ble that this species spends at least one whole year, and possibly two, in the larvæ state. Desmognathus fusca. Brown Triton. Found in all brooks, and is very common. The larvæ attain the adult condition in a shorter time than those of Spelerpes bilineatus, as though they are both hatched about the same time; the larvae of this species complete their metamorphosis in the autumn or winter following their birth, being then only about one-half the size of larvæ Spelerpes bilineatus of the same age. We get specimens of very varying coloration; some being nearly black, some very light. Diemyctylus viridescens. Newt. Common in weedy pools. Amphiuma means. Rare. I know of eight adults and twenty-two larvæ having been taken here, all being two-toed specimens. Bufo americanus. spring and summer. Common Toad. Very abundant. Breeds in Scaphiopus holbrookii. Last May I collected fifty breeding in a pool only a few yards from my house; in every case the grasp of the male was inguinal. The cry was not much louder than that of the common toad. I have occasionally dug them out of the ground. Hyla versicolor. Common. Hyla pickeringii. Abundant. Breeds in March and April. Chorophilus feriarum. Abundant. Breeds in February and March. I have never seen this species except at the breeding season. Acris gryllus. Cricket Frog. Abundant. Active all the year round except in the severest weather. This species breeds from April through most of the summer. Engystoma carolinense. This species is very abundant in the breeding season, which is in July and August, and possibly the two preceding months. Have never seen any except when breeding; I think they are nocturnal. Rana pipiens. Leopard Frog. Abundant. Breeds in March. Not as common as the preceding two The Frilled Lizard.-The report that the Frilled Lizard (Chlamydosaurus kingii) inhabiting the tropical parts of the Australian continent, is in the habit of running erect on its hind legs, receives confirmation from W. Saville Kent. Specimens in captivity were seen by him to run thirty or forty feet at a stretch, in an erect position on their hind legs, and when after resting momentarily on their haunches, to resume a running course. The conformation of the hind foot is such that when running only the three central digits rest upon the ground. Consequently the track made by this lizard in passing erect over wet sand would correspond with such as are left in mesozoic strata by various Dinosauria (Nature, Feb., 1896). Mr. Kent suggests affinities with the latter order; but these do not exist, as Chlamydosaurus is a typical Lacertilian. It is not the only lizard that progresses on its hind legs, as Mr. Francis Sumichrast pointed out several years ago that a species of the Iguanid genus Corythophanes found in Mexico has the same habit. (ED.) The Palatine Process of the Mammalian Premaxillary.While engaged in the study of the comparative anatomy of Jacobson's Organ, Mr. R. Broom came across some interesting facts in connection with the palatine process of the mammalian premaxillary, which he puts on record in the Proceeds. of the Linnean Soc., N. S. W., Vol. X. 1895. From his observations he concludes that the os paradoxum in Ornithorhyncus, the anterior vomer (Wilson) in Ornithorhynchus, the anterior paired vomer in fœtal Insectivora, etc. (Parker), the prepalatine lobe of vomer in Caiman (Howes), and the vomer in Lacertilia and Ophidia (Owen, Parker, etc.), are homologues or synonyms of the process under discussion. He therefore suggests the name prevomer, to cover all the designations which the different forms of this ossification has received. (Proceedings of the Linnean Soc. of N. S. Wales). New formation of nervous cells in the Brain of the Monkey, after the complete cutting away of the occipital lobes. It is known that the noviformation in the nervous cells in the nervous centres and above all in the brain has not yet received a definite solution. There has been made, however, a number of researches on this important question, but the contradictory results arrived at, have not as yet advanced our knowledge on this subject. On the contrary, the conclusions arrived at by M. G. Marinesen, presented to the Society of Biology in 1894, are that the cells and nervous fibres of the nervous centres do not grow again after their destruction. In pursuing his studies on the physiology of the occipital lobes, M. Alex. N. Vitzou has discovered the presence of cells and of nervous fibres in the substance of noviformation, in the Monkey, two years and two months after the complete cutting away of the occipital lobes. The entire extirpation of these lobes results, as is known, in a total loss of sight in both monkeys and dogs. The experience of the author, concerning this point agrees with that of M. H. Munck and confirms his conclusions. The later researches of different scientists have confirmed the facts which he demonstrated. Repeating the experiment of total extirpation of the two occipital lobes of monkey, February 19, 1893, M. Vitzou noticed that during the fourth month the animal commenced to perceive persons and objects, but with great difficulty. At the end of fourteen months, the ability to perceive was greatly increased. The monkey could avoid obstacles, which he could not do during the first months following the operation. On the 24th, of April, 1895, Mr. Vitzou repeated the operation upon the same animal. After denuding the skull he found the orifices of trepanation closed by a mass of rather firm connective tissue. On lifting this mass with care, to his astonishment and that of the assistants standing about him, he found the entire space which had formerly been occupied by the occipital lobes completely filled with a mass of new formed substance. This he proceeded at once to examine. A portion was taken from the centre of the mass closing the orifice of trepanation, and another from the posterior part of the new formed substance found in the skull. Employing both the rapid method of Golgi and Ramon y Cajal, and the method of double coloration with hematoxyline of Erlich and eosine in aquous solution, M. Vitzou demonstrated the presence of pyramidal nervous cells and of nerve fibres. The nerve tissue was present in large quantities and the nerve cells less numerous than in the occipital lobes of the adult animal, but their presence in the new formed mass was constant. In brief the conclusion from the preceding experiment is that the new substance occupying the place of the occipital lobes, was of nerve nature, and that it was due to a new formation of cells and of nerve fibres in the brain of the monkey. Here is a fact, says the author, which demonstrates the possibility of regeneration of nerve tissues in the brain, as well as, what was previously known, that active nutrition is maintained in the rest of the organ. Moreover, we find in the presence of cells and nerve fibres in the new formed mass an explanation of the fact concerning the betterment, although slight, of the sense of sight. This explains also contradictory facts presented by different scientists, in the case of partial extirpation of the brain followed by an amelioration of the functions lost during the first operation. M. Vitzou adds that the monkey having been subjected to a second operation lost the sight from both eyes for three months and a half, at the end of which time he gave signs, although somewhat uncertain, of recovering his vision. The animal is well cared for in order that the author may continue his observations for some time to come; then later, he will be sacrificed in order that a complete study may be made of the new formation. (Revue Scientif. 1895, p. 406.) ENTOMOLOGY.1 Domestic Economy of Wasps.-Much attention has recently been given to the biology of wasps. One of the most interesting accounts is that of M. Paul Marchal summarized in the Annals of Magazine of Natural History. The investigator studied the earth-burrowing wasps (Vespa germanica, V. vulgaris). The fully-formed nests contain small and large cells, the latter constituting two or more of the lowest combs, while the others make up the six to ten upper combs. The large cells, built only by the workers in August, may, at an early period, receive indifferently either females or males, the former being either queens or very large workers, the latter always in small proportion; after the first of September these cells are entirely set apart for the queens, so that in October no males are to be found in them. The small cells, from the time that the laying of eggs for males has begun, contain indifferently up to the end of the season either workers or males. The proportion of males in the combs of small cells decreases from below upwards, with this remarkable exception-that if there be a mixed comb containing both large and small cells, the small cells are influenced by the proximity of the large cells, and contain very few males. The beginning of the period for laying males coincides very nearly with the time of appearance of large cells, early in August. The curve which represents their production rises suddenly in an almost vertical manner to reach its maximum; it then descends gradually with or without oscillations to the end of the reproduction. The queen takes a prominent part in this great production of males, because the laying workers have already long since disappeared, whilst the young male larvæ are still to be found in great numbers in the nest. The queen has then (at least after the early days of September) the power to determine with certainty the female sex of the eggs which 1 Edited by Clarence M. Weed, New Hampshire College, Durham, N. H. 2 Comptes Rendus, t. cxxi, pp. 731-734. she lays in the large cells; on the other hand, she lays indifferently either female or male eggs in the small cells. One can only admit in order to explain this remarkable fact, the principle of the theory of Dzierzon, based upon the fecundation, because if the production of males were due, for example, to the influence of season, it is evident that the eggs laid at the same epoch in the large cells would become male just as much as the others. In order to interpret all the facts, M. Marchal thinks this theory should be modified, by allowing the intervention of another factor than the will of the queen, and continues: We will admit, then, that after her first deposit of eggs, exclusively those of workers, which lasts until the first of August, the reflex which brings about the contraction of the seminal receptacle at the moment of the laying of each egg is no longer produced with the same energy, and that therefore the eggs can be laid without being fecundated; thence the almost sudden appearance of males corresponding to the relative state of inertia of the receptacle. Then it is that the workers building the large cells give the queen a choice between two distinct classes of the alveoli, and she, stimulated by the presence of the large alveoli, which seem to possess the power of rendering her reflexes more energetic, will concentrate from that time all her energies upon them and will lay only fecundated eggs and females. The modification thus introduced into the theory is important because it replaces the voluntary act of the queen by a passive one. The queen does not deposit males and females at will; but there comes a time when she cannot do otherwise than deposit males, because of the relative inertia of her receptacle. M. Marchal finds that the laying of eggs by workers is normal in August to a small extent, and that it is greatly increased in case the queen is removed or stops laying. Circulars on Injurious Insects.-A valuable series of circulars on injurious insects is being issued by the United States Division of Entomology. In each, one of the more important pests is discussed, its method of work, distribution, life-history, natural enemies and remedies being clearly described. Recent issues include circulars 9 to 15, with the following titles: Canker-worms, by D. W. Coquillet; The Harlequin Cabbage Bug, by L. O. Howard; The Rose Chafer, by F. H. Chittenden; The Hessian Fly, by C. L. Marlatt; Mosquitoes and Fleas, by L. O. Howard; The Mexican Cotton-Boll Weevil, by L. O. Howard, and Shade Tree Insects, also by Mr. Howard. |