VOL. IV. 
* 
KANSAS CITY, MO.. OCTOBER, 18Q0. 
NO.^ tt 
Oescriptioii of a New Species 
Echinoderniata From the Upper 
Coal Measures of Kansas 
City. 
of 
By E. Butts. 
Aesion-inus lykinsi, n.sp. 
This species has a paraboliform calyx; 
surface of plates smooth; sutures not in- 
dented; column decagonal with cui-ved 
intersections; basals five in number and 
of hexagonal form; they are considerably 
bent up and measure from tip to tip about 
four times the diameter of the column. 
The subradials are comparatively large, 
having somewhat more width than 
heighth, four of them are hexagonal and 
one heptagonal; these are very slightly 
curved, appearing nearly tangential to 
the basals. The upper sides are about 
one-third longer than the lower sides, and 
about live times the length of the ends. 
sies it may be distinguished by having no 
vertical plates in the calyx, also the great 
width of tlie subradials, and also the ba^ 
sals being much longer and curved up- 
wards; these are lilvewise its variance 
with any other known species of this 
genus. 
It was found in the upper coal measures 
at the corner of Tenth street and Balti- 
more avenue in Kansas City, Mo., in tlie 
Blue Shale known as Rock No. 97. 
This species is liere first described and 
is named in honor of one of our earliest 
local workers in Palalontology, Mr. \V. 
H. R. Lykins. 
Mosquitoes Veiled. 
Powdered ipecacuanha, one-half ounce; 
alcohol and sulphuric ether, each one half 
ounce. It is said that when a person 
sponges this mixture on the skin he can 
bid defiance to mosquitoes and other in- 
sects so troublesome in warm weather. — 
0. & 0. 
The first radials are considerably larger 
than the subradials, and all are penta- 
gonal; the distance across the top of the 
first radials is greater than it is at the in- 
termediate angle, which, with the width 
of the subradials is the cause of the pyra- 
midial form of fhe calyx. 
There is one azygous plate resting be- 
tween two of the first radials and on top 
of the heptagonial subradial, which is 
quadrangular, the upper side of this plate 
being slightly longer than the lower. 
The probosis, tentacles and cilia are the 
same as A. imgnifiGUs, from which spe- 
A HEAVY shower of frogs fell near Lou- 
don the other day. They were blown 
from some distance, doubtless. — Ex. 
Yes, and recently during a shower in 
Boston a pedestrian discovered a snake on 
the pavement, in front of 409, Washing- 
ton street. Of course it came with the 
rains. But when Webster came down 
from his "den" and pocketed his snake- 
ship and came near mutilating a "bean 
eater" who was about to squelch the 
snake with a big plank, they had to con- 
clude that at all events it didn't rain down, 
and thus no doubt fell a shower of frogs. 
The Wolf Spider. 
Suddenly appears on the wall a dark 
gray fly or i)erhaps a beetle. It moves 
with wondeuful quickness, but always by 
tits and starts, sometimes one way and 
then another. All at once it darts a few 
inches from the wall and then flies back 
again to the same spot. This action is 
several times repeated, and is so quick 
that the creatiu-e's wings cannot be seen. 
I approach the wall more closely, and find 
that the creatiu-e is neither fly nor beetle, 
nor even an insect. It is a hunting spi- 
der, and of course, has lio wings. How 
then, did it fly from tlie wall and back 
againV I have long been familiar with 
these pretty and active spiders. I have 
often seen them slide cautiously toward a 
fly, leap upon it, and have a sharp tussle 
with it before it succumbed to the ven- 
omed fangs. Window sills, especially 
when facing southward, are happy hunt- 
ing grounds for this spider. I have often 
seen spider and fly tumble together ofl" the 
window sill, and presently the spider re- 
turn, still clasping its prey. It had saved 
itself from falling to the ground by 
spinning a thread as it rolled ofl" tlie sill, 
and was able to regain its position by 
climbing up the thread. But until lately 
I had never seen it leap from a pei'pendie- 
ular wall, and. to all appearances, fly 
back again. The thread afl'ords the means 
whereby this reniarka/)le feat is per- 
formed. It is extremely elastic, and 
when the spider has reached the end of 
its leap tlie thread contracts and jerks it 
back again, just as a child throws a ball 
away from him, and draws it back to his 
Iiand by an India rubber thread which is 
attached to it. How I had failed to notice 
this action for so many years I cannot 
imagine. Even the common wolf spider 
will act in the same way. I caught a 
glimpse of the creature crouching in the 
wall under the shadow of a vine leaf, so 
that 1 could identify it. Suddenly it 
darted from the wall and alighted on the 
ground at some little distance, the elastic 
thread causing it to describe a low and 
graceful wve, just as if it had wings. 
As it darted from the wall I put the net 
over it, and much to my surprise, found 
that it was no insect, but a wolf spider. — 
Longman's Magazine. 
Roger Williams' park, in Providence, 
R. I., is said to be a lovely spot, of which 
the people there are very proud. A 
bronze statue of Robert Burns has been 
placed in the park. 
Who will be the first to donote a park 
to Ivansas City? 
