Notes. 
1881.J 
435 
Poins-Town, Tipperary, and seemingly belonging to the same 
class as the fata morgana. 
An insecticide plant, a Botrytis, has been observed in the hot- 
houses of the Botanical Garden of Montpellier. It has rapidly 
destroyed a number of Aphides of the genus Siphonophora, the 
remains of which are covered with the mycelium of the fungus. 
We learn that the Prince of Wales, Lord Haughton, and Dean 
Liddell have been elected Trustees of the British Museum. We 
think that, e.g ., Lord Walsingham would have been much more 
suitable than either of the two latter. 
According to the “ Echo ” — “ At length a small modicum of 
authentic information has leaked out as to the doings of the 
Committee on Solar Physics at South Kensington. From con- 
secutive statements made at the meeting of the Royal Astrono- 
mical Society by Mr. Lockyer and Mr. W. H. Christie, on the 
evening of the 13th ult., it would appear that this secretly- 
appointed company has been engaged in making observations 
which for some time past have been as well, or better, made at 
the Royal Observatory at Greenwich ! ” 
Two new eyeless snails have been discovered in the under- 
ground waters of Carriola. 
The funeral of M. Littre, the “ positivist ” leader, gave rise to 
a decided tumult.” 
The “ Inventor’s Record ” states that “ a spiritualist is going 
to bring out a book called ‘ The Occult World,’ based on his ex- 
perience in the East.” The work in question contains the express 
declaration that “ occult phenomena must not be confounded 
with the phenomena of Spiritualism,” and the author even states 
“ It is not my present task to make war on Spiritualism.” 
Sir John Lubbock finds that ants are sensitive to the ultra- 
violet rays, and carefully carry away their larvae from under its 
influence. (We have long ago been led to the opinion that inserts 
enjoy a different, and probably wider, range of vision than do 
vertebrate animals. 
A popular journal gives the following alarming prescription for 
the treatment of gnat-bites : — “ Alcohol, 1 part ; crystallised car- 
bolic acid, 9 parts ! ” 
A “ Field Club,” with botanical; geological, and entomological 
sections, has been organised at Buffalo. 
According to special investigations, conducted at the Smith- 
sonian Institution, the green colour observed in certain oysters is 
due not to the presence of copper, but to certain green Algas upon 
which the oyster feeds eagerly. 
