CONTENTS OF VOLUME VII.

NOTES ON THE RIGHT AND SPERM WHALES. By Prof. N. S. ES

Our Poisonous PLants. By W. W. Bailey. Illustrated, .

À GLIMPSE AT COLORADO AND ITS Einna By C.E. Aiken, ‘

Harvest Mires. By Prof. C. V. Riley. 1 lustrated,

ON THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS AND THE Mevicos

INVOLVED IN Discovery. By Theodore Gill, M. D.,

COLORS OF VEGETATION. By Prof. D. S. Jordan

ON THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FisHES. By Theodore Gill, M.

h SANTI E s š

NOTES ON THE HABITS OF deaa Cuiweisae ‘By Chartes c.

Abbott, M. D., ‘ ; 3 h ‘

THE RATTLE OF THE Mt ocr een axe. ‘By Prof. Samuel Aughey,

COLOSSAL CUTTLEFISHES. By A. S. Packard, Jr. Takiya ny

ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. y J. W. Fost ie

LL.D. Illustrated, . . 7 è

CONTROLLING SEX IN Bovrenettin. “By sat Mary Treat, ; i

THE FLYING SQUIRREL. By Prof. G. H. Per

INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES. úa ees tik Tive

trated, ; } x y 2 h

THE FossıL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER pisoar T Prof.

O. C. Marsh. With two plates,

NOTES ON THE VEGETATION OF THE Towa. Wanasn Yars. By

Robert Ridgwa

THE oo MaMntats OF THE Geni arrie. Br “Prof.

D. Cope,

A VIVIPAROUS it 3y her. Beuna Pick wood, “Ph. D. titer.

rate

THE Paster Toe OF y Soorm loan, By Robert ieee

OCCURRENCE OF IMPLEMENTS IN THE RIVER DRIFT AT TRENTON,

New Jersey. By Charles C. greene M.D. Illustrated, ;

COMPARISON UF THE GLACIAL PHENOMENA OF NEW ENGLAND WITH

THOSE OF EURoPE. By A. S. Packard, Jr.

THE COTTON CATERPILLAR. By Lewis A. Dià, Hui, 7

On THE GENUS TINOCERAS AND ITS ALLIES. y Prof. ;

Marsh,

THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS. = Prof. T. D. Biscoe.

Illustrated,

THE Ios OF p E ON THE Peden OF

Prants. By T. Buchanan White, M. D.,

RELICS OF A oo OF THE STONE ka By Chattes c. va

M. D, = i . ; A

"iii)

lv ; CONTENTS OF VOLUME VII.

THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA. Illustrated. : : 3 i

On SOME OF PROFESSOR Marsn’s Cironke. By E. D. Cope.

With two plates,

NEw PLANTS OF Nak POREN AND THE RIGOS Becomes:

By Sereno Watson Í

ON THE ee ae OF E Proressor Comes RE Ponin i, By

Tear Ga 0. Me h, i ; ; i ;

TINOCERAS AND ITS yr By Prof. O. C. Marsh, ; 5 5

SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE, AND OTHER THINGS

ORNITHOLOGICAL. By Dr. Elliot Coues, U.S.A. dilustrated,

THE meget ea AND CORRELATION OF VITAL Force. By J. T

Rothrock, M. D., š g 3 i :

THE Bins Frane OF New Ukata ‘tei PIGEON Hawk. By

William Wood, M. D.,

On a SECOND EDITION OF THE Grotocrcar Map OF THE Wobky’

By Jules Marcou

THE PRAIRIE Wor ox Covor: Cana os ae Dr. Elliott

Coues, U. S. A

THE IRREGULAR Micnarrons OF title By T. Martin EE

DISCOVERY OF AN OCTOPUS INHABITING THE COAST OF New EnG-

LAND. By Prof. A. E. ara Iilustrated, `

THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARIÆ. By Aihe Adii: ll-

strated,

PHYLLOTAXIS OF Conis bý Prof. w. J. ‘Beal, x i { 2

ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALIFORNIAN MOTHS. By A. S. Packard,

ON THE E OF Antoa IN oy ee Bocroer. By The-

odore Gill, M. D., Ph.

SENSITIVE STAMENS IN PORTULACA. By Prof. fC. E. Bendeki

M A.,

Tue FLORA or Tar DISMAL SWAMP. By Prof. J. W. Chickering, ie

reece AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 2i A. S. Packard, Jr. Zllus-

tratei

THE ease Perki EN THE Caton AND Geidiaviioas Distr

BUTION OF BIRDS. By Robert Ridgway,

SCIENCE IN AMERICA AND MODERN Miric OF Borei. By Dr.

J. Lawrence Smith,

On Some NEw Forms or pene ‘he By Hohe. Hogwr.

_ ON THE OVIPOSITOR OF THE Yucca Moru. By Prof. Chas. V V. Riley,

THE Aae AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. B

Prof. Louis Agassiz. Nlustrated,

o n aed CRYSTALS AND GREEN cisco Gx EISSES OF THE

-SILURIAN AGE. By Prof. J. D. Dana,

Í ics on Buro AMERICANUS. By Rey. Dr. Thomas Hill,

_ On SECTION AVICULARIA OF THE GENUS POLYGONUM. a Sirahe

Watson n, ono

CONTENTS OF VOLUME VII. N

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SCALES OF LEPISMA SACCHARINA. ByG.

Morehouse, x 4 666

THE NORTH Aso Godiva By Day id Scott, : 669

FARTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE ae ginrir OF sain WITH

NOTES ON ITs AFFINITIES. <S. Packard, Jr., M. D., 675

ON A REMARKARLE Wasp’s N ard FOUND IN A STUMP IN Mara, :

By P. R. Uhler, 678

THE FERTILIZATION OF Kowno BY i renee AND THEIR MUTUAL

ADAPTATION FOR THAT FUNCTION. By A. W. Bennett, i 680

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUNDEW. By Mrs. Shere Treat, 705

THE SLATES OF THE TACONIC PRF OF bee ‘Aina OF THE

HUDSON RIVER or CINCINNATI GROU By Prof. J. D: Dana, . 708

HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ioe ENTOMOLOGY IN THE ;

UnItTep States. By John L. LeConte; M.D., %4 710

NOTES ON THE HONEY-MAKING ANT OF TEXAS AND New Mexico.

By Henry Edwards, A : 722

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Archeological Collections in + America: p. 29. Revision of the Ameri-

$ of Bee Culture. p.43. Underground Treasures; how and where to find

: them. p. 44. The Embryology of aaa Cephalopods. p. 104. Life His-

tories of our Butterflies and and-book of British

ungi. p. 110. The Geology of ie ie Paois p. 160. Hand-book of

224, rD New §

p. 227. asertis of North americas Bike tomology. p. 227. The Forms

of Water. p. 228. Physics and Politics. p. 228. Popular Science Monthly.

P 229. Half Hour Recreations in Popular Science. p. 230. A New Theory

the Origin of Species. p. 231. A Text-book of North American Orni-

aati p. 306. Geology of Montana. Ilustrated. p. 352. Recent Con-

Sci 1.

The Childhood of the World. p. 559. Catalogue of the Phænogamous

and Vascular Cryptogamous Plants of Canada and the Northeastern Por-

tion of the United States. p. 560. Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Nat-

ural Sciences. p. 560. Prehistoric Races of the United States. p. 623.

Classification of North American Beetles. p. 626. New North ae

Beetles. p. 627. The Human Brain. p. 684. Infusorial Life. 85.

The Scenery of the Rocky Mountains and its Origin. Illustrated. a 726.

Elements of Physical Maripgiedon, p. 736. The Spectroscope. p. (737.

vi CONTENTS OF VOLUME VII.

BOTANY.

Past Vegetation of the Globe. p. 44. Seeds as i. p. 45. How

the Buffalo Grass Disappears p- 46. Hepatice Cubenses Wrightiane. p.

4 S

Ho :

Cultivated Wheat in a Bone Cava. P. 168. ares of ate Roots

. p. 366.

Supposed American Origin of Rubus Ideus. p. 422. Botanical N otelets.

. 422. On Cross-fertilization as Aided by Sensitive Motion in Musk aud

Flowering of Aplectrum. p. 627. ew Flowering in Winter. p

628. Variations in Medeola and Uvularia. p New Ballast Waif.

whe pe of Gerardia pedicularia by Bees. p. 689.

p. 62

necticut Valley pnns Society. p. 690. Herbarium Paper. p. 691.

Lithospermum longifiorum only L. angustifolium. p. 691. Rhexia Vir-

ginica L. p. 692. Oietan s Flowers. p. 692. Sensitiveness of the

Leaves w Dionea and Drosera. p. 737. Variety in the form of Flowers

in the same Species. p. 739. Composition of the Puff-ball. p. 739. Ne-

sea caii p. 739. Calycera balsamatifolia. p. 740. Perforation of

Gerardia by Bees. Illustrated. p. 740.

ZOOLOGY.

Cemiostoma again. p. 47. The Slaughter of the Buffalo. p. 113. A

Partial Comparison of the Conchological Faunz of Portions of the Atlan

tic and Pacific Coasts of North America. p. 114. Collurio Ladovicianus:

p- 115. Raccoon Fox. p. 115. The Spike-horned Muledee 69. Does

the Pelican Feed its Tob with its own Blood? p. 170. Ne est, Eggs and

Breeding Habits of the Vermilion Fly-catcher. p. 170. Distribution of

the Helicide in the Sandwich Islands. p. 171. Harlan’s Hawk and the

exican rmoran of Prof.

Co: E p us e on the Dates of e o

Cope’s Recent Papers. p. 173. The Sound Produced by the Death’s Head

Moth. p. 173. Mode of Increase of the Long Bones. p ead

with Four Legs. 175. When is Sex Determined? Illustrated.

p. 175. A New Species of Butterfly from Florida 17 he

bon Seal of Alaska. p. 178. A New Species of Sparrow. p. 23 .

stance of Sagacity and Affection in a Dog. p. 237 The Food of Diptera.

-—p. 2388. Note on Cassin’s aoe p. 239. Hyla Pickeringii in Winter.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME VII. Vii

p: 239. Application of the Darwinian Theory to Bees. p. 239. The

Thick-billed Guillemot. p. 240. Prof. Cope’s Cave Crustaceans. p.

44. A Four-legged Rock Lark. p.311. Births a frao in the Central

Park Menagerie. p. 312. Phosphorescence. p. The Game Birds of

the Northwest. p. 314. A Remarkable © Monstrosity. Sage phe p. 367.

p. 372. araen of Salmon. p. 372. The Semen si fsa Fishes.

p. sas. The Young gga and Protection. p. 425. The White-fronted

Esi

[sz

p—s

= y

fa]

d. p. 430.

The Sð H Sight and Hearing of the Wild Turkey and the Common

Deer. p. 431. The Ant-lion. p. 432. Classification of the Coleoptera. p.

432. “Do Rattlesnakes Climb Trees? p. 433. Destruction of Dragon-flies

by Birds. p. 483. Bees and Ktag bial. p- 434. Color of the Eggs of

Seago p. 434. ae Monsters. p. 435. The Depths of Mid

436. A Cats Jump. p. 436. Œstrus hominis in Texas. p. 437.

Peer Ants. p. 487. Metamorphoses of Butterflies. p. 437. Spon-

tan

ous Division in Starfishes. p. 481. abits of a Species of Sorex. p.

isk anr Tora R p. 484. Criticism on an Observation of Prof.

orgi on Certain Sponges, etc. p. 485. Embryology of the Lepidop-

tera. or ithe Sbacthe of the Cat. p. 487. The “Willow Wands”

from parece Inlet. p. 488. Absence of Eyes in Be p. 489.

Ocelli in Nera es. p. 490. Ona Habit of a Species of Blarina. p. 490.

Births the Central Park Zoological Garden. p. 491. i of

Eels PN i 492. Anatomy of the King Crab. p. 492. The Rose-

breasted Grosbeak. p. 493. Canaries Nesting. p.493. An Aquatic Bom-

bycid Moth. p. oe The Education of Apes. i 494. Faulty Instinct in

a Cat. p. 494. a in Dentition. p. 495. How to Clean the Eu-

plectella. p. a ae Tipik zeg Trees. p. 496. The

White-rum a "led. p. 497. Tadpoles Winter. p. 497. The

Golden-winged Woodpecker. p. 498. Urativelesia Queties p. 498.

Mode of Egg-laying of a z on Habits of Monohammus debtaiot

p. 498. The Painted Bunting. New North American Sheng)

tera. p. 500. Centronyx e trina Aiken. p. first De-

termined the True Position of Hyalonema? p. 565. Pass a er Specific

Characters from one Genus to another. p. 566. Occurrence of the Rock

Wren in Iowa. p. 566. The Preservation of the Lower Animals. p. 630.

The Avi-fauna of Colorado. p. 631. Malformations. p. 632. The

Win nds” from Burrard’s Inlet 633. The Kingfisher. p. 634.

The ‘‘Horned Toad.” . 634. e Black Snowbird breeds on the Gray-

gr: .740. Discovery of the Basal Joint of the Legs of Trilo-

bites 741 n or Otter Sheep. p. 742. Crows and Ravens. p.

743. A Note Personal. p.744. Occurrence of a Deep Sea Floridan Coral

near Cape Cod. p.744. The Missouri Skylark. p. 745. Range of the

viii CONTENTS OF VOLUME VII.

Eared Grebe. p. 745. Snowbird. p. 745. Influence of Locality beara the

Colors of Birds and Animals. p. 746. Mimicry in Snakes. p. 7 No

tice of a Rare Bird. p. 748. Insect Galls. p. 749. The Oliv eats Fly-

catcher. p. 750. Another Monster. p. 750. Range of the Geococcyx

Californianus. p. 751. The Caribou on Lake Superior. p. 751. Chimney

Swallow; Change in Place of Nesting. p. 751.

GEOLOGY.

Proboscidians of the American Eocene.—Correction. p. 49. Return of

the Yale College Expedition. p. 49. Notice of a New and Remarkable

Fossil Bird. p.50. Knowledge of Petroleum in Pennsylvania in 1771. p.

of api Mammals in the Victoria Caves, Settle, D p. 5

w Sub-class of Fossil Birds (Odontornithes). 115. Fossil 1 Qua-

rumana in the Eocene of Wyoming. p. 179. The Eobasileus a again. p.

180. On the Tusk of Loxolophodon cornutus. p. Glacial Foelie in

Maine. p. 373. On a Few Mineral Localities A are not mentioned in

t d. p

The Connecticut Valley in the Helderberg Era. p. 755

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Change in the Form of Skulls with Age. 117. Are They Twisting

Stones? p. 180. Collections of Swiss cpa Relics. p. 182. An-

tiquity of Man in America. p. 245. Existence of Man in the Miocene.

p. 815. Prehistoric Culture of Flax. p. 374.. Indian Netsinkers in New

Jersey. a 75. Antiquity of Man in America. p. 376. An Indian Carv-

in Nlustrated. p. 438. Discovery of a New Human Skeleton of the

sadana ks in Italy. p. 439. Note on a Collection of Skin Scrapers

from New Jersey. Illustrated. p. 500. The Age of the Famous Guade-

loupe Skeleton. p. 636. Indian Rope and Cloth. p. 755. An Error Cor-

rected. p. 756.

MICROSCOPY.

Microscopy at the Vienna Exposition. p. 52. A New Accessory Stage.

Illustrated. p. 53. Magnifying Power of Objectives. Illustrated. p. 53.

Amphipleura pellucida by Moonlight. p. 55. The Study of Lichens. p. 55.

Misnaming Objectives. p. 57. New York Uncinule. p. 58. Staining

Vegetable Tissues, P. 59. A Sonora oe iope Micsbebopes p. 118.

Pigott’s “Searcher” in the Binocular Under-corrected Objec-

Sue p. 118. Microscopy in New eset a p. 119. Determination of

he Compound Microscope. p. 119. Sections of Insects. Ps

aie Staining Tissues, p.119. Preparing Palates of Mollusks. p. 120,

Mounting Eatomostraca P 1 20. The Horse Disease. Ilustrated. p. 120.

i Drinking Water. p.123. Pine Pollen in Lake Mich-

: igan: p. 128. Sections of the Organs of Hearing. p. 183. Probable Nature

is = the Nerve Current. p. 184. Insects’ Feet as carriers of Dirt. p. 186.

CONTENTS OF VOLUME VII. 1X

Circulation in Insects. p. 186. The White as Corpuscles a Connecting

Link. p. 187. arkings of Battledoor Scales. p. 187. Structure of

ge p. 187. The Goniometer Stage. p. i A Drying Case. p

bject Pps p- 245. Nobert’s Lines. p. 246. Resolving-

objectives p. 246. Microscopic Writing. p. 246. Animalcules in Butter-

248. ssphners a in Dots. p. 316. A New ie for the

scone Illustrated. 376. Aérial Stage Micrometers.

Micro-spectroscope. p. sos: Blights on Tea and Cotton. p. ga. p ides-

cent Engraving. p. 380. Apertures of Objectives. p. 380. Students’

Microscopes. p. 38 A New Ocular Micrometer. p. 881. Blood-disks

the Salmon. p. 381. The Highest Power. p. 881. Red Blood Cor-

puscles. p. 382. Nature of Markings. te 382. Microscopic Toys. p. 382.

e Value of Hlumination. p. 382. A New Society. p. 382. Apertures

of Objectives. p. : ounting in Balsam. p. 442. Unmounted Micro-

scopic Objects. p. 443. Resolution of Frustulia Saxonica into Rows of

Dots. p. 443. Mould on Bread. p. 444. Effects of Dyeing Wool. p. 444.

Microscopic Eyes. p. 444. Economical Value of Raphides. p. 445. Pathol-

ogy of Malignant Tumors. p. 445. Vitality from Germs. p. 445. bit-

uary. p. 445. gn cence in Objectives. p. 504. Toles’ Triplets. p.

507. Apertures of Objectives. p. 566. Mleroscopeal Experiments with

Insects’ Eyes. p. 570. Binoculars for High Powers. p. 571. Structure of

Eupodiscus and Isthmia. p. A New Chisinby for Microscope Lamps.

3386. Separating Dina. a ated. p. 637. Note ona New One-

koee -fifth Objective. p. 638. Wales. p. 638. A New Growing-cell.

Illustrated. p. 698. Revival of Animalcules pod Desiccation. p.

Action of Poisons on the Blood Corpuscles. p. imit of Minobles

Power. p. 700. Use of Micro-photographs. p- aL Structure of Dia-

+ p- 707. Prese

, etc., during Transportation. p. 758. Ämphipibork pellucida as

hed Sune p. 758.

Notes. pp. 59, 123, 188, 249, 317, 382, 445, 507, 573, 638, 702, 758.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. pp. 64, 192, 576, 704. -

Books RECEIVED. pp. 64, 128, 192, 384, 448, 5 12, 576, 704, 762.

Appendix. REPLY TO PROF. Copr’s EXPLANATION IN May NATURALIST.

By Pror. O. C. MarsH (June number). On PROF. Marsn’s Criticisms.

By E. D. Cope (July number).

ERRATA.

heage 115, line 9, for Maynard read my: Page r, a bo ae Eata (workers

d ns) read drones, and in line 17, fi

age 228, lines 3 and 10 from bottom, for Autere read Bagehot. Page 530, Fig. 138 i is

not taken from Harris’ work, but from Riley’s ae on Injurious Insects of Missouri.

Page 544, Fig. 147 is upside down - Page 567, lin

x ILLUSTRATIONS.

LIST OF PLATES.

Plate. _ Page. | Plate.

1,2. Dinoceras mirabilis Marsh, . . 152) 4,5. Loxolophodon cornutus Cope, . Pare

3. Anatomy of Winter Buds of

k A EE E T

LIST OF WOOD-CUTS.

No. Page. | No. Page.

Į: T N 6 | 69. Head of Bendire’s Mock-

2. Virginia Creepe TE Ga AT 7 ing-thrush, .

3. Poison Dogwood, pce UE 8 | 70. Head a St. Lucas Mock-

4. Water Hem — Ra Aer eric 10 ing-thrush, 330

5, a, b. Harvest Mit 18 | 71. Liberty Cap Geyser, - $ 353

6. New Avbeneoe ry Sta 53 | 72. Great Hot Spring, ott 354

7,8. Diagram Illustrating” Mag- 73. Falls of Palowatand, iis 356

ower of r 74. Monstrous Pig,. =. . . 367

: bein a GN Slide for Microscope, eek r i

9, Octo 5 89 | 76,77. Octopus Bairdii, . . . . 395

10. Jaw of ‘Archtteuthis dux, : 93 | 78-105. Pedicellarie, . . . . - 399-405

11,12. Water me ugs of Mound- 106. Dredge with tangles, . . 407

uilde: 95, 96 | 107. Bathybius Hewckelii,. . . 408

13. Statuette ‘of Mound-build’s, 97 | 108. Holtenia Carpenteri, . . 409

14, 15. Water a of 109. Lophohelia prolifera, : . 410

bui 98 | 110. oe Loffotensis, . 411

16. p erram ‘Mexican Vessel, 99 | 111. Archaster vexillifer, . . . 412

Fr. ss Bronz e q12: Pourtalesia oT sii, ate 413

ee 99 | 113. Ar ctur us 414

18. Drinkin g Cup 5 99 | 114. Car Yk ane “trom! Ips-

19. Pipe trons a Mou nd, ¢ 99 wi ‘ : i

20-23. Urns of Mound-builders, aes 101 | 115. Pim ae ma 471

24,25. Ancient Pottery, . 101, 102 | 116. T ae or a 472

26-29. Spores oe Piet oe i2? 122 | 117. Appi ea oie Louse, "Male, . > 473

30, 31. Netsinkers, 4). ee os 140 : Pin k Louse, Male, 473

32. Hammerstone, i 141 ). Fos te ark Tons, Female, 474

33. Embryo of Polynema, . ž 176 2 ickory Scolytus, - 474

34. Viviparous Fly and Pupa- 194 -123. Hem plenca Maia, o < coi 475

rium, . = 194 | 124-127. Hyperchiria Io, - + 4 416, KiF

35. Larva of Flesh Fl y ; 195 130. Yucca Moth, . 77

36-38. "o TOPERA of New 137 ape — . . B02, 03

i, eee . 206-208 beetle, ENEN 530

39. Boll Worm a ieee 204 ), 140. Goldemith B ee tle, « . 530, 531

40. Cotton Caterpillar, Pe Gas 204 Gru b of Bean Weevil, Pee 537

4l. Onion Et 241 73. Š Mat sg ie year locust, „o < 040, 54L

42. Parasite of Cabbage Cater- pruinosa. pupa, . - 542

Pilar, ; ` 241 5 ficada rimo sa, pupa, o SS}

43. 'achina Lary: $ : 242 . | Brachys lary eae 543

44. Cabbage Web Moth,. . . 242 |147. Metonius ei a

45, Radish Weevil, . . 242 , 149. Languria, . . - Hu 545

47. Garden Weevil, : > . 243 ), Dacne, larva and pupa, . 545

48. Raspberry E L 243 Lady-bird, larva, . . . 7. 546

49. Chestnut Weevil, me 243 i: Sai - ne mi ieee 547

50. AIGHINGE, ooo ae 243 ring tap, eens 637

52. Chestnut Borer, . . 6. . 243 "157. Ovarian egg of Dog,. . . 650

52. i OTEK = fai 243 | 1 Says es Rabbit, me 651

53-56. Anatomy of Winter Bud of t hum

weed, =- > <. . 258-267 male, N A 651

57. Mud Hot Spring ; 280 | 162-169. Egg of Pola 4 Obl, Ga

58. Beehive Hot Spring, . . 281 Saga Growin blenny, SSE i Saati 655

59,60. Grand Geyser, . . + «282, 283} 1 caly bry 698

61. Emerg cot te Hot Spring, Pe 284 178. ve Této : 727

62. iant Geyser, : ‘ 285 | 176. Basaltic Gonunns, Yellow: !

63. ‘ola Faithful” “Geyser, =. 26 . stone, 730

64. ne e of E 1177. Index and Pilot ‘Peaks, | 3 731

= 287 | 178. Extinct Geyser, peT

65. Head of Brown Thrush 327 stone, Í 732

66. — Headof Cnam Mock- "a = Gernas of Madison, r T734

32 X rerardia rforated Db

67. pik d Crissal Mocking- lin aen r y 740

i problatas “Americani i 741

6s. Head of | Gurvedbiled us,

T EEB

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.— JANUARY, 1873.—No. 1.

~CEZEMLS)OD2->

NOTES ON THE RIGHT AND SPERM WHALES.

BY PROF. N. S. SHALER.

Tue following notes on the habits of the right whale were taken

down in a conversation with Captain John Pease of Edgartown,

an old whaler, whose powers of observation as well as of accurate

and clear statement I have rarely known equalled. As far as

possible these statements have been collated with those of other

experienced, whalers.

All of the south latitude right whales are without calves up to

July Ist; the females are found in the bays about this time.

The calves all come at once, it being but two or three days be-

tween the bearing of the first and last calves. None are found

with the herd up to the 1st of July and every female has her calf

by the 3d or 4th of the month.

The right and humpback whales are very fond of their young,

taking no care of themselves in their efforts to save it; the sperm

whales, on the other hand, are quite without affection as far as can

be determined by their behavior. .

Sperm whales have leaders of the herd which they follow wie ae

certain obstinacy; these leaders seem to give the alarm to the

others. No such subordination can be observed among right

whales. Sperm whales, as is well known, have the males very _ : o

~ mach larger than the females, while the reverse is the ease among oe

_ the right whales. This is interesting in connection with the fact

that the male sperm whales struggle soma together, while the re.

2 NOTES ON THE RIGHT AND SPERM WHALES.

males of the right whales seem to have no conflicts with each

other, Captain Pease had seen males struggling with each other

and often found their bodies scarred with the imprints of the rival’s

teeth; the scars showing their origin very distinctly by their

form —the distance apart of the wounds answering to the intervals

of the teeth. The great superiority in the size of the males

among the sperm whales is just what would be expected in a

species where the males struggled in the combats of rivals. The

gain in size under the influence of these conflicts of the males is

generally limited in land animals within pretty narrow bounds.

There are probably no land animals where the male is double the

weight of the female, yet the male sperm whale would seem to

excel the female by more than this proportion. This extreme

development of the males occurs also among the Otarid as well

as among many groups of fishes, so it would seem as if there was

some reason why the influences tending to limit size were less

active in the sea than on the land. The reason for the greater

freedom to acquire size in the sea is undoubtedly to be found in

the less weight of bodies in that element, the effect of which is

shown as well in the structures of man as in the structures of

nature; the ship exceeds all vehicles for land transportation for

the same reason and in something like the same proportion that

marine animals, when size is the advantage, exceed terrestrial

forms.

The conflicts between the males of sperm whales lead to great

Pee ge to the lower jaw; the evidence goes to show that at least

: two per cent. are crooked more or less, and one in several hundred

: shane gate Asie eC a are two go in

ch ‘other with ‘eos a strike in e

nust ; Jead to the most -

NOTES ON THE RIGHT AND SPERM WHALES. 3

Captain Pease has several times seen the killer attack right and

humpback whales; they strike for the tongue if possible. They

often jump many feet from the water and fall upon him. Many

individuals, fifty or more, join in this attack. They tear out large

pieces from the blubber, food being evidently the object of their at-

tack. Their great activity makes the whale helpless against them,

though he will struggle furiously before overborne. They sometimes

drag down the whale after it has been killed by the whalemen.

The Captain was quite sure that the chief article of food of the

sperm whale is squid, as they vomit large quantities of them in

their death agonies; he thinks that the whales take them by

swimming with the mouth so wide open that the lower jaw stands

at nearly right angles to the upper. Squid, he thinks, will grasp

at the jaw as the whale passes among them and are cut in frag-

ments by the sudden closure of the jaws. He says that the jaw

is closed with prodigious force and suddenness so that when out

of water the noise can be heard for two or three miles, and is

even noticeable under water. He stoutly maintains that he has

seen fragments of squid, where the whales had cut them in two,

exposing the cavity of the body, which was as large over as the

head of a forty gallon cask. In one case he saw the head of a

squid which he believes to.have been as large as a sugar hogshead.

The Captain is convinced that the right whale has a trace of

hair within the skin. He says that when the skin is fresh, if it be

scraped with a knife so as to remove the superficial parts, there

will then be seen a trace of hair in the inner section. This point

is worthy of attention from those naturalists who have opportuni-

ties for such work. It is evident that if the whale is the descend-

ant of some land mammal form it would be likely to preserve a

trace of the hairy covering. In this connection it is interesting _ 2

to note that, in the museum at Nantucket, there is a tooth of a ue

sperm whale with two fangs after the fashion of an ordinary

mammalian canine. The specimen was taken many years ago,

but with it is the statement that the other teeth of the whale —

= were of the same fashion. This clearly looks like a revension: n

some higher mammalian form of dentition. = ee ey

Captain Pease thinks that right whales attain very y Geit

= adult size in three years, there sE about three distinct sizes

_ found at one time in the sea. . He thinks, however, that they. Li

evetone bine es ao": longer, the u

4 OUR POISONOUS PLANTS.

size depending a good deal upon the haunt of the whale; some

regions having larger specimens than others. If the whales are

descendants of our marine carnivora we should expect them to

preserve something like the same growth rates, for this feature

seems to be tolerably permanent in any group of related animals.

The rate of growth, deducible from the observations of the prac-

tical students of the whale, coincides pretty closely with what we

should be inclined to expect on the supposition that the cetacea

were descended from some ancestor like the marine carnivora.

The great decline of the whale fishery in all countries seems

likely to deprive us of the ill-used opportunities, which naturalists

have long had, of making themselves acquainted with the habits

of the greatest of the mammals. There are many questions which

should be discussed and settled before the class of clear headed

and observant whalemen has passed away; else we may remain

for centuries without a competent knowledge of the ways of this,

the greatest living monument of animal life.

OUR POISONOUS PLANTS.

BY W. W. BAILEY.

pre ania

_ Tue poisonous plants of our northern woods are not so numer-

. ous but that they may siis be learned. Of them certain members

3 Anacardiaceæ) have the most evil reputa-

nded with the beautiful Cormua florida, which unfortu-

ng , iliar name. This tree is’ perfectly

fonocent and i is so highly ornamental that it would be a shame if

| simple ignorance it should ever be cut down. _ s

rieties of Rhus toxicodendron, distinguished —

; a atet When these are cut-lobed, the

dent iron (Fig. 1); when entire, it bears the name

S me authors have considered them distinct spe-

o condition of the system rendering those sus tib

have no cause to fear. I have myself often squeeze

OUR POISONOUS PLANTS. 5

little resemblance. They may, however, be always distinguished

from that graceful plant by the three leaflets on a stem, and by

the mossy aggregation of roots by which they adhere to trees and

rocks. The Virginian creeper, onthe contrary, has:/ive leaflets and

is furnished with tendrils which expand into sucker-like disks to -

assist the plant in climbing. It turns a vivid crimson in autumn,

and as it is seen climbing some evergreen or trailing over a stone

wall is one of the chief ornaments of that season. The poison-

ivy also colors beautifully, but I think much sooner, and the tints

are different, bright yellow, orange, or mahogany. Many persons

have been induced, by their own ignorance or the superficial knowl-

edge of their friends, to avoid or even destroy the harmless wood-

bine, or else have suffered by a too free handling of its mischievous

neighbor. I say neighbor, as the two are often found near

together and are similar in their habits of growth. The poison-

ivy is very common, and may even be seen embracing the fences

or wrapping large trees with its snaky branches. It is said some-

times to invest trees so closely as to cause their death. How-

ever that may be, I have seen its foliage entirely replace that of

some lofty elm, now dead, and dependent alone for its beauty

upon the plant the growth of which it had assisted. =

A more dangerous plant, yet one of the most beautiful trees as

which we meet in swamps, is the poison-dogwood (Rhus venenata

Fig. 3). It has from sever to thirteen leaflets on a common stalk,

an odd one terminating the series. Its autumn coloring is magnifi-

cent, passing from green through a bright yellow, to crimson and

scarlet, the midrib remaining in each case an intensered. Thoreau

says, somewhere, that the plant appears to “ blush for its sins.”

With its smooth gray bark and pinnate foliage it is conspicuous

always, and when once known is easily remembered, but the

desired information is often the result of a sad experience.

Painful swellings, inflammation, and intense itchings are to many

the result of contact with it, or even with the less noxious

Rhus toxieodendron. Some persons are even affected. by p f

near, while others may handle it with absolute impunity. a

is said, however, that even the chosen few are not always x

empt from its influence, a profuse perspiration or some unusual —

aptible who usually

2d the leave

a eti never avoid Pe tree when it ‘lies in

OUR POISONOUS PLANTS.

Fig. I.

OUR POISONOUS PLANTS. 7

Fig. 2.

8 OUR POISONOUS PLANTS.

and I have as yet experienced no consequent suffering. The pois-

onous property of these plants appears to reside in the resinous

juice, and may be removed by boiling and evaporation. Upon

exposure to the air the juice blackens and forms an indelible ink.

The ‘Ranunculacew, or crowfoot family, form a very suspicious

order of plants; those which are not absolutely poisonous having

generally an acrid or bitter juice. Ranunculus acris is especially

caustic, and when fresh is avoided by cattle. Drying appears to

Fig. 3.

f Poison Dogwood (Rhus venenata).

— remove the poison. This is the tallest of our buttercups, with

leaves “* three divided ; the divisions all sessile and three cleft or

ted, their segments cut into lanceolate or linear crowded lobes.”

en taken epr, some of the buttercups will produce dan-

this is an accident not very liable to happen,

stering tendency would cause them to be — |

swallowing. a

haye occurred when persons have atari root

a n SoN in "n TRET ee

OUR POISONOUS PLANTS. 9

leaves served to distinguish it, thinking it to be horseradish. It

is an introduced plant and will only be met with in cultivation, or

in old gardens or waste places, and it is so generally known to all,

that I will not delay to describe it. I will mention, however, a

peculiar tingling sensation which it produces when applied to the

tongue, an effect of some duration. The anemones, the larkspurs

(Delphinium), and the bane-berries (Acta) all contain in greater

or less degree an active principle which becomes dissipated upon

drying as in the case of the buttercups. Even the pretty roots of

the common gold-thread (Coptis trifolia) are intensely bitter, and

are sometimes used as a cure for children afflicted with diseases

of the mouth. As a rule it is well to be cautious in our treat-

ment of any plant the characters of which indicate that it belongs

to the Ranunculacee. : i

The parsley family ( Umbelliferæ) may be recognized by the

small, generally white or yellow flowers, disposed in spreading

umbels, with mostly compound leaves, often very delicately dis-

sected, as in the common carrot (Daucus carota). The flowers and

leaves of this plant, or of the parsnip or parsley, will serve as

types of the whole order, to which belong many of our most

noxious plants as well as wholesome vegetables. The species,

owing to their similarity and the minuteness of the inflorescence,

are difficult to distinguish and in consequence it can not be

certainly affirmed how many are injurious. They are determined

mostly from the seeds and flowers.

This, like the last, is a suspicious order, the more so, perhaps,

from the fact of its containing certain edible members, for which

their noxious relatives may be mistaken. Accidents are therefore

of quite frequent occurrence, especially among children. Our na-

tive water-hemlock (Cicuta maculata, Fig. 4) is very poisonous. It

is said that “a drachm of the fresh root has killed a boy in an hour

and a half!” The plant is far too common for safety, and is found

in swamps and wet places, even within the limits of our cities. st.

is a tall, rank herb, the smooth stems streaked with purple, the _

flowers white, and the veins of the compound leaves terminating a

in the notches. Still more to be avoided is the introduce ®

lock (Conium maculatum) which has a very similar habit see s

‘smell,

is supposed to be the poison byw which the ancients bes ated

Sep it has smooth, spotted” tenis; — an offensive i

. itis

10 OUR POISONOUS PLANTS.

their troublesome politicians, and if this were not a serious article

I might perhaps grow facetious, and suggest its use at the present

time. It is now employed to some extent in medicine. Its name

“ hemlock ” is an unfortunate one, as it is shared with that most

elegant spruce, the Abies Canadensis, and I have known nervous

people to avoid the latter for the sins of its fearful namesake. It

Fig. 4.

OUR POISONOUS PLANTS. +]

(Solanum melongena), the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), the

strawberry tomato (Physalis), are well known esculent vegetables ;

but even with these, certain portions of the plant are often poison-

ous or narcotic, as in the case of the potato, where the berries

and leaves are injurious. I once saw a boy in New Brunswick

eating the large green potato berries, but to my mild remonstrance

he replied that he had often done so before without any resulting

trouble. It would therefore appear that if actually dangerous,

the fruit may not be so to all constitutions.

It is doubtful whether the br ight red berries of the bitter-sweet

(Solanum duleamara) are in any degree injurious, but so long as

their innocence is not established, it is just as well to treat them

with caution. The common nightshade (Solanum nigrum), often

found about houses, is more cer tainly dangerous. Young children,

unless prevented, are almost sure to eat the berries of the bitter-

sweet, attracted by their brilliant and luscious appearance. The

bright blue, showy flowers bear a striking resemblance to those of

potato. The thorn-apple (Datura str amonium) always found

growing in waste places may be known by its morning-glory-like

flowers, white, shaded with violet, its large, spiny seed pods, and its

most offensive odor. As with the potato, the bitter-sweet, and

other members of the genus Solanum, the leaves are always found

perforated by insects. The seeds are said to have been used by

the Delphic priests to excite their mad ravings, which the Greeks

understood as prophecies.

In the order Liliaceæ, we have the American white hellebore

(Veratrum viride), the root of which is a deadly poison. The

plant is known familiarly as Indian poke, and has coarse fibrous

roots, and elegantly plaited leaves, which in early spring may be

seen by the banks of streams, generally in company with the

skunk-cabbage, from which, however, it is easily distinguishable.

The latter throws up its curiously painted, shell-like spathe in .

early April or even in March, the flower preceding te mo o

while the hellebore blooms in the summer, and has a ght

spike of greenish flowers, in no respect resembling those of its

neighbor. The active principle contained, is the alkaloid veratria,

used to some extent in medicine.

The jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisema triphyllum) i is found i in similar

- localities and, although not strictly a poison, its root is very acrid

and miae as the children with the rae pepenatty | wr inves-

12 OUR POISONOUS PLANTS.

tigation have discovered to their cost. The disgusting odor of

the skunk-cabbage (Symplocarpus fætidus) must always preclude

similar experiments. Both of these plants belong to the order

Araceæ, of which the sweet flag (Acorus calamus) is also a

member.

Certain of the fig-worts (Scrophulariacee) are narcotic poisons,

but I know of none which need any special mention. The dog-

banes (Apocynacee) belong to a poisonous family of which it is

well to be careful, although, so far as I am aware, our two pretty

species need not be avoided. They have a milky acrid juice, as

do the Euphorbias to which the same remarks apply. In the

( Urticacece) we have the hemp (Cannabis sativa) which, in the east,

yields the well known drug called hasheesh. In our climate, I

believe this poison is not developed. The nettles belong to the

same family but it is unnecessary to point out the eminent pro-

priety of handling these with gloves, as some of them are provided

with stinging hairs. According to Scott, they are when young

used as greens in Scotland and cultivated for that purpose. (Rob

Roy, Chap. 8).

The Indian tobacco so much used by quacks, is Lobelia inflata,

a common little plant in open fields, with light blue flowers and

inflated pods. The blossoms are very much smaller than those of

the cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), but of the same general

appearance. All the lobelias are poisonous, and are much too

oe recklessly employed by those who have little knowledge of their

a power. It is said by Darlington that the quacks give the name of

high- helia to the cardinal flower to distinguish it from low-belia.

his gives some idea of the amount of their learning.

_ There are some others of our native plants which possess an

is send: juice, but I think I have now mentioned all that should be

: Taoa, with the exception of certain fungi with which I am not

f Among the grasses, there is but one, the darnel (Lolium

: aali. that has the reputation of being noxious, and late

said to poison cattle, but the assertion has not been proved.

investigations appear to throw much doubt upon previous state-

ments in regard to it. The Kalmia latifolia in Ericaceæ has

mering the plants now mentioned, we find three that are

to touch, Rhus venenata, Rhus toxicodendron and the

ow ‘The. following are narcotic irritants, Veratrum, i

ss OE = The re a

COLORADO BIRDS. ; 13

cups are acrid and caustic, as are the Aracew, while Coptis is

simply bitter.

I have been able to offer but a sketch of our poisonous plants,

and may have omitted to mention a few. Ihave been surprised

in studying them to find how little appears to have been written

about them except as regards their medicinal effects, and how this

little is distributed in many different books. I cannot close this

article without a renewed warning against the reckless use of herbs

whose effects may be deleterious or even fatal.

A GLIMPSE AT COLORADO AND ITS BIRDS.

BY C. E. AIKEN.

Earvy this morning, the 17th of October, as I was riding past

Beaver Creek, a large and beautiful mountain stream that flows

through portions of El Paso, Fremont and Puebla Counties, my

attention was attracted by a great twittering among the feathered

tribe in an enclosure on the creek bottom. As there seemed to

be an unusually large congregation of species for this season of

the year, I dismounted from my pony, and leaning upon the cotton-

wood rail-fence, I watched the birds for nearly an hour, noting the

different varieties, and observing the actions of each.

Immediately in front of me was a low, dense, wild-plum thicket,

overrun and interwoven with hop-vines, but at this season nearly

stripped of its leaves; and it seemed this morning as though each

fallen leaf had been replaced with a little feathered songster. At

least a dozen species were represented; but the white-crowned

sparrows were by far the most numerous, and the singing or twit-

tering of these it was, that first drew my attention.

Beyond this thicket, a thrifty growth of cottonwood extended. os

along the banks of the creek from right to left, from the midst.

of which the songs of numerous robins, and of one or two other ie

birds, rang out as clear and joyous as in early springtime. Many :

of the trees had their trunks encased in wild grape c or hop-vines,

and most of them were bare of leaves; but occasionally a tree =

clothed in a bright yellow foliage relieved the monotony and beau-

2 tified the eview. A high, pan barren ridge that formed the ae ie

14 COLORADO BIRDS.

wall of the creek cañon extended across the background. At my

right hand was a small stubble-field in the midst of the tangled

brush, and a little to the left a clump of scrubby oaks. Several

small trees scattered through the foreground, with here and there

a clump of differently tinted red, green or yellow bushes, completed

the landscape. Imagine now the whole enlivened with birds and

you have the entire picture.

On account of their bright plumage and boisterous actions,

Woodhouse’s jay and the magpie were most prominent; particu-

larly the former, of which there were about a dozen individuals

that kept flying in and out among the bushes before me. Occa-

sionally one would fly up on to the limb of a tree, where it would

pause but a moment to swallow the morsel of food it had brought,

or to look about it, and then off it went with a wild, chattering

note. ‘The low oak bushes that are so abundant in the foothills

are the chosen haunts of these birds, and they are never found at

any great distance from them. A magpie in the cottonwood

grove, espying me, came over directly to satisfy his curiosity,

which, by the way, is a prominent feature in his character. He

alighted on the top of a fence-stake within ten feet of me, and

giving his beautiful, long, glossy tail a jerk, and ducking his head

impertinently, he uttered a harsh, bold note of inquiry; but when

I turned my head to obtain a better view of him, he was off in an

instant.

Another noticeable bird was the arctic finch (Pipilo arcticus).

‘These were to be seen everywhere, among the bushes, on the

= ground, or flying from one thicket to another and, from their abun-

dance, form one of the charac teristic birds of this section. At

She season they are very quiet, and usually keep themselves con-

_ cealed in the brush; but during the early part of the season, the

d himself. Becoming shortly aware of my presence, he-

l K TRETA > feathers of his crown into a crest, and

little head first one way and then- nii, = = 2

COLORADO BIRDS. 15

veyed me from head to foot ; then, as though satisfied that all was

not right, he hopped cautiously to the next clump of bushes, and

then flying close along the ground, disappeared in the thicket.

A dove, that alighted near me, stretched up its neck, looked

timidly at me an instant, and then flew away, and a Townsend’s

flycatcher that came down from the cedar-clad ridge behind me to

quench its thirst, lingered about for a few moments and then,

becoming frightened at some invisible thing, hastened back to its

secluded retreat. A red-shafted flicker rapped industriously for

awhile, on an old dead cottonwood, and then left for more produc-

tive fields. Hearing the low whistle of the cedar bird above me,

I looked up and saw several of them flying over. These were the

first I had seen for nearly a year. In response to my call a flock

of Arkansas finches (Chrysomitris psaltria), that were flying past,

settled among the topmost twigs of the thicket, and silently eyed

several purple and house finches that occupied similar positions

about them. These little beauties are the last to greet us in

summer, and among the last to leave in autumn, which is quite

unusual in our summer visitors; those coming last being generally

the first to leave and vice versa. They did not become common

here this season until the first of July, yet I noticed them last fall

as late as the fifth of November. The males still wear their sum-

mer plumage, and appear at a short distance as bright as when

they first arrived from the South.

From the cottonwood grove, I recognized the familiar notes of

the song sparrow, and soon one of these appeared in the edge of the

thicket near me, with a Lincoln’s finch for a neighbor. A flock of

tree sparrows just from the North, and a solitary chipping spar-

row that had lingered a few days behind the rest of his tribe, were

also among the occupants of the thicket. The Oregon snowbird

too, and the more recently described Junco annectens, were each :

represented there by a single individual ; and once I thought I saw _

-a chat among its branches, but as I have not observed any of these =

birds for a month, I was probably mistaken. Then a flock of six

or eight bluebirds (Sialia arctica), probably an old pair with their

young, passed on their way southward, and three or four Brewer's __

blackbirds that seemed to have no destination i particular made

a short halt near by. Then a flock of thirty or forty noisy, cawing,

_ Maximillian’s jays settled down on the stubble-field where they

_ remained until one of their number, seeing me, gave a caw, when

16 HARVEST MITES.

with a great racket they all rose together like a flock of blackbirds

and returned to their haunts among the cedars far up the canon.

For some time a pair of mallard ducks had been circling about as

though looking for a place to alight, and finally they selected a

bend in the creek just in front of me. Above the ridge beyond

the creek, a turkey buzzard was floating listlessly in the morning

sun, apparently without the least exertion on his part. I watched

him carefully for several moments as he circled about, but could

not detect the slightest motion in his wings.

One other bird I saw here to which is attached a good deal of

interest, the white-necked crow (Corvus cryptoleucus). I have

found these birds common along the base of the Rocky Mountains,

from Cheyenne at the north, to Trinidad at the south; and from

the Snowy Range, to a point thirty miles out on the plain, yet Mr.

Ridgway writes me that these birds “are entirely out of their

previously known range.” I strongly suspect that this bird has

been mistaken by naturalists, who have ornithologized in this sec-

tion, for the common American raven (Corvus carnivorus), since

it seems to me impossible that any one should remain here any

length of time without seeing it; still the Western bluebird (Sia-

lia Mexicana), and several other birds which are equally abundant

here, are in the same predicament. The raven is said to be com-

mon in Colorado, but during a year spent in collecting in different

parts of the territory, I have seen but a single pair!

HARVEST MITES.

_ BY PROF. C. V. RILEY.

Ty the “American Entomologist” (vol. 1, no. 5) an account was

_ given of the eight true insects, and of some other ringed ania?

_ or articulates, known to be parasitic on man. The insects are

the head-louse (Pediculus humanus Linn.), the body-louse (Pedi-

: cervicalis Linn.), the crab-louse (Pediculus pubis Linn.),

human bot-fly (Gstrus hominis Gmelin), the common flea

ulex irritans Linn.), the chigoe (Pulex penetrans Linn.), the

common bed-bog maoa lectularia Linn.) and the r m

C).

_IIARVEST MITES. : 17

The only mite that is known to attack man, and whose appear

ance is at all familiar, is the itch mite (Acarus scabiei Linn.).

We have, however, in the southwestern States, two other mites

which cause great annoyance from harvest time-till into October,

to people who frequent the rank herbage and grass in our forest

openings or along our rivers. Both of them are six-legged,

reddish, microscopic specks, and both are popularly termed

jiggers; but as this term is universally applied to the more

dangerous Pulex penetrans (a true flea occurring in Central Amer-

ica but not in the United States), and as a European mite (Leptus

autumnalis), having similar habits to ours, is there popularly called

“ harvest bug,” we may apply to our species the term “harvest

mites.”

Before we can talk intelligently and definitely of anything that

moves or has a being upon our earth, it must receive some scien-

tific appellation. According to my friend, A. S. Packard, Jr.,

and from our present knowledge of the transformation of mites,

we may very plausibly conclude that these six-legged forms are

but the young of -some eight-legged form such as Trombidium, to

which belongs our common “ red spider.” Now it is contrary to

all scientific usage to name and describe a species from its imma-

ture characters; but the older authors not only described these

six-legged mites as perfect animals, but referred the different forms

to different genera. Therefore, as it is important that such com-

mon and annoying pests should have a “ local habitation and a

name,” and as they are so far only known in the six-legged state,

I shall provisionally, and for the sake of convenience, name them.

Should any future arachnologist learn the true life history of either,

he may, of course, recognize or reject these names as he sees fit.

The American Harvest mite* (Leptus Americanus? n. sp. Fig.

5 a). — This species is barely visible with the naked eye, moves

readily and is found more frequently upon children than upon

adults. It lives mostly on the scatp and under the arm-pits,

but is sometimes found on the other parts of the body. It does

not bury itself in the flesh, but simply insinuates the anterior part

of its body just under the skin, thereby causing interse irritation,

followed by a little red pimple. As with our common ticks, the

* Color brick-red, slender, ovate, the narrow, anterior end bifid, and furnished with

stiff, converging sete. Six-legged; legs long. tl front pair blunt and slightly thickened

M “e wern they are incurved and thickly armed with SE bahe: he sai rather

fureate claw. Average length -008

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII.

18 HARVEST MITES.

irritation lasts only while the animal is securing itself, and its

presence would afterwards scarcely be noticed but for the pimple

which results.

The Irritating Harvest mite* (Leptus irritans, n. sp. Fig. 5b).

This is the more troublesome and, perhaps, better known of the

two, causing intense irritation and swelling on all parts of the

‘body, but more especially on the legs and around the ankles.

Woe betide the person who, after bathing in the Mississippi any-

where in this latitude, is lured to some green dressing-spot of

weeds or grass! He may, for the time, consider himself fortunate

in getting rid of mud and dirt, but he will afterwards find to his

sorrow that he got hold of something far more tenacious, in these

microscopic harvest mites. If he has obtained a good supply of

Fig. 5a. Fig. 5b.

Harvest Mites,

them, he will, in a few hours, begin to suffer from severe itching,

and for the next two or three days he will be likely to scratch until

his limbs are

_ With the o ri and the elbowed maxilla, which act

‘Vike arms, this mite is able to bury itself completely in the flesh,

thereby causing a red swelling with a pale pustulous centre contain-

-~ ing watery matter. If, in scratching, the person affected is fortu-

nate enough to remove the mite before it enters, the part soon

heals. Byt otherwise the irrjtation lasts for two, three or four

am the pustulous centre reappearing as often as it is broken.

Calo ko Ee eee

THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS. 19

The animal itself, on account of its minute size, is seldom

seen; and the uninitiated, when first troubled with it, are often

alarmed at the symptoms and at a loss to account for them. For-

tunately, these little plagues never attach to persons in such im-

mense numbers as do sometimes young or so-called ‘‘seed” ticks;

but I have known cases where, with irritation and consequent

scratching, the flesh had the appearance of being covered with

ulcers; and in some localities, where these pests most abound,

sulphur is often sprinkled, during “ jigger ” season, in foot-gear as

a protection.

Sulphur-ointment is the best remedy against the effects of either

of these mites, though when that cannot be obtained; a

water, and salt water will partially allay the irritation.

The normal food of either must, apparently, consist of the

juices of plants, and the love of blood proves ruinous to those

individuals who get a chance to indulge it.. For unlike the true

chigoe the female of which deposits eggs in the wound she

makes, these harvest bugs have no object of the kind, and, when

not killed at the hands of those they torment, they soon die —

victims to their sanguinary appetite.

ON THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS

AND THE METHODS INVOLVED IN DISCOVERY.

BY THEODORE GILL, M.D., PH.D.

In a “Synopsis of the Primary Subdivisions of the Cetaceans,”

published in 1871,* I ventured some remarks on the apparent ge-

netic relations of the Cetaceans, and observed that ** between the

Carnivores and the Cetaceans of the present age, the gap does

indeed appear to be very great, but it is bridged over, to a very

considerable extent, by the Zeuglodonts of the Tertiary epoch,

. . .,- and from the Zeuglodont stem have probably descended, in

different directions, the toothed and whalebone whales; while the —

former, in some features, such as the general form of the skull,

the teeth, etc., appear to deviate less from ordinary mammals ; the

latter, in other se ese but especially in the development of — a

>P Ji d Coi ications Essex Inst. L vi, pp- 121-126.

20 THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE ‘CETACEANS.

the olfactory organ and of the nasal bones, depart less than they

from the typical forms. It would therefore seem probable that

the Denticete (Toothed whales) have become differentiated, as now

recognized, little or not at all in advance of the Mysticete (Whale-

bone whales), or in other words that the latter are not offshoots

from the former, but both from one original stock.”

Dr. Brandt of St. Petersburg, to whom we are indebted for so

many valuable memoirs in various departments of zoology, in a

recent memoir on the classification of the Baleenoidea* (or Mysti-

cete), has misunderstood the tenor of these remarks, and supposing

that I meant that the Balenoids (or Mysticete) and Delphinoids

(or Denticete) were differentiated and developed from the Zeuglo-

donts in the Tertiary epoch, has expressed his dissent therefrom.

Such an interpretation illustrates the difficulty of expression so

that there shall be no ambiguity. In view of my real sentiments,

the interpretation in question struck me with astonishment on

the first perusal, and at the same time appealed to my sense of the

ludicrous. In season and perhaps out of season, in arguments

with friends, and in public discourses, I have insisted upon the

inadequacy of the paleontological record, and the absolute neces-

sity, in view of our knowledge of the radical differences between

the various types of animals, of extending the phylum of the

various existing stocks into a most remote but necessarily indefi-

nite past. Ihave even incurred the censure of geologists for in-

sisting that the mammals, for example, must have been developed

in a far earlier epoch than we have palxontological evidence of,

and that even the palzozoic might not be too recent for their birth.

The absurdity of the idea, that the specialized Denticetes and Mys-

ticetes of the Tertiary epoch could have originated in that epoch

and from tertiary Zeuglodonts, is such that it never occurred to

me that it could be entertained by any scientific evolutionist, much

less attributed tome. The remark that the gap between the Ferme

and Cete is bridged over by the Zeuglodonts of the Tertiary epoch,

and that from the Zeuglodont stem have descended the recent

whales, certainly does not legitimately convey that idea, although,

after consideration of the passage, I must confess that one unac-

quainted with any of my other oe TE not be entirely in-

2 "* BRANDT (Jobann Friedrich). Uel Cl ; a

ae patton! mit Beriicksichtigung ea e aa pt en derselbe <B

- de PAcadémie ipériale des des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg, t. 17, pp. nih oa

ees also < Mél nges Biologiqt tin. .... t. 8, pp. 317-333.

THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS. 21

excusable, for wresting such an interpretation therefrom, especially

my reference to their systematic places of the extinct typical

Cetaceans was overlooked. .

Methods involved in discovery.—In dealing with genetic prob-

lems, there are facts and inferences from facts to be considered.

As facts, the Zeuglodonts are less aberrant in structure and

more related to the ordinary quadrupeds than are the existing

Cetaceans, and they are not living, and their remains have only

been found (or at least identified) in the Tertiary epoch.

As other facts, the Cetaceans of the present epoch share with

the Zeuglodonts: the special features which differentiate them as

Cetaceans from other mammals, and superadd other specialized

characteristics.

As facts, then, the Zeuglodonts (only yet known from tertiary

beds) bridge over the gap between the Carnivores (or normal

quadrupeds) and the existing Cetaceans, that is, N are more

like the former than are the latter.

As inferences from these facts, it seems “most probable that the

known Zeuglodonts represent a stock relatively near the original.

stem or line of descent, and comparatively little differentiated (in

at least the jaws, teeth, olfactory apparatus, members, etc.) from

the generalized cetacean progenitors of the Denticetes and Mys-

ticetes. Whether the restricted characters which might be applied

to all the known Zeuglodonts could be extended to those atavan

forms is questionable, but that the latter had the jaws, nasal aper-

tures and teeth attributed to the suborder in my article is, I think,

a perfectly legitimate inference from the facts and, therefore, it

may with confidence be said that the Denticetes and the Mysti-

cetes have originated from the generalizec: Zeuglodont stem (not

Zeuglodonts) thus understood.

But when they originated is entirely another question, and for

the, solution of whieh we have no data. They — or one, or the

other of them— may have become differentiated in the Cretaceous,

or the Jurassic, or a still earlier age. I should probably in the

main agree with Dr. Brandt, however remote he might place the

date of origin* and at least would have ho direct evidence to

Especially as Dr. Brandt concedes that the Sirenians may hav e originated little

wales the Miocene (perhaps before the Eocene), with the Halitheriids as Witnesses of

the high eis of specialization as Sirenians whieh the Miocene forms had already

attai

Ste,

t Hiren niorum, ab initio verisimiliter efi ed Aces

5 \ 3

22 THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS.

sustain an opinion one way or the other. It seems very safe,

however, in view of the relations of the extinct faunas of that

epoch to those of our own, to assume that it could not have been

as late as the Cretaceous epoch.

On so-called intermediate forms. — Dr. Brandt, in connection

with the subject in question, has taught us how the genealogical

record should and should not be sought. “The hypothesis of the

derivation from earlier, older forms,” says he, ‘‘can only be proved

with certainty directly from paleontology, and in no wise from

so-called intermediate forms, which may have also originated in-

dependently, neither can it be, by means of analogy, moiocdy

deduced from isolated facts in the history of development.”

Here again, I am happy to find that on the whole I have not

been entertaining very different views from the eminent master,

and I accept thè dictum (which I have often urged myself ) that

the genealogical line can only be proved (in its details) by refer-

ence to the actual forms, and that many so-called “ intermediate

forms” are themselves dêrivatives from the same common progen-

jtors (at different removes) as the more specialized types.

‘But if it is really meant that the so-called intermediate forms

do in no wise indicate the line and mode of descent of the more

specialized types, I must for the first time differ, and differ decid-

edly, from my eminent critic. Do the Prosimians afford no hint as

to how the Simians have originated? None, the Hipparions, the

Anchitheriids, and the Palotheriids for the Horses? . None,

i Oreodonts and the Anoplotheres, for the Ruminants? None,

the Marsupials and Monotremes for the mammals? None, thé

Dinosaurians for the Birds? None, the Dipnoans for the Batra-

chians? None, the Marsipobranchiates and the Leptocardians for

the Fishes? But why enumerate more of the hosts that crowd

upon the memory for almost equal recognition? If such interme-

diate forms really give no clews or hints as to how more special-

-~ ized and aberrant forms may have originated and developed, then

_ indeed are facts in biology almost as barren and esac

Minin proren paca ee E

odum ee (imo forsan-adeo eocænam) Banania esse videntur. an,

Symb. Siren +y 1868,

oe *Die Annahme der Abstammung von friihern, ältern Formen kann nur direct auf

Mittelformen, die auch selbstständige sein können, oder aus vereinzelten, der Ent-

z Wwickelur sgeschic te entlehnten Thatsachen auf dem Wege der Analogie indirekt

THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS. 23

for the evolutionist as for the believer in patterns and special

creations.

But I cannot believe that Dr. Brandt really means what he

says: my familiarity with his previous works and train of thought

forbids such a belief and I cannot doubt till I shall be authorita-

tively undeceived, that his words simply involve a too energetic

expression of dissent from those (if there be such) who would be-

lieve that all so-called intermediate forms are exactly those in the

line of descent from the more primitive to the more specialized

ones. If this only is meant, I still find myself in agreement with

Dr. Brandt, and admit that so-called intermediate forms do not

necessarily prove the line of descent, but (if rightly so called) they

do furnish all ranges of indication from a vague hint to absolute

proof, according as they be more or less generalized, and more

or less allied to those extinct forms in the regular line of de-

scent, and by which can alone be demonstrated with certainty,

according to Dr. Brandt, the lineage of any form. But how will Dr.

Brandt avail himself of paleontology and identify and recognize,

when found, those ancestral types? How approach it otherwise

than by the same methods by which the ‘‘ generalized ” and “‘inter-

mediate” characters are recognized? The great difficulty, indeed,

consists in the identification of the forms in the direct line of

descent ; and the exact identification is practically impossible, but

it may be sooner or later sufficiently approximated to give us tol-

erably satisfactory ideas as to the origin and successive differenti-

ation of various types. And that end will be attained by the

recognition of forms as successively intermediate as to structure

and time of development, and thus it will be exactly by interme-

diate forms (and not the less so because revealed by palzon-

tology) that the lineage will be proved !

Toxonomice values of characters.— Dr. Brandt further contends

that the teeth, the olfactory organs, and the nasal bones have no

determinative value.* And yet he gives the suppression of the

teeth and the codrdinate development of whalebone as the sole — :

distinctive characters of the whalebone whales. Therefore, it is

evident that he thinks that the teeth do furnish distinctive char-

i He recalls the familiar facts that i in early youth all Ceta-

if Dem Geruchs- — =

organ, oder den Nasenbeinen | vermag ich ra ines keinen Werth bei der Veriei

24 THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS.

ceans have teeth, while on the other hand, not only the whalebone

whales, but also many Delphinoids, in old age, are wholly tooth-

less, while others have only one or two teeth. And still he uses

the want of teeth in the whalebone whales as a distinctive char-

acter. And thus I find myself still on the same platform with Dr.

Brandt as to practice although he appears to differ theoretically.

The codrdination of the want of tecth with other characters in

the whalebone whales is invariable for the known forms, and may

therefore be used as a diagnostic character. The want or pres-

ence of teeth per se is a character of little importance and of

extremely varying significance. In the Rhytinids, for example, the

want of teeth is only of family value; in the walruses, the hyper-

trophy of the canines and concomitant atrophy or suppression of

the incisors are also only of family value; in the Artiodactyle Un-

gulates the want of (upper) incisors indicates less than subordinal

distinction for one group (Ruminants) and in another case (Pha-

cocherids) scarcely specific distinction! But when the teeth are

developed, their structure and relations do afford hints, and most

suggestive ones, and the significance of similarity is more than

in ratio to the continuing agreement of teeth of increasingly com-

plicated structure.

As to the jaws and the teeth, as well as other parts, ther are, it

seems to me, as matter of fact, more similar in the Zeuglodonts to

those of ordinary mammals than are those of the Denticetes or

the Mysticetes, and they are at the same time coordinated with

other characters less aberrant; in other words, they are in all

essential respects more similar to the ordinary mammals than are

the existing Cetaceans and, therefore, to use the favorite expres-

sion of Dr. Brandt, ubi plurima nitent, they are, inferentially,

more nearly allied to and less divergent from the ancestral stem.

If, however, it is denied* that they are more similar, I will only

reply that I prefer to = tie the evidence of my senses, and

r Delphiniden PARSE

nach meiner Ansicht im Vergleich » mit sa es Schiideln der a E f eigen-

ziemlich glei anomal u nd bilden zwei ftir den Aufenthalt i im hohen

m 4

— aha

geeignete und

peel sich als dritter pema ger. zn den Phocaceen hinneigender Schiidelty pus,

der der Zeuglodonten aeai tate op. cit., 331.

This passa; ing of my remarks respecting the intermediate “ea of the

Zeuglodonts introduction to i this article. Theo only « comment tle

ture shall Pa the form moraa test stion.

SS Me E BAT t t (less thei deviation from the direct

THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS. 25

even if the facts do not appeal to the senses of another in like

manner, still do I prefer to trust to my own.

Inferences respecting genetic relations.—The question having been

raised as to the comparative degrees of differentiation of the ceta-

ceous types, it may be well to pursue it further.

Zeuglodonts. As already observed, the Zeuglodonts, in the

form and structure of the jaws, the character of the teeth (molars

double-rooted in part), the presence of the typical (Edueabilian)

number of teeth in the intermaxillary bones, the more or less

anterior position of the nostrils, the contour of the skull and

general relations of its constituent elements, and in fact almost

all the known parts of their organization, differ much less from

the ordinary mammals than do any of the existing Cetaceans.

They are therefore the most generalized or the least specialized

Cetaceans known ; these are simple facts which appeal to the senses.

As inferences, the forms so distinguished represent, better than

any other Cetaceans, the primitive ones from which they, as well as

the latter, have descended. None of the known Zeuglodonts can,

indeed, be the progenitors of the modern Cetaceans, since types

closely related to the latter are associated with them in tertiary

strata, and the known Zeuglodonts may have become much differ-

entiated (possibly even more than the modern Cetaceans), in some

minor points, from the primitive forms, but that they are, as a

whole and in all essential features, more like (and therefore more

allied to) those ancestral types can scarcely be doubted, me judice.

Therefore those Zeuglodonts may appropriately be regarded as the

nearest known representatives of the Protocetacean types, as quasi-

intermediate forms between the quadruped mammals and the more

specialized Cetaceans, and in a genealogical system must be repre-

sented as the nearest of kin to the prototypes of the order.

But even the few forms of Zeuglodonts known differ in degrees

of differentiation from the normal mammals, and must be so repre-

sented, the Basilosauriids representing a more gaeran and

the Cynoreids a more specialized type.

Mysticetes. It seems more probable that the agreement of the

Mysticetes and Denticetes in the attenuated intermaxillaries,

the anterior nostrils, pectoral members, ete., should be the result

of inheritance than of independent assumption, and therefore that

they have developed from forms thus differentiated from the r

tive Zeuglodont stem. ,

26 THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS.

As to the forms most generalized, serious doubts may be enter-

tained. The Denticetes have almost universally been considered

as entitled to that rank, and if the form of the jaws and the

teeth are alone considered, such would seem to be undoubtedly

the correct view. But in other respects (such e.g. as the rela-

tions of the bones around the calvarium, the frontals, the posterior

portion of the maxillaries, the development of the lachrymal, the

less atrophy of the pelvis, the rudimentary hind limbs) the Mys-

ticetes appear to me to be the most generalized, and, although the

evidence may be vague and inconclusive, I may be permitted, till

contrary evidence supervenes, to represent such apparent proba-

bility in a genealogical system. Of the two families (Balenop-

teride and Balenide) known, the Balænids appear to have super-

added to the Mysticete type the most specialized feature and most

generalized characters, such, for example, as the orbital prolonga-

tions of the frontal bones, the reduced coronoid processes of the

lower jaw, ete.

Denticetes. Respecting the families of Denticetes the evidence

is also vague, but hints are furnished by various structural char-

acters. These may be illusive, but in default of evidence to the

contrary, and until superseded, may be followed. It may be that

other parts would furnish conflicting testimony, that there may be

an unusual persistence of primitive characters in some regions,

while in some others the structure has been much modified, and it

is even not impossible that there may have been a reversion to

ancestral characteristics in certain parts, but until such devia-

tions are proved, it seems most in accord with sound philosophy

to take provisionally, and in default of other, the prima facie

evidence offered. With these remarks, the succession of the vari-

ous families of Denticetes may be sought.

_ In the first place, two forms present themselves, each of which

presents claims for the nearest representation of the ancestral line

—the Iniids and the Ziphiids. The Iniids, and their near relatives

the Platanistids, offer in their comparatively long neck and free

_ vertebrae testimony in favor of such title, while the Ziphiids, in

the development and continued independence of the lachrymal

bones, produce theirs. And it seems very much more credible

‘that these characters should have been inherited without fault

ae than that they should have been the result of reversion after once

au de! ea lost, especially as there appear to be no offsets to such

]

THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS. 27

characters, and the rest of the organization is not in disaccord

with those evidences of generalization.

On the whole, it appears to me that the long-necked Cetaceans

represented by the living Iniids and Platanistids and in greater

number by various forms in the Tertiary epoch are best entitled to

the first rank. Whether of those, the Iniids or the Platanistids

are the first is equally unctrtain, but as the latter are certainly in

some respects the most specialized, to the Iniids may be conceded

. the rank provisionally.

Probably, as more differentiated offshoots from the same secon-

dary stem as the Iniids and the Platanistids, may be considered

the Delphinids, of which the Pontoporiinz doubtless ee the

most generalized form.

Recommencing with the other secondary stem, apparently the

Ziphiids represent the oldest rank, and the Physeterids are the re-

sults of an offshoot from the same lineage.

I have thus endeavored to present my views, and I trust that

the language I have employed may prevent me from being mis-

understood to mean that any one of the known specialized forms

is derived from another of the known specialized forms. I have

simply essayed to indicate what now appear to me to be the prox-

imate relations of the several forms, and respectively the more

generalized of the approximated groups. The following table may

more vividly convey my views; in each case, the left branch indi-

cates the supposed most generalized and the quasi-oldest form:

(Eocetus)

| ZEUGLODONTIA. | MYSTICETE. | DENTICETE.

2 er

£ $

5 S

3 ae cae a

e el ee

S 8 z - = N N

. i=] E. o e

F EA E = > -i

= 8 Lang ~ hy Ei = a

a si z ~ i 3 a

= oe = g a a

= B E =

8 ? B E E F

g pa 8 E

ao S S !

3 ri

u 0

& ao

8 z=

7 B

er Mysticete (!) nennt, ete.-- age Mel. biol., viii, 317.

28 THE GENETIC RELATIONS OF THE CETACEANS.

I shall only add that I have no intense convig¢tions of the cor-

rectness of this representation, and regard it as simply provis-

ional and subject to the modifications which the accumulating

testimony now being so rapidly wrested from the living and the

dead may necessitate. I do believe, however, that it is not in

opposition to the data which have up to the present time been

collected and tabulated. The advantages of such tables, in bring-

ing into synoptical form and impressing upon the mind the vari-

ous degrees of relationship and subordination of the respective

subdivisions of a group, appear to me to be equally obvious

(although not equally pregnant with meaning), whether we are

evolutionists or patternists.

Remarks on Dr. Brandts classification.— A few words on no-

menclature and on the subfamilies of Mysticetes may be advis-

able.

Dr. Brandt* implies censures, by an exclamation mark (!), on

the name Mysticete, and the inference conveyed thereby, and by

his language, would be that I was responsible for the introduction

of the name. As to the name itself, I perfectly agree with Dr.

Brandt that it is objectionable and I hesitated sometime before

adopting it. It was, however, the first introduced (by Gray, in

8647) and for that reason and that alone, I have employed it.

It seems strange that Dr. Brandt skould have been ignorant of

this previous introduction, as he has referred to Gray’s works in

his memoir. I adopt very many names that are objectionable to

me, recognizing as I do the inexorable demands of priority,{ nor

consider it necessary to protest against every inapt or un-

grammatical name thus adopted, ‘or found in the works of others,

SER = example, as Kyphobalena and others adopted .by Dr.

As to the subfamilies, Dr. Brandt has suppressed those admitted

by myself and others aam the Balænopterids adding, however,

* Eine dritte, neueste, von Th ai Pa eT Pare UN air A eats

’

Teat Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 198. It is tr è that Brisson had before called the

cea edentula, and ac Pelican PRT but neither of those names

Ceta

fuitited th the requisites of nomene

Lest I may be here, e aaia I add that I simply recognize the rule of

priority because of the ad ntage afforded as a basis for uniform rmity of nomenclature,

— am em influenced in n the slightest degree by any considerations of “ honor ”

= nomenclato!

ETET oikoa ck 1 ee Agee a ir rama as

SS E E a ENEE EASA T

ae a a Ti

D E ee mane Ny ao Se aac ge kn Saar Raita) ES

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. : 29

two for extinct types, Cetotheriine and Cetotheriopsine. But while

suppressing the subfamilies, he has retained the characters, the

want of which induced me to frame one of them, in the diagnosis

of the family itself. Im other words, the subfamily Agaphe-

linæ was named for forms of Balenopterids. distinguished by the

absence of pectoral folds and of a dorsal fin, yet Dr. Brandt,

while suppressing it as unworthy of subfamily distinction, con-

siders the development of such folds and of a dorsal fin as family

characters.* The development or not of the folds and fin is

certainly not of family value and should therefore be eliminated

from the definition of the family, as it misleads both as to the

prevalence of the characters and their value, and at the same

time diverts the identifier from the path. Whether the characters

are of subfamily value is another question, and one which need

not be discussed here.

In conclusion, it appears that I share the opinions of Dr. Brandt

on most of the questions discussed, and I am happy to find that

I can enroll myself under the banner of so able a leader; and I

decidedly protest against being held responsible for views which

I am as willing to oppose as he. As to the other points in

which we appear to differ, I am fain to believe that it is due to the

use of language more comprehensive than was meant by Dr. Brandt,

and with the disposition to exercise that allowance for ambiguity

which I would wish to have practised in respect to myself, prefer

to surmise his real views from the general tenor of his works and

thought, than to accept his exact phraseology.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

ÅRCHÆOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS IN AMERICA.—The recent reportt

by Prof. J. Wyman on the specimens received by the Peabody

Museum in Cambridge is a most instructive document, as it not

_ only gives a list of the additions made to the Museum during the

year but also contains much interesting information relating to

*Pectus et abdomen sulcis longitudinalibus exarata. Pinna dorsalis perfecta vel

tuberculo repræsentata. — Brandt, Mel. l. Biol. viii, 326; see also p- 321

t Fifth Annual Report of the Trustees of the Peabody Museum of American. ipea

ogy and Ethnology. Presented to the President and F

15, 1872. 8vo pamphlet, pp. 35.. Boston, 1

30 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

the specimens received; combining many notes by the eminent

curator of the museum, suggested while comparing and arranging

the immense collection which has been gathered by the careful

management of Prof. Wyman and the other trustees of the museum.

When the building fund shall have accumulated to an amount

sufficient to enable the trustees to erect a proper building in which

to exhibit the treasures in their charge, there will be opened a

museum of archeology and ethnology that will have but few rivals

in size and excellence. The foresight exhibited by the trustees,

in obtaining the large and valuable foreign collections as they have

been offered for sale, has secured the means of direct comparison

of the relics of the prehistoric races of the old world with those of

the new. Prof. Wyman remarks, when speaking of the Clement

collection, the balance of which was received during the past year:

with the analogous ones of the new world. In view of the fact

that there exists a large demand for archeological objects in the

principal museums of Europe, that the Danish government pro-

hibits the exportation of such, that the ancient dwelling places on

the Swiss and Italian lakes, as also the caves and rock shelters of

France, have been largely explored, and many of them exhausted,

it is hardly probable that opportunities for obtaining collections,

such as those above referred to, will be again offered to us.”

In regard to the collections from America the trustees haye been

equally active and have received muny valuable additions, espe-

cially from the labors of Rey. E. O. Dunning in East Tennessee,

and those of the curator himself in Florida, beside the direct dona-

~ tion of many specimens from various parts of the country, includ-

__ ing over eight hundred specimens from New Jersey presented by

_ Dr. C. C. Abbott, who has also done so much for the archeological

_ department of the Academy at Salem. :

~ Tn his remarks on the Clement collection, Prof. Wyman makes

~ many allusions to the similarity of the specimens with those from

ara

5 eae E RE Ee GTE eae alana x

ER 3 S 4 3 = 5 ai RE a n 3 ee er 7:

E A A GALAR E PSIA ene 2s Us E E A V E EE A ee ie Cece ire AE TN Eea ne N RE EE

5 oh Sg EE E AI SENE AE SDRE ES AA E AR

i REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. ði

this country, and when mentioning the great numbers of antlers of

deer and the implements made from them, states :

“It is worthy of notice that in this collection a large part of all

the antlers in which the base remains, were not such as came from

animals killed in the chase, but such as had been dropped at the

period when they were annually shed, as appears from the peculiar

surface of the bone on the line of separation due to lena! gai:

The horns of the deer seem to have been as great a mine of ma-

terial to the lake dwellers for the ME of useful articles,

as flint to the ancient penpan: of Denmark, stone to the North

American Indians, or bone to the paa and the natives of

the northwest coast of AUU Ca.”

To Show that similar results are attained generally by aihir

means, we quote a few lines on the drilled stones from the Clement

collection :

“The method of giltig is well illustrated in a variety of in-

stances, some showing the action of a solid, and others of a hollow

rotary drill. Some “of the last we re not finished, bút broken

perhaps in the act of making, and the place from which the core

was detached is quite obvious. A few of the cores are preserved.

We thus have, as Mr. Rau has pointed out, processes of drilling

parallel to those used by the Indians of this continent, g

We may add that in the Academy collection there is a speci-

men received from New York, which shows the core about a quar-

ter of an inch high standing up from the bottom of a hole that

had evidently been drilled for two or three inches by a hollow drill

before the specimen had from some cause been broken.

The letter of Mr. Dunning relating to his explorations in Ten-

nessee and the account given by Prof. Wyman of the specimens

collected are of great interest to the students of American archæ-

ology, and correspond in several respects with the account given

by Dr. Jones in a former number of this journal. Among the most `

interesting relics found in the Tennessee mounds were a number

of carved shells which Prof. Wyman describes in his report, of

which we hope to be able to give figures in a future num

As an instance of the acute examination which the eee gives

to the specimens that come under his charge, we quote the following

remarks on pottery ornamentation :

“ A large proportion of all the vessels as well as fragments

in one way or another marked with the impressions of twisted

cords. Similar markings have been observed on pottery from very ,

distant T of the United States, and have — observed on

32 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. ;

earthen vessels of the prehistoric period of the old world. We

have specimens from Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, Illinois

Ohio, Tennessee and Florida. It is an interesting fact th at, while

every trace of the cords and woven textures made by the mound-

builders has perished, we have impressions or casts of the first left

with sufficient distinctness on their earthen vessels to determine

the style of twisting and the sree of strands, and of the second

to ascertain, in some cases, at least, the manner in which the cords

were interwoven. By means described further on, the exact struc-

ture of the impressing surface has been reproduced. The explana-

tion usually given of these markings is that the vessels have been

moulded in a net, which was used to support the soft clay while

the process of manufacture was going on. That vessels, especially

larger Ones, were moulded in baskets, and these destroyed im the

burning, there is an abundance of evidence, as set forth in Mr.

Rau’s interesting paper on the pottery making of the North Amer-

ican Indians in the Smithsonian Report for 1866. This is a point

about which there is scarcely any liability to error. But there

is a great difference between moulding a vase in a firm and steady

structure like a basket, and a yielding, fiexible one, like a net.

None of the specimens we have t s far received show that a

net, if by net is understood a str ten ad of meshes made by

of a knot is to be found anywhere. It would have been if a any

existed, as we have shown experimentally. The impressions are,

in all cases, either of a woven texture or else of cords neither knot-

d nor woven but probably wound about some body, and in this

form used asa stamp. By making casts of the surface of the cord-

marked vessels with gutta percha, we have reproduced the original

details of the impressing surface, which show very clearly the

above differences. The textures are of two kinds, one with and

the other without open meshes. The first are formed by a series

of parallel cords or warps, intersected by a second series of par-

al lel RAA crossing the first at right angles, but including one of

in every twist of its strands. The laborious process was

therefore required of passing the two strands of which the second

rd is made above and below the first cord, and then twisting

them before passing to the next. The texture with closed meshes

is handsomely woven, and in one instance of threads not exceeding

= a of an inch in diameter. Unfortunately, none of the

sels bearing markings of a woven texture are entire, so that it

is ie inipossibla to ascertain whether the impressions are distributed

in a uniform manner over the whole surface. It seems incredible

make the necessary quantity of well aiie cord or thread, and

-weave it into shape for the mere purpose of serving as a mould,

which must be destroyed in the making of a angie copy. It =

; h bodies mo

OTT un that the vessels are all made wi

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 33

less bulging or spherical, and that in consequence, if formed in a

mould, this must either be made in sections ¢ apable of being sepa-

rated, or else it must be destroyed either by cutting or, as is more

commonly supposed, by pgs ind before the copy could be removed.

There appear to be no of sections, and the katsoin

show no signs of a ati: digt to removal. Possibly the ves-

sels thus ornamented were intended only as napy Sa pie as

for religious ceremonies or the use of chie made i

very large numbers, and so an unusual Baat of eee might

be accounted for. The second form of cord marked Uae Sos is

more common, and is very easily understood. The cord

arranged for the most part parallel to each other, sts nein con-

nected either by weaving or knotting. We have reproduced such

against the surface of the clay, stamping only a limited surface at

„one time. In order to cover the whole surface in this way it would

be a matter of necessity that adjoining impressions would interfere

with each other more or less, which they actually do on the surface

of the vessel, one set eee a another. Such impres-

sions must therefore be regarded as finishing touches after the

vessel was formed rather task as desi “of a mould in which the

were supposed to be made. This view is sustained by the fact that

they often extend on to the handles, which are never added until

the body of the vase is completed, and also by the fact that some

of the impressions are but faintly made, as if the clay had already

become somew gae hardened before the cords were applied. In one

case the impressions were such as would be made by a ball of

loosely wound pata rolled over the surface. We are unable to

say whether such markings had more than an ornamental signifi-

cation, but it is worthy of notice that = were so largely used in

widely different parts of the country. We similar markings on

a vase in the Museum at Berlin, marked as ey its origin unbekannt,

unknown, in which the cord marks were arranged in a few hori-

zontal circles and vertical lines, obviously taking the place of the

ornamental lines usually traced with a pointed instrument. Sir

John Lubbock mentions the existence of vases from ancient mounds

in Scotland, ornamented with impressions from twisted thongs, and

further states that in the stone age ‘the most elegant ornaments

of their vases are impressions of ey finger nail, or of a cord wound

round the soft clay.’ Smith. Rep., 1862 ae 320. In view of these

facts the question arises whether the impressions of the finer woven

fabrics may not have been also merely ornamental markings added

after the vase was completed, and not impressions of a mould in

which they were formed.”

In recording the collection made by Nr Dunning from the

burial caves in Tennessee, first noticed by Dr. Jones in the Natu-

ralist, Prof. Wyman says :

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VIIL 3

34 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

« A second cave is situated near the mouth of the Big Pidgeon

River, not far from Newport, in Cocke County. As described by

Mr. Dunning, ‘it is about eighty feet above the water, and reached

only by a steep rocky path called Devil’s Gap. The tomb was

found about two feet below the floor of the cave, covered with an

artificial layer of clay about six inches in thickness, by which the

joinings of the stone were completely closed. It was five feet long,

two high and three and a half broad, and built of unhewn stones,

fragments of the outcropping limestone ridge near by. The body

was placed in a crouching position. Char coal and ashes were p

ent, indicating that fire had been kindled near the tomb. The only

relics found buried with the skeleton were about five pounds of

disks made from some large marine shell from an inch to an inch

and a half in diameter, and perforated in the middle.’ The skeleton

found in this stone tomb, as appears from the imperfect ossifica-

tion of the bones, was that of an individual not quite adult, having.

a height of nearly six feet, but with bones of rather slender make.

e tibi are somewhat flattened, and the fore arms are much

Pawened, in proportion to the upper arm, the radius being 0°81

and the ulna 0°87 of the length of the humerus. The cranium was

not quite perfect, but sufficiently so to determine its principal pro-

portions. The most marked feature, and this is very striking, is

the extreme artificial flattening of the occiput, and the consequent

increase of the diameter of the head from side to side, so that the

breadth somewhat exceeded the length, a degree of distortion not

often met with even in the extreme cases among the Peruvians.

In many of the North American Indian tribes a comparatively

slight amount of distortion is often met with, but among a few

it was carried to an extreme condition, as in the Natchez, as

recorded by Adair and Bartram, and more recently by Morton ;

among the Choctaws and Waxsaws, <n to Lawson, and

among the Catawbas, according to Mor

It is interesting to know that we have the flattened form of

@ head i in the ancient race of Tennessee as well as the natural form,

for in a skull which Dr. Jones obtained from East Tennessee,

of which we have a photograph in the Academy collection, the

high forehead is a marked feature, and it seems now to be a fact

-~ beyond dispute that both forms of crania, as expressed by the

~ terms of high and low foreheads, are common throughout the whole

_ mound region of the United States, indicating a great similarity

with the ancient races in Central and ES Tanerion;

“The third section of this int ti waceonnt of

ce Prof. Wy man’ s own explorations in Florida. ‘The care with which

the p renewed his examination of the shéll heaps he had

jh lls

pao To ee aa ee ae

n fommeriy so f nr da is most valusbie ies LT siga

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 35

tionable data to other explorers. We have not space now to nite

from this part of the report except so far as relates to the age of

the mound at Silver Spring, a large shell heap of from two to

twenty feet in height and said to cover an area of about twenty

acres. This heap is made up almost entirely of the small fresh

water shells of the genera Ampullaria and Paludina, and, as Prof.

Wyman remarks, it seems incredible to conceive that such vast

numbers of small shells could have been brought together by

man from the waters about, and the immense size of the mound

must be regarded as. the work of many years and probably of

centuries.

“« There is to be seen at Silver Spring a grove of live oaks, a

few survivors of a race of giants once common in the forests

near the dct and to which my attention was called by my

friend G. A. Peabody, Esq. Six of these at five feet from the

ground ae as follows: one thirteen feet, three fifteen, one

ninetdck! and one = cee twenty-six and offense feet i

from one-half of the trunk, all that now remains, but agrees

closely with measurements made several years before by Mr.

Peabody, when the trunk was still whole. These trees are not on

the highest part of the mound, but on the slope farthest from the

water. Excavations made beneath the largest of them showed

that the tree was of more recent origin than the mound itself. If

at the beginning of the second century of the life of the live oak

there are twelve rings at least to the inch, then the above men-

tioned tree, having a a semidiameter of fifty inches, would have an

age of not less than six hundred years, and was near the beginning

of the second century of its existence at the landing of Columbus.

On the same basis of calculation, the least age of the mounds near

Blue Spring, and at Old Town, would be about four hundred years.

Though these estimates are to be regarded only as approximations

to the truth, they, without doubt, carry back the origin of the

RRE be ond the reach of history or tradition, and certainly

ne or two centuries before the discovery of America. hough

they cannot be more recent than the trees growing upon them,

y have been, and probably were, finished long “es ih

life of the trees above mentioned began

Revision or THE AMERICAN OR Tyrant FiycatcHers.*— This

revision of the Myiurchi is based upon all the SR material

- *Stndies of the Tyrannidæ.— Part I. Revision of the species - E By ;

Elliott Coues. Proc. ae Nat. Sci. Phila. e pp. 56-81. — >

36 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

in this country, numbering over two hundred specimens, and

comprising the entire suites of the Smithsonian Institution,

Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Mr. Lawrence’s collection,

and an examination of the types in the collections of the Boston

Society of Natural History and the Academy of Natural Sciences 7

of Philadelphia, together with numerous specimens from other

sources. In this paper Dr. Coues has adopted the ‘‘ synthetic”

method of investigation instead of the ‘‘ analytic” which, up to

the present time, has been so generally followed, especially by

American ornithologists. It is hence a paper of unusual interest

as fairly initiating a ‘‘ new departure” in American ornithology.

Dr. Coues here takes the ‘ arbitrary ” but apparently justifiable

basis of predicating ‘*‘ species ’} upon specimens presenting any

definite, constant, tangible characters whatsoever, that do not, so

far as it appears, grade into the characters of other species ;” of a

predicating ‘‘‘ varieties’ upon specimens presenting indefinite and 4

inconstant yet tangible characters that are seen to grade into

the characters of other specimens ;” of predicating ‘“‘ ‘synonymes’ a

upon specimens presenting indefinite, inconstant, and intangible

characters, due to individual peculiarities, or to age, sex, season

or locality ; as well as upon specimens presenting no special char-

acters at all.” His investigation of the genus has led him to the

belief “ that there are only four forms (sic) of Myiarchus that do

not intergrade, and that are differentiated from a common original

stock to such degree, or in such manner, that we cannot account

for their respective peculiarities according to highly probable laws

. of geographical variation depending upon differences in food,

climate, etc.” He finds that the specimens examined by him “ rep-

~ resent nine species, two of which present each three tangible varie-

ties.” These results are somewhat different from those reached by

other investigators of the group, and in allusion thereto be

observes: ‘though in the following pages I may appear to —

have ‘ unnecessarily,’ if not unwarrantably, reduced the number of

=~ species, yet I am persuaded that no unprejudiced ornithologist

could have reached different conclusions upon study of the same |

material. It may be well to remember that two hundred speci-

E Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.. IIL p. 197. July. 1872

-~ {Compa Omp ? p ı July, 1€

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 37

specimens instead of two hundred, I should not be able to estab-

lish as many species as are here allowed.”

The species’ and varieties recognized are the following: 1.,

Myiarchus validus, known only from Jamaica. 2. M. crinitus,

with three localized varieties, viz., crinitus, which ranges through-

out the eastern portion of the United States and retires to Central

America to winter; irritans (including Mezicanus and Yucata-

nensis Lawr.), inhabiting Central and South America to Paraguay

and distinguished with difficulty from var. crinitus; Cooperi

(Tyrannula Mexicanus Kaup) confined chiefly to southern and

southwestern Mexico. 3. M. cinerascens (Mezxicanus Baird), “ one

of the better marked species of this difficult group” inhabiting

southwestern United States and Mexico. 4. M. tyrannulus (feros,

Swainsonii, Panamensis, etc. auct.) a homogeneous type, ranging

over Central America and southwest to southern Brazil. 5. M.

pheacephalus of Ecuador, suspected to be a local race of the

preceding. 6. M. Lawrencei of Mexico and Central America.

7. M. nigriceps, of Central and northern South America; though

a tangible species, regarded as ‘“‘ simply a geographical representa-

tive of M. Lawrencé.” 8. M. stolidus, a flexible species, with

three insular varieties or local races: viz., stolidus, Jamaica, St.

Domingo and Hayti; Phebe, Cuba and Bahamas; Antillarum,

Porto Rico and Tobago, the. Porto Rican form being very strongly

marked. 9. M. tristis, Jamaica. Not only have all these ‘‘ varie-

ties ” ranked hitherto as species, but others reduced in this paper

to synonymes have currently held similar rank.

Preliminary to a revision of the species, the leading features of

the genus are clearly sketched, as distinguishing it among allied

genera. It proves to be a not sharply defined group, “ the genus

so called ” resting ‘upon no structural characters, while its syno-

nymes are among the vagaries of ornithology.” A few species

usually relegated to other genera are shown properly to belong ©

here, and the genus as thus defined is susceptible of a tol-

erably definite diagnosis. Before proceeding to an analysis of

the species our author discusses other general matters relating to

the subject, especially individual and geographical variation, and

announces several propositions to which he invites serious consid-

eration. The importance of some of these will warrant their

repetition here as being an exposition of important facts and

principles at present engaging the attention of ornithologists, and

capable of wide application.

38 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

‘t The normal inherent ae in size, of the whole bird and

its members, is at least twelve per c ene ae the mean. (This is

independent of all p a circumstances. )”

. “ Size varies in direct ratio with the latitude of the breeding

season.

‘* Size of peripheral parts, as compared with total size, varies in

inverse ratio with the latitude of the breeding-place. (Cf. Allen,

Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. I, p. 229).”

Intensity of coloration varies in direct ratio with the tempera-

ture and humidity of the pheno 8 fe Moisture, however,

intensifies color more than heat; aridity tones down color more

than cold. Birds from hot dry aa ie therefore, are paler, ceteris

paribus, than birds pen wet places of the same or even lower

temperature. (Cf. Allen, op. cit., p. 239).”

“ Variation, unconnected with age, sex or season, is in inverse

ratio with the migration or changeable geographical distribution

of individuals.”

Other propositions are announced relating to variations depend-

ent upon age and sex in the group especially under consideration.

They all appear to have been strictly followed, and the conclusions

thus reached seem to be in the main thoroughly tenable. The

propositions relating to geographical variatign, though as yet far

from being generally accepted, we are convinced are well founded,

as the more thoroughly they are tested the more fully are they con-

firmed.— J. A. A.

MONOGRAPH OF THE SpHENISCcID&.*—In this important memoir

of forty-two pages we have one of the most valuable contributions

to the literature of the Spheniscide that has yet appeared. It

opens with a critical historical synopsis of all preceding papers

treating of the group, from Linnzus down to the present year, in

~ onymy and the gradual accumulation of our present knowledge

the family. From the two species known in 1766 to Linneeus,

the number had increased in 1781 to eight valid species, four of

te which were then made known for the first time by Forster in his

_ valuable history of the group. The next valid new species was de-

_ scribed by Brandt in 1837, “the first for half a century.” Later

the he of valid species was increased to twelve, the number

a recognized by Schlegel in 1867, and by our present author.

a observes ; “ As far as the determination of the species is concerned,

m e EA wia 8 woodcuts. coopt

eee ee S ee ee S eee

a which are briefly yet lucidly traced the principal changes of syn-

2 Respecting Schlevel’s judicious revision of the group Dr. Coues -

ORE S ie & Melina ce vid the Spheniscide. By Dr. sd Soi eit Proc:

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 39

our own studies bear out Dr. Schlegel’s in every single instance ;

indeed, it seems to us impossible to reach any other conclusion,

when any considerable and sufficient amonnt of material is ex-

amined. The present article of ours is so completely an en-

dorsement of Dr. Schlegel’s, that the only points of difference

are one or two unimportant synonymical determinations among

the crested species which, after all, will probably remain matters

of opinion.”

The materials on which Dr. Coues’ memoir is based are the

collections of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences,

(now for the first time elaborated), and of the Smithsonian In-

stitution. Both are rich in representatives of this group, with

which have been also collated the specimens in the Museum of

the Boston Society of Natural History. Part II is devoted

to a discussion of “certain points of cranial structure bearing

upon the determination of the genera.” luding to the diver-

sity of opinions among authors in respect to the number of

genus of each species — Dr. Coues states that ‘‘ to fix the question

of genera with reasonable certitude” was one of the objects of

his present investigation. An examination of the skulls at his

command (but representing only a part of the species) showed

“three positively different patterns.” Each pattern, while marked

by peculiarities of its own, possesses characters shared also by

one of the others, and it is on the combination of these features

that the genera are established. Whilst our author thinks it

* probable that no more than three genera will be finally determin-

able, namely, Aptenodytes, Eudyptes and Spheniscus,” he provis-

ionally admits a fourth, Pygocelis. “ These genera are exactly

those of Prof. Hyatt,” and “ correspond very nearly with the

sections Dr. Schlegel has indicated.” In this connection the chie

osteological peculiarities of Aptenodytes ** Pennantii” are described,

with more especial reference, however, to the membral segments.

“ The tarso-metatarsus,” Dr. C. remarks, is the most remarkable

bone of the skeleton in several respects, and the one more partic-

ularly diagnostic of the family ; penguins afford m z only

instance, among recent birds, of width crosswise being decidedly

greater than thickness antero-posteriorly, and more than iai the

length ; and the only case of persistence throughout life of fenes-

træ aee the eae of the bones o three me

40 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

distinct metatarsals.” These membral and cranial features are

illustrated by several figures drawn by Prof. Morse.

Part III treats briefly of the geographical distribution of the

species. The penguins are not only confined to the southern

hemisphere, but range northward only to latitudes 10° south on the

Pacific coast of South America and to 8° south on the Atlantic

coast of the same continent; on the African coast only to 25°

south and occur only much further to the southward on the coast

of Australia. The Falkland Islands appear to be the geograph-

ical centre of the family, where no less than half the species

occur. They range southward, however, as far towards the pole

as voyagers have yet penetrated. The species have usually a

wide range, several of them being circumpolar; of none does the

exact range of periodical movements or migrations appear to be

known. In general they assemble in immense numbers at their

breeding stations where they commonly remain for but a short

portion of the year.

Part IV gives a list of the species, with their synonymy, and

Latin diagnoses. The specimens examined are enumerated, and

generally each is described more or less in detail, with special

reference to an elucidation of the various stages of plumage each

species presents. As we have already indicated, only twelve

Species are recognized, as follows :— Aptenodytes Patagonica, A.

longirostris, Pygocelis teniata, P. adelie, P. antarctica, P. antipodes,

Eudyptes catarractes, E. chrysocome, E. chrysolopha, E. diademata,

Spheniscus minor, S. demersus, S. demersus var. Magellanicus.

This elaborate memoir constitutes a valuable supplement to Prof.

_ Hyatť’s recent catalogues of the Spheniscidæ,* and must form for

many years a standard work of reference for the group. Besides

elucidating the complicated generic and specific synonymy of the

family, it is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the oste-

_ ology of the penguins, and to their geographical distribution and

_ changes of plumage during the period of adolescence.—J. A. A.

Dusors’ Conspecrus.t— Lists of European birds seem destined

to occur at frequent irregular intervals, and perhaps we cannot have

too many of them, at any rate so long as they continue to agitate

the subject by their notable mutual disagreements, and thus serve

4 See ‘Amer. Nat. Vol. VI, pp. 472, 545

onspectus systematicus et geographicns Avium Europæarum; auctore ALPH,

UBOIS, etc., ete., Bruxelles, 1870. (8vo. pp. 35.)

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 41

to keep us alive to the requirements of the case. While we per-

sonally have not the particular information required for nicety of

criticism in such an instance as the present, we may, nevertheless,

indicate the general features of the paper. The author has limited

his field to ‘ Europe,” politically speaking, as is customary indeed,

but as is not, in our judgment, either necessary or desirable. As

naturalists, we should consider the distribution of our objects of

study with reference rather to natural faunal areas, at least when

the species of more than a single locality are to be collated. We

trust that the compiler of the next “ European” catalogue will

take this into consideration. Prof. Dubois catalogues five hun-

dred and seventy-five species in gross, under two hundred and

fifty-three genera of fifty families, this enumeration being exclusive

of numerous “ varieties,” but inclusive of the “ stragglers” (for-

tuito occurrentes). There are, we find, about one hundred and

sixty-five of the latter, leaving four hundred and ten species net.

Comparing this with a rather recent list * of very excellent author-

ity, the discrepancy is notably slight, Prof. Blasius giving four

hundred and twenty regular inhabitants, one hundred and three

casuals and fifty-five varieties. The totals of the two lists (five

hundred and seventy-five and five hundred and seventy-eight) are

surprisingly close, but it should be remembered that this apparent

agreement is largely brought about by accidental counterbalancing

of numerous individual discrepancies; and furthermore, if Dr.

Dubois had, like Prof. Blasius, numbered the geographical and other

varieties he admits, the result would have been very different. On

the whole, we cannot consider that European ornithologists have

as yet reached unanimity in the cases of more than two-thirds of the

species that occur within their limits. Whether the present list is

more or less reliable than some of its predecessors, we must leave

to the judgment of those who are better informed than ourselves ;

but there is no doubt of its very general acceptability.

Much may be said in general terms, in favor of the classifica- ee

tion of this brochure, although we cannot endorse i throughout. :

We protest, as other writers have, against the ‘ one

association which places swallows alongside swifts isk -goatsuck- :

ers ; we see no grounds for the uniting of American Tireonide with-

the old world a heroes seam nor the propriety of — the nine-

tBlasius; Newton’s ed. of 1862.

42 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

primaried American Sylvicolide under Sylviide.* We have little

faith in the desirableness of associating the cuckoos with the

woodpeckers in a group Zygodactyle, greatly preferring Huxley’s

definition of the Coceygomorphs. In the matter of nomencla-

ture we are not at one with the author, who goes back for his

names to Ray, Gesner, Willoughby and Aldrovandi, to say nothing

of the comparatively late Brisson and Moehring; but this is

simply a matter of individual preference. Whatever “rules”

may be made, they are only binding at our option — paraphrasing

an old saying: inter synonyma silent leges.*

[We take this occasion to request ornithologists to favor the

Natvrauist with a copy of any paper they may hereafter publish ;

intending to devote reasonable space to the respectful considera-

tion, at the hands of our ornithological co-laborers, of such publi-

cations.— Eps. ]

New Encrianp OrnitnoLocy.— Mr. Maynard contributes a very

acceptable and creditable paper, t increasing our knowledge of the

summer northern distribution and breeding habits of many spe-

eies of which comparatively little was before known; and gives

good descriptions of various nests and eggs. The information

respecting most of the land birds observed is quite full and appar-

ently perfectly reliable. The species given number one hundred

and sixty-four, which is probably about five-sixths of the whole

avi-fauna of the regions explored. As the author confines himself

to his own personal observations and those of a few gentlemen

who have worked in the same or contiguous localities, the paper is

ers. free from misstatements of fact, although some of the

gener: izations seem to us somewhat overdrawn if not altogether

hasty. We are unable to agree with Mr. Maynard respecting cer-

~ an fyeatthers which he discusses at length. He evidently labors

under a misapprehension (shared, we understand, by other New

England ornithologists) regarding Empidonax Acadicus. This

bird, which appears to be hardly known in New England, is per-

. ” *Respecting this family we are informed by Dr. Coues that he considers it inade-

quately distinguished from Turdide, devise the annectant vice: of the tw a sec

and that - current Turdine, Sazicoline, R Reguline, Mi , Sylvii-

, æ, Pycnonoline.

m ( Sylvia, Erythacus, Accentor, Calamoherpe Paptlopuslcstiy Soati form dhe family,

1 > to be further enlarged to o accommodate the Troglodytide and Mota-

ie of he Birds Aes Coos Co., N. H. and Oxford Co., Me., with annotations

breeding ha igrations, etc. By C. J. Mayn

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 43

fectly distinct from Traillii ‘and minimus, between which Mr.

aynard misconceives it to stand. As an example of the faulty

reasoning with which we must charge the author, we may cite the

case he presents of E. minimus. Finding a certain amount of

variation in the proportions of the quills, he assumes that the

wing-formula is entirely unreliable ; which is not the case. If, for

example, he had said of E. minimus “ second, third and fourth

quills subequal and longest, fifth little shorter, first and sixth sub-

equal and shortest,” he would have laid down a formula by which

the species is always distinguishable from Acadicus* (not from

Traillii, however). Reverting to a matter of more consequence,

we should note that in the localities visited by Mr. Maynard * the

Alleghanian and Canadian faunæ meet. . . Starting on the north-

eastern coast of Maine, near Mt. Desert, the dividing line of these

faunz proceeds in a southwesterly direction along the southern

margin of the mountain range which stretches across the state to

the White Mountains. Here it declines to the south, reaching

even to Rye Beach. Then once more proceeds northwest along

the western borders of the mountain range into Vermont. . . So

abruptly is the line defined in many places by the range of moun-

tains, that some birds which occur in abundance on one side are

found only as stragglers, or not at all on the other.”

For the numerous typographical errors which deface the paper

we understand that the author cannot be held responsible, since

he had no opportunity of revising the proofs. The paper itself is

such a forcible commentary upon the inexcusably faulty practice,

by far too common, and quite needlessly so, of printing scientific

matter without author’s revise, that we refrain from the sermon

which nevertheless we are strongly inclined to preach on this

occasion. — E.

Annats or Bee Cutture.+ — This annual contains several

essays of great interest and value to bee keepers; they are all

good, and some of sterling value, and apparently above the ave- ae

rage of articles appearing in the ordinary bee journals. ce

*The formula of Acadicus is: second and third quills subequal and longest, fourth

little if any shorter, first and fifth subequal aad much shorter, sixth much shorter

still.

tA s of Bee Culture for 1872. A Bee Keeper’s Year Book. D. L. Adair, editor.

With mapi ii from the best American Apiarians and Naturalists. Louisville,

Ky., 1872. 8vo, pp. 64. ;

44 BOTANY.

pearance encourages us in the hope that bee keeping will be con-

ducted on a more scientific basis than ever before in this country.

UNDERGROUND Treasures; How anb Wurre To Finp THeEm.*

The design of this little book is to make every farmer and land-

owner his own mining engineer, and when his knowledge is ex-

hausted to induce him to go to some professional mining engineer

for advice. Perhaps the recent diamond swindle demonstrates the

need of just such a guide as this. The plan seems well carried

out, the descriptions of minerals, ores and gems being terse and

clear, and the hints as to how to find them are practical. After

describing the eighty minerals which out of two hundred and

forty-four found within the United States are of practical use,

the author gives chapters on “ Prospecting for Diamonds, Gold,

Silver, Copper, Lead and Iron,” ‘‘ Mineral Springs,” “ Artificial

Jewelry—How Made and How Detected,” ‘Discovery of Gold in

California,” and a concluding one on the “Discovery of Silver

in Nevada.”

BOTANY.

Past VEGETATION OF THE GLoBEe.—Nine years after the publica-

tion of Brongniart’s “ Tableau” Dr. Paterson discovered, in a bitu-

minous shale near Edinburgh, Pothocites Grantoni, which has been

generally accepted ever since as a monocotyledonous flowering

plant. Itcan therefore no longer be asserted that in the Paleozoic

period the higher Phanerogams were absent. Nor can it be even

said that, amongst Phanerogams, Pothocites belongs to a very

a Pame type. The condensation of its inflorescence and the

reduced structure of its flowers imply, on any hypothesis of evolu-

tion, the previous existence of flowering plants which had under-

gone less differentiation. Indeed, for anything that can be

_ positively said to the contrary, there may have been during the

(

_ Carboniferous epoch a phanerogamic covering to the earth hardly

less complicated than there is now. Our knowledge of the

vegetation of that time is confined to the forests of arborescent

l Jryptogams fringing the deltas of great rivers. Stems of conifer-

ous trees were occasionally floated down from the higher ground ;

the plants that grew with them we know nothing.

Underground Treasures: How and Where to Find Them. A Key for the Ready

Essmtastia or all the Useful a= within the United a By Prof. James |

Orton, Ilustrated. Hartford, Conn. on, Dustin & Co. 1872. 12mo, pp. 137.

BOTANY. 45

Still less can it be said of the Mesozoic period that its fossil

remains convey any adequate notion of the contemporary facies of

the vegetation. The cones and driftwood that occur in rocks of

marine formation of this age would have been little injured by

immersion in water in which the flowers and foliage of less rigid

plants would speedily have decomposed beyond recognition. Such

guesses as we can make about the actual vegetation of Mesozoic

land surfaces stand in the same relation to the reality as do those

which a traveller would make in approaching a new country

from the ocean, and in collecting the vegetable waifs and strays

borne out to sea by currents, to the estimate which he afterwards

forms when he botanizes at leisure on the land itself. It is,

however, only fair to admit that if arborescent Dicotyledons

existed to any large extent anterior to the chalk, it is hardly expli-

cable that we have as yet no evidence from driftwood that this

was the fact, except Mr. Sorby’s notice of some non-gyimnosper-

mous wood from the Lias near Bristol,* which appears to have

been overlooked. In the “ dirt-bed” of the Upper Oolite we

have a true land surface, but the ligneous plants of this were

undoubtedly gymnospermous. It is far from improbable however

that, at any rate, herbaceous Dicotyledons had made their appear-

ance in the Mesozoic period. Monocotyledons, as already pointed

out, are certainly known to date from a time still earlier, and in

the herbaceous condition Dicotyledons are less different from

Monocotyledons than when they become woody. Several facts

seem to prove that existing trees are more modern than herba-

ceous plants belonging to the same groups. They have, for

example, more confined ranges, and often represent on oceanic

islands, apparently because the exaltation of their stature has had

less to struggle against, orders which elsewhere comprise only

herbaceous plants. Probably in every group the arborescent habit

has been a subsequent development. — W. T. THISELTON 2

in The Academy.

SEEDS as ProsectiLes. — Editors of Naturalist: Allow me the ©

favor to correct the phraseology I, by some unaccountable slip of

the tongue, employed in referring to the Hamamelis seed. Itis

the çontracting of the horny endocarp not the horny “albumen,”

which projects the seeds.—Tuomas MEEHAN.

> Bret .

12 Pipu ti n ol

oF 7 EF

46 BOTANY.

How tHe Burrato Grass Disappears.—Prof. Mudge in an inte-

resting letter in the “Kansas Farmer” on northwestern Kansas,

gives some interesting facts as to the gradual disappearance of

the buffalo grass and the incoming of other grasses before the

advent of civilized men. He says:

“The steadiness and regularity of this change is interestin

Seventeen years ago the buffalo grass covered the hills and ae

ries natal Manhattan, but it has been gone many years. Six

ago, when we first visited.the forks of the Sire we

hound it ev ‘ery where except close to the river bank. Two years

later, the blue stems had possession of half the bottom. Now

the buffalo grass has entirely left the latter ground, and is fast

vanishing from the high prairie. In November, 1866, we visited

Smith and Phillips counties, then unsettled, ae found butialo

grass in full possession, but this summer it had disappeared to the

extent of one-half in the bottoms, and the tall grasses had become

intermingled with it. On the high lands the change had already

begun, but to a limited extent. On the Prairie Dog and at the

upper portions of the Middle Fork, we found the “change just

commencing. In crossing from Cedarville to Bull City in Osborne

county, we ‘noticed that the buffalo grass had left the divide to the

extent of one-third, and the coarser grasses above named had

taken its place.

We thus record a few of these changes, that others may notice

the regularity and rapidity of the disappearance of the buffalo

grass.”

Hepaticen Cupenses WricutiaNe£. — Under tickets with this

heading Mr. Charles Wright has distributed a few sets (varying

from two hundred to one hundred and fifty species) of Hepatice

collected by him in Cuba several years ago. They have in the

_ meantime been studied by Gottsche of Altona, who is the prin-

cipal authority in Hepatic mosses, and are named by him. The

- authentic names are given upon the tickets. The sets are to be

disposed of, at ten dollars the hundred specimens, upon applica-

_ tion to Mr. Wright, at the Herbarium of Harvard University.

A Grasp Hersarium. — The herbarium of Columbia college,

New York, is to have added to it the immense collection of Dr.

Meissner, the distinguished Professor of the University of Basle.

‘This herbarium contains 63,000 species, and is purchased for the

college through the liberality of J. J. Crooke, Esq., a wealthy

S scientist. The present herbarium of the college is the

Ate one of Dr. John TE and is ry rich in

ZOOLOGY. 47

typical specimens. With the proposed addition it is said that it

will be the largest herbarium in the country.

ZOOLOGY.

CEMIOSTOMA AGAIN—In my note ante, p. 489, I have stated that

in the “ Transactions of the London Entomological Society” Ser.

2, vol. 5, pp. 21 and 27, and in Ser. 3, vol. 2, p. 101, certainly two,

and if my memory serves me aright three, species of Cemiostoma

have been described from India. These references were evidently

made from memory. It seems from Mr. Mann’s note ante, p. 606,

that but two species are mentioned on the pages referred to and

those two are from England, not from India. Nevertheless, I am

still convinced that my memory is not utterly at fault, and that

species of Cemiostoma have been discovered in India, and when

the opportunity again offers I will look them up. Many months

had elapsed after I saw the ‘* Trans. Lond. Ent. Soc.” before my

note on p. 489 was written, and probably I have confounded in

my mind the above references with some other. Eastern natural-

ists surrounded by fine collections, libraries and every facility for

study can scarcely appreciate the difficulties with which their less

favored western brethren have to contend ; and Mr. Mann no doubt

learned whilst in Brazil that want of the means of reference to

what others have done is a very different thing from ‘negli-

nce.”

Cemiostoma, Phyllocnistis, many species of Lithocolletis and a

few other genera of Tineina have a spot in the apical part of the wing

which I have therefore called ‘the apical spot.” In Phyilocnistis

and in Lithocolletis this spot is always at the apex: but in Cemio-

stoma it is always at the inner angle. So characteristic of each

of these genera is the position of the spot in it, that when the

name of the genus is given and its spot is mentioned, the student

who is familiar with the genus knows at once where the spot is-

located ; just as Mr. Mann knew at once from my description the

location of the spot in C. albella, although he had never seen the

species and although I called it, for brevity, and not through

negligence, “the apical spot” instead of ‘‘ the spot located at the eo

inner angle.” But if the phrase “ apical spot” might have been —

misleading had it stood alone, it could not have been so in the :

description of C. albella, because it is esse ie with eos EE

48 ZOOLOGY.

ment that “behind it at the base of the cilia is a fuscous streak’

showing that the “ apical spot” was not at the extreme apex.

C. susinella, C. coffeella and C. albella are evidently very nearly

allied, if they are not in fact different names for the same species.

All of Mr. Mann’s figures in his last plate will answer for some

specimen of albella, especially the figure of the cocoon. The

mode of pupation is the same, and I have been able to detect

no differences in the larvæ. C. albella and C. susinella mine the

leaves of poplars, and albella also mines those of willows ; whether

susinella does is not ascertained. The identity of the food plant,

and the close similarity of the insects, raise a strong presumption

that they are the same species. But albella has the tuft on the

vertex as distinct as it is in cofella, whilst Mr. Stainton says that

C. scitella was (when he wrote) the only European species which

kas such a tuft, and if so, then susinella must be distinct from

both albella and coffeella. But Mr. Stainton’s note upon susinella

is very brief and he does not pretend to give an accurate or

detailed description of it. Besides, it has not yet been found in

England, and Mr. Stainton’s specimens must have come from

Europe, and therefore may be a little worn, and the tuft is very

easily obliterated. Mr. Stainton’s brief note, then, scarcely affords

sufficient data for a comparison with other species. He says that

susinella has two fuscous streaks pointing upwards in the cilia,

represented, as I infer, by the last two streaks in Mr. Mann’s

figure ; and susinella and coffeella therefore do not differ in this

~ respect; but in albella the first of these last two streaks, that

ao immediately behind the ‘‘ apical spot,” is only fuscous at the costa

and the remainder of it is pale golden. The outer fuscous stalk is

- in albella by the fuscous spot at the apex, and with the

4 cilia expanded as in flight this spot would become a streak. In

_ coffeella the spot is partly surrounded (on the sides towards the

_ base and towards the costa) with pale golden. Mr. Stainton does

not mention this golden margin, but he says that the first (golden)

costal streak is continued to the anal angle (where the spot is),

_and if so, it must partly surround the spot. Mr. Mann represents

confluent with its golden margin. My description of albella was

drawn up from four specimens in which I failed to detect the

ence of the golden margin around the spot thus differing from

j ee e wher the paaa costal streaks did not attain the

tr Sh a ia ea i ag Pe h

RRN pies

eae in ath Sac: Goel

the two golden costal streaks as not attaining the spot, and not

GEOLOGY. 49

spot thus agreeing with coffella and differing from susinella.

Since the description of albella was written I have obtained many

specimens and find a greater range of variation than I then supposed

to exist. In some specimens the golden margin around the spot

is only visible in some lights, in others it is distinct and wide, so

as to be confluent with both golden costal streaks, and I have a

specimen in which this is the case as to one wing, whilst on the

other both streaks are entirely distinct from the golden margin of

the spot. If the same range of variation exists in coffeella and

susinella I do not see how they can be regarded as distinct species,

nor wherein they differ from albella except that in albella the ciliary

streak is golden, except on the costa where it is fuscous, whilst in

the other two species it is said to be entirely fuscous. Possibly,

however, they may differ as to the spot itself. For Mr. Stainton

says that in swsinella the spot is black with a violet ocellus, whilst”

in albella, although the color varies with every change of the light,

I would not call the central part of the spot an ocellus at all, nor

its color violet; but would rather consider the spot as brilliant

silvery, or silvery-gray, metallic, margined distinctly with black

before and behind, and but faintly or not at all above and beneath.

I doubt, however, the specific difference of the specimens, and if

they are distinct the difference can probably only be a

by a comparison of a large series of specimens of each.— V. T.

GEOLOGY.

PROBOSCIDIANS OF THE AMERICAN Eocene. Correcrion.—

Having for the first time obtained a view of the premaxillary and

maxillary bones of the EHobasileus cornutus, I find that the tusk

which I have called an incisor is a canine.— E. D. Corr.

RETURN OF THE YALE CoLLEGE Expepirion.—Professor Marsh

and party returned on the 7th of December from the Rocky Moun- :

tains, where they have spent the last two months in geological

researches. They bring back a large number of vertebrate fossils ae

from .the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations of the West, in-

cluding many new and interesting mammals, birds and reptiles.

Among the treasures secured during the present trip was a nearly

entire skeleton of Hesperornis regalis Marsh, the gigantic diving- As 2

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII.

bird of the Cretaceous; a second metas of pantie 47. celer fe : :

50 GEOLOGY.

Marsh), and numerous remains of Pterodactyls. The new fossils

will soon be described by Professor Marsh.

Norice or A New and REMARKABLE Fossi Brrp.— One of the

most interesting of recent discoveries in paleontology is the skel-

eton of a fossil bird, found, during the past summer in the upper

Cretaceous shale of Kansas, by Prof. B. F. Mudge, who has kindly

sent the specimen to me for examination. The remains indicate

an aquatic bird, about as large as a pigeon, and differing widely

from all known birds, in having biconcave vertebre. The cervical,

dorsal and caudal vertebrae, preserved, all show this character,

the ends of the centra resembling those in Plesiosaurus. The

rest of the skeleton presents no marked deviation from the ordi- _

nary avian type. The wings were large in proportion to the pos-

terior extremities. The humerus is 58°6™™ in length, with the

radial crest strongly developed. The femur is small, and has the

proximal end compressed transversely. The tibia is slender, and

44:5™™ long. Its distal end is incurved, as in swimming birds, but

has no supratendinal bridge. This species may be called Jchthy-

ornis dispar. A more complete déscription will appear in an early

number of this Journal.—O. C. Marsun, American Journal of Sci-

ence and Arts.

KNOWLEDGE OF PETROLEUM IN PENNSYLVANIA IN 1771.—On

page 638 of the October number of the Naruratist is a notice of

the fact that petroleum was known to exist in Pennsylvania in the

last century, and the date given was about 1789. I have in my

“* Kalm’s Travels in North America” in which is a map

s vpibiished according to act of Parliament, March 7, 1771,” upon

which I find marked “petroleum” on the Alleghany River about

eight miles above the mouth of French Creek. The locality is

marked with a little cross (+) on the east bank of the river, which

would put it very nearly opposite to the mouth of Oil Creek as

now known. I also find on the same map, in what is now Ohio, in

the vicinity of the present location of New Philadelphia in Tusca-

= rawas County, “Coals and whetstones:” and on the Hocking

River near the southern portion of the state is found the word

“coals.”

~ Kalm makes no mention of either coals or petroleum in these

-~ localities; in fact, he did not himself travel so far to the west, but

= fact of these names being on a map published in 1771 shows

GEOLOGY. 51

that they must have been known for a considerable time prior

to that date. — C. E. Brssry.

On AN EOCENE GENUS ALLIED TO THE Lemurs. — Professor Cope

recently read a paper before the American Philosophical Society

on an extinct mammal from Wyoming which he called Anapto-

. morphus œmulus. The number of teeth in the lower jaw is pre-

cisely the same as in man and the higher apes, but their structure

is nearer that of certain Lemurs at present existing in Madagascar

and East Africa. This resemblance is closer than has yet been

discovered to exist in any fossil genus, but is somewhat dimin-

ished by the separation by suture of the two halves of the lower

jaw. The animal was as large as a squirrel.

Fosst. Monkxeys.— Dr. Forsyth Major has just published in

Italy an account of certain fossil Simian remains which have

lately been for the first time discovered in Italy, and which he

refers to aspecies closely allied to the Barbary ape, Macacus inuus,

still found at Gibraltar. To this account the writer appends a

history of all fossil Quadrumana at present known. Of these,

seven species belong to Pliocene and Quaternary, ten to Miocene,

and three to Eocene strata. No fossil Lemuride have yet been

discovered; the fossils as yet found in S. America belonging

to the Platyrrhini, still peculiar to the Neotropical region. All

the rest belong to the Catarrhini, and some to the anthropomor-

phous genera; these have all been found in the old world, but

while some occurred in India, others inhabited France, Germany,

Greece and England.—A. W. B.

On Some or PROFESSOR Copr’s Recent INVESTIGATIONS. — In

the Narurauist for November last (p. 669), Prof. E. D. Cope has

a paper on the “ Coal Beds of Wyoming,” in which he claims to

have made the discovery that these strata are of Cretaceous age.

This, however, was already known to every one familiar with the

geology of that region. The existence of Cretaceous coal in

various parts of the Green River basin had previously been es- —

tablished by Mr. Meek, Messrs. King and Emmons, and myself,

although Professor Cope makes no reference to our researches.

Any one wishing to consult the recent literature on this subject

will find it cited in the ‘* American Journal of Science” for De-

cember 1872, page 489.

52 MICROSCOPY.

In the December Naturauist (page 773), there is another paper

by Prof. Cope on the ‘ Proboscidians of the American Eocene.”

The discoveries here claimed rest on an equally unsatisfactory

basis. The species mentioned had apparently all or nearly all

been previously described by Dr. Leidy and myself, the type spe-

cies, Tinoceras anceps Marsh, dating back to June, 1871. Some

of the characters given by Prof. Cope, e.g., the large upper incisors

and absence of canines, do not, indeed, apply to the species I have

described ; but I feel quite sure that Prof. Cope’s haste has unfor-

tunately led him to mistake canines for incisors. On several

other points, especially the position of the horns and structure of

the skull, I believe Prof. Cope to be equally wrong. The animals

described evidently belong to the order which I have called Dino-

cerea (Amer. Journ. Sci., Oct. 1872, p. 344). Their true charac-

ters and affinities, I propose soon to discuss fully elsewhere. —

O. C. Marsa.

DISCOVERY OF EXTINCT MAMMALS IN THE VICTORIA Caves, SET-

TLE, YORKSHIRE. — This famous bone-cave has hitherto produced

only remains of different ages from the Neolithic period to the

present. Recent excavations have yielded, however, at the depth

of about twenty feet, bones of the elephant, rhinoceros, hyena,

a crushed canine of a much larger carnivore, etc. The elephant’s

teeth found belong to a young individual, and the number of

gnawed bones and other indications, that the cave had been a den

of some larger carnivores, render it probable that the elephant

was dragged into it by them. — A. W. B.

MICROSCOPY.

‘ Microscopy at THE Vensa Exposition.—The Exposition of

= the Industry of all nations to be held in Vienna this year, will

afford microscopists a rare opportunity to exhibit to the world the

results of their ingenuity in contrivance, or of their skill in con-

‘and President F. A. P. Barnard is chairman of the Advisory Com- —

mittee on Group XIV, in which are included optical instruments. —

= Persons desirous of contributing to the exhibition of American

art on this occasion are requested to communicate immediately —

ny of the following persons who are the microscopical —

MICROSCOPY. 58

members of the committee ; Profs. R. H. Ward, M.D. of Troy,

New York, H. L. Smith of Hobart College, Messrs R. B. Tolles

of Boston, Mass., W. S. Sullivant of Columbus, Ohio, J. B. Rich

of pe York City, William Wales of Fort Lee, New Jersey,

Charles A. Spencer of Canastota, New York, Joseph Zentmayer

of o ign, Pennsylvania, and J. Grunow of New York City.

A New Accessory SraceE. — Messrs. James W. Queen & Co.,

of Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, and Broadway, New York, have

contrived a stage which can be used with any microscope and which

will commend itself to many microscopists as a very useful acces-

sory. It consists of a brass stage-plate, perforated in the centre

for the transmission of light and bearing, at one end, four pillars

which support, at the height of about an inch, a second plate. To

the under side of this second plate the object-slide is attached by

Fig. 6.

means of slight springs which allow it to be easily misplaced. It

is evident that this contrivance admits of any degree of obliquity ,

of illumination without regard to the construction of the stand on

which it is used; and the slight awkwardness of adapting an ach-

romatic condenser to this apparatus is nearly negatived by the

fact that most microscopists prefer to obtain extremely oblique

illumination either by a prism, or directly (unmodified) from the

source of light, for both of which this arrangement is especially

available. The comparative safety of the thin glass cover over

the object will also be appreciated by the many persons who have

seen a rare or costly object, such as the Type Plate, or Nobert’s

Lines, ruined by an incautious touch of a high power objective.

Magniryinc Power or Ossectives. To the Editors of the

American Naturatist. Dear Sims:— With great interest and

pleasure I have followed the preliminary movements to establish a _ :

54 MICROSCOPY.

uniform nomenclature of the value of achromatic objectives for

the microscope, to which the foremost microscopists of our coun-

try and abroad have advanced their contributions.

The problem is a complicated one, and the following will by no

Fig. 7.

means diminish the practical difficulties, but will only add one

more which has not been brought into consideration,

Undue importance is given to the optical centre of a lens, or

combination of lenses, by the different writers upon the subject,

Fig. 8. while the great importance

of the conjugate centres of a

lens has been entirely neg-

lected. The conjugate foci

of a lens or combination of

lenses, are in no way depend-

ent on its optical centre, but

- entirely on the conjugate cen-

tres. The single plano-con- —

vex lens makes an exception :

for in this the optical centre

and the conjugate centres

fall together, where the opti-

cal axis meets the curved

surface.

i If we take, for instance, a double convex lens of equal radii,

= Fig. ' 7, its tape centre is O, and consequently the rays A’ and A,

| in ns at such angles as to pass through the optical

Senin : emerge at E’ and E, parallel with the first directions.

1P mow the rays A At and A are y eaol towards the optical axis

MICROSCOPY. 55

of the lens, they meet at a point, C’, the centre of admission. If

the rays E’ and E are prolonged, they will meet at C, the centre of

emission. Therefore the conjugate foci do not meet at the optical

centre O, but are to be measured from C’ to the object, and from C

to the image; and the sum of the conjugate foci is not equal to

the distance between object and image, but in this case the dis-

tance between C and C’ must be deducted.

In combinations of lenses it is precisely the same. It is almost

impossible to analyze such a complicated system as a modern

microscopical objective, and to fix the position of the optical

centre or the conjugate centres, although all combinations possess

these remarkable centres. But let us take a simple combination of

two plano-convex lenses placed symmetrically, in which it is not

difficult to determine all that we need. In such a combination,

Fig. 8, the rays A and A’ pass through the optical centre O, and

emerge to E and E’, parallel with their original directions. Now

if we prolong A and A’, they will meet at C’, the centre of admis-

sion; and E and E’ prolonged will meet at C, the centre of

emission. To find for this combination the relation of conjugate

foci, or the relation between the size of object and image, we have

to compare the triangle ECE’, with the triangle A’C’A. In this

case the sum of the conjugate foci is equal to the distance of

object and image, plus the distance from C’ to C. In combina-

tions this will generally be the case. — JOSEPH ZENTMAYER, Phila-

delphia, Sept. 25th, 1872.

AmputrLevra Perivcrpa By Moontieur. — Many microscopists

have had the curiosity to use the beautiful white light of the full

moon as a source of microscopical illumination, but probably few

have tried it upon the more difficult objects. Prof. T. D. Biscoe,

led on by the clear sharp view given by it of easier objects, tested

it upon the last diatom of the Test Plate, using a Hartnack objec-

tive No. 10, and resolved the “test” at first trial.

Tur Stupy or Licuens.—The explanation of the peculiar double

nature of the lichens has lately become the subject of much dis-

cussion. It has been long recognized that in the tissue of lichens,

are to be found two quite distinct classes of elements. By one

class the lichens are allied with the fungi, by the other with the

. The great body of a lichen is made up of a structure

exactly identical with certain fungi, wliile scattered through the

56 MICROSCOPY.

substance are green granules or cells called gonidia; these bear a

strong resemblance to certain kinds of alge.

The same double nature of the lichens is evinced in their fructi-

fication, even more strikingly than in the simple vegetative system.

The complete identity of fruit (apothecia and spermagona) pro-

duced by hyphen threads of lichens with fruit of the division

Ascomycete of the fungi has been well known, and has even led

to the classification of this division of fungi with the lichens (by

Schleiden in 1842). But what astonishment was created when, in

1867, Famentzin and Baranetzky showed that the gonidia also, in

favorable circumstances, produced fruit identical with the zoo-

spores of algæ.

The question presses home more and more, whether the lichen

is a single individual whose development follows these two diver-

gent paths, or whether two distinct individuals out of different

natural classes have combined together to live a united life.

On the former supposition, the complete agreement of the goni-

dia of lichens with certain alge, and the fact that gonidia freed

from the lichen threads in which they lie embedded possess the

power of independent life and development (in which state they

cannot be distinguished from algz): these two considerations

have led to the almost inevitable conclusion that numerous genera

of algee (as supposed) are undeveloped or, it may be, abnormal

states of lichens. Famentzin and Baranetzky have lately adopted

this theory. On the other hand, De Bary (1866) has pointed out

the possibility that in the case of the ‘‘jelly-lichens” (Gallert-

~ flechten) the gonidia may be real alge which have assumed the

ae mea of lichens because parasitic fungi (of the family Ascom-

os > æ) have united themselves with them.

_ Since 1867 Schwendener has extended this theory over the

- ihote class of lichens. According to him lichens consist of

n algæ spun over, and swallowed up, as it were, in the meshes of

the mycelia of certain fungi. ‘There seemed one thing only needed

to establish this theory, namely, to succeed in raising lichens by

sowing the spores of fungi on gonidian-like alge. This experi-

ment has been successfully carried through in the case of a given

species of the genus Collema, by Dr. Beess in 1871.

Although this would seem to close the case, yet the new view

, accepted by the most experienced lichenologists, They

heads of the cage nature of the lichen, saying that the

MICROSCOPY. r

resemblance of gonidia to algæ does not prove identity, that they

have microscopically demonstrated the genetic connection of the

gonidia with the hyphen threads of that lichen, and that Tulasne

has raised lichens from lichen spores, without the presence of any

algæ; hence the Berlin Academy has announced the following

Prize-question: ‘* The proving of Schwendener’s view of the

double nature of the lichen,” by means of original investigations.

And they recommend the study of the following points.

lst. An exact study of the numerous one-celled forms of alge

which so closely resemble the gonidia of lichens. These are now

classed in the genera Pleurococcus, Cystococcus, Glococystis, etc.

2nd. Continuous investigation on the gonidia contained in the

thallus of lichens, especially with regard to their development

after being freed from the lichen thallus for the purpose of ascer-

taining with more certainty the different types of alge that ap-

pear. The question whether among the great number of green

gonidia, inhabiting lichens, there may not be more numerous types

than has been supposed, taken in connection with the investiga-

tions suggested above on the free living forms of alge ought

be kept clearly in mind. The case of the occurrence of different

forms of gonidia in one and the same lichen deserves special

attention

. The carrying on of repeated ‘“culture-from-spore” experi-

ments with lichens from different families with and without the

presence of the algæ that are supposed to be the nourishing plants.

This should be especially done with lichens containing chloro-

phyl-green gonidia.

The work may be presented in German, Latin, French, English

or Italian. Important points of investigation must be illustrated

by tam and the presentation of preparations (microscopic) is _

advisa

The Pee for sending in the papers is fixed at the first of March,

1875. Real names are to be sent in sealed envelopes. The m

is one hundred ducats.— T. D. B.

Misnamine OpsJECTIVES.—[Mr. Wenham has made public the

following brief reply to Mr. Stodders communication on this

subject in the August number of the Naturauist. This contro-

versy, having already called sufficient attention to the points

at issue, would be fruitless if still farther prolonged.] I should —

58 MICROSCOPY.

not have taken time to notice the long comment on my short

letter, appearing on page 234 of the “ Monthly Microscopical

Journal” for May, 1872, but for the remark that my letter was

written with “evident loss of temper!” Quite the reverse; it

was penned in a spirit of “ chaff,” and Mr. Bicknell, in his brief

note in reply, seems to have caught the vein; at which no one,

perhaps, laughed more heartily than myself. On the other hand,

it has drawn C. S. out of his shell, with horns erect, in his proper

name or color. I have nothing further to say on the question,

which leads to no scientific discovery, and is one to be settled

between the makers of object-glasses and purchasers, who are now

sufficiently warned. No particular reform can be anticipated by

pages of controversy having for its very basis such full scope for

personalities, of which this and the above may be taken as a

sample. The tone is becoming silly and tiresome; and having

contributed my share, I must drop the subject with the remark

that no one would be more willing to induce the makers to adopt

a nomenclature having a definite reference to actual magnifying

power than myself, could I see the possibility of doing so. Nu-

merals such as those adopted by the Continental makers would per-

haps partly meet the difficulty ; but I believe that no English opti-

cian would consent to name his glasses this way.—F. H. WENHAM.

New York Uncrnut2.— Mr. Charles H. Peck has communi-

cated to the Albany Institute a synopsis of the New York (State)

Uncinulz, described seven species as occurring in the state in :

addition to two described by Dr. E. C. Howe. Only three species 3

are credited to Great Britain, whose mycology has been well inves-

tigated. Our species are systematized as follows.

See: to the wien thirty or more.

gia tl 8 U. circinata

aata i ith s six spores POTTE T ee cone U. parvula.

rac with four ere, EOE EAE U. adunca. a

U. macrospora

Appendages less than thirty.

U. fle ruosa

ppendages p

Appendages hi . not fiexuous, Tr 7. Clin f

A iA 1 q

amp pel op sae 8

a Dé sible on species are U. Americana (U. spiralis B. & C.) figured

— not described by Berkeley, which is near U. ampelopsidis but

h pendages few, longer and colored ; and U. luculenta which is

NOTES. 59

much like adunca, but has fewer and longer appendages and some-

times sporangia with five or six spores.

STAINING VEGETABLE Tissues. — L. Erckmann explains, in the

« Journal of the Franklin Institute,” that the staining of plant

sections with a weak solution of aniline red, and then washing out

with water the color from all the non-nitrogenous parts, is not

only useful for purposes of general study, but is especially applic-

able in the preparation of specimens for photographic use.

NOTES.

A semiannual session of the National Academy of Science was

held at Cambridge, November 21st, 22d, 23d, in the lecture room

of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, where Professor Agassiz

welcomed the members, and gave an account of the rise and pres-

ent condition of the museum. Of the twenty-eight papers read

there were presented thirteen relating to geology and zoology,

with the following titles :—

The Organization of the Museum of Comp. Zoology in Cambridge, by L. Acaso.

ay three different Modes of Tee yori apard s by L. AGASSIZ

e Development of Actiniæ, by A

at glacial pene of the sake es compared with those of the

SIZ.

Affinities of aiin and Worms, by A. AGASSIZ.

Notice of Tuvestigations making in — rnia on the Reliability of the Barometer as

y J. D. WHITNEY.

Pedicellariz of Ec nares by A. Fuma

Results ap recent Dredgings on the coast of New England, ed: m si VERRILL.

Embryological Fragments concerning the Volutidæ, by L. A

On the specific fpern of some Animals along the Lunii ae Pacific shores of

America, Ae oe

The pul pra +h eal Lm i Į i 24h, AMA another, 3 24%, St ae

of other Pacis, by Da SSIZ

On the changes Selachians papot with age, by L. AGASSIZ.

Critical remarks about scientific views entertained upon theoretical grounds, by

TR of the ei of the topographical work of the Geological Survey of Cali- __ :

fornia, by J. D. WHITN ae

Professor Agassiz read a paper on “ Three Different Modes of

Teething among Selachians.” He said that in former years he

had paid considerable attention to the peculiarities of teeth among

the Selachians, but the progress of zoology and paleontology made

the present materials on hand quite insufficient. It was not known _

what changes took place with age. So he had determined upon ~

60 NOTES.

the voyage of the Hassler to make the collection of Selachians a

principal object. He had been richly rewarded for his efforts.

Since his return he had made careful examination of the collec-

tion, comprising sometimes two hundred specimens of one species.

The result of this examination was that while in their adult condi-

tion the Selachians present characters which are very constant

among specimens of the same age, there are such changes among

them that even genera have been founded on the difference of

age. Professor Agassiz then illustrated from abundant specimens

and upon the blackboard the variations of dentition in Selachians

of different ages from the embryo to the adult. In concluding he

alluded to the relation which the facts of variation he had pre-

sented might falsely be supposed to sustain to the development

theory. The conditions which occupied a certain place in the series

to be derived one from another should be consecutive in time. This

was not the case. It was the endless series of anachronisms which

were being made by the supporters of the transmutation doctrine

which had kept him aloof from all such interpretations of Nature.

When it should appear that these different features fall in time as

they may appear to fall in their connection by similarity, then

there would be some ground for the inference of a gradual change.

Geologists ought to be as careful in their generalization as were

physicists. He thought that there was too much loose twaddle and

argument and debating-club demonstration in our Natural History.

He had been told recently by one who occupies a very high posi-

tion in science that “ unless you deduce one being from another

you are not following a legitimate scientific course.” It should

first be proved geologically that there is such a genealogical con-

~ nection. The facts show, indeed, something that should not be

overlooked, viz.: that there is thought in nature, and until it is

proved that thoughts are derived one from another, he would not

admit that the similarity of two objects proves their derivation

one from the other.

_ Mr. Alexander Agassiz made a communication on the “ Develop-

ment of the Actiniz.”

The second day’s session opened with an account of the glacial

phenomena of the southern hemisphere compared with those of

the north, by Prof. Agassiz. Any one who had been familiar with

the glacial phenomena as exhibited in the northern hemisphere,

th in Europe and the United States, and who would have ac-

Sapa ees

SES cay Thee Oe 4

NOTES. 61

cepted, even with considerable limitation the geperal conclusions he

had presented concerning the glacial period, might have foretold,

said Prof. Agassiz, that the southern hemisphere would present

the counterpart of all these phenomena. And yet he supposed that

many of his friends thought he was over-sanguine when, in a letter

to the Superintendent of the Coast Survey, he had told what he

expected to find, in this matter, during the Hassler Expedition.

The hesitation which was prevalent concerning these generaliza-

tions arose from the view which many entertained of the true cause

of the phenomena. Many thought that the greater extension of gla-

ciers in the Alps and most parts of Europe was to be ascribed to

the former existence of large sheets of water in the north of Africa, :

from the evaporation of which great amounts of snowy deposition

could be formed upon the Alps, and thus enlarge the glaciers.

But he would ask those who entertained this view how a sheet of

water in Africa could have made great sheets of ice upon the

continent of North America? There had been a disposition more

or less outspoken among geologists to view the phenomena of the

greater extension of glaciers in a former period as the result of

local glaciers. He believed he was the only one among investiga-

tors of that subject who had urged a distinction between local gla-

cial phenomena and the general glaciation of our continents. It

was because he was familiar with the distinction between these two

sets of facts that he had always held, from the very beginning of

his investigations, that there was a time when our earth presented

climatic conditions so totally different from those now obtaining,

that the northern hemisphere was covered by an extensive sheet

of ice, and that the phenomena to be ascribed to the agency of

that sea of ice moving from north southward were those uniform

glacial appearances which we find over continental expanses, ee:

traces of which we find even in high elevations. He ha

convinced that whoever should explore the southern netted

on an extensive scale would find the evidence from extensive gla-

ciation on the southern hemisphere as well as on the northern, but —

that the trend of the southern ice sheet and the transportation of —

bowlders would be reversed. Instead of moving from the north

southward as in the northern hemisphere, the movement should be —

from the south northward, and the accumulations of loose-mate- _

rials in southern moraines should present an arch curving north-

ward. He could say that he had seen in the southern hemi-

62 NOTES.

sphere all that he had expected to find. The occurrence of these

phenomena on a large scale in the southern hemisphere tended at

once to establish the fact that the glacial phenomena were cosmic

phenomena, and were not owing to local geological occurrences.

He contended that the ability to recognize glacial phenomena de-

pended in a great measure upon thorough familiarity with it, there

were so many elements to be taken into account. Yet the track of

the glacier could be detected as certainly as the hunter detects the

track of his game. Causes of deception in interpreting the glacial

phenomena were pointed out in detail. He showed the distinction

between local glacial phenomena and phenomena belonging to

general glaciation. The evidence obtained from erratic bowlders

was examined and apparent contradictions explained. In some

of the New England regions he had traced the tracks of bowlders

for seventy miles in unbroken continuity. In the southern hemi-

sphere he had traced them over a much longer distance.

He would make a statement which he expected would not be

accepted for many years; it was that all our mountains below

eleven thousand feet had all been scored over by the great sea of

ice ; that the whole range of the Rocky Mountains had been under

ice, with only a few prominent peaks, perhaps rising above the

fields of ice. He thought that the great ice sheet could not have

been less than ten or twelve thousand feet thick and might

have been thicker.’ In the Andes he had become acquainted with

signs of glacial action twelve thousand feet above the sea.

Prof. J. D. Whitney, State Geologist of California, read a paper

on ‘* Notice of Investigations making in California on the relia-

= bility of the barometer as a hypsometric instrument.” His remarks

were MEES by charts and tables.

_ Prof. Agassiz and Prof. Hilgard followed in remarks commend-

ihe the geological survey of California as a work of great national

importance, and hoping that the Academy would use its influence

_ to prevent its interruption.

Prof. A. E. Verrill gave an interesting account of results of

least three hundred and fifty species to the fauna. Among the

_polypes prior to this investigation there were known but twelve

: species. They had added seven species. They had added thirty-

“ee Apoie t to the forty-eight Acalephs ; ten species to the Echin-

NOTES. 63

oderms,; ninety-five to the mollusks, one hundred and twenty-five

to the worms and ninety to the crustacea. Additions to the Echin-

oderms and others were mentioned.

The second day’s session was concluded by remarks by Prof.

Agassiz about ‘Scientific Views entertained upon Theoretical

Grounds.” Prof. Agassiz’ remarks were a protest against hastily

adopting scientific theories unsupported by sufficient matter-of-fact

evidence. He felt more and more the danger of stretching infer-

ences from a few observations. The manner in which the evolu-

tion theory in zoology is treated would lead those who are not

zoologists to suppose that observations have been made by which

it can be inferred that there is in nature such a thing as a gradual

change among organized beings, and that the transformation has

actually been traced. But there is no such record, and it is shift-

ing the grounds from one field of observation to another to make

such statements. When the assertions go so far as to exclude

from the domain of science those who will net be dragged into the

mire, he thought it time to protest.

On the concluding day of the session Mr. Alex. Agassiz spoke

on the Affinities of Echinoderms and Worms, and Prof. Agassiz

on thé Reproductive Organs of the Selachians compared with one

another and with those of the Vertebrates.

Ar a meeting of the Indianapolis Academy of Science, Prof. E.

T. Cox exhibited a meteorite about four pounds in weight, found

by Dr. Seville, in 1870, in the plastic clay under a bed of peat in

Howard County, Indiana, about seven miles east of Kokomo.

Mr. G. R. Crotcn is engaged in preparing a checklist of the

Coleoptera of North America to facilitate exchanges and records

of faunas. It will make a pamphlet of about 70 pages, to cost 50

cents, and will be published by the Naturalists’ Agency. Sub-

scriptions are requested that the size of the edition may be at

once determined on.

Grorce CatTiin the well known Indian painter and student of

Indian character and customs, died at Jersey City, on December

23d, in the seventy-sixth year of his age.

A reprint of the late Dr. Clemens’ papers ‘On the Tineina of

North America,” with notes by the editor, H. T. Stainton, Esq.,

has just been published by Van Voorst, London.

64 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. BOOKS RECEIVED.

Mr. Epwarp Wuymper has arrived at Copenhagen from his

second exploration of W. Greenland. He brings with him rich

collections of curiosities, and some singular specimens of fossil

wood.

Proressor AGassiz has recently been elected a foreign associate

of the French Institute (Academy of Sciences). It may be re-

membered that the number of foreign associates of the Academy

of Sciences is limited to eight.

We are glad to learn that Mr. Charles Stodder has saved from

the conflagration of November 9th, all his valuable stock of Tolles’s

telescopes, microscopes, and microscopic objectives. Work in the

shop will go on, and all orders filled as usual.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

- M., Penn.—The glass paraboloid, “ Wenham’s Parabola,” has seen rominently

rought forward as a means of ia illumination with high powers, by Chevalier

Husttens d de Cerbecq, of Brussels. As thus praf t gives excellent definition with a

well co ted lens, but es com npletely with a poorly corrected one.— I. W.

would probable be undesirable to have all Aoin es mounted

brasswork of exactly the same length measured from the focal paw of the objective

to the top of the mountin e convenience attained in Working with the straight form

a double-nose piece sai not compensate for the ¢ disadvantage of wearing the rack

tah entirely at oep point. A general Peep pndas of length of compound body, how-

ever, is greatly to be desired.—R. H. W.

HW By Diak —l. big best microscopical definition attainable at present is by

means or‘ immersi ion” Jens 2. “they 4 are poor as durable as dry lenses, since

both will las st, with “frequent b "but careful use, until rendered obsolete by the improve

> The Peb re li a

other objectives to injury by enkar d temper aue ete. 4. Several first-class makers

have n eed Tor many year 1 immersion eng a can be

$ eseanity irk nsferred, y 8 screw-collar ‘adjustment, to Hina oo objectives. Thus t e owner

= haa a choles of erie, wi g disadvantage.— R. H. W.

sanstalt. Nos. 1-6,

en No.1. yia Aniu. 1872.

sae ee 1370-71, Pe °is72.

i e 68. si al iste, ‘4to.

fzun; i weg se der’ Wissenschaften, Math. Naturw, Classe. Bd.lxiv. Abth.

eft 1-v. ro a ‘Hert i- Wien.

schriften der K. Ak sbidonde ar Wissenschaften, Math. Naturw. Classe. Ba, 31. Wien,

e py aa

E siinnd na sherichte der Naturwissensch. Gesellschaft Isis in Dresden, 7 1872.. Jan.- Mareb.

1, 1872,

~ Memoires de la Societe Royale des enra ay du Rigs g 1866-71,

L PPRA E and Historical rebec, Prats tee aioe “ayo,

of the the Boston aa pamit History, ol, 14, pages si ue 8vo. 1872,

: pea ara p rira oN ‘atural History. Vol. 2, 2, part 2, No.3; part 2, No.1; and

3 of the gree of Natural PNS of Philadelphia. Part 2. May and Sept.,

the Origin of Species, By B. G. Ferris. 12mo, pp. 69. New Haven, Chat-

i “Red He matite Ore of Bedford Co., Pen sh Kimball, 8v 5 -T

Pee Te of i, Cisilairiachtes. dation. By J.P. Pki imballi. 8vo, pp. age de wa 14572.

‘lodge ogee eg ae iy dt P. Kimball, ‘sv.

aeni ee T Petites, Housel pia ete giguer. Paris, p Faris. No.

PRs — ae H

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.—FEBRUARY, 1873.—No. 2.

CSR OEDOD I>

COLORS OF VEGETATION.*

BY PROF. D. S., JORDAN.

Tue coloration of plants is due to the presence in the cells of

minute globules, which are usually green in the herbaceous parts,

the leaves, sepals, etc., and of various hues in the flowers and

fruits.

The normal color of foliage is green, but it may be of almost

every conceivable shade and degree of intensity. It may be of a

yellowish-green as in the parsnip, or of a blue-green as in the

sweet pea. It may be pale and shining as in the orchis, or dark

and shining as in the laurel.. It may be intense and vivid as in

the young leaves of the horse-chestnut, or of a neutral Portage

sandstone color as in the Cassandra or leather leaf.

The causes of these differences are partly chemical and partly

physical: the chemical causes producing the different shades of

color, the physical the differences in brightness and intensity.

First, as to the chemical differences. The French chemist

Frémy finds’ that chlorophyl or leaf green is composed of two

distinct substances: the one of a bright blue color which he

calls phyllocyanin; the one of a yellow color known as phylloz-

anthin. The unequal proportions of these two ingredients which

are simply mixed in the leaf cells would account for the absolute —

differences in color. Thus in the bluish-green leaves of the pea

* Read before the Cornell University Natural History Society.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

SCIENCE, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Taupo

AMER.

NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 5 (65)

66 COLORS OF VEGETATION.

family the blue substance should be found to predominate, and in

the yellowish-green leaves of the hickories the yellow substance

should be in the ascendant. Indeed it has been found that, in the

outer leaves of the cabbage, the phyllocyanin or blue substance

exists in much greater proportion than in the inner leaves which

have been deprived of sunlight.

Now as to the physical causes producing differences of inten-

sity. In the dark shining leaves such as those of the laurel,

prince’s pine, partridge berry, etc., the depth of color is due to

the closeness with which the cells are packed together. Each cell

contains a globule of chlorophyl, and it is evident that, other

things being equal, the smaller the cells and the more compact

their arrangement, the darker will be the color of the leaf.

And as to the differences in vividness of color. In the young

leaves of the horse-chestnut, the cuticle is very thin and the cellu-

ar substance of the leaf is very transparent; hence the green of

the globules of chlorophyl shows brightly through. On the con-

trary, in the Cassandra or leather leaf, the cellular tissue is of a

thick husk-like texture and the leaves are of necessity dull colored.

The blue coloring substance in leaves is much less stable than

the yellow. It rapidly decomposes or is transformed in the

absence of sunlight. You have all noticed what a yellow hve the

foliage of trees wears in wet and cloudy springs, and even in

summer, a week or two of sunless weather will often make a

perceptible differenge in the color of the woods. Always the

lower and inmost leaves of a tree are paler than the rest and of a

yellowish hue, like the complexion of boys “brought up in the

house.” Cold weather bleaches chlorophyl and vegetable coloring

matters generally. The further north we go the more liable do

we find plants to albinism or loss of color. Flowers of Arctic or

mountainous regions are always paler and more delicate in hue

than those of warm countries and they are far more subject to

white varieties. Linnzus’ says that ‘‘ there is not a single blue or

red flower in Lapland that has not its white varieties.” The yel-

low coloring matter is much less easily affected by absence of light

and other causes and yellow flowers rarely exhibit any striking

ce eae in hue. Many plants are entirely destitute of chloro-

: are parasites, and as they depend for their nutrition

- si m already elaborated by the supporting plant they have

eles: me ernst The cells may be filled with orange-purple

COLORS OF VEGETATION. 67

or tawny coloring substances or they may be empty, leaving a

white plant, like the Monotropa and mushroom. Lichens and

fungi growing on living or decaying organisms have also no need

of chlorophyl; hence in the economy of nature they are unpro-

vided with it. They often exhibit bright tints due to the presence

of various coloring matters whose character is not well under-

stood. Recent experimenters have succeeded in isolating some

‘forty different coloring substances in a species of mushroom.

Some fungi are luminous like the glow-worm. I do not know the

theory of this. That peculiar luminosity of rotten wood, often

supposed to be “ phosphorescence” and known by woodsmen as

“ fox fire,” is due to the presence of a species of fungus.

Much has been written about autumn coloration, but the subject

has been treated from an esthetic rather than from a scientific

standpoint. We are more interested in “the rosy cheek than we

are to know what particular diet the maiden fed on.” However,

in a general way, we say that the bright colors of leaves in the

fall are caused by the oxidation of the chlorophyl. This is really a

process of ripening. A brilliant autumn leaf is not dead but

mature. ‘* Flowers are but colored leaves, fruits are but ripe ones.

The edible part of most fruits is the parenchyma or fleshy tissue

of the leaf of which they are composed.” The ripening of a

maple leaf and a red astrachan apple is precisely the same process.

In both cases it is an absorption of oxygen and a change of the

blue substance of the chlorophyl to red. The yellow substance

is not easily acted upon, hence the prevailing color of autumn

foliage is scarlet, which is a mixture of yellow and red.

M. Chatin has a different theory as to the production of scarlet

leaves. He claims that the entire mass of chlorophyl is oxidized

first to yellow and then to red, and that red leaves contain yellow

chloropbyl in the inner cells which has not yet been oxidized. He

thinks that yellow leaves in autumn are those in which the process

has been arrested at the yellow stage before they arrive at red- —

ness. But the leaves of the oaks become crimson without passing

through any intermediate stages of yellow or scarlet. This theory

also appears improbable in the case of the hickory, aspen, ete.,

whose bright yellow autumn foliage shows no tinge of red. Be-

sides such a change as he imagines would be inconsistent with

the theory of the compound nature of chlorophyl. 7

It seems to be pretty well established by the experiments of

68 COLORS OF VEGETATION.

M. Cloez and others on the different varieties of hyacinth and

bachelor’s button (Centaurea cyanus), that oxygenation or acid-

ification changes vegetable blues to red, and that the two colors

are chemically identical and chemically distinct from the yellow.

In ordinary leaves, we find the blue and yellow substances nearly

in equilibrium, but in the colored parts of the flower, one or the

other predominates. Thus flowers are naturally divided by their

colors into two great classes, according to whether the cyanic or

xanthic principle is in the ascendant.

Desvaux, one of the most painstaking of observers, has studied

for ten years the gradations of color in the twelve hundred varieties

which have been produced of the kidney bean. He divides the

colors of flowers into two series.

lst. The cyanic series, those having blue for their type and

capable of varying to red or white, but never to yellow.

2d. The xanthic series, those having yellow for their type and

capable of varying to orange or white, never to blue. Both series

commence in green, which is blue and yellow, and end in white

which is the absence of all color.

Thus the tulip was originally yellow. All of its varieties belong

to the xanthic series. So with the dahlia and zinnia. There never

was a blue tulip, primrose or dahlia. The geraniums, phloxes,

verbenas, etc., vary throughout the cyanic series, and a Te

geranium or phlox is unknown.

Different species of the same genus sometimes basi to dif-

ferent series, as is the case with the roses and violets. Rarely

- different parts of the same flower belong to different series as in

the convolvuli and forget-me-nots. Though the rules of color are

- liable to many exceptions, yet it seems to me that Linnzeus’ great

maxim ‘* Nimium ne crede colori,” ‘* Put not your trust in colors,”

is too absolute. For example, the hue of a single petal of Solana-

cez stamps at once the order.

“The science of Vegetable Chromatology,” ohecevas M. Gué-

rin, “is yet in its infancy; and it is impossible to establish any

_ rules to which there are not many exceptions.”

Ee All theories yet advanced, however ingenious they may be, are

liable to objections of such great weight that none can be admitted

as absolutely true. For example, let us take the theory of Mac-

oe quart, that ‘‘ color results from the decomposition of carbonic acid

and the — of oxygen, and that its intensity is propor- —

COLORS OF VEGETATION. 69

tional to the amount of luminous fluid—light, which is present.”

This decomposition can take place only in the presence of sun-

light and chlorophyl, but there are many parts of plants in which

chlorophyl is entirely wanting and which develop in the absence

of light, yet which nevertheless are brightly colored. Roots and

tubers are often of brilliant hues, as in the carrot and gold-thread.

So also the inner wood of a tree, as in the magnolia and rosewood.

These colors are formed in the presence neither of sunlight nor

chlorophyl, so there must exist other causes of coloration than

that allowed in the theory of Macquart.

Again, although submarine vegetation is usually of a dull green

or brown, we find many seaweeds which are brilliantly tinted,

although they receive but a very feeble light. Although chemical

analysis throws some light on the laws of vegetable chromatol-

ogy, yet the color ofghe flowers cannot in general -be taken as

any index of the medfal properties of plants, for we may find

the same colors at once in the most poisonous herbs, as fox glove

and belladonna, and in the most innocent, as the aia and

violets.

The flowers of many plants are subject to changes in color. The

closed gentian, for example, changes from a deep indigo-blue to

a reddish-purple. The white Trillium becomes of a delicate rose

color just before it withers. The ray flowers of Xeranthemum are

straw color when they first expand becoming, at last, of a bright

crimson. A more striking example is the Gladiolus versicolor

which is brown when it opens in the morning, changes to a clear

blue in the noonday sunshine and returns to brown again at night

to go through the same variations the next day.

Black as a color exists in vegetation only in the roots, seeds

and a few fruits. It does not occur in the flowers. All the ap-

proaches to it, as in the case of the dark spot on the corolla of the

coffee bean, are simply an intense violet. There are no flowers

of a pure white. The famous flower painter Redouté, observed

long ago that in flowers which appeared white, there is always a —

faint tinge of rose color, yellow or blue. When a white petal is

viewed by transmitted light we see various shades produced by

some coloring matter present in the cells in a state of extreme

dilution. White frequently with a tinge of pink is the most com-

mon color in spring flowers and in flowers of Arctic regions. Red

is the hue of summer flowers and of acid fruits; bright red is rarely _

70 COLORS OF VEGETATION.

seen in early spring flowers and in the autumn it also disappears.

But in June and July, the flowering time of the roses, laurels and

azaleas, it is one of the most abundant colors. Yellow is more

properly an autumnal color, and it often characterizes large groups,

as the golden rods, sunflowers and buttercups. Blue is a summer

color, but it runs throughout the year from the hepaticas of the

hue of the March sky above them, to the fringed gentians and

asters of the November woods.

Numerically, yellow flowers are far the most abundant: next

comes white, then red and blue. Red is very often the hue of the

stems of plants especially in late summer and autumn. This is

common among the grasses, some of which brighten into a purple

mist as intense in color when seen at a little distance, as the most”

brilliant patches of laurel or meadow beauty.

“ In most plants,” says Thoreau, ‘the copella or calyx is the part

which attains the highest color and is the most attractive; in

many it is the seed vessel or fruit, in others still it is the very

culm itself which is the blooming part.”

In conclusion we come to the question, what is the use of the

colors of vegetation? In a strictly utilitarian point of view they

seem unimportant. There are some plants, chiefly orchids, which

require the aid of insects to secure fertilization and which attract

them by their bright colors, but these plants are very few and

most flowers could accomplish their destined purpose just as well

were they clad in the drab of the veriest Quaker.

The flowering time is the nuptial season, the honeymoon of the

plant, and it is the nature of flower and beast, of bird and man to

* spruce up,” to put on his brightest colors at pairing time.

The science of Vegetable Chromatology is one in which much is

seen and little is known. We can all sce with our own eyes that

_ plants are variously colored: that even Solomon in all his glory

-= was not arrayed like one of our meadow lilies; ; bat when we get

beyond our eyes and ask why this is so, we find ourselves at a loss; $

we cannot answer. We only know that the Lord doeth as pleaseth

= with the flowers in his garden.

PUA ase Se Pare ee toe ead PARE ee

ON THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES.

BY THEODORE GILL, M.D., PH.D.

In the classification of the animal kingdom the vague ideas

prevalent among the vulgar and originating in prejudices based on

habitat or external appearance have been more or less reflected,

and special forms associated with earth, air and water.

were the inhabitants of the “ element” associated together on the

one hand, and separated from those of other “ elements” in the

other by the ancient cosmologists and poets.* This was the first

generalization or attempt to combine the groups which from all

time have been recognized as “beasts” or “ animals,” “ birds,”

“ fishes,” and others in still more comprehensive groups. But,

in time, and as investigation was directed to the structure of

animals, it was found that the preconceived ideas respecting the

relations of the various forms to the media which they inhabited,

were by no means the correct expressions of the relations of such

forms in structural features. The recognition of this fact resulted

in the admission of several classes (anticipating the definite ideas

which are now associated with such groups) and the virtual sepa-

ration of the vertebrates from the invertebrates. But the ancient

* In the beginning God created the k and th th. And the earth was without

form and void.

the fi nt wad divided th ters tl fi t

pact tb \cka Ga geet God said: Let t

waters under the heaven be gathered ae unto one place, aA let the dry je

appear: arn

said: Le tke waters, bring phe pigs ged the moving aibei that hath

life, and pan that may afe en firmament « of —

nd God said: Let the earth bring forth the d, cattle and

creeping thing, ces beast a the earth after his kind: and it was so.— Genesis, sx A

mees L2 T, ig 20, 2

fr th

x d by several of the ancient poets and especially by Ovid in

the following lines :—

mare et tellus, et, quod tegit omnia, celum,

Bans erat toto nature vultus in orbe,

Quem dixere Chaos; rudis indigestaque mo,

Hane Deus et melior litem ‘natura diremit : :

ET ~~ terras, et a oe — ;

iscibue

erra feras cepit; volucres agitabilis aër.

Orie, ernie I,l.5- -7, 21- 2, 72- T5.

H ee

72 THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES.

idea of a certain relation between form and habitat still prevailed

to a greater or less extent, and the vertebrates, in the earliest

days of systematic zoology, were instinctively divided into quad-

rupeds, or animals especially fitted for progression on land ; birds,

especially adapted for flight and fishes, destined for life in the

waters ; while those animals not referable to either category, such

as reptiles, bats, etc., were slurred over or forced into combination

with the others on account of some points of real or supposed

agreement. Soon, however, the distinction of the cold-blooded

quadrupeds from the warm-blooded ones (mammals) a&d the affin-

ity of the former and the serpents were recognized, and the class

of “reptiles” constituted. It was long before it was fully and

generally acknowledged that the latter was a heterogeneous assem-

blage of forms having very diverse relations, part of them being

closely related to birds, and the others almost undistinguishable

from fishes. Such recognition has now become practically uni-

versal, but, at this point, the progress of zoological taxonomy as

exhibited in the appreciation of the subordination of types has

been to a great extent arrested, and naturalists have mostly been

content to recognize the five classes, Mammals, Birds, Reptiles,

Batrachians, and Fishes. Several naturalists, however, have dis-

sented from this view, and indeed the class of fishes has not been

so universally recognized with the limits the mind is still most

apt to connect with it as is usually supposed.

The Class and its modifications.—The cetaceans and fishes were

regarded as a group codrdinate with the warm-blooded quadrupeds

(mammals) and birds, either avowedly or by implication, till

Brisson, in 1760, finally withdrew the former from the class, and

placed them in more immediate relation with the warm-blooded

quadrupeds, regarding them, however, as constituting a peculiar

class: the class of fishes, thus relieved, was for the first time

presented with the limits since generally recognized.

It is true that, as a matter of fact, the agreement of the ceta-

-~ ceans with the mammals in their respiratory apparatus and warm

_ blood had been long previously recognized, even by Aristotle and

indeed by every observer capable of comparison of facts, but in

spite of such recognition, the apparent agreement in form and

~ Mapioflity for progression in the waters exercised such a prepon-

: acs or nee over the mind, that the hints thus offered were not

wecepted T their fulness till 1758 by Linné.

THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES. 73

Linné first, in the tenth edition of his “Systema Nature’?

(1758), eliminated the cetaceans from the class of fishes and

combined them with the viviparous quadrupeds in a single class,

for which he proposed the now universally accepted name Mam-

malia. At the same time that he eliminated the cetaceans, how-

ever, he violently divorced from the class of fishes and referred to the

amphibia, under the name Amphibia nantes, first (in 1758), all the

Chondropterygii of Artedi (except thé sturgeons) as well as the

genus Lophius ; and, subsequently (1766), he removed still others

from the class, completing the removal of the Chondropterygii by

the exclusion of the sturgeons, and discharging at the same time

the genera Cyclopterus, Balistes, Ostracion, Tetrodon, Diodon,

Centriscus, Syngnathus and Pegasus, most of which formed the

Branchiostegi of Artedi. He seems to have been led to this

measure by the belief that they were provided with lungs instead

of gills, apparently having been misled by an erroneous observa-

tion of Dr. Garden, of Charleston, on Tetrodon.

Gmelin, in his edition of the “Systema Nature” (1788), re-

stored to the class the forms thus divorced from the fishes.

The genus Myxine was referred to the class Vermes by Linné

and his followers, and therefore doubtless was overlooked by Bloch,

who redescribed it as a fish under the name Gastrobranchus.

The constituents of the class having been at length, for the

time, agreed upon, the question of its subdivision or union with

others was next agitated.

Pallas combined the fishes with the Amphibia of Linné in a

class, codrdinate with mammals and birds, which he named Mono-

cardia. Long afterwards, Prof. Owen adopted the same view, but

_ gave the new name Hematocrya.

On the other hand, the elder Geoffroy St.-Hilaire, and following

him, Latreille,* separated the combined Elasmobranchiates and

Marsipobranchiates as a class (equivalent to the order Spiracu-

lata of Pallas), and named it Ichthyoderes or Ichthyodera. This

view, however, fell still-born. ee

In 1856, Prince Charles Bonaparte + recalled that Isidore Geof- 2

* LATREILLE (Pierre André)—Familles Naturelles du Règne Kiting; exposées

succinctement et dans un Apa analytique avec Pindication de leurs genres. Paris,

J. B. Baillière. Libraire de Bandouin Frères. 1825. [8vo, 570 pp-]—Troisième Classe,

ayeee Airie (G. St. H.), p. 107; qne Classe, Poissons, Pisces.

p. 1

t Bien (Prince Charles eas Be Tableaux paral-

léliques de la deuxième sous-classe bar Oien Præcoces ou Autophages;. . .

TA THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES.

froy St.-Hilaire * had, in 1852, separated from the class of fishes

as the type of a new class (Myelozoa) the genus Branchiostoma or

Amphioxus (a species which was originally described by Pallas as a

member of the molluscan genus Limax), rediscovered and first

referred to the class of fishes by Costa in 1834. Bonaparte, at the

same time, proposed to withdraw from the invertebrates the genus

Sagitta (Quoy and Gaimard) and elevate it to the rank of a

class (Aphanozoa) of the ‘vertebrates.

In the elevation of Sagitta to the rank of a class Bonaparte

has anticipated Professors Carus and Huxley (who also elevated

the same form to class rank, retaining the name Chetognatha,

originally conferred upon it as the type of an order by Leuckart).

But his views respecting its pertinence to the branch of verte-

brates are untenable, for there can now be no doubt that it is

at least most nearly related to the class of annelides.

In 1857, the question of the primary classification of fishes was

again reviewed by Prof. Agassiz. That eminent zoologist ‘was

satisfied that the differences which exist between the Selachians

(the skates, sharks, and Chimerz) are of the same kind as those

which distinguish the amphibians from the reptiles proper and

justify, therefore, their separation, as-a class, from the fishes proper.

I consider also (he adds) the Cyclostomes as a distinct class

for similar reasons; but I am still doubtful whether the Ganoids

should be separated also from the ordinary fishes?’ He finally

however admitted four classes, viz :—

‘Ist class; Myzontes with two orders, Myxinoids and Cyclos-

tomes.

(Suite et fin.) <<Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des Sci-

ences, (ler Dec. 1856) XLIII, 1017-1027.

* Ihave been unable to find any memoir ork by Geoffroy St.-

aire embod tte the view referred to, and kapeat it may have bis a verbal commu-

nica ation, and n punpa published.

tQue le Sasina, Q Quoy et Gaimard, cet animal singulier si commun dans les mers du

Nord, découvert par nos intrépide es voyageurs, et ballotté par les savants entre les

Mollusques, us Vers et jusqu’ aux Acaléphes! posséde dans la première période de 5a

rétrograde dans le sens de Rathke. C’est à M sner, jeune professeur à ,

qu’on doit cette belle découverte. Cet animal, qui dans létat actuel de la scien

que comme un Poisson, ainsi dire, d é, mériterait de

former une classe à part, bien plus oore s PAmphyoxus ou ahprmpones "a

asse 2 des caked ipepe j, depuis

' En afat 1 A £ < zt Tat tiel ertébrés) soos

: et disparaissant surat dans Paduka peaa un caracire tellement impor-

_ tant, qu'il n e peut désigner un groupe @an | rang moins élevé q elui de aha il

it Se con ne Pee eae ko PES os Aphanozoa.

THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES. 75

2d class; Fishes proper with two orders, Ctenoids and Cycloids.

3d class; Ganoids with three orders, Celacanths, Acipense-

roids, and Sauroids; and, doubtful, the Siluroids, Plectognaths

and Lophobranches.

4th pp — with their orders, Chimera, Galeodes,

and Batides

The goeie and Dipnoans were not referred to in this

essay and consequently it is doubtful what the author considered

to be their relations.

In 1866, Prof. Häckel also divided the fishes into four classes,

but on entirely different grounds and with extremely different limits

from those proposed by Prof. Agassiz; the classes recognized by

Häckel being represented severally by (1)Branchiostoma (Lepto-

cardia), (2) the Myxinoids and Petromyzontes (Cyclostoma) and

(3) all other fishes (Pisces) except Protoptera, which (4) consti-

tutes a fourth class (Dipneusta). Hackel, moreover, does not con-

sider the fishes as a group coördinate with any combination of other

vertebrate classes; contrasting the Leptocardia in a group (Sub-

phylum Leptocardia or Acrania) opposed to all the rest of the ver-

tebrates (Subphylum Pachycardia or Craniota); and under the

latter opposing the (1) Cyclostoma in a “ cladus” or superclass

Hauptklasse Monorrhina), coérdinate with (2) another (Anamnia)

containing the fishes, ‘* Dipneusta,” “ Halisauria” (extinct swim-

ming reptiles), and Batrachians, and (3) a third (Amniota)

embracing reptiles, birds and mammals. t

In 1868, Prof. Cope, t in a suggestive article on the doctrine of

evolution, considered the Leptocardii, Dermopteri, Elasmobranchii,

Teleostei (including Ganoidei as a subclass) and Dipnoi to be

groups coérdinate with the Batrachia, Reptilia, Aves and Mam-

malia and therefore classes :§ in a subsequent memoir, he reiter-

ates more distinctly the same opinion, remarking that ‘‘ The classes

Aves, Reptilia, and Batrachia are those over which the present

review extends. The classes of vertebrata not included are: the

Wat Irr: 43 yT, A Orat CA

* Agassiz (Louis). C ti

ca, I, path . 187 (Essay on classification, chap. iii, section i Di ,

t Hack Taki: Generelle Morphologie der — a b. 2 sro Entwick-

aai der Organismen), 1866, pp. € Natürliche Schöp-

fungs geschichte (1868), 2e. anfl. 1870, pp- rete ge

Boe 708 PE (Edward Drinker). panel thé Origin n of Genera . . . . < Proceedings of the

1 256-265.

§ The groups in question are arran : n the same varies line in five tables exhib-

iting anat omii ical d details i in which the subordination n of groups groups appears to have been

: efully

76 THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES.

Dipnoi, Pisces, Elasmobranchii, Dermopteri, Leptocardii and the

Mammalia.*

Subsequently, in a most important special memoir on the classi-

fication of fishes, Prof. Cope + (if I understand his views) recog-

nized (as classes) six groups of Vertebrata; Mammalia, Saurop-

sida (birds and réptiles), Batrachia, Pisces, Dermopteri, and

Leptocardii. After enumerating these groups, he adds: ‘‘ These

six classes of Vertebrata appear to be well established.”

Three classes among Fishes.—After a careful survey of the field,

the author had independently, several years ago, arrived at the

same conclusion as Prof. Cope respecting the old class of fishes,

but had neglected to announce them except in conversation with

others engaged in like pursuit, and in lectures. He had, however,

somewhat inclined to the recognition of the Elasmobranchiates

as a class, but considers such at present inadvisable and perhaps

uncalled for by the evidence ; like Prof. Cope, he cannot agree with

Prof. Hackel in the separation of the Dipnoans from the class

Pisces, the relations of that fornt with Polypterus and other univer-

sally recognized Ganoids being more intimate than those between

such Ganoids and the typical fishes. The number of classes recog-

nized as confounded under the common designation of fishes will

then be three, viz :—

I. PISCES.

SYNONYMES, AS CLASSES.

< Pisces, Artedi, 1738, Linné, 1735-1754 (incl. Cete).

os Ianné HSG, ob p fentora etc.)

. e, 1825

chthyoderes Aehihyoders, oir: te pda Tatralle 1825.

ae proper, an

> Ganoids,

> Selachians, ‘gee 1857.

> Pisces.

> Dimen sain 1866.

1868

Cope,

shes part., TAT plur.

* Corr Œ. D.) Synopsis of the xtinct Batrachia and Reptilia of North America, 1869,

_ p-3; Trans. Am. Phil. Soc., v,

+ Cope (Edward Drinker), PAMBA i the Systematic Relations of the Fishes.

(Contributions on the Ichthyology of the eal Antilles, $I.) <Transactions of the

same memoir with the same ppo is oe in

: seen 1871 (vol. 5, pp. 579-593, and in the Proceedings of the American

Advance ement t of Science, aara (1872) pp. ee but without the pr

THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES. Tt

II. MARSIPOBRANCHIATES.

ONYMES, AS CLASSES.

<Ichthyoderes gga ra), Geof’. St. Hilaire, Latreilie, 1825.

ontes, Agass., 1857 Gling Amphioxus ?).

<Myz

ia Cipatonbenta, prire

=Dermopteri, Cope, cae 1872,

SYNONYMES, AS SUBCLASS.

ANRETT Bon., 18£0 (incl. eg aa

Miiller iso et auct, plur

< “ Bon

<Dermopteri, Gin, 1861, aaa 1866.

Ill. LEPTOCARDIANS.

SYNONYMES, AS CLASS.

= Myelozoa, Is, Geoff. St. Hil., Bon., 1856.

< Myzontes, Agass., 1857.

= Leptocardia, Häckel, 18%

= Leptocardii, Cope, 1868, ne

SYNONYMES, AS SUBCLASS.

= Leptocardii, Müller, 1844, et auct. plur.

<Dermopteri, Gill, 1861, Owen% 1838.

These three classes appear to be better entitled to such distinc-

tion than any of the higher classes of vertebrates, both on account

of the greater taxonomic value of their distinctive characters, and

their isolation from the next allied forms; and in both these re-

spects, they are, for example, far more worthy of recognition than

the classes of birds and reptiles as distinguished from each other,

or the Pisces on the one hand and the Batrachians on the other.

The difficulty, indeed, in the case of the inferior classes consists

not in the inability to distinguish them from each other, but in the

task of tracing the homologies between them, and there is no

evident reason why this state of facts should not be to some

extent reflected in the classification. The chief objection thereto

of which the author is aware is a current and vague idea that what

are called lower forms are more elastic and exhibit a wider range

of variation than superior ones, and by assuming that all low forms

of any branch, however much they may differ in structure, are

constituents of a natural group to be compared with several more

restricted higher ones ; such views may be enforced, but are liable

to be considered, and only worthy of being treated, as petitiones

principii.

Certainly, the differences between Branchiostoma Amphioxus)

and its nearest of kin are as evident and striking as those between

78 THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES.

any contiguous classes in the entire animal kingdom ;* that, further-

more, they are significant of the highest class taxonomic value is

indicated by their fundamental nature, and the coérdination of

all parts of the organization.

„There is also no longer reason for hesitancy in the admission of

such a rank on the plea of imperfect knowledge of structure or

the supposition that it may be the young of some other form f—_

a suspicion formerly common to many and shared by the author.

With these facts, therefore, something more than mere assertion

of opinion is requisite before the title of the group to at least

class rank can be questioned.

A much mooted question has been what are the characters of -

the class of fishes, and how are they distinguished from the class

of batracbians. This question has been discussed by Dr. Brandt,

of St. Petersburgh, in an elaborate memoir. So long as the

fishes, Marsipobranchiates and Leptocardians, were confouniled

in one class, the extreme variations of the so-called class

blinded one to the minor differences that would otherwise have

been seized, and the result was that no absolute characters were

discovered to limit the so-called class. But the class purged of

the Marsipobranchiates and Leptocardians offers no longer such

obstacles, and although the characters appear to have been over-

looked hitherto, it is not the less true that all the known fishes are

absolutely distinguished from all the known batrachians by very

* PARKER (William Po “On th Development of the Skull of the

Common Frog (Rana tempora sepa Tr. 1871, p. 202-3], well remarks “The

btaa existing apa rier en is rte Myxinoid (lamprey, hag, Bdellostoma); between

and the lowes e, the lancelet (Amphioxus), there is a gap, the extent of

whi b itself is not anere the

boundary form... .. pi anatomist will at once see that a creature igher in

type than the unhatched embryo of the frog is yet an untold distance fi Pa of

the lancelet which yet is only the known lowest of the great vertebrate subkingdom.

t BERT (P. ) Sur PAmphioxus. Notede M. P. Bert... .. <Comptes rendus

hebdomadaires des séances de Académie des Fen agda t. 65, 1871, pp. 364-7;

translated (On the anatomy and physiology of Amphioxu ei a and Mogn

zine of Natural History, third series, 20, 1867, Se . 302. Contains notes on the ejection

of semen, etc. :

KOWALEVSKY (A. i ic} tus.

. 1857. [4to. 1 pl., 17 pp. tpi) < $ Mémoires « de PAcademié annara des Sciences

, viie

-Piler bo

_ An account of the development et tis ijas: The eggs are expelled through the

i BEANDT (Johann Friedrich. Bemerkungen tiber die perpen dar Kalininiigoii ;

Riickenmarkthier ortung der Frage Was ist ein Fisch

de PAcadémie Impériale oe ae

THE LIMITS OF THE CLASS OF FISHES. 79

obvious ones. All the batrachians have a scapula (in the broadest

sense) which is homogeneous, the only differentiation being in the

simple ossification of parts and which is always confined to the

side; on the other hand, in all the fishes the shoulder girdle has

somewhat the form of the furcula (wish-bone) of a bird, and really

forms a girdle behind the head, inclining forward and connected

below, either by a median cartilage or directly, and a wholly dif-

ferentiated element (answering to the paraglenal or coracoid *

region of Batrachians), or elements, support the pectoral member.

The Dipnoans (Lepidosiren, etc.) and all other fishes agree in this

respect and differ from the Batrachians.

In conclusion the following analytical synopsis (extracted from

the authors “ Arrangement of the Families of Fishes,” published

by the Smithsonian Institution) will exhibit the principal charac-

ters which distinguish the several classes confounded under the

name of Fishes. The characters used are supplemented by many

others : —

CLASSES. a

Skull more or less developed, with the notochord not continued for-

wards beyond the pituitary body. Brain differentiated and distinctly

developed. Heart developed and divided at least into an auricle and

ventricle.

A. Skull well developed, and with a lower jaw. Paired fins devel-

oped (sometimes absent through atrophy); and with a shoul-

der girdle (lyriform or furcula-shaped, curved forwards and

with its respective sides connected below ł), and with oes

elements. Gills not purse-shaped.

B. Skull imperfectly developed and with no lower jaw. Paired

fins undeveloped, with no shoulder girdle nor pelvic elements.

Gills purse-shaped. MARSIPOBRAN CHIL

II. Skull undeveloped, with the notochord persistent and extendin gto

the anterior end of the head. Brain not distinctly differentiated:

Heart LEPTOCARDII.

This is generally ae and its elements have been identified with the radius,

ulna, and humerus (Owen = third bone of the fore-arm of Cuvier). In a special

I neie discussed these homologies

$ i I to be homologous with the

pu or coracoid elements of the specialized ‘fishes, tl the prose the latter

ret J

ea I a ia 3 lt . tat

preoponaeran 5 I P y reduced.

NOTES ON THE HABITS OF CERTAIN CRAWFISH.

BY CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M.D.

In the course of a day’s fishing during the past month of Sep-

~ tember, my companion and myself caught a large number of

those lobster-like crustaceans, known everywhere as ‘¢ Crawfishes ;”

and by zoologists, as either Cambarus or Astacus, the former

differing from Astacus in having a more elongated body, “ by the

absence of the gill on the fifth pair of legs,” and other slight dif-

ferences, not noticeable except upon careful examination.

e crawfishes found in New Jersey all belong to the genus

Cambarus; and of this génus, certainly three species, viz., Cam-

barus acutus Girard, Cambarus affinis Say, and Cambarus Bartonii

Fabricius, are found either in the streams and ditches near, or in

ghe Delaware River, at Trenton, New Jersey.

It is difficult to say which of the three species is the most abun-

dant in the general locality we have named, inasmuch as they —

seem to’ prefer different streams; one being a plant-loving, one

a stone-haunting, and the third, a mud-frequenting species. In

their respective haunts, each is apparently as numerous as is

either of the others in their chosen home. :

During the past month (September), as a result of a thorough

examination of many small streams, as well as of the Delaware

River itself, we have found the Cambarus acutus to frequent —

running streams, which have masses of vegetation growing in

them, the animal in question resting upon the plants, usually

near the surface of the water. We have found since our collect-

ing excursions, on carefully approaching clear, running streams, —

ae such as just mentioned, that this crawfish is to be seen resting

o on the plants always with the head directed down stream. lf

ao disturbed, they would dart backwards down to the roots, appar-

ently, of the plant upon which they were sitting. After a

lapse of about ten minutes they would return to their former —

resting-place creeping up the plant down which they had so

suddenly darted tail foremost.

~ The Cambarus afinis is apparently the river species of this —

locality. We have been able to find it, as yet, an! in the Dela-

(80)

NOTES ON THE HABITS OF CERTAIN CRAWFISH. 81

ware River, usually frequenting the rocky bed, but also, in fewer

numbers, on the mud-bottomed portions of the river. They are

usually found resting under flat stones, well out from the banks

of the stream, where the water is of considerable depth. Wherever

the vegetation is dense, we have failed to find them ; nor have we

seen anything to indicate that it is a “ burrowing ” species.

Dr. Hagen, in his “ Monograph of the North American Asta-

cide,” which work we have followed exclusively in identifying the

specimens we have collected, says, on page 62, “ The Astacus lim-

osus Rafinesque (Amer. Monthl. Mag., t. 2, p. 42) from the muddy

banks of the Delaware” is apparently the same species as Cam-

barus affinis. While we have no reason, really, to doubt the cor-

rectness of this assertion, we may say that the specimens we have

collected during September were none of them from the “ muddy

banks,” but from the bed of the river; although in such banks we

found many crawfish, of a very different species, as we shall see.

The Cambarus Bartonii, it appears to us, is the one burrowing

species of this locality. We have found in the deep ditches, with

precipitous, muddy banks, a medium sized crawfish, that in most

respects, accords with the species called Cambarus Bartonii Fabr.,

by Dr. Hagen, on page 75 of his Monograph.

We have purposely said “ in most respects,” inasmuch as there

is a considerable range of variation between the many examples

hat we have collected. Dr. Hagen says of this crawfish it ‘is

the most variable species; as yet I cannot find stable and constant

characters for dividing them into three or four species, as Mr.

Girard has done.”

It is this species, we doubt not, that Dr. Godman found near

Philadelphia, and has referred to, as follows, in bis “ Rambles of

a Naturalist,” which we find printed with the second volume of

his “ American Natural History,” third edition: Philad., 1842.

Dr. Godman says,— ‘I now returned to the little brook and, seat-

ing myself on a stone, remained for some time unconsciously *

gazing on the fluid which gushed along in unsullied brightness over _

its pebbly bed. Opposite to my seat was an irregular hole in the

bed of the stream into which, in an idle mood, I pushed a small

pebble with the end of my stick. What was my surprise, in a few

seconds afterwards, to observe the water in this hole in motion,

and the pebble I had pushed into it gently approaching the sur-

face. Such was the fact; the hole was the dwelling of a stout

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 6 ;

82 NOTES ON THE HABITS OF CERTAIN CRAWFISH.

little crawfish or fresh-water lobster, who did not choose to be

incommoded by the pebble, though doubtless he attributed its

sudden arrival to the usual accidents of the stream, and not to my

thoughtless movements. He had thrust his broad lobster-like

claws under the stone, and then drawn them near to his mouth,

thus making a kind of shelf; and as he reached the edge of the

hole, he suddenly extended his claws, and rejected the encum-

brance from the lower side, or down stream. Delighted to have

found a living object with whose habits I was unacquainted, I

should have repeated my experiment, but the crawfish presently

returned with what might be called an armful of rubbish, and

threw it over the side of his cell, and down the stream as before.

Having watched him for some time while thus engaged, my atten-

tion was caught by the considerable number of similar holes along

the margin and in the bed of the stream. One of these I explored

with a small rod, and found it to be eight or ten inches deep, and

widened below into a considerable chamber, in which the little

lobster found a comfortable abode. Like all of his tribe, the

crawfish makes considerable opposition to being removed from

his dwelling, and bit smartly at the stick with his claws: as my

present object was only to gain acquaintance with his dwelling,

he was speedily permitted to return to it in peace.”

There are some points in this pleasing description of the haunt

of a burrowing crawfish that differ from the results of our own

observations. It will be noticed that the principal description

is of a “ burrow ” or hole in the bed of the stream, facing against

the current. This is more in accordance with what we have

noticed of the habits of Cambarus affinis, which species, however,

appears merely to take shelter under stones; and the burrows of

Cambarus Bartonii, so far as we have discovered them, have all

been in the banks of the smaller streams and meadow ditches

_(and occasionally, a colony of burrows in the river bank, where

peculiarly favorable), a little below the usual water line.

The crawfish that we have found inhabiting such burrows,

located as we describe, besides showing anatomical specific differ-

ences, will thrive admirably, we find, in an aquarium, where the

water is, of course, quiet; while both the others die very soon

after being taken from their natural habitats. This fact, we think,

is of itself quite sufficient to show a decided difference between a

burrowing and a running water species, even if no ene vari-

ations could be traced.

NOTES ON THE HABITS OF CERTAIN CRAWFISH. 83

Dr. Hagen refers to the quotation from Dr. Godman, speaking

of the crawfish, of which the latter writes, as Cambarus Diogenenes

Girard, and considers it to be the same as C. Bartonii Fabricius ;

although it seems to bear some resemblance to C. obesus Hagen,

a southern and western species. One fact is certain, at least,

that the specimens observed by Godman were in a stream near

Philadelphia, a locality familiar to Girard. We have found no

specimen about Trenton, New Jersey, that could be identified with

C. obesus Hagen, although we have made very careful search,

hoping to find more than the three species we have mentioned.

Crawfish are strictly omnivorous animals but, although excellent

Scavengers, do not feed wholly upon decayed animal and vegetable

matters. We have frequently noticed that C. Bartonii in an

aquarium breaks off the short stems of the common river-weed,

and eats the main stem, after stripping it of its minute leaves.

So too O. affinis, from beneath its sheltering flat stone, and C.

Bartonii, in its safe burrow, will seize the minute young Cypri-

noids, that pass up and down near the stream in such myriads,

ever and anon peeping into the various little indentations in the

banks. Such little fish when once fairly caught by the big, but

by no means clumsy, *‘ hands” of a Cambarus, have no chance o

escape, and are soon torn in pieces and devoured.

Etheostomoids, or ‘ darters,” that habitually rest upon the

bottoms of the streams they frequent, will usually take shelter

underneathia stone, if one be near, when they are disturbed either

by larger fishes, or by man. When a crawfish happens to have

en up his abode under such a stone, it is seldom that the

frightened “darter” escapes. Often have we seen the common

_ Boleosoma Olmstedi take refuge as we have described and found,

on examination, a Cambarus quietly resting underneath ‘the stone,

with the luckless “ darter” in his claws. :

Having had our attention particularly called to these crustaceans,

during the past month of September only, we have, of course,

_ Doted nothing of their breeding habits; but the very great num-

pers of very small specimens half an inch to an inch and one

half in length that we have found, seem to indicate that the

animal is of slow growth during the firs summer of its exis-

tence ; and on the other hand, we have failed to find any specimens

= C. acutus more than four inches in length, the maximum size

ng six and three-tenths inches, as given by Dr. Hagen.

84 NOTES ON THE HABITS OF CERTAIN CRAWFISH.

Dr. Hagen mentions six specimens from Essex (Co.?) New

Jersey, however, that were smaller than the above figures quoted

from his work, being, to use his own words, ‘‘ Long. corp. 3 ad 4

inch.” He thinks it quite possible that these may ‘‘ belong to a

different species (viz., Cambarus Blandingii), a South Carolina

form. :

The young Cambari, in September, seem to be fully as active as

the adults, but do not frequent any given class of localities, as

they wander about the beds of streams, creeping forward in a

slow, awkward manner, and swimming backwards, when disturbed,

with wonderful rapidity.

It has seemed curious to us, that we have found no dead speci-

mens of crawfish. In what manner their unattractive bodies are

disposed of after death we cannot imagine. We have tried, too,

- in vain, to find out their enemies; but have failed to do so. We

should judge that if at all preyed upon, it must be when they are

but a few weeks old. But what becomes of their adult dead?

Do they, as birds are asserted to do, seek some hidden nook? or

do they dig their own graves deeply in the mud, preparatory to

- the approaching dissolution, which they feel is near at hand?

The precise number of species of this crustacean, inhabiting the

streams of New Jersey, we do not doubt, will prove to be more

than the three that we have mentioned; but as yet these are all

that we can readily distinguish among the many dozens that we

have gathered in our immediate neighborhood. The differences

that mark these species, according to Dr. Hagen, are found to be

ei with our separation of the specimens, in accordance

th the different classes of localities where found; we can there-

pm scarcely think that there is any error in asserting that the

crawfish found in the neighborhood of Trenton, New Jersey, are

respectively, Cambarus acutus, affinis and Bartonii; the first, a

plant-loving species: the second, a deeper water, stone-haunting

form ; the third, a burrower in the muddy banks of ditches, small

streams and, occasionally, of the river itself.

BEES SE OR et Pee ae VEEP EO? hare ONAL eee Tg et ela ay (ee ae

arate Pair te

THE RATTLE, OF THE RATTLESNAKE.

BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL AUGHEY.

I wish to contribute my observations on the rattlesnake, having

been specially favored in opportunities for the study of this rep-

til

Of all the articles that have appeared on the subject in the

Nartvrauisr that by Mr. Putnam* appears to me to present the

most satisfactory theory concerning the use of the rattles. I am

Satisfied that one of their uses is to bring the sexes together.

In July, 1869, I was engaged in surveying along the Logan

river in Wayne County, Nebraska. After completing my con-

tract I devoted a day to investigating the natural history of the

neighborhood. While washing a collection of unios at the water’s -

edge, I heard the familiar rattle of the Massasauga (Crotalophorus

tergeminus). I quietly crept up the bank and cautiously looking

over the level bottom I saw, at the distance of about thirty feet, a

rattlesnake coiled up with head erect and gazing in an opposite

direction from my position. Every three or five minutes the snake

would cease rattling for a minute or more and then commence

again. In about half an hour from the time that I first saw the

Snake I observed another rattlesnake. approach the first one.

Closer and closer the second one approached, until at length they

met and indulged in a sexual embrace. I watched them for at

least an hour and left them at last without disturbing them.

The next year at the Bow river in the same state I saw the

Same thing repeated under similar circumstances. In neither case

pu I ascertain whether it was the male or female that gave the

call.

I am satisfied that’ the theory + that the rattle resembles the noise

made by the Cicada, and that it is employed because of this resem-

blance to entrap birds, etc.,is a mistake. I have been accustomed

to the sound of the Cicada and the rattle of the rattlesnake from

my youth, and soon learned to distinguish them, although there is

imes a striking resemblance between them. My familiarity

with them was gained in my native state amid the Alleghanies of

raa ee aN a

(85)

* AMERICAN NATURALIST, Vol. VI, p. 693. tl.c. p. 32.

86 THE RATTLE OF THE RATTLESNAKE.

Pennsylvania. In the last week of June, 1869, I was on the Mis-

souri flood plain in a dense timber in Cedar County, Nebraska. At

the time there were many Cicade and multitudes of birds in the

timber. One day I was sitting on a lôg, classifying a collection

of flowers and plants. Suddenly I heard the well-known rattle-

snake rattle. The snake was not more than forty feet from me.

I could not have been the cause of its alarm as a large log lay

between us and I had been quiet for nearly an hour. Even the

Cicadæ were alarmed and disappeared, and soon not a bird was to

be seen, but the rattling’continued. Unfortunately, on the impulse

of the moment, I killed the snake without waiting to see or learn

the purpose of its rattling. Again I have noticed that the Mas-

sasauga, at least in Nebraska, is by far the most abundant far

away from the timber, where the Cicadæ are rarely if ever seen.

These observations seem to me to point to the theory that the

rattle calls the sexes together. In July, 1871, I was in the timber

on the Missouri in Dakota County, Nebraska. I got sight of a

Baltimore oriole (rare in Nebraska) which I was following as it

flitted from twig to twig. As it swept near the ground a rattle-

snake struck his highest notes and seemed to paralyze the oriole

with fear. This snake was a Crotalus. The poor bird hovered

near the snake and fearing that it might fall into its jaws I shot

the reptile. This experience suggested the theory that perhaps

an additional purpose of the rattle was to frighten its victims

into submission and to protect itself by the terror it inspires from

its natural enemies. However that may be, is it not a mistake to

limit such a peculiar organ to any one single purpose? What is

needed to determine definitely the natural history of the rattle-

snake is closer and more accurate observation over a wide area,

and by persons who are fitted by nature and education for such

work. Unfortunately for science, the almost universal custom has.

been to kill the rattlesnake as soon as found, without waiting to

learn its disposition and habits of life.

Once in the Dakota Nebraska timber I saw an attack of hogs on

a rattlesnake. Ina few minutes after the snake commenced rat-

tling, three others made their appearance. ‘They apparently came

to the assistance of the first one, but all were killed by the hogs

in a few minutes. Seven hogs were more than a match for four

rattlesnakes. Here evidently the rattle was used to call for help.

[hese belonged to the genus Crotalophorus.

eT area es = Sa cm

: mam Scie a a pas eee ses RENA 4

AEE ALe PAENT CE ME E ne) ico, a A A N E AE ANNEER E AE E EE R EE EE as So

COLOSSAL CUTTLEFISHES.

BY A. S. PACKARD, JR.

THERE is a prevalent opinion among seamen that the largest

being that swims is a colossal squid or cuttlefish. As a matter of

` fact there are immense squids which range the high seas, often

forming the food of the sperm whale. It is these gigantic animals

which have on rare occasions been seen by fishermen and others,

which have given rise in past ages to the stories of the kraken.

This animal was supposed to be large enough to form islands in

the sea, and the well-known hoax of Denys Montfort represents

a “kraken octopod” in the act of scuttling a three-masted ship.

The first authentic records of these colossal squids will be found in

a forthcoming memoir by Professor Steenstrup, the distinguished

Director of the Zoological Museum of the University at Copen-

hagen. From the proof-sheets and copy of the first plate illus-

trating it which he generously placed in my hands, I find several

authentic cases of the occurrence of gigantic squids on the Euro-

pean coast. In the middle of the sixteenth century (1549) there

was found at Malmö, in Sweden, a large squid, called monk fish or

sea monk (sémunk), and designated by Gesner as Monachus

marinus. We shall refer to this animal again.

In 1639, 1798 and 1853, specimens of gigantic squids, now pre-

served in the museum at Copenhagen, occurred on the north coast

of Denmark, and in 1662 another animal of ‘this sort, the Ommato-

strephes pteropus of Steenstrup, portions of which are in Prof.

Steenstrup’s collection, was found on the coast of Holland.

The specimen found in 1853, on the shores of the Cattegat, was

represented only by the horny beaks which were over four inches

in length (about the size of the beak figured on page 93). This

is described by Prof. Steenstrup under the name of Architeuthis

monachus.

The most interesting discovery, however, was from the neigh-

borhood of the Bahamas, in latitude 31° N., and longitude 10. Ws

Specimens of the horny jaws, hooks, arms, sucking disks and

other parts of a cuttlefish over eighteen feet long, were nye

aw,

88 COLOSSAL CUTTLEFISHES.

‘to Copenhagen by Capt. Hygom from this locality in 1855. This

species was named by Prof. Steenstrup Architeuthis dux.*

This kind of cuttlefish, called the hooked calmary, is found

swimming on the high seas, being solitary in its habits, not going

in schools as the common squid. The end of the body and an

arm of one of these hooked calmaries, thought by Prof. Owen to

have belonged to an individual six feet long, are preserved in the

museum of the College of Surgeons in London where, owing to

the kindness of Prof. Flower, we had an opportunity of seeing it.

The arms of this calmary are provided with large hooks arising

from the centre of the suckers, which must add a peculiar horror

to the slimy monster. It was found by Banks and Solander, the

naturalists of Cook’s first voyage, near Cape Horn. It was

named by Prof. Owen Onychoteuthis Banksii.

The French naturalists Quoy and Gaimard, as reported by

Woodward in his ‘“ Manual of Mollusca,” found a dead cuttlefish

in the Atlantic under the equator, which must have weighed two

hundred and twenty pounds when perfect. It was floating on the

surface, and was partly devoured by birds. To the same excellent

authority we are indebted for the statement that a kind of squid

called the “sea arrow,” used extensively for bait in the codfishery

of Newfoundland grows nearly four feet in length. This possibly

belongs to the genus Ommatostrephes.

We are indebted to ‘The World of the Sea” by M. Moquin

Tandon, for the following statements regarding large cuttlefish.

Pliny notices an enormous cuttlefish which haunted the coast of

Spain devouring all the fish, and destroying the fishing grounds.

It weighed seven hundred pounds, and its arms were more than

thirty feet long. Aristotle speaks of a great calmar more than

ten feet long which was taken in the Mediterranean. In modern

times M. Verany speaks of a calmar a yard and a half long, and

which weighed twenty-four pounds. One was caught near Nice,

weighing fifteen pounds. An equally large one was found in the

Adriatic, and its body is still preserved in the museum at Trieste.

Over twenty years ago a calmar six feet long was caught off the |

south coast of France; it is still to be seen in the collection of

the Faculty of Sciences at Montpellier. Peron, a French natural-

ist, met in the Australian seas a huge cuttlefish with arms more

*In the proof it is called A Titan, but Prof. S. tioned itt in conversation

A, dux.

raS i rA dLe

COLOSSAL CUTTLEFISHES. 89

than eight feet long. Rang, in the same part of the world, met a

cephalopod with a reddish body, which was the size of a ton cask.

Swediaur reports that some whalers took out of the mouth of a

whale pieces of a cuttlefish which were twenty-five feet long. On

the 30th of November, 1861, the steam corvette Alecton, while

cruising between Teneriffe and Madeira, encountered a monster

cephalopod floating on the surface of the water. It was sixteen

or eighteen feet long, irrespective of the eight long arms. The

body was fusiform and weighed upwards of four thousand pounds.

It is doubtful whether this creature was a true cuttlefish or not,

but as its body is said to be fusiform and terminated in two fleshy

lobes or fins, the two long arms may have been eaten off. The

poulpes or octopods have no fins, and the body is a rounded mass,

as seen in the adjoining figure, which represents a true octopus (a

Fig. 9.

Brazilian species), so that this was probably a cuttlefish.

I have been informed by Capt. J. Hammond of Salem, who has

sailed for forty-one years between that port and the East Indies,

that once, while off the Cape of Good Hope, he saw the remains of

Squid from eight to ten cubic feet in size, floating on the surface.

The animal had apparently been attacked by whales and dolphins,

and the arms and head devoured. .

At a late meeting of the Boston Society of Natural History,

Hon. N. E. Atwood related the fact that he had seen pieces of

squid ten inches in diameter vomited up by a sperm whale, and

that sperm whales were known to devour giant squid. I have re-

90 COLOSSAL CUTTLEFISHES.

ceived the following letter from Captain Atwood reiterating these

and other facts :—

** PROVINCETOWN, December 16, 1872.

Dear Sir:— Your letter, asking me some questions about the

size of the large squid of which I spoke, in my remarks at a late

meeting of the Boston Society of Natural History, was duly re-

ceived. In regard to the large squid seen by whalers in eve

ocean where sperm whales are found, I would say that I think

some of them are very large. I have made but one whaling voyage,

and that was in the Atlantic, when I was a boy fifteen years old.

I have not seen a piece of large squid since. I think I did then

see some heads that were at least ten inches in diameter. Some

find no one who has measured them, therefore they cannot give

me i ine definite in regard to their size.

I the opinion of almost all whalemen that the sperm whale

Rede. wholly on squid. have been informed by some of my

neighbors (who are reliable), that they made a voyage in a

schooner from this port, and when they were killing a large sperm

whale, it threw up a shark some ten feet long. This is the only

instance Pa I have ever heard of sperm whales eating anything

but squi

I a you to Lieut. Maury’s “ Sailing Directions,” in which he

records several letters from whaling captains who have had much

experience in the business, from whic make the following ex-

tracts : — Captain. Daniel McKenzie of New Bedford says, “The

principal article of food (and indeed the only one as far as I

know) is squid ; the smaller kind they eat is found near the sur-

face, and is from two to three feet in length; the larger kind,

which probably have their haunts deep in the sea, must be of

immense size: the flesh soft and of gelatinous substance. I have

seen very large junks floating on the surface entirely shapeless.’

Captain Francis Post says ‘ Cuttle or a supposed to be the

only food which sperm whales ever eat, are often found in shoal

water; there is, however, a species of this. fish, the exact size of

which is not know wn, but it is presumed to be large, as whales

as large as the bulk of a barrel, and these in large quantities. so

t the assertion of the Strast that the whale, though =

largest of — is one of the smallest eaters, is untrue.

pieces of squid are often seen floating on the sea, which ce

consider ase por whale ground.’ Capt. Roys ears Z

apt.

_ Lieut. Maury, dated Hong Kong, January 19, 1851: ‘The

_ whale is found in all fteictae: and in every sea; he feeds iad “a

inanimate animal substance called a squid, which grows upon the

bottom of the sea, and is never seen upon the surface, except

ESE bis r E fu 7 T ue Teie he

lot ey treat ee es RO UO ei (fn a fin eee hk So a ag a si hae a

COLOSSAL CUTTLEFISHES. 91

ing upou the surface. I have seen a dying whale vomit it up

want of food goes to the ocean bed.’ aptain Rose, of the bark

Dove, writes under the date of June 1, 1854, as follows: ‘ Fifteen

years ago I might have agreed with Captain Roys, that sperm

whales’ feed [7.e. squid] lived or grew on the bottom of the sea, and

it may live there ; but as to its never being seen unless torn up

mostly in the morning, dodging across the bows and in the wake

of the ship.’

The above extracts will show you that the whalemen, who have

have had much experience, give us nothing definite in regard to

the size of the squid.”

In confirmation of this and other statements to the same effect,

we may cite a similar statement from an old whaler, given in Prof.

Shaler’s article on the “ Habits of the Sperm Whale,” on page 3

of the present volume of this journal.

It now remains for us to notice briefly the facts regarding the

colossal squid that have come under our own notice. In the

autumn of 1871 appeared a statement in the ‘Cape Ann Adver-

tiser ” that the crew of a Gloucester fishing vessel, while upon the

Grand Banks, found a squid, floating dead, which measured fifteen

feet in length and four feet six inches in circumference, the longer

arms measuring ten feet. On writing to the editor, and inquiring

how far this statement could be relied on, he kindly wrote in reply

as follows :—

“The account of the squid, as published in the ‘ Advertiser,”

is correct, and is vouched for by Mr. James G. Tarr, of the

of Dodd, Tarr & Co., of East Gloucester. The squid was picked

up afloat (dead) at the place mentioned, and was so large that

From Mr. Tarr 1 also received the following letter, giving more

precise details ; —

“ East GLOUCESTER, January 4, 1872.

Your note of the 22d ultimo came duly to hand. In reply I

would say that Captain Campbell of the schooner B. D. Haskins,

92 COLOSSAL CUTTLEFISHES.

while lying at anchor on the Grand Banks on or about the 20th of

a amt discovered something floating on the water, perhaps a

. gun-shot from his schooner. The weather being fine and pleasant

he ordered the boat lowered, and sent two men to learn — it

might be; they returned reporting the object to be a mass of

floating jelly, or something unknown to them. The Gaptitin then

with hooks and gaffs and more men nok to investigate ; he found

it quite dead, each end hanging under water, only the centre on

its surface. After towing it alongside the schooner, he pases se is

purchase or halyards to hoist the monster out of water, and o

ing its head, declared it to be a squid, saying he had heard of wer

of. that size, but never saw the like person e. -n a — got on

board, the second hand or mate infor e he measured. the

body with a rule and found it fifteen feet presen ar feet eight

inches round. The long arijas were badly eaten; judged they

might be nine or ten feet long ; two were shorter than the former,

part with it. I learn from some older fishermen that years ago

large squid were often taken on the Grand Banks, and whalers

a captured whale that hisata forty feet in length. I ‘think the

large squid is often mee’ in the northern oceans.’

Learning from Mr. Tarr that one of the crew had the horny

jaws of the monster in his possession, I offered him a fair price for

it for the museum of the Peabody Academy of Science, but he

would not part with it. Through the kindness, however, of Mr.

Tarr, I was enabled to obtain an imperfect photograph of it. The

beak had been split open and spread apart, and photographed in

this position. I took a photograph of it to Prof. Steenstrup who

kindly spent some time with me in endeavoring to identify it from

the specimens in the unrivalled collection of decapodous cephalo-

pods in the museum of the Royal University. He decided that

in all probability, so far as could be decided from such imperfect

_ data, the beak must have belonged to the Architeuthis monachus

: = Steenstrup. This is the “sea monk” which we haye previously

_ noticed as having occurred on the coast of Cattegat in 1853, and

which was also known to the naturalist Gesner, who wrote in the

- z middle pr the sixteenth century. I also showed Prof. Steenstrup

je ea

Sa) Oe ial a e E E a Se TNS

COLOSSAL CUTTLEFISHES. " 98

the proof of the accompanying cut (Fig. 10), of the beak of a

squid, which was presented by Hon. N. E. Atwood to the Essex

Institute several years ago. “It is four and a half inches long, the

cut being of the natural size. The specimen was taken from the

Fig. 10.

stomach of a sperm whale, captured in the North Atlantic, and is

now in the Museum of the Peabody Academy of Science. Judging

by this cut, Prof. Steenstrup ventured the opinion that it belonged

to Architeuthis dux which, as we have stated above, has been pre-

viously found near the Bahamas. He also suggested that the

94 ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

smaller figure (natural size) in the cut, illustrated the beak of an-

other small squid, the Gonatus Fabricii. A beak of this squid

was presented by Captain Atwood at the same time with that of

A. dux, and we suppose it may have come from the same sperm

whale, but there is no statement to that effect. These specimens

will all be sent to Prof. Steenstrup for accurate determination.

When his memoir appears we hope to be able to present our read-

ers with a more satisfactory account of these, until lately almost

fabulous, monsters of the deep. I may however not be trespassing

on the kindness of Prof. Steenstrup if I say that I had the pleas-

ure of examining a squid, perfectly preserved in spirits, with arms

about twelve feet long; the body as well as I can remember being

between two and es feet in length, which he had just received

from Iceland. Its discovery has undoubtedly before this been

announced in Danish jonrnals.

We have said nothing of colossal Octopi, or poulpes. We pub-

lished an account of one, however, in the last number of the Naru-

RALIST (page 772) which had been found at the Bahamas. The

daily papers had a notice of one thirty feet in length, seen near

Newfoundland during the past summer, but much allowance must

probably be made for the statement. Prof. Brewer, of Yale Col-

lege, tells me that he has seen them measuring fourteen feet from

tip to tip of the expanded arms in the San Francisco markets.

Accounts of colossal species of Octopus are not uncommon. They

occur in the mid-Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and seem to

be as large and much more common than the ten-armed squids.

ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

BY J. W. FOSTER, LL. D.

—eOo

In the specimens of pottery which have been recovered from

the mounds, there is displayed a skill in the selection of the mate-

rials, and in the moulding of them into artistic forms, which far

_ surpass the specimens which are characteristic of the Bronze Age

- of Europe. The commonest forms represent kettles, drinking

cups, water-jugs, pipes and vases in the nature of sepulchral

ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 95

urns. The Mound-builders, not content with plain surfaces, often

decorated the exterior of the vessels with scrolls, chevrons and

indentations ; they even went further, and modowe the effigies of

birds, animals, and of the human form he clay, except for

their coarsest utensils, such as kettles, tian where gravel was often

introduced, was finely tempered, so that it did not warp and crack

in burning,— the utensil when completed having a yellowish or

grayish tint. Most of their pottery was unglazed; but in one

instance, hereinafter to be described, the additional process of

glazing was resorted to.

Warer-sues.— These utensils are quite abundant, and appear

under a variety of forms. Being unglazed, they would permit

water to permeate slowly through the pores, and thus, by evapo-

ration, produce a temperature below that of the surrounding air,

—a device resorted to, at

this day, in tropical climates,

to keep water cool.

The subjoined figure rep-

resents two _ water-jugs,

which are similar in shape

to the decanters formerly

furnished the guests of a

hotel, before the days of

water-works. They were

taken from an ancient cem-

etery in Perry County, Missouri, and were found occupying a

position near the head of a corpse. Height, 8 inches.

Figure 12 represents a fine specimen of ancient modelling. The

body consists of a compressed globe, surmounted by a human

head. The orifice in the region of the occiput, is about half an

inch in diameter; the height of the figure is 84 inches.

n we examine this head critically we are convinced that

the unknown artist had the skill to impress upon the plastic clay

the features of his race. Those features are not characteristic of

the Red man. The facial angle is not as obtuse as in the Euro-

pean; the eyes have not the obliquity of the Indian; the jaws are

not extraordinarily prognathous, and altogether, the contour of

the face is indicative of intelligence. The head is covered with

Fig. 11.

Water-jugs from Perry County, Missouri. =}.

a fillet, the material of which was probably cloth. Have we in this -

model the characteristic features of the Mound-builder? It is not

96 ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

a caricature ; there is nothing grotesque; but there is a display of

artistic skill which could impress upon the clay whatever type the

modeller had in his mind.

Figure 13,on the next page, represents a profile and back view of

a statuette. His head is covered with several plaits of cloth; his

eyes are closed ; his face is contorted, as if in pain; his arms are

pinioned with a strong cord; the bones and muscles of his shoul-

ders are brought out in strong relief; and while these points are

well delineated, the lower extremities are grossly incongruous.

Fig. 12.

KT at - p Pal ė

Missouri. = x

This figure may have beei ie to commemorate the capture

of some dangerous enemy, or some notorious malefactor; or, as

it is now pretty well mcconeiia that the Mound builders: offered

up human sacrifices, it may represent a victim prepared for the

altar. There is an opening at the top of the head, and the marks

of the gouge with which the superfluous clay was extracted are

plainly visible. Height, 8 inches.

These two vessels last described were exhumed by the late Syl-

vester Sexton, of Chicago, from a low mound in Mississippi

ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. oF

County, Missouri, about seven miles from the battle ground of

Belmont. There was also found a plain water-jug, of about the

capacity of that described as Figure 12. Statuettes of a similar

character, but less artistically executed, are in my possession from

the ancient cemetery in Perry County, before referred to. In all

instances they were found near the head of the corpse, and appear

to‘have been offerings consecrated to the dead.

The Wabash Valley, throughout its entire course, appears to

have been a highly favored region to the Mound-builder. About

Fig. 13.

Statuette from near Belmont, Missouri. =

twenty miles above the mouth of this stream, on the Indiana

shore, there is a high bluff, the site of an ancient cemetery, in

which great quantities of human relics from time to time have

been unearthed by the excavating power of the river. Among

these may be enumerated bones, ash-heaps, stone-axes and arrow-

heads, and pipes and vessels of pottery. Ata point still further

South, was recovered a water-jug which in its general outlines is

Similar to that from Missouri (Fig. 12). Figure 14 is a repre-

sentation of this utensil, the height < which is 6 inches.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. V

98 ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

It is difficult in this figure to determine precisely what the artist

designed to represent, but the nearest approach among the feath-

ered tribe would be the horned owl. The“eyes are large and

Fig. 14. circular, the beak is

short and divided, the

head is crowned by two

projections which may

be taken for tufts of

feathers, and yet to the

cheeks are attached the

‘appendages of human

ears, which are pierced

for the reception of or-

naments.

It is not often that we

meet with vessels sup-

ported by feet, yet a few

such instances occur.

Figure 15 is a represen-

tation of one belonging

to this class, which was

Water-jug found near the mouth of the Wabash Pin

by David Septer, and presented to Prof. Cox of found in.a ploughed field,

Indianapolis, b; x :

sae near Belmont, Missouri,

by William J. Hough, of Paducah, Kentucky, and kindly loaned

by the present owner, Daniel Hough, of

Indianapolis, for this illustration. This

attachment is common in the ancient pot-

tery of Mexico and Central America.

For the purposes of comparison, I intro-

duce the figure of a vessel from San José,

near Mexico (Figure 16), one of a series

forming the Scammon Collection of An-

cient Pottery, belonging to the Chicago

Academy of Sciences. It is symmetri-

Fig. 15.

burned in an oven, rather than in the as Water- pite near Bel-

air. What is particularly noticeable, i eu ag

view of what I shall state hereafter, is ie series of chevrons, or

small besa Eee with which the rim is decorated. This c

-. r

ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 99

mode of decoration appears to have been widely prevalent, and

not confined to this hemisphere. The most beautiful specimen of

ancient pottery of the Mound-builder epoch, which I have ever

seen, was a cup recovered from

shell bank on the borders of Grand

Lake, Louisiana, by Dr. Dungan, of

Jeaneret’s, and deposited in the col-

lection of the Chicago Academy of

Sciences, but unfortunately destroyed

in the memorable fire of October 8,

1871. It was hemispherical in form,

and glazed with a pigment of a rich

umber color, except where orna-

mented, in which the groundwork Ancient bse § from San José,

was reddish. This is the only in- on ees

stance of glazed pottery, which, to my knowledge, has been found

on the Gulf coast. In the accuracy of detail and in the graceful

Fig. 17. lines of the contour, this vessel reminded me

strongly of the best specimens of Japanese

pottery of the present day. The rim was or-

seen in the preceding specimen, with this ad-

dition, that below the line defining this work

there was a scroll-like border of harmonious

i Pita of the Bronze

Se, Switzerland. =}. outline. At first I was disposed to regard

this similarity of marking as a signal fact demonstrating a filia-

Fig. 18. Fig. 19.

Drinking cup from an e rave Pipe from a Mound near

Perry County, Missouri. = 5 ? Laporte, Indiana.

tion between the ancient inhabitants of the two regions, but I

100 ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

subsequently found that precisely the same device was used by

the people of the Bronze Epoch of Switzerland, as will appear

from the accompanying illustration (Fig. 17), which is a repro-

duction of figure 27 a, as given by M. Desor, in his paper on the

* * Palafittes of Lake Neufchatel.”

Drinxine Curs. — These relics often display much taste in form

and ornamentation. Figure 18 is a representation of one found in

the ancient cemetery in Perry Co.,

Missouri, before referred to. It will e

be seen that there is a flat lip at- í

tached to the rim, and that the han-

dle is surmounted by a female head.

In the occipital region there is a

small orifice leading to a larger cav-

ity which, at the time of the discov-

ery, was filled with pellets. These,

the discoverer supposed to be pills.

This is one of the most beautiful

Urn = near Laporte, oe Gea of antique pottery which

Teriny t has been my fortune to observe.

The clay, was properly a nii, showing a homogeneous mixture,

and the body is of as uniform thickness as though turned on a 4

Fig. 21. Fig. 22.

Sepulchral U: Laporte, Indiana. =

potter’s wheel. The general form is graceful, and the female head

is far from being a caricature. -

Prrrs.— Under this head I give an example (Fig. 19), by way

of illustration, for the reason that here we have the human counte-

‘nance moulded with some Segre of artistic skill; In the stone

ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 101

sculptures, representing this class of implements, we have the

highest type of the Mound-builders’ art. The narrow, receding

forehead, the broad cheek bones, caused by the outward sweep of

*the zygomatic arches, and the projecting jaws,—characters which

appertain to the inferior races—are here represented. This is

about the only instance of an obscene

figure (the posterior extremities are omit-

ted) which I have observed. a

SEPULCHRAL Urns. — These are quite C

numerous, and are often graceful in form,

and elaborately decorated. Not unfre-

quently there is found at the bottom of

them a dark carbonaceous matter which

may be the residuum of the food which

they contained when placed at the head Urn from an Ancient Grave,

of the corpse. I give three illustrations CTT? Com Ky. =4.

(Figs. 20, 21 and 22) of this class of utensils, taken from the

mounds near Laporte, Indiana, by Dr. Higday. In one the mate-

rial is a finely tempered clay, and the thickness of the walls is so

uniform, that I have been led almost to the belief that it was

turned on a potter’s wheel. The other two are of a coarse text-

ure, and the ornamentation is less skilfully accomplished. The

Fig. 24, a. Fig. 24, b. curved lines appear to have

F 3 been traced by a sharp-pointed

instrument, and the indenta-

tions to have been punched

by a square-pointed one, when

the clay was in a plastic state.

The urn, represented in fig-

ure 23 is in Professor Cox’s

eis

cient Pottery from Merom, Indiana.

a, An .

b, Ancient Pottery from New Mexico (Prof, Collection, and was taken from

Cox’s Collection), ‘

a an ancient grave near the

mouth of Big Sandy River, Greenup County, Kentucky. It differs

from the others represented in having handles, and the ornamen-

tation consists of a series of corrugated lines, vertically disposed.

Kerrtes. — On the borders of the Saline River, Gallatin Co.,

Illinois, according to the manuscript notes of Professor Cox,

Director of the Geological Survey of Indiana, and kindly placed

at my disposal, there issues a salt spring which was resorted to in

the earliest settlement of the country by those of European de-

192 ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

scent for the purpose of procuring salt by evaporating the brine.

he Indians, according to Cotton Mather and other authorities,

never employed salt in curing their meats, but resorted to the

process of drying and smoking; yet here occur in abundance, *

fragments of pottery, showing that a prehistoric people visited

this spring for the purpose of “ boiling salt.” From the slight

curvature of the fragments, it is evident that the vessels were of

jarge capacity. The material is coarse; the general thickness of

the walls is about half an inch in diameter, but becomes thicker

about the rim. The external markings consist of vertical lines

of depression, half an inch apart, with lines sometimes horizontal,

and at others oblique, so that I am inclined to believe that in

moulding these large vessels, they constructed a wicker-work of

rushes to sustain the clay until it had become dried.*

It is rare to meet with vessels which are decorated with colors,

Fig. 25, a. Fig. 25, b.

a, b, Specimens of Pottery from Aztalan, Wisconsin.

yet such relics are found at Merom, Indiana (Fig. 24, a), in this

respect resembling the pottery collected by Prof. Cox, west of the

Rio Grande in New Mexico (Fig. 24, b). In both instances the

fragments are marked by broad stripes of black around the rim,

while the body is ornamented with circular spots ; with this differ-

ence, however, that in the one instance, the effect is produced by

a dark background, while in the other the process is reversed

Professor Cox informs me that the Indians of New Mexico colored

their pottery black, by using the gum of the mezquite, which has

much the appearance and properties of gum arabic, and then bak-

ing it, by which the mordant became set. Much of the pottery

from the Colorado Chequito is colored, the prevailing tints being

white, black and red.+

* ot Jla} } in ty Th

t pap by oi Snare pE mbeart

this s pottery is spoken of, and ABD wis

nares “ Pacific Railroad otal Vol iii. ” Whipple's Report on the tdia et

ON THE POTTERY OF THE MOUND-BUILDERS. 103

The pottery found at Aztalan, Wisconsin, is of a coarse texture,

and crude in its ornamentation, like that of the European Stone

Age.* In the first example (Fig. 25, a) the ornamentation is ef-

fected probably by a twisted band pressed into the plastic clay ;

and in the second example (Fig. 25, b), by a square-pointed in-

strument, similar to that used by the Laporte Mound-builders

(Fig. 20).

may be remarked in the nature of a generalization, that in

the region of the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi as

the supposed centre of the Mound-builders’ empire, the pottery is

` composed of much finer-tempered materials, is distinguished by a

greater variety of form and outline, and the artistic conception is

of a far higher range and fidelity of execution than are to be

found in the specimens from what may be regarded as the frontier

regions of Wisconsin, Northern Indiana, and Northern Ohio.

I have said in the introduction to this article, that the Mound-

builders, in the selection of the materials, and in the moulding of

them into artistic forms, were far in advance of the inhabitants

of the Bronze Epoch of Europe. The evidence on which that

opinion is founded is contained in the illustrations which I have

: given. While the inhabitants of the European Bronze Age were

content, in their artistic delineations, with simply curved lines and

chevron-like markings, the Mound-builders adopted not only the

bold swell of the scroll-like ornamentation, but grappled with the

‘ delineation of the human figure and human face,—the highest

a perfection of art; and in this range of modelling, it will be ad-

i mitted, from the examples submitted, that they soared far above

mere caricature,—that they imprinted upon the plastic clay the

characteristic features of their race.

*Specimen a is almost identical in its markings with those on = pottery from

West Kennet, En ngland (Vide Lubbock’s “ Prehistoric Times,” p. 162, fig. 154). Com-

bare this also with specimens of aeni from New Jersey, ei by Abbott, fig. 86, in

tbe AMERICAN NATURALIST for April, 18 :

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Tar Empryorocy or Fosstr CerHatorops.*—This essay con-

tains some of the results of several years’ study of the rich collec-

tion of fossil Cephalopods contained in the Cambridge museum. j

The special investigations recorded here were made for the purpose

of ascertaining the limits of the embryological period among the

typical Ammonites. In order to do this the author made sections ;

of the shell and worked out the form of the embryo or young ani- 4

mal just after being hatched. This may be detected by breaking

away the older whorls, and getting at the minute globular sac,

which represents the shell in its first stage. This sac may be

found in Ammonites and Goniatites, but in the shell of Nautilus it

is not retained, though ‘traces of its former existence are appar-

ent on the apex of the first whorl in the form of a scar or cicatrix.

Into this sac opens the first whorl of the shell; other whorls are

added, until they form a long series coiled up closely, as in the

Ammonites so familiar to geological students.” As is well known

to palzontologists there are all grades of form from the “ straight

Orthoceras to the coiled Nautilus, and inversely, among Ammo-

_ noids from the closely coiled Goniatites and Ammonites to the

straight Baculites; the general morphology being readily and ac- .

eurately expressed as a coiling up of a straight cone, and the

subsequent uncoiling of the same at later stages of the earth’s

history. The shells are almost universally classified in accordance

with this coiling and uncoiling, with which also the structure of

the siphon and septa are more or less correlated.” Prof. Hyatt

SEERE a VR ge en ay eee

SD Ane 210 Sa a ee N,

has endeavored, and we think with great success, to show that this

series of forms is epitomized in the life of the individual Nautilus -

or Ammonite. The young in these Cephalopods are at first un-

coiled like some genera, and the different degrees of coiling up find

a permanent expression in the genera of Ammonoids.

He figures the embryos of certain Goniatites, and from the dif-

ferences presented by them, a succession of forms is detected which

_ accords with what we know of the morphology of these P

_ pods and their geological succession. He concludes that — `

=- * Fossil Cephalopods of the biures or Cemparative Zoology; Embryology. By

Ion Alpheus Hyatt. (Bulletin of the Mu , Cambridge. Mass.,

z vol. iii, No. 5. Cambridge, 1872. 8vo. pp. 116, with cuts and four lithographic , plates.)

s 04)

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 105

“The range of form has been among the Nautiloids from the

straight Orthoceratite through intermediate arcuate genera, to the

pees Ronee Sage and finally the oon coiled Nautilus.

Suc the case, if there is any trut e doctrine of evo-

ERE we g AA expect to find some pjeses es the peculiarities

of the parent Nautiloid stock in the earlier stages of development

among the Ammonoids. And n as a direct and unavoidable

corollary of the above, we ought to find this reference more dis-

tinct in the young of the earlier ka of Ammonoids, the Goni-

-atites of the Silurian, and less noticeable in Goniatites of the

Devonian and Carbonifer erous, and, finally, almost obliterated, or at

any rate, still less distinct in the typical Ammonites of the Jura.

direction. The simple Nautiloid-like Goniatites of the Silurian

may exhibit an Orthoceratitic or straight form, or be closely coiled

in the young of different varieties of two distinct species. A

species, therefore, on this horizon, ma have a range of variation

ment, either in time or in adult organization, of the Ammonoids

from their supposed parent stock. There are evidently two ten-

dencies at variance with each other: one strongly reversionary,

appearing in the frequency with which the earlier Goniatites r

the parent form in certain isolated instances in the young of va

ties, and in the different species of the later Goniatites manifesting

itself in the arcuate cone of the young of Goniatites compressu

and others of the Nautilini, and in the closer, though non- pevelais;

coiling of the young of other forms. Evidently this tendency i is

losing its power to affect and modify the organization, or, in other

wor ds, its prepotency. The other tendency, which is expressed in

the closer coiling of the whorls, and — in their increasing

involution, is decidedly progressive, increasing in power to the

final and ultimate extinction of all reference te the ancestral type,

except in the internal organization. Here, as will be shown, the

siphon for a limited time remains central in the first whorl, and the

first septum has a large entire abdominal cell, and simply concave

lateral aati as in the Nautiloids.

, however, of the first whorl of the Ammonoid is like

Gonistites, the shell similar, and the second septum has the inva-

tiable abdominal lobe, superior lateral cells, and lobes of the

ita adult, Coulais. but not by any means of the simplest

Goniati The simplest adult Goniatites have no proper lateral

cells, > a broad lateral simple curves to the septa, as if the

first septum of the Ammonite was modified or broken by a small

abrupt lobe on the abdominal side. Contrast this with the devel-

opment of the septa, and their gradual change in Goniatites com-

106 : REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

pressus, and we see at once that the development of the same parts

is very ‘much quickened or accelerated in the typical Ammonite.

hat this acceleration of development is due to the prepotency

of the same progressive tendency as the closer and closer coiling,

and final involution of the ovisac, by the first whorl, can hardly be

doubted. Thus, not only in the whole series of Nautiloids are the

forms more or less completely coiled and finally enveloping, but

in the young Ammonoids this process is repeated, but only as a

reversionary tendency of individuals and species, or at most, per-

? `

haps, by the group of Nautili.

Our author finds that all the typical Ammonites may be resolved

into natural series. As bearing upon the question of mimetic

forms, we may refer to the observation that the above noticed series

‘‘contain more or less representative or mimetic forms due to the

resemblance occasioned by the amount of the involution or the

characteristics which are usually correlative with the amount of

involution.” He also indicates the effects upon the individual and

the group to which it belongs of the changes due to old age, which

have not been sufficiently taken into account by observers.

by the encroachment of senile characteristics. These are observed

tance of senile characteristics is not claimed, but merely that

the group are similar, and both due probably to the same cause,

exhaustion of the powers of growth.”

As an example of Cope’s law of “ retardation” in accounting

for the origin of distinct forms, Prof. Hyatt cites the case of the

spiral or Gasteropod genus Turrilites.

_ “The young of several species of typical Ammonites often as-

_ sume the spiral, although this is entirely suppressed at a later stage,

_ and the succeeding whorls resume the normal mode of growth and

_ revolve in the same plane. When, therefore, the normal mode of

development is “retarded,” we find even in the adult this Turrilites-

like condition of the young, which is as truly reversional as the

retrogression of the individual in old age and the retrogression of |

—

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 107

Orthoceratitic young of Goniatites fecundus. This happens occa-

sionally in the lower Jura, and finally, after the progressive stage

of the whole order ‘passes its climax, in the lower and middle Jura,

we find the development of a whole group affected by ay retarda-

tion, and the spiral is common to several generic form

We believe that the author is on a line of on bearing

most intimately not only on the origin of organic forms, but also

on a question next in importance, the law of their extinction. How

an animal or plant is produced is a matter of the greatest interest,

but is not the cause of its decay and death one almost as interest-

ing?

Since the present essay was published the author has gone to

Germany to study the collections of fossil Cephalopods in the

museums of Hanover, Stuttgart, Tubingen, etc. From a recent

letter we take the liberty of quoting some remarks which confirm

the conclusions of his first paper on this subject,* and of the trea-

tise before us.

He took as a test of the whole order the family of Arietide,

which are confined to one formation, the lower Lias.

“ It is simply wonderful to see how perfectly the geological

position of each species in the formations here agrees with its place

in the series as determined by ee The successive

minor formations of the lower Lias nothing more ‘ink succes-

sive faunæ. They are the smallest divisioils that it is possible to

make in the geological series of rocks, an | yet t there is no more

confusion than results paed one species passin.

y another, or living lon Chines bed ak

Thus @ may live ligir than b and appear a

ilougaide of it, but the young of b is pe ae TEE oe

adult of a a always. Now, then, I think we can

depend upon development to give us the Sek of descent, and

not only that tg more. In fact I feel sure that I can give

the reason why one entire fauna is different from the next, ve!

that which sens ‘it and why also the species on the sam

level have some common characteristics. This is the jepitiinate

_ *On is Parallelism between the different Stages of Life in the Individual, and those

in the entire group of the Molluscous order f the B a

Society of 3 Natural History’ Vol. 1. Part 2. 1867). The characteristics of the ‘period of a

epli idea pi

is extended t by Hyatt to include the coll life of this order the class of Cephisle:

pods Tori th | int Sctence culminated,

and then declined and wont out in forms both reminding us of the embryos of the

Nautilus and Ammonite, as well as the earliest generic forms of the order. Thus ac-

cording to Hyatt’s theory the anerest stages of the life of the individual Nautilus or

tes accord with those of the collective life of the entire order.

108 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

many characteristics of their early beginnings, as well as the re-

semblances which exist between the forms at the beginnings and

at the ends cannot be accounted for. In fact I am now sure that

the proportions between the different periods of the life of any

one individual may be compared with accuracy to the life of the

group to which it belongs; in youth to what the group is in the

beginning, in the adult to what it is now, and in old age to what it

is to be in the future

Another point of interest that engaged the author’s attention

was the discovery of the ancestral form of the Tetrabranchiate

Cephalopods. Such a form he is disposed to think occurs in

Endoceras. Giving his reasons in full he concludes that “ it is in

this group, therefore, or in some closely associated genus, that we

must look for the ancestors of the Tetrabranchiate Cephalopods.”

The genus is a subdivision of Orthoceras (belonging to the group

Vaginati), a straight-shelled Cephalopod figured in all the text-

books. Barrande’s opinion is also cited. That distinguished

palzontologist has also “settled upon Ascoceras as the proto-

type, regarding the Vaginati as the nearest allies of Ascoceras.”

We may safely say that this is one of the most thorough palæ-

ontological essays that have appeared for many a day. The

author seems to have had unusual facilities for study, as he ac-

knowledges his indebtedness to the liberal views pervading the

management of the museum by which he was allowed to break up

valuable specimens in the course of his investigations. The four

lithographic plates illustrating the present Bulletin are exquisite.

Lire Histories or our BUTTERFLIES AND Morus.* — These are

earefully elaborated accounts of the metamorphoses of some of our

common moths (Sesia difinis, S. Buffaloénsis, Thyreus Abbotit,

Philampelus Achemon, Smerinthus geminatus, Daremma undulosa,

Platarctia Parthenos, Euprepia Americana, Euchætes egle, Lagoa

_ crispata, Hyperchiria Io, Eacles imperialis, and Anisota senatoria)

_ which in some cases were raised from the egg. We find many

~ *Entomological Contributions, No. II. By J. A. Lintner. From the twenty-fourth

' Annual Report on the New York State Museum of Natural History, for the year 1870.

= 8yo. pp. 66.

E EES"

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 109

remarks on the habits of these insects, their mode of constructing

their cocoons and the food plants of the caterpillars. The author

describes quite fully two sexes of the larva of Thyreus Abbotii,

which is ‘‘ peculiarly interesting from the fact that its two styles

of ornamentation, in marked contrast one with the other, indicate

the sex of the insect, no other instance of which among the Lepi-

doptera is known to us. The dorsal and lateral series of spots,

yellow as described above, but frequently and perhaps usually of

a pale green color, denote the male; the female being brown,

without any trace of the above spots, but with interrupted, dark,

subdorsal and stigmatal bands and numerous small longitudinal

` patches.” The remarks on the varieties of Smerinthus geminatus

Say will attract the attention of entomologists, since the author

found among some moths of this species, ‘‘a female, having but a

single blue pupil on the black ocellated spot of the secondaries.

The occurrence of this variety is peculiarly interesting from the

fact that upon specimens differing from the type of S. geminatus

mainly in having but a single pupil, two other species seemed to

be based, viz., Sphina ocellatus Jamaicensis of Drury and Smerin-

thus Cerisyi of Kirby. . . A careful comparison of Drury’s figure

with our variety leaves scarcely a doubt of their identity.”

Other specimens show ‘‘ quite an approach” to S. Cerisyi, which

Mr. Lintner thinks “is, in all probability, a simple variety of S.

geminatus.” We are glad to see that the specific name Io is re-

stored to what Walker called Hyperchiria varia. The reviewer ac-

knowledges the correctness of Dr. Speyer’s decision. ‘The author

advocates the rearing of caterpillars upon growing plants, which is

becoming a favorite method with lepidopterists. In conclusion,

we must confess ourseives greatly pleased with this brochure as it

considerably advances our knowledge of the lives of our butter-

flies and moths.

As we are going to press with this notice, the first series of

“ Entomological Contributions” comes to hand. It is replete

with new and interesting details concerning the life of our butter-

flies and moths. The history of Hemileuca Maia occupies twenty ae

pages. We have also elaborate descriptions of the early stages

of Meliteea Phaeton, M. Nyceteis, and Pieris oleracea and descrip-

tions of three new species of Nisoniades, and a new Ellema.

The other notes of times of capture, ete., are of practical impor-

tance.

110 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Collectors will find some useful hints regarding field work. We

quote the following passage : —

‘¢ Mr. — field collections are made with unusual care. A

gauze net is used by him, of so delicate a texture that the cap-

tured insect, in its efforts to escape, may brush against its sides

without the loss of any of its cilia. As quickly as possible it is

withdrawn from the net in a wide-mouthed bottle, and speedily

quieted by a few drops of chloroform, poured on some cotton

contained in a glass tube passing through the cork. When the

insect is dead, or nearly so, it is carefully” turned out on the palm

of the left hand, and in that poruon pinned, without taking it as

is usually done between the

I have found a lump of hat of potassa, secured by a piece

of gauze to the stopple of a bottle (a French mustard jar with its

hollow screw stopple forms an excellent collecting bottle), to be

more convenient for use than chloroform, and near ‘ly as prompt in

its effects.”

We are quite well satisfied with the use of cyanide of potassa.

A Hawnp-soox or Bririsu Funer.*—The increasing interest in

the study of the Fungi, especially their microscopic forms, leads

to the frequent inquiry for some compact and trustworthy manual

of this somewhat puzzling class of plants. Mr. Cooke is well

known as an enthusiastic and experienced author on the subject,

and this treatise is the best which the English or American student

can employ to assist him in his home researches. References to

United States habitats are largely given, and the measurements

and descriptions by Greville, Fries, Berkeley, Smith, etc., added to

Mr. Cooke’s own observations on almost ev ery species. In classi-

fication, the author has endeavored to simplify the arrangement,

_ as much as the great influx of new discoveries would permit. To

have succeeded, however imperfectly in this, is to have earned the

gratitude of every student of the Fungi—for no branch of botany

has been in greater confusion and embarrassment of nomenclature.

The extremely plastic character of fungus life is perhaps an ex-

cuse for this, but Mr. Cooke seems to have taken hold of the diffi-

_ culty with courage and to have worked with decided views of his

_ own, which it is to be regretted that the proposed limits of the

volumes left him no room to explain at length. The references

are very full, much more so than the size of the work would prom-

ae : * Hand-book of British Fungi, with full Description of all the Species, and Illustra-

_ tions of the Genera. By M. U. Cooke, M.A., London and New York: Macmillan and

“810, 2 vols., pp. 982. Price 312. :

BOTANY. 111

ise. The spore measurements, a delicate but necessary matter,

have been well done. It may be added, that since the appearance

of this work Mr. Cooke, in company with Mr. C. H. Peck of

Albany, New York, has been engaged in the study of the Erysiphei

of the United States, and has already published several papers

which might well accompany the hand-book to the study table of

any. American botanist.— E. C. B

BOTAN Zz:

Second Growrtus IN Trees.— A matter which has not received

the attention which perhaps it deserves is the growth of trees

twice or more during the same season. Some, like the horse

chestnut, make but a single grow th, when the upper leaves are

reduced to perfect bud scales; and although there is, probably,

a growth of the embryonic parts of the next year’s leaves and

flowers beneath these scales for sometime afterwards, to all

appearance growth ceases for the season. Others, as in the

Norway and sycamore maples, gradually decrease in the size of

their leaves as midsummer approaches; the internodes occupy

less and less space, but before finally taking on the condition of

a terminal bud a new growth commences, the leaves grow larger,

and before the final fall resting comes, they have nearly reached

the size of those of the early summer time. The English oak

almost always makes two of these growths, and sometimes

three, and this is also the case with Pinus mitis, P. Banksiana,

P. inops, P. pungens, and sometimes but not so frequently in P.

rigida and P. Teda. I think it likely that in most trees which

make a continuous growth through the summer season there

is more or less of this growth rest, and successive reaction. In

the apple tree, and the Carolina and cottonwood poplars, this ap-

proach to rest about midsummer is very plainly seen by a short-

ening of the internodes; after this they again widen, and in the

case of these two, the leaves of the second growth are much larger-

X and more vigorous in every respect than those of the first cycle or

- wave of growth. I have often set myself to the study of the —

causes of this varying growth force, without feeling satisfied that —

I could comprehend them clearly. In some way it would seem to

be dependent on the powers of nutrition, as in the apple and many

other trees it is only the most vigorous shoots which make a re-

112 BOTANY.

newed start; but on the other hand I have seen two trees of

English oak side by side together for about twenty years, one

making mostly three of these growth cycles, and the other but

two, and yet up to this time neither of these has gained any advan-

tage in size over the other. Again, in the case of the horse chest-

nut, if the leaves be picked off before the terminal bud is quite

mature, it will make another growth the same season. In like

manner if the leaves of most trees be taken off before the cycle

of growth has been quite completed, most of the axillary buds,

which otherwise would have remained dormant till the next year,

will at once push into growth. If the leaves have to aid in the

immediate nutrition of the axis with which they are connected,

which I am sometimes led half to doubt, the check to nutrition by

their loss,seems rather to aid more than full nutrition does in the

secondary axial development. It is however certain that it is the

most vigorous growths on any tree, or the most vigorous individ-

uals, or even varieties, which make these repeated cycles. The

common European ash rarely makes a second growth unless in a

very vigorous condition. The variety heterophylla, which makes å

longer, and a stouter growth, usually makes two ; but another vari-

ety, known in gardens as Fraaxinus excelsior jaspidea, which has

stouter branchlets than either, generally makes three growths.

It would be very interesting to know exactly the relation be-

tween nutrition and accelerated growth as exhibited in these suc-

cessional waves. I have, in papers no doubt familiar to many of

your readers, shown how varying powers of nutrition modify the

_ form of leaves, and in other cases even regulate the production of

the sexes; and it is by no means improbable that the same laws

= will be found operative in the production of species itself; for

frequently specific, perhaps one might say generic, differences are

no greater, than are sometimes found in the varying growths on

the same tree, or the differences between one sex and another.

This is a well known fact, as genera of both plants and animals

have not unfrequently been founded on specimens which were in

time found to be but another sex of the same thing.

_ A knowledge of these successive annual growths may aid our

Diiis in systematic botany. As Mr. Gilman points out, in the

American NarturaLIst Vol. vi, p. 684, in his note on the gray

pine, Dr. Engelman divides our American pines according as the

pedan is lateral or terminal. But = all these bine are

ZOOLOGY. 113

terminal,—that is to say the flowers terminate one or the other of

these growth cycles. If the shoot makes but one of these efforts,

the flower remains terminal; but if after forming these buds,

it “concludes” to go on again with another growth, the flower

is of necessity pushed aside, and then the cone becomes lateral.

In other words, there is no such thing in Pinus as a lateral cone

when there is but a single cycle of annual growth, and therefore

the division of Dr. Engelman is founded on an accidental rather

than an organic difference. I think however that what are known

as the terminal flowered group never make a second growth, and

therefore Dr. Engelman’s division is excellent, only changing the

description into “ Pines which never make a second growth” and

“ Pines which generally do.” The gray pine can then stay where

it is without the creation of an intermediate group as suggested

by Mr. Gilman.

In the suggestions I have made here, there is nothing new. They

have appeared at various times during the past six years in the

‘“‘ Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel-

phia ;” but I suppose the mission of the Naturauist is to extend

knowledge, as well as to record the discovery of new facts. —

Tomas MEEHAN.

ZOOLOGY.

Tae SLAUGHTER or THE Burrato.—The destruction of this

noble beast was carried on during the past year with a rapidity

entirely unprecedented, although it has been a matter of regretful

comment for years. I have authority for the assertion that one

firm in Leavenworth received thirty thousand hides per month,

while two others in Kansas City received fifteen thousand each in

the same time. This is at the rate of two thousand slain per day.

The immense piles or stacks of hides, to be seen at all the stations

along the line of the Kansas Pacific railroad, bear witness to the

slaughter. Prof. Mudge of Manhattan, Kansas, who is well in-

formed as to the economy of the plains, places the number killed

at one thousand, a number sufficiently high to insure the early

extinction of the species.

It is to be greatly hoped that Congress will early take action for

the preservation of a reduced herd of buffalo, in a reservation set

apart for the purpose, or enact protective laws. Such might

impose penalties on persons found in possession of any part of

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. Le

114 ZOOLOGY.

the animal during certain months, a sufficient time being allowed

for their increase. At present, this finest of our wild animals

ranges over territory which will long remain unsettled, owing to

its want of water. While the river bottoms of Kansas, Nebraska,

Colorado, ete., will soon be taken up, the high plains of those

regions will be utterly void, unless occupied by nature’s tenants,

the buffalo, prong-horn, elk, etc. Artesian wells for irrigating

these tracts are still in the far future.

The government of China has preserved several species of ani-

mals from extinction in the imperial parks and preserves. The

Czar of Russia has protected the European bison from destruction

in the old forests of Lithuania. Our own government preserves

the beauties of the inanimate creation in the Yellowstone park.

How much more should it keep for the instruction of future gen-

erations a full representation of those higher works of creative

mind, the living beings that characterize our continent.— E. D. C

A PARTIAL COMPARISON OF THE CONCHOLOGICAL FAUN& OF POR-

TIONS OF THE ATLANTIC AND Pacreic Coasts or NORTH AMERICA.

—A distinguishing feature in the conchological fauna of that

portion of the Pacific coast included between the Straits of Fuca

and San Diego, and which is called the Californian and Oregonian

Zoological Province, when compared with the Atlantic coast of

North America, from the Arctic seas to Georgia, is the prepon-

derance in the former province over the latter of those forms of

molluscan life included in the order Scutibranchiata.

The total number of marine molluscan species and well-marked

varieties, so far as known and determined, in the Californian and

Oregonian Province, is in round numbers 630, of which about 200

are bivalves, and of the remaining 430, 123 are included within

certain Scutibranchiate families. Of this 123, no less than 40

belong to the Chitonidee and as many more to the Trochide.

Of the 247 marine gasteropods enumerated by the late Dr. Stimp-

son in the Smithsonian Institution check-list, from the Arctic

seas to Georgia, 32 only, or less than one-eighth, come within the

order referred to; of this number, 14 belong to the Trochide, 7

to the Chitonide, and not a single specimen of Haliotis has been

- found as yet within the limits named, and only a single individual

of very small size has as yet been reported from any point on the

- Atlantic coasts of the two Americas, and the solitary specimen

GEOLOGY. 115

referred to was dredged by Count Pourtales in the Florida Gulf

Stream a few years ago. When the shells of Florida are sufficiently

investigated, so that a check-list may be made, it may somewhat

affect this comparison, but other Scutibranchiate species may be

found on this coast, so that it is highly probable that the above

comparison will remain substantially correct.—R. E. C. STEARNS.

Cotturio Lupovicranus.— A male in fine plumage, now in m

possession, was shot in West Newton, Mass., Oct. 21, 1872, by Mr.

Joseph S. Maynard. Allowing the existence of two varieties,

if not species, I think this specimen approaches nearer to Ludovi-

cianus than excubitoroides. Is not this the first recorded instance

of the authentic occurrence of this southern and western bird in

the coast states, or at least near the coast, north of Virginia if

not the Carolinas?—H. A. Purprr, November, 1872.

Raccoon Fox.—In the June number of the American NATU-

RALIST (page 362), I find a notice that one of these little ani-

mals had been killed, and another seen in Fairfax County, Ohio,

and it is remarked, in connection with its northern locality, that

the specimen obtained was furred instead of haired. The range

of the Bassaris astuta is much greater than your correspondent

Supposes, unless there be two varieties or two species of this

genus. They are found, I believe, throughout California, as far

north as the Klamath River, Lat. 41° N., where, in 1852, I pur-

chased from an Indian a breech clout made of seven skins, the

fur of which was very soft and beautiful. I heard at the time that

the “ Raccoon Fox,” as the miners called it, had occasionally been

tamed and employed to destroy mice and other vermin. In ooper

and Suckley’s Natural History of Washington Territory, ete., p.

114, your correspondent will find a reference on my authority to

the above habitat. - I doubt if it extends into Oregon, as the Sis-

kiyou Mountains, parallel of 42° N., form a geographical boundary

for several species of animals, birds and plants.

The specimens in question were probably escapes, brought either

from Kansas or California by some returned miner or emigrant. —

Grorce Gisss, New Haven.

GEOLOGY.

On a New Sues-crass or Foss, Birros (OponTornirHEs). — The

_ Temarkable extinct birds with biconcave vertebræ (Ichthyornidæ),

116 GEOLOGY.

recently described by the writer from the upper Cretaceous shale

of Kansas,* prove on further investigation to possess some ad-

ditional characters, which separate them still more widely from all

known recent and fossil forms. The type species of this group,

Ichthyornis dispar Marsh, has well developed teeth in both jaws.

These teeth are quite numerous, and implanted in distinct sockets.

They are small, compressed and pointed, and all of those pre-

served are similar. Those in the lower jaws number about twenty

in each ramus, and are all more or less inclined backward. The

series extends over the entire upper margin of the dentary bone,

the front tooth being very near the extremity. The maxillary

teeth appear to have been aid numerous, and essentially the

same as those in the mandi

The skull is of moderate size, and the eyes placed well forward.

The lower jaws are long and slender, and the rami are not closely

united at the symphysis. They are abruptly truncated just behind

the articulation for the quadrate. This extremity, and especially

its articulation, is very similar to that in some recent aquatic

birds. The jaws were apparently not encased in a horny sheath.

The scapular arch, and the bones of the wings and legs, all

conform closely to the true ornithic type. The sternum has a

prominent keel, and elongated grooves for the expanded coracoids.

The wings are large in proportion to the legs, and the humerus

has an extended radial crest. The metacarpals are united, as in

ordinary birds. The bones of the posterior extremities resemble

those in swimming birds. The vertebrie are all biconcave, the

concavities at each end of the centra being distinct, and nearly

ike. Whether the tail was elongated cannot at present be deter-

mined, but the last vertebra of the sacrum is unusually large.

This bird was fully adult, and about as large asa pigeon. With

the exception of the skull, the bones do not appear to have been

pneumatic, although most of them are hollow. The species was

carnivorous and probably aquatic.

When the remains of this species were first described, the por-

tions of lower jaws found with them were regarded by the writer

as Reptilian; the possibility of their forming part of the same

skeleton, although considered at the time, was not deemed suf-

ficiently strong to be placed on record. On subsequently removing

the surrounding shale, the skull and additional portions of both

* American Journal Science Arts, vol. iv, p. 344, Oct. 1872, and vol. v, p. 74, Jan., 1873.

ion eae Aa A aml cay in ad

bMS Ri We La Rt aE SIG St RR ae (SOTA SO Feary RRC INE Saber eed ES

ANTHROPOLOGY. iii

jaws were brought to light, so that there cannot now be a reasona-

ble doubt that all are parts of the same bird. The possession of

teeth and biconcave vertebræ, although the rest of the skeleton is

entirely avian in type, obviously implies. that-these remains cannot

be placed in the present groups. of birds, and hence a new sub-

class, Odontornithes, is proposed for them. The order may be

called Ichthyornithes.

The species lately described by the writer as Ichthyornis celer,

also had biconcave vertebra, and probably teeth. It proves to be

generically distinct from the type species of this group, and hence

may be named Apatornis celer Marsh. It was about the same size

as Ichthyornis dispar, but of more slender proportions. The

logical horizon of both species is essentially the same. The

only remains of them at present known are in the museum of Yale

College.

The fortunate discovery of these interesting fossils is an im-

portant gain to palzontology, and does much to break down the

old distinctions between birds and reptiles, which the Archzeop-

teryx has so materially diminished. It is quite probable that that

bird, likewise, had teeth and biconcave vertebrae, with its free

metacarpals and elongated tail. — O. C. Marsa, reprinted from

advance sheets of the American Journal of Science and Arts for

February, 1

ANTHROPOLOGY.

CHANGE IN THE Form or SKULLS WITH AGE.—The hypothesis,

at one time so universally held, says Virchow, that all longheaded

skulls were Celtic, may now be taken as an example of how easy

it is to overstep the mark, and of the caution that should be exer-

cised in anthropological inquiries. Any conclusions that may be

drawn from the forms of skulls of early times are quite open to

question. The influence of culture has hitherto been too little

Considered. Schaffhausen has observed that the growth of the

skull continues to a later period than was formerly supposed, and

that it increases in breadth in old age. This explains how it

happens that so many more of the long and narrow skulls have

been traced to earlier times, and that the proportion of the broader

ones increases in the quaternary epoch. In the case of the broad

skulls the brain has usually attained fuller development, while the

most remarkable long and narrow skulls are to be met with among

118 MICROSCOPY.

lower races. For this reason, then, peculiarities of races become

obliterated in time. — The Academy.

“MICROSCOPY.

A FIELD-STAGE ror ŪLINICAL' Microscores.— Dr. R. H. Ward

called attention at the Dubuque meeting of the American Associ-

ation, to a contrivance by which he-is able to employ in field

work the ordinary form of clinical microscopes. Such micro-

scopes are but little available for opaque objects, the small open-

ing sometimes made through the tube just above the stage being

objectionable in respect to focussing and being nearly useless for

illuminating purposes by ordinary daylight. The new field-stage is

a perforated brass stage-plate occupying the position of the object

and bearing a contrivance by which the object is carried at the

distance of about an inch lower down. In the instrument shown

to the Association, which was home-made and could be made by

any one in a few moments, a heavy brass wire was carried down

from the brass stage-plate, bent so as to form a rectangular frame

on which the object-slide or compressor could rest, and then bent

back to the stage-plate again. It was attached to the stage-plate

by being bent at right angles and soldered along the sides of the

plate to its under surface. The object was held upon this acces-

sory stage by slender wire springs also soldered fast. With this

new stage the clinical microscope becomes available for low pow-

ers and opaque objects. _

Pigorr’s ‘t SEARCHER” IN THE Brnocutar.— Dr. John Barker

exhibited to the Dublin microscopical club a one-inch objective

employed as a ‘‘searcher,” as suggested by Dr. Pigott. His

object was to propose its application to the binocular microscope

by inserting a one-inch objective in each body, and thus attain in

connection with stereoscopic vision, the high amplifying power of

such arrangements.

UNDER-CORRECTED OBJECTIVES.— Objectives considerably under-

ted as to color are now furnished by a variety of leading

makers and are generally preferred by critical microscopists.

They not only work better for photography and with monochro-

matic illumination, but they excel for ordinary work those lenses in

which the corrections for spherical aberration are sacrificed for the

oe ke of a more perfect achromatism. Powell and Lealand, Tolles

MICROSCOPY. 119

and Gundlach are prominent examples of those makers who seem

to have adopted this policy of under-correction for color.

Microscopy 1x New Jersey.— Mr. E. Gundlach, the celebrated

proprietor of the Optical Institute at Charlottenburg, Prussia, has

removed his residence to this country. He is now living at Hack-

ensack, New Jersey, where he proposes to devote his attention

exclusively to the manufacture of first-class objectives.

DETERMINATION OF Powers IN THE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE.—

This subject was discussed at a meeting of the Queckett club, and

a variety of appliances recommended for the purpose. e sim-

plest plan, and one familiarly employed by many microscopists,

was advised by Mr. S. J. McIntyre who ascertained the, apparent

size of the field of view, and reduced it to thousandths of an -

inch, and divided that number by the number of divisions of a

stage micrometer (ruled to thousandths of an inch), included in

the field of view. Thus if the apparent field of view with a cer-

tain ocular is five inches (93?) and with a certain objective it

includes twenty-five divisions of a stage micrometer ruled to

thousandths, then the power of the microscope as thus arranged

will be ®32°—200. With another objective it may include four

oa and the power will be *99°=1250. This plan is suffi-

ciently accurate for practical purposes, and is, on the whole, the

easiest method in use.

Sections or Insrcts.— Mr. Henry N. Moseley advises to harden

the insects by immersion for about a week in absolute alcohol.

They are then, or any time afterward, to be embedded in a mix-

ture of sweet oil and wax of suitable hardness, which he prefers

to paraffin, and sections are to be cut with a sharp, thin edged

razor wetted with absolute alcohol. The sections are to be imme-

diately floated off on to slides, stained with carmine, treated with

absolute alcohol and then with oil of cloves, and mounted in Can-

ada balsåm or dammar varnish in the usual manner. Extremely

beautiful specimens are thus prepared, showing the general anat-

omy of the insect. Instructive objects are obtained pies sections

passing through the eyes, especially if carried at the same time

through the cephalic ganglia. The eyes of the mollusca, feo

etc., may be similarly prepared.

Starnine Tissues. Dr. R. L. Maddox has been studying the

120 MICROSCOPY.

tissues of the frog’s tadpole’s tail, with special reference to the

distribution of the nerves, and relates his method of preparing

the tissues in the ‘* Monthly Microscopical Journal.” Beautiful re-

sults were obtained by placing the tadpoles for about five minutes

in a mixture of three drams of chromic acid solution (one-fourth

per cent.) and twenty drops of sweet spirits of nitre; then wasl-

ing repeatedly in pure water, immersing for about three minutes

in ammoniated water (four drops strong liquor ammonica to three

drams of water), washing off the epithelium in pure water with a

camel’s hair pencil and rewashing repeatedly in pure water; then

staining for about five minutes in tincture of logwood diluted

with pure water to a sherry color, or in a purple aniline solution,

and finally mounted in a nearly saturated solution of acetate of

potash slightly acidulated with acetic acid. After staining with

logwood an improved result was obtained by washing in the usual

iron developer with acetic acid employed for developing photo-

graphic negatives. Glycerine was tried as the mounting medium,

but seemed inferior to the acetate of potash.

Prepartnc PALATES or MorLusks.— The plan of preparing these

palates by boiling in liquor potassce, instead of by dissection, pro-

posed by Mr. Hennah and published eight years ago in the “‘ Intel-

lectual Observer” has recently been inadvertently claimed as a

novel American idea.

Mountine Enromostrraca.— Mr. O. S. Westcott, after experi-

menting with various substances, has concluded that a carbolic

acid solution, exceedingly dilute is the best mounting medium for

the preservation of these minute animals.

Tue Horse Disease.—I have recently made a series of micro-

scopical examinations of the matter from the nostril of a horse

suffering with the epizootic influenza now so generally prevailing.

A power of seven hundred, with Beck’s 1 inch objective, was used

in making the observations, and in preparing the accomipanying

drawings. The great mass of the discharge consisted of mucous

and pus corpuscles, with many epithelial cells: but I find therein

the spores of three species of cryptogamous plants. The spores

are all of a brown color, and occur to the extent of thousands in a

single drop. One kind, figure 26, are supposed to be spores of

Urceolaria scruposa a species of lichen: these were in every stage

= of development, there being hundreds of the fragments of the stem

MICROSCOPY. 121

(Fig. 26, a), in a drop. The second kind (Fig. 27) were echinu-

late spores, probably of some species of Aspergillus; and they, as

well as the others, gave evidence of propagation and growth.

Fig. 26.

The third kind (Fig. 29) were smooth, globular spores, species

ae own. <A few confervoid filaments (Fig. 28) were present; —

a and also some other organized forms, but not in sufficient number

E 123 MICROSCOPY.

to be worthy of remark. Sometimes one of the spores divides

into several cells and sends forth a shoot from each division, a

Fig. 27.

X 700.

_ number of sprouts being seen growing from one spore in different

directions, giving visible evidence of vegetal growth taking place.

: Fig. 28. ‘ Fig. 29.

NOTES. 123

and on examination with the microscope had the satisfaction of

finding many of them. It seems to be proved then that the spores

are floating freely in the atmosphere, and are inhaled into the air

passages. The heat of the animal and the moisture of the mucous

surfaces favor their germination and growth; and it seems to

me possible that the epidemic catarrhal horse disease, and similar

difficulties of man, may be caused by these vegetating spores, the

greater or less prevalence of this class of diseases being governed

by the relative numbers of the germs in air at different seasons, `

some seasons being more favorable to their development than

others.—G. W. Morrnousr, Wayland, New York.

Organisms 1N Cuicaco Drixkinc Warter.— Mr. H. H. Babcock

discusses this subject in a paper read at the Dubuque meeting

of the American Association. His former suspicions are con-

firmed, that these forms are not at home in the southern end of

the Lake, but are brought down from the north by a surface current

along the western side of the Lake. The existence of such a

current he finds further proved by the vegetation upon the shores,

as he observed at least eleven species of plants established in

isolated and evidently accidental positions on the shores near or

below Chicago, but which belong at the northern end of the Lake

or in the region of the sources of its water.

_ Pwe Porren iN Laxe Micnican.— At the Dubuque meeting of

the American Association, Dr. R. H. Ward made a report on a

specimen of viscid-looking water from Lake Michigan, near Racine.

The water of the lake was similarly thickened for miles and was

generally believed by the neighboring residents to be of an infuso-

rial character. It contained no infusoria worth speaking of; but

was almost filled with pine pollen which was interesting from its

enormous quantity, and from the fact that its source could not

have been near by, but must have been in the pine forests far to

the north, the pollen being brought down by the southerly cur-

rent along the western shore of the Lake.

NOTES.

AT a meeting of the California Academy of Sciences held Octo-

ber 7, 1872, Mr. W. H. Dall presented a portion of the husk and

inner shell of a cocoanut picked up on the north side of the Island

124 NOTES.

of Oonalashka, especially interesting as showing the direction of

the ocean currents in that region.

Capt. C. M. Scammon, U.S. R. M., submitted a description of

a new species of whale, Balenoptera Davidsoni, the geographical

range of which is from Mexico to Behring Straits ; the specimen

from which the description was made was taken in Admiralty

Inlet, Washington Territory. It was a female twenty-seven feet in

length and contained a fœtus five feet long, thus correcting a

“prevalent error among the whalers who have generally regarded

this small species as the young of the ‘‘finback” of the coast;

this animal and its habits will be fully described in the volume

now being printed on the ‘‘ Cetaceans and other Marine Mammals”

by Capt. Scammon.

Prof. George Davidson read a paper entitled “ Suggestion of a

Cosmical Cause for the great Climatic Changes upon the Earth.”

“ Disliking theories and hypotheses, I must characterize as a

suggestion what I have to state upon this subject.

So far as I am aware, geologists have failed to indicate any

reasonable or rational existence of a cause for the subtropical fossil

flora and fauna found within the Arctic Circle, and for the great

ice-sheet—the universal glacier—which doubtless covered nearly

the whole land from the poles toward the tropics at a compara-

tively recent period. To mention is to condemn the extravagant

hypothesis of the changing of the direction of the earth’s axis, as

it involves changes in the gyration of the earth necessarily of

greater relative amount than the motions of a boy’s top. Partial

upheavals and great changes of the surface of the earth are insuffi-

cient to account for the phenomena

The paleontologist has roughly indicated by his zones of fossil

floras and fossil faunas that the pole of the earth has not changed

its direction, and the astronomer utterly rejects such a change.

My suggestion is that we must look to a cosmical cause for

these phenomena; and that cause is in the material or materials

burning upon the surface of the sun.

The spectroscope has made known to us the connection between

sudden outbursts or storms upon the sun’s surface, and the exhibi-

tion of magnetic or electrical phenomena on the sun. There has

been established a correspondence between the eleven year period

of the solar spots and certain other magnetic phenomena. This

ent has revealed to us a sun wherein a sudden outburst of

y EENS:

Lode A

È 2 ae å 5

EEST. ene Ş s 5

agis Á: TETEE i PTs ae e E e eee ee ELA A pe bs

TELE ETC ESS PA TSSE | NTRS eet a ae E Se SF A aes SSVI fra er ee ae SS I ar age z

NOTES. 125

luminous hydrogen has increased the brilliancy of a star from the

ninth to the second magnitude, and its comparatively slow return

to its former condition.

It appears to me that herein we strike the key-note of the causes

at work to solve our problem of short or long periods of varying

climate upon the earth. If the above phenomenon is possible in

one sun, it is possible in every one of the millions of millions of

suns around us; and of course in ours. That such an eruption

‘of burning hydrogen affects the planets revolving around that

sun, we can not for one instant doubt. To our instruments it was

an exhibition of force lasting but a few months, and its effect upon

probable planets around that sun we can never know. Doubtless

all new stars that have suddenly appeared with great. brilliancy

were the exhibitions of similar forces. If such forces are possible

for short periods, they are possible, and to my mind more probable,

for comparatively long periods. In our sun the forces are appar-

ently evolved in irregular, and also in moderately regular periods

or cycles, and must have an influence upon the general climate of

the earth and of the other planets. Even in this year of excep-

tional heat over the earth, we have the results of the spectroscope,

revealing an unusual development of incandescent magnesium over

the sun’s surface.

If these forces of the sun exhibit themselves in short and long

periods, we can comprehend how periods of almost universal flood,

of earthquake and voleanic action, of a climate to develop a súb-

tropical fauna and flora, even within the Arctic Circle; of a great

ice-sheet spreading from each pole, over the land, toward and

even embracing the Equator, may be not only probable, but place

the latter two in full accord with the astronomical dictum, that no

violent change of the direction of the earth’s axis is admissible.

The spectroscope is the present means of gathering observations

to test my suggestion, or to develop the law underlying these

changes ; and as we observe the exhibitions of the forces upon the

surface of our sun, and note the effect upon the earth, we can also

watch the changes upon Mars and the other near planets. But we

cannot hope to determine the law of connection within a short

time, unless some wonderful event happened in our sun similar to

the sudden outburst of luminous hydrogen in the star in the

Northern Crown, to show us in an hour the effect such great

Cosmical changes have upon the earth and other planets of our

126 NOTES.

system ; or unless other instrumental means far beyond the

capacity of the spectroscope be devised to show minute connec-

tions between changes on the sun’s surface and limited periods of

phenomena on the earth, such as years of great heat, and earth-

quake and voleanic activity, perhaps even years of pestilence. A

long cycle of years may be required to demonstrate whether a law

lies at the base of my suggestion.

Like the observers who make their measures to determine the

gradual elevation or subsidence of continental shores, we may not

learn the result, but we can aggregate observations for discussion

by the next generation.’

Mr. W. H. Dall submitted descriptions of new species of shells

from the northwest coast of America with notes on species previ-

ously described ; this paper includes a description of a new species

of Voluta of the group Scaphella, particularly interesting as being

the first of this family from so high a northern station (Shumagin

Island) though allied forms have long since been reported from

the Straits of Magellan. To this species, which is of large size,

being over four inches in length, Mr. Dall has given the name of

Voluta Stearnsit. Buccinum Kennicottii Dall, described in one of

the latter numbers of the “ American Journal of Conchology,”

proves to be a Chrysodomus. A new species of Littorina is also

described in this paper as L. Aleutica Dall.

Professor Davidson called the attention of the Academy to the

earthquake waves recorded by the tidal gauges on this coast on

the 23d to 27th of August and on the 16th to 17th of September

last. He demonstrated by deductions from the relative rapidity

and heights of the waves at different points, that the main shock

of the first must have been near the northern coast of the island

of Yesso, Japan, and that the latter had originated not far distant

in z ocean from the points of observation.

Mr. Stearns read a paper pointing out the predominance, in the

Californian and Vancouver zoological provinces, of mollusks in-

cluded in the Order Scutibranchiata (Vide Adams’ Genera) as

compared with the Atlantic coast of America from the Arctic seas

: to Georgia.

_ H.M.S. “ Challenger” corvette, of 2306 tons, Commander G. S.

Nares, has been despatched by the Admiralty on a cireumnavi-

_ gation of the globe, for the purpose of dredging, sounding, and

NOTES. 127

otherwise scientifically investigating the deep sea. The scientific

staff consists of Prof. Wyville Thompson, Director; Mr. J. J.

Wild, of Zurich, artist and private secretary ; Mr. J. Y. Buchanan,

chemist; Mr. H. N. Mosely, Mr. John Murray, and Dr. von

Willemoes Suhm, of Munich, naturalists. The expedition is ex-

pected to return in April 1876. They will visit Madeira, Cana-

ries, Porto Rico, New York, Azores, Cape de Verde, Fernando

de Noronha, Bahia, Cape of Good Hope, Prince Edward’s Isle,

Crozets, Kergnelen’s Land, Melbourne, and possibly sail round

New Zealand, thence round North Australia, follow Wallace’s

line up to the Philippines, touch New Guinea, Japan, Kamts-

chatka, Behring’s Straits, Vancouver’s Island to Varparaiso ;

thence through the Straits of Magellan to Rio, and so home.

Though no botanist is attached to the staff, it is understood

that Mr. Mosely will collect plants on every i, occa-

sion, *

Tue immediate value of geological surv eys is again shown in the

prompt detection of the recent diamond fraud. Mr. Clarence King,

the U. S. Geologist, and his assistant Mr. J. T. Gardiner, visited

Bishop Mountain and finding diamonds and rubies there that had

been scattered over the soil by another hand than Nature’s, exposed

a gigantic and disgraceful swindle. The New York “ Nation”

makes some timely remarks on the value of the unbiassed opinions

and observations of a national geologist. Certainly by the expos-

ure of this fraud, the government survey of the public lands has

more than paid for all the funds appropriated by Congress, and

justifies the conclusion that the largest liberality in scientific enter-

prises is the truest economy—in short, science pays.

Pror. F.,V. Haypen is desirous of securing by exchange or

purchase, the publications of our own as well as foreign countries

on Geology, Paleontology, and Natural History generally, to aid

in the formation of a library of reference, for the use of the s mond

of which he has charge. The reports of surveys, with maps, —

charts, and sections, transactions of societies, or the EEE EA

of individuals engaged in scientific studies, are muc

works of reference. Parties who may look favorably upon =

above proposition can send all packages, through the Smithsonian

Institution, to the address of Dr. F. V. HAYDEN, U. S. Geologist,

Washington, D. C.

128 BOOKS RECEIVED.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Archiv fur Anthropologie. Zeitschrift fur Naturgeschichte und Urgeschichte des Menschen.

Funfter Band. 4to. . 233-858, tigs, 53-93. Braunschweig. 1872.

cta Universitatis Lundensis, Lunds Universitets Ars-skrift. 4to. Lund. Philosophi wig ied

tenskap och Historia, 1868, 1 Math. och Naturvetenskap, 1868 - 1870, haa 1868, 1870.

Bulletin de la Societe pees des iinr tes de Moscou. Tome xly,2 pls., 8vo Moscon, “72,

Bulletin Mensuel de la Societe d’Acclimatation. 2me Serie. Tomeix. Nos.6 and7. June

July, 1872. 8vo. Paris,

Abhandiungen her oe Bremen. von natur ek ee Vereine zu Bremen, Mit 3 Tafeln.

and 3, Hett2. 8vo re a. A872.

Vorhandiun, ngen des naturhistorischen ischen Rheinlande und Westphalens. `

Dritte Folge. Jahrgang 8. jHaltten ei ‘und: zweite. Tafeln v-ix. 8vo. 1871. Dritte Folge.

Jahr; gang 9. Erste Halfte. n 1872.

guu ds ooreen Biblio teks Accession Katalog for 1869, 1870 and 1871. 8yo., Lund.

Schriften d A pce lichen phpeibatiack okonomischen Gesellschaft zu Konigsberg. Mit Tafein.

is Jahrgang ei u dreizehnter, 21 4to pamphs. Konigsberg. 1860-1872.

E a fon de ta Soci ee ag ologique de Belgique. Tome Quator zieme. 8vo pamph. With

870-1871,

vaguest oni oF ‘Nort th American Entomology. Wi:h 13 colored plates. By Townend Glover.

4to p: mo Washington, 1872.

‘Sir truci and Classification, r Insects. Part ITI. On the Text-book of Natural History. 5

Adrean ‘Ebel, 8vo vol. pp. With cuts am pines New York.

Proceedings of the Agassiz Talea of Sac nto, Cal., Constitution,

members. Incorporated Nov, 12, 1872. 8vo piei *pp. 20. beaa id en,

Notice of a new Species of a Noe Have By O.C. Marsh, -(From the Am, Jour. Sci. and Arts.

New

Description of three new species of Cru. ea, parasitic on the Cetacea of the N. W. Coast of

America. et . H. Dall. (From Proc. Cal Acad. Sci., printed in advance, Nov. 9, 1572). pp.

2, 8vo pamp

` Preliminary Description of New Species of Mollusks from the N. W. Ccast z America

H.D rrom As l. Acad. sei, pre in advance, Oct, 8. 1872.) pp. 2. 8vo al Fu

Worcs d ure in its relation to Industrial Pursuits. A lecture delivered by Baron Ferd. von

ler, woe, 1871. 8vo pamph. pp. oa

ane Principal l Timber Trees readily eli gible Jor Victorian Industrial Culture, with indications

their native countries and some of their technological uses, an enumeration offered by Ferd. von

fuller. p pamph. pp. 30.

y PER era and Fresh Water Sheils found in the vicinity of Cincinnati; also the Unionidæ of

ie er and its northern tributaries within the state of Ohio. By R. M. Byrnes, Dec., 1572.

oA paer a

Ninth Annual Report of the a Naturalists’ Field Club, for the year ending Mar, 31, 1872.

8vo pamph. pp. 65. Beltast.

‘oe of Fits mation of t the Bureau of Education for Nov. 1872, 8vo pamph, pp. 79-

ashington. 187

Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society, With maps, Vol ii. Parti. 8vo pamph.

pp. 147. Ediulurgh. 1872.

Proceedings ot the Boston Society of Natural see Vol xv. Parti. Jan -Apr., 1872. 8vo

pamp . 160, Boston, gh

Fossil Cephalopods of the of Con e Zoology, Embryology by Alpheus Hyatt.

Bulletin of the Museum ot Comparative Zoufoey. au Mars ard College, Cau bridge, Mass., Vol iii,

No.5. 8vo pamph., with cuts and pla — es. Ca idg .

Notes on an Ornithological Reconn uS gegen ions of Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and

Utah. By J. A. Allen, lletin of the Museum ot Cons mparative Zoology, at Harvard College,

Cambridge, M Vol. iti. No.6. 8vo pamph. pp. 70. July, 1872. Cambridge.

Verhandiungen der ge logischen ichsanstait, Nos.7-10. 4to pamph. Wien.

Ja uch eg ike gy yo ischen Reichsanstalt. Jahrgang 1872. Band xxii.

No.2. Apr., May, Ju Mit Tafel ie i 4to pamph. Wien.

i pemda age — Bases” ischias Gesammelt von Gustav Tschermak Jabrgang 1872, Heft ii.

pam

Geological pieced of peg Report of Progress for 1870-71. By Alfred R. C. Selwyn. 8vo

pamph. pp. 351. Ottawa. 1872.

Half hour Recreations in Popular Science. No. = Bap ge wr Comets, Meteorie Showers and ne i

ri we crs oscope regarding them. ee or H. Schellen and others. Coral and Cor

rt on the N. Y. State Cabinet o Hist. tor 1869. 2 plates. A y.

new Sub-class o A Birds ae J: D O; via è E (From Am. Jour. Sci.

i ix .) 8vo p

Warring bi e 3 12 "on higan du Prt a

IAA a Bo tany for mber, 1872. ras, HP of the Torrey ge nse 4 Cheb. Vol.

The Lens. Vol.i, No.4. 1872. on hicago. iii, Nos. Ll and ia Nev. y. and Dee,

La Revue Scientifique. Nos. 19-27." Nov., Murna Loe rantin Institute, Dec., 1872.

Feuille des le s Jeunes Naturalistes, Paris. Nos. American Journal o Science, and Arts. New

i , 27, January, 1873. aven. Dec..

E PE AAN ito ist’s “Monthly Magazine for Nov., Journal of Wass pag ark St State A ricultural

ae ociety. Vol ov.

Newman’s Entomologist ‘or Oct., 1872. te "a

Grevillea, a — eea o; oan hed ais ae ES eas Parks,

. No 5 fe a, New York, Document No. 42,

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.—- MARCH, 1873.— No. 3.

EIEL OD

CONTROLLING SEX IN. BUTTERFLIES.

BY MRS. MARY TREAT.

Tuar sex can be controlled in butterflies, I think I have demon-

strated by careful experiment the past season. Accident first

prompted the experiment. Two years ago this past summer, I

was feeding a few.larvæ of Papilio Asterias for the cabinet, when

one of my specimens wandered from its food, and rested upon a

book to undergo its transformations. Not feeling inclined to give

up the book to this purpose, I placed the larva on a fresh stem of

caraway ; upon removing it from the book, I found its feet were

entangled in silk, and that it was in position for a chrysalis, but

not yet fastened ; so I was surprised to see it commence eating.

It continued eating some days longer, before changing to a chrys-

alis. I then tried others in the same way, and also took off quite

a number of larvae, shutting them away from food. Some of the

larvee that I deprived of food in this first experiment died, but all

that completed their transformations were males; while those

that I induced to go on feeding by tempting them with the best

and freshest food proved to be females.

This season (1872) I commenced with the larve the 17th of

June, and continued feeding broods of different ages through the

month of July. Early in July I had about two hundred larvee

feeling at the same time. The room in which I conducted my

experiment faced east and south, and toward noon of each of those

excessively hot days in the early part of July, it was several

degrees warmer than in the outside air. The food-plant on which

I fed the various broods was placed in jars of water, which were

ra eines =

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OFP

CIENCE, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. :

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 9 (129)

130 - CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES.

set in a large box partly filled with earth, the whole being cov-

ered with deep blue mosquito-netting. Heat and moisture seemed

favorable to health and rapid growth.

On the 25th of June one lot of eggs hatched, on the 10th of

July they were chrysalides, and on the 18th of the same month the

butterflies appeared, only requiring twenty-three days for the com-

plete transformation. On the other hand, I have had this same

Asterias butterfly eleven months in coming to maturity; some

larve that hatched in August, 1871, I fed eight weeks, but the

nights were cool and some days were absolutely cold, when

the larve would not eat. These chrysalides I preserved during the

winter, and early in June, 1872, I put them in this same warm

room in which the larvvæ grew so rapidly, and they were in

this room some two weeks before the first larvee of this season

were hatched; and strange as it may appear, some half dozen

butterflies of this year’s brood came out before these last year’s

chrysalides produced butterflies.

Very soon after the last moult, I shut a number of the larve

away from food, putting them in paper .boxes, from five to ten in

a box, carefully labelled. If, at the end of two or three days, the

larvee were still wandering about, I fed them sparingly; in this

way I did not lose a single specimen in the larva state by shutting

away from food; a few of the chrysalides died.

It was with the most intense interest that I watched the coming

forth of the butterflies, which began to appear in about eight days

after assuming the chrysalis stage. Thirty-four males came from

my male boxes, and then a rather small female made its appear-

ance. Out of seventy-nine specimens that I labelled males, three

females were produced. On the other hand, those that I fed up,

keeping them on a good supply of fresh food, I labelled females,

and placed them in separate boxes. Out of these boxes sixty-

eight females came and four males.

There were some boxes that I marked doubtfal, which I do not

include in the above figures. For instance, I took five larvae that

were eating vigorously; if let alone they probably would have

eaten a day or two longer, but I wished to try them in all stages

of growth, and these were of quite a large size; out of these five,

four were females.

Soon after the last moult, I took twenty larvee and shut them

away from food for twenty-four hours. At the end of that time I

eos

CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES. 131

replaced ten on a good supply of food, watched them carefully,

and kept them eating until they attained a large size; they be-

came chrysalides within a few hours of each other, and emerged

as butterflies eight days after. One of these chrysalides was ac-

cidentally crushed; the remaining nine were females. Of the

starved ones, eight males came out; the remaining two chry-

salides died.

The butterflies, as fast as they made appearance, were killed

and pinned up, the males arranged on one side, the females on the

other —a most brilliant display, covering a much larger space

than one would be apt to imagine.

It would seem, then, as the result of the whole experiment, that

sex is not determined in the egg of insects, and that the female

requires more nourishment than the male. Nor does this appear

strange, when we consider the reproductive nature of the female.

It has frequently been said to me, “if your theory is true, it makes

the female higher in the scale— superior to the male.” I believe

it has always been admitted that the female gives birth to the

young. If this is considered superiority, then the female is supe-

rior; but if beauty of form and color is taken into account, then

the male insect is superior, the same as with birds and the higher

animals. Carry the analogy further—up to human beings — and

still we find the principle holds good. To which sex belong all

our great inventors, statesmen and philosophers? I believe |

woman is physically incapable, other things being equal, off

becoming as profound a philosopher, as deep a thinker, as man.

I do not Wish it understood that I deem woman inferior to man ;

there is no inferiority, no superiority. If this matter were better

dead ; eight poor, starved-looking specimens were alive, and

completed their transformations. With this butterfly it is difficult

132 THE FLYING SQUIRREL.

to distinguish the sex by the marking on the wings, so I dissected

them and the result proved them males.

Again, I found a larva new to me, feeding on the soft maple.

I obtained thirty-three good specimens. I was very anxious to

rear these, so'I watched them closely, and plied them with fresh

good food; if one fell or wandered from its food I replaced it,

and continued this treatment until they would eat no longer.

They went into the earth to undergo transformation, and in ten or

twelve days thereafter, the rare, beautiful moth, Dryocampa rubi-

cunda, made its appearance. Of these there were twenty-nine

females and two males. The remaining two ‘either escaped or

died in the earth.

About the time these moths came out, another lot of the same

Dryocampa caterpillars was brought to me, but these were pur-

posely neglected. I found them more than once wandering about

the box in quest of food ; some of these were killed by a parasite,

others died from lack of food, so that the result proved only seven

males, and no female.

THE FLYING SQUIRREL.

BY PROF. G. H. PERKINS.

R dbaecnk

_ Over a year ago, I bought of some boys in central Illinois

a pair of flying squirrels (Pteromys volucella Des.). They were

only a few weeks old but were already quite tame; indeed they

had never been otherwise for they were taken before they could

ee run from the nest and so were taught to be tame at the outset.

Their habits have been very closely watched since I have had

them in my possession, for so amusing and interesting are they

that it is quite difficult to be in the room where they are without

watching their movements. I have noticed some facts in regard

to them which I do not find mentioned in any account that I

have seen. Intense activity characterizes them at all times, but

it is more intense at some times than at others. In warm weather

. their movements are generally quicker and their exercise con-

tinued much longer than in cold. In summer they are more noc-

: turnal i in their habits than at other seasons.

THE FLYING SQUIRREL. 133

During this season they usually lie hidden in the nest all day,

rarely making their appearance before dusk, and staying out but a

few minutes at a time when they do appear during the day; and

what is said hereafter in regard to their activity refers especially

to their habits in warm weather, though not untrue for the rest of

the year. In the fall and winter months they are less strictly

nocturnal, coming from the nest several times each day and taking

food and exercise, after which they resume their nap, and at night

they alternate sleep and activity in the same manner.

When the sleeping and waking are thus interchanged through-

out the day, the squirrels are not as active in their exercise nor

does the slumber seem so deep as when they sleep all day and are

awake all night. The nest is a hemisphere of wire netting with

an opening at the top, filled with tow and cotton. When ready

to retire they plunge head foremost into this filling and, by moving

from side to side, quickly bury themselves so completely that the

top of the nest is left sniooth and even, and gives no sign of life

beneath so long as the inmates are asleep. If some inquisitive

hand pulls off the material covering the squirrels, they are found

at the very bottom of the nest, each rolled into as complete a ball

as possible, with the broad, feather-like tail curled around one side

or thrown over the face. When fairly settled for a nap they are

not easily aroused, and all the return they give one for gentle pokes,

pushes and strokings is a brisk, querulous scolding in sharp, squeal-

ing’ tones, or a blow or two from a fore paw, and then if they are

still further disturbed, one or two quick bites from the sharp nee-

dle-like teeth, which, however, are so short and slender that they

do not inflict very serious wounds. As has already been stated,

they do sometimes come from the nest during the day, when most

nocturnal in their habits, especially if thirsty ; for, if hungry, they

eat some of the many nuts which they have hidden in the nest.

In quite marked contrast with their sprightliness of action at night

are their sleepy half dazed movements at such times. Often after oo

drinking and hopping about the cage a little, they sit motionless; __

for perhaps half an hour their eyes staring as if wonderstruck and

thus they remain till, with a sudden leap, they bury themselves in

nest. oe

At dusk they begin to stir. Not all at once it would seem do

they awake, for the material of the nest quivers and shakes for _

Sometime before the squirrel appears. , When, however, they con-

134 THE FLYING SQUIRREL.

clude that they are all ready, out pop their heads, each to be

followed by the rest of the body, after a glance on all sides with

the glistening black eyes} and now all drowsiness has disappeared

and an activity more incessant and intense than can be described

takes its place. All night long, often with only the briefest rest

now and then, these little animals are in vigorous motion, jump-

ing, bounding, capering, running with ever varying movement and

astonishing energy. Everything they do is done with all their

might. It would seem to any one watching them that the exer-

cise of the first few minutes must wholly exhaust their powers,

but, on the contrary, the more their muscles are used, the more

capable of use they seem, and great as is the energy of their move-

ments at first, they usually increase in vigor and speed until after

midnight and scarcely grow less before morning. Nothing affords

them so much gratification as a large wheel which is placed inside

the cage. Into this wheel they jump whenever aught disturbs or

pleases them, and even when quite hungry they often find it neces-

sary to take a few turns before commencing their meal, after which

exercise they draw themselves into a bunch with the tail over the

back after the manner of squirrels, and set briskly to work on the

nut or other food which they may have received. They are almost

as fond of riding as of running and work their passage by run-

ning till the wheel is in rapid motion and then clinging to its wires,

and so are carried around and around, the pure white of the under

side of the body contrasting prettily with the soft brownish-gray of

the back and sides as each comes into view. When both are in the

wheel one often rides while the other turns the wheel, the latter

bounding over the other as each turn brings him around, and, no

matter how rapidly the wheel turns, these movements are executed

with perfect exactness and gracefulness. Being desirous of know-

ing with some degree of accuracy how rapidly the wheel moved, I

made some experiments for that purpose and found that the usual

rate of revolution was from sixty to over a hundred and twenty

times a minute, and, as the wheel is forty-four inches in circumfer-

ence, when its rate is the latter of the two numbers named, the

- squirrel turning it must travel four hundred and forty feet a min-

ute, or about five miles an hour, a distance requiring a great many

_steps when they are so short as squirrels must take. The sides of

the wheel are formed of spokes Eg as in any wheel, these

E are only five inches pen at the circumference and of

THE FLYING SQUIRREL. 135

course constantly grow less towards the centre; yet through this

narrow space which passes, when the wheel is at full speed, in the

sixteenth of a second, they dart in and out with perfect ease.

So quickly do they move that the eye can scarcely follow them ;

one instant a squirrel is in the wheel running with all his might,

and the next he is seated on a shelf at the opposite end of the

cage, the wheel whirling behind him. They rarely check the

speed of the wheel when wishing to leap out, but when it is in

motion and one wishes to enter it, he often clings to one of the

spokes and as he is borne around, sidles in. When, as in summer

often occurs, the wheél is kept in motion at full speed for nine or

ten hours, with very little rest, the distance which the squirrels

have travelled is not inconsiderable, being much more than most

men could perform day after day, and yet they never seem in the

least weary but are ready at any time for a fresh start. Their

chief locomotive power resides in the hind pair of legs, which are

So powerful that the body can easily be held horizontally by them,

the feet clinging to a wire of the cage as the only support of the

Whole. In most rodent animals the front legs are comparatively

weak and are used mainly for holding food, and when the animal is

running they seem rather to move in response to the pushing force

of the hind legs than to aid very much in propelling the body.

They usually move about the cage or room, or in the wheel, by run-

ning as other animals would, but sometimes they change this for a

series of short leaps, or leaps which again may change into bounds

of considerable length ; and very graceful are these latter, so light

and easy do they appear. Indeed, it is impossible for them to be

awkward or clumsy in any of their movements. Though usually

very quiet they are not always displeased with noise, if it be a

lively one; for instance, they drop a nut in the wheel and then as

it rattles when the wheel moves they are highly delighted, some-

times more so than some of the other listeners. Once w

butternut thus became quite a trouble to me I removed it, but no

sooner had I left the cage than they put it back and set it rattling :

louder than ever, leaping over it as it came near them and jumping

about as if performing a war dance, and this they repeated over

and over again till, finally, the nut was removed from the cage. __

Now and then the freak takes one or the other to leave the wheel __

altogether for several days, and in the meantime they relieve their

Over-buoyant feelings by executing a brilliant series of somer- :

136 THE FLYING SQUIRREL.

sets with an agility and daring that would excite the envy of the

most skilful acrobat. They always turn backward, going com-

pletely over and alighting almost exactly upon the spot from which

they started. Now they run a few steps before going over, and now

stop and turn round and round as if a spit ran through the centre

of the body on which it turned. These gyrations are often ex-

tremely ludicrous, especially, when turning side by side, they seem

to be racing. Their heads appear to be wholly ignorant of dizziness

or other unpleasant sensations that come from an inverted position,

for it never makes much difference with them whether the head is

up or down, sometimes taking food hanging head down, and almost

always drinking in this position; as they might, when wild, drink

from a stream while clinging to the end of an overhanging branch,

though it is singular that they should so invariably choose this

position, as they drink by lapping up the water as a cat would.

They are so tame that they have very little idea of running away,

not always being ready to leave the cage when it is opened to allow

them todo so. They are often allowed to run about the room in

which they are kept and they are quite fond of running over the

furniture, leaping into chairs and off the backs, running over pict-

ure cords and the like, being better pleased as they climb higher,

and when as high as they can get, off they “fly” to the farthest

corner of the room. It is hardly necessary to say that this so

called “ flying ” is in no sense true flight. The extension of skin

between the front and hind limbs is not capable of motion like

that of a wing of a bird, nor can it raise the body from any sur-

face, but it is simply a support, a parachute, so that the animal

can leap from a high position and by a gradual descent reach the

ground. So efficient is this support that in the woods these little

animals can sail down from a high tree to a bush several hundreds

of feet away. They always choose a bush or branch upon which

to stop if possible, and even in a room, when descending from a

bookcase, they always alight, if possible, on a chair or a person’s

_ shoulder rather than upon the floor. Not only when descending

but when jumping up does the parachute assist them, and if they

are liable to fall they partly extend it. When fully expanded it

makes the outline of the body about square, a little longer than

broad, but when folded along the side it is not noticeable, as it is

Covered with fur of the same color as the body, wh'te below and

gray above, with a dark line slang the edge, and like all the fur of

See a e ra a e Ee eae TEE a aa OE, S T E

EL O Ae ee

= cas

Pea es Me Sloat E eee) RRE

THE FLYING SQUIRREL. 137

the body is most beautifully fine and soft. Like the eyes of all

squirrels, those of the species under consideration are very large

and unusually prominent, standing from the head like great black

beads. They seem to be useful both by day and night. Light,

even if it be quite bright, does not seem to be an inconvenience,

and it is quite certain that they can see very well in the dark, as

they leap about the cage and find their food in the darkest night

as well as by daylight, and a light brought near them does not

seem to affect them disagreeably. The natural food of the flying

squirrel consists of nuts, buds, fruits and the like, but they are

ready to at least taste of anything that may be offered them, and

if it is anything that can be eaten the chances are that it will be.

I once found one of them at my inkstand eagerly lapping the ink

as if he enjoyed it greatly; pretty soon, however, he left it with

sneezings, snifiings and grimaces of a most comical sort, but the

*very next chance he had he tried to get some more. Salt they

eat greedily and also sugar. Beetles they are very fond of and

several birds’ eggs which I left in their way they devoured, shells

and all. They are very neat in all their habits, keeping their

faces clean by often rubbing them with the front paws, and the far

of the whole body is always clean and in order.

I am inclined to believe that the flying squirrel does not possess

as much intelligence as the gray or red or some other species.

Very few of their actions appear to be controlled by anything

higher than instinct. They seem to be quite fond of each other,

and lonely when separated for any length of time, despite an occa-

sional sharp squabble over some article of food, but they do not

evince much attachment for those who feed and care for them. In

their rapid and noiseless flitting about the cage they remind one of

birds, and their motions are as light and airy, but if disturbed in

any way, especially when seated to enjoy a nut, they express their

displeasure by a series of quick, sharp squeaks and in their quar-

rels they scold each other in the same manner. When especially

eager to get any food that is held near the cage they run towards:

it with brisk chuck-chucks, at the same time shaking all over in

their anxiety to seize it. More rarely they utter another sound, —

a clear musical note usually melodious and pleasant but occasion-

ally shrill. This sound very closely resembles the chirp of some

birds, so much so that when the windows are open and birds sing-

138 THE FLYING SQUIRREL.

ing near them, a stranger almost always is deceived as to its source,

thinking it caused by the birds outside rather than by the squirrels

inside. They keep up this noise for perhaps ten minutes, perhaps

half an hour, for no discoverable reason. They are exceedingly

inquisitive, prying into everything that comes in their way ; and, if

watched and fearful lest they are to be interrupted, they assume a

most impudent and reckless air, glancing out of one eye, and shak-

ing their heads and sniffing every now and then for an instant, and

then returning to their investigations with renewed energy, pulling

away desperately at anything that can be laid hold of, and if any-

one starts towards them to drive them away, they wait till the very

last minute, when, with a twinkle of the eye, a toss of the head

and jerk of the tail, they are off and across the room in a trice,

perhaps stopping to chatter their disapproval of the whole pro-

ceeding as soon as safely out of reach. It is difficult, if not im-

possible, to so conceal nuts or corn that they do not iaai

discover them and dig and pull and push at whatever contains them

till they get them. It must be by the aid of their keen scent that

they are thus able to detect the food when closely covered in a box.

When their exertions have been successful, they do not allow any-

thing that can be eaten, to remain where they have found it, how-

ever snug the place may,be, but carry it off to some other place of

their own choosing. One evening they carried over sixty walnuts,

from a box in which they were kept, across the room and by climb-

ing the handle of a feather duster reached a bracket on which

was a large vase, and into this they put the nuts, one by one, giv-

ing each a rapping against the vase as it was left.

When the actions of an animal are so suddenly varied, so con-

stantly changing and of such interest in all their phases as are

those of the flying squirrel, a complete account can scarcely be

given. Certainly it is not easy for words to represent the merry,

rollicking, don’t-care manner in which these flying squirrels do

everything. Such a combination of earnestness and carelessness

is seldom seen. For they are earnest about their work, and in

emptying a box of nuts they seem to feel the great importance of

their undertaking and the necessity of soberness and dignity in

its execution, but yet one can not help seeing that all this is but

assumed for the occasion, for their eyes, and indeed their whole

body, are all the time expressive of mischief, and the little rogues

INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES. 189

are never so sedate that they do not seem to be bubbling over

with fun and to be ready at a moment’s notice to engage in any

mischief that may occur to their scheming little heads.*

INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES. +

BY CHARLES RAU. :

Tue two kinds of Indian stone implements which form the sub-

ject of this article are by no means remarkable for skilful work-

manship, and therefore, probably, have thus far attracted little

notice in this country. In archeology, however, every object that

can serve to illustrate the former condition of a people is of sig-

nificance, and it matters not whether that object is elaborately

finished or has suffered but little alteration by the hand of man.

I place netsinkers and hammerstones together, because the speci-

mens in my possession, which form the basis of my description,

were derived from the same locality, namely, both banks of the

Susquehanna river near the small town of Muncy, in Lycoming

County, Pennsylvania. I possess a great number of the above-

named implements of all shapes and sizes, which were sent to me

by Mr. J. M. M. Gernerd, a resident of Muncy. To this gentle-

man I am also indebted for the communication of the details which

enable me to furnish the following account.

*Since the main portion of this article was written, one of the pets has died. Itis

the female that is lost—the tamest and best natured, but least sprightly of the pair.

It is to be feared that she was killed by kindness, as she had been fed on soft food

much of the time, and so did not jhave to crack nuts for a living. A post mortem

omin. avity so as

Was no other aeo cause for her decease, ene inference is that ii pe ‘of f adiposit .

It is sad to say aught that may diminish any one’s admiration for these

animals, but truth requires me to say that I have watched in vain for any signs of grief

s : s r A

The only

_ Whe fo aeti “a instantly seized any and everything that was , he

quite particular, entirely refusing many articles that used to be a part of his diet. It

may be that grief affects his appetite; but it

which is most mpap At any rate all t idence goes to that these really

attractive creatures do not possess any Se, ir on even for each other.

slated by the ‘gatos from Vol. V of the “ Archiv fiir 4

140 INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES.

Netsinkers and hammerstones are found in various localities of

the United States; but I am not aware that they occur in any

other place as frequently as in the neighborhood of Muncy. Net-

sinkers have been taken away from there by the hundred, and yet

their number is not exhausted; hammerstones, however, although

likewise numerous, occur there less frequently. The other produc-

tions of primitive art, which always indicate the former presence

of the Indians, such as stone tomahawks, wedge-shaped stone

implements, flint arrowheads, fragments of coarse pottery, "i

are ħlso found in the environs of Muncy.

The netsinkers in question are flat pebbles of roundish or angu-

lar (generally indefinite) shape and of various sizes, which exhibit

Fig. 30. Fig. 31.

Netsinkers (one-half natural size).

on two opposite points of the circumference an indentation or

notch, more or less deep, and produced by blows. Besides the

notches, which facilitated the attachment to the nets, these pebbles

have not undergone the slightest change by human agency; and ~

their manufacture, therefore, required but little labor and skill. _

_ My smallest specimen measures two inches in diameter and weighs

oe only half an ounce; my largest one, a flat stone of irregular out-

line, is eight inches wide across the broadest part and weighs two

pounds and fourteen ounces. I must mention, however, that the

last-named s is seiasaelly es and heavy, the S size

EE i EE we Grice Te Us as Step eS ae ee ee ee

INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES. 141

of the sinkers being from three to five inches, with a correspond-

ing weight of from six to ten ounces.

Figures 30 and 31 represent netsinkers of my collection in half-

size, which weigh respectively eleven ounces and seven ounces and

a quarter. The original of Fig. 30 is in the middle five-eighths of

an inch in thickness, that of Fig. 31 is about seven-eighths of an

inch thick. Sinkers with four notches also occur near Muncy,

though not very frequently, and in these cases the notches are so

placed that the stone was encompassed crosswise by the strings or

thongs which connected it with the net. One of the specimens

found at Muncy is even provided with seven indentations. The

Fig. 32.

t ( half palici size).

material of these netsinkers is almost exclusively a dnt- teenie

silico-argillaceous stone of gray or brownish color, sometimes con-

taining diminutive particles of mica, and consequently bearing the

distinct character of graywacke. The latter kind of rock belongs

to the geological formation of Muncy, and occurs also in numer-

ous pebbles in the neighboring creeks, which empty into the Sus-

quehanna. The Indians, therefore, had little difficulty in obtaining

the stones used as sinkers.

No greater skill was required in the manat of the hammer-

stones. They are nearly always roundish or oval pebbles of a some-

what compressed or flattened form, presenting in their een,

142 INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES.

the outline of a more or less elongated ellipse. Their only arti-

ficial alteration consists in two small pits or cavities, so placed as

to form the centres of the opposite broad sides of the pebble. In

these cavities the workman placed the thumb and middle finger of

the right hand, while the forefinger pressed against.the upper

circumference of the stone. Figure 32 (two views) is a half-size

drawing of one of these hammerstones, and may serve to repre-

sent their general character. The original of Figure 32, however,

is one of the larger specimens, measuring a little more than five

inches in longitudinal diameter, and weighing one pound and ten

ounces. Most of the hammerstones are smaller and lighter, aver-

aging about a pound in weight. My smallest specimen, almost

circular and with a diameter of two inches and three-quarters,

weighs only half a pound. Concerning the cavities on the oppo-

site sides, I will state that the makers evidently chiselled them out,

as it were, with a tool of hard stone, doubtless a pointed flint, for

which reason they sometimes appear rough and irregular. In the

more finished specimens, however, they exhibit regular cup-like

concavities, obviously produced by grinding. In some instances

the depressions are so shallow that they almost escape observation,

while they reach in other cases from eight to nine millimetres into

the stone, and thus afford the hand a firm hold. Yet quite a num-

ber of the hammerstones under notice exhibit, instead of the cup-

shaped cavities, on the opposite broad sides, roughly ground faces,

sometimes several inches in diameter, and answering well the

purpose of allowing the hand a secure grasp of the stone. Many

of the hammerstones bear the distinct traces of use, being battered

and crumbled at the circumference; and a few of the specimens

in my possession are even burst as far as the centre by the force

of the blows dealt with them. The material of the hammerstones

of Muncy is a tolerably hard stone consisting of rounded quartz

grains, apparently a metamorphic quartz, or quartzite.

In Europe, it is well known, similar hammerstones occur, which

have been called Tilhuggerstene by Danish archzologists.* Prof.

Nilsson has minutely described these implements, and tried to

prove they had been used in chipping weapons and tools of flint.

* Drawings of European hammerstones resembling eke of the Indians are found

in the following geri basin on: The Primitive Inhabitants of Scandinavia (London

1868), Pl. I, Fig. 1; Worsaae: Nordiske Oldsager etc. open inet 1859), Figs. 32, 33;

Stevens: Flint t Chips (London 1870), Fig. a Evans: The Ancient Stone Implements,

164.

INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES. 143

It is not my intention to enter here into a discussion concerning

the views of the meritorious Swedish archeologist: I will merely

state my opinion in regard to the probable use of the hammer-

stones from the Susquehanna valley. That these latter were em-

ployed as hammers tannot be doubted, since they show the most

distinct traces of violent contact with hard substances; yet,

according to my view, it was almost impossible to employ them

immediately in fashioning flint implements. They are by far too

clumsy, and possess too much roundness on all sides to have been

the tools for fabricating arrowheads and other delicate articles of

flint.* Not even the rude notches in the netsinkers could have

been produced by their immediate application. Nevertheless, they

may have served, besides fulfilling other purposes, as codperating

tools in the manufacture of flint implements. r. Catlin

described the method employed by the Apaches and other western

tribes in making flint points for arrows and spears. The work, he

states, is performed by two persons, one of whom holds the piece

of flint to be operated upon in the left hand and places with the

right hand a chisel or punch (made of a tooth of the sperm-whale)

against the protuberances of the flint, which are to be removed,

while his assistant strikes the chisel on the upper end with a

mallet of hard wood and thus flakes off the projecting points.

This process is continued until the article has acquired the desired

shape.t+ <A similar method, perhaps, was in use among certain

Indians inhabiting the eastern parts of North America, and in

this case the hammerstones may have replaced the wooden mallets

mentioned by Catlin. ,

Yet while I doubt the immediate application of these heavy

hammerstones in the manufacture of flint points, I do not deem it

altogether improbable that they were directly used as hammers for -

chipping certain rude implements of graywacke, or a kind of tough

slate, which occur in great abundance in the neighborhood of

Muncy. These implements are of various shapes, mostly wedge-

like in form, and are sometimes quite large. Many of them have

enaa a

* Among my specimens from Muncy there is a hammerstone of flint, which may

have been used directly in making arrowheads. It is a nearly round, somewhat

stone. two ineh Tai Sane ae a = ce h 4 ors

The edge or rather circumference is much battered by continued use. Similar flint

hammerstones found in England, are figured on page 223 of Mr. Evans’ new work,

“ The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons, and Ornaments of Great Britain.”

t Catlin: Last Rambles amongst the Indians, New York, 1867, p.

144 INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES.

distinct scraper-edges, and probably were used in the preparation

of hides and for other kindred purposes. I further believe that

there is a certain connection between the netsinkers and hammer-

stones of Muncy, in so far as the latter served in the manufacture

` of the former. Two workmen, I imagine, were active in the oper-

ation. One held the pebble, its narrow side upward, firmly in the

hand; the other placed a piece of. flint of suitable shape and

strength at the spot where the notch was to be cut out, and gave

the flint wedge a heavy blow with the hammerstone, thus effecting

the indentation. In this manner a great many sinkers could be

made in a short time.

From the great number of netsinkers found near Muncy, it may

be deduced that the Indians were much engaged in fishing at this

point. Indeed, the Susquehanna is here about nine hundred and

fifty feet wide, very deep in some places, and well stocked with

fish, among which I will mention perch, pike, sunfish, catfish, and

eels. There existed formerly a shad-fishery near Muncy, before

the river was obstructed by dams. Salmon is still sometimes

caught. Formerly, however, fish were still more abundant, and

the locality, therefore, afforded the aborigines great advantages as

a fishing-station. When the first white settlers penetrated to this

region, they found on or near the present site of Muncy a village —

of the Minsi or Munsey Indians, the Wolf tribe of the great Leni-

Lenape or Delaware nation. The name “ Muncy,” indeed, perpet-

uates the tribal designation of those aboriginal predecessors, whose

scanty descendants now dwell, far from the home of their fathers,

in the districts beyond the Mississippi. The Minsi Indians, I

think, may be considered as the manufacturers of the stone imple-

ments described in these pages.

Netsinkers of stone are even in our time in use among certain

tribes of the northwest coast of North America; as for instance,

among the Chinooks (at the mouth of the Columbia river), who

attach them to their salmon-nets. ‘Their nets,’ says Mr. Swan,

“are made of a twine spun by themselves from the fibres of spruce

roots prepared for the purpose, or from a species of grass brought

from the north by the Indians. Itis very strong, and answers the

_ purpose admirably. Peculiar-shaped sticks of dry cedar are used

_ for floats, and the weights at the bottom are round beach pebbles,

_ about a pound each, notched to keep them from slipping from their

fastenings, and securely held by withes of cedar firmly twisted and

INDIAN NETSINKERS AND HAMMERSTONES.’ 145

woven into the foot-rope of the net. The nets vary in size from a

hundred feet long to a hundred fathoms, or six hundred feet, and

from seven to sixteen feet deep.” *

Fishing-nets may be counted among the utensils’ invented at

very early periods, on the spur of necessity, by men in various

parts of the world. That they were already in use in Europe at a

remote time of antiquity is proved by their remnants preserved in

an almost marvellous manner in the Swiss pile-constructions of the

Stone age, as, for instance, those of Robenhausen and Wangen.

In the earliest works on North America the fishing-nets of the

Indians are mentioned, but not described. Cabeça de Vaca, the

first European who gave an account of the interior of North

America, refers in various places, though in a transient manner, to

the nets of the natives whom he met during his long wanderings.

Garcilasso de la Vega and the anonymous Portuguese gentleman,

called the Knight of Elvas, the two principal authors who have

left accounts of De Soto’s expedition (1539-43) are likewise

deficient in all such details as might serve to illustrate the

original character of Indian nets. The latter relates, however,

that the Spaniards, while at a place near the Mississippi, called

Pacaha (Garcilasso has it “ Capaha”), caught fish in a lake with

nets furnished by the Indians.t This establishes at least the fact

that the tribes of the Mississippi valley employed fishing-nets,

when first seen by Europeans. The Indians of the present New

England States made strong nets of hemp. For this we have the

authority of Roger Williams, who gives also the word ashép, which

signifies a net in the language of the Narragansetts.¢ Yet it

appears that the Indians of the Atlantic Coast (and others) prac-

tised more the “‘spearing” of fish than their capture in nets. Some `

were also killed by arrow-shots.| According to Van der Donck,{

a eset ined “tae

*Swan: The Northwest Coast, New York, 1857, p. 104.

„t Relation et Naufrages d’Alvar Nuñez Cabeça de Vaca (Ternaux-Compans), Paris,

> PP. 24, 142, 177, 179. Original printed at Valladolid in 1555.

: t Narratives of the Career of Hernando de Soto, etc., translated by Buckingham

Smith, New York, 1866, p. 112. en a Fi

$ Roger Williams: A Key into the Language of America, London, 1643; Providence,

R. I., 1827, p- 102. io

aye ites oe Se ee ag T

ures of lattice-work, flanked by long weirs, the whole forming a sort of gigantic trap,

k + Suoh tw P F

into which the fish were driven. f the Virginia Indians is figi

and described in the first volume of De Bry’s “ Peregrinationes ” (Frankfort on the

Main, 1590).

_ TBeschryvinge van Nieuw-Nederlandt, Amsterdam, 1656, p. 70.

: AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 10

146 FOSSIL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER DINOCERATA.

the Indians in the neighborhood of New Amsterdam (now New

York) employed, during the middle of the seventeenth century,

various kinds of nets; but this author does not state whether

these nets were original Indian inventions, or adopted from the

Dutch colonists. The Natchez, on the Lower Mississippi, made

their nets from the bark of the linden tree, and knitted them quite

in the European fashion.*

Reverting, in conclusion, once more to netsinkers, I will men-

tion that in the United States there also occur some provided

with a perforation, instead of being notched. I had occasion to

examine in the collection of Col. Charles C. Jones, of Brooklyn,

a number of the perforated kind, which the owner had found in

Eastern Georgia, at the confluence of the Great Kiokee Creek

with the Savannah river, a spot where Indian relics abound. The

material of these sinkers is the taleose stone commonly called

soapstone. They consist of flat smoothed pieces, of indefinite but

- mostly rounded outline, which are an inch or less in thickness, and

measure from three to six inches in diameter. The holes are usu-

ally drilled from two sides, and therefore narrowing in the middle,

where they are about half an inch wide. Col. Jones will figure

and describe these Indian implements in his forthcoming work on

the antiquities of the State of Georgia.

THE FOSSIL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER

DINOCERATA.}+— With Two Plates.

BY PROFESSOR o, C. MARSH.

hase the many extinct animals of interest hitherto discovered

‘in the Tertiary of the Rocky Mountain region, none, perhaps, are

more remarkable than the huge mammals which have recently been

described from the Eocene beds of Wyoming. It is important,

_ therefore, that accurate information in regard to them should be

: promptly made public, especially as serious errors on this subject

have already appeared in various scientific ait and are

being widely disseminated.

i *Du Pratz: Histoire de la Lonisiane, gere 1758, Vol. II, p. 1

t Published in Journal of pea e ea 117, Feb., m

FOSSIL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER DINOCERATA. 147

These animals nearly equalled the elephant in size, and had limb

bones resembling those of Proboscidians, as stated in the original

description of the type species, Tinoceras anceps Marsh. The

skull, however, presents a most remarkable combination of char-

acters. It is long and narrow, ahd supported three separate pairs

of horns: The top of the skull is concave, and on its lateral and

posterior margin there is an elevated crest. There were large de-

curved canine tusks, somewhat resembling those of the walrus, but

no upper incisors. The six premolar and molar teeth are quite

anceps.* In the following year Professor Cope gave the name,

Loxolophodon semicinctus, to a single premolar tooth, which per-

haps, belongs to this group, and may prove to be identical with

the above species.t In August last, in a paper issued in advance

of the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy, Dr. Leidy de-

scribed a characteristic specimen as Uintatherium robustum, and

likewise gave the name Uintamastix atrox to an upper canine tooth,

probably of the same animal, on the supposition that it pertained

to a carnivore.} |

The remarkable feature in the skull of this group was first in-

dicated in the name Tinoceras, proposed by the writer (August

19, 1872) for the genus represented by the type species, and sub-

sequently mentioned in the American Journal of Science.§

The Museum of Yale College contains the remains of many in-

dividuals of the order Dinocerata, including the types of the

Various species described by the writer.|| All of these are well

represented by characteristic specimens, and one species, Dinoceras

mirabilis Marsh, by an gutire skull, and a nearly perfect skeleton. —

An Opportunity has thus been afforded of determining with some

: * American Journal of Science, Vol. ii, p. 35.

t American Philosophical Soc., Vol. xii, p. 420.

eedings Philadelphia Academy, 1872, p. 169.

SVol. iv, September, 1872, Erratum; also October, 1872, p. 322. aa

ll American Journal of Science, yol. iv, pp. 322, 323, 343. Oct., rae att ee paea

American Philosophical Society, vol. xii, p. 578, Dec., 1872, and Ameri =

Vol. vii, p. 52, Jan., 1873. i < :

148 FOSSIL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER DINOCERATA.

certainty the nature and affinities of this most singular group of

animals, and the more important characters are here mentioned,

preliminary to the full description. Most of the cranial characters

are derived froma very perfect skull of Dinoceras mirabilis, figured

in the accompanying plates.

The skull is unusually long and narrow. The three pairs of horn-

cores, rising successively above each other, and the huge crest

around the. deep concavity of the crown, together with the large

decurved trenchant tusks, unite in giving a most remarkable ap-

pearance to the’ entire head (Plates I, IL), which differs widely from

anything known among living or fossil forms.

The structure of the skull. presents many features of interest.

The supraoccipital is greatly developed, and, after rising above the

brain-case, forms an enormous crest, which projects obliquely back-

ward beyond the condyles. This crest is continued forward on

either side, each lateral portion sloping outward, and overhanging

. the large temporal fossa. This portion of the crest is formed

largely of the parietals. The posterior pair of horns rise from

this crest, which is thickened below on the inner side to support

them. In front of these horns, the crest descends rapidly, and

subsides nearly over the centre of the orbit. These posterior

horn-cores are higher than those in front, and have obtuse summits,

flattened transversely. (Plates I, II.) The frontal bones have no

postorbital process, and the orbit is not separated from the tem-

poral fossa. The latter is very large posteriorly. (Pl. II, fig. 1.)

The squamosal forms the lower portion of the temporal fossa, and

sends down a massive post-glenoid process. It likewise sends

forward a zygomatic process, which resembles that of the tapir. `

The malar completes the anterior portion of the arch, which is not

the case with any known Proboscidian. The lachrymal is large,

and forms the anterior border of the orbit, as in the rhinoceros.

It is perforated by a large foramen on its facial surface. Over the

orbit, the frontal sends out laterally a prominent ridge, which

afforded good protection to the eye in the combats of these ani-

mals with each other. On this ridge there is a small protuberance,

which closely resembles a diminutive hosn-core, but its position,

immediately i in front of the lateral crest, renders it probable that

it did not support a true horn.

The maxillaries are massive, and quite remarkable in supporting

à pair of e conical horn-cores, The bases of these cores

FOSSIL MAMMALS. OF THE ORDER DINOCERATA. 149

approximate, and their summits are obtuse and nearly round.

(Plates I, II.) Below these horns are the huge decurved canines,

the extremity of the fang being implanted in the base of the horn-

core. Behind the canine, there is a moderate diastema, followed

by six small premolar and molar teeth. The crowns of the molars

are formed of two transverse ridges, separated externally, and

meeting at their inner extremities. The nasals are massive, and

greatly prolonged anteriorly. In front of the zygomatic arch they

contract, and form the inner inferior surface of the maxillary horn-

cores, as well as an elevation between them. From this point for-

ward to the anterior margin of the suture with the premaxillary,

they increase slightly in width, and then contract to the end of

the muzzle.

Near the anterior extremity of the nasals, there is a pair of low

tubercles, which evidently supported dermal horns (Pl. II, fig. 3).

The premaxillaries are without teeth, and quite peculiar. They

unite posteriorly with the mavxillaries just in front of the canine,

and then divide, sending forward two branches, which partially

enclose above and below the lateral portion of the narial opening.

The upper branch is closely united with the adjoining nasal, thus

materially strengthening the support of the nasal horns. The

lower portion is slender, and resembles the premaxillary of some

Ruminants. The extremity is somewhat behind that of the nasals,

The anterior. nares are comparatively small, the aperture being

more contracted than ‘in the rhinoceros. The lower jaw was

slender, and the tusks small.

he extremities in the Dinocerata resembled those in the

Proboscidea, but were proportionally shorter. The humerus was

Short and Massive, and in its main features much like that of

the elephant. One of the most marked differences is seen in the

great tuberosity, which does not rise above the head, and is but |

little compressed. The condylar ridge, moreover, of the distal

end is tubercular, and not continued upward on the shaft. The

lower extremity of the humerus is much like that of-the rhinoc-

_ €ros, and the proportions of the two bones are essentially the

‘Same. The head of the radius rests on the middle of the ulnar os

articulation, and hence the shaft of this bone does not cross that

of the ulna so obliquely as in the elephant. The femur is pro- _

. Portionally about one-third shorter than that of the elephant. The —

_ head of this bone has no pit for the round ligament, and the great

trochanter is fattened and recurved. There is no indication of a

150 FOSSIL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER DINOCERATA.

third trochanter. The distal end of the femur is more flattened

transversely than in the elephant, and the condyles are more

nearly of the same size.. The corresponding articular faces of the .

tibia are consequently about equal, and also contiguous, with no

` prominent elevation between them. When the limb was at rest,

the femur and tibia were nearly in the same line, as in the ele-

phant and man. The astragalus has no distinct superior groove.

Its anterior portion has articular faces for both the navicular and

cuboid, thus differing from Proboscidians, and agreeing with Peris-

sodactyls. The calcaneum is very short. The phalanges are short

and stout, and resemble somewhat those of the elephant.

The vertebra of this group are not unlike those of Proboscid-

ians in their main characters. The cervicals are materially longer

than in the elephant. There are four sacral vertebra, the last

quite small, and supporting a short and slender tail. The ribs

have rudimentary uncinate processes, as in the mastodon.

Such being the more important characters of these gigantic

fossil mammals, it remains to state briefly what these characters

collectively indicate, and likewise to give reasons for placing the

group in an order distinct from the Proboscidea.

The vertebrz and limb-bones in the Dinocerata are in many

respects remarkably like those of Proboscidians, the exceptional

characters being those of the Perissodactyl type. The skull, on

the contrary, presents no distinctive proboscidian features. The

presence of horns in pairs, and the absence of teeth in the premax-

illaries together with the large canine, point toward the Rumi-

pants. The nasal horns, the structure of the anterior portion of

_ the skull, the molar teeth, the zygomatic arch, the elongated tem-

; poral fossa, the large post-glenoid processes, as well as other less

rtant cranial characters, show affinities with the Perissodac-

| The horns on the maxillaries, the deep concavity of the

own, and the huge lateral crests are quite peculiar to this order.

ions of the most marked characters that distinguish these ani-

nite from the Proboscidea are the following :—1st, The absence

upper tS 2d, The presence of canines. 3d, The pre-

ce of horns. 4th, The absence of large air cavities in the skull. |

| The — oo forms the nasio Foue of the zygomatic

neon The t prem i

ries do not —

FOSSIL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER DINOCERATA. 151

meet the frontals. 11th, The lateral and posterior cranial crests.

12th, The very small molar teeth, and their vertical replacement.

13th, The small lower jaw. 14th, The articulation of the astrag-

alus with both the navicular and cuboid bones. 15th, The absence

of a hallux. 16th, The absence of a true proboscis. The last

character may be fairly inferred from the short anterior limbs, the

moderately lengthened neck, and the very elongated head, which

rendered -a proboscis unnecessary, as the muzzle could readily

reach the ground. The small nasal opening —smaller even than

that of the rhinoceros or tapir—also testifies against it, while the

nasal horns, and the sharp decurved canines would seriously have

interfered with such an organ, had it been present.

The horns of the Dinocerata were a remarkable feature. Those

on the nasal bones were probably short; dermal weapons, some-

thing like those of the rhinoceros, but much smaller. Those on

the maxillaries were conical, much elongated, and undoubtedly

formed most powerful means of defence. The posterior horns

were the largest, and their flattened cores indicate that they were

expanded, and perhaps branched. All the horn-cores are solid,

nearly smooth externally, and none of them show any indication

of a burr. Whether both sexes had horns, cannot at present be

decided, but this was probably the case.

The remains on which this description is based were found in

the Eocene deposits of Wyoming, and are now in the Museum of _

Yale College. A more complete description, with full ae ae

tions, is in course of preparation.

In addition to the descriptions mentioned above, Prof. Cope has —

since proposed the generic name Eobasileus,* and indicated three —

species, which apparently are not distinct from those previously

described by Dr. Leidy and the writer. One of the species named -

by Prof. Cope (Hobasileus furcatus) is based on what he regards ,

as cade of the nasal bones. The — borari indi

hase from Wyoming bear various dates ee

from July 11th to October 12t a

October 29th, and some of pees certainly not until ‘about amonth later. As now pub-

BURIOECr

antedated. as the

+h ee Caen 5 ane S

159 FOSSIL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER DINOCERATA.

cates that these specimens are the posterior horn-cores of other _

species. Many of the characters given by Prof. Cope in his de-

scription of these animals do not indeed apply to the other known

species, but it is evident he has made several serious mistakes in

his observations. He has likewise been especially unfortunate in

attributing to the Dinocerata characters which they do not possess ;

and hence his conclusion, that all these animals are true Probos-

cidea, and possessed a proboscis, is quite erroneous.* In his

references and dates, also, Professor Cope has shown the same in-

accuracy that has marred his scientific work. It is important,

therefore, that his mistakes on these subjects should be promptly

corrected, especially such errors as the following: What Prof. >

Cope has called the incisors are canines, and hence ‘ea statement

that there are large ineisor tusks, but no canines, should be re-

versed. 2d, the stout: horns he described are not on the frontals,

but on the maxillaries. 3d, The orbit is not below these horns,

bi ehind them. 4th, The occiput is not vertical, but oblique, the

occipital crest projecting behind the condyles. 5th, ‘The temporal

fossee are not small posteriorly. 6th, The great trochanter of the

femur is recurved, although Professor Cope says not. 7th, The

spine of the tibia is not obtuse, but wanting. 8th, The nasal

bones in the Dinocerata are not exceedingly short, but much elon-

gated. 9th, The malar bone does not form the middle element $

the zygomatic arch, but the anterior, as in the tapir. 10th,

: ` frontals do not have a great prolongation forward, and it is very

se doubtful if they support horns or processes at both extremities.

F e. nasal bones are not deeply excavated at their extremi-

2th, The genus Dinoceras was not originally referred to

issòc eE bat to a new order, 13th, The type species of

his orde ot. described as as Titanotherium anceps, but as

a Pi carer ROER à difference of importance, as the reference

was merely provisional, and the characters given pointed, not to

the Perissodactyls, but to Proboscidians. 14th, The date given

to Hobasileus (August 20th, 1872) is not correct, as stated on |

Professor Cope the pamphlet containing R 1 6th, The

ation I made on this subject before the Anena Philo-

cal Society was not AES 30th, 1872, but D December 20th,

' ia Academy, Jan. 14, mE -

-it was wanting. Strangest of all, he informs us that the frontal

FOSSIL MAMMALS OF THE ORDER DINOCERATA. 153

1872, Professor Cope being present. The assertion that it is

“t exceedingly probable that the tusk of the mastodon and elephant,

regarded as an incisor by Cuvier, is really a canine,” needs no

refutation. If Professor Cope will examine the skull of a young

elephant, he will probably find that Cuvier was right after all.

These specific points against his work, Professor Cope has not

answered. He has, however, endeavored to break the force of my

criticism by a general denial, which evades the main issue between

us. He says, in substance, that one species of Hobasileus, or

rather, one of the five individuals on which this species was based,

is different from one of my species. This, however, if established,

would not materially diminish the list of his errors on this subject.

Professor Cope distinctly included in his group of supposed Pro-

boscidians the genera Dinoceras and Uintatherium, thus mistaking,

as I have already shown, both their characters and affinities. Prof.

Cope states, moreover, that I have not seen his Eobasileus. This

is true ; nevertheless, I will venture, with due diffidence, to express

my belief that he is mistaken in regard to several important char-

acters of this genus; and I have a suspicion that, when carefully

studied, it will turn out an orthodox member of the Dinocerata,

and, not unlikely, a near relative of Tinoceras. ee

Professor Cope reasserts, likewise, that the descriptions he has

given are correct. This, however, is impossible; unless, indeed,

this mythical Kobasileus, under the Professor’s domestication, has

changed its characters more rapidly than Darwin himself ever

ed for the most protean of species. Professor Cope has

ed distinctly that this genus had upper incisors, but no ca-

next, that it had canines, but no incisors; and finally, that

it has one incisor and one canine. He has said, also, that the

nasal bones were greatly elongated; and again, that they were

very short ; that the spine of the tibia was obtuse; and next that

sinuses of Eobasilews are in the squamosal region, : and that M

premaxillary i is a trenchant tusk ! al | al

in the Arabian Nights and not i in ne cesses A of modern so

Yale — Feb. 15, 1873. : one

: Be: ‘EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

NOTES ON THE VEGETATION OF THE LOWER

WABASH VALLEY.

BY ROBERT RIDGWAY.

II. — THE WOODS AND PRAIRIES OF THE UPLAND PORTIONS.

Tue woods which extend back from the river bluffs toward the

prairies are decidedly different in their character from those of

the alluvial bottoms. The trees are of a lighter growth, though the

' timber is by no means small, and the species are fewer in number,

while three or four kinds usually prevail largely over the others.

The predominating trees are several species of oaks (Quercus) and

hickories (Carya), the species of which vary according to, the local-

ity. The aspect of the undergrowth is yet more different, lacking

entirely that rankness which the herbaceous plants attain in the

bottom-lands, while it is more scant, and perhaps less varied.

It often consists of merely a younger growth of the same species

as the larger trees, this mixed with patches of hazel (Corylus

- Americana) and, more or less generally, with thickets of wild

plum (Prunus Americana) and crab apple (Pyrus coronaria) ; the

‘most conspicuous and prevalent herbaceous plants being the May

apple (Podophyllum peltatum), Columbo (Frasera Carolinensis),

: and Indian turnip (Arisema triphyllum). These, of course, are

iated with a vast elie of other en many of then

ation o different geological formation upon

a rests. In consequence of this, the ground is covered

it the year with a deep deposit of dead leaves, which

the gr wth of a rank herbage. In the

rary, the ground is continually wet, Ld

daoey, “n? their aye decomp

e vines of these ary woods

< Of foliage, never excelled, and seldom, if ever, equalled, in the ~

an n additional sare’ to the groves themselves.

THE VEGETATION OF THE LOWER WABASH VALLEY. 155

capreolata, and several species of Smilax, which are usually absent

here, they are of the same species; while the hop (Humulus

lupulus), wild yam (Dioscorea villosa) and climbing rose (Rosa

setigera), are decidedly characteristic of the dry woods.

The ** Oak Openings” are a beautiful modification of these woods,

and form a feature strikingly characteristic of the prairie regions of

the Mississippi Valley ; and nowhere are they more attractive than

in southern Tllinois. They are usually found in the region where

the timber and prairie meet. Their most striking peculiarity is the

symmetrical shape, uniform size and compact foliage, of the prairie

oaks (different species, according to the locality, but usually the

Quercus imbricaria, Q. nigra or, in damp situations, Q. palustris),

which, almost exclusively, compose them, and especially the smooth-

ness and fresh appearance of the clean, bright green sward beneath

them. ‘Po do them justice, we cannot do better than quote from a

very truthful description which we have lately read :— “ They (the

trees) rise from a grassy turf seldom encumbered with brushwood,

but not unfrequently broken by jungles of rich and gaudy flowering

plants, and of dwarf sumac. Among the oak openings you find

some of the most lovely landscapes of the West, and travel for

miles and miles through varied park scenery of natural growth,

with all the diversity of gently swelling hill and dale; here, trees

grouped or standing single — and there, arranged in long avenues,

as if laid out by human hands, with slips of open meadow between

them. Sometimes the openings are interrupted with numerous

clear lakes, and with this addition become enchantingly beautiful.”

[Encyclopædia of Geography ; Thos. E. Bradford, II, 562 ; 1840.]

To this description, we can only add that when viewed from across

a meadow, the groves present a symmetry in the trees, a uni-

formity in their size and shape, and a compactness and richness

best-kept artificial park. The lower branches of all the trees begin -

at a uniform level, and the space beneath is left perfectly free from

brushwood or rubbish of any kind, so that under the straight li e

marking the lower limit of the foliage, there is seen only ' the well-

shapen trunks, rising from a beautiful sward of the freshest green.

The trees about the border are often beautifully canopied by a

matted covering of wild grape, while the vines of this o

coiled or twisted into fantastic and artistic shapes, £ sometimes teid ;

156 THE VEGETATION OF THE LOWER WABASH VALLEY.

The “Barrens” are sections covered with a scrubby wood of

small but growing trees, their growth choked with a nearly im-

penetrable jungle of varied shrubbery. Comparatively few years

ago they were all open grassy prairie, but as soon as the country

became settled the young trees began to sprout up, until gradually

they have become entirely clothed with thick young forest. Twenty

years from now, they will have lost their present character, and

become transformed into the usual woods of the region.*

Many former prairies of often ten miles or. more in breadth are

now entirely overgrown with a dense scrub of hazel (Corylus

Americana), sumac (Rhus — several species), blackberry (Rubus

villosus), wild plum (Prunus Americana and P. chicasa?), crab

apple (Pyrus coronaria) “ queen of the prairie” (Spiræa lobata),

wild roses (Rosa iain and R. setigera) and other kindred

shrubs, or small trees, among which spring up a more scattered

growth of PRATAR chiefly oaks (as the Q. obtusiloba, Q. nigra,

and a variety of Q. falcata) and hickories. For floral display, no

sections of the country are so beautiful as the “ barrens.” The

- crimson cones of the sumacs ; the showy climbing rose (Rosa seti-

gera), which ascends through the trees to their very tops ; numerous

flowering vines, among which the Leguminose and Caprifoliacex _

contribute each a variety of species ; and the host of gaudy-flowered

plants belonging to the Composit, which still linger as remnants

of the prairie vegetation, produce not only a gaudy, but also a

richly varied appearance, which is still further beautified. by the

ney vine-canopies with which many of the trees are clothed.

a rairies which adjoin the forest region of the Wabash Valley

: are mostly of limited extent, being mere indentations into the

+ OS bays,” of the larger ones toward the middle of the

ost of pes have now lost their primitive aspect, being

al a under cultivation or else trampled by herds of stock.

ording to the settlers it is now a rare, if a possible, thing, to

. prairie where the grass is as tall, the weeds as rank and

se, and the flowers as showy, as they were twenty or thirty

ago. As they now are, panopio feature in their flora is

essensa i all the old settlers of the country, that there is now a far greater

: this there was twenty, sy or even forty years | pa

at the timber is apasang pe ara

sacrifices the forests.

neroachment o of f the woods

tubercle within the crescent, which with-wearing soon becomes

GIGANTIC MAMMALS OF THE GENUS EOBASILEUS. 157

the frequent clumps of the Hibiscus grandiflorus, or great-flowered

mallow, which grows along the banks of streams, the border of

ponds, or other moist places. This plant occurs more or less

abundantly on nearly all the prairies of Richland, Lawrence, Wa-

bash and Edwards counties, and perhaps throughout the state

south of latitude 38° 25’. It is one of the most conspicuous

plants of the prairie, for when in bloom, its large, crimson-centred

white flowers sometimes measure nearly a foot in expanse.

THE GIGANTIC MAMMALS OF THE GENUS

EOBASILEUS.*

. BY PROFESSOR E. D. COPE.

A genus closely allied to the Proboscidea called Bathmodon,

was recently (February, 1872) described by the writer as repre-

sented by remains of the Eocene Formations of Wyoming Terri-

tory. Investigations prosecuted during the present season, in the

Same region, under the direction of Prof. F. V. Hayden’s Geolog-

ical Survey of the territories, have resulted in a better acquaint-

ance with these forms, and an approximation to a true estimate of

their affinities. l

The present genus, which is new and may be called Hoba-

sileus,t is proven to be quite distinct from Bathmodon in the denti- ae

tion of the premaxillary bone. It is narrow and edentulous and 3

Separated from its fellow by a deep notch. The front of the max-

illary bone supports a tusk which represents the canine. It is

shorter than in the walrus, but longer than in the sabre toothed

tigers, and resembles the canines of the latter in being compressed

and sharp-edged in front and behind. A long edentulous space

follows the canine, before the molars commence. These are of-

relatively small size, and number 4-2. They all exhibit a single

crescentic crest with angle inwards; but becoming straighter on-

the anterior teeth, where they are little curved. There is a single oe

* Read at the Dubuque Meeting of the American A iation for the Ad t

Science. 1972.

t Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 1872, p. 485 (August 20).

158 GIGANTIC MAMMALS OF THE GENUS EOBASILEUS.

confluent with the crescent giving a V-shaped surface on the pre-

molars, or later a triangular one.

The general form of the cranium is remarkable. The temporal

fossz are latero-posterior, and there is a transverse supraoccipital

crest. The zygomatic arches are posterior and the orbits not

enclosed behind, nor with marked superciliary ridges. The muzzle

is compressed and roof-shaped, and the frontal bones extend far

in advance of the tusks, and even beyond the extremity of the

long premaxillaries, overhanging them still more than in the

rhinoceros. The margins of their extremities are flared upwards

forming bony projections like shovels. These may have supported

dermal horns as in the rhinoceros. These are composed exter-

nally of the maxillary, and internally of the nasal bones. Add to

these, horns with stout osseous cores, one above each orbit, with

approximated *bases, and the curious physiognomy of the form

becomes apparent

The general kn is massive, the TA are wide and capacious

and the limb bones exceedingly stout. The great trochanter is

flat and thick ; the fibular condyle well developed, and the astrag-

alus little convex. The tarsus and foot are Proboscidian in

character, and the short thick phalanges indicate the massive foot

of a land animal.

There are three species of this genus known to the writer. The

E. cornutus is known from many parts of the skeleton, including a

nearly perfect cranium. This cranium measures over three feet in

% length and is in very perfect condition. The tusk is projected

about a foot from its projecting alveolus and is recurved and cov-

ered on the distal half with smooth enamel. The horn-cores are

a foot long, very stout, trihedral at base and with an enlargement

n the inner side. The nasal projections viewed from above give

the end of the muzzle a bilobed outline. The diameter of the

pelvis measured between the crests of the ilia is nearly five feet.

“The long diameter of the proximal end of the femur is about ten

inches. A sacral vertebral centrum is five inches in transverse

es ee ae T eae E ET

GIGANTIC MAMMALS OF THE GENUS EOBASILEUS. 159

A species different from the E. cornutus is represented by

numerous remains. The most characteristic are the horn-cores,

which are compressed at the base, somewhat acuminate and with-

out inner enlargement. This may be called E. pressicornis. °

The general form was stout and heavy, and less elevated than

4 in the existing elephants. With proportions somewhat as in the

rhinoceros, the species E. cornutus was larger than in any known

This form will probably be found to be the predecessor in time

of the huge forms of Proboscidians now known, and certain allies

will be found to stand in the same relation to the odd and even-

toed ungulates.

Remains of six of these huge quadrupeds were found in one

locality in Southern Wyoming, and bones of at least twenty were

found by the expedition. :

Since the above was read at Dubuque it has been ascertained

that the E. pressicornis and E. Jurcatus belong to the genus Uin-

tatherium, having rudimental knobs instead of flat shovels on the

nasal bones. This genus differs from Hobasileus in the rudimental

character of the nasal horn-cores, and in the presence of an ele-

vated lateral parietal crest. In Eobasileus the latter is almost

wanting. They also differ in the character of the posterior (third)

pair of horn-cores.

Subsequently, at a meeting of the Philadelphia Academy of

Natural Sciences (January 14, 1873), the writer gave his reasons

for regarding the genera Hobasileus and Uintatherium as Probos-

cidians constituting a peculiar family of the order, and his objec-

tions to referring them to a new order as has been proposed by

Professor Marsh. He said he had first (August 20, 1872) given

reasons for regarding them as Proboscidea, though Professor Marsh

Some of the reasons are as follows:

1. The extreme shortness of the fi tremity of the nasal bones.

2. The malar t i o ee ' If th “241 7 t of th

3. The cervic

: _ latter beside it

5. The f;

una

8 =.

_ tudinal keel.

is 5. The ast P % 4. i wen hot with a uniform face.

species of that genus, being quite equal to the mastodons in bulk. ~

had previously referred one of them to Mastodon by name only.

al dingly short and t See.

4. The radius crosses the ulna obliquely and leaves a large carpal surface to the

1e femur is wit! hird I l! or fossa for the nd li = ent. - Ba:

-7 6. Its condyles are contracted and the intercondylar fossa is prolonged and fissure

» like. nh

7. The spine of the tibia is absent, and the glenoid cavities separated Ima longi-

e zygomatic arch. : a

160 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

. The calcaneum is very short and largely inferi

10. The phalanges represent several toes, and are or short and stout.

To these may be added three external characters, which directly

result. from the osteological, namely :

Ik e possession of a prọboscis. This is proven by the extreme shortness and

co of the free part of the nasal bene by ati very nga pero bili feiss, ze, and

by the fact that the NABAI and premax

ities, with eminences, for the orig n of. the muscles of the muaki

<: The vorid of the amar below the Seton so that the leg was a with

the knee below and free from the body, as in elephants, monkeys and ma

13. The sia subplantigrade foot, so different aot the digitigrade ii acter of

other ungulates. The oR surface of the calcaneum looks as though it furnished

insertion for a ligamentou d.

Other characters, common to Proboscidea and some other ungu-

lates, are —

14. The piepen acuminate in outline above the spine, with a very short coracoid and

alate spin

= i lað truncate e occiput with widely separated temporal fossæ.

. The greatly expanded iliac bon

The presence of canine teeth and horns had been stated by

Professor Marsh as characteristic of a new order. Neither of

these were regarded by Professor Cope as sufliciently important

- for such an interpretation, since in Artiodactyles, and even in the

-Ruminant division, we have every variety of condition in both

these points; Moschide, Cephalophus and Hydropotes were horn-

less, and some of these and some deer had canines. The wart

hog has compound molars, no lower incisors and huge tusks. But

the difference in this point from elephants he thought would dis-

appear if, as was probable, the tusks of elephants should prove to

be canines and not incisors. In these animals, as in Hobasileus,

the tusk is enclosed between the maxillary and premaxillary,

which is not the case with the outer incisors.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Tur Geotoey or THE Sea Borrom.*—This is a very important

) tribution to the study of the bottom of the seas which is now

receiving so much attention. Intended at first to be limited_to an

“ieee of the sea bottom of the French coast, it was gradually —

L. Delesse. Lithologie des Mers de France et des Mers principales ~ globe.

. Dec., 1871. 2 vols. 8vo. pp. 479; 135: al eye ceo cuts in text.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 161

extended as far as the materials were accessible, such as the re-

sults of the deep sea soundings made by the Hydrographic bureaux

of the European and American governments, to the pr incipal seas

of the globe. It is of course more complete for the seas border-

ring on France, yet it is a fair beginning of a subject which hith-

erto has received but little attention. The author has treated his

materials ‘with great success and has sketched out the broad out-

lines of a most fruitful line of inquiry.

It is the first systematic attempt made to classify the Jenoa

now going on owing to the agencies at work on the surface of our

earth; to show how unequally the deposits are made, how greatly

the nature of these deposits and the existing topography are modi-

fied by the direction of the prevailing winds and oceanic currents,

and more especially how materially the geology of the shores of

the river basins, and of submerged rocks subject to the action

of the waves, influences the mineralogical constituents of the de-

posits formed at any one point.

The maps which accompany this volume are the results of the

most careful examination and analysis of the materials brought up

by the lead, or thrown on the shores by the action of the waves, or

resulting from the decomposition of the cliffs along the coast line,

of the banks of the rivers forming the different hydrographic basins,

from their source as they pass through the different geological for-

mations to their mouth. The fate of the different mineralogical _

constituents is carefully followed and the effect each has upon the

bottom of the sea into which the basin drains carefully noted.

The effect of the atmosphere in carrying dust in suspension, of

the direction of the prevailing winds, especially on the seacoasts

leading to the formation of dunes, and the effect produced by the

unequal distribution of rain as an erosive agent in the different

hydrographic basins are very accurately considered. The amount of

material held in solution and suspension in the rivers of France is

shown to be enormous and to depend of course mainly upon the

geological composition of the rocks of the different hydrographic

basins influencing, to a great extent, the condition of the naviga-

tion of the outlets of the larger rivers, and the formation and

preservation of the harbors at the mouth of the navigable rivers.

The power of transportation and erosion of fresh water and rain

as shown by the action of rivers, is slight compared to the action of

the sea; the SPRER, results prone by waves, by permanent

ani. NATURALIST, VOL. VH.

162 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

currents, by the tides and prevailing winds, are more varied of

course than those of the rivers. The action of the sea extends

over a great area and acting at a great depth is the most powerful

agent in the rearrangement and final distribution of the materials

brought down by the rivers.

The action of internal agents produced by eruptions, though

undoubtedly very powerful, is unfortunately inaccessible and we

can only guess at what might happen from a study of such phe-

nomena as the submarine volcanoes of the Mediterranean, the

Caspian sea, and remember that many of the phenomena which

produce instant visible changes onthe surface of the globe must

be acting with equal or greater efficiency and as frequently on the

bottom of the sea.

The agency of organisms in determining the constitutions of the

bottom of the sea is only introduced as far as the action of the

invertebrates of the coast of France can throw any light upon

the subject, and no attempt has been made by the author to do more

than point out, what is well known to all students of marine zool-

ogy, thé correlation between the fauna and the physical structure

of the coast. He indicates the dependence of special forms or cer-

tain floras upon a sandy or rocky bottom, or a gravelly shore, or

the different features presented by a muddy shore. This is per-

haps the most unsatisfactory part of the work, and it is a great

pity that the description of the agency of animal life upon the

formation of the sea bottom should have been limited to the com-

paratively uninfluential agencies at work at the present time on

. the coast of France, and that only slight allusion should have

been made to the all-important part which corals now play in the

fashioning of the sea bottom of so large a part of our globe.

The maps are admirably engraved and as far as they relate to

_ France and Europe of great accuracy. A few unfortunate errors

have crept in relating to the hydrography of the Hudson and Sus-

quehanna rivers and the connection of the great Lakes, which are

= undoubtedly due to the want of supervision of a part of the work

during the Prusso-French war. The map of the iyami

„basins of France is especially worthy of notice. He has com-

„pleted the survey of the seas of the present time by a very suc-

cessful attempt to restore and map out the ancient seas and gen-

eral topography of France during the successive geological

ds, and ta gire a succinct ses of the nanen ace have

+7 eS a H S eed 2 Bie 35

_ tants. B

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 163

taken place to bring about the present topographical features of

France.

_The data from which the conclusions of Delesse have been drawn

are carefully tabulated aud published as an independent appendix

to the general text. s work was nearly completed at the break-

ing out of the war, sais the unavoidable: delay occasioned will ac-

count for the absence of reference to much that has been done of

late by the Scandinavian, American and English governments.

These matters of omissions are of slight importance, and we

recommend this suggestive volume to all who are interested in

the study of geology as deduced from agencies now at work on the

surface of our globe.—A. Agassiz.

Hanpsoox or Bririsn Brrps.*—Justly observing, of several ad-

mirable works on British Ornithology, that “they do not distin-

guish with sufficient clearness the species which are truly indige-

nous to Great Britedin from those which are but rare and accidental

visitants; nor do they indicate with sufficient authority the sci-

entific nomenclature which should be adopted ”— the author under-

takes to supply these deficiencies in a Handbook which is not

“intended to rival or supplant existing or forthcoming text-

books on the subject, but to assist students in a manner and to an

-extent which has not been contemplated in the works referred to.”

‘ Thé claims of species to rank as British, the proper scientific

names which each should bear, the habitat of the rarer visitants,

and the frequency or otherwise of their occurrence are points to

which attention is almost exclusively directed.” The author has

thus had a definite plan of work, which has been unquestionably

executed with fidelity and ability ; and though we are not prepared

to judge the accuracy of his statements in detail, we should say

that they show intrinsic evidences of reliability, both from the

author’s evident familiarity with his theme, and from the obvious

Care with which he has compiled and digested the statistics of

those observations which, in the nature of the case, he cannot have

‘personally made or verified.

Following an introduction which contains much ihisveltanéous

information besides a comprehensive survey of the matter in hand,

Comes a freely annotated list of the residents, migrants and annual

*A Handbook of British Birds showing the distribution of the resident a

tory gene in the British Islands, with an Index to the Reeords of the sg Visi-

- HARTING, F.L.S., F.Z.S., etc. etc. London. 1872. 8yo. pp. xxiv, 198.

164 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

visitants, with concise and precise statement of the part each

plays in the bird fauna. These classes are found to embrace two

hundred and sixty species, out of a total of three hundred and

ninety-five recognized as British; the remaining one hundred and

thirty-five, or rather more than one-third, being considered as

« rare or accidental visitants.” To these last, Part II of the work,

no inconsiderable portion of the whole, is devoted, and we partic-

ularly admire the way these stragglers are handled. While the

author is lavish of references throughout the work, citing his

authority as a rule for all special occurrences, this portion of the

volume is almost entirely composed of references to recorded cases

of capture or observance of the species noted. For instance,

twenty-four observed occurrences of the snowy owl are noted,

each accompanied by a citation of the published record. Another

portion of the work gives a nominal list of British birds, in which

the indigenous species and the stragglers are printed in parallel

columns. We do not see how more information of the sort that

the author volunteers to supply could be brought within the same

compass, nor what more convenient, and consequently useful,

method could have been devised for holding up the the whole sub-

ject in the strongest light.

For ourselves, we are naturally most interested in the cases of

those North American birds which enter the list as stragglers.*

The author enumerates over forty of them, a few however with

doubt. “ It is extremely difficult to believe,” he continues, “‘ that

= non-aquatic species in this list have journeyed across the ~

* Following is the list, which some one without Dr. Harting’s book at hand may find

useful. observation or capture,

teo lineatus (1, PREE Tori asio

i B doubitany) 2 N petale Acadich sed ‘doubtfally 5 rcotsinis olivacea a), Regulus aniors O»

æniceus ?

ula (1 J AAM

Picus villosus (2 } P. a 0, F. auratus (1), Cu

ryle a urea

o*~

AE:

5) )

pia bicolor (1), Columba migratoria (5), ann Vir ginianus deg oduced), Agialitis wer

s, Totanus. feet [each ?] eee T. solitarius (1), Actiturus Bartramius (4), T' af

atonal cens (15), Tringoides macu s (16), Tringa maculata 6), T. Bonapartii (9), T.

pusilla [of rh (2), eae aptes (1); Macrohamphus griseus (15), Nu

afore 4), Botaurus peony deca ), Crex Ca roina (1), Cygnus mT (1), C. buc-

cinator (1), Anser albatus (1), Anas Americana Ari Edemia

Somateri and

tt tre (IO

a wish that some of the ‘Continental qu uotations ae rene kids, notably those

referring to tish `

Heligoland could be scrutinized as closely as Dr. Harting has t the Bri

hahly bear

y Dee

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 165

Atlantic, and performed a voyage of at least seventeen hundred

nautical miles on the shortest route, via Newfoundland ; but that

most of them have actually done so seems proved by the fact that

they have never been met with in Greenland, Iceland, and the

Faroe Isles, and many which have thus found their way to England

or Ireland. . . have never been met with on any part of the Euro-

pean continent. As might be expected, at least half the Amer-

ican species found in this country belong to the orders Grallatores

and Natatores, while of the fourteen species of Insessorial birds,

none of them, with the exception of Ageleus pheeniceus, has oc-

curred half a dozen times. This plainly shows that their appear-

ance on this side of the Atlantic is the merest accident and not

the result of any continued and successful attempt at migration

(p. xi).” In taking account of these and other stragglers, Dr.

Harting makes some further remarks which are timely and judic-

ious on the credibility of published records. While we speak in

unqualified terms of the success we believe Dr. Harting has attained

in all that relates to the principal one of his two aims, just noticed,

we think it remains to be seen whether he has fixed the nomen-

clature of even the comparatively few species he treats, more

stably than his predecessors in the same field. The plain truth is, |

we are all at sea now in this matter; for the simple reason that

we may advise, or exhort, or even ‘ legislate,” yet have no means

of making others mind what we say. A law is no law that binds

only those who choose to be bound. If it be urged, that in such

case an appeal to good sense should suffice, it might be replied

(borrowing a simile from our author), that good sense is a ‘‘ rare

and accidental visitant ” of average humanity, by no means “ in-

digenous ” even to ornithologists ; and consequently can seldom be

invoked with reasonable expectation of any tangible result.—E. C.

__ Tue Brreps or Frorma.— The first part (4to, pp. 82) of Mr. C.

J. Maynard’s work, the “ Birds of Florida,” having come to hand,

Wwe are enabled to judge somewhat better of its scope and general

character than we were able from the specimen pages sent out

Some time since with the prospectus. Fifteen species are described,

carrying us through the families Turdide, Saxicolide, Sylviide,

and nearly through the Paride. Though nominally a work on the

birds of Florida, it embraces many biographical and other details

based upon observations made in New England, thus giving quite

166 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. ae

a full history of each species, instead of merely a sketch of its

characteristics as seen in the ‘‘ Land of flowers.” This method

will, of course, increase the value of the work to the general

reader. The title * quite fully indicates its general character, as

far as the more technical part is concerned, but the “ notes on

their habits ” are really very satisfactory and concise bioprmpsi

sketches, written in an exceedingly clear and pleasing style. With

them are incidentally incorporated, as occasion offers, graphic and

more or less extended delineations of the peculiar natural feat-.

ures of the country — of the Pine Barrens, the Everglades and

the Keys. The matter is arranged under distinct heads; and the

biographical part is further distinguished from the rest by being

printed in larger type. The descriptions are well drawn, and unu-

sual attention is paid to the different states of plumage depending

upon age and sex. The work is thoroughly original, and almost a

every page contains some interesting fact relating to habits or 4

particular phases of plumage not previously chyonicled. |The 3

dimensions given are usually the average of a considerable series fe,

of specimens. While not wholly above criticism in respect to a |

; few minor points, the work is not only an attractive one but a a

valuable contribution to ornithological literature. Its typograph- |

ical execution is exceedingly neat, and the plates, judging from

the specimen number, are very creditable productions.—J. A. A.

Tue Scrorricon Manvuat.t—The appearance of a new and

revised edition of this book gives occasion to say that both it and

the apparatus which it describes will be found of great service to

those who are desirous of illustrating optically (by diagrams, pic-

tures and experiments) their scientific teaching, but who are shut

_ off by their limited means from the purchase of the more expensive

ee calcium and electrie lanterns. For a class room or school labora-

= tory, Mr. Marcy’s Sciopticon will supply an excellent means of

demonstration. It is likely that the use of the modern demon-

strating lantern will continually increase the very brilliant results

attained by Profs. Morton and Tyndall, being quite sufficient to

Sega Birds of Florida, containing Original ane agree of upwards of Two Hun

Fifty C.J. Mi

dred a re with Notes on their Habits, By C. J. pas With Fi ay

Pintes, drawn and eei from Nature, by sarbe B Farley. Salem Naturalists

sency, 1872. Part I, 4to, pp. 32, and one plate. October, 1872.

‘The ayent Manual: explaining Marcy’s New Magic Lantern and Light, ‘nclud-

g Magic Lantern n Optics, Seb soiree sos mons ae gam ete „byi L.

- BOTANY. 167 .-

excite enthusiasm among all educators and lecturers. Mr. Marcy

seems to have done the best that can be accomplished with coal

oil as a source of light; and he constructs a very powerful lamp

for this purpose, with this especial merit in its plan, that it has no

chimney to be broken otherwise to annoy the operator. Besides

the description and figures of the Sciopticon, the manual contains

very full direction for experimenting, photographing and otherwise

preparing slides, etc. One chapter is contributed by Prof. Henry

Morton, the most successful American demonstrator ‘and experi-

menter with the lantern.— E. C. B.

BOTANY.

Tne Horse Disease. — Referring to the communication in the

February number (pp. 120-123), as Mr. Morehouse found that

many of the organisms he represents were present in the air of

the stable, he should now, when the disease has passed, as soon as

possible expose similar glass slides to the same conditions, — so

as to ascertain whether these organisms are not still there. Upon

the result of this the whole importance of the observations

depends.

While the pen is in hand, we beg to dissent from the idea that

lichens are parasitic and haye no chlorophyl (p. 67) ; and no less

from the statement that the “ plants are very few” which require

the aid of insects to secure fertilization, and which attract them

by their bright colors; and that most flowers could accomplish

their destined purpose just as well were they clad in the drab of

the veriest Quaker (p. 70). The young people whe read “How

lants Behave” will know better. —

Tar Creracrous Frora or Norra GREENLAND. — Among the

interesting collections which the Swedish polar expedition of 1870

brought to Europe was a fine suite of fossil plants, collected at the

desire of Dr. O. Heer, in Zürich, who in his “Flora Fossilis Arc-

tica” proved that certain black sales at Kome, north of the penin-

sula Noursoak, belonged to the Cretaceous series. This is now

conclusively proved. The specimens brought from Kome are forty-

three in number, among which Dr. Heer recognizes Filices, Rhi-

zocarpeæ, Equisetacee, Cycadee, Coniferæ, Monocotyledones, and

Dicotyledones. The Ferns are very numerous, Gleichenia being

-~ peculiarly abundant. The Cycadee and Conifere are also repre-

168. BOTANY.

sented by many species, among which Podozamites Hoheneggeri is

notable, as likewise occurring in the Wernsdorf beds of the North-

_ ern Carpathians. Monocotyledons are rare, and only exist as

fragments in the collection, while the Dicotyledons also are only

represented by a few fragments of leaves, most probably belonging

to Populus. Such a flora, with a preponderance of Conifere,

Cycadee, and Filices, and Gleichenia, Marattiacece, Dictophyllum,

and Cycadee in abundance, must be counted a subtropical one.

To judge frém the presence of Podozamites Hoheneggeri, and Eoli-

rion primigenium, the deposit probably represents the Wernsdorf

beds belonging to the Urgonien. This flora has a different climatic

character from the Miocene flora of Greenland, in which respect

it agrees with the Lower Cretaceous flora of Central Germany.

Similar black shales have also been found at the south side of the

Noursoak peninsula, near Atane, and at about éight hundred feet

below the well-known Miocene bed. Here also the shales contain

plants belonging to a higher horizon of the Cretaceous series.

There are forty-five species known; among them being Filices,

Cycadee, Coniferce, Monocotyledones, and Dicotyledones. Conifere

are again numerous, but Ferns are rare. Of Monocotyledones

only a Bambusium and two other species are known. The differ-

. ence between the Atane beds and those of Kome chiefly consists

in the great preponderance of Dicotyledones in the latter, which,

as in the Upper Cretaceous of Germany, are presented by great

variety of types. A point of great interest is the discovery in

these beds of a beautiful species of fig tree with leaves and fruit

attached. In Central Europe Dicotyledones make their first appear-

ance in the Cenomanien, and are very abundant in the Senonien

near ie It is curious that both in Greenland and in

tral Europe the Dicotyledones display a great variety of types

in ik Upper Cretaceous series, but are nearly wanting in the’

- Lower Cretaceous. It seems to point to a great change having

taken place in the flora between our latitude and 71° N. after the

deposition of the Gault. (‘‘ Zeitsthrift der deutschen geologischen

Gesellschaft,” part i, 155.)— The Academy.

Curtrvarep Wuerart 1x a Boxe Cave.— “ The Bulletin de Acad.

oe royale des Sciences de Belgique,” No. 7, contains a note by

; . Dewalque announcing the discovery of wheat in a bone-cave

in amur. An exploration of this cave, which is near Jemelle,

ZOOLOGY. 169

was made by Professor Cousin, of Louvain, who found some bone

implements, together with numbers of human bones. During a

later visit more human bones, and a somewhat abundant quantity

of wheat, were discovered in a stratum of angular flints. The

wheat appeared to have been charred, and though it is decidedly

smaller in size than our ordinary grain, the author does not hesi-

tate to affirm that the material he has found is cultivated wheat.

— The Academy.

ZOOLOGY.

Tuer Sprke-nornep Muteprrr.—My friend Mr. J. A. Allen, in

a late number of the Naruratist, calls in question the accuracy of

my observation on an animal of the above character, believing that

I have been deceived and have mistaken a two year old elk for a

buck, Cariacus macrotis. Although I did not see the animal in the

skin, my informants at Fort Hays were so well assured of its char-

acter that I accepted their statements. On a second inquiry of

Dr. J. H. Janeway, Post Surgeon, he favored me with the follow-

ing letter : —

‘*Fort Hays, Kansas, Nov. 7, 1872.

Prof. E. D. Corr, Philadelphia, Pa. My dear Si ir :—In regard

to the spike-horns that I sent you, of which you so kindly ac-

knowledged the receipt, and which seem to have caused some g

pute as to their species :— I informed you that they were from

black tailed deer. Since then I have satisfied myself entirely that

I was correct in the assertion. The buck was killed in ¢ ompany

with a doe, about three miles southeast of this post and the meat

was partaken of by my family and the families of other officers at

the post and by patients in the hospital, and was recognized by

to be a “black tail deer.” The skin, and especially the tail, were

in possession of one of my sons for a long time and were known

to him to plang to a black tail deer. No elk has been shot or

see i or this side of the se (over twelve miles dis-

tant, nearest roku} inside of five year

The association with a doe of the black-tailed species adds

greatly to the probable correctness of the determination.

I have moreover examined a second example of spike-horn of

this species, in possession of Mr. Prentice of Topeka, Kansas.

The stuffed head which bears the horns belonged to a deer which

was brought to the market in Leavenworth, Kansas, having been

killed west of that city, towards the Republican river. The ani-

mal is evidently adult. The beam is twenty-two and one-fourth

inches in length, fourteen inches in diameter at the base and sep- —

170 ZOOLOGY.

arated three inches from its mate, at the base. It is thus not quite

so long as the beam of the specimen first described. It differs more-

over in possessing a peculiar curvature just beyond the point where

the large anterior antler should have been given off (which exceeds

the beamin O. Virginianus). The true beam is shortly sigmoidally

twisted, and then pursues a more anterior direction than in the

normal horn, or my spike-horn. The anterior antler is represented

by a rudiment.—E. D. Corr.

Dors THe PELICAN FEED ITS YOUNG WITH ITS OWN BLoop?—

The supposed fable of the pelican feeding its young with its own

blood may prove, after all, to have some foundation in fact, as a

somewhat analogous circumstance has recently been observed in

connection with the flamingo. A pair of these birds in the Zoo-

logical. Gardens of London showed symptons of breeding, but

laid no eggs. Some Cariamas, kept in the same aviary, have

the habit of opening their mouths, bending back their heads and

uttering a plaintive ery like young birds. In response to this, the

flamingoes during the period referred to would frequently stand

over the Cariamas and, with a gulp, raise up a reddish glutinous

fluid from their throats and disgorge it over them, pouring it into

their throats and even over their backs. This on examination

proved to consist of blood corpuscles, in a glairy fluid, and mixed

with crystals, supposed to be principally of salt. This, by Mr.

Bartlett, the superintendent of the Gardens, is believed to be an

addition to the usual food furnished by the parent flamingoes to

their young, and perhaps analogous to the milky fluid supplied by

pigeons under the same circumstances, end discharged from the

thickened membrane of the crop.

A somewhat analogous, and still more curious, fact is furnished

by the hornbill, an African bird with a huge bill, of which many

species can be seen in our public museums. As is now known,

the male bird is in the habit of walling up the female while seated

on her nest in a hole of a tree, so as to imprison her completely,

leaving only the head and neck exposed. He then fills his crop

_ with fruit which becomes encased in a gelatinous envelope, se-

: creted from its walls and the whole is then brought up in a mass

and fed to the captive.— S. F.

Nesr, Eces anp Breepine Hairs or THE VERMILION FLY-

a, (Pyrocephalus rubineus var. Mexicanus).— This bird is a

aonek Pandeni of oe southern asst of Arizona,

ZOOLOGY. Fei

where it arrives the latter part of March, or early in April, almost

exclusively frequenting the wooded borders of streams. About

the 20th of April the pairs begin to build their nest, which is

placed on a fork of one of the smaller branches of a mezquite or

cottonwood, usually ten to twenty feet from the ground. It is

dificult to find on account of its small size, and is not easily pre-

served being a very shallow affair, and loosely constructed. One

now lying before me is composed of a groundwork of tops of

weeds and small dry willow twigs, to which are added a few small

pieces of the soft inner bark of cottonwood, and some other plant

fibres ; the lining consists of fine hair and pigeon feathers. The

eggs are usually three in number; at least, I have never found

more. They are of a very pale cream color, spotted and blotched

with the shades of umber brown and lilac, the spots in most cases

forming a ring round the larger end, though sometimes pretty

evenly distributed over the whole surface; and in such cases the

markings are usually smaller and paler. The dimensions of a set

are as follows :—.70 by .51; .69 by .53; .68 by .52. The largest

one, of four sets measures .72 by .52; the smallest, .66 by. 53.

The period of incubation is about two weeks; the male does not

appear to take part in it. At least two broods are reared each

season. The male is very noisy at this time, hovering in the air

in the manner of a sparrow-hawk if he observes any unwelcome

intruder near his nest; when much excited resembling a miniature

turkey-gobbler, and presenting a comical appearance with his crest

s body, seemingly having hard work to keep his balance.

Whilst on wing at such times he continually utters a shrill cry of

alarm, something like the syllables ‘‘ze-bri, ze-bri” quickly re-

peated. On leaving the nest, the young are of a uniform ashy

gray color. About the end of September the bird leaves for its

winter home in Mexico.—Lr. Cuas. Benpre, U. S. A., “e

Arizona.—Communicated by Dr. Coues.

ENA OF THE HELICIDÆ IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. =

Mr. John T. Gulick has contributed to a recent number of a

“~ Nature,” a a very interesting and valuable addition to our ee :

edge of the geographical distribution and variation of species

an account of the section of Helicide, known as saan —

found in the Sandwich Islands. The family, of which the com-

172 ZOOLOGY.

mon snail is an example, is quite peculiar to this group of

islands, and is characterized by the columella having a spira

twist, giving it the appearance of being armed with a lamel-

lated tooth revolving within the shell. The singular fact is that

most of the genera and all the species are restricted, not only

to a single island, but to a very small area in the islands. In

Oahu, an island sixty miles long and fifteen broad, there is the

extraordinary number of one hundred and eighty-five species of

Achatinellinz, none of them (with scarcely an exception) found on

any other of the islands and no species occupying a large proportion

even of this area. Most of the species are confined to the forests of

mountain regions; and where, as on Oahu and Maui, there are

two regions of forests divided by several miles of grass country,

the island is also divided into two sections, having but few, if any,

species in common. On the island of Oahu, the two sections

which occupy separate mountain ranges are divided into many

minor sections in the following manner. From each side of the

main range project mountain ranges, which separate deep valleys a

mile or two in width. Each of these valleys is a subordinate sec-

tion, having its own varieties, and, in many instances its own spe-

cies, which are nowhere else. Nearly all the species of one genus,

found on one mountain range, are connected by varieties presenting

very minute gradations of form and color. Species of the same

genus on different islands are not so completely connected by in-

termediate forms. The family is divided into two natural groups

of genera. The first group consists of seven genera, — Achat-

inella, Bulimella, Helicterella, Portulina, Newcombia, Laminella

and Auriculella; these are all arboreal in their habits, and are

either sinistral, or both dextral and sinistral. The second group

consists of three genera,— Amastra, Leptachatina and Carelia;

these mostly live on the ground, and are dextral. Granting the

hypothesis of evolution, Mr. Gulick is quite unable to account

for these singular facts, and many others enumerated in his highly

interesting paper, on the theory of the Survival of the Fittest, or

_ any other theory that has yet been brought forward. — A. W. B.

Hartan’s Hawk anp THE Mexican Cormorant.— Prof. Baird

=e expressed a desire to see the specimens designated in my

Catalogue of the Birds of Kansas” as “ Harlan’s Hawk” and the

u Florida Cerat I sent them to him for examination. Mr.

ZOOLOGY. 173

Ridgway writes that ‘‘ the Buteo is really B. Harlani and in a

plumage not'seen before.” A description of this bird will be found

in his monograph of the North American Raptores soon to be pub-

lished. Of the Cormorant, he says that it “is not Graculus

Floridanus but G. Mexicanus ! — the first specimen obtained north

of the Rio Grande!” This bird was taken four miles south of

Lawrence, April 2d, 1872. My mistake in the determination of

the species arose from the lack of other specimens with which to

make comparison, and from the fact that the measurements of this

single specimen exceeded those given in Baird’s General Report,

the stretch of wings, for instance, being full six inches icp —

Frank H. Snow, Lawrence, Kansas, July 5th, 1872.

NOTE on THE Dares or some oF Proressor COPE’S RECENT

Parers.—The “ Proceedings of the American Philosophical Soci-

ety,” vol. xii, No. 89, just issued (February 6, 1873), contain

several communications by Professor Cope on Vertebrate Fossils

from Wyoming. There are several errors in the dates of these

papers, bearing in the same direction as those which I have al-

ready pointed out, but fortunately many of these can readily be

corrected. In the table of contents of this number, under the

Stated meeting, August 15, 1872, eight papers by Professor

Cope are enumerated; and it might be inferred that they were

read on that day. In fact, however, there was no meeting of the

Society on the 15th, the regular August meeting having been

held Friday, August 16th, at which three only of these papers

were read by title, or entered on the records. At the next regular

meeting, September 20, 1872, five papers by Professor Cope were

announced, or read by title. But as now published in the “ Pro-

ceedings,” four of these purport to have been read September

19, 1872, when no meeting was held on that date. The actual

publication of these papers, by distribution, is of course a distinct

matter, and the evidence is conclusive that none of them were so

published before October 29, 1872, and some of them not until

long after.—O. C.

Tue Sounp Propucep sy THe Deatn’s Heap Mora.—Mr. H.

N. Mosely has been investigating the cause of the peculiar cry

produced by the Death’s Head Moth, Acherdntia atropos, and

records the result in “ Nature.” A number of treatises have been

written on the subjett, from the time of Réaumur in 1734, the vari-

ous writers attributing it to friction between the abdomen and

174 ZOOLOGY.

thorax, the expiration of air through the proboscis, special organs

attached to the abdomen, vibrations of the thoracic rings, and

vibrations of the wings in rapid motion. A very complete and

ingenious series of experiments conducted by Mr. Mosely seem

to place beyond doubt the conclusion that the sound is produced

by the proboscis, the note being formed at a narrow slit-like open-

ing at the base of the trunk, and being modified by passage through

the proboscis, and by vibrations therein set up.— A. W. B

MODE or JNcREASE OF THE Loxe Bones.— A paper on this sub-

ject appears in the last part of the Archives de Physiologie, by

MM. Philippeaux and Vulpian. The views generally adopted in

regard to the mode of growth of the long bones, both in length

and diameter, have been called in question by Wolff and Volkmann

in papers recently published ; and MM. Philippeaux and Vulpian’s

researches were undertaken with the object of ascertaining whether

their objections are well founded. The doctrine supported by the

authority of Duhamel, Hunter, and Flourens, and generally ac-

cepted, is that the long bones increase in length by additions to

the extremities in the form of new layers between the shaft or

diaphysis and the articular portion or epiphysis, while they become

_ broader by the deposition of new bone in the periosteum on the

outer surface of the bone. M. Wolff, on the other hand, maintains

that the growth of bone is interstitial, and that each part of the

bone takes part in the enlargement. He points to the persistence,

during growth, of the position and relations of the peculiar and

geometrically arranged trabecule of the cancellous texture consti-

tuting the head of the bone, which could hardly occur on Duhamel’s

theory. He denies Duhamel’s statement that a ring surrounding

the bone of a young animal comes by degrees to occupy the shaft

_of the bone, owing to absorption of the old bone and the superpo-

sition of new; but contends that the old bone is pressed inwards,

and is certainly not absorbed. He further states that when wires

are passed through both the epiphysis and two points of the diaphy-

sis, the distance between the two latter augments just as much as

the distance between the wire passing through the epiphysis and

that through the diaphysis lying nearest to it. MM. Philippeaux

and Vulpian oppdse M. Wollff’s statements. They state that rings

„encircling the bone, as well as metallic lamellæ, interposed between

their "r! u p er are z fres, or almost free, in the medaliary

; periosteum and osseous tissue in young “animals, do actually

jag

TE SN

;

Tan

ne $

ZOOLOGY. 175

cavity ; and they refer to specimens made by themselves in Flour-

ens’ laboratory, and now in the Musée Dupuytren, in confirmation

of their theory. As regards the separation of metallic threads

drilled into the bone, they think that in Wolff’s experiments the

two wires passed into the shaft of the bone were too near the

epiphysis to furnish any satisfactory result. Finally, they give the

details of a series of experiments conducted under Flourens’ direc-

tion, in which madder was given te young pigs up to a certain

period, when one of the litter was Killed, and its bones prepared as

_ objects of comparison with those of the rest, which were killed

afterwards at stated intervals up to eighteen months. The bones

of these animals, they declare, clearly demonstrate the correctness

of the old doctrine, and prove irrefragably that all. increase in

diameter is due to fresh subperiostitic deposits, whilst all increase

in length is caused by the progressive ossification of the osteolog-

ical elements supplied by the cartilage of conjugation between the

diaphysis and the epiphysis. Moreover their experiments incident-

ally showed that the long bones increase in length more at one ex-

tremity (the upper or proximal),than at the other.—The Academy.

Mrapow Lark wit Four Lees.—I have a Meadow lark

(Sturnella magna), more than half grown, which possesses four

legs. It lived about a week after capture, and for a time made

use of all four.’ The extra or hinder pair is a little shorter than the

front, and slenderer. One of them has all the toes well formed ;

the other has three delicate front toes, and instead of a hind one, a

Small appendage half way up the tarsus. Their femurs are

attached to the end of the coccyx. This necessitated a one-

sided Position of the tail. There are two cloacæ, one on each

side of the rump. This proves, as Vrolik has remarked, that in

heteradelphs there are always the rudiments of two bodies. The

front pair of legs, the wings, and all other parts are well devel-

oped.— James ORTON.

Wuen 1s Sex Dererminev?— The interesting and able essay

of Mrs. Treat that we give our readers in this number contains _

Some interesting facts which are supposed by her to bear on this ~

matter. We may, however, give some data which tend to show

that the sex of the future insect, and probably of ‘all animals, that

reproduce by eggs, is determined at or about the time of concep-

_ tion or at least early i in the embryonic state.

176 ZOOLOGY.

‘“*HMerold* it was, says Weismann, in his great work on the

‘Development of the Diptera,’ who first showed as regards the

Lepidoptera that even in the egg, the germ of

the sexual glands was formed, and when indeed

the difference between the sexes is easily per-

ceived. In the flies the same holds good,

though indeed the differences between the

germs of the female and male sexual we

are less striking to the eye. .... t the

sexual glands are formed in the egg wef:

from their position in the midst of the fatty

body, when they are cut off from any connec-

tion with parts to which they could owe their

origin. The youngest larva in which I saw

them was a centimetre (about four-tenths of an

inch) long, and about five days old. With

much expense of time it would be plainly pos-

sible to discover them even in the larva freshly

excluded fromthe egg.” (Die Entwicklung der

Dipteren, p. 133.)

We may also cite the case of the larva of

Polynema figured by Ganin (see this journal, vol. v. pp. 47, 48).

As seen in the adjoining cut (Fig. 33) the rudiments (imaginal

disks, t) of the ovipositor of the female are indicated at the same

time as those of the legs (/) and wings( f) of the adult ichneu-

mon fly.

In Platygaster, Ganin says, ‘“the earliest indication of the sex-

ual glands appears, as we shall see below, during the time when

the first larval form passes into the second. With the first indi-

cation of the ovary that of the seminal glands agrees in all its

relations. Both appear as small roundish structures arising out of

the embryonal cells. For a long time (in the course of all the

larval stages) these germs of the sexual organs remain in an unor-

ganized state.” It should be remembered, however, that the first

larval stage of this egg-parasite which lives in the body of the

larve of all gall flies (Cecidomyia). is not a true larva in the usual

sense of the word, like that of the fly; it is an embryo set loose

Fig. 33,

from the egg with organs not homologous with those of the fully

*Entwicklungsgeschichte der Schmetterlinge, 1815.

ZOOLOGY. 177

formed larva, having no organs of respiration (traches), no com-

pletely organized alimentary canal, nor any vascular system. When

compared with the freshly hatched larva of the fly or bee, it rep-

resents an early embryonic stage of the latter, and thus we feel

warranted in supposing that in the bee, the difference between the

sexes appears early in its embryonic life.

In these cases we may observe that the external surroundings

and food of the larva seem to be identical.

In the larva of the humble bee when about half grown, if our

memory is not at fault, we have observed the rudiments of the

ovipositor of the female, and the corresponding external male

organs. In the fully grown larva they are easily seen.

In forming an opinion on this question, it should be borne in

mind that the sex of the honey bee is decided at the time the egg

is laid, as it is well known that the unfertilized eggs of the queen

produce females (workers and queens), while the eggs destined to

hatch drones are fertilized by the queen at her will, since she

relaxes the muscles guarding the opening of*the spermatheca, al-

lowing the spermatozoa to escape and impregnate the egg when

she wishes to lay a drone egg. Thus from the researches of

Dzierzon and von Siebold, it is a matter of fact that the sex of the

honey bee is decided at the time the egg leaves the oviduct.

How early sex is determined in other classes of the animal

kingdom would be a most interesting subject of investigation.

We believe that the subject has been the most thoroughly discussed

by those who have studied the embryology of insects. In man

the sexes can be distinguished towards the end of the second

month of fetal life, according to Kélliker.* — A. S.

A New Species or BUTTERFLY FROM FLORIDA. — Key West

abounds in lepidopterous insects even in winter. The southern

section of the island is covered with luxuriant vegetation, among

- which spots have been cleared for plantations. Many of these

ave been abandoned and allowed to grow up to weeds and

shrubs which are generally covered with flowers. These old fields

are, on this account, the favorite resort of many butterflies and I

have caught several species there in a few moments.

The shores are also open and many flowering plants may be

found there. An immense number of butterflies are always

* Entwicklungsgeschichte des Menschen und der hoheren Thiere. 1861.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 2 :

178 ZOOLOGY.

hovering over them during the day, and towards evening they all

collect on the shrubs, or small trees, in groups of from ten to fifty.

They will select the leeward side of the tree and alighting upon

the leaves hang wings downwards; remaining in this position if

undisturbed through the night. They are exceedingly stupid

when thus roosting and I have taken as many as thirty with a

single sweep of my net. Each group will be composed of a single

species, but there are three kinds which usually gather in this

manner, viz: — Danais berenice, Agraulis vanille and Pieris

monusta.

The paths through the scrub are good collecting grounds for the

smaller ones (Thecla, Lyceena, etc.), and I captured many of

them. Among these I found a species of Lyczena which I think

undescribed. It is of plain color and retiring habit, frequenting

the edges of the bushes, generally keeping in the shade of the

foliage. On this account I propose to name it the modest Lycena

(Lycena modesta). The following is a description of this butterfly.

Above ashy-brown; darkest on the outer edges of the prima-

ries, and becoming pearly on the secondaries. There are two

triangular spots of black on the outer margins of the latter, and

indications of a third. These are preceded on the outer edge by a

band of black, which is slightly margined with white. Tail black.

Under side ashy with a band of nearly confluent spots near the

outer edges, which are edged with white on the outer sides. There

is a narrow black line on the margin of the wings, preceded by

ashy. Between the bar and line there are a few dusky triangles.

also a few dusky spots near the costal border. A few black spots

edged with white on the secondaries near the body. “These are

preceded by a bar of partly confluent black spots, margined on

the outer side with white. Then come two bars of dusky spots

edged with white on the inner side. The wing is terminated with

an ashy line, which is preceded by a bar of black, edged on the

inner side with white. There is a crescent of red near the middle

of the outer side which encloses a black spot. On the lower

angle is a black spot preceded with reddish. Body ashy ; anten-

næ black, tipped with reddish-brown. Expands about one inch.

— C. J. MAYNARD.

Tse Riegos SEAL or ALASKA. — This species of seal (Phoca

— rome Shaw or P. equestris Pallas) is found in the waters of

GEOLOGY. 179

northern Alaska, and is, so far as known, only represented well in

the museum of St. Petersburg. In the Smithsonian collection,

there are two skins, obtained by Dr. Dall from Cape Romanzoff,

but no skull or other parts of the skeleton. The species is re-

markable for color as well as for structural peculiarities. The

male is at once recognizable by the color; this may be said to be-

a chocolate-brown except (1) a band of whitish-yellow, bent for-

wards towards the crown around the neck (2) an oval ring of the

same color on each side, encircling the fore feet, and passing in

front just before them, and (3) another band, also bent forwards

above, behind the middle of the trunk. There is considerable

variation in the extent of these bands, and sometimes the peri-

brachial rings are more or less confluent with the posterior band.

The females are simply whitish-yellow, or have very indistinct

traces of the postmedian band (fide Von Schrenck).

The structural (and especially dental) characters of this species,

according to Von Schrenck, indicate a generic distinction from all

the familiar forms of the subfamily Phocine. The molars (except

the first) are two-rooted as in the typical Phocine, but in external

form are simply conic or have rudimentary cusps, thus resembling

Halicheerus. The genus may be named Histriophoca.

The special object of this communication is to call the attention

of travellers in Alaska to the species, and skeletons (especially

skulls) and skins are earnestly asked for. The species has been

found also in Kamtschatka, and at the mouth of the Kamtschatka

river in March and April, arriving there later than the other seals

named. :

One of the skins in the Smithsonian collection has been peeled

off from the animal almost entire, and by a cross slit below and

between the fore feet, and, being tied in front, has evidently been

used as a bag. — T. GILL. :

GEOLOGY.

Fosstt Quaprumana 1N THE Eocene or Wyoming. — An exami-

nation of more complete specimens of some of the extinct mammals

already described by the writer from the Eocene deposits of the

Rocky Mountain region, clearly indicate that among them are

Several representatives of the lower Quadrumana. Although these

remains differ widely from all known forms of that group, their

more important characters show that they should be placed with

180 ANTHROPOLOGY.

them. The genera Limnotherium, Thinolestes, and Telmatolestes,

especially, have the principal parts of the skeleton much as in some

of the Lemurs, the correspondence in many of the larger bones

being very close. The anterior part of the lower jaws is similar to

that of the Marmosets, but the angle is more produced downward,

and much inflected. The teeth are more numerous than in any

known Quadrumana. Some of the species have apparently forty

teeth, arranged as follows: Incisors 3? canines 4, premolars and

molars 4. A full description of these interesting remains, the first

of the order detected in this country, will be given by the writer at

an early day. —O. C. Marsu, in the American Journal of Science

and Arts, Vol. IV, Nov., 1872. i

Tue EoBAsILeEUS AGAIN. — I have just received a paper ‘* On the

Gigantic Fossil Mammals of the Order Dinocerata, by Prof. O. C.

Marsh,” which contains a formidable catalogue of errors which the

author appears to suppose I have committed in describing animals

of this type.. All this is explained by the fact that Prof. Marsh

has never seen the genus Hobasileus Cope, and erroneously sup-

poses it to resemble Uintatherium Leidy (Dinoceras Marsh.)

The descriptions which I have given are correct, as will presently

appear, as well as the fact that I have anticipated the Professor in

the description of some of the allied species. — E. D. Core, Jan-

uary 31st, 1873.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Are Tuer Twisting Srones?— Associated with the various

forms of stone implements and weapons found upon the surface of

the fields in New Jersey are certain flat, quadrangular plates of

_ stone of varying density, having one, two or more holes drilled

through them. The outlines of these stone plates vary consider-

ably, as may be seen by the reference to the drawings of seventeen

specimens given by Squier and Davis, in “ Ancient Monuments of

the Mississippi Valley,” p. 237, Fig. 136; and the position of the

holes will also be seen to vary to a considerable extent. Of the

two-holed specimens found by the writer, in the neighborhood of

Trenton, N. J., the majority are about six inches in length by one

and one-half inches in breadth; and the perforations are in most

instances about an inch from either end. Such specimens as

| = _ these are by many archeologists considered ‘twisting stones,”

ANTHROPOLOGY. 181

or “for condensing the raw hide or sinews used as bowstrings.”

We have, however, looked upon them as “ breast plates ;” using

that term not to designate a protective covering, but as an orna-

ment that was suspended by a cord so as to rest upon the breast ;

or by the perforations, sewed or fastened securely to the skin

mantle of the red man

We have considered this to be the case, because. in the ‘‘ sur-

face” burials—that is, graves originally on the surface, and now

but little beneath it—which we have frequently discovered, we

have found these perforated stones, of various shapes, lying upon

the strip of black mould which once was a human body, always in

such a position as to show that, whatever the object’s use, it was

placed upon the breast of the dead man, when the burial took

place, or was one of the ornaments about him during life, and so

was buried with him; and it seems strange, that if such a stone

had been used solely as a “twister,” that it should be placed

upon the breast, instead of at the feet where the domestic imple-

ments are found, or at the right side, where we find the arrow-

heads, an axe or two, spears, knives and lanceheads.

Very many of these perforated stone relics, too, have but a

single hole drilled through them, and being of such small size,

and variously outlined, it is no stretch of the imagination to set

them down as ornaments for suspension from the nose and ears.

These single-holed specimens run into the others, as it were, just

as the spear and lancehead are but large arrowpoints. Again,

there are other specimens of this class of relics, which have more

than two holes, sometimes as many as seven; as though the stone

had been drilled again, when coming into the possession of another.

At the ends of these many-holed specimens particularly, there is

often found a series of well-cut notches, too small and closely set

for any special use; but it seems to us very suggestive of a

record that the owner of the stone has kept; and if so, the use

of the stone as an ornament, worn at the breast, becomes the more

probable, the specimen having additional value ee it by the

record, if such it was, that is engraved upon its

Mr. Evans, in his work, “‘ Ancient Stone naik of Great

Britain,” figures, on pages 380-1, specimens allied to those we have

described, but having the holes drilled in pairs, at each end. They

differ further from the American forms, by being usually ‘round

on one face and hollow on the other ;” while as a rule, at least in

182 ANTHROPOLOGY.

New Jersey, they are flat upon each side, with more or less bevel-

ling of the edges.

With reference to the use of these plates, Mr. Evans quotes

Rey. Canon Ingram, as suggesting “ that these British plates were

bracers or guards, to protect the left arm of the wearer against

the blow of the string in shooting with the bow.” Had this been

one of the uses to which some of the American forms had been

put, would it not have been retained by the Indians until now?

And does any tribe of our aborigines use such a guard when hunt-

ing or fighting with the bow? There seems to be much reason,

indeed, to believe that these plates were “bracers,” in England,

and it may be that many of the American forms were used in

twisting cord.and in condensing sinew; but as we have found so

many in graves, in the position we have described, we cannot but

think that the vast majority were merely for ornamental purposes.

— Cuartes C. Azsorr, M.D.

CoLLECTIONS or Swiss Lacusrrine Rewics. — The present notice

is written for the benefit of gentlemen interested in prehistoric

archeology, who may be desirous of acquiring a collection of relics

from the ancient lake-dwellings of Switzerland. I obtained myself

a pretty good series of those objects through Mr. Jacob Messi-

kommer, the well known owner and explorer of the celebrated pile-

work of Robenhausen, on the shore of Lake Pfaffikon, Canton of

Zürich. This lake formerly extended farther inland, and the site

of the lake-village is at present occupied by a formation of peat,

containing a great variety of relics which illustrate the curious

phase of existence of those lake-dwelling people. Among the

objects in my collection I will mention stag’s horn in a natural or

worked state, frequently made into sockets for holding hatchets ;

bone awls and chisel-like instruments ; saws, cutting implements,

scrapers, arrow and spearheads of flint; stone axes and chisels,

crushing-stones, whetstones; pieces exhibiting the method em-

ployed in sawing and splitting stone for making axes, etc. ; pottery,

_ plain and ornamented, in fragments and in the shape of complete

=- vessels; articles of wood, such as floaters for nets, twirling-sticks,

ete. Of particular interest are the specimens of cloth, woven from

- flax, and perfectly preserved, owing to the carbonized state in

_ Which they occur. In the same condition are the numerous vege-

: tahia remains found i in the jani around the piles. The most im-

MICROSCOPY. 183.

portant, of course, are those that served as food; for instance,

ears of wheat and barley, and agglomerations or lumps of grains

of these cereals. Millet was likewise found, but no rye. Even

pieces of wheat-bread, in which the grains can be plainly seen,

have been preserved. There are small apples cut in halves, hazel-

nuts, beechnuts, raspberry-seeds, stones of the wild plum, and

other eatable productions of the vegetable kingdom. Flax some-

times occurs in fibres already prepared for spinning.

The fauna of that period is represented by a great number of

animals, the osseous remains of which Mr. Messikommer obtains

in large quantities from the peat. Some of these animals differ

from the species now existing. The bones found at Robenhausen

are always examined and classified by Professor Riitimeyer, one of

the best osteologists of our time. The pile-work in question be-

longs to that remote period in which the use of metals was not yet

known, and articles of bronze, therefore, are not found at this

place. Mr. Messikommer, however, is in constant communication

with the archeologists of Switzerland, and is thus enabled to

procure by exchange the objects of bronze occurring in the Pala-

fittes of later periods. He informed me some time ago that he is

now prepared to furnish the typical objects of bronze, such as arrow

and spearheads, knives, sickles, fish-hooks, ornaments, etc. His

prices, of course, vary according to the character and condition of

the specimens ; but I can state from personal experience that they

are low, considering the great labor and time it requires to obtain

these remarkable tokens of the past. Mr. Messikommer is a

gentleman of well established character, and the objects offered by

him may be relied upon as being perfectly genuine. I will with

pleasure give more detailed information to collectors who wish to

enter into communication with Mr. Messikommer.— Cuares Rav,

New York, February, 1873.

MICROSCOPY.

SECTIONS or tHe Orcans or Hearinc.— The following hints,

abstracted from the papers of Mr. H. N. Moseley and Dr. U. Prit-

chard in the “Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science,” will

be of use to beginners, not only in preparing the organ referred

to, but in dealing with many cases involving some of the same

difficulties. A guinea-pig is the most desirable subject, though

cat, dog, rabbit, rat, or other animals may be used: The ani-

184 MICROSCOPY.

mal is killed, the head removed, the lower jaw disarticulated, and

the two tympanic bulle exposed. One of these is opened and the

cochlea, projecting into its cavity, removed and immersed in a half

per cent. solution of chromic acid in water. The acid should be

changed twice a week, and in about two weeks the soft tissues will

be sufficiently hardened, and the bony parts may be softened

enough for slicing with a razor. If not, one two-hundredth part

of nitric or muriatic acid is to be added to the solution, and in

from one day to three weeks, according to the hardness of the bone,

the sections can be made. To support the internal parts while

cutting, the cavity must be filled up. For this purpose inject the

cavity with a hot solution of gelatine; or immerse it in a mixture

of wax and cocoa butter melted together, and exhaust the air

under a receiver of an air pump so that the melted wax can run

in; or soak it, for an hour or two, in a thick solution of gum ara-

bic contained in a paper bag, and then put the bag in absolute al-

cohol for a day or two when the water will be sufficiently extracted

to leave the gum in a tough state (methylated spirit may be substi-

tuted for the absolute alcohol). The whole organ thus prepared is

to be imbedded in the mixture of wax and cocoa butter,—or wax

and sweet oil,—or lard one part, spermaceti two parts, and paraf-

fine five parts, melted together over a water bath,—and sections

cut with a very sharp razor. ‘The sections are to be floated off,

stained with carmine, and mounted in glycerine or in acetate of

potash (acetate of potash two ounces, hot water one ounce, dis-

solve and cool; add spirits of camphor thirty drops, and filter) ;

or transferred through water, absolute alcohol, and oil of cloves to

dammar varnish or Canada balsam.

PROBABLE Nature or THE Nerve Current.—Dr. L. S. Beale

discusses this question in the “ Monthly Microscopical Journal,”

and furnishes some very interesting speculations which are es-

pecially valuable from tie author’s eminent familiarity with the

subject.

The, active part of the nerve fibre distributed to the peripheral

organ’ which receives the impressions is described as consisting

invariably of a pale, very transparent, faintly granular, but in the

natural state perfectly invisible cord. Between this and the cen-

tral origin, in man and the higher animals, intervenes a more OF

; less. extended system of nerve cords through which impressions

MICROSCOPY. 185

pass with great rapidity. The part of these nerve cords capable

of transmitting nervous impressions is generally conceded to be

the axis cylinder, a thin, thread-like cord of extremely simple

structure, never resembling the terminal network, and always sur-

rounded by the medullary sheath, a white, fatty, albuminous sub-

stance of at: least ten times its diameter, which seems calculated

to insulate and protect it. This medullary sheath, or white sub-

stance of Schwann, is also little permeable to aqueous or albumi-

nous solutions, and would preserve a uniform degree of moisture

in the axis cylinder. The axis cylinder seems almost like an

elongated band of white fibrous tissue. But little structural pecu-

liarity has been demonstrated in it, and it is probably most re-

markable for the perfect continuity of its parallel strata. The

author believes that whatever changes take place in it might occur

in other forms of tissue; indeed that such changes do occur in all

tissues, but that only here are they so insulated that their varia-

tions become evident. If the axis cylinder could be replaced by

a long filament of ordinary fibrous tissue, he would feel almost

justified in expecting the nerve current to be as well conducted as

by the axis cylinder itself.

That the nerve current is some unknown form of energy, dif-

ferent from heat, electricity, etc., but correlated with them, is men-

tioned as the prevalent belief of physiologists. It is deemed

unphilosophical to explain phenomena by some conjectural force

rather than by those we know something about; and the excellent

opportunity for the author’s favorite tilt at the physicists is taken

advantage of with undisguised enthusiasm.

The chemical theory of the nerve current is still less admissible.

The axis cylinder is a firm, tough, fibrous-like band, evidently of

slow growth, little prone to rapid change, and only in imagination

capable of rapid disintegration and reconstruction. Its action

cannot be performed by chemical decomposition of its particles,

especially as it is surrounded by ten times its thickness of myelin

(medullary sheath) one of the least permeable substances in the

body, and one of the least suitable media through which to take

up new material or get rid of products of decay.

The vibratory theory is equally inconsistent with the structure

of the axis cylinder, which is not well calculated to propagate

motor impulses and which varies greatly in different parts of its

Course. The thickness of the medullary sheath, and its greater

186 MICROSCOPY.

development where nerves run parallel to one another are men-

tioned by the author as incompatible with this theory; though it

is not inconceivable that such insulation should be as essential

to other vibrations as to electrical movements.

That nerve fibre is a peculiarly vital form of tissue, pervaded

by some exceptional form of force nowhere else present, seems en-

tirely to want confirmation.

That the nerve current is ordinary electricity, transmitted through

the beautifully insulated axis cylinder, though not proved, is con-

sidered more than probable, notwithstanding the somewhat incon-

gruous result obtained by rough experiments, such as transmitting

more powerful currents through mutilated nerves, or through :

nerves and other tissues after the post mortem changes, or at a

rate slower than through copper wire, no allowance being made for

the less perfect conducting power of a moist fibrous cord. No one

has disproved the electrical character of the nerve current, while

such character is strongly supported by a multitude of well deter-

mined facts, especially those connected with the electrical organs

of some of the lower animals, where electricity is set free in special

organs rich in nerves but not essentially different from other nerve

organs.

How the course of the electrical current is directed and varied,

and how subjected to the control of the will, are independent

questions not yet answered.

Insects’ FEET as CARRIERS or Dirt. — Prof. W. Kletzinsky, `

of Vienna, has detected with the microscope an abundance of for-

eign particles in pure glycerine into which flies had stepped and

from which they had succeeded in freeing themselves; thus vindi-

cating the belief that flies may become carriers of contagious

diseases.

CIRCULATION IN Insects. — Mr. R. King read an interesting

paper on this subject at the Dubuque meeting of the American

Association. By a microscopical study of insects during periods

of dormancy or hibernation, some forms of larve, especially,

being so transparent that the microscope gains a perfect view of

their internal organs without interfering with them, he is satisfied

that there is nio circulation while the insect is at absolute rest, and

_ that the ordinary circulation in insects is entirely the result of the

voluntary muscular activity of the creatures.

MICROSCOPY. 187

Tue Warre BLOOD-CORPUSCLES A CONNECTING LINK. — The

“ closing address” before the Oldham Microscopical Society, by

its retiring President, Mr. James N ield, alludes to the white cor-

puscles of human blood, their chemical composition, their ever

changing form, their use in the economy of the body, and their

nearly complete identity in form and chemical composition with

the corresponding corpuscles in the blood of all the other verte-

brate animals. He admits the conviction that these peculiar

bodies are links connecting the humble rhizopods with the highest

animals, in the former case floating in water and in the latter drift-

ing in the plasma of the blood. He considers the naked ameba

and the sarcode of the foraminiferous shell only free members of

a family which are aggregated and communistic in the higher creat-

ures from the sponge to man. |

Marxines or Barriepoor Scares. — Mr. T. W. Wonfer as-

sured the Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society that while

examining these scales with reference to Dr. Anthony’s idea that

the markings were tubercles on the ribs, he succeeded in obtaining

: a view of some scales standing on edge, in which cases he could

see the tubercles standing out distinctly from the ribs. The scales

Should be examined from freshly killed insects, as they tend to

become flattened in drying.

Structure or Invusorra. — Prof. Edward Van Beneden ques-

tions the pleuricellular nature of the Infusoria.. The belief that

they were unicellular beings was generally abandoned as soon as

their complex nature-became known; but he has found the Gre-

garine, monocellular organisms, to attain a high degree of com-

plication, and he conceives that the same may be true of the

Infusoria.

Tae Gontomerer Sracr. — The glass sliding-stage, moving

upon a circular plate having concentric and graduated rotation,

ecome, and is still more becoming, so important a contrivance

in microscopy that its origin is a question of some importance.

is stage seems to be known in Europe as Nachet’s invention,

and it was doubtless from his new style of Students’ Microscope

that it was adopted by the London makers. Mr. Joseph Zent-

mayer of Philadelphia, who had made the plain glass stage long

fore that time, constructed in the spring of 1859, for a Mr.

Rosevelt of New York, a revolving glass stage which would be

188 NOTES.

minutely and quite accurately represented by Dr. Carpenter’s de-

scription (The Microscope, London, 1868, pp. 68 and 69). He

continued to make these stages, and in the year 1864 furnished

one to Prof. Edwin Emerson, then of Paris, who took pains to

show the American stand to those interested in microscopes and

especially to the makers. In October of the same year Mr. (now

Dr.) W. W. Keen of Philadelphia exhibited one of these stands,

with a similar stage, to Nachet, and the following spring placed it

in his hands for safe packing for return to this country. These

goniometer stages were certainly substantially the same as those

now made, and were probably equal to any of the latter in deli-

cacy of adjustment and finish; and it would seem that the publici-

ty then given to them should guarantee to their maker the credit

for their invention, unless some other person should claim to have

arranged, and in some way published, an identical contrivance at

an earlier date.

NOTES.

In the construction of new cases for the birds in the museum of

the Boston Society of Natural History, we learn from the report

of the custodian, Prof. Hyatt, “that extraordinary precautions

were taken in order to render these cases absolutely insect-tight.

The lumber was very carefully selected and kept heated while the

work was going on, all joints were tongued, grooved and glued.

The tops, bottoms and sides, were built into the plastering, the

sashes grooved and tongued and locked by wedge-shaped bolts.

The latter were invented in order to draw the sashes up tightly

and firmly against the tongues at the top and bottom, and com-

pletely close the fronts of each case. Morse’s patent brackets

were used to suspend the shelving, which hangs upon the wall, and

has no connection with the fronts. The success of these precau-

tions is shown by the air-tight condition of the cases. By sud-

denly opening or closing a sash, one could readily crush in, Or

burst out, the neighboring glass panes. The resistance of the air

is so great that it has to be overcome by a steady slow pressure

as if one was working the handle of a piston. With the excep-

tion of the method of bolting, and some other details, this plan is

similar to that which has been successfully adopted by the Smith-

-gonian Institution for the preservation of their valuable collection

of birds, and was recommended to us by Professor Baird.

NOTES. 189

“The entire collection of Coleoptera has been placed in insect-

proof boxes by Mr. Sprague, and he has begun to secure the

Harris collection in a similar manner. I desire, however, to call

the attention of the society to the boxes upon the table. These

are experiments upon the methods of mounting and illustrating

the typical collection of insects, and will probably be adopted

throughout that department. The difficulties that were overcome,

and amount of study and labor expended by Mr. Sprague in

making these pattern boxes, can only be rightly appreciated by

those who have watched their progress. One of them exhibits the

ventral and dorsal aspects of a large beetle, showing all the parts

appropriately named. This is to be the type of the order. The

other boxes contain the types of several genera and two families.

The enlarged outlines of these small insects are given from the

dorsal and ventral sides, accompanied by specimens having a

Similar position. On the right hand side of the box in each case

are the characteristic parts, likewise greatly enlarged, so as to be

readily seen, but each figure accompanied by its corresponding dis-

section. The characteristics of the family and genus are written

opposite, so that the visitor sees at one glance the animal, its parts,

and the family and generic characteristics. The outlines are drawn

with the camera lucida, and corrected by the most careful study,

so that they are as accurate as it is possible to make them.”

Pror. SHater of Harvard College at the last meeting of the

American Educational Association followed with an address upon

“The Method of Teaching Natural History.” This, he said, as

practised by him, embodied the same leading principles as had

Just been suggested by Prof. Pickering, the aim being to give the

student a practical quite as much as a theoretical knowledge of the

Science. No text-book served as the basis of teaching, as it was

quite insufficient for thorough instruction. A student in the first

Course is directed as his first lesson to go forth into nature and

catch some kind of a living creature for study. It was no matter

what he caught, whether a fly, a bird or a serpent. Having made

a capture, the student is told to observe the creature and note

down his observations. No matter what he observes, nothing can

be too trivial, the point being to teach him to use his eyes. His

notes are reviewed by the teacher, and appropriate comment and

Suggestion made with regard to further inquiry. It was a trait of

190 NOTES.

human nature that the study of dead things is at first repugnant to

us. Living things are always interesting.. The student accord-

ingly begins with these, and this experience has almost invariably

the effect to awaken his genuine interest or enthusiasm in the

phenomena of nature. This is the second point gained. With

this his attention can be fastened upon dead specimens, and the

laws of organization as ascertained through these can be taught. »

Following upon this the practice was to take up some one of the

great sequences of nature as observable in the animal kingdom ;

such as is given by the series of the actinoid polypes. The highest

class had during the past year gone through with a course holding

up to view what is known upon the most pressing question of the

times, namely, the origin of the human species. The essential

features of this method was first brought into use in this country

by Agassiz, the only changes being such as were required to make

it applicable to large numbers of students and to extend it to'a

course of several years of required work in the university.

Tue London “Journal of Botany” for January contains an

interesting biographical sketch of Friedrich Welwitsch, the emi-

nent botanist and discoverer of the singular plant which bears his

name. He was born in Germany in 1807, but spent a portion of

his life in the employment of the Portuguese government as su-

perintendent of various gardens, while he paid much attention to

the fungi and alge, especially of Portugal. But his chief work

was in elaborating the immense collections of plants made in the

interior of Africa during a series of journeys which lasted seven

years. ‘It was during his residence at Sange that Dr. Welwitsch

made the acquaintance of Dr. Livingstone, then (October, 1854)

on his way to Loanda, having travelled the whole distance from

Cape Town. The two travellers lived together for some time, and

the meeting had the effect of determining Dr. Welwitsch on re-

linquishing an idea he had previously entertained of endeavoring

to make his way across the continent to the Portuguese posses-

sions on the east coast—a task which, as is well known, Living-

stone successfully accomplished during the two following years.”

As the result of these difficult and dangerous journeys he formed

the best and most extensive herbarium ever collected in tropical

a Africa. He z the author of several botanical papers of a high

seeder: of meri

NOTES. 191

Mr. W. H. Seaman of Washington sends us the following note :

‘I send you by mail a small tin box containing minerals, which

are specimens of an incrustation, forming on parts of the northern

face of the Washington monument in this city. It is about two

hundred feet high, unfinished, and the top protected by an im-

perfect shed of boards. The walls are gneiss faced with marble,

and this curious stalagmite, for such it really is, appears to be

formed’ by the water percolating from the top of the wall through

the joints, and dissolving a part of the mortar which is deposited

upon its outer surface. The deposits always commence at a joint

and widen as they descend like the letter A, covering. sometimes

several square feet, usually firmly attached to the marble. The

edifice has been built about twenty years. Mr. Clark, architect of

the Capitol, states that a similar incrustation forms on the inside

of the arches, under the capitol steps, but it is scraped otf every

year.” It is certainly interesting as an example of natura! de-

posit under artificial conditions. t

We are glad to inform our readers that the tax on alcohol, so

grievous to museums, is to be removed when used for scientific

purposes. According to the Boston “Journal” Prof. Agassiz’s

bill, as it is called, to remit the excise duties on alcohol used for

Scientific purposes, which was passed by the House on the 23d,

was passed February 12th by the Senate, and will soon become a

law. The bill provides that the alcohol can be withdrawn from

bond by the Presidents or Curators of scientific institutions or

Colleges, for the sole and exclusive purpose of preserving speci-

mens of anatomy, physiology or of natural history, or for use in

any chemical laboratory of such institutions; and if any alcohol

thus obtained shall be used for any other purposes than those

Specified, then the officers of the institution or their sureties shall

Pay the tax on the whole amount withdrawn from bond, together

with a like amount as a penalty in addition thereto.

We regret to announce the death of Prof. F. B. Maury, the

author of the “ Physical Geography of the Sea” and of *‘ Sailing

Directions” for seamen.

THe Government has appropriated $75,000 for the continuance

next year of Prof. Hayden’s geological survey of the public lands,

and $10,000 for the completion of the reports of Mr. Powell’s

expedition. :

192 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. — BOOKS RECEIVED.

Dr. O. Norpsrep describes in the sixth part of the “ Ofversigt”

of the Stockholm Academy of Sciences for 1872 the Desmidiacere

collected by the Swedish expeditions in 1868 and 1870 to Spitz-

bergen and Bear Island. Fifty species are enumerated, nine being

described as new, and carefully figured.— Journal of Botany.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS,

R. S., Canandaigua, N. Y.— The birds referred to by you are, as you supposed,

ng e snow bunting ( Plectophan es ni ives sce nd the snow bird (Junco hyemalis). Their

habitat is given in Coues’ * “Key to North A mertean Birds,” and “we ap are quite

fully described in the works of Wilson, Audubon and Nuttall, — J. A

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Bidrag till Ofversigt af sveriges vd Upsala, il literatur, Akademisk Afhandlung som med

vidiberomda filoso y igi Jakultetens i sala e nang pl ee ag Gradens erhallende till

‘entlig grans. cit AES mstalles af Fredr è pp. 56. stockholm Be

ira e Cole ië Exotiques en vente bed i z "Boucari. ` tig 8. “oo parna pp. 3 Lond

yas of t ag pa on of Mammoth Cave. By L. oe he rbank. (From Proc. Bos Soc.

Nat. Hist.) 8vo. ae

On the Gigantic ‘ossil Mammals of the order Dinocerata. By O.C. Marsh. (From Am. Jour.

Sci. and sendy, Feb., 1873.) 8vo. Pp. 8, 2 prts Received Jan. T. 1873

Half-hour ogee yt we Pe fa x Scien nce PE RAAE Action of the Brain and Epidemic

bag ter pp. 64 Boston, 187

Third and d Bourih an poodle, I Reporis of the ed UN of Indiana, made during the years

Ip. 488 : oe 187

Cenkridke, 1373. 3

E RN Zeitung. 8vo. pp. 494. With ft ates, merr tin,

German by George R. Cut vo. pp. 658. Tilustra led by Er) engravings. New York, 1872.

Jahrbuch der kaise iserlich-konigiichen geologischen Teiche nitan. paon Wu. No.3. 8v0. pe:

re 4 plates. Mineralogische Mitt: ~ gesammelt von Gustav Tschermak. Jahrgang, 187

21. 1 plate. Bruxelles.

est-ce que Vaile rong Insecte. Par Felix Plateau. 8vo. pp. 10, 2 plates.

ge rift for Caer ioe naven, Lt tad af Naturvidenskaben, Fjerde Række. Fjerde Binds.

Sjette Herte. have)

Proceedings a the New E sii EA - Genealogical Society, at the Annual Meeting, January

piep pikis ri the Families of Mammals, (From Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections.)

Theodore G) 8vo. pp. 98. Washington, 1872,

of the Indiana State Board of Agriculture, 1872, including the Re-

ey gg ses T. Cox, State eoit, gt eve and 18i2. 8vo. p $32. a

gitdi ‘h Report of the Superint endent of Public Instruction for t the St e of Indiana, 8vo,

pp. 424. Indian 1872.

Diagram asain ¢ Progress of the Anthracite Coal Trade of Pennsylvania, By P. W.

Resulis of Recent Dredging Expeditions on the oo of New England. (From Am. Jour. Sei.

and perii A. E. Verrill. 8yo. a bee January 18, 1873,

Land and Water. ie focs, Nos, Bulletin ae la Societe des Sciences goa os

1872; Jan. 4, 18, 25, F 1873. de Nen hatel. Neuchatel. Tom Ca-

The Field. London. p Sag 28, 1872; hier 2. 1872.

Jan. 4, 18, 25, Feb. 1, 1873. Le Naturaliste Canadien. Quebec. Vol. Y,

. London. Nos. for Dec., 1872; Jan, No. 1. Jan., 1873.

Sie 33, 1518. The Journal of Applied Science, London.

The Academy. Nos. for Dec. 15, Vol. iii. Nov.1, A

1872; Jan. 1, 15, Feb. 1, 1873. Bulietin of the Torrey Botanical Club. New

The American Journai of the Medical Sciences. York. Vol.iv, No.1. 1873.

Jan., iE. si See one ti pa = Paris. Jan. 18, 25, Feb.

The Popular Science . New Yor :

_ Jan, and Feb., The Arts.

1873. a, Science and

i Mensuel de la Societe d’ Acclimatation, “New Hav v Haven, oe v. Feb., 1873.

Paris. noma Nos, ptt Sept, and "yne PE aage Ea ga Philade

Sis

Ms oS Sse Sip tad) eee ae ae

Å eo

A ee

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.— APRIL, 1873.— No. 4.

cL DS

A VIVIPAROUS FLY.

BY REV. SAMUEL LOCKWOOD, PH. D.

—_— Oe

Tue question, which is the mother of the chicken, the hen that

laid the egg, or the hen that hatched it, would have no place in

casuistry if all hens produced their chickens ready made. And

there is a great deal of difference between the fly that lays simple

eggs, and the one that brings forth living grubs. Thus it was,

that what we beheld on the 15th day of June had for us all the

novelty of a new sensation. The day was very warm, and I was

about leaving my study, when my attention was drawn to a peculiar

looking fly on the window. As it was quite large, it occurred to me

that it would make a nice morsel for the tree toad in the fernery ;

so the intruder was captured, and I was about presenting the prize

to my pet with goggle eyes, but an open countenance, when a sud-

den change came over my mind; for in the palm of my hand ap-

peared what I took for eggs of an elongate form. My pocket lens

at once showed me that these were not eggs, but real, live mag-

gots, each about .06 of an inch in length; and there, right under

own eyes, even in my hand, the parent fly was busily depositing

these little squirming things. The fly continued emitting the

grubs, almost without cessation, in numbers varying from one to .

three at a time. They were very active, twisting themselves into

animated knots, each containing from three to six individuals.

The entire number of grubs emitted was sixty-one; although it

may possibly have been more, as I could not find out whether

Scores according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

CE, in the Office of the Livkxtian of Oo ngress at Washington.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 13 (193)

194 VIVIPAROUS FLY.

any had been lost during the act of capture. I put the parent fly

and about half her progeny into spirits. They were quite active in

the strong 95 per cent. alcohol, and lived a good while, although

the fly soon died.

Dr. Packard has kindly determined the species for us, and its

systematic name is Sarcophaga carnaria Linn. (Fig. 34). Though

ignorant of the habits of this curious fly, I resolved to make an ef-

fort to raise the remaining larvae. They were now three hours old,

and the little things were becoming less active because of the de-

Fig. 34.

The Viviparous Fly and its Pupa Case.

siccating effect of the hot atmosphere. There was no time to lose,

took a flower-pot, and filled it with porous or sandy earth,

and set the pot in a saucer with. sufficient water to make it a little

moist. Next a bit of fresh kidney fat was put on the earth. On

this flesh I laid the tiny grubs, and was soon gratified with seeing

the most vigorous of them instinctively recede into the folds of the

fat, and thus disappear. A glass tumbler was next put over all,

: and the arrangement was complete.

Four days’ absence from home, and no observations. The larve

were now a little over five days old and, with the exception of one,

VIVIPAROUS FLY. 195

had all entered the ground. This one, which lay between the flesh

and the earth, was the straggler of the company. Perhaps it was

weak, as it was making ineffectual efforts to follow its companions

in their search for proper places for their pupa sleep. But why

should it be weak? It certainly was as large—it seemed, I

thought, even larger than any of those that had successfully retired.

Pray, you, who think that instinct cannot err, are there not larve

which are gluttons? Or, turning to the man of facts, do larvæ

ever overfeed? Whatever the facts may be, the case suggested

parallel instances, wherein bipedal gourmands had found it diffi-

cult to get away from the relics of the feast, although all else were

comfortably off to their dormitories.

I now carefully examined the earth in the flower-pot, and found

the larvee of large size and in holes reaching nearly to the bot-

tom of the pot. They are now six days old, and have

left the flesh just half a day. Measuring one of these

white maggots of the average size, its length in fractions

of an inch was .50 and the breadth was .25. It should

be remembered that, generally, larve when disturbed

contract their dimensions. The same larva when in mo-

tion was in length .85. One of these fully grown larve

(Fig. 35) was put into alcohol of ninety-five proof. It

continued quite active for 84 minutes, and sustained life F

in this element 134 minutes, all of which time it was J

completely immersed in the fluid.

June 22d.—The larvee have taken on their brown pupa

cases, and pretty things they are, of a cylindrical form, teria ae

with an erect little fringe at the posterior end, something F's" Fiy.

like the crown on a whortleberry (Fig. 35). There are still three

of these white grubs that have not yet taken on their pupa change,

These, though rather lively when disturbed, like other indolent

people, must be regarded as laggards, for all that, and so were

taken out and devoted to experiment. One was immersed in clear

turpentine, another in Fowler’s solution of arsenic, and the third

in essence of peppermint of full strength. Repeating the previous

experiment the results stand thus:

A fully grown larva six days old in 95 per cent. alcohol was quite

active for 84 minutes, and lived 134 minutes; of the fully grown

larvæ seven days old, the one in turpentine spun rapidly in the

fluid, and motion ceased in 27 minutes; the one in essence of .

Fig. 35,

196 VIVIPAROUS FLY.

peppermint kept up motion for 70 minutes; the one in Fowler’s

solution only ceased motion at the end of 53 minutes.

In the light of such facts, what reprobation is too severe upon

the useless and cruel practice of drenching horses with violent

medicaments for the bots? The ailment thus known is due to the

presence in the animal’s stomach of the larve of the bot-fly (Gas-

trophilus equi Fabr-). By its formidable mouth-hooks this larva

clings to the walls of the stomach. Now it must be evident that

by such methods of treatment, either to kill this parasite, or detach

it from its hold would require medicines in such quantity, and of

such power, that death to the poor animal would become inevitable

before even its tormentors had been materially affected. Scarcity

of. specimens limited the experiments. I had meant to try the

effect of suffocation, by immersing them in some one of the animal

oils, for it is possible that herein may be found a simple remedy

for that malady in horses.*

July 6th.—The glass on the flower-pot has been carelessly dis-

placed several days. I noticed certain depressions in the earth,

uch as are made when little holes are filled up by the crumbling

of their sides, The sight was ominous. Imagine the feelings

which prompted me to exclaim suspiciously, ‘The imagines are

gone.” Alas, it was so! From the dryness of the depressions,

and other indications, I was satisfied that the perfect flies had

taken flight on the Fourth of July—thus, in a way against which

no despot could demur, they had entered on their freedom on Inde-

pendence Day! All this was very fine; but believing that patri-

otism should not extend to flies, the whole transaction did violence

to my scientific instincts. In chagrin I slowly removed the earth

gg et my attention was called to ya Pa "n — life a papori ae

poi Iw: s forced by the claims of justice to take part in a toxicological examl

tion ri the Aeka organs of a person who had ‘been nine sapere buri ed. These were

I 8S S

mg pichloria’ of oman had A eed: yi aad

e quantity x this “terrible poison. Naturalists pope how well this dryg

reserve animal t ues. And in cae case, ra banyte in the capillary vessels was

i i rve

PRAIRIE BIRDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 197

from the pot. There were the little coffins—eight of them, and all

empty. One was so much smaller than the others, that I con-

cluded it must have contained a male. Very pretty things were

these little cylindrical cases — the pupa coverings. (Fig. 34). At

the thicker end a tiny lid was uplifted, much as if the sawn-off

end of a cocoanut should serve as a lid to the shell, and should

be raised to let out a captive bird.

So each having made for itself a little coffin had lain therein

just thirteen days. ‘‘ Thirteen days,” whispered a friend, a little

superstitious about that number. ‘Thirteen days! The fault of

their escape is not yours at all. It is a clear case of bad luck.”

Well, my good friend, your theory is charitable at the least. But

in my humble and penitent judgment, it does not condone the

blunder which at the auspicious moment allowed the prize to fly

away. Nature, like the Oracle, exacts of her inquirers watchful

attention.

THE PRAIRIE BIRDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.

: BY ROBERT RIDGWAY.

Havine familiarized the readers of the Naruratisr to some

extent with the general character and appearance of the prairies

of Southern Illinois in our article on ‘The Woods and Prairies of

the Upland Portions,” I shall now give an account of an ornitho-

logical reconnoissance of Fox Prairie, in Richland county, made

in the summer of 1871 As this reconnoissance resulted in the

discovery of several species of birds new to the state,* a few de-

tails concerning it may not be uninteresting to our readers. The

field of our observations was a. prairie of considerable extent,

lying about four miles to the westward of the town of Olney,

on the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, and is merely one of the

humerous arms or bays of the Grand Prairie which extend east-

ward into the forest region of the Wabash valley.

My companions and I arrived at it a little before noon, and saw

before us the usual modern prairie prospect. A rolling plain

Spread away from us, the farther side bounded by the border of

timber, while the prairie itself was treeless, except where some

* See AMERICAN NATURALIST, Vol. VI, July, p. 430.

198 PRAIRIE BIRDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.

stream was followed by a narrow line of thickets with a few large

trees interspersed. Around us were the tangled thickets which

we have before described, while the small, but growing trees

which sprang up among them gave plain evidence of the gradual

encroachment of the woods upon the original prairie. The herds

of horses and cattle which dotted the gently undulating surface of

the prairie, and an occasional neat frame farmhouse, with its

attendant fields and orchard, made us realize that we were yet

within the bounds of comfortable and advanced civilization. Just

before us the prairie was intersected by a ravine, through which

ran a small stream whose narrow valley was filled with a thicket

of varied shrubbery, and the brook itself bordered by a few large-

sized trees, which were chiefly the white elm, several kinds of

oaks, and an occasional cottonwood.

The day was a delightful one; the sky without a cloud, and,

though the heat ranged above 80°, the fresh prairie breeze tem-

pered it to a delightful mildness. As we rested in the shade of a

large elm tree in the hollow, and reclined on the cool soft sward,

our ears were delighted by such a chorus of bird-songs as we have

heard nowhere else. Among the leafy branches overhead the

orioles (Icterus Baltimore) whistled their mellow flute-like notes,

and the little greenlets ( Vireosylvia gilva and V. olivacea) cheered

us with a softer warble or richer chant. The birds of the meadow

were chanting their several ditties all around us on the open

prairie, while the frequent soft refreshing prairie breeze wafted to

us from the groves the songs of the woodland species.

In the tangled thickets and scrubby jungle near the border of

the woods the finest songsters were found. There the mocking

birds (Mimus polyglottus) fairly filled the air with their rich med-

ley of inexhaustibly varied notes, the singers leaping in restless

ecstasy from branch to branch, with drooping wings and spread

tail, or flitting from thicket to thicket as they sang. The brown

thrasher (Harporhynchus rufus) poured forth a sweet and ceaseless

accompaniment, as he sat perched sedately upon the summit of a

vine-canopied tree— a contrast in bearing to the restless, sport-

ive Mimus, his rival in song. The yellow-breasted chat (Jcteria

wirens), a very abundant and characteristic species, appeared to

: _ be straining himself to produce the oddest and most unusual notes

he could invent, the singer often going through grotesque and ex-

: oa ee e 1 —

PRAIRIE BIRDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 199

his wings and tail raised and legs dangling —the whole time

singing with all his might. Mingled with these, the loudest songs,

were heard the sweet sad chant of the little field sparrow (Spizella

pusilla), the pleasant cheerful notes of the ground robin, or ‘ che-

wink” (Pipilo erythrophthalmus), the rich whistlings of the car-

dinal grosbeak (Cardinalis Virginianus), and the glad ‘‘ bob-white”

of the quail (Ortyx Virginianus). During a lull in the chorus we

heard, from the depths of the thicket, a very curious gabbling, or

‘sputtering song, which was entirely new to us. We hastened to

the thicket, and, entering it as far as possible, lay in wait for the

strange songster to resume his vocal performance. In a few min-

utes a little grayish bird carefully approached, flitting cautiously

from twig to twig, now and then halting, and, after uttering the

peculiar notes which had attracted our attention, would stretch

- out his neck and eye us with great curiosity and evident suspicion.

After observing him carefully to our satisfaction at a distance of

hardly a rod, we found that he was Bell’s greenlet (Vireo Beliii),

a species of the plains east of the Rocky Mountains from Texas

northward, and not before detected east of the Mississippi river.

After we had become satisfied of his identity we shot him; but

upon attempting to secure our prize we found the briery under-

growth too intricate and powerful to allow a passage through it.

In nearly all the thickets others of the same species were fre-

quently heard, so that it appeared to be common in that locality.

The little white-eyed greenlet (V. Noveboracensis) was also com-

mon in the same thickets, and was easily distinguished by his |

well-known notes, an attempted translation of which gives it the

local name of “ chickty-beaver bird.” As we remained patiently

watching for the specimen of Bell’s vireo, spoken of above, other

little birds would now and then hop cautiously near us, or flit

through the undergrowth before us. Among these were recognized

the chestnut-sided warbler (Dendreca Pensylvanica), the golden

winged warbler (Helminthophaga chrysoptera), and a pair of

mourning warblers (Geothlypis Philadelphia). The first two spe-

cies represent in the scantily wooded portions the cerulean

warbler (D. ceerulea) and the blue-winged yellow warbler (H.

pinus) of the3forests of the bottom-lands.

In the open groves at the border of the timber, the usual wood-

land species were noticed; and among them, the vermilion tana-

gers (Pyranga estiva) frequently warbled their robin-like, but

200 PRAIRIE BIRDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.

vigorous and well-sustained song, the blue jays (Cyanura cristata)

squalled and chattered as they prowled among the branches ; while

the red-headed woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) frolicked

among the trees. The most abundant bird besides the foregoing

species was the tufted titmouse (Lophophanes bicolor), which

nearly mimicked the jays in both habits and notes.

On the open prairie the birds were all entirely different. The

meadow lark (Sturnella magna — the true mag gna, and not at all

approaching 8. neglecta, in either manners, notes or plumage!)

was the most conspicuous, from its size ‘and the plaintive sweet-

ness of its song. The “dick sissel” (Euspiza Americana) was

perhaps the most abundant bird, and the males were perched upon

the tall coarse weeds all around us, chanting their vigorous but

rude ditties. Henslow’s bunting {iteriieus Henslowi) and the

yellow-winged bunting (O. passerinus) were scarcely less abun-

dant, andslike the dick sissels were perched upon the tops of the

weed-stalks, uttering their simple, abrupt lisping songs. Though

we had never met with Henslow’s bunting before, we found it to

be much more common here than the C. passerinus, and in a little

while easily succeeded in securing seven fine specimens. At the

edge of a pond we saw what we thought to be the Passerculus

savanna, but the bird escaped by running into the grass after we

had crippled it. Over the surface of the pond were flitting and

hovering a couple of black terns (Hydrochelidon fissipes), while

among the rushes and sedges of its border the red-winged black-

birds (Ageleus pheniceus), and both species of marsh wrens

( Telmatodytes palustris and Cistothorus stellaris), were nesting ; and

when away from the pond, we were certain that we heard the harsh

grating notes of the yellow-headed blackbird (Xanthocephalus

icterocephalus), well known to us, but we did not see this species

there. In the grassy portions of the prairie the field plover

(Actiturus Bartramius) was more or less common, and, except the

killdeer (Ægialitis vociferus), was the only other species of the

family observed there. The lark bunting (Chondestes grammaca)

was more or less common about the border of the corn-fields and

scattered groves along the edge of the prairie, and we listened to

its vivacious and unusually vigorous song with more pleasure than

we had felt upon hearing any other bird during the day, for we

regard this bird as the finest singer of its family on the continent ;

a . : Ken sprightly, — continued song, having a peculiar emo-

PRAIRIE BIRDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 201

tional trill in various parts, and such beautiful rising and falling

cadences, in addition to its other pleasing qualities, that we con-

sider it unequalled in these respects among all the numerous

fringilline songsters of the United States. A frequent companion

of this species was the indigo bird (Cyanospiza cyanea), and more

rare one, the grass, or bay-winged bunting (Pooecetes gramineus).

Besides the species named, but few birds were noticed that day,

and these were the more generally distributed species, which are

hardly worthy of mention, as the catbird (Galeoscoptes Carolin-

ensis), red-bellied woodpecker (Centurus Carolinus), flicker (Colap-

tes auratus), and such species as are seen every day in nearly all

localities. Once a pair of croaking ravens (Corvus carnivorus)

made their appearance, and after circling about over the border of

the woods for a few minutes, left for the heavy timber of Fox

Creek bottoms. The red-tailed and red-shouldered hen hawks

(Buteo borealis and B. lineatus) were occasionally seen, while now

and then one or two swallow-tailed kites (Nauclerus forficatus)

would be noticed floating about in broad circles in the clear blue

sky, usually accompanied by the Mississippi kite (Ictinia Missis-

sippiensis). The little sparrow falcon (Tinnunculus sparverius), |

the sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks (Accipiter fuscus and A.

Cooperii), completed the list of birds of prey which we observed

that day.

Early in August of the same summer we visited this oe aks a

second time, and found its entire aspect changed. The

Severe drought having passed, we found a profusion of ia

giving a gay and varied color to the prairie, which before was

Comparatively brown and sober in the appearance of its vegeta-

tion. The birds which were most conspicuous were nearly all

different from those noticed at our former visit. The mocking

birds, brown thrashers and chats, were silent, while a few of the

other singers occasionally cheered us with their song. The shrill

Screech of a very large species of Cicada repeatedly startled us as

_ we brushed against a weed, while numerous varieties of grasshop-

pers were far more noisy than the birds, and seemed almost the

Only active beings during the sultry noontime of that cloudless

day ; for the thermometer stood in the nineties, although the heat

Was considerably tempered by a steady refreshing breeze. To

_ compensate for this silence of the birds, however, as we came upon

the open prairie, a beautiful and unlooked for sight attracted our

202 PRAIRIE BIRDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.

attention. -Numbers of exquisitely graceful swallow-tailed kites

or “snake hawks” (Nauclerus forficatus, also locally known as

“* fish-tail hawk”) were seen sailing about in every direction ; we

were completely transfixed by the beautiful spectacle they pre-

sented as they floated about in graceful circles, while they were so

unmindful of us as to pass repeatedly within a few yards of us.

Soaring gracefully above them with a similar flight were smaller

numbers of the “ blue kite” (Ictinia Mississippiensis), which, more

suspicious, seldom approached so near. The latter birds, though

far less striking in appearance than the swallow-tails, were never-

theless superior to them in power of flight, for they had a very

interesting habit of suddenly pitching downward from a great

height almost to the ground, and again ascending by a steep angle

nearly to the level from which they started ; the whole perform-

ance accompanied without a single flap of the wings, which in the

descent were merely extended at the elbows and inclined inwards

at the tip, and the rapid fall checked by suddenly extending the

wings, which were thus held motionless as the bird mounted again.

Frequently two or three would pass each other at different angles

as they performed these beautiful evolutions, and presented a

sight pleasing and interesting in the extreme. The power of

flight of these kites may be better appreciated by the fact that they

frequently appeared and passed rapidly and easily by the turkey

buzzards (Cathartes aura) which happened to be sailing majesti-

cally in the same direction. The swallow-tails were never noticed

performing these evolutions ; though for ease and grace their buoy-

ant, floating flight certainly cannot be excelled.

. The swallow-tails were so numerous and tame that once, when

half a dozen or so were sailing about, we killed one with each

barrel of our gun, in quick succession. A couple of full-grown

young of this species were seen upon a dead tree along the stream,

and while we were watching them the parent bird approached, evi-

dently with food for them, for they commenced dancing up and

down upon the branch, and whistled impatiently, when she hovered

over them. The Mississippi kites would never approach us near

enough for a shot, so that we found them far more difficult to shoot

than the swallow-tails. The three specimens obtained we secured

by stratagem ; our most successful plan being to approach them in

: a our. mae These ias were EAA observed resting upon

Saas and by approach-

Age ee

PRAIRIE BIRDS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. 203

ing with the team until we were concealed for a moment by the

intervening underwood, I- would jump out and leave my compan-

ions to keep on with the wagon. While the unsuspecting kite was

intently watching the passing team, I found it usually quite easy

to steal through the thickets near enough to the tree to shoot it.

In this manner I succeeded in shooting three fine specimens during

the day.

While driving across the prairie, in the course of my hunt after

these birds, I observed what appeared to be a Mississippi kite

perched upon a dead tree in a bushy ravine. We approached it

as described above, and as we drew nearer, we noticed something

in its appearance which caused us to see that it was not an Ictinia.

We were almost near enough to shoot from the wagon, when it

flew, and began circling about, when it was immediately assaulted

by two or three Ictinias, that continued to annoy it. en im-

mediately overhead I shot at it, but without serious effect, for it

immediately flew straight into a large elm tree in the ravine, and

alighted among the branches. As it soared abdut above us Iim-

mediately recognized it as the Asturina plagiata, a species which

is so strongly marked in all its characters, the plumage especially,

that no other hawk could possibly be mistaken for it by one at all

acquainted with this family. I succeeded in getting another shot

at it, but the distance was so great that the bird escaped.

In this article I have named the more abundant and character-

istic birds of the prairie portions of southern Illinois. Future

observations, i in such favorable localities as that explored by us,

will no doubt reveal many additional, and perhaps several un-

looked-for species, when we take into consideration the fact that

my acquaintance with the prairie avi-fauna depends solely on these

two trips. The number of species actually observed in the local-

ity, numbered about ninety-five on each occasion ; while the species

breeding in the immediate neighborhood are about one hundred

and forty, a very rich avi-fauna for a restricted locality, when the

fact is taken into consideration, that of this number only about

twenty-five are water birds—the remainder of one hundred and

fifteen species of land birds being, perhaps, as large a number of

regular summer residents as any single locality in North America

can boast.

OCCURRENCE OF IMPLEMENTS IN THE RIVER DREPE

AT TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

BY CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M.D.

eek

Tue discovery of unquestionable river-drift implements in this

country has been an occurrence of great rarity, in comparison

with the extensive unearthing of such implements in Europe and *

PENNSYLVANIA

more especially in France. There does not seem to be any known

stratum of river-drift that contains such specimens of archaic

.implements as have been found by archæologists, in situ, at Amiens

and St. — = sehen and therefore the occurrence of a single |

pres n pier bee st E: gore

IMPLEMENTS IN THE RIVER DRIFT AT TRENTON, N. J. 205

spec’ men of strangely shaped stone, that appears to be an ‘‘ imple-

ment” may be looked upon perhaps, very doubtfully, as establish-

ing the facts that it is a stone that has been so shaped by human

hands; or if so that it is of the same date as the containing bed

of river drift. Such doubts, we confess, passed through our mind

as we dug out from a gravelly bluff or hillside, then being re-

moved, the specimen to which we would first call attention, but

before describing it we will. mention the characteristic features of _

_the gravel bank itself, as it was when this specimen was found.

The physical geography of the locality is very nearly as follows :

The south bank of the Assunpink Creek, where the stream empties

into the river, was originally a high gravelly bank, having its

greatest elevation at the mouth of the stream, and gradually dis-

appearing as it extended up the stream, or in an easterly direction,

almost, at this point, at right angles with the river. The northern

shore sloped gradually to the creek; the high ground being a full

half mile from the stream

As we pass down the river shore, on the New Jersey side, we

find the same grayelly bluff reappearing at the river side, after a

stretch of lower and meadow-like land, now all built upon; and

this river side bluff, after extending a distance down the stream of

half a mile, suddenly leaves the river, trends eastward, and leaves

between it and the river, the extent of meadows that is indicated

by the dotted portion of the map

On this meadow, and in the uplands above (see map), and also

in the graves in the hillside dividing the two sections of meadow

and upland, are found the thousands of “relics” such as we have

described somewhat in detail in vol. vı, of this journal. The.

Specimens that are more particularly described in this paper were

found in the bluffs, at those points where the word “ bluff” is

printed on the map. At these two points, the river on the one

hand, and “ city improvements” on the other, have exposed the

hillsides and made such sections of them as enable the observer

Specimens, however, are not true drift implements, inasmuch as they are also found

“pon the si tye: ordinary “ ee relics,” and when found in gravel,

it is nearer the su rface’ of th und and in such position as renders it possible that `

may have gradually roki DA to the a at which i ey occur. Ofthe age, as

a class, however, of these rude magne = we maintain that they are much older than

finely worked “ relics” which a cept when in graves, strictly surface-found

implements; that is, stone Bs tas Prine and lost previous to, and at the date

, the arrival of European settlers; who introducing metals, —— iron, made the

Stone weapons of the Red man comparatively of little value

206 IMPLEMENTS IN THE RIVER DRIFT AT TRENTON, N. J.

to see their geological construction at a glance. This construction

is in each case alternate layers of fine sand and gravel, the latter

being far in excess of the former; and we have designated the

specimens here figured as ‘ drift implements,” and consider them

as wholly different from the rude implements already referred to,

inasmuch as all three were taken from this gravel at great depth,

and all beneath undisturbed layers of fine sand

Figure 36 represents the first of the three ‘‘ drift” implements

found deeply in drift gravel. It was brought to light in September,

1872, in removing the steep hillside that formed the east side of

Cooper street, near Factory street, in the city of Trenton. The

specimen itself, when discovered by us, was lying in situ, sur-

Fig. 36,

6|~

rounded by gravel, and there were two layers of undisturbed sand |

of one foot and twenty inches respectively in thickness above it;

between these sand strata was a heavy stratum of fine gravel;

above them another; and the loam above that. The stratum of

gravel in which the specimen was found was three feet in thickness

above the specimen, which was about two feet above the level of

the street. The depth from the surface of the ground to the speci-

men, which was ascertained before the removal of the implement

from its bed, was sixteen feet. The specimen was lying in a hori-

zontal position, in fine gravel, and attention was drawn to it by

| the cutting edge projecting from the face of the hillside or bluff.

os We were assured by the men who were carting this gravel, that

_ the week

previous a had met with two slabs of stone, a foot or

IMPLEMENTS IN THE RIVER DRIFT AT TRENTON, N. J. 207

more square, with “ queer figures cut deeply into them.” We failed

to trace these up, and give the rumor only as we heard it. For

ourselves, we do not doubt the occurrence of such stones, but the

“ queer figures” may not have been of human origin. The imple-

ment which we represent in Fig. 36. is a mass of reddish brown

stone, compact, laminated and susceptible of a high polish. It ap-

pears to have been a hatchet with the handle “all in one.” The

end of the blade has been extended beyond the back of the imple-

ment, one inch and a half, giving the specimen a very knife-like

appearance, The handle is three and one-quarter inches in length,

Fig. 37. :

and has been formed by cutting through one of the layers of the

stone, thus making it much thinner than the rest of the implement

along the “back” of the cutting portion. The specimen meas-

ures, handle and blade included, along the back, nine and one-half

inches ; along the front or edge, eleven and one-quarter inches.

The cutting-edge has undoubtedly been chipped, and although the

Specimen is now much water-worn, the flaking can still be seen

extending along the whole edge. Had this specimen been found

upon the surface of the ground no one would question its being a

“relic;” and found where and as it was, we believe it to be a

208 IMPLEMENTS IN THE RIVER DRIFT AT TRENTON, N. J.

‘‘ drift implement,” because of this very chipping of its cutting

edge. It is inconceivable to us that any amount of water action,

or rough and tumble existence with moving gravel, or even any

action of a glacial nature, could produce this chipping along the

edge, and conveniently add a handle to an accidentally produced

cutting implement.

Figure 37 represents an implement of opaque yellowish quartz

that bears more resemblance to the European forms of drift imple-

Fig. 38.. ments than does the

preceding. In Reliquie

Aquitanice,* there is

figured a ‘‘ large broad

flake, worked into a lan-

ceolate form by careful

chipping along the edges

of the outer face,” which

specimen is quite similar

to the one we have fig-

ured. The specimen,

figure 37, has evidently

been broken off from a

boulder, and subse-

quently chipped along

its edges. It is irregu-

larly lanceolate in form,

five an one-quarter

inches in length, and

three and one-half inch-

es in greatest width.

Although both faces are

now equally water and weather-worn, it is shown by the speci-

men’s concavo-convex shape, that the latter is the outer or natural

surface of the stone. It is slightly darker in color, and more irreg-

ular, as though the stone had been somewhat chipped before the

flake itself was detached.

This chipped flake was found in the same gravelly bluff, as the

preceding, but at some distance from it, being the point previ-

ously referred to as immediately facing the river, as shown in the

-map by the word “ bluff.” It, too, was found by the writer in situ

a ET *Rel. Acq. A. pl. mI, fig. 1.

IMPLEMENTS IN THE RIVER DRIFT AT TRENTON, N. J. 209

and beneath an undisturbed stratum of fine sand about twenty

inches in thickness. It is above this stratum of sand, in the gravel

that has only the loam above it, that very many of the rude imple-

ments have occurred, to which attention was called in the Naru-

RALIST, in March of the past year.

Figure 38 represents the third specimen of drift implements

which we have so far discovered in the Trenton gravels. It is a

flake of sandstone rock, six and one-half inches in length by

three and one-half inches in width. This specimen differs materi-

ally from the preceding, in being perfectly flat upon the under

surface, and flaked to the edges, from a point upon the other side,

by detaching large scales, all starting from this one point or ‘* bulb

of percussion.” This specimen, therefore, bears much resemblance

to the rude implements we frequently find on the surface, and

which are popularly called “turtle backs.” They are either fin-

ished implements or “ cones,” from which flakes for arrowheads

were detached. We incline to the former opinion.

This drift implement (Fig. 38) was found within fifty yards of

the first specimen we described, but above it geologically, having

but a single layer of undisturbed sand above it. The specimen

itself was found by the writer, in situ, immediately beneath this

layer of sand, at a depth of about eight and one-half feet from the

brow of the hill.

To briefly sum up the reasons for separating the above described

specimens from the relics of the surface, and the rude implements

of the upper gravel and surface, we have but to say that having

found them in position, beneath undisturbed strata of sand, we

cannot but maintain their greater age ; and as we have found three

specimens, we consider that each proves the human origin of the

other, and that collectively they show that they are true drift im-

plements, fashioned and used by a people far antedating the peo-

ple who subsequently occupied this same territory, and have left

such abundant traces of their presence.

ad but a single specimen been found, we might reasonably,

perhaps, applied to it the doctrine of chances, and maintained

that it was merely a freak of nature, but the occurrence of three

Specimens so near each other effectually disposes of the justice of

such an opinion, and we must admit the antiquity of American

man to be greater than the advent of the so-called + Indian.”

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII.

COMPARISON OF THE GLACIAL PHENOMENA OF

NEW ENGLAND WITH THOSE OF EUROPE.

BY A. S. PACKARD, JR.

Laii

Dure a hurried tour through the Alps and Norway, I endeav-

ored to observe marks of ancient glaciers in those countries in

order to compare them with the phenomena to be observed in our

northern states. The impression made on my mind, and I doubt

not on that of other Americans who have travelled in the Alps

and Scandinavia, was that the evidences of the former presence of

glaciers, in valleys at the heads of which are glaciers now exist-

ing, were scarcely more distinct than in the valleys of the White

Mountains, of the Adirondacks and even the coast of New Eng-

land. , i

As one approaches the Alps from the valley leading from Munich

up to Kempten, it could be readily seen that near the lower moun-

tains the valleys were flanked by rounded moraines, clothed with

pines and firs, and no better marked than those in the valley of the

Saco aboùt Conway. Their presence was revealed by the clearings

made in the forests in the same manner as in the White Mountains

and the Adirondacks. In one important feature the marks were

less apparent, as one does not see in the Alps the broad trains of

boulders so common in New England, since they have been artific-

ially removed * during centuries of occupation of the country.

Tt was more difficult to detect striated and rounded rocks in the

Alpine valleys than I had imagined from the accounts of Alpine

geologists and travellers.

It was wonderful how nature has sought as it were to ciii ?

the work of the ice period, through atmospheric agencies, in re-

modelling the materials of moraines, in reducing their former pro-

portions and covering them up by the rapid growth of forests.

The same process has gone on in northeastern America, and it 1s

not improbable that about the same amount of time has been con-

sumed in the work ; namely, the ice Aco was contemporary in

* Penfa shoe a. PEN h b lders below

rofessor a bury & e ps sandi

ny of

the reach of the plough. Th posi

— while others, as with us, have been used for building fences. In some ei o

remarkable boulders. (See NATURALIST,

prie

GLACIAL PHENOMENA. 211

both continents. During a stay of nearly three weeks in Switzer-

land, several days of which I spent on foot in crossing the principal

passes, I was unable to find among the specimens, I had endeavored

to obtain for the museum of the Peabody Academy, a boulder

_ scratched and polished sufficiently to be a fair sample of such work.

Those that I did obtain i.e. small boulders, samples of glacial mud

and gravel, could easily be mistaken for similar specimens from a

glacial moraine at the mouth of the Peabody river at Gorham,

New Hampshire. In all respects, this last named moraine is, in

its glacial characters, the exact equivalent of the moraines at the

edges of Alpine glaciers.

It is not until one crosses over by the great Scheideck Pass

into the valley of Hasli that he sees the most magnificent examples

of polished and grooved rocks, and on a scale perhaps exceeding

anything in America. It was not to be wondered at, however, that

geologists had been slow to realize that so large a portion of

Switzerland had been glaciated.

n Sweden, but especially in Norway, where there are large

glaciers and very extensive mers de glace on the summits of some

of the mountain ranges, the ice marks are everywhere present,

but scarcely more apparent than in the White Mountain valleys.

At one place on a low rocky point projecting into the Sogne

Fjord, there was a magnificent display of deeply grooved and fur-

rowed rocks. But even with the marks at this locality, the

enormous grooves on a hill within the city limits of Salem would

compare favorably. In Norway, I was not able, so hasty was my

journey oyer the country, to secure any samples from moraines

recent enough to compare with moraines in the White Mountains.

In Wales the glacial phenomena are on a diminutive scale compared

even with the White Mountains, but in walking through the cele-

brated Pass of Llanberis the polished rocks, boulders and mo-

raines, from one of which I was able to secure samples of glacial

gravel, were of the same character as is to be seen in the White

Mountains, and scarcely better marked. -

Another point of much interest was the comparison of the glacial

marine beds of Sweden and Norway with those of New England.

While, as is well known, the life of the glacial epoch is almost

identical in the two countries, the fossils found at Uddevalla in

>a as long since pointed out by Lyell, so exactly repeating

the characteristic forms found by Bayfield in the clays of the river

219 GLACIAL PHENOMENA.

St. Lawrence, and the few species peculiar to each deposit are

migrations from the south—it was interesting to see that the lith-

ological characters of the formation were the same in both. Ap-

proaching the Baltic coast of Sweden, and nearing the city of ,

Stockholm, the train carries the traveller over extensive beds |

of clay with exactly the scenic features and color of those of the

coast of Maine, presenting long slopes bounded by hillocks of pale

gray clay with furrowed sides, worn into the same peculiar shapes

by the rains. At the fine museum of the national Geological Sur-

vey, under the direction of Professor Torell, I was enabled to see a

typical collection of the fossils of these clays. It was interesting

to see the Leda truncata (L. Portlandica) so abundant in Maine

beds, and the Yoldia pygmcea not infrequent in the Maine glacial

beds. The abundance of this arctic Leda in deposits on both

sides of the Atlantic shows how much more uniform was the ma-

rine life at that time. Changes in the level of the land, and conse-

quently in its temperature, in the ocean currents, slight though

they were, have brought about the changes in the distribution of

life in the New England seas. Many arctic species and arctic va-

rieties of species, though still living on our coast, are now to be

sought in the abysses of our seas.

The explorations under the auspices of the United States Fish

Commission, in the Coast Survey Steamer Bache last autumn (see

Prof. Verrill’s report in the Amer. Jour. Science, 1872), show how -

vividly we may restore the ancient marine life of the shores of New À

England and the St. Lawrence river below Montreal. Here, at a .

depth of 85-150 fathoms and over, were found living the Arca pec- :

tunculoides, so abundant in the glacial beds of Norway, though it

has not been found in our glacial deposits. The discovery of this

and other animals so near our shores, as well as the results of Count

Pourtales’ researches, and Mr. Whiteaves’ dredgings in the Gulf of

St. Lawrence, shows that the belt of arctic life as developed on the

coast of Finmark at the present day extends southwards in all the

deeper parts of the Atlantic ocean north of the West Indies, with

its outliers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. During the glacial pe-

riod, when the sea stood two or three hundred feet deep over the

present coast line of Maine, and still higher over that of the

- shores of the St. Lawrence Gulf, and Labrador, this belt of life

was continuous up to the shallows and estuaries of the land during

the period of the deposition of our clay beds. This fact should

2 Suk

Nex trie tk Nip. apes ae ae epg SR E ee bs

Sep eee in Seti = as ca: eae

ETOP SAM Ronee a

THE COTTON CATERPILLAR. 213

stimulate us anew to prosecute with still greater ardor deep-sea

dredgings off our coast, particularly the northeast extremity of

the St. Georges Banks, with the hope of finding that now strangely

interesting shell, Leda truncata, which has been brought home from

the seas of Greenland in a recent state by arctic voyagers ; and on

the other hand, to investigate the clay beds of the coast of New

England, and Canada and Labrador with the hope of finding the

Arca pectunculoides, which we can now with some degree of safety

predict will be eventually found. The kind of bottom the writer

found on the northeastern end of St. Georges Banks, and which

_ proved so remarkably rich in molluscan and vermian life, was a

sandy mud, much like that of the richest fossiliferous beds in our

glacial formation.

We have but glanced at the identical features of the glacial phe-

nomena of the Alps, Scandinavia and northeastern America, a mat-

ter which our geologists have doubtless each observed for them-

selves, and which struck Prof. Agassiz when he first arrived in this

country after his years of exploration in the Alps, and journeys in

Scotland and Wales, but which will perhaps suffer repetition in a

popular journal of this character. As Humboldt early in this cen-

tury expressed his delight at finding identical rocks in the New and

Old World, the student of the superficial deposits that cover these

rocks cannot restrain his delight at finding them almost identical

in both hemispheres. Indeed it may be a comfort to the American

student of glacial phenomena to know if he is debarred from visit-

_ ing the glaciers of the Alps or Norway, or even those of the Rocky

Mountains, that in the northern states, their marks are as freshly

preserved as in the Old World, except at the very edge of the

glaciers themselves when photographs will supply the place of

actual vision.

THE COTTON CATERPILLAR.

BY LEWIS A. DODGE.

rn ee as

Turre are two kinds of insects which feed upon and destroy the

cotton crop. The boll worm (Fig. 39, caterpillar and moth) eats

only the bolls or pods containing the unripe cotton lint. It confines

214 THE COTTON CATERPILLAR.

its ravages to the bolls alone and does not trouble the foliage on

the cotton plant. The first brood of boll worms always appears

in the corn fields, where it feeds on the silk and leaves of the

more tender corn until it is large enough to attack the tough cotton

pods, eating into them just as the apple worm eats into the apple. +

But the insect which we dread, and which we call the caterpillar *

(Fig. 40, moth and caterpillar), eats only the leaves on the cotton

plant. The boll worm `

sometimes attacks the

long-staple cotton, but

only as an attendant on

the caterpillar, complet- `

ing what the latter had

begun. We have twice

had our cotton fields

eaten out completely

since the war and conse-

quently have been com- `

worm. pelled to learn something

about the habits of the caterpillar. In appearance and size it is

at first like the canker worm, but towards the latter part of Octo-

ber it becomes much larger and more active.

In one respect it differs from the canker-worm—when you touch

one, it jumps away three or four inches; but ordinarily it crawls

about from leaf to leaf. When first dis-

covered — about the last of July—it is

very small, not much larger than the

head of a pin and was eating holes

through the leaves of the tenderest. cot-

ton from the under side. It soon disap-

peared and in about two weeks we found

a new brood which increased in size and

numbers much more rapidly than the

first. This second brood was confined to

spots in the fields, eating all the foliage wherever it began. After

eating for about two weeks they began to roll up in the cotton

leaves in the form of cocoons and shortly turned into moths, which

_ flew in every direction over the fields and deposited their eggs for

Fig. 39.

Fig. 40,

L Fo an account tof this caterpillar, the Anomis xylina, see the “Guide to the Study

of Insects,” experience with it in Alabama.

THE COTTON CATERPILLAR. 215

the third brood. Each female moth is said to lay at least five hun-

dred eggs, so any one can judge how rapid is the increase.

Thus the caterpillars keep on multiplying into new broods till

near the middle of November, when the frost kills them off.. The

common belief among the negroes is that the caterpillar knows

when the frost is coming, and takes to the woods, where it sleeps

till the next spring, but I have never verified their belief. “As the

cotton plant gets older and the leaves tougher, the caterpillar in-

creases in size and activity and eats from morning till night. Of

course, as the plant loses its leaves, it dries up and the fruit bolls

wither and rot, just as apples do under similar conditions. After

the worms have taken possession of the fields, it is always esti-

mated that from one-half to three-fourths of the yield has been cut

off. We have this year about three hundred acres planted in cot-

ton. At the lowest calculation of price and yield per acre, this

ought to turn us in a $16,000 crop; butif the eer get into

it, we shall be lucky to get $8,000 out of it.

As to where or how the cotton caterpillar originated, several the-

ories have been advanced. Some say that they came from the Ba-

hama islands to Florida and thence spread up along the coast.*

But I suppose they came just as the canker and currant worms

came, and it is as easy to account for one as the other. Their devel-

opment depends much on the state of the atmosphere. Dog-day

weather seems to be favorable to their increase and spread, while

a hot sun scorches them and renders their food, the leaves, dry

and tough. Before the war, they did not appear oftener than once

in seven years, and many old and experienced planters say that

we have them now oftener, because our method of cultivation is

different from theirs and not so thorough. It was always cus-

tomary to burn off all the cotton fields and old pastures after the

frost had killed vegetation, thus destroying any eggs that might

have remained unhatched. This practice in many cases ‘is neg-

lected now; and again they say that we put off ploughing up our

ground too late ; that by ploughing early, the frost has a chance to

act on the soil ‘i kill all grubs and eggs deposited under the

surface. The darkey also has his reason, which perhaps is as good

as any yet assigned. He says the guano brings the caterpillar,

reasoning from the fact that it always attacks the rankest cotton |

*For an account of the distribution of the army or cotton worm, see the NATU-

RALIST, Vol. iy, p. 52.

216 THE COTTON CATERPILLAR.

first, this having attained its luxuriance through the application

of guano. He says the Yankees are so much in a hurry to make

money that they use more guano than they ought. Yankees,

guano, caterpillars and carpet- -baggers are all associated together

in his mind. He will not steal guano for this same reason, that

he believes it breeds the caterpillars.

We have tried several methods of checking them, but none did

much good. We built fires at night around our fields to attract

the moths, but they did not seem much inclined to commit suicide.

We hired hands to examine the plants and pick off the leaves

having eggs on them, but it was a slow and useless job. We

heard that insects could not endure the smell of the castor bean

plant and so planted rows of them through the fields, but it did no

good ; on the contrary, they rather liked it. In fact the only effec-

tual remedy was by picking off the worms theinselyes, thus check-

ing their spread. But one hundred hands picking all day would

not gather more than two or three barrels, and at night there

seemed to be just as many in the field, though their increase was

evidently lessened. Perhaps you say “why not apply carbolic acid

to the plants?” We have tried that too, but’ you might as well

attempt to put out a burning house with a pocket syringe, as to -

sprinkle a field of a hundred acres. How to keep them off, or how

to destroy them after they have come, has not yet been discovered.

` No one who has not seen them at work, can conceive of the

devastation they commit. We have had a field of over one hun-

dred acres eaten out so clean by them in ten days’ time, that it

had the appearance of having been burnt over by fire. To-day

you see only a few here and there; in less than a week the ground,

with every cotton plant and other bush, is one squirming mass of

worms. They are born to devour and most faithfully do they

execute their mission. When they are in full blast, the air in a

cotton-field is filled with a sickening odor of the macerated leaves,

and I have thought I could hear the noise of their eating and

crawling. I have seen ditches a foot deep for miles, filled to the

top with drowned worms, and in one instance the wagon rut for

eight miles or more was full of a wriggling mass of them. Dogs,

geese, turkeys and birds thrive on them, and forsake all other food

= -forthem. The negroes’ dogs get fat on them alone ; the rice birds

desert me rice fields in thousands, preférring the worms to the

Adapted from the Boston da apace

er a ee ae a Mae, ae

E eee ee i a ee ee oe

ON THE GENUS TINOCERAS AND ITS ALLIES.

BY PROFESSOR O. C. MARSH.

Ix the March Naruratist (p. 157) there is an article by Prof.

Cope, on “ The Gigantic Mammals of the Genus Eobasileus,”

which contains no new facts on the subject, but some interesting

additions to the list of errors which I have pointed out in the same

number (p. 151). This paper purports to have been read at the

Dubuque Meeting of the American Association of Science, but ob-

viously includes the results of Prof. Cope’s later investigations, as

well as some corrections suggested by my recent criticism. This

is equally true of the appended paper, which was first issued sepa-

rately, and has just been republished, in an amended form, in the

“ Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy ” (p. 11)

Since the March Narura.ist was published, I have had an op-

portunity, through the kindness of Prof. Agassiz, of examining a

series of photographs of the skull described as Eobasileus cornutus,

by Prof. Cope. These views fully confirm my previous belief in

regard to this specimen (p. 153), viz.: that it belongs to my genus

Tinoceras, and hence to the Dinocerata. The species is apparently

T. grandis Marsh. These photographs, moreover, when examined

in connection with remains of Dinocerata in the Yale Museum, show

conclusively that Prof. Cope has, from the first, mistaken many

important characters of his own specimens, and hence his errone-

ous conclusions in regard to the group to which they belong. His

papers on this subject, therefore, should be corrected on the fol-

lowing points, as well as on those I have already mentioned :—1st,

The name Eobasileus Cope, is a synonym of Tinoceras Marsh,

which antedates it (p. 152), and the name of the family, Tinoce-

ratidæ, likewise has priority over Eobasiliide, which Prof. Cope has

recently introduced. 2nd, The name Lozxolophodon Cope should

not be applied to this genus, as there is no satisfactory evidence

that the single premolar tooth to which it was first given is generi-

cally identical, and the probabilities are against it. 3d, The spe-

cies Eobasileus cornutus Cope appears to be the same as Tinoceras

grandis Marsh, which was first described. The species E. furcatus

Cope, founded on portions of supposed nasal bones To Prof.

< ; 217)

218 THE: GENUS TINOCERAS AND ITS ALLIES.

Cope has since called frontal bones), has at present no authority,

the specimens described being evidently the posterior horn-cores

of other known species. Judging from the description, the name

E. pressicornis Cope, has no better foundation. 4th, The genus

Dinoceras Marsh, is distinct from Uintatherium Leidy, although

perhaps nearly related. 5th, The mammals of the above genera

cannot be placed in the order Proboscidea, but constitute a sepa-

rate order, Dinocerata. 6th, The presence of a proboscis does not

directly result from the osteological characters of this group, but

is inconsistent with them; and hence the evidence is strongly

against it. 7th, The skull in the Dinocerata presents no distinct-

ive Proboscidian features, and the subordinate resemblance in the

limb-bones, I pointed out before Prof. Cope wrote anything on the

subject. 8th, The presence of canine teeth and horns, alone, was

not stated by me to be characteristic of a new order, but other im-

portant characters were mentioned (p. 150). 9th, The canines of

the Dinocerata do not correspond to the tusks of the elephant, and

the latter are not enclosed between the premaxillary and the max-

illary, but are inserted in the former bone. 10th, The nasal bones

of the Dinocerata are much elongated, and do not have their free

extremities extremely short, or deeply excavated. 11th, The fron-

tals do not extend in front of the premaxillaries; their extremi-

ties do not form bony projections like shovels, and they do not

support horns or processes at both extremities. 12th, The ante-

rior horn-cores are on the nasal bones, and not on the frontals, and

they are not composed externally of the maxillaries. 13th, The

middle pair of horn-cores are not on the frontals, but on the max-

illaries, their inner inferior margin alone being formed of the na-

sals. 14th, The tarsus and foot are not strictly Proboscidian in

character, but show strong Perissodactyl features, e.g., in the ab-

sence of a hallux, and in the articulation of the astragalus with

both the navicular and cuboid bones.

The species of Dinocerata at present known with certainty are

the following :—Tinoceras anceps Marsh, Tinoceras grandis Marsh,

Uintatherium robustum Leidy, Dinoceras mirabilis Marsh, and

Dinoceras lacustris Marsh. To these should probably be added

Megacerops Coloradensis Leidy.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

CALIBAN: THE Missine Linx.* — This curious volume of Dr.

Wilson’s, can nowise be compared with his former works, espec-

ially the “ Prehistoric Annals of Scotland.” Indeed, doubts con-

tinually arose, during our perusal of it, whether it really could

be classed among the many works that of late have appeared,

scientifically discussing the question of the ape-descent of man.

This volume consists of fourteen chapters, all quite brief; and but

eight of them really touching upon that “ missing link,” that he

assumes the evolutionist to consider as the bridge that crosses the

chasm now existing between man and his nearest pithecoid rela-

tive. This link is curiously interwoven, as it were, with Caliban

of Shakespeare’s Tempest; and we have in the two hundred and

seventy-one pages of the book, a double essay on evolution and

poetry, certainly very novel and entertaining, if nothing more;

“ the object aimed at in the following chapters,” being, according

to their author, ‘to place the conceptions of modern science in

relation to the assumed brute progenitor of man, alongside of

those imaginative picturings, and of the whole world of fancy and

superstition pertaining to that elder time ; while also, the literary

excellences, and the textual difficulties of the two dramas of

_ Shakespeare chiefly appealed to in illustration of the scientific ele-

ment of inquiry, are made the subjects of careful study.” Dr.

Wilson has, indeed, placed the conceptions of modern science

alongside the whole world of fancy, but in doing so has, we think,

misinterpreted modern science in making the Caliban of Shakes-

peare’s fancy the embodiment of the former’s sum total of results.

At the very outset, the author continually refers to the “‘ miss-

ing link,” the Caliban of Darwin’s fancy, a mere hypothetical being

to make good that writer’s theory; but the evolutionist does not

intimate that one, but many, links are gone ; a whole section, if you

will, in the great chain of being. We doubt not for one moment,

that Dr. Wilson himself would claim that the Bushman and the

European were far different genera, had some geological cataclysm

destroyed the intermediate races ; and would deny their former ex-

Ee yop ee ae

*Caliban: The missing Link. By Daniel Wilson, LL.D. London. Macmillan & Co.

1873. 12mo, pp. 271.

(219)

220 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

more human apes have existed, as in the supposed case; and no

Caliban, we admit, could have filled that intermediate state which

thousands of years and many generations must have done. Could

not time have accomplished this result? And what of the argu-

ment that the ‘ commencing ” man would be too helpless to sur-

vive? Are the more anthropoid apes in greater danger during

infancy, than those smaller monkeys that thrive .so well in the

tropical forests? Dr. Wilson seems to confound the semi-human

and the idiot, but between them we can find nothing in common,

and wonder that ‘‘ the half human intellect,” is to him so difficult

a matter to realize. Natural selection places all other life -— or

other agencies, if you will, effect it — in positions favorable to

growth and increase, and why not an ape, less brutish than the

gorilla, and even less human than the Bushman described by Lich-

tenstein as presenting “ the true physiognomy of the small blue

ape of Caffraria.” (Quoted by Lubbock, in Origin of Civilization.

London, 2d edition, p. 8).

While making many references to various savage races, Dr.

Wilson argues really that man is man, of the calibre and ability of

the great discoverers, rather than a species of many races, or &

being of several species. Mere denial goes but a little way on

this assumption. He overlooks that really but a mere handful,

as it were, of the human species have effected that advancement

which simply benefits the whole. China could never produce a

steam engine except as a copy; and the Algonquin Red Indians

of this continent are as permanently hunting tribes, and nothing

more, as the moon to Caliban was the ‘ lesser light ” in compari-

son with the sun. So there is a vast difference in the mental cali-

bre of the monkeys, which evolution could alone have brought

about; and the Kumbekephali, that Dr. Wilson so ingeniously

brought to light from their hoary graves in Scotland, gradually

evolved all those capabilities which the relics of the graves have

shown, as interpreted by the learned author of “ Prehistoric An-

nals of Scotland,” that they were finally possessed of.

The third chapter, entitled “‘Caliban’s Island,” is again an equal

mixture of ethnology and the drama; but the conclusion, leaving

_ Shakespeare’s home of Caliban at rest, takes up the question of

_ the home of those hypothetical apes that in their own onw

march of improvement are asserted by the evolutionist to have

ven birth to man. Dr. Wilson cannot see in Borneo an island

payee, lee:

BCE Es etc E

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 921

suitable for such a process, and denies that such an ‘* Eden” as

æckeľs Lemuria could have existed; but does not give conclu-

sive reasons why such was not formerly the case. How is it possi-

ble that the surface of the earth can now be correctly delineated,

as it was in the Miocene period, when the first man probably

appeared ?

Whatever may be the truth of man’s origin, it has at least been

proved that it has taken unnumbered centuries for man to become

what a few of his numbers now are; and, again, that so-called

savages are not a result of racial degradation. With these facts,

as we consider them, prominent in the mind, as we read of Shakes-

peare’s Caliban, elucidated by Dr. Wilson’s ingenious pages, we

cannot but think that there is a balance in favor still of Darwin’s

theory, and that the greater difficulties in the way of absolute

proof have not been touched upon by the author of ‘‘ The Missing

Link.” — C. C. A.

OrxrTHOLOGY oF THE West.*—Our notice of Mr. Allen’s article

has been unayoidably delayed, and even now we can do little more

than call attention to one of the most important of the year’s

contributions to North American Ornithology—a telling paper,

worthily succeeding the author’s ‘Florida.’ As Director of a

scientific expedition from the Cambridge Museum, Mr. Allen ex-

plored the greater portion of four territories, collected some two

thousand specimens of over two hundred species of birds, besides

much other material, and made extended observations, especially

in the matters of geographical distribution and climatic variation.

The range of the species is exhibited by means of eight separate

local lists, while a ninth gives a digest of the whole. The faunal

catalogues are severally prefaced with topographical, climatic and

other data of important bearing and enlarged with various inter-

esting biographical notes.

Questions of variation in specific character according to extrinsic

physical agencies are discussed throughout the paper as they suc-

cessively arise, and, we need not add, with the author’s recognized

impartiality and ability. The observed facts receive, on the whole,

what we believe to be their true interpretation. We have no space

to occupy with details, for which we must simply refer to the

* Notes of an Ornithological Reconnoissance of Portions of Kansas, Colorado, Wyo-

ming and Utah. By J. A. Allen. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. iii, No. 6, pp. 113-183. July,

1872. £

222 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

memoir itself; but some points of general moment may be briefly

noticed. Mr. Allen describes or’ otherwise records, but without

naming, “several well-marked geographical races not previously

chronicled ;” and claims, as unquestionably he may, ‘‘a confirma-

tion of all the general conclusions arrived at in my [his] recent

paper on the ‘Winter Birds of East Florida.’” Most of these

varieties hang apon the law, which we believe Mr. Allen was the

first to apply to our birds, if not the first to announce, that, other

things being equal, intensity of coloration varies directly with the

mean annual rainfall. Its extreme manifestation, in the bleached

forms of the American desert, have before been noticed.; but its uni-

versal operation seems to have been hitherto unregarded. Color-

characters of birds are thus correlated with the three leading surface

conditions—forest, prairie and desert—and proven due to the

same meteorological causes. We believe this law to be one of the

soundest and broadest ever applied to the study of birds. Vari-

ation in the size of peripheral parts inversely with latitude is a

second proposition Mr. Allen has elucidated and sustained by

numerous observations ; its full bearing is probably yet to be deter-

mined, since for the present it lacks the stability and unequivocacy

of the other. We find that most of the “ new’ ” geographical races

noticed by Mr. Allen depend upon one or both of these laws.

One of the most noticeable, and, its authorship considered, one of

the most unexpected, features of the present paper is the recog-

nition of numerous races by namg—a mode of treatment that we

heartily endorse. As many of our readers know, ever since Mr.

Allen applied the entering wedge in the locally famous case of

Turdus Alicice, he has made variation his specialty, and lost no

opportunity of showing intergradation of forms once considered

specific. Itis undeniable that, spurred by enthusiasm of discovery

and zeal of earnest conviction, he occasionally overshot the mark

— indeed, this present paper shows he is himself aware of this, for

he has already taken apart some of the crude synonymical lists

that marred “Florida,” and given a “ name” as well as a ‘‘ local

habitation” to many varieties he formerly ignored. We believe

him to be now treading on sure ground, with far less to regret for

the past than is the common lot of the advocates of innovations

that mean iconoclasm. The past year has witnessed changes in

American Ornithology unprecedented since Baird recast the Audu-

modal, if ngt since Wilson took the subject from European

- REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 223

writers to himself—changes not only involving nomenclature and

the rest of the machinery, but also profoundly affecting methods of

study. It is too early to decide whether the modification was sim-

ply the inevitable swinging back of a pendulum that has reached

its limit, or whether it was effected—at any rate, hastened — by

Mr. Allen’s instrumentality. In the latter event, and if the late

revulsion proves to be, as it apparently is, a real reform, Mr.

Allen’s conspicuous connection with the progress of the science at

that particular time is to be regarded as singularly fortunate.—

E. C.

INTERMEMBRAL Homotoares.* — Since it is not reasonably pos-

sible to do justice to this remarkable paper within the limits to

which we are confined on this occasion, we must be content to in-

dicate its nature and scope. This restriction is perhaps the less to

be regretted because, as some few of our readers may be aware,

our own studies of the same subject have run too nearly parallel

with Prof. Wilder’s for us to have entirely escaped a bias of judg-

ment unfavorable to impartial criticism ; and because we would not

even seem to seize an opportunity that the office of reviewer affords

of arguing in favor of views that both the author and ourselves

desire should be left to stand or fall upon their own merits.

ing criticism can only be expected from those who differ, not thoat

who agree. We are satisfied of the soundness of Prof. Wilder’s

main views of the vertebrate homologies ; and if we are at present

unprepared to go with him as far as he has gone, this is chiefly

because he appears to have pushed past a certain Rubicon that

separates the safe logic of observation from the possibly fallible

results of speculation. If we were urged to specify what we be-

lieve to be a misconception under which our learned friend labors,

we should say it were this, as gathered from his collateral writings ;

that no mental abstraction, whether moral, esthetic or purely

intellectual, can be formed, unless a corresponding material em-

iment exists; and that consequently conception of an idea

implies that it has some real physical expression. But there is

reason to believe in the existence of a class of ideas, conventionally

designated, as fanciful, to which this hypothesis has no proven

application. One of the clearest and strongest points of the paper

“© Intermempral Homologies: The Correspondence of the Anterior and 1 Ae

Limbs of a By Burt G. Wilder, S. B., M. D., ete., Proc. Bost. Soc. N. H.

xiv, p. 154, et

224 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

is that made on pp. 15 and 17, where, in the hope of closing “ the

first century of this [the homological] controversy by proposing a

view embracing the best elements of both the two great parties,

syntropists and antitropists,” the author says: ‘it is probable

therefore, that for a final solution of the problem we must combine

the viswal method of Huxley, as based on the facts of position in

the embryo and lower animals, with the intellectual method of

Wyman, as based upon a great law of organization.”

The “ historical sketch of the question ” with which the article

opens is a valuable contribution of the literature of the subject,

meriting a more pretentious name, since it is a critical summary

of most that has been done in this field — one than which few have

been more harrowed with so little cultivation. The author con-

tinues with a revised nomenclature of parts and of ideas—a bol

attempt to furnish some new tools of thought and sharpen others,

the success of which can only be surmised, since this depends

more upon acceptability than adaptability. Such words as meros,

talus and genu strike one peculiarly, while such as pseudantitropy

and hypsesyntropy demand crystallization of the ideas they fore-

shadow to command general recognition. Much original evidence

of the morphical insignificance of numerical composition is ad-

duced in another portion of the treatise ; while several general and

special problems are presented for future research. May we not

confidently look for their solution by an author who has proven

himself an earnest, impartial and meritorious investigator? A

chronological list of works bearing on the subject, invaluable for

Seen closes an article of signal pertinence and acceptability,

becomes at once indispensable to students pf philosophic

oe and which may not improbably be hereafter recorded as

one marking an important period in the progress of that study.

—E. C.

Revision oF tHE Ecury1.* — This superbly printed and lavishly

illustrated work is another of the series of Illustrated Catalogues

issued by the Museum of Comparative Zoology. It is a general

work on the living species of Echini, and from the evident care in

its preparation, combining the results of the study of the types

of most of those who have written on this’order scattered through

* Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College.

No. vii. Revision of the Echini. By Alexander Agassiz. Parts i-ii. With 49 plates.

jal 8vo. pp.

fm ied 6 a ee ee ae ee oe eae

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 225

all the principal museums in Europe as well as our own country, it

must for many years be the standard work on this subject.

The first part contains the bibliography, followed by a chapter on

“ Nomenclature, which will greatly interest special students in zo-

ology, and we only wish we had room to reprint certain portions.

Mr. Agassiz finds that the value of the genera usually recognized,

“ when tested by our present knowledge of the changes they un-

dergo seems limited almost to convenient headings or keys for the

more ready identification of species. Genera, as we recognize

them among Echini, are certainly not founded upon features of gen-

eral and permanent value, but, on the contrary, upon features

applying only to a few species, and of very limited application.”

“ In spite of the definite existence of what we call species, genera,

etc., when we apply these terms to limited regions and series of

the present day, yet we find them totally inadequate to express our

wider interpretation when our standards of comparison are infinite

in time or space.” In illustration of this idea expressed of the

shifting nature of generic characters, if we understand our author

aright, he says in the preface to his second part that “ the number

of fossil genera has been increased to such an extent, and they

haye been based upon features which are here shown [by the study

of the young of existing species] to have so little value, that be-

fore we can make a satisfactory comparison of the fossil species

with those now living, a thorough reéxamination of se ossil

Echini from our present standpoint is absolutely necessary.”

The ‘chronological list” contains the history of the names of

the different forms of Echini; 116 pages are devoted to synonymy.

An interesting chapter on “ Geographical Distribution,” ends part

I. In it he advocates “ Lovén’s theory of the distribution of life,

mofla mora a throughout the bottom of the deeper parts

of the Atlantic.

Mr. Agassiz thinks that we now have a very fair representation

of the littoral Echini of the world, and as recent explorations

indicate that we have hitherto inadequately mapped out the prob-

able distribution of life at great depths, he would wait for the

results of such explorations before discussing the subject. He

finds that the distribution of sea urchins agrees remarkably with

_ the “ great belts of temperature first mapped out by Dana ;” and

copies them on the seven suggestive maps bound in before the

es,

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL VIL 15

226 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

The second part consists of descriptions of the Echini of the

Eastern coast of the United States, with a report on those col-

lected by Pourtalés in the deeper parts of the straits of Florida.

The forty-nine plates are lithographs, Woodbury types and

Albertypes, and each is used with great success in delineating these

forms so difficult to render, and expensive both as regards time

and money. For such objects as Echini photography proves in-

valuable.

AFRICAN ORNITHOLOGY.* — Those who are interested in this

subject will welcome this as a very convenient and useful volume,

the entire reliability of which is assured by the author’s evident

familiarity with the birds treated, as well as by the able critical

editorship of his manuscripts. It is likewise a comprehensive

treatise, four hundred and twenty-eight species being included.

Specimens of nearly all of these have been reéxamined and identi-

fied by Mr. Gurney, to whom we owe their nomenclature and ar-

rangement, as well as the technical portions of the work, Mr.

Andersson’s portion being that of a naturalist in the field. The

complete title of the work, below quoted, sufficiently shows its

plan and scope, while general praise of the mode of execution

would be entirely superfluous. A point of interest for American

ornithologists is the authentic record of ee Bairdiit as a bird

of South Africa.— E.

* Notes on the Birds of Dam 1 1th

By the late Charles John EPn author of, “ete. Arranged and edi ted i: John

Henry Gurn ti with some Ta notes by the editor, and a introductory í baper

containing a sketch of the Author g

London. gore Van Voorst, petty pit Pp- xlviii

tMr. pobeg Supposition that this spec ies 2 as never been figured is not quite

correct. original description, a ite tee colored plate of two figures

pods gt Mr. Cassin, in apne et hia. I had proofs in my possession

plate was intended, and cannot say whether or not it wan ever publis pned. The

a11

is subjoined for conyenience of reference

Chortito l ZARA, sec. Scl. ot kaiiv:

; “ Tringa melanota VIEILLOT.”

? “Tringa dorsalis MEYER et LIC

` ? Tringa pectoralis CASSIN, Gil ites so Exp. ies

Tringa Schinzit bil pees HOUSE, Sitgreave’s Exp. neg 100, Excl. syn., nec Brehm.

SIN, Baird’s B. sya 1858, 722 ( partia) nec

Tringa Schlegel. HAYDEN,

“Geol. & Nat. Hist. € ee sen 5 eek Missouri, 1862, 174. (“ Water courses of the North-

_ west.”)

Tringa maculata maoti, Mus. Pays-Bas, Scolopaces, 1864, 39 arig

Proc. Phila.

Acad. 1861, 194. (“N. Am., R. Mts.”)—

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 22

New Species or Amertcan Moras. *— Mr. Grote is still supply-

ing us with descriptions of our moths, which will make their study

all the easier for students. We cannot agree with him in placing

(after Lederer’s example) the species of Hypena and indeed all the

** Deltoids” among the Noctuids, believing that they run into the

true Pyralids, whether we consider the larval or adult characters.

Unfortunately for lepidopterists the second paper we notice is

but a fragment. It is a mere outline of an extended memoir in

which all the North American species known to the author as be-

longing to the genus Catocala were fully described. This paper

was lost in transportation. This beautiful genus, says Mr. Grote,

“seemed to have its largest representation in North America, and

to attain with.us its fullest development.” Fifty-four species are

described.

ILLUSTRATIONS or ŅORTH AMERICAN EntomMoLoey.t — We have

before alluded to the beautiful and useful plates which Mr. Glover

has for years past been preparing, and now only regret that more

copies of the present work have not been struck off. The volume

before us is one of the most important works on entomology that

has appeared in this country. On the thirteen large plates are

crowded admirable colored figures of every kind. of grasshopper

and allied forms that Mr. Glover has been able to obtain, either

from his own cabinet or those of his friends. They are authenti-

cally named, accordihg to Scudder’s catalogue, and need scarcely

any letter-press to enable them to be determined by the young

entomologist.

The text accompanying these plates, besides giving full expla-

nations of the figures, contains concise notices of the habits of

Be eg ew E Earn ree

Ib. tages 1866, 97. (“ Whole rae al N. Am.”)— SCL. P. Z. S. 1862, 369. (“ Mexico.”)—

BAnn., Trans. Chi Acad. 1869, 292 (“ ALASKA,”)— ALLE LEN, Ball. Mus.

Tee ts iii, 1872, 182. E Gaisrai ”)— HENSHAW, Am. Nat. vi, 1872, 306. (Long

Island, Mass.”)

; ie bs irdii SCL. P. Z. S., 1867, 332. (Santiago, Chili.”)— ID. et SALV. ibid., 1868,

144. (“ Coneaiaas Argentine eaten ”) (Other recorded S. Am. localities are Panama,

New Granada (Salvin) and Tambo, Peru, (Whitely ;) fide HARTING, NEWTON, P. Z. S.

1871, 57. (Egg.) — HARTING, Ibis, 1870, 151, et ia ANDERSSON, B. Damara Land, 1872,

308 (Walwich Bay, S. W. Africa.) — GRAY, H. - L. 1871, iii, 49, No. 10308, — COUES’ KEY

. RD:

z. 255,

*On the North American species of Catocala. Jan. , 1872, 8vo. pp. 28. Description of

North American perenne No.2. Sept., 1872. 8vo, pp.19. By A. R.Grote. (From the

A A hia

phia.)

ustrations of come American Entomology (United States and Canada). By

Townend Glover. Orthoptera. Washington, 1872. 4to with 13 plates, pp. 12.

228 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

these insects, and an alphabetical list of the vegetable and animal

substances injured by them

It will be of great use io agvionbarietss and when the author

feels tempted to issue an edition for the public (the present edition

of fifty copies is intended for distribution among entomologists

and entomological societies only) we are sure that the work will

be highly valued.

Mr. Glover proposes to ‘‘ publish yearly, or from time to time,

additional plates, etc., of the same size and in similar style, of any

new or rare Orthoptera which may be added to our list by the ex-

peditions or by private enterprise, as likewise, eventually to illus-

trate all the other orders of insects in a similar manner.”

Tue Forms or Warter.* — Prof. Tyndall leads off in the admi-

rably projected ‘* International Scientific Series,” which we owe to

e earnest efforts of Prof. Youmans, and the energy and liberality

of the Messrs. Appleton. We are so late in noticing the present

attractive volume that probably most of our readers have bought

it. ose who have not seen it have a rare treat in store, as it

` fully equals Tyndall’s other works in the lucidity and interest of

its style, and is of special value as giving in a simple, condensed

form the views of the pioneers in glacial studies. The series com-

prises a large number of subjects to be treated by the leading sci-

entists of the old and new world, and when completed will form an

adimirable library of science.

Puyrsics and Poxitics.t — This little volume, consisting of six

essays, may fairly claim, we think, to be considered a valuable <

addition to anthropological literature. It certainly is strictly

scientific throughout, and commends itself, by its clear statements

of facts, to the intelligent reader. It is not merely an outline of

the works of others, or an attempt to Pen the history of the

human races of prehistoric periods.

Mr. Bagshot takes up the subject of the very early condition of.

mankind, and while viewing him in a light quite different from t

either of Lubbock or Tylor, yet draws the same conclusions: and

*The Forms of Water in Clouds and Rivers, Ice and nage _ByJ ohn ape

LL.D., ver With thirty-five illustrations, ete. New pleton & Co.

12mo, pp.

ke ee Politics; or, Thoughts on the application of the rinse of “ Nat-

ural Selection” and “Inheritance” to Political Society; by Walter Bagshot, ae

New York: D. Appleton & Co: being the Second Volume of the International

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. ` 229

brings forth more facts for the theory, now established, that man’s

original condition was one of barbarism— one, in which, the bes-

tial predominated. This theory, in fact, needs no further demon-

stration, and may be said to be accepted by the scientific world.

The essence of the argument of the first two essays is that man

early secured a modicum of law, as shown in selecting one as a

leader ; and as that tended to bind together each little community,

so it became powerful and warred successfully with the neighbor-

ing men, who were held in no restraint, by the natural selection of

one of superior parts, who would be a leader, by the admiration

he caused among his fellows.*

When this “law” was powerful enough to make men mere fac-

similes of other men, progress was at an end—the imperfectly

developed civilization crystallized. ‘‘ Progress,” he says “is only

possible in those happy cases where the force of legality has gone

far enough to bind the nation together, but not far enough to kill

out all the varieties and destroy nature’s perpetual tendency to

change.”

This argumentation is carried out more fully in the following

chapters on ‘‘ Nation making ” and the ‘Age of Discussion ;” an

as the author never loses sight of the theory of evolution, ‘‘ which,

if it be not proved conclusively, has great probability and great

scientific analogy in its favor,” it is interesting and instructive to

the scientific reader to see these principles, whicł are so gener-

ally applied to mere genera and species, successfully, we think,

handled in the elucidation of some puzzling anthropological prob-

lems.—C. C. A

Porutar Science Montuty.t—After carefully reading this jour-

nal, since its first appearance nearly a year ago, we can say that

it is doing a good work for science in this country by commending

the labors of scientific men, and raising the minds of the laity into

. the scientific atmosphere. Scientific thought is something distinct

from the average thought of our age and people, whether expressed

* Mr. Bagshot only pepi to oe how the various nations may have arisen,

and not how the well worked s became so distinctly characteristic as they are.

This subject he touches upon, we only to refer to it ere seems much probability

_ however in the suggestion, that — selection, in races, as in sones produced ar

ifferences as they now exist, but it may be, at an earlier period, when mankind w

e e.

t Popular Science Monthly. Conducted by E. L. Youmans. New York; D.

Kosten &Co. 8yo. Each number 128 pp. With illustrations.

230 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

in our commercial, literary or religious papers. It is the mental

air that Galileo, Goethe, Newton, Kant, Linnwus, Cuvier, Rum-

ford, and the scientific lights of our own day have created ; and

nothing but sound mental health, a hearty love of truth, and

greater happiness will result from breathing such air. Science is

the expression of the common sense of all ages. It tends more

than any other study to develop common sense in the individual.

This journal does not cultivate a special department of science

but aims at persuading men that science is to be cultivated not

only for its own sake, but as directly increasing human health and

happiness.

The only fault we have to find is that the papers, most of which

are selected from the scientific thinkers of England, do not per-

haps fairly represent American thought, for certainly we have

men of as much ability as the authors of many of the papers that

have been reprinted in this journal, could they be induced to write.

Again in the department of Reviews is an excellent opportunity,

of which due advantage is not taken, of eliciting the best thought

of our working chemists, naturalists, geologists and astronomers.

American scientists have a duty to perform in impressing the value

of science upon our politicians and rulers. We believe in the

Platonic marriage of Science and the State.

Harr Hour Recreations IN Poputar Scrence.*— This admira-

ble series of reprints contains papers entitled ‘Strange Discover-

ies respecting the Aurora and recent Solar Researches,” by R

Proctor ;. ‘the Cranial Affinities of Man and the Ape,” by Prof. R.

Virchow ; “Spectrum Analysis Discoveries,” by the editor ; “ Neb-

ulæ, Meteoric Showers, and Comets ; and Unconscious Action of the

Brain, and, Epidemic Delusions,” by Dr. Caspantet Prof. A. Win-

chell has prepared a number on the “ Geology of the Stars” which

is in press. This, series is to be followed by the publication of

“ Half Hour Recreations in Natural History,” to consist of several

volumes, entitled “Half Hours with Insects, with Birds, Wild

Animals, Domestic Animals, Reptiles, Plants, Trees, and Fishes.

Each volume is to be carefully prepared by an expert. We are

to have such works freely disseminated. They are popular

in n style and will be found to be very readable by persons not

versed in science.

: *Half Hour Recreations in Popular Science. Dana Estes, editor. Estes & Lauriat,

Boston. 12mo. Each number 32 or 36 pages. With illustrations.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 231

A New Tueory or THE OrtciIn or Spectes.* — We have here

an essay illustrative of the general principle, that confidence in

the discussion of great problems of modern science is in inverse

ratio to aknowledge of details. The author has undertaken as his

first work to handle the most difficult of scientific problems, com-

mencing at the top instead of the bottom of the scale of work

which the student must pursue in order to reach conclusions which

rest on a solid basis. The result is naturally a production scien-

tifically worthless. His theory, that each new specific form is pro-

duced from the matrix of a preéxistent species by supernatural

creative power, is only a form of the old belief in distinct creations,

and is not a developmental theory in any sense. He produces no

evidence in support of it; in fact, he does not appear to know

what scientific evidence is. This further appears in the inconsis-

tency of his belief in the development of species by descent. In

evidence of this he cites the arguments adduced by some well

known European authors, with reference to the succession from

less to more perfect, exhibited by classification and paleontology.

With the works of American scientists he appears to have little or

no acquaintance. Occasionally, novel and erroneous statements

are made ; e. g., ‘¢ The Icthyosaur is between the predaceous fishes

and the crocodile!” ‘In this era the fierce Saurians make their

appearance in the Megalichthys hibbertii!” Trilobites are defined

as “a three lobed animal, in general figure something like the

wood-louse.” The Mosasaurus “ a huge reptile twenty-five feet

long” is referred to the Eocene formation (!) and is said to be

‘Sintermediate between the monitor and the Iguana.” A slight

knowledge of American palzontology would have prevented such

blunders. The early part of the paper is occupied by arguments

of the popular sort against descent by generation. He hays espec-

ial stress on the size of the human brain as compared with that of

the apes, forgetting that the canary’s brain is relatively still larger

than that of man.

The author expresses himself clearly and distinctly, and we hope

that his pen may in future find abundant occupation in relating his

studies into the structure, embryology, and other details of biol-

ogy, which are essential to the discovery of the laws of creation.

In this we prophesy for him success. As it is, he is now evidently

ge eee

* A New Theory of the Origin of Species. By B. G. Ferris, New Haven, Conn.

Chas. C. Chatfield & Co.

252 “ BOTANY.

a book zoologist. Work in the shop (which we hope he will un-

dertake) will correct his views and give him a place among his

friends, American zoologists. In the meantime let him look up

the orthography of the words carnivorous and herbivorous. —

E. D.C.

BOTANY.

CULTIVATION or CALIFORNIA Roots anp Bures. —In a climate

like ours, clearly discriminated by a wet and long dry season, we

find these bulbs located say`about six to ten inches deep ; the vital

fibres, or true roots, shoot downwards ten inches to a foot below

this point, in search of food and moisture: thus radiating from the

leading germinal end of mostly oblong scaly bulbs — the respec-

tively dormant fibres that have “ closed in” serving as stays, etc.

Is it not evident, then, that such bulbs require a flower pot at least

eighteen inches deep? Hence, ordinary pots must be utterly useless,

cramping the plant, or inadequate to meet its primary natural in-

dications. Let any one take an improvised five-gallon kerosene

or alcohol tin can, or the like, which is good enough, not to say the

best, cut out one end and nail narrow slats around the upper

margin to add symmetry, avoid unsightly dents, and for conven-

ience in handling ; and if one slat is dressed, paint the name, to

avoid annoyance of displayed labels; paint rudely inside and out,

to preserve ; punch say at least three large holes in the bottom;

plant, as in nature, in any good soil well composted, and set your

ean, keg or crock, in a shallow pan of water. You will soon have

the pleasure of seeing a stout stem, of the size of your thumb, rising

up and “rejoicing as a strong man to run a race,” and flowering

gorgeously. Let it generally be observed here, once for all, that

in California underground irrigation, or water supply from beneath,

is the requisite rule or law to be observed, especially in their ad-

vanced stage of growth. Many California plants are not only

injured but killed outright by spraying beneath our California sun.

To illustrate these principles, let us take a few other examples, to

show that if a plant spends its vital force searching for requisite

food or moisture; or, if the law of supply be reversed, efforts

balked, or attained at too great an expenditure, little or nothing

else can be accomplished. Abronia arenaria, as the specific name

indicates, grows in sand. If found on deep sand-drifts of the bay

shore of = rancisco, or inland, it shoots down a stout fusiform

BOTANY. s 233

root of indefinite length ; but often poor and puny is the top, that

creeps not far from the crown, with perhaps few flowers and little

fruit. But mulch a moist, black, brackish, cracky soil, with only

six or eight inches of sand, and it will go down to, or a little into it,

spreading abroad its forked subdivisions and fibres, almost or quite

horizontally ; the crown-sprouts now run riotously, mantling the

sand with vines, full of pink flowers in fruitful umbels unnumbered.

Often one spray of water above will kill it entirely; or, the root

remaining, it will sometimes come up and flourish again if surface

irrigation is neglected, even two years afterwards. A similar short

horizontal spread of root is seen with Alfalfa, on tule or lands fairly

shaking and rocking with a peaty carpet; and so of a thousand

roots, otherwise exceedingly deep, and prone to delve. The legiti-

mate practical inferences we leave to the good sense of every

enlightened stock-raiser, farmer and cultivator.

Florists are apt to -complain that many of our bulbs ere they

bloom lose one essential beauty of plants, namely, their radicle

leaves, which, they say, “dry up, and leave the stems looking

naked and bare. They are frequently found upon exposed hills

.and slopes, rocks, etc., descending down dry and very hot valleys,

into debris and alluvial bottoms, where sand or loam with under-

ground moisture abounds. The very same plants are seen to rejoice

best where they find some shade and shelter; otherwise, they be-

speak a struggle for existence, i. e., their leaves prematurely or

naturally dry up early to.save exhaustion. In half shades, along

igh banks and slopes, contiguous to creeks, with adequate subsoil

moisture, we see Cyclobothra alba, with long and beautiful glaucous

leaves, say an inch and a half wide and eighteen inches to two feet

in length, accompanying the flowers, ten to twenty in number ; the

i golden C. pulchella and most others tolerate more sun and drought,

with their companions the manzanita (Arctostaphylos glauca); oaks,

etc., near whose shades it is wont to linger ; but its best forms love

rich, rocky, half shady drains — leaf and flower companions to the

close. Witness Seubertia laxa, two to four feet high; the same

: Dichelostemas and Brodicas, with ten to fifty flowers, and green

- leaves in similar grace and completeness of beauty. The list might

~ be extended beyond the reader’s patience; what we desire to say

and impress is, that the same plants exposed are barely one

quarter as large, and with no green leaves at all, or at best a poor

apology for them; and so of numberless others.

234 . BOTANY.

Erudite and complex recipes relative to proper mixtures of soils,

and common management may well be left to the knowledge and

judgment of those who believe in them. With such a wealth of

sunlight and heat above as falls to the lot of California, and no

lack of the commercial medium, moisture, below, I see no reason

why we may not allow Nature, under human hands, to grow her

fragrant white Lady Washington lily six or seven feet high, with

ten to thirty or more flowers, just as we see it wild. Z. Bloomeri-

anum, too, is a perfect giant among lilies, when at-its best — a

right super-royal display — the Divine Teacher himself being

judge. Nor why L. superbum in a southern bog should be eight

feet high, with the best part of a hundred flowers, as we have seen

it there, and still the marvellous beauty is ever new as we retrospect.

Even our little orange L. parvum, I found at the Sierra summit over

five feet high and fifty flowers — carefully counted —but the plant

was sheltered and shaded by an old emigrant water-tank stilted

up, now dry and long ago abandoned, but its roots found a fair

supply of water from beneath.—Dr. A. KELLOGG, in the California

Horticulturist.

On Drovcat IN rts RELATION TO WINTER-KILLED TREES.—I was

pleased to note how near Prof. Shaler, by a single season’s observa-

tion (see Vol. vi, p. 671), came to a correct theory of arborescent de-

struction in winter, which it took me some years to discover after

a comparison of numerous facts, — namely, that trees commonly

hardy, when they are killed in winter, are destroyed by evaporation,

in the same way that they are by drought in a dry summer.

In my younger horticultural days, if any one had given thought

at all to the process of destruction, it was to believe that frost

expanded the sap in the cells which consequently became ruptured,

just as frozen liquid splits a bottle. It fell to my lot to combat

this view, and to show that it was evaporation and not expansion.

I need not. here detail the facts on which this law has been founded.

The readers of the ‘‘ Gardener’s Monthly ” are familiar with them,

and a reference to the Index of the past twelve volumes will

readily direct others who have been outside of the horticultural

pale, for it is essentially a field for the observing horticulturist to

cultivate.

Poe Shaler was quite right in doubting whether it was the in-

of the

m Ooy wain anpa eno e

BOTANY. - 235

quite in accordance with the fact iw his suggestion that it was after

the frost left the roots that the injury began. If Prof. Shaler will

remember that there is an enormous evaporation going on from

plants exposed to a dry atmosphere, and that this takes place

whether there be frozen soil about the roots or not, he will I think

understand how a plant may become exhausted of itself, without

waiting for the thaw. If there be a very dry atmosphere, and the

roots nearly all encased in frost at the same time, it is still more

difficult to supply this waste. The deeper the frost the greater

the difficulty, and the more evaporating surface, as in evergreens,

the greater the risk.

The destruction by drought and not by the absolute degree of

frost being conceded, there remains nothing but to apply the law

to general science as Prof. Shaler suggests; a dry atmosphere

becomes a destructive agent as well as frost, and those plants

which part with their moisture the most readily, as a climate

passes from moist to dry, must be the first to disappear. In my

grounds I had large quantities of American hornbeam side by side

with the English species. These last were all killed to the

ground,— the others uninjured. This shows that the American

Species can resist evaporation better than the European. It is

difficult to decide from an evolutionary point of view which of

these two very closely allied species had the priority of origin. If

we accept the proposition that in water was the beginning of plant

life, we might infer that development has been in the direction of

the dry atmosphere, and thus arrive at the conclusion that by

natural selection the American is an offshoot from the European.

In my grounds also the Liriodendron suffered terribly. I had ten

thousand from one to five feet high killed to the ground, but all

above this were uninjured, as their roots were deep in the ground,

and could supply the waste of sap without much destruction from

the frost. But the fact of the younger ones drying up so easily,

Shows that this tree was not created for a dry winter climate.

We must infer that they are either immigrants, or that the climate

` has changed since their first appearance. And then again arises

another suggestion. Suppose the future seasons should regularly

repeat the last, would “natural selection” be sufficient to produce

_ Some less liable to loss by evaporation, as we have supposed may

have been the case with the hornbeam? Would this change to a

greater winter aridity, if continuous, give rise to a new species of

Liriodendron ?

236 ZOOLOGY.

These are some of the thoughts suggested by Prof. Shaler’s

paper. They are mere “ speculations ” it is true, but the imagi-

nation, under proper control, is a great aid to investigation. If

we suspect something we may be led to look for the evidence ; and

thus learn long before those who wait to stumble on the truth.—

T. Mersan.

INFLUENCE OF ForerGN PoLLEN oN tae\ParenT PLANT :— Pro-

fessor Gray adds (Amer. Journ. Science and Arts, Dec., 1872)

another to the already numerous instances, says the it pondeae

which have placed this mysterious phenomenon beyond dispute.

An apple (Spitzbergen) produced a fruit half of which was (at

least as to the surface) Spitzenberg, the other haif russet. A tree

of the latter fruit stood about two hundred yards off. The division

into two exactly equal parts is quite unexpected; as the styles and

carpels were five, we should have expected the division to be into

fifths. Moreover, the action of the pollen in this case is, morpho-

logically, on the calyx, not on the pericarp.

e have been told on excellent authority that apples have been

raised in Hopkinton, Mass., which were half sweet and half sour,

the line of demarcation being very distinct, so that the distinction

` in this case was more than skin deep.

[The apple in question was received from the Smithsonian

Institution, with an account of its history, and a statement that —

one or more similar apples had been already received at the Agri-

cultural Department, Washington, and preserved in wax models.

Although the external line of demarcation was perfectly distinct,

we are bound to add that, on cutting it up and distributing por-

tions among the members of our botanical class, about half the

tasters pronounced the morsels to be russet which were taken from

the Spitzenberg side of the apple, or vice versa. But the fruit was

hardly ripe enough.— A. G.]

ZOOLOGY.

A New Srrcres or Srarrow.—Ornithologists will be interested

to learn of the recent discovery of a sparrow belonging to the —

genus Centronyx, a genus heretofore represented in collections only

by the unique type of C. Bairdii collected in 1843 by Audubon.

_ The epeo in question has been minutely examined and com-

The abore mentioned type of C. Bairdii by Mr. Robert

“ZOOLOGY. 237

Ridgway, of the Smithsonian Institution, who has kindly furnished

me with the results of his examination.

The following is a a of the bird. :—

CENTRONYX OCHROCEPHALUS Aiken I

p ochraceous, deepest on top, and aiad fading to Hindi on aha ‘throat;

mi h ; h

ochraceous maxillary one, a narrow iewi siripe bye the lower edge of the ear-cov-

erts, and a heavy “ bridle ” on each side of t oat.

Lower parts buffy-white, purer pos ios parc crossed by a series of heavy

cuneate streaks of deep black, AA continu bac Haag wish along the sides, but becom-

ing reddish on the flank. Dorsal feathers Ae tle black centres, and broadly

. bordered, both. laterally, and rg ally, with c nce een rump and upper tail-

wide visage similar, , the feathers with black shaft-streaks. Wings reddish-gray, the feathers

Tail-feathers ale: skirted with pale ochre-grayish, this becoming

pure white on ‘the quter pair of feathers on each side, the exterior of whi ch are pale

gray centrally.

Win ee tail, 2-40; culmen, -45; tarsus, ‘85; middle-toe, -63; lateral toes, -20 shorter;

hind-to

iain RI Paso County, Colorado.

Though evidently closely related to O. Bairdii, this bird seems

to differ specifically in quite different proportions, and also ap-

parently, in different coloration, though the type of C. Bairdii is

in such worn and faded plumage, that its perfect dress cannot be |

ascertained satisfactorily.

The differences of form and proportion between the two species

of Centronyx are as follows :—

C. Barron. tae vad the lateral feather as short as the middle one, and

out ‘20 shorter than the longest; wing, 2°80; 2°10; culmen, -50;

} sc arsus, *90; sopvetnpuae “60; hind-toe, +40; its cla

C. OCHROCEPHALUS. Tail deeply emarginated, the la gon feather longest, and ‘20

it than the middle; wing, 3 tail, 2.40; culmen, .45;

8, ‘85; middle-toe, <63; hind- vir *35; its claw, ‘30.

Of the habits of the bird, I can at present say but little; the

single specimen obtained, was found on the dry open plains, many |

miles from timber. Its actions appeared to resemble those of

Coturniculus passerinus. — C. E. ArKen, Fountain, Colorado.

Instance or SAGACITY AND Arrecrion IN A Doc.—On the after-

noon of January 4th, Mr. F. W. Crosby of this place, while walk-

ing along the bank of Clear Creek, observed two dogs. A black

Newfoundland dog (male) and a small white dog (female) playing

together on the ice in the creek. While Mr. Crosby’s attention

was diverted for a moment the white dog disappeared from sight,

238 ZOOLOGY.

having fallen through a hole in the ice, and the black dog was

working with might and main to make a hole through the ice

several feet below where his mate fell in.

The creek at this point is shallow and quite rapid, so the dog

was carried down stream but a few feet and lodged against a

stone.

Mr. Crosby not realizing then the true condition of things, or

that he could be of any assistance to the drowning dog, passed on.

Returning by the same place in about half an hour, he noticed

that the black dog had succeeded in making a hole through the

ice, had drawn his then dead companion from the water, and stood

over her, as if trying to warm the lifeless body. The ice where

the dog made the hole was one and one-half inches thick and

strong enough to beara man. The dog worked with such energy

as to cut his feet and mouth quite severely.

This occurred about 5 Pr. m. The next morning the dog was

still on the ice walking slowly back and forth near the body of his

companion, and he had evidently remained there during the whole

night, although it was very cold and stormy. — W. O. C.

Tue Foop or Drerera. — That certain kinds of flies, espec-

*ially many belonging to the order of Syrphide, live to a great

extent on the pollen of plants, was first pointed out by Dr. Herm.

Miller of Lippstadt (see Naruraxisr for July, 1871, p. 390), who

‘described the process by which they accomplish the chewing of the

pollen-grains and the severance of the threads by which they are

frequently held together, by means of minute denticulations at the

end of the proboscis. This statement is in opposition to the views

of many entomologists, who hold that, not being provided with

mandibles, the Diptera must depend mainly or altogether on fluids

for their nourishment; but it has recently been confirmed by the

' observation of some English naturalists. Mr. A. W. Bennett has

examined under the microscope the contents of the stomachs of

several Syrphidæ, especially Eristalis tenax and Syrphus arbusto-

rum, and finds them loaded with pollen-grains belonging to some

composite plant, presumably an Aster; and one of the first Eng-

lish entomologists, Mr. Edward Newman, states in the “Entomolo-

gist” for January that “ Eristalis feeds chiefly on pollen, and most

of the Syrphidæ follow its example; the common house-fly eats

various solids, and masses of these substances may be found in

2 eet mines aN Seer ee, J =

Reeth se wom OL Tay. Fe” he ree eas oT ey

Be tt yen = ee ee a ers ne eee

ZOOLOGY. 239

the stomachs of these Diptera undissolved and unaltered after

passing through the entire length of the leathery and extensile

proboscis.” — A. W. B

Nore on Cassx’s PYRRHULA.—Ornithologists have generally ac-

cepted the Pyrrhula Cassini Baird from the Yukon region, Alaska,

as a valid species, the essential character consisting in the absence

of red on the part of the male, and the elongated white spot on the

outer tail feather. Ina communication presented at the eighteenth

meeting of the German Ornithologists’ Association, Dr. Cabanis

referred to a Pyrrhula from Lake Baikal, having very much the

character of Cassini; and at a meeting of the society held in Berlin,

on the 3d of June, 1872, this determination was re-aflirmed by

Cabanis, in the strength of three specimens lately received from

Baikal precisely like the Alaska species, previously described.

The bird is said, indeed, to be quite abundant, and its occurrence

‘in Siberia, therefore, removes the difficulty which was felt in assent- :

ing to the existence of a purely American species, of a genus that

is eminently characteristic of the Old World.

In the same communication by Dr. Cabanis, it is stated that

Cassin’s Bulfinch was also to be accounted as a bird of Europe, since

reference is made by Wickevoort Crommelin, in the Archives Neer-

landaises, to a bird, killed in a flock of Pyrrhula vulgaris in Nov.,

1866, which differed from the rest in having an elongated white

` Spot on the inner edge of the sat P feathers. (Cabanis’

Journal, 1871; 318; & 1872; 315.) — S. F. B.

Hyra Pickerrnen IN Winter.— Mr. Samuel P. Fowler, of

Danvers, Mass., has sent us a beautiful fawn colored specimen of

the little spring piper, or Hyla, which he found, on November

29th, embedded in a heap of grass sods in his garden. We know

nothing of the winter habits of our Batrachians and every fact of

this kind should be put on record.

APPLICATION OF THE Darwinian THeory TO Bees. — Hermann

Müller publishes, in the * Transactions of the Natural History

Society of the Prussian Rhineland and Westphalia,” an elaborate

` paper of about a hundred pages octavo, under the above caption.

We have already given in the Naruraist the exceedingly inter-

esting paper by this author from the Italian version, with notes

by Prof. Delpino. Space only allows us at present to briefly notice

240 ZOOLOGY.

the chief points made in this second longer article. The object of

the present memoir is to show “how in the bees a comparison of

those peculiarities of organization which have marked them as

useful in aiding the bee in seeking flowers, give us a certain clew

in seeking for the ancestry of bees, and the branching out of their

genealogical tree.”

The memoir is divided into six sections, with the following

heads :—

«1

entiation of their posterity, and so extensive opportunity for the

firm establishment of manifold adaptations for the most advan-

5. Numerical relations of males and females. Qualifications of

the males which aid them in seeking the females. Peculiarities o

the male antennz. Why the antennz are to be regarded as organs

of touch and hearing. Peculiar kinds of motions of males.

n former times the efforts to effect sexual union brought

about secondary sexual peculiarities.”

Tue THICK-BILLED GUILLEMOT. — A specimen of Uria arra

Pallas was shot on the Lamoille river, at Fairfax, Vt., about the -

middle of last December. The bird was nearly full-grown and in

good condition. So far as I know this is the first instance of the

capture of this bird in New England, except along the shores of

he nc th portion. — G. H. PERKINS.

fe,

ZOOLOGY. 241

Insurrous Insects.—In the last report (1872) on the “ Injurious

Insects of Mass.,” made to the Board of Agriculture, some facts are

brought out that may interest entomologists as well as farmers.

Onion Thrips.

A grievous pest to the onion crops of Essex county is the Limo-

thrips tritici of Fitch, who found it on the blossoms of wheat and

Fig. 42.

Parasite of Cabbage Caterpillar.

clover. The insect * occurred in all its stages (Fig. 41, male, and

end of antenna of male; a, female; b, larva) on the leaves of

e are indebted to the kindness of Hon. C. L. Flint, Secretary of the Board of

; il for the loan of t

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. vit. “16

242 ZOOLOGY.

onions, and by puncturing them, destroyed about $10,000 worth of

this valuable crop in Essex county alone in the summer of 1871.

he parasite of the imported cabbage caterpillar is described

and figured (Fig. 42, a, male; b, female; c, larva; d, front and side

view of pupa). To Mr. A. G. T. Ritchie of Montreal is due the

Fig. 43. credit of first making

known the history of this =

invaluable insect. We

| have raised many of them

5 Pteromalus puparum, and

Tachina larva. has been known to be a

native of Hudson’s Bay Territory since 1844, so that it could not

have been introduced with the Pieris rape, its host.

Fig. 43 illustrates a Tachina parasite of the same butterfly found

by us at Salem. Its imago is unknown. The cabbage web moth

(Fig. 44, with cocoon), which is sometimes so destructive, is no-

Cabbage Web Moth.

Fig. 46.

ticed; also the radish weevil (Fig. 45 from Curtis, illustrates the

different stages of the European Ceutothynchus assimilis). It is

thought that an example (Fig. 46) found about fifteen years ago

by the writer, on the radish, in Maine, belongs to this species. In

Europe it is said to be very destructive. :

Another beetle likely to prove annoying, as we have found'it in —

ferneries and gardens, and which in England is said to be a “ dread- —

ful pest in gardens,” is the weevil, Otiorhynchus picipes (Fig. 47).

The raspberry saw fly (Fig. 48) is noticed, and the chestnut ,

_ weevil (Fig. 49), which is thought to be the larva of a species of

_ Balaninus, related to B. nasicus (Fig. 50).

ZOOLOGY. 243

Fig, 48.

Fig. 51. Fig 49. ë

b S

Chestnut Borer.

Fig. 52.

Garden Weevil.

Fig, 50.

Balaninus.

Elm Borer,

INJURIOUS INSECTS. -

244 ZOOLOGY.

The chestnut tree has been found to be tenanted by the larva of,

Arrhopalus fulminans (Fig. 51) while a new borer of elm trees

has been discovered by Mr. G. D. Smith in the larva of Physocne-

mum brevilineum Say (Fig. 52).— A. S. P.

Proressor Copr’s Cave Crustaceans. — Dr. Hagen in the last

volume of the Naruratist, p. 494, has called attention to the blind

crawfish described by Prof. Cope in the article on Wyandotte Cave

in the same volume, p. 406, but no one seems to have noticed the

. peculiar characters of the other crustaceans described in the same

paper. As Prof. Cope’s article, with its figures, has been copied

in “Nature ”. and republished without change in the last ‘ Annual

Report of the Geological Survey of Indiana,” and very likely in

other ag it seems quite time these remarkable animals should

be noticed.

The ‘‘Gammaroid crustacean ” from Mammoth Cave (Stygobro- ,

mus vitreus Cope) has a description so uncertain and confused that

we wholly fail to comprehend the appellations given to the caudal

appendages, without supposing Prof. Cope to have entirely mis-

understood their structure and relation in Niphargus, and conse-

quently in all gammaroid crustaceans. He speaks of the body in

Niphargus “ terminating in a very long style” and of the “last

abdominal limb” as “ undivided like that which precedes it.” The

. long style must be one of the posterior pair of caudal stylets, and

“ the last abdominal limb ” and “ that which precedes it” must refer

to the first and second caudal stylets, which are not simple but

bi-ramus.

The “ unknown crustacean with external egg-pouches,” referred

to the genus Cecidotea, possesses characters before quite unknown

7 Isopods. The female is described and figured as a Tetrade-

capod-like crustacean with egg-sacks, like those of many Entomos-

traca, attached to the extremity of the abdomen, while in the

females of all previously known Tetradecapods, the eggs are

carried within lamellz arising from the bases of the thoracic legs.’

Its supposed affinities with IJdotea are still more obscured by the

only allusion which is made to the mouth appendages, a figure

labelled as “the mandible and palpi of right side,” with the ex-

: = that “ the outer palpus lies above the lateral plate, and

: its origin was not seen.” Although it is difficult to determine what —

oo * referred to Fe are, it seems to be implied that

ers Mase eee it ee Se et eee a E

f :

re bee Seth tn Pa GES. aE Wace? Sit ee

ANTHROPOLOGY. — MICROSCOPY. 245

the mandible was furnished with a palpus, which is not the case in

the family Jdoteide as usually understood. As figured and de-

scribed, it seems to be a form combining characters distinctive of

two primary groups of crustacea, and it is strange Prof. Cope

should not have seen in it “ the type of a peculiar group of high

rank.” On account of the interest this little animal must excite,

it is to be regretted that it was not more fully described, but it is

stated that, “ the specimens are in bad condition, having lost their

limbs, egg-pouches and the distal portions of their antenne.”

This is perhaps the most important sentence in the description.

The parasite of the blind fish, a Lernæan, described and figured

with egg-sacks similar to those of the species just mentioned, is

interesting, not only in itself, but for its possible relations to the

Cecidotea. Has not the damaged Isopod been carelessly restored

with some of the Lernzan’s appendages, instead of having retained

them from some Entomostracan progenitor by retardation of

development? — S, I. Surrn.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Antiquity or Man 1x Amertca.—In the December number

of this journal we made an abstract of a paper printed by the

Philadelphia Academy, in which Mr. Berthoud gave an account of

the relics of an early race of men. As the geological position

of the relics has been questioned, further information is very’

desirable. 4

“MICROSCOPY.

A Drying Casr.— Mr. Wm. H. Walmsley has been using for

years, in the preparation of his well known microscopical objects,

a very convenient and useful drying case. This case is especially

useful for hardening balsam mountings, drying tissues, ete. It is

made of tin, heated with hot water and well ventilated, capable of

drying one hundred specimens at once, and able to retain its heat

for eight hours without attention. Microscopists can obtain it

from James W. Queen & Co.

Ax Oxsecr Carrier.—The object carrier usually furnished with

the concentric glass stages is extremely satisfactory for study-

ing mounted specimens, but not equally good for other work. It

_ 'S unsuitable for a large stage plate, or for a heavy trough or com-

246 MICROSCOPY.

pressor unless moving too stiffly for ordinary use, and unavailable

where objects are to be dissected and afterwards drawn with the

camera or examined with high powers without risk of losing the

object. Hence, for a working instrument, Prof. Biscoe prefers to

discard the object carrier altogether and place the slide or other

support directly on the stage. This is held in position, if the in-

strument should be tipped, by a brass sliding bar held by two

cranked arms capable of being instantly made to move more or

less stiffly by means of screws with milled heads. Should it be

desired to place the instrument horizontally, for camera work or

photography, an extra piece of brass clamps the object in place.

In Zentmayer’s new form of students’ microscope the glass slid-

ing stage or object carrier is replaced by a glass sliding-bar, which

simplifies the work and reduces the expense as well as secures

some of the above advantages.

Some object carriers are arranged, and all should be, except in

either mechanical stages or very cheap work, so that the sliding

movement can be easily controlled by the pressure of milled-head

screws. h

Nosert’s Lives. — Nobert has made for President Barnard a

two hundred dollar test plate, twenty-band, which claims to reach

224,000 lines to the inch, being twice as fine as the finest lines on

the nineteen-band plate. This puts, him far ahead of the opticians,

and he claims to be prepared to do still better when they overtake

him. Who will make the first lens capable of resolving the twen-

tieth-band? Or will those who believe they are able to resolve

diatom-markings of equal fineness show it to us now?

RESOLVING-OBJECTIVES.—The editor of the ‘Cincinnati Medical

News” draws very strongly, not too strongly, the distinction

between oe and those suitable for other work.

He has a Powell & Lealand’s one-sixteenth which he finds quite

useless except rs resolving diatoms. We mainly value, at pres-

ent, the resolution of the famous tests as showing the achievement

of a nicety of correction which can be, and should be, applied to

the lower-angled working lenses. -

Microscoric Writtnc. — This hitherto rare curiosity is now

available to all microscopists, both as an elegant toy and as a use- «

-~ ful test for the optical qualities of their lenses. The following

account, from a paper read before the Queckett Club, gives a view

u PRE eS ene

MICROSCOPY. 247

of Mr. Wm. Webb’s unparalleled success in micro-writing on glass.

The specimens thus produced are regarded by Mr. Webb as decid-

edly the best test-objects; and they may be obtained from Mr.

Edmund Wheeler of London.

- Webb says: —‘‘I engrave a series of Bee with letters

measuring from one two hundred thousandth of inc

two hundred millionth of an inch. Each engraving is of the

Lord’s Prayer, varying only i in size, pe aguante about the thou-

sandth of. an inch, which is at the rate of over a quarter of a mil-

lion letters to the inch, and progressively decreasing the size, the

next of the ser ies being at the rate of a million letters to the i ine ch,

e ne

and New Testament together consist of three million five hundred

and sixty-six thousand four hundred and e ighty letters (for the

convenience of a standpoint), I say the lastly enumerated test is

at the rate of one Bible to the inch and en engrave the next at

the rate of another Bible to the inch, and on decreasing at the

rate of a Bible to the inch down to fifteen Bibles, or, at the rate of

fifty-three million four hundred and ninety-seven thousand two

hundred letters to the inc ch; but when it is ae ee that the

letters are written within two perai lines, with spaces above and

below for long letters, and to enable one line to þe distinguishable

e Te and “u,” although averaged, with all other letters, with

the sie and including spaces, “at the e fifty-three million four

hundr ed and ninety-seven thousand two hundredth of an inch,

tra space occupied by capitals, the spaces pee vere and the

Space between one line of writing and the next line, it may be

taken that the ‘‘e” actually occupies only EPSEN of fo aver-

age, or, the two hundred and thirteen million nine hundred and

mae a thousand eight hundredth of an inch.

asurement does not stop at this arp as there are other

steps to bë arid versed — as to one, the dot to an “i,” I say nothing

now. As the “e,” it is self-evident ihat it is not a spot of

black of the. previously estimated less than mo hundred millionth

of an inch, but composed of a bent and twisted line across, an

about the two hundred millionth of an inch; r horele the thick-

ness of the line has to be considered, and, taking that at a lineal

fifth of the space, the two hundred and odd millionth would have ©

to be multiplied by twenty-five as the agnar of EN hy aon would

ot s

lionth is itself loaded in, and consists of abraded black atoms,

„Stated in w the cutting edge of tho glass letter, which atoms can

248 MICROSCOPY.

be seen in different aggregations where the line has not been per-

fectly filled in, and if at the rate of two atoms of black in the

square of the line, the five thousand millionth becomes the ten

thousand millionth; if at the rate enty atoms of black, the

size of the atom is the one hundred thousand millionth of an inch.

now come to the most important and, to my mind, the most

interesting part of the subject, which deals with the tests unblack-

ened. For this purpose I must go back to the square of the line

forming the letter as the five billion three hundred and forty-nine

million seven hundred and twenty thousandth of an inch that,

reduced to its square root, gives seventy-three thousand plus of

an inch linear as the breadth of the line.

mount the same series of slides in the way that Monsieur

Nobert mounts his justly celebrated tests — without black—and

helping to afford the power of determining at what breadt | un-

blackened lines become invisible, even when aided by the micro-

scopes of the present day. In this instance the seventy-three

line.

the same test unblackened. More than that, although I know

the exact spot that it occupies, and mark the spot with an In-

dian ink ring before it leaves the machine in which it is engraved,

I have never (perhaps because of irritable temperament) been able

to discover not merely the line, but the aggregation of lines form-

ing the two hundred and twenty-seven letters of the very small

tests, although they become perfectly distinct when black.”

As a test of distortion, Mr. Webb rules fine black lines upon

two pieces of glass, and places one upon the stage and the other

upon the diaphragm in the ocular.

_ AnmarcuLeEs ix Burreruink.—The “Pacific Medical Journal”

: believes, with much reason, that the abundance of animalcules dis-

NOTES. 249

covered in poisonous buttermilk by Dr. J. P. Browne, of Galt,

Ontario, were developed in the milk after it had been taken from

the cow, instead of being introduced into the cow’s system with

the food and finding their way through the blood into the milk.»

NOTES.

When Professor Agassiz gave his opening lecture in the Muse-

um of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge in 1860, he said that

American students had been forced to visit Europe, if they were

desirous of making any extended study in the natural sciences,

but that he intended to reverse this and compel European students

to visit America; and by his judicious purchase of type collec-

tions abroad (thanks to the liberality of citizens and our State) he

has made his promise good.

Professor Henry A. Ward of Rochester, New York, formerly a

student of Professor Agassiz, and since Professor of Geology and

Zoology in the Rochester University, has, under humbler auspices,

long been working toward the same end. His large cabinet of

geology and mineralogy at Rochester is well known to many of

our readers. He long ago felt the necessity of bringing before

the American student examples of those larger and rarer fossils

known to geological science, of which only single specimens ex-

isted.

For this purpose he visited Europe, engaged accomplished work-

men and commenced the foundation of a collection of casts. Wit

untiring patience and sagacity he secured the moulds of nearly

everything of importance, at enormous expense, carrying his work-

men from one museum to the other, and taking moulds of the

choicest specimens, for a period of three years.

The difficulties encountered in some of his experiences would

form an interesting chapter. After many difficulties, he managed

to secure moulds of the rare Megatherium, Glyptodon, Deinothe-

rium, Diprotodon, Sivatherium, Colossochelys, Mosasanrus, Plesi-

collection of casts should be symmetrical and complete, as an

educational collection, and so was commenced the famous Ward

collection of casts. Thousands of dollars were spent in buying

especially choice specimens of the obtainable forms solely for the

250 NOTES.

purpose of making casts from them, and the originals are still

preserved in his museum at Rochester. Every educational insti-

tution in the country may now possess perfect casts of the rarest

fossils, forming exact facsimiles of the unique originals in the

British Museum, the Jardin des Plantes, and other foreign muse-

ums, besides a representative collection of all that is needed to

illustrate geological history.

From this important beginning, Professor Ward has gone on en-

larging the usefulness of his work by adding to his stock, skins

and skeletons of animals, fossils and minerals, and alcoholic speci-

mens, so that institutions may provide themselves with collections

accurately labelled and arranged, without sending abroad for the

purpose.

With the capital invested in so large an enterprise, rapid sales

must be effected, and one not familiar with the scientific attain-

ments of Professor Ward, and the sole desire that animates him; to

spread far and wide the type collections so important for educa-

tional purposes, might confound his occupation with that of the

ordinary dealer in natural history objects, such as one may find in

any large city.. While in the latter case, however, with some lauda-

ble exceptions, the dealers offer simply the fortuitous gatherings

of sailors, comprising curiosities, shells, and detached portions of

animals, like turtles’ shields, sharks’ jaws, and the like, of no in-

trinsic value, the work in which Prof. Ward is engaged is one of

a solid scientific character? His outlays are immense, yet every-

thing he does is done solely in reference to advancing science. He

has the endorsement of every naturalist in the country, and already

the leading museums in the country are indebted to him for some

of their choicest material.

Every scientific man should visit Professor Ward’s place at

Rochester, New York, and see the bee-hive of industry he has

built up around him. We visited Rochester in February, solely for

the purpose of examining the new industry. Here one finds sev-

eral large buildings, besides sheds and yards devoted to receiving,

preparing and shipping specimens. There are twelve men Con-

-~ stantly employed as taxidermists, osteologists, moulders and car-

penters. Two of the osteologists he has brought from the Jardin

des Plantes, Paris, where they had worked for a long time under

the direction of eminent anatomists. The skeletons and skulls

eet here are beautiful in their whiteness and the elegance of

Sey E E FA A E E e

2 A AAT ap e A S ENA E EA

NOTES. 251

their mounting. In the University building is Professor Ward’s

zoological cabinet, still his private property, containing type

forms of the animal kingdom. This is carefully labelled and is

strictly an educational collection. .

In Cosmos Hall is a large room containing a large and valuable

geological collection, particularly rich’ in Ammonites, fossil cuttle

fishes, with the ink glands still preserved; beautiful fossil fishes

from the Lias of England and Germany; fine Saurians in slabs;

Icthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Teleosaurus; also the leg bones and

other remains of the remarkable Dinornis from New Zealand ; Mas-

todon and other mammal remains, and an almost perfect skeleton

of the rare Glyptodon, the gigantic fossil armadillo.

Great interest attaches to this collection since it contains the

original specimens of many of his casts, which have already a

traditional value, now that so many institutions possess them.

This series of originals is of intense interest, and will alone give

tone and character to any geological cabinet in which they may

be incorporated. In this room may also be seen relief maps and

various models of geologigal import ; many of these are familiar to

College professors through the descriptions and figures given in

Ward’s “ Illustrated Catalogue.” At the time of our visit he was

packing a series of casts for the Syracuse University, and a Mega-

therium was being cast for Dartmouth College. A cast of the

skeleton of this latter huge animal may be seen in the Geological

Hall of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, where it was

placed by Professor Ward, and copies of it are already in several

other museums together with other of his specimens. The series

of casts have been invaluable in advancing the study of geology,

as their possession is just as important to the instructor in this

department, as the possession of the manikin and skeleton is to

the successful teaching of human anatomy.

he zoological portion of Professor Ward’s establishment most

interested us. Here all is on the same large scale. In bringing

this collection together, Professor Ward has not only visited vari-

ous portions of this country and Europe, Asia and Africa, but has

his correspondents all over the world, and is constantly receiving

from them most varied and rare material. While we were there

he had just finished the preparation of a giraffe, thirteen feet in

height, and was unpacking boxes containing a moose from Nova

Cotia, a caribou from Maine, a bear from Pennsylvania, a huge

252 NOTES.

basking-shark from the Atlantic coast; and, from Professor Agas-

siz, a walrus, a small whale, and the rare Rocky Mountain goat,

to be mounted for the Cambridge museum.

One building is devoted to taxidermy. The upper room in this

building is a wonder to behold; hanging from the ceiling are hun-

dreds of skins, including apes, monkeys, wolves, bears, hyznas,

lions, tigers, sloths, ant-eaters, armadillos, buffaloes, deer, elk,

moose, giraffe, yak, wild boar, peccaries ; besides an immense col-

lection of such animals as kangaroos, Echidna, Wombat, Tasma-

nian devil, Ornithorynchus, Thylacinus and other rare skins. Some

huge alligators, turtles and other reptiles completed the display.

In an adjoining room are kept fishes, batrachians, and other speci-

mens in alcohol; among these are Lepidosteus, Amia, Menopoma,

-Spatularia, Scaphiorynchus, Aspidonectes, and other American

species of special anatomical interest. Still another building is

devoted exclusively to, the preparation of skeletons ; these are re-

ceived with the flesh dried upon -m and are subjected to a long

process of maceration and bleaching; over fifty vats are ready to

receive them. These vats are all sy letciconidoaliy numbered, and

the most painstaking care is manifested to secure every bone, so

that each specimen may be perfect. Custom work is combined

with all this; and hundreds of specimens are received from the

museums of Cambridge, Boston, Salem, Philadelphia, Albany,

and many of our colleges, for the purpose of being properly ee

pared and mounted.

We have dealt thus in detail that the public may know the true

character of the enterprise in which Professor Ward is engaged;

and the duty of every one interested in science and education to

cordially sustain him.

Professor Ward has by long study and by travel in foreign coun-

tries, as well as by his long experience as a professional teacher of

zoology and geology, fitted himself for the important and arduous

task before him.

He has received the unqualified endorsement of the leading nat-

uralists, and his untiring devotion to the work, and the immense

outlays he has made, should be widely known among those who

desire to sustain in this country an institution where one may

secure the material for the foundation of a museum, as well as

— for educational purposes.—E. S. Morse.

aw e had the pleasure last summer of’ visiting Professor Ward’s

NOTES. 253

Rochester Establishment, and of seeing his important collections.

One point which Professor Morse has failed to notice is the wor

done by Mr. Ward in the matter of blocks, labels, shields, and

other appliances for the arrangement of cabinets. He has not

only planned, but has gone on and constructed the cabinet cases

in Vassar, Alleghany and Pittsburg colleges, in the Orange Judd

Hall of Science at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn.,

and in the new Syracuse University. At the time of going to

press we are informed that Mr. Ward has been engaged to con-

struct the cabinet cases in the new Geological hall—two hundred

feet long— of the Smithsonian Institution. F. W. P.]

If will be seen” by the following circular, issued by Professor

Agassiz, that a summer school of science for teachers is to be held

on Penekese Island, Buzzard’s Bay, next summer. From present

appearances we may predict every success in its administration, |

A rare opportunity, such as we believe no country has heretofore

afforded, will be offered to those anxious to study the biology, chem-

istry, and physics, of the sea. Experts will carry on their explo-

rations during three months, and students will thus under the

stimulus of their example, be able to learn how to collect, prepare,

and study marine animals and plants. If successfully carried out,

this school will inaugurate, we believe, a new system of public

instruction, and exert the happiest influence on the future progress

of science in this country, which depends more than ever on mak-

ing original investigators. Without further remark we present our

readers with a copy of the programme, adding that those who wish

to avail themselves of the privileges of the school may address

Prof. Agassiz, or the editors of this journal :—

PROGRAMME oF A COURSE OF Instruction IN NATURAL History,

E i

PROPOSE TO INTRODUCE THE STUDY INTO THEIR SCHOOLS, AND

FOR STUDENTS PREPARING TO BECOME TEACHERS.

Zoölogy in general, and Embryology of the Vertebrates, by Prof. L. AGASSIZ.

The extinct Animals of Past Ages, compared with those now living, and the Methods

of identifying them, by Prof. N. S. SHALER.

Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of the Vertebrates, by Prof. B. G. WILDER.

The Animals and Plants living in Deep Waters, and the Peculiar Conditions of their

Existence, by L. F. DE POURTALES.

Embryology of the Radiates, by A. AGASSIZ.

Natural History and Embryology of the Mollusks, by Prof. E. S. MORSE.

254 NOTES.

How to make ep rare illustrative of the History of Insects injurious to

Vegetation, by P. GEN

Natural History and SpR of the A eas by Dr. A. S. PACKARD, Jr.

Natural History of the Fishes and Reptiles, by F. W. PUTNAM.

Natural History of Birds and Mammals, by J. A. ALLEN.

On Breeding, and Nests and Eggs of Birds, by Dr. THOMAS W. BREWER.

Practical Exercises in the Use of the Microscope, by E. BICKNELL

Instruction in Drawing and Painting of Animals, by PAULUS ROETTER.

On the Preservation of our Sea-Fisheries, by Prof. SPENCER F. BAIRD.

On Fish Breeding, by THEODORE LYMAN.

The Faunz of the North Atlantic, compared with one another and with those of other

Parts of the World, by

The Plants of the Sea, by

The Physics of the Sea, by Prof. JOSEPH LOVERING.

Physical Hydrography; by Prof. H. MITCHELL.

Chemistry of Feeding and Breathing, by Prof. W. GIBBS.

Chemistry of the Sea and Air, by Prof. JAMES CRAFTS.

: The terms of admission, and the day of opening the course, will

‘be advertised as soon as all the necessary arran

made, including information concerning board, etc. It is hoped

id a liberality of friends of education may make it possible to

course free of charges to pg ae students.

pedii of Kijhritidis and the necessary | atus vg m

Fisheries have promised kei MERGED o the extent of their

ability, without interfering with the RAF service of their de-

partments. Professors SHALER, WILDER R, PACKARD, and perhaps

others, may spend the whole, or nearly the whole, season at the

school, with a view of superintending the laboratory work, while

the other gentlemen will stay there only part of the time, or as

long as oie by the share they are able to take in the course

of instructi

sabato. “will be made frequently to give those present an

ortunity of learning how to observe, and also hs making col-

lections with which they may teach classes at hom

It is but justice to Professor Shaler to say that the first sugges-

tion of giving such a course by the seaside, was made by him.

In behalf of the Faculty of the Museum of

Comparative Zodlogy in Cambridge, an ake

We are happy to announce that Penekese Island, one with

~ the sum of $50,000 to form a permanent endowment of the school,

has been generously presented for the purpose by a gentleman in

_ New York interested in science. Buildings will at once be erected,

and the school opened early in July. We shall give further par-

NOTES. ; 255

‘ticulars concerning this munificent and most unexpected gift in

our next number.

Tue annual meeting of the California Academy of Sciences was

held on Monday evening, January 6, 1873. The following gentle-

men were elected officers for the ensuing year : — President, George

Davidson; Vice-President, John Hewston; Treasurer, Elisha

Brooks; Corresponding Secretary, Henry G. Hanks; Recording

Secretary, C. G. Yale; Director of the Museum, H. G. Bloomer ;

Librarian, C. N. Ellinwood, M.D.; Trustees, T. P. Madden, D.D.

Colton, Robert E. C. Stearns, Oliver Eldridge. The President,

Treasurer and Recording Secretary, are also Trustees, ex-officio.

The President’s annual address shows that an increasing interest

in the objects of the Academy is manifested by the public, and

that the coming year is likely to be one of material interest in the

affairs of the Academy.

A regular meeting of the California Academy of Sciences was

held Feb. 18, 1873, in which General Hewston announced to the

Academy a magnificent donation from James Lick, in the form of

a deed to a piece of property on Market street, adjoining the

premises of St. Ignatius College on the east. The dimensions of

the plot were eighty feet front by two hundred and seventy-five feet

in depth, being one hundred vara lot No. 126. The conveyance of

the property is subject to various conditions, the purport of which

is that the Academy shall erect thereon a substantial three story

brick building, faced with granite, in classic style of architecture,

and decorated with emblems of science. The building and prop-

erty shall be devoted exclusively to the purposes of science; it

shall remain unencumbered in the possession of the ‘Academy ; no

part shall be leased at any time, nor shall its use be permitted for

political or religious purposes in any way. It further devolves

upon the Academy to secure the fund requisite for the erection of

the edifice specified within the period of two years, and to prose-

cute the project to completion within a reasonable time. The

plan of the building contemplates among its principal apartments

a library, museum and lecture room. The announcement of this

donation excited great enthusiasm. ©

The President remarked that he felt incompetent at the time to

express the sense of the Academy in fitting terms. The Trustees,

in considering the project of securing accommodations for the

256 NOTES;

Academy, had never thought of exceeding an expenditure of

$25,000. But this site alone, as he had been assured by competent

judges, exceeded in value $150,000. A meeting of the Trustees

will be held to-day, when the body will wait upon Mr. Lick person-

ally, and express the thanks of the Academy for his munificent

As a preliminary expression of gratitude, on motion of Dr.

Hewston, the rules of the Academy were suspended, and Mr. Lick

was elected a life member.

Professor Davidson read a paper, which embodied the results of

laborious research, on the probable periodicity of rainfall, being

illustrated with diagrams. He believes in a law of periodicity, but

the problem of establishing it was an intricate one, and it had not

been developed by the observations of a century. The observa-

tions of twenty-one years in California had afforded no direct

_conclusions.

Dr. Hewston read an exceedingly interesting paper, descriptive

of the marine animal, a species of Limnoria, which has recently

appeared in the harbor and commenced its ravages on the wharves,

threatening the certain and speedy destruction of the whole works

of the city front, unless some effective means are adopted for arrest-

ing its depredations. Specimens were also submitted to the in-

spection of the Academy, under the microscope.

Mr. Dall read a paper on the avi-fauna of the Aleutian Islands.

Science in this state has met a loss in the death of Dr. Henry

C~ Perkins, of Newburyport, one of the trustees of the Peabody `

Academy of Science. He devoted much time to microscopical

and astronomical studies. One of the leading physicians in this

state, he also found time to study science practically. He died

very suddenly, February 3d, aged 69.

Tue eminent botanist, Professor John Torrey, died March 10th,

of pneumonia after a short illness. We can now but refer

the severe loss botanical science in America has suffered from his

death.

-Proressor Sepewick, the celebrated English geologist, died on

the 27th of January, aged eighty-seven years. His scientific es-

_ Says were published mainly in the Transactions of the London

Zorolophodorn. cornithis Cpe .

%6 nat. Size.

Lrales-

Loxolophador cornutus Cpe:

Vo nat. Size.

pf igh =e Bd SI

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.— MAY, 1873.—No. 5.

CO EDORVOOD OY

THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS.

BY PROF. T. D. BISCOE.

In the autumn of 1871, I brought home a bottle full of duck-

weed (Lemna polyrrhiza) and emptied it into. a tumbler of water

with a mass of alge gathered at the same time.

Within a few days the Lemne all turned white and died, and

the fronds seemed to decay. I kept the algæ in the tumbler all

winter, adding fresh water as fast as it was diminished by evapora-

tion. I saw no more of the duckweed till the last of the winter,

when one day, to my great surprise, there appeared floating on the

water a group of fronds that were certainly Lemne, and a few days

after I noticed another frond. What had they grown rom? I

turned out the water into a basin and found about fifty little disks

which seemed to answer the description of autumnal or winter

fronds as described in my “ Gray.”

My curiosity was excited. How could such things grow into

Lemnæ? Where was the growing point? Where were the roots

to start from? What was the internal structure of these regular

little disks? Should 1 find anything corresponding to buds about

them? ‘

Some of these queries I have answered and oer are sin, un-

solved.

I propose to give a short account of my failures wid successes,

and of the methods of investigation by which I tried to reach the

knowledge sought ; and hope that my trials may be of service to

SUD ia

Entered, according to Act of Con ress, in the year 1873, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

SCIENCE, in the Office of the Lib paren of Congress at Washington. (257)

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII.

258 THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS.

some who often desire to make additions to the store of botanical

morphology but who hardly know how to proceed.

It is best to select some definite question concerning the case

that one wants to study, and then with knife, needles, chemicals

and microscope, compel it to yield an answer. It will give definite-

ness and precision to one’s work. I started with this one:

“ Where is the growing-point of this winter frond?”

By Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the object is almost

exactly of the shape of a shallow plano-convex lens, the flat side

being the upper side ; as I found some weeks after, when they rose

and floated on the surface of the water.

The outline is often slightly kidney-shaped, and at the sinus

there is a scar on the edge, Fig. 2s. Sections show that the edge

is here more obtuse than elsewhere.

Around that point, on the flat surface, there was traced a wil

semicircle. That was all that could be descried on the exterior.

The disk was not at all transparent, so that all knowledge of its

interior must be obtained by dissection.

Laying the frond on the end of the forefinger, and holding it in

place by a gentle pressure of the thumb, I made three or four slices

lengthwise (that is in the direction of the Iines a—a, b-b, etc., of

Fig. 2). From the tip three-quarters of the way to the base (as I

shall call the scar end) all these sections were composed of simple

parenchymous tissue (where cells are of nearly equal dimensions

in all directions), whose cells were packed with starch grains. But

the quarter next to the base presented very different views in the sev-

eral sections, and appeared quite complex (Fig. 53). Two regions,

Pa’ 4 a and b, attracted attention because of the fineness of the

Fig. 53. tissue composing them. The cells

a Wo A » æ in these parts were not more than

| an eighth the diameter of the reg-

ular cells of the frond ; neither were

they filled with starch grains, but

were well supplied with protoplasm,

‘ with considerable chlorophyl.

Here evidently was the place to search for my “ growing-point.”

In that one of these regions furthest from the base, Fig. 4 a, and

on the convex or under side of the frond, are one, two, or more oval

ies whose axes of growth were nearly at right angles to the

length of the frond. I took them for young buds. In each section

;

is 3

THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS, 259

one was larger than the rest. I took it for the main bud, and sup-

posed that its extremity was the growing point of the plant. To

- get a better view of its tip, that I might make out the plan of cell-

division at the point where the cells were first formed, I made

some new sections in the same direction, much thinner than the

first. On examining these I recognized the cell arrangement pe-

culiar to the extremity of roots ; there plainly enough was the root-

cap, Fig. 4 d, and tlie “ summit” cells or region, Fig. 4 c, where by

cell-division the new growth is produced. These were surely the

rudiments of young roots. I must look elsewhere for the plumule

with its growing point. But one thing had been learned ; my little

disk contained roots, and I knew where they were.

The other spot where the cells were small and tinged with green

seemed without any regular shape. One section showed one thing,

another quite a different thing; while in another there would be.

nothing but a hole where the fine cells ought to be.

See the differences in the five sections of Fig. 53. These sec-

tions were made through the lines marked a-a, b-b, etc., of Fig. 2.

As the next step I made some sections at right angles to the

former in the directions A-A, B-B, etc., of Fig. 2 (see Fig. 5), and

got one new idea at least. Instead of there being one body in the

place occupied by “ b,” Fig. 4, there were two, one on either side

of the median line of the frond, and the two were very unequal in

size, though somewhat similar in form. But, although diligently

comparing the views presented by the two sets of sections, I could

not form any satisfactory idea of these portions. The two sections

D and E, of Fig. 5, showed quite clearly the number and position

of the young roots. The darker spot which appeared in the last

three sections, marked “ s” in “ D,” Fig. 5, was anew mystery. I

must have sections in the third plane also, that is, the plane pass-

ing parallel with the surface of the frond. |

And just here let me say a word about making sections of deli-

cate vegetable tissue. I have found it much better in all cases,

except where the position and structure of the protoplasm are in

question, to soak the specimens in glycerine, first in diluted and

finally in strong. One advantage is this; when making sections

of soft tissues in water, there is great danger that a thin section

on the blade of the razor will dry up and be spoiled, while attend-

ing to the piece on one’s finger, which ought to be taken off immedi

ately and laid in water. Or if one first cares for the section on the

260 THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS.

razor, then the piece from which it is cut may be spoiled. But

when the object is in glycerine, plenty of time can be taken to care

for both without any injury coming to either. I have found a good »

razor the very best thing to cut with, much better than any lancet

or small dissecting knife.

' Let the thumb-nail of the left hand be cut short enough that the

blade of the razor may rest against the flesh of the end of the

thumb, while the object to be cut rests on the forefinger and is held

in place by the thumb. You can then draw the razor very evenly,

it being steadied by the thumb. The thickness of the slice can be

regulated by pressing the razor less or more against the yielding

flesh of the thumb. Especially is this the case when several sec-

tions are made one after the other by as many drawings of the

razor, each time pressing it a little more against the thumb-end.

In this style. of cutting, the hand should be so held that the surface

of the forefinger, on which the object is laid, should be horizontal ;

but when a thin object is to be split parallel with its surface, I

have found it best to turn the hand, after the object has been placed,

as before, between the forefinger and thumb, so that the surface of

the finger on which the object is lying should be vertical: you see

then the edge of the object to be split. The edge of the razor must,

of course, be also a vertical line. It is essential, in this case, that

the object be placed far enough back from the ends of the finger and

thumb that the razor blade may come between them and be guided

and steadied by its contact with them.

Having brought the edge of the razor in contact with the object

to be split, draw the razor downward, bringing at the same time the

heel outward (towards the right) and the point inward, making

the part resting between the thumb and finger the centre of this

slight rotation.

During this operation I have found it best so to hold the hands

and head that the eye sights right down the edge of the vertically

held razor, for then the razor edge can be placed very truly against

the exact portion of the object to be split that you desire.

_ Resuming now our investigation of the duckweed ;— I sliced the

frond into three or four sections parallel with its surface, and,

placing them under the microscope, order seemed to be emerging

out of chaos. To the right and left of the middle line of the frond

= - were two cavities, one of them almost filled with one of the small

celled bodies, Fig. 6 rb, while the other was not more than one-

THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS. 261

third filled, Fig. 6 7b. The middle line, Fig. 6 st, was distinguished

from the rest of the frond by the shape of the cells composing it,

and also by the fact that they were empty. At one end was the

scar, Fig. 6 sc, and at the other a snarl of cells out of which radi-

ated five or six veins or ribs, Fig. 6 v, consisting of woody fibre

with spiral cells; besides, there was a single line of spiral cells

turning back into each of the two small-celled bodies. This centre

of radiation was what I had seen in the sections of Fig. 5, marked

‘s.” This middle portion is the stem of the frond, and the scar

marks the place where it separated from its parent frond.

I began then to understand the other appearances ; these were

the young buds by which Lemna propagates itself independently

of seeds. Each one of these would grow into a complete individual,

and in it I must look for the “ growing-point.”

The cavity in which the larger bud grew seemed of a rectangular

form, with rounded corners from the lower of which the bud stalk

started: the bud itself partook somewhat of the same rectangular

shape, instead of being circular, as most of the fronds were.

The young bud on the right, though as yet without any ribs of

woody fibre, showed plainly where they were to be, for in the lines

that they were to occupy the cells were compact, with no inter-

cellular spaces, while in the rest of the bud between these rudimen-

tary ribs the cells had parted at the corners and produced air

spaces, small indeed, but yet sufficient to give a marked character

to that portion of the tissue. The part next to the stem of the bud

was, like the ribs, without intercellular spaces.

The axes of the frond and buds are at an angle with each other

of about 45°, or more correctly 135°, since the normal position of

a branch is in nearly the same direction as the stem, and its diver-

gence should be measured round from that direction as its starting

point. With our plant the line of growth seems to be backward.

If the same law holds in regard to the buds of the next generation

then they must be sought near the stem and with their axes in-

clined at the same angle. (See the diagram, Fig. 9, where the ver-

tical line represents the axis of the frond, and the different oblique

lines the axes of the buds.)

A little examination showed that it was so, and that on each side

of the axis of the bud, and near the base, was a little protuberance

which was evidently a bud of the next generation. But, thou

they were there, it was by no means so clear what their form might

262 THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS.

be, or how far they had advanced in laying the rudiments of the

organs possessed by the mature frond. Here began the difficulties

of the investigation. My desire was to trace back the frond to the

stage in which it was represented by a single cell, or at least by a

small group of homogeneous cells, on which there was no sign of

any organ ; and then to be able to see both where and in what shape

each new part was produced by changes in the growing point and

the tissue adjacent thereto.

Of the two budlets, the one on the left, next to the main stem,

was the most developed, and I studied it, rather than the other.

Figs. 6 and 14 present the views obtained when the razor just

- grazes the upper surface of the buds. Near the upper edge of the

bud was a most delicate line, Fig. 6 m, which could hardly be traced

with aj inch objective. A 4 objective and 1, objective showed

that it was the edge of a membrane consisting only of one layer of

cells in thickness. The cells, Fig. 55, were irregularly shaped and

had crinkled walls. I could follow the line most to the edges of

the bud, but not quite. The budlet, Fig. 14, was, like the bud, of a

rectangular outline nearly, and grew out from the corner of its

cavity. I could make out the following particulars ; “a” a fine

curved line which it took close observation to see at all; “d” a

double line at the back of the budlet ; “ c” and “ e” two swellings

of the outline of the budlet “5;” “f” an edge of tissue two cells

thick coming to a point where it reached the frond at “i;” “h?”

the least developed budlet ; and “g” a small protuberance of cells, |

which I have not thoroughly studied and shall therefore be obliged n

to omit in my descriptions. What it may grow into, if it grow at i

all, I cannot say. a

Horizontal sections had helped greatly, but vertical sections

seemed now to offer the only hope of i increasing my knowledge of

the bud and budlet. After making many, I was no better off, be-

cause it was impossible to tell exactly in what direction, as regards

the axis of the bud, the sections went. I then split a frond through

so as to reveal the upper surface of the bud r touching it

with the razor or loosening it from its attachmen

Then with the camera I sketched its Sens as seen with a

and was then ready for the delicate work of slicing it up. (Fig. 7

_ gives such an outline.) Taking the frond on the forefinger I cut

one section as nearly as possible in the direction which I had

— decided would give a longitudinal section of the bud, as Fig. 7 e-e-

id ces N Se

Be EERE

THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS. 263

As soon as the cut was made the piece taken off was laid on a

slide in a drop of glycerine, and the slide numbered ‘* No 1.” Next

the frond, from which the cut had been made, was put under the

microscope and the direction and position of the cut observed and

its place recorded on the camera drawing, and numbered “ 1.” The

frond was then laid on the finger and the second cut made, as thin

as possible, and as near parallel to the first as might be. I could

not succeed in getting the series of cuts as nearly parallel to one

another in this way, as by cutting all the sections at once without

removing the razor from its rest against the end of my thumb.

But generally the deviations from parallelism were not so great as

to interfere eae with the usefulness of the sections, considered

as a set.

After each cut, the section was placed on its separate slide and

numbered and the remainder of the frond placed under the micro-

scope and the position of the cut marked. In this way I sometimes

got a series of fifteen, or twenty sections, extending from one edge

of the bud to the other. Of these from three to five would pass

through the budlet. ;

Next was the study of these sections one after the other in order,

comparing them with each other, and with the surface view of an

uncut bud, attempting to construct mentally the complete form of

which the microscope gave me successive sectional views. I had

had before just as good sections, in some cases better ones, but

then could ‘not tell from what part they came and so had been. un-

able to form a connected satisfactory idea, or model} of the whole.

One such set shed light in a given direction, but others were

needed. Some eight sets of vertical sections in various directions

gave all that could be expected of them, and yet the matter was

_ hot quite clear. I wanted the budlet sliced in a direction parallel

with its surface. The plane of the bud is not quite parallel with

that of the frond, so that I could not get just the right sections by

the method of splitting the frond between the thumb and fore-

finger. I could imbed a frond in a mixtyre of gum and glycerine ;

but that took so long to harden that, if several fronds were prepared

for cutting, I was very apt to forget just where the cut should be

made in each, and so run the risk of spoiling the specimen. Some-

thing was wanted that would set and harden in a few minutes. I

thought of collodion, and on trial it proved to be just what was

wanted. When the specimens are saturated with glycerine, and

264 THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS.

placed on the end of a little stick of pith, I drop a single drop of

collodion over them, which hardens in about two minutes, and

without sticking to the specimen makes a complete socket for it.

From fronds mounted in this way I succeeded in getting sections

so thin that it took three of them to make up the thickness of the

budlet.

In order to test the correctness of the opinions formed from the

comparison of these different sectional views, I wanted next to dis-

sect out a budlet free from the bud, and in an uninjured state, and

turn it over and over while in the field of view of the microscope.

I have accustomed myself to the use of dissecting needles under

the compound microscope without the help of an erector, and so

was able to have the advantage which the binecular gives for such

work.

I should advise, from my experience, that any one using a binoc-

ular, who has much occasion for dissecting, should learn to handle

the needles under the microscope without an grector. It is not dif-

ficult to train one hand, though when it comes to using both I

acknowledge that one will need a good stock of patience.

The powers used for this work were 80 and 115 diameters. The

needles found most useful were those which had been ground with

an exceedingly slender taper and the shortest possible piece of the

tip bent at an angle of about 45°.

The budlet when obtained free measured about >,3;5 of an inch

in length and half that in breadth and thickness. To observe it to

advantage one*must use powers of 4 and upwards.

Having placed it in a drop of glycerine, cover with a rather large

_ cover, and let there be enough of the fluid to prevent the cover’s

pressing it on the slide; then with a needle gently push the cover

in one direction or another till you have your object rolling over

and over fast or slow just as desired.

Now let us gather up the facts we have obtained by the methods

described. Figs. 10, 11, 12, and 13, give specimen sections taken

in as many different directions through the bud as shown on the

plan, Fig. 7.

The dotted lines in the bud of Fig. 7, show what would be seen

when the lower surface of the bud is focussed instead of the upper-

I drew them in the same figure in order that their relation to the

~ Upper surface might be plainer than if I had given them a separate

_ drawing. In Fig. 10, we have a section passing parallel with the

THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS. 265

stem of the bud, but a little to the left. It crosses both the lines

in the upper part of the frond, it goes through one of the dotted

oval bodies, and also through the budlet to the left of its stem.

The section shows that those lines on the upper part of the bud,

Fig. 7 wm, and Im, one above and one below, are the edges of two

membranes that nearly enclose the bud between them, the one on

the upper surface only one layer of cells, the lower several layers

thick.

The oval body of Fig. 7 is here seen in the angle between the

lower membrane and the body of the bud. It shows itself to be

the beginning of a root. The swelling “ d,” Fig. 10, is the section

of that projection of the body of the bud over the budlet whose

edge shows in Fig. 14 as the double line “d.” As this projection

stows more and more, it shuts over the budlet, reaching down as far

as the point “f? Fig. 10, and becomes in the frond the lip or cover

“k? Figs. 4 and 8. The line “a,” Fig. 14, is shown “a,” Fig.

10, to be the edge of a ridge starting out from the budlet which as

it grows will become the membrane “wm” of the bud. The sec-

tion shows us the thickness of the budlet “ b,” and explains that

the double row of cells “ J,” Fig. 14, just below the budlet is the

optical section of the upper membrane where it bends round to its

attachment on the under side of the bud. One cannot help recog-

nizing in the * um ” of the bud, Fig. 10, the “ um” of the frond,

Fig. 4, which shows itself as the semicircle of Fig. 2.

Turning next to Fig. 11, which also passes through the budlet,

but nearer to its stem, and at an angle with the stem of the bud,

we find two or three new features. First; we pass through the

right hand one of the three oval bodies of Fig. 7, and find it im-

bedded in the base of the lower membrane, instead of occupying

the angle ; second, the budlet has a thick horn ‘‘n” on its under

side, and none on its upper. The outline of this membrane is, I

think, that indicated by the dotted line, Fig. 14, “n,” on the budlet,

but I have not been able to satisfy myself just where that outline

does run. Again, in this section, we see the budlet united with

the bud, whereas before, the section, Fig. 10, passed out to the left

of the stem and showed that, by lying entirely separate from the

bud. Fig. 12, which shows a section nearly parallel with the axis

of the budlet, gives a view of both ‘horns a” and “ n” at once,

and showing one root, allows the others 7 and r” to shimmer

through the tissue, though out of the focus.

266 THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS.

Fig. 13 shows the three roots at once, though with the middle

one out of focus. The left hand part of this section is a puzzle

to me that I am not sure I have rightly solved. Till I came to it

I did not suppose there was any membrane on the lower side like

“z” In every other section, out of forty, perhaps, that ran through

that neighborhood, there was no projection of the lower membrane

toward the left, but the tissue passed continuously from the roots

round into the base of the upper membrane, as in Figs. 10, 11, 12.

I think there may be a narrow lappet or lobe of the lower mem-

brane at’ just this part, while below the tissue may be as in the

other sections. I do not think that the part marked ‘“‘ œ” is part

of the budlet, but of the bud.

Now to take one step more: has the budlet the beginning of a

budlet of the next generation? Yes, at the point “ e,” Fig. 14,

there is a slight protuberance just about where the upper mem-

brane “ a,” Fig. 14, comes to the edge of the budlet. And this is

what will grow into first the budlet, then the bud, and finally the

frond.

When the budlet was dissected out and examined with a vr

(Hartnack’s No. 10), the protuberance showed nothing but a group

of half a dozen to a dozen cells all alike with no sign of any organ

of any sort. This then was the growing point which I set out to

find. Now how are the different parts of the frond produced from

it? As the first stage we have the budlet: it differs from the’

growing point only in this that a ridge or lappet has been formed

on the upper and under surface, which in the sections shows as

two horns as “a” and “ n,” Fig. 12. These two ridges are really

one continuous ridge as I could see when rolling a free budlet over

_ and over. It can be traced from “e,” Fig. 14,in a slanting curved

line to the back of the budlet near its tip, then down the thickness

of the budlet till it joins the ridge of the under side. As our next

step, we see in the bud our ridge grown into those two membranes

(as we have called them) which a careful examination shows to be

still continuous at the back edge of ‘the bud about as far out as

the point “ p,” Fig. 7. Also three roots, Figs. 7, 10, 11, 12, have

made their appearance near and in the base of the lower part of

membrane. Also the tissue of the bud is preparing for the

five or six veins that the frond is to possess, and the stem pos-

-sesses a single fibre of spiral cells. Now, lastly, what more do we -

find in the frond? The edge “ d,” of Figs. 14 and 10, has grown

THE iit tyr

Sh adat der

STII Ja ae

$ pe J s P

j 4 na s

rr nea tort

a Pa

MW AY SL

Ao lel Aes.

bag

fod

IY OF

reueg TES4? 2:

THE WINTER STATE OF OUR DUCKWEEDS. ` 267

out over the budlet; and, as the section, Fig. 4, shows, forms the

cover “ k” of the cavity in which the bud “ b,” Fig. 4, lies. The

body of the bud, having grown much faster than the membrane,

has left the latter as the semicircle seen at the base in Fig. 2. The

same thing is true of the lower membrane which now only forms a

border to the enlarged roots.

The books speak of Lemna as a plant entirely destitute of

leaves, but it seems to me that an exception must be made in the

case before us, for this membrane on the upper and under sides

Fig. 56.

seems to answer in its position and formation to the sheathing

leaves of the monocotyledons.

I noticed the peculiar form of the cells of the semicircular lobe

of the leaf (?) on the upper side of the frond, and made a draw-

ing of them, Fig. 54, and also a drawing of the same organ in the

bud state, Fig. 55. It was this peculiar form of cell in the two

cases which first led me to think that they were the same thing in

different stages of growth. ‘In Fig. 56 I have presented a surface

view of the epidermis of the frond, together with the underlying

cells of the frond. Two of the latter cells are nearly filled with a

large crystal in each. What is the cause of the brown color of

Some of the cells of the upper lobe of the leaf as shown in Fig.

54, while others are clear, I cannot tell.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE.

Fig. 1. Winter frond, natural size; surface and profile views.

268

Fig. 2.

Fig. 53.

Fig. 4.

INSECT AGENCY ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

Same, enlarged about 10 times. The lines, a-a, b-b, indicate the = of the

ctions of Fig. 53, and those marked A-A, B-B, those of Fig. 5; “ s” is the scar

where ë the frond was Attached SA R par Per “um” ve ing dine nis ag Ben

nch ocular

o paper, 5 inches).

i text, ong _ sections, as marked in Fig. 2 (objective 2 in., ocu-

ar 2 in., dis

Section in ihe divstien e-e, of Fig. 2: “a” young root; ‘‘c” its Bien: repo “

Sui its r ie ap; sa young bud; A ” lip or ever to cate krens ” upper

ocula istance 10in )

mbra 3 M.,

: ag in gy Gons A-A, B-B, etc., Ea AE a 87 T o D, a nd E, end of

ol “rt” roots; “Im” and “um” same as Fig. 4 (objective 3 in., ocular 2

. distance 5).

Borso ntal section in the di arrows a-a of Fig. 8: “rb” the right

and bud or most ‘anes: a ` j it o p = » the stem or axis;

Ja Ty ” scar ; “v” the veins or ribs of the nd; the ows ‘‘a-a” show direc-

f the pegs of Fig. 8 (0 ijastions $, aude ape

e 5).

: evant plan o s, with lines showing where different ude were made

(objec

ective 2, ae 2, yA 10 :

Section through a-a, of Fig. 6. “ b” Pud: te” roota. “K” same as k, Fig. 4

(objective 2, daular 2, distance 5).

9. Diagram of the directions of the, axes of aus th of the different generations.

. Vertical section of the bud in the positi Pee direction marked by “ e-e, 5,

Fig. 7.” “r” root; “/” base of wal Aiai sa budl of; a: ridge or budieh 3 or ¢

“Im” and “ pia before. The lett ring and amplification of Figs. 10, i,

12 pn ai are the same (objective }, Sale’ , distance

g- 5 12, of a i Tn Pua the rudi ment of lower membrane.

Sect ugh “ x

E deta mthrough “FP, 2 of F Fig 7.” 9

dra

wing.

- Section through “ b-b, 5 of Fig. 7.” For“ g A z” see text

4. View of the base of the bud of Fig. 6:“ e” the wowing point or budlet of par

»:

next generation; “hk” corresponds vi “b” of Fig. 6; for “c” and “g ” se

xt.

- In text, surface view of portion of upper membrane of frond (objective š

ocular 3 sobre e 10).

- In text, surface view of the upper membrane of the bud (objective 4, ocular

2, dis

i; In ee epidermis = frond with larger cells at DP soppi ee seen under-

ar? dis

stance 10).

OL tne latter

All the preek are camera moida work except Fig. 1 and a pee òf the cells

filling u

p the sectional views.

THE INFLUENCE OF INSECT-AGENCY ON THE

DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

BY F. BUCHANAN WHITE, M.D.

—o

Iv urging botanists to study the influence that insect agency has

om the distribution of plants (see vol. x., p. 334), Mr. Bennett

INSECT AGENCY ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS. 269

points out a very interesting subject for investigation, and I trust

that the readers of the Journal will not lose sight of it.

If Sphinx Convolvuli is the chief agent in the fertilization of

Convolvulus sepium, then the reason why that plant seldom in

Britain perfects seed (as is said to be the case) is readily explained.

he moth is rare in Britain, and I do not at present remember any

record of its having been seen visiting the flowers of Convolvulus,

though it is generally taken in the act of hovering over flowers,

notably Petunia and honeysuckle. Though Sphina Convolvuli oc-

curs throughout Britain (even beyond the range of Convolvulus, e.g.

Orkney), yet it is most especially a southern insect, and perhaps

that may account in some measure for the rarity in a wild state

(at least in my experience) of Convolvulus sepium in Scotland.

Dianthecia (a genus of night-flying moths) must exert a great

influence upon the fertilization (and consequent abundance) of

Silene and Lychnis. In fact, the perpetuation of the race of these

moths depends upon the fertilization of the plants, since the larvee

feed only upon the unripe seeds. This is a case somewhat similar

to, though by no means so extraordinary as, that mentioned by

Professor Riley at the last meeting of the American Association

for the Advancement of Science. Professor Riley showed how the

fertilization of Yucca depended on the agency of a moth, the

female of which collects the pollen and places it on the stigma, for

the express purpose that the larvae, produced from the eggs which

she deposits on the ovary of the plant, may have a supply of un-

ripe seeds to feed upon. In regard to Lychnis and Silene, it is

possible that if there were no Dianthecic the plants might be more

numerous, since other moths visit the flowers, though the Dian-

theeciee are the chief visitors. Silene maritima is the most fre-

quented species (it is, perhaps, worth remarking that it has also

the largest flowers, and is, perhaps, the most numerous in indi-

viduals) of course, in proportion to its restricted usually maritime

habitat; Lychnis Flos-cuculi is more especially visited by Dian-

thæcia Cucubali; and Silene Otites a plant of the eastern counties,

by Dianthecia irregularis. On the Continent this insect frequents

: Gypsophila paniculata. I know of no insect visitors to Silene

acaulis and Lychnis alpestris. Possibly, if Lychnis alpestris had

-more insect visifors, it might be more abundant on our mountains,

though the peculiarities of the locality (in Forfarshire, at least)

have doubtless something to do with its restricted range.

270 INSECT AGENCY ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS.

It is probable that insects are the agents in the production of the

numerous hybrids that occur between species of the genus Carduus,

on the flat horizontal top of whose heads various species of Lepidop-

tera may often be seen. The downy bodies of these moths would

readily convey pollen from one plant to another, and, when the

plants were different species, hybridization might be the result in

a genus the species of which seem so liable to that phenomenon.

Carduus Carolorum, which is supposed to be a hybrid between

C. palustri is and C. heterophyllus, may have been produced by the-

agency of Trichius fasciatus (a beetle belonging to the family

Cetoniade), whose thorax and underside are very shaggy, and

which loves to bury its head and shoulders in the head of a thistle.

This beetle is rather rare in Britain, but is not uncommon in the

district where Carduus Carolorum was found.

he species of Meligethes (a genus of small beetles) inhabit

flowers. M. Brisout, in Z? Abeille (vol. viii., January, 1872) points

out the flowers in which the various species are generally to be

found. Among these are Genista, Galium, Prunus spinosa, Sym-

phytum officinale, Mercurialis p perennis, Tri ifolium medium, Solanum

Dulcamara, Melilotus, Cyanoglossum officinale, Lotus and other Leg-

uminose, Lamium album, Galeopsis, Mentha, Marrubium vulgare,

Nepeta Cataria, Ballota nigra, Teucrium Scorodonia, Salvia, and

other Labiate. Many species affect only one . kind of plant each,

and in going from flower to flower cannot fail to carry pollen with

them. Teucrium Scorodonia is a great favorite with many noc-

turnal Lepidoptera, and this, perhaps, partly accounts for the great

number of individuals of this plant. Moths usually abound in

places where the Teucrium grows.

Many flower-frequenting night moths have more or less strongly

developed crests of hairs on the thorax. Many flowers frequented

by these moths have blossoms with mouths directed to the horizon

(i. e. neither drooping nor facing the zenith), and stamens more OF

less exserted and ascending; styles also more or less exserted.

When a moth visits such a flower it eithér hovers in front of it and

plunges its haustellum into the corolla, or else rests on the flower

and does the same. In either case it brushes the stamens with its _

thorax, and carries off unwittingly a supply of pollen to the next

Z flower visited. Now, it is worth noting that some of the moths

ce which hover (e. g. the Plusiide* and Cucullia) have very strongly

ce * Have also crested heads. ee

RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE. 271

developed thoracic crests, and that some flowers which are especi-

ally favorites with them have long, exserted, ascending stamens

and styles (e. g. Echium vulgare and Lonicera Periclymenum).

the stamens in these plants were short, the pollen would have little

chance of being brushed off by the thorax of the moth, and it does

not readily adhere (as the sticky pollen masses of the orchids do)

to the haustellum, and if the thorax of the moth were smooth the

pollen would not be so liable to be brushed off, even though the

stamens are exserted ; whereas with exserted and ascending stamens

in the flower and crested thorax in the moth, we have every condi-

tion necessary to insure a greater or less quantity of pollen being

conveyed from one plant to another. In the Labiate the stamens,

though so few, seem to be especially arranged in many species, so

that every chance may be afforded of pollen being carried. In

Ajuga reptans and Teucrium Scorodonia the stamens are exserted

and ascending, and aré four in number — two long and two shorter.

An insect therefore in plunging its head into the corolla would al-

most necessarily brush all the four stamens. These plants are

much visited by moths.— Journal of Botany.

RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE.

BY CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M.D.

scan

Tue interest that centres in every isolated arrow point or rude

Stone axe that we chance to come upon, as it is lying in the field —

the train of thought that such relics excite in every intelligent

observer, absorbing as it is, pales into a commonplace occurrence,

when we happen to meet with a series of stone implements of many

forms, that epitomize, in their individual and collective characters,

the habits, and occupations of their Stone Age owners; and toa

far greater extent is this the case, when these collected relics are

Seen lying in the very spot where their ancient owners left them :

the corn-mill and its crushing-stones by the hearth, still black with

ashes; the hatchet near by, that was used to split the marrow

bones of animals ; the polished horn-stone skinning knife, and skin

dressers ; and back from the fire-place, in separate piles, the battle

axe, spears and arrows of each inmate of that household.

272 RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE.

In about such positions, each rude relic telling its own story as

plainly as ever do the contents of a carefully opened grave, we

lately had the Sood fortune to find a “ deposit” of stone imple-

ments, numbering in all, about one hundred and seventy specimens.

The discovery of this deposit was made on the removal of the

brow or face of a low bluff, and filling up of a shallow valley, that

a more level road might be run through the property. A little

brook, almost dry in summer, rippled through the valley; which

stream was no doubt of much greater volume when the aborigines

dwelt upon its banks.

The relics of this *‘ find” were met with in a circumscribed spot

of about thirty feet in diameter, and some twenty inches below the

surface of the ground. The floor of this ‘*‘ homestead,” as we

have called it, was very hard and compact; the soil being of &

darker color than the superincumbent earth, and well mixed with

small oval gravel stones, of a noticeably uniform size. At one

side of the nearly circular spot was a well defined fire-place, marked

by a circle of oval white stones, six to eight inches in length, and

half that in thickness. Within this circle was a layer of ashes

and charcoal, seven inches deep in the centre, and three at the

margin of the fire-place. This coal and ash deposit showed, on

careful examination, a considerable percentage of minute frag-

ments of mussel shell, and of small fragments of bones, too much

splintered to identify, but apparently the long bones of wading

birds and of the larger fishes.

Of the stone implements, the most noticeable specimen, on ac-

count of size, was the large “ corn-mill;” a heavy quartzite (?)

stone, some fifteen inches in length by ten in width. It was lying

in a shallow depression in the floor of the homestead, at the right

hand side of the fire-place, and within a foot of the row of white

stones that marked that feature of the “find.” The mill had but

a slight depression on its upper surface, not a quarter of an

inch deep, yet clearly traceable on examination, and had evi-

dently been but little used’ Lying near it, were two crushing

stones, one of which was undoubtedly used in connection with the

“ mill.” It is a flat, nearly circular pebble, about four and one-

half inches in diameter. One surface is merely levelled off, by

constant rubbing, rather than pecked first and then ground. The

opposite side has been pecked over the greater part of its surface,

and the centre of the levelled surface.has been somewhat hollowed

i SIR ee

RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE. 273

out, and is smoother than the surrounding merely hammered por-

tion. Associated with the above was a globular quartz pebble,

three inches in diameter, that may have been used in connection

with the ‘* mill,” instead of. the crusher we have described ; or, in .

first breaking the hard grains of corn the pebble may have been

used, and the flat stone then used to reduce the cracked corn to

meal.

Mr. Evans figures (Anc. Stone Impl. G. B. p. 224, fig. 169) a

‘“ hammer stone,” in size and shape identical with that we have

described; and on pages 232-4 describes, under the name of

**querns,” grain mills, that are in every respect identical, except

that as a class they may be larger and more elaborate in finish.

Near the mill and its accompanying stones, just described, we

found four “ net-weights” as they are usually called. One was a

globular pebble, with a shallow depression about it, that was

roughly and very irregularly pecked. Another was a flattened

pebble, with a notch well defined at each side; being of the more.

abundant form of “ sinkers,” but much thicker: than the other two

specimens, and than the notched weights generally are. One of

the two thin, flat specimens was of more interest than these

specimens usually are, in that there were thtee well defined

notches. It is not easy to determine the use of this third notch.

Near the sinkers were five rudely chipped implements (?) or

more probably failures. While exhibiting abundant traces of hav-

ing been worked by man, it is doubtful if they were ever put to

any use. Their general appearance was not that of cores, either,

from which flakes had been struck ; nor was there any trace of chip-

ping having been carried on within the limits of the homestead we

are now describing. A very rude implement is frequently found

in this neighborhood, but on it a cutting edge is always a notice-

able feature ; but in these there was nothing that could be called

a as edge, except at one part of the larger of the five speci-

men

Spe tea to illustrations of ‘ drift” implements in Mr. Evans’

work above quoted, and to “Reliquiæ Aquitanice,” we find many

80-called implements fully as rude as the least finished of the five

above mentioned. What gives to these a peculiar interest, how-

ever, is not their similarity to the ‘‘ drift implements ” of Europe,

ut their association with some of the very finest wrought stone

implements and arrowheads. It isa pore to know what the fash-

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII.

cs - terest, in being strictly of the European form, and not in any "Y

274 RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE.

ioners of these latter could want, or do, with what, at best, are

merely broken stones.

There were also three well marked hammer stones of the common

pattern. Flat, oval pebbles, well battered at the ends, and side

depressions for the thumb and second finger, the forefinger being

curled over the hammering end not in use; as both extremities

show that they have been each well used. ‘These hammer stones

are identical in form with those found in Great Britain, as will be

seen on reference to Mr. Evans’ work, pages 214—20.

There was also found with these hammers, half of a very pretty

hone, which long usage has worn down to very smooth surfaces. !

The specimen, if broken in halves, has been about five inches long, :

and is one and one-quarter inches in length, by scant half an inch

in thickness. The two sides are both perfectly level to within a

short distance of the edge, when they slope off at a slight angle.

Hones of this character, and others with curved sharpening or ;

polishing surfaces, are met with on the surface, where the com- 3

moner forms of relics are found, but they are not abundant.

There were also two cylindrical stones, of a pestle-like appear-

ance, that were, of course, brought by the former occupants of this

camp or homestead, to the enclosure we are describing, but whether

used as pestles or selected for polishing stones, but never used,

it is very hard to decide; and with these may be mentioned

a curiously worn pebble that has much the appearance of having :

been commenced for a polished skinning knife, and never COM- i

pleted. As the superincumbent earth was purely a vegetable a

mould, and contained no pebbles, it is not likely that either this

or the ‘‘ pestles” got within the “find,” and became associated

with the unquestionable relics, by mere accident.

One naturally expects to find those chipped flints that are uni-

versally known as “ scrapers,” in every considerable “find” of

stone implements ; nor were they here wanting ; two specimens of

unquestionable scrapers being found, and an allied form of chipped

jasper, that seems to be a connecting link, as it were, between

scrapers and lance-heads; the specimen has the appearance of

chaving been commenced for a spear and, injured for that purpose

‘by an unlucky blow, subsequently chipped into its present shape

and made to answer as a scraper. :

The two genuine scrapers that were found, are of unusual in-

RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE. 275

similar to the elaborately chipped jaspers, that are so abundant on

the surface, and which are believed also to have been scrapers.

The two scrapers found measure about three inches in length, by

one and three-quarters in breadth. They are irregularly oval, with

the under surface, in each case, being nearly the plane of a single

cleavage. They are both chipped from the same block or core of

stone, a bluish grey jasper, of which many of the finest arrow-

heads were made.

The larger of the two scrapers bears a remarkable resemblance

to a Bridlington scraper, figured in Mr. Evans’ work, page 276,

fig. 218 ; but is about double the size. -

An implement was found near the scrapers, that we will next

refer to, before noticing the weapons proper ; the specimen being a

finely polished skinning knife, of more than ordinary beauty of fin- —

ish. This fine “ celt,” as it would be called in England, measures

but three inches and one-quarter in length, and has a cutting edge

a trace over an inch in extent. The surface generally is polished ;

but most care has been taken with the cutting qualities of the

instrument, and the edge and sides adjoining it have received a

polish that we have never seen excelled in any stone implement.

The material looks like a conglomerate of quartz and agate.

The only other domestic implement was a rough gouge, made of

Serpentine and with the edge well preserved. The specimen

measures seven inches in length; the edge and a distance there-

from of about one and one-half inches is entire and this portion

is quite well polished, while the remainder apparently never has

been. The edge, which is very slightly curved, measures one and

one-half inches in width ; the corners of the blade being protected

by a narrow ridge, which gradually widens as it recedes from the

cutting edge.

Nothing further of a domestic nature was found, or indeed, was

present on the spot; for most thorough search was made, under

very favorable circumstances ; but opposite the fire-place, in what

appeared to have been three separate heaps which were unfortu-

nately mixed together in uncovering them, was a fine series of

arrow and spear points, and one or two chipped jasper specimens,

Similar to, but not unquestionably lanceheads.

The arrowheads being the most prominent portion of this part

of the “find,” we will first give a hurried enumeration of their

inbers and types. Minerslogiont a? this lot of arrowheads was

276 RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE. *

interesting, in showing a good deal more than usual variation in

the materials used. The minerals being quartz, purple, yellow, and

brown jasper, hornstone, slate, sandstone, and a peculiar conglom-

erate containing mica, not often met with in the shape of relics.

Considered in the matter of types, we found there were sixteen

stemmed arrowpoints, of large size, excellent workmanship, and

all of jasper, of the various colors in which this mineral occurs.

Six of these specimens were barbed and stemmed, the others had

simply a projecting tang. Four were flat, thin and sharply edged ;

the others mostly with a median ridge.

There was also a pretty, triangular arrowpoint, two and one-half

inches long, and one and one-half inches wide at the base; and a

quartz point that was pentagonal, approaching thus the leaf-shaped

form, which was noticeably absent in this fin

The white quartz arrowpoints numbered forty-four specimens,

and as a rule were small, and of less finish than specimens of this

mineral are apt to be. Twenty-nine were stemmed ; five were of

the “lozenge” pattern, and ten were triangular specimens, these

latter all having the concave base. Of the stemmed specimens

only three had ‘ notched bases.”

Of what might be called common specimens, there were forty-

eight that could be separated into six types, as follows : seven were

lozenge-shaped points, and excellent examples of this form; ten

were triangular points, four with concave bases, five with straight

bases, and one with a convex base, being almost a leaf-shaped

specimen; two were true leaf-shaped points; and one of this pat-

tern, but stemmed also, being a form not often met with ; ten were

excellent barbed arrowpoints, that is, with the corners of the blade

sharply pointed and making the base of the blade much wider than

the stem; eleven specimens were of the “notched base” pattern,

i. e. with a stem about as wide as the blade, and separated from it

only by a semicircular notch or indentation; seven were plain

stemmed points, a form that is not readily distinguished from the

lozenge shape, as we recognize that pattern among the specimens

y us. Indeed, the plain stemmed arrowpoint graduates

readily into the true leaf-shaped form.

Of spearheads there were but five specimens ; two short stemmed

examples, made of slate, and in no way noticeable. A third was —

of slate also, but much more carefully wrought, and a beauti-

sion example of the “ notched base” pattern. It measured four

RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE. 277

inches, lacking an eighth, and was noticeable particularly for the

median ridge running its whole length and from this ridge the

Specimen was very regularly bevelled to the sides. The notches at

the base were large and deep, and the stem narrower than the base

of the blade. The fourth example of the spearheads was like the

preceding but about one third shorter. The remaining spearhead

was more interesting, in that it nearly approached the true leaf-

shaped pattern; a blunt barb-like widening at the base making it

vary from that form a little, the stem or base itself being rounded.

Before noticing the collection of knives, as we propose calling a

series of implements contained in this “ find,” we will briefly allude

to three othe specimens, that seem different in some respects from

any of the above. One is a roughly chipped implement of agate,

three inches in length, and a trace over two in greatest width.

The base is blunt, being the natural surface of the pebble from

which the specimen was chipped ; the edges, although crooked, are

sharp, and the point well defined and still acute. The specimen

itself suggests a small lancehead, an unfinished. knife, or a small

~ hatchet, that might have been used to split long bones, that the

marrow might be secured. It is much less finished and finely flaked

than the jasper lanceheads we have so frequently met with on the

surface and in graves. The second of these three specimens is a

beautifully chipped jasper specimen, that appears to have been a

‘ong stemmed spear, which, being broken near the base, has had the

fractured end carefully rechipped. As the specimen now is, it is

a triangular “ flint,” two and five-eighths inches long, and one and

one-half inches wide. It may be looked upon as a knife made

from a spear, we suppose ; inasmuch as so many, approaching it

in character, were found at the same time. The third specimen

is a rudely chipped oval knife (?) blade, noticeable as having been

made of white quartz ; a mineral not often used except for arrow-

heads,

We have now to consider a remarkable series of hornstone

implements, forty-two in number, which have much of interest

Connected with them. As a class, they may be said to approach

the flint dagger blades figured by Mr. Evans, on page 315 of his

Work on the Stone Implements of Great Britain. They can be

described as “chipped flints,” with square bases, well defined

Points, and slightly convex sides, averaging three and one-half

inches in length by one inch in breadth. Six of them have convex

278 RELICS OF A HOMESTEAD OF THE STONE AGE.

bases, and consequently are leaf-shaped arrowpoints of a large

size. In no one specimen is there any distinct notching of the

sides, near the base, to facilitate the fastening of a handle; and

for this reason we have thought that they may have been knives,

rather than spearpoints or arrowpoints; but it is possible that

they were intended as war arrowheads, and were to be only slightly

inserted in the shaft; so that the person shot could not dis-

lodge the stone point, by drawing the shaft from the wound. It

seems almost useless to conjecture as to the particular use of these

or indeed any specimens, which, from their shape and size, show

that they may have been used for several different purposes.

A fact, fully as interesting as the presence of any or all of these

relics, consists in the absence of two common forme of ‘ Indian

relics,” namely: the ordinary grooved cobble-stone axe, and frag-

ments of pottery ; no specimen of the former or trace of the latter

could be found anywhere about the limits of the beaten discolored

ground that we have called a homestead.

Now arises the question, whence came the people who once

occupied this spot, and left these abundant traces of their sojourn

here? Marking the degree of civilization, or rather, of its absence,

as estimated by these relics, does it, indeed, seem possible, as

sketched by Haeckel,* that from hypothetical Lemuria, in the

Indian ocean, a being worthy then to be called a man, could finally,

after many ages, reach North-west America, and then cross our

broad continent, to reach the Atlantic coast, in a state of advance-

ment only equal to the production of such rude stone implements

as we have described? We do not doubt the correctness of the

theory of the evolution of man from creatures not men, but that

the ancestors of the American red-skin lived nearer home than the

Indian ocean, we cannot but think ; and we fail, as yet to see, how

“ the dispute between the monogenists and the polygenists can die

a silent and unobserved death ;” t unless indeed it be by the fi

victory of the polygenetic school.

* Reproduced by Chapman in “Evolution of Life,” p. 177.

t Descent of Man, vol. 1, p. 235. English edition.

Bares ey ie.

THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA.

Tue first detailed account we have of these wonders of geology

was published by Mr. N. P. Langford, who was one of an explor-

ing party under General Washburn, sent out in the summer of 1870.

His article was published in “ Scribner’s Monthly,” while the official

report to Congress was written By Lieutenant Doane, U. S. A.

From Professor F. V. Hayden’s interesting and valuable report for

1871 we take the following still more extended account of these

geysers, and are indebted to him for the use of the accompanying

„illustrations.

The geyser basin of Fire Hole river is near Yellowstone lake,

the source of the Yellowstone river, of the wonders of which we

give some account elsewhere in this number.

In the course of their wanderings in search of the Fire Hole

basin the party under Prof. Hayden fortunately struck the sources

of the East Fork of the Madison instead of those of the Fire Hole,

and thus were enabled to see many fine springs which would other-

wise have escaped attention, and there is no doubt, says Prof.

Hayden, that subsequent explorations about the sources of the

Tellowstons. Missouri and Snake rivers, will reveal many other

stoups of hot springs and geysers.

The entire valley of the East Fork, from its source to its junc-

tion with the Madison, extending over an area twenty-five miles

long, and an ay erage of half a mile in width, is covered with the

sitions deposits of the hot springs, ancient and modern. The

d of the stream i is lined with white silica, and the valley itself

looks like an alkali flat. One group of thirty or forty springs is

- noticed, and the springs of the Lower Geyser basin are described

and mapped. The main basin, the most beautiful of all in this last

group, was ten by fifteen feet, the water 128°, marvellously trans-

parent and of a most delicate blue ; as the surface is stirred by the

Passing breeze, all the colors of the prism are shewn, literally a

Series of rainbows. He calls the most delicately colored springs

ismatic Springs. -

tabs the Fire Hole basin, the party visited one of the most

_ Yemarkable mud-pots in the valley (Fig. 57). “The a

2 (279)

Fig. 57.

BW ine gig

THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA. 281

within the rim is forty by sixty feet, and forms a vast mortar bed

of the finest material. The surface is covered with large puffs,

and as each one bursts, the mud spurts upwards several feet with

a suppressed thud. The mud is an impalpable, silicious clay, fine

enough, it would seem, for the manufacture of the choicest ware.

The colors are of every shade, from the purest white to a bright

rich pink. The surface is covered with twenty or thirty of these

puffs, which are bursting each second, tossing the mud in every —

direction on to the broad rounded rim. There are several other

mud puffs in the vicinity, but they do not differ materially from

the last, except in size.” |

e now come to the genuine geysers. Fig. 58 gives a view of

one of the elevated craters called the Bee Hive; another much

The Bee-bive. .

. larger is styled the White Dome. ‘The broad mound is fifteen

feet high, and upon this is a chimney about twenty feet in height.

The steam issues steadily from the top like a high pressure en-

gine.”

We copy Prof. Hayden’s description of this wonderful valley : —

“Early in the morni ing of August 30, the see! was literally

filled with a ai steam, ascendin ng from more than a thou-

vad vents. I can compare e the view to yee: but that of some

manufac acturing oity like Pittsburgh, as seen from a high point, ex

cept that instead of the black coal smoke, there are here the white

aie clouds of steam.

Scattered everywhere i

which would otherwise hav

the columns of steam. It is evident that some of these groups of

282 THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA.

springs have changed their base of operations within a compara-

tively recent period ; for about midway on the east side of the lower

basin there is a large area covered with a thick, apparently modern,

deposit of the silica, as white as snow, while standing quite thickly

all ad

ar are the de

sori pines, which appear to

hay destroyed by

the excessive overflow of

the water and the in-

down are incrusted

with the silica, while por-

tions that hs fallen

sult. In one “instance a

green pine- -tree had fallen

soas to immerse its thick

that when removec

the water, and dried in

the sun, very fair speci-

mens were obtained.”

The Upper Geyser

basin contains the most

remarkable geysers, of which the first one is the Grand Geyser

(Fig. 59). Says Hayden :—

Grand Geyser.

_ “Soon after reaching camp a tremendous rumbling was heard,

THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA. 283

shaking the ground in every direction, and soon a column of steam

burst forth from a crater near the edge of the east side of the river.

r oS

down in the basin several inches, and the temperature slowly falls

to 150°. We called this the Grand Geyser, for its power seemed

284 THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA.

= pga than any other of which we obtained any knowledge in the

valley. (Fig. 59.) * There are two orifices in one basin ; one of

spring in a state of quiescence, and no one would for a moment

su aspect the power that was temporarily slumbering below. The

orifice is oblong, 2} by 4 feet, while for the space of 10 feet in

every direction ‘around it are rounded masses of silica, from a few

inches to 3 feet in diameter, looking like spongiform corals. No-

thing could exceed the crystal clearness of the water.”

Fig. 60 gives a view of another eruption of the same geyser.

As an example of exhausted geysers may be cited the Punch,

Bowl (Fig. 61), which is a low crater or chimney in which the

Fig. 61.

( ( "he iia a \

J As £3 pe PF Wiles \ ]

Ige

4 int gh F

Re, Bows

water boils two or three feet high only. A large example of a

„rugged crater is the Giant (Fig. 62); which says Mr. Langford, in

‘* Seribner’s Monthly” “ has a rugged crater, ten feet in diameter

on the outside, with an irregular orifice five or six feet in diameter.

It discharges a vast body of water, and the only time we saw it in

eruption the flow of water in a column five feet in diameter, and

one hundred and forty feet in vertical height, continued uninter-

ruptedly for nearly three hours. The crater resembles a minia-

ture model of the Coliseum.”

The “ Giantess,” however, honored the party a a grail

eruption, an account of which we give in Prof. Hayden’s own

wor

“ Our search for new wonders leading us across the Fire-Hole

tiver, we ascended a gentle incrusted slope, and came suddenly

n a large oval aperture with scalloped edge es, the damita of

Which were 18 and 25 feet, the sides corrugated and covered with

3 THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA. 285

a grayish-white silicious deposit, which was distinctly visible at

the depth of 100 feet below the surface. No water could be dis-

covered, but we could distinctly hear it gurgling and boiling at a

great distance below. Suddenly it began to rise, boiling and splut-

tering, and sending out huge masses of steam, causing a general

stampede of our company, drivi ing us some distance from our point

of observation. When within about 40 feet of the surface, it be-

came stationary, and we returned to look down upon it. It was

foaming and surging at a terrible rate, occasionally emitting small

jets of hot water nearly to the mouth of the orifice. All at once

it seemed seized with a fearful pant coe rose with incredible

-Tapidity, hardly affording us time to flee to a safe distance, when

it burst from the orifice w vith bar paced; rising in a column

Fig. 62

——

The Giant.

the full size of this immense aperture to the height of 60 feet ; and

through and out of the ae of this vast posse mass, five or si

lesser jets or round columns of water, varying in size from 6 to

15 inches in diameter, were pres ta the marvellous height of

250 feet. These lesser jets, so much higher than the main column,

and Shooting through it, doubtless proceed from auxiliary pipes

leading into the principal orifice near bottom. where the explo-

aa sag Is greater. If the theory that water by constant boiling

es explosive when freed from air be true, this theory ration-

ally accounts for all irregularities in gen eruptions of the geysers.

This grand eruption continued for twenty minutes, and was the

Most magnificent sight we ever witnessed. We were standing

286

THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA.

on the side of the geysers nearest the sun, the gleams of which

filled the sparkling column of water and spray with myriads of

rainbows, whose arches were constantly changing — dipping and

fluttering hither and thither, and disappearing only to be succeeded

by others, again again, amid the aqueous column, while the

minute globules into which the spent jets were diffused when falling

Fig. 63,

af kaun MMil

SSS

Old Faithful, Upper Geyser

Basin, Fire-hole River.

sparkled like a shower of diamonds, and around every shadow

which the denser clouds of vapor, interrupting the sun’s rays, cast

_ upon the column,

Z _ the colo

seen a luminous circle radiant with all

rs of the prism, and resembling the halo of glory repre-

ted in paintings as encircling the head of Divinity. All that

w ly witnessed see tame in comparison with the

perfect grandeur and beauty of this display. Two of these wonder-

Fig, 64,

A i,

meen

“E

— Ore

ee : : ae.

-E i TE SER

i, | aA ATC

H F

7 bes

nt 6.

——;

WE maeh

Ideal Section, Upper Geyser Basin

Fire-hole River.

THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA. 287

ful eruptions occurred during the twenty-

two hours we remained in the valley. This

geyser we named “ The Giantess.

Another fine geyser is “Old Faithful”

(Fig. 63), as it was christened by Messrs.

Langford and Doane.’ It shoots up a

column of water about six feet in diam-

eter to the height of 100 to 150 feet, ‘‘ and

by a succession of impulses seemed to

hold it up steadily for the space of fifteen

minutes, the great mass of water falling

directly back into the basin, and flowing

over the edges and down the sides in large

streams. When the action ceases, the

water recedes beyond sight, and nothing ©

is heard but the occasional escape of

steam until another exhibition occurs.”

Fig. 64 is an ideal section of a portion

of the Upper Geyser Valley sketched by

Mr. Elliott for the purpose of conveying

a “clearer conception of the way in which

we may suppose the waters of many of

the springs reach the surface. The lower

portion of the section is basalt, then lake

or local drift deposits, and thirdly the

crust of silica, whic ms a floor of

greater or less thickness for the entire

valley.

It is evident that the geysers of Iceland

are tame in comparison with those of

Montana, while the latter are similar to

those of New Zealand. Concerning the

origin of geysers, Hayden quotes as fol-

lows from Hochstetter’s ‘‘ New Zealand :”

“ Both kinds of springs owe tare origin

to the water permeating t ‘face an

apn ee = into “tha bowels

of the re it becomes heated by

the still "existing “yoleanic. fires. High-

pressure steam s gen enerated, which,

accompanied by volesaie gases, such as

muriatic acid, sulphurous acid, ‘eulphu-

retted hydrogen, and carbonic acid, rises

288 THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA

again toward the colder surface, and is there condensed into hot

water. The over-heated steam, however, and the gases decompose

the rock beneath, dissolve certain ingredients, and deposit them

on the surface. According to Bunsen’s ingenious observations, a -

where rising sulphur vapor comes into contact with glowing

masses of rock. Wherever vapors of sulphurous acid are con-

stantly formed, there acid springs, or solfataras, arise. Incrusta-

tions of alum are very common in such places, arising from the

action of sulphuric acid on the alumina and alkali of the lavas;

another product of the decomposition of the lavas is gypsum, or

sulphate of lime, the residuum being a more or less ferruginous

fumarole clay, the material of the mudpools. To the sulphurous

; TER

Professor Bunsen, rejecting the antiquated theory of Makenzie,

based upon the existence of subterraneous chambers, from whic

of a frame of silicious deposits, with a deep, flue-shaped tube, and

pon den development of larger masses of steam from

_ observed in these springs.

_ The rocks, from which the silicious hot-springs of New Zea-

-~ land derive their silica, are rhyolites, and rhyolithic tufas, contain-

ing seven more per cent. of silica; while we know that in

THE GEYSERS OF MONTANA. 289

Iceland palagonite, and palagonitic tufas, with fifty per cent. of

silica, are considered as the material acted upon and lixiviated by

the hot water. By the gradual cooling of the volcanic rocks under

the surface of the earth in the course of centuries the hot springs

also will gradually disappear; for they too are but a transient

phenomenon in the eternal change of everything created.” — (Hoch-

stetter’s ‘ New Zealand,” English translation, p. 432.)

Bischof in his “ Researches into the internal heat of the globe,”

thus discourses on the origin of the Geysers of Iceland :—

“ No doubt can be entertained respecting the nature of the agent

by which the waters of the geyser, the Strokr, and other less con-

siderable springs, are thrown to such an immense height. It is,

as in volcanoes, a gaseous body, principally aqueous vapor. We

may, therefore, very fairly agree with Krug Von Nidda, and con-

sider volcanoes in the same light as intermittent springs, with this

difference only, that instead of water, they throw out melted

matters

“ He takes it for granted that these hot springs derive their

temperature from aqueous vapors rising from below. en these

vapors are able to rise freely in a continual column, the water at

the different depths must have a constant temperature, equal to

that at which water would boil under the pressure existing at the

respective depths ; hence the constant ebullition of the permanent

springs and their boiling heat. If, on the other hand, the vapors

be prevented by the complicated windings of its channels from ris-

ing to the surface ; if, for example, they be arrested in caverns, the

temperature in the upper layers of water must necessarily become

reduced, because a large quantity of it is lost by evaporation at

the surface, which cannot be replaced from below. And any cir-

290 SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS.

the cavern, the height of the column of water, and the heat gen-

erated below

With this work and the admirable series of EREE by Mr.

Jackson (both in sheets * and stereoscopic form, published by Prof.

Hayden) of some of the finest views in the National Yellowstone

Park and Colorado Territory, the reader can obtain a yery clear

idea of the Geyser region, of the springs in course of eruption, -

and of the falls and basin of the Yellowstone. We see by the

papers that it is proposed to open roads into the National Park,

and erect hotels at the Geysers for the convenience of the public.

ON SOME OF PROF. MARSH’S CRITICISMS.

BY E. D. COPE.

I. :

I have already (in “ The short-footed Ungulata of the Eocene

of Wyoming ;” Naturalists’ Agency, Salem, Mass.) shown, by fig-

ures and descriptions, the absence of foundation for Professor

Marsh’s recent animadversions, and though these latter present

internal evidence of idiosyncracy which almost disarms reply, yet

as some of the readers of this journal may not see the above

essay, 1 make a few specific contradictions of some of his state-

ments which may be regarded as serious.

n an article “On the Gigantic Fossil Mammals of the Order

Dinocerata,” he writes as follows: `‘ :

“« (1) What Prof. Cope has called incisors are canines, etc.”

I had determined and stated them to be canines, in the American

Naturalist, previous to the appearance of this criticism.

« (2) The stout horns he described are not on the frontals ‘but

on the maxillaries.” I was the first to determine these bones to

be nasals, and find that in Hobasilews they compose the inner face

of the horns to the apex, while the maxillaries form the outer

face. f

* Sun Pictures of Rocky Mountain Scenery. By F V. Hayden. The Rocky Moun-

tain Album. By F. V. Hayden and A. H. Jackson, Photograp her.

coca paper, p. 18). easing Marsh has since eoniadidicd the former state-

SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS. 291

**(3) The orbit is not below these horns but quite behind them,

and has over it a prominent ridge on the frontal.” ` In Loxolopho-

don cornutus the naso-maxillary horn is largely above the orbit,

and there is no superciliary ridge of the frontal.

“ (4) The occiput is not vertical, but extends obliquely back-

ward, the occipital crest projecting behind the condyles.” Prof.

Marsh has been perhaps led into this error by the imperfection of

the occipital condyles in his specimen. He does not appear to

know that in life the head was directed obliquely downwards, so _

that the occipital crest was vertical as I described it in Loxolopho-

don and in Uintatherium robustum.

“ (5) The temporal fossa is not small posteriorly but unusually

sendy ;’ and “‘(7) the spine of the tibia is not obtuse but want-

ing,” are frivolous ; vide my descriptions, l. c.

“ (6) The great trochanter of the femur is recurved, though

Prof. Cope says not.” It is flat, as in the elephants.

**(8) One of the species named by Prof. Cope, Eobasileus fur-

catus, is based on what he regards as portions of the nasal bones.

The description, however, indicates that these specimens are

merely the posterior horn-cores of well-known species.” In the

location of these cores Prof. Marsh may be correct, but demon-

stration is yet wanting. How ‘‘ well-known” these species are

to Prof. Marsh, will be evident shortly; and how they could be

well-known to anybody else, may be determined by reference to

his brief notices of a few of them published to the date of his

writing.

Omitting notice of sundry insignificant questions raised in a

postscript to-the paper, as well as those which are more or less

repetitions of criticisms already made, I pass to his denial of the

possession of a proboscis to these animals. I retain my belief

that they had such an organ, and refer to my essay above cited

for the proofs. Leidy has suspected its presence in Megaceratops.

He then says “(7th) the malar bone does not form the middle

element of the zygomatic arch, but the anterior as in the tapir.”

It forms the middle element in Loxolophodon, as may be seen

from my figures. Below, its maxillary support forms one-third of

the zygoma, at the side a little less, and above, a narrow lamina

of the malar extends nearly to the lachrymal.

“(9) The nasal bones are not deeply eikeneased at their ex-

tremities.” They are excavated, etc., as I have described.

292 SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS.

Now it is easy to see by an examination of Professor Marsh’s

figures of Uintatherium mirabile where all this blundering criticism

comes from, and I have pointed out to him that this is the source

of error. But Professor Marsh evidently desires no such consid-

eration from’my hands, but repeats his statements, as though

Uintatherium were a Rosinante, and the ninth commandment a

wind-mill.

There is no inaccuracy in my statement of dates of publication

of Professor Marsh’s genera. I have never stated that the name

Tinoceras was proposed August 24th, but that it was referred to

the Proboscidia at that date. This name was published in an

erratum on August 19th, but was never described until September

21st and then only by implication in the description of a species.

Loxolophodon and Hobasileus were described August 19th and

20th, with separate diagnoses.

I am charged with giving an erroneous date to his communica-

tion of December 20th before the American Philosophical Society.

This will also be found to be correct by reference to the report of

my communication (Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, Jan-

uary 14th, 1873).

Having already gone into the discussion of the affinities of

these animals, I run rapidly over the characters assigned by Prof. -

Marsh to a supposed new order Dinocerea (which he now spells

as corrected, oe Those from the first to and including

e fourth are entirely trivial; the last, which denies air cavities

to the cranium is moreover untrue, as they exist in the squamosal

region as I have stated. The fifth is not true of all the genera.

The definitions from the seventh to the eleventh are of no weight

whatever. As the twelfth, he gives ‘the very small molar teeth

and their vertical replacement.” This is precisely the state of

ings in the proboscidian Dinotherium, a form which Prof. Marsh

has overlooked. The 13th and 15th, “ the small lower jaw,” and

“ absence of hallux” are of no weight if true; but the lower jaw

has marked proboscidian features in the symphysis and teeth, and

it is probable that some of the species had a hallux. The 16th,

‘absence of proboscis” is probably an error, certainly so for two

of the genera. I have passed over the (6th) “the presence of

large postglenoid processes,” and (14th) ‘the articulation of the

astragalus with both navicular and cuboid bones,” as of some value.

_ They are, indeed, the only characters of any wide systematic sig-

SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS. 293

nificance adduced by Prof. Marsh, since they point indubitably

to the Perissodactyla and are common to all of the Eobasileide.

Nevertheless they form but a slim basis of support for an order

of mammals, especially when compared with the uniform testi-

mony of proboscidian affinity derived from the cranial expansions,

cervical vertebrae, sacrum, pelvis, hind leg, hind foot, scapula, fore

leg, fore foot, and the concurrent evidence derived from dorsal and

lumbar vertebrze, dentition and proboscis.

If Professor Marsh wishes to see an equal or greater degree of

variation in dentition in an order of mammals, let him compare

Equus and Rhinocerus among Perissodactyla, or Bos, Moschus,

Hippopotamus and Phacocherus in the Artiodactyla ; in the length

of the nasal bones, Delphinus and Squalodon among Cetacea, or

Homo and some of the lemurs; in the number of toes, Felis and

Mustela, Ursus, étc., all members of the same orders.

I should be glad, on the principle of De mortuis nil nisi bonum,

to commend our critic’s remarks on the relations of this supposed

order. But Professor Marsh’s ideas on classification are derived

from unusual sources. The absence of incisor teeth no more re-

lates these animals to the Artiodactyla than it relates the sloth to -

the same order. The presence of paired horns no more consti-

„tutes affinity to the ruminants than it does in the case of the

“ horned-toad.”

They are simply an analogous development on a probostidian

basis. The few affinities which this group exhibits outside the

Proboscidia, are to the Perissodactyla, as I was the first to show,,

and among these, to Paleotherium and Rhinocerus. As to the name

_ “ Dinocerata,” I have been induced to use it in the sense of a

suborder, but am now satisfied that even this use is uncalled for,

and shall employ the family name Eobasileide instead. On equally

good bases the camel and Tragulus should be erected into new

orders.

» An explanation of the origin of this new order is probably to

= found in the system of Mammalia proposed by Prof. Dana,

_ some years since in accordance with his theory of ‘‘Cephaliza-

‘ it ” While I have been able to see beauty in Professor Dana’s

oe the least that can be said is that the application to

the Ungulata has not been the correct one. The system has not

‘been adopted, and is in the opinion of the best ner ,

entirely untenable.

294 SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS.

Another critic not so courageous as Prof. Marsh, since he is

anonymous, has attacked (Am. Jour. Sci. Arts, 1872, 489) my

statement of determination of the Cretaceous age of ‘the Bitter

reek .coal, citing five authorities as having previously made the

same determination. I have shown (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.,

Jan. 14, 1873) that but one of these references relates to the region

in question, and that the critic was ignorant of the geography or

literature of the subject, or both. He, however, repeats (loc. cit.,

1873, 231) that Mr. Meek “ referred Dr. Hayden’s collection from

Bitter Creek at Point of Rocks to the Cretaceous,” a fact I had

previously pointed out, and adds that I am in error in asserting

that Mr. Meek attached interrogation marks to all his Coalville

determinations (200 miles west), as he cites two Cardia and two

Inocerami as from Coalville and without the question. More

careful examination would have shown my critic that the two

. Cardia and one Inoceramus are stated to be from localities remote

from both Coalville and Bitter Creek.

But there is no indication in my original note of a design to

ignore the useful labors of the gentlemen who have written on this

subject; nothing was farther from my intentions, in so issuing an

early notice of my own observations, than to ignore the opinions

of Mr. Meck, with which I have become pretty well acquainted

through pleasant association on the same geological survey. Had

they been coincident with my own, I should have mentioned them,

although unpublished. Mr. Meek will, however, soon speak for

_ himself. It requires but a casual examination to show that the

criticism is captious and uncalled for, and that its author is ‘only

Kog aid to the champion above considered.

IL.

I now turn to another subject, the raising of which is due also

to Prof. Marsh. He has very commendably made himself ac-

quainted with the literature of the authors who had previously

written on these extinct Proboscidia, though notin time to prevent

his redescribing some of the genera and species. But unfortu-

_ well that my descriptions antedate his by a month and more, and

that he is posterior to Dr. Leidy, by two months at least. He

is however not strong enough to state the nomenclature accord-

gly, but endeavors to prove something else. In order to do

-nately he does not tell us all that he knows. He knows perfectly -

distributed them : —

SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS. 295

this, he is willing to write (Amer. Journ. Sci. Arts, 1878, p. 118),

“the dates on the papers (Aug. 20th and 22d) certainly do not

represent those of actual publication ;” and again (American Nat-

uralist, 1873, p. 151) “no less than seven of Prof. Cope’s papers

are antedated, as the records of the society will show.” Prof.

Marsh is not careful to prevent the natural deduction from these

statements, that the dates are fraudulent; though he well knows

to the contrary, and disagreeable though it may be to the mens

conscia recti, I am compelled to prove that such is not the case!

I therefore append testimonials from the proprietors and fore-

men of the printing establishment from which the essays in

question were issued, and from my mown a who received and

PHILADELPHIA, March 24th, 1878.

Professor O. C. Marsh prc stated in the “American Naturalist” (1873, p. 151) that some

of the Santee published by Professor Cope during the summer of 1872, and printed by us, bear

dates * — do not repréecat ‘lose a enter aoa and that “ "at least seven o of them are an-

tedated,”

ere

hundred copies of ‘these papers were delivered by us into the hands of Pendleton King and

Stephen G. Worth, assistants of Professor Cope, except that on Metalophodon, which was is-

sued to Professor Lesley,

McCALLA & STAVELY.

JNO. S. SCHEIDELL, For of ee Room.

JOHN DARDES, Pircian a bas Roo

= LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY,

Baton Rouge, March 24, 1873.

PROFESSOR E. D. COPE, Academy Natural fe &Philad,

:—On looking over my papers, I ‘and that I have, among papers written by

EAR FRIEND

you, the mae

Oh anew genus of Bleurodirg from the Eocene of Wyoming, July 11, 1872.

i Is arbi sof Osino, N levada, J = 29th.

Descriptions of Som: x p of the Eocene, July 29th.

nd oe s Same, August 3d.

Tth.

the Existence of oi i the Transition Beds of Wyom

Short on of Species of Loxolophodon (misprinted eka Cope, near August 17th.

New Verte rate from the Upper Waters of Bitter Creek, Wyoming Territory

Second Notice of Extinct Vertebrates from Bitter Creek, Wyoming, August 22, 1872.

These I brought with me from ear elphia, serge er arly in belaia 1872.

I laid them aside during Jùly and Augusf, and am confident that the dates which I find on

— as ABOVE, cor rrespon nd wit h the times lI Teceived t them f tom ne pres

tions were for using the list of names

of persons to whom they were to be sent. Some recei ived them very soon, 0 others after a short

delay, as suited convenience in mailing; and I think all were mailed by the Ist of —_ i

ou are at wai to use this letter if desirable. Very tru

KING,

Professor of Natural History in the University of Louisiana.

I now add testimonials from some of the persons to whom the

papers in question were sent, although I consider this part of

the evidence as quite immaterial, that which has gone before being

296 SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS.

sufficient as to the date of publication. It is indeed not to be ex-

pected that persons will generally remember the exact dates at

which printed matter has been received. Nevertheless in a few

days after making inquiry I received the following : —

ar roman O. C. Marsh having stated in the “American Naturalist ” (1873, p. 151), that some

which they bear, and that “‘at least seven

of them are anteda ted,” I her eby state that most or all the above were received at my soe

or by me, at or near the dates printed on them, especially those of the summer months

JAMES ORTON, Professor of Natural History in Vassar College, POUGHKEEPSIE, XN. Y.

hiria S. LIPPINCOBT, CORNING, New York.

COX, State Geologist, INDIANAPOLIS, In pre

aa M. WHEATLEY, PHÆNIXVILLE, Pen

ERR, Siate Geologist, n sedi Come

JOSEPH SAVAGE, LEAVENWORTH, Kansas

I have also received letters from Principal Dawson of Montreal

and Professor Mudge of the State Agricultural College, Kansas,

stating that they received the papers, but did not keep exact ac-

count of the date of reception. Among many others in the United

States to whom they were sent, I may mention Prof. Davidson,

President of the San Francisco Academy Natural Sciences. They

were also sent to Professors Seeley, Huxley, Gegenbauer, Peters,

Hyrtl, Du Bocage and others in Europe, and Messrs. Gotch and

Rijgersma in Australia and the West Indies respectively.

I also add that they were received at my address at Fort Bridger,

and mostly forwarded to me promptly after the dates of distri-

ution.

The little that interests students in this matter is the dates of ,

publication of the essays in question. The dates of reading are

of secondary importance and have been abandoned by naturalists

generally as furnishing basis for nomenclature, so that Prof.

Marsh’s able criticism of the dates on the cover of the American

> Philosophical Society’s proceedings for 1872 may be regarded as

urely antiquarian. The papers in’ question were, in fact, issued

independently of the society, and almost always in advance of the

time at which they were read before it. But lest our bibliophile

again charge me with fraud, let me here correct an error in the

report of the proceedings of that society for August, 1872, in

“ Nature” for 1873, p. 335. Here it is stated that my first note

on the Proboscidians was read on August 16th; I hasten to say

that this is an error probably derived from the wording of the

note as published on August 19th, in which it was stated (without

my knowledge) that ‘“‘ The Secretary announced that he had re- `

SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS. 297

ceived from Prof. Cope,” etc. This could only have referred to

the last meeting preceding (on the 16th) ; but, in fact, it was not

read until the meeting following (September 20th). In the mean

time it had been published (on the 19th), and two other papers

describing the species and genera in more detail were published

on the 20th and 22nd respectively. An account embracing the .

same facts was also read by Prof. Winchell before the American

Association for the Advancement of Science, which opened its ses-

sions at Dubuque on August the 21st (or 23d), of which an

abstract has, after great delay, appeared in the American Natu-

ralist for March, 1873. Finally a description of Eobasileus ap-

peared in the scientific column of the ‘‘New York Independent” for

August 22nd, 1871. The papers published in Philadelphia were

issued without my revision, and hence contain a few typographical

errors which Prof. Marsh finds of great use to himself. But under

the circumstances the number is surprisingly fe

I now present a table of the nomenclature 0 the three genera

of Proboscidia, synonymy being in italics : —

i AUTHOR.

MONTH,

Leidy. Cope. Marsh.

August, 1872.

lst. ntatherium

Scant d with one

species.

Uintamastiz do.

19th. Loxolophodon | Tinoceras used in

described 1 with | erratum, not de-

: three species. scribed; no spe-

cies described.

20th. Eobasileus de-

X ier and one

speci

22d. Loxolo

a zga ain: Porat

h three species.

24th. Tinoceras named;

no description.

September.

2ist. ea with describ-

ed with. one spe-

described.

27th. Dinoceras describ-

ed with two spe-

Lefalophodon. As Prof.

the name See ae was T ean accept sing p! e aboan ke in-

298 ; SOME OF PROFESSOR MARSH’S CRITICISMS.

Though Prof. Marsh has published five papers and six notes on

these animals, but one of his species has been so far partially

described as to be of any use to science. Publishing of bare

names * may constitute a caveat, but not an injunction, but in the

present case the eee are too late. Hence the trouble. ‘ Hew

quantus erat sudor,” e

In one of Prof. can late 8 acia he asserts that Losolo-

phodon cornutus and Tinoceras grandis are identical. . If this be

true, the latter name must stand as a synonyme of the former,

and Tinoceras be withdrawn from the synonymy of Uintatherium,

where it might well remain so far as his description characterizes

it. But if so, his statement that there are five superior molars

must be altered, as the genus Lowolophodon possesses six. He

‘has also stated that Uintatherium robustum possesses a small

tubercle on one of the molars not found in U. mirabile, and bases

a generic distinction between the species thereon; for use he at

last succeeds in defining the latter as a species only.

Perhaps, however, Prof. Marsh desires to impose upon scientific

literature the numerous names he has proposed for species he has

never described.f This he has attempted in the case of the fossil

American Turkey, Meleagris superbus Cope, which was described

by the writer over a year sooner than by him. At the latter date

this species was discovered to have been called M. altus Marsh,

some months prior to my description, but without any allusion to

ifs characters or other means by which it could be identified.

Prof. Marsh desires students to use his museum labels, without

descriptions, he might refer to Bronn’s Š “Lethea Geognostica.”

and other works, where he will find all such names consigned to

the rubbish of synonymy so soon as it can be ascertained to what

they refer.

To sum up the matter, it is plain that most of Prof. Marsh’s

criticisms are misrepresentations, his systematic innovations are

untenable, ‘and his statements as to the dates of my papers are

either criminally ambiguous or untrue. I might, now proceed to

aa een ne

*See the rule “adopted and practiced = students. In case of a genus there

must be a definition giving the essential c racters.” From « Thorel’s European

Spiders,” quoted in Wallace’s " 1 Society, London, =

by W. M Piaras in “ Ent IN lature” in “Canadian Entomol

1873, P- 32. ;

t Sev eral of which owe which {I have

— egay Phecachampes s squankensis is Nene advooaumié: minor “& Marsh.”

NEW PLANTS OF NORTHERN ARIZONA. 299

characterize the effrontery of such proceedings in fitting terms,

but forbear, believing that with a little change of scene the author

of them will be as glad to bury them in oblivion as is the writer

of this notice.

EXPLANATION OF PLATES.

PLATE 4. Front view of cranium of Locolopho don cornutus, “PER TNIE EAT gee”

PLATE 5. ` Profile of th ition) proportion ; p with

description.

NEW PLANTS OF NORTHERN Peretii AND

THE REGION ADJACE

BY SERENO WATSON.

Ix the botanical collections made in 1871—72, mainly in the

southern portion of the Great Basin, in northwestern Arizona and

the adjacent desert section of California, by Mr. Ferd. Bischoff

_ and others, under the direction of Lieut. G. M. Wheeler, Corps of

Engineers, i in the course of his exploration of that region, several

new species have been found which are here described, by consent,

in anticipation of the fuller report now in PRSE With

these are given some others occurring in a small collection made

by Mrs. Ellen P. Thompson near Kanab, Southern Utah, during

the last summer while accompanying her brother, Maj. Powell, in

his Survey of the Colorado. Several of these species are of inter-

est as confirming genera hitherto monotypical. Notes upon a

few other species are added.

POLYGALA SUBSPINO: OSA. — Perennial, herbaceous, Misie or more or less pubes-

; Stems 2-8' high, branched abov e, the branches often spinose; leaves aoaea

i ta T long, oblong or oblanceol ate, acuta or obtuse, attenuate to the raceme

loose, MS ata bracts small and scarious; pedicels becoming vellexeil; shorter

sepals naked or ciliate, the wings oblong, 4-5" long and

. crested with a broad saccate process; style post apaan orbic-

ular, emarginate, peere —Near ana, which has a linear or horn-shaped

i and is 8 alwa wat

£ a

862), pubescent and very spiny; Arizona (Palmer), densely pubescent but

_ Without spines ; Kanab (Mrs. E. P. Thompson), glabrous and spiny. Flowers “maroon

and yellow ;” o ones summit; Jun

PETALOSTEMO. em: "ESCENS.— Stem aoe glabrous; stipules and leaves spar-

ingly silky; nem pA narrowiy oblong, obtuse, 3-6'' long; spike dense, long-pe-

2" long hoe r aia subpu' bescent; bracts (and calyx) very ong villous, ‘subulate,

; tooth of the

petals ;

he limb

of the I Eee, wi TEEN emarginate, 7 li the e] , the

800 NEW PLANTS OF NORTHERN ARIZONA.

other petals en he, oblong.—Kanab, Southern pha (Mrs. E. P: pippa on dry

rocky hills; a macrostachyus, Torr., a som ne similar, more n rn spe-

cies, with sininioaia spikes of has 5-9 he rachis,

bracts and calyx very villous, sat mee bract long-acuminate, calyx-teeth equaling

the Gilo, and the claw of the

idatiiacty crenate limb.

In the collection from Kanab is another well-marked form, but sarc some to

P. Searlsie, Gray—differing in ne broad naked bract, rere abov short

filiform apex, attenuate to the base; ess ire villous throughout; gier ang

and broader, the arga ner pawg or emarg instead ot erosely crenate. P. ovatus,

Dougl., from Oregon, with violet Mower) is annat g rom P. macrostachyus, to which it

has been Ciena. There are other western species as yet undescribed.

D h

NA.—S ro , much branched; pubescence short, silky, dense only in

the upper axils; leaflets he ly linear, 3-4’’ long, obtusish; Higenn loosely

cemed, few, large, ase e; pedi icels 1” long; calyx pubescent, 3-5'’ long, the

cent.—Allied to D. Fremontii, Johnsoni and Schottii. Northern Arizona (Mrs. E. £.

cages ira In damp places; April.

ALUS AMPULLA eg (§ In, aak aig short, ascending; pubescence short,

iioii a aea leaflets 7-11, obovate, 4-6'' long, emarginate, glabrous above;

_ raceme short, 3-1' long, yedi dense; parc cylindrical-campanulate, 2—3'' long, the

meme pari or nearly obsolete; petals purple, the banner narrow, 7-9" long, muc

se keel; legume ae range upon a long-exserted stipe, oblong,

9” k heres sire Southern Utah (Mrs. E. P. Thompson). In damp places;

pril

THOMPSONÆ.— More or less Wa with short appressed hairs; stems her-

baceous, 1° high or more; T u 6-10 pairs, obovate, 4- 6’’ long, obtuse, mucronu ulate;

raceme dense; bracts linear-setaceous; calyx densely ar-pubescent, the subu-

late teeth about equalin; tube and slightly shorter than the light-yellow corolla;

banner orbicular, 6'' long; ovary sessile; pod 2’ long, 2’ , glabrous, abou 4

— Stipules spinose as in the original species, not subulate as described by Ben tham

and Hooker. The base of the style in both species is thickened and somewhat horny.

Kanab (Mrs. E. P. Thompson). On dry rocky cliffs; July, August. i

HIPPLEA UTAHENSIS.— Shrubby, low (6' high), much branched; pubescence stri-

gose, mostly appressed; leaves oblong, ppe yx a very short petiole, 3-5" “tong,

acutish, entire, sparingly hairy, 3-nerved; mall, few, on very short pedicels,

in a dense compound cyme; calyx aeeie the subulate lobes shorter

than the white oblong clawed petals; stamens 10; styles 3 and ovary 3-celled; capsule

sta’ tyles

oblong, terete, 1}'' long, adherent for half its length to the calyx-tube .— Especially ei

tinguis! . modesta by its elongated — Bud-scales very silky. Kana

Augu

(CHYLISMA) MULTIJUGA.—Annual, Plabroas A oe radical leaves

CENOTHERA

6' long, narrow, pinnate with 12 or ate pairs of leaflets, w are 9'' long, the alter-

agers oblong, acute, irregularly and doubly to oT strongly veined, the

terminal leaflet not larger; raceme loose; pedicels sle: saaa ng long, equaling the fili-

form ss calyx-tube 1-14"' long, much sh segments; * petals

yellow, 4'’ long.— Near Œ. scirpoides, Nutt., but none of at forms or that va eae" qv

in e,

Mrs.

PETALONYX NITIDUS. Leaves ovate, 4-1' , acute. eny Seed toothed, sh -

urberi.— So

OPTERUS PURPUREUS. aulescent, glabrous; leaves 2-3-pinnate, broadly

S srn caine ink 4’ long lnckading the grie the broad segments coarsely mu-

cronate-dent: the leaves; umbel unequally 8- -12-rayed,

tate; cle x

naked or with a ingie involucral bract; involucels unilateral, of several lanceolate

united n

pr e pane, nearly equaling the flowers sepals ovate, "E „e

_ Begments

yellowish-purple; kait 4 long, nearly as broad, with wide membranou

pedicels as long or longer; seed concave, 3 costate, one or all of the

, NEW PLANTS OF NORTHERN ARIZONA. 301

wings developing; vittæ 4-5 in the intervals, 8 upon the commissure.—Whole plant

purplish; near C. terebinthinus, Nutt. New Mexico wages 1869). Northern Arizona

(Mrs. E. P. Thompson). In naen shaded soil; Mar

re pene NEWBER so, glabrous or somewhat viscid-

pubes ; lea vate blong i in outline, s5 2! long, shorter than the petioles, pin-

nately neea upper ae 3-lobed, the lower 2-lobed and sessile, lobes sparingly

cised; peduncle exceeding the leaves; aa naked, unequally 4-8-rayed; involu-

poa foliaceous and a aiei the 4-8 very unequal segments oblong, acute or obtuse,

mostly exceeding the flowers; calyx-teeth ovate to linear-lanceolate, acute; petals yel-

low; disk broad; fruit glabrous, ovate, Pie the short pedicels.— Remarkable for

its conspicuous foliaceous inyolucels. Fru mature, but gta WRG grown “ge "a

its character. New Mexico (Dr. em RE on te Moxioan Boundary Survey); North-

ern Ari

ANGELICA Tall and stout, Saisi puberilent; eyo biternate; leaf-

lets Se lohan » 2-3! er ng, acute, incisely serrate, the teet and mucronulate,

middle leaflet yetichitate; inyolucre and involucels none; os ease unequa

ng; pedice hi ite; i

becomin

elliptical, 3” long, subpubescent, the dorsal wings thick, narrower than the lateral

eeg (Wheeler

F A FLAVESCE NS. (Garrya ——?, Watson, King’s Rep. 5, 421).— Pubesce

cilky, a appressed leaves e ee a = — set at each end, entire, ead

above, margin revolute; pet pendulous; bracts 6-10 pairs,

ents

fertile aments 1’ long, dense, with solitary flowers and densely enous fruit.—

quent from Southern Nevada and Utah to Arizona and New Mexico; growing a

high, and flowering in March.

RICKELLIA (CLA ) LONGIFOLIA. — Slightly scabrous, very slender, with

Spreading branches; leaves 2-5' long, linear, acuminate, entire or obscurely sinuate-

toothed, ae ~~ scabrous margins, 3-nerved, punctulate; flowers on short slender

pedicels, a ~ and in small terminal clusters; involucre glabrous, 2'' long, the

Spreading s acutish, or the linear inner ones obtuse or iei achenium 10-

striate, digka and minutely hairy on the angles, nearly 1'’ long, the soft minu

barbulate pappus but little m Nevada (Wheeler); Northern Avisons

(Mrs. E. P. Thompso n). In adamp cañ pa

HAPLOPAPPUS CERVINUS.— Low, 6 h ase ticese, resinous‘scabrous, the short

herbaceous stems leafy to the top; leaves chong lanes, te long, shortly cuspi-

date, attenuate noite ne entire, subscabrous, 3- ares 34" long, in 3-5-flow-

terminal corymbs; outer aoaea linear, acumin fe with etaceous spreading tips,

the inner char Mien: acutish, erect, nearly equaling .

the pappus; rays few, narrow and short; ; style exserted ; achenia linear, pubescent. i

Nearest to H, Prunai, Gray. Antelope Cañon, Utah (Wheeler). ra

_LAPHAMIA MEGALOCEPHALA.— Scabrous-pubescent; stems diffusely branched, 1 `

higħ; branches simple; leaves alternate, broadly ovate, 2-3" long, smaller the

branches, entire, very shortly petioled; heads large, 2-3"' in diameter, terminal and

Solitary, discoid, many-flowered; somaya ape eee pappus none.— With

nearly the habit of L. Stansburii, Torr. Nevada (Wheeler).

VIGUIERA RETICULATA.—White-to! acta stems ns eon: leayes subopposite,

coriaceous and rigid, broad-ovate, 1-2’ long, cordate at base, acute, entire, shortly

Petioled. beneath » bracts s

ah , gly reticulated cts small, lanceolate; heads 4-5 together in

corymbs; involucral seales imbricated in 3-4 series, lanceolate, thick, ap-

poe ia _ spreading tips; rays entire; receptacle shortly conical; chaff acutish ;

È SL the nan

tain, Southeastern California (Wheeler).

CHÆETADELPHA * W WHEELERI, Gray MS.—Stems numerous, 1° high, flexuous; leaves

SO ADELPE A, MS. Gen f Heads about 5-flowered. Invo-

a Dae epics ey linea Ioucrved seals in a single row 3 and several small imbricated scales

Ligules short. Achenia linear, glabrous, p w dale gp

, angles, slightly thickened upward, Pappus A single row of

302 NEW PLANTS OF NORTHERN ARIZONA.

linear-lanceolate, 1-2' long, acute, entire, rather rigid; flowers apparently rose- pss

involucre 6’’ long, shorter than the brownish pappus; achenia 3-4'' long.—With t

j N Whee

ILIA (NAVA TA) DEBILIS,— Slender, 1-2' high, leafy above; pubescence minute

longer than the calyx; flowers nearly sessile; calyx-teeth ovate-triangular, shorter

than the tube; corolla funnel-form, 8'' long, with = y na et and d oe lobed res

light-purple; the stamens upon the throat, exs psule 1’’ long, the cells

seeded; seeds without a ipa or spiracles. Uth peni ese). winot the pinnatifid

nei Ww

CONVOLVULUS LONGIPES.— Glabrous, glaucous, eae tT ines; 1’ long

ess, entire or auricled rx siete. petite peduncles elongated, 2-6’ long paaa vi tha

2-3-bracted, usually 1 red; s linear; calyx-lobes roun ion es r emar-

ginate; ar funnel Sai iE ions 9 yellowish. — RIETTE Nevada (Wheeler te

CBE VUS CORIACEA.— Le aflets 3+ oblong, 1- pearing)

itish, atten abruptly contracted a e, spar-

+ ingly toothed, mostly rather Tong petiolate, glabrous, or with the petio se porta

when young; fruit 1’ long, terete at base, widening into an oblong obtuse wing; calyx

persistent.—Ash Meadow me sa sorta paid Devils Run Cañon, Arizona (Big-

papi on the Mexican Sng ndary Survey.

eatea r

y OXYBAPHUS GLABER.—Glabrous; ana large and open; rae leaves oblong, ses-

sile; an oor on naleader pedicels 2- 3'' long, becoming deflexed; involucre 1-

fow oe; onlyx 8 horter than the involucro; fruit eae, oblong, strongly tubercu- »

Lower ut species is other-

wise sock marked ; Aopen much as in O. glabrifolius. ok petit (Mrs. E

Thompson). In dry soil; October.

¥ ABRONIA a nce more or TEIR densely villous, subglandular, apo

ing; stems weak and slender ; leaves ipl lo: g z

nate int, a a ü late’

long-acuminate, 3- 4" lo ong; flowers pres the lobes obcordate with a deep sinus; fruit

with a firm body, strongly reticulate-pitted, the 3-5 broad wings consisting of a simple

i te above.— D

lamina, y ve.— Nearest t llata zona ( 9

—~> _ERIOGONUM THOM (§ Corymbosa).— Branches short, s ing,

l g a long ed peduncle; stem, petioles an er surface of the leaves

white-tomentose, otherwise glabrous; leaves broad-oblong, 1,’ long, acute at end,

long-petioled; scape 1° high, rigid, r tedly trichotomous and tribracteate at

od lucre 5-toothed ge t sironaly gare flowers yellow, naked, pos eg:

ments of the perigonium nearly wen eh plant yellowish. Sand-cliffs ne

nab, Utah (Mrs. E. P. Thom: ned ‘sou

RCUS UNDULATA, Torr.— The common "Tow ZO of the Rocky Mountains and

eR ranging | southward to » New M Utah. An examination of

meonsi its foliage and includes several

reputed species and forms. The typi ical form has pone leaves with acute or acutish

entire divaricate triangular lobes, the sinuses reachi — way to the midrib.

This is also Q. Fendléri, Liebm. With large as and the lobes sometimes coarsely

notched it becomes Q. Gambellii, Nutt’, and Q. Douglasii, var. Neo- Mexicana, A. DU-

With the pes more obtuse it is Q. alba, var. (?) G a. Torr.; and with the lobes

less divaricate and more oblong, frequently — p the apex, and the rounded or

narrow vae reachi ften 1 he midrib, it is the more ye pec northern

a. Q. binisilobi, VA A epressa, Nutt., and var. Dtahensio, A. pe. extreme states

oie ae eer eG b nothing in

the flowers or fruit to istinguisn the

ALIX NEV. —Amen t short, 6-8" long, appearing with the leaves, ascend-

e on leafy piinia, scales oblong, obtuse, glabrous, or subsilky in the male

; aments, light-colored ; stamens 3, gs capsules glabrous eyen when une. on pedi-

es a late bristles, those at the stout and ri few intermediate ones sho! Soe

ESSE aa cet ama tem mat

DATES OF PROFESSOR COPE’S RECENT . PUBLICATIONS. 303

ous a” oe ee none; stigmas short and thick; leaves Jance-linear, 4—- x long on

g speci , acuminate, entire, silky-tomentose; stipules very minute.—A

e. E 3- oe “teed with light- colored 1 ey and yellowish foliage, sone in dry

It nida from S. Hindsiana i more reduced habit, its silvery pubes-

cen ore parioa lghtrcotored and glabrous ot more slender and

neaka saan fe and thi and shorter stigmas. At the Bens of the Washoe Mts.,

near Carson City (1093 Wie amdi in eaii Nevada (Whe nen

CALOCHORTUS AUREUS.— Low, 4-6' high, with a single sae — <a leaf,

8-4’ long; scape short; APE TUE the single pair of bracts n ' long; sepals

greenish-yellow, with a dark-purple spot near the base, oblong- o ia TA olate;

` petals broadly cuneate, 15’’ long, bright-yellow, with a small hy defined circular

_ densely hairy gland near the base and a lunate purplish spot above it; young capsule

- narrowly oblong, not winged.— On sand-cliffs, Southern Utah (Mrs. E. Pp. Thompson);

une.

— Branched and flexuous above; bracts- alternate,

ł- 1}' long, “aa aan PANE aE rather rigid; sepals oblong lanceolate aigean

with a deep-purple and orange gin base; petals broadly cuneate, 12-15’

plish, with a deep-purple claw a n ill-defined circular. oceans or sib junk

above, the glandular hairs Shio Haratiy to the margin; capsule triangular, nar-

wly oblong.— Southern Utah and Northern petad (Mrs. E. P. Thompson); April

an h dians.

ANDROSTEPHIUM BREVIFLORUM.— Scapes 6’ high; umbels 4-7-flowered, the pedi-

ong; sae violet, 6-7' long, the nearly erect lanceolate segments

equaling the campanulate tube; ; coron a3” Baga eka a ngular- sic 3” in di-

r th p: iolaceu maller flo thern

ON THE DATES OF PROFESSOR COPE’S

RECENT .PUBLICATIONS.*

BY PROF. O. C. MARSH.

Durie the past year Dr. Leidy, Prof. Cope, and myself have

been investigating the fossil vertebrates of the Eocene of Wyo-

ming, and our material has not unfrequently included the same

species. Our descriptions have usually been published as sep-

arate papers, issued in advance of the journals containing them. `

To prevent, if. possible, any question about priority of publication

Agreed with each of these authors in March, 1872, that we should

send to each other, on the day of publication, any papers on the

» above subject we might issue, the date of publication to be either

->Printed or written on each pamphlet. This would ordinarily se-

ca the receipt of the papers on the following day, and we agreed

to accept this réceipt, so far as we were individually concerned, as

——. O O e T

ETEDI to the Philadelphia Achdemy of Natural Sciences, April 8th, 1873.

304 DATES OF PROFESSOR COPE’S RECENT PUBLICATIONS.

publication. This agreement Dr. Leidy has scrupulously observed,

and I have myself carefully kept it. :

Between July 22d and October 8th, 1872, I published a series

of fourteen papers on vertebrate fossils from the West, and in every

instance mailed copies to Prof. Cope and Dr. Leidy on the day of

publication, and, of the more important papers, a second copy by

a subsequent mail, as we had also agreed. Believing, with most

naturalists, that publication of a paper by means of advance cop-

ies can be fairly done only by making these copies accessible to

those working in the same department, I likewise sent copies of

each of my papers, on the day gf publication, to the principal

scientific centres in this country which are especially interested in

this subject, namely: Professor Baird of the Smithsonian Institu-

tion; the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge; the

Boston Society of Natural History; the editors of the American

Naturalist ; the editors of the American Journal of Science; the

Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and the American

Philosophical Society. I also promptly placed these pamphlets on

sale at the Naturalists’ Agency in Salem, and sent early copies to

paleontologists in Europe, and to various scientific journals.

That these papers were duly received, the reeords of the above

societies, and the reviews and notices in several periodicals, as

well as letters from correspondents, afford ample testimony. The

papers subsequently. appeared in successive numbers of the Amer-

ican Journal of Science, from August to November, 1872.*

During this period of over three months, in which these various

papers were being published, I received nothing of the kind from

Prof. Cope. An intimation from a friend finally led me to think

that this author might, perhaps, have published something which

had accidentally failed to reach me, and, as it was important to

have this settled, I made inquiries at each of the above points in

this country where I had sent my papers, and soon ascertained

definitely, that no publications by Prof. Cope, issued subsequent

to July Ist, 1872, had been received. The inquiry was diligently

extended, also, among American naturalists, especially those who

would be most likely to know of such publications, but no oe *

_ dence of a single copy could be obtained. This was the case UP

to October 8th, 1872, when the last paper of my geries was pub-

_ lished, and I started for the West. |

ans * Vol. IV, pp. 122, 202, 256, 298, 322, 323, 343, 344, 405 and 406.

DATES OF PROFESSOR COPE’S RECENT PUBLICATIONS. 805

About a month after this, or November oth, 1872, five papers

by Prof. Cope were received at New Haven, and, on the 11th of

that month, five more, which were all forwarded to me at Chey-

enne, Wy. A third lot reached New Haven, December 4th, 1872,

and was given to me on my return a few days later. In these

various papers, which were mostly uncorrected proofs, several

genera and species, which I had described three months before, are

re-named by Prof. Cope. The papers, moreover, bear dates from

July 11th to October 12th, 1872, and thus might appear to antici-

pate part of my descriptions, in some cases only by a single day.

These papers purport to have been read before the American

Philosophical Society, but the official reeords of that Society show

that they were not even presented until long after the dates

claimed for them. They have since appeared in the Proceedings

of that Society, Number 89 * (published February 6th, 1873),

more than three months after my last paper had appeared in the

American Journal of Science.

On learning of the distribution of these papers by Prof. Cope,

I renewed my inquiries about their true dates of publication, and

found that copies were first received, October 29th, 1872, by the

Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, of which Prof. Cope

is secretary, and that apparently none were distributed at an

earlier date. Wishing, if possible, to avoid bringing this matter

into public notice, I informed Prof. Cope, personally, that I could

find no evidence of any copies of his papers being distributed

before October 29th, 1872, and requested him, if he claimed an

earlier publication, to inform me where any of these papers had

been sent. He at first declined to do this, but finally mentioned

five addresses in this country and Europe, to which the papers in

question had been duly forwarded, during his absence, by the

Person entrusted with their distribution. I have since learned

from two of these places that nothing definite is known of these

Papers, and from the other three I have a positive assurance that

none of them were received.

It thus becomes evident’ that these papers by Prof. Cope were

‘hot published at the time claimed, and I protest against the dates

‘they bear being accepted as authentic. Publication of scientific

Tesults means making them known, especially to those interested,

and cannot be claimed where these results are so carefully withheld

thot be claimed wher

* Vol. XII, pp. 460, 466, 469, 472, 478, 481, 483, 487, 542, 554 and 580.

_ AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VI.

306 TINOCERAS AND ITS ALLIES.

that no record of them can be found by diligent inquiry. The few

species at stake in the present case are comparatively of little

consequence, but the principle involved is all important, and if

disregarded, scientific nomenclature will become worthless, and

honest research lose its just reward.

TINOCERAS AND ITS ALLIES.

BY PROFESSOR O. C. MARSH.

Since the article on page 217 of the April Naruratist was

printed, another pamphlet by Prof. Cope on the same subject has

been received (March 20th). In this paper, which is dated March

14th, 1873, and illustrated by four plates, Prof. Cope has at last

adopted nearly all my views as to the characters and affinities of

the Dinocerata, as well as most of my corrections of his errors,

although without giving credit in either case. Unfortunately, he

still misinterprets the structure of this group on several points,

and most of his dates are incorrect as before. On nearly every

page of the paper, moreover, new errors may be detected, a few

only of which can be corrected here, for want of space.

lst. Prof. Cope,is wrong in assigning only three sacral verte-

bre to the Dinocerata, as Dinoceras, the type of the group, cer-

tainly has four, and the other genera probably as many. 2d. The

neck in Tinoceras grandis Marsh (or ? Tinoceras cornutus) was

much more than a foot in length, rather than less, as the cervicals

in the Yale Museum clearly prove. 3d. Prof. Cope is entirely in

error in saying that the muzzle in this species could not reach the

ground by several feet; the animal really having no use for the

long proboscis which Prof. Cope persists in putting on him. 4th.

The specimen described as Eobasileus cornutus was fully adult, as

the teeth show, and ‘the differences between it and the type of Ti-

noceras grandis may be due to age. 5th. The nasal bones in this

genus do not form the inner half of the middle horn-cores, but

only a small portion of the base, the cores being essentially on

the maxillaries. 6th. The anterior extension of the malar bone

_ is not in Dinoceras much less than in Perissodactyls. 7th. The

TINOCERAS AND ITS ALLIES. 307

tusks figured in plate I of Prof. Cope’s paper are not in their true

position, and in plate II the left tusk is placed on the right side,

thus entirely reversing its characters. 8th. The name Loxolopho-

don was not applied to the genus Tinoceras, Aug. 19th, 1872, but

long afterward, and then altered to Lefalophodon, with specific

names all different from those now claimed. A good example of

the inaccuracy which seems inseparable from Prof. Cope’s work is

seen in the explanation of the plates of this paper, where two seri-

ous mistakes occur in the first line.

Prof. Cope concludes with some remarks about nomenclature,

evidently aiming to save, if possible, some of his names which are

anticipated by mine. His views as to what constitutes publication

are absurd, and would not be accepted by any scientific authority.

His precepts about describing genera may be fitly compared with

his practice, without going beyond the Dinocerata. The name

Loxolophodon Cope was first given, without description, to a genus

which Prof. Cope now rejects, and when again applied, contrary

to usage, to the genus Tinoceras, all the generic characters men-

tioned existed only in that author’s imagination.

In a late number of “ Nature” (February 27th, Vol. VII, p.

335), there is a report, written by Prof. Cope, of various meetings

of the American Philosophical Society. This report, which was

unauthorized by the society, contains several important misstate-

ments. Under the meeting of August 16th, 1872, it is stated that

“A communication from Prof. Cope was read on his discovery of

* Proboscidia in the Wyoming Eocene,’ * * * a new genus, Eoba-

silews, was described.” ‘The official records of this society show

that no paper with this title, or on this subject was read at this

meeting, and none was even presented until more than a month

later, or September 20th. This misstatement is a serious one,

Since it is likely to mislead European naturalists as to the paper

thus antedated. The description of “ Eobasileus” as quoted in

this report is quite different from that given in the paper when

read, or as since published (February 6th, 1873), in the

ings of the Society, Vol. XII, p. 485. This makes at least the |

sixth time this genus has been antedated, and its supposed charac-

ters changed by Prof. Cope within as many months.

A circular has lately been issued by Prof. Cope requesting sig-

_. Ratures from those who received his papers, the dates of which I

___ have questioned. This circular quotes from my note on page 151,

308 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

but the quotation is incorrect, and conveys a very different mean-

ing from the original. A signature to this circular can have no

weight in the present discussion, as the document is so worded

that it calls for no definite information whatever in regard to the

real date of publication of any one of the doubtful papers. In

this respect, and in its inaccuracy, the circular resembles perfectly

Prof. Cope’s other publications which I have recently criticised.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

A TEXT-BOOK or Norra American OrnirnoLoey. — Suitable

manuals of zoology, treating of single classes of animals, have

hitherto been desiderata in our zoological literature. The subject

of the present brief notice — Dr. Elliott Coues’ “Key to North

American Birds”* — is a work unique in its conception, and the

first of a kind one may well hope to see soon supplied for each

class of our native animals, and especially for the several classes

of the vertebrates. In these classes the number of species is small

in comparison with the number of species of insects and of plants,

and can be readily comprised in a volume of convenient size for a

hand-book. Gray’s admirable series of botanical text-books fur-

nish guides to our flora that render accessible to the ordinary stu-

dent and amateur a general knowledge of our plants, but until now

we have had no similar handbook for any department of zoology-

The character of Dr. Coues’ work, so far as fidelity of treatment

and scientific accuracy are concerned, is sufficiently endorsed by

the high character of his various special memoirs and monographs,

and his high standing as an original investigator. The value of

his “Key” as a text-book of American ornithology may be re-

garded as two-fold ; first, its clear exposition of the latest and most

generally approved views of the subject treated, and, secondly, its

scope and the arrangement of the subject matter itself. A general

“Introduction ” treats of the leading principles of ornithology, and

describes in detail, aided by suitable illustrations, the external

*Key to North American Birds, containing a concise account of every species of

Living and Fossil Bird at present known from the Continent north of the Mexican

United States Boundary. es 6 Steel Plates and upwards of 250 Woodcuts-

By Elliott Coues, Assist. Surg. U.S. Army. Salem: Naturalists’ Agency; New York

‘ & Mead; Boston Tack & Lacan, hte

BOTANY. : 309

parts and organs of the bird, with full explanations of the techni-

cal terms used in descriptive ornithology. This is followed by a

“Key” or artificial analysis of the genera of North American

birds, similar in plan to the artificial analytical tables employed in

botanical manuals as a guide to the families of plants. The student

being-fitted to intelligently use the Key,” by a careful study of the

“Introduction” which precedes it, the “Key” enables him without

previous special acquaintance with the subject, to find the name of

any species of bird occurring in North America, north of Mexico,

he may chance to have. In the “ Synopsis” which follows the

“Key,” and which forms the chief bulk of the volume, are given

concise, admirably clear diagnoses of the species and varieties of

our birds, with indications of their geographical range. The

higher groups are also quite fully and satisfactorily characterized,

including the exotic as well as the indigenous forms ; and the clas-

sification adopted is probably the one most generally approved by

leading ornithologists. The diagnoses are illustrated by upwards

of two hundred figures of such parts as are most useful in classi-

fication. Following the general synopsis of the living forms, is a

Concise account of the fossil species, twenty-nine in number, which

has the great merit not only of being the work of the highest au-

thority on the subject, but of being the first and only general expo-

sition of this department of American ornithology.

While, perhaps, not above criticism in respect to occasional

minor details, it is a work not only especially designed for stu-

| dents and amateur ornithologists, but one well calculated to meet

s the end in view, and as such entitles the author to the gratitude of

all beginners and even somewhat advanced students of American

ornithology.—J. A. A.

BOTANY.

A Brue Anacarus.— Dr. Gray recognizes the fact that Ana-

gallis arvensis L., occurs sometimes not only with purple and even

white flowers, but also with blue ones. Of course it is well known

to restrict itself, usually, toa rather peculiar red. I have this sea-

Son found near my house a vigorous plant bearing flowers of most

autiful and decided blue, which is the first instance within my

observation. I would like to know how common this form is, and

Whether it is not a singular characteristic that one species should

_ thus exhibit two of the primary colors, as I remember no other

310 BOTANY.

such case except in shrubs induced by cultivation. Iam unable

to detect in the plant before me any difference from the common

form, unless, perhaps, less pointed petals and somewhat narrower

leaves.— C. M. Tracy, Lynn, Mass.

Erica REPENS.— This plant deserves a more careful examina-

tion than it has yet received. The infrequency of the occurrence of

fruit has been explained in different ways, but no satisfactory ex-

planation has yet been offered. In the “ Botanical Register,” vol.

3, p. 201; the following statement occurs :—‘ Some of the corollas’

are frequently found to be sterile; and, according to Michaux, it

would appear that the species was dicecious, the flowers being

sometimes barren throughout in individual plants.” Mr. Meehan

has called attention to the great degree of variation which occurs `

in many of our native wild plants, this among the number, and

it is to be earnestly hoped that our botanists will commence early

to make more critical observations respecting variations in such

cases. A series of carefully conducted experiments in regard to

the cross fertilization of Epigea is much needed. Owing to the

great facility with which such experiments can be performed, we

are confident that some of oùr readers will take the matter in

DımorrHIC FLOWERS or THE Irecac PLaxt.— Prof. Balfour of

Edinburgh has given to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a very

interesting account of dimorphism in the flowers of Cephaélis

Ipecacuanha, The plants in the Edinburgh Botanical Garden were

derived from two sources; in one case the flowers have long sta-

mens and short styles.. In the other case there is distinct dimor-

phism. Some of the flowers have long stamens and a short style ;

others short stamens and a long style. Successful fertilization has

_ followed the application of the pollen from one form to the stig-

mas of the other form. It will be remembered that this plant

belongs to the order Rubiacew. This order gives us one of the

very best common instances of dimorphism, Houstonia coerulea,

clearly described in Dr. Gray’s “ How Plants Behave.”

IODINE IN THE DETERMINATION OF FuNGI.— Some of our readers

are acquainted with the use of chemical re-agents made by Nylan-

der in the study of lichens. This application has led to the idea

_ that a similar use of chemical tests may be adopted in the deter-

mination of fungi. In the Feb. (1873) number of the ‘‘ Journal

ZOOLOGY. 311

of Botany,” Mr. Phillips gives some facts respecting the employ-

ment of tincture of iodine for this purpose. The re-agent used is

the common tincture of iodine, diluted to one-half with alcohol.

A drop of this is placed on a glass slide with a thin section of

the hymenium and subjected to a slight pressure, under a mag-

nifying power of 300-400 diameters. The blue-purple or purple-

black color which appears in the investigation of some Pezizas,

appears to be specifically characteristic. Thus Peziza melaloma

S., no reaction. P. badia P., summits of asci pale blue. P.

repanda Wahl., apices of asci blue. P. trechispora B. and Br.,

tips of paraphyses deep purple-blue. P. vitellina Pers., tips of

_paraphyses deep purple-black. :

. Itmay be worthy of note that owing to the blue color obtained

in 1858, by Mr. F. Curry, in the examination of a species of Tuber,

the name Amylocarpus yas given as a generic appellation.

A xew Fry-rrar.— Professor A. Braun, in a communication to

a Botanical Society, has briefly described a new form of vegetable

fly-trap. (Botan. Zeitung, Sept. 20, 1872). The plant referred

to is an East Indian Papilionacea, Desmodium triquetrum DC.

The simple leaf with a margined petiole feels rough to the touch,

and remains hanging lightly to the finger which has touched it.

Little flies, which alight on the leaf, are held by an invisible

power and die after ineffectual struggles to free themselves from it.

One can often see six or eight flies fastened in this way to the

upper surface of the blade; less often, and more widely scattered,

on the underside. The hairs which act thus are distributed over

the whole surface and appear to the naked eye as scarcely notice-

able white points: they are not over 0-08-0-10 millimetres long,

and 0-01 millimetres thick, and consist of two cells. The under

cell is one-fourth of the whole length. The upper cell is pointed

like a fish-hook with a sharp barb. These acute angles, invisible

Without a lens, are what fasten the insect down. T

Beside the angled hairs there are others on the leaf. They are

found especially on the nerves, and have a much more appreciable

“ength and thickness (0-50 and 0-01 millimetres), they are unicel-

ular, blunt, and on the upper surface beset with little projections.

: ZOOLOGY.

: a Four-Legcep Rock Lark.— On November 23rd, while walk-

mg on the seashore in the vicinity of Plymouth, I saw the most

312 ZOOLOGY.

extraordinary lusus nature in the shape of a rock lark (Anthus pe-

trosus) that I ever saw in my life. It had four legs and no tail

(at least where the tail should have been), but that appendage was

placed just above the left eye, and sticking out behind like a long

depressed crest, — imdeed it was a perfect “ nightmare” of a bird,

such a one as you might dream about — the extra legs were dang-

ling from the extremity of its body. It was feeding on a heap of

decayed seaweed on the shore. Unfortunately, I had no gun with

me or I could have shot it a hundred times over, but as I hada

field glass with me I could examine it as distinctly as though I

had had it inmy hand. The next day I returned to the spot with

my gun and had a shot at it at once, but the gun “ hanging fire” I

did not quite kill it, and some children running to the spot before

I could load again, it ee to flit away where I could not

see AE

f e inaa” is not so wonderful in a bird just hatched, but

ine lives long, whereas this was a lively full-grown rock lark.—

J. Gatcompg, Plymouth, England.

BIRTHS OF ANIMALS IN THE CENTRAL Park MENAGERIE.— Puma

(Felis concolor). Two cubs were born August 24, 1872; period of

gestation, thirteen weeks ;- spotted; born blind, eyes open on the

eighth day; very playful. The puma has seldom more than two

at a birth.

Leopard (Felis leopardus). Two cubs were born October 28,

1872; period of gestation, thirteen weeks; markings similar to

that of the mother; born blind, eyes open on the eighth day.

Spotted Hyena (Hyena crocuta). Two cubs were born, one

January 5, 1873, the other twenty-four hours after; covered with a

soft hair half an inch long, of a uniformly black color, no indica-

tion of spots; born with eyes open. Weight of cub, 3} pounds,

length from nose to tip of tail 224 inches; tail slender and taper-

ing; height at shoulder 9 inches; canines 3, incisors $; conch of

ears lying flat to the head; bald internally, outside covered with

hair. Supposed to be the first hyrena bred in this country.

Camel (Camelus dromedarius). One calf was born January 16,

1873 ; period of gestation, twelve months, in this case twelve and

a half months. About three hours after birth the calf was held

up to suckle, the next day was able to get on its feet and nurse

itself. — N. A. CONKLIN, Director Cintai. Park Menagerie.

S Canaries anp HYACINTHS.— A lady visitor remarked that one

ZOOLOGY. 313

of our canaries had a bad cold, her quick ear having detected a

wheezing sound like that of a catarrh. It had continued already

for several days. Being myself very unpleasantly affected by the

odor of some flowers, I guessed the cause to be the contiguity

of the hyacinths growing in glasses, and now filling the room

with perfume. These flowers, which were close to the cage of

the sick bird, were now taken from the room and the bird showed

immediate relief, and in a day was well.—S. Locxwoop, Feb-

ruary 14

PHOSPHORESCENCE. — Professor Panceri, of the University of

Naples, has just published a memoir on this highly interesting

subject, in the fifth volume of the Atti della Reale Accademia delle

Scienze fisiche e matematiche, 1871, under the title “Gli Organi

luminosi e la Luce delle Pennatule.” It consists of two parts, one

anatomical, the other physiological. He notes the existence of

special organs which have the power and apparently the function

of producing phosphorescent light, and finds that the light is only

emitted by the polyps and the zooids, while the phosphorescent

organs, as he terms them, consist of eight “cordoni luminosi,”

which are attached to the outside of the stomach of the polyps

and zooids, and are prolonged in each case as far as their mouth-

papillæ. These threads (cordoni) are principally composed of a

tissue built up of vesicles or cells and possessing all the Sapa

of fat; albuminoid cells are likewise met with in it. This

matter generates light, not only by the direct excitation of a

polyps and the zooids themselves, but by excitation of the whole

trunk of the Pennatula. In the latter case the author has made

the remarkable discovery that the progress of the light developed

in succession over the several parts of a polyp gave a striking

indication of the direction, progress, and rapidity of the excitation

applied to the Pennatula, and he has found these latter calculable,

a fact of the greatest interest to physiologists. Professor Panceri

further states that the phosphorescent substance produces light,

after its removal from the body of the polyp, if subjected to

mechanical treatment such as friction and compression, or the

action of chemical agents, electricity or heat. And this is the

case when the substance is extracted, not only from the living

animal, but some short time after its death. The author, in

earlier investigations of the phosphorescence of other fatty

314 ZOOLOGY.

substances, considered the phenomenon due to their slow oxyda-

tion. He believes this holds good in the case of the “cordoni

luminosi” of the Pennatula, and thinks it to a certain amount sub-

ject to the voluntary powers of the animal. He found similar phos-

phorescent substances in the epithelium of Medusae, and in Pholas

he saw two distinct organs inside the mantle which are furnished

with the power of becoming luminous. Some Cheetopteri, Beroe

and Pyrosoma were likewise examined, and a great similarity no-

ticed in all these cases as regards the constitution of the phospho-

rescent substance. In the spectroscope the light exhibits one

broad ‘band like that given by monochromatic light, while, as is

well known the phosphorescent light of Lampyris and Luciola is

polychromatic.— The Academy.

Tae Game Birps or tHe Nortawest.— The game birds of the

northwest seem ina fair way to be thoroughly looked up. We

notice a circular from Dr. Coues, published by command of General

Terry, of the Department of Dakota, inviting the cooperation of

all army officers serving in the Department, in the work of ascer-

taining the precise geographical distribution of feathered game,

their times of arrival and departure, breeding resorts, habits, etc.

This is to be incorporated in a report on the “Ornithology of the

Northwest,” to be published by the Department of the Interior,

and forming one of the series issued by the U. S. Geological Sur-

vey of the Territories, in charge of Dr. F. V. Hayden. The under-

signed respectfully solicits the cooperation of those of his brother

officers who may be interested in a certain portion of his work.

With their friendly assistance, he hopes to largely increase, and

render more precise, our present knowledge of the Game Birds

inhabiting the region drained by the Missouri river and its tribu-

taries. Under this head are.included :

1. Grouse of several different species: the sharp-tailed grouse,

or “chicken ;” the pinnated grouse, or prairie-hen; the ruffed

grouse, or “ partridge ;” the dusky or ‘*‘ mountain” grouse; the

ptarmigan, or “ snow” grouse; the sage-cock, cock-of-the-plains,

and the quail. pe

2. Wading Birds of various kinds: wood-cock, snipe, plover,

-curlew and allied species.

_ 8. Water Fowls of all sorts: swans, geese and ducks.

-He desires to ascertain, with entire precision, the geographical

GEOLOGY.—ANTHROPOLOGY. 315

distribution of the resident species, the times of arrival and

departure of the migrants, and the localities to which the summer

visitants resort to breed.

It is hardly necessary to add, that each contribution to the forth-

coming report would be accredited to its proper source. In order

to be available for the object in view, manuscripts should be re-

ceived not later than June next.— Address Dr. E. Coves, U.S. A.,

Fort Randall, Dakota Territory.

GEOLOGY.

On THE Tusk or LoxoLopHopon cornutus.— Professor Marsh

asserts that I have reversed the positions of the tusks of this spe-

cies, placing that of the left side on the right, etc. This statement

is not true, as I have carefully distinguished the sides in my de-

scription (Short-footed Ungulata, etc., p. 10). In my plate 2d the

inner side is not represented as the outer, as the inner surfaces

of attrition are omitted, and the external represented. Like his

other charges this one results from a misapprehension. Havin

seen a photograph in which, for the assistance of the artist, the

left tusk was taken on the right side, he at once concludes that

my lithograph represents it in the same position.— E. D. Cope.

ioe ANTHROPOLOGY.

Existence or Man ıs THE Miocenr.—I have received a letter

from Mr. Edmund Calvert, in which he informs me that his

brother, Mr. Frank Calvert, has recently discovered, near the

Dardanelles, what he regards as conclusive evidence of the exist-

ence of man during the Miocene period. Mr. Calvert had previ-

ously sent me some drawings of bones and shells from the strata

in question, which Mr. Busk and Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys were good

enough to examine for me. He has now met with a fragment of a

bone, probably belonging either to the Dinotherium or a Mastodon,

on the convex side of which is engraved a representation of a

horned quadruped, ‘with arched neck, lozenge-shaped chest, long

body , Straight fore legs and broad feet.” There are also, he says,

traces of seven or eight other figures, which, however, are nearly

obliterated. He informs me that in the same stratum he has also

found a flint flake, and several bones broken as if for the extrac-

_ tion of marrow.

316 MICROSCOPY,

This discovery would not only prove the existence of man in

Miocene times, but of man who had already made some progress,

at least, in art. Mr. Calvert assures me that he feels no doubt

whatever as to the geolegical age of the stratum from which these

specimens were obtained.

Of course I am not in a position myself to express any opinion

on the subject ; but I am sure that the statements of so competent

an observer as Mr. Calvert will interest your readers.—Sir Joun

Lusgock, in “ Nature.”

MICROSCOPY.

AMPHIPLEURA PELLUCIDA IN Dots.— A sy objective was made

by Tolles to my order and finished on the 12th of March, 1873.

The angle of aperture as invoiced by Mr. Stodder is 165°. From

my measurements I think the objective is correctly named by the

maker. At the extreme open point it is a good ,4, dry. The

screw-collar has twelve divisions: by turning it eight divisions it

is adjusted for uncovered wet, and four divisions remain to adjust

for cover for immersion work. It works through covering glass of

about 34, of an inch; but it is better to use thinner glass, or mica,

to enable the observer to focus through specimens.

With lamplight and the ~ the resolution of Amphipleura pel-

lucida is better than I have before seen. Using ordinary daylight

Vibriones, Bacteria, ete., are well defined, especially when a Kelner

eye-piece is used as a condenser. ‘

. With sunlight and the ammonia-sulphate of copper cell, Suri-

rella gemma yields longitudinal striæ, and, as the direction of the

light is changed, rows of “ hemispherical bosses” as described by

Dr. Woodward.

With the same illumination specimens of Amphipleura pellucida,

mounted dry, by Norman, were resolyed and counted with perfect

ease and remarkable plainness, the striæ being still distinctly visi-

ble with No. 3 eye-piece, draw-tube extended six inches and power

upwards of 10,000 times. It is with hesitation that I remark fur-

ther that the 3, has resolved the lines of Amphipleura pellucida

into rows of dots, for the “ beaded” structure of the easier test,

Surirella gemma, is still doubted by some experienced microscop-

ists. But facts are stubborn things, and the facts are that with

Wenham’s parabola as an illuminator the dots are seen, and with

e = either the paraboloid or the Amici prism longitudinal lines much

; NOTES. : 817

finer than the transverse ones are brought out. These lines, which

I consider genuine, count not far from 120,000 to the inch. With

a slight change of the adjustment their place is occupied by spuri-

ous lines counting generally about 60,000 to the inch. The longi-

tudinal lines can only be seen when the focus is best adjusted for

the transverse striæ. When the transverse lines are examined,

they may be shown smooth and shining, similar to the photograph

by Dr. Woodward in the NaruraLısr, but much better. If the mir-

ror is then carefully touched a sinuate appearance of the margins

of the lines, suggestive of beading, is seen. This appearance can

be brought out readily. And, finally, after the most painstaking

manipulation, and when without doubt the best work is being done,

the separated dots or beads appear.—G. W. MOREHOUSE.

NOTES.

On the. 21st of April Mr. Anderson formally presented the

island of Penekese, together with a fund of $50,000 for the endow-

ment of a School of Natural History. The board of trustees of

the school and fund is in part the same as that governing the

Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, of which this

school is to be the educational branch. Plans have been drawn

for two two-story buildings, each one hundred feet long and

twenty-five feet wide. The lower floors are intended for laborato-

ries and working rooms. The second story will contain sleeping

e deed.

rooms, and rooms for the preservation of specimens.

makes Professor Agassiz president of the board of trustees and

director of the school, with the sole control of the method of in-

struction, and the appointment of teachers. The school will be

called “The Anderson School of Natural History,” and will be

opened early in July.

From want of space we have been unable to adequately notice

the remarks made at the banquet lately given in New York to

Professor Tyndall just before he sailed for England. Many of the

leading scientists of the country, with those eminent in all pro-

fessions j in New York, met him at Delmonico’s. Perhaps this is the

first occasion of the sort when in this country science has, through

her followers and through those engaged in quite different pursuits,

received due consideration. The after dinner speeches, with one

or two exceptions, were animated with the true spirit of devotion

to truth, which is but another term for the scientific spirit.

ence which republicanism has on the advance of science, Prof.

318 3 NOTES.

The burden of Professor Tyndall’s admirable and delightful

speech was the importance of producing trained original investi-

gators. He had alluded to this before in his sixth and concluding

lecture, where he says, —

“ When analysed, what are industrial America and industrial

England? If you can tolerate freedom of speech on my part,

cle. And without those filaments of genius which have been shot

like nerves through the body of society by the original discoverers,

industrial America and industrial England would, I fear, be very

much in the condition of that plastic dough. At the present time

there is a cry in England for technical education, and it is the

expression of a true national want; but there is no outery for

original investigation. Still without this, as surely as the stream

science. Such applications, especi: lly on this continent, s

astounding—they spread themselves so largely and onenen

i e

before the public eye—as to shut out from view those workers w

_ are engaged in the profounder business of discovery.”

After quoting De Tocqueville on the supposed unfavorable influ-

NOTES. 319

“It rests wita you to prove whether these things are necessa-

midst of you a onat home. Ishould be loth to gainsay so o keen

an observer and so profound a critical writer, but since my arrival

in this-country, I have been unable to see anything in the consti-

tution of society to prevent any student with the root of the mat-

ter in him from bestowing the most steadfast devotion to pa

science. If great scientific results are not achieved in America,

itis not to the small agitations of society that I should be dis-

posed to ascribe the defect, but to the fact that men among you

who possess the genius for scientific inquiry are laden with duties

of administration or tuiti o heavy as to be utterly incompati-

itati hi riginal in-

vestigation deman ds. I do not think this state of things likely to

last. I have seen in America willingness on the part of indi-

viduals to devote their fortunes in the matter of education to the

service of the commonwealth, for which 1 cannot find a.parallel

elsewhere.

This willingness of private men to devote fortunes to public

purposes requires but wise aaa i to enable you to render null

and void the prediction De Tocqueville. Your most difficult

within that body a living soul. u have scientific genius among

you; not sown broadcast, believe ii, but still -e here and

there. Take all unnecessary impediments out of its way. You

have asked me to give these lectures, ae : er aie them to

better account than by asking you in tur emember that the

td is usually the aana of EEROR, wealth amassed

by better men. It is not as lecturers, but as discoverers, that you

ought te employ your highest men. Keep your sympathe etic eye

upon the originator of knowledge. Give him the freedom neces-

=> time E that truth may appear. If you sees read

then be assured it will Te to you, though

any days.

aN he enforces this idea in.a practical way in his dinner

Speec

nasaan

“ To no other country is the cultivation of science in its highest

2 you must take counsel of your leading scientific men, and they are

320 NOTES.

not unlikely to recommend something of this kind. I think, as

regards physical science, they are likely to assure you that it is not

what I may call the statical element of buildings that you require

so much as the dynamical element of brains. aking use as far

as possible of existing institutions, let chairs be founded, suf-

ficiently but not luxuriously endowed, which shall have original re-

search for their main object and ambition. With such vital centres

among you, all your establishments of education would feel their

influence ; without such centres even your primary instruction will

never flourish as it ought. I would not, as a general rule, wholly

I belong, the one ought to be made subservient to the other. The

Royal Institution gives lectures —indeed it lives in part by lec-

tures, though mainly by the contributions of its members, and the

Sbieh has ever interfered with my researches. Itis this wise

freedom, accompanied by a never-failing sympathy, extended to

the great men who preceded me, that has given to the Royal

Institution its imperishable renown.”

Prof. Tyndall also announced in his speech, his intention of

devoting the surplus of the money received from his lectures “ to

the education of young philosophers in Germany.” We learn from

Appleton’s “ Popular Science Monthly,” that this surplus amounted

to $13,000. This sum has been conveyed, by an article of trust, to

the charge of a committee, of which Prof. Joseph Henry is chair-

man, and which is authorized to expend the interest in aid of

students who devote themselves to original researches. This -

certainly, the Journal adds, a noble example, and deserves to be

emulated.

Tue eminent French naturalist Pouchet died Dec. 6, 1872, aged

73. He was the original advocate of the theory of spontaneous

generation in its modern form.

We have been obliged to defer several reviews and miscella-

neous articles until the next number, and beg the indulgence of

our correspondents whose articles have been unavoidably crowded

out for two or three months past. —

We have also an important list of ‘Books Received,” which we

_ Shall give in the next number.

ABS we aon 5)

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.— JUNE, 1873.—No. 6.

CoRPORDOOD I~

SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE, AND

OTHER THINGS ORNITHOLOGICAL.

BY DR, ELLIOTT COUES, U. 8. A

ee a oe

[Based on manuscripts and colleetions of Lt. C. Bendire, U. S. A.]

No sooner has the press closed upon the “ Key to North Amer-

ican Birds” than I am called upon to add to our fauna two species

hitherto unknown to inhabit this country, and believed to be un-

described. But since a new bird * has lately been discovered in

Massachusetts, ransacked by ornithologists for half a century, it

is not surprising that the comparatively untilled fields of the west

Should still yield novelties; and we may rest satisfied that North

merican ornithology will not crystallize till it has simmered for

another generation or so. During the year just closed my es-

teemed correspondent has been diligently collecting near Tucson,

Arizona, and has frequently favored me with interesting com-

munications and specimens. Some of his earlier notes have al-

ready been published in this Magazine; and now I have a few

more I am equally pleased to offer. Besides the two species of

* Passerculus rinceps Maynard, Am. Nat. vi, 637.— COUES, Key, 352.

t Relating to ey discovery, in the seats States, of Glaucidium

Sate, ma Tyra nnus melancholi icus var. Couchii. ——— discovery of the nest

d eggs of Ai th. h Tuci Pe

var Mexico In a còmi ion dated Dec. 29, 1872, Lt lire infor fth

k cson, of Scardafella squamosa ar. Fnoasy a dove moreno though reso

trodu spd te to our faa, 1 has never before, vie si know!

limits of the United Sta

- ep E

‘Bcnbtered CE in eee sing to Act of Con; in the year 1873, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

ee ig in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 21 (321)

322 SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE.

birds, most of the nests and eggs to be noticed are new, at least

to the public.

The Rufous-winged Sparrow* is a homely little bird, not par-

ticularly remarkable for anything I can discover, excepting the

bright bay patch on the bend of the wing. It looks at first sight

much like a field-sparrow (Spizella pusilla), that had curiously

enough put on the wings of a bay-winged bunting (Powcetes gra-

mineus) ; but on sharper scrutiny is seen to be peculiar in other

points besides. I suppose it goes in the-genus Peucæa, and stands

next to P. ruficeps; though, for that matter, our sparrows are split

UCEHA CARPALIS Coues — Upper mandible a its sides visible when

the cto is viewed from below, ase aes inflected, the culmen slightly convex, running

. far on the forehead be twixt prominent antiæ; pan quite s bt raight. win ne e a little

shorter than the tail; nd longest, Ist at to 7th;

secondaries not surpassing 9th | primary. Tail Sich rounded. Tar sured in

front, just shorter than pe adie a to oe eand claw; lateral toes nearly pore to gon other,

their claw-tips f the base of = middle claw, which the tip of the

hind claw, sre its digit i is og around, just reach

Entire rufous, or dull bay, only interrupted iy a abort pale median path on

the ee. a and bounded by ‘Gantt pale grayis stripes. Cervix like

the crown, but mixed with gray. Scapulars and in capula rs ‘grayish, brown, gain

with a little ire and rather sharply wenb arse at blackish (thus much asin Spize ella

socialis); lower back and p the t lac

ru sa se opt e ackish. WO

er parts soiled dull whitish, with neat sual

and entirely unmarked, excepting a short, sharp, ay maxi ‘strip e on either “cide

f the c er Wing-coverts chestnut, very n as conspicuous

mandi k; Feet whitish-brown, the toes rather darker than the tarsu

00; 25 dried); about 5 ; tail 2°75, its graduation

50; bill along culmen °40; 66; middle toe and claw -70. (Inches and d

. No. us. E.C., since deposited us. n, Ariz., Sept. 1872.

x .E. .I.; Tucson, :

(Bendire.) It is unmarked for sex, and in poor condition, preserved in the flesh with

carbolic acid. The plumage likewise is much worn; in better state the colors may be

ter-and purer than as described. Very young birds are probably streaked below,

as in other young Peucea, Spizella, etc.

This species does not resemble any other, with which I am acquainted, kpaa to

require com n. nappi lest it might be already described am xican

allies, I sent the specimen e Smithsonian, where it was prosen we pais

and Mr. Ridgway. The te eg may be gee atasko pa by the chestnut flexure of

the wing, as in Poæcetes, in bination with particular size and proportions, a&

s .

gı

P. S., April 7, 1873.— Better ppoeimons, sincè received, confirm the above surmise.

The nde parts are pure white, sh

pale ash, onthe flanks and crissum with grayish-brown The pure white ‘chin

bounded by a sharp black.line on either side, above whick is another, less conspic-

uous, from the angle of the mouth. Crown and spate of wing alike rich ¢ .

Quills and tail feathers blackish-brown, edged as above sor but teil feathers also

slightly eee Sores. „Markings of back, as described, , sharp d pure. Greater wing

ai is brown.” F.

: length 575; extent 70: . @; taken Jan. 10, 1873.

SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE. 323

into so many ‘‘ genera” that nobody could sort them out if they

were once mixed up; it is only by the peculiar process, known to

ornithologists, and others, of calling a spade an agricultural imple-

ment, that they are perpetrated and perpetuated. Lt. Bendire says

this sparrow is very common where he is, and that it stays there

all the year; that he generally finds it in company with the black-

throated finch (Poospiza bilineata), the habits of the two being

much the same, and the nesting quite alike. The rufous-winged

sparrow builds in a small mezquite or sage bush, often close to

the ground and rarely over four feet from it. The nest is made of

fine dry grasses and roots, with slender tops of ‘‘sacaton” (rye

grass) and sometimes a few horse-hairs ; it is quite deep, let down

into a fork or crotch. The eggs are said to be almost exactly like

those of the following bird, only a trifle larger, and four or five to

a clutch, instead of three or four.

' The Black-throated Sparrow (Poospiza bilineata) is a much

prettier, jaunty-looking bird, with a jet black throat and face set

off with pure white stripes. It is common on and near our south-

western border. I frequently saw it in New Mexico and Arizona,

at different seasons, but never found a nest, and do not know who

was more fortunate until Lt. Bendire gathered quite a large lot.

One of them now lying before me is composed of fine grass-stems

mixed with much more of very soft-fibred inner bark of some plant

Ido not recognize, and lined with a little horse-hair. It is marked

“ Sept. 14th, 1872 ;” and I may as well mention here as elsewhere,

that the laying season of several Arizona birds besides this one is

protracted through September.* A set of eggs, taken August 25,

numbers three; size, :73 X °58, *74 X °58, and *72 X ‘57, respec-

tively. These are perfectly plain, white with a faint bluish cast ;

but occasionally — Lt. Bendire says about one set in twelve — the

eggs are sparsely speckled with reddish. He continues : — “ This

bird is plentiful about here, and resident. It prefers higher ground,

two hundred to five hundred yards from the creek bottom, though

seldom further out on the plain. The nest is placed in a small

Mezquite, thorn or sage bush, seldom over four feet high, often

almost on the ground. The clutch is usually three, rarely more.

Two if not more broods are raised each season. I found fresh

E Taaa a

*The following birds were still laying Sept. 13— Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus,

a Pipilo Abertii, P. “ mesoleucus,” Zenedura Carolinensis and Chame-

Pelia passerina

324 SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE.

eggs Sept. 3. The usual note is zib, zib, zib and a twitter, some-

thing like the sound of a coin spinning on a table.”

Abert’s Towhee (Pipilo Abertii) and the Cañon Towhee (Pipilo

fuscus of Swainson, not of Cassin : P. mesoleucus of Baird; Key,

152) are two large species related to our chewink, but dull colored

(grayish, etc.) instead of black, white and chestnut. They inhabit

the Colorado valley and its vicinity, though Abert’s, at least, seems

closely confined to the river itself and its tributaries. Both are

abundant, and they live together; Abert’s is the bigger, and the

eggs are readily distinguished. A clutch of P. Abertii eggs con-

taining three, taken September 4th, measure -95 X *78; °94 & °77;

and ‘95 X '77; they are plump eggs, broad for their length, little

smaller at one end than at the other. The color is bluish-white,

sparsely marked, and chiefly at the larger end (where the markings

form a splashed area, not a ring), with dark reddish-brown; some

of the markings are very fine speckling, others are short, sharp

zigzag lines; the general tone of the markings is very dark, as I

‘have said, but some of the spots are quite light reddish, while

others (in the shell, and consequently overlaid with its ground

color) are neutral tint. The egg is decidedly peculiar, as compared

with that of the other species, and recalls some of the least varie-

gated samples of red-winged blackbird eggs, though still the mark-

ings are mostly spots, rather than streaks. — Two eggs of P. fuscus,

taken Sept. 3, measure -95 X +72, and ‘95 X 70: thus being as long

as those of Abertii, but very noticeably narrower, and more pointed

at one end. The ground color is pale bluish ; the whole surface is

marked — thickly at the large end, where the spots tend to a ring,

more sparsely elsewhere — with light brownish-red; a few of the

(heaviest) spots are darker brown, and many others are neutral

tint, or lavender. The marks range in size from mere points to

moderately large spots; still they are all spots, none lengthening

into lines, as is the case with those of Abertii. +

The Ground Cuckoo (Geocoecyx Californianus) is a large species

of singular aspect and peculiar ways, noted for its swift-footed-

ness, inhabiting the Southwestern Territories and California, and

abundant in Southern Arizona. An egg of this bird that Lt. Ben-

dire sent me, and the first one I remember to have seen, measures

1:55 X 1:25, being thus broadly ellipsoidal; the greatest diameter

is near the middle, and hardly any difference in size of the two

a ‘Gods i is appreciable. It is plain dull white, and looks something

kad

SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE. 325

like an owl’s egg. My correspondent has noted, he says, a curious

fact : — that several birds lay more eggs toward the close of the

season than earlier, and he particularly instances the present

species. He never found more than three eggs in April and May

clutches ; but four, five or six in J uly and August sets. He thinks

it may be accounted for by the greater abundance of food after the

midsummer rains.

The Painted Flycatcher (Setophaga picta) allied to our com-

mon redstart, is a beautiful black, white and carmine species

which Lieut. Bendire has the credit of first finding in the United

States (Am. Nat. vi, 436 ; Key, 110). Since last spring, when he

secured and forwarded the first specimen, he has seen two others

(Sept. 12); they were foraging for insects in a mezquite tree, and

seemed to be on their way home to Mexico, from the mountainous

part of Arizona, where, it is presumed, they passed the summer

breeding.

The nest and breeding habits of the beautiful little Vermilion

Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubineus var. Mexicanus) have lately

been described in this Magazine by Lt. Bendire himself; but here

I wish to notice another nest, since received from him. It was

despoiled April 27, 1872. It is a low flat structure, which was

saddled close down on a large horizontal fork, as I see by the

impression of the boughs. Outside and underneath there are some

quite large but light plant stems, two or three inches long ; the

substance of the nest is an inextricably mixed mass of very slender

Srass, fluffy inner bark, dried moss, horsehair, and white sewing-

thread ; the lining is a thick warm bed of large pigeon feathers —

I think from the breast of a male Carolina dove. The nest is only

about an inch deep, though it measures outside three inches’ across

the brim; were it not for the few sticks, and some of the ragged

strips, it might be called exquisitely light and delicate.

Nuttall’s Whippoorwill (Antrostomus Nuttailii) is a beautiful

4nd interesting species, abundant in many parts of the West, from

the Missouri region into Mexico, replacing the common Eastern

Species (A. vociferus). It is smaller than the latter, and somewhat

differently colored, with a nearly square instead of much rounded

tail. It does not cry ‘“ whip’-poor-will” like our species, but

drops a syllable, saying “ whip’-poor” or ‘ poor’-will” as the

fancy of the hearer may interpret. But the most singular cir-

_ Cumstance is, that it lays white or creamy-white eggs, entirely

326 SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE.

unmarked — a thing before unknown in this genus. The eggs are

two in number, laid in a mere shallow depression of the bare

ground, usually at the foot of a bush — Lt. Bendire found them so,

August 2, 1872. When he informed me of this I could not help

thinking there was some mistake about it; but on communicating

with Prof. Baird on the subject, he replied: ‘‘ Nuttall’s whippoor-

will is unique in the genus for laying white eggs. We have several

sets of them, and have established the fact beyond question.”

This is equally novel and interesting ; but how about Dr. Sclater’s

generalization,* whieh I adopted without qualification in the Key

(p. 180), to the effect that all the Caprimulgine lay colored eggs?

I think it is easier to stand corrected in this instance than to dis-

turb the bird’s position. 3

The presence of a sharp horny spur on the shank (tarsus) is a

very common character of gallinaceous birds, well illustrated in the

case of the barnyard cock; and in some birds of this order there

are a pair of spurs, one above the other, on each leg. The turkey

gobbler (Meleagris gallopavo) is well known to possess a pair, and

this is supposed to be a constant character of the males of the

genus Meleagris. Such, however, proves to be not always the case.

“ The males do not all have spurs; in fact, I thought at first that

the variety of turkey we have in Arizona never had any, and I

have been so informed by Mexicans and Indians. But I killed

two gobblers myself a few days ago, and both were spurred ; though

the largest bird I ever killed, a male weighing twenty-eight pounds,

had no spurs.” (Jn epist., Dec. 29, 1872).

Almost every one knows the Brown Thrush, or Thrasher

(Harporhynchus rufus) of the Eastern United States—an abun-

dant and familiar inhabitant of shrubbery, and a spirited songster,

with some talent for mimicry. It belongs to the mocking-thrush

group (Mimine) all of which are famous for their vocal powers;

the cat-bird, and the princely mocking-bird itself, are near relatives.

The accompanying cut (Fig. 65) looks something like a thrasher

in the act of singing. There is a Texan and Mexican variety ©

this bird, very similar, but longer billed, darker colored, and more

heavily streaked underneath. The genus Harporhynchus, (which

means “ bow-billed”) contains several other species, equally in-

teresting, and seeming to us the more remarkable on account of

the extraordinary length and curvature of the bill. Al these in-

: * Proceedings of the Zoological Society, Feb. 1866, p. 127:

SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE. 327

habit our southwestern border ; they are much alike in color, differ-

ing from our rich foxy-red thrasher very nearly as the homely gray

pipilos of the same region differ from the smartly-dressed chewink

— being pale dull brownish or grayish, with few or no definite

markings, except in one instance. Let us pass them in review,

so as to be better able to judge of a certain new species I am going

to describe. I will first mention the St. Lucas Thrush (H. ciner-

eus) ; it agrees with the thrasher, and differs from all the rest, in

being thickly speckled with brownish-black over most of the under

parts. It is dull brownish-gray above; the shape of the bill is

shown in figure 70, beyond. We shall have to look at this spe-

cies again, presently. Next, we have the Californian Mocking-

Fig. 65.

Brown Thrush (natural size).

thrush (H. redivivus. Fig. 66). Its points are—the long arcuate

bill; dark olive-brown color, paler below, gradually changing to

Tusty-brown on the belly and to rusty-white on the throat ; heavily

Streaked ear coverts, but no maxillary stripes nor spots on the

breast ; length eleven inches or more, wing four or less, tail five

or more, bill and tarsus, each, about 14 inches. This is the dark

California coast form. In the arid Colorado river region, there is

à variety of the same bird, identical in size, form and pattern of

Coloration, but extremely pale-colored, as if really bleached with

the heat and dryness of the desert. It is apparently very rare;

I never saw but two specimens, one of which I was fortunate

enough to shoot myself, and only know of two others, which Dr.

Cooper secured when he was at Fort Mojave. This is Leconte’s

328 SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE.

Mocking-thrush (H. redivtvus var. Lecontei) ; I did not think it

necessary to make a drawing of it, because an uncolored cut would

show precisely like fig. 66. Next comes the Red-vented, or Crissal

Thrush (H. crissalis); also inhabiting the Colorado and Gila

valleys. It is fully as large as redivivus or var. Lecontei, with the

tail even longer, and the bill, if not larger, at least slenderer and

Fig. 66.

Californian Mocking-thrush (natural size).

more arcuate, as shown in fig. 67. Although unspotted, and oth-

erwise colored much like redivivus, it is immediately distinguished

by having the under tail-coverts rich chestnut (like a cat-bird’s —

the contrast is quite as great), and by. the presence of a sharp,

black maxillary line bounding the definitely white throat. Lt.

Bendire gave the first good biographical notice of this species

Fig. 67.

+ h fi + a] size)

(Am. Nat. vi, 370) ; the eggs are 1-10 X +80, large, emerald green,

— unmarked. Again, we have the Curved-billed Thrush (H. curvi-

7 rostris) in which, notwithstanding its name, the bill is much less

curved than in either of the last two; the shape is shown in fig.

68. This bird is about as large as rediuivus ; its peculiarities, aside

from the bill, are, the duller coloration, palé fulvous under tail-

Si Ee BE et a ra Cae ee emi eee il

SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE. 329

coverts, no maxillary stripe (no markings whatever about the head

excepting some vague speckling on the cheeks), and the under-

parts obscurely marked with large dark gray spots on a pale gray

ground, producing an appearance of clouding or marbling rather

than speckling. The true curvirostris inhabits Mexico; the Ari-

zona representative constitutes a variety (Palmeri. Fig. 68). I

Fig. 68,

Palmer’s variety of the Curved-billed Mocking-thrush (natural size).

described it accurately in the Key, p. 351, from Lt. Bendire’s

specimens, adopting Mr. Ridgway’s then unpublished name, “ Pal-

meri,” Its habits appear to be the same as those of crissalis; both

birds build in cactus and other low bushes, and their eggs are of

the same size. The egg of Palmer’s thrush, however, is not like

Fig. 69. ;

Bendire’s Mocking-thrush (natural size).

that of the crissal thrush in color, being dull pale greenish,

Speckled evenly all over with brownish-red.

Besides all the foregoing, there is another kind of mocking

arush in Arizona, hitherto unknown to naturalists. Soon after I

Teceived my first specimens of var. Palmeri, Lt. Bendire sent me a

bird I could not make out at all; and not having then specially

Studied these birds, I sent it to Mr. Ridgway, asking him to look

Over the Smithsonian series and see what it was. He promptly

330 SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE.

returned the specimen, saying it was the female of his var. Palmeri.

This puzzled me, for I knew of no such sexual differences in this

genus as the specimen presented in comparison with var. Palmeri;

but presuming, of course, that he knew his own species better than

I did, I felt obliged to rest on what he told me, though I was dis-

satisfied, and in penning p. 351 of the Key, with the specimen be-

fore me, refrained from alluding to the (supposed) female of var.

Palmeri, concluding to await developments. I wrote to Lt. Ben-

St. Lucas Mocking-thrush (natural size)

dire, who replied at once that the bird was an entirely distinct

species, laying a very different egg, and having somewhat dissimilar

habits ; and he finally settled the case by sending me a male skin,

precisely like the original female specimen, together with sev eral

of both sexes of var. Palmeri, all alike different from the new bird.

A glance at figure 69, as compared with figure 68, will show that

Bendire’s Thrush,* as it may be appropriately named, has a very

* Harpor' hynchus Bendiret eg me 8. (Fig. 69. E — than a sre

seg stout at base, very ver 0: only

i Bei paaa e. Tarsus a little longer “than t e mi iddle

es :—3d and 4th about equal and longest, 5th and 6th posi diiy Shorter,

of, alte to 7th, 1st in the closed wing Tail litt nasi

longer ae saa > wings, eg rounded. Male. Entire sp parts, including upper

surfa ith narrow, faintly rusty

satan ve Petipa di ' and equally aye bee whitish tipping —

tail feathers. No m xillary nor auricular 8 treaking; no markings about the head eX

: cepting some page vague speckling on the cheeks. Under parts prowni degen

— Dag a on the belly oat throat, more decidedly pada pce on the

er a marked wit ara mall arrow-head

maces of the =e of the back. light colored at base below. a about 92

inches; wing 4; tail misc bill I chord of culmen) kit bill pa n gape) 1°12; tarsus (in

front) 125; middle toe 112. Female not distinguishable from the male (

SOME UNITED STATES BIRDS, NEW TO SCIENCE. 331

differently shaped bill; and it is, besides, much smaller, and dif-

ferently colored. The relationships of the new species are really

with the St. Lucas thrush, rather than with Palmer’ 8; for although

the markings appear quite different, when we compare the sharp

speckling of the under parts of cinereus with the faintly spotted

breast of Bendirei, yet this difference might be produced by climatic

influences, just as we have seen in the case of Lecontei. The size

is the same ; and it is the difference in the shape of the bill, in the

relative karis of the tarsus and toes, and in the wing-formula,

rather than the coloration, that has caused my present decision,

that H. Bendirei is not a desert race of H. cinereus.

Bendire’s thrush is much rarer, in Arizona, than either the

crissal or Palmers. It is resident in the southern portion of the

Territory. It builds preferably on trees, sometimes thirty feet

high, instead of on bushes. The egg is only -96 X *70; its color,

grayish-white, with spots and larger blotches, principally about

the greater end, of two shades of pale reddish-brown, with some

lilac and lavender.

single specimen is rather smaller (wing 3°75 etc.) and still paler, duller brownish above;

2 this is owing to worn plumage, if not also, in part, to mummification with carbolic

id).

Sirio > g, no. 2687, mus. E. C.; Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 9, 1872. 9, no. 2688, mus. E. C.;

ahbap Ariz , Ju tt nan (Bendire.

Allied to, and i n some respects intermediate shee: H. curvirostris var. Palmeri,

and A. ci ean coming nearest es tho latter. Differs from var. Palmeri in hoin much

smaller, with onh shorter ntly s en vl different Spares of tarsus

are a pur

dark shade aos Myish-brown with a tin eae roa sud the s nna of An underparts are

large, blended and diffuse, giving —— spear ce. The average measurements

of four specimens of both sexes, of var. eri, are: — length 07: wing 4°33; tail 5;

chord of culmen 112: tarsus 125; ig aa and claw rather more. In H. cinereus, of

Which a cut is herewith given (fig. me e bill, of about the ga length as in Bendirei,

is decidedly more curved; the tarsus is not longer than the middle toe; the 3d to 6th

quills are subequal and longest, the 2nd being subequal to oe 8th; and the under parts

are as distinctly and heavily spotted as in H. ru itself. The size is about as in

Bendirei, and the coloration of the upper parts is much the same.

THE CONSERVATION AND CORRELATION OF

VITAL FORCE.

BY J. T. ROTHROCK, M.D.

gilts

Ir is but lately that physicists have proven to the satisfaction

of other men equally learned, that there does exist a series of

compensations in the forces of nature ; and that heat, light, motion

and other powers, more or less unknown, not only may be con-

verted, the one into the other, but that their exact equivalents may

be stated in infallible mathematics. This had been dimly fore-

shadowed long ago, but its final proving belongs to our day. Vital

force, however, from its very essence is more intractable, and over-

rides mathematical restrictions, willing (so far as we can now see)

to acknowledge similar relations of the most general character

only.

There is no denying that the most sublime mental endowments

may in the same individual be associated with the most hopelessly

ridiculous, and we are hence prepared to accept as true, or at least

as not improbable, that the ‘ greatest, wisest ” of mankind could

also be the “meanest.” Indeed, second thoughts may convince us

that surpassing intelligence in one direction, implying unbroken

devotion to a given line of study, almost of necessity, entails a

corresponding ignorance in other lines of mental actiwity for which

no leisure hours can be found.

But whilst we are foiled in any attempt at estimating the exact

amount of vital or purely mental force in excess in one direction,

which it will require to compensate for a deficiency in some other,

we may nevertheless, with some degree of certainty affirm that

such relations do exist. :

Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire not only recognizes the existence of thia

principle of compensation, but has drawn largely upon it in his

teratological studies.

De Candolle, after granting the relation between excessive

growth and atrophy, states that it is often exceedingly difficult to

decide whether the former determines the latter, or the COn-

verse.*

* De Candolle, Theor. elem., ed. 1, § 73.

CONSERVATION AND CORRELATION OF VITAL FORCE. 333

It is, then, with no claim to originality that this is written, but

rather to call for the more general recognition of a law already

noted by the more observing ones. We may be unable to explain

it, or, what is still more damaging to its chances of acceptance, be

unable to show how it is to chime in directly with any form of evo-

lution; for to this we have all now come; still it remains a law,

as active as any other, even though it be less sharply defined.

If called upon to express what I believe concerning it, I would

say: that all organic things, plants or animals, have a certain pro-

portionate amount of developing force, actual or predestined, and

_ that this synergy is under the direction of inherited tendencies;

which being at times misdirected, one organ or set of organs may

take on excessive growth. Should this occur, there will be a cor-

responding atrophy in some other organ or set of organs. Now

against this statement of what I conceive to be underlying all

growth, many instances can be adduced. Still the facts in its

favor, when fairly marshalled, seem to me so preponderating as to

make them more than mere coincidences.

The scope of this paper allows me to cite but a few out of the

many instances I could give. Among plants, take as an illustra-

tion Larrea Mexicana Moric., the creosote plant of the southwest.

It is a representative of the bean-caper family. Inside the base

of each filament (which is filiform) is a large two-cleft scale con-

Spicuous enough to attract attention. It is not unusual to find

filaments whose bases are not filiform, but are broadly expanded.

Erodium Texanum Gray is a capital example of this. Besides,

this same plant has an outer circle of five stamens which are

minus their anthers, a fact which I might turn to account in my

argument did space permit. >

Now morphology would settle the question concerning the es-

sential nature of the scales of Larrea, by saying that they are the

homological equivalents of the stipules we usually find on the right

and left sides of the petioles of leaves, and more or less intimately

united with them, only in this case instead of being lateral they

are intra-petiolar, i.e., between the petiole and the axis of the plant,

_ just as the stipules are occasionally found. To this explanation

_ RO exception can be taken, in so far as it goes. But the question

still remains unanswered, why it is, when most plants have neither

these scales nor the broad bases to their filaments, in the example ©

Thave just given, where a decided tendency to cell proliferation

334 CONSERVATION AND CORRELATION OF VITAL FORCE.

exists, this proliferation should manifest itself in one direction

only, i.e., either as scales or broad bases to the filaments, but not

both in the same plant?

Gaura, again, furnishes an example of the scales associated with

slender filaments, and many more like cases could be brought for-

ward. After some examination I am now unable to find a distinct,

unequivocal contradiction to the principle I have enunciated. I

am not prepared to affirm some do not exist. Indeed I should be

surprised if they did not.

The typical anther of our conception is possessed of two cells.

Sometimes, however, there is but one, which may often be ex-

plained by the partition wall being obliterated, and so causing the

confluence of these usually separate cells. In Salvia (sage), how-

ever, there is but one cell where two might certainly have been

expected. One has gone, entirely, or at most a mere knob 0

cellular tissue may remain to suggest the missing cell. Interposed

between the perfect and the imperfect cells is a connective, unduly

elongated, which from its very length and association with the sep-

arated halves of the anther serves to explain the want of develop-

ment in the one. In other words the connective is vigorous and

lusty at the expense of the impoverished cell.

Or take that illustration, almost too familiar to be alluded to

here, the transformation of the stamens of the wild rose into the

petals of the cultivated. It is a simple change of direction given

to vital force, but, in so far as I can see, is no superadded power of

development. Cultivation may turn the energies of the savage

into a new channel, perhaps a higher one in some respects, but it

does not follow that it is therefore, because higher in this sense,

any indication of greater vitality or force of development. It is

simply evidence of a transfer of power, and nothing more.

I have now in my possession an ear of Indian corn on which it

grains have failed to develop, the chaff surrounding the grains

being on the other hand enormously overgrown. If this instance

stood alone I should be willing to admit that the failure of the

grains to grow simply allowed room for their envelope to take on

so unusual a size. I could, however, were I disposed, cite a long

list of cases in which so mechanical an explanation would fail. I

will quote a few, freely translated from Moquin-Tandon.

“M. Duval has observed flowers of verbascum, in which the fil-

aments of the stamens took on an unusual growth, and at the —

ee ee

Ss E Eras ye E AA

Sr Se ean Oe ee 8) Ae a ie ee ee

Ree eee ai eve ry

CONSERVATION AND CORRELATION OF VITAL FORCE. 355

same time lost the usual hairs.” * <‘ In certain excessive develop-

ments of the parts of the vegetable the hairs abort incompletely,

or entirely.” f} ‘Mr. Joseph de Caffarelli has given to me a some-

what dwarfed branch of bitter-sweet, which is. covered with an

enormous number of small hairs.” } “In Phleum Boehmeri the

inferior palet of the flower is dilated sometimes beyond measure ;

the edges then are soldered together at the base ; at the same time

the superior palet, and the pedicel of the rudimentary flower, abort

entirely.” §

“I have observed a monstrosity of Fabda vulgaris, the stipules

of which had taken on an enormous increase ; they were changed

into oval, foliaceous limbs, half arrow-shaped and slightly sinuous ;

at the same time the limbs of the ordinary leaves had disappeared

entirely.” |

“In a monstrosity of Muscari comosum, all the flowers had

aborted ; at the same time the peduncles had become longer.” $

“ Lately there has „been communicated to the Société q’ Agri-

culture de la Haute-Garonne a spike of corn which presented a

curious example of this last balance; all the flowers were found

in a normal condition except one, of which the calicinal envelopes

had taken on a growth almost double their natural size; the sur-

face of this flower was covered with a thick coat of hairs, and its

appearance resembled much that of a flower of the “folle avoine.”**

“In some flowers the atrophy of the stamens coincides with the

hypertrophy of the pistils. For example, in certain individuals of

Lychhnis dioica the male organs are found dilated, so that the pis-

tils are represented by small, gland-like bodies; but in the other

flowers the female organs are much developed, so that the stamens

are reduced to simple rudiments; the same phenomenon occurs in

Spiræa Aruncus, and in Sedum Rhodiola.” tt} In this last quotation

we have plants associating themselves with such as our Houstonia -

uea in which, (belonging to hermaphrodite genera) there is a

manifest tendency to assume that highér sexual organization

Where the individual shall be prepotently either male or female,

as the one or the other set of organs takes on unusual growth.

In other words, it seems to be a good illustration of the principle

of vital compensation applied to function as well as to structure.

: Mr. Thomas Meehan has furnished us a case directly in point

*Tératologie Végétale. p. 63. + Idem, pp. 62 and 63. {Idem, p.68. § Idem, p. 157.

li Idem, p. 156, T Idem, p. 156. ** Idem, p. 158. Tim;

336 CONSERVATION AND CORRELATION OF VITAL FORCE.

in Fragaria vesca L. I quote him almost verbatim. ‘ When it

does not produce stolons, the number of flower spikes is increased,

and, as they cannot run as stolons, they make up for this by con-

tinual axial production, bearing a succession of flowers through

the whole season.”

“ Sometimes the runner party will so get the upper hand that the

pistils will be entirely suppressed, in which case the runners push

out with so much enthusiasm as to crowd down and frequently

destroy their floriferous neighbors. In fact, just in proportion as

the plant becomes truly fruit bearing, and with a tendency to pro-

duce a succession of fruit on the same stock, is the tendency to

produce runners checked.” He then gives a modification of the

above, but which is still a case in point.*

The same journal contains a description of a double early saxi-

frage with a small panicle, double flowers and no trace of either

stamen or pistil.t

The animal kingdom would furnish us with still more striking

illusttations. A fact I had long suspected concerning hydroceph-

alic children met lately with a most unexpected confirmation in

the distinct, unequivocal testimony of one of the most distin-

guished living pathologists. “The process of enlargement in

these cases is often one of simple growth, and that “indeed to

a less extent than it may seem at first sight; for it is very rarely

that the due thickness of the skull is attained while its bones are

engaged in the extension of their superficial area. Hence the

weight of an hydrocephalic skull is not much, if at all, greater than

that of a healthy one; a large parietal bone, measuring nine inches

diagonally, weighs only four ounces, while the weight of an ordi- *

nary parietal bone is about three ounces.” {

In his admirable text-book on “Diseases of Children,” 2d edi-

tion, page 298, Dr. J. Lewis Smith under head of ‘‘Anencephalic

Children,” writes :— * The vault of the cranium is absent. There

is a deficiency of the frontal, parietal and occipital bones, except

those portions which are near the base of fhe cranium. These por-

tions are very thick and closely united as if there were the usual

amount of osseous substance, but instead of expanding into the

arch, it had collected in an irregular mass at the base of the era-

nium.”

einem.

*American Naturalist, August, 1869, pp. 328 w + Idem, p. 327.

} Surgical Pathology, Paget, pp. 58 and 59. eee Kiih edition.

a E Ri eae oa Fas aie z, =

oN Sa aka sr eh Ey ed OE pe ed eR DR a Sep N= ea tee

CONSERVATION AND CORRELATION OF VITAL FORCE. 337

Quoting again from the same author we are told: —* Hy-

pertrophy of the brain is associated with rachitis, and stunted

growth.”* Under rachitis, he informs us that, ‘while in the

first and second stages, there is an arrest of ossification and a

deficiency of calcareous salts in the system, there is often in the

third stage, as Lebert has stated, an exuberance of ossification

and a superabundant deposit of the salts of lime, so that the re-

constructed bone is stronger and firmer than the normal bone.”+

Here then it would seem as though the compensation might

extend over different intervals of time, one period being marked

by a plus quantity, another by a minus:—a happy illustration

of what John Hunter called the “body’s memory.” For this we

are not entirely unprepared. The “stale” condition of overtrained

pugilists is as much due, after all (some things lead us to sup-

pose), to an excessive demand on their vitality as to subsequent

dissipation ; and the early break down of so many of our best col-

lege gymnasts is but another fact in the same category. Overdraw

your bank deposit at one time and you are left a debtor at another.

Failure of the long bones to properly develop in their longitu-

dinal direction under certain conditions of disease is connected

With undue thickening of the same bone.

Turning now to the domain of surgery proper :— it is ere

that the vast majority of new growths will be found to occur in

advanced age, or at least after the “prime of life.” I exclude

Ovarian tumors for manifest reasons.

So commonly do we find scirrhus tumors of the breast asso-

ciated with declining years, that age is always made an element

of the diagnosis. The testimony of Paget on this point is most

explicit. His table of the frequency of cancer at the different

periods of life is

Under 10 years. . . a ah 5

Between 10 and 20 years Siew oO aneurin

20 “ 30 `

s; nop erg ie oth ae

po ee ie ee re

ee 6AM BD 3 ao so er beg a a

is BO; Ho. 60. Hii old eee

BEBO IO he i gga a ee

Eo yo a) GO Te poe ee le eee

ar, ne tants CS Cues a

* Op. Cit., p. 374. + Idem, ~~ 98 and 99. i Sa p. 798.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL.

338 CONSERVATION AND CORRELATION OF VITAL FORCE.

thus showing that its frequency is more than twenty-five times as

great between seventy and eighty years as at ten years of age.

Does it not seem as though the still unused strength, lacking

in these declining years a legitimate employment, were engaging

in the development of a low grade of cells whose vitality was

insufficient for their own stability? This however is but a poor

hypothesis to account for a well proved fact.

Be all this as it may, however, of this there is no doubt :— that

after the removal of an external, malignant growth at an advanced

stage of development, the chances of disease of the same character

attacking an internal organ are greatly increased: hence prolon-

gation of life is seldom gained by a surgical operation.*

Mr. John Simon gives an explanation of some of these facts I

have derived from medical literature. I quote him, as they pos-

sibly may have a wider application. ‘‘ But besides this antagonism

effected through the general circulation, there probably are antag-

onisms of a local character; and parts which are respectively

supplied by different contiguously-rising branches of one arterial

trunk seem specially able thus to antagonize each other. For

assuming the flow through an arterial trunk to remain the same,

one branch, or set of branches can only transmit more blood, if,

simultaneously, another branch or set of branches transmit less;

and we may well conceive it to be an important function of vasi-

motor nerves to provide for the adjustment of this antagonism, by

establishing such inter-arterial sympathies that the relative opening

of one branch shall determine the relative closure of another.” t

If not too mechanical and in contravention of vasi-motor function,

I would venture to suggest that the relative closure of one branch

might determine the opening ‘of another, by forcing more blood

through the latter. This would only account for those instances

of the organic balance in which the plus and minus were in

organs supplied from the same arterial trunk, i.e., anatomical rela-

tives. On the next page however the same author takes a more

comprehensive view of his subject and says :—*“ Textural excitabil-

ity perhaps is not so exclusively local but that in this respect also

these may be conditions of inter-textural balance ; the total excita-

Se a

*I am gery of the pee. of Bsc regarding the removal of cancerous

growths, but as they are s variance “in the endli sia of the mass of

surgeons, I ‘ara not regard shied Bi as nAn denn statements.

į Holmes’ Surgery, 2d edition, Vol. i, p. 80.

CONSERVATION AND CORRELATION OF VITAL FORCE. 339

bility of the body at any given moment being perhaps of fixed

amount; so that with regard to excitement, just as with regard to

blood-supply, plus in one organ would imply minus in another.”*

am unable to say just what views were entertained on this

subject by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire : — not having access to his

writings. Milne-Edwards gives the following clear statement of

his own opinion. ‘The principle of connection of organs regu-

lating the place occupied by each; a tendency to an organic bal-

ancement, equipoise, or compensation when the development of an

organ acts, as it were, injuriously upon others, as if the amount of

vital force were restricted and limited.t”

Finally, I quote the following at second hand from Meckel. It

seems almost too strange to be true, but as the authority is above

reproach we can only accept it as a fact. Let it be observed that

here, however, “ this antithesis extends over different children of

one and the same mother. A girl had on each extremity a super-

fluous digit, and one hand of her sister wanted four, being the

number of digits which her sister had in excess, reckoning the four

extremities together. ł ”

These are a few out of the immense mass of similar illustrations

I might bring forward in support of my belief in an absolute law

at the bottom of these correlations of structure, and may I not

add :— often of function?

There are many facts on the other hand, which seem to militate

against it. But it appears to me most likely that as we more

thoroughly understand the principles of biology, in the same meas-

ure will our exceedingly vague ideas on this subject become more

determined and absolute :—in fact the evidence must almost of

hecessity, like that in favor of the theory of gravitation, become of

a cumulative character. Any other supposition would imply a

belief in the ancient idea of a lusus naturé, which is opposed to

the most firmly grounded dogmas of modern science.

Any decided deductions in the way of distinct propositions con-

cerning this law are as yet premature, but the following may

find some support in the cases I have already given :—

Ist. That organs anatomically or physiologically related tend

to compensate among themselves for any aberration of structure

or function.

it p. 81.

tManual of Zoology. Translated by R. Knox, edited by Blake, edition 1863, p. 200,

‘Cyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology, Vol. iv, part 2d. p. 946.

840 THE GAME FALCONS OF NEW ENGLAND.

2nd. That an organ over-developed in one direction will be

under-developed in some other: e.g., the case of the long bones,

already cited.

rd. That time may be an element in this compensation: i.e.

in rachitis deficient deposit of bony material may be followed

later in the disease by an excessive deposit of it in the same

bones.

4th. That the influence of this law may extend from one con-

ception to another, as illustrated by the case related by Meckel.

OŘ

THE GAME FALCONS OF NEW ENGLAND.

THE PIGEON HAWK.

BY WM. WOOD, M.D.

i i

Tus daring and spirited little hawk (Falco columbarius), which

is peculiar to this continent, is found more or less common all

over the United States and extends its migrations beyond the

limits both north and south. Dr. Richardson says “it is not

uncommon in 57° north latitude.” Cassin says ‘‘it is found both

on the Pacific and Atlantic coast and its locality may be stated as

the whole of temperate North America.” Audubon found them

quite abundant in Texas “‘ where he shot five in a short time.” I

somewhat at a loss to know what interpretation to put upon

the word abundant as used by Audubon. If it is received ac-

cording to the common acceptation of the word, it is wholly at -

variance with my experience, and with that of my collectors, and

of those with whom I exchange. The fact of shooting five in a

short time proves nothing as to its abundance. They may all

have belonged to one brood. Allen, in his ornithological notes on

the birds of the Great Salt Lake valley, says that “the pigeon

hawk and duck hawk were both frequent.” This is I think the

most that can be said of the abundance of this hawk anywhere.

While it is not uncommon in some sections, in others it is very

rare. Nuttall says, ‘‘ It is, I believe, never seen in New England.”

For many years I believed that he was correct in this assertion,

for, having used my gun quite frequently in Vermont, Massachu-

setts and Connecticut for twenty-three years prior to 1859, I had

THE GAME FALCONS OF NEW ENGLAND. 341

never shot a single specimen ; and furthermore, from 1847 to 1859,

many, and probably most, of the hawks shot in this vicinity were

brought to me, as it was known my museum was free to all, and

consequently every one was interested to increase the number of

specimens and enhance the attractions and value of my cabinet,

and during this time not a single specimen of the pigeon hawk

was brought to my office, although it was generally known that

I was very anxious to obtain one. There were probably fifty or

more specimens brought to me that the &portsmen called pigeon

hawks, consisting mostly of Cooper’s, sparrow, and sharp-shinned

hawks, mostly the latter. Dr. Crary, of Hartford, who was several

years my senior in collecting, had not shot or received a single

specimen from New England prior to this time. With. these facts

before me I was prepared to endorse the assertion of Nuttall.

The habits of some of our birds were not as well understood then

as at present. We are now aware that oftentimes there is a lapse

of several years between the times of visitation. Thus it has

been with the pigeoh hawk. In 1859 they were as common as any

of our Rapacia. In 1860 they weré less common, and since that

time I have only occasionally received a specimen—one in 1871

and none the past season. They probably have left again for an

indefinite period.

This bird when sitting on a tree so closely resembles a pigeon

that it will oftentimes deceive the most expert hunter. One of the

specimens brought me was shot for a pigeon, and the mistake was

not discovered until the bird was picked up. It is from this strik-

ing similarity that I suppose it derives its name. Its flightis very

rapid, and the daring spirit that it exhibits is not surpassed by any

bird of its size, for it will not only attack birds larger than itself,

but it has even been known to seize birds suspended in cages

beside the house. When shot at and not wounded it will fly in

circles over the head of the sportsman uttering short piercing

Shrieks. The little corporal hawk of Nuttall, and the Falco

temerarius of Audubon, are one and the same bird, and are now

considered by naturalists the adult of the pigeon hawk. At what

age it arrives at adult plumage I am unable to say. It certainly

is not the first year, and so far as is known to ornithologists it

may take several years. It would seem from the testimony of

Cassin to be at least three years. He says, “ There are three well

defined stages exhibited in a large number of specimens before

342 THE GAME FALCONS OF NEW ENGLAND.

”

me.” “Of these the adult is easily distinguished and is very

nearly as figured by Audubon under the name of Falco temerarius,

but of the other two plumages we cannot at present determine

which is the more mature.” This hawk is called by some the

bullet hawk on account of its rapid flight. It is one of the most

destructive of our rapacious birds. Says Samuels, “ As he strikes

his prey he almost always, instead of clutching it as it falls,

alights after it has fallen, in the same manner as the great-footed

hawk.”

There seems to be some doubt about its nesting in New Eng-

land or New York. Says Dr. Brewer, ‘I have inquired into the

matter for the past forty years, and I have yet to know of the

first instance of the nest and eggs of the pigeon hawk having

ever been found in any part of Massachusetts. That it may

breed in some mountainous and wild region is of course possible,

and my inability to trace it is only negative testimony.” Says

G. A. Boardman of Maine, “I have never found the nest of the |

pigeon hawk, but have no doubt it breeds here, as I shoot it all

summer and winter ; it probably nests in some Sone trees not easily

seen. Itis nota very common hawk with us.” Says Samuels, ‘It

is not improbable that it breeds in New England, although I do not

remember of an authenticated instance.” Says DeKay, ‘‘ It is not

uncommon in this state (New York). It does not so far as I have

ascertained breed here.” I have for thirty-six years used my gun

in Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut, having resided in

each of the above named States. Ihave followed the valley of the

Connecticut river to its mouth — have followed the Green moun-

tain range from Vermont into Connecticut without finding the nest

of the pigeon hawk. For the last twenty years I have employed

collectors in New England to gather birds and eggs for me, and

have not received an egg of. this bird. (The same can be said of

my collectors in other parts of the United States.) N otwithstand-

ing all this negative testimony I am of the opinion that they nest

occasionally in New England ; for in 1859 I received six specimens

of this bird shot in May, June and August, and it seems improb-

able that six should remain here through the nesting season and

not breed. In May, 1860, a gentleman who resides some five miles

distant, informed me that a small hawk came almost every day and

carried off a chicken for him — that it never missed, for it went so

like lightning that there was no escaping its grasp. He said that

THE GAME FALCONS OF NEW ENGLAND. 343

it always came in the same direction from a tract of woods near

his house. Thinking from his description that it must be either

the sharp-shinned, sparrow, or pigeon hawk, and believing that

it must have a nest near, and wishing to obtain the eggs, I drove

out. Accompanied by my friend, we carefully searched the woods

without finding anything except the nest of the red-shouldered

hawk. The next day the same little hawk returned and was shot,

and is now in my collection, a beautiful representative of the pigeon

hawk. Ihave no doubt that it had a nest about there, asit was the

season for nesting, and it always came from, and went to the same

piece of woods and in the same direction. If it had not young, it

must have been carrying food to its mate while incubating. If a

mere straggler, it would come and go without any definite place

of resort. Our inability to find the nest was not strange, as there

were some sixty or eighty acres of ,heavy-timbered oaks and pines

in the tract.

There seems to be some diversity of opinion as to where they

nest, as well as to the color and number of eggs. Hutchins informs

us that it nests in hollow rocks and trees about Hudson’s Bay —

making its nest-of sticks and lining it with feathers, and laying

from two to four white eggs marked with red spots, while Audubon

says “that in Labrador he found three nests placed on the top

branches of the low fir trees, composed of sticks slightly lined with

moss and feathers, and that each nest contained five eggs of a dull

yellowish brown color thickly clouded with irregular blotches of dull

dark reddish brown.” He also found another nest with five young

init. Nuttall says “ that it chiefly inhabits and rears its young in

the southern states.” Dr. Brewer says Nuttall is probably mis-

taken, as “ The pigeon hawk is distributed in the breeding season

throughout the northern part of North America. It breeds as far

to the south as Maine on the Atlantic coast, and California on the

acific.” ‘+ In every instance when I have heard of the pigeon

hawk as a summer resident south of Maine it has proved to be the

sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter fuscus).” And furthermore he says,

in alluding to its nesting in hollow trees, “ This is a condition in

which the nest of the pigeon hawk is never found, and one in which

no other hawk than the sparrow hawk is ever found.” Dr. Abbott

of New Jersey claims to have found a nest with young in it ina

hollow sycamore tree near Trenton, in May, 1863, and to have found

the nest with eggs on an elm tree in 1865. How are these differ-

344 THE GAME FALCONS OF NEW ENGLAND.

ences to be reconciled? Further investigation alone can settle

represented on plate first, figure first of Samuels’ Ornithology.

Long diameter 1,9; ; short diameter lf

As I have only one egg, and as the number of specimens I have

seen has been quite limited, I cannot speak authoritatively upon

the subject. I will only say that the markings are almost exactly

like those of the duck hawk described in my previous article on

the game falcons of New England. They look like diminutive

duck hawk’s eggs.

In this as in all birds of prey, so far as I have investigated the

subject, the female is the largest and most powerful bird. Fe-

male—length, 12 to 14 inches; alar extent, 24 to 27 inches.

Male—length, 10 to 12 inches ; alar extent, 23 to 25 inches.

The adult male is seldom taken here, perhaps one in twelve or

fifteen specimens. As the description of the three stages of plu-

mage is given so accurately by Mr. Cassin, and corresponds with

my observations, I will give each stage as described by him.

male. ‘Entire upper parts bluish slate color, every

feather with a black longitudinal line; forehead and throat white,

other under parts pale yellowish or reddish white; every feather

with a longitudinal line of brownish black; tibie light ferru-

ginous with lines of black. Quills black, tipped with ashy white;

tail light bluish ashy, tipped with white and with a subterminal

band of black, and with several other transverse narrower bands

of black; inner webs nearly white; cere and legs yellow; bill

blue.

Younger. Entire upper strange dusky brown, quite light in

some specimens, and with a tinge of ashy ; head above with nar-

row stripes of dark brown and ferruginous, and in some speci-

mens many irregular spots and edgings of the latter color on the

other upper parts. Forehead and entire under parts dull white,

the latter with longitudinal stripes of light brown ; sides and flanks

light brown, with pairs of circular spots of white ; tibiæ dull white,

with dashes of brown; tail pale brown, with about six transverse

bands of white, cere and legs greenish yellow.

_ Young. Upper plumage brownish black, white of the forehead

and under parts more deeply tinged with reddish yellow; dark

stripes wider than in the preceding; sides and flanks with wide

transverse bands of brownish black, and with circular spots of

THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE WORLD. 345

yellowish white. Quills black; tail brownish black, tipped with

white and with about four bands of white; cere and feet greenish

yellow.”

ON A SECOND EDITION OF THE ER LOGTOM:

MAP OF THE WORLD

BY JULES MARCOU.

In 1859 I finished the manuscript of a geological map of the

earth, which appeared two years after at Winterthur, Switzerland,

in eight sheets, on a scale of 53 505.000: The map, prepared by the

learned geographer, my friend M. J. M. Ziegler, on Mercator’s plan,

although defective as regards certain details of execution resulting

from my departure from Zurich to Boston, has, however, been re-

ceived with favor by geologists as filling a desideratum in science.

Some reductions and translations, with my consent, have been

made in German, French and English. t

I have now just finished the manuscript of a second edition,

intended to be placed in the International Exposition of Vienna,

in May, 1873.

Not only have I carefully reviewed all the materials used in pre-

paring the first edition ; but also profited by numerous and impor-

tant additions published during the past fourteen years, and have

had in my hands a certain number of inedited geological maps and

observations, which have been very liberally furnished by geolo-

gists who have explored and inhabited different countries remote

and difficult of access. Let us pass in review very succinctly the

more important of these new materials.

In the Arctic regions several expeditions have enabled us to

Color geologically a part of the islands of Spitzbergen, of Green-

d, and to modify the geological age of the coal deposits of the i is-

lands of Disco, Prince Patrick and Bank’s Land. M. Nord

*Read before the Boston Society of Natural History, March 19, 1873.

} From the negligence of Messrs. Oscar Fraas and Henry Woodward, my name has

Henry Woodward, without any explanation, has contented himself with ampi irin

y name from the block of the French ‘edition which appears in “La Terre”, by my

Rec

- Me. W. T. Blanford, of the Geological Survey of India, who accom-

346 THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE WORLD.

has published at Stockholm a ‘Sketch of the Geology of Spitz-

bergen,” where he recognizes the crystalline rocks, the Palæozoic,

Carboniferous, Triassic, Jurassic and Tertiary. But the most un-

expected discoveries, in latitudes so high, are those of terrestrial

floras, dating at the miocene tertiary epoch, when, according to

Professor O. Heer, all the northern polar region was covered with

a vegetation analogous to that which to-day exists in the south-

ern part of the temperate region of the northern hemisphere.

The geological survey of the kingdom of Norway directed by

Prof. Kjerulf, besides some important modifications in the geo-

graphical distribution of rocks of the southern part of this country,

has discovered a coal field of great interest from its geographical

position, in one of the isles of the group of Loffoden, the island

of Andö, as well as its geological age, which dates from the Juras-

sic epoch, as the coal bed of the coast of Yorkshire.

The great geological map of the entire Austro-Hungarian mon-

archy, published by M. F. R. von Hauer, has enabled us to rectify

and to give more precision to the geology of the Eastern Alps, of

Carpathia, of Dalmatia and Hungary. General Helmersen pub-

lished at St. Petersburg, in 1863, a new edition of the geological

map of Russia, based on that of Messrs. Murchison, Verneuil and

Keyserling. But the most important modifications have been

made in Russian geology by the researches of Messrs. Ludwig,

Barbot de Marny, V. de Méller and Wagner, who have demon-

strated the existence of an enormous Triassic formation, extend-

ing over a considerable extent of country, and which had been

confounded and comprised by Sir Roderick Murchison and his

collaborators with the Zechstein and Rothliegende, under the im-

proper name of the Permian system. This question of the Rus-

sian “Dyas and Trias,” raised by me in 1859, has received a defi-

nite and entire solution in the sense of my views, in the important

work “ Dyas” by Dr. H. B. Geinitz, Leipzig, 1862, and in “The

Geological Map of the Western Slope of the Ural” by Valérien de

Moller, St. Petersburg, 1869.

The geology of Egypt and Palestine has been especially modified

by the researches of my friend Dr. Oscar Fraas, who has kindly

sent me besides his journey entitled “To the Orient,” a manuscript

geological map of those regions. The English military expedition

to Abyssinia has been of the greatest advantage to geology, and

EE en eset ee ies Sai cake i

Nee het > S X RTE 5

E SEE E VE ENE PEAN A See ma ELA E a EE EE aN EE AT E VE E A O O N

THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE WORLD. 347

panied the expedition, has published a geological map of the route

traversed by the English army. For along time geologists have

disagreed as to the age of a great sandstone formation designated

generally under the name “ Nubian Sandstone,” and in the first

edition of the “Geological Map of the World,” I have referred

these sandstones to the New Red Sandstone (Dyas and Trias)

by basing my conclusions on the lithology and on a piece of fossil

wood found in Egypt, and described by Professor Unger. M.

Louis Lartet, jr., after a journey in these regions, believed that he

had discovered a complete and exact solution of the age of these

sandstones; and in his work entitled “ Essay on the Geology of

Palestine, Egypt and Arabia,” Paris, 1869, as also in a note in-

serted in the: “ Bulletin of the Geological Society of France,” vol.

XXv, p. 490, under the title of “On a Special Formation of Red

Sandstones in Africa and Asia” he refers them not only to the

Cretaceous formation, but even the horizon of the Gault and of the

Glauconian chalk; and on a geological map he shows this forma-

tion extending from Lebanon, by Sinai, to the Cataracts of As-

souan as far as Karthoum. Mr. Blanford has indicated these

Nubian Sandstones, which he has named Adrigat Sandstone, under

some fossiliferous limestones containing a Jurassic fauna and

which he has named “ Antalo Limestone,” and he is led to regard

the Nubian Sandstones as of the age of the New Red Sandstone

(Dyas and Trias). As regards Sinai, two English observers,

Messrs. Wilson and Holland have shown in these Nubian Sand-

Stones the presence of some carboniferous fossils, or at least of

fossils of the age of the Dyas. Thus the determination of the

epoch of the New Red Sandstone for the Nubian Sandstone ap-

pears to be confirmed.

The geology of India has continued to be the object of very im-

portant researches on the part of Thos. Oldham and his assistants

in the geological survey of this vast empire. My friend Mr. Old-

ham has kindly sent me a manuscript map which modifies greatly

the results which I had accepted for the first edition of my map.

hina, we have had some data quite exact on several ae

thanks to the researches of Messrs. Kingsmill, the Abbe Davi

Pumpelly and Bickmore. Professor E. Beyrich has seiblinhied á a

Work on the Island of Timor, and M. Jules Garnier has given a

geological map of New Caledonia.

New Zealand, thanks to the researches of Messrs. Ferdinand Von

348 THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE WORLD.

Hochstetter, Julius Haast and James Hector, is to-day completely

known, and I owe to the kindness of the two last named savants,

a manuscript geological map of these isles, which has just ap-

peared at Wellington under the title of “Sketch Map of the Ge-

ology of New Zealand.”

No country has made so much progress in geology during the

last twelve years as Australia. The discovery and search for gold

have certainly contributed to it, and the different colonies have

devoted considerable sums towards sustaining geological surveys

and mining statistics. The colony of Victoria especially has shown

the example in the construction of a good geological map by

Messrs. Selwyn, Brough Smyth, Ulrich, Henry Y. L. Brown, ete.

From Tasmania I have received a manuscript map of all of Van

Diemen’s Land by Mr. Charles Gould, who for several years has

directed the Geological Survey. In New South Wales the Rev.

W. B. Clarke has given in numerous memoirs some excellent gen-

eralities on this part of the Australian Continent; and Mr. R

Daintree has just published a ‘Sketch Map of the Geology of

Queensland” (Quart. Journ. of the Geol. Soc. of London, vol.

xxviii, p. 271, 1872.) Finally, during these last two years Mr.

Henry Y. L. Brown has made a geological reconnoissance of West-

ern Australia.

Mr. Alfred Grandidier has given in grand outlines the general

characters of the island of Madagascar, which appears to have

almost nothing in common with South Africa, while it possesses

great affinities with the geology of Western Australia, and even of

New Zealand. Southern Africa has for several years, and espec-

ially since the discovery of the diamond mines, been’ the object of

geological researches, which allow us to trace with considerable

exactitude the principal lines of its geognostical constitution.

The geological map of the colony of Natal has been published by

Mr. C. L. Griesbach, and the great formation of the Karoo Sand-

stone, analogous to and probably identical with the Nubian Sand-

stone, has been studied with care by Messrs. G. W. Stow, G. Gr ey;

Atherstone and Evans. Messrs. Jones and Huxley have coördi-

nated and expressed general views on resear¢hes made on the same

localities; and I owe to the friendship of Professor T. Rupert

Jones a manuscript map reviewing all that has been done in ts

_ southern portion of the African continent.

In the New World Messrs. Musters and F. de Pourtalés have

ir L A eee

Pee) 4 3 eee |

em Bim Fee SEN RAST BAe, Be, Oi ie Sete aie 5 _ E a L ALSA

THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE WORLD. 349

discovered a group of extinct volcanoes between the River Gal-

legos,,Cape Virgins and the eastern entrance of Magellan Straits,

in Patagonia. Professor Burmeister, Director of the Museo Pub-

lico of Buenos Ayres, has sent me a manuscript geological map of

the Argentine Republic, and Mr. David Forbes has published a

new geological map of a part of Bolivia and Peru, which slightly

modifies the most complete and detailed one of the late Alcide

@’ Orbigny. !

In Brazil some great modifications and corrections have been

introduced by the researches of Messrs. Hartt, Coutinho, Chand-

less and Orton, especially in the basin of the Amazons, and on the

shore of the Atlantic Ocean. The Devonian and Carboniferous

formations have been traced to Mont Ereré and to the first Cat-

aract of the River Tapajos; the Cretaceous formation is found in

upper Purus, and the Tertiary formation near Pebas on the River

Marañon.

Mr. Charles B. Brown has sent me a manuscript geological map

of English Guiana, the geological survey of which he has directed

for several years. The same savant published several years ago,

in collaboration with Mr. J. G. Sawkins, a detailed geological map

of Jamaica.

Venezuela and the United States of Columbia, or New Granada,

have been explored by Messrs. Rogias, Uricoechea and Dr. Maack,

all of whom have very kindly communicated to me their interest-

ing and difficult researches. The republics of San Salvador and

of Guatemala have been explored by the late August Dollfus and

M. E. de Montserrat, who have given a. geological map of them.

Finally, Baron F. von Gerolt, for a long time Prussian minister to

Mexico, has published in New York a geological map of a part

of the vast plateau, principally of volcanic origin, which extends

between Puebla, Guerrero, Guanujuato and San Luis Potosi in

Mexico. ;

The United States and the British Provinces of North America

have continued to be the object of numerous researches and geo-

logical publications. I may signalize especially (1) in Hudson’s

Bay Territory the explorations of Messrs. J. Hector, Kennicott,

Hind, Bell and Richardson; (2) the numerous journeys and stud-

ies of Dr. Hayden on the Upper Missouri; (3) the remarkable

discoveries of Dr. Newberry in Arizona and New Mexico, of

srs. C. King, Rémond de Corbineau, H. Engelmann, S. F.

350 THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE WORLD.

Emmons, Marsh, Cope and Gilbert in California, Nevada, Utah

Wyoming, Colorado and Sonora.

I have preserved the same classification of rocks and the same

colors, except for the pliocene formation, which I have taken out

of the tertiary formation to place it with the quaternary and

modern formations, with which it has more affinities.

TABLE OF COLORS AND EXPLANATION.

Pale Yellow. Í Quaternary. } Modern Rocks.

Pliocene

Yellow. Í —— { Tertiary Rocks.

Green, Cretaceous.

Pale blue, Jurassic. { Secondary Rocks.

Triassic. New Red Sandstone Rocks.

Brown Sienna. Dyassic

Sepia. Sead sereng eon E { Carboniferous Rocks.

Old Red Sandstone.

Prussian blue. $ sone ? Palæozoic Rocks or Grauwacke.

Pink — Crystalline Rocks.

Vermilion — Volcanic Rocks.

The classification of stratified rocks is merely provisional, and it

is really accurate but only for the northern temperate zone, and even

in that zone itis limited to the basins of the Atlantic Ocean and

of the Mediterranean Sea. However, as we go from these limits,

and as we arrive in India or on the Missouri and in California,

then we encounter difficulties, that have been noticed and treated

of quite plainly by most observers, which are obstacles which can

not be passed over in silence nor yet avoided. For a stronger

reason when we leave the north temperate zone, we find some

anomalies and difficulties which, far from tending to be cleared up

with time, on the contrary prove more and more the insufficiency

of our classifications and the slight value of so-called palæonto-

logical laws. Let us cite some summary examples :—

In the Punjab, on the southern’ side of the Salt Range, near

Jabi, Dr. William Waagen has just found some “Goniatites,

Ceratites and Ammonites all together in a limestone bed of about

one foot and a half in thickness, associated with unmistakable

Producti, Athyris, ete.” (See: On the Occurrence of Ammonites

associated with Ceratites and Goniatites in the Carbone

deposits of the Salt Range, “Mem. Geol. Surv. of India,” vol.

ix, art. 4. That is to say that there occur in the same beds, fos

THE GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE WORLD. 351

forms which in Central Europe indicate Carboniferous, Triassic

and Jurassic formations.

In the Valley of the Missouri the forms of fossil Brachiopods,

which in Europe characterize the Mountain Limestone, such as

Producti, Athyris, Spirifer, etc., are found in some beds which

contain at the same time some other fossils, of which the forms

Allorisma, Solemia, Schizodus and Pleurophorus, indicate in

Europe the Dyas (formerly improperly called Permian). Thus

several geologists have ignored the existence of the Dyas in

Nebraska, in Iowa, and in Illinois, and have sought to substitute

for it a formation of passage that they name Dyaso or Permio-

Carboniferous.

In California the forms of Tertiary and Cretaceous fossils are

mixed together in such a way that some refer some groups of rocks

to the Cretaceous formation, while others regard them as of the

Tertiary epoch.

In Australia, some beds containing Carboniferous Brachiopods

are found placed beneath and even alternately with coal containing

a flora regarded in Yorkshire (England) as Jurassic. Finally in

New Zealand, the formations called Secondary seem to be entirely

obliterated ; and it has been necessary to unite some rocks in the

same groups under the bizarre name of upper Palzozoic or lower

Secondary, ignorant to which of the two to refer them; and of

the upper Secondary or lower Tertiary.

These examples show that our classifications and our laws are

still imperfect, and also the progress there remains to be made in

order to thoroughly know the history of the earth. The attempts

at classifications of eruptive and stratified rocks; those, not less

humerous, of the relative ages of interruptions in the deposits of

Stratified rocks; the study of the breaks and dislocations which

have taken place on the surface of our planet, and of the relations

which may exist between the one and the other, are all premature

attempts, and of doubtful value. Having a knowledge, not even

very profound, of some localities, theorizers have launched into

the midst of generalities the value of which is very debatable even

‘ln the interests of geology. But as it is a quality of human nature

of always wishing to theorize and to go from the particular to the

general, and as we are always fond of simple explanations and a

priori views, we easily fall into an admiration for all those who

seem to unveil and render themselves masters of the secrets of

852 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

nature, and who expose them in certain brilliant mathematic laws,

enhanced by the attraction of difficulties overcome, and of secrets

unveiled. Vain efforts! They are only deceiving mirages. Ten,

twenty, thirty years of observation dissipate them, and demon-

strate their insufficiency and falsity. It is observation alone.

Observe! Always observe! Do not leave a single corner of the

globe without the minute observations of travelling and of resi-

dent geologists ; and then we can generalize, and the mysteries of

our planet will be unveiled and systematized in a synthesis, solid,

logical with facts, well balanced and truly philosophical.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

GEoLoGY or Montana. *—Full of interest as this volume is to

naturalists and geologists, it also forms the most authentic account

we have of the youngest of our territories; and as such, with its

fully illustrated accounts of the hot springs and geysers of thé

YeHowstone and its tributaries, the graphic description of the

wonders of the Yellowstone lake and falls, and of the Yellowstone

National Park, together with the results of Messrs. Lesquereux

and Cope’s paleontological discoveries, will make the work excel-

lent reading for any one not specially versed in science.

The White Mountain hot springs on Gardiner’s River, will first

engage our attention. They are not so numerous nor so wonde i

as those of the Yellowstone valley or Fire Hole basin, but are

much more accessible, and were, at the time the party survey ed

them, frequented by a number of invalids, especially those suffer-

ing from cutaneous diseases. We quote Prof. Hayden’s account.

“We pitched our camp at the foot of the principal mountain, by

the side of the stream that contained the aggregated waters of the

hot springs above, which, by the time they had reached Me camp,

words. The eye alone could convey any adequate conception to

the mind. The steep sides of the hill were ornamented with &

wee a ae

*Prelimmary Report of United States Survey of Montana and Portions of sce

_ ‘Territories; being a Fifth Annual Report of ss, By F. V. Hayden, U. S. Geole

gist, Washington, 1872, 8vo. pp. 538. With Maps and Illustrations.

_ REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 353

series of semicircular basins, with margins varying in beighi from

a few inches to 6 or 8 feet, and so beautifully scalloped and adorned

with a kind of bead-work that the beholder stands amazed at this

marvel of nature’s handiwork. Add to this, a snow-white ground,

with every variety of. shade, of scarlet, green, and yellow, as

brilliant as the brightest of our aniline dyes. The pools or basins

are of all sizes, from a few inches to 6 or 8 feet in diameter, and

from 2 inches to 2 feet deep. As the water flows from the spring

over the mountain side

in to an-

Fig. 71.

— from one basin to a

coing to decay. Here

by 40 feet in diameter, the water so per-

fectly transparent that one can look down

the beautiful ultramarine depth to

the bottom of the basin. The sides of

the basin are ornamented with coral-like

= forms, with a great variety of shades,

ce from pure white to a bright cream-yellow,

Liberty Cap. and the blue sky reflected in the trans-

Whole which surpasses all art. The calcareous deposit around

the rim is also most elegantly ornamented, but, like the icy cover-

Ing of a pool, extends from the edge toward the omna ee this

ani

projects over the basin until it is not more than a h nch

‘ ick. These springs have one or more centres of ebullition, and

in this group it is constant, seldom rising more than to four

inches above the surface. From various portions of the rim the

water flows out in moderate quantities over the sides of the hill.

Whenever it gathers into a channel and flows quite swiftly, ins

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 23,

354 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

with sides from 2 to 8 feet high are formed, with the ornamented

designs proportionately coarse, but when the water flows slowly,

myriads of the little basins are formed, one below the other, with

a kind of irregular system, as it might be called, which constitutes

the difference between the works of nature and works of art. The

water holds a great amount of lime in solution. It also contains

——

f th tely or-

: je) ed by the dripping

General View of Overflow jo Great Of the water over the mar gins of the

Spring, Gaydiner’s River. asins.

“ Liberty Cap (Fig. 71) is um-

doubtedly,” says our author, “ the remains of an extinct geyser.”

The water was forced up with considerable power, and probably

without intermission, building up its own crater until the pressure

beneath was exhausted, and then it gradually closed itself over at

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 355

the summit and perished. No water flows from it at the present

time.” The above figure illustrates this chimney-like extinct gey-

ser, of which large numbers were scattered over the surface

“formed by what may be properly called pulsating geysers.”

Fig. 72 illustrates one of a series of bathing pools which is thus

described.

“Between one of the largest oblong mounds and the base of the

upper terrace, there is a kind of a valley-like interval, which has

once been the centre of much activity, but at the present time

there = agp small jets from which the water is thrown to

the height of 2 to 4 feet. But it is to the wonderful variety of

iy delicate colors bee this picture owes the main part of

its attr activeness. e little orifices from which the hot water

out at Seer ‘points; sortie 1 small groups of the semicircular,

step-like bas

We will io follow our party to the basin of the Yellowstone.

“The area of this basin is about forty miles in length. From the

summit of Mount Washburn, a bird’s-eye view of the entire basin

may be obtained, with the mountains por it on every side

without any apparent break in the rim. Thi in has been called

y some travellers the vast crater of an apa volcano. "Tt is

arth, fragments o k, and voleanic dust were pour red in un

kata quantities. Hundreds of the nuclei or Sores of these tol-

canic vents are now remaining, some of them rising to a eight of

Stevenson, and more than a hundred other peaks may be seen from

any high point on ethet side of the basin, each of which formed

a centre of effusion. Indeed, the hot springs and geysers of this

region, at the present time, are nothing more than the closing

Stages of that wonderful period of volcanic action that began i

‘ertiary times. In other words, they are the escape-pipes or Gets

for t those internal mn which once were so active, but are now

356 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

The celebrated Falls of the Yellowstone (Fig. 73) consist of

two pitches, one 140 feet, and the other a quarter of a mile below,

where the river plunges down a distance of 350 feet, into a cañon

whose walls are 1200 to 1500 feet high, and “decorated with the

The Great Canon and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone.

most beautiful colors that the human eye ever saw, with the rocks

weathered into an almost unlimited variety of forms.” . . - It is

a sight far more beautiful, though not so grand or impressive a$

that of Niagara Falls.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 857

of hot springs. Upon all this, in some localities, continuing up to

the time of the drainage of this lake, were deposited the mod

volcanic clays, sands, sandstones, and pudding-stones, which

reach an aggregate thickness of 800 to 1,000 feet. Above the

transition from the hard basalt to the more yielding breccia, so

that the river easily carved out a channel through it ; the vertical

walls are clearly seen from below the falls, passing diagonally

across the rim. The Lower Falls are formed in the same way ; the

entire mass of the water falls into a circular basin, which has been

worn inte the hard rock, so that the rebound is one of the mag-

nificent features of the scene. Below the Lower Falls the sides of

can w th

Where the river has cut its channel through the hard basalt,

the irregular fissures, which undoubtedly extend down, in some

manner, toward the heated interior, are distinctly seen. Local

deposits of silica, as white as snow, sometimes 400 or 500 feet in

thickness, are seen on both sides of the Yellowstone. These also

are worn into columns, which stand out boldly from the nearly

_ The Yellowstone lake is described in glowing terms. It is 22

miles long from north to south, averaging 10 or 15 miles in width

from east to west, with a depth of 300 feet. “It is fed by the

snows that fall upon the lofty ranges of mountains that surround

358 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

it on every side. The water of the lake has at all seasons nearly

the temperature of cold spring-water.”

Happily this wonderful basin, or Yellowstone Park, has by Con-

gress been set apart as a National Park, and thus its attractions

will remain forever free to all, and we trust safe from injury by

curiosity venders et id omne genus.

Before leaving Prof. Hayden’s report we may call attention to

the soda springs at the bend of Bear river, describing them in the

words of the report.

“At the bend of Bear river is located the most interesting group

of soda springs known on the continent. They occupy an area of

about six square miles, though the number is not great. At this

time they may be called simply remnants of former greatness.

Numerous mounds of dead or dying springs are scattered every-

where, and only a few seem to be in active operation. So far as

the manner of building up the calcareous mounds is concerned, it

does not differ from that of the hot springs in the Yellowstone

bling spring, Bear river cross-cuts a number of the

mounds, thus revealing the secret of their structure. The mounds

vary from a few feet to twenty or thirty feet high, built up, in the

same way as the hot spring cones, by overlapping layers. There

are many of these mounds, which show, by the steepness of the

sides, the amount of hydrostatic pressure. Many of the chimneys

are nearly vertical, with the inner surface coated over with a so

of porcelain.”

The second, third and fourth parts of the reports contain valua-

ble contributions from Messrs. Thomas, Lesquereux, Cope, Leidy,

Meek, Horn, Uhler, Edwards, Porter and Beaman.

Mr. Lesquereux gives the following summary of his views de-

duced from the study of our Tertiary and Cretaceous flora.

“ist. The Tertiary flora of North America is, by its types, in-

timately related to the Cretaceous flora of the same country.

` 2d. All the essential types of our present arborescent flora are

already marked in the Cretaceous of our continent, and become

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 359

more distinct and more numerous in the Tertiary; therefore the

origin of our actual flora is, like its facies, truly North American.

3d. Some types of the North American Tertiary and Cretaceous

flora appear already in the formations of Greenland, Spitz-

bergen, and Iceland; the sh of these types is therefore

apparently from the arctic region

4th. The relation of the North Fees a. punga ie with mn

of the same formation of Europe is marked only for North Ameri

can types, but does not exist at all for those hich are not oo

resented in the living flora of this continent. Therefore the

European Tertiary flora partly originates from North American

ee either directly from our continent or derived from the arctic

region

M ao relation of the Tertiary flora of Greenland and Spitz-

bergen with ours indicates, at the Tertiary and apni pee epochs,

land connection of the northern islands with our contine

6 he species of plants common to the Cretaceous Fad Ter-

tiary formations of the arctic regions and of our continent indicate,

in the mean te emperature influencing geogra aphical distribution of

vegetation, a difference, in +, a to about 5° of latitude for the

Tertiary and Cretaceous epo

{ The same kind of j owes ations on the geographical distribu-

tion of v egetable species shows at the Tertiary and Cretaceous

times differences of temperature according to latitude, analogous

to what is remarked at our time by the C grsient of the southern

and northern vegetation.”

We quote with much satisfaction the conclusions of so able a

palzeontologist as Mr. Lesquereux that the European Tertiary flora

partly originated from arctic North America. We may be par-

doned for referring to our own view expressed in 1865. From a

study of the quaternary fossils of Labrador and New England, we

ventured on general grounds, though not a botanist, to dissent

from the view of Dr. J. D. Hooker, that the flora of northeastern

arctic America was essentially Scandinavian in its origin.*

Dr. Horn discourses on the distribution of the Coleoptera col-

lected on the plains of the Rocky Mountains and the mountains of

Oregon and Montana. The species, owing to the variation in alti-

tude, temperature, and the food plants, vary in a corresponding

ratio. He remarks on this subject as follows :—

“Eleodes obscura Say affords a bonnie of the ex-

tent to which this divergence may be carried. Asa genera ral rule

I find, not only in Eleodes, but also in many other genera, that the

— o A S E ES a LS I rE am

n Observations on the Glacial Phenomena of Labrador and Maine. Read Oct. 4,

; (Memoirs Boston Society of Natural History, 1867.

360 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

higher the elevation or the colder the climate, the rougher and more

scarcely any traces of striæ; var. obscura, elytra distinctly sulcate,

but not deeply, is from Colorado and Southern Idaho. As we

advance to the west the elytra are more deeply sulcate, as in

var. arata, while var. sulcipennis, from nearer the Pacific coast,

has deeply sulcate elytra, with very convex interspaces. The same

variation of sculpture occurs in Calosoma luxatum Say, which

starts in Colorado with comparatively smooth elytra, until in Van-

couver we find the elytra covered with lines of granular elevations,

forming the variety knowii as C. pimelivides Walker. The two ex-

tremes of each series above noted appear to differ widely from

each other, and to be entitled to rank as distinct species. In the

foregoing remarks reference only has been made to variations

within specific limits. ‘The same law appears to hold between dif-

ferent species. In the genus Omus the most roughly sculptured

species occurs in Washington Territory (O. Dejeanii Reiche), and

the smoothest (O. levis Horn) from near Visalia, California. The

ject of the preceding remarks is to explain what appears to be a

law of variation for our western slope, and thus cause the unnec-

essary multiplication of species, founded on slight characters, to

be avoided.

Species everywhere in our fauna appear to be distributed on

lines of country presenting as nearly as ible similar meteoro-

logical conditions. ‘Thus many Oregon forms extend southward

into California, gradually seeking ‘a higher mountain habitat as the

region becomes warmer. Two species illustrate this — Tragosoma

Harrisii and Phryqanophilus collaris. Both extend their habitat

from Maine to California, following the cooler regions westwar¢

from Maine through the Canadas and Red River region, thence

northward nearly to Sitka. From the latter point southward to

Oregon both occur at the ordinary level, and rising as a mo

ion is reached, until at the latitude of Visalia they

occur only a short distance below the snow-line, at an altitude of

from ten to twelve thousand feet.

From Southern California species have extended along the des-

ert regions bordering the Colorado river to Utah. Two instances

are presented in the collection just examined—Culosoma semileve

and Anisodactylus piceus. Species advancing from the region just

cited cannot be expected to cross the Rocky Mountains. Our

common Harpalus caliginosus extends westward over all obstacles

until the base of the Sierra Nevada is reached. It has not yet

octurred in California proper.”

__ The volume concludes with important papers on the Hemiptera

by Mr. Uhler, and an extended essay on the Orthoptera by Prof.

. _ 'Fhomas, illustrated by two plates.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 361

RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL ORNITHOL-

ocy.— We have before us several recent papers relating to the

avian faunz of a number of quite widely separated localities. To

Messrs. Holden and Aiken we are indebted for ‘ Notes on the

Birds of Wyoming and Colorado Territories.”* These notes were

sent to Dr. T. M. Brewer for his private use, and by him commu-

nicated to the Boston Society of Natural History. Fromm his in-

troductory note we learn that Mr. Holden’s observations were

made ‘‘in summer,” and Mr. Aiken’s “ between November 1,

1871,and May, 1872. The exact locality, however, is left in doubt,

but we are led to infer from Mr. Holden’s remarks which follow,

that this gentleman’s observations were made chiefly about Sher-

man “in the immediate vicinity of the Black Hills,” near the boun-

dary of Wyoming and Colorado Territories. Mr. Aiken’s notes,

as partially appears from his memoranda (and as I have learned

from private sources), were made in El Paso County, Colorado

(most of them near Fountain), some two hundred miles south

of Sherman and about two thousand feet less in elevation. The

two localities thus differ greatly in climatological and other gen-

eral features affecting the distribution of species. The whole

humber of species given in the list is one hundred and ‘forty, of

which but twenty-seven are common to the two localities. Only

fifteen are mentioned by Mr. Holden that are not noted by Mr.

Aiken, while the latter reports ninety-eight that are not given by

the former. The whole number mentioned as occurring in the

Vicinity of Sherinan is hence forty-two, while one hundred and

fourteen were observed near Fountain. The primary value of faunal

lists Consists, of course, in the indications they give as to the avian

peculiarities of limited districts. It would hence have been far

better, doubtless, not to have combined in a single list the notes

made at such distant localities, and under such diverse topographi-

cal and clinatic conditions. These observations, however, as thus

Siven, are extremely interesting and very valuable, having evi-

tly been carefully made. They are, moreover, from localities

hitherto scarcely explored; the very imperfect recently published

list of the birds of Cheyenne (some forty miles east of Sherman,

on the Plains, and nearly two thousand feet lower) and the partial

Si eae en ES

* Notes on the Birds of Wyoming and Colorado Territories. By c. H. Holden, Jr.;

With Additional Memoranda, by C. E. Aiken. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XX, pp.

193-210; Dev. i372, (Read June 5, 1872.)

362 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

lists of the birds of South Park and of the region at the base of

the mountains between Denver and Colorado City,* being the only

special reports relating to the birds of the region embraced within

or contiguous to the districts explored by Messrs. Holden and

Aiken.

The country about Sherman is one of the most barren and for-

bidding of any of the inhabited portions of the great central pla-

teau of the continent, and the small number of species observed

there by Mr. Holden fairly indicates its poverty, ornithologically

considered. On the other hand, the region about Fountain, in

the valley of the Upper Arkansas, is in a far milder and more fer-

tile district, and the much larger number of species reported by

r. Aiken indicates nearly its proportionately greater richness in

avian life. Neither of these lists purports to be complete or ex-

- haustive, yet they probably embrace all the more common and

characteristic species of the two localities.

The whole number of names given is one hundred and forty-two,

but in the foregoing remarks it has been considered safe to regard

the Troglodytes aédon of Holden’s list and the 7. Parkmani of

Aiken’s as identical, both undoubtedly referring to the same race

(T. aëdon, var. Parkmani) of T. aédon and not to two species,

even if it be assumed that T. Parkmani and T. aédon are specifi-

cally distinct. In like manner the Scolecophagus ferrugineus of

Holden’s list has been regarded as S. cyanocephalus of Aiken’s,

since the latter is a common summer resident far to the eastward

„of Sherman, while S. ferrugineus has not been previously reported

from points nearer Sherman than Eastern Kansas. I have also

learned that Erismatura Dominica should read E. rubida.

Mr. W. D. Scott has given a “Partial List of the Summer Birds

of Kenawha County, West Virginia.”+ The list is based on “two

months of field-work (from the middle of January till the middle

of August, 1872),” and embraces eighty-six species. The accom-

ying notes indicate the relative abundance of the species

observed, and embrace occasionally short notices of habits and

descriptions of the first or nesting plumage of the young, in cases

where such stages had not been previously well described.

‘The avian fauna of Kenawha County consists of a mixture of

tho] R f Kansas, Colorado, Wf- »

a wae Bull. Mus. Com. Zool., Vol. igs pp. 113-183, , Jun ne, 1872.

t Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. Vol. XV, pp. 219-228, Jan. 1873 (Read Oct. 2, 1872).

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 363

species more or less distinctive of the Alleghanian and Carolinian

faunæ, representatives of the former prevailing in the highlands,

and representatives of the latter in the valleys. The capture of a

pair of Dendræca Dominica is reported, — a species whose north-

ern limit of distribution has generally been supposed to be the

lowlands of the South Atlantic and Gulf States. Mr. Scott calls

especial attention to the fact that certain species which range over

a wide area in latitude differ appreciably in color at this locality

from their representatives from more northern or southern locali-

ties, being more intensely colored than those from points to the

northward, while they are less so than those found further south.

Thryothorus Ludovicianus and Ortyx Virginianus are cited as

strongly marked instances. As a faunal list, the paper affords

valuable data concerning the summer distribution of the birds of

the Atlantic States

Mr. T. Martin Tipi has published “ Notes on the Birds of

Southern Iowa,”* based on “ the author’s observations during a

period of nearly two years in Southern Iowa. . . . One year was

spent in the southwestern part of Mahaska County; the other in

the northeastern part of Decatur County, the latter point being

fifty or sixty miles southwest of the former.” Mr. Trippe states

that although these localities are so near each other, and similar

in their physical features, there are quite marked differences in

_ their avian faune. In Mahaska County, for instance, the War-

blers are much more abundant than in Decatur County, while sev-

eral species were met with at the latter or more southern point that

were not seen at the other. Among these are Zonotrichia querula,

Spizella pallida, Vireo Belli and Salpinctes obsoletus, birds whose

range is chiefly westward and southward. Spizella pallida is prop-

erly a bird of the plains, and Salpinctes obsoletus has not been pre-

viously reported much to the eastward of the Rocky Mountains.

veral pages of remarks descriptive of the locality and its faunal

peculiarities introduce the list, and add much to the value of the

paper,

The list, though not presented as a complete one, is believed by

its author to pretty fairly represent the main avian characteristics

of the region in question. Of the one hundred and sixty-two

Species mentioned, ninety-two were observed breeding, or in such

numbers durin ng summer as to leave no doubt of their breeding

* Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XV, pp. 229, March, 1873 (Read Oct. 16, 1872).

364 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

there, eighty-five of them being regarded as common. Mr. Trippe

calls attention to the fact that all but fifteen of the species he

found breeding in abundance in Southern Iowa, breed also abun-|

dantly on the Atlantic coast, in the saime latitude, nearly fifteen

hundred miles to the eastward. This he considers as an astonish-

ingly small difference, considering the great distance between the

two points. Although perhaps surprising at first sight, when

taken in connection with the fact of the considerable differences

in the faunæ of localities separated by only two or three hundred

miles in latitude, it finely illustrates certain general laws of geo-

graphical distribution, namely, that difference in longitude has per

se, almost nothing to do with the limitation of habitat, while a

slight difference in latitude, being necessarily accompanied by dif-

ferences of temperature, is a powerful modifying cause. In other

words, that species are limited in longitude by climatic and other

differences in the conditions of environment resulting from the

configuration of the general surface of the country, and not by

distance merely. Mr. ‘l'rippe’s list is accompanied with valuable

notes relating to the season of occurrence and relative abundance

of the species. —J. A. A.

New Avian Suncrass.* — The recent discovery of Ichthyornis

dispar, and Apatornis celer, is one ranking in interest, and impor-

tance with that of the Archwopteryz; an important gain to paleon-

tology which, as Prof. Marsh observes, ‘* does much to break down

the old distinctions between Birds and Reptiles, which the Archwop-

teryz has so materially diminished.” With just appreciations

of the value of the characters presented, the writer proposes for

the birds an order Ichthyornithes, and a subclass Odontornithes.

The vertebra were amphiccelian, and there were numerous, small,

compressed, pointed teeth, distinctly socketed, in both jaws. If

Prof. Marsh’s surmise, that the Archeopteryx likewise had teeth

and biconcave vertebrie, should prove true, a question of synony-

my with Saururæ might arise. In explanation of the improper

allocation of Ichthyornis (in the Key to North American Birds),

among ordinary natatorial types, it should be stated that informa-

tion of the discovery was received just as the pages were going to

pegs, and in advance of Prof. Marsh’s final determinations. —

* Ona New Subclass of Fossil Birds (OpoNTORNITHES). By O. C. Marsh, “ American

Journal Science and Arts,” v, Feb., 1873 (pub. Jan 21, 1873).

BOTANY.

CoLorine anb Dryine or Naruran Frowers.— Mr. Muir gives

the following abstract of this paper, by E. Puscher (Dingl. Polyt.

J. cev, 891-2.) The flowers ‘are placed in a glass funnel, which

is inverted over a plate containing a few drops of sal ammo-

niac solution. After a few minutes, most blue violet or bright

carmine-colored flowers change to a Schweinfurt green; dark car-

mine flowers become black, white change to sulphur-yellow. The

flowers plunged into fresh water retain their new colors for 2-6

hours, and then lose them. By a somewhat similar treatment with

hydrochloric acid, many flowers, especially asters, may be colored a

beautiful red, which is lasting after the flowers are carefully dried.

THE INFLUENCE or COLORED LIGHT on ASSIMILATION BY PLANTS.

— E. Lommel (Pogg. Ann. cxlv, 442.) (Abstr. by E. Kinch.)

enumerates many of the conclusions arrived at by different experi-

menters on this subject, and considers it a well-ascertained fact

that the greatest amount of decomposition is produced by those

rays which are absorbed by chlorophyll, and have at the same

time a high mechanical intensity. Solid chlorophyll shows the

ee 38

tween the interstices of the chlorophyll cells usually forms a con-

tinuous spectrum over the absorption bands, and so dims or wholly

obliterates the paler ones, whilst the band i suffers only a slight

diminution in intensity. The theory of the author is supported

by the direct experiments of N. J. C. Müller (Bot. Untersuchungen,

Heidelb. 187 1) and by the following experiment.

Two similar bean-plants were placed in frames, the sides and

top of the first of which were composed of a combination of blue

cobalt glass and red copper glass, which allowed only the red rays

between 4 and B to pass through; in the second, a combination

of red and violet glass was used, which transmitted only the mid-

dle red rays. Both conbinations were so dark that the plants could

scarcely he seen from the outside; their power of transmitting

heat rays was almost identical. At the end of a week, the first

plant was sickly and had not increased in size, whilst the young

leaves of the second plant had doubled in size, and it gt to

366 BOTANY.

be distinguished from a similar plant kept in diffused daylight. 2

This experiment shows that the middle red rays above can support

the growth of a plant, whilst the outer red rays are unable; and

also that assimilation is dependent on the quality of the rays and

not on the intensity of the light.

W. Pfeffer (in Pogg. Ann. cxlviii, 86-99) interprets Lommel’s

experiments as only diowiw that more growth takes place under

the influence of the middle red rays, than under that of the outer

red rays.

An abstract of Prof. Draper’s interesting experiments in the

same field will be given in our next number

Pe re oe Pe are” ee ee ee ee

Microscopic PHOTOGRAPHY OF VEGETABLE TissuEs.—Mr. Pedler

makes the following synopsis of this sketch, by L. Erkmann.

(Zeitsch. Anal. Chem. xi, 395.) The section of the plant or other

tissue is to be placed, for a night, in a solution of aniline red, not

too concentrated. On washing the tissues with water the non-

nitrogenous tissues are left uncolored, whilst the nitrogenous tis-

sues remain colored, there being also a considerable amount of

shading. From a negative thus-prepared, a positive may

obtained in which the nitrogenous substances are dark and Ke

non-nitrogenous light. _

MPSS. =, etree a ra Li

EFFECT OF COAL-GAS upon Trees AND Suruss.—A series of

experiments was tried in Berlin in order to determine the amount

of damage done to the roots of trees and shrubs by gas escaping

from pipes through the soil, and thus coming in contact with them.

It was found that even so small a quantity as twenty-five cubic

feet per diem, distributed in one hundred and forty-four square

feet of ground, and at the depth of four feet (that is, through five

hundred and seventy-six cubic feet of earth), killed in a short

time the rootlets of trees of every kind which came in contact with

it, and that this damage was sooner done, the firmer and closer the

surface of the groppa above. (Ding. polyt. Journ. cevi, 345,

abstr. by W. Smith :

PLANTS NEW TO GRAYS Maxvat.— Three years ago, Miss

Furbish of Brunswick collected at Boothbay, Maine, specimens

of Odontites rubra. This isa pretty Euphrasioid plant easily

distinguished from the White Mountain Euphratia —

Last summer the same plant was collected by Prof. Rockwood, at

Dee ee oe ee y

ZOOLOGY. 367

the same locality. It had been previously detected in Guysbo-

rough, Nova Scotia. :

Crepis aurantiaca, formerly called Hieracium aurantiacum,

appears to be naturalized in some places in Saco, Maine. “It oc-

curs in grounds adjoining a nursery, where it is associated with

Ajuga reptans, a labiate plant. - Probably both plants were intro-

duced in the material employed in packing foreign trees.

ZOOLOGY.

A REMARKABLE Monstrosity.— I submit the history, anatomical

examination and physiological peculiarities of this case of lusus

nature, as one of especial interest to embryologists.

The subject, or subjects, are a pair of twin pigs united throughout

the anterior abdominal, thoracical, cervical and cranial regions,

having one umbilicus in common. As they now stand (Fig. 74),

taxidermy having been resorted to, to

preserve them, to ordinary observers, at

first sight, their conjoint bodies present

the appearance of two individuals stand-

ing face to face, being in juxtaposition

above the umbilicus, with arms extended

at right angles. Below the inferior point

of union both are perfectly normal;

above this region the front side * resem-

bles the inferior part of the thorax of a

normally formed hog. The back side

presents the same thoracic appearance, ©

but above it is seen the top of the head y

(the region posterior and between the

ears in a normally formed hog) with two

X in juxtaposition at their point of

Junction with- the head, situated in the

median line, one and one-half inches posteriorly to the ones situ-

ated in the normal position.

Their external appearance, size, form and color are the same.

Both are of the male sex. The head, anteriorly of the conjoint

Pav of ears, is normal in shape, being but slightly broader in the

* ee t

The terms front, back, etc., relate to th igati whole, ri

? {=}

= legs occupying the inferior position. ‘

068 ZOOLOGY.

region of the normally situated ears than is common to this breed

of hogs, the only external departure from normality being in the

number of tusks, there being double the usual number. In the

left side of the mouth the position of the four tusks is alternate,

the anterior superior one being situated between the two in the

inferior maxillary. On the right side, those in the inferior are

anterior to those in the superior maxillary.

There was one sternum in common, situated on the front side ;

the ribs of cach thorax extending about four lines behind it. On

the back side the union was formed by muscular prolongations

from the latissimus-dorsi, trapezoid and intercostal muscles.

The right pig had a right lateral curvature of the spine in the

‘superior cervical region; the spine of the other having a double

lateral curvature, the superior curve being to the left, in the dorsal

region, the inferior one to right in the lumbar region.

The thoracic viscera were transposed at right angles, the right.

lung of each pig occupying the left side of the thoracic cavity of

the other, and the left lungs being situated in the right sides of the

respective thoraxes. The anterior trachea was connected with the

lung situated in the left side of the right hog, and the lung situated

in the right side.of the left hog; the posterior trachea exhibiting

a like connection with the ether lungs. One lung, the one sit-

uated in the right side of the left hog, was much larger than the

other three, respiration having taken place in it, the other three

never having exercised that function.*

There was but one pericardium containing the two hearts.

The oral cavity, anterior to the pharynx presented a normal ap-

pearance, with the exception of the tusks, already referred to.

The anterior glottis was situated normally. e posterior one was

reversed in position, the epiglottis being situated on the posterior

side; the wsophageal orifice being situated between the two.

In the abdomen were two livers, that of the right hog being of

a pinkish hue ; the other of a dark brown appearance. There was

but one stomach, the esophageal orifice being situated in the cen-

re superiorly, the pyloric occupying a position directly opposite.

, when inflated, presented the appearance of a sac,

constricted throigloüt its centre in a vertical direction. The

- duodenum and jejunum were single; the latter, at its inferior ex-

_* The hogs, when found, were lifeless, and were supposed to have been still-born.

ZOOLOGY. 369

tremity was bifurcated, beyond which there were two sets of

viscera. i

The cranial cavity was divided by a cartilaginous septum which

separated the two sets of brains. Each set of spinal nerves entered

its division of the cranium through its own foramen magnum.

The cranial bones were normal in number and appearance save the

occipital, which had two openings for the spinal nerve, each side

of the median line, and processes for muscular attachment. The

optic cavities were imperfectly formed. The eyes were not devel-

oped, a bundle of fascia with some nerve substance occupying

their place.

The subject having been frozen and refrozen several times be-

fore it came into my possession, I was unable to pursue the anatom-

ical investigation of the several structures to the extent that

I desired, such processes having destroyed the cranial ganglia

and nervous system, the microscope revealing the disorganized

structures.

These hogs evidently had their origin in one ovum, with two

nuclei or germinal centres situated equidistant from one another,

and not from two ova which had become nucleally and anatomi-

: cally commingled in the course of their development.—T. W.

‘Degrine, M. D., Leavenworth, Kansas.

Swarminc or A Broop or Wincep Ants.—On the afternoon of

Oct. 6th, at about 4 P. M. we were attracted to a part of the large

yard surrounding our home, by a multitude of large sized insects `

that filled the air, and appeared to be some unusual form of insect

life, judging of them from a distance. On closer inspection,

these creatures proved to be a brood of red ants (Formica) that

had just emerged from their underground home and were now

for the first time using their delicate wings. The sky, at the time,

was wholly overcast; the wind strong, southeast; thermometer

66° Fahr. Taking a favorable position near the mass, as they

slowly crawled from the ground, up the blades of grass and stems

of clover and small weeds, we noted, first, that they seemed dazed,

Without any method in their movements, save an ill-defined impres-

Sion that they must go somewhere. Again, they were pushed

forward, usually, by those coming on, after them, which seemed to

add to their confusion. As a brood or colony of insects, their

every movement indicated that they were wholly ill at ease.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 24

370 ZOOLOGY.

Once at the end of a blade of grass, they seemed even more

puzzled as to what to do. If not followed by a fellow ant, as was

usually the case, they would invariably crawl down again to the

earth, and sometimes repeat this movement until a new comer

followed in the ascent, when the uncertain individual would be

‘forced to use his wings. This flight would be inaugurated by a

very rapid buzzing of the wings, as though to dry them, or prove

their owner’s power over them; but which, it is difficult to say.

After a short rest, the violent movement of the wings would re-

commence, and finally losing fear, as it were, the ant would let go

his hold upon the blade of grass and rise slowly upwards. It

could, in fact, scarcely be called flight. The steady vibration of

the wings simply bore them upwards, ten, twenty or thirty feet,

until they were caught by a breeze, or by the steadier wind that

was moving at an elevation equal to the height of the surrounding

pine and spruce trees. So far as we were able to discover, their

wings were of the same use to them, in transporting them from

their former home, that the ‘‘ wings” of many seeds are, in scat-

tering them; both are wholly at the mercy of the winds.

Bates, in describing the habits of the Saiiba Ants ( Æcodo-

ma cephalotes) says,* “The successful début of the winged males

and females depends likewise on the workers. It is amusing to

see the activity and excitement which reign in an ant’s nest when

the exodus of the winged individuals is taking place. The workers

clear the roads of exit, and show the most lively interest in their

departure, although it is highly improbable that any of them will

return to the same colony. The swarming or exodus of the winged

males and females of the Saiiba ant takes place in January and

February, that is, at the commencement of the rainy season.

y come out in the evening in vast numbers, causing quite a

commotion in the streets and lanes.” We have quoted this

passage from Mr. Bates’ fascinating book, because of the great

similarity and dissimilarity in the movements of the two species

at this period of their existence. Remembering, at the time, the

above remarks concerning the South American species, we looked

y for the workers, in this instance, and failed to discover

above a dozen wingless ants above ground, and these were plodding

about, very indifferent, as it appeared to us, to the fate or welfare

of their winged brothers. On digging down a few inches, we

* Naturalist on the River Amazons, Vol. 1, p. 32.

ZOOLOGY. 371

could find but comparatively few individuals in the nest, and could

detect no movements on their parts that referred to the exodus of

winged individuals, then going on.

On the other hand, the time of day agrees with the remarks of

Mr. Bates. When we first noticed them, about 4 P. M. they had

probably just commenced their “flight.” It continued until nearly

seven o’clock P. M., or a considerable time after sundown. The

next morning, there was not an individual, winged or wingless, to

be seen above ground; the nest itself was comparatively empty ;

and what few occupants there were seemed to be in a semi-torpid

condition. Were they simply resting after the fatigue and excite-

ment of yesterday?

It was not possible for us to caleulate what proportion of these

winged ants were carried by the wind too far to return to their old

home; but certainly a large proportion were caught by the sur-

rounding trees; and we found, on search, some of these crawling

down the trunks of the trees, with their wings in a damaged

Condition. How near the trees must be for them to reach their

old home, we should like to learn; and what tells them, ‘* which

road to take?’ Dr. Duncan states,* “It was formerly supposed

that the females which alighted at a great distance from their old

nests returned again, but Huber, having great doubts upon this

Subject, found that some of them after having left the males, fell

on to the ground in out-of-the-way places, whence they could not

Possibly return to the original nest!” We unfortunately did not

note the sex of those individuals that we intercepted in their

return(?) trip; but we cannot help expressing our belief that, at

east, in this case, there was scarcely an appreciable amount of

“returning” on the part of those whose exodus we have just

described ; although so many were caught by the nearer trees and

shrubbery. Is it probable that these insects could find their way

to a small underground nest, where there was no “travel” in the

Vicinity, other than the steady departure of individuals, who, like

themselyes, were terribly bothered with the wings they were

carrying about with them?—C. C. ABBOTT.

We have noticed that those females that do not return to the

old nest found new ones. In Maine and Massachusetts we have

for several successive years noticed the swarming of certain species |

irae cee es ee

* Transformations of Insects, p. 205.

872 ZOOLOGY.

of ants during an unusually warm and ae day early in Sep-

tember. See also this journal, p. 392.—

Hasirs or tHE Cur Worm.—TI venture to send you an item

in regard to the common cut worm (Agrotis or dart-moth) which

is new tome. A friend recently related to me the results of some

extended observations which were corroborative of some another

friend made not long before. He found that the cut worms would

come out of the ground at about nine o’clock in the evening; the

did not vary many minutes from that time in all the observations

he made. He used to watch them for hours, by the light of a

lantern.

Sometimes he would put atin or wooden box around the plant,

just to see what they would do, and then occurred what seemed to

me the most singular part of their performance. The worm would

crawl towards the plant till it came to the box, then it would fol-

low along the side of the box to find an opening, and if none were

found, it would ascend the side of the box — whether of tin or

wood—to the very top; reach around in every direction, and, if

nothing could be felt, would turn and go back, down the outside

of the box (never on the inside), and go into the ground. Some-

times he would bend the leaf of the cabbage plant so that the worm

could touch it, when it would instantly take to the plant, follow it

down till it came to the root, and then commence its work, i.e.,

gnaw the stem off, and feed on the central portion of the same.

The manner in which the worm feeds upon the grape was observed

to be thus :—The worm would come out of the ground at its usual

time, ascend the vine till it came to a new shoot, gnaw that off,

and fasten itself to the stump of the branch so gnawed, and suck

the sap of the vine till it was so full it seemed almost ready to

burst, then descend to the ground and bury itself out of sight.—

N. Coteman, Grand Rapids,Michigan.

Composition or Sarmon. — Prof. Sir R. Christison lately com-

municated to the Royal Society the results of a chemical analysis

of clean salmon (i.e., those in good condition) and of the same

species when exhausted or “foul.” A mean of several trials gave,

for the clean salmon, oil 18:53 per cent., nitrogenous matter 19°70

per cent., saline matter 0°88 per cent., water 60°89 per cent. ; for

the foul salmon, oil 1-25 per cent., nitrogenous matter 17°07 pet

cent., saline matter 0°88 per cent., water 80°80 per cent.

GEOLOGY.

Guactan Fossirs IN Marse.— The rocks in that part of Maine,

lying along the coast between the Penobscot and Kennebec

Rivers, are so folded as to form a series of N. N. E.-S.

ridges with smaller plications between them. As the land rose

after the melting of the glaciers, sedimentation seems to have

gone on rapidly and animal life to have been abundant, while the

water level was yet a hundred or two feet higher than at present.

The principal folds of the rock strata then formed low hill ranges

capped with glacial detritus, and in the fiords between these were

accumulated immense quantities of fine clay (light gray, as de-

tived from light colored gneisses and schists). This is usually

Separated from the bottom rock by a little more or less stratified

gravel. As the clay neared the surface of the water, it became

more sandy, of course, and passed occasionally into beds of gravel,

particularly where the current was strong. These deposits finally

emerged, and their record is now partly obliterated by running

Streams. The clay is found to contain small branches of silicified

Wood, and the upper strata contain beach shells.

In the town of N obleboro, twenty or twenty-five miles from the

coast, in the valley of the Damariscotta River (Lincoln Co.), the

relations of these strata are well shown by a cutting of the Knox

and Lincoln Railroad, which has now, I believe, a station about

forty rods southwest of it. Nobleboro village is a mile south.

The cut is twenty or thirty rods long through a hillside and is

thirty-nine feet deep in the middle. Between the hill (which

slopes off to a swamp,) and the station, there is a ledge of striated

and water-worn gneiss, rather lower than the railroad grade. I

the cut above the grade level are—

T. Soil with grass.

6. Sand and gravel curved over the lower strata par-

allel to the top of the hill.

5. Pebbly gravel, 2-4 feet from top of hill.

4. Sand and gravel.

3. Gravel and clay merging and alternating.

2. Brown clay sandier and drier than No. 1.

1. Blue clay several feet deep.

(373)

off ANTHROPOLOGY.

No. 1 contained decaying blades of eel grass quite abundantly ;

and the remains of several kinds of shells which were much

decayed and generally mere casts; the first two kinds only have

the shell solid. Buccinum undatum (two specimens) ; Fusus de-

cemcostatus (8); Pecten (two species; one P. islandicus) ; Ser-

ripes Grenlandica (10); numerous specimens of Mya arenaria

and Mytilus edulis (3) ; Leda, a few small decayed valves, possibly

of Macoma; also what appeared to be the shell of a small crus-

tacean, not an inch long.

In No. 3, the pebbles were conglomerated with oxide of iron in

one place.

No. 5, a loose narrow stratum, evidently deposited in shallow

water, held many broken and worn shells of clam, mussel, Ma-

coma fusca and Leda Jacksoni.

o. 6 seems to mark the emergence of the beds, showing a

change in the water courses produced by the elevation of some

ey land than at this point, from the water. — Paur SHER-

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Preuistoric CULTURE or Frax.— Dr. Oswald Heer, the eminent

botanist, and one who has devoted so much attention to the struct-

ure and history of fossil plants, publishes an article upon flax and

its culture among the ancients, especially the prehistoric races of

Europe. His memoir may be summarized as follows: First, flax

has been cultivated in Egypt for five thousand years and that it

was and is one of the most generally diffused plants of that coun-

try. It occupied a similar position in ancient Babylonia, in Pales-

tine, and on the Black Sea. It occurred in Greece during the

prehistoric period, and at an early date was carried into Italy,

while its cultivation in Spain was probably originated by the Phe-

nicians and Carthagenians. Second, it is also met with in the

oldest Swiss lacustrine villages, while, at the same time no hemp

nor fabrics manufactured from wool are there to be found. This

is considered a remarkable fact, since the sheep was one of the

oldest domestic animals, and was known during the stone period.

The impossibility of shearing the fleece by means of stone OF

_ bone implements is supposed to have been the reason why woollen

fabrics were not used. Itis thought probable that the skin, with

ANTHROPOLOGY. 375

its attached wool, was made use of for articles of clothing.

Third, the lake dwellers probably received flax from Southern

Europe, from which section fresh seeds must have been derived

from time to time. The variety cultivated was the small, native,

natrow-leaved kind from the coast of the Mediterranean, and not

at all that now raised in Europe. -It must, therefore, have been

cultivated also in Southern Europe, although Dr. Heer could not

ascertain among what people and at what age this took place. If

this could be ascertained it would be an important point in the

determination of the antiquity of the lake dwellers. Fourth, at

the time of the empire both summer flax and winter flax were cul-

tivated in Italy, as now, but in what form it was grown in ancient

Egypt is not determined. It is thought probable that the narrow-

leaved variety was first introduced and after that the Roman, and

then the common varieties followed. The common plant has doubt-

less arisen from the cultivation of the narrow-leaved, while the

Roman winter flax and the Linum ambiguum constitute the inter-

mediate stages. The original home of the cultivated flax was

therefore along the shores of the Mediterranean. The Egyptians

had probably cultivated it, and from them its use was doubtless

disseminated. It is possible that the wild variety and the winter

flax were grown elsewhere at the same time, when the cultivated

variety had long.since driven them out of use in Egypt.— Nature.

“INDIAN NETSINKERS” IN New Jersey. — Both the netsinkers

and hammerstones, as described by Mr. Rau, in the March number

of the Naruratist, are exceedingly abundant in many localities in

New Jersey. Especially along the banks of the Delaware River,

and about the creeks that empty into that river, we have found the

“ sinkers,” literally, by hundreds. They are now so abundant in

the bed and about the shores of Watson’s Creek, Mercer Co., that

we do not pretend to gather them, when collecting unless one of

unusual shape or size attracts our attention. The collection from

this state, made by the writer, and now in the museum of the Pea-

y Academy, Salem, Mass., contai y speci idei i

all respects with those figured on page 140 of the present volume

of this journal ; unless it be, that the majority are somewhat small-

er and less heavy than the average of the “Muncy” specimens.

The remarks of Mr. Rau, on the hammerstones found associated

With the « sinkers,” at Muncy, will only in part apply to this same

376 MICROSCOPY.

class of relics, found in the neighborhood of Trenton, New Jersey.

So far as the writer’s experience in collecting goes, these hammer-

stones are found away from the water, on the sites of villages, and

more particularly on the sites of the operations of arrowhead

akers. Curiously enough, too, the average weight of these ham-

mer-stones is greater, as we have found them, than the average

weight of those found at Muncy, Pennsylvania, by Mr. Rau.

Always associated with the ordinary hammerstone, which is that

with a depression on either side, for the ends of the thumb and

second finger, is a smaller cylindrical hammer, of harder mineral,

with nothing to indicate that it is a “relic,” other than the well

battered ends, which are as well marked in these specimens, as the

similar batterings and finger pits are in the typical hammer-

stones. — CHARLES C. Assort, M. D.

Antiquity or Man IN America. — In the December number of

this Journal we made an abstract of a paper printed by the Phila-

delphia Academy, in which Mr. Berthoud gave an account of

the relics of an early race of men. As the geological position

of the relics has been questioned, further information is very

desirable.

MICROSCOPY.

A New Stipe ror rae Microscorr.—At a recent meeting of

the Optical Section of the Franklin Institute, there was described

and exhibited in operation a new adjunct to the microscope, de-

signed by Mr. D. S. Holman, a member of the section, whose life

slide recently attracted so much attention and comment. The

new device may be called a current cell, or moist chamber, and is

designed to afford the microscopist the opportunity of observing

and studying the constitution of the blood and other organic fluids

with much greater ease and precision than it has heretofore been

found possible to attain. The accompanying illustration will

serve to make the description of its construction and operation

manifest: The slide consists of a plain piece of plate glass of

considerable thickness, and three inches by one in dimensions.

This is furnished at equal distances from its centre with two well

polished shallow cavities of circular form, which are connected

with each other by one or more capillary channels. These chan-

nels are likewise polished, and to permit of a greater field in

MICROSCOPY. 877

focussing for their contents, the groove of the tube is made trian-

gular in section, with one side forming a right angle with the sur-

face of the slide, and the other forming with it a very large angle.

The arrangement of the cell, or moist chamber, is as follows: In

order that the current shall be most sensitive, the slide should

first be brought nearly to the temperature of the body by holding

it for a few minutes in the hand. A small quantity of the liquid

to be examined (blood, for example), is then to be placed in each

cell, and a thin cover glass placed upon them. held down for

a moment with the hands, the air within the cavities will become

slightly rarified, and the cover glass so firmly held in place by

atmospheric pressure as to require no artificial attachment. Upon

removal of the fingers, it will be found that the centre of the cay-

ities is occupied with a bubble of air, while a thin annulus abou

the circumference, as well as the connecting capillary tubes, is

Fig. 75.

occupied by the fluid. The slide is now ready for inspection. If

Placed beneath the microscope, and the instrument is focussed

“pon the connecting channel, a number of corpuscles, red and

white, will be observed, but quite quiescent. Let the finger be

now approached to the neighborhood of either cell, when at once a

current, more or less rapid, according to its proximity, commences

to flow beneath the object glass; remove the finger, and the direc-

tion of the current is reversed. The current is caused by the

€xpansion of the air bubble in the cell, in consequence of the heat

radiated from the finger; and its rapidity may be controlled to a

nicety. by regulating the proximity of the finger. So sensitive is

the apparatus, that even with the highest powers, a corpuscle,

Stanule or ceil in the field of view, may be leisurely turned over and

Over in any desirable position, thus affording an unequalled means

of observation and study to the microscopist ; and while the eye

IS examining at leisure the behavior of the objects. beneath it, the

378 MICROSCOPY.

mind is charmed with the simplicity of the means by which these

motions are controlled. In the cell here described, no foreign

liquid is added to the material under examination. Moreover, if

each cell be entirely filled, but with liquids of different densities,

the cell holding the denser liquid being placed slightly uppermost

upon the rotating stage of the microscope, the action of gravity

will cause two currents to flow in opposite directions through the

communicating channels, and in this way the phenomena of trans-

fusion, crystallization, etc., may be observed for a considerable

length of time, which otherwise are brought to sight only with

difficulty. At the conclusion of the description, the ingenious and

useful device was highly praised by those members present, who

were best able to appreciate its value, and its exhibition beneath

the microscope was the occasion of much interest.

AERIAL Stace Micrometers.—Dr. Pigott has called the atten-

tion of the Royal Microscopical Society to a novel mode of using

micrometers. He places the micrometer below the achromatic

condenser, and thus employs its image as a stage micrometer, fo-

cussing the condenser so as to make the image of the micrometer

coincide with the plane of the object on the stage. This remedies

the greatest defect of other stage micrometers (as Fraunhofer’s),

since the accuracy which is necessarily diminished in proportion

to the magnifying power employed, is at the same time increased

by the whole amplifying power of the achromatic condenser.

Hence this arrangement more nearly resembles in accuracy the

ocular micrometers, and it might with nearly equal propriety

be called an eye-piece micrometer, since its second image is formed

in the ocular along with that of the object. It possesses the valu-

able property of reading off the size of objects directly, without

troublesome computation and without allowance for the power

of the ocular. Either the cobweb micrometer or the lines ruled

on glass may be used, and the arrangement should be such that

the micrometer lines should gaei on the stage in precisely a defi-

nite proportion of their natural s An accuracy of 470000 of

an inch is theoretically quite ssihsdatte by this plan. With the

cobweb micrometer this arrangement seems nearly faultless, save

the first trouble of combining the apparatus so as to get a perfectly

accurate reading : but, with lines on glass, the glass plate, with its

imperfections as well as its lines, necessarily gives an image W which

MICROSCOPY. 879

is perhaps as annoying as if the plate, instead of its image, were

in the focus of the eye lens.

Tur Micro-sprcrroscorr. — Dr. E. J. Gayer has contrived and

published in the Transactions of the Royal Microscopical Society,

a micro-spectroscope consisting of a collimating lens and one or

more prisms occupying the position of the ocular, and immedi-

ately above these a telescope, suitably inclined, for examining the

spectra. According to Hogg, and other authorities, the first appli-

cation of the spectroscope to the microscope was made by Mr. H.

C. Sorby who placed a triangular prism below the stage, the object

being situated in the spectrum. As this was inapplicable to

opaque objects, Mr. Huggins proposed to adapt a direct vision

spectroscope to the ocular, which he accomplished by inserting the

collimative-tube of a star spectroscope into the body of the micro-

Scope in the usual position of the eye-piece. The Sorby-Browning

contrivance has so completely superseded these arrangements that

they have been nearly forgotton, and Dr. Gayer has rediscovered

Mr. Huggins’ arrangement without knowing it. He combines with

it the Sorby-Browning plan of adding a side stage for the com-

parison of spectra, and seems to secure an increase of light by

Placing the slit nearer the objective, about an inch above it. On

the other hand, those most familiar with the Sorby-Browning eye-

Piece form, claim that it has sufficient light and dispersion for its

use, and that its absorption bands are not only wide enough but

more distinct than if magnified by a telescope.

Bricurs on Tea anp Corrox. — Mr. M. C. Cooke describes a

new species of fungus occurring on blighted leaves of the tea plant,

from Cachar, India. “Hendersonia theecola Cooke, Perithecia glo-

bose, black, prominent, pierced at the apex, scattered over both

surfaces, or subgregarious ; spores cylindrical, rounded at the ends,

triseptate, pale brown, on long hyaline pedicels (.0004—.0005 in.),

-01-.0125 millimetres long without the pedicels: on leaves of

Thea,” Picking off the diseased leaves and burning them is the

only remedy suggested for this blight, which shares with the punct-

ures of an unknown insect the credit of destroying the plants.

Seeds of American cotton naturalized at Dharwar, India, af-

fected with « Black blight,” manifested but little injury externally,

but on being crushed were found to be filled with a sooty powder

aPpearing like the spores of an Ustilago. On closer examination

380 MICROSCOPY.

Mr. Cooke became satisfied that the spores were originally concate-

nate, though soon breaking up into subglobose individuals, and he

therefore describes them as anew species of Torula (Torula incar-

cerata Cooke) notwithstanding their anomalous habitat. As a

Torula it must be considered a sequence rather than the cause of

the decay of the seed, while the opposite would be fairly presumed

of an Ustilago.

TripEscent Encravine.— Mr. Rutherford of New York, long

ago contrived a machine, worked by an electro-magnetic engine,

which ruled upon glass microscopical test objects consisting of lines

of iridescent fineness; and the beautiful iridescence of Nobert’s

lines by opaque or dark-field illumination is almost as familiar to

microscopists as that of mother-of-pearl or of some of the diatoms.

Recently Mr. Wm. A. Rogers of the Cambridge Observatory

has engraved upon glass, lines of great beauty and considerable `

fineness. Those of medium fineness, especially, glisten beautifully

with rainbow-colored light. The lines from 4 inch to z,/55 inch,

suitable for use in optical instruments as a substitute for spider-

web or diamond rulings on glass, are remarkably clear, distinct

and uniform in their spacing; while the finer lines excel in fine-

ness and distinctness any engraving previously seen by the writer.

Those of 553,55 inch are perfectly successful, while those of ssd00

inch are capable of being defined and counted. Some of Mr.

Rogers’ engraving are made in stars like Mr. Stanistreet’s lines.

APERTURES OF OBJECTIVES. — The Tolles y, sent to London

as proof of the utilization of more than 82° aperture in balsam,

has been carefully examined by Messrs. C. Brooke, H. Lawson,

W. J. Gray and S. J. M’Intire, who report an angle in air of 145°,

in water 91°, in balsam 79°. Mr. Wenham believes the balsam

angle might have been three degrees higher in hard instead of fluid

balsam. Doubtless four more competent judges could not have

been selected in the world, and their report will be likely to be

generally accepted unless it can be shown that a higher angle

might have been utilized at some other point of practically useful

adjustment, a question which te can scarcely have failed to con-

sider in preparing the report

UNDER-CORRECTED Ossectives.—The advantage of these lenses;

which have only lately attracted much attention, was distinctly and

ey. acknowledged by Mr. Wales in the year 1865. At that

MICROSCOPY. 381

time he patented his well known objectives with two backs; one

back being calculated to give a result of perfect correction for

color, this being required by many microscopists, and being desir-

able for many kinds of work; and the other back having the lens

slightly undercorrected for color, for better performance in pho-

tography and in extreme resolution by oblique light. It was, and

is, claimed by Mr. Wales that such combinations furnish to micro-

scopists a really valuable choice of qualities and of working power

in objectives.

Stupents’ Microscopes. — Since the publication in this Journal

of a paper on the above subject, J. W. Queen & Co. have greatly

improved their model of students’ microscope, availing themselves

liberally of the modern suggestions on the subject. They have

so introduced, under the name of Popular Microscope, a simpli-

fied and cheapened form which seems fully equal to the old style

of students’ stand. Experienced microscopists will be the first to

appreciate the efforts of manufacturers to furnish really good in-

struments at a price which will render them popular and thereby

extensively useful.

A New Ocurar Micromerer. — Dr. Pigott advises that the

lines of an eye-piece micrometer be engraved on a plano-convex

lens of long focus, such as a spectacle glass. As he explains that

the convexity is too slight to appreciably alter the effect of the

ocular, this form can only excel in ease of obtaining accuracy of

workmanship, as compared with the commonly used contrivance

of a stage micrometer cut down to such size as to lie in the focus

of the eye-lens.

Bioop-pisks or THE SaLMon.— Mr. George Gulliver called the

attention of the East Kent Natural History Society to the preém- -

inent size among osseous fishes, of red corpuscles of the blood of

the salmon family, those of Salmo Jontinalis having a mean length

of 45s inches and breadth of zzisg inches. On account of this

peculiarity of size, “ Science Gossip” aptly suggests the choice of

this blood to novices in microscopy who desire to study the blood

of fishes,

Tur Hicuesr Power. — Messrs. Powell & Lealand have com-

Pleted and exhibited a one-eightieth inch objective which has an

angular aperture of 160°, works through glass covers .003 thick,

382 NOTES.

and is fairly up to its nominal power, giving an amplification of

4,000 with the lowest ocular. It is said to give sufficient light

and good definition. Its working properties are little known at

present.

Rep BLoop CorruscLES. — Mr. Malassez notices a general ten-

dency of these bodies to diminish in number and increase in size

in the lower animals. The following figures indicate the estimated

number to a cubic millimetre; in the goat, 18,000,000; in the

camel, 10,000,000; in man, 4,000,000; in the porpoise, 3,600,000 ;

in birds, 4,000,000 to 1,600,000; in osseous fishes, 2,009,000 to

700,000, and in cartilaginous fishes, 230,000 to 140,000.

Nature or Marxtnes.— Dr. Pigott believes the spherules of

butterflies’ scales to be more difficult of resolution than equally

separated lines in Nobert’s bands. On the other hand, it has been

believed that diatom markings were more easily resolved than

Nobert’s lines of equal fineness; a difference which, if confirmed,

might give some hint as to the nature of the various markings.

Microscoric Tors. — Mr. T. Curtiss sent for exhibition at a

meeting of the Brighton and Sussex Natural History Society,

slides consisting of a variety of figures of flowers, insects and

birds, artificially formed of beautifully arranged scales of butter-

flies and moths. Some of the figures consist of as many as 400

scales, and all were considered wonderfully perfect and beautiful.

Tue Varur or ILLUMINATION. — Mr. Hogg stated, at a meeting

of the Royal Microscopical Society, that with Wenham’s new illu-

minator he resolved N. rhomboides very satisfactorily with a $

objective made by Andrew Ross twenty-five years ago. Probably

this was a 4 by present nomenclature.

A New Socrery. — A “ Medical Microscopical Society” has

been organized in London, under the presidency of Mr. J. Hogg-

NOTES.

Tue daily press has made us familiar with the facts, so far as

known, regarding the death of Capt. Hall of the Polaris. His

ship penetrated two hundred and sixteen miles (Lat. 82° 16’)

farther north than Dr. Kane, or in fact any other vessel. Capt.

Parry attained a more northern point by means of sledges. Hall

NOTES. 383

claimed that Kane’s Polar sea is a strait fifteen miles wide. He

crossed it in a sledge journey, from which he returned to die

aboard his ship.

We are sanguine that the Polaris will be found, and that the sci-

entific results will be commensurate with the care taken in the out-

fit at Washington and the selection of men to conduct observations.

It will be remembered that the chief of the scientific corps is Mr.

Emil Bessels, a most promising naturalist, author of several works

on the embryology of the invertebrates, and of an unpublished

memoir on the embryology of insects. Meanwhile we must wait

anxiously, perhaps for three or four months, before knowing of the

fate of Bessels and his comrades.

Dr. E. Coves has been attached to the International British

Northern Boundary Survey of the 49th parallel, which takes the

field on the first of June.

Tur New Albany, Ind., Society of Natural History is doing good

work in developing the natural history of Indiana and has several

active workers in its ranks. Located ina rich fossiliferous region,

also in the locality of several caves and subterranean streams, we

look to the members of this society for important additions to our

Knowledge in these departments, and we are also pleased to note

that they are doing much in collecting the stone and bone relics of

the former inhabitants of the region, having already made a large

and important collection of specimens, as we can testify from a

Visit of two years ago. The officers of the society for the fol-

lowing year are — President, John Sloan; Vice Presidents, Charles

Hutchinson and F. L. Morse; Secretary, W. W. May; Treasurer,

J. K. Walts; Librarian, Frank Spellman ; Curators, W. A. Clapp,

Wm. Borden, S. L. S. Smith, John Williamson, Wm. Clark.

Tue Papers on Natural History read at the Washington meeting

of the National Academy of Science in April, 1873, were on the

following subjects :— Biographical Memoir of Dr. John Torrey,

by Dr. Asa Gray; On Reproduction in Progeny of Defects pro-

duced by Injury in Parents, by Dr. Charles E. Brown-Sequard ;

On the Unity of the System of Life in Animals and the true

Principle of Gradation in the various Animal Types, by Prof. A.

Guyot. The following members were elected :— Professor Elias

Loomis, Prof. Joseph Lovering, Prof. W. A. Norton, Dr. Theodore

Gill, Dr. J. J, Woodward.

384 BOOKS RECEIVED.

WE regret that Professors Marsh and Cope have considered it

necessary to carry their controversy to the extent that they have.

Wishing to maintain the perfect independence of the NATURALIST

in all matters involving scientific criticism, we have allowed both

parties to have their full say, but feeling that now the controversy

between the authors in question has come to be a personal one

and that the Narura.isr is not called upon to devote further space

to its consideration, the continuance of the subject will be allowed

only in the form of an appendix at the expense of the author.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Preliminary Descriptions of Three New Species of Cetacea from Pe Coast of California.

e Proc. — Acad. Sci.) By W.H. Dall. Jan. 29, 1873. 8vo, pp. 2

nth Biennial Report of the Superintendent of Public Tirei of the State of Illinois. By

r% ton Ba kieke vo, pp. 231. 1871-1572.

Pr bse les de Biologie appliques a la Medicine. By Ch. Girard. 12mo, pp. 108, Paris, 1872.

Schriften pect Vereins zur Verbreitung naturwissenschaftlicher Kenntnisse in Wien. 1mo, pp.

415. With 2 w cuts. Band xii. Jahr; rps ang, 1871-2. Wien, 1872.

Eue in de T Institut National Genevo Svo. No. 36. Vo l. xvii, pp. 1-216, with map. Ge-

neve, 1

Balieitn Mensuel de dela Societe d’Acclimatation. 8yo. Second Series. Tome ix, No.ll. No-

vember,

Bulletin Entomologischer Zeitschrift. 8vo. Jahrgang 16. Parts 2-4. W Pa st oe kig 1872.

oires a Societe de EASy @ Histoire Naturelle de Geneve. 4tvo. Second

Part. With 90 plates: Paris, 1872.

he Half-yearly Abstract of ihe Medical Sciences. Vol. lvi. January, 1873. Philadelphia.

Chart of Geological Nomenclature intended to express the sco of Minnesota to = = eat

Geological Series of the Earth, and the probable equivalency of s aaf the names the formations

have Papan vod es Fey opm Statesandin Europe. By N. H. Winewet

On the d Champlain Eras in New England, 8yo, pp. 16. (From the Am. Jour, Sci.

and Arts, Vou, Men, 1873. 5 By James D. Dana T

gear p ay of th A e Eclectic Medical Society of the State of New York for the year 1871. 8V0,

p. 365, any,

Notes on the Avi-fauna o of the Aleutian Islands from Unalashka eastward. By W. H. Dall. 8vo

pp. li. (From Proc. Cal. Acad, = sng he eg reer

Proceedings of the Royal Society, Vol. xx. Nos. 1 8 p: amphs., 8vo. London, 1871-72.

List of Members of the Royal Society. dto, pp. 31. tice, Nov. D 30, 1871.

Philoso, hica? Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 4to. Vol. clxi. Part 2. 1871.

ro a 2. London.

The Depths of the Sea. By ¢ mpson. 8vo, pp. 527. Ziustrated, Macmillan &

Peace P York a b ge Wyville Thompson , PP.

The Relations of Botany to Agriculture. William S. Clark. 8vo, pp. 29. Boston, 1873.

syo, Pp. 3. si oleeplera in the Collection of pac ‘Dimmock, No. 619 State Street, Springfield, Mass.

0, , F: 873.

The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine. - The Can an Naturalist and Quarterly Jour-

don, Feb., Meh, Apl., Ma, 1813. p or a dence. Sento ae A No.1.

Aea r Acoli Pone liep Perth, Jan., 1873, P aiee dien. Que "March,

ich bh ye n, January - May, 1873, il, May, 187

Feu a des Jeunes Naturalisies. — Feb. 1, Bulletin of f the Torrey e ana Club, New

York. ch, Apr 13 ; a

The Lens, icago, ap aA , April, I: American Jean nal of Medical Sciences. Phil

Nature. London Jan, 30 - May 3, isa adelphia. April, 1873. 2

Science Gossip. London, Feb., Meh., 1873, Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science.

The Field. London, Feb. 1- May 10, 1873. London, January, April, “IST.

oe New York, Proceedings of the California Academy y

March - June, 1873, Sciences. San Francisco. Vol. iv, Part i

The Canadian Entomologist. London. Vul. Bulletin of the Bufalo Society of Natur

v. January, March, 1873. Sciences. Buffalo. Vol. i, No. I, 1873. 2

La sag ro > London, Fcb, 8- May 10, Proceedings Academy Natural Sciences, Ph

America alof Seunèe and Arts. New adelphia, Part 1. 197: ‘al

Haven, Mareh ~May, Transactions of the American Entomological

Revue Scientifique. Paris Feb, 8-M Society. Viitudelphia, Vol. iv. Nos. 1-3;

peer As Botany. joiel Feb,- Mar, 173 The De a A Magazine or Monthy at

The Academy. Loudon, Feb. 15- May 1, 1573, of Geology. [ov., 1872- May. jay

Journal of the Fe Stl Institute, Philadel Journal or the + Quekel Microscopical Ciub.

phia, March

A Institute “Bulletin. Salem. Vol. iv. Nos.

10, 1, 12, 1872; 1 and 2, 1573.

Lendon, Oct., 1872, Jan., APT.,

Toy Lee? Se N eae ee i? on ae

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

‘Vol. VII. —JULY, 1873.—No. 7.

LOE ORDOOD I~

THE PRAIRIE WOLF, OR COYOTE: CANIS LATRANS.

BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U.S.A.

A large amount of fresh material, gathered on the Upper Mis-

souri, may furnish some data bearing upon the question, now agi-

tated, of the resemblance of the coyoté to the dog of the bronze

period. The examination is made of about twenty skins with

skulls, and several specimens in the flesh. I compare them with

a dog very nearly of the same size; selecting for this purpose a

` thorough-bred pointer—an animal which, in its enlarged brain-box,

ned muzzle, pendulous lips, long, loose, silky, drooping ears,

close, glossy coat and rat-like tail, departs as much, perhaps, as

any breed, from an original stock, in all the fortuitous points en-

-grafted through domestication. Even in this case the likeness in

all essential respects is striking; and, as shown in the sequel,

Specimens of Indian dogs of this region can be found not certainly

distinguishable from a coyoté, for a reason that will be evident.

differences between the coyoté and pointer become reduced to

character of pelage and physiognomy; while the facial aspect

tself, So strikingly diverse in its entirety, appears, when analyzed,

- Much less substantially different. X

To begin with size and proportions : it appears from the follow-

ing z measurements that the pointer and coyoté differ less in these

Tespects than the normal individual variation Lae eoyotts them-

STRE gree ene

at according to Act of of C in the year 1873, by the PEABODY ‘Acapewy OF

on es of ine Binary dia Washi re Bi ng

FORST, Se vu. 25 (885)

386 THE PRAIRIE WOLF, OR COYOTE.

selves; and that there is no essential discrepancy whatever in

general ‘* build” :—

COMPARATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF A MEDIUM SIZED MALE POINTER

: AND SEVERAL COYOTES OF BOTH SEXES.

The measurements are given in inches and decimals.

Pointer! Large | Medium | Large | Small

E O i Coyoté. | Coyoté. | Coyoté. | Coyoté.

TT . | No. 2692 | No. 2735 | No. 2732 | No. 2731

Standing height at shoulder....... Sus 24 24 21 22 19

Tip of nose to root of tail........ ence 36 36 33 84 28

Tail to end of vertebræ 13 14 12 14 il

Tail to end of hairs 14 18 15 16°50 13°50

Tip Of nose tO €y€...s.sesessscecrecsse 4 4 os TG 4 3°50

Tip of nose to ear 8 copeonee 7:50 T5 7

Tip of nose to OCCIpUt......ceeeseeeees 9 8°50 8°25 8°50 750

Elbow to end of fore claws l4 13°25 12 12°50 | 11°50

Knee to end of hind claws............ 16 16°25 WU ay ae soscuent

Heel to end of hind claws.......++...5 8 7-25 675 7 6:50

Width across eyes at inner canthus... PAG bc ca 100 | caries E C

Width across eyes at outer canthus... A ES Pen a | i cw OE

Width across inner base of ears...... 6 parokio + éiuweeea | terme

Height of ear above notch............ 5 fasta SS 4 Dee ei eee

Width across tips of outstretched ears 15 See IW bs ree

Greatest width of ear pressed flat.... B25 fia lees B05 | E E

Tight girth of muzzle at middle....... P50} oi PRL ESER aon eee

Tight girth of chest 26 ane 19 jot See

Tight girth of belly a Panek ee seeserer

Longest hairs of back a ici 5 O N

Width across hairs of tail pressed flat. | ........ | ........ POO [scrii asa

The coyoté appears more stoutly built, but this is deceptive,

owing to the dense furring ; the various girths show the contrary.

It is, however, somewhat more “compact,” the limbs lacking 4

certain freedom of swing, if not being slightly shorter.

It would not be much to the point to compare the pelages, since

the cultivated coat of the pointer differs quite as much from the

shaggy one of numerous other dogs, as from that of the coyoté.

It is interesting to observe, however, that even the closest-

THE PRAIRIE WOLF, OR COYOTE. 387

pointer shows, in anger, a slight though decided “ mane.” The

mane of the coyoté is very conspicuous, the longest hairs over the

back measuring four to six inches. The furring of the tail is as

extremely diverse. The tail of a coyoté ordinarily droops to the

suffrago, the hairs reaching beyond half-way to the heels; it is per-

fectly straight ; the “ brush ” is terete-tapering, perhaps not quite

so full for its length as that of a fox: in absolute size it is just

jntermediate between that of a Vulpes velox and V. macrourus,

both of which are smaller animals. But furring aside, we find in

the total lack of curve in the thorough-bred pointer’s tail, a curious

coincidence if nothing more. This straightness, prized by sports-

men, the result of breeding, and often cruelly insured by removal

of the terminal joints so that some of the tendons lose insertion,

is a feature in which the pointer departs from most dogs (the curly

tail has been laid down as a specific characteristic of ‘Canis famili-

aris”), and resumes that of the coyoté.

Fortuitous conditions of pelage aside, the physiognomy, an

almost equally casual matter, is the most striking difference be-

tween the two. It is difficult to portray an animal’s facial expres-

sion in words; in this case we can hardly do better than to say

that the aspect is just between a wolf’s and a fox’s, but more

“doggy” than either. Audubon’s figure is good; if anything, the

front view of the upper figure is too “ foxy.” The coyoté’s face

would be exactly matched by that of many cur-dogs, especially

slender-nosed kinds, did it not lack almost entirely the frontal

prominence of the latter, a feature which in some kinds of lap-

dogs is exaggerated into monstrosity. The upper profile of the

Coyoté’s face, from occiput to snout, deviates not much from a

Straight line, the forehead being remarkably flat. This flatness

gives an appearance of breadth that is deceptive, the real width

being both absolutely and relatively less than in the pointer. But

the width across the ears of the pointer (six inches instead of four)

is largely produced by the drooping of these organs down the side

of the head. The lips are thin and scant, ordinarily showing th

teeth, always parting after the animal is dead. There is some-

thing peculiar about the eyes ; they seem to look more directly for-

ward than those of the pointer. They are set very near together»

the inner angles being only about an inch and a half apart, yet the

obliquity carries the outer canthi over three inches apart. The

fats are very large, triangular, pointed, upright, with very stiff

388 THE PRAIRIE WOLF, OR COYOTE.

cartilage. When pressed apart, their tips form with the point of

the snout a nearly equilateral triangle. In fine, the pointer’s physi-

ognomy differs from the coyoté’s mainly in its special engrafted

features, and these produce a discrepancy much greater than that

existing between the coyoté and many mongrel 4 ogs.

It is unnecessary to- compare the skulls of the animals. There

“are no differences of moment, at least viewing the immense dis-

crepancies existing in the crania of different breeds of dogs. Nor

does an “‘ average ” dog’s skull differ from a coyoté’s by anything

like as much as do the skulls of C. latrans and C. lupus.

It appears, then, that the pointer, though a highly specialized

case of the domestic dog, is identical in essential structural points

with the coyoté; differs less in size than coyotés vary among them-

selves ; differs no more in pelage than it does from many other

dogs; and, in details of form and physiognomy, differs vastly less

than various dogs do among themselves. It appears, furthermore,

that close as the likeness is, it is less than that subsisting between

the coyote and various kinds of dogs domesticated by the Indians.

. For example, there is nothing in Audubon’s description of the

Hare-Indian dog specifically inapplicable to the coyoté. Even the

colors are the same; the difference in pattern (masses of blackish

instead of brindling) is not of the least consequence, since it is

entirely unstable. Richardson noted close traits of resemblance,

even to the remarkable mode of outery—a few, short, sharp barks

followed by a prolonged shrill howl. The fact that this particular

strain of dog is bred beyond the present distribution of the coyoté,

is, of course, not tothe point in the general question. But we

have much more striking and unquestionable evidence of relation-

ship by direct descent of some Indian dogs from the coyoté. In

the first place we should note that the habitual antagonism of these

dogs and the coyotés is nothing but the animosity all dogs show to

strangers of their own kind, an aversion probably rooted in jeal-

ousy, which is a strong canine trait. Next, we continually find dogs

of both sexes, on the frontier, deserting their haunts at particular

(sexual) periods ; and if the occurrence of a feral wolf-dog (coyoté

Q and dog 2) has not been recorded, there are numerous cases of

_ the production of the same (from coyoté # and dog @) in domes

_tication. I have, finally, information which I consider perfectly

‘satisfactory, i in still stronger evidence of the readiness with which

the ro animals interbreed. Indians not unfrequently bring it

“THE IRREGULAR MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS. 389

about themselves; on suitable occasions they picket out their ?

dogs over night, to procure the cross, with constant success. What

profitable quality is secured, I do not know; but such is the case.

These crosses are not known to be otherwise than fertile; and the

result is, in every Indian community there are mongrel dogs shad-

ing into coyotés in every degree; all having the clear wolf strain,

and some being scarcely distinguishable from a prairie wolf.

The matter of color merits passing mention. The coyoté is as

constant in this respect as other ferze, and I think its peculiar col-

oring can be reasonably traced in certain dogs. The animal is

dingy white as a ground color, which remains so on all the under

parts; above it is suffused with tawny-brown (bright in summer,

paler and more grayish, or quite gray, in winter), this color over-

laid with a clouding of black. This black is rarely uniformly dis-

tributed; it tends to streakiness along the back and across the

shoulders and hips, producing a pattern similar to that of a ‘“brin-

dled” bull-dog. But there is a more striking feature, and one very

characteristic of the animal (the brindled gray and black being

shared exactly by an ordinary strain of C. lupus). The top of the

muzzle, back of the ears, and outside of both fore and hind legs,

are usually nearly uniformly tawny. This shade is precisely the

so-called “tan” of the black-and-tan terrier, and has the same

general distribution. In an attempt to trace pedigree, a fact of

this sort seems to rank in value with the sii ao ina horse or

mule, of the stripes of a quagga-stock.

THE IRREGULAR MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS.

BY T: MARTIN TRIPPE.

edits

Tae annual migration of birds ; their moving north and south in

` the spring and autumn, is obvious enough to every one. In its

_ Various phases it is well discussed in various ornithological works,

a is pretty thoroughly understood, comparatively speaking at

. But in addition to their vernal and autumnal changes of

habitat, movements occasionally take place among birds not de-

7 — the seasons; invasions as it were of certain prov-

390 THE IRREGULAR MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS.

inces where they were before unknown, and a disappearance from

their former range. Similar movements take place and, indeed,

are constantly going on, among all ranks of the animal and vege-

table kingdoms, though owing to their preéminent mobility, birds

afford the most conspicuous examples, excepting, perhaps, the

class of insects. The slow but sure progress of the Norway rat

from the east is well known, it having gradually spread itself in

the course of one hundred and fifty years, from Persia to the Pa-

cific Ocean. The steady eastward march of the Colorado potato

bug is another example, while among plants, Leucanthemum vul-

gare and Rudbeckia hirta afford familiar instances.

Audubon speaks of the chestnut-sided warbler as one of the

rarest Sylvias of his day. In his “ Ornithological Biography,” he

tells us that he searched for it for years in vain; and finally on ob-

taining five specimens in the same spring, considered himself

extremely fortunate. At the present day it is, in the very regions

where Audubon spent years in collecting, one of the commonest

warblers ; and the most inexperienced collector could shoot, not five,

but five hundred in one season; indeed I have seen it far outnum-

bering all the other species together, and literally swarming in the

woods. At the same time, the mourning warbler, rare in the time

of Wilson and Audubon, remains quite as much so still; only in

certain other localities it has been found very abundant. Now it

is not to be supposed that the former species could have been com-

mon in the eastern states, and yet have eluded the observation of

Audubon ; and it is not at all probable that their present abundance

is owing to the natural increase of the species. Plainly there must

have been a migration or extension of range from some other re-

gion where it was at that time abundant; and in the same manner

the next fifty years may see the mourning warbler extending its

limits further and further eastward from Minnesota, where it is now

common, until it is as abundant in the Atlantic States as the

chestnut-sided warbler.

A somewhat similar case, but occurring in a much more limited

space of time, happened in my own experience. In a series of sev-

eral years’ close observation at Orange, New Jersey, I searched for

the great-crested flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), year after year,

but all in vain; and what made the fact very singular was, that

twelve or fifteen miles off, I had seen the bird sufficiently often to

Convince me that, if not common, it was by no means rare. Yet

THE IRREGULAR MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS. 391

for some inexplicable reason it did not inhabit the country imme-

diately about Orange, for, although in the woods nearly every week

for years, I never saw it until, after I had almost despaired of

ever finding it, I did succeed in shooting a single specimen. This

was in the fall; the next spring I sawa pair. In the summer, I

went away ; and, after an absence of two years, returning to Or-

ange, I strolled through the woods, my old hunting grounds, and,

to my surprise, almost the first bird I saw was the great-crested

flycatcher. Subsequently I scarcely ever took a walk through the

woods, without seeing or hearing it.

Now for what reason it had neglected quite an extensive range,

in every way suited for its habits, and what impelled it so sud-

denly to invade and occupy that region, I cannot possibly im-

agine, as the woods had undergone but little change in that brief

period and that little by no means prejudicial to its habits.

The purple finch was another instance of the same character,

though less striking, from its known erratic disposition. For three

years, I never saw more than a single pair; then it made its ap-

pearance during an unusually cold and stormy fall, in large num-

bers, and after that, for several years it was a regular spring and

autumn visitor, so that I came to look for it as regularly as the

robin or fox sparrow. The pine finch, also erratic, I never saw

at all, for five years; then it appeared in great numbers just before

a severe winter, and thereafter, for a space of several years, it was

a regular winter visitor, staying till late in March, and coming as

regularly in mild seasons as in cold.

In the time of Wilson, the redheaded woodpecker was one of the

very commonest birds of the orchard and farm; and so abundant

and familiar were they that, at the time of his writing his ac-

Count of that bird, he says he knew of several nests within a few

miles of Philadelphia. At the present day however, the redheaded

Woodpecker is not a frequent bird in the vicinity of towns and

Villages of the regions of which Wilson wrote. At Orange, I

never saw more than a dozen individuals in any one year; and all

of these, with very few exceptions, were young birds in the fall,

found with few or no exceptions, on the edges of heavy timber, and

never in orchards or anywhere near the outskirts of villages. I

do not speak from very extended experience, but in the course of

many pedestrian tours through northern New Jersey and southeast-

ern New York, I never found this bird either common or familiar.

392 THE IRREGULAR MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS.

Yet at the west, it has now exactly the habits described by

Wilson, frequenting the orchards and coming into the busiest streets

of considerable towns with the freedom and unconcern of the

warbling vireo and chipping sparrow ; indeed, so familiar are they

that they frequently alight on the roofs of houses, and tap on the

shingles, looking down occasionally, with the utmost sang froid,

upon the passers-by. Here, if I mistake not, is a gradual with-

drawal from certain regions of country, and a change in the habits

of those few remaining.

A similar disappearance has taken place, from some localities at

least, of the hairy woodpecker. Of this bird I never shot more

than a single specimen at Orange, though hunting for it for

many years, through quite an extensive range suitable for its hab-

itat. Yet according to Wilson, it was everywhere one of the most

abundant and familiar birds in the Atlantic States ; an observation

indéed, made by other authors, and which I have confirmed myselt

at several points, yet for some unaccountablé reason it has failed

to take possession of a considerable region, admirably adapted

apparently to his habits; or, if it ever did occupy it, for some

equally unaccountable cause, has almost wholly deserted it.

The Carolina parrakeet is another instance of a gradual with-

drawal from a former range, the bird rarely appearing now, where

formerly it was quite abundant. This may be partially accounted for

indeed, by the settlement of the country; the valley of the Ohio,

where it was formerly common, having, in the course of half a cen-

tury, been converted from a wilderness into a thickly settled coun-

try. But this explanation is only partially satisfactory ; for in its

former range are still large tracts of almost primitive wilderness,

where it might find every requisite for its existence. -

Tn certain portions of Colorado the raven is now a rare bird

where, as the miners have informed me, it was very common, fifteen,

or even ten years ago.

Some of these migrations may be easily explained. Many of

them occur through human agency ; others through climatic modi-

: _ fications. As the settlement of the western frontiers extends, the

quail and the prairie hen, finding abundance of food, extend their

range correspondingly ; and as trees are planted on the plains,*

: *A curious question arises here. The vast tract of treeless prairie lying between the

Missouri river and the Rocky Mountains, forms at present, a very complete barrier be-

n th yl p i fthet gi » Whi > ot a ib į the sottle-~

forests,

cies, as

species,

sults in

course,

THE IRREGULAR MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS. 393

the insectivorous and arboreal species will become abundant in re-

gions where they previously could not exist. The destruction of-

and the draining of swamps must, of course, result in the

diminution of the numbers of the forest and swamp loving spe-

seen very plainly in England at the present day; and

again, the protection afforded from predaceous animals, by the

presence of man, and the thinning out of birds of prey, must

necessarily result in a great increase of the smaller and inoffen-

sive tribes. On the other hand, the persecution to which certain

mainly rapacious, or valuable for food, are subjected, re-

their thinning out or even extermination, unless, as often -

happens, they migrate to other and wilder regions.

Climate influences many extraordinary migrations. A severe

winter will cause northern birds to migrate much further south

than usual, anda long hot summer will entice southern birds to visit

us, which we do not see in ordinary seasons. Such migrations,

however, are only temporary, although I am inclined to think that

birds may subsequently revisit regions, purely from choice, to

which in the first place, they were compelled to fly for safety.

And again, extraordinary seasons may have an indirect influence

upon these movements of birds. In a recent interesting little

article in the Narurauist, Prof. Shaler shows how the flora of New

_ England was probably modified by the recent cold winter ; and of

a modification of the flora would result in a correya

modification of the avi-fauna. Thus, the coniferous trees being

uced in numbers, there would be a similar reduction in the

abundance of pine grosbeaks, finches, crossbills, and other spe-

cies, more or less dependent upon the Coniferæ for food. The

insect fauna also, closely connected with, and necessarily affected

by the slightest change in the flora, must undergo some readjust-

ment, resulting in- a corresponding change among the tan

rous birds. :

ae io. ioe ee

ment of the plains proceeds and trees are planted, this barrier will gradually cease to

pata the arboreal faune of the et mountains and the eas

meet each other. What niin be the result on suc. such allied c

as Op Carolinéneins

Me pam

Willeac

- the one into the other? Sturnella Ludoviciana and S. neglecta,

h pres erve its pec E or will, a hybrid race arise, €

side b;

tain peculiar notes ma habits. On terng hand,

394 AN OCTOPUS INHABITING THE COAST OF NEW ENGLAND.

In many cases, however, it seems impossible to assign any reason

for these irregular migrations. What caused the chestnut-sided

warbler to become so abundant in the eastern states, where it for-

merly was so rare ; what influenced the Carolina parrakeet and the

raven to desert regions where they were once common; and what

caused the appearance of the great-crested flycatcher about

Orange, where for years it had not been seen; and why the hairy

woodpecker shuns the same region, are questions that will puzzle

an ornithologist to answer. Certainly, in none of these cases, was

persecution, or lack of proper shelter and food, or change of cli-

mate the impelling cause. It may have been the same motive that

influenced them, that ofttimes has impelled the races of men to

migrate en masse, as in the days of the Huns and Goths,—the mere

desire to see and possess new countries, with the vague expecta-

tion of bettering their condition thereby. Certain it is that, what-

ever the motive, the tribes of birds migrate here and there, invade

and hold new regions, and disappear from others; and move to

` and fro, upon the face of the earth, in the same manner as do the

tribes of men.

DISCOVERY OF AN OCTOPUS INHABITING THE

COAST OF NEW ENGLAND.

BY PROF. A. E. VERRILL.

One of the most interesting of the numerous discoveries made

during the dredgings carried on in the Bay of Fundy last summer,

in connection with the work of the U. S. Fish Commission, was à

fine new species of Octopus (O. Bairdii Verrill) which inhabits

the deeper waters of that region. It seems to be not uncommon

below seventy-five fathoms, judging from the fact that we met W ith

it in five different localities. All the specimens obtained were

males, and it is probable that the females are much larger than

the males, as in other species of the genus.

Most of the specimens were kept alive for several days, in order

to observe its habits. Several good drawings were made by Mr.

J. H. Emerton, showing its different attitudes. When at rest it

remained at the bottom of the vessel, adhering firmly by some of

AN OCTOPUS INHABITING THE COAST OF NEW ENGLAND. 395

the basal suckers of its arms, while the outer portions of the arms

were curled back in various positions; the body was held in a

nearly horizontal position and the eyes were usually half-closed

and had a sleepy look ; the Fig. 76.

siphon was usually turned

to one side and was long

enough to be seen in a

view from above (Figs. 76

and 77).

When disturbed, or in

any way excited, the eyes

opened more widely, es-

pecially at night ; the body

became more contracted

and rounded, and was held

more erect; the small tu-

bercles over its surface and

the larger ones above the

eyes were erected, giving

it a very decided appear-

ance of excitement and

watchfulness. It was rarely, if ever, observed actually to creep

about by means of its arms and suckers, but would swim readily

and actively, circling around the pans or jars in which it was kept

many times before resting again. In swimming backward the par-

Octopus Bairdii. Dorsal view.

Fig. 77.

PORAD Baird ‘Side ag

tial web connecting the arms together was used as an organ of

locomotion, as well as the siphon, for it and the arms were alter:

nately spread and closed, the closing being done energetically and

396 AN OCTOPUS INHABITING THE COAST OF NEW ENGLAND.

coincidently with the ejection of the water from the siphon, and

the arms after each contraction were all held pointing straight

forward in a compact bundle, so as to afford the least resistance

to the motion. As the motion resulting from each impulse began

to diminish sensibly, the arms were again spread and the same

action repeated. This action of the arms and web recalled that

of the disk of the jelly fishes, only it was much more energetic.

The siphon was bent in different directions to alter the direction

of the motions, and by bending it to the right or left side, back-

ward motions in oblique or circular directions were given, but it

was often bent directly downward and curved backward so that the

jet of water from it served to propel the animal directly forward. 4

This, so far as observed, was its only mode of moving forward.

This mode of swimming forward has previously been observed in

cuttle-fishes (Sepia) and in squids (Loligo). This species was

much more active and animated in the night than during the day, ,

and is probably nocturnal in its habits, when at home. None of a

the specimens could be induced to take food, and none survived n

more than four or five days, although the water was frequently

renewed to keep it cool and pure. They were rather roughly

handled by the dredge, without doubt.

The following description is from the “ American Journal of

Science,” for January, 1872 :—

“ The body is short, thick, somewhat depressed, broadly rounded

posteriorly, separated from the head only by a slight constriction

at the sides. Head almost as broad as the bod , swollen above

€

from the upper side of each eye is a much larger, rough, irreg-

ularly conical, erectile tubercle, which has some sinall, more or less

prominent, conical tubercles on its surface; the whole upper sur-

face of the y, head, and arms is also covered with minute scat-

cording to its direction. Arms subequal, relatively short, stout,

tapering to slender points, connected fo t one-third of their

by a web, whiċh extends as a narrow membrane along thei

have about sixty-five suckers ; those of the fourth pair about sixty.

The right arm of the third pair has its terminal portion, for about

AN OCTOPUS INHABITING THE COAST OF NEW ENGLAND. 397

a third of its entire length, modified for reproductive purpose into

a large spoon-shaped organ, broadly elliptical in ate with the

sides” incurved, somewhat ees at the end, deeply concave

within, where there are arated akin folds; at

the base there is a fold sat init an aes angle, the apex directed

forward, leaving a deep V-shaped sinus behind it, which is in con-

tinuation of a shallow groove formed by a thickening of the web

along the side of the arm and terinin midway between it and

the fourth arm; at the end, the arm te rminates in a small conical

tip, between the two broadly rounded lobes of the spoon-shaped

organ; at the base of this organ there is i i

below which the basal portion Deita about thirty-one E like

those on the other arms. The modified portion of the is con-

siderably longer than the distance between the oria a at its

base and the interbrachial web, and equal to one-half the total

the arms, 1°75 inches ; breadth of the body 1:25; between eyes *7;

length of the arms of the first pair, from mouth, 2°25; from mouth

vi hic of the web -70 ; length of snoditted portion of third right

‘70; breadth of this organ when expanded °45.

y iving the color was usually pale, translucent, bluish-

white, thickly specked with light orange-brown and dark brown.

bor, po B

elo ated. There is no other speci ENIRU n the American

coast, north of Cape Hatteras.. The sou uthern apee is very

; much loge: and very different in many respects.’

THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARLE.

BY ALEXANDER AGASSIZ.

O. F. Müller, in his “ Zoologia Danica” was the first to point

out the existence of certain organs in sea-urchins which have long

remained a puzzle to naturalists. To these organs he gave the

generic name Pedicellaria, and considered them as parasites of the

sea-urchins. Of his genus Pedicellaria he describes three species

which are now known to be either different stages of development,

or different kinds of pedicellarice, situated in various parts of the

shell of the sea-urchin. Our knowledge of the pedicellariz is now

materially changed, first by the views of Delle Chiaje, who, in

1825, figured and described the pedicellariæ of several sea-ur-

chins and starfishes. He however no longer considers them simple

parasites but says distinctly that they form a part of the test of

the Echinoderms and help them in seizing their prey and taking

hold of adjoining bodies. Much of this view has been corrobo-

rated, and like many of the shrewd observations of Delle Chiaje

is gaining only now the recognition it should have received

long ago. Valentin in 1841 gives in his “Anatomy of Echinus”

excellent figures and descriptions of pedicellariae which he con-

siders as organs of prehension. Agassiz at that time suggested

the possibility of their being young stages of Echinoderms, in con-

sequence of the discoveries then made by Sars of the remarkable

development of a species of starfish. This, it is needless to say,

is a view he has long ago abandoned though he is most persistently

credited with it even at the present time. Subsequently, Erdl,

vernoy, Müller and Troschel, Sars, Stimpson, Norman and Stew-

art have figured a number of pedicellarize of Echini and starfishes,

and have made a more or less successful attempt to use their char-

acters as aids in distinguishing closely allied species. An article

on pedicellariz in the ‘‘Annales des Sciences Naturelles” for 1869,

by Perrier, gives a large number of excellent figures of the pedi-

cellarize of starfishes and sea-urchins ; unfortunately, except as 4

mere accumulation of facts, it is useless, the writer ignoring what

had been done for the last twenty years, on the very appendages

he was describing, so that he leaves the question of their nature

(398)

THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARLE. 399

as it stood in the days of Valentin in spite of the many observa-

tions made, and hints of their true nature thrown out by Miller,

Troschel, Sars and A. Agassiz, which would have saved

errier much useless speculation.

No attempt has yet been made to ascertain the homol-

ogies of these organs, and the present article is pig. 79,

intended to give the results which have been

reached by the writer since 1864, from the study

of the embryology of starfishes and Echini.

If we examine the common sea-urchin of the

coast of New England, we shall find, scattered in

between the spines over the whole surface of the

shell, numerous pedicellarize (Figs. 78 and 79).

They consist of a calcareous stem (Fig. 80) artic- O

Fig. 78.

Toa E a a

- ° is surrounded by a muscular sheath expanding into a

2 somewhat swollen portion with a thimble-shaped knob at the end.

This knob, though it seems solid and compact at first sight, is in

reality split into three wedges (Fig. 81a), which can rig. sia.

be opened and shut at will. When open, these pedi-

cellariæ may be compared to a three-pronged fork,

Fig. so, except that the prongs are arranged concentri-

cally instead of on one plane and when closed

they fit into one another as neatly as the pieces

of a puzzle. Fig. 81 represents the end view

of one of these pedicellariz.

If we watch a sea-urchin after he has been

feeding, we shall learn at least one of the

offices which this singular organ performs in

the general economy of the animal. That part

of the food which he ejects passes out of the

anus, an opening on the summit of the body in the small

area where the zones of which the shell is com-

posed converge. The rejected particles, thrown

out in the shape of pellets, are received on

these little forks which close upon them like forceps,

and they are passed from one to the other down the

Side of the body till they are dropped off into

Water. Nothing is more curious and entertaining than to watch

the neatness and accuracy with which this process is performed.

400 THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARLE.

One may see the rejected bits of food passing rapidly along the

m upon which these pedicellariz occur in greatest number, as

if they were so many little roads fur the conveying away of the

refuse matter; nor do the forks cease from their labor till the

surface of the animal is completely clean and free from

Fig. 82, any foreign substance. Were it not for the Fig-%.

pedicellariz the food thus rejected would be-

come entangled among the tentacles and spines,

and remain stranded there till the motion of the

the water washed it away. These curious little

organs have other offices besides this very laud-

able and useful one of scavenger. They occur

over the whole body, while they pass the excre-

ments only along certain given lines. They are

especially numerous about the mouth where they

are much shorter (Fig. 79) and more compact ;

the muscular sheath below the head is quite

short, the tripartite head resting directly upon the

limestone rod of the

On watching the movements of the pedicellariz we find that

they are extremely active, opening and shutting their forks un-

ceasingly, reaching forward in every possible direction, the flexi-

bility of the sheath enabling them to sweep in all the corners and

recesses between the spines, and occasionally

they are rewarded by catching hold of some un-

fortunate little crustacean, worm or mollusk

which has become entangled among the spines.

_, They do not seem to pass their prey to the mouth

Is ` (at least I have never succeeded in seeing sea-

: urchins pass the food thus caught), but merely

throw it off from the surface like any other refuse

matter. Their mode of eating, also, a sort of

browsing, by means of their sharp teeth along

the surface of the rocks, does not favor the idea of using

pedicellariz as forks.

Among the different kinds of sea-urchins we find a great many

- modifications of the pedicellarie just described. In the genus

‘Cidaris the muscular sheath below the head is short and slender

PLE Se eT TTT

St tO een ce, 92 aa

emenn

COPA nw

- thf ow

Sore

of bundles of longitudinal rods. In some Spatangoids the

(Fi ig. 82) ; ; it is placed upon the summit of a limestone rod made

THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARIE. 401

separate prongs are toothed and ornamented (Fig. 83, Brissus).

We frequently find, both in the common spherical Echini and in the

Fig. 35. Spatangoids, the forks forming

P either open arches, as in Fig. 84,

Echinocardium, or very compli-

cated ball and socket joints, or \

independent hemispheres with &

sharp grooved edges (Fig. 85,

Pourtalesia). In our flat cake

urchin ( Echnarachnius) the more

common pedicellariz have but two forks, with

sharp teeth along the edges (Fig. 86).

In the greater num-

ber of starfishes the

Fig. 86,

tively short stems, and

are as in our common

starfish (Asteracanth-

ion) clustered round the

base of the spines of

the dorsal surface (Fig. 87) ; though in starfishes we also find tri-

partite pedicellarie as in sea-urchins, only they are usually sup-

: rted upon a very short stem, or articulate

directly from the limestone network of

Fig. 88, tbe shell. We find

similarly in Echini

pedicellariz placed in

pits (Goniocidaris) in

za So which the stem is re-

Niet duced

Fig. 89.

ced to a minimum,

: and their function is

quite problematical ; their movements are

reduced to the mere opening and shutting

of the valves. It is from the study of the

Pedicellarie of starfishes that we have been able to form some ac-

Curate idea of the homologies of these interesting appendages.

We must now go back to the early history of the growth of

‘pines in embryo Echinoderms to obtain the key of the homolo-

gies of Pedicellari. In all young echinoderms the test, i.e. the

AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 26

402 THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARLE.

upper coating of the arms of a starfish, the envelope of a Holo-

thurian, the shell of a sea-urchin, is made up of Fig. 9.

n irregular network of limestone cells (Fig.

88) ; with increasing size this network becomes

closed at certain points and sends off upright

shanks which little by little form very irregular

fan-shaped spines (Figs. 89 and 90); in our |

common sea-urchins these spines are immova-

ble, forming at that stage part of the test

itself. As the spines grow they become more

pointed (Fig. 91) but are still immovable. In

somewhat more advanced stages a slight con-

striction is formed at the base of the spine

(Fig. 92) and very soon after that, below the

constriction a tubercle is formed upon which

the spine is articulated and capable of a :

certain amount of motion by means of the muscular sheat

Fig. 92. connecting the base of the spine and the tubercle,

which fit by a ball and socket joint (Fig. 93); piso.

soon the spine appears longitudinally stri-

ated, the limestone cells of which it was

composed when smaller being obliterated by

the successive circular layers of the older

spine (Fig. 94).

some sea-urchins (Arbacia) we find

spines which never become articulated, are always fixed,

Fig. 93. and remind us of the embryonic stage of

the spines of our common sea-urchin. In

| : , one of the Echini discovered by M. Pour-

> San © talés the fixed spines cover the whole

upper part of the test (Fig. 95), the movable spines being

Fig.%. limited to a circumscribed area along the edge of

the shell (Podocidaris). :

If we trace the development of the spines of star-

fishes, we find something similar; but as the pedi-

cellariæ are clustered round the base of the longer

spines, we are able to distinguish in the earliest

stages what will become a spine, and what will

eventually form pedicellariæ, a distinction which it is not possible

to make in Echini where the pedicellariz and spines are irregularly

Fig. 90.

THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARIA. 403

scattered. This is especially the case in such genera as Arbacia

and the like, in which there are so-called embryonal spines remain-

ing always fixed im- Fig. 97.

movably to the test. i

Fig. 96.

5 ‘bee : iss In our common star-

ENA i) Coven fish I have traced the

earliest stages of th

spines and pedicellariæ (Fig. 96), and have found that at first it

is impossible to distinguish between a spine and pedicellariz ; it

Fig. 98, is only in somewhat later stages that the first

trace of a difference Fig. 99.

can be detected (Fig-

ure 97) ; subsequently $O} oR p.

there is no doubt what-

PL 090

Ze, ever, owing to the 30 33 S| 9

greater and more rapid Q gu

development of the central spine, as to ooo

Fig. 100, what will form spines 6 Ne

or pedicellariz (Figure 0 Q

In one of the S009

pentagonal starfishes of

our coast (Hippasteria) it is even easier to trace

the gradual passage of the original limestone network either, on

the one hand, into a spine, or, on the other, into bipartite pedi-

cellaric,

Fig. 101,

In Fig. 99 we can easily trace the development of a simple

central granule, surrounded by smaller granules, into a short spine,

or by the splitting of the granule we have gradually formed a

slight furrow. , then a deeper groove, till two clappers are formed

404 THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARIE.

(Fig. 100) which eventually become movable and act as pedicel-

lariæ, though they are the simplest forms of that organ. In an-

other starfish, the genus Luidia, the central granule surrounded

by smaller granules develops either into a spine which

passes through the stages of Fig. 101, and terminates

in a long slender spine surrounded by papille at its

base, or the central spine of Fig. 101 is like the central

granule of Hippasteria, little by little

split into three, and forms finally a pas-

sage through such forms as are given in

Fig. 101 into short tripartite pedicel-

larize surrounded by isolated spines at

the base. If anything further were re-

quired to prove the homology between

spines and pedicellariæ it is the case of

Fig, 102.

Fig. 104.

upon a tubercle (Fig. 93) surrounded by

the peculiar smooth area called the scrobicular circle ;

and this last form.of pedicellariæ is actually found in

the genus Podocidaris (Fig. 102). The same reasoning

will readily suggest to the student of Echinoderms the

homology of the so-called claws of Ophiurans (Fig-

103) and of the anchors of Holothurians (Fig. 104) which, al-

though used for such totally different functions, being a sort of

prehensile organ, for motion along the ground, are in reality only

in their turn modified spines, or different forms

of pedicellariz.

Although the spine (Fig. 94) of our common

sea-urchin is apparently so different from the

pedicellariz figured in this article, yet when

we pass in review the whole order of Echini we

find differences among the spines fully as great

as those observed in the pedicellaria. What

can be more diverse than the immense, slender,

hollow spine of a Diadema six to eight times the diameter of

the test, and the short, flattened spine forming a regular pave-

ment on the test of Colobocentrotus. We find such extremes

as the club-shaped, curved, ambulacral spines of Salenia, the

papille of Cidaris, the sharp, solid, curved, antennz-like spines

Fig. 103,

(RJ

one

THE HOMOLOGIES OF PEDICELLARIE. 405

of Coelopleurus, the massive, bat-shaped spines of Heterocentro-

tus, the cupuli-form spines of Goniocidaris, the slender, silk-like

spines of the Clypeastroids. Among the Spatangoids, there are

several families where the spines are specialized along certain

lines (the so-called fascioles) in which they so retain their embry-

onic features, being either articulated (Fig. 105) or directly at-

tached to the test, and provided at the extremity and along the

Shaft with a more or less sensitive vibratile membrane, as all

young spines originally are.

In Ophiurans we find all the intermediate stages between plates,

claws and slender spines; in starfishes between the simplest

granules, the most complicated serrated spines and pedicellarix,

and in Holothurians, between mere spicules, anchors and rig. 105,

the pavement-like covering of such genera as Cuvieria and AS

Psolus. All this shows plainly enough that the spines Y

and pedicellariæ are strictly homologous, whatever modifi- 4 A

cations they may assume in the different orders of Echino- w

derms, whether they serve as prehensile scavengers or

simply protect the test against the violence of the waves

on the rocks, or the attacks of their enemies. Sea-urchins

are favorite food of many species of fish who would find it

rather dangerous to attack the bristling Diademas and re-

quire pretty strong jaws to get the better of the armored

Heterocentrotus. The spines are not simply organs of

defence ; they also act as means of locomotion, and in such

genera as Arbacia the ambulacral suckers perform only a

Secondary part in the displacement of the sea-urchin, the

Spines of the lower side serving as stilts by which the sea-urchin

raises itself and moves along by a kind of halting gait. In Ophi-

urans and Holothurians, the pedicellariz hooks and anchors per-

form the part of organs of prehension and locomotion at the

Same time.

There is nothing in the history of the development and in the

homologies of these organs to show that they have been suddenly

brought into existence ; on the contrary, the modifications of the

Spines and pedicellariz as they have been rapidly sketched in this

article show the most complete homology between appendages

which have lately been considered as strong proofs of the possi-

bility of the sudden appearance of organs for which no utilitarian

motive could be given. I trust I have made it sufficiently plain

406 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

that in the most complicated pedicellarize known, with a freely

movable stalk and with snapping jaws, we have only a very grad-

ual modification of the simplest sort of limestone network found .

in all Echinoderms in the earliest stages of the embryonic devel-

opment, while still in the Pluteus-stage, and that we have an

unbroken sequence from this primitive network to form, on the

one side the most diversified spines, and on the other equally

variable pedicellariz, and that we must consider the latter in their

most complicated forms as nothing but highly specialized spines.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Tue DEPTHS OF THE Sea.* — One could not but form a favora-

ble impression of this sumptuously printed book from its attractive

exterior; the pleasant impression is deepened by a perusal of it.

The narrative is on the whole clear and graceful: the novelty of

the facts and the fine illustrations will interest the lay reader, and

the scientist will find placed before him in an accessible form the

results obtained by the British explorations by means of the

dredge and thermometer in the depths of the eastern north At-

lantic and the Mediterranean Sea.

The marine zoologist will be led after reading it, as perhaps not

before, to study more carefully the temperature and chemistry of

the water in which he dredges, while the broader questions of the

geological and geographical distribution of animals will engage

his attention perhaps the more after reading Prof. Thompson’s

interesting summary of the joint work done by Carpenter, the

physiologist and physicist ; Jeffreys, the conchologist ; and Wyville

hompson, the accomplished zoologist. After the introduction, we

have chapters giving an account of the cruise of the “Lightning,”

those of the ‘Porcupine ;” chapters on deep-sea sounding, and

deep-sea dredging, on deep-sea temperatures, the Gulf Stream, the

deep-sea fauna, and the continuity of the chalk.

In the introduction (p. 44) the idea is presented that deep-sea

* The Depths of the Sea. An Account of the general gre of hs Dredging Cruises

of H. M. S.S. “ Porcupine” and “ Lightning” durin = he summers of 1868, 1869, and

1870, scientific direction of Dr. Carpenter, J. Gwyn reesei opie Dr. Wyville

Thompson. By C. Wyville Thompson. With numerous illustrations and maps. New

York and London, » Mac millan & Co., 1873. 8vo. pp.527. (The illustrations are in

Macmillan, he pul lish )

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 407

forms dredged around the coast of Great Britain, far from being

£ s , * . *

‘boreal outliers,” as Forbes designated them, ‘are the inhabi-

‘tants of an enormously extended zone of special thermal condi-

N V

Dredge with Tangles attached.

one which ‘crops out’ as it were, or rather comes within range

of the ordinary means of observation, off the coast of Scandi-

navia.”

408 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

We are not so sure but that Forbes’ notion was in the main the

more correct one. Certainly from the facts presented in this book,

we should gather the impression that the circumpolar fauna tended

Fig. 107.

Bathybius Hæckelii.

to fade out, even at great depths off the mouth of the Mediterra-

nean Sea; and the few arctic forms dredged off Florida by Pour-

talès are mingled at great depths with a much greater abundance

of tropical invertebrate life. But the facts brought out by Pour-

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 409

pas

talès in 1867 and °’68 are ignored by Professor T

shall see farther on.

10mpson, as we

Fig. 108.

Holtenia Carpenteri.

The idea once so prevalent that animals could not exist at

Steat depths, on account of the supposed great pressure of the sea,

410 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

is effectually disposed of by the remark that “the organism

supported through all its tissues on all sides, within and without,

by incompressible fluids at the same pressure

The chapter on deep-sea soundings is full in its details and

illustrations, and it is concluded from what has been accomplished

Fig. 109,

Lophohelia prolifera.

by American and English naval officers, that “the central and

southern parts of the Atlantic appear to be an old depression,

probably, at all events coeval with the the deposition of the ju-

rassic formations of Europe, and throughout these long ages the

tendency of that great body of water has no doubt been to ameli-

orate the outlines, softening down asperities by the disintegrating

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 411

action of its waves and

currents, and filling up

hollows by drifting about

and distributing their ma-

regard the Atlantic Ocean

as covering a vast region

of wide shallow valleys

and undulating plains,

with a few groups of vol-

canic mountains, insignifi-

cant both in height and

extent, when we consider

the enormous area of the

ocean bed.

The chapter on deep-sea

ever, that in the historical

sketch of deep-sea dredg-

ing, what had been done

previous to British explo-

rations, by Pourtalès un-

der the auspices of the

United States Coast Sur-

vey is not fully stated.

On page 231 of the fifth

chapter it is remarked that

“dredging operations have

been conducted most suc-

cessfully under Count

Ray Sy Pourtalés, and it will be

x N ; seen hereafter that his re-

X aW X sults are a valuable com-

A Sy as 7 plement and —

Ah of our own.” And

VY, page 277 it is said, “Tn

pai: XY the year 1868 Count L. F.

SS 3 de Pourtalés, one of the

Fig. 110. Rhizocrinus Loffotensis. officers employed in the

412 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

United States Coast Survey under Professor Pierce, commenced

a series of deep dredgings across the gulf stream off the coast of

Florida, which were continued in the following year, and were

productive of most valuable results.”

On turning, however, to the sixth “Bulletin of the Museum of

Comparative Zoology,” published at Cambridge, Mass., Dec. 26,

1867, we learn that from dredgings off the coast of Florida be-

tween May 17th and 29th, and carried to the depth of three

hundred and fifty fathoms, Pourtalés concludes that “short as the

Fig. 111.

Archaster vexillifer.

season’s work was, and few as were the casts of the dredge, the

highly interesting fact was disclosed, that animal life exists at

great depths, in as great a diversity andas great an abundance 4s

tn shallow water” (the italics are his).

The work in the spring of 1868 was carried on at a maximum

depth of five hundred and seventeen fathoms: thus two seasons’

work was accomplished by the United States Coast Survey before

the British Steamer “Lightning” weighed anchor at Oban the 8th

of August, 1868, for the first British deep-sea dredging voyage-

ae Tae eae ee oc ae

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 413

To the Scandinavian naturalists (particularly Professor M.

Sars and his son G. O. Sars beginning with 1850) however, we

owe the impetus, which led American and English naturalists to

dredge at great depths. Prof. Lovén, however, in 1863, referring

to the result of the Swedish Spitzbergen expedition of 1861, when

mollusca, crustacea and hydrozoa were brought up from a depth of

fourteen hundred fathoms, expresses the remarkable opinion which

later investigations appear generally to support, that at great

depths, wherever the bottom is suitable, ‘‘a fauna of the same

: general character extends from pole to pole through all degrees of

latitude, some of the species of the fauna being very widely dis-

tributed.” We reproduce (thanks to the publishers) a figure (106)

of the dredge with hempen tangles attached, a most valuable

Fig. 112.

Pourtalesia Jeffreysii.

means of fishing up animals such as starfishes, echini and sponges,

which the dredge fails to obtain entire or in sufficient numbers.

The exceedingly interesting and able discussion of the origin

and relations of the Gulf Stream we must pass over. Our author,

however, dissents emphatically from the well known views of his

Colleague, Dr. Carpenter, on these points. In the account of the

deep-sea fauna the Bathybius Heckelii (Fig. 107), which created

So much excitement at the time of its discovery, of course is first

noticed. Thompson thus speaks of it, “If this have a claim to be

recognized as a distinct living entity exhibiting its mature and

final form, it must be referred to the simplest division of the shell-

less Rhizopoda, or if we adopt the class proposed by Professor

Heckel, to the Monera. The circumstance which gives its special

Interest to Bathybius is its enormous extent; whether it be con-

tinuous in one vast sheet, or broken up into circumscribed indi-

vidual particles, it appears to extend over a large part of the bed

414 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

of the ocean.” Fig. 107 is a mass of the protoplasmic material

of which Bathybius is formed, with Coccoliths embedded in it,

magnified seven hundred diameters.

As an example of the sponges abounding at great depths is the

Holtenia Carpenteri (Fig. 108, half the natural size). A charac-

teristic coral is the Lophohelia prolifera of Pallas (Fig. 109, three-

fourths the natural size), which at the depths of three hundred to

Fig. 113,

Arcturus Baffini,

six hundred fathoms “forms stony copses covering the bottom for

many miles

Among the Echinoderms, the Rhizocrinus Loffotensis of Sars

(Fig. 110, once and a half the natural size) is interesting not only

in itself, but as having been found abi! Pourtalés to occur in the

depths of the Gulf Stream off Flori

The starfish, Archaster, is inste of the abysses of the

northern seas, and a fine new form is Archaster vexillifer W-

Thomp. (Fig. 111). A most singular and intensely interesting

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 415

sea-urchin is the Pourtalésia, first found by Pourtalés off the coast

of Florida. The British dredgers have revealed a second species

(P. Jeffreysii W. Thomp., Fig. 112, slightly enlarged). It is

closely related to a cretaceous group, the Dysasteride. Finally,

among crustacea, the sociable Arcturus Baffini (Fig. 113, about

natural size) with its young clinging to its antenne is worthy of

note as an arctic form.

Many interesting mollusca were obtained, comprising a multi-

tude of new species. Some dredgings in nine hundred and ninety-

four fathoms off the Spanish coast revealed “a marvellous assem-

blage of shells, mostly dead, but comprising certain species which

we had always considered as exclusively northern, and others

which Mr, Jeffreys recognized as Sicilian tertiary fossils, while

nearly forty per cent of the entire number of species were unde-

scribed, and some of them represented new genera.” On another

occasion in seven hundred and eighteen fathoms off Spain the

Verticordia acutilostata was taken. This shell ‘‘is fossil in the

coralline crag, and the paces pliocene beds, and it now lives in

the Japanese archipelago.’

In the final chapter the doctrine of the continuity of the chalk

period with the present is discussed: in other words “that in the

deeper parts of the Atlantic a deposit, differing possibly from

time to time in composition but always of the same general char-

acter, might have been accumulating continuously from the creta-

ceous or even earlier periods to the present day.”

The ‘t Depths of the Sea” is a work that every biologist should

read, and for the general student of science it is the only general

treatise on this subject. We hope so pleasant and thoroughly

educated a narrator as Professor Thompson will be able to favor

us with a similar work on the subject, at the close of his “ Chal-

lenger” cruise. Certainly he will be in a position, if ordinary

Success attends this important expedition, to give to the world, in

Connection with American and German observations, results still

_More comprehensive and conclusive than those flowing from the

Cruises of the “ Lightning” and ‘‘ Porcupine.”

CoLor-yartation IN BIRDS DEPENDENT UPON CLIMATIC INFLU-

ENCES.*—The critic’s office is not seldom oa. shar and we have

* On the rolati ‘n saal Tint Birds. as exhibited

1 ee at

in Melanism ikni l: By verran err Am,

Jour, Say pgs ge vg 1872, p. 454; yd,

416 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

never felt it to be more so than in the present instance; but, hav-

ing undertaken to keep the readers of the Naruranist au courant

with the progress of American ornithology, we shall not shrink

from any responsibility this may involve. We recognize Mr.

Ridgway’s paper as highly meritorious, and a valuable contribu-

tion to philosophic ornithology ; it is good strong work in a com-

paratively new field. But until the truths it elucidates are gener-

ally recognized and become the common property of ornithologists,

it will remain eminently proper to handle the subject not exactly

after Mr. Ridgway’s method; for he writes as if his views were

both novel and original, which is not the case. To speak plainly,

the paper is based entirely upon Mr. Allen’s views, without the

slightest allusion to this author; and is illustrated chiefly by

cases already published, yet without the proper references. This

is of no consequence to science, in the abstract, and does not

detract from the scientific merit of the paper, which lies in its

pointed and forcible illustration of certain laws; but in science,

much as elsewhere, individual rights must be respected — noblesse

oblige. In raising an ethical question by our articles of impeach-

ment, we will put the charge of appropriating Mr. Allen’s work

without acknowledgment into this shape :—a, either Mr. Ridg-

` way’s views, here enunciated, are original, or, b, they are not. If a,

we acquit him of scientific plagiarism, and accredit him with dis-

covery, but accuse him of suppressing the fact, known to him, that

the same discoveries had been already made by another person, and

published about eighteen months previously. If b, the case speaks

for itself too plainly to require further remarks. Mr. Ridgway

has been for so long a time an industrious and painstaking student

of ornithology that the facts he here elucidates cannot well have

escaped his own investigations; and the feeling that he fairly

earned his results may have led him to disregard the simple fact

that he was anticipated in publication. Without further personal

remarks we shall quote the record * in substantiation of what we

say ; and if we are unjust, or even incorrect in any particular, the

pages of the Naruratist are, of course, open to a refutation of

our statements.

The point of Mr. Ridgway’s paper is this: a melanistic ten-

*ALLEN, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., ii, 1871, No. 3, pp. 229-249. ID. i cit., iti, July, 1872,

—COUES, hila. Acad., July, 1872, 60.— ID., Key N. irds,

SE mes VSAA E A R

ERENG zs

oe es

ee a ee

Bee See air

Be :

SEES Dr ARE E E N TA

;

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 417

dency, and a greater brightness, or increased prevalence, of the

three primary colors, red, blue, and yellow, *‘ are mainly noticeable

as the result of a tropical influence, for they are most highly de-

veloped in middle America, and become exaggerated in proportion

to the decrease of latitude. But in the Pacific province of North

America they are, in many cases, either entirely similar or repre-

sented by somewhat modified analogous laws” * (p. 454).

The leading illustration of the melanistic tendency selected is the

remarkable case of Chrysomitris psaltria and its races; this we

first worked: out in 1866 (Proc. Phila. Acad., 81), exactly as it is

here presented, although C. psaltria was not then formally brought

into the connection, as it has since been by us (Key, Oct., 1872,

132,133). Mr. Ridgway’s next melanistic case is that of Myiarchus

Lawrencii, of which he has two varieties, the middle American var.

nigricapillus, and the South American var. nigriceps. Amon

other similar cases, he cites Picus villosus var. Harrisii ; P. pubescens

var. Gairdneri ; and Sphyrapicus varius var. ruber ; the implication

being, that ho nomenclature, and the views sustaining it, are

The first case cited under the law affecting primary colors with

“hyperchromism,” i is that of the Xanthoura, § illustrating changes

in yellow. The next is that of Myiodioctes pusillus var. pileolata

Rwew.|| The case of the genus Geothlypis is, however, chiefly

employed in this illustration, and a number of interesting relation-

ships, entirely novel, are brought out. The writer is only fore-

Stalled here in one instance.{ In handling the variations in red,

* fhe rate in color to the ‘southward, especially the tendency to darker per

above shown to be so

in aaeh in birds specifieally identical, coincides, also, with the general increase

in brillian ney of color, . mgximum being reached in the tropics

The apa variation, or de westward increase in color, seems to be, also, coin-

cident with th ased humidity to the westward.” (ALLEN, 1871, 239.)

j Intensity oe loria varies in direct Bn with the ae and humidity of

the bree eeding-place.” (Cougs, Proc. Phila. Acad., rol 60.) :

SM. nigricapillus is pirania 4 slight t men enc paiia nigriceps. ”— COVES, Proc.

Phila. Acad., July, 1872, 75.—“ abe ets no doubt pe nigriceps is simply a geographical

representative of Lawr wrencii,” etc:—COUvES, ibid.,

tPicus rillosus var. Harrisii, ALLEN, le hyo C. Zeit. July, 1872, 180; discussed on p.

114.— Cours. Key, 194.— . pubescens var. Gairdneri, COUES, Key, 194.— Under head

of S. ruber, it is said in the * are Wee —“* Size of the last [S.varius!. . ... . of

§ Compare X. Yneas v ar. luxuosa, Coves, Key, 166.

"hey the ey ee gs pileolata of PALLAS, Zool. R.-A. — Compare BAIRD, Birds

» 1858, 293, in

YGeothtypis Phétadelsads var. = ALLEN, Bull. M. C. Z. 1872, 175.

` AMER. NATURALIST, V voL 27

418 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

the author employs Cardinalis, Carpodacus and Sphyrapicus; mak-

ing a new Mexican variety, carneus, of Cardinalis Virginianus, and

following a previous writer * in reducing C. igneus of Baird to a

variety. In the matter of blue, the Cyanura Stelleri series is ad-

duced and very skilfully treated. An interesting parallelism of

Stelleri and coronata is elucidated ; the writer keeps the two dis-

tinct species, although he confesses that they intergrade at one

point. The peculiar mode of parallelism is here presented for the

first time ; the rest of the case is not novel j— E. G.

Lare Locat Lists.—Of three papers of this sort which have

reached our table, Mr. Dall’stis the most important, relating to

the least known locality. Some of our readers will remember that

on a previous occasion we had to speak in high terms of this gen-

tleman’s and Dr. Bannister’s researches, which resulted in adding

many new birds to our fauna. Following up his Alaskan investi-

gations, in connection with the U. S. Coast Survey, Mr. Dall now

reports upon 53 species observed in the Aleutian Islands from Un- |

alashka to the Shumagins. ‘The facts noted are an additional

confirmation of the peculiarities of distribution noted by me in

previous publications on the fauna of Alaska; and the region vis-

ited is of peculiar interest, as being the portion of the West coast

where the arctic Canadian fauna of the region north of the

Alaskan range, and the characteristic West coast fauna which

prevails south of that range, come together and are to a certain

extent intermingled.” In addition to the names of the species:

forming the “face” of the report, we have many biographical

notes, sometimes extensive, as in case of the kittiwake; some-

times novel, as in the instance of the beautiful Steller’s eider, and

always interesting. Particular attention has been given to the

life-colors of the iris; a matter too often neglected by those whose

Baguley Virginianus var. igneus, CovES, Key, 151. Also discussed by Allen, July,

aie

ibaa of color. m BAIRD. Birds N 1858, 583.— A lar arge series of specimens [of C.

» chiefly from the hoadvalers of the Columbia, have the front washed

with dull viue, à spot.” COUES, Proc. Phila. Acad.,

ller’ 1 th ted, so much alike that they might be consid

1866, 93.

soma species: the last named runs into the C. coronata of M: Mexico. ” CoUES, Am. Nat.

1871, 770.—“‘ angie Stelleri var. macrolopha.”—ALLEN, Bull. M. C. 6 iii, 1872, 1785

is se Key, 165,

} Notes on the ihc s the Aleutian idan: from Unalas hka Eastward. By W-

H. DALL, U.S. Coast Survey. (From the Proceedings of the Californian Academy of

Sciences, printed in arisa, Feb. 8, 1873.)

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. oS ED

opportunities for contributing this information are both ample and

inviting. The nomenclature adopted is not a late one, and many

of the species are only nominal, though’ the competent ornitholo-

gist will make the required changes without difficulty in most

cases. We note the appearance of a certain “ Hirundo Unalash-

kensis? Gmelin”—a species neither identified of late years, nor

now determined by Mr. Dall. Troglodytes Alaskensis Bd. is prop-

erly reduced to a variety of byenatis (Cf. Key N. A. Birds, p.

851): but Melospiza “ insignis,” which ought to be similarly

treated, stands, as do Aquila ‘“ Canadensis,” Brachyotus ‘* Cas-

sini,” Leucosticte ‘* griseinucha,” Passerculus “ Sandwichensis,”

Corvus “ carnivorus,” Pica “ Hudsonica,” and many other mere

varieties or pure figments. Among interesting occurrences may

be noted a second American specimen of Limosa uropygialis, lately

added to our fauna, and Moreca penelope. By this and his pre-

vious paper, Mr. Dall has made himself our chief authority on the

birds of our newly acquired territory.

With Mr. Allen’s late “ Reconnoissance,’ Messrs. Holden and

Aiken’s paper,* just out, Mr. Ri way’s, for the coming Re-

port, the still unpublished explorations of Dr. H. C. Yarrow and

rriam, Lt. Bendire’s partially elaborated operations

in Arizona, and we may be permitted to add, the whole results of

Dr. Hayden’s investigations, now in preparation by ourselves —

the birds of the interior western territories are getting such an

overhauling as they have not had for the past fifteen years. The

editor of the Holden—Aiken paper says, * The following interest-

ing notes were prepared for my own private perusal, and not

designed for publication. They are possessed’of too much in-

terest to be withheld, embodying as they do the careful observa-

tions of two promising young ornithologists who have opis

at different seasons of the year, a comparatively new field.” The

editor is thus responsible for the ‘‘get-up” of the paper; and this

dovetailing the independent researches of different observers has

n done i in a way that reminds us of the alleged fact, that Homer

nodded once. For we are left in ignorance of, or to find out if we

can, the localities of observation. * Wyoming and Colorado Terri-

tories” cover a good deal of ground, and much of the edge is taken

Wein E

n the Birds of Wyoming and Colorado Territories. By C. J. Holden, jr.

With sapele Memoranda, by C. E. Aiken. Edited by T. M. Brewer. (From the

Proc Oceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, xv, Dec., 1872, pp. 193-210.)

a”

420 ; REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

off the article because we ¢unnot localize the occurrences more

precisely. Mr. Helden’s observations appear to have been made

about Sherman, in the southeast corner of Wyoming, quite a long

way from the “ Black Hills” as laid down on the maps; while Mr.

Aiken’s (we understand) were in Colorado, somewhere about Ca-

ñon City or Fountain, south of Denver. That our criticism does

not lack point may be seen in the fact, that out of 142 species re-

ported upon, only 26 (not one-fifth) are mentioned by both observ-

ers; and nearly 100 are given by Mr. Aiken alone. This shows

such a radical difference in the faunal characteristic of the regions

embraced in the paper, that its two sides would have been pre-

sented much better apart ; ‘while if merged, the precise locality of

observation should have been given in every instance. s it

stands, such birds as Geococcyx Californianus and Pipilo mesoleu-

cus find themselves in ornithological company they never saw out-

side of a book. The biographical notes are excellent and perfectly

reliable. We note with surprise the breeding of Scolecophagus

ferrugineus in a place (somewhere between the Black Hills, Wy-

oming and Cañon City, Colorado) where S. cyanocephalus would

have been expected, and also the occurrence of Hrismatura Domi-

nica somewhere in Colorado or Wyoming. A new bird, Junco

hyemalis var. Aikenii, is named, but not described, nor is even the

authority for the name given. As the page stands, Mr. Aiken is

placed in a peculiar predicament of having named a bird after

himself. It is not to the point that we, or others, happen to know -

_what the bird is, and who its sponsor is. The name here published

for the first time, though it may have been already in type else-

where, should have been accompanied with a description, or at

least a reference. Other nomenclatural points might be criticised.

Thus Cyanura macrolopha ‘and Cyanocitta Woodhousei are cer-

; * tainly not good species: while the impr opriety of the name

_ Myiarchus Mexicanus” for the Tyrannula cinerascens of Law-

rence has been fully AEEA by Dr. Sclater, Mr. Lawrence and

ourselves.

` Mr. Scott’s list* “gives the results of about two months of field-

ak (from the middle of June till the middle of. August) on the

bird fauna of a portion of Kanawha County, West Virginia. Dur-

Nis eal

: Siapa List of poa Summer Birds y, West Virginia; with annotar

y W. D. Scott. Proc cae of the Boston Society of Natural History, XY,

219.

BOTANY. 421

ing this time 86 species of birds were noted or taken.” The

writer’s work was evidently thorough and searching, and the paper

bears intrinsic marks of trustworthiness. We find nothing to criti-

cise, but on the contrary would call attention to several inter-

esting items, notably those relating to the abundance and breeding

of Bitir us Ludovicianus in this locality, and the occurrence of

Dendræca Dominica so far north. The author’s views appear pro-

gressive, as witnessed in Parus atricapillus var. Carolinensis.—

B E.

BOTANY.

Supposep AmerIcaAN Ortcin or Rusus Inxvus.—Our cultivated

raspberry is an importation from Europe. Our native red rasp-

berry, R. strigosus, however, is so near it that the specific distinct-

ness has been in doubt; and specimens from British America and

the Rocky Mountains certainly occur which a botanist must needs

refer to R. Ideus itself. ln his studies of the European Rubi,

Prof. Areschoug (in Botaniska Notiser, 1872, and in a transla-

tion by himself in Trimen’s Journal of Botany, April, 1873, p.

108, ete.) makes prominent and important the fact that R. Ideus

has no near relative, or in other words is the sole raspberry in

Europe, but in mode of growth, in the bark, etc., as well as in the

fwit, accords with American species,—with one of them so closely

that all who have come to the conclusion that species have a his-

tory must needs infer a community of origin. Areschoug con-

cludes, accordingly, that “this species did not originally have its

home in Europe, but its origin is to be found in the east of Asia,

viz. : Japan and the adjacent countries, or perhaps in North Amer-

ica.” It is one of the members of that old boreal flora (as we,

suppose) now mainly East Asiatic and North American, which has

found its way to, or held its place in, the north of Europe some-

what exceptionally. Both R. strigosus and R. Ideus inhabit |

Japan and Mandchuria, and Maximowicz regards them as forms

of a common species. Prof. Areschoug adopts the now familiar

idea “ that the Asiatic and North American floras have reciprocally -

mixed with each other by passing Behring’s Straits and the islands

. Which in its neighborhood form a bridge between the two conti-

nents ;’—which is a partial explanation of a problem that has to

be treated far more generally now that we have reason to believe

that this flora formerly filled the Arctic zone. He thinks, more-

422 BOTANY.

over, that the simple-leaved frutescent species (also extra-Euro-

pean) are the ancestors of those with divided leaves,— but this is

a speculation of a different character, upon which little or no evi-

dence can be brought to bear.—A. Gray in American Journal of

` Science.

BOTANICAL NoTELETS.— Equisetum arvense is characterized as

ing, and generally has, its branches 4-sided and the teeth

four. Milde describes a variety boreale, chiefly high northern, with

three teeth and 3-sided branchlets. This form is very common

around Boston, chiefly in grassy places, and it might in the ab-

sence of the fertile plant be mistaken for E. pratense. It has

been noticed here for some time, but attention has been osio to

it by Mr. Wm. Boott.

Cypripedium acaule with two flowers has been sent by Mr. J. S.

Scott, of Westfield, Mass. The flowers are approximated, the

second bract close to and opposite the usual one; and the lips of

the two of course facing each other.

Acer nigrum with stipules, at Wabash, Indiana, which Mr. Mills

brought to our notice last year, holds the character this season,

not only in the tree first observed but in several others.

Anemone nemorosa, or trifolia. From the Peaks of Otter, at

altitude of about three thousand feet, Mr. A. H. Curtiss sends an

anemone of a form new to this country (although there is some

approach to it in Oregon), which may be called A. nemorosa with

undivided leaflets or A. trifolia L., according to the botanists’

fancy. It is fully as large as the latter, having the stem a foot

high up to the leaves, and the leaflets two and one-half inches

long; the deepness of the teeth of these, and a slight tendency to

trilobation, should rather refer it to A. nemorosa, which not rarely

exhibits this state in Europe. This European form, as Mr. Curtiss

_remarks, appears to have kept company with Convallaria majalis,

being here associated with it in one of the most northern stations

of this plant, which in America is restricted to’the Alleghanies.

Dimorphism in Forsythia. In Cambridge and its vicinity all

the blossoms of Forsythia suspensa have long filaments and a short

style; all those of F. viridissima have short filaments and a long ©

style. This was noticed by Mr. Brown, one of my pupils, of the

present Senior Class. In all probability this is not a specific dif-

~ ference, but one of dimorphism. That only a'single form of each

ZOOLOGY. . 423

species should be met with in this neighborhood, or even in the

country, is not extraordinary, since these shrubs are propagated

from cuttings or slips. “The published figures of r viridissima

are of the long-stamened sort. Siebold and Zuccarini describe the

long-styled form of F. suspensa, the counterpart of the one we

have, but their plate represents bath; so that the me of dimor-

phism is pretty well made out.—A. Gray.

ZOOLOGY.

Tue Diminvtion oF Foop Fisnes. —In our recent abstract of the

„annual report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of this State,

reference was made to a letter addressed to the Commissioners by

Prof. Baird of the Smithsonian Institution and United States

Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, in answer to one sent by

them asking his opinion as to the probable cause of the rapid

diminution of the supply of good fishes on the coast of New. Eng-

land, and especially of Maine. The letter is of such an inter-

esting character that we subjoin it nearly entire : —

‘ We are all very well aware,” writes Prof. Baird, “ that fifty

or more years ago, the streams and rivers of New ngland, empty-

ing into the ocean, were crowded and almost blockaded, at certain

oc pro

Swarmed to an almost inconceivable extent in the same localities,

and later in the year descended to the sea in immense schools. It

was during this period that the deep-sea fisheries of the coast were

also of great extent and value. Cod, haddock, halibut, and the

line fish o generally, occupied the fishing grounds close to the shore,

and could be ca ught from small open boats, ample fares being read-

ily taken within a fest distance of the fishermen’s abode, without

the necessity o orting to distant seas. Now, however, the

State of thins is apera different. The erection of impassable

dams upon the waters of the New England States, and especially

of the State of Maine, has prevented the upward course of the

anadromous fishes referred to, and their numbers have dwindled

away, until at present sa are almost unknown in many otherwise

most favorable localiti

the cod and other deep-sea species near our coasts ; but it was not

Until quite recently that the relationships between the two series

424 ZOOLOGY.

of phenomena were appreciated as those of cause and effect. . Hali-

but, it is believed, can be reduced in abundance by over-fishing

with the hook and line, but the exper iences in Europe and America

they are interfered with during the — season, and as this

takes place in the winter and in the open sea (the spawn floating

near the surface of the water), there is no possibility of a human

oeo with the process, Stil wéver, these fish have

bec

me comparatively very scarce on our ae so that our people

are orea to resort to far distant regions to obtain the supply

which o could be secured almost within sight of their.

It is.now a well established fact that tħe movements of the fishes

of the cod family are determined ; first; by the search after suita-

ble places for the deposit of their eggs; second, by their quest of

food. Thus the cod, as a summer fish, is comparatively little

own on the coasts of northern Europe ; but as winter approaches

the schools begin to make their appearance on the northwestern

coast of Norway , especially around the Loffoden islands, arriving

there finally in so great numbers that the fishermen are said to de-

termine their ee by feeling the sounding lead strike on the

backs of the fish!

Here they spend several months in the process of repr oduction,

employed in this business for several months, at the end of which

the fish disappear and the fishermen return to their alternate occu-

pations as farmers and mechanics. The fish are supposed to move

off ina bod to the Grand Banks, which they reach in early sum-

return again to the northeast. It is believed that the great attrac-

tion to the cod on the Banks consists in part of the immense

— of herring or other r wandering fish, that come in from’ the

gion e Labrador and Newfoundland seas, and which they

frequently follow close in to the shore, so that they are easily

ie is well known that the presence or absence of herring deter-

mines the abundance of hake and cod on the Grand Manan Fish

little known outside of the region of the Bay of Fundy, except- -

ing in pertember and October, and when they visit the entire

ZOOLOGY. 425

coast from Grand Manan to Scituate, for the purpose of depositing

their spawn; this act depending upon their finding water sutli-

ciently cold for their purposes, a condition which of course occurs

later-and later in the season, in going south. A portion of the -

school indeed passes around Cape Cod as far as Long Island, and

I have received them fresh in November, filled with ripe spawn as

taken from Vineyard Sound.

In the early spring the alewives formerly made their appearance

on the coast, crowding along our shores and ascended our rivers

in order to deposit their spawn, being followed later in the season

by the shad and.salmon. Returning when their eggs were laid, ,

these fish spent the summer along the coast; and in the course of

afew months were joined by their young, which formed immense

schools in every direction, extending outward in some instances

for many miles. It was in pursuit of these and other summer fish

that the cod, and other species referred to, came close to the

shores; but with the decrease of the former in number, the at-

traction became less and less, and the deep-sea fishes have now,

-We may say, almost disappeared along the coast.

t is, therefore, perfectly safe to assume that the improvement

of the line fishing along the coast of Maine is closely connected,

with the increase in number of alewives, shad and salmon: and

that, whatever measures are taken to facilitate the restoration of

whether the cod or other equally desirable sea-fish shall be brought

back to our coast, so th one who may be so inclined, can

readily capture several hundred weiglit in a day.

Season much more convenient for most persons engaged in the

fisheries.— Boston Daily Journal.

Tue Youne ANmMAL anp Protection. — Ix the NATURALIST

for August last, Mr. Deering advances the well known fact that

426 ZOOLOGY.

the young rattlesnake is not provided with so large or so loud a

rattle as the full grown snake, as tending to disprove the mimetic

and protective uses of this appendage—* The young requiring

greater facilities for obtaining food, and more extensive measures

for protection.” :

Were this accepted as satisfactory reasoning, a similar conclu-

sion might be reached in regard to a multitude of animals, for

instance, all those having horns, as the deer, goat, antelope, etc., -

in which the young are unarmed: yet the protective uses of the

` horns cannot be questioned. With many of those animals, the

female is invariably destitute of these appehdages, yet we might

suppose, from her position as the immediate protector of her

offspring, that she required to be most fully provided in this

respect. |

The truth is that, to a remarkable extent, the young of most

creatures are little else than the food of other animals ; often they

are the food of even their own species, if not of their own parents.

Nothing is more emphatically proclaimed, on every side, than the

fact (put into such divine language by Tennyson) that, N ature is

careless of the individual, however careful she may be of the type.

She forms a thousand seeds, but only one germinates and pro-

duces its kind. We have, too, the mystery of the pollen, which

I have watched for years with wonder, where, in one casé, with

apparently miserly penuriousness, she doles out the precious life-

giving atom just sufficient to fecundate, while, in other instances, as

if glorying in her prodigality, she scatters the golden dust as freely ` '

as some spendthrift heir squanders the hoarded wealth of his

ancestors. -

` Yet I have perfect faith that “ nothing is lost” — nothing

wasted ; but that all has a governing purpose, circumscribing to

the very nicest minutia the exact proportion requisite for the

result ; albeit hidden from our purblind eyes. We know so many

of Nature’s delicate adjustments and wonderful combinations that,

surely, we can have perfect confidence that, even when all is dark

to us, her ways are Wisdom’s ways. We bring out our clumsy

balances, but the volatile aroma escapes us and will not be

weighed. , y

As to the frequency of the young animal not being provided with

the protective weapons or appliances of the full grawn one, abun-

dant material can be found, from the oyster and lobster, the young

E E E Sr E r E er O nae” AN

S Se dy e

i ZOOLOGY. 427

of which are notoriously exposed to destruction, to the nòble stag

attired with his “ branchy crown,” rejoicing naturally in his so

thoroughly personified gender, guarding the herd of which he is

the monarch, or the slow, sullen buffalo, where we see the males

‘forming an impassable cordon around the mother cows and their

: helpless calves, when assailed by the ‘ cruel archers,” the bulls

se bearing behind their horns the calves when wounded, to a place of

safety.

‘Why the young are unprovided with horns, or even the power to

use them, is part of the great plan; and doubtless, may well be

considered as tending to prove that at the first, the animal was

not so protected, but slowly acquired these weapons through

development. The early condition of the horns of the deer

covered with smooth velvet, and unsuitable for defence, is another

i point favoring this view, which is strongly supported by a large

7 amount of corroborative testimony in other animals.

Numberless facts offer themselves on this subject— the protec-

tion of the young, and its kindred subject — the precautions

adopted to ensure fertilization. The suddenly acquired fierce-

_ hess of the parent when guarding its offspring is a remarkable

_ episode in the lives of many of the lower animals. This passion,

a frequently carried to the extreme of rendering them temporarily

‘ regardless of personal danger when even their lives are threatened,

can only be recognized with wondering admiration ;— too often,

indeed, it puts our boasted human nature to the blush. This,

after all, must be considered as the chief means of protection for

the young animal. Though, it cannot be denied, instances are far

isa infrequent where the parent has the proclivity to devour its

pri

py” Sate

Si F

Among insects the parental instinct is often wonderful, prompt-

ing them, not only to defend their young when attacked, but lead-

. ing them, even in those cases where the parent’s life expires

E ma to the full development of the progeny, to provide for

ts future, surrounding it with a-network of moea and - cir-

nae adapted to its melt bein — Henry

Tue WHITE-FRONTED Ow 1N Canapa.— Although the * white-

_ fronted owl” (Nyctale albifrons Cass.) is now conceded by most

_ if not all American ornithologists to be the young of the saw-whet

(Nictale Acadica Bon.), its supposed rarity in comparison with the

428 ZOOLOGY.

adult renders the following record of recent instances of its capture

in Canada of considerable interest. Mr. Ridgway, in a paper

published in this journal in May, 1872, in noticing Mr. D. G.

Elliott’s mistake of considering the W. albifrons to be the young

of N. Tengmalmi, has carefully elaborated the evidence of its being

the young of N. Acadica. This relationship had been previously

suspected, and seems now to be fully confirmed. Mr. McIlwraith,

under date of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Jan. 20, 1873, writes

as follows: “On looking over the Narurauist of April, 1871,

I observe a notice of the capture of a specimen of the white-

fronted owl in Maine, and the writer of the note, Prof. A. E.

Verrill, says that the only other instance of its occurrence in the

United States of which he is aware, is the specimen taken by Dr.

Hoy at Racine. Iam a little surprised at this, for, though not com-

ing much in contact with collectors, I have seen or heard of this

species now and then for a number of years back. My first knowl-

edge of it was from Cassin’s account, and the figure given of it,

in his Birds of America. Shortly afterwards I recognized it in a

small case in the possession of the Rev. Professor Ingles, now of _

the Dutch Reformed Church, Brooklyn, New York, where it was .

labelled ‘*Saw-whet-Youne.” The case was brought from Montreal.

‘next met with it in Toronto, where Mr. Passmore, taxider-

mist, had two specimens, one of which I obtained and have now

in my collection. Again I heard from Mr. P. H. Gibbs, of Guelph,

that there were several about his evergreens near the house, one of

which he shot. About the same time Mr. Booth, a naturalist of |

Drummondville, fold me of a specimen he had obtained. Dr. Ander-

son, of Point Levi, opposite Quebec; had his alive for a time, and

I heard of still another in the hands of R. K. Winslow, Esq., of

Cleveland, Ohio. From the foregoing it would seem to be more

common in Canada than itis farther south. The opinion seems

to be generally held by those parties with whom I have conversed

on the subject that it is the young of the saw-whet, and yet it is

somewhat singular that it is not as often met with as its supposed

. parents. In the month of October, a few years since, I had six

in the saw-whet form brought me by a lad who got them all near

the same place on his father’s farm; yet not one of the other was

met with. The theory recently advanced by Mr, Elliott in the

=, “Tbis,” of its being the young of the sparrow owl [Nyctale Teng-

~ malmi] I do not think at all probable ; I have the two side by si¢e —

ZOOLOGY. 429

and cannot observe any resemblance to warrant such a conclusion,

the difference in size alone being sufficient to show the distinction.

My own opinion is that it will be found to be the young of the

saw-whet ; but is it not possible that they do-not all assume the

same garb — that there may here be a freak of nature, so to speak,

such as there is in the case of the screech owl, where we find both

red and gray.” — J. A

VARIATION IN THE TARSAL ENVELOPE oF THE Barb EAGLE. —

a Having observed in Baird’s work and elsewhere remarks upon

i Resiubon’ s plate of the ** Washington Eagle,” as well as upon his

2 statement, ‘‘scutellation on tarsus and toes uniform for their whole

‘ length,” I have thought that the results of my observations on

Nova Scotian eagles may be considered pertinent.. I soon found

- Scutellation valueless as a specific character; differing in details

in almost every specimen, and often unlike on the two legs of the

same specimen. In a series of thirty or forty specimens, I found

in some the tarsus crossed*in front by five or six large scales; in

others the scales successiv ely decreased in size by one-fourth, one-

third, and one-half: ; and in the others again become almost obso-

lete. The tarsal scuteila differ’ from those of the toes in being

immovable in their mutual relations, the phalangeal ones sliding

under each other when the toes are extended. There are eleven to

thirteen on the middle toe, about eight on the outer, and five on

the inner and head toe respectively ; they appear to vary less than

the tarsal ones do. Now about the figure of “Haliætus Washing-

tonii”. The bird is drawn standing on a flat rock, which throws

the toes forward, causing the tarsal and phalangeal scutellation to

appear continuous ; at least they would so appear, from the point

of view presented, unless an engraver were particularly careful.

Any bald eagle with well developed tarsal scales would show about

_ the same thing under the same circumstances. Audubon’s text is

not so easily explained ; but as he must have known that it was

impossible for the stationary scales of either tarsus or toes to

_ Slip so as to meet each other, we may conclude that he meant

“scales continuous the whole length of each.” But the question

of the validity of “ H. Washingtonii” does not rest entirely

"pon the accuracy or the reverse, of delineation and description.

It is only for a few „years that four positive species — pelagica,

ea leucocéphalus and Canadensis have been discriminated

430 ZOOLOGY.

mong the mass of ‘‘sea,” “bald,” “golden,” “gray,” “ ring-

regi etc., eagles stated to inhabit this country. All the gray

or brown eagles from Nova Scotia that have passed through my

hands are young bald eagles. One measured nearly eight feet

across; another 8} feet; exceeding some balds by over a foot.

One had the tail 154 inches; in another the curve of the bill was

34 inches, and tarsus the same. These measurements rival and

even outdo: ‘*Washingtonianus” except in extent of wing.— E

Bernarp Giırrix, M. D., Halifax, N. S.

[NOTE. Dr. Coues, to whom we referred this paper, says :—“ Dr. Gilpin’s remarks

upon the variation of the scales are interesting, and may be new to many; while I fo

one am satisfied with his = planation of Audubon’s figure and statement. I wonder

how many more times the + Washington Eagle” must be put down before it will stay

ree “ As a species, itis a myth; as a specimen, it was a big, youngish bald eagle —

the two-year-olds of which, — getting the white head and tail, are usually in

kone tho mature se rds. Of th the V

under, as just said; pelagica is a N PE. Aata atic piai not yet atithentically of ‘this $

a, 'alvicitia Greenla ex ane N. . European spec ies, gilig: leaving Haliætus leu

chrysetu (Cue

sis, npr gold eagle, with entirely feathered legs, as our only valid authentic species.”

e Key N. A. Birds, p. 219, 220. — Eps.]

Tue CoLorapo Poraro BEETLE Varyine rrs Foop. — A gener- -

ally received opinion in regard to the Colorado Potato Beetle,

Doryphora 10-lineata (Say), is that its food is confined to plants

of the family Solanaceæ. I have found it this season (June 19,

1872) at Port Austin, Michigan, sparingly feeding on grass, on

which it had also deposited its eggs. Later in the season (July

20), at Fort Gratiot, Michigan, I encountered it in large numbers,

in both the larva and perfect states, in the vicinity of potato-fields

(where it had committed terrible depredations), devouring the

younger leaves and flower buds of the common thistle (Cirsium

lanceolatum Scop.), which it was rapidly stripping even to its thick

stem so that the entire top of the plant hung down, almost severed.

In the same neighborhood I also saw it on pigweed (Amarantus

retroflexus L.), hedge mustard (Sisymbrium officinale Scop-), the

cultivated oat, smart-weed (Polygonum hydropiper L.), and the red

currant and tomato of the gardens, as well as the common night-

shade (Solanum nigrum L.), the last two its more legitimate food.

But of the last mentioned plants, with the exception of the night-

shade, it ate only the young leaves, and of them very sparingly-

The thistle it seemed particularly to relish. Could its attention

be diverted from the potato to the Canada thistle it would encoun-

ter an erect worthy of its prowess; and the curses which have

ag Sk aR SN AS Ne anno tee eed a ee nia CN ano Ee To

Shep ay Le? ate

ZOOLOGY. 431

been heaped on its striped back would be turned to blessings.

But, I fear, little good can be hoped from the capacity, thus

evinced, to diversify its food, and so accommodate itself to circum-

stances. This can only be regarded as another obstacle in the

way of its extermination.

Since writing the above I have found the beetle feeding on the

maple-leaved goosefoot (Chenopodium hybridum L.), lamb’s quar-

ters (C. album L.) and thoroughwort (Eupatorium perfoliatum

L.) ; and August 8, 1872, I saw it in the larva and perfect states,

Voraciously eating the black henbane (Hyosciamus niger L.), on

which was also to be be seen an abundance of the eggs.—HENRY

Gitman, Detroit, Michigan, September, 1872. —

THE Senses or SIGHT AND HEARING OF THE’ WILD TURKEY AND

THE COMMON DEER. — At the foot of the bluff on the Vermilion

River, I saw-a flock of wild turkeys crossing on the ice and coming

directly towards me. I concealed myself in a very dense thicket

and awaited their approacli.. Though concealed by the thick brush

I knew by the sound, that they were passing very near me, and

going towards an open space on the brow of the bluff within easy

shot. I rested my gun against a small tree, my head and arms only

exposed, intently looking for the appearance of the game. The

first that appeared was the head and neck of the leader of the’

flock, which he seemed to raise above the cover for the express

purpose of looking at me, for he instantly stared directly toward

me and gave the loud quick note of alarm. In a second or two

he, with the rest, took wing, but, as if still in doubt, he flew near

enough over me for a better observation. Evidently they did not

Smell me when they passed. e leader’s attention was not

attracted by the least motion. Before I had taken down my gun

I heard the brush crack, and in an instant a large buck stopped

SO near me that I could see his form distinctly, but the brush was

too thick to justify a shot. He stared at me for some seconds

and then, seeming to become reassured, bounded on, when he soon

Passed through an. open space and I shot him.

His attention had evidently been directed towards me by the

Sense of smell, but seeing no motion his fears became allayed. —

The vision of the wild turkey is very acute but the sense of

Smell is very dull. Exactly the reverse is the case with the deer.

J.D. Caton. - t

432 ZOOLOGY.

Tur AxT-LION.— While in the Indian Ladder Region, Albany

Co., N. Y., in August, 1871, I found a large colony of ant-lions.

It is situated near the head of the “ Ladder Road,” at the base of

the cliffs and extends for several rods along the path to the “ Tory

House.” ‘The cliffs’ here hang over the paths, so that it is almost

impossible for rain to reach the.spot. The soil is composed of

‘disintegrated limestone, extremely fine, but mingled with minute

fragments of stone as well as larger pebbles.

In Aug., 1871, the colony numbered rather more than 600 indi-

viduals, but on July 6, 1872, there were scarcely half that num-

ber. Perhaps at this last date some were in the chry salis, as of

several specimens thus obtained most of them entered that state in a

_ short time, while those ‘taken in August remained until the following

spring.

Food was very scarce in this colony, as it was rare to see more

than four or five victims in the lions’ dens at one time. On several

occasions I noticed a strong and active insect, having ventured

over the edge of the pit, run swiftly down and up the other side,

leaving the ant-lion wildly snapping its jaws, as the intended victim

mounted the steep side of the pitfall.

The ant-lion does not, so far as my obser ition goes, throw up

sand to bring down its prey, but throws it up in every direction in

order to keep its jaws free to seize the insect when it reaches the

bottom of the den.

In: 1871 there was another colony (which I did not viet in

1872) near the “ Paint Mine.” It consisted of some 300 members.

I call it a colony, although, of course, there was no friendly inter-

course between the inhabitants of the settlement. On the other

hand, in the most crowded portions, the chief employ ment of the

insects was to throw out the dirt which their active neighbors

were depositing on their own premises.—E. A. BIRGE, Williams

College.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE a true classification

`of insects makes slow but steady progress. Although easily ob-

served, the beetles have not been so well arranged heretofore as

in the recent system of George R. Crotch, who proposed to divide

the Coleoptera into Rhynchophora and Coleoptera proper, following

out the sketch made by Dy. Le Conte in 1862. Coleoptera proper

in turn are subdivided into two parallel series, the Isomera an

ZOOLOGY. 433

Heteromera, characterized principally by the number of the tarsal

joints and other characters of less moment; the Jsomera are again.

divisible into two parallel series, known generally as Pentumera

and Tetramera though the names are not rigidly exact. The Pen-

tamera embrace the bulk of the Coleoptera, and contain all the

abnormal tarsal variations; this section was subdivided into five

series, the Adephaga (second ventral segment visible at the sides) ;

Clavicornes (antenne normally clavate, tarsi variable) ; Lamelli-

cornes (antenne lamellate, anterior coxal cavities closed) ; Serri-

cornes (antennæ pectinate or serrate, anterior cavities open) ;

Detailed characters were added for the families of Clavicornes,

which were divided into three main groups characterized by the

development of the anterior coxze, which are prominent and con-

tiguous in Silphide, etc., globose and separate in Erotylide, ete.,

and transverse and separate in Nitidulide, etc. The families Rhys-

sodide and Othniide were removed to the Adephaga and Hetero-

mera respectively (Pr oceedings of American Philosophical Society,

January 7, 1873).

Do RATTLESNAKES CLIMB TREES? — In the attractive volume en-

titled “ The Animal Creation ;” by T. Rymér Jones, New York,

1873, we find the author asserting that they do not climb

trees ;” but on the preceding page; p- 291, we find the rattlesnake

figured as wrapped, constrictor-like, about a good sized tree. he

figure itself is poor, and gives the impression of a serpent ten or

twelve fect long ; but more noticeable i is. the fact that the text and

illustration do not agree. Whichi is the more correct? On this

subject, we have but to say, t at we have seen the Crotalus horri-

dus crawl up the body of an oak that had grown out from a hillside,

in an oblique position. The snake kept his entire length upon the

upper side of the trunk of the tree, and finally coiled himself up

at the point of departure of the main branches. Here he was par-

tially concealed and had sufficient ‘‘room to spare,” to dart half

his length and seize any bird or squirrel that approached. To this

extent, we know that rattlesnakes do climb trees, but not in the

manner given in the illustration referred to; and we should judge

that Mr. Jones’ assertion that they “do not climb” was also in-

Correct. — Cuas. C. Apsott, M. D.

Destruction or DraGoy-FLies BY Brrps.— Mr. Gould, in a com-

munication to the Entomological Society of London, says, “I be-

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VIL 2

434 ZOOLOGY.

lieve that the larger dragon-flies are very liable to the attacks of

birds, and have no doubt that the hobby and kestrel occasionally

feed upon them; with regard to the small blue-bodied species

(Agrionide) frequenting the sedgy bank of the Thames, I have

seen smaller birds, sparrows, etc., capture and eat them before my

eyes, after having carefully nipped off the wings, which are not

swallowed. This must take place to a considerable extent, as I

have observed the tow-path strewn with the rejected wings.” This

has been observed by Mr. J. L. Hersey of New Hampshire (see

the following note) :— Eps.

Bers AND Kinc-Birps.—For the last ten years I have carefully

noted the habits and movements of the king-birds, and have come

to the following conclusion, viz: that they do eat the honey bee,

and so does the purple martin; but instead of being destroyed for

it, they should be protected and allowed to build their nests near

the farm-house, because they drive off the hawks, crows and other

plundering birds from the poultry yard. Warm afternoons in July

and August, when the drone bees are out, we have seen the martins

come down within ten feet of the hive and snap up the drone bees,

thus relieving the workers from the necessity of expelling them

om the hive and biting off their wings to prevent them from

getting back to the hive. The king-bird also, we find, selects the

drone, and will come afternoons and take his position on a stake

in front of the hive, and when a drone bee comes along will make

a rush for him, come back to the stake, give him a pick or two and

swallow him. But says an objector, ‘“ What do they subsist on

before the drone bees fly out?” This point I settled by shooting

one in the month of May, and I found in his crop the wings and

legs of May-bugs. By watching their movements, I find the

dragon-fly is also a favorite food for them.— J. L. Hersey, Ameri-

can Bee Journal.

Cotor or THE Eces or Caprimuncin=.—In the paper of Dr.

Elliott Coues in the Naturauist of June, referring to the eggs of

the Antrostomus Nuttallii, he speaks of it as a ‘singular circum-

stance” that its eggs should be white and adds that it is “a thing

before unknown in this genus.” In confirmation of his belief in

the singularity of the absence of spots in the eggs of Nuttall’s

whippoorwill Dr. Coues refers to Dr. Sclater’s generalization that

all Caprimuigine lay colored eggs.

Eee

ZOOLOGY. 435

We have in this instance another striking exemplification of the

danger of hastily laying down rules from isolated facts. The real

fact is, so far as we now know, there are as many species belonging

to the genus Antrostomus that lay white unspotted eggs as there

are that have colored ones. The eggs of Nuttall’s whippoorwill

were first obtained by Mr. Robert Ridgway, who met with them,

July 20, 1868, among the East Humboldt Mountains, and the

unspotted character of their eggs has for some time been a well

known and undisputed fact.

But this is not the first instance of the discovery of an unspotted

egg of an Antrostomus. In the third volume of the first series of

the Ibis, page 64, Mr. Salvin mentions taking, April 20, 1860, on

the mountains of Santa Barbara, in Central America, a species of

Antrostomus with two white eggs. Mr. Salvim has since informed

me that the parent of these white eggs has been ascertained to be

A. macromystax of Wagler.

So far aè we now know two of this genus, Pee Palela y and vocif-

erus, have eggs with purple marbling on a white ground, and two

have purely white eggs. Occasionally the eggs of vociferus are

most immaculate. It is quite possible that the other southern

forms of Antrostomus will be found to have unspotted white eggs

and that the markings of the more northern species 8 are the excep-

tions and not the rule.— T. M. Brewer.

More Monsters.— The account of a double pig in the June

number of the Natvrazist (page 567) leads me to say that there

are now in my possession awaiting examination the following

malformations.

1. A double pig, apparently identical with that above referred

to; the brains are perfectly preserved.

A pig more nearly double, the two individuals being joined

only by the thorax.

- A child with two heads, three legs and a rudimentary third

arm ; ; of this the viscera including the two brains are prese

4. Four calves with two heads each; from two of these the

~ brains are preserved.

5. A cock and a hen full grown, and possessing four legs each.

6. A young chick with one leg.

T. A foetal pig with seven toes on each manus and six on each

pes,

436 ZOOLOGY.

8. The manus of an adult pig with a well formed pollex.

9. A silver fish with partly divided tail.

10. A cat with only one kidney and one cornu of the uterus.

11. A pup, one day old; with no tail, single cloacal opening

and one kidney only one-fifth the size of the other.— Burr G.

WILDER.

Tue Derrus or Mip Ocean.—In her voyage from Teneriffe to

St. Thomas the British Exploring Ship “ Challenger” sounded and

dredged every other day. The soundings showed that a pretty

level bottom runs off from the African coast, deepening gradually

to a depth of 3,125 fathoms at about one-third of the way across

to the West Indies. If the Alps, Mont Blanc and all, were sub-

merged at this spot, there would still be half a mile of water above

them. Five hundred miles farther west there is a comparatively

shallow part, a little less then two miles in depth. The water then

deepens again to three miles, which continues close over to the

West Indies. At the deepest spots both on the east and west side

of the Atlantic, the dredge brought up a quantity of dark red clay,

which contained just sufficient animal life to prove that life exists

at all depths. No difficulty was experienced in obtaining these

deep-sea dredgings, and it was merely a question of patience, each

haul occupying twelve hours. In depths over two miles little has

been found, but that little was totally new.— Nature.

A Cars Jump. — The following statement, of the distance

leaped by a cat, is made by the Messrs. Sanford Brothers, of

Ithaca, N. Y., who are not only reliable but accurate observers

of the doings of animals. ‘ When our cat was about a year old,

he was seen on several days to take position upon a show-case

four feet high, and to watch a canary in a cage hanging from the

ceiling eight feet from the case; the ceiling was eleven feet from

the floor; and the cage an ordinary cylindrical one. One day, a8

we were observing him thus engaged, he suddenly sprung at the

cage and caught his claws upon it; his weight swung the cage up

against the ceiling, spilling all the vessels, and terrifying the

canary; after swinging to and fro several times, the cat dropped

to the floor uninjured; we measured the distance from the top of

the case to the cage and found it to be ten feet; so that the cat

made an ascent of six feet in hs or upon an incline of nearly

thirty-five degrees.” — B. G. Wit

ZOOLOGY. 437

CEstrus HOMINIS IN Texas. —I have in my possession a larva

supposed to be that of Œstrus hominis Gmelin; if it is not, it is

evidently very closely allied to that. It was taken from an ulcer on

the shoulder of an eight-year old boy, of our village, on the 15th

inst., by his mother, and given to the family physician, Dr. M. H.

Oliver, through whose kindness I was put in possession of it. It

is a whitish grub, about 4 of an inch in length, somewhat wider

than thick, the constrictions between the segments are well marked,

the cephalic hooks and anal stigmata are visible. It has the appear-

ance of not being fully grown. It is interesting from the fact that,

according to the ‘American Entomologist,” no fly belonging to this

family has heretofore been known to attack man within the United

States. — S. J. Srroor, Waxahachie, Ellis County, Texas, January

22,1873. [Having received Mr. Stroop’s specimen, we may say

that this is not the larva of Gstrus hominis, but of the sheep bot

fly (Œstrus ovis), or a closely allied species.—Ebs. ]

AGRICULTURAL Ants.—Mr. Moggridge has observed at Menton,

France, two species of ants (Aphenogaster) carrying into their

nests, during the winter months, the seeds of certain late fruiting

plants. He has traced their burrows to a spherical chamber filled

with the seed of a grass which he had seen the ants in the act of

transporting. ‘+ Outside the channels there was generally a heap

of the husks of the various seeds, and sometimes one of those

heaps would fill a quart measure. These husks had had their fari-

naceous contents extracted through a hole in one side. He pur-

posely strewed near the nests large quantities of millet and hemp

seeds. After the lapse of a fortnight many of these seeds, previ-

ously conveyed into the nests, had been brought out again, they

. having evidently commenced to germinate, and he then found that

the radicle was gnawed off from each seed, so as to prevent further

growth, and, this being effected, the seeds were carried back again.

Sen coty aR of germinated seeds were removed from the

est.”— Trans. Entomological Society of London, 1871.

Meramorrnoses or Burrerriies. — Dr. Burmeister has for-

warded to Paris a fine series of drawings illustrating the earlier

Stages of the magnificent South American Morphos and Pavonias ;

many details of their external anatomy are also represented. They

will be published in the “ Revue et Magazin de Zoologie” and will

Supply a great rabies ne in our knowledge of the metamorphoses

of butterflies

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Ax Inpian Carvine.— At a recent meeting of the Essex Insti-

tute, Mr. F. W. Putnam exhibited a very interesting carved stone

which he had received from Dr. Palmer of Ipswich, who stated

that it had been found at Turkey Hill, Ipswich.

This stone was evidently carved with care for the purpose of

being worn as an ornament, and was probably suspended from the

neck. It is of a soft slate, easily cut with a sharp, hard stone.

The markings left in various places by the carver, showing where

his tool had slipped, indicate that no very delicate , instrument

was used, while the several grooves, made to carry out the idea

of the sculptor, indicate as plainly that the instrument by which

they were made, had, what we should call, a rounded edge, like

that of a dull hatchet, as the grooves were wider at the top than

at the bottom, and the striz show that they were made by a sort

of sawing motion, or a rubbing of the instrument backwards and

forwards. In fact, the carver’s tool might have been almost any

stone implement, from an arrowhead to askin scraper, or any hard

piece of roughly chipped stone.

Figure 114 represents the stone of natural size, its total length

being two and a half inches. It is of general uniform thickness,

Fig. 114. about one-fifth of an

the angles are slightly

and on the abdominal

\ . tion representing the

Carved Stone from Ipswich, nat. size, forked tail, or caudal

fin, which is rapidly and symmetrically thinned to its edges, as is

the notched portion representing the dorsal fin.

The carving was evidently intended to represent a fish, with

some peculiar ideas of the artist added and several important char-

acters left out. The three longitudinal grooves in front represent

the mouth and jaws, while the transverse groove at their termina-

tion gives a limit to the length of the jaw, and a very decided

groove on the under side divides the under jaw into its right and

(488)

inch, except whiro,

outline, and the por- '

ANTHROPOLOGY. 439

left portions. The eyes are represented as slight depressions at

the top of the head. The head is separated from the abdominal

portion by a decided groove, and the caudal fin is well represented

by the forked portion, from the centre of which the rounded ter-

mination of the whole projects. In this part there is an irregu-

larly made hole of a size large enough to allow a strong cord to

pass through for the purpose of suspension. The portion of the

sculpture rising in the place of a dorsal fin is in several ways a

singular conception of the ancient carver. While holding the

position of a dorsal fin, it points the wrong way, if we regard the

portion looking so much like a shark’s tooth as intended to repre-

sent the fin as a whole. It is very likely that the designer wished

to show that the fin was not connected with the head and, as he

was limited by the length of the piece of stone, after making the

head so much out of proportion, he was forced to cut under the

anterior portion of the fin in order to express this fact. If we re-

gard it in this light, the notches on the upper edge may be consid-

ered as indicating the fin rays; but the figure best shows the

character of the sculpture, and persons interested can draw their

own conclusions.

The symmetry of the whole carving is well carried out, both

sides being alike, with the exception that the raised portion at the

posterior part of what has here been called the dorsal fin is a little

more marked on the left side than on the right, and the edge on

the same side is surrounded by a faint, irregularly drawn line.

The carving was unquestionably made by an Indian of the tribe

once numerous in this vicinity and, as it was almost beyond a

doubt cut by a stone tool of some kind, it must be considered as

quite an ancient work of art; probably worn as a «t medicine,”

and possibly indicated either the name of the wearer or that he

was a noted fisherman.

Discovery or A New Human SKELETON OF THE PALOLITHIC

Epocu 1N Irary.—M. E. Rivière describes (Comptes Rendus, 1873,

Part 16, 1027 ) the remains of a second fossil human skeleton from

the sixth cave of Baoussé — Roussé (Grottes de Menton), Italy.

The skeleton was found at a depth of nearly four metres below the

floor of the cave, lying extended on its back in the longitudinal

direction of the cave. The deposit forming the floor is regularly

Stratified, and consists of charcoal, ashes, of small calcined angular

Stones, bones and teeth of animals, shells and flints. Associated

440 MICROSCOPY.

with the remains were numerous flint implements and a few worked

in bone, as well as a number of perforated shells belonging to the

genera Nassa, Buccinum, Cyprea, ete.; these, from their position,

had evidently formed parts of a necklace and bracelets, and were

interred with the body. ‘The extreme friability of the bones did

not allow of their removal in so perfect a condition as that of the

first skeleton, but, in this case also. they belonged to a tall indi-

vidual, the skeleton measuring nearly two metres in length. In

the débris of the cave, bones of the following animals were met

with :— Ursus speleus, Hyena speleea, Canis lupus and vulpes,

Arctomys primigenia, Lepus cuniculus, Mus, Equus caballus, Sus

scrofa, Bos primigenius, Cervus Canadensis, Elaphus corsicus and

capreolus, and Capra primigenia. Besides there were found some

bones of a large eagle and of some birds of passage, as well as

numerous species of marine shells of the genera Patella, Pectun-

culus, Mytilus, Pecten, Dentalium, and Trochus.— The Academy.

MICROSCOPY.

APERTURES OF Oxsectives.—The full report having been re-

ceived of the London examination of the Tolles’ z5 inch objective

sent there for measurement, it appears that unfortunately the

examiners were thrown off their guard by an unexpected ele-

ment in the case, and that, incredible as it may seem, their report

does not touch the real question at issue. Everybody knows that

an objective with cover-adjustment possesses a certain range of

powers and angular apertures ; and no one doubts that Mr. Tolles

can make an objective of 145° aperture in air, or that the cor-

responding apertures would be 91° in water and 79° in thinned

balsam. The one question in regard to this objective is not its

balsam angle at an adjustment, dry, upon an accidentally or arbi-

trarily chosen object and the corresponding immersion angles, but

its balsam angle at its highest (working) adjustment. If, from

faulty mounting, the adjustment can be screwed past the limit of

good definition, then of course it ceases to be an achromatic ob-

jective at all, and its angle beyond such limit is not worth talking

about. The examiners do not state, however, that they examined

the combination at its highest available angle dry, still less at its

highest available angle immersed. Mr. Tolles’ prominence as &

successful maker of objectives gives a certain value to his state-

ments even when they seem arbitrary ; and it is to be hoped that

PS Fy gi pete Pe Th ts Ceo Sr ny S E AE Sag ee en nee eee Oe

ph ee

MICROSCOPY. 441

the secret of his peculiar belief in this case may be fully studied

out, notwithstanding the unscientific method which he has chosen,

in this instance, of appealing from principles to facts.

The principle involved in this discussion has long been under-

stood. An objective varies in working focal length, and in angular

aperture, according to the medium through which it works; and

this variation has a definite ratio to the refractive indices of the

media compared. By a simple and undisputed mathematical

computation, the sine of the semi-aperture in air is to the sine of

its semi-aperture in another medium, as the index of refraction of

that medium is to the index of air: or, as the index of air is unity,

the sine of its semi-aperture in any medium is equal to the sine of

its semi-aperture in air divided by the index of the other medium.

This theoretical ratio is easily verified by experiment, as instanced

by Mr. Brakey in the case under consideration, where an angle of

145° in air should give a fraction over 91° in water and 79° in

balsam so thin that its index was an arithmetical mean between

that of balsam and that of turpentine, while in hard balsam hav-

ing an index of 1.549 its aperture would have fallen to 76°. As

the angle in air approaches the extreme limit of 170° or upwards,

the balsam angle rises so slowly that the above 79° would scarcely

reach 83°, the extreme angle for pure balsam being necessarily

still smaller. This reasoning assumes only that the extreme ray

above the front combination, capable of entering into the image

when the objective is worked dry, is the extreme also when ad-

justed for immersion work.

Mr Tolles has aa declined either to accept or to con-

trovert this well known theory, preferring simply to offer proof of

his ability to excel this limit, without reconciling such result with

the mathematical doctrine. Whether he utilizes rays beyond the

extreme ray dry, or whether he measures rays not capable of form-

ing a (good) image he does not state, and we can only conjecture.

His ear ly publications seem to claim *‘ collecting” power for more

extreme rays; but his letter to the March number of the Monthly

Mic. Jour. practically disclaims this doctrine, and hints at a higher

refracting power than crown glass has, in the front lens, as the

Secret of his excessive angle. Curiously this letter happens to be

published in the same number with Mr. Brakey’s explanation that

the result is independent of the quality of the first lens, its index

of refraction occurring twice in the computation in such positions

as to cancel itself.

442 MICROSCOPY.

Mr. Wenham evidently does not recognize the possibility of

“ collecting,” by means of posterior combinations, rays more di-

vergent (behind the front lens) than those which are extreme

when the objective is worked dry; and Mr. Tolles distinctly dis-

avows this theory for his side of the controversy: yet it seems

neither absurd nor improbable, and it is most likely the expedient

by which the balsam angle is to be increased beyond 82°.

Since the above was in type Dr. J. J. Woodward has published

an important contribution on this subject in the Monthly Mic.

our. A y was sent to him in February by Mr. Tolles for ex-

amination. It gave good definition, through glass one seventy-

fifth of an inch thick, at its point of highest cover-adjustment ;

but at such adjustment its aperture could not be satisfactorily

measured by the tank method. He therefore contrived an inge-

nious modification of the card-board method, throwing parallel

solar rays through the objective from above, and measuring, in a

darkened room, the inverted cone of a light below the focus of

the objective, by bisecting this cone of light with a thin flat tank

filled with balsam or other medium, the objective being attached,

immersion fashion, to the surface of the medium. The illuminated

portion of the medium was easily seen and measured. This

method gave a balsam angle of not over 80° to the 4, sent to him

by Tolles for measurement, as well as to other Tolles’ lenses pre-

viously furnished by that maker. On being apprised of this result

Mr. Tolles sent a 1, which gave a balsam angle of 90° to 100°,

according to adjustment. This objective was peculiarly con-

structed, having four combinations instead of three; it could not

be worked dry, nor could it work through any but a very thin

cover. Dr. Woodward, and Prof. Simon Newcomb and Mr. Renel

Keith, who examined the lens with him, attributed the excessive

angle to the cause already alluded to, the employment of rays;

which if the lens were worked dry would be beyond the limits of

transmission, and would therefore suffer total reflection.

Mountine rv Barsam.—Mr. W. H. Walmsley’s success in mount-

ing objects gives great value to his practical suggestion contri-

buted to Science Gossip. He regrets that beginners should be

confronted with spring clips, spirit lamps, and over-heated balsam,

when balsam, dried to the point of brittleness and then dissolved

to the consistency of rich cream in chemically pure benzole, would

obviate the necessity for such annoyances. He frees the speck

MICROSCOPY. 443

men from moisture by drying or preferably by passing successively

through weak and absolute alcohol, treats it with oil of cloves

which is more desirable than turpentine because more readily mis-

cible with balsam and not calculated to harden the specimens even

if they are left in it for a long time, transfers it to the slide and

arranges it with needles, places a drop of the balsam solution on it

and applies the glass cover in the usual manner. In a few days

the mount will be sufficiently hardened to be handled with safety,

especially if after twenty-four hours it should be slightly warmed

and the cover carefully pressed down with the forceps and held

down with a small weight. The best finish for the edge of the

circle he finds to be the same balsam that is used in mounting, laid

on with a camel’s hair pencil ; since this is neat and handsome, and

will not spoil the specimen by running in, as may happen with col-

ored varnishes.

Uxmountep Microscoric Ossecrs.—Mr. Jno. H. Martin, of

Week street, Maidstone, England, is supplying a great want of

microscopists by furnishing unmounted objects for the use of

amateurs. His price for two dozen objects, post free, to the

United States, is one dollar.

Reso.urion or Frustutia Saxonica INTO Rows or Dors. After

my new Tolles 4, immersion had resolved the lines of Amphi-

pleura pellucida into beading, I succeeded in obtaining a slide of

Frustulia Saxonica, mounted dry by J. D. Moller. This test is

Somewhat easier than the Amphipleura, but more difficult dry than

Grammatophora subtilissima is in balsam, or at least I find it so

by lamp light, although both are satisfactorily shown. The fol-

lowing measurements were made with the Tolles jj; objective,

No. 2 eye-piece, and camera lucida ; amplification 4000 times.

Using an ammonio-sulphate of copper cell and sunlight, the

transverse striæ of the Frustulia are brought out without the least

difficulty. The average number of lines to the thousandth of an

inch, in fifteen measurements on different frustules, was eighty-

nine. This agrees essentially with the counts of Dippel and Dr.

Woodward.

I also succeeded in bringing plainly to view longitudinal lines

Which were counted in the same way. The average of fifteen

counts was ninety-five to the thousandth of an inch. The lowest

number observed was eighty-eight, the highest one hundred.

444 MICROSCOPY.

These lines I found more difficult than the transverse ones on Am-

phipleura pellucida, but patent enough to be accurately counted.

It appears then that Dr. Woodward was correct in regarding the

longitudinal striz of Dippel as diffraction phenomena, for they

were much coarser than the true lines, being as given by him only

about 50,000 to the inch.

Thus far everything was done with ease. Then with care the

bright apparently raised lines were transformed into rows of beads,

this resolution into dots being accomplished in a satisfactory

manner.

The results stated above have been repeatedly verified. I also

resolve into beads, with the <4, Navicula crassenervis, Striatella

unipunctata and any Pleurosigma.—G. W. MOREHOUSE.

Mourn on Breap.— Messrs. Rochard and Legros express the

belief, in “ Comptes Rendus,” that this frequent parasitic vegeta-

tion is due rather to the poor quality of the flour, or to bad man-

agement, than to the presence of germs in the air, and that it may

be prevented by adding an excess of salt to the bread.

Errects or Dyerxe Woot.—M. Dumas has been investigating

the question whether wool, and similar hairs, are penetrated by the

coloring material, or only colored externally in the process of

dyeing. In fresh wool he found all the layers perfect; but in

bleached wool the outer or cortical layer was marred or destroyed-

Fibres dyed with indigo, without boiling, contained granules of the

coloring matter between the cells; while hairs which had been

boiled in alumina and iron solutions appeared twisted or corroded.

Microscoric Eyes.—In the absence of any further information,

and indeed in spite of any possible information, the newspaper

story of the boy with microscopic eyes may safely be regarded =

a curious hoax, founded on the magnifying power of shortsighted

eyes as compared with longsighted ones. One eye may be calcu-

lated to form an image twice as large as another eye, or, by 2%

extraordinary deformity, several times as large; but it would be

no longer a human eye if capable of giving the high powers of the

microscope. That the author of the hoax did not even aim at

consistency or plausibility is seen in the representation that the

boy was able to use for ordinary purposes the eyes that were capa-

ble, unaided, of resolving diatoms.

See

NOTES. 445

EconomicaL Vaturt or Rapnripes.—Mr. F. C. S. Roper sug-

gested to the Eastbourne Nat. Hist. Soc. the value of raphides as

tests of the genuineness of certain medicinal substances obtained

from plants containing them. Though not new, this method of

detecting adulterations or falsifications is capable of a greatly in-

creased usefulness.

PatHoLtocy or Marignant Tumors.—Dr. W. B. Neftel, in a con-

tribution to the Archives of Scientific and Practical Medicine, ad-

vocates the doctrine that cancer is primarily a purely local disease,

due to mechanical or chemical irritation. Thus we notoriously

find it usually originating in localities most constantly subject to

such causes. Afterwards it becomes generalized by means of the

lymphatics and blood vessels, and affects other and distant organs ;

and the unsuspected promptness with which this takes place occa-

sions the frequent failure of local curative treatment. The exis-

tence of a hereditary disposition to malignant tumors, not in the

congenital acquisition of morbid germs, but in the inheritance of

a faulty structure or arrangement of tissues or organs, which thus

offer less resistance to the causes of disease, is not denied, but

is believed to have been greatly exaggerated.

VITALITY FROM Germs.—As a reaction from the always fascinat-

ing doctrine that organic germs of various kinds, when introduced

into the system of larger animals, have a tendency to cause disease

and destruction, it has been recently surmised, without attempt at

proof, that such germs may actually impart and increase vitality.

- Ovrruary.—Mr. James How, a well known philosophical instru-

ment maker of London, formerly with George Knight and Son, of

London, and lately successor to them, died suddenly, Dec. 8, 1872.

Mr. How will be remembered for his skill in the use of the micro-

Scope, but especially for his prominence among those who took

the lead in introducing students’ microscopes of good quality and

cheap price.

NOTES.

THE meeting of the American Association at Portland next

month bids fair to be one of the largest held for several years,

and we understand that quite a number of titles of papers to be

446 NOTES.

read have already been entered. A number of the older members

of the association, several of whom were unable to attend the

western meetings, have intimated their intention to be present,

which will add much to the scientific results of the session. The

entomologists are also anticipating a full attendance, and anthro-

pology will probably be well represented, while geology and gen-

eral zoology will unquestionably be maintained in their usual

force. Botany has for many years been but slightly represented,

to the regrets of workers in other fields. Will not the botanists

show their force this year? Section A will probably be largely

represented, as heretofore, by many distinguished scientists. Par-

ticulars relating to the meeting are given in our advertising pages.

Ar the late Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Sci-

ence and Arts, Boston, Prof. Asa Gray resigned the chair of Pres-

ident which he had held for the past ten years. The following

officers were elected :— President, Hon. Charles Francis Adams;

Vice President, Prof. Joseph Lovering; Cor. Sec’y, Prof. J. P.

Cooke, Jr; Rec. Sec’y, Prof. E. C. Pickering; Treasurer, H. G.

Denney; Librarian, Edmund Quincy; Council: Class I, Prof.

Benj. Peirce, Prof. Wolcott Gibbs and J. B. Henck; Class II,

Alex. Agassiz, Prof. Asa Gray (in place of Prof. J. Wyman

who declined reélection), and Dr. Charles Pickering; Class III,

Rey. G. E. Ellis, Hon. R. C. Winthrop and Prof. A. P. Peabody.

Scrence in Europe has met a great loss in the recent deaths of

Baron Liebig, the distinguished chemist, and of De Verneuil, the

French geologist and associate of Sir R. I. Murchison in the geo-

logical survey of Russia.

Lastly, who will say that John Stuart Mill, ‘the greatest living

master of the purely inductive philosophy,” did not exert an im-

portant influence on physical, as well as mental and political

science, and anthropology, in its broadest sense?

Tue U. S. Fish Commission under Prof. S. F. Baird will spend

the summer at Peak’s Island, Portland Harbor. A large number

of students and naturalists will assemble there, and the Commis-

sioner’s headquarters will form, as they have in the past, a most

important school for the study of biology. A steam-tug has been

provided by the government for dredging on an extended scale,

and plans are on foot for deep-sea dredging.

ise E a a eh la “<> ers

Gee eet A a ee ee ee re ay

NOTES. 44T

Tue “ Scientific Correspondence” of Goethe was collected by

Goethe himself, and will fill two volumes; it comprises the years

1812-32, though most of the letters appertain to 1822-27. There

are letters addressed to Goethe by Blumenbach, Carus, Loder,

Sommering, Seebeck, d’Alton, Brandes, von Henning, Martius,

Nees von Esenbeck, Purkinje, Wermburg, and Zschokke. It ap-

pears from them that, Goethe kept up the most lively and detailed

interest in the progress of science and natural history until the

latest period of his life.— The Academy.

Ir is with much pleasure that we record the recent munificent

donation of one hundred thousand dollars to the Museum of

Comparative Zoology made by Mrs. Quincy Shaw, a daughter of

Prof. Agassiz. We have never seen a statement of the permanent

funds of the museum, but are confident that a dozen or more

similar donations would not come amiss, for the expenses of such

establishments are much greater than is generally supposed.

We notice with regret that the aquarial car which was con-

veying the living fish, oysters and lobsters to the Pacific coast

only succeeded in stocking the river at Omaha with such of the

animals as survived the fall through the bridge. Query.—How

about the strength of the bridges on “ the great continental high-

way?”

Tue professorship of Natural History in Ann Arbor, lately

vacated by Professor Winchell, has been filled by the election of

Professor Eugene W. Hilgard of the Un ‘iversity of Mississippi, a

gentleman of the highest attainments and especially known in

eae. Scientific world from his reports on the geology of the Gulf

tates

Pror. N. S. SHarer of Harvard College has been appointed

State Tona of Kentucky, his native state. Prof. Shaler is for

the present in England. We learn from the daily papers that he

has accepted the situation.

A fine chance is offered to any enterprising naturalist who

wishes to test by experiments the theory of cave life, as the

present proprietors of the Mammoth Cave offer to sell the cave

and all its contents for the sum of $500,000.

THE distinguished botanist Wm. S. Sullivant died at Columbus,

Ohio, on April 30th, aged 70 years.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

i agen of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for the year 1872. 8vo, pp. 192 Bos-

ton, 1872

eats ca Survey rs Canada. Report of Progress for 1871-72. 8vo, pp. 154, with maps.

l 2.

List o

Publication. f Canada, 8vo. pp. 7 Montreal, 1873.

as ae 01 F populære gem, = nadas af j iera S ække 4, Vol. v, No. 1. 8vo,

p- »benhavn

cet Sur Anth tie ba logie. d V. Vierteljahrsheft 4. 4to. pp. 359-547. Braunschw eig G]

Dec. 1 Corresponden: Blatt aan deutss: can Gesellschaft fur Anthropologie, Ethnologie

Uronckiokic 4to. Nos. 9-12,

is Ts. of the ghana of Atura Sciences of Philadelphia. 8vo. Part ur Philadel-

Report of the Board of Berme o the University of Minnesota including the Geologi

and Natura E Mistery Survey of M rd Annual Report for the year 1372. By N

Winchell. 8vo. pp. 167, with ma Ai "Saint “Pau , 1573.

Additional Observations on the Dinocerata. O Q. C. Marsh. 8vo. pp 4. (From Am, Jour,

„and Arts, Vol. V, April, 1873). New Haven. k

A Contribution to e Achthyology of Alaska, By Edward D. Cope. 8yo. pp 9. (From Proc,

is. Phil. wee , Feb. 17. 1873.)

On the Short-footed “Cnpuiata of the Eocene of Wyoming. By Edward D. Cope. 8vo, pp. 37.

Witla piotox (From Proc. Am. Philos. Soe., Feb. 21, are Received March 20, 1873.

Catalogue of the Fiowers ng Prang of Vermont. By G e H. Perkins, 5vo. pp. 16. (Fro:

Archives of Science, ga 18/2. Jan ana April, 1573.

The n a Fau New ah y George H. Perkins. 8vo. pp. 55. (From Proc.

Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Va. xiii, € rs A 4 1869,

‘The Mechanism ws the Ossicles or “the Ear and Membrana Tympani, By H. Helmholtz. Trans-

tions. New) by Albert H. Buck and Normand Smith. 8vo. pp. 69, with 12 illustra-

ns. New Y

oe "i873.

iews 2 Nature and the Elements —Forces and Phenomena of Nature and of Wind. By Ezra

An 12mo. pp 140 New York, 1873.

Sa ist of ‘iitecations tn that portion of the United States west of the Mississippi River. 8vo. pp.

. ashin

A List of a rth American Lichens. By Henry Willey, 12mo. pp. 30. Jan, 1873, New Bedford

rch: tary Note on the Dinocerata, 8yo. pp. 2. (From Am, Jour. Sci. aud Arts. Vol. “a

ri k

as. Do a Second Deep-sea Dredging Expedition to the Gulf of oe Lawrence, with some Re-

pia the SeT wi Fisheries of the Province of Quebec. ef < Whiteaves. 8vo. pp. 22.

teier Jan k

On the Action of Rhus venenata and Rhus toxicodendron upon the Human Skin. By James C.

White. 8vo. pp. 27. Siae = New York Medical Journal, March, 1873.)

Perea te Lingoa or Modern Tupi of the Amazonas. By Chas, Fred. Hartt. 8vo. PP-

20. ans. Am onl ol. Ass., 1872.) ds

Tiddsskriyt eo opulære enin E af Naturvidenskaben, Fjerde Række. Femte Binds.

Andet — Kiubent havn, Lv

John Ti : orrey: A Rieter ‘Notice. 8vo. pp. 11. (From Am. Jour, Sci. and Arts, Vol. V,

Peg Second, d, Fourth and Fifth Annual Reports of the Se ridge of the Connecticut

eaor radgrcuhure for i 1366, 1867, 1868-9, pe 1571-2 5 vols. 8vo. Hartford. ‘as

mals. Svo. (From Am, Jour. Sci. dea “Art, Vol. V. yy

wis “Received May id

Oversight over det P Kongetige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger og dets Medlem-

mers Arbeider. mee piu No.1 ee ie: pan:phs, Kjubenhayn, z 1

Bulletin de la la Boek Imperiale des Naturatistes de Mos Mos 54l-

: mogene icone Vedder Tryk ae By deiot Boen. “4to. pp. 7)

ics Erom fead Selsk. Skr., 5 Række, gua plane realer. P Mathematisk Afd., ix .

OH lav

Bidrag a isa om Egefamilien i Fortid og Nutid. By A. S. Orsted. (From Vidensk.

Sel-. Skr., 5 Række, Bs te basse ir oR Bublicmatiok Adf., y Bd 6.) 4to, pp. 335-538. With

8 plates aon one map. Kjobenhavn, | By

Fifth Annual Report on the Nos ious, Beneficial and other Insects of the State of Missouri.

“hanes V. Riley, 5vo. oe. 160. seas teen City, 1873. ton,

= nnual Report of the State Geologist of New Jersey for the year 1872. 8vo. pp. 44. Tren

aan of the Entomological Societ Ontario, 1872, sachet a Report on some of the Noxious,

al and Cona dr of 7 Dagon nce of Ontari By ETF S. Bethune, 8v0. pp. 7»

att wel Medi-

Stri Urethra. By F.N, Otis. 8vo, pp. 20. ral from the N. Y.

cal ear Stag grins dsrs New York, 1575. gton,

Monthly Report of the Department of Agriculture for March,1873. 8vo. pp. 131. Washin

The Academy. a ee May 15-June 2, 1873, American Journa cience and Arts. New

Canadian Entomologist. je

sec te nce ee iri Piper ghey wy ae Institute. Philadel

: ay 17-June phia, J a E7

Field. London, M a a Jon var Botany. London, June, 1873.

Zand and Water. Bay aa ts 7, 24, 1873. ae a N Monthly. Mew Ork da

Nature. ai rg tons epa Dy ony piar 1873.

or, Say st brrey Botanical Ciub. New Newman’s Entomologist. London, June,

Tl EL ae

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VIL.— AUGUST, 1873.—No. 8.

HCH ORMDOD D2

PHYLLOTAXIS OF CONES.

BY PROFESSOR 'W. J. BEAL.

Is the summer of 1870 I examined a large number of cones of

several species of Conifere to see if there was any variation in

their leaf arrangement. It has long been well known that the

scales or leaves of cones show very plainly a certain number of

parallel spiral whorls twisting to the right and a different number

twisting to the left. A closer examination will also usually reveal

other parallel whorls (one or more in each direction) with numbers

differing from those most easily seen. By beginning with the

simplest forms of alternate leaf-arrangement, as the elm (4), and

sedges (1); and then to the more common but more complicated,

as the cherry (2), and American larch (3), it is found that in these

fractions the numerator expresses the number of times we pass

around the stem to find a leaf directly over the one with which

we started, while the denominator indicates the number of vertical

ranks or rows of leaves up and down the stem. This is nicely

Proven to be true in the case of a fraction with large numerator

and denominator in the leaves of Yucca filamentosa, where the

fraction is thirteen thirty-fourths, if memory is not at fault. In

Yucca the bases of the leaves are so broad that they reach about

half-way around the stem, so it is easy to see which is below or

outside of all the others. The fractions above mentioned also

express the angular divergence or show the proportion of the

Sr np Peabo pep cap a etnamemamelieele

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 29 (449)

450 PHYLLOTAXIS OF CONES.

whole circumference which intervenes between any two consecu-

tive leaves of the same spiral whorl.’ Stretch a wire or band with

marks or appendages so as to be alternate, two-ranked as are the

leaves in the elm; then by giving the band a twist, it brings the

marks three-ranked, like the sedges; still farther torsion brings

them five-ranked, like the leaves of a cherry tree; still more twist

and they stand as the scales of the American larch, which is ex-

pressed by the fraction three-eighths.

e -= common series of fractions found in alternate leaves

is 3, 4, 2, 8, #5. o%, 42, 24, 34, etc. The relations of these sev-

eral numerators and denominators have been repeatedly shown by

various authors.

After the first two fractions, each succeeding one may be made

by adding both of the previous numerators for its numerator and

both of the previous denominators for its denominator. Each

denominator is the same as the second succeeding numerator.

Also, taking the orders of secondary spirals nearest the vertical

line, on each side, right and left, the number of parallel spirals of

the lower order of these two will give the numerator; and this

number, added to the number of parallel spirals of the higher

order will give the denominator.”—Henfrey. Also “the number of

the parallel secondary spirals is the same as the common difference

of the numbers on the leaves that compose them.”—Gray. These

relations enable us to number easily each scale of any cone, oF

count the spirals each way, and then determine with accuracy the

fraction expressing its Phyllotaxis. Balfour and Gray in their

text books say the Phyllotaxis is uniform in the same species, and

that one direction or the other generally prevails in each species,

and that both directions are sometimes met with in different cones

of the same tree. Several other text books make the same asser-

tions. Most authors on this subject with which I am familiar say

there are only rare cases of other series of a P. Duchartre

mentions two other series, viz : 4, 3, 2, 3,, v5) sf) ete.) p b $ 14?

zz, etc., and observes that-the same relation exists in different

fractions of each series as exist in the fractions of the more COM-

‘mon series.

Mr. Hubert Airy recently read a paper before the Royal So-

England, an abstract of which is given in “ Nature” for

Rini 6, 1873. After mentioning some experiments which show

the intimate relations of different fractions of the common series,

PHYLLOTAXIS OF CONES. 451

he adds: “It also appears that the necessary sequence of these

successive steps of condensation, thus determined by the geometry

of the case, does necessarily exclude the non-existent orders 4, 3,

$, #1, ete.” This conclusion “determined by the geometry of the

case,” proves to be only an incorrect theory, as shown by the fol-

lowing :

I examined nearly all the cones (one hundred and fifty-five)

which grew upon a Norway spruce, seventy-four of which showed

five parallel spirals to the right and eight to the left; while sev-

enty-four showed eight spirals to the right and five to the left.

Five cones had seven spirals to the right and four spirals to the

left. One cone had four spirals to the right and six to the left,

and one cone had six spirals to the right and four to the left. I

will try to tabulate this and others in a briefer manner : —

NORWAY SPRUCE. ... 74 Cones had 5 spirals to the right, 8 to the left.

On Tree No. poured Biy i é “ “ “ec “ 5 és “

1 oe 8

5 t 7 “ “ (23 & “

1 ‘ce t 4 (23 éé ‘6 6 “ “

1 t “ 6 “cc t é 4 « “

On Wee Ne. boo Ie eR a Saye e

21 t6 “ 8 é “ ét Gi core “

a ce “ce 4 ce ac ce 6 “ec “

IVAN S G N Oe ee eee

19 “ “ 8 “ sc “ 5 «u “

1 “ t 7 “ “ i ae sc

On Tree No.4) Cs (23 ét 8 éc “ec (23 5 é éé

17 “ “6 5 t “ “ s « “

4 “ “ 7 “ oc “ 4 ét 4

2 é “ 4 ‘“s +“ ét 7 « “

1 “ 4 4 “ 3 éé ġ «“ “

1 BE Mt 6 “ a é 4 és

COT NOB is BE a a S

44 “ é 8 éc se “ 5 ég “

6 é “ 4 “ s ; éé y E s

3 “ é ri (z3 ég “u 4 “e (23

1 t ct 4 “ “ “ g t é

2 ‘“ “ 6 “ t é 4 ét i

Ne a ee ee

53 “ “ 8 ét é 4“ 5 “ “

1 T3 é £ “c “ec “ 7 é é

6 “ é 7 t “ i 4 oe “

4 F ic é & é “ g “ a

8 e é 6 é é “ 4 se c

On ENOT y enin Bs a te s a he ue y

13 ee I: l

Fos romba oe Me “ s x

“ 8 “ “cc “& 5 “ “

“ i “ “u ht e “

EUROPEAN LARCH. . . 29 bee a aie fn ` K Enga

s “ 4 “ s i 7 “ “

2 “a “& 7 “ “ Pea es

1 “ “a 3 “ “ “ 6 « t

452 PHYLLOTAXIS OF CONES.

LACK SPRUCE. ... . 80 Cones had 5 spirals to the right, 8 to the left:

Sian for 1869, . a a ee “ “ 5u “

Saye wri 6c t To “

eee ee i “ c «6 g “

1 “ eae a é e é 6 & ‘“

3 éé “ 6 st “cc 4 L n se

Same tree in 1870,...26 <“ Hah “ “6 “ 8 6 “

23 se ce 8 ce “ce “ce 5 ce ts

ee co té “u “ A R “

AMERICAN LARCH. ..30 “ ait | é é “« 5 6s

34 e “ 5 s “ “u E AE é

3 o “ 4 “ aa “ 6 e “

1 “6 “ec 6 c s ve r Ro 3 “

1 (23 ét T “ s 4 cc

i AAD wg & t “4&lo“ c x

In all of these cases it was possible to see other spirals, but I

have mentioned those most apparent in each case. For instance,

in the most common forms of Norway spruce, there were spirals

with three rows, eight and twenty-one one way, and five and

thirteen the other way. Other cones showed three and seven one

way, and four and eleven the other.

To cut this article short, the fractions for xa cones of POPE

spruce was 42, for others it appears to: be 34, and for others 3%.

' By operating with the fraction 44 and other nambers of spirals on

the cones in the same way as we may on the most common forms,

we get this series of fractions, viz: 3, 3, +4, Tę, 44, etc. Other

cones noticed in the table as having four and six nets had also

two, ten, and sixteen. The fraction for these was 3%, and would

be found in a series 2, 2, +4, 1, 42, 18, ete. The latter we ob-

serve, when each fraction is reduced to its lowest terms, is the same

as the first or most common fractions. mentioned. Most cones of

the European larch had the phyllotaxis expressed by the fraction

zr Others by 74, one,other by -&. This latter cone had three, six

and nine spirals, and falls into the following series, viz: 8, 8

Z 48, ete. Most cones of the American larch fall under the

fraction 3, Othars “4 35, others

In these few examples ‘he | same number of parallel spirals is

about equally divided in the two directions, right and left. They

also show that other series than the one usually accepted as

almost universal, are not uncommon, as they may be found on a

variety of coniferous trees, though in smaller numbers

Plants with the leaves opposite generally have them four-ranked

up and down the-stem, and then the leaves are said to decussate.

If we start with a plastic stem of this nature we get a fraction A

to express it; giving the axis a slight twist we get 2, another

5 REN as ee sy ER

eS Sa ei ira te ae ns Be ae See aay rs een, a

eee

THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALIFORNIAN MOTHS. 453

twist we get z, another twist ;&, etc. Some of our cones, then,

fall into the phyllotaxis of opposite leaves the same as though the

stem were more or less twisted. The single cone of the European

larch which indicated the fraction + (a fraction requiring a di-

vision of numerator and denominator by three to reduce it to its

lowest terms) falls under decussate whorls of three for its sim-

plest fraction.

I leave any further consideration of this matter showing the re-

lations of the fractions to each other, etc., fo those who have a

greater skill in mathematics than myself. My examples indicate

that we may look for some curious series of fractions by diligently

examining the phyllotaxis of a great number of plants of many

different species.

It would be interesting to know whether there are any cones

which fall into series beginning with decussate whorls of four or

more scales.

ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALIFORNIAN MOTHS.*

BY A. S. PACKARD, JR.

Tue Phalænidæ (Geometrids) of California (including mre

and Nevada) seem to be composed of four elements: (1) of spe-

cies of genera exclusively American (North and South). ad

are Cherodes, Sicya, Hesperumia, Tetracis, Azelina, Gorytodes

and Metanema. Certain species of these, with several of Tephro-

sia (a genus largely found in the New World) are the most char-

acteristic of the Pacific slope of the United States.

(2) The species next most characteristic belong to the following

genera : — Halia, Tephrina, Selidosema and Heterolocha. Species

of these groups occur in Europe, but especially (all except Halia

which has a species (H. novaria) living in northern Europe) in

southern Europe, around the Mediterranean Sea, western Asia,

and Asia Minor; while species of Heterolocha occur in Abyssinia

and South America (Quito).

(3) The next group comprises a few arctic or circumpolar s

cies of Coremia, Cidaria and Larentia, or of cosmopolite genera

oo Extracted fom a communication presented to the Boston Society of Natural His-

tory, May 7,1

454 THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALIFORNIAN MOTHS. '

such as Hypsipetes, Cidara, Coremia; Eupithecia, Scotosia, Acid-

alia and Boarmia

(4) There are cite species common to both the Pacific and At-

lantic states, viz., Larentia cumatilis, Camptogramma gemmata,

Tephrosia Cnsadavis and Azelina Hibneraria.

In the brief introductory remarks to the first part of this Cata-

logue (these Proceedings vol. xiii, 381) we briefly alluded to the

fact that some Californian Lepidoptera repeat certain features pe-

culiar to the fauna of Europe. I find that there are but two forms

strikingly European among the Phalenide, viz., Numeria Califor-

niaria Pack. (wrongly described by me as Ellopia Californiaria

xiii, p. 384) which is very near the European Numeria pulveraria,

and quite different from the Atlantic states N. obfirmaria, and

the genus Chesias which does not, so far as yet known, occur in

the Atlantic region.*

But if we find a very few species which recall the European fauna,

there are on the other hand many peculiar European genera which

do not occur in the Pacific region. In other groups of Lepidopters

there are some species that recall European types ; such, especially,

are Papilio Zolicaon Boisd., representing the European P. Machaon,

and the genus Parnassius, which does not occur in the Atlantic

region.

Going out of the Phalenide, we find a few European types of

Bombycide which occur in California and are not found in the

Atlantic states, such as the genera Epicallia and Callarctia.

On the other hand we find in California no such development of

the genus Lithosia as in Europe, no species of Zygæna, no Psychi-

de (except Phryganidia, an aberrant form); no such develop-

ment of Hepialus, while Xyleutes robinic, as in the Atlantic states,

represents the European Cossus ligniperda; moreover the various

forms of Lasiocampa and other allied genera are far less numerous

if not (L. Carpinifolia Boisd. is, according to Grote, a species of

Gastropacha) quite wanting in the Pacific region.

We miss again in the Pacific states any species of Telea or-

Tropea, forms linking the Atlantic or northeastern American ento-

mological fauna with that of northeastern Asia (Telea being —

Topreepnted by the closely allied Anthærea and Tropæa Luna

Dinsdae

o "I SoA toa supposed species of Rumia. On further examination I find aa

this and and the Main types of a genus, biden ough allied to Rumia, ap

a present paper r call it Hesperum

SSS Se eras

sect BS i ee usr eioi E re

ai n kes = 2 Pioneer

so SARIS ta gs ee aN FC A nal a eee ae aes ae | it ae Sp a A race, Oe cae ee A a

Re sl melas i S ah! ge eR ct

THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALIFORNIAN MOTHS. 455

being represented by T. Selene Leach). California has evidently

not borrowed her insect fauna from northern China or Japan.*

In the Neuroptera we have strong European features, the genus

Rhaphidia t occurring in the Pacific states, and not in the Atlantic,

while Boreas Californicus is more like the European B. hyemalis

than our two Atlantic species.

The crustacean fauna of northeastern America, with Limulus

as its most remarkable feature, repeats that of eastern Asia ;

but on the other hand Dr. Hagen states that the European

genus Astacus occurs in California, while Cambarus is only found

east of the Rocky mountains.

Mr. F. W. Putnam informs me that of one hundred and sev-

enty-three genera of fishes given by Günther as inhabiting the

seas about Japan, only about thirty-six are represented on the

northwestern coast of America, and of these thirty-six the major-

ity are also found in the Atlantic, while about eighty others of the

Japanese genera are also represented on the southeastern coast of

North America and in the West Indian seas, of which a number

` are found on the western coast of Central America as well. He

also tells me that the fresh water fishes of northern Asia, when

compared with those of other regions, more nearly resemble those

of the northeastern parts of North America, though a number of

_ the genera are also common to both North America and Europe.

By the same authority I am informed that there is a striking re-

semblance between the reptiJes and batrachians of northeastern

Asia and northeastern America.

My attention has been drawn to a consideration of these fea-

tures in the geographical distribution of animals by a perusal of

the able and suggestive essay by Prof. Gray on the distribution of

California plants, in his address at the Dubuque meeting (Aug.,

1872) of the American Association for the Advancement of Sci-

*Dr. Boisduval, who was the first to publish a lepidopterous fauna of California

enumerates the following species of Lepidoptera as being common to Cali i

Euro Vanessa Atalanta, V. cardui, V. Antiopa, Chelonia caja and C.

Arctia [Phragmatobia] fuliginosa, Gonoptera libatrix, metriculosa, Am-

Dhipyr midea, S ex A i A, fumosa,

lia asteris, C. Plastenis subtusa Fabr., Noctua triangulum, N. plecta,

Hadena pisi, H. tea, ogona Plusia festuce, P. ionis, P.

are scarcely more distinctive of Europe than of ica, some of them being

bein;

common to the subarctic regions of the two continents, and others may yet prove to be

distinct from the European species.

tRhaphidia has as yet only been found in Europe, northern Asia, and western North

i Lachlan). h

456 THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALIFORNIAN MOTHS.

ence, and of Mr. Lesquereux’ able papers in Hayden’s Geological

Reports on the Territories, 1872. The main features in the geo-

graphical distribution of land animals are apparently the same with

those of plants. Prof. Gray shows that ‘almost every character-

istic form in the vegetation of the Atlantic States is wanting in

California, and the characteristic plants and trees of California

are wanting here” (i. e., in the Atlantic States). We may on the

whole say of thé Californian Lepidoptera, at least, as Dr. Gray re-

marks of the plants, that they are “as different from [those] of

the eastern Asiatic region (Japan, China and Mandchuria) as they

are from those of Atlantic North America. Their near relatives,

when they have any in other lands, are mostly southward, on the

Mexican plateau. . . . The same may be said of the [insects] of

the intervening great plains, except that northward and in the

subsaline [insects* ] there are some close alliances with the [in-

sects] of the steppes of Siberia. And along the crests of high

mountain ranges the arctic-alpine [insect-fauna] has sent south-

ward more or less numerous representatives through the whole

length of the country” (p. 10). He then refers to the ‘“ astonish-

ing similarity” of the flora of the Atlantic United States with that

of northeastern Asia. Our actual knowledge of the insect spe-

cies of northeastern Asia is most vague compared with the exact

knowledge of the botanist, and the comparison we have drawn

. relates only to generic types.

e It is evident that the notion of continental bridges in quater-

. nary times, connecting for example Asia and California, is quite

unnecessary, since there are, so far as is yet known, no forms

characteristic of Asia in the Californian fauna, and the grand diffi-

culty is to account for the presence of a certain resemblance to

* Dr. Leconte has noticed’ the simil arity of our saline-plains beetles, oe ee s0

many species of Tenebrionidæ, to the fauna of the deserts and steppes of Asi . (Proc:

Sci., 1851. Alb

er x

graphical Relations 08 Rg chief Contam ese p. 36, 1871) also refers to this

fact; genus El H ds:

tirps than perhaps occurs east of the Rocky Mountains.” =

Mr. Murray in explaining the term m ee, states that “the fauna ap

yl ts type and standard.”

THE DISTRIBUTION OF CALIFORNIAN MOTHS. 457

the European fauna in that of California. Here I think Dr. Gray

has been the first to indicate a solution of the problem. Our

knowledge of American fossil tertiary insects is at present almost

nil; we must, then, in the absence of any evidence to the con-

trary, follow the conclusions of Gray with the later confirmation

of Heer and Lesquereux.

The ancestors of the Californian Parnassius, Rhaphidia and

other European forms, may have inhabited the Arctic tertiary con-

_ tinent, of which Greenland and Spitzbergen are the remains, and

their descendants forced southward have probably lost their foot-,

hold in the Atlantic region and survived in California and Europe,

like the Sequoia in California. Something more than similarity of

climate is needed to account for the similarity of generic forms ;

hence community of origin, with high antiquity and a southward

migration of forms not of tropical origin, are the factors needed

to work-out the problem. That something of this sort has taken

Place in marine animals we know to be the fact. Certain forms

now supposed to be extinct on the coast of New England and

Scandinavia, such as Yoldia arctica Gray (Nucula Portlandica

Hitchcock), are still living in the seas of Greenland and Spitz-

bergen. The quaternary fauna of Maine indicates a much more

purely arctic assemblage than is at present to be found. This is

also the case with the Scandinavian quaternary fauna, according

to the researches of Prof. M. Sars. As we have before shown, the

cireumpolar marine fauna runs down along the coast of north-

eastern America and of Europe, and the forms common to the

two shores have not come one from the other. Europe has not

Perhaps borrowed in quaternary times from America, but both

have been peopled from a purely circumpolar fauna. If there has

n any borrowing it has been on the part of Europe, since the

fossil musk ox of France and central Europe is said to be identical

With the musk ox of arctic America. So also on the coast of

northeastern Asia and Alaska are circumpolar forms, which have

evidently followed the flow of the arctic currents down each coast.

forms which are identical or representative on these two coasts

are forms derived from the circumpolar fauna; so the forms which

are so strikingly similar in northern Japan to those on the coast

of New England are, if we mistake not, also derived from the

northward. I believe it to be a matter of fact that the Atlantic

tates species of insects which are common to the two countries,

458 STATUS OF ARISTOTLE IN SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY.

are, if not of circumpolar, at least of subarctic or boreal origin.

From these facts we are led to accept the conclusions of Les-

quereux and Gray that co-specific or congeneric forms occurring

in California and Europe and Asia, are the remnants of a south-

ward migration from polar tertiary lands during tertiary and even

perhaps cretaceous times ; and in proportion to the high antiquity

of the migrations there have been changes and extinctions causing

the present anomalies in the distribution of organized beings

which are now so difficult to account for on any other hypothesis.

For this reason it is not improbable that those species of insects

which are more or less cosmopolite (and independently so of human

agency) are the most ancient, just as some forms taxonomically

the most remote are remnants of earlier geological periods. For

example, the curious anomalies in the geographical distribution of

Limulus, the genus only occurring on the eastern coasts of Asia

and North America, accord with its isolation from other crustacea.

Geological extinction has gone hand in hand with geographical

isolation. It was a common form in Europe in the jurassic period,

and in the next lower (permian) period but one (the triassic inter-

vening) we find other Merostomata and a few Trilobites.

We make these speculations hoping that much light will be

thrown upon the subject by studies on the rich tertiary insect

beds of the west, and of the fossil insects in the arctic tertiary

and cretaceous formations. Until then we must regard all foun-

dations for these hypotheses as laid by the fossil botanist.

ON'THE STATUS OF ARISTOTLE IN SYSTEMATIC

alae! ZOOLOG

BY THEODORE GILL, M.D., PH. D.

ğ PEN ;

Sucu extravagant claims have been urged in favor of the recogni!

tion of Aristotle as an exponent of. classificatory science, and as 4

model meet to be followed by the naturalists of the rising genera-

tion, that it may be timely to inquire into the merits of such claims;

must, of course, in justice to the ancient author, exclude from con-

and whether they are really justified by his works. In doing 50 Wè

EE anes oe cate

Se eS oy eee ee Sate ee

fica Tak Siam a hee We ea sca Bie Be ce AO ieee emer Ae Pld Pate el ia Se ee ren Ae er ey ese ry

STATUS OF ARISTOTLE IN SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY. 459

sideration the results of accumulation of data by various workers,

which have culminated in the recognition of the valuation and sub-

ordination of groups now prevalent, and limit ourselves to the in-

quiry whether there was aught, either in the spirit or the method

of inquiry exhibited in Aristotle’s works, or in any of his conclu-

sions, far in advance of his own age and transcending (as has been

urged) even the fruits of the researches of Linné and later writers.

And inasmuch as the mammals are the best known, and most

familiar to the naturalist as well as layman, the treatment of the

members of that class may be examined, and it may be regarded

as tolerably certain that if ill fortune has resulted in their case, it

as, to even a greater degree, in others: and, as a matter of fact,

such has resulted in other cases, but the reader will have to take

for granted that the writer has satisfied himself of the fact. If the

statement should be gainsaid, he is prepared to prove the truth of

the assertion ; meanwhile, proof is only offered affecting the clas-

sification of the mammals. The references to the book, chapter,

and paragraph where are found the assertions commented upon,

will enable verification (or correction) to be readily made. The

principal claims in behalf of Aristotle affecting the mammals are

the following :—

lst. The complete and soene recognition of the class as now

limited.

2d. The recognition of relations based on scientific induction

_ and knowledge of homologies.

_ 8d. The recognition of natural groups (families, orders, etc.) as

now understood.

4th. The appreciation of the principles of classification ; or, in

other words, the subordination of values of such ee

These may be examined in the order enumerated

1. Recoenition or THE cLass. It has been Bie that the full

recognition of the class of mammals was attained by Aristotle ;

that, in fact, “The Zootoka of Aristotle included the same out-

: wardly diverse but organically eee beings which constitute the

mmalia of modern naturalists

It is quite true that all the Dani were recognized as Zo-

otoka (or viviparous), but so were other animals, and the adjective

Was not restricted to the mammals. In reference to reproduction,

Aristotle has simply remarked, as matters of ordinary observation,

*Owen (R.) On the classification. . . of the mammalia. . . 1859, p. 1.

460 STATUS OF ARISTOTLE IN SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY.

that animals are viviparous, oviparous and vermiparous. Such

a distribution would naturally occur to one who had observed a

number of facts, but very little scientific knowledge would suffice

to correct the erroneous first impression.

Further, among the viviparous animals are included man, the

horse, the seal,* and others with hair; and among marine animals

the cetaceans, but so are also the Selachians (I, iv, 1) and, in

another chapter (I, vi, 2), the viper is added. He makes, it is true,

a distinction between such as are internally viviparous and ovipa-

rous (I, iv, 2) for he had not conceived of the possibility of the

truth embodied in the aphorism ‘‘omne vivum ex ovo” but there is

no evidence that he had any conception of the significance of the

character observed, or that if called upon to subordinate the

groups of animals, he would have classed them otherwise than

ordinary observers of the same facts would have done and, in

numerous cases and with knowledge of the same facts, did after-

wards: it is at least, an assumption which is even negatived by

other observations of Aristotle, and rendered improbable by eis

knowledge of the operations of the mind exhibited by others m

the classification of facts.

If, on the one hand, Aristotle appears to recognize, in the state-

ment that the Selache are viviparous fishes (VI, x, 1), that the

Cetaceans are not fishes, but a peculiar group (I, vi, 1) like birds

and fishes; on the other hand, by direct association of them with

Selachians as viviparous aquatic animals (VI, xi, 4) and their

contradistinction from viviparous animals with feet and from man,

as well as from the oviparous fishes, he removes them to 4 still

greater extent from the ordinary mammals + and raises a doubt what

really were his ideas as to their relations.

2. RECOGNITION OF HOMoLOGIEs.—Although recognizing homolo-

gies in a vague manner (I, i, 3, 4), as any one capable of thinking

and expressing his thoughts must do to a greater or less extent,

his appreciation rarely advanced much if at all beyond the popular

views, and hes frequently confounded the relations of true homol-

ogy and analogy, putting, e. g., in the same category, the relation

of the nails and hoofs of ordinary quadrupeds and the nails of the —

sk pancreas ea

Ls s is PS i yi.

* The seal, in th pl faot tas 3 P ae ginous b > i (Ce

3), was associated with the cetaceans, as were also the sawfish (Pristis) and Bovs ™

atoptera?) (VI, xi, 1.) :

STATUS OF ARISTOTLE IN SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY. 461

human hand, and crabs’ claws (I, i, 4). Deceived by the inclusion

of the proximal joints of the members within the common abdomi-

nal integument and the elevation of the heel and carpus, in most

mammals, he adopted the current view that all animals, except the

elephant, differed from man in the contrary flexures of the limbs,

having the joints of the fore limbs (really the carpus) directed

forwards and those of the hind limbs (tarsus) directed backwards

(II, i, 4). His observations of monkeys, which would have ena-

bled him to add other exceptions to the elephants, were even

forgotten for the time being in these “ generalizations.” *

A still more evident failure to appreciate correlation of structure

is exhibited in the statement that the lion has no vertebrae, but

only one bone in the neck (II, i, 1), and yet no one—certainly no

one habituated to comparison of things — could look upon that

animal without perceiving the likeness to the cat,t and it might

also be supposed that the very movements of the beast, or natural

deductions concerning them if it had not been seen alive, based on

the knowledge of the necessities of animal life and animal me-

chanics, might have prevented the reception of such strange ideas.

3. APPRECIATION OF GROUPS.— Among the multifarious objects

of which the sense of sight takes cognizance, there are many so

much alike that they are at first naturally confounded ; and intel-

lectual acumen is exhibited, not in synthesis or the appreciation

of the resemblances, but in analysis or perception of the differ-

ences: especially is this the case, when the like forms are

contrasted with others; the differences are then still more lost

sight of and overshadowed by the closer common bond coming

into bolder relief in contrast with the unlike. For example, it

requires no penetrating acumen to recognize man, the monkeys,

the. bats, the typical ruminants and the typical cetaceans as dis-

tinct forms existent in nature. But such are fair examples of the

Sroups for the appreciation of which Aristotle has been so highly

‘auded,—groups which from their very nature in their integrity first

appeal to the senses, and which only minute analysis enables the

observer subsequently to differentiate into ultimate constituents.

4. SUBORDINATION oF -GROUPS. — If, too, modifications of the

PM e path ed seek the homologous relations of the members in man

and the monkeys, remarking that both the arms and legs ate flexed as in man, and

towards each other. (II, v, 3.)

TYet Aristotle a A wee ode pees E

lion’s internal parts, when exposed, resemble those of a dog.

at ane ay

462 STATUS OF ARISTOTLE IN SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY.

members are to be considered, it would be rather a person of pe-

culiar idiosyncrasy whose attention would not be first arrested by

the characters exhibited by man (biped), quadrupeds, and whales

(fish-like and without hind limbs).

Equally probable would it be that, when examining the feet of

quadrupeds, his attention would be first arrested by the differences

seen in the hoofed and unguiculate mammals; and if, further, the

former were studied, the cloven hoof of the ruminant, the solid one

. of the horse, and the divided one of the elephant would be equally

likely to first attract attention. And yet these obvious points of

structure are almost the only ones noticed by Aristotle. He made

no attempt to coordinate them, to subordinate the groups so dis-

tinguished, or to’ assess a taxonomic valuation on characters Or

groups ; in brief, there is no evidence of definite ideas of classifica-

tion having occurred to him. It may, indeed, be well believed that

some indistinct perception of system must have flashed upon we

mind of such a man, but the impression was too undecided and in-

tangible to be seized and embodied in a system.

Those groups which Aristotle recognized are the crude mate-

rials with which the naturalist has to deal. He was unacquainted

even with the characters which furnish the criteria for classifying

them, and to assign to him any definite views respecting their re-

lationship is an anachronism and may involve a wrong to himself.

In fine, there is, so far as I can perceive, not the slightest evl-

dence of any recognition of what is now understood by classifica-

tion in any of the extant treatises of Aristotle on animals, and

the systems framed to embody his generalizations have been Con-

structed from isolated sentences wrested from their context and

simply reflect the framer’s notions or his ideas as to what Aristotle

might have supposed.

And, as a hearty admirer of the great philosopher (more excel-

lent in intellectual than in physical science), I may claim a right

to protest against systems (like that, e. g., published by Macleay)

which have been fathered upon him; I may assume that had his

attention ever been challenged, he might have better appreciated

the relations existing between the groups which he, in CO

with daily observers, perceived. :

Careful and repeated perusal of Aristotle’s biological treatises

have, in fact, failed to convey to the writer any impression save

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STATUS OF ARISTOTLE IN SYSTEMATIC ZOOLOGY. 463

that he was a tolerably good observer and compiler, and surpassed

ordinary men, perhaps, in ability to embody in words the results

of his observations of various disconnected facts. There is, how-

ever, no coordination of the facts observed, no valuation, and no

subordination which would entitle his observations to be considered

as a body of scientific facts or doctrine. The materials for science

exist indeed, but in a very crude and imperfect condition. Com-

mendation of his work as a model of scientific treatment betrays

a phase of mind and‘appreciation which is not readily comprehen-

sible, and has only found expression in vague eulogy without prof-

fer of the proof or basis for the encomiums. It need only be

added that in this opinion I essentially agree with some of the best

qualified students of the works of the great Stagyrite. Of these, I

need only mention especially the several treatises of Dr. Whew-

ell,* the great master of Trinity college; Prof. Carl Sundevallt

who has published a commentary on several of the classes treated

of by Aristotle ; and Mr. George Henry Lewes}, who has devoted a

special work to an examination of Aristotle’s various treatises. The

verdicts of these gentlemen are pertinent and amply justified, I

think, by the facts. The same can scarcely. be said of the cen-

Sorious criticism of the Grammarian of the Deipnosophistz,§ or

of the illustrious advocate of the inductive method||, but even their

judgments, or at least that of the last, are the natural result of an-

tagonism to the opposite extreme.

At a future time, I may perhaps publish an analysis of the four

capital propositions ascribed by Cuvier to Aristotle.

‘Sides Migs wera History of the inductive Sciences, from the earliest to the

ie te [Various editions, book xvi, chap. 6.]

[On the Philosophy of tseover, peat historical and critical .

Londo n W. Parker and Son. .... (pp. 23-78.)

one aes (Carl Soke Ett försök att eames de af Aristoteles omtalade Djurar-

terna. . . . Förs sta afdelningen: luftandande djur, ae irre. ep eae Foglar,

4 Reptilier och Inseckter med Arachnider . . . . Stoc 132 . ... [4to, 148

o PP.] < Kongliga svenska ‘Vetenthaps-Akademians Ae Ny följd. iv ‘1364.

Ry ——— Die Thierarten des Aristoteles von den se amt der ppa ere, Vögel,

tilien und Inse . Ubersetzung aus dem Schwedise ori 1863,

bei Samson Wallin. [8v0, 249 pp. R A ip arora edited ps the author, a . sie eding.

tLewes (George Henry). stotle: a chapter from the history of sc rR

i ee tia

cee ae London: Smith, El shes ss a

Jiti Pars I, Aph. Ixiii.] ete.

SENSITIVE STAMENS IN PORTULACA.

BY PROFESSOR C. E. BESSEY.

Two years ago my attention was first called to the sensitiveness

of the stamens of Portulaca grandiflora, by observing a peculiar

motion in them, while a small wild bee was engaged in gathering

honey, and perhaps pollen, from the flowers. Upon trial I found

that I could, by touching the stamens, make them move through

quite considerable arcs of circles. I pursued the investigation

somewhat farther at the time, but on account of a pressure of

work was compelled to drop it. Last year I again made some

examinations which confirmed my previous observations, but de-

clined calling special attention to the facts until I had had oppor-

tunity for examining Claytonia as well. This last I have been

enabled to do this spring, and having now again verified my

_ observations on the Portulacas can give the results.

In both the common species of Portulaca i.e., grandiflora and.

oleracea, if the stamens are brushed lightly in any direction, they

will immediately with a strong impulse bend over toward the

point from which they were brushed; for example, if a pin be

made to pass through the stamens from left to right, they will

bend from right to left; if the direction of the pin be now E

versed so as tọ pass from right to left the stamens will spring

back from left to right, and this reversal of motion may be con-

tinued for some time, of course with diminished energy-

motion seems to be induced by a pushing or bending of the sanS

as simply touching it appears not to affect it at all, and the direc-

tion of this motion seems to be determined by, and always med

trary to, the pushing and bending. The object of this is, I think,

evident. When a small insect visits the flower and struggies

through the thicket of stamens, as it bends them away from itself,

they will react and bend closely against the sides of the insect’s

body, covering it with pollen, which will be thus carried from

flower to flower. Thus far I have not noticed any special arrange

ments for providing that the pollen of any flower shall not fertilize

its own ovules; nor have I found any contrivances for certainly :

making the pollen deposited on the body of an insect come in con-

(464)

SENSITIVE STAMENS IN PORTULACA. 465

tact with the stigmas of the next flower visited. The stigmas are

however raised considerably above the tops of the stamens, which

may sufficiently guard against self-fertilization, and as they di-

verge quite widely it is possible that they are touched by insects

before the stamens are.

Hoping to get more light on this point I examined with much

care a large number of flowers of Claytonia Virginica with the

following results :

e stamens of Claytonia (this species, at any rate) are not

sensitive,—or at least not appreciably so. They however have a

motion which appears to accomplish the same probable result,

namely, the securing of cross-fertilization. When the flower first

opens, its five stamens rise parallel with the three cleft style, and

at this time the anthers may or may not be shedding their pollen,

but the stigmas are closed, the three stigmatic surfaces being

closely applied to each other so that the style appears as if entire

and single. After an undetermined time the lobes of the style

begin to diverge, and the stamens then, or a little before, recede,

so that when the stigmas are fully exposed the anthers are turned

back as far as the opposite petals will allow them to be. In the

majority of casés the stamens seem to bear with considerable

force upon the petals, the anthers touching nearly the middle

point of the petals, while the filaments are arched as in Kalmia

glauca.

From my observations I am led to think that after fertilization

has taken place the stamens regain to a greater or less extent

their first position—though of this I cannot speak with certainty.

he arrangement here seems to be beyond a doubt for preventing

self-fertilization, and I have no doubt that had time permitted,

some contrivance for securing the interchange of pollen would

have been found. This must however be left for the next spring’s

examinations.

AMERICAN NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 30

STRLZ ON MOUNT MONADNOCK.

BY G. A. WHEELOCK.

Havre in the last three years spent many days in studying the

striæ on Mt. Monadnock, the writer is unwilling that the results of

his observations should be lost for want of record, especially as

they seem to have an important bearing upon unsettled questions

of surface geology. This mountain is peculiarly favorable to such

study. Its long spurs radiating from a central elevation, although

less regular than the points of a star, yet present to four points of

the compass long ranges of bare rock, which have recorded the

markings of the ice period with all their variations of direction,

and furnish a lesson not to be found, perhaps, in any other locality.

To understand fully the meaning of the evidence herein detailed,

it is necessary to have a clear idea of the relative bearing and

position of these radiating ridges or spurs.

For the sake of clearness of description we will suppose the

principal ridge, which runs north 25° east, to be straight, and to

be four miles long. This ridge was an uplift, sloping toward the

west, and presenting its broken and precipitous face toward the

east. It is like a dam set obliquely across the current of the

northern drift, and its serrated edge rises from fifteen hundred to

two thousand feet above the surrounding country, growing higher

from each end toward its ventral parts. If we suppose 4 section

of this range near the centre to be pushed some fifty rods farther

west, and elevated to the height of three thousand two hundred

and eighty feet, we shall have the summit of Monadnock.

short spur projects west of the summit about a mile, and divides

into two branches; these we will call the west and northwest

spurs. The two ends of the dam we will call the north and south

spurs; these with the western spur and its northwest fork com-

plete the outline of the mountain, making four radii. :

Numerous observations of the direction of drift striæ made m

the adjoining towns show very general uniformity. They have ®

range of not more than 15°, varying 15° west of north to north

and south. On the summit of Monadnock the direction varies

within the same limits. Only one set of striae were noted there

(466)

STRLE ON MOUNT MONADNOCK. 467

as 5° east of north. So too, following along the northeast spur,

there is no change in the striæ so long as the altitude remains

the same. The crest is all naked rock for two miles and a half,

or three miles, and frequent observations can be made. Just

as fast as the ridge falls off in height the striae gain a more west-

erly direction, becoming 15°, 20°, 25° west of north; where the

rocky ridge terminates and is succeeded by open pastures, 30°,

and in many places 40° west, were noted as common. Appear-

ances indicated a local deflection of a current around the northern

end of this long dam.

Although a special expedition was made to what I have called

the northwest spur, the lower portion of it was so much covered

With drift that few exposed places could be found; some five or

six however, and all that were noted, showed strie north 25° east.

All the higher portions of the ridge were striated like the summit

and the ridge before described.

Another day’s expedition was made to the west spur. Standing

on the crest of this lofty ridge and looking toward the south, the

view is unobstructed to the horizon. The striz all along this

ridge are innumerable and all north and south. There is no op-

posing ridge near, to lead one to expect south of this a change in

the striæ. On the contrary there is every facility for the drift cur-

rent after passing this ridge to continue on in a straight course.

The southern spur is a mile or more off on our left and presents a

high Opposing barrier toward the southeast but none toward the

south. Why should the drift current after passing this ridge,

suddenly turn toward the east and climb the steep and lofty bar-

rier of the south spur? Nevertheless there are indications of just

such a change as this.

If we place one foot of a pair of imaginary compasses on the

Summit of Mt. Monadnock, and with the other strike a curve from

the west spur to the south spur, we shall hardly bave made a more

Complete change of direction from one spur to the other, than is

indicated by the striz in the short space of a mile and a half. It

is difficult to pass over all parts of the valley between these two

Spurs, the upper portion of it being extremely craggy or uneven.

It is better to go down to the open pastures at the base of the

Mountain. Beginning at the foot of the western spur and skirting

the base of the mountain toward the east, the first thing to excite

attention is the immense number of bowlders. They exceed in

468 STRLE ON MOUNT MONADNOCK.

multitude any other deposit about the mountain, but form no part

of its talus, which does not fall on this side. They seem to be in

some way connected with the change of the drift current, which

began at this place, and with the position of the ridge under the

lee of which they lie. Passing through these bowlders which con-

tinue for half a mile or more, we come to the first bare ledges;

these are marked with striæ, N. 20° W. These are soon succeeded

by others thirty, forty and fifty degrees west of north. They may

not occur all in regular order; on some ledges there are two or

three sets of strive of different angles. Proceeding a mile and a

half we arrive at the easterly slope of the south spur near the

Mountain House. The road to this house was built north and

south on sloping ground, and for half a mile the fresh surface of

the rock was in many places exposed to view. It is everywhere

scratched and polished. ‘These scratches vary from 50° to 60° and

70° west of north. Climbing the slope of the ridge, everywhere

the exposed prominences of rock are embossed in the same direc-

tion. Arriving at the crest of the ridge, it is everywhere serrated

and uneven.

On this height we again overlook the whole country. Here on

the narrow crest of the ridge the striz are very generally north

40° or 45° west. In one place an angular trough perhaps twenty

feet long and six feet deep runs across the crest. In this there

are long continuous striz due east and west. ‘They appear to be

exceptional and suggest the idea that this shallow trough had been

able to control and change the direction of the striating force.

Standing on this ridge and looking toward the east, we see that

the mountain on this side is very precipitous, and that probably

there are no striz on its broken surface. Higher up the mountain,

within a thousand feet of the summit, the striæ are 35° and 30°

west of north; lower down at the extremity of the south spur,

the end of the long dam, they vary from 40° to 25° west of north.

What kind of stri should we expect to find under the lee of this

four mile breakwater? Another expedition and another day were

required to answer this question. ‘Lhe country east of the four

mile ridge is mostly wooded and difficult to traverse. ‘The rock 18

mostly covered with drift. Beginning at the south end and trav-

elling north, no striz were found until two-thirds of the distance

-~ had been passed over. Curiosity was at last gratified by finding

ee large flat surfaces of naked rock scored all over with long parallel

ERR Fae Sat Sa E SE

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STRLE ON MOUNT MONADNOCK. 469

lines much better preserved than those on less wooded and more

exposed parts of the mountain. It would be difficult to decide

what was their prevailing direction. Multitudes ran due east and

west; some few north and south; some north 10° west; some

north 10° east; many north 70° and 80° west; many north 70°

and 80° east. No theory of mountain slides could explain this

remarkable scratching; the situation seemed to forbid such an

explanation. These observations were made on many different

ledges, but all of them within a half mile of each other, and within

a mile of the north end of the ridge. When a rapid stream with

a current of three miles an hour passes a rock in its bed, water

will flow around the rock and meet on its lower side. Do not these

irregular striæ indicate a changeable and eddying current incon-

sistent with the motion of a glacier?

Mt. Monadnock furnishes some suggestions also on the subject

of erosion. Chemical agency and the action of frost may properly

enough account for a large amount of rock disintegration. On

long lines of coast the ceaseless waves of the ocean cause an end-

less amount of erosion. But the amount of actual planing and

grinding of the earth’s surface by icebergs or continental glaciers

Seems somewhat speculative and furnishes small means of meas-

urement. Whoever has had experience in grinding and polishing

mineral specimens knows full well that, so long as there are pro-

tuberances or cavities on the surface he is grinding, he has ac-

curate means of judging his rate of progress. But when he is

grinding a flat surface, he has no means of judging from the surface

itself. So here on a large scale, all along these naked moun-

tain ridges there are rounded angles and mammillary protuber-

ances of all dimensions, which are marked with striæ, but have

never been ground down to a flat surface. They are rounded,

Scratched and often polished. Is it not possible to reconstruct

the angles and edges that are worn off and thus have an approxi-

mate measure of ice erosion? On a hill in Keene there are acres

of hard quartz rock lying uncovered and much exposed to glacial

action. The rock is composed of lamine an inch thick, and these

incline toward the south. When the rock is fractured obliquely,

the fracture is interrupted by each lamina, so that the edges of the

laminze project slightly like the serratures of a file. Now all

Over these sharp serratures there has been much grinding and pol-

ishing, but the shallow cavities originally between them have rarely

470 STRLE ON MOUNT MONADNOCK.

ly been ground out, and there is no reason for supposing that this

hard rock has ever been eroded more than half an inch. On Mo-

nadnock, where the rocks have a regular jointed structure and the

upper edge alone has been worn off, it is often easy to supply the

lost angle, by reproducing the contiguous sides. Studied in this

method an erosion of one or two feet would be as much as is in-

dicated on all the higher portions of the mountain. On lower

' ground surfaces are more flat and judgment is at fault. Between

the northwest and northeast spurs a wide valley opens out toward

the drift current. This extended valley is filled with mammillated

rocky protuberances projecting among the spruces which grow

everywhere between them, from six to ten feet high. This valley

is in the line of the drift and would be eroded if any place would,

but the protuberant rocks seem merely to be rounded and the

roughness of original fracture worn off.

A few words about the erratic bowlders in this vicinity may not

be irrelevant. There are bowlders here of a phonolitic character,

which often contain black porphyritic pebbles fused into their sub-

stance, making them very easy of identification. These have been

a subject of special study, and some fifty of them have been found

in Cheshire county. Prof. Charles H. Hitchcock, who is intimately

acquainted with New England rocks, says he has never seen such

rocks, in place, anywhere, except in the vicinity of Ascutney, Vt.

Ascutney mountain was thrown up in a state of fusion, and its

heat melted this conglomerate which lay close by it. Ascutney 1$

about fifty miles from Monadnock and north 10° west. Two i

these bowlders lie at the base of- the Monadnock. There is one In

Keene that must weigh one hundred tons. Many were found near

together or in the same line; but many more show a great lateral

divergence. Keene is forty miles from Ascutney, and in that dis-

tance many bowlders have diverged eight miles, or one mile in five

from the starting point. These bowlders have been dug out of

the drift at various depths. While it is difficult to imagine a COP

tinental glacier making so many and such wide diverging lines, it

is also difficult to understand how icebergs could have picked up

these bowlders and polished their hard material on so short a

journey.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Entomotocy IN Missouri. *— Not only is this report of much

interest to the farmers and gardeners of the State of Missouri,

but naturalists-will glean from its pages some facts new to sci-

ence. We may congratulate the citizens of Missouri on the

publication of an official report, which is of a high economical

interest, and is an estimable contribution to science. And while

thrifty habits are suggested, many a farmer’s boy is acquiring an

interest in insects and their ways, that will surely lead him to

observe facts for himself in after life. His judgment will thus be

trained, and he will be a bette? farm-

er and a more trustworthy citizen.

Hence these reports have a distinc-

tive educational and moral bearing

on the citizens of the state in which

Fig. 115.

idea of the thoroughly good scien-

tific work done by Mr. Riley in his

primary attempt at enlisting the in-

terest of agriculturists in observing

and restraining injurious insects.

fter some preliminary remarks

on insects and economic entomolo ogy,

With some views on classification to which we cannot give our as-

sent,t several pages follow on the mode of collecting and preserv-

ing insects, with full illustrations.

Pimpla, parasite of Codling Moth.

*Fifth Annual Report on the Noxious, Beneficial and other Insects of the State of

Misso ouri, made to the State Board of saang e. By C. V. Riley, State Entomologist.

Jefferson City, 1873. 8vo, pp. 160. With

t For example, Rolleston was by no means oii first to divide Articulata into Arthro-

and Vermes; it was done by Siebold in 1848, long before his work appeared.

As morphology indicates by the presence of four pairs of jointed appendages in the

head, oa embryology demonstrates by their early presence four rings in the head,

wae rs definition whole truth. He

oon y 17-jointed, or 14-jointed, counting the head as one, in a popular report of

this sort. Four rings can be demonstrated in the head of an insect as easily as that

a a flower are modified leaves. Mr. Riley also takes a back step in classifica-

Separating the Strepsiptera from the Coleoptera, sae 098 from the Diptera, an

= Thy Sanoptera from the Hemiptera. It is strange if over thirty years a tae

472 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Two ichneumon parasites (Fig. 115, Pimpla annulipes Br. and

Fig. 116, Macrocentrus delicatus Cress.) have been discovered at-

tacking the codling moth, while ants, cockroaches, and the larve

of certain predaceous beetles ( Trogosita nana, ete.), play no unim-

portant part in destroying the well known apple worms.

We have farther information concerning the grape Phylloxera.

Mr. Riley offers the

opinion that the mor-

tality among the grape

vines in this country

for two or. three years

past may be due to this

re Sa op

ay pee ee ee

Fig. 116.

Bere epee Ne et ee ae

a insect, and from the

statements he makes

we should judge that

he is correct, and if so

every vine grower must

make himself as famil-

iar with the habits of n

this insect as he now

is with the manure he n

uses upon the vines, Or

the mode of training

and pruning them.

Phylloxera is

found as far west as

ree ste ee ee ee

ae see Ree ean T

E E oat Er S E AS A E a ey hd MOAS RS y

3 (Sey Aai

AES

In Europe it

is spreading in Portu-

gal and Switzerland, and in some parts of Germany, while in Eng-

land it is doing serious injury to hot-house grapes. In France so

threatening has it become that the French Academy of Science

has a standing Phylloxera committee, and M. d’Armand, at one of

its sittings, demanded that the premium of 20,000 francs, offered .

Macrocentrus, parasite of Codling moth.

tion should not enable us to advance beyond Westwood’s classification, admirable in

1840, but in many respects obsolete in 1873.

Again, +} bat that a 1 1 Anta t¢th gh fg r ] poin ng

to the derivation of insects—their I l gis 1 relati to the past—do not always

su e t interests of classification.” We would inquire what is classification

but an attempt at tracing the genealogy of animals or plants ?

ON E E See EAE SSE St Se RE ah fie ae

fia a

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 473

by the government for a remedy, be increased to 500,000, or if

necessary to 1,000,000 francs.

The accompanying figure (117) represents the male of the apple

bark louse, which Riley calls Mytilaspis pomicorticis, regarding it

Fig. 117.

Male of Apple bark Louse.

as distinct from the A. pomorum Bouché of Europe, from the fact

that the eggs of the European species are reddish-brown, while

those of our species are white. Care should here be taken in as-

certaining how soon after l Fig. 118.

being laid the eggs are ob- ==% ae fea tt

Served, as they may vary in ~* 7 PON) RS

color with the age of the “pd

embryo within. Certainly i — BE

we have been unable to ` Ka

detect any difference be- LA

tween the bark louse of the g AAR

apple as we have observed (==)

it in Jena, Germany, and L “Page |

our species, having com- Z /} |

pared numerous specimens |

of both. Undoubtedly our

Species has been imported

from Europe, and it would

have been the better way, tuts oie, anne

We think, to regard our species as identical with the M. pomorum

(Bouché) than to give it a new name. The leaves of the white

and other pines are sometimes so much affected by a long narrow

S bark louse, Mytilaspis pinifolie (Fitch), (Fig. 118 male, Fig. 119

- 7 the male scale, c, female scale on narrow leaved; d, variety on

474 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

broad leaved forms of Pinus) as to kill the tree. The male (Fig.

118) differs from the Fig. 119.

male of the apple bark NT i

louse in being of a uni-

form orange-red. The

species is double brood-

ed, while the apple bark

Fitch and LeBaron, as

well as Mr. Riley, seem

only to have found it on

cultivated pines, but we

have found it frequently

in June of the present |

year on the leaves of

the white pine at Bruns-

wick, Maine.

e then have an ac- Pine bark Louse.

count of the habits and transformations of Scolytus carye Riley,

Fig. 120, the hickory bark borer

(Fig. 120, 1, burrows

of young larve, which

afterwards run length-

wise along the bark 2;

atl 3, beetle enlarged and

i| J į of natural size; 4, lar-

| va; 5, pupa.) It in-

i fests the hickory, Pe

can and other species

j j Carya.

Net N The chapter On

il stinging caterpillars 18

in the main corrobora-

tive of Mr. Lintner’s

interesting remarks on

this subject. One of

the most prominent of

these larve is that of

Hickory Scolytus. eggs, Fig. 123, larva,

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 475

b, pupa, c-g, different spines). Another is the Io moth (Fig. 124

male, Fig. 125 female, Fig. 126 larva, Fig. 127 spines).

Appended to the report is an article “On a New Genus in the

Lepidopterous family Tineide : with remarks on the Fertilization

Fig. 121, Fig. 122,

Hemileuca Maia. Eggs of Maia Moth.

of Yucea.” This insect is called Pronuba yuccasella, and its ap-

pearance and structure may be learned from an examination of

the annexed drawings (Fig. i.

128, a, larva, b,c, moth, d—k,

head and details of larva;

Fig. 129 shows the strange

form of the head ; b, maxil-

læ and their palpi, e, a scale,

J, a leg, g, labial palpus, h,

fore, i, hind wing ; Fig. 130,

pupa of male and female).

Dr. Engelman had drawn

attention to the fact that

the yucca is incapable of

self-fertilization, and Mr.

iley acquaints us with the

yucca moth which effects it.

He observed that at night

“with her maxillary tenta-

cle (Fig. 116), so wonder-

fully modified for the pur-

Pose, she collects the pollen vce E

In large pellets, and holds it under the neck and against the front

trochanters. In this manner she sometimes carries a mass thrice

476 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

the size of her head (Fig. 129 a1). Thus laden, she clings to the

top of the pistil, bends her head, thrusts her tongue into the stig-

matic nectary, and brings the pollen-mass right over its mouth. In

this position she works with a vigor that would indicate combined

Fig. 124,

ia piiiedinn Io male.

pleasure and purpose—moving her head and body from side to

side, and apparently making every effort to force the pollen into

the tube. Such is the method by which our yuccas are fertilized.

Fig. 125.

Hyperchiria Io female,

Riley thinks that the eggs are thrust into the fruit “ from the side

or from the stigmatic opening, following, most probably, the poem

of the pollen tubes.” In a day or two after the flowers have with-

ered the young fruit contains generally two young larvæ.

A ERA Ge E 2 EEE S E EREE E EAA E RESE AAE S E EAS E EO E

ERIN AN

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 477

Fig. 126.

Fig. 127.

}

Larva of Io Moth.

e f

Yucca Moth, details.

e r

Yucca Moth, larva, ete. : Pupa of Yucca Moth.

NOXIOUS, RENEFICIAL AND INJURIOUS INSECTS OF M!S°OURL.

478 BOTANY.

THe Trnemps or Norta America. * — Our gratitude is due to

Mr. Stainton for this kindly act of international courtesy in pre-

serving in a permanent form the part of Dr. Clemens’ scientific

writings (and they were all confined to the Lepidoptera) relating

to the family of Tineida. Dr. Clemens was fortunate in the begin-

ning of his studies, in the friendship of so able a naturalist and

kind a helper as the editor. For our part, who owe so many favors

to Dr. Clemens, and also have derived so much aid and stimulus

from Mr. Stainton’s works, we appreciate fully this mark of friend-

ship. “ae

Little new matter, but a number of new woodcuts appear, from

Dr. Clemens’ pencil, being mostly outlines of the venation of the

wings-of these small moths. Nine letters to Mr. Stainton, and a

few pages of other matter, are added to what has already been pub-

lished in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences,

and the Entomological Society of Philadelphia.

BOTANY.

On CROSS-FERTILIZATION AS AIDED BY SENSITIVE MOTION IN

Musk anp Acamexes.— The sensitive motion of Mimulus has

been well known, at any rate, since the time of Sprengel, who

curiously enough includes this proper motion among those to ac-

count for which he says ‘we are obliged to suppose an internal

impulse, a force independent of external influences.t In this cat-

egory he places the stigmatic movements of Mimulus, Martynia,

and Scevola, and the movements of the stamens in Par nassia and -

other plants. The object of the movements of the stamens in

Parnassia was already connected in his mind with that of insect

agency, and this has since been conclusively established by other

botanists. t

I am not aware that a like connection has been noticed between

the stigmatic movements of musk, and the necessity of insect fer-

tilization. Vaucher remarks that during the time of fecundation

M. luteus and M. glutinosus will, as he himself has tried, close at

* The Tineina of North America, by the late n Brackenridge Clemen preis

collected edition of his writings on that group of insects A Da notes or ‘the edi

H. T. Stainton, F. R. S., London, 1872. John Van ‘ack . pp- mas vool.

tSprengel’s “Anleitung zur Kenntniss ites Gewichse,” cotta i, p. 2

ate A. W. Bennett’s paper in Journ. Linn. Soc., vol. xi, p. 26

BOTANY. 479

the slightest touch. The sensitiveness will be seen to play a useful

part in this fecundation.

I will take the commonest species, M. moschatus, as a type.

The flowers vary from erect in the bud to horizontal in the full

blown flower, but never hang downwards. Of the four stamens

the anterior, lower, and larger pair ripen after the posterior,

upper, and shorter pair. Both pairs of anthers are held together .

by hairs, and the longitudinal slits of the anther open towards the

lower lip, and away from the base of the flower. The style is

closely pressed against the upper lip of the corolla, and its stigma

has two large flat fan-shaped lobes. In a very young bud these

lobes are closed. In a hardly opened bud the lobes are beginning

to open, the lower one bending back against the style; at this

time it is that the shorter stamens burst, but as they are much

Shorter than the style the pollen cannot reach the stigma, and its

course down the tube is facilitated by the, at that time, slanting

position of the flower. In a just opened flower the stigmas are

fully open, parallel, and opposite to the lower lip of the corolla,

its viscous surfaces being therefore both downwards; the shorter

anthers are nearly empty, and the longer only just beginning to

Split; the pistil is therefore synacmic with the shorter, and almost

protogynous with respect to the longer stamens.

a flower almost beginning to fade the longer stamens are

still shedding their pollen, the shorter ones are withered, and thè

stigma be-pollened and in many cases closed. This closing may,

moreover, be experimentally produced by touching the stigmatic

Surface with a pencil, in which case the stigmas will close in ahout

thirty seconds. In faded flowers, whether from contact or other-

Wise, the stigmatic surfaces have closed.

From these facts it will appear that self-fertilization by the

shorter stamens is impossible, and that it is rendered improbable

by the longer stamens (1) by their bursting late; (2) by the di-

rection in which the anthers open; (3) by their not reaching as

far as the stigmas, and, as being anterior, by being some slight

distance from the upper lip; (4) from the probability that the

stigmatic surfaces may have been touched and closed before they

burst at all.

On the other hand, an insect attracted to the flower for the

honey could hardly leave the flowers without some pollen on the

Upper side of his body or on his proboscis. The hairs which hold

480 BOTANY.

the anthers together no doubt facilitate this, as they do in Pedic-

ularis, by keeping the stamens from separating. The large size

of the stigmatic surface will of course increase the chance that

any insect with pollen on its proboscis or back will not fail to

leave some grains attached to it as he works his way towards the

bottom of the flower.

But what purpose does the sensitiveness serve? To prevent

the stigma being fertilized by its own pollen by insect agency.

Without this sensitiveness why should not an insect covered with

the pollen of the shorter and synacmic stamens leave the pollen

on the stigma of the same plant as he backs his way out? Given

the sensitiveness, this is impossible, for as the insect passes under

the stigma the sensitive motion is excited, and while he is drink-

ing the honey time is allowed for its completion, or if it be not

completed in time, the mechanical effect of the backing motion of

the insect will be to complete the closing. __

A similar use of a quite different movement has been suggested

to me by Miss S. S. Dowson, one of my Cambridge corresponding

class. The Achimenes (Gesneracee) has a tubular corolla five-

cleft with a swelling just below the top of the throat. There are

four perfect stamens, not much differing in length, and the stigma

is ultimately two-cleft. In the bud the pistil is much shorter than

the stamens, but by the time the bud is just opened it has length-

ened out between the stamens, and its tip is adpressed to the

upper lip of the corolla. As yet the stigma has its two branches

closely folded together. The anthers at this time are all four

close beneath the end of the pistil, and open downwards. The

filaments then begin to contract, and the anthers, which adhere

together, are drawn lower; and finally the filaments twist them-

selves up to such a degree that the anthers are drawn down to the

very base of the tube. The object of this is clearly to get them

out of the way of the stigma, for during the process the pistil has

arched forwards and downwards, and the two branches of the

stigma have opened. They will be seen to form a fork over 3

slight rising in the middle lip of the corolla, by which entrance to

the flower, except exactly under the stigmatic surfaces, is pre-

vented.— F. E. Kircnener in Trimen’s Journal of Botany.

NARDOSMIA PALMATA.— Looking over the NATURALIST for April,

- 1872, I find this plant mentioned by Prof. Tenney, as occurring 1?

ZOOLOGY. 481

Amherst, Mass. with the query “What are the New England lo-

calities of this rare plant ?”? During 1859-60 I found it in the

vicinity of Bangor, Me., on land newly cleared and burnt over,

growing as abundantly as erechthites or any of the ‘fire weeds,”

many acres being entirely covered with it.

Making a trip subsequently to Mt. Katahdin, nearly one hun-

dred miles north from Bangor, I found it abundantly, at intervals,

in clearings, all along the route. But I have never found it else-

where in New England.—J. W. CHICKERING.

[It is known to occur in Brunswick, Maine. — Eprrors. }

Tuer Uses AND ORIGIN or THE ARRANGEMENTS oF LEAVES IN

Piants.—A paper by Chauncey Wright, with the above caption,

appears in the last part (vol. ix, part ii) of the Memoirs of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It is a philosophical

and exceedingly interesting discussion of the subject, and we sha

endeavor to bring it te the notice of our readers in a subsequent

number.

ZOOLOGY.

SPONTANEOUS Drviston IN StarrisHes.— Mr. C. Lütken, of Co-

penhagen, so well known for his important researches on the nat-

ural history of certain groups of the Echinoderms, has recently

laid before the Royal Academy of Copenhagen the results of some

very interesting and valuable investigations on the spontaneous

division of the starfishes and brittle-stars. Professor Verrill has

recently described a new genus of brittle-star ( Ophiothela), all the

known Species of which possess a number of arms greater or less

than five, generally six, and in some few instances three or two;

very rarely indeed does the normal number of five make its appear-

ance. Lütken describes a new species of this genus (O. isidicola)

on a certain number of specimens of which he finds six nearly equal

arms, but in the majority of these specimens there is a marked

difference between the three arms on one side of the body and the

three arms on the other; in another set the difference is still more

marked, the one set of three arms being quite small and the other

of the ordinary size. In others, again, this difference is extended

to the disk itself, and it looks as if it had been cut in two by a

knife. In all these cases there can be little doubt that these

“ppearances result from a primary division and then a regeneration

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII.

482 ZOOLOGY.

of the parts that had been divided off. It becomes an interesting

question how often such division could take place in any indi-

vidual ; without being able to pronounce any positive opinion on

this point, Lütken inclines to the belief that up to a certain age

it can be repeated several times. Allowing that the faculty of

regeneration is very great among the ophiuroids (a disk of an

ophiura deprived of all its arms will sometimes under favorable

circumstances renew them all), still the phenomenon witnessed in

Ophiothela differs from a mere casual renewal of lost parts of an

accidental lesion; there is a regularity and symmetry about it

which certainly points to a true natural spontaneous division hay-

ing for its object the multiplication of the individual. It must not

be forgotten, moreover, that Profs. Steenstrup and Sars have ob-

served the same phenomena in certain small ophiuroids with six

arms, especially among species of the genus Ophiactis that live in-

tertwined among corals and sponges, nor that the truth of their

observations has been confirmed by Lütken himself. In one or

two species of another genus, Ophiocoma (O. pumila), the same

thing occurs ; in these instances it becomes clearly apparent that

in young individuals only this agamic form of reproduction takes

place, and that with the adult forms the results of the division are

truly sexual. Similar phenomena have been remarked in certain

Asteride, notably in Asterias problema Stps., and in some allied

species described by Verrill, as well as in Linckia ornithopus and

Ophidiaster cribrarius. Lütken is of opinion that though there

are many cases where the spontaneous division is merely gemma-

tion more or less disguised, there are likewise many instances in

which it is, so to speak, simple division and nothing else. In the

ease of the ophiuroids and asteroids he inclines to think it a

normal form of multiplication, which takes the place of gemma-

tion. It would have a near relationship to the power of regen

ration on the one hand, and to that of gemmation on the other ;

and while it may not always be possible to clearly define the

exact limits of these ‘“ powers,” it is convenient to preserve to

“ Schizogony ” an independent place among the different forms of

agamic multiplication. The classifying of the phenomena above

alluded to as occurring in the ophiuroids and asteroids in the cate-

gory of “‘Schizogony,” conclusively indicates, in short, that there

is in this spontaneous division something altogether different from

gemmation. The following general propositions are laid down by

ZOOLOGY. 483

Lütken :—1. The most energetic manifestation of the faculty of

regeneration in animals is the power of divisibility ; 2. In certain

forms of Radiates, in which the faculty of regeneration is very

highly developed, spontaneous division takes place only, as in ophi-

uroids and asteroids, or together with gemmation as in Actinia;

3. Actual spontaneous division or schizogony in the Actinia,

Medusa, asteroids and ophiuroids, which must not be confounded

with the disguised form of gemmation met with in Infusoria and

certain heteropods, may be regarded as a peculiar form of agamie

reproduction, such as Blastogony, Sporogony and Parthenogony.

— Nature.

Hasits or a Species or Sorex. — As far as my observation

goes this is the most diminutive animal among the quadruped type.

It is the musk — I had like to have said mouse — but except the

incisors, it resembles the Talpa family more than it does the Mus.

They are rather rare. Indeed until the present year I had never

Seen one of them. They dwell in warm nests, made of grass,

under rocks, old logs, or old castaway rails, about the fences or

edges of the prairie. They do not come about the houses, and are

purely nocturnal. I have found only three nests of them. They

have four young at a time, which they nurse and care for most

affectionately. I had a family of them and fed them a week, where

could observe all their actions. I had the father and mother and

their four half-grown offspring. They were pretty pets, and I had

hoped to succeed in sending the whole family to you, but our

cherished hopes are often frustrated. The male made his escape,

and finding another newly married pair — they do marry, and as

far as I can learn, stick together as long as they both live—I put

them into the box with my half civilized family. The male

instantly caught a young one and was aiming to kill it, when

I put him and his companion into an empty oyster can, and setting

it back in the box, went to supper. When I returned, I found that

the ferocious rascally male had made shift to get out of the can,

and had murdered all the young ones. I was very sorry for the

loss, and thinking he had done all the mischief he could, turned his

Wife out of the oyster can, and left them in the box with the be-

reaved and deeply afflicted mother. Next morning I found they

had murdered the sorrowing mother and had eaten her very nearly

UP. These last two captured cannibals I have sent you. The

484 ZOOLOGY.

young are born blind, and remain so until they are half grown

certainly, perhaps longer. The male seems to care for and assist

in rearing the young. He will go out and capture a grasshopper or

cricket, carry it home and give it to his nursing companion. All

the actions, one to the other, of a married couple, indicate in the

untrammelled state, much affection and caressing attention. No

bear or panther could manifest a greater degree of ferocious de-

structiveness than does the male of this diminutive tribe of animals

when he is molested by his kind, or when he comes in contact with

a rival. The odor emanating from the box in which I kept them,

when the box is clean, is dilute musk, with a slightly sweet accom-

paniment. They have their young about the 10th of February,

that is, as far as my observation goes. How long their period of

gestation, or how often they produce their young, is not yet known

tome. They sleep all day. I have had opportunity to make

observation on the action of four half and four full-grown speci-

mens, some of them through a period of twenty days. The results

are recorded above. I wish you to examine them and give me

their name and tell me to what families they are allied. — Abstract

of a letter to the Smithsonian Institution by G. Lincecum, Long

Point, Texas.

ALEUTIAN CepHaLopops.—In the winter of 1871-2 at Ilinlink,

Unalashka, a large number of giant cuttles were stranded at vari-

ous times. One of these, a species, apparently, of Pinnoctopus,

measured six feet from tip to tip of the arms, which were much

mutilated, or about fifty-two inches from the posterior extremity

of the body to the ends of the arms as they remained. The color

was white, ocellated with brick-red and the larger suckers measured

twenty-five inches across.

A still more remarkable form, however, was subsequently ob-

tained, perhaps the Onychoteuthis Bergi Licht., one specimen of

which measured from the posterior end of the body to the muti-

lated ends of the tentacular arms one hundred and ten inches with

a body girth of nearly three feet, and weighing nearly two hun-

dred pounds. Another specimen more mutilated measured eighty

inches in length. The larger one could hardly have been less than

ten feet long when perfect, the pen measuring sixty-one inches.

The buccal mass containing the jaws was about the size of a sm

orange. The Octopus punctatus Gabb, which occurs at Sitka abun-

ZOOLOGY. 485

dantly, reaches a length of sixteen feet or a radial spread of

nearly twenty-eight feet, but the whole mass is much smaller than

that of the decapodous cephalopods of lesser length. In the Oc-

topus above mentioned, the body would not exceed six inches in

diameter and a foot in length, and the arms attain an extreme

tenuity toward their tips.

There can be no doubt whatever that some cephalopods in the

warmer seas attain an enormous bulk as well as length. Capt. E.

E. Smith, an experienced sperm whaler, and a careful and intel-

ligent observer, informs me that he has seen portions of “ squid”

arms vomited up by the whales in their death agony, as large

as a “ beef barrel,” with suckers on them “as big as a dinner

plate.” I have no doubt of the correctness of this statement. Mr.

Henry G. Hanks, of the San Francisco Microscopical Society,

reports having seen, when on a voyage in a trading schooner

among the South Sea Islands, a cuttlefish near the surface of the

water, “ as large as the schooner While this is rather indefinite

still it indicates that specimens much larger than any yet recorded

may probably exist in those regions. I have also rather vague

reports of some enormous squid which have been observed in the

Gulf of California.—W. H. DALL

CRITICISM ON AN OBSERVATION OF Proressor THOMSON ON

Cerrar Sponces, erc.—On looking over the “Depths of the

Sea” by Prof. Wyville Thomson (Macmillan and Co., 1873), my

attention was called to an observation which, when taken in con-

nection with what had been said a few pages previously, seemed

to me to do great injustice to our distinguished naturalist, Dr.

Leidy. In the March number of the Amerrcan Narurauist for

1870 there appeared “ Remarks on some curious Sponges,” by

Prof. Leidy. In this article, after calling attention to the views

of the nature of the sponge, Hyalonema, as offered by Gray, Val-

enciennes, Milne-Edwards, Brandt, Bowerbank, Schultze, and Eh-

renberg, Dr. Leidy observes, “ Prof. Schultze regards the sponge

mass as situated at the bottom of the fascicle, and its flattened

extremity with the large oscules at the base. This appears to me

to be the general view, but it has occurred to me that the sponge

mass in its natural position was uppermost and was moored by

lts glassy cable, or rope of sand, to the sea bottom; perhaps to

ine alge. This opinion is founded on the circumstance that in

486 ZOOLOGY.

sponges generally the large oscules from which flow the currents

of effete water are uppermost. The ends of the threads of the

fascicle, with their reversed hooklets, are also well adapted to

adhere to objects.” Prof. Leidy, then noticing that the ‘ beautiful

Euplectella of the Philippines was also at first represented upside

own,” concludes by giving a clear description of the Pheronema,

a sponge ‘‘apparently intermediate in character with Hyalonema

and Euplectella—(which would) “appear to throw some light

upon the question of what belongs to Hyalonema.”

The observation of Prof. Thomson, to which I have referred, will

be found on page 426, and is as follows: “ Perhaps the most sin-

gular circumstance connected with this discussion was that all this

time we had been looking at the sponge upside down, and that it

had never occurred to any one to reverse it.” Reading this quota-

tion by itself one would naturally suppose that Prof. Thomson

had simply been ignorant of what Dr. Leidy had already eit

but at page 418 of the same work, “the Depths of the Sea,” i

describing a sponge resembling Holtenia, Prof. Thomson aop

‘I was inclined at first to place this species in the genus Phe-

ronema, but Dr. Leidy’s description and figure,” ete. Evidently,

then, Prof. Thomson was familiar with what Dr. Leidy had pub-

lished in reference to these sponges. Why therefore does he

unjustly ignore the fact that Dr. Leidy was the first to describe

correctly the position of Hyalonema by saying “ we had been

looking at the sponge upside down and that it had never occurred

to any one to reverse it.” We trust that Prof. Thomson will now

gracefully throw up the sponge. — Henry C. CHAPMAN.

EMBRYOLOGY OF THE LEPIDOPTERA.—The distinguished Russian

embryologist, Prof. A. Kowaleusky, gives us in a late memoir

(Embryological studies on Worms and Anthropods, St. Peters-

burg, 1871), the first definite information we possess as to the

mode of development of the Lepidoptera. He finds that develop-

ment goes on very uniformly in very remote genera. The primi-

tiye band is confined to one side of the eg gg and sinks a little way

into the yolk ; it is thusan endoblast, as Dr. Dohm had previously

stated from the observations of Herold. The outer membrane,

which surrounds the yolk, and is developed from the primitive

blastoderm (the amnion of most authors), is called the “serous

brane,” by Kowaleusky, while the inner membrane, which

ZOOLOGY. 487

arises from the primitive band, and apparently corresponds to the

“ faltenblatt” of Weismann and others, he calls the “ amnion.”

Scarcely has the primitive band sunk down into the yolk, than it

immediately greatly increases in size and length, until from being

only twice as long as broad, and confined to one side of the egg,

it surrounds the yolk. At this time the segments are indicated,

and the rudiments of the appendages of the head and thorax

appear. At a little later stage, the rudiments of ten pairs of ab-

dominal feet appear, corresponding to the number of abdominal

segments (in Sphinx). Ten abdominal segments may be set down

then as the normal number in the Lepidoptera. The embryo with

fully formed organs remains surrounded by the yolk, which it “gulps

down its mouth parts, which meanwhile have been perfected.” It

then devours the “‘amnion,” and finally the external “ serous mem-

brane.” It has now obtained its characteristic colors and hairs,

and lies curled up on its ventral side until it gnaws through the

chorion and effects its escape from the egg-shell. From Kowa-

leusky’s observations, we should judge that the Lepidoptera at

first, though differing in some important respects from other in-

sects, in others develop like Libellula, Telephorus and the Hemip-

tera and other endoblasts. In this respect, perhaps of not much

importance, the development of the Lepidoptera is quite different

from that of the Phryganeide. This, perhaps, indicates that there

has been no genetic relation between the moths and caddis flies.

Later, after the germ is formed, with indications of segments, the

embryo resembles that of Diptera and Hymenoptera.—A. S. P.

Tue Purrine or THe Car.— Since the vocalization of rodents

has lately been a subject of study, it has occurred to me to inquire

into that of one of their mortal enemies. Has any one expounded

fully the mechanism of the purring of a cat?

The facts are these. The purr is a double or to and fro sound ;

ìt accompanies the breathing of the animal and is a respiratory

Phenomenon. It is in fact a vocalization, with the mouth closed.

The vibration attending it is felt all over the chest and no farther,

except in the throat. |

On auscultation of a pussy during the purr, I found a very

Musical rumbling sound permeating the lungs throughout. Its

character is changed, however, when the larynx is compressed ;

coming higher as the voice does with narrowing of the glottis.

488 ZOOLOGY.

The vibration is also coarser to the ear in the throat than else-

where. It reminds one there of the rattle connected with exces-

sive secretion of mucus in the wind-pipe. But, as there is no

liquid present, I ascribe the sound principally to a rough vibra-

tion of the epiglottis ; supplemented no doubt, by an exaggerated

vesicular murmur in the lungs, caused by a quivering, semi-

convulsive mode of action of the respiratory muscles.

Perhaps all this may be familiar to most people, and I may have

been before very unobservant in supposing the purring to be a

general tremor of the whole body, having no connection with the

breathing process.

Since writing the above note I have looked through a number

of physiological works, without finding anything about ‘ purring ;”

but at last, in the *“ Cyclopzedia of Anatomy and Physiology,”

find the following remarks (Article Voice, Vol. iv, p. 1490) :—

“The whole of the feline order [sic] are remarkable for the

prominence of the superior ligaments of the larnyx, by which

inferior ligaments; but we [J. Bishop] were unable to detect

them; nor could Cuvier, Wolff, Casserius and others, succeed in

finding them.”

This shows that the vocal nature of purring has been observed.

I am sorry not to be able to refer to the memoir of Vicq. @’ Azyt

‘tOn the Anatomy of the Vocal Organs in Mammals,” 1779, to find

whether he goes into detail in regard to it. Probably, in an ana-

tomical treatise he does not.

Tue “ Wittow Wanps” rrom Burrarp’s INLET. — Some pecu-

liar specimens from British Columbia, resembling peeled willow

switches were exhibited at the last meeting of the British Associa-

tion, and were commented on in “Nature” and elsewhere by

naturalists, among whom, Dr. P. L. Sclater (on the authority of

some sea captain who stated that they were derived from a fish)

suggested that if the statement were correct they might be the

hardened notochord of some unknown fish. Several of the gen-

tlemen referred to suggested that these organisms were the axes

of aleyonoid polypes allied to Pennatula or Virgularia, and Mr. R.

E. C. Stearns, in a paper lately read before the California Acad-

emy of Sciences, took the same view, suggesting that they might

be allied to Umbellularia. That this view is the correct one, and

ZOOLOGY. 489

that the supposed fish was only a “fish story,” there can be no

doubt whatever. Very lately, Mr. Hemphill has forwarded to the

California Academy of Sciences some dry Virgularias (?) from

San Diego, California. Although the genus cannot be deter-

mined without alcoholic specimens, yet the axes of these spec-

imens, which are about a foot long, present no differences whatever

except in size, from the Burrard’s Inlet specimens, of which the

Academy possesses a large series. Mr. Hemphill adds in a letter

to Mr. Stearns, to whom I am indebted for this information, that

these animals, though not attached to anything, are quite hard to

pull out of the mud, and that they descend into it at low water,

protruding the upper portion of the polypidom only at high water.

It is manifestly improbable that the Burrard’s Inlet species, which

attains an axial length of six feet, can thus conceal itself, and this

would confirm the reports which have been circulated here, that it

is found only in deep water.— W. H. D

ABSENCE or Eyes in Crustacea.—In connection with the sub-

ject of cave life and the probable derivation of the blind erayfish

of Mammoth cave from ancestors able to see, we would refer our

readers to the following remarks of Prof. Wyville Thomson in

“Nature,” May 15, on Deidamia pipese von Suhm, dredged in

lat. 21° 38’ N., long. 44° 39’ W. in 1900 fathoms. It is allied

to Astacus, hit differs from all tha! typical decapods in the total

absence of eye-stalks and eyes.

: absence of eyes in many deep-sea animals and their full

Te ean in others is very remarkable. I have mentioned

(“The Depths of the Sea,” p. 176)., the case of one of the stalk-

eyed crustaceans Ethusu granulata, in which well-developed eyes

are present in examples from shallow water. In deeper water,

Pie delicacy. Ts it pos ssible that in certain cases, as oe in

light cape the power of vision becomes more acute, Pale at

length t eye becomes susceptible of the stimulus of the fainter

ht of ibatan The absence of eyes is not unknown

490 ZOOLOGY.

among the Astacide. Astacus — — the Mammoth

cave, ds blind, and from the sam e absence of light;

small abortive eye-stalks still remain in the position in which eyes

are developed in all normal decapods. In Deidamia no trace

whatever remains either of the eyes of sight or of their pedicels.”

OceLt IN Butrerriies.—Forty years ago, Klug, in a memoir

on the occurrence of ocelli in insects, remarked that these organs

were not found in butterflies, — ‘not even in Hesperide ;” and so

far as I know this has been the universal testimony of naturalists.

It was therefore, with some surprise, that on removing the scales

from the head of Lerema Accius ¢,1 discovered in the middle of

the front, a conspicuous ocellus. Other species were examined

with the following result: Ocelli are present in both sexes of L.

Accius, in the ĝ at least of L. Pattenii (no 9 examined), but in

neither sex of L. Hianna! I could not find any in the neighbor-

ing genera. In the ¢ of L. Accius and L. Pattenii there is a

single ocellus — lenticular and smooth; in the 2 of the former

it is similarly situated, but broken up into three minute raised

points, all together equal to the one ocellus of the ¢ and indica-

ting that the latter is composed of three confluent ocelli.

It is not a little remarkable that in other Lepidoptera possessing

ocelli, these are always two in number, and situated behind the

antennæ, probably (I am unable to examine specimens) upon the

vertex. In some Hemiptera, however, the ocelli are found below

the eyes, and in others above, so that this feature is not unprece-

dented. It would scarcely seem as if the position of the ocelli

had the same morphological significance as that of the other

organs.—S. H. SCUDDER.

N A Hasr or a Specs or Biarina. —I recently placed a

water-snake ( Tropidonotus sipedon) of two feet in length, in a fern-

ery which was inhabited by a shrew, either a large Blarina Caro-

linensis or a small B. talpoides. The snake was vigorous when

placed in the case in the afternoon and bit at every thing within

reach. The next morning the glass sides of his prison were

streaked with dirt and other marks, to the height of the reach of

the snake, bearing witness to his energetic efforts to escape. pe

was then lying on the earthen floor in an exhausted state, making &

few ineffectual efforts to twist his body, while the Blarina was

busy tearing out his masseter and temporal muscles. A large part

Menag

ZOOLOGY. 491

of the flesh was eaten from his tail, and the temporal and masseter

muscles and eye of one side, were removed, so that the under jaw

hung loose. The temporal was torn loose from the cranium on

the other side, and as I watched him, the Blarina cut the other

side of the mandible loose, and began to tear the longicolli and

rectus muscles. His motions were quite frantic,and he jerked and

tore out considerable fragments with his long anterior teeth. He

seemed especially anxious to get down the snake’s throat (where

some of his kin had probably “gone before”), and revolved on his

long axis, now with his belly up, now with his sides, in his ener-

getic efforts. He had apparently not been bitten by the snake,

and was uninjured. Whether the shrew killed the snake is of

course uncertain, but the animus with which he devoured the rep-

tile gives some color to the suspicion that he in some way fright-

ened him to exhaustion.—E. D. Core.

Birtas ar tue Centran Park ZooLocicaL Garpen. — Lion

(Felis leo). Two cubs born January 25, 1875 (this is the second

time that lions have bred on the Park) ; period of gestation six-

teen weeks ; the body indistinctly spotted, long black hairs being

Scattered over the head ; born blind.

Lions -are more prolific than any other species of Felis; after

the first litter the number produced is seldom less than four. It

is a well known fact, that these animals breed more freely in trav-

elling menageries than in zoological gardens, the change of air no

doubt having considerable influence in producing this result. The

Director of the Dublin Zoological Gardens has been more success-

ful than any other Director in Europe in breeding lions. They

have never been able to raise young lions in the London Zoological

Gardens. Dr. Bartlett, the Superintendent of the Gardens, in a

Paper read to the Society, says : —

the Regent’s Park. T perfection consists in the roof of the

mouth being open. The palatal bones do not meet, the animal is

unable t k, and consequently always dies. is abnorm

Produced these malformed young, the cause of which appears to

me quite unaccountable.” —W. A. Campen, Director, Central Park

erie.

492 ZOOLOGY.

GENERATION OF Eris (AncuiIrL®).— This is a subject that has

occupied the attention of naturalists from the earliest dawn of Ich-

thyology ; and its importance, both in a physiological and econom-

ical point of view, has always been, and still is recognized.

Yarrell, in Jesse’s “Gleanings in Natural History,” and in the

second edition of the ‘‘ History of British Fishes,” Vol. 2, p. 388,

expresses his belief, as the result of a close examination of a

number of eels, that they are oviparous, producing their young

like other true bony fishes ; and he refers in support of this opinion,

to some Hunterian drawings, on a magnificent scale, by Clift.

Dr. Mitchell, too, of New York, coincides strictly with Yarrell.

Though hermaphrodites in fishes have hitherto been supposed to

occur only abnormally, as in the genus Serranus, they may perhaps

be more common and regular than is admitted in the books of

comparative anatomy, such as that of Owen, wherein fishes are

said to be always diceecious. But now an Italian physiologist, G.

B. Ercolani, in the Proceedings of the “ Accademia delle Scienze _

di Bologna,” of last December, describes ‘‘ Perfect Hermaphrodit-

ism in the Eel;” the genitals only completely developed at sea

during the month of December ; ovaries and testes then and there

with spermatozoa; and, as he believes, the spermatozoa are

discharged into the peritoneal sac, and the ova there fertilized

before their emission from the body. This is surely an interesting

statement, and in conformity with many facts well known regara-

ing the economy of the eel. But it requires confirmation, and

indeed the subject is so very curious and important, that it is to Þe

hoped that ichthyologists on the seacoast will pursue the inquiry

to its legitimate conclusion. — Land and Water.

Anatomy OF THE Kine. Cras. — M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards

finds that the circulating apparatus of Limulus is more perfect and

complicated than that of any other articulate animal. The venous

blood, instead of being diffused through interorganic lacune, 45 10

the crustacea, is, for a considerable portion of its course, enclosed

in proper vessels with walls perfectly distinct from the adjacent

organs, originating frequently by ramifications of remarkable deli-

cacy, and opening into reservoirs which are for the most part bi

circumscribed. The nutritive liquid passes from these reservoirs

into the branchiæ, and, after having traversed these respiratory

organs, arrives, by a system of branchio-cardiac canals, in a peri-

i eb eae caer caress 3 = See

eRe ONS ope A oa ALE MANY 1: Sen eee ER eS we aS Tee

ERT ss

Reet et Re ee a ap oC OP eee TR BRE a ae Fe oe Ie eee = TE LAO IO tet Ae eee

ark ea cy ys ee

ZOOLOGY. 493

cardiac chamber, then penetrates into the heart, of which the di-

mensions are very considerable. It is then driven into tubular

arteries with resistant walls, the arrangement of which is exceed-

ingly complex, with frequent anastomoses, and of which the ter-

minal ramifications are of marvellous tenuity and abundance. He

has also found, as Prof. Owen had intimated, that the nerves are

completely ensheathed by the blood vessels. — Annals and Mag.

Nat. History, Feb., 1873

Tue Rose-preastep Grospeak (Goniaphea Ludoviciana).—I

wish to testify to the benefits this bird confers by destroying the

“Colorado Potato Bug” (Doryphora decem-lineata Say), cutworms,

and other insects. I have often seen the birds feeding in company

with robins, bluebirds, orioles, tanagers and other birds, in vari-

ous parts of the state, where they appear to be abundant, particu-

larly in spring. They frequent open timber, fields and ploughed

lots away from travelled roads. Their note resembles that of the

scarlet tanager; when flying, the white on the wings causes them

to look something like the red-headed woodpecker. I have never

Known them to eat green peas, as Mr. Allen says that the black-

headed grosbeak, their nearest ally, does. — Henry H. Mares,

Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Canaries Nestrxc.— Confined by illness I have for several days

watched a pair of canaries making inir nest. They are now

lining it, using feathers for that pur pose, a portion being from their

own bodies, though not (I think) purposely detached. The rest

are feathers which I have put on the bottom of the cage. I was

Struck with this observation, that every time a feather was taken

to the nest, it was first deliberately dipped into the water cup, then

put in its place, when the building bird, most frequently the female,

Would drop into the nest and then wriggle the body, to give shape

to the structure. The soaking of the feathers was evidently a

matter of design, namely, to cause them to lie in place, and receive

the proper bend from the motion of the bird’s body. I think this

indicates considerable intelligence in these little pets.— S. LocK-

Woop, February 14

Ay Aquatic Bompycrp Morn. — Mr. Bar of Cayenne has for-

warded to the Entomological Society of France, descriptions and

Specimens of the various stages of an interesting Bombycid. The

larva lives under stones in streams and rises to the surface for

494 ZOOLOGY.

transformation. The cocoons are found in clusters floating on the

water. Aquatic caterpillars have hitherto been known only in the

lower families of Lepidoptera.

Tue Epucation or Ares. — The following query comes from

a “layman,” but is worth considering :—

; man whose wealth corresponded with his love for

scientific investigation, or some liberal institution or government

in his place, should commence the following experiment, viz. ; the

careful education of a family of the most intelligent apes, through

generation after generation, with a view of determining whether

such a system would result in an increased development of brain,

th in size and quality, and in the retention by one generation of

knowledge acquired by a former. Of course this must be done m

the native land, in a climate adapted to them, and with extreme

and constant care, and the result in the life-time of one man might

be hardly perceptible. Would not such an experiment, however,

be of immense consequence to science however it might result?”

Fautty Instrncr IN a Cat.—Having ended some incomplete

studies last summer on a pine snake, it became a question how to

dispose of it for the winter, so as to have it in condition for re-

newed observations at the returning season. This was done thus.

Its box was neatly covered, and converted into a flower stand, $0

that in blissful ignorance our lady visitors were not horrified,

when admiring the sitting room flora, with any suspicion of a

terrible ‘snake beneath the, flowers.”

We have a cat, which, already adult, was brought from “The

Pines,” and doubtless had a knowledge of snakes, probably both

by inheritance and acquaintance. Yesterday, March 2d, the rep-

tile set up its peculiar blowing in its dark box. It was a sight to

observe the actions of the cat. There was plainly astonishment

in that feline pate. She kept her place, turning her head towards

the several corners of the room, and listening intently. Still

continued that strange blowing of the snake, like a loud wheezing

of wind escaping from a rent in a great forge bellows. The cat

now fixed her eyes on the box whence the sound came. It hap-

pened that a strip of dark colored cloth lay on the box, with a

part pendent to the floor. Pussy’s mind was made up—that was 4

snake — nothing surer, for the sound kept steadily coming from

that very spot. Now the cat crouched low and crept very slowly

indeed, with eyes riveted on the prey. Still the reptile hissed and

the cat slowly advanced. Now came a pause of but a second, and

SP :

i See sig 5 Slee ora

Boe Uae ER ST ee eee eee net ay ee See LP At ee

reais eee are et pe

;

a a eee

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PAS Re ae Nese, SA wate ENEE E 5 ee age

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ZOOLOGY. 495

the beast sprang seizing the pseudo-snake. There was an attempt

at a shake ; but its illusion had vanished. Such a look of silly as-

tonishment and feline disappointment as followed cannot be

described. All that can be said is, this new experience had its

manifestation. As sometimes with other hunters, pussy’s prey

was not worth the powder, and she turned away in disgust. e

exact nature of her perplexity we cannot know; for still the

hissing was kept up. Although decidedly at fault in its attack on

the strip of cloth, yet this whole affair seems to me a case of

awakened instinct. It is a year and a half since she has been

here. How much of recollection of individual knowledge, or ex-

perience ; and how much of awakened inherited habit, or instinct,

and what the concatenation of these things might be in that feline

thinking, are perhaps problems to be referred to some future me-

taphysicist in zoology. One curious habit of this cat deserves

mention. Her cry, whether caused by want of food or any other

attention, is exactly that of our American puma (Felis puma

Shaw) popularly known as the panther or painter. I have heard

the female puma’s cry so piercing and distressing, and the like-

ness is so close, that the sound of pussy’s cry is positively an-

hoying to me. The difference between them is entirely one of

loudness, Even the very timbre, or quality of tone is identical.

The cat is black and white and in disposition as gentle as others,

even showing affection. I ought to say that when a kitten she

was a favorite of my lamented friend, that accomplished botanist,

the late Dr. P. D. Kineskern, and even in the pains of his de-

parture her kitten gambols on his bed entertained that good and

excellent man, who is known in posthumous fame as the philoso-

pher of the Pines.— SAMUEL LOCKWOOD.

Wolf (Canis lupus L., race occidentalis Rich., strain griseo-albus

lower jaw. ‘The extra tooth is a molar behind the last true molar,

making three teeth back of the large sectorial one. It is small

(about as much less than the last true molar as this one is less

496 ZOOLOGY.

than the penultimate), but well developed, single-rooted, circular,

very obtusely conical. There is nothing to meet it above, since it

sets entirely back of the upper series. On the other side of the

under jaw there is a slight pit in the bone, corresponding to the

situation of the extra molar, and showing an ineffectual nisus in

the same direction. In all other respects the dentition is normal.

To judge from a limited experience, this is an uncommon anomaly ;

I have never before met with it in a feral animal. The prepara-

tion (No. 2,728 of the writer's coll.) goes to the Smithsonian.

—Exuiorr Coues, Fort Randall, Dakota.

How ro Crean tHe Evprectetta.—This beautiful sponge is

becoming a favorite, and deservedly, with lady collectors. Its

marvellous delicacy and purity, after long exposure without a glass

shade, becomes sadly injured by the adhering dust. I had a speci-

men given me lately, which, from this cause had become so un-

sightly as to be accounted worthless. I filled a deep jar with

water, and stirred into it a good table spoonful of chloride of lime.

An hour or so was then given for the lime to settle. After this,

the specimen, held by a clean thread, was suspended in the fluid .

for twelve hours or so. It was then taken out by the thread, and

suspended a few hours in clean water. This entirely removed the

chlorine. It was then suspended in the air to dry, after which

it was of immaculate whiteness, and sparkled like the frosted

snow.— S. L.

Woovrrckers Tapping Sucar Trees.— Upon the Iowa Uni-

versity campus we have a number of grand old aboriginal oaks, &

favorite resort for redheaded woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythro-

cephalus). Among the young and growing trees that have been

transplanted upon the campus are some sugar maples (Acer saccha-

rinum) the bodies of which are six or eight inches in diameter.

Seeing the woodpeckers busily tapping upon them I examined the

trunks and found them perfectly sound, but the birds had pierced

many holes, of the usual size, through the bark and into the

cambium layer, where they stopped. The sap was flowing freely

from the holes, and, watching the movements of the birds after-

ward upon the trees, I became convinced that they were sucking

the sap and that they had pecked the holes for the purpose of

obtaining it. This habit is probably not new to ornithologists, but

I am not aware that it has before been noticed. C. A. WHITE.

ZOOLOGY. 497

Tue Warre-rumrep Surike.—In a residence of two years in

central and southern Iowa, I killed a large number of shrikes, and

although the greater number were plainly referable to Collurio

excubitoroides, there were ‘some that 1 could not satisfactorily

place as belonging either to C. excubitoroides or O. Ludovicianus,—

they seemed to be intermediate between the two; generally nearer

the former than the latter. Occasionally an individual would

agree very nearly with Baird’s description of C. Ludovicianus,

though without undoubted specimens of the latter bird from the

southern states, I was unable to decide whether they were ab-

solutely identical, or in what the difference consisted. I mention

this fact to show that, while occasional observations, or observa-

tions for a limited space of time, would probably result in the

conclusion that O. excuditoroides was the only form, close and ex-

tended observation would show a strong variation in many cases

toward the C. Ludovicianus type, while ranely a specimen would

be found that would appear to be absolutely of that species.

Nevertheless, the typical excubitoroides is the predominating, and

by far the commonest, form; nor could I observe anything in the

habits of the birds pointing to two species or even well-defined

varieties ; birds mated together sometimes showing considerable

differences of plumage.—T. Martın Tripre, Orange, N. J.

Tappotes iv Wiyrer.— An esteemed contributor sends us an

account of tadpoles that were found early this spring, having

passed the winter in that condition, which he considered as per-

haps a case of arrested development. It is however well known

that the large bull frog (Rana pipiens) is (at least in the New

England States) two or three years in the larval or tadpole con-

dition, and if retained in a tank and forced to keep up its fish-like

life there is no knowing how long the larval state would be re-

tained. The experiments made by Prof. Wyman several years

Since resulted in keeping the tadpoles for a number of years,

and at the end the water was accidentally let out of the tank.

If any one will take the trouble of trying the experiment it will

Probably be found that unless the tadpoles are allowed a chance

to hop along shore about the time their legs are developed, they

can be greatly retarded in obtaining their perfect form as frogs or

toads. Many of our New England species of frogs and toads

develop very rapidly, passing through the tadpole condition in a

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 32

498 t ZOOLOGY.

week or two, while others are naturally much longer in making

the change, and probably both Rana fontinalis and Rana pipiens,

and perhaps other species, require to pass one or two winters in

the tadpole state.— F. W. P

Tue GOLDEN-WINGED WooprecKker.—In his ‘‘ Notes of an Or-

nithological Reconnoissance of portions of Kansas, Colorado, Wy-

oming, and Utah,” J. A. Allen speaks of specimens of Colaptes

auratus, taken in eastern Kansas, showing a tendency to the col-

oration of O. Mexicanus in having the “black maxillary patch,

more or less tinged with red;” and mentions one from Florida

with the same peculiarity. I have observed red feathers in the

cheek patches of birds shot at Orange, N. J., in three or four

instances; and in one case the black was quite thickly sprinkled

with small specks of bright, shining red, more brilliant than that

of the nape. Here ye have an instance of occasional indiv viduals

of one species exhibiting a tendency to vary in the direction of a

congeneric species, not occurring within fifteen hundred miles of

the former.—T. Martin Trirpe, Orange, N. J.

ORNITHOLOGICAL Queries.—I wish to make two or three orni-

thological queries through the pages of the Naturazistr. What

are the southernmost localities in which the following species are

known to breed? viz: Regulus satrapa, R. calendula, Anorthura

hyemalis, Junco hyemalis, Plectrophanes pictus, P. Lapponicus and

P. nivalis? What is the eastern limit of Vireo Belli? and what is

_ the southern and southwestern range of Pediccetes phasianellus?

I am very desirous of obtaining information on these points.—

Maritim Trırre, Orange, N. J.

Mone or Ece-LAYING or Acrion.— Mr. G. W. Dunn writes us

that while collecting at Santa Cruz, California, he observed a

species of Agrion (as we find the insect to be) “flying about the

water united male and female. The female would light om @

spear of grass growing in the water; the male would then let g0,

and the female go down the grass twelve or fifteen inches under

water and deposit her eggs.”

Hasirs or MONOHAMMUS pentator.—On the 9th of June, 1872,

my attention was directed to a yellow pine (Pinus mitis) abou

fifty. feet high and twelve inches in diameter, in which several

‘

ZOOLOGY. 499

holes about the size of a pencil were to be seen at various points

on the trunk.

On removing the bark I found an adult insect already free and

the heads of several others appearing through the wood. On fur-

ther investigation during the next few weeks I obtained from the

tree no less than eighty of these beetles in all stages of develop

ment, which, considering the size of the tree, was a large number.

I observed that the largest beetles were near the foot of the tree,

and that the larvæ almost invariably avoided a knot on account of

the hardness (?) of the wood. Where the diameter of the tree

was about six inches the larvee would bore through the trunk in-

stead of making only a surface bore as they did where the diam-

eter was greater.

The larva is a footless, yellowish white grub, more or less

hairy, cylindrical in shape, and about one and four-tenths inches

long, and three-twentieths of an inch in diameter. The body in-

cluding the head is made up of fourteen segments, the last eight

of which have a kind of ridge on each side, covered with hairs

longer than those which are found on the rest of the body and

which doubtless assist it in locomotion, the second segment next

the head is flattened on the upper side. On both the upper and

under sides of the body are seven raised rough spots at right an-

gles with the ridges on the sides. It feeds on the sap wood or

inner bark until autumn, when it turns aside and bores outward

leaving its passage filled with chips. Within the distance of from

one-half to one-tenth of an inch from the bark it forms a smooth,

hollow, curved excavation about the size of an almond in which it

undergoes its transformations during the winter or even as late as

the last of June.

The pupa is white and varies in size from three-fourths of an

inch, to an inch and one-tenth. In this state it resembles the

imago, the only difference being that the elytra are not developed.

After remaining in the pupa state during a space of time which

Varies according to circumstances it is transformed to a beetle

and after a short time gnaws its way out, appearing from the first

of June to the middle of July. The imago is brownish, mottled

with gray, black, and cream color, and varies in size from t

fourths, to something over an inch in length. The two sexes

- differ in the great length of the antennz, which in the male are

full twice the length of the body, and in the development of the

500 ANTHROPOLOGY.

anterior tarsi, which in the male are much broader than in the

female. Itis unnecessary further to describe the imago as in this

state the dentator is well known. I have only taken these beetles

in Massachusetts but have found traces of them in Connecticut

and in northern New York, whence it can be inferred that they

inhabit all New England. — F. C. Bowpircu.

Tue Parntep Bunriye.—The Plectrophanes pictus visited south-

ern Iowa last fall in great numbers, appearing toward the close of

October, but whether it is as abundant every season I cannot say,

but am inclined to think that it was far more common than usual,

as was the case with almost all northern birds., In its habits it

was very similar to the Lapland longspur, but differed in being

less gregarious, frequently feeding singly or in small parties of

five or six, which the latter bird seldom does, and in ‘showing a

partiality for wet meadows and moist low-lying prairie swales,

while the longspur prefers the cornfields and higher ground, as a

rule, and does not appear until some weeks after pictus. The

notes and flight of the two species are quite similar, though dis-

tinguishable.—T. M. Triprr, Garden Grove, Iowa.

New Norra American Hymenoprera.— The last number of

the Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis contains

a posthumous paper by the late B. D. Walsh, in which many new

species of Tenthredinide, and Ichneumonide are described.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Nore on a COLLECTION OF SKIN SCRAPERS FROM New JERSEY.—

Since the publication of our notice of the stone implements found

in New Jersey, in the Naturauist for March and April, 1872, our

attention has been frequently called to the greater variety of

shapes than we then supposed to occur, and to the unusual degree

of excellency exhibited in the manufacture of these well known

relics. In the paper referred to, we figured four relics as sera-

pers, each bearing considerable resemblance to the others. In

collection of fifty-four specimens lying before us, we find five

types; one of them is the English form, being thin flakes of

jasper, of a uniform surface on one side, sloping to either side

_ from a median ridge, and chipped to a bevelled edge in front.

. The three specimens bear considerable resemblance to those fig-

Fo ee eS aay ee ee are A ne GS a

ANTHROPOLOGY. 501

ured by Mr. Evans on page 273 of his “ Ancient Stone Implements

of Great Britain.” Eleven of these scrapers, all of jasper, are tri-

angular in outline, and of very beautiful finish; exceeding in

beauty of form and careful workmanship any figures given by Mr.

Evans. Of them, but two are bluntly ended, and but one without

the characteristic bevelled edge of scrapers. The triangular form

appears, as a rule, to have the scraping edge convex, the sides

chipped to a cutting edge, and the implement itself, even when

very small, appears to be chipped from a nodule of mineral, and

not fashioned from a flake, as those just described. The variation

in size of these triangular scrapers, as exhibited in this series, is

from two and one-half inches in lengt by one and five-eighths

inches in width, to seven-eighths in length by five-eighths in width.

This smallest specimen is in all respects a very beautifully wrought

specimen, having the bevelled, or “scraper” edge very distinctly

chipped.

The form of scraper that is most usually met with, in our New

Jersey “finds,” is that which we have described in Vol. vi of the

Naturatist, pages 221-223, the figures of which we here repro-

duce (Figs. 131, 182, 133,134). This type, which is a modifi-

cation of ‘the spoon-shaped scrapers described by Mr. Evans,

appears to have been the favorite one, among the Delaware

tribes. There are twenty-one specimens in this little collection,

all of which are carefully wrought, and but three of them are of

slate. While in general appearance this form suggests the utili-

zation of the bases of spearheads in their manufacture, we doubt

very much, after examining a very large number, if this was the

tule. We think, rather, that it was the exception, because this

type of scraper very generally is thicker than spearpoints ; the stem

or handle is thinner than the blade; the upper side or that from

which the bevelling proceeds is ridged, while beneath it is flat or

nearly so; all of which shows a variation from ordinary spear and

arrowheads, which could not have been produced by any chipping

of the base of either of those implements. The implements figured

in Vol. vi of the Naruratist, pages 212 and 213, here reproduced

as Figs. 135, 136, 137, we now believe to be scrapers and not

Spear or arrowpoints. The variation in size of this stemmed or

modified spoon-shaped scraper is from three inches in length by

two in greatest breadth, to one inch in length, by about seven- _

eighths in width. As in the preceding instance, this smallest

502 ANTHROPOLOGY.

specimen is equally as well wrought as the larger, and varies from

- them only in having a notched base, rather than a narrow and

straight stem. It is flat upon one side and convex upon the other,

with a beautifully chipped bevelled edge. It certainly was made

Fig. 131.

from a nodule of jasper directly, and not from a broken arrow-

head, chipped into a scraper.

_ Another small specimen varies from the above in being of much

greater width and of the same length. The edge in this case is

bevelled from each side, so that the specimen may have been origi-

lly an arrowhead. The form of the implement suggests the

arrowheads described by Schoolcraft, as being employed by

boys 1 when learning to use the bow and arrow; being made

+ pierce the target. This type of handles

babel.

ANTHROPOLOGY. 503

serapers varies somewhat in the relative widths of head and

handle, so that the gradation to other forms, especially the trian-

gular or kite-shaped, can be traced in every considerable collec-

tion.

The form of scraper described by Mr. Evans as “‘horseshoe-

shaped” is represented in the series by seven specimens, while

five others approach this type, and are, as it were, connecting

Fiğ. 136,

Fig. 137.

links with the preceding types. These twelve specimens are all

of jasper, very well chipped over their whole surface, although not

as smoothly wrought as the preceding and have well defined scrap-

ing edges along certain portions of their margins. In size they

are about the same as the specimens figured by Mr. Evans, with

probably a smaller proportion of the larger ones.

The spoon-shaped scraper, of which Mr. Evans figures a pretty

Specimen on page 277 of his work, is represented by three speci-

504 MICROSCOPY.

mens in our series, one of which is very similar to that referred to

from the Yorkshire wolds. The others have the bowl of the

spoon not so well defined, but otherwise are well made scrapers.

There ‘are also three other specimens, that might be more prop-

erly called knife-shaped scrapers, in that the bowl and stem or

handle are of the same width. The scraping edge is, however,

circular, as in the true spoon-shaped form. These may be looked

upon as connecting links with the quadrangular or horseshoe-

shaped scrapers. There remains one other specimen to notice,

being a “ side scraper,” as Mr. Evans calls this form, that is, one

that is broader than it is long. It is made of slate, chipped with

some care; is two inches in length by three in width. Both sides

are adapted to scraping, being each well chipped, with the lower

side flatter than the upper surface. What perhaps might be called

the true edge, is somewhat more extended than the other, from

the barblike projections at either end, which barbs give a finished

appearance to the implement, which otherwise might have been

looked upon as merely a flake or unfinished specimen. This form

of scraper is not common with us.

After a careful study of these and many other specimens of this

form of implement, found in New Jersey, we have determined, we

think :

First. That jasper, quartz and allied minerals were preferred in

manufacturing scrapers.

Secondly. That as much care was taken in their shaping and

ae as was the case with arrowpoints and spearpoints.

ly. That but few “flakes” were utilized in making scrapers,

as is de case with European specimens.

Fourthly. That the majority of scrapers were intended to be

inserted in handles of bone or wood.

Fifthly. That large spearheads especially, and some arrow-

heads were used for making scrapers, having previously lost aa

points, and being too short to be repointed.

Lastly. That, as a class, the New Jersey scrapers are smaller

than those found in Europe. — Cuarres C. Ansorr, M.D.

MICROSCOPY.

IMPROVEMENTS IN Opsectives.—Mr. Wenham has placed micros-

copists, and indeed all persons intereated in scientific progress,

MICROSCOPY. 505

under a new obligation, by his last paper on object-glasses, con-

tributed to the Royal Microscopical Society. He seems to be

strangely unconscious of the fact that he cares more for human

progress than for trade secrets; and he publishes, with the utmost

apparent indifference, exactly what the world wants to know, but

what it knows too well would be by most persons devoted to se-

crecy and to personal business purposes.

Introductory to an explanation of his new formula for objec-

tives, Mr. Wenham reviews the history of the modern (English

objectives,

In the year 1829, before which time three superposed achromatic

lenses were employed simply as a means of increasing power, the

late Mr. Lister discovered and published the law of aplanatic foci,

that by separating suitably connected lenses one or two positions

could be found in which spherical aberration was balanced; and

Mr. Ross constructed in 1831, with unexpected success, the first

objective embodying this principle. Mr. Ross then discovered

that the interposition of a cover-glass removed the aplanatic focus

to a different plane, causing negative aberration and requiring the

lenses to be brought closer together; and he therefore introduced

the screw collar adjustment which has now become universal.

These objectives consisted of three pairs, the double convex crown

and plano-concave flint of each pair having their contact surfaces

of equal radius and balsamed together, the three pairs having foci

about in the proportion of one, two, three, and the anterior pair

ing at a considerable and variable distance from the other two

pairs. In this combination the softness of the flint glass forming

the first plane surface was unfortunate, and the angular aperture

of a } was limited to 60°.

In the year 1837, Mr. Lister furnished Mr. Ross a diagram of

a triple front lens, consisting of a plano-concave of flint between

two plano-convex crowns, for the purpose of protecting the flint

from the exposure to the air and of diminishing the depth of

curvature, which was unfavorable for the passage of the marginal

Tays. The front surface of the middle pair was made concave

with no other advantage than reducing the depth of contact, and —

it may be made a plane with at least equally good results in cor-

rection of the oblique pencils and in flatness of field. An angle

of 80° was attained, by this method, in one-eighths.

506 MICROSCOPY.

Thirteen years later Mr. Lister introduced the triple-back, for

the same objects as the triple front, it being composed of a double

concave of very dense flint between a plano-convex and a double

convex of crown. Thus more marginal rays were collected, and

the aperture of a 4 raised to 130° or over.

At that time Mr. Wenham, experimenting in the construction of

objectives, discovered that excessive over correction or negative

aberration was easily obtained with lenses of shallow contact

curves, and that color correction was chiefly controlled by changes

in the triple back, the rays passing through the concave flint of

the triple front so nearly in the direction of its radii that great

changes in its curvature possessed only feeble chromatic effects.

This led him to introduce the now familiar single front of plano-

convex crown glass which was long rejected by the leading opti-

cians, but is now used by all of them. The first } constructed on

this system possessed an angular aperture of 130°, and was suc-

cessful at first attempt, the middle pair being neutral or nearly

achromatic and the triple back happening to have a suitable excess

of negative aberration or over correction for color. Some posi-

tive spherical aberration remained, which was remedied by giving

additional thickness to the front lens ; a correction now considered

essential and requiring great delicacy, as a difference in thickness

of .<4y inch will determine the quality between a good and an

indifferent +4.

The excessive depth of the contact surfaces of the middle pair

was a remaining defect, it being so great that if not balsam Ce-

mented, total reflection of the marginal rays would take place, and

the angular aperture be reduced. Though the surfaces are oblit-

erated by being cemented with balsam and the rays are thus en-

abled to proceed, still an angle beyond that of total reflection,

implies excessive and detrimental depth of curvature. Placing

the flint in the form of a meniscus above a plano-convex crown

was employed as a middle pair with some satisfaction. An at

tempt was also made to obtain the whole chromatic correction with

the biconcave flint of the back, the middle as well as the front

“being a single uncorrected plano-convex of crown. Sufficient

_ over correction was obtained by the back to balance both the other

lenses, but the red and blue rays, for instance, had become 50

widely separated in the front and middle lenses and between them

_ when placed for aplanatic foci, that they could not be brought

NOTES. 507

together again at the point of leaving the back lens, and must

. either leave it converging to some one fixed conjugate focus, or

else parallel but not united; in the first case the combination

could only be applicable to one fixed length of body, and in the

other it would not be satisfactory under any conditions. The cure

for this seemed to be, and proved to be, to transpose the single

middle and the triple back; the over corrected triple bringing

together the rays which had been separated by the single front,

and tne single lens of longer focus making the rays parallel at the

point ct final emergence. The single front is nearly alike in all

cases, var ving only with the power required; the triple middle is

of about -hree times, and the single plano-convex back four and

ahalf times the radius of the front. The single plano-convex of

long focus is reversed when transferred from the middle to the

back position, the plane surface being above instead of below.

Perfect color correction can be obtained by this formula in all

screw collar objectives, from 4 inch upwards. This combination

consists of five lenses and ten surfaces, taking the place of eight

lenses with sixteen surfaces.

These results are worked out by diagrams more easily than by

mathematical computation ; the course of the rays being projected

by means of proportional compasses, with surprising accuracy,

on a scale of some fifty times the size of the real combination.

Tories’ Triretets. — A correspondent writes as follows regard-

ing a half inch triplet lately made by Mr. Tolles. “I am greatly

pleased with the lens. Its performance is splendid, and it really

gives the naturalist when away from his microscope an extraor-

dinary facility. I should be very sorry to be without it.” We

quote this from our friend’s letter, which was by no means de-

signed for publication. These triplets certainly surpass anything

of the kind we have met with. Mr. Tolles has just finished a 7,

objective, which is perfectly satisfactory to himself.

NOTES. |

Ir is seldom that the sad record we are now obliged to make

occurs in a single number of a magazine :—the loss by death of

four valued contributors within so short a time.

f. Jons Lewis Russext, of Salem, died on the 7th of June, .

in the 65th year of his age. Prof. Russell was one of the founders,

508 NOTES.

and for many years the president, of the Essex County Natural

History Society, which afterwards became part of the Essex Insti-

tute. He was an active worker in botany, and though he never

published the results of his labors to any great extent, he has for

years been considered as an authority in New England crypto-

gamic botany to which he devoted most of his attention. Of a

peculiar and retiring nature, he never made himself prominent

among the scientists of the day, though by those who knew him

intimately his learning was held in great respect. As a popular

exponent of botanical subjects he was much appreciated.

Mr. Grorce Gregs, the distinguished American ethnologist and

philologist, died at New Haven, on the 9th of April, in his fifty-

eighth year. Mr. Gibbs, though a lawyer by profession, has been

an extensive contributor to various departments of natural sci-

ence, as well as to literature, but his special work since 1849, when .

he first visited the Pacific coast, has been in researches rela-

tive to the languages and history of the North American Indians.

Since this period he has filled several important posts as geologist

on several of the government surveys and added much to our

knowledge of the geology and zoology of the western portion of

our continent. At the time of his death he was engaged in m

perintending the printing of a quarto volume of the Smithsonian

Contributions, containing several hundred series of Indian vocab-

ularies which he had arranged in a most critical manner. We

understand that this last work of Mr. Gibbs was so far perfected,

that its completion will be entrusted to Dr. Roehrig who was

assisting in the work.

Col. Jonn W. Foster, President of the Chicago Academy of

Science, died at Chicago on the 29th of June, aged 58. Col.

Foster, though an active laborer in science for many years, 18

perhaps best known as the joint author with Prof. Whitney of the

government Report on the Mineral Lands of Lake Superior, pub-

lished in 1850, and from his volume on the Mississippi Valley

published a few years since, though he has contributed many

papers and memoirs on geological and archæologiċal subjects-

He contemplated a series of articles on the «Mound builders of

-the Mississippi Valley” for this magazine, two of which were pub-

lished, when his time became fully occupied in the preparation of

~ a more extensive work on the subject, which was issued but a few

~ weeks before he died. He was one of the original members

jit alr EEE Sh ae eS eG ib a

Nem iS Mt eS ees ee

A eke S Mea ote ete x moais At :

A VARS EN E NE ME PART Te SAE AI ESE AEE ip ar oa Slee STOE E, O AEE E NAE E A A E E T AE EA ENAT EEE S a e A EE E S

NOTES. 509

of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of

which he was president at the meeting held in Salem in 1869, and

for many years has taken an active part in the proceedings of the

Association.

Prof. Henry James CLARK died at Amherst, on July ist, at

the age of forty-seven. Prof. Clark first became known to the

scientific world as a very promising student with Prof. Gray.

He afterwards, and for twelve years, was associated with Prof.

Agassiz as an assistant. In 1860 he was made adjunct professor

of Zoology at Harvard, and afterwards held professorships at the

Agricultural College of Pennsylvania, the University of Kentucky,

and finally in 1872, at the Massachusetts Agricultural College at

Amherst, where after much suffering his useful work was termi-

nated. Prof. Clark was probably the most thorough histologist

in this country, and was our best microscopist in the general ac-

ceptance of the term. His volume entitled “ Mind in Nature”

published some ten or twelve years since was the result of his

micro-physiological studies. He was a large contributor to Prof.

Agassiz’ volumes on the Natural History of the United States, and

| he has also printed many important papers in the Memoirs of the

American Academy, the Boston Society of Natural History, and

various scientific journals. We understand that the Smithsonian

Institution was publishing an extensive work by Prof. Clark, which

we trust will not be delayed by his death. Prof. Clark was a-

member of the National Academy of Science and of the leading

Scientific societies in the country.

Ir appears that the scientific results of the voyage of the Pol-

aris, as revealed by the examination by the Secretary of War of

Capt. Tyson and his comrades, when the vessel is rescued, as there

are strong hopes she. will be, promise to be very encouraging to the

advocates of farther arctic explorations. The Polaris reached 82°

62’ north, where she was in the new straits she had discovered.

The dredge was not used, but the records of the astronomical,

meteorological, magnetic, tidal, and other departments of explo-

ration appear to have been full, while the collections of natural

history, including skins and skeletons of musk oxen, bears and

other mammals, birds and eggs, marine invertebrates, plants and

fossils, were very numerous.

Specimens of drift wood of the walnut, ash and pine were said

510 NOTES.

to have been picked up near the shores of Newman’s Bay and

Polaris Bay. On the shores of the latter bay in lat. 81° 38’ N.

Capt. Hall ‘found that the country abounds with live seals,

game, geese, ducks, musk cattle, rabbits, wolves, foxes, bears,

partridges, lemmings, etc., etc.

The geographical results of the Polaris expedition, so far as

they can now be ascertained from the testimony of Messrs. Tyson,

Myers and their comrades, may be summed up briefly as follows.

The open Polar sea laid down by Kane and Hayes is found to be

in reality a sound forming an expansion of Kennedy channel to

the northward and broken by Lady Franklin Bay on the west,

and on the east by a large inlet twenty miles wide at the opening

and certainly extending far inland. Its size was not ascertained,

and Mr. Myer thinks it may be in fact a strait extending till it

communicates with the Francis Joseph sound of the Germania and

Hansa expedition, and with it defining the northern limits of

Greenland. This inlet was called the southern fiord. North of it

is the indentation of the shore called Polaris Bay by Captain Hall,

where the Polaris wintered in lat. 81° 38’ north. The northern

point of this bay was named Cape Tupton. Its southern point is

yet without a name. From Cape T upton the land. trends to»

the northeast and from the eastern shore of a new channel from

twenty-five to thirty miles wide opening out of the sound before

mentioned. The trend.of land continues to Repulse Harbor in

lat. 82° 9’ north, the highest northern position reached by land dur-

ing this expedition. From an elevation of 17 00 feet at Repulse

Harbor, on the east coast of Robeson’s Straits, the land continues

northeast to the end of these straits, and thence east and southeast

till lost in the distance, its vanishing point bearing south of east

from the place of observation. No land was visible to the north-

east, but land was seen on the west coast, extending north as far

as the eye could reach, and apparently terminating in a headland

84° north. Mr. Myer also stated that directly to the north he ob-

served, on a bright day, from the elevation mentioned, a line

of light, apparently circular in form, which was thought by other

observers to be land, but which he supposed to indicate open

water. Besides ascertaining accurately the condition and extent

of what was before supposed to be an open polar sea, discov-

ering the southern fiord to the southeast, and Roberts’s Straits to

_ the north, with another wide expanse of water beyond it and ex-

i »

E SASE E A EEE E La ES BAS eas Ae E Joo E

NOTES. 511

tending by examination and survey the coast line on the east up

to latitude 82° 91’ north, and by observation somewhat farther

prolonging the west coast to the northward and passing with the

Polaris under steam the high latitude of 82° 16’ north — a point

far beyond the limits of all previous navigation toward the pole—

errors in the shore line of the west coast as laid down by Dr.

Hayes, and also errors in the shore line of Greenland as laid down

by Dr. Kane, were observed and corrected.

Mr. Clement R. Markham writes to “Nature” that from the

results gleaned from the story of the boat’s crew of the Polaris,

there are renewed and strong arguments for the fitting out of an

English arctic expedition, which has been urged for a year or two

past.

The government has dispatched two vessels in search of the

Polaris, with a good prospect of finding her and saving the val-

uable journals and specimens aboard.

Pror. C. A. Ware of Iowa State University and State Geolo-

gist of Iowa, has been appointed Professor of Geology and Nat-

ural History at Bowdoin College. This is a new chair, and its

establishment shows that the interest in science that has always

characterized this college is on the increase. The Cleaveland

Cabinet of Natural History at Bowdoin College was dedicate

July 10. The museum, formerly Massachusetts Hall, has a very

handsome interior. The address was delivered by Hon. Nehemiah `

Cleaveland, and remarks were made by other gentlemen present.

Tue bryological books and exceedingly rich and important

collections and preparations of mosses left by the late W. S.

Sullivant are to be consigned to the Gray Herbarium of Harvard

University, with a view to their preservation and long-continued

usefulness. The remainder of his botanical library, his choice

microscopes, and other collections are bequeathed to the State

Scientific and Agricultural College, just established at Columbus,

and to the Starling Medical College, founded by his uncle, and of

Which he was himself the senior trustee.

Tur Topeka Scientific Institute is the title of a society eae

peka, Kansas, two years old, devoted to general science. It closed

for the season on April 18, having sustained a free course of pop-

ular scientific lectures during the winter.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Catalogue of the Pyralide of eens with descriptions of new Californian Pterophide. By

A.S. Packard, Jr. $vo. pp. 15. (From Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist., N. Y., Vol. x, No. 9, 1873.)

Fifth annoa Report i. the Trustees of the Peabody Institute, Danvers, Mass., for the year 1871.

. 8vo. pp 19. Sale AA ag

Í p E ' Hon, G A President of Massachusetts Senate, on the Museum of pe”

tive Zoology, in Senate, 1873. 8vo. pp. 32. Boston,

Key to North AR gg rh containing a concise account of eve ry living and foss

pre known from the continent north of the Mexican and United Hm sonnie Fd na

y six steel plates and upwards of two hundred and fifty woodcuts. By Elliot Coues, Assistant

Surgeon U.S Ro, a Fa , pp. 361. = le 8

On the Agency of Ins n Obstructing Evolution, etc. Svo. By Thomas Meehan. (From

Proc. Acad. Nat. rs, Philadelphia, Se th ntl te 1873.)

Bulletin Mensuel de la Societe d’ Acclimat tation. 8vo. Tome ix, No. 12,. Dec., 1872. Paris

Fe eg analy of a Ser el of Photographs from the Cottectiann of ‘the British Museum, 8v0. “pp.

Bulletin de V Athenee Oriental. Paris. Serie2. Tome ii.

Verhandiunger der k. k. geologischen Reichsanstalt, Wien. Nos, 14-18, 1872

Jahrbuch der k. k. geolo Foie te ae Wien, Band xxii. No.4, Oci. -Deo.1813:

= adaa ns de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou. Moscou. e xlyi. No. 3.

zu den Abhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftlichen Vereins zu Bremen. Tabellen

No. 2,

ee yi s Vlacheninhalt des Eeg ‘Staats den Wasserstand der Weser und die Witterungs-

verhaltnisse des Jahres, 1871. 4to, pp. 9. Bremen, 1872. 4

Sitzungsberichte der physicalisch-medicinischen Societat zu Erlangen. 8vo. Heft, 4. Nov.

1871, Aug. 1872, Erlangen, 1872.

Siebenundfu nfzigster Jahresbericht der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Emden. 8vo, pp. 4

Emden, 1

Kleine Schriften der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu E Die Winde in ihrer Bezie-

hung zur Saiutricat und ese hat Prof. Dr. tinge h ‘on ‘pp. 19, Emden, 1S

langes Orthopterologiques. Par Henri de Sau ivme fascicule Mantides et Blattides.

eIl. 4to, pp. 164, 3 Plates. Geneve, 1872,

Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Arnee der Wis girir Apae S Gee pem re

1872.

ister en 61 bis 64 der Sitzungberichte der EER

Classe der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissen: Sage ge 8vo, pp. 98. Wien 1872.

Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Mathemaiisch-natureieen

schaften. Ban

tii nd lxv. H -5,

lung. Herte 1-5, Dritte Abtheilung. 5 pa iae „Wien,

Regi. en Band ji

Mathe Se un AAEE, Clas asse. 4to. xxxii. 32 Plates. Wien,

872.

Preisaufgabe fur den von A. Fretherrn v. Baumgartner gestifteten Preis. 8V0, PP. 3. June 13,

Preisau, fgabe. 8vo, pp. 2. June 12, 1872,

Nickel ne ih rani in the Arts, Coinage and Nickel Plating. By Lewis Feuchtwanger- Svo,

ew York.

iy se han gs of the Royal onto” = Edinburgh. 8vo. Nov., 1869—Jun and

The mayne ip piss Bef ports on ha Counties of P Sandusky Sek Wyandot

Maré iryace | cology of Northwestern Ohio, ve ght H. Win chan: 8vo, Lae ig By

List of probiert si ‘ournals, with abbreviated titles, compiled fi of the Recorders. 8V0,

pp. 16. Lon ;

Zeitschrift fur die Gesammten siai turwissenschaften, Band v, pp. 530, 5 ee Band vi, pp»

550, 3 plates and 12 woodcuts, Berlin, ie

{ Zoologtx iene Miscellen. By sazi a r von Frauenfeld (ans den Verhandlungen d. Sv

- zoolo tanischen Gesellschait in. Wien. [Jahrgang, 1873] besonders abgedruckt.) 8V0,

p NES erichte der og Ketur or iehtde Freunden zu Berlin im Jahre, 1872. 870,

pp. 106. ded 1872. Band

birder oon ngen der Ke “seg zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien.

Wont

sof the Academ. Natura il Sciences o patana Passe . 249-264. 1873.

- ay 5 ior Sy liak ‘ard, Jr, 12m0, pP-

39. Published, oo 1873.) pe ag

ne : K: he American Association for the Advancement of Science. Vol, xxi, 1812. BO,

ae ae ‘amb

Da i nd its en lications (Nature Series). By J.N orman Lockyer. 12mo, pP»

: w. R a EE: piate ar —_ J Soe and] New Ie 1873.

Abhand haftlichen Vereine zu Bremen. Ba. ii. Heft.

3. Mita Tatein. aTr ta :

m. 8vo. Pres ;

Anni A ie T z e angor, omii apne Tome 15. Brux sA èlles. n ipa bsi

Synops the aera a ‘county, Mass., with Descriptions of a wo. Ërtratimita

ad Pao Se Svo. pp. 29. (Fro m Firth Annual Keport of the Peabody A

ence, 7 >.

and Water, London, June 7, 14, dit es f the California A

oy oo cera Volva, aot i

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.—SEPTEMBER, 1873.—No. 9.

ece DTD I>

“CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES.”

BY CHAS. V. RILEY, M.A.

Tae article with the above title by Mrs. Mary Treat, in the

March number of the NATURALIST, has attracted a good deal of

attention, and most naturalists will be proud that a lady has set

the example of making such investigations. But while I fully con-

cur with the authoress in the deduction that the female in insects

and especially in Lepidoptera, ‘requires more nourishment than

the male,” I cannot follow her in the other conclusion “that sex

1S not determined in the egg of insects.” Were this conclusion

Well founded it would upset what most physiologists of note be-

lieve to be a fundamental principle, viz., that, in the individual,

Sex is determined at the moment of conception, no matter at what

Stage of growth it becomes ascertainable by us. That such is the

case with the higher animals will scarcely be doubted, and to

reason from analogy that it is the case with the whole animal

“ngdom is quite as natural, though equally as unsafe, as it was in

years gone by to argue that lucina sine concubitu was an impossi-

bility; or that larval reproduction, in insects, could not possibly

take place. It is, therefore, worth while to weigh the evidence for

and against the possibility of controlling sex in larve.

‘ Mrs. Treat, whom I know to be a good observer, and whom I

esteem as a correspondent, had already, in 1871, communicated

to me her belief that she could control the sex in butterfly larvæ,

Semis tate Oat of cheese of Gane at Wastinglons ATOPY ACAPEOT OF

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 33 (518)

514 CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES.

and though I then gave her my opinion that her experiments were

by no means satisfactory and conclusive, for the reason that many

of the larvze experimented on died, we find her discoursing in the

following unqualified manner in “Hearth and Home” for January

13, 1872, in treating of Papilio asterias :—

“When the worms become of the right size cut off their supply

of food, and every one will produce a male butterfly! On the other

hand even after they have left their food-plant and selected their

place to change to the chrysalis, disturb them, make them leave

their place, and coax them with a fresh supply of their favorite

food, and continue to feed them for about two weeks longer, and

all will be females!”

Led by Mrs. Treat’s observations to test the question, I last sum-

mer conducted a few experiments which resulted very differently

from those recorded in the article referred to, and which, after

briefly reviewing the article, I will detail. In waiting for some

of these results I have been obliged to defer writing this article

till the present time.

In the first experiment with Papilio asterias, mentioned by Mrs.

Treat, some of the larvee died, and we are not told whether the

number experimented with was large or small.

In the experiment with the same insect in 1872 we are told that

of seventy-nine specimens that had been labeled males (a few

chrysalides having died) three females only were produced. On

the other hand those that were well “fed up” and labeled females,

produced sixty-eight females and four males. The original num-

ber so labeled is not given and it is not stated whether any Chry-

salides failed to produce the imagines; so that we are left to infer

that seventy-two were experimented with and that they all pro-

duced the butterfly — a success in rearing which is remarkable.

In the third experiment with twenty larve, nine females and

eight males were produced, the other three failing.

In the experiment with Vanessa antiopa more than half the larve

died, and in the trials with Anisota rubicunda some also died

were parasitized. :

Now Papilio* deposits its eggs singly, and from experience -

breeding asterias, Troilus, Turnus and Ajax, from the egs» 5

am satisfied that it would be very difficult to get any great

number to hatch on the same day or to become chrysalides oF

* I use the term in the old, and not in Mr. Seudder’s, sense.

CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES. 515

imagines on the same day. The eggs must have been gathered

singly, or the larvæ of different ages taken on the same day, or of

e same age on different days. Ofa given number thus gathered

I should expect the sexes to be about equally divided, and we in

reality find that of the one hundred and seventy-one larvæ, partic-

ularly mentioned, the sexes are almost equally proportioned in

number, eighty-eight males and eighty females having been ob-

tained and a few chrysalides (which, as we shall presently see,

would most likely be females) perishing.

In Anisota, on the contrary, the eggs are deposited in batches

and it is more easy to get a number of larvæ of the same age.

Mrs. Treat’s experience with her thirty-three larvze is quite opposed

tomine with the same species

Mrs. Treat does not tell us ihothir she did or did not use any dis-

cretion as to the size in selecting her intended males and females,

and this is a very serious omission, as by the criterion of size alone

among larvæ of the same age, the sexes in many species may be

Separated with considerable certainty. I regret also that she has

not specified at what age, and whether always at the same agé, the

treatment of “feeding up” and “shutting off” was begun, though

we may infer, from what is said, that it was after the last larval

molt,

Mrs. Treat speaks of keeping larvæ eating beyond the period of

pupating, or rather of preparation for that change, and of ‘“stary-

ing” them, as though there was hardly any limit to these processes.

Analyzed, what meaning do these expressions convey? Very

little. They are deceptive! Most Lepidopterous ‘ih in a state

of nature would come under the head of “feeding up” as they usu-

ally have an ample supply of food at command, and eat their fill.

While, therefore, it is perfectly possible to stunt such larve by fur-

nishing them with a scant supply of food, and thus to prolong the

Period and diminish the amount of their development, it is utterly

impossible, i in the great majority of cases, to get them to eat after

ey once commence to prepare for the chrysalis state. This is

my firm conviction after ten years of pretty extensive insect-

rearing, and I think that most experienced insect-raisers will

me. If disturbed after preparing to pupate, most larvæ

will repeatedly renew similar preparations, but if too often frus-

trated they will either transform without the proper preparation or

die. They are, doubtless, prompted to forsake their food and

516 CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES.

prepare for the transformation by the changes already taking

place in the system, and in the great majority of cases the mandib-

ulate is already giving way to the haustellate mouth, and has be-

come impotent to perform its wonted labor. Larvee can neither

be forced nor stuffed beyond a certain limit, and this limit is at-

tained by every well fed larva in a state of nature and in the viva-

rium, so that if Mrs. Treat’s theory had any real foundation almost

all insects that were not ‘‘starved” ought to be females. A high

temperature will cause rapid development, but it does not cause &

greater aggregate amount of feeding.

But to my own experiments: Of the six insects chosen, the

sexes in some differ in the most remarkable manner, while all

show sufficient disparity to render mistakes in separating the

sexes impossible. They are, also, all common in this section, 50

that others will have no difficulty in verifying my facts. Except

in the case of Thyridopteryx 1 made no attempt to ‘‘feed up ;” my

efforts all being in the direction of “starving,” or, as Mrs. Treat

would put it, of producing males. Neither Rave I relied entirely

on my own observation ; for, being necessarily absent from home,

at intervals, the experiments, with explicit directions, were at such

times left in charge of Mr. Otto Lugger and Miss Mary E. Murt-

feldt, both well practised in rearing Lepidoptera. I would also

premise that the stunting process began from the time of hatching;

and that it was carried so far that, of the less hardy species, many

died under the treatment. It was, also, especially enforced to-

wards larval maturity. The species chosen were, 1. Thyridoptery®

ephemereformis (Haw.); 2. Orgyia leucostigma (Sm. and Abb.) ;

3. Clisiocampa Americana (Harr.) ; 4. Hyperchiria To (Fabr.) ; 5.

Hemileuca Maia (Drury) ; 6. Anisota rubicunda (Fabr.).

1. Thyridopteryx ephemereeformis.—Two lots: lot 1 consisting

at first of between thirty and forty individuals, and abundantly

and constantly nourished; lot 2, of thirty individuals and very

poorly nourished or ‘‘starved.” From lot 1, twenty-eight cocoons

were obtained, of which fifteen were males and thirteen females,

all of them attaining the imago state. From lot 2, eighteen

cocoons were obtained, which produced twelve males and six fe-

to perfect and dying in T

Ee eee ra aeeoa Mg Sees ee) 2 es ex eee Pee Re Me ee Nr

= : 2 ess Gg E

CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES. 517

against September 10th, on which day the first male in lot 1 ap-

peared. Some of them, however, were of the usual size.

Besides these two lots which were in small vessels and very

strictly watched, I had a great number in a large breeding cage,

which were so thoroughly neglected that fully one-half died. No

accurate account was kept of them but of upwards of fifty chry-

salides obtained, fifteen were females. This is a tough insect and

will stand very rough treatment, and the last-mentioned were re-

peatedly allowed to wander around the cage for three days or more

without a particle of food.

2. Orgyia leucostigma.— Started with a lot of forty, which were

very carefully watched and very insufficiently fed. From them

eighteen cocoons were obtained, ten of which were actually females

and eight males. I naturally looked for a different result in this

case as there is a very perceptible difference in the size of the

Sexes, and the female larva grows one-third larger than the male

Tequiring, in consequence, a greater amount of nourishment. I

had also noticed in previous rearing of this species that the males

often passed through but three larval molts, while the females

passed through four; but to show that the number may vary in

the same species, according to circumstances, Miss Murtfeldt

assures me that under this stinting process the former went

through four molts like the females. Similarly, Prof. Westwood

has informed me that a larva of Megatoma [ Tiresias] serra which

he once kept on flies and insufficiently fed, lived for three years

and molted no less than fourteen times.

3. Clisiocampa Americana.— Started with a batch of upwards

of fifty just hatched. Obtained only nineteen cocoons from them,

the rest dying from hard treatment. Five small females and nine

males were obtained, the others dying in chrysalis.

4. Hyperchiria Io.— Twelve taken from Baptisia soon after the

fifth or last molt. Furnished very stintingly with food. All pu-

pated. Two male moths issued in the fall; four males and three

females this spring, three being yet in the chrysalis state. At

the same time I had two other lots feeding, with ordinary care, on

and Amorpha, and in both lots the males have so far

Preponderated.

5. Hemileuca Maia.— One brood of upwards of one hundred

from an ege-belt fastened around a peach twig. Endeavored to

feed them on peach leaves, which were not to their taste, until

518 CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES.

more than half had died. Stinted the rest as much as possible

until only thirty-two entered the ground. Of these fifteen pro-

duced males and eight females, the rest being yet chrysalides.

6. Anisota rubieunda.— About fifty larvee of all ages, of the

first brood, and badly stinted, gave twenty-two chrysalides; and

these gave eleven females, seven males—the rest dying. Upwards

of a hundred, hatched from eggs deposited in confinement by one

of the above females and likewise stinted, gave fifty-six chry-

salides.

I watched these with a good deal of interest, as, from the nec-

essarily weakened condition of the parents, I expected a large

proportion of males; but I was doomed to disappointment, as

but three moths — two females, one male —issued on the 21st and

22nd of May. In examining the remaining chrysalides I find them

all dead, and I cannot help thinking that this excessive mortality

is attributable to the stinting process they endured as larvæ,

more than to any other cause, as the earth containing them was

kept in the best condition.

While these experiments were being carried on I had many hun-

dreds of the common silkworm (Bombyx mori) feeding on Osage

Orange (Maclura aurantiaca) a great number of which succeeded

admirably out-doors under netting, and others in-doors. Two id

the lots in-doors were fed sparingly and not well cared for. No

precise records were kept, and very many died; but of the im-

agines obtained I recollect very well there was no dispropor-

tionate number of males.

On the whole, if these experiments indicate anything, they

indicate that where more males than females are obtained ton

stinted larvæ, it is attributable to the fact that the females, being

largest ànd requiring most nourishment, succumb most readily

under such treatment; rather than that the sexual characteristics

are modified and determined by such treatment. Mrs. Treats

facts are, in some respects, remarkable, but, bearing in mind the

influence of the condition of the parents on the sex of the off-

spring, it will not do to draw conclusions too rashly ; for “ides

experienced entomologist knows that occasionally, in a particular

brood of larvæ, one sex or the other will greatly preponderate,

where no especial treatment was followed in the rearing.

-a While, therefore, I do not think that the facts yet in our pos-

_ Session, warrant the belief that the quality or amount of food has

CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES. 519

any influence in determining sex in the individual once out of the

egg, I do believe, with Thomas Meehan, Henry Hartshorne and

others, that there is a certain relation between organic vigor and

sex, and that the latter may be determined in the offspring by the

amount of vigor or vitality — creative or organic force —in the

parents, and that the female is in some way connected with in-

creased, and the male with lessened, vitality; for strong argu-

ments may be adduced in favor of such a belief.* Certain curious

facts in the natural history of some of our gall-making Cynipide

lend singular weight to these views. From these facts, ascer-

tained by Mr. H. F. Bassett of Waterbury, Connecticut, there can

be little doubt that many of the species produce two distinct

kinds of galls, alternating with each other, the one vernal, the

other autumnal. The former produce flies with a due proportion

of the sexes, and the latter produce nothing but large females.f

In other words, the directly fecundated and more highly vitalized

ova produce nothing but large females, while the parthenogenetic

offspring is smaller and composed of both males and females.

The curious facts, as now understood, in the economy of the

common hive-bee, seem at first to militate against the conclusion

that food has no influence on the sex of larvae, but in reality they

do not, though they indicate that the sex may be altered or deter-

mined after partial or imperfect conception has already taken

place. All eggs not directly impregnated produce drones or males

(not females, as “A.S.P.” by a singular lapse of thought, has

stated on p. 177 of the March number of the Naruratisr), while

AMERICAN NATURALIST, Vi, pp- 692, 747, and Missouri Entomological Reports,

iy, p. 65 and v, p. 85.

tTo givea single illustration: A large wool gall—the modification and deformation

of a bud—is tolerably common on our black oaks. The flies produced from it (Cynips

Q. operator) are bisexual. Mr. Bassett has witnessed the female depositing in acorns

of same trees on which the wool galls occur- The product of these eggs ip-

nite irregular in pea pei t with the ‘apical | end tapering more bed pee

toa kent boat the basal end rounded. It is greenish when ban Aperen

ture, and the larva rests in a cream-colored ovoid cell, easily freed fro a wet

covering. This gall is g ough to pee “ihn acorns pea and

ve known it since 1809. “In ; August. 1871, while visiting Mr. Te ected a

number from @ he hope of the flies

from them. This spring, after a lapse of a twenty months, and just as the oak

buds were bursting I succeeded in obtaining a number of flies, eyery one of them fe-

males and Sirenis wit h C.q . operator exce ept in being larger. Si ngulayiy saouri this

year M the woolly

eani e T operator, ovipositing in buds; and his description leaves no doubt that the

520 CONTROLLING SEX IN BUTTERFLIES.

those which are impregnated at the will of the mother produce

females either partly or fully developed, i.e., workers, or queens.

The rule with animals is that the ova perish unless vitalized by

the direct influence of the male spermatozoa. Nevertheless par-

thenogenesis in many of the lower forms of animal life, and espe-

cially in insects, is an admitted fact; and what does it imply?

To my mind it implies that in exceptional cases, the male ele-

ment is sufficiently potent to vitalize the ova in the second gener-

ation, or that it may endure until succeeding generations ; that, in

short, to use Owen’s words, “the spermatic virtue of the ancestral

coitus” may influence the descendants. Von Siebold does not ac-

cept this explanation, but there are many facts which indicate

that it is the true one, and the male element becomes exhauste

in time and is needed sooner or later for the continuance of the

species.

Parthenogenesis has repeatedly occurred in species which nor-

mally cannot multiply without direct sexual intercourse, e. g., in

Bombyx mori, Sphinx ligustri, etc.; while in a great number of

others the embryo, in eggs not directly fecundated, develops up to

different stages. What in some species is the exception becomes

the rule with others, of which the hive-bee is an example. The

male element may be said to possess all degrees of potency in its

influence on the reproductive function of its immediate issue, as

the embryo in ova not directly fecundated attains all degrees of

development before death. In cases of parthenogenesis it is potent

enough, vital enough—to cause full development of the offspring

for one or more generations, though, in the majority of instances,

and especially where this mode of reproduction does not occur

as a rule, this offspring is most frequently male. Finally, it may

be so potent, as in what is termed thelotoky, that females instead

of males are produced.

The ova in a virgin queen bee may, therefore, be said to be al-

ready partially fecundated — sufficiently so to produce males or

drones ; but they must be more thoroughly vitalized, by the direct

male influence, before the female sex can be stamped upon them.

Even here, however, the sex is not changed after the deposition of

the eggs, and it is not the influence of food which produces the

hange,

Though I believe that the evidence is against Mrs. Treat’s con-

clusion, I hope she will continue her experiments, with that thor-

EEE E ae er ee

eo ee oe

‘

THE FLORA OF THE DISMAL SWAMP. 521

oughness and exactness of which she is capable. Nature’s contriv-

ances for the maintenance of life in all its wonderful and varied

phases are inexhaustible, and we are ever laying down rules and

theoretical laws, only to find them violated and upset, as we more

truly interpret her ways. She is as watchful of the myriad invisi-

ble atoms that mantle o’er the pond with green, or of the unseen

swarms that fill the air “though one transparent vacancy it seems,”

as she is of the higher forms of life. Plastic, she conforms in

every conceivable aud inconceivable way to the wants of her

immense family. She shows us

& The ant’s pate the realm of bees;

n common all their stores capes,

And ana ay without och know

And these forever, tho’ a monarch re

ign,

Their separate cells si properties maintain,”

and calls loudly on us to read aright and solve her yet many un-

told secrets.

THE FLORA OF THE DISMAL SWAMP.

BY PROF. J. W. CHICKERING, JR.

A few notes of a recent botanical trip to the Dismal Swamp,

that romance of our geographies and Moore’s ballad, giving its

characteristic flora, with the species found in flower, may not be

wanting in interest.

Sunrise, on the morning of April 11th, found our party of two,

Mr. William H. Seaman ôf Washington, and myself, just ready

to make the landing at Old Point Comfort. A stroll before

breakfast, for a mile or two along the sandy point, brought us

to small groves of pitch pine (Pinus rigida), interspersed with

thickets of dwarf live oak (Quercus virens var. maritima), here

reaching its northern limit, while inside the fortress the true

live oak attains quite a large size. The prickly pear (Opuntia

vulgaris), is scattered along the sand, and on one almost inac-

cessible edge of the rampart displays its reddish fruit. Along

the ramparts occur the bright blue spikes of the grape hyacinth

(Muscari botryoides), with Lamium amplexicaule, Sisymbrium

Thaliana and vicia. A walk of a couple of miles to Hampton

5292 THE FLORA OF THE DISMAL SWAMP:

reveals nothing of special interest, Viola cucullata and primulæ-

Jolia being the only species noticed. The suburbs of Norfolk

abound with pride of China (Melia azedarach), still retaining its

whitish drupes, three or four species of magnolia and other dis-

tinctively southern trees, while Yucca gloriosa flourishes most

thriftily on heaps of garden rubbish.

The next morning a little steamer received us for our trip, up

the Elizabeth River, through the Dismal Swamp Canal, and down

the Pasquotank River, to Elizabeth City, N. C., forty miles in all.

The swamp region is of indefinite extent, being estimated at

from six hundred to one thousand square miles, thirty miles or

more from north to south, and twenty or more, from east to

west. Much of it has been cleared and partly drained, here and

there a clearing of several hundred acres meeting the eye, said to

be capable of producing fifty bushels of shelled corn to the acre,

while at rare intervals appear neat, white and inviting mansions.

It seems originally to have been heavily wooded. The cypress

(Taxodium distichum), juniper (Juniperus Virginiana), tulip tree

(Liriodendron tulipifera), and the sweet and sour gums (Liquidam-

bar Styraciflua and Nyssa uniflora and aquatica), are abundant

and attain a large size.

. Most of the large trees, however, have been cut off, or have

fallen victims to the frequent fires, several of which were raging

uring our visit, and lighted up the horizon at night; often by

these fires, the peaty soil for miles is burned to the depth of four

or five feet; the hollow thus formed soon fills with water, and ever

after retains a truly “dismal” appearance. But, for the most part,

the swamp exhibits almost tropical luxuriance, the true canebrake

almost forbidding passage. The foliage at this season is largely

evergreen, the maples being only partially in leaf and the cypress

but beginning to put forth its delicate leaflets. Ilex glabra, ink-

berry, or, as it is called there, gall-berry, is the most abundant

shrub, especially along the watercourses, occurring, from two to

ten feet in height, its black berries contrasting finely with its

glossy leaves. The sweet bay (Magnolia glauca), the holly

Send opaca), often with its scarlet berries, the great laurel (Rho-

ndron maximum), and perhaps loblolly bay (Gordonia Lasi-

anthus), are very abundant; while climbing high over all is the

- Smilax laurifolia, with its large, stout, evergreen leaves, appearing

-~ as if pinnately compound, and lower down the green-brier (S.

THE FLORA OF THE DISMAL SWAMP. 523

rotundifolia), weaving almost impassable barriers with its tough

prickly stems, also Myrica Gale, and Leucothõe Catesbæi. But

most beautiful of all, at this season, is the yellow jessamine

(Gelsemium sempervirens), twining around trees to the height of

twenty or thirty feet, covering thickets, hanging in festoons from

the branches, and throwing out everywhere its racemes of golden

yellow blossoms, loading the air with its fragrance. It has but

one drawback, the frequent tendency of its perfume, in a close

room, to cause headache and other disagreeable symptoms.

Of deciduous trees and shrubs, just opening, we noticed Acer

rubrum and dasycarpum, horse-sugar, Symplocos tinctoria, a beau-

tiful shrub, worthy of cultivation, Pyrus arbutifolia, Quercus

salicifolia, and very abundantly Rubus villosus, with two or three

species of Vaccinium and Gaylussacia. Along the canal banks,

and at times, in large masses, forming almost impenetrable cane-

brakes, from two to twenty feet in height, we found Arundinaria

gigantea and tecta, being fortunate enough to detect the former in

flower, on the shorter stems. This is a most troublesome weed in

the clearings, its matted roots resisting everything but fire or a

breaking-up plough.

Leaving the steamer and paddling three miles up a smaller

canal to Lake Drummond, we met with Osmunda regalis, Clay-

toniana and cinnamonea, in great abundance and luxuriance ; also

Typha latifolia. Nesæa verticillata, great quantities of Saururus

cernuus, Onoclea sensibilis, Mitchella repens, Viola PT

and Orontium aquaticum, only the last two being in flower.

lake is about six miles long by four wide, and is so bordered at

cypress swamp, that éxcept in a boat no access to it can be had.

The water is as dark as brandy, but not unpalatable nor un-

healthy. Fish are quite plenty. We saw no animals, though

foxes, “possum” and “coon” are plenty, and bears and deer are

seen occasionally. Birds too are scarce; now and then a turkey

buzzard sails slowly overhead, or a hawk starts up from an old

stump, or a flock of crows wind their noisy way from wood to

cornfield, but very few of the sparrows or flycatchers or other

cheerful occupants of ordinary woods meet the view. For the

most part silence and solitude reign supreme.

Around Elizabeth City, the ground is dry and the soil good,

and we found in addition to species already enumerated Senecio

tomentosus, Asarum arifolium, Ranunculus pusillus and bulbosus,

524 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

Anemone nemorosa, Arabis levigata, Barbarea vulgaris, Callitriche

verna, Proserpinaca palustris and pectinacea, Hydrocotyle wmbellata,

and Sagittaria. On the trunks of the fine elms along the streets

is found, very abundantly, Polypodium incanum, its root-stocks

creeping over the bark, and covering them with its delicate fronds

to a height of twenty feet. Though apparently dry and dead,

upon being brought home and placed in a fernery, the fronds

began to expand and some new ones were seen putting forth.

A later trip would doubtless reveal many more species, but with

the drawback of possible chills and certain yellow flies and

mosquitoes.

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

BY A. S. PACKARD. JR.*

Txovucu the reporter was absent during most of the past season,

and was unable, except in a slight degree, to make any special

investigations on the habits of our more injurious insects, yet

with the help of others some new material is here offered that may

be serviceable to farmers and gardeners. The facts that we have

to present may often seem disconnected and desultory, but few

except experts in natural history are perhaps aware how difficult

and prolonged a task it is to follow out the transformations of any

particular insect, and study thoroughly its habits in its different

stages of growth. Unlike birds, quadrupeds and fishes, which

have similar habits at all stages of growth, an insect, with its

three separate stages of larva, pupa and adult, leads as it were

three lives, with different surroundings, and in each of those

stages may be regarded as a different animal. Then it is often

extremely difficult to ascertain to what beetle or moth or bee

such or such a grub or caterpillar belongs. Our entomologists

are not numerous enough, and often from their time being ta-

ken up with the pursuits of their profession, usually not that of

science, are unable to spend the time in the field to observe the

oe eee es

_*Third Annual Report on the Injurious and Beneficial Insects of Massachusetts,

being a reprint, with corrections, from the 20th Annual Report of the Secretary of the

Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, 1873.

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 525

habits of insects for themselves. Unfortunately, also, so back-

ward is the science of entomology in this country, that the atten-

tion of its students is at present fully engrossed with classifying

and describing the adult insects. When it is to be borne in mind

that there are within the limits of the United States, probably at

a low estimate, ten thousand species of Hymenoptera (bees,

wasps, ichneumon flies, saw-flies, etc.), half as many butterflies

and moths, about ten thousand species of flies, as many of bee-

tles (Coleoptera) and of bugs (Hemiptera), and several thousand

species of grasshoppers, etc. (Orthoptera), and neuropterous

insects, such as dragon-flies, caddis-flies, etc., ete., the whole

amounting to upwards of fifty thousand species of insects, to say

nothing of the spiders, mites and ticks, centipedes and millepedes,

it is evident that in the mere preliminary work of identifying

and properly describing these myriad forms—an intellectual

work requiring as much good sense, discretion and knowledge

as shown in the pursuit of medicine, the law or education,—

that all this work, which is simply preliminary in its nature, is a

vast one, and that the combined exertions of many minds over

Several generations will not exhaust the subject. As it is, there

are in this country only about thirty entomologists who publis

anything relating to insects. Necessary as it is, this work of clas-

Sification is by no means the highest and most useful branch of

physical science. He who studies carefully the habits and struc- —

ture of one insect, and, if injurious to agriculture, lays before the

farmer and gardener a true story of its mode of life, is a true bene-

factor to agriculture, and at the same time benefits science more

than he who describes hundreds of new species. Such an one

was Dr. Thaddeus W. Harris, whose leisure moments were conse-

crated to the benefit and advancement of the agricultural interests

of our state, and the commonwealth perhaps never made a better

investment than in supplying the agricultural community with an

illustrated edition of his immortal work. On looking over Dr.

Harris’s work we find that he mentions about six hundred species

as injurious to vegetation, and as others have been added since

then, it is not improbable that we have at least one thousand

destructive species, i. e., about one-tenth of the entire number

(10,000) of insects which undoubtedly are to be found living

within the limits of this state. As to the losses sustained from

their attacks it would be difficult to say how great they are, but it

526 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

is to be estimated at least by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The amount of waste by the agency of insects is really appalling,

and even now but slightly appreciated by our farming community.

We have perhaps little idea how many insects are preying upon

our crops, our shade and ornamental trees. There are, probably

within the limits of our country, one-tenth of the number, i. e.

five thousand, which are either at present engaged in the work

of injury, or are destined to be, with the growth of civilization,

which means in this instance the destruction of the natural food

of these insects and the substitution of a different diet, our

choicest grains and fruits, in their stead.

During the last summer the canker-worm was as destructive

as ever, and it seems to have gained a firm foothold among us.

It is scarcely creditable that so conspicuous and comparatively

easily assailed an insect as this does so much annual damage. It

would seem as if the birds did not feed upon it to much extent.

We have personally never seen birds feeding upon the canker-

worm, though Professor Wyman states that doves eat them some-

imes in large numbers and it is thought that the crow blackbirds

pick up the caterpillars. As we have stated in a former report

there are certain kinds of caterpillars that birds do not relish.

Indeed birds seem to have certain fancies of their own among

edible insects. Thus the martin will store up in its nest quarts

of the common striped beetle of the potato, to the exclusion of

other insects.

The reporter would be greatly obliged for any facts upon this

subject communicated by those who may have a chance to observe

what birds feed on particular kinds of insects and at what season

and month of the year.

ur cranberry crop has been grievously ravaged during the year

past, though the writer has no information to give at present in

relation to this subject farther than that recorded in the article

entitled “ New and Little Known Insects,” in the “Report on Agri-

culture of the State for 1870,” and that given in the author’s

‘Guide to the Study of Insects,” though he has visited several

cranberry pastures during the recent autumn. In conclusion,

_ before offering the accompanying remarks on certain injurious

and beneficial insects, the reporter would invite the attention of

agriculturists to those insects that prey on the cranberry crop and

other injurious insects, and beg them to communicate to him at

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 527

Salem, specimens and information about their habits and extent

of ravages which may be of use in making up the next year’s

report.

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE STRAWBERRY.

The May Beetle.— With the increasing attention paid to the

culture of the strawberry, it has been found that several insects

not before suspected to be inclined to feed on this plant, now

habitually frequent it. Of these perhaps the most injurious is the

strawberry saw-fly, which in this state, but more especially the

western states, as in Illinois, does in some cases the most griev-

ous damage. Then a few moths which have been known to feed

on fruit-trees, the currant, etc., have transferred their affections

to the strawberry ; such are the apple-leaf-roller or Tortriw, the

saffron measuring-moth (Angerona crocataria), and several other

caterpillars found in the western states, and described in the ento-

mological reports of Messrs. Walsh and Riley, and also in

‘“Harris’s Treatise on the Injurious Insects” of this state, and the

reporter’s ‘Guide to the Study of Insects.”

Next however in importance to the strawberry saw-fly (Emphy-

tus maculatus), is one of the most common and familar of all

these insects which everywhere force their attention upon u:

This is the common May beetle, June beetle or “dor bug,” ae

American representative in its abundance and injurious qualities

of the European cockchafer.

Dr. Harris has given a brief sketch of its habits and transfor-

mations in his “Treatise,” and referred to the injury the grub,

sometimes called ‘“ white-worm,” does to the roots of grass, re-

marking that “in many places the turf may be turned up like a

carpet in consequence of the destruction of the roots.” He how-

ever does not say that it attacks the strawberry-roots, which it

has for several years been known to do in gardens about Salem.

My attention was especially called to its ravages by Mr. D. M.

Balch, of Salem, who has lost many strawberry-plants by the

white grub. It seemed evident that they were introduced in the

manure placed around the roots, as during July and late in sum-

mer, a manure-heap near by swarmed with the well-known white

grubs, in various stages of development, some apparently in the

second year and others in the third year’s growth. They eat

the main roots of the plant, thus destroying one plant after an-

528 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

other. From this it will be obvious that if we observe the plant

to wilt and suddenly die, we may look for the white grub and at

once kill it to prevent farther ravages. It is evident, so large

and voracious are these worms, that one plant would be a mere

trifle to one of them.

It also eats down in much the same manner young squash-

plants, as I am told by Mr. C. A. Putnam, of Salem, who has

been obliged to plant the seed over once or twice. They attack

young plants at the time when they have thrown out three or four

leaves. It is obvious that in dealing with this destructive insect

we must become familiar with its habits. Every one knows the

larva or grub of this insect, so that a detailed description is not

necessary. It is a large, soft-bodied, thick, white worm, nearly

as large as the thumb. Its head is yellowish or pale horn-

colored. Its skin is so thin and transparent that the air-vessels

and viscera can be seen through it, while, though it has three pairs

of legs, it is so gross and unwieldy that it lies, when dug out of

its retreat, flat upon its side.

How many years the grub lives before changing into the beetle

we do not know, but probably at least three. It arrives at

maturity in the autumn, and early in May in this state the

chrysalis may be found in little rude cells or chambers about

six inches under the mould, in which position we have found

it in Maine late in May. During the latter part of May and

early in June, 7. e. for about a month, it flies about at night,

especially on warm nights. By day it hides in fruit and other

trees, clinging to the underside of the leaves by its long, curved

claws, which are admirably adapted for the purpose. Here it does

at times much injury, especially, as Harris remarks, to cherry-

ees.

Where it lays its eggs is not definitely known, but it is proba-

ble that it burrows in the soil and there lays its eggs, as does the

European cockchafer, of whose habits Harris gives a summary,

and also the goldsmith beetle, of which we give an account far-

ther on. Riley however says that “soon after pairing, tbe female

beetle creeps into the earth, especially wherever the soil is loose

and rough, and after depositing her eggs to the number of forty

or fifty, dies. These hatch in the course of a month, and, the

grubs growing slowly, do not attain full size till the early spring

of the third year, when they construct an ovoid chamber, lined

tes.

SES eT AG A EE RE E

tee

A eee ae Ee a eR ee ee

2 PRS Pe NOS ee ge a

A TS aay as baa tt en Lee eed amr van, Ces r ren a Puget eee me Pee a

ea, eae a rae

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 529

with a gelatinous fluid; change into pupæ, and soon afterwards

into beetles.”

In the autumn at the approach of cold it descends to a con-

siderable depth below the surface to avoid the frost, probably

about two feet below the usual depth at which the ground is fro-

zen in the winter. At the approach of warm weather, however,

it makes its way up near the surface, where it forms a slight cell

by wriggling about, and then passes into the pupa state. It is

said to sometimes pupate and appear in the winged state in the

autumn. i

As to remedies against this grub, the careful gardener will in

the first place destroy all those that he sees by crushing them to

death. When the manure is spread over the strawberry bed he

must watch it narrowly for the grubs so easily seen, and kill them.

‘hen a vine is seen to die down suddenly in summer he must

then dig around the roots and search for them, and go over the

bed carefully, even if help has to be employed. It is better to

spend even much time and money for two or three years in suc-

cession, in endeavoring to exterminate these grubs, than to yield

passively to the scourge. The remarks of Mr. Lockwood that we

reprint in our account of the goldsmith beetle are eminently prac-

tical as applied to this insect. As for special remedies, we have

none to propose. Watchfulness and care in culture are better

than any special nostrums.

Undoubtedly the natural enemies of this grub are many, but

we have no observations bearing on this point. A fungus attacks

the grubs in certain seasons, often in considerable numbers. We

have received specimens from Missouri of dead and dried grubs,

With a long stem growing out from them, the result of the attacks

of this fungus. It has been figured by Mr. Riley, who states that

another fungus attacks this worm in Virginia. It is well known

that Caterpillars and even the common house-fly are sometimes

attacked by a fungus which replaces the animal portion with its

own vegetable substance.

While many animals, such as skunks, moles, crows, ete., prey

on the beetles, the only insect enemy I have personally observed

is the fierce carnivorous Calosoma beetle (C. calidum) which I

have noticed on a blueberry bush busily engaged in tearing open

the hard, horny sides of one of these beetles, which was in vain

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 34

530 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

struggling to escape; on taking up the May beetle a large hole

had been eaten into its side disclosing the viscera.

Occasionally the beetles appear in immense numbers. Tt is

then the duty of the agriculturist to pick them off the trees and

burn them. If the French take the pains to practise hand-

picking, as in one instance ‘about eighty millions were collected

and destroyed in a single portion of the lower Seine” (Riley),

our gardeners can afford to take similar pains.

A description of the May beetle is scarcely necessary. The ad-

mirable figure, taken from Harris’ work (fig. 138), gives a good

Fig. 188. idea of its appearance

and size. It is bay

colored, or chestnut

and brown, with yel-

lowish hairs beneath,

and is nearly an inch

in length. Its scien-

tific name is Lachno-

sterna fusca, Or, liter-

ally translated, the

brown woolly-breasted

beetle. The pupa is

white.

The Goldsmith Bee-

tle.—We also have in

May Beetle and yari: Ei this state an insect

allied to the preceding, and with much the same habits, both in

the adult and preparatory states. It is Fig. 139.

the Cotalpa lanigera (fig. 139). It is

nearly an inch in length, bright yellow

above, with a golden metallic lustre on

the head and thorax, while the under

side of the body is copper-colored, and

densely covered with white hairs.

Dr. Harris says that it is very common

in this state, remarking that it begins

to appear in Massachusetts about the

middle of May, and continues generally Goldsmith Beetle.

till the twentieth of June. ‘In the morning and evening twilight

ZG yee oe ere ek E TE ay

ees wae ah ie

Ny An

CENE ee

PN E i ee T E

a Naan Ree Poe el: TE a ELA ol a A

TEN BREN e Re oa ONAN T A e aa ke ee ae ea ANS

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 531

they come forth from their retreats, and fly about with a humming

and rustling sound among the branches of trees, the tender leaves

of which they devour. Pear trees are particularly subject to their

attacks, but the elm, hickory, poplar, oak, and probably also other

kinds of trees, are frequented and injured by them.” Dr. Lock-

wood has found it on the white poplar of Europe, the sweet-gum,

and has seen it eating the Lawton blackberry., He adds that-the

larvæ of these insects are not known; probably Shey: live in the

ground upon the roots of plants.

It has remained for the Rev. Dr. S. Lockwood to discover that

the grub or larva of this pretty beetle in New Jersey devastates

strawberry beds, the larva feeding upon the roots, in the same

manner as the May beetle. His account was first published in

the American Naturauisr (vol. ii, pp. 186,441). He says that

in the month of May in the ordinary culture of his garden the

spade has turned up this beetle generally in company with the

May beetle. He found that some of the beetles, as in the case of

the May beetle, assume the adult beetle state in October and

remain underground for seven months before appearing in the

spring.

Larva. The larvæ (fig. 140) he describes as “whitish grubs, about one inch and

three-qna rters long and over half an inch thick, with a yellowish-brown scale on the

part corresponding ee the thorax. » n may a add t ns it so a preg oa embles the young

of the May to tell the part. The propor-

tions of the s are much “the e same; if anything the oo. es amen shorter and

thicker, and its body is covered with short, stiff hair, especially at the end, while in

the May a the hairs are much finer, sparse, and the skin Fig. 140,

i e in the

nin

the latter grub, a the fourth and fifth are of - same mmr Sank of the the Goldsmith

tive length as in the May beetle, but much thicker. The j

oe are mc alike in both, but not pe so oak in the Peal as in the

other, nor are the inner teeth so prominent. The maxilla is much longer and with

stouter spin es, and an palpi are lon nger and slenderer in the gru of than in

the edhe though the j basal joint

is aha y — be long as in the May beetle. The “under lip (abinm) = throughout

in tne grab of Cota than in that of the Doa ama The feet are much larger and

re hairy in the a h larvæ Ae a aaa ah a and a third

(33) of an inch thick at the Tirem part.

As regards the number of years in the life of this insect, Dr.

532 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

Lockwood remarks that “when collecting the larvæ in May, I

often observed in the same places grubs of the Cotalpa of at least

four distinct ages, each representing a year in the life of the

insect, judging from Renny’s figures of the larvae of the English

cockchafer, or dor beetle (Melolontha vulgaris). But the cock-

chafer becomes an imago in January or February, and comes

forth into active life in May, just four years from the deposit of

the egg. Supposing our Cotalpa to take on the imago form in au-

tumn, and to spend its life from that time to the next May in the

ground, it would be five years old when it makes its début as an

arboreal insect.” It is possible that Dr. Lockwood may be in

error regarding the age of this beetle, as M. T. Reiset says in

France this insect is three years in arriving at its perfect beetle

state. The following remarks on the habits of the European

chafer may aid observers in this country in studying the habits of

our native species. M. Reiset says (see “Cosmos” as translated

in the Amertcan Narura.isr,” vol. ii, p. 209) “that this beetle

in the spring of 1865 defoliated the oaks and other trees, while

immense numbers of their larve in the succeeding year, 1866,

devoured to a fearful extent the roots of garden vegetables, etc.,

at a loss to the department of the lower Seine of over five millions

of dollars. This insect is three years in arriving at its perfect

beetle state. The larve, hatched from eggs laid by the beetles

which appeared in such numbers in 1865, passed a second winter,

that of 1867, at a mean depth in the soil of forty one-hundredths

of a metre, or nearly afoot and a half. The thermometer placed

in the ground (which was covered with snow) at this mean depth,

never rose to thirty-two degrees F. as minimum. Thus the larve

survived after being perfectly frozen (probably most subterranean

larvee are thus frozen, and thaw out in the spring at the approach

of warm weather). In June, 1867, the grubs having become fu

fed, made their way upwards to a mean distance of about thirteen

inches below the surface, where, in less than two months, they all

changed to the pupa state, and in October and November the per-

fect beetle appeared. The beetles, however, hibernate, remaining

below the surface for a period of five or six months and appearing

in April and May. The immature larve, warned by the approach-

ing cold, began to migrate deep down in the soil in October, when

the temperature of the earth was ten degrees above zero. =

soon as the snow melted they gradually rose towards the surface.

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 533

As regards the time and mode of laying the eggs, we quote

from Dr. Lockwood as follows: ‘On the evening of the 13th

June last we caught in the drug-store, Keyport, whither they were

attracted by the profusion of light, four Cotalpas, representing

both sexes. These were taken home and well cared for. On the

16th a pair coupled. A jar of earth was at once provided, and

the beetles placed on top of the dirt. In the evening the female

burrowed and disappeared. Near midnight she had not returned

to the surface; next morning she had reappeared. The earth

was then very carefully taken from the jar, and, as removed, was

_ inspected with a glass of wide field but low power. Fourteen

eggs were found, not laid (as we expected) in one spot or group,

but singly and at different depths. I was surprised at their great

size. Laid lengthwise, end touching end, two eggs measured

very nearly three-sixteenths of an inch. They were like white

Wax, semi-translucent ; in form, long-ovoid and perfectly symmet-

rical. On the 13th of July one had hatched; the grub was well

formed and very lively. Its dimensions were about five-six-

teenths of an inch in length and about three-thirtieths of an inch

in thickness. It was a dull white, the head-plate precisely that

dull yellow seen in the adult grub, the legs the same color, and the

extremity of the abdomen lead-color, the skin being transparent.

For food, a sod of white clover (Trifolium repens) was given them,

roots downward, knowing that the young larvæ would come up-

ward to eat. They were then left undisturbed until August 19th,

when the sod was removed, and it was found that the grubs had

eaten into it, thus making little oval chambers, which were en-

larged as the eating went on. They were carefully picked out

and a fresh sod of grass and clover supplied. They had now

grown five-eighths of an inch in length, preserving the same

lors.

It is quite possible that a few of the eggs escaped me in the

search. Iam of opinion, however, that from fifteen to twenty is

the average number laid by one beetle. In short, the insect lays

her eggs in the night, probably not more than twenty. The

hatching of these required in the present instance twenty-seven

days. It must be remembered that a large portion of this time

was remarkably cold and wet. It is almost certain that with

favorable thermal conditions this might be lessened fully seven

days.

584 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

Regarding its ravages in strawberry beds, I cannot do better

than quote from Dr. Lockwood’s excellent account in the AMERI-

can Narurauist: “When on a visit in September last to the

farm of a celebrated strawberry grower in Monmouth county, N.

J., my attention was directed to certain large patches badly

thinned out by, as the phrase went, ‘the worm.’ The plants were

dead on the surface and easily pulled up, the roots being eaten off

below. It was observable that the fields which presented the’

worst appearance were all of the same kind of plant,—that known

as Wilson’s Albany Seedling. Besides this there were nine other

varieties under culture,—Barnes’ Mammoth, Schenck’s Excelsior,

cunda, Pine-apple, Early Scarlet and Brooklyn Scarlet. While

the Wilson stood second to none of these as a prolific fruit-bearer,

yet it fell behind them in vigorous plant-growth. Hence, while

every kind was more or less affected, the other varieties seemed

. saved by their own growth and energy from a destruction so thor-

ough as was that of the Wilson. These patches were all planted

in the spring, and all received the same treatment, the ground

being kept open and free from weeds. The amount of the spring-

planting was seven and a half acres. Of the Wilsons there were

three different patches in places quite separated from each other,

and on not less than five different kinds of soil. These patches

were among and contiguous to those of the other varieties. While

all suffered more or less, the chief injury befell the Wilsons, of

which not less than two acres were irretrievably ruined. An ex-

amination turned up the depredator, who was none other than the

larva of the goldsmith beetle, now engaged in the first one of

its allotted three-summer campaigns of mischief. These grubs —

were from the eggs deposited in June in the well-tilled and clean

soil, which, I have said elsewhere, I thought the Cotalpa- preferred

to meadow or grass lands. Compared with others, the larva of

this beetle is sluggish and easily captured. The black grub of the

spring, which is such a pest, attacking almost indiscriminately the

early tender plants, inflicts its injuries chiefly in the night, the ex-

ception being that of dull and cloudy days. The night’s mischief

_ done, it descends into concealment at early dawn. Knowing this,

the wise farmer is in search of it at an early hour, ere the warmth

of the sun gives it warning to retreat. But the goldsmith grub

Can be taken at any hour of the day simply by scratching away

;

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 535

the earth from around the roots of those plants whose dark, shriv-

elled leaves tell of the enemy’s presence. It is my belief that

this devastation might have been spared by an outlay of from $20

to $30 for labor, much of which, under proper direction, could

have been done by children. Therein would have been saved a

strawberry crop for the ensuing summer, worth scarcely less than

$2,500, for from this same farm the crop of a single acre has been

sold for $1,500. Then, however valuable such labors are in the

immediate results, that is but a fraction of their worth as respects

the future. These Cotalpa grubs, with all their mischief, had not

more than a third of their ultimate size; hence their real ray-

enousness is yet to come. Besides, what a prospect of increase of

numbers, should even a moderate share of them reach maturity !

Why should not our farmers seek to know something about their

insect-enemies, and when practicable put forth some energy to

meet such ?”

Snails Injurious to the Strawberry.— Under this caption Prof.

E. T. Cox publishes in the Amertcan Narurauist (vol. ii, p.

666) a note regarding the injury done in Indiana by a little snail

(Pupila fallax), at present found occasionally though not abun-

dantly in this state. Though this report refers chiefly to insects,

yet in the future, as civilization advances and the country becomes

more thickly settled, gardeners are undoubtedly destined to be

plagued by these little animals, and a slight notice of them may

not be out of place, as the ravages they commit may be some-

times wrongly attributed to insects

It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Chappalamite of New Harmony,

Indiana, “found their strawberry plants dying rapidly, and on

seeking for the cause discovered these mollusks at work upon the

stems and crowns of the plants, rasping off the outer coating, and

sucking their juices in such a manner as to cause them to decay.

Mr. C. found as many as forty upon one plant, and thinks they

have killed several thousand upon the different beds. Though

more abundant on the strawberry, he has found them on a variety

of plants. Since attention has been called to the depredations of

these minute mollusks, they have been found at work upon the

Strawberry plants in all the gardens examined.”

Though this species is not common with us, yet we have other

- kinds which are more or less so, and which may ultimately prove

to be obnoxious. Yet it is not probable that snails will ever be

536 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

so abundant with us as in Europe, as our climate is much drier

and hotter, snails needing a damp, rainy climate in order to

flourish vigorously.

INSECTS INJURING THE BEAN.

The Bean-weevil.—In our article entitled “Injurious Insects

New or Little Known,” published in the Report of the Board of

Agriculture for 1870, we described and figured the bean-weevil,

which was then regarded as an imported species, the European

Bruchus granarius, and some account was given of its habits.

Afterwards in a short note published in our First Annual Report

(p. 22), we stated that it was not an importation, but a native

species which for some years has been known to be injuring the

bean in New York and the Middle States. It was mentioned

under the unpublished or manuscript name of Bruchus varicornis

(Leconte). The same year Mr. Riley described it in his report on

the injurious insects of Missouri under the name of Bruchus fabe,

` and states that it appeared about ten years ago (1862) in Rhode

Island, according to Mr. F. G. Sanborn, and is now known to ap-

pear in Illinois and Missouri.

How extremely injurious this weevil has been, and still threat-

ens to be, appears from both Mr. Riley’s and my reports. We

are sorry to add that this winter it is said to be very abundant in

seed-stores in Boston, and unless checked in its course, a compar-

atively easy thing to do at this time, it will rapidly spread all

over the state, and do incalculable injury to the bean crop.

I am indebted to Mr. C. A. Putnam, of Salem, for numerous

living specimens of this weevil, with the beans from which they

were emerging, obtained by him at a seed-store in Boston in Feb-

ruary. We have figured, in our report for 1870, the bean perfo-

rated by the grubs. It is easy to tell by the little round dark spot

on the outside of the bean, i. e., the thin covering over the hole in

which the weevil lies, whether the weevil lies within. Now is the

time to plunge all the beans in hot boiling water to kill the weevils

— treating them just as gardeners have been accustomed to deal

with the well-known pea-weevil. Such beans as are found to be

affected should at once be burned. Again, as suggested by sn,

Harris, in dealing with the pea-weevil, “if the peas are kept till

they are a year old, the insects will leave them.” So that by

keeping the seed for two years in tin boxes, or other dry situa-

Ce ee On ee Pe GME RNS, F

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 537

tions, where the weevil may come out and die, without being

allowed to go at liberty, the beans may be sown with impunity.

By the exercise of a little care, and by combination among gar-

deners this pest may be kept under.

Larva. The grub or larva occurred February 10th in oan ree of growth, the

largest being one-seventh (-14) of an thee long and ab half as thick (08). Other

8 were ~ half as long. Some chrysalides oc-

Fig, 141.

curred also at this date while the atoll beetles were m

is much rounded and incurved. The head is white,

becoming honey-yellow about the abort, puni jaws.

One specimen was in the semi-pupa e, being in

termediate between the larva am nites Its ieay' was camera out, the head

being at the extreme end and now quite prominent, while before it was hidden in the

soft body. The three AEREN Eri segments were full and ti the third being very

distinct from the suce eeding one, the basal abdominal segment. The whole body was

much flatter and thinner than i in ine eh: It was evident that the remarkable changes

by which it b the Br pected state had begun

Grub of Bean-weevil.

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUIT AND FOREST TREES.

The Seventeen-year Locust.—This remarkable insect having,

after its long absence of seventeen years, again, as had been pre-

dicted by observers, made its appearance in the southerly parts of

the state, we take this occasion to draw attention to its strange

and unwonted habits, and to solicit aid from observers in the

state in determining its natural boundaries. I should be greatly

obliged if any persons in every town in the state in which it ap-

peared would let me know of the fact, that we may ascertain its

range. While it has been known to appear in the southeastern

part of the state, and even as far east as Plymouth, situated on

Massachusetts Bay, we want to know in what towns to the north

of this it has appeared. The point is of much interest to natu-

ralists, as in determining the northern boundary of the district it

inhabits, which undoubtedly accords with certain lines of temper-

ature which regulate the distribution of many other insects and

Plants, it may throw much light on the physical geography and

meteorology of our state. The cicada also often does much

injury to fruit-trees, especially in the West, and it is thus, aside

from its deeply interesting and unique mode of life, an object of

Solicitude to farmers.

538 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

The most remarkable fact about this creature is that, while so

far as we know, the other species of cicada pass but a year in

attaining the winged state, the present one lives underground

over sixteen, assuming at the end of seventeen years the perfect

winged state. We have seen that the May beetle is about three

years in obtaining the beetle state, and the wire-worms and bor-

ing-beetle, such as the apple-borer, may be four or five years in

the larval condition, but no other insects are as yet known, with

this sole remarkable exception, to be so long-lived in their imma-

ture state.

The remarks that we have to make are simply supplementary

to what the reader may find in Dr. Harris’ admirable account in

his “ Treatise.” He brings out the important fact that these in-

sects are said, in the larval state, to do much injury to apple and

pear trees by drawing the sap from the roots, so that the tree may

decline in health for years without any apparent cause. This

needs to be substantiated by farther observation. As regards the

kinds of this I may quote from a communication from William

Kite in the Amertcan NATURALIST, vol. ii, p. 442, as confirming

and adding somewhat to Dr. Harris’ statements: “ Seeing in the

July number of the Narurauisr a request for twigs of oak which

had been stung by the so-called seventeen-year locust, I take the

liberty of sending you twigs from eleven different varieties of trees

in which the females have deposited their eggs. I do this to show

that the insect seems indifferent to the kind of wood made use of

as a depository of her eggs. These were gathered July Ist, in

about an hour’s time, on the south hills of the ‘Great Chester

Valley,’ Chester county, Pa. No doubt the number of trees and

bushes might be much increased. The female, in depositing her

eggs, seems to prefer well-matured wood, rejecting the growing

branch of this year, and using the last year’s wood and frequently

that of the year before, as some of the twigs enclosed will show.

An orchard which I visited was so badly ‘ stung’ that the apple

trees will be seriously injured, and the peach trees will hardly sur-

vive their treatment. Instinct did not seem to caution the anima

against using improper depositories, as I found many cherry trees

had been used by them, the gum exuding from the wounds, in that

case sealing the eggs in beyond escape.

“ The males have begun to die, and are found in numbers under

. the trees; the females are yet busy with their peculiar office. The

-~ length of wood perforated on each branch varied from one to tw?

vio Nth pee OS Tak ieee Bi eC Ra A a Soot eek, LN tk

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 539

and a half feet averaging probably eighteen-inches ; these seemed

to be the work of one insect on each twig, showing a wonderful

fecundity.

“ The recurrence of three ‘ locust-years’ is well remembered in

this locality—1834, 1857 and 1868. There has been no variation

from the usual time, establishing the regularity of their periodical

appearance.” `

As regards the time and mode of hatching, Mr. S. S. Rathvon

of Lancaster, Pa., contributes to the same journal some new and

valuable facts, which we quote: ‘‘ With reference to the eggs and

young of the seventeen-year cicada, your correspondent from

Haverford College, Philadelphia, is not the only one who has failed

to produce the young by keeping branches containing eggs in their

studios. I so failed in 1834 and 1851, and indeed I have never

heard that any one has succeeded in that way, who has kept them

for any great length of time. In the brood of 1868, the first ci-

cadas appeared here in a body, on the evening of the second day

of June. The first pair incoitu, I observed on the 21st, and the

first female depositing on the 26th of the same month. The first

young were excluded on the 5th of August. All these dates are

some ten days later than corresponding observations made by my-

self and others in former years. On the 15th of July I cut off

some apple, pear and chestnut twigs containing eggs, and stuck

the ends into a bottle containing water, and set it in a broad, shal-

low dish also filled with water, the whole remaining out of doors

exposed to the weather, whatever it might be. The young con-

tinued to drop out on the water in the dish for a full week, after

the date above mentioned. I could breed no cicadas from branches

that were dead and on which the leaves were withered, nor from

those that from any cause had fallen to the ground, and this was

also the case with Mr. Vincent Bernard, of Kennet Square, Ches-

ter county, Pa. After the precise time was known, fresh branches

Were obtained, and then the young cicadas were seen coming forth

in great numbers, by half a dozen observers in this county. As

the fruitful eggs were at least a third larger than they were when

| first deposited, I infer that they require the moisture contained in

living wood to preserve their vitality. When the proper time ar-

rives and the proper conditions are preserved, they are easily bred,

and indeed I have seen them evolve on the palm of my hand. The

yes of the young cicadas are seen through the egg-skin before

; it is broken.”

540 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

Mr. Riley, in an interesting account of this cicada in his “First

Annual Report on Noxious, Beneficial, and other Insects of Mis-

souri” for 1869, has shown that in the southern states thirteen-

year broods of this insect are found. He remarks: ‘It was my

good fortune to observe that besides the seventeen-year broods,

the appearance of one of which was recorded as long ago as 1633,

there are also thirteen-year broods, and that, though both some-

times occur in the same states, yet in general terms, the seventeen-

year broods may be said to belong to the northern and the thir-

teen-year broods to the southern states, the dividing line being

about latitude

thirty-eight de-

grees, though in

some places the

seventeen-y ear

brood extends

below this line,

while in Illinois

the thirteen-

year brood runs

up considerably

ceedingly grati-

fying to find,

The Seventeen-year Cicada and Pupa.

discovery had been made years before by Dr. Smith, though it

had never been given to the world.”

‘Mr. Riley predicts that in southern New England a brood will

appear in 1877 and 1885. Probably the Plymouth brood which —

appeared in 1872, will not appear again for seventeen years:

namely, in 1889, the two broods noticed by Riley appearing west

of this town. As regards its appearance in Plymouth, in this

state, Harris states that it appeared there in 1633. The next

date given is 1804, “ but, if the exact period of seventeen years

had been observed, they should have returned in 1803.”

Mr. B. M. Watson informs me from his personal observation,

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 541

that it also appeared in 1838, 1855 and 1872. In Sandwich it

appeared in 1787, 1804 and 1821. In Fall River it appeared in

1834; in Hadley in 1818; in Bristol county in 1784, so that as

remarked by Harris and others it appears at different years in

places not far from each other. So that while in Plymouth and

Sandwich we may look for its reappearance in 1889, in Fall River

it will come in 1885, or four years earlier.

There are three species of cicada in this state, and in order that

they may not be confounded in studying the times of appearance

of the different broods of the seventeen-year spe-

cies I add a short description of each form, so that

they may be readily recognized in the winged and

immature states.

The two largest species are the seventeen-year

locust (Cicada septendecim) and the dog-day cicada

(C. pruinosa). Fig. 142, copied from Riley’s re-

port gives a good idea of this species: a represents

the pupa; b the same after the adult has escaped

through the rent in the back; c the winged fly; d

the holes in which the eggs e are inserted. Fig.

143 represents the larva as soon as hatched. The

adult may be known by its rather narrow head, -arva of Seven-

the black body and bright red veins of the wings, ten-year Cicada.

The wings expand from two and a half to three and a quarter

> inches.

Aai

eh etal see

ql St OTS 8 ergy Tae PEP es TT seer OFS

= ea. sae

The pupa is long and narrow, and compared with that of C. pruinosa the head

is longer and narrower, the antennæ considerably longer, the separate joints being

nearer the end; the next spine, the basal one of the series of five, is three times as

large as the next one, while in C. pruinosa it is of the same size, or if anything smaller.

Tha + zas x a à: VE E: R : 1 A SN A af th hank

(tibia), while in the other species it only projects half its length. The terminal seg-

ment of the body is rather larger than in C. pruinosa. ody is shining gum-color

darker than the rest of the body. Length one inch

being rather smaller than that of C. pruinosa and much larger that of

The dog-day harvest-fly may at once be known by its large

head, as wide as the body, and by the green markings on the

head and thorax, especially the W-shaped mark on the latter. It

expands three inches, and is a larger and more bulky insect than

542 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

the preceding. We know but little of its habits. Harris says

that it invariably appears with the beginning of the dog-days, and

in the vicinity of Boston he has heard it for many years in suc-

cession, with only one or two exceptions, on the 25th of July, for

the first time in the season. According to Prof. A. E. Verrill, in

our “Guide to the Study of Insects,” it lays its eggs in the stems

of the solidago or golden rod. ‘It made a longitudinal incision

with ragged edges into the pith of the plant, then with its ovi-

positor forced its eggs a little distance down into the pith below

the external opening: there were two rows of eggs succeeding

Fig. 144, the first single one, each pair diverging out-

wards, the lower ends of each pair nearly

touching each other, and all placed very near

together.”

The pupa (fig. 144) is much the largest a en of the

Pupa = — pru- three species, being nearly twice as bulky hat of the two

thers. The head is very broad, short, pren: much

shorter than in ae seventeen-year locust. There are no dark bands crossing the

dy. Itis an inch in length and nearly one-half (45) an inch wide.

smaller species, the least cicada (C. rimosa), expands &

little less than two and a half inches, and has a narrow head, with

bright red markings on the head and thorax. For several years

in Brunswick, Maine, I have noticed that it began its song on the

10th of June, and in this state it probably sings by the Ist of

that month.

ts pupa (fig 14 cies

nead 1 is a broadly agera hoes that of C. Fhe seat e antennæ have ‘shorter id

ints, W

sal join much 1 larger t Fig. 145.

they are Sman iepen in size in the two other species; the third

joint is much shorter than that of C. septendecim. The front of

the head is much more hairy than in the others. The fieri is

shaped much as in C. pruinosa, e y e differs from both

species in having a broad, dark b band on the

hinder edge of each thoracic and abdom inal ri

f Cicada

The anterior femora are rather shorter than tH a the other spe- dai

cies, but on the whole more like those of the sev venteon-yenr at

cicada than the C. pane The eia es are © large 8 and heavy; the he pasal oaa per me base

y p

Of the five inner teeth the first one is parse as large as the second ihe Or

the tibi

two species, which haces but one low appressed tooth in their place. The tarsus et

om about a third of its ates beyond the tip of the tibia. Length '80, breadth

othe Brachys Leaf-miner.— This and the following beetle have

the singular habit of mining the leaves of plants. It is rarely

_ that beetles live this sort of life, though many caterpillars

are ee hy

Pa Ds ees Dee as Sa A

“

RS Fe ees a ee oe

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 543

maggots of flies are leaf-miners. Dr. Harris has given in his

“ Treatise” an account of the larva of Hispa which mines the leaf

of the apple tree, cating the pulpy substance between the upper

and under surface of the leaf. The two insects of which we now

treat belong to the family of Buprestids, several species of which

do much injury to our fruit and shade trees in the grub state.

They are footless grubs and recognized by the broad, rounded,

flattened segment just behind and partially enclosing Fig. 146.

the head. The young of the following insects depart í

somewhat from this typical form owing to their pecu-

liar leaf-mining habits. The first of these is the

young of the Brachys æruginosa which has been found

by V. T. Chambers, Esq., of Covington, Ky., mining

the leaves of the beech tree, and I am indebted je him

for a specimen of the larva here figured (Fig. 146).

I may remark here that a closely allied beetle (B.

terminans), I have often found resting in the leaves of

the oak and beech. ‘The beetles of this genus are

flattened, angular ovate, and less than a quarter of an

. . : Larva of

inch in length, and the scutellum is small, as Leconte Brachys.

observes, while the shanks (tibiæ) are linear. In the succeeding

genus, Metonius, Leconte says that the body is triangular, while

the scutellum is large, and the shanks are dilated.

3, +}

rva. The body of the larvais rather oe wit g very deeply cut, be-

tig Mattened, se produced laterali tion, giving a serrate out-

line he teeth being o ard rounded: The segment next behind the head

‘oie ear

sii: in och to the end. The terminal eae is about hant as wide a

in its widest portion, and is somewhat triangular, with the llel ache the tip

obtusely pointed. The prothoracic segment or the one next the head is br r than

ng, and has a fleshy projection on each side at pu base of the head. On the upper

side of this segment is a large, square, slightl my area. The head is anteriorly

e rti

about as long as broad, much flattened, subtriangular. The antenn are very minute,

slender, three-jointed, with the joints nearly equal in rg th. The ger and palpi are

e that a description will be of n —_ ical use here. The body is finely sha-

Sreened, with a few fine scattered hairs. It is whiti can a with a slight greenish Panto

and a quarter (-25) of an inch Rh and less bak a tenth (07) of an inch broad. It

Sent to me alive in September,

The Tick Trefoil Leaf-miner.—This insect (Metonius levigatus)

which is not uncommon in this state, has been found by Mr. V.T.

Chambers of Covington, Ky., mining the leaves of the tick trefoil

(Desmodium) during the early part of September. The larva is

from -15 to -20 inch in length, and mines a broad, irregular patch,

544 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

sometimes only half the length of the leaf, but often it extends

its burrow around the end of the midrib, half way down the

other side of the leaf. The track of its burrow is irregularly sin-

Fig.47, uous. At the end of this gallery or burrow it forms a

i round chamber just as wide as the body is long, disk-

shaped, the walls being convex, the cell looking like a

smooth, regular blister.

Larva. The grub (fig. = — greatly in form from the preceding

one, the body | ick, but little flattened, sere rather convex

above and pelow; i in , form oval lanceolate, widest in the middle, taper-

ing muc to

eee Lois An same width as the fifth abdominal ring, being

` the mesothoracic ring and mayne the sides somewhat sharply pointed,

while those of the succeedir ements are rounded. The eighth

dominal segment, or one n next to the last, is tr transversely o plone, and e two-thirds

as wide as the seventh. The ninth and 1 a little over one-ha wide as the

eighth. It gives rise to a minute projection v pie end. Th e prothoracie Seeman

head are closely op aaa together; the two together

full convex on the front edge, the Seadirde between the head and succeeding rip g

being indicated by a ehi notch. The anterior surface of the som

ea. r

nea

head is very minute compared w Sin the oe r part the Brachys larva, 4

scarcely perceptible except under high zien start ing powers. The body is uniformly

pale greenish, and the skin is smooth. reget Piast tah between the two larve are

most remarkable, when we consider how s the beetles joi each other.

The Spotted-necked Languria.—This beetle is allied to Trogo-

sita, an insect which is known to be injurious to housed grain,

though the grub is still more intimately related to the European

Nemosoma elongatum, which is found under the bark of elms in

burrows inhabited by Hylesinus, a wood-boring beetle. Having

received the Languria in all its stages of growth, from Mr. Bel-

frage of Texas, though the insect occurs in the middle states, it

is thought that a description of it will not be out of place in &

report on economic entomology, as some members of the group to

which it belongs are known to be destructive. The adult beetle

was first described by Say (under the name of Languria puneti-

collis) from Ohio. It is pale reddish, with the fore legs, wing-

covers and end of the body black, with a large distinct black spot

in the middle of the neck (prothorax). It is said by Mr. Say to

frequent flowers.

The larva (fig. 148) is unusually long and slender, — ~ body be

thickness throughout, whitish, with smooth e head is bat ‘ttle

uniform eg

oai han me rest of the body; bined eighth rog oF the abdomen is as large as pe

sal, upeurve

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 545

acute hooks. There are a oe scattered hairs over the body 7 ri thoracic legs are

4 well developed, aes ong pots a stout, short, anal propleg. As usual there are nine

i breathing each side of the body. The head is Foam Niik t fattened,

` squarish, the postclypous (as we may call ets triangular inclosure in hag top of the

: , Shield-shaped with apex acute, and w shallow pits (eyes ?) on each side

= Sse

> ©

a &

o ke middle. The true clypeus is s wg transverse. The feelers Sana! are in-

serted on the side of the head, and are

: ig. 149 a.

E is broad; they are four-jomted, with tne. third longest, the TA .

: tonti Mauk slender, oot we so long as its erona, Upper

d ) transver val, elliptic, tk ve

‘ and the surface mo naan con-

he jaws supa read a Figs. 148 and 149.

two-jointed, the joints sub-

Sm, the second but a little longor Larva ane OF Lan-

than the first. Length of body

thickness, one-tenth of an inl bt specimens). The pupa (fig.

149) is white, long and slender, with the club-shaped antennz

reaching to the middle of the anterior tarsi; the tarsi of the Head 6f-larvs of

middle pair of legs reaching to the hinder edge of the first Languria.

abdominal segment; hinder pair of legs concealed, with the

exception of the area brea Dae by the wing-covers, mon latter ee an pointed

and ribbed; they reach to the end of the fourth abdominal segmen ear the hind

re edge of each segment is a rit ridge, bearing stiff olen rs, and “an ese to seven

unequal sharp spines, which on the sixth segment are arranged in two irregular rows,

with six larger than the spate and tipped with black. On the terminal iare are two

The yis ae whitish, with a few scattered hairs along the sides. The head

i cannot be seen from above, being covered by the cay Msg it is rounded oval, and

es free fr he epin ARENA with a

n , Fig. 150. few short scattered h is about

half (50—60) of an i ne (Thirty

specimens.)

Of probably somewhat sim-

ilar habits is the Dacne heros

(fig. 150, larva and pupa; a,

upper, b, under side of head),

the early stages of which -have

been communicated to me by

Dr. H. Shimer, of Illinois. The

srub of an allied species (D. fasciata) Pm in this state, is said

AMERICAN NATURALIST, VOL. VI.

Larva and pupa of Dacne.

546 INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

by Candèze to live about New Orleans in the diseased trunks of

the palmetto. It is not known what tree it inhabits in this state.

BENEFICIAL INSECTS.

The Aphis-eating Lady-beetle— Among the insects which do

incalculable benefit to agriculture, are several kinds which prey

almost exclusively upon the Aphis or plant-louse. The Syrphus

flies in the maggot state devour great quantities, and so do the

larve of the lace-winged fly (Chrysopa). Scarcely less valuable

Fig. 151. aids to the gardener are the young of the “ Lady-

bird” beetle (Coccinella). During the past

summer we have traced the transformations of a

species (Psyllobora 20-maculata Say) which lived

in all its stages on the leaves of the horse-chestnut

during the month of August. As no aphides

were seen on the leaves, I am inclined to think

that in this instance the food of the young lady-

bird was certain freshly hatched Psoci (Coeci-

lius), aphis-like neuropterous insects which were

one running about over the leaves, masses of their

Larva of “Lady-bird.” egos being attached to the leaves, and as usual

covered with a thin web. Indeed some Coccinelle feed on the

eggs and young of their own kind. This lady-bird is a very small

beetle, a tenth of an inch long; pale, whitish yellow, including the

legs and antennz. There are four black spots on the prothorax,

and nine on each wing-cover, two on each wing cover usually

running together, thus making twenty distinct spots in all.

The Larva (fig. 151) is long and slender, with a rather small head, which is a litle 0 over

half a t ( is spate te trapezoidal in

being widest in front, : a little longer than broad, mith z ~

ing of four or five raised facets. The stout, minut ER jointed, the Joints

being of equal thickness, the seċond a little see spr Rt the first. The upper lip

(labrum) is small, transversely broad ovate, with the front edge rounded. The jaws

are quite small. The maxille are very large, obtuse cylindrical, projecting far beyond

i d short.

ents gradually pko in le: ; while the abdo

ments are nearly equal in length, and very co lat A ‘orm of the emus

$ segment I could make out, as y specimens were eaen g to

themselves to the surface of the leaf, and this > ag was greai rged and elon-

gated, ending in a soft and membranous ruffle-like dilatation by shes the insect was

evidently ut o the le

to gum

The body is covered with short, stiff hairs, It is white, with two dark t pen on pan

n the five

INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS. 547

ggg segments; a pote are meraapcaes portions of the skin, giving rise to

hai sto a single see prar four or five tenent

airs at f the e joint. Lengt h about a seventh (715) o; nch.

e popa is of the ae form in the group, but is white, a ie faint dorsal dark

ddle thoracic segment, and two on the basal segment of the abdomen;

farther behind is a pair vat large, converging, black spots beginning on the second

abdominal segment, and ending on the fourth; while on each side of the fourth are

th a few

inch long) the upper side is densely covered with long, thick hairs, the body being

naked beneath. The larger specimen Bites "12 inch in length.

The Aphis-eating Mite.—Quite an unsuspected enemy of the

aphis is a little garden-mite, which I found in July and August

last in considerable numbers in Fig. 152.

my garden, busily engaged in de-

vouring the plant-lice on the rose-

bushes.

We know ‘but little of the

other insects. The present species

is allied to the red garden-mite

(Trombidium), which is often seen

running over flower beds. It is

the six-legged young of these mites

which, under the name of harvest-

mites, are so irritating and annoy-

ing when they get upon our bodies,

as they work their way in under

the skin. Their natural hosts are

| various insects, such as grasshop-

- pers, etc., as we often perceive

3 them with their heads stuck in

between the joints of the latter. They are all vermilion-red in

color, and in former times have been used as a dye.

Aphis-eating Mite.

Our species is mate 4 a Trombidium, or closely allied genus, and perhaps the

—-

Specimen we figur Itm may be called Trombidium? bulbipes (fig. 152,

a, leg; b, palpus, he ae llusion t llen, bulb-like terminal joints of the

- Itis scarlet red, regularly ovate in form, with a distinct, squarish head se] te

from the body, and two deep-red eye-spots — over the insertion of

pair of legs. The beak is long, slender, sharply conical, and reaches to near the

i he third joint of the palpi st “ner "to ur-jointed, the — and third

ni A

the

eend of the third joint of ence wae et legs. ahr ae tet are

548 COLOR AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF —

larger, thicker, and rather longer nat the fourth pair, and inserted se near the head;

the terminal vate s much swollen, ovate, the preceding joint being slenderer than the

others. The second pair coal e about sale as long as the first pair. It is deep scarlet-red,

and the body a ‘aa limbs ly covered with short, stout hairs.

This species, though quite different in the form of the body, yet

in the proportions and form of the legs and mouth-parts is con-

generic with the European Trombidium papillosum of Hermann,

which is said to live on the trunks of trees and in moss.

THE RELATION BETWEEN THE COLOR AND THE

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS.

BY ROBERT RIDGWAY.

Tue July number of the Naruratist contains a criticism of m

paper on the relation between color and geographical distribution

of birds* which is doubtless by this time familiar to the readers

of this journal. The tone of this criticism renders it necessary

for me to reply to it; but in doing so I shall endeavor to use as

little space as possible, and limit my defence to the statement of

a few simple truths, which I hope will answer the purpose as well

as a lengthy discussion.

The specific charges made against me are two in number: (1) I

am accused of ‘‘appropriating Mr. Allen’s work without acknowl-

edgment” to the latter author; and (2) of dishonestly claiming

originality in the concéption of certain laws and of cases illustra-

ting them. These charges are preferred severally in the following

words : — ‘the writes as if his views were both novel and original,

which is not the case. To speak plainly, the paper is based en-

tirely upon Mr. Allen’s views, without the slightest allusion to

this author; and is illustrated chiefly by cases already published,

yet without proper references.”

As regards Mr. Allen’s work, I am not only willing, but

desirous, that he should receive all the credit due him for his

well accomplished task of elucidating the laws of climatic color-

kfin th iii

hical Distribution in Birds, as exhibited

DA hones catoamanaal Am. Journ. Sci. iv, Dec., 1872, p. 454; V, Jan., 1873.

p. 39. h

COLOR AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS. 549

variation, and geographical distribution. This gentleman’s writ-

ings place him in the foremost rank of the philosophical ornithol-

ogists of the present day; their high merit and great importance

being recognized by all to whom they are familiar. I have the

highest respect for Mr. Allen’s works; they show careful study,

deep thought, persevering search for facts, and thorough, analytical

mode of treatment. About their only fault consists in the two

frequent evidence of conclusions “jumped at,” or based upon in-

sufficient evidence.

But as justly as Mr. Allen deserves his high position among the

most thorough and advanced ornithologists of the day, we must

not lose sight of the fact that he is not the only one who has

written upon the subject of climatic color-variation and geograph-

ical distribution. Professor Baird, the pioneer in this subject, so

far as America is concerned, first made known the main governing

laws; and thus opened the way to later researches. But even he

is preceded by Dr. Gloger who anticipates all American writers

in many generalizations of this kind, published as long ago as

1833.*

A few of Dr. Gloger’s generalizations, which bear more directly

upon the province of this paper, are the following:

“ The variation in color of birds from one country to those pine

e e

p.71). ‘The fact that in some summers there are more cuckoos

of a reddish brown color, or with reddish brown spots, may prob-

ably be owing to the general or periodical atmospheric constitution

of the year in question” (p. 98).

In 1866, before the appearance of any of Mr. Allen’s writings,

Professor Baird published a paper entitled “The Distribution and

Migrations of North American Birds,’ in which much was said

regarding climatic variations in color and proportions. The gen-

eralizations advanced in this paper are the following :

"+ Das Ablinder dor Vogel dursch Einflufe des klimas. By Dr. Constantin Lambert

Gloger, Breslaw, 1833.

tAmerican Journal of Science and Arts, Vol. xli, Jan. and March, 1566.

550 COLOR AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS.

1. Latitudinal and altitudinal variation in size of resident spe-

cies; northern bred individuals, and those born at high eleva-

tion, being larger than those born farther south or in the low

lands

2. Absolute increase of the size of the bill, even with diminu-

tion in general bulk, in Florida birds, as compared with individ-

uals of the same species born north of that peninsula: the same

rule applying, to a less extent, to birds from Cape St. Lucas.

3. Longer tails of western birds than of eastern examples of the

same species.

4. Darker color of birds from the Pacific coast than of specimens

of the same species from the interior, ‘the latter frequently exhib-

iting a bleached or weatherbeaten appearance, possibly the result

of greater exposure to the elements, and less protection by dense

forests.”

Here then are three laws of climatic or regional variation in

size and proportions, and two of color, in which Mr. Allen is

anticipated by Professor Baird. But without going farther into

the literature of the subject, I will proceed at once to discuss Mr. -

Allen’s celebrated work published in 1871,* in order to show

wherein he has anticipated me in the announcement of generaliza-

tions, in cases illustrating them, or in reducing specific names to

the rank of race, or “variety,” names. On p. 235, the law of in-

creased intensity of color to the southward is announced, this not

having been especially noted by previous writers (though Gloger

says something indefinite in relation to it in his work above cited).

This law, then, originates with Mr. Allen. The cases which he

cites in illustration are the following: Quiscalus purpureus, Age

laius pheeniceus, Ortyx Virginianus, Sturnella ‘‘Ludoviciana” (=

magna), Galeoscoptes Carolinensis, Harporhynchus rufus, Centurus

Carolinus, Picus pubescens, P. Gairdneri, Colaptes auratus, Thryo-

thorus Ludovicianus, Troglodytes don, Geothlypis trichas, Pipilo

erythropthalmus, Buteo lineatus and Bucephala Americana(!). The

idea of “the so-called Bucephala Islandica being the larger northern

type of B. Americana, in which the white markings on the head

and wings occupy a somewhat larger area,” is entirely erro-

neous, as every one acquainted with these very different species

*Bulletin Mus. Comp. Zoöl., Cambridge, Mass., ii, 1871. P pyar On Individual =

Geographical Variation among birds, consi ered te respect to its bearing upon

186-250.

COLOR AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS. 551

will admit. The other cases cited show only slight (sometimes

inappreciable) manifestations of this law within the territory of the

United States. Thus none of my cases were “already published,”

and, besides, all were in a new geographical field.

he laws of variation with longitude, which Mr. Allen lays

down, are the following:

1. Brighter ‘alone Fy! the birds from the interior, than.of those

from the Atlantic States; with a tendency to more ferruginous

tints in some species and to melanism in others.

2. Brighter or darker colors of the birds from the Pacific coast

(especially north of the 40th parallel) than of those from the inte-

rior

3. Lighter colors of birds from the arid, sterile plains than of

those from either the eastward or the westward.

By referring to this paper, it will be seen that all the above

laws are substantially the same as in the generalizations made by

Professor Baird in 1866, so that they were at the time of the

publication already “the common property of ornithologists ;”

while the proposition that red areas ‘‘spread,” or enlarge their

field in proportion as we trace certain species toward the Pacific

coast, and that in the same proportion yellow often intensifies in

tint, is a law of which Mr. Allen makes no mention, and which

is, so far as he is concerned, original with me; at the same time

I claim originality for the cases illustrating both this and the

foregoing laws, though I have never thought before of claiming

either the generalizations or the examples as discoveries of my

own.

- Having given my defence as far as Mr. Allen is concerned, I

shall now attend to the cases in which I reduced previously rec-

ognized “‘ species” to the rank of geographical races, or tt vari-

eties,” “the implication being, that such nomenclature, and the

views sustaining it, are novel.” Dr. Coues professes to have antici-

pated me in several of these cases by using the same nomen-

clature in his “Key,” and other previous works. How far he is

justified in this it is my purpose to show.

The case of Chrysomitris, Dr. Coues claims to have “first worked

out, in 1866 (Proc. Phila. Acad., 81), exactly as it is here pre-

sented, although C. psaltria was not there formally brought into

this connection, as it has since been by us (Key, Oct., 1872, 132,

13 How much Dr. Coues is entitled to make this assertion

502 COLOR AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS.

may be judged from the following summary of his views, as

expressed in the first work to which he calls attention :—

* CHRYSOMITRIS (PSEUDOMITRIS) psaltria (Say) Bon

g CHRYSOMITRIS pod cotta tere om a MEXICANUS ows Bonap.

. Var s Swains.]

[Bay calaahiaas als ]

[c. Var. aak ce es.]

Dr. Coues’ reasons for keeping psaltria apart from Mexicanus and

its varieties are explained by his own words, which we quote from

p. 83 of the first paper cited:— . . . . “the typical psaltria is so

very diverse from mexicanus proper, and the doubtful specimens”

(meaning var. Arizone) ‘incline so very decidedly toward the

latter, that, in the impossibility of uniting psaltria with mexi-

canus” (1!!!) “we must consider them” (the doubtful specimens

—var. Arizone) ‘as varieties of the latter, unless, indeed, they

be hybrids between the two.” Thus it is very plain that C. psal-

tria was not then formally brought into the connection in which

I placed it. My arrangement of these forms was as follows:

CHRYSOMITRIS PSALTRIA, Say.

a. Var. (ooe Say. Rocky Mts. of th

b. Var. arizone Coues. U.S. and Mexican boundary.

c. Var. mexicana Swains. Mexi l America.

d. Var. columbiana Lafr. Isthmus of Panama and adjacent localities.

In discussing the relationship of these forms to one another, Dr.

Coues does not even note the progressive increase of black from

psaltria to Columbiana — much less does he appear to consider the

manifestation of any climatic law affecting color as applicable in

this case—but merely gives the comparative characters of the

several races, and remarks, incidentally, that there is a gradual

transition between the two extremes (Columbiana and Arizone—

psaltria being positively separated from the series, as a distinct

species, in the manner shown above). As regards “bringing it

` into the connection” of a race along with mexicanus in the “Key,”

Dr. Coues may, perhaps, remember the occasion upon which I

explained the case to him, illustrated it by a series of specimens,

and discussed the matter with him without hesitation.

In the treatment of the races of Myiarchus Lawrencii, I cer-

tainly cannot be justly charged with “ scientific plagiarism,” since

* The current number of his catalogue.

ON eae T

CO a, ae?

AT Oe reece oer Fi eee SEY eae

(830s aioe

T a ie re E ET ES AT

COLOR AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS. 558

I present the case in an entirely different light from Dr. Coues,

as the following schemes of arrangement will show :

(Coues arrangement). ( Ridgway’s arrangement).

6. MYIARCHUS LAWRENCII. 1. MYIARCHUS LAWRENCII (Giraud).

Tyrannus lawrencii Giraud, s a. var. lawrencii Giraud—N. Mexico. |

Myiarchus nigricapillus Cabanis. | ®Y®™ b. var. nigricapillus Caban. — S. Mexico

7. MYIARCHUS NIGRICEPS. and Central America.

yiarchus nigriceps Sclater, s Sclater — Panama to

brunneiceps Lawr. } oe j e

Each of the three races which I recognize is characterized by

perfectly tangible distinctive features; var. nigricapillus is well

marked by conspicuous characters which distinguish it from both

the others, notwithstanding that Dr. Coues “cannot make out that

it is even a recognizable variety.” The simple fact that in the

series I recognize but one species, with three geographical races,

and apply scientific principles in showing the gradual transition

from one extreme to the other, and at the same time show the di-

rect relation between this progression and a certain climatic law

of color-variation, while he recognizes, in effect, two species, with-

out any varieties, and does not discuss any law or generalization

at all, shows how unjust are his pretensions to have anticipated

me in this case. These pretensions may, perhaps, be considered

the more unjust from the fact that the material upon which Dr.

Coues based his monograph of this genus had been previously

overhauled by me, thus giving him the benefit of my unpublished

determinations, which were in many cases indicated upon the labels

—though it is but due Dr. Coues to say that he acknowledged in

one case the source of his information (see p. 67, Proc. Acad. Nat.

Sci., July, 1872).

o not claim originality for calling Picus Harristi, “villosus

var. Harrisii,’ but merely—as any one can see—cite it as an

instance illustrating increased melanism toward the Pacific coast.

For calling Sphyropicus ruber, ‘varius var. ruber,” however, I do

Claim originality, notwithstanding the fact that this way of ‘* put-

ting it” was first done in the “Key.” I well remember, though per-

haps Dr. Coues may not, the occasion upon which I unhesitatingly

told him of my discovery, and satisfied him of its merit by laying

out a series of specimens to illustrate my theory. At that time he |

certainly had not thought of combining S. ruber with S. varius,

aS a geographical race, along with S. nuchalis, but. the length of

time elapsing before the publication of the “ Key ” (perhaps a

554 COLOR AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS.

year) no doubt justifies his lack of recollection as to how he got

the idea.

The statement in regard to Cardinalis is erroneous in several

respects: first, I did not make “ a new Mexican variety, carneus,

of Cardinalis virginianus,” but gave the synonymy of that pre-

viously named race, citing Lesson first, and Bonaparte’s Con-

spectus next, as authorities for the name, which I merely reduced

to the rank of a race. The new race which I characterized was

coccineus Ridgway, from eastern Mexico, while carneus Lesson

was from the western coast. In reducing C. igneus of Baird to a

._ variety, I did not follow ‘‘a previous writer ” (Key, p. 151 cited)

since, as explained further on, I had not seen the “Key” until after

the printing of my paper.

In the case of the western forms of Cyanura I am perfectly wil-

ling to renounce all claims to originality, for if my method of

treating them contributes to the better understanding of the rela-

tion which they bear to each other, my aim is accomplished.

So far as Dr. Coues’ “ Key” is concerned in the matter of no-

menclature, it must in this instance be ignored, as the following

facts justify : Though the ‘‘ Key” was published in October (1872)

and my papers not until December and January following, yet I

never saw the pages of that work until after the issuing of my

papers, which were written and forwarded to the publishers the

preceding July or August, at which time I had not seen the “ Key ”

at all. Even had I seen and been perfectly familiar with its pages,

I could still claim with perfect right, for reasons stated farther on,

originality for the nomenclature which I used.

And now, having justified myself in regard to the relation which

my paper held to previous publications in specific points, let me

say a few words in its defence on general principles. From the

time when its preparation was first discussed in my mind to the

time of its publication, the question never once occurred to me

whether the laws which I endeavored to explain were my own dis-

coveries, or whether their discovery was the property of others.

I took it for granted, that the subject and its general principles

were so familiar that a preliminary review of its literature would

be a superfluous addition to a paper already overburdened with

references —of which, very singularly, my reviewer complains. of

a meagreness. My only view was to begin at once with these

laws, state as precisely and briefly as possible what their prin-

fi;

inp

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 555

ciples were, and illustrate them, purely in the interest of science, by

novel cases and, when possible, by the cumulative evidence of

familiar cases. If I have succeeded in contributing a few unfa-

miliar facts to the store of science (and the hope that I have is

encouraged by the fact that my reviewer has had the courtesy to

approve of the treatment of some cases, and to acknowledge the

merit of an occasional novelty) I am much gratified ; and consider

myself well paid for my labors. To be charged with literary theft

must be unpleasant even when it is merited; but to be falsely

branded with “scientific plagiarism,” without any provocation, is

an accusation which cannot be borne in silence. In this case, the .

charge bears with it so much arrogance, that a simple defence

against it is not sufficient; and I should consider myself very

selfish and uncourteous did I not make some return for the marked

attention which I have received. I therefore deem it my duty to

state here, that the several examples alluded to above are but a

fraction of the number of cases in which I have suffered from my

indiscretion of being too trustingly communicative, and from Dr.

Coues having taken advantage of earlier means of publication.

_ Should my reviewer realize the truth of his preliminary remark,

that “the critic’s office is not seldom ungracious,” I am sure that

I feel very sorry that he made up his mind not to “shirk the re-

sponsibility ” in which the tone, more than the matter, of his criti-

cism involved him.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Antiquities or THE SourHEeRN InprANs.*—The author expresses

the hope that the pages of this volume will, “at least, in some de-

gree, minister to the information and pleasure of those who are

hot incurious with regard to the subject of American archæ-

ology ;” and we think in this he will not be disappointed. There

certainly is a large amount of valuable information in 1 the twenty-

two chapters of the work.

e several works that have now long been the text books of

ag *Antiquities of the Sout} ndians. arap of the Georgia Tribes. By Charles

Jones, Jr., 1873. 8vo, pp. 532. Ilustrated. Cloth

556 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

North American archæology have all drawn a broad distinction

between the so-called mound-builder and the Indian: althoug

in the elaborate monograph of Messrs. Squier and Davis, there is

much that belongs either in common to the two races, or the

various relics of both have been mixed up. Even as far east as

New Jersey, the various forms of relics found in the mounds have

been discovered except one class of pottery, and possibly the

“animal” pipes.

That the two peoples were not the same—that the present red-

man was not the descendant of the mound-builder, has been and is

the general opinion, and yet it is difficult, in very many cases, to

say of many ‘‘finds,” this is mound-builder and this Indian. So

the precise relation the two peoples bore to each other is as desi-

rable a problem to solve as to trace out the exact origin of either.

It was this latter thought especially that has been suggested by

every few pages of the volume before us.

The first nine chapters, giving admirable descriptions of the

various mounds in Georgia, recall the many mounds examined by

Messrs. Squier and Davis, throughout the Mississippi valley ;

and we are carried back to the remote time of the occupancy of

the country by this mysterious people. Mr. Jones, with his de-

scriptions of the mounds, adds a most admirable account of the

manners and customs (as they were) of the Indians, but we ask,

Did they build these mounds? The author says, in this con-

nection—‘‘In the light of the Spanish narratives, after a careful

consideration of the relics themselves, and in view of all the facts

which have thus far been disclosed * * * * we see no good rea-

son for supposing that these more prominent tumuli and enclo-

sures may not have been constructed in the olden time by peoples

akin to and in the main by no means farther advanced in semi-

civilization than the red-men native àt the dawn of the historic

period. In a word we do not concur in the opinion, so often ex-

pressed, that the mound-builders were a race distinct from and

superior in art, government and religion, to the southern Indians

of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.” This is something neW

in the later speculations concerning the American aborigines,

searcely borne out we think by a careful survey of the antiquities

of the whole country. Indeed Mr. Jones himself shows that

mound-building races preceded the Indian, and such passages 4S

the following frequently occur,—The Creeks did not claim that

ba:

;

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 557

these tumuli were erected by them. They declared that they

were here when their ancestors first possessed themselves of the

region.” Now if these mounds were deserted by their builders

previous to the occupancy of the country by the Creeks or other

Indians, it would seem probable that they were a different people.

Had they been driven away by the Indian, then the latter would

have a traditional recollection of that event. It is not possible to

trace any connection, near or remote, between the mound-builder

and the Indian; and if the latter were a degenerate offspring of

the former, would not some trace of a tradition still remain with

them of their ancestors’ superiority in art, government and re-

ligion ?

As the contained relics of themselves go but little way towards

elucidating mound history, may not these Georgia mounds have

been built by Indians? by. some race preceding those that last

occupied that territory? for the red-man is certainly given to

roving. Like relics do not prove like races, and do like mounds?

On this very point, Mr. Squier has expressed an opinion concern-

ing the mounds of New York, which is applicable here. He says

of these mounds, that “the resemblances which they bear to the

defensive structures of other rude nations, in various parts of the

world, are the results of natural causes, and cannot be taken to

Indicate either a close or remote connection or dependence. All

primitive defences, being designed to resist common modes of

attack, are essentially the same in their principles, and seldom

differ very much in their details. The aboriginal hunter and the

Semi-civilized Aztec selected precisely similar positions for their

fortresses, and defended them upon the same general plan; yet it

would be palpably unsafe to found conclusions as to the relation of

the respective builders, upon the narrow basis of these resem-

blances alone.” These remarks are applicable here, because we do

hot yet know what relation these Georgia mounds bear to the un-

epsom archaic —— > = Ohio and Mississippi valleys.

e still believe that the mound-build a different people from

the Indians, and had the relics of each been separated and treated

of by themselves, we think more light would have been thrown

Upon American archeology by the first half of Mr. Jones’ work.

Chapters x to xxii, inclusive, are devoted to the enumeration and

description of the relics found in the mounds and graves and on

the surface generally: the latter relics being, as they are in New

558 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Jersey, very numerous on the sites of villages and scattered in

fewer numbers wherever game had been followed by the dusky

hunters. These relics as a rule differ in no way from such traces

of the aborigines found in the middle and northern states. Mr.

Jones claims, however, that a greater degree of skill is exhibited

in the workmanship, especially of their arrowpoints, by the

southern Indians; and we have no doubt but that such was the

case to a certain extent: that is, that there is obtained in Georgia

a larger percentage of jasper and quartz arrowpoints, which are

always more delicately chipped than those formed from softer min-

erals. We must, however, call attention to the fact that the fifty-

three illustrations given do not indicate extraordinary skill, nor

have we a drawing of “almost every known form,” which the au-

thor says “finds here (in Georgia) its type.” The most interesting

specimens of stone implements figured by Mr. Jones are the

sword, pl. xii, fig. 4, the dagger, fig. 3 of same plate, and the axe

with stone handle, pl. xii. In our own experience in collecting,

we have never met with any relic resembling them; although we >

have frequently heard of an axe, with a handle of stone, but

have always failed to find its present whereabouts. The sim-

ilarity of our American stone implements to those found in

Europe makes the dagger peculiarly interesting, as it renders that

form common to the two countries.

In describing the pipes, idols and pottery of Georgia, we think

the author has pretty thoroughly confounded Indian and mound-

builders’ relics. The idols, ‘‘animals,” pipes and some of the

vases, we should consider as belonging to the latter people;

while the plainer pipes and fragments of pottery figured are such

are abundant throughout the whole country.

While students of American archeology owe much to Mr.

Jones for the vast amount of information he has made accessible

to them, by the publication of his interesting work, we think it

is to be regretted that the great distinction between mound-

builders and Indians has not been admitted by him, for having

had an opportunity in Georgia of carefully studying the many

traces of each race, the distinction between them, carried out in

one volume, would have long been a most valuable guide to those

who, in other portions of the Union, may wrest from destruction

and preserve to science the rapidly disappearing relics of the

ancient peoples of America.—C. C. A.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 559

Tue CHILDHOOD or THE Worip.*— This tastefully printed little

book will not, we think, disappoint those who take it up, pro-

vided they expect no more than what the author states in the

preface to be its scope and aim, which are “to narrate, in as

simple language as the subject will permit, the story of man’s

progress from the unknown time of his early appearance upon the

earth to the period from which writers of history ordinarily begin.”

“ As the Table of Contents indicates, the First Part of this book

describes the progress of man in material things, while the Second

Part seeks to explain his mode of advance from lower to higher

stages of religious belief.”

The first part, which is the shorter of the two, is too brief, and

_Searcely sets forth the claims of prehistoric archeology to the

tank of a science; although the author very properly states the

main fact of that science, more than once, i.e., the very great

antiquity of man. We think that he is too brief, in this first part,

because it is possible he may not have said enough to excite the

young reader’s attention and curiosity, and so cause him to look

further into the subject of ee which offers so wide a field

for research. :

Mr. Clodd believes that man was created de novo, and not devel-

oped, and starting with that assertion, notices in detail, ‘“ Man’s

first wants,” his tools; then fire, cooking, pottery, the use of

metals, and then touches upon language, writing, counting, and

man’s wanderings about the globe; holding throughout, appar-

ently, that all men have sprung from a common origin, which we

link by no means demonstrated. At any rate, climate, to

which he refers on page 47, and “the land they dwell in,” will not

of themselves explain the variation now existing between the

Several distinct types of mankind. Nor can we admit as true,

the statement that America was peopled by tribes who “leapt

across the narrow straits between Asia and America and wandered

Over that vast New World.” This “leaping across narrow straits”

does not appear to us to accord with the traces of archaic man

already discovered in this country, as “the contemporaneity of

man in America with the mammoth and mastodon may be regarded

4s being satisfactorily established” and when we go back so far

> The Seepage of the World; A Simple Account of Man in Early Times. By

Edward Ciliodd, F. R. A. S. London and New York: Macmillan and Co., 1873. Crown

Svo, pp. 118, Cloth.

560 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

into the past, do we find reason for believing the straits were then

as narrow as now? May not an ocean have rolled between, or ice

blocked up every portion of the way? In the second part, the

researches of Max Miiller, Tylor and others as to myths and wor-

ship in its various forms, are very clearly outlined, and, we doubt

not, will be read with pleasure by all who purchase this little vol-

ume. We hope, with the author, that the subjects treated of may

rouse a curiosity which will lead to the careful study of the works

of Tylor, Lubbock, Nilsson, Waitz and other ethnologists, from

which Mr. Clodd has so largely drawn in his brief account of Man

in Early Times.—C. C. A.

CATALOGUE OF THE PHÆNOGAMOUS AND VASCULAR CRYPTOGA-

mous PLANTS OF CANADA AND THE NORTHEASTERN PORTION OF '

THE Unirep Srares.* —This is somewhat on the plan of the

British exchange Catalogue which was in use twenty years ago.

It is printed in eight pages of large quarto size, each of six

columns. The portion of the United States included is co-exten-

sive with that of ‘‘Gray’s Manual” with the addition of a range

of states on the western side of the Mississippi ; namely, Missouri,

Iowa and Minnesota.

An ingenious arrangement indicates the geographical range of

each species, 7. e., its occurrence in either or all of three districts,

viz.: 1, Canada; 2, Virginia; 3, Illinois; respectively represent-

ing the northern, the southern and the western distribution. The

Catalogue extends to varieties, is very carefully prepared, evidently

with much pains, and is admirably adapted for its purpose ; that of

facilitating exchanges among botanists. Mr. Curtiss, as one of our

most active botanists, has doubtless felt the need of what he has

now supplied.

BULLETIN or THE BUFFALO SOCIETY or NATURAL ScieNcEs.t—

A new life is pervading this society, perhaps due to the removal

of Mr. Grote, the well known lepidopterist, from the south to Buf-

falo. The first number of its Bulletin contains the four following

valuable papers on moths by Mr. Grote, which will greatly in-

terest lepidopterists. ‘Description of New North American

Gime!

* Catalogue of the Phanogamous and Vascular Cryptogamous Plants of Canada and

the Northeastern Portion of the United States. By A. H. Curtiss, Liberty, Bedfo

Co., Virginia.

Bulletin of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, Vol. i, Nos. 1 and 2, Buffalo,

N. Y., 1873. With 3 lithographic plates. 8vo. pp. 128, $2.50 a vol.

BOTANY. 561

Moths,” “ Catalogue of the Sphingide of North America,” “ Cata-

logue of the Zygeenide of North America,” “ Conclusions drawn

from a study of the Genera Hypena and Herminia.” The second

number, which was received by us on Aug. 2d, contains two more

plates of moths illustrating two papers by Mr. Grote entitled

“Contributions to a Knowledge of North American Moths” and

“A Study of North American Noctuide.” It also contains a

paper of thirty-two pages of ‘Descriptions of New Species of

Fungi,” by Chas. H. Peck.

We congratulate the society on the very creditable appearance

of these two parts of its first volume, and think that it will find

this prompt publication of papers read before its meetings of far

more value to the authors in the matter of priority than the docu-

ments it has sent out regarding them.

BOTANY.

Tue FERTILIZATION or Grasses.— Prof. Hildebrand, a German

botanist who has paid great attention to the subject of the fertil-

ization of flowering plants, has recently made an important series

of observations on the fertilization of grasses, and especially of

cereals. The agent of fertilization in all grasses, except those few

in which the flowers never open, is the wind, insects apparently

playing no part in it. With this object the pollen grains are very

fine and smooth, so that they are at once dispersed by a breath

of air; the filaments are usually not stiff, but versatile, and the

stigma is either feathery, or presents a large surface’ with nu-

merous indentations in which the pollen is easily lodged. These

contrivances render cross-fertilization inevitable; and, while self-

fertilization is in most cases not absolutely prevented, it is gener-

ally rendered very difficult. Many species, however, which are

ordinarily cross-fertilized never open their flowers when the weath-

eris cold and rainy, and are, in such circumstances, necessarily

self-fertilized. In grasses with unisexual flowers, cross-fertiliza-

tion must take place as a matter of course. In those with

hermaphrodite flowers a few are protogynous, and hence also

necessarily cross-fertilized. In the larger number of grasses,

however, the male and female organs are developed at the same

time, and special contrivances occur for ensuring cross-fertilization.

In the rye the position of the organs is such that a part of the

AMERICAN NATURALIST, VOL. VIL. 36

562 BOTANY.

pollen from one flower must almost necessarily fall on the stigma

of another flower. In the wheat each separate flower remains

open only for an extremely short time, the glumes separate from

one another suddenly, the anthers immediately protruding, and a

large quantity of the pollen is dispersed into the air, the whole

process not occupying more than half a minute. In most of these

cases the stigma remains receptive only for a very short period and

then dies, while in others the stigma remains in a receptive condi-

tion till long after the anthers have dropped off, and then must nec-

essarily be open to the access of foreign pollen. In comparatively

few cases the natural contrivances appear to favor self- rather than

cross-fertilization. Thus in the oat and barley the majority of

the flowers never open, and are, therefore, necessarily self-fertil-

ized; there appear, however, in almost all cases to be a small

number of flowers, often arranged in one or two separate rows,

which do open, and therefore may introduce occasional cross-fertil-

ization. It is probable that the same species behaves differently

in relation to its arrangements for fertilization under different

circumstances of climate, while species very nearly related exhibit

phenomena which offer a marked contrast.—A. W

STRUCTURE AND PropaGaTion or Licuens. — The theory of

Schwendener that Lichens are not separate organisms but are com-

posed of Fungi, parasitic on Algse (the so-called gonidia), has not,

up to the present time, found much favor with cryptogamic bota-

nists, Sachs being almost the only physiologist of repute who

has as yet adopted it. The theory has, however, recently met

ith some countenance from the researches of Woronon on the

lichens Parmelia pulverulenta and parietina. He confirms the pre-

vious statements of Famintzin and Baranetzky that the gonidia

of these lichens produce zoospores which he describes as bi-cili-

ated ; and he gives an exact account of their mode of escape from

the gonidia. These zoospores, after the cessation of their vibratile

motion, caused by the cilia, become covered by a membrane after

the ordinary mode of the zoospores of Algze, and form themselves

into gonidiform bodies, increasing by division, but producing

neither filaments nor hyphx, but only giving birth to new gonidia,

in other words, to young individuals of a unicellular alga of the

genus Cystococcus. The observation of the actual germination

of the zoospores is a link in the chain, hitherto wanting.—A.

BOTANY. 563

CLEISTOGENOUS FLOWERS IN VIOLA STRIATA. — When we take

Gray’s Manual, and find no mention of a striking fact, we con-

clude that what is not known to so excellent a botanist must be

new. Yet to me the production of cleistogenous flowers by Viola

striata is so old a fact that only its omission from the manual

leads me now to refer to it.* .

The Manual confines the production of these flowers to the acau-

lescent species which it says “produce apetalous flowers from

underground stolons during summer.” V. striata belongs to the

leafy-stemmed section, and produces an abundance of these flow-

ers from midsummer till frost. In early spring the petaloid

flowers come out from the axils of the four lowest nodes; six or

eight nodes are then formed, in which the axillary bud is devel-

oped into a branchlet instead of a flower, and all the succeeding

nodes bear leaves with apetalous flowers from the axils, which

produce seed very profusely.

Physiologically speaking there is nothing remarkable in this.

As suggested in my remarks on Fragaria ‘‘ Gilmani” some years

ago, a stolon or runner is but an upright caulis which has lost the

power of erection, and characters common to one easily appear

in the other with little or no modification.—Tuomas MEEHAN.

Srpacnum anp Hypnum Peat.— The opinion seems to have

been somewhat prevalent that peat does not accumulate abun-

dantly in limestone regions, but this is not true of large portions

of some of the northern interior states. For example, all the peat

of Iowa is in an eminently limestone region and the water taken

out of any of the marshes shows a strong reaction for lime by

proper chemical tests.

From my own observations I believe that Sphagnum peat does

not accumulate in limestone regions, but that the peat mosses of

such regions all belong to the genus Hypnum. I have found no

other moss entering into the composition of Iowa peat.

Another fact observed in this connection has doubtless much

Significance, namely ; the Ericace are almost entirely wanting in

Towa, and no plants of that order have yet been observed by

myself in or about these Hypnum marshes. The principal plant

assisting the Hypnum in the production of peat is a kind of grass.

Should one go north from Iowa or Illinois into the metamorphic

"Ei vamanta e D NS

*It is well known in Viola canina of Europe, and here in V. Canadensis.—EDS.

564 ZOOLOGY.

regions of Minnesota and Wisconsin, I think he would see the

Hypnum gradually give place to Sphagnum in the marshes, and

the marsh Ericaceze appear with the last named moss.

In short, lime seems to be an uncongenial element i in the habi-

tat of both Sphagnum and most if not all ericaceous plants, but

is not uncongenial to Hypnum and grass. Therefore the abun-

dant presence of lime will not necessarily prevent the accumula-

tion of peat.—C. A. WHITE.

ZOOLOGY.

Cenrronyx ‘‘ocHrocepHatus” Aiken.—This nominal species,

described by Mr. Aiken in a recent number of the NATURALIST,* is

neither entitled to specific rank, nor even to a name as a well

marked variety or race. This deduction I have adopted after a

careful examination of the two specimens of it collected—one, the

type, in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution, the other in

the collection of Mr. R. Ridgway — and their comparison with

Audubon’s type of C. Bairdii. The color differs in the two

types very appreciably, indeed as much and even more, than in

many well established and closely allied species: but while the

specific distinctness of these is sustained by large series of speci-

mens in which there is scarcely any gradation, or a too close ap-

proximation in coloration, the validity of the C. “ochrocephalus”

is entirely overthrown by the second specimen obtained, which is

exactly intermediate in color, as it is in season of collection, be-

tween the first and the single specimen of C. Bairdii. The emar-

ginate tail of Aiken’s sparrow, as compared with the doubly

rounded one of Baird’s, has little weight as a character. The

C. Bairdii undoubtedly possessed this feature, as is apparent

from the appearance of the plumage, which everywhere exhibits a

worn and bleached surface: and in some places the vanes at the

tips of the feathers are worn quite off from the shafts; this is es-

pecially noticeable in the rectrices. The most cogent reason for

considering it distinct from C. Bairdii lies in the differences in

their relative size and proportions—C. “ochrocephalus” being Con-

siderably the larger; but, even in this, it does not exceed the

proportion of variation which should be recognized as occurrent

in a species.

*Vol, vii, p. 237, 1873.

ZOOLOGY. 565

In regard to the new thrush (Harporhynchus Bendire’) recently

described by Dr. Coues,* it is probably identical with Mr. Ridg-

way’s var. Palmeri.

The maximum number of species in the genus Harporhynchus

was undoubtedly reached some time ago: and an enthusiastical

Darwinian could be censured but mildly for considering the series

as representatives of a single species, the most aberrant forms

being looked upon as incipient species Davin Scorr.

Wuo First DETERMINED THE TRUE POSITION or HYALONEMA.—

While sympathizing with the spirit of Mr. Chapman’s criticism of

Prof. Thomson in the current August number of the NATURALIST,

we must say that he is not quite correct when he asks: ‘* Wh

therefore does he [Dr. Thomson] unjustly ignore the fact that

Dr. Leidy was the first to describe correctly the position of Hya-

lonema, by saying we had been looking at the sponge upside

down, and that it had never occurred to any one to reverse it?”

Dr. Leidy’s article is in the Natorauist, Vol. iv. This was in

January, 1871. Doubtless Dr. Leidy’s article was written the

year before. In the Naruraxist, Vol. iii for 1870, is an inter-

esting review of Scandinavian work in Natural History done in

the years 1867-8. On page 216 in reference to Prof. Lovén occur

these words: “the same celebrated author’s ingenious memoir

on the little stalked pyriform deep-sea sponge, from Finmarken,

termed Hyalonema boreale Lovén, by means of which he demon-

strated that the Lusitanian and Japanese glass-ropes had hith-

erto been erroneously represented as if turned upside down.” In

the article on “The Glass Sponges,” in the ‘ Popular Science

Monthly” for this month, I have endeavored to do justice in this

Matter to all concerned.

In regard to Prof. Lovén’s Hyalonema boreale, it should be men-

tioned that C. Wyville Thomson in his book, p. 113, says: “ It is

‘certainly very far from Hyalonema. It is more nearly allied

Tethya, for the body of the sponge must certainly be refe i

the corticate type, though it differs from all the other pisri

members of its order in being supported on a long symmetrical

stalk formed, as Professor Lovén has shown, of sheaves of short

Spicules bound together by horny cement.” But this in no wise

affects the soundness of the Professor’s demonstration.—S. L.

*American Naturalist, Vol. vii, p. 330, 1873.

566 MICROSCOPY.

PASSAGE or SPECIFIC CHARACTERS FROM ONE GENUS TO ANOTHER.

—I find among the Acridide from the west a case which would

seem to go far toward confirming the opinion of Prof. Cope, that

often specific characters pass over from one genus to another.

The Acrolophitus hirtipes Thos. (Gryllus hirtipes Say) forms a

very distinct and somewhat peculiar genus; the specific charac-

ters are also very distinct and well marked. During my connec-

tion with the United States Geological Survey, in charge of Dr. F.

V. Hayden I have frequently met with this species in Colorado,

northern New Mexico, and Wyoming, but nowhere else in those

territories or in northern Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Kan-

sas or Dakota have I met with any closely allied species. Recently

the Orthoptera collected by Lieut. Wheeler during his, Explora-

tions in Arizona have been submitted to me for examination; in

that collection I find specimens which, in specific characters in-

cluding even color, agree exactly with A. hirtipes, but differ in two

prominent generic characters.

In Acrolophitus the chief generic characters are, an erect, coni-

eal vertex (which alone distinguishes it from all other American

species of Oedipodini) ; a sharp elevated crest on the posterior

lobe of the pronotum ; posterior margin of the pronotum acutely

angled. The species collected by Lieut. Wheeler has the erect,

conical vertex, but the pronotum is without a crest or even 4

medium carina, and the posterior margin is obtusely rounded,

yet the general form, size, etc., even to the hairs on the legs,

are the same in both species; the color is exactly the same

throughout.—C. Tuomas.

OccurrENCE OF THE Rock Weren 1N Iowa.— Salpinctes obsoletus,

not previously found east of the Rocky Mountain region, was ob-

served by the writer last fall in Decatur county, Iowa. It was

seen on several occasions, far out on the prairie, ranning over the

ties on the railroad track, retreating when alarmed, into the

dense prairie grass.— T. M. T., Garden Grove, Iowa.

MICROSCOPY.

Apertures OF Oxsectives.— It is now certain that nothing can

be easier than to get more than 82° of rays through a balsam

object and immersion objective, and that those accomplished mi-

` ¢croscopists who maintained the contrary were in error in n resting

MICROSCOPY. 567

their mathematical argument upon the improved assumption that

the conditions under which the law of reduced apertures operated

were, and must necessarily be, the same in all objectives as in

those which were in their hands. This fallacy in the mathematical

argument has been already pointed out in this Journal, as well as

by Dr. J. J. Woodward in the + Monthly Microscopical Journal.”

Now that the doctrine of the limitation of the balsam angle of

objectives, plausible and strong in seeming to rest upon well

nown facts, is removed from the way of progress in the science

it was designed to assist, it remains to discuss the -means of ac-

complishing an increase of this angle, and whether such increase

may add to the working qualities of the objectives possessing it.

Mr. Tolles, who must be admitted to have been the first to claim

such increase of angle, believes it to be a valuable addition to

the powers of objectives. The following letter from him contains

some further discussion of the means of increasing the balsam

angle, as well as some claims in regard to his personal relation to

the controversy.

Dr. R. H. Warp, Sir :—I have read your notice, in the July

Number of the Naruratist, of a current discussion as to possible

balsam angular aperture of objectives. I am gratified at its evi-

dent spirit of fairness; and will ask that, in the same temper, you

will give place to some strictures of my own.

The ;4; measured in London had, and has, no point of adjust-

ment where with appropriate cover thickness the definition would

hot be good. Its highest angle, when immersed in water, is about

midway of the total adjustment, and at this point corrects for y's

inch cover. All this I will show you any time; also, Dr. J. J.

Woodward has verified the same.

There is no secret as to the mode of action and the plan. The

theory has been openly declared in every article of mine having

the form of reply to Mr. Wenham since his first denial of validity

of my first ‘‘experiment.” Thus, while admitting and declaring

the reduction of refraction at the first plane surface, by immersion

in a more refractive medium than air, every suggestion on my part

has been of some way of making up for that loss. You say I

appeal to facts not discussing principles. What induced my first

experiment was a clear apprehension of law, and the result was

confidently asserted beforehand. I have never denied that the air

568 MICROSCOPY.

angle of (close to) 180°, after the first refraction, was necessarily

reduced to 82° (closely) by crown glass plane surface, and by

heavy, flint plane surface to 76° (closely). That is and has been

understood, all around; though produced and constantly reit-

erated as an answer to my claims, not only by Mr. Wenham, but

volunteered with much rudeness from another quarter.

ou comprehend the case perfectly when you say, “ This reason-

ing assumes only that the extreme ray above the front combination,

capable of entering into the image when the objective is worked

dry, is the extreme also when adjusted for immersion work.” But

it would be equally true to say, “the extreme ray above the front”

surface “is also the extreme ray, etc.” In the light of this state-

ment, what is to be understood by my March paper (Monthly Mi-

croscopical Journal, 1873) to which you allude as ‘‘ practically

disclaiming this doctrine of rays beyond the extreme rays dr pa”

Why, I suggest the one sure way of giving entrance from the

denser medium into the Front of a larger pencil than before with

crown glass, in just so far as the refraction of the Front in such

medium approaches the refraction of crown glass in air; and,

behold! I am made to disclaim the very thing I have just done and

pointed out how. However, from what you have written I know

you will understand this:— my respondents say at once, “82°

impinging on the inner front surface of the front lens will, from

crown glass, emerge into the balsam without sensible deviation.”

Now, suppose we use flint glass; the angle at which total reflec-

tion takes place in this, when in contact with air, is not 82° (-)>

but 76° (about). When a pencil of 82°, however, impinges upon

this plane surface of flint, in contact with balsam, it will have pos-

itive refraction according to the refractive index of flint glass

in balsam and therefore while only 82° in the glass of the flint front,

whether emergent or immergent would have more than that angle

in the balsam. This much at least is sure and is decisive of the

question. But again, if the material of the front surface have à

refraction in balsam equal to that of crown glass in air, then ob-

viously we might have near to 180° in the balsam, while the trans-

mitted pencil immediately above the front surface would remain

about the same as the “limiting angle” of crown glass in air, viz.:

82.° This is valid principle and reasoning, but I cannot appeal to

facts in this case. The best I have done is 112° in balsam. See

“Monthly Microscopical Journal ” for June, 1873.

MICROSCOPY. 569

Do not suppose that this is the only way to exceed 82° in bal-

sam practically. The 100° 1 objective of four systems was on

quite a different plan. It is, as to plan, described in the “ Monthly

Microscopical Journal” for March, 1872. There the inner three

systems have 130° as a dry objective, the front as applied to those

three serving only to admit such a pencil to the dry objective con-

stituted of the inner three. But the 4 tested by Dr. Woodward

has, as to the inner three, an angle of 105° in air, and, as they are

used, while the front has some, but slight, influence upon the pen-

cil passing through it.

And now, to sum up, referring to my article of March, 1872,

“Monthly Microscopical Journal,” and diagrams. I will quote

Fig. 1 and explanation as theory, antecedent to fact. The four-

system objective being subsequently made and authoritatively re-

substantiating the theory. (See “Monthly Microscopical Journal”

for June, 1873; paper by Dr. Woodward giving the angle as 100

in balsam.) Quoting again, as to the case of the three systems,

same Journal, same page, referring to Fig. 2. “* What is intended

is to increase the refraction of the convex surface of the front by

sharper convexity, or higher refractive material, or both, to the

extent necessary to make up for the diminution at the plane sur-

face according to the refractive power of the medium” in which

the front surface is immersed. Now the results, according to this

Second case, are well attested for angles considerably above

82° in hard balsam ; account of all which will appear in good time

for support of my theory! i. e., the universally accepted theory.

For balsam of refractive index the same as common crown or

plate glass I sie with pleasure, show to you at any time that the

angle of the 1, objective, tested in London, is at least 90°; and

that i is the kind of balsam Mr. Wenham has constantly talked of,

witness each of his criticisms on my claims. Every time

alluded to the balsam index, he has declared it practically the same

as crown glass. Of course, when hardened to resin, it may have

higher refractive index and reduce the angle a little. Hence cer-

tain discrepancies as to amount of angle above 82°. For this rea-

Son, I have used the semi-cylinder, but that has, and had, another

and a superior purpose. As a means of getting the actual angle,

and the crucial test to decide this discussion, a much simpler

method will serve. Thus, any piece of plate glass, say an inch

Square or upwards, and perhaps zh inch thick, or more or less, one

570 MICROSCOPY.

or both plane surfaces fine ground, is all that is necessary, only,

be it provided, that some part of one edge be a polished or frac-

tured surface tolerably near flat and square. Use this precisely as

Dr. Woodward uses his tank, and the angle of the objective for

that kind of balsam (like the glass) will be indicated along the

ground surface if a little care be taken in adjusting glass to

objective. Balsam, glycerine or dense oils will do to connect the

objective front and glass plate, for the pencil traversing the plate

will be constantly the same for a wide range of ‘ preservative

media.” This cone can be marked as to its boundaries with a

pencil on the ground glass, and measured with a protractor with

perfect facility.

hatever position gentlemen respondent may take now, pro

or con, the end is assured, viz., a practically larger angular aper-

ture for objects in balsam. I hope you will award these comments

an insertion. Respectfully yours,

Rosert B. ToLLES.

40 Hanover Street, Boston, Mass.

. S. — Since writing the above, the “ Monthly Microscopical

Journal” for July, containing Mr. Wenham’s reply to Dr. Wood-

ward’s article, has come to hand. I notice Mr. Wenham recom-

mends the same ground glass plate for test of angle that I describe

above, only nothing is said of connecting media. This is excel-

lent! With air between, the cone will, with crown or plate glass,

be about 81°, but if water or balsam or any known liquid replaces

the air it can be more. It is the test. Some objective will be

found in England, I dare say, to go above 82°.—T.

Microscorican Expertments wiru Insects’ Eres.— Dr. F. W.

Griffin, of the Bristol School of Chemistry, gives in the “ World

of Science” and in the ‘ Monthly Microscopical Journal,” an mM-

teresting note on this subject. Any tolerably mounted beetle’s

eye (transparent) will give some of the desired effects; but for

good results the semi-globular set of “lenses” which constitutes

the outer part of the compound eye should be very carefully

cleaned and flattened without materially altering the form of the

individual lenses. This is arranged as a transparent object under

a one inch objective, and preferably a “Kelner” eye-piece, when

some two thousand lenses or corneules are brought into view at

once. By racking the objective up, the focus of these little lenses

MICROSCOPY. 571

is found, slightly above their surface, and in the focus of each is

seen the image of an object, as for instance a fly on the point of a

pen, held between the stage and the mirror. By a little ingenuity

a good view can be obtained of a blind-tassel, the profile of a

person standing before the window, or even of a landscape out-

side; though these distant and difficult objects show better by

using a } inch objective and a one inch lens as achromatic con-

denser. A swinging tassel, or a profile cut in brown paper and

fastened against the glass, or a person’s hand with the fingers in

motion, or a watch face with the second hand in motion, are

among the curious or grotesque objects that may be seen multi-

plied hundreds of times in the beetle’s eye. When lamplight is

used, it must be rendered parallel by the bull’s-eye, and for really

good effects the concave mirror and one inch achromatic condenser

must also be used. ;

BocurLars ror Hrem Powers.— Mr. Wenham, finding the

various non-stereoscopic binoculars unsatisfactory, and finding it

inconvenient to make and mount a reflecting prism which should

come sufficiently near the lenses to be efficient with the highest

powers, has revived the achromatic refracting prism suggested by

him to the Microscopical Society on June 13, 1860, by which the

rays from each lateral half of the objective are bent towards the

axis of the tube, crossed, and sent to the opposite eye of the ob-

Server. The prism, representing really two prisms cemented back

to back, is made so small and mounted in so thin a tube that it

can be slid down into the mounting of the objective close to the

posterior lens.

Structure or Evropiscus anp Istamra. — Mr. Henry J. Slack

has communicated to the Royal Microscopical Society some im-

portant researches on this subject, tending to confirm his previous

impression that in all diatoms the silicious deposition takes place

in spherules of varying dimensions and arrangement. He entirely

discards such terms as ‘‘areole,” “cellules,” etc., believing that

Such apparent structures are merely, and always, unresolved groups

of variously aggregated spherules. This structure he has demon-

strated, and has repeatedly confirmed on Pinnulariz, but with the

old means of investigation he failed on Isthmia and Eupodiscus.

ith Mr. Wenham’s new “Reflex Illuminator,” however, these

easily fall under the same law, the circular valve of Hupodiscus

572 MICROSCOPY.

Argus being composed of radiating bands of minute and closely

packed spherules with intervening rows of clusters of larger

spherules usually in fours, and Jsthmia enervis revealing, in the

place of its familiar reticulated appearance, an aggregation of

minute spherules at different levels but of, as yet, not well deter-

mined arrangement. A Beck’s + objective will reveal this struct-

ure, though a 4 is preferable; Powell and Lealand’s new pattern

(dry front) giving it excellently.

On the other hand, Mr. Samuel Wells of Boston, who has stud-

ied Eupodiscus Argus without the reflex illuminator, perceives no

spherules and explains the usual appearances without them. The

outer or convex surface he finds clear and smooth, except that it

is irregularly dotted with depressions about şọ%oinch in diameter

and extending nearly through the thickness of the valve. This

appearance is verified by the binocular microscope and by sec-

tional views obtained from broken valves, and is not varied by any

change of power or illumination. The concave surface, which

Moller mounts upwards and which alone was probably studied by

Mr. Slack, is nearly smooth, without ridges and probably without

granulation. It is covered with irregularly radiating rows of

round dots with intervening blank spaces. These dots are about

sobos inch in diameter, and with a ;, or sẹ and Prof. H. L.

Smith’s apparatus for opaque illumination, they appear to be slight

depressions with the bottom slightly convex; the four or more

which are over each of the depressions on the other side of the

valve being naturally brighter than the others, and corresponding

to the groups of larger spherules of Mr. Slack.

Mr. Charles Stodder also combats the doctrine that the silicious

matter in diatoms is always deposited in the spheroidal form. He

still believes that the markings on ordinary diatoms are depres-

sions and not elevations, and that the line of fracture is inclined

to run through them instead of between them, and he therefore

retains the terms “ cellules,” “ areolæ,” etc. His account of Eu-

podiscus Argus is so much like that of Mr. Wells, though published

independently, as to suggest the explanation that they have -

worked at the subject together. He finds two silicious coats, the

outer comparatively opaque and marked with large, thin apertures

through which could be seen the inner coat with its much finer

markings which vary according to focus and illumination from ®

spherical to a cellular appearance, and from a radiated to an irreg-

NOTES. 573

ular arrangement. Mr. Stodder used Tolles ry With Prof. Smith’s

opaque illuminator and Tolles 45 immersion, and he is convinced

that some parts of the valves are smooth, transparent, and struct-

ureless, without a trace of spherules.

NOTES.

WE print in this number the proceedings of the first meeting

of the Agassiz Natural History Club, organized by the students

of the Anderson School of Natural History at Penikese Island.

The school was, notwithstanding the unfinished state of the build-

ings, and many other temporary drawbacks, resulting from its

isolated situations, opened on the 8th of July, fifty students being

present. As we go to press the indications are that the need of

such a school has been fully demonstrated, and its future success

thoroughly assured. The nature of the work already done is such

as will tend to make each student an original investigator. A

large proportion of the members are teachers. They are learning

the art of observing for themselves, gaining an insight into the

modes and difficulties of research and obtaining some idea of the

vast extent of the field of biology. Even after the short term of

ten weeks they will return to their schools and colleges with a

new enthusiasm for science-teaching, which will inevitably, if we

mistake not, be shown in the other studies they may have to

teach.

Though the school, at the time of writing this note, has been

running but a fortnight, lectures on surface geology, the em-

bryology of vertebrates and articulates, on physiology, physical

Seography, on the microscope and its construction, with practical

lessons in its use, free hand drawing on the blackboard, zoologi-

cal and landscape drawing, and daily dredging excursions in the

yacht $* Sprite,” together with instructions in collecting and pre-

serving animals, have been given. The amount of laboratory

Work done is most satisfactory. Large aquaria are being set up

in the temporary laboratory, while the walls for the second dor-

mitory and laboratory are going up.

Certainly the most sanguine friends of the movement have every

reason to congratulate the founder and director of the school, with

_ those associated in the work of teaching, on the good prospects of

Pe. the experiment.

574 NOTES.

Proceepines of the Agassiz Natural History Club.—The first

meeting of the club was held July 24, 1873. President S. F.

Whitney in the chair.

Professor Agassiz, having been invited by the President to

favor the club with remarks and advice concerning the best

methods of work, responded very pleasantly.

Mr. E. C. Crosby read a short paper upon the genus Bufo. The

eggs of two specimens examined numbered 8840 and 2200 respe¢-

tively, counted under a lens magnifying four times. All appeared

black to the naked eye, but the lens showed half of them to be

ashy-brown. With a power of 75 diameters, the eggs were seen to

be spherical in shape and of various sizes; the interior of each of

a lighter color than its exterior. The stomach of one toad con-

tained eight orthopterous (Locustariz and Gryllidæ) insects and

fifty-three Amphipod crustaceans with much dead grass-like matter.

Some of the crustaceans were alive and moving in the stomach.

The intestine and the oviduct were each sixteen inches in length.

Reference was also made to the great comparative size of the

femoral muscles in this genus.

Mr. C. S. Minot said he also had noticed that in toads caught

near the beach, the stomach was filled with Gammarus ornatus.

In two specimens caught early in the morning the sand-fleas m

the anterior part of the stomach were still alive ; in others caught

just before noon they were all dead. He had also observed tee

in all the toads killed by chloroform, the heart continued beating,

after death; while just the opposite effect occurred in mammals.

Dr. Wilder stated that when turtles and toads were killed with

benzine the hearts would beat for several hours, although it, like

chloroform, always stops the action of the heart with mammals;

in one case a Chysemys picta was left for eighteen hours in 4 Jat

with an excess of benzine, yet the heart beat for several hours

after the animal was opened.

Dr. Wilder also suggested that the depth (2 to 5 inches) of the

hole in the turf, in which the toads are often found secreted during

the daytime, might be for the sake of protection from the salt

spray which must often sweep an unwooded island.

He further remarked upon the absence of any mollusks in the

omachs of those hitherto examined, although multitudes of small

Littorinas are left upon the seaweed and among the stones where

the Gammaroids occur.

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NOTES. 575

Mr. C. S. Minot presented specimens of stratified sand and

other soils from Nashaurna Islands. The remarks called out by

this item caused a digression to the subject of glacial scratches

upon which Prof. Agassiz made a few suggestions.

Mr. Straight offered a note upon the Supinator longus muscle

of vertebrates. According to both Meckel and Huxley, this

muscle is not found in dogs. Huxley mentioned it with a list of

muscles which are generally represented in the vertebrates above

fishes and which are well developed in man. Meckel names

various of the mammalia in which it is found, but says it is absent

in bats, the hyena, dog and some others. In dissecting the muscles

of the forearm of a Newfoundland dog, July 19th, his attention

was attracted by a peculiar strip of muscular fibre, scarcely three-

eighths of an inch in width. In tracing it out to its distal end it

was found to terminate in a small tendon, fully one-fourth the

length of the entire muscle. J udging from the position of this small

muscle Prof. Wilder unhesitatingly pronounced it the rudiment of

the muscle known to anatomists as the “ Supinator longus.” It

was so small that it would have been of very little if any use to

the dog. It will be of interest to ascertain in what races of dogs

this muscle is present, and in what absent, as we must admit it

was absent in those dogs examined by Meckel and Huxley.

e President hoped that sometime the club would possess

a library of reference and a cabinet for comparison. Prof. Agassiz

explained in reply, that by the terms of Mr. Anderson’s gift, it

Was possible to make the library and collections of the Museum

at Cambridge, at some time, available to the Anderson School.

Professor Fernald made some interesting statements on the

habits of Crepidula formicata Lam., upon being irritated.

Miss Shattuck reported the addition of Betula alba, var. to the

list of the flora of the island.

Is it not a little strange that we should not have in this country

4 first class zoological garden? The nearest approach is the

Collection of animals in the Central Park, New York. Between

April 1, 1870, and April 1, 1871, there were about 175 animals in

this collection; they were placed in a series of buildings which

- Surround the Museum and comprise one for the carnivora, one for

the birds and monkeys, open air sheds for the bears, wolves,

ete., roomy and open air cages for the eagles, domestic fowls, ete.,

576 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. BOOKS RECEIVED.

and an enclosed building for the elephants, camels, and various

tropical animals.

Proressor Marsun, with a large scientific party from Yale Col-

lege, left New Haven June 5th to continue his researches in verte-

brate fossils in the Rocky Mountain region. A successful trip to

the pliocene beds of the Niobrara river has already been made

and the party are now exploring the eocene deposits near the

Uintah Mountains. They will probably not return east before

December.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

H. W. H., Penn.—The plants sent for examination are as follows: No. 1, Osmunda

regalis L.; No. 2, Asplenium pinnatifidum Nutt.; No. 3, Melilotus alba Lam.—R. H. W.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Report of the Bye ical Survey of the State of New Hampshire, posta its gnre during

~~ 1872. . Hitehcoe ahs pp. 15. Nashua, odes

ea agora ha on Py Boston iingie of y. v, Part -Dec., et 1973.

lain or Aadi PES Ay the Art of Shooting on the Wing. hg Le Pew Je at

Third Annua the Noxious Insects of the State of Ilinois. By William LeBar'

8vo, pp. 73. S rimh eta, Ts73. rbonif-

Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History. Vol. ii, Part II, No.3. On the Ca een AS

pesg ig tie 6 e Lage rved in the Sigillarian Stumps of Nova Scotia. By Samuel H. Seu!

o, pp. 9. Boston, 1

Carcinoloyiske Bidrag til Norges Fauna. By G.O. Sars. I. Monographi over de v na ges

Kyster Forekommende eater Andet pere fol pp. 34. With 3 plates. Christiania, 15 Von

Die Pflanzenwelt Norwegens, Ein Betra r Nat nd Culturgeschichte Nord- Ur opas

Po oE. tem re 4to, pp. 88. Mit 11 cen cat Illustrationen. Christiania, 1875. ita

orekomster af Kise ioe ne ere i Norge. 4to, pp.97. Med 3 Plancher og Flere Træ

The Ancient Vessel found in A E Parish of Tune, Norway. 4to, pp.6. Christiania, 1872.

Cantate ved det “Kongelige Ag ti it Jone ne iriver Ai Mindeyest for Hans Majestxt Kong

4to,

isch- Cultur enar Von M.G. Setting. ree p. 20. Christiania, A

Tate ved Universitets Mindefest for Kong Carl. At R. “BP. Kristi-

ania, 1872 e. 8Y0,

Dét Kongelige N Borate Teda Universitets Aarsberetning for Aaret 1871, med Bilag €

pp. 144. risti

Almindelig Norsk Huus-Kalender med Primstar og Merkedage. 16mo. Christiania, 1859.

On the Rise of Land in Scandinavia. 8vo, pp- 1 17. Christiania, 1872. ocesser

pr ofseorsimentager til Concurrence om den icinische Professorpost. ma SygdomeP ik og

i Hornhinden. Af J acob E Stands pp. 8. atatan MP aa venerelte “ay e

burg. pp.)

bara dn ar. Teynene, gern Udgangen samt Behandli ingen af Fractura cranii. At Johan Hjort.

pp. |, tlO,

ripen ey prego ge Udstilling for Aoo Stift. 8vo, pp. 162. - Kristiania, 1872.

ke Krume Aarbog for Ci fae pp. 139. Rall. 3 — oe

Om Kurvmager-Arbeide Cc ining. p. 60. Christiania, 1

Stolevanentts Ordning i chusetts. Af pad lyre wo p. 92. Christiania, age

Ber weg | om Det Kongelige Selskab for Norges Vel, dets Tilstand og Virksomhed i Aar

Tidsskrift reto iie: ermstillinger af Naturvidenskaben, Fourth Series, Vol. V»

pp. 161-2 n, 1873.

anthly Report of the Pees et of Agricuiture i July, 1873. Svo. Washington.

paea o Miera grer iy Si apical ‘Science.

Louis. ope

‘ansactions e

Louis. Vol. iii, No.1. 1574 Any ye reed et BB.

- Grevillea, London. July, 1873. Le Naturaliste Canadien. Quebec. dna New

_ Entomologist’s Monthly ‘Magazine, June, July, = an Journal of Science and

Aug., tural Sci-

Journal of Botany. uly, 1873. p ‘of the Buffalo Society of Na

Nature. London. Per Be” ences. Buffalo. f Vol. aii 1873.

pena and Water. London. July 5-19, 1873, = Horticulturist. Aug. 18

London. July 5-19, 5-19, 1873. American Bee Journal. Chinen Ang. er

‘ae i al Sciences, Phil- Journal v4 the Franklin

ak peie

1873.

Paris. July 19, 26, 1873. Pi ally Moniy. Philadelphia. Aug. 1873.

Pt. 3.

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.— OCTOBER, 1873.— No. 10.

CEG ORDOD I~

SCIENCE IN AMERICA AND MODERN METHODS

CIENCE.*

BY DR. J. LAWRENCE SMITH.

Fellow-associates :— We meet again at a point far distant from

the one where we gathered last year, to interchange social greet-

ings and scigntific thoughts, and to form plans for future labor

and usefulness. Fifteen hundred miles divide Dubuque from

Portland, as the bird flies, and yet that extent of country and

much more are all our own. Its living and dead treasures, with its

rocks and its soil, furnish abundant study for our men of science,

from which to draw rich stores of knowledge, and to direct the

capital of the country to new sources of wealth.

As the members of the American Association for the Advance-

ment of Science hold their session for a few days only, and

occupy a portion of their time in interchange of social greetings

among themselves and with the inhabitants of the city where they

meet, that critical examination of papers communicated to the

Association cannot be entered upon that otherwise would be, nor

can the length of the communications and discussions be easily

limited. In fact, while ‘it would be desirable to supervise these

matters more fully, such supervision is surrounded with so many

difficulties that those whose business it is are forced to content

themselves with an imperfect discharge of their duty.

* An Address to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, by the

Retiring President. Delivered at Portland, Maine, August 22, 1873.

iets casas Te of Co in the year 1813, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

CIENCE, in the Office of the Librarian of ongress ai

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 3 (577)

578 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

This too often gives rise to unjust criticisms on the part of the

press, whose reporters attend the meetings with the same views as

those with which they would enter a learned body of scientific

men, who meet at stated periods, with short intervals, and where

both time and sound criticism are bestowed upon such investiga-

tions as are communicated.

This association, in some sense, is to be regarded as an annual

scientific féte, where the interchange of ideas outside the audience-

room suggests as much, if not more, stern matter for reflection

as the communications which may be read; the minds of men

that have been on the stretch during the year are relaxed, and

fresh pabulum and new vigor are furnished for the coming year.

It sometimes happens that many persons who attend our meetings

gather erroneous impressions from them as to what the scientific

men of the country are doing, and go away questioning themselves

whether or not scientific societies and associations have, after all,

done much for science; and conclude that while the men forming

them have made many important investigations, and published them

for the benefit of succeeding ages, it is to practical and obscure per-

sons that the world is indebted for its great discoveries.

I allude to this here, as it is but recently that I have seen this

assertion made in an article calculated to attract the attention of

the masses, and the author of that article illustrates the fact by

citing Clarke, Fulton and Morse. Now, while all honor is due to

those men of skilland genius, I would ask— Who gave them the

fulerums on which they placed their levers, by which they have

wrought so much in practical science and the arts of life? Jt was

pure science. Without its aid Clarke’s practical skill would have

failed him in constructing his huge astronomical lenses; it is to

the experiments on latent heat in the laboratory of Black that we

owe the present steam-engine, and without which Fulton would

never have ruffled the water of our rivers nor stemmed the winds

of the ocean; and without the scientific thought and the grand,

though inconspicuous, experiments of Galvani, Volta, Oersted,

Faraday, Henry and others, no one would have ever dreamt of

making a swift messenger of the lightning.

My thoughts on. this subject have led me to reflect much upon

scientific training in this country, both for those wishing tO

pursue science as a profession as well as for those desiring it only

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MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 579

There are, no doubt, serious errors in the scientific training

that students undergo at our various universities and schools,

which are too much in the habit of making short cuts in going

_ over the fields of science. We are in fact a fast people, as it is

commonly expressed, and are not content to devote patient and

laborious study to pursuits that can only be mastered in that way.

A short time ago, a physician writing on this same error in rela-

tion to his profession justly said that, while we have shortened

distance by the railroad and the telegraph, the road to learning is

the same as it was in the days of Socrates and Plato.

The student is restless to become instructor, the lecture-room

enticing him from his studies before they are half mastered ; con-

Sequently his instruction to others is both meagre and imperfect.

Our vast material interests draw the students from their labora-

tories to undertake the conducting of mines and other important

works. The consequence is, bad economy reigns in most of

them ; and if it were not for the patient submission of the people

of this country to high prices, many an enterprise would have to

Suspend operations.

But it is at the door of the educational institutions themselves

that the greatest blame is to be placed. First of all, our univer-

sities (or rather our so-called universities) are too numerous.

owadays every college must have a scientific school attached,

else-it is not thought complete; and the number of professors

competent to fill the scientific chairs in all these institutions could

not be easily supplied in this country. Were it possible, it would

be far better to have fewer scientific schools, and to establish

them on the broadest basis, with most liberal endowments, so that

instruction could be imparted at some mere nominal cost to the

Student, and to make their examinations of such a standard that

the indorsement of these several schools would be a passport to

the bearer of it wherever he might seek for employment in pure

Science or in its applications. And furthermore, by a system of

Well-endowed scholarships, to retain those specially gifted with

taste and talent for pure science to devote their first years to

labor in that direction. Owing to these defects in our system of

Scientific education, American science is frequently reproached as

being very deficient in pure and patient research.

Now, while admitting that our. scientists have fallen short of

_ What might have been expected of them, no one can deny that a

580 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

vast amount of scientific labor has been accomplished in this

country from the time of Franklin to the present day ; and in the

application of science to the arts we are not far behind the most

advanced nation of our own time.

I know that American scientists are looked upon by their Eu-

ropean colleagues as in some sense piratical in their nature, sim-

ply capturing the hard-earned labors of others, applying the great

truths and discoveries in science others have brought to light, and

not evolving them by hard and laborious study and experiment.

This is to some extent true, for the labors required of our profes-

sors, who have educated and trained minds, in the countless col-

leges that dot the land, are so onerous that no time is given them

for the exercise of original thought and investigation.

What can a physicist, a chemist or naturalist, do who has three

or four classes to teach, usually in the most elementary part of

their studies? The very labor unfits him for that free exercise of

the mind which leads to new ideas and discoveries. He becomes an

educational drudge instead of an intellectual scientist ; and what-

ever his intrinsic merits may be, he is in most cases sustained,

pecuniarily, no better than those engaged in the commonest pur-

suits of life, being at the same time restricted in intellectual re-

sources — such as books, scientific transactions, apparatus, etc.

I will, however, just here make one other plea for our men of

science against any unjust comparison with those across the At-

lantic. Itis this. Our country is a new one, of most peculiar and

wonderful features of surface, of soil, and of climate, and of un-

told and fabulous wealth within its bowels; it beckons every man

to fortune; and with such ease are wealth and honors snatched

from its overflowing lap that even men who love and honor

science are drawn off their direct paths into by-ways and other

pursuits, and too often leave behind them the scientific toga, which

is never again assumed. In Europe it is otherwise; no tempta-

tions of this kind beset the scientist, and he delves into scientific

lore, acquiring great ideas and telling them to the world, exciting

their wonder; and even then the honors they acquire only bin

them faster to their closets, for they are not tempted as we are-

In later years the liberality of wealthy patrons of learning and

science has done much to advance pure science in this country by

- enabling the young and enthusiastic pursuers after Nature’s secrets

to give full scope to their tastes, and thus has opened to them new

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MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 581

fields of research so enticing that their entire lives may become

absorbed in them. This is increasing every day in our country,

and before very long there will be such inducements to offer to

her greater minds to devote their lives to pure science that

America will become as prolific in new scientific ideas and discov-

eries as Europe.

Let us ever bear in mind that it is abstract scientific ideas which

underlie, in these modern days, all discoveries conducive to man’s

progress, from the making of a pen to the construction of a tele-

scope; or, as Herbert Spencer well expresses it, ‘* each machine

is a theory before it becomes a concrete fact.” The man of pure

science paves the way, erects the mile-stones, and puts up the

_ guide-post for the practical man. The world, long dormant to

this great truth, is fast waking up to its acknowledgment; as

those words Cui bono? (the touch-stone used by the so-called

practical men) are only heard now in faint whispers, where they

were formerly sounded most clamorously whenever any scientific

discovery was announced.

This does not arise from any change in men; they are the same

now as they were in the days of Galvani, who was doubtless re-

garded as a frivolous fellow, engaged in his daily experiments over

. the convulsions of the muscles in a frog’s leg when brought in con-

tact with two metals; but, while mankind has not changed, Gal-

vani’s experiment has, and instead of a frog being conyulsed by

the electric force then discovered it is a world that is now con-

vulsed, as this same electricity flashes through those nerves of

metal that stretch across land and river and bury themselves deep

beneath the oceans of our globe; battles are fought, victories an-

nounced, commerce controlled, and, I am sorry to say, tyranny

abetted, by that wonderful agent whose phenomena in their incip-

iency invited the ridicule of the ordinary observer.

Science at the present day commands the respect of the world ;

nations, looking up to it, seek its advice at all times, and move

in no material enterprises without consulting its oracles; yellow-

= Covered literature is beginning to find a rival in well-conducted

aera scientific journals and popular treatises on the various

ches of science. :

s an association of American scientists, we are looked upon

as men representing science in all its bearings upon the physical

and mental world, and some even go so far as to suppose that we

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582 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

would arrogate to represent its bearings equally upon the spiritual

world. This being the case, it behooves us to guard well our

thoughts, words, and acts, else they may do science and ourselves

injustice, and misrepresent both Nature and Nature’s God.

We are all searchers after truth: but let us be careful that we

do not mistake what truth is, and be beguiled into following some

fatal error which has simply borrowed the garb of truth, and com-

pletely enveloped itself in it, so as to hide its own deformity.

Error has often glimmer enougli to dazzle the sickly eye of the

enthusiast ; truth itself shines with sufficient brightness to be seen

by the most jealous among scientists.

While it would not be out of place to review the activity of

American science for the benefit of: the general public, yet it

would occupy too much time, and I will merely refer to it to show

that our Government is fully alive to the value of well-directed

scientific labors. The Government never hesitates to encourage

the most thorough investigations by scientific men into all mat-

ters that are likely to benefit the people or advance those great

scientific investigations which are of a more abstract character.

Witness the care and liberality with which it encourages that

corps of scientists engaged in the gigantic enterprise of the coast

survey in all its various departments; its liberal appropriation of

money and means to observe those great astronomical phenom-

ena, such as solar eclipses, the transit of Venus, etc., which, while

they may not be attended with any immediate material advantage

to the Government, yet serve to instruct our people in those

higher and nobler aspirations after great natural truths which

must inevitably result in unfolding to us the riches of our land,

teeming with every diversified beauty of mountain, valley, and

plain, seas, lakes, and rivers, and, beneath her surface, with all the

variety of wealth that Nature seems to have been able to produce.

While the older portions of the world are making serious calcula-

tions, and even looking forward with gloomy forebodings to the

time when their soil and rocks will cease to give wealth to toil, our

‘soil and our rocks are but just being turned up to reveal wealth

tenfold greater than the world ever knew before. But in the midst

of all this abundance let us feel assured of one thing; it is so placed

that no sluggard can stretch forth his hand and partake of it.

~ The wealth of America means toil. And perhaps in this we

a ate eyen r more blessed than we sometimes are disposed to to think;

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 583

for the rich soil which covers such a vast proportion of our coun-

try, some of the states of which, like Illinois, with 55,000 square

miles .of surface, have hardly a barren acre, yet we can pluck

nothing from it; it is not like the tropical forest, from which the

indolent natives may gather their food, and live a life of inertia

almost akin to that of the beasts that wander through its rich

foliage. In this country the arm must be stretched forth, the

forest felled, the ground ploughed, provision made against the

inclemency of varying seasons, but when this is done what a

glorious return !— rich and luxurious crops, abundant harvests.

Then, by the numerous navigable streams and favorable surface

for roads, a ready market is afforded for the farmer’s surplus. And

when we go beneath the soil.and mine the ‘rock it is not only

the uncertain gold and silver, but the sure coal and iron that

reward toil, and from the very nature of the labor improve those

engaged in it. :

As followers and patrons of science we must keep in view the

wants and wishes of the people. Sometimes the people them-

if Selves, as well as their representatives, are slow to appreciate

our labors ; but experience has proved that they give way at last

to the patient and judicious perseverance of men of science, who

in some way or other show that they are not mere abstractionists,

but that what they do has practical bearings, and therefore renders

the people more powerful both at home and abroad. Science fur-

nishes, so to speak, the raw material out of which all the progress

of modern nations is constructed. To use the words of one of our

Nestors of science: ‘It is only in recent times that the value of

Scientific research hegan to be felt; and I hope to live, old as I

am, long enough to see the community, the enlightened commu-

nity which has become my second fatherland, appreciate what

Science is doing for the general prosperity, and then contribute to

the necessities of science with that generous liberality which char-

ee SS,

Thus much has been said in t » to science in America,

acknowledging our shortcomings 4 tempting to correet cer-

tain erroneous impressions, both in America and abroad, in regard

to the labor ‘of scientists in this country. It may appear an at-

tempt on, my part to urge undue excuses; such certainly is far

om my intention; which is to do simple justice to those prose-

cuting science under more or less disadvantageous circumstances.

584 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

I now pass to the second part of my discourse—the methods

of modern science—the caution to be observed in pursuing it,

if we do not wish to pervert its end by too confident assertions

and deductions.

It is a very common attempt nowadays for scientists to tran-

scend the limits of their legitimate studies, and in doing this they

run into speculations apparently the most unphilosophical, wild,

and absurd; quitting the true basis of inductive philosophy, and

building up the most curious theories on little else than assertion ;

speculating upon the merest analogy; adopting the curious views

of some metaphysicians, like Edward Von Hartmann; striving to

work out speculative results by the inductive method of natural

science. To me this appears a perversion of Bacon’s philosophy,

and we cannot wonder that one.adopting such views, whatever his

claim to genius may be, soon cuts loose from all physical reason-

ing and becomes involved in the most transcendental and to all

appearances absurd opinions, which, however clear to the author,

are strange and unintelligible to others; and if at any one time

we believe we have caught the conception of the author, this

impression is only momentary, and we give up in despair, realiz-

ing that we cannot follow his intellectual ecstasies; for, in the

language of Tyndall, they are even “ unthinkable.” Those en-

gaged in such speculations are very commonly found in bitter

conflict with each other, forcing on us the belief of the saying of

D’Alembert, that “when absurd opinions become inveterate it

sometimes becomes necessary to replace them by other errors, if

nothing better can be done.”

his extreme metaphysical philosophy is referred to for the rea-

son that many scientists, ranking as sober, earnest laborers after

truth, are caught dealing in such philosophy in their method of

investigation, and sometimes, quite unconsciously to themselves,

forgetting that “science is only an accurate record of the proc-

esses of nature; that its laws are only generalizations of its

observations, and not a declaration of an inherent necessity ;

and that one of its vations is the uniformity of natural `

sequence.” r

I am one of those who believe that everything must give way

to the laws of nature; but then we must master these laws, and be

sure that we have done this before either interpreting phenomena

by them or venturing into the realm of speculation.

SS SS I aR Oe ee Se a > ote en ee el me OR aa BR nr a a Lene, | = =

F a oS ron TS Sn ae ie WS oe ea ae poe a eS ag de ae Ba ay oo) oe Stan se Pe es eee le

3 See ie Sey ee Str ee Nee ie E i pee eae ke

a Bar See S Mae on L

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 585

As has been already remarked, men are to-day just what they

have ever been. As bright intellects and as great philosophers

lived two or three thousand years ago as do now; their minds

sought out the same great truths that we are searching for in

these days, and they sought for them by the lights with which

they were surrounded. In those earlier ages poetry, sculpture,

architecture, and even some facts belonging to natural history

(things that belonged either to the imagination or to the eye),

arrived at as high a degree of perfection as perhaps they ever

will; for the two’ senses which appreciate the ideal and the real

were as perfect then as now.

But when man was called upon to labor in fields where the im-

agination and the eye aided him but little or not at all, then the

discoveries in these fields and their interpretations call for other

means for arriving at results. In modern days we attempt to be

guided by the clear light of inductive reasoning which we may

think we are employing, when too often it is the very smoky torch

of analogy that is being used ; and this fact serves to explain why

it is that some of the most brilliant philosophers of compara-

tively modern days are only remembered by their names—as, for

example the great French philosopher Descartes, whom Dugald

Stewart Says ‘‘is much better known to the learned of our day by

the boldness of his exploded errors than by the profound and im-

portant truths contained in his works.”

d such an example as this is of great value to the reflective

mind, teaching caution, and demonstrating the fact that, while the

Tules by which we are guided in scientific research are far in ad-

vance of those of ancient days, we must not conclude that they

are perfect by any means. In our modern method of investigation

Ow Many conspicuous examples of deception we have had in pur-

Suing even the best method of investigation! Take, for instance,

the science of geology from the time of Werner to the present

day. While we always thought we had the true interpretation of

the structural phenomena of the globe as we progressed from year

‘Present day from what they were in the time of Werner! In

Chemistry the same thing is true. How clearly were all things

explained to the chemist of the last century by the doctrine of

togiston which in the present century receives no credence, while

‘emical phenomena are now viewed in an entirely different light!

586 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

Lavoisier, in the latter part of the last century, elucidated the

phenomenon of respiration and the production of animal heat by

one of the most beautiful of theories, based, to all appearances,

upon well observed facts; yet at the present day more delicate

observations, and the discovery of the want of balance between

the inhaled oxygen and exhaled carbonic acid subverted that

beautiful theory, and we are left entirely without one. It is true

we have collated a number of facts in regard to respiration, molec-

ular changes in the tissues, ete., all of which are recognized as

having something to do with animal heat; still it is acknowledged

that we are incapable of giving any concrete expression to the

phenomenon of respiration and animal heat as Lavoisier did

eighty or ninety years ago.

Electricity is the same now as it has ever been, yet it was once

spoken of as a fluid, then as a force, now as an energy readily

convertible into caloric or mechanical energy ; and in what light

it will be considered fifty years hence no one can predict.

Now what I desire to enforce here is that, amid all these changes

and revolutions of theories, so called, it is simply man, the inter-

preter, that has erred, and not Nature; her laws are the same ; we

simply have not been able to read them correctly, and perhaps

never shall be. ;

What, it may be asked, are we to do then? Must we cease the-

orizing? Not at all. The lesson to be learned from this is, to be

more modest in our generalizations; to generalize as far as our

carefully made out facts will permit us, and no farther; to check

e imagination and not to let it run riot and shipwreck us upon

some metaphysical quicksand.

The fact is, it becomes a question whether there is such a thing

as a pure theory in science. No true scientific theory deserves

the name that is not based on verified hypotheses ; in fact, it is

but a concise interpretation of the deductions of scientific facts.

Dumas has well said that theories are like crutches, the strength

of them to be tested by attempting to walk with them. And

might farther add that very often scientists, who are without sure-

footed facts to carry them along, take to these crutches.

It is common to speak of the theory of gravitation, when there

is nothing purely hypothetical in connection with the manner in

which. it is studied ; in it we only see a clear generalization of ob-

served laws which govern the mutual attraction of bodies. If at

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 587

any time Newton did assume an hypothesis, it was only for the

purpose of facilitating his calculations. ‘* Newton’s passage from

the falling of an apple to the falling of a moon was at the outset a

leap of the imagination ;” but it was this hypothesis, verified by

mathematics, which gave to the so-called theory of gravitation its

present status.

In regard to light, we are in the habit of connecting with it a

pure hypothesis ; viz., the impressions of light being produced by

emission from luminous bodies, or by the undulation of an all-

pervading attenuated medium; and these hypotheses are to be

regarded as probable so long as the phenomena of light are

explained by them, and no longer. The failure to explain one

single well-observed fact is sufficient to cast doubt upon or subvert

any pure hypothesis, as has been the case with the emission theory

of light, and may be the fate of the undulatory theory, which,

however, up to the present time serves in all cases.

A theory or scientific speculation, to possess any great weight,

must receive universal assent by those minds capable of investi-

gating the subject. Thus the undulatory theory of light is univer-

Sally accepted as representing the true nature of the operation of

ight, so far as we are now able to interpret its phenomena.

Zodlogists equally learned will agree perfectly as regards the

physical structure of an ape and a man, and thus far their results

are entitled to universal acceptance ; but some of the same zoolo-

gists, by the exercise of the imagination and ingenious analogical

reasoning, deduce the man from the ape, while the others cannot

See nor recognize any such transformation. In this way both

Classes present themselves to the curious world, and gather around

them Supporters ; and, like too many cases in our courts of law,

the greatest number are convinced not so much by the law or jus-

tice of the case, as by the ingenuity and special pleading of the

legal advocates.

‘At is not my object to criticise the speculations of any one or

more of the modern scientists who have carried their investiga-

tions into the world of the imagination; in fact, it could not be

done in a discourse so limited in time as this, and only intended

= 88 a prologue to our present meeting. But in order to illustrate

this subject of method more fully I will refer to Darwin, whose

name has become synonymous with progressive development and

oe er a: bere on er daa oP pew A ee Yee ng, F TU gee ee ae go) Wea LS a ee Oe, ee a geo eee ara p= ae

588 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

natural selection, which, as we had thought, died out with Lamarck

fifty years ago.

In Darwin we have one of those philosophers whose great

knowlédge of animal and vegetable life is only transcended by

his imagination. In fact, he is to be regarded more as a metaphy-

sician with a highly-wrought imagination than as a scientist, al-

though a man having a most wonderfal knowledge of the facts of

natural history.

In England and America we find scientific men of the profound-

est intellects differing completely in regard to his logic, analogies

and deductions ; in Germany and France the same thing —in the

former of these countries some speeulators saying that ‘ his theo-

ry is our starting-point” and in France many of her best scientific

men not ranking the labors of Darwin with those of pure science.

Darwin takes up the law of life and runs it into progressive

development. In doing this he seems to me to increase the embar-

rassment which surrounds us on looking into the mysteries of cre-

ation. He is not satisfied to leave the laws of life where he finds

them, or to pursue their study by logical and inductive reasoning.

His method of reasoning will not allow him to remain at rest; he

must be moving onward in his unification of the universe. He

started with the lower orders of animals, and brought them through

their various stages of progressive development until he supposed

he had touched the confines of man; he then seems to have re-

coiled, and hesitated to pass the boundary which separated man

m the lower orders of animals; but he saw that all hjs previous

logic was bad if he stopped there, so man was made from the `

ape (with which no one can find fault, if the descent be legiti-

mate). This stubborn logic pushes him still farther, and he must

find some connecting link with that most remarkable property

of the human face called expression; so his ingenuity bas given

us a very curious and readable treatise on that subject. Yet still

another step must be taken in this linking together man and the

lower orders of animals; it is in connection with language; and

before long it is- not unreasonable to expect another production

from that most wonderful and ingenious intellect on the connec-

tion between the language of man and the brute creation.

~ Let us see for a moment to what this reasoning from anal-

ogy would lead us, if applied to chemical science, which mvt

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 589

gates a great variety of compounds that exhibit most curious

4 analogies in all their properties. Take for instance soda and

a potash — how identical in almost all their properties, and their

2 compounds arraying themselves in identically the same form, de-

i. fying almost all the senses to detect. their difference: if they be

brought into relation with other elements, they associate them-

selves with these elements in identically the same way. The

same is true in relation to baryta-and strontia, or chlorine, bro-

mine and iodine; the last three elements even show most curious

numerical relations in regard to their combining proportions.

And then when we pass to the mineral kingdom, what a wonder-

ful property is that isomorphism in the chemistry of Nature’s

operations !

The chemist, with all these facts before him, has as much right

to revel in the imaginary formation of sodium from potassium, or

iodine and bromine from chlorine, by a process of development,

and call it science, as the naturalist has to.revel in many of his

wild speculations, or the physicist who studies the stellar space

to imagine it permeated by mind as well as light — mind such as

has formed the poet, the statesman, or the philosopher.

Yet any chemist who would quit his method of investigation, of

marking every foot of his advance by some indelible imprint, and

go back to the speculations of Albertus Magnus, Roger Bacon,

and other alchemists of former ages, would soon be dropped from

the list of chemists and ranked with dreamers and speculators.

To prove the truth of my assertion, that this is the legitimate

result of this school of philosophy, I will quote from one of its

disciples, F. W. Clarke. He says: ‘ When one is fairly started

on a line of thought it is hard to come to an end. If we assume

an hypothesis to be true, a hundred others rush in upon the mind

and demand consideration. We do not know but that the evolu-

tion of one element from another may be possible. The demon-

Strated unity of force leads us by analogy to expect a similar

nity of eb Those elements which seem to-day so diverse in

may be after all one in essence; at present it can

neither be discarded as false nor accepted as true

What is most remarkable in connection with the above opinion

_is that the author of it is commenting on matter, in connection

With the spectroscope, an instrament whose very triumphs are

ased on the grand distinguishing lines in the elements of matter,

590 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

whether in the earth, sun, stars, or nebulæ, all telling the same

dissimilarity and no coalescence.

Is this to be one of the methods of modern science, I would

ask? While in our ignorance and short-sightedness we should be

careful in pronouncing any assumption as possible or impossible,

still there is no reason why these terms should have much or any

weight in the study of science; for in the abstract all things in

nature are possible, not from any demonstration, but simply

because no one can assert an impossibility. What a mass of con-

fusion science would become if we studied its possibilities! for

then every conceivable possibility would be entitled to equal con-

sideration. And we are not therefore surprised that the author

last quoted should say, “ So then we may proceed to theorize in

the most barefaced manner, without quitting the legitimate do-

*main of science.” i

Are we to introduce into science a kind of purgatory into which

to place undemonstrable speculations, and keep them there in a

state of probation, and say that science cannot discard a theory

as false when it cannot be accepted as true? Science, which is

preéminently the pursuit of truth, has but one course to pursue:

it must either accept or reject what may be thrust upon it.

What I have said is, in my humble opinion, warranted by the

departure Darwin and others have made from true science in their

purely speculative studies; and neither he nor any other searcher

atter truth expects to hazard great and startling opinions without

at the same time courting and desiring criticism; yet dissension

from his views in no way proves him wrong —it only shows how

his ideas impress the minds of other men. And just here let me

contrast the daring of Darwin with the position assumed by one

of the great French naturalists of the present day, Professor

Quatrefages, in a recent discourse on the physical character of

the human race. In referring to the question of the first origin

of man he says distinetly that in his opinion it is one that belongs —

not to science; these questions are treated by theologians and

philosophers: “ Neither here nor at the Museum am I, nor do I

wish to be, either a theologian or a philosopher. I am simply a

man of science ; and it is in the name of comparative physiology,

_ of botanical and zoological geography, of geology and palæontol-

Oey, in the name of the laws which govern man as well as animals

3, tata have Te spoken.” And studying man as 4.

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 591

scientist, he goes on to say: “It is established that man has two

grand faculties of which we find not even a trace among animals.

He alone has the moral sentiment of good and evil; he alone

believes in a future existence succeeding this actual life; he

alone believes in beings superior to himself, that he has never

Seen, and that are capable of influencing his life for good or evil;

in other words, man alone is endowed with morality and religion.”

And it may be added that Hartmann, a philosopher of another

school, says, selection explains the progress in perfection of an

already existing type within its own degrees of organization, but

it cannot explain the passage from an inferior degree of organiza-

tion to a superior one.

If Prof. Quatrefages be right in “regard to the moral sentiment

in man, then Darwin must be wr ong in asserting the development

of man out of that in which not a trace exists of what most .

preéminently constitutes a man; or he must satisfy himself with

evolving the physical part of man out of the lower order of

animals, and then by some creative force implanting within him

these principles.

Our own distinguished naturalist and associate, Prof. Agassiz,

reverts to this theory of evolution in the same positive manner,

and with such earnestness and warmth as to call forth severe

editorial criticisms, by speaking of it as a “mere mine of asser-

tion,” and of “the danger of stretching inferences from a few

observations to a wide field,” and he is called upon to collect

“real observations to disprove the evolution hypothesis.” I

would here remark, in defence of my distinguished friend, that

Scientific investigation will assume a curious phase when its vota-

ries are required to occupy time in looking up facts, and seriously

attempting to disptove any and every hypothesis based upon

Proof, some of it not even rising to the dignity of circumstantial

evidence. :

I have dwelt longer on this one point than I had intended ; but

the very popular manner in which in recent years it has been pre-

Sented to the public mind of all classes of society, and to persons

of all ages, warranted a full notice in speaking of the importance

of avoiding, as far as possible, undue speculation in connection

With our method of scientific investigation.

Let me not be understood to underrate the brilliant ideas and

_. teat learning of those most distinguished men of the nineteenth

592 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

century, Darwin, Huxley and others. I am too great a respecter

of both science and the pursuit of science ever to encourage by

my example anything like dogmatism among scientific men.

While arraying methods of study in other branches of science to

combat those employed by the followers of the evolution hypothe-

sis, I most willingly indorse what Tyndall says concerning it, viz:

‘I do not think the evolution hypothesis is to be flouted away

contemptuously ; I do not think it is to be denounced as wicked.

Fear not the evolution hypothesis! it does not solve, it does not

profess to solve, the ultimate mystery of the universe. It leaves

in fact that mystery untouched.” If it be grounded on truth, it

will survive all attempts to overthrow it; if based on error, it will

disappear, as many so-called scientific facts have done before.

Science is a progressive study. It does not dogmatically pro-

nounce itself as infallible; it is at all times ready to admit what

has been once rejected, if it return clothed with truthful demon-

stration which science properly calls for as a passport to admission

into its domain.

I would also caution my associates to avoid carefully what may

be called the pride of modern science ; for so rapid have been the

discoveries of science during the last century, crowding upon us

especially during the past twenty-five years, that we are apt to

become bewildered and dazzled, and cry out in unbounded enthu-

siasm: Great is the god Science! it revealeth all things to us,

and we will consecrate our talent and our time to its worship. The

marvellous discoveries in chemistry, geology, electricity, light,

etc., have lifted the veil that concealed from us so many of

ature’s secrets that we are almost baffled in our attempt to

systematize them. The wonderful organic compounds ; the disin-

terring of curious records of past ages ; thé obedient and sub-

missive lightning that carries our messages ; that wonderful light,

so quiet in its operations, yet so powerful to reveal the chemistry

of the universe ; and the conservation of force —all these, I say,

bewilder the mind so that we rev el in building bright air-castles,

almost losing our mental equilibrium. Of all scientists of the

present day the chemists perhaps have kept a more stable equilib-

rium than any other class, starting out with a fixed law to govern

them in regard to what are considered elements, never in any M-

ntäñce tolerating the development or transmutation of one element

of another, however remarkable the analogy they may exhibit

-e

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 593

in the material constitution of all known substances, and recog-

nizing them as the same whether in the earth or in the sun.

I would, therefore, caution against too great enthusiasm, for we

are far more ignorant than we sometimes suppose. In fact, true

philosophy dictates to its followers humility, and that it is the

province of ignorance to believe that it knows everything, while

the philosopher is aware that he knows little or nothing.

While we are prying into space, and studying the matter, size,

and movements of the heavenly bodies far beyond our own uni-

verse, we leave behind us a vast number of things that have baffled

our scrutiny and defied both science and metaphysics. When we

look at our bodies, without reference to the consciousness that is

within, but merely studying what relates to our physical parts,

how many things concerning it we have not discovered !

While occupied, the early part of this year, in reflecting upon the

conservation of force and certain meteoric phenomena connected

with the sun, my attention was frequently drawn to the small-

pox that was then in the form of a violent epidemic around me.

Seeing persons being vaccinated who had in their childhood

been subjected to the same operation, and observing in the vast

majority of cases the failure of the production of any effect, I

asked myself the question: How are we to rank that mysterious

agent which, when brought to bear upon the system, in however

minute a quantity, not only permeates every fibre and cell in every

part of the body, but is never lost? for when through years every

particle of the body (with perhaps the exception of the teeth and

a part of the bones) has been renewed over and over again, yet,

as each particle gave place to a new one, this vaccine energy (if I

may so call it) was imparted to the new matter, and so on through

life. Here then was the conservation of a force as mysterious in

its course and operation, and as hard to be understood, as that of

Motion, light, or any other of the recognized forms of the energies

of matter.

Yes! after we have studied the heavens and all contained

therein that the aided eye can reach, we shall yet have to de-

scend to earth and study the every-day physical phenomena that

are in and around men, finding even greater mysteries to unravel

that meet our unaided senses every moment of our existence.

I come now to the last point to which I wish to call the atten-

tion of the members of the association in the pursuit of their in-

` AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 38

594 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

vestigations, and the speculations to which these give rise in their

minds.

Reference has already been made to the tendency of quitting

the physical to revel in the metaphysical, which, however, is not

peculiar to this age, for it belonged as well to the times of Plato

and Aristotle as it does to ours. More special reference will be

made here to the proclivity of the present epoch among philoso-

phers and theologians to parade science and religion side by

side; talking of reconciling science and religion, as if they had

ever been unreconciled. Scientists and theologians may have

quarrelled, but never science and religion. At dinners they are

toasted in the same breath, and calls made on clergymen to re-

spond, who, for fear of giving offence, or lacking the fire and firm-

ness of St. Paul, utter a vast amount of platitudes about the

beauty of science and the truth of religion, trembling in their

shoes all the time, fearing that science, falsely so called, may take

away their professional calling, instead of uttering in voice of

thunder, like the Boanerges of the gospel, that “the world by wis-

dom knew not God.” And it never will. Our religion is made so

plain by the light of faith that the wayfaring man, though a fool,

cannot err therein.

No, gentlemen ; I firmly believe that there is less connection be-

tween science and religion than there is between jurisprudence and

astronomy, and the sooner this is understood the better it will be

for both.

Religion is based upon revelation as given to us in a book, the

contents of which are never changed, and of which there have

been no revised or corrected editions since it was first given, ex-

cept so far as man has interpolated ; a book more or less perfectly

understood by mankind, but clear and unequivocal in all essen-

tial points concerning the relation of man to his Creator ; a book

that affords practical directions, but no theory; a book of facts,

and not of arguments; a book that has been damaged more by

theologians than by all the pantheists and atheists that have ever

lived and turned their invectives against it—and no one source of

mischief on the part of theologians is greater than that of admit-

ting the profound mystery of many parts of it, and almost in the

next breath attempting some sort of explanation of these myste-

ries. The book is just what Richard Whately says it is, viZ. :

“Not the philosophy of the human mind, nor yet the philosophy of

TCR Ee ae ea Ae ee ea

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 595

the divine nature in itself, but (that which is properly religion) the

relation and connection of the two beings — what God is to us,

_ what he has done and will do for us, and what we are to be in re-

gard to him.”

Now science on her part has her records: they are the discoy-

ered truths in the relation that man bears to the animate and in-

animate kingdoms around him, so far as they are made out by him

from time to time ; but as he has to proceed in his labors with im-

perfect instruments and often equally imperfect senses, he has to

correct himself over and over again; and his observations and

theories, especially the latter, make frequent shifts, though each

time he supposes that the truth has been reached. I will exem-

plify this in a marked manner by an extract from a recent dis-

course by Prof. Ferdinand Cohn, delivered before the Silesian

Society for Natural Culture. In speaking of Humboldt and his

Cosmos (which he styles the ‘‘ Divina Commedia” of Science,

embracing the whole universe in its two spheres, heaven and

earth) he says: “ But we cannot conceal from ourselves that the

Cosmos, published twenty-five years ago, is in many of its parts

now antiquated. Any one who to-day would attempt to recast

the Cosmos must proceed like the Italian architect who took the

pillars and blocks of the broken temples of antiquity, added new

Ones, and rebuilt the whole after a new plan.” And I would

Simply ask: When is this new structure to be torn down to form

material for another? Surely the most enthusiastic admirer of

the development of the last twenty-five years does not think that

we have arrived at the end of all things!

I will take yet another example. For the last fifty years or

more the unity of the human race has been a most prolific subject

of investigation and discussion, until it was generally conceded

that there must have been more than one origin for the different

Taces. In fact, theologians had already entered on that mis-

thievous work called reconciling science and religion, and saying

that after all there was some little mistake in the biblical record

_ 0n that subject, and, if the Author would only permit, it would be

Well to make a correction just there; but this could not be done,

and there it stood—that all men were of one flesh. But science,

_ Testless, changeful, moved on; and to-day the unity of the human

‘Face is insisted on by nearly all the leading naturalists, who teach

_ What Prof. De Quatrefages teaches, as uttered in a recent lecture

596 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

of his. He says: “In this examination of the physical man

everything leads to the conclusion which we had already reached

in our earlier lecture, and we can repeat with redoubled certainty

that the differences among human groups are characters of race,

and not of species. There exists only one human species, and

consequently all men are brothers; all ought to be treated as

such, whatever the origin, the blood, the color, the race ;” and in

‘conclusion he further says: “ I shall not regret either my time or

my pains, if I am able, in the name of science, and that alone, to

render a little more clear and precise for you the great and sacred

notion of the brotherhood of man.”

One other example under this head, and I have done. The

book of science teaches that the sun is the source of all light and

heat; yet in that post-prophetic chapter of the book of our relig-

ion it is said that the creation of the first day was light, and not

until afterward was the sun created; and this was again a stum-

bling-block to’ theologians, and many wished that Moses had been

a little more particular. But science in its onward march, as it

grouped together the matter floating in space to form in the be-

ginning of time this earth (our circling globe), tells us that if we

can imagine one to have been placed on our globe before it had

consolidated, he would have seen vast seas of vapor floating

around and far above it, shutting out the very light of heaven S0

that darkness brooded over tbe waters; that the first benign

influence that smiled upon the earth was the gentle rays of light

struggling through the dark mist; and the prophetic eye, either

on the plain, in the valley, or on the highest mountain ;

would not behold whence it came, and might exclaim in sublime

tic ecstasy: “God said, Let there be light; and there was

en .

light. é

So I say, let our book of religion stand as it is; if it be not

of God it will come to naught; and let science search for truth,

and if it mistake its results it is certain to correct them in time;

for the causes of its perturbations are as surely discovered as

Leverrier and Adams discovered those of Uranus.

Science and religion are both travelling towards the same great

point — the Author of all truth— yet by two very different

roads ; and if they be induced every now and then to turn off their

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 597

routes to compare notes, they will very much retard each other’s

progress and waste much time in discussing the peculiar merits

of their particular road, and get into a quarrel about them. The

roads they travel are paved with certain principles and forces,

but of very different natures.

Science treads on certain mathematical axioms and principles,

recognizing matter and certain forces or modifications of an en-

ergy innate in matter, as heat, light, electricity, etc. Religion is

guided by its axioms and principles, faith, love, and hope, and

with these it is expected to work out its great end in the present

and future of mankind. Science is nature revealed; religion is

Nature’s God revealed; and neither the one nor the other can be

without its axioms, incapable of demonstration.

Some may mock at faith and say “ Faith is bankrupt, and her

accounts are under strict examination, to determine what assets

remain to be distributed among the impoverished souls that are

her creditors ;’ still it is an axiom made manifest to our con-

Sciousness, as much, if not even more so, than the axiom of

a mathematical point being something without length, breadth

or thickness, or a line as having length without breadth or thick-

ness

This faith is as much an energy of the immortal, as heat is one

of the energies of matter. We know heat by its phenomena

alone, and we know faith in the same way, its phenomena proving

its existence as well to the child as to the man, to the learned and

the unlearned. It led Socrates and Plato, even with their im-

perfect light, to the great God, the Creator of the heavens and the-

earth, and to a belief in the immortality of the soul.

_ What God is in his essence we know not, nor how it is that he

Can exist. A Being not made by himself nor any one else; with-

Out beginning of days or end of years: existing through infinite

ages; filling immensity without being in any place; everywhere

Present without displacing a single one of his myriad creatures ;

: ead all things yet without motion; being all eye, all ear,

a, energy, and yet not interfering in the least with the thoughts

and actions of man ;—this has been well styled “the greatest

mystery of the universe, enveloped at once in a flood of light

“nd an abyss of darkness—inexplicable itself, explaining every-

thing else, and after displacing every other difficulty, itself re-

maining in inapproachable, inanrmogntable, incomprehensible

598 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

grandeur, so that the Psalmist exclaims: ‘Clouds and darkness

are around about him; righteousness and judgment are the

habitation of his throne.’”

This is the God whose existence reason cannot prove, while it

cannot disprove, and whom the religionists and scientists are

looking for: that they will one day see him as he is, is my firm

belief, and, as I before stated, they will see him the sooner by

keeping separate roads.

That many a scientist will be swallowed up in pantheism from

want of patience is to be expected, and, I regret to acknowledge,

will with Hartmann “ maintain that creation is a cause, existence

a misfortune, life a deepening disappointment, and that the ex-

tinction of personal consciousness is the only salvation ;” but

many more will enjoy the double felicity of arriving at the great

end sustained both by science and by religion, and will agree with

what Socrates wrote nearly two thousand years ago, without the

revealed word of God to enlighten him—or to mystify him, as

some would say. Listen to that philosopher of ancient days as he

says: “This great God, who has formed the universe and sup-

ported the stupendous work whose every part is finished with the

utmost goodness and harmony—he who preserves them perpetually

in immortal vigor, and causes them to obey him with a never-fail-

ing punctuality and a rapidity not to be followed by the imagina-

tion—this God makes himself sufficiently visible by the endless

wonders of which he is the author, but continues always inv risible

in himself. Let us not then refuse to believe even what we do nos

see, and let us supply the defects of our corporeal eyes by usmg

those of the soul; but let us learn to render the just homage of re-

spect and veneration to the divinity whose will it seems to be that

we should have no nrs perception of him than by his benefits

vouchsafed to us.’

I cannot close this part of my subject without reverting to the

tendency of certain men of science to make physical experiment

. the test of all truth; even prayer and divine providence influ-

encing affairs in this world must become subjects for experiment ;

and if the results be not in accordance with the experiments,

then suspicion is to be cast on faith. This has been truly e-

plained as coming from the spirit of an age which strives to make

_ natural science the all in all of wisdom, and begins with nature in-

stead of — with oe, and ends with burying man and

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 599

even God within physical conditions, and assigning to the supreme

Spirit the impersonality that is usually ascribed to material na-

ture; and all this in spite of the fact that profound philosophers

and earnest devotees have believed in there being a consciousness

subject to influence above their sense.

If we look at Nature as science has thus far penetrated into her

mysteries, we discover in the innermost parts of the earth matter

in a constantly restless state ; in the ocean or the air we behold the

ever moving, never resting; above are the sun and stars speed-

ing on through boundless space, and they in their own masses

are like huge boiling caldrons casting their vapors hundreds of

thousands of miles into space. And so the toiler in science

goes penetrating nearer and nearer, as he thinks, to the great

cause of all things. In the same way he thinks he has discovered

the cause of all motion upon this planet, both in the animate and

inanimate, and he hastily concludes that the energy resident in

the sun is fixed and invariable; yet while he reasons as if he had

arrived at the prime cause, he admits that there is something

__ yet unknown on which the sun depends as much as the earth does

upon the sun. :

While I admit most freely that the smallest event in the

physical world is but the sequence of secondary causes (if I

May use the expression) and effects, obedient to what appear

to us fixed and invariable laws, yet it is illogical for any mind to

assert that they cannot be altered by the operation of some

energy that may reach beyond any cause yet discovered by the

light of science.

While the energy of the sun travels in swift motion and in rapid

undulations through the ethereal space that divides the earth from

; , sun, and in turn science by the spectroscope travels back from

the earth to the sun over the same waves, and has revealed to her,

in writing as it were, on the beautiful pages of the spectrum, the

_ Composition of that incandescent globe and the mighty power of

its internal forces, so does the energy of that great cause that

Pe) gee: SFA E ee E R Te T a A oe E AE T N Oe at TE

composed of infinite love and mercy, truth and justice.

_ As light has revealed the sun to us by penetrating an organ

600 MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE.

specially formed for its impressions, the physical eye, so is God

revealed by faith, the soul’s eye. As well might we say that we

are acquainted with all phenomena of the rays of the sun as

to arrogate to ourselves the power of limiting the operations of

faith.

In these things science is both vain and modest, logical and

illogical ; as, for example, here is what Dr. Cohn says, in a dis-

course of his previously referred to: *‘ The deeper natural science

penetrates from outward phenomena to universal laws, the more

she lays aside her former fear to test the latest fundamental laws

of being and becoming, of space and time, of life and spirit :” and

in the next breath he says: “It is not to be hoped that during the

next twenty-five years all the questions of science which are at

present being agitated will be solved. As one veil after another

is lifted we find ourselves behind a still thicker one, which conceals

from our longing eyes the mysterious goddess of whom we are

in search.”

How Dr. Cohn expects to justify his first statement by his last

assertion of the increasing thickness of the impenetrable veil is

more than my logic can divine.

But in this matter of subjecting faith to physical test by what

is now commonly called the “ prayer-gauge,” philosophers of the

most advanced school differ very widely in their opinion; and

that remarkable pantheist (or pessimist), Edward Von Hartmann

(probably the most remarkable man of that school since the days

of Spinosa, who believing only in nature, yet ranks with the old

patriarchs in his idea of the power of faith, or something next

akin to it) calls all mankind to ‘‘ combine together in one gram

‘act of self-abdication, and to resign the very faculty of will by 4

mighty concert, not of prayer, but of self-renunciation—by the

help of such means as art and science may apply, and by such

perfection of the magnetic telegraph as shall enable them all at

once to will not to will any more, and so to bring all conscious

personal life to an end by an absorption in the almighty and un-

conscious spirit.” Not the most ascetic religious devotee could

exhibit more unbounded confidence in the power of faith subvert-

ing not only the laws of nature, but nature herself, than is €x-

_ pressed in those views.

: : a In fine then, gentlemen, let us stick to science—pure, unadulter-

ated science—and leave to religion things which pertain to it; for

MODERN METHODS OF SCIENCE. 601

science and religion are like two mighty rivers flowing toward the

same ocean, and before reaching it they will meet and mingle

their pure streams, and flow together into that vast ocean of truth

which encircles the throne of the great Author of all truth, whether

pertaining to science or religion.

I will here, in defence of science, assert that there is a greater

proportion of its votaries who revere and honor religion in its

broadest sense, as understood by the Christian world, than in

any other of the learned secular pursuits.

In this address I may be accused of more or less dogmatism :

but I can assure the Association that whatever there may be of

apparent dogmatism arises entirely from my reluctance to con-

sume more time in making explanations and reasoning fully on

the topics discussed. I have moreover departed from the usual

character of discourses delivered by the retiring presidents of this

association, and have not presented a topic that might have been

of more interest to you, viz., some special scientific subject com-

ing more immediately within the province of my research: for

this departure I claim your indulgence, as well as for omitting

all allusion to scientific progress during the past year.

But before concluding I cannot refrain from referring to one

great event in the history of American science during the past

year, as it will doubtless mark an epoch in the development of

Science in this country. I refer to the noble gift of a noble for-

eigner to encourage the poor but worthy student of pure science

in this country.

It is needless for me to insist on the estimation in which Prof.

John Tyndall is held amongst us. We know him to be a man

whose heart is as large as his head, both contributing to the cause

of science. We regard him as one of the ablest physicists of the

time, and one of the most level-headed philosophers that England

has ever produced—a man whose intellect is as symmetrical as

_ the circle, with its every point equidistant from the centre.

We have been the recipients of former endowments from that

land which, we thank God, is our mother country, from which

we have drawn our language, our liberty, our laws, our literature,

our science, and our energy, and without whose wealth our mate-

rial development would not be what it is at the present day.

Count Rumford, the founder of the Royal Society of London, in

earlier y years endowed a scientific chair in one of our larger uni-

602 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

versities, and Smithson transferred his fortune to our shores to

promote the diffusion of science.

Now, while these are noble gifts, yet Count Rumford was giving

to his own countrymen—for he was an American—and both his

and Smithson’s were posthumous gifts from men of large fortune.

But the one to which I now refer was from a man who ranks

not with the wealthy, and he laid his offering upon the altar of

science in this country with his own hands; and it has been both

consecrated and blest by noble words from his own lips; all of

which makes the gift a rich treasure to American science; and I

think we can assure him that as the same Anglo Saxon blood

flows in our veins as does in his (tempered, it is true, with the

Celtic, Teutonic, Latin, etc.), he may expect much from the

American student in pure science as the offspring of his gift and

his example.

With this feeble tribute to our distinguished scientific collabo-

rator I bid you adieu, and, returning to the association my most

heartfelt thanks for the honor that has been conferred on me,

surrender the mantle of my office to one most worthy to wear

it — Prof. Lovering, of Cambridge.

ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

_BY ROBERT RIDGWAY.

Tue birds described in this article are chiefly geographical forms

of well known species, which have not before been characterized.

Though we consider them as geographical races, and not as dis-

tinct species, they are none the less entitled to separate con-

sideration. According to the usual custom of ornithologists they

_ would be ranked as distinct species ; but the laws of geographical,

or climatic, variation in external features, with which the public

_ have been familiarized by the writings of Mr. Allen and other

< mporary authors, are so evidently the cause of the differen-

_ tiations noted, that we cannot but consider the forms here described

is merely climatic races of species which have like representatives

other geographical provinces. :

~ a P

ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 603

Included in the paper are some hitherto unpublished descrip-

tions of races of birds by Prof. Baird.

op MEL

1. Catherpes Mexicanus, var. conspersus Ripaway. Cañon Wren;

White-throated. Rock Wren.*

SP. CHAR. (No. 53,425 g, near Fort Churchill, Nevada, Dec. 7, 1867; R. RIDGWAY.)

EP ae = ERP EF ES

Ct 8 e

w of these dots on the rump. Wings with obsolete,

ragged, narrow, isolated sae of dusky, ghee se most sharply defined on the tertials.

Tail clear rufous, crossed with about nine very narrow, sae aa’ span wir zigzag

bars of black,—these about ‘02 wide on the middle, and ° n the outer feather.

eneath, greys Laan a sks-white, ~~ ison i into s cna on

the breast, this n darkening into, deep ferruginous, the color of all the posterior

lower parts; the wholes of vai erin fae surfac Swick very opps transverse spots

of white, eich preceded by a narrower napia one. Length, 5:75; extent of wings, 7:50

(fresh) ; wine: 2:48; tail, 2- a prai ,'83; tarsus, ‘56. Bill deep eesi paler and with

cono tinge at base of lower make. iris i tarsi and toes black (fresh

colors).

REA E EA E SERES er A ee eee

F BE

—

tral region of North America, from boundary of United States northward

to the ara of 40°. Extends up Valley of on Western Nevada and Utah,

resident; RIDGWAY. Colorado; AIKEN; ALL

The above characters apply to all specimens of Catherpes from

north of the Mexican boundary, as substantiated by a sufficient

Series in the collection. It is a remarkable fact that this northern

race should be so much smaller than the Mexican one, especially

in view of the fact that it is a resident bird in even the most

northern parts of its ascertained habitat.

| This race may be immediately distinguished from the Mexican

form as follows :—

wi Gide Vie iia

Culmen almost straight, the tip decurved, gonys straight. stg rA

brown; wings and back sparsely sprinkled with minute white ks;

such markings on head or neck. Bars on tail WA, pier: “12 in a widen on ou aa

feathers. Wing, 2-84; tail, 2-40; culmen, ‘96; “15; dle toe, *68;

D "47; outer, 52; inner, * saat 791, Mazatlan, neice. Hab. Mex-

ii 3 1 + 4 U S RE khat ove,

cinname re reddish head and neck above with

Sumerous sada ae of ” white; very few of bas 6 a c wings. Tai

12; culmen, -83; tarsus, ‘56; middle toe, -52; posterior, ‘35; outer, *44; inner,

3 ens a Fort Churchill, Nevada.) Hab. Middle Province ai Ys ited

CONSPERSUS,

pR roglodytes Mexicanus Heermann, J. A. N. Sc., 2d ser., ii, 1853, 63.—Ib. P.

Aena » X, 1859, 4l. Cassin, post. Birds Gal., T "1854, 173, pl. xxx. Catherpes

exicanu s Baird 1858, 356 (in part); Rev., 2a nii l pamp arte ts

i, 1870, er Par rpi es + ia ap gis var. s Ridgway,

Rep. U. S. Geol. Expl., 40th Par. pe press).

604 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

In var. Mewxicanus the white of throat is more abruptly defined

against the rufous of abdomen than in var. conspersus, in which

the transition is very gradual. The latter has the secondaries

rufous with narrow isolated bars of black; the former has them

blackish, indented on lower webs with dark rufous. In Mezicanus

the feet are very stout, and dark brown; in conspersus they are

much weaker, and deep black.

All specimens from south of the United States boundary (in-

cluding Giraud’s type of Certhia albifrons) belong to the restricted

nus.

Hasirs.* The geographical distribution of this race of the

white-throated wren, so far as known, is confined to the line of

the United States and Mexican boundary, extending northward

up the valley of the Colorado, as far as western Nevada, and along

the Rocky Mountains into Colorado. The corresponding Mexican

race reaches some distance southward, but has not yet been de-

tected beyond the limits of Mexico. The habits of both races,

however, are quite similar, as far as known.

Dr. Heermann first met with this wren in the spring of 1851,

on the Cosumnes River. In the following year he procured three

specimens on the Calaveras River. He describes it as an active,

sprightly bird, having a loud and pleasing song that may be heard

a great distance, and which it repeats at short intervals. When

found, it was occupied with searching for insects, between and

under the large bowlders of rock that, in some portions of the

river, are thrown together in confused masses, as if by some ter-

rific convulsion of nature.

Dr. Kennerly also met with this species in similar localities

among the hills bordering upon the Big Sandy, where the

rocks are also described as piled up thick and high. They

were darting from rock to rock and creeping among the crevices

with great activity, constantly repeating their peculiar and sin-

gular note. The great rapidity of their motions rendered it

difficult to procure a specimen. He did not observe this bird

anywhere else.

a ir occurrence equally in such wild and desolate regions, and

in the midst of crowded cities, indicates that the abundance of

their food in either place, and not the absence or presence of man,

detstinines this choice of residence. When first observed they

: *By Dr. T. M. Brewer.

ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 605

were supposed to nest exclusively in deep and inaccessible crev-

ices of rocks, where they were not likely to be traced. Mr.

H. E. Dresser afterwards met with its nest and eggs in western

Texas, though he gives no description of either. He found

this species rather common near San Antonio, where it remained

to breed. One pair frequented a printing office at that place,

an old half-ruined building, where their familiar habits made

them great favorites with the workmen, who informed him that

the previous spring they had built a nest and reared their young

in an old wall close by, and that they became very tame. At

Dr. Heermann’s rancho, on the Medina, he procured the eggs

of this bird, as well as those of the Carolina and Bewick’s wrens

(Thryothorus Ludoviciana and T. Bewickii), by nailing up cigar-

boxes with holes cut in front, wherever these birds were likely to

build.

Mr. Sumichrast describes its nest* as very skilfully wrought

with spiders’ webs, and built in the crevices of old walls, or in the

interstices between the tiles under the roofs of the houses. A

nest with four eggs, supposed to be those of this species, was ob-

tained in western Texas by Mr. J. H. Clark; it was cup-shaped,

not large, and with only a slight depression. The eggs, four in

number, were unusually oblong and pointed for eggs of this

family, and measured °80 by -60 of an inch, with a crystalline-

white ground, profusely covered with numerous and large blotches

of a reddish or cinnamon brown.

So far as the observations of Mr. Ridgway enabled him to

notice this bird, he found it much less common than the Sal-

pinctes obsoletes, and inhabiting only the most secluded and

rocky recesses of the mountains. Its common note of alarm

is described as a peculiarly ringing dink. It has a remarkably

odd and indescribably singular chant, utterly unlike anything

else Mr. Ridgway ever heard. This consists of a series of

detached whistles, beginning in a high fine key, every note

clear, smooth, and of equal length, each in succession being a

egree lower than the preceding one, and only ending when

the bottom of the scale is reached. The tone is soft, rich and

silvery, resembling somewhat the whistling of the cardinal gros-

beak.

It was often seen to fly nearly perpendicularly up the face of a

*This remark applies to the Mexican race.

606 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

rocky wall, and was also noticed to cling to the roof of a cave with

all the facility of a true creeper.

2. Helminthophaga celata, var. lutescens Rip@way. Pacific Or-

ange-crowned Warbler.*

SP. CHAR. Mal Whole lower parts,

including eL unig stipe and eyelids, bright Mad almost gamboge; abdomen

somewhat tg tish. Inner webs of tail feathers just perceptibly edged with white.

. Whole cro ncealed. Win ail, 1°90; bi ;

tarsus, °67; T aae toe, “45. Win ng-form mula, 2, ‘ 1,4. Female. Similar, but orange of

crown almost obsolete. Wing, 2°30; tail, 190. Foun ng of the year. Similar to adult,

but with a brownish tinge above; ens and peared coverts tipped with dull ful-

Mpok aap he EPT Peita bands. No trace of orange on the crown.

c Province of North America, from robe ka to Seg St. Lucas. Strag-

a. ienas to about the 116th meridian. Not found in Mexic

The differences between the Pacific coast specimens of H. celata

and those from the interior regions—first pointed out in the ‘‘ Re-

view of American Birds”—are very readily appreciable upon a

comparison of specimens. The present bird is a coast variety,

entirely replacing the true celata (var. celata) in the region above

indicated.

3. Dendroica Vieillotii, var. Bryanti Ripeway. Bryant’s Golden

Warbler.

Sp. CHAR. Similarto D. Vieillotii,+ but with me rufous of the head and neck

abruptly defined posteriorly, instead of passing backward on the jugulum; the rufous

streaks on ‘the breast very n arrow > inst tead or broad and penta and the outer webs

concolor the back, instead of nearly clear yellow,

in marked contrast. Wi ing, 2°70; tail, 225; iti en, ‘31; tarsus, ‘72 (g).

Has. Mexico, from Honduras (Dr. BRYANT) and Yucatan (Dr. SCHOTT) to Mazatlan

(Col. GRAYSON),

4. Dendroica Dominica, var. albilora Bap. White-browed War-

bler.

Sp. CHAR. Similarto D. Dominica,t but with smaller bill, longer wing and t tail,

and me foead of named supraloral line. Wing, 2°70; tail, 2°20; culmen, ‘35;

tarsus

Ha. ‘Mexico, sor south to Guatemala, west to Colima, and east to Yucatan and Hon-

duras. In su , the Mississippi T os the U. S., north to Cleveland, Ohio;

breeding from patiia Illinois southward

SHeimintho aga celata Cooper and Suokley. P R., xii, ii, 1859, 178.

ret ook g Ron Tast e Ehi gag 115.—Ba Rey. Aim. hepa i, 1865, 175 (in

= elata, a lutes a pews y: "Report

ar. gee ae

BOTARA in Pat in pre Baird, Review, p. 203. (Cassin, P. A. N. S., 1860, 192,

PEBEReote Dominica Baird, Rev. Am. B., 1865, p. 209 (in part).

a nt Bares SAI OEE SA EI re ee ae ge Ae eae ie ee by igs gy OE tee ME, a ORAS his he eg Sas

ses atts a RO eines i men EE capt ES Sects: ay!

5 E ee E À $ Ronee

ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 607

In the “ Review” (p. 209) several variations in this species are

noted ; but at that time there was not a sufficient number of speci-

mens to warrant our coming to a conclusion as to their value.

Now, however, we have better materials before us, and upon the

West Indies, the other from the Mississippi region and middle

America—find that there are two appreciably different races, to

be distinguished from each other by points of constant difference.

All birds of the first series have the bill longer than any of the

latter, the difference in a majority of the specimens being very

considerable ; they also have the superciliary stripe bright yellow

anteriorly, while among the latter there is never more than a trace

of yellow over the lores, and even this minimum amount is dis-

cernible only in one or two individuals. The West Indian form

is, of course, the true Dominica, and to be distinguished as var.

Dominica ; as none of the synonymes of this species were founded

upon the Mexican one, however, it will be necessary to propose a

new name ; accordingly, the term var. albilora is selected as being

most descriptive of its peculiar features.

The following Synopsis, taken from typical specimens, shows

the differences between these two races :—

low; yellow of chin and ma ing to the mmer,

A c States of U States, north to Washington. In winter, and pos-

Sibly all the year, in Cuba, Santo Domingo and J ae Y. DOMINICA.

Q 61,136, 7, Belize, Hondura Bill (from nostril), -35; tarsus, A

2°70; tail, 2 perciliary stripe wholly white; yellow of chi maxill

ered narrowly next bill with whi Hab. In summer, the Mississippi

Tegion of United States, north to Lake Erie; common in south Illinois. In

winter, and possibly all the year, in Mexico, south to Guatemala, Yucatan on

the Atlantic, and Colima on the Pacific side SO eo ager a lt Te, An

In the lower Wabash valley this form of the yellow-throated

warbler is rather common during summer, and inhabits chiefly the

margins of swamps in the bottom-lands, though in spring and

l it makes occasional visits, with other species, to the orchards

= Or even the door-yards within the towns. In its manners it re-

Sembles the black and white creeper (Mniotilta varia) more than

_ Sny other species, creeping, not only along the branches of trees,

but over the cornice and eaves of buildings, with all the facility of

W j , h.

à nuthate

608 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS,

5. Dendroica pia: var. decora Rip@way. Honduras Warbler.

. CHAR. Similar to D. Gr * but wing and tail much De and genami

form less slender. oh supereiliary pen wholly yellow and scar

peen ofw sha for from an eighth to nearly a quarter of an inch ‘behind the eye; yel-

of throat and jugulum pip over the breast, instead of only reaching to its

anterior order; lore deep black, raps of dusky grayish; streaks on the back and

rrower, and those on the upper tail-coverts broader. Above fine ash

log

crown, ak ck and upper tail pka with shaft-streaks of black; hopan stripe

e geyk to Sla rior angle of the eye; throat, jugulum and breast, gambog pie

rest of l par hte, Sapisa ith two white bands, and inner webs of tail

Miia with Vaike pitones, Wing, 2°20; tail, 1:95; culmen, 30; tarsus, *60.

HAB. Belize, Hondura

The differences between the three races of D. Gracie may be

expressed as follows

N CHARACTERS. Auriculars, neck, crown and upper parts generally, ashy; 4

Seater ate pap crescent on lower eyelid, and the anterior lower parts gamboge

yellow; rage ite.

a. Bac ce altea streaked with black; abdomen white.

stripe reaching '20 of an inch back of the eye, a Oye rtion of it

white; dorsal BAOH broad. Wing, 2°60; tail, i i-

zona (Fort Whip .

Yellow of throat e covering whole jagulam and wok uaine i abruptly;

A ER phen arcely passi = eye and wholly yellow; spe sal

eaks Wing, 2-20; tail, 1°95. Hab. Honduras (Be-

ra . var. DECORA.

b. Back re sides not streaked with black; abdomen + ello

Yellow of soap Spay Pir back to crissum; otio stripe as

in var. de ; dorsal isc ee Hab. Porto Rico,

var. ADELAIDE-+

6. Myiodioctes pusillus, var. pileolata (Pauuas).{

P. CHAR. Similar to M. sillus, but much richer yellow, scarcely t petis

with olive laterally, and eriein pe an almost orange shade on the front and chin

i ! n. The black uae with a

brighter steel-blue gloss. Bill much narrower, light brown above, instead of nearly

black. Measures (4,222 = = ret w

Ha f Nort’ k ( ak (Alaska): south through

Western Mexico (and et ca. fe eisai Rica.

This is an appreciably different race from that inhabiting the

eastern division of the continent; the differences, tested by a large

series of specimens, being very constant.

A Costa Rican specimen before us is almost exactly like speci-

mens from California.

ound pul fy =e! ov pli eae pees. Birey Am. B., 1865, 210.

Myiodioctes p sillus, var. pi Ieoiata” ergo y, Report U. Geol Expl

40th Par. (in press). ay odi octes pusillus Auct. (all citations from Fo Be.

"coast of North and Middle America merica) - uord. Pry Art. mst Wo "Y ., iv, 1864, 1

eer & Bannister (Alaska) —Cooper, Orn. Cal., i, 1870, 1

oa a eae Se ee Nett oe Perr aes Was SAD hop a Sch gt te SaeRe anes, smn glee Ne Rr Segre

ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 609

T. Collurio Ludovicianus, var. robustus BAIRD. White-winged

Shrike.*

Sp. CHAR. Similar to C. Ludovicianus, but bill much stouter; differs from

excubit ides in darker colors, and absence of hoary border to the forehead;

from both in having the four middle tail feathers entirely black to the roots, and the

bases of the remaining feathers merely grayish, and in the great amount of white on

the inner webs of the secondaries, in the latter respects resembling C. excu bitor,

of Europe. Length, 8°75; wing, 4-20; tail, 440; its graduation, 1:00; culmen, 1-00;

depth of bill, “39; tarsus, 120; middle toe,-61. Hab. California?

The above description is taken from a specimen in the col-

lection of the Philadelphia Academy, labelled as having been

collected in California by Dr. Gambel, and is very decidedly dif-

ferent from any of the recognized North American species. Of

nearly the size of C. excubitoroides and Ludovicianus, it has a bill

even more powerful than that of C. borealis. In its unwaved

under parts and uniform color of the entire upper surface, except

scapulars, it differs from borealis and excubitoroides, and resembles

Ludovicianus. In the extension of white over the inner webs of

the secondaries it closely resembles C. excubitor. The great

he specimen in the Philadelphia Academy we originally re-

ferred to the L. elegans of Swainson, alleged to have come from the

fur countries ; as, although some appreciable differences presented

themselves, especially in the coloration of the tail, these were

considered as resulting from an imperfect description. Messrs.

Sharpe and Dresser, however, as here quoted, show that Swainson’s

type really. belongs to L. lahtora, an Old World species. We,

therefore, find it expedient to give a new name to the variety,

having no reason to discredit the alleged locality of the specimen.

Synopsis of the species (including 8, 9, 10 and 11 of this arti-

cle) of the

Genus CERTHIOLA SUNDEVALL.}

; By SPENCER F. BAIRD.

GEN. CHAR. Bill nearly as long as the head; as high as broad at base, elongated,

conical, very acute, and gently decurved from base to tip. Culmen uniformly convex ;

*?? Lanius elegans Sw.F.B

Pr. A. N. Sc., 1857, 213.—Baird, Birds N. Am., 1858, 327

$ 5; uri

in,

sÀ

ty Le

rthiola Sundevall, Vet. Akad. Handl. Stockholm, 1835, 99. (Type, Certhia

Veola Linn.).

AMERICAN NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 39

610 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

a concave. No bristles at base of paa ig rounded, rather shorter than the

Tarsi longer than the middle s brown? on t peusile and arched.

Rape ith yellowish ground dotted ae ‘ae aka spo ji

This genus is one of those especially characterizing the West

Indies, almost every island as far as known having its peculiar

species, differing, it is true, in very slight characters, but always

constant to the normal type. Cuba alone has so far furnished no

representative of this genus, its place being supplied apparently

by Cereba cyanea, distributed besides throughout the continental

tropical regions. The specimens from St. Thomas I cannot dis-

tinguish from those of Porto Rico, but this is, so far as the series

before me indicates, the only case where one species occurs on

two islands. All the West Indian species, nine or ten in number,

agree in having the whole upper part nearly uniformly dusky or

blackish ; the head and back being concolored, while of the three or

four South American, all but one (C. luteola) have the back more

olivaceous, the head much darker. Again, the West Indian spe-

cies, with a single exception (C. bananivora), have both webs of

lateral tail feathers broadly and about equally tipped with white ;

while in all the South American this white is more restricted on

the inner web, and on the outer reduced to a narrow border. C.

Caboti from Cozumel, near eastern coast of Yucatan, exhibits the

continental impress in possessing the character last mentioned.

In all the species from the Greater Antilles and the portion of

continental America west and directly south of this group. there

is a distinct external white patch at base of quills; while this

disappears in the species of the Lesser Antilles and eastern

South America, or is only faintly traceable. Again, in the spe-

cies of the Lesser Antilles, with the disappearance of the white

wing-patch, the greater and middle wing-coverts show a faint

edging of lighter, by which, as well as by the darker back, they

are distinguished from their South American allies.

The shape of the white patch at base of the quills on the outer

web furnishes, in combination with the color of the throat, e excel-

lent and permanent specific characters. This in the Jamaican,

Haytien and Bahaman forms is elongated, extending gradually

and uniformly behind to the outer edge of the quill, while in

those of Porto Rico, St. Thomas, Cozumel, and the South Ameri-

an species, where it exists, the posterior outline is nearly trans-

- verse, and only running out a little along the outer web.

Pe ee eet

Ce rie Oe

ME a? BER age Fk EL oT Shem pt a:

tea

es ae oe

A Fae tee ee ee = pn ae Ch

Sty wt ak See

ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 611

As a general rule South American species have shorter tails

than the West Indian.

It is a nice question what are really species in this genus, and

what merely races or varieties; but it would probably be not far

from correct to assume that the various forms described are simply

modifications of one primitive species, produced by geographical

distribution and external physical conditions. In the following

diagnosis I shall treat all the varieties as occupying the same

rank, without attempting any discrimination. Although but one

of these belongs to the United States, and that as a straggler from

the Bahamas, I give the table of the whole, to show the inter-

esting relationship between them.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Above dusky-olive or anager me Phage ee

ceous or yellowish; the head and sae always blae

than back. Chin and throat a 2: lack. Rest -” aa part erate daer

be án d. 2 ee vey white str ene ab AW atch at

bas ofp 8; gen

tail 1 feathers opad with ‘white: Bill black; legs dusk

A. ead uniform in color with rest of upper Dii dark sooty-brown or

ben Both webs of outer tailfeather tipped with white (except in

luteola). .All West Indian except luteola, which, however, occurs in

pee and Trinidad, and generally belongs to the shores of the Caribbean

Sea.

1. A distinct and conspicuous external white patch at base of primaries.

Wing-coverts not margined with paler.

a. Throat outs but decided dark ering: varying in shade,

never oes black, however, nor ashy-

Throat very dark a mte paeiti or + appreciably different

from blackish - ne

t u ti l ri PPPE

anad

obliquely behind t to the outer nts of the primary, re achi ing

shaft of ees ayer ry. Yellow of breast Seria pea

eous. Ru L NEI yellow « as the b -

maic: AVEOLA. *

White pateh of 7 wi ng more andrate ach guild: trans-

verse; not tapering off gr ae and Abk behind; not

PEE m Bhaft on outer pom: Brom ast t without sped

of belly. Hab. San NEWTONI. ł

4 b. Chin and throat ger as toe coat not eo al igre in decided

m yellow,

like under parts gene rally

Lateral tail feather broadly tipped with white on both webs.

Rump olivaceous-yellow.

oc eae pot e each primary apa C as in Ne

toni. Hab. Porto Rico and St. Tho: P 3

rthia flaveola a Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1758, 119.

nis flaveola A. &. E. Newton, Ibis, 1859, 67. "Hab. St. Croix. C. Newtoni

ETP flaveola, var. E Bryant, Pr. Bost. Soc. N. H., Jan., 1866.

- Porto Rico

612 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

Lateral tail feather with inner web only emit 7 with

it u eii right Apa like chap Bill very s

wing a flaveola, but less see a d,

tae iss oniy of il oor Hab. Hayti wand at.

Domingo x ANANIVORA. *

White of va as in Ne win Siz ze wuch br: darker

paaa ab. Tobago, Trinidad, and north shore of South

LUTEOLA. İ

Anere

c. Chin, grace set jugulum white, with: a tinge of anny. ‘Yellow of

under aap uchr

h of pi stats a. half distance from nostril to tip. Super

ili r ing to nape. Yellow of under part Funerioted

to a triangular patch on breast. White spot on ne large, yen

ing off gradually on each Lagoa asin flave ; on the outer

i s of Sues tail Aea about call

= ida Ke AHAMENSIS. }

ept

iary stripe re hing t the paresi Yel of uo aer iea

more FEN pot on fae poe teeny ; more eae a

as in Newtoni; edg outer ped involved.

web of outer tail feather ammeg sia . Cozumel kr

CABOTI. §

2. e external white: patch wt base of Siny gu 8. Wing covert

rely margined with paler. Both webs of outer tail feathers Acti

Sirah equally with white. Rump olivaceous; this color of but slight

extent.

a. Throat black; continuous with black of cheeks; or else very dark

plumbeous, scarcely di ae a from the cheeks.

edian line of throat white, the sides ‘tack like the cheeks;

chin alone black. Saparali rae not confluent anteriorly.

Hab. MARTINICANA. ||

artinique

TRR Bp t blackish. No white tontal n

hes. Belly ochraceous. Hab. Dominica

DOMINICANA. T

2-20 inches. Belly more yellow. "Hab. Barba-

BARBADENSIS. **

T whitish frontal broad

ipes which extend in front

FRONTALIS. ff

ndies

yish frontal band; superciliary sitnea nace: ae ex-

Ean ‘cu bate

keie

Whole PAR vy hak plumbeous.

ance in front of eye. Trace of white patch at base of pri-

maries BARTHOLEMICA. ff

: B. Hea re = distinct contrast to thie more ETRO back. Outer

tail aeg wit h o web scarcely tipped with white. Wing-coverts not

margined with ae "th hroat Teh ash, in distinct eree af a of cheek.

1. A distinct peng praa wing-patch at base of p

Rum e-green. Hab. Mexico ty Donal America,

put hardly secs tine of Panama R. R MEXICANA, §§

(See r aati ae

go otaca bananivora Gmelin, Syst. Nat., i, 1788, 951. (Bananiste Buffon,

erthiola

M. H., aso 96. Es major, ager, a minor Bon. i

BN. a G. Bai rdi Cab S

$0. Caboti Baird, M S <<

C.’ M d., i, 1853, 252. C. albigula Bon.

: Do minic ana ' Taylor, Ibis, iee 167.

tba de + MSS. (10.)

antal herd mas ti.) 622.

Sclater, r.z 8 ebo, 286

ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 613

des to P

ump pags Hab. Panama R. R.; south along

a. No external ita wing pate

oli

PERUVIANA. *

ive- green. a Brazil and Guiana CHLOROPYGA. Î

The preceding table is based upon a critical examination of

many hundred specimens belonging to the Smithsonian’ Institu-

tion.

Synopsis of the species of

JUNCO Scrater.

; By ROBT. RIDGWAY.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Prevailing color ire or grayish, the abdomen cris-

sum and agi al tail feathers white (J. hyemali

Both mandibles light flesh color lor of ia] jugulum, deep ash or

se Sane abruptly defined against the pure w sie of the abdomen.

- Dark color of the jugulum with its posterior outline convex; sides

pinkiah.

1. Back and wings more or less tinged with dark rusty. ab. Pa-

cific province of North America, from Sitka southward; strag-

pi apps in aisis and winter to the Rocky Mountains, and

en to Kar var. OREGONUS. Í

b. 0, Dark herde of ite gna es with its poster’ outline concave; sides

§Back and wings without any rusty ti

2. Wing without any white; wkd uae tail feathers, — marked

with white. Culmen, -40; depth of bill, -25; wing, 3-10; tail, 2-80.

paging: of North America; straggling, in autumn

Rocky Mountains (Arizona, CoUES; Utah,

tee: AIKEN var. HYEMALIS.§

3. Wing with two white bands across + ends of VAERET and some-

cross ends of secondaries; ve outer tail

feathers marked with white; ash much lighter. Culmen, -50; dept

of bill, -30; pe ie ares . Hab. Alpine regions of Colorado

Mountains (El O.,

var. AIKENI. ||

ona; capilari na ites ag

al hacky 4 rane hea of the U.S ar. CANICEPS.T

Ash of the ri fading

ack, scapulars, wing-coverts nia tarüials strongly washed with

5. Throat and jugulum pale ash; back bright rufous. ores 3°10;

tail, 3-00; rere depth of bill, 25; tarsus, *80. able-

lands of Mexic ar. C

6. Throat and pie Beep ash; hák doll, « or olivaceous, See

— —— BUS Ses th of bill, “34; tar:

Q f Gu ae

‘ie 2o eee Hg

*C. Peruviana Cab, ow 1865, 413? Perhaps arre : ae

tc. fe pop rea Da C. Brasil =

: irds N. Am., 1858, 466. “Fringiité Oregona Townsend. J. kn . S., 1837, 188.) ‘

N Birds N. Am., 1808 ; (Pring iiia hyemalis Linn., S. N. i., 1758, 183.)

Junco hyemalis, var Aiko Ridgway, MSS.

Birds N. . j8. S thirnihue ORN TEDA Woodh., P. A.N. S., 1852, 202).

s N. Am., 1858, 465. (Fringilla cinerea Swains., Syn. Mex. B., i, 1827.

ttJunco alticola Salvin, P. Z. S., May, 1863, p. 189.

via ALTICOLA. tt

614 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

The six forms diagnosed above appear to be well characterized

by the distinctive features pointed out; and each one is so char-

acteristic of the region which it inhabits that at least ninety per

cent. of the specimens obtained during the breeding season in

any locality will be typical representatives of one or the other of

these races. Unless, however, we admit the theory of hybridiza-

tion, to account for intermediate specimens, and acknowledge it

especially in this case, it is impossible to consider that any two of

these forms are distinct specifically, for they are connected by an

uninterrupted series between the most extreme forms—hyemalis

and alticola—without a break in the gradual progression from the

one to the other. Thus, from Sun River, Dakota; Ft. Whipple,

Arizona; Ft. Bridger, Wyoming, and the McKenzie River district,

are specimens with the pinkish sides of Oregonus and plumbeous

back of hyemalis ; or else with black head or rusty back and wings,

of the former, with ashy sides of the latter; or with the charac-

ters of the two mixed in various degrees. In the same, manner

other specimens, from Ft. Bridger, Ft. Whipple, Ft. Burgwyn,

ew Mexico, Colorado, and the Yellowstone region, have the

bright rufous interscapulars, ashy head, and black lores of cani-

ceps with the pinkish sides and rounded outline to the ash of

breast as in Oregonus; or else they have the rufous spread over

the wings as in Oregonus, and other characters as distinguishing

caniceps; other specimens are intermediate between the two in

various ways. This form was characterized by Professor Baird

as Junco annectens (Birds Cal., i, 1870, app., p. 564). Among

the southern Rocky Mountains, and in northern Mexico, speci-

mens are found which combine perfectly the characters of caniceps

and cinereus. These have the black and yellow bill and pale ash

throat of the latter, and the rufous of the back strictly confined

to the interscapulars as in the former. This form is the J. dor-

salis of Henry (Proc. Philad. Acad., 1858, 117. Baird, B. N.

Am., 1858, 467).

In the effect of climate upon size, altitude appears to have far

more potency in this group than latitude; thus in tracing these

forms southward, there is no noticeable decrease in dimensions,

but on the contrary, the most southern form (alticola) is larger

than the most northern one (hyemalis). The alpine forms, how-

_ ever, alticola and Aikeni, are considerably larger than those which

~ breed at lower elevations. The climatic color-variation in this

eae

ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 615

group is rather perplexing, though we can unravel some few clews

to the laws. In Oregonus of the Pacific coast we find the casta-

neous or fuliginous plumage characteristic of that region; cani-

ceps of the middle region is paler than Oregonus and hyemalis, as

would be expected; in Aikeni we readily detect the albinescent

plumage of a very cold, alpine region. If we cannot find the

same thing in alticola, of the alpine summits of Guatemala, and

see that instead it is darker than the race inhabiting the lower

table-lands (cinereus), we must look for an explanation. This

may, perhaps, be found, in the supposition that the higher sum-

mits of Guatemala have a climate sufficiently cool and bracing

to invigorate the bird generally, and thus make it larger and

Stronger, while at the same time the winter temperature is not

rigorous enough to produce any blanching effect upon the plu-

mage, while local conditions — perhaps denser forests or thickets —

give it a deeper color than cinereus of the more open table-lands.

12. Junco hyemalis, var. Aikeni Ripaway. White-winged Snow-

bird.

P. CHAR. Generally similar to J. h yemalis, but considerably larger, with more

robust bill; two white bands on the wing, and three or four, instead of two or three,

Outer tail feathers entirely white. No. 61,302 ¢, El Paso Co., Colorado, Dec. 11, 1871,

-E. Aiken. Head. neck jt gulum a ti pp p t 7 } Sep EE L PE ES ge;

the lores, quills, and tail feathers darker ; middle and secondary wing-coverts rather

broadly tipped with white, forming two conspicuous bands. Lower part of the breast,

abdo: i ure white. th teri i

con

however, with a narrow streak of dusky on the terminal third of the outer web; the

next feather mostly plumbeous, with the basal fourth of the outer web, and the termi-

nal of the inner, along the shaft, white. Wing, 3°40; tail, 3°20; culmen, ‘50; depth of

$ : g

‘bill at base, -30; tarsus, ‘80. HAB. El Paso county, Colorado

At first sight, this bird appears to be a very distinct species,

being larger than any other North American form, and possessing

in the white bands on the wing characters entirely peculiar. Its

large size, however, we can attribute to its alpine habitat, agreeing

in this respect, as compared with J. hyemalis, with the J. alticola,

of Guatemala, which we can only consider an alpine, or somewhat

l, form of J. cinereus. That the white bands on the wing do

not constitute a character sufficiently important to be considered

of specific value is suggested by the fact that in J. oregonus, and

Occasionally in J. hyemalis, there is sometimes quite a distinct

tendency to these bands, in the form of obscure white tips to the

Coverts.

616 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

A series of six specimens (four males and two females), sent

for examination, is said by Mr. Aiken to illustrate fully the limit

of variation in a series of some twenty or thirty skins. No. 1071

(Aiken’s collection) is an extreme example. This has the wing

bands °20 of an inch wide, while the secondaries are broadly

tipped with white, forming a third band (somewhat as in Cyanura

cristata) when the wing is closed ; the primaries are conspicuously

skirted with white for the terminal half, and the three outer tail

feathers on each side are entirely white; only the middle pair is

without any white on the webs, and these have the shafts of this

color. The other extreme is illustrated in No. 1068, which has

the bands on the coverts hardly indicated, while there are none on

the inner webs of the secondaries nor outer webs of the primaries.

There is nearly as much white on the tail, however, as in No. 1071.

Mr. Aiken says that “the majority of the females are without

the wing-bands, and they are occasionally wanting in the male.”

The largest specimen in the series measures as follows: “ length,

7:15; extent, 11:50;” wing, 3°60; tail, 3-50; culmen, 51; depth

of bill, -27; tarsus, °85. Few males are smaller and the variation

in size is very slight.

Hasits. But little is known as to the habits of this variety;

probably they do not differ from those of its congeners. It was

met with by Mr. C. E. Aiken, near Fountain, El Paso county, in

Colorado Territory, in the winter of 1871-72. They were rare

in the early winter, became rather common during the latter part

of February and the first of March, and had all disappeared by the

first of April. During winter only males were seen, but in the

spring, the females were most numerous. They were usually

seen singly, or in companies of two or three, and not like the

others, in larger flocks

: . . ~ . *

13. Peucea estivalis, var. Arizone Riweway. Arizona Sparrow.

Sp. CHAR. (6,327 g, Los Nogales, northern Sonora, June; C. B. Kennerly)- Similar

to P. xstivalis, but paler; wings and tail longer. genes light chestnut, all the

feathers margined and tipped with bluish-gray, but the reddish gaes oe ee

lar and crown feathers with a narrow streak of black, those on crow stinct. Be-

raceo’ ross the ast

neath

erissum pale ochraceous. An obsolete light superciliary, and narrow dusky maxillary _

stripe. Bend of waur yellow; lesser coverts tin with greenish-yellow. Length 6

‘inches; wing, = pagon 3-00; bill. -32 from nostril, -25 deep at base; tarsus, 80; middle

a 63.. HAR. Nogales, Sonora, and southern Arizona.

= *Peucæa Cassini Baird, Birds N. Am., 1858, 436. (Los Nogales specimen.)

= BS eae ae

ON SOME -NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS. 617

This race has a considerable resemblance to var. estivalis, but

differs in some appreciable points. The brown of the upper parts

is paler, and the ashy edging to the feathers appears rather less

extensive. The dark brown blotches on the back are of greater

extent, the black streaks on the back confined to a mere streak

along the shaft. There is less of an olive tinge across the breast.

The proportions of the present race differ more from those of

estivalis than do the colors, the bill being more slender, and the

wings and tail considerably longer.

The resemblance to P. Botterii (=estivalis, var. Botterii) of

Sclater, from middle Mexico (Orizaba, Colima, ete.), is very

close; the difference being greater in the proportions than in the

colors, the latter having a shorter wing and tail, with thicker bill,

as in var. estivalis. In Botterii there is rather a predominance of

the black over the rufous in the streaks above.

In the “ Birds of North America,” the specimen described above

was referred to P. Cassini, those specimens upon which the latter

species was founded being considered as in quite immature plu-

mage. A more recent examination of additional material, how-

ever, has compelled us to regard them as representing a perfectly

distinct species. In consequence of the similarity of the specimen

in question to estivalis, as noted in the article referred to above,

the general acceptation of the name Cassini, has been that of a

term designating a variety of the common species; but we find it

necessary to retain under the head of “ Cassini” only the typical

Specimens from the-Rio Grande region, and refer the supposed aber-

rant specimen to estivalis. In this Los Nogales specimen we find

existing such differences in proportions and colors as are sufficient

to warrant our bestowing upon it a new name, and establishing it

as the middle province race of estivalis, in this way connecting the

South Atlantic and Mexican races (var. æstivalis and var. Botterii)

by a more similar form than the P. Cassini, which must be set

apart as an independent form,—in all probability a good species.

Several facts are favorable to this view. First, we have, of the

P. Cassini, specimens which are beyond question in perfect adult

Plumage, and others which are undoubtedly immature ; they differ

from each other only in such respects as would be expected, and

agree substantially in other characters, by which they are distin-

guished from the different plumages of estivalis. Secondly, the

region to be filled by a peculiar race of æstivalis is represented by

618 ON SOME NEW FORMS OF AMERICAN BIRDS.

the var. Arizone, which is undoubtedly referable to that species ;

thus we have in one province these two different forms, which

therefore are probably distinct.

The P. Cassini is hardly less distinct from the races of estivalis

than is rujficeps ; and we should be as willing to consider the lat-

ter as a race of estivalis, as to take the same view in regard to

Cassini.

Synopsis of the genus

CARDIN AMIE N Bonar.

By ROBERT RIDGW.

COMMON CHARACTERS. Male. Bright vermilion-red, more reps purplish

on upper auld supr adjoining base of bill black for greater or e

extent. Female. Above olivaceous, the wings, tail and crest min ; be-

neath K ARRES whitish, slightly tinged on jugulum with red.

C. Virgini s. Culmen nearly straight; commissure sent a slight lobe;

as lower, pe tly smo

per le as d the lower, perfec ill red.

Black patch covering whole throat, its posterior outline convex. Female

Lining of eep vermilion. Ol a ve, th ngs and

i o ove wi

tail strongly tinged with red; crest only dull red, without darker shaft-

streaks. Beneath wholly light ochraceous. No black around bill.

A. e's soft, blended. Romp not lighter red man back.

Crest brown-

aed Bill ig z

Culmen, 7; Fe s, °41; oes il -54. Feathers of dor-

sal region ie oa margined with grayish. Wing, 4°05; tail,

450; Hab. cli province of United States.

~ -WIRGINTANUS-

so ath: a yg T

6. Black of the lores scarcely meeting across 5 Woreboad : crest pure

vermilion. Bill T st.

men, ‘84; gonys, ‘47; depth of bill, -70. Feathers of

dorsal era Sipin grayish borders; red beneath more

intense; wing, 3-60; tail, 4-20; crest, 2°00. . Eas

Mexico (Mirad ; tan; “Hon ” : var. COCCINEUS.*

—— all of western Mexico, north of the Rio Grande de

yar. IGNEUS.{

Santiago

B. neha feathers stiff, compact. ane decidedly lighter red ‘than the

ack.

Culmen, -75; gonys, a PA x bill, 57; Darse feathers

without grayish margin in the lasi ing, 3°40;

tail, 3°80; crest, 2-00. Hab. eas pes San “Aca-

pulco et Realejo. geen var. C.

cae

_*Cardinalis Virginianus, var. coccineus Ridgw Am. Jour. Arts &

Sci., Dec.. 1872. : i F

Baird, P. A.N +1859, p. 305. ba.

es BALI A nus, var. carneus gasy ay, Am. Jour. Arts an nd p

; raira ca r ei Less., R. Z. 1842, 209.— Bonap., Co nsp., i,

grr a the cate quoted (** Acapulco et Reale} om this name is the one paea

me osed in the synopsis; it is difficult, however, to make any

femal mature bird.

on, as it is evidently taken from a female or im

quoted be correct, this form paian along the Pacific coast southward,

ee Eg 3 Saeed ake CRESS ei i

ON THE OVIPOSITION OF THE YUCCA MOTH. 619

C. Phoeniceus.* Culmen much arched; commisst hed; upper m

dible not as deep as lower, and with grooves forward from the "ean

parallel with the curve of the culmen. Bill whitish- brown. Black patch

restricted to the chin, its posterior outline deeply conca

Cc 1 t N

feathers stiff and compac lack above, or on lores; crest

re vermilion; ru ght vermilion, much lighter than the back, ‘which

1s without gray edges to feathers. Cu men, “75; gonys, °39; height of bill,

w » 3°90; crest, 2°20. é Li wing buff;

e ashy , becoming pure ash on head and neck, except their

under side. Crest feathers vonali with black mapipi o red tinge on

ings, and only a slight tinge of it on tail. Fore part of cheeks and

middle of throat white: rest of lower part deep fed hi a Black

around bill as in male. Hab. Northern South America, Venezuela; New

Granada.

ON THE OVIPOSITION OF THE YUCCA MOTH.

BY PROF. CHAS. V. RILEY.

To complete the natural history of Pronuba yuccasella, a de-

Scription of the method of oviposition is necessary. In a former

article on this insect occur the following sentences :—

I am satisfied that the eggs are no deposited on the outside of

the fruit. They are either thrust ra it from the side or from the

stigmatic opening, following, most probably, the course of the pol-

len tubes. I strongly incline to the latter view, for, though many

iePidoptera are ett with neti ovipositors, which enable

them to thrust their eggs into crevices and other orifices, I know

of none which actually attra nor have I been able to discover

any trace of punctures leading to eggs.

Neither have I been able to discover the egg in situ; which is

not to be wondered at, however, as when examined i in the female ab-

exact color of the flesh of the young fruit. The ovipositor is so

very fine and extensile that it may be thrust into the most minute

and narrow passage.

babl va A from latitude 20° as far at least as Nicaragua. North of 20°, and on the Tres

‘Arias Islands, itis roi Aen a ka Gd be eus, and on the Atlantic coast, from Tam-

Pico south to Hondura ny Hen a AEE

the very long, stift. orest-fenthers; a ~ ight red oe go this variety of C. Virgin- :

dy us closely approximates to C. niceus, but in other r cid is very dis-

*Cardinalis Pheniceus (Gould) Bonap. P. Z. S., 1837, p. 111; Consp., i, 501.—

Sclater & Salvin, Ex. Orn., Pt. vii, 1868, pl eli, ea

620 ON THE OVIPOSITION OF THE YUCCA MOTH.

Analogy has proved an unreliable guide in this instance, as,

indeed, it often does in natural science; while the curious Q

Pronuba adds one more to the anomalies which belong to her.

She does puncture the young fruit and convey her eggs into it

from its side.

The yucca flowers are fully opened and perfect during a single

evening and night only, and it is during this, the first night of

blooming, that eggs are consigned to the somewhat prismatic pis-

til. The pollen grains are not so often expelled, to fall on the in-

side of the flower, as I had been led to suppose ; but almost always

remain in an entire lump on the contracted and curled anthers.

The moth, consequently, has no difficulty in accumulating her little

load of pollen, for a single anther furnishes nearly the requisite

amount.

Once equipped with this important commodity, she may be seen

either crawling over or resting within the flower. From time to

time she makes a sudden start, deftly runs around and among the

stamens, and anon takes position with the body between and the

legs straddling some two of them—her head turned toward the

stigma. As the terminal halves of the stamens are always more

or less recurved, she generally has to retreat between two of them

until the tip of her abdomen can reach the pistil. As soon as a

favorable point is reached — generally just below the middle—the

lance-like sheath of the ovipositor, which consists of four converg-

ing, corneous bristles, is thrust into the soft tissue, held there a few

seconds while the egg is conducted to its destination, and then with-

drawn by a series of up and down movements. So intent is she

upon this work that after the ovipositor once penetrates the pistil

the whole perigon may be detached, some of the encumbering

petals and stamens removed, the insect brought within the focus

of a good lens and all her movements observed to the greatest

advantage, without disturbing her. In this way I have been able

to watch the consignment of hundreds of eggs, and to admire the

delicacy and elasticity of the ovipositor proper, which issues from

the setaceous sheath in a silk-like thread, almost invisible to ome

naked eye and as long as the terminal abdominal joint ; and which

stretches and bends according as the body is raised’ or lowered.

No sooner is the ovipositor withdrawn into the abdomen than

the moth runs up to the top of the pistil, uncoils her rer

cee thrusts them into the stigmatic —

op Pas exe ape at pa ae E E ater

ieee STET

EYA

EAEN EEE A A A N A E E E at N a

ON THE OVIPOSITION OF THE YUCCA MOTH. 621

works her head vigorously as I have previously described — the

motion being mostly up and down and lasting several seconds.

This carrying of the pollen to the stigma generally follows every

act of oviposition, so that where ten or a dozen eggs are consigned

to a single pistil, the stigma will be so many times be-pollened.

The ends of the tentacles, which are most setose and spiny, and

which are always curled into the pollen-mass when not uncoiled,

must necessarily carry a number of pollen grains each time polli-

nation takes place; and I have noticed a gradual diminution in

the size of the collected mass, corresponding, no doubt, to the

work performed, which is indicated by the rubbed and worn ap-

pearance of the individual— the freshest specimens always having

the largest loads.

While oviposition is generally followed (and not preceded as I ,

formerly supposed) each time by pollination, yet the former some-

times takes place twice, thrice or oftener without the latter being

performed ; and I suspect that the converse of this is equally true.

Although often marking the exact point at which the puncture

was made, it is so very fine and the fruit tissue so soft and succu-

lent that I never succeeded in tracing the passage to the locus of

the egg until I dipped the pistil in ink. If carefully done, with-

out bruising the surface or allowing tze ink to run in at the stigma,

the fruit, by this operation, will be discolored only where the ink

has followed the recent puncture, which may then be traced by

means of a lens; though by extraordinary practice and manipula-

tion it might doubtless be traced under the microscope, without

such aid. The egg is very narrow and elongate, soft, flexile,

rather translucent, pointed anteriorly and of the exact color of its

Surrounding. It lies curved in the ovarian cavity, always on the

rounded side next the primary dissepiments (in the cases I have

noticed) and with the anterior end for the most part close to the

placenta. These facts are best ascertained a day or two after the

fruit is plucked, when, in the ink-dipped specimens, a sunken black

cicatrice forms around the mouth of the puncture, and the ova-

rian cavity enlarges by the shrinking of the adjoining tissues. I

have little doubt but that the egg increases in bulk before hatching,

under the influences of impregnation and endosmosis, and Dr.

Engelmann tells me that he has been able to trace the embryo

a under the extremely delicate egg-covering and to observe it

Curled up at the anterior end of the egg which greatly enlarges.

622 ON THE OVIPOSITION OF THE YUCCA MOTH.

This larva hatches on the fourth or fifth day after the laying of

the egg, and usually commences feeding between two ovules,

which, in consequence of its action, swell abnormally. Thus in

making a longitudinal section of the fruit these swollen ovules

often indicate the presence of the worm where it would otherwise

be overlooked while very small.

While oviposition generally takes place in the manner described,

the moth head outwards and straddling two stamens, an entirely

opposite position must sometimes be assumed, since larve and

punctures are not unfrequently found in the upper part of the

fruit, especially where a single one is stocked with ten or a dozen

larvee, as is sometimes the case.* As the fruit enlarges, the mouth

of the puncture forms a slight, discolored depression, more notice-

able in some varieties than in others; but the passage-way becomes

obliterated.

My observations this summer might be extended much in detail.

They have convinced me more than ever that Pronuba is the only

insect by the aid of which our yuccas can be fully fertilized ; for

I have studied this fertilization diligently night after night, with-

out seeing any other species go near the stigma. The stigmatic

opening closes after the first night and I know of no crepuscular

or nocturnal species which could collect the requisite amount of

pollen and bring it so to bear on the stigma that each ovule would

receive the influence of a pollen grain. The species already enum-

eratedf as frequenting yucca are mostly diurnal and have nothing

to do in the work; and wherever I have excluded the moth from

the flowers, by enclosing the latter with netting, no fruit has been

produced. Iam therefore led to believe that the few rare instances

of yucca-fertilization, in localities where Pronuba may be presumed

not to occur, have been brought about by another insect acciden-

tally, or by the stamens reaching an exceptional length, and the

anthers being brought into contact with the stigma by the pon

niving of the closing petals. I have found the stamens of varying

length in the flowers on the same panicle and in some instances

almost as long as the pistil. `

It is my intention to obtain a large number of cocoons this year

and it will give me pleasure to distribute them among those who

*I have counted as many as twenty-one larvæ in a single capsule of what is appar-

-ently Y. flaccida

os t Trans. St. Louis Ac. Se., iii, No. 1, p. 59.

Se aa ieee tiara Bk thie tale A yaks ee a Ne

eset

Pra

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 623

grow the yucca in those parts of this country or in Europe where

seed is not produced. The cocoons will be best sent in early

spring and should be buried three or four inches beneath the soil

at the foot of the plant.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

PREHISTORIC Races oF THE UNITED States.*— Had the so-called

Indian never existed in North America, it would, we think, have

been a more satisfactory undertaking to endeavor to solve, from

existing data, the mystery of that forgotten people of this conti-

nent, now known as ‘“‘ Mound-builders.” Careful as one may be,

it is impossible to avoid uniting the traces of the two people,

especially when describing stone implements, while professedly

treating of but one of these races. Even among the many relics

of the redman found in the Atlantic states, there are frequently

gathered single specimens, that seem applicable to the mound-

builder rather than to the Indian; so, judging from relics of this

character only, there seems to be a closer tie between the two

peoples than the learned author of the volume before us is

disposed to admit. Such is the impression made by a careful

perusal of that portion of the work which describes the stone

implements found in and near the earthworks referabie to the

mound-builders; and it is the copper weapons and pottery that

distinguish this people, studied only by the smaller relics that are

found ; for no stone implement occurs in the mounds, or is other-

wise assignable to the mound-builders, that is not also cbaracter-

istic of Indian “ finds.” When, on the other hand, we familiarize

ourselves with the wonderful mounds, for temple sites, for sacrifice

and sepulture, and with the long lines of an enclosure for defence

and other purposes, then indeed, we see abundant reason for

drawing the lines between the people who erected them and the

ruder redmen; and admitting that “a broad chasm is to be

spanned before we can link the mound-builders to the North

American Indians.”

* Prehistoric Races of the United States of America. By the late J. W. Foster,

LL.D. Chicago, S. C. Griggs and Co. 8vo, cloth. pp. 415. Illustrated.

624 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

In the opening chapters of the book, Dr. Foster gives an ad-

mirable résumé of the evidences, in Europe and in the United

States, of the antiquity of man; and follows these chapters

with others on the geographical distribution of the works of the

mound-builders ; shel.-banks (w. ich are as referable to Indians

as to mound-builders) ; the construction of the mounds; the arts

and manufactures of their builders, and also, on their copper-

mining operations at Lake Superior.

Succeeding these, is an exceedingly interesting chapter on the

crania of the mound-builders, and then, after discussing manners

and customs as the basis of ethnic relations, the author asks in

chapter x, ‘* Who were the mound-builders ?”

We have not the space to enter into a detailed analysis of the

several chapters, briefly noticed above, although embracing 50

many subjects that are of steadily increasing interest to American

archeologists. As the main object of the work, however, is to

solve the deep mystery of the origin and fate of the mound-build-

ers, it is well that Dr. Foster’s own reply to these questions

should be given. He writes, with reference to the first of these,

“ Instead of seeking to establish ethnic relations between the

mound-builders and any of the races of the Old World, founded on

the apparent similarity of manners and customs, I would look

rather for their origin to that race who, in times far remote, flour-

ished in Brazil, some of whose crania are found in the bone-caves

of Minas Geres, in connection with mammalian bones belonging

to genera and species now extinct.”

With reference to their ate, while occupants of the territory

where their earthworks now are found, he remarks: “The dis-

tinctive character of the mound-builders’ structures, and also the

traditions which have been preserved, would indicate that this

people were expelled from the Mississippi valley by a fierce and

barbarous race, and that they found refuge in the more genial

climate of Central America, where they developed those germs of

civilization, originally planted in their northern homes, into 4

_ perfection which has elicited the admiration of every modern ex-

plorer.” i

=- We have here two very clearly expressed ideas as to the origin

of the mound-builders in North America, and of their departure

therefrom. Dr. Foster does not believe, as we have seen, in an

extra-American origin of this people; but seeks it rather in the

eT Ss

PE ey eee a eg eae a e E eke a eh ee

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. ~ 625

discovery, by Dr. Lund, in Brazil, ‘‘of human bones of both sexes

entirely preserved and partially petrified; in fact, truly fossil

bones, mixed with those of gigantic and extinct animals,*” “and

points out the similarity of the crania from Brazil with authentie

mound-builders’ skulls, that similarity being “a remarkable de-

ficiency of the frontal eminences, amounting to an almost entire

absence of the forehead,” and further adds, ‘+ a type which we find

delineated on the monuments of Mexico and Central America and

which is seen in the crania recovered from the shores of Lake

Michigan and the banks of the Wabash and Mississippi.”

These mound-builders’ skulls, it appears, from Dr..Foster’s re-

searches, ‘differ on the one hand from the Indian type, which is

brachycephalic, and from the Teutonic, on the other, which is

dolicocephalic.- They are intermediate, or orthocephalic ;” and,

after giving some craniological details, adds, “I think we are jus-

tified in drawing the conclusion that the mound-builders were not

the ancestors of North American Indians.”

The conclusion drawn being that orthocephalic mound-builders

could not or did not degenerate into redmen, who according to

Retzius are brachycephalic, “on that side of our continent which

looks towards Asia and the isles of the Pacific” and dolicoce-

phalic along’ the Atlantic seaboard, being nearly related to the

Guanches of the Canary Islands, and the Caribs— but that “the

primeval people of Brazil, the Huanchas of Peru, the platform

builders of Mexico and the mound-builders of the Mississippi

alley” were closely allied people. Of these, however, Dr.

Foster distinctly states that the latter are orthocephalic; while

Retzius describes the others as decidedly dolicocephalic. If

therefore both authors are correct, we cannot trace the connec-

tion between the mound-builders, as described by Dr. Foster, and

the races described by Retzius, to whom our author refers so

frequently, as to the characteristics of their crania. And, on the

other hand, if the orthocephali are derived from dolicocephalic

autochthones of Brazil, why may not their descendants have be-

Come, by sexual selection, brachycephalic redmen, or indeed re-

verted to the ancestral dolicocephalic form? The fossil men of

Geræs may be the ancestors of the mound-builders, but do

the craniological details brought forward by Dr. Foster, of them-

selves prove it? j

ATE

*Journ. Anthrop. Inst, London: Vol. ii, p. 408.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 40

626 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

A word more, and we have done. We have asserted that our

author did not seek, out of America, for the origin of the Ameri-

can races. Such would seem to be his opinion, when he asks the

question (chap. x) ‘‘ Who were the mound-builders?” and also in

discussing ‘“ manners and customs as the basis of ethnic rela-

tions :” but in chapter xi, we find Dr. Foster asserting that he

doubts not ‘that there will be found continuous and uninterrupted

causes which shall explain all the diversities in the different

branches of the human faniily, without the necessity of resorting

to independent creations.” To this we cannot subscribe, and

think we see in it ‘a contradiction to the whole tenor of the pre-

ceding chapters.

he antiquity of the redman in ka can scarcely be meas-

ured ; it is probable that he “ witnessed the declining existence

of the mastodon and megalonyx, in the later ages of the glacial

period*” —that of the mound-builder can scarcely be greater,

and efforts to trace his origin ‘‘ to a common fountain of life, as

with other races now inhabiting the earth, soon involve the inves-

tigator in the mazes of conjecture.”

We learn from the preface of the volume before us, that Dr.

Foster hoped at a later day “to draw more liberally from the ma-

terials at his command.” It will ever be a source of regret that

his untimely death has foreyer ended his valuable labors in

American archeology. Valuable and interesting as is the work

we have briefly reviewed, we doubt not but that a more compre-

hensive monograph from the same gifted source would have over-

come many of the difficulties that now beset the path of American

CLASSIFICATION or Norra Amerrcan BerrLes.t— Since his re-

cent return froma stay of several years in Europe, Dr. LeConte

has applied himself to the study of our beetles, and with what

. success may be seen in the amount of work contained in the two

pamphlets we notice in this number of the NATURALIST

Though this second part is much smaller than the first, and

treats of but two families, the Spondylida and Cerambycide, yet

the work is done in the same thorough, comprehensive way tha

Sse a cis pages Soi a a

a Jos. sta in indigenous Races of the Earth, p.X

of the Coleoptera of North America. ne for the Smithsonian

Tastirurion by John L. LeConte, M. D. Part ii. Washington, May-June, ao

BOTANY. 627

characterized the first, and which places the author, in his mas-

terly grasp of the subject, foremost among the living writers on

Coleoptera.

Each family of beetles is fully characterized, with detailed de-

scriptions of the subfamilies, tribes, and brief diagnoses of all the

genera, together with interesting remarks of a general nature.

The work when completed will necessarily be a complement as

well as supplement of Lacordaire’s famous “Genera of Coleop- `

tera,” and will invite the attention of European entomologists,

while in America it will be the Coleopterist’s vade mecum.

New Nort American BEEtLEs.*—Dr. LeConte, in this second

part of ‘* New Species of North American Coleoptera,” describes

eighty-nine new species of beetles, mostly from the Pacific coast.

A number of new genera are also characterized.

BOTANY.

FLoweRING or ApLecTRuM.— With us the flowering of Aplec-

trum hyemale Nutt. appears to be an exceedingly rare event; so

much so, that close watching of the plant in our woods, for sev-

eral years, on my part, has been unrewarded by a single instance

of its blossoming. The experience of others corroborates the

“conclusion that it is a shy bloomer, at least in Michigan. I am

anxious for information on the point referred to, as regards

other localities. A friend once succeeded in obtaining the flowers

by taking up the plants in the spring, and keeping them in saucers

of the rich black mould which the Aplectrum loves so well, thor-

oughly moistened. A plant which I once potted sent up a fine

Scape, several inches high, but, owing to the want of proper care

during my absence from home, it did not come to perfection.

The Aplectrum was formerly well represented in the woods

north of Detroit; but the encroachment of the city is fast destroy-

ing the station which was remarkable for the abundance of this

rather scarce plant. However, it is, even now, far from exhausted.

On the 20th of April, 1873, I took from a space about ten feet

Square, in a piece of beech woods, thirty of these plants, which I

*New Species of North e ABETE Prepared for the Smithsonian Institu-

tion by John L. LeConte, M.D. oe Miscellaneous Collections (264),

Washington, May-June, 1873. By om

628 BOTANY.

transferred to my garden, in the hope of seeing them blossom. I

shall duly communicate the result. Some years ago, I gave

several handsome roots to a Boston friend, for cultivation; but

I have not heard since regarding them. Some which I have

kept potted for three years invariably send up every summer

their large, many-plaited leaves, which remain throughout the

winter as usual; but the flowers are not produced. It may be

that, in order to procure the desired result, the pot should not

be kept housed during winter, but remain plunged in the open

ground.

I have thought that perhaps the destruction of the native forest,

depriving the plant of some element necessary to its perfect devel-

opment, is the cause of its so seldom or never blossoming here.

This is a suggestion worthy of note as regards the history of

other plants as well as of this one. Of late years the Aplectrum

is, with us, of less luxuriant growth than formerly—HeEnry GILL-

MAN, Detroit, Michigan. i

A Yew FLOWERING IN WINTER.—About six weeks ago I nipped

a small spray off a dwarf yew tree, protruding through the snow,

in my neighbor’s garden. It was my intention to press it; but

for immediate convenience it was put in a glass of water, in the

sitting room, and for some time no more was thought about it. A

few days ago (Feb. 7), I was astonished to find a number of full

blown flowers on the spray. These pretty, diminutive objects

were accompanied with an interesting phenomenon. The anthers

kept up a little fusillade of explosions, throwing off the yellow

pollen in tiny clouds. My thumb nail, which happened to be near

one of the little globular catkins about as large as a canary’s eye;

was quite yellow with the ejected n I shook off some on

the slide of a microsco They were, in form, when under a lens

- of. high power, like ihai ie aut although I had barely

> touched the slide with my nail, yet the number of pollen grains

, under the microscope was innumerable. To me, this affair was

intensely interesting, and a very pleasant episode in a sick room.

` The entire process can doubtless be repeated by any one, with the

certainty of success, even in midwinter. The pretty little stran-

= gers still continue blooming on my table, and impart a cheeriness

to this unusually bleak St. Valentine’s Day.—S. L., in Monmouth

D ; ;

ET 2 Ye ds

BOTANY. 629

VARIATIONS IN MEDEOLA AND Uvurarta.—On the 17th of June,

1872, I found in the woods near Fredericton, N. B., a specimen

of Medeola Virginica (not rare in these parts), possessing the

following unusual characteristics.

The whole plant was about eighteen inches high. Instead of

the usual whorl of leaves near the middle of the stem, the whole

of these were clustered at the summit, there producing a sort of

double whorl, of twelve leaves in all, the lower and outer being

of the usual size and gradually becoming smaller and oval-lanceo-

late towards the top, thus embracing the upper whorl of three

leaves usually found beneath the flower. The latter was still

more anomalous in character, the single blossom (which was erect,

and not recurved, upon a short stout peduncle) having one petal

recurved between two of the sepals, which with the remaining

petals were alike and spreading, with incurved edges. Within

the perianth were four other bodies, apparently petals, but some-

what stamen-like in aspect, followed by three good and three ap-

parently abortive stamens, the whole surrounding siz dark purple

stigmas! Are these results the effect of an effort at reversion,

or are they due to a partial consolidation of the two or more flow-

ers usually found in the same situation— or both?

Another curiosity, though less remarkable than the last, and

recently observed by me, is a specimen of Uvularia sessilifolia

possessing three well formed flowers instead of the solitary one or

rarely two, described in Gray’s Manual as usual with the plant.

Both of the above specimens were preserved and are now in my

herbarium.—L. W. BAILEY.

A New Barrasr Warr. — Kaighn’s Point, opposite Philadel-

phia—a place where ballast is discharged—is noted for the for-

eign plants which appear there year after year, some of which are

disposed to remain. To the list of such plants which has been

published we may now add a remarkable one, Calycera balsamiti-

Jolia, a native of Buenos Ayres, a representative of a singular

small family, nearly allied to Compositæ, and peculiar to extra-

tropical South America. It was collected by Mr. Isaac Burk,

and determined by Dr. H. Leifmann of Philadelphia.—A. G.

ZOOLOGY.

THE PRESERVATION OF THE LOWER ANIMALS.— I have the honor

of making known to the class two methods that I have employed

at Helgoland, during the last season, for the preparation and pres-

ervation of Medusæ, Ctenophoræ, Noctilucæ and most of those

lower forms, transparent as crystal, which live at the surface of

the sea, and which the use of the towing net furnishes in abun-

dance. I submit to the class different Medusæ (Oceania, Gery-

onopsis), Ctenophore and some Noctiluce prepared for several

months, and remarkable for their perfect preservation.

One of these methods consists in the use of a weak solution of

osmic acid, the other in the use of picric acid.

Osmic acid has been constantly employed in histology, espe-

cially for the study of the nerve-terminations, and Max Schultze

has made known, by his beautiful researches on the structure of

the retina, all the advantages which the use of this reagent

presents. Not only does the osmic acid harden the-most delicate

tissues and organs, allowing us to make fine sections, but it

possesses the valuable property of coloring brown, afterwards

black, the fatty parts in general, and more particularly myeline.

It tints in brown epithelial cells and muscular tissues ; it renders

very apparent the fibrillar structure of the cylinder of the axis of

nervous fibres, and brings out clearly the isolated nerve fibrille.

Very recently, F. S. Schultz has employed with great success

osmic acid for his beautiful histological researches on Cordylo-

phora lacustris. This reagent indicates admirably the limits of

the cells and brings out well their different characters.

I have used osmic acid to prepare Medusx and Ctenophore, in

order to save them from the destructive action of alcohol, in the

following manner. The object is placed in a very feeble solution of

osmic acid, for a time varying, according to the nature of these mi-

nute organisms, from fifteen to twenty-five minutes. After this lapse

of time the animals are colored pale brown; the cells of the endo-

-derm and the organs attached to the endodermic layer are alone col-

~ ored, and the other tissues preserve their original transparence.

_ Thanks to this coloration of the endodermic cellules the gastro-vas-

cular canals are admirably indicated, and the cirrhi become more

_ distinct than in the small, living Medusæ. At the same time all the

ZOOLOGY. 631

tissues harden, and we can then withdraw from the acid solution

the objects which have been submitted to its action, wash them

carefully several times, and then place them in strong alcohol

without running the risk of finally destroying either their elegant

forms or the transparence of their tissues. We can even after

several weeks, and probably after several months, study the organ-

ization and the structure of these delicate beings as well as if we

had them living under our eyes.

Another method that I have employed with success consists in

the use of picric acid in a concentrated aqueous solution. I have

preserved in this liquid, for about six weeks, small Meduse

(Oceania) and Noctiluce. We only notice that the small Meduse,

which are perfectly transparent in life, have become plainly

Opaque. I have examined microscopically some Noctiluce thus

preserved, and can state that they appear just as they i came from

the sea.— E. Van BENEDEN.

Tue Avı-FAUNA or Cororapo.— Dr. Coues, in the June number

of the Naruratist, criticises the Holden-Aiken list of the Birds of

Colorado. So far as his criticism has any pertinence, it would

seem to be to complain of the incongruity of grouping in the same |

list birds found in northern and in southern portion’ of this terri-

tory. If this were the first time that local lists were made, based

on political and disregarding natural lines, it would perhaps be

worth while to discuss this point. Or I might fall back upon my

reserved rights, and, while allowing to my critic the full right to

his individual opinion, claim the right to differ, toto celo. Or I

might cite, in extenuation of my offence, a well known list of New

Ehglind Birds, in which “ such birds as” the hooded warbler and

the Canada jay “find themselves in ornithological company they

never saw outside of a book—” or that of the birds of Arizona,

or of South Carolina wherein similar forced associations are only

Possible cum longo intervallo. But my transgression is one for

which I propose to make no excuse, and for which I do not need

even such illustrious examples; and I would not now have re-

ferred to this critique but for an unfortunate error which I deem it

important to set right. Facts are more valuable than mere

Unsupported theory, and illustrations are peculiarly unfortunate

when they contradict instead of confirming an hypothesis. Such

is the case with my critic. To demonstrate the impropriety of the

632 ZOOLOGY.

Holden-Aiken list, Dr. Coues says “such birds as Geococeyx Cali-

fornianus and Pipilo mesoleucus find themselves in ornithological

company they never saw outside of a book.” Now so far from

demonstrating the incongruity of this list, the sentence I quote

proves the need of it. It enables us to teach even so good an

ornithologist as our critic, and it also shows that it is never

safe to argue on merely negative ground. The illustration he has

chosen, so far from contirming, refutes his objections. Mr. Aiken

informs me that not only are both of these birds found in Colo-

rado, even in the same county, but.that he knows positively of

several instances in which G. Californianus and P. mesoleucus

have been seen within a few rods of each other. A valid reason

might also be urged for the absence, in the list, of any description

of Junco Aikeni, but it would not interest your readers to hear it:

enough that it was both unavoidable in itself, and a postponement

rather than an omission.—T. M. Brewer.

Ma.rormations.—Last winter one of our pupils at New Bruns-

wick, N. J., communicated the fact that he had purchased, the pre-

vious autumn, of a huckster woman in Newark, a pair of young

ducks, each having four wings. The woman had twelve for sale,

and said that*the eggs were laid by a well formed bird; that she

hatched a brood of sixteen, every one of them having four wings-

The youth said that his birds used both pairs of wings in flying,

that is, in moving rapidly on the surface of the pond. They did

not live long. Whether this was due to any defective vitality 1m

the birds, or to any extraneous cause, could not be learned.

But we turn from these traditionary facts to a catastrophe, which

our own eyes have inspected, as having befallen a family of cats.

About a mile and a half from Freehold, N. J., lives an intelli-

. gent family who have had for several years an annual litter of

malformed cats. Several years ago a young male cat was brought

from Allentown, some twenty miles distant. This cat had a de-

formity in one front foot, which had six toes. It coupled with a

cat of normal form and parts, and a litter of four or five was the

result, all with six-toed front feet. The she cat became trouble-

some, getting into the pantry, and so was sent off. ‘The kittens

_ were disposed of except one. With this the paternal cat united,

and the result was four kittens each having six toes on each fore-

foot, and five on each hind-foot. This intermixing, as I under-

ZOOLOGY. 633

stand, by this Grimalkin Turk, has gone on for some four years,

and to-day, July 29th, I examined one of his daughters, some

three months old, which has siz toes on each of the hind-feet, and

seven toes on each of the fore-feet. The fore-feet are bifurcated ;

that is, they have, as it were, each two paws to one foot, the

outer paw of each foot being much the larger, and having four

toes; and the inner, or smaller paw, on each foot, having three

toes. This kitten was one of a litter of four, all malformed pre-

cisely alike. On some points I could not get the exact informa-

tion desired. But I should think that the vitality of these cats

is becoming less and less, as they do not become common. To me

it seems astounding when I attempt to conceive of the physical

equation which enters into this erratic conception — the minute-

ness of the abnormal material which, plus the normal substance

as imparted by the spermatozoén, gives the initial impulse to a

result so eccentric. If, as Goethe declared, ‘‘ It is in her mon-

Strosities that Nature reveals to us her secrets,” one would like to

know something of the mode and motive of such a distribution of

the life force. During our inspection of Miss Tabbie it was all

very well so long as we stroked her back with one hand. She

purred as expressive of true feline luxuriousness ; and, what is not

common, she even licked the other hand as indicating affection.

But when we meddled with her extremities, she evidently regarded

it as taking personal liberties with unpleasant peculiarities; and

instantly rewarded our duplicity by investing in our hand the seven

talons concealed in that duplex napkin.—Samvuet Locxwoop.

Tae “ Wittow Wanns” rrom Burrarp’s Intet.— I have been

able definitely to place the above, referred to by my friend “W. H.

+: on page 488 of this volume of the Naturatist, by the receip

in this city of several specimens in good preservation. The

“wands” or “switches” prove to be what the majority of scien-

tific gentlemen who had seen specimens, supposed, viz., the cen-

tral stalks or axes of Alcyonoid polypes, but do not belong to the

Senus Umbellularia as suggested by me, but to a new species of

vonaria, which I have described in the “ Mining and Scientific

Press” (August 9th) of this city, under the name of Pavonaria

Blakei. It is a beautiful form resembling in a general way the

British species P. quadrangularis from Oban. The most perfect

Specimen, but not the largest, displayed some 245 ,-like rows,

634 ZOOLOGY.

and numbered about 5000 individual polypes. With P. Blaket

were received specimens of Pennatula tenua Gabb, described in

oc. Cal. Acad., vol. ii.— R. E. C. STEARNS, San Francisco.

Tue KIıNGFISHER.— In a recent number of the Naturatist is a

note by Dr. Abbott contradicting Darwin’s statements as to the

manner in which the kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) takes its food.

Permit me to add my testimony in favor of Darwin. Having ob-

served the habits of birds for some years I can say that the king-

fisher divides its food by means of its bill, before swallowing.

The smaller fish being soft are easily crushed and divided while

being swallowed. The larger fish are frequently partially swal-

lowed and so carried to a convenient perch and there disgorged,

and then a few strokes of the bill divide it ready for digestion.

A dissection of a kingfisher will show the above to be the case.—

E. E. Breep, Duluth, Minn.

Tue “Hornep Toap.”—It may be of some interest to the

readers of the Naturatist to know that the common horned toad

(Phrynosoma cornuta) produces a large number of young at a

single birth. Last summer Mr. George Eddy of this city brought

me a toad which had given birth to twenty-five little ones, and two .

weeks ago (July 14) a boy called after me and showed me a toad

which only two hours before had given birth to twenty-seven.

The young were exceedingly active and could run as rapidly as

the old one.—Joun WHERRELL, Leavenworth, Kansas.

Tue BLACK Syowsmp BREEDS on THE Grariock Rance. — I

have for some time suspected that the black snowbird (Junco

hyemalis) breeds on the mountains of this region; but I have

never found the nest of this bird here till to-day. To-day I found

the nest, with two eggs, on one of the hills belonging to the Gray-

lock range. It was on the ground just under the edge of a little .

bank and was made of dried grasses and lined with black hair.

Jacob Horton, of the senior class in this college, found the nest

and eggs of this bird on Graylock a few days ago. — SANBORN

Tenner, Williams College, Aug. 6, 1873. _

ADDITION To THE Avi-rauna or Amertca.—One of the birds

obtained by our party in the Aleutian Islands during last season,

with an incomplete set of eggs, was forwarded by Prof. Baird (to

whom the specimens were submitted) to Mr. Harting of London;

GEOLOGY. 635

it is the Tringa crassirostris of Temminck and Schlegel, a species

hitherto known only from eastern China and Japan, and an inter-

esting addition to our northwestern fauna. W. H. DALL

GEOLOGY.

Ow 4 Few MINERAL LOCALITIES WHICH ARE Nor MENTIONED IN

THE Booxs.—Beryl occurs sparingly in the southern part of Sul-

livan, New Hampshire. I have an absolutely perfect crystal, both

terminations perfect, from this place. Dana mentions beryl from

Sullivan with a query.

From Alstead, N. H., I have obtained crystals of beryl which

have yielded the most beautiful gems. The beryl here is found

near the well known mica quarry. In the mica quarry itself there

occurs an interesting variety of albite, containing prominent scales

of a-silvery colored mica. The small crystals of beryl from the

old mica quarry are remarkable for their modified terminations.

In Gilsum, N. H., I have obtained crystals of beryl, and fine

crystals of mica. I found them in a cut made through the coarse

granite, for the highway, between Gilsum and Marlow.

A mile or two northwesterly from the centre of the town of

Acworth, N. H., and on the north side of the old highway from

this town to North Charlestown, there is a locality of blue kya-

nite, an account of which, however, I gave at the Troy meeting

of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The kyanite will be seen, by the careful observer, on the stone

wall by the wayside, and it is found in place a little to the north-

ward of the wall. A variety of kyanite (fibrolite?) is common in

the mica slate of the eastern part of Marlow, N. H. Black tour-

maline also occurs in this town.

Plumbago occurs sparingly in the last named town; also more

abundantly in Weare, N. H. The fact of its occurrence in Weare

may have been recorded before. I am not sure about it.

Acicular crystals of rutile in perfectly limpid quartz occur as

owlders in the southern part of New Hampshire. I have one of

these which I obtained in Jaffrey, N. H., but of its exact locality I

Am not now sure. I may here add that I have a similar specimen

ftom the northern part of Vermont, and from the fact that not a

few Specimens of this sort have been found in these two states, it

‘8 evident that somewhere to the northward there is an important

cality of this mineral SANBORN TENNEY.

636 ANTHROPOLOGY.— MICROSCOPY.

Tue “Grapes” or MaryLanp.— Will you call the attention of

geologists who may be passing over the Baltimore and Ohio rail-

road to this very peculiar region? From a bird’s-eye view which

I had from a summit, a little north of Oakland station, in Alle-

ghany county, I am satisfied that these meadows were the seat of

ancient glaciers. If this is so, it brings the former glacier level

of the Alleghanies much lower than has heretofore been supposed ;

that is to say down to 2400 or 2500 feet above mid-tide at Balti-

more. — GEORGE GIBBS, New Haven.

Bowtpers.—I believe it has long been known that in many

cases bowlders are formed by exfoliatign and disintegration in the

very situations in which we find them. Fine examples of granite

owlders of this sort occur near the ordinary stage road about

five or six miles, more or less, north of the Yosemite.— SANBORN

TENNEY.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Tue Ace or THE Famous GAupELoure SKELETON.—M. Hamy

has just made, at the Museum of Natural History at Paris, a dis-

covery of much interest in relation to the age of the famous

Gaudeloupe skeleton. He found in one of the blocks containing

a skeleton of a child eight years old, an amulet of jade, represent-

ing a batrachian. This jewel he pronounces to be of Carib origin.

Rochefort and Du Tertre speak of the fondness of the primitive

inhabitants of this archipelago for certain green and red stones,

and especially those which had the form “grenouille” (frog). i”

block was carried to Paris at the same time as the one enclosing

the skeleton examined by Cuvier. Abridged from the Parts

“Journal des Débats.”

MICROSCOPY.

A New Camsey For Microscope Lamps.—Mr. Wenham uses

as a chimney a cylindrical brass tube with a space cut out of ane

side, which space is closed with an ordinary glass slide held in

place by a spring clip. The tube is not liable to accident, and

the perishable part, the glass slip, can be instantly replaced wher-

ever the microscgpist may be, while the peculiarly shaped glass

chimneys, commonly used on microscope lamps, cannot be obtained

MICROSCOPY. 637

SEPARATING Dratoms.— In cleaning diatoms, and in preparing

other microscopic specimens, it is often necessary to decant part

of the fluid in a vessel without disturbing the remainder, in order

to separate those objects or particles which are heavy and settle

promptly from those which are lighter and remain longer diffused

through the liquid. When no great nicety is required, the upper

portion of the liquid may simply be

poured carefully off from the lower; as

in washing sediments, where all but the

‘ heavier part is to be thrown away.

much better separation is accomplished

by a syphon, either the upper or the low- /

d er portion, preferably the latter, being

quietly drawn off by this means. This

apparatus is so simple as to be easily

made and managed, and easily cleaned C=

for subsequent use. Of the more com-

plicated contrivances for this use, one

of the best is Benning’s (See Nave’s :

: Collector’s Hand Book of Alge, etc., =

= London, 1869, p. 26), which consists pre ge

of a tall jar with a series of stop-cocks or taps at various heights,

the water containing the objects being conducted by a funnel to

the bottom of the jar, and the objects escaping with the water

from the various taps according to the readiness with which they

settle through the water. Another plan, a modification by John

H. Martin of a previously used apparatus (see Martins Manual

of Microscopic Mounting, London, 1872, p. 24), consists of a

closed cylinder with several tubes leading through the top, the

lower ends of these tubes opening inside of the cylinder at dif-

ferent heights, and the fluid being forced out through them by the

Pressure of a column of water carried in a flexible rubber tube.

The disadvantages of these contrivances are their complexity, diffi-

culty of cleaning, and danger of imperfect cleaning. A simpler

arrangement is to use a tube drawn out to a funnel-shape at the

bottom, and closed below by a spring-tap consisting of a rubber

tube pressed together by a wire spring as represented in the cut.

apparatus, described in the “ Collectors Hand Book” (p.

2) and elsewhere, is easily worked and cleaned, and eminently

ry. Though much used abroad, it has scarcely been

adopted i in this country.

Fig. 153.

SSS E o a

xy z

638 NOTES.

Nore on A New +} Opsectrve.—In the Naruratist for August

appears the announcement that “ Mr. Tolles has recently com-

pleted a A; objective perfectly satisfactory to himself.” Now the

fact is Mr. T. never constructed an objective of any power ‘ per-

fectly satisfactory to himself,” and I really think it necessary to

put in a plea in abatement to this effect.— Rost. B. TOLLES.

Watres.—Wm. Wales, who has been abroad this summer, has

returned to Fort Lee, N. J., and resumed work in the construction

of his well-known and much-used objectives.

s NOTES.

Ar the second meeting of the Agassiz Natural History Club,

held at the Anderson School of Natural History, July 30th, Mr.

Jordan gave an account of two algæ common on our shores,

known as Chordaria flagelliformis and Dictyosiphon feniculæcus,

which have been considered as distinct plants and referred to dif-

ferent orders. Areschoug suggested, some time ago, that the latter

was but an abnormal state of the former, but this view has not

been accepted by other algologists. Mr. Jordan showed a drawing

of a specimen of Chordaria found in Penikese harbor, two of whose

branches were, to all appearances, Dictyosiphon, both to the naked

eye and under the microscope. Unless the Dictyosiphon were

parasitic, which on close examination seems impossible, or unless

it be not identical with the plant described under that name 1m

Europe -he thought we must conclude that the two alleged species

are but different forms of Chordaria flagelliformis.

Mr. Ingersoll mentioned some of the changes in the general

forms of terns, in their growth. In the bird just ready to batch the

head is about as bulky as the whole body, and the distance from

the commissure to the crown is nearly as far as to the occiput; the

bill is short and thick, the eyes well forward, large and closed.

The shoulders are tolerably narrow and the body widens and thick-

ens posteriorly. The legs are long in proportion, lack color and

rigidity, and seem fat and useless. The body is covered bind

xible, hair-like tubes instead of feathers, which, however, indi-

cate in their areas of growth the pterylography of the spe

At birth changes begin which culminate in maturity. The bill

becomes long, attenuated and sharp at the tip, until it measures

from commissure to tip twice the distance from commissure tO

NOTES. 639

occiput. The bill is now bright red with more or less black

about the tip. The black tip is apparent in the embryo, but the

red does not appear till the bird is ready to fly, and then but

faintly. Meanwhile the top of the head flattens till the angle be-

tween it and the culmen is almost lost ; so that the longest diam-

eter of the head is the horizontal. The neck is still long and

slender, but in the body the main bulk is anterior between the

shoulders, and not in the hinder part of the body where the yolk

is absorbed, as in young birds. The breast bone gradually in-

creases in strength and the keel assumes its large proportions by

the time of maturity.

Mr. J. Tingley asked if the colors could be preserved in star-

fishes. Prof. Agassiz replied that certain shades of color were

more evanescent than others, but in the end all would disappear.

Specimens preserved in glycerine or alcohol would preserve their

Colors for a short time. It was not known to what the colors were

due; and this was true of all marine animals. ` Color, in some

fishes examined, was found to be due to different oils accumulated

in distinct cells, and different tints arose from the grouping of cer-

tain cells. The Professor said further that nothing could be more

beautiful under the microscope than these pigment cells, and

it was easy to obtain them — only take a little piece of colored skin.

He had forty folio colored plates of one species from the embryo,

Where the pigment cells were few, up to older specimens where

they were crowded one behind the other, and he had seen them in

very many conditions, yet he had not come to the end of the story.

The different tints were, he supposed, owing to different oxida-

tion; at any rate the colors seemed to be different conditions of

an identical substance.

Ar the recent meeting of the American Association for the Ad-

vancement of Science held in Portland, Maine, from Wednesday,

August 20th to Tuesday, the 26th, one hundred and fifty-seven

Papers were entered on the general list. Abstracts were received

_ of all but nine and were referred to the sectional committees who

allowed most of them to be read; a number that were read, how-

ever, were not approved by the committees for publication. This

Careful discrimination is yearly becoming more necessary in order

to keep up the character of the papers accepted for publication

and to keep the limits of the volume within the means of the Asso-

640 i NOTES.

ciation, though it would be a subject for great regret if funds were

not at hand for the printing of every paper that advanced science.

The very opportune donation of one thousand dollars by Mrs.

Elizabeth Thompson, the first patron of the Association, will allow

the commencement of a new series of publications of papers em-

bodying original research, thus enabling the committee to show

especial honor to such papers. Seventy-seven of the papers pre-

sented were referred to Section B (natural history) and many of

them were of first rank in scientific importance.

The general character of the meeting was decidedly scientific,

and the discussions, though sometimes sharp, were carried on with

a general good feeling and no personalities arose to mar the good

nature of the meeting. The rooms of the City Building, where all

the meetings were held, were. all that could be desired. The Local

Secretary and a few other members of the Local Committee were

indefatigable in their efforts to make the meeting pleasant and suc-

cessful so far as the local arrangements were concerned. It must

be confessed, however, that the social element and the sympathy

of the citizens generally with the objects of the Association were

far less than at aty previous meeting which we have attended.

The lunch given by the ladies of Portland and the clam bake at

Old Orchard Beach broke the ice a little, but that hearty entering

of the citizens into the objects of the Association, which has char-

acterized former meetings, was wanting. The excursions, by rail

and steamer, after the adjournment, were much enjoyed by those

able to remain and take part in them. About two hundred old

members were present and one hundred and ten new members were

elected. Prof. Lovering in his closing remarks as president made

an eloquent speech and declared the twenty-second meeting closed

at 11 o'clock a. m. on Tuesday, August 26th. :

Among the important business transacted during the session

was the report of a special committee on a revision of the Consti-

tution, looking to a better carrying out of the objects of the Anso

ciation. This report will come up for action at the next meeting

which will be held at Hartford, Connecticut, on the second Wed-

nesday of August, 1874.

The general officers of the next meeting are Dr. JE LeConte,

President ; Prof. C. S. Lyman, Vice President ; Dr. A. C. Hamlin,

General Secretary; Mr. F. W. Putnam, Permanent Secretary.

ee E

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.— NOVEMBER, 1873.— No. 1l.

LTEDPORYOD I~

THE STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED

BY PROF. LOUIS AGASSIZ.

Taer subject announced in the programme for this evening’s

lecture is “ The Structure and Growth of Domesticated Animals.”

It would take a year’s course to do justice to the whole subject,

and I had therefore to choose a portion of it, and especially such

a part as may give you an idea of the difficulties of investigating

some of the topics which are, perhaps, of the greatest importance

in practical life. It is often expected that science will furnish all

the information wanted at a given moment, but minerai

science is not always ready. My object is to show that you

must have knowledge before you can apply it, and üa knowledge

is not always to be had for the asking. There is not always that

information on hand which may be needed even for the most

useful purposes; and in order to allay the impatience which is

sometimes manifested in respect to the want of usefulness on the

art of scientific men and their ability to enter into the arena of

practical life, I wish to show you how difficult it is to handle some

of the subjects, and I have chosen one respecting which, of course,

a farming community supposes that science can furnish all the

information wanted.

Yp. yar tay epee PEM, 7 S t Barre, Dece mber 3d, 1872

the Twentieth 4 Annual Report of the Secr etary of the Massachusetts Board of Agricul-

ture, bted to C. L. Flint, Esq., Secretary of the Board, for the use of the

ishiasipicestie illustrations.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

SCIENCE, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.

AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 41 (641)

642 STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

Concerning the anatomy of our domesticated animals there is a

great deal known; enough to give a good idea of the peculiarities

of the full-grown animals of the different kinds which we raise to

use for various purposes. Concerning the functions of their organs,

there is also a great deal known, which is of value and service to

guide us in our treatment of them. Nobody expects to treat a

pig as he treats a horse; and the difference in our management of

two such animals is determined by what we know of their struc-

ture, by what we know of the functions or the play of their char-

acteristic organs; but there is one topic about which the farmer

would like to know more, and that is in reference to breeding;

and especially such’ points in the process of breéding as would

enable him to do certain things which would add greatly to the

value of our stock. If it were known how to raise male animals

in places where it is desirable to have them in larger numbers, if

it were known how to raise heifers in those regions where dairy

farming is largely carried on, imagine what an advantage it would

be to be able to determine beforehand the sex of the animals to

be bred. Unfortunately, we do not know enough to-day to guide

us in that direction, and yet I have not the remotest doubt that

the time is coming when we shall be able to bring forth what we

want, as we have been able to produce certain peculiar modifica-

tions of the various kinds of domesticated animals to suit our pur-

poses,— when we want beef rather than milk, when we want

strength rather than delicacy of structure. Now, how shall we

get at it? We have not the information. You may consult the

men of science, the most learned men of the day in every part of

the world, and they will say, ‘‘Upon these topics we have no

satisfactory knowledge whatsoever.” It is to be reached only by

studying the various functions connected with the process of

breeding, by studying especially the earlier stages of the growth

of animals with which we are familiar, and studying them with

reference to that point. Upon that topic I will make a few state-

ments concerning the facts with which I am familiar.

It is not long since all animals were divided into two classes

with reference to their breeding. Some were called oviparous—

that is, egg-laying animals, which multiply by laying eggs, out of

which a young animal is eventually evolved ; the others were called

viviparous, —such as bring forth living young, after a more or less

_ protracted gestation; and these two classes of animals were sup-

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 643

posed to be widely different one from another, both in structure

and in mode of reproduction; but less than fifty years ago, a

German physiologist, Karl Ernst von Baer, one of the ablest

investigators of our century, made the astounding discovery that

all animals bring forth eggs that may not be distinguished from

one another at a certain stage; that all our cattle, all our domes-

ticated animals, all the beasts of the forest, as well as all the

birds on earth, produce eggs similar to one another. This seems

a very extraordinary statement, yet perhaps I shall be able to

make you familiar with the fact, and to make you understand it

as fully as you know that your hens lay eggs. But the eggs of a

great many animals most useful to us, and of those about which

we would like to know most, have not been studied microscop-

ically. Ihave devoted a great deal of my life to similar topics,

and I have never yet seen the egg of a mare; I have never yet

seen the egg of a cow; I have never yet seen the egg of a pig;

yet I believe that these animals bring forth eggs as much as the

animals that have been investigated with reference to that point.

A sufficient number of quadrupeds have been studied to leave no

doubt that all quadrupeds produce eggs as well as birds, as well as

all other animals, without exception. One of the ablest physiolo-

gists of our time, Professor Bischoff, of Munich, has devoted over

twenty years of his life to the study of a few of these animals,

and the results of his investigations are embodied in a volume of

many hundreds of pages, with a large number of plates, represent-

ing the history of only four species of quadrupeds. One is the

rabbit, another is the dog, a third is the guinea-pig, and the fourth

a species of deer which is common in the forests of Europe, — the

roebuck ; and the history of these animals, as presented in this

volume, covers only the very earliest period of gestation,—and

mainly that portion of their history embraced during the first

days of gestation, during the time when the egg of these animals

is transformed into a germ which grows to be an animal like the

parent. Now, unless we can have a similar history of any one of

our more valuable domesticated animals, as of the horse, or of the

cow, we cannot expect to know how to influence their reproduc-

tion. This is the very foundation of all knowledge in that

direction. What will be necessary for that? When these inves-

tigations began they were ER upon animals which could be

Secured at the lowest price; they were begun with the hen. Two

644 STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

young German physiologists, Pander and D'Alton, under the

guidance of Professor Déllinger, began that study, and, in order

to ascertain how the chick is formed, —not how the chick grows

in the egg, but how it is formed during the first hours after the

sitting of the hen upon the egg has begun, — they opened three

thousand eggs. Now, why is it that we have not yet such knowl-

edge of the horse? Because there are not three thousand mares

to be sacrificed to study their development; and unless some

means are found by which something of the kind can be done, we

cannot have the beginning of the history of that one animal;

unless, perhaps, with the greater knowledge we now possess and

long acquired skill, a smaller number of individuals may suffice ;

but not until hundreds and hundreds of animals are sacrificed for

that purpose, under proper conditions, can we have the first fact

concerning their history. And if you find in physiological text-

books this subject treated as if it were entirely known, it is simply

because the data in reference to the animals, the physiology of

which is given in our text-books, are borrowed from the four ani-

mals carefully studied by Bischoff, and not from any particular

knowledge obtained from the domesticated animals themselves.

When, in our human physiology the embryology of the human

race is presented, it is largely illustrated by conditions which have

been studied from the rabbit, the dog, the guinea-pig and the

roebuck. Direct observations are so few that they are hardly

worth mentioning. A few cases of suicide have furnished the

only information which is on record concerning the first condition

of the human being.

And now I propose to show you what an egg is, and then to

satisfy you that all animals produce such parts as deserve the

name of egg.

A hen’s egg, surrounded by its shell, which is calcareous, is

lined on the interior by a double membrane. A skin extends over

the whole internal surface, and that skin is double; and in one

part of the shell it recedes from the shell and leaves an open

space, which is the air-chamber of the egg. These are only pro-

tections of the egg, and are formed last upon it. In the interior

of the egg we have a round ball of yolk which is suspended in the

egg by two cords of somewhat harder albumen than that which

surrounds the yolk. These two cords keep the yolk so suspended

in the egg that whatever position you give the egg, certain

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 645

always remain uppermost. You may open any number of egys

and you will always find that a little white speck stares you in

the face. You may turn the egg as you please, but that little

speck will always be uppermost. This is owing to the fact that

the yolk is heavier in one portion and lighter in another and that

it may swing upon the two strings of albumen by which it is sus-

pended. This speck, called blastoderm by embryologists, is the

part from which the young chick is developed when the egg is

brought under proper conditions of temperature, etc.

As to the albumen, or white, it is not one mass; it consists of

a number of layers; and when you boil an egg so that the whole

is hardened, it is easy to see that it peels off in these layers,

which are deposited one after another. Now such an egg has a

history. It does not begin to be an egg of that size; it does not

begin with having a shell; it does not begin with having these

membranes within the shell; it does not begin with having the

white around the yolk. There is a time when the egg has neither

shell, nor these membranes, nor the white, but when the whole egg

is yolk; and you may find such eggs in the organ called the

Ovary, in which the eggs are produced. If we look carefully at

the ovary of the hen, we find that it contains a variety of eggs.

It has eggs which have attained to their full size—they are about

the size of a small walnut—it may contain a certain number of

these—but by the side of these large yolks there are smaller

yolks of various dimensions, and if you will examine minutely,

you will soon see that there are those, which, at the distance of

a few feet, you could not see at all, even if I represented them

magnified a great many times; and you gradually, by learning to

watch more and more closely, detect among this mass of eggs

which are readily visible, others which are less and less distinct

to the eye; and if you take a magnifying glass, you find that

there are others which had escaped your eye when you had no

Magnifying power to help you; and, if you use higher and higher

power, yon begin to find that there are more of these most minute

eggs, which loom up to your eye in proportion as you use a higher

power of the microscope. It is like the starry heavens, where

you have stars of first, second, fourth and tenth magnitude, some

of which are visible to the naked eye, and others only through

the telescopes of our observatories. Yet all these small specks in

the ovary, invisible to the naked eye, are bona fide eggs. As soon

646 STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

as one of the full-grown yolks drops, to be taken up by the fal-

lopian tubes and carried through the oviduct, there to be sur-

rounded by albumen, and then by a shell, — another grows larger,

and when all those which are at any moment of full size have

been laid, they are followed by another crop, and crop after crop

comes to the surface of the organ, ready to be laid in succession.

If you watch their growth, it is easy to see that each one passes

into the condition of the eggs higher in size by a process of in-

crease which is similar to the process by which a young animal

grows to acquire the dimensions of an adult. Nobody now doubts

that these small granules scattered through the ovary are really

eggs in their incipient condition.

How do they look when examined under the microscope,—say

under a microscope magnifying two hundred and fifty times the -

diameter,—an egg, therefore, which could not be seen by any

human eye? You magnify it, as I have said, two hundred and

fifty times, and you will see that that egg is a sphere, which you

may, with the microscope, magnify to look as large as a full-

grown yolk. It is then perfectly transparent, as if it were full of

a uniform fluid, like water; but at some places on the side it has

a little vesicle. a little bag, which is also transparent, and may

only be seen under skilful management ; in this again there is still

another microscopic body which appears like a small dot. Now

you examine an egg a little larger than that, and you will perceive

that in it the fluid mass is obscured slightly by small dots. If you

apply the highest powers of the microscope to these dots, you very

soon find that they are not solid granules, but that they are hollow

vesicles which, in their turn, produce other granules within them-

selves, so that the growth of an egg is in fact the enlargement of

little granule-like masses of animal substance, which are trans-

formed into bag-like bodies within which the same process is re-

peated over and over again. As the whole egg grows larger, these

little granules burst and scatter their contents into the surrounding

fluid; and the egg, from perfectly white, becomes slightly tinged

with yellow, and finally grows more and more opaque; and, when

the yolk has acquired its full size and is ready to drop, it is

really an opaque mass, but consisting throughout of these minute

granules.

Now let us take the ovary of the rabbit, the guinea-pig, or any

ruped, and examine its contents, and we see eggs ex-

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 647

actly like these young eggs of the hen; so similar to them, that

the most skilful observer is incapable of distinguishing the one

from the other,—the egg of a rabbit from that of a hen. Of

Course they do not remain in that condition. There is this pecu-

liarity: that the egg of a quadruped remains small, and while

retaining these small dimensions undergoes of itself changes by

which the germ is developed in- time: while, on the contrary, the

egg of a bird grows large; even before it has its shell, its yolk

becomes very large, and it is surrounded by those auxiliary

means of protection necessary for an egg which is to be cast

before the germ is formed ; while the fecundated eggs of mammalia

are not cast, and the young undergo their development in the egg

while the latter is still retained by the parent. And so it has

been proved by Baer, that there is no difference whatsoever

between so-called viviparous and oviparous animals, but that

all produce eggs which have the same identical structure, and

Which differ from one another only by their various capacities, by

the various proportions which they attain, and by the various

ways in which the germ is developed in them.

One more word to satisfy you that this is the case in all ani-

mals. Eggs of the larger birds have been observed as I have

Said, and it needs not to be repeated that in every species in

which the observation has been carried on, it has been found that

the ovarian egg,—that is, the egg prior to its being laid,—has

the small dimensions and the peculiar structure characteristic of

all ovarian eggs in their earliest condition. This is also the case

With reptiles. Our little turtles lay eggs of considerable dimen-

Sions in comparison with their size; but examine their ovary, and

you will find that there are contained in that organ eggs of all

Possible dimensions, as in the bird, and that when young these

eggs do not differ from the egg of the quadruped. And so it is

with the fish, whatever be the kind of fish. I have. examined

Many sharks and skates, as well as many of our salmon and trout

and our various kinds of suckers and codfish, and I know that

all these different kinds of fish produce similar ovarian eggs.

Some of them lay them early, and lay eggs which are at once

recognized as eggs, and others retain their eggs until the young

are fully developed and they bring forth then, like the quadruped,

living young; so that they exhibit within the limits of one and

the same class differences similar to those which we observe among

648 STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

different classes in the higher animals. And if we pass from the

class of fishes to the lower types of the animal kingdom,—to

insects, for instance, crustacea, and worms,—we find everywhere

the same process. Even the parasitic intestinal worms are now

known to be produced by eggs, and eggs which are transferred by

various processes from one animal to another, sometimes with

their food or drink, at other times by boring into the body of their

host, thus remaining parasites in succeeding generations. The

same thing has been observed among the various kinds of mollusks,

—the cuttlefish and periwinkles, the oysters, mussels, etc., for

all these produce eggs; and when the eggs are examined, at the

proper time, and in a proper manner, they exhibit exactly the same

structure as those of the higher classes; and we may go down to

the very lowest classes of the animal kingdom — the seaurchins,

the starfish, the jellyfish, or even the corals or polypes, and there

again eggs are found, and eggs which in no way differ from those

of the higher animals.

From such statements, whieh cover now such extensive ground,

it might be inferred that to know one is equal to knowing all. By

no means ; for enough has already been done to show us that every

one has its peculiarities, every one has its own mode of develop-

ment, and in every one there are peculiar processes which make

the generalization only true in the most comprehensive form of

expression, and no longer true in the details of the farther devel-

opment. So that all our knowledge of the process of reproduc-

tion in one species of animals may not give us an answer when

we would inquire into the corresponding process in another ani-

mal. us you see the necessity of repeating for those animals,

the breeding of which we would desire to influence, all those o

servations which have been made upon a few.

I should like presently to make some remarks as to the kind of

training necessary for this, that you may not imagine that the

first enthusiast can go to work and do it. It requires a long

training to be prepared to look at an egg, to be prepared to see

how it grows; but before I make any such remarks, I would say

a few words more concerning the formation of the germ, so that

you may see what an interesting field of observation is now open

to the student; open, not yet cultivated; by no means cultivated

to the extent desirable in order to make the knowledge in any

way useful in practical life. There is that condition necessary tO

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 649

all knowledge, that it should be acquired, not only in its general

features, in order to be useful, but that it should be brought to a

point where it shall be really applicable to any practical purpose ;

and a great deal of the difficulty in scientific investigation arises

from the fact, that while it is easy to study, to a certain extent,

it is not always easy to carry our knowledge to the point where

its application becomes easy or even practicable. And I would

say, to exonerate science from its failure to make itself more gen-

e-ally popular and practical, that the mental qualities required for

investigation are not the same as the qualities required for prac-

tical application. You know too much of practical life to need to

be told that the importers who bring to your manufacturing estab-

lishments the raw materials are not those who make the cloth for

your clothes; or that those who import the raw materials with

which all the various manufactures are produced are not likely to

be themselves manufacturers ; and the ability of the one excludes

very often the ability of the other. In scientific matters this is

perhaps more extensively the case than in practical pursuits, so

that a class of men must be educated who will take up knowledge

where the scientific man leaves it, and carry it where the man of

business, or the practical man, requires it. I could mention many

a case in which scientific men have injured themselves in their

attempts to derive profits from their scientific work or to apply

their knowledge to practical purposes. That will happen again

and again when scientific men rashly enter the arena of practical

life. You must allow them to work in the field for which they

were prepared, and accept from them what they can give. I claim

that as due to science, and I think the sooner the community un-

derstands it the sooner will all have the benefit of what science

can produce, and cease to ask the impossible from scientific men.

In this first presentation of the subject of embryology I shall

not be able to give the whole history of the formation of a new

being, but only so much of it as will. satisfy you that our higher

animals produce eggs like birds and the lower classes; but with

this essential difference, that in mammalia the fecundated egg is

not cast or laid, but undergoes all its changes within the maternal

body until the living youngis dropped. Here are several figures of

Ovarian eggs of the dog, rabbit and human female, which may easily

be compared with the eggs seen in the ovary of a hen. Figures

154, 155, 156; 157, 158, 159, 160 and 161 are such ovarian eggs.

650 STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

Figures 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159 and 160 show that the eggs

of different mammalia, such as rabbits and dogs, resemble one

another as much as the eggs of different species of birds belonging

to different orders of this class.

The formation of a germ in the egg begins by a very peculiar

process, called “segmentation.” It is unquestionably a mani-

festation of the internal life of the egg,—for an egg must be

Fig. 154, Fig. 155.

Ovarian egg of dog. Copied from Bischoff’sem- Another ovarian egg of dog, from a female

bryology of the dog. Magnified 100 diameters, egyes heat, ri ea from Bischoff. Magni-

ed 100

Fig. 156 Fig. 157.

Ovarian egg of dog, freed of the cells The same ovarian egg as that represented in fig.

which surround the zona pellucida in 156, cut a a uhhh sharp needle. The rice

figs. 154 and 155. Copied from Bischoff. escaping is yolk. with the transparent germ me.

Magnified 100 diameters, tive vesicle, in which the gorami dotis = .

Copied from Bischoff. Magnified 100 tim

eate as a living body. Segmentation consists in this.

Supposing we have here the egg of a dog, copied from Bischoff

(fs. 162) : the egg divides itself spontaneously into two halves (fig.

163). which are entirely independent of one another, and only re-

tained together by the common envelope of the yolk. After that,

each half divides itself into two halves again, so ‘that the yolk

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 651

consists now of four masses of equal dimensions (fig. 164) ; and

so the process goes on. Each quarter of the yolk divides itself

again into halves, so that we next have eight such bodies (fig.

Fig. 158. Fig. 159,

Ovarian egg of rabbit. Copied from Bis- Ovarian egg of rabbit, freed of the cells which

choff’s embry ology na the rabbit. Mag- aiia round the zona pellucida in fig. 158. Copied

nified 125 diameter: om Bischoff. ypas 125 times. The ger-

native ‘poses shines through the yolk as a

Hane ape

Fig. 160. Fig. 161.

The same ovarian egg of the rabbit as in

Be. 159, opened with a needle. The yolk,

ith the germinative vesicle and dot are

flowing out, outed from Bischoff. Mag-

nified 125 tim

= F rabbit and dog, represen in 3

160, is very striking.

165) ; first, irregular in shape, but very soon assuming the form of

spheres, which fill the cavity of the yolk-membrane. Eight balls,

as it were, resulting by spon-

taneous division in the forma-

tion of a mulberry-like body

as is represented in fig. 165;

and this is divided again, until

the eight have become sixteen

(figs. 166 and 167), the six-

teen thirty-two (fig. 168), the

inyo sixty-four, and so on until the whole of that mass is

Separated into little granules which are about as small as the prim-

itive cells of which the yolk consisted (fig 169). We have then a

Fig. 162. Fig. 163.

SISA 4

652 STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

well-kneaded yolk-mass very similar to what the primitive cell

was, only that, instead of simple yolk-cells, it now consists of an

innumerable quantity of little spheres which have resulted from

the spontaneous division of the whole into successively multiplied

halves. There is, however, this difference,—that on one side of

the egg there is, when this process is completed, a larger number

ig. 164. of these small balls or globules than Fig. 165.

pi ap

5A the fact that the balls multiply more 4

/ on one side than on the other. In \

quadrupeds this process of self-divi-

sion pervades the whole yolk, so

that in the centre and on the periphery, and on all sides, it is

evenly divided, except that on one side the spheres are somewhat

smaller and also somewhat more whitish. In the yolk of a hen

Fig. 166, Fig. 167.

the process is widely different, and has been known only fora

comparatively short time, for in the hen the process also takes

place before the egg is laid. In order to examine it, therefore,

Fig. 169. a hen must be killed and the egg must be

observed during its passage through the ovi-

duct, when on the surface of the yolk, and on

the surface only, furrows are marked as if made

with a nail. These furrows are multiplied cross-

= wise, and then crosswise again, and this process

is repeated until the whole surface is changed

into these same globular bodies, already noticed

in the rabbit and dog, but which in the hen extend only over 4

small part of the surface of the yolk. Now this small part of the

surface of the yolk is that white speck which is seen at once when

you open the shell of an egg; and from it the chicken is developed.

In fishes, there is still another process. Suppose we take the

salmon. The first segmentation of the yolk consists in halving

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 653

and quartering, and then the process of self-division goes on only

in one-half, viz., in the upper half of the yolk, the lower half

undergoing no change, so that you have at first only two spheres,

one below and one above, then two in the upper part, then four in

the upper part, then eight in the upper part, then sixteen in the

upper part, the lower part remaining in its primitive condition, and

the whole upper part finally being transformed into a body similar

to what we have as a whole in the mammal, resting as it were on

a cup of unaltered, unchanged yolk in the lower part. In the fish,

it is this mulberry-like, segmented portion of the yolk which is

changed into the germ, while the other half takes no part in the

formation of the germ, but only feeds it, being in fact absorbed into

it. The egg is actually a live being, only it is a live being which

struggles into its structure by its own activity; and in the for-

mation of the organs it afterward possesses, the process of growth

is not one of enlargement simply, but involves such changes as to

transform a uniform mass into a variety of systems built of differ-

ent tissues and endowed with special functions. In the chicken,

two parallel swellings first arise along the middle line of the back,

leaving a shallow furrow between themselves ; and the white disk,

spoken of above as a white speck, enlarges and spreads so as to

cover the whole surface of the yolk visible from above. If you

look at this furrow in a section it will be something like an arch,

open above. Gradually this furrow grows wider at one end, with

indentations right and left, and then the margins of the disk spread,

and, folding downward, enclose more and more of the yolk, and

the sides of the furrow thicken, so that represented in profile it

will be no longer a shallow furrow, but something like a channel

or tube.

At this stage the whole mass has still about the same consis-

tency everywhere. It is like soft jelly and a little pulpy, but pres-

ently the two edges of the furrow come more closely together, and

finally touch. Meanwhile the margins of the new being rise in a

fold and enclose the central parts, forming a sac around the germ,

own as the amnios. The natural result of the closing of the

upturned edges of the germ is the formation of a cavity, enclosed

between these edges. That cavity now fills with a transparent fluid,

and as it fills there appears something a little more substantial

upon its sides and below it; the walls protecting the cavity be-

Come less transparent or even slightly opaque; then the cavity

654 STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

widens sidewise on its anterior part, and rises a little from the

rest. In one word, this cavity forms the channel for the spinal

marrow, and its front part the cavity for the brain, and the walls

grow to be flesh and bone to form the dorsal spine. The upper

part represents the axis of the skeleton, with the surrounding soft

parts: the lateral parts form the ribs with their fleshy covering,

and, the animal thus closing over the yolk, we have the abdomi-

_ nal cavity. Now, it requires a little more enlargement, a little

more change into different substances, to complete the formation

of the new being. The gelatinous substance outside the main axis

is changed into a fibrous structure, which is muscle. The little

opaque bodies in the axis and upon its sides absorb some earthy

material contained in the primitive substance from which they have

arisen, and thus bone isformed. The fluid in the upper cavity be-

comes a little more granular and more solid, and it is the brain

and spinal marrow. The yolk is absorbed during the process of

growth, but the wall within which it is contained is elongated and

enlarged, and in consequence of farther changes in the substance

of that part of the yolk which is in immediate contact with the

body-walls, the alimentary cavity is formed. You have, in fact, all

the organs of the animal growing in the same way, by successive

transformations of the homogeneous mass into all the various tis-

sues and organs which build up the animal in its perfect condition.

From the time the chick has reached the condition in which al

its organs are fairly sketched, it simply grows larger and larger,

and finally breaks through the shell. The skin has already become

distinct from the muscles; the feathers begin to be formed, and all

those parts with which you are familiar may readily be distin-

guished. You see now by what complicated process (the details

of which I have considerably abridged) this is brought about.

I have given you but a meagre outline of the changes which take

place in the formation of quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and fishes,

though this may be sufficient to show that these processes must be

studied in every animal independently.

The figures on the following page, representing a fish in the

egg, show at once how different the growth of these animals 1s

from that of the mammalia and birds. Here we have no amnios ;

the young fish remains free upon the surface of the yolk. The

structure of the body, however, and the circulation of the blood

upon the yolk, are strikingly similar to those of the dog, the

a eee

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 655

chicken, or the little turtle. Compare in this respect the figures

of D’Alton with those of Bischoff and my own in the embryology

of our terrapene.

Now, what are the conditions necessary for making these obser-

vations? A man must be practised, and not only practised, but

fully skilled in the use of the microscope. He must know the

structure of the animal in its adult condition so accurately, and so

completely, that every difference in the structure of the younger

animal will at once strike hiseye. He must be able to make these

comparisons without having specimens before him for-comparison ;

Young Blenny, copied from Rathke’s Embry- Thesame as fig. 170, seen in profile from the

ology of the Zoarces viviparus. Magnified. left side.

; Seen in profile from the right side,

3 Fig. 172. . Fig. 173.

The same as figs, 170 and 171, seen in front. ige kere ha figs. 170; 171 and 172 before the

he must have appropriated that knowledge to himself so com-

Pletely that he may weigh the changes going on in the substance

of the germ, merely by the eye, and ascertain every change in so

accurate a manner that he may record the facts in their true con-

nection. And more than that, he must be able to prepare the

Conditions in which these germs will not be altered by being

brought under the microscope. Try to bring an embryo, a young

chick, in that early stage of growth, as you see it after a few

days’ incubation, under the microscope, and you are likely to find

656 STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS.

that you have reduced it to a shapeless mass. These objects can-

not be handled like a piece of wood. They must be treated with

a degree of delicacy which makes it impossible, for instance, for

an observer to use any stimulant, even such as coffee and tea, or

to eat heartily, or to exercise in any degree which may accelerate

the pulse; otherwise his eye will be constantly thrown out of

focus. Unless a man has himself under control to that extent, he

cannot begin to make good observations. Not only must he have

the knowledge necessary, not only must he have the practice

necessary, not only must he have the instruments necessary — he

must have his own organization so completely under control that

he brings himself into that living relation with the object of his

observations which alone makes it possible that they shall be accu-

rate. It is not everybody who is willing or able to do this; and

then he must carry on his observations by day and night, as the

embryo is growing unceasingly, and unless he does continue his

observations uninterruptedly, he may miss the most important

steps in the progress of growth. Now before you find a man

qualified to be an observer, you may have to wait a long while.

It was just so during our late war. We did not find the generals

who knew how to command, the day of the first battle. It requires

years to find a man capable of leading two hundred thousand men.

In matters of scientific progress we need a great many students,

and large schools, from which to pick out the man who is capable

of making new discoveries, or simply accurate investigations ; and

have we these schools now? Is the number of our scientific stu-

dents proportionate to the intellectual capacity of the nation? By

no means; and until our system of popular education is radically

changed, or so far changed, at least, that in all our schools instruc-

tion is given in those branches of science which train observers;

you may not even have the knowledge necessary to carry on your

practical pursuits, and still less the chances of making any real

progress. These results can only be brought about by introducing

into our schools that sort of instruction which prepares students

to become observers, or at least, which gives the teacher an oppor

tunity of ascertaining whether any of his pupils may be educated

into an observer or not. Such schools we have not, such teachers

we have not, or very few of them—half a dozen in Massachusetts

is the sum-total of men qualified to teach in that way; and the

schools in which they may teach, the apparatus necessary for that

STRUCTURE AND GROWTH OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 657

instruction, we have not. We have to build them up, and we shall

not have them before the community understands what are the

conditions necessary fer the acquisition of new knowledge which

may improve the conditions of our success in the practical affairs

of a civilized community.

You may ask what text-books you shall take to begin with.

There are none that I would recommend. You cannot use the

present text-books, for most of them are manufactured by people

who know nothing or precious little of the subject about which

they write. They are mere compilations, made for the market, by

men who have no sort of knowledge of what should be the sub-

Stance of a text-book; and, what is worse than that, our schools

are crowded with so large a number of pupils that the teachers,

even the very best of them, have to resort to all sorts of devices

in order to keep alive. Instead of teaching, that is, instead of

giving out of their knowledge and their substance something by

which they can vivify the intellect of their pupils, they are forced

by the pressure of numbers to direct their pupils to commit to

memory some superannuated book, and to make them recite things

not worth knowing. So there we must begin. We must begin by

relieving the teacher from a task to which no human being is

equal; for it is impossible for any one person to teach eighty

pupils well, in one and the same room, at the same time, and to

teach every branch of human knowledge in close succession. It is

physically impossible. It is past endurance; and all those who

have tried to do this kind of work, honestly and faithfully, have

paid for the effort with the loss of health. And then there is

another point. In order to get men capable of performing the

difficult task of teaching, you must give greater inducements to

able intellects to devote themselves to the task. The teacher’s

profession must not be the least remunerative of any profession

in the community, as at present it is. Only those who by nature

cannot help being teachers go into it, and their willingness to

teach is misused by the community by giving them a pittance

for their existence. So one more thing is needed: you must or-

ganize normal schools to educate teachers of natural history and

Science generally. You must not only determine that you will

introduce these branches of knowledge into your schools, but you

must prepare teachers for the task.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII. 42

ON STAUROLITE CRYSTALS AND GREEN MOUNTAIN

GNEISSES OF THE SILURIAN AGE.*

BY PROF. J. D. DANA.

In a paper published in the * American Journal of Science” in

1872 I mentioned the fact, first noticed by Percival, that crystals

of staurolite are found in Salisbury, Connecticut, in mica schist

“ underlying” directly the Stockbridge or Canaan limestone.

Since then I have found in southern Canaan, at a locality in Falls

Village, west of the Housatonic River (to which I was directed

by Dr. Stephen Reed of Pittsfield), crystals of this mineral in a

very similar, well-characterized mica schist; but in this case, the

schist overlies the limestone and is, therefore, the newer rock.t

This staurolitic mica schist contains also small garnets. The

order of superposition is free from all doubt, for the Canaan

limestone outcrops at the bottom of the same hill, from beneath

the schist, and the dip is not over fifteen degrees.

The age of the Stockbridge limestone is admitted by all recent

writers on the subject to be Lower Silurian. Logan referred it to

the Quebec group or the formation next below the Chazy. But

since then Billings has described fossils from the same limestone

at West Rutland, which he has identified as Chazy. And the

Crinoids and other species, mentioned in the “Vermont Geological

Report” as found in the limestone at other Vermont localities

appear to show, as long since suggested by Professor James Hall,

that the Trenton limestone is also present in the formations. The

Chazy and Trenton limestones (Black River included) follow one

another in New York, and the west and south. That the Canaan

limestone is the same identical stratum that occurs at Stockbridge

in Massachusetts, and farther north at Pittsfield, I know from 4

personal tracing of the rock throughout this region ; and examina-

tions still farther north in Massachusetts and Connecticut lead me

to believe in the conclusion of the geologists of the Vermont

survey, that all is one formation—the Stockbridge limestone, OF

the Eolian as Hitchcock named it.

* Read at the Portland Meeting of the Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci. .

+From facts I have observed elsewhere, I think it probable the Salisbury schist is

also an overlying rock.

(658)

STAUROLITE CRYSTALS AND GREEN MOUNTAIN GNEISSES. 659

The fossils found in Vermont lead to the conclusion that the

limestone represents the Trenton era as well as the Chazy. The

overlying mica schist and other associated rocks have a thickness

of at least three thousand feet; and, if the limestone is Trenton

in part, they belong to an era later: either to a closing part of

the Trenton period, or to the period ot the Hudson River or

Cincinnati group.

In any case there is no reason to doubt that the staurolites

occur in rocks of the later part of the Lower Silurian age, and

strong reason for the conclusion that these schists are in age veri-

table Hudson River rocks.

On this view, the Hudson River or Cincinnati group, in the

Green Mountains — alike in Connecticut, Massachusetts and

gists), well-characterized gneiss of various kinds, some of it much

contorted, and granitoid gneiss.

At a locality at South Canaan ines in Cobble Hill, the lowest

rock over the limestone is quartzite; next follows mica schist

passing into gneiss; and above this there is a light-colored grani-

toid gneiss, breaking into huge blocks with very little of a schist-

ose structure.

Near the boundary of the towns of Tyringham and Great Bar-

rington, four miles east of the latter village, a locality long since

studied by Mr. R. P. Stevens of New York, and by him pointed

out to me, there are, over the limestone, alternating beds of

quartzite gneiss and limestone dipping at a small angle to the

eastward. Commencing below, the succession is

1. Granular limestone, that of the valley.

anular limestone, 40 feet.

8. Mica schist, 6 to 8 feet.

9. a partly Tamis e = feet, forming a high bluff,— the site of Devany’s

a Gneiss, forming the ‘top of vay blut, and aan cca thickness ina age te to the

northeast, b

oe a

The fact that quartzite, limestone abd gneiss or mica eR

here alternate with one another is beyond question; and, if I

am right in the age of the deposits above suggested, the alter-

660 NOTE ON BUFO AMERICANUS.

nations occur at the junction of the Trenton and Hudson River

formations.

The above section occurs on the east side of a small open valley.

On the west side of the same valley the foot of the bare front of

the hill consists of quartzite, dipping slightly to the north-west-

ward, as if one side of a very gentle anticlinal of which the rock

of the Devany quarry is the opposite. The quartzite, although

hard and generally pure, contains a layer of mica schist ten inches

thick which becomes pure quartzite a hundred feet to the east-

ward. Above the quartzite follows gneiss, which continues west-

ward three miles, in a shallow synclinal, to Great Barrington, and

there this gneiss is overlaid by a second thick stratum (100 feet

or so) of quartzite. Here, then, there are two strata of quartzite

separated by two or three hundred feet of gneiss, the whole over-

lying the Stockbridge limestone. The gneiss is a very firm rock,

covering the slopes in some places with blocks like houses in size,

where upturned through the growth of trees. I had suspected

that it was one of the older gneisses of New England, until I

found that it was overlaid by quartzite, and, on tracing further the

stratification, proved that it belongs unquestionably to the series

of rocks newer than the limestone.

From the facts which have been presented it follows that all

old-looking Green Mountain gneisses are not pree-silurian, and,

further, that the presence of staurolite is no evidence of a præ-

silurian age.

NOTE ON BUFO AMERICANUS.*

T BY REV. DR. THOMAS HILL.

Tuts note is intended as a contribution toward the psychology

of the American toad; simply presenting some evidences of in-

telligence and of capacity for learning to which I have been

witness.

In the summers of 1843-5, an old toad used to sit under the

door of a beehive every fine evening, and dextrously pick up those

bees which, overladen or tired, wiisd the doorstep and fell to the

*Read at the Portland Meeting of the Amer. Assoc. Ady. Sci.

a Be

NOTE ON BUFO AMERICANUS. 661

ground. He lost, by some accident, one eye, and it was observed

by several members of the family, as well as myself, that he had

with it lost his ability to pick up a bee at the first trial; his

tongue struck the ground on one side the bee: but after several

weeks’ practice with one eye he regained his old certainty of aim.

I have never seen our toad use his hands to crowd his food into

his mouth as the European toad is said to do; although he uses

them freely to wipe out of his mouth any inedible or disagreeable

substance. When our toad gets into his mouth part of an insect

too large for his tongue to thrust down his throat (and I have

known of their attempting full grown larve of Sphinx quinquemac-

ulatus, and even a wounded hummingbird) he resorts to the

nearest stone or clod and presses the protruding part of his

mouthful against it and thus crowds it down his throat. This

can be observed at any time by entangling a locust’s hind legs to-

gether and throwing it before a small toad.

On one occasion I gave a ‘‘yellow-striped” locust to a little

toad in its second summer, when he was in the middle of a very

wide gravel walk. In a moment he had the locust’s head down

his throat, its hinder parts protruding; and looked around for a

stone or clod, but finding none at hand, in either direction, he

bowed his head, and crept along, pushing the locust against the

ground. But the angle with the ground was too small and my

walk too well rolled. To increase the angle he straightened his

hind legs up, but in vain. At length he threw up his hind

quarters, and actually stood on his head, or rather on the locust

sticking out of his mouth,—and after repeating this once or

twice succeeded in “getting himself outside of his dinner

But these instances of ingenious adaptation to the circum-

stances, were exceeded by a toad about four years old at Antioch

college. I was tossing him earth worms while digging, and pres-

ently threw him so large a specimen that he was obliged to attack

one end only. That end was instantly transferred to his stomach,

the other end writhed free in air, and coiled about the toad’s head.

He waited till its writhings gave him a chance, swallowed half an

inch, then taking a nip with his jaws, waited for a chance to draw

in another half-inch. But there were so many half-inches to dis-

pose of that at length his jaws grew tired, lost their firmness of

grip, and the worm crawled out five-eighths of an inch, between

each half-inch swallowing. The toad, perceiving this, brought his

662 ON SECTION AVICULARIA OF THE GENUS POLYGONUM.

right hind foot to aid his jaws, grasping his abdomen with his foot,

and, by a little effort, getting hold of the worm in his stomach

from the outside; he thus by his foot held fast to what he gained

by each swallow, and presently succeeded in getting the worm

entirely down.

A garter-snake was observed this summer in North Conway

pushing a toad down his throat by running it against clods and

stones ; just as the toad crowds down a locust.

The amount which a toad can eat is surprising. One Tuesday

morning I threw a Coreus tristis to a young toad, he snapped it up,

but immediately rejected it, wiped his mouth with great energy,

and then hopped away with extraordinary rapidity. I was so

much amused that I gathered some more of the same bug and

carried them to a favorite old toad at the northeast corner of my

house. He ate them all without making any wry faces. I gath-

ered all that I could find on my vines, and he ate them all, to the

number of twenty-three. I then brought him some larve of Py-

gera ministra, three-quarters grown, and succeeded in enticing

him to put ninety-four of them on top of his squash bugs. Find-

ing that his virtue was not proof against the caterpillars when I

put them on the end of a straw and tickled his nose with them,

he at length turned and crept under the piazza, where he re-

mained until Friday afternoon, digesting his feast.

A gentleman having read this paper told me he had seen the

toad tuck in the last inch of an earth worm with his hand, Euro-

pean fashion. I then remembered that I have several times seen

our toad put the last quarter-inch of earthworms in with his hand ;

-but never saw him take his hand to a locust.

ON SECTION AVICULARIA OF THE GENUS

POLYGONUM.

BY SERENO WATSON:

. — Mersner’s Polygonum § Avicularia is equivalent nearly to section

Polygonum of Linnæus, the original genus Polygonum of Tourne-

fort and Adanson, to which Linnæus added, as codrdinate sections;

Persicaria, Bistorta and some other old genera. Its most dis-

ON SECTION AVICULARIA OF THE GENUS POLYGONUM. 663

tinctive characteristics are the leaf jointed upon the petiole at the

point of divergence from the sheath ; the broadly dilated filaments

of the three inner stamens; and the incumbent cotyledons. Of

these the first occurs in no other section of the genus, excepting

§ Tephis, of a single species, but is found in Atraphagis, Thysa-

nella and Polygonella, of the subtribe Rumicee. The second is

also peculiar to § Tephis, but exists in Atraphazis and a section of

Polygonella; while the third, occurring besides only in § Ambly-

gonon of Polygonum, is characteristic of Rumex, Atraphaxis, Thy-

sanella and some species of Polygonella. The closest affinity of

the section is to the genus Afraphazis, which has also perfect

flowers and the same peculiar stipular sheaths, and from which it

is distinguished mainly by its more or less herbaceous sepals

not enlarging or deflexed in fruit but appressed to the achenium.

It would seem that the genus Polygonum should be restricted to

the two sections Avicularia and Tephis, on account of this, in these

respects, nearer relationship to the Rumicee than to the other sec-

tions with which they are at present united.

The species P. articulatum, which was long retained in § Avicu-

laria, but referred by Meisner to Polygonella, and restored by Dr.

Gray to Polygonum as § Pseudo-polygonella, must be placed with

Polygonella ericoides (which includes P. Meisneriana), having a sim-

ilarly excentric embryo, somewhat contorted, and the cotyledons

either accumbent or incumbent. Its scarcely dilating inner sepals

are those of Polygonella polygama (P. parvifolia), and its colored

Marcescent calyx, the solitary flowers upon elongated pedicels

jointed near the middle, and the peculiar floral sheaths, are com-

mon to all the species of Polygonella in contradistinction to those

of Po? ygonum

The sition Avicularia and the North American aes be-

longing to it may be defined and arranged as follows :—

§ AVICULARIA, Meisn. Calyx more or less herbaceous, at length connivent upon

the achenium, 5- or rarely 6- parted; stamens 5-8, som

Sheaths or rarely solitary, the pedicels jointed to the short base of the calyx; bractlets

hyaline

*Smooth perennials (P. tl t

what woody at base, the slender branches tea to the top; leaves thick; stipules

Syueptouous; calyx mostly color ed. rather open, exceeding the lanceo-

ms 8.

os MEE

664 ON SECTION AVICULARIA OF THE GENUS POLYGONUM.

1. P. BOLANDERI, Brewer, Proc. Am er. Acad., viii, 400. — Stems erect, very slender,

6-15’ high, nearly naked, with short s Pa densely ise afy branches above; leaves nar-

rowly linear, 2-4"’ long, often cuspidate; agais about equalling the leaves, finely lac-

erate; flowers eapi ‘solitary, =i r — light rose-color; styles half as long as the

Cal

apaa Brewer, l. a es ate or agora ste the branches 2-6’ long, usu-

i o

m o 3

flowers 1-3 in the a Bem of the leaves, which crowd the ends of the branches, deep

rose-color, 14-24" long on exserted pedicels; styles much shorter than the ovary.—

the Sierra Nevada, California.

Sark. ONYCHIA, Cham. and praon — iane the branching stems 1-3° long;

leaves ara iT long, acu he margins revolute; flowers densely

crowded at the ends of the branches, roee soar: w long; styles as long as the ovary.

— On the seooast i from San Francisco to Puget Sound.

4. P. MARITIMUM, L.— Prostrate, glaucous, stems }4-1}° long, very shortly pane

e oval to ined, 3- 3-10'' long; towe era 1-14" 20n ng, on mos sid exserted ped

lightly On the seacoast from Mas

sachusetts to Georgia; danii annual in the more northern ‘aanites: ust distinguish-

able from the Old World specie

* * Annuals, h striate stems leafy ele calyx colored upon the margins,

becoming tae OT styles

5. P. AVICULARE, L.— Mostly BRONIE or ascending, a re bluish-green, the

parr slender aioe di ongated; leaves oblong to lanceolate, 3-10" long, usually acute

acutish; flowers rarely 1’’ long, pinkish-white, the pedicels pi exserted, stamens

i or rarely 5; achenium broadly eras: 1'' long or less, dull kass minutely granular.

pores about yards and PR probably not indigeno

<P. it erect or a sieme glabrous, ap high or more, yellow- .

gn: leaves oblong o -or oval, pok long, usually obtuse; flowers mri 14” long, often

yellowish, on m r less exserted pedicels; xia rarely 6; stamens 5-6; achenium

broadly ovate to prad eolate, dull and granular or apro corm From the —

Tn and Canada to Nevada and Oregon; a strictly Am

P. peee sinha saat Rep., v, 315 — Baunir seabrons-puberaent wr

ver ee decuin bent E eepending;. 6-15’ long (or an alpine form, very dw

and often psoas leayes ae “ lanceolate, 2-8’ long, sie at each er

ae cea cusp oon pot in all the axils, 1'’ long or arep less, light rose-

dai bä cals slender ye pedicels; stamens 8; styles short; achenium smooth

and shining, exceeding oP —In Oregon (Pickering, <a Hall), and in the Wah-

ga and Uintas at EN Pe feet altitude.

. P. TORREYI.— Closely resembling the last, but perfectly smooth; the

oats near ce ends of the branches and nearly sessile in os axils of the septs

leaves; stamens 6; achenium considerably exceeding the calyx.— Collected by Dr.

Torrey in the Tain ite valley.

* + * Annuals with striate stems, the branches slender and virgate, angular; leaves

diminishing upward and becoming bractlike, the spikelike inflorescence more or

pted.

Megh nterru

. RAMOSISSIMUM, Michx.— Erect or ascending, 2-4° high, geot yellowish;

leaves anette to linear, 1-24’ long, sorted flowers and achenium as in P. erectum, but

sepals m ore frequently 6, the stame ns and kot — mostly omer ‘and

shining

. P. TENUE, Minh eres, ape Migh, glabrous o or “rarely slightly scabrous a the

dete: leaves linear ong te. ob-

rved ; flowers paar sollte ary, 1-2" "long, ara in riper the sepals gA

nk; stamens sd A mar ch shorter than ovary; achenium ovate,

ny.— Fr C wes parte Oregon ar. LATIFO-

LIUM, Et has broader leaves and more numerous flowers; Var: MICROSPERMUM,

_ Engelm, is a low slender form, with sls ais oni ait perhaps distinct; poth

ON SECTION AVICULARIA OF THE GENUS POLYGONUM. 665

IL PF. RUM, Meisn.— Smooth, erect or ascending, 2-3° high, the branc ja

short- airy k branchlets Hoi terete; leaves linear-lanceolate, 1-2' long, acute, o

sometimes oblong, but 3’ beet and obtuse; Tt hardly exceeding the flowers; pedi

in the last.— Texas to Kansas. Meisn r was m mistaken in sera Kees paesi B peren-

nial sy tt and perhaps also in ane to it the ree th Am rale.

OARCTATUM, Dougl. — Resembling P. tenue, but irous-puberulent, the

stems wen brown; leaves linear, acute, ERL ed; eri u sally ı rather dense; calyx

‘more petaloid and conspicuous, 1-2"' i aie as long as t ar From Puget

Sound and central Idaho to the Sacramen

**** Low slender annuals, the spikes short and dense, and the bracts imbricated;

sepals colored. :

13. P. POLYGALOIDES, Meisn.—Stems 2-6" high, s yee branching; leaves narrowly

linear, ‘fe long, acute; spikes dense, 3-8'' long, the bracts closely imbricated, 2’ long,

Dn to nearly orbicular, with broad scariou Benen ste mostly o peri stipules lan-

eolate, entire or lacerate; s epals 1. long. or ipeni pramene 8; rater n peck the ovary;

bys

acheni nium 3'' long, minutely tuberculate-striate or smoothish.—Collecte ed onl pald-

ing re hemi in Oregon — -a Idah

14 M, Nutt., in piresi the last; often pelien ee

1-8' i : gee okay slicers: linear or oblong, 2-4"’ long, with s

narrow scari ute; ; styles one-third as long as pan cae:

—Frequent in the mountains, alpine and sub-alpine, from Colorado to monii and

northern California. It has usually been considered a form of P. coarctatum

Meisner refers also to this section his P. Californicum, founded

upon 1944 Hartweg, without fruit. It is separated, however, by

every character but habit, and the remarkable peculiarities of the

achenium require that it should be placed in a distinct section,

not very closely allied to any other in the genus, as follows :—

URAVIA. sno 5, colored, becoming somewhat appressed to the achenium;

gm.

Stamens 8, the th r filaments but slightly dilated at base; styles 3, the sti s

capitate; achenium anas, linear, nearly terete, obscurely 3-angled; embryo

lateral; cotyledons ac cumbent; dees owe ers in slender many- joi nted interrupted —

E S A ER

tP. Si ee Meisn.— Annual, erect, very Slender, $6" high, minutely sca-

brous-puberulent, brownish, the

linear to filiform, 6-15'' be cuspidate; bracts 12” long, 3-nerved, but little , exceeding

the stipules; calyx 1” long, rose-color; styles much x orter than the ovary; achenium

slightly exserted, the = colored pericarp thinly m — rather een! paths

oping the terete seed, with slightly raised angles; $ sat reddish. On dry h

ing Sacramento and saa EEN, Californi

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SCALES OF LEPISMA

SACCHARINA.

BY G. W. MOREHOUSE.

For many years this test has been subjected to most careful and

critical examination by the most competent observers and with the

best microscopes, but, after all, the true character of its markings

still remains a disputed question. These differences of opinion

have evidently arisen partly from the complex nature of the mark-

ings themselves, and partly from the different conditions under

which they have been seen. In this scale we have coarse ribs

easily seen with a very ordinary glass, and on the other hand deli-

cate structures severely taxing the powers of the finest objectives

in existence. This fact alone is sufficient to account for the want

of agreement, without accusing any person of being biassed by a

theory ; while those observers who think their own instruments are

the best will continue to be satisfied with what they may happen

to see, and shut their eyes to any advance.

As the microscope has been improved, our ideas of the structure

of the Lepisma scale have been gradually modified, and who will

now claim it to be “ too easy for a test object?”

In the order of difficulty of resolution we have —

1. The heavy longitudinal ridges running from end to end of

the scale and slightly projecting at the point.

-= 2. Distinct ribs generally radiating from the quill, or curved

parallel with the outline of the scale, and becoming faint in the

centre and parts remote from the quill.

3. Transverse corrugations of the membranes.

4, Faint irregular veins branching from the diverging ridges

(No. 2) generally taking a transverse direction, and, together with

the corrugation, causing the spurious appearance of fine beading

at their points of intersection with the ridges.

- To make sure of my work on this scale I have studied it under

a number of different conditions. The observations have been

conducted with monochromatic sunlight ; with white cloud and

lamp ; with central beam and oblique ; with mirror, prisms, achro-

matic condenser with and without central stops, and with Wen-

(666)

STRUCTURE OF THE SCALES OF LEPISMA SACCHARINA. 667

ham’s paraboloid. All these methods point to the same conclu-

sions. Following up the line of observations described by the

late Richard Beck, in his most valuable contribution to our knowl-

edge of this subject, the same results were arrived at in regard to

the appearance of coarse beading, etc., viz., ‘ that the interrupted

appearance is produced by two sets of uninterrupted lines on dif-

ferent surfaces ”* That the longitudinal and the oblique lines are

on different sides of the scale is also plainly seen by their lying

in different focal planes under a > objective. And farther, while

examining a scale in fluid I have repeatedly observed air bubbles

on one surface of it confined by the longitudinal ribs, and on the

other side others bounded by the oblique ridges; and on moving

the slow adjustment up and down, with the movement of the bub-

bles under control, they never interfere or mix with each other.t

Nothing further is required to prove that these markings are

actually ridges and that they project from different surfaces of the

object. The experiments of Mr. Beck settle this question.

As microscopical definition advanced the very feeble radiating

lines were noticed in the spaces between the ribs, formerly thought

to be smooth. In the central portion of the test these lines are

parallel with the main ribbing. They in their turn were seen to

be uneven and pronounced to be “ beaded strie.”{ Must this fine

beading like its shadowy predecessors be also extinguished by

intersecting cross lines and so add one more to the long list of

illusory appearances? To attempt to throw some light upon this

question is the principal object of the present article.

In the first place, it is far from being a difficult feat to see this

beading. Any first class lens, from a 4 upward, when properly

handled, will display it or something very like it. The writer

has found it an easy task with Wales’ ; immersion, or even with

a Beck 1 and deep eye-piece. With Tolles’ = immersion the

fine transverse structure indicated above is brought out, and it

becomes at once evident that the small beads are indeed spurious

like their big brothers, and for a similar reason.

The fine transverse markings seem to branch from the faint

radiating ones and have the appearance of a net-work of minute

Capillaries. Beside these there are coarser transverse waves or

* The Achromatic Microscope, Beck, p. 50.

t See Micrographic Dictionary, 2d ed., p. 34, Fig. 3, pl. 27.

t See M. M. Journal, March, 1873, pl. xi, Figs. 3 and 4.

668 STRUCTURE OF THE SCALES OF LEPISMA SACCHARINA.

corrugations of the membrane. In numerous instances, air bub-

bles have been observed imprisoned between the heavy ribs on one

or two sides, and by these corrugations on the other sides. There-

fore the corrugations may safely be said to be on the same surface

of the scale with the longitudinal ridges, and the branching vein-

like structure on or near the other surface. Careful focussing is

corroborative of this idea, making it certain that these two details

of structure lie in different planes. With monochromatic light,

the delineation of this structure is eminently satisfactory, and the

effect of the slightest change in focal adjustment is at once felt.

When the object is a little out of focus the light is unequally re-

fracted and broken up in passing through this complicated net-

work of ridges and corrugations, and produces an appearance of

fine molecules over the whole surface of the scale.

The coarse and the fine beads both vanishing under advancing

definition, together with the behavior of the confined bubbles of

air, seems to my mind fully to demonstrate the reality of the

structure above described. Often, when the corrections are not

perfect, the semblance of beading can be directly traced to a seem-

ing enlargement of points of linear intersection and branching.

When the 3, is at its best work the finer transverse markings are

usually irregular both in strength and direction but always unmis-

takable. They may be plainly seen on some of the smaller scales

and in the central parts of the larger, and at almost as good

advantage as near the edges of the easier scales. Sometimes they

are continuous across several intercostal spaces and again only

extending across one, or it may be merely budding, as it were,

from the ribs. It will be noticed that the “beads” as drawn

by Mr. Hollich exhibit corresponding irregularities.

In conclusion the remark of Beck on the scales of Lepidocyrtus

may well be quoted—‘“and my own belief is that the markings

upon this and all other varieties of Podura-scales are more or less

elevations or corrugations upon the surface, which answer ut

simple purpose of giving strength to very delicate membranes.”

If this idea is true of the eae it applies with greater force to

the complicated ridges of Lepism

The same original structure is pre modified in diverging di-

rections so as to subserve totally distinct purposes. And as hairs

are probably modified scales, and a regular gradation may be

* Transactions R. M. S., 1862, p. 88.

THE NORTH AMERICAN GOATSUCKERS. 669

traced between them, so the connecting chain is filled up between

ribs extending from end to end of a scale, through undulations

and shorter ribs, to those slightly projecting, and so on to the

perfect spine or secondary hair.

‘

THE NORTH AMERICAN GOATSUCKERS.

BY DAVID SCOTT.

Tue whippoorwills and nighthawks of North America are by

many confounded and considered to be the same species. This

impression is, nevertheless, entirely erroneous ; and I hope to show,

in the following remarks, such obvious differences existing be-

tween them as will convince the most superficial observers of their

non-identity.

It is surprising that our farmers (for they perhaps are the per-

sons by whom these birds are most generally confounded) should

consider such widely separated species, which resemble each

other in color only, the same. It exhibits a carelessness which is

hardly excusable, for doubtless the majority of them have shot the

birds in question, and a simple comparison would surely convince

them of their error. That any supernatural ideas should be enter-

tained respecting these harmless and useful birds appears even

more surprising; but such is the case with a large number of

people, more especially, however, with the uneducated. There is

Prevalent in various sections of the country a remarkable awe, not

to say fear, of them: and various are the misfortunes which are

ascribed to their supposed supernatural influence—such as the

Sudden death of one of the inmates of a house, which, it is af-

firmed, surely follows the song of the whippoorwill if he be perched

Upon the door-sill. It is also believed by some that the white

Spots on the wings of the nighthawks are silver dollars. The

pertinacity with which superstitious traditions cling to people is

Well known, and the foregoing, which are not all that are current

respecting these birds, form no exception. They have undoubt-

edly been handed down and preserved through many generations.

It appears remarkable, but there seems to be something about these

birds which has excited the superstition of various nations for

670 THE NORTH AMERICAN GOATSUCKERS.

ages back. Their very name implies this. The appellation

« goatsuckers,” which has now extended to the whole family, was,

without doubt, suggested by their very wide gape. This led to

the idea entertained by the ancients that they sucked goats.

In the west these birds have been accused of the crime of

sucking milk from cows—about as probable as‘snakes being guilty

of the same offence; yet there are hundreds who believe in such

impossibilities: and to this belief may be attributed the cause of

their being birds of evil omen in the estimation of our rural popu-

lation. These mistaken notions have been current since the days

of Aristotle, if not still further back. Absurd as they may appear

to an enlightened and reflecting person, they are, nevertheless,

firmly believed by many, which may to a certain extent account

for the universal ignorance of the birds as well as of their

habits.

The main reason, however, that these birds are confounded is

in reality due to the great dissimilarity in their habits; for the

nighthawks are often seen, and only occasionally heard, while the

whippoorwills are frequently heard and seldom seen: and their

very similar appearance when asleep or resting for the day (the

whippoorwills being seldom observed at any other time) tends

also to confirm the opinion that they are the same species.

The family Caprimulgide, to which these birds belong, is divi-

ded into three sub-families, Steatornithinæ, Podargine and Capri-

mulgine. The latter only is represented in North America, and

by two genera, Antrostomus Gould, the whippoorwills, and Chor-

deiles Swains., the nighthawks ; the former of which contains three

species, the latter two.

The common whippoorwill (A. vociferus Bon.) is an inhabitant

of eastern North America from Canada to Florida, where it 1s

replaced by the chuck-will’s-widow (A. Carolinensis Gould). Its

range to the westward appears to be restricted to Leavenworth,

Kansas,* where it is again represented by a still smaller species,

the A. Nuttalli Cass., or “‘poor-will.” i

It is a summer sojourner in the District of Columbia, where it

usually arrives from the south the last of April or the first of May.

Although I have observed it as early as the thirteenth of April

its arrival at that early period is of rare occurrence. The males

generally precede the females a few days, and soon after the latter

€ * Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl. July, 1872,

THE NORTH AMERICAN GOATSUCKERS. 671

make their appearance the wonted and necessary place for incu-

bation is prepared. It cannot, however, be called a nest; as it

is merely a shallow hole scraped in the ground, in close proximity

to its accustomed companion, a rock, stump, or fallen tree. The

eggs are from one to three in number, of a delicate creamy-white

color, with blotches of different shades of lilac and pale brown:

they are laid in the early part of May. The young are out by the

first of June, if not earlier, and are very curious looking little crea-

tures, covered with a fine down of a yellowish color. As soon as

they are able to leave the nest, the mother guides them in their

search for insects until they are able to use their wings. When

surprised in these excursions, it is amusing to witness with what

solicitude she hastens to lead them toa safe retreat. But if the

intruder (especially if a human being) persists in following, and

approaches too closely, she turns off in another direction, feigns

lameness and incapability of flight, flutters-along for a few rods

ahead, and exerts herself to the utmost to allure the interloper

from her offspring. After having decoyed the stranger, as she

thinks, a sufficient distance, she suddenly regains her power of

flight, and darts off to the protection of her helpless progeny.

This species roosts almost exclusively on the ground, although it

has occasionally been found upon a tree. When disturbed in the

daytime it rises as silently as a shadow, and flies off in a confused

zigzag manner, but immediately settles within a few rods. But

when the shades of evening advance it comes boldly forth from its

roosting places in the most invious and secluded parts of the for-

ests, to search for the night-flying Lepidoptera, of which it destroys

countless numbers. It is then that we hear its lively whistle in

Company with the loud, hoarse, guttural h606-h60-h66-h60-é, of

the great-horned owl (Bubo Virginianus); the quivering-wailing

cry of the screech owl (Scops asio); the croaking of frogs, and

the song of the cricket and the katy-did: which form quite a .

Contrast to the beautiful songs of the thrushes which enliven our

forests and groves during the day.

The chuck-will’s-widow (A. Carolinensis Gould) is the largest

North American species. In its habits and general appearance it

resembles the common whippoorwill, with which it is generally

confounded by inexperienced observers. Its range in the United

tates has usually been supposed to be limited to the south Atlan-

tic and gulf states, being seldom if ever seen north of the Caro-

672 THE NORTH AMERICAN GOATSUCKERS.

linas on the coast. But Mr. Ridgway is confident that he has

heard it in southern Illinois ;* which, if his observation proves

correct, will be but another instance exemplifying the well-known

fact of birds having a more extensive latitudinal distribution in

the interior than upon the coast; which is doubtless subject to,

and explicable by, climatic influence. Its notes, from which it

takes its name, resemble less then has generally been supposed

the syllables ‘chuck-will’s-widow.” They are pronounced in a

rapid manner with a slight elevation of the voice upon the last

syllable. Butterflies, moths and a variety of other insects, form

its food, as they do also that of the other members of this group.

The next is Nuttall’s whippoorwill (A. Nuttalli Cass.), or more

properly ‘‘poor-will,” as it is said to omit the first syllable. It in-

habits the country west of the Mississippi river, and is domiciled

in nearly every part of that vast extent of prairies. This is the

smallest species, measuring only eight inches in length. Its habits

differ essentially from its eastern congeners, as it is necessarily

an inhabitant of open portions, and is unconversant, if I may 850

use the expression, with the woods which they so delight in fre-

quenting. The eggs are immaculate livid white and destitute of

spots or blotches, and, with A. macromystax of S. Mexico, differ

in this respect, from all the other species.

e now come to the nighthawks (Chordeiles). The common

nighthawk or “bull-bat”(C. popetue Baird) of the eastern states

is abundant from British America to the West Indies, and west to

Kansas, where it becomes lighter, and constitutes the variety

Henryi Cass. This bird is an abundant spring and autumn visi-

tant to the District of Columbia, arriving about May first, and

departing the last of September. In its breeding habits it differs

from the whippoorwill in constructing its nest, which is a mere

hole scratched in the ground, in open places, as fields and bare

hillsides; and never in thick woods. It sometimes deposits its

eggs on a dead leaf, or even on a bare rock. During the pairing

season the actions of the male are strange and interesting. At

dusk he frequently mounts high into the air, and then, partially

closing his wings, descends with great rapidity to near the earth ;

the air in passing through the wing feathers in this rapid descent

produces a loud booming sound which may be heard at a con-

siderable distance, and has been likened to the noise occasioned

* MS. Notes on Birds of S. Illinois.

THE NORTH AMERICAN GOATSUCKERS. 673

by blowing into the bung-hole of an empty barrel. This noise

must be regarded as a means of bringing the sexes together, as

it is heard only in the spring. In the intervals between his as-

censions, the male darts around in every direction, uttering sharp

squeaks and throwing himself into all sorts of attitudes and pos-

tures, calculated, no doubt, to please any passing female. It is

both diurnal and nocturnal in its habits, but more properly the lat-

ter. Nevertheless, I have frequently seen numbers pursuing and

capturing their prey in broad daylight, when the sun was shining

brightly. At such times, however, their flight is very high, so

high indeed that they resemble the swallows with which they asso-

ciate, and if it were not for the slow and regular flapping of their

long wings, and an occasional harsh note (a note of exultation

perhaps as they snap up some unfortunate beetle or moth) they

might readily be mistaken for them. But it is in the dusk of the

evening that they may be seen in the greatest numbers; when, in

certain localities and at certain seasons of the year (especially

in the fall), thousands may be seen darting around in their rapid

and necessarily irregular flight. As darkness approaches, they

descend to the earth and skim along the surface, snatching up any

ill-fated bug that may have failed to find shelter

I recollect a small valley in the northern part of Pennsylvania,

which appears to be a favorite resort of this bird, more especially

in the fall. It is about five miles in length, a mile in width, is

inclosed by two ranges of high mountains, and is one of the most

picturesque places in the state. A small stream wends its way

along the base of one of the ranges and empties itself into the

Susquehanna hard by. An hour or two before dusk a few night-

hawks will be seen approaching from the direction of the river.

These have no sooner passed than more make their appearance ;

and thus they come in an ever increasing stream, twisting and

turning in pursuit of their insect prey, but always keeping in

- & general direction up the valley. In about fifteen minutes the

foremost will have reached the head of the valley, and having

rned, as is their invariable custom, will be seen drawing near in

their return to the river. In this way they may be seen coming

and going with continually increasing numbers, until the sky is

dark with their fleeting forms, and night has thrown a veil over

their actions. I have watched them for hours in this locality.

When they first appear mee: are eee T the air, but as dusk ap-

ERICAN NATURALIST,

674 THE NORTH AMERICAN GOATSUCKERS.

proaches their flight is lower; which is occasioned by the insects

that they are pursuing seeking shelter for the night. Unlike the

whippoorwill, this bird roosts almost entirely upon trees; in fact

it is seldom found on the ground except during the breeding sea-

son. In roosting it always rests in a parallel position with its

perch. This is undoubtedly owing to its comparatively small and

weak legs, which are not capable of sustaining it any length of

time in a transverse posture.

The western nighthawk (var. Henryi Cass.) was formerly consid-

ered to be a distinct species, but is now regarded as only a geo-

graphical variety of the preceding ; the principal difference being a

paler coloration caused by a predominance of the lighter mark-

ings. It inhabits the same region as Nuttall’s whippoorwill, or

the whole of the western country.

The Texas nighthawk is much smaller than either of the pre-

ceding, and is very distinct, its nearest relative being a South

American species (C. acutipennis). It is a more southern bird

than the others, and is found most abundantly in the state from

which it derives its name.

DIAGNOSES OF GENERA AND SPECIES OF NORTH AMERICAN CAPRIMULGINE.

A. Wings, comparatively speaking, short and rounded, with rufous spots; second

quill longest; the primaries emarginated on their outer webs. Tail broad and

grad — e terminal third, half or two-thirds of three outer ae

white. TH soft and Jax; seve gape armed with very large iff

eee Ani Amzn Gould.

1. Length e extent 25°00; 8-50; tail 6°50. Prevailing color above

and below pale rufous; top of head reddish brown, ‘streaked longitudi

nally with black.

white, with a pna? mottling on all the outer webs for nearly their whole

l Tail but slightly graduated, the exterior feathers a quarter of

an look only shorter th iddle ones. Bristles of bill

aments. Female without white patch tail. Habitat, south Atlantic

and states. Cen Eo ? ‘aro sis Gould.

S. Il.

2. Length 10-00; extent 19:25; Neal ag “ig 5 00. Top of head, ) UMP, upper

the streaks on the head mechan ing ¢ pile ent in the oantro; ‘forming a

medial black band. Middle of back brownish black. and

fore breast the same. A white collar on the under side of the cape the

ends extending up on each side and nearly meeting a rufescent bang

curling around the nape. Rest of under parts light hee cua

2 8

Bristles of mouth without lateral a ents. Female with no white on

tail. Habitat, eastern U. S. to Kan A. vociferus gape

ugth 8°00; wing 5°50; tail 365. Pre ianiai rt olor brownish-gray ;

e head hoary gray, with transverse instead of longitudinal biack maed

collar, or rather patch, of white on the neck, posterior to which the

P onrt eo Ge > š ith y 3 wet Wings ciun jnnamon

»oFe

OBSERVATIONS ON THE EMBRYOLOGY OF LIMULUS. 675

uige: with bab ales black. Tail dark on the pe tgga aei the tip for

only about an inch, white. Graduation of tail ‘50. aments to the

ee of dé miata Habitat, high central pent pn igr Pacific

A. Nuttalli eae

B. Wings ae loas and pointed, with a white bar across the outer primarios abou

midway between the carpal joint and the tip of the wings: the ak maries

not emarginated, the ig and second equal and neon: Tail narrow an

forked, with a small white bar, in the males, across all th t

Š a

sh piedi wi nder p

soiled white, transversely ers gem brown. A pure white ah gente

mark on the throat hi

brownish gray ab The termin

feather is white = i both piepe larger and m quadrate, and:

reel he shi The female lacks the

wale throat marks, the white ite incl on the tail, and the wing patch

"m muc: e less conspicuous. Habitat, eastern North America to

opetue, var. popetue Baird.

2. Similar a the preceding but much lighter” Habitat, whole of western

ar. Henryi C

. popetue,

3. Len ae 3-40; extent 19°00; wing 7:00; tail 4-60. Abov eidelen] black

ith m

ish and sank “ Beapulava and wing coverts finely variegated, the

pattern somewhat irregular, and scarcely Papers of definition A pro-

nepe larger V-shaped white mark o C. popetue

to parts dull white, ae i barred with brown, witha a

ung of erin n the abdomen and under tail coverts. Wings with

i po

bars, the last white, extending across both vanes. The female lacks the

the caudal patch. Habitat, southern portion of western No

America. C. Texensis Lawr.

FARTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE EMBRYOLOGY OF

LIMULUS, WITH NOTES ON ITS AFFINITIEsS.*

BY A. S. PACKARD, JR., M.D.

Iy a recent paper on the “ Embryology of Limulus,” published in

the “ Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History,” I stated

* Read at the Portland Meeting of the Amer. Assoc. Ady. Sci.

676 OBSERVATIONS ON THE EMBRYOLOGY OF LIMULUS.

that the blastodermic skin, just before being moulted, consisted of

nucleated cells, and also traced its homology with the so-called

amnion of insects. I have this summer, by making transverse

sections of the egg, been able to study in a still more satisfactory

manner these blastodermic cells and to observe their nuclei before

they become effaced during and after the blastodermic moult.

On June 17th (the egg having been laid May 27th) the periph-

eral blastodermic cells began to harden, and the outer layer, that

destined to form the + amnion,” to peel off from the primitive band

beneath. The moult is accomplished by the flattened cells of the

blastodermic skin hardening and peeling off from those beneath.

uring this process the cells in this outer layer lose their nu-

clei, and, as it were, dry up, contracting and hardening during

the process. This blastodermic moult is comparable with that of

Apus, as I have already observed, the cells of the blastodermic

skin in that animal being nucleated.

This blastodermic skin in its mode of development may also

safely be compared with the “amnion” of the scorpion as de-

‘scribed and figured by Metznikoff, and we now feel justified in un-

hesitatingly homologizing it with the “ amnion ” of insects, in which

at first the blastodermie cells are nucleated, and appear like those

of Limulus. Moreover the layer of germinal matter, from which

the blastodermic skin moults off, may be compared with the prim-

itive band of insects. On June 19th, in other eggs, the cells

of the blastodermic skin were observed to be empty, and the nu-

clei had lost their fine granules, and were beginning to disappear.

The walls of the cells had become ragged through contraction,

and in vertical section short peripheral vertical radiating lines

could be perceived.

At this time an interesting phenomenon was observed. In cer-

tain portions of the blastodermic skin, or amnion, the cells had

become effaced, and transitions from the rudiments of cells to

those fully formed could be seen. From this we should supposé

that the retention of these cells in the amnion of Limulus is due

to the singular function this skin is destined to perform, i.e., to act

as a vicarious chorion, the chorion itself splitting apart and falling

off in consequence of the increase in size of the embryo. In in-

sects these cells disappear, and after the skin is moulted it appears

structureless.

From studies afterwards carried on in the laboratory of the

OBSERVATIONS ON THE EMBRYOLOGY OF LIMULUS. 677

Anderson School of Natural History, on the anatomy of the adult

Limulus, I have been able to fully confirm the important discovery

of Prof. Owen (Lectures,) 1852 and more recently of M. Alphonse

Milne-Edwards* relative to the sheathing of the nervous cord and

its branches by a system of arteries, and I would here bear testi-

mony to the accuracy of Edwards’ drawings and descriptions.

Moreover I have been able by a study of living Limuli, beautifully

injected by Mr. Bicknell by the kind permission of Prof. Agassiz,

the director of the Anderson School, to extend still farther the

anatomical researches of Milne-Edwards. With Mr. Bicknell’s

aid I have ascertained the existence of still smaller arterial twigs,

on the peripheral subcutaneous portion of the body, than indicated

by Milne-Edwards, and have made out the existence of an exten-

Sive series of closed vessels in the- respiratory abdominal feet.

For this I was prepared by a study of the respiratory lamelle,

which, in the arrangement of their chitinous septa, may be closely

homologized with the gills of Amphipod Crustacea, as observed in

living specimens without injection.

With the new information afforded us by A. Milne-Edwards, re-

garding the relations of the nervous cord with the ventral system

of arteries, and the remarkably perfect circulatory system, so much

more highly developed than that of any other Arthropod, I should

no longer feel warranted in associating Limnlus and the Merosto-

mata generally with the Branchiopoda, but regard, them, with the

Trilobites, as forming perhaps a distinct subclass of Crustacea.

Certainly if we consider the relations of the anatomical systems

to the walls of the body, the disposition of the segments forming

those body walls, and the nature of the appendages, Limulus

is built on the crustacean type. Because its nervous cord resem-

bles that of the scorpion, and its circulatory system is more

perfect than that of any Arthropod we know, this is no reason for

assuming that it is not a Crustacean. On the same ground Cera-

todus is not a fish because it has the lungs of a reptile, nor is

Ornithorhynchus a Saurian because it has the shoulder girdle of a

Saurian.+ I have, moreover, shown that some important features

in the embryology of Limulus are like those of the scorpion and

‘the hexapodous insects, the ‘‘amnion” of Limulus apparently

being homologous with that of the insects.

* Recherches sur Anatomie des Limules. Annales des Sc. Nat.,

ti have been reminded by Professor Wyman of this peculiarity in eatin:

Meckel.

678 A REMARKABLE WASP’S NEST IN MARYLAND.

In fact Limulus seems to me to be a synthetic or comprehensive

type, bearing the same relations to the Crustacea that Ceratodus

does among the fishes, or Archzopteryx among the birds; and be-

cause Limulus has strong analogies to the Arachnida, we should

not overlook its true affinities with the Branchiopodous Crustacea.

-~ Limulus may, then, be regarded as a Crustacean with the cara-

pace of Apus, bearing simple and compound eyes as in that Phyl-

lopod, with the antennz foot-like as in many Entomostraca, and

the abdominal appendages truly crustaceous in their structure,

while the circulatory system is not fundamentally unlike that of

other Crustacea, but only more perfect, and the digestive system

is throughout comparable with that of the normal Crustacea.

ON A REMARKABLE WASP’S NEST FOUND IN A

STUMP, IN MARYLAND.*

BY P. R. UHLER,

Tue insects of the genus Polistes have not hitherto been reported

to make nests of clay. All the North American species have

been considered paper-nest-builders. Many species are known

from the United States, Canada and the West Indies, and these

are generally of a brown or yellow color, having spots or bands

either lighter or darker.

In the present instance we have a dark brown species with nar-

row yellow bands across the abdomen, and with yellow feet, which

builds a nest of clay in the form of a cylinder. In the stump of

a decayed. Liriodendron, found by O. N. Bryan, Esq., in Charles

county, Maryland, a number of these insects had aggregated their

cylinders. The stump was about two feet in diameter and the

central cavity (which had been formed by the borings of large

beetles) was five inches wide. In this, attached to the sides, some-

times lying flat in the grooves left by the beetles, or standing off

at a considerable angle, and attached by their bases, were thirty-

three of these peculiar structures. ‘They were of a yellow clay,

generally about half an inch in diameter, and varying in lengt

* Read at the Portland Meeting of the Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci.

A REMARKABLE WASP’S NEST IN MARYLAND. 679

from two to five inches. Sixteen of these were attached in one

group projecting from the side of the cavity, and towards their

outer ends were bent into a blunt curve; resembling a colony of

the tubes of Serpula.

The nest, or, more properly, receptacle for the egg and young,

is constructed in this manner. e adult Polistes flies to an adja-

cent place where there is suitable wet clay, works this substance

into an oval pellet and flies to the place where the building is to

be made. The pellet is then laid obliquely and pressed down by

the fore feet and head of the insect so as to cause it to adhere

firmly to the surface on which it is building. This operation is

repeated until it has formed a cylinder about one inch in length.

As it proceeds, it smooths the inside of the cylinder by working

with its jaws and pushing the front of its flat head against the

plastic clay. The first section being thus finished to its satisfac-

tion it flies off to secure small spiders. It seizes a spider with its

fore feet, stings it in just such a way as to paralyze, without de-

stroying its life, and then deposits it in the bottom of the cylinder.

An egg is then laid beside the spider, and the wasp flies off to

secure other spiders. This is continued until the cavity, which

generally holds from twelve to fifteen of the smaller kinds, is full.

The wasp then proceeds to cover the open end with a cap of the

same material as before, after which it adds other sections to the

number of three or four, filling each with spiders, and depositing

one egg in each. The young larva feeds on these paralyzed spi-

ders, and, as it seems, requires from twelve to fifteen of them to

nourish it until it is ready to become a pupa.

Unlike the species of Pelopzeus, which also. make clay nests, it

does not nurse its young, but they are securely sealed up in the

sections to feed themselves. When ready to come forth, the wasp

gnaws a round hole in the wall of its cell, and flies forth as a per-

fect insect.

A similar, if not identical, species was very troublesome in Bal-

timore during the early part of last summer.

On the front walls of the Peabody Institute these wasps as-

sembled in considerable numbers; and constructed their cells in

the grooves of the joints of the marble. Their clay cylinders —

were so numerous as to greatly disfigure the marble and render it

necessary to have the front of the Institute cleaned.

THE FERTILIZATION OF FLOWERS BY INSECTS

AND THEIR MUTUAL ADAPTATION

FOR THAT FUNCTION.*

Tue old idea, once a favorite topic with poets and divines, that

the beauty of the external.world was intended exclusively to pro-

mote the enjoyment of mankind, has suffered many severe shocks

from the rude onslaughts of modern science. The discovery that

the earth was a habitable and inhabited world, countless ages before

man appeared upon the scene, might be explained on the hypothesis

that it was thus becoming prepared for the advent of the master-

piece of creation; the egotism of the human species might even

survive the discouraging fact that gems of purest ray serene were

born in the unfathomed caves of Silurian or Devonian oceans, and

that flowers of the most perfect beauty were born to blush unseen

in the midst of odlite or cretaceous deserts. The unpitying theory

of the survival of the fittest, however, points relentlessly to the

conclusion that man after all is not the raison d’étre of anything

he sees around him except himself; that “jedes fiir sich” is the

rule of nature ; that every organic being is contrived so as to have

the best chance of supplying its own wants, and not for the sake

of administering to the wants of others; in fact that the philoso-

phy of science must, for the future, be an application to the realms

of nature of the principle of self-love, such as even a Hobbes

might accept.

The volume before us, though full of minute details of empirical

observation, is an important contribution to this philosophy of

science. The main fact which forms the groundwork of Prof.

Miiller’s observations is not new. Towards the close of the last

century one of the keen observers of nature with which that period

abounded, C. C. Sprengel, in his Das entdeckte Geheimniss der Na-

tur im Bau und in der Befruchtung der Blumen, pointed out that a

number of the different forms which the flowers of plants assume

are obviously contrived for the purpose of attracting insects and

of enabling them to carry away the pollen which is acre to

* Die Befruchtung der Blumen durch Insekten und die gegenseitigen Anpassungen

Erkenntniss des ursdchlichen Zusam: gen in der organ-

lermann Müller. Leipzig: Engelman:

THE FERTILIZATION OF FLOWERS BY INSECTS, ETC. 681

fertilize other flowers of the same species. This line of research,

which had been almost lost sight of since Sprengel’s time, has

been renewed in our own day by Darwin in this country, the writer

of this volume and Hildebrand in Germany, Axell in Sweden, and

Delpino in Italy; the first-named naturalist reducing the sum of

his observations to the well-known aphorism that “nature abhors

perpetual self-fertilization.” The whole of that complicated struc-

ture which we call in ordinary language the “flower” of a plant

consists, in fact, of the reproductive organs enclosed in a number

of envelopes which have for their purpose not only the protection

of the essential organs within them, but the attraction of those

insects or other animals which are necessary for the fertilization

of the ovules.

The contrivances for effecting this purpose, though infinite in

number and variety, may be classed under two principal heads,

color and scent. A large number of insects obtain their food

chiefly or entirely from the juices of flowers; and the necessity

for cross-fertilization renders the visits of these insects as indis-

pensable to the life of the flower as to that of the insect. o

enable them to find this food the juices are very commonly scented ;

a field of clover or beans will attract all the bees in the neighbor-

hood from a great distance; and, if carefully watched, the bees

will be found not only to carry off with them the honey, but to

transfer also a portion of the pollen from flower to flower. Where

the juice of the flower does not happen to be scented, the bright

color of the corolla commonly serves the purpose of attracting

insects from a distance. Different insects and other small animals

have apparently very different ideas of beauty as regards the form

and color of the flower. Hummingbirds are said by Delpino to

have a penchant for scarlet and for flowers with long wide tubes ;

hence in countries where there are no hummingbirds, as our own,

scarlet flowers or those with long wide tubes are very rare among

native plants.* The largest-flowered of European plants, the

peony and several species of convolvulus, are visited chiefly by

large beetles allied to the cockchafer; and as we proceed farther

north to climates too cold for this description of insect, the corre-

sponding flowers also disappear, not being able to mature their

seeds without assistance. When fertilization is effected by very

* Among our common wild flowers it would be difficult to name any of a true scar-

let h: 1 3 eha littl . 3 `

682 THE FERTILIZATION OF FLOWERS BY INSECTS, ETC.

small insects, something more than a large conspicuous corolla is

required to show the visitors the way to the nectary or receptacle

for the honey ; hence arises the variegation of flowers, the bands

or patterns of color being almost invariably so arranged as to di-

rect the insect in the way it should goin search of food. As na-

ture seldom provides two contrivances, concurrently, for the same

purpose, we find that variegated (wild) flowers are seldom scented ;

while the most odoriferous flowers are-almost always uniform in

color; the evening primrose, which opens its scented flowers only

in the dusk, requires no variegation to direct the night-flying moths

to the scented nectar.

Illustrations of all these laws have been observed by the natur-

alists we have mentioned, and have been collected with great in-

dustry in this volume by Dr. Miiller, himself no idle worker in the

same field. According to the theory of natural selection, those

descendants from a common ancestor which vary from the others

in any direction that tends to increase their attractiveness to insects,

or to secure a more certain transference of the fertilizing pollen

from one flower to another, will have the best chance of survival

and of perpetuating and increasing this peculiarity in their prog-

eny. Dr. Miller has himself examined, or records the observa-

tions of others on, nearly four hundred species of plants, and

describes the structure of the reproductive organs and of their en-

velopes, with especial reference to their adaptation for self-fertili-

zation or for cross-fertilization, giving in each case a list of all the

insects which have been observed to visit the flower, and illustrating

his description, where necessary, by admirable woodcuts. is

portion of the subject is more or less familiar to most botanists ;

what Dr. Müller has made peculiarly his own study is the tracing

out of the same principle, applied to the visiting insects, as previ-

ous observers have noted with respect to the visited flower. By the

same principle of natural selection those insects which display to

the greatest perfection contrivances for extracting the honey of

flowers or for carrying away the pollen — the latter serving in some

cases for their own food, in others for storing up in their nests a$

food for the larvee or young —will stand the best chance of perpet-

uating offspring provided with the same peculiarities ; and we find

here abundant descriptions and drawings of the various forms

which these contrivances assume in different classes of insects.

In his concluding chapter Dr. Müller discusses the origin of

ig ES Oe ee ee

THE FERTILIZATION OF FLOWERS BY INSECTS, ETO. 683

these phenomena, and declares himself a firm adherent of Darwin’s

theory, finding the explanation of every special contrivance on

the one side or the other in the principle to which we have already

referred. He therefore vigorously combats the teleological views

of Sprengel and Delpino, the latter of whom especially, while ac-

cepting the theory of evolution or descent with modification, yet

disputes the soundness, or at least the adequacy, of the other the-

ory usually associated with it, that of natural selection. He recurs,

in fact, to the pre-Darwinian doctrine of design, to account for the

phenomena which furnish the subject of this work, or, as Miller

represents him: ‘* Nature is with him a being endowed with human

thought, which has invented definite forms of flowers leading nec-

essarily to cross-fertilization ; and this is then completely carried

out by the employment of different parts of plants for the same

purpose. This creator of flowers, far exceeding in talent the clev-

erest man, has predestined certain forms of flowers for certain in-

sects, and certain insects for certain forms of flowers, and has

contrived each one to fit the other.” The reasons which may be

adduced against this theory would be simply a repetition of the

main argument of Darwin’s Origin of Species and Variation of

Animals and Plants under domestication. The believer in the doc-

trine of natural selection finds it more consonant with the facts

which he sees around him to assume that Nature —if it is possi-

ble to personify the idea— works, not by preconceived notions

and prearranged harmonies, in which case we should expect to

find everything perfect, without discord, waste, or incompleteness ;

but rather, as a human workman would act, tentatively ; making

small improvements here and slight adaptations there ; every form

of life, in fact, constantly approaching a more and more perfect

adaptation to the circumstances in which it is placed, a perfection |

which, however, is never absolutely attained.

There are few regions of scientific inquiry more easily open to

any observer resident in the country and possessed of ordinary

powers of observation, than those connected with the fertilization

of flowers, and none which would more amply repay careful re-

search by leading to further insight into the still hidden laws which

govern the origin of species. To all workers in this field Dr.

Miiller’s elaborate and in every respect admirable work will be an

indispensable companion.—A. W. Bennett, in the Academy.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Tar Human Brarin.*— As the title indicates, the main purpose

of this work is anatomical rather than physiological; for the

author well says that ‘not the least of the obstacles in the way of

solving the problem” of the relation between mental faculties and

cerebral convolutions is the present ‘ difficulty of recognizing the

constant unity of form in the multiplicity of individual varia-

tions :” and he wishes his outline figures “to be regarded not so

much as pictures as maps by which one may find his way more

easily in this region.” In other words, the four diagrams of the

human brain as seen from the left side, from above, from below

and from the mesial surface, must be accepted by the reader, not

as accurate representations of any single brain, but as the gener-

alized results of the author’s comparison of several brains, the indi-

vidual variations of which are capable of being referred to these

diagrams as types.

The value of such a generalization might be estimated if the

author had given us the number of individuals upon which it is

based; his statement that fetal brains were studied, is so far

satisfactory as evidence of a correct method; but in the absence

of any figures of these latter, we can test the correctness of his

generalization only by comparing his diagrams with actual speci-

mens. And without going into technical details, which would be

here out of place, we must state that such a comparison with ten

cerebral hemispheres, representing four different periods of foetal

life, has enabled us to confirm Ecker’s views with respect to the

nature of only two main outer fissures, those of Sylvius and of

. Rolando (centralis), respecting which there has never been any

disagreement. We are the more willing to admit this failure to

agree, because our author himself dissents from previous writers.

But while insisting upon the differences from his type pattern,

which are manifested by our specimens, we are firmly convinced

of the futility of establishing a pattern based upon them or upon 4

much larger number of specimens. Indeed we hail the discrep-

ž*mha fA ar z 1 aheeryations,

especially upon their development in the fœtus. Intended for the use of phy ge"

By Alexander Ecker of Freiburg (1869). Translated by Robert T. Edes, M.D. 1

8vo. pp. 87.

(684)

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 685

ancy as another proof of three views elsewhere urged by us; 1.

That a very large number of specimens especially of foetal brains,

must be carefully studied. 2. That the results must be checked

by an equally careful comparison between the two halves of the

same brain. 3. That the existing disagreement is likely to per-

sist for a long time unless we discard the human brain for the

simpler brains of the lower monkeys, the lemurs and carnivora,

using large numbers of brains of nearly allied species. But the

foregoing considerations do not hinder our acknowledgment that

the present work is a real boon to anatomical science; since it

for the first time renders it possible, for the reader of English only,

to ascertain what has been done in cerebral topography; the

figures are clear, the nomenclature uniform, and a full synonymy is

prefixed to the description of each fissure and fold.

The fissures, are, correctly as we think, stated to be the ‘‘ more

important,” but upon what ground is not indicated; and there is

given a brief account of the formation of the Sylvian fissure, as

differing from all others: a point which has been in part con-

firmed by our own observations upon the brains of young ani-

mals.

We are now inclined to return to the ancient belief that each

cerebral hemisphere acts as a unit and with more or less vigor

according to the number and depth of the fissures; but Ecker

vigorously repudiates this idea, holding that it “ consists of a mul-

titude of organs each of which subserves definite intellectual pro-

cesses.” But this opinion, while according with the original idea

of phrenology, by no means indicates our author’s estimate of the

present ‘‘professors” of that “science” to whom, together with

the rest of this admirable little work, we cordially recommend the

following passage (p. 9). “The travelling phrenologists, who

wander around with plaster heads of Schiller, Napoleon and some —

celebrated rascals, and cipher out a character from a number of

bumps on the skull, are well known. Few of them have ever

seen a brain.” —Burt G. WILDER.

InrusoriaL Lire.*—Under this title Mr. W. H. Dallinger and

Dr. J. Drysdale publish, jointly, in the August No. of the

“ Monthly Microscopical Journal,” an article of extreme interest

as a natural history contribution, and of revolutionary importance

* Researches on the Life History of a Cercomonad: a Lesson in Biogenesis.

686 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

in respect to the prevalent methods of investigating questions of

‘¢spontaneous generation.” Dissatisfied, as most thinkers are,

with the vague and uncertain methods and conclusions of heated

infusions and sealed flasks, the authors turned for an answer to

the life history of the individual monads, and fortunately succeeded

in obtaining the history of a species which might easily have been

described as a group of species or quoted as an organism of spon-

taneous origin.

The necessity for a change in the methods of study in biogen-

esis is well stated in their words, as follows :—‘*The question as to

whether vital forms of the lowliest and minutest kind may have

their origin in a new, and as yet unexplained, arrangement of

non-vital material, is one that can never find a legitimate and final

reply in the class of experiments employed to test it within the

last thirty years. A careful student of the literature of the

subject will see that the results obtained by the same and different

experimenters, with similar infusions and solutions, are so un-

certain, and often contradictory, as to leave the whole question

open to bias; and an almost equal array of so-called ‘ experi-

mental facts’ from nearly equally trustworthy observers, may be

quoted on either side. This may be all pleasant enough in &

‘wordy war, but it does not even approximate to a decision of

the issue, and points to insufficiency in the experiments employed.

The appearance or non-appearance of organic forms in certain

infusions placed in sealed flasks or tubes, or otherwise conditioned,

is held to be decisive of their production de novo or otherwise;

but in point of fact we know nothing — absolutely nothing —of the

life history of the greater number of the forms produced. To

attempt to decide, therefore, from the experiments as yet pub-

lished, that their production in gross masses in inorganic infusions

proves that inorganic eléments produced them, may be to beg the

whole question. Inferring from what we know of nature’s modes

of reproduction, we have a right to expect, not a de novo produc-

tion, but a production from genetic elements. But when we re-

member the relation in size, throughout nature, between the ova

and spermatozoa and the organism producing them, the fact that

no such elements are visible (if they exist) in Bacteria or monads

is probably a mere necessity of our present instrumental power.

At least this is inevitable, that before we can be scientifically

certain that these:lowly forms do or do not originate in non-y!

Ot a ne EETA

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 687

elements, we ought to know their life-history; and if this be

desirable in the question of abiogenesis, it must be absolutely

essential before we can even approach that of heterogenesis. We

must patiently follow them without a break in observation, through

all their changes, and then, by repeating these observations,

decide on the stability or otherwise of the form. For some years

our attention has been individually directed to this subject; and

three years since the advisability of combined work commended

itself to us. Kor work of this kind to be effective, we believe

there must be more than one observer, in order that the observa-

tions may be unbroken as far as possible, and also to secure a

mutual as well as a double confirmation.”

With Ross’ medium powers, and Powell and Lealand’s high

ones, the authors commenced: the study of an undescribed monad

which sometimes occurs abundantly in water in which a cod’s

head has been macerated. The drop of infusion was so arranged

that it could be preserved in the focus of the highest powers,

and the organisms inhabiting it maintained alive and healthy, and

under continuous observation for an indefinite length of time.

The cercomonad subjected to study was a small oval body with

two actively moving flagella at one end. This was the familiar,

mature form, and the one which, alone, according to the usage

of the students of Infusoria, would be considered characteristic of

the species. Other forms however were observed, differing in size

and shape and with one flagellum at each end, or amceboid with or

without flagella, or cyst-like and smooth and globular; forms each

of which might easily be regarded as a distinct species or possibly

as a capricious variety, but which were tracked through a series

of transitions, the recurrence of which was repeatedly observed

and was found to be unvarying and to be a portion of the life

history of the same individual. The mature form with oval body

and two flagella at one end, after moving about with great activity

for a period of time which in the observed cases was about forty

Minutes, became squarer or more elongated, and somewhat dumb-

bell shaped by a sudden constriction of the sarcode. At this

Stage the body is furnished with one flagellum at each end, which

lashes with great force. The constricted portion becomes nar-

rowed more and more by stretching until so attenuated as to equal

Only the flagella in thickness, when it parts in the middle, leaving

two separate bodies each furnished with a flagellum at each end.

688 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

This multiplication by fission, in an average of forty cases, was

completed in four minutes and forty seconds, and continued to be

repeated without variation during from two to eight days.

After this period the organism gradually assumes an ameeboid

form by pouring out a delicate sarcode, and moves only by pseudo-

podia although the flagella are still present and somewhat active.

In the course of seven hours, there were several of these amceboid

forms in the field, each enclosing or enveloping a flagellated body.

Finally two of these approached each other until they touched,

and rapid blending of the sarcode took place, the flagella disap-

peared, the bodies came in contact with each other and rapidly

coalesced, and the common body thus formed increased in size

until it was no longer enveloped in the delicate sarcode, but be-

came a mere, smooth, globular cyst with a distinct integument

which afterwards became thin, burst, and discharged a viscid

mass of oily looking matter. Under the power employed, Powell

and Lealand =; and A ocular (X 2500), this presented, when

somewhat dispersed, a minutely granulated appearance. By

adding an eight inch drawtube and B ocular, it became certain

that this consisted of a densely packed mass of inconceivably

small granules. The observers believe that they should have

wholly failed to see these sporules but for their enormous aggre-

gation and motion in a mass, and that ‘‘ with the 3; the most accu-

rate observer could not have discovered their presence if he had not

previously seen them with the 5.” j

he development of these granules was now watched with the

greatest care. In six hours they had increased to a decidedly

perceptible degree, though still far smaller than the minute and

familiar Bacterium termo of Cohn; an hour or two later they

began to reassume an oval shape; in nine hours from the first they .

had become rather larger than B. termo and had become flagellate

and begun to move freely, the bodies became vacuolate, and in

something less than twelve hours the normal parent form was

assumed. This history was traced carefully and repeatedly, and

with unvarying results.

The effects of heat and dessication were also tried ; and it was

found that although drying slowly upon a glass slide and exposure

to a dry heat of 121° C. entirely destroyed all the adult forms,

yet, after moistening again with distilled water and watching the

field for some hours, growing points were in some instances dis-

BOTANY. 689

covered exactly resembling an early stage of the developing spo-

rules, which points matured into the flagellate state. Farther

experiments demonstrated that a heat, without dryness, of 66° C.

destroys all the adult forms, while young monads appear and de-

velop in an infusion which has been heated to 127° C., suggesting

that the sporules are uninjured by a temperature which is destruc-

tive to the adult.

After this history, whose importance, if verified by subsequent

observation, can scarcely be over-estimated, a history of a monad

multiplying by subdivision, reproducing by conjugation (a true

sexual reproduction of an extremely simple type), and actually

seen to develop from sporules invisible under the powers usually

employed in such investigations, and indestructible by heat which

is fatal to the adult forms, it seems almost a waste of time to read

of experiments with boiled infusions in sealed flasks, and we are

rather inclined to wait patiently until Powell and Lealand or

olles, or some one else, shall give us a lens capable of reading

the life-history, whatever it may be, of Bacteria and Vibriones. —

H W.

BOTANY.

PERFORATION OF GERARDIA PEDICULARIA BY Bres.—I have

always been much interested in the pretty genus Gerardia, largely

represented in the vicinity of Providence, R. I. In the summer of

1871, while sitting amidst a dense growth of G. pedicularia, I

noticed that all the humble-bees which visited the flowers alighted

on the outside near the base of the corolla. I could not account

for so singular an action, asthe aperture to each bell was so wide.

I found upon examination that the corolla in each case was pierced

on the upper side near the junction with the calyx. I sent a note

in regard to the matter to W. H. Leggett, Esq., of New York, and

it appeared in the “ Bulletin of the Torrey Club.” The editor re-

marked that it was the first case, in his knowledge, of our native

flowers being slit in this manner by visiting insects.

Not satisfied with what I then saw, I have watched the plants

again this year with much attention, often sitting among them

for an hour or more with the bees buzzing about my head. I

Should say that they were all humble bees, and I have seen but

One of them approach the natural opening of the flowers. This

was a much larger bee than any of the others. None of them had

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. VII.

690 BOTANY.

their legs dusted with pollen. On one occasion I saw a small

metallic green and iridescent bee among the flowers, but could not

observe whether he entered them. The sweet odor of the flower

is very heavy and oppressive.

Why should these insects perforate the corolla when the flower

is apparently so easy of access in the usual way? Examination

of the structure does not throw much light upon the matter. The

corolla is bell-shaped and of funnel form. ‘There are four stamens,

two long and two short, the filaments clothed with hairs, which

are probably bathed with nectar, as the perforation is made just

above them. The anthers are two-celled, approaching by pairs,

and each cell has a sharp cusp at the bottom, pointing inwards.

The style is long, and the stigma is bent over the longer stamens.

I find, upon inserting a pencil into the mouth of the flower, that,

upon retracting it, it is brought in contact with the cusps above

referred to, which causes the anther cells to expand and discharge

the pollen copiously. An insect acting in the same way would

have its back dusted, and when visiting another flower, would nec-

essarily rub off a portion of the burden upon the stigma. I thought

the sharp cusps might tickle or prick any intruder and thus com-

pel him to retreat. Dr. Gray, however, does not consider these

projections sharp enough to annoy the bee, and moreover considers

it improbable that the flower would be provided with a contrivance

so manifestly to its disadvantage. There are “guiding lines” of

orange dots leading towards the nectariferous hairs.

I have seen bees approach the front for a moment and then re-

tire as if baffled. Most of them, however, begin operations at

the back at once. They alight with the tail towards the open end

of the flower and at once insert the head into the little hole. I

have never seen them make the aperture, although it is difficult to

find a blossom without one. Even the buds are often penetrated ;

out of a large number of flowers plucked at random from different

plants in different localities, I cannot find one flower without the

slit. I have got others to observe for me with the same result.

It is a constant pleasure to watch the curious action of these

bees . W. Battery.

Tue Connecricur Varer Boranrcat Socrety held its first

annual meeting at Amherst, Mass., Oct. 1. This new Society was

organized in June last, mainly through the efforts of Mrs. Maria

BOTANY. 691

L. Owen, of Springfield, Mass., and begins with a membership of

about twenty ladies and gentlemen.— President, Prof. C. H. Hitch-

cock, Hanover, N. H.; Vice President, Rev. H. G. Jesup, Am-

herst, Mass. ; Berie. Mrs. M. L. Owen, Springfield, Mass.

Various papers of interest were presented at the meeting by the

President and other members; an account of recent explorations

near the head waters of the Connecticut river was given by one

who had just returned from that region; a number of rare plants

were exhibited ; and work was planned for the coming year which

promises valuable results. The society bespeaks the sympathy

and cooperation of all the working botanists throughout the val-

ley of the Connecticut river. — oi

Hersarrum Parer.—The Naturalists’ Agency purpose keeping

herbarium paper for sale, in small quantities, and taking orders

for it in larger quantities ; both the white sheets for species, and

genus covers, such as are used at the Gray Herbarium of Harvard

University and by most of the principal botanists of the United

‘States. Botanists and institutions now sending their orders

for the white paper, for two reams or more, may be supplied

at $5 per ream (unless the price of paper should meanwhile rise).

Those who order after the first lot of paper is made will probably

have to pay a higher price, as also will those who buy less than

whole reams. The species paper sheets are 163 X 118 inches.

Orders may also be sent for genus-covers. These are of Manilla

paper, very thick, 164 X 24 inches, i.e. a foot wide when folded.

The price will depend somewhat upon the extent of the orders

received, but will probably be about $7 a ream. Orders should

be sent without delay to the Naturalists’ Agency, Salem, Mass.

LirHosPERMUM LONGIFLORUM ONLY L. ANGUSTIFOLIUM.— While

collecting specimens of Lithospermum longiflorum Spreng., in fruit,

I noticed that the plants were still producing small flowers. A

gradual reduction could be easily traced, from the conspicuous

early inflorescence of the erect stem, to the small corolla scarcely

exceeding the calyx, borne by spreading branches later in the

season. This summer state of the plant is clearly L. angustifo-

lium Michx.! within the limits of our familiar flora of the northern

states, therefore, we have not only two species, founded upon dif-

ferent periods of growth of the same plant, but one of these has

even been separated from Lithospermum and made the type of a

692 ZOOLOGY.

distinct genus, Pentalophus A. De C. It is a pity to lose the

appropriate name of longiflorum but it must yield to the older one

imposed by Michaux.—M. S

Ruexia Virernica L.— This species produces fusiform tubers

and of course grows from them the following year. In the few

books accessible to me here (Wethersfield, Conn.), ‘‘ Gray’s Man-

ual,” ‘*Chapman’s Flora S. U. S.,” “Benth. and Hook. Gen. PL,”

no mention is made of this character of genus or species. Hence,

I infer it is not generally known. Will botanists who can readily

examine other species uae whether or not it is a generic chat

acter and let us know?—C. V

CLEIsTOGENOUS FLowers are produced late in the season, and

almost exclusively by Oxybaphus nyctagineus, as observed by

H. W. Patterson, of Oquawka, Illinois. In N yctaginia capitata, of

Texas, as cultivated in the botanic garden here several years ago,

we noticed the opposite of this, i.e., all the earlier flowers were

cleistogenous.— A. G

ZOOLOGY.

NOTES ON SOME OF THE Rarer Birps or New Eneianp.— The

occurrence in New England of the birds here mentioned, and the

nesting therein of many of them, will perhaps be of interest to

some readers of the NATURALIST :—

An ornithological friend, Mr. J. N. Clark, residing at sey pinkie

Ct., writes me that the following species are found in numbers, and

breed regularly, in that locality: IJcteria virens, Helminthophaga

pina, Myiodioctes mitratus, Icterus spurius, Ammodromus mari-

timus, Myiarchus crinitus and Rallus crepitans. He also observes

in the nesting season Helmitherus vermivorus, but as yet has failed

to find the nest. Melanerpes erythrocephalus also breeds, and a

number remained with him all through last winter. Most of the

above have usually been regarded only as rare and accidental visi-

tors to the southern portions of New England, and the others as

found but sparingly and locally in any section of it. The fact of

the blue-winged, yellow, worm-eating and hooded warblers occur-

ring constantly is, I think, of special interest. He sends me &

specimen of Seiurus Noveboracensis and says, “I can testify that

about the period of nesting they are most extraordinary singers.”

_ I think it possible, however, that the bird actually nesting with him

ZOOLOGY. 693

may be Ludovicianus. The shooting of the latter and finding its

nest and eggs at Norwich, Ct., by Mr. E. Ingersoll, make the

theory tenable. -

One instance of the nesting of Mimus polyglottus has come to

his knowledge. Cuthartes aura and Garzetta candidissima he has

seen rarely and has heard of Cardinalis Virginianus. All through

the winter of 1872-73, Sialia sialis, Dendreca coronata and Melo-

thrus pecoris remained in flocks. The worm-eating warbler he

finds in thickets on the edges of swamps, —a restless’ bird with a

very strange, loud, rattling call ; at other times he remarked a war-

bling song reminding him of that of the common goldfinch, only

a little softer. Sphyrapicus varius is abundant in fall. He con-

siders Ammodromus maritimus as being much more plentiful than

caudacutus. His observations of Oporornis agilis are the same

as those of Massachusetts collectors. It occurs only in the fall

(September). My correspondent has kindly sent me specimens in

the flesh, and nests and eggs of many of the above species in con-

firmation of what he has written me. No part of New England

has been embraced within the Carolinian fauna, and properly so,

but that its southern border has a tinge of it, is quite evident.

In this connection I will state that several Melanerpes erythro-

cephalus have been shot in eastern Massachusetts within about a

year in both the adult and immature plumage. Two Picoides arc-

ticus, both males, were shot in Middlesex county, late in the fall of

1871. A nest and eggs of Icteria virens were found near Lynn

last June, the fourth nest of this bird that my informer has found

in that locality. A fine specimen of Herodias egretta was killed in

Westford ; Limosa Hudsonica has been quite common along the

coast this fall; a Porzana Noveboracensis was shot on Canton

marshes, Oct. 15, 1872; a Histrionicus torquatus at Hampton,

N. H., Novy, 1872; and two or three young Sterna Forsterii have

been obtained on our coast within a year.—H. A. Purn, West

Newton, Mass., Sept., 1873.

On THE MIGRATION OF CERTAIN ANIMALS AS INFLUENCED BY

Civitization.—During the autumn of 1850, I emigrated to the

state of Wisconsin and settled upon what was known as the “In-

dian Lands,” situated in the central part of the state, north of

Fox River. The Indians were not removed, and very few white

Settlements had been made. The forests abounded in the usual

694 $ ZOOLOGY.

variety of wild animals including the deer, gray wolf and black

ear.

As the entire fauna and flora seemed to be unchanged, a good

opportunity was afforded for observing the influence of advancing

civilization. Many interesting facts were observed in regard to

both plants and animals, some of which may be of importance as

illustrating the habits of certain species.

During the first winter, the raven (Corvus corax) was frequently

seen, sometimes solitary, but more frequently in flocks of from

eight to ten in number, flying along the watercourses or hovering

over thickets into which a wounded deer had been chased. They

were less frequently seen during the summer, probably going north

to their breeding place, as no nests were ever found in that section.

The country lying north and northwest was almost one unbroken

wilderness to Lake Superior, while the southern boundary was

formed by the Fox'river at a distance varying from twenty to

thirty miles.

During the following season a larger number of settlements

were made, while the Indians were gradually removed. The

ravens returned for two or three following seasons, though in

diminished numbers. During this whole period, as far as I am

able to learn, not a single specimen of the common crow (Corvus

Americana) was seen or heard in the whole region. While he was

a resident of the southern and eastern parts of the state, he seems

to have carefully avoided the Indian lands. It was not till more

than a year after the disappearance of the raven that the first

crow, a single straggler, appeared, uttering his well known ‘‘ caw,”

advancing northward evidently on a tour of exploration. He

seems to have carried back a favorable report, for soon others ap-

peared, and in a short time the species became very common.

Several interesting inquiries arise in relation to the habits of

these animals. Do they ever exist together, or is there any an-

tagonism between the species? Although the distance was not

more than twenty miles to Fox river, the southern boundary of

these lands, the raven was not known to advance farther south, nor

the crow to visit the lands occupied by the former. Whether the

raven is now found within the limits of the state I am unable

to determine. :

Dr. Coues in his “Key to North American Birds” gives the habi-

tat of the raven ‘‘ North America; but now rare in the Uni

ZOOLOGY. 695

States east of the Mississippi, and altogether wanting in most of the

states. Very abundant in the West, there supplanting the crows.”

In the present case it would seem that the raven preoccupied the

ground, excluding rather than supplanting the other species. The

disappearance of the raven could not be owing to the wholesale

and wanton slaughter so often practised by settlers upon the ani-

mals occupying the lands upon which they locate, for it was seldom

that a specimen was shot. They were regarded as quite inoffen-

sive, never being known to commit any depredations upon grain

fields, and were allowed to range unmolested. It is quite probable

their departure was owing to the increasing number of settlers,

the opening up of fields, and other changes incident to new set-

tlements.

Another example of the migration and succession of species

was that of the four-lined squirrel (Tamias quadrivittatus). This

sprightly little animal was very common, being seen everywhere

through the forests and around settlements, while not a single

specimen of the common striped squirrels or chipmunk (Tamias

striatus) appeared anywhere in the region.

Other species of squirrels were very common, the red fox,

gray and black squirrels, and especially that pest of farmers, the

striped gopher (Spermophilus lineatvs), were everywhere abun-

dant. I well remember the first specimen of a chipmunk which I

saw after two or three years residence in that section. I met him

about five miles in the direction of Fox river on his emigrating

tour northward. He had taken up his temporary residence under

the roots of an old stump, on the top of which he was perched

uttering his characteristic * chip” a note which the other species

never produce. He was soon followed by numerous others and

the two species lived together for a while, as far as I could observe,

without any discord. The four-lined squirrels, however, soon be-

came less numerous and in a short time were so scarce that it was

difficult to obtain specimens and they have long since entirely

disappeared from that region.— Moses Barrett, M. D., Milwaukee,

isconsin.

Norges on Two LITTLE-KNOWN BIRDS OF THE UNITED STATES.

—Baird’s bunting (Centronyx Bairdii) is the most abundant and

characteristic species along the northern border of Dakota, be-

tween the Pembina and Turtle Mountains—in some places out-

696 ZOOLOGY.

numbering all the other birds together. It is surprising that so

common a bird should have resisted research, as this one has, for

thirty years. Its history is somewhat peculiar. Discovered by

Audubon on the Yellowstone, in 1843, the original specimen, still

preserved in the Smithsonian, has remained unique until the pres-

ent year. It was described and figured by Audubon (Birds of

America, vii, p. 359, pl. 500) under the name of Emberiza Bairdii,

and in 1858 was made the subject of an elaborate article by Prof.

Baird, who instituted for its reception the genus Centronyx. This

name, however, is scarcely tenable, the structural peculiarities

being so slight that the bird might very properly stand as Passer-

culus Bairdii, if the original generic designation be considered too

broad for present use. (The species is so much like a savanna

sparrow that it was some days before I learned to tell the two

apart, at gunshot range, often shooting one by mistake for the

other.) The literature of the subject rested mainly on these two

articles until 1869, when “ Centronyx Bairdii” came again on the

tapis, through the announcement of its discovery in Massachusetts

(see Maynard, Am. Nat., iii, 1869, p. 554, and Nat. Guide, p. 112:

see also Allen, Am. Nat., iii, p. 631, and Brewster, Am. Nat., vi,

1872, p. 307). This, however, was a mistake: the supposed Cen-

tronyx proving to be a Passerculus, believed by Mr. Maynard to

be new, and by him afterwards named P. princeps (Am. Nat. vi,

1872, p. 637; see also Coues, ‘‘ Key,” pp. 135, 352). In noticing

these points last year, in the “ Key,” as just quoted, I rather cast

suspicion upon the true species itself, by venturing upon the gra-

tuitous presumption that a second specimen of Centronyx would

never be found. This was decidedly the greater blunder of the

two —to tell how I happened to be led into it would not interest

the general reader. So matters stood till this year, when Mr. C.

E. Aiken took, in Colorado, a Centronyx which was considered to

be a second new species of that genus, and was published as such

under the name of C. ochrocephalus (Am. Nat., vii, 1873, P. 237).

The writer of the article in question takes pains to point out cer-

tain slight discrepancies in size and form between the type speci-

men of C. Bairdii and the single specimen of the supposed new

species, and lays particular stress upon a difference in the colora-

tion of the heads of the two. Now I have not yet seen the new

bird, and will not risk the chances of being twice mistaken about

One species ; but this is certain : that the ascribed specific charac-

ZOOLOGY. 697

ters fall entirely within the normal limits of individual variation

in this or any other one of our sparrows.* My specimens of Baird’s

bunting, over fifty in number, including both sexes, all ages from

the nest upward, and various changeable states of plumage, run

from 5:10 to 5°85 in length, by 9°10 to 9:90 in extent, and show

variations to match in other dimensions and proportions of parts.

As to color, they range from some with the head-stripe only faintly

buffy-gray, to others with this part rich golden brown ( just as in

the golden-crowned thrush) and the rest of the head suffused with

the same color ; these extremes shading insensibly into each other.

Some of the youngest specimens differ still more from the adults ;

being in a plumage hitherto unknown, and one so decidedly pecu-

liar that under other circumstances of capture they might not have

been referred to Centronyx at all. I shall take another occasion

to complete the biography of Passerculus Bairdii respecting which

my notes are now quite full.

Next to Baird’s bunting the Missouri skylark (Anthus Spraguei)

is one of the commonest birds which breed on the prairie region

above indicated, about equalling in abundance the chestnut-col-

lared bunting (Plectrophanes ornatus). It is another example of

the curious fact that a very abundant bird, and one inhabiting

no inaccessible region, may by mere accident remain for years al-

most unknown. Of this species, introduced to us under the same

circumstances as those attending the discovery of Baird’s bunting,

I never, until this season, saw but two prepared specimens ; Audu-

bon’s type, and one other, taken on the Saskatchewan by Capt.

Blakiston, both in the Smithsonian. Another taken at Fort Ran-

dall, Dakota, by Capt. J. P. McCown, is said to be in Mr. Law-

rence’s cabinet. I am satisfied that I saw the bird myself at Fort

Randall early last spring, but I can show no specimen to vouch

for the statement. This summer, however, I have collected a

large number, at various points along the 49th parallel. Among

them are some nestlings just ready to fly, in a very pretty plumage

materially different from that of the adults. Others show the

transition toward the mature state. Fresh measurements of adult

individuals exceed some that have been recorded in my work and

elsewhere ; the length being up to 6-50, the extent to 11-00, the

wing to 3°30 ; an average is about 6:25 10°60 X3-20.—E. Cours.

“Information heat ‘ved Tom Pr ape este since the above was rriten confirms my

im p

¥ $=]

MICROSCOPY.

A New Growi1ne-ce_t.— Having lately had occasion to exam-

ine some minute forms of life, and finding that, from some cause

or other, most of the growing cells failed to work well continu-

ously, I made a growing-cell similar to the following sketch, which

I trust some readers will find useful.

Cut two pieces of moderately thick crown glass, one 3 inches

14 inches, the other 1}? inches by 14 inches, cement these

together with Canada balsam; when dry, fix with the same cement

two slips of glass of the same thickness to the other end of the

slip, so as to form the

sides of the reservoir (D

D) ; also fix with gold-size

slips of thin glass, so as to

V7, form the sides of the grow-

7, ing-cell (F F F F); when

| quite dry, cement a piece

of thin glass 2} inches by

Fig. 174.

small quantity of gold-size is used, or it will run into the growing-

cell. When used, fill the reservoir with fresh water until it runs

into growing-ċell A, and both are at the same level. The object

(the growth of which it is desired to observe) may then be placed

in the cell. If made of these dimensions, the water in the reser-

voir B will continue to supply fresh water to the growing-cell for

at least three days without being refilled ; of course, if the reser-

voir is made larger, it will last longer than this.

References to illustration: A, growing-cell; B, reservoir fresh

water; C, glass slip 3 inches by 14 inches; D, side of reservoir ;

E, thin glass 2} inches by 1} inches; F, sides of growing-cell ;

G, growing object.— Jno. H. Martın, Micro. Assay Laboratory,

Maidstone, England.

ES se Sone) :

eh oe eae ee

REVIVAL or ANIMALCULES AFTER DesiccaTron.— Mr. Henry

Davis discusses this old and curious question in a recent contribu-

tion to the Royal Microscopical Society. He finds that Pritchard

_ and Carpenter and nearly all modern scientific writers have aban-

)

(698

peen

MICROSCOPY. 699

doned the doubts raised by Ehrenberg and others, and believe in

the revivification of rotifers, tardigrades, etc., after complete and

unlimited desiccation. His own experience with a colony of roti-

fers which he received by post in a few grains of dry, dusty pow-

der, and almost immediately brought to life by watering it in a

stage-tank, was suggestive, certainly, of wonderful powers of en-

durance. He narrates the history of this colony as follows :—

*¢ Since its establishment in 1867, it has received no new immi-

grants, but as it increased and multiplied, some of its members, in

a dry state, have been removed to stock new tanks for my friends.

It is generally kept in a cabinet, with other objects, and watered

or examination when required, or, as a rule, once a month ; so

small a quantity of water dries up rapidly in summer; in a day

sometimes. The longest time it has kept continuously dry is ten

months; in winter, after watering, it has been frozen into a mass

of ice; it has been heated ona brass mounting-table, "with a spirit

a sea voyage to the south of Spain, revived there - brought

home again; taken to Ceylon; to India; revived on ship-board,

to the astonishment of the passengers; brought Faiy and a few

of the dry inhabitants immediately posted off again to a friend in

Ceylon, who revived and has them still. As a final indignity and

injury this much enduring family has been put into the receiver of

an air-pump for twelve hours and thorou hly exhausted. This

was almost too much for it, but still there is a little life in the

tank.”

Experimenting on this subject, he found that, while some could

survive a short exposure to a heat of 200° (Fahr.), a thorough bak-

ing or boiling for two or three hours killed them all. Drying for

a week in an exhausted receiver along with sulphuric acid was

also fatal. He admits proof of revival after four years’ torpor ;

though he failed in experiments extending over only from one to

three years. Though nearly all authorities agree in the books as

to the desiccation theory, yet many good observers privately doubt

whether those that revive were really dried at all; and Mr. Davis

is satisfied that the non-revivers are the dried ones, and those

which revive do so because they were not desiccated. He has ob-

served that the creatures constantly give off a slimy secretion ; and

in drying they contract into an ovoid form, and the gelatinous fluid

dries over them into a thin hard shell which protects them from

further drying. If isolated rotifers are dried upon a clean glass

700 MICROSCOPY.

slide they seldom revive; because they crawl about until the last

moment, and thus part with so much of their protective covering

that they are finally dried up and destroyed.

Notwithstanding the first impression of some of the Fellows of

the Society, that Mr. Davis’ researches had been entirely antici-

pated by many continental authorities, the doctrine of the gelati-

nous envelope seems to be an entirely original as well as a very

satisfactory settlement of a much disputed question.

Action or Poisons oN THE BLoop Corpuscies.— Dr. Osler

read a paper before the Medical Microscopical Society, in London,

giving the results of his experiments on the action of solutions of

the sulphates of atropa and of physostegia upon the blood corpus-

cles. He hoped to show, in the corpuscles, the already demon-

strated antagonism between these reagents, but reached an exactly

opposite result, both solutions checking in a somewhat similar

manner the amceboid movements of the white corpuscles, and both

causing the red corpuscles to become irregular from involutions

and cuppings of the surface. The reagents mixed produced the

same changes as when separately applied. Solutions of curare

were also mixed with blood, but produced no positive results.

Limrr or Resotvinc Power. — How little we appreciate the

extent to which the resolving power of our best objectives falls

below the possibilities of their amplifying power, was well illus-

trated by the surprise of many microscopists, and the incredulity

of some, when Nobert’s 19th band, of 112,000 lines to the inch,

was beautifully resolved by a power of scarcely over two hundred

diameters ; while, with absolutely faultless definition, the same lines

ought to be visible undera much lower power than that. What

we ought, theoretically, to be able to see with powers of from one

to three thousand diameters, is computed in the following curious

extract from one of Dr. Pigott’s recent papers.

“ With regard to these minute quantities [beading one hundred

thousandth of an inch in diameter, etc.], and to remove doubts

which may arise in some persons’ minds as to the possibility of

seeing such very minute linear quantities, I may say that a minute

of are corresponds to the breadth of the 334th part of an inch as

seen at ten inches, which is at least four times as thick as 4 human

hair at that distance. Now the one hundred thousandth of an

nch under a power of 1,000 is precisely the same thing as a thous-

eS eg) as fe at lee S E IE A on ea he eR ATEN

ier a a nt ee EES ee as Se Ne ee i

Re orf SNe ee ee

MICROSCOPY. 701

andth of an inch under a power of one, or seen naturally at ten

inches. But we can see hairs much finer than this — say three

times — therefore, with regard to arc, we can see with a power of

1,000 the 1 of yoyoy, i-e., with a power of 3,000 about the mil-

lionth. To find the angle in seconds, 1” = 0.000004848 = torvo

nearly.

The angle under a power of 3,000, at |

a distance of ten inches, is for a f me a

millionth of an inch.

3. 3

10 X 1000000 — 10000

Divide this by the value of one second and we get six seconds

in the angle subtended by z554$555 under a power of 3,000.”

Use or MICRO-PHOTOGRAPHS.— The experience of the late siege

of Paris has given a permanent prominence to microphotography

as a practically useful art. A French engineer now proposes to

reduce messages photographically to microscopic size, and then

blow them through a pneumatic tube under the straits of Dover

to England, where they should be raised by photography to a legi-

ble size again. Thus the promptness of the telegraph would be

approached, while its expensiveness, in the case of long messages,

would be avoided.

STRUCTURE or Diatoms.—In stating Mr. Stodder’s disbelief that

the silicions matter in diatoms was always deposited in spherules,

we omitted to explain that it was the processes, or so-called feet, of

E. Argus which he considered structureless. Mr. Stodder also

desires us to notice that he does not adopt Mr. Slack’s term +‘ ordi-

nary diatoms ;” that he has not believed the markings on all diatoms

to be depressions, but that the dark spots seen by reflected light

on E. Argus are so; and that he and Mr. Wells have not been as-

sociated in studying this subject. He also contributes the follow-

ing remarks in regard to test objects and high powers.

“The histologists, vegetable and animal anatomists may say as

they have said, ‘What of it? Is it worth the time and labor re-

quired to determine whether the minute granule of one fifty thous-

andth of an inch is hexagonal or circular, a pa or a cavity?’

Yes, gentlemen, it is, for so long as these questions are unset-

tled, so long must you be uncertain of the true interpretation of

your own observations ; so long as you do not use the best instru-

ments and the highest powers, so long must you be ignorant of

702 NOTES.

the undiscovered, uncertain whether you have found all that can

be found. No better tests are yet known of the quality of micro-

scope lenses than the diatoms and Nobert’s lines. To know that

you have obtained the best results in your own specialties you

must know what your instruments can do on known objects; to

‘increase knowledge’ in your own departments, you must use the

best instruments and the highest powers the skill of the optician

can produce. Science cannot be much advanced by the use of

lenses of twenty years ago.”

Metrnops or Srupy IN Inrusorta.—An abstract of an ex-

tremely suggestive paper relative to this subject is given under

** Reviews” in this number of the NATURALIST.

: ”?

Correction TO NOTE on Aperture. —‘‘ Improved assumption

. . : 29

p. 567, line 1, should have been printed ‘‘ unproved assumption.

NOTES.

Tur Kansas Academy of Science held its sixth annual meeting

at Lawrence, Kansas, on Sept 11 and 12. This Academy holds its

annual meeting of two or three days duration in different places

in the state. Papers are read on various subjects, and consider-

able work is done for the encouragement of science throughout

Kansas. Quite a number of papers were read, and a special

address was delivered which was anti-Darwinian in character.

Among the papers falling in our sphere for notice, was one by

Prof. F. H. Snow on “ Injurious Insects,” and one by Prof. B. F.

Mudge on the “ Discovery of Fossil Footprints in Osage County,”

of ‘middle permian” age. Several hundred tracks were collected

and will be sent to Prof. Marsh at New Haven. Another pape?

by Prof. Mudge was on the “Mound Builders.” The evidences

of this ancient race in Kansas consisted in finding deposits of

pottery, indicating ancient villages, but we do not note anything

in the description of the remains that prove them to be those of

mound builders any more than of Indians of more recent date.

No mounds are mentioned, and, until the pottery found has been

carefully compared with that unquestionably made by the mound

builders and the Indians, the particular race whose remains are

described must be left in doubt. The following is the most inter-

esting part of the paper as reported :—

= “But the most important locality seen by us in Kansas lies not

NOTES. 703

far from Asher creek, on the southwesterly side of the Solomon

river, in Cloud county. The locality is on a rolling prairie, just

ve the river bottom, which is here aie narrow. he most

marked feature of this village is the pottery, where their domestic

articles were manufactured. It covers an area of from one-fourth

_ to half an acre, rising irregularly at the highest point about two

feet above the level of the adjoining prairie, and is composed to a

great extent of the materials and debris from the old workshops.

In it we found a considerable quantity of the clay, dug from the

banks of an adjoining ravine, which had never been moulded ; ; and

The extent of the village was obscure, as the rank grass had

Covered the ground for long ages and nearly obliter ated all traces

of what once existed.”

The next meeting will be held at Topeka, in Sept., 1874. Prof.

Snow was elected president, Prof. Fraser retiring from the chair.

Tue first award of the Grand Walker prize of $1,000 was voted

by the Council of the Boston Society of Natural History, on Oct. 1,

to Mr. Alexander Agassiz of Cambridge, for investigations on the

embryology, structure and geographical distribution of the Radi-

ates, and especially on the Echinoderms, and the publication of

the results as embodied in his recent work.

The Annual Walker prize, for 1873, of $60, was, at the same

meeting, awarded to A. S. Packard, Jr., for his essay on the devel-

opment of the common house fly.

very deserving institution has recently been established in

Cincinnati, under the title of the Cincinnati Acclimatization So-

ciety, its object being to effect the introduction of such foreign

irds as are worthy of note for their song or their services to the

farmer or horticulturist. The society announces that during last

Spring it expended $5,000 in introducing fifteen additional spe-

cies of birds, and that it has already successfully accomplis!

the acclimatization of the European skylark, which is stated to

be now a prominent feature of the summer landscape in the vicin-

ity of Cincinnati. Among the species which it is proposed to in-

troduce is the European titmouse, considered abroad as one of the

most successful foes of insects injurious to vegetation.— Nature.

704 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.—BOOKS RECEIVED.

Proressor Marsn’s exploring party returned to Fort Bridger,

Wyoming, Sept. 5th, after a most successful trip of six weeks,

among the Eocene fossils of the Uintah mountain region. Many

interesting discoveries were made, especially of new mammals,

birds and reptiles. The party are now at work in Oregon, and

will return east in December.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

C. M., meno The objects sent are an early and peculiar stage of development of a

fresh water polyzoon. They are . popalasly labelled “eggs” ot Cristatella, but more

iiral fa statoblasts or pseud-o H W.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

= wh: rlin, 1857 -1866.

Berliner Entomologischer Zeitschrift. ey! 10, 8yo. 21 pam = e ’ By Baniel

Sixth ave É ort of the U. S. Geological Survey of the Territories, tions of

Be sep Bg and Utah; being a report of progress of the year isi. By F. V.

ayden. eae p. $44. Washington, 18 aeti

E aum oe the pr aae of Education for the year 1872. Cloth 8vo. pp. 1018. Was

ton

roceedings of the Lyceum of Natural History in the city of New York. Second Series. Jan. 3-

March 3, 1873. 8vo. pp. 32. New Yor m ee New

Proceedings of the Trustees of the Peabody Educational Fund at their Annual Meeting,

~~ oe 16, 1573. Svo. pp. 61. Cambridge, 1873. 120

orological Obse rvations, durin r 1872, in Utah, Idaho and Montana. 8vo. pp. 44+

AE o 1873. sto

A Catalogue of the Shell Bearing Mollusca of Rhode Island, By Horace F. Carpenter. .

pp.

‘Circulars of Information of the Bureau of Education. Hos. 1 and2. 8vo. Washington, 1873.

The Mechanical KRN Heat a Delusion. By A. Arnol Sept., 187 1873

The Tourmaline. A.C. Hamlin. Cloth 8vo. pp. 107, with 5 colored plates. Boston, alo

y oe and Thou hts on ae og and the Origin of Species. By C. G. Forshey.

pp.9 La leans, Femte

puler em

pas 1 Report on the New York State Museum of Natural History by the

nig Sees aise | of Repo State of New York. Cloth 8vo. pp 232. With 8 plates. foie

‘Annals of the Dudley Observatory. Vol. i. 8vo. pp. 319. Albany, 1866. Vol. fi. Cloth 8v0.

pp. 567, With 36 diagrams. eet 1871.

PE este ltsof a Ser lo Meteor: icai 0 ani made under instructions Sag the "RSO to

g the nie adorei y at sand Siation ms in the S a teoj N ‘New York. | Sec ip rene e pae

853, inclusive; with gee n-fall and ot henomena,to 1871, inclusive.

the original r returns pA Franklin B- H agg a ‘Cloth Ato. a. OE 402, ‘ee Pl i and James D.

Dina en Am, Jour. Sci,, Vol. xxx, iv, ne 1838.) 8vo. pp. 1 Jà ith 3 te 873.

parae Science Monthly. New York s keti Jou og ts of; —— ay.. Ang. 1% Mer. 1, 1878.

; t. 2, 1873.

mi, Scientifique. Paris, Aug. 2- Sept. 27, Nature. rete tan Ai Je! Quebec, ADE.

Field. London, July 26- t, 20, 1873. fa

Land and Water. fn Pes a - Sept. 20. iin ce and Arts. New

Havens "Sept. a Oatu I 1873. ja, Sept.

Bulletin g. the 2 orr. Botanical Ciub. New PH Gan — i ener’s Monthly. Philadelphia, $

y - de . ta

The Lens. hiengo, Aug.. 1873. Aa Magazine, London, petty:

eee of the ntl a Institute. Philadel-

gy lturist. New York, Oct..

pists Monthly Magazine, Lon- Ania or ie L ome i pe pi eire of

i, Oct.

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. VII.— DECEMBER, 1873.—No. 12.

COP ORD ODT

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUNDEW.

BY MRS. MARY TREAT.

N the morning of July 7th, I started in search of Drosera

Jiliformis and found my plant in Atlantic Co., New Jersey. It

was in full bloom and growing as thick as it could well stand, on

either side of an extensive cranberry plantation. This charming

plant, with its pretty pink blossoms, together with the dew-like

Substance exuding from the glands (the glands surmount the

bristles or hairs which cover the long thread-like leaves), was one

of the most beautiful sights I ever beheld. From former observa=

tions I had supposed this plant caught only small insects, but

now found I was mistaken; great Asilus flies were held firm pris-

oners, innumerable moths and butterflies, many of them two

inches across, were alike held captive until they died —the bright

flowers, and brilliant, glistening dew luring them on to sure death.

But what is the use of this wholesale destruction of insect life?

Can the plants use them? Upon examination I find that after the

death of the larger insects, they fall around the roots of the plants

as if to fertilize them, but the smaller flies remain sticking to the

leaves.

Careful and repeated experiments during several days revealed

the fact that on some days the plants work much better than on

others. Whether it was the electrical condition, or amount of

moisture in the atmosphere, is yet to be ascertained.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by ore PEABODY ACADEMY OF

SCIENCE, in the Office of the ee on of bop at Washingto

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL 45 (705)

706 OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUNDEW.

I experimented with three species of these plants— D. filifor-

mis, D. longifolia, and D. rotundifolia. I carefully removed them

from all atmospheric agitation, and found they were the most

active on the eleventh of July. I will therefore give the record

of this day’s experiments, and the state of the weather.

July 11th, thermometer stood thus—7 A. M., 68°; 2 p, Mi 193

9 p. m., 69°. Rain early in the morning, one-third of an inch.

Wind in the morning, N. E.; 2 P. m., S. E.; 9-p.m., S. E. ; with

rising barometer from 29:96 to 30-05.

July 11th, 10 o’clock, a.m., I pinned some living flies half an

inch from the leaves, near the apex, of D. filiformis. In forty

minutes the leaves had bent perceptibly toward the flies. At

twelve o’clock the leaves had reached the flies and their legs were

~ entangled among the bristles and held fast. I then removed the

flies three-quarters of an inch farther from the leaves. The leaves

still remained bent away from the direction of the light toward

the flies, but did not reach them at this distance.

Whether the action of the flies’ wings may have created suffi-

cient foree to bring the leaves near enough to entangle the flies is

a question I have not yet satisfactorily settled in my own mind,

for dead flies did not seem to have the same power as living ones.

Fifteen minutes past ten of the same day, I placed bits of raw

beef on some of the most vigorous leaves of D. longifolia. Ten

minutes past twelve, two of the leaves had folded around the beef,

hiding it from sight. Half past eleven of the same day, I placed

living flies on the leaves of D. longifolia. At twelve o’clock and

forty-eight minutes, one of the leaves had folded entirely around

its victim, and the other leaves had partially folded and the flies

. had ceased to struggle. By half past two, four leaves had each

. folded around a fly. The leaf folds from the apex to the petiole,

after the manner of its vernation. I tried mineral substances,

bits of dry chalk, magnesia and pebbles. In twenty-four hours

neither the leaves, nor the bristles had made any move like clasp-

ing these articles. I wet a piece of chalk in water, and in less

‘than an hour the bristles were curving about it, but soon un-

folded again, leaving the chalk free on the blade of the leaf.

The bristles around the edge of the leaf of D. rotundifolia are

longer than on those of D. longifolia, but the leaf of the former

does not fold around a fly as it does in the latter — simply the

bristles curve around the object, the glands on the ends of the

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SUNDEW. 707

bristles touching the substance, like so many mouths receiving

nourishment.

Half past 10, A. m., I placed raw beef on some leaves of D. ro-

tundifolia; by 1 o'clock the inner bristles were curving about it,

and the longer bristles on the outer edge of the leaf were slowly

curving upward. By 9 o’clock, in the evening, all the bristles

of three of the most vigorous leaves were clasping the beef, al-

most hiding it from sight, while an ea vigorous leaf made no

move like clasping a bit of dry cha

About 10 o’clock in the morning, I placed bits of raw apple

on some of the leaves of the last named species ; by 9 o'clock

in the evening part of the bristles were clasping it but not so

closely as the beef. By 10 o’clock next day, twenty-four hours,

nearly all the bristles were curved toward it, but not many of the

glands were touching it. So it would seem that these plants are

really carnivorous, that they prefer, and absorb animal substances

directly through their leaves. And Mr. Darwin says that by prick-

ing a certain point in the leaf of Drosera, he can paralyze half of

it, and this indicates nerves!

The following is a brief summary of the experiments.

First, with D. filiformis.

July 11th, 10 a.m. Pinned living flies half an inch from apex

of D. filiformis. 10 o’clock and 40 minutes; the leaves are bent

perceptibly toward the flies. 12, m., the leaves have reached the

flies, and the flies’ legs are entangled in the bristles and held fast

by the sticky substance exuding from the glands.

Second, with D. longifolia.

10 o’clock and 15 minutes, a. m., I place raw beef on the leaves

of D. longifolia. Ten minutes past 12, the leaves are folded

around the beef. 114 o’clock a. m., I place living flies on the

leaves of this species. 12 o'clock and 48 minute’, P. mM., one

of the leaves has folded entirely around the fly. 23 o’clock, P. M.,

four leaves have each folded around a fly.

Third, with D. rotundifolia.

10 o’clock and 35 minutes a. m., raw beef on leaves of D. ro-

tundifolia. 1 o’clock, P.m., the inner bristles are curving about it,

and the longer bristles on the outer edge of the leaf are slowly

curving upward. 9 o’clock, p.m., all the bristles of the most vigor-

ous leaves are clasping the beef. 10 o'clock a. m. I place bits of

raw apples on the leaves. 9 o’clock P. m., part of the bristles are

708 THE SLATES OF THE TACONIC MOUNTAINS, ETC.

clasping them. July 12th, 10 o’clock, a. m., nearly all the bristles

are curving toward the bits of apple, but very few of the glands

are touching them.

THE SLATES OF THE TACONIC MOUNTAINS OF

THE AGE OF THE HUDSON RIVER OR

CINCINNATI GROUP.*

BY PROFESSOR J. D. DANA.

In my study of the Stockbridge limestone and the associated

rocks in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, I have found that the

ridges are often, if not always, synclinals. They consist of the

slates or schists (and sometimes quartzite) overlying the lime-

stone; and in the downward flexures of the limestone, during the

period of disturbance and metamorphism which made the moun-

tains, the overlying beds or part of them were folded together into

a compact mass which has withstood degrading agents, while the

same beds in the anticlinals or upward flexures were extensively

broken and have disappeared. The slate ridges are then nothing

but squeezes of the slate formation between the sides of a lime-

stone synclinal.

The Taconic mountains lie on the western border of the Berk-

shire limestone region; and, in general, the dip of the limestone,

as well as of the Taconic slates is to the eastward, and hence the

slates being underneath are seemingly the older. They are actu-

ally so, unless the Taconic ridges are also synclinals, with an east-

wardly inclined axis, like some of the Berkshire mountains. Un-

til recently I had regarded the apparent order of superposition as

the true order of succession, that is, I had supposed that the lime-

stones were newer than the Taconic slates. The conclusion

seemed to be confirmed by finding at different places the slates:

and limestone with the same high easterly dip, the slates under-

most.

But a few weeks since, on an examination of the eastern base

of Mt. Washington, the highest part of the Taconic range in south-

western Massachusetts, along the road just east of the highest

_ * Read at the Portland Meeting of the Amer, Assoc. Adv. Science.

THE SLATES OF THE TACONIC MOUNTAINS, ETC. 709

summit, called Mt. Everett, 2,634 feet in height above the sea,

the limestone of the Sheffield plain was found to have, in-

stead of the usual easterly dip, a westerly dip, and -this cbmuined

up the slopes of the mountain as far as the limestone extended,

about 120 feet above the plain and there the limestone was seen to

pass directly beneath the slates of the mountain, these having the

same dip and strike, the dip 20° to 25.° Thus the limestone was

seen to descend under Mt. Washington and the slates to be the

superior rock. Following along the base of the mountain north-

ward, this dip of the Stockbridge limestone under the mountain

was found to continue for nearly four miles, that is along the

whole eastern front.

These facts seem to prove that the limestone of Berkshire goes

under Mt. Washington and comes up in the great limestone of

Copake on the west side of the Taconic range.

I might show that there are probably two close-pressed syn-

clinals in the Mt. Washington plateau (which is four to five

miles broad), with steep easterly inclined axes, and that these

synclinals are synclinals of slate riding over a single broken syncli-

nal of limestone; that, to the north of the mountain, where the

mountain descends to the limestone plains of Egremont, these syn-

clinals become separated and include an anticlinal of limestone,

the limestone of the anticlinal appearing in the intermediate

valley while the ridges (synclinals) are slate; and that the two

synclinals have an eastwardly inclined axis, the dip being very

steep to the eastward. But to explain fully would require

diagrams, and I leave the details for another place.

Graylock in northwestern Massachusetts, to the east of the line

of the Taconic, and 3500 feet in height, whose rocks are much like

those of Mt. Washington, is described by Emmons as a synclinal ;

and, after a survey of the facts on the ground, observing the

westerly dip of the limestones of the eastern slopes near South

Adams, and the easterly dip on the western slopes near the en-

trance to the “Hopper,” as the great central valley is called, I am

satisfied that he was right. The dip at the summit and most other

parts is very steep to the eastward. It appears then to be a result,

like many other Berkshire Mountains, of a squeeze of the slates

in a synclinal; and like Mt. Washington it is probably not a sim-

ple synclinal. It may be ‘a double one, with the Hopper corre-

sponding to the intermediate anticlinal, the beds of the whole

710 HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.

having a high dip to the eastward owing to the eastward inclination

of the axis of the folds. At North Adams, in the ridge of slate

just west of the village, the limestone and slate both dip eastward,

there being here the north end of one of the inclined synclinals.

The making of the highest summits of the Taconic region ap-

pears thence to have depended on this doubling of the folds. It

becomes exceedingly difficult in such cases to ascertain the true

thickness of the slate formation.

In view, then, of the facts stated in my former article with regard

to the age of the limestone and its overlying rocks, it is not easy

to avoid the conclusion that the Taconic slates are Hudson river

slates, as long since held by the Professors Rogers; and, also,

that the rocks on which Prof. Emmons, in his New York Geologi-

cal Report, first based his Taconic system, or out of which he de-

vised it, are after all nothing but the Hudson river and Trenton

groups, with the underlying Chazy. The Trenton limestone and

Hudson River or Cincinnati groups, which properly constitute one

series in American Geological History, are then the true Taconic

system.

HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC

ENTOMOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES.*

BY JOHN L. LECONTE, M.D.

eer cae tse

Ir is indeed a most gratifying evidence of the increasing in-

terest in the department of zoology which we cultivate, that the

entomologists, now in connection with the ‘American Association

for the Advancement of Science,” are sufficiently numerous to

form a separate sub-section, and enough in earnest to make the

meetings of the section of value to attract our widely scattered

students.

I hail with joy the opportunity of being present at this meet-

ing, and the more so, because absence from the country has pre-

vented me from being with you on previous occasions, when you

assembled to deliberate on the means necessary for the promotion

of our favorite science; to communicate to each other that which

you have done of best during the year, and call on your col- —

*Read at the Portland Meeting of the Amer. Assoc. Adv. Science.

HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. G11

leagues to rejoice with you over the gems of truth which Nature

bountifully bestows on you and on all who visit with pure heart

and humble mind her exhaustless treasury.

Believing, as I do, that the few days thus spent in closer com-

munion, by those who are in sympathy in their main intellectual

pursuits, should be devoted rather to mutual instruction and

comparison of general views derived from our studies, than to

the reading of essays on special or descriptive subjects, which

sooner or later will appear in suitable places in scientific journals,

‘I have thought it not inappropriate to give briefly some ideas

suggested by a long course of investigation both in the field and

in the museum, regarding the requisites for a more rapid advance

of American entomology, and a more speedy development of the

practical benefits which the science promises.

Before endeavoring, so to speak, to forecast the future, or to in-

dicate those paths of research from which the most useful results

may be expected, it would be well to glance at the past history

of our science; so that by rapidly reviewing the steps by which

progress has been made, we may be better prepared to estimate

the comparative value of the agencies by which our present po-

sition has been attained.

The beginning of the American school of entomology may be

considered as made in 1817 by Thomas Say, in those days the

most generally instructed zoologist in the United States. Though

his contributions to the literature of other departments of natu-

ral history were quite copious, yet entomology seems to have

been his favorite science, and on his studies of the various orders

of insects his scientific reputation must mainly rest.

At that time the text-books in entomology were mainly Fa-

bricius, Herbst and Latreille, and the efforts of American nat-

uralists in every branch were confined to adopting, without

independent criticism, the classifications and generic determina-

tions of their European correspondents. Biology did not exist

either in name or in idea. Careful observations of a few noxious

species by Prof. Peck and Dr. T. W. Harris were the slight foun-

dation upon which the whole structure of economic entomology

was to be erected.

It will be readily seen then, that the entomologists of that

early period were essentially species men, namers and describers

of the unknown objects with which they were surrounded :— a

712 HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.

work which was done so well that of the many hundreds of

species described by Say, and the smaller number by his collabo-

rators, scarcely any remain doubtful, and but few unknown.

Preéminent among the early naturalists of the United States,

and far beyond any of them, both as an industrious collector,

a careful observer in the field, and an intelligent investigator in

the museum, was Dr. T. W. Harris, of Massachusetts. A man

of singular modesty and diffidence, appreciated neither by him-

self nor by others, but whose memory will be cherished by all

who knew him, and whose merits will be more and more recog- `

nized as time brings him with his limited opportunities more

strongly in contrast with the other students of his day. Had he

published, as he wrote, the independent investigations on classifi-

cation which he made, or had the proper facilities been afforded

him and the requisite stimulus given, our science in this country

would have anticipated many of the schemes of arrangement de-

veloped later by the best European students.

Among the entomologists of that time, properly pertaining to

our country, must be named Dr. C. Zimmermann, a German by

birth, and trained to science before he made this continent his

home. The monographs of Zabrus and Amara, published before

leaving Europe, still remain thoroughly careful and classical

studies of those genera, to which nothing has been or can be

added except the descriptions of species since collected. It was a

misfortune for our science that Zimmermann too, though a pro-

found and laborious student, would never publish the results of his

investigations. As a systematist in the science, he was of the

very highest order, and I here cheerfully acknowledge my obliga-

tions to him for some of the hints which, afterwards more fully

developed, have gained for several of my memoirs the generous

approval of foreign entomologists. His manuscripts, submitted to

me in 1867 by his widow, contained a large part of a systematic

work on Coleoptera, with descriptions of many hundred new

species of the Southern States, which, however, had beeh ren-

dered of no avail by recent publications, posterior to the manu-

scripts in question.

After the founders of the science in this country came a period

of apathy, during which nothing was done. The work of de-

scription was then resumed by Melsheimer, Ziegler and myself,

. rae however, any attempt at independent study of classifica-

HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 713

tion or particular observation of life histories of the objects de-

scribed.

The first serious monographic study made was that of the

Histeride, published in 1845 by my father in the Boston Journal

of Natural History, modelled on the Monographia Histeroidum

of Paykull, and, like it, illustrated with outline figures of all the

species.*

The second period in the history of American entomology

now begins, in the decade from 1840-50; a most important

epoch in the intellectual history of our country. An indepen-

dent school of science had commenced in zoology by the inves-

tigations of James D. Dana on the polypes and crustacea collected

while attached to the Exploring Expedition of Captain (now

Admiral) Wilkes; in geology by James Hall of the New York

Geological Survey, and by the brothers Rogers of the Pennsyl-

vania and Virginia Surveys. Prof. Agassiz also came to us

introducing methods of systematic instruction, which previously

each student, after many trials, had to invent by himself, and for

himself alone; and with his unequalled ability as a lecturer to

excite enthusiasm in his hearers, he added a powerful stimulus to

the cultivation of natural history, the effects of which can

hardly be exaggerated. With few exceptions, the zoological

students who have since become prominent in the United States

have been instructed for a longer or shorter period by him; and

it has been a frequent cause of regret to me, that my early efforts

in science had not been directed by one who could so thoroughly

combine kindness in instruction with firmness in criticism; who

could so well temper the natural impatience for rapid publication

of the young and inexperienced observer, to that calmness of

judgment which permits nothing to be published until it ex-

presses the best results which the author can at that time pro-

uce.

Another most valuable auxiliary to science in the United States,

_ belonging to the same decade, was the establishment of the Smith-

*I I have rA eeg from this sketch of American entomology rm illus-

and ae Al-

work of Bois on the Lepidoptera of No m

though the task of clleting mater making notes on the habits of ua ith

many wings occup fu nee! ao John LeConte, for several years, the text

of sia work and the aie an ent, such as it was, were prepared abroad,

at ail under yak control; pfii apen was stopped before the completion he

first pec All the notes and drawings which were to have been used in the study

Heterocera were aed by his coediter, and still remain in Euro

714 HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.

sonian Institution, on a secure basis, and nearly in the form de-

vised by its learned secretary, Prof. Joseph Henry ; whereby the

funds were employed chiefly in the assistance of investigators and

explorers, and in the publication of scientific memoirs.

It has long been the privilege of those who labor to extend

the boundaries of human knowledge to work hard and (in ordi-

nary phraseology) to find themselves: and, until the organization

of the Smithsonian Institution, it was their further privilege, in

this country, to publish at their own individual expense all me-

moirs, which from bulk or cost of illustration were beyond the

limited means of local scientific societies.

Under the fostering influence of this, among the most noble

of the intellectual charities of the age, many valuable works on.

abstract science have been published ; which, though produced in

less than one-third of a century, by a small number of investiga-

tors, thinly dispersed over a large extent of territory, would do

honor to older communities, in which students of science and their

labors are not unfrequently cared for by the protecting influ-

ence of government.

It hus thus come to pass that manuals and catalogues of several

orders of insects have been prepared by the students best qualified

to give, in a condensed form, compilations of the latest results of

investigation, or entitled to put forth their own views of classifica-

tion, as worthy of acceptance; and in the preparation of this

series of works, valuable assistance has been rendered in orders

which had not received attention from our native students, by

some of the best European authorities on those subjects, among

whom are specially to be remembered with gratitude Hagen, Loew,

Osten-Sacken and De Saussure.

The excellence of the memoirs thus published by the Smithso-

nian Institution results from two facts ; the persons invited to pre-

pare the work are those who are recognized by scientific men as

most competent for the labor; and the memoirs when prepared are

submitted to committees capable of judging of their value. Neg-

lect of these precautions will probably ensure greater or less failure

in attempts to procure works for either primary or ad vanced sel-

entific instruction; and I am the more confirmed in this opinion

by the miserable result attending the munificent expenditure ot

the state of New York, on the volume illustrative of insects 10-

- jurious to agriculture. Compiled by a person ignorant of the

HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 715

science, and illustrated by a draughtsman untrained in natural

history drawing, it remains a permanent example of misplaced

confidence and liberality ; an equal disgrace to the legislation, the

science and the art, of the great state in which it was published.

The possibility of acquiring some knowledge of our insects,

without the possession of large costly libraries which up to this pe-

riod were indispensable, soon made the science more popular; and

the names of the species beginning to be known, many persons

were attracted to form collections, and others to the equally fas-

cinating study of the life history of individual objects.

Thus arose the present condition of economic entomology ; and

the biological studies commenced years before by Dr. Harris were

worthily continued by Dr. A. Fitch of New York, and the state en-

tomologists afterwards appointed in seyeral of the Western States.

Most prominent among those to whom we are indebted for the

development of practical entomology was the lamented B.

Walsh, of Rock Island, Illinois ; an Englishman by birth, bringing

to this country a mind well trained in classical and scientific in-

struction by a thorough University course, and animated by an

enthusiastic love not only for science but for truth and consistency

in life.

The ‘Practical Entomologist,” a monthly magazine, published

(1865 to 1867) by a committee of the entomological society of

Philadelphia, was edited chiefly by him. Its successors, the

“ American Entomologist” and “ American Entomologist and Bot-

anist,” of Saint Louis, were edited by Mr, Walsh, and Mr. C. V.

Riley, the accomplished state entomologist of Missouri. These

volumes will be often referred to, not only for the meritorious es-

Says on injurious insects and for the excellent suggestions towards

controlling these pests, but still more for the fearless and caustic

manner in which the editors exposed many quack contrivances for

exterminating our insect enemies ; thus endeavoring to protect our

too credulous farmers against the pretensions of ignorant invent-

ors and shameless empirics.

Last to be mentioned, because the most recent, of the aids for

' the cultivation of entomology, and for popularizing the science,

is the “ Guide to the Study of Insects,” by Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr. ;

a most judicious and excellent compilation from the best works on

the various orders, adapted to the North American fauna, and il-

lustrated with copious and well drawn original figures, combined

716 HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.

with no insignificant portion of the author’s own investigations,

chiefly in embryology.

Having now shown, by a hasty survey of the past, the gradual

progress of our science, let us consult in regard to what is to be

done to perfect the structure, the foundations of which are thus

securely laid, and above all, what is necessary to popularize and

utilize the great mass of information which has been obtained by

so much labor.

Of all the branches of zoology, there is none more intimately

connected with the great agricultural interests than entomology ;*

and yet from the vast number of objects involved in the study,

many of which, on account of their small size, are with difficulty

recognized by the untrained observer, and also from the compli-

cation of metamorphosis and habits such as are seen in no other

department of the animal kingdom, there is no branch of natural

history which requires for its elucidation greater industry, or

higher powers of scientific analysis. For the same reasons, none

of the inferior animals are so well fitted to elude and resist human

control. We may therefore expect the practical application of the

abstract truths and facts contained in the science to be a task of

more than ordinary difficulty, requiring the assistance of the most -

learned students and the most ingenious investigators.

I may, perhaps, be accused of uttering a very vapid truism,

when I assert that before any science is capable of rational prac-

tical application, the science must be well advanced, or at least

its general principles and methods of investigation firmly estab-

lished ; and further that the application must be made by those

who are fully informed as regards the science. Yet, by neglect of

this apparent axiom, we have seen that the great state of New

York expended a sum of money, almost sufficient to print all the -

useful books on entomology since published in the United States,

upon one quarto volume, which is a monument only of presump-

tion and ignorance.

I may be excused, then, for mentioning first those things which

in my opinion will contribute to a more rapid advance in the de-

oe Gen entire sum expended by Congress, or “4 our various State Legislatures for

urpose (from 1776-1869) cannot exceed $90,000 to 100,000, or about $1,000 a year. Yet

ag ausld amage et: by insects within the ie of the United States cannot be less

than ($300,000,000) three hundred millions of dollars. Am. Entom. psi Bot. ii, 109.

Napoleon, at the rein of his a a inflicted more damage on a nation

Ibid., ii, 367.

HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 717

scriptive and systematic portions of our science, and conclude with

those relating to its future usefulness.

First, then, will come the completion of the series of works, pub-

lished by the Smithsonian Institution, on the classification of the

several orders. For this students must be found, who will devote

themselves to the study of those orders which have been here-

tofore neglected. This series must be supplemented by synony-

mical and bibliographical catalogues, and finally by synopses of

species in each order to which supplements from time to time must

be made, to diminish as far as possible the necessity of reference

to other works, and thus place the accurate results of science

within reach of persons who can ill afford the costly libraries now

necessary for reference.

Second, and equally important, will be the formation of type

collections for the identification of species. The number of

species is so vast, the differences so small, and the multitude

of new forms, not yet represented in collections, so great, that

the best descriptions that can be written do not obviate the ne-

cessity of referring at-times to the original types for comparison,

and the amount of time, labor and expense saved to students, by

having the whole of the information within reach at one place for

each order of insects, can scarcely be estimated.

These type collections should be in the possession of the stu-

dent who can make best use of them for the present interests of

science, and on his death, or retirement from intellectual pursuits,

should not be exposed for sale, or to any other vicissitudes of for-

tune, but should be given to his successor in science, or placed in

some public institution where they will be most carefully preserved

and used only for reference.

The liberality of friends, both at home and abroad, has already

made my collection of coleoptera such a type collection, and with

the exception of a moderate number of species described in Europe,

of which no duplicates can be obtained, and a very small number

which I have described from other collections, at the solicitation of

their owners, it contains types of nearly all the described cole-

optera of America north of Mexico. From the saving of time

both to students who visit my collection, and to myself in naming

series for correspondents, I cannot too strongly recommend the

formation of similar collections in other orders of insects.*

* As a proof of the earnestness of this recommendation, as well as a duty I owe to

; _ those interested in the progress of the science, who have codperated with me in plac-

718 HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.

The last portion of our subject yet remains to be discussed :

the practical application of the great mass of scientific truth

which has been thus far gathered in relation to the structure,

classification, habits and life history of insects.

Of the immense,number of insects which are found in any given

portion of the earth’s surface, comparatively few are capable of

becoming so numerous as to affect plants injuriously. But from

time to time, the interference of man in the progress of civiliza-

tion destroys the balance which previously existed, and insects,

before unimportant by reason of their comparatively small

numbers, finding the checks to their increase removed, suddenly

become very destructive to one or another of our agricultural

products. In this case what is to be done? Obviously there are

but two courses; the first to abandon the crop, until the insect

enemy is reduced by starvation to its former insignificance ; the

other is to establish, by human intelligence, a system of checks

to take the place of the divine machinery which has been inter-

fered with by the same human intelligence. The second is the

course that is, and probably will continue to be, generally adopted.

This new system of checks, according to the habits of the insect

to be suppressed, may be divided into (1) those requiring per-

sonal labor and diligence alone; (2) personal labor assisted by

contrivances ; (3) automatic contrivances, not requiring personal

attention (including the use of poisons); (4) the production of

diseases ; (5) the introduction of parasites and other enemies.

Under the 1st head may be mentioned the destruction of larvae

of borers by wires, etc.; 2nd, the collecting of plum weevils,

tato chrysomele, etc., by large nets, and their subsequent de-

struction; 3rd, sugaring with poisoned food, specially applicable

to nocturnal lepidoptera, and the use of fires, or lanterns with

a vessel of poison, to attract nocturnal species ; 4th, the commun-

ication of fungoid disease (like pebrine, which affects the silk-

worm) to other lepidopterous larve;* 5th, introduction and

preservation of insectivorous mammals, birds, reptiles and insects

ing their types in my collection, I hereby pledge myself that my collection shall never

be sold or divided, but that it shall be placed permanently, where it can be best cared

for, and mad ible for the authenticati specimens. And I invite those who

are willing to sacrifice rarities, or even uniques in their collections for such a ‘purpose,

to send ; Sth tha fnil aa aero are th ee g th m of more

general use than they can be in local collections.

* I am extremely hopeful of the result of using this method. I have learned of an

piso = ae pe ae row oe £ +} as ; ilkkworms, the whole

OY sume

sana Aj

of the caterpillars in a nine-acre piece of woods were destroyed.

HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 719

according to the particular indication of the case; and the trans-

portation of parasites known to affect the pest in other localities.*

In the last annual report of Mr. C. V. Riley, Missouri state en-

tomologist, there is a very effective comparison of the ravages

made by the gregarious insect pests with the destruction caused by

an invading army. The same simile has been frequently used by

me in conversation, and has doubtless often occurred to many of

you. The application of it made by Mr. Riley is that, if an en-

emy were to cause a small fraction of the injury which results each

year from the depredations of even one of several of our insect

enemies, the whole country would resound with a clamor for the

suppression of the invaders. The memory of a colossal conflict

is, alas! still fresh in our minds, and I desire not to awaken the

painful recollections which rest in the bosoms of us all; but

leaving out reference to the distressing scenes which we have all

witnessed, there was much of the ludicrous, from which we may

on this occasion derive profit, or at least the material for carrying

our simile somewhat farther.

Putting out of view for the moment the noble patriotism of the

uncorrupted and incorruptible masses of our nation, prominent

among whom were the great agricultural class, whose interests it

is the object of the present inquiry to protect, we all remember

vividly the eager struggle of small politicians for staff appoint-

ments, of greater politicians, innocent of martial training, for

higher commands ; the zeal of contractors to furnish supplies for

the soldiers in the field (sometimes, as in the case of shaving soled

shoes, and shoddy garments, rather aggravating than relieving their

sufferings) ; the general hurry and scurry, and bustle and turmoil,

to do everything hastily and with the greatest pecuniary profit.

Why was all this? Was the great glory to be obtained in mili-

tary service, when man fights man, the stimulus? Is there not

equal glory in the more laborious, albeit peaceful combats of sci-

ence, when man subdues the inorganic or the organic powers which

resist his will, and make them subject to his control? Or is it, per-

haps, to use a common phrase of the period, because there was

money in it?

*I learn from t bent oe annual report of Dr. W. LeBaron

that in accordan h ideas first published by Mr. B. D. Walsh, a Chaieidosas par

ite of a coccus, igor attacks the apple tree, has probably been successfully int

duced into the northern part of the state, where it was previously unknown.

p. 200).

720 HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.

If the latter be a part of the cause of the agitation to which we

allude, let us see if the same idea cannot be utilized for our pres-

ent purpose. There is money, aye, much money, in any well de-

vised scheme for the practical application of entomology to the

protection of agricultural interests. First, there is the saving of

untold millions in the productions of the country, now destroyed

by insect pests. Second, there is the necessity for the expansion

and reorganization of the Department of Agriculture, so that it

will represent and protect the farmers, to the same extent that the

Coast Survey protects the commercial interests of the nation.

In this expansion and reorganization of the Department of Agri-

culture the controlling power should be the highest scientific ability

that can be procured for the place, and the office should cease to be

as it has been since its establishment, a semi-sinecure for persons

of small or local political influence. New places would have to be

created, but with a moderate sprinkling of good working scientific

men, many of these might be regarded like other offices, as the

spoils of the dominant political party, and the interests of the

farmer still be protected. Better would it be, though, if the latter

class should demand that the government give them a thoroughly

organized, compact, industrious body of the best trained scientific

men, to teach them what should be done to control the destroyers

of their labor.

There is now lying idle in Washington a great mass of notes on

habits of injurious insects, collected by the untiring exertion of

Mr. T. Glover, the industrious entomologist of the Department of

Agriculture. This material, in its present imperfect form, if ar-

ranged under proper scientific supervision, and illustrated by

figures submitted to judicious criticism, and then published in the

same careful manner as the explorations of the Engineers, the

Coast Survey, and other scientific departments of the government,

would be of great utility in preparing the condensed reports, which

should finally be accessible to every intelligent agriculturist.

One more illustration, and we will dismiss this already some-

what prolix simile of the invading army.

As in all such cases of aggression, it is competent with the

higher military authorities to take private property for the benefit

of the nation; so, too, a power similar in its results, though less

despotic in its exercise, is necessary in our contests with the

organic “powers of the air,” which attack our fields. How this —

HINTS FOR THE PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 721

authority is to be localized and manifested admits of much dis-

cussion, to enter upon which would tax your patience, and prolong

this discourse far beyond the limits to which I intend to confine it.

For the moment, the following may be suggested, with some mod-

ifications, as probably feasible in the extreme cases, fortunately

few in number, which may be exemplified by such destructive at-

tacks as the army or boll-worm upon cotton; the Hessian fly upon

wheat; Scolytide (bark borers) upon pine forests; and the cur-

culio upon plums and allied fruits.

The establishment of a fund, by the assistance of the federal

government, state, or county authorities, or by private combina-

tions, from which are to be paid owners of infected crops, which

are destroyed in order to prevent the spread of the infection. This

must of course be done under the advice of intelligent and care- `

fully chosen agents of the authority by which the fund is to be

dispensed. The rate of compensation could be easily determined

at the end of the season by the average value or yield of similar

crops in the vicinity, and should be such a liberal fraction of the

full value, as would stimulate the owner of the property to be de-

stroyed to declare the infection at the earliest possible moment,

but at the same time not so large as to prevent due diligence on

his part to confine the infection within the smallest limits.

Besides these two measures, which I consider of primary im-

portance, there are several others, more easily under present con-

trol, by the adoption of which our accurate knowledge of the

really formidable insect pests can be greatly increased, and the

means for their suppression intelligently and efficiently applied.

With a condensed statement of them, I shall conclude my dis-

course, thanking you for the kind attention with which you have

favored me.

1. Reorganization of the Department of Agriculture, on a sci-

entific basis, for the proper protection and advancement of agri-

cultural interests.

2. Preparation of lists of the most destructive insect pests,

with condensed notes of what is now known concerning them, that

attention may be directed specially to those investigations neces-

sary to complete our knowledge.

3. Codrdination and coöperation of state entomologists with

the chief of the Department of Agriculture, that they may work

harmoniously and intelligently in concert, and thus avoid the waste

` AMERICAN NATURALIST, VOL. VII 46

722 HONEY-MAKING ANT OF TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO.

of labor now resulting from duplicate observations and repetitions

in publication : collateral to this, the publication each year of a brief

report containing such important advances made in the science,

both at home and abroad as should be made known to the farmers.

4, Accurate calendars to be prepared of the appearance, disap-

pearance and other phenomena of the history of the most injurious

insects in different parts of the country.

5. Contrivance of apparatus on a large scale, by which, with

the least expenditure of material and labor, the nocturnal species

may be attracted by light, and dropped into a vessel containing

cyanide of potassium or other poisonous substance.

6. Experiments on the effects of poisons upon the species, the

habits of which permit the wholesale application of such means of

' destruction: -especially adapted to nocturnal lepidoptera by the

process known as sugaring for moths.

7. Careful study of epidemic diseases of insects, especially

those of a fungoid nature: and experiments on the most effective

means of introducing and communicating such diseases at pleasure.

8. The preparation by our best instructed entomologists work-

ing in concert, of one or more elementary books suitable for use

in schools, giving in a compendious form the general principles of

the science, and indications for applying the knowledge to prac-

tical results.

9. The appointment in agricultural colleges of competent pro-

fessors of entomology, who have been trained in a scientific school,

to fit them for the duty of instruction.

10. The establishment of the means of compensation for com-

pulsory or voluntary destruction of crops infected by formidable

pests, as above mentioned.

NOTES ON THE HONEY-MAKING ANT OF TEXAS

ND NEW MEXICO.*

BY HENRY EDWARDS.

Tue natural history of this very curious ant (Myrmecocystus

Mexicanus Westwood) is so little known, that the preservation of

* Read before the California Academy of Sciences.

HONEY-MAKING ANT OF TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO. 423

every fact connected with its economy becomes a matter of con-

siderable scientific importance, and the following observations,

gleaned from Capt. W. B. Fleeson of this city, who has recently

had an opportunity of studying the ants in their native haunts,

may, it is hoped, be not without interest.

The community appears to consist of three distinct kinds of

ants, whose offices in the general order of the nest would seem

to be entirely apart from each other, and who perform the labor

allotted to them without the least encroachment upon the duties

of their fellows. The larger number of individuals consists of

yellow worker ants of two kinds, one of which, of a pale golden

yellow color, about one-third of an inch in length, act as nurses

and feeders of the honey-making kind, who do not quit the inte-

rior of the nest, “their sole purpose being, apparently, to elabo-

rate a kind of honey, which they are said to discharge into

prepared receptacles, and which constitutes the food of the entire

population. In these honey-secreting workers the abdomen is

distended into a large, globose, bladder-like form, about the size

of a pea.” The third variety of ant is much larger, black in color

and with very formidable mandibles. For the purpose of better un-

derstanding the doings of this community, we will designate them

as follows: :

No. 1— Yellow workers ; nurses and feeders.

No. 2— Yellow workers ; honey makers.

No. 3 — Black workers ; guards and purveyors.

The site chosen for the nest is usually some sandy soil in the

neighborhood of shrubs and flowers, and the space occupied is

about from four to five feet square. Unlike the nests of most

other ants, however, the surface of the soil is usually undisturbed,

and, but for the presence of the insects themselves, presents a

very different appearance from the ordinary communities, the

ground having been subjected to no disturbance, and not pulver-

ized and rendered loose as in the case with the majority of species.

The black workers (No. 3) surround the nest as guards or senti-

nels, and are always in a state of great activity. They form two

lines of defence, moving different ways, their march always being

along three sides of a square, one column moving from the south-

east to the southwest corner of the fortification, while the other

: proceeds in the opposite direction. In most of the nests examined

by Captain Fleeson, the direction of the nest was usually towards

724 HONEY-MAKING ANT OF TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO.

the north ; the east, west and northern sides being surrounded by the

soldiers, while the southern portion was left open and undefended.

In case of any enemy approaching the encampment, a number

of the guards leave their station in the line and sally forth to face

the intruder, raising themselves upon their hind tarsi, and moving

their somewhat formidable mandibles to and fro as if in defiance

of their foe. Spiders, wasps, beetles and other insects are, if they

come too near to the hive, attacked by them in the most merciless

manner, and the dead body of the vanquished is speedily removed

from the neighborhood of the nest, the conquerers marching back

to resume their places in the line of defence, their object in the

destruction of other insects being the protection of their encamp-

ment, and not the obtaining of food. While one section of the

black workers is thus engaged as sentinels, another and still more

numerous division will be found busily employed in entering the

quadrangle by a diagonal line bearing northeast, and carrying in

their mouths flowers and fragments of aromatic leaves which they

deposit in the centre of the square. A reference to the accom-

panying sketch will give a more clear understanding of their

course: the dotted line (a) representing the path of this latter

section, while the mound of flowers and leaves is marked (c). If

the line (a) be followed in a southwest direction, it will be found

to lead to the trees and shrubs upon which another division of

the black workers is settled, engaged in biting off the petals and

leaves to be collected and conveyed to the nest by their assistants

below. On the west side of the encampment is a hole marked

(d), leading down to the interior of the nest, which is probably

chiefly intended for the introduction of air, as in case of any

individuals carrying their loads into it, they immediately emerge

and bear them to the common heap, as if conscious of having

been guilty of an error. A smaller hole, near the southeast

corner of the square, is the only other means by which the inte-

rior can be reached, and down this aperture, marked (b), the

flowers gathered by the black workers are carried along the line

(e), from the heap in the centre of the square, by a number of

smaller yellow workers (No. 1), who, with their weaker frames

and less developed mouth organs, seem adapted for the gentler

offices of nurses for the colony within. It is remarkable that no

: Sery ant is ever seen upon the line (e), and no yellow one ever

i -oaches the line (a), each keeping his own separate station and

HONEY-MAKING ANT OF TEXAS AND NEW MEXICO. 725

following his given line of duty with a steadfastness which is as

wonderful as it is admirable. By removing the soil to a depth of

about three feet, and tracing the course of the galleries from the

entrances (b) and (d), a small excavation is reached, across which

is spread, in the form of a spider’s web, a net-work of squares spun

Aas <

W (e) E

O “ey

(d) 7

~ O})

i (a) Path of the pointed racer

r (b) S. E. entrance to

= — of flowers and leaves.

fe (a fg

‘ (e 2 a of yellow nursing ants.

(fg) Track of soldiers.

by the insects, the squares being about one-quarter inch across,

and the ends of the web fastened firmly to the earth of the sides

of the hollow space which forms the bottom of the excavation.

In each one of the squares, supported by the web, sits one of the

honey-making workers (No. 2), apparently in the condition of a

prisoner, as it does not appear that these creatures ever quit the

726 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

nest. Indeed, it would be difficult for them to do so, as their

abdomens are so swollen by the honey they contain as to render

locomotion a task of difficulty, if not to make it utterly impos-

sible.

The workers (No. 1) provide them with a constant supply of

flowers and pollen, which, by a process analogous to that of the

bee, they convert into honey. That the remainder of the inhabi-

tants feed on the supply thus obtained, though it is surmised,

has not been established by actual observation; indeed, with

reference to many of the habits of these creatures, we are in

present left in total ignorance, it being a reasonable supposi-

tion that, in insects so remarkable in many of their habits, other

interesting facts are yet to be brought to light respecting them. It

would be of great value to learn the specific rank of the black

workers (No. 3), and to know the sexes of the species forming the

community, their season and manner of pairing, and whether the

honey-makers are themselves used as food,.or if they excrete their

saccharine fluid for the benefit of the inhabitants in general, and

then proceed to distil more.’ I regret that at this time I am only

able to bring before the notice of the Academy, specimens of the

honey-makers (No. 2), the other members of the community, ex-

cept from Captain Fleeson’s description, being quite unknown to

me. It is, however, my hope that at a future meeting I may be

enabled to exhibit the other varieties, and to give some more ex-

tended information upon this very interesting subject. `The honey

is much sought after by the Mexicans, who not only use it as a

delicate article of food, but apply it to bruised and swollen limbs,

ascribing to it great healing properties. The species is said to be

very abundant in the neighborhood of Sante Fé, New Mexico, in

which district the observations of Capt. Fleeson were made.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

Tue Scenery or THE Rocky MOUNTAINS AND ITS ORIGIN.—

Professor Hayden’s last report* on the geology of the territories -

* Sixth Annual Report of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories,

embraci ns of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah; being a nt of prog- -

ress of the neiaa for the year 1872. F. V. Hayden, U. S. Geologist. Washington,

1873. With and woodi pp. 8i.

Fig. 175,

“i era

Ret

b S a

A or

= a

PPN

Py i

Ac :

< =

ae i ice “ik T )

o V- EN

i Hp ee ~~ f ae ny hd NA

nude

~x x ce L7 :

e Tétons, looking Eas

a, Mount Hayden; b, Lake; c, Quebec Group Limestone; a, baak, fa Granite; ohh ie Dyke: g, “Saddle”; hk, Timber line, 9,000 ft.; Dotted line,

scent; 8s, 8

course of

(727)

728 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

of Idaho, Montana and Utah comes to us stored with facts bear-

ing upon the origin of the wonderful scenery of the Rocky

Mountains. The mode of formation of the lofty peaks, of the

vast abyssal cañons and broad lake valleys, together with the

origin of the hot springs and geysers, the last remnants of the tre-

mendous volcanic activity that pervaded this region, is discussed

with more or less detail, by Prof. Hayden, whose sixteen years’

experience as a geologist in the far west certainly enables him to

speak with authority on these subjects.

One of the results of these surveys was the discovery and

reservation of the National Park of the Yellowstone River. How

tourists may enjoy its wonders and beauties will be solved, we

are- told, should the railroad which contemplates connecting

Corinne, Utah, with Helena, Montana, pass up Henry’s Fork.

That accomplished, we are promised that “all the wonders of our

great national park can be seen in one day’s travel on horseback

from this route.”

We have before spoken in this journal of the fine photographs

of the Téton Range published by the Survey. This group of

peaks, which are more truly alpine in character than any other

known in the west, have at length been ascended by Messrs.

Stevenson and Langford, the only white men who have ever

reached the summit. ‘Immense masses of snow and lakes of

ice were found on its sides, and abundant signs of glacial action.”

The accompanying figure (175) gives an idea of the range and

the course of ascent.

Another result of the season’s (1872) work was the exploration

and mapping out of the great water divide from which, in a

radius of ten miles, the Missouri, the Green and Colorado Rivers,

and the Snake and Columbia Rivers take their rise. A new

geyser basin was discovered on Shoshone Lake, and found to be

the true source of the Madison River, lying on the Pacific slope,

between 7,000 and 8,000 feet above the sea, with surround-

ing peaks 10,000 to 12,000 feet high. The basin contained from

seventy-five to one hundred springs, some being geysers of con-

siderable power, while the peculiar ornamentation about them is

considered more elaborate and interesting than the celebrated

springs of the Fire Hole basin, an account of which we have al-

ready given our readers. These are the more prominent results of

the season’s work. :

Of much economic interest is the great soft coal or lignitic for-

_ mation of the west. From the researches of Messrs. Lesquereux,

Meek and others, together with his own, Prof. Hayden infers that

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 729

the deposition of these lignitic strata began during the latter por-

tion of the Cretaceous period, and continued on into Tertiary

times. 3

The origin of the Salt Lake valley, of which the remarkable

Wahsatch Range forms the eastern boundary, seems due to a long

continued erosion of a series of mountain chains spread over this

area and resulting from a crumpling or folding of the earth’s crust.

“It is most probable that at a comparatively modern period the

vast area between the Wahsatch Mountains on the east and the

Sierra Nevada on the west was one great lake, the mountains

rising up as islands in this vast inland sea. The lakes, large and

small, which we find scattered over the basin at the present time,

are only remnants of this former sea.” Out of the flanks of these

wrinkles in the earth’s crust, cations, with nearly vertical walls 1,000

to 2,000 feet high, have been carved by atmospheric agencies, such

as ice, frost and water. ‘The valleys between these folds or ridges

are synclinals, which have been deepened by erosion. The is-

lands in Salt Lake are only the crests of these folds, while the

waters occupy the synclinal valleys; and this remnant illustrates,

on a sinall seale, the scenic beauty of the great inland sea when it

extended over the entire basin.”

Farther north in the Yellowstone valley are magnificent speci-

mens of canons whose mountain walls are formed of volcanic con-

glomerate 1,000 feet in thickness. Such a valley of erosion is

represented by Fig. 176. In the mountains at the source of the

East and Yellowstone rivers these conglomerates are sometimes

4,000 or 5,000 feet thick. These beds are supposed to have been

“thrown out by volcanoes into the surrounding waters much as

similar materials are injected from modern volcanoes at the present

time.” As these beds are horizontal and regularly stratified from

base to summit, Prof. Hayden concludes “that at a comparatively

modern date, the waters so covered these mountain ranges of the

northwest, that not even the summits of the loftiest peaks were

above the surface. It is barely possible that we might make an

exception in the case of the Grand Tétons. We may suppose

that the materials were supplied from the numberless volcanic fis-

sures in unlimited quantities in a comparatively brief space of

time ; but the period which would be required for the waters to ar-

range this matter in the remarkably uniform and compact series of

strata which we find at the present time must have been great.

730 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

The results have been carried on upon such a stupendous scale

that the mind finds with difficulty the courage to grapple with them

or attempt to explain them. And then, subsequent to the depo-

Fig. 176.

i N i i t dti.

Basaltic Columns, Yellowstone, near mouth of Tower Creek.

sition of these enormous beds of conglomerates, has been the wear-

ing out of cañons and valleys 2,000 to 4,000 feet in depth, the

eerie of some of the most marvellously grand and unique

See

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 731

scenery on the continent. In passing up the valley of the upper

Yellowstone, which is about three miles wide and has been carved

out of this hard breccia, one could easily imagine himself in some

enchanted land, where, on every side, were castles and palaces with-

out number.” Farther on our author concludes that “the erosive

forces have acted on a more stupendous scale than he had ever be-

fore conceived of, and that the entire series of sedimentary strata,

from the lowest Silurian to the highest Tertiary, known in the

West, has extended in an unbroken mass all over the northwest ;

and we find here and there by the exposure of the entire series, as

at Cinnabar Mountain, and in many other localities, the most sat-

isfactory proof of the statement which I have so often made. This

Fig. 177.

Index and Pilot Peaks.

single statement implies that from 10,000 to 15,000 feet in thick-

ness of unchanged rocks have been removed from this mountain

Tegion, except what might be called remnants left behind, occu-

pying restricted areas.”

The period of intensest voleanic activity culminated during the

later Tertiary period. The mountains resulting have now assumed

such forms as are shown in Fig. 177 of Index and Pilot Peaks,

while Fig. 176 is an example of basaltic columns, the result of

132 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

overflows of lava, which forms the walls of the grand cañon of

the Yellowstone.

The last trace of this volcanic activity, for there are now no ac-

tive voleanoes in Montanaor Idaho, is seen in the numerous hot

Fig. 178.

Geyser, East Fork of the Yellofvstone.

springs or extinct geysers, in the valleys, of which Fig. 178 repre-

sents a good example. How this region was drained we will

answer in the author’s own words.

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. i {ao

“ We may conclude, not only that the carving out of the chan-

nel of the Grand Cañon was a very modern event, but that the

deposition of the entire material which forms the cañon is, in a ge-

ological sense, quite a modern occurrence. The drainage of the

country commenced long before the excavation of the present water-

courses, but it is difficult to answer the question how this great

drainage was brought about, unless we account for it by a general

elevation of the entire country, gradually sending this immense

body of water, which must have prevailed all over the northwest

_ at least, perhaps all over the Rocky Mountain region, westward

into the Pacific and eastward into the Atlantic. As the waters

slowly subsided they were separated into lakes of greater or less

size, and then came the excavation of the Grand Canon, which

slowly drained the great lake-basin above the falls so that now

we have only the comparatively small remnant, the Yellowstone

Lake. Other small fragments are scattered about in the vi-

cinity, which now form reservoirs for the local drainage. Un-

doubtedly the same series of remarkable physical events occurred

in Oregon and California and in Idaho and Washington Terri-

tories, and, perhaps, far southward into Mexico, judging from the

published reports. The Hot Springs, which are now slowly dying

out, are, of course, the last of this series of events. The evidence

seems clear that all over the West, during this great period of vol-

canic activity, the hot springs and perhaps even geysers were very

numerous. We everywhere find the remains or deposits in all the

states and territories west of the Mississippi, and now and then

a warm or hot spring remains to indicate the story of their former

power.”’

How these valleys were eroded may be inferred from the fol-

lowing remarks. ‘On the west side of the Madison there are three

mountain-gorges we see the sources of the myriad small branches

which, in the aggregate, form the large river. Nestled among the

craggy cliffs are here and there little ponds of clear water, derived

from the melting of the snows, seldom ever seen except by the

birds and the game that visit them to quench their thirst. The

tendency of all these gorges is to work their way inward toward

the divide. Great masses of snow and ice accumulate in them

during the winter ; and the water, flowing down among the fractured

_ Masses, freezes and expands with a force that year by year tears

_ down a portion, which falls into the depths below and is swept down

or four peaks which are at least 10,000 feet high. Among these s

Fig. 179.

53 ft.

Terraces, Valley of the Madison. (Elevations are given above oi level of the river )

(784)

REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES. 735

by the torrent. The aggregate of the forces which have continued

in operation through a series of ages, which no man can determine

now, and which we agree to denominate meteoric or atmospheric,

are the combined action of water, air and ice. These forces have

undoubtedly been far more effective in ages past than at present.”

One of the latest geological occurrences in this region, as well

as over the world generally, is the formation of the terraces occa-

sionally found bordering rivers. In a basin of the Madison River

is a remarkable system of terraces represented by Fig. 179.

While usually in the terraces of our eastern rivers, and in fact

rivers generally, those on opposite sides are of unequal height,

here each terrace is uniformly of the same height as the one

opposite.

In Montana neither are the anticlinal folds or synclinal valleys

so distinctly defined as in the interior basin of Utah, but the prom-

inent features are the widely extended areas of elevation.

Geologists will be interested in a feature of the geological struct-

ure of the mountains of Montana, ‘‘ observed by the survey of the

past season for the first time and not noticed in such a marked de-

gree in any other portions of the west.” This is the inversion of

the sedimentary beds, so that the oldest incline at a greater or

less angle on those of more modernages. The mode of formation

of canons and river valleys is reserved for future discussion, but

attention is drawn to the ‘‘ fact that the streams seem to have cut

their way directly through mountain ranges, instead of following

synclinal depressions.” This, he says, indicates that they began

the process of erosion at the time of the commencement of the

elevation of the surface. ‘*This is shown all along the valley of

the Yellowstone and more conspicuously in the valleys of the

Madison and Gallatin which have carved immense caiions or

gorges ee through two of the loftiest ranges of mountains in

Montana.

The action of glaciers in causing this erosion Prof. Hayden

thinks to have been local, and he regards the superficial or drift

deposits, which sometimes are very thick, as of local origin. “As

I have so often stated in my previous reports, I have never been

able to find any evidence in the wees | Mountain region of what is

usually termed a northern drift.’

It will be seen how much geographers and geologists as well as

lovers of the marvellous and beautiful in nature are indebted to

736 REVIEWS AND BOOK NOTICES.

the liberality of our government in causing these explorations to

be carried out, and in placing the results directly before the people.

We shall return to this report in a subsequent number of this

journal, and notice the results contributed by Prof. Hayden’s

collaborators.

After all, the discoveries here published are the results of but a

slight reconnoissance, and we trust that this is but the beginning

of a long series of annual explorations, so that the outlines here

sketched may be filled in with a completeness worthy of the subject.

ELEMENTS OF PaysicaL Maniputation.* — This book would,

perhaps, have never seen the light, or even been conceived of in

the olden time of endeavoring to instruct students by talking at

them from behind a formidable array of retorts, balances and

batteries. By the new method the student is invited into the lab-

oratory, and initiated into the use of the apparatus, of old so mys-

terious and awe-inspiring to the beginner. The tools of the

physicist and chemist are now explained and their use illustrated ;

and, equipped with a knowledge of manipulation, the learner

needs little urging to apply his information.

This text book of physical manipulation seems admirably adapt-

ed to aid the teacher in work of this kind, and for those who have

not the advantages of competent laboratory instruction it seems

to us that it must prove invaluable. It is also admirably designed

as an introduction to the ordinary text books.

Judging by the portion relating to the use of the microscope,

the style is exact and clear. The spectroscope, both solar and

chemical, is described, and experiments in its use given. So for

the microscope. The instrument is described, and experiments

illustrating its use given, also an account of the diaphragm,

oblique illumination, the study of opaque objects, the lieberkuln,

Wenham’s parabolic condenser, the achromatic condenser, the

polariscope, binocular, Maltwood’s finder, micrometer, goniometer,

camera lucida, spectrum microscope, and test objects, together with

concise directions for the preparation and mounting of objects,

and directions for measuring the focal length of an objective.

Prof. Pickering claims that among the experiments, several that

are new, with new apparatus, such as that for ruling scales, the

ute, tee

* Elements of Physical eased eg sd Edward C. Pickering. New York. Hurd

and Houghton. 1873. 8vo. pp. 225. $3.00.

BOTANY. TSF

photometer and the polarimeter, are for the first time described in

this book. The typographical appearance of the book is most in-

viting, and we trust that the second volume, relating to heat, elec-

tricity and other subjects interesting to the student of physics, will

soon appear.

THE Spectrroscore.* —The time is perhaps coming when the

scientific world will be divided into two classes, i.e., those who

carry a microscope, and those who carry a spectroscope in their

vest pockets. For what biologist can do without his microscope,

or physicist without his spectroscope? This little manual tells us

what the spectroscope is, and how it has been applied in discov-

eries that have transcended the wildest dreams of philosophers.

Mr. Lockyer tells the story with such perspicacity and interest that

though we had intended to simply glance through its chapters, we

have not failed to read every word of it. Admirably clear and

comprehensive in style, it is beautifully illustrated and very at-

tractive in typography. It is the first of a library of scientific

manuals to be published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., under the

title of ‘“ Nature Series.”

BOTANY.

SENSITIVENESS OF THE LEAVES OF DIONÆA AND Drosera.— At

the recent meeting of the British Association for the Advancement

of Science Dr. Burdon Sanderson read a paper on the electrical

phenomena which accompany the contractions of the leaf of Dio-

nea muscipula. ‘The contraction of certain organs of some plants

on irritation, such as the leaves of .Drosera and Dionæa, especially

the latter, strikingly suggest a correspondence of function between

them and the motor organs or nervous system of animals.

careful series of experiments made by means of Sir W. Thomson’s

galvanometer, fully confirmed the hypothesis of the existence of

voltaic currents in these parts; the currents being subject, in all

respects in which they have as yet been investigated, to the same

laws as those of muscle and nerve. At the same meeting a paper

was also read by Mr. A. W. Bennett on the movements of the

glands of Drosera. These glands, which fringe the margin of its

*The Spectroscope and its Applications. By J. Norman Lockyer. With colored

plate and ot Nature Series. London and New York, Macmillan & Co., 1873.

to weerousiisr, VOL. VII. 47

738 BOTANY.

leaf and cover its upper side, have been shown by previous observ-

ers not to be hairs in the true sense of the term, i.e., mere cellu-

lar expansions of the epidermis, but to be integral parts of the

leaf, with a fibro-vascular bundle containing spiral threads (in

other words a vein or nerve of the leaf) running through them, and

even to be furnished with stomata. The glands excrete at all

times when in a healthy condition a white viscous gluten which

quickly entraps any small insect that settles upon the leaf, grad-

ually holding it down more and more as it struggles, till escape is

hopeless. The glands soon begin to move towards the imprisoned

insect; but this movement is not very conspicuous at first, and is

very much more decided after the insect has almost completely

ceased its struggles ; thus appearing not to be due to the existence

of a “contractile tissue” in the leaf, which is irritated by the

movements cf the insect. After the lapse of some time the

whole of the glands of the leaf, even those which were at a con-

siderable distance from the insect, are found to be bending over

towards it and to be almost in contact with it. After a time the

insect is to all appearance digested, actually supplying the tissue

of the leaf with nourishment. Very nearly the same effect was

produced by substituting for the fly a piece of raw meat, the move-

ment of the glands being somewhat slower, but ultimately almost

as complete; the meat being apparently digested in the same

manner. On other leaves were placed a minute piece of wood

and a small piece of worsted; and in neither of these cases was

the least change perceptible after a considerable time in the posi-

tion of the glands or of tlie object itself.—A. W. B.

In this brief abstract Mr. Bennett does not mention that these

movements are pretty well known of late years, since Mr. Darwin

called attention to the subject. Indeed they are in this country

recorded in elementary books and demonstrated to classes.

ably he is not aware that they were discovered, fully described,

and their significance indicated, by Roth, a little less than 4

century ago. Even the folding over of the leaf, so as to enwrap

the insect, to which Mrs. Treat of New Jersey called attention &

year or two ago, was observed by Roth. It may now be stat

that the remark, in “How Plants Behave,” “if a particle of raw

meat be substituted for the living fly, the bristles will close upon

it in the same manner, but to a particle of chaik or wood they

BOTANY. 739

remain nearly indifferent,” was made upon Mr. Darwin’s au-

thority.—A. G.

VARIETY IN THE FORM OF FLOWERS IN THE SAME SPECIES.— Dr.

Hermann Miller of Lippstadt has contributed to a recent number

of “ Nature” a remarkable paper in which he explains the exist-

ence of distinct forms and sizes of flowers, and even of distinct

varieties within the same species, by their adaptation to the needs

of the insects which are necessary to fertilize them, and which

vary according to the position in which the plant grows. The

plants especially brought forward by Dr. Miller as illustrations of

this law are Lysimachia vulgaris, Rhinanthus Crista-Galli (in-

cluding the variety or sub-species R. major) and Euphrasia offic-

inalis. In each of these cases distinct varieties are well-known,

and have even been distinguished by names, varying chiefly in the

size and color of the petals, and the relative length of the style

and stamens. These distinct varieties Dr. Müller states are gen-

erally found in very different situations, and are visited and fertil-

ized by totally distinct insects, for which the construction of the

flower is specially adapted. Those characterized by small pale

colored flowers grow, as a general rule, in shady situations where

they are comparatively little visited by insects, and are very

commonly self-fertilized.— A. W. B

COMPOSITION OF THE Purr-BALL.—Prof. A. H. Church publishes

in a recent number of the “London Journal of Botany,” some

analyses of the giant puff-ball tigooper ‘don giganteum), which re-

sulted as follows : —

Composition of Lycoperdon gigant Composition d the Ash.

When When Aeee ee 4619

fresh. dry. — na . 3548

Water, 90 — . » . . 695

Fat, oi, and i resinous matter, "90 11:0 ae ioe E gs og 2-47

aii 5-48 66°78 Fon Oxide, š ` š ; 1.08

Getuioss, ae ingia. ete. a 210 14°78 Silica, 4 è ‘66

Ash or mineral matter, . “63 T 44 Other substances and loss, Bey T17

100-00 100-00 100-00

The noticeable points in these analyses are the very large pro-

portion of phosphoric acid in the ash, and of albuminoids or

nitrogenous substances in the fresh plant, the latter accounting

for the very highly nutritive properties reputed to be possessed by

the edible fungii— A. W. B.

NESÆA VERTICILLATA. — Our species of this genus is somewhat

curious. The flowers are dimorphous— Darwin says trimorphous.

740 ZOOLOGY.

In one pond, or cluster of plants, I find the longer stamens about

half the length of the style and twice the length of the shorter

ones. In another the style is very short, not more than one-

third the length of the shorter stamens, which, in turn, are about

one-third as long as the longer ones.

But the root is, perhaps, more curious than the flowers, being

very thick, sinuous and knobby, living and growing many years,

hard and woody, the bark turning black when cut.— C. wW

CALYCERA BALSAMATIFOLIA.— The curious waif of ballast ground

near Philadelphia, was determined by the discoverer himself, not

by Dr. Leffman, as the latter informs us, at whose request we

make the correction of the statement in the Narurauist for Oc-

tober.

PERFORATION or GERARDIA BY Bres (see p. 689).—We unfortu-

nately omitted to insert the cut illustrating Mr. Bailey’s article on

p. 689. The accompanying figure (180) shows the flower as in

Fig. 180.

‘ Gerardia perforated by bees.

nature. with the point of perforation (p); also with the corolla

spread open, a, aperture; g, guiding lines; and a front and side

view of a stamen.— Eps.

ZOOLOGY.

Discovery or A TarpIcRapE.— We are not aware that there

=~ ás any published notice of the occurrence of tardigrades in this

~ country though undoubtedly microscopists have observed them.

ZOOLOGY. 741

We received early in March of this year several specimens of

Macrobiotus from Rev. W. R. Cross of New Gloucester, Maine,

collected last autumn in water in which moss was growing. Itis

white, 73 inch long, and has minute eyes composed of about ten

irregular facets. There is a distinct under and upper lip to the

mouth, and a pair of tubercles (palpi?). It apparently differs from

Macrobiotus Oberhauseri Doyére (Annales des Sciences Naturelles,

Ser. 2., Tom. 13., 1840), to which it is closely allied in form, by

Fig. 181.

Macrobiotus Americanus,

the claws being shorter and much more curved. It may be called

Macrobiotus Americanus (Fig. 181 a, eyes; b, mouth; c, claws).

We have also received drawings of another species of the same

genus from Prof. C. E. Bessey, of Ames, Iowa. He writes us,

May 6th, that it was “found in water containing fresh-water

alge, such as diatoms, desmids, ete.” It is a longer, slenderer

Species than M. Americanus, and with apparently longer and

straighter claws.— A. S. PACKARD, Jr.

Discovery or THE Basar Jornr or Lees or TRILOBITES.—I

have secured the fine collection of Trenton fossils of Mr. E. D.

Walcott of Brenton Falls. It is particularly rich in Trilobites.

Among the most interesting specimens, Mr. W. called my atten-

tion to one which he was confident would settle the question of

the presence or absence of legs in Trilobites. And truly there

can be no doubt left upon this point. The basal articulation of

742 ZOOLOGY.

eight pairs of legs is distinctly seen on one side of two specimens

of Asaphus gigas, in the same position upon the eight thoracic

rings of the two specimens, and that position is strictly homologi-

cal with the base of attachment of the limbs of Isopods. There

is an impression for a ninth pair of legs on the inner surface of

the posterior angle of the cheek.

This discovery shows more fully than is generally admitted, that

trilobites are a synthetic type. At the same time it shows that

the tendency is towards the Isopods.—L. Acassiz.

ANcON oR OTTER SHEEP.— Professor Huxley, in an article on

the “Origin of Species” (Lay Sermons, pp. 254-298), makes men-

tion of the otter sheep which originated on the farm of Seth

Wright, near Charles River, Mass.

They appear to have been noticed by David Humphreys, F.R.S.,

and a skeleton of one was sent to Sir Joseph Banks in 1813.

Huxley says Humphreys found it difficult to obtain a specimen

at that date, and further says he ‘believes that for many years no

remnant” of the breed ‘has existed in the United States.” In

this latter statement, quite fortunately, Prof. Huxley is mistaken.

Otter sheep were raised till within a few years on the farm of

Hon. William Hale of Barrington, N. H. Mr. Hale has now

ceased to raise them? but his son, Hon. Thomas W. Hale, tells me

that he saw a flock a few weeks since on the farm of Joshua R.

Chesley of Barrington, N. H. He thinks that possibly they may

be found in Chichester, N. H., as some were sold from the home

flock a few years since to be taken to that town. Now here is a

trail that some of our naturalists should follow out. If the otter

sheep were of sufficient importance to science for Humphreys sixty

years ago to go to great pains to procure a skeleton to send to

England, and if they afford important data on the subject of the

origin of species, as with Huxley they seem to do, itis time they

were reexamined by competent authority, and skeletons secured

for our own museums. -

The Messrs. Hale have a fund of information respecting these

sheep, for they raised them for a quarter of a century. They

secured their flock as the original one of Green was obtained, by —

selecting from the offspring of an otter ram and common straight- —

legged sheep. This ram was purchased at Sligo, in Somersworth,

. H. Connection could doubtless be made thence with the Seth

ZOOLOGY. 743

Wright stock. The facts connected with the breeding of this flock

are substantially the same as those given by Huxley in reference

to the Seth Wright flock.

Mr. Hale, senior, thinks the progeny of an otter ram with ordi-

nary sheep were oftener straight- than bow-legged. Mr. T. W.

Hale says that he is sure there were never any reversions to long

and straight legs when they were breeding pure otter; and a

farm boy’s recollection on such a matter is pretty trustworthy.

The Hales think the otters were not quite as prolific as the ordi-

nary kind. There were some things about reproduction that

indicated a feebler constitution than that possessed. by other vari-

eties. Iam not an anatomist and can give a description of these

sheep only in general terms. They came well enough by the

term ‘“‘otter.” We used to call them ‘‘ creepers,” their bodies were

so close to the ground. Mrs. Hale says they were a race of

cripples, and that is probably the best general designation they

could have. Their legs were short and very much curved or

bowed outward. The flexure of the knee joint of the fore leg

instead of being longitudinal with the axis of the body was at

quite a high angle from it. In other words this joint instead of

being a knee became an elbow joint. So it appeared. The joints

were enlarged, the gait slow and laborious. If the case of the

otter sheep has any bearing on the subject of the origin of species

it certainly shows that differentiation may take place by degra-

dation as well as by elevation. If some competent anatomist will

take this matter in hand the object of this article will be gained.

— C. Caverno, Amboy, Til

Crows anp Ravens.—In the November number of the Natu-

RALIST, Dr. Barrett, after alluding to the supposed distinct geo-

graphical range of the crow and raven, asks whether there is any

antagonism between them, and whether they ever exist together.

From the abundance of the crow over the eastern portions of the

United States, and the almost entire absence of the raven over

the same region, and its abundance further west, where the crow is

commonly believed to be of rare occurrence, it has been supposed

that the two species do not mingle, and that an antipathy exists

between them. This impression was shared by myself until the

present season, when over a region nearly five hundred miles in

breadth, in the territories of Dakota and Montana, I found the

gi ii ZOOLOGY.

ravens and the crows both frequent and breeding in the same

forests, sometimes even within a few hundred yards of each other.

Both species appear to occur together over a large portion of the

region between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, as

Dr. Hayden speaks of both as “very abundant throughout the

northwest,”* applying the same words to each. Along the Heart,

Yellowstone and Musselshell rivers, the crow is much the more

abundant of the two, but is more confined to the timber skirting

the streams, where it may sometimes be met with in considerable

flocks. The raven is more generally dispersed, and is as often

met with far out on the barren treeless ‘‘divides” as elsewhere,

seeming to delight even in the most desolate portions of the “bad

lands.”—J. A. ALLEN.

A Nore Personat.—Dr. Coues suggests, in the July NATU-

RALIST, that there ought to have been some mention of ‘ localities”

in the Aiken-Holden list. Of course there ought, and there would

have been, but for causes quite beyond control without a too long

postponement of the publication of the paper. Both writers were

nomadic, and all communication was interrupted. It would have

been well, perhaps, to have stated the occasion of this omission in

justice to Mr. Aiken. It was not necessary, however, for Mr. Hol-

den, as his localities are given, with sufficient exactness, as in the

immediate vicinity of Sherman. Dr. Coues thinks that mountain

settlement ‘‘ quite a long way from the ‘ Black Hills’ as laid down

on the maps.” He may be right. Black Hills is about as vague

a term as White-head, Long Island, ete. Nevertheless, when I

was near Sherman five years ago, I was assured by the residents

that I was in the very heart of the Black Hills. This, however,

is not pertinent to the point. We know where Sherman is, and

it does not matter whether the term is exactly right or not.—T.

M. Brewer.

OCCURRENCE or A Derr Sea FLORIDAN CORAL NEAR Care COD.

— Perhaps the most interesting discovery during the sig

of the deeper parts of the Gulf of Maine in the U. S. coast

survey steamer ‘* Bache” in September last, under the epee of

the U. S. Fish Commission, was that of a fragment of Deltocyathus

ase Pourtales. This occurred about twenty miles east of

* Trans. Am.Phil. Soe., Vol. xii, pp. 170, 171.

ZOOLOGY. 745

Cape Cod in 144 fathoms, soft mud, the temperature of the

bottom being 39.°

This is a shallow, cup-shaped, small coral, remotely allied to

Caryophyllia, and has heretofore only occurred in from 60 to

130 fathoms off the southern extremity of Florida, where it was

dredged by Count Pourtales, to whom I am indebted for the iden-

tification. It will be remembered that Mr. Whiteaves dredged a

species of Flabellum in the deeper parts of the Gulf of St. Law-

rence summer before last. — A. S. PACKARD, Jr.

Tue Mrissourr Sxytark.—In the November number of the

Naturauist Dr. Coues speaks of having met, the past season,

with great numbers of the Missouri skylark (Neocorys Sprague?)

on the.prairies of the northern border of Dakota, referring to it,

indeed, as one of the commonest species observed there. It

seems, in fact, to be a common species over a wide area, as I had

the pleasure of meeting with it myself, the past summer, from the

Missouri River, near Fort Rice, to the Yellowstone, over much of

which region it was quite abundant. It being a migratory species,

leaving the plains of the Upper Missouri by the end of September,

it seems stranger than ever before that a bird so numerous should

have so long escaped observation, and that its winter quarters

should still remain unknown.—J. A. ALLEN.

RANGE OF THE EARED Grese. — Although this species (Podi-

ceps auritus var. Californicus) is common along the Pacific coast

of the United States in winter, it has not hitherto, to my

knowledge, been found east of the Rocky Mountains in the United

States, nor been known to breed anywhere within our limits. In

July of this year I took several specimens in perfect plumage, at

Turtle Mountain, lat. 49°, long. about 100° 30’, under circumstan-

ces which left no donbt of their breeding at this point. They were

found on some of the numerous ponds about the foot of the moun-

tain, in company with the common horned grebe (P. cornutus),

the ruddy and various other ducks, all of which had young at the

time.— Exxtorr Coues.

Syow Po Mr. W. H. Edwards writes us that in 1842 Mr.

D. W. Marsh and himself found the nest and eggs of this bird

on the summit of Graylock Mountain, and that he still has two

of the nests collected at that time.

746 ZOOLOGY.

INFLUENCE OF LOCALITY UPON THE CoLors OF BIRDS AND ANI-

MALS. — Not being an ornithologist, I am unable to form an opin-

ion as to the details of the observations given by Prof. Baird, Dr.

Coues, J. A. Allen, R. Ridgway and others, in reference to the

colors of our American birds. But the laws of variation so far

proposed are obviously provisional only. Perhaps, therefore,

another suggestion in the same direction may be allowed.

While in Egypt, in the winter of 1858-9, I was struck with

the predominant dulness of hue of the birds and animals, wild

and domestic. Of the latter, the cattle and buffaloes were nearly

mud-colored; so were the sheep, and, preéminently, the nu-

merous and miserable dogs. Nothing striking appeared in the

aspect of the horses (sometimes white, mostly brown), or the

more commonly used donkeys. The camel is always (in Egypt

at least) a dull-colored animal.

But among the birds, myriads of which were seen by us on the

Nile, between Cairo and Thebes, it can hardly have been an ac-

cident that in two months, I saw not one bright color of any kind.

White is beautifully conspicuous in the ibis, which glistens in the

sun as it flies; and a grayish white is usual with the very abun-

dant, half-domestic pigeons. But the only other hues seen were

gray, brown, dull yellow and (least often) black ; in land birds as

well as in ducks, geese, cormorants, pelicans, etc.

It is very probable that my scrutiny may have been quite in-

complete, during the two months mentioned. It is, of course,

possible also, that the summer fauna of Egypt may be entirely

different, especially in its birds; although (as every one knows)

the temperature is rarely as low as 40° or even 50° F. in =

Egyptian winter, so far north as Cairo. Yet I cannot but think

that a strong contrast must exist between that region (and prob-

ably Africa farther south, also) and South America, as well as

the Indian peninsulds and archipelagoes, with their brilliant ham-

ming-birds, trogons and others of the West, and pheasants, birds

of paradise, etc., of the Eastern Indies. With a still more re-

stricted observation of them, I imagined, at least, a similar com-

parative rarity of brilliant hues among the insects of Egypt.

Towards the possible explanation of this peculiarity (if it be

admitted) one suggestion, perhaps vague, has occurred to me; the

question of the novelty of which concerns me less than that of

its soundness. There is certainly nothing in the climate of any

ZOOLOGY. : 747

part of Africa comparable to what is referred to in Prof. Baird’s

account (mentioned by Mr. R. Ridgway in American NATURALIST,

Sept., 1873) of the influence of the local circumstances, causing,

in birds of the interior of western North America, “a bleached or

weather-beaten appearance, possibly the result of greater exposure

to the elements, and less protection by dense forests.” Egypt has

truly no forests; only thin groves of palms, doum trees, acacias,

ete. Exposure to light is a characteristic of the country. But,

apart from natural selection, or, indeed, it may be possibly through

natural selection (in part at least),—is there not a proportion

between chromatic variety of development and the complication of

natural features of the country: i. e., does not the most arid, least

undulating, physically most monotonous region or continent pre-

sent, with slender-leafed plants and non-umbrageous trees, the

minimum of coloration of birds, reptiles and insects,— probably

also of flowers? If this idea be trite, instead of novel, my apolo-

gy for bringing it forward must be my failure to discern it pre-

cisely set forth in the papers of Dr. E. Coues, J. A. Allen and

R. Ridgway, who appear to be conversant with what has been

written upon the subject. Although Dr. Coues, for instance,

distinctly states that “the maximum of brilliancy of color is

reached in the tropics,” its intensity varying “in direct ratio with

the temperature and humidity of the breeding place,” yet the di-

rect influence of heat and moisture alone would seem to be here

contemplated: while the manner of that influence remains yet to

be explained. At all events I shall be glad if the mention of my

brief observations on the poverty of coloration in the Egyptian

winter fauna call out a statement upon the subject from some

competent zoologist. or ornithologist, both as to the facts and their

theoretic explanation.— H. Hartsuorne.

Minicry 1n Snakes. — A friend recently brought me from

Florida a fine specimen of the banded water-snake (Tropidonotus

Jasciatus) which had been given him by a negro as one of the

dreaded moccasons (Ancistrodon piscivorus). The resemblance

was so perfect that I did not detect the error until I examined the

head. I have since examined the specimens of this species in

the Smithsonian collection and find that in many individuals the

coloration imitates that of the moccason to perfection. It would

seem that the species are not distinguished by the Florida people.

748 ZOOLOGY.

Is not this a fair case of protective mimicry?—G. Brown

- Goovr, Museum, Wesleyan University.

Norice or a Rare Brrp.— LeConte’s bunting (Coturniculus

LeContei) long remained among our special desiderata. It was one

of several species discovered by Audubon in 1848, on his memo-

rable trip to the upper Missouri, the chief results of which were

published in the appendix to the seventh volume of the ‘‘ Birds

of America.” His type specimen, presented to Prof. Baird many

years ago, having been lost or mislaid, as stated in Prof. Baird’s

work, the species rested upon the figure and description alone,

until recently, when a specimen was received at the Smithsonian

Institution from Texas, through Mr. G. E. Lincecum. This one

was noticed in my late work (Key N. Am. Birds, p. 137). During

the past summer I found the bird to be not uncommon at a certain

point on the 49th parallel, between Turtle mountain and Mouse

river, Dakota, where several specimens were secured. These

represent the old and young of both sexes, and are particularly

interesting on account of their showing that we have hitherto

misapprehended the characters of the species. For Audubon’s

account, with which the Texas specimen agrees, indicates the ex-

tensively buffy, diffusely marked, soft plumage of the young, from

which the adult differs materially. Some points of the case may

be here presented. In form, the species differs notably from its

congeners in the shape and greater relative length of the tail.

This member is rather over two inches long, decidedly exceeding

the wings, reaching considerably beyond the outstretched feet, and

remarkably graduated, the lateral feathers being from } to} an

inch shorter than the central pair. The tail feathers are all ex-

tremely narrow and acuminate— even more so than those of the

sharp-tailed finch, Ammodromus caudacutus. The wings are very

short and much rounded ; when closed the primaries hardly exceed

the longest secondary by } inch, althoagh the secondaries are not

at all elongated. The bill is not so turgid as in C. passerinus;

the younger birds have it smaller than it is in that species, as

noted in the “Key ;” the difference is not so great in the adults.

Specimens measure from 4-90 to 5:10 in length, by 6-90 to 7°10 in

extent ; the wing 1-90 to 2-00, the tail 2-00 to 2-25. The general

a varies greatly in intensity and extent with age and wear

. of the plumage ; it is greatest in birds of the year; an old male,

ZOOLOGY. 749

g, shows scarcely any. There is no yellow on the edge

of the wing, nor a definite yellow loral spot, as in C. passerinus ;

there are no blackish maxillary or pectoral streaks as in C. Hens-

lowii, the markings of the under parts of the adult being confined

to sparse, sharp, blackish touches along the sides. In the younger

birds, however, these may usually be traced across the breast, as

is also the case with the young of C. passerinus, the adult of which

is not, or not noticeably, marked below. But even the youngest

specimen shows no maxillary streaks. There are some peculiarities

in the shade and pattern of the variegation of the upper part ; the

markings of the adult being bold, sharply contrasted and heavily

colored. The bill of the old bird is dark horn blue, lighter blue

below; that of the young is reddish-brown, paler below. Feet

flesh-colored at all ages.

I only noticed the birds on one occasion, Agvet 9th, when a

number were found together, in the deep green sea of waving grass

that rolled over an extensive moist depression of the prairie. Five

specimens were secured, in the course of an hour, not without diffi-

culty ; for, the grass being waist-high, the only chance was a snap

shot as the birds, started at random, flitted in sight for a few sec-

onds; while it was quite as hard to find them when killed. Sev-

eral seen to fall were not recovered after diligent search. In their

mode of flight, the birds resembled wrens; a simile which sug-

gested itself to me at the time was that of a bee returning home

laden with pollen; they flew straight, steadily and fast enough,

but rather feebly, as if heavily freighted for their very short wings.

The only note I heard was a chirring like the noise of a grass-

hopper. Although I found no nest, the circumstances of obser-

vation leave no doubt that the birds bred here. They were in

company with a number of short-billed marsh-wrens; their neigh-

bors of the drier prairie around were chestnut-collared buntings,

Baird’s buntings and Sprague’s skylarks, all very numerous.—

Exxiotr Coues.

moulting

Insect Gars. — Mr. Riley is paying especial attention to galls

and their architects. He has accumulated a vast amount of ma-

terial, including all the described North American forms, with a

view of soon publishing an illustrated work on the subject. He

will be glad to receive assistance in the way of notes and speci-

mens from the United States and Canada, and will take pleasure

750 ZOOLOGY.

in properly acknowledging the same. Address Mr. C. V. Riley,

St. Louis, Mo.

Tue OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER. — The olive-sided flycatcher

(Contopus borealis), though usually considered as a very rare bird,

is quite abundant in some parts of Lewis, Herkimer and Hamilton

counties in northern New York, where it breeds.

It is never found where there are no coniferous trees, and among

them seems to have a decided partiality for old hemlocks. On the

12th of June, 1873, while hunting on Tug hill (Lewis Co.), I heard

a bird utter a peculiar short whistle in a swamp directly ahead of

me. I recognized the note as one I had heard in Idaho, but could -

not at once recall the species; so, guided by its oft repeated note,

I entered the swamp and soon had the pleasure of seeing a fine

olive-sided flycatcher perched on a dead limb on the top of a large

emlock. I shot this specimen, which proved to be an adult male

in splendid plumage ; I also sugceeded in obtaining the female near

the same spot.

At Big Moose lake, in Brown’s Tract, they were quite numerous,

and there we obtained several specimens (in July). They all

seemed to have the same hab t of choosing a large hemlock tree

with a few dead branches on top, and were sure to light on the up-

permost twig. Their note, which is a short whistle, greatly resem- _

bles O-wheo, O-wheo, with the accent on the whe, and the voice

falling at the last o. They sometimes repeat this note several

times in succession, but generally not more than once or twice.

I was not so much surprised at finding this species breeding

with us in Lewis Co., N. Y., because it is a very interesting local-

ity for the ornithologist, and many rare northern birds are found

there; but I must say I was surprised on September 10th, while

hunting at Easthampton, Mass., at procuring a fine Contopus

borealis in a small grove of pine trees within a mile of town.

Since that date I have searched diligently for this bird in the same

and similar localities about Easthampton, but as yet umsuccess-

fully. Has this species ever been obtained in Massachusetts be-

fore?— C. HARTE Merriam, Jr.

Ayorner Monster.—To the list given by me in the July

number (page 435) must now be added a young cock, possessing

a supernumerary wing, attached by ligaments to the ninth cervical

vertebra, and hanging over upon the right side of the chest. It

ZOOLOGY. 751

was brought to me by Mr. C. B. Martin, of Tiffin, Ohio.—B. G.

WILDER.

RANGE OF THE Geococcyx CALIFORNIANUS.—I am advised, by

letter from my friend, Dr. A. Woodhull, of the army, of the occur-

rence of this species on the Arkansas river near Ft. Lyon, Colorado,

a fact which carries the known range of the species considerably

eastward. Excepting Mr. C. E. Aiken’s recent quotation from the

mountains of Colorado (Proc. Bost. Soc., xv, 206), the U.S. record

has hitherto been only from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Cal-

ifornia to the Sacramento valley. The bird appears to be rare in

the locality, where my correspondent says only two or three were

seen in the course of over two years. He says it is known as the

“war bird” or ‘‘ medicine bird,” because prized by the Indians for

its plumage, which is used to ornament their regalia of ceremony.

—E.uiorr Coves.

Tue CARIBOU on Lake Superior.— During a recent visit (May

1873) to Isle Royale, Michigan (Lake Superior), interesting evi-

dence of the former presence of the Caribou (Rangifer Caribou

Aud. and Bach.), long extinct there, was brought to my observa-

tion. Ihave now in my possession two relics—the greater parts

of the horns of this animal — which were picked up at different `

points on the island. The antlers are much decayed, one being

a mere shell, and, beside, they had been gnawed by rodents.

Such specimens, often of a great size, are frequently discovered

of late at this isolated place.—Henry Gitiman, Detroit, Michigan.

CHIMNEY SWALLOW; CHANGE IN PLACE OF Nestinc.— About

June 15, 1871, a pair of chimney swallows (Chetura pelasgia)

commenced building a nest in the barn in close proximity to the

nests of the common barn swallow (Hirundo horreorum). The

nest was finished by the 4th of July, and four eggs were laid. In

1872 there were two nests built in the barn, and this year two

more were built, one of which I took down on July 8th and sent,

with the four eggs which it contained, to the Peabody Academy of

Science. The nest that I removed was replaced by a new one

about the 20th of July. As this is a remarkable variation in the

habits of the chimney swift, I send you this note with the nest.

I shall watch for the appearance of the birds in the barn next

year with interest. As they have now built in the barn for three

752 GEOLOGY.

years, it seems as if the birds were finding out that the chim-

neys were no longer suitable places for rearing their young.—

J. H. Sears, Beverly. Mass.

GEOLOGY.

Tue Fossits or CoLtorapo.— The explorations this year have

been more than usually productive of interesting results. The

“bad lands” of Colorado have been discovered to be a graveyard

of a long past period, distinct from that of Wyoming, and to con-

tain the osseous remains of a great population of beasts, of totally,

different species and even orders from those of the latter age and

region. They resemble more nearly those of the White River, of

Nebraska, but many have been obtained by Prof. Cope not known

there or elsewhere. So far he has proven the existence of more

than one hundred species, some represented by thousands of indi-

viduals. Of these at least seventy species are new to science.

They range from the size of the mole to nearly that of the ele-

phant ; sixteen species only are reptiles.

Many forms of insectivorous animals related to the mole, and

of very small size, have been procured. The delicacy and mi-

nuteness of these fossils are surprising.

Gnawing animals, or rodents, left numerous remains of eighteen

species, some not larger than the domestic mouse. Some were

the predecessors of the rabbits, others of squirrels and others of

mice.

Of cloven-footed quadrupeds a great many species have been

found. Some were nearly intermediate in structure between the

deer and the hog; like the Jatter, they had no horns; they were

about as large as sheep. Others were about the size of gray squir-

rels, being the smallest of this class of animals ever discovered.

Several species of horses were living during the same period, as is

proven by the bones and teeth which have been discovered.

Their relative, the rhinoceros, abounded in Colorado, in former

days, seven species having been procured by Prof. Cope. One

of the specimens is a perfect skull, with teeth complete and cov-

ered with the moss-like crystallization seen in the moss agate. But

the most remarkable monsters of the past, whose existence has

been disclosed by the present survey, are a series of horned species

related to the rhinoceros, but possessing some features in which,

< Mirine to Prof. Cope, they resembled the elephant. They

GEOLOGY. 753

stood high on the legs and had short feet, but possessed osseous

horns in pairs on different parts of the hea

One of the largest species had a huge horn over each eye, while

another had one on each side of the nose, and more than a foot in

length, resembling those on the back part of the head of the ox,

etc. A third one, of larger size than the last, had rudimental

horns on the nose. Still another was about as large as the elephant.

Its cheek bones were enormously expanded, and its horns were

flat. A fifth species had triangular horns, turned outward. The

first mentioned species has been named, by Prof. Cope, Miobasileus

opkryas and the others have been placed in the new genus

Symborodon. Their structure disproves entirely the statement of

a recent writer that the presence of horns in pairs is an indication

of relationship to the ruminating animals (oxen, etc.), for these

beasts are quite near the rhinoceros.

Carnivorous species were not rare in this ancient family, and

served as now to check their too rapid increase. Of the fourteen

species known, there were tiger cats, dogs, hyznadons, and the

new genus Jomarctos. It resembled a dog, and was as large as

the black bear. Some of the cats had remarkably long canine or

eye teeth. In a new species, the size of the panthers, these teeth

greatly resembled those of a shark.

The reptiles embrace turtles, lizards and snakes, the last two

orders discovered for the first time in this formation in America.

The forthcoming reports of Professor Hayden to the Secretary

of the Interior will contain a full account of the discoveries in this

interesting department of geological science, made during the

progress of the survey from 1870 to the present time. Prof. Cope

has obtained from the ancient sea and lake deposits of Kansas,

Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, ete., about 350 species of vertebrated

animals, of which he has made known to science for the first time

more than 200.

Pavcity or Lire IN Oceanic Areas. —Prof. W. B. Carpenter

Seas,” with the following remarks on the paucity of life in certain

areas on the ocean bottom :—

“It is well known that a a muddy state of the bottom water is

unfavorable to the presence of animal life; and it has been par-

ticularly noted by Dana, that where such a sediment brought

AMERICAN NATURALIST, VOL. VII.

concludes a recent article “On the Physical Conditions of Inland .

754 GEOLOGY.

down by a current is diffused over a part of a bed of living coral,

it kills the animals of that part. Moreo Bone I learned at Malta

‘that in the beds which yield the extremely jine-grained stone

which is used for delicate carvings, scarcely a fossils are found

save sharks’ teeth; whilst in the coarse-grained beds of the same

formation, fossils are abundant; and as the former may be re-

garded as the product of a slow deposit in the deep sea, so may

the latter be considered as shore beds. Further, I have been in-

formed by Professor Duncan, that in the Fleisch of the Alps,

which shows in some parts a thickness of several thousand feet,

and which is coniposed of a very fine sedimentary material, there

is an almost entire absence of organic remains.

There is, however, another condition of the bottom-water of the

Mediterranean, which is na less unfavorable than its turbidity

— probably yet more so—to the existence of animal life in its

depths; namely, the deficiency of oxygen produced by the slow

decomposition of the organic matter brought down by its great

rivers. According to the determination which I made in my

second visit to the Mediterranean in 1871, the gases boiled off

from water brought up from great depths contained only about 5

60 per cent. being carbonic acid. w in gases

the deep water of the Atlantic, the average percentage of oxygen

was about 20, while that of carbonic acid was between 30 and

40; even this large proportion of carbonic acid not appearing

prejudicial to en life of the marine Taten so long as oxy-

gen was present in sufficient proport

The rationale of ‘both these oaiit seems obviously the

stagnant condition. If the doctrine of a vertieal oceanie circu-

lation be true, ever 'y drop of ocean water is brought in its turn to

the surface, where it can eat ay iat its siegh naam acid, and take in

of temperature, than that of the mass of water it overlies, there

is no agency capable of eter any interchange; the bottom

water “e with the slowly gravitating sediment is never dis-

turbed ; the organic matter contained in that n

consumes ax oxygen so much more rapidly than it can

“oe nec mesh above by ane through the vast column of super-

in nt water, that nearly the whole of : is converted into ~

carbonic : acid, scarcely any being left for the support of animal

ANTHROPOLOGY. T99

These considerations, then, seem fully grae se 8 account ‘ig

a paucity of life in the deeper part of the Mediterranean bas

they will, of course, equally apply to the case “of any oe

inland sea, so far as the same conditions apply. And it is not a

little interesting to find that my old friend and fellow-student

Edward Forbes was perfectly correct as to the recta of ani-

mal life—so far as regards the Ægean Sea, in h n

researches were prosecuted — to a depth of ea 300 fathoms ;

the error, which was rather that of others than his own, being in

the supposition that this limitation applies equally to the great

ocean basins, Lee as well as present. The researches in which

it has been privilege to bear a part have shown that as

regards the latter there is pap no ig E limit to ani-

mal life; while the results of my inquiries into the influence of

the physical conditions of the ko in limiting the ba-

thymetrical diffusion of its fauna, will not, I venture to “hope, be

without their use in geological theory.”

Tae Connecticut VALLEY IN THE HELDERBERG Era.— Prof.

Dana states in an article in the ‘‘ American Journal of Science

and Arts” for November, that the observations of Hitchcock and

Percival, with his own, lead towards the view that in the Helder-

berg era the Connecticut valley, through its whole length from

north to south, was a wide crinoidal and coral growing sea, sep-

arating eastern from western New England.

ANTHROPOLOGY.

Inp1an Rope anp CLora.— The Apocynum cannabinum, In-

dian hemp, or silk plant, as it is sometimes called, is very exten-

sively used by the Indians of Arizona for the manufacture of twine

- and cloth. The bark of the plant is tough and strong and some-

thing like flax. The Indians cut the plant when ripe and rab it

so as to separate the fibres, with which they make very strong and

beautiful fishing lines, and a fine thread which they use in sewing

and also make into cloth. Inthe Department of Agriculture, there

is a fine specimen of rope made of this fibre by the Ute Indians,

which I obtained from them and presented to the Department. In

the Smithsonian Collection there are also good specimens of strings

and a fishing net made of this plant by the Indians of Arizona.

Near Camp Lincoln in Arizona we obtained, from some old Aztec

ruins, cloth that had been manufactured by hand from this plant.

The root gives out a very bitter milky fluid that is used as a

medicine by the Indians. — Dr. Epwarp PALMER.

756 MICROSCOPY.

Aw Error Correctep.— During the past summer and autumn

many western and perhaps some eastern papers contained accounts

of the discovery of a human skull in the carboniferous limestone

of southern Kansas, by one of the instructors at the Catholic

Osage Mission in that state. Its determination as a cranium re-

posed on the authority of a physician of the town. Deeming the

statement to be incredible, some later newspaper article asserted

the specimen to be the skull of a deer. As this determination is

not more reasonable than the first, I requested some photographs,

which were obligingly sent by mail. These representing an object

very much like a human cranium, I determined to visit the Mission.

On reaching it I was kindly shown the specimen by Father Schu-

macher, the principal. It proved to be the broad body-whorl of a

large cephalopod shell, allied to Goniatites. Some specimens ex-

hibited with it as petrified portions of a hay-stack which had been

long exposed, were fragments of some kind of slag.—E. D. Core.

MICROSCOPY.

Exupations or DIPATHERIA AND Croup. — Dr. Jabez Hogg,

President of the (London) Medical Microscopical Society, in a

recent communication to that society, combats the somewhat

prevalent doctrine that diphtheria and croup are essentially the

same disease. From the bold assertion that nothing but a “ clin-

ical tradition” separates these two diseases, and from the contra-

dictory evidence of clinical medicine, he turns to histological

anatomy for a solution of the difficulty, and maintains that a sharp

line can be drawn between the diphtheritic membrane and the

croupous cast. The former he finds a dense, compact, opaque,

felt-like membrane, firmly adherent and not removable spontane-

ously, which when forcibly detached comes away in fragments and

leaves a broken and bleeding surface. This membrane, under &

microscopical power of X 350, is seen to consist of fibrous and

connective tissue, shrunken and compressed cells (epithelial, mus-

cular, glandular, and even cartilaginous), fat molecules, muco-pu-

rulent or glandular corpuscles, crystals, starch granules, fungus

spores, and other foreign bodies. On the other hand the croupous

cast is a delicate, semi-transparent, often gelatinous exudation,

not so intimately connected with the subjacent mucous membrane

but that it is easily separable as an imperfect cast which is often

_ thrown off during a fit of coughing. Under the same maguif

MICROSCOPY. “04

power it is found to consist of pavement and ciliated columnar epi-

thelium and a homogeneous, transparent, albuminous substance,

(never truly fibrous) entangling detached epithelial cells or their

contents, fat, mucous corpuscles, and a few foreign bodies. These

casts rarely contain fungus spores ; continue probably to be thrown

off soon after their formation ; and appear to partake rather of the

nature of an excessive cell proliferation than of a true exudation :

they are essentially an epithelial layer cast off and resembling the

skin shed by some of the lower animals.

On the other hand, Dr. Bruce and Mr. Golding Bird stated that

they had never noticed epithelium in the croup membrane, but that

they had observed an infiltration of exudation cells (white blood `

corpuscles).

“ UNUSABLE” Ossectives.— Mr. Henry U. Janson writes to the

‘t Monthly Mic. Journal” proposing the wet front, or “aquatic noz-

zle? as a cure for “unusable sixteenths” and other objectives

whose angular aperture has been increased at the expense of work-

ing focus until they can no longer come within reach of a large

proportion of mounted objeets. Being accustomed to work upon

diatoms with a moderate angled y, he was induced to procure an

improved lens of the same power, but 175° angle. This “ tremen-

dous 175°” performed beautifully upon all that it could reach, but

about half his extensive collection of diatoms was out of its reach

by reason of thickness of cover-glass ; and all his high power ob-

jects have long been labelled “ ” and ‘*O. +,” to indicate whether

the new or the old sixteenth should be used upon them. Finally,

having his new ;/, changed into an immersion he found that not

only was the brilliancy of its performance increased and its power

raised to about z1,, but that its focus was so much elongated that

all his O. ;4, objects became perfectly usable. The comparatively

long working focus of immersion lenses is a convenience well

known and appreciated, but it has not, perhaps, been hitherto so

formally recommended as a cure for the (also well known) ‘unus-

able” dry lenses of large angle.

Movuntine ry Batsam.—Mr. C. L. Jackson mounts his balsam

objects in a chloroformic solution of balsam, and, after the air

bubbles have all escaped, bakes them for about two days upon the

flat top of a copper or tin box about a foot square and two and a

half inches deep, and filled with water which is kept by means of

758 NOTES.

a gas flame at nearly a boiling temperature. For keeping the

cover in position while the balsam is hardening, he finds the spring

clip troublesome and uncertain, and substitutes shot or bullets,

of different sizes according to the pressure required, laid upon the

cover glass. The bullets are previously flattened by a blow from

a hammer. [The conical rifle-balls which the writer has used for

the same purpose are exceedingly convenient. |

PRESERVING TUMORS, ETC., DURING TRANsPoRTATION.— Dr. J. G.

Richardson recommends the popular mounting medium, a satu-

rated solution of acetate of potash, as a temporary preservative

of urinary deposits or other pathological specimens that are to be

transmitted by post. Sections of tumors or of other tissues may

often be prepared by soaking in this solution for two days. They

are then to be removed from the solution, without much squeezing,

and placed in a piece of india-rubber tubing, or wra ped up in

sheet rubber or oiled silk, with the ends firmly ‘tied, and mailed in

an ordinary letter, the deliquescent fluid with which the tissue is

saturated preventing alike the decomposition or desiccation of the

object.

AMPHIPLEURA PELLUCIDA AS A Test Opsect.— Mr. Louis H.

Noe, of Elizabethtown, N. J., has resolved this object, both dry

and in balsam, with sunlight, through the ammonio-sulphate cell

condensed obliquely with a small 24 inch lens, with all of the fol-

lowing objectives: —R. & J. Beck’s „$y ary, zh wet; Powell &

Lealand’s 4, 15, 4 dry, Js, 4 wet; Wales’ +; wet; Gundlach’s s'y

(No. viii) wet; Hartnack’s y (No. x), ys (No. ix) wet; Tolles’

qo Ary, 15, & (130°) wet; and Spencer’s } wet.

NOTES.

Tue Yellowstone Expedition, Gen. D. A. Stanley commanding,

arrived at Fort A. Lincoln, D. T.. September 22d, having passed

a little over three months in active operations in the field, and

region previously but very imperfectly known. The expedition

left Fort Rice, D. T., June 20th, and arrived at the Yellowstone,

a few miles above Glendive’s Creek, July 15th. Crossing the

Yellowstone at this point, the expedition proceeded up the valley

of the Yellowstone as far as Pompey’s Pillar, two hundred miles

NOTES. 759

above Glendive’s Creek and about three hundred and fifty miles

above the mouth of the Yellowstone. From Pompey’s Pillar the

expedition marched westward to the Musselshell, striking this

river near the 109th meridian. Descending the Musselshell to the

Big Bend, the course was thence eastward to the Yellowstone,

which was reached at a point about seventy-five miles below Pom-

pey’s Pillar. The route thence homeward was essentially the one

pursued on the outward journey.

The general object of the Expedition was successfully accom-

plished, and much general information respecting the country was

obtained ; considerable collections were also made in nearly all

departments of natural history. The scientific corps attached to

the expedition consisted of J. A. Allen, of the Cambridge Mu-

seum, in charge of recent and fossil zodlogy and botany, Dr.

Nettre, mineralogist, E. Konopicky, artist, W. R. Pywell, photog-

rapher, and C. W. Bennett, taxidermist. The country visited

afforded only the usual limited variety of animal and plant life

characteristic of the drier portions of the plains, and the geologi-

cal features presented an almost equal uniformity. The region

traversed is embraced almost wholly within the great so-called

‘lignite tertiary basin,” but contains also here and there little

insular areas of upper cretaceous strata. The whole series of

beds are hence below those so rich in fossil vertebral remains that

occur so abundantly a few hundred miles further south ; hence the

fossils obtained were almost wholly molluscan, with a few imper-

fectly preserved remains of plants. The rapidity and great length

of the marches the expedition was compelled to make, together

with the proximity of hostile Indians, prevented so thorough an

exploration of the country as was desirable, yet a large amount

of information was gathered in respect to the topography of the

region traversed, and its natural preductions and resources, which

is to be embodied in reports to the Seeretary of War.

We have already recorded the gift to Prof. Agassiz of $100,000

from his son-in-law, Mr. Shaw. This sum is to be expended in

enlarging the collections of the Museum of Comparative Zoology,

as it is to be hoped that the state of Massachusetts will pay for

the enlargement of the buildings. With this sum have already

been purchased the Watchsmuth collection of western crinoids,

including 400 species of the Carboniferous age in a beautiful state

760 NOTES.

of preservation, 170 being types of figures published in western

geological reports; a large collection of trilobites from Trenton

Falls, N. Y.; 2,500 skeletons from Prof. Ward of Rochester; Dr.

Klumzinger’s collection of fishes from the Red Sea; the Moesch

collection of Jurassic fossils; a large collection of Pacific coast

insects ; the types of Loew’s American Diptera, an exceedingly

valuable collection; and Gulick’s collection of Sandwich Island

shells. Meanwhile the new rooms in the museum are nearly ready

for the exhibition of specimens.

Tue forty-third meeting of the British Association for the Ad-

vancement of Science was held at Bradford. Dr. Joule had been

elected President for this meeting, but owing to ill health he was

unable to be present, and Prof. A. W. Williamson presided and

delivered an admirable inaugural address. With either this or

Prof. Allman’s philosophical and profound address before the

Biological Section, we wish we could say the address of the Presi-

dent of the American Association compared favorably. Neither

in the method of treatment nor in its spirit or style did the Amer-

ican production do credit to the occasion. In another number we

shall make liberal extracts from Prof. Allman’s address. The

Association meets next year at Belfast, Ireland, Dr. Tyndall

presiding.

_A Meertne of the National Academy of Sciences was held

October 28th and 29th, 1873, in New York City. The following

papers relating to biology were read :— *“ Results of explorations

of the deeper portions of the Gulf of Maine with the dredge,” by

A. S. Packard, Jr; “ On the distribution and primitive number of

spiracles of insects,” by A. S. Packard, Jr.; ‘‘ Cycles of deposi-

tion in American sedimentary strata,” by J. S. Newberry ; “On

a new method of analysis of composite sounds, and on experi-

ments elucidating Helmholtz’s hypothesis of audition,” by A. M.

ayer; “On the relations of the different classes of vertebrates,”

by Theodore Gill; “ Biographical memoir of the late Prof. J.

Frazer,” by J. L. LeConte.

We are requested, by Dr. Coues and Mr. Ridgway conjointly, to

state that neither of these gentlemen “desires to continue a contro-

versy of no scientific consequence, and one which, furthermore,

has lost its personal interest since a mutual misunderstanding in

NOTES. 761

which it arose has been explained to their entire satisfaction.”

Mr. Ridgway further desires us to state that ‘he is eat to re-

tract the implication of bad faith on the part of Dr. Coues

Tue meeting of the French Association for the Advancement of

Science was held at Lyons from the twenty-first to the twenty-

eighth of August, under the presidency of Prof. Quatrefages.

The sections were fifteen in number, comprising among others

Agriculture and Medicine. There were excursions down the

Rhone, and to Geneva, with other entertainments.

Tuer new building of the Indiana State University at Bloom-

ington, which is to be used principally for a museum, will be

completed next month, and the Owen collection of between eighty

and ninety thousand specimens, purchased by the trustees of the

university three years ago, will be arranged at once. This col-

lection contains, it is said, a nearly perfect skeleton of the

Megatherium and many other rare and valuable specimens. The

trustees have also just purchased a full series of casts from Prof.

H. A. Ward of Rochester, at an expense of about $7,000, which

will also be at once arranged in the new museum.

We learn from ‘“‘ Nature” that Prof. Planchon has been charged

by the French government with the duty of visiting America to

study the ravages of the new vine disease occasioned by the plant

louse, Phylloxera vitifolic.

M. Coste, known by his elaborate work on embryology, and more

recent apie in fish raising, lately died in Paris, aged

sixty-six

Pror. Czermak, the physiologist, died in Leipzig Sept. 16th.

Avpany Hancock, the distinguished English anatomist, died

Oct. 24th.

Amone Macmillan’s recent announcement of new books, are the

following: Cave Hunting; Researches on the Evidence of Caves

respecting the Early Inhabitants of Europe, by W. Boyd Dawkins ;

The Physiology of the Circulation in Plants, in the lower Animals:

and in Man, by J. Bell Pettigrew; The Origin and Metamorphoses

of Insects, by Sir John Lubbock, and the Elements of Embryology,

` by Michael Foster. Mr. R. Hardwicke announces Man and Apes,

by St. George Mivart.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Acridide of North America. By Cyrus Thomas. (From Report of the U. S. Geological Sur-

ve = the a 4to. . 262. With plate. Washington, 187

nopsis of New Vertebrata from the Tertiary of Colo rade obtained during g the summer of

1873. By E ah Cope. (From the seventh or ae Report of the U. S. Geological Survey of the

Territories.) 8vo. Ne 19. pir pe along * Oct., 1873.

Report of the Direetor of the Central Park "Menagerie, Department of Public Parks, City of

New York, for the year ending May 31, 1873, _8vo. pp. 33, New York, 1873.

Annales de la Societe Entomologique de Franci Serie 5; Tome ii, 8vo 694. 16 pls.

Serie 4; tome x, Cahier 2. 8vo. pp. 128. 6 pls.; eahier 3. 8vo. pp. 144. apla. Paris, 1872.

Bulletin de is "Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou. Annee 1872, No.4. 8vo. 3 pls.

Moscou, 1873.

i Jahrbuch wig gies tua -koniglichen geologischen Reichsanstalt, Band xxiii. No.1. Plates

Verhandlungen der k. k. geologischen Reichsanstalt, 8vo. Nos. 1-6, Wien, 1873.

Nuovo Giornale Botanico Italiano, 8vo. Vol. i. 13 plates. 1869. Vol. ii. 8 plates. 1870.

Vol. iii. Nos. 1-3, 7 plates. 1871

Bulletin genes od de la Societe d’ Acc. inaia. 8vo. Series2. Nos.l-4. Paris, 1873.

ng s de la Societe Royale des Sciences de Liege. 8vo. Serie 2. Tome iii. 6 pls.

Dire Americæ septentrionalis indigena. By H. Loew. 8vo. pp.300. Berolini, 1865 - 1872.

i tage gg der Kalkschwamme ( Calcispongien oder Grantien). By Ernst Haeckel. 8vo. Ber-

87:

i yp HA ENNHAN- 8vo. Jahrgang ix. Nos. 7-12. 1871. Jahrgang x. Nos.

Dorin fee “a Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Forhandlinger. 8vo. No, 2.

Kjobenhavn, rin

m Lovene for Vandets Bevægelse i Jorden. Af A. Colding. 4to. 2 plates. (From Vidensk.

Bo. Skr., 5 cabo Naturvidenskubeitg oz ‘Matheniatisk Afd., ix. .8). Kjobenbavn.

Krystallografisk-optiske Undersogelser, med særligt Hensyn til isomorfe Stoffer. Af “Haldor

Mathematisk Atd., ix Bd.9.) Kjobenhavn.

enings: sforhold hos Fanerogamerne, betragtede med særligt Hensyn til Klovning af Neks-

punktet. At Eug. Warming. 4to. 1l plates. (From Vidensk. Selsk. Skr.,5 Række, Naturvid-

enskabelig og Mathematisk Afd. 10 de Bina.1. Kjobenhavn.

rmochemiske hares ey are E Ved Julius Thomsen, 4to. (From Vidensk. Selsk. Skr., 5

Memoires de PT Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-arts de Belgique. Tome

S I

Bulletins de [ Academie e Roya ale des Sciences des Lettres et des Beaux-arts de Belgique. 8v0.

40me Annee, 2me Ser ee FEM 1871; 4lme Annee, 2me Ser., T. xxxiii, 1872; 4lime Annee, 2me

Ser; T. rA Bruxcl 1872.

Memoires Couronnes ey autre memoires, publies par l’ Academie Royale des Sciences, des Let-

tres et d A PA x-arts de Belgique. 8vo. pp. 156. Bruxelles, 1872.

Tanki Meteorologi a del’ Observatoire Royale de Bruxelles, Annee 5. 4to, Bruxelles, =

1810. to, pp. 8 des nomene: iape ag des V ace a sog Royale de Belgiqu ue pendant Pan

4to. (Ext rait du thd xxxix des Som

a Te les ‘el a` “Mortatte e et leur Dev Velner. Par g 1 Quetelet. 4to. pp. 39. prosene Ba

Annua ie Royaledes Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-arts de Belgique.

e Ann feg Aste gory pe nee, 1873. Brux elles.

Descri ipt tiv ve Ethnol logy of By Edward Tuite Iton. 4to. pp. 327. Illustrated by

pig et tag 6 ap pace neni Tea from photographs. Caleutta,

1872.

F ‘on de V Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des

tur-a S ve foe “nea fy etsecond. 8vo. Bruxelles, 1872.

— on the S; fete asians and Pycnides WA hen 4to. p p. 49.

thly the ure.

of 1873.

eport on the Fossil Plants of the Lower Car ee akanti and Mitisione Grit Formations of a

ma i . W. Dawson, (From Geological Survey of Canada.) 8vo. pp. 47. 10 plates. N

Pmtren :

j oe ‘Report of the Quekett Microscopical Club, and List of Members. 8vo. pp.48. London,

u i

Astronomical a a N ical Observations made during the year 1870, at the U. S. Naval <

! Observatory. apeta n n

r Science eae aiian . New York, The Field. London, Sept. 27 - Oct. X

. ra Land and Water. ‘London, acer Oa 25,

Benue Sclemstfows: RE ht Acade. Lond Oct. 15, 1875.

e ralis ana ue cadem; ndon, .

Nature. London, oa ri 30, 1873: w A Butletin of m odii Botanical Ciub. New

trea! ol. vii.

"a > - Ame Rafa n Journal lof Science and Arts. New

ourn the Quekett Microscopical Club. Ha von Dior. re i

i > Monthi: Ma: i Lond Bian Pi Badate D A ”

s zine. n bor {

gnadien : d r n rnal s cg be ‘bisa Institute. Philadel-

Canadian Entomologist. London. Vol. iv. phia, ee 1873.

í Piro London, Nov., 1873.

INDEX TO VOLUME SEVEN.

Abert’s towhee, 32

Acer nigrum, 422.

Acherontia atropos, 173.

Aconitum Napellus, 8.

prety “aig i?

Act nah

‘Actiturus Bart

igialitis ingt haint

SEE premi Histor ory Club, 573, 638.

8,87 ei

ANEN w s, 367.

Alaska, Do on seal of, 178.

— sooner pods, 434.

rica,

JEA ASSOC. “nav. Sci., 445, 577, 639.

‘Siar auinguefotia, 4, 7.

Amphipleura pellucida, 55 . 316, 748.

Anchither'

Ancon s! oeps.

An drostephitim breviflorum, 303.

Da iere rosą, 422

Angelica Wheeleri, 301.

Anima

moetceied, 64l.

rar xylin ieee a

pot de epeb guei i, 697.

Antiquity of m an, 376.

Antiquities soft Southern Indians, 555.

Ant-lion, 4

An honey-making, 7 722.

Tani TTA S 437.

Aplectrum, Src of, 627.

use, 473.

ro Re

Archeology, 29.

Arched I 87 HE

Ascoceras, 108.

Astragalus Ampullarius, 300.

peie plagiata, 203.

Avi-fat A rot América, 634.

o, 631.

Baird’s bunting, 695

Balæidæ, 26, 27.

Balenoidea, 20

ye Davidsoni, 124.

Balænopteridæ,

Balaninu or "213.

ge , variation in the tarsal enve-

Ballast waif, ‘629.

Balsam, es in, 442.

wees berries

epar Tetak ey Fo 25, 27.

Bassaria aana, 115.

Bat on Hæckelii, 408.

Batra

Batiledoor rons eng

Bea vil, grub of, 537.

pesak. 16

Bees, 239.

perforation of Gerardia by, 689

and king-birds, 434.

Beetles, 359.

North American 626.

+ 163.

color-variation i in, 415, 548, 736.

destruction of dragon-flies by, 433.

European

irregular migrations of, 389.

new sub-class of, 364.

of Florida, 165.

the oy va en. 695.

New Eng!

Bittersweet,

Black gnowbird on BE Range, 634.

Blackbirds,

: Sak eet ‘sparrow, 323.

na,

Blood en 187, 382, 700.

Biat

Blue

T =

Bor Sye taath, aquatic, 493.

Bon cote bon

Bones, increase of, 174.

mg asa

Pabedan binds, 15.

apie oni, 301.

——

Bro the push, 320

Buffalo 0,

Buffalo grass, 46:

Buffalo Soc. of Nat. Sci., Bull. of, 560.

763)

764 INDEX.

Bufo o_o. note on, 660. Contopus borealis,

Buttercups, 8. Convolvulus en Bind 302.

Butterflies, 108. Gopra risda

Pres na ba in, 129, 513. a, 734.

TA ses in, 437. Cores. carnivor us, 16.

es in, ciy ne kegperene 16.

Butterfly, 1 Florida

Buttermilk ‘Animaloules i in, 248, Cotton heiter Bar 213.

Buzzards, Coturniculus Po 200.

LeContei, 738.

Cabbage caterpillar, parasite of, 241. Coyot e

web moth, 242. Craw

Cæcidotea, 244. ria , 333.

Californian Torkin ng thrush. 327. Crepis eedan 367.

oths, 5 putton of, 453. Cretaceous flora of Greenland, 167.

Calochortus a aureus, lants, 358.

FP ses osu 508. reson ERNES of plants, 478.

Calosoma, Cro

ion ps balsimatifoia, 629, 730. Crowle ai

8S, Crustacea, 489.

Pema piy 312, 494. Curve-billed thrush, 328.

Canis latrans, 385. Cut worm, 372.

Cannabis sativa, 12. Cuttlefis

Cañon , 324. Jyanospiza cyanea. 201

Caprimulginæ, 434. zyanura cristata, 200.

Cardinal flower, 12. Cymopterus purpureus, 300.

Cardinalis, 618. Cypripedium acaule, 422.

Virginianus, 199.

bou, 741. Dacne. 545.

Carnivores, 19, 20. Dalea ameena, 300.

9. Darnel, 12.

Cassin’s Pyrrhula, 239. Darwinian theory, 239.

Cat, instinct of, 494. Datura stramonium, 1k

purring of, 487. Daucus carota, 9.

Cat’s jum ns = Death’s-head moth, 173.

Cathartes a, 202. Deer, 431

pantie el Mexicans, 603. Delphinium, 9

Cave cru 8, 244, Dellocyathite., Agassizii, 734.

Cedar bira. prg Dendroica perege 606.

Celery, 10. Graciæ, 608.

Cemiostoma. 47. Beneran 199.

Centronyx, 236. Vieillottii, 606.

pardi, Dentition, 495

parina a Aiken, 564. Depths of the sea, 406, 436.

T e "Aleutian, NE Desmids, 192.

ssil, 104 iademata. 40.

iola, 600. iatoms. 637, 701.

Cetace ans, 19. Dick sissel, 200. :

Getotheriopsis, 28. Dimorphism in Forsythia, 422.

: Dinocerata, 146, 217, 290, 306.

r Chætadelphi Wieeleri, 301. Dinosaurians, 22.

Chat, 1 Dionea, 727.

Chestnut borer, 243 Dipnoans. 22

por vil, 242. Dipte i

Chigoe, 16 Dismal Swamp, flora of, 521.

Chimney swallow, 741. | Dog, sagacity of, 238. f

8 grammaca, 200. Derwent i Ps

eee psaltria, 15. Dogwood

Cicada, 201 Dove, 15.”

and pupa, 540. Dra; Li 433.

pruinosa, 542. Dr , 407.

regi sa, 542. Drinking-cups, 100.

; Drosera, 705, 727.

Clstotkorus stellaris, 200. ht, 234.

Cleistogenous flowers, 563, 692. Drying ca se, 245. S

changes, cause of., 124. patee Deag rubicunda, 132. om

influence of, on birds, 415. Duckweed, 257. 2

Conon udovicianus, 115, 609. — Eared = 735. 1

Golor-variation mi 415, 736. a

Colorado, Ara aof, "esl. se a

binds, i j Eleodes

fossil mammals, 742. Elm b

t pratan beetle, 430. — ni he of feet nas ag hy 486.

Cones, phyllotaxis of, 449. os Acadicus, 42.

_ Conium, 9. — 108.

_ Connecticut Valley, geology of, 745. oneness: North American, 227, 710.

_ Conorhinus sanguisuga, L in Missouri, 471

INDEX.

Entomostraca, mounting. 120.

Boeta Fi. 49, 151, 157, 180, 217, 290, 306.

cetus,

pigæa repens, 310.

Equisetum arvense, 422.

Lag Jeo m Thompsone, 302.

Eristal

Badam. eerie 333.

= Dovel of — 729.

so be teary —

Hap or

Eupl A, pe to clean, 496.

Eupodiscus, structure of, 571.

Eyes in crustacea, mye of, 489.

Falco pesetan owas 340.

temerarius, 341.

Fertilization of f flowers, 680

grasses, 561.

Field _— 199.

Fig-wort

Fish Commission, 446.

Fishes,

Tias.

Par, prehistorie, 374.

Flesh pa 195.

Flora of Dismal nTa; 521.

ertiary,

Florida, birds’ ‘of i65.

had

Flowers, cleistogenous

rah tilization of, a insects, 680.

nstrosities of, 335

riations in same, 29.

Fly. viviparous, 1 193.

Flycatcher, 35, 170, 740.

Erani boinc hog , 302.

Frustulia Saxonica, resolution into rows,

Fu 310.

ngi, British, 110.

Geoth ye Philadelphia, 199

ularia, perforation of, by

rs, 352.

Bad Mon

Gibbs, George, gors es “death of, 508.

Cilia 'Gnavarretia) debilis, 302.

= bon sti, 60, 61, 210.

Praa of arg laeg 636.

American, 669.

woodpecker, 498

hapina 530, i

765

Goldsmith agon, larva of, 531.

ites viot

Goniometer sta. age, 187.

Grasses, fertilization of, 56

Gra = Range, black ates on, 634,

Green Mountain gneisses, 658

Geenid cretaceous

Greenlets,

p irane 199.

nd e, 324.

, 199.

Growing sal "698

flora of, 167.

Guadeloupe skeleton, 636.

Hammerstones, 139.

Ha plopappus cervinus, 301,

k, 172.

Harlan’s haw

Harporhynchus —— 330.

laste an 327.

Sipira

rufus,

Harvest tae TE

Hawk, 3

Heari De. Organ of, 183.

vus, 327.

198, 326.

bor ia:

iclmintionteas celata, 606

ehrysoptera, 199.

> prone ge Maia, 475

ooo a 9.

Hepat

Hendersonia thewecis. 379.

Henslow’s bunting, 200.

Herbar

per, Tne

Hesperornis nrin

Kooos 157.

Hick ry Scolytus, 474.

HLipparion Carpenteri, 409

Seed toad, Ot intermembral, 223.

Horse, 22

disease, 120, 167.

dish, 9.

Eearochelthon fissipes, 200,

Eyb Testy À

ott seme

Hyperchiria iD a 476.

Icteria virens, 198.

Icterus si 198.

Ichthyornis, 364

ne „dispar, 50,

116.

Ichthyorn

Hino Mississippiensis, 202.

—_ of, 197.

, Indian, 139,

12201.

arving, 438.

sor

Ketika, 375.

mplements, 204, 270.

and hammerstones, 139.

poke. 11.

relics, 205.

rema 31,

ro’ 2

aa Bg 12.

766

Inde an? 187, 685, 702.

nii

Insects, relations o Aa ma 268.

P (6 Mahai

fer tilization of ~ gel by; 680.

injurious, = 710.

and "Beneficial, 524.

sections of, 119.

Insects’ eyes, 570.

Instinct, 494,

mo h, 477.

Tae birds of, 363.

Isthmia, 571.

Itch mite, 17.

Jack-in-the-pulpit, 11.

Jiggers, 17.

Junco annectens, 16.

malis, 609.

rd opi 609.

Kalmia — 12.

eaS

hobalæna, 28.

Lady bird, Sea

aiia ria

Laphamia eras 301.

Lark, 31

Larks

Larrea i ana, 333.

LeConte’s bunting, 738.

Lemna polyhrrhiza. 257.

Lemurs, genus applied to, 51.

Lepidoptera, embryolo, logy of, 486.

Lepisma saccharina,

Leptocardians, 22.

Leptus = — icanus, 17.

man, Eh

eos

Lim

Lae tritici, 241.

Linecoln’s finch, 15.

Lithospermum longiflorum, 691.

Lobelia cardinalis, 1

12.

Pre ophanes bicolor, £00,

Tote, It. prolifera, 410.

Loxolophodon, 147. 217, 291, 307, 315.

Lycena modesta, 178.

Lycopersicum esculentum, 11.

Macrobiotus Americanus, 731.

— delicatus, 472.

Maia moth, 475.

see aine, glacial Maii in, 373.

aoe

eos

foss Peep

Mammoth Ca neat 447.

Man, ma era 376.

e, 315.

1 345:

i pigs,

Montana, geology of, 35:

. Nightshade, 10, Il.

s, 246.

INDEX.

Maximillian’s jays, 15.

May beetles, 530.

Meadow lark, 175, 200.

Medeola, 629.

Melanerpes erythrocephalus, 200.

Metamorphoses in butterflies, BI.

A 544.

Mexican Sache sar 172

ney ant, 722.

Mi PRR ke 378.

Micro-photographs, 701.

Microscope, pe 321, 702.

lide for, 376.

In amps, 636.

field AR for, 118.

Microscopic eyes, 44

obje cts eit

379.

Micro-s cise

Mieta of animals, 693.

birds, 389.

Mimicry in snakes, 737.

Mimus Saale rio tae. 198.

Mineral loc punos, og

Miocene, m

Missouri, entomology of, 471.

397, 735,

ocking bird, 198.

telnet: preparing palates of, 120.

Monachus, 87.

Monograph of spheniscide, 38

Mo nohammus dentator, 493.

, 740.

Mo onstrosities of Seng 336.

geysers of, 27.

08.

in,

Cali i pirts P isteibatión of, 453.

Mould on bread, 444.

Mound- “builders, ttery of, 94.

Mount Mon ak

striæ on, 466.

pe petit cs

Myiodioetes Sues Ae

Mysticete

Mystilaspis pinifoliz, 473.

pomicorticis, 473.

Narcotic poisons, 12,

ede aera a palmata, 480.

s forficatus, 201.

Ne ew England. birds of,

| New Jersey, oe dian pot a s 204.

in scrapers from

Souen

rth a e hex of, 478.

i tsuckers of. 669.

ymenoptera era, 500.

Nuttall’s whippoorwill, 325.

» 154.

Object carrier, 24

Objectives, 53, iis 246, 380, 747.

apertures of, 440, 556.

improvements in, 504.

490.

Ocelli in butterflies, 490.

INDEX. : 767

Octopus Bairdii, 395.

oe, h ubra, 366.

Onychoteuthis, 85.

regon snowbird, 15.

Oreodo

Oriole, 1

Orni oles. 308, 3

hi can, 226.

New England, 42.

Orthoceras, 104.

Ortyx Vi irginianus, 1 199.

Paen paige p picipes, 242.

eep, 732.

whale ae tag of the Yucca moth, 3 619.

Owl, white

Oxybaphus glaber, 302.

Pacific shells, 114, 126.

Painted bunting, 500.

flycatcher, 325,

pilio pre Tosa PE 129.

Parsley, 9.

erT culus savanna, 200.

Peat, 563

Pedicellar

Pediculis cervicalis, 16.

aran 16.

AEn

Pelican, 170.

Penguin i 40.

Pennatula, 313.

Petalonsx' ‘nitidus, 3 300.

Petalostemon career 299.

a mpsonz, 300.

Peteri The

Petroleum

Peucea æstivalis, 616.

8, 322.

Peatedaana: serene 301.

ermine 24.

ollen, 1

Pines, pasiera p wth in, 111.

Soe Hi sro ‘

s, 100,

Pibg Abertii, 324.

us, 44.

ee 199.

pat dont

Plants, arran s of leaves in, 481.

gemi bution pt 268.

— of coal-gas on, 366.

Influence of eera light on, 365.

Platanietids, 26

Poisonous plants, 4.

Poisons, action of, on the blood corpus-

sae » 700.

otic, 12

Polaris, resus of AER P 509.

Pollen, 236.

Po lygala s subspinosa, 299. j

ipo ooyeno soca Avicularia of the

or a

anty DF æ, 27.

Poæœcetes s gramineus, 201.

Ae bilineata, 323.

rtulaca, sensitive stamens in, 464.

Potato beetle of Colorado, 430.

Pothoc

Pottery

Pow ad aha od J omens 413.

Prairie mi

on wes

Prehis Pg sof the United Ste es ee

Preser anion of, the Io ower anima

Soor

mians, 2,

Protosetaci n, 25.

Pterom: ales earthen 242.

ponn 132.

Puff-balls, 7:

Pulex irritans, 16.

netra

Pyranga estiva, 199.

Py cia e rabineos, 170, 325.

Pyrrhula, 239.

Quail, 199

eet 154.

ndulata, 302.

nae aioe fox, 115.

Pichuneathe acris, 8.

Raphides, 445.

aspberry suwfly, 243.

Baniosnats, 85, 433.

ted apie

Red flicker, J5.

vented th g er

Rhexia Virgin o

ae e Lotensis, 411.

sr icodendron; 4, 5, 6, 12.

enata, 4, 5, 8, 12.

Ristinids 24.

n seal of Alaska, 178.

seer

Rock by heed aise of, 726.

hor osbeak, 493.

Rufow elon ag sparrow, 322.

Sage, 334.

Salix Nevadensis, 302.

mon aca

sition of, 370.

Salt pika ve ley, 729.

Salvia, 334.

Sandwich alaaa oo 171.

Sarcophaga carn:

Saiiba ants b

olytes caryæ,

Scerophulariaceæ.

Sea, depths of, 405.

Sea bottom, geology of, 160.

768 INDEX.

Seedticks, 19.

Selachians, 59, 60.

nsitive stamens in portulaca, 464.

pepelcnnst nrus iak

Setophaga pict

Seventeen-year paa 540.

Sex, origin of, 175.

Ma Butterfies, 513.

Shelly’ i to Pacific, 114, 126.

Sialia arctica

Mexica ae ‘6.

Siluria ge, 55

Skeleton 4 palzolithic, in Italy, gy

Skin scrapers fro zh to sees Taraa

ge,

Slide from the e microscope, 376.

Sm aaie germinatus, 109.

Snake hawk, 202.

Snakes, mimicry in, 737.

Snow bird, 735

Solanum dulcamara, i.

ngena, 11,

sonata ij.

Song sparrow, 15.

Sorex, 483.

Southern are n antiquitigs of, 555.

Spike-h orned gniedes, 169.

Spizella pusilla, 1

Sponges, 485.

magna, 200.

as, 244.

Sumac,

Sundew, 7

wallow, any, 741.

Sweet he t Za

Symploca plats 12.

Syrphus, ; pts '

Tachina, 242

Tard

> 543.

ee RT

PEE stainin; k

irae, sing of 11

Toothed whales, 2

deny a Ponda 15.

ape

int riley 234.

m, 17.

Tumors, seen, Soll 445,

‘Tarkey buzza at ‘es

Turrilites, 106.

Twist tine, stones, 180.

Tyrannula, 37

Tyrant flycatchers, 35.

Uintamastix, 147.

nae es 147, 159.

Uncin

aria, 629.

Vanessa antiopa, 131.

Vegetable tissues, 366.

staining of, 59.

Veget tation, colors of, 65.

itali

Viviparous fly, 193.

Voluta Stearnsii, 126.

Walros BE Valley, vegetation of, 154.

War bler,

Ta nett, remarkable, in Maryland,

Water, forms of, 228.

Wateriu S, 95.

Western bluebird, 16.

hale, b

Whalebone aie i

Whipplea ten a

ve ees oe w, 13.

froni owl Vin C Canada, 427.

mped i pe 497.

Willow 3 wands from Burrard’s Inlet, 488,

Winge d ants, tla rg of, 369.

W oodhouse’s bow Dh

Rares tie nel golden-winged, 498.

Woodpeckers, 200.

tapping sugar trees, 496.

oi goalogioa map of, 345.

Mhirsa beag fossil quadrumana in, 179.

| Xanthocephalus icterocephalus, 200.

eeu river, 729, 748.

Yucca moth, 477, 619.

Zeuglodon, 19. 20, 21, 27.

Ziphiids, 26, 27.