SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY. 
341 
being tbe same as in the first ; the lumbar vertebrae are not only less in 
number, but have peculiarities of transverse apophyses and mode of arrange- 
ment. (4) These two Eastern types appear to have had distinct geographical 
origins. (5) The type with six vertebrae appears to be Asiatic, whilst the 
other, like the ass and the zebra, with only five vertebrae, would appear to 
be of African origin. 
TrichincB and Trichinosis, is the title of a memoir recently transmitted to 
the Academy of Sciences, by M. Colin. The author describes some experi- 
ments which confirmed the facts already published. One point is of im- 
portance, as it confirms observations of Fuchs and Pagenstecher — viz., that it 
is only in mammals that the trichinae are enabled to pass into the muscular 
system, and remain embedded there, preserving their vitality. 
Starch in the Yolk of the Egg. — Our readers will remember that we some 
time since called attention to M. C. Dareste’s remarkable discovery of this 
fact. M. Dareste has since given a more detailed account of his obser- 
vations, and has described the means employed by him in isolating the 
starch-granules. First he washes the yolk rapidly with ether, to remove 
the fatty matter. This should be done quickly, so as to avoid coagulating 
the albuminous substances. Then he washes it with water to remove 
albumen, and sugar, and suchlike matters. Finally, die treats the residue 
with acetic acid — an operation which extends over three months. During 
this time an extremely delicate precipitate forms, which is in great part 
composed of starch-granules. The microscopic and polariscopic examination 
of this precipitate proved beyond all question that starch-granules were 
present. This fact, says M. Dareste, adds to the analogy which is thought 
to exist between the egg of animals and the seed of plants. 
The Development of Mites. — One of the longest and most important 
zoological memoirs which have for some time been published in the Comptes 
Rendus, is that which appears in the number for April 20, from the pen of 
M. Robin. It deals especially with the genus Sarcoptes, but the whole 
subject of the development of the Acarea is treated of. We could not attempt 
to give an abstract of this paper, so numerous are the details ; but we may 
mention that M. Robin describes four stages in the metamorphosis of these 
curious members of the class Arachnida, viz. — (1) The egg stage \ (2) the 
stage of hexapod larva ; (3) that of octopod asexual nymphs, and (4) the 
stage of sexual males and asexual females. Finally, there is a fifth stage or 
moult in the production of the fully-developed sexual female. 
A new Chinese Pheasant has been described b}^ M. Milne Edwards. It 
comes from the interior of China, and is styled Crossoptilon Drouinii. It 
was sent by M. Dabry to M. Soubeiran, and was presented to the Museum 
of Natural History of Paris, by M. Drouin de I’Huys, whence the specific 
title. It is distinguished from C. thihetanum and C. auritum by various 
characters, not especially by its plumage, which is an uniform white. 
Production of the Sexes in Pees. — The old stock illustration of the force of 
food in producing peculiarities of animal structure, viz. that of the pro- 
duction of sex in the bee, by the supply of a particular form of nourishment, 
has received a deathblow in the researches of M. Sanson. In a paper quite 
recently published, he narrates numerous experiments which prove beyond 
question that the food has nothing special to do with the production of sex. 
