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POISONOUS FLIES.-The Austrian journals state that swarms of poisonous flics have made their appearance in Transylvania, and that more than a hundred head of cattle have perished. The farmers are compelled to keep their beasts shut up, and large fires are burning night and day around the sheds to keep off this unwelcome visitation. During one day, when rain fell copiously, they disappeared, but as soon as the weather became fine again they reappeared. The men in charge of the fires have the greatest difficulty in preserving themselves from their venomous attacks, and find tobacco the best preservative.-Dorset County Express.

PERFORATED NUTS.-I have frequently, in my searches for shells or mosses, found the perforated nuts referred to in your June number by Dr. Buckell. In woods and shady places I often come on little cozy retreats, nicely stuffed with soft moss, evidently the habitation of some tiny animal whose Kjøkkenmoddings" contain numbers of shells of hazel nuts, in each of which a little hole is made so as to allow access to the coveted kernel. I have often tried to find out who the little fellow was, but I have not been successful. It is not the squirrel, he graces not our sylvan shades. The holes drilled in the nutshell are often so small that it is a puzzle to think how the contents were at all accessible by such means.-S. A. Stewart, Belfast.

DOUBLE CARDAMINE PRATENSIS (W. H. T. N., Ludlow).-Your flowers are doubled not only by the substitution of petals for stamens, but also by the increased number of the former organs. Some of them are the subjects of "median prolification," i.e., they have a secondary flower springing from the centre of the primary one, occupying, therefore, the normal position of the seed-vessel. This is not an uncommon occurrence in this plant.-M. T. M.

MOUNTING DIATOMS.- If E. W. Schoenebeck will try the following simple process, 1 think he will find no difficulty in fixing his diatoms for mounting in balsam. Let him take some mucilage of gum dragon (Tragacanth) and make with it the thinnest possible smear in the centre of his slide; this may be kept moist by breathing on it, and the diatom may be laid on and pushed into the required position with great facility. When dry they may be mounted in balsam without any danger of displacement, and the gum will not interfere in any way with the clearness of the slide.-F. W. M.

GUACO.-There is a plant in America called "Guaco," and it is said that if you drink the juice of this plant you can handle the most venomous Snakes without fear; and if they should accidentally happen to bite a person, placing a small quantity of the juice on the wound is said to cure it instantaneously. Is this true; and if so, what is the real real name of the plant, and where is it possible to procure a specimen? There is also a bird called "the snake bird" which, when bitten by snakes (on which it preys), flies towards the above-mentioned plant, eats a portion of it, and returns to the attack anew.v.-Henry Cooke.

[There are several plants which pass under the name of "Guaco," and which are said to be beneficial in cases of snake-bite. One of these is Mikania Guaco, others are probably species of Aristolochia. In the majority of instances the reputed power is fabulous, and the substance extolled is inert.-ED.]

BIRD'S-EYE PRIMROSE (Primula farinosa).— Would any of the readers of SCIENCE-GOSSIP be kind enough to inform me if they know which is the most southern habitat for Primula farinosa ? I have yet to learn if this plant is found in Wales, or in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, or any other county further south than Yorkshire, where it is plentiful. It was found at Pendleton, near Clitheroe, Lancashire, a few years ago, by a Preston botanist, and in 1865 I unexpectedly came upon it in a boggy field, a mile south of Pendle Hill, nearly two miles further south than the Pendleton habitat. It is also said to have been found near Marsden Hall, and Worsthorn, near Burnley, in Lancashire; but I have not yet been able to find it at these last-named places.-T. Simpson, Burnley.

THE CADDIS-WORM. Can any readers of the SCIENCE-GOSSIP explain the following unusual incidents connected with the Caddis Worm? Having caught a fine specimen, I introduced it into a can containing some young dace, intended as contributions to my aquarium; whereupon, the former having grasped the latter with its feet, gradually drew it within its case, until the head of the fish was completely hidden. Being desirous to fully comprehend the intentions of the Caddis Worm, I watched the proceedings until the fish remained perfectly motionless: the worm then released its prisoner, who, floating underneath the surface of the water, lay to all appearances dead, but after the lapse of ten or twelve minutes perfectly recovered itself. On putting the same worm into my aquarium I saw it fix itself at once on a "miller's thumb" that was groping about at the bottom among the stones, and remain there until the unfortunate fish rolled slowly on its side, and became quite stiff. Thinking it dead, I removed the Caddis Worm, and found my surmise was correct; for though I left it for upwards of two hours, I found it gave not the slightest token of life. Having previously kept several of the above species in the same vessel without any hostility evinced from either the one or the other, I am at a loss to account for the pugnacity shown by this individual specimen, and shall be glad if any one can offer an explanation of it.-J. G. T.

TADPOLES IN AQUARIA.-A circular fresh-water tank, which I have in a north window, had, from some cause which I could not explain, become very turbid. The other day I quite inadvertently put in a few tadpoles, and in less than twenty-four hours it became much clearer, and in a couple of days was clear as crystal, and so remains unto this day." I find by observing these tadpoles, that they are first-rate scavengers, and would recommend my fellow readers who are not satisfied with the appearance of their tanks to try a few, and report the result.-W. M. Nettleton, Hudders

field.

SKYLARK.-I have recently paid much attention to this bird, with the following results :-Those inhabiting upland pastures are of a much lighter colour than those found on marsh lands. In singing, the upland larks appear to fly almost perpendicularly upwards, and continue their song for several minutes; on the contrary, the marsh larks fly spirally upwards, and sing only a short time. I would certainly recommend any one, when purchasing a bird for a cage or the avairy, to choose only those that are light coloured: they will be found superior in many respects.-R.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

ALL communications relative to advertisements, post-office orders, and orders for the supply of this Journal should be addressed to the PUBLISHER. All contributions, books, and pamphlets for the EDITOR should be sent to 192, Piccadilly, London, W. To avoid disappointment, contributions should not be received later than the 15th of each month. No notice whatever can be taken of communications which do not contain the name and address of the writer, not necessarily for publication, if desired to be withheld. We do not undertake to answer any queries not specially connected with Natural History, in accordance with our acceptance of that term; nor can we answer queries which might be solved by the correspondent by an appeal to any elementary book on the subject. We are always prepared to accept queries of a critical nature, and to publish the replies, provided some of our readers, besides the querist, are likely to be interested in them. We cannot undertake to return rejected manuscripts unless sufficient stamps are enclosed to cover the return postage. Neither can we promise to refer to or return any manuscript after one month from the date of its receipt. All microscopical drawings intended for publication should have annexed thereto the powers employed, or the extent of enlargement, indicated in diameters (thus: × 320 diameters). Communications intended for publication should be written on one side of the paper only, and all scientific names, and names of places and individuals should be as legible as possible. Wherever scientific names or technicalities are employed, it is hoped that the common names will accompany them. Lists or tables are inadmissible under any circumstances. Those of the popular names of British plants and animals are retained and registered for publication when sufficiently complete for that purpose, in whatever form may then be decided upon. ADDRESS No. 192, PICCADILLY, LONDON, W.

G. E. F.-Only by moisture can you relax your specimens. Have you tried keeping the leg joints enveloped in wet bandages for a week or more?

E. T. S.-The fresh water species of Cocconeis are mostly more or less striated. See Pritchard's last edition.

ZOOPHYTE CLIP.-The Clip for Zoophyte trough figured at pp. 105, is sold at one shilling by J. A. Pumphrey, Birmingham.

J. G. B.-If, from any cause, the teeth of a rodent (as a rabbit) cease to meet, and thus wear away at the ratio of their growth, they will in time attain the length indicated in your sketch. Many similar instances are on record.

ERRATA. At p. 142, line 15 for "carnels," read "carpels," line 40, 41, for "zoolitic," read "zeolitic."

G. B.-It is impossible to say, without seeing the specimen, what your plant is, which, though only half an inch in height, has root, stem, and flower. It may be Cicendía filiformis, or it may be something else. We have a specimen of Aster trifolium in flower that does not exceed one inch in height.M. T. M.

F. G. B.-It is Alchemilla vulgaris.

A. A.-We cannot tell. Apply to the publisher or author. G. A. W.-The bees forwarded are Andrena albicrus.-F. W. E. J.-See SCIENCE-GOSSIP for 1866, p. 260, "Wanted to kill."

W. F. P.-The water wagtail often selects an equally eccentric spot for its nest, such as woodstack, a pile of stones, or an old wall.

A. M. D.-The publishers of the Rev. F. O. Morris's Catalogue of British Insects are Messrs. Longmans, London. W. M. C.-British moths and their transformations was published by Professor Westwood, uniform with his volume of "British Butterflies."

J. H. (Devizes).— Epipactis grandiflora.

C. H. Nave's Handybook will be out in a few days. J. S. S. will probably find all the information he requires in the "Handy-book to the Collection of Cryptogamia," which will shortly be published by Mr. Robert Hardwicke. A. M. E.-We have seen many such albinos.

G. G.-The name "Horse mushroom" is usually applied to Agaricus pratensis, a large species, employed for ketchup. In our opinion it is equal to the "Mushroom" cooked any way, and therefore we always eat them when we can get them.

J. W. W.-See "Bechstein's Cage-Birds." The Blackcap has been kept in confinement.

T. L.-Clearly not a gall, but probably a species of Coccus. G. B.-We should think your Alga is a very young state of Desmarestia aculeata, although unbranched.

B. D. J.-Yes, it is Carex axillaris.

T. S. K.-No. 11, Hypnum cupressiforme. No. 12, Metzgeria furcata.-R. B.

W. R.-No. 1, Thamnium alopecurum.-R. B.
T. HowSE.-No. 2, Mnium rostratum.-R. B.

J. C. D.-No. 2, Mnium undulatum.-R. B.

W. D. R.-The beetle is Anchometrus prasinus.-J. O. W.

H. H.-We cannot see how we could follow your suggestion, neither do we think it would be generally approved if we could.

T. C.-Potamogeton pusillus.

W. G.-The bee is Andrena Trimmerana, a species common about London.-F. W.

WITHAM'S BOOKS.-Mr. John Butterworth may procure either of Witham's works of Mr. E. D. Suter, 32, Cheapside, London. No. 6,

A. (Dartmouth).-No. 3, Plumularia falcata.
Sertularia abietina; both common.-E. C.

A. W.-A species of Amelanchier.-W. C.
C. D. H.-It is Thlaspi alpestre.-W. C.
J. R. W.-No. 3. Luzula campestris.-W. C.

EXCHANGES.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN DIATOMACE.-Twelve first-rat slides for the same number of good Entomological or Ana. tomical slides.-B. Taylor, 57, Lowther-street, Whitehaven. ASPARAGUS BEETLES wanted for good microscopic objects. -J. H. M., 78, Week-street; Maidstone.

BRYUM TURBINATUM in fine condition for other good mosses.-R. G., 42, William-street, Ashton-under-Lyne.

RARE BRITISH FERNS for others, or dried fronds of the same.-Send list to J. E. M. Woodfield, Stoney-lane, Birmingham.

GOLD FISH SCALES for other objects. For Tike scales, send stamped envelope to F. S., Post Office, Rugeley, Staffordshire.

ORTHOSIBA ARENARIA, and Eupodiscus, from Melbourne (mounted), for diatomaceous earth, or other material.-W. S. Kent, 56, Queen's-road, Notting Hill.

FATTY ACIDS mounted for good polariscopic objects, mounted or unmounted.-J. P., Abbotsbury, Dorchester. BARBADOES EARTH, shells from (mounted), for other mounted objects.-E. Histed, 3, Great Bourne-street, Hastings.

RARE BRITISH BIRDS' EGGs for rare British Lepidoptera.W. M. Cole, 93, St. Helen's-street, Ipswich.

MOUNTED OBJECTS in exchange for others.-Send lists to W. Fletcher, Grammar School, Bromsgrove.

PLANORBIS GLABER and Clausilia laminata var. albida, for foreign land shells, or British vertigos.-W. Nelson, Almaplace, Sparkbrook, Birmingham.

MONMOUTH DEPOSIT.-A good mounted slide of British Diatoms will still insure a portion of this deposit if sent to E. C. B., care of the Editor of SCIENCE-GOSSIP.

FOSSILS or minerals from the limestone, for fossils or minerals from any other formation.-W. Potter, Jun., Matlock Bath, Derbyshire.

CYPHUS GERMARII.-C. imperialis, S. orbicularis diatoms, &c. (mounted), for good objects.-Send list to T. Forshaw, Bowdon, Cheshire.

SPICULES of Spongilla lacustris (mounted) for good mounted Diatoms.-H. R., 150, Leadenhall-street, London, E.C. PALMATE NEWTS for Edible frogs, lizards, or crayfish, as may be arranged.-J. B., Box 22, Post Office, Gla-gow. FOSSILS from Chalk or Limpet's tongues for other fossils or fronds of British Ferns.-J. Stanley, Harold-road, Newtown, Margate.

BOOKS RECEIVED.

"An Index to Mineralogy," by T. Allison Redwin, F.G.S., &c. London: E. & F. N. Spon. 1967.

"A Fern-book for Everybody," by M. C. Cooke. London : Frederick Warne & Co. 1867.

"The Technologist." No. XI. New Series, June, 1867. London: Kent & Co.

"The Fourth Annual Report of the Belfast Naturalist»' Field Club. 1866-7. "Naturalist's Note Book." Nos. I to VI. January to June.

1867.

COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED.-H. W.-H. H.-E. W.J. B.-G. E. F.-G. A. W.-T. W. W.-H. D. C.-A. L. F. W.-J. P. G.-E. T. S.-E. T. K.-H. B.-W. S. K.W. H. T. N.-W. F.-W. W.-H. W.-G. E. Q.-A. B. -A. M. M.-A. A.-T. P. B.-F. G. B.-W. H.-T. W. G.L. H. F.-C. B.-F. A. A.-W. W. S.-J. J. O.-S. C.-G. S. -J. H. M.-S. A. S.-B. A.-E. W.-H. P.-W. D. R.-J. W. I. —R. G.-J. E. M.-A. M. D.-Capt. C.-W. S. K.-H. H. M. C. D.-M. T. M.-J. M. T.-J. F. R.-F. S.-H. R.-W. F. A. —J. B. B.—T. F.-J. B.-W. N.-T. G. P.-W. F. P.-W. S. -E. C. J.-M. T.-E. J.-R.-J. P.-E. H.-J. B. S.W. M. C.-W. F.-A. B.-D. J.-J. M. P.-J. W. W.-G. G. -T. L.-J. W. G.-W. B.-W. N.-W. G.-S. D.-F. W. M. -C. H.-J. H.-G. B.-J. L. M.-J. G. T.-R. H. R. (no).F. O. M.-S. A. S.-R. B.-F. H. W.-J. C. W.-W. P.-H. H. -H. C.-R. T.-E. W.-T. C.-W. P. M.-T. C. (Stow).F. S.-E. A. C.-H. B. P.-C. C.-J. D. H.-F. W.-E. D.— J, B.-H. R.-T. S.-R. B.-C. R.-W. P. (Newark).-T.F.

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HE most unobservant can scarcely have failed to notice, some time or other, leaves of plants with pale blotches or slender tracks on them. These pale marks are formed by the minute larvæ of small insects, which, feeding between the skins of the leaf, devour more or less of the green fleshyportion of the leaf, and so discolour it.

There are four orders of insects which furnish us with leaf-mining larvæ, &c.; but two of these are not numerously represented, and are comparatively seldom observed. I allude to the mining larvæ of saw-flies among the Hymenoptera, and the mining larvæ of some of the weevils among the Coleoptera. The two orders which furnish the great bulk of our leafmining larvæ are the Lepidoptera and Diptera. The Diptera, or two-winged flies, a group of insects, which, I am sorry to say, is very little studied in this country, afford an amazing number of leafmining larvæ, and we see these mines constantly on the leaves of the primrose, honey-suckle, buttercup, &c., &c. Those who search for the mining larvæ of Lepidoptera know only too well how very plentiful the mining larvæ of Diptera are; but as the mining larvæ of the Lepidoptera have been the most studied, I propose now to confine my remarks exclusively to them. Amongst the small moths of the group Tineina, a group which comprises the smallest known Lepidopterous insects, we have more than twenty genera of which the No. 32.

larvæ are leaf-miners, or at any rate some of the species in the genus adopt that mode of life; for in many genera we find a diversity of habit, and whilst some of the species are leaf-miners in the larva state, others are not so; in other genera every species without exception is a leaf-miner when in the larva state.

Sometimes the same leaf will be mined by two or three species, each of which imparts to the leaf a mark, recognizable by the initiated, indicating what species has fed on the leaf long after the larva has itself departed. A mined leaf is hence inscribed with hieroglyphic characters, and the key wherewith to decipher these is obtainable by patient and continued observation.

To take, now, some particular instances: brambleleaves may frequently be found with two different kinds of mines; in one the leaf remains perfectly flat, and a long slender serpentine gallery winds its way across the leaf, and generally attains a length of from two to three inches; this mine, which is scarcely visible whilst the larva is still at work, the discolouration being then so slight, becomes very conspicuous after it has been long deserted, the dry loosened upper skin eventually becoming almost white, and contrasting strongly with the dark green colour of the leaf. The creature that makes this mine is a small, pale amber, semi-transparent larva, with no real legs, and when full-fed it crawls out of its mine and proceeds to some convenient corner in which it spins a small, flat, brownishgreen, silken cocoon, from which at the end of two or three weeks there emerges a brilliant little moth about a quarter of an inch in the expanse of the wings, of which the fore wings are of a rich golden brown, tinged with purple beyond the middle, and with a nearly straight pale golden band beyond the middle this we call Nepticula aurella (fig. 174).

Another kind of mine which we find in brambleleaves is very different; the leaf does not

I

remain perfectly flat, but is a little puckered just where the mine is, and the mine, instead of being a long slender gallery, begins slender and gradually widens, the first portion of it reminding one of a ram's horn or cornucopæia: this is of a pale brown with the narrow end whiter: it then still further increases in size till it occupies nearly half the width of a bramble-leaf. The larva which forms the mine is very different from the soft-looking pale amber larva which forms the slender galleries; it is green, rather rigid-looking, with three pairs of short anterior legs, and with the head black, and two blackish marks on the back of the second segment. When full-fed it does not quit the mine, but changes within the bramble leaf to the pupa state, and in two or three weeks' time the pupa pushes its anterior end through the dry skin of the mined leaf, and the little moth makes its escape. When its wings are expanded it is rather more than a third of an inch, and the fore wings are of a bright yellow, with a brownish margin along the costa, and hind margin, and a round black spot above the anal angle: this we call Tischeria marginea (fig. 175).

In the month of June we may frequently find on young oak-bushes that many of the leaves have extensive mines, occupying nearly a third of the leaf, and the part mined is so completely cleaned out that nothing is left but the two skins of the leaf, and it hence has a very flimsy appearance on holding one of these mined leaves up to the light, we should perceive within it a mass of short dark grey thread-like substances, being the excrement of the larva; possibly in some of the leaves we might succeed in finding the larva still there, a dull whitish creature with no legs, but with a welldefined head, his jaws being kept constantly at work devouring the green portion of the leaf, which imparts a greenish tinge to the dorsal vessel running along the centre of its body (fig. 173). This larva, when full fed, quits the leaf and descends to the ground which it enters, and there spins a subterranean cocoon, coated with particles of earth; within this cocoon it changes to the pupa state, and it is not till the following month of May that the imprisoned moth makes its escape and delights to fly round the oak twigs in the sunshine. It is a pretty glossy creature, about half an inch in the expanse of the wings; the fore wings are of a pale golden green, with a faint appearance of two paler spots, one on the inner margin beyond the middle, the other midway between this and the tip of the wing; and scattered over the surface of the wings are a few purple scales: the hind wings are rather transparent pale purplish. This we call Micropteryx subpurpurella. (There are many species of this same genus Micropteryx, which make similar mines in birch-leaves.) The miners in the leaves of oak are so numerous, that we frequently find several of

the same genus happen to be oak-feeders, and it is by no means uncommon to find that a single oak leaf is mined simultaneously by half a dozen different species. In the month of July we may not unfrequently find oak-leaves which have nearly the entire upper surface discoloured by a large white blotch; these leaves are not transparent, for the under side remains green as before, and the white blotch is simply the upper skin of the leaf, which has been loosened over a considerable area by the operations of the mining larva within, and which, having slightly shrunk, has caused the under side of the leaf to curve a little upwards so that the leaf no longer remains flat. On examining one of the leaves closely, we shall see near the foot stalk several short, slender, pale tracks running into the

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Fig. 173. Mined Oak Leaf, and Larva of Micropteryx
subpurpurella, enlarged.

large blotch, just as if they were so many little streams running into a large lake; these are the tracks formed by the individual larvæ when young, each of them making a separate path towards the centre of the leaf, where they then proceed to mine a large blotch in common: these larvæ are pale whitish green, with a darker green line down the back, and with the head pale brown; when nearly full-fed they become suffused with reddish orange, and ultimately quit the leaf and spin small cocoons, in which to undergo their change to the pupa state. In a few weeks the elegant little moth makes its appearance; the expansion of the wings is rather more than a third of an inch; the fore wings are of a glossy brownish, with four oblique white streaks from the costa, edged towards the base with dark fuscous, and with two short whitish streaks on the inner margin: this is called Coriscium Brongniardellum (fig. 176).

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