SCIENTIFIC SUMMARY. 
103 
A new Fish-parasite . — Under the name of Taphrobia pilohardi, Professor 
Cornalia describes* a curious parasite obtained by him from a pilchard 
brought to the fish-market at Nice. It is a crustacean, evidently nearly re- 
lated to Lemceonema, but destitute of the long neck characteristic of that 
genus, the species of which have been found on Clupeoid fishes on our 
coasts, the long neck and horned-head of Lemceonema being represented in 
the new parasite by a sort of sucker, supported on a short neck, and placed 
on the lower surface of the body, at about one-third of its length from the 
anterior end. The body is nearly cylindrical in form, rather more than half 
an inch long, slightly narrowed and rounded off in front, and divided into 
three small lobes behind ; from beneath these lobes spring a pair of straight 
egg-tubes, about two inches in length, and resembling in general character 
those of Let'noeonema. The skin of the body is leathery, white and opaque, 
and the whole of the body, except the apical lobes, is buried in a sort of 
gallery in the side of the fish, in such a position that the anterior extremity 
with its sucking cup reaches the gills, from which the parasite apparently 
draws its nourishment. The two long egg-tubes, springing from the hinder 
extremity of the animal float freely in the water at the side of the fish. 
The resemblance of the parasite to Lemceonema is so close that it may be 
worth while for such of our readers as reside where pilchards are caught to 
watch for the occurrence upon them of the characteristic filamentous egg- 
tubes, so as to obtain confirmation of this curious form, which the describer 
regards, with some reason, as resembling at once the Lernseans and 
Peltogasters. 
Entomology a la Mark Twain . — The following wonderful description is 
from the u Lacrosse Democrat.” It is in some parts graphic and forcible, 
but, on the whole, perhaps the stiffest scientific language would be quite as 
intelligible. The writer had been engaged in a reconnoissance of parts of 
Southern Minnesota and Southern Iowa to ascertain how far the prospects 
for next year’s crops were affected by the grasshoppers which have been for 
years such a pest to the Western farmers. The eggs, he found had been 
laid in abundance, and he remarks that as “ the process by which grass- 
hoppers deposit their eggs may be interesting to those who have never been 
out West to grow up with the country,” he will kindly u impart the infor- 
mation that has cost so much labour and research.” And this is how he 
does it. “ The eggs,” he says, “ are found about an inch below the surface 
of the ground. The eggs are laid by the female hopper. When she feels 
as though she wanted to lighten her burden she stands upon her narrative 
like a dog, and begins to dig a hole with her north end. She works 
patiently until she has a hole in the ground about the size of a lead pencil, 
an inch or so deep. The hole is so near the subsequent end of the hopper 
that should you take her by the nape of the neck to pull her out of the hole, 
she would break in the middle before she would let go. After the hole is 
all ready the grasshopper spits on her hands and lays down her burden, 
which consists of material for a sack, which contains from thirty to seventy- 
five eggs. She covers up the hole and comes out looking as if she had been 
run through a clothes wringer, and with an appetite that would shame a free 
lunch fiend, and she attacks anything that the he-grasshopper has left in the 
“ Atti Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat.,” August 1875. 
