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Forest of Cromer period.—I am not aware that there are any stratified deposits in the West of England which represent that preglacial period known to geologists as the Forest of Cromer period—a period which preceded the great general submergence of a large portion of Europe, including a principal part of the British Isles, below the waters of the glacial seas,—that preglacial period when England was a portion of the continent of Europe, and when, though the species of shells living in the seas were the same as those now existing, and the vegetation was European, three extinct species of elephant, the Rhinoceros etruscus, the Hippopotamus major, the extinct Irish elk, and the gigantic beaver (Trogontkerium) lived in the British forests and haunted British rivers. It is on the Norfolk coast that the geologist finds evidence of the preglacial deposition of those strata which contain the relics of so many extinct mammalia, by the superposition of thick masses of boulder clay full of its ice-witnesses, the scratched, grooved, and polished erratic blocks. In the West of England such evidence is wanting.—Rev. W. S. Symonds.

Fossil Cone.—Mr. W. Carruthers, of the British Museum, has recently described (Geological Magazine, vol. ii. No. 10) a cone from the carboniferous beds of Airdrie, Lanarkshire, which he proposes to call Flemingites gracilis, placing it in a new genus which differs from Lepidostrobus in each scale of the cone, supporting a double series of roundish sporangia, whilst in the latter genus each scale supports a single oblong sporangium.

Asphalte is the technical name for the bitumen commonly employed for pavements. It is found, in France, at Seyssel, in the department of L'Ain, at Gaugeac, in the department of Les Landes, at various places (Lobrann and Bekelbronn) in the department of the Bas-Rhin, and also in the Puy-de-Dôme department. Abundant supplies are found in Albania, Wallachia, on the shores of the Dead Sea, and in Trinidad; and no doubt many other places would yield this material, especially in the Northern States of America and in Canada. Mineral pitch is found in the island of Zante.—Ansted's Practical Geology.

Fossil Spider in Coal Measures.—Professor Romer has announced the discovery of a fossil spider, which resembles the recent genus Lycosa, in the coast measures of Upper Silesia. The interest of this discovery lies in the fact that hitherto spiders have not been known from any rocks older than the Jurassic, and that now the existence of them in the Palæozoic period is proved.—Geological Magazine.

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Circulation in a Fly.—I was wishful to examine a Blue-bottle Fly some time ago, and caught, and, as I supposed, killed one for that purpose. I carefully with my dissecting scissors opened it and removed its intestines, and then examined its inside under a 1-inch objective. You may judge of my surprise when I discovered that the blood was still circulating, and that in a most beautiful manner. I had long wished for a sight of the circulation of the blood of the fly, and I here had curiosity satisfied most unexpectedly.

An Insect Larva.—Mr. Ray Lankester has published an interesting paper in the last part of the Popular Science Review "On the Microscopic Anatomy of an Insect Larva—Corethra plumicornis."

Wire Clip.—It is but justice to state, since continual reference is being made to Dr. Maddox's Wire Clip as a new invention, that we some time since received a similar clip from Mr. Adcock, the principle of construction in which was precisely the same, and which the latter gentleman had been in the habit of using for two or three years prior to the publication of the description of the former.

Maltwood's Finder.—Some makers are adding to the stage of their microscopes a scale graduated in conformity with Maltwood's Finder, whereby the use of a separate "finder" is dispensed with.

Spicules of Sponge.—These are often glass-like in appearance and of various shapes; many are found resembling needles (whence their name); some from the synapta are anchor-like, whilst others are star-like, and of complex and almost indescribable combinations. As some of these are composed of silex and are consequently not injured by the use of nitric acid, the animal substance may be got rid of by boiling them in it. Those, however, which are calcareous must be treated with a strong solution of potash instead; but whichever way is used, of course they must afterwards be freed from every trace of residue by careful washing. These spicules may be often found amongst the sand which generally accumulates at the bottom of the jars in which sponges are kept by those who deal in them, and must be picked out with a camel-hair pencil. The specimens obtained by this means will seldom if ever require any cleaning process, as they are quite free from animal matter, &c.—Davies on Mounting.

The Netted Dog-whelk (Nassa reticulata).—This little marine mollusc is a very interesting aquarium animal. I have several colonies of them, one being in a shallow tank measuring five feet long, two