Natural Science News. 



VOL. I ALBION, N. Y., SEPT EM BEE 28, 1895. No. 35 



Natural Science News. 



A Weekly Journal Devoted to 

 Natural History. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and Items of interest to the 

 student of any of the various branches of the 

 Natural Sciences solicited from all. 



TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. 



Price, One Dollar a Year. 



To Foreign Countries lnj.the Universal Postal 

 Dclon, $1.50, equal to 6 s., of 6 marks, or S francs. 

 Single copies, 5 cents each. 



Subscriptions can begin with any number. 



Remittances should be made by Draft, Express 

 or Post Office Money Order, or Registered Letter. 

 Unused U, S. Postage stamps of any denomina- 

 tion will be accepted for fractioual parts or a dol- 

 lar. Make Money Orders and Drafts payable, 

 and address all subscriptions and communica- 

 tions to FRANK H. LATTIN, 

 Albion, Orleans Co., N. Y, 



Entered at Albion P. O. as 2nd class mail matter 



Another Strange Insect. 



Seeing an article in the Natural 

 Science News of July 6th concern- 

 ing the "Strangest Insect in the 

 World" or "Vegetable Worm" I 

 wish to say that I have two of the 

 queer beings in my collection, but 

 American grown, both of which 

 were found while working in our 

 garden. The worms were grubs 

 of "May Beetles," "June Bugs" 

 or some similar species not dis- 

 tinguishable in the larval state, 

 and were perhaps one and a half 

 inches long in life. The fungus 

 growth (if such it is) on one was 

 about three inches in length and 

 one-eighth in diameter when dug 

 up, the other, two inches long; 

 and for lack of spirits were pre- 

 served by drying, which lessened 

 them considerably. 



From the descriptions given 

 (page 91) I do not hesitate to say 

 that these worms and plants are 

 very similar to those of New Zea- 

 land, although our grub is not con- 

 fined to any particular food or lo- 

 cality and if I mistake not is affect- 

 ed similarly throughout the South. 

 It is the belief of many of the na- 

 tives here that they are the source 

 of so much sassafras. This belief 

 is probably grounded on the fact 

 that there are many "grub worms" 

 and much sassafras (especially for a 

 few years after a new piece of land 

 is opened up) and that an occasion- 

 al worm is found with a sassafras 

 sprout growing from it. Only a 

 few days ago I asked a man how 

 he knew it was sassafras and he 

 said, "Well, it looked just like 



sassafras and had leaves just like 

 it." He admitted that he did not 

 taste one or have any further proof 

 than from a sprout eight inches 

 long with leaves. 



Really, these sprouts do have 

 the appearance of young sassa- 

 fras just about to push through 

 the ground, but my specimens 

 had neither the smell nor taste of 

 sassafras. They were purplish in 

 color and were perfectly smooth 

 and round-ended like the large 

 roots starting from corn stalks just 

 above the ground. 



Instead of coming from the back 

 of the neck as with the "aweto" 

 the sprouts emerge just below the 

 jaws on the right side, owing to 

 the fact that this worm crawls on 

 its back. The grub inhabits moist 

 ground, rich .in vegetable mould, 

 and in shady places, under leaves, 

 boards or in well manured soils. 

 These were dead when found- and 

 were probably dead before the 

 plant began its growth. They were 

 a dirty yellow color, externally, 

 and upon being sliced open length- 

 wise from front to back revealed 

 the proper colors of the different 

 parts, the stern end being blackish, 

 and instead of veins, muscles, tis- 

 sues, etc., all were of one solidifi- 

 ed mass, and cut about like a wilt- 

 ed apple, although the}' were as 

 plump as in life. There were no 

 roots of the plants visible, any 

 more than there is when you 

 cut through the limb of a tree 

 containing mistletoe. The inter- 

 nals seemed to be replaced by a 

 homogeneous mass, while the 

 head, jaws, legs and even the hairs 

 were as perfect as in life. 



Of course, being copied from 

 another paper, the News is not re- 

 sponsible for the contents of the 

 article. However I feel as if there 

 are some things mentioned that 

 were misleading. 



In the first place, how can there 

 be any doubts as to whether the 

 worm is animal or vegetable. If 

 it bores in the ground and feeds 

 on the roots of the rata tree then 

 it must be animal, as plants have 

 not the power to prey and feed up- 

 on animal tissue. It must be reduc- 

 ed to the mineral plane, by death 

 or decomposition, whereupon it 

 ceases to be animal. Vegetables 

 often simulate animal forms but 

 even a glance at them is sufficient 

 for detection. There can be no 

 doubt as to the one having been 

 animal and the other vegetable. No 

 authority will report a live worm 



crawling around with a bush grow- 

 ing out of its neck. 



It would be declaring against 

 the laws of Nature to say that the 

 vegetable growth had attacked the 

 living animal and appropriated it 

 for food. Vegetables must look 

 to the vegetable and mineral world 

 for a food supply and cannot^draw 

 upon the animal, a higher life, un- 

 til its identity as a member of the 

 animal kingdom has been destroyed 

 Fungus growths may find lodge- 

 ment in animal tissue and thrive 

 there, but they must subsist up- 

 on foreign matter, or broken down 

 tissue which has not been thrown 

 off by the living organism, but has 

 ceased to be animal matter from 

 the first moment of its decay. 

 Then the "aweto" must have been 

 dead or in a bad state of health 

 before the plant could live in its 

 body. Disease, in common usu- 

 age, means tearing down or decay 

 of the tissues; then disease germs 

 appear as a consequence of and not 

 as a cause of disease, to dispose of 

 the dead matter. Just in this way 

 may the "aweto" and our common 

 grub worm have been made use of 

 by some fungus growths. 



The last paragraph in the above 

 mentioned article gives one the 

 idea that all grubs of that species 

 are attacked. If so, how could 

 they long exist? How could the 

 grubs pupate with a sprout stick- 

 ing out of their necks? And if 

 they are vegetable how could 

 there be any chrysalis state? Our 

 grubs here are strictly insects and 

 have no special food, and so far 

 as observed the plant is not a fun- 

 gus growth. 



C. E. Pleas, 

 Clinton, Ark. 



Hibernation. 



To the real naturalist every thing 

 in nature is of interest but there 

 are some things so passing si range 

 that our interests are not only 

 awakened but our inner man is fill- 

 ed with awe and wonder while con- 

 templating the deeper mysteries of 

 the animal world about us. 



Of the many curious and won- 

 derful things in the realm of nature 

 this habit of hibernation among 

 certain animals is, to me, the most 

 wonderful. From boyhood up I 

 have lost no opportunity for study- 

 ing this phenomenon, and since 

 becoming a physician the mystery 

 has deepened rather than dim in- 



