ' in Glycerine, 

 solution of Pottassium Acetate, 

 etc. 



Fruits may be preserved in a cold 

 saturated solution of Salicylic acid, 

 or lacking that in a 2 to 3 per cent 

 aqueous solution of Carbolic acid, 

 to which 5toio per cent of Glycerine 

 is to be added. The solution of 

 Carbolic acid discolors some fruit. 

 Formalin would probably act well 

 although I have never tried it. 

 Some have recommended the sol- 

 ution of Salicylic acid for Verte- 

 brates, etc., and report good suc- 

 cess; formalin is probably much 

 better. 



Will C. Hall, 



Creston, la. 



A Cabinet. The Kind I Use. 



I have heard so much about the 

 kind of a cabinet one should use, 

 and since everybody has one to 

 reccommend, I venture to mention 

 the kind I have been using for sev- 

 eral years. 



Of course the consideration of a 

 good, properly made cabinet is no 

 trivial matter, as every naturalist 

 and oologist well knows. 



A good cabinet is essential to 

 success in the keeping of speci- 

 mens, and adds much to the ap- 

 pearance of the collection. My 

 cabinet is simply a number of shal- 

 low trays with hinged covers, ar- 

 ranged on tables, placed in a room 

 devoted to no other purpose. 



The trays are made of light wood 

 in two sizes, namely large size, five 

 feet long, two feet wide and five 

 inches deep. The smaller size are 

 the same dimensions, except being 

 only three and one-half feet long. 



Around the inside of the trays I 

 nail a narrow cleat about a quarter 

 of an inch below the top edge; then 

 a piece of glass is cut to fit in the 

 tray, and rest on the cleats. The 

 trays are painted white inside and 

 light green outside, and then my 

 cabinet is finished. 



Made in this manner, the lids 

 can be closed without interference 

 with the glass. 



The way I use these trays, is 

 this — I buy a number of small 

 pasteboard trays of different sizes; 

 place my specimens in the proper 

 sized, small trays, arrange them in 

 the large wooden trays, place in 

 the glass top and it is complete. 

 These trays I have used for over 

 three years with the best of satisfac- 



tion. They are quite simple and 

 can be made at a very small cost. 



When exhibiting to friends or 

 visitors, the glass top serves to 

 keep off dust and meddlesome fin- 

 gers, but, except on such occasions, 

 I would advise to always keep the 

 lids closed as some eggs will fade if 

 exposed to the light too much. 



I find these trays excellent for 

 eggs, minerals, shells, entomologi- 

 cal specimens, etc., and have nev- 

 er had any trouble from dust or in- 

 sects. t If space is limited they 

 could be placed on shelves. I 

 might add, I always keep a small 

 piece cf camphor in each tray. 



I have three of the large trays, 

 and ten small trays. Of course the 

 smaller ones are easier to handle, 

 but the less handling, the better. 



Morris Rice. 



The Spreading Adder; Hog- 

 nosed Snake. 



Heterodon platyrhinus. 



The Heterodon platyrhinus, Lat- 

 reille is the strangest in its behavior 

 and most singular in its appear- 

 ance of all our native serpants. It 

 is also one of the most common, 

 and is still found in localities where 

 all other snakes have been exter- 

 minated. The number of young 

 produced in a season is great 

 enough to partlv account for its 

 surviving where the less prolific 

 rattlesnakes and copperheads have 

 perished. 



The distribution of the genus 

 Hetrodon is over the whole United 

 States except the Pacific Slope. 

 No members of this genus are 

 found in Mexico, yet in temperate 

 and sub-tropical South America 

 there is a genus, Lystrophis Cope, 

 resembling the Hetrodon very close- 

 ly, differing only in having its 

 scales smooth instead of distinctly 

 keeled like the latter. A closely 

 related genus is also found in Mad- 

 agascar, ( Lioheterodon Dum. Bibr. ) 

 but it has the anal plate entire. 



The Hetrodon platyrhinus is the 

 species most common in the East- 

 ern United States, but west of the 

 Mississippi river it grows more and 

 more rare until it disappears en- 

 tirely, being replaced by the H. 

 simus nascius, a smaller but closely 

 allied species which has very much 

 the same habits, and is remarkable 

 for making the same demonstrations 

 of hostility when disturbed. Dr. 

 Yarrow states that he found the 

 last named species as far south as 

 Mineral Springs, Arizona. 



The H. platyrhinus rivals the Eu- 



taenia sirtalis in the extent of its 

 variations, and the diversity of 

 its colors. On the dorsal surface 

 the ground color may vary from a 

 dirt)' yellow, through various grad- 

 ations of reddish brown, brick red, 

 uniform grey, olive brown, blue- 

 black and jet black, with or with- 

 out markings. They are also to 

 be found sprinkled over with irreg- 

 ular specks and blotches on a gray 

 ground, but the majority of speci- 

 mens, when not uniformly colored, 

 are marked with three series of 

 from twenty to thirty dark spots, 

 alternately arranged, and usually 

 fading gradually into the ground 

 color. 



Individuals differing so greatly 

 in color were formerly regarded as 

 well marked varieties, and the 

 black ones were even classed as a 

 distinct species and named H. nig- 

 er. These variations, however, 

 gradually shade into each other, 

 the extreme types have been found 

 mating together, and great diver- 

 sity of color may exist in the off- 

 spring of one female. 



Besides the elongated and un- 

 usually large left lung the H, Pla- 

 tyrhinus has a well marked rudi- 

 mental right lung, though there is 

 considerable variation in the size 

 of the lung itself and in the tube 

 (bronchial foramen ) which con- 

 nects it with the trachea. Some 

 specimens are found to have well 

 developed cartilaginous half rings 

 in the bronchial foramen, while 

 the foramen of others is entirely 

 destitute of cartilage. The rudi- 

 mental lung is often so nearly hid- 

 den that it is difficult for a novice 

 to discover it. 



The trachea does not enter tin- 

 left lung at its anterior extremity, 

 but extends farther back and en- 

 ters it near the apex of the heart. 

 Turn the snake upon its back and 

 after ascertaining the position of 

 the heart make a longitudinal in- 

 cision through the abdominal wall, 

 draw the oesophagus to the left 

 side of the body, and you will find 

 the trachea passing to the left side 

 of the heart, and near its apex en- 

 tering the lung. Make a longitu- 

 dinal incision in the trachea and 

 the foramen will be seen piercing 

 the cartilage near the apex of the 

 heart. Insert a bit of horsehair in 

 the opening, and by watching its 

 course through the semi-transpar- 

 ent tissues you ma}' explore theru- 

 dimental lung. 



This tracheal lung is functional 

 in certain snakes, and it may be of 

 service to the H. platyrhinus when 

 its main lung is oppressed by the 

 overcrowded alimentary canal.. 



