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Fig. 1.

N the Gentleman's Magazine for August, 1866, appeared an article entitled, "Notes on a young Crocodile found in a Farm-yard at Over-Norton, Oxfordshire," by George R. Wright, F.S.A. As the subject may be of interest to many of our readers, we have extracted from the article in question, and the publishers have kindly placed the illustrations at our disposal.

"Whilst on a visit in Oxfordshire, at the farmhouse of a then tenant of mine at Over-Norton, near Chipping Norton, I first saw the little reptile already referred to, in a glass case, where other specimens of animals and birds were well arranged and kept, the whole having been preserved by my tenant, Mr. William Phillips, who is well known in that part of the world as a keen sportsman and good naturalist. On noticing at once the peculiarities of the little animal, I asked Mr. Phillips how and where it was found, when to my great surprise, as well as increasing interest, he told me, as well as I can now recollect, the following story of its discovery:

"He said, that one morning, in the year 1856 or '7, I can hardly now say for certain which, as he was walking in his farm-yard at Over-Norton, his attention was attracted by the sight of, as he at first thought, a lizard, lying in the gutter, evidently but lately killed, its bowels protruding from a wound in its belly. Upon, however, taking it up, he soon discovered that the animal was not a lizard, and he immediately asked his labourers, who were close by, unstacking some faggots for the use of the house, if they knew anything about it. The answer was that they had killed it as it ran out of the stack of wood, I think the day before; and on Mr. Phillips expressing his regret at their having done so without bringing it to him alive, they replied they could easily get him another, as at the place where the wood was cut, a few miles from the farm, near to Chipping Norton Common, and not far from the village of Salford, at the 'Minny' Pool-which I presume is a shortened form of Minnow-they saw

them frequently in the water and on the land, and often running up the trees. Upon this statement, Mr. Phillips offered his wondering workmen a guinea for another specimen, adding the remark that they had killed an animal of a most rare character, and one he thought, in spite of all they said, they would have some difficulty in meeting with again. Mr. Phillips then proceeded to preserve the little reptile, which he did by carefully skinning it, and setting it in the position I subsequently saw it, and which the drawing annexed faithfully depicts. Seeing how

Fig. 2.

much interest I took in the affair, Mr. Phillips presented the little animal to me to bring to London, as I told him I should be able, through some of my friends in town, to find out more about it. My friend in reply remarked that it had already been to London, and been shown at the British Museum, but to whom he could not say; and that the opinion he had received of it was to the effect that it was a young crocodile, and had very likely been dropped in a rain shower, or perhaps had escaped from some travelling menagerie. As both these ideas or suggestions were in my mind entirely out of the question, and as Mr. Phillips strengthened my belief, especially as regarded the latter suggestion, by saying that the

'Minny Pool' was several miles away from any high road, I resolved on my arrival in London to consult my old schoolfellow and attached friend, Dr. Vesalius Pettigrew, on the subject of the little animal's history and habits, as I well knew I could not refer the matter to a more safe or competent naturalist to determine all that I wished to know, respecting the little fellow's birth, parentage, and education.

"The result of my inquiry was that Dr. Pettigrew pronounced the reptile a young crocodile, with a mother and father, as he laughingly remarked, as long as the hearthrug in his room, or even longer, but how it had been found and killed in this country, he could not venture an opinion upon. At his request I left the young reptile with him, to show to his friend Mr. Frank Buckland, who afterwards not only confirmed Dr. Pettigrew's views as to the character of the reptile, but subsequently, in a description of it in the Field newspaper, narrated the circumstances attending its discovery, giving it as his opinion that it had escaped from some travelling show-a thing not uncommon, as he attested by the instances of several such escapes that had come under his notice with little animals of a similar description, although he did not venture to say he had ever heard of a young crocodile being found alive some time after, in the country or town. This letter I replied to at the time, and I then gave the account of the discovery of the little creature in a similar way to which I have done now. I forget the date of these letters, but they will be found in the Field newspaper for, I think, the years 1861 or 1862. No further correspondence appeared on the subject, nor have I ever heard from my friend Mr. Phillips of the finding another specimen in or about his farm, although, in addition to his reward of one guinea, I offered two, for another specimen, dead or alive."*

MOUNTING IN BALSAM AND
CHLOROFORM.

THE treatises on "Mounting" that have hitherto

been published, contain but scant information on this subject. Davies in his work, about the best and most recent, mentions it, but does not go sufficiently into the details to enable a beginner to adopt it; and as "E. G. M." asks for an opinion from one who has tried it, I am induced to give the result of my experience with it, together with some few instructions, which I trust will be of service to the beginner.!

I may state for "E. G. M.'s" satisfaction, that I

*The length of the little creature, as far as it is now possible to get at it, the skin having shrunk and become very dry, seems to be about 12 to 13 inches from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, from the tip of the nose to the crown of the head about 2 inches, the front legs 14 inches and the hinder ones about 2 inches long.

first used balsam dissolved in chloroform about five years ago, and that my slides, put up at that time, are as perfect now in every respect as they were when first mounted, and quite as secure. I have never used anything else since, except in mounting diatoms, when I use the ordinary balsam; my reason for so doing I will explain further on. I will now return to the balsam and chloroform.

I first dry the balsam until it becomes quite hard, and a ready way of doing this is to pour it into a large pomade pot, the larger the area the quicker will be the process of hardening. I then place it in the kitchen oven after the fire has gone out, care being taken that the temperature is not too high, or the balsam will be discoloured. This operation must be repeated for five or six nights, when it will (with a layer of about an eighth of an inch deep) become quite hard, so that it may be chipped out with a knife. The pot must be kept closely covered, during the drying, to keep out all dust, but it would be as well to raise the cover now and then to allow the vapour to escape.

When the drying has been completed, a sufficient quantity must then be put into the chloroform, until it becomes of the consistency of an ordinary varnish, or if any thing rather more fluid. As a matter of course it must be kept in a stoppered bottle; a two ounce bottle with a small neck being a convenient size. The balsam being now prepared we will proceed to its application.

Every amateur must know that the objects after dissection and soaking in liquor potassa (those that require it), must be thoroughly dried before they are placed in the turpentine bath; unless this is carefully attended to the "milky" appearance, complained of by "T. B. N." in the last number, will be the result, which renders the objects worthless for the cabinet.

As some objects require but little or no arrangement after taken out of the liquor potassa, they can be thoroughly washed in warm water and placed on the slides in the position they are intended permanently to occupy, and the cover tied on with a piece of thread, and put away to dry in a warm place well protected from dust. When they are perfectly dry, the slides, with the object and cover thus secured, can be placed in the turpentine bath in a flat position; a sardine box answers admirably for this purpose, and by packing them one above the other, one box will hold about a dozen slides.

It will be necessary to keep them in turpentine for two or three days, according to the nature of the object, and when taken out, place them on edge to allow the turpentine to drain off; they should be kept in this position for about an hour, when they will be ready for fixing. Now take the bottle containing the balsam, and drop on, close to the cover, a small portion; it will be observed to rush between the cover and slide, permeate the object, and drive

all the air before it. The slides may now be put on, one side in a flat position for a day or so before they are subjected to heat; then place them on a tray, still in a flat position, and put them in the oven, after the fire has been taken out; when, with two or three nights' baking, the balsam will become quite hard and the slides can be cleaned. For this operation I should recommend an old penknife blade with

lamp. As the balsam warms, the cover will gradually descend to its place without the least chance of air bubbles being confined; a little gentle pressure and the cover will be secure.

Clapham.

JAMES ROWLEY.

DIATOMS.

a sharp point heated in the flame of the spirit lamp, MANY persons have heard of these beautiful

and run round the cover; the balsam can then be chipped off without the risk of chipping the cover.

The above method answers very well if you can depend upon the objects being thoroughly clean before the cover is tied on, but with some this is uncertain, as they require well pressing before the fatty matter they contain can be got rid of. As a more satisfactory plan I prefer the following.

After my objects have soaked a sufficient time in the liquor potassæ, I place them between two slides; by adopting this plan I can dry a dozen or more small objects at one time. I then press them with one of the common wood clips, and when dry I remove them from the slide and immerse them in turpentine. When they are ready for mounting, I "centre" them on the slides, and for this purpose I use a card-board template cut to the size of the slide (three inches by one inch), coloured black on one side, with the exception of a white disc in the centre, which I leave about five-eighths of an inch in diameter. On the other side I colour the disc black and leave the ground white; the black one I use for diatoms, &c., and the white one for entomological subjects, but the adaptability of each will be readily ascertained when once made. I place the slide on the template and arrange the object in the centre, then drop on the cover, the template being a guide for this also. I have by my side a number of pieces of strong thread, about six inches long, already looped up ready for tying on the cover. When the latter is in its place, I drop the template and slip on one of these loops, place one end between my teeth and the other in my right hand and tighten. The knot may then be secured and the slide put on one side, on edge, to drain off the turpentine; in this manner two dozen slides or more can be put up in an hour, and by that time the first one put up is ready for the balsam, which can be applied as previously described.

I stated in a former part of this paper, that in mounting diatoms I preferred the ordinary balsam, and for this reason, viz., the diatoms can, without injury, be subjected to a much greater heat than animal objects, and consequently the balsam, by being so heated, will harden more rapidly than even if mounted with the chloroform. For this purpose the older the balsam is the better. After evaporating the fluid containing the diatoms on the slide, I drop on a small globule of the balsam and place the cover on its summit and hold the slide over the

objects, and those who possess a microscope have no doubt often wished to have specimens to examine; and the object of this paper is to tell them when, where, and how to collect and mount them in the most advantageous manner.

The Diatomaceae (for that is the name of the group I intend to describe) may be collected always, as some one of the many varieties may be found in almost any pond or brook; but the most beautiful are found in the mouths of tidal rivers, or in fossil deposits.

A diatom is characterized by having a flinty case or shell, beautifully marked with lines, or rows of dots; but these are often so fine and close together that they cannot be distinguished, except with a well-constructed instrument and high powers (a 4-inch objective will do for most), and this has led to the employment of some of these as test-objects -that is to say, that if one glass will define the markings better than another it is considered more fit for scientific purposes; and so great is the difference between the size and distance apart of the markings, that some may be used as tests for the low powers, while others can only be used for the highest.

Many of these beautiful forms can be found living in the Thames, and other rivers on our own coasts. In the months of April, May, September, October, and November they will be found in the greatest abundance and variety; the salt marshes on the banks of most of the rivers will also well repay the trouble of searching for them.

Supposing the reader to be in London, and wishes to collect these interesting objects for himself, I should advise him to go to Southend (which may be reached by the Tilbury and Southend line, starting from Fenchurch Street station), which is as good a place as any other for the purpose of collecting the objects under discussion'; the mode of doing which is to gather the seaweeds at low tide, taking care to take as little sand with them as possible, and at once put them into a bottle of sea-water, if it is desired to examine the living forms in their natural position on the weed. But if their flinty cases are wanted to exhibit the markings, the weeds may be put, dry, into a bag; and, on reaching home, they are to be plunged into a jar of fresh water for half an hour, which will kill the animalculæ attached; and when the weeds are rubbed and stirred about in the water, they come off and form a cloud of muddiness,

which is to be allowed to settle, and the water then poured off and the sediment transferred to an oilflask (which has been well cleaned), and boiled with nitric acid over a candle, or gas jet. After the first portion of acid ceases to act, the flask, with its contents, must be set aside till the liquid is perfectly clear, when it is to be poured off, and fresh acid added. This is to be continued as long as the acid exerts any action, and the sediment is perfectly white, when it is to be washed with water until the liquid is no longer acid.

In this sediment, when examined by the microscope, may be found the Triceratium favus, which is one of the largest of the Diatomaceæ, and is about theth of an inch in diameter. It is in the form of an equilateral triangle, with slightly curved sides. At each corner is a projecting spine or hook, and round the base of each there is a row of round dots; and the rest of the surface is covered with large and regular hexagonal markings, resembling, in the closest manner, the formation of honeycomb. If you wish to mount it, when found, you must pick it out from among the grains of sand and other impurities by the help of a stout hair from a shaving-brush, or a cat's whisker stuck in a split at the end of a slender wooden handle, such as a paint-brush handle, and place it in the centre of a glass slide. A drop of Canada balsam is then to be added, and the slide warmed till the balsam becomes rather hard. On cooling, all the air-bubbles should be broken by the point of a needle, and then the thin glass cover is to be put on, taking care to have the object as nearly in the centre as possible, and not to press so hard as to break it. Objects mounted in this way, under small round pieces of thin glass, on plain groundedged slides, look very neat; and all the rest of the things described in this paper may be mounted in the same way, though more than one specimen may be mounted at once. Surirella constricta, which resembles a lady's needle-case, may also be found. It has strongly-marked ribs running from the outside edge towards the centre, where a clear space may be observed. Surirella plicata has no resemblance to the last; but strongly resembles a lemon in outline, as does also another object (of which I never found but one), but which is covered with minute dots instead of being marked with faint lines. A small but beautiful variety of the Coscinodiscus, which is a round shell resembling a thick shilling, closely covered with dots on both sides, is worth mounting, when found; but, being extremely brittle, great care must be used. The Gramataphora serpentina is found in great numbers, and is like a cardcase, with four curved lines running from opposite ends towards the centre. Different kinds of Naviculæ, or little ships, are to be found by careful examination; and they are very amusing when alive, for they run about and bump up against one another, then draw back after a time and swim away in the

opposite direction. A few specimens of Pleurosigma hippocampus (Sea-horse), and some other varieties of these most beautiful objects, which are at once recognized by their form, which is that of Hogarth's lines of beauty of different curvature joining at their ends, and having another which runs between them and expands in the centre, and at each end into round dots or spaces (which some say are openings; others, only a thickening of the central rib; but I am inclined to believe the latter, from the manner in which the valve is broken on being pressed; for the crack does not run across the dots, as it would do if they were openings, but round them, proving them to be stronger there than elsewhere). And all the rest of the surface is covered with rows of minute dots, arranged in regular rows, but so fine that, except with the very highest powers, nothing can be seen but longitudinal and transverse lines; and a 4-inch that will show even these may be considered very good.

Pinnularia dactylus is like Surirella constricta, only much smaller and expanded instead of contracted in the centre. The Gallionela sulcata is a beautiful object, and resembles highly-carved ivory bones stuck end to end, so as sometimes to form a filament appearing as much as three inches in length, when viewed under a good inch power. Symphonema geminatum, which may be compared to a number of folded fans attached to a branched stalk by the end held in the hand; and Acnanthes longipes, which is a bundle of oblong boxes joined together and connected by a long gelatinous stalk to the weed, complete the list of those from Southend which I have found; but I have no doubt that a much greater variety would be obtained if the weeds were collected at the proper time.

A great number of the most beautiful forms are contained in fossil earth, which may be obtained from dealers in minerals. Those of Bermuda, Oran in Algeria, and Richmond, U.S., are the most important, and contain the greatest variety. Bermuda earth contains one most beautiful object, the Heliopelta (sun-shield), of which a tolerable notion may be got by cutting an orange in half transversely. Then every alternate triangle you must suppose to be marked with a different pattern-one being covered with large and regular round markings; and the next, which appears to be on a different level, to be marked with smaller and less distinct, but nevertheless very beautiful markings. The ribs which divide the triangles from one another, dilate at their extremities, forming in the centre a clear space corresponding to the central pith in the orange, and at the ends next the margin expand and gradually melt into the rim or border, which is thickly set round with transparent spikes of different lengths. The earth from Richmond affords many beautiful specimens, especially of the genus Navicula.

Guano, the dry excrement of sea-fowls, is very rich in objects. One, the Arachnoidiscus, is like a small and perfect spider's web (whence its name), with all the colours of the rainbow condensed in it.

PINE APPLE.

(Ananassa sativa.)

A large variety, or indeed two or three varieties, of "PINE-APPLE, a penny a-slice!” is a sound

the Coscinodiscus are present in considerable numbers; and the Zygoceros rhombus is a miniature shepherd's purse, such as is found on the sea-shore, only covered with dots. The Actinocyclus is the same kind of thing as the Heliopelta, only without the marginal spines. The earth of Oran contains the same Diatoms as guano. The guano* and the earths mentioned are to be prepared in the same way as the sediment from the weeds from Southend, only they should be well washed in water first (the guano more especially). The modus operandi is to shake up the earth or guano with water in an oil flask, and then allow it to settle: this is to be repeated until the water is no longer coloured. It is then to be treated as before directed. Most writers recommend the use of hydrochloric acid first, and secondly nitric acid, when the former ceases to act. With large quantities this would be more economical; but it necessitates the purchase of a second stoppered bottle.

The reader exclaims, "Well! Now I have found these things, what are they?" The writer answers, that is a subject of dispute, some claiming them for the animal world and others for the vegetable. The chief argument for their belonging to the animal kingdom, is their voluntary motion; but that is possessed by undoubted plants, so that is not conclusive. On the other hand it is asserted that they resemble plants in decomposing carbonic acid and liberating oxygen, whilst animals do the contrary. This to me seems to settle the question, but everyone had better judge for himself. Again, the reader may say, "You tell me of things that are covered with round dots, what are those dots ? raised knobs, little pits, or only surface markings?" This, too, like most things connected with them, is a bone of contention. Some will have it that they are prominences, others depressions; but my impression is that it is sometimes one and sometimes the other; for some break in such a manner as to lead to the idea of their being indentations, whilst others break in the contrary direction. And if you happen to get some of them on their edges and look along their surfaces, some exhibit spikes, others not; and the mode in which shadows fall when they are viewed by oblique light leads now to one and then to the other conclusion.

Finally, I may state that the reason I have made so many comparisons is, that the reader may recognize the forms when found. ANDREW WAINE.

*The guano can be had for 4d. the lb. at Butler's, in Covent Garden.

familiar to cockney ears, whilst the variation indulged in by the more learned itinerant vendor, of "Here's yer fine West Injun pines!" localises the product, and contributes a trifle to street science. It must not be taken for granted, however, that the West Indies is the only great centre of pine-apple growth, or that "Pine-apple Rum" is the distilled spirit from the juice of this fruit. That "partickler wanity" of Mr. Stiggins, as immortalized by "Boz," does not absorb our Christmas thoughts, and we have ever been innocent of any hankerings after the "Genuine Pine-apple Rum." If any sceptic should inquire at our office, he may procure "Social Bees," "Lissom Fingers," and such like "Curiosities of Civilization," but as for the other article, the only reply will be, "Wery sorry to say, sir, that they don't allow that partickler wanity to be sold in this here establishment."

That we may begin early in our history of this plant, we quote from Father Kircher, as translated in 1669. "They have in China a tree called Kagin, yielding fruit twice a-year, which, by inversion, thrusts forth the seeds or kernels, the werts, or such excrescences, on the outside of the fruit, and is in common to the East and West Indies, who call it Ananas; but the Chinese call it Fan-polo-mie; it groweth in the provinces Quantung Kiangsi and Fokien, and is supposed to have been brought from Peru; the tree on which it groweth is not a shrub, but an herb like unto Carduus; they call it Cartriofoli, on whose leaf a fruit groweth sticking unto its stalk, of so pleasant and exquisite a taste that it may easily obtain the pre-eminency amongst the most noble fruits of India and China; the spermatick faculty is innate in all the parts thereof, for not only the seeds shed on the ground, but its sprouts and leaves being planted, produce the like fruits."

Our opinion of pine-apple, whilst derived only from an experience of imported West Indian specimens, was by no means so flattering as that of the learned Father. In fact, it remains doubtful, though some may regard it as heresy, whether, since we have deliberately tasted of fine varieties ripened at home by experienced growers, that our opinion is much altered for the better and in favour of the pine. Our depraved tastes would lead us to pronounce in favour of a rich mellow pear, or a dish of strawberries and cream, against a dozen pine-apples. But we are wandering again, and who can blame us?-even editors and authors are but "men" at Christmas time, and cannot help thinking about the good things which comfort the inner man, and forsaking the "midnight oil" for-some other "partickler wanity."

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